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makeste · 4 years

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BnHA Chapter 292: You Say Jeans

Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi was all “well anyway here’s that Touya reveal I foreshadowed like a million years ago, viva la 2020.” Dabi was all “hello world, I’ve killed 30 people and today I’m going to explain to you all why” before he proceeded to explain ABSOLUTELY NOTHING but everyone was so distracted by his tale of child abuse and hero conspiracies that they didn’t much seem to notice. Can’t Ya See-Kun’s Shark Friend was all “IS THIS THE END OF HERO SOCIETY AS WE KNOW IT”, and Horikoshi was all “STAY TUNED”, and then Dabi set himself on fire and leaped off of Machia’s back like the chaotic evil, I-just-bleached-all-my-brain-cells weird little fire man he is, ready to burn everyone to crispy bits before they could even react properly to his whole big revenge speech. Fortunately he did not succeed on account of THE RETURN OF THE JING, THE JOAT, BEST FUCKING JEANIST, back from the dead by popular demand in what critics are calling “the best fucking comeback since Jesus himself.”

Today on BnHA: Best Jeanist snatches up Machia and the rest of the League with his fiber steel cables before you can say “more like BEAST JEANIST amirite.” Dabi gets all worked up and lights Hadou on fire which is a real JERK MOVE, and is all “THIS RIGHT HERE IS ALSO ENDEAVOR’S FAULT”, which, NOT SUPER CONVINCED ON THAT, BUT OKAY. Anyway so then he burns up all the cables holding him which is crazeballs btw, and then he and Shouto start fighting, and so basically the whole thing is a literal hot mess and we’ll see how that goes. Meanwhile Tomura wakes up and summons some Noumus, and poor Jeanist has to deal with those on top of the still-attempting-to-rampage Gigantomachia, and everyone else is all “we can’t help you on account of we’re all half dead”, and so it’s looking really bad. And then -- and I can’t stress enough how much I don’t even have the faintest idea how to segue into this next part -- the chapter ends with Mirio!?! just sort of POPPING UP OUT OF THE GROUND all, “SURPRISE, BITCH”, and it literally was so surprising that I am still just kind of speechless. WELL-PLAYED, I GUESS, lol wtf.

lol okay so the first page in the RHA scan is just the “three musketeers” movie promo image that we all already saw a few days ago. but it does confirm that (a) it is indeed a movie, and (b) that it’s set for a summer 2021 release! how exciting

okay so now back to our special Dabi edition of Making a Murderer

“ray of hope” oh hell yes. SAVE US MR. JEANIST

I guess he had a TV in his private hero jet or something?

gotta say, “dammit Dabi” does not even remotely sound like Authentic Best Jeanist Dialogue to me though. gonna need Caleb to see to this. well but what do you guys think? does Best Jeanist curse?? I personally feel like he’s one of those guys who NEVER EVER swears no matter what, except under the most hilariously trifling circumstances. like he’s eating an avocado one day and he accidentally stains the cuffs of his beloved jostume green and he’s all “FUCK”

btw how fucking rich is Best Jeanist though that he has his own fucking plane? the thought just suddenly occurred to me, you know? like even Endeavor, whose agency has its own on-site luxury apartment suites for all of his interns, still drives around in a dinky little car that Bakugou has declared to be too small. which, I guess we know why he felt that way now, seeing as the guy he previously interned with apparently gets around in Jeans Force One

anyway so back to the part where Jeanist shows up to save the day!! YEAH JEANIST WOOOOO

ILU JEANIST YOU REALLY ARE THE BEST!! HUGS AND KISSES!!!

lmao we just saw Gigantomachia take out like a hundred guys not ten chapters ago. and Best Jeanist shows up and takes him down in like two seconds. HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES LEAGUE OF VILLAINS. BET YOU’RE WISHING YOU’D TAKEN HIS QUIRK NOW, AFO. GET FUCKED YOU OLD SPUD

KACCHAN IS SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM AWW

SIDE NOTE, IIDA, YOU AND I ARE GONNA HAVE WORDS LATER ABOUT YOU ACTUALLY AGREEING TO PUT HIM BACK DOWN. YOU DO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CHILD IS STILL DRIPPING BLOOD ALL OVER THE PLACE FROM HIS MULTIPLE STAB WOUNDS, RIGHT? WAY TO ASSERT YOUR AUTHORITY THERE. I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE CLASS PRESIDENT NOT THE CLASS CLOWN, COME ON NOW

LMAO DABI IS FRANTICALLY TRYING TO DO THE PLOT MATH

SHOULDA CHECKED MORE CLOSELY MY GOOD MARK. LOOKS LIKE YOU MISSED THE “MADE IN CHINA” STICKER ON THE BOTTOM. YOU HAVE BEEN BAMBOOZLED. OR ACTUALLY, I GUESS THE MORE ACCURATE WORD HERE IS JAMBOOZLED, AHAHAHAHA. JEANS

HOLY SHIT DABI

I legit almost thought that was Tomura for a second. you two look so alike now with the white hair and the crazy eyes

meanwhile, Shouto is still crying and it’s a lot to take, you guys. lotta feels

ffff come on Jeanist you better do something awesome again here, the mood of the chapter is starting to slip now

YES, GOOD, THAT’LL WORK

WELL YOU TELL ME, SPINNER. I GUESS THAT MEANS BEST JEANIST IS OFFICIALLY THE STRONGEST CHARACTER IN THE SERIES NOW. SORRY I DON’T MAKE THE RULES

ffff now Spinner is trying to wake Tomura back up. nah, how’s about we not do that

OH MY GOD HADOU YESSSS

MY GIRL OUT HERE WITH THE “NO THANK YOU” BOUT TO CURBSTOMP THE BIG BAD WITH HER QUIRK KSFHLKLK WHO HERE HAD “HADOU SAVES THE DAY” ON YOUR WAR ARC BINGO CARDS, YOU LOVE TO SEE IT!!

HEY!!!!

fucking son of a... fffkfkff... someone please reassure me that fire isn’t Hadou’s weakness. someone. anyone. also could someone please dial an ambulance and send them to Horikoshi’s house. but not just yet. first I’m gonna need you to wait about fifteen minutes or so while I take care of some things

well all right then, Dabi. so you wanna go on then and explain to us all how this, too, is somehow Endeavor’s fault?

oh I see, you’ve decided that since he’s responsible for “creating” you, everyone you hurt and kill is in truth really being hurt and killed by him! well now, that sure is convenient as fuck I guess

(ETA: that’s a nice effect with the panel sides getting all warped by Dabi’s quirk though, just noticed that.)

amazing how quickly you used up that sympathy card my guy. Shouto please kick his ass, I’m fucking done lol, you can all sort out the rest in therapy later

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE DIAL BACK DEKU’S EMPATHY STATS JUST A LITTLE BIT, HOLY --

“TODOROKI-KUN IS HURT THE MOST”, HE SAYS, WITH HIS ARM BONES SHATTERED INTO LITTLE TOOTHPICK-SIZED PIECES. I MEAN, HE’S PROBABLY TALKING MORE ABOUT MENTAL ANGUISH GIVEN THE CONTEXT HERE, BUT STILL. THAT’S ENOUGH HEROICS FROM YOU ALREADY FOR ONE DAY

NOOO JEANIST

LOTS OF SMOKE IN THE AIR RIGHT ABOUT NOW AND MY BOY’S STILL DOWN A LUNG. GOD DAMMIT

“if the number one suffers a total loss here, this country will fall to pieces” well okay, real talk though, I think the “country falling to pieces” part is pretty much unavoidable at this juncture. you all are just gonna have to try your best to pick up those pieces after the fact and see what you can do with them. if I were you I’d be less worried about the number one’s reputation and more concerned with the half-dozen child soldier interns who are still on the field and very much at risk of being burned to death should you suffer that “total loss.” please try to keep it together here for them

OH FOR FUCK’S

I really thought RockLockRock was gonna come into play here. USE YOUR QUIRK TO LOCK THE ROPES IN PLACE YOU DIP!! if he seriously just sits there and does nothing when his quirk could be the deciding factor I am cancelling his useless ass cute kid or no cute kid shfkjdls

(ETA: is he even there?? did he and Manual just hightail it out of there?? “well good luck, children.”)

also, we’ll put this aside for now to perhaps speculate about later, but what’s with Tomura remembering his dad’s house yet again in that far right panel?? and being itchy again?? I still have yet to fully work out the psychological mechanisms at work as far as his itchiness goes, so I’ll admit this is intriguing to me. it seemed like it was connected to his decay quirk, but then why is it acting up again now. what is this lol

yuh oh

forgot about these guys. looks like these heroes aren’t having such a fun time

oh fucksticks

excuse me ma’am but I don’t like this. you do know that my kids are all there, right. all burnt and impaled and broken-boned and the like. well except for Iida. he’s fine still. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN I FEEL LIKE WATCHING HIM GET TORN APART BY FOUR HIGH ENDS, WTF

HORIKOSHI YOU MOTHERFUCKER I SWEAR TO GOD

god fucking... okay look. Horikoshi. you win, okay!? congratulations, you win, this is your show and we’re all just sitting here at your mercy. fine. go ahead and just kill off everyone ever, then!! what am I even gonna do about it. stop reading?? fuck

this whole thing really went from zero to fucked before I could even blink huh. I really thought this was gonna be a turning point chapter for the heroes. shows what I know I guess??

meanwhile this motherfucker is just SCREAMING

ngl, if I wasn’t currently terrified on account of things suddenly taking such a drastic turn for the worse, this would be the coolest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. Jeanist my man, I hype you up like it’s my job because you are the greatest fucking meme character in the history of time, but make no mistake, you are also highkey WORTH ALL THE HYPE AND THEN SOME

seriously, though. don’t fucking mind him you guys, he’s just standing here in the coolest pose of all time taking on Gigantomachia all alone with one fucking lung because the substance pumping through his veins is COLD-BLOODED LIQUID DENIM, and DENIM FEELS NO FEAR

Best Jeanist really needs to get his own theme song. -- oh my god I just finally thought of a title for this post. lmao and it’s the dumbest thing. omg

MEANWHILE THE TODOROKI BROS ARE OFF IN THEIR OWN DRAMATIC LITTLE FIRE WORLD

which one do you think is the Mario and which is the Luigi. well, but I mean, Dabi clearly thinks that he’s the Luigi though and that’s why he’s so mad. nobody wants to be Luigi. what a life

THAT’S IT, SHOUTO!! POINT OUT ALL OF HIS HYPOCRITICAL BULLSHIT, I WANT ANSWERS

JUST TO CLARIFY, IT’S THAT NATSU, NOT SOME OTHER NATSU!! SO WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!!

OH, WELL IN THAT CASE

BUT OF COURSE. THAT WOULD MAKE IT ALL WORTHWHILE, holy shit. okay I’m just gonna go ahead and say it, Dabi is a piece of work. I really thought this arc would make him more sympathetic at long last, but it seems like it’s doing just the opposite?? this is like an anti-redemption arc. I don’t relish the thought of venturing into the fandom tags once I finish reading this lol

(ETA: well folks, I’ve done it. and actually it was pretty interesting because there are apparently like ten different things that people are mad about, and so it’s like. each post is a new adventure lmao.)

so Shouto is all “BRUH HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST IT” and Dabi is all “YES”, basically? like, he says he’s completely lost his feeling for anything. omg. but you were so sweet. how does that even happen

“finally I can kill you” okay for real what the heck is your damage bro?? can we not. I like Shouto just the way he is, un-killed

oh shit and now the Noumus are here

cue Bakugou diving in to save his mentor, STAB WOUNDS BE DAMNED!! actually it would make more sense for it to be Iida, but if Kacchan is really fixin’ to go full Shounen Dumbass here then he might as well go all out, y’know

-- unless of course, Deku decides to activate another quirk??

“last I checked, the main character of this series was still me” OH? WELL I SUPPOSE THAT IS TRUE, SO PRAY TELL, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT LEFT UP YOUR SLEEVE YOU SUICIDAL BRUSSELS SPROUT

fucking love how he’s all “HAHAHA WITH MY NEW QUIRKS I CAN STILL DO STUPID SHIT EVEN WITH MY ARMS AND LEGS GROUND TO A FINE POWDER” btw. what can I say. Deku gonna Deku

FMMFHDKUHK W H A T

HOLY SHIT. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. WHAT THE WHAT. QUE THE FUCK

(ETA: okay look, all the love in the world to the brave scanlators who take time out of their lives to translate the leaks every week just so we can read the chapter a couple of days early like the addicts we are. that said, translating Mirio’s signature “POWER!!” -- which was already written in English in the original scan -- to “POG-CHAMP” is just a whole new level of wtfuckery from them lmao. is the Lida person back at it again?? amazing.)

MIRIO!?!?! SHOWS UP TO SAVE THE DAY?!?! POGS HIMSELF UP OUT THE GROUND TO BEAT THE NOUMUS LIKE IT AIN’T NO THING. JUST LIKE WE ALL PREDICTED!? I’M SORRY, DID YOU NOT SEE THAT COMING?? YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOUR DAILY HOROSCOPE FROM ASTROLOGY DOT COM DIDN’T HAVE THAT ONE IN THE CARDS?? WAS IT NOT OBVIOUS?? TODOROKIS PLUS BEST JEANIST EQUALS MIRIO??

hot damn. Tintin really saw the writing on the wall with the impending Dabi Discourse and was all “NOT SO FAST” lmao. “HERE’S A BRAND NEW THING FOR YOU ALL TO DISCOURSE ABOUT” MIRIO YOU WILD CHILD. YOU GLORIOUS THUG

MEANWHILE LET’S NOT FORGET WHAT MIRIO HAVING HIS POWERS BACK ACTUALLY IMPLIES. HOLY SHIT. SUDDENLY WE CUT BACK TO ALL MIGHT’S OFFICE, ALL THE WAY BACK AT UA. ERI BRANDISHES HER TOKOYAMI-GIFTED BUSTER SWORD, A DETERMINED GLEAM IN HER EYE. “I HEARD YOU WERE TRYING TO HAVE A GIRL POWER ARC WITHOUT ME.” OH. MY. GOD

#bnha 292 #best jeanist #todoroki touya #dabi #todoroki shouto #midoriya izuku #hadou nejire #toogata mirio #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

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paperbodiesamongthestars · 3 years

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the road not taken looks real good now

We’re halfway there, wooooo! Please enjoy chapter 3, in which Robin has the worst friends and there’s a little cuddling at the end, as a treat.

Read the whole thing on AO3. Or just keep reading down below!

Chapter 3: Todd agreed with your dad?

Robin just can’t deal with her friends sometimes.

She’s tucked into the corner of the ancient couch in the Byers’ basement, Billy’s feet in her lap. He’s stretched out on the couch while Nancy and Jonathan cuddle in the loveseat. Normally, Billy’s head would be in Steve’s lap right now, but Steve is currently suffering through a second straight evening at home with his parents and Todd. Billy, predictably, has feelings about it.

“This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me,” he announces, taking another long sip of his beer.

“You remember that you died once, right? At the mall?” Robin asks, both amused and exasperated.

“You grew up with Neil,” Jonathan adds quietly, taking a long sip of Nancy’s cocktail and then handing it back to her.

“Yeah,” Billy says like it’s obvious, “I counted those.” Robin sighs.

“You almost banged my mom that one time,” Nancy offers, wrinkling her nose. Billy narrows his eyes. Robin sees the spark of mischief in them and knows what’s coming. She lunges across the couch, trying to get a hand over Billy’s mouth, but he evades her easily.

“Is that what happened?” he asks, “Or did—“ Robin cuts him off, a last-ditch effort to prevent this.

“We are having a nice, chill time,” she says evenly. “Do not start this.” She glares at him, but it’s futile. He smiles at her, and it’s all teeth.

“I didn’t start anything, then or now” he says innocently. “It’s not my fault Nancy’s mom is a sexual predator, and it’s not my fault Nancy brought it up.” Nancy bristles immediately, the way she always does, but Robin can see the sparkle in her eyes as well. Robin sags back against the couch and Jonathan sighs heavily. Nancy and Billy have the weirdest fucking friendship.

“You know she’s doing a lot better now,” Nancy snaps.

“Wow, I’m super glad the aggressor in that situation is thriving,” Billy says sarcastically. Robin tunes them out, only catching snatches of their conversation as they continue to snipe at each other.

“…divorce and therapy…try it sometime…”

“…great choices…definitely follow her fucking lead…”

Robin wonders how Steve is doing with round two of family time with his boyfriend. Steve’s gained a lot of confidence since he moved to Chicago with her and found something he both loved and was good at, but his dad still has the ability to take that right out from under him. It’s exponentially worse in person. And Todd, unsurprisingly, doesn’t seem to be helping. Billy had a whole rant about it earlier, how he got home late last night and found Steve an exhausted mess on the couch.

“…concerned about you…”

“…exactly the wrong kind of attention…”

Robin’s not truly worried about Steve. Not yet. She and Billy have both seen Steve in some bad places over the last few years, and if Billy genuinely believed that the last few days were pushing Steve too far back that direction, he’d be at Steve’s house right now, going toe-to-toe with John Harrington or smothering Todd with a pillow. She and Billy and the nerds have put Steve back together in the wake of his parents’ bullshit many times, although it’s been a while since they had to manage the fallout of an in-person visit. Still, she fully expects that they’ll all leap into action as soon as Steve’s parents leave.

“…take some responsibility for your own choices…”

“…prey on a troubled teenager….”

They’ll work around Todd if they have to. If he turns out to be a bigger problem than she thinks he is, well. It’s clear that Todd considers himself kind of a dick, a cutthroat future lawyer who will do whatever it takes to get ahead, but Billy Hargrove can reach levels of viciousness that Todd could only dream of. Billy’s the biggest asshole Robin has ever met, and she usually means that as a compliment. She’d bet good money that he could have Todd crying into his stupid Oxford shirts in under six minutes without laying a hand on him, if he really tried. She’s pretty sure the only reason it hasn’t happened already is that Billy knows it would make Steve sad, and he no longer does things that might make Steve sad.

“Fucking bullshit!” Nancy yells, catching Robin’s attention. Nancy stands up from the loveseat. “You literally just said that Steve bringing his douchebag boyfriend home is the worst thing that has ever happened to you, and now you want me to feel bad about all of your ‘trauma’?” Nancy even includes sarcastic finger quotes around ‘trauma.’ Robin is never going to understand these two, but she’s glad they’re having fun. Billy lunges off the couch and takes a step toward Nancy.

“Oh, fuck you, Wheeler,” Billy shoots back, raising his voice. “What, you’ve never heard of hyperbole? I get it, it’s a tough word.” Robin’s a little impressed at how condescending Billy can sound.

“You are the fucking worst,” Nancy hisses. “I swear to God, I don’t know why Steve gives you the time of day!”

“Oh, we both know that Steve gives me a lot more than that, sweetheart,” Billy says with a leer.

“Augh, no!” Robin yells, covering her ears too late. She has a standing rule that she never wants to hear about Steve’s sex life. He overshares enough on his own.

That appears to be Nancy’s breaking point. She dissolves into giggles, and then Billy starts laughing too, and then they’re both laughing so hard they can hardly stand up.

“I mean, it is a lot,” Jonathan murmurs, twisting the knife, and Robin flops back, her hands over her face. She groans.

“I hate all of you,” she announces.

Billy comes back to the couch and swings his feet back up into Robin’s lap. A lot of the tension has drained out of him, and Robin shakes her head. Seriously, the weirdest fucking friendship.

“You know Todd isn’t actually your problem, right?” Robin asks. Billy glares at her, but there’s no real heat in it.

“I would argue that he is very much my problem right now.”

“He’s all of our problem right now,” Nancy says, taking her drink back from Jonathan again. “Billy’s a fucking disaster when he’s not getting—“

“No!” Robin cuts in, leveling a finger at Nancy. Nancy just smiles at her. Seriously, her friends are all the worst. She turns back to Billy. “Todd’s not going to last,” she says firmly. “I’ll be shocked if they’re still together by New Year’s Eve. But at some point, Steve’s going to meet someone who does want to stick around.” She pauses. “Unless…” she trails off significantly, and Billy narrows his eyes at her.

“No. We are not having this conversation again,” he says.

“You started it,” she shoots back, “with all your whining about Todd.”

“I do not whine,” he insists.

“Oh, you absolutely do,” she says sweetly, and Nancy snorts a laugh. Billy turns his glare on her, but she ignores him.

“I’m just saying—“ Robin starts, but Nancy cuts in.

“Oh my God, just ask him the fuck out,” she says. “Put us all out of our misery.”

“Oh, you mean like you asked Jonathan the fuck out, while you were still with Steve?” Billy replies, the sharp edge back in his tone. He sits up straight, dropping his feet to the floor. Robin rolls her eyes.

“That was a complicated situation,” Nancy says, voice rising. “We were all under a lot of stress, and—“

“Jesus, they’re doing this again?” murmurs a voice in Robin’s ear, and she turns to see Steve leaning over the back of the couch. He apparently managed to slip down the basement stairs unnoticed while Billy and Nancy were sniping at each other. She stares hard at him for a second, wondering how much he heard. He looks tired and a little brittle, but good. She knows better than to assume that means he’s actually fine, though.

“Yeah,” she says with a sigh, “they’re really going at it tonight.”

“Oh my god, grow up,” Steve says loudly as he vaults over the back of the couch and settles between Billy and Robin. Billy and Nancy both turn to look at him. Nancy smiles at him, but Billy’s face fucking lights up. Robin wonders briefly how the hell Steve hasn’t noticed yet, but she knows how—he doesn’t think it’s possible, so he isn’t looking for it. Still. It’s so obvious. Billy’s a good friend to all of them—a fact that has never stopped surprising her, a little—but none of the rest of them get the version of him that Steve does, all soft and caring and concerned.

“What are you doing here, Bambi? Where’s Troy?” Billy asks with a shit-eating grin. Steve’s glare is halfhearted.

“Yeah, how is Tom?” Nancy asks, hiding a smile behind another sip of her drink.

“Haven’t seen you and Ted much the last couple of days,” adds Jonathan, completely deadpan. Steve rolls his eyes.

“You are all the worst,” he says with a sigh.

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Robin cuts in.

“And Todd,” Steve goes on, “is having a nightcap with my dad in his office.”

“Wait, what?” Billy asks, sounding genuinely surprised. He probably is. He probably can’t imagine a scenario where anyone would voluntarily spend time with Steve’s dad. The one time they met, it didn’t go well.

“And you didn’t want to stay for that?” Robin asks, mock surprised.

“God no,” Steve says, making a face. “If I had to listen to my dad say one more patronizing thing while my boyfriend nodded along and occasionally shot me apologetic looks, I was going to scream.”

“Todd agreed with your dad?” Billy asks, in the same tone of voice he might use to say “Todd shot your dog?” Steve sighs.

“It’s not his fault. He doesn’t know any better,” Steve says, but it isn’t very convincing. Jonathan snorts from his spot on the loveseat. Steve groans and scrubs his hands over his face. “We haven’t been dating that long. We haven’t made it to the part of the relationship where I talk about how much my family sucks.” Billy stares, disbelief clear on his face.

“Pretty boy, I knew your family sucked about five minutes after I met you,” he says, far more gently than the words themselves would warrant.

“It takes one to know one?” Steve says, but it comes out as a question.

“Oh dingus,” Robin laughs, “if Todd didn’t have his very own boatload of daddy issues, he wouldn’t be cozied up with your dad right now instead of you.”

“Exactly,” Nancy says, raising her glass toward Robin. “Robin gets it.”

“Okay, all of you shut up,” Steve demands, sitting up straighter on the couch. “We’re done talking about me. Tell me what you guys have been up to.” There’s a brief pause, and then Nancy jumps in with a story about Mike falling during ice skating earlier that day. Billy follows that up with a story about Max and El, and the conversation flows easily from there. Robin doesn’t get another chance to talk to Billy until he’s dropping her off at home before heading back to Steve’s house.

Most of the drive passes in a comfortable silence. Robin stares out the window at the cheerful lights on the passing houses, and the dim white glow of the snow under the moonlight. She doesn’t say anything until Billy pulls up in front of her house.

“I’m not wrong, you know,” she says quietly. Billy sighs and turns the engine off.

“You usually aren’t,” he says drily. “What aren’t you wrong about this time?” She gives him a look.

“You know there are some great Masters programs for education in Southern California, right?” she asks.

“What—I, what?” he replies, like he hasn’t ever thought about it. She stares at him levelly. “Yeah,” he finally admits, “I know.”

“Well,” Robin says, “there are some good schools that are still taking applications until the end of January. If you’re planning to act on that information, you should do it soon.” Billy shakes his head.

“I can’t just—“

“You can,” Robin says, cutting him off. “And you should,” she adds after a pause. She leans over to give him a quick hug goodbye and then she gets out of the car, leaving him staring after her, brow furrowed. She said what she wanted to say. Now she just has to hope that they can get their shit together enough to figure out the rest on their own.

Billy is still thinking about Robin’s advice hours later, staring up at the ceiling of his room instead of sleeping. She made it sound so easy. But he can’t just invite Steve to California. He hurt Steve three years ago, he knows that he did. He walked into Steve’s kitchen and Steve was finally back there, real and so close after months of being off in Chicago, and Billy moved before he could stop himself. He backed Steve into the kitchen counter and kissed him with every bit of longing he’d been suppressing since Steve left. Steve kissed him back, matching his intensity, and it escalated from there. It was perfect. Right up until Billy panicked.

They were panting side by side on Steve’s bed afterwards, spent and satisfied, and Steve turned to him, his expression unreadable. Billy knew for sure he couldn’t take it if that expression was regret, if Steve was about to say that he regretted what they’d done, so he spoke before Steve could. This doesn’t have to be a whole thing. Nothing has to change. He knew it was the wrong thing to say the minute he said it, even before Steve’s face shut down, but he didn’t know how to take it back.

Billy’s been hurting Steve ever since, continuing to pretend that any of this is casual. Pretending that he doesn’t want anything to change. He’s been telling himself that he has to fix this for three years, and he’s been too much of a coward to ever do it. He has no idea how to apologize for that, much less how to begin to make up for it. He’s not even sure he can make up for it. He’s contemplating that depressing reality when he hears a gasp from Steve’s room.

For a brief, heart-stopping moment, he thinks it might be a sound of pleasure, that he might have to hear Todd and Steve together. He’s not at all sure he could make it through that without breaking something. Or someone. But then Steve cries out, and it’s full of pain and fear, and Billy is out of bed and in the hallway seconds later. He’s trying to be quiet—Steve’s refusal to sleep a couple nights ago made it clear he’s worried about someone hearing his nightmares, and Billy’s pretty sure it isn’t him—but he still hears a door open down the hall.

He turns to see Todd leaning out of the guest room door, frowning. He holds Todd’s gaze for a long moment, keeping his own expression neutral. He really doesn’t give a fuck what Todd wants to do here, but it better not take very long. Steve cries out again and Todd’s frown deepens. He stares at Billy for another long moment and then he throws his hands up and sighs heavily, muttering something under his breath before he disappears back into the guest room, closing the door behind him. Billy shakes his head and turns back to Steve’s room.

His door is closed, which Steve normally hates, and Billy adds it to the pile of shit he’s angry about. Billy has managed to be polite to both Todd and the Harringtons so far, but they’re treading on some thin fucking ice. It’s only been a couple of days, but he’s not sure he has much more patience for watching Steve try to make himself smaller in a futile effort to make those assholes happy.

Billy closes the door behind himself and crosses to the bed, where Steve is thrashing and whimpering in his sleep. He sits down and reaches out to stroke a fingertip gently down Steve’s arm. He’s learned over time that grabbing Steve just makes the panic worse, but a light touch helps.

“Hey,” he murmurs, “you’re safe. You’re in your bed at your parents’ house, and you’re safe.” Steve tenses up and then freezes.

“Billy?” he murmurs sleepily.

“Yeah, right here princess.” Steve huffs and rolls toward him, tugging him down to lie on the bed.

“Hate that nickname,” he says, voice blurred with sleep. He’s nowhere near fully awake.

“No you don’t,” Billy says softly. He maneuvers Steve until they’re in their usual position, Steve wrapped in Billy’s arms, his back to Billy’s chest and his head tucked under Billy’s chin.

“Mmhmm,” Steve argues, most of the way asleep again already. Billy feels a flare of fierce pride that he can do this, that he can ease the nightmares so quickly and completely. Tucked up against Steve’s back, nose buried in Steve’s soft, messy hair, Billy thinks that maybe Robin was right. Maybe he can fix this, and maybe it can be easy. Or maybe he’s just finally more afraid of losing this for good than he is of admitting what an asshole he’s been and dealing with the consequences.

He sighs and pulls Steve closer to his chest, careful to keep his hands on the outside of Steve’s shirt instead of slipping them under like he usually does. Steve does, after all, still have an awful boyfriend. One that isn’t going to last much longer, according to Robin, and she’s usually right. Billy really, really hopes she’s right this time.

#harringrove #my writing #billy hargrove #Steve harrington #Steve's terrible boyfriend #whose days are numbered #what's his name again?

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stardancerluv · 5 years

Text

Roman’s Rough Day

This was written specifically for @theblackmaskclub Enjoy!

One shot here.

Warning: Smut. Semi exhibitionism, regular sex, breath!play, teasing, Roman gets shot, Language.

Gazing, into the mirror you were making sure your hair and make-up was just right. Despite, your concern from not hearing from Roman all day, you still had to preform tonight. You were on edge. He had not called you back or even sent a text message. That was unlike him, especially when he had an important meeting.

When, all of a sudden Zsasz came into your dressing room.

“Zsasz, excuse you.” Turning, you were taken a back. You leaned against your dressing table arms crossed. Annoyance, running through you. “This is my private dressing room, you of all should know that.”

He rolled his eyes, “Listen, Songbird.”

“I have a name. Only Roman can call me Songbird.”

He gave you a look.

“Alright, what?” You and Zsasz had always been politely distant to each other. He thought you made “boss” weak and he was not afraid to let know that.

“Roman, got shot.” He said flatly.

“What?” You felt as if one of his knives struck you in the heart. You stood up, uncrossing your arms. “Is he ok? Where is he?”

“He’s ok. It was a mere flesh wound.”

“And...”

“I, he didn’t want you to practically pounce him when you see him.”

Now, you were the only who rolled your eyes. “I am not a child, if I see that something is wrong with Roman, I can curb myself.”

“Alright. Well, he’ll be down shortly.” He eyed you. “The show must go on.”

You took a deep breath. “Yes.”

He opened the door, he made a wide sweeping gesture. “After you.”

“I’m not...oh never mind.” You walked past him. You were shook to the core knowing something happened to Roman. You tried to see if you could see him in the crowd, but be was nowhere to be seen.

After making your way to the stage, you briefly spoke with the piano player and discussed the line up. You’d sing songs you knew Roman liked.

As you walked up to the microphone, you inhaled deeply. A hush came over the club then the spotlights illuminated you as you grabbed the microphone.

*****

Resting his elbow on the door of the Bentley, Roman was confident that he did not like this guy. He was never fond of this part of Gotham. It was dirty and it smelled worse then his territory on the docks.

It was slaughterhouse row. All the meat that fed Gotham and Metropolis for that matter was slaughtered there.

Even with the windows closed he could already smell the putrid smells that filled the area. He took out his handkerchief and held it to his nose. He smiled.

He was remembering this morning, he had watched a smile spread across your face as he had come over to you. He had tilted your face up to press a kiss against your soft lips. He promised you, lhe would be back at the club before you sang tonight.

Perhaps, he’d stop and get you flowers or something, you had dropped enough hints that sometimes boyfriends gave their girlfriends something simple like that. He didn’t like things simple but if you liked it, he would try.

“Boss, you ready?” Zsasz asked.

Just then he realized they had arrived. “Yeah! As much as I am going to be.” He tucked the handkerchief back into his suit-jacket’s breast pocket.

He took his gun out, he made sure all the parts were working and that it was loaded made sure it was loaded. This kind of meeting that guns were needed. He liked meetings on his own terms, this one wasn’t.

Zsasz, sounding incredibly bored, reminded him of what was going to happen. “It’s supposed to be just one of Harvey’s lower level men.”

“Zsasz , I know....Blah, blah...”

“....who had thought we could talk about getting protection for this.”

“Blah, blah...” He rolled his eyes. “This better go fucking smoothly.”

“We’ll handle them either way.” Zsasz commented confidently.

“Harvey, knows better then to fuck with me, you.”

Zsasz then got out of the car, Roman waited till be gave the all clear. He grimaced. There was not a soul around.

“Are we supposed to go in there?” He pointed to the door.

The double metal doors slid open. A figure came into view. “Roman Sionis?” Hollered the person.

“Is that Sammy the Fly.” Roman asked Zsasz quietly. He had been in no mood to have this meeting.

“Yeah.”

“Sammy! How good to see you!” Roman shouted back.

A bullet whizzed by his head and hit the pavement. “What the fuck!” He screamed. He pulled out his gun and ducked down. Seeing someone finally, he shot at them.

“We’re going to take you out Sionis!”

“Not today!”

He lined up Sammy the Fly, and pulled the trigger. He went down. Opening the car door, he looked around. “Get the fuck down and stay down.” He screamed at his driver.

Turning back to , “we gotta clear fucking building.” Zsasz, remarked. “The intel tells us there are ten of them.” He saw, as he took down two more men. He crept from behind the car door, and got a few more of himself. “We’re getting these assholes.”

That’s when he was slammed to the ground, a scream was torn from his lips. An image of you flashed before his eyes.

Zsass, got two more then, everything grew silent. From the ground, he looked around.

“What the fuck?” He finally screamed. Zsass, was immediately helping him up. As he sat up, he saw that blood came from a slice on his upper arm. “One of them got me!”

Zsass practically grabbed, pulled him into the car. “Get us to the fucking doctor.”

“There is going to be fucking blood for this.” He promised.

*****

Roman, glared at the floor before him. “Hey! Stop tugging that hard, it fucking hurts.” He snapped as the doctor, who sewed him up. He turned to Zsasz, “You break it to Y/N when we get back to the club. I am changing out of this fucking suit before I come downstairs.”

“Sure boss.”

“No one can see me like this. I can’t appear weak.”

He barked a laugh when he saw that Harvey had left him a voicemail. He held it to his ear.

He pulled it way. He smirked. “Looks like Harvey wants to talk.” He chuckled. Scrolling he saw your messages and swallowed he had hated not calling you back but you were a good girl you would understand.

*****

You let the piano’s melody run through you and let your voice work it’s magic. Despite being filled with concerned, you were putting on a fantastic performance.

“Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away...If you can use some exotic booze...There's a bar in far Bombay...Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away....”

You almost stopped right there when you saw Roman walking over to the stage. Your heart skipped a beat.

“Come fly with me, let's float down to Peru...In llama-land there's a one-man band...And he'll toot his flute for you..Come fly with me, let's take off in the blue...”

He drew closer and closer still as you sang. You began to sing solely to him.

“Once I get you up there...Where the air is rarefied...We'll just glide...Starry-eyed...Once I get you up there....I'll be holding you so near...You may hear...Angels cheer, 'cause we're together....”

You could distinctly see a wide smile spread across his face. He looked at you over the top of his tinted shades at you.

“Weather-wise, it's such a lovely day...Just say the words and we'll beat the bird...Down to Acapulco Bay...It is perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say...Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away...”

If only you two could disappear. You needed to know what happened. Your mind clouded with worry. Your heart raced looking at him. Though you would finish the final hour.

“Once I get you up there...Where the air is rarefied...We'll just glide...Starry-eyed...Once I get you up there...I'll be holding you so near...You may hear...Angels cheer, 'cause we're together...”

You watched as his lips curled into a smirk. It made you wonder what he had up his sleeve.

“Weather-wise, it's such a lovely day...You just say the words and we'll beat the birds...Down to Acapulco Bay...It's perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say...Come fly with me, let's fly let's fly...Pack up let's fly away....”

People were cheering and clapping as you finished the song. You sang to not feel the anguish at the idea of him being wounded. You watched as Roman turned to the people in the club. They all grew silent.

“Wooooo...” He gave a call of excitement. He started clapping. ”Let’s hear it again for my little song bird tonight!” People cheered and clapped. He turned back to you, offering a hand. You happily took it and climbed down from the stage. “Tonight, our song bird will be taking flight early but she will be back in a few days time.” He addressed the club.

More cheers filled the club. With a twirl of his finger, you could hear him groan softly as he did and the piano began playing a lively tune.

Holding your hand, people moved so the two of you could easily make it to wherever, you walked. “We’re going up to the penthouse.” He told you, in a determined tone so only you heard it. He pushed the button, and you waited. Since Roman, yourself and Zsasz were the only ones who used it, you didn’t have to wait long.

It dinged and your heart practically felt like it would leap out of your chest as you both walked in. That’s when you saw a fairly large bouquet waiting in there. You gasped and looked at Roman. “Roman!” You exclaimed.

He smiled and unbuttoned his suit jacket. He sighed and leaned against the wall beside the buttons in elevator. You scooped up the bouquet. “Do you like baby?” He looked pale now that you were away from the lights in the club.

“I love them.” You inhaled deeply. “They are amazing.” The doors, swung open and you followed him out. He went and sunk into his chair that sat near a very large table. He took off his tinted glasses.

The sight of the table still gave you butterflies when you would look at it. That first night neither of you could wait to get to his bed. You shifted onto it and he had climbed over you.

You hopped onto the edge of said table, placing the bouquet beside you. Crossing your legs, you let your leg swing a little as the worry you had been filled with was draining away. “Roman...”

His blue eyes met yours as he held a finger up. “Baby, I’m ok.” He paused. “Just fucking hurts.”

“Good.” You would let him tell you what he wanted you to know.

“We handled it too.”

“I’m glad.”

“Damn,” He shifted in his seat so he faced you more. “Look at you.”

You took a demure pose. “I always try to look good for you.” You tell him simply.

“You look very good.” Bracing himself on the arm rest with his good arm he stood. He then came over to you. “That’s awfully long I can’t even see you.”

“Far too long in some cases.” You agreed. Bending over, you grabbed the hem of the dress. You raised it till it sat on your thighs.

“Much better, your legs were hiding.” Without him saying a word you uncrossed your legs and opened them. He came closer till was between your legs.

He rested a hand on one of your thighs, he gave a soft squeeze. “One has to demure and alluring while preforming for you.”

“Exactly. I can’t let anyone get any ideas about my girl.” He chuckled. “You do belong to me after-all.”

His hand went from your thigh to your throat. “Right, baby?” He gave a soft squeeze. Excitement blossomed in the pit of your stomach, that was your Roman. The glint that always made your breathless was in his eyes. “I belong to you.” He kissed you then.

You let yourself melt into it, all the worry and frustration just disappeared. Beside the taste that was uniquely him, you could distantly taste a martini he must have had before coming down to the club.

He broke the kiss slowly, his lips lingering with yours before he spoke again. “Do you remember what we have done on this table?” His eyes mischievous.

“I’ll never forget.” You swallowed. “Do you remember what I under this table?”

You saw him press his lips together. You had felt ignored that day. He had taken one phone call after another. Promising the next and the next one would be the last but it didn’t happen. You decided to get his attention.

You had crawled under the table, something he had failed to notice. You had deftly crawled over to him and began undoing the button then lowering the zipper of his slacks. He had tried to shoo you, your hands away but was unsuccessful.

In the end, he enjoyed you blowing him while he was on the phone. Of course at that moment, you had no idea what he’d have in store for you. But you still ache deliciously from the memories of what he did. He licked his lips then. “I do.”

His hand dragged from your throat, down the front of your body till he reached the now very wet apex between your legs. “Roman.” you breathed. You grew wetter as his hand was there just holding you “Yes, baby.”

The elevator must have dinged and the door must have opened but none of those sounds touched your ears. To be honest, you were only focused on him.

“Oh damn, it sorry boss.” You heard Zsasz mutter.

Roman didn’t move his hand and you barely looked in his direction. You became flustered when you heard his voice.

“Zsasz, I fucking told you I am taking the rest of the night off.”

“I..I..I..fuck never mind. I will swing by tomorrow.” What you did hear was what sounded as if someone racing away.

Roman, evilly smirked at you. “Do you think he knew I was holding you, that I felt as you got wetter upon being exposed?”

“I hope not. Though I’m sure he hears.” Zsasz, lived a floor below. Why have a bodyguard if be wasn’t close by.

“Damn.” Roman, muttered mostly under his breath. He took a step away. “Scoot to the edge.” He demanded. The reaching for your panties he tugged at them, you shift so they’d come off. He tugged once more and then they fell off your legs and fell to floor.

The thin straps of your dress fell half way down your upper arm revealing how you had not needed a bra to look that amazing under your dress. “Free your arms.”

“Ok.” And soon you did, the dress was a mass of fabric scrunched up at your waist.

He came over, licking teasing your breasts. As he stood there. He looked at you and shook his head. “Take the rest of that dress off.” You did as you were told.

All you had on now was your heals and he was still completely clothed, there was something about that excited you further.

“Watch me.” He demanded. You did. He undid his belt, then the button then he lowered the zipper. He made a soft sound and then he took himself out. He was incredibly hard and magnificent, you mouth missed the feel of him there.

“Lay back, baby.”

You did but propped yourself up on your elbows as you watched him come over, you opened yourself wider. You moaned as he entered you.

“Oh Roman.” You wrapped your legs around him as he moved in and out of you. “You feel so good.”

He ran his hands up you body. You arched as you felt his touch. Moving, you came up to him moaning louder as he entered you deeper. You two kissed, your tongues meeting passionately.

The two of you began to move faster. You could feel yourself getting closer and closer. “Roman,” you breathed, you tossed your head back. One of his hands caressed and gently squeezed your throat. You loved how he’s exert his dominance over you. Made your pleasure heighten, as all you could do was moan and writhe under him.

“Are you going to cum for me baby?”

You met his eyes. “Yes.” He slowed his movements.

“Y/N, mmm I want you to cum for me.”

You felt your release came so close. “So close. So....oh Roman.” Then you called out.

“That’s my girl.” He moved into hard and faster within you.

You moaned, it felt so good. “Y/N,” he moaned out your name.

****

Sometime later the you two had gone to lay, recline in his bed. Finding one of his t-shirts, you slipped it on. Sighing, they were very soft and large on you. Laying on your stomach, with an arm draped over him, you looked up at him and his bandaged arm. You listened to how he told you about getting grazed by that bullet.

His slender fingers played with your hair as he spoke. It was unspoken but both of you were relieved to be where you two were. Alone and safe in his bedroom. Though in the back of his mind he slowly plotted his revenge. No one would shoot at Roman Sionis and get away with it.

#roman sionis smut #roman sionis #ewan mcgregor #roman sionis x reader #roman sionis x you #Roman’s Rough Day #one shot #fanfiction #roman sionis fanfiction #bop #birds of prey #fem!reader

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the-headbop-wraith · 4 years

Text

2_37 Restoration

The vines catch at his ankles as he charges full tilt, sharp branches slap at his brow. He can’t fend them all from his skin, yet there are no trees surrounding him, just branches. Hundreds of branches, low hanging tree limbs, gnarled and sharp twigs starved of leaves – all clutter his vision. Candle light flashed faster and faster along high wall paper, shades of magenta and fuchsia crashing against his eyes. Red, blue, red, blue – his bare feet slap at the carpeted floor, the panicked rhythm hastens the wild pitch of his heart until he feels like his chest is ready to explode. Somewhere out there a mild thumping dips into a steady pace, while his legs whirl under him. Soon, he’s aware that thumping sound is getting closer and closer, no matter how fast his legs beat at the floor under him.

Arthur snapped his eyes open and stares at the other side of the wall, through the opaque plastic window of the small stand in shower. He tries to make sense of the blurry wall, struggles with the truth of the wall rather his hazy memory from an elsewhere. The door was open and the cold air kneaded into his skin, helped clear his mind. It was stale air, not icy, not depressing and icy air. The walls closed around him were as bleached and sterile as the surface of the moon. He shuddered and tightened his arm around his legs and tried to bar in the little bit of warmth bubbled against his stiff sides.

The bathroom that connected to the guest bedroom was functional and comfortable. It had two doors, one that accessed the guest room and the other door across from it which opened into the front hall of the home. It had the bare essentials, a toilet and sink on one side of the room, and a small shower in the fourth corner. Arthur currently sat in the dry pan of the shower, staring at the bulbous shapes morphing through the distorted plastic. He hated doing anything in a haunted home, especially sleeping. His eyes shut again, it felt so good sometimes to just close your eyes and listen to the empty air around your head.

His eyes popped open to the gentle rapping on the door. A groggy voice blundered through the wood panel that separated him from the guest room. “Art?” It was Vivi, voice muffled by drowsiness and door. “You in there?”

“Mm. Yeah,” Arthur called back. “I’ll be out in a sec.” He wobbled something bad as he pushed himself up by one arm, and staggered out of the small shower closet stiffly. He stepped over to the single standing sink and turned on the water. He put away the portable medical kit, and managed to dig out a clean shirt without much problem getting it by the abundance of used ointment packets and bandage wrappers. He slipped the clean shirt on carefully, shut off the water, and collected up the remainder of his gear before unlocking the door. “Sorry ‘bout that,” he choked, as he pushed the door open a crack.

“It’s fine,” Vivi yawned. She stretched her arms behind her head and scratched at her frazzled head, glasses gone and still dressed for yesterday. “I was just getting worried, and I needed to get in an hour ago.”

As Arthur stepped out of the way, he finally noted the windows in the furthest corner of the room. Bright sunlight poured through, golden and fluffy through the mild tint of fog and clouds. It had to be early, shy of noon, the fog hadn’t burned off yet. The last time he looked outside, it was very dark.

The door shut, and Arthur was left to gather his bearings. He coughed a bit on the warm air, it was probably time for another pill. Later then, he didn’t want to fool with his bag and risk drawing attention to himself.

Since Arthur’s disappearance, Mystery had relocated himself from what was once warm blankets on the couch, to the warm bed and was on his back snoring with his paws bent over his chest. Arthur stared at the happily snoozing dog bundled in his warm nest. Arthur sighed. “I could really go for coffee.” Arthur set his bag down and flopped sideways onto the couch. He curled up on his good side and slipped the blanket over his lower half. “Lewis isn’t back yet,” he noted. At least, as far as he could tell.

It wouldn’t take Vivi long to get spruced up and ready to tackle the days task. A blessing and a… downer. Five more minutes. Two more seconds. If he just rest his eyes, he’d be good.

Mystery was up. He didn’t see when the dog had moved to his feet, but he was standing up on the bed and staring at the side of the room, fully focused on the door. Arthur worked to get himself pushed up and over to see where Mystery’s attention was. Arthur wasn’t alert enough to anticipate Lewis’ sudden appearance.

There was no Lewis. However, Mystery hopped off the bed and padded over to the door, head down and ears high. “Wassup?” Arthur mumbled. Mystery arfed, as he neared the door. “Whatever you say, buddy.” Arthur spun over onto his back—

The door flew open and a pair of white bulbous bodies withered in, moaning and bellowing their arms. They screamed, “Leave our house!” and “Be gone trespassers!” as they raced at Arthur. Mystery kicked back on his rears legs, fell over, his claws scrabbled at the carpet until he found traction and bolted for the space under the bed. “You will REGRET!”

“WOOOOO!”

“Holy—” Arthur threw himself backwards, crawled over the side of the couch and away from the invading sheets. As he tried to stand upright, his feet got tangled up in the blanket and his body went straight to the floor. “Ow….”

“Ooh,” one of the ghosts groaned, wincing. It pried off the white sheet revealing Tyler’s matted hair. “Hey, you okay?”

“We’re ghosts!” The other ghost declared, waving its arms. “OOoooohhhhh!” She stopped when Tyler slapped her in the stomach. “Ow! I’m telling mom.”

Arthur rolled over and sat up. “Geez, what is wrong with you two?” he spat. Whatever fatigue had flattened his brain on the hot pavement, it was gone, obliterated. “You’d give someone a heart attack.”

“Were we scary?” Savannah asked. Her hair stood up in all directions when she slid the sheet off. “Your eyes went all white, it was crazy!”

At least he was clothed. Arthur raised an arm to his side, where he had fallen. He must’ve hit his bad nerve, that whole side of his ribs was buzzing. “I could call you a few things,” he muttered under his breath. All three turned their heads up when the bathroom door WHAMMED against the wall.

Vivi emerged from the mist in the door, hair soaked and slicked to her skull, damp cloths clinging to her body. Whatever the teens said about scary, it paled in comparison to the look in Vivi’s eyes. Arthur felt himself shrinking into himself, and he was far from the target of her fury this time.

“What in FLYING FUCKS are you two doing in OUR ROOM!” The house shook on its foundation around her voice. Elephants stampeded, waves crashed, a certain dog in a room enjoyed hamburgers for the rest of its life. “Do YOU have ANY MANNERS? DON’T ANSWER THAT!” Savanah shut her mouth.

“This is our house!” Tyler rebuts. He rolled the sheet up against his chest, clearly unsettled but much too proud (or stupid) to admit anything redeeming. “And you should be paying us rent or something while you’re here.” Tyler glanced around, and turns his attention back to his sister but she clearly didn’t want to get involved in this.

Vivi was marching forward, head down, eyes flashing. Arthur threw himself into her path. “No, Vi, Vi!” he stammered. “I wasn’t hurt! They’re just kids!” He tries to grab her by the wrist or snag her shoulder, but this is difficult to do when you have one less arm, and he’s backing up struggling to snap her attention onto him. “VIV-VI!”

“The doors gone.” Savanah had looked back and inspiration struck. The door that was once open, was now not there at all. “Um….”

Vivi’s hostile advance had ceased, and Arthur hung on her shaking. It was getting harder to see. Now the windows had ceased to be, there were no longer exits present at all in the room. The apprehension thickened, the once soft pastel colors of the surrounding walls crack and darken, the harsh introverted coloration spreads down and down, burning away pale hues. Was it a trick of perception, the loss of light, or the tones of red and purple that were quickly gaining area, but the whole room seemed to be getting larger? The walls extending but minutely, as the light faded. Vivi helped Arthur stay on his feet, though he was moving away from the lush red carpet as it sizzled under foot; as if there was fire snapping at his feet.

Mystery wriggled out from under the bed and hopped up onto the mattress. The dog’s gaze followed the gradual progress of the carpet and walls until the two alterations met at the edge of the wall. Mystery twisted around and gave Vivi his attention, one ear bent down at a loss.

“Lew?” Vivi whispered. “Is this you?” Savanah and Tyler ambled around whining, shooting startled eyes along the walls as the room contorted around them. “You’re going too far with this. Do you hear me? You have to stop.” She whips around when Arthur leaps onto the couch, one of the few areas of the room unaltered.

“He’s gonna kill me!” Arthur squealed. He heaved the blanket from the floor up over his head and buried down into the cushions. Mystery wasn’t far behind Arthur’s escape, and hops up into the thin wedge between the chairs arm and Arthur’s quivering body. “He’s promised! He swore, oh god! This is it! Dead! I’m dead- I’m dead!” Mystery looped his paws over Arthur’s back and huddled down, he looked to Vivi.

“Pull yourself together!” Vivi stooped beside Arthur and put an arm over a clear space on his spine. Arthur shook something bad and tensed at her touch, whimpering incomprehensive words muffled by the blanket tangled about him. “Pull yourself together! Art! Nothing’s happened so far! Listen to me! You—” All at once what little light had remained throughout the rooms metamorphosis dimmed, though blessedly not total darkness. Vivi could still see Arthur and Mystery clearly, she could see across the room the distant walls. “Lewis.”

A panicked shriek comes from the other side as Savanah and Tyler threw themselves to the wall, where once stood a strong and proud door. “It was here!” Tyler yelped. He slapped his palms to the door and felt around. “We came from here!”

“Where is it? Mom! Mom!” Savanah screamed. They hit the wall, screamed for aid, begged whatever force listened. “We didn’t mean anything! It was just a game!”

“She made me do it,” Tyler bawled. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” He twisted around to a low hissing-pop at his back, and shield his eyes from a flash of light. “S-Savanah.” His sister ceased pawing at the wall, and turned as Tyler tugged her arm.

On the floor lay the Ouija board with four candles burning by each corner, a vibrant flame that bounced and swayed, beckoning fuchsia light. The glossy board with artistic rendition of sun and moon did nothing, but sat there on the foreign carpet and bathed in the otherworldly light. In the center of the Ouija board was a black mare that resembled a burn.

This… it was beginning to make sense to Vivi, but she felt grossly uninformed. She wanted to scream at Lewis to cease this nonsense, it had gone too far. But she didn’t. She could almost sense his presence strongly in the room pacing around, smell the fine kindling of his hot smoke as he waited. If there was anything she had come to learn on her own of Lewis, it was that he was ruthlessly patient.

As if to answer her doubts over the nature of the scene, Vivi felt something brush into her leg. She looked down. One of the tool bags, a few of the incense sticks poked out from the top flap oddly, tips aflame. Mystery gave a low sound, a hum, as Vivi reached down and plucked out the burning sticks. She blew out the flames and kept the wicks held in front of her, the sweet scented fumes trail off as she shifts her footing on the carpet.

Somewhere at the wall Tyler and Savanah had huddled down and sniffled into their arms. Vivi began to approach the teens slowly, it was difficult to see and the carpet had begun to resemble the ripped rug of a certain foyer. The darkness that had been sewn into the walls of the room now constricted its prisoners, wound down and deep; barely recoiled from the four candles that huddled around the blemished Ouija board. When Vivi turned and checked her progress from the couch, she could see neither Arthur or the rooms furnishings, nor were Mystery’s soft coos audible.

With a breath from the sweet aroma of the sticks, Vivi leans over the board and fans the smoke. “Spirit,” she commands. “Be gone.”

Rather vanquish the hostility the Ouija board begins to spins between the candles. The board whirls so fast it becomes a blurred disk, but the flames upon the wicks never sway at its dictation. Okay.

“You two played with this,” she accuses. “This is yours.”

“No, no,” Tyler pleads. He tries to grab ahold of his sister, but Savanah just shoves him away and holds herself. “I promise. It’s… realy, it’s her’s.”

“Shut up,” Savanah hissed.

The Ouija board spins faster and faster. If it were not held down by the force that commanded it, it might’ve flown off into the great beyond that swelled around them. Still, Tyler and Savanah continue to deny every seeing it, buying it, all the way down to denying knowledge of what the cursed thing actually was. The more they beseeched and whined, the faster the board twirled on the floor; the longer the Ouija board spun, the darkness all around them thickened and loomed; closing in, tightening over the bright flames of the candles, until neither of the three could see anything but the individual candle wicks between them. Savanah and Tyler clung to the wall paper behind them unwilling to risk seeking safety in the alien light, even when they could no longer see who it was that sat beside them. Until finally—

“Yes!” Savanah barked. “YES! I got it from a friend! I didn’t know! We just wanted to know if our house— We WANTED a haunted house!”

And like that the Ouija board halts mid gyration, the darkness recedes, but not completely. The nearest walls become visible, but not the rest of the room.

Vivi’s hair was starting to dry and little lone strands begin to stick up whichever way they wanted. She was cold too, though the air felt very warm. Her clothing had been practically soaked through. “Okay,” she said. “What needs to be done is… a closing prayer! Have either of you done a closing prayer before?” The unanimous mumble was ‘huh?’ “That’s a problem,” she continues, shaking her head. Arthur was coughing, choking. She felt better knowing he was out there somewhere, at least she knew where he was more or less. “A closing prayer sort of frees spirits from the board, and also protects those that use it. Only those apart of the session can close a session, it won’t work unless all members are present.” She gave them a critical eye and raised the incense sticks near her face. “Did anyone else help you with your session?” Savanah shook her head.

“You sure? This is kind of important.”

Again, she pushed Tyler away. “No. Just us,” she said.

Vivi nods. She lowers herself to the floor before the board, the incense held beside her. “Come closer. You have to help me with this, or none of us will leave.” Neither of the two teens would leave the wall. “You can stay there for as long as you like, but there won’t be a way out till you fix this.” She held out a stick of incense. “This will… protect you.” She glanced aside and tried not to roll her eyes.

Reluctantly, Savanah shuffled forward, Tyler followed her lead. The two faced the board where it had stopped, the images and symbols facing them. Vivi handed them each a stick of incense.

Savanah sniffed. “Is that blueberry?”

“Uh-huh. It purifies the air, and it’s good for a séance,” Vivi chirped. At a thought, she turns and calls into the dark. “Art? You wanna help?” A muffled whine came, and a separate bark from Mystery. “I’ll take that as a no.”

When the two siblings lowered to their knees, Vivi began fanning the remaining sticks she held over the Ouija board. “Now, we’ll thank the spirit for sharing their energy with us,” Vivi explained. “You’ll repeat after me: ‘Thank you for sharing this sacred time with me.’” Tyler and Savanah followed without a hitch, and aimlessly trailed their sticks above the now placid board, in a similar manner to that of Vivi’s antics. “‘We appreciate the flow of energy we have experienced, and we will use it for our highest good.’” When they finished with that portion of the prayer, Vivi indicated the candles at the Ouija board’s corner. “Start blowing the candles out—”

“Blowing the candles out,” Tyler blurted. Savanah nudged him in the side and he winced.

“It will be fine,” Vivi assured. “Do it slowly, not fast. Be respectful.” She waited as the two teens took a candle each to blow out. “Say now: ‘As we blow out these candles,’” Savanah and Tyler begin to repeat, between snuffing out the candle light. The bright halo around their epicenter dims but doesn’t black out the transparent illumination completely. “‘We close the sacred space, and ask that your protection surrounds us wherever we go today.’” Vivi dips her head. “Thank you two, that was very good.”

“It’s dark,” Tyler’s voice whimpered. There was a crackling sound, and Tyler was groaning again.

“Is not, the lights coming back on,” Savanah said. And Vivi saw it was true, the air and walls about them was brightening and Vivi could see Savanah pointing up. “Look! The light’s working again.”

The light in the low ceiling gradually brightened, revealing a room restored, a small comfortable room with beige carpet and soft pastel walls. And doors.

Once the two saw that the door was returned, they tore away from the abandoned Ouija board and smoking candles on the floor. The two fought to reach the doorknob, and spent more time fighting over the door that it took a full minute before one of them, Vivi wasn’t sure who precisely, had ripped the door wide open and they tumbled out into the hall. Their rapid footfalls clambered down the hall and soon the room was again subdued and quiet, and preferable.

Coughing, Arthur pokes his head up from the blanket and looked around. “Vi. Vi. You okay?” She doesn’t answer Arthur, she’s watching where the two had barged out from.

As the door swung back towards its frame, Lewis is revealed leaning back into the wall behind the panel. He reached a hand over to shut the entry the rest of the way, and holds up his hands as Vivi jumps to her feet. “Don’t get those near me,” he says.

Vivi was about to argue, but forfeits that and just dumps the incense on the Ouija board. “Did you do a session with them, without my permission?” she pried, as she… she tries to fix her damp pants. It was a hopeless measure. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna be giving those two good vibes for the rest of the day.”

Lewis smirked and shook his head. “No. It wasn’t my session you helped them close.” He raised his arms anticipating an embrace as Vivi hurries at him, but instead sets her hands over his.

“I gather you have some things you need to tell us later,” she says. “But first things first, we still don’t have a solution for our current problems. We don’t know the first thing about these spirits, and scaring those two did not help.” She stopped talking, when Lewis set a finger gently to her lips.

“Mi dulce arándano,” Lewis hummed. “You saved those kids, and in the process got rid of those ‘spirits.’”

Wait, no, that wasn’t what she was trying to do. Vivi took a step back from Lewis, conflicted by the whole ordeal and the repercussions undoubtedly unleashed. She hadn’t done anything, hadn’t tried. Not yet, she didn’t. She gazed at him and squinted her eyes. “Lew? What did you do?”

Lewis frowns, and motions a hand to the neglected Ouija board behind Vivi. “A candle for each spirit,” is all he’d say.

The hall clicked with the sharp footfalls of Beatrice Hirstein’s swift, calculated strides. The words of her young teens boiled her blood, fueled the contorted fury that navigated her course of action. She was a rational woman but she had limits, and they would NOT be tested.

When she reached the door of the guest room she brought her quick stride to an abrupt halt and reached out, her knuckles tapped gently on the door. “Excuse me in there,” her voice projected. She paused and listened, there was no response, no voices, but she could hear the muffled movement behind the door. “Hello! I need to speak with you!” She reached out and pounded on the door this time.

The panel heaved back from Brea’s fist and the blue manager of the investigative group stood before her. Vivi blinked at the raised fist and focused past it, to the other woman. “Er… yes? Oh, your kids.” Vivi cast a backwards glance as she stepped forward and into the hall with Brea, she jerked the door shut behind her.

“Yes, my kids!” Brea harped. She stiffened, squared her shoulders tightly as her face contorted as if struggling to compress the string of words that had backed up into her stewing rampant. She finally found her words, and spat, “WHAT happened in there? Your group is supposed to be protecting my family! Your meddling has caused nothing but trouble, and you – YOU have taken no action to remedy our plight! I am attacked in my own kitchen, we hear voices all day and all night, then THIS! What am I even paying you for?!”

Vivi had her hands up in no large effort to calm the screaming woman, she could only wait until Brea had spent her breath and was ready for some feeble explanation (if she would allow it). Once the woman had wheezed out her final sentence, Vivi offered a moment and ensured that no sudden surge of accusation would spring forth from the parched well. The children in question were nowhere in sight.

“It was an experience,” Vivi starts. Brea looked as if she was about ready to burst again. “But harmless, I… promise. The situation was under control, and dealt with accordingly.” The door popped open a crack at Vivi’s back and she twists around. The marred Ouija board is shoved through the small opening from the side, when Vivi accepts the board from the opening, the door clicks shut.

“And this here,” Vivi announced, holding the board across to Brea. “This might be the cause of your problems.”

Brea took the board and flipped it over, she spotted the burn mark on the center immediately and touched the edge of the black melted surface. “What is this?”

Vivi weaved her fingers together and raised her elbows at her sides, in a kind of shrug. “Whether you believe in it or not, these ‘game’ boards can be dangerous.” For the first time Brea noticed that Vivi was not dressed at all for the day, and her hair was very messy and stuck up in odd clumps. Vivi resumed, nonchalant. “I can’t confirm, and I doubt that your kids would admit it, but sometimes playing with tools such as this can awaken spirits from dormancy, or invite them in. Particularly, when the board is not closed properly. I assure you, Mrs. Hersh— er, Hirsetin, that we have performed our required task and your poltergeist problem has been eliminated, as per your request.”

The door again snapped open, but this time there was additional shuffling and bumbling about. Mystery dropped to his four legs and padded by the two, one of the provision bags carried in his teeth. Brea returns her attention to the door as the yellow clad figure totters out, a few bags carried in one hand, a metal arm pinned in one of the bags slung over his only feasible shoulder.

“I told you not to pack up on your own,” Vivi protested, as she brushed by Brea in pursuit of Arthur.

Arthur shrugged the straps over his shoulder as he walked. “No sweat, we didn’t nab everything. Excuse me, Mr. Hirstein.”

Coming in from his morning walk, Mr. Hirstein held the door open for Arthur and Mystery as the two slipped out. “Good afternoon,” he said to the visitors. Mr. Hirstein was not very tall, not very young, and was hardly ever present during their investigation. “Leaving already?”

“Probably?” Vivi uttered, as she and Brea caught up.

“Really?” Brea challenged. She moved over to stand (tower) beside her husband, the offending Ouija board was placed upon a bookshelf beside the large front door. “I want some proof that our home has been cleansed. Don’t you laugh at me.” Mr. Hirstein shields the side of his face with a hand as he shuts the front door behind Arthur and the dog. He had to have a chuckle at his wife once in a while.

“And I want concrete proof about the paranormal being more than smoke and mirrors,” Vivi retorts. “Our contacts will be in touch with you for a follow up within two to five weeks. There’s an emergency contact, if you absolutely cannot wait. Truthfully, I don’t think you’ll have any more problems with the house, now that this has been taken care of.” Vivi nodded towards the Ouija board behind Brea.

“This is highly unorthodox,” Brea huffed. “You can’t just abandon a family in need of your services.” Mr. Hirstein shook his head as he walked away, leaving his wife to handle the matter.

“The paranormal is anything but a perfect science,” Vivi elaborates. She wanted this done, before Arthur made efforts to load up all on his own. “The cleansing ritual was as complete as we could manage, and the spirit seems to have departed for good.” Vivi mentally rolled her eyes. “Listen, I have a small ritual you can follow that can help while we’re gone, but as you can see,” Vivi motioned her current state. “You sorta caught us at a bad time.”

At first Beatrice was reluctant to allow the exchange to end there, and was rearing up for another reason why these matters needed to be attended to, and NOW. But as Vivi pointed out, she was not ready for the day, and this in Mrs. Hirstein’s book screamed the lack of discipline these people practiced. She gave them their space, allowed them to work unimpeded, yet here they were smack dab on noon and neither of them looked ready for anything short of disappointing their parents, which wouldn’t surprise Brea. For now Beatrice was willing to let Vivi off, in favor of attending to her kids and learning more from their side of the matter.

One quick shower later and Vivi was ready to tackle summary discussion. Arthur saw her right on that task, in a hurry to get them off the hook as fast as she could manage. He was helping in the way she forbade him to, but he really needed something to do while she renewed the ancient battle with Mrs. Hirstein.

“And what if I don’t?” Brea threatened. She was at the end of the hall near the dining room doors, Vivi held out what he knew to be the clipboard with the dismissal form, and something else; not a pin.

Vivi’s voice was laced with irritation, Arthur could almost envision Lewis looming over her glaring hot holes into Mrs. Hirstein’s head. “I’ve already told you, this is standard procedure,” Vivi went on, teeth gritted. “If your problems persist, then your case will be reopened and another group can handle it. This is the extent of paranormal intervention, the same procedure would follow….” Vivi continued, saying whatever could be said to get Beatrice Hirstein to sign that damn form. Arthur could tell Vivi was insincere about most of what she was saying, and wholly relied on the account that Lewis had offered to slip them on out of this place. Lewis had seemed pretty shaken when Vivi had threatened to knock his skull clean off his shoulders, if they so much as got wind that the Hirstein’s were still having problems. However, Lewis saving grave may have been former association with the overall nature of the Hirstein’s.

Mystery followed Arthur the whole time. He frolicked through the snow on their way out to the open van, and pranced along with Arthur when he returned to the warm interior of the home. The warmth was only a temporary relief. Young Tyler had been seated on the lowest step for some time watching as Arthur and Mystery struggled in and out of the door with the few bags of supplies.

“You don’t even have a film crew,” Tyler said. Yeah, Arthur was very much ready for those long nights on the open road.

Conversation prickled forth from the dining room, most likely moved there when the setting of the current subject had. Arthur stuck his hand in his pocket as he walked, Mystery padded along beside him with a slow stride. Vivi was still at it, trying to chip through the mile deep of impervious empathy.

“Burn the sage by the food,” Vivi was saying. “It doesn’t need to be exclusive breakfast, it can even be something simple. A bowl of soup.”

“Is this all even necessary for the… process?” Beatrice sounded disgusted by the idea of leaving food out to sit for any length of time. “Won’t it draw them back?”

“That’s never happened,” Vivi said, voice flat. “It’s only meant to be a courtesy to the spirit, something about subsiding energies and offering a sort of peace. It’s a custom that’s been handed down through the centuries, and though we still don’t understand its origins it’s still practiced.” Vivi looked back as Arthur and Mystery entered the dining room, the clipboard was held behind her back as she spoke. By the dining table across from Vivi’s posture stood Brea, a plate with a sage bundle on it sat at the table’s center.

“Try leaving out a bhut jolokia,” Arthur mentioned, as he stepped through the double doors. “That’d do the tick.” Vivi gave him this vacant stare for s splint second, before she turned back to Brea. As she looked away Arthur stumbled forward, nearly falling to the floor. Mystery yelped and ducked aside, possibly making ready to duck under Arthur if he fell the whole way.

“You okay?” Vivi yelped. She sprang over to Arthur as he regained his balance, Arthur flashed his wide eyes around the room as Vivi caught him by the shoulders. “Art? Look at me.”

“Was he pushed?” Beatrice hollered, from where she stood. She hadn’t moved an inch.

Arthur gently pushed Vivi away. He raised his foot to the floor and tapped his toe behind him. “Naw. I just… old shoes.” He put his hand on his shoulder and gave Vivi a thin smile. “I’m about ready for some brunch.”

To top it all off the van wouldn’t start. The day just overall sucked.

Arthur hummed to himself as he tried to crank the engine over, yet again. It was just on the edge, he could feel it, but it just wouldn’t ignite. He slid out from the driver side and checked the cable connections on the battery in the cab, checked the cables on the spare battery that was sitting upon a dirty work towel placed on the road. Maybe it was the spare, he hadn’t tested it to see if it had power before he brought it over. He doubted it in the first place and considered just disconnecting the spare, either way, it was work but he had some hope that there would be enough charge to kick the van engine up.

Mystery hopped out of the middle seat when Arthur returned, in the back Vivi shuffled around organizing the supplies Arthur and him had dumped in. Arthur had been in too much of a hurry to do that sort of detail work, but Vivi didn’t really do it either until…. Anyway, he figured he’d be occupied with the battery for a bit. The engine ‘rrred’ at him as he tried the key again, and Arthur hummed a little louder to himself.

Branches wound their gnarled fingers up the and down the walls, the chipped wallpaper was splint over the deformed knots. The deeper he ran through the gloomy halls, the snugger the walls wound about him. It felt like the tangles of branches were closing in over his head, Arthur stooped forward as he ran in a breathless panic, seeking the smallest chip in the twilight that would deliver him from the suffocation. Heat burned up his lungs and through his chest, his eyes watered. He wanted to scream for help, call out for his friends. The only sound he could manage was a thick gurgle as he spiraled down and down.

Arthur felt his hand trembling at the steering wheel. He couldn’t feel his arm. It was a hellish sensation, too familiar. He coughed a bit on the soreness and leaned back into the car seat. The seat beside him was empty, there had been something like comfort in the vacant space. Then it was filled up with a dark shape, colors, the sudden contrast slammed into the white backdrop of the snow filled lawn. Arthur jerked in his seat and scooted away.

“Jeez, Lew,” Arthur gasped. He brought his hand to his eyes and rubbed away the spots. “I’m gonna tie a bell to you, I swear.” The radio crackled with sounds, one of the stations they had been listening to before Arthur had to shut it off. He could have changed the radio station, but that hadn’t occurred to him when they had been driving. He just wanted the noise gone.

Lewis began to say something, at least that distorted rattle had arisen like a living person taking a short breath before words came. Vivi cut him off with a sharp cry, “Did you shove him!” Lewis winced and jerked about in his seat, what little of his living appearance he had dragged on quickly rolled off like beads of water on a hot skillet. Lewis had already begun to tuck down more toward the floorboard of the van, his skull dipped into the top edge of his suit collar. As for Vivi, she towered over the seats back and glowered down her nose onto the shrinking ghost below. “You be honest with me! I won’t tolerate this!”

“Vi!” Lewis squealed. “You’re taking this the—”

“Don’t bullshit me, Lewis!”

“Would you not?” Arthur snapped. He twisted around in his seat to more or less face Vivi down, or tried, for all Arthur’s crippling intimidation could manage. “I tripped, I told you! That iz what happened. What, you think I’m lying? WHY? Why don’t you believe me?” He couldn’t keep their eyes locked, Arthur had to spin away and go back at the engine. “Accidents happen,” he sputtered, as he fumbled around the steering wheels base. “And you can’t always just blame someone. Hold on, gimmie a sec.” He tried the key again, gave it a little twist of his wrist and the engine blared to life, strong and proud, a guttural snarl of fossil fuels surging through its pipes. “See! There, got it!” Arthur slung out of his seat and hurried to the vans front, nearly slipping on the ice as he went.

Vivi sighed. She watched Arthur’s shape flash out of sight beyond the raised hood of the van. Lewis remained pinned where he was at the floorboard, his dark eye sockets stare up at her imploringly. “Tell me why,” Vivi murmurs.

The faint lights in Lewis’ skull flash. “I… didn’t. He— he’ll need help with that battery.” Vivi pushed him down by his shoulder when Lewis tried to rise up, and used Lewis as leverage to swing over the bench seat.

“They’re probably watching,” she snarled. This was probably more than true. “Just stay here and out of trouble.” She aimed a hard stare and a finger back at Lewis’, as she backpedaled around the front of the van to join Arthur.

The hood cracked down, the whole van shaking with the force and Vivi talking over the sound of the engines rumble. She was grumbling about Arthur doing too much, overworking himself or something and an arm. While it was all clear Lewis pulled himself up over the backseat and lowered into the vans back. Mystery was there, paws on his ears and eyes perked up toward Lewis as the ghost settled down.

“Um…” Lewis began, skull raising an inch out of his suit collar. “I’ll just… wait over here.” Mystery didn’t question it. Simultaneously, the two look to the vans back when the doors tore open.

“You’re just gonna rest a’while and I’ll drive first! Move Mystery,” Vivi shot. She waved a hand Mystery’s way, and the dog relocated himself to corner of the van opposite to Lewis’ current occupation. “Thank you.” Vivi fumbled one handed for the floor latch imbedded in the carpet, and heaved up the hidden panel in the floor. “No! I don’t need your help. You’ve done enough helping! You’ve helped enough to cover for the next five thousand years!”

Lewis slinked back into his corner and shared a glance with Mystery. While Vivi loaded in the heavy battery, Arthur climbed up into the van on the driver side.

“I am capable of driving,” Arthur mumbled. “For the first few—”

“I don’t wanna hear it!” Vivi cut in. She punctuated with the slamming of the floor compartment, and the shutting of the back doors. Her voice continued, as it tracked along the side of the van towards the driver side. “I need something to get my mind of this insult to our trade, or I might just… UGH! Lemme get inside! Scoot! Scoot over!” Arthur complied, fearful of the tone in Vivi’s voice. He shut the passenger door and Vivi hauled the driver side door shut. The engine still grumbled its moody hum, and fog spewed along the side of the windshield. Vivi gave a shrill cry and beat at the steering wheel with her fists.

Lewis raised his head up and exchanged a fearful look with Arthur. Poor-poor Arthur, pinned by the passenger door, unable to work door handles when he was in a state of panic. Lewis almost felt sorry for him.

“Are… you okay?” Arthur mumbled.

“Those… PEOPLE!” Vivi fumed, still smacking at that poor steering wheel. Arthur wanted to remind her that he had barely gotten the engine started, but he wasn’t ready to become the next target of her wrath. If he remained small and helpless, Arthur would be safe. In theory, that is.

Mystery pulled himself up on his front paws and looked Arthur’s way, but the dog seemed to snicker at the scene instead.

“I take it after all that heart-to-heart, you two never saw eye-to-eye?” Arthur chanced, barely above a whisper. He regretted it immediately when he spoke, and hoped Vivi didn’t hear that.

“WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CLUE?”

She heard.

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smilingformoney · 5 years

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Platinum Diamond Scene: Shore Thing

You: After being cooped up for so long, I deserve to let loose! Zadie: Glad to see it’s a perfect fit. Although I did the measurements, so… Avery: You look heavenly, Cadence. Raleigh: Yeah, swim over my way, won’t you? A few minutes later, while Zadie lies out in a beach chair to sunbathe and Hank keeps an eye out from the pier, you race to the edge of the dock with Avery and Raleigh. You: Wooooo! You all leap into the water. Avery does a swan dive. Raleigh pulls a chaotic cannonball. You: The water’s so refreshing. It’s the perfect day for this! Raleigh: C’mon. Let’s play with Avery’s new toys. Avery: Definitely! Let’s hop on!

JET SKI -Whoa, nice!

Who do you race against? -Avery

Avery: Alright, you’re on! You both hop onto your jet skis and don life vests. Raleigh plays referee, raising their arm up. Raleigh: Finish line is the small island on the other side! Ready… set… go!