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bnhainsert · 4 years

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Sound Out

Chapter 8: Aria Di Sorbetto

Hado woke up to a text from Jiro. She was asking if Hado wanted to see a new movie that had come out recently.

Jiro: Yeah there’s this new comedy movie we’ve been wanting to see

Hado: We?

Jiro: Ochako, Asui, Midoriya, and Shoji

Hado: Who’s Shoji?

Jiro: You know pro hero tentacole?

Hado: THAT’S HIM?! HELL YEAH I’D LOVE TO MEET ANOTHER PRO HERO

Jiro: Alright lay off the caps please. I’ll meet you at the movie around 4pm

Hado put away her phone and decided to train a bit before she would have to get ready to leave. She managed to get some quirk training in as well as strength training. She took a shower to clean up a bit. She dug through her duffle bag looking for something cute to wear out to the movies. She unfortunately didn’t pack any of her cute casual clothes when she left home 3 weeks ago. She opened up her wallet and did some mental math. Because the cottage she had been living in was stocked, she hadn’t spent any money recently. She made the bold decision to go out and buy a new outfit to treat herself. She had been working so hard recently that she told herself she deserved it. The movie theater she would be meeting them at was in the shopping district anyway.

Hado arrived in the shopping district looking for a nice shop to get a new outfit from. She settled on a AC Quarter’s because the clothes were moderately priced and wouldn’t break the bank. She double checked the time to make sure she had enough time to try the clothes on and leave. She had about an hour and a half before the set meeting time with Jiro.

Browsing through the clothes she decided she would buy herself a dress. She didn’t have very many so, what the hell, why not? She sorted through a lot of different styles, almost always turning down something with a floral pattern on it. Hado had nothing against flowers, they were just too busy of a design on the cloth. “Too short…. too long….too formal….too….risqué” She thought sorting through all of the dresses. She stopped at a cute blue dress that was a little bit past knee-length. It had a cinched waist, a squared off neckline, and cute little buttons going down the middle. The best part of it was that it had thin wavy lines on it that reminded her of her hero costume. She found the dress in her size and went to check out. She looked down at her feet on the way to the counter and realized she was wearing the same sneakers she had worn for almost 5 years now. They looked very beaten up. “maybe I should get a new pair of shoes too…”

Hado refused to wear heals. They sucked to walk in and they sucked to sing in. She looked at the variety of flats they had instead. She really liked the way the Tod’s shoes looked. Tod brand shoes were normally a little too pricey for her but she had the money to spare and purchase a pair of black ones.

On her way up to the counter she spotted a cute black choker and grabbed it boldly. Yeah, sure, chokers hadn’t been in style in a while, but she liked them and thought it would look cute with her dress. The cashier rang her up and gave her her total. “Is it like date night or something?” The woman behind the counter asked. “Oh no. I’m going to a movie with some friends. I just want to look cute for me and me along” Hado confidently responded. “Wish I had that same boldness” The lady replied. “Oh but you could! I bet you would look great in purple! Find a nice purple blouse, throw on some casual jeans and maybe some heels and you’ve got it made!” Hado threw out. She wasn’t sure where this advice was coming from, but the lady at the counter seemed to take it to heart. She smiled at Hado and thanked her. Hado waved back to the cashier as she walked out of the store. Hey, being a hero didn’t always mean catching villains or rescuing people.

Hado changed in a nearby bathroom and put her old clothes in the shopping bag she was given. She made her way to the movie theater. She had managed to arrive 5 minutes early surprisingly. She sat down on a bench right outside waiting for her friends. “You’re here too?” She heard a familiar voice from behind. She turned around to see Bakugo in casual clothing. “Oh yeah um Jiro invited me out to this movie. I think it’s going to be real stupid so I’m looking forward to it” Hado said. “Yeah, whatever” Bakugo responded.

About 2 minutes later, the others began to arrive. Jiro walked up with Ochako, Tsu, Midoriya, and the person Hado assumed was Shoji. He looked even cooler in person! Behind them she saw Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero. Ashido casually greeted Jiro. “Oh what a coincidence! We’re all here at the same time! Are you guys going to see the same movie too?” She asked innocently. Jiro mentioned the movie they were seeing, and it matched up. The whole group of pro heroes entered the theater.

“Well this is fucking weird” Hado thought to herself. She was very suspicious of Ashido who she had learned had a penchant for causing a stir. It wasn’t ever harmful trouble; it was just a little exhausting. The groups of pro heroes chatted with each other as they looked for seats in the theater. Before they could pick Bakugo marched his way up all the way to the top. He glared at everyone, almost daring them to sit near him. They were used to this by now so they followed him up, but instead of sitting on his row, they sat in the row in front of him. They managed to all get there before Hado had a chance to make it up the stairs. She looked and noticed that most of the seats were already taken. She sighed and made her way all the way up to the top and sat by Bakugo. Bakugo looked over at her, noticing her exhausted look.

“Hey if you don’t want to sit next to me, there’s plenty of other chairs here” he snarled.

Hado laughed in response which made a few of the pro heroes turn their heads, surprised. “Please I think I can handle sitting by you. Besides, who else am I going to annoy all move with my color commentary” Hado teased. Bakugo shot back a smirk. The few that had looked back were so shocked they didn’t realize they were staring. The only one who didn’t bother looking back was Midoriya.

“Hey mind your own business you damn extras” Bakugo snapped and they all immediately turned their head back to the screen and continued their conversations. Hado snickered in response. “Will that ever get old?” She asked aloud. “I hope not” Bakugo replied.

Everything was going according to plan. Midoriya relaxed in his chair, a feeling of relief filling his body. He hoped this wasn’t too obvious of a set-up, but he knew his best friend would never have taken the initiative to ask Hado out. Midoriya remembered worrying about his friend and how he would even manage to make this happen. Luckily, he knew some of the smoothest people in town. Calling Mina, Denki, and Eijirou was a great idea. They had all brainstormed some ways of making this happen, throwing out the ideas that Bakugo would never go for, which was most of them. They all agreed that they had to trick him into a date because he was too much of an idiot to really act on those feelings. Hell the only person he really fully opened up to was Midoriya and he still didn’t mention how he felt about Hado to him. Midoriya knew though. Midoriya at least knew what a crush felt like.

The lights went down, and the previews started. “Oh shit I forgot to buy the popcorn!” Kaminari said loudly and jumped out of his seat. “Get a big one for us to share” Mina shouted to him as he left the theater. He gave a nod of understanding before disappearing out of view. “Idiot” Bakugo said under his breath. He looked over at Hado suppressing a laugh. “He just wants to make the movie experience a little more fun. It just feels a little more complete with popcorn you know?” She explained. “If you wanted some goddamn popcorn all you had to do was ask” Bakugo shot back and stood up to leave his seat. Hado looked shocked at Bakugo as he stomped out of the theater. He was still surprising her even after all the time they had been spending together. A warm smile found its place onto her face.

“Ooooo how are the love birds doing?” Ashido teased, looking back at Hado. Hado was thankful the lights had gone out so Ashido couldn’t see how red her face got. “Shut up. It’s not like that. This is just how Bakugo is” Hado replied. “I can’t remember the last time Bakugo got me popcorn at a movie” Kirishima stated. “Oh, you mean that time that never happened?” Sero added. The pro heroes started giggling. A few other people who were in the theater turned around and shushed them. “Oh come on it’s just the previews, don’t be so uptight” Hado replied. One of the people who had turned around started glaring at her. “Ugh I promise you won’t hear them again okay?” Hado said in an attempt to make peace. The person turned back around with a huff. “Not sure how you’re going to do that. We happen to be a very noisy bunch” Ashido said loudly. Luckily Hado was expecting it and stopped the soundwaves from reaching the people in front of them. Midoriya was the one to laugh this time. “She’s a sound hero Ashido. And she’s very good at what she does. That’s probably why Bakugo has taken a liking to her” Midoriya said turning around to smile at Hado. Her face turned beet red again. “There’s no way he’s interested in me as more than just like…. a training partner, or like a pro hero to work with. Yeah I’m just basically a coworker to him” Hado rambled in her head, making sense of everything the others were implying. Kaminari came back with a big bucket of popcorn and took his place. “What’d I miss?” He whispered to Jiro. “Just us picking on Hado” She responded. “Aww man I miss out on all the fun” he said upset but pushed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

Bakugo came back with a relatively normal sized bag of popcorn, stomping the whole way back up to his seat. “I better not have missed anything good loser” He said without taking his eyes off of the screen. “I thought you weren’t interested in a movie like this” Hado threw right back at him. “I’m not. I’m just here to tear down this shitty movie. I don’t want to miss a good chance to fucking annihilate whoever this dumb director is” Bakugo answered. Hado shrugged and faced the screen while every once in a while, grabbing some popcorn. “Thank you” she whispered to Bakugo as the movie started

Hado didn’t get to fully enjoy the movie because she was so busy trying to keep her friends’ soundwaves from reaching the other people in the theater. That was incredibly hard to do considering other soundwaves were bouncing around. She did manage to keep Bakugo’s voice and her voice away from everyone in the theater. They shredded that movie, taking cracks at all of the cheesy lines and terribly designed sets.

The credits began to roll and most everyone started to get up and leave. “Hey I’ve got some paperwork I forgot to finish up” Midoriya spoke up shooting out of his seat. “Let me know if we can do this again sometime” he said and shot out of the room before anyone could even blink. “Yeah I have some work still left for me at my agency. Ochako, would you mind helping out?” Tsu said as the two left the theater. Slowly each of the other heroes managed to find something they had to go do and left Hado and Bakugo alone in the theater. “Don’t tell me you have something else you have to do too” Hado sighed, sounding upset. “I already finished up all of my hero work unlike those losers” Bakugo replied. Hado smiled. “Hey what do you like to do for fun that doesn’t deal with hero work?” She asked curious. She had only ever seen Bakugo do hero work and everything that’s related to hero work.

“I’ll show you. Keep up nerd”

The two of them ended up at batting cages near the outskirts of the shopping district. They were nice batting cages too. Each booth was given a ton of room both to move and for the ball to fly through. “These batting cages were made specifically with quirks in mind” Bakugo explained slipping on a pair of gloves to help with the grip on the bat. “This is where I go on days when it’s raining and the training ground gets soaked” He continued. Hado looked at him very intensely, watching his every move. She watched him get ready for the machine to throw the pitches. He had set the frequency at which the machine shoots the ball higher than normal. Balls started flying out about every second and Bakugo was able to cool hit every single one of them. He wasn’t just strong, he was quick and strong, able to pull back fast enough again to put even more power in each new swing. How could someone make baseball look so goddamn cool.

“I know I’m awesome, but you can pick your jaw up off the floor you nerd” Bakugo’s voice brought her out of her thoughts. Hado shook her head. He started to put up the gloves and bat. “Are you done already?” Hado asked. He had only spent about 5 minutes hitting the baseballs back across the way. “No, I’m not done dumbass. A bat has its limitations” Bakugo replies. Hado put two and two together. “You’re going to use your quirk to propel it” Hado stated. Bakugo didn’t even reply. He just rolled his shoulders and focused. The balls came flying out at an even higher rate but each one was met by a very precisely placed explosion. It was incredible to watch. Not only did he hit every single ball, but he also sent them flying so fast and so far away.

Hado noticed sweat starting to glisten on Bakugo’s forehead. She couldn’t speak because she was so impressed by the display of prowess. These are skills she knew he had but it was different seeing those skills being used on something else. When they sparred, she never really had time to think about how much accuracy he had in his movements. She was always kept on her toes making sure she didn’t get hit. “If you don’t stop staring, I’ll start to think you have a crush on me” Bakugo said uncharacteristically. She turned away and blushed a light shade of pink. Something about it made her feel uneasy. “Is he making fun of me? I know I’m not up to his standards, but does he really have to tease me about that” Hado grappled with her inner monologue.

Bakugo must have notice something was wrong because he looked at Hado confused. “You look like you’re gonna’ vomit. You need to go home?” He asked. Hado didn’t like the feelings she was grappling with, but she also still wanted to spend more time with Bakugo. It was selfish of her, but when was the last time she got to enjoy herself so much? Hado shook off the awful feeling of nausea in her stomach. “No no I’m fine!” She told Bakugo. “Hey since you used your quirk on the ball, can I give it a try?” She changed the subject. “Yeah go ahead but you’re not going to break my record or anything” He teased.

Hado lowered the timing of how often the balls were thrown. She had to concentrate really hard. She had to figure out how strong to make the soundwaves to at least make the ball have backwards motion, then she had to figure out how powerful she could make the soundwaves to see how far and fast she could repel the balls. The first ball shot out. She calculated where it was headed and amplified a test soundwave. She made the ball stop in midair and drop to the ground. “Alright now I know the minimum output I need to send the ball backwards”. The next ball came flying out and this time her soundwave pushed the ball backwards, but it didn’t fly very far or very fast. The 3rd ball flew farther, faster. Each time the ball went a little bit farther and a little bit faster. By the last one, she had been shooting them back as far and as fast as Bakugo had with the bat. She felt slightly accomplished because Bakugo’s hits with the bat were still way over what a normal human could do.

“Not bad. You’ve still got some got some work to do but you’ve shown a lot of improvement over a short amount of time” Bakugo praised. It made Hado feel warm and happy. The compliment made her want to work even harder just to hear Bakugo say something nice about her again. Then she had a thought. There was something she could do that he most likely couldn’t.

“Hey if we’re done here, I have another place I’d like to go. You got to show off here so it’s my turn to show you what I can really do”

“Oh?” Bakugo said, raising one eyebrow. He had no idea where they were going to go, but he’d be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t a least a little bit excited to see what Hado meant.

The two of them ended up at a bar that did Karaoke every night of the week. He sighed heavily. Of course, it was singing. She’s a goddamn sound hero. Singing wasn’t quite his speed, but he would go along with it because…. well because it was Hado. She seemed so excited too. Seeing her smile made him feel like nothing else mattered in the world, as long as he could see that smile. They took a seat at the bar and Hado immediately asked for a shot of whiskey. “Eh? What are you doing dumbass?” Bakugo asked. “Taking one shot gives me just a little more courage to sing sincerely” She said giving him a wink. That was surprising. She normally isn’t this bold. Was she flirting with him? Bakugo was kind of confused. “Did you want anything? I’m paying” She offered. “I’m not much of a drinker” Bakugo replied and asked for a glass of water. She shrugged and walked off to check out the songs on the Karaoke machine. She seemed to find a song she liked and grabbed the microphone ready to sing on the stage.

Things were pretty slow in the bar so it almost felt like a little private performance for him. He threw that thought out into the garbage. He didn’t deserve things like that. He stared intently at Hado as she started to sing. She surprisingly picked an alternative rock song. Bakugo took her for more a pop girl.

“Please don’t mind what I’m trying to say ‘cause I,

I’m being honest when I tell you that you,

You’re part of the reasons I’m set on the rest of my life

Being a part of you

And tell me what you think about

Being open

About being honest with yourself

‘Cause things will never be the sa-aame”

Her voice rang out beautifully. Her eyes were lighting up. She was looking straight at Bakugo with those bright happy eyes. It was so…. Enchanting. Bakugo wondered if maybe she had two quirks considering she had told him that her mother sang like an angel. Hado looked like she was having so much fun even though there were maybe a total of 3 people watching her. It felt like she was only singing for Bakugo. He felt his face heat up ever so slightly, thinking about the words of the song. Surely, they didn’t mean anything. It might have just been one of her favorite songs.

She finished the song but asked the owner if she could keep going considering how slow business was. The owner smiled happily and encouraged her to keep going. He’s probably heard all types of voices, most of them being drunk and not well tuned. Bakugo bet that Hado’s voice was like a breath of fresh air for this guy. And he would have to agree.

She picked a slow song this time with a slightly country twang. Bakugo wasn’t the biggest fan of country but he would give it a try because…. Well, again it was Hado singing it.

“Dear God the only thing I ask of you is

To hold her when I'm not around

When I'm much too far away

We all need that person who can be true to you

But I left her when I found her

And now I wish I'd stayed

'Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired

I'm missing you again oh no

Once again”

The slight tinge of sadness struck a chord in Bakugo. She honestly looked like she was going to cry. He felt the emotions of the song through her voice and her expression. Then something even more amazing happened. Another voice layered on top of hers to create a harmony. She was using her quirk to create her own harmonies. Knowing what Bakugo knew about her quirk, that would take a lot of concentration and control to do something like that. She had already thrown back 3 shots so some of her concentration had to be off.

As Bakugo was stuck in his thoughts, people started to trickle in from outside. They seemed to hear Hado singing and were drawn in. Hado finished up her song and looked around nervously. The owner encouraged her to sing one more song because no one else had signed up yet. Bakugo figured they would probably want to throw back a few drinks before getting up there to sing. It was called liquid courage for a reason.

Hado picked one more song to sing for the now growing crowd. As she began her song Bakugo overheard the conversation between two guys near him. “Oh man her voice is awesome. And she’s pretty cute too. Think she’s taken?”. Something inside of Bakugo threatened to snap. The conversation made his blood boil. “Fucking jerks” he said under his breath. Hado finished up her song and was about to walk off the stage to give someone else a chance. The two men Bakugo heard earlier were talking again. “Oh, dude there she goes. I’m going to see if I can get her number” one guy said and gave his drink to his buddy.

Hado quickly made her way to Bakugo who was grinding his teeth to keep himself from physically hurting the man who spoke earlier. Before she could make it all the way back to her seat, the man who wanted her number tapped her on the shoulder. Bakugo felt like he was going to explode. “Hey, you have an incredible singing voice” The guy complimented her. “Oh thanks… I get it from my mom” She shyly replied. Bakugo could tell she was uncomfortable. He arms were folded in front of her and her eyes were focused on the floor. “Well your mom has one hell of a daughter. Would you mind if I-” the man stopped mid-sentence seeing Bakugo walk up behind Hado and put his arm around her waist. “Mind if you what” Bakugo growled. “Oh uh… um… nothing nevermind. Just wanted to say you were great… um have a good night” he said nervously as he quickly shuffled his way back over to his friend. Hado sighed, relieved. She looked up to Bakugo. She then looked down at his hand still around her waist. Bakugo noticed her staring at his hand and he suddenly let go feeling….self-concious?

“Hey, thank you for that. I have trouble politely telling people to fuck off. Not sure why” Hado admitted. Bakugo had a small thought form in the back of his mind. “What if she’s just hanging out with me because she doesn’t know how to tell me to fuck off?”.

“Hey earth to Bakugo. Let’s get out of here. There’s too many people” Hado said. Bakugo snapped back to reality and walked out of the bar with her, giving those men one last hard glare.

“Was there anything else you wanted to do tonight?” Hado asked sweetly. Bakugo just shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe it’s time for us to just head home” He suggested bitterly. He looked back at Hado and she looked so upset. A pang of guilt hit him right in the chest. Did she still really want to spend more time with someone like him?

“I…. I was really enjoying out time together. We’ve never hung out outside of hero work or training. I haven’t had this much fun with anyone else ever” She bravely admitted. Any doubt he had before quickly left his mind after her confession. “Well…. It’s still getting late. If you want…. I could let you crash at my place” he quietly offered. Hado’s face lit up. There was that smile again, and it felt like all was right with the world again.

The two made it back to Bakugo’s place. He unlocked the door and let her in. It’s a pretty normal looking place. He did have a wall where he hung up articles of him being praised as a pro hero. They sat down on the couch in the front room and talked for hours. They talked to each other about villain busts, and old high school stories. They talked about each other’s goals and dreams. They learned about their favorite colors and music and weather. Bakugo looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting pretty late. We should probably rest up. You can sleep in my bed and I’ll take the couch” Bakugo offered. Thinking about Hado sleeping in his bed made him embarrassed but he wasn’t sure why.

“Oh no I can sleep on the couch. I think I’d feel just a little weird sleeping in your bed. No offense to you! Your wonderful and I like being around you and stuff. I just think I’d be more comfortable on the couch” Hado admitted. A small part of Bakugo felt rejected, but he pushed that feeling aside and shrugged. He stood up and started to walk off to his bedroom. “Just let me know if you need anything” he said not looking back. “Oh, hey just one thing!” Hado called. He turned around and she planted a kiss directly on his cheek. His face got hot and his heart thumped hard in his chest. He wasn’t moving, just standing completely still in the middle of the room.

“Oh god did I break you? I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have-” Hado was cut off mid-sentence. Bakugo had quickly grabbed her to pull her close and put his lips on hers. His heart thumped even more loudly in his chest. Every ounce of passion he had been feeling was poured into that kiss. He broke the kiss first and looked at Hado’s blushing face. He smirked realizing that he had caused her to blush like this. She wasn’t moving. “Hey earth to sound girl” Bakugo mocked. She let out a small giggle.

“There’s more where that came from, so you better be careful” Bakugo managed to both tease and threaten. He walked back off to his bedroom. Hado couldn’t believe what just happened, but it was incredible, and she felt like she was on cloud nine. She tucked herself in for the night on the couch. She wondered about what tomorrow would hold.

Chapter 7 Chapter 9

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infinitesimal-grey · 5 years

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Here Be Aliens 3

I had this formatted on a computer and in my drafts but edited one thing for continuity and everything burned. Crackhead commentary in my inbox is welcome and appreciated, anon is on.

This story is a continuation of Here Be Aliens, previous chapters are on this blog and direct links to them are in the reblog of this post.

Co-writer: R

Warnings: Ro and Lo are very confused as to Virgil's gender (not malicious, just 🤦‍♂️), swearing

…

Logan huffed, folding his wings back in. “[You are the one that knocked the beaker over in the first place.]” He stated simply, watching over Roman’s shoulder. “[It is likely afraid of us. I suppose it could come from a much smaller planet of some sort.]” He adjusted his glasses, tail flicking idly. “[Considering the small size and apparent shock at seeing us..]”

“[Poor thing. I wonder how it got here.]” Roman stood back up and folded his wings flat to his back.

“[That I couldn’t say… I’ve done plenty of reading on planets in our solar system and so far there aren’t any that support life. That we know of, of course.f course, We could very well be missing something with current scientific instruments.]” He pushed his glasses up his angular nose.

Virgil, meanwhile, let out a strangled whine. From where he sat on the ship’s metal floor he could feel the repetitive thudding far below him. A few various lights along his visor flickered in the dark. The second Roman’s eye wandered he planned to bolt.

Wait.

Waiiit.

Go.

The astronaut darted forward, lunging for the hatch that would lead him out of hell; or at least somewhere without windows..

“[Yeah…]” Roman bent back over. “[Where are you from? Do you come in pea- !- wait where are you going??]” Roman reached out instinctively. He didn’t want them to run somewhere and get hurt!

Virgil’s body froze in the moment as monumental fingers filled his view of the outside world. “J-jesus H Roosevelt Christ—"

“[What’s happening I can’t see!]” Logan fluttered behind him, craning his neck like a child at the zoo.

Roman grasped each edge of the ship and lifted it with a huff. He lifted the airlock to eye level and looked in, able to see right down a straight hallway to the alien. “[Wait come back, we’re not gonna hurt’cha!]”

This only succeeded in getting Virgil to pry harder at the airlock. The lack of power on the usually hydraulic hatch was giving him terrible trouble, he was so frustrated and afraid his heart felt like it’d flutter right through his ribs.

Roman’s eyes widened and he tilted the ship towards him without thinking. Virgil slowly realized he was slipping against the smooth metal. He reached out desperately for the latch’s handle but it was barely an inch too late.

Virgil plummeted along the metal, kicking and fighting for purchase. His heart fell and exploded on the floor as his legs flew into the open air, but he somehow clung by his gloves to the edge of the airlock.

That is until a hand the size of a quantum ship engine lifted to become the ground below him. Virgil tried to pull away but the gravity was simply too much and he fell with a thwump back into the alien’s palm. The beast of an alien had the ship balanced on his hip and Virgil in his palm.

"[Oh gods-]” Roman reached for more to say but found his tongue had been taken at the surreal feeling of the alien’s limbs against his palm. It kind of tickled, and he closed his fist to pin the movement.

Virgil clenched his jaw and shook his head to fight oncoming nausea. When he opened his eyes the pilot found himself staring dead ahead at eyes the size of his head. Huge pupils mirrored his own terrified form back to him. He could’ve sworn what was visible of it's iris was shifting in both shade and color.

“[I’m sorry I… I didn’t think that I would actually stop you-]” he breathed. His pupils were wide and his ears were perked attentively. At the feeling of being hit in the back of the head by a feathery appendage, he lifted Virgil to where Logan could see as well.

Virgil struggled against Roman’s grip, but when he was lifted up he froze completely, staring wide-eyed at the two that now had him captive. “…I’m fucked.” He just had to desperately hope that they valued his life over being the scientific heroes of the century because he certainly did not want to become some marvel on a dissection table.

Logan, meanwhile, stared right back, eyes wide and ears twitching. “[Woah…]” He breathed, wings opening just slightly as he leaned forward and lightly poked the side of Virgil’s helmet–luckily, the controls were set to recognize his own fingerprints, so nothing on his suit was activated by the touch.

Roman had a similar dopey look of awe but tried to snap himself out of it. He loosened his grip so he the alien was in cupped palms; partially to give him space but also to see the rest of him. “[Are you ok? … Do you come in peace?]”

Virgil let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding when he found himself no longer in a fist. He instinctively turned to try and escape but skidded short when he noticed just how high up he was. He knew well enough to not bet on his jetpack when he didn’t know the atmosphere’s composition. “Oh god, I’d die from that fall..” He slowly backed away from the edge of Roman’s hands, spinning back around to look up towards the giants.

His suit was interesting, it seemed to melt around the form of his body and was a black gunmetal shade with purple shimmering underneath when it hit certain angles of light. The helmet looked to be tinted, hiding his face for the most part while various colors of light danced in the glass. "[Do you think it can understand us Lo?]” Roman couldn’t resist and let himself use a finger to feel Virgil’s suit, he had never seen anything like it besides superhero movies.

Logan adjusted his glasses, one of his ears twitching. “[It doesn’t.. appear to be registering anything we’re saying, so I don’t think so, no.]”

Virgil flinched and pushed against Roman’s fingers, though it didn’t serve to do much at all. “Noo no no get away!”

“[Awh…]” Roman held them up to Logan as if it were a kitten. “[Do you think it’s a girl or a boy alien? I don’t see any horns.]” Roman petted the alien’s oddly smooth head.

Logan hummed and ran his fingers over the alien’s head where horns might grow. “[Either way, the body structure and.. well, lack of horns, seems to indicate that it’s feminine in nature, so I would say that is a safe bet. It could also be a juvenile. But honestly, there is no way of knowing without being able to ask.]”

Virgil, meanwhile, was not a fan of all the touching. He struggled, trying to pull away from their poking and prodding. “Stop that–!”

“[Well pleased to meet you ma’am sir gentlealien.]” Roman sheepishly dropped his hand when he finally noticed the alien pushing away. “[Crap, how much longer do we have before school starts? We can’t hide here all day my parents would kill me.]”

Logan hummed, whipping out a glowing, thin slab of glass from his pocket. “[Still about ten minutes.]” Logan responded. “[Even despite the delay we got here much quicker than expected with your shortcut.]” He added on, pleasantly surprised.

Virgil shivered, pulling into himself as much as he could manage. “Put me back in my ship and let me le-eave.”

“[Told ya so, roads are for normies. Even so, we should find somewhere to hide the ship. Want to hold ‘em while I carry the ship?]”

Logan chuckled a bit, nodding and holding his hands out. “[Sure, why not. We can put the ship in one of our lockers for the day.]”

Virgil’s eyes snapped to Logan, glancing between the two before going stiff. “Oh hell–”

Roman bridged his fingers to Logans. “[Could you go with him, please? He won’t hurt you.]”

Virgil pulled back, pushing himself to the heels of Roman’s palms. “Nope, Nope, nooo nope. not doing that. No way.” He shook his head, feeling himself shaking slightly. “I want back in my ship.” He pointed towards the now more than powered-down ship, keeping his arm from shaking as much as he could manage.

Logan frowned slightly, his ears drooping. “[Come on, I’m not going to hurt you..]”

“[Come on, please, your ship is fine I gotta hide it for now though. If anyone sees it we could get into deep shit.]” Roman tilted his palm a bit over Logan’s hoping to encourage Virgil to move. He knew the alien couldn’t understand but he tried to keep his tone reassuring and calm.

Virgil stumbled, putting his hands down to help keep traction. “Hey–no! Lemme in my ship!”

Roman felt bad about, but they were running out of time. He ushered the alien onto Logan’s palm. Then he went and gathered the ship securely in his arms, making sure to stack on the severed doors as well.

Virgil yelped, falling onto his back in Logan’s hands, watching with a whine as Roman picked up his broken ship.

Logan sighed, holding his hands closer. “[My locker is cleaner, we can store it there.]”

“[I would argue but honestly that’s fair.]” Roman draped the jackets over the ship. “[Alright how should we go about this I doubt she wants to be paraded around the halls in the open..]” Roman looked wistfully at the alien, wishing she or he or they could talk or at least understand him to know he means no harm.

Logan hummed, nodding. “[I suppose you are right..]” He tapped one of his hooves on the ground a few times, before perking up. “[Ah, How could I forget? I’ve got a chest pocket on all of my shirts. And you said breast pockets weren’t practical,]” He added smugly. “[I'll be able to feel that she’s there, and she’ll be out of sight.]”

Roman wanted to explain it to the alien because of how scared they must be, but just nodded. It’d be easier to figure out a way of communication when they weren’t risking someone walking in at any given moment. Roman started out the door to Logan’s locker, keeping his head down and trying not to look suspicious despite the huge bundle he was carrying.

Logan nodded in return, carefully tucking a very frightened Virgil into his shirt’s chest pocket. “[Apologies, I’ll try not to have you stuck in there all day.]” He then trotted ahead of Roman so he could open the locker for him.

Virgil, meanwhile, was trying not to hyperventilate. He was in some crazy giant aliens’ shirt pocket, and there wasn’t much he could do to get out of it. He hadn’t exactly been able to grab much in planet-exploring gear in the process of being abducted. Thank god this crazy place had a breathable atmosphere.. Unless of course, he died later.

Roman waited on Logan to remove the lock before lifting and storing the ship upon the locker shelf. He slipped his jacket back on. “[So do you want to switch off with holding him-them during the day? I’m not leaving her—him-them? This whole not knowing thing is getting annoying— by themself in a locker all day that is beyond dangerous.]”

“[I completely agree.]” Logan nodded and closed his locker, much to the dismay of Virgil, who’d managed to peek out of the pocket in time to see his ship disappear from sight again. “[Switching out sounds like a good idea, I’d say.]”

Virgil let out a groan, glancing between the two. “What’reWhat’re they saying, what’re they saying…”

“[Want to have the honors of going first or shall I?]” Roman leaned casually against the wall of lockers.

Logan chuckled, slipping his jacket back over his wings. “[I’ve already got her in my pocket, it’d only waste us more time switching her back over. Besides, she seems pretty unsettled still. Perhaps after a class or two? Or maybe even lunch?]”

Virgil slumped back down into the pocket when his view was obscured mostly by Logan’s jacket. This was going to be a pain… Stuck in a giant pocket listening to alien school lectures all day. Joy. More than anything, he just hoped it wouldn’t end up too loud.. He didn’t trust his suit’s current power stores with music while he wasn’t in some form of sunlight, and his headphones were still somewhere back in his ship. Figures.

“[Yeah alright you’re probably right-]” Roman paused dejectedly as the morning bell rung, “[-Meet you in the back in the lab during 1st lunch?]” He straightened and readjusted his messenger bag so it wasn’t pinching a feather on his wing.

Logan nodded, adjusting his glasses “[That works for me. See you then.]” With that he turned, heading towards his first block class.

Roman waved and wandered off towards first period, sure he wasn’t going to hear a word of the teacher’s lecture over his own thoughts.

...

I'm really confused about tag lists and remembering who goes where for multiple stories so this is my last tag for Here Be Aliens, if youd like to see more of it and future stories please turn on post notifications (Prince starved taglist will continue for now, along with my general writing taglist)

#infinitesimal!sides #virgil sanders #gt sides #giant logan #borrower #gt community #au #here be aliens #hba 3 #collab: R<3 #roman sanders #prinxiety #infinitesimal sanders sides #giant!roman #giant!logan

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deathduty · 5 years

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Chill! At the Sudoku || Alain & Deirdre

Alain and Deirdre enjoy the wonders of Sudoku together! Except they’re in a cemetery at night and Alain hates Deirdre’s “wanting to see someone get eaten” guts.

Gallow’s Grove was nice, as far as cemeteries went. The feeling of death was strong, washing over Deirdre far before she even set foot inside. The urge to let her eyes roll back into blackness and see all the the cemetery had to offer was strong, but the danger of letting a man like Alain see her out-ruled it. It was more work than she bargained for, trying to see what Alain was all about; what kind of a man agreed to a thing like this, anyway? Thankfully, she didn’t have to think about it for long. Glancing up with her flashlight and Sudoku booklet, she smiled at the man as he approached. He looked like the pictures she’s seen online, though nicer in person. “I didn’t think you’d come,” she confessed, hoping the darkness hid her mischievous grin. She knew Alain wasn’t going to die, there would have been a scream out her throat if he was, but even so she delighted in all the possibilities the evening brought with it. “I thought a cemetery would be too scary for you,” she teased, snapping away from her thoughts. “Did you bring your Sudoku?”

Alain, although his eyes did not require him to use any device in order to see, was carrying a flashlight with him, to keep appearances normal. Obviously, if a vampire decided to come by and say hello, his cover would be probably blown, as he would have a lot of trouble rationalizing why he was carrying stakes and a coutelas. Oh well, the woman was rather rude, and he doubted they would get along. In fact, he only had come here to keep her alive, if he was not too late. As soon as he arrived, he looked at her from head to toe. A part of him expected her to look entirely different, considering she was probably a professional con artist, but it made sense. Only a pretty white woman could get away with this kind of bullshit. “Yet here I am,” he wondered for a moment why she was harboring such a smile on her face. This could not be good news. The hunter looked around him. Maybe she did not come alone. Still, there was nothing. His radar was silent too, which was good news, for them. “What gave you the impression that I would be scared by a cemetery ?” His eyebrows raised with false surprise. Her question had him scoff. Of course she would make people pay, and also bring their own supplies. This was ridiculous, and a part of him almost regretted coming here instead of leaving her to be torn to shreds. Yes, that was not very nice of him. Another part of him felt guilty he ever thought such a thing. No one deserved to die. “Yes, I figured that you would provide them,” rolling his eyes because he knew that he couldn’t be seen behaving poorly, the hunter pulled a sudoku book from his coat, along with a pen. “Now what?”

‘Now what’ was a good question, Deirdre really didn’t think she’d get this far. She’d hoped, of course, but like all things she hoped for, she was rightfully cautious. “Most men find cemeteries to be scary,” she added, casually flipping through her Sudoku booklet. “I figured, since you’re so old, you might want to play it safe, live what little of your years you have left in the safety and warmth of your home.” Was it odd to lure a human to a place she knew to be teeming with vampires just to watch him struggle? Maybe. Maybe it went against her carefully crafted rules, but her stay in White Crest could do with some excitement. Besides, this Alain seemed to be a little more than what he claimed, and curiosity alone propelled her forward. “I’m joking!” She added with a forced smile a moment later, “I’m happy you’re here! Doing Sudoku gets so lonely. I guess now we just do math in silence? Maybe we should trade secrets? You tell me something devastating and I’ll try my best not to turn around and share it online. Hey, do you believe in vampires?”

“Well I’m hurt. People usually think I’m younger than my age,” Alain’s eyebrow raised, a shrug followed, and he had a look around. There was no way he would sit down on a tombstone. That would be too disrespectful and he had been taught better. Her explanation that men usually were scared of cemeteries did not really convince him, but he didn’t comment on that, or on that creepy thing about enjoying the few years he had left. What the fuck was that? Who said shit like this, the hunter asked himself. She probably was trying to spook him, he figured, and so he gave her a grimace of disapproval. “And that is supposed to be worth $20?” Scoffing, he flipped through the pages of his booklet, until she started, seemingly out of the blue, mentioning vampires. Original. “Why do you ask? So you can tell people online that I believe in them? Or maybe you brought me here because you thought there would be vampires?” He raised an eyebrow at his sudoku grid, filling out a blank space.

“Can’t imagine why they’d think that,” she hummed, starting on her own Sudoku. Deirdre was seated comfortably on the gravestone of someone whose name she didn’t care to learn, one leg crossed over the other and attired in a dress that didn’t suit the grime and dirt of the cemetery. She always did delight in looking better than her surroundings; she delighted in being better in every way imaginable. “Why? You’re not having fun? Oh! Look I finished a row. Keep up, Alain.” She grinned, working through her puzzle with ease--a nonchalance she only vaguely knew was odd. “I asked just because I’m curious. I’ve heard rumor this place has a lot of them.” She filled another square. “So I thought I’d make conversation. This is what makes the experience worth twenty dollars...you get this colorful commentary!” Another square. Another row. The pen she had moved with a kind of vivacity she reserved only for Sudoku. “I don’t see you trying to make conversation here. Do you believe in vampires?”

"Me neither," she was too damn rude and part of him wondered if she should not be the one paying for other people's company. Alain glared at her as she sat down on someone's grave, blowing through his nose as if to suggest that he was just about to go and leave her to die like a piece of garbage. Why was he here again? Oh right. Because he was supposed to protect humans. Well she was a bloody demon. "Not really. I'm bored to be completed candid," he glanced down at her sudoku grid. "Should I give you a medal for doing one single row?" Rolling his eyes, again. This was going to be the worst evening he had in a while, wasn't it. Or maybe not. "You've heard well. They usually get out of their coffins when the sun has entirely vanished beyond the horizon. I wonder where they are tonight." Maybe they saw you and left, struck with terror, he almost added. No she did not deserve his sympathy. And at least he did not have to struggle about whether he should trust or not. "I do believe in vampires, and so do you, am I correct?" He had some trouble with one of the 3x3 square of his grid, and his brows furrowed as he tried to figure where he went wrong. Maybe was it his radar going on and off that disturbed him, or his questionable company…

Deirdre got the striking impression that this man wasn’t enjoying this as much as she was. If she cared at all about making humans happy, she might have apologized. She might have tried to mold herself into being better company for him. She didn’t care, and so she simply sat on the gravestone and finished off her puzzle with a saccharine grin. “Well, I’m sorry. Should I take off my clothes? Usually that spices up an evening.” She paused, glancing up at the moon above them. “I’d like a medal, I’d like a medal for a lot of things” she responded in a moment of seriousness, considering the nature of being praised silently in her head. Thoughts of medals and ribbons left her head as she glanced back down at him, lifting up her flashlight to flash it around the cemetery. He was right about one thing: where were the vampires? “I don’t believe in vampires,” she explained, “that’d be like believing in a tomato. You don’t believe in anything that’s real.” Of course, it was how she’d worded the question in the first place but she wasn’t going to comment on her motivations. “Huh, maybe the math scared them off. Vampires certainly lack a little...brain,” Deirdre spoke a little louder, hoping to anger the right kind of egotistical new vampire. “Oh, the answer for that one is six, by the way,” she pointed to a square, “and the one over there is three.”

“Whatever floats your boat,” she would find him to be less interested than he was now, the sight of bare skin leaving him completely stoic in most occasions. “You might catch a cold, however. We wouldn’t want that to happen,” he dryly went on, scribbling over a 3 to turn it into an 8. Alain could tell from a tone that she thought so highly of herself that she probably would have accepted a medal for breathing. Well, she certainly was not raised in the same kind of household as him. Spoiled brat, he thought to himself, only lifting his eyes because his radar was back on, and this time not switching back off. “I would not bet on that. You are thinking zombies,” technically spawns were as dumb as a doornail, but that should not mean that they weren’t dangerous. “That’s great, but I think you’ve managed to draw their attention toward you,” a couple of Vampires along with a handful of spawns were approaching the pair, and Alain saw himself stand up and shove Deirdre off her tombstone in order to get her behind him. “Do you think you could run?” His voice now a whisper, the hunter glanced around, looking for more of these things.

Deirdre pouted. Alain was no fun, and she’d finished her Sudoku a while ago. He wasn’t being horribly maimed, and she couldn’t even get to bask in visions of death when she wanted it. Now he was denying her a chance for nudity? Humans could be so boring. At the very least he could have indulged that for her. “Oh, I don’t get cold…” she sighed wearily, about one more exaggerated display of annoyance away from actually fainting. “Any undead creature is idiotic. Zombies and the other twenty kinds of vampires, or whatever.” She sighed, again, clearly growing increasingly bored until Alain jolted up, shoving her aside. At that, Deirdre smirked, normal humans didn’t put themselves between vampires---normal humans wouldn’t be able to notice them in the dark, anyway. She’d felt the chill of them minutes ago, the only thing she was surprised about was being shoved. “Oh, I knew it!” she taunted back, “no bloody idiot comes to a cemetery at night unless he wants to see boobs or knows how to stake a vampire.” Alain wouldn’t die today, that much she knew. Those creatures were a different story, however, and it was one she was keen on witnessing. “Run and miss watching those things die?” she whispered back, happy to sit back and watch as the creatures of the night pulled closer to them. She might not have thought humans were particularly useful, and she might not have agreed with ‘slayers’, but she didn’t like the undead much---for obvious reasons. What was a little death to her, anyway?

“ Why ? Because you are dead inside?” Alain’s eyebrows raised and his eyes rolled so high he could have been able to tell which were the stars visible in the sky tonight. She was not making any sense. First she did not believe in vampires, and now she was aware that there were many kinds, and that most of them were stupid. Full of shit, she was. “Will you shut your goddamn mouth? Nothing useful as gotten out of it since the minute I got here,” even if he whispered those words, they came out as harsh. He did not make it an habit of getting angry, but his last nerve had been hit right now. Who the hell did she think she was, luring people into coming here so they could get killed by vampires ? Was she working with them? She spoke again and his hypothesis fell into a puddle. Nope, not helping them. A strong taste for the macabre, probably. Still, she had something fucked up about her, and it rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe he could find time to discuss it later, for now, he had to get rid of them. His jaw still clenched with annoyance, he asked : “What were you going to do against these had I been one of those losers looking for nudity ?” He was extremely upset that she thought for a second that he was this kind of person, then, did he really care about her opinion? “Do you even know how to defend yourself?” Probably not. And the first spawn was already rushing toward them. The hunter felt the sting of its claw on his shoulder and grunted as he swung his own hand toward that creature’s neck, stabbing and cutting the head off with the short sword. Rolling his wounded shoulder to make sure it was okay, Alain swiped his foot across the pile of ash, and gave a look at the rest of them, a big smile on his face. “Don’t keep me waiting like that, bring it on.”

“Actually, yes! I am dead on the inside,” Deirdre retorted, whatever feeling that she got that this guy hated was quickly replaced with the fact that he definitely did. Oh well, she wasn’t here to make friends. And certainly not with the ‘kills vampires’ kind. As he fought, Deirdre flipped calmly through her Sudoku booklet, trying to find another puzzle to do in the meantime. “I came prepared,” Deirdre smiling, filling out a row and then a column. Deirdre wasn’t the best fighter, but it really didn’t matter with her abilities...or the obvious fact that when it came to the undead, the fast-beating heart of a human was the more alluring target than hers. Even now, the creatures found themselves more enticed by lightly wounded Alain--the scent of his blood no doubt permeating through heavy night air. “Yeah, bring it on,” she half-cheered, half-yawned, not bothering to look up from her puzzle. Another box filled out. Then a row. She did have her knife with her (never mind where she kept it when the only thing she’d worn was a jacket and a dress) she could help, but Alain seemed capable enough. A column. Another row. She was done the puzzle. “Are you done yet, Alain? I need a ride.”

"Elle va fermer sa putain de gueule?" Was he really above murdering someone he shouldn't be? Heh, he had done it before. And if he threw a spawn at her, was he truly responsible for what would follow? He would not feel responsible. Non. Alain smiled to himself, kicking away the beast and turning to check on her briefly. Was she doing more puzzles? His cheek stung as he was hit in the face by that same spawn he shove away. Well that would teach him. His blood felt warm against his cheek, dripping from the shallow cut. Great. Alright, he was done caring for this woman. Slashing open the spawn's abdomen, he ignored the creature's shriek and instead switched for the stake (he'd never been to fond of those but they could come in handy) pushing it under the flesh until he only had dust left in his hands. Another spawn came at him and another, and they found the same fate, again and again, and again. The two higher vampires had stayed behind, expecting, he assumed, that spawns would do their dirty work for them. The advantage with those vampires who still had their wits, was that they usually thought themselves to be really clever, when really, they were usually average and garbage when it came to strategy. This would not take too long. Then he would deal with that woman.

Fortunately for Alain, Deirdre’s French wasn’t what it used to be. Though she didn’t guess he was saying anything nice. She hadn’t led him here to die (well, she had in some way, the fact that he wasn’t going to was a disappointment she hid poorly) and she thought that might have made some sort of a difference to him. Bored, she glanced up in time to watch his face get slashed, hissing out sympathy for him. She didn’t notice the two vampires approaching around her sides, all feelings washed out by the general sense of death around her. With a growl, they tore the puzzle book from her hands and bared fangs she didn’t care for. Somehow, she got the impression that swinging around her knife wasn’t going to make them go away. “Cover your ears, Alain,” she called out, not bothering to check if he had. With the same practiced ease she’d been filling out puzzles, she opened her mouth and wailed. Stunned into fear, the vampires stumbled backwards before scrambling up to run away. “Not so hard,” she turned to the hunter, “If it’s any consolation here, I’m not a fan of the undead either.” She dug into her pockets and pulled out a handkerchief, holding it out and pointing to his cheek. “Those vampires did steal my Sudoku book so I do expect to be compensated, though.” Even though this was all her idea.

Alain had not noticed that they had taken an interest in Deirdre. Of course someone who was not waving a sword and a stake around probably was more interesting. They must have known that he would make a very poor meal. If he could have been satisfied to see that damn sudoku booklet taken away from her, this was not the case. His instinct still told him that he should have been protecting her from that. “Cover my ears?” His hand went from his cheek to his ear, and the other dropped the stake to cover the other, still it was not enough to shield him completely from her … vocals. Jesus Christ, what the hell was that? “Bravo Celine,” he replied with a Quebec accent, taking the handkerchief with a puzzled look on his face. He was not sure what shocked him the most : her screaming or her gesture of kindness. “Well look at you being nice. I knew you had it in you,” he gave her a smug smile. Laughing light heartedly, he walked back to pick up his weapons and put them away. “Let me guess, it was worth $19.99,” he glanced at the dust the spawn had turned into. “You know, if you sell that dust, you’ll have your money, probably more than what that book was worth.”

“I wasn’t being nice this whole time?” Deirdre smirked at him, navigating around piles of dust she glanced between them and him. “You’d think I’m so desperate I’d start selling drugs? I have heard it's great for the skin though…” And she might just have bent down to scoop some into her pocket. It could be useful, at some point. Deirdre rolled back her shoulders, stretching her arms like a cat after a particularly long nap. “Who spends that much on a Sudoku--oh, never mind. Did you drive here? I wasn’t kidding about needing a ride.” She moved up beside him, a smile on her face, “I like Céline. I think we can be very good friends, Alain.” Of course, the smile betrayed no sort of friendly intention. Only the kinds of intentions that lead to a fun time: like watching him get eaten, or kill things that did the eating. In her mind though, this meeting could only mean good things for the both of them.

#wickedswriting #c: alain #carbrakes-and-stakes #chatzy #chill at the sudoku #like panic at the disco but not #also I can't believe alain thinks deirdre is spoiled smh coming from the guy with the rich family

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iceamericanoventi · 5 years

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Love Will Find a Way, Well, Eventually : 3. Bloom

“Is that it?”

Jinki raised his eyebrow to the man beamed like morning dew in front of him. He’s quite surprised with the visit of the younger. When he said he’ll stop by his café last time they met, he thought it was just formality of the courtesy talk.

“Nah, it would upset my stomach if I took more than coffee this early.”

“This is early for you?” Jinki glanced at his watch inevitably hearing such thing.

“My client and supplier abroad are still on the dreamland by this time,” he winked, makes Jinki chuckles behind the counter, “So how much do I owe you?”

“It’s on the house.”

Those round eyes immediately turned brighter, “You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Really?” He leaned further to his front, limb almost completely over the wooden surface. His neck stretched to the direction where Jinki’s making his order. Even from the back, Jinki still looks gallant, his back muscle subtly visible over his indigo cashmere.

“Cut it out before I change my mind,” he turned his back with cup of coffee in his hand, “Since this is early for you, do you mind if you have your coffee here instead for take away? Better for the environment.”

The blinding smile hypnotized Taemin on the spot, “Only if the boss sits with me.”

Another snorted came from Jinki, “Go pick your table then.”

***

“You seem happy this morning.”

Taemin put down the cup and support his head with his left hand on the table, while the right playing with the edge of the saucer.

“Me? Happy? We clearly didn’t know each other for a long time. This is the regular me.”

“Well, what I know is back then you were super grumpy during the whole dinner.”

Jinki brushed his hair back, the locks appeared so soft between his fingers. Taemin needs to suppress his urge not to feel it by his own hand.

“Sorry if my first impression disappointed you,” Jinki’s words halted for a moment, “My head was somewhere else.”

Minho has been texting him a lot since the next morning after they parted. He doesn’t like being accused as anything, but he doesn’t like it more when it’s actually true. He admits he was a bit rude, talking too cold to some people who weren’t at fault.

Even worse, the tall man bothering Jonghyun making the later had no options besides calling Jinki right after he finished with his shift at the hospital. And nagging Jonghyun is the worse.

“Kibum couldn’t stop wondering what the heck is going on with you during our ride home. He thought you’re on your period or something.”

“Maybe I was. Who knows?”

“Kibum was right when he said you’re a bit jokester.”

“It’s only me and you yet you keep talking about Kibum.”

“Jealous much?”

“Too early to talk about feeling. It would upset my stomach.”

Another smile adorn Jinki’s face, sending Taemin heartbeat to run faster than it’s supposed to be, “You’re interesting, Lee Jinki.”

“That’s what people said about me.”

At this rate, it’s hard for Taemin to not take Jinki’s friendly attitude as a light flirt. It seems he faced two different men. The dinner Jinki appeared like assassin in disguise, while the man before him idly looks like ball of sunshine. He sipped his coffee once more to cover his trembled lips.

“So how do I talk to you besides coming here to get my coffee?”

He expected the conversation would go this way, what else brought a busy designer like Taemin to the other side of the city, far for where his studio’s address – thanks to Choi TMI Minho – only to get a cup of cappuccino?

Besides Minho and Jonghyun, and some business partner of course, only several people has his number. Some family member doesn’t even know how to contact him besides the number of his shop. Jinki doesn’t like being disturbed. His time passed seven in the evening belongs for him, and for him only.

But something is unusual from Minho’s rants and excessive reminder to get closer with Taemin, at least try to give a chance for him. He figured that Minho must want to know Kibum better and Taemin won’t allow him to touch his precious best friend if he doesn’t get something in return.

“Ask Minho.”

“Don’t you think I haven’t tried? I can get coffee on the ground floor of my building, Jinki.”

“Bet I have better brew.”

“Of course, the owner is such a view. I didn’t put any sugar but I guess when I leave this place I need to check my blood sugar. I might get early symptoms of diabetes.”

“Stop blurting out some non-sense.”

“Not until you tell me your digits.”

“Are you always this aggressive? Should I be worried?”

“Only to certain people,” Taemin winked playfully to finish his sentence.

“I’ll ask your number from Minho later.”

“If you had three-days rule under your sleeve, you better cancel it right here right now, Sir.”

“I think it’s safe for me to start worried now.”

***

Jinki walked aimlessly between the bookshelves, checking some new novels to enjoy with one or two glasses of Bailey’s. Yesterday he was cleaning his apartment, taking half day off from his shop to finally realize he needs to hold yard sale by the end of the night because apparently he’s certified hoarder.

He has too many books. Some of the binds almost fell off, some of the cover even ripped, and some got coffee stain or maybe wine or some liquor he downed while reading the said books. After some deliberation, he opted to bring all the books to the shop and purchased some new one to accompany him at home.

Minho said, nobody reads book anymore at the coffee shop nowadays, but Jinki spat right on him for delaying the promotional strategy he promised a while ago because the photographer suddenly ought to go to Japan for some possible exhibition the next fall.

“Five at most, Jinki.”

He looked to his the small basket on his left hand, it’s been a while he went to real book shop, there are already seven books inside, “We’ll see.”

“What’s the point of moving everything to your shop then bring back another hundred home?”

“I am not that rich, Honey.”

“You aren’t. But you are not gonna give up a book when you already like it as well.”

“Wow. The perks of being boyfriends for five years.”

“Not a perk. An agony. You could buy some nice wallet or watch for me instead piling books on each corner of your place.”

“Ouch. I’ll buy you snow globe on the anniversary of our break up.”

“Oh, how sweet.”

“I am.”

“Whatever. Gotta go, some kids need their hero.”

“I need my hero as well.”

“Then stop shutting people down and take the courage. Live a little!”

“Yes, Dad.”

Jinki shoved his phone at his back pocket and continued touching and picking and putting it back to the shelf, repeating it several times until he reached the new arrival sections. He saw a book with a teal cover with a sketch of beautiful window in embossed silver ink on the middle of it, with small handwriting right below, About.

He peek his basket again, still less than ten, I’m good. Saw him dumping the book on top piles of the others, a staff walked closer to him.

“Hey, would you like to join our fan sign event?”

“What?”

“Ah yeah, the writer of that book is holding a fan sign at the moment. There would be some little reading as well. And everyone who purchases that book today, can join the fan sign for free.”

The girl sees how Jinki’s hesitating at the moment, half whispered, she showed him to the shelf on her right, “The book just released two days ago. It’s already on the best seller wall. It’s the fifth book of the writer that made it there. I’m sure you don’t want to miss this.”

“I’ll think about that,” he walked to the check out counter to pay all of his books. It’s three in the afternoon but the bookshop is crowded as much. While waiting by for his turn, he flipped the teal-covered book to check the summary written.

‘A flower would wither, inevitably, with or without care. When a tree is not teared down by an axe, reality might override some expectation, while it stays in her might, it’s eating herself from the inside. Since nobody know, nobody care. Just like flower, inevitably, it would wither. You said a mother would always stays, it’s about love. But rain smashed down the earth, flooding the land, vanishing some hopes. So much dread, but it’s about love as well.’

He saw the writer’s name, Key it says – which he’s much not familiar with. But what irked him is the commentary notes, he saw the name of the first author his grandfather introduced him: Key did it again. Same energy, some reflection, but different touch as always.

Interesting, he thought. Retreated from the line he picked his phone and texted his manager that he’s not returning back to the shop after his afternoon shopping spree.

***

Something inside his chest is racing, thumping with unnecessary rapid pace. His eyes glued to the figure appeared at the corner of the small stage arranged at the back part of the bookshop. He looks so soft with another oversize sweater wraps him, as if the article of clothes is specially made for him. The color burgundy is contrast with the skin peeking just right above his collarbones.

Some audience by the first three rows squealing at the smile he sports when he looks at their directions. The scene makes Jinki ducked his head quickly, afraid that the man would think him a creep. A creep who stalks people they barely knew with book shopping as their excuses, hiding among some late teenagers making a fuss over small wave from the man.

Jinki stretched his neck a bit, checking for empty seat he could sneak in. He found a place on the right side next to a pillar covered by some wooden shelves, a perfect hideout until his turn for the sign.

“Hi, everyone!” his voice is still as charming as Jinki remembered, “Thanks for coming today though it’s with very short notice, you are all here! I am impressed, but also grateful to the hill.”

He stops for a while to reach his copy of the book he’s going to sign this afternoon.

“Actually, it was scheduled to be released only next month, even if I finished it early. So, I bugged my editor to chase their tails to distribute it faster. Guess I am a very good dog person!”

Roar of chuckles fill the air by the joke, but mainly by the way he rolled his eyes when he’s talking about his publisher.

“Today I will read for you some pages which are my favorite from ‘About’. This book composed by questions we have about all the simple things happened around us. Or to us. About all the things we take for granted.”

From his seat, Jinki can clearly see how the man blushed when a girl took a picture of him but forgot to turn off the flash light.

“For the first time, I don’t have main character. The story isn’t specifically centered on particular people. I want to be as inclusive as can be for everything’s happened inside this book could occur to anyone despite their social status or their point of view toward life.”

He takes his glasses and gulped down some water prepared for him before he opens the book in his hand, and started reading.

“She just left. She yelled one night, screamed her lungs out, spat on my face, at one point made me believed words came out from her, that I am useless. Ungrateful and asking too much. I had enough of you, that’s how she ended the dreadful conversation. The following morning I saw a glass of milk on the table, fifty dollars slipped neatly underneath. Cinnamon rolls placed next to it, wrapped by blue napkin, a letter laid on the top of it. No, it wasn’t letter, it was not even one paragraph, and it’s written at the back of old supermarket’s receipt. I’m sorry I had to do this, it began. I would be a bad mother if I’m with you. We shouldn’t have been each other’s pain. Since then, I resent my mother for all bad lucks I encountered for the last ten years.”

There’s no single sound from the audience. Everyone’s drown to the sooth voice reciting some lines from his book. One girl at the back even took out her handkerchief and silently wiped her tears. He bit his lips, seems reluctant to continue reading the passage.

Jinki stunned by the words. The last sentence tastes too familiar.

***

Kibum can only stare to the man walked closer to him. He blinks, once, twice, but the scene didn’t falter. The man even smiled, waved his book to the dumbfounded author. So many questions popping inside his head, starting on how on earth such an aloof personality is bothered coming to an event like this.

“I am a fan. Starting today,” he put the book in front of Kibum just like previous people before he observed. But the eyes of the said man still wedged on Jinki’s face, “You okay? Last time I checked, I’m not a ghost, Kim Kibum. Or should I say, Key.”

He took the book anyway, head still shaking in disbelief, “That name is off limit. How did you get here?”

“Err.., by subway?”

Only chuckles blurted out before he starts writing on the first page, “I thought an alien abducted you here.”

“Well, that would be less boring.”

“This is awkward,” Kibum snorted, “But thank you for coming. I mean it.”

“My pleasure, Kibum. I’ll finish this as soon as possible.”

Kibum waved to him slightly too excited, eyes glued to Jinki’s back, following him to the seat he’s sitting by himself, away from the crowd. A staff needs to tap his shoulder lightly announcing another reader already waiting on his right. He quickly apologized and detached himself from Jinki’s direction.

Meanwhile, Jinki traced the fresh ink on his copy, simple smile reappeared when he read the cute handwriting.

‘Let me know if you like the story. Or not. Enjoy, Lee Jinki! J’

He looks to the small stage, secretly hoping the later turned his head his way so he can mouthed another thank you and leave better impression. But Kibum’s of course busy signing and chatting with his fans. Sometimes he cracked a little bit too loud an excuse himself for startling people around.

Jinki is still trying taking in the entire situation without being overwhelmed. When Minho said Kibum’s a writer, he didn’t expect it would be this famous. And the way he treats each reader, furtively gave him hope. A hope of something he didn’t understand yet for what. A hope he secretly wished it was only on his misshaped mind.

“Is my book that amazing I got a beautiful man flipping the pages or is that too boring you expected some twist on the next paragraph?”

Jinki looked up when a familiar voice approached him. He was too caught up with the story line, he didn’t realize the fan signing is all wrapped up and some staffs already started clean up the chairs. Kibum smiles sincerely, and without asking any permission he sits next to him, leaned closer to check until which part Jinki already reading. Little did he know, his perfume confiscated Jinki’s respiratory system, making it hard to balance his need of oxygen.

“Care to explain again what on earth brought you here?”

Jinki closed the book and rested in on his laps, “I was buying some books. It’s the time of the month. Not something I’m proud of, but I do judge a book by its cover. Literally. And when I saw yours, it goes to the cart immediately. And one of the staff told me I got a chance to have my book signed by the author.”

“I should call my graphic designer after this and treat him a dinner.”

“You should. I’m rarely this open complimenting people.”

Kibum burst into another long haul of laughter. He looked at Jinki once again, and still, shaking his head again for this is such a weird coincidence. He was a bit ill this morning when he woke up and was still not in the mood even he got better after some medicine Amber gave him. He almost calling his publicist to postponed the book signing until at least next week.

He thanked his hard headed manager to shove him more soup and vitamins while yelling him it’s impossible to cancel the book signing which he personally asked to be added on his schedule.

“What do you think so far?”

“It’s too soon to come up with some conclusion. I’ll save that for later. But the passage you read before, I like that a lot.”

Lots of people reading Kibum’s book, lots of people said they love it. What just rolled out Jinki’s mouth, though, painted him some contentment. For Kibum, what he grasped from Jinki’s attitude back on the restaurant showed him that Lee Jinki is very hard to please. Taemin was almost all over him during the dinner, but he didn’t budge. And befriended with the designer, he got to know that Taemin is a very charming person, no one actually wasn’t drown on his vibe.

“What are you doing after this Jinki?”

He was planning to stop by Jonghyun’s house and bought some egg breads on the way knowing it was his ex-boyfriend’s favorite. The later has been bugging him with endless texts saying he’s exhausted.

“Hmm, nothing. Mostly go back home and continue reading.”

“Do you want to grab some bites?”

Jinki thanked his grandfather words as much as he cursed it. He would never say no to that kind of questions.

“Relax, it’s not a fancy dinner which might turn you into cold asshole.”

“Hey. I might be cold but I’m not an asshole.”

“We’ll see.”

***

Kibum brought him to his favorite burger joint in a very nice neighborhood. It’s close to the hyped area near Hongdae, but secluded enough to actually able to get some order served without being annoyed by some line. Kibum decided to take away and enjoy the burger while walking around with I-already-sit-for-a-very-long-time as an excuse.

They talked about books, puppies – Kibum has two –, and some stupid stuffs they encountered while walking down alleys to alleys. It’s not weekend yet, but the street’s already filled by youngsters.

“These kids are supposed to sit on their desk studying for dear life!”

Kibum couldn’t hide his anger when a group of freshman walked passes them and nearly knocked him down butt kissing the pavement. Luckily, Jinki was there snatching his arm in flash.

“Let them be. Too much studying is such a waste, they’ll stress themselves. Nothing great about being depressed.”

“Was that the story of your life?”

“Maybe, the part of being depressed in such young age sounds familiar.”

The answer brought Kibum quiet. By the corner of his eyes he catches Jinki secured both of his hands on the pocket of his coat, face straight to the front trying not to give Kibum any chance to ask something related to that.

“What life without drama, then? Now tell me, why you insist on running specifically jazz café.”

“I love jazz and I love coffee. I have the opportunity to wed them, that’s what happened.”

“But you don’t seem happy talking about it.”

“I’m not a talker to begin with. So to incorporate happy feeling on my conversation is quite challenge.”

“I wonder how I’m the writer and not you,” Jinki raised his eyebrow in question, “You always have a way with words, you know?”

“A gift. When you’re raised to argue with your folks, you’ll manage.”

They walked side by side for the rest of the journey back to the main street, both are occupied with their own thoughts. The temperature dropped as the night goes by, but neither is bothered with it. Much to Jinki preference, he likes the comfortable silence.

Sometimes he glances to his side, Kibum always caught him looking but he said nothing. So he did the same when Kibum cocked his head to check on him.

“You sure you don’t want me to drive you home?”

Kibum asked the other man when he saw his car from a far.

“Nah, I’m good. Besides, I’ll be the end of your avid fans rant when they found out you drove back a newbie like me.”

Light slap landed on Jinki’s shoulder, “Stop it, will you?”

Jinki’s about to tease Kibum further, but seeing the man before him pouting like a toddler, all the will evaporated into the night sky and replaced with some funny feeling inside.

As they eased closer to Kibum’s car, Jinki hummed random song he listened to the radio blasted on the burger place which happened to stuck inside his head.

“I like that song.”

“The melody kinda stuck here,” he pointed to his temple which Kibum totally agreed with him.

“One last chance to get a ride from your new favorite writer.”

Kibum stands near the passenger door, waiting for Jinki to change his mind.

“Sounds amazing but I’m going to take the subway.”

“Your choice.”

He opened the backseat door to retrieve some of Jinki’s stuffs. He told him to leave the books in his car because he knew they will walk a lot and Jinki has at least four pounds of book in the paper back he handed back to the owner.

“Here you go. It was nice bumped into you, Jinki. Who knows you’re this, you know, remarkable.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Promise me you won’t hate me if you don’t like my book.”

“That won’t happened, I promise you.”

“A deal then.”

“A deal.”

Kibum decided that giving the other man a farewell hug is super awkward and would ruin the night. So he just nods and reaches the handle of the door, already missing the nice conversation he had even before he buckled his seatbelt.

“Kibum.”

“Yeah?”

“Umm, can I call you sometimes?”

Kibum’s smile never been this liberating.

***

It was posted on my AFF and I was thinking to cross posted it here. But, ofc, in a very very slower pace because I am that lazy yes, sloth is my spirit animal. If you’re interested to read the story, go check there. It’s already on chapter 7 lol! Thanks for reading this, I hope you like it! XOXO

#shinee fiction #shinee scenario #shinee fanfic #shinee #onew #jinki #jonghyun #kibum #key #minho #taemin #onkey #ontae #onho #jongho #taekey #minkey #LWFAWWE

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