#and I’m not counting the museum displays when I worked there as a teen

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

People say scatterbrained but I feel like my brain is shotgun pellets

[terrestrialnoob]

Strange Friends

Fandom: Danny Phantom, Young Justice (cartoon)

Ships: N/A

Rating: Gen.

Word count: 8,228

Summary:

Being heroes has a negative affect on Danny and Valerie's grades, but luckily, they can sacrifice a weekend with Tetslaff to get their History grades up. A two hour bus ride to Chicago, and they find themselves in an anthropology museum when a nearby robot attack drives everyone outside. Luckily, the local heroes, The Martian Manhunter and his never-before-seen sidekick, are there to save everyone! Or maybe the Martians are the ones who need saving?

Danny and Valerie stepped off the bus in front of the Chicago Museum of Anthropology. The two stuck together mainly because there were only a dozen students there and everyone else were nerds and jocks these two didn’t have the time or patience to deal with. Coach Tetslaff checked the bus for stragglers then shouted at the assembled teens before her.

“Alright, everyone here is in danger of failing history, whether in my class or another teacher’s. So this is your punish- I mean, extra credit opportunity; you’re going to spend your entire weekend here with me. Today, you and your partner are going to choose any exhibit currently on display in the museum and write a report on it. Then tomorrow, you’ll both present your report not only to the class, but also the museum curator Professor Summer Davies.”

She stared out at the unfocused faces that had heard this speech ten times already, then she sighed and continued, “Meet here in front of the museum at 12:50 for the group lunch, if you didn’t sign up for the group meals, you’ll have to go find and pay for your own food. Now, let’s get to it people!”

“Ugh, I can’t believe I have to spend my hard earned weekend doing school work.” Valerie rolled her eyes and glanced at Danny. They’d chosen to sign up as partners on this fieldtrip because Danny knew Valerie would take him seriously and listen to his ideas, and Valerie knew Danny was dependable, despite being a goof, and neither of them would push all the work onto the other.

“Tell me about it,” Danny said as the two made their way into the museum. It was as interesting as most museums are when you’re forced to go instead of choosing to go; Danny would have loved to visit and learn about this stuff any other day, but today it was homework. There was a display on the history of kitchen technology, an intro to forensic anthropology, a collection of Native American musical instruments, and something about the evolution of Victorian house design.

“This should be fascinating,” Danny said, taking notes in a spiral notebook he’d been carrying with him.

“I’m very fascinated by the development of the knife,” Valerie said as she took a photo of some restored kitchen knives that were over a hundred years old when the security guard was turned away.

“I don’t know, they can’t cut ghosts,” Danny teased.

Valerie raised a playful eyebrow at him, “They do when I use them.”

“We both know that’s not how that works,” Danny chuckled and made another note, though, the Forensic Anthropology might be the best option, it was the widest category, and it could be useful with superhero work, two birds - one stone. They had been trying to improve that part of their lives. Valerie and Sam were trying to drag Danny to a workout every day, while Danny was working with Tucker to refine their ghost database and improve their equipment. There had to be something useful they could learn from researching forensic science, even if it was specifically focused on figuring out human history.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion from outside.

Danny rolled up the notebook and stuck it in his jeans pocket as he and the rest of the students left the building in a group under the shouted orders of Coach Tetslaff. Outside, there was a crowd of scared citizens running past the museum. Danny and Valerie shared a look and, while Tetslaff was distracted by the other students, turned and headed towards the source of the commotion instead of away from it. Barely a block away from the museum, there was a large figure fighting two smaller figures in the air.

Once they got close enough, Danny recognized one of the smaller figures as Martian Manhunter, and another was smaller but very similar in appearance. She looked like a teen girl with Martian green skin, long red hair, a navy blue skirt matching the color of both their capes, and while she wore a white shirt instead of Manhunter’s black body suit, they both had the same red X’s on their chests and gold pins holding their capes (that probably only Danny could see at this distance with his weird ghost eyes). They were clearly working together despite Danny never having heard of Martian Manhunter having a sidekick.

Their enemy looked to be an nine-and-a-half-foot tall robot, with six long spindly arms sticking out from it's extended torso. There were sharp claws on two with arcs of electricity flitting between its fingers, blasters on two others that shot globs of white hot plasma, and the last too were fucking flaming swords. It flew around in the sky about fifteen feet in the air using rockets built into its feet, but it wasn’t a stable floating, the way its rockets were designed, it couldn’t stay still in the air.

“Wow, a real superhero fight!” Danny marveled as he watched, uh, Martian Girl? – sure – as she dodged one of the robot’s plasma blasts.

“And what are we? Fake superheroes?” Valerie shook her head, but watched with deep intrigue as Martian Girl kept the robots attention on her while Martian Manhunter flew up behind it, raising his hands towards it.

Danny could almost see the psychic energy radiating off Martian Manhunter as the robot’s two blaster arms were torn from its body followed quickly by the two claw arms. Then Danny felt more, stronger psychic energy coming from Martian Girl as she turned to face it. The rest of the robot was immediately crushed into a ball of jagged metal and electrical sparks. Danny couldn’t tell if it was because it was stuck between the two Martian’s telekinetic powers or if it was all Martian Girl. But Danny could practically see it, the psychic power rolling off her in waves and hitting the robot along with Martian Manhunter’s power at its back. Looking closely, Martian Manhunter had a lot of control, he could thread a needle with his psychic abilities, but Martian Girl had so much raw psychic energy flowing out of her, it sent shivers down Danny’s spine. It almost lit up his ghost sense, like it was enough emotional energy for him to sense it but not the right type of energy to fully ping for him; it kind of left him wanting his sense to go off to just acknowledge the power the two of them had up there. He glanced at Valerie to see if she felt it too, but no, it was just him.

The Martians lowered to the ground now the robot wasn’t a threat, and Danny heard the girl say, “- didn’t have a mind for us to read, so it’s not like we could have found out what its plan was.”

“There are more ways to get information from an enemy than simply reading their mind,” Manhunter explained, “And if this machine had remained intact, we could have downloaded information from its memory.”

“Oh, hello Megan, of course we could have!” Martian Girl said and facepalmed. “I’m sorry, Uncle J’onn, I shouldn’t have destroyed it like that.”

“Miss Martian,” Martian Manhunter pointedly said, and she meeped and mumbled an apology.

He sighed and said, “You are still new to this. I had years as a m’hontrr before coming to Earth, and more as a private investigator before becoming a superhero. You will learn these things with time and experience.”

Danny glanced over at Valerie, a familiar red glow in her eyes. “See anything useful?”

Valerie sighed, blinking the nanites away from her eyes, “No, there’s too much pollution to get a clear rocket trail, and its power signature isn’t unique enough to stand out.”

“And how would you know that?” Martian Manhunter asked, turning and flying over to them.

“And why are you here? We told everyone to evacuate the area!” Martian Girl said, coming up next to, apparently, her uncle.

“Sorry, it’s my fault,” Danny said rubbing the back of his neck and trying to look embarrassed on purpose, “I wanted to see real superheroes; I just couldn’t help it! You guys are so cool!”

Martian Girl blushed a little herself and tried, and failed, to firmly state, “It was still really dangerous and - you know, shouldn’t do it again.”

“Yes ma’am,” Danny said and gave an over-serious salute. She smiled and nodded at him.

“We should get back to the rest of the class,” Valerie quickly said pushing on Danny’s shoulder, “We don’t want our teacher to get worried about us.”

Danny weaved out from her hand and quickly pulled his notebook out of his pocket, “Actually, real quick. Can we get your autographs?”

Martian Manhunter nodded, and Martian Girl, or Miss Martian as she wrote it, signed her name before handing it over to her uncle to sign as well, and finally back to Danny.

“Good luck on your robot hunt!” Danny called as he dashed to where Valerie was already walking down the street.

Once they got back at the museum, Coach Tetslaff gave them an earful about running off alone during a supervillain attack, they should really know better. The two then learned it was going to be about three hours before the students of Casper High were allowed back into the museum; security needed to do a routine check to make sure nothing was stolen in the confusion. Coach Tetslaff decided the kids could go to the library to get a head start on their projects or go for lunch early, but made it abundantly clear that Dangerous Robot Attacks will not excuse them from doing their reports.

>><< 

The boy had felt weird to M’gann. She almost didn’t notice it, after her own guilt of messing up by destroying the robot and the chaos and fear she still felt from both herself and everyone around them at the beginning of the fight. It was odd enough that she hadn’t sensed any fear from either of the two teenagers, but she wasn’t sure what counted as a scary experience for the normal human teenager. It was similar to how the rest of the team was, so maybe this was just something teens on Earth were used to? But her uncle had heard the girl say something strange, and when he and M’gann went to see who had been watching their fight, she’d gotten a strange aura from the boy.

He had dark hair, light skin, and blue eyes, and he wore a white t-shirt with red stylized Saturn-like planet symbol in the center, and normal looking jeans despite the notebook he’d managed to stuff in one of its pockets. Very normal in appearance. But, the unusual thing was that he seemed to put out an aura of – it wasn’t quite emotion, but it wasn’t not emotion – and if it was emotion then it was so extremely raw and concentrated compared to most humans, like there wasn’t anything physical keeping the emotions in, or no, that’s not it. He just wasn’t quite… Solid? Human? No, no. She could see he was definitely solid and human, but there was just something off about him.

And the girl he was with. She wore a yellow tank top and an orange skirt with thick gold bracers on each arm and a red backpack, that seemed off somehow, but M'gann hadn't seen a lot of backpacks yet to be sure. She had dark skin and hair, but her eyes seemed to change color the closer she got and M’gann couldn’t tell if they were a shade of red or brown or green - or somehow switched in between. But she didn’t feel unusual to other humans, no matter how inhumanly her eyes behaved, and who was M'gann to say that human eyes couldn’t change like that?

But then again, Uncle J’onn seemed to have sensed something off too. He psychicly told her that he suspected the two might be involved with the robot, perhaps sent there to observe how easily the Martian duo could dispatch with it. He asked her to follow them to see what they were doing in the city while he tried to find clues off the remains of the robot.

M’gann wasn’t sure if he actually thought the teens were important or if he was just getting her out of the way after her screw-up. While the psychic link was a lot clearer on Earth, there was also an expected level of polite, what she deemed, “not looking”, not just for normal humans, but other psychics as well. She’d learned from the team too, that entering anyone’s mind without express permission and forewarning was not a good thing to do and could even hurt a human, or Kryptonian, who wasn’t expecting it. And Uncle J’onn wanted her to practice vocalizing her words more and only use a psychic link to communicate with other heroes. There were still so many rules she needed to get used to on Earth.

She followed the two humans to The Chicago Museum of Anthropology. She’d gone there with Uncle J’onn for one of her first days on Earth; it gave her a basic understanding of the history of humanity, how the species and society developed on Earth. She’d enjoyed the visit.

She stayed at a distance and morphed into her human form before venturing closer. She watched as they stayed with a group of about twelve high school students under the supervision of a large, muscular woman who liked to give orders. The group of students soon dispersed, apparently they’d come to the museum for a school project but the museum would be temporarily closed.

She quickly hurried to close behind her two targets, she wasn’t going to lose them. This was her first solo mission on Earth, she had already messed up with the robot, she wasn’t going to disappoint her uncle again by letting her targets get lost in a crowd. She got close enough, she herd the boy say, “Did you pay for the provided meals?”

“No. Full offense to Tetslaff, I do not trust her taste in food,” The girl responded.

“Yeah, I bet she’s taking the poor idiots who signed up for it to a sports bar or something,” the boy said and took out his phone, “The restaurant finder app I downloaded so we could find places that were vegan friendly for Sam doesn’t have to be used just for vegans. We can put in whatever kind of food we want and it’ll find something for us.”

“Anything but burgers,” the girl said.

“There’s an amazing pizza place a couple blocks down this street,” M’gann said behind them, and suddenly realized - she was just supposed to be listening this conversation. Hello, Megan! How could you mess this up already!

All three stopped and the two of them turned around to give her funny looks. “Sorry, I was just… uhm… also hungry and trying to think of a place to eat! And I’m – I…”

No, no, you’re making it worse! She panicked and suddenly shouted, “Do you want to be friends with me?”

The two stared at her in shock, then the boy made sure his friend was looking at him before he gripped his hands in the air in front of him. The girl shook her head, raised an eyebrow, and held a hand towards M'gann. The boy nodded and smiled and repeated his hand movements from before and then tapping his thumb and pointer finger together twice and rubbed one hand over the side of the other? Then, for some reason, the girl sighed and nodded.

The boy turned to M'gann and smiled as he said, “I like pizza.”

“Yeah, pizza’s good,” The girl added, dryly, each word, taking effort to but still, becoming less hostile, more friendly. “You live around here?”

M’gann smiled, she wasn’t going to fail. All she had to do was keep an eye on them, right? And it wasn’t like she didn’t want more human friends. “No, but my uncle does. I’ve visited him a couple times now, so I know where some of the good places are. I’m Megan, by the way. Megan Morse.”

The girl looked unimpressed, but held out her hand for M’gann to take. “I’m Valerie and he’s Danny. We’re not from around here either.”

“Oh? Then what brings you to Chicago?” M’gann asked as she shook Valerie’s hand. She used the physical contact as a bridge - a cover to scan the surface level of thoughts in her head without her knowing. There wasn’t anything too bad. Valerie was suspicious of M’gann’s eavesdropping and on guard against her. She didn’t want to trust some random girl who seemed way too friendly, but not wanting to come off as on guard to tip her off to just how suspicious she was. There was something else, she felt Danny was being too trusting? But that did nothing for her instincts. She reminded M’gann of Robin; his mind also raced with worst case scenarios and possible threats and solutions to those threats, even if they weren’t real.

“School trip,” Danny answered not taking M’gann’s offered hand and making her awkwardly have to put it down again. “We have to make a report-presentation-thing on one of the exhibits at the anthropology museum.”

“Oh, yeah, humans are very interesting,” M’gann said before she could stop herself.

“I love those humans and all their humanity,” Danny said with a snort and Valerie elbowed him.

“So, where’s this amazing pizza place?” Valerie asked and M’gann pointed behind them.

“Down a little further, I don’t know if it’s “amazing” amazing, but I like it.”

“Lead the way, M’lady,” Danny said, and motioned for her to walked next to him. He was starting to remind her of Wally, tying a little to hard to make her laugh, but still succeeding.

The three made their way down the street where M’gann had pointed; Danny talked a lot while Valerie watched M’gann with wary eyes. They were from a smaller city called Amity Park, northwest of Chicago and surrounded by a lot of wilderness, near Lake Eerie, with two E’s.

Danny chuckled at his own joke, then asked, “So, did you see that superhero fight? I didn’t know Martian Manhunter had a sidekick, but she seems pretty cool.”

M’gann tried to hide her blush and lie, “I didn’t get a good look at it. It can be pretty dangerous to get too close.”

“What do you know about them? Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian?” Valerie said her first thing since they started walking together.

M’gann thought for a moment about what she could and should say. “I’ve seen them around and heard the news talk about them. I don’t know if she likes being called a sidekick though, I know that other heroes don’t like it. Like Robin and Kid Flash.”

Valerie rolled her eyes, “She’s fighting crime with Martian Manhunter, wearing a matching outfit, and has a matching name all for the purpose of learning how to be a superhero from him, right?”

“Well, I guess so,” M’gann admitted. Is that what a sidekick is? M’gann thought there was a translation issue or something, that it was an insult. Why do Wally and Red Arrow hate it so much?

“Then she’s a sidekick, and there’s nothing wrong with being a sidekick,” Valerie confidently said and M’gann decided that she was right.

“And! It’s a good idea to learn from people who’ve been doing it longer than you and have more experience.” He gave Valerie some kind of look as he continued, “Even if you’re the same age, the extra time spend doing a thing can make one person a lot better at it.”

M'gann understood that, the rest of the Team were way better than she was and all of them are younger than she is.

Valerie raised her eyebrow at Danny, “Even if the newer person does more training than the older one because she actually takes being a hero seriously?”

M’gann looked between the two of them and asked, “I’m sorry, are you still talking about the Martians?”

Danny shook his head, “Sorry, there are heroes in our town too. Phantom, who’s been a hero for over a year and a half now, and Valiant, who’s only just started being a hero.”

“But she’s a better hero even though she’s newer,” Valerie added quickly to Danny’s explanation.

“You think she’s a better hero,” Danny corrected, “But I think she’s still really wild, overly violent, and messes up a lot. Valiant doesn’t have to try to intimidate everyone she thinks is a bad guy, it’s better being friendly sometimes. And Phantom does take it seriously, he’s just having fun while being a hero.”

“Valiant is just driven to get the job done!” Valerie defended, “And Phantom goofs off too much. Not everything needs to be pun, you can just catch the bad guy and be done with it, no jokes necessary.”

“Excuse you, puns are an artform,” Danny said with an overdramatic handwave.

“Oh please,” Valerie said exasperatedly.

M’gann laughed, they really reminded her of Wally and Robin; they must have been best friends for a long time now. They finally reached the pizzeria her uncle had taken her to when they’d had their trip to the anthropology museum. It was a quaint little family run place that was pretty emptied out. It should have been the second half of the lunch rush, but the robot attack must have scared everyone off.

“So, do you know how old she is?” Valerie asked as the three ordered their food.

“Sorry?” M’gann asked, she’d been distracted wondering what was a normal food order for a human. Last time she’s coping Megan’s order from episode 24 , and that was apparently too much food for a normal human teenage girl.

“We were just talking about how it doesn’t matter how old you are,” Danny said, and M’gann couldn’t tell if he was trying to avoid their previous argument or still trying to win.

“She’s the Martian equivalent of a teenager,” M’gann said, but realized halfway through that, a human wouldn’t know that. “Probably.”

Danny looked at her with wide eyes, “Really? So Martians really do age at a different rate than humans? That’s so cool!”

“You might too,” Valerie said under her breath, but Danny ignored it and M’gann didn’t understand what it meant.

“Do you know how long she’s been on earth?” Danny asked with growing excitement as they sat at a booth in the corner; the two of them on one side with her on the other.

M’gann couldn’t resist feeling that same excitement, very few people showed interest in her normal life. “Yeah, about three months!”

 “How do y- I mean, does she like it here?” Danny asked, his excitement becoming so strong, M’gann didn’t think anything of his tripping over his words.

“I re- really think she likes it.”

Valerie raised an eyebrow at her, “Why do you think that?”

M’gann floundered for a moment, “Uh, prob- probably because she’s still here. Like, if she could get to Earth, then she could get back to Mars, but she’s chosen to stay.”

Valerie gave her an oddly intense look, “Is that really how you know?”

“I bet she has a lot of friends here,” Danny said, seemingly saving M’gann from answering, before he added, “I mean, you are really friendly and I like you well enough.”

M’gann blushed, “No, no! I’m not…”

“You don’t hide it very well,” Valerie said and M’gann dropped her head in her hands.

“Oh, come on, don't be hard on her!” Danny said and playfully shoved Valerie's arm, “I only knew because you have the same, like, aura as Miss Martian. If you hadn’t come up to us so soon after we met you in costume, I wouldn’t have made the connection. And don’t let Val get to you, she only realized after I pointed it out.”

Valerie glared at him as she pulled her wallet out again and passed some money over to Danny. “I had all the clues though, and would have put it together eventually. Unlike you, I don’t cheat.”

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” M’gann had to ask while peaking between her hands. She can’t believe she messed up this much in one day. Who knew some humans could read Martian auras?

“Of course not! We’re not snitches,” Danny said, and shared a glance at Valerie, who shook her head violently and mouthed the word “no”. Danny shrugged and turned to M’gann to whisper, “We’re actually in a similar situation.”

M’gann blinked at them, and was just about to ask what he meant when there was an explosion. The front wall of the pizzeria was blasted open and a robot that looked exactly like the one they’d seen earlier stepped through the hole. Its featureless face locked onto M’gann; it lifted one of its blasters and shot a ball of hot plasma at them.

All three teens ducked under the table and Valerie asked, “Didn’t you just junk that guy?”

“It must be a new one!” M’gann said as another blast tore through the wall behind them, shattering the plastic table and dropping a pile wall and roof on top of them. A second robot stepped through the new hole in the wall and locked onto M’gann.

M’gann had somehow ended up on top of the rubble, but Danny wasn’t visible and she saw Valerie’s arm sticking out from under a chunk of table for a moment before it gave a thumbs up and was pulled completely under. She did a quick psychic scan the pizzeria, there was only the three of them and the robots in the building. Her eyes glowed red and her skin shifted to Martian green, her face became slightly less human proportioned and her red and white cloths turned into her hero costume. She telekinetically lifted herself from the rubble and motioned to lift the debris off her new friends, but they acted before she could.

Danny, or who she assumed was Danny, phased through the rubble and floated above it. If she hadn’t been looking at his face moments ago, she might not have recognized him. He was the same general size and build, but subtle changes. He had a sharper chin and ears and nose, and even sharper teeth, but he also had bigger, rounder eyes that glowed a toxic green. His hair was the same length, but so pure white, it looked more like mist than strands. His clothes changed too; his t-shirt and jeans had been replaced by a jumpsuit. It was mostly black but with a big white rectangle around the neck that became a little thicker and lest plastic-like as it curved over his shoulders. There were white gloves that reached half way up his forearms, and a pair of white patches on his elbows that looked to be made of the sturdier white material around his shoulders. Thick white lines went from his armpits down the sides of his torso to a white plastic looking utility belt. His boots were white too, coming up to half his calves and having patches of the sturdy white over his knees. There was a hero symbol over his heart, a white P where the long straight side of it looked almost like it was either on fire or fading into mist. Phantom.

At nearly the same time, the rubble shifted and some of the smaller bits flew out in different directions and something that looked like a robot stood up. A black helmet that encircled her entire head with only a red triangular faceplate breaking up the black, except for small lines that seemed to mimic the look of computer circuits that branched off the sold red into the black. The small pattern pulsated red light from a set of red triangles on the center of her chest, one solid while the other was a thin line around it. There, the pattern branched off in all directions, but with specific places where the red energy settled into solid lines that didn’t fade with the pulsing energy. Two solid red triangles on her shoulders, mimicking shoulder pads, and a thick red line around her waist like a belt that had a sharp downward point in the center that echoed the points of the triangles on her chest. There were also red lines around her wrists and calves that made it look like she was wearing gloves and boots. It was like she was covered in a black and red circuit board, but after a moment, the red pulsating glow of the circuitry faded, leaving her in a mostly black armored suit.

M'gann had been distracted by the sudden appearance of these two and was shocked when Danny appeared in front of her, hands raised in a defensive position as a bast of white plasma shattered across a shield of green energy that suddenly surrounded them. There was the sound of a machine powering up and a blast of red energy shot from a blaster that sprung into existence on Valerie’s arm, the red circuitry around it glowing momentarily before fading to black again. The blast hit the robot that shot at them from across the building. Valerie hit the joint of one of its arms, partially melting it and limiting its movement. Two shots hit the shield behind them, as the second robot moved closer to them through the wall leading behind the pizzeria. It reached its electrified claw towards Valerie.

“Look out!” Danny shouted and lowered the shield so he could fire a blast of green energy at the robot reaching for Valerie, causing it to stumble backwards. But she ignored it and fired at the first robot again, hitting the exact same place as last time and melting off its arm completely.

M’gann used her telekinesis to throw the robot that tried to grab Valerie out the hole in the wall it had come through. Danny flew out after it, firing his green energy at it. She followed outside and saw him flying around erratically. She was worried for a moment before she realized, Danny was too fast for the robot to be able to aim its blasters at him, continually firing into the open sky and missing its target. M’gann decided to take advantage of its distraction and telekinetically tore the blaster arms from the robot’s body. It turned its attention towards her and must have seen her as an easier target. It dived for her and she pushed it back with her mind so it stood frozen in air, rockets blasting with greater force trying to break through the invisible wall she’d put in front of it. Suddenly, it was hit with a rain of green energy balls, they burned holes through its outer shell and melted through its electrical insides. Its rockets failed and it crumbled to the ground in pieces.

The two quickly returned inside to find Valerie in the middle of a sword fight. There were melted stumps where the robot’s blaster arms and left claw arm had been melted off, and Valerie was wielding a black sword made of the same material as her suit that glowed with red energy. She was able to block the two flaming swords that bore down on her with the all the artfulness of a poorly rendered video game opponent. But it had one too many arms for her to keep up with and a clawed arm weaved its way through her defenses to grab onto her shoulder. It tried to send an electrical shock into her, but the black suit turned red under its touch as it absorbed the energy. M’gann could actually follow the energy through the suit’s circuitry over to her sword, that glowed brighter and started to melt through the flaming blades it was pressed against.

M'gann decided that was enough of that and threw the robot against the wall with her telekinesis, and regretted it immediately. The clawed hand had been embedded deeper into Valerie than M’gann had realized, and as it flew across the room, it tore through Valerie’s shoulder, taking some of her suit and skin with it. She cried out in pain and turned to look at M’gann who threw her hands over her mouth.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” She quickly hovered over to Valerie, but she didn’t know what to do about the injury. She didn’t have any medic training yet. It was on her list, and there was even a training session for the team planned for it, but she hadn’t done it yet. How was she going to fix this? Valerie had just risked her life to help M’gann and she’d been repaid by getting her shoulder torn up!

“It’s fine,” Valerie said in a such a firm voice it almost convinced M'gann, but it was clear by the way Valerie moved; it wasn't fine but she didn’t want attention drawn to it. Valerie cautiously walked over to the robot, her sword was somehow pulled into her suit and replaced with a blaster that she trained on the downed robot. When it didn’t react to her coming up to it, she placed her hand on it. M’gann could see the red circuit board pattern spread from the red pad of her hand over to the robot like an infection. After a moment Valerie said, “I have a source, and we should go now.”

Danny nodded and asked, “What did you find out?”

>><< 

J’onn was worried. He sent M’gann to follow the odd teenagers who had watched their fight with the robot much closer than any sensible person would. He knew teenagers were often unaware of the level of danger around them, especially when famous heroes were present, but there was something strange about these two. The girl had something strange in her eyes, something that glowed and changed color, and the boy -  there was simply something wrong about him, something wrong with the way psychic energy moved around him made him seem – less physical somehow, but J’onn couldn’t begin to guess why, what, or how. He sensed no malicious intent from them, if anything, he sensed a strong desire to protect from the boy and a powerful desire to fulfill responsibility from the girl.

He wasn’t sure if M’gann would have been safer following them or staying with him, but this was her first public excursion as his sidekick and he knew for certain that he didn’t want her fighting a robot that seemed tailor made to hurt him. The flaming swords, the hot plasma, the projected electrified field to prevent phasing into them, and no mind to read. The only clues they had were the strange teenagers and a serial number on the hunk of metal that had once been part of the robot. He would trust M’gann not to get too close to the humans or come to him if trouble stirred. She was naive and inexperienced but not an idiot or a pushover. She would keep proper distance, he was sure; reconnaissance was what she was learning with the team after all.

J’onn’s personal computer was patched into a number of databases, and it was a simple task to search for the source of the serial number. It belonged to a robotics company that specialized in custom joint systems. The piece with his serial number had been part of a large order by the Defense Lab of Classified Exobiology, a lab that researched alien life. The D.L.C.E. was a private organization that was owned by a parent company called VladCo. that also owned an advanced technologies development firm, a paranormal research lab, a pop-technologies designing firm, and several other smaller labs and factories, including the company that made the specialized joints. It was an unfortunately common scheme of a company buying from itself to make money; not illegal but shady nonetheless.

J’onn went to the listed address of the D.L.C.E. and found a very normal looking office building. He did a mental sweep of the building but didn’t find anything other than the usual office drudgery. He disguised himself as human, one of his usuals of a white man in a white suit under a beige trench coat and matching fedora, and entered the building. There was a middle-aged woman sitting at the front desk that J’onn didn’t need psychic powers to know was bored.

He pulled out an old police badge and prepared to sweet talk his way past the bored woman. “Excuse me, miss, but I’m from the-”

She didn’t wait for him to finish before pushing a button on a dashboard on her desk, “There’s another goo here for you, Dr. Copen.”

“I told them to give me a few more days!” Dr. Copen seemed to respond from the other side, and then said, “Send them down, I’ll come up with something.”

The woman hummed disbelievingly. She stood up, “Follow me, please.”

J’onn didn’t correct her and followed her down a hall to an elevator bay. She waved her I.D. card in front of a scanner and one of the elevators opened. Once inside, she scanned the I.D. again and the button panel lit up completely before a symbol lit up indicating they were going down. The foundations of the building went deeper than they should have, but eventually, the elevator stopped and they were let out into a large underground laboratory.

A man came up to them in a disheveled lab coat, wild dirty blond hair, circles under his eyes, coffee stains and burn spots on his cloths and arms, a pair of safety goggles pushed up on his head. “Ah, welcome Agent – uh?”

“Operative J,” J’onn provided from the top of the woman’s mind.

“Right, Operative J, sorry, yes, I remember you now.” The man said, “I know I told Director Beta that I’d have results by the end of the week, and while things didn’t go as planned, I assure you, by the end of today, I’ll have something big to show you.”

J’onn scrutinized the man, then probed, “What is this big thing? And why is it worth my time?”

“Yes, Dr. Copen, what have you got?” The woman asked incredulously.

Dr. Copen ignored her as he turned and waved for them to follow, “Earlier today I almost got a subject. The data was inconclusive on why the retrieval unit failed, the hyper connection antenna was damaged somehow before it was able to send any useful information, but I’ve sent out two retrieval units with the same tracking system.”

“Tracking system?”

Dr. Copen grinned and nodded, “Didn’t Director Beta tell you? We got a sample of a an enzyme that’s created when a Martian shapeshifts, we can use it to locate any Martian that has recently changed form, no matter how human they may seem.”

They stopped in front of a large monitor array and the doctor pressed a button and it flickered on. Two robots like the ones that had attacked J’onn and M’gann earlier that day, one with the other in its camera view, they few over the city and started to lower themselves towards … a small pizzeria J’onn recognized.

“Now, so long as whatever interfered with the previous hyper-link connection doesn - uhg…” Just as he said it, and the first robot broke through the front wall of the pizzeria, the camera feed turned filled with static, not receiving a clear image of anything within the building.

“Damn, what is messing with the signal?” The doctor typed furiously at the keyboard under the monitors, there were occasional flashes of clear video.

M’gann was there - and another person in black futuristic armor? There was a clear video, but only of the black armored person shooting the robot to pieces with some kind of arm mounted plasma blaster, before they charged the robot, the blaster somehow being replaced with a sword. After a minute, everything went black. The monitors weren’t off, but they stopped receiving information.

“AGAIN? What are they doing to my retrieval units?” Dr. Copen groaned as he desperately tried to pull data from the robots. He was saving the clearest images of M’gann and the armored person, not enough to identify them, but too close for J’onn’s comfort.

J’onn’s anxiety was increasing, he needed to get to M’gann to make sure she was okay. While the doctor was distracted, J’onn would find a way to destroy the lab. There were plenty of dangerous chemicals lying around; looking back the way they’d come, he saw some large containers with a label warning “oxygen-flammable liquid”. He reached out with his psychic power, only to be suddenly struck in the back of the head and filled with an electric shock. He felt his form revert to its most familiar shape, the form of The Martian Manhunter, the hero he’d created all those years ago.

“Mildred?” Dr. Copen shouted.

“He’s one of them,” The woman said with disgust dripping from the words and a taser pointed at his head.

J’onn’s vision blurred and he felt something latch around his neck. He couldn’t concentrate past the pounding in his head and he couldn’t get to his feet until he felt a hand grab his arm and pull him up. Then he was shoved into a tight confined space, between a wall of glass and a bed of hard metal. Just as he forced control over his movements again, he was suddenly cut off. He could feel his powers being shunted behind a wall, out of reach from him, as energy radiated from the black collar around his neck.

The woman stared in at him, a grimace on her face and the doctor behind her, clearly confused. “Wait, but- My retrieval units? They were just locked onto the Martian signal?”

“There must be two of them,” The woman said, her eyes narrowing and teeth gritting, “It’s multiplied like a cockroach, at this rate, they’ll be crawling all over the place.”

Panic was setting in, not just for the situation he was in, but M’gann was fighting off two Martian Hunting robots by herself, he didn’t know or trust the armored person who could have been working with these people for all he knew. He needed to get out, but without his powers? He was helpless and trapped, and M’gann needed his help! What-

Suddenly, there was an explosion, and the lab filled with thick grey smoke. The black armored person burst from the smoke behind Mildred and slammed her to the ground. Mildred jumped up with the taser discarded for a gun and fired at her assailant, who was apparently bullet proof. J’onn barely caught sight of something glowing green impacting Dr. Copen deeper in the smoke. Suddenly, M’gann was in front of the pod he’d been put in, worry written in her face. She looked around the pod for the way to open it, but she was too panicked.

The grey smoke started turning black and a fire could be seen spreading through the other side of the room. J’onn couldn’t hear what M’gann was saying, but after a moment, there was a boy next to her. He had white hair, green eyes, and a black and white jumpsuit. He phased his hands though the glass front of the pod, grabbed onto J’onn’s clothes, and pulled him through. Once out, J’onn saw M’gann and the person in black (on a flying surfboard?) carry his two captors up through a hole in the ceiling, and the boy flew J’onn out as well.

M'gann and the girl in black left the receptionist and the doctor outside the D.L.C.E. building. The four of them went to the roof of the building across the street from the D.L.C.E. and they watched as first responders put out the fire.

“Thank you,” J’onn said as the boy set him down. It was interesting, the way the boy flew was different from the way J’onn flew. The boy seemed to have gravity simply not affect him vs a Martian's telekinetic flight.

“No problem, Valiant?” The boy said, hovering back and allowing the girl in black to approach him.  She reached up and pressed the red pads on her fingers to the black collar around his neck, and after a moment, it clicked and came off.

“Thank you as well,” J’onn said.

“Uncle J’onn, are you okay?” M’gann asked rushing forward for a hug as the girl in black stepped back and examined the collar.

He returned her hug and looked her over, “Yes, and you?”

M’gann smiled broadly, “Yeah, but –“ She looked at the girl, “Are you sure you’re okay, Valiant?”

The girl rolled her shoulder, and when she spoke her voice was slightly distorted through her helmet, “I said it’s fine.”

“Her suit takes care of stuff like that,” The boy said, “It’s a pretty cool piece of technology.”

Valiant, as the boy called her, growled, then sighed. “Now that this is taken care of, we have our other work to do, Phantom.”

“That’s right, you two have to get back to the museum,” M’gann said and smiled at them.

“Is there anything we can assist you with? It would be rude for us to not thank you for your help,” J’onn said, both from honesty and curiosity. He wanted to learn more about these two teenage heroes. They had to be the two from earlier, Phantom had the same somewhat ethereal bend of psychic energy around him as the black haired boy they’d seen earlier.

“Oh, no, we’re literally just here on a school trip. We’re supposed to do our own work,” Phantom supplied. “But, it was super cool meeting you!”

Valiant took a step towards J’onn; he couldn’t see her face through her helmet, but he could feel an intensity radiating from her. She took a deep breath and said, “If you’d like to repay us, then I’d like to make a request.”

Phantom gave her a questioning look, “We don’t need a reward or anything.”

Valiant nodded in agreement, “But we do need training.”

“He’s already got a sidekick! And a pretty cool one, I might add,” Phantom winked and M’gann blushed. "He doesn't need to waste time on us."

“I would not mind an occasional additional tagalong. Though, there are other’s out there who would better suit being your mentors," he glanced over Valiant, "such as experts in human technology, that I can introduce you to.”

J’onn felt the sudden connection of a psychic link, Do you think they could join the Team?

He looked at M’gann and replied, I will speak with Batman about the matter. But there is no guarantee that he will agree to it.

She giggled happily, then pulled a cell phone out of her pocket, “Uncle J’onn just got me this, I’d love to have your numbers, maybe we can team up or have pizza together again sometime?”

Phantom blinked at the two of them, then widely smiled, “That’d be cool!”

There was a second where J’onn saw something in Phantom’s eyes. He ventured a guess, “Did you hear any of that?”

Phantom paused in typing his number into M’gann’s phone, taking a second to process what had been asked and responded with, “Were you talking?”

Phantom went back to typing as J’onn clarified, “You looked at us, each in turn, as we had a psychic conversation.”

“Oh!” Phantom said as he handed the phone to Valiant, “I could tell you were doing something. Like, I felt you using your powers, but I didn’t know what.”

“I see.” J’onn would have to investigate further. If Phantom could sense the use of psychic powers, and it seemed those with psychic powers could sense him, then learning to work together could be an immense advantage when devising countermeasures to either ability. As it stood now, though, J’onn was a little proud. It was hard to get his niece out of her shell; he’d learned from his recent call with his sister that M’gann’s life on Mars had been a hard one, but here she was, making friends remarkably quickly and easily. Even if Batman didn’t agree to them joining the team, even if there wasn’t the possible advantage of training with someone who could sense their psychic abilities, J’onn would keep an eye on his niece’s new friends.

"I'll call you next time I visit Chicago!" M'gann said as they prepared to fly off.

Valiant paused on her hoverboard just over the edge of the building, "I guess you're not too bad. We'll have to bring you down to Amity some time too."

"You'll have to come around a lot actually," Phantom said, "I need you to tell me all about space and Mars and how you got here, and-"

"Okay, space boy, let's get going," Valiant said, grabbing Phantom by the scruff of his jumpsuit.

Then Phantom shout to the heavens as he was being dragged off, "I love having an alien friend! Please text me all the time!"

Yes, J'onn was definitely keeping an eye on these kids.

[blue-eyed-bloodstains]

Do you like getting flowers as a gift? yeah of course...I suck at taking care of em but yeah

Who is one person you never get tired of? my fiance

How different would your life be if “that one thing” didn’t happen? wow sooooo different it’s insane...I honestly probably wouldn’t even be alive though considering it damn near killed me by actually happening

What is “that one thing”? a severe breakup...and also totaling my car last year, so both count with how I explained above

What’s the most desperate thing you did? god I am NOOOOOOT going there

Where was the last place you took a train to? to NC to a family friend to stay for a few months...

What are your living arrangements currently? Are you happy with them? I live with my fiance...yes I am for the most part

Have you met your soulmate? I believe so

If your best friend wanted to cheat on their partner, you would say what? I’d ream them out considering I know how that feels on the receiving end...but I mean, I don’t control their life so my hands are tied...

Who do you know that gives very sound advice? my fiance and a few friends

At what age did you start to feel like a teen and not a kid anymore? when most everyone around me was already having sex and I wasn’t I guess

What is your parents’ idea of grounding you? I’m 31...so...

Do you think art museums are pointless? hell no, wtf?

Do you care about looks when you’re looking for a romantic partner? I mean that’s a part of attraction but it’s not my be all end all. no one’s perfect and no one looks it either

How many times have you moved? hahahahahahaha...we’ll be here awhile if I go through them all. seriously.

Is Christmas stressful? definitely

Your best friend has a good or bad taste in music? good

What would your friends be surprised to see in your music library? probably not really surprised at this point, like for instance Disney songs mixed in and shit...I think they’d be shocked at the sheer amount of depressing songs I have

Do you like to talk about the future when in a serious relationship? Yes, it’s reassurance to me that you’re actually interested in staying together.

Do you like public displays of affection? to a certain extent yeah. don’t go fully overboard but simple things to show you care even with the world seeing you like it’s just us? yeah

Do you believe in moving in together before engagement or marriage? yep I’ve done it twice...one didn’t work and found out within two months. second I’m currently in which we’re now engaged, and have lived together for 6 years, this year will be 7 come Dec.

Do you watch mukbangs? not really...I only watch Cara Cunningham’s eating vids (previously Chris Crocker, LEAVE BRITNEY ALOOONE) but otherwise no 

How do you lose weight? What’s your favourite diet food and exercise? I barely eat, and constantly throw up to the point of dehydration due to an illness (not an ED), so I’m constantly fluctuating/dropping weight unintentionally. I don’t diet or exercise.

Do you have a lot of friends? Do you have a partner? Have you ever had one? less than a handful, partner is my fiance, yeah a few boyfriends in the past before him.

Do you currently have any hickeys? From who? no I wish 

Who was the last person to come to your house? Dashers and Uber drivers but obviously only to the door, not inside

Have you ever had sex with the same gender? no, I was caught off guard while blackout drunk and got kissed by a girl once but no never

If you’ve experienced both, is sex better with men or women? I wouldn’t know, never slept with a girl

Have you ever been the other woman? nope I’ve been cheated on though so...I refuse to be the homewrecker/sidechick

Would you ever want to be with a virgin? If no, why not? I don’t mind honestly, I mean I haven’t but that doesn’t matter to me.

Do you constantly find yourself internet stalking your ex? used to a lot...don’t anymore

Are you friends with any of your exes? used to be with a few, now barely even talk to the main ex...

Do you have an addiction? To what? alcohol, self harm, smoking cigs

Blunts, bowls or bongs? whichever fucks me up most or is on hand

When you have a fight with your partner what do you do? oh god please don’t right now...recently did and I can’t right now...

Who does the grocery shopping in your house? we both do but he pays

Are your parents still together? nope, dad and stepmom. mom’s single.

Have any siblings you know of but don’t actually know personally? yeah a half brother from my sperm donor...never talked, never met.

Greatest fear? being left by everyone I know and love...

Something most people fear that you do not fear at all? death...have a long history of being suicidal so it’s complicated. 

Don’t you hate getting nice & comfy & then having to pee? oh my god all the damn time

Ever faked being pregnant? No, and these people fucking disgust me. This isn’t a topic you joke about.

Ever had a major surgery performed on you? yep several and heading for another one very soon

Which of the seven deadly sins are you guilty of? I mean at some point I experience most of them, but sloth is the one I’m MOST guilty of.

Do you believe in divorce? if the circumstances fit, yeah

Is intelligence a turn on for you? hell yeah

Who has made the biggest sacrifice for you? my parents...

Do you treat others better or worse than yourself and why? oh wayyyy better, at least I try to...cause I hate myself and the way I’ve been treated I wouldn’t wish on anybody especially because of me.

When you sleep next to someone who usually falls asleep first? them

Do you think it is harder for a parent to outlive their child or for their child to outlive them? it goes both ways, depends on the situation

What is one selfish thing you tend to do? fuck up everything and everyone I come anywhere near...

What kinds of people do you find intimidating? anyone with anger issues, controlling, manipulative, abusive in every way...

Who is the most overbearing person you know? MOM.

How old was the first person you kissed? umm I forget, I was 19 (yes that late) and he was the first i slept with too...I think he was only like a year or two older than me?

Do you plan on moving out within the next year? I’d love to but DO NOT see that happening

Have you ever slept nude? my fiance when we started dating talked me into doing it, normally I’m uncomfortable doing that unless I’ve passed out after sex...but rarely ever anymore

How many stories tall is your dream house? either one or two, no more than that that’s too much

Do you consider yourself to be promiscuous? absolutely the opposite, hell no

Do you have any obscure pets? no, I have in the past

Do you consider yourself politically correct? I hate politics so I’m not sure, but I try to be respectful with certain things

[viktorybell]

Modern Wonder

Modern!Viktor x Art Teacher!Reader (GN)

Word Count: 3.4k

Warning: nothing, but there’s a slightly suggestive joke at the end

Piltover’s Science Museum was truly a modern wonder. It was probably the biggest museum they had in the entire city, and most definitely had the most care put into its exhibits. Hundreds of years of progress and discoveries all documented there in one building. You’d been dying to go and explore the building for ages, never finding time in your busy schedule for it. So, when the opportunity happened upon you, you’d swiped it up as quickly as you could.

It would have been a perfect trip too…that is, if you didn’t have about twenty hyperactive fourteen year olds dragging you around the Museum’s ‘Young Mind’ section for the last hour.

Suddenly, your overwhelming enthusiasm for the museum was dampened by the constant noise coming from your kids. Whether it was them laughing and messing around way too close to a fragile exhibit or literally running through the museum like the windows of the building alone didn’t cost more than your feeble art supply budget. 

The most embarrassing part was how miserable of a tour guide you were. If this were the art museum on the other side of town, you would have killed it. You could name the artists of the work being displayed there right now, but the second one of your students asked what ‘inertial force’ means, you were done for.

Because you were an art teacher. An art teacher for a severely underfunded high school on the border of Zaun and Piltover. An art teacher who had stupidly volunteered to chaperone a group of freshman for this year’s big field trip. An art teacher who was so glad it was time to sit down, they could have cried.

Most of the trip was exploring the museum itself, but there were a few scheduled activities you had to usher your rambunctious group to. On the schedule it said something pretentious like ‘Men of Progress: Live Demonstration of Up and Coming Blah Blah Blah.’ You literally have no fucking clue what that’s supposed to mean and the title is so long you didn’t bother reading it through. All that mattered is that when you entered the lab, there were rows of chairs set up. They were all facing a large counter, similar to the kind they had back at the high school’s lab, but much newer.

“Y’all are big kids so I’m not assigning seats, but stick to the same general area, please.” You glanced back at the teens following you like lost ducks and gestured towards the folding chairs.

“Can I sit next to you?” One of the smaller students with a choppy, bright blue haircut asked, tugging on your messenger bag. You recognized her from your beginning art class. She was sweet when she wanted to be and an utter menace, also when she wanted to be, but art meant the world to her and it was something you could relate to. “I want to point at you and draw attention when they ask for volunteers.”

Aaaaaand there’s the menace.

“You can totally sit with me, Jinx, but if you do that shit I’m taking you up there with me,” You rolled your eyes as she burst into giggles. Menace.

A couple other groups filed in and got settled as well, along with the few random people that had decided to come to the museum midday on a random thursday. Then the lights in the back half of the room dimmed and a tentative hush fell over the audience as two men wearing cheesy lab coats and goggles on their head popped into the room, coming to stand at the front next to the counter.

The taller of the two was carrying a large plastic tub while the other had a clipboard tucked under the arm he was using to lean on a cane, waving with his free hand.

“Good afternoon, everybody!” The taller one projected as he set the tub onto the counter. “I’m Dr. Jayce Talis and this is my partner. They call us…the Hexbros!!”

“They do not call us that. Dr. Talis calls us that,” Soft laughter filled the room as the second man spoke up, his light accent catching your attention.

“Thanks, pal,” Jayce rolled his eyes good naturedly before beginning to unpack the box, spreading out a myriad of different objects. “We’re both from Piltover’s Academy and once every month we come to help out at the museum! Are you guys ready for some science?”

Jinx literally screams at the top of her lungs in response, and all you can do is cover your mouth and laugh at her enthusiasm.

“Energetic crowd today, yeah? My name is Viktor and today we’ll be doing a couple of demonstrations, the first of which requires a volunteer. Do we have any takers?” Viktor scanned the crowd, looking among the sea of arms that immediately shot up, most of them your students. You shot a quick glare at Jinx and she smiled sheepishly at you but she just raised her hand. Agreeing, at least for the moment, not to draw attention to you.

Viktor continued glancing over the crowd, making a big show of stroking his chin and humming as he did so. His eyes flitted over you and you could’ve sworn they doubled back, but you were too taken aback by the color of them to know for sure. You’d never seen such bright golden eyes like that before, they were striking. Trying to ignore the jolt of interest that Viktor sparked, you turned your attention back to where Jayce was setting up some kind of experiment using three glasses of water.

At random, the scientist chose a student from a different group and they came up to help with the experiment. Which is how the demonstration went over the course of half an hour. They’d pick a volunteer while setting each activity up, go through with the experiment, then explain the science behind it through witty banter while they cleaned it all up afterwards.

None of their demonstrations were particularly complicated, similar to something you’d see at a middle school science fair, but the two inventors at the front of the room were entertaining enough that it held everyone’s attention. Jayce had the golden boy look about him, playing it up with a charming smile and a disarming way of speaking. While Viktor was the polar opposite, the moon to Jayce’s sun, the cynical partner of the group with a dry humour that had you snorting more than once through the show.

“Our last experiment for the afternoon is the most simple one yet, though it always receives a standing ovation,” Viktor explained to the crowd as Jayce pulled out a bag of balloons, a box of matches, and a pitcher of water.

“You wanna blow up the balloon, Vik?” Jayce asked, pulling one from the pack.

Without even looking at him, Viktor shook his head. “You’ve got more than enough hot air to fill them with, Jayce. All you.”

You swear you nearly bit your tongue with how quickly you had to stop yourself from laughing obnoxiously. Obviously not well enough seeing as it still drew Viktor’s attention and now he was sending a quick smirk in your direction. What was Jayce doing? You should look at Jayce now. God, it’s so stuffy in this room. When’s the show over, again?

In the time it took to pull yourself together again, Jayce had blown up the balloon and held it up, Viktor at his side with the matchbox.

“I require an audience response for this one, what do you think will happen if I were to light this match and touch it to the side of the balloon?” Viktor asked and held the match out for everyone to see.

There was various shouts from the students, most of them convinced the balloon would pop. Viktor nodded thoughtfully as he took in their answers.

Quickly, he struck the match against the side of the box, effortlessly lighting it and touching it to the bottom of the balloon where Jayce was holding it upside down. With a loud bang, it popped, making a few people in the crowd yelp.

“Most of you were right! So we filled a balloon with air and when touched with a lit match, it popped,” Jayce grinned, tossing the scraps and burnt match into the trash. “What do you all hypothesize will happen if we put water in the balloon?”

The audience starts to get excited, some of the kids in the row behind you halfway out of their chairs as the students shout out their answers, this time the group is an even mix of ‘it won’t! It will!’

“It’s not gonna pop!” Jinx yelled from beside you. She’d been thoroughly invested through the entire ordeal, but especially so after Viktor grinned mischievously at the crowd and asked;

“Do we have a brave volunteer willing to test this out?”

Jinx leaped to her feet, both hands pointing and waving frantically as she borderline screamed your name.

Your jaw. Drops. She had to have been holding this in the entire show. She had heeded your warning and only raised her hand for herself the entire time, even getting to go up and assist with the pendulum experiment, but now all bets were off.

Immediately, both Viktor and Jayce turned to face Jinx who is now jumping up and down.

“This is my art teacher! Pick my art teacher!!” Jinx yelled out.

You cover your face with your hands. Trying to ignore that, along with the two scientists, everybody else is staring at you. It felt like you were three seconds from spontaneously combusting.

“Jinx,” You whisper yelled through your hands. “Sit down. I’m begging.”

“It seems we have a very enthusiastic volunteer!” Viktor sounded amused and also much closer than he had just a minute ago.

Your hands fell from your face only to be replaced with Viktor’s outstretched hand. At some point, in all of Jinx’s dramatics, Viktor had made his way from the front of the room to where you sat in the front row of chairs. Your gaze flicked between his hand and his face as he peered down at you expectantly. From this close you could see two moles on his face, a detail you never would have been plagued with if your students didn’t have it out for you.

Jinx was gripping your arm now, shaking it back and forth and begging for you to go up there. Some of the other kids in your group were in on it too now. The things you did for your students.

Begrudgingly, you placed your hand in Viktor’s letting him help pull you to your feet. Jinx lets out a triumphant ‘WOO!’ as she flops back into her seat and excitedly watches as you and Viktor head over to the front of the room, where Jayce has placed a single chair.

“You’re going to be very popular with your students after this,” Viktor hummed, only loud enough for you to hear as Jayce struggled to get the riled up crowd’s attention.

You glared at him, the effect ruined by the smile you couldn’t bite down on. “Why do I feel like I’m heading to the gallows right now?”

Viktor barked out a laugh and gestured for you to sit in the chair. Your stomach dropped.

“It seems we’ve got our brave volunteer!” Jayce grinned as you reluctantly settle into the chair. From behind you, you could hear Viktor’s cane tapping the floor as he headed back to the counter, presumably to set up the second balloon. “Have you got a name, oh mysterious art teacher?”

You gave him your name and he repeated it back louder so the audience could hear, behind you was the sound of a balloon being blown up.

“And do you think the balloon will pop, yes or no?” Viktor asked from the counter, sounding more than a little amused.

“Well I was sitting next to an incredibly smart girl during this whole experiment, and she says it’s not going to pop, so I trust her judgment,” You smiled, watching as Jinx wiggled happily in her seat, having pulled her knees up to her chest as she watched in anticipation.

“Or maybe she just wants to see her favorite teacher get soaked,” Viktor hummed back thoughtfully, coming back into your line of sight with a second balloon. This one was blown up and tied, held upside down just like the first had. The only difference between this balloon and the other, was the water you could see sloshing around the lower half.

“I appreciate your strength in this scary situation, but don’t worry, we haven’t popped a water balloon all morning!” Jayce reassured you, taking the balloon from Viktor and holding it over your head.

“But there’s always a possibility,” Viktor countered while pulling out a match from the box. “Any electronics in your pockets you’d like to remove before we test your hypothesis?”

Thankful for the warning, you tugged your phone from the pocket of your jeans and handed it to Viktor, who put it in his pocket for safe keeping.

“Hold your breath!” Jayce teased as Viktor lit the match.

You did exactly that, squeezing your eyes shut as you fully tensed, arms folded to your stomach like that’d stop the balloon from dumping its contents over your head. The crowd was deadly silent as Viktor reached over and slowly pressed the flame to the very bottom of the balloon and…

Nothing.

The balloon didn’t pop.

Almost immediately the students started making noise, a chorus of ‘awww man’ coming from your kids in particular. You let out a deep breath, relaxing your shoulders.

“Oh my god, you guys had me so nervous,” You groaned, chuckling a bit to yourself as you sat back in the chair fully, glancing at Viktor where he still held the match to the bottom of the balloon. He smiled back down at you.

“Ah, yes. You must have gotten lucky today,” Viktor nodded before removing the match and pressing it into the empty top half of the balloon, popping it over your head and utterly drenching you in freezing water.

Your kids went. Insane. It was pure chaos.

From under the loud din of about sixty something high school kids cheering, you could hear both Viktor and Jayce laughing.

“Oh it’s funny, huh? ‘Cause I’m about to be hilarious,” You warned, flicking the water out of your eyes with your equally wet hands.

“And that’s my cue to go grab a towel!” Jayce said, booking it to the counter just as you stood up from your chair.

“Hey-what, no! You can’t just leave me here! This is ableist Jayce!” Viktor protested. He was laughing a little too hard to back away from you, now was your chance.

“Are you a hugger, doc? You seem like a hugger,” You grinned, grabbing the same hand he’d used to pull you from your chair earlier to pull him into a bear hug.

Immediately he yelped, trying to jump away from where the cold water you were drenched in transferred to the front of his shitty lab coat. “Ah, how kind of you!” Viktor chuckled, gingerly patting your back.

“Aw, c’mon guys. I’ve only got one towel!” Jayce whined as he came back over with a towel that, while sorely needed, is not going to be enough to dry all of your clothes.

You pulled away from Viktor, satisfied that you’ve at least gotten his jacket wet and also ignoring how warm he had felt. Nodding at your handiwork, you accepted the towel from Jayce. They both thanked you for your participation and you headed back to your seat.

Viktor was right, though, you were extremely popular for the rest of the day.

Jinx was practically as glued to your side as she could be without actually touching you and your awful damp clothes. It was almost worth it. Almost. You really despised walking around the last few sections of the museum feeling like a drowned rat.

“Are you gonna ride the bus back to school with us?” Jinx asked as you recounted your group in the lobby, making sure everyone was accounted for.

The buses had finally arrived and it was time to cram the students back in three to a seat and head back to the school.

“I’m sorry, Jinx. There’s not enough room for all the chaperones on the buses, I volunteered to drive myself.” Jinx gave you puppy dog eyes and you laughed at her dramatics. “You’ll see me in class tomorrow, stop pouting.”

That seemed to cheer her up as she held out her fist for a quick fistbump before chasing after the rest of her group where they were piling into the bus. You watched them walk off, standing in front of the museum and wondering what you had in your car to cover your seat with so it didn’t end up just as wet as you did.

“Wait!”

You turned as your name was called out, finding none other than Viktor trying to speed through the lobby towards you.

“Viktor?” You asked, meeting him halfway. He wasn’t wearing the lab coat anymore, instead he was wearing a form-fitting, black button down with a red tie. It fit him a lot better than the baggy white coat he’d been practically swimming in earlier.

Like, it fit him a LOT better. Wow. Oh shit, he was talking to you, focus.

“-everywhere for you, I’m so glad I could catch you before you got on the bus. I didn’t know how else to-”

“Woah, Viktor, it’s cool. I’m not even getting on the bus,” You jerked your thumb over your shoulder to where the buses were currently pulling out. “What’s up?”

“Your phone, it was still in my pocket from earlier,” Sure enough, Viktor pulled your phone from the pocket of his slacks, handing it over.

You took it from him gratefully. “Oh my god, I hadn’t even realized I’d left it behind. Thank you so much, you didn’t have to go hunt me down to give it back.”

“Nonsense, it’s the least I can do after I got you wet like that in front of all those people.”

Dead silence.

You couldn’t bite back the laugh that shot out of you, hand coming up to cover your mouth as you watched Viktor’s face slowly turn red.

“You-I, let me rephrase.” Viktor stumbled over an excuse and you couldn’t hold back your laughter anymore.

“Nah, I get what you mean, doc,” You took mercy on him and he smiled sheepishly at you.

He seemed different now that it was just the two of you, shyer than he had been when he was with his lab partner, popping a water balloon over your head in front of a live audience. It was like there was something else he had to say, something trapped just behind his brain to mouth filter that he was struggling to push past.

“I better check and make sure everything’s here, I’m not sure if I trust you after that balloon incident,” You teased, turning your phone on to scroll through your contacts.

“Wh-? I’d never!”

“Oh, yeah? Then why am I missing a number in here, huh?”

“What? Let me see that, I promise you I didn’t even touch your phone before I brought it here. Who’s number is missing?” Viktor huffed as he stepped to your side and peered over your shoulder at your phone screen.

“It’s yours.” You grinned, waving the phone at him. The screen was pulled up to create a new contact.

Immediately Viktor was red-faced again. He was trying to glare at you, but it was ultimately weakened by the smile he couldn’t fight off. “That was an utterly awful pick-up line.”

Regardless of how awful it had been, Viktor took your phone and started typing his number in.

“It can’t possibly be worse than picking me out of a crowd to pop a water balloon over my head in front of my students,” You countered. Viktor chuckled in response as he handed back your phone.

“You might have me there,” He conceded. “I’ve got to get back to my lab now, but do try calling if you ever want me to, uh, get you wet, again. As it were.”

It was your turn to stutter out a response, nearly dropping your phone. As you were trying to piece a witty retort together, Jayce pulled up in front of the museum in a shitty camry.

“Ah, that’s my ride. Have a good evening!” Viktor smirked, every bit aware of the effect he had over you in this moment as he walked to the passenger side of the car and hopped in.

You watched the two pull off, trying to gather your thoughts as they shrank into the distance.

Piltover’s Science Museum was truly a modern wonder.

[cheri-translates]

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a call, Moments and Texts which have not been released in EN! 🍒

Highly recommened to read Summer Solstice Date first!

[ CALL ]

Shaw: Did I leave my “Oracle Script Calligraphy Form and Structure” book in Live House?

MC: Huh? Let me see...

Shaw: It should be on the red plastic chair. Check over that side.

MC: Found it. Do you need it now? I could ask a courier to send it to your school?

Shaw: No need. See if there’s a letter inside from someone with the surname “Wang”.

MC: The surname “Wang”... there isn’t.

Shaw: Hm, then I must have put it in another book. I’ll look for it myself later.

MC: Is the letter really important?

Shaw: A previous student of the Old Man wrote it to him. That elderly man has gone out of town to attend an academic discussion these few days, and asked me to keep it for him.

MC: Does this mean the sender is your senior?

Shaw: I guess she counts as a senior. After graduating, she headed to the undeveloped mountain region to bring education to them, and often corresponds with the Old Man through letters. The department was planning to keep her as a teacher, and the Old Man already wrote his recommendation in advance. But she said she was needed much more elsewhere.

MC: People who are willing to bring education to the mountain region are really incredible... I have a feeling that she's definitely an especially gentle and strong Big Sister!

Shaw: Gentle? The Old Man always calls her up to complain about me, then leaves her to lecture me. She always says the same things - “Teacher Shen thinks really highly of you, so don’t let him down.” Or “Don’t keep skipping literature classes just because you've memorised many books in the past.” Or “Don’t do your thesis half-heartedly. You have to go deeper into the research, and check it repeatedly...” Tch. She’s born to be a teacher.

MC: Pfft... looks like there are still people in your department who can manage you. Do you want to become a teacher in the future? You looked the part when you were a volunteer the last time.

Shaw: Nope. I’m not interested in transmitting wisdom, imparting knowledge, or resolving doubts.

MC: Really? But I found a postcard from an elementary student in your “Oracle Script Calligraphy Form and Structure” book. “Hello Big Brother Shaw, thanks for giving our class the “100 History Questions for Teens”. Let me share a piece of good news with you. I scored 90 marks in the mid-term exams...”

Shaw: Okay, that’s enough. Put the postcard back in its original position.

MC: Fine fine fine, I’ve already put it back... you felt really happy inside, didn’t you?

Shaw: Nope. I’ll have to end the call here. I have one more class. I’ll look for you once it’s done.

[ MOMENTS ]

Shaw’s Post: Perfect soundproofing. Next time, I can practise at home.

MC: Doesn’t that mean no one can hear you even if you shout yourself hoarse?

Shaw: ? You could try.

-

Shaw’s Post: Perfect soundproofing. Next time, I can practise at home.

MC: With a soundproofed room, there can also be a games room, movie room...

Shaw: We’ll start work tomorrow.

-

Shaw’s Post: Perfect soundproofing. Next time, I can practise at home.

MC: It’s just that the soundproofed room looks a little plain...

Shaw: My spray paint isn’t there for display.

[ TEXTS ]

[ First Scenario ]

Shaw: I won’t be going today. Have to keep her company. I’ll have to trouble you to thank your wife on my behalf.

MC: ???

Shaw: ...

Shaw: Wrong person.

Shaw: ...why can’t I unsend it?

MC: Were you planning to send that to Professor Shen?

Shaw: Who else?

Shaw: Dragging me to the museum to be a conscript in the morning was enough. He still wanted to occupy my evening.

Shaw: Dream on.

MC: Why is Professor looking for you? Is it very urgent?

Shaw: Nothing much. He said that since it’s my birthday, he and his wife wanted to treat me to a meal.

Shaw: I’ve already declined.

Shaw: Okay, I’ve blocked everyone. Nobody can even think of disturbing the rest of the day.

-

[ Second Scenario ]

Shaw: I won’t be going today. Have to keep her company. I’ll have to trouble you to thank your wife on my behalf.

MC: Did you send that the wrong person?

Shaw: ...

Shaw: Just pretend you didn’t see anything.

Shaw: No, delete it.

MC: Who is “she” referring to?

Shaw: Seems like you’re truly in high spirits.

Shaw: Hold up your phone and turn on the front camera.

Shaw: Look at who she is.

MC: The next time I look for you in school, I also want to meet your professors and seniors!

Shaw: Don’t come.

Shaw: Those guys in the department have wanted to pry into my private life since a long time ago.

Shaw: You aren’t allowed to provide them with materials.

-

[ Third Scenario ]

Shaw: I won’t be going today. Have to keep her company. I’ll have to trouble you to thank your wife on my behalf.

MC: Mm, it’s okay~

Shaw: ?

Shaw: What does this have to do with you?

Shaw: It wasn’t even meant for you.

MC: It’s so rare to see you talking so politely...

Shaw: Have you heard of “青白眼”?

[Note] I can’t find an equivalent English term for this, but it loosely translates to “direct gazes and the rolling of eyes”. The idea being conveyed is that you typically look at someone directly when your respect them, and roll your eyes if you don’t

Shaw: Different attitudes should be used when dealing with different people.

Shaw: I’ll only be polite to those who deserve my politeness.

MC: You should be a little more polite to me next time. Why do you always use imperative sentences with me...

Shaw: You sure?

Shaw: In that case, may I trouble MC to move her respectable feet, open the door gently, and allow me entrance into the residence.

Shaw: Much appreciated.

[standingonborderline]

We have philosophy and theft

rating: teen and up audiences

shipps: janus + patton (moceit) 

word count: ~12.2k

summary: Soulmates share the same birthday. That is a fact. The hard part is finding the one who really is your match among so many others. Patton has never met anyone who has the same birthday as him, and when Virgil mentions that he knows someone, Patton insists that he set up a date. Except that things take a turn and crimes are commited.

warnings: there is a scene where a dog is locked inside a hot car but he turns out fine ok, i promise

author’s note: this is a general content submission for @moceit-appreciation-week . i originally wrote this in my native language, brazillian portuguese (that if you happen to know you can read it here) and then i translated it and made some adaptations, so... i don’t know, just keep that in mind

[Read it on AO3]

"When is your birthday again?'' Virgil asked calmly, raising his gaze from the computer screen before him. He was sloppy sitting on the padded bench near the cafeteria wall. Above him, hanging on a brick wall, was a huge blackboard displaying a weekly menu written in chalk.

"On the first day." Patton answered, leaning over the square table positioned between him and his friend. He placed his head in one hand, holding the cappuccino glass with the other near him.

"May?''

''Yeah.''

Virgil turned to the computer screen, and Patton could hear the press of keys amid the buzz of the other customers.

"Why is that?''

"So I can write it down." He clarified, and in front of him, there was a huge monthly calendar filled with all the things he needed to do and what was the deadline to accomplish them. Virgil struggled to keep his life organized as much as possible. He was also ignoring the fact that the day was April 13, which meant that the month had begun two weeks ago. The small floating arrow sailed to the bottom of the screen, and he selected the day in question, marked with a letter ''S'' above it. "It's on a Saturday.''

Patton sighed, staring at the marks of deterioration on the wooden table on which they were.

''Yes, it is.''

Virgil turned to him again, raising his head and watching him beneath the purple locks of hair. He stretched his fingers above the keyboard, causing the black nail polish to camouflage between the keys.

"What?"

''I'm going to be twenty-nine, and I haven't met my soulmate yet!" Patton was pitiful. He opened his arms cautiously on the table, lying on it and avoiding reaching the glass that was near him and his friend's computer.

Virgil sighed briefly. Every year the same thing happened, and by that time, he already had a mental list of arguments to offer Patton.

"Well... You know... sometimes people have to try more than once." He shrugged. "Everyone thinks that as soon as they meet someone who has a birthday on the same day they will be perfect. It's a great way to delude yourself. Like it's fate or something." He smiled ironically.

''Yes, I know, but I've never MET anyone who has a birthday on the same day as me!'' Patton stretched both hands, next to Virgil's computer, leaning his chin on the table. ''It's complicated.''

Virgil rolled his eyes and lowered the notebook screen, watching Patton and his honey-colored curls. He knew this was something that bothered Patton, though he couldn't say the same about himself. His expression turned into a grimace, and he lifted the computer screen again, placing it between him and Patton so that it would prevent eye contact.

"I may... know someone who has a birthday on the same day as you."

''What?" Patton rose from the surface immediately, unable to see Virgil's face due to the grayish plaque in front of him. ''Virgil?"

''Um?''

''Who is it?'' He rose from the seat, leaning part of his body over the table, and positioning his face above the screen. He pressed his fingertips next to the camera of the device.

"Who's what?'' Virgil asked, staring at the calendar to avoid Patton's supplicant gaze.

"The person you know who has a birthday on the same day as me.'' Patton clarified, and fought against his instincts that resembled that of a feline wanting attention: were it not for Virgil's fingers on the keyboard, he would have already closed the computer that created an obstacle between them. "I'm down for anyone. You know that."

''Yes, I know, it's not that, it's... is that... You know what, never mind, you're not going to like him." He spoke, denying with his head.

"No, I want to know!" Patton insisted. "Please?"

''Oh, it's just... he's kind of...'' Virgil began, seeking a justification, and finally looked at Patton, who kept all his concentration on him. I don't know, I don't trust him.''

"Why not?" Patton frowned delicately.

''I don't know. It's just... a feeling, I guess.''

''Okay... what do you know about him?"

''That he is a lawyer and that his name is Janus."

''Oh, cool!'' Patton leaned his head on the back of his hands, above the computer monitor. "What else?"

''That's all, actually."

''That's all?''

''Yeah. I told you, I don't trust him. Besides, I think he hides stuff.''

''What kind of stuff?''

Virgil grumbled, gesturing vaguely, and tried:

"About himself?''

Patton contemplated briefly and then shrugged.

"Maybe he's only reserved. Like you.''

Virgil made a face and returned his concentration to the computer.

"So... Are you going to give me his number?"

''Patton... "

''Please?" He smiled, and quickly added, "I'm the one who has to like him, not you. Pretty please?''

Virgil and Patton stared at each other and Virgil remembered why he wanted to avoid eye contact. No one could say no to Patton with bright brown eyes and wavy hair as adorable as a puppy asking for your food. Finally, he gave in.

"Ugh, all right. I'll talk to him. I'll see what I can do.''

''Yay!" Patton clapped his hands. "Thank you!''

''Of course. Whatever.''

With the online calendar still open in front of him, Virgil added a note to remember talking to Janus about the situation.

Outside the Museum of the Classical Age was a large, wide staircase made of whitish marble. At both ends, above the steps, were the handrails leading to the museum's small entrance platform. In the center of it, a third handrail was installed, standing out due to its contrast in relation to the rest of the façade. It had a smaller thickness, being made of iron in black color, and was used much more often by visitors of the daily.

Patton used the first of the steps as a seat, next to the entrance door and next to the left handrail. The shadow of the architecture spread to the pavement ahead, partially taking the path to the staircase and the outdoor parking lot, distributed on the sides of the entrance. The sun shone fervently, but that did not prevent the low temperature or the icy breeze that accompanied it. People would come in and leave the establishment, and Patton was waiting for a face that wasn't familiar to him. The high sound of a tire caught his eye, and he — like other visitors outside — turned to the right, in time to watch the driver of a red pickup truck suddenly stop, too close to a man crossing the parking lot. Immediately, the driver threw several offensive words at the man, who stopped where he was and stared at him for a moment, before walking again and heading to the museum's staircases. With this, the focus of the others also dispersed. Patton followed the man with his gaze as he approached and climbed the steps quickly. The print on his clothing became a blur, being possible to identify only the figure of two wavy things crossed one over the other. He went into the museum, while the driver had been lost sight of, and the situation that had barely begun had already been finished.

Patton waited a few more seconds, preventing his thoughts from focusing on the movement outside that dramatically diminished, and on how no one had addressed him. Hearing a delicate tinkling, he exuded, picking up the cell phone that had the screen facing down in his lap.

''date janus!!'' it read as the contact name at the top of the screen. It was from two minutes ago,  at 11:12 am.

''I'm here'', one of the messages said.

''I believe in a section just about the coliseum,'' said another message then.

Below these two, there was an attached photo that appeared to have been taken at a certain distance. It showed the end of a corridor that contained a passage to another room ahead, wider. The walls were of a clear beige tone, and instead of works referring to the time, they were decorated with documents extended and protected by glass. On the sides of the entrance to the next room were two chandeliers, each lifting a small transparent lamp. And among them... there was a woman who spoke and over-gesticulated, actions easy to detect due to the smudges that her face and arms had become. In front of her and with her back to the camera, was a group of teenage students, occupying fully the entrance. On the right, near one of the chandeliers, was a second woman who was also partially with her back to the camera.

Patton stretched his legs, rising from the smooth marble surface and turned around. With a few steps, he walked through the huge double door that was completely extended to the inside, as if with open arms awaiting the visitors.

To the left of the lobby was a large circular reception. From where he was, Patton could see at least three different employees serving people. He thought about joining them and the small line that formed — which he would do on other occasions — but this would probably take several minutes. He analyzed the rest of the environment, the gaze floating over other individuals who walked around the room, the most distant velvety benches leaning against the wall, the huge staircase that stood both to the left and to the right, by the large arches that indicated the entrance to other corridors near where he was. Uncertain, he crossed the room toward the corridor on the right, and came across the same beige walls with chandeliers and the class of students who occupied the passage. However, there did not seem to be anyone else present besides those who were previously in the photo. Patton glanced at his cell phone, which remained with the same three messages, and turned distractedly to look around.

"Boo!" In front of him, a man arose, leaning toward him.

Patton jumped back, giving a sharp scream and taking both hands to his chest reflexively.

The man laughed, and Patton did the same, embarrassed.

''I'm sorry." He said by mere formality, in a drawn tone of voice.

''Of course." Patton sighed, relaxing his shoulders and straightening his jacket with one hand, while the other held the phone. He laughed one more time. "Very... sneaky, aren't you?''

''Yes.'' The man agreed, and he analyzed the boy in front of him from head to toe.

The first thing to be noted in Patton was the huge colored jacket he wore. The colors of the piece alternated between red, blue, green and yellow, and its fabric was soft and comfortable, preventing the wind from passing through it. Underneath it, he wore a white shirt that contained two bottoms above the right side of the collarbone, both of which were composed of colored stripes. One of them had a pink stripe followed by a yellow and a blue one. The other, a little further down, had a black stripe followed by a gray, a white and a purple one. The shirt bar was placed inside the high-waisted style jeans, in a shade of grayish blue. He wore yellow all-star sneakers that covered his ankles, but even so, the man was almost certain that he wore different socks. One of Patton's hands still held one side of the jacket tightly, and he noticed his nails painted in different colors: dark blue, light blue, purple, and black. The hand that held the phone was partially hidden for him, so that it was only possible to see the fingernail of the thumb painted red.

He had brown eyes, protected by the glass and aluminum skeleton that was his rounded glasses and long eyelashes. Beside the nose, the upper part of the cheeks was decorated with small brown dots scattered horizontally. His skin was clear, his lips pink, and on his face fell wavy locks in a shade of faded brown. Apparently, the numerous decorative fruit hair clips were not enough to contain them in place.

The man blinked repeatedly, his face inexpressible. Patton seemed to have come straight from a children's show in which he was the host and had chosen his own costume, resulting, surprisingly, in a beautiful outfit being worn by an even more beautiful person. Lovely, perhaps, was the most appropriate word. ''Cute'' would also work.

But instead of saying any of these things, he remained silent, until finally asking:

"It's Patton, right?"

''Oh... Yes, it is." Patton gulped and held out his hand to him, looking at the other man before him.

His skin was clear, but not as much as his. This was obvious when one noticed the spots on the right side of his face, whose tone was closer to pink than beige. Above them, his hair was partially shaved on the side, and the dark brown locks were reserving on the left side, long enough to reach the length of the cheeks. At the height of the neck, it was possible to see the white collar of a shirt, hidden by the black sweater he wore on top. His hands were involved by the pockets of black pants with pleats, and he wore brown combat boots.

"Janus." He said, shaking Patton's hand and revealing the yellow glove he used.

Patton alternated glances between the three things that most intrigued him in the person in front of him: the eyes, the stains on his face and the gloves. Before he could decide which one to ask first, another detail stood out for looking familiar to him, and he meticulously observed the pattern of two dark green snakes crossing one over the other in Janus' sweater.

"Hey, weren't you in the parking lot earlier?"

''What?" He asked, slightly confused, before remembering. "Oh, yes, I was. I love the experience of almost getting hit first thing in the morning." He mocked, and Patton noticed it was the same lazy tone of voice he had used to apologize moments before.

"Yeah... there are people who get very angry in traffic anyway." Patton changed the subject and stood beside Janus, only to discover that he was reasonably short compared to the other man. In front of them, the student class was gone. ''Shall we?''

That said, the two walked down the rest of the corridor and entered the next room.

By the next thirty minutes, Patton had already made two puns about them being in a museum.

He maybe got confused during a third attempt that resulted in comparing Janus to a work of art. Maybe.

Either way, Janus tried his best to hide his laughter and apparent redness on his face. He failed miserably in both.

Janus had the impression that Patton was looking too much at him, specifically at his face. He decided to clarify that the spots on the right side were the main symptom of a skin disease called vitiligo.

Patton said he had freckles on his face, though this was evident.

Janus mentioned having a pet snake named Ophelia. Patton assumed he was joking. Two factors made him realize that he was not: Janus' expression and tone of voice remained the same throughout the conversation, and Patton's suspicion that he had a forked tongue.

Not that he was looking at Janus' mouth or anything.

Patton was a high school philosophy teacher.

He liked plants. He talked about the collection of succulents that stood on the window sill of his room, and their names: Angela, Ashley, Audrey, Alice, Amelia, Aurora, and a few others. The latter was in reference to the Disney princess.

Janus was pretty sure he'd mentioned an Ariel too.

Janus liked the Marvel movies.

Patton preferred DC movies. His favorite was Shazam.

They talked about how Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne were alike.

Patton told about how his students appeared with the so-called new ''memes'' every week, and that he didn't quite understand how they worked. This did not prevent him from using them the wrong way through his attempts. Sometimes these same students spent most of their class with their heads down, and Patton knew they were having a bad day. So he didn't bother them.

Janus told of the questionable things his colleagues in the legal field did. Among them, having love affairs with clients who were in divorce proceedings, and obtaining evidence by illegal means. He wouldn't admit it, but it was fun to be able to tell these things to someone who wasn't part of the business —and who therefore couldn't use them against someone he knew. Patton seemed shocked by the reports, but also interested.

An hour and a half later, the number of people visiting the historic facility decreased considerably as most went out to eat.

Patton stopped in the lobby, away from the doors. He had taken off his colorful jacket and now held it over his forearms, gathered near his body. He turned to Janus, not far from him. "There's a diner down the street." He remarked, drawing the attention of the other young man who looked up at him. "Do you want to go eat? We can get there by foot.''

''Yes." He said without thinking. But who could say no to Patton? Patton who had his nails painted in different colors, Patton who had chosen an outfit that seemed to have come out of an eighties themed movie, Patton who had named his plants, Patton who laughed at the very puns he made at any opportunity, Patton who cared for the wellbeing of his students, although it was not his responsibility. Patton.

He was so sweet. So lovely. Optimistic. Polite. That wouldn't work. Janus had to make something about that. He just didn't know what yet.

They went down the street, heading for the establishment. The silver clouds hid the sun, and the winds remained sharp enough to cause chills. They walked side by side, most of the time in silence, and Patton pointed to some birds that were landed on the electric wire across the street. They arrived at the site and outside the gravel floor formed an outdoor parking lot, similar to what the museum also had. Further away from the entrance, Janus noticed a red pickup truck, too much like the one he had seen earlier when he arrived at the museum. Ahead of him, Patton entered and held the door for him, and the two took slow steps as they entered the venue, searching for an empty table amid the crowd of customers. Quietly, they went to the service desk to place their orders, infiltrating amid the lines that were mixing due to being side by side. Patton raised his arm to fix the sleeve of his shirt, but in doing so, he accidentally hit someone next to him who was coming in the opposite direction.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" He spoke immediately, gathering his arm close to him and placing his hand on his opposite shoulder.

''Yeah, yeah, whatever." The man in the plaid shirt grumbled. Getting as close as he could to the service desk, he sneaked through the thick line. Still, he wasn't far from the couple. "Lady! Hey, lady!''

Patton took a step to the left, approaching Janus who now stared at the intruder with his eyes half-closed.

The man began to call out for the attendant at the counter a little further from him, saying something about having received the wrong order. The attendant politely asked him to go to the end of the line, but the same could not be said of the other people around who were waiting to place their orders. Unidentified voices were startled in the buzz, complaining about the man and also asking — demanding — that he go to the end of the line. The man ignored the claims, insisting that he was paying for an order he had not made, while the attendant reiterated that they had delivered exactly what he had requested. Janus and Patton watched the situation unfold attentively.

Looking at the man, Janus recognized him as the same one he had seen earlier, the same driver of the truck who had almost run him over in the morning. And with that, he had an idea.

"I can make a new order for you. " He volunteered, and the man finally turned to him, analyzing him from head to toe.

"Aren't you that guy who was at the museum?''

Janus blinked repeatedly, giving a fake smile.

"I was... Oh, my God, you were the guy in the pickup truck, weren't you? I'm so sorry, I wasn't seeing where I was going!" He explained, taking one hand to his chest dramatically.

Patton looked at the two, confused, but paying more attention to janus' tone of voice, which had suddenly changed. It was completely different from the dragged tone he had used during the time they were in the museum, as if he were an actor playing a role.

"Yeah... you should pay more attention anyway."

''Oh, I will for sure, sir...?'' Janus asked, offering his hand to him.

''John." He greeted.

"Is that short for Jonathan?''

''No. Just John. And you're...?"

''Oh... I'm...'' Janus kept his forced smile, and looked away. Through the big window in the back, on the other side of the room, you could see the street outside. A large bus stopped at a traffic light, the ad on the side displaying Louis Vuitton's new fall-winter collection. Quickly, he added: ''Louis."

''Um. " John made a grimace and examined him again. ''Such a cocky name, huh?''

Janus' smile was slowly becoming terrifying.

"What's wrong with your order?" He asked, changing the subject, and felt Patton gently pulling the sleeve of his sweater.

"I had ordered a large burger and a medium Coke, and they gave me the opposite.'' John offered the receipt to Janus, who checked it superficially.

''Do you know what? I'll make this order for you again, and then it's all settled. You don't have to pay anything else.

"Um. Alright." John agreed with the same angry expression that Janus had seen all day, and walked away, ending the conflict in line.

Janus watched as he disappeared into the crowd, and his fake smile turned into an expression of repulsion. He disguised it before turning to Patton, who called him:

"What are you doing?" He had furrowed eyebrows, looking between Janus and the path John had taken before he disappeared. "Your name's not Louis."

''Well... Maybe he's just having a bad day." Janus shrugged, turning his eyes. "Maybe he just needs... a good deed.''

Patton made a grimace, uncomfortable, and the two moved forward as the line progressed.

"I didn't like him. He almost ran you over."

''Pff, don't worry.'' Janus guided, gesticulating vaguely. "We're not going to be in his company for long anyway.''

Arriving at the service desk, Janus only made John's order. Patton barely paid attention to his, ordering quickly. Leaving the line with the orders, the two met the man at a table. Janus and Patton sat side by side, while John stood at the opposite end. When he began to eat, his manners towards the two changed, and he magically became more polite. He began to chatter, for the most part, complaining about his work that neither Patton nor Janus had paid enough attention to know what it was. Janus stayed as far away from the table as possible, strategically holding one of the menus raised in front of him. Patton ate only half of his order, looking out the window most of the time. About half an hour passed with Janus presenting a friendly personality.

"Well, the chat is fine, but if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom.'' John informed as he rested his hands on the table and stood up.

"Oh, is it?" Janus looked up at him, as did Patton. "Don't you want to leave your stuff here? I'll take care of it.''

John frowned and looked at Janus and Patton.

"My stuff?''

"Yes," Janus shrugged. "It's going to be quick anyways.''

John hesitated, but gave in. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he left his wallet, cell phone and car keys on the table. Janus glanced at the belongings.

"Five minutes." John said, moving away from the table.

"Five minutes." Janus echoed, following him with his gaze.

John went to the back of the diner and walked through a door, disappearing from view.

Janus turned to the table and, with one hand, took the cell phone and keys. With the other one, he held Patton's.

''Let's go.'' Janus stood up quickly from the table, taking with him a Patton who intertwined his own legs due to the rush.

"What?! Where?!

''Let's go!'' Janus insisted as they passed through the cafeteria's front door, practically running.

They crossed part of the parking lot until they stopped near a red pickup truck. Up close, it  was brighter, cleaner. Janus placed the keys into the lock and turned them, unlocking the car with a muffled sound. He opened the door and walked in, and Patton, on the passenger side, did the same without thinking. With the two inside the car and with their respective doors closed, Janus put the key in the ignition and turned on the car, immediately backing up and leaving the cafeteria parking lot. In a matter of seconds, the establishment was left behind.

The road followed mostly straight, with both Janus and Patton silent. As they stopped at a traffic light, Janus turned to Patton, who analyzed the inside of the car. He could practically see the gears spinning on his head as he absorbed what had just happened. Janus put on his seat belt, and they started walking again. Patton blinked repeatedly, lowering his head.

''Janus?'

''Um?''

''Did you stole a car?'' Patton asked slowly, turning to the man next to him.

''Huh... it's not stealing, actually. Robbery committed without violence is theft.'' He glanced at Patton, and he looked both angry and confused.

''This is no time for word games!'' Patton protested, and fixed his glasses in place. ''Stealing is a crime!''

Janus rolled his eyes.

''Yes, I know.''

''Then why did you do it?''

''Why not do it?'' Janus asked, smiling.

Patton stammered.

''Because it's wrong!''

''Well, 'John' kinda deserved it.'' He sneered, throwing the man's cell phone on the dashboard in front of Patton.

''What? No!''

''We both saw how he almost ran me over. Honestly, we are doing society a favor by taking this car away from him. Who knows who else he might hit?''

''No! This isn't - we shouldn't - he - you can't just go around stealing people's stuff!''

''I just did.'' Janus shrugged, and glared at Patton. ''Put on your seat belt.''

Patton huffed and did as requested, frustrated. He wanted to protest, to get out of the car. But of the many thoughts swirling around in his mind, none of them could turn into a coherent verbal sentence. And the car was moving, and he had just put on his seat belt.  Janus' reassurance that he had just committed a crime did not improve the feeling he had of anger and shock.  Janus smiled, opening the window on his side, realizing how his plan to push Patton away was working. Patton crossed his arms, turning his attention to his window.

''I don't like this.'' He grumbled, and Janus didn't answer.

A few minutes passed, and they continued their journey in silence, as Janus pondered where they were going now.

Slowly, Patton turned to the center of the car and took a closer look. Next to the steering wheel was a small glass display accompanied by several buttons and a few square holes below. He blinked repeatedly, bringing his hand to one of the round buttons. He carefully turned it and a low noise sounded.

''There's a radio.'' He pointed distractedly.

Janus alternated glances between the road and Patton who was playing with the buttons on the device. Patton turned one of them, and a man began to talk about how the city government used the money it received from the citizens. He turned the same knob one more time. A female voice sang a song that, from the instruments, seemed to be from the 1950s. He switched to another button, and a host announced that the guest about to give an interview was a female singer he had never heard of. He did this with the other three buttons, until the stations ended and the radio returned to its initial silence. Patton held up a long white cable that was plugged into one of the radio's inputs near the buttons. It had electrical tape on the end that was loose. Patton leaned back in his seat again, holding the cable close to him.

''I wonder if it's supposed to connect to the cell phone.''

''You can try it if you like.'' Janus said, not caring much.

With some difficulty Patton took his cell phone from the back pocket of his jeans and plugged in the long cable. Immediately, the small squared-shaped radio display showed the words "music library". Patton glided his fingers across the screen, searching for something. He gently touched the surface with his index finger, and seconds later the sounds of a drum and a guitar began to sound from the radio. Janus frowned as another guitar solo followed and a man began to sing.

Life's like the road that you travel on,

when there's one day here and the next day gone

Sometimes you bend and sometimes you stand

sometimes you turn your back to the wind

He looked at the radio display, which named the song as 'Life is a Highway' by Rascal Flatts. Next to him, Patton began to do what he deduced was a dance from the unusual movements. A few more seconds passed, and more and more of the music seemed familiar, until Janus ventured to ask:

''Isn't that the music from Cars? The Disney movie?''

''Yes, it is!''

''Oh, my goodness.'' Janus rolled his eyes and then turned his attention back to the road.

''Do you like it?'' Patton asked, smiling broadly and leaning back in his seat.

''Not exactly. But it doesn't bother me either.''

''It's pretty good!'' Patton said, doing random dance steps, as far as his belt would allow.

Janus sighed, choosing to let Patton have some fun.

The song ended, and before it could start again, Patton picked up his cell phone and selected a different one. It started with a soft piano and a female voice singing, until the rhythm changed drastically, becoming more agile.

''What is that?''

''Holding Out For a Hero!'' Patton replied, smiling.

''But that's not Bonnie Tyler's voice.'' Janus pointed out.

''Oh, no, it's Shrek's version.'' Patton explained, looking at his cell phone and at Janus.

''Oh...''

Patton watched Janus as he exhibited no reaction to the music. Instead, he kept his attention on the cars passing in front of him, trying to join them.  When the song ended, Patton selected a different song. And another. And another. And another. And in none of them did Janus show any interest. Nor did Janus mention the fact that they were all part of the soundtrack, themes, or created specifically for film or television animation work. At one point, Patton sank down on the bench he was on, his knees pressed against each other.

''What kind of music do you like?'' He asked, brushing a strand of hair out of his face and with anticipation, since it was a topic that had not been discussed during their date at the museum.

Janus turned towards him and watched Patton with his cell phone on one leg, still connected to the car radio.

''Oh, you're not going to like it.''

''Oh, c'mon, I wanna know!'' Patton insisted, and bowing his head he muttered: ''I didn't like that you stole a car either, but we're here.''

Janus sighed, and as they approached a traffic light, he held out his hand toward Patton, who handed him his cell phone. He tapped the screen a few times, and without saying anything, handed the phone back to Patton as the melody started to play and the car started moving again.

The music started with a piano and violin, and soon a woman's voice began to sound, singing lazily. Patton glanced at the radio display, which read "Black Hole Sun" by Haley Reinhart. The drive went on, with the music being the only noise between them, and Patton turned his attention to the man next to him.

The sun swayed distantly behind him as they passed different buildings and residences. The open window gave way to a strong breeze, which made the long strands of his brown hair frame his well-defined face. He kept only one hand wrapped tightly around the black leather steering wheel, while his left elbow rested above the window sill and the white sleeves of his shirt swung gently in the wind. The elastic band ran across his chest, sinking down and camouflaging itself to the black sweater, cutting through the snake print. He had a look of serenity, fixed on the road ahead. He was not bothered by the fact that he had stolen a car, Patton noticed. Not only that, but he was confident. And that was enough to create a charm. Patton mentally listed the things he knew Janus was, for sure, by now. Lawyer. Thief. Charming. He smiled softly, and Janus turned to him, somewhat embarrassed to catch Patton studying him.

''What?'' he asked, frowning.

''You have one eye of each color.'' Patton pointed calmly.

He really did. Patton had already noticed that Janus had different eyes when they were at the museum, but he couldn't say specifically how. Now he had found out: one of them was brown, while the other was green.

''Oh... yes, I do.'' Janus touched his hair, making a failed attempt to get it out of his face. ''It's called heterochromia. It's the only hetero thing about me.''

Patton's smile widened twice as much, and he leaned toward Janus.

''You made a pun.'' he said, holding back his happiness.

''What? No, I didn't.'' Janus staggered, alternating his attention between the road and Patton beside him.

''Yes, you did.''

''No, I didn't.''

''Yes, you did!'' Patton started to laugh, grabbing Janus' arm with both hands and squeezing gently.

Oh, no, Janus thought, watching Patton with wide eyes. He had made a mistake.

Patton kept laughing for the next five minutes, and slowly calmed down. When he stopped completely, he was leaning against the window beside him, which remained closed. He sniffled, taking a deep breath as he pulled himself together and some random song played at a low volume on the radio. There was a brief silence. Suddenly something caught both boys' attention: from the cell phone lying on the dashboard of the car, which previously belonged to John, came an alarm. Except that it was no ordinary alarm clock alarm, whose purpose was to wake people up, but the sound was more like radar. Patton reached out and grabbed the device, and with it closer, the two of them could see the blinking red dot in the center of the screen. Around it, circular waves were forming, and at the top of the screen, there was the phrase ''Find my phone''.

''Oh my God! Oh my God, it's tracking us! Now what?'' Patton asked, looking around frantically for a solution.

''Give it to me.'' Janus asked, switching hands on the steering wheel and extending one of them to Patton. He handed him the cell phone and Janus glanced at the screen.

''Dammit. I thought it would take him longer to do something about it.'' He spoke before tossing the device out the open window without hesitation.

In shock, Patton looked at Janus and the outside of the car, which had turned into a straight deserted road. He gulped.

''You threw the phone out of the window.''

''I did. Problem solved.'' He smiled sarcastically, looking at Patton. Patton sighed and leaned back in his seat.

''Right.''

The drive went on without any major problems.

About fifteen minutes later, Patton turned to Janus after spending most of the time looking out the window.

''Are we going somewhere?''

Janus stammered, being taken aback.

''Why?''

''Because... there is a mall nearby.'' Patton said, pressing his index finger against the glass of the window.

''You want to go to the mall?''

''Oh... yes.''

''With a stolen car?''

''But-it's just-there's-'' Patton sighed. ''I planned on doing more after the date, I didn't know it was going to last all day. And I didn't know you were going to steal a car!''

Janus looked at Patton and outside the window behind him. Not far away was a large building that was expanding horizontally.

''Fine, whatever.'' Janus turned his attention back to the road and turned on the right turn signal.

As they drove out of the parking lot, inside the building, and towards the stores, Patton told that he had gardening as a hobby — something that Janus had already noticed when he mentioned all the succulent plants that had names beginning with A. He wanted to plant a vegetable garden, but didn't know much about how to do that yet. And for that, he would need the proper tools and clothes. The first place they went was a clothing store. Once there, they eventually drifted off as Patton looked for something specific and Janus just didn't care to keep up.

He wandered distractedly around the store, looking at the clothes on display. There was a wall filled only with women's suits, starting with neutral colors of gray and dark blue. Then a red one appeared. A pink one. After that followed several that had their lapels and pockets printed for some reason. On the other side of the store, a large table displayed themed shirts with Star Wars character prints. Next to it was a second table that was almost identical, but this one contained Harry Potter themed clothes. A long rack had colorful bomber jackets, alternating between one color until it got to the jeans jackets with kitten prints and pieces of pizza on the back. Hanging high above it was a section of long trench coats in solid colors. Most were beige or gray, and investigating to the back of the rack, Janus came across a yellow one. Not a neon, vibrant, strong yellow, but a more subdued, darker, a shade of ''mustard yellow,'' as some palettes named it, considering that the color was closer to brown. Stretching out his arm, he removed the hanger and examined the overcoat. Its fabric was dense, warm, and it had small strips to be buttoned on each sleeve. At waist height there was also a long belt in the same color, which was tied at the back with a bow. He pulled it over his forearm and walked back through the store to a section that contained several long-sleeved blouses. Some had a high collar, others had zippers on the back. Apart from these details, they didn't vary much. He looked through the pieces, and finally decided on a light gray one with a turtleneck. He held both the jacket and the blouse together, stretching them out in front of him, observing how they would look together.

''Boo!'' said a voice behind him, at the same time as a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and immediately released them.

Janus hissed, making a sort of high-pitched animal-like sound, and gathered his arms closer to himself. Beside him, Patton appeared, laughing with one hand in front of his mouth and holding clothes with the other arm.

''What was that? It sounded like...'' Patton sniffled, catching his breath. ''One of those little snakes! With a rattle!''

''Oh, it's you.'' Janus sighed and rolled his eyes, ignoring Patton's comment and the fact that he felt his cheeks warming up.

''That was payback for the museum.'' Patton said, and crossed his arms over his chest. ''Listen, I'm going to try on these clothes, so...''

They looked at each other in silence.

''...You're staying here, right? In the store?''

''No, Patton, I'm strategically waiting that you're busy so that I can run off and leave you alone like I did with a stranger in the diner.'' Janus spoke ironically, and in silence, Patton watched him with big eyes, worthy of a Japanese animation. ''I'm not leaving without you, okay? If that's what you want to know.''

Janus looked at the small set of clothes he had in hand and at Patton beside him, before stretching out his arm and offering them to him.

''Try these on too.''

Slowly, Patton took both pieces and examined them.

''Why?''

''Just try them on.'' Janus shrugged.

''Okay...'' Patton added them to the clothes he already had with him. ''But then I'll choose an outfit for you too!''

''What? No.'' He grimaced.

''Yes! It'll be fun, come on!''

''We're not going to play dress-up.''

''Why not?''

''Because!''

''You picked out a little outfit for me.''

Janus grumbled, stuffing both hands in his pockets.

''Fine.''

''Yay! Come on, come on!'' Patton jumped up and down and gestured for the young man to follow him. Grudgingly, Janus did so.

The two of them walked through the different sections of the store, as Patton analyzed the most diverse items. A light green shirt with buttons down the front and a pineapple print caught his eye, but after one more look at Janus, he returned it to the rack. It was so easy to find something Patton liked; as long as it looked colorful or fun it was more than enough. He also resisted the temptation to pick up a salmon colored t-shirt, whose right side pocket had a flamingo design, so that it looked like the animal was stored in the small compartment.

''Oh, what do you like to do?'' Patton asked suddenly.

''What do you mean?'' Janus frowned, intrigued.

''Sort of like a hobby. I like gardening," he exemplified what he had said before. ''What's your hobby?''

''Oh... uh...''

Patton stopped by another booth where long-sleeved shirts were spread out.

''I play the piano.'' Janus finally answered. Not that it wasn't true, but it was more of a... half-truth.

''Really?'' Patton turned to him, smiling and holding one of the shirts from the exhibit close to him.

''Yes, really.''

Yes, he could play the piano. And yes, in terms of personal interests, he was busier producing an outfit identical to that of Marvel's Doctor Stephen Strange. His fingers had seen more needle points than piano keys in recent years, but that was not relevant.

''Oh, that's so cool! I kind of started to learn how to play the ukulele, but...''

''...But?'' -He arched one eyebrow.

''I don't know, I'm not very good at it. I guess it's just lack of practice.'' Patton remarked as he watched a mannequin a little taller than he, wearing a scarf and unfurl the cloth from around his neck.

Janus squinted his eyes and made a mental note of the fact.

They walked around the store for a few more minutes until Patton chose a hat. He held up three of the pieces he had with him and held them out to Janus.

''There! Oh, we can play catwalk too!''

''No, no... no...'' Janus shook his head, holding the clothes that Patton had handed him, and the two of them headed for the fitting rooms. ''No, we'll see about that after we've tried them on, okay?''

''Okay!'' Patton agreed, and, getting out in front of them, took the first fitting room he saw with the door open, closing it behind him.

Janus stopped where he was and sighed, coming to the conclusion that living with Patton was like living with a child. He didn't know exactly what opinion to form of this, but he chose to put the thought aside and walked into one of the fitting rooms.

A few minutes passed before Janus heard Patton coming out of his fitting room, sounding surprised. Wearing the clothes Patton had chosen for him, he opened the door and stepped out of the booth. With his back to him, Patton stood in front of a large mirror that took up the wall at the end of the fitting room aisle. His new light gray turtleneck blouse was tucked into his jeans, and over that, he wore a large dark yellow trench coat, the length of which extended just below the knee. The pants left a small part of his legs showing, so that the yellow all-star sneakers that went down to his ankles drew attention.

''I look like someone...'' Patton thought to himself, moving from side to side and letting the bar of his jacket swing. With a jump, he turned to Janus behind him. ''The tenth Doctor! From Doctor Who!''

Janus looked him up and down, and the only similarities to the character in question were the coat and the sneakers. Even though part of the outfit had been chosen by someone else, Patton still looked like the host of a children's show.

Patton also looked at him, bringing both hands to his chest, below the collarbone.

''You look so pretty! And stylish!''

Janus didn't answer, and instead crossed his arms, cutting off eye contact. His clothes still had dark shades. Like Patton, he was still wearing the same pants and shoes that he had chosen for the date at the museum — a black pair of pleated pants and brown boots - and like Patton, he had also tucked the dark gray long-sleeved shirt into his pants. The difference was that Janus had two extra accessories: a plaid scarf, in beige and black, and a black straight-brimmed hat, large enough to partially cover his face. Janus hoped that it was doing its job, and he put it on, pretending that his face was not getting a blush.

Excitedly, Patton stood next to him, and then the two of them were standing facing the mirror, where the critical difference in height was noticeable.

''It's such a serious outfit... but I like it!'' Patton spoke up, with both hands in his jacket pockets. ''Why did you choose this?''

''I thought it was something you could wear to class.''

''Oh!'' Patton wiggled again, smiling. ''I hadn't even thought of that, but it's a good idea.''

Patton turned to him.

''How about you? Do you like your outfit?''

''No, it's hideous.'' Janus answered lazily, rolling his eyes.

''Oh, really?'' Fearful, Patton leaned back, analyzing his choices. ''I thought it was nice... I tried to pick something that would go with you. I can try again if you like.''

Next to him, Patton looked genuinely upset, and a wave of panic rose in his throat.

''It was irony.'' Janus clarified. ''I liked it.''

''You liked it?'' Patton asked again, and he nodded. ''Yay! I'm going to go change, and then we can go, okay?''

''Sure.'' Janus agreed as Patton returned to the fitting room.

But when Patton left the booth for the last time, wearing his normal clothes — the ones he had chosen for the date at the museum — Janus was still wearing the clothes he had chosen. He was leaning close to the door of his fitting room, now open, looking distractedly at the yellow gloves he was wearing. Patton stopped next to him, in silence, until he asked:

''Aren't you going to change your clothes?''

''Oh, no, not really.'' Janus said, picking up the shirt and sweater he had been wearing. Before Patton could say anything, he added while smiling charmingly: ''Shall we?''

Patton frowned, but agreed, and they walked back to the store. Janus was further ahead, while Patton looked for the cashier, and he almost bumped into Janus when he stopped abruptly.

''Excuse me, sir," a young man started to say, approaching Janus and looking at him. He wore a badge hanging around his neck. ''Are these the clothes from the store?''

Janus turned his face slowly in the opposite direction. Next to him was a stand of sunglasses, and he looked at them closely.

''Look, sir, it is against store policy to wear the clothes outside the fitting room without paying first.''

Silently, Patton looked between Janus and the store employee. Janus took a pair of white, black and gray sunglasses, whose lenses prevented others from seeing his eyes, and put them on.

''I'm going to need you to go back to the fitting room and change, otherwise it will be characterized as theft, and I'll have to call security.'' The boy explained calmly, and Patton's eyes widened.

Janus wove the plaid scarf around his neck and adjusted his hat, so that it hid the part of his face that was closest to the employee.

''Is that so?'' Janus asked, with a heavy foreign accent.

''Yes.'' The boy confirmed, holding both hands in front of his body.

Janus grumbled, turning his attention back to the sunglasses stand.

''If I had known that I would be treated like this I wouldn't even have come here. But please, call security.''

The employee blinked repeatedly and leaned toward Janus.

''Excuse me?''

''It's just that where I come from it is very normal for customers to wear the clothes they are going to buy while they are in the store.'' Janus continued sarcastically and with his accent. ''I personally think it is absurd to be called a thief when I have done nothing wrong!''

Behind him, Patton was starting to make faces due to his confusion. From the stand, Janus picked up a pair of sunglasses whose lenses were blue hearts, and offered them to Patton.

''Try this one on, honey, it suits you.''

Hesitantly, Patton took the glasses and held them out in front of him.

''You’re still violating store policy.'' The employee repeated.

''Are you really going to call security on me?''

''I'm sorry, and you would be...?''

''Alfred Hitchcoppolucas," Janus announced, sliding his index finger and thumb along the brim of his hat. ''Director of Psycho Godfather Wars.''

In shock, Patton approached Janus and the clerk.

''Excuse me...'' He started to say, but Janus purposely put himself between him and the other boy.

''Please, do call security. So this could end up in a lawsuit against your store, it will be so much fun!'' Janus, Alfred said, gesturing and smiling exaggeratedly, pretending.

''Oh... oh.'' The employee was flabbergasted and started stammering, trying to fix the situation. ''No, no, that won't be necessary, sir. I am so sorry for the inconvenience, actually, you know what? You don't have to pay for anything. I'll turn off the alarms in the store, so you can go, okay?''

Patton watched as the scene unfolded before him, and of all the absurd things to question, he wondered if Alfred Hitchcoppolucas was a real person.

''Oh, really?'' Alfred asked with a strong accent and a drawling tone of voice.

''Yes, really. I'm very serious.'' The employee started to walk away, almost tripping over his own feet. ''I'll do it now, okay?'' He said, and with that, disappeared from sight.

Immediately, Janus broke off his fake smile and turned to Patton. With one hand he lowered his sunglasses minimally, looking Patton over them.

''You were saying?''

For the second time that day, Patton had more than one thought swirling around in his head, and there was a certain difficulty in turning them into comprehensible sentences.

''Who is Alfred Hitchcoppolucas?''

''A director.''

''No, no, you're not Alfred something, you're Janus...'' Patton interrupted himself when he realized that he didn't know his last name. ''Why did you lie to him?''

Janus shrugged and smiled.

''Because I can.''

''No! No, you can't just go around tricking people!''

''Why not?''

''Because it's wrong!'' Patton justified, and at the same time Janus repeated the exact same thing, but as if it were a question in a debauched tone.

''Think through the bright side,'' One by one, Janus removed the paper labels from the pieces he was using. ''You're saving money.''

With a few steps, he stepped aside and picked up two ecobags that were displayed on a low hanger. He put the tags and his original clothes in one of them, and offered the other to Patton.

''Shall we go?''

Hesitant and a little upset, Patton held up the bag and put all the products he was holding into it. He considered heading to the cashier and paying for them anyway, but before he could find his location in the place, Janus started walking again, heading toward the store doors. Patton followed him a reasonable distance, and as they walked through the silent detectors, Patton updated the list he had in mind.

Lawyer.

Thief.

Charming.

Liar.

And despite the questionable attributes, his indecision about what opinion to form of Janus remained haunting him.

Hours later, they left the mall, and the sun had given way to the moon and the stars that kept it company.

The outside was cold enough to give it goose bumps, and as they made their way to the pickup truck, Patton gripped the ends of his windbreaker jacket, ready to zip it up. But before he could do that, something else caught his eye. He stopped where he was, noticing how on the other side of the outdoor parking lot, a little way off, there was an enclosed car with a large dog inside. He stood there for a few seconds, watching the scene and walked hurriedly towards the car, not even noticing that Janus was walking steps ahead of him.

''... And that is why carrots are the worst vegetables.'' He concluded a monologue, and immediately looked both ways, noticing Patton's absence. Janus spun around in time to see him walking away toward an unfamiliar car. ''Patton?''

The young man continued walking.

''Patton!'' he called, and walked quickly in the same direction.

''Hi.'' Patton greeted the animal in as calm a voice as he could while resting his hands against the closed windows of the car. The dog inside, a golden retriever, turned to him, panting and blinking. ''Are you stuck in there?''

Patton touched different places on the car door, as if it would magically open for him. He reached for the handle and pulled, but nothing happened. It was locked. Of course it was locked.

Janus caught up with him and stopped beside him.

''What are you doing?'' he asked exasperated.

''There's a dog in here.'' Patton said, turning briefly to him, his eyebrows raised together. ''He's hot.''

Janus looked over to the side of the car, seeing the dog sitting in the back seats.

''And?''

''We have to get him out of here!'' Patton again touched random parts of the door. ''But there's no way, it's locked!''

Patton considered his options. He could try to go back to the mall and find the owner of the car — and the dog. But how could he do this? The person could be anywhere, in any store. What if it was an employee? He could have been working by now. There was no personal information on the outside of the car, and trying to find the owner by blindly searching for him could take hours.

Janus frowned and looked at Patton and the golden retriever inside, his pink tongue falling out of his mouth.

''It's not our dog,'' He thought about saying, which meant it wasn't their problem. But neither was the red pickup truck parked a short distance away, and that hadn't stopped him.

Besides, Patton remained with the same expression of sadness and concern on his face, touching the car door.

Janus bowed his head and thought about what they had. The keys to the pickup truck. Cell phones. Eyeglasses. A hat. Some gardening tools, small but firm, just like the car keys. A jacket. An overcoat, long and dense. Belts. Sneakers... Sneakers. His gaze hovered over Patton's pair of all-star sneakers at ankle height, the yellow glowing against the darkness of the concrete floor at night.

''Take off the shoelace.''

''What?'' Patton turned to him, confused.

''Take off your shoelace.'' Janus ordered, raising his head and looking at him.

Patton hesitated briefly before leaning against the car door, bending forward and raising one of his legs to chest height. After a few seconds of struggling, he pulled out the long line and held it out in front of Janus.

''Keep an eye out for anyone coming.'' He said casually, taking the shoelace.

''What do you mean?'' Patton muttered, standing on tiptoe and looking around, not knowing exactly how to warn him if anyone approached.

Janus glanced down at Patton's feet, interlacing the shoelace, noticing how one of his socks was green, and the other, red.

The thread now had a small knot with an opening in the center, which could be closed by pulling on one side. He slipped the shoelace through the doorway, and luckily the rubber didn't stop it. The dog, noticing the narrow line above him, raised his long nose and sniffed it briefly, not caring about it. Janus crouched down, facing the door and moving his arms carefully as he lowered the wire. Standing next to him, Patton alternated glances between what Janus was doing — which Patton didn't understand anyways — and his surroundings, nervously. He couldn't see any people outside, but entering the parking lot, a car sped up the path behind them, and Patton's eyes widened.

''A car just drove by.''

''Was it a police car?''

''No.''

''Then it doesn't matter.''

Janus kept his gaze fixed on the inside of the car. The dog sniffed the shoelace once more as it hovered over the door latch pin between them. He closed the knot around the latch tightly and pulled both ends up, causing the small latch to lift.

The door was open.

He exhaled and stood, and Patton smiled at him, hopefully. Janus pulled the handle and the door opened, and immediately, the golden retriever jumped out of the car, but he couldn't get very far: strapped to the headrest of the seat, a leash held him down. Janus leaned forward, looking for the clasp on the dog's collar, but before he could find it, Patton moved in front of him and rested one knee on the car seat.

''Patton!''

''Wait!'' He brought both hands to the piece of steel supporting the headrest. It took a few seconds for his vision to adjust to the pitch inside the vehicle, and meanwhile he was digging his nails into the leash, pulling it in different directions. Eventually, it began to loosen, and written in blue on the red fabric was a name: Steve.

With the leash in one hand, Patton got out of the car and took a few steps back. Once he had moved far away enough, Janus took the shoelace and lowered the pin again, closing the door and locking it. The two, now three, crossed the parking lot quickly, avoiding running. They opened the back of the truck, and with a few finger snaps above the compartment, the dog jumped in. Now almost at his height and with better lighting, Patton noticed that the collar around his neck also had the colors blue and red. Its pendant consisted of circles in those colors with the addition of white, and in the center, there was the silhouette of a dog's paw.

Steve, he thought. Blue, red and white. The yellowish fur. Steve in reference to Steve Rogers. Captain America.

They turned around, getting into the cab of the car, and with the same agility they had left the diner hours earlier, they were now leaving the parking lot behind.

Janus drove in silence, without a destination in mind.

Patton bowed his head, looking at his white shirt that now contained gray stains that he didn't know how he had gotten.

The drive went on for a few minutes, until, looking out the window, Patton recognized the road they were passing by.

''There's a bridge up ahead.'' he pointed out. ''We could stop and let Steve drink some water.''

Janus frowned, glancing at the back of the car.

''Steve?''

Patton nodded.

''It's on his leash.''

They arrived at the mostly deserted spot. Janus stopped the pickup truck above the bridge, and Patton was the first to get out, pushing his sneakers against the cold, polished stone floor. He went to the back of the car, opening the cargo bed and letting the dog out. With the leash in hand, they went around the bridge and down a small slope beside the architectural support that consisted of sand and brush, approaching the river of running water below. Steve immediately went towards the water and, as expected, began to drink. Patton let go of his leash and sat down on the ground, putting the laces back on his sneakers, listening to the engine of the truck still running.

The wind echoed in his ears, and he regretted not having zipped up his jacket when he first thought of it. The bridge, as well as its edges, were lit only by the weak grayish light of the moon above them. In the navy blue sky, tiny dots flickered and a few clouds were lurking. Patton watched the surrounding flora, high enough to be at his knee height, and hoped that no animals would appear. Most people would worry about snakes in an environment like this, maybe frogs because it was near water, but Patton's biggest concern was spiders. To his right, at a higher level, the rocky bridge cast a shadow over him.

The roar of the engine stopped and footsteps approached.

''Partners in crime?'' he asked in a drawling tone of voice.

Patton let out a sharp cry and turned back, seeing Janus standing a little above him, arms crossed. He stood erect, and his plaid scarf swayed gently in the wind, which in the poor lighting made him look more like a mysterious silhouette than a human being.

''What?''

''Partners in crime. '' He repeated and shrugged. ''You stole a dog.''

''I didn't steal a dog.'' Patton defended himself, standing up and brushing the sand out of his pants. ''I just... took it for a walk.''

''Without asking the owner or even knowing him?'' Janus squinted his eyes.

''I just...'' he stammered. ''Yes!''

''No, you stole a dog.''

''You stole a dog!''

''I stole a car, that's different.'' Janus waved one hand. ''It was your idea.''

''You opened the car.''

''Okay, we did it together, whatever. It's still a crime just the same.''

''No, it was for a good reason! He was in the heat, I just wanted to get him out of there!'' Patton slurred his words, pointing at Steve behind him.

''I never said it wasn't for a good reason. That's not my point.'' Janus looked at Patton and smiled briefly. ''We're alike. Isn't that what you wanted?''

Patton looked at him and remembered the two questionable attributes that were on his mental list of things he knew for sure about Janus. Thief. Liar.

''No, we're not. We have nothing in common!''

''Wrong. We have philosophy and theft.'' Janus went down the small sand hill, stopping in front of Patton.

''No, only bad people steal!''

Janus brought one hand to his chest, pretending to be offended.

''Patton! What about the people who live on the street and steal to survive?''

He opened his mouth, ready to retort, but no words came. After a moment, he resumed, denying with his head:

''No. No, that's not what I meant. No, that's enough.'' Patton moved his arms from side to side in front of him. ''We'll come back, we'll return the dog, and we'll return the car, okay?''

''Oh, please...'' Janus started, but Patton turned his back on him, approaching the riverbank and stopping near Steve.

Patton's idea of going back and returning the collected belongings without permission was ridiculous, to say the least. Especially considering that they had managed to leave the situations behind without major consequences. There was no point in denying the obvious — that crimes had been committed — and Janus didn't really understand why Patton insisted on doing that. With his eyes half-closed, he watched Patton and thought. Patton also insisted on the statement that stealing made you a bad person; committing crimes made you a bad person. Janus knew that things were not that easy, as black and white. And it suddenly occurred to him that maybe Patton didn't know that.

The icy evening wind ruffled their ears and crickets began to echo around them, and Janus let the room be filled with the sounds of nature as he thought.

''Would you agree with Jean-Jacques Rousseau when he said that man is good and society corrupts him?'' He asked, pronouncing the words slowly and clearly.

Patton looked at him over his shoulder.

''I don't know. Maybe?''

After a moment, he continued:

''And would you agree with Thomas Hobbes when he said that man is essentially evil?''

''Would you?'' Patton asked him, his worried look gradually softening.

Janus took a few steps and stopped beside Patton, staring at Steve as he drank the water.

''No, not with either of them.'' Janus turned to him, his colorful eyes in a state of serenity. ''Psychology, philosophy, anthropology, all these fields have the human being and its existence as their focus of study. Ever since we existed, we have been trying to find the answers to these same questions. Are we good? Are we bad? Why are we here? And these areas are still relevant today because we don't have a yes or no answer. Because after centuries of investigation, we have come to the conclusion that humanity is complex. It is to be expected that these questions will have complicated answers, if such answers ever exist. No one is inherently good or bad entirely, Patton. You can steal and still be a good person. It just depends on how you see yourself.''

Patton nodded, muttering something incomprehensible. Quickly, Janus continued:

''But you know... if you really want to know if you're a ''bad'' person...'' Janus offered his hand to him, the yellow glove standing out in the darkness. ''We can find out together.''

Silently, Patton smiled softly and took Janus's hand.

On the floor, Steve turned toward them. He shook himself, causing water splashing from his beard to hit the two men next to him. Janus protested, complaining, but Patton didn't much care.

''Can we go now?''

Patton leaned forward, taking Steve's leash, and the trio returned to the bridge and the car above them.

''What is the next stop?'' Patton asked.

''I don't know," Janus shrugged. ''Do you want me to drive you home?''

''I'd like to, but...'' Patton glanced at the back of the car. Behind Janus, Steve's mouth was open and the wind was against his golden hair. ''I'm not sure how I'm going to get in with a dog that size.''

Of course, getting home was not exactly the problem. The problem would be how to justify to the neighbors why he had an adult golden retriever with him, in case someone saw him.

Janus remained silent, searching for a solution. Patton picked up his cell phone, pressed his fingers against the screen a few times, and moments later, announced:

''There is a hotel nearby that accepts dogs. The Sandman Inn.''

''Yes, but do they accept large dogs?''

Patton swiped at the cell phone screen.

''Yes, they do. It's not too far away.''

Janus agreed, ready to follow the GPS directions, when Patton grabbed his arm.

''Wait!''

''What?''

''There's a supermarket here!'' Patton pointed, and across the street, a large sign with its lights on indicated the store was open.  ''Let's stop here. It's gonna be just a minute.''

''What for?'' Janus asked, already turning the car around.

''To buy things!'' Patton simply said. When they pulled into the parking lot, Patton got out of the car, but Janus didn't move. ''Aren't you coming?''

''No. You can go.''

''Okay.'' Patton agreed and quickly drove away, approaching the doors that opened automatically for him.

Patton took a basket from the stack next to the door, and walked through the aisles occupied only by merchandise. The cleaning products section was the closest, and he walked through an aisle that contained fabric softeners and clothes nails.

Lawyer. Thief. Charming. Liar, it echoed through his mind, and Patton wondered what answer he would provide when Virgil asked him if he liked Janus.

He turned right, now passing through a corridor that contained brooms and insecticides.

Technically, their date had been extended for the rest of the day. Technically.

Patton glanced at the products in other aisles as he walked in front of them. Pasta. Canned goods and seasonings. Dairy products. Frozen foods.

Would he want a second date? Assuming they didn't get caught for the thefts, of course.

Patton entered an aisle of children's birthday party supplies.

But as Janus himself had said, not all people who did things that were considered bad were really bad. The case of the homeless people was a good example.

He took a card with colored candles and put it in the basket.

This line of reasoning would work for Janus as well as for him.

Patton took a few steps forward and picked up plastic plates and cutlery, adding them to the basket so that they would keep the candles company.

So... it was all relative, really. Janus had kind of explained that too.

Patton returned to the frozen food aisle. He ignored the large transparent doors that displayed ice cream of the most diverse brands and flavors. He stopped in front of a large booth displaying ready-made cakes, and chose one whose frosting consisted of granules and cherries, and placed it in the basket.

There was a decision to be made.

When Patton came out of the supermarket with a shopping bag in his hand, Janus was leaning outside the car, petting Steve.

''Ready?''

''Ready. We're good to go.'' Patton confirmed, smiling.

Once again, they returned to the cab of the truck and went on their way.

The Sandman Inn was open twenty-four hours a day.

It was a clean and quiet place, and the carpeting in the lobby was red and gold.

They checked in, and the employee handed them the key to Room 9E, with two beds.

Janus and Patton stepped into the elevator. Steve's leash in one hand, the keys to pickup the truck in the other, the shopping ecobags on their shoulders, and the grocery bag in the other hand.

Arriving in the bedroom, they left both bags with clothes on the bed. Janus removed Steve's leash, and Steve began sniffing around the room. Patton approached a small table that was in front of the beds and put his bag on top of it, removing the groceries one by one. He removed the plastic cover from the cake and placed it in the center of the table, opening the carton of colorful candles.

''Can you turn off the light?'' he asked, and a little hesitantly, Janus did so. Outside, the grayish moon produced a faint beam of light that invaded the room through the window, preventing them from being completely in the dark.

Patton sat down in one of the chairs, and Janus removed his hat and joined him on the other side. Steve also joined them, lying down at Patton's feet.

At the cashier, Patton had picked up a box of matches at the last minute. He had spread four of the colorful candles on the edge closest to Janus, and was now lighting them.

''So,'' Janus began, with a terrible posture in his seat. Strands of his dark brown hair fell over one of his eyes. ''I suppose we'll be saying goodbye to each other in the morning?''

Patton smiled quietly, placing the rest of the candles at the end closest to him.

''No, I don't think so.''

Janus squinted his eyes. He leaned forward and, with one breath, blew out the candles that were lit. Immediately, Patton began to light the ones he had positioned last.

''I'm down for a second date, actually.'' He explained, his gaze focused on the wax and the fire. ''I think there's more about you that I don't know.''

''I do cosplay, if that's what you want to know.'' Janus looked away, crossing one leg over the other.

Patton stopped where he was and laughed, making a mental note to return to this subject later.

''It was you who suggested that we find out if we are bad people together.'' he said, finishing lighting the candles.

They both stared at each other for a brief moment, before Janus asked, in his usual lazy tone:

''I'm stuck with you now, aren't I?''

Patton propped both elbows horizontally on the table. He looked at his cell phone beside him, and the 11:59 on the lock screen turned into 00:00, accompanied by the date May 1.

It was midnight.

It was his birthday.

It was their birthday.

''Happy birthday, Janus.''

Janus lifted the corners of his mouth minimally, just enough to go unnoticed.

''Happy birthday, Patton.''

And Patton blew out the candles, leaving them in the dark.

[henry-cavill-baby]

To Study (Insects) │ 1

Pairing: Clark Kent (MoS) x Original Female Character

Warnings: None 

Word Count: 3k~

Summary: Connie and Clark, two peas in a pod. She didn’t know if it was his soft blue eyes or his Mother’s sweet blueberry pie that had caught her eye, but boy howdy, was she caught. 

A/N: Nothing! Enjoy!

The best thing about living in Kansas was that nothing ever happened.

There was a mile wide sprawl of corn that was breathtaking to few; it had started out as nothing much but rows upon rows of dirt that now bore sprawls of golden richness that could truly blind any tourist with its beauty.  Most of it was picked and sold—Kansas was full of rural farmers and farmers markets, but some just stayed for show.

And the Farmers Market typically consisted of stay-at-home mothers trying to sell their overpriced sugary sweet lemon bars to any sucker who would pay seven dollars for four measly pieces.

Most of the teens at the local high school got rides home from their parents, but Connie Mayfield knew that you couldn’t pay her Father, Walter, to pick his daughter up from school. If he did, then he’d no doubt miss a rerun of Baywatch, and that simply couldn’t happen.

A tune that rivaled the airiness of a flute flew from the 14 year olds mouth on her long walk home. Connie Mayfield whistled a nonchalant melody as her uneven pace took her closer to home. 

The young girl had a lot on her mind; there was a test on Friday that was covering another form of division that looked to confusing to follow, and Alice’s birthday party was on Saturday and getting a gift for the little girl who had everything was harder than it seemed. The years of gifts consisting of dolls and bright hairbrushes were long over. Maybe she’d like a new bracelet or a set of earrings.

An irregular rock bumped against the tip of her shoe and she grinned, lobbing it off into the cornfield, a little thud echoing through the golden maze. 

It was tempting—the idea of taking the not so short shortcut through the tall stalks, if just to feel a little more free for just a moment, but the sounds of distress just up ahead had her little sneakers speeding up. She turned to the bend and grew furious at the sight of three boys throwing around her friend.

“Hey!” she bellowed, running closer before screeching to a halt in front of the teen holding up her friend by the lip of his shirt, “Leave him alone!”

Isaiah Matthews grinned with his fist still clutching the younger boy's shirt, “Oooo, is this your girlfriend, Kent?”

Clark Kent sneered up at the taller boy, fists clenching in rage. 

“Leave her alone,” he grit out, watching Isaiah sneer with confidence.

“I didn’t take you for a pussy, Kent, but I guess I was wrong.” He dropped Clark with a grin and sauntered to the near growling girl. 

“Connie, right? My dad says you Mayfield’s are trailer trash, and I can see where he gets that from.”

His eyes gave her a visible up-and-down, “No wonder only a freak would like you.” 

The words had barely left his mouth before Clark launched himself onto the back of the bully, pummeling him to the ground with hateful eyes. The two other lackeys ran, but Connie went and pulled Clark back before he did something he’d regret. The two of them fell away from the older boy, watching him with guarded eyes.

Isaiah spat at ground near their feet, “Fucking freaks.”

Connie waited until he was out of sight, turning to Clark and frowning at his disheveled appearance. “You know, I’m not always gonna be here to save you, Clark.”

He wiped away the sheen of dirt and sweat covering his upper lip, refusing to meet her eyes. “I didn’t need your help. I could’ve handled it.”

“Oh yeah, you totally had it under control,” she mocked with pursed lips.

He frowned at her sarcasm and picked up his dirtied school bag, looking down the path home. It was a quick walk to the farm, and mom had probably already started dinner, which is why it made no sense when he turned and muttered, “Can I walk you home?”

Her eyes went wide at his question, upper teeth nibbling on her pink lip, shrugging, “Sure, if you want.”

They both nodded and started a slow walk to the Mayfield’s. Connie’s fingers twitched at her side while different conversation starters nearly passed through her lips every few seconds. The urge to ask why he never fought back, why he let people call him a freak raced through her mind, but only silence hung between them. It was almost annoying that he never stood up for himself.

There was something mysterious about Clark that intrigued her 14-year-old brain; no one had ever let him live down that time he’d locked himself in a closet (and torched the doorknob till it was bright red). 

He was just the guy who kept to himself most of the time.  

And still she kept on eye on him the entire time, watching his own twitching fingers pick at the loose lining of his jeans, lip biting in a matter similar to her own, brows furrowing in thought, though they always did that. He looked cute when he was deep in thought.

Cute? I think Clark is… cute?

A deep redness flooded her cheeks and her lips pursed into a thin line, trying not to visibly speed away from the other boy, but Clark noticed everything. There was something keen about the way his mind worked; almost predatorial. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, the cute furrow in his brow deep as she faced him while willing away the redness of her juvenile cheeks. 

She nodded but didn’t meet his blue eyes. They were like oceans—I’d swim in Clark’s eyes if he’d ask—and her stomach always fluttered when he looked at her.

She expected them to fall back into silence, now halfway to the Mayfield farm, but Clark piped up, “Are you excited for the field trip tomorrow?”

A flutter of excitement rang through her veins, but she held back and simply nodded. “It’ll be a nice change from sitting inside all day.” Clark nodded along with her running words, “I heard the museum has a section on insects and their habitats, and I hope they have a butterfly display. Or—or maybe a real entomologist will be there.”

Now bugs- those were cool. Anything from crickets to butterflies to beetles, each one more interesting than the last…except arachnids. You could keep those eight-legged freaks as far away as humanly possibly.

Clark slowed their pace but kept his distance, “Is that what you wanna be when you grow up?”

She grinned and tried to slow the internal monologue of bug talk.

“I think when I grow up, I’ll leave this place behind and follow my dreams.” She said.

“And I guess those dreams do include insects of all types. They really do get a bad reputation sometimes. I think they’re just as delicate and interesting as humans.”

“Really?” Clark wrinkled in his nose, “My dad sprays the fields for bugs in the summer.” She hit his shoulder as he let out a snort, “I think I’ve squashed a few flies for mom too.”

She shook her head and couldn’t see Clark staring at her golden locks as they shined in the sun. “You’re the worst, Kent.”

The both chuckled and came to a halt in front of the Mayfield farm. It was more run down than the other houses in the area and the roof could’ve been mistaken for caving in, and she knew it looked worse on the inside. The moldy green color of the roof had seen better days, and the porch could barely hold the old rocking chair that her dad liked to sit on in the mornings. Clark would never know how the inside looked even worse.

“Do you know what you wanna be when you grow up?” She asked with a soft smile, taking no offense as Clark tried, once again, not to meet her eyes. The swoop of his brown hair was nearing the tops of his eyes, but she knew he wasn’t inclined to cut it. He didn’t buzz his hair like the other boys.

“I…” He paused, foot kicking the uneven dirt under his shoes. He bit his lip lower lip and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, met her honey eyes.

“Yes?”

He took a deep breath and lightly shrugged, “Sometimes, I feel like I don’t know who I am. I think I wanna figure that out first, ya know?”

No, she didn’t know but asking Clark to explain how he felt could feel like pulling teeth. Golden honey stared into the aquamarine sea, two sets of young lips wet and wanting, and Connie picked at her pants, nails bending with surprising force.

The door to the Mayfield hold slammed with a grotesque force, and the two teens jumped away from one another as Walter Mayfield grunted his way to them, to Clark.

“’Thought I told you to stay away from my daughter, Kent!” Walter bellowed, nearing the fourteen-year-old clear-eyed boy who showed no sign of backing down with his head held high and chest jutted out. 

“I don’t want you lookin’ at her, touchin’ her—“

Connie finally yelled, “Dad!” and stood between him and Clark, protecting her friend from the unjustified anger of her dad. She felt Clark’s fingers grip the back of her shirt and tug her closer, just as Walter stood over them with beady eyes and steam shooting from his ears.

“Get in the house, Connie.” Her dad growled, never looking away from Clark.

But she shook her head and pushed against her dad’s chest, ignoring Clark’s fingers still gripping the back of her shirt. “We weren’t doing anything, go back inside, please.”

A startled yelp left her throat as her dad’s strong fist lurched her forward by the front of her shirt, throwing her to the ground and out of Clark’s grip. The air left her lungs and the dirt felt dry under her fingertips, watching as Clark seemed to vibrate in place, glaring deadly at Walter.

“If I ever see you ‘round here again, Kent.” He spat, “I’ll make you wish you were never born. Are we clear?”

The threat hung between the adult and young teen, and Clark tightly nodded and stalked off down the dirt path, not once looking back at Connie, never seeing the tears in her eyes.

Walter stared down at his daughter with a sneer, “Get inside. I won’t say it again.”

The dried dirt caked under her nails as she scrambled to stand and bolt inside, not taking note of the woman asleep on the couch that she’d never seen before, or the beer bottles covering the kitchen counters. The stairs creaked as she fled upstairs and shut her bedroom door, clicking the latch in place. A heaviness sat in her chest as her backpack thumped to the floor.

Beaded tears fell down her thick cheeks and light cries sounded through the room.

“—I want that boy away from my son!” the mother of Peter Ross screeched from the Principal's office. “Am I the only one who understands the situation? That boy lifted a bus from a lake. A bus! What kind of monster are we allowing to walk with our children?”

The meek father of Alice pepped up, “But—But he did save them, right?”

“It doesn’t matter, Martin. I don’t feel safe with him here, and neither should any of you.”

Martha Kent hung her head and left the Principal's office, ignoring the calls from the desperate parents. There was nothing else she needed to hear from them, especially insults about her son. The door shut with a click, and her heels clipped the floor with each step.

She did her best to smile at Clark, but he’d always seen right through that. He sat up straight and looked her in the eyes, his soft voice rivaling his posture, “How did it go?”

She knew Clark had heard every word already and that lying would only make him defensive. “About as well as you’d expect, honey.” She patted his shoulder and ushered him to stand, “C’mon, let’s go home.”

The car ride was silent aside from the tapping of Clark’s blunt nails on the fabric of his jeans, and the shaking of his leg. He was such a nervous boy—her Clark—and it pained her heart to see him to try to hide how this whole thing was tearing him up inside. They normally played the radio, Clark usually flipped stations and rarely settled on just one, but silence was all they heard.

Jonathon Kent watched his wife pull up, and frowned as Clark bolted from the passenger seat and fled into the backyard. He stepped outside just as Martha shut off the car and gingerly stepped out, walking into her husband’s arms with a deep sigh. Exhaustion ran deep in her veins, and Jonathon wished he could take it away.

“That bad, huh?” He muttered into her brown locks, feeling her nod into his chest.

“Talk to him.” She begged, trying to keep the tears at bay, “I think…I think it’s time he…” They both turned to face the barn with heavy hearts, knowing this would be for the best.

Jonathon nodded and released Martha, shooting a thin-lipped smile her way as he made his way to the backyard. His heart thumped as he eyed his son, whose legs were hanging off the back of his pickup, shoulders hunched in his blue hoodie. As he got closer, he could hear the sniffles from his son.

“Clark.” His son turned and wiped away the wetness on his cheeks. “I just want to know what happened. I’m not mad, I promise.”

Jonathon sat next to his son and watched his boys lip quiver. His words came out with a thin veil of pain, “I wasn’t thinking, Dad.” A hiccup escaped his throat. “She was so scared… I just couldn’t let her die."

The water was rising too fast—it was cold and soaked the kids instantly— and Clark watched as Connie grew frantic in her efforts to open the window enough to crawl out, or maybe she was trying her best to keep the water from flooding the already half submerged bus. Cries and screams rang through the drowning bus, and Clark swam, trying his best to make it to Connie

“Connie!” He yelled, reaching forward to snag her shirt and pull her away from the stream of flowing water.

“Oh god, Clark! We’re gonna die!”  Her screams were shrill and almost hurt his ears, but the smell of her fear mixed with the smell of tears and piss coming off the other students had him looking for a way out.  

But the water was nearing the top of the bus, and all he could hear was her cries.

“Son, I thought we talked about this.” He started, patting his own thigh, “We have to keep what you can do a secret.”

“They were all going to drown, how could I have done nothing? They didn’t deserve to die.”

“Clark, I just—“ Jonathon paused, watching the sunshine across the cornfield that spanned miles upon miles. It was an array of reds that shined upon the old graying barn. 

“I just want to protect you, son. And sometimes, when people see something they don’t understand, they get scared and lash out. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you.”

And finally, Clark asked the question that Jonathon had known would always come.

“Why am I like this, dad? Why am I so different from everyone else?”

Memories of finding their son, raising him to be the young man who sat at his side—through all the times he’d been different than the other kids, and knowing all of the hardships that were yet to come. It was almost enough to make him cry.

Almost.

Jonathon stood up from the truck and stood in front of his son, placing both hands on his small shoulders. “I’m going to show you something, son, and it may make things make a bit more sense. But no matter what—“ He pressed his palm to his sons chest and smiled,

“You are my son.”

Part 2

[seriestrash]

The Summer of ‘95 - Part Four

|| PART ONE || PART TWO || PART THREE ||

Summary: In the summer of 1995, Sunset Curve were trying to make a name for themselves. The band was always close but that summer they forged an unbreakable bond. Whilst the whole band strengthened their existing connection, Alex and Luke find themselves lighting a different spark.

A little love life before the afterlife.

Part Four: Something Special

Word Count: 7023 (long, loops)

- read on ao3 -

☀ ☀ ☀

Luke and Alex parted ways in the early hours of the morning. Now late in the afternoon Luke sits quietly on the couch in Bobby’s garage. Reggie and Bobby were hanging around too, both bored from waiting for Alex. 

“Are you sure he isn’t mad at me?” Reggie questions. 

“For the tenth time, yes, I’m sure.” Luke groans before telling a little white lie, “I told you I spoke to Alex last night on the phone and he’s been too sick to get out of bed.” 

“We’re losing precious days of summer here.” Bobby highlights, “We haven’t performed since the party and we all know how that went.” 

“Disaster.” Reggie frowns. “And my parents totally don’t buy my excuse about spilling a drink.” 

“I already said I’m sorry.” Luke snaps, he had been sure Alex was going to show up today but the longer they waited around the more concerned he got about ruining one of the best friendships he’s ever had. 

Reggie shakes off Luke’s aggression and walks over to Alex’s drums, “I’ll be our new drummer. It can’t be that hard,” Reggie spins one of the symbols. 

“Stop,” Luke says, “You know Alex hates when someone else touches his drums.” 

“Just about as cranky as you get when someone touches your song book without your permission.” Bobby smirks. 

“I’ll show you a song when I’m ready.” Luke says dramatically, “Is it too much to ask for a little patience?” 

Bobby and Reggie are chuckling at a worked up Luke when Alex appears out of nowhere. 

“I’m gone a few days and you’re already replacing me?” Alex appears nervous although he tries to hide it. 

Luke’s head quickly turns in the direction of his friend, trying to read his expression or his body language, anything that might tell Luke if their kiss that morning ruined things or started something new. Alex was avoiding eye contact with Luke and only looked over at Reggie invading his drums space. 

“Finally.” Reggie says throwing a drum stick at Alex and the blonde fumbles it slightly but still caught it. 

“Sorry I’ve been MIA.” Alex laughs. “I was sick.” 

“Sick with the love bug?” Reggie jokes and both Alex and Luke’s eyes go wide. 

“What?” Alex forces out a laugh riddled with nerves. 

“I saw you at the party with that guy.” Reggie explains. 

“Oh,” Alex lets out a sigh of relief, “Right.” 

“Are we going to chit chat all day or can we rehearse?” Luke changes the subject. 

“I’ve been playing around with some of the chords in Long Weekend.” Bobby jumps straight into it enthusiastically.

“That’s one of my favourites.” Alex nods, “Let’s hear it.” 

Luke’s eyes had been solely focused on Alex since he entered the garage so once the blonde finally meets his gaze Luke smiles hopefully.

Alex approaches the couch where Luke sits and quietly asks, “Room for one more?” 

Luke’s smile grows as he thinks of his parting comment to Alex earlier that morning. Luke coaxes his head ever so slightly as if to ask Alex if this meant what he thought it did. The drummer picked up on Luke’s silent question and wore a sweet grin as he nods gently. 

“Always,” Luke smiles through a nod as Alex takes the space on the couch beside him. Luke quickly tries to contain himself and turns his attention to Bobby. 

Luke had never wished for band practice to be over before but that day he couldn’t wait for it to end so he could to try get a moment alone with Alex. The moment didn’t come until after dark. Bobby offers for everyone to crash in the garage that night, Reggie accepts but Luke turns to Alex for a single second before turning down the offer. 

“I told my mom I’d be home tonight.” Luke shrugs a shoulder quietly holding his breath for Alex to also come up with an excuse. 

“Not tonight, I’m still feeling a little off.” Alex says, “But tomorrow, the pier? Maybe a club?”

“Club adjacent.” Reggie throws his head from side to side. 

“You know what I mean.” Alex chuckles. 

Luke laughs too, more than warranted but he was just excited that Alex found an excuse for them to leave together. 

The two exit Reggie’s garage and don’t say a word until they’re at the end of the driveway. 

“So I know-“ Alex starts.

“About this- Luke says at the same time and the pair laugh it off. Luke pauses and motions for Alex to speak first, part of him feared if Alex didn’t say what he wanted to now he might talk himself out it all. 

“I was going to say if we are really going to see whatever this is, I need to set a few rules.” Alex waves his hand assertively, like he had to push that statement out.

“Come on, Alex, no rules in the bubble.” Luke pouts. 

“If I’m going to adopt fifty percent of your optimism, you have to take on at least twenty-five percent of my anxiety.” Alex says completely seriously. 

Luke wears a soft smile, “Alex, I would take one hundred percent of that away for you if I could.”

Alex smiles too as they walk and he believes Luke’s comment to be genuine. Still he continues, “We keep this private, for now at least.” 

“Done.” Luke agrees. 

“We promise to not let this jeopardise the band.” Alex adds. 

“Agreed.” Luke nods sincerely, he definitely didn’t want that either.

“And if at anytime, one of us freaks out, likely me-“ Alex begins but Luke throws out his arms to stop the blonde from walking. 

Luke forces Alex’s stare as he stresses, “If at any point this hurts you more than helps you, I’ll pull the plug myself.” 

Something about Luke’s choice of words was very calming for Alex, maybe this thing between them actually could help, maybe it would help Alex accept himself more or take away some of his anxieties. 

“Okay now that that’s all out of the way.” Alex lets out a loud exhale and is ready to move forward, “Will you go to the museum with me? It’s open late all summer.” 

“Are you asking me on a date?” Luke coaxes his head with a smile. 

“I think I am.” Alex’s own smile creeps wider. 

Luke happily agrees and the two make their way over to the museum. It was closing in an hour but without either of them having to say it out loud, they both knew exactly where they were headed when they arrived. 

With it being just before closing, the room of the exhibit is completely empty except for the two of them. They stand in front of a glass cabinet that’s two feet wide and eight feet tall, full of preserved butterflies all pinned with no rhyme or reason, just a colourful display of beauty. The teens are shoulder to shoulder, Luke’s looking at the butterflies but he can feel Alex’s gaze pointed right at him. 

“I’m not going to cry.” Luke says quietly with his smile still pointed to the display. 

“I didn’t think you would.” Alex matches Luke’s soft tone and still looks directly at the brown haired boy. 

Alex shyly lets his fingers brush against Luke’s. Luke looks to Alex now but he had pointed his shy smile at the butterflies. Again the blonde gently brushes his fingers against Luke’s and now the shorter boy knows it wasn’t an accident the first time. Like when Alex hesitated to kiss Luke that morning, Luke wanted to be the one to decisively hold Alex’s hand but he doesn’t as he wanted to let Alex slowly work himself up to it. The blonde does eventually find the courage to take Luke’s hand in his own but he doesn’t dare take his gaze off the display, even though he can feel Luke’s stare burning into the side of him. Luke returns his attention to the butterflies in front of them as well and the pair stand there in silence with fingers laced together and a smile plastered wide on each of their faces as they admire the display until someone announces over the intercom that the museum was closing in five minutes. 

It was easier than Alex anticipated to surrendered to Luke’s optimistic dream bubble where the pair lived comfortably for the remainder of summer. Although still nervous about what this meant for their friendship, Alex found himself enjoying his quiet moments with Luke. The blonde still had the occasional freak out when they kissed sometimes or when Luke would hold his hand under a table in a public setting and sometimes he worried that Luke’s playful side would be seen as flirty when they’re around their other bandmates but more often than not, Alex was craving the moments that scared him the most. 

Luke makes a conscious effort not to push Alex’s boundaries and he was always patient and understanding when Alex pulls away from a kiss or tenses up over an innocent touch in public. Luke constantly reassures Alex that he doesn’t need to apologise for feeling overwhelmed or anxious about their relationship and stresses he’d never push Alex to do anything he wasn’t ready for. Eventually almost all of Alex’s anxieties towards his and Luke’s relationship wash away. 

Whilst Sunset Curve’s notoriety began to grow around town so did the feelings these two shared for each other. Alex and Luke get caught up in their feelings, consumed by them and a sweet innocence encapsulates almost every moment shared. 

They’d go on late night rendezvous in the park, take turns pushing each other on the swings and sit on the roundabout and talk until the sun came up. They’d share secret kisses during band practice when they found a moment alone and anytime they weren’t together the other would creep into each of their minds. 

Alex started spending less of his time at home again. Being with Luke - although they kept it secret - reminded Alex what it was like to be accepted without question and not have to hide who he really is. Being at home where his parents couldn’t look him in the eye tainted the good vibes he was cruising through summer with. 

Between the band really taking off and the romance blossoming between the two friends, this summer was shaping up as one for the history books. Although things were going fantastically for the band, with them getting some serious traction and things truly were all sunshiney in the romance department, Luke’s home life started to tip the scales the other way. With summer ending soon, Luke’s parents were starting to put pressure on him again about school. They kept suggesting he should stop spending all day with the band and put some of his enthusiasm into his studies. They were constantly on him about choosing his classes for his senior year and getting everything in line to help get him into a good college. 

Luke felt like it was getting to the point where it was make or break for the band. If something big didn’t happen soon he was going to follow the path his parents were trying to lay out for him. Sure, it would have been an honest living, probably one he’d end up enjoying eventually but he couldn’t truly be happy if he didn’t follow his passion in life or at the very least try to. 

All this was weighing on Luke ’s mind during the last week of summer but he tries to push that to the side as the band was planning their biggest impromptu show yet. 

Sunset Curve make their way to the summer carnival. The were planning something big for later in the evening but first they take a moment to goof off. They play carnival games and complain that they’re rigged every time they lose. Reggie uses all of his tokens trying to win a goldfish but he has no such luck. They all eat enough junk food to give them stomach aches and laugh so much their faces hurt. 

A few hours pass in what felt like the blink of an eye. Reggie announces that he wants to see the fortune teller before they perform. 

“I don’t need a crystal ball to know where we’re headed boys.” Luke smiles. “Straight to top.” 

“I want to do the funhouse.” Alex says sending a subtle glance Luke’s way. 

“Too many clowns.” Reggie shakes his head. 

“Nobody asked you to come.” Alex quips and Reggie exaggerates the offence he took. 

“I have to see my connection at the ferris wheel.” Bobby announces, “Meet me there 8:45 sharp. We have to time this perfectly.” 

The other three nod their understanding. Reggie takes some of Bobby’s spare tickets and heads towards the fortune teller. Alex gives Luke a playful shove and the pair end up racing towards the funhouse but instead of joining the end of line Alex pulls at Luke’s jacket and leads him elsewhere. 

“I thought you wanted to do the funhouse?” Luke knits his brows. 

“Change of plans.” Alex wears a cute smile and Luke would have followed him anywhere in that moment. 

Alex takes Luke around the rear side of the funhouse which is at the edge of the carnival so there’s nothing there but some litter and the fence that borders the land. Not the most romantic setting but it was private. Still giddy regardless, the pair giggle though a kiss that tasted of cotton candy. They were enjoying themselves in another stolen moment but Luke’s family drama creeps into the forefront of his mind and he breaks the kiss. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Alex asks in a panic. 

“No, it’s not you.” Luke shakes his head. “I’m thinking about my mom.” 

Alex’s eyes widen,”Do you normally think about her when we kiss?”

 Luke gives Alex a gentle shove and mumbles disgust.

“I’m sorry,” Alex apologises, “What’s wrong, did you have another fight?” 

“Only everyday lately.” Luke sighs and he sits on the grass with his back pressed up against the funhouse. 

Alex sits to the right of Luke, “Do you want to talk about it?” 

“What’s there to talk about?” Luke huffs, “It’s the same old story; my parents want me to put down my guitar and pick up college brochures.” 

“Maybe you could go yo a music school?” Alex was trying to be positive. 

“Yeah right.” Luke scoffs, “If we’ve not made it big by the time we graduate then what’s the point?” 

Alex frowns, “Is fame all we’re really chasing?” 

“No,” Luke shakes his head, “But I know in my soul that our music is meant to be heard.” 

“I know that too,” Alex agrees, “And your parents will see that too.” 

“I don’t know if they will.” Luke looks at his hands in his lap.

“If we don’t get our big break by the end of summer, we’ll keep screaming our songs through the school year,” Alex is encouraging, “At least we’ll have each other to suffer through senior year with.” 

“There’s only a week of summer left but I can’t help but feel like we’re close to something special.” Luke states.

Alex links his arm with Luke’s and rests his head on Luke’s shoulder, “I’ve kind of felt like that all summer.” 

Luke rests his own head against Alex’s and the two sit quietly all huddled together. Alex could have almost fallen asleep he was that comfortable. The blonde is playing with Luke’s hand when he catches sight of the time on Luke’s watch. 

“Oh crap, we’re late.” Alex springs up. 

Luke checks his watch and jumps to his feet too, “8:51, the fireworks start in nine minutes!” 

“We have to hurry.” Alex grabs Luke’s hand and drags him back into the thick of the carnival. The blonde even forgot to let go of Luke’s hand as they ran towards the ferris wheel together, weaving through carnival goers.

“There’s the guys,” Luke spots Reggie and Bobby waiting by the ferris wheel looking annoyed. 

“Sorry we’re late,” Alex pants and he lets go of Luke’s hand when the pull up to their bandmates. 

“The funhouse line took longer than we thought.” Luke catches his breath. 

“We still have enough time but we have to hurry.” Bobby ushers the boys over to his friend working the ferris wheel. 

“I could get fired for this.” The worker says. 

“Or you could be apart of history, Max.” Bobby pats him on the shoulder before reaching behind his stand and collecting two guitars, “Plus, the carnival is over in a week and you’re out of a job anyway.” He says light heartedly. 

Bobby keeps one guitar and hands another to Luke. Reggie grabs their Sunset Curve banner that was also stashed away at Max’s station. 

Bobby’s friend lets the band to the front of the line where people sported confused looks at the instrument wielding teens. Alex and Luke get in one seat together followed by Bobby and Reggie in another. 

Max returns to his station and turns off the speaker for the ride. More confusion sparks from people on and around the ferris wheel. Max waits until the band is at the top of the ride and stops it completely. 

Reggie drops their band banner and holds it in place. Alex pulls his drumsticks from his bag and uses the seat they’re in as his drum kit, tapping on the side and the safety bar. Luke and Bobby play the opening chords to ‘Now Or Never’. 

People start gathering around the ferris wheel to watch the scene unfold, quickly a crowd forms. The band finish their song just as the fireworks go off and although Alex and Luke almost didn’t make it in time, the band pull off their perfectly time stunt. 

“We’re Sunset Curve, tell your friends!” Reggie shouts loudly and the other band members cheer along as the crowd applauds their efforts. 

The teens were then escorted out of the carnival by security but it was truly legendary. This epic display of their talent caught the attention of a local club owner that caught up with the band out in the parking lot. He invited them to come play the following night as the live talent cancelled last minute. The venue was small and not well known by any means but it was still the most incredible thing to happen to the band up until that point. They booked a club, no more playing outside of them. 

Luke returns home that night and falls asleep in high spirits. Unfortunately his good vibes are quickly crushed the next morning when he’s met by his mom in the kitchen and she didn’t appear happy. It turns out that one of their neighbours witnessed Sunset Curve headline the ferris wheel the night before and told Emily about it. 

The two got in a fight about it, Luke was trying to explain that the stunt was worth it because they booked a gig at a local club that night but Emily shut him down by saying he’s not even old enough to play in clubs. The argument gets heated and Luke storms out of the house. 

Luke was worked up all day and some of that intensity transferring into their set that night in the club. Luckily it didn’t ruin their performance and it was another successful show of the bands talent. 

The club owner was that impressed with the band that he offered for them to come back the next week and play again and of course the band accepted, anything to get their name out there. 

When Emily caught wind of Luke booking gigs when school is supposed to start back up another big argument ensues. Their fights were starting to get more heated and not just louder. It felt like the cracks in their relationship were getting too big to patch up. 

Although he didn’t want to, Luke goes to school the first week to get his parents off his back. The three seniors skipped the last two periods on the Friday to get ready for their second gig at the club. Bobby - whom was already graduated - was waiting out the front with the getaway car, one his dad was letting him use to drive to job interviews. Bobby hadn’t applied for any jobs but he was lying to have a car to drive the band around in. 

Their second gig at the club was even better than the first. Luke quietly returned home knowing his dad would be working late and he hoped to sneak in without alerting his mom, that way the lecture could wait until morning but Emily was there waiting for him. Luke had been told he wasn’t allowed to do the show that night but he did it anyway and his mom found out about him cutting class so she were extra furious. Luke and his mom fought yet again, she kept going on about school coming first and Luke kept yelling about how he only went to school to please her and music was what he wanted to do full time and since there seemed to be no pleasing her anyway he might as well stop going to school all together. 

Unkind words were shared in the heat of the moment and Luke shoves a handful of his things in a backpack, grabs his guitar case and jumps on his bike and leaves his distraught mother in the driveway. Luke pedals his way to Alex’s house and sneaks around the back, stashing his bike where the drummers parents wouldn’t see it. Luke taps on Alex’s window, alerting the blonde who just changed into something comfortable. Alex spots Luke and is instantly concerned, they’d only parted ways an hour before and whilst they had coaxed one another out of their window multiple times this summer, this didn’t feel like a spontaneous rendezvous. 

“What’s wrong?” Alex whispers as he opens the window. 

“Can I stay here tonight?” Luke says on the verge of tears. 

Alex looks back at his door in a panic, fearing that his parents might walk in at any moment but he still sees the desperation on Luke’s face and helps him climb through the window. 

“I know you don’t like me coming round incase your parents found out about us,” Luke says quietly, “But I didn’t know where else to go.” 

“It’s okay,” Alex soothes as he gets Luke to sit down on the bed in an attempt to calm him. “I know you weren’t supposed to go out tonight, did you get in trouble?” 

“Worse than trouble,” Luke’s voice cracks, “Alex, I’m done. I can’t go back there.” 

“Come on, Luke,” Alex sits beside him and rests his hand on Luke’s knee, “You don’t mean that.” 

“No, I really do.” Luke insists, “My mom is trying to take Sunset Curve away from me. She says I can’t be in the band as long as I live under their roof. So I’m not going to live there anymore.” 

Alex’s expression falls, he was at a loss for words and Luke continues, “I know I can’t stay here forever, I wouldn’t do that to you but can I please just stay tonight?” 

“Of course,” Alex smiles weakly as his heart hurt for Luke. 

Luke quietly vents some more about the argument and when he finally settles, Alex pulls back the covers for them to get into bed. The two boys face each there and whisper their goodnights. By the morning the pair were cuddled together, peacefully sleeping. 

Later that day, the two make their way to Bobby’s garage and Luke tells Reggie and Bobby that he’s left home for good. Bobby was reluctant - only out of fear of his dad finding out - but he sets Luke up in the loft space of the garage, tucked away out of sight but somewhere safe for him to crash. 

On the Monday, Reggie and Alex return to school like everything was normal. They had been telling their parents and Luke’s parents when they stopped by, that they had no idea where he was. Bobby kept Luke company most of the time but he did go to a few job interviews his dad lined up for him. 

Luke was worried that everyone was moving on with their lives but truthfully the other band members saw sense in Luke leaving school to pursue the band full time. School had only been back a week and a half but they could all feel Sunset Curve losing the momentum it built up over summer. 

A week after Luke run away he was starting to feel lonely in the loft at night and during the days when everyone was busy with school or interviews. Although he was still angry with his parents, Luke couldn’t help but miss them. 

One afternoon Luke sits alone in Bobby’s garage and he writes ‘Unsaid Emily’ in his song book, dripping stray tears onto the pages as he does. When everyone came over that evening for rehearsal, Luke wasn’t sure if he was going to share the song with them but he compelled to. The band helped put music to the sad song and playing it with his closest friends was therapeutic for Luke. Although it made him feel better overall it did make him upset that his mom couldn’t see that this is the exact reason why he loves music, it helps him through the tough times. 

A few days later a surprising phone call makes it’s way to Reggie’s house. They booked the Orpheum. It turns out one of the venue representatives heard about the carnival spectacle and had been trying to track the band down since. 

They had a week to prepare for their biggest break yet. 

Alex and Reggie agreed, there was no point in going to school anymore, it was only getting in the way of their big break but they were going to go right up until the showcase so they could use the success they hoped the show would bring as leverage with their parents. Incase their parents were still not supportive though, both Reggie and Luke stashed a bag of their belongings in the loft of Bobby’s garage. 

Alex leaves school early one day to hang out with Luke. The two of them sneak into Luke’s house while his parents were at work so he could gather a few more of his things. Alex could tell that being there upset Luke so he tries to comfort him. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come back home?” Alex asks. 

“There’s no point.” Luke shakes his head with a solemn expression, “If I come home there’s no way they’ll let me out again and I wont be able to play the showcase and there is no way in hell I’m missing that show.” 

“Maybe they’ll change their minds after the show.” Alex tries to be optimistic. 

“Maybe.” Luke’s smile is weak. 

Alex didn’t know what to say to make Luke feel better so he tries to lift his spirits by changing the subject. 

“I want to play the song you wrote at the beginning of summer during our showcase.” Alex announces. 

Luke looks confused for a second, “Alex’s Song?” 

“Yeah, but we should probably rename it first,” Alex chuckles softly, “ ‘Bright’ works nice, I think.” 

“I went to bring up the song to the guys at the start of summer but you seemed a little weird when I did so I dropped it,” Luke shares, “I figured you weren’t comfortable sharing.” 

“I know,” Alex lets out a breath, “I thought it was so special I wanted to keep it to myself.” 

“Now you want to share it?” Luke questions. 

“When you sung ‘Unsaid Emily’ with us, I saw how much that helped you.” Alex explains, “And when you shared ‘Bright’ with me- I don’t think I can express how much I needed that song, how much you helped me. You said you wrote that song to let me know I always have you in my corner, I want other people to feel like we’re in their corner too.” 

“It’s your song.” Luke smiles, “I’ll play it if that’s what you want.” 

Alex picks up Luke’s old guitar that’s missing a few strings and pretends like he knows what he’s doing. Sure, he knew a few chords but he was by no means an expert. Alex plays what he can and fakes the rest, sining ‘Bright’ softly to Luke making for a sweet moment as Luke watches on with such love and warmth in his eyes. 

Alex finishes and sits down the old guitar, “I just have one tiny request.” Alex melts under Luke’s adoring stare.

“Anything.” Luke says softly. 

“Can I keep the original paper and we all work on the music with a duplicate copy?” Alex asks. “I want to share but I still kind of want it to be mine.” 

Luke rolls his head forward with a soft laugh and if he had his song book on him he would have torn the page out and handed it straight over. 

They leave Luke’s house with a backpack full of his belongings. 

“Do you want to do something fun?” Luke asks as they walk. 

“What did you have in mind?” Alex questions. 

Luke takes Alex to the aquarium and they sit in dark room with a blue glow of the water being the main source of light. There was only a few other people around and at one point a class on a field trip all pile through. Luke and Alex sit there quietly and watch the people come and go. Eventually it winds up being just the two of them, they approach the big glass wall that gave them a glimpse of what lay below the water. They quietly hold hands and watch the aquatic life float by. Luke turns his gaze towards Alex and can see blue glow reflect in Alex’s eyes and how it paints his skin. The drummer also peels his gaze from the sea life and meets Luke’s smile with a grin of his own, just for a second before turning back towards the glass. In that moment Luke had the urge to tell Alex he loved him but for whatever reason he keeps quiet. 

The pair lost track of time and turn up to Bobby’s two hours late for rehearsal. They are met with a very annoyed Bobby and a disappointed looking Reggie. 

“So you two are alive.” Bobby quips when the pair finally turn up. 

“Sorry, we lost track of time.” Alex frowns. 

“I got a call from the venue rep at the Orpheum today, they wanted us to come by to work out the layout for our gear.” Bobby has his arms folded tightly against his chest. 

“I thought we were supposed to do that Friday.” Luke mumbles. 

“They needed us to come in early.” Bobby says. 

“Can we go now?” Alex asks. 

“Reggie and I already went.” Bobby snaps, “I came and picked him up after school and we waited around for you for half an hour.” 

“Sorry, I skipped last period.” Alex shrinks feeling guilty. 

“We came back here thinking we’d find you both ready for rehearsal at least,” Bobby scoffs. “We were an hour late to our meeting at the Orpheum. Do you know how unprofessional we looked showing up an hour late with half the band?” 

“This is my fault.” Luke jumps in, “I’ve been bored here by myself most days and I made Alex ditch so I had someone to hang out with. I lost track of time.” 

“We’re days away from a career defining moment and you two are ditching band practice to do what?” Bobby asks. 

“Does it even matter? We’ve said we’re sorry.” Luke gets defensive, “It was just one practice, we didn’t know about the meeting.” 

“It hasn’t just been one practice,” Reggie finally speaks up. “You two have been late a lot recently.” 

“The ferris wheel.” Bobby back up Reggie’s statement. 

“We still timed it perfectly,” Luke rolls his eyes. 

“It feels like you’re distracted lately.” Bobby states. “Do you even care about the band anymore?” 

“I ran away from home for this band.” Luke is wildly offended. 

“We wrote a song today,” Alex tries to defuse the tension, “To play during our showcase. It’s called ‘Bright’.” 

“You want us to learn a new song before the show?” Bobby questions. 

“It’s worth it.” Alex insists, “It’s kind of a friendship anthem.” 

Bobby let’s out a frustrated breath, he was still too annoyed to forgive them right away, even if it did look like they were thinking of the band when they were goofing off. 

“Can you just let me know if you’re ditching early next time?” Reggie is quicker to forgive, “I’ll come with you.” 

“Deal.” Alex nods. 

Bobby sulks inside his house and before Reggie leaves he expresses his interest in hearing the song tomorrow. 

Once they’re alone again Luke turns to Alex expecting he would share his frustration for being read the riot act from their friends but instead he’s met with a defeated expression. 

“This is what I was afraid of,” Alex sighs, “Rule number two, don’t let this jeopardise the band.” 

“Alex, what are you saying?” Luke frowns. 

“I don’t know.” Alex shakes his head. 

“Can we talk?” Luke pleas. 

“I have to go.” Alex is already making his way towards the exit. “Family dinner.” 

“That’s tomorrow night-“ Luke says but Alex disappears in a hurry anyway.

Luke is left standing there alone wondering how everything fell apart so quickly. 

The following morning Bobby comes out into the garage with some breakfast for the missing person camped out in the loft. The older boy was still annoyed but Luke gives him a wet willy and it was all water under the bridge. 

That afternoon Luke and Alex show ‘Bright’ to the band and they worked out all the kinks with the music. Luke couldn’t help but notice that Alex felt off the entire rehearsal. 

Just as they finish tweaking ‘Bright’, Bobby runs inside because the phone was ringing. It was the venue rep letting them know their showcase had sold out. This seemed to pick up Alex’s spirits and further erase some of the previous days tension among the band. 

That night Alex pretended to leave rehearsal but snuck back into the garage when he knew it was just Luke. The pair hide away in the loft together. Alex sits with crossed legs and Luke hugs his knees against his chest, the two face towards each other. 

“They all loved ‘Bright’,” Alex tries to fill the silence, “I mean I didn’t doubt they would.” 

Luke just nods. 

“I’m sorry I left the way I did yesterday,” Alex apologises, “I had a mini freak out but that’s not news for you. But don’t worry, I’m over it.” He laughs but Luke didn’t appear to find the humour. 

“Rule number two, Alex.” Luke mumbles and he can’t even look at Alex. 

“We were late, we won’t let that happen again.” Alex has a sad smile as he didn’t like where this was going. “It was an honest mistake.” 

“It wasn’t a mistake,” Luke explains, “I knew we were running late but I didn’t care, I just wanted to spend time with you.” 

“We can still prioritise the band and spend time with each other.” Alex smiles softly, “This isn’t something we have to get worked up over. 

Luke finally meets Alex’s gaze and there is intense sadness behind his eyes, “Alex, I’m at the point where I would leave the band for you.” 

“What?” Alex crinkles his brows in confusion. 

“If I had to choose what I want more; for the band to make it or to be with you,” Luke pauses, “I’d choose you, Alex.” 

Alex’s expression falls, he hadn’t thought about it before but if he was being honest he felt the same as Luke. 

“That might be what you want,” Alex says quietly, “But anytime I watch you play it’s clear that music is what you need.” 

“I’m afraid if we don’t work out I’m going to lose you and the band and then I’m left with nothing.” Luke is honest. 

“That would never happen,” Alex insists, “No matter what happens between us, we will always have each others back.” 

“I know but what if the break up is messy?” Luke panics, “And when do we tell Bobby and Reggie?” 

“You really took that twenty-five percent of my anxiety thing quite literal,” Alex tries to be lighthearted but it wasn’t working. 

Silence becomes them, both teens sport sad expressions they point at the ground. They knew what was coming. 

Finally Alex speaks up with a shaky voice, “We have to break up don’t we?” 

“I don’t want to.” Luke buries his head in his lap. 

Alex scoots forward and reaches for Luke’s arms that are still linked around his knees. Alex gives him a soothing stroke. “Hey, it makes sense, it’s okay.” 

“I wish it didn’t.” Luke is muffled as he talks into his lap and there’s lump forming in his throat. 

Alex tugs at the other boys arm asking for him to look up again. Luke listens and raises his head again, tears soaking his cheeks.

“I never understood in movies why people broke up when they still cared about each other,” Alex’s says fighting his own tears, “I finally get it.” 

“I know in my bones that Sunset Curve and our music is something special,” Luke wipes at his damp cheeks. “But this feels like something special too.” 

“It is.” Alex nods, “It always has been, long before you kissed me, Luke and long after. That I’m sure of.” 

“Why aren’t you more scared about all of this?” Luke questions like Alex had that first night in the park. 

“Maybe the ‘everything’s going to be okay’ dream bubble rubbed off on me.” Alex curls the corner of his mouth into a slight smile, “Thank you for that.” 

“Well reality is a real ass kicker so thanks,” Luke says sarcastically and they both manage a weak chuckle which was a little croaky as they both were crying at this point. 

“Promise you’re not breaking up with me because you only dated me to prove you were okay with me being gay?” Alex asks seriously and Luke was bewildered, “Kidding,” Alex breaks with a smile and Luke manages a soft laugh too. 

“We’ll always have this summer, right?” Alex smiles weakly. 

“We’ll always have each other.” Luke says with such a raw sincerity in his voice and Alex truly believed his statement to be true. 

“I’m going to miss holding your uniquely slimy palms.” Alex jokes. 

“Just take me to another scary movie and I’m your man.” Luke smiles and he was starting to feel better about things. “If I tell you something, do you promise not to freak out?” 

Alex felt like he knew exactly what Luke was going to say and he wanted to also but he didn’t want to make things harder. “Some things can’t be unheard.” 

“I know.” Luke nods and he knew if he told Alex that he loved him it might undo the breakup they only just managed to get through so he decides to keep it to himself instead he holds Alex’s stare and says, “You’re my best friend, Alex.” 

Alex smiles softly and he knew what Luke really meant and when he says, “You’re my best friend too,” Luke knew what Alex truly meant. 

The break up wasn’t easy by any means but the two of them both knew in their hearts it was the right thing to do and they found comfort in knowing that their friendship was only stronger because of the summer romance they shared. 

25 year later 

After their gig at the Orpheum with Julie, where she might have saved their spirits, things were still so uncertain with what this all meant. 

Luke asks Alex to go to the park with him. They both poof their way over and sit on the roundabout. The park had changed a lot in 25 years but their trusty roundabout remained. 

Alex is rambling about how crazy it is that they hugged Julie and Luke listens with a smile. 

“Julie can feel us!” Alex finally slows down, “This is good news for you right?”

“I don’t know.” Luke gets shy. 

“Hey, I’m happy for you too, you know?” Alex wears a sweet smile. 

“It seems like we only broke up a couple of months ago.” Luke says. 

“I know.” Alex nods, “But weirdly I feel like I have 25 years worth of closure.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” Luke agrees. Their breakup really did feel completely resolved. 

“Want to see who can last the longest?” Alex challenges, “I don’t think ghosts can throw up because I’ve been trying to stress heave since we left that dark room and nothing.” 

Luke laughs at his friend and for the first time since dying he let himself reflect on his past relationship with Alex and he appreciated how normal their friendship is. 

“Hey Alex, if I tell you something, do you promise not to freak out?” Luke questions and Alex had heard this once before and stoped Luke from going any further but tonight was different. 

“Yeah, I promise.” Alex was still wondering where this was going. 

“You know now since we’re dead you were technically the love of my life.” Luke kicks Alex’s foot with his own. 

Alex’s smile is soft and genuine, but still he jokes, “Technically? How romantic.” Luke laughs and Alex adds more seriously “Of all the things in my life, being the love of yours was my favourite.” 

“Thanks for not freaking out.” Luke grins. 

Alex shrugs a single shoulder, “Maybe if I didn’t feel the same way it would have been a lot scarier.” 

Two smiley ghosts sit in a park happy to have shared the summer of 95. 

THE END. 

☀ ☀ ☀

End Notes: This be the end my friends! Thanks so much for making it to the end of my story! If you’ve stuck with me since part one or you’re finding this later and read the whole thing - I appreciate you!!!! 

I was going to split this into two chapters because it's long but I though nahhhh screw it! Hahaha hope that's okay. 

Just an added not about Bright and how I made it Alex's song. I like to think that in episode 2 after Alex asks Julie about the music program he tells Luke he should give her the song because it helped him when he needed it most and he wanted that for Julie :))))))))))))))

Thanks so much for taking the time out of your life to read my work! Leave me a comment if you wish, I appreciate any feedback :) Xxx

[kbear3201]

Sims 4 Legacy Challenge

I fell in love with Lilsimsie’s Not So Berry Challenge, this challenge was inspired by it but I made sure to make it different. Gen 10 Is the closest this gets to her challenge but it is still different. Originally I was going to assign colors but ended up deciding against it which you may notice with some of the traits. I like to give my sims one negative trait to make things more realistic and fun for myself. Some Sims have more of a loose story so any story tellers can tell their story as they please.

I admit I’m still playtesting this challenge, if I find things that need changes I will come back and fix them, if you play please help me find anything that’s ether too hard or makes no sense.

I have a few bonus Sims, some of which are not yet listed as I haven’t completed them. 

I don’t have a set of challenge rules as I want people to play this as they wish, whether you make it a rags to riches or just play with the challenge itself.

Now for the Challenge:

Gen 1: Passionate Painter

You have a fiery love.. For art! Art has always caught your eye more than people ever have, and you’re honestly fine with that. Painting is your passion! You can really express your emotion with it, but some people will never understand. No one would suspect, but you’re a health nut.

Traits: Hot Headed, Self-Assured, Art Lover.

Aspiration: Painter Extraordinaire

Challenge Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Reach level 10 of the painting skill

Reach level 10 of the Painter career

Keep all of your first paintings (small classic, medium classic, large classic, etc.)

First date must be at museum

Only eat healthy foods

Make at least one of each painting

Have two kids

Gen 2: Friendly Baker

Food can be art too, and it's also yummy. You are a people person, and your favorite way of making friends is through treats and parties! Treats brings people together and tastes so good while doing so. You love treats, maybe a little too much. People are surprised you love sweets so much when your founder was such a healthy eater.

Traits: Glutton, Outgoing, Self-Assured

Aspiration: Friend to the world

Challenge Goals:

Complete your aspiration

Reach level 10 of Baking skill

Keep your Founder’s first ever painting

Make at least one of each item in the baking list

Have at least 5 friends, including your forever best friend from childhood

Have a penpal

Be good friends with your sibling

Have more than 1 kid

Gen 3: Master Chef

Growing up you had all the treats you could ask for, but there's so much more to food!

Traits: Foodie, Perfectionist, Outgoing

Aspiration: Master Chef

Challenge Goals:

Reach level 10 of Cooking and Gourmet Cooking skills

Complete Aspiration

Inherit Founder's first painting

Make at least one of each item both the Cooking and Gourmet Cooking list

Don't let anyone else cook or get quick meals

Only make cake for someone's birthday

Gen 4: Classical Genius 

Your parent's comfort has always lied in food, but for you, it's music. The Violin has always had such a pretty sound that seems to calm your soul and speak to you. It's history is so fun and it's become your passion. From a little girl you've played a violin and over the years have grown in love with it.

Traits: Music Lover, Perfectionist, Creative

Aspiration:

Challenge Goals

Reach level 10 of Violin skill

Only listen to classical music

Inherit founder's first painting

Have 50,000 simoleons in savings at once

Be an adult before having kids

Have all of your children reach A student as child and teen

Have 1-3 kids

Gen 5: Rising Star

Your parent is all for the violin, but singing and playing the guitar is so much more fun. You love writing music after writing a love song for your first lover and after that you find it's your passion. You start publishing your songs and earn a following, landing you a spotlight and a voice in the world.

Traits: Creative, Ambitious, Clumsy

Aspiration: 

Challenge goals

Reach level 10 of singing career

Reach level 10 of guitar before you reach adult

Inherit founder's first painting

Have two partners before ether being with your forever Sim or deciding to stay single

Don't get married

Have 1 "oopsie" child, can be any of your lover's (or someone else’s)

OPTIONAL

If you have get famous, reach at least 4 stars of fame

Gen 6: Humble Farmer

For two generations your family has been tainted with riches and that's how you grew up. But you start to realize as a young adult that money is nothing but a distraction, true riches come from land and hard work. You move away with your parent's blessing and almost nothing to start a farm you can be proud of.

Traits: Outdoor Lover, Vegan, Clumsy 

Aspiration: Freelance Botanist 

Challenge Goals:

Reach level 10 of the Gardening Career

Move out as a young adult with only 20,000 simoleons and get the biggest lot available

Complete your aspiration

Inherit founder’s first painting

Don't get a Job

Only sell your crops (and crafts if you pick one up)

Have at least two crops for each season (if your crop can grow in more than one season it counts as one for all the seasons)

Have at least 3 kids, helping hands make lighter loads

Gen 7: Romantic Adventurer 

Growing up on the farm, you're not afraid to get your hands dirty. Adventure calls your name and you’re ready to answer. As a child you enjoy finding time capsules and frogs and exploring all types of mysteries. As a teen you find your neighborhood’s hidden world and as an adult you explore every inch of the Jungle. Beyond that, you dream of finding someone to take on these adventures.

Traits: Outdoor Lover, Jealous, Romantic

Aspiration: Jungle Explorer

Challenge Goals:

Reach level 10 or Archeology and Selvadorian culture skills

Complete Jungle Explorer Aspiration

From childhood, find frogs and collect time capsules

As a teen, find your neighborhood’s hidden world (Sylvan Glade for Willow Creek, Forgotten Grotto in Oasis Springs, Cave of Soulani, etc) If your neighborhood doesn't have a hidden world you may pick a hidden world of your choosing (leave Sixam for gen 10)

Inherit founder’s first painting

Explore the entire Jungle in your lifetime

Marry your third partner

Marry as an adult

Have at least one family adventure

Take your kids to the beach every weekend

Gen 8: Ocean Protector

The beach has always held a special place in your heart, it was the one place your parents brought you that really made you feel like you were a part of a family. Your parents never noticed your depression since teenhood and it sticks with you through your entire life. When it’s almost your young adult birthday, you run away to Sulani and find your beloved beach is in danger of nasty pollution. 

Traits: Outdoor Lover, Gloomy, Child of the Island

Aspiration: Beach Living

Challenge Goals:

Reach level 10 of Fitness skill ONLY THROUGH SWIMMING

Reach level 10 of Conservationist career Environmental Manager Branch

Complete Beach Living Aspiration

Inherit founder’s first painting

Have a best friend that lives in Sulani

When you’re about to age into a young adult, move to your best friend’s house

As a young adult, move into your own lot in Sulani

Invest lots of your time with your family, maybe even too much

Find suitors for all your children

Gen 9: Marine Biologist

Growing up on the beach, you love it as much as your parent does. But while they work towards saving it, you want to work towards learning about the creatures you’re saving. You love your parent but they never give you space and when you talk to them about it they’re very dismissive. You become very dependent on your parent.

Traits: Child of the Ocean, Gloomy, Genius 

Aspiration: Angling Ace

Challenge Goals:

Reach level 10 of the fishing and Parenting skills

Reach level 10 of the Conservationist career Marine Biologist

Complete Angling Ace Aspiration

Inherit founder’s first painting

Don’t move out of your childhood home until your parent dies

Marry your suitor and have 2 kids with them

After your parent’s death, devorce your suitor

Remarry a Sim with the Good trait and have at least one kid with them

Support all your children’s choices

Gen 10: Space Explorer

Your Parent has always supported all your dreams, you were always close with them and loved the stories of all the crazy creatures that live within the Sim world, but what about elsewhere? You look to the stars and dream of what could be out there, maybe you should be the one to find out. Your a funny Sim who enjoys making your friends and family laugh, which makes space life a little less tedious

Traits: Genius, Bookworm, Goofball

Aspiration: Nerd Brain

Challenge Goals:

Reach level 10 of Handiness and Rocket Science Skills

Reach level 10 of Astronaut career Space Ranger Branch

Complete Nerd Brain Aspiration

Inherit founder’s first painting

Have a close relationship with your parent

Build a rocket

Visit Planet Sixam

Marry as an Adult

Marry a co-worker

OPTIONAL

Meet an Alien (If you want to add occults to your story

BONUS SIMS

Gen 11: Unflirty Romance

While your parents heads were in the stars, yours was always in the books. You find it fascinating that someone can take your mind into whatever world they want to and you dream of sharing your own ideas with the world. You write Romance which some find strange due to you not being one for romance, what can you say? It’s so much easier in the books.

Traits: Bookworm, Creative, Unflirty

Aspiration: Bestselling Author

Challenge Goals:

Reach level 10 of Writing and Logic Skills

Reach level 10 or Writer career Author Branch

Complete Bestselling Author aspiration

Inherit founder’s first painting

Self Publish books until you reach level 6 of Writer career

Write 1 book for each child and gift it to them

Besides your children’s books, only write romance novels

Marry your best friend

OPTIONAL:

If you have Get Famous reach at least 3 stars of fame

Gen 12: Dr. Unflirty

Can you find love if it’s scary? Your Parent always wrote about romance but never displayed it for you. You want to find happiness with someone but will that be possible? You refuse to give up but dogs are so much easier! You love them and dream of caring for them as a vet. However, one little accident proves to make this harder than you originally thought.

Traits: Unflirty, Good, Dog Lover

Aspiration: Soulmate

Challenge Goals:

Reach level 10 of Charisma, Veterinarian, and Photography skills

Reach level 5 of Pet Trainer skills

Reach level 3 of any part time job before adult

Inherit founder’s first painting

Wait until you’ve raised the money to move out of your parents house

Make extra cash selling your pictures

As an Adult quit your babysitting job and become a vet

Have one child as a young adult (teen if you have the mods for it) this is your only child

[yakumtsaki]

I taste just like ice cream, bitch I am so icy, heart cold like an ice queen, that's why they don't like me 🎵

-What the hell was that.

Traditionally I start Union updates with semi-relevant song lyrics.

-Why did you start an update at all.

Because it’s time, Shajar! I took a holy oath in my 2020 simming goals post to update Unions once a month, and I’m already a month late.

-But nothing interesting is happening. 

That’s never stopped me before. Now listen to Rico Nasty, cry some more about Sophie blowing you off, and shut up.

-Ugh please, I couldn’t be more over Sonia if I tried. I hardly ever texted her links to wedding pinterest boards and quizzes to determine if our parenting styles are compatible. 

Did she ever reply? 

-She did once and said ‘who dis’. Of course the letters unscrambled spell out ‘do wish’, meaning she did wish me to keep messaging her. I just don’t know where it all went wrong. 

-Hey there, 17 year old girl, maybe you’ve had enough neat whiskey for the night? We’re actually running out of bottles. 

-Beat it, ponytail, I need to dull my pain. I’ve just been stabbed right in the gut by the love of my life. Just like my style idol and general role model, space opera fascist Kylo Ren.

Shaj I really hate seeing you like this, and not just because the red neon light is super unflattering on your complexion.

-You can fuck right off too, I was perfectly happy with my dads who hate me and my imbecile sister and my brother who might as well not exist, noogie-ing people all day AND night long, but you had to be all ‘OMG IT’S SOPHIE MIGUEL SHAJAR GO TALK TO HER’. Life-ruining-moron. 

But I was totally right about you two hitting it off, I mean look how sad you are now that she dumped- yea never mind, that’s not a good argument.

-Look what I can do even though I’ve had 46 whiskeys!! How you like me now, Sophie???

-You’re paying for all these broken glasses, I’m going to need your name and a credit card.

-Yes, fair enough, my name is Cyneswith Union-

-I LOOK GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT

Yea, you really should eat something to soak up all the alcohol. And not to kick you when you’re down, but you should also disregard all those cliches about ~a smile being the most beautiful thing you can wear~ because MAN. Watch out Joaquin, there’s a new Joker on the prowl. 

-So.. 20 lobsters thermidor and our most expensive appetizers?

-Aha.

-Would you mind settling your bill now?

-Of course not! My name is Cyneswith Union and this is the credit card my parents got me when I was 6 because we’re super duper best friends! I love my parents! They don’t care about their other daughter at all, even when their other daughter is going through a really hard time because she got the emotional equivalent of a lightsaber wound in the gut. You know what, let me also get 20 bottles of your most overpriced champagne to go with the lobsters.

Feeling better?

-Well it’s hard to feel bad when you’re spending your parents’ money recklessly and with malice aforethought.

It sure is. Alright well, the sun is coming up, maybe we should head home.

-What’s the rush? What is going to happen if I don’t go home, my parents will get worried? LOL

God your life sucks. Ok let’s hit a couple more places.

-Greetings. Welcome to our establishment. I am a human employee from this planet.

Great, nice to meet you.

-I just want there to be no doubt that I am indeed an earthling, born and raised under the earth’s exosphere and not above it.

Leave us alone.

-And I’m the resident community lot sim with that one face template you hate! There must be one of us on every lot you visit!

-And I am here in my revealing outfit to use the dance sphere and make everyone uncomfortable!

You’re actually pretty, I need to keep you in mind for after Don Oates takes a wrecking ball to our genetics, but yea, let’s bounce, Shajar.

Time to visit the happiest place on earth, Deh'Javu Modern Art Museum, home to my favorite piece of art in any medium, The Toilet of Fire. Shove that Fountain up your ass, Duchamp. How we feeling, Shaj?

-This trash can reminds of Sophie :( She used to go around town throwing money she stole from charities in trash cans and then send them riddles for where to find them :(

Enough with Sophie, we’ll find you someone better! Like..

..your aunt! Get the hell out of here Brit Brit, you’re taking up townie space. 

-I won’t be long, Gunther’s amazing close-up portrait of my hair was rejected by the museum so I’m here to set this shithole on fire. 

In other words Gunther just painted a canvas black and called it a day?

-His art doesn’t cater to plebs. Yes, offense.

Our old friend Ugly Teen Townie is here so finally we can have some fun. Shajar had gone almost 12 hours(!) without noogieing someone and I was starting to worry for her health.

-Yes, yes, I’m starting to feel like myself again..

Good for you, Shaj!

-Hope you’ve made peace with your God, Ugly Teen Townie, this water balloon is filled with horse feces! 

-WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET HORSE SHIT

-I ordered it from some guy named Leod McGreggor.

-How about a another joke, MuRRAY?

-What?!

-Now you say, ‘no, I think we’ve had enough of your jokes’. Say it!

-No, I think we’ve had enough of your jokes.

-What do you get when you cross a mentally-ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? Now you say ‘call the police, Gene!’

-Call the police, Gene!

-I'll tell you what you get..

-YOU GET WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE. HAHA oh man! Good stuff. 

Alright I’m starting to feel bad for Ugly Teen Townie, first he had to come to all the toddler birthday parties during the Victoria/Komei era and now this, he has suffered enough at this family’s hands. Time to go home, Shaj.

-Not so fast!

Wow, the Countess and Mrs. Crumplebottom on the same lot, top 10 anime crossovers.

-I have been sent here by the Limp Dick Vamps United organization to recruit Shajar Union.

Ugh you people are still around? Haven’t heard of you losers since the Count wouldn’t let Victoria bang him, which I’m still annoyed about. 

-Indeed we are, and it’s clear Shajar is ready to join us, dedicating her life to evil deeds without romantic distractions. I have no idea what Crumplebottom is doing here.

-I’m here to recruit Shajar to my own organization, Bitter Sims Worldwide Alliance. We’re always on the lookout for new members who want to spread their misery to their fellow Sim. 

It sounds like it’d be more effective if you guys just merged your organizations.

-I will NEVER merge my organization with someone who displays her bosom like a common whore. 

-Eat a dick, Crumplebottom!

-MAKE ME, FANGTOOTH

-Alright here I am, what the fuck do you want?

-Shajar, it is a pleasure to meet you! Ardent admirer of your work.

-What work, freakshow?

-Torturing everyone around you, what else!

-What? I don’t torture people around me, if anything they torture me.

-Why don’t you talk to me about it?

-I’d rather not, you look like a bejeweled snowman.

-Look deep into my eyes, Shajar..

-And now look deep into my razor sharp teeth..

-Ugh fine, let’s talk. 

-Is that Victoria and Komei’s teen granddaughter hanging out with a vampire?

Yes it is Kennedy, keep it moving.

-God, wtf is wrong with this family. 

Nothing now that you’ve been removed from our social circle, go away! Just kidding, you’re an icon and I’m marrying you in at some point. 

-Hard pass. 

Your loss, hombre. 

-It definitely isn’t.

-If I had known your turn on was vampires I would had set you two up!

STOP SETTING UP TEENS WITH ADULTS, LAKSHMI. And Shajar’s turn ons isn’t vampires, it’s fitness/fatness. Body positive queen. 

-Well, Shajar, you alphabetically listing all the people who have wronged you while I was trying to kill Crumplebottom telepathically has made for a very productive conversation. We’ll be in touch. 

-Thanks, Countess, it’s been real.

Shajar!!! Who cares about Sophie when you might bag a hot, rich vamp??

-Meh.

I’m gonna need you to be more excited about this prospect because a vampire spouse might just be enough of a draw to beat the comedic factor of fucking Don Oates turning us into an unintentional uglacy and I’m doing whatever I can to avoid my fate.

Ugh.

UGH

UGHHHHHHH

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO VICTORIA

-GET FUCKED, BROKEN FACED WEIRDO

God I miss you Vic 💔

-Donnie-bear, not to be not-nice, but mopping your pee off my front lawn is not exactly what I pictured doing during this date.

This guy won’t even mop up his own piss, what a catch.

Wow, manipulative much?? You are a piss piece of work, Donaldo.

-Don’t think we forgot about you, you 10-nice-point disgrace!

-VICTOR NO

-GET THAT MOP READY

-Finally, some peace and quiet.. Just me, alone with my broken heart, pondering my hopeless, loveless future..

-💗💗💗OMG SIS THERE YOU ARE. DONNIE AND I MADE OUT!!! 💗💗💗 But then grandma’s ghost scared him into soiling himself. 

-Good for grandma, hopefully next time she gives him a stroke. Now shut up and let’s eat in silence while I ponder my hopeless, loveless future.

-Okie dokie! 💗💗💗

-Um, I think mine has vomit in it.

-Yea I did that, but it’s just whiskey and lobster, if anything it increased in value. 

-Awww thanks sis! 💗💗💗

-Stop patronizing me, you little bitch. God I want to poke your eye out with this chopstick so badly.

-I love you too Shaj! 💗💗💗

And I hate both of you. Where’s your brother, I haven’t paid attention to him in 3 days. 

-He went upstairs, I think he’s pusshurt we forgot his birthday LOL

IT’S HIS BIRTHDAY????

-Don’t feel bad, I forgot it too! 💗💗💗

GODDAMMIT. WULF! WULF WHERE ARE YOU

-I’m here, I just grew up and dare I say it could not have gone better! 

Really?? Finally some good news! Let me look upon you-

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

WULF WHAT THE FUCK

-I was Mozart musical genius boy but now I’m a sk8ter boi! Character development!

Ok this is the most iconic birthday look since Gunther grew up in the pirate costume, we’re obviously keeping it. 

-Great! And as if the fact I’m a Wyatt face template with 0 Jojo genes wasn’t enough to make me unelectable, I also rolled family! :D I’m doing everything I can to ensure I live that sweet motherlode spare life! 

Honestly you should had picked another outfit cause now that you’re dressed like this I unironically want you to win. Hoisted with your own petard.

[half-anidiot]

what it’s worth

rating: teen

word count: 2,004

warnings: self loathing, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt (kind of?), drunkenness, descriptions of violence, nightmares

summary: Kieran by day, Guile by night.

Or, more realistically, Guile whenever Daniel is at rehab or an interview--away from them. But as they get closer to Daniel, Kieran's guilt over the gala grows and is beginning to spill over into work. Suddenly their desire for a life, to carve out a space in the world for their own, is beginning to lose its appeal.

After all, is having a life worth it if Daniel isn't with them?

prev | next

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2 | Nightmare

Kieran stopped where they were standing outside the museum entrance in disbelief. In their shock, the bag they were holding, the one carrying the jewels that had recently been placed on display, slipped out of their hands as they took in the sight in front of them.

Daniel.

Daniel floating in front of them with a look of unchecked anger on his face and fury raging in his thoughts.

Daniel in civilian clothes and fully prepared to beat their ass.

After a moment of charged silence, Kieran hoarsely (though the voice distorters masked this), said, “You weren’t supposed to show up.”

And it was true. Kieran had specifically chosen a time when Daniel was in rehab to ensure that even if the Rangers got wind of their escapade today, Daniel would not be there to hear it. He would be far away in a building stretching and working on his leg--the one that Kieran had damaged.

Daniel’s thoughts raged at the statement and he rose another few feet into the air. Did they think that he wasn’t good enough? That after last time he wasn’t even worth their time? He would show them. He would show everyone.

“Sorry to disappoint, Guile.”

Kieran fought not to flinch from how vehemently Daniel uttered their name. With sorrow on their heart, they shook their head. They couldn’t do this. They couldn’t fight Daniel. Had it been anyone else, Kieran was prepared to have a showdown. Steel, Ortega (they would have hated fighting their best friend--but they could have dealt with it), and they would have even enjoyed a fight against Argent--in their opinion, she was the best of the Rangers. But Daniel?

“I’m sorry,” they said quietly, tightening their hands into fists at their side, “I’m sorry for the Gala.”

Whatever Daniel had been expecting was most certainly not that. Kieran’s words seemed to hit him so hard, he actually moved back slightly as if he had been hit. Was this a joke? Was Guile trying to distract him from something else they had planned?

“Excuse me?” he hissed, face twisted into a snarl. And God, Kieran felt their heart break. It split right down the middle at Daniel’s expression. Kieran had never seen such a feral look cross his face before, even on that first night when he had been angry at the world--Daniel was simply too soft for it. So seeing him wear it and knowing they had caused it…

Kieran had never hated themself more.

“I’m sorry,” they croaked louder, fighting back the sob that wanted to escape their mouth when they did so. Kieran felt one hot tear drip down their face as Daniel’s thought flitted through his mind before it left his lips.

“You’re not allowed to be sorry.” 

Inhaling so sharply it hurt, Kieran gave a nod. “You’re right. I’m not.”

They felt more than saw Daniel’s surprise before it once again became that burning anger. With a growl, Daniel dove for them, but Kieran was already moving. Their prize, the rubies and diamonds and emeralds, lay forgotten on the museum steps as they vaulted over the railing and threw smoke bombs behind them. It hid them from Daniel, if only for the briefest of moments. With thoughts of watery eyes and coughs clouding Kieran’s telepathic vision, they swiftly yanked the sewer lid off the ground before slipping inside and replacing it silently.

Even thirty minutes later, when they were out of their suit and driving back to their base with shaky hands, Kieran could hear Daniel’s bellow echoing in their brain.

“COWARD!”

---

When Daniel found them that evening, Kieran was sitting on the edge of their apartment’s roof with a bottle of vodka in hand and bloodshot eyes. Daniel, sweet, sweet Daniel, had flown by to check on them after his run in with Guile. It was highly unlikely that Kieran had been anywhere near the museum but…

Kieran knew he would rather be safe than sorry.

“Kier?” he called out softly, hovering in front of where they sat hunched over and nursing their drink, “Are you okay?”

“Mm,” they hummed in reply, slurring their next words, “Fine. ‘M perfectly fine.”

“Are you, uh...drunk?”

“Maybe. There are more bottles behind the vent over there,” they gestured with a wobbly thumb behind them. Their hands still hadn’t stopped shaking from earlier, and at this point Kieran highly doubted that they ever would.

Daniel, with a stricken look on his face, floated over and gently pried the half empty bottle of vodka from their hand and set down behind the lip of the roof behind Kieran. For a second, Kieran took advantage of their telepathy and slipped inside Daniel’s mind to see what they looked like to him and--

Oh.

Oh wow.

They looked like shit.

Kieran’s hair was always messy, but right at that moment it was an inky mop of regret and depression on their head. Their eyes were red and had purple smudges underneath them, and their usually thin face looked downright ghastly. A pierced tongue came out to wet cracked lips as Kieran slammed back into their own body and sighed.

“Kieran, what happened?”

There went Daniel’s brain, worries zipping around his head a mile a minute and faster than he could fly. Would he always be like this? Worrying over them and their decisions? Kieran didn’t deserve his worry. Kieran didn’t deserve him. Daniel should hate them--does hate them, he just doesn’t know that it is Kieran hiding behind Guile’s mask.

“COWARD!”

COWARD.

Coward.

I am a coward.

“--ran. Kieran, hey.”

Daniel is gently running his thumbs over Kieran’s cheekbones as he cradles their face in his hands. With a bleary blink, Kieran stared into eyes so blue, they could get lost in them. Kieran could spend the rest of their life swimming in Daniel’s ocean eyes. The question was, could he spend the rest of his life staring into Kieran’s? They were black, stained like the sins they had committed against Daniel and--

Oh God.

They couldn’t think about that not now, they would lose it (quite literally) all over Daniel. Even drunk, Kieran was entirely certain that puking all over your--

Wait.

What was Daniel?

Did Kieran consider them their boyfriend? Did Daniel consider Kieran his partner? Were they dat--

“Kier, you keep getting lost in your head.”

Daniel was still whispering, still holding Kieran as if they were delicate and made of glass--as if the smallest breeze could blow by and they would fall to pieces and float away. Softly, barely enough to be heard, they said, “Sorry. ‘M a million miles away.”

“I know, Kier, I know.”

Daniel picked them up so tenderly, one arm curled under their knees and the other nestling them into his chest, that Kieran almost broke down right then and there. Almost told him everything they had done to him--things that if he knew Kieran had done would have Daniel pushing Kieran far far away from him and off the edge of the building.

Kieran wished he would.

They even started to turn in Daniel’s arms towards the ground far below them, but Daniel tightened his grip until Kieran was sure they were melded together and was unable to separate where Daniel ended and they began at the points of where they touched.

“No, Kieran.”

Stop saying my name like that. Like I matter.

“Not tonight.”

Like you care about me even when you shouldn’t. You should be screaming at me, hating me, pummeling me like I pummeled you.

“You have to live past sixty, remember?”

Stop talking to me like you love me.

Because you shouldn’t.

---

This nightmare was new.

You were grinning as you slammed your fist into a face beneath you, laughing in satisfaction as they groaned and blood splattered onto your mask. A well placed kick to their midsection had their body rolling backwards and thudding into the wall behind them. With a snap of your wrist, you shook the red off of your glove and watched as it hit the ground with a spray. The blonde locks that waved from their head was tangled and matted with red and rust--

(No. No. Stop, I know that hair, I know that head.)

Their mind once again tried to slip into unconsciousness, but you tugged on it hard, making sure they could feel and experience everything that you were giving them.

(No. Stop.)

A kick to already broken ribs, a punch to a shattered nose…

(Stop. STOP.)

Laughing as their lungs try to expel the blood that has built up in them. Both of their eyes are nearly swollen shut, but you can catch the twin slivers of blue that peek through.

You don’t like that.

So you hit them again.

(STOP IT, STOP IT PLEASE--)

You flipped them onto their back with an idle hand, soaking in the whimper that escaped their lips at the action. A sadistic grin was painted across your face as you reached for their neck, hands preparing for the final movement--

(STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT--)

“KIERAN,” came Daniel’s shout, yanking them out of their dreams violently. His hands were tight on their shoulders, as if he had been shaking them to try and get them to wake up. Ah, he had, Kieran could see the thought flying around with others, all of them centered on Kieran. But that look in Daniel’s eyes--that was fear.

And suddenly everything came rushing back with nauseating clarity. They were drenched in sweat and had tears running down their face as they shoved Daniel off of them (he went without resistance, not expecting Kieran to do that) before half running, half stumbling out of their bed and into the bathroom to vomit into the toilet beneath them. They heaved and heaved, long after there was nothing left in their stomach (it had only been alcohol to begin with), before stopping and leaning back to rest against the tub next to them. Daniel was floating in the doorway, head nearly brushing the top of it, looking unsure of what to do. Kieran was panicking, obviously, and he was too.

After realizing that he was going to have to be the calm one in this situation, Daniel came over and hesitated in front of Kieran before slowly asking, “Can...can I hold you?”

Kieran’s vision was swimming and they couldn’t breathe properly, but God, a hug sounded like it just might fix everything so they nodded. It didn’t fix everything, but…

Daniel’s arms slowly wrapping around them, one by one and gently pulling them into his lap on the cold tile of the bathroom floor was a kindness they did not deserve but gladly--selfishly--accepted. As they cried, as Kieran sobbed into Daniel’s shirt, they blubbered and stuttered out apologies that would never be enough to make up for what they had done to him.

But Daniel just held them and whispered that it was going to be alright.

It took a while, but eventually, Kieran’s tears had stopped falling. With a hiccup, they forced their hands to stop shaking and asked, with a voice as rough as sandpaper, “Why’d you stop by?” It was a topic easier to address than what had just happened, even if Kieran already knew the answer.

A searing spike of anger stabbed through Daniel’s brain as he rubbed his hand gently down Kieran’s back. “I was at rehab when I heard someone talking about Guile at a museum. I...I didn’t even think, just flew over to where they were. I couldn’t--I mean, they got away, but…” Kieran felt him shake his head above them. “I wanted to make them pay, Kier. That’s not...that’s not something a hero would do. It makes me no better than Guile.”

Ice ran through their veins as Kieran tightened their death grip on Daniel’s shirt until he had to pull his hand up to gently pry their fingers apart. “Trust me, Daniel. You are more--so much more--than Guile could ever, ever be.”

Because I would know.

[27dragons]

For the @tonystarkbingo​:

Title: An Educational Outing Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22500994 Creator Name: @27dragons​ Card Number: 3033 Square Filled: K2 - AU: Hogwarts Word Count: 1435 Rating: G Warnings: None Ship/Main Pairing: Bucky/Tony (pre-relationship) Major Tags: AU: Hogwarts, field trip, magical artifacts, stand back we’re going to try science, pre-relationship Summary: In which Professor Stark takes his Muggle Studies students on a field trip, with Professor Barnes’ help, and it does not go quite as planned.

Tony looked over his charges with a critical eye. “Mr. Leeds, if I see your wand out again, I will take it away,” he threatened. “Mr. Keener, where’s your jacket?”

“Don’t need it. I’ve got a warming charm, see?”

“I see that the Muggles’ attention will be drawn by someone wearing short sleeves in the snow,” Tony shot back. “Put the jacket on, with or without the charm.”

“Don’t see why we have to go look at Muggle things anyway,” Harley groused, pulling a somewhat battered sweater from his bag and shoving one arm into it.

“You may stay behind if you prefer,” Tony said mildly. “In which case when the rest of us return, I’ll expect a three-foot long essay on what you feel is the most significant Muggle advancement of the last twenty years, with examples to back up your claim. And sources.” He suppressed a smile as a collective groan rippled through the class.

He led them into the Great Hall. “Too many of us for a single portkey, so I hope my arrangements were-- Ah, excellent. Professor Barnes, good of you to join us.”

Behind Tony, the class shuffled and shifted uneasily. Barnes had only joined the staff this year, and the rumors and whispers were still thick on the ground, unease over his former allegiance to the Dark cabal, Hydra.

Tony had entertained more than a little uncertainty on that score, himself, but after hearing the whole story, he’d laid those fears to rest. But it wasn’t his place to share another professor’s personal life and details with the students, and Barnes seemed neither inclined to share nor overly disturbed by the muttering and sidelong looks.

“Professor Stark,” he returned with one of those barely-there smiles.

“All right, kids,” Tony said, clapping his hands briskly. “Ravenclaws and Slytherins, with me; Gryffindor and Hufflepuffs over there with Professor Barnes. We’re all going to the same place,” he added before anyone could raise a voice in complaint. “Let’s go, now.” He made a shooing motion toward the scrap of blown-out tire waiting at the end of the Ravenclaw table. On the Hufflepuff table was a crumpled old newspaper.

Tony waited until all the students had a hand on the rubber. “All ready? Here we go, three, two, one--” He touched it right in the middle and fixed his eyes right where he was touching to avoid the sickly spinning sensation of an activated portkey.

They were just lurching away when he heard Ned say, “These things always make me puke.”

Why had he thought it would be a good idea to take a bunch of teenaged wizards to a Muggle museum, again?

[read more!]

It was Peter who set the whole thing off, because of course it was.

“Why?” Tony demanded as he furiously built an illusion over the doorway into the room, weaving in a Confundus charm to keep the Muggles from stumbling into the gaping maw of a vortex that was swirling in the center of the room. “For Merlin’s sake, Parker, you know better than to go around just reading random incantations that you see lying around!”

“I didn’t-- We’re in a muggle museum,” Peter protested. “There’s not supposed to be anything magical in here!”

“Kid’s got a point,” Barnes said, in between his attempts to contain the... whatever it was. So far he’d managed to keep it away from Tony and the students, but he hadn’t managed to dispel it, yet.

“He doesn’t need your excuses,” Tony grumbled. Muggle barrier complete, he turned to survey the vortex. It was somewhat bigger around than Tony’s outstretched arms, with no visible destination on the other side, and was filled with a swirling mist that seemed not only to be colorless itself but to be leaching all the color from its surroundings, as well. As Tony watched, it slid across the floor like a puddle of water, moving toward a cluster of students.

“Feel free to help, any time,” Barnes said acidly, throwing out a containment hex.

Tony unhooked the velvet rope blocking museum visitors from getting too close to the art and leaned over, carefully feeding one end into the maelstrom.

“What the fu-- izzing Whizzbees are you doing?”

“Seeing if it’s benign,” Tony said calmly. He pulled the rope back out. The brass hook was twisted and misshapen, as if it had started to melt and then pushed hurriedly back into shape. The velvet was shredded, the edges charred, and its previously rich deep red color had faded to a sickly grey. So not benign, then.

“You think I don’t know Dark magic when I see it?” Barnes growled.

“I think if you knew what this particular Dark magic did, you’d already have destroyed it.” Tony sidled around the edge of the vortex until he stood opposite Barnes. “Any idea what its searching for?”

“I’ve been a little busy for in-depth analysis.” Barnes threw another hex, scattering sparks where it met the marble floor.

Interestingly, the vortex slid toward the sparks rather than away from them. “Do that again,” Tony said.

Barnes shot him a dark look, but threw out the hex again.

The vortex was definitely moving toward the sparks.

Tony glanced around the room, pointed. “It came out of this case, right, Mr. Parker?”

“Yes, Professor Stark.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Tony tucked his wand into the pocket of his jeans (it had taken him three tries with an Extensible charm to get it to the right depth) and strode toward the case.

“Stark, what the he-- ocus Pocus Pops are you doing?”

“When we’re back at Hogwarts, we’re going to have a long talk about your sweets obsession,” Tony said. He reached into the case and lifted out a long, heavy crystal prism. “Stand back,” he announced. “I’m going to try science. Someone -- Ms. Jones, you’ve got a nice steady wand hand -- give me a lumos. Aim it right here.”

MJ’s burst of light hit the prism and burst into a bright rainbow on the wall. Tony tilted the prism, angling it down onto the floor, on the far side of the room from the students.

The vortex lunged for it.

“SH-- SHERBERT LEMON!” Barnes bellowed.

“Wait!” Tony said before he could raise his wand.

As soon as the vortex reached it, the colors disappeared as if they’d never been, but Tony didn’t move the prism, watching closely. The vortex whirled and pulsed.

“You’re feeding it,” Barnes warned.

“Yeah,” Tony said. “Trust me. Brighter, Ms. Jones!”

The furious swirl of the vortex slowed a little, and after several long minutes in which hardly anyone dared to even breathe, it... shrank. And then a little more.

It took nearly half an hour, but finally, the vortex closed in on itself and... stopped. Tony dropped the prism and walked over to toe it gently. Nothing. He picked up the large iron-looking coin that was left and held it up for everyone to see. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said into the hush, “make your acquaintance with a wraithcoin.”

Cautiously, he put it and the prism back into the case, fussing with the prism to be sure it would throw a rainbow across the coin when the display lights were on.

“We’re just leaving it here?” Harley asked, aghast.

“I’m certainly not foolish enough to take a wraithcoin back to school with us,” Tony said drily. “Once we’re away, I’ll send a report to the Muggle Relations Office and they’ll send someone to deal with it. Now, before someone actually notices that this section of the museum has disappeared, let’s put the room to rights, shall we?”

With the students helping, it only took a few minutes to clean off the scorch marks, repair the few shattered glass cases, and convince the surveillance cameras that the room had been empty for the last hour.

Eventually, Tony got the students back on track, herding them gently toward the next exhibit.

“That was some quick thinking back there, Stark,” Barnes said quietly as they followed the excited gaggle of teens. “I wouldn’t have looked for a Muggle solution.”

“Well, you were busy.” Tony glanced at his fellow professor sidelong, and added, “I think you could make it Tony.”

Barnes actually blushed a little, red crawling up the back of his neck. “If you’ll call me Bucky.”

Tony smiled. “With pleasure. Bucky. Do you think, once we’re back, we could-- Ned Leeds, you put that back right this instant!” He stretched his legs, stalking toward the giggling cluster of students, with a resigned air.

There would be time, later, to talk more with Bucky.

[hispeculiartreasure]

All We’ve Got is Time - Chapter Seven | B.B.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

AU: If They’d Survived/Post-War/Window Washer!Bucky Barnes

Rating: Teen

Word count: 4,783

Chapter 7/24

Warnings: Strong language, bit of family tension

AN: Thank you for being so patient with the arrival of this chapter! The extra week gave me the time I needed to muddle through some research-heavy chapters so I can hopefully keep the ball rolling with my scheduling. This chapter was a big one for me since it involved weaving canon and my original thoughts in regards to Bucky’s family. Once I realized Bucky’s museum display in CA:TWS listed him as the eldest of four, I couldn’t stop this specific family dynamic from coming out. Sidenote, the use of Rebecca was inspired by the comics, I promise I am not that vain, haha. Hope you enjoy this week 💕

Chapter Six

‘All We’ve Got is Time’ Masterlist

Ice cold water finally dislodges the last vestiges of sleep from Bucky’s eyes. Patting his face with a hand towel, he avoids looking himself in the eye as he checks the mirror for any patches of hair he may have missed while shaving.

He’s been awake for several hours but had finally dragged himself to the bathroom once the sun had risen. Being a weekend the house should be quiet for another hour or so before he had to put his “family face” on. But the moment the bathroom door creaked open the scent of Canadian bacon wafting from the kitchen proves him wrong.

For a moment he dons a tight-lipped smile until he sees his mother’s familiar form in front of the stove. His shoulders instantly drop, his mouth moving into a genuine curl. She’s humming along to the small radio on the counter, an old Standard that takes Bucky back to moments just like this when he was two decades younger. Mother and son were often the first to rise on Saturdays, leaving a rare pocket of time to be shared just between them.

Winnifred Barnes had hardly changed since those days - besides the gray streaking her otherwise dark hair and a few extra lines around her eyes. Although years of raising four headstrong children and worrying about both a husband and son in battle - albeit different wars - would do that to anyone. She was the most gracious person he knew, forever keeping their door open to anyone who needed some love and a home-cooked meal.

He takes his place to the counter on her left, grabbing a freshly washed peach from a pile of them and bringing it to the cutting board.

“Good morning, James,” she warbles as she slides a pan into the oven.

“Morning, Ma.”

“Did you sleep okay, dear?”

He lifts a shoulder up and down in a small shrug before he grabs a knife to begin slicing. “About as well as usual. Ya know, it takes a real master to sneak through the house without me knowing.”

“Where do you think you got your covert skills? Your father is about as subtle as a gun.”

Bucky snickers. “You’ve got me there.” He slides the cut peach onto a platter before moving on to the next.

“You came in late last night. I trust you got your new friend home at a respectable hour?” she asks coyly between flips of her spatula.

“Ma-” he starts, a blush creeping up his neck.

“No explanation needed, you’re a grown man, but-”

“Don’t worry, you raised a gentleman. Escorted her to her door after dinner. Didn’t feel like taking the subway so I walked home.”

“I never thought otherwise. Oop, you missed some shaving cream.” Winnifred brings the corner of her apron up to swipe at Bucky’s ear before resting a palm to his cheek. “I’m enjoying seeing this handsome face of yours without all that facial hair. And seeing you smiling more often has been a treat as well. I trust this friend is the reason for both?”

“Maybe.” Bucky clears his throat as he grabs another peach. “I like her a lot,” he admits quietly.

“Had a feeling when you asked where I bought my flowers for the table you had to be at least a little taken with her.”

“She loved them, by the way. Thanks for your help.”

“Anytime, darling. I’m assuming you’ll see her again soon?” Kind eyes twinkle with a hint of hope.

“This afternoon, actually.” He gestures to a small carton of fruit. “Want me to slice the raspberries after these?”

“If you don’t mind. Then maybe get the coffee started?” she checks the grilling meat one last time before moving it to a plate, new cuts slipping into the pan moments later.

“Yes ma’am.”

They work side-by-side in silence for a while, humming tunes and bumping elbows every so often. These moments of peace were hard to come by in the house, but they both savored Saturday mornings cooking in tandem.

“If your father gets up, grab the paper and take a seat. Don’t want him getting onto you again. I can manage the meal by myself.”

“If he wants to say something about me doing ‘women’s work’ then he can. I don’t care. Someone had to help you with three other kids while he was in his study smoking cigars.”

“James,” his mother reprimands tenderly. “Despite his flaws, your father is a good man who has always made sure his family’s needs were met. Especially when you weren’t around. Oh!” she spins toward the oven. “My brioche!” Carefully she coaxes the pan of bread out of the oven and onto a cooling rack.

Bucky plates the last of the raspberries before moving to the coffee maker. “Well at least I’m around to contribute now. Being able to help with the bills and all.”

“We don’t really need your money, you realize that, right?”

“Whaddya mean? You said it was helpful.”

With one hand on her hip and the other resting on the counter, she turns to her son. “And it is, don’t get me wrong. But we are very comfortable. If you have an opportunity to be out and on your own, then I think you should take it. It’d be good for you. I think distance would be good for the relationship between you and your father as well.” Bucky hides his scowl behind a cough. “Besides, your youngest sister will be out soon, while Rebecca is looking into an apartment. . . we’ll need to downsize anyway. Promise me you won’t stay here for us?” A touch to his shoulder forces him to meet her eyes.

“Okay, I promise.”

A new, yet very familiar, voice enters the conversation. “What’re you promising this time, Buck?”

Bucky flashes a grin at his sister over his shoulder, “That you’ll pay our parents back for that vase you broke the summer of ‘29.”

If looks could kill Rebecca Barnes would have been a master assassin. She gives him a pinch to the arm before opening the refrigerator to bring out a bottle of milk. “I seem to remember you being left in charge that day, being the eldest and all.”

“Then you remember the absolute chaos of me trying to boss around three younger sisters.”

“Still, you were responsible for the household. A mistake Ma constantly repeated.” Becca smirks, hazel eyes shimmering with mirth.

Bucky would never admit outright that he had a favorite sibling. Having only two years’ distance in age was bound to draw them together as they grew older. Had it sparked many fights through their adolescence? Absolutely. But it was amazing what high school miseries could draw a brother and sister together. They’d spent last night on the back porch, Bucky telling her all about you over some booze he’d smuggled into the house. Becca was one of the few who didn’t treat him like a wounded animal after he’d gotten home from the war. They were able to slip back into their normal routine like they’d never missed a beat. She worried about him, but made sure to voice her concerns rather than watch him with a critical eye.

“C’mon, you have a big girl job now, you can afford to replace it.”

“Kids, that was over 15 years ago. Let it be.”

Becca mutters, “Jesus, we’re getting old.”

“Rebecca Louise!” Winnifred chortles in horror. “Watch your mouth.”

“Sorry,” she apologizes quickly, sharing an amused glance with her brother as he hands her a mug of coffee.

Another set of heels approaching the kitchen signals the next Barnes woman’s appearance.

“Good morning, Evie,” Bucky greets his youngest sister cheerily.

“It’s Evelyn, Bucky.” She fusses with the buttons on her dress before squinting in her brother’s direction. There was no questioning that she’d grown into a beautiful and intelligent young lady during his absence. The signature Barnes dark hair combined with creamy pale skin and bright blue eyes made for an arresting presence that commanded the attention of each room she walked into. Every time he looks at her he can’t help but see the 14-year-old he hugged goodbye before he left for England.

“I can’t call you Evie anymore? Why not?”

“It’s the name of a little girl, I’m almost done with high school now.”

“You’re still my kid sister,” he slid a cup of coffee her way as she sat down at the kitchen table.

“I’m not a kid anymore, Bucky.”

“So you’d be fine if I said you had to start calling me James now?”

Evelyn arches a brow. “If that’s what you wanted, yes.”

An elbow in the ribs from Becca interrupts his next statement before a knock on the front door sounds. “Come in!” all four of them shout toward the door.

“It’s me!” echoes the voice of the only Barnes child not currently living in their childhood home. Rose waddles into the kitchen, a hand resting on her protruding stomach. “Good morning, everyone.”

Each of them mutters their own greeting, ending with Winnifred kissing Rose’s cheek and rubbing her belly. “And good morning to my precious first grandbaby too.”

“Ma, you’ve got a good few months before you get to meet them.”

“It wouldn’t hurt for them to get used to the sound of their grandma’s voice, would it?” Rose giggles as she sits in her usual seat at the table.

“How ya feeling?” Bucky asks.

“Alright, I think. I can already tell this summer heat is going to be unbearable. Not looking forward to only getting bigger from here on out.”

With a warm smile and commiserating nod, Bucky brings the pot of coffee and platter of fruit to the middle of the dinette as Becca sets the table with plates and utensils. “Looks like the Barnes girls are all dressed up and rarin’ to go. What’s going on today?”

“Shopping trip! We need to find Evelyn a new dress for her graduation in a few weeks,” Rose gushes - unsurprising coming from the shopper of the family.

“Especially since Robert will be there,” Becca teases over the edge of her coffee cup. The three older women in the room titter mischievously while Evelyn blushes.

Bucky’s brow furrows as he grabs the plate of bacon from his mother before returning to his seat next to Becca. “Robert’s this boy you’ve been talking about, right?”

Evelyn rolls her eyes in his direction. “My boyfriend, yes.”

“Possible future husband too!” Rose squeals, even after receiving a gentle kick under the table.

The hair on the back of Bucky’s neck stands up. “Wait, what?”

Immediately Evelyn sits ramrod-straight, the clench in her jaw screaming defiance. “We’ve been dating almost a year, it’s not like he’s a stranger.”

“Yes, he had a very long talk with your father after dinner last week,” Winnifred confirms as she slices the loaf of bread into even pieces.

Bucky can’t completely choke down his scoff. “You’re just kids, way too young to be thinking about getting married.”

“You didn’t kick up a fuss when Rose was getting married right out of high school,” Evelyn takes the fruit from Becca before scooping a few pieces onto her own plate.

“For one, I was in the middle of Italy when Rose got hitched. And that’s because John was about to be shipped off to join me. S’different.” Bucky piles more bacon onto his plate than necessary, needing to keep his hands busy for fear that he might start wagging a finger at his baby sister.

“It’s totally normal for people to be marrying younger now. The war made us all feel like time’s running short. Who knows what can happen tomorrow. Why take the risk of not being together?”

Just as Winnifred shed her apron to join them at the table, George Barnes enters the room, presence tall and arresting. Everyone pauses to say their ‘good mornings’, receiving a nod and low grunt in return. Winnifred places a steaming mug in his hand before kissing his temple. He smiles small before unfolding the newspaper his wife had left by his plate. Once his glasses are in place he may as well be in another world. They all know better than to engage him in conversation before his first cup of joe.

“Ma, are you tryin’ to tell me you’d be okay with Evelyn getting married soon?”

“James, it’s not up to me. If Evelyn feels ready, we all have to respect that,” ever the peacemaker of the family, Winnifred takes her place at the opposite end of the table from her husband.

“How is he going to support you? Does he have any idea what kind of work he wants to go into? Are you prepared to look for a job if his isn’t enough for rent? ”

“Easy, Buck,” Becca says under her breath.

“Well, that’s not your problem to worry about, is it Bucky?” If Evelyn was attempting to hide the disdain in her voice, she was doing a terrible job. The patriarch of the family thunks his mug against the table before reaching for the pot to refill it.

“Dad, you have to admit that Evie getting hitched is a bad idea,” Bucky appeals to his father.

“Evelyn,” she grits out, cheeks pink.

“The way I see it, it’s one less mouth for me to feed. And as long as the boy has a good head on his shoulders and good intentions, I don’t see the harm.”

The youngest Barnes hums in satisfaction, serving Bucky with a wholly smug smile.

“You can’t be serious.” Bucky ignores another poke to the ribs from Becca.

“Well, James, by the time I was your age I was married with three children. By all accounts you’re the one who’s behind schedule with no prospects in sight.”

Bucky’s fist tightens around his fork. A kick to his ankle draws his attention to Becca, who subtly shakes her head; clearly trying to say, “Please not right now. It’s been a good morning.”

He huffs out a breath, thankful that his father’s eyes are still trained on the paper. “You may be surprised to know I’m not completely hopeless.”

Rose leans in and says slyly, “Now what does that mean?”

“Yes, James, what does that mean.” Bucky’s father has set the paper down, reading glasses dangling from his fingers.

Why did I open my fuckin’ mouth. “I, uh-I have been on a handful of dates with a girl.”

“Ooooh, the secret comes out,” Evelyn teases, overjoyed at the chance to turn the tables on Bucky.

Rose claps, “That’s great news! Who is she? Do we know her? Is it that friend of Becca’s I always wanted you to date?”

Becca’s side-eye confirms he’s already painted himself into a corner. His mother stays blessedly quiet, keeping her promise not to discuss you with his father.

Don’t panic. Give ‘em broad details, they don’t need to know everything. “She just moved to the city. I met her at work about a month ago. We got to know each other, had our first date last week.”

“What’s she like?” Rose questions around a mouthful of brioche.

“She’s sweet. Always had time to smile at me when we bumped into each other. But she’s also got a mind of her own.”

His father drains his mug again before setting Bucky with a hard gaze. “She’s not a working girl, is she?”

Bucky can feel Becca tense next to him, gaze staying fixed to her plate. “What if she is?” Bucky starts, outrage for both Becca and you on the tip of his tongue when Winnifred clears her throat.

There’s a warning in her gaze that does not translate to her sweet tone. “You should invite her over for dinner one Sunday night. I’d love to meet her.” The girls chime in their agreement, all three of them eager to see who finally caught their brother’s eye for the first time in years. “Speaking of Sunday dinner, will John be home in time to make it, Rose?”

Bucky took the shift in focus as an opportunity to take a breather while Rose prattles on about her husband’s government job and how his schedule was always changing. Thankfully the rest of the meal passes uneventfully, the girls gathering up the dishes to be washed promptly.

While the kitchen bustles to life, Bucky slips from the table to tie on his shoes before his father can make an attempt at conversation. He grabs a rusty toolbox from the floor next to the coat rack before popping back in to tell his family goodbye.

“Where you going?” Evelyn asks, a little too nosey for his taste.

“Steve’s.” Bucky gestures to case in his hand, “Gonna take his toolbox back.”

“Thank goodness,” Winnifred groans. “Hold on, let me pack him some biscuits and that strawberry jam he likes.” Obediently, Bucky waits as his precious mother tied up a handful of baked goods and a small jar of jam in a napkin.

“Bye, Ma,” he kisses her cheek. “Don’t hold dinner for me, I’ve got plans.”

“Going out with Steve and Peggy again?” Becca chimes in.

Becca knew full-well what his plans were. “No, I uh, have another date.”

Rose’s eyes grow as wide as the plate she’s washing. “With the same girl?”

Halfway out the front door Bucky hollers, “Uh-huh. You gals have fun shopping!”

“But Bucky-!” He hears as he firmly draws the door closed. He huffs out a sigh with a hand tugging at his hair before he starts on the familiar walk to Steve’s.

He berates himself for letting his father get under his skin enough that he let out the sweet secret of you. The last thing he wanted was his family nosing around his dating life before he was even sure of what this new relationship was.

It was too late now. He’d opened the door and an entire damn circus was charging through.

Letting his thoughts drift to happier things, Bucky reflects on last night’s date. You had looked exquisite in a maroon dress, lipstick the perfect matching shade. He’d picked out a simple diner for supper where you both admitted you felt much more comfortable. He kept his promise to share about his time serving in the military. Granted, he stuck to the most simple version, sparing you of the gritty details of blood, carnage, and capture.

You had been more merciful than he deserved. You read his cues well, changing the subject when he started getting emotional. Empathetic, kind - truly listening rather than waiting for your turn to talk. All he had to endure was a little teasing about Captain America being his closest friend. Even then, you were gentle. He’d walked you to your doorstep, lingering too long - trying to get his nerve up for a kiss. Disappointed in himself he settled for a peck to your cheek and hastily walked away, later commiserating with his sister over his jitters.

Before he knew it, Bucky was knocking on Steve’s door.

“‘Bout time you showed up,” Steve complains without a hint of malice as he opens the door of his apartment.

Bucky stands opposite of the blond, thoroughly unamused. “You’re the one who left your damn toolbox in our kitchen last week before up-and-disappearing for work. Well, you gonna stand there and let me freeze?”

“It’s almost May.”

“It’s the principle of the thing.”

Steve swings the door wide, waving Bucky in. “Thanks for bringing it back.”

“Ma’s been complaining about it being in the way for days, needed to get it out of the house.” Bucky sets the toolbox down in the living room next to a dilapidated dresser that was in desperate need of repairs.

“Sorry about that. How’s everything at home?”

“Alright. The girls are gearing up for Evelyn’s graduation. Dad is. . .Dad. By the way, Ma sent some biscuits for you.”

Steve smiles, peeking into the napkin before setting it down in the kitchen. “Strawberry jam, my favorite of hers.”

“Yeah, I’d say she knows you pretty well, ya moron.” Bucky grumbles, wiping a hand down his face. Steve notices he’s a little sluggish today, his walk more of a shuffle, the dark circles beneath his eyes more pronounced.

Steve knows he should mind his business.

But then again.

“Still sleeping on the couch?” Bucky nods. “Those cushions were uncomfortable when we were kids, I can’t imagine they’re better pushing 30.” Steve kneels by the box, rummaging to find the tools he needs.

“30 is almost a year away, I don’t wanna hear it.” Bucky takes up residence in an armchair close to where Steve begins to work.

Bucky likes Steve’s apartment. Forever army neat, Steve’s surroundings were kept meticulously tidy. The furniture was simple, utilitarian. He had what he needed and nothing more. The most ostentatious part of his home was the west wall of the living room that was completely taken up by bookcases. Floor to ceiling, left to right was all books. S framed wedding portrait of his parents hung next to the clock on the opposite wall, along with a snapshot of the Howlies and a photo of Steve and Bucky from their high school days. The home was in a good spot of Brooklyn, reminiscent of where they’d grown up; except much larger than what Steve had been accustomed to. Why he’d gotten a two-bedroom was beyond Bucky - Steve wasn’t exactly known for lavish spending. The SSR must pay Captain America well. If Bucky looked hard enough he could see hints of Peggy’s presence. The pillows on the couch, the tablecloth on the dining table, a rug set in the living room.

“The spare bedroom is still open, ya know. If the couch is killing your back.”

“I can’t afford rent right now.” Bucky pinches to bridge of his nose.

“You know that’s not a problem.”

“It’s a problem for me.”

“Stubborn ass,” Steve mutters under his breath.

Bucky only feels smug. “Says the pot.” He watches Steve wrestle a drawer out of the dresser before asking, “Where’d this thing come from, anyway?”

Steve exhales heavily. “Peggy saw it on a curb and thought it would go perfectly in my guest bedroom without considering why it was on the curb in the first place.”

“Why didn’t you tell her that? Why not her apartment?”

“I’ve gotta pick my battles.”

Bucky arches a brow. “Even when that lands you with a fucked up piece of furniture you’ve gotta fix?”

“Especially then,” Steve groans as he tugs another drawer free. The next time words are spoken is when Steve’s got his head in the interior of the dresser trying to discern why the drawers continued to jam. “You shaved.”

Bucky rolls his eyes. “You’re the fourth person to say that to me.”

With a shake of his head Steve emerges to grab a piece of sandpaper from the box. “Just different. Been a while. Can you give me a hand? Hold it still while I try to sand off this edge.”

He steadies the piece while Steve aggressively sandpapers one of the tracks. Resentfully Bucky mutters, “It hasn’t been that long.”

Steve pauses to look up at his friend. “Yeah it has.” Bucky grunts. “Don’t harumph me. You know I’m right.”

Quiet falls again as Steve works on, occasionally asking for Bucky’s help or thoughts.

This time Bucky breaks the silence. “I’ve been looking at other jobs. Trying to figure out what I wanna do when my GI benefits come through.”

“Oh yeah? What’re you thinking?” Steve’s moved the dresser to its side to address a crooked leg that set the whole thing off-balance. Bucky’s on the floor as well, back against the armchair waiting for further instructions.

“Maybe working on cars? Someone mentioned it to me and I think I might like it.”

“Huh, never heard you talk about that before.”

“It’s a new idea. One that has potential. Won’t be in an office, get to keep my hands busy. Be learnin’ something new.”

“Sounds almost perfect for you.”

“Could be. We’ll see. I’m gonna keep looking into it but it feels good to have some kind of direction to aim toward.”

Steve glances at Bucky with a glint in his eye. “You’re awfully chipper.” A beat. “Have anything to do with the girl?” Bucky says nothing. “Thought so. You gonna make me ask or are you going to volunteer?”

“I feel like you just asked.”

“Well you weren’t volunteering.”

Bucky leans forward, vaguely motioning to the bottom of the dresser. “I think this thing needs some more support, what if you added an extra beam here?”

“The date was that bad, huh?”

The misplaced sympathy finally forces the truth out of Bucky. “No. It was that good.”

Steve stills. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. We’ve actually been out a couple more times.”

Steve’s eyebrows fly up his forehead. “‘A couple times’? That date was a week ago and you’ve seen her again - several times - since?”

“Jesus, it’s not like I eloped, calm down.” Bucky can’t help prickling the tiniest bit.

“No, no, I. . .” he shuts his mouth, head bobbing. “That’s great, Buck. When’re you seeing her again?”

“In a few hours. She’s. . . the one who suggested cars. Gonna show me what she knows at a friend’s garage.”

“Where’d she learn about cars?”

Bucky can’t contain his smile. “Worked for Chevy during the war. Seems to know her stuff.”

“A mechanic? Sure could’ve used her when you stalled our jeep in Saarbrücken.”

“That was Morita and you know it. He’s always trying to fix things that aren’t broken. Speaking of idiots, thanks for telling DumDum about my date.”

“I--I, uh, what’re you talking about?”

“Don’t act dim, he called ahead at the restaurant and got us a special table.” Steve stutters several times in a futile effort to deny the accusation. “I thought better of you, flappin’ your lips like Old Ms. Johnson at the grocers.”

“I just-”

“What if that made her think I was some uppity snob?”

“Did it?”

“. . . no.”

“So no damage was done.”

“That’s not the point.”

“What is?”

“Just-” Bucky groans in frustration. “No one else needs to know unless it’s more than a date. Okay? I don’t want people thinking I’m chasing skirts and not taking life seriously.”

“I get it. I’m sorry. I’ll keep it to myself until you want people to know.”

“Thank you.” The small moment of tension dissolves and eases back into their familiar rhythm. Steve secures the leg correctly and the two of them set the dresser on its feet. Bucky hesitates then mentions quietly, “I did have a small. . . episode. . . that night. She didn’t treat me like I was nuts.”

“You okay?” Steve nonchalantly wipes dust and dirt from the surface but Bucky can feel the concern he’s trying to hide.

“It was a short one. But she got me out of there and let me be quiet for a sec before trying to distract me. Almost felt like she knew what I needed. Even my folks don’t know how to handle me when I get like that.”

“Seems to be someone worth hanging onto.” Steve slides the drawers back into the dresser one by one, running smooth on their tracks.

Responding with a hum Bucky crosses his arms. Again, he sees you stand up from the dinner table, eyes soft with kindness. He remembers how the click of your heels on the sidewalk gave him something steady to focus on while trying to dig himself out of bad memories.

“So when do I get to meet her?” Steve is all tease, looking to get a rise out of his friend. The last thing he expects is Bucky’s one word response:

“Soon.”

Bucky ignores Steve’s incredulous look. “Fuck, I thought you were going to say no. Didn’t think you were there yet.” He grabs one end of the dresser, nodding to the other end. “Help me move this?”

Huffing, Bucky complies, the pair lifting the piece together. “Why are you so fuckin’ worked up about this?”

Steve raises an eyebrow as he walks backwards down the hallway. “Because the last time I met someone you dated I was 5’6 and 110 pounds soaking wet.”

“We were both very different people then.”

“No shit, ace.”

They set the dresser down in the spare room opposite of the bed, making the space a little less sparse, slightly more homey.

Bucky sighs, looking down at his hands. “She’s a good one, Steve.”

“That’s not surprising. She’d have to be if you wanna keep her around.” Hands on his hips in satisfaction, Steve eyes the dresser. “Peggy’ll insist on meeting her too.”

“Yeah, pal, that’s what I’m worried about.”

Chapter Eight

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[cassercole]

the one where he’s got a kid (pt. 1/?)

SHIP: Q PROCTOR/STEVE ROGERS (QUEVE), PROCTOR-ROGERS FAMILY FEELS RATING: TEEN WORD COUNT: 1,812 PROMPT: INSPIRED BY @emiliachrstine‘s DRABBLE // An AU where Steve doesn’t know he has a teenage daughter.   TAGGING: (permanent tag list): @whindsor, @fraysquake, @elenacarinandherfandoms​, @peplumsandpitches​ (those who encouraged it): @sgtbuckyybarnes @thegalanerd (WANT TO BE ADDED TO THE TAG LIST?)

( PART TWO ) ( PART THREE )

Her mother always told her how her father was a hero. Saved the world, multiple times, for them. His family. Because he loved them. She was smart enough to know how the story ended: her father dying a heroic death. Even though her mother never told her how or when it happened, Bonnie Proctor knew her father had to be dead. There weren’t any pictures of him around the house -- she had already looked through the photo albums to try and find any potential man who could be. Even some sort of memorial set up above the fireplace, dedicated to him, like she had seen in movies. It was probably too painful. So she never asked, just listened to the stories her mother told her about how much her father loved her. Them.

When she was younger, she asked a lot of questions about her father. Ones that her mother either didn’t have the answer to or passed on the question. When she did get an answer or two, they were always the same variation of previous responses. She learned to stop asking about him. She accepted the fact that she didn’t have a father. At least she had her mother. Some people didn’t have that either.  

It wasn’t so bad, being just the two of them. Sure, sometimes she was a bit bitter about not having a dad to do father/daughter type things. But whenever that happened, she counted on her Uncle Dawson to step in -- which he did, begrudgingly of course (though she knew he secretly loved it). But she loved her mom and knew she always had her best interests at heart.

“Don’t you dare give me that bullshit about how you’re doing this to protect her again, Q.” Dawson cut off his friend as she opened her mouth to respond to his previous comment, “You can only use it so many times.” 

“But it’s true.” she responded as she packed up Bonnie’s lunch for her field trip, “I’m saving her from the same pain I go through every time he leaves.” she sighed, pressing the phone in between her shoulder and ear, “It’s not fair for her to have to deal with him coming and going at random times.” she paused, “And I can’t tell him either. He’d be too distracted with the thought of her while he’s fighting off whatever alien invasion there is and get himself killed.”

“Or maybe he’d finally hang up that shield of his.” Dawson pointed out. Q scoffed and reached up to pull her phone from the nook between her shoulder and ear, switching sides.

“We are talking about the same person, right? My husband, Mr. Save the World.”

“I believe it’s pronounced: Captain America.” he corrected her, not seeing her eye roll, “And besides, you don’t know that.” 

“Except that I do.” she reminded him, knowing she knew him better than she knew herself, “Listen, it’s only a few more months until she’s eighteen and then...I’ll tell her.” she finished, already getting nervous about the conversation she was going to have with her daughter. It was something she had decided before Bonnie was even born. The choices were either wait until Steve finally decided to retire or until Bonnie turned eighteen, and it seemed Bonnie turning eighteen was about to come first. She wasn’t surprised at all. 

It’s not like she didn’t want to tell Steve. She did. She thought about telling him countless times. But then he would leave abruptly or call her from some undisclosed location and she was reminded of what life would be like. Raising a child on her own, dealing with the emotional stress of having a father like Steve. One who ran headfirst into danger without thinking about the outcome because it was what was right. One who disappeared in the middle of the night because he got a call about a potential threat. One who probably wouldn’t make it to birthdays or father-daughter dances because he was busy saving the world. She had learned to live with knowing that she came after, but she couldn’t do that to her child. So she decided to just raise Bonnie on her own; regardless, she would be doing that even if she had told Steve.    

Hopefully, one day when the time came, Bonnie would understand that Q was just trying to protect her. Protect her from the pain that she had lived with for the past twenty-odd years. And that she wanted to tell her too, but time passed too quickly. She got caught up in her sorta-kinda-lie, and it was just easier to keep telling it. But for now, she was going to finish packing her daughter’s lunch for her field trip.  

__________________________

A long time ago, Steve had given up the thought of ever having a traditional, nuclear family. The white picket fence with a dog and two and a half kids faded from his imagination with each passing year. Instead, it was replaced with the family he did have: his beautiful wife, his brother in arms and the rest of his friends. That was his family and he was grateful for it. 

Sure, he thought about settling down, retiring and giving up the shield to someone else. Get a chance at that life Tony spoke of so long ago. But each time he thought about it, something came up or got in the way to remind him of why that wasn’t possible. He was Captain America. He had people to protect. And after Thanos, there were a lot more threats that decided Earth was ground zero for whatever mission they planned. Hostile takeover more often than not. How could he possibly just walk away?

In passing, whenever he mentioned it to Q, she seemed fine with their current situation. Happy, in fact. They had wasted so much time and had time taken from them that she was content with whatever she was able to get. Or at least that’s what she had convinced him of. They had reverted back to their ways pre-Thanos, but post-Accords. He spent weeks to months away on various missions, protecting the planet from threats from both the ground and worlds above them. They saw each other infrequently, but frequently enough that it didn’t matter. And there was no reason to sneak around in fear of the government finding out and then coming to arrest both of them for treason. 

He had tried to make it better. Not really liking how long they had been spending apart -- which was why summers had become theirs. He made himself AWOL and she took the summer off from her now boringly real job (nothing compared to the excitement brought on by working with the Avengers). They relaxed in the mountains in Pennsylvania, far away from any alien attacks or marketing crises. A blissful three months of pure heaven. 

One day, he hoped to extend the three months into forever. But there wasn’t any pressing reason to besides his own selfishness. And besides, he had a world to protect. 

From the moment he had woken up in 2012, he had been fighting aliens. Something he never would’ve believed if someone had told him so in 1941. Nazis? Sure. Aliens? You’re fucking crazy. Yet, he had. Multiple times. And there he was again, in the middle of New York, once again fighting off a horde of disgusting creatures as they descended on the city. Just as they had in 2012. This damn city couldn’t get a break, could it?

Hitting back one alien, he looked out across the scene of chaos before him. People were running to what was assumed safety -- really anywhere out of the open area. Cars had been flipped over from the weapons the aliens had used. A few fires spurting up here and there that both people and aliens avoided. His teammates were dealing with their own aliens and keeping those they could safe, herding them away from the street and into the museum they were in front of. 

As he scanned the area, he spotted a small group of teenagers backing away from a rather large and intimidating alien that was stalking toward them. It growled and snapped it’s jaw at them, making a few yelp in fear. All of them were covered in dust and soot, clearly having been near the first blast site. One was supporting another who was dragging their leg behind them, another tried to defend the others with what seemed to be a pipe of some sort. 

From his vantage point, he could see the glowing yellow of the alien’s body weapon powering up. The teens didn’t notice, too focused on the injured and the other aliens that were beginning to surround them. He took a bounding leap, jumping over a few overturned cars and launching himself off another piece of fallen debris so he could get to where the group was a bit faster. He came down hard, in a rather superhero-like landing, while his arm immediately went up to block the blast of energy from hitting the teenagers behind him. It ricocheted off of his shield and bounced back against the alien itself. Another came snarling at him from the side, making him use his fist to hit it across the face. 

“Hold this for a second, will ya?” he turned to glance at the girl directly behind him for a split second, handing off his shield to her. A small way to protect herself while he continued to fend off the aliens coming at them. 

Bonnie took it tentatively and held it in front of it. It was lighter than all of her textbooks said it was. Even if it were made out of the strongest metal on Earth, she felt like she could snap it in half if she bent it too hard in one direction.

“Thanks.” his voice got her to look up from where she had been studying the shield for the past few minutes instead of paying attention to the chaos around her. And then she realized who exactly she was looking at. 

The dark red, white and navy blue costume was different than the ones in the PSAs they made her watch in school, or even the one that was on display at the Smithsonian. He was tall with his dirty blonde hair falling in front of his bright blue eyes. The eyes that scrunched up around the corners thanks to the easy smile on his face, despite the terrifying things that were going on around them. She had seen him countless times before: picture in textbooks, video PSAs that played before gym, the comic books her Uncle Frankie kept in the attic, but nothing compared to how he looked in person.    

“Holy shit, you’re Captain America.” she breathed out before her world went dark.

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

FUCK IT

This is still a work in progress, but I’m really excited about how it’s coming along, so!

Ita Bag progress pics!!!

Long story short, I’ve been collecting pins for Years, thinking I would have the spoons to put a pin on every day to Express Myself, except I barely have the spoons to put on shoes most days. I Really Want To Express Myself, but between sensory issues with Being Poked and not wanting to stab myself when I’m half-asleep in the morning to put one on, I’ve just kind of been... keeping them around. Not doing anything with them.

Enter: A Friend. They introduced me to the concept of an ita bag, and helped me find a bag with a protective cover for the pins!

Now I’m gradually figuring out how to arrange my pins, and super excited! Finally, the massive amounts of self-expression I want in an effortless grab-and-go accessory!

Pictures of how it’s coming along are below the cut.

It’s midnight and I’m very zzzz so for some things I’m just going to copy what I put on a server earlier tonight. (Server that Friend Who Introduced Me To These Bags In The First Place is in!)

Here's the Main Concept arrangement. A couple of them are stickers that I don't have the guts to fully remove and Commit to a Placement On, like the "Support Trans Witches and Pagans" raven+banner and the voting sticker, so they still have their papers on the back! I'm probably going to trim them and use a few tiny safety pins to get them to stay in place. Or I might laminate them because we have a laminating machine, I'm just not sure if stickers can withstand the heat of that process... hmmm. 

First row: - a pair of swirly Celtic knotwork ravens - blue and black wings - “Pigeon Person” pin that came with a book about pigeons - pair of Pidgeys cuddling in a nest. (Yes, Pidgeys, the Pokemon. The entire right-hand side is Pokemon!)

Just below: - Ninth and Sixth House pins because Locked Tomb hyperfixation - you can’t see it well but the blackish gold one says “Optimistic Empathetic Nihilist” - Penzey’s Spices “Kind” heart pin - Mimikyu keychain dangler

- Ohio voting sticker - another heart pin from Penzey’s that says “Embrace Hope” ( + I decided to pin it with the paper Penzey's sent it on, which says "The hopelessness of despair has always been the wall what's indefensible hides behind. With your fresh Hope, finally a different outcome is possible. In your Hope is your strength. Please be strong for all of us." It Struck Me To My Core!) - chinchillas sticker - “Lavender Town” pin with the Kanto ghost Pokemon - Mismagius and Misdreavus pin (my FAVORITE Pokemon!)

- “THE CYCLE ENDS HERE” patch that I’ll have to safety-pin down - “Support Trans Witches and Pagans” ( + a raven wearing a witch hat!) - “Witches cast ballots” sticker from the Buckland Museum - Mismagius keychain dangler - Phantump and Trevenant Pokemon pin

SOMEWHERE, I have a few Random Pull Bin buttons from a comic shop and Hot Topic where I grabbed Every Single ‘03 Teen Titans Button I Could Find, but I don’t know where those are atm. But they are DEFINITELY being put on this bag SOMEWHERE. It’s a TRAVESTY that there’s nothing Titans-related on here yet.

So that’s all the things I plan to display in the Main Area.

But wait, there’s more!

I bought these wings that were Feathered, Blue, AND had Bones (they're not anatomically accurate for any birds I know, but it's the Aesthetic that counts here), and that's three Major *** Vibes there. I thought the order was for a couple of patches that would be 1.3 inches... I MISREAD THAT. These things are 13 FULL INCHES big!!! If I tried to put these things in the display area, they’d cover everything else up. So I have a Project in mind where I'm going to use some crafting wire and figure out how to turn these patches into attachments on the sides of the bag.

That’s how I’m hoping to affix them.

Detail Shot of the wings!

They’re meant to be iron-on patches, but I have some crafting wire I can use to stabilize them. I’m just.. not.... entirely sure how I’m going to affix the Stabilized Wing to the Side of the Bag... (The bag fabric’s not super thick, so worst case scenario, I could hand-sew it?)

And then I found a few keychains and attached them to the loop of the zipper pull! "Bibliophile", Shinedown keychain that I got at the concert in April, and an Epica keychain I got at my first Epica concert! (Gods, that was more than ten years ago... but it's from my very, very favorite album of theirs, and an important concept in my life, "Design Your Universe"!)

Still-to-be-attached are the EvClub banner keychain (Evanescence's official fan club, which doesn't exist anymore but of COURSE I was a member while it lasted), and a Taemin one that I can't find right now but it's from a virtual concert I "attended" with my sibling last year.

Also, I’m only SORT of holding my breath about it, but I DID submit pre-order proof to hopefully get that Officially Licensed Locked Tomb Pin with my pre-order of Nona the Ninth! Their supplies are limited and the fandom is Large, but if I get that, it’s DEFINITELY going on this bag.

[savannacentralperk]

The Perks Chp 10 pt 1

“Just call him…”

A deep breath was taken as her phone was unlocked. Selecting her contacts, they were thumbed through until his name popped up. She hesitated a bit looking at the name. Butterflies formed in her stomach, making the cramps she was dealing with even worse.

“Hey, Dave! I’m so sorry I’ve been a jerk lately. I’m just going through some… stuff, and didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

Brook stared at his name.

Just call him, she thought. Just call him…

The home button was pressed, erasing his name from the screen.

“Later,” she said to herself. “I’ll call him later.” ……………

“The male sex organs are divided into three parts.”

Murmurs and giggles around the classroom became slightly more uncontrolled as the video switched to a display of canine genitalia. Its cartoonish design was more detailed than Nick felt it should be, displaying full frontal and from each side. The females of the class audibly speculated about the males surrounding them, a pair of them grinning coyly in his direction.

Nick groaned in embarrassment as he buried his muzzle in his paws as the narrator carried on.

“The bulbus glandus becomes locked inside the female during ejaculation. This helps insure pregnancy, as well as helps build the emotional bond between mates.”

Wheezing laughter came from the chubby coyote sitting next to him as the video went on about body changes and hygiene.

“I bet mine is bigger than the others here,” he whispered to the fox with a grin after he composed himself.

Rolling his eyes, Nick refused to look over at his desk mate, shaking his head at the crass comment. Unable to watch the video anymore, his gaze flicked around the darkened room. He saw most of the kits in class with him were foxes, with a few wolves and other canines thrown in.  

Soon the video ended and the instructor flipped the lights back on, a collective groan coming from light sensitive group. The she-wolf beamed around at the dazed youths, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet.

“Any questions?” she asked cheerfully.

A few paws were lifted into the air, one young wolf being selected.

“Does knotting hurt?” she asked.

“Generally, it does the first time.” The females of the class winced. “But, as with sex itself, the discomfort and pain will fade the more you and your mate do it.”

Another female raised her paw, this one a vixen.

“Do you have to wait to get married before having sex?”

“That is something you and your parents should discuss, but I do encourage you to wait until marriage before you do. Yes, Mr. Wilde?”

“What about interspeices relationships? Would it be possible to mate with someone who isn’t a canine?” The giggles that followed the question caused the todd’s ears to flatten as he looked around uncertainly. Surprisingly, one young vixen was silent, her eyes moving back to the teacher in obvious curiosity.

“Mr. Wilde, the point of intercourse is reproduction,” the she-wolf explained, her condescending tone causing both him and the vixen to frown at her. “If you can’t reproduce with your partner, then there’s no point in mating with them.”

The vixen’s paw shot in the air, a scowl curling her muzzle. “My sister is unable to have kits. Should she and her husband not bother mating?”

Her voice was rude and aggressive, causing the wolf to falter a bit before straightening.

“As tragic as that is for your sister, what I meant is mammals were meant to stay within their own species. Can you imagine what would happen to the fox population if every fox in here decided to mate with someone not their own species?”

“Oh, my gods!” cried Nick, bringing his paws to his face. “Harmony might be achieved!”

The vixen who had spoken up was the only one who laughed. Both teens exchanged smirks at the wolf’s baffled expression. Her eyes flicked up at the clock, before landing back onto Nick. With a slightly steely look, she clapped her paws as she gave him a strained smile.

“And, on that note, we’ll stop here for the day.”

The low hum the other students gathering their things and shuffling out the door was ignored as Nick glowered at the teacher. Leaflets and work sheets in paw, he stood and trudged to the door. The class had been held in a small classroom just outside the lobby of the hospital, so Nick had a clear view of the receptionist desk.

The hippo behind the counter smiled at him as he approached.

“Hey, Nicky.” She flicked through a few sheets of paper, before pausing at one and handing it to him. “Your mom’s is assisting with surgery right now, but she told me to give you this.”

Waving him off as he finished reading his chore list, Nick headed for the double doors, still thinking about what the teacher had said. If the others had been so against interspecies relationships, how would they react if a predator and prey got together. His mother made it clear that she didn’t mind, his brother couldn’t care less, and Skye had no room to talk.

But Judy….

Asking her out would make her vulnerable to abuse and ridicule. If she even agreed. After the kiss he surprised her with, part of him wasn’t looking forward to camp that afternoon. There was a slight possibility that the shock of his surprise move had turn into very real anger she might take out on him.

Though he was pretty sure her brother would at least be reasonable. Or, at the very least, understanding.

Stepping into the warm mid-morning sun, he caught a glance of the vixen from class. His ears picked up with interest as he watch a kudu doe wrap her arm around the vixen’s waist and rest her head on her shoulder. The two waited at a crosswalk, giggling and snuggling with each other, oblivious to the glares and stares they received.

“Star night…” He muttered absently.

He smiled more to himself than anything else as he watched the pair walk away together. An image of him and Judy laying on their backs, side by side, gazing at the stars projected onto the ceiling of the Natural History Museum came to his mind. Without a doubt, she would be angry at him for stealing a kiss, but with enough tenacity, he could probably win her over.

And get her to agree on a date with him. …………….

Jack noticed something different about Judy this morning. She seemed distant, her responses to his questions and quips were vague, and her eyes kept flicking over to the cafe door. The striped buck had exchanged a few confused looks with Bobby, Kari, and Sandra.

Though Jon simply smirked.

Jack had too been distracted from his interlude with Skye to notice how peculiar his little sister was acting when she arrived home the night before. A distracted greeting was given when she entered the cafe and practically floated upstairs. Jon had noted the dazed look on her face, how it nearly mirrored her brother’s, and laughed. Now, the following morning, the raccoon was having a blast watching his bosses make moon eyes at each other while Judy monitored the front door with increasingly obvious disappointment.

“Our little doe looks a bit lost, eh, Skye?” Jon nudged her with his elbow as they watched Judy move from table to table listlessly. The vixen simply shook her head at him and smiled.

Every jingle of the bell had Judy turning in the direction of the door. Ears popped up in excitement, only to fall when she got a look at who entered. Jon picked up on the fact that the new comers were older than thirteen and not red fox todds. Jack, however, was completely baffled by her behavior.

The raccoon concluded he was either ear deep in denial or just truly clueless.

“Judy, Bun-bun, are you feeling ok?” Concerned blue eyes watched as she trudged around the corner with a bus tub in her arms. He stretched a paw out to press to her forehead, as she leaned away from him. “You’ve been acting odd all day. Sweetheart, are you sick?”

“I’m fine, Jack,” she ducked past him towards the kitchen. “I’m just… thinking… about camp…”

She flashed him an unconvincing smile, the sight of which had Skye and Jon withholding snickers.

“Oh, yes,” agreed the vixen. “Camp. Very distracting.”

She grinned and winked at the doe, who blushed and hurried away. Jack turned to give Skye a puzzled look. She simply shook her head and turned back to the register.

“I’m seriously worried,” he said as he leaned back against the counter next to her, arms crossed as he watched Judy absently straighten up the kitchen. “She usually has, like, seven million complaints by now. And yet, she barely said more than a few words to me.”

“It’s just a crush, Jack.” Skye smiled as she counted out change and passed it to a mother beaver juggling her coffee, treats, and twins. “You just have to let it run its course.”

“…Crush?!”

Jon had been taking a sip of his water, only to choke on it at the sight of Jack’s horrified expression. Amidst the giggles of his workers, the striped buck narrowed his gaze at his sister’s back before turning to the vixen.

“What do you mean ‘crush’?”

With a roll of her eyes, Skye patiently cleared her throat and explained it to him.

“Jack, remember when I told you my brother had the hots for your little sister?”

The buck’s ears flushed a bit as he nodded sheepishly. “Well, it’s entirely possible it’s not all one sided.”

Still gasping for breath, Jon put a companionable arm around his boss.

“Listen,” he started after clearing his throat, “Judy’s growing up. And part of growing up is her starting to figure out what she’s attracted to. Hence, she now has a crush.”

“But…” Jack’s voice quivered a bit as he looked at the raccoon, who fell away from him with a sympathetic smile. “She’s my little Bun- Bun….”

“Oh, Jack.” Skye linked her arm in his, her free paw coming up to give his a comforting pat. Tugging him away from the group congregating around the registers, she lead him back to the kitchen. Judy’s ears were down, her focus obviously not on the pile of dishes she was sorting through.

“You have four clients coming in today, including Fru Fru Big, who’ll be here in twenty minutes. So, let’s put a pin in this and focus on work. Afterwards, we can brush each other’s fur and sob about how quickly time flies.”

A wave of affection came over her as he gave another sad glance at the doe before he nodded and set about preparing his cake samples. Wanting to ease his concerns, she leaned into him, causing the buck to inhale sharply.

“And if you’re good,” she continued, lowing her muzzle to speak softly into his ear. “And things go well today, we can continue our little… ‘discussion’ from last night.”

Jack’s ears popped up at that, his eyes snapping to her. He blushed and smiled when she winked at him before turning to leave the kitchen.

“Oh, and an Emma Longrass called. She was confirming an appointment with you today,” Skye added before she turned back towards the lobby only to be halted by her boss.

“Actually, I told her the appointment was with you.” Jack replied.

“Oooooohhhhh, Jack…” The vixen whined and turned big blue eyes to him, making him smile. “Do I hafta?”

“I wonder if she’ll do that whipped cream thing again.”

Both turned to look at Judy in surprise as she loaded the cart with clean dishes. Skye narrowed her eyes at the doe before turning back to a stricken looking Jack.

“WHAT whipped cream thing?” Skye demanded.

“You know,” Judy continued, cutting off her brother’s attempts to appease the vixen. “The move where you dip your finger into your whipped cream and then lick it off. And never take your eyes off the mammal you’re doing it in front of.”

The last mug was loaded up before the younger rabbit started pushing towards the coffee bar.

“Just curious to know if she’ll do it to you again, Jack.” She pushed past the adults, calling over her shoulder as she went. “Let me know!”

Their gazes turned back to each other, Jack looking horrified, Skye looking accusing.

“Kits…” He said with a forced laugh. “They say the darnedest things.”

“That they do.” Skye crossed her arms and tapped her foot waiting for Jack to explain.

“She’s an old class mate who said she can get us a discount on advertising. That’s why I scheduled her appointment with you…” His ears dropped as he looked at her. “Just so she knows she doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Who?” asked Sandra as she went to the order fridge.

“Emma Longrass,” spat Skye, still scowling at the idea of another trying to seduce her buck. Sandra’s face gave her reason to pause though.

“Oh, my gods,” she exclaimed with a laugh. “Are you really jealous of that doe? I’ve bought milk that lasts longer than her interest in a buck. Seriously, Skye, dangle a semi attractive hobo in front of her and Jack will be ancient history.”

“You know her?”

“She dated three of my brothers…” Sandra’s face went dark for a moment. “At the same time.” With a snort, Sandra returned back to the lobby with the order she was looking for.

“Little slut…” Skye heard Sandra mutter under her breath as she walked back to the lobby.

“Skye,” Jack’s hesitant voice brought her attention back to him, his big blue eyes almost pleading with her. “Please…” He took a step forward, terrified she was going to step away from him.

The petty part of her was more than tempted.

“I have zero interest in her. The only reason I set up anything at all is because her company is the one of the best ad agencies in Zootopia. And if there’s anyone who can put her in her place, it would be you.”

The vixen narrowed her eyes at the buck.

“What is this, Jack?”

The buck took another step closer to her, a paw going to her face to brush the soft fur of her cheek. Her gaze didn’t soften, making his stomach drop, though the brush of her tail across his feet filled him with hope. Casting a quick look out the order window- and the several pairs of ears turned to the conversation- the buck stepped forward.

“This is something that has the potential to be real.” He slid his paw from her muzzle to take hers, running a thumb over her pads as he raised them, before bringing them to his face.

His lips pressed into them as he breathed in the scent of peony and amber that always seemed to cling to her. His eyes closed as she gave in and brushed the fine fur of his muzzle, making him breath deep before opening them again. The slight smile she wore made him unreasonably happy and relieved.

“I want this, Skye,” he muttered. “I’ll call her back and cancel if you want. You’re the one I want and the one can’t stop thinking about. No one has ever pulled a reaction out of me quite like you.”

“That’s true!” called out Judy and Sandra.

Skye laughed at that, before stepping close enough to nuzzle the top of Jack’s head.

“Make those samples, mister.”

She suddenly pulled away, turning quickly to head back to the lobby, letting her tail drag over his front as she went. A sultry smile was sent over her shoulder at the buck’s groan of disappointment.

Pausing by the doorway, she tipped him a wink. “I have a meeting I need to prepare for.” ……………..

Dave looked down at his friend. They were both back by the precinct obstacle course, stretching as they waited for the other junior cadets to show up. Nick’s eyes were once again trained on the entrance, his tail gently thumping against the ground with nerves. Ordinarily he would have had a lot of fun tormenting the todd, especially after seeing him steal a kiss from Judy.

But Brook’s odd behavior was still bothering him. He had messaged her when he got home, several times actually, only to be ignored. With Nick preoccupied, Dave wasn’t quite sure how to approach the situation. When the todd suddenly stilled, brown eyes looked over at the approaching bunny. Sans tigress, much to his dismay.

A calculating smirk was sent their way as Judy took up a spot to stretch. She didn’t need to look up as the two males approached, her ears perking at the sound of their paw steps.

“Ready for today, Wilde?”

“Oh, you know it, Hopps.” Nick bent to touch his toes, grinning over at her. “I can’t wait to add sparring to the list of things I beat you at.”

“Don’t count your carrots,” she remarked, straightening up and putting paws on her hips. “After all, I distinctly remember being able to whip your tail in the park.”

“You got lucky, bunny.” Nick stood to his full height and copied her pose.

“Did I?” The todd gave a sharp inhale when she stepped closer to him, ears folding forward and eyes wide as she batted her lashes at him. “If that’s the case, then if you win, I’ll give you a surprise. I win, you knock a day off the ice cream bet.”

Green eyes twinkled mischievously, his tail wagging so fast it thumped hard enough against Dave’s leg that the wolf felt a small bruise form.

“Done!” Paws shook, both mammals grinning at the image of their own victory over the other. “Sooo… What kind of surprise?”

With a quirk of her brows, the bunny turned away and resumed her stretching, her back turned to the pair of them.

“Guess you’ll just have to see…” she said in a sing song voice.

Nick shifted uncomfortably, his gaze resting on her and all the stretches she was doing, before he suddenly took off, mumbling about the bathroom.

“What was that all about?” Judy asked in surprise, staring after him. She gave

Dave a speculative glance which he returned with a helpless shrug. “Brook said she’s going to be late, by the way.”

“Oh…” He lowered his eyes to the ground, gathering his nerves as she went back to her task. “Hey, Judy?”

The rabbit looked up from her stretches again, eyes filled with curiosity.

“Is Brook ok?” His feet shuffled as he looked down at them, ears back and tail dragging. “I mean, is there anything I did to make her hate me?”

Judy smiled kindly at him as she shook her head. “That’s something you’re going to need to ask her. But she’ll be ok. She’s just feeling… sensitive…. right now.”

Dave opened his mouth to respond only to be cut off by a smooth voice.

“Excuse me.”

Both teenagers turned in surprise at the new comer. Standing just a bit shorter than Nick was marble fox. His fur was a bit longer than the red todd’s, though impeccably kept. Snowy white ran up his arms, disappearing into a blue t-shirt. Grey and black sprinkled from the top of his head to his ears, he viewed the world with golden brown eyes and an obscenely confident smile.

The Zootropolis accent didn’t make Dave feel any better about him.

“Hi! I’m new to Zootopia.” A paw stretched out to the doe, his eyes lit upon her. “I’m Kody Marmoreal.”

“Oh, um, hi! I’m Judy. Judy Hopps.” Her small paw became enveloped in his, a small ‘meep’ escaping her as he raised it slowly. Brown eyes became half lidded in tender look as he smiled softly.

“Hmmmm.” He paused with her paw close to his muzzle, a slight purr of approval rumbling out. “What a pretty name, for a pretty doe.”

Dave’s own eyes narrowed at Kody, watching him make moves on his best friend’s female, a growl almost escaping him as a kiss was pressed to the back of her paw. Movement from his peripheral caused him to glance at Nick coming back from the bathroom. Panic filled him as his friend stopped in his tracks, the other todd zeroing in on Judy and Kody.

Green eyes filled with hostility as his fur puffed up in agitation. The wolf was surprised at the speed displayed as Nick moved towards the trio, coming to rest beside the bunny as her paw was released. Kody’s eyes flicked to him before refocusing back on Judy, nose flaring to take in her scent.

“So, Judy, I’m looking for a tour guide to show me around the city.” The other two males tried not to scoff as he smiled down at her. “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who’s interested. Do you?”

“Oh, well I-” Judy’s words were interrupted by Nick, who took a step forward to put himself between his crush and the new todd.

“Actually, she does.” A paw was thrusted towards the intruder, a look of contempt barely masked with a strained grin. “Nick Wilde. No one knows this city better than me.”

“Is that right?” Paw accepted, Dave had to keep himself from rolling his eyes as the two todds tried to out grip the other. “Well, I’m sure there’s nothing better for helping your geography than exploring your surroundings.”

Their limbs were obviously aching when they let go, both refused to show any discomfort or pain. Judy looked up to Dave, who merely shrugged.

“If the lovely lady is up to the task,” Kody continued as he smiled down at her again.

This time neither male watching the exchange bothered keeping in their growls. The new todd barely spared them a glance, keeping his gaze on the blushing bunny.

Judy opened her mouth to respond before catching sight of Brook. With her head down and shoulders slumped, the tigress was trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible as she crept to the group waiting for their instructor.

Still blushing, Judy mumbled an apology as she excused herself. With a small smile to Nick, the bunny darted over to her friend, leaving the wolf with two very riled up foxes.

“What do you think you doing, fox?” Nick’s eyes burned into his competition’s.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” With a smirk, Kody followed after the doe as Chief Pride walked in.

The polar bear who lead the camp last time was right behind him, bags filled with boxing gloves and other gear thrown over their shoulders.

“Line up, campers!” Her voice cut the idle chit chat from the youths as they scrambled for their spots.

A low growl came from Nick as they both watched Kody take a spot next to Judy and Brook. Something was said to the tigress that brought the first smile Dave had seen in while to her muzzle. Jealousy bloomed in his chest as she ducked her head at the obvious compliment, whatever it may have been.

“Asshole,” he breathed, teeth clenched and eyes narrowed at the new todd making the two females giggle. ………….

Words didn’t properly describe the emotion Sandra felt when Emma Longrass walked in. Mostly because it was an intense combination. Anger was, of course, the front runner. With memories of her brothers brawling in the front yard of her childhood home back in Bunnyburrow while Emma watched with glee, anger ran hot in her veins.

There was also annoyance and aggression, mostly out of loyalty to Skye. Her new boss may have only been a week into the gig, but Sandra was an admirer of anyone who could make Jack not think about work. It was why she loved having Judy around. Anything for him to remember there was life outside of the kitchen. And the fact that the buck hadn’t been on a date the entire time she had worked for him made her respect for the vixen grow.

It took a lot for a female to catch his attention.

Jealousy was a bit of a surprise as the shorter, cream colored doe watched those long, trim legs glide towards the counter. Accentuated by a plaid, pleated skirt and white button down, the matching blazer adding a professional look to her. Sandra couldn’t help but glared at the physically perfect bunny doe coming towards the register.

“My, my,” the words came out as a humored drawl, with just enough country twang still in it to awaken Sandra’s lust, much to her embarrassment. “If it isn’t little Sandy Cotintale. You grew up!”

Emma pulled her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose to give a critical glance at Sandra. “Or should I say, out?”

Those last words were followed by a small laugh at her own joke. The other bunny doe felt her unwanted attraction vanish as she gritted her teeth to keep from replying. He may not have liked her, but Jack would be furious if Sandra rose to the bait. And she respected her boss enough to act better than the two-timing slut in front of her.

Sunglasses were removed fully and folded, the stem of them hooked onto the front of her shirt. Hazel eyes glanced around the cafe as arms crossed.

“Where’s Jack? I have an appointment with him at one-thirty.”

“Actually,” came a voice as sweet as sugar from the lobby.

Both does looked up to see Skye walking towards them, a devil may care smirk on her muzzle. Sandra had been so distracted with the register, she hadn’t noticed Fru Fru Big being settled onto a table with her fiancé, courtesy of Jack. She smirked back at her boss as the vixen’s paw trailed over the shoulders of the seated rabbit buck. He looked up at her as she passed, an expression of longing on his face, before returning to his appointment. If the shrew couple minded, their grins were the best act Sandra had ever seen.

“Your appointment is with me.”

Kari paused with a bus bucket on her hip in the middle of the lobby as Bobby leaned back against the wall with a look of anticipation. Jon could be seen peeking through the order window in curiosity, his own appointment due to show up any moment. Sandra herself merely crossed her arms as the two females sized each other up.

Emma had tensed at the sight of the fox, her ears dropping briefly before rising again. Her look of distaste as she took in the gorgeous vixen made a snicker of delight work its way from Sandra’s belly. Her joy only grew at the scowl Emma sent her. The new doe flinched as Skye stepped forward and extended her paw to her, claws casually extended.

“Skye Wilde.”

The vixen’s smile was enough to rot teeth. Blue eyes never left the doe’s face as she took in Skye’s trim form, from the well-worn jeans to the professional black button-down. Casually dressed as she was, Skye could have worn a potato sack and make it seem like the next big trend. Emma’s eyes flared with jealousy when they came to rest back on the vixen’s face.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wilde-”

“It’s miss, darlin’.” Tipping a wink to her, Skye turned with a swish of her tail and headed over to a table in the corner opposite Jack and Fru Fru. “You comin’?”

There was a strange sound that echoed around the cafe. Multiple pairs of eyes were pulled from what they were focused on to the bunny behind the counter. Sandra had attempted to curtail the gleeful laughter that spilled over. Deciding to cover it with a cough, the results were a loud squeak that drew everyone’s attention.

Though a bit red in the ears, she didn’t look the least bit sorry for it.

Skye simply smirked and kept her gaze on Emma. The other doe gave Sandra a final glare and took a seat opposite of the vixen. Hazel met blue, cold dislike met warm amusement, the two females considered each other for a heartbeat before Emma cleared her throat and started her pitch.

“Ten bucks says Skye gets hot coffee splashed in her face,” whispered Kari to her coworkers, the bus tub being taken by Jon.

“I got twenty that says she makes her cry before the cops are called,” countered Bobby.

“Fifty to them both being arrested,” added Jon.

“Let the games begin,” replied Sandra, watching as the two females converse. ………….

“Now, Hopps,” Nick grinned at her, watching as she gave some experimental jabs with the gloves on. “Don’t expect me to go easy on you, just because you’re a cute, little bunny.”

She sent a glare his way, which caused him to grin as she gave a series of hops, shaking out the tension from her arms. A smile curled her lips as she slowed her warm up. With a grin of her own, she readied her stance and focused on him.

“Please don’t. I like a challenge.” She winked at him, earning a speculative eyebrow raise from the todd.

Their warm up run had been uneventful, aside from the fact that Nick found himself running next to Kody a majority of the time. The new todd’s eyes had been focused on Judy’s tail, much to Nick’s annoyance. Never mind the fact Nick himself had a hard time focusing on anything other than that. That was beside the point. And it was nothing an ‘accidental’ elbow jab couldn’t cure.

“Now remember! You’re not trying to hurt each other!” Major Friedkin gave slightly worried look between the pair.

The others had been put with mammals closely matching their weight classes, but Judy had hopped right up to Nick, shoving a pair of gloves into his chest before leading him to a mat. A move that delighted him, seeing as Daniel Woods and that new show off, Kody, were completely disregarded as challengers. The sweet smile she had sent over her shoulder had him hurrying after her.

And the swift side step she had given Daniel had Nick sending the woodchuck a smug look of triumph as he snapped his gear on. Friedkin had only showed them basic defense, nothing more complicated than blocks and dodges. But while she knew Nick and what his dad had taught him, a sit in at an old friend’s youth boxing class had shown her what the bunny could do.

“Just jab and block!” Friedkin looked from one to the other. “Jab. And. Block.”

And with that, she stepped back.

Nick waited for her to move in. Braced and ready, he bounced slightly in anticipation before giving into impatience. His first step forward, she made her move. It happened so quick, he wasn’t even sure what hit him. Extending his arm to jab at her, she had easily dodged it, ducking under it before hooking her foot around his knee.

His leg flew out from under him before he had a chance to act on the movement. Sprawled out on the mat, staring up at the sky, he gave a light groan as he pushed himself up to look over at her. She bounced on the other side of the mat, small smirk on her muzzle, as they met eyes.

“Now, Slick,” she lectured, putting gloved paws on her hips. “You promised not to go easy on me.”

Her head tilted in a playful challenge, she resumed her bouncing as he scrambled to his feet and charged. Only to get knocked back down again. She dodged his forward attack, one foot strategically placed to insure he would stumble over it, his outstretched arm was once more grabbed. He had used more force opening jars for his mother than what Judy used to flip him onto his back.

“Oh, by the way,” came her amused voice, cutting through his daze. She grinned as he sat up and looked to her. “My Uncle Terry is the March Hare.”

“The boxer?” Nick asked as he scrambled back up, his eyes much warier.

“Yup.” The doe grinned as he gulped.

The rest of the class was a bit fuzzy for the fox. While in reality, the sparring had only lasted twenty minutes, tops, Nick felt like he spent hours being thrown around by the light weight champion’s niece. Most of the class had stopped their own rounds to watch the pair duke it out, Daniel and the new jerk face, Kody, loudly jeering whenever Judy landed a jab or flipped him.

At the end of it, though, once their instructor had her fill of his many humiliations, Judy tugged the gloves off and reached down to Nick. Smiling, she helped him to his feet, before shaking his paw. She gave a slight tsk before frowning at the slightly aching todd.

“What?” he asked, with raised eyebrows as he stretched out the stiffness forming.

“I never won a fight with such little effort,” she said. “And one day down, four more to go!”

At that Nick raised his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“Our bet.” Her face dripped smug as she eyed him. “I won, so only four days left in the ice cream bet.”

“Carrots, there are seven days in the week.”

“But business days are five.”

“Are we conducting business? No, no we are not.”

“Oh,” she responded, her ears and eyes dropping as she pulled her gloves to her chest. Taking a step closer to him, she looked up into his eyes, his muzzle falling open as he tried to remember to speak. “And here I thought you were all business. Well, I guess I can live with six days. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunities to knock some more off this little wager.”

She stepped back, her face suddenly smiling sweetly up at him, before bouncing away. Muzzle still open, he barely noticed Dave coming up beside him.

“I let her win,” he said, watching her go.

“Sure you did,” agreed Dave with a nod.

“Really!” he insisted.

“I believe you.”

The two males grinned at each other, before turning back to where Judy stood, her gloves being handed over to the instructor. Their expressions grew darker as Kody came to stand beside her. Nick’s blood boiled as the todd reached over to smooth a mussed patch of fur on her head, watching his paw linger much longer than necessary.

Even worse was the blush that spread across her ears as they perked towards someone who wasn’t him.

“I swear, Wilde, I did not spend the last six months watching you drool and pine over this doe only to have you let her get scooped up by some douche.” Dave bent over him and gave an irritated growl. “Make. Your. Move!”

He suddenly strode away, casting one last scowl at the fox as he did. Nick frowned after him, watching as he tried to catch up with Brook… Only to get rebuffed. She saw him coming and very obviously quickened her steps towards the exit to out run and avoid him.

Seeing his friend’s confused look made Nick feel slightly better. Added to that were the dark looks Daniel Woods was sending his way, jealous that Judy didn’t even spare him a glance. Only to have it vanish when he realized Judy was still walking with… with…

HIM.

That’s it, he thought as he watched them leave together. I’m asking her out.

TONIGHT. ………….

“Well?”

Kody had turned the corner away from the precinct, after saying goodbye to Judy, when the voice popped up over his shoulder. Without turning around or slowing, he smirked as his cousin came up beside him.

“I got this in the bag.” He cast her a glance, noting her pleased expression.

“Another day or so, and she’ll forget about your boyfriend. Then you can settle for being his second choice.”

Natasha scowled at him.

“I’m not going to be his second choice!” she hissed back. “I’m just going to remind him what he’s interested in. And let you worry about perverting yourself by dating outside your species.”

“Honey, when they’re as hot as her, I can take the hit.” Kody’s expression darkened as they walked. “Not that I’m complaining, but why are you so focused on Wilde anyway?”

“You think I’m going to pass up the chance to date Matt Wilde’s kit? Do you know how much more popular I’ll be if we’re seen together?” She smirked to herself at the thought of the fame she might get for dating Nick Wilde. “The Wildes are one of the most respected fox families in the city and I plan on becoming part of it. Once that stupid rabbit is out of the picture, it should be cake getting him to go out with me.”

Kody shook his head at his cousin as they walked.

“Tasha, you are an ice queen.”

With a sly wink, she nodded. “Proud of it, babe.” …………….

Judy walked into an odd scene when she returned to the cafe. She was expecting it to be quiet, like it normally was on Saturdays. Had expected the usual Saturday crowd, sitting at their computers, tapping away as they enjoyed coffee and the treats The Perk was now known for. Saturdays were usually easy and slow.

This was a mad house.

There was a line out the door, each mammal eagerly trying to look over the heads of the ones in front of them. A few hippos, rhinos, and elephants waited outside, their bodies much too big to squeeze through the door. Their faces lit up when the smaller mammals they had sent inside came out with their snacks.

Judy shook her head in amazement before braving the crowd. Extra paws had been called in, mammals Jack kept on the payroll for days like this. Though they normally worked around Christmas time. The doe herself braced to jump into the mix where ever she was needed. A quick glance around found her brother taking notes from a small shrew couple as they sampled bits of cake. Jon was doing the same with a cheetah couple, who were eagerly taking in the scene through mouthfuls Furench silk.

Tying on the apron Sandra had tossed to her, the young doe turned from her brother and his assistant to another scene that made her happier than a busy cafe: Emma Longrass sitting in silent fury across from Skye. The vixen held paperwork in her paws, each page carelessly flipped through with red pen. With a smirk as smug as Nick’s, she pointed out something to the doe and shook her head before crossing it out and scribbling in the margins.

With a light laugh, Judy couldn’t resist hopping over under the pretense of clearing the table.

“No, no! This here?” Skye turned the paper she was looking at towards the doe.

“Definitely does not work for us. This market is completely antipredator, not to mention they aren’t big on caffeine. What’s the point of advertising a coffee shop in a place that doesn’t enjoy caffeine?”

Judy heard Emma grind her teeth through a strained smile. “Of course. We can always switch out that for the university.”

“All of them.” Skye flicked the page as she shot the doe a grin. “You can accomplish that, right, Ms. Longrass?”

“Of course, Ms. Wilde.”

With a giggle, Judy turned away and headed over to her brother’s table. She paused in front of it, collecting the small stack of tiny plates and cutlery as the shrew couple described their dream cake.

“Oh my god,” drawled the female, her eyes as wide as her grin. “We have to get the red velvet with cream cheese frosting and pink buttercream roses. It will be to die for!”

“Popular choice,” agreed Jack, pulling a color sample from his notes. “These are the pinks I recommend and I just need to know how many tiers.”

“Well, we’re keeping it intimate, so there’s really only going to be around fifty guests, mostly our families. Majority of the party will be shrews.” The female mused out loud, twirling her long hair in her paws.

“Dearest, don’t forget the bears,” interjected the male as he placed a comforting paw on his fiancée’s arm. “Your father would be hurt if we forgot to include them in this decision.”

“Drat it!” Her brows furrowed again. One hind paw tapped the table impatiently as she did the math in her head. “How much cake is that?”

“I would do one, two layered shrew sized red velvet and the other a large, single layered white cake with lemon filling.”

The couple and Jack looked up at Judy, who froze at their bewildered expressions.

Her muzzle opened and closed before clearing her throat.

“It’s just,” she continued nervously. “The shrew size my brother makes is more than enough for each guest to have seconds and still leave the top for your one-year anniversary. And red velvet is a popular flavor for weddings and white cake a classic stand by for those who aren’t fans. Not to mention, Jack’s lemon filling has been named best in Zootopia. It’s the same filling that’s in the lemon tart up front.”

Silence followed the doe’s rambling, making her wish she had never opened her mouth.

“Oh. My. Gawd!” shrieked the little female. “That’s poifect!” Her paws flipped through the binder of notes next to her. “OH! You are a freaking genius! Jackie, please tell me you can pull off something like this?”

A piece of paper was pulled free, its small size making Jack reach for his magnifying glass to view it. The surprisingly tasteful groom’s cake design made the buck nod in satisfaction.

“Done and done!” he said with smile, lowering the glass and noting the account.

“All I need now is the date and you’ll be all set.” The little shrew nodded excitedly at him before beaming up at Judy again.

“Thank you so much for that!” she squeaked, holding a paw out to her. “You are a life savior!”

Judy blushed and smiled back, accepting her paw.

“Love your hair,” she managed to say. The shrew’s expression melted into look of pure joy.

“Aww! Thank you!” Judy grinned and walked away catching Skye’s eye as she did.

Skye winked at her before turning back to Emma. Still looking as though she was trying to hide her irritation, the doe finished packing up her paperwork and stood. Escorting her to the door coincided with Jack walking the shrews out, each one perched on a shoulder. The female was jabbering in his ear about her final notes regarding her cake while her fiancée smiled on in contentment.

Emma pulled her attention from her own host to give Jack another sultry grin.

Waiting until both shrews were passed onto the polar bear waiting just outside the door, the rabbit doe reached a paw to grasp the front of his shirt. Ears went up in shock as he was pulled towards her, Emma’s compact body pressed up against his.

“I think you may owe me dinner, Jack,” she said coyly, mistaking the buck’s blush for one of pleasure not mortification.

“I a-actually have plans for the evening,” he responded, extracting himself from her and stepping away. Emma pouted playfully in hopes of tempting him.

“What a shame.” A paw stretched out towards him again. “Who’s the lucky lady?”

“Me.” Skye stood beside him, lacing her paw with his own and wrapping her tail around his ankles. “It was pleasure meeting you, Miss Longrass.”

The doe looked shock for moment, her nose twitching as she looked from their joined paws to the dumbstruck look on Jack’s face as he looked up at the vixen. Judy waited for the explosion. But to her surprise, Emma just sighed. The outstretched paw went out to shake Skye’s, the vixen’s expression slightly suspicious.

“You really are a lucky lady,” she said with a wistful smile and look that bordered on respect. “Take care of him.” She winked over at Jack. “He’s a really, really good guy.”

She turned to leave, the pair of them smiling in relief at the outcome.

“Oh, and interspeices couples get an extra fifteen percent off!” Emma grinned at their shocked expressions and continued on her way.

Both turned back to the busy cafe, still paw in paw, heading to the register.

“So…” Skye turned to look at Jack. “That went well.”

“Well as in ‘continue our discussion’ well?” he asked hopefully.

She simply laughed and released him, giving the buck a slight push towards the kitchen. “Your next appointment is in five, Romeo.”

He laughed with her and soon everyone fell into the rhythm of their work. Jack and Jon successfully wowed their other clients, sealing in their orders for cakes and, in one case, cupcakes. The line moved at a steady pace, though the selection of baked goods dwindled significantly. Everyone for the most part was content with how the day was turning out.

For an hour after she had gotten back from camp, Judy mainly bussed tables and did dishes. And, as in the morning, she did it without complaint. It was brainless work, allowing her to think and get lost in her daydreams. Daydreams that used to be all about her future as a cop. Now, they involved Nick.

How he looked at her, how he smelled, how his ears and tail perked up when she spoke to him.

Gideon’s words had been in the back of her mind since the last day of school: “He has a crush on you, too.”

But it wasn’t that she had a crush. She was Judy Hopps! Jude the Dude! Future cop, fearless, practical, and able to think from other places besides between her legs. She wasn’t like her sisters who were batting their lashes at every buck who smiled at them. And she certainly wasn’t crushing on a male who insulted her and goaded her into fights.

No matter how attractive he was. Besides, Kody was far more appealing. That accent, that fur, those eyes.

He’s boring, though, she thought.

He’s just polite, came the reasoning.

No, there’s something off about him. Something that keeps you from thinking about him until you force yourself to.

I just met the guy! That’s just me being-

Honest? She frowned at the thought. Be honest. You just met Nick and you’ve spent the past week obsessing about him. Kody just isn’t as interesting. And you’re not a fan of his scent.

Kody smells just fine!

In that, he smells clean. But like sandalwood - you hate sandalwood. Nick smells like violets and cotton blossoms. He really does smell so much better… And you were always an admirer of green eyes.

The jingling of the door bells brought her attention back to reality. At long last, the line had shortened enough so it didn’t wind outside, giving the bells a chance to do their jobs. Her standard greeting died on her lips when she saw who it was.

“Nick? What are you doing here?”

Judy looked wide eyed at the todd standing in front of her, his fur rumpled and expression flustered. He still wore his exercise clothes, with his paws tugging at the hem of his shirt. Skye and Jack both paused in their restocking of the pastry case to glance over at the pair. Their sudden stop made the other workers follow suite and look their way. Customers, puzzled at the sudden halt in service followed their gazes with curious looks.

To her embarrassment, Judy realized everyone was watching them. Nick gave a nervous grin to the many eyes focused on the unexpected entertainment as he fruitlessly opened and closed his mouth.

“Ummm,” he starting to take a step closer, eyes finding Skye’s. The amused look she gave him seemed to make him deflate as a paw gestured in her direction. “My sister…”

He cleared his throat and looked at Judy again. “I just came to see my sister…” Disappointment blossomed inside her as he started to walk backwards towards the counter.

“Oh…” Her ears dropped as she turned, bus bucket still in paw. Though the sound of his throat being cleared had her looking back up. She was surprised find he had moved closer to her, twisting his paws together.

“Star night!” he exclaimed, startling her into almost dropping the bucket. She looked at him with wide eyes, taking in his frazzled fur and petrified look.

“What?”

“S-star ni-night…” With another clearing of his throat, his fur returned to normal though he didn’t look any less nervous. “The-there’s a star night… at the Museum of Natural History. Tonight. I was, ah-hmm! Wondering if you wanted to go with me? Maybe…”

The bunny doe stared slack jawed at him, her brain trying to register the words he had just said.

“I have to ask my brother.”

Both teens looked over at Jack, whose ears shot up upon realizing every mammal in the cafe now watched him for his response. The buck looked around, eyes resting on Skye. She grinned and gave him a light nudge with her hip. A defeated look crossed his face before turning back to the pair in the lobby. With an eyeroll, Jack nodded his head.

Nick looked back her, ears perked and body tense. Silence stretched as she met his eyes, the burst of encouragement Jack’s nod had given him wearing off when she didn’t reply. Lowering his head and moving to the exit had Judy finding her voice.

“Sure.” Pausing with head snapped back towards her, a small smile played on his muzzle that grew as hers crept up. “What time?”

“Seven.”

“Meet me here at six thirty?”

“Yeah,” he grinned and nodded eagerly. “Ok! Sure! Six thirty sounds great.”

“Awesome!” Judy felt her ears grow hot, though they remained perched over her head.

The todd was beaming as he walked backwards towards the door, giving distracted apologies to anyone he ran into. His eyes remained locked onto Judy, who was smiling back as he left. Nick was almost through the door when another voice rang out.

“Bye, Nicky!”

Ears flattened as his eyes moved over to his sister, who waggled her fingers at him with smirk on her face.

“Oh… Uh, later, Skye!” And with that, Nick ran away, goofy grin getting wider as he did.

There was a scattering of applause from those still in line causing Judy to blush but her smile stayed intact. Butterflies filled her belly as she mentally looked through her wardrobe to figure out what to wear. As outfits were vetoed, a loud voice coming from the register crashed her train of thought.

“-absolute disgrace!”

Her ears perked up and swiveled around.

“What sort of big brother are you to let your sweet, helpless little sister go out with a bit of vermin like him! Are you looking forward to seeing her hurt and broken? Because that’s what going to happen! He’s going to use and abuse that innocent little doe to get the one thing bunnies are good for! You, sir, should be ashamed of yourself!”

Quiet murmurings wrapped themselves around Judy as she left the table she was cleaning for the register. Jack stood behind the counter, paws on his hips, facing an ewe who gripped her young lamb by the hoof. Behind him was Skye looking equally furious with Kari not too far off. Sandra and Bobby were exchanging incredulous looks with a hint of amusement just under the surface.

A few of the mammals in the cafe nodded in agreement, some going so far as to leave their places in line and head for the exit. Others looked on in outrage at the sheep. The rest were either grumbling about the line being held up or gleefully watching the drama unfold.

“First off, if there is a single mammal here who thinks that my little sister is helpless, they’re in for some serious, fucking disappointment.” The ewe gasped in shock at the swear word and went to muffle the ears of her delighted looking lamb.

“Second,” continued Skye, Jack letting her step forward with a paw pointed towards the irate patron. “You don’t even know my little brother. All you see is a fox, not the kind-hearted, hardworking, funny todd he actually is.”

Jack reached up to give her free paw a supportive squeeze, not missed by the ewe, who’s eyes widened in disgust.

“This place is an abomination and you and everyone who works here or supports this business is going to hell!” And with that, she turned hoof and stormed out. There was another round of applause as a few of the patrons cheered for Jack and Skye. Both nodded to the crowd and exchanged smirks, before Skye clapped her paws together.

“Back to work everyone! We’ve got mammals to please!” She gave Jack another grin who returned it with a pointed look over at the coffee maker. Understanding, she turned to the line of mammals waiting. “Everyone in line gets a free small hot or iced coffee or tea on the house!”

And that was more than enough to make their customers happy. ……………..

“SHE SAID YES!”

Nick had been muttering the words under his breath as he danced from Savanna Central Perk back to his home. Now in the quiet of the living room, he jumped onto the couch, bouncing with excitement, shouting the words at the top of his lungs. With an almost maniacal laugh, he jumped from the couch back to the floor. Greg had rushed from his bedroom to where his brother was throwing his fists in the air.

“Nick, what the fuck are you-”

“EVERYBODY MAMBO!” With a yelp, the older todd was grabbed and spun around the room.

“Why-” Greg was twisted one way. “-are we-” He was spun another way. “Doing-” Nick finally released his brother, who swayed slightly on feet, to dance excitedly around on his own. “-this?”

Nick stopped in his tracks, eyes going to Greg who dropped his ears in worry when he rushed up to him. Paws went to grasp his shoulders. “Greg,” he began, with wide eyes. “She said yes….”

His eyes widened at his little brother’s words. “Who?”

“Judy. She said yes to going out tonight.”

The shock of what was said wore off of Greg quickly. He smiled as Nick released him, babbling about how unreal it was that Judy said yes, what he was going to wear, where they should go after the museum, and how perfect the bunny in question was.

“Gotta say, little brother,” he started. “I didn’t know you had it in you.” Nick rolled his eyes. “Oh, fuck you!”

The words were uttered as the front door opened and closed. “Language, please!”

Vivian glared at her sons before heading to her room and shutting the door, leaving a faint smell of rot in her wake.

“I thought you were working a double, Mom.” Greg called as his brother headed to his own room.

“I am! I just got thrown up on, so Wanda let me leave to change! I don’t have any scrubs in my locker.” She opened the door again, smelling a bit cleaner with a can of musk spray in her paw. “So, what’s all the excitement about?”

“Nothing!” came Nick’s frantic voice. The older foxes exchanged looks, Vivian’s confused while Greg looked amused, before turning back to the closed door. Nick could be heard muttering, the sounds of cloth being rustled barely audible. Greg leaned closer to his mom with a grin. “Nick’s got a date.”

No-one, not even Vivian, was prepared for the sound the vixen made. Even in his room, buried in his closet, Nick winced in pain at his mother’s joyous scream.

“MY BABY IS GOING ON HIS FIRST DATE!” she cried. “I NEVER THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD COME!”

She ran to his door gave it an excited knock. “Is it with the bunny? Is it with Judy? OHHHHHH! I’ll bet you two will be SOOOO cute together! Oh, sweetheart! Wear that shirt Skye got you for your birthday! That color really brings out your eyes. You’ll look so handsome in it! Though you look handsome no matter what. You and your brother. Oh! I’m just so happy for you, sweetheart!”

“Uh, Mom,” came Nick’s awkward reply.

“Yes, baby?”

“I’m trying to change here, so could you, you know…?”

“Give the todd some breathing room, Ma,” explained Greg, having gone through this this before. Vivian’s ears and tail bristled with embarrassment.

“Oh!” She looked back the door before looking to her son. “Oh, right! Sorry. I just got excited, I guess.” With a smile she went to grab her purse from her room before heading to the door. Turning back to Greg, she sighed. “Get a picture for me, will you?”

He smiled and nodded, only to be distracted by Nick’s door opening. He ran from his room to his mother, giving her a quick hug before racing back and closing the door behind him. Greg and Vivian shared a smile again before she left.

In his room, Nick dug through his closet until the shirt was found and held up.

His dad had had one just like it, though Matty’s had been a Pawaiian print. Skye joked that he only wore it when he was angry at their mother, though in truth it was his favorite shirt. Vivian always said it was better than a headache as a mood killer and claimed to live for the day when it could be burned.

Nick knew it was folded up and stashed in Vivian’s closet, his mom unable to part with it. Skye had surprised him with a shirt similar in cut with the same material; just no Pawaiian print. But it made him feel like his dad was next to him whenever he wore it. Slipping it on, followed by a pair of khakis, Nick smiled at his reflection.

He looked just like Matthew Wilde.