#I just really wanna yell about my chapter fic especially okay??

[eywathemother]

Fish Lips Part 5

Ship: Aonung x Kiri's twin sister!Reader

Warnings: Language, bullying, gore, fighting, talk of war, injury and blood, slow burn, enemies to lovers (not really a warning just some people don't like that trope), death of (a) character(s), not proofread

Words: 2,170

Keys: (y/n) = your name,,(y/i/n) = your Ikran's name,, Neural Queue= the braid extension of a Na'vi's nervous system that allows them to link up to animals and Ewya,,(y/II/n) = your ilu's name,,

Chapters; Introduction || Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || Part 6 || Part 7 || Part 8 || Part 9 || Part 10 ||

Spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water A whole ass lot.

Did I tell yall I love ya??????? Nicest ppl ever, I just wanna hug ya n squeeeeze yaa. Okay funny story, my cat King Cinnamon is an insane orange cat, and I was watching Avatar again (It's literally on replay every time I write these fics) and he would only attack the screen when Jake was on the tv. I made him stop ofc, but it was hilarious, HE WOULD HUG THE TV AND TRY TO BITE JAKES FACE LMFAOOA. I don't think he likes Jake much (He is an avid tv watcher btw.)

I deleted this chapter like six times cuz I hated it, I still do but I'm tired of redoing it so I hope you all like it. Ik I said slow burn and it seems like I'm rushing but dw this story still has a long way to go.

It had become a routine of yours and Aonung's to sit on 'his' rock at night, normally just a silent moment between you both. Almost every night you would swim to the rock, and he'd be right next to you ten minutes later. Sometimes he would speak, other times you would, but normally it was just enjoying each other's company.

It has been four months, but you still weren't on the best of terms in your opinion. He'd still let out an insult here and there and you'd jab right back. You took notice of the drastic difference in his behavior towards you, especially lined up next to your siblings.

You didn't understand what was so special about you, you were practically a carbon copy of your brothers, especially Lo'ak who Aonung seemed to dislike the most. Well, technically both of you acted like your father when he was younger, according to your mother.

Rash, irresponsible, and shoot first, ask questions later. Of course, you'd just roll your eyes at that, you couldn't imagine your father getting into stupid fights and arguments. Which was in fact what you were doing in this exact moment with Lo'ak.

" You broke my necklace, you bitch." You yelled, the last part in English, and Lo'ak glowered at you, Tsireya cocked her head at you in confusion.

You stuck out your broken necklace, the beads missing and some handpicked rocks you got from home. His ears went back." Wasn't me!" He snarled, ears going back and smirk from his face falling." You were the only one in the Marui before it was broken." You pointed at his chest; he smacked your hand away.

" It wasn't me, stop always blaming me!" He yelled and you rolled your eyes." Oh yeah then-"

" Knock it off!" Kiri yelled at you two, glaring as well as she could as Tuk braided her hair. You both glared at each other." Mother fucker." You hissed in his ear quietly, and he side eyed you.

" Dickhead."

" Twat face."

You both covered your mouths and giggled to yourself at the childish insults, completely forgetting the argument you were just in." You guys should teach me English! I wanna know what you're saying!" Tsireya stated and you both looked at each other.

" Lo'ak can teach you." You smiled at her patting his back. Aonung, Rotxo, and Neteyam swam over. They were teaching Neteyam how to hunt under the water so that they could take him on hunts.

" What's up." Rotxo waved his hand in greeting, and You all waved back. " I'm trying to convince them to teach me English." Tsireya announced and Neteyam looked at you and you shrugged in response.

" I already caught on to one." Tsireya spoke proudly and you raised a brow." Oh yeah?"

" Yeah, 'bitch'." She repeated your words and you and Lo'ak cringed as Neteyam whipped his head at you two." That's...not really a good thing to say." Lo'ak explained and you snickered quietly to yourself.

"Oh, apologies." She went a bit lower in the water in embarrassment." What does it mean?" Rotxo asked and Aonung eyed you as you giggled with Lo'ak, he had been watching you a lot more, but you pretended not to notice. Neteyam rolled his eyes." It's an insult usually towards girls."

Neteyam glared at you, and you shrugged, you really didn't know she was going to catch on and take interest in your small talks in English with Lo'ak. It normally wasn't even a full conversation; it was more throwing insults and giggling about it afterwards. it was a little game you guys did, having childish humor like the two of you have it was just between you guys.

" Why are you insulting Lo'ak with a female insult?" Tsireya questioned and everyone turned to you." Because he's a big baby girl." You teased taking a braid in his hair and twirling it to piss him off.

He smacked your hand away as you snickered at his annoyance." Anyways, what do you wanna do today?" He asked and everyone looked at each other. " I'm gonna go fix the necklace you broke." You exclaimed huffing at Lo'ak who rolled his eyes." That's what you get for calling me a female insult." You saw a smirk on his face, and you rolled your eyes back at him.

" Seeya." You waved at them, and everyone said goodbye, except for Aonung he just gave a small wave. When you got out of the waters Kiri called you over.

"Yeah?" Kiri nudged her head towards the water where everyone else was." You have an admirer." She teased as Tuk moved her head back into place." Stop moovingg." Tuk whined, you turned your head a bit to catch Aonung flick his eyes back to your big brother. You shook your head." Nah."

" Yes so. He's been staring at you the entire time." You rolled your eyes and waved a hand at her." Okay, whatever you say." She shook her head and went back to her conversation with Tuk as you walked towards your Marui.

When you got back to your families pod your mother was there with Ronal. They stopped and turned to look at you as you awkwardly stood at the entrance." Oh, sorry." You gave a half smile and Ronal's face flickered to the necklace in your hand.

" My, you're quite the crafty one." She put her hands out, gesturing for you to place the necklace in her hands. You did so hesitantly." It was almost finished but it got broken." You explained rubbing the back of your neck.

She ran her hands along the rocks and beads, after an awkward silence she looked up at you." Would you like to help me craft sometime?" She asked, going back to looking at the necklace." Me? Sure!" You grinned at her, and she nodded.

" It's gorgeous dear." She complimented and your ears darkened. You bowed your head a bit in thanks." Thank you." You breathed and smiled, Neytiri handed you a basket as you began to turn and leave.

" Please grab some more fruits for dinner on your way back." She ran her hand over your hair affectionately and you leaned into her touch before she pulled away patting your shoulder.

You gave her a smile before you left to the woods behind the branches of woods that made up the Metkayina village. As you walked slowly through the batch of woods you heard the sound of footsteps behind you.

You turned around, Aonung staring at you with his unbothered stare that he has been giving you all week. You both just stared at each other awkwardly until you cleared your throat to speak." Are you following me?" You smirked and he looked away for a moment before meetings your eyes." No." He responded, surprisingly no smug or rude comment.

You squinted your eyes at him." You've been acting weird." You waited for a response, but he just started walking past you." I'll show you where the best place is to pick fruits if you zip your lip." He smirked at your face; annoyance plastered on it.

You raised an eyebrow at him." Fine then looks like you won't be sharing this amazing fruit picking location because my lips aren't gonna seal for you." You walked past him and continued straight. You didn't hear anything as you continued to walk forward, so you thought he was gone.

" Man, that boy." You mumbled, flicking a branch in front of you." What about me?" His voice rang out and you let out a quick scream. " Jesus Christ, man!!" You held your hand to your racing heart, he let a loud laugh." Who is Jesus Christ?" He asked and you scoffed." Some famous guy from Earth."

" That's a weird thing to yell out after being scared, do I look like Jesus or something?" He asked, his face looked serious, but his eyes were glistening with mirth. It was your turn to laugh." Not even close!" You bent over the basket you were holding your ears and cheeks a dark purple.

When you got done laughing you looked up at him, he was watching your face the whole time. A peaceful silence broke out as you stared at each other as you gained your composure." I still don't like you; you know." He spoke matter of fact, and you rolled your eyes.

" We were having a moment." You turned forward and began your walk again, which this time you noticed his presence." Why did you follow me out here?" Your question booming through the quiet forest. He didn't respond until you turned around to give him a quizzical look.

" I just wanted a walk, is it a crime that I accidentally ran into you." He shrugged and you squinted your eyes at him." In the same spot as me?" You quirked a brow at him, he folded his arms across his chest." It's a pathway bound to be walked on." He argued and he pointed forward.

" Plus, your headed to a beautiful spot where I like to sit." He took a step towards you with a smirk." Wanna join me?" He quizzed but you didn't by it. How come every time your alone and he shows up he claims you're on his spot or area.

After a few beats if silence, his smirk slowly turning to an annoyed pout." Fine don't, you're missing out though, on a great view." He was really trying to convince you to come without actually saying it.

" Oh please, I am the greatest view." You joked and his eyes roamed you up and down before he shrugged and spun on his feet." Hey what was that for?" You hissed at him, and you tugged his arm as you followed him through the trees.

" Aonung?" You looked up at the boy who was giving you a mischievous look. " Look." He poked your cheek directing your face forward as he moved a large leaf out of the front of you. " Woah." You breathed; a waterfall was in front of you with a lake surrounding it.

" See told you." He walked towards a rock and sits on it; you follow close behind looking at all of the plants surrounding the water." Do you have these in the forest?" He asked and you shrugged." Waterfalls and lakes yeah but some of the plants are different."

You admired a flower that was near Aonung's leg, and he looked down." How'd you find this place?" You asked, he placed his feet in the water." Well, it wasn't hard to find I just used my eyes." You scoffed, you moved onto a different rock, placing your mother's basket next to you.

You dipped one foot into the water, moving your feet in the warm water. You could feel his eyes on your and you turned your head his way." You've been staring at me." You spoke, and he turned his head fully towards you.

" I haven't." He scoffed in denial, and you rolled your eyes, smirking at him. " Well thanks for showing me your lovely place, I still don't like and I need to go get fruit for my mother." You stood up and he got up as well." I'll show you the fruit spot."

You unconsciously smiled at him which made him give you a quizzical look." What?" He asked and you wiped the smile from your face." What, I wasn't' smiling."

He rolled his eyes and gestured for you to follow, you picked up your pace and fell beside him as he walked you towards this fruit pocket of a sort. It was a peaceful silence that followed your walk towards the fruit but the whole time you were wondering as to why he was being so nice to you today.

" That necklace you had in your hand in the waters with Lo'ak," He broke the silence, but pausing to make sure you were listening." Who is it for?" You shrugged at his unusual question." It was more for a reminder of home, but since it lost some of it's pieces I don't think I'll finish it." You stated, smiling at the thought of Ronal's compliment of it." Why do you ask?"

" No reason." When you reached the area Aonung helped you pick some but reminded you he was doing himself a favor and not there to help you. When you got done picking you headed back with him, it was almost late afternoon, so you had to hurry it up.

" I still don't like you, forest girl." He reminded you once you reached the point where you went your separate ways." Yeah yeah, don't think I like you either fish boy." He shook his head and walked away. Today was definitely an odd day, but peaceful nonetheless, you felt like you were finally starting to fit in.

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Taglist; @akinatrix , @willowbrookesblog , @lovesickbtch , @ao-sleepy , @elli-aesthetics , @ducks118 , @aeclark04 , @audigay ,@lola-bunn1 , @curlszx88 , @kidwithaheavystick , @weridpersonhelp , @yeosxxx , @tsamiaxoo , @shartnart1 , @tsukette , @daphne000 , @amarillyssnowdrop , @neteyamsmate4life , @stitch-lele , @purplefsh , @dumb-fawkin-bitch , @goodiesinthecloset21 , @theghostofshadows , @aonungs-tsahik , @simpliheavenli , @bob-the-ikran , @littleshybunbun , @werelosingdaylight , @ijwsbdinp , @xoxovienna , @findingourtreasure ,

[poppitron360]

Okay so @green-tea217 requested that I share this fanfic based on this post that I made.

I never usually post my fanfics, but I’m feeling brave. This one isn’t finished, but I’ll post the first chapter ‘cause I’m really proud of it. I’m working on the other fanfics that were requested, but I’m posting this one first because I’ve worked rlly had on it.

Summary: Kind of an OC/FanChild fic about my hcs for Percabeth’s kids. VERY Leo/Nico heavy bc they’re my two favourite characters, particularly Leo.

TWs: Swearing, lack of smut (she is a teenager)

Disclaimers: I was still reading SoN when I wrote this chapter, and I am currently on HoH, so if I’ve missed anything that gets revealed later, that’s why. Also I listened to the audiobooks, so if I spell a name wrong, that’s also why, either that or I’ve spelt something the British way.

Chapter 1:

Olympia hated stories.

She hated telling them. She hated hearing them. She hated the way they were often twisted and bent to contain some kind of message. She hated the theatrics of sharing them around the fire, the hushed voices and dramatic tone. And she hated how every story she heard was almost always about her dad.

Olympia Grace Jackson-Chase.

Of course.

For as long as she can remember, people had told her stories about her parents. About her and her birth. How she had been born on Olympus. How Apollo himself had delivered her, and named her “Olympia Grace” so that it would rhyme with her last name. That wasn’t entirely true. “Grace” was the last name of her Auntie Thalia and Uncle Jason. She hated the stories about them too- about all her parents’ friends. They were myths and legends in the eyes of the other campers, to her they were just people who babysat her sometimes. The Cabin 9’ers had been shocked when she’d told them that the heroic son of Hephaestus who had saved the world from Gaea and her evil forces was actually just Little Uncle Leo, and the first Fire User in three and a half centuries isn’t very mythical and legendary when he’s running in from the kitchen, waving a tea-towel at the fire alarm and yelling “Oh shit, the guacamole’s on fire. I set the guacamole on fire. Don’t tell your mom.”

People never wanted to hear those stories. Only the exiting and dangerous ones.

“Percy Jackson fought the Minotaur when he was only ten years old!!!”

“Percy Jackson keeps insisting I tidy my room.”

Suffice it to say, she was sick of it.

“Dad,” she asked, approaching the kitchen table.

Perseus Jackson, the man, the myth, the legend himself, looked up from his comic book and ginned at her.

“What is it, dolphin?”

“Can you… like… not send me to camp this year?”

Her dad frowned, put The Amazing Spider-Man down on the table and leaned back in his chair.

“Why? What’s up? Are the other campers not nice to you there?”

“It’s not that… in fact, it’s the opposite. The attention is getting too much. I wanna learn to fight, but… I’d rather you just teach me yourself. You can show me how to use my water powers.”

“Oly, I know it’s hard, especially as you’re one of the first Legacies at Camp Half-Blood. I can absolutely arrange for you to not go anymore if you don’t want to… but there’s only so much I can teach you on my own, particularly with your mother’s workload. I want to make sure you’d be protected. Could you maybe give it a try, please?”

Olympia was pretty sure she’d been “giving it a try” for the last 14 summers, but she didn’t want to argue with her dad.

“Fine,” she said.

“That’s my girl,” he beamed, “Now, remember to pack your armour for Capture the Flag, I don’t want to have to drive out there and back just ‘cause you forgot it again.”

She sighed and left the room.

She just wished that he had stayed in the car when he’d dropped her off, but no. He insisted on walking with her to the Big House, saying hello to Chiron and generally being a huge embarrassment. It didn’t take long for the crowds of campers to form around them, whispering behind their hands. She hugged her dad, and said goodbye to him as quickly as she could.

She dumped her things in the Poseidon Cabin. She was allowed in both her mom and her dad’s old cabins, but she preferred to be alone to sleep. She did her activities with the Athena kids though, she didn’t want to stand out any more than she already did.

Olympia sat alone, perched on the edge of the Athena table, when suddenly a kid shuffled up next to her. She looked about twelve, with the same grey eyes of her mother.

“What’s your name?” The girl asked.

“Olympia Jackson-Chase,” Olympia sighed.

“I’ve noticed you doing cabin activities with us, but you don’t sleep with the other Athenians? What’s up with that?”

Olympia took a deep breath, and began to explain, “I’m a-“

“Wait. Jackson-Chase?” The kid gasped.

Oh, here we go, Olympia thought, preparing for the usual swooning and/or geeking out.

“Your mother was Annabeth Chase?”

Olympia was slightly taken aback, “Usually, people talk mostly about my father. I’m always “The daughter of Percy Jackson,” never “the daughter of Annabeth Chase.””

“Oh but she’s a legend! She re-designed Olympus! She led our cabin in battle against the Titans! She even held up the sky! I mean, I know your dad did that too, but-“

“She did it for longer. She was under that thing for over a day, he only held it for at most 20 minutes.”

The girl laughed.

“And, if you ask me, she was the one who did all the work when it came to defeating Kronos. Dad did jack shit, just handed a knife to a guy.”

“Exactly! Just because he was in the Prophecy-“

“Nah, it’s a lot simpler than that,” Olympia said, “It’s because he’s a man.”

They sat in silence for a bit.

She never blamed her dad for overshadowing her mom. He didn’t mean to. In fact, he openly hated the stories that didn’t recognise her for all she did. They were so in love, it was sickening.

“I can’t believe she’s, like, my sister.”

The girl gasped, and grabbed Olympia’s arm, “Wait, does that make me your aunt?”

Olympia shook her head, “Don’t bother with family trees, man, otherwise you get into the whole “my dad’s dad is my mom’s mom’s uncle, which makes me kinda my mom’s second cousin, and my dad her cousin-once-removed”- it’s just too much to get your head around.”

She looked directly into the girl’s grey eyes, “My advice, kid, believe whatever bullshit they tell you about the Gods not having DNA, and just try not to think about it.”

The girl’s face fell. “Oh.”

Then she looked exited again, “Did you come out of her tummy or her head like I did with my mom?”

And there we go, Olympia thought. Geez, they didn’t hesitate to ask the really invasive questions, did they?

She took her three-pronged fork out of her pocket, and fidgeted with it, twirling it in her fingers. Instantly, she realised her mistake.

“Why do you carry a fork around and never eat with it?” The girl asked. More questions.

Might at well get it over with, she thought.

“Gift from Grandpa,” she replied.

“A gift from Poseidon? What does it do?”

She sighed again, and dangled the fork over the girl’s glass of orange juice, and let go. It dropped into the glass with a satisfying plop, and then rose to the surface. No, it wasn’t rising. It was growing. It’s shaft elongated, and the prongs stretched to become longer and way more deadly. Intricate designs started carving itself into the metal. Olympia stood up, and grabbed the shaft of the fork just as it finished growing. A three-pronged death skewer of pure celestial bronze. A Trident.

The surrounding campers gaped at her, open-mouthed.

“Woah,” said one of the Hephaestus campers, clearly someone who hadn’t seen the spectacle before.

“OLYMPIA JACKSON-CHASE! NO WEAPONS AT THE DINNER TABLE! CAMP RULES! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THAT!!”

“Sorry Chiron,” Olympia called. She twisted a little ring of metal around the shaft of the trident, and it shrank back into a fork. She sat back down.

“It responds to water,” she explained, “get it wet, and boom, Trident.”

She had named it Blue. It was her first word, after all. Or at least, that was the story. Poseidon had given it to her on her second birthday, and she had just looked at it, holding it in her tiny fist, and cried “bloooo!” It was probably just baby babbling, but Dad said it counted.

“So what’s Poseidon like? Do you have water powers too? Can you get me your mom’s autograph? Is your dad really 7ft tall?”

She ate the rest of her lunch in silence, only answering the onslaught of questions from the young camper when she had to.

Cabin 3 offered a pleasant respite from the crowds and the people. She dropped her armour and weapons from the day’s activites by the door and kicked off her shoes.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

(Drawing of Olympia: Art by me)

Her curly black hair, which she’d dyed the tips of blonde, was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Around her neck hung a necklace of leather chord, fourteen different coloured beads threaded onto them, each painted with a different design. Her broad shoulders and thick muscles bulged through her plain navy-blue tank top. Her skin was tanned from spending long hours training in the sun. She had a battle-hardened look to her that meant people often mistook her for a daughter of Ares. But her eyes was what made her stand out most- one grey, like her mother, one green, like her father. Her parents had told her how her birth had ended the centuries-long feud between Poseidon and Athena for good, and she had been given those eyes as a way of symbolising that. Another story. It felt like every part of her body had been attached to a story about something her parents had done. Why couldn’t she just be herself? She had spent 16 years living under the shadow of her parents, she was homeschooled from an early age, and had been going to camp since before she could even hold a sword- the demigod life was all she’d ever known. Someday, she’d get away from it all. She’d sink to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and just study the fish, and she wouldn’t have to worry about people or monsters

Suddenly, she felt something tap her on her shoulder. Quick as lightning, she grabbed Blue and spun around. Blue, still in fork form, was about a centimetre away from the neck of her intruder, who held up his hands in surrender.

“Whoah there!” He said.

When she saw who it was, she lowered the weapon and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Leo!” She cried.

“Hey, how’s my favourite cousin? Or… whatever.”

She looked at him and smiled. Despite him being old enough to be her dad, he was about half her size. With a thin, wiry frame and very little meat on his bones. His wild, curly brown hair framed his pointed face and elfish features. His dark skin was covered in a thin layer of motor oil and grime of unknown origin. He tapped her cheek affectionately, leaving a grubby handprint on her face. He walked over to her bed and leaped onto the top bunk, his legs dangling off the ladder.

“You need to stop growing,” he instructed, “You are getting too big, it’s not fair.”

“You need to stop being so short,” Olympia retorted, then her face broke into a huge smile, “I feel like I never see you anymore!”

“I know, you’re too old for me to babysit now, kiddo,” He complained.

“Well that always ended in disaster anyway. There’s still burn marks on that wall.”

“Did your mom find out?” He asked.

“Nope. Dad told her he just wanted to hang more pictures up. And then he went on a long speech about how nice she looked in that wedding photo, and then took her out for ice cream. I think she bought it.”

“Good.”

They stayed in comfortable silence for a few seconds, and then she asked, “So… it’s great that you’re here and all, but… why are you here?”

“What, I can’t come and visit my favourite partner in crime every now and then?”

“Leo…” Her tone was firm.

Leo’s face was suddenly dark and serious, he paused before speaking, but said, “I think I have news about your brother.”

That was Chapter 1- if this post gets… let’s say… 30 notes, I’ll post Chapter 2.

[l-eternity-l]

-Loving You

summary. - when a young lady has a little bit too much to drink, a certain singer comes to her rescue.

pairing. - Elvis x Black OC

warnings. - age gap, alcohol, creepy dude

word count. - 3k

author's note. - ahhh okay guys this is my first fic. I'm honestly thinking about turning this into a long series because I already have an idea for a few more chapters. The only thing is I don't know what name to give the character so I literally just named her after me, but I really want to change it. I hope you guys enjoy!!! (also feel free to send request!!)

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MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 1957 The Country Club

    MERCEDES clapped her hands together as her brothers finished rehearsing their new hit song.

  "You guys sound great," she tells her brothers as people walk onto the little stage at the front of the building, fixing the boy's microphones and retuning instruments.

  "We did just as expected" Luther breathed out "everyone was off-key, not to mention Raymond forgot the damn words" he takes a quick sip of his water before handing it to Mercedes.

"Oh, can it Luther!" Raymond speaks up "why don't you focus on whatever the hell you need to do and stay the hell outta my business" Luther sends him a harsh glare.

  "This is my business Raymond, fuck it's all of our business. These people pay us to put on a good show".

"Okay, so what!" Raymond becomes more frustrated by the second "all you ever wanna do is please some white man by dancing and singing like a damn fool, you ever realize I don't put effort into this shit because I don't care!" he throws his water onto the ground before storming off the stage. Mercedes sighs.

  "Why do you guys always have to do this" before her brother can respond she keeps going "always doin' something right before you have to perform. you know he may not be coming back" Luther shrugs.

  As far as everyone was concerned, Luther cared more about the music industry than anyone in the world-- blasting music and putting his all into everything the band did.

  He played the instruments, mixed the records, and wrote most of the lyrics. people may say that he takes some things too seriously but Luther never cared--he was going to be a star and no one would hold him back from that. not even his own family.

  "As if we need him, if push comes to shove we pull you up here and make Jerome a back up".

  "Hey" Jerome yells out "don't punish me for what ray did" Luther just shrugs him off, walking over to his brother Ronnie "Raymond just needs a second to calm down, he’ll come back after he's had a smoke" The boy tries his best to reason with his angry brother.

  Jerome and Mercedes were less than a year apart, their parents not being able to wait another second to try for a girl.

  Even though he's one of the lead singers, people still tend to forget about him, especially his mother.

  Jerome has no interest in being famous--by the time he was born his brother had already started their carer singing outside of their father's barbershop to bring attention to it. Jerome's real dream is to become a pilot --singing is just a small hobby to him.

  "I don't know why you ain't performing now Sadie" Ronnie speaks up causing the young girl to roll her eyes and lean up against the stage with her arms crossed.

  "Because the women specifically asked for a male quartet. those poor girls have a hard enough time keeping their men from cheating under their own roof, much less outside of it" she picks at the skin around her nails in boredom.

  Mercedes has always been the most outspoken of the siblings, the exact opposite of what her mother wants from her. The only one their mother actually likes is Ronnie.

  Ronnie is the quiet sibling, he does whatever his mother says--doesn't matter if it's something small as bringing her the TV remote that's right next to her, or big as donating a kidney, Ronnie would do it in a heartbeat.

  Even though he does all of this for his mother, it doesn't save him from being called ungrateful and useless--but that's just how things went in the Estelle household.

  "If it were up to me you'd replace Raymond right now, he's sloppy and he doesn't care about anything or anyone," Ronnie says fixing his bow tie in the reflection of a mirror.

  In the boys' defense, Raymond has been causing issues lately. if he's not showing up to rehearse late then he's off with some girl, it drives their mom crazy, which only causes her to snap at the rest of them.

  Raymond wasn't always like this. As a child, he was charming and loved to sing and dance when company came over. it wasn't until his mom and dad started fighting, he came a little devil.

  Raymond has gone through more than the other siblings--having to be the one who dealt with their mom and her outburst when dad had got done beating on her. When their dad had just died and their mom left, Raymond was the one to take care of everyone.

  After all these years, Raymond's care for anyone but himself faded, and so did his relationship with his family.

  "You know mama wouldn't let that happen. He has a great voice, he just doesn't like to perform. Thinks it's silly" Mercedes reminds her brother "besides, he's just angry because it's gettin' late and he ain't had dinner yet".

  "Well, he needs to get over it because people are gonna start showin' up soon. We've only got a few minutes of rehearsal time left" the girl pushes off of the stage.

  "I'll go try and find him, you guys just keep practicing".

...

  Mercedes wanders around the expensive country club in an attempt to find her oldest brother.

  After what felt like hours but was only a couple of minutes, she found him leaning against their car with a freshly lit cigarette between his lips.

  "I ain't goin' back in there" Raymond starts before his sister even gets the chance to speak "I ain't gonna make a fool of myself for all of those people. singin' bout love and rainbows and girls all while swayin' back and forth and dancin'".

   He takes a long drag of smoke before continuing "I'm gonna quit and tell momma to go get somebody else to do it. I ain't doin' this shit no more!".

  "Are you done," Mercedes ask, unamused by his outburst "because you have a show to do and all of your brothers are waiting on you to stop throwing yourself a pity party" he shakes his head.

  "You're just as bad as the rest of them Sadie. if you think doing dumb shit like this is what's gonna help us be famous then you go and do it. I know father wouldn't have wanted this for us, he wanted us to be stars, not clowns" he take another long drag "and I ain't gonna be a clown no more".

  "I don't care what you wanna do or what you don't wanna do, it's about what you gotta do. Fathers gone and Mommas crazy, we gotta make ends meet somehow" the boy tosses his cigarette on the ground and crushes it with his heel.

  "I can't keep on doin' this stuff Sadie. I wanna be able to do what I want with my life, not what momma wants." Much as Mercedes wanted to tell her brother he could do that, she also didn't want to lie to him.

  "Look I don't like the way momma does stuff around here either, but as long as we live under her roof, we have to do what she says." he runs his hand through his thick hair "We need you ray" she places his hand on his arm "Only for a few more years, then we can stop doing shows and just make music" he lets out a long sigh.

  "Let's just head back," he slides his hands in his pockets and starts to walk away from the car, Mercedes next to him "Mamas gonna be here in a few minutes and if I'm not there she'll just take it out on y'all".

"See now you're using your brain" his large hand forcefully shoves her away from him "Oww, what the hell-".

"Go find somethin' to do while we rehearse, you look like you wanna put a pistol in your mouth just sitting there".

If Mercedes was being completely honest, her brother wasn't wrong. they've all performed together since childhood, her and Jerome switching who'd lead, often doing duets. Any time Mercedes didn't get the chance to perform she felt an extreme sense of jealousy. Her mother only ever took her out saying it looked better with the boys singing, the boys are too tall and she doesn't fit in, and that four people on stage looked better than five. All this did was make Mercedes want to perform more.

  Mercedes and her mother didn't have the most loving relationship. After Luther was born, all Her dad ever talked about was having a girl-- after begging for years she agreed but they had another boy. This only fueled his want for a little girl more and they immediately had another child, even though Grace never wanted more than 3 kids. Soon after Mercedes was born, her father passed away from an unknown illness-- leaving her mother alone with 5 kids. Because of this Grace had resented her youngest child for years. Mercedes being unruly and never taking no for answer, only made this situation worse.  

She walked around the country club for a few minutes, trying to find something to cure her growing boredom. She feels an arm brush against her and quickly moves over to give the person more room, only they don't walk away. Mercedes glances up at the culprit. The man was older, maybe 25-35, with jet-black hair that was combed over and slicked down. you could see the gel glistening from the lights. He held a cigarette in his hand and sported a kind yet devious smirk.

"I'm sorry sir" Mercedes voices, quick to apologize in an attempt to avoid conflict. he waves his hand as if to dismiss her apology.

"Don't worry honey, it was my fault. What are you doin' here anyways" his gentle voice surprised Mercedes. Though the girl has never had a bad interaction with a white person before, she had heard many war stories of what her people go through on a daily basis-- this lead her to avoid them as much as humanly possible. "don't seem like the kind of place you'd find a nice young lady such as yourself," thought every cell in Mercedes's body told her to run away from the man, something else was begging her to stay--to figure out what it was this man wanted.

"I'm here with my brothers, they're performing tonight" he slowly nods his head.

"And they left you all alone out here, all by yourself" he sets his hand on her arm, a gesture that would normally make her pull away with fear, but the kind smile on his face seemed to soothe the thoughts that ran through her head.

"What? don't think I can take of myself" she says dripping with fake innocence. his smile grows.

"Oh the exact opposite," he moves his arm around to the small of her back, leading her away from where they stood "Why don't you come sit with me and my friends while you wait for your brothers, they're right over here," thought the situation feels off, Mercedes doesn't really have anything else to do at this party-- Not to mention, she loves the thrill of a little danger.

...

  Surprisingly, she ends up having a good time, talking to the men along with some of their girlfriends. They talk about music and performing while they sip on their expensive drinks. the night was going well and her brothers were putting on a good show, even though Raymond looked like he wanted to die the entire time. She sat beside the man she had met earlier, James. He had his arm resting on the back of her chair as he bragged about his yacht club and how much his soap company makes in a month. Even though Mercedes couldn't give a shit about his boat and his money, she did enjoy the drinks that the man kept handing her, Loving the burn of her stomach as she sipped on the fruity cocktails. One of the boy's songs comes to an end as Mercedes laughs at another one James' corny jokes. normally she wouldn't have, but her intoxication could make her laugh at a blank wall.

  "So," he pulls the drink away from her lips "why don't we get out of here" he runs his course hand up and down her knee, going a bit further each time "we should head someplace a bit more private". though Mercedes was so out of it she could barely form a sentence, she knew when something sounded sketchy. and in that very moment, she realized just how close he was to her. she clears her throat, sliding her chair a bit further away.

  "Yeah," she pushes his hand off of her leg, "I think I'm gonna have to pass on that" She lets out a nervous giggle as she takes another sip of her drink.

  "Don't be like that, I bought you all of these drinks and you're not gonna give me something in return" he leans to place a kiss on her cheek before whispering in her ear "Come on baby, I'll take you to my boat."

  "Sorry Captian, guess I'm not the girl you took me for" the man plasters on a fake smile, sliding his hand back onto her knee.

  "Why don't you have another drink, maybe then you'll change your mind" she pushes him off again, the chair letting out a loud cry as she stands with haste.

  "I've gotta go check on my brothers, I'll be back later" Mercedes says in an attempt to remove herself from the situation. She shoots the others at the table a quick smile before she quickly maneuvers her way through the crowd with unsteady feet, using the wall as a crutch. A sea of various people occupied the dance floor as she tries her best to make it to a less crowded area. The girl spots some public restrooms not too far away and makes her way toward them, stumbling with every step. Once she's there she lies against the side of the building before sinking to the plush grass, resting her head against the smooth concrete wall, a nauseating feeling overcoming her. Mercedes knew that people got drunk, hell she had to carry Raymond back into the house several times, but what she didn't know was how it felt. Her vision was clouded and her head was pounding. it felt as though her world was spinning. For a second, she even wondered if the man had slipped something inside her drink. The distant sounds of toilets flushing could be heard as she tried her best to regain her composure.

  "You okay there?" a southern voice draws her out of her dazed state. Mercedes looks up to yet another white man with slicked-back hair, only this time it was a bit longer and more in his face. though she felt like she really shouldn't be talking to him, the alcohol had clouded her judgment.

  "Umm... no. I don't know" Mercedes drops her head into her hands "I drank," she tells him.

  He lets out a slight chuckle "Well I can see that" he sits down next to her, lighting the cigarette between his lips. "What's a pretty girl like you doin' out here all alone?" he asks. Mercedes knows this trick all too well--in fact, she had experienced this trick less than two hours ago.

"I ain't gonna leave with you" her words slurred together, getting to the point as soon as possible.

"I ain't tryna take you anywhere honey, just wanted to make sure you aren't here alone. My name is Elvis, what's yours?".

"Sadie, and I'm not alone, 'm here with my mom and my brothers. There performing tonight." he hums.

"Your brothers are the Estelle's" the girl nods "I used to play basketball with them. I remember when you were just a baby. Your momma let you drink at this age?" he asked tilting his head. she shakes no.

  "No, she doesn't. But what she doesn't know won't hurt her" he raises his brows, amused at the girl's response.

  "Guess no one can tell you anything huh?" Elvis's voice was laced with sarcasm. Mercedes- not finding his little joke too funny, rolls her eyes.

  "What do you want" you'd swear you could see the annoyance radiating from the girl's body.

  "As I said before, I just wanna make sure you're okay" The girl scoffs as she tries to push herself back to her feet, failing miserably. Luckily Elvis helped her before she slid back down the wall.

  "Well, you can go find some other dame to save because I'm fine" The amusing thing is that Mercedes is definitely not fine, seeing as the only thing holding her up is Elvis.

  "I'll believe that when hell freezes over." he moves her arm around his shoulder for support before he leads begins to lead her away from the restrooms "Don't worry little girl, I'm gonna take you to your momma" she immediately starts to resist against his attempts to move.

  "No!" she says franticly "Are you crazy? If she finds out she'll beat me 'till I'm black and blue" Elvis stops for a moment, trying to think of a better option.

  "Okay, then I'll go get your brothers. How 'bout that?" Elvis offers.

  "No they'll kill me too " she argues "If they find out I was talking to a man they'd...they'd...oh, I don't know what they'd do but I know it wouldn't be pretty."

  "Look I gotta tell somebody, I can't just leave you sitting here drunk outta your mind!" Mercedes lets out a frustrated sigh "I don't care how mad it makes you you've gotta chose somebody. So who will it be? Your brothers or your mom?" Though both options sounded like a death wish, she knew that her brothers wouldn't lay a hand on her-- the most they would do is yell at her for a few hours and act distant for a day or two.

  "My brothers have an intermission in a few minutes, they usually smoke by the car." Mercedes reluctantly tells him, slightly pissed at the fact he's so hell-bent on getting her in trouble today.

PART TWO IS POSTED!!

[shakethatshakarian]

The Curse of an Aching Heart

A steamy little fic I've been working on. Very, very smutty. Enjoy a little snippet.

Chapter 1 - You Look Good to Me

“Cheers!” Ashley shouts, shot in hand.

“Cheers!” Kaidan and I shout back.

We drink one, then another, slamming our empty shot glasses upside down on the counter. I exhale and shake my head, feeling the alcohol warm my body from the inside out. A comfortable haze creeps into the edges of my vision, and I don’t fight it, instead letting it boost my confidence enough to venture back out into the crowd alone.

“I wanna go watch the band,” I shout to my crew.

“Okay Skipper, we’ll hang back and catch up with you in a bit,” Ashley yells back. Kaidan looks like he wants to protest but Ashley grabs him by the wrist, shooting him a glare, and shakes her head No. I’ll have to ask her about that later.

Snagging two more shots from the tray, I thread back through the crowd towards the band. I scan the area to see if there’s anywhere I can sit, and sure enough, there’s a small table against the wall by the staircase, practically right next to the stage. It’s a tall table with two barstools, one of which is currently occupied by a Turian man in a dark blue suit. I decide to throw caution to the wind and approach him carefully, trying my best to be graceful in heels. As I get closer, I let my gaze sweep over the Turian, and holy shit, he’s gorgeous. And he’s watching me walk over to him. Okay, I can do this.

“Hey, do you mind if I join you? I’d really like to listen to the band,” I ask with a smile.

“By all means,” the man replies, gesturing to the seat across from him.

“Thank you.” I place my shots down and take a seat. I prop up my elbow on the table and place my chin on my fist, settling in as the band starts to play a jazz standard I immediately recognize.

I can’t help but glance over at the man across from me; he’s got to be one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen. The bright blue clan markings on his face really make his ice-blue eyes pop, especially against his light brown hide and silver plates. His suit does nothing to hide the rugged, absolutely ripped body underneath. He’s leaning back in his chair against the wall while absentmindedly swirling a glass filled with an amber liquid, nodding his head along to the music.

“You know, if you want to ask me something, you can,” he drawls, eyes trained on the band. His deep dual-toned voice sends goosebumps across my skin and a shiver through my body. I can’t fight the heavy blush that spreads over my cheeks, so I look away from this handsome stranger and back to the band.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t mean to stare. You’re just so…”

Oh shit, that got his attention. He turns his head to look right at me, ice-blue eyes looking me over curiously, almost… hungrily?

“I’m Garrus,” he offers, dipping his head towards me in a respectful nod.

“I’m Eden,” I manage to reply, nodding back. “Nice to meet you, Garrus.”

“Likewise.”

[sxaras]

CHAPTER TWENTY - sneaking in

₊˚a story in which two teens inexperienced with love learn to love each other.

warnings — selfship fic (osaluma) (livchu), bsd spoilers, angst, fluff, teen love, romance, mentions of traumatic backstories, underage dr.g use (marijuana), violence

MASTERLIST

notes from dazai’s star: we get a bit of luma and their mom content, for reference she’s a uni professor. also got into an argument with my mom last night so i really self-projected with this </3

luma was a good child. they were kind and sweet and empathic and caring. qualities their mother was proud of. although, luma never fully believed it because of their father.

so when they grew up and began slipping up more, they blamed themselves and began being much harder on themselves. their arguments with their mother became more intense as well. especially recently.

sure, it’s been a while since they had those intense arguments but having another less severe argument tonight caused emotions to spill out of luma.

most of their coping mechanisms consisted of avoiding their problems. on their phone, being distracted from their problems, smoking weed and getting high, no bad vibes during highs, luma likes to say.

they weren’t the most healthy, but it helped luma, made them feel good, made them want to live.

“osamu, can you come over? i…i got into an argument with my mom,” luma muttered into the phone. “of course, i’m on my way.” “wait wait! you need to sneak in, i’ll let you in when it’s a good time, my mom’s still in the living room right now,” luma explained.

“got it, i’m still on my way, i can wait outside,” he said over the phone. “thanks osamu, i’ll see you soon.”

with that, luma and osamu hung up and they waited patiently for him to arrive.

by the time he texted them he was at their house, luma’s mother had already gone to bed. luma sneakily crept out of their room, shutting off the alarm. creeping to the door, they quietly and slowly opened it, revealing osamu looking up from his phone with a smile.

“thank you for coming,” they said, hugging him before ushering him inside. they quietly shut the door again, heading back to their room after turning on the alarm again.

“luma, did you open the door?” their mother asked from her room. “no,” they lied, freezing in their tracks. they held a finger up to their mouth while staring at dazai, silently telling him to be quiet. when their mother didn’t say anything more, they headed into luma’s room and shut the door.

“what happened, if i can ask?” he said, sitting on their bed. luma laid beside him. “i can’t do anything right. she wanted me to clean up the house a little and i couldn’t do a single task correctly. she asked me to throw some stuff away and i threw away the one thing she didn’t want me to throw away, i needed to put stuff in the dishwasher and i missed some items so she yelled at me about that,” they ranted to him.

“i’m sorry baby, i know you’re trying your best, and i’m proud of you,” he said, kissing their head. “whatever, i’m over it,” they said, trying to brush it off.

“wanna get high?” luma asked, smirking at him. “sure,” he laughed, earning a squeal from luma. they got out their dab pen and started it up, taking the first hit.

blowing the smoke out, they handed the pen to osamu, who then took a hit. he got used to it pretty quick, taking a longer hit than previously. “is this on the highest setting? shit,” he breathed out, trying to adjust his breathing but his heart was beating rapidly.

“oh god, osamu, are you okay?!” luma asked frantically, trying to think of what they could do to calm him down. “i’m fine, just didn’t realize it’d make me feel this way so fast,” he said, trying to hold back coughs.

“it’s okay, you’re not gonna die, although you’d probably want that,” luma muttered. “not without you,” he mentioned, causing them to look up. “i don’t wanna die without you, luma,” he admitted.

luma’s eyes widened. something he craved so much he didn’t want to do without them? they wanted to die too but with osamu in their life, they wanted to spend their last breath either with or thinking about him.

they took another hit off their pen, feeling the weed enter their mouth. it tasted like pinewood but in a good way, if that makes sense.

“what were you planning on doing tonight?” he asked, finally getting back to a regular high state. “maybe read some manga, write, y’know the usual,” they explained, laying in his lap.

he ran his fingers through their hair softly, luma sighing as they eased into his touch. they fluttered their eyes shut and let osamu massage their head.

the high only intensified the pleasure of the massage, causing them to let out light sighs of contentment. osamu enjoyed this—making luma feel good. it was something he wanted to achieve every time he saw them.

“ ‘m tired,” they murmured, letting out a long breath. “does this feel good?” he asked, continuing to massage their head. “feels amazing,” luma sighed out.

“can i just stay here for the rest of the night?” luma asked. “of course,” osamu replied, smiling sweetly.

[theharrowing]

Mother! The Collateral revist is so fun! I have been reading since maybe around chapter 5 or 6 and I have forgotten our humble beginnings. The tention with Yoongi and how fucking TOXIC he is oh my GOSH and the subtle hints of him and Namjoon being a little closer than he is with the other family men!

IN CHAPTER 4 when Taehyung is smoking and watches mc come down the stairs I yelled "WAIT WHAT" I had forgotten all about that! (Don't take this the wrong way but you have said so many times that you didn't have plans in the beginning--) It feels like this is such a subtle look into a character who is maybe not fully formed yet like I don't know that him openly staring at mc totally suits his character. (Unless he was doing it because mc reminds him of.......uhhhhh........someone else............winkywinkywinkywink.

I love your insights too, thank you so much for reading along. Although I want to breeze through my reread it's so fun to join with you!

ANON HELLO i am so glad you're enjoying the reread!!! and the insights hehehe. i love to talk about myself and my writing, and this is a fun opportunity to do so unprovoked, so thank you for the encouragement!!!

OKAY NO BUT YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THE TAEHYUNG THING both that it seems like something his character wouldn't necessarily do now (re: checking out mc) and because it is a hint at something that i am still going to reveal and that i don't think i continued to hint at properly throughout the story. there are bits and pieces of plans that i have had since the beginning (especially after chapter 2) and although things are, for the most part, pretty loosey goosey in chapter 4, i was planning on a thing that i have not yet revealed. i am SCHOCKED and so excited that you pointed it out and that you also like worked it out in your head, i assume, as you were writing it to me???????????????? whatever process that was, i was squealing with glee when i read it. please return at the end of the fic (or maybe it'll be revealed in the very beginning of the sequel???) and tell me if you have realized it!!!!!!!!! it should be obvious.

back to Yoongi being toxic tho lmaooooooaidakfhaskhfkaa yeahhhhh man, i didn't mean for him to become so soft and loving (i mean, he is still an incredibly flawed character) but whenever i look back on the first chapters (including 5, which i will be reading today!!!!) i am just like "wow readers really want mc to marry this man.......................they really think that's her happy ending....................................................after everything he put her thru............................................................................"

ANYWAY AHHHHHH THANK YOU FOR READING ALONG and for sharing your thoughts! stay hydrated! i love you! chapter 5 coming soon!!! and if you do keep giving insights, to my insights and wanna chat more, pick out an emoji that i can know you as!!! 😍🥰💜💝⭐

[thatfilthyanimal]

20 First Lines

I was tagged by @buginateacup! Thank you so much~!

Rules:  List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your  favorite opening, then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

I don't have 20 since most of my fandom writing has been RP but I'll post what I've got! Most of these are NSFW though lol, proceed with caution!

1. Sick (2010) - The door creaked as it opened, echoing throughout the halls of the lair.

2. Lock The Door Next Time (2010) - Eyes closed, Megamind leaned back into his chair and breathed a pleased sigh.

3. The Chase (2010) - They had danced this dance before.

4. Out To Lunch (2011) - This plan was perfect.

5. Helping Hand (2011) - "S-sir..."

6. Caught (2011) - Roxanne wasn't around.

7. Just Because! (RP being reformatted; will be on AO3 soonish) (2013) - With the sun rising steadily and thawing out some of the snow from the night before, now is the perfect time to try out something fresh… and it certainly has been a while!

8. Wish It Were Me (2013) - Megamind was unsure why he had even saved that link in his bookmarks, but now that he had found it again, he couldn’t help but click on it.

9. Untitled Jail Fic (will be on AO3 soonish) (2014?) - "Oh Miss Ritchie, you really think after all these years I would tell you something like that?" Megamind purred from behind the glass, looking out at the stressed reporter who was currently gritting her teeth in annoyance.

10. The Spikes Stay On (2021) - She yelped in surprise when he put his hand over her mouth and grabbed her, roughly, to pull her into a secluded section of the lair, backing them against the hard brick wall with her back pressed to his front.

11. And Tell Me That You Love Me (2021) - "So, about that list we made…about the things we wanted to try," Roxanne purrs down at him.

12. Getting Laid (2021) - There was nobody else like them on the entire planet.

13. I Can't Believe This (2021 - Ongoing) - As soon as they drove off, it felt like they could both finally breathe for the first time that day.

14. Untitled Smutfic (2021 WIP) - “So, I was wondering something…” Roxanne started, leaning against Megamind’s side at the edge of his underground pool, their legs hanging off the tiled side.

15. Untitled Minion Backstory (2021 WIP - Might not finish because this one is firmly kicking my ass) - Minion used to be a tiny little fish.

-

So. I'm shit at titles. I'm shit at first lines. I'm shit at having to build backstory. Is what I'm learning here, lmao.

But no uh, best first line imo is from 12, "Getting Laid", as it kinda sums up the entire reason for the scenario in that fic happening. I guess. Listen I don't know how to analyze smut, please do not take any smut I write seriously omg its usually just me being an unfiltered nasty bastard.

I also just like 9, "Untitled Jail Fic". I'm a sucker for Megamind in his villain days. (This is honestly just a section pulled from an old chapter fic I started maybe in 2014, that I'm SO GLAD I didn't start posting because my life got way too out of hand to both write that and try to RP at the same time. I also don't think it would have been very good. I'm glad I waited.)

Okay the real takeaway here is I don't write things to be serious, I write things to throw them into the horny void-- and if I think too hard about any of it I'll panic and not finish/post things (15 being a great example of me caring too much to get something right and panicking myself into a corner).

My chapter fic (13) is actually my first for any fandom ever? And I've been learning a lot in like... speedrunner mode here, so it's clumsy and paced weird and I get nervous about things nobody is noticing. Again. I gotta not be too serious or I panic. So I just try not to allow myself to panic.

Personally, titles and first lines don't draw me into fic. I look for 1) how much the characters are in-character right away, or 2) if there's smut. :x No shade to anyone who does neither of these, you should have fun! What I'm getting at is first lines aren't important to everyone, I guess.

I think most people I know of here got tagged already? So if you haven't been tagged yet consider yourself tagged!

[jaceyneedsabetterusername]

Hayloft (p.2)

Pairing: Arvin Russell x F!Reader

Summary: Your dad brings home his new coworker, Arvin Russell, telling you that he’ll be living with the two of you for a while. While attempting to keep Arvin from seeing the disfunction of your relationship with your father, the two of you grow closer than you thought. (Inspired by “Hayloft” by Mother Mother, though that’ll really only be one chapter later on so I don’t know if it really counts…)

Warnings: Abuse, drunkenness, misogyny, reader’s mother is dead, decapitating a chicken, reader is kind of emotional in this chapter

Word Count: 4.2k

A/N: My first slow(er) burn fic! Let me know what you think!

Part 1 

_____________________

Work had passed fairly quickly as it always did when you had the opening shift. It sure sucked having to arrive at five o’clock in the morning but at least you got off earlier and you knew that that way you could grab groceries before your father got home and could yell at you about an empty kitchen again. By two o’clock in the afternoon, you were home again, hopping out of your truck and grabbing as many bags as you could in one go. 

The loud sound of metal slamming against metal shook you and you flinched, looking between your door and the frame to see Arvin walking out towards you. It hadn’t occurred to you that his car was even in your driveway. After so many years of having busted broken down old cars sitting there that your dad had been swearing he’d fix for almost ten years, cars in the driveway seemed normal. “Let me give you a hand,” he offered as he got closer, lifting the canvas bags from your hands before you could object. 

“Oh!” You exclaimed as you felt the weight suddenly taken off your own arms, “Thank you.” You dove back into the truck to grab the last two bags before slamming it shut with your hips. The two of you began your stroll towards the front door, the dirt driveway kicking up around your feet. “You’re back early.” You noted, looking over at Arvin. 

He shrugged, “Yeah, uh, Wallace had me on the early shift today.” 

You fumbled with the bags as you tried to unlock the door, kicking it open with your toes when it finally gave in. You walked into your home and Arvin followed, closing the door behind him. “Been here long? I didn’t see you in the driveway.” 

“Not too long. I just didn’t want to let myself into your home without nobody there.” Arvin set the bags on the counter next to where you set yours. 

You began to unpack the bags and put the groceries in the respective places. Arvin watched off to the side, unsure of how your kitchen was organized so he was worried he’d do more than good if he stepped in. “My daddy got the late shift?” 

Arvin shook his head, noticing that his beat up old hat was still on his head despite being indoors and took it off immediately, his tousled brown curls parting messily down the middle. “No, we went in at the same time. He ‘n some buddies said they was goin’ to some bar in town.” 

He watched your shoulders fall a little and you sighed, “Figures…. You didn’t go?” 

Again, Arvin shook his head, “No. No offense to your daddy but I don’t like to drink the way I get the feelin’ he does.” 

You snorted, turning to him with a knowing chuckle, “Let’s just say that I’m sorry in advance for whatever he says or does when he gets home, if he gets home. Sheriff Pike might end up callin’ in the mornin’ tellin’ us to pick him up.” Though it was stated as a joke, Arvin could hear the tragic reality behind your words. 

Arvin then noticed the pack of beer bottles that you were pulling out of the bag. As if you could feel his eyes looking at you with worried curiosity, you glanced over at him, noticing the way his eyes flicked between you and the beer in your hands. You offered a sad shrug, “I know what you’re thinkin’ but trust me. Sometimes it’s better to have him drunk and possibly content than sober and angry there’s nothing to drink. Besides, the beer is better than the hard stuff with ‘im.” 

“‘M sorry. I didn’t mean to be makin’ faces. Your business is your business,” Arvin backpedalled, giving you an apologetic nod. 

You shook your head, “Don’t worry. I know how it looks. I’m sorry you gotta see all of it. I been tryin’ to keep to keep him calm but if you end up stayin’ a while, I’m sure you’ll get to see him at his worse times.” 

Arvin chewed his lip as he contemplated whether or not to bring up what had been going through his mind but he had to make sure you were alright. “I-I heard you ‘n your dad talkin’ last night… right after you left my room.” 

Your face fell as you realized what he was talking about, “You weren’t s’posed to hear that. I’m sorry.” Shit, this was what you were hoping to avoid. 

“Are you alright?” 

Gentle. Caring. His tone was something that had been long lost to you in this house and it took the words out of your mouth for a moment. It was embarrassing, the way your heart welled up with… well love wasn’t quite the right word but the warmth of being cared about. Not since after your mother had passed had you heard somebody actually care about how you felt. 

You just nodded and gave a forced smile that you could tell was easy to see through but it was the best you could muster. For someone who was able to take so much shit from their father and was able to look the man who would throw things at you and grab you by the hair dead in the eye with nothing but contempt, it was compassion that made you crumble. It had been so unexpected, especially from Arvin, the stranger living in your house. 

“Shit, ‘m sorry! I didn’t mean to - I didn’t mean to overstep. I only…” He stammered over his words and at first you were confused until you felt the single hot tear tracing its way down your cheek. 

You were quick to wipe it away, shocked at your own uncharacteristic show of vulnerability. You hadn’t realized until now that you had zoned out on the ground while Arvin’s words repeated in your head but now a flash of embarrassment ran through you. “No, no, no. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” You sniffled once before giving a small laugh of disbelief. “It’s just… It’s been a long time since anybody asked that.” 

You straightened up and ran your hands through your hair, eyes closed as you thought of what else you needed to do. Thankfully, if your dad was at the bar, you had at least another four hours to just you and Arvin, all night if you were lucky, though you seldom were. That was when the feeling of dread set in. Your dad had requested chicken roast for dinner tonight and whether he came home early and only a few beers in or you had to drive him home hungover in the morning, the man would be furious if there weren’t at least reheated leftovers for him. You had to kill Patty and prep her for dinner. 

“You okay?” Arvin asked again, though this time it was in reference to the way a heavy look fell over your features. It wasn’t a profound deep question like it was earlier. 

Your head wavered from side to side and your lips twisted, “My daddy asked for chicken roast tonight. I gotta go out and fix Patty up.” You tried to put it lightly though it felt anything but. “I’ll be out in the coop. You’re more than welcome to clean up in the shower or do whatever you’d like ‘round the house. The radio is in the livin’ room if you wanna tune into somethin’.” 

You pushed yourself off the counter and walked to the door in your kitchen that led out to the backyard but Arvin made a few steps to follow, “Is it alright if I keep you company? It don’t feel right bein’ in your house without you or your daddy here.” 

You smiled at the thought of him staying with you and you nodded, continuing out the door, “Sure, c’mon.” 

The hen house wasn’t very far from the back door. From there, you could see the several acres of land that your father was wasting. Your grandparents had bought this land in the late 1910’s and had started up a little farm of their own to sell locally, though your father had abandoned the farming portion after they died. It was where your daddy had grown up and then where you had as well. God, how you missed your grandparents. Your grandmother’s soft words of love and kindness but sternness and willingness to swat your butt with a wooden spoon if you got an attitude (though she would yell at your father if he ever tried to discipline you - “Now you leave that poor baby alone!”). Your grandfather had looked like a rough and angry old man from years of hard work but he had the softest heart of anyone you’d ever met. How the two of them had raised your father was beyond you. 

When you approached the wired fence and jiggled the lock open, the chickens inside stood surprisingly still. They trusted you. You could see it in their little brown eyes. You were safe and warm and didn’t want to harm them. You came in for the unfertilized eggs they laid and left, oftentimes with some seed and a soft pat or two on the head. Patty, a fat white hen with black specks, walked comfortably around your feet, nuzzling her head against your leg. She was the nicest hen you’d ever had. She trusted you. 

God, you were about to cry again. You bent down to pick her up and you held her against your chest, trying to look her in the eye, though it was difficult when she kept jerking it in different directions. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am,” you murmured low. Usually it was your father that would slaughter the hens if he really wanted the meat that badly. You had never done it yourself but he’d made you watch every time so that you knew how if the time ever came. Each time it made you sick to your stomach. 

Already, you felt green. The unassuming hen that you had been friendly enough to for her not flip out when you held her was none the wiser that her life was about to end by your hand. You glanced over to the large wood round just ahead and the axe that was leaned up against it. 

Your face contorted as you realized how much you disliked the placement. The way your father would slaughter chickens right in front of their friends made your heart break. It was barbaric. 

You walked over to Arvin and held Patty out towards him, “Would you mind holdin’ onto her for a second?” 

Though visibly confused, he took the chicken from your hands, drawing back when her wings fluttered out at the contact with the new strange man. Arvin watched as you walked towards the large round and tried to push it with all your might. “What’re you doin’?” 

“I’m-” you grunted, feeling it slide slowly, inch by inch, “trying to move it where the other chickens can’t see.” You took another moment to use all your force against it before standing up straight and breathing heavily, “I know it sounds dumb cause they’re only chickens but it feels cruel to make ‘em watch, y’know?” You went back to pushing the round and Arvin approached behind you. 

From here he could see the blood stains in the wood. It looked as if the blood had been washed off but the wood had been stained crimson regardless. There was also a divot where an axe had clearly been driven down many times over the years, chipping away at the wood. 

Arvin’s heart actually warmed a little at your attempt to show mercy and your willingness to go out of your way to spare some chickens’ feelings. It wasn’t something he was sure he’d do himself but when he heard you say it, he realized you had a point. It was cruel to imprison a bunch of animals and then lead them out one by one to be slaughtered in front of everyone, each animal waiting their turn. “Here, take ‘er back. Let me.” Arvin stepped in, handing Patty back over to you and bending down to lift the round onto its side with much effort. The wood had to weigh at least a hundred pounds and had long since settled into the ground where it had been placed when you were a child.

Your eyes widened as you watched his biceps bulge, straining the material of his blue t-shirt. You’d never seen a man with muscles like that before and you found your eyes trailing along his arms, following every popping vein from the tops of his hands, up his forearms, and onto his biceps until they disappeared beneath his shirt. It was something you hadn’t expected to see in him. Arvin looked like a quiet, polite, hardworking young man but you never would have imagined the immaculate muscles he possessed. You found your mind wandering to what other surprises laid in store beneath all those layers he wo- 

You needed to calm yourself down. If only he could hear your thoughts, he surely would be furious and disgusted with you. You hadn’t had such impure thoughts since that one time you had been messing around with Jimmy Bates in the backseat of his old car back in your senior year of high school. The two of you didn’t even go all the way but you went far enough and the guilt ate you alive since the two of you were never officially together anyways. He was just the cute boy from high school that you had pined over years that had finally given you the chance right before he shipped off to join the war. 

“This alright?” Arvin asked, shaking you from your fantasy, and you snapped back into reality to realize he had rolled the wood round around the side of the coop behind the wooden wall, outside of the other chickens’ views. 

You nodded and walked over to him, “That’s perfect. Thank you so much for doin’ that. I know it’s sorta stupid.” 

Arvin shook his head, putting his hands on his hips, “If it means somethin’ to you, it ain’t stupid at all. Besides, now that you pointed it out, it was a little barbaric.” 

You smiled up at him, one which he returned. How was this boy so damn nice? Was this some cosmic way of the universe finally giving you something good in your life? You’d become so calloused to your father’s harsh words and barked commands that you had forgotten how nice it was to feel cared about and validated. And you barely knew him. 

“‘M glad you think so.” You looked down at Patty in your arms and any good feelings you’d had melted to sadness and fear. “You been a good girl, Patty. I know you struggled with layin’ eggs for a while but you were always a good girl. Never bit me once unlike some of them other hens.” You weren’t often very soft and vulnerable but you were about to take something’s life for the first time and you couldn’t help but feel the weight of that on your heart. If this were a life or death situation, you would feel better about it, but it wasn’t. The only reason Patty had to die was because your father would throw a fit if she didn’t. 

You carried her to the log and gave her a little kiss on the top of the head, “Please don’t hate me but I understand if you do. Say hi to my momma for me, will you? Tell her I love and miss her.” You set her down and got her in the position you always saw your dad put the other chickens in before he chopped their heads off. Arvin handed you the axe with uncertainty but watched on as you struggled to bring yourself to finish the deed. 

You held her down and you could tell by the way she was flailing that she was panicking now. Patty was well aware of what was happening. “I’m sorry!” You choked, tears welling up in your eyes as her panic began to turn into your own panic. How did people do this? Why was this so freaking difficult? 

Tossing the axe slightly in your hand, you readjusted the handle and just as you went to swing, Arvin piped up, “I can do it.” 

You looked over at him, the afternoon sun reflecting the tears in your eyes and making the color of your irises stand out in tragic beauty. “I-I- Would you really not mind?” You breathed out in relief. 

Arvin stepped forward and you handed the axe out to him, “I don’t mind.” You held onto Patty until Arvin could position her just right as well. He had no idea what he was doing - he’d never had to slaughter a chicken before. He had heard that all you had to do was cut their head off though and then he’d heard the rumors of them running around like crazy even after their head hit the ground. How hard could it be? 

Once he had the hen pinned down where he wanted her, he looked up to see you chewing on your thumb, brows knitted in discomfort. It wasn’t the first chicken you’d watched get slaughtered but it was far from something you enjoyed observing. Arvin signaled to you with a nod before raising the axe above his head and you shut your eyes tight, flinching at the sound of the old metal head thudding into the old wood. 

**

You had the carcass sitting in the sink while you pulled off the blood soaked feathers, depositing them into the trash bin by the handful. This part was easier for you, something you’d done many times in the past. “Thank you for doin’ that. I’m sorry I’m such a baby.” 

Arvin sat at the kitchen table behind you, “You ain’t a baby just cause you don’t like to kill things. I’d say it’s probably rather normal.” 

The time was inching closer to four o’clock now and the sun was beginning to hang ever so slightly lower in the sky, the precursor to sunset. It was warm outside and a cool spring breeze blew in through the open window above the sink. You snickered as you pulled another handful of feathers out, “Yeah? That mean you ain’t normal?” You looked over at him with a playful glint in your eye but your smile fell when you saw an uncomfortable look cross his face, almost like he’d seen a ghost. 

“I ain’t never said I liked killin’ either.” Arvin attempted to match your joking tone but it was pretty evident there was a weight behind his words. 

“Hey, I‘m sorry. I was only jokin’.” A pang of guilt washed over you but it was only that. A joke. You hadn’t imagined teasing him over something like killing a chicken would set him off, especially since he volunteered to do it for you, but apparently you were wrong. 

Arvin sniffed and scratched his nose, “I know.” After a moment of awkward silence, he stood, “Let me give you a hand. What do you need done?” 

You scanned his face once more to make sure he was really okay but you decided to drop it when you saw his insistent look. You shook your head, “I got it. It ain’t much after I get this all gutted and cleaned.” You picked up the mostly featherless carcass by the wings and plopped it back down into the sink. 

“Well ‘m sure there’s vegetables or somethin’ else that goes with it, right? Let me start cuttin’ those up.” His persistence was adorable, making your heart flutter in the most wonderful way. The idea of a man actually being helpful was unknown to you before Arvin. Your life had been filled with your dad’s drunken bossings since you were twelve years old. You couldn’t remember the last time a genuinely kind voice offered you anything more than a smile on the street, not that you took that for granted. Arvin was just different though. Noble and helpful and kind. 

“You really don’t have to-” 

“Yeah, you keep sayin’ that but I really do want to help. So what can I do to make things easier on you?” He took a few steps closer to you until you felt the beginning of what could have been sparks if he stepped any nearer, like when you hold two magnets a few inches apart and you can feel the energy between them, that hint of attraction, but it’s not quite close enough to pull them together. 

The blush in your cheeks at his simple gesture made you break the eye contact with a nervous laugh of retreat, “Okay, fine. If you’re gonna be so insistent,” you drew out with a teasing drawl, “you can cut up veggies. There’s potatoes over there and carrots and zucchini in the fridge.” 

Arvin’s lips turned up in a small smile when you finally resigned your stubborn ways and he went off to find the vegetables where you had directed him. 

Needless to say, when your father came home from the bar to find you and Arvin talking over a song by the Platters playing on the radio with Arvin cleaning up the dishes while you tossed together the vegetables and the seasoning, he was less than pleased. 

“What the hell is going on here?” His slurred speech made your eyes widen in fear. He was supposed to get home later like he always did. But then you found yourself chiding your irresponsibility. Why the hell would you take that chance? You knew better than to let Arvin help out and now you were gonna pay. 

Arvin sensed the way you tensed up beside him and watched as you spun around to face your father with haste, “Just finishin’ up dinner now. Should be ready by six so you got more than enough time to take a sho-” 

“Why the fuck is he doin’ the dishes?” You father was leaning against the wall, clearly relying on the structure for support. This wasn’t the time to test him, not with Arvin here. It was times like this when he’d start throwing stuff at you. 

Before you could say anything, Arvin piped up firmly but respectfully, “I offered, sir. It’s no problem at all.” 

Your dad pointed at Arvin, “A man ain’t got no place with his hands in a sink of dishes. You leave that shit to her and she’ll just grab you a beer.” He stumbled over his own feet before catching himself ungracefully. 

Arvin’s jaw set tightly and you gripped the countertop with white knuckles behind you. Times like this, you weren’t even sure what to say anymore. No amount of standing up for yourself got you anywhere with him. You never made any headway with your dad’s sexist views on gender roles. It was pointless. The only thing to do was try and work your way to supporting yourself so you could get the hell out of dodge and never look back. 

Arvin’s voice surprised you, “A man’s place is helpin’ out the women in his life when they need, not leavin’ ‘em to do all the housework themselves.” You nearly choked on your own tongue at his words. It was a bold statement for a man to make, especially to the head of the house that was being so gracious as to host him free of charge, but he didn’t back down. It appeared like the jab was lost on your drunken father but Arvin continued with a slightly less accusatory comment to diffuse the situation regardless, “I grew up helpin’ my grandma with all the house chores so I really don’t mind at all.” 

You watched the way your dad eyed Arvin and then you before scoffing and grumbling incoherently as he shuffled his way into the living room. You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. “I don’t want you gettin’ kicked out ‘cause of me. You didn’t have to say nothin’.” 

Arvin glared at where your father had disappeared and nodded, “Yeah, I did. You don’t deserve all the shit he gives you.” 

You suddenly found yourself avoiding his eyes and twisting your lips. He was right and you were well aware of that fact. The abuse your dad put you through was uncalled for at best. The fact that Arvin had actually taken the time to not only notice the same fact but acknowledge it and stand up for you was something you never thought you’d hear someone do. It made you uncomfortable. You’d been fighting this battle by yourself for so long that letting somebody even know it was being waged was enough to make you want to sink away. Even so, a part of you wanted to let Arvin keep standing up for you. It made you feel weak after having to stand up for yourself for so long but also validated. 

Your eyes flicked up to meet his for only a moment before turning back towards dinner that sat in a roasting pan on the stove, “Thank you.” 

______

Taglist: 

@thisisparadisemylove

@justapurrcat

[transformerfan97]

I have no idea where this came from? But uhhhh...here have this fic I wrote today on my day off. Should I post a second chapter?

Anyway, sorry for any/all mistakes! Hope you all enjoy! Sorry I posted it on my phone so I couldn't add the "read more" thing!

This is the time that I've just made up for them. I know it's not 100% right but whatever. I got it from TFwiki at least:

Nano-klik: Seconds 

Klik: Minutes 

Groon: Hours 

Cycle: Days

Breem: Weeks

Orn: Months

Vorn: 1 year

Joor: 5 years

Deca cycle: 10 years 

Mega cycle: 50 years

Solar cycle: 100 years 

Stellar cycle: 1,000 years 

_________________________

"So when were you two gonna tell me about this?"

Prowl and Smokescreen looked up from their respective tables towards the door of the rec room. In it stood a very rare sight; a pissed off Bluestreak. His arms were crossed, doorwings held high in agitation, and face scowling. Two more very rare things followed this, Prowl bit his lip and looked to his elder brother and Smokescreen sighed then stood up to be the mature one. 

The rec room went dead silent to watch the trio. Everyone knew the three were brother's, and fights weren't uncommon. However, when a fight broke out it was usually between Smokescreen and Prowl with Bluestreak coming between them. To see Bluestreak mad at one was rare. If he was, he'd usually ask to speak with said brother privately, and sometimes he'd ask the other to join. To see him this mad, and at both, enough to approach them in a public setting? Something big happened.

"Blue-"

"When was I supposed to find out? Next time we see him? Or when he's dropping off his new sparkling? Or when the bot is dropping off a sparkling to us? Or, or, in a few hundred or thousand solar cycles when we run into a bot that looks just like us?!" Bluestreak growled. "Because you know that's how it'll happen!"

"Bluestreak!" Smokescreen yelled, "he's on his way to visit, and the bot is comin' with him."

Bluestreak's optics went wide at this, "Wh-what-? How do you know?"

"Because he told me."

"Oh of course he did." Prowl growled. 

Smokescreen rolled his optics and turned towards his middle brother. "He wanted it ta be a surprise for you two, and me. I didn' know the bot was comin' with until Jazz showed me the flight list." 

Bluestreak glared and Prowl rolled his optics. Smokescreen just threw his hands in the air and huffed. 

"Doesn't explain why you didn't tell me about the bot." 

"Because we knew you'd react exactly like this Bluestreak." Prowl waved a servo towards him, "cause a public scene, bring our family's personal business into the light, and throw a temper tantrum." Prowl scoffed at his little brother.

Bluestreak's optic twitched and he snarled, "you wanna see a temper tantrum Prowl?" He aimed his shoulder canon at his elder brother and growled, "I'll give you a fragging temper tantrum!"

Prowl's optics went wide at this. Red Alert, First Aid and Perceptor quickly jumped up and away from the table. 

"Bluestreak don't you-" before Prowl could finish Bluestreak fired a shot at his brother. Smokescreen grabbed the bot and pulled him out of the way before it could hit him. When Prowl looked back at his chair his optic twitched when he saw it sparking from the static shock his brother shot at him. He turned back to scream at said brother, but was punched in the mouth. Smokescreen grabbed Bluestreak's shoulders and pulled him back. Bluestreak struggled for a minute before he slammed his helm back against Smokescreen's chin. Smokescreen lost his balance and stumbled. Before he could catch his balance Bluestreak tackled him to the ground. 

"You- punch- two- punch- never- punch- tell- punch- me- punch- ANYTHING!" Bluestreak screamed in Praxian as he repeatedly punched Smokescreen's face and chassis. 

Prowl tackled his younger brother and held his arms down and pinned his legs with his knees. He glared at the struggling bot below him until Bluestreak finally stopped and laid flat to glare back. 

"You realize I could, and should, throw you in the brig and take your SpecOps title away for this? For unprovokingly attacking a commanding officer? And not just any, the-"

"The second in command of the Autobots." Bluestreak mocked. "S'not like anybot actually likes you or wants you to lead if something happens to Optimus Prime! For frags sake, he made you his second because if he didn't you'd whine and probably never have come. Not like you know the first thing about leading anyway." A smirk crossed Bluestreak's face suddenly, "besides you only raised through Praxian ranks, to get where you are now, because you're so good at sucking spike and spreading your legs."

Prowl went stiff at that. There were a lot of rumors as to how he so quickly rose through the ranks. The most popular one being he slept his way to the top. He could, and did, ignore most of them, but that one he hated the most. 

"You damn well know that isn't true." Prowl hissed. 

"That's why you're so good at being in this position, right?" Bluestreak hissed back. 

Prowl looked down and noticed what Bluestreak meant. Granted he was pinning his brother down so he couldn't move, it did look very sexual. 

"And with your own brother? That's fragging gross Prowl. Have some self respect." Bluestreak mocked. 

Prowl sat back on his knees and stared down at his brother with a blank look. He felt a servo on his shoulder and immediately recognized it as Smokescreen's. When he looked up at his older brother and saw the energon dripping from his nose and cracked optic he twitched. He inhaled to calm himself down and that's when he realized his own energon was dripping from his mouth. Raising a servo he felt it and when he pulled it away he was shocked at how much there was. Shrugging he looked down at Bluestreak and sighed. "Fraggit." Prowl pulled his arm back and punched Bluestreak right in the face three times. When he pulled back to deliver a fourth blow he was tackled to the floor. Looking up he wasn't all that shocked to see Jazz on top of him. What did shock him was when he felt the stasis cuffs put on him and himself being lifted and pushed out the door, followed by Smokescreen with Ironhide and Bluestreak with Red Alert. 

OoO

"I...I don't know what to say." Optimus said sadly as he looked at the three bots in front of him. "This kind of thing is expected of Red Alert, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, but even they don't shoot and attack one another."

"There are two accounts of Sideswipe putting Red Alert in the medbay, three of Sunstreaker putting Red Alert there, three of Red Alert putting Sideswipe there, four of Red Alert putting Sunstreaker there, and over ten of them all ending up there together because of fights." Prowl said, a slight annoyance to his voice. 

Red Alert went stiff at this. Prowl has access to a lot of information, especially as second in command, but even he shouldn't know medical information on bots. Unless it's critical of course. 

"Rung and Ratchet have told the three of us if we can't talk it out then to sort out our issues physically. Multiple times. Not that that's your business." Red Alert replied dryly. "How you even know our medical information is beyond me, and a breach of security and Autobot privacy."

"I'm second in command. Nothing is a breach for me." Prowl mumbled, his back to Red Alert. 

"I'm the head of security and security director. I know more than any bot what they should know and who should know what, and as second you do not have access to private medical records of other Autobots. Only Ratchet, Rung, First Aid, Swoop, Ambulon and Pharma have access. As well as Optimus Prime, only if he requires specific information for a valid reason. In fact a Conjunx can't access the other bots' medical records unless given permission." 

Prowl huffed and kept his back to Red Alert. Optimus watched his second and security director for a moment before sighing and leaning against the front of his desk. 

"Prowl, Red Alert is right. You have no right to that information. How did you acquire it?"

"This is really what we're focusing on? Not Bluestreak attacking Smokescreen and I? As well as making accusations against me?"

"What accusations?" Optimus asked, looking at Bluestreak. 

Bluestreak sat up straight when Optimus addressed him, but glanced at his brother and glared, "I didn't accuse Prowl of anything."

"There were plenty of Autobots in the rec room Bluestreak. You can't lie your way out of this one." Prowl growled at his brother. 

"Prowl, you an' Blue were speakin' Praxian. None of us had any idea what you were sayin'." Ironhide said, crossing his arms. 

"We were what?" Prowl asked. 

"Speakin'- bot are ya deaf?" Ironhide growled. 

"Ironhide please." Optimus raised a servo and Ironhide rolled his optics. "Smokescreen can you please tell us what Bluestreak and Prowl were saying?"

Smokescreen stared at him for a moment then blinked, "ummm...Blue knocked me out. I came round and saw Prowl on top of him on his knees." 

"So, no one understood what Prowl or Bluestreak were saying?" Optimus asked the other three. 

"I sorta caught a lil ov it, but ah was tryin' ta help Smokescreen." Jazz rubbed the back of his helm. 

"Can you tell us what you heard please Jazz?" Optimus asked. 

"You speak Praxian?" Smokescreen, Prowl, and Bluestreak all asked. 

Jazz smiled at the three, "jus' enough ta get by. Anyway, all ah really caught was Smokescreen and Prowl neva tellin' Bluestreak anythin'. Tha's when Bluestreak was hittin' Smokescreen. Then when Prowl jumped on Bluestreak ah rushed ta Smokescreen ta make sure he was okay, an' he was in stasis. All ah heard from there was Prowl threatenin' Bluestreak with strippin' his title, Bluestreak sayin' somethin' 'bout you an' Prowl and Prowl being second. Somethin' not being true an' tha' was it." 

Optimus nodded at his third then looked at the three bots. He had a feeling he could fill in what Bluestreak had said to Prowl. He exvented and shook his helm. The three weren't known for fighting, not like Red Alert and the twins, but even those three kept their more violent fights away from prying optics. What could've possibly happened to set this off? Especially to have provoked Bluestreak, of all bots, to attack his elder brothers? Two bots he looked up to and respected so much.

"What brought this on?"

"Prowl accusing Bluestreak of throwing temper tantrums is what really started it." Red Alert said. 

Prowl glared at Red Alert for that. 

"No, I mean, Bluestreak, why did you attack your brothers to begin with? What did they do to hurt you so deeply you felt the need to do this instead of communicating with them, or perhaps coming to Ratchet, Rung, Wheeljack or myself?"

"These two didn't tell me something about our family. That I had every right to know!" 

Smokescreen sighed and Prowl rolled his optics. 

"If you don't mind my asking, and if need be Jazz, Ironhide, and Red Alert can leave and we can call Rung in here, what is it?"

Smokescreen looked at the ceiling, Prowl stared dead ahead and Bluestreak crossed his arms. Optimus looked up at the three bots and went to ask them to leave, but before he could, Bluestreak said something in Praxian. Prowl replied in a hiss and Smokescreen mumbled an annoyed comment back. 

When Jazz suddenly broke out into a fit of laughter all the bots turned towards him. The three brothers with annoyed optics and the others with confused. 

"Th-thats why you three did tha'?" Jazz tried to control his laughing, but he couldn't. 

"Truly a professional Jazz." Prowl rolled his optics and turned back towards Optimus. 

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, but you'd do it too I bet...well...maybe not you...probably Bumblebee though…" Bluestreak mumbled. 

"In hindsight, it's pretty fragging funny. I'm with Jazz." Smokescreen said, sitting back. 

"So...what is it?" Optimus asked, immensely confused now. 

"Our Sire has a new mate." The three said in unison. 

[goddessofmischief]

Noah, Part Six - Peter Maximoff x Reader

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5

...

When you were kids, you and Peter had lived under the same roof for almost five years.

And this was the longest he had ever gone without talking to you.

It was absolutely...

Unnatural.

You knew he’d interrogated Noah - something you wanted to be mad about, but just couldn’t be.

Peter deserved answers, and you felt guilty for not giving them to him. Especially after you'd seen the way he looked at you, the night you went out to dinner with Alex.

The night you explained everything.

But if Peter was allowed to grill your son...

Well, couldn't you?

“Hey, Noah,” you said, crouching down beside your son. “I know you’ve kinda... noticed, that things have been a little different.”

“What,” said Noah, in his soft, lispy voice. “What, that you and Daddy aren’t together anymore?”

Your eyes widened, and you released him, feeling as if you’d been burned.

“Daddy? Why’d you.. why would you call him that?”

He shrugged. It was the saddest thing you’d ever seen.

“I don’t know. He's around all the time and he teaches me things...”

“Well, so do I!”

“You protect me, Mommy. You protect me, an’... an’ you fight the bad people. It’s different.”

Noah sounded so sure. You wished you could be as certain as he was.

“What about Alex, huh?” you asked, smoothing his hair down. “Did you like him? He was cool, right?”

“Yeah. I guess.”

You huffed.

“Can I see Da-”

“Peter,” you corrected, forcefully.

“Can I go see Peter now? He’s s’posed to teach me today -- how to play tennis by myself.” “Don’t you want to spend the afternoon together, love? We could... we could read. You like that... don't you?”

Noah shrugged again.

“I guess so. I don’t really have to learn it, anyway. Peter says as long as he’s around, I’ll never have to play by myself.”

Your eyes welled up with tears.

“Well,” you managed, “I guess... I guess you’d better go.”

“Will you be okay?”

“Yeah, ‘Oah. I’ll be fine. I’ll just... stay in.”

“Sure you don’t want to come?” asked Noah.

You shook your head. He leaned in, whispering in your ear, as if he was going to tell you a secret.

“B’cause... Peter said he misses you.”

You’d be lying if you said you didn’t smile.

...

Okay...

So Peter Maximoff was kind of an incredible tennis instructor.

And surprisingly patient, in a way he never had been with you.

“Okay, buddy - that was great, but just a little to the left - oh,” he muttered, noticing you. “Hey, Y/N.”

You gave him a half-hearted wave.

“Peter,” said Noah, seriously, “You promised we could do some racing.”

“I know, buddy, but... it’s kinda windy today. It’s not the best conditions.”

Noah crossed his arms, pouting.

“Okay,” said Peter, giving in. “Alright... meet you back here?”

“Meet you,” agreed Noah, taking off.

Several moments passed. You couldn’t see either of them, but... suddenly, you felt a sharp burst of pain in Noah’s mind.

Within moments, Peter reappeared speeding out of the woods, carrying your son.

“The dummy broke his arm,” said Peter.

...

“He’ll be okay,” said Peter, attempting to comfort you. “S’ not so bad. One of the disadvantages of our powers are... you break a lot of stuff. Often limbs.”

You smiled, slightly.

“I know. He’s a tough kid. But I’m gonna wait up with him, anyway. As a kid, when I was sick, or hurt... I needed a lot of attention.”

“Oh, I remember,” Peter chuckled. “We thought you were dying.”

“Wow.”

“Well, you were kinda dramatic.”

“Oh, like you weren’t, at that age.”

He shrugged.

“That’s, uh... that’s fair. Listen... if you’re staying with Noah tonight... you want me to stay?”

“Why?” you asked, bluntly.

Peter shrugged, again.

“I don’t want you to be alone.”

Hesitantly, you allowed Peter to sit down on the couch, beside you, tucking your head into his shoulder.

When you woke in the morning, he was gone.

...

You knew it was time to go.

Xavier had taught Noah enough to control his powers, you reasoned. Sure, it wasn’t exactly what you'd hoped for - but he wasn't a full fledged X-Man yet, after all. He had time.

And, most importantly, you had fulfilled your duty as a mother.

You had ensured that Noah was safe.

Sure, you wouldn’t be able to pursue learning your own skills - but did that really matter?

A nagging voice in your head (probably Jean) told you that it did.

It also told you that you were running away from your problems, like you always had.

And also that you should brush your teeth.

“I don’t understand, Mom,” said Noah, reluctantly taking your hand. “Why do we have to go?”

“Because we’re done, love. We accomplished... what we came here to do. It’s time to go back to the real world. We can’t hide here forever.”

He nodded, slowly, and you hoped he understood.

“...Is Peter coming?”

You threw Noah’s suitcase in the trunk of your car with a thunk.

"No,” you said, quietly. “No, he’s... he’s not.”

Noah’s face went blank.

“What? Mom, we can’t-”

“That’s all, Noah. I’ve made up my mind.”

You helped him into his car-seat and climbed into the front, taking one last look at the Mansion before driving away.

Quietly, Noah began to hum something.

“That’s pretty,” you mused, softly. “What is it?”

“A song Peter taught me. He said it was your song.”

You swallowed.

Noah began to sing.

“If I could save time in a bottle, the first thing that I’d like to do... is to save every day, till eternity passes away... just to spend ‘em with you...”

Oh, no fair.

Peter was playing dirty.

“But there never seems to be enough time... to do the things you wanna do, once you find ‘em... I’ve looked around enough to know, that you’re the one I want to go through time with...”

Turn back, your brain was screaming. Turn back, turn back, turn back-

A car pulled up alongside you.

And it was Peter’s head that hung from the window, a megaphone pressed to his lips.

“Pull over!”

“What?!”

He almost ran you off the road.

“Pull over!”

"Mom?” asked Noah, in an eerily calm voice. “Are we gonna die?”

“No, love,” you said, decisively, pulling the car over. “No, I’m just gonna kill Peter, that’s all.”

“Y/N, I have to talk to you-”

“Are you crazy!” you yelled, slamming the door behind you. “Who drives like that? Are you-”

“Listen to me!” Peter shouted, jumping out of his car.

“I love you! And I don’t care that Noah’s not my son, okay? I’ll raise a hundred children, Y/N. With a hundred of your boyfriends, if it means I can be with you.”

Your eyes welled up with tears.

“...Can you put that down?”

“THIS EXPRESSES HOW LOUDLY I LOVE YOU!”

“It’s too loud,” you whispered, trying not to smile.

He knelt down, opening up a small, metal box.

“This is the Hope diamond,” Peter said, seriously, “And I stole it. But Xavier told me that it’s worth kind of a lot, and I don’t know if that means anything... but I thought it looked kinda cool, and I wanted you to have it-”

“Okay,” you agreed, quickly. “Okay, yes, yes, I will!”

You threw your arms around Peter’s neck and kissed him, deeply.

“I love you!” you shouted, feeling every emotion cross over you at once.

“I love you!” he shouted back, so happy he could barely breathe.

“And... I lied to you.”

“What?”

“Noah’s your son.”

Peter's express went blank.

“What? Why would you say-”

“I just needed you to want to marry me... because you wanted to marry me.”

He stumbled back, looking dazed - and for a moment, you were afraid you’d lost him.

“Get out!” Peter shouted, suddenly, absolutely screaming with happiness. “I’m a dad!”

“You’re a dad!”

This time, it was Peter that threw his arms around you, and you reciprocated.

...

Hey guys! Just a reminder, the story doesn’t end here.

I’m gonna continue to write in the ‘Noah’ timeline, but you can find the whole series under the title ‘All and Then Most Of You’ in my masterlist.

I plan to cover Peter and reader’s time at Xavier’s, and of course, their life as a family!

Many of these fics will be standalones that fit with the overall series

 If you have any ideas for the series, or adventures that Peter, Noah and Reader should go on, please send ‘em in!

Also, credit to the Office. As I mentioned in the first chapter, I borrowed some of the dialogue for this chapter from one of the last episodes.

...

Taglist:

@fangirl593-at-221b @amourtentiaa @that-random-nerdy-person @no-mercy-bby

[generallybarzy]

our white christmas. ---m.barzal

an: the first of a couple winter fics and Christmas related chapters of series!!! I hope to have about three other things posted before Christmas, so hooopefully I'll get those put in time. Of not, they'll just be a little late!!! Have we all heard about what happening in my life?? I won't bore you by giving all the details again but writing some fluff is really helping my cope cause otherwise I think I'd lose my mind. Reminder to everyone to WEAR YOUR MASKS and TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. Peoples lives are at stake here. Just cause Covid has been around for a while now isn't an excuse to stop caring. Its worse now than ever before. 

tagging some bbs!!!:  @sunflowertimothee @deleausvp @dunnwithlyfe @smit41 @softboybarzal @fallinallincurls @matbaerzal @brokeninsidebutnobodyknows @hockeyhughes11 @folkloreflyers @nazdaddy @shawnsreputation

word count: 2.4k

If there were only two things you loved, they were, in order, Mathew, and snow.

But it was really unfair to only list two things, especially after spending the entire week with your amazing boyfriend and his amazing family. You were filled with so much more love than ever before, and there was no way you could choose just two. But Mat was definitely on top. 

You didn’t grow up with a necessarily affectionate family- you never had family movie nights or game nights or ever really hugged or kissed each other- so meeting Mat’s family was a bit overwhelming at first. The best overwhelming you could ever feel. They welcomed you with open arms, in fact, the first thing his mother did after opening the door to see the two of you was to wrap you in a hug and thank you for making her little boy so happy. And Mat gleamed, his face lit up in one of the brightest smiles you’d ever seen, save for the one when you promised to be his.  

You’d spent the whole week before Christmas waiting for snow, talking about how much you’d love to play in it with Mat and his family, but despite the freezing temperatures, there was none on the forecast. 

When you woke up this morning, curled up in Mat’s warmth, with his lips ghosting over your skin, you knew something felt different than other years. And something was different. Suddenly you were loved by not only one, but four members of the Barzal family. 

“Merry Christmas, baby.” Mat’s raspy morning voice filled your ear, his big arm curling around your waist again and tugging you closer. You turned towards him, smiling at the dumb, lovestruck smile on his face, at the sleepy but teasing eyes he was giving you. 

“Morning, Mat.” 

He leaned in to press your lips together into a sweet, chaste kiss, just the simple act of sharing each other's presence in bed before you'd have to inevitably get up and join his family. For some reason, it felt much colder this morning than the others, so you stuck your chilly fingers into his soft hair and pulled your feet under the blankets and pushed them between Mat's warm thighs. "Whew, baby, you're cold." Most people would scoot away at the contact of chilly hands and feet, but Mat was different. He wanted to share his warmth with you, keep you safe and comfortable, and he always did. He readjusted his grip and pulled you closer, tugging the blanket up around the two of you and sharing the warmth. 

"Thank you." 

"Hey, I gotta warm you up if we're gonna be going out soon." 

"Why are we going outside? Is that another Barzal tradition I'm gonna learn?" 

"Well, duh." He smiled and brushed his nose against yours, whispering against your lips. And for once, you didn't mind the morning breath, not with that gleaming, contagious smile just centimeters from your face. "We always go out. Especially on a white Christmas." 

"Wait, a what?" 

With newfound energy, you sat up in bed, pulling the duvet up with you and looking out the window. Sure enough, even in the pale morning light you could see the world was covered in a soft white blanket, inches already piling on the ground as it continued to pour down. 

"Babbbyy, now I'm cold!" 

You glanced back at Mat, whose bare chest was now exposed to the cold winter air, pouting up at you with open arms. But, as beautiful as he looked, his hair dark and fluffy against the pillow, you wanted to go out now. “Mat, let’s go out in it!” 

“No, no, no, come back here!” Mat jumped up with a grin and pulled you back against him and rolled over with you in his arms, and, as your still-sleepy morning reflexes were too slow to react, pinned you under him against the bed. He pressed his nose against your neck and peppered kisses all over you as you continued to giggle in glee from the way he grabbed you so cheekily and playfully. “Mine.” 

“Matyyyy,” 

“Babyyy.”

“Mat I wanna go out! I’ve been waiting for snow all year!!” 

You squirmed against him in laughter as he playfully nibbled at your ear and kissed your cheek, whining for you to shut up and cuddle him for a bit longer. Before he could respond, there was a knock at the door, and his sister’s voice sounded from outside, followed by his parents downstairs. “Guys, we can’t open presents without you!!” 

“Fine, fine, we’re coming!” Mat yelled back. 

Before Mat could roll out of bed, you pulled him down to press a kiss against his lips. “Thank you for bringing me out here.” 

He smiled and returned the kiss cheekily. “Just wait until you get your presents, baby. You’ll love me even more.”

“Impossible.” 

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

You got what you wanted this year, in every way.

You got your white Christmas, you got a boyfriend who loves you so dearly, and his family that loves you just as much. You had fun out in the snow with them, building a little snowman and having a snowball fight and going out on the frozen lake and getting challenged to a hockey game by his dad. You had eaten a warm dinner, with warm apple cider and even warmer hearts as his family laid out for you all the reasons they were glad you were here, how sweet you were, how happy they were that you were taking care of their boy. And now, you had Mat in your arms, wearing matching plaid pajamas with you, warm blankets around you and The Office on TV, and hot cocoa as you cuddled in the light of the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree, with the handwritten names on five dazzling ornaments hitting the light just right and glimmering from where you lay with your boyfriend. 

Mom. Dad. Mat. Liana. And the newest addition to the little family, (Y/N).

The rest of Mat’s family was still outside, talking in the soft lights on the back porch, and, what you and Mat didn’t know, was that his parents were glancing in every now and then and admiring the way their son treated you. The gentle kisses, the cute smiles, the soft words. The way he was just so comfortable and easy and himself around you.. Like you were made for him. And they knew you were the one for him. 

“So," Mat's voice was soft and whispered against your skin. He lay on top of you, his head on your chest, his comforting weight settled down against you like the warmest, safest, coziest weighted blanket you’d ever had the pleasure or loving, your fingers scraping across his scalp like he always loved. "You got your white Christmas. How are you feeling?” 

“Mmm. Cold."

Mat let out a little teasing chuckle, poking your cheek with one long finger. "Well, who's idea was it to go out, baby?"

"Whose job is it to warm me up?" 

"Always mine, baby." 

“Always.”

“Only for you.” 

His arms wrapped tighter around you, pulling himself up to lie beside you rather than on your chest so he could reach your lips, he tucked the blankets up tight around the two of you in a little cocoon and pulled you close to his side. And his lips found yours. He’d quite honestly never get over kissing you. No matter how delicate, the feeling of your skin against his was always enough to make sparks fly, to make his heart leap in his chest, even after a year together. The spark was still there, the joy he felt just knowing that you were with him and everything would be okay. The way your lips molded perfectly together as if sculpted specifically for each other and no one else, the way your nose tickled into his cheek and the way you always let out a soft “oops” when you leaned in the wrong way and bumped noses before a kiss. The way you always smiled up at him with love and adoration after breaking apart breathlessly, as if all you wanted was to hold him and kiss him forever. And ever.

“Getting up this morning was definitely worth it. Even if I got cold.”

"It was worth it." You leaned down to press your lips against the tip of his nose. "I love spending time with your family. I love them."

"And they love you." He cast a glance out the backdoor and into the yard, where his family was still having fun, having quietly promised him that they'd give the two of you a little time to yourselves at the end of the day, as long as you kept it PG. They adored you, and he couldn’t be happier for how well you got along. "How'd you like your presents so far?"

"They were great. The ornament tradition…. Mat, you guys didn't have to include me in that."

"Baby," he propped himself up on his elbows above you and looked into your eyes with a type of passion you'd never seen on him before this week. "That's not true, you know that. They love you." 

"They probably love any girl who makes you happy, Maty." 

"(Y/N)," He said it slowly, dragged out like a warning, like all the other times your mind started to wander and let you think you deserved any less that the best. "Did you know I've never actually introduced a girl to my family? Not like this." 

"Never?" 

"Never. You're the first girlfriend I really ever brought home. 'Cause you're the first one I love like this." His lips found your cheeks again, pressing gentle kisses to soft skin. "I love you so much, more than I’ve ever loved someone in my entire life. And I know you love me too, it makes me so happy.” He laughed again, in disbelief once again that he scored someone as amazing as the girl in front of him. “And I believe in us. I wouldn't introduce you to my family if I didn't think we'd last long. And I think we're gonna last a long time. I believe in this. In us."

“Really?”

He laughed a bit, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Uh, duh. Of course I do, baby.”

Your breath hitched in your throat. “I believe in us too.” 

“Good.” 

He brushed loose strands of hair away from your face and kissed your cheeks delicately, running his hands across your sides in an attempt to warm you up. You slid your leg between his, his thighs are always so amazingly plush despite how hard you’d believe them to be due to hockey. But, like him, his thighs were strong and big and muscular but so soft and warm at the same time. You giggled to yourself at the thought, and Mat didn’t have to ask what was so funny.

“Thank you for letting me come home with you Mat.”

“Hey, you told me how your family doesn’t really celebrate, and I’d have to be a lot more stupid to leave a pretty girl like you alone in that tiny apartment of yours for the holidays. I couldn’t.” He kissed your lips one more time and smiled as you hummed against him, completely content.  He liked the idea that you were so willing to try this out for him. You came from a family that wasn’t very affectionate or celebratory, so the last thing he wanted to do during the holidays was freak you out, but you seemed to love it all. “So, that brings us to our last gift of the night, I think.” 

“There’s more?” 

“Oh yeah, there’s more.”  

He rolled over the side of the couch to reach down underneath, where he’d apparently hidden a little gift earlier in the evening. When he turned back to you, he was holding a small square box, not small enough to be a ring, but maybe a necklace.

“Mat… I said no expensive jewelry.” 

“It’s not jewelry, and it wasn’t expensive, like less than two bucks. Basically free. Hopefully it’s really meaningful, though.” The look of confusion on your face as you wracked your brain for what he possibly could have gotten you for less than two dollars was a look Mat would never forget. He laughed a bit and held it out to you. “Open it.”

You scooted up to sit up more on the couch, directly in your boyfriend’s lap, and Mat’s arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you back against his chest, his head on your shoulder to watch you delicately tear off the paper and pop the lid off.  

There, in a little blanket of tissue paper, lay a shiny silver key.

“Oh, my god, Mat.”

“It’s a key to my apartment.” He smiled, shyly, as if worried you might think he’s moving too fast. “We’ve been together almost a year, and even though I have you here with my family this year, last year you were alone. I never want you to be alone for Christmas- or any time- ever again. I want you to be comfortable in my apartment, I want you to feel at home with me, when you’re at my place. Fuck, that’s not enough. I want to live together, baby. God, I want to live with you. To wake up together, brush our teeth at the sink, make breakfast, I want to get the kisses before leaving and after coming back from practice and your work, I want to fall asleep together every night. I want to be with you. All the time. And, God, I hope you want me all the time too.”

His face was flushed, eyes genuine and warm, a smile on his lips, his big hands holding yours. This. This was the man you wanted in your life. This is the man you wanted to spend your holidays with. The man you wanted to spend every day of the rest of your life with.

“I love you, Mat.”

“So you’re moving in with me?”

And your answer was simple enough as you pulled him down into a kiss. You breathed each other in, smiling against your lover’s mouth and bringing your hands up to hold his jaw and pull him closer still. 

“I can’t wait, Mat. I can’t wait to live with you. I love you.”

“I love you.” 

The backdoor opened, and before you knew it, you were surrounded by even more people who loved you, cheering and swooning and celebrating the big step in their son’s relationship. And you realized just how much they all meant to you, and exactly who they were to you. 

Your soon-to-be new family.

[khaleesiofalicante]

OK I GOT 5 HOURS OF SLEEP LAST NIGHT WHICH IS PRETTY OK IG (I did stay up to read the fic-) BOTH MY TESTS WENT LIKE SHIT, I HAD AN ANXIETY ATTACK IN PROGRAMMING CLASS BECAUSE BY TEACHER IS A LITTLE SHIT WHO KEPT ON YELLING AT ME WHEN I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING AND I SPENT LUNCH ALONE BUT AT LEAST NOW IM ALONE WITH MY LAPTOP SO YAYAYAYYA

first of all, this chapter right here is my comfort chapter from now on. i said what i said. I will be rereading it again and again just because i can. it was PERFECTION

here's me going crazy at 2 am yesterday.

MAGNUS' CHAPTER

LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO

AHHHHHHH IT'S THEIR ANNIVERSARY

SCREAM

oh

alec shaved his beard because it made him look older

RAFAEL WAS SO UPSET AFTER THE MEXICO ATTACK BECAUSE OF ANJALI RIGHT??

magnus and alec are the oblivious parents istg

“Are you decent?” Max yelled. “I don’t want to be traumatized again.”

“Hey! We agreed not to talk about that!” Alec yelled back.

Im not even surprised at this point

“Happy anniversary, bapa!” Rafael kissed him on the cheek and handed him the flowers.

“Where are my flowers?” Alec asked.

Rafael plucked a rose from the bouquet and threw it at Alec. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, son,” Alec mumbled.

IM WHEEZING

DAVID BAKES

“David made it,” Max said shyly. "

Oh,” Alec replied and then shrugged. “Well, the icing could be a little sweeter I think.”

Ever since Max started dating, Alec had become incredibly protective. Alec liked David of course – it was impossible to find someone who didn’t. But that didn’t mean Alec approved.

And it didn’t help that the blond boy was absolutely terrified of Alec.

ALEC STOP TEASING HIM

THE BOY IS ALREADY SCARED

“I don’t know,” Alec analysed the card. “David used too much glitter.”

“Since when do you have a problem with excessive glitter?” Max demanded.

ALEC

“I didn’t use him!” Max huffed. “He was thoroughly compensated for his efforts!”

“Compensated how?” Alec asked.

“Uh,” Max said. “With donuts.”

when i saw donuts i immediately thought of rose and luisa from jtv

iykyk

but should i continue the show? i got tired of jane continuously embarrasing herself

“You expect us to follow rules?” Alec asked in surprise. “In our own home? On our anniversary?”

The warlock boy grinned wickedly before leaning close to Alec.

“You better do it, or I will tell everyone about your secret,” Max whispered.

Alec blinked at that.

the secret...

I DONT LIKE HOW MANY THINGS POPPED INTO MY HEAD

is highschool musical that bad? i havent watched it. should i?

what if i cried

i just wanna hug alec??? but i cant say it'll be ok because it wont

“Is that why you are not attending?” Magnus grinned at his friend. “Or is it because you are terrified of Georgia?”

“That child is the reincarnation of Christopher Lightwood!” Ragnor complained. “I heard she made explosives out of demon ichor! Who makes explosions out of demon ichor?”

RAGNOR IS PROBABLY GETTING FLASHBACKS

THESE STUPID FUCKING BITCHES

how tf do you think we have survived huh??

medicine that's how

vaccines, anti biotics and what not

stop being close-minded and fucking do it

ok i know the risk is great

BUT OTHERWISE THEY ALL DIE

it was different for warlocks. The Shadow World was their universe. The nephilim kept it safe. At one point in their lives, they had learned to coexist with them, out of necessity and out of obligation.

And now here they were – working together in the name of friendship and love.

how things change...

what

say what

the causes are what

ok let's not jump to conclusions

im fucking crying wtf

alec doesnt deserve this shit

all he's done is make the world a better place

hes worked so hard on this

RAZIEL CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF

what am i supposed to say to my parents if one of them comes to check on me and im sitting here crying at 2 am

He didn’t want to believe in a reality that would punish Alec. Alec who only wanted to do what is good and right.

Alec was who was losing his hope and strength every passing day. Alec who was struggling. Alec who was turning to desperate measures to cope with all the stress.

please alec

no please

THE ANGELS ARE BITCHES

Because if Magnus found out Raziel was the one causing all this pain for Alec, he would march up to heaven and set the bastard on fire himself.

AND I'LL GO WITH HIM

KNEW THE SPY WAS LIVVY

AWW RAGNOR LIKES SELENA THATS SO SWEET

blue and gold

STOP IT IM CRYING AGAIN

The shadowhunter was a good influence on him. Magnus hoped Alec would see it sooner rather than later.

HUH

HUHU

HUH

omg

GIGI GETTING A SIBLING

“Max isn’t allowed to do a lot of things,” Magnus chuckled. “But he does them anyway.”

thats my boi

GASP

]THE NECKLACE

rafael is growing into the consul voice

they grow up so fast

nope nope he's still the little 5 year old

voice cracking what do you mean he's 20

im glad hes happy with mila. or is he...?

Magnus had deduced as much. Alec lived in his beautifully oblivious world. But Magnus noticed.

He noticed the hickeys. He noticed the late-night visits. He noticed the tense phone calls.

well thank god there's at least one non-oblivious person (alec i love you so much but you are very very oblivious)

“What’s stopping you then?” Magnus asked.

"2554 miles,” Rafael chuckled sadly.

me with all my online friends

probably more miles

Magnus tried to do the math but promptly gave up.

me

But Alec did lie though. Magnus pushed the thought away.

NOT NOW

LET ME LIVE IN PEACEFUL OBLIVION

HUSH

“Except melt it?” Rafael chuckled.

“Yes,” Magnus chuckled back. “As you can see, the bar is extremely low in the Lightwood family.”

AHHIUCCDSKUHDCV

i have no clue what the words describing the outfit are

time to google

OK PRETTY

Fifteen years. Fifteen years of loving and Alec still made his heart stutter.

dont do this to me right now I WILL CRY

“What the hell?” Max exclaimed. “Why are you all dressed up?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, it’s my anniversary,” Alec chuckled.

Max-

Fifteen years. Fifteen years and Magnus still took Alec’s breath away.

HJCSDHJBJDHSGCDYGJVVC JHVDFYMJ

it's not funny MY EYES ARE WATERING

“Bapak is a good looking one in the family,” Rafael pointed out. “You are the chaotic one and I am the smart one.”

“What am I then?” Alec asked dryly. “A sack of potatoes?”

“You’re the sexy one,” Magnus grinned. “A sexy sack of potatoes.”

yes.

Alec grinned back and leaned forward. Magnus put his hands around Alec’s neck and kissed him. He kissed Alec with all the love he had inside his heart.

Just like the first time. Just like the hundredth time. Just like the thousandth time.

Because with Alec, every kiss mattered. Every single one.

muffled sob

“Stop making out, oh my god!” Max groaned.

Magnus sensed a pillow coming their way but Rafael caught it before it hit them.

“Max, stop!” Rafael scolded. “You will wrinkle dad’s suit and ruin bapak’s hair! I spent hours ironing both!”

why is max me when i see people display affection in front of me

ALSO RAFAEL HKUIUIDCSKIHUDFVHJDFVHU

“They are here,” Rafael said. “You two better look exactly the way you did when I left with Max or I will raise hell.”

IM SCREAMING

Selena was wearing a blue crop top with the words “MIND YOUR OWN UTEREUS” written in gold.

i need that top

DAVID'S SHIRT IS THE COLOR OF MAX'S MAGIC

AHH ISABELLE DOESNT KNOW SHE'S PREGNANT YET

The argument of “who gave the best gift” had started when Jace and Izzy had gotten drunk on vodka. It didn’t help that Alec had gotten drunk as well. All three Lightwood siblings had then proceeded to have an argument about who had the best spouse. The whole night had been drunken chaos. Magnus, Clary and Simon had let them have it since the Lightwood siblings had a tendency to carry the world on their shoulders even when nobody asked them. They rarely ever let loose ever since their worlds had plunged into sickness and demon attacks. Especially Alec. So, Magnus had let his husband be that 18-year-old boy again. The boy who got drunk and fought with his siblings and sang songs about Magnus’ pretty eyes.

OH MY GOD THE CHAOS

Georgia considered that. “I’m not allowed to melt it, right?”

“No,” they all replied in chorus.

LET GIGI MELT IT

SELENA IM SO PROUD OF YOU

“Dad,” Max said. “Can you keep a picture of me wearing this necklace in your office?”

“Why?” Rafael asked.

“I think it will piss off the boomers,” Max giggled.

“Nice!” Lexi grinned. “A downworlder wearing a shadowhunter heirloom? They will lose their heads. Uncle Alec, you must do it.”

“I will do you one better. I will hang a tapestry,” Alec chuckled.

YASSS I CANT WAIT FOR THE SHADOWHUNTERS TO BE PISSED

AWW THEY DIDNT KNOW THE NECKLACE USED TO BELONG TO MAGNUS

he actually gave to camille first-

Why couldn’t this boy just cause chaos during his travel year like the rest of them? Why did he actually study and do his research as recommended?

why would you NOT study and research during your travel year????

oh shit

well well well

david bby stfu

i love you but pls stop speaking for all our sakes

“Holy shit,” Max said. “It is expensive then!”

“Don’t pawn the ruby!” Rafael warned.

MAX NO-

OH THE STONE COMES FROM EDOM

oh no

pls dont fight

oh so i was wrong about magus confronting him from that snippet

all you need to know is im sobbing right now and grammarly is the only thing making this coherent

dont mind me just

NO I FORGOT ABOUT MAX AND DAVID

GET BACK IN THE ROOM YOU IDIOTS

don't do this to me at 3 am

OK THE DILF PART

thank you for adding light into my life again

(me while editing this: today really isn't my day huh? i just slipped in rainwater outside my balcony because I heard rain and ran there. now my knee and back hurt and I think I sprained (?) my toe-

ANYWAY

wait im gonna go check out the rain and then continue editing this

ok i got bored of the rain)

that made me laugh through my tears

“Objectively good looking?” Jace snorted. “Excuse you, but my parabatai is smoking hot! He is a freaking prize, okay? If we had a magazine for hot shadowhunters, you would be on the cover page. Every single issue.”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Alec interrupted. “Magnus, are you happy? Now all my friends have told me I am pretty.”

“I said smoking hot,” Jace corrected.

“We are not being biased,” Clary pointed out. “It is the general consensus, Alec.”

“It’s true,” Lexi said. “So many people have asked me for your number, Uncle Alec. And I would have given it to them if I wasn’t worried about being turned into a marshmallow.”

LEXI DUHDUGHUDFCUHKVDFUIKFDU

“Dad, I don’t know why you are so worried,” Max said in a bored tone. “You’re a told DILF.”

David choked on his champagne and Jace patted him on the back.

“What the hell is a DILF?” Alec demanded.

“Oh, I know this one!” Jace said excitedly. “It means Dashing and Irresistible Looking Father. Max is right, you are a total DILF.”

“Mr. Herondale-” David raised a hand.

“I heard one of the shadowhunters in their travel year calling me a DILF too,” Jace said proudly.

THAT IS NOT WHAT DILF MEANS OH MY GOD

“It’s not a rumour,” Selena spoke up and passed her phone. “There is a group chat at Scholomance just to thirst after you.”

add me to it

ALL THE COMMENTS I CANT BREATHE

“Alec Lightwood can run me over with a Maserati and I would thank him.”

“Give me that,” Izzy grabbed the phone and started giggling. “Petition for Consul Alec Lightwood-Bane to stab me with his mortal sword.”

“Isabelle!” Alec hissed, cheeks flaming. “Stop it!”

“I want one!” Jace grabbed the phone now. “By the Angel!”

“Read it!” the kids yelled in chorus.

“I would gladly let Consul Lightwood-Bane inspect my mortal instruments,” Jace chuckled and threw the phone at David.

David shook his head vehemently and threw it at Max.

“My body is just a hole for Alec Lightwood,” Max read out loud and started laughing so hard that he fell off his chair.

Lexi grabbed the phone and giggled. “I want the Consul to strip off my runes among other things.”

She passed the phone to Gigi, who looked at the phone and look at Alec.

“Uncle Alec,” the girl said. “This person wants you to crush them with your massive archer arms.”

“Give me that,” Rafael grabbed it now. “Aw, this one is a classic, dad. Alec Lightwood turned me gay.”

He threw the phone at Simon, who stared the screen and looked up. “Uh, I don’t think I can read this one out loud in front of the kids.

“Is this the one about the basement?” Selena chuckled and Simon nodded.

WHAT'S THE BASEMENT ONe

TELL ME

AWW GIGI AND LEXI PUTTING MAKEUP ON DAVID AND MAX RECORDING IT

google translator time

oooo Rafael's gonna talk with Mila

Magnus you're such a good father

seriously

“Sometimes things are just sad. So, you need to let yourself be sad.”

YES

SAY IT LOUDER

THEY ARE UNDER THE BED

AHHH MAX AND DAVID

DAVID CALLED HIM MY ANGEL IN FRENCH

Alec and Magnus hiding under the bed and spying on them is just-

Jace had tried to give Max the shovel talk and had gotten a little too emotional.

of course, he did smh I love him so much

“David doesn’t need a shovel talk,” Alec smiled. “He knows what would happen to him if he hurts my son.”

David gulped. “You will throw me into the silent city?”

“I will ask me husband to portal you to hell,” Alec said – Consul Voice. “We have relatives there.”

the beloved relatives yes

“Goodnight,” Jace gave them a salute. “Have fun inspecting Magnus’ mortal instruments.”

JACE

OH SO THE QUESTION WAS ABOUT SMOKING

damn it

oh my god guys he said he'll stop smoking

just lemme have this moment

my boy's lungs will be intact

HIS LUNGS WILL BE OK

“I can’t wait to see all the messages on the chat after that,” Magnus giggled.

Alec looked up. “I’m more than a tall glass of water, Magnus!”

SCREAMING

In his dream, he saw them again. But they weren’t smiling this time.

what

wait

THE PROPHETIC DREAMS

nope nope nope

Nah I don't know what you're talking about

haha

damn, I think I really hurt my back...

OK BUT THE IMMORTALITY ANGST???? WAS SO SO GOOD???? I know it makes me cry but is it bad that I'm always so excited for angst written by you because of HOW GOOD it is????

"When I die I will love you from my grave" I NEED THIS ON MY FOREHEAD OH MY GOD I LOVE THESE TWO SO SO MUCH

alright I need to get something for my back and my knee (I'm home alone so this will be fun)

OK, I THINK THE NEXT CHP WILL BE ANJALI'S POV I JUST FEEL IT!!! I miss my girl so much I hope she's doing ok. Jaime too...

I'm rereading all of these chapters after chapter 10 because why not. Bye!!

OKAY I AM GLAD YOU LIKED IT BUT I AM ALSO DEEPLY WORRIED ABOUT YOUR HEALTH.

I hope your knee and back feels better soon!

also fuck that teacher yelling something doesn't make people understand it any better ugh dumb piece of shit anyway screw that person.

I hope you get some good rest and recovery from this rollercoaster of a day.

Take care!

[immortalcoelacanth]

Between the Walls, Chapter 2: Salutations and Explanations (Dream SMP fic)

... Although, I should probably tag this as more of a Sleepy Bois Inc thing given the content... Anyways, onto chapter 2!

Word count: 5356

Summary: At it was at this moment that Tommy knew, he fucked up. 

“Let me tell you one thing, you pig bitch-”

There was a tiny child in his walls.

“And I bet your mum ain’t all that-”

A tiny child who was yelling at him, insulting him.

“So, you better listen up! Motherfucker-”

Techno was almost impressed.

He wondered if the kid was aware of how absolutely not intimidating he sounded at the moment. His voice cracked and broke occasionally as he cursed, he was visibly trembling in what Techno assumed to be fear, and he looked like he was moments away from crying with those wide eyes and that terrified look on his face.

The kid reminded him of a cornered animal, terrified and lashing out to try and protect itself. He was doing the same thing, trying to scare the hybrid off with harsh words and false bravado.

Techno quietly thought about how young he must be. It was a good thing Phil was nowhere nearby since nothing would have saved both him and the kid from the ensuing lecture and interrogation period. Questions about where the kid was from, who he was, what he was doing here…

Questions he should probably be asking before the kid broke down crying. He had a feeling it would happen eventually when all that adrenaline wore off and the reality of the situation fully sunk in, so the currently shrinking window of opportunity was the best chance he had for finding out what he needed to know.

“And do you know what the fuck a breath mint is?”

… But first he had to shut this kid up.

“You got anything to say? Huh? Or are you just gonna-HEY!”

The tirade was cut off when, without warning, Techno reached out and pinched the back of his shirt, using that to lift him up in the air and out of the shelter that had been provided by the wall.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” The kid squawked as he struggled and squirmed in an attempt to escape Techno’s grip. The hybrid rolled his eyes as he continued looking the tiny being over, occasionally turning him so he could inspect the rest of him. The only thing of note he found was the belt the kid wore that had various tools hooked onto it.

Nothing that really posed a threat to him, but it was still good to take note of it.

“Trying to find the off button.”

“The-OFF BUTTON?! EXCUSE YOU, YOU BITCH-”

“Damn, doesn’t seem to be one.” He noted in that same, monotone voice. Of course, this ended up enraging the kid further, his shouts and curses growing louder.

His wild, frantic eyes growing wider.

Well, now was as good as time as any to start asking some questions before he ended up pushing the kid too far. He swore he could hear that tiny heart pounding away in the kid’s chest, and the hybrid realized it was entirely possible for the tiny being to pass out on him, or worse, have a heart attack from the stress.

Double time on that interrogation, then.

Techno changed his grip, wrapping his fingers around the kid and getting bit in the process-

This child was absolutely feral. He’d probably need a rabies shot by the end of the day.

Eventually, and with some careful maneuvering to make sure didn’t drop the struggling figure, Techno was able to place him down on the top of the small shelf located near the entrance of his house. It was right in front of a window, too, and he saw the way the kid’s eyes flickered between him and the possible escape route.

Nope.

Not a chance.

The hand placed between the kid and his freedom earned him a scowl and being flipped off once again, though he was quickly getting used to this brash and foolish behavior. In a way, it reminded Techno how he had acted when he was much younger. How cocky and overconfident he had been before the world brutally showed him where his place was.

Now, his confidence was backed by years worth of training. By the lives he had ended and the blood he had spilt.

It made him smile at the memories, oddly enough. Naturally, the kid immediately took his smiling to be about something far more sinister, and he started shouting once more.

“What the fuck do you got planned, huh? Got some creepy shit planned? You… you gonna need a bone saw or some crap like that for me-”

“Oh please, all I’d need is a decent nutcracker.” Techno scoffed, completely oblivious to the look of horror that passed over the kid’s face before it was quickly replaced by that false bravado.

“Can’t believe you’d threaten me like that-”

“Not what I was talking about!” The hybrid quickly interrupted, visibly shuddering and in turn making the kid let out a loud laugh.

Just how in the hell was something that small so loud anyways? Weren’t there rules about that sort of thing, mass being proportionate to how loud something could be. There was a reason why he had hated hanging out with kids when he was younger.

… Except for Wilbur, he had always been the exception.

Not wanting to take an agonizing trip down memory lane back to when his family had been whole and alive, Techno decided it was time to start asking the questions he wanted answers to, beginning with the most important one of course.

“And why are you in my house, anyways?”

“Your house?” The kid scoffed and crossed his arms. “It’s mine! I called dibs!”

“Heh?” Techno found himself at a genuine loss here as he tried to comprehend the logic behind that statement. “You can’t claim-I built this place.”

“Doesn’t mean you called dibs, bruv, and you did a shit job of buildin’ it, too. It could use more decorations that aren’t you! And music!”

The hybrid let out a frustrated groan while dragging a hand over his face. Why had one of the most annoying, obnoxious, and loud people he had ever met decide that his base was the perfect place to invade. Why had this kid picked him instead of somewhere else, like L’Manberg.

… Actually, that was another good question to ask-

“So, when are you gonna clean up this pigsty?” The kid asked, completely derailing Techno’s train of thought.

“I fear for your brain cells if all you can come up with are pig jokes and saying fuck over and over again.”

“... Fuck you-”

“And my concerns are proven to be valid.”

“My brain works perfectly fine! It’s just yours isn’t big enough to get it!” He snapped back.

“Suuuuure, pipsqueak, whatever you say.” Techno sarcastically drawled. It seemed as though either the aloof expression on his face or the nickname he had granted the boy only enraged him further, as he watched the kid start stomping the ground as he continued shouting.

He was witnessing a literal tantrum.

“I’m not a pipsqueak! You’re the one who's freakishly tall!”

“Like I couldn’t tell with you calling me big man every five seconds, and I’ll just keep calling you that since you seem to like it so much.”

“Then just call me Tommy! It’s not that hard!” The now named Tommy exclaimed, and it was only when a smile appeared on Techno’s face that he realized he might have messed up.

“Uh… I mean-”

“So, that’s your name.” Techno interrupted, grin growing as he leaned forward and rested his chin on a closed fist. He was enjoying messing with this kid. It was almost as fun as terrorizing Quackity. “Got any other important info you wanna share? Credit card number?”

“No! No, no way!” Tommy let out a nervous giggle and took a step back. “C’mon, man, let’s see some manners! I told you my name, so you should tell me yours-”

“Technoblade.”

“... What?”

“Or Techno for short.” The hybrid continued, not caring about the stunned and confused look on the kid’s face. He was used to people looking at him weird, especially when they heard his name. “No pig-pun name here.”

“... You were so close to having a cool name.” Tommy bluntly said. “You’ve got half a cool name. Now Blade, that’s intimidating! Big man Blade-”

“Never call me that.”

“Alright TechnoBitch-”

“Your insults are getting worse by the second, I fear you’re undergoing cellular brain death.”

“Are you making up fancy words to sound all smart now? Cellular?” Tommy scowled. “What’s next? You gonna start talking about other made up stuff, like leprechauns, or dolphins?”

“... Dolphins are real-”

“That’s just what the dolphin believers want you to think! The… the dolphevers!”

Techno threw his head and started laughing, the noise surprisingly loud. It made Tommy jump as he winced at the volume. Discomfort ran through him, and he started to slowly realize how dangerous the situation he was in might be.

He had always been warned to stay away from humans, and while this guy didn’t look all that human, he was sure the same warning applied. He could be trapped, hurt, tormented…

Why, why had he decided to stick around instead of just running off, or trying to barter for his freedom? He had always lived his life on the edge, flirting with danger instead of women. The thrills and excitement of interacting with a human could have driven him to do this.

Or perhaps it was that quiet voice within him that begged him to interact with Techno, to reach out and be social and finally interact with someone after all the days he spent alone.

A voice that kept insisting that things would be alright, that he would be okay.

A voice that could result in his demise if he listened to it.

He would never see Tubbo again...

His mind made up, Tommy slowly backed away from the hybrid, one hand raised while the other behind his back towards the belt that Techno had noticed earlier. “Well, this has been fun and all but I’ve got to head out and you’ve got some cleaning to do, roomie.”  

Techno’s eyes narrowed as his bout of laughter finished, aware that he had something planned that would probably cause some problems, but before he could act on his suspicions, Tommy made his move.

And chucked a fist full of sand in the pigman’s face.

Immediately, Techno let out a shout and recoiled, lifting his hands up to his eyes in an attempt to scrub the gritty substance out of them. Tommy took his chance and pulled out his grappling hook, attached it to the side of the shelf, and quickly slid down the rope. In his haste, as well as the movements caused by the hybrid’s thrashing, the grappling hook came loose, and he dropped the rest of the way to the floor.

Tommy landed, cringing as agony raced up his legs, and did his best to ignore it as he shot off towards the space under the shelf, knowing he would be hidden from sight and have a better chance at escaping.

He had to escape since he doubted his captor would be that nice to him again.

Meanwhile, Techno was currently battling every urge he felt to lash out and kill the kid. His mind and soul screamed for blood, for death and revenge for the humiliation and pain he had been put through. It took all of his willpower to stop himself from grabbing his trident and slamming it into the floor in an attempt to find, and kill, Tommy.

The main source of his restraint came from a voice that sounded a bit too much like Phil’s calmly whispering that there were other ways to do things, that he did not have to resort to violence.

This was then converted to make him pay, but not with death. Death is a release, not a punishment.  

His eyes burned.

He let out a pained hiss and blindly reached towards the nearby brewing station, managing to get the bottle of water he had placed in it for potion brewing. He uncorked the top, looked up to the ceiling, cracked his eyes open, and quickly flushed them out to get rid of the sand.

All in all, only a couple seconds had passed since the sand had been thrown and Tommy had escaped. He could not have gotten far, but the more time the hybrid wasted sitting here, the further the kid would get.

Techno tossed the bottle to the side and quickly crouched down, still aching eyes scanning the wall as he tried to figure out where Tommy had gone. He spotted a flash of blond ducking behind part of the wooden shelf, and he quickly moved the wooden panel that covered the bottom part of the shelf. It was like a box of sorts and that could be used as storage space, but he had never put anything there and just left it closed.

So, naturally he had not at all been expecting to lift the panel up and find a tiny hole in the wooden floor, the perfect size for Tommy to fit through. His mind ground to a halt as he processed what he was seeing.

THERE WAS A HOLE UNDER THE SHELF?!

WHEN HAD THIS HAPPENED?!

Okay, okay, now was not the time to get caught up on. The kid was under the floorboards, possibly heading towards the basement. He rushed over to the ladder, slid down it, and jumped onto the stone flooring. He looked up at the ceiling, not seeing any obvious sign as to where the kid must have gone and decided that using another one of his senses might pay off.

Techno shut his eyes, ears twitching, and listened carefully. Listened for that one, signature noise that would tell him where Tommy was.

The sound of someone running over wood.

There!

On instinct, he swung the axe towards the sound, the blade chopping into the ceiling and exposing the hidden passage that had been carved into, and the boy who had been sprinting through it.

Now, this was where things took a bit of an interesting turn.

You see, despite the fact that Tommy had spent his life in a borrower settlement, he was quite experienced in building structures and had frequently challenged Tubbo to speed bridging contests. The adults always hated whenever he did that, claiming that the flimsy structures would alert humans to their hidden home, but Tommy had always ignored them and kept building.

… Until they resorted to hitting him. Then he stopped, but the skills he had developed over the years stayed with him, so the second he started falling he also started building. He had managed to place a couple blocks down as he fell and grabbed onto the little outcropping he had made. He was vaguely aware of Techno moving below him but was far more focused on trying to pull himself back up into the remains of his tunnel.

Can’t fall, gotta stay up! Have to run!

Unfortunately, his hand slipped off the planks, splinters sinking into his skin as he started to fall. Falling, and-

Landing on the top of Techno’s head. Surrounded by the crown the hybrid always wore and with no escape in sight, he decided to cling to the strangely soft, pink hair below him. It smelled… weirdly nice. There was a hint of a herbal scent he could not place, but it didn’t smell super flowery or anything like that.

“You’re pretty fruity, aren’t you big man?” Tommy impulsively asked, and he felt Techno freeze below him as the hybrid realized what the sudden, impossibly light weight belonged to. Seeing an opportunity to get another jab in, he immediately went for it with little regard to how precarious the situation was. “Lookin’ all… all flamboyant with your fancy dye!”

“I doubt you know what that word means, and it’s not dye.” Techno dryly retorted, tilting his head upwards so he could try and glare at the kid.

Seeing that nothing bad had happened, the hybrid had not tried to crush him, nor had he been grabbed and flung towards the nearest wall, Tommy decided to take a risk and started speaking once more.

“.... Hehe, guess things are fine then, big man-” He nervously laughed before he was cut off by Techno picking him up once again. The kid immediately started thrashing, squirming, and cursing as he tried to break free.

The hybrid rolled his eyes at the unnecessary dramatics and made his way over to the collections of chests on the other side of the room. A quick search resulted in him easily finding the item he was looking for.

A bottle.

He caught a glimpse of Tommy glancing between him and the bottle, his face shifting between pure rage and fear, but before he could object to what Techno was planning on doing, the cork in the bottle was removed and Tommy found himself being trapped inside.

“LEMME OUT YOU PRICK!” He shouted as he slammed his fists into the glass wall, wincing as his hands started aching.

Techno just chuckled and put the cork back in, preventing the kid from escaping and making it much harder to hear his shouting. A blessing in disguise, really. “Think of this as karma for the sand from earlier.”

Seeing no way to get out, Tommy flipped the hybrid off and slowly slid down the side of the bottle until he was resting on the ground. His arms crossed, knees were tucked to his chest, and he looked down so his face was hidden from sight. At least his silent moping made it easier for Techno to think.

What to do next…

He had the kid who had been borrowing through his house like some oversized termite, and he knew the kid’s name. There was still so much information he was missing that he wanted to know. What the kid was, if there were any more of him nearby-

An infestation was the last thing he needed.

… Perhaps the librarian back in the village would know something about this tiny kid. He knew that the somewhat eccentric villager had a large collection of books about all sorts of topics, so there was a chance he might have some kind of information he could dig up.

It was worth a shot.

He mentally debated on whether it would be worth it to bring Tommy with him, and ultimately decided he would in case he needed to show him off to the librarian, or one of the other villagers who might know about him. Without bothering to warn the kid, he quickly scooped the bottle up and fastened it to his belt.

He faintly heard the sounds of someone shouting and cursing, and decided to ignore it as he left the house. Techno hummed to himself as he made his way over to the nearby village, not bothering to waste any ender pearls since he still lacked a consistent source of them. No villagers were able to trade them, so his only option was relentlessly hunting down Endermen until a pearl was dropped.

Annoying, but necessary for now.

Speaking of annoying, he spared a glance down at the bottle on his hip that contained the furious Tommy, taking note of how the kid was smacking the glass walls and trying to find a way out. The red hue that had taken over his face also made it clear that he was still screaming.

He let out an exasperated sigh and picked the bottle up off his belt, lifting it up so it would be easier to talk to the kid. Now that he was up close, the hybrid could easily see the look of frustration on the kid’s face, as well as how red his eyes were.

It looked like Tommy had been crying.

“Calm down. I’m not gonna kill you.” Techno grumbled. “And stop screaming before you lose your voice.”

“You’re a bitch!” Tommy spat, not at all paying attention to what he was saying. “Fuckin’ dragging me out to who knows where, planning on doing who knows what-”

“I’m not going to sell you.” The hybrid interrupted, lifting a brow as he watched pure shock cross Tommy’s face. “... You really thought I was gonna sell you-”

“Well yeah!” Tommy sputtered as he flailed his arms. “The fuck else would you be doing?!”

“Interrogating people.”

“The fuck-”

Those were the only words Tommy was able to get out as the bottle was clipped back onto Techno’s belt. He shifted his arms a bit so his cape hid more of his body, and in turn the bottle, from sight. When that was finished, he strode into the village.

Children ran to and fro, some pausing to wave at him or whisper among themselves. He ignored them, as he always did, and continued on towards his destination. He also steered clear of any of the villagers he normally traded with, not wanting to get caught up in some unwanted conversation. He kept walking, picking up the pace whenever he heard someone get a bit too close to him until he reached the library.

It was far from your traditional library, much more of a home with a massive collection of books available for people to read. Techno didn’t bother to knock on the door, opting to instead open it and walk inside. A somewhat large, sparsely decorated room with simple shelves greeted him.

A moment later, the sound of rustling in one of the small side rooms filled the air and the familiar face of the local librarian popped out of it. He resembled your typical villager, though the spark of curiosity made his eyes glint and shine. He was obviously curious as to why Techno had shown up, but before he could ask the hybrid spoke.

“So, what do you know about tiny people?”

“I’m afraid you’ll need to be a bit more specific than that.” The librarian cheerfully replied, not at all phased by the seemingly random question. “Are there any particular features you can describe? Do you have an example?”

Immediately, Techno’s hand moved to his side, ready to grab the bottle and use Tommy as his example. However, just as he was about to snag the bottle-

He froze.

Dread coiled in his heart, an uncomfortable sensation that he had not felt for many years. He grit his teeth as he struggled to sort out exactly what he was feeling, what his instincts were trying to tell him.

Tommy’s wide eyes, tears still lingering in the corners-

Was… was this guilt?

There was no way he was feeling guilt! It couldn’t be. He had felt no guilt when threatening the kid earlier, didn’t really care all that much about him. So, why did the thought of showing him to someone feel…

Wrong.

He was unable to come up with an answer, feeling frustrated with himself. It was a stupid emotion, a weakness, but at the same time his instincts, those same feelings, had gotten him out of dangerous situations in the past. He’d be an idiot if he didn’t keep listening.

So, he dropped his hand and opted to explain instead. “Short, couple inches tall. Uses tools like grappling hooks to get around. Lives-”

“In houses?” The librarian finished, that sparkle in his eyes growing brighter. Looking a bit thrown off, Techno nodded.

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“You have perfectly described a borrower!”

“... A borrower?”

“Yes! Humanoid beings who are only a few inches tall! Generally, they tend to live in already inhabited homes, or with other borrowers in hidden settlements! They’re signs of good fortune.” The librarian explained as he scanned the shelves, looking for a specific book. “It is said that there is a powerful connection between borrowers and humans, their companionship offers a kind of peace and feeling of completion that we cannot hope to feel on our own-”

“I’m assuming that doesn’t apply to hybrids as well.” Techno interrupted, brow raised in a combination of curiosity and disbelief.

Borrowers… so that’s what Tommy was. And the kid had chosen to live with him? Why? And what had he been doing in a frozen wasteland before that? Was there one of those settlements nearby, or was there some other factor that had driven the borrower into staying with him.

So many questions, and so few answers.

To his surprise, the librarian quickly shook his head. “Your assumption is incorrect, Blood God. On the contrary, borrowers and hybrids have been known to share settlements in the past, working together and helping one another out-aha!”

A book was pulled out of the shelves, cover worn and title nearly illegible. After the book was given a quick once over, it was presented to Techno. He immediately took it, held it up in the dim lighting, and read the title aloud.

“A Historical Investigation into Borrower Society…?”

“Indeed! That should be a good starting point for your research on borrowers, and I can search for other texts if you wish to read them.”

“... That would be helpful, thanks.” Techno nodded while adding the book to his bag. He then pulled a couple emeralds out of it and looked at the librarian. “How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing at all! It warms my heart to see someone else taking an interest in borrowers,” The librarian exclaimed while clapping his hands. “And for my library to be blessed with the presence of one.”

Ah, Tommy.

He must have either spotted the bottle the borrower was in, or one of the other villagers must have and then passed the information along to him. Either way, the hybrid felt…

Annoyed.

His eyes narrowed and he unconsciously shifted so the side of his body the Tommy was on was further away from the librarian. He also flared his cape out, so the borrower was completely hidden from sight.

He was unaware of how Tommy had pressed himself against the side of the bottle upon realizing he had been seen. Unaware of how the borrower had tried to take shelter in his presence despite the rough start to their meeting.

Unaware of the wide, confused eyes that stared up at him, trying to comprehend that his captor was protecting him.

The librarian, seeing the change in Techno’s mood, quickly backed up and lifted up his hands. “Fret not, Blood God, I would do no harm to your charge.”

… Charge?

Before he could question what the librarian meant, the robbed man quickly ducked into some side room and started rummaging around in it.

“The next time you visit, I shall have something to give you! I promise!”

Had… had he just been given the signal to leave? Techno stood around awkwardly for a couple more moments as he waited to see whether the librarian would make another appearance. When he did not, the hybrid decided it was time to go.

Social interactions had always been a critical weakness of his. For how intimidating and threatening he could be, that mask would dissolve in an instant if he started floundering while talking to someone.

Wilbur had always teased him about it…

The walk back to his house was, thankfully, silent and allowed him the perfect opportunity to think about what he had learned in the village. Tommy was a borrower, a tiny being that lived in houses and stole for a living. He had no real magic or other noteworthy skills, aside from the advantages brought to him by size. He could be sneaky.

However, he still had to think about what to do with the borrower. Let him stay, or kick him out.

Soon enough, the hybrid found himself making his way up the stairs to the front of his house, letting out a relieved sigh once the door shut behind him. His shoulders loosened, the tension he had been carrying since he first entered the village fading in an instant.

He hated talking to people, so much.

Techno glanced at the nearby table and then looked down at the bottle on his hip. He promptly lifted it up, met Tommy’s eyes, and spoke.

“If I let you out and you don’t behave, I’m gonna fill the bottle with water and stick you back in it. Got it?”

Tommy shuddered and quickly nodded.

Stupid, he was so stupid for getting himself into this situation, and now he had no idea what Techno was going to do with him! Of course, he could always try to escape again, but he doubted he would get far, and if he got caught…

Nope. He was just going to sit, wait, and try to be as quiet as possible.

Upon seeing that Tommy was listening and actually keeping his mouth shut, Techno uncorked the bottle and tilted it towards the table so the borrower could easily slide out. Once he was settled on the table, the hybrid walked over to the other side of the room and started thinking.

Thinking about what his options were and what he should do.

Was it worth it to keep Tommy around? To have to deal with an annoying presence constantly in the place he had created as his retirement home. Would the aggravation be worth it? What would he get out of it, anyways?

They’re signs of good fortune.

Borrowers and hybrids have been known to share settlements in the past, working together and helping one another.

…That librarian had a point.

It would be useful to him to keep Tommy around, or kill him, even if the kid didn’t give him any good luck. He definitely couldn’t let the borrower leave, lest someone from L’Manberg snag him and get him to spill everything he knew about Techno, and if he kept the borrower around there was always the potential to use him in the future.

To have a tiny spy on his side could be quite the valuable tactical advantage, especially for when L’Manberg came after him.

He doubted Quackity would stay down for long.

So, with a plan properly in mind, he directed his attention back towards the borrower who was, thankfully, still sitting on the table. It looked like the kid had been zoning out until he heard the sounds of Techno’s approaching footsteps. He got back to his feet and glared at the man staring down at him.

Was… was he trying to be intimidating?

Techno let out an amused snort, ignoring the resulting remark about him really being a pig, and started explaining his deal.

“Alright, tiny-”

“TOMMY!”

“ Tiny.” Techno insisted, and to his surprise Tommy actually shut up.

It was probably due to the fact that he wasn’t really in any kind of position to argue or make demands. His life was on the line and he knew. All he could was hope the human would show him some mercy and not chuck him out into the freezing cold.

Whatever it was, it worked in Techno’s favour.

“So, here’s the plan. I’ll let you stay here, give you food and shelter, but you have to give me something in exchange.”

The deal was simple, with the benefits to Tommy being obvious. Something that he hoped would distract the kid and prevent him from questioning what Techno got out of their agreement.

Or what he would get, that is.

“What the fuck do you mean, big man?! Give you something in exchange?! I don’t have anything to exchange!”

“Well, since you said you don’t have anything to exchange,” The hybrid began, taking another step forward so he was closer to the table, already witnessing the real purpose behind his plan coming to fruition.

Tommy paled and took a step back as Techno loomed above him, shadow engulfing his tiny frame as that scheming smile crossed his face. Okay, it was clearly an awful decision to agree to his idea. Abort, abort-

“You’ll just have to work for it, then.”

                                         xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Techno's character arc for this fic is literally him going from exploiting one orphan to two XD

[anfie-in-the-box]

Fragments of Shattered Dreams Hurt So Much (But You’re the Only One I Need to Heal)

Fragment Eight, Where Never Being The Same Again Is Exactly What It Means to Be Alive

Dream has failed. It just keeps happening, again, and again, and again, and again, and nothing seems to be able to break the vicious circle. Makes one wonder whether things would’ve been better if Dream hadn’t been a sentient being from the very beginning. Only that would mean that neither should his brother have been created the way he was… Dream cannot stand such thoughts. Unacceptable. Inexcusable.

That therefore leaves Dream being… well, himself. Neither a human nor a monster (even though he looks like one), but a person nevertheless. So Dream has been a person since the very beginning, and especially ever since he’d got a soul. So Dream has his own feelings, desires, and fears. So he’s got every right to be in pain. So it’s okay for him to wish to never ever be alone again, and also to be saved. So he can make mistakes. So he’s able to… make amends?.. Is it really possible for all the damage to be undone?

Cross was the first to see the real Dream. Cross had been looking past his aura and right at him way before Dream could even think of such a concept. It would be foolish not to admit that Cross has seen Dream at his weakest. At his worst, too. Yet here Cross is, yelling desperately, “I don’t wanna hurt you!!”, even when the stakes are high as ever once again; saying “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t…”, even though he’s on the verge of fainting from injuries and pain that Dream has caused. Surely Cross will understand, when he wakes up, that Dream’s “If only you could!” has never meant his strength and supremacy — quite the opposite, that Dream realizes only now. These words of his have only proved more how fragile and broken Dream is and how badly he needs help. In the end, Dream’s been crying for someone to save him even in his rage, even when this blind, uncontrollable force has got the best of him. Surely Cross will see it, too. After all, he’s so good at seeing Dream, getting better and better at it somehow… Filled with determination, too. In a way, not exactly a monster, not with a soul like his. It makes the two of them, outsiders, weirdos… unique creatures.

Just Cross, who decided to devote his life to Dream whatever happens.

Just Dream, who never could have thought that there is such a thing as ‘just himself’; who is scared, hurt, and dying; who simply wants all this suffering to end somehow, anyhow.

There is just Dream, who from now on recognizes his own desires, intentions… dreams. And that Dream wants his brother to be safe. That Dream also wants Cross to stay in what little is left of his life.

That Dream decisively puts a ring on his finger, accepting not only Cross’ feelings, but his very own, too.

。。。

Credits:

Undertale © Toby Fox

Dreamtale © jokublog

Cross © jakei95 / xtaleunderverse

Shattered!Dream © shattereddreamsau

Dark Cream © zu-is-here

Read it on ao3

Read Russian version on ficbook or fanficus

。。。

Notes

Stars, what an experience. I had no idea how to do this, how to convey Dream’s mental path from "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." to that gentle smile when Cross wakes up and wearing his ring at last. Then it crushed on me (insert joke about Coraline crossover fic), I just had to be fast enough to write everything down. Hope I did well enough. ... @zu-is-here, what do you think? If anybody else has something to say, it's always welcome and appreciated, too!

But let's get to the point. R e f e r e n c e s ✨

(also just notes, I'm surprisingly talkative today)

Casual reminder that comic's eighth chapter is called "Never be the same again". I wanted to say that it's alright, and I'm really glad I have a chance to do so. That's how life is. One of my favourite writer's books ends with wonderful and very accurate words (my translation, since the book is in Russian): "All of us always leave forever. It is impossible to return, for it is always someone else who returns instead of us; the problem is that nobody gets it." Just. Yes. Life is change. It is okay to never be the same again.

"whether things would have been better if Dream hadn't been a sentient being..." That's pretty much how villagers saw him, from my point of view. Not a person, just a function.

Fortunately, Dream loves his brother. And he's not alone.

And I love Dream realizing that he is a person. His own person with his own feelings and all that. I've been looking forward to writing this part.

Everything Dream and Cross say is quoted from "Never be the same again".

Fun fact: the more I look at the panels where Dreams laughs and shouts "If only you could!", the more I see fear and helplessness and despair instead of arrogance and wrath. I don't know if I'm right, that's just how personally I see it.

Also I've been waiting to write that parallel about Cross not exactly being a monster, just like Dream. I've been thinking about it for quite some time now, and finally! It's perfect, honestly. Nightmare and Dream are absolutely unique creatures, but so are Killer and Cross, who were monsters, right, but are they now, really? With these souls? With amounts of determination no monster could ever stand? I don't think so, though it's fine to have a different opinion.

I'm kind of sort of referring to some asks about the eighth chapter?.. Especially those regarding reasons why Dream doesn’t want to worry about his feelings, and why he rejected Cross' proposal. Also about "Save me one more time until I..." The way I see it, loosing control means dying. Dream is painfully aware of how little time he's got left. Lucky us, we know better!

I believe that's all?.. Never can be entirely sure.

As usual, thank you for reading, take care, and stay tuned for more!

。。。

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[a-solitary-marshmallow]

Rewind Chapter 7 - Mistakes are Made

Oh jeez, I mean to post this days ago but I totally forgot! Whoops.

As you might have noticed, updates are coming pretty slow at the moment. This fic is getting hard to write, due to personal circumstances and shifting hyperfixations, but I will continue it once I’m able to get invested again. Until then, updates will probably be slow. Rest assured, this fic will be completed!

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter :)

_______________________________________________________________

After a few more necessary hours of sleep, which for Ford were deep and dreamless, the construction itself began in two different corners of the lab. On one side Fiddleford dove into making a working prototype of the gun, while on the other side Ford began cooking up ammunition.

Few things could kill a dream demon. Protective unicorn magic could halt one, and the right concoction of ingredients could harm one, but working together they might just be able to kill one. Therein lay the rub – how could the two be combined into a single shot? Luckily, Ford didn’t have his three PHDs for nothing, and he was nothing if not persistent.

:readmore:

By mid-morning he had worked out the necessary ratio of ingredients for the most effective attack power. By afternoon he had created the first prototype, and by late afternoon he had a dish full of them.

The final bullet design had a pill-like appearance, spherical in shape and filled to the brim with cloudy, iridescent magic. They made a glass-like tinkering noise as they dropped into their dish. Ford took a pair of tweezers and lifted one to the light, admiring its shine.

“That looks cool.” Stan said hesitantly from behind him – how long had Stan been being him? Ford yelped and fumbled, nearly dropping the capsule. “Sorry.”

“Don’t sneak up on me when I’m working!” Ford snapped. He hurriedly placed the ammunition back on its tray before it could get broken and turned to frown at his brother. Stan, for his part, looked suitably ashamed. “What are you doing down here anyway? I told you, you’re not allowed in the lab.”

“I know, I know!” Stan’s shoulders were around his ears and creeping steadily higher with each second that passed. “Just – I thought you and Fidds would be hungry? You’ve been doing your science thing for ages and I made food, so…”

“Oh.” For the first time, Ford comprehended the tray in his brother’s hands. “Well, thank you. You’re still not supposed to be down here though.”

Stan stood on his tiptoes to lift the tray onto Ford’s workbench. The normally exuberant boy seemed unusually down, stepping back and rubbing his arm after placing down his load, and a twinge of guilt went through Ford. Okay, maybe a little more than a twinge. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Look – Stanley. I need to apologize for my behaviour earlier. I shouldn’t have gotten short with you.”

Stan shrugged and did not meet his eyes. Ford crouched to be at his brother’s level.

“I. Um, those dreams you told me about. Did you have any more last night?”

Stan stared at his feet and mumbled, “No.”

Ford took a deep breath, but before he could speak Fiddleford called out from across the lab.

“Stanford, I could use a hand over here!”

Ford straightened and hurried over to where his partner was soldering parts together. The gun was beginning to take shape on his workbench – maybe the size of a small hunting rifle but thicker, runes scratched into every inch of shiny metal and shimmering with Bill-proof magic. Fiddleford lifted his soldering mask to wipe his damp forehead.

“I already added yer magic wards and the last of that shiny hair stuff, an’ I gotta finish the magazine. Hold the thing steady for me, will ya? It’s delicate and we’re all outta unicorn hair to make another one, so for god’s sake be careful.”

“Of course.” Ford slipped on a pair of heat-proof gloves and steadied the rifle while Fiddleford lined up the parts. He made sure to avert his eyes from the glow of white-hot metal as his friend worked.

“Watcha doing?” Stanley called from across the lab.

“Attachin’ the last piece.” Fiddleford called back, not taking his eyes off the rifle. “Don’t get to close, or ya might get burned.”

“What bit is that?”

“It’s where the ammunition is stored.” Fiddleford explained.

“Oh! Like the shiny things Ford made?”

“Exactly.”

Once the soldering was complete Fiddleford lifted his mask to inspect the job, squinting through his glasses. He nodded to himself.

“Could use a bit a’ fine-tuning, but I’d call that almost done.”

Footsteps sounded as Stanley approached cautiously. Fiddleford grinned at the child, who stretched onto his tiptoes to see the project. “Whaddya think?”

Stan’s eyes lit up. “That looks so cool! This Bill guy isn’t gonna know what hit ‘im!” He looked between Ford and Fiddleford. “Whaddya do with it now?”

“We gotta make sure everythin’ runs smoothly before anything.” Fiddleford pulled off his soldering mask and wiped his sweaty brow. “Ford, would ya get the ammunition? Once this thing cools down I wanna make sure the dimensions are right.” He began pulling off his thick gloves.

“I can do that!” Stan scurried over to Ford’s workbench, ignoring Ford’s cry. He grabbed the dish of capsules and trotted back with the enthusiasm of a golden retriever playing fetch. Ford let out a hiss.

“Be careful with those!” He snatched them from his brother’s hands, heart racing. The ammunition seemed unharmed, but you could never be too careful, especially when there was a child around. Especially when there was Stanley around. He acted so thoughtlessly sometimes, that was the reason Ford hadn’t allowed him down here in the first place!

Stan looked sufficiently ashamed. “Sorry, Ford.”

Ford placed the bullets down very carefully next to the cooling rifle. “Why don’t you go upstairs? This is delicate work.”

“But you guys seem really busy. I can help!”

“No, Stan. This is very important work and you might break something.”

“No, but I’m good at stuff!” Stan protested. “I can carry stuff, and punch people, and get unicorn hair! I can be useful. You wanna move this to a bigger table? I can do it, see?” And to Ford’s horror he grabbed the gun off the table. Ford snatched for it, but Stan had already yelped as his bare hands came into contact with scorching metal and the rifle slipped from his grip.

Fiddleford dove to catch it. He crashed chest-first into the ground and only barely managed to snag it before it was dashed against the floor as well. The ammunition was not so lucky – the dish overturned in the scuffle and pellets skittered every which way, disappearing under surfaces and around shoes. Stan fumbled to try and collect them, but he was only making it worse, knocking them away in his panic.

“Sorry, sorry sorry sorry-”

“I said no!” Ford roughly grabbed his brother’s arm and yanked him away from the workspace, ignoring Stan’s yelp. “Every time, every time I think we’re past this you just have to go and mess everything up again! Are you not capable of doing what I say for once in your life and just leaving well enough alone? I told you not to touch anything! You could well have destroyed our one chance at getting rid of Cipher once and for all!”

“I’m sorry, okay?!” Stan whined and tried to pull away – dodging responsibility once again, just like always. Ford growled and held him in place.

“Now, Stanley, you– quit squirming! – you will sit down and be quiet and not touch anything else, is that understood?”

“Ford, leggo!” Stan squeaked.

“You are to stay away from Fiddleford and I while we work. I will not have you sabotaging me again, not like you did at the science fair-”

Stan punched him in the face.

It was a weak blow from a tiny fist – it barely hurt – but the shock at having his brother strike him made Ford freeze. Stan ripped from his grip and stumbled back with a whimper that sounded dangerously like a sob.

…oh.

Ford didn’t even have to look at his brother’s pale, tearstained face to realize that he had, perhaps, gone a little overboard.

“Stanley-” Ford couldn’t think of anything to say. What was there to say? Stan looked terrified, and Ford supposed he cut a rather intimidating figure to such a small person. He reached out but Stan jerked away violently from his hand.

Why wasn’t Stan getting mad at him in return? The Stan Ford knew would have yelled right back. Ford could handle anger, but he had no idea how to handle fear.

“Stan, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

He reached out again, helplessly. The instant his fingertips touched Stan’s shoulder the child recoiled, throwing his hands up as if to defend himself. But surely he knew Ford would never hurt him?

“No! No no no don’t touch me leave me alone! Go away! I hate you and I don’t ever wanna see you again go away!”

Ford flinched, and Stan took the opportunity to spin on his heel and bolt for the stairs. Ford froze, torn between chasing after him and staying to clean up the mess.

“Ford, a little help!” Fiddleford yelped, and Ford made up his mind. He whipped around and hurried to help his friend lift the rifle back onto his workbench. As he took the weight of the rifle Fiddleford snatched his hands back, wincing at the bright red burns that seared across his palms. “Ouch.”

Ford was careful to keep away from the hot section of metal as he lifted the gun back onto the table. When it was secure he was finally able to take a breath and turn to his friend.

“Fiddleford, are you alright?”

“Ah’m fine, just gotta get these in some water. Where’d Stanley go?”

“I – I don’t know.”

Fiddleford’s eyes widened. “If he goes outside the barrier-”

There were more words, but Ford had stopped processing them. He bolted for the stairs.

 Stan was such an idiot.

He hadn’t even stopped to put on shoes before running into the woods, and he already couldn’t feel his toes from the stinging cold. Well, who cared anyway? He just had to get away.

Stan’s numb foot caught on a root and sent him hurtling to the ground, grating his face and hands on frigid, snowy dirt. He let out a squeaking wheeze as the air left his squashed lungs, letting out little hitching coughs and sobs as he struggled to regain his breath.

Shut up shut up shut up, stop being such a wimp. He pushed himself up on shaky arms and sniffled, rubbing at his nose with a pathetic whimper.

Okay. So, everything was crashing down around him. That was fine. Everything was just fine. He still had – um.

What did he have?

There was something in his fist. Stan sniffed and uncurled his fingers to reveal a tiny shimmering pearl resting in his palm. He stared at it, blinking tears from his eyes.

“What the heck are you?”

Oh, wait. It was one of Ford’s bullet things. Stan’s grip tightened around it, that stupid little ball that was so important to his brother.

He placed it on the ground, climbed to his feet, and lifted a foot to stomp down on it.

And hesitated.

Because it was stupid, but Ford seemed to think these were so important, and Stan just couldn’t crush something that meant that much to his brother. He hiccupped and growled to himself.

He couldn’t do it.

Stan shoved it in his pocket and headed further into the woods.

 Stan wasn’t in the house.

A quick, desperate search revealed Ford’s home empty. Luckily a fresh layer of snow lay on the ground outside – a trail of footprints disappeared into the woods and he bolted after them, snatching his coat on his way out. Of all the places to go! The forest wasn’t safe, Ford had to get his brother back inside the barrier where Bill couldn’t reach them-

His foot slipped on wet snow.

Ford barely had time to flail before his legs slipped from under him and his head hit a tree trunk with a decisive clunk.

[migeviellardi]

Out Of Comfort

Rottmnt Donnie-Centric Fanfic

Genre : Adventure, Action, Humour, Hurt/Comfort

Side Notes : I wanna try something different. The fic that I made mostly conversational heavy. So, there’ll be parts where the characters talk, I will give them names to show who’s talking and there’ll be parts where the characters talk with quotation marks. I dunno how will this go, but I just wanted to give a new style a try, my style.

So, I really hope people will enjoy my stories!

Also, tcesters go the HELL away from here!!!

Chapter 1 Prologue

“HOT SOUP!!!!”

2 years after the incident of ‘you-know-who’, people expecting some changes. Others stays the same and not prone to change.

“WOOOAAAHAAH!!!”

Some says, changes brings a new and better you, but staying the same brings out the real you.

“OOOHOHOOO YEAAAH!!!”

But what if, you can stay the same, while make a change, at the same time.

“SHIIIIIIIIIING!!!!”

The sound of katanas piercing through the air current, smokes puffing here and there, the glint of bluish blur bouncing all over the place, like a spark of electricity caused by a short-circuited cable.

“Look out, big bro~” the blue blur flew in with high speed as he launches with a kick. The big red ducked down to avoid the kick, landed onto a black and red figure, sending them to a wall.

“Ey, watch it, Leo!”

“To be fair, I did warned you.” he smirked, hoisting his katana onto his shoulder. 

“Leo!!” before Leo could react the big red threw a barrel at the figure behind him, the impact sended them to the same spot of the previous one, breaking the wall behind them and fell off the building.

“HEY!!! Watch it!!!”

“I was about to warn you.”

“Guys, there’s more coming.” the orange turtle warned his brothers about the oncoming reinforcement. They all readied their battle stance. A group of black and red figures charged in from a hallway. They awaits their next battle.

“Beep!”

The flooring on the hallway blew up, the group froze in midair, before they realized the floor’s missing, they all fell in with screams. The three brothers blinks in confusion, until a purple turtle flew up from the hole with a smirk.

Donnie : And, that’s how it’s done.

Raph : Donnie! Nice work!* gave him a thumbs up.*

Leo : *shrugs* Could’ve gone better myself.

Donnie : Thank you. Thank you. 

Donnie landed to his brothers. The orange aka Mikey ran towards the hole.

Mikey : Whooaah, since when you make bombs, Dee?

Donnie : About two years ago. I just somehow remembered that I made some, so alas,  here it is. 

Showing one of the bombs he made on his hand. Leo took a closer look at it.

Leo : Wait, you had these things for two years and you never use them?

Donnie : To be honest, it was still in beta. Also, I ran out of options about the supplies to  make more of this. 

Raph : How many more you’ve got?

Donnie : Well, these are the last ones and since there’s only four of them left, I shall- 

Leo snatched the one Donnie holds before he finished. Donnie gave him the ‘seriously?’ look.

Leo : Ohoho, boy! You let us use this thing? Awesome!

Raph : Ooh, ooh! Can I have one too?

Mikey : Pleaaaaaaaseeeee....... 

Mikey gave him the puppy eyes. Donnie figured they might react like this. He sighed, relunctantly gave them one each. 

Raph : Yes!!

Mikey : Thanks, Dee!

They all inspecting the small objects as if they were toys. Donnie pinched his nose bridge. 

Donnie : Okay, okay. Gather up, kids! Let me show you how to use it-

Mikey : Oooh, what does this do? 

Mikey curiously about to press a button on the bomb. Donnie quickly grabbed it before it’s too late.

Donnie : THAAaat, is the instant knock-out button. Which mean, instant explosions.  Which MEAaan, you do not touch!

Mikey : Oh, okay.

Donnie sabotaged the button real quick, semi questioning why he had it in the first place. He gave it back to Mikey and sabotaged the others as well. 

Leo : Why would you put that button there?

Donnie : I dunno. I was young and strictly melodramatic. Probably, sometimes thought  about ending life right there and then. 

He give the bomb back. Leo blinked at his words.

Leo : Wait, what?”

Raph : Donnie, are you sure you okay giving us this?”

Donnie : Yes, Raphael. I am certain, sure and superbly confident to give you a chance, to  try such dangerous, yet ‘fun’ accessory for one use only. 

He gave back the bomb. Raph starting to get worry about the idea, despite having the joy to actually blow things up on purpose. Especially, with Donnie’s tech.

Mikey : Aaawww, thanks Don. That’s very thoughtful of you. 

Mikey doesn’t seems to bother about it. He cherished everything his brothers gave him and he knows they did it with compassions. Even if it’s something that might blew up without notice.

Donnie smiled at his little brother, a genuine warm smile. He never thought that they will accept his gift. As much as he knows about the risk, but he does--somehow--promised them that he would build a bomb for them, and that was when he was six. Children’s mind can be chaotic at times, especially when they decided to watch action movies that involving explosions and how awesome that is seeing their hero epicly emerge from the fire.

Technically, they never wanted a bomb, they just wanted something that can cause explosions. Which means, they wanted a bomb.

Donnie : Like I said, once again. One use only, so use it wisely. 

He then activates his bomb and dropped it into the hole. It goes boom and comical screams was heard from below. The trio stared at him in confusion. 

Donnie : I had to. I heard them climbing up, okay?

Mikey : Oooh. 

Raph : Oh, I see. Okay.

Leo : Okay, cool.

Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed Donnie’s ankle and pulled him into the hole. Donnie yelped in surprise as he dragged away.

“DONNIE!!!” they all yelled and went after him. Donnie got slammed to the ground onto his plastron. He gasped in pain before got thrown away onto the wall. He groaned as he landed hard onto the floor. He looked up to see the familiar big muscular guy with fire above his head. Laughing evilly at the downed turtle.

“Imma grind your bones, turtle.” he said, fist bumped himself. Donnie stood up, readying his bo. Before the brute charged at him, two sets of glowing chains wrapped around him.

“Cowabunga!!” Mikey pulled the guy upward, Raph came in with his flying fist, slamming down the brute, creating a crater. Donnie was surprised by the sudden assist. Out of the shadow, the skinny one sneakily emerge behind him. His giggles startled him, as he look back Leo teleported right between the two and kick the guy on the face. The Foot ninja got thrown through a wall, buried in debris. 

Leo : Donnie, you okay? 

Leo looked at him in concern. The other two joined in before he got to answer.

Mikey : Donnie!

Raph : Are you hurt, buddy? 

Donnie froze for a bit, clutching his bo tightly. He shook his head as response.

Donnie : No, no, I’m fine.

His reply is semi-whisper, which concerns Raph. Mikey somehow urged to see how’s his shell doing.

Mikey : *gasp* Dude, your battleshell! It’s all broken!

Donnie peered his head to his back. He can see some of the metal bends and he could see some sparks coming out of it. Great, that’s another one this week.

Donnie : Yeah, I figured. Don’t worry, it’s still can be fix.

Leo : At least, you got some more at home, right Dee? 

Leo patted his shoulder. Donnie remained quiet, his eyes fixed to the ground. Leo grew concern with his brother being quiet. 

Leo : Donnie? 

Raph and Mikey noticed the change. Could Donnie be possibly running out of Battleshell? No, there’s no way. Surely Donnie had fixed some of them, and perhaps he made some new ones as well, right?

Donnie still not answering, his hands trembles while holding his bo tighter than ever before. He inhales with his nose, then let it out through the mouth with shaky breathe.

“Yeah, yeah. I do. I do.” he finally replied, although this time it sounded more unsure. Leo smiled at his twin. He felt a little bit relief that at least there’s still something he can use to protect his shell. Leo put his arm around Donnie’s neck, hugging him in the way.

“Come on, let’s go home.” Leo led Donnie and the rest back to the tank. 

They drove home in a rather awkward and quiet atmosphere. It was supposed to be another celebrations for accomplishing their mission, but Donnie’s quiet demeanor made an exception tonight. Donnie hadn’t said anything ever since they asked about his battleshell. He just sits there at his spot, putting his battleshell onto his lap. He done nothing with it, just staring.

The others don’t know what to do, or what to say. Every few seconds, they only glanced at his brother. Unsure if they have the courage to do some pep-talk with him. Of course, Donnie can feel they all staring at him.

Donnie put aside his battleshell, the others quickly look away as if they never stare. Donnie put on the usual emotionless face at them, leaning further to his chair, arm-crossed at his chest.

“If you guys wanted to say anything, just say it.” 

“Nonono, we just thought that you-” “What? Noooo. Did I say anything? Nah I-” “Oh, it’s nothing, it’s just that we-” 

They all spoke at the same time then stop when they realizing it. Donnie blinks, he certainly didn’t understand what they’re saying right there. Leo decided to go first.

“Donnie, if you need any help, you can ask away, okay?” he smiled reassuringly. Donnie unsure of what to say with that.

“We can help you fix your battleshell.” 

“Yeah, we promise we won’t touch anything else without your permission.”

Donnie stared at each one of their eyes. They didn’t seems to be lying about offering help. Donnie didn’t feel they should, though. Well, it’s very kind of them, but they don’t have to. He can fix it himself, it’s his thing after all.

“I appreciate that, dear brethren. But I’ll be fine. I can do it myself.” he said. The others understands that, they nodded with his reply.

“Okay, then.” Leo said, “But if you do, just please ask, okay bud?”

“Sure, Leo.”