#but also gotta be responsible and answer the rest of the asks rotting in the inbox :(

[insert-cephalopod-joke]

Current #: 6/5 (answering a bonus ask ^_^)

Rook: 1

“Summer”: 2

Saturn: 1

Ember: 1

All: 1

[lhswon]

CRAZY TIPS = CRAZY FEELINGS

ᯓᡣ𐭩 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜: yandere!lee heeseung x tsundere!fem!reader

ᯓᡣ𐭩 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: non!idol, enemies (one sided) to lovers troupe, kinda slow burn, teeth-rotting fluff, heeseung is a softie, you and enha are in the same age for the sake of the plot

ᯓᡣ𐭩 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: cursing, mild sexualizing, drinking, mention of cigarette (lmk if i missed any!)

ᯓᡣ𐭩 𝙖/𝙣: ding dong! as promised, i will continue this au but forgive me for the delay as i couldn't post the chap 1 last night since my migraine was killing me. anyways, enjoy the chapter :D

chapter 1

after surviving a hectic day at the university, you went straight at home to take some rest before your 10 pm shift at the nightclub. you washed up, ate dinner, and changed to your working clothes which is a red v-neck polo shirt and a black skirt. you also wore your black stockings and black boots to finish the look.

after changing, you went in front of the mirror to do a simple make up and tie your hair into a high pony while you left some strands on your face. feeling confident with how you look, you took your black padded jacket resting on the edge of your bed and wore it as you reached for your sling bag. with all the things you needed, you finally left your home to work a yet again, tiring shift at the nightclub.

"i can guarantee you, i'll have more tips than you!" the moment you entered the staff room, you heard red's voice. she seems to be having a conversation with your other co-workers.

"oh yeah? i'll bet that i'll have more." the other girl answered. when you peeked behind the curtain, it was red and jia.

"what's up, girls." you greeted them. red and jia's face lit up when they saw you.

"oh well, since you're here. i'll just bet that you'll be the one who will gain the most tips tonight." jia shrugged, immediately accepting her defeat.

"how are you so sure?" you raised an eyebrow at her while you take off your jacket.

"i just heard that Mr. Baek will be here tonight." jia said.

Mr. Baek is one of the VIPs, he would often go here and tip you a crazy amount of money. it's like Mr. Baek favors you. some of your co-workers are jealous of you because of the hefty amount of money he would tip whenever you're on shift but you will never not notice his intentions behind those crazy tipping. scanning every inch of your body, throwing you those flirty looks, grazing his skin onto yours, it's just disgusting. but life's tough, sometimes you just gotta let other people do the things they want if it somehow benefits you too.

after your short conversation with red and jia, the three of you helped clean the counter since the club was about to open. the moment it did, a small group of men went straight to the counter where you and your friends were standing. you sighed as you flash your brightest smile.

oh, this will be a long night for you.

a few hours passed and it was already late. when you looked at your wrist watch, it was already 1 am. your shift ends at 2:30 so you still have an hour and half. you were just cleaning the counter when red nudged you and pouted her lips towards the main door. it was Mr. Baek together with his men in black which gained a few looks from the other customers.

you finished your small task before he could arrive at the counter, when you catched his eyes, he smiled at you flirtingly.

"hello, dear." you nodded and slightly bowed your head, acknowledging his presence.

"good evening, Mr. Baek." you greeted. he hummed in response.

"i'll be here in a short time, i'll just meet a someone important. just give me your finest whiskey right now and put it in my tab." he said, leaning on the counter to get closer to you.

"duly noted, sir. would that be all?" you asked while tapping something on the screen.

"that would be all, sweetheart." he said. you almost threw up at the pet name he called you.

"alright sir, i'll just have someone serve you the drinks." you gave him a small smile before bowing. he left after that to sit at his regular space. you then instructed one of the servers to serve the bottle Mr. Baek ordered.

a few minutes passed and you saw Mr. Baek leaving together with his men. he went straight to the counter to close his tab.

"here's your tip." he handed you a one banded stack of money after paying his bill. you don't know how much was it but you took it like you always do.

"thank you Mr. Baek, i hope you had a pleasant stay." you bowed to thank him. he chuckled at your politeness.

"seeing you here is already pleasant, dear." he said. you almost scoff at his remarks but you stayed silent. he bid his last good bye for the rest of the staffs who are in shift before leaving the club.

"that's a lot." red whistled, looking at the banded money in your hand. you shrugged before shoving it in your pocket.

time flies so fast and it was already 2 am, just 30 minutes more and you'll finally end your shift. the counter's pretty much chilling right now when people are just vibing and drunk dancing at the platform. you were just looking around when a tall gorgeous man approached the counter. he was wearing a black button down polo and black pants, his aura screaming power and confidence. some girls he would pass by would stare at him with lust, making you scoff.

"hi." you couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at heeseung when he approached you at the counter. you sighed and calmed yourself down before giving him a fake smile.

"good evening sir, how may i help you?" you asked. he scanned your whole face before giving you a small smile.

"one glass of rum, please." he ordered. you nodded and tapped the screen. he waited patiently as your colleague make his order.

he sat at one of the high stool just beside the counter, the proximity making you awkward and uncomfortable, specially about what happened last night at the parking lot.

oh wait, is he mad that's why he's here? is he going to confront you? maybe you ruined their moment last night?

you were just overthinking every possible reason why he's here tonight when jia and red approached you. you never even realized that heeseung finally got his drink.

"who's that hottie?" jia whispered. they were both looking at heeseung like he was some prey. he might've been noticed your friends' staring when he turned his gaze at your direction.

you quickly looked away and gulped. there's just something about his stares that makes you just want to melt on the spot. no wonder a lot of woman wants him. one look and you're wrapped around his hands.

a few minutes passed and heeseung went back in front of you to pay his bill. he pulled out the exact amount for his bill but you were caught off guard when he pulled out a much bigger banded stack of money than what Mr. Baek gave you a while ago.

"here's your tip." he lightly shoved the stack towards you. before leaving the counter without looking at you. your mind went blank while looking at his leaving figure, mouth slightly agape from shock.

just when you couldn't see heeseung anymore, you took the money and ran towards where he left. jia and red screaming your name as you hurriedly followed him. you went to the parking lot and there you saw him leaning on a sports car, cigarette in between his lips. he was about to light the cigarette when he noticed you approaching him. he took the cigarette away from his lips when you arrived in front of him.

on the other hand, you were panting, cheeks red from running trying to catch up to him. without saying anything, you extended the arm that was holding the money he gave you.

"i can't take this." you said, you urged him to take it but he just looked at you with amusement. not taking any of your actions seriously.

"what? did the other person tipped you more?" he asked smirking. you looked at him dumbfounded.

is he talking about Mr. Baek? he saw him?

"what is wrong with you? just take your money!" you shoved your hand to his chest.

"you would take an old man's tip and not mine?" he sounded so offended which irritated you even more. his sly smile is not even helping with the situation right now.

"Mr. Baek is a regular of mine!" you defended yourself. he chuckled at your irritated face.

"i'll be your regular then, starting today." he said and shrugged before he opened the door of his sports car, not even minding your extended arms.

"no! i don't need your money!" you were fuming at him, voice slightly raising.

he didn't even bother looking at you and just closed the door of his car in front of you. he just rolled down his window to flash you his sweetest smile.

"look for me tomorrow at the university." he said before starting his engine and pulled his windows up.

what the fuck?!

"sir- heeseung!" you shouted when his car drove away from you.

just what the fuck is his problem?!

chapter 2 here

[b1mbodoll]

gabi every time u post what ur thinking abt i am condemned with incurable brain rot :( ive alr sent u an ask abt puppy jake so im here to talk abt sungkitty ! who manhandles u to sit between his thighs so he can ‘clean u’ after a long day, hard in his shorts where he’s been practically edging himself grinding against your lower back, licking at your cheeks and neck and everywhere else. he tuts at you and growls against your neck when he realises what a mess you’ve made a mess of ur panties, pins you underneath him and spends what feels like forever licking at the sticky, milky-white mess you’ve left for him. sucks the sodden material of your panties and pockets them, claiming it’s been forever since you got him a new toy, the least you could do is let him keep these. palms at your boobs and asks what he has to do to have you leaking for him there too, mumbles against your clit that he’s gonna breed you til it sticks. sometimes he hates the way jake is always yipping at your heels, and takes it out on u :( hits your toothbrush when you’re brushing your teeth to watch you gag n tear up, glaring at him so cutely it makes him want to push you to your knees and give you something else to gag on. he always messes with the thermostat in your apartment, he’s a kitty, he doesn’t like the cold all that much, but it gives him an excuse to drape himself over you, knead your thighs and pinch your nipples because they’re poking through your shirt :( shoves jake out of your bed at night because he wants to be the one watching when your pretty tits slip out of your shirt, wants to bite at them when you stop stroking behind his ears, but also suck and lick at them when he’s drowsy and wants to be a little affectionate :(( tells it’s so gross that jake is always peeing on you or in you when you fool around to mark you up, scoffs and skulks around the apartment scoffing abt how a pretty, refined kitty like him would never do something so disgusting, but he will ! has you sucking his cock when you feel his grip tighten in your hair, and suddenly he’s tilting his head to the side, frowning that the first thing you tried to do was pull away when you feel his warmth trickling down your sore throat. you let jakey mark you with his piss, but you won’t let him do the same? he accuses you of playing favourites and makes you swallow every last drop, so hard that it’s painful watching the few droplets that escaped around the girth of his cock trickle down over your tits :( (ik my asks are alw soso long gabi so please don’t ever feel any pressure to answer them or write smth in response, i js wanted to share my thoughts + i hope ur resting well i miss seeing u on the tl :( from ur fairy anon !)

pairings: park sunghoon x f! reader

warnings: hybrids + kitty! hoon + puppy! jake mentioned + masturbation + lactation + oral + anal ment + omorashi

💌: my fairy… i dont even know what to reply to this. i fear i’ve gatekept this for long bcs its quite literally perfection.. i think m gna pass out.

mean kitty hoon is such a little pervert n ur so right he would steal your drenched panties :( takes his time dragging his rough tongue over your clothed cunt because he loves how wet n messy you get 😵‍💫 such a nasty lil thing he 100% uses them to jerk off later 😖 or better yet, uses them to tease puppy! jake :x

“hates the way jake is always yipping at your heels” oh… my god. poor jakey he’s just a little himbo :( feel like sunghoon would try to distract the poor mutt with your messy panties n it works 😓 yunie jerks his cock with your panties n completely misses out on fucking you bcs that’s what hoonie wanted :( whines n begs you to let him breed your overstimulated hole bcs your kitty was sooo mean to him!!

god him asking what he’s gotta do to get your tits leaking… im gonna pass out!!!!!! once he realizes knocking you up causes your tits to leak milk, he’s not stopping until you’re bred properly n his cum fills your womb 😵‍💫 hoonie’s so fucking desperate to taste your milk he doesn’t even care whose cum it is that sticks.. when his cock is spent n the poor thing’s shooting blanks he doesn’t stop… he lets jake be the one to fuck you but he talks the puppy through the whole thing. hisses when jake cums too early n pulls harshly on his fluffy ears to get his attention.

when they’re finished, an obscene amount of cum is steadily dripping from your cunt n it makes hoon’s ears lay flat against his head as he glares at your leaking hole. purchases a plug immediately n every time after they’re done with you, he never forgets to slip it inside, not wanting any more to go to waste before you’re knocked up.

im so weak for omo, you’re soooo twisted for this part… gosh just prim n proper kitty hoon that’s disgusted by jake pissing on or inside his owner :( joins you in the shower n helps clean you off because he absolutely Hates that your filthy mutt is able to get away with such depraved asks.. always sneers at him n complains to you that you’re too nice to him n that you jeed to put your foot down every once in a while.

you listen, n ask jake not to do it for at least a little while bcs your kitty doesnt like it 🥺 jake’s whiney but ultimately agrees n sunghoon’s behavior changes. rather than wrinkle his nose n tell you that you smell too much like jake, he becomes more possessive because you smell like you again. curls his tail around you as you deepthroat his cock n when he cums in your mouth you swallow all of it, peering up at him through wet lashes as you noisily suck his tip.

the sight’s too fucking much for hoonie, you look so pretty on your knees for him n he’s dying to ruin you. uses his thumbs to wipe your tears before placing his big hands on the back of your head and forcing you to take him all the way inside your mouth, the tip hitting the back of your throat n making you squirm n struggle to pull off. warmth floods your mouth n you choke it down, some of his piss dribbling down your chin and tits, making you moan around his cock. hoon’s soooo upset that you even struggled in the first place and pouts his way into fucking your ass full of cum next, somewhere you havent even let jake use yet <3

[babyhatesreality]

Lovebug

Daddy!Stucky x Little!F!Reader

Warnings: DDLG (SSC), f! reader, reader is named but name scarcely used, language, pet names, a bug in distress (happy ending) tooth rotting fluff- this one is even fluffier than normal- you have been warned.

A/N- for those who will catch the little easter egg at the end- yes, part 2 of Time Is A Flyin' will be coming soon, I promise. :D Also this is not a how-to story, please be careful in real life if you come across this particular situation

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN MEDIA CONSUMPTION. THIS STORY IS SFW- THE REST OF MY BLOG IS NOT NECESSARILY SO. MINORS DNI. I DO NOT CONSENT FOR MY WORK TO BE STOLEN, COPIED, OR TRANSLATED ONTO ANY OTHER SITE BUT MY OWN. Likes, comments and reblogs are deeply appreciated.

As he slowly began to wake up, Steve became aware that his super soldier senses were going off like crazy. Something was in incredibly close proximity to him. He kept his breathing even, regulated his heartbeat, and was prepared for anything as he slowly opened his eyes.

Only to find you, a half inch away from his face, kneeling on the bed between him and Bucky, and staring without blinking while vibrating with excitement.

Of course.

"Is you awake?" you whispered, leaning in so your nose was touching his. Steve took a long, slow inhale- then smiled.

"Yeah, Princess. I'm awake," he whispered back, but quickly pressed a finger to your lips, shushing you before you could explode, "But Daddy might not be."

"Nice try," Bucky answered suddenly, his face still half smushed into the pillow. He reached out without opening his eyes, hooked you around the waist, and pulled you into his chest, cuddling you like a stuffie. You giggled with glee as Bucky put his soft hand over your face. "Where's the off switch on this thing? It's making too much noise this early in the morning."

"No off switch, I'm afraid," Steve said, grinning as he turned on his side to watch the two of you. "She's stuck at top volume mode permanently."

"There's gotta be some factory reset," Bucky grumbled, still not having opened his eyes. But he couldn't quite keep the grin off his face as he playfully poked your tummy. "See if this works."

"Daddy, stop!!" you squealed. "We gotta get up and go! C'mon c'mon c'mon!!" You wiggled yourself out of his grasp and flung yourself right back down on Steve's chest. "Come on, Papa, up up up!!"

With a chuckle, Steve rolled back onto his back, folding one arm behind his head. "When did you crawl into bed with us, lovebug?" he asked, brushing the hair out of your face.

"Dis morning when I woked up," you said impatiently. "Papa, PLEASE, we gotta go!!"

"If you think Uncle Tony's up yet, kiddo, you've got another thing coming."

"Petey said that he was gonna get Unca Tony and Aunt Pepper up super early too so we could get dere faster! Dey up!!"

"It's a conspiracy," Bucky groaned, before batting you with a pillow. You squealed with joy and batted him back, before collapsing with a giggle in between the two of them.

Steve chuckled as he rubbed his face, trying to gain enough consciousness to keep up with you. Tony had invited the team to his lake side cabin for a family barbecue. You all knew it was really to show off the new mega gigantic pool he'd put in, since Peter off-handedly mentioned that he had fun swimming in the training pool that one time. In typical Tony fashion, he'd gone all out. There were three different slides, fountains, and an extra large hot tub right next to the shallow end, with jets. Rumor had it that the pool had underwater LED color changing lights and music that you could only hear when you were beneath the surface. All you littles were beside yourselves.

Steve stretched and sighed, then sat up. You popped up next to him with enthusiasm at this sign of forward momentum. That's when he saw your outfit.

"Um....Lovebug," he began, trying to smother his smile with his hand subtly.

"Yes, Papa?"

"I see that you've already put on your bathing suit for the party."

"Yup! D'you like it?"

"I do, it's very pretty, and so are you."

"Tank you!!"

"But honey, it's on backwards."

"Yeah, I know," you said, looking down with consternation at the cute pink ruffles that were supposed to be on your backside, but had ended up on your front. "Still looks good! I fine. Jellybean liked it, so I good. Can we go?"

"And why are you wearing your water wings now?"

"So I can get in da pool FASTER!"

"They're not blown up yet."

"Daddy said I couldn't do it 'cause it would make me dizzy." You flipped around back to Bucky, who had finally opened one eye. "Daddy, can you blow dem up since it's morning please?"

"Daddy needs coffee first, Trouble."

"And den brush your teefs so you don't use your stinky breath in my new water wings, 'kay?"

"Alright, that's it," Bucky growled playfully, whipping around and pinning you to the mattress before proceeding to tickle the living daylights out of you while Steve howled with laughter.

*****************************************************

Later that morning, after Steve had helped you put your bathing suit on the correct way and Bucky blew up the water wings with fresh breath, you all arrived at the cabin. The Bartons and Kate were already there, and you shrieked with joy, giving Kate the biggest hug you could before running through the living room to find Peter. Uncle Tony caught you mid-stride and tossed you up in the air while you screamed with laughter.

"Alright Squirt, safety is the name of the game here at Casa de Stark, got it?"

"Got it! I be safe."

"So you know the pool rules, right? Let's hear 'em."

"Okay!" you said, nodding your head vigorously before looking over at Steve and Bucky, who were watching you with wide smiles. They had gone over the rules with you many times on the ride over, and you were ready to show off your knowledge. "No runnin' 'round da pool at ALL, no goin' in da deep end, gotsta keep da water wings on, and no goin' where Papa and Daddy can't see me. Did I do it right?"

"Nailed it, kiddo."

"YES!"

"Alright, Pete's out by the pool, why don't you take your daddies out there and go find him?"

"Okay, Unca Tony!" you said, before giving the billionaire a hard hug around the neck and a sloppy kiss on the cheek. He chuckled and set you down. "You gonna come play in da pool too please?"

"Definitely. I have a bet going with Uncle Clint to see who can make the biggest cannonball splash." Tony turned to Steve with a cheeky grin. "Never said I couldn't outsource." He turned back to you, a twinkle in his eye. "That's where Uncle Bruce is gonna come in handy."

"But Unca Tony, Unca Bruce can't make a bigger splash than you!"

"But the Hulk can."

"WHOA."

"Alright, alright, can we at least wait till the rest of the team gets here before planning each other's destructions?" Steve joked back, swinging you up into his arms. As you giggled, he leaned in and whispered in your ear. "Besides, you already know that I'll beat both Uncle Tony and Uncle Bruce in a cannonball competition, so what's the point in talking about it?" You laughed and squeezed him around the neck, agreeing wholeheartedly.

A couple hours later, you all were having the time of your lives. After ensuring that all you littles could actually swim, water wings or no, the games and competitions had been fierce and fun. You and Peter dove for weighted pools rings against Wanda and Pietro. You and Wanda took turns pretending you were Ariel from The Little Mermaid, and the other one was Eric, and you were saving each other from drowning. The cannonball competition had been hysterical, and you watched and clapped for Papa from the safety of Bucky's lap (all littles had been evacuated from the pool and were being kept close to a caregiver on the off chance any of you suddenly decided to enter the rough housing).

After a delicious barbecue lunch, you were patiently waiting for one hour before you were allowed back in the pool. There was no point in nap time right now as you all were way too keyed up about getting back in the water, so the plan was to let you all get back in gently and tire yourselves out, then go down for a late afternoon nap. Bucky carefully coated you in another round of sunscreen, having watched the clock religiously for the 80 minute mark that it wore off all day. You'd whined the first time about having to get out, but one quiet word from Daddy about "sunscreen or no pool at all" got you right back on track, and you were good about it from then on.

As he rubbed the lotion into your shoulders, your eyes wandered to the beautiful trees and lake. You saw a bunch of dragonflies zipping back and forth over the water, and your breath caught. "Daddy, look!" you said in a hushed voice, pointing. "Dey so pretty!"

Bucky smiled at the wonder in your voice. "You're prettier," he said, kissing the top of your head before going to work on the other shoulder. You giggled and blushed. "They're fast, aren't they baby?"

"Yeah! Dey go so fast over da water. Looks like fun!"

"Fun, huh?" Bucky said, getting an idea and grinning to himself. Once the hour-post-eating was up and the sunscreen had time to sink in, Bucky pulled your water wings back on you, picked you up and walked into the pool with you. He grinned when you looked at him confused, unsure of what he was doing. "You wanna go fast like the dragonfly?"

Before you could answer, he had flipped you facedown so you were hovering just above the water. He began zipping you around in a circle so fast all you could do was scream with laughter.

"WHEEEEEEE!"

"You're flying like a dragonfly, Trouble!"

"DIS IS DA BEST!!"

Bucky suddenly flipped you back up into his arms so he was nose to nose with you while you continued to giggle. "Even better than when Uncle Sam goes flying around with you which he's not supposed to do?" Bucky asked, mischief twinkling in his eyes.

"YUP!" You declared loudly and happily.

"Traitor," Sam called out casually from his reclined position in a beach chair. That made Bucky grin even wider before giving you an Eskimo kiss.

"That's my girl."

Bucky kept swinging you around, gleeful in his triumph, until you needed a second to breath. He set you down carefully so you could stand on your own in the cool, shallow water. You were still trying to catch your breath from laughing, when you saw it.

A dragonfly had gotten stuck on the inside ledge of the pool, where you could sit in the water. Its wings were drenched and it couldn't get out, no matter how hard it struggled. You gasped, and began doggie paddling your way over to it. As you got closer, you realized that the waves you were creating kept washing over and rewetting the poor dragonfly, so you slowed down.

Intrigued by your sudden fixation, Bucky called out. "What do you see over there, Trouble?"

"Dragonfly," you whispered back. Bucky began slowly making his way over to you so as not to create waves himself. He knew that you weren't partial to bugs except from a distance and wanted to be close in case you needed help. So it surprised the hell out of him when you gently scooped the dragonfly off the ledge and carefully placed it on the pool perimeter. His eyebrows nearly flew off his forehead. You had never voluntarily touched a bug in the entire time he'd known you.

You leaned your arms against the ledge, looking at the sopping wet dragonfly in wonder. It was the prettiest green color, dark and shiny like when Loki wore his suit. Its transparent wings, even though waterlogged, were like bits of the most delicate tiny golden lace. You tilted your head again, studying it with all your might, when Bucky perched next to you.

"Good job saving the dragonfly, baby," he praised.

"Tank you!" you replied happily, but your eyes never left the insect. "Hims getting dry, hims too wet from da pool." You moved slightly to your right to get a different angle. That's when you noticed that one of the dragonfly's lower wings was folded a bit, sticking to itself. You turned quickly to your Daddy.

"Lookit, his wing is folded!"

"So it is."

"Gotta help him," you said determinedly, before starting to walk your hands along the edge of the pool, your eyes scanning the perimeter.

"Whoa, whoa, hold up there Trouble," Bucky said quickly, taking a large side step and stroke. "Where do you think you're going?" His hands stopped you from continuing your journey towards the deep end.

You looked up at Bucky, a bit surprised. "Gotta help da dragonfly, Daddy," you said, wondering what he had missed in your last statement.

"By going in the deep end? I don't think so."

"Oh. Didn't mean to go into da deep end. I looking for something to help his wing."

"I don't know if we-" was all Bucky got out before you shrieked with joy, then pushed yourself up on the step a bit and lunged forward. He couldn't see what you grabbed before you had already flung yourself back into the water and were dog paddling your way back to your new friend. Bucky just walked next to you, his hands at the ready just in case.

You carefully approached the bug again, and gently lifted the stiff leaf you found. Oh so very very carefully, you smoothed the leaf under the wing gently, helping to unfold it. You slowly slid the leaf under the wing so it wouldn't stick to the wet pavement, then carefully swam backwards.

For the next fifteen minutes, you absolutely could not take your eyes off the dragonfly. You gasped when it fluttered its upper wings a bit, when it tilted forward as it tried to move, and when it was finally able to lift all four wings. You squawked loudly at anyone who got close and made waves that threatened to wash over the edge, but after a while everyone became invested in the saga, watching closely or from a poolside chair. When the dragonfly suddenly took off, darting up into the clear blue sky, the cheer that arose from the team was deafening.

Your goal instantly became search-and-rescue for any other possible bugs that might need assistance (with Bucky and Steve keeping a close watch out for hornets and wasps). You used your leaf as a bug life raft to help a ladybug and a little moth. You stayed right by their sides until they were okay enough to fly or toddle away.

Later on that night, Steve and Bucky chuckled to themselves when you passed out nearly instantly upon being put to bed, having absolutely exhausted yourself from so much fun and heroics today. They turned the baby monitor and nightlight on, and pulled your door almost all the way shut.

"That's a very sweet and caring baby we have, Stevie," Bucky said, interlacing his fingers with his husband's as they walked down the hallway.

"She's the best," Steve said, glowing with pride. "And...look what I found. She's gonna love this." He tugged Bucky into the living room, turning on the TV and switching over to your favorite app. "Check it out. There's a Pixar movie called 'A Bug's Life'. We should watch it tomorrow with her," he said, grinning.

"Oh, she's gonna lose her mind."

"Yup. But we need to make sure we're on the same page before we let her watch this."

"What do you mean?"

"We are NOT getting a terrarium, flea circus, ant farm- NOTHING- no matter how cute this is or how much she begs."

"I'm with you on this one, Lima Charlie. No doubt about it. United front."

But they never said they couldn't buy you dragonfly stuffies....

[ilysungho]

i think that having separate places for separate activities is good for the brain to an extent, but if i'm being honest, it also depends on where most of your motivation lies. if you're most motivated on your bed, then i'd say that it's still debatably "alright" since it means you could still get your work done (ignoring the cons of not separating spaces), compared to if you were sitting somewhere else, like a desk, but you just have no focus. lap desks are amazing, i use them to study overnight sometimes, whoever that made it are lifesavers. have fun at the library by the way. i absolutely love libraries, there's just something about it that i find very relaxing, pretty good place to do your work too.

also yes, i'd say today was pretty relaxing. i ended my classes and didn't have anything else, so i had time to bring my dogs for a run. i'm fortunate enough to have my uni close where i could just drive to and fro so i didn't need to dorm, but i've been looking at apartments. i'm a little more worried about my pets (specifically my dogs) however, it's not that my family doesn't take care of them, more that they're not a fan of me leaving and returning daily, imagine if i move out? it's a mess. i leave in the morning after feeding them, come back after i finish my things and they're just upset that i left them. they're basically lapdogs at this point.

i'm excited for both the vampire riwoo mini (if you post it (please do) that is.) and the other ask i sent you previously. i feel very spoiled, just happily scarfing down everything you have to offer.

p.s. i hope you had a good gym session, i yapped quite a lot too, oops. i'll send the sungho and riwoo ask later on when i finish my essay. it's due soon so i have to work on that sadly.

love, 🎈

hi lovely! yeah i totally agree with you on that. it doesn't really matter where you are if you can't get the motivation to get stuff done... and omg i'm honestly so glad to have my lap desk, i love it SO much!! and well... i've been sorta procrastinating getting off my bed so i've just been rotting... but i gotta get ready for class and then work on projects... life is tough </3 will definitely be at the library tomorrow though since i'll be watching a movie with my friend after at the theatre AHHH i'm super excited for that! on another note, it sounds stressful having to worry about your pets when you're thinking about moving omg :( i hope everything works out! it sounds like your dogs really love you though. my mind is jumbling up all the words on what i want to say right now but yeah... maybe taking a step away will be a way for them to also grow and get used to not being with you when you're there. i'm not really sure how to say it properly though; i've never had pets after all. but i suppose their emotions are similar to humans, they just express it in their own ways.

i saw your response to the vamp!riwoo mini! i'm glad you liked it hehe i'll respond to that later tonight or tomorrow depending on how much work i get done with. don't worry about yapping either, i love hearing everything people have to say <3 i'm excited to answer the asks you've sent, as well as the rest of my lovely anons! take care sweetheart, and have a good day/night!

[marjansmarwani]

I don’t feel alive if i’m not in the fight

1.7k || ao3 

TK and Nancy steal the ambulance and Carlos has concerns ---- A 2x14 missing moment

Titled “TK and Nancy do Crime” until a few minutes ago this one is really all about the friendship vibes. 

---------

“So,” Nancy said as she and TK climbed into her car, “part one is stealing an ambulance, clearly. I’m more curious about part two and this mysterious child care you offered.” 

“It’s not that mysterious,” TK admitted as he pulled out his phone, “it’s Carlos’s day off.” 

Nancy raised an eyebrow, “And you think he’ll be happy to spend it with a pair of 8-year-olds? That’s a bold assumption, Strand.” 

“Carlos loves kids,” TK counters with a roll of his eyes, “and kids love Carlos. It’s a win-win.” 

“No, Carlos loves you and that’s why this is going to work,” Nancy countered and TK grinned, trying to ignore the blush he could feel creeping up his cheeks at the matter-of-fact way Nancy said it. He opened his phone instead of answering, tapping on Carlos’s name on the top of his favorites list. It rang once before he picked up, voice somewhat frantic. 

“TK! Are you okay? This storm…” 

“I’m fine, babe,” TK assured him evenly, “how about you? Everything okay there?” 

“Yeah,” Carlos replied, relief evident in his voice, “everything’s fine. Buttercup and I were just outside surveying the damage. Nothing too bad, by the looks of it.” 

“That’s good,” TK agreed, relieved that nothing serious had happened at his dad’s house. He didn’t think any of them could handle one more loss of a home. “But I do have a favor to ask you.” 

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not on your way home?” Carlos asked, voice suspicious.  

“Because I’m not,” TK admitted. “We were watching the coverage and there are no medical teams out there, Carlos.” 

“But your ambulance is still locked up in the AFD garage, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah,” TK agreed, “Nancy and I are on our way there now.”

Carlos was quiet for a second before he asked a question that sounded like he already knew the answer to, “TK, are you and Nancy about to steal an ambulance?”

“No!” TK retorted defensively, “We’re just borrowing it. We’ll put it back when we’re done. Besides,” he added, “it is our ambulance.” 

“And Captain Vega is on board with this act of larceny?”

“She is, which brings me to the favor,” TK said quickly, “would you mind watching her girls? Everyone else is on shift and Grace just went back to work today so there is nobody else and…” 

“Sure,” Carlos responded, cutting off TK’s rambling. 

“Really?” TK asked, surprised. It wasn’t that he had thought Carlos would say no, he just hadn’t been expecting him to agree so readily. 

“Really,” Carlos confirmed. “I like the girls and it sounds like Tommy could use all the help she can get. Besides,” he added, voice going more serious, “these aren’t exactly normal circumstances.” 

“When are they ever?” TK joked, but it wasn’t as light-hearted as he would have liked. There has been so much happening lately and he would be lying if he said it wasn’t weighing on him. He knew he wasn’t the only one. 

“That’s fair,” Carlos agreed. “But still, I’m happy to help. Just promise me you’ll be careful out there, and try not to get arrested stealing an ambulance. It would be awkward to have to bail my boyfriend out at my own precinct.” 

“Good news then,” TK quipped, “I don’t think the AFD garage is in your jurisdiction.” 

There was quiet for a second before Carlos’s voice sounded again, “You do realize that’s worse, right?” 

TK was saved the trouble of replying as Nancy pulled into the parking lot of the department garage. 

“Gotta go babe, we’re here!” He said instead, pausing for a moment before he hung up the phone, able to sense Carlos’s unease even from here. “And we’ll be careful, I promise.” 

“Can you at least text me when you leave to let me know you did not in fact get arrested?” Carlos asked wearily, “Because if I don’t hear from you in the next half hour I’m going to assume you did.” 

“You’d know anyways,” TK reminded him brightly, “you’d be my one phone call, for sure.” 

“I’m flattered,” Carlos deadpanned, but TK could hear the smile he was trying to hide. “I love you, be careful.” 

“Always am, and I love you too.” 

He ended the call and went to unbuckle his seatbelt when Nancy spoke from the driver’s seat.

“I didn’t think it was possible but you two are just as nauseating when you’re not even in the same room.” 

“You’re just jealous Gillian,” TK fired back with a cheeky grin. “Besides, he agreed to babysit.” 

“That seemed like an awfully long conversation for just that.” 

“He also had some concerns about us stealing an ambulance,” TK admitted, climbing out of Nancy’s car as he spoke, “but I told him it’ll be fine. It’s barely stealing anyways.” 

Nancy shook her head but didn’t argue, choosing instead to follow TK’s lead out of the car and into the garage. He led the way to a side door that swung open easily before they stepped in. The ambulance wasn’t hard to spot, the side with Tim’s name painted on it clearly visible even from the doorway. They both stared at it for a second before Nancy nudged TK. 

“You said you knew where they kept the keys?” she whispered, and he nodded. 

“Yeah,” he replied, matching her volume, “I’ll go grab them. Can you go and start checking the supplies?” 

She nodded and TK grinned at her before slipping off to the side, disappearing around a corner. Nancy headed forwards instead, approaching the ambulance with reverence. After everything that had happened, just seeing the familiar vehicle brought her a small amount of comfort. She opened the back doors when she reached it, climbing in and taking a second to appreciate the familiar sight and feeling before she set about checking the inventory. 

She was so focused on the task at hand that she didn't even notice the sound of approaching footsteps until they stopped in front of the open ambulance doors. Even then she didn’t look up until an unfamiliar voice sounded from outside: “Gillian?” 

She turned sharply, nearly dropping the handful of wrapped syringes she was holding as she looked towards the figure standing outside the door, “Neiman? What are you doing here?” 

“What am I—you’re the one in the back of an ambulance parked in a secure facility, Gillian! What are you doing here?”

“Not stealing our ambulance?” she suggested tentatively. The new arrival — Clark Neiman, who Nancy had worked with during a brief stint at the 121 — groaned and ran a weary hand over his face. 

“I do not get paid enough to deal with this,” he lamented and Nancy nodded sympathetically. He studied her for a second and sighed. “Look,” he began, “I’m sure you have a very good reason to do whatever it is you’re doing, but I’m in charge of the ambulances that come in and out of here. If one were to go missing, I’m the one that has to answer for that.” 

“And I hear you, really,” Nancy agreed. “That’s a tough spot to be in. But have you seen it out there? It’s chaos and there are not enough medics to cover it all. But we have a team ready and willing to get out there, we just need the ambulance.” 

She threw him a hopeful glance, doing her best to look convincing. After a moment he sighed, “At least tell me you weren’t planning on hotwiring it?” 

“No, we’re getting the—” but she was cut off by the sound of quick footsteps and she trailed off with a wince as her partner came into view. 

“I got the keys!” TK’s voice proclaimed as he jogged over, coming to a halt when he saw Nieman by the doors, his triumphant grin falling from his face. 

The three paramedics studied each other for a tense moment before Nieman threw up his hands. “You know what?” he declared, “I didn’t see a thing. And I think the security cameras are on the fritz from all the dust. They might just be down for the rest of the day.” He turned to walk away before pausing and turning to Nancy one more time, “Just try to bring it back in one piece, please?” 

Nancy nodded and gave him a grateful smile, “We’ll do our best. Thanks, Clark, really.” 

He shook his head before turning away again, “Don’t thank me — literally, I mean that. I was never here.” 

With that, he was gone and Nancy was left with just her handful of syringes and TK’s curious gaze on her. She met his questioning eyes with a shrug, “What?” she challenged, “You think you’re the only one with secret knowledge of the department. I’ve been around, I know people.” 

“Uh-huh,” he agreed, still not convinced but she just rolled her eyes. 

“You’ve got the keys, I’ve checked the supplies — are we doing this or what?”

“Not having second thoughts?” TK asked her as she climbed out of the back of the rig. 

“Did you just miss the part where I talked the guy in charge of the ambulances into letting us steal it? I am very much in this, Strand; you’re not getting rid of me that easily. Besides,” she added with a grin as she climbed into the passenger seat, “If we do get arrested I’m pretty sure Carlos would bail me out too.” 

“You think so, huh?” TK asked cheekily as he slid the key into the ignition and started the ambulance. 

“Oh, I know so. He wouldn’t leave me to rot in prison; he knows I am the only thing keeping you from doing reckless stupid shit in the field.”

TK made an indignant sound but she only grinned in response, buckling her seatbelt and looking at him expectantly, “Well what are you waiting for?” she asked, “There are people who need to be saved.” 

“126 to the rescue?” TK asked as he shifted the ambulance into gear and drove towards the exit, leaving the garage and any chance that they had not just stolen AFD property behind. 

“You know it,” Nancy confirmed with a nod and a grin. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

[helbertinelli]

since she grew up a temple kid. It provided a common ground and a similarity that I don't feel like Anakin ever had in the movies with the other Jedi. It really does seem like to them Anakin is just... on an entirely different spectrum they understand. If there were temple raised kids who were as connected to people and emotions as Anakin was I think they'd be better equipped to help put him at ease and not react like Anakins being unreasonable when he speaks up against things he doesn't agree

Oh oops, I didn’t realize this was a multi-part ask when I answered it, so I’m going to add all the parts here for continuity’s sake:

Just gotta say, the number one WORST thing about TCW is how much they aged Anakin. He was a BABY, not just baby-faced, but a barely-even-an-adult GENERAL for a fucking galactic army of slaves. Such a big part of Anakin's tragedy is how young he is. How much all of that responsibility, stress, PTSD, emotional disconnection, etc weighs him down. I... really dislike how they made him look so weary in show, because Anakins so used to and so good at hiding everything behind a façade. Being so young (1/4)

and being the face of the Republic is.. so important in his break down and how it was so easy for the people closest to him (like Obi Wan) to truly believe he was just as fine as he claimed he was. Also one of the things I have against Ahsoka purely as a character that was even developed, is that... She takes away from from the isolation and alienation Anakin had felt around the other Jedi. Even though she left and it was due to betrayal from the Jedi... She was far too like Anakin especially (2/4)

since she grew up a temple kid. It provided a common ground and a similarity that I don't feel like Anakin ever had in the movies with the other Jedi. It really does seem like to them Anakin is just... on an entirely different spectrum they understand. If there were temple raised kids who were as connected to people and emotions as Anakin was I think they'd be better equipped to help put him at ease and not react like Anakins being unreasonable when he speaks up against things he doesn't agree (3/4)

with. And they'd be far better at keeping him "in line" and have him respect and listen and obey the rules of the order. Instead of, you know, everything he does in canon pretty much (which is also why I don't think Obi Wan knows about Anakin/Padme until the very end or that he ever had a real romantic relationship with anyone. There's just some kind of emotional comprehension/knowledge Obi Wan lacks when it comes to Anakins feelings for Padme), (4/4)

Yeah, I agree with this. Ahsoka was in many ways a plot hole to SW. Anakin being given a Padawan is really weird given how little the Council trusted him in AOTC and ROTS. I doubt they would have given him the responsibility of training a Padawan. Ahsoka existing in Anakin’s life came at odds with how Anakin’s relationship with the Jedi Order was portrayed. I feel like she would have been way better if she was the Padawan of Obi-Wan or of another Jedi.

I remember GL saying that he made Ahsoka so that people could relate more to Anakin and show that Anakin matured, but I don’t think that him looking after a child and training a Padawan made him more relatable. Him being out of place and trying to fit in, him not knowing how to deal with his feelings, him being so close to having a good life and then that life slipping through his fingers, him dealing with all of his pain and all of his loss, and him falling in love and loving Padme more than anything in the world make him more relatable than being a Jedi master to a Padawan.

 We didn’t really need Ahsoka as proof that Anakin matured between AOTC and ROTS. We already had Anakin getting married, Anakin losing his arm, and a whole war starting where Anakin had to watch a lot of people die and a lot of lives lost to understand why Anakin is different than in AOTC. I never felt like there was an unexplained discrepancy between how Anakin acts in AOTC and how he acts in ROTS. It all seemed to flow naturally if you just watch the story.

Anakin in TCW seems to feel at home with the rest of the Jedi Order, he is actually shown to be more comfortable and happier with other Jedi than he is with Padme. It’s rare (if ever) in TCW when Anakin is challenged by or goes against another Jedi (Barriss doesn’t count because she was a villain), but he fights with Padme a lot (a lot for their relationship where they almost never fight). He seems to be accepted and well-liked by the Jedi Order and the Council and he seems to be mistrusted and doubted and viewed as a burden by Padme. Which is the opposite of how those two relationships are supposed to go.

And honestly, I’m starting to see why people say that was a different character in TCW, because 1. We only see the part of Anakin that’s the war general, and we only rarely see the part of Anakin that’s Padme’s husband and 2. His established relationships with other characters are changed, and because of that Anakin himself doesn’t appear to be the same character anymore.

[ssamie]

seven. STARGAZING

suna rintaro x fem! mitsuri reader

(kny x hq)

warnings: spelling mistakes,  3k+ words, italicized words/ sentences are her thoughts, mitsuri’s hair+eye color was used.

gen masterlist.      sakura mochi.

"why the hell is that brat crying?!" sanemi exclaimed in irritation as he threw a pillow at y/n's head

"ara~ dont be so insensitive, shinazugawa-kun" shinobu cooed at him "y/n-chan here had just been recently put into the 'friendzone', as she calls it" she said

"hah? that's it?" sanemi scoffed "i know someone who's been at it for years. atleast he's not bawling his eyes out like a child" 

"w-who is it, sanemi-kun?" she sniffled lightly as she raised her head from shinobu's lap "heh." sanemi sneered as he eyed obanai who has been glaring him down for the past few minutes "its that snake fucker-" 

oabani cut him off by quickly kicking him away, making sanemi's body hit the wall with a loud thud, leaving cracks onto the concrete upon contact. "you shouldn't listen to him." obanai said to her "he's just messing with you" 

obanai walked over to her side, taking her away from shinobu and situating her on his lap. 

"ara ara~ have fun you two" shinobu cooed at them as she walked away. but of course, not before sending a jab towards giyuu. "ara~ i bet you're wondering what that's like. right, tomioka-san?" she asked mockingly 

"well you better stop wondering since it's never gonna happen anyways" shinobu laughed "its not like anyone likes you here" 

giyuu didn't react, and simply stared stoicly at her. "im not disliked by people." he said. 

"whatever helps you sleep at night" shinobu cooed as she waved him off

"now.." obanai trailed off "who made you cry like this?" he asked "i'll kill them." he said, as kaburamaru hissed in agreement 

she sulked and slouched back onto his chest, playing with her hair as obanai rested his chin on her shoulders "well, i don't want you to kill suna-kun" she hummed 

"how would he become my husband if he dies?" 

silence. absolute silence. everyone in the room looked at each other before turning ghostly pale, looking nervously at obanai before innocently whistling and pretending to mind their own business. 

"your- your what?" obanai stammered as he let out a shaky laugh 

"my husband" she answered with a huff 

"i've been searching for so long, and who would've guessed i'd find him through highschool!" she squealed 

"ara ara~ b-but you said you were looking for a man stronger than you, y/n-chan" shinobu cooed out with a sheepish laugh 

"i doubt that suna person fits that description" giyuu commented 

she then suddenly perks up and shakes her head with a smile on her face. "nope! but suna-kun makes me so weak when he smiles or talks or blinks or sleeps or breath near me!!" she squeals 

"i feel like turning into a puddle when he talks! a puddle!!" she said 

she laid on the ground in a starfish position with a dreamy look on her face, "like this!" she said as to emphasise her point 

"i see! he sounds like a flamboyant man, indeed!" uzui exclaimed with a grin 

"w-well...i guess all you can do is hope he returns your feelings someday" obanai muttered "if he doesn't then im sure there's still someone out there who would happily love and care for you" he said 

"haha! simply marry one, two, or three flamboyant men you lay your eyes on!" uzui exclaimed with a laugh "im pretty sure you're the only one here who would want three lovers all at the same time" giyuu muttered 

"how unflamboyant of you, tomioka!" uzui sneered 

y/n looked back at obanai and curiously cocked her head to the side, "it's so weird.."

"how could you know so much about topics like these, obanai-kun?" she asked 

"how could i not." obanai mumbled bitterly as a gloomy aura surrounded his form. 

suddenly, a loud thumping of feet caught all the hashiras' attentions. the door slammed open, revealing a very frantic nezuko. she ran towards the love hashira and hid herself under her haori. 

"nezuko-chan?" y/n muttered curiously as she peeked under her haori to look down at the girl. "hmm" nezuko hummed back through her muzzle. 

suddenly, two sets of footsteps followed. as well as loud screaming. 

"nezuko-chaaannnn~" zenitsu cooed loudly "come here, nezuko-chan~" 

"zenitsu! leave her alone already!" tanjiro exclaimed in a frantic tone as he tried to hold zenitsu back "nezuk- aCK! WHAT IS THIS?! IS THIS HEAVEN?!" zenitsu shrieked as he caught sight of the hashira holding the girl in her arms 

"zenitsu! cut it out! let's go!" tanjiro scolded him as he dragged the blond away "NO NO! I WANNA SEE NEZUKO-CHAN AND Y/N-SENPAIII!!!" zenitsu wailed as tanjiro ushered him out of the room 

"leave it zenitsu! let's go eat so you can calm down" tanjiro said with a sigh 

"WAIT! I WANNA JOIN YOU!!" y/n yelled as she hurriedly ran after the two 

"wait-" obanai's words were ignored, seeing as she was already out the door, leaving a trail of dust behind her "i was gonna tell her she didn't have any money." obanai mumbled as he glanced at her bag, which was situated by the corner of the room. 

"hmm, mhhm" nezuko hummed as she sat herself beside sanemi 

"dont sit next to me, you eyesore" sanemi scowled "there's plenty of space there by tomioka!" 

"ara~ it seems even nezuko-chan doesn't like tomioka-san after all" shinobu cooed in pity "how sad." 

"shut up, woman." 

"ahhh, this is so good~" she said with a content sigh as she practically inhaled the bowl of ramen "tanjiro-kun, we should eat out together more often" she said "you seem to know a lot of good restaurants" 

tanjiro smiled and waved his hands dismissively, nodding his head as he placed more food into her plate. "its no big deal, y/n-senpai. i used to come here with nezuko a lot" he said "and, we should definitely eat together more often!" he said with a smile as sparkles seemed to surround him 

'my god.' she breathed in and out 

'tanjiro is so cute! and so nice! he would definitely make a good husband!' she thought to herself 

'and zenitsu..' she trailed off, her eyes slowly averting towards the blond 

'zenitsu is so.. SCARY?! WHAT'S WITH THAT FACE?!' 

she smiled shakily as she caught sight of zenitsu's grim expression, paired along with a glare as he mumbled angrily to himself "what's bothering you zenitsu-kun?" she asked him 

"what's bothering me? what's bOTHERING ME?!?" he shrieked "I SHOULD BE THE ONE SITTING NEXT TO YOU, Y/N-SENPAI! BUT INSTEAD THAT FOREHEAD BOY TOOK MY SPOT!" zenitsu scowled 

"AND YOU!" tanjiro jumped as zenitsu pointed an accusing finger to his face "YOU'VE BEEN STEALING MY THUNDER, HAVEN'T YOU?! YOU'VE BEEN TALKING HER UP SO SHE WOULDN'T BE MY WIFE! YOU'RE SO CRUEL!!" zenitsu exclaimed 

tanjiro blinked in shock as he cluelessly shook his head in response "i wasn't doing anything like that!" he said 

"YES YOU WERE!!" zenitsu screamed in aggravation "now im definitely gonna be left alone. to die. to rot. to reencarnate as a miserable snail that never finds a mate!" 

tanjiro sweat dropped as he gave zenitsu a weirded out glare "what are you even talking about?" 

"ah, but look at it this way, zenitsu!" she chimed in "by sitting across from me, it's like we're on a date! that's usually how it goes with couples, you know?" she cooed as she placed her hands on top of his 

zenitsu paled as his eyes repeatedly dart from her and their hands. "a-a date?" he squeaked out 

"oh well... something like that" she chuckled nervously, not at all used to the blond being this quiet 

"i see." zenitsu stated in an unusually serious tone. "tanjiro." he turned to look at the burgundy-haired boy. "i can now die in peace. my life, dreams and goals are fulfilled. i can die a happy man." 

"what are you talking about?" tanjiro sweat dropped 

just then, a distinctive sound of a bell rang, signalling that a person had entered the doors. she looked back to see who has entered, all while still munching on a piece of meat and ignoring zenitsu, who was currently practicing his wedding vows. 

"suna-kun?" she subconsciously called out as she  recognised the person to be none other than suna rintarou himself

"oh, hey bunny" suna sent her a nod as he trudged into the restaurant, carrying a skateboard with him. 

"suna-kun!! hi! what are you doing here?" she asked him "im picking up some food for later" he answered mindlessly as he walked towards her table

"oh hey.." suna nodded at tanjiro and zenitsu.

"hi, are you a friend of y/n-senpai?" tanjiro asked with a kind smile "friend? more like a leech. he's interrupting my time with her!!" zenitsu whispered to tanjiro

"uh, yeah. she's also our manager" suna answered unbotheredly despite feeling zenitsu's glare on him

tanjiro looked at y/n, who seemed to be too immersed in suna's face at the moment, given that she was staring lovingly at him with lovesick eyes. "y/n-senpai, i think zenitsu and i need to go back to the dojo" tanjiro said with a soft laugh. he gripped zenitsu's haori as he forced the blond to stand and walk away despite his protests. 

"eh? really?" she asked them, "oh well.. okay.." 

"i guess i'll just pay for your guys' meals then!" she clasped her hands in delight as she pulled out a wallet from her pocket "oh no, it seems ive taken the wrong wallet" she hummed in feign innocence

she shrugged and made a shushing motion to the boys "oh well. don't tell giyuu-san~" she cooed 

"we won't!!" tanjiro exclaimed as he waved her goodbye. she waved them off, watching their figures disappear with a smile on her face. she laughed softly as she heard zenitsu's distant screams.

"that was cute" suna snickered "didn't know your friends were that nice. unlike that bandaged dude" 

she smiled apologetically at him and sighed "sorry about obanai-kun.. it takes a while to get on his good side, i suppose" she said "but hes a very nice person. you just gotta be patient with him" she said 

"i don't think i have the patience for that" suna yawned 

"anyways, sushi or tempura?" he asked "why are you asking me?" she asked 

"well, you're gonna be eating with me so might as well let you pick" he said with a nonchalant shrug. she blinked dumbly at him as she watched him start to skim through the menu "wait- why would i be eating with you??" 

"well usually, when guys take a girl out for dinner, they'd be eating right?" suna said with a chuckle 

'take me out.. ME?! AND HIM?!'  she panicked 

'DINNER?! but i already ate..' she looked down at her stomach, and sweat dropped upon feeling it rumble 

'nevermind.. im still hungry' she thought to herself 

"u-uhm.. sushi?" she answered with slight hesitance "sushi it is" suna said with a nod as he proceeded to order. 

'ahshhsjsj!!! is this a date?! am i out of the 'friendzone'?? ' she thought 

"good thing i have you with me. or else i'll have to invite tsumu out instead" suna gagged "that piss head's been testing me lately." he said "so i'd much rather spend time with my best friend" he said in a teasing tone, nudging her with his elbow as he laughed 

"a-ah.. yes.. right" she responded. she smiled blankly as she stared at the air before her, slowly feeling herself wither away into nothingness. 

"here you are, sir! takeout order for sushi!" the waitress announced as she placed the paper bag on the table "that was fast" suna mumbled as he paid her the amount

"ah thank you! sir and maam-" the waitress sweat dropped as she made eye contact with the pink and green haired girl. the lady was well aware that she had already eaten a full course meal a few moments prior. she had personally watched her inhale three bowls of ramen and two plates of pudding. though she still let her be. 

"anyways. i was heading to the skatepark, let's eat there" suna said "i didnt know you skate, suna-kun" she said with a soft smile as her eyes raked down his form 

'ahh, hes looking especially good with a sketeboard..' she thought to herself 

'he looks so cool' she squealed internally 

'calm down, calm down' she thought as she eased her erratic breathing down 

"its just a hobby i guess" suna shrugged as he stretched his arms over his head "i could even teach ya if ya want" suna said with a small smirk as he handed her the board 

her eyes landed on the board with a glimmer of curiosity. she smiled nervously and nodded "sure! though, I'd probably fall a lot.." she muttered 

"dont worry, i'll catch you" 

----

"y/n- y/n please just trust me" suna said with a grunt "it's not that bad!" 

"yes it is! it's so-wait suna-kun it's moving!!" she whined as the board skidded ever so lightly. "calm down" suna chuckled, with a strained smile as he felt her already deathly grip tighten even more around his arm 

"okay, how bout this" suna hummed out as he clasped her shoulders in his hands. "if you manage to learn atleast one trick tonight, we can go stargazing or whatever" 

'stargazing with suna.. stargazing.. suna..'  she chanted repeatedly in her head 

wordlessly, she snatched the board and placed it by the ramp, and skated down with ease. "..." suna stared at her from across the ramp as she landed with a flip. 

"so we've been going through hell and back for so long. when this whole time, you could do it all along" suna sighed "i was just motivated!" she exclaimed as she ran towards him 

"by what? stargazing?" suna chuckled as he ruffled her hair with his hand "exactly!" she replied with a bright grin 

suna shook his head with a smile as he led her to a bench, setting down his board on the ground and the bag of sushi between them  "you're just so adorable, aren't ya" suna said in a teasing tone as he playfully rolled his eyes at her 

'AM I?? AM I ADORABLE?!' she panicked 

"so." suna mused "how's your life going, bunny?" 

"ahm, it's nice.." she muttered back shyly as she took a bite of the sushi "how about you, suna-kun?" she asked him "how has your life been going?" suna shrugged and leaned back on the bench, eyes landing on the constellation of stars above them 

"its been normal. not much going on other than recording random fights at school" he said "but it's been fun having you around, bunny" he said as he turned to look at her

only to sweat drop upon seeing her mutter flusteredly to herself, all while her face burns a bright red color 

'he looks so cool and mysterious like that' she thought 

'he has such a pretty side profile!!' she fawned 

'his eyes are all sparkly from the moonlight and stars!!' she basically seethed as she screamed in her head

"hey, you okay?" suna chuckled as he taps on her forehead "uh im fine.." she muttered flusteredly as her eyes crossed to focus on his finger, which was still tapping on her forehead 

"heh, you better be or else im getting my ass beat by the twins" he said jokingly as he crossed his arms over his chest "the twins.." she mumbled, scratching her head as she pondered over a thought that seems to nag at her 

"the twins, the twins,, oh they're waiting for me at home!!" she frantically opened her phone and went to the messaging app. she smiled nervously as she was greeted with over a hundred texts from the two boys 

"ah.. i forgot about the movie night tsumu-kun proposed.." she chuckled sheepishly as she sunk down on the seat out of guilt "hm.. let's go then" suna said as he held his hand out for her to take 

"im in the mood to crash your guys' movie night" suna chuckled as he pulled her up to her feet

'ADJSFHJKL HANDS HANDS HANDS!!' she panicked 

she looked at their loosely intertwined hands. his grip was quite loose, almost not even there in the first place. his fingers tangled nicely with hers as they walked. it was a cliche she had never thought she'd experience. walking hand in hand with the person you admire under the moon and stars. 

'he's so warm..' she thought as she felt the slightest bit of body heat getting transferred onto her 

"alright. get ready to run, bunny" suna teased as his hand moved to grip her wrist "if you're too slow, i won't be comin' back for you" he taunted playfully as he started running while dragging her along

"okay! i'll run in full speed!" she huffed back with a  smile of determination as she pried his hand off her wrist and went to grip his instead 

"wait wait. not full speed. y/n-" suna chuckled nervously as he tried to plant himself down on the ground with his feet 

he was well aware that her body was simply built different, if anything. her speed, stamina, and strength was enough to make a grown man cry, and frankly, he was in no mood to deal with that at the moment. 

"okay, suna-kun! let's go!" she exclaimed as she started running 

"wait waIT WAIT-" 

-----

"welcome home, y/n" osamu greeted her with a small smile as he ushered the girl into the fort they had made 

"and goodbye suna" he said to the brunette before he could even step onto the porch "oi! let me in!" suna said with a grunt as he blocked the door from closing with his foot "i didnt go through all that for nothing" suna muttered as he waltzed inside their home uninvited 

"oi sunarin!! how dare you hog y/n-chan to yerself?!" atsumu snarled as he went to kick suna on the back "shut up you blond bitch" suna scowled as he threw a random pillow at atsumu's face 

"tch" atsumu scoffed childishly the blond then blinked curiously as a snicker went past his lips "oi sunarin, yer pussy bangs are looking worse than usual" atsumu laughed "what happened to ya?" 

"we ran so fast i think the wind split my skull open" suna groaned as he went to fix his hair "ara~ but i slowed down so you wouldn't be so tired, suna-kun" she said with a tone of concern 

"you slowed down? that was slow for you?" suna scoffed in disbelief 

"well anyways, i have something to tell ya, y/n-chan!" atsumu beamed as he slung his arm around her shoulder "i was supposed to tell you this, but that was before suna stole ya from me!!" atsumu hissed at the brunette 

suna didn't reply, but simply flipped the blond off in response. "what is it, tsumu-kun?" she asked him as she discarded herself of her haori "i want ya to meet a friend of mine tomorrow" he said 

"oh that's nice! i'd love to meet them!" she beamed happily "but one thing to consider" atsumu said in a warning tone. he threw a bottle of sanitizer at her and a pack of masks and latex gloves. 

"we gotta make sure yer clean"

[papabirdurskeks]

I ask this both for Baron Dark, Ariandel and SkekSo !

Give me a character and I will answer: @ben-the-hyena

Oh boy a triple feature! :D Here we go, folks!

Under a read more cause its going to get long but each listed character will be split apart evenly!

First up is Baron Dark!

Why I like them: He is just bombastic in personality! He lives loud in his actions and words, participating in most of the action himself while also showing he is a threat and menacing altogether! I also like that he is one of the few villains that shows he cares for his crew as a “family” (at least for most part of the series before being overtaken with obsession to have power more on his own). Given the dynamic we are given from the show, its obvious he cares and treats them all on a level of respect as well, something so rare to see nowadays! And I also enjoyed that his reasons to take over and do the shit he did in the series, “Because I can!” is just as refreshing and fun to see in a villain too!  And again, his design is a top tier design I love overall! Its menacing, powerful, and outright amazing! Definitely adds to the character and how well he works in effect to keeping my attention! Like just look at that design! And his VA did a wonderful job of adding to that charm that is just delightful to see in his personality! Overall, he is totally a villain I would love to see more of in the future!

Why I don’t: I say my dislikes often fall on the usual tropes of a kid’s show of the 90s. He talks too much when he could be doing things himself and falls victim to the typical “I am too powerful” but doesn’t think of the obvious steps ahead that will be his downfall. But honestly, its so small I don’t find it jarring or that bad to be in the way! It was the 90s and aimed at kids at the time, so we can’t expect TOO much out of that xD

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Oh man, that’s a tough one cause every scene/episode Baron is in he totally slays it! Its either a tie from the first episode to the very last one cause the stakes of start and finish are so well done, I love it all! 

Favorite season/movie: Obviously, the TV series is the best version of him! The comics sucked and turned him too OOC from what was initially given! Like how does one go from point A to be Z so freaking fast? xD

Favorite line: “Because I can.” Yeah, not gonna lie this was indeed my favorite line of his xD

Favorite outfit: Honestly, the outfit he gains near the end of the series is by far my favorite! Its like a mix of the Bejeweled Catacomb Saints and Mictlantechutli put in one and its befitting of the Baron given his gain in power! 

OTP: Baron and Cyborn are my OTP and are married, fight me. 

Brotp: Definitely Brotps with the rest of his henchmen though I see them more being like his adoptive children! 

Head Canon: Baron is of indigenous background! I also like to headcanon that the white tuft/strands in his hair are truly his and have been there since birth!  (I have so many more HCs for him but I will keep it short cause it can go all day x’) )

Unpopular opinion: Don’t think I have one, at the moment at least. 

A wish: To have gotten more information/lore on him and the entire cast, honestly! I would have loved to see more of his character explored and what more he could have had to offer as a series main villain! Hell, the whole damn series had so much to offer! And just the relationships he has with the others and what more he could have done post season and before! So much potential there to be explored! I honestly would not be objecting to a reboot/revival or continuation of the series! 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Though with that said, if a reboot does come around, don’t turn it into the mess of current cartoons we have. Not that they are all bad but most of them have been very disappointing in keeping my attention and liking. Keep the same type of messages it had before! It worked beautifully as it did then and still does work now! I’d love to see the same formulas used while also updating it to be more gritty and mature like they did for Castlevania! Just... Don’t turn it into a cringe worthy mess that will ruin Baron and all the characters in the series! Don’t do what the comics did! 

5 words to best describe them: Charmingly evil, badass, fun, conniving bastard, and menacing. 

My nickname for them: Mega dork (affectionately speaking)

Next is Ariandel!

Why I like them: Oh boy, there is a lot to say in terms of why I like him but I will try to keep it short and simple for time purposes!  His design is top tier for me! Like a rotting skull like face? Check! A monstrous body much like a bird’s? Check! And to add he is a giant Corvian, which are one of my favorite enemies in Dark Souls III!  His personality also differs from the usual loud, bombastic, and proud characters I tend to gravitate for. Instead, he’s withdrawn and rather sad to look at and hear. You know he’s going through a lot but don’t know exactly what it is. In game, one can sort of get hints as to what has gone on behind the scenes but at the same time, its still vague and hard to really pinpoint what really did happen. So he has that air of mystery to him that I honestly adore in many characters as it leaves room to explore deeper into their lore! But I also find his personality relatable as well as sympathetic.  But that’s just me, I can gush about him all day but I will cut it short here x’)

Why I don’t: To be honest I don't have any reason not to like Ariandel other then the small fact that he followed Friede and let the Painted World rot in such a terrible state. But that is so minor of an issue to me to really make a difference, lol. I adore this giant bird man!

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I have to say the scene where he ultimately snaps and breaks out of binds after seeing Friede's lifeless body before him is my favorite scene of his. The amount of pain and anguish heard in his scream and the way he moves prior and after; I can very much relate to that feeling. Sometimes, actions truly convey the emotions better in the most powerful means necessary. And this scene alone truly nailed it.

Favorite season/movie: He's only ever seen in the Dark Souls III DLC, so obvious answer points to the DLC!

Favorite line: "When the Ashes are two, a flame alighteth. Thou'rt Ash, and fire befits thee, of course..."

Favorite outfit: Uhh, he doesn't really wear any clothes save for his cape? So I guess the cape does him well as he is, though I always draw him without it xD

OTP: To be honest, I don't ship him with any canon characters within Dark Souls. Friede does not deserve him..

Brotp: Ariandel being best friends with the Ashen One is my ultimate Brotp! Just think of how much of a valuable ally he could have been!

Head Canon: I know his origins are debatable, as either theory I have for him can be plausible but I often lean more towards the idea of him being half Giant and half Corvian! IDK why but I just like it a lot more x’)

Unpopular opinion: While Ariandel is partly responsible for what happened to the Painted World, I still feel he was manipulated overall and probably at one point did have a change of heart before being forced into complete isolation. He plays more the role of the willing/unwilling accomplice then the actual perpetrator of the crime.  

A wish: He could have had a happier ending without having to die for Friede. I know, its Dark Souls. Such a thing is expected to happen in the Soulsborne series but its a wish, right? 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: That anything beyond the infatuation he had for Friede took place. Just.. No. He loved her but never could ever have her in that sense and never did. Just no, she is horrible to him. 

5 words to best describe them: Sad, lonely, birdman, withdrawn, and tragic

My nickname for them: Papa bird

And lastly for skekSo!

Why I like them: I think its as obvious as the case for Baron Dark. I like evil, smug bastards that shine through their wickedness and don't usually hold back. In the case of skekSo, I actually didn't care for him at first but then after my second viewing of the show, I started to like him more and enjoy his villainy! He's selfish, arrogant, vain, and conniving and I love it! Added that his design is really appealing to the eye and how he carries himself out, I gotta say he's one of the few villain characters from a show that makes the turn around for me to like them instead of hate them more. Also, his voice. Can NOT go wrong with that voice cause DAMN, its good and shows just how powerful a villain can be with a voice like his. And those eyes. Oh man, those eyes!

Why I don’t: Despite his villainy being the main point that caught my attention, its also a part of his downfall too. His constant greed and arrogance pushed him too far into doing what he did and ultimately cost him everything in the end; including loyal allies that end up dying for him in the long run. I hate how easily and quickly he changes his mind when actual logic is put into perspective of his plans and how quick he is to dismiss someone else when they don't please him anymore or things don't go his way for the smallest things. And yes, that is part of his character, I know that. That is what makes him as scummy as he is and why I love how trashy he is. But I also can't ignore just how easily he pushed skekVar away and believed skekSil despite knowing just what a lying bastard he is. IDK, it just feels too obvious but at the same time, it is what it is and I am not upset about it in the least x)

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Honestly, I enjoyed all the scenes with him in the show but mostly in particular with his interactions with skekVar, especially towards the end of the series. It showed a peak part of his vulnerability in his character that honestly I doubt he ever shows to anyone else. He spends most of his time pushing others around and making them fear him but with skekVar there is a sort of mutual respect going that really speaks out in a different way. Maybe I am just reading too much into it, but I always did enjoy how they interacted with one another!

Favorite season/movie: Well, skekSo didn't get much screen time in the movie other then him dying and turning to dust so.... Definitely enjoyed him more in the show then the film xD

Favorite line: "NOOOOO!" (Yes, this scene is still very infamous to me for personal reasons but the way he carried out his "no's" cracked me up each time xD)

Favorite outfit: Honestly, the main outfit he wore throughout the show. It's just so regal and goth, I love it! And as a goth and fashion enthusiast myself, I am all up for the style he has! The battle armor he wore near the end made it a tad more laughable to be honest.

OTP: I started shipping him with skekVar but ended up with an OT3 of skekVar and skekZok. So now all three of them live in a happy relationship with each other in my noodle~

Brotp: I see him being on neutral terms with skekMal! 

Head Canon: I feel that even in the show it wasn’t seen or given, but he did feel a lot of remorse and regret after the loss of skekVar. He seemed very close with him and spoke with skekVar with more trust then he did the others. Perhaps in secret he did mourn the General’s loss. 

Unpopular opinion: Does this count as an unpopular opinion? I know most people see him with just a few strands of hair but I tend to see him with a head full of long flowing white locks he keeps hidden beneath his clothes. It adds to the extra layer of vanity for a proud Emperor such as he! He looses it over time the darkening consumes him and withers down his health. 

A wish: To see what he was like as an urSkek prior to being split up into a Skeksis and urRu. Yeah, I know people don't care or like the urSkeks all that much but honestly, I would LOVE to see more urSkek lore and see what it was that made SoSu so special among his peers. It was said, after all, he had a voice that could move the stars but was conflicted and consumed with darkness. Honestly, I want to know why and who he was prior to all of this mess! SkekSo even says in the show he still has nightmares of the life before so I wonder, what they were and how it was! So much potential here, man!

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I don’t think I have any of these to be honest? At least with skekSo. Not that I can think of on top of my head now. 

5 words to best describe them: Proud, absolute piece of shit, pretty, conniving, and menacing. 

My nickname for them: Stupid idiot

[ssa-daddyhotchner]

Undercover - Chapter 2

Chapter Selection

It was too dark for me to see anything but I landed in something wet. I struggled to pull out my flashlight and used it on my hand when I pulled it up from the floor. 

There was blood covering my hand. There was white chunks which didn't make sense until I looked down. There were body parts scattered around below me. Bone fragments. 

I stayed quiet and looked around more with my flashlight; shining it on the walls. There were white sheets hanging to keep the blood off the walls. More part scattered around.

It smelled like death and rotting flesh.

Hearing shuffling from the center of the room I shine my light; I reveled Julia Martin. She had a gag, she was bound tightly to the table she was on with zip ties. Long gashes along her torso, arms and legs. 

I hear movement upstairs; it sounds like more than one person. Hotch. 

Something hit the wall, "Hotch!" I yelled to him but he didn't answer. I needed to get Julia out before I could help him. 

I find the strength to get up and walk over undoing her restraints and pulling the gag out, "I'm with the FBI, are you okay", She had fear written all over her face. 

Her breathing was erratic and she was shaking, "He's already here." She whispered those words. 

Luckily when I fell through It didn't damage the stairs too bad. Julia and I walked up the stairs to see Hotch with a man in cuffs. "That's him." Julia pointed to the man as we walked out

Aaron POV

"Hotch, there's something down here", y/n yelled to me. I knew it was best if I kept a look out seeing as the unsub was gone. I could hear her moving downstairs and something else. 

The floor boards behind me started to creek. I raised my gun slightly cocking my head to the side to try and hear it better. Someone was breathing behind me; they inhaled sharply and I jumped to the side and ducked around a wall. 

I snapped around the corner and was met with a bat. I moved out of the way and it hit the wall. "Hotch!", y/n called out for me. I got distracted and was hit in the mouth with the end of the bat. He went to swing again and I caught it throwing the bat across the room. 

I jumped at the man in front of me, slamming his back into the wall; grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and smashing him onto the ground. His face hitting the floor first. Bleeding from his nose and mouth. 

Julia and y/n were walking upstairs when she saw me. She nodded and me and I nodded back as she took her outside. I cuffed the unsub and brought him back outside. 

I called Prentiss, "Hotch did you find anything." I saw Julia staring at the man in cuffs while y/n was holding her. 

______________________________

Y/n POV

We go back to the station in lower DE where Julia's family is already waiting for her.

The unsubs name was Jacob Mann he had a history of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and just recently the kidnaping and murder of 6 girls. 

On the Jet I sit down, Morgan and JJ sit next to me, "You good? For your first case you fell through the floor." They crack a chuckle. 

"Actually I fell through the stairs but yeah I'm good just a little sore. The EMTs said I had bruising all on my back and ribs."

I glance over a Hotch, he's on the opposite end with Rossi and Emily; he's on his phone scrolling. His hands, the way his hair is back but there's a few strands of hair that fall on his face.

I was staring a little too long and the team noticed when they snapped me out of my thoughts. 

"Y/n, are you sure you're okay your spacing out." Reid said with a concerned look. "Yes guys I'm okay I swear." I can feel Hotch staring back at me but I avert his gaze looking out the window. 

Glancing to the side to see his eyes are on me then snap to his phone. 

"Y/n you gotta wake up we’re here", Emily was calling my name and everyone was waiting for me to wake up. 

As I walked off the jet Morgan offered to take me home but he lived too far. Hotch kicked off the SUV he was leaning on and approached me. 

"I can drive you, I'm closer and you are definitely not driving home by yourself." I didn't fight it; I said okay. 

I fell asleep in his car on the way, "Hey." He had his hand on my arm and tried to shake me awake.

"Mhmm." I felt my side of the car get cold when he opened my door. 

When I woke up I had a pounding headache from when my head hit the floor. Breathing was just as painful; every breath was a struggle. It was as if I was hit by a car. 

Walking into the Living room to get water and Hotch was in my kitchen with a cup of coffee. 

"What are you doing here", he held a cup of water towards me and some ibuprofen. "You told me to stay. I slept on the couch if you were wondering." 

Hotch had a tight navy blue t-shirt that hugged everything perfectly, along with a pair of grey sweatpants. It was a great sight to see but one I'd never get used to.

"I tried to wake you up last night but you were so tired; I had to carry you inside." He carried me inside. 

Hotch took a step towards me and leaned on the counter. He raised his hand to my cheek and used his thumb to rub circles on my face. "How's the bruising." 

He was gazing into my eyes like he'd never seen them before and I couldn't stop looking at his. "Its hard to breath. Hurts to walk a little bit and I can't really lay on my side." His face tenses slightly. 

"Where does it hurt." I picked up my hand and was rubbing my bruise. His other hand came up and was tracing patterns on my side, "Right here?" He whispered, I moved my hand to his waist. 

"Yeah", my voice was barely audible. We both started to lean in. 

His eyes flicking down to my lips and me to his. My breath hitched ready for what was gonna happen. 

Our lips were millimeters away from each other when Hotch got a phone call. 

We paused, we didn't move back or forward. Without looking away he answered his phone. I could feel his breath on my lips. "Hotchner." 

His face was right in front of me. My lips barely grazing over his soft lips. 

I wanted so bad to just lean forward more and from the looks of it he wanted to also. 

His eyes still locked on mine, hand on my waist and face. 

"No she's at her apartment", he stayed looking at me. "Got it we'll be in." 

"We have to head to the office", I hummed in agreement. His hand returned to my face.

I subconsciously leaned into his touch. He took that as a sign, as he inched closer.

I took a deep breath and pressed my lips to his. He tugged at my waist pulling me towards him. 

His lips moved against mine with ease, he was gentle and passionate. 

My hand made its way to his chest resting against his heart. My other hand made its way to the base of his neck deepening the kiss. 

Hotch exhaled and pulled away pressing his forehead to mine. "I'm sorry that inappropriate", he said slightly out of breath.

I looked back up at him, my hand never leaving him. "Hotch its okay." 

His gaze met mine as he moved his hand to my arm. "Call me Aaron." 

I gave him a smile. "Okay", I paused. "Aaron", he smiled taking a step back. 

"What was the phone call about." Hotch turned going to the couch for his clothes. 

"It was a remainder, Strauss wants the paperwork for the case on her desk by tonight." Hotch was getting the suit he wore yesterday. 

"If you wanna shower here that's fine", I said stepping out of the kitchen.

I was walking into my room to change; I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and Hotch was following me. 

I was stifling a laugh, "What do you think you're doing." 

"You said I could take a shower here." 

"Yeah I did, but you'll have to wait your turn." The corners of his mouth turning upwards. 

"And why's that, we'd get to work quicker." Staring at the floor then back up reaching to touch his arm. 

"Because Agent Hotchner, I'm not that easy." I said flirtatiously, I turned around and shut my bedroom door.

I heard him laughing then walking back to the kitchen. 

________________________________________

"Fuck", I whispered to myself. "What happened?", Morgan asked, turning In his chair. 

"Nothing", I sighed looking at my phone. "Now we all know that a lie, what is it hun." 

I looked at him and raised my eyebrows at the nickname. "It's honestly really stupid", It caught the attention of Emily and JJ. 

"What's going on here", JJ asked Morgan. "Oh nothing just y/n being very secretive." 

They all looked at me. "Yes...I'm secretive I just don't think it's everyone's business." 

Emily was quick to change the subject when she lowered her voice. "Did anything happen with Hotch." 

I was confused at the question and she continued, "Oh come on your really pulling the clueless card."

Reid joined in from where ever. "I noticed too he's wearing the same cloths from yesterday." My attention went to Reid.

"And how do you know that", they couldn't know. Nothing really happened but it made me nervous that they were wondering. 

"First his clothes are slightly more wrinkled, second ones obvious he didn't go home last night." 

I glanced at Hotchs office. He took a shower at my place he smelled like me. "How do you know that." I asked looking through his window.

Reid then went on to explain how he usually smelled and that how Hayley's not there anymore there's no reason for him to smell like a women. 

My voice lowered, "You're reading into thing's too much." My head lowering to like I was trying to sink into the chair. 

Morgan took notice, "Didn't Hotch take you home last night." 

They all stared at me making me wanna just get up and run. "Yeah he did but he left after I fell asleep, in my defense I did just fall 15ft onto concrete. He wanted to make sure there wasn't a problem." 

That response seemed to get me off the pedestal when they returned to work. Hotchs blinds were cracked open and I kept looking in eventually I stopped working completely. I was brought back to reality when I heard my name. 

"Y/n?" Hotch was standing outside his door. "Can I see you for a moment." I nodded and started walking eyes following my movements. 

Knocking on the door I hear his low voice, "Come in." I walk into his office and take a seat on the chair in front of his desk. He looks up at me from the paperwork on his desk.

"Talk about anything interesting." He stands up and leans against the desk in front of me. I shoot him a confused look. He nods towards the bullpen. 

"They were trying to figure out where you were. They realized you didn't go home last night." 

I stand up and lean next to him. "I'm assuming you didn't say anything." He asked taking a few steps standing between my legs with a hand on my waist. 

"No I'm a very secretive person, not really a big fan of other people in my business." 

"Oh is that so", he brings his face closer to mine softly kissing me. I mumble in the kiss, 

"Mhmm." 

I could feel his lips curling upwards. I peck his lips again and look at him. 

"Then next time I'll just bring my own." I raise my eyebrows and cock my head to the side, "Next time?" 

Hotch brings his other hand to my waist, "Well yeah, assuming you wanted there to b-." I cut him off with another kiss. "Of course I want there to be a next time", He smirked.

"Good", I had my arms wrapped around his neck as I pulled him in for another kiss. It was slow; feeling every movement we made.

We jumped away from each other sitting back down when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in", The team walked into the room to 'drop off paperwork'. they looked at both of us, studying us. 

When they left I looked at the blinds they were cracked open enough to know that me an Hotch weren't sitting down the whole time. 

We looked at each other and our eyes went wide. "What do I tell them, I got to go out there eventually." He stood back up going to the door with his hand on the handle. 

"Tell them I was showing you pictures of Jack on my phone." 

I squinted and lowered my eyebrows. "Who's Jack." Hotch grinned a bit. 

"He's uh... my son." 

"Oh, can I ask about his mom." 

He tensed up, "You don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable." He nodded his head and decided to drop the subject. 

He opened the door for me, "Bye Aaron." I walked past him back into the bullpen.

We watched me walk away; looking me up and down before shutting the door. 

Morgan and Emily watching the whole interaction, "y/n I'd say Hotch was checking you out." I tried to look surprised, "Yeah I'm not so sure about that." 

He didn't buy it, "No... he definitely was, maybe he has a little crush on you." 

I turned away and looked at the computer to hide the blush in my cheeks.

Trying to suppress a smile, "That's ridiculous." 

Morgan was chuckling, "Whatever you say mama." He went back to work

_______________________________

@mac99martin @donttellanyoneireadfanfiction @appleblossoms-posts

[moonlit-jeno]

love sick

Chapter 9- Jaemin

pairing: nct dream ‘00 line + reader

genre/warnings: angst, fluff, character death

words: 3.5k

summary:

He could have prevented both of their deaths. He should have prevented both of their deaths. But he didn’t.

He wonders what that means for the rest of them

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Renjun used to always say that time was an illusion. Granted, he was normally joking in response to Jaemin yelling at him for being late, but his words have never felt truer than right now. The days blend together, differentiated only by the routine house change and the occasional food run.

Right now he’s inside some store that is somehow still entirely intact, shelves stocked with rows and rows of food. His stomach growls. “What if we stayed here?” Jeno looks up from the package of green bread that he’s observing. “What, you mean like overnight?” “Yeah. It would make sense, right? Shit ton of food. Plus it’s sheltered, and I’m sure we could figure out the furniture situation.” He muses, observing the aisles. Jeno makes a noise of agreement.

“That’s actually not a bad idea. Let’s throw some food in the car before we talk to y/n and Hyuck about it.” Jaemin does his best to grab foods with the most nutritional value, which is hard when it’s all packaged. He nearly throws up when he gets to the meat section, all of it rotting away inside the glass cases. There are some yogurts that are still good and he calls out to Jeno, laughing as the boy pushes the cart and then jumps on the back, pretending to fly. 

Something pulls in his chest, the scene reminding him of the day it all started. Flashbacks pop up behind his eyes and he takes a deep breath, mechanically throwing yogurts into the cart to distract himself.

He’s so lost in his head that he doesn’t realize Jeno’s calling his name until the guy grabs his wrist. “Jaemin? You good?” Jaemin blinks and looks from his wrist to the elder, then down to the cart. It’s pretty much filled with yogurts, several containers on the floor, rolling down the aisles. He didn’t realize how aggressively he was throwing them. “Yeah, sorry. Distracted.” Jeno nods and lets go of his wrist after a minute. “Alright. Come on, let’s get back to the car.”

They’re about four aisles away from the exit when they hear it. The sound of sneakers scuffling along the floor, a loud pop as a bag is presumably stepped on. Jaemin’s eyes widen and both boys freeze, making terrified eye contact. “What do we do?” Jaemin mouths, trying his best not to make a sound. They’re way too far from the entrance to make it. Jeno gives him a look that says “Why are you asking me?” and shrugs helplessly.

The footsteps have stopped and the store is now eerily quiet, every other sound drowned out by the frantic beating of Jaemin’s heart. He grabs the gun out of the cart, looking back at Jeno. Jeno nods, creeping forward slowly with him. He uses one arm to push Jeno behind him.

His head is pounding and he’s breathing too loud, but the more he tries to calm himself, the more he freaks out. They peer into one aisle, finding it empty. Jaemin doesn’t know whether to feel relieved or not.

The next aisle is just as empty. Jaemin’s beginning to wonder whether they just imagined the sound. He hopes they did. There are only two aisles left until they can bolt to the car.

Jaemin slowly peers into the next aisle, eyes widening as he’s met with the barrel of a gun. His heart stops beating and he stands frozen. Jeno makes a noise behind him and he snaps back into himself, raising his own gun jerkily.

“Are you infected?” The person behind the gun demands, nudging Jaemin’s forehead with the the point of it when Jaemin takes too long to respond.

“N-no. No, we’re not.” His voice breaks and he has to clear his throat, try again. 

Jeno’s hand brushes over his arm, gripping onto it tightly, and Jaemin flinches. “Are sure?” Jaemin’s eyes are zeroed in on the finger on the trigger, how it twitches ever so slightly. “Yes, we’re fucking sure! We’re not infected!” 

There’s a moment where Jaemin is sure he’s about to die, but then the gun is lowered, and Jaemin is face to face with a boy who looks to be no older than Jaemin. He smiles brightly at them. “Hi! I’m Chenle. Jisung’s hiding somewhere.” It contrasts the mood so starkly that all Jaemin can do is stare at him before breaking into a nervous laughter. “Uh, okay. Okay, cool. We’re gonna leave now.” “Are you going to take anything? Or were you just visiting to admire the place?” Chenle asks, tucking the gun into his waistband before raising his eyebrows at them. Jaemin flushes, looking back at Jeno. Jeno looks ready to fight the kid. “We were grabbing food before you decided to hold us at gunpoint.” Jeno explains through clenched teeth.

“Hey, you also technically held me at gunpoint.” He motions to the gun still clenched in Jaemin’s hand. Jaemin startles and tucks the gun into his own waistband. He’d forgotten he had it.

“Right. Great meeting you, we’re leaving now.” Jeno turns to go back and grab the cart, Jaemin following. They rush towards the exit, but Chenle follows them. “Where are you headed?” He asks. “There aren’t too many places left to go.”

Jaemin shrugs, glancing out the window before pausing. “Dunno. We’ll figure it out later.” The guy doesn’t say anything in response. Jaemin waits a moment, but Jeno nudges him with the cart to keep him moving. He turns to leave.

They’re halfway out the door when another voice calls out to them. “Wait! Take us with you.” Another boy stands next to Chenle. He’s taller, has a deeper voice, but somehow manages to cower behind his friend. Something pulls in Jaemin’s chest at the sight.

“And why would we do that?” Jeno asks, eyeing the pair up and down. “We don’t know you.” “But we’re trustworthy.” Chenle shrugs. “And I’m good with a gun.” Jaemin can tell Jeno is done with this conversation. “Great. We’re good with guns, too.” “Not really. I just saw your gun skills and I’ve gotta say, they’re kind of lacking.” Jisung says. Jaemin feels a little attacked. 

“Still a no.” Jeno says at the same time that Jaemin says “Fine.” They turn to face each other. “What?” Jaemin makes a series of facial expressions and gestures that he hopes convey that he doesn’t want to leave these two alone and helpless. Jeno returns the expressions, his exasperation growing until he groans. “Fine. We have two other people with us, we’ll let them decide.”

Chenle and Jisung stay inside while Jeno and Jaemin take the cart out to the car. “This is a bad idea.” Jeno grumbles, glaring at Jaemin. “What if they rob us?” “Why would they do that?” Jaemin asks in place of answering. The fact that he can’t confidently say that they won’t rob them should be concerning. Jeno raises his eyebrow as Jaemin. “This is an apocalypse, Jaem. Why wouldn’t they do that?”

“Took you long enough.” Donghyuck says when they get to the car, hopping out to help them chuck the food in the back. There’s no annoyance in his tone, though. He sounds relieved. You hop out to join them.

“Yeah, well. We met a couple people.” Jaemin sighs, trying to figure out how to tell you and Hyuck what happened without raising concern. He focuses on the food as he recounts everything, not wanting to see your expressions.

You and Donghyuck are gaping at him when he finishes, twin looks of disbelief on your face. “And you want to take them with us? Are you insane?” Donghyuck asks, voice shrill. “Clearly, he is.” Jeno says. Both boys glance at you, probably expecting you to agree with them. You bite your lip. “Oh God. Don’t tell me you’re considering it. What if they rob us?” “I mean, it might not be a bad thing? Don’t forget, the only reason we know each other is because you broke into my house.” You point out.

Donghyuck scoffs. “Of course you would want more guys to come with us.” Your expression falls, hurt written all over your face. Jeno rolls his eyes. “I thought we were past this, Hyuck.” “Fine.” Donghyuck waves his hand and saunters back into the car. “Bring them out here, I guess it won’t hurt to talk to them.” Jaemin runs back to grab Jisung and Chenle, trying to appear threatening as he warns them not to pull any funny business. Naturally, you and Donghyuck look suspicious, gazes calculated as you analyze them. “Why do you want to come with us?” You ask the first question, looking scarily intimidating. Jaemin almost forgot how you acted when you first met them, grilling them about the zombie apocalypse that you didn’t believe in.

Chenle answers with his head held high. “We’ve been stuck here since the whole thing started. We don’t have a car, and there’s no way that we can travel on foot without dying.”

“How did you get here in the first place, then? And how is it that there’s no one else with you?” Your gaze is intimidating enough that Jaemin’s shaking and he’s not even the one being questioned. Jisung seems to try to shrink behind Chenle, who doesn’t even look fazed.

“This is my dad’s store. I used to open it sometimes, but I hated going alone so I brought Jisung with me. There’s no one else inside because I got a call the day everything went down, telling me to lock up and protect myself.” 

You narrow your eyes at him, scanning, before nodding to yourself. “Alright.” It looks like you’re about to agree to let them come with, but then you pause, eyebrows furrowing. “Wait. We walked into the store just fine. You’re seriously going to tell me that no one else tried to break in?” ”No, they did. I shot them.” Chenle smiles sarcastically. “You’re welcome.” The corner of your mouth twitches up and you hold his gaze for a moment before turning to the rest of your group. “Okay. I’m good with them.” “You’re not going to backstab us, are you?” Donghyuck asks them. Both boys shake their heads, hands held up. “We won’t, we swear.” The answer seems to satisfy Donghyuck. He nods at Jaemin.

Jeno’s the last one, but he ends up caving. “Fine. Don’t make us regret this.” Chenle and Jisung both smile. “Thank you! You won’t regret it.” They go to hop in the car but Jeno stops them with an outstretched hand. 

“Gun.” Chenle’s smile falters, but he hands the weapon over. Jeno turns to Jisung. “You too.” “I don’t have one.” Jisung replies. Jeno moves to pat him down and Jisung flinches back. Jeno levels him with a stare. Chenle squeezes Jisung’s hand reassuringly, and Jisung slowly relaxes.

Jeno pats him down quickly, taking note of the setting sun. He doesn’t find any other weapons. “Alright. Off we go.”

Jisung and Chenle end up making a great addition to the group. They seem to be complete opposites. Jisung barely talks and Chenle barely shuts up, his voice loud and laugh even louder. It only serves to make their interactions funnier to the rest of them. 

Chenle almost reminds Jaemin of Renjun, with his quick wit and sharp tongue. And Jisung is so timid and awkward that Jaemin can’t help but to basically adopt him. He’s two years younger than Jaemin and he quickly becomes the younger brother he never had.

Donghyuck never fails to join in on the teasing, Chenle cackling as you and Jeno watch from the side. Jaemin notices that you’re a bit more closed off from the two new boys, not that it’s hard to figure out why. You probably figure that Donghyuck’s ready to jump down your throat any chance he gets (he is). Plus, you’re already distant with him and Jeno. Why would you be welcome to newcomers?

Jeno’s a different story. He’s surprisingly fine with Chenle, finding the kid hilarious. Jisung… not so much. 

Maybe it has to do with the time Jeno made a bad joke and Jisung called him boring. Or maybe it’s like Donghyuck said: Jeno’s jealous of the attention Jaemin’s giving Jisung. It’s kind of funny to him, watching the older boy pout as Jaemin pinches Jisung’s cheeks.

Jisung has a little wallet sized calendar that he keeps with him, checking off the days to keep track of time. It’s a little disheartening to see just how long it’s been since the beginning of the end, that day marked with an x and a frowny face. There’s a smiley face on one of the days from last month.

“What’s this?” Jaemin asks, tapping the day with his index finger. Jisung looks over, confused, and then flushes red. He mumbles something inaudible. “What?” “That’s the day Chenle and I joined you guys.” Jisung looks away, clearly embarrassed, but the gesture’s so sweet and innocent that Jaemin’s heart warms.

Jaemin reaches over to pinch his cheeks, cooing at him. Jisung yelps and tries to bat his hand away. “Aww, you marked down the day that we met? Cute.” 

Donghyuck hears the chaos and runs over, attacking hugging Jisung from the back. “You really like us that much?” Chenle cackles as you and Jeno watch, laughing from the sidelines. There’s something different about your smile as you watch them. It’s brighter, happier than Jaemin’s seen you look in a while. It lifts his spirits even higher, if that was possible.

The house that they’re in right now is tiny, not leaving for a lot of space. It doesn’t really provide much shelter either; the walls are thin and there’s a draft that seeps in and chills him to the bone. There aren’t enough blankets for all of them so they have to improvise, snuggling up to each other. Jisung and Chenle are curled together across the room. You’re sandwiched between Jaemin and Jeno, Hyuck hugging Jeno from behind. You’re facing Jeno, which is fine, except that means that no one is hugging Jaemin and he’s cold. His eyelids are heavy and he feels dead tired but he can’t get comfortable enough to fall asleep. He’s about to get up and pull Hyuck on top of him when he hears it.

There’s a noise from across the room, a loud growl that has Jaemin bolting upright, looking around wildly for intruders. He doesn’t find anyone. 

Someone whispers an apology from across the room. Jaemin squints his eyes, trying to see in the dark, and Jisung sits up. The kid laughs sheepishly. “That was my stomach.” “Jesus, you scared me.” Jaemin stands. “Come on, let's get you some food. What do you want?” “A baguette.” Jisung doesn’t even hesitate. Jaemin raises his eyebrows, reaching forward to poke him in the side. “Kidding! I want oatmeal.” Jaemin boils the water while Jisung pulls a package of oats out of the box. He must accidentally splash Jisung with the boiling water when because he groans when Jaemin is pouring the water into the bowl.

“Shit, sorry.” “Hmm? That wasn’t me.” Jisung sounds confused. “Oh. Must’ve been Jeno, he snores sometimes.” Jaemin shrugs it off, but then they hear the noise again. It sounds closer, and it’s accompanied by a banging. His heart drops to his stomach. “Shit. Shit, grab whatever you can, we’ve gotta go.” Their escape this time is harder. It’s dark, for one, so none of them can see what’s happening. Plus they’re all half asleep. Jaemin almost loses his mind trying to explain the situation to a non comprehending Jeno.

“Jesus Christ, pay attention. There are zombies here. We heard them like, a minute ago. We need to leave.” 

You all huddle together at the front door, Jeno clicking the key to unlock the car ahead of time. Jeno runs them through it, yawning midway through his speech. “We run, we jump into the car, and that’s it. Don’t take time to get comfortable. As soon as your ass hits the seat, you scoot over and slam the doors shut. Ready?”

The grass is wet and Jaemin groans as he realizes he doesn’t have shoes, the mud slimy between his toes. It’s a miracle he doesn’t fall.

It’s another miracle that the zombies fall. They may be strong but they’re not too coordinated, and Jaemin glances back to see one running at them, only to slip and land on its face. It would be funny if it weren’t so damn terrifying.

Everyone piles into the car successfully, Jeno slamming his foot on the gas and speeding off. Jaemin turns to look around the car. ��Everyone okay?” Murmured agreements sound around the vehicle, and Jaemin sinks back into his seat in relief. The SUV only fits five people, Jisung being the unlucky one sitting in the trunk. There’s plenty of space back there and the boy has a clear view of the rest of them, so it’s not that bad.

Somehow the car is more comfortable than the house and Jaemin finds himself drifting off, heavy eyelids finally resting. He’s just about to fall asleep when he feels a bang, an annoying beeping sound filling the car. Jaemin fights the urge to throw himself out of the car. “Alright, who doesn’t have their seatbelt on?”

“Fuck, Jaemin, that’s not the seatbelt sign. The trunk’s open.” Jeno swears. “What? But it’s closed.” You say, turning around to look back. Jaemin’s about to agree when suddenly the trunk flies up. Jisung screams and reaches forward to grab the headrest. 

There’s an awful growling sound and suddenly the serene atmosphere is shifted into chaos. You yell Jaemin’s name and hand him a gun. Donghyuck and Chenle are both trying to pull Jisung into the backseat, the lanky boy having trouble fitting. He’s just about over when he lets out another scream, being pulled backwards with such force that he’s ripped out of their grips. Jisung just barely manages to grab onto the headrest.

“Get it off of me!” Jaemin’s eyes widen as he meets Jisung’s panicked expression and he swings the gun up, finger on the trigger. There’s a malformed hand around Jisung’s ankle and Jaemin makes the mistake of following the hand to the rest of his body. It’s a zombie, he knows it’s a zombie, can hear Jisung screaming for help, and yet…

All he sees when he looks at the face is Renjun. He gapes at the sight in front of him as he’s suddenly thrown back to a week ago, to Renjun sitting on the grass as he awaited his death. To months ago, the boy cackling as Jaemin woke up to find the scribbles left by a Sharpie and a bored Renjun.

He falters. There’s yelling in the background but it all blurs together in Jaemin’s ears until someone grabs his shoulder and screams “What are you doing?” That brings him back into the present and suddenly everything snaps back into focus. The zombie isn’t Renjun.

Jaemin raises the gun to shoot but it’s too late. Jisung screams bloody murder as he’s dragged out of the SUV, hands trying desperately to get a grip on anything that could possibly save him.

“No!” Jaemin throws himself forward to grab Jisung’s hand, but it’s too late. He watches in horror as Jisung’s body lands on the road, zombies swarming around him. It’s a gruesome sight, and he vaguely registers Chenle take the gun from him, watches as the remaining zombies fall to the ground. There’s a hand gripping his shoulder, keeping him in place, and it’s only then that he realizes he’s screaming, body trying to launch him after Jisung.

They eventually pull over to shut the trunk and get gas. It’s probably his turn to drive but nobody mentions it, not with the state that he’s in. His eyes are locked on the rear window, the scene replaying over and over in his head.

The panic in Jisung’s eyes. The desperation with which he clawed at the back of the seat. The fucking screams he was letting out as he begged, pleaded with Jaemin to save him. Because he could’ve saved him.

He should have saved him. It’s his fault. If he hadn’t frozen up, Jisung would still be alive. And why did he freeze up? Because he thought he saw his dead friend? It shouldn’t have mattered if it was Renjun, because it wouldn’t really have been Renjun. He would’ve had to shoot him anyways. But he didn’t.

It’s his fault Jisung’s dead. This is the second person he’s killed so far. Even if he wasn’t the one who dragged Jisung out of the car. Even if he wasn’t the one who turned Renjun or shot him in the head. He could’ve prevented their deaths. It’s his fault.

He wonders what that means for the rest of them.

[ralphspina]

Landing

A fun little something I wrote to fill one of the BoB LoveFest Prompts!

Prompt:  It's D-Day; George and Gene land near each other in Normandy and need to go find their company.

Read on AO3

----------------------

Helluva day.

It`s Luz`s first thought after he hits the ground and takes stock of his situation. It's dark and he's alone. He also seems to have lost his weapon and the damned leg bag. And his radio must have caught some shrapnel or something given the mini crater it now sports. His first day at war and he's already a mess. Fantastic. He gathers himself and the few belongings he has left and begins to make his way towards the tree line. After only a few feet, he hears a rustling sound just ahead of him.

“Flash!”

“Luz?”

The answering voice is immediately recognizable - only one person has that particular smooth accent.

“I don't think that's the right answer, Doc.”

There's a bit more rustling before Roe appears just in front of him with a half smile.

“Guess it's a good thing it was you then. You land okay? Anythin’ hurt?” Luz watches as Roe`s eyes wander over him, checking to make sure he looks uninjured. 

“All good, Doc. You?”

“I'm alright. You seen anyone else?”

“Nope, looks like it's just you and me.” Luz smiles at Roe, comforted a bit by the fact he managed to land near the medic. “Guess we'll have to go find everyone else. Good thing I'm a hide and seek champ.” 

They set off, Luz, upon his insistence, taking point, despite them both being equally weaponless. They move quietly for some time, glued to each others’ sides, only ever stopping to quickly consult their map and compass. 

Even with the sky just beginning to lighten as dawn approaches, it's still quite dark out as they make their way through what appears to be a long abandoned farm. Luz leads them towards the crumbling farmhouse, eyes trained a bit too much on their destination and not enough on the ground in front of him. There`s a loud crack followed half a moment later by an almost equally loud thud and then a quiet exclamation of oh fuck.

Luz sits in shock for a moment, eyes darting around his new, less than ideal, position several feet underground. There`s a scrambling sound and what Luz can only assume must be the Cajun version of oh fuck. Looking up towards the noise, he finds Roe`s familiar face peering down at him through a rather large hole framed by broken, rotting pieces of wood.

“You alright?!”

“Doing peachy, Doc! What do you think of my foxhole? Might be a bit deep, huh?”

The grin on Luz`s face is quickly wiped away by the sudden, near crushing, presence of Roe as he damn near lands on top of him.

“The hell are you doing?!”

“You hurt? How's your legs?” Roe is already kneeling next to him, poking and prodding Luz`s body, looking for injuries, as he asks the questions.

“I`m fine. And look, I'm touched, flattered even, that you would jump into a hole for me, but you do understand that we are now both stuck in this hole?”

Roe stops his examination to glance first at Luz`s face, then up at the hole he had just jumped through, and then around at their new surroundings.

“Must be an old cellar or somethin’.”

“That's nice. Glad we get to spend our very first day at war stuck in a dusty old cellar. Hey, what`s Cajun for guess we’re fucked?”

“George-”

“Ha! It sort of sounds like my name!”

The exasperated look on Roe`s face only makes Luz smile wider.

“Anyone ever tell you you look like an annoyed puppy when you make that face?”

The only response he gets is an eye roll as Roe gets up to look around. Luz follows suit.

“Maybe we’re lucky and this is where they stored all their ladders.”

There's a small amused snort from Roe`s direction as they search in the darkness. The space they find themselves in is both bigger than expected and emptier than hoped for.

“You really ain't hurt?”

“Jesus, Gene, I`m fine. You don't have to fuss.”

Roe huffs at the accusation of fussing, “Ain`t fussin’. Just seein’ if you`re alright to give me a boost.”

“Now that I can do! Can`t shoot any krauts or avoid falling into cellars but I can be a damn good step stool.” The ridiculously large grin on Luz`s face is met, well, with a look somewhere between amusement and mild irritation.

The added height of Roe on Luz`s shoulders ends up being just enough for Roe to grab onto one of the steadier pieces of board and haul himself out. He disappears from sight as soon as he's out and stays out of sight for longer than Luz cares for.

“Doc? Hey, Doc!”

No answer.

“Doc! Don`t forget your favorite radioman!”

Still no answer.

Luz begins pacing, staring up into the dark, impatiently waiting for Roe to reappear. After what feels like a thousand minutes but is actually closer to five, Luz calls out again.

“Gene! Gene, buddy! I don't want to die in a hole! Gene, I-”

“I`m right here! ‘S alright! I just went to look for a rope in the farmhouse.”

“Well, did you find any?”

The large box that comes crashing down into the hole beside him is the answer.

“Jesus, you really gotta give a guy warning before you hurl stuff down a hole!”

“Found a box.”

“I see that.”

“Stand on it and it should be enough for me to grab you and pull you out.”

“Yeah, alright. Just don`t drop me, okay? I`m a valuable resource.”

Roe does drop him. Several times. But eventually, the plan works and Luz is successfully rescued from the old cellar with only a few bruises and scrapes. As they sit catching their breath, Luz rips out a handful of grass and tosses it at Roe.

“You didn't have to grunt like you were hauling up a baby elephant, you know. I'm light as a feather! Maybe you need to work on those muscles, Doc.” Luz winks over at Roe who raises an eyebrow at him.

“Sure, if that feather`s made of lead. And glued to a baby elephant.”

Luz can't help the burst of laughter from the unexpected joke. Roe quickly clamps his hand over Luz`s mouth, shushing him as he does.

“I know I`m funnier than you, but you gotta keep it down.”

“Funnier than me?!” Luz`s words come out in a barely attempted whisper as they both clamber to their feet. 

“Mhmm. I`ll teach ya how to make real jokes later, but first we gotta find the rest of Easy.”

Roe grabs Luz by the hand and yanks him along. They walk like that for several minutes, Roe leading the way, determined, and Luz trailing just behind him in quiet amusement, his hand clamped firmly in Roe`s.

“You planning on holding my hand the whole way, Doc?”

Roe glances down at their clasped hands at the comment, quickly letting go and mumbling a quiet sorry, didn't realize. 

“No worries. When we get to a road, you can hold my hand as we cross it.”

Roe merely shakes his head and keeps moving.

“You know, it's okay to admit you enjoy my company, Gene. I`m an enjoyable guy.”

“My mama taught me not to lie, Georgie.” Roe mentally kicks himself as soon as the overly affectionate nickname leaves his mouth and he can't hide the shade of pink spreading across his cheeks. 

“Georgie?” Luz`s voice rises, delighted by the surprising endearment.

Roe makes a small sound in the back of his throat as his brain scrambles for something to say.

“Yeah, Georgie, like the rhyme. Georgie Porgie, pudding pie, kissed the girls ‘n’ made them cry.”

“For the record, no one has ever complained, or cried, over my kissing ability.”

“That you know of.”

All the while, as they bantered back and forth and slowly made their way in the direction of their company, Luz`s fingers had slowly curled into a fist, savoring the leftover warmth from Roe`s hand.

Helluva day.

[razorblade180]

The Real You pt6

[Warning, Parts 1-5 are really old. So their quality is eh...]

Love sucks, that’s the feeling our emotionally wrecked trio was having anyways. Each of them sat quietly while looking at an empty cake tray and devoured bowls of ice cream. They must’ve scarfed down enough sweets to make even Ruby sick, yet not even their slightly upset stomach could compare to the pain in their chest. Love sucked, but here they were, wishing for a way to grab a hold of it with both hands.

Yang sat on her couch all alone and stared at Jaune, who laid on her floor. His eyes fixated on the never ending weeping of the heavens outside. A fitting mood really. Yang still felt like letting her tears flow just a little bit. She couldn’t believe that she got cheated on, again. Technically this would be the first time but the series of events and feelings were scarily familiar to what happened with her partner that it was hard not to draw certain comparisons.

Jaune finally noticed her gaze and stared back. He could tell just from one look how much she was trying to keep herself together for everyone’s sake. He had no doubt that he had truly broken Yang’s heart and that in return made him feel utterly sick beyond belief. How could he do something so awful, sleeping with Neo? The feelings towards the girl in question only made it worse. It was one thing to give your body to someone else that you weren’t dating, but it was far worse when you were also emotionally invested. Jaune couldn’t bear to see the look of sorrow on her face. He’d turn away but Jaune Arc would not run from his mistakes. His lack of judgement got him into this so he would take all forms of punishment to show how much he ached from his decision. Yang Xiao Long deserved better.

Neo sat at the table, watching them both. The girl methodically fiddled with her empty spoon as she tried to deal with her guilt. Why was being a good person so hard? It wasn’t a foreign concept, not completely. Treat others the way you wanted to be treated, don’t let negative thoughts decide your actions, use your talents to better the world; Neo wasn’t sure that last one was possible. The girl pursued a man she loved for selfish reasons, knowing good will those moments of bliss would rot and decay in no time at all, poisoning the very person she wanted to impress.

“You’d think after all those sweets, the three of us would be on any sort of high right now?” Neo said, her head resting on her arms. She didn’t care what response they’d give her. Any words were better than silence. She knew that better than anyone. “Where do we go from here?”

“Dunno.” Yang said, “I can barely keep my own thoughts in order.”

“Share em. No use holding anything in, especially against me. I’ll take the punches, physically or verbally.”

“Okay then. I hate this, this...ache. I hate how much hurting you both are putting me through to the point I wanna scream.” Yang’s nails dug into the cushion beneath her. “Worst part of all? I hate how scared I am. It feels like I’m only a few more events away from living in this apartment with no one but my sister and possibly Weiss to visit me; when they aren’t too busy being in love. Just like…”

The blonde bruiser’s eyes shut tight. Tears managed to escape and her lip quivered fiercely. Seconds passed by before she opened her eyes and looked at her boyfriend. Was he still her boyfriend? She guessed that was to be determined later. Only one thing was at the forefront of her wary mind.

“I want to still be with you Jaune, I do. But for the life of me I can’t think of a way to even begin to go through this. Apologizing doesn’t cut it. Punishing or making some kind of deal with Neo to leave doesn’t fix anything either. I’m so furious but I hate the fact that letting you go is the last thing I want.” Yang clenched her chest tightly. It felt as if everything was pulling her apart and trying to keep her together all at once. “I love you so please, end this yourself.”

Jaune’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”

“You came over here so I can chew you out and break up right? Well if you want this to officially end then you’ll have to do it yourself because I’m dumb enough to still want you.”

“You aren’t dumb.” Neo spoke up, “And I’m the last person to be talking about being fair or discussing hypocrisy, but it’s close minded to think making Jaune shoulder that choice isn’t a form of punishment. Even a blind person could easily see that he loves you too; more than anything. More than anyone.”

It hurt but it was the truth. If it came down to it, Jaune would pick Yang in any situation and Neo would be left out to dry. His feelings for the petite girl are true, but that didn’t matter as long as he had Yang. Not that she could blame him.

“Honestly, I’m jealous of you Yang. Not just because you’re good, but because you are what I want to be. Maybe that’s why I could do what I did so easily? I was tired of feeling beneath you, the girl I wish I could be.”

Neo stood up from the table and looked at Yang’s tired red face before looking at Jaune and shaking her head. “Sorry, for wrecking what you have. We both know I’m terrible for you. If I could make a good guy like you cheat on someone like her then I’m clearly bad.”

“I’m not as good as you think. I would’ve pushed you away if I was.” Jaune sighed. This was going nowhere, fast. They were all about to keep looping this cycle of hating themselves. “Stop treating me like I’m perfect, I’m not.”

“Never said you were, it’s obvious to see though I’m making cracks in your demeanor that weren’t there before. Since I’ve already gone this far when it comes to being a shitty person, no reason for me to start considering the requests both of you have. I’m gonna do what I want, leave.”

Yang let out a groan of irritation. “Neo-”

“You have no intention to stop loving him so what other option could there possibly be? Correct me if I’m wrong but you’re not the type to share, are you?” It was faint but Neo was sure Yang could hear it, the little plea that had escaped in her voice. Neo would love nothing more than to be wrong right now. She wasn’t entirely sure of Yang’s past relationship but it had obviously done a number on the girl.

Yang could hear that twinge of hope in Neo’s voice. She could even see the twinkle in her eye. Neo was practically begging for a life line, a reason to believe that she didn’t have to commit to her claim of walking away. Sadly, Yang could only stare, and Jaune knew exactly why such a question was risky to ask.

“Sorry, I can’t say that I am. That situation is...it burned me before.” Yang said, resisting the painful memories that tried to surface.

Neo’s face went pale. Well, that was it. Her final possible tether to the life and person she wanted to be with, severed in no time flat. She did her best to sound indifferent about it.

“Oh, I see. I...wasn’t aware that there were some rough patches in that subject. Then I guess… I guess there’s nothing left to do. Jaune…”

“Neo…” He knew better than to try to change her mind or make this tougher than it already was. He didn’t have an answer for all three of them after all. It would’ve been selfish and inconsiderate to speak as if he did. Even saying goodbye felt way too...inappropriate, in a way.

Neo put on the fakest smile both Jaune and Yang had ever seen in their life. “Thanks for believing in me, both of you. Even though I flopped the moment I tried to change. It was nice, having someone take the chance anyways.”

With her feelings in the open, Neo turned towards the door and grabbed the knob. Her hand stayed on that knob, her fingers refusing to grab it as her entire body trembled. She knew they could hear her sniffle. Neo knew that she was taking entirely too long, but even with nothing left to say, leaving felt so painful. She took one final breath and then found the will to step out of the apartment, the sound of her footsteps sprinting the moment the door closed behind her.

Yang found no joy in seeing her leave, only more ache. She turned to Jaune who was still staring at the door, his eyes filled with a new kind of sorrow.

“If you’re wondering what things would’ve been like if I had been the one to pick, I would’ve chosen you. Don’t think for a second I’d willingly walk out of your life.” Jaune said, tearing up. “Even so, I would’ve felt terrible leaving Neo’s life. This might sound a little egotistical, but I can’t see her bouncing back from this. Not alone. Not without us.”

“Us?”

“I may have given her the dream of changing, but you were clearly the goal post.”

“Don’t put that on me.” Yang said weakly, “What would’ve happened if she did change? She would still love you, and I would still be worried about losing you.”

Jaune bit his bottom lip out of anxiety. Of course none of them were able to find a solution, they all had baggage and walls that they tried their best not to hit. Jaune was wary, but that might’ve been the problem. Neo never pulled her punches and this day had already been the absolute worst, so why not keep pushing? That’s the thing about baggage, you gotta unpack it eventually. Jaune only wished that it wouldn’t come back to bite him.

“I’m not Blake…”

Yang’s head jolted up. Jaune didn’t need to look at her to know Yang was staring at him with scarlet eyes that felt like they were burning a whole into the side of his face.

“Don’t say her name.”

“Why? It’s not like you haven’t been thinking about what happened with her this entire time. Yang you won’t lose m-”

“YOU DON’T THINK SHE DIDN’T SAY THE SAME THING!?” Yang said, screaming as she stood up in frustrated anger. Jaune had struck a nerve he knew was still very much was like an open wound. He finally looked at the girl, she had his undivided attention.

“You don’t believe that she didn’t reassure me that I had nothing to worry about!? That’s how it starts. They ease your fears, tell you that things are mutual, that feelings are equal; that’s not how that works! No matter how much attention she gave me, it was obvious her mind was on Sun. The looks, the talk, the stories, so I do what anybody would do and confront her about it. We talked and we talked and we talked and we talked until finally I believed that things could work out. Sharing wouldn’t be so hard if everyone really is on the same page right? All three people give the same amount they gain right!? Well that’s not how it works!!! It felt like I was fighting to find a reason to even be around them. Slowly but surely, a wall was being built but bringing up the dynamic again after so many discussions just got so…I was tired Jaune. Her words felt so rehearsed, so lifeless. Up until we have one more discussion because I just don’t think we’ve gotten it right yet. That’s when her words sounded true. When she looked at me and said ‘I can’t do this anymore’ and I knew instantly I was out of the picture. Blake had chose Sun over me a long time ago, I was just stupid enough to ignore the signs! So tell me Jaune, how the hell would this end up any different!? How could you look at me and say you won’t need me around anymore!?”

Yang’s chest rose up and down heavily as she tried to breathe. She refused to be slowly pushed out again, to have her feelings subtly get abandoned for another. She watched Jaune stare at her, his face expression giving off nothing but sorrow, or was it pity?

“Well!?” Yang sniffled, “Say something for fucks sake!”

Jaune walked closer to her. Close enough reach out and wipe the numerous tears that riddled her face. “Because my love for you isn’t fragile.”

He said nothing else. Jaune left her speechless for a moment while he walked towards the door and opened it, scaring her a little.

“Jaune what are-”

“I think a little space right now to think about today is needed. I need that space, but I will come back. Don’t ever doubt that.” Jaune opened the door. “I messed up today, I know that. But don’t you ever doubt my love for you. I swear it never runs low.”

Yang said nothing. She simply watched him close the door. The girl fell back onto her couch, she had to be minutes away from vomiting. Jaune was right about one thing, she did need some space from this situation. As well as some perspective. Yang dialed her scroll and practically begged for her sister to pick up. Thankfully, she did.

“Hey sis, what’s going on?” The cheerfulness of Ruby’s voice felt like the one sunlight on this gray day.

“Hey Ruby. Y..You free to talk?”

“Always, what’s up? You sound stuffy.”

“Oh you know…Jaune cheated on me today.”

Part 5

[collapsingintojupiter]

Sunshine and Stormclouds: Chapter 15

Catch up: Chapter 1  Chapter 1.5  Chapter 2  Chapter 3  Chapter 4  Chapter 5  Chapter 6  Chapter 7  Chapter 8  Chapter 9  Chapter 10   Chapter 11  Chapter 12  Chapter 13  Chapter 14

Summary:

It’s Roman’s birthday. Though his biological parents may not be there for him, his friends are. 

Characters: Roman Sanders, Emile Picani, Scout (oc), Virgil Sanders, Logan Sanders, (baby) Patton.

TW: This is little more than tooth-rotting fluff. You’re good (though of course, message me if you’d like me to put something here).

---

    It had been a long day; following an even longer night. Virgil slumped against the couch, eyes closed, his hoodie drawn up over his shoulders. Patton busied himself on the floor nearby, dressing up his bunny in a little blue doll’s dress. Several other stuffed animals that Remy had bought (though the pink bunny by far remained his favorite) lay scattered around him, and a few more assortments of doll’s clothing. 

    Remy said that Patton had a good fashion taste. Even Logan couldn’t disagree. 

    Virgil’s eyes were shut, but he was awake - unfortunate as that was - listening to Patton as he finished arranging the dress on his bunny. Once he was happy with it, he moved on to a puppy dog plush. This one he wrapped - awkwardly, with his chubby fingers - in a sparkly bit of pink cloth. Patton fiddled with that until he was content, talking to “Acha” as he arranged the scarf around the dog’s neck and body. 

    Then, a knock sounded at the door. 

    “Hrggyph,” Virgil muttered to nothing in particular, and slowly opened an eye. The bit of pale pink material he saw through part of the visible window was definitely not Roman’s, and Logan wouldn’t be caught dead in such a vibrant color. 

    So who...

    Wonder if they’ll go away, Virgil thought tiredly. A few seconds later, however, whoever it was knocked again. Dammit.  

He sighed. Slowly, he picked himself up from the couch, and Patton jumped up to grab his arm as he started for the door. 

    “Is Daddy home?” he asked, grabbing Virgil’s hand in one of his little ones. His dog plush dangled precariously from the other, the pink tip dragging on the floor.

    “I don’t think so, buddy,” Virgil said. Patton turned and held up his arms; his father smiled to himself as he picked the boy up. He opened the door. 

    “Oh, you’re home!” The excited voice belonged to somebody Virgil had seen before, but he wasn’t quite sure who. It was a younger boy, about Roman’s age, with crooked glasses, curly hair the color of rust, and soft brown eyes. He wore a pale pink sweater, black jeans, and a bright smile. Behind him stood another kid, though the last time Virgil saw them, he was pretty sure they’d been a pirate. Now however, they wore wearing a button-up covered in stars, ripped jeans, and converse that had been painted in a familiar style. Over all that, a too-big camo jacket that clashed with everything rested on their shoulder. 

    “Emile?” Virgil asked at last. “And...Scout?”

    “That’s us,” Scout answered with a nod. They nudged Emile, who started and blinked before nodding.

    “Right! Uh, Mr. Virgil, I think you remember us from that time we were at your house back on Halloween?” Virgil nodded, and his smile somehow got wider. “Awesome! Um, so...this might be a bit weird, but Roman’s birthday is tomorrow, and we’re...uh, we’re trying to plan something special for him. And he talks about you guys all the time, um...do you think you could help us?”

    ...forget sleep. Sleep could wait. 

    “Come on in,” Virgil said. He turned, gently setting Patton down so he could pull out his phone. Scout and Emile quickly knelt down, keeping his son busy as he placed a call to Remy. 

    “Hey, I need you over here stat,” he said as soon as the barista answered. 

    “Is something wrong?” he asked. 

    “Nothing bad, Rem,” Virgil assured. “Um, Emile and Scout are here; they told me Roman’s birthday is tomorrow. We’re gonna need your help.” 

    Remy’s response was instant.

    “Say no more, I’m on my way,” he said. Before Virgil could say anything else, he hung up. 

    “Who was that?” Scout asked as he put his phone back in his pocket. Virgil chuckled. 

    “You remember the Dragon Witch on Halloween?”

    “Yeah?”

    “He’s on his way now. Much better at this stuff than I am.” Virgil checked his watch, hid a yawn, then glanced at the two kids again. “My husband should be back in about an hour from school. He’ll also be more than willing to help. Don’t worry, we’ll get this figured out.”

    “Yes!” Emile grinned widely, wiggling in excitement. “We’re gonna make Roman so happy!”

    Virgil felt his heart warm as he sat down with the kids to wait, whereupon Patton came over and crawled into his lap. “Where is Roman now?” he asked, helping his son sit up. 

    “He said he had to help his mom with something,” Scout said. Their voice sounded tense; like they knew what he did - what he knew only because of the horrible nights he’d faced alone, with drunken laughter downstairs and his stomach cringing with hunger. Virgil shook his head violently, and a shiver twirled down his spine. He focused instead on staring at Scout’s shoes. They were black, spots of paint that looked like stars and planets. He bet it was Roman’s work.

    Soon enough, someone knocked at the door again.

    “The Dragon Witch!” Emile exclaimed, and jumped from his seat. The knock came again, before Remy flung the door open and strode inside with a grin and a wink. 

    “Well well well,” he said. “I hear there’s a birthday party we need to plan.”

    “Hell yeah,” Scout said, and Emile grinned. 

    “It’s Roman’s birthday tomorrow, and we wanna do something special for him,” he explained. Remy nodded. 

    “Good. He needs good friends like you,” he said. He looked at Virgil. “I think it’s time to go shopping. We’ll get the supplies…” he glanced at Scout and Emile, “...when you two get out of school tomorrow, I’ll pick you up. We’ll set everything up then for Roman.”

    “How will we get him over here?” Virgil asked. 

    “He’s your babysitter, you tell me.”

    “That could work.” Virgil nodded, taking Patton in his arms as he stood up. “Alright, so…”

    “We need to divide and conquer,” Remy said. “Decorations and preparation, and gifts.”

    “Logan’s very good at that,” Virgil said. “-Decoration, I mean, and I’m sure he’ll be happy to do it for Roman.”

    “I’ll text him. Scout, Emile - what do you two want to help with?”

    “I’m good at decorations,” Emile said. Scout nodded. 

    “That he is. And I know what he likes.”

    Alright - so Emile, you’ll be with me, then, and Scout will go with Virgil. Sound good to you?”

    The two kids nodded. 

    “Excellent! Let’s get this boy of ours a birthday party!”

---

        What the hell was so special about a birthday, anyway? Roman sighed, burying his head in his arms. At the front of the classroom, a history teacher droned on about something he didn’t remember; wouldn’t remember. Recently his mother had gotten a job, somehow, and was now even nastier than usual when she wasn’t drunk. Roman didn’t want to go home; he was tired; and everything ached. 

    At least...at least, he got to babysit Patton again today. Roman stared at his fingernails; at the chipped edges, and ignored his classmates. The teacher continued to drone. The clock was getting closer to three, but it wasn’t there yet. 

    Finally, the bell rang. 

    Roman let out another sigh; he got his backpack and slung it around his shoulder, and started tiredly for the door. 

    Outside it was frigid, and though his jacket was warm it wasn’t warm enough. He’d forgotten his warmer one. Roman wondered how the puppy was; how Emile was. Briefly, the thought allowed him to smile. Maybe Remy would be at Virgil and Logan’s house, and let him see Prince. That would be nice. He reached up, tracing the embroidered letters with his finger. Prince. 

    He didn’t feel like a prince. 

    He couldn’t feel much of his hands or face by the time he came to the street where the Sanders lived, kicking at stones as he passed Mr. D’s house. He saw the older man in the window, staring at him. There was something unsettling about it, that he couldn’t put words to. Roman shivered and continued. 

    He stopped at the familiar blue door, adjusted his backpack straps, and knocked. 

    “SURPRISE!” The enthusiastic shout ripped him out of his thoughts with a force that nearly knocked him sideways; as it was Roman jumped, letting out a startled yelp. 

    “Happy birthday!” Emile and Scout shrieked in unison, sharing excited smiles as they rushed forward to greet him. Roman’s eyes widened, and he found himself laughing as they hugged him - Emile’s gentle touch, and Scout’s bone crushing grip.

    “You-you guys knew?” he asked at last, overwhelmed by the streamers and people, and Logan and Virgil smiling at him...and was Remy holding a cake?

    “Of course we did!” Scout laughed and punched his shoulder, then grabbed his hand and tugged him inside. “C’mon, you gotta try the cake we made. Well, Emile made it. Either way it’s good.”   

    Something small and furry ran up to him, barking and wagging its tail. 

    “PRINCE!” Roman yelped. He dropped to his knees by the puppy’s side, and it leapt into his lap to enthusiastically lick his face. He cradled the pup in his arms, gently running his hands along its soft black and brown fur. Prince was already bigger than it had been when he’d found it, with floppy ears and a goofy smile.

    “We think he’s a mutt,” Remy had said. Roman didn’t care - he loved the pup regardless.

    “Happy birthday to you…” his eyes widened as the others started singing to him, and he scrambled to his feet with Prince still in his arms--holy shit, he thought. How did they all have such beautiful voices? Logan, the stiff teacher and Virgil...their voices swelled in a perfectly complimenting harmony, leading the group in the song. Remy’s voice followed, a pure tenor; and Emile - though his voice was softer than the others, he sounded just like an angel to Roman. 

    He tried not to cry but he did, and as the others stopped singing Scout grabbed him in a hug, letting him bury his face in their sweatshirt. There they held him until he was breathing steadily again, and they let go; the others had gathered in the kitchen and smiled at him. 

    “Hope you’re hungry Roman!” Remy announced, and gestured to the dining room table where several boxes of pizza and tubs of ice cream had been lined up in a neat row. Roman’s jaw dropped, and the others grinned. 

    “Everybody get your fill; then we’ll meet in the living room. We got a movie ready to play and presents ready to open.”

    “Presents!?” Roman blurted, then slapped a hand over his mouth. Virgil chuckled good-naturedly, and even Logan smiled. 

    “That’s right!” Remy said. “Just for you, my boy!”

    “Let’s get pizza!” Emile took Roman’s hand, and he felt himself melting into the other boy’s embrace as he pulled him towards the table. “Look, see? We ordered your favorite!”

    “Olive pizza!” Roman’s face broke into an open-mouthed look of amazement, and after gently setting Prince down he reached out and piled several slices onto his plate. Scout and Emile joined him; Remy followed with a wide smile, and Virgil and Logan took up the line in the back. Balloons crowded against each other on the ceiling; their strings dangled down in front of him. Roman looked up, and shades of gold and white and red looked back. He smiled. 

    “Guess what movie we’re gonna watch?” Emile asked as they sat down. Roman raised an eyebrow at him, unable to contain the happy expression on his face. 

    “What movie?” he asked. Scout sat down on his other side, yawning and leaning against his shoulder. Emile leaned against his other side, and gave him a look to melt his heart all over again. 

    “Beauty and the Beast!” he giggled. “Your favorite!”

    “How did you-”

    “I told him,” Scout said, grinning at the look of dumbfoundment on his face. They took a bite out of their mushroom pizza (ew) as Virgil and Logan entered. They took the other sofa, seating Patton between them with his little slice of cheese pizza. Remy was the last to come in, pepperoni his choice of the evening. He sat down, and Virgil got the remote and started the movie. 

    It was better than Roman remembered. The colors seemed brighter, and better, and warmer. Maybe that was Scout and Emile, leaning against him as if to chase away the cold that had settled into his bones, or Emile’s laughter that was soft and sweet like bells; like sugar pastries and autumn mornings where the sun’s warmth is gentle on your back. Scout’s, on the other hand, was sharp, like dogs barking in the dead of night and icicles shattering on the sidewalk. 

    He loved them both. 

    Roman knew what Scout knew though, that he was hopelessly in love with the Picani boy. He loved everything about him - his soft curls, and big eyes, and round glasses that always sat crookedly on his nose no matter how many times he fiddled with the frames. He loved his smile, and his laugh, and his voice.

    And when the other boy leaned against him, and gently reached out to hold his hand...Roman felt like he knew what Heaven was. 

    Scout glanced at him, chuckled to themself at his happy expression, and turned back towards the TV. Together they watched the story play out, laughing and joking and sharing goofy smiles with each other as they discussed the scenes. They all booed at Gaston, and agreed that the candlestick and clock were very much gay. 

    And then, all too soon, it was over. The credits rolled and Roman let out a soft sigh, feeling Emile’s chest rise and fall as he breathed - fast asleep against his shoulder. Their paper plates were stacked on the coffee table - the pizza long gone - and Virgil held Patton. The little boy had also fallen asleep, and slept contentedly in his father’s arms. 

    “I’ll go put him in his room,” Virgil said at last, his voice soft. “Then you can open your presents, Roman.”

    The presents! Roman realized, suddenly, that he’d forgotten all about those. Remy noticed the look on his face and laughed, which startled Emile awake. He muttered something under his breath, yawned, and looked up into Roman’s eyes. 

    God he’s so cute. 

    Roman smiled at him, and Emile smiled back. Then he reached up, and lightly tapped his nose. 

    “Boop!” he giggled. Roman felt his face turn an embarrassing shade of red, and he ducked to try and hide it - which would’ve been fine, had Emile’s hand not gotten tangled up in his hair. The next thing he knew they were both doubled over with laughter, and Emile was attempting to squeak out an apology in between gasps for air. When they finally recovered Roman saw Scout, leaning back and shaking their head; they were laughing too, and Remy and Logan shared a look that was both amused and affectionate. Virgil came back into the room, saw the spectacle, and let out a sigh. He too, however, failed to hide a smile as he sat down. 

    Emile struggled to compose himself with the others, one hand clasping Roman’s shoulder. His glasses looked more crooked than ever; his messy curls tangled and dangling over the rims. Eventually, he pulled himself upright. 

    “Present time!” he yelped, and burst out laughing again. Roman and Scout joined in, as the adults brought out a small collection of somethings and set it on the floor and coffee table in front of him.

    Once he’d finally calmed himself, Roman slid off the couch to kneel in front of his presents. Remy set Prince down and the puppy ran over to join him - his heart felt so warm and full he thought it might burst, looking over the shiny wrapping paper and the kind expressions in Virgil and Logan’s eyes. Gingerly, he reached out and took the first gift. 

From Remy, it said. He gently pulled away the red and gold wrapping, and his eyes widened at the colors upon colors upon colors of nail polish he found packed neatly into a black and red nail kit bag. On the top of the bag, his name was embroidered: Roman, in swirling gold type. 

    “I love it!” he cried, and gently picked up one of the colors - a shimmering beetle green - before putting it back. He couldn’t wait to try it out.

    The next present was...well, he knew Scout had tried, at least. Paper wrapping wasn’t exactly their specialty. Nonetheless Roman unwrapped it gently, and hugged the new sketchpad that revealed itself to his chest. 

    “There’s also some stickers inside for you,” they said - were they nervous? What a strange thought; but Roman couldn’t deny the slight tremble; the tingle of anxiety in their voice. He smiled at them. 

    “I can’t wait to draw in it,” he said. “This is the perfect size.”

    From Logan, read the third gift, tagged neatly with a sharpie. The wrapping paper revealed something soft, and something not - new gloves, in his favorite shade of red, and a book. It claimed to be a fantasy book, and Roman felt tears stinging his eyes as he looked over the cover. He imagined Logan, standing in the fantasy section of a bookstore, with no idea of what any of the books contained. 

    “This one was rated very highly,” Logan explained matter-of-factly. “I do...hope that you enjoy it.”

    “Thank you,” Roman said softly, trying to blink away the tears. The gloves and book he gently set aside - somehow, Logan must have realized that his old ones were worn. 

    Two presents remained. He picked up one of them; From Virgil, it said. The paper presented a box when he pulled it away; inside the box was a soft puppy plush that was black and brown just like Prince, with a red bandana around its neck. The word Prince was hastily stitched onto it in yellow, and as he looked up at Virgil the father glanced aside. 

    “I...I’m sorry you can’t keep the real one,” was all he said, in a terribly soft voice. There were tears in his eyes too, Roman realized. “I hope this helps.”

    “It...it does,” he said. He hugged the plush dog close, and sniffled; with his other hand he gently petted the real dog. “Thank you, Virgil.”

    “Of course.”

    The last present was Emile’s. Roman hesitantly reached for it; he felt Emile tense as he pulled the paper away - it was a beanie. A soft one, with stripes of blue, yellow, and pink. Roman’s eyes widened, and he looked abruptly up at Emile. 

    “You...you made this?” he asked softly. 

    “Yeah. I hope it’s okay? I tried to make it as close to your flag as possible, and I-” he was cut off as Roman crashed into him, wrapping his arms around the other boy’s shoulders and hugging him tightly. 

    “I love it,” he whispered, and now he really was crying. “Thank you...thank you all so much.”

    He felt the warmth of another body beside him, and Roman opened one eye to see that Scout had joined the hug. Then Remy came over, followed by Virgil, and soon even Logan joined the group. Though Roman sort of expected it to be awkward...it felt really nice, surrounded by everybody he loved and who loved him in return. He felt himself smile 

    Thank you guys, for the best birthday ever.

[eddieeatsass]

I’ll Trade you a Myth for a Kiss

Summary: “Derry’s kissing bridge was a little slice of romance in an otherwise unromantic town. Derry Maine didn’t exactly inspire one’s heart to soar, but something about that bridge caused a fluttering in the hearts of every person that passed it. Richie didn’t believe the myth. He was well past the age where he listened to make believe stories about true love and the promise of forever. Real life didn’t hold such fates, if it did, Richie wouldn’t be a closeted gay kid painfully in love with his straight best friend.” Pairing: Reddie Rating: T

Read on AO3

Derry’s kissing bridge was a little slice of romance in an otherwise unromantic town. Derry Maine didn’t exactly inspire one’s heart to soar, but something about that bridge caused a fluttering in the hearts of every person that passed it.

It wasn’t that the bridge was particularly beautiful, in fact it was pretty ugly with its decaying wood frame, rickety beams that split and splintered any hand that touched them, and sun-faded paint job.

It was the lore attached to the bridge, passed down through the hushed whispers of Derry residents for decades, that lured people into its hold. It was said that if you kissed someone under the bridge, they would be solidified as your soulmate; a metaphorical binding of spirits between two lovers.

Richie didn’t believe the myth. He was well past the age where he listened to make believe stories about true love and the promise of forever. Real life didn’t hold such fates, if it did, Richie wouldn’t be a closeted gay kid painfully in love with his straight best friend.

So, be it the fact that there was no actual evidence to the validity of the tall tale, or the fact that that very bridge had been the location at which his dear friend Ben had almost been murdered by Henry Bowers and his goons, Richie just didn’t have that much faith in the bridge’s supposed positive energy.

Much to Richie’s dismay, however, his cynicism didn’t do much to deter the way his heart rate spiked when he found himself sitting under that very bridge in the company of said best friend.

 They hadn’t planned on ending up here. Their day had started out much like any other; they’d met their friends at the quarry, soaked themselves and their undergarments in the deep jade water before laying out in the sun to dry. Music rang from Beverly’s small portable radio as they shared jokes and stories until the sun began to set.

They’d all gone their separate ways when there’d been no more daylight to suck out of the sun, the presence of fireflies lighting their ways home. Eddie’s bike had been confiscated by Sonia for god knows what number of reasons, so he relied on Richie to be his chauffer for the day.

And chauffer he did. Richie relished in the tight grip of Eddie’s arms around his torso, the way he’d mutter a ‘slow down trashmouth’ against Richie’s neck when he went too fast, or the little yip that he’d let out when they went over a speed bump, soaring weightlessly through the air for one blissful moment before crashing back down to reality.

He’d enjoyed chauffeuring right up until the moment he rode over broken glass, popping his tire and sending him and Eddie tumbling to the ground.

They’d been lucky, veering into grass right before impact, so their injuries were minor. But Eddie still insisted to treat them before they continued home, blabbering on about infections and amputations and- Richie didn’t listen to the rest.

It hadn’t taken long for Richie to recognize exactly where they were. His bike had decided to commit suicide right next to the infamous kissing bridge, which he’d taken home a thousand times and kissed at exactly zero times.

 “Richie.” Eddie repeated, finally garnering the attention of Richie’s quickly waning mind. Eddie waved his small disinfectant pack in the air as if an obvious gesture of irritation.

“Right, sorry Eds!” Richie scurried over to where Eddie had sat himself down on a fallen tree trunk, a miniature pharmacy set out before them all thanks to his fanny pack.

“Let me see your legs.” Eddie instructed, already loaded with a disinfectant wipe and a look of determination on his small features. It was far too cute for Richie to handle, and it made his insides churn uncomfortably. As usual he defaulted to humor, hoping it would ease his nerves.

“That’s what your mom said last night.”

“Richie! Ugh, gross.” Eddie’s nose scrunched up in disgust and Richie’s plan backfired.

With a rosy tint to his cheeks that Richie prayed Eddie couldn’t see in the dark, he sat down beside Eddie and presented him with two freshly scraped kneecaps.

Richie let out a string of curses as Eddie began cleaning the wound, but once the sting of peroxide passed, he noticed how gentle Eddie was being.

“Batman or Mickey Mouse?”

Richie looked up from where Eddie’s hand laid gently upon his knee, meeting round chestnut eyes that reflected the moonlight. Richie’s mind went blank.

“What?” He asked dumbly.

“Bandaids, do you want Batman or Mickey Mouse?”

Richie’s heart did about three backflips before he was finally able to answer, stuttering out a weak response that was not up to par with his usual.

"You know I've always been a Mickey man, myself."

Eddie quirked his lips, not quite a smile but also not the annoyance Richie was usually met with. He watched as Eddie reached into his fanny pack and pulled out a bandaid, unwrapping it carefully before moving to apply it to Richie's left knee. It barely covered the scrape, but they both knew it was for show more than function. Eddie liked knowing he'd taken care of someone, the bandaid standing out like a gold star sticker on a quiz. He nodded to himself, satisfied, before moving to tend to Richie's other knee.

 The process was much the same. It stung when Eddie applied the alcohol, Richie's heart skipped a beat when Eddie got too close, and then there was a distorted Mickey Mouse stating up at the both of them from where it sat over bloodied skin.

Richie spoke before thinking, his mouth always faster than his brain.

"What, no kiss, Dr. K?"

Eddie rolled his eyes, but if Richie wasn't mistaken, he also noted a slight rosiness rising to Eddie's cheeks.

"We're not five, Richie. I'm not gonna kiss your knee better. Also, ew."

"Who said I was talking about my knee?"

They both froze; Richie, horrified by the deception of his own thoughts, and Eddie, shocked by Richie's boldness.

"I-I-I meant my dick." Richie tried to recover, his tone none too convincing. But bless Eddie, whether truly oblivious or just pretending to be, responded by smacking Richie's chest.

It caused Richie to tumble backwards off their makeshift bench, falling into foliage that almost entirely ate him up.

“Oh my god! Richie!” Eddie’s tone shifted into concern, his body moving faster than such a little frame should be able to as he leaned over to offer Richie a hand up. Richie, widely known for acting before he thinks, took the opportunity to pull Eddie down alongside him.

The sound of breaking tree branches, rustled leaves, and tiny shrieks alerted Richie to the fact that Eddie did not land beside him as planned. In fact, a quick glance around him confirmed that Eddie was nowhere near Richie any longer.

“EDS!?” Richie’s voice was high pitched and frantic.

“Down here, asshole.”

The response, though obviously irate, still brought comfort to his beating heart.

“One second- shit- I gotta- fuck-”

Richie was stumbling over himself, squinting his eyes as he tried to see any minute flash of brown hair peeking through the dark. Richie fumbled around in his pocket, grabbing on to the lanyard that held his keys and, thankfully, a small flashlight. It wasn’t much, but it helped illuminate that area where Eddie’s voice called from.

Richie felt horrible when he realized they’d been right next to a hill, and his action had flung Eddie right down it. He spotted a small moving figure right at the bottom, underneath the looming darkness of the bridge, and set off towards it.

Getting down the hill without falling was tricky, but Richie somehow managed it. When he came upon Eddie, the smaller boy was attempting to dust the dirt off from his body. Richie decided not to note how fruitless his effort was, instead allowing Eddie to believe he had some control over the germs he’d been unceremoniously thrown into.

“Sorry about that, Eddie. You’re just so tiny, you weigh next to nothing.” Richie tried to pass off his comment as a joke, hoping it would lead them back into their usual back-and-forth. He’d never actually admit that he loved how tiny Eddie was compared to him, because that would mean admitting a whole slew of other things that he wasn’t ready to face.

“Not everyone can be Andre the giant, you ever-growing fuck. It’s not my fault my body doesn’t want to become a skyscraper.” Eddie countered.

Richie straightened his back, beginning to feign confusion as he aimed the flashlight above Eddie��s head.

“Eddie? Eddie???” Richie pretended to search for him, looking left and right but always above the line of sight where Eddie sat.

“You’re obnoxious.” Eddie stated.

“Eddie? Is that you? Where are ya boy-” Richie’s joke was cut short when Eddie swatted the flashlight out of his hand. It hit the ground with a wet splat, landing in a pile of mud just on the edge of the water.

Richie laughed heartily. He leaned down to pick it up when his gaze followed the stream of light to where it pointed right at an etching in the wooden beam that held the bridge above their heads.

Richie walked closer to it, crouching next to the engraving and tracing it with his finger. In the middle of a heart were two initials: G + H.

“How much you wanna bet that one’s Greta and Henry?”

“A thousand bucks.” Richie huffed, rolling his eyes at the thought of them carving this into the bridge after sharing a cigarette musky lip-lock.

“Good, they deserve each other. They can rot together for eternity. Thank you, magic bridge.” Eddie tapped the pillar gently, as if patting someone’s shoulder.

“Come on, you believe in this crap?” Richie stretched back up to full height.

Eddie seemed to mull the question over in his head before answering.

“I mean… what’s the harm in entertaining the idea?” Eddie’s voice had a bashful tone to it that Richie had never heard before. It made his skin prickle with warmth.

“I just never took you for the romantic type, Eds.” Richie tried to soften his voice, encouraged it to come out a little less like a tease and a little more like a confession. It seemed to have the desired effect when Richie pointed the light at Eddie and noticed a blush on his cheeks.

“Have you kissed anyone down here?” Eddie asked suddenly, the boldness shocking Richie into silence (which was rare).

Richie instinctively puffed his chest out, a bravado thick on his lips and ready to be spoken, but it deflated as quickly as it was triggered. Eddie was being vulnerable with Richie in a way that he never was, and if Richie messed this up, he might as well be damning himself to a future where Eddie didn’t trust him with moments like this. There was no greater fear than that.

“No.” Richie answered honestly, kicking a nearby rock into the water.

“Have you kissed anyone?” Eddie’s voice was barely above a whisper, almost inaudible over the sound of the crickets and the trickle of the stream.

Richie’s heart lurched in his chest so strongly it almost made him lose his balance. His eyes bugged out behind his coke bottle frames, trying to make sense of why Eddie was asking these questions. With a thick swallow, he answered.

“Yeah, only twice.” He knew he’d boasted about much more, that if the losers had been keeping tally, Richie’s supposed trysts were up in the double digits by now. But he didn’t feel like lying or keeping up some kind of charade. Not here, not alone with Eddie. “Once in 7th grade with Trisha Saunders, and then at the beginning of 8th grade with Megan DeLaurence.”

Eddie nodded sagely, looking down at his feet.

“I haven’t kissed anyone yet. I think I might be the last of the Losers who hasn’t.”

The way Eddie’s shoulders slumped made Richie want to reach forward and hold him up. His fingers twitched at the effort it took to hold himself back.

“It’s not a competition, Eddie. No one’s judging you.” Richie said earnestly, taking a step towards Eddie’s frame. Was he shivering? It had gotten kind of cold in the time they’d been standing down here. Richie hadn’t even noticed the nip of September beginning to creep in, he’d been warmed from the flush of being so close to Eddie; something he realized he’d gotten accustom to any time Eddie was around.

“Eds.” Richie sighed, beginning to unbutton the long-sleeved printed shirt he wore over his t-shirt. Once he shrugged it off, he took another step towards Eddie and draped the garment across his shoulders, making sure not to focus on how it dwarfed Eddie’s already miniscule frame.

Richie had abandoned his tiny flashlight, allowing it to dangle from a droopy hand and angle light out into the water. The darkness sheathed them from reading one another’s expressions, giving Richie the false confidence, it took for him to lean in and press his lips against Eddie’s.

The kiss wasn’t long, nor was it filled with passion. It was probably closer to the type of kiss you give your aunt at Christmas, just a chaste peck on the lips. But despite the nature of the kiss, it still left Richie buzzing from head to toe in a way that no other kiss had done before.

Sure, kissing Trisha and Megan had been fine. Richie had chalked it up to experience, telling himself that the reason he hadn’t felt anything was because he wasn’t used to it yet. But with Eddie it was a whole different world. Such a small touch had made him lightheaded, left him itching to go in for more and not stop until his lungs gave out.

Richie realized then that the silence had stretched out between them, Eddie obviously confused and, Richie realized with a pang in his heart, probably horrified.

“T-there.” Richie tripped over his words, cursing his nerves for mistaking him for Bill. He cleared his throat and tried again. “There. Now you’ve kissed someone.”

Eddie still didn’t respond, and Richie’s heartrate began to tick up into something erratic.

After a pause that probably aged Richie ten years, Eddie finally let out a laugh. A small titter that dissolved all the anxiety Richie was harboring.

“You dumbass.” Eddie giggled. “Now we’re stuck together forever!”

Richie couldn’t hold back the grin that stretched his cheeks so wide they burned. If believing that him and Eddie were now solidified as soulmates meant also believing in some invisible universal force carried on for decades by a fucking bridge, then so be it. He’d believe in every fairytale ever told if it meant being with Eddie.

Richie scratched the back of his neck, a nervous twitch he’d had since childhood. He only hoped that Eddie couldn’t see it.

“Yeah, I guess I kinda screwed the pooch on that one huh.”

“I mean, there’s worse people to be stuck with for life.” Eddie countered.

“Well I am honored I’m not the worst.”

“That honor is gonna have to go to Henry.”

“Well, we don’t have to worry about him because he’s already promised to Greta for eternity. We’re clear.”

“Good. He can have Greta as long as I can have you.”

Richie’s brain stopped functioning, all reasonable responses escaping his mind. ‘As long as I can have you’. Richie would be repeating that to himself as a lullaby from now until forever.

“You can have me.” Richie responded on a shaky exhale.

Eddie’s breathing sounded just as unsteady as it filled the space between them. With nervous hands, Richie brought the flashlight back up to illuminate Eddie’s face. He was quivering, although Richie wasn’t certain whether it was still from the cold, or from the same feeling that had caused Richie’s limbs to feel like rubber.

“We gotta get you home before you become an Edsicle.” Richie teased, breaking the tension between them and leading them back into safe territory. Eddie rolled his eyes, but traces of laughter were evident in his small smile. He shouldered Richie out of the way gently, passing him and making his way back over to the hill that he’d fallen down.

“Well, you better help me back up this hill then.” He demanded.

Richie bounded over to him with newfound glee in his heart, vowing to never take the prospect of magic bridges for granted ever again.

[britishassistant]

Too Many Bridges (I Dig Canals) 1

He was twenty-two when he died.

His mama hadn’t wanted him to move out to West Texas, crying that it wasn’t safe. His dad had soothed that he’d be fine at UTEP, the first one in the family to go to university, a business major, doing them all so proud.

His little sister had said they’d all dealt with much worse in high school, where the teachers screamed at you for speaking Spanish until you could barely remember a word.

His short older sister just snuck a dumb Homestuck backpack into his luggage, filled with the latest volumes of Boruto. He’d liked to read them while eating shitty convenience store ramen at 2AM.

Then he’d run out of cup ramen in his senior year, gone to the 7-11 at 1AM to grab some more, and made the mistake of glancing at a cracker junkie shaking from withdrawal.

Last thing he knew, he was bleeding out around a knife while the druggie tore through his groceries, crooning, “C’mon, c’mon where’s the hit, where is it, I know you’re hiding it.”

He’d only had the strength left to flip the racist fucker off before he finally drifted away.

He wakes as a baby.

The only natural response to this is to begin screaming.

What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?! Why the fuck is he a baby?! Is everyone a baby when they go to Heaven?! Or wait, his butt’s kinda damp, is this Heaven at all?! Is he in Hell?! Was him flipping off that cracker enough to get him sent to Hell, after all he’s done?! All the masses he’s been to?! For the love of Christ, what’s going on—

A woman with white-blond hair and a tired face leans over him, muttering something harsh-sounding in a foreign language.

A loud and angry sounding man’s voice shouts something from somewhere he can’t see, which startles him into crying harder.

Then a large and callused hand slams down over his mouth, practically smothering him.

The woman’s face looms over him, wrinkled and shadowed like the face of the devil himself, poisonous green eyes glaring at him.

“Damare, kuso gaki.” The devil-woman hisses.

He whimpers.

His hair is green now.

Like a dehydrated shrub left too long in the heat, spiky-dry and almost yellowing at the edges.

And his eyes are purple. As if the green spiky anime hair wasn’t enough to humiliate him.

He misses his mama and his dad and his sisters but thank Jesus they’ll never see him like this.

At least his skin color’s pretty much the same as his last life. If he ended up resembling that fucking junkie who murdered him in any way, shape or form...

Well. All he knows is it wouldn't be pretty.

His new name is Meiun Nobuo.

The devil-woman who would rather smother him in his crib than let him cry apparently gave birth to him.

The deadbeat who cursed him with this eye and hair color and returns most nights stinking of alcohol and rotting fish is the sperm donor.

He misses his real family.

They live in a dock town.

Their house is farthest from the shore, so the scent of rotting fish guts and seagull shit is vaguely bearable. It’s bigger than the fishermen and farmer’s huts and market stalls that make up the rest of the village, with a curved asian roof.

He thinks the sperm donor is in a relatively high position in the village, perhaps an official of some sort. Probably inherited, because he seriously doubts anyone with a brain would elect that drunk deadbeat to any position of authority, but who knows.

He used to think the same thing about the government in his past life, and look what happened there.

Ragged official looking people buzz in and out of the rooms he’s not supposed to enter all day every day. Some of them smile at him if they notice him, lips spread sickeningly wide and eyes sycophantically crinkled.

Others look at him like he’s a nuisance, worthy of only their ire.

As if he asked to be reborn to this fucking paltry excuse for family when he had a perfectly good one back home

The devil-woman isn’t from around here.

That much is obvious in the way she’s constantly ill at ease, snapping at the slightest inconvenience, acting like everyone’s out to get her.

To be fair, a lot of them probably are just for the chance to have some peace and quiet again.

He privately counts himself among that number.

She’s always grumbling about how much better it is in rain, but regardless of the weather her shitty attitude never seems to improve.

She also starts trying to poison him when he turns four.

When his rice tastes weirdly bitter he spits it back into the bowl.

The devil-woman slaps him across the face.

“Eat.” She hisses, forcing his head into the bowl. “I didn’t destroy my body for you to bring shame to the Dokuso name like this. Your great uncle was already immune to neurotoxins by the time he was your age. The least you can do is eat.”

He tries to struggle, to scream for someone to help him, but the devil-woman just forces his head down farther until he swallows every last grain of tainted rice.

His body won’t stop shaking for the rest of the day, every gasp of air feeling like it’s scraping his lungs raw.

It becomes some kind of demented pattern.

He’s poisoned, he suffers, his body adjusts, he’s poisoned again in a new way, rinse and repeat until he seriously finds himself contemplating whether his last death was better than this.

The look of dissatisfaction the devil-woman always wears, as though he’s somehow not doing this (or dying) fast enough for her liking, weighs the argument a lot.

On the days where he’s in less danger of throwing up his guts, he has lessons with a tutor, because of course he fucking does.

Death, taxes and homework: the three constants of existence.

The tutor calls him a prodigy with mathematics, even if his grasp of kanji is shaky.

The deadbeat uses this as an excuse to push some of his work onto a five year old with some garbled line about “carrying on the work of our forefathers”.

He hates this.

He hates it so fucking much.

He prays every night, asking Christ why he’s being tormented like this. He hasn’t got an answer back yet.

He’s gonna make a break for it as soon as he’s old enough to do so. He’s still too young to be allowed out of the house, even for festivals. He also doesn’t receive anything like an allowance yet either, though he suspects that’s more due to the fact that the sperm donor is a cheapskate.

It’s fine. It’ll be fine. He’s already got access to some of the accounts, has proven himself to be a dedicated worker beneath suspicion.

Nobody’ll suspect the kid “carrying on the work of his forefathers” if money begins disappearing, not when there are so many greedy adults around. It’s foolproof.

He’s just gotta wait until he learns where he is and how he can get away.

He can do that. It’ll be fine.

“The daimyō has declared dōjutsu users enemies of the state.” His sperm donor complains one evening. “The Mizukage has authorized the use of deadly force to subdue them.”

The devil-woman sniffs, says something nasally and contrarian back but he can’t hear her over the blood rushing in his ears.

Dōjutsu.

Mizukage.

His mouth is dry. He can’t breathe.

There’s no way—there’s absolutely no fucking way—the tech here is way too primitive, he must be hallucinating, going through withdrawal from not reading his favorite manga for so long.

There’s no way this place could be the same world as Boruto. Besides, Chojuro would never authorize a-a genocide like that, Kagura-kun would be so disappointed in him—

But Kagura-kun’s grandfather wouldn’t have had any problems with it, would he?

It’s not until the devil-woman whacks him over the head and screams at him to get up that he realizes he’s on the floor.

He climbs shakily to his feet.

He endures the scolding quietly.

He goes to his room when dismissed.

He shuts the door behind him and slides down it, trying to muffle the sounds escaping his throat. They could be hysterical laughter or sobs. He really isn’t sure.

Because of course he’s been reborn years before any of the good characters of this series or plot developments that he can clearly remember will make their appearance.

That’s just his fucking luck.

He presses his forehead to his knees and screams.

This revelation helps along his plans, at least.

If he’s in Kiri, then he knows he’s probably on one of the many islands that make up the...peninsula? Archipelago? Fuck, geography was never his strong suit.

But yeah, he’ll need to charter a boat to get to the mainland so he can disappear.

He briefly entertains the idea of becoming a ninja for Kiri, maybe growing up to become one of Chojuro’s aides and Kagura-kun’s mentors. Getting to meet Boruto when that arc comes around.

But no. Or at least, not yet.

Going there before Terumi Mei has had the chance to overthrow Yagura isn’t a good idea, what with the whole “kill everyone else you studied with to become a genin” thing they’ve got going on. Also the people claiming to be his parents might track him down and have him sent back.

Fire Country is probably his best bet to vanish. The ninja there actually care about the populace.

He might even be able to go to Konoha. See Boruto and Sarada and Mitsuki grow up firsthand.

The thought leaves a warm feeling in his chest even as his limbs tremble from the effects of the latest venom for the rest of the week.

It doesn’t last.

Of course it doesn’t.

It’s one thing to know that certain people in the community are slated for death.

It’s a different ballgame entirely to see a mob barge into the sperm donor’s office, howling for blood.

He can only hear the words “kekkai genkai filth” chanted like a curse before the deadbeat is nodding his head and rising, grabbing a huge ass sword from where it’s been gathering dust on the wall.

He tries to shrink back, tries to let the throng pass him without drawing their attention, but a hand grabs his collar and yanks him away from his little table, away from his calculations, and drags him along with the frothing crowd of people with hate in their eyes.

He’s squashed near the back of the herd, but every time he tries to get away there are hands and arms to yank him back into line, hands of men or women or—Jesus, or other kids.

He’s eventually funneled through the doorway of a tiny farmer’s hut, pushed into one of the walls by the crush of people, and he looks up and there’s—

There’s—

Oh God.

Oh God.

Oh Jesus in Heaven have mercy.

He can’t look.

It’s awful, it’s too much, he can’t look, he can’t, he gags, averts his eyes—

He sees the girl in the corner of the room.

She’s crying, mouthing “Mama” to herself over and over.

One of those murderers has seen her too.

The man takes a step towards the girl—

“Stay the fuck away from her!” He yells.

He can’t remember moving. All he knows is he’s now in between the girl and the mob, knees trembling and adrenaline pounding in his ears.

His voice is all shaky and squeaky, not intimidating at all.

He’s scared.

Jesus Christ, he’s so scared.

These monsters just killed that innocent lady for their dumb fucking witch hunt.

What’ll they do to this girl if they get their hands on her?

One of the villagers steps forward and growls, “Outta the way, boy. You don’t wanna get hurt for that thing.”

“Fuck you, asshole!” He screams back.

“Meiun, discipline your fucking brat before we do it for you!” Someone else in the mob shouts.

The sperm donor is pushed to the front and begrudgingly holds out a hand. “Don’t be stupid Nobuo. Get your ass over here, now.”

“Listen to your father!” The demon-woman shrieks from the safety of several people away.

He laughs. He can’t help it. “My father?! You want me to acknowledge that drunken excuse of a sperm donor as a father?! Get real, you fucking hag!! You and him wouldn’t know what real fucking parenting looked like if you fucking murdered it in cold fucking blood!!”

He points at what’s left of the lady. “Because guess what? Looks like ya did!”

“How dare you—” The deadbeat’s gone dark purple.

“No, how dare you?!” His hands are shaking and Christ, there’s no way this can end well, but his mouth won’t stop running. “That lady was a perfectly fucking nice lady, a loving wife and a good mom and you assholes think you can just come out here and murder her for what?! Having something that you don’t?! Being a genuinely good person, like you aren’t?! You’re all just JEALOUS FU—”

Pain explodes in his temple.

A man’s screaming, “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, YOU KNOW NOTHING YOU LITTLE BASTARD, SHUT UP—”

He tries to raise his arms, tries to fight back, but the man’s swinging too wildly, he can’t stop the blow to the gut that knocks the air out of him.

More arms appear from nowhere, shoving him to the ground, pinning him down, jeers and taunts about how if he loves kekkai genkai filth that much he can join them, see what happens to them.

The knife glints evilly in the light.

He doesn’t wanna die again.

Jesus Christ, he doesn’t wanna die again.

There’s cold for a moment behind his right ear.

And then there’s nothing but agony, red and sharp and pounding pounding pounding and Nobuo is screaming screaming screaming.

Until his throat feels like it’s going to give out.

Until he knows he’ll die like this.

He doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die Christ—

The sensation is sudden and painful.

Like he’s been punched in the chest again, but in reverse.

Something erupts from him, with enough force to leave him breathless.

The jeers and ugly laughter become screams as pained as his own.

“Shit, he’s one t—?!” is the last thing he hears before a sound like glass shattering over and over overwhelms all other noise, even the terrified shrieks for mercy.

Nobuo’s eyes roll back into his head.

He blacks out.

The right side of his head throbs.

He whimpers in pain, curling in on himself.

“A-are you alright? Are you hurting? I tried to patch you up as best I could...” A soft, sweet voice murmurs.

He cracks open his eyes a sliver to see a dark-haired head with a pretty face hovering over him. The pretty face looks worried, almost scared.

“What...?” He tries to ask, voice croaky as hell. “Where...?”

“Ah, I, uh, took you and ran away after you got those guys off you.” The pretty face explains, averting their eyes for some reason. Their kimono is torn in places. “You-your e-head was bleeding really bad, so I tried to fix it, but I don’t think I did a very good job...”

What?

His hand lifts to the side of his head, feeling cloth sticky with what he can only assume is blood.

And feeling nothing beneath it.

His breathing hitches. He tries to stop it, tries to gulp the panic and fear back down, he can’t cry, he’ll get hit again if he cries, he can’t—

He lets out a sound that can only be described as a wail, shoulders shaking.

There’s movement and he flinches, oh god, he doesn’t want a hit, not now, not when he’s already dealing with this—

Small, thin arms wrap around him, trembling. A head of soft hair buries itself in his other shoulder, and a low voice begins sobbing “I-I’m so-sorry, I-I didn’t, I co-couldn’t stop them, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” in his remaining ear.

A small part of his brain notes that this is the first time he’s been hugged since he woke up as a baby.

They cry for a long, long time.

Finally, when it feels like he’s gonna have a head cold for a week at least, he shrugs his shoulder minutely.

The girl looks up, face blotchy and red.

“You’re that girl, right? What’s your name?” He croaks.

The girl tenses and pulls away a little. “I’m Haku. I’m eight. A-and I-I’m a b-boy.”

“Oh. Sorry.” He rubs the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks flush. Where does he feel like he’s heard that name before...?

“And you are?” Haku prompts.

“M-Meiun Nobuo.” He states with a grimace. “M’ six.”

“Ah...then Official Meiun was...” Haku’s eyes begin to fill with tears again. “Y-your father, and, and your m-mother—”

“God no.” He snaps. “That man impregnated that woman to make me, but father and mother are the last things they can be called. Real parents don’t pull the shit they do on their kids.”

He folds his arms across his chest. “This may’ve sped up my plans, but you did me a favor, taking me with you. I was planning on running away anyway.”

Haku lets out a confused sniffle.“Where were you planning on running away to?”

“Fire Country.” He might puff out his chest a little. “Their ninja actually care about people, and they don’t hate kekkai genkai there.”

“Kekkai genkai...th-that’s what they kept calling me and m-mama...” Fat tears begin rolling Haku’s pretty face.

He shakily slides an arm around the older boy’s shoulders. “Y-you can come with me. If you want. I-I don’t exactly know the way, I was hoping to get some more geography and funds first, b-but I’ll figure something out, I swear.”

Haku takes a few deep, shuddery breaths. “I-I don’t either, but I know how to get to the next village, if that’s okay?”

“That’s great! That’s way better than what I can do!” He assures, giving his traveling companion’s shoulder a pat. “...d’you, like, wanna start going now, or...?”

“Can we stay here for a moment?” Haku asks. “J-just until I can check your head’s okay?”

Meiun Nobuo nods carefully, leaning more against the older boy. “Sure. No rush.”