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shannonisawitch · 5 years

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Yacht Club

Mc buys a yacht and takes her future wifey for a cruise 💋

Sonia x MC

Sonia stood at the end of a dock and scoffed at the scrap of paper she held in her hand. The coordinates scribbled on the paper led to a spot off the coast of the Bahamas, a spot in the middle of the fucking ocean. She hadn’t believed it at first, thought that maybe there was a mistake, but the bartender at the tiny bar at the head of the dock had assured her that yes, the coordinates were indeed the middle of the ocean.

“Excuse me, miss?”

Sonia turned to face an older man, a captain’s hat covering his graying hair. “Yes?”

“What coordinates do you have?”

Slightly baffled, Sonia raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“I was sent to receive a visitor for my boss, Fiera. A chase is in effect, and the finish line is near.”

Sonia smiled at the code and handed the man the slip of paper. “Mind telling me why these coordinates are going to take us to the middle of the ocean?”

“Afraid I’m on strict orders to tell you nothing and bring you to the coordinates at your earliest convenience.”

“Alright,” Sonia shrugged. “Off we go then, captain.”

“Please, call me Simon. Boat’s this way.”

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After almost drowning in a small boat several months ago, it was safe to say that Sonia was not currently a big fan of the small motor boat moving farther out to sea. They passed islands and other boats, the sun beginning to sink below the horizon, casting the ocean in a pink sun-kissed haze.

“Not too much longer now,” Simon called from his position at the motor.

The water was calm around them, a crystalline blue, and Sonia took a deep breath. She never thought that she’d find herself in the Bahamas, let alone chasing down a very special someone for what was probably the sixth time. Or was it the seventh? The things she did for this woman. Between her trying to throw every major protection agency off Gwen’s tail and Gwen lying low and seemingly disappearing every couple of weeks, they had to get creative with where and when they got to see one another. Sonia wasn’t complaining, she loved the constant exchange of clues that they’d leave for one another, hinting at locations and encrypted phone numbers so that they could at least speak to one another when a face-to-face meeting was too risky. Safe to say it was the most exciting relationship Sonia had ever been in, but also the most challenging. She’d give almost anything to have Gwen in her life every day, but that was a dream for another time, another day.

A large shape on the horizon drew her attention, and realization finally dawned on her; the coordinates were in the middle of the ocean, yes, but they led directly to a yacht. A very large, very expensive looking yacht.

“Welcome to the Ippolita! Named after the first crown princess of Monaco, you know.” Simon announced, pulling up to the rear of the vessel and tying off the small boat. Sonia smirked at the name of the boat and grabbed her bag, Simon helping her onto the loading dock. “Fiera will most likely be on the second deck, she’s expecting you. Please enjoy your stay.”

Simon gave her a salute as he turned and walked away. Sonia moved to the staircase on her left, marveling at the sheer size of the ship as she ascended to the second deck. Lounge chairs faced out to the ocean, a pair of sliding glass doors behind them, soft music coming from within. Sonia eased the door open, cool air brushing against her face as she walked into the room. A king-sized bed faced the floor to ceiling windows, giving a stunning view of the ocean. Sonia set her bag on the bed and walked down the hall, following the music. She came into a sitting area and there, sitting at a table with blueprints, papers, and devices scattered across it, was Gwen. She chatted animatedly to someone on the phone, shifting through the mess before her.

“Rye, don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.”

Sonia leaned against the door frame, watching the other woman silently. Gold light flooded the room, bathing Gwen in a warm glow, her long hair swept over one shoulder. Sonia was admiring the curve of her neck when Gwen turned around, a smile spreading across her lips at the sight of Sonia.

“Hey Rye, I’m going to have to call you back.” Gwen hung up the phone without waiting for an answer and set it on the table, rising from her chair and crossing the room.

“So, you’re Fiera now, huh?”

“The name kind of found me, and I needed a new cover, so I’m not complaining.”

“Sounds like there’s a story behind that.”

“There is.” Gwen stepped in front of her, letting her arms wrap around Sonia’s waist. “But a story for another time. I’ve missed you.”

“Kiss me like you miss me.”

Gwen laughed against her lips and pulled her to the bedroom.

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“So… did you steal this yacht too?” They were lying in bed, the ocean calm and dark before them, the windows open to let in the cool sea air.

“Hmm, I can’t remember.”

Sonia rolled her eyes and swatted away Gwen’s wandering hand. “Don’t avoid the question, darling.”

“No, I didn’t steal the yacht, darling.” Gwen chuckled, rolling so she was lying over Sonia, her hair falling around them like a curtain. “I’ve recently come into a lot of money.”

“Lucky you.” Sonia drew lazy circles along Gwen’s back. “Brown hair suits you.”

“Figured I needed to change some things up after my run-in with Ansel’s team in Dubai a few weeks ago. You know, just normal life on the run.”

Sonia leaned up and captured her lips, the kiss slow and lazy. Gwen leaned into her, a heat flushing through her body.

“I could lay here and kiss you all night, but I do have a dinner planned for us on the upper deck,” she whispered against her lips.

The two got dressed and made their way to the upper deck, where a table was waiting under the light of the moon. Candles were lit around the deck, and Sonia smiled as she sat down, a single red rose sitting atop her plate.

“A rose in bloom waits for you in the sea, follow these coordinates and you’ll get to me,” Sage said, reciting the clue and watching Sonia pick up the rose.

“The final clue to finding you. You know how to put up a good chase.” Sonia’s eyes shined with mirth as she looked at Gwen across the table. “It killed me not to see you for a whole seven weeks, you know. But at least the chase kept me sane.”

“Actually, that’s what I want to talk to you about. But first, let’s eat.”

A few crew members walked up the stairs and placed dishes of lobster, shrimp, and caviar on the table, next to baskets of bread and fruit. Champagne was poured into two glasses, and Gwen raised hers in a toast as the crew walked back down the stairs.

“A toast. To evading Ansel, bathing in riches, and most importantly, to us.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Sonia replied, clinking her glass to Gwen’s. “To us.”

“Now, back on topic. As much as I love configuring elaborate chases to get you to find me, I know they can’t go on forever. Seven weeks is much too long without you. You’ve done a phenomenal job keeping them off my trail for the last six months-”

“You’re welcome, by the way.”

“… and while I’ve had a few close calls, I’d say I’m mostly out of hot water. Especially now that my… assets have been divvied up. I have the funds to escape Ansel and watch him combust into flames from afar, metaphorically of course.”

Sonia laughed, plucking a strawberry into her mouth. “And?”

“And I think we should stop running. At least, stop running in opposite directions. Sonia, I love the short time we get to spend together, but I hate when you leave, and I hate having to put distance between ourselves. I know that I can keep Ansel off my tail and keep anyone from suspecting that you were ever involved. You could come with me, and we could go wherever we wanted.”

“Gwen, I can’t just run away with you. What about my job, and my family?”

“Babe, I’ve got enough money that you’ll never have to work a day in your life, but I know you’re passionate about your career, so I’ve found a couple opportunities that might fit your liking.”

Simon walked up the deck at that moment, a pile of folders in his hands. He handed them off to Gwen and refilled their champagne before giving a salute and striding from the deck.

“Thank you, Simon! Now, in this folder you’ll find security details, agency consulting, course teaching, and positions open in law enforcement from pretty much all around the world. You can have your pick, and before you say anything about being handed a job, know that you deserve this, especially after everything Ansel put you through. You’re qualified for every job in this folder.” Gwen handed the folder across the table to Sonia, her expression serious. “I know it’s a lot to think about, so I don’t expect an answer right away. Actually, you don’t owe me an answer, just know that I support you no matter what you do.”

“Gwen, I… I don’t know… what…” Sonia flipped through the folder, her eyes wide. Positions at MI6, the CIA, private security teams. She skimmed through the packets, speechless.

“Hold on, I’m not done yet.” She opened a second folder, flipping through papers and photos. “When we were trapped on that tiny boat and you told me about your sister and how she lost everything, you were so anguished…” Gwen reached across the table and took Sonia’s hand. “I decided right there and then that I never wanted to see you sad again. So, I got to work.”

Sonia took the new folder Gwen handed her, not letting go of her other hand.

“Your sister should be receiving a job offer that she can’t pass up. A great yearly salary, benefits, all that jazz. She’ll also be contacted on Monday with news that a long-lost relative has passed and has left her a small fortune. She and her daughter will live comfortably, and safely, for the rest of their lives.” Sonia was squeezing her hand so hard, she was sure it was going to snap in two. “Oh, and the dickwad that caused all her problems is now sitting cozy in a cell at Trask Island, conveniently linked to the theft of some priceless Monaco jewels…”

Sonia sat speechless, tears in her eyes as she stared across at Gwen. Gwen smirked, trying to gauge her reaction.

“Is this a good reaction, or did I fuck up?”

Sonia jumped from her chair and was in front of Gwen in the blink of an eye, her hands cupping her face. “Gwendolyn Hargraves, you are the greatest person I know. What did I do to deserve you?”

Gwen didn’t get a chance to answer as Sonia sealed their lips together in a searing kiss.

“I have so many questions,” Sonia said breathlessly, breaking the kiss. “But first, why? Why go through all the trouble?”

“Babe.” Gwen pulled Sonia down so she was sitting on her lap, legs dangling off the side of the chair. “I’d honestly do anything for you. This was the least I could do. You’ve already done so much for me.”

Sonia kissed her again, slow and tantalizing, her teeth nipping at Gwen’s lower lip. Gwen squeaked in surprise but kissed her back with such fever and passion that Sonia felt her world spin.

“Our dinner is getting cold,” Gwen mumbled against her lips.

“I’m suddenly not that hungry,” Sonia smirked. “Only want you.”

A shiver ran through Gwen as Sonia’s nimble fingers reached for the hem of her shirt, breaking the kiss to quickly pull it over Gwen’s head and discard it on the floor. Gwen’s skin was hot to her touch, her heart pulsing as she let her hands wander to skim the soft skin of her stomach.

“This chair is getting in my way,” Gwen said against her neck, kissing the olive skin. “Perhaps we can move to the lounge chair.”

Sonia chuckled in her ear, untangling herself and rising from the chair, pulling Gwen so they were flush against one another. Gwen smiled against her lips as she walked backwards towards the lounge chair, keeping her arms tight around Sonia. The back of her calf caught the edge of the chair and she fell back, Sonia following her down with a laugh.

“I’m really glad I went with the plush lounge chairs,” Gwen smirked, pulling Sonia’s shirt over her head. “I’m also really glad you wore your lacey bra.”

Sonia rolled her eyes but laughed again, raking her nails down Gwen’s back as she rolled her hips.

“Fuck, that was hot,” Gwen groaned, leaning back on her elbows to watch Sonia move above her. “But something needs to be done before we go any further or I’m going to go crazy.”

“Pants. Off.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Sonia stood quickly to pull off her pants while Gwen shimmied out of hers. Sonia was back on top of her in a moment, grinding into her while Gwen let her fingers wander to the clasp of her bra.

“Do you know what Fiera means, my love?” Gwen whispered, kissing the shell of her ear.

“Enlighten me,” Sonia mumbled against her jaw.

“Wild animal.”

“I hope you live up to your name then, Fiera.”

Intense heat ran through Gwen’s body as Sonia started kissing down her chest, her hands lost in Sonia’s hair as she moved lower.

“I thought you weren’t hungry,” Gwen said with a smirk, gasping when Sonia nipped at the inside of her thigh.

“Shut it, Fiera.”

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Sonia woke the next morning to the soft sound of the yacht moving through the waves, the sheets cool underneath her, the sun warm on her sore limbs as it seeped through the massive windows. She felt completely at ease, and completely sated. Remembering last night, she smiled and opened her eyes, but the bed was empty beside her.

She sat up in the bed and yawned, stretching her arms above her head, looking out at the crystal blue waters moving swiftly past. Gwen stood at the railing, her hair loose around her shoulders, a robe tide loosely around her. Sonia gathered the top sheet off the bed and wrapped it around her, moving out of the cabin to stand on the deck. Gwen turned at the sound of footsteps, a smile gracing her lips.

“Good morning, mi amor.” The term of endearment rolled off her tongue, and Sonia smiled brighter.

“Good morning, lover.” Sonia stepped behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her chin on Gwen’s shoulder. The yacht was moving swiftly past scattered islands, the sun bright on the horizon. “Where are we off to?”

“It’s a surprise.” Gwen covered Sonia’s hands with her own, leaning into her. “Did you sleep well?”

“Exceptionally. Best sleep I’ve had in months.”

“Good.” Gwen turned her head and gave her a chaste kiss as the boat slowed beneath them.

“I thought about your offer. It only took me a few moments to decide, but I think I’d like to run away with you, Gwen Hargraves.”

Gwen turned in her arms, looking into her eyes. “Are you sure?”

“I haven’t been more sure of anything else in my life,” Sonia says with a laugh. “It will be a new adventure.”

Gwen kisses her again, emotion heavy on her lips. They stand there for a moment, leaning against one another.

“Thank goodness, because honestly I was running out of clever clues to leave you.”

Light laughter dances on the breeze as Sonia buries her nose in Gwen’s neck, drinking in the scent of her sunkissed skin. “I decided last night, as soon as you handed me that second folder. I don’t want to live without you.”

“And now you’ll never have to.”

They stand in the sun, basking in the moment of just being together.

“I think we’re just about there, shall we go get dressed?” Gwen asks after several minutes, running her hands up and down Sonia’s arms.

“If we must.”

“Bikinis are mandatory.”

“Did you book an island?” Sonia asked, turning to look over the side of the boat, an island not too far away.

“Babe, I bought an island.” Gwen turned out of Sonia’s arms, sauntering back into the cabin, shooting Sonia a smirk over her shoulder.

“Son of a bitch. I could get used to having a sugar momma.”

Gwen’s laughter filled the cabin.

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The beach was pristine, the white sand near blinding in the afternoon sun. A breeze ruffled Sonia’s hair as she flipped through one of the job packets, the folder on her lap and a highlighter in hand, Gwen’s head cradled on her thighs as they lounged in the sand under the shade of an umbrella.

“You’re such a nerd with your highlighter.”

“I want to go through and check every specification. I don’t want to deal with another Ansel.”

“Don’t worry, I only picked jobs that would put you under excellent management. The CIA liaison is probably my favorite, besides the last option, of course.”

Sonia flipped through the folder, pulling out the last packet, a smile tugging at her lips. “Really? Security detail for your heist team?”

“We could use your expertise. And I hear the leader is fantastic.”

Sonia swatted Gwen with the folder and they both laughed.

“Ok. I’ll keep it in mind with my top contenders.” Sonia said it in all seriousness.

Gwen sat up, regarding her. “Really?”

“Why not? It’s still for the greater good, is it not?”

“It most definitely is.”

Sonia spun around at the voice, Gwen grinning cheekily as she stood.

“Glad you could finally make it, Rye.”

Rye wrapped her in a hug. “I missed you. And, well, hanging out on your private island was an invitation I couldn’t pass up.”

Gwen laughed, sitting down next to Sonia. “Sonia, allow me to formerly introduce you to Ryland York. Strategist, smooth talker, and my very best pal.”

“Pleasure to officially meet you, you know, without trying to arrest you and all that.”

Rye chuckled, reaching down to shake Sonia’s hand. “The pleasure is all mine. I’m just glad Gwen found someone that will put up with her head strong attitude and her horrible jokes.”

Gwen nudged him playfully. “Did Eris come to?”

“Yeah, she’s still asleep on the yacht. Graves and Jones are with us too. Samira will talk via video chat, Fabian said he’d meet us here, and Sibil said something about a cruise ship?”

“Wow, I buy a yacht and suddenly everyone follows suit.”

“Guess we’re officially a yacht club.”

“Good thing we have this island to hold our… yacht club meetings.”

“Should I be present during these ‘yacht club’ meetings?” Sonia asked, raising a perfect eyebrow.

“Of course. You’re a member by association now.” Gwen kissed her shoulder, leaning against her.

Rye smiled at the two of them, leaning back into the sand. “Welcome to the yacht club, Sonia.”

#this was supposed to be a short drabble hahaha i got carried away #sonia got mc whipped honestly #i'm adopting everyone on the heist team #sonia x mc #mc x sonia #thm sonia #the heist monaco #the heist: monaco #choices #choices stories you play #choices fanfiction #shan writes fic #oh and yeah this got a little steamy and i wanted to keep going but idk how it would turn out #don't worry i'm working on prompt requests still!#send me prompts if you want fam #it might take me a bit to write them but i promise i'm working on them ok

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eleanor-writes-stuff · 5 years

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a language of its own - Day 8

“And the heart is hard to translate, it has a language of its own.”

All the ways Rey and Ben say “I love you”.

Second update of the day for my 12-day Valentine’s collection! This ficlet (plus 400 words, give or take) is brought to you by the prompt a rub my back after work kind of love, and features a bonus Han appearance. I hope y’all like it!

12 Days of Valentine’s Also available on AO3 Psst, you can also find me on Twitter and Ko-fi!

Ben tries not to take calls at his desk.

Snoke has done the best he can, assigning Ben to a desk at the far end of the open-plan office to give him as much privacy as possible, but out of sight doesn’t mean out of earshot, and he’d rather not risk his colleagues eavesdropping on him. Competitive environments are nothing new to him, but this workplace takes that a whole new level – not that surprising, given who his coworkers are and what they used to do before deciding to monetize their connections. Welcome to the cutthroat world of lobbying, Gwen Phasma had deadpanned on his first day, and it was only his nerves that had kept him from laughing at what he’d so confidently assumed to be a joke.

And then Mitaka had helpfully caught him up on all the office drama, including the fact that they’ve lost four people in the last three months due to backstabbing and blackmail, and Ben hasn’t so much as smiled at a colleague since.

So yes, Ben tries not to take calls at his desk. But when his phone starts buzzing insistently and the word Dad lights up his screen, he finds himself reaching out on instinct alone. Because Han never calls, especially not when he knows Ben is at work, which can only mean…

Rey.

“Dad?”

“Oh, good,” Han mumbles, sounding a little taken aback. “You actually answered your phone. Good.”

The lack of urgency in his father’s voice banishes the worst of his fears, but Ben remains on guard. “I thought it might be an emergency–”

“I wouldn’t call it an emergency, but–”

Ben inhales sharply. “What happened? Is she okay? Where is she?”

“Slow down there, lover boy!” Han tells him with a gruff bark of laughter. “She’s fine, just slipped on some oil and landed pretty hard on her shoulder. Chewie and I tried to take her to the hospital, but you know how she is. Even wanted to go right back to work, but I put my foot down and made her go home early.”

“Thank you,” Ben sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tries to calm down. A fall, his father said, and thank god she didn’t land on her head because there’s no way Rey would have allowed herself to be admitted for observation, not even at the risk of being concussed.

His father grunts in response, the only non-sarcastic way he has of saying you’re welcome. “Just did what any decent boss would do. Anyway, she’s probably going to try to keep this from you, so I thought I’d go ahead and let you know.”

It’s… surprisingly thoughtful of him, especially since Han and Rey are both card-carrying members of the walk it off club when it comes to injuries. “Thanks, dad. Seriously… thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Han mumbles, and he can almost see his father uncomfortably shrugging his thanks off with a dismissive wave. “Now go check on your girlfriend, will ya? Can’t have my best mechanic working with a bum shoulder.”

Out of gratitude, Ben lets the best mechanic comment slide and even considers not telling Rey about it. He powers down his computer as he trades goodbyes with Han, and makes a stop at the sole occupied desk within twenty feet of him on his way out.

“Hey, Mitaka, if anyone asks where I went tell them I had a medical emergency, will you?”

Snoke’s going to fucking skin him for this, he knows, but that’s for future Ben to deal with. Besides, he’s already on thin ice with his boss as it is for cutting back on his overtime these past three weeks, so it’s not like things can get any worse.

He hurries off before Mitaka can even form a reply, walking towards the elevators as quickly as he can without breaking into a flat-out run. In the car he thinks of calling Rey, but if she knows he’s coming she’ll just do everything in her power to act okay.

Traffic starts to build up behind him, but Ben manages to get ahead of it and reach home in less than thirty minutes. He races up the stairs, too keyed up to wait for the elevator, and unlocks the door as quietly as possible before he steps in and finds Rey on the couch, poking her shoulder with a frown on her face and an icepack in her other hand.

“Ben! Why are you–” One look at the concern on his face and a scowl appears on her face. “Han told you, didn’t he?”

“You should’ve told me,” Ben says, unable to keep from scolding her as he drops his messenger bag by the door and takes quick, long strides over to the couch. “Here, let me see.”

He shoots Rey a sharp look when she looks as if she might protest, and carefully tugs her shirt down her arm when she presents her shoulder to him. “No bruising,” Ben murmurs as he traces the area with his fingertips.

“Because it’s nothing,” Rey huffs, shrugging her shirt back up. “You didn’t need to come home. Snoke’s not going to be happy–”

Ben gets up from the couch. “Screw Snoke,” he says dismissively as he heads into their bedroom to retrieve the bottle of lavender body oil Rey keeps on her nightstand. She likes rubbing it into her arms before bed, the kind of small luxury that had been unimaginable in her previous life and brings her so much joy now, and the scent soothes them both; more than once he’s woken up from an unsettling dream only to press his nose to her wrist and let himself be lulled back to sleep.

“Seriously, babe, it’s nothing to be worried about,” Rey insists as he returns with the oil, and the way she bites down on her lip when she spots the dark bottle in his hand is all he needs to spur him into action. If she truly weren’t in pain, she would’ve turned down his offer before he could even make it.

Instead she remains silent as Ben helps her out of her shirt, carefully maneuvering around her shoulder so that she doesn’t have to move it too much, and turns to present her back to him without prompting.

She hisses a bit when he first applies pressure, but the tension soon flows out of her shoulders once her muscles are warm and loose. Ben works in silence, stopping only to place a kiss on her temple when Rey leans back and melts into him with a sigh.

“Thank you,” she whispers, lips brushing against the curve of his shoulder.

“It’s nothing,” Ben assures her as his hands travel further down her back. As sore as he is from sitting at a desk all day, he can only imagine the kind of strain her work puts on her muscles; might as well help her deal with that while he’s at it.

“Ben,” Rey says sharply, sitting up straight and turning to look at him over her shoulder. “You left work early and pissed off your boss just to come home and give me a back rub. That’s not nothing.”

But it is to him. It’s such a small thing compared to everything else he would do for her, to all the things he wants to give her. One hand settles on her waist and gently turns her around to face him. “You know I’d do anything for you, right?”

Rey stares at him for a moment before she leans in to touch her forehead to his. “I’m beginning to see that,” she mumbles against his lips.

Are you? Ben wonders. Is she really beginning to see just how ridiculously head over heels, would-die-for-you in love he is? She pulls back to smile at him, and there’s too much serenity in her eyes for her to be in possession of that knowledge.

What he feels for her… it would send her running for the hills. Hell, some days it makes him want to run for the hills. It’s all too much, too soon – Rey doesn’t even want to talk about the future yet, and here he is, ready to marry her right this second if she’d allow him the privilege.

Too much. Too soon.

“Turn back around,” Ben tells her after a quick peck. “I’m not done yet.”

“You’re too good to me,” Rey sighs happily as she settles back into her earlier position.

You’re too good for me, he thinks, and wonders if she’ll ever stop feeling like a dream that’s too good to be true.

Second update of the day! I'm hoping to post Day 9 later tonight, but that one's gonna be a bit heavy to write so we'll see how it goes.

Some (okay, most) of you have expressed concern for the remaining ficlets, but rest assured that this is first and foremost a fluffy love story so the HEA is guaranteed. There will be ups and downs, since this follows the first year of their relationship and the first few months of their lives post-college as they try to figure things out, but they'll figure it all out together and come out stronger for it, I promise.

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! And please don't hesitate to like/reblog/comment, because those give me something to smile about while I'm stuck in bed coughing my lungs up.

#reylo #rey x ben #kylo ren/rey #rey/kylo ren #rey/ben solo #star wars #rey #ben solo #kylo ren #ficlet: language of its own #my fics

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andrewmoocow · 5 years

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Fooly Falls 2 Ride on Shooting Star chapter 5: Ex-Partners in Crime (originally posted on May 30, 2019)

AN: And now the end is near. And so we face, the final curtain. My fans, I'll say it clear. I'll finish this tale, of course I am certain. I've wrote this sequel, I improved the source with my own flair. But after all of this, the climax is getting there. WKUHH ERBV, ZLWK GLVFRUG XQZDQWHG WZR ROG IULHQGV, ZLWK SDVWV IRUHYHU KDXQWHG RQH PDQ, DQ DQVZHU PDGH KLP GDXQWHG GHVWLQB OHIW WR EH DQVZHUHG, DQG WKHB'UH JRQQD EH HAKDXVWHG

In the style of an old black and white film, an assembly of giant irons stood perfectly single file before the setting sun. Gwen quietly watched before turning away and picked a bottle up off the ground. She then discovered a dejected worker sitting in front of a campfire with his hardhat the only splash of color. Gwen examined the sight before her when she also discovered the outline of a skeleton beneath her feet, where she placed the bottle in the center of its chest. Just then the girl dropped to her side in pain, discovering a small disk stuck in her foot that she gave to the skeleton to serve as an eye. As a nearby engine roared, steam from a structure decorated with irons covered the monochrome land like a sandstorm, sweeping her up along the way. When Gwen opened her eyes, she laid in a colorful body of water with her beanie in hand. Then the world suddenly turned greyscale as she excitedly ran along the shoreline while the Medical Mechanica factory continued to stand upright.

-- Ian whistled a familiar tune while tuning up a large computer monitor nestled within Ford's study. "Ride on shooting star. Yabba dabba doo, somethi-ing." he quietly sang while making a few final touches and dismounted from his maintenance creeper. "Okay, main screen turn on?" "Yeah, main screen turn on." Dipper answered turning to a certain someone tied up and fast asleep in a chair. "Rise and shine old friend." he announced placing a freshly cooked chicken leg under Haruko's nose, and the delicious scent wafting into it finally woke her up. "W-what happened?" she asked slowly beginning to wake up. "Last thing I remember was working on something before there was this napkin that covered me and-hey!" "There's no escaping this Raharu. You will give us the answers on your past that we've been searching for!" Ford declared dramatically stepping out of the shadows. "And perhaps some clues on what you're planning this time. Kanda?" "Will do." Tsukata replied hooking the Vespa Woman up to the machine with a helmet resembling a strainer and the monitor finally activated. "This was originally built to defend minds from the dream demon known as Bill Cipher, but now it's been rebuilt to simply read them and view the memories within." "This could be it everyone, our biggest breakthrough!" Dipper cackled joyously as it began booting up. "You okay there Dipper? You've slowly grown more unhinged." Ian asked nervously placing a hand on the older man's shoulder before he was slapped away. "I'm not going unhinged, I'm just excited to finally see through her lies once and for all!" Dipper continued lighting up a fifth cigarette. "So much so that I've literally cut my smokes in half!" "Yeah, he's officially snapped." Kanda commented taking a puff of his own cigarette and sitting down next to Haruko. "Oy, a bunch of losers the lot of you." Haruhara japed with a grin. "You've all become conspiracy theorists who'd resort to kidnapping an expecting mother just to prove a point. And since when did you take up smoking?" "Since I failed to quit." the agent muttered. "And I've been doing it to help me calm down." Dipper added taking a break from his mini-celebration. "Augh, my back." Haruko groaned struggling to reach for her back. "Must be the ropes getting a bit too tight, or you're just getting old." Kanda commented. "Naw, can't really age." the woman responded. "I've been 19 for what feels like ages now." "How many years exactly?" Ford asked writing in a new journal. "Hell if I know, probably ever since I met you-know-who." Haruko answered. "The summer I turned seventeen, was when I took up smoking for the first time." Kanda explained. "Sort of the same with me, only I took up smoking to deal with becoming a father." Dipper replied just as Project Mentem started acting up. "Oh my God, it's finally time!" "Can't believe it took one conversation for it to get started." Ian remarked pounding at the machine. "Well, let's get cracking." After a few moments of static, a full image revealed itself as a slightly younger looking Haruko dressed in drab work-clothes with a familiar iron in the background. "Wait a minute, is that-" Dipper exclaimed while his eyes widened. "Yep. Haruha Raharu, ex-factory worker." Raharu groaned in resignation over her past. "And it was back when Medical Mechanica had control over my planet too." As the younger Vespa Woman continued trudging about her day, Ford lost interest. "Let's just skip to the interesting stuff." the scientist declared fast-fowarding through the memory until it stopped at Haruha rocking out on some equipment as a makeshift drumkit. "Now that's the little devil we know!" "Hey, keep it down in there Haruha!" a strict, snarly voice cried out to her barging into the room. He was a tall, robust figure with a thick mustache, very long nose and a comically large cigar in his mouth. "Ah, good ol' Heinzenberg. A real J. Jonah he was, really miss when he would scream like crazy at everyone." Haruko reminisced on her former boss. "Either stop those abominable sounds or I'll do it for you!" Heinzenberg screamed pulling out a laser blaster and firing, but his rebellious employee swiftly escaped. "Try and catch me brushface!" "Wow, seems like everyone hated your guts." Dipper remarked as the fight between Haruha & Heinzenberg tore the workplace apart, to the ire of everybody else. When the dust settled, the area was in shambles and Heinzenberg was completely furious. "HAAAAAAA-RUUUUUUU-HAAAAAARAAAAA! YOOOOOOOOOUUUUUU'REEEEEEE FIIIIIIIIIREEEEEEDDDDD!" "Was he really that loud?" Ford asked as the Haruha on the screen was dragged away by security robots. "Yep, to the point where one had to add extra letters to whatever he was screaming." Haruko cackled before her smirk turned into a frown as Kanda fast-fowarded to the biker's home life, where she was being harshly scolded by a man presumed to be her father. "Do you realize what you've done Haruha?!" "Abusive parent, correct?" Ian interviewed their captive. "Oh you better believe it. The old man was a completely irredeemable piece of shit who loved drinking more than his own family." Raharu declared morosely, turning away from that ugly part of her past. "And as for my mom, pretty sure she got killed by him in a drunken rage. But who knows, I barely knew her." "Your slacking off and playing that infernal music nearly got us all in trouble!" Mr. Raharu drunkenly shouted after smacking his daughter across the face. "Either behave like every other girl on this godforsaken planet or never show your face around me again!" Just then, the cruddy former apartment home of Haruha started rumbling and a loud voice bellowed "SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT! I WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU GOT!" The ceiling began falling to pieces little by little, all capped off with a steel girder losing its support and falling right over Haruko's father. "WHAT THE FU-" was all he could scream before the girder reduced him to a puddle of red. "The Cromulons!" Ford exclaimed fast-fowarding to Haruko on stage before the giant planet-sized heads gazing down on her. "PLANET WASPRUS, SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!" the Cromulon boomed. "So what, do they go around screaming at planets?" Kanda asked. "And what do they want to be shown?" "The Cromulons are a race of giant floating heads who force the inhabitants of planets to perform in their own musical contest show." Haruko answered. "My planet frowned upon any form of creativity, but I just loved sticking it to the man." "Aw shitballs you guys, we gotta run!" the belches of a middle aged man sounded as he and his two companions, a stonefaced bird person and a catlike creature, ran for the hills to a hijacked cargo ship. "Hey, the old gang!" Haruko chirped excitedly. "Wait, the what?" Ian asked staring at the screen. "Those my boy, were the Flesh Curtains." Ford stated putting a hand on the eldest Ramirez's shoulder. "A band consisting of Rick Sanchez, an old frenemy of mine; and his two weird comrades Birdperson and Squanchy." "And it's not just them. Look." Birdperson announced pointing upward to a giant red phoenix that warped itself over Wasprus. "IT SEEMS WE HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST DISQUALIFIER!" the Cromulon boomed. "LEGENDARY PIRATE KING ATOMSK, SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT!" While Rick and his posse urged the younger Haruko to not give in, she was utterly mesmerized by Atomsk's might as she slowly stepped towards him. "Don't do it babe, that's Atomsk! His power will seriously screw with your head!" Rick warned, but Haruha didn't listen and reached out to the giant bird while her hair turned into its trademark pink. A large chain wrapped around the Pirate King's neck attached to the girl's wrist and she pulled it with all her might, eventually breaking it in two. Just as Atomsk screeched, Raharu was dragged away by Birdperson and raced to the cargo ship, escaping the doomed Wasprus in the nick of time when it completely exploded. "Welp, there goes that gig." Rick groaned in defeat taking a chug out of a flask. "How's our extra cargo doing?" "Still out squanch from Atomsk." the cat-person stated checking for a pulse just as their passenger came to. "Oh geez, what happened?" Haruha moaned rubbing her head when she took notice of the old man, the bird and the cat surrounding her. "Where am I, and who are all of you?!" "Well I can assure you miss, I am not a man in a suit that will teach you the alphabet." Birdperson answered. "You may call me Birdperson. These two are my bandmates Squanchy and Rick." "Okay, we played the name game. But where's my planet?!" Raharu shouted grabbing the two animal-like creatures by their collarbones. "Well funny story babe, might wanna squanch around and see what happened." Squanchy suggested trying to break free and the future Vespa Woman took his suggestion, gazing out the back window to find what was left of her home planet. "My home's all gone." Haruha muttered shedding a few tears, but those tears were soon replaced with a celebratory manic grin. "I'M FREE!" "Whoa now, aren't you the least bit torn up about everyone you ever loved there now pretty much dead?" Squanchy stated. "I don't care, cause no one felt that about me either!" the Flesh Curtains' passenger whooped. "No more shitty dad, no more boring job, and no more stifling of creativity!" "Hell yeah, now you're speaking my language!" Rick replied merrily. "Hey, didn't get your name lass. What do they call you?" he asked putting a microphone to the girl's mouth. "I'm Haruha Raharu." she introduced herself. "Hm, doesn't roll off the tongue as much." the drunken traveler commented. "You ever tried picking up a name like the ones in the comics like Peter Parker, Reed Richards, Billy Batson or Fred Flintstone?" "I don't believe that last one came from a comic." Birdperson tried to correct his bandmate until he was shushed. "I got a great one! How about Haruko Haruhara?" Sanchez announced pretending to knight the girl with what would become her famous Rickenbacker bass. "I like it, really does sound like those old comics!" the newly renamed Vespa Woman exclaimed. "So where to?" "Wherever the hell we want to!" Squanchy answered pointing onward before the fond memory paused itself. "Ah, the old gang. We were kinda like the Fab Four back then. Rick was Paul, Birdperson was Lennon, Squanchy was Ringo and yours truly was George." Haruko thought back to happier times with a smile. "The four of us were unstoppable! Traveling the multiverse, playing gigs, sticking it to the man, making crossovers and just having fun regardless!" Haruko managed to sneak her foot out of one of her boots to fiddle with Project Mentem and fast-forwarded through many events during her travels with Rick. In particular were running from an angry mob of robots resembling ones & zeros in a city within a computer, holding a concert for tons of excited colorful fans with gemstones on their bodies, playing with a golden snail that had a phone attached to its shell which led to an entire island being destroyed, defacing a money bin and all other sorts of mischief. "But then everything went horribly wrong when we planned what I call 'The Mechanica Mission'." she stated sadly stopping at the four nomads looking over current plans. "-ere's what we're gonna do. Haruko will infiltrate the Brotherhood and rise through their ranks so she can allow us to find Atomsk." Rick explained. "Afterwards, Squanchy will break into the Medical Mechanica factory where our contact has stated he's being held in while Birdperson & I form a distraction." "So even being a first-class space patrol officer was part of your scheme as well?!" Ford exclaimed. "To be honest, I don't know what I expected." "Don't wanna delve too much into it but in a nutshell, everything went to shit." Haruko regaled forwarding faster to a standoff between her and Rick in front of a Medical Mechanica factory with armies of insectoid aliens & Medical Machines on either side, their bandmates hovering nearby on another hijacked ship and Atomsk appearing out of a giant wormhole. "So all this time, we were just being used so that you can have sex with Atomsk?!" Rick screamed as he felt betrayed by his partner. "Pretty sure his pecker is way too big to fit in your hive! And I'm really going to regret those puns!" "But wasn't there ever a time in your life where you sought after ultimate power?!" the Vespa Woman responded sadistically. "Bitch, I've been possessed by those types before! But did I use those to turn on those I legitimately care for!" the alcoholic nihilist shouted preparing to attack with his guitar. "It's no use Rick, get back here before the portal reaches maximum instability!" Birdperson cautioned his bandmate. "I'll be back in a bit you guys, gotta settle the score first." Sanchez snarled mounting what would become Haruko's Vespa scooter and charging at her with battle cry and bass. Raharu would do the same and then, the video faded to snow leaving the four men utterly flabbergasted. "So it all makes sense now." Kanda declared shutting it off. "Or at least, as much sense as a person like Haruko can make it." "Other dimensions? Wait til the others hear about this!" Ian added excitedly. "Maybe I could pitch this to whatever big Hollywood director hasn't had their reputation ruined." "At least we finally got our answers Dipper." Ford said to his greatnephew, but he received no answer. "Dipper?" Dipper on the other hand stared emptily at the blank screen contemplating over everything they just watched. Her home planet, that crazy man, the multiverse, Medical Mechanica, Atomsk. In the time he knew Haruko, her past was a total enigma with the exception of how she was a space cop gone rogue, but even that was all a sham. He began lightly snickering while clutching his head. "Ha." he flatly laughed. "Ha ha ha. Ffnk, ahoo. Ahoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo." Dipper's sanity began tumbling down even faster before his chuckling turned into full-blown insane cackling. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "Dipper, stop laughing and answer me!" Stanford demanded his now completely insane apprentice. "IT WAS ALL A LIE! IT WAS ALL A LIE!" Dipper screamed merrily continuing his mad chortling and smashing the screen. "YOU ARE TEARING ME APART LISA!" "Uh, has anyone seen Haruko?" Ian asked pointing out the empty stool spinning in a circle. "It seems Dipper's little episode here has given her an opportunity to flee." Ford observed on the verge of coming to a shocking conclusion. "But where could she be off t-Oh no." Just as fast as he made his realization, Ford bolted out of his study and went up the elevator to follow the lying motorist. "Where's he off to?" Kanda asked Ian. "Stan is holding a little wake for Jinyu," the eldest Ramirez son answered. "And I don't want to know what Haruko will be up to."

A small drum accompanied a confused rabbi singing for Julia Jinyu in front of the equally unaware attendees who are staring at Stanley and wondering among themselves why they're attending a funeral for someone who was basically unknown to them. "We have no idea who the deceased is, but I can promise she will rest in peace. May He take good care of this woman, and continue to watch over us all." the rabbi chanted before clearing his throat, switching his Jewish dialect for a growling Midwestern accent. "All right Pines, pay up!" he shouted holding out his hand and expecting cash. "Haven't got all day, have a wedding in Alabama to preside over." "Who's the lucky underage victim and their offender?" Stan asked fishing a wad of thousands out of his wheelchair. "Don't want to get anyone here mad, but it's a juicy one!" the rabbi replied with a smug grin. After snatching his bills from the old man's hand, he wordlessly allowed the audience to give their condolences before leaving. First came Senator Gideon Gleeful. Although he and Stanley made amends, there was still a friendly contempt between the two. "So how's that conspiracy against President Kitaki going?" the con-artist asked his old enemy. "Moving along quite nicely Pines. Already got the Fundshausers on my side." Gideon replied turning to Grenda & Marius with a wink and a grin. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm probably going to being voting for you." Stan admitted. "The less we need of that old hag trying to ban the possibility of intergalactic travel, the better!" Next came Masurao. "Hey I know you! You're that guy from Little Asia!" the great-uncle exclaimed. "I am sorry for your loss sir, but I'm on borrowed time." Masurao apologized before scurrying outside. "What's his deal?" "So the damn thing stood up? And it's also getting foggy." Masurao stated spying on the upright iron from below with Eyepatch. "It'll go away when the sun reaches its peak." Eyepatch responded. "Did we really need to make a pitstop at the Shack on our way there?" "Even if it doesn't have a fraction of the power it once had." his partner remarked gazing upon Canti's head while Aiko spied on the two men without their knowledge. "Don't worry, just forget about it." Eyepatch assured him before they departed in a pickup truck carrying the Medical Machine's remains while the funeral continued on as normal. Eventually the two made it to an orbit elevator area in Portland where a doglike man waited for them. "Hey champ, you training hard for tomorrow?!" Eyepatch greeted the worker with a fistbump. "Oh you know, just trying to save my money." the other man replied. "Feel free to just head on in, warehouse should be up ahead." "Good on the money sport. It's important to make plans for the future y'know." Eyepatch complimented, which warranted a grumble from Masurao. When the worker tried to pick up Canti's head, it suddenly turned on for a split second. "Hey, watch how you're handling that thing Mutt!" Masurao ordered. "It's like, vintage!" "Yeah, this is pretty heavy. My bad." Mutt quickly apologized. "That thing's a piece of junk anyways champ. Hakuna matata as they always say!" Eyepatch casually stated which earned him an earful from his younger companion. "Are you insane?! Do you have any idea how much that-" "I totes got it sir." Mutt assured them. "You know, I had a hard time throwing away my first cellphone! Sentimental value is sometimes worth the most." "You don't understand at all!" Masurao continued shouting before the other two men laughed. -- Back at Jinyu's funeral in Gravity Falls, Arnold grimly faced the wall while Juan & Jorge tried to apologize. "Please, you gotta forgive us Arnie!" the twins cried bowing to the floor in shame. "We'll do anything to make it up to you! Would you like to come with us to that new amusement park opening up?" "I'd rather go with someone who won't deliberately leave me to die just because of their manliness obsession." Arnold glowered not ever taking his eyes off the wall. "But if we bring girls with us, we'll get a hefty discount! Like 99% I heard! Aiko asked me to come with her!" Juan tried appealing to their sullen friend, but he still received no answer even as Gwen entered the room. "Fine, be a jerkass for pretty much barely any rhyme or reason for all we care!" Suddenly, Haruko abruptly barged into the living room riding on her scooter and wearing Jinyu's shades, interrupting the funeral and enraging Stan. She slammed her hands on the coffin to speak to the audience. "So listen up everybody, cause I have an important announcement to make! Kay?" Haruko declared. "I am, um, gonna get married!" she announced switching into a wedding dress to everyone's bewildered cheering. "And everyone is invited! Yes I mean everyone!" "I congratulate you on your marriage madame, but this is a place of mourning. Please save your speech til after the wake." one of Gideon's bodyguards with long hair stated. "Do we have visual on crazy pregnant biker that just interrupted a funeral?" "Noted. Prepare for detainment." his black jerry-curled partner replied swapping the burger he was eating for a cattle prod. "Oh wait wait wait, you can't inflict violence on an expecting mother & housewife like that!" Haruko exclaimed turning into a homemaker with a creepy baby doll on her back. "Now let me tell you all the tale of how my husband and I, fell. In. Love." "So my hubby and I met at an amusement park in Portland, and I was there during sunset." the so-called mother narrated through children's crayon drawings. "Clumsy ol' me was about to get hit by a roller coaster when HE swept in to save me like I was a damsel in distress! It was MY HUBBY!" The final drawing depicted Haruko kissing a humanoid red bird which struck a chord in Gwen, as if she had seen him before. "So remember everyone, amusement parks are a paradise!" the Vespa Woman preached. "Forget this sobstory, let's go have so-" "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-RUUUUUUUUU-KOOOOOOOOOOO!" Stan screamed as loud as his nearly eight decade old lungs could cut his former friend off. "Oh hey, didn't see you there Stanley! Thought this was your funeral." Haruko remarked finally realizing who the funeral was for. "Oh, for Jinyu? You guys barely even chatted!" "Don't play coy with me Haruko! You know I'm being serious since I'm not calling you Raharu!" Stan screamed while Soos & Mabel tried to hold him back. "This will be the chapter where I'll get payback for what you've done to my family all those years ago!" "Okay I just started caring, what?" a plaid-shirted man with some grey in his brown hair & goatee asked. "The rest of you get on outta here! This is between me and her!" Stan commanded and the funeral attendees ran outside just as the coffin was opened by Sammy Determined, a tanned, geeky young man with large glasses and a beauty mark on his chin. "I've been stuck in this coffin pretending to be a dead body for like half an hour. Can I go home now?" "You're excused Sam." Stan politely accepted and Sammy raced out the door within half the blink of an eye. "Anyway, I challenge you to a little standoff sweetheart! You and me, Gravity Falls pool, be there or be half of a square!" The grunkle was just about to leave when he made a mechanical arm appear to grab Arnold. "And you're coming with me Arnold, since you're just as much of a victim here." "Help me." Arnold whimpered as he was taken outside just as Ford and Tsukata burst into the living room. "Oh lord, I'm too late!" he shouted racing around the area for any sign of his brother. "I knew this would happen, I just knew." he groaned pinching the bridge of his nose when Gwen spoke up. "What would happen Greatkle Ford?" "I just knew Raharu would purposefully cut off this funeral to get Stanley's goat." Stanford answered. "Though I'm pretty sure she's lying about being pregnant." "Hey, have you seen Dipper anywhere? Haven't seen him since you kidnapped Haruko." Mabel asked for her brother while the Vespa Woman flipped him off behind her. "We just did some digging through her mind and what we found just...broke him." Kanda answered mournfully. "Who do you think is still available right now?" "Mom and Tyrone are. They're having a mother-son day in watching bad movies." Gwen answered. "Well what are you waiting for dudette? Call 'em!" Soos urged the girl. "Hey Gwennie, wouldn't you rather go to the amusement park instead? You're the one that I wanted to go." Haruko tried to make her change her mind. "I'm not going miss." Gwen quietly said picking up her phone. "GWEN-NIE!" -- "Ha ha ha ha, now I look like an even bigger idiot!" Tyrone & Wendy monotonously cackled in unison in response to the horrible costume worn by the leading man of "Invasion of The Bear-Eating Man Family" while Tyrone knitted a new sweater for Stan. "Wow, Joel Nelson clearly had no idea what made good costuming!" he laughed. "Still slightly better than the outfit he made Michelle Hodgson wear." Wendy replied. "Or lack thereof." Just then, the phone rang. "I got it!" Tyrone shouted racing to the phone, but his mother was also focused on answering which resulted in a play-fight that her son quickly won. "Pines cabin, Tyrone speaking!" Tyrone said. "Ty, thank goodness I can reach you." Gwen sighed in relief. "Listen, has Dad come home recently?" "He's holed himself up in our room a couple minutes ago after getting a can of Willy-Nilly's Coffee beans and a knife." Wendy answered. "I'm getting really worried for him. Tyrone honey, can you go up to check on your father?" "Will do Mommy!" Tyrone accepted with a salute and merrily made his way upstairs, but his cheerfulness quickly turned into dread the further he got. When he opened the door to his parents' room, there Dipper was emptily gazing at an old Petra the Pterodactyl video while munching on raw coffee beans and squeezing a Petra plush and his son's beloved stuffed pig Waddles II in his arms. "I'm asking you for a survey Nilly, do you like Willy-Nilly's Coffee?" Dipper asked through Petra to Waddles II. "No, no I don't." Waddles II replied before Petra suddenly held a knife in its tiny three-fingered hand. "Well survey says everyone does. Because anyone who doesn't gets shanked." Petra revealed about to stab the pig before Tyrone performed a diving save on his pig. "NOOOO!" "T-T-Tyrone? What are you doing?!" Dipper shouted even more neurotically than usual. "No, I wanna know what are you doing! You tried to stab Waddles daddy!" Tyrone cried hugging his father worriedly. "I'm so sorry sport, I've just been going through some things lately." the older male responded hugging him back. "Just some...revelations making me go cuckoo for cocoa." "Like what?" his son asked. "Well for example, Raharu actually came from another dimension where she met this scientist who behaved an awful lot like Stan." Mason explained. "They went on adventures across the multiverse together, playing music and causing borderline madness. Eventually they formed a plan to steal the Pirate King Atomsk from Medical Mechanica but that went south and then everything after that was just white noise." "Wow, that sounds even cooler than what you did with her Dad!" Tyrone exclaimed in awe. "Cool, kinda. Healthy, no way in Hell." Dipper concluded putting a hand on his youngest's shoulder. "We gotta find and stop her at once. Where's your sister and cousin?" "Arnold got taken by Greatkle Stan to participate in his little feud with Haruko and I'm not sure what's up with Gwen, but I really hope everything will turn out okay!" Arnold declared with optimism, blissfully unaware of the oncoming chaos while a faint knock on the door was heard. -- "I won't let you involve my family in your schemes anymore!" Stan shouted to Haruko from the other side of the empty swimming pool. "And I don't want to be involved here!" Arnold cried begging to be let go. "Please Stan, Pacifica will kick your ass hard when she hears about this!" "Oh? You think I'm the bad guy for getting your family all tangled up in my schemes, pyon?" Haruko playfully mocked standing on the other side with her red jacket over a blue one-piece. "For a wannabe white knight, you sure are quite the hypocrite." "Arnie, bass." Stanley commanded his great-great nephew as he pushed a button on the armrest of his wheelchair that transformed it into a miniature exoskeleton to help him walk properly. "Wait, since when could you do that?!" Arnold exclaimed in shock while unveiling a certain Jazzmaster for his great-great uncle to use. "There are tons of things about my wheels that you never knew about, and some you'll never know about." Stan stated taking the guitar and slinging it over his shoulder with both hands. "Well what're you waiting for? Come at me!" "Okay. Let's do this." Haruko chummily declared just as her former friend angrily charged, but she quickly blocked the bass with just her feet. "I know you're super old, but you really got no talent nya." she groaned in disappointment. The wasp continued blocking all of Stan's attempts to land a hit and when it seemed like he was finally about to score one, instead came being kicked into the pool shed. "You learned how to fight with your back, right? Cause it seems like time has made you forget!" Stan was just about ready to surrender until he spotted Arnold nervously sitting on a deck chair and got an idea. "Tag me out kid! Tag me out!" he called for the boy while reaching out his hand. "Wait, you're serious? You want me to fight her?" Arnold said curiously. "Well, this could be a chance for me to be manly without a certain duo threatening my life." The pair high-fived and Arnold picked up the Jazzmaster to use. "I'm the boss, I'm the boss, I'm the boss, I'm the boss!" he quietly chanted to himself while charging forward and preparing a mighty swing, but Haruko then swiftly dodged it. "Whatever you wanna do blondie, you gotta do it with strength!" she announced sticking a perfect landing. Arnold however remained resolute and began muttering "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!" "This is where Stan wanted to fight Raharu!" Ford explained to Gwen & Tyrone while the three arrived at the pool but instead of seeing the other grunkle fight her, it was instead Arnold taking off his sweatervest and trying to swing again. "Use your hips, arms relaxed, chin tucked in." Haruha instructed her opponent after yet another nimble avoidance, but Arnold simply didn't listen and escaped from her grasp. "You're no good m'boy, no good at all!" "JUST STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!" Arnold howled rigorously trying one last time to smack her, but was knocked down with a small tap and a declaration of "Oint." "Stan, do you have any idea what in God's name you're doing to Arnold?!" Ford hissed from the other side of the chain fence to his brother. "Don't go accusing me, the kid's just as much a victim as the rest of us!" Stan replied with a holler. "Okay, maybe I am partially to blame." "Go get'er cuz, show her what we've taught you!" Tyrone cheered for his cousin before he suddenly realized that he cheered a bit too late. "Oh right, you're down for the count. Sorry!" "If strength was measured by the hits one took, then you wouldn't be considered such a loser." Haruko said to Arnold while her bracelet began tingling once again. "To be honest, I thought you'd be better given your heritage. That's why you were taught all those things, to increase your manliness I heard. But I guess all those were for nothing because you know just about as much." As Gwen watched, something in her began trembling and her hat glowed faintly. "That's where you're wrong Raharu. You don't know anything either." Arnold argued bravely to her confusion. "The truth is, I'm completely unsatisfied!" This angered Haruko before she decided to remove her jacket right on top of the boy, which finally made Gwen go berserk. The force given off by her beanie blasted the door away and rapidly sucked Arnold inside her head. "Wait, what's going on!?" "He was right. Pacifica's gonna put all of us in the morgue." Stan regarded fearfully realizing his huge mistake when the absorption concluded leaving everyone shocked. All that was left was a bizarre black cutout with Arnold's Northwest ring on the finger. "Uh, my bad! Things will probably get worse than usual this time around." Haruko sheepishly apologized before mounting on her Vespa and preparing to take off. "I'll be waiting. She zoomed off leaving the four Pines and what was left of Arnold at the pool. "Hey, get back here you bitchy bassist! We still haven't settled our score yet!" Stan cursed angrily shaking his fists at the clouds. Gwen in comparison was utterly heartbroken by what she did to her cousin. "Oh I am so sorry about what happened to Arnold little lady." Ford said trying to comfort her. "You know, this reminds me of my Backupsmore days. Our school just won a cross-country event and we decided to celebrate by tearing everything apart. You should've seen the pool! They flipped the bitch!" "Where were you during that time?" Tyrone asked. "My roommate and I didn't want to take any part in the riot for safety reasons, so we went out for Italian." his genius great-grunkle answered. "I only wanted to lighten the mood after what happened just now, but I'm not sure how it'll work." -- Across town, business was booming at the amusement park with dozens of excited visitors of all ages stampeding through the entrance, most of them being couples. The Ramirez children were among these couples most notably Leia & Ezra, leaving Ian to watch over Juan, Jorge and Abby. "Does anyone have an idea on where Imelda is?" Ian asked his younger siblings while taking a bite out of some confectionery treats from the food stands. "She said that she got a part-time job here but hasn't come back." "While I'm just as concerned for Mel, all I want to know is WHERE IS AIKO?!" Juan cried out furiously typing on his phone. Elsewhere in the park, Tonkichi quietly observed two men fighting for the love of a girl and accidentally getting caught in each other before a red force took over their heads. "Excuse me sir, how much longer will this test ride go on?" Imelda asked Tonkichi. "Oh not too much longer." the theme park owner assured the seven-year-old. "All you gotta do is just stay right there my girl." As for Masurao, he was currently examining the park's webpage with Eyepatch. "Wait, hold on. Not that one." his senior citizen superior stated. "What? I thought it was Mr. Dodo." Masurao replied. "Don't you forget that we're dealing with super top secret stuff here, so that means we must activate the hidden communication mode." Eyepatch advised the younger male. "Go to the shopping section and push the little kiwi strap." "Which one?" Masurao exclaimed trying to find that strap. "The fluffy one right down there." On Eyepatch's commands, Masurao clicked on the image of a kiwi that led the two to a dining menu page. "Are you sure? The link went to a menu." he muttered in confusion. "Now just push She's So Chicky Wings." When he clicked on the menu item, it then guided to an article on one of the rides. "The Icarus Fall is the world's third-fastest falling ride?" "Wait wait wait, go back up!" Eyepatch shouted. "That's gotta be it, the falling one!" he added excitedly. "Uh, they're all falling." Masurao responded not knowing what his boss just said. "The one with the little emu!" "But which one?" "The one with the fluffy wings!" "You have to be more specific!" "THERE!" With a smack of his cane, Eyepatch made Masurao tap the emu which made Tonkichi appear on a video screen in his dodo costume. "Hello there, it's Mr. Dodo!" he merrily greeted them. "It's me." Masurao stoically greeted. "Don't be so sorry. Sometimes a kid will come calling me." the receiver grimly replied when another child greeted him. "Hi Mr. Dodo!" "Hey kid!" Tonkichi waved his wing at the passing child before returning to his teammates. "And any updates from Kanda?" "Nothing yet, though he has promised." Masurao answered. "But we did see the recently installed viking ship. We'll also have to deal with Immigration matters, but I don't want to rush you too much." "And what of the flower pot? Is it complete yet?" Tonkichi continued asking. "Uh sure. It can be activated at any time." Masurao muttered nervously. "The plant is online, alright!" Eyepatch declared, but their partner was too busy trying to greet a pair of girls who didn't want to be near him. "Can you please focus on your real job and see the data I sent you?" the younger redhead groaned incredulously. "This is a real job too!" Tonkichi argued. "Don't you know that this park helps fun-" "Do you think we can make do without that pot?" Eyepatch asked his colleague as the latter closed the video on Tonkichi and Aiko overheard their conversation. "I doubt it." Masurao groaned in defeat. "If you can't activate the flower pot, any backup plans we come up with will be useless!" "Shut up, I know that!" Aiko's father exclaimed while his daughter went upstairs to look for money she made off her dating service in a jack-o-lantern situated in her closet. "Aiko." Masurao called for his daughter while she frantically closed the closet door. "What is it?" the girl asked and her dad just looked down for a moment. -- "So which one of us do you think Pacifica will kill first?" Stan asked while Tyrone helped put his wheelchair back together, Gwen examined the balloon that was once her cousin and Ford collected some leftover pool water that he put into a beaker. "Personally, I'm betting on you poindexter since you started all this by bringing Gwen here." "I started this?!" Ford shouted angrily. "You're the one who's fostered this animosity with Raharu for literally twenty years ever since she first left us!" Still fuming, the scientist examined the beaker he had just used along with four others containing radioactive waste, soy sauce, machine oil and a strand of pink hair. "And what are you up to?" Stan asked gazing at the beakers. "Just been experimenting on some substances to make a superhuman formula. Just got some pool water from here, soy sauce from Little Asia, radioactive sludge from Scuttlebutt Island, machine oil and some of Raharu's hair." "How is that going to do anything of substance you nerd?" Stanley hissed. "Well, other than probably give you a killer stomachache." "It's still highly experimental brother, so maybe there is a chance of a killer stomachache." Stanford agreed before the two great-grunkles gazed at Gwen holding the balloon in her arms. "S-so thirsty." a familiar voice croaked through Arnold's ring. "W-water." "Great Caesar's ghost, he's alive!" Tyrone exclaimed while his big sister took the balloon to the pool showers. "Hey, put on a smile sis! Arnold's still out there!" he tried to cheer her up when the showers seemingly activated on command. "I don't want to remember what happened this morning." Gwen monologued reminiscing to earlier that day in manga form. -- "Oh good morning Gwennie!" Wendy greeted her daughter coming down the stairs. "Check it out, Jinyu left us so many clean & unbroken plates." Gwen however wasn't interested. "Something the matter my little pecan pie?" her mother asked. "I'm just back to my normal self, that's all." "No, you seem eerily different." Wendy said concernedly just as her daughter stepped outside and she realized something. "I've...changed?" Gwen stuttered going back inside to find her mom packing some small boxes. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Just...have fun at the Shack little dude. And tell Stan I send my condolences." Wendy said trying to dodge the question. "And also tell Arnold his aunt says hey!" "Seriously mom, why are you packing? Are we going to move?!" Gwen shouted suddenly getting angry. "I thought Dad wanted to stay here to catalogue all the weird crap going on here and hang with Aunt Mabel!" Wendy frowned to herself over her daughter's feelings before turning back to her. "I think it's time we try something different. Y'know, I always wanted to live in Portland." That was when Gwen's beanie beeping began to coincide with her bursting into tears. -- Returning to the present, the shower stopped and the balloon began to inflate in Gwen's arms. "Hey, is this about losing Jinyu, Greatkle Stan getting mad at Haruko, or losing Arnold?" Tyrone tried to console the older girl. "I'm here for you if you wanna shoulder to cry on." The balloon reached its maximum size and drifted to the ceiling above the kids. Taking a poolstick, Gwen grabbed it and took it outside where it was properly able to ascend. And then, as her beanie began blinking once again, she made a miniature crater beneath her feet which horrified her present family. "Find, the others, now." Ford muttered. -- "Hi, I'm Mr. Dodo!" Tonkichi greeted the happy couples in his mascot costume, but none were paying attention. "Looks like everyone's having a great time, am I right? Hey! Boys and girls!" he exclaimed while a group of employees armed with firearms assembled behind him. "You're all just little brats who still don't have all your hair down there! Sorry, but you're all pretty much useless!" The employees then aimed their weapons at the unknowing parkgoers on command. "FIRE!" Tonkichi ordered. "Sorry, wrong voice." he realized clearing his throat and switching to a deeper voice. "FIRE!" The weapons launched a series of red beams that tagged everyone and making the same red force appear in their heads. "THIS IS WHY I DON'T TRUST THEME PARKS!" Ezra screamed in pain as he and Leia became victims as well. "If I don't make it out of here alive, I want you to know Leia that I really do love you, and I'm basically a tsundere!" "Ha, called it!" Leia chuckled before she went back to screaming and gazed terrified at her brother. "Ian, get the kids away and we'll all catch up later! You four are the only single ones here!" she shouted to Ian. "Right! Juan, Jorge, Abby, come with me!" "But where do we find them? Where do we find Mommy and Daddy?!" Abby cried as Jorge took her arm. "Not sure, but they're probably just as lost as all the other couples here are!" Juan exclaimed racing off. The energy collected from the visitors soon filled up all the big rides at the park and caused them to lift themselves out of their supports. "They started already?!" Masurao shouted watching the chaos from afar. "I have to warn the Pines." Tsukata declared gazing through his binoculars. The attractions gathered around the big castle at the center, including the viking ship that Imelda was trapped on, and formed into a giant robot. "Captain, I don't think we'll make it!" one of the employees shouted. "We've got to do it! No matter the cost, we'll show them all!" Tonkichi declared bravely as the castle bot faced the upright Medical Mechanica iron. "They may smooth out our brains, but they'll never smooth out our freedom! START THE ATTAAAAACK!" The castle robot launched everything it got at the giant iron, but nothing worked and the factory in turn blasted a giant laser that instantly burnt the opposing machine to cinders. -- Far above Earth, Arnold's inflated husk drifted out of the atmosphere and towards an Immigration Control Center satellite storing lost items. A mechanical hand snatched the balloon and tossed it down the chute to be scanned & later dumped into the old Gravity Falls junkyard which attracted the attention of a familiar-looking robot dog. "Well I'll be. Aren't you just the cutest little thing?" Older Man McGucket greeted the little mutt. "Hey I know you! You're that spindly johnny who followed the kids around!" The genius hillbilly scooped up some of the trash from the box it was dumped in, including Arnold's remains, and put it in a dog bowl for the canine machine to eat. "Eat up now little feller!" -- Back at the amusement park, Haruko was spectating the whole battle when she felt her stomach return to its normal size. "So they're still doin' it, huh?" she mumbled getting back to her entertainment when she saw a few familiar faces. "For the record, we already knew something was up long before you warned us!" Ford shouted to Kanda when he spotted Haruko. "Raharu! Can't believe I'm saying this, but we got a problem!" Along with the Stans, Tyrone, Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, Ian, Leia, Juan & Jorge, Abby, Ezra, Soos, Melody, a very angry Pacifica preparing to use a broken bottle as a shiv and Kanda was a now cybernetic Gwen glaring furiously at the Vespa Woman. "Lookin' good Gwennie!" Haruko complimented with a wolf whistle and a nosebleed. "You're really killing it!" Gwen didn't reply with her words, but instead with a gold battering ram launching from her robot arm. "Just so we can all reach a compromise, all of you are to blame for this!" Pacifica shouted tranquilly. "Whoa, hold on all y'all!" Haruko exclaimed avoiding the younger girl by jumping on the roller coaster tracks. "Stop it, I didn't do nothing wrong!" "BULL-FUDGING-SHIT RAHARU!" Stan cursed as Gwen followed his former partner preparing to use the other Mustang to help his great-great niece. "All I did was give you all a little nudge, reignited some old passions, helped you with your dreams, s'all!" "Give him back! Give Arnold back!" Gwen screamed continuously attempting to hit her. "Wah-ho! Guess the Pines still have quite a lot of fight in them!" Haruko exclaimed before she found Dipper, Mabel and Pacifica right behind her. "Give me back my son or else." Pacifica hissed arming herself with Jinyu's Jazzmaster. Before anyone of them could fight, Haruhara surfed away further up the coaster rails. "In the end, you're no different from the rest of us!" Gwen snarled leaping away from her family to give pursuit. "It's all because you're in love with that weird bird, right? You're just another girl stupidly in love!" "See, like I kept telling you Raharu! You can't force someone to love you!" Dipper agreed with his daughter. "Oh quit parroting Mason or I'll shove crackers down your throat to shut you up!" Haruko shouted to the Pines father before she noticed her bracelet starting to react to something amiss. "Huh?" "Uh, dudes!" Soos exclaimed gazing up at the reddening sky. "Is the multiverse going all kaput or am I thinking of some other cataclysmic event?" he asked cuing the others to look up as well. "No. Way." Ford & Kanda boomed in shock. Soon everybody important to the story gazed up at the sky and Haruko realized just who it was. "It's Atomsk." -- AT LAST, IT IS DONE! I started kinda late on this chapter, but it was all worth it to finally beat my deadline. What will become of the Pines family and friends? Will Haruko finally control Atomsk? Why does McGucket recognize that oddly familiar dog? Join us next time for the final chapter of Fooly Falls 2: Ride on Shooting Star and be sure to read my other works for more!

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seanego · 3 years

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Change

Change is not something that can be considered an easy thing. Most people would complain at the thought of having the sugar bowl in the wrong place that it is not supposed to even be on let alone the whole idea of wanting to pick your life u and move not to another city but a different country entirely. “Come on girl it won’t be that bad, at least you will have some job security,” Tracy Kabongo whispered under her breath and she allowed the water from the shower to fall down her back. Tracy carefully steps out of the shower and reaches for one of the white towels on the towel crack near the shower and proceeds to wipe herself. She opens the bathroom door and the steams rushes out into the hallway. Her apartment is not her dream apartment.

If anything, it is quite shabby and there are cockroaches around even though she has had the place fumigated twice already. She peers into the bathroom to find Andy quietly asleep. Gently closing the door, she makes her way to the living room and turn on the TV, she loves watching television while she gets ready but really it is just for ambience so she doesn’t feel alone. It’s a habit she hasn’t gotten rid of from her days of being a single woman. But now that she has a man in her bed, that habit hasn’t really been shaken away yet.

Besides she thinks that her kind of likes hearing her moving around and getting on about her business in the morning. She starts pulling out her skincare products so she can go ahead with her routine, chanting some questions that Alex Hardy, her boss had prepped for her for her interview with the police today.

She cursed under her breath as the knot in her chest would not subside and was a terrible distraction especially when you feel like you can’t even really clear your throat. She wonders if reporting on the killing of the Mayor’s daughter is actually even a good idea, she is about to reach the prime of her twenties and she wonders if she wants to spend those high years in a still pitching stories and chasing them or continuing to build relationships and connections to further advance her social standing and career. But really, she doesn’t have the luxury to even contemplate those two options. Employment is something that is extremely hard to come by especially for a black woman in this country. Gwen decided to put her big girl panties on and put on some make up because first impression may not be long but they last a long time in someone’s memory.

She planned how she would slip away and head to Centurion Police Station to conduct her interview, hopefully the interview was not too long that it made anyone suspicious. The only person who would truly know what was going on was the IT guy who could probably tell that where she was after the interview if he really did the whole hacking her location thing. She put on a white blouse and some jeans. Someone once told her that white is a good color for a first date, first impressions and a great color for interviews.

“I honestly don’t even know why I believe in these things you know,” she says to herself in the mirror “but I did get this job and, on the day, I was wearing a white blouse so it if aint broke chile don’t fix it”

She quickly finishes and is surprised by Andy walking up behind her. He kisses the back of her neck and slowly moves to her shoulder. Tracy arches her back and leans on her heels into him to fully take in his warm kisses. She sighs a little frustrated with her inability to resist this man.

“No ways, I just put on my make up, you need to back up off of me,”

“I don’t see you pushing me away,” he says in his sultry morning voice.

Andile spins Tracy around and plants the most electric kiss on her lips that sends her heartbeat racing. She wonders if he knows the effect, he has on her without even trying.

He pulls away and Tracy opens her eyes to see his scruffy hair and disheveled self but his smile made him look utterly irresistible. The way the sun catches his jawline and his broad shoulders sends a warm feeling in her heart and between her legs. She quickly shakes away the thought and pushes past him trying to maintain some focus,

“If it was up to you, I would never make it to this interview babe,”

“If it were up to me you would never have to work a day in your life,”

She feigns a smile and cannot ignore the pang pf resentment she feels towards this man that she does desperately wanted to make love to a few minutes ago. He has been without a jo since they started dating 7 months ago and she has allowed him to take advantage. It must have something to do with the sex that she is keeping him around. There is a fire that started between them a long time ago and it is the kind of fire that never goes out. Even though it may get smaller, it never stops burning. So, she allowed him to come and live with her. She pays rent, food, electricity, their weekends away, while he makes music and never wants to take her with because she is not someone who fits his image. She kisses her teeth as she thinks about the guts this man had to tell her he can’t have her on his arm because it was not part of his brand. Why was she still even with him? She took a bite of the toast on her plate and decided to move on to thinking about the interview. This may be her chance to leave this relationship because it has not been one that is without trails especially coming from his side.

“Men deserve nothing,” She said under her breathe

“What was that?” he asked from the bathroom

“Oh, nothing just practicing my interview questions,”

“I am sure that you will do fine babe, you are smart and ambitious they gonna see that,” he continues

“Thank you, babe,”

This man that she so loves and is so attracted to had become an object of resentment for Tracy because of his lies and cheating and if she had the courage enough to admit she would admit to herself that another reason why she was not just leaving Johannesburg but South Africa was because she was trying to escape from this man. It felt like she was always a bird trapped in a cage when she was with him. She was good enough for him since he could not keep it in his pants. But he still wanted to possess her, keep her near him and police who she peaks to and when and were she goes. He knew why he was doing the things that he was doing. All because of his own guilt. Tracy was not doing anything on the side so she never worried about what he could possibly find. Tracy having finished her breakfast mumbled a faint goodbye got her bag and left, not waiting to get a response from Andile.

“Honestly grow some balls and kick him out Tracy,” she said chewing the last mouthful of toast.

She made her way to the bus stop and could not help but think about the mornings that he would walk her to the bus stop and wait for her when she got back to make sure that she was safe. Now all he did was lay down and sink into her couch.

She pressed the elevator button and waited. The doors opened and she made her way down and out of the building to the bus stop that was across the street.

“Time to go to that hellish place” she said in a defeated tone.

To be continued...

#short stories #incomplete #randomwriting

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astro-b-o-y-d · 7 years

Text

The Long Road Home Pt. 2

The next three chapters of SOSO are finally here! Author’s notes and additional fic warnings are on Ao3. And trust me, you’ll want to read them.

[Read on Ao3]

"I cannot believe how many people said they'd be attending today."

"It's like you said," Neil said from one of the other tables. "David couldn't be the only kid who actually liked the camp."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect our group to actually be the odd ones out of the batch, and for nearly every other person that went to the camp to absolutely love it as much as David," Max pointed out, as he smoothed the tablecloth into place. "Did any of them have anything better to do over the summer than attend some run-down camp in the middle of nowhere?"

"Most of them were born in the nineties," Neil said. "They were all about that 'playing outside' bullshit because they didn't have Internet yet."

"Good point. Fucking weirdos."

"Think anyone from our year will show up, aside from those of us already here?" Neil asked, flicking his thumb towards the part of the yard where Harrison, Nikki and Nerris were busy with their own tasks.

"Let's take bets on who we think will show up," Max said. "Dibs on Space Kid."

"That's cheating, you know he's the most likely out of anyone that isn't here already," Neil said. "Actually, he's probably more likely to come to this than anyone already here."

"Hey, I called dibs," Max said. "So you gotta pick someone else."

"What are we even betting?" Neil asked. "Out of the two of us, I'm the only one with a job and money."

"If I win, you let me use your employee discount at that nerd store you work at," Max said. "If you win, I owe you a favor or something, I don't know."

"Is there even anything there you'd like?" Neil asked.

Max shrugged. "I think I saw a dragon statue that looked kind of cool once."

"Aww, the one with the red eyes?" Neil asked. "But I was thinking about buying that for Harrison..."

"Then I'll get the one with green eyes, I don't fucking care," Max said. "I just want a dragon statue for my room."

"Fine," Neil said. "Employee discount, but only once. My boss will ride my ass if I let others use it too often."

"Pick your poison, then," Max said.

Neil thought hard for a moment. "I'd go with Preston, but only with the addition that if he does come, he'll have at least one article of clothing covered in glitter."

Max snorted. "He's probably got one of those stupid theater kid hats, too. You know, like the ones the guy in High School Musical wore?"

"You watched High School Musical?" Neil asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who didn't?" Max said. "We all had our phases."

"Fair enough."

"Fine. You choose High School Musical and I choose Space Case," Max said. "What should we do if they both show up?"

Neil tapped his chin. "Then you owe me a favor and I'll buy you that dragon statue?"

"...Yeah, alright. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Hello, boys!"

Max jumped at the sudden burst of magical energy behind them and spun around to see Harrison standing there. "Can't you just walk across the yard like a normal fucking person if you need something?!"

"Hey, I just perfected this spell and I intend to use it as often as possible," Harrison said proudly.

Neil let out a chuckle and crossed his arms. "And I suppose asking you how you did it is out of the question, huh?"

"You know what my answer's going to be," Harrison said with a smirk.

"'It's magic' isn't an answer and you know it, babe."

"Well, it's all you're going to get," Harrison said, as he gently booped Neil's nose.

"For now," Neil said, his smile widening. "But we'll see later."

"Ugh, can you two put a pause on your flirting and help me finish setting up?" Max asked, making a face. "People are going to be here soon."

Not taking his eyes off Neil, Harrison pulled his wand from his sleeve and, after a quick flick of his wrist, the remaining tablecloths slid into place. "There, done."

Max cast him a glare. "You couldn't have done that sooner and saved us the time?"

"Oh, Max, you can't just use magic to solve all your problems," Harrison said. "Plus, there was a fifty-fifty chance that it wouldn't work and the remaining tablecloths would've simply caught on fire. I just got lucky."

"Yeah, of course you did," Max said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, was there a reason you came over here, other than to flirt?"

"Well, yes and no," Harrison said. "You see, I need help with unfolding chairs, and Nikki and Nerris are busy with the food area—"

"-and you want Neil to be the one to help you, right?" Max finished for him.

"If he's no longer needed over here, that is," Harrison said.

Max looked towards Neil, who gave a pleading look in return. "Yeah, yeah, go be romantic before people start showing up. I owe you for finishing up my part of the decorating, anyway."

Neil smiled and took Harrison's hand, before the two of them hurried off towards the other end of the yard. Max shook his head as he watched them go. He hadn't quite wrapped his mind around the idea of the two of them yet; it felt like only yesterday they were at each other's throats while he was busy throwing up half the items in Harrison's magic kit.

But he couldn't help but smile at the tender look on his best friend's face as the two of them shared a hushed conversation.

"Finished setting up over here?"

His smile disappeared as he turned to see David approaching him. "Tables are done, the girls have the food covered, and Neil and Harrison are finishing up the chairs. All that's left to do is wait for the criers."

"Good to hear it." David smiled fondly. "By the way, Max, I know I've said this before, but this was a wonderful idea."

Max looked towards the ground. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a damn saint. Don't tell anyone though, I got a reputation to uphold."

"I mean it, Max," David said, as he reached over to ruffle Max's hair with a fond expression. "I mean, a memorial service where we invite all the old campers and counselors? That's such a nice way to help everyone mourn. How on earth did you come up with such a clever idea so quickly?"

Max grew tense. And there were the questions from David. "I just...did, alright?" he said in the most casual voice he could muster. "It's not my fault I better at coming up with ideas on the spot than a thirty-year-old man."

David chuckled. "Max, I'm twenty-nine."

"Close enough," Max said, pushing his hand away. "And stop touching my hair, I want to look nice for this fucking thing!"

"Oh my God, it's like I went back in time."

Both Max and David turned to see a woman standing behind them, her red hair tied back in a pigtail and a tired smile on her face. David's eyes lit up and he stepped closer to her, his arms open as if he wanted to give her a hug. "Gwen! You made it!"

"Holy shit, it is Gwen," Max said in disbelief. "The Hell's she doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, kid," she said, as she accepted David's request for a hug. "And it's especially nice to see you again, David. How long's it been?"

"About five months," David said. "And two weeks. But who's counting?"

Gwen let out a laugh. "Clearly not you. Whatcha been up to in five months?"

"I finally became an official foster parent," he said proudly.

"Yeah, I heard about that!" Gwen's smile widened as her gaze dropped to Max. "And I see you weren't kidding about fostering the little terror of Camp Campbell himself."

"Haha, why don't you talk about something actually funny," Max said, grateful to switch the subject before David could question him further. "Like what I assume you've been doing since camp, which is to say, nothing of significance."

"Max," David said sternly. "Don't be rude."

"...Sorry. Old habit."

Gwen chuckled as she let go of David. "You still making David's life miserable, kiddo?"

"As far as you know," Max said.

"Come on, Gwen, he's a good kid," David said with a fond smile. "In fact, this entire thing was his idea!"

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Really now?"

Max crossed his arms. "I told you not to go bragging about it, David."

"But how could I not?" David said cheerfully. "It's a wonderful idea!"

"So you've said..."

Gwen's smile widened and she pressed a hand to her cheek as she stared at the two of them. "God, looking at you two interact really is a blast from the past. It's like I'm back at camp."

"Yeah, yeah, maybe your dreams of a time-travelling doctor finally came true," Max said sarcastically.

Gwen chuckled. "Aww, you remembered. You do care."

"So what the hell are you doing here anyway?" Max asked. "Didn't you hate the camp?"

"Didn't you?" Gwen said.

"I live here," Max pointed out. "That's my excuse. What's yours?"

Gwen shrugged. "Look, it's been over five years. That's more than enough time to make me less angry about wasting my summer there, and more willing to laugh about it at parties." She nudged David playfully. "Plus, I wasn't about to pass up the chance to see my old co-counselor pal again, even if it was at a damn funeral of all places."

David's smile softened. "Well, I'm glad you could make it. And I'm sure Mr. Campbell would have appreciated it, too."

Gwen gave him a look. "David, the man barely knew my name."

"...Well, I appreciate it."

Gwen smiled again. "Yeah, well, you're just lucky I care so much about you, you big goof."

The two of them fell silent for a moment, not taking their eyes off each other as the other kids approached the group. "David, we finished setting everything up!" Nerris said.

"Hey, is that Gwen?!" Nikki asked excitedly. "Hi, Gwen! Nice to see you still kicking!"

"What, did you think she'd be dead, too?" Max asked.

"Yeah, but for a completely different reason than David," Nikki said. "With David, I just figured he'd get hit by a truck or something. But I always thought Gwen would get an unwinnable fight with another person who loves those trashy novels."

"'Fight to the death', not 'an unwinnable fight', Nikki," Neil corrected her.

"Unwinnable fight!" Nikki said stubbornly.

"Yeah, unwinnable fight!" Nerris added. "Like when you try to use physical attacks against a being that can only be defeated by magical attacks. Nothing good's going to come out of that!"

"You could always just run away from the being and save your spell slots," Harrison pointed out.

"Uh, but what if you're trying to level up, smart-ass?" Nerris asked. "What then?"

Gwen couldn't hold back a laugh. "Oh, my God, none of them have changed a bit. We really are back at camp!"

"Isn't it great?" David said with a laugh of his own.

Gwen's smile widened. "You know what? It is kind of nice seeing everyone again, honestly."

"So you do have a soft spot for the camp!" David said, with a playful nudge to her arm. "Is it enough to make you consider being a counselor again?"

"Haha, you wish," she said. "Never again, pal. But...there's definitely something there."

David continued to smile for a moment, before the corners of his mouth slowly fell into a sad frown and he reached up to wipe away the tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Her own eyes now wide, Gwen stepped closer to comfort him as the tears finally began to roll down his face. "Hey, come on, it's alright."

"I'm sorry," David said, sniffling. "I was trying to wait until everyone else got here to cry. But I just...I'm sad but I'm so happy. You're here, and the kids have just...been so helpful today..."

"Let it all out, pal," Gwen said, pulling him into another hug. "You cry as much as you need to today."

You cry as much as you need to...

Max bit his lip as he noticed Neil giving him a look from his spot beside Harrison. He turned back to the nearest table and attempted to distract himself with the already-smooth tablecloth, while he heard David cry behind him.

You cry as much as you need to...

Max thought back to the last time he had cried over his parents. The anniversary of their death. The worst day of his life for a number of reasons.

You cry as much as you need to...

Once again, he found himself instinctively touching his left arm. The last time he had cried, really cried, had been during his time in the hospital. No family or parents to comfort him, no idea what would happen to him next. Just him in a lonely hospital room while the doctors were gone and his social worker was busy finding him a new family.

You cry as much as you need to...

David would get the opportunity to cry today. He'd be able to mourn in peace without worrying about anything or anyone else, surrounded by people who could cry with him.

And no matter what shitty, intrusive thoughts plagued his mind today, Max wasn't about to take that away from him.

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

It was not long before others started pouring into the backyard after Gwen, and the somber atmosphere that accompanied them did nothing to help Max's already-low mood.

Most of them were adults, some a little older than David while others looked to be around their late teens or early twenties. A lot of them were hugging, crying, supporting each other as they gathered around the memorial shrine for Campbell, which David had set up with great care. Some were actually laughing as they reconnected with old friends from summers ago. All of them were dressed in black, which was one thing Max could appreciate about such an occasion. Ninety percent of his wardrobe would be appropriate to wear today.

He hadn't seen any of the kids from his summer, outside of the ones who were already there. But they had disappeared among the crowd to do God-knows-what, which unfortunately left Max alone with his thoughts.

There were so many people here to mourn Campbell. Max couldn't help but wonder if, had his own parents been given a funeral or service, this many people would have shown up to theirs. Sure, they had had friends and coworkers, but how many of them would have been torn up over their deaths. How many had actually been torn up and Max never got a chance to know?

He shook his head and tried desperately to force those thoughts right back to the farthest corner of his mind where they belonged as he looked around for David. He spotted him among a group of people who had gathered in the far corner of the yard, away from the rest of the crowd.

It was a decent-sized group, about ten people. All of them were crying and hugging one another though conversations that Max could not hear. And while most of them appeared to be more or less the same age as David, there was a man and a woman who were clearly much older then any of them, a soft, almost comforting look on their faces as they stared at the younger adults.

A look so similar to the one David had often given to the kids back when he was a counselor.

...His counselors.

They were his counselors.

More than just his counselors, that was David's entire group from his time as a camper. Or...at least one of them. There was no way David had only attended camp for a single summer.

The older woman had such a wide, bubbly smile on her face despite the tears in her eyes and she was waving her hands wildly and passionately as if she was telling an incredibly story. The man was also smiling with tear-filled eyes, and would occasionally reach over to ruffle David's hair (Max scowled as his hand instinctively traveled up to his own hair) as if he was ten years old again, a motion that would make David both laugh and cry.

David was so happy today. Well, not happy. Obviously he was sad, but he was allowed to be sad with other people around him to help ease the pain. He was allowed to cry, he was allowed to mourn...

Max crossed his arms and let them rest on the table before him. He wanted that chance. He wanted to cry so badly. He wanted to be able to mourn his parents properly. It was a memorial service; he could just cry and no one would know that his tears weren't reserved for Campbell.

But David would see him crying, and would want to comfort him. And with comfort would come questions, and Max didn't trust himself to keep the real reasons behind his tears to himself if David decided to pry. And there would go David's chance to spend the day focusing on Campbell. His chance to grieve. His chance to get everything Max hadn't gotten.

Max had to keep his feelings to himself, at least until the service was over. He was a master at repressing his stupid, annoying feelings when necessary. Okay, maybe not a master, but he had definitely gotten better at it after his year of hell.

...Okay, so that wasn't necessarily true, either.

Well, regardless, he would have to at least try for David's sake.

"Mwack."

He felt something nudge his leg beneath the table, and he lifted the tablecloth to investigate. A familiar brown lump of fur with an even-more-familiar orange bill was staring up at him from the grass.

Max felt his troubling thoughts melt away for a moment as he reached down to scratch the platypus's head. "Hey, I remember you," he said fondly. "The hell are you doing here, you little abomination-of-nature?"

The platypus nudged his hand sweetly. "Mwack."

Max couldn't help but smile at this motion. "Well, you got affectionate with age, didn't you? No more biting or hamster-eating?"

Another nuzzle. "Mwack."

"Dee? Did you check under that table?"

"No luck."

"Aww, well, we'll keep looking! He couldn't have gotten far."

Max looked up to see two other kids looking beneath nearby tables, as if they were searching for something. "Hey, you two looking for a platypus?" he asked, rising up from his chair. "He's under this one."

Both looked up from their search and the taller child's eyes widened excitedly. "Max! You're here, too?!"

"...Wait, Space Kid?"

"Oh, right, you guys never did get my name right, huh?" The child asked with a laugh as he and the other approached the table. "That's okay, I never liked it much anyway. I've been trying to think of a better name to go by, like Alioth. Or...Vega! Oooh, or Nix! That's a satellite of Pluto. By the way, Pluto should totally still be a planet and we as a species was wrong to take its planetary status away!" He let out another laugh. "But hey, you can just keep calling me Space Kid if you want to! I mean, if the space boot fits, am I right?"

Well, Max called that one. And now that he got a good look at Space Kid, it was more than obvious that he was the little space-loving weirdo from camp. He had grown a bit both in height and weight, and his shaggy brown hair now hung down over his eyes, but it was definitely him. And Max had a feeling that, had this not been a memorial service, he probably would have worn an outfit completely dedicated to space. Hell, Max would have felt safe in betting on the idea of him showing up in a full-on astronaut suit if he had been given a choice in the matter.

The other kid seemed to linger closer to Space Kid, his eyes cast down at the grass below and a yellow beanie with a star on the front atop his head. He pointed towards the bottom of the tablecloth, where the platypus had stuck out its bill. "Found him."

"Hey, there you are!" Space Kid said cheerfully as he bent down to pick him up. "Silly Mwack, always wandering off by yourself! That's how we almost lost you at the observatory!"

"I can't believe the little fucker's still alive," Max said. "How'd he end up with you, anyway?"

"Oh, he snuck into my backpack before we left camp," Space Kid explained. "So I decided to keep him! Mom made me take him to the vet and get him de-poisoned, just to be safe, and we did a ton of research on platypi just so we knew how to take care of him! Did you know platypi can actually live to be about seventeen in captivity? I didn't, but I do now! Or that female platypi sweat milk! Well, not sweat, but-"

Max wasn't paying much attention to Space Kid's overenthusiastic platypus facts. He eyes were still on the kid at his left, who was was keeping his gaze down and rubbing his hands together nervously. His posture seemed reserved and scared, like he really didn't want to be there. Something about him seemed so familiar to Max, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"-and that's why Dee and I want to see if we convince NASA to let Mwack be the first platypus in space," Space Kid finished.

Dee? Wait a minute...

"...Dolph?" Max asked aloud.

The boy seemed to flinch at this name and Space Kid wrapped his platypus-free arm around him in a comforting fashion. "His name is Dee," he said defensively.

"Oh, uh, sorry..." Max said. "But... it is him, right?"

Dee nodded. "It's me..."

Max eyed him again. "I'm surprised to see you, you know, not dressed completely like-"

"Hitler?" Dee finished in a guilty voice.

"...So you did know?"

"No, I didn't!" Dee said, finally looking up. "I mean...I did, but I didn't...I-I shouldn't have..." He hung his head again. "Do you ever look back on...how you used to act? Or how your parents raised you? And just kind of...realize it wasn't...great?"

"...Oh."

"Yeah..." Dee said sadly. "I was...awful. I did lots of things that made people uncomfortable. It wasn't right. I know that now."

"So, when'd you catch on?" Max asked.

"It's been happening for a while..." Dee said. "But I... I don't want to be like my parents. They're...they're bad people, and I don't want to be bad, too."

"And I'm helping him not be bad!" Space Kid said cheerfully, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "So... be good!"

Dee looked up at him fondly. "He's helping."

"Well, damn, good for you, dude," Max said. "Because no offense, but you really were kind of horrible. And by kind of, I mean... You were really horrible. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, dude, it wasn't cool."

"I know..." Dee said. "I was kind of scared to come today. But I...wanted to say I was sorry to everyone I could. I already talked to David—"

"-and he forgave you almost instantly, right?" Max asked.

"I...Well, he said he did," Dee said. "I just hope that was how he really felt. I...I want people to be honest if they can't forgive me."

"Well, knowing David, I'm sure he not only forgave you, but he probably also promised you a bed in the guest room if you ever needed to get away from your shitty parents, right?" Max asked.

Dee nodded. "He did say that, only without the swearing."

"Yeah, of course he did," Max said. "Well, hey, if worst comes to worst, at least you won't be the only kid in the house."

"What do you mean?" Dee asked.

"I mean, I live here, too," Max pointed out. "David's fostering me."

"David's your dad?!" Space Kid asked excitedly.

Max scowled. "Foster dad."

"That's so neat!" Space Kid said, while Dee's eyes widened excitedly. "I wish I could have David for a dad! My real dad left a while ago, and Mom says he's probably not coming back."

"Oh..." Max said, raising his eyebrows. "I'm...sorry, Space Kid."

"No need to be sorry!" Space Kid said, hugging Dee closer. "I got my mom, and Dee, and Mwack! It'd be nice to have my Dad, too, but I'm still happy!"

And Space Kid was still so optimistic and nice. Between that and Dee's determination to be a better person, Max could feel those annoying intrusive thoughts returning. Despite life's hardships, these two were happy. They were bettering themselves, finding the bright side of a terrible situation, not letting life constantly kick their ass despite its numerous attempts.

Why...why couldn't it be that easy for him?

...Okay, the answer was obvious, but the fact that he knew that the answer was obvious only made him feel worse. He knew what he needed to do to stop feeling bad. He knew it was easy. There was literally nothing stopping him from just crossing the yard and telling David that he was having a shitty day.

He looked back at where David was located. Still smiling through his tears, still having a good time despite the heartbreak.

Still grieving.

And it was enough to keep Max frozen where he stood, as he once again tried to push his stupid thoughts to the back of his mind.

"Max, you gotta come see Nikki and Nurf!"

A wave of relief washed over Max as the sound of Nerris's voice shattered his train-of-thought and he saw Dee move closer to Space Kid as she approached the table in an excited panic. "They've been arm-wrestling for about five minutes and there hasn't been a winner yet! It's more exciting then when I rolled a Crit-20 and actually scared a dragon away in my last DnD game!"

"Nurf's here, too?" Max asked. "Oh, God, I'd better go with you just so I can make sure he doesn't try to stab Nikki." A pause. "Then again, she'd probably stab him back...Yeah, I really should go with you. Lead the way, Critical Role."

"Very funny, Max," Nerris said. "But you know I'm more of an Adventure Zone fan."

"Of course, how could I forget your crush on Magnus Sideburns?"

"Burnsides, Max! And can you blame me?!" She crossed her arms. "I'm just saying, Julia was a lucky lady!"

"Whatever, just lead the way."

Nerris laughed and gestured for him to follow, and Space Kid and Dee trailed behind him as they pushed through the crowd and headed for another table.

"YES! EAT IT, BITCH!"

Max heard Nikki's cry of victory before the table where she, a probably-seventeen-by-now Nurf, and the other kids came into view. And it wasn't just Neil and Harrison; Max could see Ered and Preston had joined the group as well.

Ered was taller than she had been at camp, and her hairstyle was almost identical to Nikki's, though still blonde with her trademark purple stripes. She had traded her old jacket for a black, leather one and was still rocking a pair of torn jeans and boots (Max couldn't deny that she definitely had style). Preston, on the other hand, looked pretty much how both Neil and Max had expected him to look (Max could see Neil giving him a knowing smirk and a subtle gesture towards the glittery, black hat atop Preston's head) and it was not a surprise that he seemed to be furious for an unknown reason.

Nerris let out a noise of unhappiness. "Aww, did I miss it?"

"Yeah, and I rocked!" Nikki said proudly.

"Gotta admit, shrimp, you've bulked up since camp," Nurf said, flexing his hand. "Though that's not a surprise, you were always one of the more athletic kids of the group."

"And you put up a good fight, my man," Nikki said with a wide smile. "What was it you said you started doing, kick-boxing?"

"It was my therapist's idea," Nurf explained. "Said it would help me unleash a lot of my violent tendencies in a safe-and-controlled environment. I haven't been arrested in three months, so I'd say it's successful so far, but every case is different and results tend to be varied so we'll see what happens."

"Well, clearly you're not unleashing ENOUGH of those tendencies!" Preston said angrily. "Now I've lost five bucks!"

"Heh, pay up, theater kid," Ered said, her hand out.

Grumbling, Preston fished the bill out of his pocket and slapped it down on her palm. "Well, I've learned my lesson. Save the gambling for fights between Hamilton fans and Heathers fans. It's a safe bet; Heathers fans usually go for biting and hair-pulling while Hamilton fans are total pussies."

"You would know that," Max spoke up.

Preston narrowed his eyes at Max. "What are you doing here? Never expected to see you at a funeral for Campbell."

"One, it's a memorial service, not a funeral," Max said. "Two, the same could be said for you, Nurf, and maybe Ered."

Ered shrugged. "I heard there was free food and I had nothing better to do. Plus, it's one of the few places I can wear this outfit and old people won't look at me like I'm the devil or something."

"I feel that," Max said with a nod.

"I originally had a kickboxing match today, but it got postponed so I figured it'd be better than going home," Nurf explained. "Actually, I was telling Nikki about it and that's why she wanted to arm wrestle."

"And like hell I'm missing out on an opportunity to grace people with my presence!" Preston said dramatically. "Even if it's the likes of you heathens and your inability to recognize fine writing."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Last time I checked, you couldn't recognize it either. I mean, we all saw that play of yours back in the day."

Preston let out an offended scoff. "I see you haven't changed a bit since camp. Still the same, rude kid after all this time."

For some bizarre reason, Max felt a twinge of anger at this comment. It was one thing when Neil or Nikki playfully insulted him. But he hadn't seen Preston in years and the two of them hadn't exactly been friends. "Whatever, Preston, like you're any better."

"Well, someone's in a bad mood," Preston said defensively. "Again, a surprise to no one."

It was just a stupid comment. Max knew it was a stupid comment, and it shouldn't have bothered him. If he got mad every time some idiot insulted him, he would just be miserable all the fucking time.

...Well, moreso than usual.

It was fine. He was fine. Or at the very least, he could pretend he was fine and not get annoyed at something he would normally either shrug off or respond to with a much better comment.

"So, why are you here anyway?" Preston asked. "I couldn't help but notice you avoided answering that question."

Of course he'd caught that. Why the fuck wouldn't he? "I'm...here to pay my respects for Campbell," he said calmly. "Is that a fucking crime, Preston?"

Preston scoffed. "Oh, really? You, the kid who hated the camp more than any of us, is here to pay respects for the bastard? Why don't I believe that?"

"You don't have to," Max said. "It doesn't affect me either way."

"You know what I think?" Preston said. "I think you're here to pull some kind of prank on David. Come on, fess up, we all know you wouldn't come to this thing willingly."

That was a...fair assumption for someone who hadn't seen Max since camp to make. There was no need to feel offended by that assumption at all, despite the fact that he had spent most of the past week thinking about nothing but trying to make today special for David because of what had happened with his own folks. How the fuck was Preston supposed to know that? He wasn't, so there was no need to be mad.

And yet Max was clenching his fists so tightly, his palms were started to hurt from how hard his fingernails were digging into them. "I told you, Preston. I just...wanted to pay my respects."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked over to see Neil and Nikki beside him. "Hey, Max, can Nikki and I talk to you for a moment alone?"

Max nodded quickly and followed them towards the shed that lay on the edge of the yard. "God, thanks, guys. He was starting to piss me off."

"I know," Neil said, as he lead the two of them inside and shut the door behind them. "It's why we wanted to talk to you."

"Plan M! Plan M!" Nikki said excitedly.

Max gave her a confused look. "Plan M?"

"That's not what it's called, Nikki," Neil said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, yeah?" Nikki asked. "Then what would you call a plan that involves Max?"

"It doesn't need a name!"

"Guys!" Max said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Neil sighed. "Okay, so Nikki and I had a plan, a nameless plan, ready in case either of us saw that you were having a hard time today."

"Neil told me about what you two talked about last week," Nikki said, and gave Max a look of sympathy. "And we saw how you tensed up earlier when Gwen got here."

Max sighed. "Oh, great. So I'm that easy to read? Fine, whatever, what's the plan?"

Neil and Nikki exchanged a look. "Okay, so you don't want to talk to David, right?" Nikki asked.

"It's not that I don't want to," Max said. "It's that I can't."

"Why not?" Nikki asked. "It'd be so easy! He's just right across the yard, I can go get him for you-"

"If Neil explained everything to you, then you should already know why I can't," Max said, crossing his arms.

"What Nikki means is," Neil said. "Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to talk to him if you had some help from us. We could just tell David that—"

Max sighed irritably and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Guys, look. I really appreciate you trying to help, I do. But you both know why I can't talk to him until the service is over. And you two just ignoring all that and telling me 'oh, just go talk to him' makes me feel like you're not listening to anything I'm saying!"

Nikki gave him a sad look. "We are listening, Max. But you know David would want to know if you needed to talk—"

"I know, okay?!" he said, a little more aggressively than intended. "I know he'd want me to go to him for help! I know he'd listen! I fucking know! Do you two really think I'm such a fucking idiot that I wouldn't know that?!"

Neil and Nikki stared at him with a look of shock, one that almost made him feel guilty. Almost. "I'm not talking to him until after the service is done! I don't care if it fucking kills me, he's not going to spend today dealing with my bullshit!"

Neil placed a hand on his shoulder. "Max—"

Max didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. He pushed Neil's hand away and stormed out of the shed, back towards where the rest of the campers from their summer had gathered.

"-yeah, my dad left, too," Ered was saying to Space Kid as Max approached. "But who needs deadbeats, right? Moms are the real heroes."

"Well, I mean, I'd like to see mine again," Space Kid said in return. "But yeah, my mom's cool!"

"Ugh, I'd give anything not to ever see my mother again!" Preston said. "That fucking bitch didn't even have the decency to show up at my theater trope's third performance of Phantom of the Opera! She was too busy 'working'. Excuses! That particular performance was one of my top five!"

It shouldn't have bothered him. Kids were allowed to hate their parents; sometimes it was completely understandable. Dee had mentioned that his parents had been awful, too, and he hadn't been angry over that. And Space Kid had already mentioned that his dad was a deadbeat.

So why the fuck was he so angry, now? What the Hell was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just calm down?!

"What about you, Max?" Preston asked. "Got any horror stories about your folks?"

God damn it. God damn it. "Yeah, I got a horror story for you. It's called 'my folks are fucking dead'!"

The group fell silent, all eyes now on Max. "I...Oh," Preston said slowly.

"Yeah, Preston, oh," Max said, his voice rising. "They died in a fire about a year ago and I've had to bounce around from foster home to foster home since then. But I guess your mom not coming to a performance she's probably seen a million times is pretty fucking terrible, too. I feel so sorry for you."

"Max," Neil said firmly from behind him. "I know you don't want to, but you need to go talk to David now-"

"I told you I can't, Neil!" Max spun around to face him as angry tears began to form at the corner of his eyes. Great, now he was fucking crying. "Why doesn't anybody fucking get that I can't?!"

"Max—"

"You think I don't realize how fucking stupid I'm being by not talking to him?" Max continued, the tears finally rolling down his face. "That I haven't spent all day wishing I could just drag my sorry ass across the yard and tell him 'hey, I'm fucking depressed as shit, can you please help me like you always do, because you're a good fucking person who would stop everything just to help me with my problems but just because you would doesn't mean you should, especially when you're mourning the death of someone super fucking important to you?! Because I know that not being able to do that fucking sucks and I may be a prick to you ninety-nine percent of the time but I'm not about to take that chance away from you?!'"

"Max?"

Max froze at the sound of someone else saying his name and slowly turned to see David staring at him, a camera in his hand and a look of utter shock on his face. "I...saw all of you together, and I thought—"

Max didn't stick around to hear David finish his sentence. Scrubbing the tears from his face, he turned and raced for the house as fast he could. He didn't look around at the other guests who were probably staring at him now, he didn't stop as someone behind him (was that Nikki? Was it David again? He didn't care) called his name. He just pried open the back door, raced towards the stairs and stormed up to his room.

He slammed the door shut behind him and slid down to the floor as he finally let the tears fall. He'd fucked it up. Of course he'd fucked it up. He'd yelled at his friends, he'd ruined the service for David... Why did he expect anything else to happen? Why did he just listen to Neil or Nikki and go talk to David? Of course he should have talked to David.

Why was he so...stupid?

God damn it.

#Camp Camp #SOSO #The descriptions will just be the same for all three #You want the fancy stuff #Go to the Ao3

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