#At first i was speeding through this fic then cyrus' part came up and I was like (°<°)

[often-obsessed]

Vampire!yandere!cyrus x gn!reader

First of all I am not a writer, this is for @yandere-scenarios. They made a lot of cyrus content that I liked, this fic is based off one of them. Perfect for Halloween. Mod omen it's me vc anon. Also I was working on and off on this fic on my phone so it's choppy. Enjoy I guess.

You walked across the mountainous terrain, stumbling ever so slightly over loose rocks. You had already lost your balance a few times thanks to the wild pokemon. The designated road route 210 was a few ways away, would it have been easier to take it? Of course, but that would mean running into other people. You really didn't want a repeat of the alleyway incident.

You shuddered.

It was moonless out, the only source of light for miles was a few illuminating pokemon. Any normal person would have been stumbling in the dark, but not you.

Not anymore.

Everything was fine before he showed up and turned you into...this. You scratched at your skin as if you could rip away the monster that had wrapped itself around you. Only succeeding in drawing red lines on your skin. A few beads of blood managed to come to surface. You gulped quickly casting a glance at the road to your right, no one, still empty. You breathed a sigh of relief you didn't know you were holding. Wiping your arm on your clothes you sped up as best you could without the threat of falling.

If only you could return home, you missed selling your berries. Tending your small garden with the few wild pokemon you managed to befriend. Your favorite murkrow landing on the brim of your hat, waiting for his daily treat. You rarely left your little paradise.

The kind neighbors that would sometimes invite you for dinner. As a thank you for the berries you'd gift them. They'd end up dinner if you returned.

You clenched your fists, doing your best to distract yourself from the morbid thoughts ringing in your head.

No you'd control yourself this time.

You just needed to find the champion first.

If you could control yourself long enough to talk to the champion you'd be ok. She'll know what to do right? Of course she would she's the champion! She had strong pokemon, even if you did lose control she could easily overtake you.

She could easily overtake Cyrus.

A flutter of hope bloomed in your chest, yes she could beat him. Then you could find a cure for yourself and go back to your normal life.

Months before.

Rapid knocking startled you out of your sleep. Who would be at your door at this hour, in the rain? Begrudgingly you dragged yourself out of bed. Thankfully you had PJs on, no need to worry about flashing the person at the door. The knocking continued.

"Just a minute!" You called stumbling through the dark before flipping a light switch. Opening the door you were greeted by a strange sight.

It was a man, water pelted his person, blue hair stuck to the sides of his face. His clothes were just as soaked, creating a small puddle at your door.

Your door.

He was still standing at your door.

"Oh I'm sorry, I spaced out for a bit. Please come in."  Opening the door wider for your guest.

The man hesitated as if scared you would yell sike and slam the door in his face. Cautiously he took a step in your house, then another finally moving in enough for you to properly shut the door.

"Not exactly the best time for a stroll." You chuckled, turning you full attention to him. He didn't acknowledge you, seeming to savor the fact he was out of the rain. The fogginess of sleep was starting to dissipate. The reality that you just let a random man into your house hitting you.

He looked pretty harmless, you could probably take him on in a fight if you had to. Unless he had pokemon on him then you were doomed. You didn't have any pokemon of your own, well unless you counted the mismagius in your attic.

"I apologize for the intrusion, I wasn't expecting it to rain this morning."

Morning? You slouched a bit at the comment. There was no way you were falling back asleep now.

"It's fine no harm done" Except to my sleeping schedule. "What are you doing out in the rain anyway?"

The man opened his mouth to reply before you realized he was still soaked. What kind of a host were you?

"Wait! Hold that thought you're probably freezing! I'll be right back with some towels!" Zooming down the hall to the linen closet. Stupid! Letting your curiosity get the better of you. The man could catch a cold if you didn't warm him up fast enough! Grabbing a few towels you rushed back to the front door.

He was still standing in the same spot you left him. With an ever growing puddle beneath him.

"I'm sorry about that, here come into the kitchen. I'll make you something to drink."

That was how your new strange friendship was made. Talking for an hour at your house before he left for work. Surprisingly it was your guest who was the talkative one, philosophy seemed to be a favorite talking point for him. You'd sit and listen petting whatever pokemon he let out that day.

It was amazing how fast you two were able to make a routine.

He would always show up a few hours before dawn, he told you he preferred to start his work early.

After a few visits Cyrus confessed to you that coming over relaxed him. You could never turn him away after that tidbit, as you didn't want to come off as rude. Not to mention it felt nice to be needed, even if you did have to wake up earlier than usual.

The mornings when he didn't visit you, were filled with paranoia. You could have sworn someone was watching you. Even closing your curtains didn't help.

Soon you were feeling watched during the day as well. Taking care of your garden didn't bring you joy anymore. You saw it more as a chore than a passion. Your neighbors had begun to slowly distance themselves from you. Even the local pokemon seemed to be affected by your demeanor, as they didn't visit often.

As time passed Cyrus seemed more like a godsend, he became the new reliable thing in your life.With every visit you lowered your guard down around him. You could call him a friend at this point, you started to look forward to his visits.

"I really have appreciated our talks these past few months, surprisingly my performance at work has doubled."

Cyrus leaned back into the couch with his hands clasped in front of him. The program on TV soon forgotten. You tilted you head.

"You know, of all the times you've dropped by, you have never told me what you do for a living. Is it embarrassing or something? I won't judge." You had an inkling it was a lot more stressful than the average job if Cyrus' appearance was anything to go by. The man looked like he was at deaths door, for goodness sake he was only 27!

Cyrus paused " No, not embarrassing, I work at the Space Energy development corps."

"Oh yeah, I've seen commercials of that place. You actually work there?"

"..."

"Uh...Cyrus? You ok there?"

The man in question faced you.

"Would you like to visit? I could show you the facility."

You frowned, where had this come from? He wanted you to visit the job that was causing him so much stress? The whole reason he stopped by almost every morning? Then again curiosity had started gnawing on you. How bad was a job at Galactic? Would he lose his job for bringing you over?

"You won't get in trouble will you? I'm obviously not an employee, I don't want  to get you fired."

An amused glint shone off Cyrus' eyes. "As long as I'm with you that won't be a problem."

A week later you headed out to Veilstone city, it had been a while since you visited the place. The hustle and bustle was hard for you to handle, but for your friend you'd pull through.

It seemed it wasn't a busy day today. People and pokemon seemed to slow down and enjoy the atmosphere the sunset had brought. You had as well, watching the last rays disappear before continuing your walk. You made a mental note to visit the cities of Sinnoh more often.

You bumped into something soft and firm. Preparing an apology before snapping your mouth shut. The luxray you bumped into sent a warning growl, before its trainer excused his pokemon's behavior.

Scratch that, you'd visit the towns first, gotta start small.

Street lights began to flicker to life reminding you of your deadline. You picked up the pace, it wouldn't look good to arrive late. You glanced at the paper Cyrus gave you, the building he described was no where in sight.

A slow feeling of anxiety crawled on you. Had you really gotten lost that easily? No of course not, you probably hadn't walked far enough. You nearly jumped when you felt a tapping sensation on your back.

You whirled around to find a strangely dressed woman staring at you.

A light blue bob cut sat a top of her head, while the rest of her looked like she stepped out of a space movie. She eyed you up and down as if you had bumped into her.

Your face burned, feeling a bit small in this woman's gaze.

"The Galactic building is this way, follow me."

The woman began a brisk walk in a random direction. Your mouth gapped open like a magikarp. Was this woman psychic, could she read your mind? Was she doing it now, oh no quick think positive thoughts. You scrambled after her.

"How did yo-."

"Had your description, been waiting for you to show up for ages."

She waved her hand in the air, not even sparing you a glance. She didn't seem very liked, if the stares and side-eyes from locals were anything to go by.

The awkward silence (at least on your part) was hard to bare. You had tried to stir up some small talk to relieve some of the tension, but your guide had shut you down each time.

You were beginning to regret coming here.

The Galactic energy building was huge, well bigger that what you thought a electric company would be. Then again it was near a city. You really did need to go out more.

More strangely dressed people were inside, in what you now assumed to be company uniforms.

"Hey we're going this way, try and keep up." Your guide nudged you, leading you toward some doors. "The portals are all down due to maintenance, so we'll have to walk."

Walking through the maze of the building was mostly in silence, muffled footsteps the only real noise around. The occasional grunt stopping to chat before being shooed away by your guide. She seemed more relaxed now.

"So, how long have you been friends with Cyrus?"

Your companion who had been so nonchalant since you met her, nearly tripped over herself in shock. Which in turn nearly gave you a heart attack. Her eyebrows rose as she stared in disbelief at you.

Was your question that incredulous? D-did Cyrus not have many friends? You knew he was socially awkward, but you didn't think he was THAT socially awkward. Then again you weren't one to judge.

She recollected herself before answering.

"I'm not...friends with Master Cyrus, but I'm flattered you thought I was. I'm just a grunt."

Master Cyrus?

"Oh, I assumed you were considering you were out looking for me. Um, thanks for that by the way."

The woman huffed. "It's not a big deal, plus everyone was on lookout."

Everyone? Your brows furrowed, just what was Cyrus' position here?

"I don't see what's so special about you, not that it matters what I think.Well here we are the fourth floor." she gestured toward an elevator at the end of the hallway. "I'm not allowed pass this point, but I'm sure you can handle walking to the doors without my help?"

"Y-yeah I think I can manage." What a jerk. You walked toward where you hoped Cyrus would be. You could feel the woman's eyes on your back, you barely resisting the urge to look back at her.

The elevator ride felt like an eternity, you felt nervous, you shouldn't be right? This was Cyrus, you had known him for a few months. Surely if something was really wrong you would have noticed.

What about what that lady had said earlier how she and others had been keeping an eye out for you. You highly doubted Cyrus was friends with the entire company, so he must be some sort of authority figure. But just how high did it go? The elevator soon jolted to a stop, the small ding notifying you of your reached destination.

It felt like an eternity waiting for the doors to open.

Calm down it's just Cyrus, he'll explain everything.

The room was a bit dim, the main source of light came from the moon, giving off a ethereal feel. It should have been calming and it was, to a certain extent. You cautiously stepped out of the elevator, it was just nerves, you rationalized. You were in a new environment, this was natural.

Your thoughts were soon interrupted by movement in the corner of your eye.

Cyrus was standing right next to you.

You felt as if you leaped right out of your skin. How did you not notice him there?

"Cyrus, you almost gave me a heart attack, how long have you been standing there?!"

Cyrus clasped his hands behind his back.His usual impassive stare rested on you.

"A few minutes, you seemed lost in thought, is something wrong?"

He was watching you zone out? Heat crept up your face. Any fear you had before was gone in an instant. You didn't know whether to chide him about watching you, or cover your face in embarrassment.

"Nothing, don't worry about it. So, what are you gonna show me first?"

Cyrus gestured for you to follow, which you did, to a door on the opposite side of the room. The man opened the door, to a much brighter room.

The cozy atmosphere felt loads better than the dark room before. Papers neatly stacked on a desk in the corner of the room. A large bookshelf filled with, of course books. A small fridge next to two chairs and a table. Another door connected to the room as well, you assumed it was a bathroom. A queen sized bed, with a few stuffed pokemon mixed in among the pillows. Huh, you didn't see Cyrus as the  type to have plushies.

"Those were gifts from an associate."

"That's cute," questions still nagged at your head. This was the best time to ask, but you still felt nervous to do so. No, you could do this, just rip it off like a band aid.  "so Cyrus what exactly do you do here?"

Cyrus pulled out some snacks out of the fridge, placing them on the table. You almost thought he hadn't heard you.

"Here sit I'll explain everything."

And he did, it was a bit jarring to hear Cyrus was a CEO of a company. It made you feel out of place, what exactly did Cyrus want with a farmer in the middle of the woods? You couldn't offer anything but berries. Cyrus reassured you he just enjoyed your company and appreciated the small breaks.

You nibbled on your food as you listened to him. There was still one more question that really bothered you.

"So, Master Cyrus huh? Care to explain that?"

You stared at your plate, following the intricate designs with your finger. You imagined a tiny you banging its head against the wall, inwardly cringing at what you just said. Glancing up at Cyrus, who was still neutral as ever.

Explain it better you idiot!

"It's just that one of your grunts called you that and well, it's a weird thing to call your boss..."

"The title was something my subordinates came up with. If it bothers you that much I will tell them to stop."

"No, no it's fine. Listen I can't stay long, I still have work to do at home and I don't want to be out too late."

Cyrus nodded.

"Hmm...how about a few more minutes before we start the tour. How was the trip here?"

You woke up to find yourself under a warm blanket.

Thoughts jumbled as you slowly pieced together what happened.

You had passed out, but from what?

Your brain still felt too sluggish to remember.

Maybe if you just rested a little bit longer.

...

Wait.

You were visiting Cyrus.

How did you... get home?

You didn't go home.

Then where were you sleeping?

You shifted a bit, a fluffy plushie fell against your face. You didn't have plushies in your bed.

Heh heh, Cyrus had plushies in his bed.

Your eyes snapped open, your face flaming hot. Oh my gosh! You were in his bed! You practicality launched you upper half off the bed, legs sprawled out. What on earth were you still doing here?! Where was Cyrus? Your head spun, black spots started to enter your vision. Seems like you got up to fast.

"Good you're awake, I admit I was afraid I had given you too much..."  Cyrus trailed off. He sat at his desk, papers scattered across the wooden furniture. He stared at you, it felt a bit more intense than usual.

Wait too much? Too much of what?

Something didn't feel right. Your stomach began to grow butterfrees. You needed to go home.

"Well, its probably really late, I'm just gonna head home Cyrus." You shuffled off the bed, doing your best to ignore the eyes boring into you. "I'll uh, see you tomorrow?"

"No."

"Huh?"

Your stomach curled, the creeping feeling of fear slowly made itself known. He didn't want you to leave?

Or he's not letting you leave!

No you didn't want to make assumptions. Maybe he didn't want you to leave because it was so late. He was worried for you that's it!

"You're not allowed to leave."

Cyrus stood up slowly making his way over to you, as if you were a wounded pokemon.

"Ah right, because the portals are down right? It's fine I can just take the elevator."

Your legs began to feel like jelly, you weren't even sure you could make it to the door. You quickly glanced at the door.

Cyrus clearly seeing your poorly hidden intentions spoke up. "Don't bother trying, the door is locked." Quickly blocking it from your view.

He gently grabbed your arms, making soothing motions, in a poor attempt to calm you down. When had he gotten so close? Too close. You needed air.

"Cyrus what's going on? I can take care of myself. I'll be fine, just let me go."

He was just being an overprotective friend that's all, nothing to worry about.

He looked at you for a few seconds, which felt like an eternity.

"I can't, not with my goal so close. Listen, very soon this world will be gone,"

You stared dumbly at the man you befriended months ago. His eyes went off in a far away stare. "in its place a new one, a perfect one. If all goes according to plan, a few months from now." The gaunt man's eyes sharpened, pinning you in place.

"I can't allow you to leave until it's over."

"I- you're not making any sense. Cyrus are you ok, do you feel sick?"

You quickly moved your hand to his forehead. Still cold as ever.

You watched Cyrus' eyes soften once more, he gently moved your hand from his face, deciding to hold it instead.

"Do you remember the first time you met me? You let me in from the pouring rain, a complete stranger. As welcoming as it was, your nativity worried me." His hand started to tighten. "Would you have let any stranger enter your home without caution? Even I admit my intentions weren't innocent... I intended to kill you that night."

Your breath hitched, everything seemed to slow down. Who had you let into your home, a serial killer? This had to be a sick joke, but Cyrus wasn't the joking type...

You limply tried to take your hand back, still in shock at his confession. Cyrus refused to let go, tightening his grip instead. The blunette continued.

"I have spent most of my adult life trying to rid myself of emotions. To the point where I changed my own dna to do it. I thought if I became a vampire my emotions would disappear. I was clearly wrong."

You legs eventually lost the battle of keeping you upright. Cyrus quickly gripped you around the waist, moving you towards the edge of the bed. He was a vampire now too?! You weren't sure how many more bombshells you could take.

"I... had been watching you with the intent of using you as a meal. But the more I watched the more I realized I didn't want to. I had caught feelings for you.

It went against everything I stood for. That emotions were a plague on humanity. I had decided right then and there I would end this fixation, for the sake of my plans. So I picked a day it would rain, less evidence to worry about.

But then you opened the door and I just couldn't go through with it."

Cyrus shifted closer to you.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent together. I thought to myself ' I could afford to be a bit selfish, what's one extra person?' So I decided to bring you here."

You felt dizzy but not enough to pass out. You cradled your head in your hands, wishing you could disappear. This was too much, you needed, you needed, gosh you could barely think straight!

"Cyrus, this isn't right I need to leave. I don't know what you have going on here but I don't want any part of it. We can still hang out at my place just please, let me go."

You could feel Cyrus shift on the bed once more. Maybe it was best to keep your eye on him, but you couldn't bring yourself to.

"I've made up my mind and to insure you can't leave there's one more thing to get out of the way..."

He turned you that night, you still shudder at the memory. The next month was filled with sobbing. No matter how Cyrus tried to frame it. Drinking another humans blood horrified you. You threw up the first few times you tried. Curling up in a ball and wishing you were anywhere else but this hell. It was impossible to escape during the night when Cyrus was most active. It seemed no matter what you did he'd find out. But you did notice hid senses ( and yours to a degree) were dulled during the day. You desperately tried to escape, once while the sun was still up, but a quick demonstration from Cyrus put a stop to that.

The memory of that poor newly turned girl burning in the sunlight was permanently stitched in your brain.

Cyrus tried to accommodate your cell (as you now refused to call it your room) to your liking, but it only served to make you resent the man more. How dare he try to act like this was okay!

Sometimes a grunt would come and check on you, though as time went on you were beginning to suspect they were supposed to be your food source. Some grunts would come in with cuts on their hands, the smell of their blood poorly covered by bandages.

You grit your teeth at the thought, carefully avoiding your new canines. You wouldn't give in to cyrus' game, you'd prove that you were still human on the inside.

But... it was getting harder to control. It didn't matter how much water you drank you still couldn't get rid of that thirst. If you could just control it a little longer, long enough to get out of here you would be okay.

You'd almost bitten the last grunt that came in, completely ashamed at yourself for almost killing them.

Since you couldn't leave during the day or night, you concluded that the best option was during dusk. That should give you enough time to escape with less chance of Cyrus catching you while still being able to avoid the suns rays.

And after 2 weeks of careful planning, you made your move.

Back to the present.

You didn't know how long you had been walking, but with the new threat of the sun, it was better to lay low early than get caught unaware.

You had almost missed it at first glance

.

A small cave in the side of the mountain, it was more of a crack than anything. It would most likely be a 30 minute climb (for humans), it was a perfect place to hide until night came again.

A perfect place to stay and wait.

You gripped the cold stone, letting out a small sigh.

Well here goes nothing.

The butterfree in your stomach started to flutter again. No, it wasn't time to get nervous now you had to do this, for the sake of Sinnoh. Gritting your teeth you grabbed at a stable rock and hoisted yourself up.

Okay you're doing great, just one hand at a time and keep your eyes on the prize.

You were halfway up now, you looked around for another place to put your hand, there that rock looks sturdy. You swung yourself over to the next ledge.

And woke up an angry graveler. The two of stared at each other for a second, faces inches away. It would have been comical in a tv show. The pokemon realizing what happened roared at you for the rude awakening. To which you let go of it in pure shock.

You felt weightless until it registered that you were falling. You barely had time to brace for impact as you hit the ground hard. If you still needed to breathe you were sure the wind would have been knocked out of you. Pain split throughout your back as you writhed on the grass.

The sound of crushed rocks filled your ears, you caught a glimpse of a blur headed towards you. Your stomach nearly leapt out of your throat. A strangled noise made it way out. You quickly dove out of the way, back protesting at the sudden movement.

You felt the air whoosh past you, you took a chance and glanced back, looking at the trail of destruction left behind by the irate pokemon. You watched it disappear into the brush. You slumped to the ground hissing at the pain in your spine. You hoped nothing was broken. Maybe your new abilities could fix your back, it'd be the only good thing to come out of this mess.

But you relief was short lived as it seemed the graveler wasn't finished with you yet, the sound of snapping sticks steadily got closer.

Could you not catch a break? You hobbled to the nearest tree, the sound of sticks snapping urged you on. Grabbing a tree branch you tried to hoist yourself up, but the pain in your back was too much. It felt as if lightning shot up your nerves with every movement. Maybe you could hide behind the tree instead?

"Houndoom use dark pulse."

Oh. Oh no.

You watched as the graveler that had been tormenting you got bashed into the mountain side. The pokemon quickly realizing this was a losing battle, rolled away. Leaving you with with the last person you wanted to see.

The sound of a pokemon being returned filled your ears. Soft slow footsteps seemed to echo throughout the forest. Your stomach felt as if it was in knots. If you weren't in such pain you would have hunched in on yourself, at least to feel some sort of security.

He stood in front of you now, silent as usual. You stubbornly refused to look at him, balling your fists. You felt shame, shame for being caught so easily, it hadn't even been a full night! You must've looked so pathetic from his perspective.

Cyrus sighed, as if you running a away was a minor inconvenience. You almost wished you could punch him right now. Instead you pushed yourself against the tree more.

"I assume with the position you are in you've injured your legs?"

You bit the inside of your cheek, glaring at him in response. His impassive face stared back.

"... I hurt my back." You ground out, feeling as if every word was a declaration of defeat. Cyrus hummed, bending down to examine you. To which you weakly hit him, desperately wishing for distance.

He ignored you in favor of checking your injuries. You finally slumped in defeat, letting Cyrus do what he wanted.

"Can you walk?" The bluenette asked.

You bit back some choice words. Turning your head in the opposite direction, ignoring the pain in your neck.

"I'm fine leave me alone."

"I'll have to carry you then."

What? You were soon hoisted up, you blinked at the sudden height change.

How dare he!

"Put me down I don't need your help!"

You tried squirming out of his grasp, but the pain in your back flared. You gave up once more. There wasn't anything you could do. You blinked back tears, would you have to watch everyone die in front of you? How pathetic you couldn't even handle a bit of back pain when the world was at stake. He continued his walk in a random direction.

"The sun will rise soon, so we're staying in a nearby cave."

"I'd rather burn in the sun."

The signs of morning approaching soon shown, thankfully (or not) Cyrus had found a cave. He slowly set you down, even that had your sensitive back spike in pain. You hissed in displeasure.

"If you had stayed where you were supposed to, you wouldn't be in pain."

Cyrus mocked, at least you think he was mocking you. Him and his stupid face.

"If you hadn't held me against my will I wouldn't have run away."

Cyrus sat beside you, putting himself between you and the mouth of the cave. As if you had the strength to run. You stared forlorn at the day you used to walk in. Now look at you, hiding in the dark like some zubat.

"Cyrus, you don't have to do this, there are still good people in the world. Don't take away their happiness."

Cyrus held your hand, snapping you out of your thoughts. Aware of his burning stare,

you still kept your sights on the sunny day you were missing.

"It doesn't matter, their happiness is fleeting. As long as their incomplete spirit exists strife will find a way in. This is for the best, you'll see, I'll make the world the way it's supposed to be."

You frowned was there really no way to change his mind? You looked away from the beautiful scenery and instead stared at the dark abyss of the cave.

No.

No you wouldn't live like this.

You'd get your sunny day back, this wasn't over. You'd find a way out of this, tell the Champion and have her save the world.

Even if it meant losing your only friend.

Cyrus squeezed your hand.

You would come out of this victorious.

[dannythedog]

Puppy Love - Danny Wagner x Reader

Pt. 2 to my Picnic fic!! It's not crucial that you read part one, but I'd appreciate it if you did :) for you @ageofsewingmachine

Synopsis: Danny fell in love with a puppy at the park and now he insists on adopting one

Warnings: None

Masterlist

Let me know if you want to be added/removed from my tag list!

~

Danny ate his lunch at lightning speed, salad dressing dripping down his chin and onto his shirt. I was a little worried he'd choke. He eyed my plate as he cleared his, giving me a disapproving look. "Y/N, we have to hurry! Not only do we have to get to the shelter, we still have to go to the pet store! Our puppy is waiting for us!"

I chuckled and packed away what was left on my plate. I could always take it to work for lunch. "Well come on, Daniel. Help me clean up so we can go!" He beamed and raced to throw the trash away, long hair waving wildly with his fervor. Watching him so happy made me feel good. He was typically so calm and quiet, so seeing him this excited was a wonderful change.

He came bounding back from the trash can and grabbed the four corners of the blanket. "Danny, let me-" he never let me finish my request. He picked the four corners up with all of our supplies still placed in the center of the blanket, making a giant makeshift sack. "I'll clean it up later. I can't wait any longer!"

Danny insisted he drove to the shelter. He blasted his favorite upbeat music, rolled the windows down, and drove entirely too fast. Joy bubbled up through my chest and I couldn't help but let out sounds of glee when he rounded a corner dangerously quick. Our car kicked up clouds of dust as we whipped into a parking spot, a few passersby giving us angry waves and even a shout of displeasure. I felt breathless as I stepped out of the car, overwhelming feelings of jubilation and the sense of a new chapter knocked the wind out of me.

"You can't drive like that once we get the dog," I teased. He graced me with the sweetest of smiles and met me on the gum filled sidewalk to take my hand. He was more cautious now. "We have to be calm before we see them or else we won't know if they're a right fit. They'll sense our excitement and go crazy." I admired Danny's thoughtfulness and took a few deep breaths to calm my own overabundance of energy. With a nod of my head I pulled him towards the doors, hearing a few yips before we even entered.

The lady at the front desk greeted us with a tired smile, shuffling some papers as she rose from her chair. "Welcome! What can I do for you guys today?"

"We want to adopt a dog!" Danny gushed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Great! I'll show you to the kennels and after that we can fill out some papers." She unlocked a heavy door with her key card and let us walk in first. My heart broke at all the sad faces around us. Almost every kennel was filled, each door decorated with their names and a little back story. I stole a glance at Danny, his face was crestfallen, any signs of excitement dissipated.

"This is gonna be hard," he mumbled, peering into the first kennel. We slowly walked up and down the rows, occasionally stepping into the small spaces to meet the dogs. Some of them were so pitiful you could almost hear my heart crack in half.

"Danny," I placed my hand on his shoulder, pulling his attention away from a little Chihuahua puppy called Nacho. "I know you have your heart set on a puppy, but maybe we should give one of the other dogs a chance. Like look at him, he's been here for two years!" I pointed out Banjo, a scrawny looking mutt with missing patches of fur. Danny rose to his feet and finally focused on some of the other pups who gazed back with hopeful expressions.

"You're right. We should give all these guys an equal opportunity." Up and down the rows we went, shoes making soft tapping noises against the concrete floor that sparked the pups' curiosity. My eyes followed along the different name tags until I saw one decorated with music notes. 'Cyrus' it read. 'I'm an 8 year old red nose Pitbull who loves to rock out! Turn on my favorite rock music and I'll howl along all night!' "No way," I murmured, a small smile working it's way to my face. There were a few pictures to accompany the rest of the bio, pretty pictures of him sitting still and smiling for the camera, the others of him romping around and howling.

I tugged at Danny's sleeve to pull him to the kennel. He had stopped to look at a rambunctious Shiba Inu that looked too wild to be a good fit for our new little family. "Look," I smiled, cuddling into Danny's arm. "He likes rock n roll, too." He leaned into me, an amused expression donning his features. "Okay, Cyrus, let's see if we bond."

We entered the little cage, Cyrus' golden brown eyes wandering over us excitedly. I sank to my knees, holding out a hand to let him sniff. Cautiously, he slinked over and inspected not only my hand, but anything he could reach. His big head rested on my shoulder for a moment before giving me a big lick to the cheek, leaving a large patch of saliva behind.

"He sure seems to like you," Danny giggled, leaning down next to me for his turn. Cyrus ambled over and rested his body weight on Danny's thighs, nearly knocking him from his squatting position. He wrapped his arms around the large dog, reddish brown fur sticking to his clothes. "I think he likes you, too." My voice was soft and filled with affection. There was something so tender about seeing Danny love on another creature.

Danny reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. "Time to see how well he sings!" He turned on Life in the Fast Lane by The Eagles and backed up some to gauge the dog's reaction. Not much happened at first, just a small wag of his tail, but as the beat picked up and the chorus began Cyrus' jaw opened slightly, a small bark coming out. Danny grinned and began singing along, almost as if to egg the dog on, and like magic it worked. Cyrus opened his muzzle and let out the longest howl. Him and Danny 'sang' a pretty duet, even earning a little wiggle out of the pup.

He looked at me with such exhilaration, rubbing the dog's back furiously. "This is it! This is our dog, Y/N!" I stood and grabbed the little leash that hung in his kennel, his bio said he had picked it out himself. "Alright, let's get him home."

We rushed through the paperwork as fast as we could and loaded our pretty boy into the car. "Sam is gonna be so excited," he beamed. "I think he'll be our tour dog. He'll come for Josh's spot." The whole ride home we rolled the windows down and blasted rock music for our little baby, completely elated to have the start of our new family.

~

This is the reference I used for Cyrus if anyone was interested lol

Tag list: @tripthelight-fanfic @always-crushin @ageofsewingmachine @theweightofstardust @edgeofcaravel @ageoffeet @the-salt-is-in-chelsea @tellmama-allaboutit @thefleetofdreams @greta-van-yeet @way-to-go-lad @weightofdreams-gvf @frickin-bats @fleetsonfire

[saltytyrus]

First Date Confessions

Tyrus fic - part 2 of Sleep and Straws 

word count: 2,591

TJ and Cyrus go on their first date

Fresh snow sparkled under the streetlights and TJ came into view as Cyrus rounded the corner. He was halfway down the block, leaning against the wall of the ticket booth. Cyrus was suddenly very grateful that the snow piling up on the sidewalk wasn't frozen over yet, knowing he'd probably look like a baby giraffe trying to walk for the first time if it was. Snow crunched beneath his feet with every step and when he was about ten feet away from TJ, TJ looked up from his phone and smiled at him. Cyrus' mouth had a mind of its own and he was unable to keep his smile from widening as he got closer and closer. He opted to look down at the ground in an attempt to regain control. Coming face to face with him, still sporting a prominent smile, he looked up from their shoes and met TJ's eyes; they were glossed over from the unforgiving wind and his nose, ears and cheeks were tinged red.

"Hi," Cyrus said.

"Good morning," TJ teased with a shit-eating grin, slipping his phone into the back pocket of his jeans.  

At the slight reminder of last Friday's events, Cyrus' cheeks began to thaw as heat rose to them. "I'll never live that down, will I?" he chuckled. 

TJ shook his head smiling, "Nope. I have an alarm set for 8pm with the label, 'Text Cyrus Good Morning'. "

"I- I can't tell if you're kidding or not," He groaned through a smile, earning a shrug and a laugh from TJ.

"Speaking of last week," Cyrus filled the comfortable silence, "I have a bone to pick with you," he stated crossing his arms, feigning seriousness and looking up at him through thick lashes. 

"Pick away," TJ smiled down at him. 

Cyrus nodded briefly with a fake smile, "Blue," he said plainly, expecting TJ to get it. Although they've texted non-stop, and even called each other since last week, this was a conversation Cyrus saved to have face to face. 

TJ's eyes twinkled, "Ah, my favorite color!" he said through his grin and reached into his pocket, retrieving his keys. Connected to a ring was a container holding a folded navy blue silicone straw. 

"Cute," Cyrus said flatly, still trying to keep up the serious facade that was crumbling by the second, "But, it would've been nice to know that my teeth were blue!" he exclaimed allowing his smile to take over. 

Confusion took over TJs features, "I thought you knew," he voiced innocently although his eyes said otherwise. 

"I-" Cyrus went to defend himself when TJ cut in, unleashing a smile of his own.

"Don't worry," he chuckled, "If it makes you feel any better, I once walked around with Oreo streaks in my front teeth. For two or three hours, and it was a smiley day for me, too." He winced recalling the day he spent shoveling neighbors driveways. The moment he walked into the house, he had Amber hunched over in a laughing fit, unaware of why until she handed him a mirror. He wanted to crawl in a hole.

Cyrus giggled, "That definitely helps." 8:15, He caught a glimpse of the ticket booths clock behind TJ, "The movie starts in twenty, lets buy tickets?" He began to walk towards the employee until he felt a hand meet his. Exposed with no defense against Decembers air, their hands were ice cold but as TJ's hand slipped into his own, he instantly felt nothing but warmth between them. Gently he was tugged back and Cyrus turned to look at him.

"No need," TJ said, answering only a sliver of the questions swirling in Cyrus' eyes.

"Oh, do you want to go somewhere else?" Cyrus asked trying to get caught up to speed. 

"Nope," he popped the p, and shifted his hand to interlace their fingers before pulling him towards the doorway. Cyrus in a daze, complied and let himself be pulled towards the theater entrance.

Snapping back into the reality of the situation, Cyrus held his ground. "Uh," Cyrus spoke as TJ opened the door with his free hand and looked back at him smiling, "Okay, you're extremely attractive and sweet, but I am not going to jail again, for or with you."

TJ chuckled, the red in his face intensifying and he squeezed his hand, "You're not going to jail, I-, wait, did you just say 'again' and 'jail' in the same sentence?" 

"Mhm, not the point right now. I am not sneaking into a movie." 

At that, TJ snorted. "It's not sneaking in if you have a ticket."

Cyrus tilted his head and TJ's smile grew at the sight, "But, I don't have a ticket," Cyrus said still not getting it. 

"Sure you do," he replied and let go of Cyrus' hand to dig through his front pocket, pulling two tickets out seconds later.

Cyrus' immediate breath of relief was visible, "I don't know if I should thank you or yell at you for nearly giving me a heart attack. Sneaking into a theater would've definitely been a deal breaker." 

TJ offered him an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I was going to tell you, but the look on your face was just so cute," he cooed. 

Cyrus narrowed his eyes and fought to keep a straight face as his cheeks warmed. Not knowing what to say, he reached into his back pocket and grabbed his wallet, pulling out a ten dollar bill and two singles, offering it to TJ who looked at it as if it was a foreign object. "For the ticket," Cyrus clarified and TJ shook his head.

"No," he stated plainly and Cyrus' eyebrows furrowed, "I'm not letting you pay for a movie that you've already seen."

Knowing that arguments like these were a lost cause, and that the movie was scheduled to start in fifteen minutes, Cyrus nodded and put the bills back into his wallet. Offering TJ a sweet smile, "Okay, but I'm paying for the drinks and snacks, and there's nothing you can do about it," he said smugly and headed towards the snack counter as TJ stood there trying to process what just happened. "You coming?" Cyrus threw over his shoulder. TJ shook his head fondly to himself and walked over to join him. 

"So, about that jail thing-" TJ said grabbing a pack of strawberry twizzlers from a shelf.

__

"But they were from the dumpster!" TJ exclaimed incredulously as he pulled open the theater door for Cyrus, who walked in backwards.

"Trust me, we tried that argument. Both before, and after being put behind bars," he laughed thinking back to that day four years ago, nostalgia crashing into him. "So," he said feeling TJ's shoulder brush his, effectively bringing him back into the present, "If you already had the tickets, why were you standing outside? It's freezing!"

TJ smiled, "I like the fresh air and winters my favorite season," he shrugged. "How about you?" he said, purposely bumping his shoulder into Cyrus'. 

"Autumn. Not too cold or too hot," Cyrus responded without a second thought as they neared the corner. Glancing over the seating, around ten others sat in scattered rows, deep in their own phones and conversations. "Lead the way, I can never make up my mind,"he said to TJ who smiled and started up the stairs. They stopped at the top row, which was void of people. TJ walked towards the middle and took a seat. Cyrus followed, about to sit but paused mid-action as TJ stood up and moved over three seats to the right, and then moved over one to the left. "What are you doing?" Cyrus asked in amusement and pure curiosity. 

"Trying to find the center seat," TJ replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and stood up again, moving another seat over to the left.  

"Ah, well, did you find it yet?" Cyrus chuckled. 

"Mhm, it's that one." TJ smiled and looked up at him, pointing to the seat to the right of him, the very one he just got up from, "Have a seat." 

Cyrus' face warmed, "Why, thank you," he said and moved to the seat.

__

They made conversation while the previews went on until TJ felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, "Sorry," he said as he pulled it out and Cyrus nodded, putting his focus into opening his box of jolly ranchers instead. 

____

Message from: Thing 2 

'He's cute!'

____

Confused, TJ looked up and was immediately met with his sister, Amber, four rows down who held up two thumbs and a smile. At a loss, he watched as her eyes shifted to the right of him and widened, immediately, she turned back to face the screen. 

"Everything okay?" Cyrus asked popping a candy into his mouth. 

"Uh huh, just my sister," he said still confused. Cyrus followed his line of sight to the back of a blonde head who was now getting approached by a beaming Andi. He smiled in realization that their dates and showtimes matched up. 

"Small world," Cyrus said to himself now aware that TJs sister was also Andi's Amber.

__ 

Cyrus jumped in his seat when it dawned on him two minutes later, "I almost forgot," he mumbled and turned in his seat to face TJ and tapped his shoulder. TJ immediately turned to him, coming face to face with a smiling Cyrus, "Guess what came in the mail yesterday," he whispered as the lights dimmed and the last round of previews played out. 

"What?" TJ said smiling earning a pout from Cyrus.

"No, you gotta guess," he whined.  

"Uh, socks?" 

Cyrus face scrunched up, "Socks? Why socks?"

TJ laughed, "I don't know, my mom sent me a care package the other day and there were like, five packages of socks each for my sister and I. It was the first thing that came to mind." He shrugged.

"Well, it's not socks," Cyrus smiled, "But, if I were you, I'd thank your- my"  -he quickly corrected himself to avoid the awkward situation that he knew all too well- "mom because I swear those communal dryers devour socks! Well, that, or someone is going into the dryers and stealing a single sock each. Which is pretty disturbing, so I really hope that's not the case," Cyrus went on until he looked up and noticed TJ looking at him with a soft smile, "Sorry, I'm rambling."

"Don't apologize," TJ smiled. "Actually, maybe you should apologize for putting that theory in my head. That is disturbing," he snorted, "Just a dorm room filled to the brim with sock mountains." 

Cyrus smiled and wordlessly reached into his pocket, pulling out a mint green silicone straw. Swaying it back and forth between their faces, "This," Cyrus said and TJ broke into a smile; their bubble was sliced into by the opening credits before TJ could reply.

__ 

"You said, and I quote, there 'isn't a David in the movie' ," TJ exclaimed as they made their way back to their dorms. Snow meeting and immediately melting in their hair. 

Cyrus threw his hands up in defense, "I thought it would keep you on your toes. Y'know if you ever decided to watch it down the line." Cyrus smirked shamelessly and bumped his shoulder against TJs. 

TJ stopped in his tracks. At the loss of snow crunching beside him, Cyrus turned around to see TJ looking at him with a disbelieving smile, "No, what you did was unacceptable. David, is a dog! Do you know how stressed I was?" TJ said, "The possibility of David the chihuahua dropping dead at any minute never left my mind, and you wouldn't even answer my questions," he pouted.

"I know, but, my code." Cyrus sighed dramatically, "I'm afraid that it wasn't designed for exceptions or adjustments; not even for beautiful green eyes full of fear for the life of a tv dog," Cyrus said boldly, trying and failing to keep his composure as he erupted into laughter. TJ soon joined in, closing the distance, and they continued their walk. Cyrus still shook with laughter next to him, his shoulder occasionally bumping into his on accident as a reminder that he wasn't done.

"David-" Cyrus struggled to get out, "Was introduced, like, three minutes into the movie. I was just testing my suspicions; 'three fourths of the way' my ass! You didn't make it one-fourth of the way into the movie last Friday," he said knowingly and TJ stayed silent knowing for a fact that he fell asleep during the previews last week. He grinned ahead, his face hurting from smiling so much.

"You're evil," TJ stated confidently, slipping his hand into Cyrus' who closed his fingers around his in turn.

"But he didn't die now, did he?" Cyrus shot back turning to face TJ with tears glistening in his eyes from laughter. They came to a halt, now in front of Cyrus' dorm entrance. They had passed TJ's five minutes ago but he insisted on walking him home; his winning excuse being: 'I love the cold air, I'd probably stand outside for another ten minutes anyways.' 

TJ snorted lightly, staring down at Cyrus who stood two or three inches below him. "No, he didn't," he said softly as Cyrus smiled up at him. "Can- can I make a confession?" TJ continued unsure of himself, audibly swallowing as Cyrus nodded in response.

"I carry a pack of silicone straws with me everywhere I go. I could've just given you one that day, but I really just wanted an excuse to get your number," he trailed off shyly chancing a glance at Cyrus who was biting back a smile.  

"Well, I hope you don't regret your decision," he replied through a soft laugh, the irrational part of his brain making him slightly nervous for TJs reply. 

"I don't," TJ said immediately. 

"Good," he whispered, the wind carrying his voice away as soon as it came. 

They were close, very close. Cyrus didn't even notice how close they were until he saw TJs eyes leave his and flick down to his lips, Cyrus' own following suit, his breath catching in his throat as his stomach flipped.

Entering fight or flight mode, Cyrus subsequently backed away. Quickly made aware that they still had their hands linked together, he shook them as if they just met at a business meeting with a smile, "Until next time," he said awkwardly. Releasing TJ's hand, he turned towards the dorm entrance and slipped inside, ignoring the urge to look back at him. 

TJ stood there dumbfounded until ten seconds later when the door creaked back open, and Cyrus' head popped out with an apologetic smile. "I- sorry. I panicked. That'll probably happen a lot," -he said stepping back outside, searching TJ's face, nervous that he just ruined everything as if they were playing a game of Jenga- "Do you regret it now?" he said biting at the inside of his cheek.

TJ vehemently shook his head and chuckled, "I'm pretty sure you couldn't pay me to regret it." Cyrus sighed in relief and took a step closer. Standing up on his toes, snow crunched under the added pressure as he placed a quick kiss to TJs cheek, feeling his face stretch into a smile against his lips. He pulled away and turned back towards the door, "Text me when you're home?" Cyrus asked earning a nod in response, TJ being too flustered to form words.

[captainkippen]

Could you write a hockey themed Tyrus fic at some point?

SEND ME FIC PROMPTS

Hockey, as a whole, means nothing to Cyrus Goodman. It doesn’t matter that his school’s team is a part of the Big Ten. He doesn’t care that they’ve made it to the Frozen Four of the NCAA tournament three years in a row now. When his friends talk about it (and they talk about it a lot) he mostly just tunes it out. Sports, in general, aren’t really his thing, but hockey especially isn’t. It’s violent. It involves shoes with knives on them sliding around on the most dangerous surface possible. It completely goes against all of his pacifistic sensibilities.

Which is why he’s not sure how he’s ended up getting dragged to a game tonight.

“Seriously, would you stop complaining?” Buffy sighs at him. “It’s not even that cold in here.”

“I just don’t understand why I have to be here,” Says Cyrus. “You guys have never cared if I stayed behind before.”

That much is true. Buffy, Jonah and Andi are all regulars at the games. They’re avid fans of the NHL in their spare time and that enthusiasm seems to have translated to college hockey too. Buffy is dating one of the third-line forwards, Marty, and as a result, all three of them are currently sporting his jersey as they yell their support from the stands. They’ve never felt the need to include Cyrus in this before, usually very understanding that he’s allergic to almost all forms of physical activity that do not involve dancing badly to Carly Rae Jepsen when he’s in a particularly good mood, but tonight Buffy had insisted he come.

She rolls her eyes at him. “I wasn’t about to let you mope around in the library again. You need a life outside of studying and class, you know that right?”

“I have a life! I’m part of like three different societies!”

“Do you ever go to their meetings or socials?” She asks with a raised eyebrow.

He grimaces back at her. She has a point. Cyrus is pretty good at socialising when it comes to it, but the idea of jumping in feet first with large groups of new people makes his palms sweat. He prefers to stick to talking to classmates and dorm neighbours.

“Exactly,” Buffy says with a smug look. “You don’t talk to anybody!”

“I talk to you guys!”

Dragging her eyes away from the pretty blonde sat two rows ahead, Andi jumps to Cyrus’ defence, obviously having had enough of this bickering match. “And he talks to that guy in his American Lit class, don’t you, Cyrus? What’s his name again?”

Cyrus nods and forces himself not to smile. American Literature has become one of his favourite classes of the semester and it’s not because of the course content. “TJ,” he replies. He tries to keep the dreaminess out of his voice but it must not work as well as he intended as the girls exchange looks of amused exasperation.

“Are you planning to ask him out any time soon or are you just going to keep mooning over him silently?” Buffy asks.

“Excuse me, I do not moon.”

Andi snorts. “No, you’re right. You drool.”

He smacks her in the shoulder and almost slides right out of his seat trying to avoid the jab to his rib she gives him in return. Fortunately for him, this battle is quickly broken up by the return of Jonah bearing armfuls of popcorn and soda.

“So apparently,” he says as he sits down and passes out the snacks. “Kippen is in tonight.”

Buffy’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Really? I thought he had another game left on his ban.”

“Who’s Kippen?” Andi asks. She likes the game well enough and will cheer just as hard as the other two when it comes to watching games but she doesn’t keep up with the standings or lineups like Buffy and Jonah do.

“One of our d-men,” Jonah replies. “He got suspended for like six games for roughing.”

“I thought roughing only gets penalties?” Cyrus asks. As much as he’d like to know absolutely nothing about the game, some information sinks in from time to time.

“Not if you go too far with it. Anyway, the team appealed the decision and the league lowered it. I think they argued he didn’t instigate the last fight.”

“Huh. Well… can’t hurt to have him back. Is he back on first line?”

“Yep.”

“Nice.”

*

As the game starts Cyrus learns two things:

He was right. Hockey is not his thing.

Student-athletes are terrifying but their fans are worse.

The crowd is so loud they might actually blow the roof off the arena. He sits, a little afraid, in a sea of blue and gold as people scream over one another in anger every time a referee makes a call. It doesn’t seem to matter what the call actually is, they’re all mad about it each time. He feels a little bad for the officials - it can’t be fun to be the guy that makes all the tough decisions. Especially when people threaten to fight you every chance they get. He decides to distract himself from the frenzy around him by actually focusing on the guys on the ice. They’ve got pretty good seats, low in the stands and close to the glass because ‘Marty is a blessing’ according to Jonah. He keeps an eye out for him, as he’s the only player he knows he figures he might as well be ready to get excited if he scores or something, but another guy catches his eye too.

‘KIPPEN’ reads the back of his jersey as he barrels into an unsuspecting member of the opposition, squishing him against the boards like a bug. Oh. So that’s who the others had been talking about. He’s not close enough for Cyrus to make out his face, helmet obscuring his features somewhat, but something about him rings a bell in Cyrus’ mind.

Five minutes later, he figures out why.

One of Kippen’s teammates gets cross-checked and goes down hard. It takes nought point two seconds for Kippen himself to come flying in, drop his gloves and grab the guy responsible for the check. At some point in all the chaos, Cyrus finds himself caught up with the rest of the crowd stood up and screaming. Fists are flying. The officials can’t get near enough to pull them apart. Kippen’s helmet comes off.

He gets the takedown, the crowd cheers jubilantly, and as he straightens up a shock of recognition floods Cyrus’ system. He smacks Andi on the arm.

“Ow! What?!”

“That’s TJ!” He exclaims.

“TJ? As in American Lit TJ? As in American Lit TJ who you’ve been crushing on since classes started?”

He nods.

“Holy crap.”

That just about sums it up.

*

TJ Kippen is the softest, funniest and sweetest guy Cyrus has ever met. Except, he’s not apparently. Apparently, this whole time has been wandering around thinking he was some sort of coffee shop poet he’s actually been skating around throwing hits and earning the ire of several opposing teams while drawing the adoration of half the school. Cyrus isn’t sure what to do with this information.

“Cyrus, Cyrus! Hey!” A voice breaks through the hustle and bustle of the crowded parking lot. They’re hanging around waiting for Marty so they can go and get pizza to celebrate the win. It seems like half the team’s fans are waiting outside for the boys to emerge too. Cyrus wonders what that’s like, to have fans while at college. He turns and sees TJ jogging over to him. He must’ve moved at the speed of light to get showered and changed so fast. He looks so soft in his button-down shirt, wet hair flopping into his eyes.

“Hey,” TJ pants slightly, stopping next to him and leaning one hand on Jonah’s car. “I saw you in the stands… I didn’t realise you came to our games.”

“I don’t usually,” Cyrus explains. “I’m not really good with sports. I’m friends with Buffy? She’s dating one of your teammates-”

“Oh, Marty’s girlfriend? Yeah, she’s cool. She’s on the basketball team, right?”

“That’s the one.”

“Awesome,” TJ grins at him, goofy and wide. It’s almost enough to distract Cyrus from the bruise forming around his eye, but not quite.

“Are you okay?” He asks, starting to reach out to touch it then aborting the gesture last minute. “Maybe you should go see somebody about that.”

TJ waves him off with a casual hand. “It’s fine, I already got it checked. It’ll be okay. Thanks for the concern though… I’m glad you’re here. I wasn’t expecting to see you until Monday.”

“That makes two of us,” Cyrus laughs. “I didn’t know you played hockey. Congrats on the win, though.”

“Thanks, I guess there’s a lot we don’t know about each other, huh?” He rubs the back of his neck and smiles. Cyrus feels warm to his toes. “Actually, I was wondering… could we fix that? Would you maybe like to grab a drink with me or something? To get to know each other? No old white American authors or anything. Just the two of us.”

Oh. OH.

“That sounds great… but I already agreed to go out with my friends-”

“We’ll save you some pizza,” Andi cuts in suddenly, then turns to TJ. “He’d love to go.”

Cyrus looks at her, wide-eyed, and she gives him a stern look in response. Well, she’s not wrong. He looks back to TJ.

“I’d love to,” he confirms.

The winning smile he gets in return is more than enough to make up for being dragged out to a sports game. Huh, maybe hockey isn’t so bad after all.

[whiskeyworen]

Halloween Festivities

There's one great thing about Tyria. Cyrus reflected as he sipped his whiskey. He smiled to himself, trying to surpress the chuckle that he knew would draw an odd look from the big bartender nearby. Halloween isn't just one day here. It's a damned -- literally! -- month!

Sure, there were significant downsides to a month long Halloween; haunted magical doors opening into the Mists randomly were one of the BIG ones. And having the Mad King appearing in several locations at once around Kryta was another. Last year Cyrus had dodged his way out of a Mad King Says 'game' -- a game that he witnessed more than one person being slammed to the ground by flaming pumpkin heads with enough force to leave them winded -- and into the Labyrinth.

That was a mistake; Not only did he witness Tenna running around and having her 'fun' with the lunatic hordes ( H.P. Lovecraft certainly got some elements right with 'The Festival', at least in that regard), as gory as that was. At the same moment the Mad King was playing his game in the real world, he was ALSO standing there, towering over the Labyrinth, facing off against his revolting, Joker-esque son.

This year, Cyrus resolved to stay away from the festivities as much as possible, but there were some absolutely wonderful parties going on. Costume parties. His 'friend' in the Whispers, that pale sylvari with the terrifying magenta eyes, had invited him and a Plus One to a private get together.

It helped that his companion for the night, his 'date', if the word was to be used, was also a Whispers agent. Certain hands were shook, as it were. It was all good.

Which is how he ended up waiting in the bar. A few weeks ago he'd discussed his costume design with Verula and the ship's AI, Aspect, and they'd come through with, presenting him with the outfit a couple of days ago. He straightened up a bit, running his hand over the sleek, black jacket with its golden gilt filigree, amazed at how well it fit. Remind me to compliment both of them again! This fits wonderfully.

"My, that's quite the outfit Cyrus." Came a familiar voice from behind him. Mixed into the amusement was a note of actual approval. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were going to some fancy ball."

He turned, smirking, to greet his 'date'. "Well, I thought about wearing that Mist suit Tenna designed, but it's bulky. Not exactly relaxation friendly." With a gesture, he indicated the lines of the suit. "This...on the other hand, is perfectly acceptable. Plus, it makes me look damned good."

Moryggan raised an eyebrow, a small smile quirking her lips. "Well, not to boost your ego, but it does look very nice. Very regal, maybe even noble." She rolled her eyes a bit, sighing. "If only that were the truth about you."

"Hey..." He frowned petulantly, crossing his arms. She giggled, shaking her head.

"I'm only toying with you." She admitted. "It's a very handsome outfit."

"Thank you." The frown disappeared, and for the first time Cyrus saw what Moryggan had on. "Oh... wow. That's, um..."

"Do you like it?" Moryggan did a slow spin, the shredded tassels, inscribed in tainted runes swirling around her. Her natural minty green sylvari glow lit up every bit of exposed skin she had, almost like glowing tattoos all over her body. It actually worked very well. But...

"That's...uh... that's a lot of exposed skin." Cyrus tried not to stare, averting his eyes a bit. He coughed into his hand, trying to cover the blush that suddenly rose in his cheeks. "Are you really going to be comfortable in that tonight?"

"It's a costume party. There's probably going to be someone dressed as Lord Faren for crying out loud." Moryggan grinned...and then they both winced and shuddered at the thought of anyone pulling a Faren. "Ugh. Okay, wrong example."

"Yeah. Let's..not mention that ever again." Cyrus agreed, desperately wishing for a bit of brain bleach. Other than adoring noble girls, absolutely no one in the known world wanted to see any MORE of Faren, who had not yet abandoned his bathing suit -- which Cyrus had reluctantly referred to as a 'banana hammock', much to his distaste -- since he returned to health from the assault on Joko's fortress at Kourna.

"So, are you ready to go to the party?" Moryggan asked. Cyrus nodded, and they headed out the passage to the street. "I hope we can take in some of the sights before we reach it, though." "Well, if you want, we can." He replied reluctantly. "Can we skip seeing Droobert though? I just find that depressing." "Agreed." As they reached the street, she linked their elbows, clasping his arm. "... So what is your costume, anyway? A noble?" Cyrus shook his head. "It's as close as I could get made to an outfit my favorite novel character wore." He chuckled. "Hero of the Imperium: Ciaphas Cain." Moryggan tipped her head, considering the golden filigree. This close, she noticed that the buttons had a little skulls engraved on them, and on the breast there was a double-headed eagle icon; blind on one head, the other head had a small diamond for its eye. Looking down, she could see the skulls-and-eagle theme was repeated throughout the outfit. "Hm... name doesn't ring a bell. What did he do?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "He tried for a peaceful, uneventful life in the military, and fell upward, going from one horrible, world-shattering mission after another, succeeding amazingly every time, much to his own surprise. Declared a Hero of the Imperium, all the while he was fully convinced he didn't deserve any of the glory."

"That...sounds strange." She looked at him, the smile on his face. "How is he a hero then?"

"He's not, really." Cyrus just smiled. "The way the world saw him was this tall, proud, masculine, brave, powerful man that never swayed and was the shining example of an upstanding soldier. The truth... in his own memoirs and some of his closest friends' admissions... was that he was an absolutely normal man. The same vices, the same pains, and more than the same amount of fears. He just hid it well, was very lucky, and had some very good friends."

He looked at her, smirking, one eyebrow raised smugly. "He was also quite the ladies' man. And never seemed to have any issues, given he kept moving around."

"Ohh, so he's a heartbreaker." She poked his side as they passed by some kids dunking for apples in a cauldron. "He surrounded himself with women and got away with it, did he?"

"I seem to remember him saying something about being a master of 'letting them down gently'." Cyrus laughed, jumping a bit at her poke. "I don't like THAT aspect of him, but... as a guy, I'm mildly envious of his luck with the ladies."

As they crossed the Piazza, chatting with fellow costumed individuals, Moryggan kept getting the lion's share of the compliments. More than one guy, and even a few ladies gave a low whistle at her hip-high leather boots, even if they DID end in hooves. More than one set of roving eyes ran over her gently glowing form as she walked with Cyrus. And more than one had envy in their eyes.

"I think they like your costume." Cyrus mumbled into her ear as they wandered the passage to the bridge near the Eastern Ward. The party was being held in the Guild register building, in its vast atrium.

"I should hope so. It took an hour of careful conjuring to form this illusion." She whispered back.

That gave him pause. It physically stopped him just before they headed over the bridge, and Moryggan kept walking, as if she hadn't noticed. "Wait...what do you mean 'illusion'? That entire outfit is a mesmer glamour?"

She stopped, turning to look over her shoulder at him, a smile as smug as his own from before on her face. "Of course! There's no way some parts of this would have stayed together on its own. Or in the right places. Add to that I was having a hard time thinking of something to make when I ran out of time. So I used the last hour to make the glamour illusion of this outfit." She turned to face him, hands lightly on her hips. "So I'm rather glad people are enjoying this one."

There was something that was nagging at Cyrus's mind, as he looked at her outfit. But what was it?...There's so much skin. Is that all illusion too?... And then a light went off in his head. "Moryggan..."

"Yes?" She replied innocently. She'd seen that realization hit him; as much as he liked to think he dissembled his emotions, Moryggan had instantly seen that certain things broke his mask in a delightful way.

"....if that's an illusion, then exactly what ARE you wearing?" He asked slowly.

Her smile broadened, and she turned away, letting him see the minty glow pulsing from the base of her spine outward. She couldn't hide it, but the speed of the pulse was slightly faster than normal, and a bit brighter. "....well, if I have too much to drink, perhaps you'll find out?"

She giggled, and looked back at him, seeing his mouth drop open. "Though, I would suggest that we get back to the inn before I lose control of the glamour. It's easy to maintain, but..."

Moryggan tipped her head, making an amused sound, before walking off, a bit of a bounce in her step. Cyrus stood there, his mind locked onto the image of Moryggan losing the illusion and...

"Whoa, wait up Mory!" He called, running to catch up with her. "Slow down!"

Her pleasant laughter was the only response.

---- Author’s note: This is totally non-canon... well, okay, maybe half way. I’m actually starting to ship these two. Which me distinctly envious of my in-game character. LoL. This fic was just thrown together, so take it with a grain of salt. Also, I just kind of wanted to show off Moryggan with her glow fully on, and just how pretty it looked. That, and Cyrus really does look great in that Courtier outfit. All that’s missing is a peaked cap and a laspistol. I’m still working on the chainsword, since they exist in game in about four different designs. (IRON BEAST BLADE!!)

[paladinpeterparker]

Your Last Words // Tyrus

Summary: Everyone has the last words they'll ever hear their soulmate say written on their wrist. For some, the words on their wrist are pretty mundane for last words. But, for Cyrus Goodman and TJ Kippen, the words on their wrists are not normal. Both Cyrus and TJ fear that they'll never find their soulmate. Then, one day, Cyrus finally realizes that his soulmate has been there all along.

[Hope you all enjoy this fic! This soulmate AU idea is based on a Tumblr post that I saw, so the credit for this idea goes to whoever came up with this idea. Also, on a side note: my apologies if my stupid fucking “keep reading” isn’t working and you have to scroll all the way past this. I can’t seem to get the “keep reading” to function. I think I’m cursed, I swear. Anyways.]

“Cyrus, I’m in love with you.” The words had been on Cyrus’s skin for as long as he could remember. That’s how it was for everyone. Everyone in the world had a sentence on their wrist. For some, it was a short sentence, even just a word. For some, it was a long, wordy sentence, full of beautiful words and memories. These words weren’t random. Each person had written on their wrists the last words that they would ever hear their soulmate say. Most people choose to keep the words on their wrists a secret. Some people choose to share them with close friends or family. Andi, Buffy, and Cyrus had all shared their words with one another. Andi’s was pretty normal. It said, “Thank you for everything.” Buffy’s was less normal: “I’m so, so sorry.” Cyrus’s was the one that confused all three of them. His didn’t seem like a person’s dying words. It didn’t seem like something that had been planned or thought out. It wasn’t anything really mundane, either. The words had confused him since the day he understood what they meant. What they really meant.

All that Cyrus knew was that no one had ever said those words to him, so at least he was sure that his soulmate was alive and was out there. Somewhere. He hadn’t really been confident that he would ever find his soulmate, though. At first, he had thought that Jonah could be his soulmate, but, over time, as he and Jonah grew closer, he realized that the idea of Jonah being his soulmate was completely far-fetched. After this, he was back to feeling as if he would never meet his soulmate. Then, TJ walked into his life. Cyrus wasn’t sure that TJ was his soulmate. He couldn’t be, anyway. He didn't know if TJ even liked him back. He didn’t even know if TJ liked boys. He figured that the idea of TJ being his soulmate was just as out-there as the idea of Jonah being his soulmate. But, he still had hope, and, the more his crush on TJ grew, the more he hoped that TJ was his soulmate. The words on Cyrus’s wrist unnerved him, though, especially if he thought that TJ could be his soulmate. Did that mean that he would never get to have a relationship with his soulmate? Would they die right after confessing their feelings? Part of Cyrus wanted TJ to be his soulmate. Then, part of him didn’t, because he knew that he may never get to fully love his soulmate -- they would probably die right before he got to say that he loved them, too.

—

“TJ, look out!” No one was sure what to think of the words written on TJ’s wrist. They didn’t seem to have any deeper meaning. They were just...ominous. TJ, of course, had nightmares about them. He would dream about his soulmate telling him to look out, then him getting shot. He would dream that he would hear his soulmate yell these words, then he would slip off a ladder and fall to his death. Sometimes, he would even dream that his soulmate would yell those words, then push him out of the path of a car or a bus, and they would end up dying just to save his life. TJ wasn’t sure he liked the concept of knowing the last words he would ever hear his soulmate say to him. He often wished that he could just live without knowing that he may lose his soulmate before he even knew that they were his soulmate. TJ’s words sometimes interfered with his daily life, too. During basketball, whenever a basketball came close to hitting TJ, he would hear someone yell, “TJ, look out!” and, instead of moving aside or ducking, he would look frantically for the source of the voice. While TJ may have been paranoid about the words written on his wrist, he wasn’t confident that he would ever find his soulmate. A year ago or so, TJ had had a crush on Marty, which hadn’t gone anywhere. He had thought that maybe they could be soulmates. But, it became obvious that Marty was into Buffy, and, after that, TJ moved on, and moved back to being sure that there was no one out there for him. Who knows? Maybe his soulmate was already gone. He was confident that he would never find a soulmate until that day at the swings when he got to know Cyrus. He didn’t let himself feel too much hope, though. Cyrus might not be his soulmate, and it would be foolish to think otherwise. As they grew closer, TJ tried to keep from hoping. He tried to keep from thinking that Cyrus could be his soulmate. Every time Cyrus smiled at him, every time they laughed together, TJ found it harder and harder to keep this hope at bay.

—

This hope was dangerous, at least, to TJ. Everyday, mundane moments with Cyrus could make his blood run cold just at the sound of three words.

One day, TJ finally saw how dangerous this hope was. The sun had just set, and TJ and Cyrus were sitting on the swings. They had gone out to eat to celebrate TJ getting a B on a math test, and had wound up on the playground.

Cyrus was swinging high on the swings, and TJ was simply watching him. Seeing Cyrus’s face lit up with laughter was somehow better than any math grade that he could have received. As TJ was looking at Cyrus, Cyrus glances over at TJ and caught him staring. For a brief moment, their eyes met, then, flustered, TJ looked down at his watch. “It’s getting pretty late, underdog. We should get going.” “Alright,” Cyrus said. “Just another minute of swinging. Please?” TJ rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed. “Fine.” He stood up and stretched. Without looking where he was going, he stepped forward, right in front of Cyrus’s swing. As Cyrus swung towards him, he yelled, “TJ, look out!” TJ jumped out of the way, moving before the words had a chance to set in. When they did, he felt the blood drain from his face. He looked up at Cyrus, who was watching him with a quizzical expression on his face. “What’s wrong?” Cyrus asked. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” Seeing that Cyrus was okay, TJ felt his panic shift to anger. “Cyrus, what the hell?”

—

Cyrus wasn’t sure why TJ was reacting this way. He had simply told TJ to move out of the way so he wouldn’t get hit by a swinging Cyrus. Now, TJ looked simultaneously like he wanted to pass out and he wanted to scream. Cyrus wasn’t quite sure which he would do. “I’m sorry,” Cyrus sputtered. “I really am. I didn’t mean to offend you or anything.” Cyrus stepped closer to TJ, who was looking down at the ground. Cyrus reached out and put a hand on TJ’s shoulder; TJ was shaking. Concerned, Cyrus asked, “TJ, are you okay?” TJ shook his head. “I don’t think so.” Cyrus frowned. “Wanna talk about it?” “Not really,” TJ replied. The two boys were silent for a moment, then TJ spoke up. “Those words, Cyrus, they...” TJ trailed off. “They...what?” Cyrus asked. “What about them?” Before he spoke again, TJ reached down and pushed up the sleeve of his hoodie, pointing to the words on his wrist. “They’re the same words that are written here.” Without thinking, Cyrus stepped forward, closer to TJ, and examined the words on his wrist: “TJ, look out!” “Oh, yikes,” Cyrus said. “Sorry, then, for saying that.” “You don’t have to be sorry,” TJ said. “It’s not your fault.” Cyrus was still looking at the words scrawled on TJ’s skin. “Why did you freak out though, when I said it?” He paused, thinking. “It’s not like we’re soulmates or anything.” The words had come out before Cyrus could think them through. Before he could apologize, TJ had pulled his wrist away from Cyrus and had turned and begun to walk away. “TJ, wait!” Cyrus said. “I’m sorry!” He tried to catch up to TJ, but it was like a bad math problem: TJ’s speed was just fast enough that Cyrus couldn’t seem to catch him at all. As the two of them reached the road, where the park ended, TJ’s pace slowed. Cyrus finally caught up to him and grabbed TJ’s arm so he couldn’t run away before Cyrus could apologize. “TJ, I’m sorry,” Cyrus said, still slightly out of breath. “Then why did you say what you did, Cyrus?” TJ crossed his arms. “I don’t know, okay? I just…didn’t think—” TJ cut Cyrus off before he could finish. “Yeah, you didn’t think. Cyrus, why wouldn’t I freak out about hearing you say those words?” Cyrus shrugged. “I just...didn’t think we could be soulmates. You’re you, and I’m...me. I didn’t think that you thought we could be soulmates.” At that, TJ turned away from Cyrus again, wrenching his arm from Cyrus’s grasp. He began to walk closer to the road, as if he was trying to get as far away from Cyrus as he could. Cyrus felt like he was going to cry. He just kept saying the wrong things; he was messing everything up. He didn’t know how to say what he was feeling to TJ, because he knew that TJ might not feel the same. Finally, TJ turned back around and spoke. “Cyrus, I don’t just think we could be soulmates. I want us to be soulmates. And maybe you don’t feel the same. That’s fine.” “I-I…” Cyrus didn’t know how to respond. He felt frozen, as if he was in shock; he hadn’t expected TJ to say that. “You...like me?” Exasperated, TJ ran a hand through his hair. “Cyrus, I don’t just like you, okay? I...I love you.” “What?” Cyrus asked, still confused about why TJ was saying all of this, and why now. TJ looked at Cyrus, his hair reflecting an odd yellow light that Cyrus hadn’t seen there a moment ago. His gaze softened, as if all of the anger had gone away. “Cyrus, I’m in love with you.” Cyrus felt his heartbeat quicken. TJ felt the same way about him. TJ had just said that he was in love with Cyrus. Wait. TJ had just said he was in love with Cyrus. Cyrus couldn’t breathe. The words on his wrist seemed to prick at his skin. Before he could think, before he could move, before he could breathe again, Cyrus saw the headlights. He saw a car, speeding down the road, heading right for TJ. It was all happening too quickly. TJ didn’t seem to see the car, he was too focused on Cyrus. Cyrus felt rooted to the spot. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything. Finally, he managed to scream, “TJ, look out!” A bright light. A scream. The squeal of brakes on the road. Cyrus’s head began to swim. He heard voices, yelling, crying. Then, everything went dark.

—

25 years later. Nothing was the same after that night. It was something that Cyrus knew he would never forget. It haunted his dreams, every night reminding him of what he hadn’t done. When he walked down the street, he sometimes saw TJ’s face among the crowd, young, still full of life, and with a wistful smile on his face, just like he had been the last time that Cyrus saw him. Then, Cyrus realized that it couldn’t be possible — TJ was dead. They had all tried to move on. For Andi and Buffy, it was a lot easier. They tried to support Cyrus, but they didn’t know how. They hadn’t lost their soulmates, so they didn’t know how it felt or how to help Cyrus. They were all sure that Andi ended up with her soulmate, as surprising as that was for everyone. Cyrus had attended the wedding just a few months ago. It lifted his spirits to see that Andi and Amber had found happiness with one another. Buffy’s was a different story. She found her soulmate, then she lost him. She had found out that Marty was her soulmate when it was too late. They had been dating for a few years, and everything had been going well. Then, out of the blue, they had a fight over something small, something so insignificant that Buffy had forgotten what it was about. Everything they had built together began to break down. One night, after a particularly bad argument, Buffy asked Marty to leave. He did leave, but on his way out the door, he turned and gave Buffy a final look, and said, “I do love you, Buffy. And for all of this, I’m so, so sorry.” Then, he turned and walked out the door. Marty didn’t die, of course, but those were the last words that Buffy ever heard him say to her. After they broke up, they never spoke again, and Buffy realized that she had lost her one true soulmate. Cyrus tried to be happy. He married a guy that he had met in college, and the two were happy together. And Cyrus was happy. But, then came the nights when TJ’s face appeared in his dreams, drowned in a sickly yellow light. The days when Cyrus tried to catch up to him on the streets, only to realize that TJ had never been there at all. There were the days when Cyrus would glimpse the words on his wrist, which had faded from black to a scar-like white, and think of what he had lost. But he was happy. That’s what he told himself.

[Sorry that this fic is a little angsty! But not really. Hope you all at least kind of enjoyed?]

[arashi-no-megami]

Fourth fic of the hiatus ayy

So I wrote something about Blonde Boy™ and it’s pretty much the first thing I thought of when I first saw the promo so yeah lol

**********

“Is it too late to back out?” Cyrus nervously asked the taller boy who he was following.

“You’ll be fine, Underdog. I promise,” TJ reassured him while flashing a smile. Cyrus trotted up closer to TJ and grabbed his arm. The two boys walked closer to a building that sit near a large dirt racetrack. Cyrus turned his head towards the racetrack and saw people speeding past on dirt bikes at God-knows-how-many miles per hour. He took a deep breath. TJ rented one bike for half an hour, and paid the front desk attendant. The middle-aged lady left for a second, and came back with two helmets and a key.

“Have fun, boys,” the lady smiled at them, and TJ returned the smile. Cyrus smiled awkwardly at her, and turned around to follow TJ to get a bike.

TJ climbed on the bike first and put the key in the ignition. Cyrus hesitated at first, but eventually climbed on behind TJ. The bike revved up and Cyrus immediately regretted putting “ride a motorcycle” on his list of things he couldn’t do.

“Hey,” TJ turned his head. He reached behind him and took both of Cyrus’ hands and wrapped them around his waist.

“You gotta hold on tight, okay?” Cyrus felt his heartbeat speed up at the sudden closeness of their bodies. TJ pushed off the ground and started to ride the bike on the dirt track. TJ laughed to himself when he felt Cyrus’ arms tighten around his body.

“Tell me when you’re ready for me to speed up a little!” TJ was going rather slowly, but only because he knew Cyrus had to get used to it first. After the first ten minutes, it started to feel like fun, so he told TJ he could go a little bit faster. Normally, Cyrus wouldn’t agree to do something as dangerous as this. But for some reason, he felt safe with TJ.

Thirty minutes passed and the bike’s key started beeping. TJ started to walk the bike back to the building, when he thought he saw someone he didn’t want to see. He took off his helmet to get a closer look, and sure enough, it was definitely someone he didn’t want to see. He was completely focused on trying not to make eye-contact, but Cyrus’ voice distracted him.

“Hey, Caleb!!” Cyrus called out to the exact person TJ was trying to avoid. TJ stared at Cyrus in shock as he ran up to the other boy.

“Cyrus! What’s up?” he ran a hand through his dark blonde hair and smiled. His eyes trailed behind Cyrus and widened.

“TJ? TJ Kippen? Are you serious? Who thought I’d be seeing you here!” A mischievous smile creeped on the boy’s face. Cyrus turned around and looked at TJ, who had a less-than mortified look on his face.

“TJ? You know him?” Cyrus asked.

“I...I guess you could say that,” TJ’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the boy.

Cyrus turned back around and quietly studied Caleb’s face.

“Sorry to interrupt your date, Teej. I didn’t think you’d move on from our relationship that fast,” Caleb stressed the word ‘relationship’ with a smirk. Cyrus’ eyebrows shot up. He turned back around to TJ and made eye-contact for less than a second before TJ turned his head and looked forward. Cyrus turned back to look at Caleb, eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and mouth hanging open. Caleb looked down at Cyrus and lightly chuckled.

“Take care of TJ, will you, Cyrus?” Caleb made sure to watch TJ over Cyrus’ shoulder, to catch his reaction. “You’ll probably be a better boyfriend to him than I ever was!”

TJ closed his eyes shut and balled his fists tightly. He could feel the blood rushing to his face, and stormed off with the bike towards the building to drop it off.

“Uh...we-we’re not-“ Cyrus was interrupted by TJ’s sudden movement. TJ just had to get away from this situation, no matter what. Cyrus turned to see TJ leaving, and turned back to glance at Caleb before running off to catch up with him.

TJ and Cyrus didn’t exchange a single word with each other for the entire bus ride home. Cyrus kept looking at TJ from the corner of his eye, and fidgeted with his fingers in his lap. TJ just kept scrolling through his phone. Switching back and forth through the same three apps. Playing Solitaire. Pretty much anything to keep his mind away from what just happened. He never thought that he would run into his ex-boyfriend at all, considering that he transferred schools at the end of 7th grade. He especially never thought that he would run into his ex-boyfriend when he was hanging out with his current crush. After everything that Caleb said, he was positive that Cyrus was probably grossed out, and would never want to speak to him again. It was just so...embarrassing. They got off the bus and started walking towards TJ’s house. Silence. They stopped in front of TJ’s front door, and Cyrus finally spoke.

“You know...if you wanna talk about it...” he tried to offer. TJ just looked at Cyrus, turned around and went into his house. Cyrus was left alone on the sidewalk, and he felt tears come to his eyes. He slowly started to walk to his house while wiping his eyes. TJ closed the curtain and sighed as Cyrus was out of sight. He went upstairs to his room and shut the door behind him.

“Fuck,” he whispered to himself as he leaned against his door. He sat on the floor and put his elbows on his knees and stared at nothing. Not only did his ex just show up out of nowhere and completely humiliate him, he also made Cyrus cry. He wanted to talk to Cyrus more than anything right now, but he didn’t even know how to. He just pushed him away, like he did that one time at the basketball game he wasn’t a part of. His phone buzzed, and he almost completely ignored it. He took his phone from out of his pocket and caught a glimpse of the word “Underdog” before the screen faded to black. He sighed a sigh of relief and opened the message.

Underdog, 7:27 PM:

I’m still here if you want to talk 😕

TJ stared at his phone for a few minutes, not knowing how to reply. He started typing, erased everything, and typed again. His thumb hovered over the send button for a couple seconds, and then pressed it.

TJ, 7:33 PM:

Thanks. I have a lot of homework so I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

**********

I’m already in the process of writing part two lol :——)

Edit:

part 2!!

[theo-loves-broadway]

Of Apologies & Rainbows (Tyrus Fic Chapter 3)

hi!! i just finished chapter 3 on vacation and so there won’t be an update for about a week since i have no access to a laptop. for now, enjoy the next chapter!! (no cut this time since I’m on my phone, but when I have access to one, I’ll edit it)

If you like it, a reblog goes much farther than a like!! Thank you so much!

TW: mention of self harm, but nothing crazy. Just a mention.

Link for ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15287934/chapters/35639787

———————————————

It was a gloomy Saturday morning when TJ woke up to a car screeching out of the driveway; his driveway. Tearing off the covers, he hobbled to his window, throwing aside the curtains, and saw his parents' car skidding out of the driveway and speeding out of the neighborhood, the hum of the engine growing softer and softer. Sighing, TJ dragged his feel down the stairs, and ambled towards the fridge for something to eat. There, he saw the note that his parents left him:

TJ--

We're leaving for a short vacation to Vegas. Should be back in a week. Love you.

Mom & Dad

The paper earned some wet spots from TJ's tears. This wasn't the first time that his parents had deserted him for days at a time. They always left a small note, and sometimes they even brought gifts back for him. But not having his parents around made him feel...alone, and unwanted. Swiping away at his tears, he reached for his phone, and "no new messages" greeted him with a gentle glow. Absentmindedly, he went to text Cyrus, a giddy feeling overwhelming him, until the memories of yesterday hit him like a truck, and his demeanor completely changed.

"Why did I have to act like such a jerk?" he wondered out loud, the cursor blinking, waiting for a message. He knew Cyrus would most likely not reply, but he wanted to get a hold of him. Instead of sending a text, he decided to call, tapping his foot to the stupid ringing. Like expected, it went straight to voicemail, saying "Hi, you've reached me, Cyrus Goodman. I'm probably doing something super fun, or wallowing in sadness in front of my TV with ice cream. Either way, leave a message after the tone." TJ felt a small moment of happiness, being able to hear Cyrus' voice. Must of recorded this a while ago. His voice was so high, he noted, calling again. And again. And again. And, you guessed it, again, but to no avail. He didn’t leave messages, since he hoped Cyrus would pick up on the fifth call, but he was wrong. He called a sixth time, and as expected, it went to voicemail, but he left a message this time.

“Uh, hey, Underdog it’s TJ. You’re not answering any of my calls, and I don’t blame you. I was a total jerk yesterday and I-I’m sorry,” he choked out, the lump in his throat returning, “I didn’t intend to be so mean...sorry,” he mumbled, then hung up, groaning. Way to go, TJ, ruining friendships left and right, he thought, walking back over to the kitchen to get something for breakfast. Settling on a bowl of cereal, he plopped himself in front of the couch and turned on Family Feud. Now all that show reminded him was when Cyrus told him that he wasn’t stupid, and that he was no less of person because of his learning disability. To his surprise, his phone buzzed, and he immediately put his breakfast down, praying that it was Cyrus.

[Mom: hope you got our note. b back soon. love u]

Frowning, he turned off his phone and finished off his breakfast, leaving the bowl in the sink. Again, his phone buzzed from the room next door, and he rushed to get it, tripping over his own feet and falling before he reached the coffee table. Wincing, he slowly got up and made his way over to his phone, checking the text and feeling his heart jump into his throat.

[Cy-Guy: swings. noon. bring taters.]

TJ felt relief rush through his body, and didn’t fight the smile that made its way onto his face. Looking at the time, it read 11:30, so TJ was quick to put on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, but he stopped in front of the mirror, taking a look at his arms. He could still make out the little white scars that he’d had for months, as well as the newer, pinker ones. His self-consciousness took him over, and he slipped on light sweatshirt over his tank, and hurried over to the spoon. It was a crisp morning, the snow already starting to melt and turn an unappealing shade of gray. When TJ arrived at the Spoon, the waitress who served him yesterday was behind the counter. Smiling at a relatively familiar face, TJ ordered taters to go, and handed her the cash for it, and told her to keep the change, since he was in a rush. The time now read 11:45 on the clock in the restaurant, so TJ picked up his pace, jogging down the sidewalk and trying to avoid spilling the taters. He could see the swings in the distance after a while, and he saw a small figure on one of them. Cyrus, he thought, feeling mixed emotions of guilt and happiness. As he approached the swings, he couldn’t shake this strange feeling building up inside of him. It felt like how his friends described how they felt around girls...weird.

“Hey,” TJ mustered, handing Cyrus the bag of tater tots and taking a seat on the swings. Cyrus didn’t respond, but took the bag and held them in his lap, unsure of what to say. After what felt like forever, TJ broke the silence.

“I’m sorry, okay?” he mumbled, glancing over at Cyrus, “I-I really didn’t mean to hurt you,” he admitted, “And I get that what I said was rude, I just--don’t know what happened before that. Why you were so...distant,” he mumbled.

Cyrus finally tipped his head up to face him, his bottom lip quivering. “It doesn’t matter, let’s just...drop it, please?” he asked, and the look from TJ was affirmative. It took a few moments before Cyrus’ lips pulled a weak smile, happy that part of his relationship with TJ had been fixed. He started munching on his taters, and TJ knew that their relationship was better than before, and he started swinging, getting higher and higher, before eventually slowing down to keep up with Cyrus.

“How is it that this time I’m prepared for the cold and you’re not?” TJ joked, looking at Cyrus’ outfit, which consisted of a pair of pants and a short sleeved tee with “#thegoodhaircrew” written on it.

“S-so?” Cyrus countered, his teeth chattering, rubbing his biceps up and down to try and keep warm.

“Here,” TJ offered, handing him his jacket, leaving him bare and exposed save for his tank. Gingerly, Cyrus slid it on and felt so...warm. It smelled like TJ; a combination of cologne and mint (which was his shampoo, Cyrus later learned).

“Thanks,” Cyrus replied, glancing over at TJ’s bare arms, worry flooding his eyes. “Hey, TJ?” he asked, though it came out more like a squeak.

“Yeah, what’s up?” he replied nonchalantly, noting Cyrus’ worried expression. “..What?” he dared himself to ask, his heart rate speeding up.

“Do you-do you have a pet cat?” he asked, his eyes focusing on the little marks on TJ’s upper arms. He hadn’t noticed them before, but that was because TJ had covered them up with his shirts or his sweatshirts.

“Uh, no?” he answered, confusion thick in his voice, until he followed Cyrus’ gaze. Oh, no, he mentally screamed, oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no, no, he repeated over and over, crossing his arms and using his hands to cover as much of his upper arms as possible.

Cyrus gently put down the empty bag of baby taters, and shifted his swing so that he was closer to TJ, and able to see more clearly. His look read Please let me. I won’t hurt you, and TJ eventually slid his arms down to his side, open and vulnerable. The two things TJ hated the most; it made him feel...weak. He fully expected Cyrus to give him some sort of lecture, but instead, Cyrus gently put a hand on his shoulder.

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Cyrus told him, knowing that TJ wasn’t one to open up about personal things, “but it might help if you do. Maybe not now, and maybe not even with me,” he continued, tilting his head slightly, “But if you ever feel...like you’re going to do it again, please just call me, okay?”

Something about Cyrus’ last remark made TJ stiffen a little. Cyrus cared enough about him to just let him call him, day or night, if he felt upset? Now he really felt bad about yesterday. Cyrus was a great friend; patient, kind, understanding, cute...wait, no. Not cute. Cute was something that you said to a girl who smiles at you and waves. Cute was a baby animal at the zoo learning to walk. Cute was...not something a guy used to describe another guy. TJ just nodded, feeling all the tension he was holding in just come unraveled. All the garbage that had happened, being rude to Cyrus, his parents, and now this. He kept his head down and allowed the tears to fall.

“Go ahead and make fun of me,” he murmured when he finally spoke, his vision blurry through tears. He braced himself for a round of laughter, but it never came. Instead, Cyrus gingerly rubbed his shoulder, comforting him. TJ lifted his head to meet Cyrus’ gaze, the worry replaced with relief.

“I’d never make fun of you..not for this, TJ” he assured him, giving him a gentle pat on the back, “I would make fun of you for not knowing all the words to my favorite musicals, but that’s for another day,” he added with a hint of humor behind his words, earning a breathy chuckle from TJ.

This is it, TJ thought to himself, here’s your chance, go for it, he urged himself. Gently, he put his arms around Cyrus, hugging him. To say that Cyrus was surprised would be an understatement; he could feel his blood rush, hearing it roar in his ears, and that familiar flutter in his stomach returned. It felt...well, he couldn’t really put it into words, but it felt right. After TJ had released Cyrus, he felt this indescribable warmth pool in his stomach, and he knew his cheeks were red; thankfully, he could blame that on the cold.

Cyrus began to swing little by little, just at the edge of his comfort zone. “Legs go up, legs go down. That’s how we make the swing go round. Drag your feet, you go slow. The less you drag--”

“--the more you go,” TJ chimed in, his cheeks a dusty pink in the crisp afternoon weather. He’d heard Cyrus sing his swing song enough time to have learned the lyrics, and occasionally he’d sing along. The duo remained silent for a little bit before Cyrus dragged his feet to a halt, chewing the inside of his cheek.

“Can I ask you something?” he inquired, rubbing his fingers against the inside of TJ’s sweatshirt. Cyrus was one of those people who couldn’t talk to someone without doing something with his hands.

“You already did, but go on,” TJ said with a light smile, slowing his speed so he could hear all of what Cyrus was going to say.

“Do you like her?” he spat out, the question vague and mysterious, “the waitress from the Spoon, I mean. Do you like her?”

TJ took a deep breath, his smile slipping off of his face as he came to a complete stop. “Oh,” he mumbled, unsure of where to tread with the question, “I, uh,” he stammered, trying to calm himself. Just say it. If he doesn’t like it, he just won’t hang out with you anymore, he thought to himself. That terrified him; the idea that Cyrus would not talk to him again, he couldn’t handle that. “Do you--do you remember when I said that I had ‘stuff’?” he asked, feeling his heart rate start to pick up.

“Sure. It was the first day you came to the swings,” Cyrus reminded, swinging one leg over the swing so that he was stradling it. “Why?”

“This..girl,” he mumbled, the word almost strange in his mouth, “she’s not really my type,” he lied. Well, it wasn’t a complete lie; he didn’t like this girl because she wasn’t his type.

“Well, you’ll find someone, TJ,” Cyrus assured, punching his arm playfully, “you can be charming when you try,” he mumbled, a dusty pink creeping onto his cheeks.

TJ felt his own cheeks heat up at the compliment, but brushed that off. “N-no, you don’t understand,” he started, taking a final breath, “I-girls they’re...not my type,” he admitted, hoping he didn’t have to go into any more detail.

Cyrus took a moment to process this information before breaking out into a big smile. “I know exactly how you feel,” he told the taller boy, earning a confused look. “I’m gay, duh,” he spilled, giggling.

“Wait--really?” TJ asked, a little shocked to say the least. He’d seen Cyrus with Iris before, and he even heard that they’d kissed.

“Yeah,” Cyrus admitted sheepishly, shrugging, “I’ve known for a while, and I’ve only just now become comfortable with it. It took awhile, but I’ve accepted myself, and other people have too,” he added.

TJ nodded, trying to soak in all that Cyrus had told him. “Thanks,” he said finally, “I’m really glad I told you,” he admitted, shifting his legs so he was sitting like Cyrus, and shifted slightly closer. “But the thought of telling anyone else—“ he started, before Cyrus confidently reached out and took TJ’s hands in his own.

“You’re okay,” Cyrus assured him, tracing circles into his hands, feeling like he was floating. It felt like...how he felt around Jonah; perhaps a bit weaker, but he recognized the feeling. Do I like TJ? he worriedly thought to himself, pulling his hands away. TJ’s facial expression shifted, his smile a little less prominent than before. His hands felt...empty, like something was missing. Obviously, TJ knew that Cyrus’ hands were what was missing, but he didn’t have the courage to reach out and touch them. Instead, he opted for awkwardly clearing his throat.

“Do you—do you wanna come over to my house tonight?” he asked, the word ‘date’ threatening to leave his mouth, “just to like, hangout, or whatever. I’ll let you pick the movie?” he offered, hope lingering in his eyes.

Cyrus thought it over for a moment, before finally agreeing. The boys settled on 7:00, and TJ texted Cyrus the address while they were still at the swings.

“You’ll be there?” TJ asked, worried that Cyrus wouldn’t show up for some reason.

“Totally! Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he assured him, turning to walk away, before stopping in his tracks. “Oh, I still have your jacket,” he mumbled bashfully, starting to slip it off, before TJ approached him and gently pulled it back on.

“Keep it for a while,” he said with a smile, adjusting the strings for the hood, “you look good,” he mumbled, the rest of the words getting caught in his throat, “—in the sweatshirt!” he added quickly, his face flushing, “the sweatshirt fits you good,” he tried to cover up his words, knowing he was failing.

A light pink dusted Cyrus’ cheeks as he clung onto the sweatshirt. “Thanks,” he murmured, starting to walk away, before turning back, “and for the record, I always look good,” he joked, hurrying home to get ready for his hangout with TJ.

TJ watched him run until he could no longer see him, and audibly side. He had it bad for Cyrus, like, really bad. “This movie night could change everything,” he noted, briskly walking off to his house.

[captainkippen]

hello sir could you write some fluffy tandi friendship for our broken souls when you have the time

send me fic prompts

I absolutely can. I love platonic tandi with all my heart.

It turns out that Bex’s return to Shadyside is just the first event on a long list of unexpected things to happen the year Andi turns thirteen. This list includes, but is not limited to; befriending Jonah, Amber and Marty, Bowie’s decision to move home, and Cyrus coming out. These are things that have had such an impact on Andi’s life that she sometimes still marvels at them all, but there’s one particular event from that year that seems to surprise everyone except her.

Andi and TJ becoming friends.

It’s been roughly three years, four months and five days since TJ came crashing into the lives of the Good Hair Crew. Andi knows this because Cyrus knows this, and Cyrus knows this because, even though he likes to pretend he doesn’t, he has the date scrawled in the corner of the notebook he hides under his bed. If Cyrus and TJ’s relationship had come as a surprise to people, then Andi and TJ’s had been worthy of hitting the front page of the news. They’re very different people, or so everyone tells them. Andi doesn’t agree really. When she looks at TJ she can see the similarities in them like they’re magnified. They’re both headstrong and dramatic. They both cause themselves a lot more trouble than need be most of the time. They have the same sense of humour and the same ambitious drive. In her mind, they’re two sides of the same coin. And she knows TJ agrees.

Sometimes people like to imply that TJ’s been a bad influence on Andi. They act like her standing up for herself is a result of his presence in her life and not that she’s just grown as a person of her own accord. It used to bother her but not she just rolls her eyes and moves along. If they knew the truth they’d know that it’s more likely the other way around; Andi is always encouraging TJ to do stupid things. Her rebellious phase hit hard at fourteen and didn’t stop. It was her idea to have TJ teach her how to fix her motorcycle. It was she who told TJ he could come over when he needed to escape his own house (and she’ll be the first to admit that Bowie’s explosion the first time he’d found TJ crashed out on Andi’s bed after having snuck in during the night was hilarious). A lot of their bad ideas have been her bad ideas, which is not to say it’s never TJ behind them because he’s definitely up to no good a lot of the time too, but they’re equal partners in their chaos.

Everyone else can be surprised if they want, but she knows why they’re friends. They have an understanding. It’s awesome. Them getting close played a big part in Andi and Buffy becoming the people TJ comes to talk to when he needs help coming up with cute new things to do with Cyrus, and her having yet another friend to support her when she realised she might not be as straight as she first thought. She doesn’t need to justify their friendship to anybody.

It’s one of those bad idea kind of nights tonight. They’re at the grocery store and TJ’s parents are out of town so the group is taking advantage of the empty house to have an all-night movie marathon under the guise of a study session. They came for popcorn, just popcorn but it’s been half an hour since they walked through the doors now and all memory of their original goals has been wiped in favour of grabbing every snack possible and dumping it in the cart. The cart in which Andi is sat. Every so often TJ does a little run and jumps on the back of the cart so they go speeding down the aisles cackling like a couple of lunatics. Andi laughs so hard her sides hurt when TJ just narrowly avoids crashing them into a pyramid of toilet roll.

“We’re definitely going to get kicked out soon,” she says.

TJ snorts and shrugs. “You’d think they’d be used to it now. You wanna go to the craft section?”

She nods enthusiastically. For the past couple of weeks, she’s been teaching him how to make his own jewellery. He’s been very insistent about it and she’s beginning to suspect he’s planning to make Cyrus something, but he refuses to confirm or deny it so she’s just been left wondering.

“I’ve been thinking of starting an online store,” Andi says as they browse. She prefers to get her supplies from the craft fair but on occasion, the supermarket has something that catches her eye. Though, to be totally honest, he hasn’t actually needed to go shopping for supplies a lot recently because TJ keeps finding things she can use in thrift stores or garage sales and dumping them on the door of Andi Shack when she’s not looking. He won’t let her pay him back with money but he pretends not to notice when she slips bags of M&Ms into the glovebox of his car and the pockets of his favourite jacket so she’s slowly repaying him in chocolate.

“You should do it,” He says, admiring a roll of lurid pink ribbon. “Could be useful to have some extra cash. You could use for that road trip you keep talking about.”

A road trip across the states; that’s what Andi wants to do before they all leave for college. She’s hoping to convince all of their friends to come with her so they can make some more lasting memories before they’re all split into different directions. The thought of being apart makes her gut twist uncomfortably whenever the topic pops up. She’s all too aware that their last couple of years at high school are going to go by in a flash. All the adults in her life keep reminding her. She hates it.

“You okay?” TJ asks. “You went all quiet.”

She nods. “Just thinking.”

“Scheming?”

“No,” she smiles. “Just… y’know. Thinking about graduation.”

He groans and pushes her further down the aisle. “Will you stop worrying about that, already? We still have another two years to go.”

“I can’t help it!”

“You’re as bad as Cyrus,” he sighs. She makes an affronted noise. Cyrus has been stressing about college applications since they were ten. There’s no way she’s on his level with this.

“I just think it’s going to suck being away from all you guys. It’s never going to be the same again. What if we stop talking or drift apart or something?”

“God, when did you get so emo?” He grins and leans over the side of the cart. “Look, we’re going to be fine. You, Buffy and Cyrus practically have a psychic link, as if that’s ever gonna change. And as for us? Drifting apart? Never gonna happen. You’re stuck with me now.”

She rolls her eyes. “You don’t know that.”

“I do. Okay, so I was going to save this for… I don’t know when, but here,” he pulls something out of his pocket and holds it out to her. In the centre of his palm sits a bracelet. It’s carefully crafted from yellow thread and brown leather, and there’s a small bumblebee shaped charm hanging from it.

“What’s this?”

“A friendship bracelet,” he says as if it should be obvious.

“For me?”

“Duh.”

She beams at him and takes it, slipping it onto her wrist with careful fingers and admiring the way it sits next to the others that she wears. “Is this what you’ve been so sneaky about?”

He shrugs, looking a little embarrassed. “You’re always making stuff for the rest of us. I figured it was about time someone made something for you.”

“I love it,” she pats the side of his face and he bats her away. “You’re a big softie, you know that right? Like a scary teddy bear.”

“Shut up,” he huffs, but his lips twitch slightly and she knows he’s pleased. “Let’s go get our popcorn. The others will be wondering where we are.”

Yeah. Everyone else can question their friendship, but Andi knows she has no reason to. She and TJ? They’re two sides of the same coin and she’s so glad he’s in her life.