#and also I broke up with my producer (we’re friends it’s chill but it did stall the project)

[hey-scully-itsme]

davinci resolve my best frenemy

[swimyghost]

Uniforms

This is a Lupin III High School AU that no one asked for but me and some friends made anyway. This AU will include OCs they haven’t made an appearance just yet. Also this high school is a blend of American and Japanese high schools since I’m, unfortunately, more familiar with an American setting. I hope you enjoy.

---

The ICPO Academy’s name was a joke. Not to say the academy itself was a disgrace to the name of education seeing as the school produced several graduates that went on to become lawyers or doctors or more artistic jobs such as famous actors or architects. ICPO Academy was well known for its reputation as the hub for international learning and cultural acceptance, having the school built in Japan but accepting students from everywhere. Many would question why someone would call the academy’s name a joke with high test scores, amazingly well-funded athletic and arts programs, and a spotless background all being well-known facts.

ICPO: International Criminal Police Organization. The name was outdated and, as mentioned before, a joke, especially to the students who attended the school. The once militaristic educational institution was originally assembled by the Japanese government as a way to train the most elite future members of the police force; the international part only added later once other countries noticed how well the Alta maters excelled in their field. Time, however, was an ever-flowing river and soon more programs such as the arts were added to the school. The need for highly trained police officers was in little demand and the school’s talents for training the best were need elsewhere. The name never changed due to stubborn tradition, also due to the idea of the students needing to “remember their roots”.

Horrible naming aside, the school was strict with everything, from grades to clubs to sports, including school uniforms. That was how three students ended up in the principal’s office one early morning.

“Arsène Lupin, Daisuke Jigen, and Goemon Ishikawa,” the principal, a heavily balding middle-aged man, sighed. He looked like he hadn’t received any proper sleep in weeks. “You three realize the school year only started a month ago and yet you consistently end up here.”

“Sir, I think you are missing the point!” a tall dark-haired man shouted. He stepped forward, shoving aside the three students. The red armband on his left arm was labeled “Head Hall Monitor”. “These three have broken one of the school’s rules, one which is mentioned on the first page of the school handbook so they clearly know what they are doing!”

One of the students, a sophomore with a cocky grin and an even cockier look in his dark brown eyes, laughed. “Pops, you should know I never read any of those dumb manuals!”

“It’s paramount that you read the handbook! And quit referring to me by that ridiculous nickname!”

“Whatever you say, Pops.”

“Mr. Lupin, Mr. Zenigata, I order you to stop this nonsense!” the principal shouted over the arguing pair. “Mr. Lupin, despite you lacking in understanding the school’s policies, you are a sophomore, you should already know that wearing the school’s uniform is a requirement, that goes for you too Mr. Goemon, and especially you Mr. Daisuke, you’re a junior, for Pete’s sake!”

“Jigen.” a gruff-sounding teen muttered. Shaggy black hair covered the teen’s eyes. Unlike the well-dressed (although still against the rules) Lupin, Jigen chose to wear baggy clothes such as a worn hoodie and ripped jeans instead of his uniform. 

“Fine, Jigen,” the man said with an exasperated sigh. “Look, I’m going to cut to the chase since you already know what’s going to happen. I’m going to have the front desk call your parents so they can drop off your uniforms. Mr. Lupin, Mr. Jigen, you’ll be sent to detention for today and tomorrow and will have to use half of your lunch period cleaning the school along with the regular cleaning hours. Mr. Ishikawa, you will have the same punishment except you won’t have detention.”

“What!?” Zenigata cried.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Zenigata?”

“Sir, forgive me for my insolence, but I think this is highly unfair,” Zenigata turned his gaze to the last of the trio, a blue hakama-wearing boy with long but slightly uneven cut hair. “Goemon here is equally as guilty as the rest of them! Therefore, he deserves the same punishment!”

The principal let out a long groan. “I wish I could, Mr. Zenigata. Unfortunately, Mr. Ishikawa is a part of our Judo Team and we’re about to have a match against Cagliostro Academy so-”

“So it’s favoritism!” Zenigata bellowed, slamming his hands on the principal’s desk.

“It’s not favoritism, it’s about securing our school’s reputation! Besides, Mr. Ishikawa isn’t a criminal for refusing to wear the proper garb.” the principal nonchalantly waved his hand.

“We will become one if you don’t punish him accordingly!”

“Do not insult the Ishikawa name like you, you bumbling gorilla.” Goemon spat, keeping a cold expression on his face.

“What did you say!?”

“ENOUGH!”

The room went deathly quiet. The principal, who was suddenly standing tall with an enraged expression on his face. He glared at the four students with a newfound fire in his dark eyes. 

“Mr. Zenigata, this is not up for discussion. If you have a problem, take it up with someone else!”

Zenigata looked like he was going to blow up due to how red his face was. Lupin was frightened, but he kept a small grin on his face. The other two were suddenly extremely interested in the wall.

“Now, all of you, out of my office. I have important work to do.”

Zenigata took several deep breaths before replying. “Alright, sir. I shall take these troublemakers to the front desk to make sure they don’t try to run away.”

“That won’t be necessary, Mr-”

It was too late as Zenigata swiftly herded the group outside of the office, slamming the door behind him. 

The trio shuffled down the hall with only Zenigata walking with a powerful stride. The halls were silent with only the muffled chatter of teacher’s going over their lessons breaking that silence. Posters advertising out of school and in school were taped on walls or pinned to one of the many corkboards that lined the walls. Freshly cleaned windows allowed light to enter in. Jigen grunted as a line of sunlight pierced through his thick locks and entered his eyes. Lupin leaned over Zenigata’s shoulder and smiled.

“The head really chewed you out, huh?”

“Quiet, you scum!” Zenigata snarled, glaring back at the shorter man.

“Wooooooow, is that how all upperclassmen speak to their juniors? I thought we were starting to become friends.”

Zenigata scoffed. “You are not one of my equals, neither as a student or a member of society.”

“Really?” Lupin said with fake surprise dripping from his words.

The senior stopped, leading the rest of the group to follow suit. “I know who you are, Lupin, and I know what your family is.”

“You do?” Lupin glanced over at his companions, who kept measured expressions on their faces, then back at the older student. “What is my family, Koichi Zenigata?”

“A bunch of liars and thieves,” Zenigata said with an icy chill.

The stillness held nothing but tension. Jigen and Goemon silently moved to Lupin’s side. One a slight glimmer of Jigen’s eyes could be seen through the curtain known as his hair; meanwhile, Goemon’s eyes were studying the situation, ready to strike if necessary. Zenigata stood tall with his dark blue and white suit barely hiding the muscles bulging through the cloth. Time ticked away until Lupin broke out into laughter.

“Never knew you hated me that much, Pops!” Lupin patted his shoulder, causing Zenigata to flinch. “C’mon, let’s not fight. Especially since it won’t be a fair fight since your little buddy isn’t here and your reputation would be hurt more than mine.”

“Little… Buddy?” Zenigata looked confused, both due to Lupin’s actions and at the nickname he gave to this unknown person.

“What was his name… Goro! Goro Yatagarasu! That poor boy follows you are like a puppy.” Lupin said.

“Do not insult him like that! Yata is a good student and a better person than you’ll ever be.”

“You’re starting to sound like his boyfriend, Pops,” Jigen spoke up, enunciating the word ‘Pops’.

“Wha- Yata is a freshman and a minor!” 

“That hasn’t stopped seniors before,” Jigen muttered.

Goemon stepped between them with his hands raised. “You wanna get in more trouble?”

Jigen grunted and turned his head away. Zenigata just glared at the trio before starting back on his quest to the front desk. Lupin just pretended to wipe the dust off his crisp white dress shirt and followed the upperclassman with his friends following close behind.

The rest of the walk was uneventful since Lupin stopped trying to press his senior’s buttons. Jigen was more interested in his old sneakers than a conversation with Goemon adopting a similar attitude. Once they reached the open front lobby, Zenigata turned his gaze to the lady who sat behind the circular front desk. Her hair was tied up in a lazy bun with her glasses hanging close to the end of her nose. She looked as interested in her computer work as the principal had looked. She lifted her gaze when Zenigata cleared his throat.

“Can I help you?” her tone was low and bored.

“Yes, these three have broken school rules by deciding to not wear their uniform! I assume the principal has alerted you about the situation?”

“He has.” the receptionist said.

“Then I believe you need to-”

“I’ve already contacted their parents, Mr. Zenigata.” the lady cut off Zenigata with a pointed stare.

“Um, uh, yes,” Zenigata cleared his throat, more awkwardly this time. “W-Well I assume you have the situation handled then?”

“I do.”

“Great! I need to return to class! Please make sure they don’t try anything suspicious.”

“I will, Mr. Zenigata.”

Zenigata bowed before turning to look back at the trio. Lupin stuck out his tongue with a goofy smile plastered on his face. The senior frowned deeply then took off towards an adjacent hallway. The group looked at the front desk lady who already went back to typing away at her computer.

“Wait by the benches over there.” she pointed at the set of benches that were poised by the front doors made entirely of glass. 

“Thank you, ma’am!” Lupin replied in a cheery tone with a wink. The woman just made a noncommittal hum of acknowledgment. Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon all sauntered over to the benches and sat with Lupin in the middle and Jigen and Goemon sitting at the far left and right respectfully. Goemon closed his eyes and lowered his head in mediation with Jigen scratched at his kangaroo pocket. Lupin noticed his not-so-subtle scratching.

“You need to smoke already?” the sophomore whispered.

“Nah,” Jigen replied in a matching soft voice. “Just need to know they’re there. Get anxious if they’re not.”

“That’s a sign of addiction, my scruffy friend.”

Jigen scowled. “Like you’re any better.”

“I can handle being away from cigarettes for a few days, you cannot,” Lupin pointed out. “I’ve even seen you smoke bent ones!”

“A smoke is a smoke.” the junior shrugged.

“Both of you have bad habits.” Goemon chipped in at the same time side-eyeing the pair.

“Like you’re any better. You even said that cigarette you had felt nice!” Lupin countered.

Goemon looked down. He enjoyed the feeling that one cigarette gave him but he’d never admit it, especially since it would most likely lead to his athletic career being cut short. 

Lupin turned his attention back to the older of the three. “Is your mom or dad gonna drop off your outfit.”

“Doubt it,” Jigen snorted. “Ma started taking double shifts to make up for all the new books I had to buy.”

The leader of the group stared at Jigen for a few moments before pulling out his cellphone. He tapped away before raising the phone to his ear.

“Hey, dad? Yeah, it’s me, did you leave already? No? Good!” Lupin said. “Listen, along with my uniform, can you get the bigger one that’s in the drawer next to all my other ones? Thank you!”

“No using any electronic distractions during class periods.” the front desk lady said, still not looking up from her computer. 

“Got it, ma’am!” Lupin replied, saying a quick goodbye to his father before preceding to smile at Jigen. Jigen knew something was up.

“What did you do?”

“Called my old man, of course,” Lupin said.

“No duh, but I know what your family… Does. I need to know if you didn’t just secretly hire a hit or something.” 

“Do you really think that lowly of me, Jigen?” Lupin pretended to look hurt.

“I think you can do some nasty shit if you felt like it,”

“He’s got you there, Lupin,” Goemon added.

“You both are so cruel!” Lupin dramatically placed a hand on his chest. “All I did was ask my father to bring a junior uniform and you’re accusing me of murder!”

“Junior uniform, why would you-” realization hit Jigen. “You bought one… For me?”

“You’re my best friend, you wheezy chimney,” Lupin let out his signature grin. “Someone’s gotta pick you up when you’re down.”

Jigen stared deeply at Lupin before making a tsk sound and whipping his head towards the window. Lupin just chuckled and leaned backward.

Suddenly, the bell rang throughout the school. Students immediately started to flood both the hallway and the front of the school. Couples were walking with their arms linked while others congregated in large groups, laughing about the latest episodes of their favorite shows or lamenting failing a test. Lupin watched them walk by as if he were looking for-

“Hey, Fujicakes!”

Jigen and Goemon both groaned as a long-haired brunette with highlights sashayed over towards them. She wore the standard dark blue, gray, and white uniform but it was clearly altered in some minor but still noticeable ways. The shirt was smaller than it needed to be and the skirt was shorter. Black tights completed the outfit. The freshman carried books and a binder in one hand and a phone with a fake diamond keychain in the other. She stopped only a foot away from the trio before glancing up and down.

“Was dressing like clowns really necessary?”

Jigen and Goemon’s preexisting frown deepened but Lupin gave her a hurt puppy-dog look. “That hurt Fujiko. The real clown outfits are those gaudy uniforms they make us wear. Not you, though. You look fantastic in anything you wear.”

Fujiko giggled, causing Jigen and Goemon to roll their eyes. Fujiko stopped with a sigh. “In any case, I’m guessing you three are in detention.”

“I actually got-”

“And I’m hoping you’ll be there with me,” Lupin said, interrupting Goemon.

“Are you kidding me?” Fujiko said with a snort. “I have cheer practice. I don’t have time to waste with someone like you.”

“Fujicakes,” Lupin said with false hurt.

“I gotta go, Lupin, maybe I’ll see you later when you’re done making a fool of yourself.”

Fujiko walked away with a purposeful stride, leaving Lupin wanting more of her and the other two wanting less. As the crowd began to grow smaller, Jigen glared at his friend.

“How can you stand that girl?”

“Perhaps Fujiko is right about one thing,” Goemon looked down at the still swooning Lupin, “you are a fool.”

“She may be made of ice, but like all ice, it can be melted.” Lupin poetically answered.

“Oh, please,” Jigen grumbled.

Just as all the people left for their class, two men entered the building. One was a wealthy-looking businessman with well-kept hair and a faint beard. He wore a freshly ironed suit that almost gleamed as much as his well-polished shoes. The other was an equally well-dressed man but this time in more traditional Japanese garbs and sandals. His hair was much longer and had a clean-shaven face. Goemon stood up and made his way to the more traditionally dressed man, bowing once he reached him.

“Father.”

“Goemon,” he replied, thrusting the pile of neatly folded clothes he had been carrying into his son’s arms. “Do not repeat this act.”

“I won’t, Father.”

While that exchange went down, the first man eagerly went over and hugged Lupin. He held a smile that was eerily similar to the boy’s. 

“Arsène! You causing micheaf again?”

“Of course, dad, why else would be here?” his son wheezed, trying to escape his bear hug.

He laughed and clasped Lupin on the back. “Aw, I don’t know, maybe you missed me that much you had the principal call me down.”

“Dad!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Lupin’s dad chuckled. He looked at the front desk lady, who was watching the whole scene and shrugged. “Kids these days, am I right?”

The lady blinked slowly. “You need to give them their uniforms, sir.”

“Right, right, right,” the man reached into his suit and handed two bags to Lupin and Jigen. “I believe these are for you.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Thanks, Mr. Lupin.”

“Now, I need to leave. Business never gives you a break, I swear.” Lupin’s dad winked at the receptionist before following Goemon’s dad out of the building. Lupin let out a long sigh once he left the building.

“Your dad is certainly a character, Lupin,” Goemon commented.

“Not a word, Goemon,”

“You three go change in the bathroom. I write you a pass to your next class.” the woman at the front desk called over to them. 

Lupin gave the group a smirk. “There’s still a full day ahead of us, gentlemen. Let’s not waste it.”

[jjoutermaybanks]

With You In My Head || Rafe Cameron x Reader

part one part two part three part four part five part six part seven part eight

summary: it’s going to be a long summer. living in the Outer Banks with your trailer park mom and fancy mansion dad, you know it’s going to be a tough three months. things only get harder when your best friend’s brother, the notorious Rafe Cameron, begins to complicate your life even more. but will the island’s biggest wildcard successfully steal your heart, or leave you more broken than before?

word count: 5k

warnings: some casual smut for the TL, enjoy ;))

*not my gif, credit to owner*

PART THREE

You didn’t sleep at all that night.  Hours were spent tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling above you and trying not to close your eyes.  Whenever you did, Rafe’s face flashed into your mind.  More specifically, the chilling expression of intensity that he’d worn while beating the absolute crap out of JJ.  It haunted your thoughts, and you were sure that if you fell asleep you’d see it in your nightmares.

Rafe had scared you more than anyone ever had before.  Violence had always made you sick, which was one of the reasons why you avoided the many skirmishes the Pogues found themselves in.  Bruises and blood didn’t sit well with you, and the smell of JJ’s blood was burned into your nose.  The cracks of Rafe’s fist against his body also echoed in your ears, and it was as if the fight had overwhelmed all of your senses and was slowly drowning you.

So when the morning light began filtering into your room, you were grateful.  You could get up and make breakfast and do everything in your power not to think about what had happened.  

Trudging into the small kitchen of the trailer, you peered over and saw your mother snoring away on the pull-out couch.  Her body looked contorted on the thin mattress, twisted in such a way to try and sleep comfortably.  She looked stiff and there was a frown on her lips, making you sigh.  It pained you that your mother had to live in this stupid trailer, and you angrily recalled the giant house you’d visited your father in yesterday.

It was so unfair.  Their divorce had stolen every last drop of energy and life from your mother, leaving her defeated and passive.  Your father ended up more egotistical and self-centered than ever, at the expense of your poor mom.  You wished more than anything the roles had been reversed, and it was him suffering in this dump rather than her.

But this was real life, and you’d learned a long time ago to accept things the way they were.  This mindset made it hard for you to be optimistic, and you rarely ever hoped for anything.  Frowning, you realized you’d had a sliver of hope on the beach yesterday with Rafe.  You’d secretly hoped you could learn to trust him, and that the two of you could be friends.  But that dream had been destroyed almost as quickly as it was created, which seemed to be a trend in your life.

You felt claustrophobic in the small trailer, and after rifling through the fridge decided to take a trip to the local market.  You barely had any food, and you thought it’d be nice to get some fresh fruit and vegetables for your mother.  

The market was buzzing with early morning activity, and you smiled at the familiar faces of the merchants.  You drifted through the various stands, admiring the ripe selection at your fingertips.  Lifting an orange to your nose, you inhaled the citrusy scent and sighed contentedly.

All of a sudden, a shadow fell over your shoulder after someone came up behind you.  Flinching in surprise, you whirled around and dropped the orange.  It rolled across the ground and landed at none other than Rafe Cameron’s feet.  With a smirk, he knelt down to pick it up, extending it to you with gleaming eyes.

“Morning, Y/N,” he greeted, and you snatched the orange out of his hand.  Fuming with embarrassment and irritation, you dropped the orange into your woven produce bag and glared over at him.

“What are you doing here, Rafe?” you demanded, crossing your arms.  You hated how he had taken you by surprise, and you also hated the flush that rose to your cheeks when he looked at you.

Rafe looked taken aback at your harsh tone, but recovered with a charming laugh.  “It’s a public farmer’s market, Y/N.”  He had his own bag of produce hanging off his shoulder, sure enough.

Scowling, you retorted, “What do you want?”  You didn’t feel like wasting time.  The sooner you could get away from Rafe the better.

“What’s wrong?  I thought you and I were becoming friends.”  He actually sounded a little hurt, but you tried not to let this affect you.  Rafe couldn’t be that stupid to think you wanted to be his friend after what he did to JJ.

He walked beside you as you continued strolling through the market, preferring to look at the fruit rather than his eyes.  “I thought we were too,” you told him.  “Until you almost killed my friend last night.”

Rafe stopped in his tracks, and reached out to grab your arm to stop you too.  Immediately wrenching your arm out of his grip, you glared at him as he threw his hands up in surrender.  “What are you talking about?  The fight was fair, and don’t you remember that my side lost?” 

You met Rafe’s eyes with a pointed look.  “Topper and Kelce may have lost, but you didn’t.  One more minute and JJ would’ve been in the hospital for a year.”  As you said this, memories of the fight burned across your mind and made you shudder.

Rafe frowned, and you couldn’t tell if he looked regretful.  You also remembered the way he looked at you before leaving, with slight guilt in his eyes, but you couldn’t detect any of that now.

“It’s not like JJ didn’t get any punches in,” he defended, pointing to his face.  It was then that you noticed the cut on his forehead, and a purple bruise on one of his cheeks.  You hadn’t seen these injuries before, and you took a second to take them in.  So I was wrong, you thought, biting your lip.  Maybe I was too harsh on him.

Shaking your head, you were determined to keep your resolve and not let Rafe break you.  “Still,” you murmured.  “You were brutal, Rafe.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line, eyes distant.  “He would’ve done the same to me if he could have, trust me.”

Again, he was right.  You knew JJ, and he’d left his enemies looking just as bad as he did after fighting Rafe.  Realizing Rafe was steadily disproving all of your arguments for being mad at him, you huffed.  How was he so good at that?  He was nearly impossible to hate.

Sensing your apprehension, Rafe sighed.  “Look, I’m not proud of what happened.  I didn’t even want to fight anyway, but I couldn’t just abandon Topper.”  When you still didn’t budge, he swallowed roughly, lowering his voice to just above a whisper.  “I’ve never been able to back down from a fight.  Ward, he...”  Rafe struggled to find the right words.  “He taught me that a fight is never over until you either win or die trying.  There’s no such thing as losing to him.”

This sent chills down your spine, and also a wave of sadness for the younger Rafe who had to grow up that way.  You couldn’t imagine the extreme difficulty of being Ward’s son, of not being allowed to be vulnerable or show weakness.  Rafe must have had a lot more issues because of this, and he’d alluded to them on the beach.  

Naturally, your sympathy for Rafe overtook your anger, and you let go of the frustration you’d harbored over him.  Giving him a stern look, you said, “Fine.  But next time, don’t kick a guy when he’s already down.”  JJ had lost the fight long before Rafe actually stopped hitting him, and he could’ve spared the blonde boy a few bruises and pains.

Rafe smiled in relief, and you liked the way he looked when he wasn’t so serious.  He was much more handsome this way.  With an enthusiastic voice, he declared, “Let me make it up to you.  Sarah and I are throwing a party tonight, and I want you to come.”

Raising your eyebrows disbelievingly, you asked, “You two are throwing a party?”  You couldn’t imagine Sarah doing anything with her brother that wasn’t arguing.

Chuckling, Rafe rubbed the back of his neck shyly.  “Alright, we’re not exactly throwing it.  It just happens to be taking place at our house, since Ward is going out of town for a few days.  Other than that, I have zero hosting duties.”  

Pursing your lips, you tried to think of an excuse not to go.  “I don’t know, Rafe.  What would I even talk to people about?  I’m not exactly a Kook.”

“Come on, Y/N.  Your dad plays golf with my dad every Sunday.  Your boat is docked three spots down from ours.  You have more in common than you think.”

Rolling your eyes, you said, “It’s not my boat, it’s my father’s.”  

Rafe was refusing to let this go, however.  No excuse was good enough for him.  “Please?  I think you’ll have fun.  Besides, Sarah will be there so you can complain about how much you hate it with her.”  He looked so desperate for you to agree that you couldn’t help but smile.  Something about Rafe broke down all of your walls and banished every inhibition you had.  You couldn’t decide if you liked this trait of his or not.

“Fine, I’ll come.”  He pumped his fist, and you laughed, continuing your shopping.  Rafe accompanied you for the rest of your trip, even offering to walk you home.  But you firmly rejected this offer, threatening not to go to the party if he tried to walk you home.  You left him with a smile on your face and nervous energy in your heart.

Whenever you were dreading something, time tended to fly by.  Today was no different, and the hours flew past until it was time to get ready to leave for the party.  Even though things with Rafe had improved, you still did not feel like being around a bunch of Kooks for the night.  But you’d promised him, and if this friendship thing was serious you had to honor that promise.

You went through your entire closet before you settled on an outfit.  You settled on a pair of flowy shorts in a rusted pink color with a white crop top.  Sarah had bought this outfit with you, and she’d told you it accentuated all of your best features.  You threw it on over a stringy white bikini, and after over-analyzing your appearance in the mirror you gave up and just decided to leave.

From a block away you could hear the voices at the party.  Music was blaring through the balmy night air, and as you approached the Cameron’s house you could see hundreds of people milling around the property.  Your jaw dropping in disbelief, you felt a pang of anxiety at the sheer number of Kooks.  They were all expensively dressed and wearing judgmental expressions to match.  A group of girls whipped their heads over to gawk at you, and if looks could kill you’d be six feet under.

Walking through the yard, you wove through the crowd and avoided eye contact with the people around you.  Your sole mission was to find Sarah, because only she could make this nightmare tolerable.  But when you’d crossed the entire yard, even checking the inside of the house, there was no sign of her.  The lights in her room were off, and she was nowhere to be seen.

You were officially stranded here alone.

A thousand emotions swirled through your mind.  Humiliation, regret, slight irritation.  You were humiliated to be at a party completely alone, regretted even coming at all, and also felt massively irritated that Sarah had bailed.  But then your irritation shifted to Rafe, and a thought occurred to you.  Was Sarah even planning to come at all?  Or was that just a ploy by Rafe to convince you to come?

Seething with anger, you stormed back out, now changing your sights to try and find Rafe.  Luckily he was easy to spot, his tall frame towering over the other party-goers.  He caught your eye across the lawn, and broke into a wide smile.  He said something to the group he was with and then started towards you.

“Hey!  Look who showed up!”  His happiness was infectious, but you were so pissed it had no effect on you.  He picked up on your sour mood, smile faltering.  “What’s wrong?”

“Sarah isn’t here,” you snapped.  “I’m leaving.”  All you wanted was your warm bed and to sleep off the embarrassment you felt right now.  

Rafe sighed, pushing a hand through his gelled hair and messing it up slightly.  “Don’t go, please.  I’m sure Sarah will be here later, she’d never miss a party like this.”  His eyes were fixed on yours, holding your gaze with an electricity you couldn’t ignore.  “Besides, how am I supposed to make up for last night if you leave now?”

You narrowed your eyes.  “Sarah is coming later?” you reiterated, making sure he wasn’t bluffing again.  

Rafe nodded.  “Like I said, she loves parties.”

Once again, you couldn’t find any good argument against him.  He was annoyingly triumphant in most of these situations, and you rolled your eyes at him.  Rafe took this as a victory, and placed a hand on your back before leading you through the crowd of people.

“Let’s get you a drink, yeah?  Being drunk makes these things ten times better.”  He stopped at a makeshift bar setup, and grabbed a solo cup before filling it with mysterious liquid.  When he handed it to you, you saw an odd red colored mixture and sniffed it hesitantly.  It smelled strongly of alcohol, but also had a fruity tang.

“What the hell is this?” you asked, unsure of what the concoction could be.

Rafe smiled proudly.  “It’s my signature.  Half vodka and half whatever fruity seltzer we have in the fridge.  Tastes amazing, and also gets you drunk without the awful taste of regular vodka.”  

Shrugging, you took a long sip, and Rafe whistled approvingly.  “Damn, you’re really trying to get drunk, huh?”

You shook your head.  “I’m the opposite of a lightweight.  It takes a lot to actually get me hammered.”

“Oh, well then drink up.”  Rafe poured himself a cup, and you toasted the solo cups with a laugh.  Now that you weren’t wandering around alone, you were actually sort of enjoying yourself.  But after a minute, you noticed people staring at you, and the group Rafe had abandoned to talk to you looked annoyed at his absence.

You bit your lip.  “Um, Rafe,” you started, causing him to look over at you.  His blue eyes shocked you as always, and you blushed.  “You don’t have to stay and talk to me.  I’m sure you’d rather be with your friends, I’m just a drag.”

He looked shocked that you’d even say that.  “What are you talking about?  I’m not hanging out with you out of obligation.”  At your doubtful shrug, he sighed.  “You know what?  You’re gonna come meet my friends.”  He grabbed your hand, leading you once again through the throng of people.

Panic striking you, you stuttered out, “Rafe, I don’t think that’s a good--”  But it was too late; you’d reached his group of friends.  You recognized Topper and Kelce, and forced a pinched smile.  They both sported black eyes and multiple bruises, not to mention glares pointed directly at you.

“Guys, this is Y/N,” Rafe introduced, and a few of them nodded or muttered greetings.  He went around and said half a dozen names you knew you wouldn’t remember, but you smiled at them anyway.  Rafe was right next to you, and you found yourself almost leaning into him as a shield.  The proximity was closer than you’d ever been, and you got a whiff of his expensive cologne.

The group started chattering about something you only sort of paid attention to.  Instead, you focused mainly on observing Topper and Kelce.  You figured it was a good idea to get to know Rafe’s best friends if you wanted to be friends with him.  Over the course of the conversation, your view of both of them changed.  You realized Topper was more pathetic than anything; he actually cared about Sarah, and missed her like crazy.  This made him easier to understand in your head, and the dislike you held for him before was replaced by pity.  Kelce didn’t change much for you, just confirmed that he was a meathead with little else going for him.  He didn’t have any original thoughts, always trailing behind Rafe or Topper and doing whatever they wanted.

You attempted to listen to the conversation for a little while longer, until you were so bored you couldn’t stand it anymore.  Leaning over to whisper into Rafe’s ear, you said, “I’m gonna go see if Sarah is here yet.”  You smiled warmly at him, hoping he could see you actually appreciated his effort to incorporate you into the group.

Wandering around again wasn’t any more enjoyable this time.  You still felt ostracized from the other Kooks, like you didn’t belong here with them.  An hour must have passed of just aimlessly searching for Sarah, and by the time you gave up it was so late at night you realized Sarah probably wasn’t going to come at all.

Which meant Rafe had lied to you.

Once you made this realization, the anger you’d overcome earlier resurfaced.  Why the hell would he lie about this?  Did he just want to lure you here for his friends to mock and make fun of?  What was the point of making you feel like an outsider, other than to hurt you?  Friends didn’t pull stunts like this.

You stormed towards the pool, heading straight for Rafe who stood beside it talking to his friends.  When he saw you approach he grinned, but this expression quickly changed when he read the anger in your eyes

“Y/N--”

“Why did you lie about Sarah coming?” you interrupted furiously.  “Why would you drag me to this stupid party if you knew I would be alone and miserable?  I mean, did you want me to feel like shit?”

Rafe looked completely stupefied.  He opened his mouth, but no words came out he was so speechless.  You glowered at him, cheeks heating up as you felt the stares of everyone else on your face.

“Well?” you insisted.  Rafe looked more confused than ever, and you rolled your eyes.  At this moment, Topper stepped out next to Rafe.

“Relax, Y/N, you don’t have to make a scene.”  He reached out to touch your shoulder, and you flinched away from his touch.  But this sudden movement caused you to lose balance, and you felt yourself tripping backwards.  

Before you knew what was happening, your body hit the pool.  Ice cold water cascaded over your head, and your arms floundered desperately under the surface.  You reemerged a second later, but you were soaked to the bone and came up to the sounds of hysterical laughter.  Rubbing the water out of your eyes, you saw Topper and the others snickering at your clumsiness, with Rafe staring down at you just as clueless as before.

He recovered quickly though, and extended a hand to help you out.  You grabbed it angrily, and he hauled you out of the pool.

“Y/N, I am so sorry--”

You didn’t wait around to hear his apology,  Instead, you stormed out of the crowd and headed away from the house, trying to ignore the mocking laughter behind you.

The beach seemed to be the place you always went to at times like this.  The waves were calm again tonight, and despite the freezing pool water drenching your clothes the air was warm with summer heat.  You stopped beside a long wooden beach chair with padded cushions, discarding your wet shorts and shirt.  You folded the soggy fabric and left them by the chair along with your shoes, leaving you in just the bikini you’d put on before coming.

In order to work off your anger and dry off your body, you started on a walk down the shore.  It was peaceful at this hour, and you eventually walked far enough from the party to be in total silence.  Normally you’d let your thoughts run rampant right now, but tonight you didn’t want to think about anything.  You especially didn’t want to think about Rafe.  He’d genuinely hurt you, and for the second time in a matter of days.  No matter how sincere he seemed in the aftermath, this humiliation was overpowering.

You must have walked for miles, because the stretch of beach became unfamiliar and prompted you to turn around.  By the time you neared where you left your clothes, you were exhausted and drained from feeling upset.  You were so tired in fact that you didn’t notice someone sitting in the beach chair until they spoke.

“I thought you left.”  Rafe’s voice was soft and timid, worried you’d yell at him again.  You just paused beside him, folding your arms across your exposed chest.

“Why would I leave when my clothes are still here?” you said pointedly, and Rafe nodded in defeat.  He was quiet, clearly picking up on your mood.  You almost appreciated this gesture, if he wasn’t the person who’d ruined your mood to begin with.

Glancing at his house in the distance, you saw the lights were off and the sound of voices had ceased.  The party had finished by the time you returned from your walk, which meant it was just Rafe around.

He was laying across the big chair clad only in board shorts, his exposed torso gleaming in the moonlight.  His gaze was directed towards the sky, face peaceful.

Wanting to fill the silence, you asked, “Why are you out here?  Aren’t you tired from the party?”

Rafe shook his head.  “Nah, I’ll be up for hours.  I just came out here to look at the stars.”

You snorted.  “How cute,” you commented, but when you realized he was serious you regretted your jab.  Rafe shifted aside on the chair and patted a space by his knees for you to sit.  Tentatively, you settled there and gazed up at the stars as well.

“I’ve always loved astronomy,” he admitted.  “I think it’s so cool that there’s so much else out there.  Kind of makes everything down here seem insignificant.”

You furrowed your brow.  “That’s morbid.”

He shrugged.  “I don’t know, it’s sort of comforting.  Like, however shitty things are here, that’s not how it is everywhere.”  This made you turn your gaze to him, frowning.  You wondered if he was referring to Ward, and you sensed you were right when he couldn’t meet your eyes.

A minute passed, and then Rafe said, “I really am sorry.”  His words were genuine, and tried to let them sink in.  It didn’t make up entirely for tonight, but it helped.

Sliding your eyes along his face, you saw something flit across his eyes.  The air suddenly filled with tension, and you found it hard to breathe with his gaze so fixated on you.  Your body almost felt a magnetic pull towards his, and when he rested his arms on the edge of the chair you hitched your breath.

Without even thinking, you swung your legs over and shifted your body until you were settled between his legs.  Your head leaned back against his chest, his chin resting just by your ear.  Having his warm skin under yours felt beyond good, and his arms encircled you to rest by your waist. 

You laid together like this for a while, neither of you saying anything.  Your hands drifted up his arms, absently feeling him as he breathed against the back of your neck.  Occasionally he’d lift his hand to point out a star pattern, and when you tilted your head to see it you rested against his shoulder.

While you looked at the sky, Rafe looked at you.  Turning your head to the side, you realized how close your faces were and parted your lips.  Even in the dark his blue eyes were striking.  You held your breath, anticipating his next move.

And when it came, you rejoiced inside.  Rafe leaned forward to connect your lips, his mouth warm and gentle.  You accepted the kiss gratefully, molding against him and twisting slightly so you could bring a hand to his cheek.  His tongue swiped out across your bottom lip, and you opened your mouth to grant him entrance.  Your tongues pushed against one another, deepening the kiss and making your head grow fuzzy.

Tearing his lips from yours, Rafe moved down your jaw and to your neck.  You faced forward again, watching as his hands slid up your abdomen.  His fingers found the ties to your bathing suit top, and in one swift movement he undid them.  The white bikini fell out of place, your breasts exposed to the warm night air.  

Breathing hard, you felt Rafe’s hands skim across your breasts, making your nipples harden into peaks.  His fingers were rough against your skin, and when his thumbs grazed your nipples you exhaled softly.  His lips worked the side of your neck, sponging kisses there while his hands were at your chest.

Waves of pleasure drifted through your body, and your lips hung open in a wordless gasp.  Rafe pinched your nipples lightly, causing you to arch your back against him.  As you did this, you felt something hard pressing into your back, and realized it was his firm length through his shorts.  You continued to grind your hips slowly against his, and his breathing increased by your ear.

“Y/N,” he breathed, making your eyes roll back.  He gave your breasts a firm squeeze, and you raised one hand to touch his cheek.  You were breathing erratically now, and this only increased when he removed his hands from your chest and moved them downwards, towards the pool of moisture already collecting in your bathing suit bottoms.

His fingers dipped below the band, his fingers shockingly cool against your hot skin.  You tensed up when you felt him right where you needed him, and when his lips kissed your ear you exhaled.

And then his middle finger pressed into your clit, causing a moan to tumble from your mouth.  He’d barely touched you and you were already putty in his hands.  Rafe started circling his finger, and you couldn’t control the sounds leaving your throat.

“Yes,” you released, crying out when he dragged across your slick entrance.  “Rafe.” you moaned his name, and a gentle growl rumbled in his throat behind you.

Rafe’s fingers worked expertly against you.  He focused entirely on your clit, knowing exactly what to do to drive your senses wild.  The bundle of nerves was going haywire under his hand, and your hips ground into his palm to try and increase friction.

“That’s it,” he murmured into your ear, causing goosebumps to raise across your skin.  “Do I make you feel good, baby?”  The nickname made you moan again, you brought a hand to roughly squeeze your breast.

Rafe quickened his movements, and your legs were shaking from the sheer pleasure.  When he pinched your clit, you knew you were done for.  An orgasm exploded in your abdomen, and you cried out in ecstasy, tensing against his hand and whining his name.

“Rafe,” you panted, resting your cheek against his chest.  His lips pressed into the top of your head, and you watched him bring his hand out of your bikini bottoms to his lips.  He licked off your moisture, and the sight drove you absolutely crazy.

Slowly flipping over so your chest was against his, you dove in to give him another kiss.  Rafe eagerly reciprocated, spreading his fingers across your back and pulling you close.  But you broke away from the kiss after a second, holding his gaze as you moved down his body.  His mouth hung open while he watched, and when you reached his waist he swallowed.

Slowly, you brought your hand up over his clothed cock.  Rafe jerked at the subtle movement, and you smiled.  You palmed his mound again, licking your lips in preparation.  You wanted to make him feel as good as he just made you feel.

When you were about to pull down his shorts, a voice broke through the silence.

“Rafe?  Are you out there?”

It was Sarah.  Panic flared in your chest, and you pressed yourself as far into Rafe as you could to stay out of view.  He was panting by now, distracted by your body on his and the erection in his pants.

“I’m coming in a second,” he called out.  The distant sound of departing footsteps told you she was gone, and you then scrambled down off the chair and into the sand.  It sounded like Sarah had left, but you didn’t want to take any chances.  

Rafe sat up quickly, blowing out a sigh and running a hand through his tousled hair.  He looked worked up, and still very much hard.  But you ignored him as you pulled your shorts on, retying your bikini top and putting on your shirt.  

“Y/N,” he began, but once you slid into your shoes you wasted no time in running off of the beach, not even bothering to say goodbye.

~ ~ ~

taglist

@prejudic3 @afterglowsb-tch13 @beeeee06 @dysaneworld @we-are-all-lovely​ @poguequeen @freebiscuitdragonbear​ @solko @luckypurpleunicorn 

[thegreatestofheck]

Ocean and Alcohol Pt. 9 ✘JJ Maybank✘

part one! part two! part three! part four! part five! part six! part seven! part eight!

(not my gif! all credit for this absolute beauty of a gif goes to rudypankows. Thank you for blessing us with this. Thank you.) 

Word Count - 5916 Warnings - A little swearing, brief mention of self harm Synopsis - The search for the gold is afoot. JJ visits you one morning and you say something you probably shouldn’t have. You and the Pogues find the Royal Merchant, but it isn’t everything you thought it would be.  Taglist -  @bitterbethany​​ @lovelymaybankk​​ @ilymarkchan​​ @downbytheouterbanks​​ @clearcolourlessglass​​ @obxwriterfan​​ @tangledinsparkles​​ @chill-sushi​  A/N - Hey guys! Sorry for the slow update on this one. I’ve been really struggling to write the canon scenes, but I think I managed decently with this one! Things are gonna start getting heated in the next chapter, so be ready for that. I pray that you guys are staying safe out there and doing all you can to fight for justice. I love you all. Never forget it. If you need me, my DMs are always open for any conversation you need to have. Please rely on your friend’s and even strangers during this time and take care of yourselves! As always, stay safe, stay healthy, stay groovy. 

Listening to John B sob was heart-wrenching. His father’s words echoed in your own head as John B clung to the wall, the only thing that was keeping him from falling to his knees. Kie curled herself around him in an attempt to hold him together. Part of you wanted to hug him too, if it would stop the sound of him crying. It broke your heart and you weren’t sure why. 

After what seemed like a lifetime, John B managed to stifle his tears and stand up straight. Kie stepped back and away, closer to you. John B turned to look at you guys and you saw the tears that still ran down his face, eyes rimmed red. 

“Why...Why don’t we go get some fresh air?” You suggested when no one said anything. There were a few half-hearted nods from the others. Kie was the first to move. She plucked her ukelele off the floor before walking out the front door. Pope and JJ followed after her. 

You waited, watching as John B put his hand back on the wall to keep him steady. His eyes were glued to the tape recorder on the table. You took a shaking step toward him and placed your hand on his forearm. He flicked his eyes over to look at you. With a small nod, you gave his arm a short squeeze. 

The fresh air was good. The Chateau had begun to feel stuffy, unwelcoming, like a dark cloud loomed over the building. So, when you left, the night air was comforting. The darkness of the night was starting to fade as the moon started to dip toward the horizon. You would need to get home soon, at least for a few hours. But for now, your friend needed all the support he could get and you weren’t about to leave him. 

The five of you sat on the dock, everyone except for Pope perched on the railing. You sat beside JJ, one of his hands resting on your knee. The night was silent, save for the sound of the water lapping against the dock and Kie strumming her ukelele. 

“How much was it again?” JJ asked, breaking the silence. A single light shone above John B’s head, illuminating the tears on his cheeks and the grimace in his lips. 

“Four hundred mil,” Pope said, tapping his foot. JJ sighed, sliding his hand off of your leg and turning to face the others. You suddenly felt cold at the loss of his touch. 

“Let’s talk split,” he said. You closed your eyes so he wouldn’t see you roll them. “Now, before we say evenly, may I remind you that I am the one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us.” 

JJ pulled the gun from his pocket and you glared at him, sliding off the railing to sit next to Pope. You hated that thing in his hand. You hated it because you wanted it so badly. 

“Protection isn’t cheap,” JJ continued as John B took a long drink from his beer can. 

“You have no training,” Pope said. You wished he wouldn’t feed into JJ’s antics. You pulled your legs up to your chest, settling your chin between your knees. 

“YouTube, bro! That’s at least a five percent bump right there.” 

“You haven’t-”

“Any objections?” You lifted your head, hand following. “Didn’t think so.” 

You rolled your eyes and put your head back down. Kie raised her hand with a small shake of her head and Pope scoffed. 

“I didn’t hear any, so-” JJ said, shrugging his shoulders. 

“What would you do with the money, Pope?” Kie asked with a small smile, trying to turn the conversation away from JJ. 

“Pay for college in advance,” Pope said as if he could see it happening right in front of his eyes. “And also textbooks. Those are expensive. Elm?” 

“Wait til I’m 18. Hire a damn good lawyer and get my brother the hell out of that house,” you said, raising your beer can as if it was a toast. Or a promise. 

“You’re going to use your money to move out?” Kie asked. You nodded your head, taking a drink. 

“Once I get custody of my brother and settle us somewhere safe, you guys can have the rest,” you said. You finished off the rest of your beer, watching the water through the wooden railing. “What about you, Kie?” 

“Yeah, what does a socialist do when she’s rich?” Pope asked, turning to his friend. Kie laughed, but she looked up at the sky, thinking. 

“I just wanna make a double album,” Kie said with a smile on her lips. “About OBX. The Pogues. You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston.”

You smiled at her idea. There was something so wholesome about it. She looked so free to do whatever she wanted with her money. She was going to take it and do something she loved with no obligations, no fears, no worry. You were almost jealous of her. 

“Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing-” She continued, a dreamer’s smile still on her face. You smiled along with her. “Peter Tosh is-” Pope started. 

“Peter Tosh is dead, I know.” Kie raised her can of beer. “Spirit of Peter Tosh will never die.” 

“Amen,” you echoed, lifting your empty beer can. 

“I know what I’ll do,” JJ said, looking down at you. “I’m gonna get a big ass house on Figure 8 and go full Kook.” 

“You’re gonna go full Kook?” Pope asked in disbelief. 

“Yup,” JJ said. You looked back at him and smiled. “Gonna make a marble statue of myself, and then I’m gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish-”

“I’m never visiting,” Kie said with a laugh. 

“Can Kid and I come live with you?” You asked, only half-joking. 

“Of course, Babe,” JJ said, ruffling your hair with his hand. You swatted his hand away from your head, but with a grin.  

“What are you going to do with the money, JB?” Pope asked, looking over at his friend. Everyone else turned to him. His face was set in stone, staring out over the water. Finally, he nodded and turned his head into the light, looking at his friends. There was a small smile pulling at the edge of his lips. 

“To going full Kook.” 

***

You drove back home, your mind reeling. The Pogues had their plan to go to the hotel where JJ worked to look up the coordinates that John B’s dad left for the Royal Merchant. You could feel the gold at the tip of your fingers. The answer to your problems, the fulfillment of your dream to get your brother out of the clutches of your father, was right there. You could see it in front of your eyes and you wanted it now more than ever. It killed you that you couldn’t be beside them the entire time, but you had to be extra careful now more than ever if you really wanted to get Kid away from your dad. 

It was around 4 in the morning when you flopped into your bed. Sleep consumed you rather quickly. When you woke up at 9 the next morning, you wondered if you were ever going to get a good night’s sleep with all the time you spent running around with the Pogues. 

Your dad was already at work when you woke up. There was a note on your door from Kid, telling you that he went over to Dex’s until Dad was home. It made you smile. You were glad that Kid was comfortable enough to leave the house under Dad’s nose. You had always wanted him to have a normal life where he could just go over to his friend’s house without fear of being punished for it later. 

You would wait around until your friend’s needed you, as you always did these days. Instead of moping around, you turned your music up as loud as it would go and started to clean the kitchen. Cleaning the kitchen slowly became cleaning the dining room and then cleaning the foyer until you had cleaned almost the entire downstairs. A knock at your door startled you, spinning around to look at the front door. 

You looked over at the clock, wondering who might be there. Kid and Dad would have just walked through the front door without knocking first. You tried to tell yourself that it was probably just the mailman. Walking across the room, tiptoeing, you heard the knock again. 

A smile broke across your face as you pulled the door open to find Pope and JJ standing on your porch. 

“We have a delivery for, uh, ‘one hot babe’,” JJ said, pretending to hold a package under his arm. You crossed your arms, leaning against the doorframe with an amused smile on your face as Pope groaned. 

“I’m sorry. I think you have the wrong house,” you said, tilting your head to the side. 

“Oh no,” JJ grinned, eyes scanning your body. “This is definitely the right house.” 

“God, okay, please stop,” Pope begged, squeezing his eyes together. “Elm, we need your help.” 

“Of course,” you said, standing straighter. “What do you guys need? Did you guys find anything?”

“Yeah, we found the place where the coordinates are. We just have to get a drone to get us down there,” JJ said. 

“We’re stealing a drone,” Pope said, side-eyeing JJ. 

“It’s not stealing. It’s borrowing.” 

“We are taking a drone from its rightful owners and using it for our own, selfish purposes.”

“Okay, stealing or borrowing, whatever. What do you need me to do?” You asked. JJ and Pope both turned to look at you. 

“We need to borrow your car.” 

***

You drove behind the van, Kie sitting in your passenger seat. The windows were rolled down and music thrummed through the car. Kie hand her feet sticking out the window, bouncing her legs to the beat. 

“Can I tell you something?” Kie asked suddenly, turning to you and lifting her sunglasses onto her head. 

“Sure.” 

“You have to promise not to laugh at me.” 

“I would never laugh at you, Kie.” 

“Okay, here goes.” Kie sucked in a deep breath. “John B kissed me.”

You nearly stomped your foot on the break. 

“What?”

“Yeah, a few days ago. I didn’t want to say anything at first, but John B already told the boys and I didn’t want you to feel left out of the loop.”

“I, um, I appreciate it, Kie.” You cleared your throat. “Did...did you kiss him back?”

“I just want to be friends with him,” Kie said, looking back out the window. “He knows that. I told him.”

“I don’t really know what I should say, but I could punch him if you’d like,” you told her, glancing over in her direction. Kie laughed and shook her head. 

“Thank you for the support, Elm, but you don’t have to punch him. I just don’t want it to be awkward is all. You know I…” Kie looked down at her hands. “I wasn’t there for him when his dad went missing. I’m just trying to make up for it now, but I guess I was sending some signals that I hadn’t meant to.” 

“I’m sure John B knows you’re there for him. And the air is clear now, right? He knows that you want to be just friends so you can go back to doing all the silly friend things you did before without feeling awkward, right?” Advice wasn’t something you were entirely good at. You had never really had to give it to anyone before. Or pep talks. But Kie smiled at you and then turned to look out the window. 

“You’re right.” She dropped her sunglasses back onto her nose. “Thank you, Elm.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

You two fell quiet once again, listening to the music. Maybe one day you would be able to sit with someone, listen to their problems, and give them sound advice, but you guessed that today wasn’t that day. 

Up in front of you, JJ stuck his head out of the van window. You couldn’t help but smile when he opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue like a dog. 

“What an idiot,” you mumbled to yourself, hiding a smile behind your hand. JJ blew a kiss to you from the window. You made a display of catching it and pressing your palm against your cheek. 

“You’ve got that boy whipped, you know,” Kie said, watching with a smile. You turned to look at her, hoping she would elaborate. “When you’re not around, he barely stops talking about you.” 

You weren’t sure why your smile started to falter. 

“He’s got me pretty whipped too,” you said, watching the wind blow through his hair. He lifted his face up to the sun and you felt your heart warm at the sight of him. 

“Yeah.” Kie smiled. “I can see that.” 

You drove up to the salvage yard, seeing the van a few feet back. As you and Kie stepped out of the car, you looked back to get a thumbs up from each of the boys. You returned it with a smile. You and Kie both walked up to the gate. 

“Hello?” Kie waved at the security gate. “Excuse me?” 

You smiled as sweetly as you could when the guard walked up to the gate. 

“Can I help you, ladies?” The guard asked. You looked over at Kie and then bit your lip. “My car,” you said. “It has a flat.”

“Do you think you can help us?” Kie asked, with a smile all her own. 

The guard looked back and forth between the two of you for a moment before his lips twitched upward and he nodded his head. 

“Yeah, I can help.” 

“Yeah?” 

He turned back toward his guard shack. You turned to Kie, both of your smiles dropping. 

“It’s too easy,” she said, squinting against the sunlight. 

“Way too easy.” 

When he came back out, carrying a toolbox, you waved him over toward your car.  

“It’s the back one,” you said as Kie leaned up against the door of your car. “It wasn’t like this when I left the house. I have no idea what would have caused this to happen.”

“Well,” the guard said as he set his tools down and crouched to the floor. “If you hit something sharp on the road…”

As he explained it to you, you met Kie’s gaze and rolled your eyes. She shook her head and laughed quietly, looking at the ground. When you glanced up at the gate, you saw the boys scamper into the salvage yard before the gate shut. You could only hope they’d find the drone quickly. 

But time ticked on and the guy was almost finished with the tire. You met Kie’s gaze again and it was clear that she was thinking the same thing. With a small motion of your head, she went around to the other side of the car to try and let air out of another tire. You lowered yourself to the gravel and gave the security guard a smile. 

“Thank you for helping us,” you said, reaching out to put a hand over his as he started to put his tools away. “I wish there was some way we could repay you.” 

The guard gave a soft smile, not the kind that you expected. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, pulling his hand away and closing his bag. “Just glad I could help.” 

You stood after him and hurried after him as he walked to the other side of the car. There was a series of barks from inside the salvage yard and you sincerely hoped that it was just JJ barking at snakes again. The guard scowled, stopping and staring at the gate. 

“What was that?” he asked. 

You shrugged, jumping up onto the hood of your car. 

“Nothing important,” you said, kicking your feet back and forth. You brought his attention back to you for a few moments, before he walked a few steps farther and saw Kie desperately trying to let air out of another tire with her hair clip. 

“What’s going on?” He asked, looking up quickly when the barking sound returned. You glanced down at Kie, who looked up at you, cringing. Neither of you had the chance to say anything before the security guard took off back toward the salvage yard. 

“Shit,” Kie hissed, pushing herself off the ground. “We gotta go.”

“The boys-” 

“They’ll be fine.”

You slid off of the hood of your car and jumped into the front seat, starting the car. You drove off as soon as Kie was in the other seat, only feeling sort of bad about leaving the boys behind as you rattled down the street, away from the salvage yard. 

You met up back at the Wreck, starved and exhausted. When you saw the boys pull up in the van, you let out a happy sigh and walked toward them. Pope was the first one out of the car, still shaking from the adrenaline. You walked up to him and threw your arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. 

“What happened in there?” you asked, pulling back and moving toward JJ.

“There was a dog,” Pope said as he walked toward Kie. 

“Yeah, we heard it,” Kie said. 

“Thought you guys were going to distract the security guard,” JJ said, wrapping an arm around you as you stepped up to him. 

“Eh, we tried,” you said. “Maybe we should have sent you to seduce him instead.” 

JJ grinned. 

“That probably would have worked better. I’m very seductive.”

“Yeah, you are,” John B piped in, walking around from the other side of the van. 

“Come on in, guys,” Kie said. “Dad’s got some food for us.” 

“I love your dad,” you said, moving to follow after her as she and Pope walked up the ramp. But JJ pulled you back, putting his hands on the side of your face and pressing a kiss against your lips. You smiled, looping your fingers through the belt loops of his pants to pull him closer. 

He broke the kiss and brushed a piece of hair behind your ear. 

“What was that for?” You asked him, trying to bite back a smile. JJ shrugged, dropping his hand to rest against your collarbone. 

“I haven’t been able to kiss you yet today,” he said. 

“In that case, maybe you should do it again.” 

He leaned down with a smile, but before his lips could touch yours, someone knocked on the glass window. You both turned around. All three of your friends were standing there, holding plates of food. Pope faked a gag. John B held up a thumbs up. Kie held the food up higher. 

“Should we go in?” You asked, looking at them still. JJ sighed. 

“It does smell pretty bitchin’,” he said, running a hand down your bare arm, leaving goosebumps. You leaned up on your toes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before turning toward the Wreck. 

***

The next day, your dad hadn’t gone to work, which meant you weren’t going out. 

JJ knocked on your window pretty early in the morning. You had to tell him that you couldn’t go. He pouted, but you grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him closer. A short kiss from you and his pout was gone. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” you said, only a breath away from him. JJ nodded his head, not taking his eyes off of your lips. 

“I’m sure they would be cool if they had to wait a few minutes for me,” JJ said, breathing heavily. You smiled, leaning down and kissing his nose. The tips of his ears burned red. Before you could retreat back into your room, JJ grabbed hold of your chin and pulled you back to him. 

Your stomach butterflied when his lips met yours, goosebumps littering your skin. You melted at his touch as his hand left your chin, finding it’s resting place on the nape of your neck, the metal of his rings cool against your skin. Every cell in your body wanted to pull him into your room right then and there, but with your dad right down the hall, you knew better. 

Still, you took your sweet time. 

He still tasted like the beach. Salt and sand on his lips and you never wanted anything more. You could feel his heart pounding in his chest and it was beating to the same rhythm as yours. 

JJ tugged gently on the bottom of your shirt, his teeth grazing against your skin. A quiet gasp escaped your lips when you managed to suck in an ounce of air. Hearing JJ struggle for breath made your stomach flip in a thousand different ways. After what Kie told you in the car about him and the way he kissed you know, confidence grew inside of you that he could possibly like you just as much as you liked him. Maybe, somehow, he needed you the same way. 

Neither of you wanted him to leave. If you could stay here, leaning out of your window, you would. Even though you were still in the house that brought you so much pain, the house that had you tiptoeing around like the floor was made of shattered glass, being near JJ made you feel safe. A word floated through your head, a word that you had never been able to claim before. 

Home. 

You hadn’t meant to say it, especially not then. The words had been playing in your mind for days, weeks maybe. Every time you looked at him, every time he looked at you, every moment you were just sitting there together, every sound of his laugh, every time he smiled, every time he made you dance. The words bounced throughout your mind, always at the tip of your tongue. And every time you had managed to keep the words locked behind your teeth. 

Up until now.

“I love you.”

You regretted the words as soon as you said them, pulling back through the window. JJ just stared at you, his lips parted and his eyes wide. Your face burned and your heart constricted in your chest. If the floor could open up and swallow you whole, you wished it would. Oh, to be anywhere other than where you were right now. You shouldn’t have said it. You should have just kept it to yourself. 

“I, uh, I have to go,” JJ said, turning away from the window. Ice settled against your bones, freezing you from the inside out. The sun was hot and blaring, but still, you started to shiver. 

“Yeah. Yeah.” You refused to look at him and he wouldn’t look at you. “Say...say hi to everyone for me.” 

“Sure.” 

“See you.” 

“Yeah.” 

You watched, pressing your lips together as tight as you could, as he climbed down from the roof. You didn’t want to watch him run across the grass away from your house, so you pulled the curtains together. 

Your hands shook as you pressed your fingers to your temples, pacing back and forth. You weren’t going to cry, there was no point in it. It was stupid. It was the heat of the moment, you said something you shouldn’t have. You would apologize when you saw him tomorrow. There was no need to panic. 

Still, your heart thudded so painfully, it hurt your ears. It felt like you couldn’t breathe all over again, like you were drowning, but not in the good way. You thought you were going to be sick. Sweat beaded down your neck as goosebumps still scattered across your legs. You thought you might combust from the inside. Part of you wished that you would. 

When someone knocked on your door, you whirled around, still dazed. You quickly pulled your hair up into a ponytail in an attempt to hide your panic before calling out to whoever was on the other side. 

Kid peaked his head in. 

“You good?” He asked. 

“Yeah, why I wouldn’t be?” you scoffed, tucking your hands under your arms. 

“I saw JJ running across the grass and then I heard you pacing. Just wanted to make sure.” 

“Yeah, Kid. Everything’s fine.” 

“Okay, well, tell him to be more careful next time. Dad might see him.”

Next time. After what you did, you weren’t there was going to be a next time. 

“Sure, Kid. I’ll tell him.” 

“Also, Dad wants our help with something. Might want to put on some fresh lipgloss.” 

As your hand shot up to your lips, Kid closed the door with a smirk. You huffed to yourself, doing as your brother suggested, before trotting downstairs with your best attempt at a smile. 

“Hey, Kiddo!” Your dad was in the kitchen still making breakfast. “You look a little sunburnt. You been going out?” 

“Just been tanning in the backyard,” you lied quickly, sliding into a chair. “Thought I might as well.” 

“I’m sorry you can’t go out more, sweetheart,” he said, passing you a plate of french toast. “I just want you to be safe and there’s nowhere safer than home.” 

You smiled and took a bite of toast so you wouldn’t have to respond. It tasted bitter in your mouth, despite the syrup and powdered sugar. You couldn’t believe how heavily your father deluded himself. This house was probably the place where you were the least safe. At least you didn’t feel so trapped anymore. 

“Why did you stay home from work today?” You asked, staring at your plate of food, trying to swallow what felt like ashes in your mouth. 

“Just wanted to hang out with you guys today.” Your dad sat across from you with his own plate. “There’s some more work to do outside from Agatha. I see that you and your brother haven’t really been doing it yourselves, so I thought I might as well kick you guys into gear.”

You swallowed a lump in your throat and you smiled. 

“Yeah, sounds good.” You knew better than to mention the fact that you had cleaned the house yesterday. It would just make things worse. 

“Good. Finish your breakfast and then get your ass outside.” 

Your dad picked up his plate, shoving his share back as he stood. You flinched, turning back to your plate. He stormed out the front door. You looked over at Kid, who held his hands tight in his lap. 

“It’s okay, Kid. Enjoy your food,” you said with an attempted smile. Kid looked up at you with only his eyes, not lifting his head. In hopes to convince him to eat, you took another bite, despite your entire body’s reaction being to throw it back up again. 

Slowly, Kid started to eat again. 

The day passed with no problems aside from your dad being a passive aggressive douche bag. You wanted to make sure that Kid had sunscreen on so that the burns already on his back wouldn’t get worse. But your dad locked the sunscreen in your house and refused to unlock the doors to let you grab it. He wouldn’t even let you inside to get water or use the restroom. 

By the end of the day, you were almost glad that your dad had you doing manual labor throughout the day because you hadn’t thought of JJ since that morning. Of course, once you laid down back in your bed, it all came flooding back. 

You slammed your face against your pillow and screamed as loud as you could. How could you be so stupid? Not being able to hold your tongue when you should have was always an issue for you. Now, here you were, in the pitfalls of that fault. 

Regret floated around you like a cloud. One knick in your wall and the flood came pouring out. You were no longer worried just about JJ, but fears overcame you about your friends, your mother, Ms. Lana, your dad, Kid. If you had just shattered your relationship with JJ, where would that put you with John B, Pope, Kie? They were his friends, but were they really yours too?

Maybe that’s why your mom really left, then. You were too clingy, too comfortable, too needy. Maybe you told her you loved her too many times. Maybe she was sick of looking at you. 

You were crying before you even realized it. The floodgates had burst open in your heart, and that was reflected by the tears that streamed down your cheeks. 

You were alone in your room, maybe that was a sign. Maybe that’s where you were supposed to be. Alone. Alone. 

The thought forced a sob through your tightened jaw. You pressed the back of your hand against your mouth to keep any more from bouncing around your empty room. Still, the sobbing shook your body, chest heaving. You bit down on the back of your hand until you tasted blood, clamping your teeth down to keep yourself from making sound. 

Your eyes fluttered shut as pain finally sparked through your hand. At first, your reaction was to pull your head away, but you didn’t when you realized that it took your mind off of the thoughts. You kept your hand in your mouth until you fell asleep. 

***

The next day, you were sitting in your room with a book in your hand. When the knock came to your window, you snapped your head upward. Pulling the curtain open, your heart sunk when you saw Kie sitting there, waiting. You tried to smile at her as you pulled your window. 

“Hey,” you said. 

“We’re finding that boat today, Elm,” she said, a childish grin on her face. “You ready to be rich?” 

“Hell yes.” 

You followed her out to the car, hoping in the back before thinking about what you said the day before. 

“Hey, Elm,” Pope said, holding out his fist for you as you climbed inside. 

“Hey.” You smiled. John B tapped your shoulder with his hand as you settled into the seat behind his and you swatted him right back. When you finally made eye contact with JJ, that same painful ice shot through you again, burning to ash in your stomach. You pressed your fingers against the back of your hand through the bandage you wrapped around it, feeling the pain once again. 

“What happened to your hand?” Pope asked. You looked down and tried to smile. 

“Oh, you know, burned it trying to make breakfast this morning,” you said, giving a short laugh. 

“You really are terrible at cooking.” You looked over at JJ and there was a smile on his face, as if nothing the day before had happened. You smiled back, hoping that you could forget it yourself. 

“So, we’re getting this gold?” 

“You bet your ass we’re getting that gold, Elm!” John B drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, banging his head to his own beat. 

As the five of you stepped onto the boat, JJ grabbed your wrist and turned you around. 

“Hey, we good?” He asked, brushing his thumb against your wrist. You gave a few short nods, unable to look him in the eyes. “Ellie-”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re good.” You leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before turning and hopping onto the boat with everyone else. 

The day was supposed to be calm, but as soon as you made it to the spot where the Royal Merchant was supposed to have sunken, waves started to ripple across the water. You watched with growing alarm as a storm started to roll closer and closer to your small boat. John B called out for JJ to move the boat this way and that, but the current was too strong. You could feel it pulling the boat faster than he was able to move it. Kie called out how far down the drone was. You could feel the tension on the boat, or maybe it was the static from the storm. 

You weren’t sure which. 

“It should be right here,” Pope said, glancing up. You and Kie ran over to where John B and Pope were staring at the screen. 

“Where is it?” 

“I don’t know, Kie.” 

“Wait,” you said, pointing at a darker spot on the screen. “What’s that?”

As Pope got closer, your heart dropped into your stomach, a smile breaking across your lips. 

“What is it?” JJ called from the wheel. No one said anything for a moment, mouths dry. John B started to smile as more of the ship came into view. 

“It’s the Royal Merchant.” 

JJ let out a holler from the front, but the more you all looked at the screen, the more your smiles started to fall. A heavy rock settled in your stomach. The gold wasn’t there, there was nothing but an old wreckage. 

“It’s not there,” John B said. You could see the heartbreak on his face. “Just, pull up the drone.” 

Thundered rumbled in the distance, making you look up from the screen to the darkening sky. 

“Shit,” John B breathed. 

“Look, we can do another pass. Recharge the battery,” Pope protested as John B walked away. “We...we can go back down!”

You fell back against a cooler, staring at the bottom of the boat. The gold was there, you could feel it on your fingertips, yet it was just out of reach. 

“The gold could be buried, we don’t know!” Kie shouted over the wind as it started to pick up. 

“If the gold was buried, we would see it on the metal detector,” John B said, leaning against the side of the boat. You dropped your face into your hands. 

“Somebody beat us to it,” John B told them. 

“Or it was never there.” You could hear the anger in JJ’s voice. He turned the wheel a little too harsh and you grabbed hold of the railing to keep from toppling off of the cooler. No one said anything until you were all back onshore. 

Still, there was silence when everyone stepped off. The urge to cry was right there, but you held it back. If anyone should be the most disappointed, it should be John B. You couldn’t help but think about that life you almost convinced yourself you could have had. 

As you walked away from the boat toward the van, you kicked the rocks beneath your feet. JJ walked up behind you, lacing his fingers through yours before you knew he was there. You turned to look toward him, startled at first. But then he smiled down at you. You could see the disappointment in his eyes, but there was still a smile on his face. You squeezed his hand as he brought your knuckles up to his lips. You didn’t even realize it was your wounded hand until you saw the bandages. 

It all felt stupid now. The breakdown, the biting, the tears. Maybe you had freaked him out, you had freaked yourself out, but that didn’t matter. Cause here he was, by your side. 

You smiled back, bumping his shoulder with yours as you walked back to the car. 

[sebthesnipe]

Morality, Magic, and Chocolate Cows

Hi @logicalyfun!!

Storytime! I wasn’t apart of the @sanderssidesgiftxchange at all. So, the fact that you got me as a pinch hitter is kinda a miracle in its own right ;3 But I’m super glad you did! I’m so sorry you didn’t get your gift on time but now you get to chill with me! And I can be pretty awesome sometimes… Occasionally… Rarely but hey! Who keeps track of that kind of stuff anyways? 

So, how did I become your pinch hitter? Well, you see. I’ve got this amazing best friend and beta reader @gilby-the-geek-girl. She actually /did/ participate in the exchange and because she’s just so amazing she offered to be a pinch hitter for it as well. 

Anyways, You’re prompt got sent to her. This one right here:

“Your giftee: Fabi

Tumblr: Logicalyfun

Media to receive: Fan fiction, Fan art

Wish 1: Puppiesss

Wish 2:  Fantasy world

Wish 3:  Starry sky night

Topics to avoid: Remrom, no NSFW”

And it gave her pause. You see, I wrote this awesome fic called My Dearest Procyon (also on AO3) that checks almost all of these boxes (minus the puppiesss, but there is a REALLY awesome cat and dragons too!). So, she thought we’d be perfect for each other! So she sent your prompt to me and here we are!

Now for the bad news… I had every intention of checking off every one of your wishes, but the story got away from me and I’m pretty sure I struck out. However, I really think you’ll like it! Please forgive me for not sticking strictly with the prompts but I do mention each, and I highly recommend MDP if you really like those things.

I’ll also make you a deal! If you don’t like this ficlet, let me know and I’ll write you a new one that adheres to your prompts exactly! ;3

(Also... posting this on Patton’s B-day so it’s like double meant to be!)

So, without further adieu, I present Morality, Magic, and Chocolate Cows:

“Have at you!” Roman cried, his tiny form bounding off the small hill to swing at his brother, his cardboard sword bending at an odd angle.

“Actually,” Logan commented, hurrying along behind him, flowing blue cape flapping in the wind. “It would’ve been ‘ye’.”

Roman  ignored him, adjusting the oversized ‘shining armor’ every time he took a step. The costume was far too large for Roman’s three foot, seven-and-a-half-inch tall body, though it was adorable to watch.

Remus, to his credit, laughed menacingly, the Sharpie mustache on his upper lip thinning from the effort as he parried his brother’s flopping cardboard blade with a small stick. His own costume consisted of a sheet, stained green, with what Patton hoped was paint (though he had never bothered to ask), wrapped around him like a toga.

“That's totally fair! Two against one!” Janus called from the safety of a tree branch; the yellow fabric of his shirt just visible through the leaves.

“I’m not fighting! I’m observing!” Logan called in his high-pitched voice, adjusting his glasses before the pointed wizard’s hat on his brow dipped forward, knocking them astray once more. His adorably pudgy form was wrapped in a shimmer fabric that reminded Patton of the stars Logan always seemed to want to tell him about.

“If you and V would help, your prince wouldn’t need an watcher-outer!” Roman whined, pausing in his attack to peer over at the older child and his companion, sitting in the shade below.

Remus took the opportunity to smack his twin across his butt with his stick, knocking Roman to the ground with a grunt.

A shrill cry filled the air, causing the other children to glance at Patton, who had been sitting on a blanket a few feet away.

Patton pushed to his feet, smiling softly as he approached the three boys, Janus and Virgil hurrying up to the crying child as well.

“It’s broken isn’t it!” Virgil rushed, his own tears threatening to fall. “Remus broke Roman’s leg! We’re all going to the hosp’al! I don’t want to go to the hosp’al! I don’t like doc’ors!” His words turned into a wail as he plopped on the grown next to Roman, waterworks in full force.

Patton examined the small scratch peaking through a tear in Roman’s jeans.

“Hm,” he sighed as if considering whether or not the wound was fatal. “We may have to amputate.”

“What?!” Remus gasped excitedly.

Janus moved over to Logan, attempting to whisper in his ear and failing. “What does ‘amputate’ mean?”

“Ample ate,” Logan attempted to repeat. “It means to eat a lot.”

“We’re going to eat him!” Remus gasped with a grin.

Patton couldn’t help but give a small chuckle at the exchange before sinking down on the lush grass and scooping Roman into his arms.

The pretend prince curled into the embrace, hiding his face in Patton’s chest as his wailing turned to sniffle.

“I don’t wanna be eaten,” he grumbled sullenly.

Patton felt Virgil curling into his side, tears soaking into his shirt. Patton glanced down, offering another small smile as he pulled him close as well.

“No one is getting eaten,” Patton chuckled softly. “Are they Remus?”

“Pft, no fair!” the mustached boy pouted, folding his arms over his chest and glaring down at his mismatched shoes.

“Why don’t we all come up with ways to make Roman’s boo-boo feel better?” Patton offered, motioning for everyone to move closer.

“I rather not,” Janus sighed softly. Still, the young boy scooted closer and sank down on the grass next to them.

Remus gave another ‘hmph’ before doing the same, though he made sure to sit far closer to Janus than anyone else.

“I can help!” Logan chirped excitedly, digging into his pockets with purpose.

Patton couldn’t help but allow his soft smile to turn even more fond. Logan was always the best helper.

Whatever Logan had in mind, it certainly got Roman’s attention. The sandy blond boy turned his head just enough that his cheek rested against Patton’s chest, eyes glued to the wizard.

A moment later, Logan produced a plastic wand. The pink shaft was a little too large for his tiny hands and the star at its end seemed to flash with tiny lights (no doubt running off of a few double A’s).

“I can cast a spell on him!” Logan offered confidently.

“But yes’rday you said magi’ wasn’t real,” Virgil whispered, still clinging to Patton’s shirt.

“Turn him into a frog!” Remus demanded eagerly; his pouting forgotten.

“Yeah, but I read it in one of my books today, so it has to be real! Right, Patton?” Logan asked, looking up at him expectantly, the others following his lead.

“Oh of course!” Patton reassured with a large grin. “Magic is very real.”

“It is?” Janus asked, suddenly invested in the conversation.

Virgil reacted in a very different manner, burying his face deeper into Patton’s side and giving a small cry. “Magi’ is scary! I dun wanna be turned into a frowg!”

“Oh sweetie,” Patton cooed, messing with the youngest child’s hair. “It’s not that type of magic,” he reassured.

“What other type of magic is there?!” Remus demanded, inching closer as he bounced with elation. “The type that can turn him into a giant squid?! Or make toilets talk?!”

“Ew!” Roman whined in response, once again earning a chuckle from Patton.

“I’m afraid not,” Patton admitted with no little amusement. “No, this kind of magic isn’t just reserved for very smart wizards.”

“It’s not?” Logan asked, moving closer and sinking down as well.

“Oh no. We all have magic of our very own that we can use whenever we want.”

“Nuh uh…” Janus breathed though he didn’t sound too convinced.

Patton nodded continuing. “Sure, we do.”

“What’s my power?!” Remus asked impatiently, “Can I make lasers come out my eyes?! Or maybe… maybe… um… summon a giant octopuspus to devour my enemies?!” He bounced to his feet roaring loudly as he stomped about.

“Your magic is something far greater,” Patton laughed.

“No way!” Remus breathed in awe; antics forgotten.

“Him?!” Roman gasped in disbelief.

Patton nodded. “Remus has the ability to see into other worlds!”

“Lame!” The boy in question huffed, falling back onto the grass.

“What do you mean?” Logan asked curiously.

“Well, Remus makes such a great villain because he sees things differently then we do,” Patton explained.

“So, he’s evil! I knew it!” Roman declared, shifting in Patton’s arms to simply sit in his lap, wound forgotten.

“Not at all,” Patton countered, acting as if he didn’t see the way Remus blew a raspberry at his brother. “Just because someone is different doesn’t make them evil.Though it can be scary, differences are what gives us our power. Take Logan for example.”

“Me?” Logan blinked in surprise, clinging to his wand a bit more self-consciously.

“Mm hmm,” Patton nodded. “Logan understands Remus better than anyone. He can understand how Remus sees the world.”

“So, he’s evil too?” Janus asked.

“I am not!” Logan cried.

“No one here is evil,” Patton laughed. “No, Logan’s magic power is that he can understand anything if given enough time.”

“So, you can figure out where chocolate milk comes from?!” Roman asked, pointedly staring at Logan who now sat a bit straighter.

“Well, if regular milk comes from a regular cow… and Patton says cows are just like oversized dogs… and there are a lot of different kinds of dogs… Then chocolate milk has to come from chocolate cows.” Logan explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Whoa! There are chocolate cows?! That’s so cool!” Roman gasped.

Patton was about to speak when his attention was pulled to the small hands tugging on his shirt in a patient persistence.

“Yes, Virgil?” Patton asked softly.

“Wha’s my magi’?” The youngest boy asked in a hushed whisper as the rest talked among themselves.

“You, my dear sweet shadowling,” Patton whispered, booping his nose. “have one of the strongest powers among us.”

“I do?” Virgil’s eyes grew wide, his hand lifting to his mouth to suck on his two fingers. It would be a few more years before Patton could manage to break him of the habit but it was cute nonetheless.

“Oh, yes. You have the power to protect. You tell us when something could hurt us or do damage in a way we haven’t noticed. In a way… You can see the future.” Patton’s allowed his voice to turn a bit wispy as if humbled by Virgil’s power.

“Sounds like a bunch of lies to me,” Janus interrupted, obviously eavesdropping.

“No one asked you!” Roman spat. “You didn’t even help protect your prince and now I’ve got a boo-boo! It’s not like you have any magic! ” He pointed at his knee, lifting it to put the scratch on display.

“Well, neither do you!” Janus argued.

“Oh, I think you both are pretty powerful when it comes to magic,” Patton offered.

“Well of course I am… I’m a prince!” Roman announced.

“Janus does too, Roman.” Patton mitigated.

“Like what?” Remus butted in, more curious that malicious.

“Well, Janus can work magic on people’s feelings,”

“I can?” Janus blinked in surprise.

“Well, of course Kiddo. You’re the best at it! You always know just what to say to make Remus feel better after he loses against the Prince’s armies,” Patton explained, “And you always know how to answer Roman’s questions about his costumes.” Naturally, Patton left out the fact that Janus used little white lies to work his magic and that he didn’t quite agree with the method, but the results were noteworthy.

“Boring!” Roman whined. “What about me?” Roman looked up at Patton expectantly.

“You, dear prince,” Patton replied, nuzzling him affectionately. “have the ability to change the world as we know it. You can push us to follow every passion our heart desires. You give us the very drive that will sustain us throughout our lives. ”

“What? That’s not fair! Why didn’t I get a cool power like that?” Remus huffed, sulking once more.

“’Cause I’m the Prince and I say so!” Roman answered, squirming in Patton’s arms. “Now, be quiet, Patton is talking about me!”

“Mneh!” Remus stuck out his tongue once more, but his brother ignored him.

“Now, now. I think all of your powers are cool,” Patton attempted.

“But Patton…” Logan mumbled, softly, as he stared up at the seemingly grown man. “What’s your power?”

Patton’s chest tightened at the question. Leave it to Logan to pull at the one string Patton wasn’t prepared for. What was Patton’s power? He manifested just as they all did, only he was the first. He grew faster than the rest of them, unable to keep up with Thomas growth, unable to keep up with his insecurity.

He was just Patton…. He had no magic… He wasn’t special. Not like the others.

He forced his smile to remain in place, trying not to let his voice crack as he answered. “Why would I ever need to be more than just happy pappy Patton when I get to spend time with all of you amazing magicians?”

“Patton?” Logan called, his voice distant and far too baritone to be coming from the pudgy boy before him. “Patton are you in here?” Logan called again causing the man to glance over his shoulder.

The memory he had immersed himself in froze, the boys still staring up at him.

He wiped a tear from his eye quickly and waved his hand, the children disappearing, leaving him alone in the small field behind their childhood home.

“I’m over here!” Patton called, standing and dusting off his pants, trying not to feel the loss. They had needed him so thoroughly. Everything was so different now. The boys were all grown. They all faced Thomas’ problems with a maturity Patton never could seem to muster. No doubt they thought him the child now.

 Logan strode up the small hill in his usual dark polo and striped tie adorning his broad shoulders.

“There you are,” Logan greeted with the same half smile he always did.

“Sorry, did you need something?” Patton asked softly, forcing his smile to turn warm.

“Yes, actually,” Logan admitted. “It seems Remus and Roman are fighting again, and Virgil and Janus are placing bets on who can make the most constructs in the imagination. It is truly a disaster. There are puppies and octopoda everywhere. No one will see reason. I could really use your help.”

Patton softened a bit at the words. Maybe they still needed him… just a tiny bit. He supposed he could live with that.

“Puppies?!” Patton squealed in excitement.

Logan’s gaze moved about the scene taking it in, obviously having expected Morality’s reaction. “Isn’t this…” he hesitated, turning on his heel. “Wasn’t this the field behind our home back in Orlando?”

“Oh…” Patton breathed, flushing slightly. “Is it?”

“It is! Thomas used to play out here all the time! We all did!” Logan mused, with a small huff of laughter. “Wow, it has been quite some time.”

Patton offered a melancholy smile as he glanced around. He missed it all. It was nice to have the memories though. At least he could relive it when ever he wanted. Though he doubted Logan would even bother to try to remember-

“You know 7% of Americans really do believe chocolate milk comes from chocolate cows,” Logan informed him, “And Roman is still one of them.” He laughed.

Patton’s heart fluttered at the fact that Logan remembered such a minute detail. He really was magic.

The sound of Logan’s deep chuckle had Patton joining him. “Best not spoil it for him,” Patton teased lightly as Logan offered out an arm for him to take as they headed out of the memory.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Logan reassured.

 La Fin.

[elskamo]

Aleduncan Week, Day 2

How on earth did I write over 1300 words for this!? It’s Day 2 of Aleduncan Week so I’ve combined the prompts for Coming Out, Confessions, and Pride. This one hints at some darker stuff in places but is otherwise pretty positive towards the end. I’ve also referenced a few popular ships and headcanons throughout too. I really hope you guys enjoy this one, it took me so long to finish:

To say Total Drama hadn’t aged well was an understatement. As the show’s ten year anniversary was coming up and Chris went into overdrive trying to create a big enough buzz to warrant another season much of the contestants past behaviour was dredged up again. Homophobic remarks, transphobic jokes, there was even a passionate argument from one news outlet around deliberately queerbaiting audiences and refusing to acknowledge contestant’s LGBT+ identities on the show. The backlash became so great there was only one thing to do…

Duncan kept his hoodie up over his head as he stomped over to the float. He couldn’t believe Chris was making them do this. He could have made a half-assed apology on social media or talked to a journalist about how ‘it was a different time back then’. But no, he had to make a huge show of sponsoring one of the biggest Pride events in the country and buying a whole damn float for the old castmates to ride during the parade. So maybe Duncan had contributed to some of the controversies on the show… okay, he’d been responsible for a lot of them, but did he really have to take part in some glorified publicity stunt to make up for it? It was ten years ago!

As the young man weaved his way through the swarm of people he finally reached his old teammates getting ready. He immediately noticed Geoff and Bridgette together stringing some lights up on the side of the vehicle but who was that other guy with them and why was he holding Geoff’s free hand? DJ wandered over to help the group, but his look was a lot gloomier than Duncan remembered; his entire outfit was coloured black, white, grey, and purple. Had he gone goth or something? Glancing around he recognised Owen and Noah talking to some guy in a leotard and another dork with glasses, neither of which Duncan could place. Owen was doing his usual touchy feely crap, but Noah was being surprisingly cool about it, he was even smiling! 

Walking away from what was possibly the creepiest thing he had ever witnessed in his adult life Duncan doubled back, hopefully he could just hide out in the public bathroom and no one would notice he hadn’t shown up. Even with all the noise around him he could still hear giggling coming from the women’s room. Rolling his eyes the former convict made a beeline for the men’s room until another round of giggles made him stop in his tracks. He knew that laugh… Staring down the door he gently pushed it open, his eyes widening in shock as he witnessed Courtney and Heather making out against the countertop.

The door slammed as Duncan let go, bolting as far away from the scene as possible, pushing and shoving anyone that got in his way. Why did he bother coming? He shouldn’t be here, he couldn’t handle this! The whole world felt blurred as he ran, it was only when he slammed into something hard that his vision began to clear. Blinking away the tears he hadn’t realised were falling he found himself face to face with one of the last people he wanted to see.

To his credit, Alejandro hadn’t made a big deal about the situation and for that Duncan was grateful. The two were sat in one of the big chain coffee shops nearby, Alejandro insisting that the two of them had time to spare and of course he didn’t mind paying for drinks. He was sat opposite him now in the booth, calmly sipping his tea in silence while Duncan huddled up even more in his hoodie, as if the dark garment would hide him somehow. After ten minutes without any talking he finally spoke up, “You know our ex-girlfriends are sucking face right now don’t you?”

Alejandro raised his eyebrow, “Well they have been dating for almost six years.” Noting the look of shock on Duncan’s face he continued, “They ended up rooming together at college, they made amends with each other, and when Heather came out we broke up and she asked out Courtney. They make a pretty cute couple.” Duncan frowned in confusion, “So they’re both... lesbians?” “Heather’s a lesbian, as far as I know Courtney identifies as bisexual.”

Duncan leaned back, seemingly trying to process that information, “But everyone else is still straight, right?” Alejandro held back a laugh, “Some people still identify as straight. Some have come to terms with their identity or are still exploring it. A few of us were already out during the show but are more open about it now.” He gestured towards his tank top which Duncan finally took notice of, it looked like a pink, yellow, and blue flag though Duncan had no idea what the colours meant. “The show wasn’t really the most… accepting place to talk about this kind of thing. One or two of us might bring it up our dating lives or lack thereof off camera otherwise we just didn’t mention it. The producers pretty much axed all the footage they deemed ‘unsuitable’ anyway.”

There was a clear edge to Alejandro’s voice that caught Duncan off guard. The other man took a large gulp from his drink while the delinquent stared down into his still full mug. Duncan fiddled with his jacket zipper for a couple of minutes while the silence set in once again. His brow furrowed as he seemingly came to a decision, his eyes stayed focused on his drink as he spoke, “Sorry I don’t really get this kinda stuff, it’s never really come up before.” “Never?” “My family don’t talk about it. I mean, a few of them were discussing the whole gay marriage thing in America a couple years ago but…”

As Duncan trailed off Alejandro sat up in his seat, his companion still examining his untouched coffee. Choosing his words carefully he asked, “So do you still see your family often? Or have you moved in with a partner or…?” Duncan chuckled but he sounded far from amused, “No I’m still at home, went straight back to my childhood digs once my sentence was over. I haven’t really seen anyone since I got out, never got round to it I guess.” “Not still hung up on Courtney then?” “Oh god no!” 

The two of them laughed humourlessly when Duncan finally looked Alejandro in the eye, “Honestly I wasn’t really all that sad when we broke up for good. I mean, yeah I missed having her around, but I wasn’t upset that the relationship was over. I don’t think I ever got upset during any of our splits. I didn’t really care when Gwen dumped me either…” A flash of understanding passed between them and Alejandro reached under the table to squeeze Duncan’s hand, “You know, it’d be good for you to join us today. Get some fresh air, see your old friends, get some closure. You might even have fun.”

Duncan hesitated and pulled back, leaving Alejandro’s hand hanging, “I don’t know, it’s kinda overwhelming out there, I should probably-” “One hour!” Both men jumped a little at Alejandro’s outburst, it seemed he’d even surprised himself. Clearing his throat Alejandro lowered his voice, “The parade is only an hour long, you could always stay with me while we’re out there and if you still wanna go… we can chill at my place for a bit?”

Alejandro silently cursed himself until Duncan gently tugged the zipper down on his hoodie, revealing his blank T-shirt, save for the little rainbow flag in the centre. “Let’s… get this over with I guess.” Duncan laughed awkwardly as the pair got up to leave. Taking a deep breath at the door the two men smiled at each other as Alejandro led Duncan back to the float. This time when he took his hand Duncan didn’t let go.

[taejeonie]

taehee in america!!

— i can’t find a gif from one of their interviews :// also the events aren’t in sequence,,whatever i remember watching will appear here so if i missed something, u guys can tell me!!

okay so taehee’s like

different

like most of the tweets were ‘american air changed taehee’

like in korea she’s chill, semi-shy but still chaotic

but in america it’s that but x82848, minus the shy part it’s like gone now

and she’s more interactive with czennies so that’s probably why (*^_^*)

like in one of their interviews someone asked, “okay, so i have a question from tumblr...do you know tumblr”

“yes i know tumblr ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)”

and she loved doing rpd with them it’s so cute

she kept hyping them up and dancing in the sidelines

but when cherry bomb comes on

she was like: this is my song. must. dance.

and she was center for the nananananana part so it was p e r f e c t

when they did flinch she was paired with doyoung

james was trying to talk to them but they were mODELLING

let them do their work james

“oh i see how it is now”

her eyes flinched a bit when the fruit came out but they didn’t notice....hopefully

anyways youngtae won

speaking of interviews

awkward faces. disgusted faces. bored faces. fake smile faces.

‘oh shit did they just say that?’ faces.

“so how’s it like being the only girl in the group?”

in her head she’s like: stfu i didn’t go to america for this ಠ╭╮ಠ

but outside she’s like: hahahaha looks like i gotta answer this ∩^ω^∩ gotta pay rent u know?

the genius interview oh god markhee was a MESS

they kept pinching each other when they had to explain the s t e a m y parts of the song so johnny did it for them

in the end they just gave up on explaining so she said “you don’t have to take the lyrics word by word, line by line. you can take it however you want and the feelings aren’t just limited to a significant other. it’s just love between two people and that could be a friend, a partner-“

inside they’re like “good job, taehee. good job,” until she says

“-your mom.”

and when they were teaching cherry bomb she couldn’t keep her mouth shut

“okay so you spread your legs like this” - johnny

“that’s when you feel the air coming in” - mark

and when doyoung thought it couldn’t get any worse

“oh, really? i don’t” - taehee

and yuta, taeyong, johnny, and mark just try to hold their laughter

doyoung @ the rest: just smile and wave boys, smile and wave

also stayzens got crumbs of (han) jisung and taehee’s friendship when they were guessing the dance based on the silhouette

when the choreo for ‘get cool’ showed she immediately answered

“oH OH GET COOL STRAY KIDS”

she scared everyone with her excitement but that’s okay bc they got a point

“that was fast,” the host told her

*proudly* “yeah i’m friends with one of them”

taehee stans were served

she wore dresses to award shows bUT THERE WAS A TIME SHE WORE A SUIT

everyone died

she looked amazing hot spectacular show stopping

#miamiwithtaehee

“hey guys! welcome back to my channel ( ◠‿◠ ) so today we would be going toOoOoOo miAMIIIII *fake sound effects* um so like we’re going to buy some stuff for the beach coz like it’s really hot hahahaha but that’s because i’m here *slowly pulls shades down*”

“why do you talk like that”

“just let me be, mark. let me be.”

but she went back to taehee mode so it’s aight

“taeyong oppa broke his slippers and the sand’s really hot so i don’t know how he survives.”

“noona~”

“hAECHAN I DONT WANNA GET WEEEET”

she gets caught anyways

and hyuck drags her to the deep deep deep part

but she knows how to swim :>>

#athletic

she came back to shore to dry off,,,so she watched the surfers with jungwoo while the others are having fun

“waahh, that’s so cool. did you see that?”

“my dad taught me how to surf back in australia”

“really? :OO”

“yeah but that was when i was still younger. i think i forgot now.”

“woah” jungwoo’s amazed by this girl

OH MY GOD WAIT I FORGOT ABOUT 19 EMOTIONS

so when she was asked to do flirty

she got shy, that was the shyest moment of her life but you gotta do what you gotta do

*starts twirling a piece of hair on her finger* “hey,,,,” *winks*

then she starts playing with her hair more aggressively until she had to stop and fix her hair bc the manager told her to

producer: is that how you flirt?

taehee: i don’t flirt. *confidently* people flirt with me ;))).

johnny, off-screen: excuses! this is why we don’t let her out

her and johnny just kept giving commentary on poor mark it’s hilarious

*mark raises his eyebrow*

“you’re so flirty”

“damn, that eyebrow tho. i’m swayed.”

taehee kept eating ice cream

like everytime the camera pans to her she’s just eating ice cream

when they watched alicia key performing ‘if i ain’t got you’

she was star struck

markhee: Aw sHIT

when she rapped “knet knet talk talk” she blew up the whole bird app

she was feeling herself everytime they performed it was sexc

american air really is different

concerts omg don’t get me started

johnny started shaking his booty as a joke but then there’s taehee on the side of the stage lowkey twerking

you know how bp were feeling themselves during their cons?

well taehee is just like that and czennies wERE SO LOUD

her ‘baby don’t like it’ fit .....

it was different from the boys’ since she’s wearing like a dress like damn what if she sLIPPED

she was wearing a blindfold too

her performance is still flawless tho i mean it’s taehee come on

and when they performed ‘superhuman’

istg that markhee part everyone flipped

they were so close (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡

like i swear they could feel their breaths on each other’s faces

but it’s what the czennies want and you gotta give it to them even if the management said nO

#rebel

markhee stans were fed this season they kept hanging out with each other

they rode that horse carriage thing together

they ate donuts together

they shopped together

they messed up their korean and english at some point together

best friend goals

taehee was so excited for the dodgers game she was so adorable in the jersey

she was more than glad to be the first pitch and list off the names of the players to the members

jungwoo and hyuck trapped her so they could get on kiss cam

she was struggling

but that’s okay bc she still gets to see the dodgers play

brooklyn boys

the title’s still boys the producers are like whatever just name it brooklyn boys

after they ate they went shopping right

taehee was in the ‘don’t forget your tools’ team

taeyong mom johnny dad jungwoo child mark child taehee child

“i wanted to be the cousin!!”

“.....taehee child”

#markheebesties we love it

markhee separated from the group for a while to buy ingredients to make cocktails for the older members + staff

“you know how?”

“yeah, my dad taught me.”

“your dad is so cool.”

“i know right- *immediately* mom, i still love youuu <3333”

“we’re both minors and we’re the ones getting alcohol”

“mark, we’re in america. we’re not minors anymore.”

but later on they don’t drink alcohol to respect their korean culture :>>

when jungwoo wanted to get the pie thingy and taeyong won’t let him it was comical

mark’s like that youngest good kid

jungwoo’s like the middle kid who wanted to bUY SOMETHING BUT THEY WONT LET HIM

and taehee’s the eldest bad influence kid

*whispering* “just hide it. yeah, hide it in there. then just put it out when they’re paying for it*

mark’s just laughing off cam they were so serious

anyways they’re cooking and taehee made the guac :p

she kept on laughing at markwoo it’s cute

but she kept on eating the other group’s pasta

“hey! why do you keep eating our food?”

“diversity.”

they complimented her on her guac since she doesn’t cook that much

but she’s a great cook she learned from taeyong!!! and her dad

when they were playing beer pong the maknae line was sOOO HYPED

“LIKE A WHAT?” “LIKE A LIGHT”

“LIKE A WHAT” “LIKE A LIGHT”

and hyuck’s just looking at them weirdly like wtf hahaha markhee tingz i guess

she acted like a ring girl every time they switch to the next round

“wAIT LET ME WALK” *catwalks from side a to side b*

while they were karaoke-ing she made the cocktails and mark watched her

she kept doing tricks with the cups to make mark laugh

she let the staff taste it and they were amazed she’s such an angel i swear

“this one’s for you!!!!”

“is it good?”

“oh i should add more of this? okay, hold on”

and then the older hyungs came and were amazed

doyoung doesn’t even drink but she managed to get him to have a taste

when they were all going to sleep, she chose the bed at the very end

she used mark’s arm as a pillow

they all kinda...didn’t shower...

jk they still smell great ig

“mark you stink”

“shut up”

and then they fell asleep but the others caught them

“mark and taehee are asleep”

“really?” *laughs*

“i’m not asleep i’m just closing my eyes”

“okay but taehee’s already snoring”

*sleepily* “i DONT SNORE!!!”

[svtscutie]

The Dating Form: #6

__ y/n's pov _____________________________

"Y/N"

I know that voice. I know that voice a bit too well. Jihoon.

I turn around and see him, he's holding flowers...my favorite, red carnations.

__ Jihoon's flashback _____________________

"Why are red carnations your favourite?" I ask Y/N as she brings the carnation over. She just got it from a street vendor as we are on one of our usual late night street walks. I couldn't get inspired to work and Y/N being great girlfriend she is, took me out of the studio.

"because one, no thorns so they're not as dangerous" she responds and I chuckle. Of course, it'd be something like that.

"but two, no matter the shade of red, it shows you admire the person" she adds. She passes the carnation towards me. What's this supposed to mean?

"This is for you, the carnation should show you... I feel something special for you" Y/N says, quietly. Shyly, even. It takes so much courage to just say it honestly like that. Wow, what a woman standing in front of me.

I lean in to kiss her and she closes the gap, our lips meeting. I don't deserve her. She puts everything on hold for me. She pulls away, n-

"Jihoon...why are you crying? What's wrong?" She asks me. I touch my face and feel the teardrops. Am I actually crying over her?

"You don't need to tell me, I trust you" she says and adds "I love you". She hugs me tightly and I hug her back. I couldn't say it back. I know we won't last. She has her goals in life and I have mine. And my goals always get in the way. I don't think I can allow her to sacrifice any more for this relationship. Not for me.

She gave up her late night parties with friends, her movie nights with Seungkwan, her stable bond with her brother, all for me. And I never give her anything back.

I don't deserve her. Everyone says so. Maybe they're right. What have I done for her?

__ y/n's pov _____________________________

"...how did you know I'd be here?" I say.

I'm in shock, it's an unfamiliar sight. When has he ever done this for me? He hasn't done this for me. Ever. He never had time to surprise me with flowers, let alone show up where I was when I least expected it.

"I still follow you on social media..." He says and I nod. I unfollowed him but that doesn't mean he unfollowed me back. Makes sense.

What doesn't make sense is the fact that he's here? Why did he feel the need to talk to me? We haven't spoken since we broke up. I told him I didn't want to be friends until I was over him.

"I also needed to drop off some new tracks to get produced into mixtapes" he adds. There we go, back to his focus on music. That sounds more like him.

The silence is hitting us both, both of us being very awkward and not knowing what to say. I know he's thinking about something. I just wish I could read his mind.

"These are for you, by the way" Jihoon says, passing me the flowers. I take them in my hand and put them next to the pile of cds I had next to me.

"Thank you, you didn't need to, we're not together anymore" I say. It takes all the strength I have to utter those last couple of words but I knew it's the truth.

He looks down at me and nods.

"I hope we could be friends though... I've missed you" he admits.

"I've missed you too, but... honestly..I'm happy, I finally went to those parties I've been meaning to go to. Seungkwan and I have been hanging out more. My brother and I can actually talk without us getting angry at each other. I've gotten to do what I've been wanting to do without hesitation. It's been nice" I say and something in him changes. That calm demeanor has changed, he's staring at me intensely. Maybe I should've said things nicely. I thought I did say things nicely.

"Like selling yourself out to go on dates"

He did not say that.

How dare he says that?

How does he know about that?

"You and I both know that I don't need to do that. Is that why you're here? Cause you're afraid I've moved on" I say, knowing it'll bite back. Jihoon always knew what to say to get me to admit defeat.

He faces away from me.

"Tha-"

"Maybe you should leave her alone" a person butts in and we both turn to face him. This person looks familiar.

"This is none of your business" Jihoon says, instantly biting back.

"You've obviously pissed her off with that comment and I'd rather not hear bickering while I'm trying to listen to music" he says.

"Please, let this go" I say and Jihoon's face softens.

That's different.

He calmed down just like that.

What's going on with him?

"I'm sorry" he whispers and leaves the store.

What is up with him? Why is he acting like this? What is going on? What does he want from me? Why is this so confusing?

I look at the helpful stranger again, he's calmly listening to songs from the students. Oh that's awkward, that cd was Jihoon's. He just told Jihoon off two seconds ago when he's trying to listen to his songs. Should I say something?

Surely a thank you from me isn't weird, right?

"Thank you for that" I say and he smiles at me. Okay yep, not weird, cool.

"No problem, it sounded rough" He says and adds "I've seen you in my classes so I felt like I should help out".

I don't have a clue of where I've seen him before. Like the face is familiar but I don't know where.

"I'm Vernon by the way" He says, offering his hand and I shake it. "Y/N" I respond back.

He dresses up nicely, chill and casual but still makes himself really good looking. He's honestly kind of cute, in his own way. Maybe I'm just interested cause he stood up for me. Or maybe he is just really cute.

Oh my god woman, make up your mind.

I begin to pick up my cd's and I hear a comment "wait, you listen to 88rising?"

Oh, okay so cute and has good music taste. I can roll with this. Maybe I won't need that dating form after all.

"Who doesn't?" I say and he laughs.

"None of my friends have heard of any of the artists" he responds.

NO.

WAY.

"But their music is soooo good" I say and he nods, enthusiastically.

"Legittt, what's your favorite song by the whole group?" He asks.

"Favorite song from the Head in the Clouds albums would be 'I Want In' and then just from the artists' works is 'I Like You' by Niki" I respond, he nods.

"'I Want In' is such a vibe, I'm more of 'Nothing Wrong' type of guy though and favorite from artists' works is 'Slow Dancing in the Dark' by Joji" he says.

Yo, those two song choices are like polar opposites. Like one's so hype and one's sad boy hours.

"Oh my god, Slow Dancing in the Dark makes me want to cry at all times" I say and he laughs at me.

"Top tier in your feels songs for sure" he says and then asks "Do you have the economics tutorial at 3?". I nod.

I wonder what he's trying to do with this information.

"Yeah, I do" I say and he asks "want to discuss music before the class?".

"Let's do it!"

—–

Day Two: #6

[masterlist]

—–

6 months after a breakup, a girl asks for some spice in her life. What she didn’t expect was a dating form being posted in honor of her. Multiple love interests, a regretful ex, a nosy brother and his friend and the college life ensures that the spice level is 1,000,000 on the Scoville Rating.

—–

A/N: So, what's our thoughts people? Do we feel sorry for Jihoon or no? Also Y/N and Vernon? Is that a vibe? (Or any of the characters actually?)

Has anyone filled out a dating form? Or have seen one? My university has an unofficial Facebook page where they upload dating forms (it’s more like hookup forms), hence where this idea came from. I don’t know if this is a common concept in everyone’s university though.

also yes check out 88rising hehe

[xxisxxisxxis]

Deleted Scenes: Gateway Drug

This ones a lil different, but you'll like it, I'm sure:) update is being posted tomorrow night, have a good night!!

Tag List: @unknownoblivion  @edwardtriggerhandzz  @lemmyjelly  @haileynicoleseavey17  @cierrasixx19  @oskea93  @mgkobsessed  @sharon6713  @itsametaphorbriansblog  @miriampraez  @allie-mcginn @xpoisonousrosesx  @rebeccaphillips14  @nicholeh7 @lilmou5ie  @tamedhearts  @divaanya  @6ixx6ixx  @ratedrkohardychick91  @floregrohlssard  @oldschoolimagineblog  @thanks2pete  @abaldboi  @liith-ium  @caos18blog  @ytwahsog  @scarecrowmax  @random-internet-user-4471  @solohqrry  @sparxx27  @kaitieskidmore1  @cruecifymesixx    @meetthesixxter   @sublimeprincesswasteland  @arianareirg  @girlnight-terror

@fancywasmyname1  @teller258316  @ggorehorror  @blowinmeupwithherlove  @xrosegoldwolfx  @mylifeisjustafeverdream  @redlipscrystalskies14 @str4nge-haze @reigns420 @sixxseconds2love @leatherandheels @dogmom2014 @allyouneedislove-mp3 @n0-self-c0ntro1

.

.

.

"Never Have I Ever" -- [2019] 

"We can't even look at the questions to be prepared first?" I ask, feeling a little nervous and Monroe shakes his head. 

"What's the fun in that, mom?" He chuckles, running a hand through his blonde hair as he'd mic'd up, and I raise a brow. 

"Oh, lord." I say, soon getting the cue that the camera's rolling. 

"Hey, my name's Monroe McKagan-Sixx, and this is my mom," he motions to me. 

"Vivian Sixx," I smile. 

"And we're about to scar each other in a game of 'Never Have I Ever'." He finishes and I shake my head a little. 

"God help me." I sigh out, getting ready for the question as he sticks his hand into the bowl of paper, pulling one out. 

"Alright, never have I ever exchanged a gift from a loved one that I secretly hated." He states, and I think for a moment, before the both of us hold up a paddle that says "I HAVE NOT." 

"No," I shake my head. "If I don't like it, I just put it in my closet and let it chill there because it's still sentimental." I admit and he raises his brows. 

"I throw it away." He says and I look at him. 

"Monroe." 

"Like, okay, I don't throw it away, I put it in the garage. Because it's just gonna take up space in my room or wherever I put it up at." He clarifies.

"Okay, that's not that bad then." I shrug. "Next." 

"Never have I ever been somewhere different than where I told my parents I was." 

I hold back a smile, lifting my, "I HAVE", and Monroe puts up, "I HAVE."

"I think I know yours." I tell him. 

"Yeah, I was in football, and hated it, so I'd lie about going to practice and would go to my best friend's house and play video games the whole time and then go back to the school in time for my parents to come pick me back up, but I eventually got caught up in my lie by my stepmom and she talked to my dad and they talked to mom and so I quit football and played basketball instead, which was way more interesting." He explains and nod, and he looks at me with raised brows. "What's yours?"

"I would always say I was going to night service at church or Wednesday night service, and I'd always just hangout with Nikki the whole time." I shrug and he wrinkles his nose. 

"Fast." He mocks an old woman's voice. "Fast little girl, going to hell in a handbasket." 

I roll my eyes chuckle a little bit. 

"Mind ya business." I tell him. 

"Are you gonna tell God that when you're explaining why you weren't at church all the times you claimed you were?"

"Hush." I laugh and he joins me, grabbing for another paper as we calm down. 

"Never have I ever stolen something." 

He holds up "I HAVE NOT" while I hold mine sideways, to represent a so-so answer. 

"I don't think there's ever been a reason for me to steal because I've always had enough money from either my parents or myself to just buy what I've needed or wanted--and that's a blessing to say that, but, yeah. I've also been terrified to try to steal anything because just my luck I'd get caught." He rubs his forehead. 

"I've never stolen anything myself, but I've assisted in stealing." I tell them and Monroe looks at me pointedly. "I wou--"

"--Who'd you help steal stuff?" He asks me, amused. 

"Tommy and Nikki and Vince for booze and cigarettes." I explain. "I distracted the cashier for them and they got it and were gone." 

"Damn, Mom." He scoffs. 

"We were broke, babe. I only did it a few times." I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear as he picks up another one. 

"Never have I ever gotten out of a ticket for being famous." 

We both hold up "I HAVE." 

"No explanation needed." I add.

"Nope." 

"Never have I ever sexted." 

Both of our faces turn bright red and we just start laughing, holding up, "I HAVE." 

"Unfortunately, we both have, and unfortunately we've each had a moment where we sent a nasty text to one another instead of the intended recipient." I explain once I wipe my tears from laughing so hard. 

"She sent one in a group chat with me and my step dad, and I cried for two hours, and then…" he trails off, scrunching his eyes closed as he starts again and my stomach muscles cramp up from laughing. 

"A few weeks later he sent one to me on accident because he was texting multiple people at once and it got lost and I guess I found it." I sigh out. "And if we don't laugh, we'll cry, so let's keep it moving." 

I grab another, and read out, "Never have I ever had a near death experience," and I glance at the producers. "You guys are shady as hell." I tell them as Monroe and I both hold up, "I HAVE."

I know they probably want me to talk about getting shot or strangled, but I don't.

"Tansy." Monroe and I simultaneously say. 

"Riding in a car with Tansalyn Rose behind the wheel is like signing a death certificate." Monroe says. 

"She don't know how to drive. Everyone and their brother has tried to teach her how to drive, she just can't." I add. "Love you, Tans." 

"Never have I ever watched porn." 

We both hold up "I HAVE" and Monroe gawks at me. 

"What?!" He turns to fully face me in his chair and I raise my brows. 

"Not, like, recently, but we had--back in the day--movie theaters for it and we would--"

"Movie theaters for porn?!"

"Yes--"

"--And who's 'we'?!" 

"Me and Tansy and Tommy and Vince and Nikki and--"

"--What, I am so--mom, what?!"

"I only did it a few times." I tell him. 

"You've only done a few things a few times, I see that." He replies, sassily. 

"I don't even wanna acknowledge your answer so just…" I wave my hand and he puts his sign down, shaking his head, side eyeing me.

"You are something else, mom." He says, grabbing the next statement and I chuckle. 

"Never have I ever had a threesome." 

"Oh, Jesus help me." I pipe, " I HAVE NOT" as my answer, and I see Monroe's is "I HAVE NOT," and we both exhale in relief. 

"I'm too jealous to participate in group sexual activities because I like being monogamous and if someone was touching on my girlfriend or boyfriend I'd keep slapping their hands away or something." He says and I agree. 

"See that's my thing, too." I nod. 

"Never have I ever lied about my body count." I read next, and we both go with "I HAVE NOT."

"People think I do, but I honestly don't because I'm fertile as hell apparently and get knocked up with every man's baby I sleep with." I say casually and Monroe and snorts, rubbing his eyes. "What about you?" I ask him. 

"No." He shakes his head. "There's no reason for me to, because it's not like a crazy number, so…it's eight." He adds and I raise my brows. 

"Eight?" 

"Yeah." He nods. 

"You're doing great compared to every other man in my life and body counts so, okay." I shrug. 

"What do you think Uncle Vince's is?" He asks me next. 

"Well over a thousand--he might even be up in the Gene Simmons numbers." I inform him. 

"Damn." He says and I nod. "Question: I have a girl friend that thinks if a woman sleeps with another woman that it doesn't count, do you think it does?" 

"Wait--what?" I look confused because I am, looking at him. 

"One of my friends thinks that if a woman sleeps with another woman, that it doesn't go towards her body count." He repeats. 

"Why not?" 

"Because she said it's not, like...anything going up in there." He replies. 

"What?" I'm even more confused. 

"I--Mom, oh my God, like," he chuckles off his embarrassment before explaining further, "okay, when you have sex with a guy his part goes in your part, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, if you were to have sex with a woman, she doesn't have a part that goes in your part so it doesn't count against your sexual partner record or whatever." He tells me. "So, like, you and Nikki, and you and Dad, you have two people you've had sex with. If you and Aunt Tansy were to have sex, then you'd still only have a body count of two because she doesn't have a dick." 

"What about dildos and strap ons and everything else women--"

"--That's what I said but she said it's not like skin, like those aren't made of skin, so it doesn't count as sex." He laughs out and I feel my brain cells die. 

"Oh, hell no, see this is the problem with y'all young folks, okay, stop being pussies. Stop being pussies. Stop pussying out--if you aren't just eating another girl out or fingering another girl or vise versa, whether it's with the use of toys or just rubbing your genitals together hard enough and fast enough to damn near start a fire, you are having sex and when counting sexual partners, you better count that woman. I'd be pissed as hell if someone tried to tell me, 'oh, you don't count as a sexual partner' after we had done had sex. Then what the hell were you just blowing my back out for, Bridget?!" I give a theoretical name and Monroe covers his face with his hands, trying to process my rant. "Moral of the story: if you are a woman, and you penetrate or scissor another woman, congrats, you've had sex, and have another body to add to your counting. And tell your friend that, too. Next question." 

"Oh, my gosh, mom." Monroe still can't get a grip. 

"Boy, collect yourself, we have one more question left." I tell him, and he takes a deep breath and reaches for the last paper. 

"Never have I ever blacked out." 

I answer with "I HAVE" while he opts "I HAVE NOT." 

"Mine was accidentally, like, I didn't mean to get drunk, and it was in ninth grade, and Vince spiked some punch I was drinking or whatever and I ended up running from Tommy, naked, while he was trying to put my swimsuit back on me." I explain. 

"I thought you took your clothes off when you ate Uncle Stevie's brownies and they chased you through the hotel?"

"Your Mama likes stripping down when she's under the influence, for some reason, and I think that's why God didn't necessarily let alcohol and drugs be my poison because he knew…'That bitch can't keep her clothes on'." I say and he shakes his head, holding back laughter. 

"I have never." He starts. "I watched my dad struggle with that stuff for years, and how it hurt my mom and so I usually don't drink much anyway because I do have an addictive personality and I don't want to risk getting white girl wasted and enjoying it, and falling down the rabbit hole my dad and so many of my own friends have, so, yeah." He shrugs. 

"How was it?" The producer asks us. 

"Wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be." I admit. 

"Me neither, even though I learned some things about my mom I could've gone forever without knowing." 

"And I learned that I raised an angel-baby-sugar-pop, which I knew I did but this just reassured me." I say and he looks at me. "Even if you have done all the things we went over that are viewed as 'bad', that doesn't change a thing." I assure him. 

"Thanks, Mom." He grins, grabbing my hand.

"Now, as long as I don't have to do this with Santana--who I know will give me a heart attack--I'll be okay." I add. 

[ask-de-writer]

THE  GOD’S FANGS : Fantasy :  Dirkhan in the Desert

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to Dirkhan in the Desert

THE  GOD’S FANGS

by De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

2225 words

written 2008 © 2016 by Glen Ten-Eyck

All rights reserved.  This document may not be copied or distributed on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

/////////////////////

Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story. I will further allow the use of printed copies for educational use in school classes. No charge of any kind may be made for this use, whether paper, ink, binding, packaging, distribution or any other charge whatsoever.

Fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions are actively encouraged!

///////////////////////

Dark it was, a night of wind, torn and racing cloud wrack, and biting chill.  A grim moon showed all with a ghastly waning gibbous glow.  Only those with desperate errands or, of course, thieving rascals were out, braving the gloom and frigid breeze.

The cold gusts found every chink  in Uman’s tight pulled cloak.  He was making his way up Vintner’s Row.  Clutching the still precious but now empty date wine flask close, he muttered, “”Just the night for a warm drink.  Old Cormag always gives a man a free drink in return for a bottle to fill and sell.  A copper fluket or a drink is the standing offer and tonight, the drink it is.”

The wind was swirling dust and grit over the wall of Dirkhan in the Desert.  “This wind might as well be the spirits of those who’ve died of thirst in the desert of Skrald Iden jealously trying to keep an honest man from getting his drink,” thought Uman.  He barked a small laugh at the ridiculous notion of himself as an honest man.

The laugh drew the attention of two of Dirkhan’s City Watch.  “Who goes?” they called  out, hoping for a stray dog or a desert cat.  Instead, Uman stepped boldly from the shadows.

He greeted the guards, “Mowat, Celdor, a vile night to be out on duty or for any other reason.  Some of us truly appreciate your efforts and dedication.  Here, a fluket each for a warm drink to share with me up at Old Cormag’s.”  Fishing in his pouch, Uman produced and offered two of the small coins.

Eying Umans’s flask, Celdor asked bluntly, “Why not a sip from your bottle instead?”

Smiling sadly, Uman shook the offending flask and replied, “You could.  You could indeed, but you will get more with my fluket.  This is an empty that I’m taking to Old Cormag for his standing offer of a drink for a bottle to fill.”

Mowat made up his mind, saying, “We’ll take you up on the drink, Uman.  Unfortunately, we have to arrest you anyway.  Somebody broke into the Temple of Motar and stole the god’s golden fangs tonight.  Magistrate Jumpar thinks that it was you.”

Uman’s eyebrows rose in amusement.  Grinning broadly, he asked, “What?  Pulled in twice in one night, Mowat?  Do you like Magistrate Jumpar?”

Celdor’s face twisted in anger and he spat at a roil of dust whirling down the lane.  “Not one bit.  The Highborn bastard always pays us with coins so worn and clipped that they ain’t worth but a part of what we’re supposed to get.”

Nodding in sympathy, Uman agreed, “Such has been my experience with Jumpar also.  If you would like to pay him back and yet still do his Written Will, come up to Cormag’s for that warm drink while we discuss the matter.  I will come with you freely after it.”

A short while later, in Magistrate Jumpar’s dingy Court Room, Uman was hustled into the prisoner’s wicket.  A pair of cressets flamed fitfully, one to either side of the Magistrate’s bench, showing walls of the same dull tan mud brick that most of Dirkhan was made of.  Celdor shut the prisoner’s wicket firmly.

Mowat faced the balding, sallow faced Magistrate and stated, “According to your Written Will, we have apprehended the miscreant Uman the Fat.  For this Service of Justice, we are due a silver Djal.”

Negligently waving a hand that reminded Uman of a vulture’s claw, Jumpar declared loftily, “I will pay you presently.  At the moment I have only a golden Djaballa.”  He squirmed a bit on his magistrate’s bench as he tried to straighten hastily donned Magisterial robes.

Celdor promptly began to open the prisoner’s wicket.  Mowat watched in approval, stating clearly, “You’re learning, Celdor.  No payment, no Service.  Sorry to inconvenience you, Uman.  We will have to arrest you another time, when the bench has the proper money for its Services.”

Grinning, Uman held up a hand.  “Not so swiftly, my friends.  I have the correct change right here.  It would be a shame indeed for our good Magistrate’s Justice to fail for so small a thing.”  Uman fished in his pouch and produced seven silver Rilks and five silver Djals, all of pristine, unclipped, unshaved coins.

With an innocent smile, he offered, “I’ll just take that Djaballa and you can use this money to pay our good watchmen for their Services of your Written Will, as necessary.”

Sourly, Jumpar handed his golden coin over to his prisoner who courteously gave the  Magistrate the handful of silver.  Ostentatiously, Uman tested the Djaballa against a tooth, observing, “Can’t be too careful.  Somebody might have cheated our honest Justice Jumpar.”

Glaring at his prisoner, Jumpar demanded, “Uman the Fat, do you know why you are here?”

Leaning negligently against the side of the wicket, Uman replied, “According to your Written Will, I stand accused of stealing the Golden Fangs from Motar’s idol this very night.  I have cooperated with the guard in every way because of this specific crime, I am innocent.”

Eyebrows raised almost to his non-existent hairline, Jumpar sneered, “Of this crime?  You?  Innocent?”  Sternly he went on, “It is not possible.  You were seen in the Temple of Motar today.  Clearly you were casing the temple for this night’s burglary.”

Turning on his bench to face Mowat, jumpar demanded, “Was the search required by my Written Will carried out?”

Looking up from cleaning his fingernails with a a small dagger, Mowat replied, “It was, Magistrate.  For this Service of your Written Will we are due a silver Djal.”

Sighing in exasperation at having to let yet another good coin out of his grasp, Magistrate Jumpar handed over the money.  Celdor promptly gave the Magistrate a stout sack well filled with pointed objects.

Baring his yellowed teeth in triumph, Magistrate Jumpar declared, “So!  Innocent are you?  Behold, the missing Fangs of Motar, stolen impiously from his Idol this very evening!  Your guilt is obvious even to a child!  There can be no defense against this evidence!”

Uman put his face in his hands to hide his smile while he composed his features into a proper look of despair.  Glumly he said, “And yet, I must try.  It is my very life that is forfeit if I fail.

“I will readily own that I was in Motar’s temple earlier today.  I prayed for eloquence before Motar’s Mouth.  After I prayed, I went to the Temple Blessing Shop.  There, I purchased a complete set of the Fangs of Elocution.  You have just most impiously dumped them out on the Bench without so much as a ‘bless me Motar’ for it.”  Rummaging in his pouch, Uman produced a small slate streak plate, used to try the purity of gold and silver.  Along with the slate, he produced a small slip of parchment.

Proffering both items to the Magistrate, Uman went on, “If the heft of those Fangs alone does not convince you, try their purity with this slate.  Those are my brass Fangs of Blessing from the Temple Blessing Shop.  This parchment is my receipt for a donation of two golden Djaballa.  It is signed by junior priest Bulgulla.

“My gold was well spent, for my business went to my advantage.  About sundown, I went to the Garden of Red Lamps to celebrate my success.”

Turning to the watchmen, Uman offered a silver Djal.  “For your Service of Justice, this coin.  Please tell Magistrate Jumpar where I spent this evening.”

Celdor shrugged cheerfully as he took the money.  “You were in cell sixteen.  We picked you up in a sweep after a brawl at the Garden of Red Lamps.  After two and a half hours, we let you out because we determined that you were a bystander and not a part of the fight.

“We escorted you to Cormag’s Inn and left you there.  When we received the Magistrate’s Written Will, we went back towards Cormag’s in the hope of apprehending you.  We found you in the street, returning to the Inn for another drink.”

Celdor faced the furious Magistrate and proceeded, “This prisoner has cooperated with us in every possible way.  He guided us to his lodgings and we found the evidence that was specified in your Written Will.  We brought both the required evidence and the prisoner here.  His degree of cooperation is demonstrated by his providing the necessary Price of Service to enable you to inquire into this heinous crime.”

Jumpar screeched, “If you knew all this, why didn’t you tell me about it?”

Mowat shrugged expressively and stated, “We have been upbraided before for speaking out.  You have demanded that we not try to correct the Highborn.  You know more and are wiser than we commoners, you have said.  We simply assumed that you knew something that we did not.”

Glaring down from the Bench, Jumpar demanded, “Return the coins of Service.  You should never have been paid them.”

Uman shook his head so vigorously that he made his head-cloth flip about.  “Not so, Your Justice.  These good watchmen have fairly done all that your Written Will required of them.  It is no fault of theirs that you failed to check the evening’s arrest docket.”

Pointing  a claw-like finger at the door, Jumpar screamed, “Get out of my Court!” Imperturbably, Uman stepped from the now open prisoner’s wicket and approached the Bench.  “I’ll go when I have my Blessing and the receipt for the two Djablalla that they cost.”

Angrily, Jumpar swept the brass Fangs and receipt into the sack.  Sighing, Uman offered, “Bless him, Motar, even if he is too angry to ask for it himself.”  He took the bag and his leave.

/////////////

Presently, Uman was shown into the private audience chamber of the Merchant Prince Grabit.  That worthy offered, “Palm heart wine, Uman?  It is from the oasis groves of Palidor.  How went our business?”

Uman sipped his wine while lolling back in the comfortably padded chair and took in the luxuriously appointed room.  At last he replied, “Well and ill both.  I got them, as promised.  Here they are.”  He handed a bag to Merchant Prince Grabit.

Grabit’s pudgy fingers expertly extracted the fangs and the parchment.  Frowning, he examined them with a glass.  Looking puzzled, he pronounced, “These are brass.  A Blessing Shop set … No, they are too large.”

Eyes opening wide, he exclaimed, “Oh, my!  The Golden Fangs of Motar are a fraud!”

Uman, leaning forward intently explained, “No.  Motar’s Fangs are golden.  Only this idol’s fangs are false.  I know, because at one time or another, I’ve met and spoken with all nine of the True Gods.”

Grabit corrected, “Eight.  There are only eight True Gods.”

“Nine,”  stated Uman with authority.  “Just because neither the Eight True Gods nor their priests like Ranton, patron of Theft and other disasters, doesn’t change the fact that he’s a True God.  The Eight simply hate to admit it, that’s all.”

Sourly, Grabit agreed, “Being one of the Rich, I can understand their reluctance.  So, when did you find that the fangs were false?”

With a wry smile, Uman replied, “As soon as I saw them up close.”

Puzzlement writ large on his plump face, Grabit asked, “Then why did you risk stealing them?  Why not just report the fact to me?”

Relaxed, Uman answered, “I felt sorry for Motar.  I told you that I’ve met him.  I like him.  By this, you can earn the very real favor of a True God and gain absolute power over his greedy priests at the same time.

“Just have these Fangs copied in real gold and return them to the Temple with a tale of your great risk and expense in finding the missing Fangs.  Motar is sure to be pleased and reward you well.  As long as you keep these originals, you can blackmail the priests to your heart’s content.”

A flunky in fine livery came into the chamber and whispered into Grabit’s ear while handing him a sheet of parchment.  The flunky cast weasel like eyes at Uman and his lip twisted up into a derisive sneer as he left.  The Prince informed Uman, “Maggit says that you cannot have done this deed.  This is the record of your arrest for a brawl, earlier this evening and again later you were arrested, tried and acquitted of this very crime.  I do believe that you did it, but how?”

Uman thought carefully of how much to reveal and said judiciously, “Misdirection, My Lord.  I knew, from the routines of the priests, that the idol’s false fangs would not be missed until late.  It is a common misconception that burglars must work after darkness falls.  Even Magistrates who should know better believe it.  I simply stole them earlier, in broad daylight.

“Provoking a brawl took care of the evening for me.  All that I needed to do was help Magistrate Jumpar to keep the night in mind and he drew the same conclusion as Maggit.  It gave me the best possible alibi.  An official one.”

Pausing thoughtfully, Uman added, “Since you are putting a substantial amount of real gold into the Temple, you really should do something about the Sanctuary lock.  I think that a poorly trained monkey could open it.”

                                                —THE END—  

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to Dirkhan in the Desert

[triptychexe]

TITLE: Initiation  SUMMARY: The Trivium members receive ‘initiation’ by S.O.T and Tromme and complete three tasks in one night.

GENRE: Friendship, humor ig PAIRING: OT9, R3D OT3, BLU3 OT3, Y3LLOW OT3. WORD COUNT: 3.k WARNINGS: Swearing, initiation process (but no one gets hurt) A/N: this is the longest thing i’ve written for triptych lmao. i was thinking of breaking it up into parts but whatever. if you read the whole thing, thank you!! i hope you enjoy!

“I am not participating.” Ura frowned, crossing her arms defiantly. “I just won’t show up. If they want me there, they’re going to have to pry me from by bed.”

Van gave Ura a pout. “C’mon, they can’t do anything too bad. They’re our friends, they just want to have some fun to celebrate our debut.”  “We all know that the only reason why they’re doing this to us is because Cal is annoying and they want an excuse to bully him.” Ura rolled her eyes. 

“Hey,” Cal frowned.

Ura scoffed, ignoring Cal’s protesting whine. “It’s a little childish, don’t you think?”  “I think you’re being a little... adultish.” Cal fumbled the fake work, his eyebrows knitting together for a second of confusion before continuing. “Plus if they’re going to roll me in honey and feathers, don’t you wanna be there to point and laugh at me?” 

Ura sighed, unraveling her crossed arms. The two older groups invited them to an ‘initiation’ night at the boy’s dorm this evening after Trivium got back from their last activities for promotion. Ura thought it was bullshit, especially when she knows that neither S.O.T or Tromme have ever gone through initiation themselves. However, Van and Cal seemed to think of this as a great team bonding opportunity. Even though she didn’t want to be made a fool of in front of her new members, she also wanted to be there in case she needed to intervene to save her friends from bodily harm. 

“Fine." Ura grunted. “I’ll go.” 

Teo lit the last candle, shaking out the match. Around the boy’s living room were dozens of candles. The other six members sat in a semi circle in front of Trivium, all with blankets draped over their heads and shoulders. 

Ura shifted uncomfortably, watching as Teo took his seat on the edge of the semi-circle, right next to Asa. 

“Trivium,” Eli spoke, raising his hands. “You have completed your debut promotions successfully, ringing in new fans and opportunities for the group and the company. Even though these are great and appreciated accomplishments, you still have to pass initiation in order to be accepted by us, the founders.”

“The founders? We’re just as much of ‘founders’ as you are.” Ura arched a skeptical eyebrow. Eli lowered his hands slightly, not expecting the opposition to his statement.

Zim pushed her blanket away from her eyes. “Just go with it, Ura. We’re aiming for dramatic, not accurate.” 

Ura rolled her eyes. ‘Dramatic not accurate’ might as well have been Triptych’s whole concept. 

Eli continued, raising his hands back to their original height.  “We have called upon the Kpop Gods to help us find the proper trials. First, you will do The Crawl to judge your strength. Then we will do The Beam of Balance, to test your agility. Then we will preform The Heist as a group, to test our compatibility.” 

“Do you accept your challenge?” Yen asked, a grin under her hood.

The Crawl was kind of stupid, if you ask Ura. 

The members had gathered their electronic wires and shoe laces and taped the ends of them to the walls in the hallway. You had to crawl on your stomach under the wires and string and get to the other side. The obstacle? The other members of Triptych were standing in the doorways of bedrooms with handfuls of flour, ready to pelt you with the white powder as soon as you got close enough. 

The first trial was over and done with after about ten minutes. Van took the shortest amount of time, only taking about a minute to get through. Ura took about three, because she kept stopping to blink flour from her eyes. Cal took roughly six minutes because he managed to wrap a cable around his neck and needed Teo to unravel it for him. 

Covered in flour and dust from the floor, the second trial began. The members had brought up two boxes and one wooden plank (that Asa said they found behind the company building after practice). The goal was to see how many ‘original’ members you could knock off the balance beam using brooms to throw their balance off.

Ura actually enjoyed this round. She was easily the one to beat out of all of Trivium. Van let Yen knock him over in the first round, earning him a collective boo for refusing to play rough with a girl. Cal was decent until Nia got on the beam and knocked him over with one good shove. Ura managed to knock down almost everyone, except for Eli, who was the last person she had to face. 

The nine members collected themselves, shaking hands and resolving faux arguments about the fairness of the game. When they all calmed down, it was time to start the final round: The Heist. 

Ura thought it would be another game, but she was gravely mistaken. When Triptych said a heist, they really meant it. 

“We’re all going to split up into our designated color teams and sneak into the company to find some sacred HBH objects. Yellow team,” Eli announced, looking at Zim and Van. “The three of us will be stealing... Hak Bonghwa’s travel mug.”  “The one with the frogs on it?” Zim clarified.  “That’s the one.” Eli confirmed.  “Easy.” Zim nodded.

“Blue team,” Eli turned to Asa, Yen, and Cal. “You will be stealing... HBH producer LeeBoi’s Supreme sweatshirt!”  Asa, Yen, and Cal wrapped their arms around each other’s shoulders, uniting as a team.

“Red team,” Eli addressed, turning to Nia, Teo, and Ura. “You’ll be stealing... Vice’s First Win trophy.”

“Wait, why do we get the most difficult one?” Teo complained.  “Just admit you’re scared of Vice and don’t want to upset them.” Asa teased. “I am not-” Teo started to protest.

“The items have been chosen from the Kpop Gods. We cannot change them.” Eli said dramatically. “The first team to collect their item and bring it back here wins!” 

The corporate floor was eerily quiet at night. Van has only been called up here a few times. Once to go over his trainee contract and the other to sign his idol contract with Hak Bonghwa. 

Moonlight filtered through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows of the three idol’s figures as they inched closer and closer to Bonghwa’s office. 

“What are the chances that he left it unlocked?” Van asked. “High. He trusts all his workers a little too much.” Zim responded in a hushed tone.

They reached the office, which was completely dark except for the light emitting from the city lights outside. Eli reached for the door handle with his sweatshirt over his fingers, careful not to leave any finger prints. Just as they suspected, the door opened.

“Alright.” Eli straightened up. “We just got to grab the mug and we’re out of here. He probably has it in his mini fridge under his desk.”  Van furrowed his eyebrows. “How’d you know that?”  “He always makes himself an coffee before he goes home. He chills it over night in his minifridge so he has a coffee first thing when he gets to the office.” Eli shrugged. “He told me all about it when I was early for practice last week.” 

The three idols made their way to Hak Bonghwa’s desk where the minifridge was concealed. When they ducked down to open the fridge, they were met by a small round face peering up at them.

“AH! CHILD!” Zim yelled, jumping backwards.  “Shh!” The child pressed a finger to his lips. “Who the hell are you?” Eli asked, his eyes wide.  “Hak Donghyun.” The boy responded matter-of-factly. “Who the hell are you?”  “Language.” Eli stuck an accusing finger out to the child. “Aren’t you Hak Bonghwa’s kid?” Van asked, crouching down to the child’s level. From under the desk, Van could see that the kid set up a small campsite of blankets, video games, and mini snacks from the vending machines.  “Yup.” Donghyun grinned. “You’re not supposed to be here.”  “Neither are you.” Zim reminded him. “How did you get in here?”  Donghyun pointed to the ceiling. The trio looked up to see a vent with the grate pushed aside.  “I know all the vents. It’s helpful. You should learn them too.” Donghyun shrugged. “Anyways, my dad’s travel mug is in the fridge. Don’t touch my Gatorade supply or I’ll tell on you.” 

The three idols looked between each other in disbelief, but were careful not to touch the kid’s Gatorade as they removed the frog-print travel mug from the minifridge.  “Thanks, Donghyun.” Van said to the kid, who was now engrossed in a video game.  “I want a signed album, though.” Donghyun looked up from his video game. “If I don’t get one by tomorrow, I’ll tell everyone you broke in and that you swore at me.”  “I didn’t swear-” Eli’s eyebrows furrowed. “Deal.” Van cut his friend off. “We’ll see you tomorrow Donghyun. Have a fun night.”  “Thanks. You too.” Donghyun grinned, resuming his game as the three idols left his father’s office. 

“Where the fuck is it?” Yen hissed, checking behind the studio’s sofa. “Don’t tell me his musty ass finally decided to take it home to clean it.” 

“Hey, Mi, relax, there’s no way LeeBoi would do laundry, that’s way too out of character.” Asa soothed his friend, coming out of the recording booth empty handed. “If it’s not in here, it’s gotta be in a locker somewhere.” 

“A locker? There’s hundreds of lockers in this damn building!” Yen complained. 

“We can split up?” Cal suggested. Both Yen and Asa frowned at him.  “No, we should stay together. The whole point of this exercise is to build bonds with each other.” Asa reasoned.  “I think the ‘whole point’ has changed to who can come in first place.” Yen disagreed, crossing her arms. "I don’t want to split up, but I also don’t want to lose to Eli. He’ll brag about it for ages.” 

“Alright, so how do you wanna go about this?” Asa questioned.  “I mean, isn’t the trainee floor off limits to anyone without a trainee ID?” Cal wondered. “So LeeBoi’s sweatshirt must be in a locker on the main practice room floor.” 

“And knowing him, he’d probably want to take the least amount of time getting from The Dungeons to the locker. So he’s probably stored it somewhere on the third floor.” Yen hypothesized.  “And LeeBoi is a pretty predicable person.” Asa nodded in agreement. “Alright, to the third floor we go.” 

The trio entered the boys locker room and started opening up all the unlocked lockers. No sign of the producer’s sweatshirt. Yen was starting to get frustrated now. She flopped herself down on one of the benches and rubbed her temples.

“I can’t believe we’re going to lose to everyone. We’re even losing to Nia... Moon Yerin! This is the worst day of my life.” Yen complained melodramatically. Asa sat next to her and tried to make her feel better by cracking dumb jokes and rubbing her shoulder. Cal felt like he was intruding on a personal moment, as he felt every time Asa and Yen drifted off in their own little world like this. Feeling awkward just standing there, he took one last walk around the lockers. 

Suddenly, something very strong hit his nostrils. The obnoxious cologne scent wafted into his lungs, making him gag a little. He back tracked his steps and breathed deeply. Coming from a locked locker was the unmistakable smell of LeeBoi. 

“No way... Guys!” Cal exclaimed over his shoulder at the pair. “I think it’s in this locker... come smell it!” 

Asa and Yen came over, pressing their noses against the metal grates in the locker door.  “Holy shit, that’s gotta be it.” Yen’s eyes widened, her waterline tearing up from the stench.   “But how are we gonna open the lock?” Asa questioned.

Cal’s eyes fluttered to Yen’s hairstyle; a high-risen slicked back ponytail. Yen backed away.  “We’re not using my head as a battering ram.” She said sternly. “What?” Cal furrowed his eyebrows. “Bro, no. Do you have a bobby pin?” 

The two gave Cal space as he worked on the lock with Micha’s bobby pin. After about three minutes, the lock finally popped open.  “Dude, that was kinda hot.” Asa said under his breath in amazement.  “How did you learn to do that?” Yen asked as Cal removed the lock. “I lived in London.” Cal simply shrugged. “That’s a little cryptic, but okay.” Yen blinked, opting out on asking more questions. 

Inside the locker was the Supreme sweatshirt they’ve been searching for in all it’s smelly glory. Cal took it out with two pinched fingers, holding it away from him. 

“Alright, let’s dip. I don’t wanna hold this sweatshirt for longer than necessary.” Cal suggested. The trio silently agreed and fled the locker room, barreling towards the elevators. 

“We’re dead, we’re dead,” Teo muttered under his breath like a mantra. Ura gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to tell her group mate to be quiet. Thankfully, she didn’t have to. “Injung, chill. We’re just going to run in and then out.” Nia said, trying to sound calm. 

Ura wasn’t really sure why her teammates were so worked up about breaking into Cyth’s recording studio. After looking around the trophy case in the main hall and realizing that Vice’s First Win was not there, they knew there was no where else it could be besides Cyth’s studio in the basement.

Ura let them lead the way, knowing that both of them wanted control over this situation. She didn’t mind going with the flow. There was nothing to worry about anyways-

“What are you three doing?” 

The three Triptych members turned around. Walking towards them was Cyth, a coffee in his hand. He arched an eyebrow at them, taking the straw of his coffee into his mouth. “Not trying to break in, are you?” 

Teo let out an anxious chuckle, instantly straightening himself up. “Haha, what? No. We wouldn’t do that.”  Cyth looked between the three of them, taking a gulp of his drink. Then he let out a sigh and shook his head in disappointment. “I can’t believe it. I’m the worst senior ever. I never taught you guys how to properly sneak around the company after hours.” Cyth gestured to Nia with his coffee.  “Your whole form was completely off. Your body was so tense, it gave the guilt away.” The rapper turned to Teo. “And you... what was that pained laugh, bro? I thought you only reserved that for the unfunny jokes Minho tells at company gatherings. That hurt.”  Teo looked guilty, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

“The only one who didn’t look guilty was Chiayu.” Cyth gestured to the youngest member. “What are you guys trying to swipe?” 

“Your First Win Trophy.” Ura responded.  “Ura, don’t tell him that-” Teo started to scold. “Take it.” Cyth shrugged, walking past them to open his studio door for them. The pair followed him inside, watching as he reached up and brought down the first place trophy from a shelf above his set up. 

“How long are you guys going to need it?” Cyth asked, handing it to Ura.  “Only for the night. We’ll return it tomorrow.” Ura responded. “Can I ask what for?” Cyth wondered.  “We’re doing initiation for Trivium.” Ura answered, ignoring Nia and Teo’s warning glances.

Cyth chuckled. “Damn, you guys are really doing the most. In that case, tell them Ura had to sneak into the studio while you guys distracted me.” Cyth said to Teo and Nia. “Make your maknae look good in front of the others.” 

Ura grinned at her two members, who looked a little awestruck. She couldn’t enjoy the satisfying moment, however, because her eye caught the clock hanging above Cyth’s door.  “Shit, it’s almost two! We gotta get back to the dorm.” She swore. Ura turned to her senior one more time.  “Thanks for helping.” Ura nodded. “Hey, no worries, it’s all in a day’s work, being the best senior and all.” Cyth winked.

“The Kpop Gods have spoken... and the winners are...” Eli motioned for the rest of the members to create a drum roll. Everyone banged their hands against the floor.

“Team Red!” Eli cheered. Nia, Teo, and Ura wrapped their arms around each other, a victorious smile on their faces.

“No fair, we would have won if Ura didn’t side check me in the hallway!” Yen complained, showing the rug burn on her kneecap. “Isn’t that a violation of the rules?”  “We never said no to inflicting rug burns.” Nia grinned smuggly. “We won, fair and square.” 

“What do we win?” Ura asked curiously. 

“You win...” Eli motioned for another round of drum rolls.  “A free from chores coupon! You won’t have to do chores in your dorms for the next month!” Eli cheered, holding up three post-it notes with “FREE FROM CHORES - ONE MONTH - ONE TIME USE” written on them. He handed them to each member of Team Red. 

“Well, this was exciting.” Nia smiled, standing up from her spot on the ground. “But we also have practice at 10am and it’s almost four now. I suggest we all get some sleep before practice.” 

The members all groaned, but they rose to their feet as well. Everyone exchanged hugs and good nights before the girls left the boys dorm, heading across the hall to their own dorm. 

Ura and Yen entered their shared bedroom, preparing for bed. While they were changing, Ura cleared her throat.  “Hey, I’m sorry about shoving you.” She apologized. Yen grinned, shaking her head. “Don’t be. It made the game spicy.”  “Spicy?” Ura frowned, not understanding her friend’s use of slang. Yen shook her head. “Give it a couple of weeks and you’ll be talking like me too.” Yen promised. “All my friends do eventually.” 

With the promise of finally belonging, Ura was able to drift off peacefully that night, thanking herself for agreeing to partake in initiation after all. 

[gabeswritingthingy]

A Slice of Life in Space (Sample Work, Short Story)

Log Entry – 07.05.2050

Everyone on Earth saw it with their own eyes. Yesterday’s events will not be forgotten for a long time. For my part, I saw it while I was preparing pasta for my dinner. At 8:00 pm last night, the moon exploded. The blast was so strong the shockwaves could be felt here on the planet, which resulted in a short 2.5 magnitude earthquake. Thankfully, little to no damage was caused. It also didn’t produce any casualties, either - at least if you don’t consider my carbonara a casualty, because one of the moon chunks fell on the damned thing just as I was about to eat it. Instead, I carefully put on my gloves and placed it in an airtight container immediately. I called my boss and told him about the incident, all worried. She assured me that they have prepared for such an eventuality and have begun The Lunar Restoration Program as we spoke. Since the advancement of technology has come so far, the astronauts at the United Global Space Station had no trouble replacing the damaged 75% of the moon almost instantaneously by getting a clean sample of a moon rock, cloning it, then reattaching it to the rest of the moon on a molecular level. The actual problem, my boss said, is figuring out what caused the moon to explode in the first place.

I also asked her if moon dust is safe for the human body to consume in the hopes that I can still eat my pasta, and she threatened me with bodily harm if I even thought of attempting to do what I wanted to do. I just hung up and went to bed, knowing the next day is gonna be busy.

As part of The Lunar Restoration Program, Stargazer Laboratories has now been tasked by the Global Alliance to find out the cause of the moon’s destruction. My boss, Dr. Valentina Petrova, will be the one leading this operation. I am quite excited to put my efforts toward solving this mystery because we may finally find evidence of intelligent life outside the universe; or maybe this is all a big conspiracy and an UGSS astronaut blew up the moon for their own self-interest. Whatever it is, it’s very exciting stuff.

My name is Dr. Leonard Anderson, and these personal log entries aim to narrate and catalogue what will happen as this operation is going on. Although I do want to emphasize that this is still kinda like my own personal journal, in case this mission blows up in our faces – figuratively or otherwise – and the journalist, historian, or whoever finds this is baffled by the loose language and unnecessary details that will be seen here. So yeah, that’s it. Can’t wait for tomorrow.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 07.06.2050

Crazy stuff, you guys. The astronauts finally flew in all the chunks that came off the moon for analysis. I also gave them my pasta-stained space rock, as it is still apparently valuable. We also interviewed the astronauts working on the space station that day. They told us that they found no traces of radiation after the explosion, so the use of nuclear weapons is out of the picture. They also found no radio signals or transmissions presenting threatening messages coming from outer space or planet Earth minutes before the event, so there is no evidence of human or alien intervention. Not yet, anyway.

The actual analysis of the moon rocks had revealed little, but what we did find out was interesting nonetheless. We found small traces of purple slime in the craters and small crevices, including the ones in my rock pasta. Finding the damn things took all day because there were a lot of chunks we had to go through and we only found a few traces of it. As of today, we have no idea if it was synthesized in the moon naturally, or someone put it there. We called it a day after that. Chemical analysis will be done tomorrow.

After a long, boring day of getting purple goo out of moon rocks, I finally went to see the Hamilton premiere on Mars with Paolo, Sigrid, and Jane. I don’t know them very well yet since they’re new additions to the team, but they seem cool from the first few hours I hung out with them, so I invited them to go with me. It’s amazing that Hamilton is still getting staged after 35 years, but it’s not very surprising, is it? Holy crap, I’m still getting chills when I watch it. What is amazing, however, is that we were able to see it on Mars at all. The planet was only colonized 10 years ago, and terraforming only started two years after that. We’re only half-way finished with the terraforming, but a fully-functioning atmosphere has already been built, and a few thousand people are already living there, which is incredible. The musical is still awesome whatever planet you stage it on, though. The production turned off the artificial gravity and took advantage of that to its fullest when it came to the choreography. It’s even more amazing than when I saw it back when I was a teenager.

What’s even more amazing, however, is the fact that our boss was also there. Seriously. Because we didn’t think that Dr. Petrova, the scary, muscular Russian lady who looks like she bench-presses bears as a hobby, is a fan of musical theater. We almost snuck out undetected, but she saw us. She invited us to have dinner with her, and we were honestly too scared to refuse.

But now, I am fascinated by her. My boss turns out to be a very chill lady. She has a deep, scary laugh, but that’s the only thing kinda scary about her, along with the muscles and the brooding attitude. So yeah, I guess we only found her scary because she’s our boss, and we never really thought of building a relationship with her outside of work. After that, we sang some zero-g karaoke and had a few drinks. Paolo, the little weakling that he is, vomited after two bottles. Puke is very gross when you look at it floating around. We flew him home after that and went our separate ways. This day did a lot of good easing my anxiety about this moon thing. But man, I am very tired.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 07.07.2050

Fucking hell, my head hurts. Wait. Why am I recording this right now? It’s only 3 am. What? Oh, damn, I’m still drunk. [snoring]

Holy crap, was this thing turned on all night? Alright. I am now fully awake and sober. I’ll record today’s events after work, as I always do.

[end of audio log]

We finally did chemical analysis on the purple slime. It has some properties that aren’t found on anything else on the planet, but it strangely bears some resemblance to nitroglycerin. Although because of its baffling chemical traits, it does not ignite when lit on fire. Something else probably detonated the slime, although we’re still not sure what it is.

The analysis almost didn’t happen, though. The samples went missing when work started in the morning. We were all frantic trying to find them. Then we found Paolo, bless his hungover ass, standing over the samples with a knife, a jar of peanut butter, and some bread. Dr. Petrova yelled at him, “THAT’S NOT GRAPE JELLY YOU DUMBFUCK!” and some Russian expletives I couldn’t understand. He jumped in surprise and fell on his ass, but otherwise he’s fine. He was sent home for the day because of his hangover. He didn’t eat the samples by accident, fortunately. I think the boss also didn’t punish him or anything, which is fair.

After that clusterfuck of a morning, work went smoothly. The analysis was done, and we found out what we found out. Work ended after that, because all of us were at a loss at what to do. It really seems like it’s an alien object, but we still can’t be sure. For now, we just put it inside the observation chamber. I immediately went home after because I didn’t really feel like hanging out. Solving a mystery’s just too exhausting sometimes, ya know?

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.08.2050

I stopped recording for several days after my last audio log because work had been long and busy. I only started again now because the experiments finally yielded results. Well, kind of.

Fucking scorch marks EVERYWHERE, y’all. After almost a month of nothing, the goo exploded again. I had to wake up at 6 am today because of that. My boss called me, absolutely frantic. I just thought that if SHE is panicking, then we are ALL panicking. I showered, got dressed, and ate breakfast in the span of ten minutes and immediately went to the lab like it’s the 2010’s and I had to go there by car because warp gates didn’t exist yet. THAT is how urgent the situation is.

What happened was that the alarms went off because the observation chamber blew up. All my friends and the boss were already there. We looked inside, and the samples got out of their glass cases, but not the room itself. Large-ass scorch marks were seen everywhere. Good thing the entire room is made out of titanium alloys.

Another look-around revealed that most of the room is now covered with purple goo, which means they somehow multiplied. It doesn’t complicate things at all. The security cameras also showed that nobody broke into the lab. An inventory of the items revealed that no equipment was stolen or messed with. Knowing that the observation chamber was still airtight, locked under heavy security, and nothing in it was actually broken, the only conclusion we came to is that the slime slipped through their cases, somehow ignited, then multiplied.

After cleaning up, we put all the slime in titanium-alloy boxes instead of glass ones. We cannot observe it properly that way, but we can’t take any chances, either. Letting it have even the slightest means of escape is dangerous. The only thing we can do for now is to continue analyzing while containing the rest.

We also managed to recover footage from the damaged security cameras inside the observation chamber. What we saw is kinda confusing, and we still don’t know what ignited the slime in the first place. It turns out that it kept exploding inside the glass case and somehow got bigger ang bigger until it got all over the chamber. The source of the explosion is still a mystery. More analysis will be done tomorrow. Hopefully some progress will be made.

Our boss wanted to hang out with us again, and we did not hesitate to say yes. There’s a meteor shower that’s gonna pass through the solar system today, and we can see it up close on Mars. We went there after work, and it was beautiful. The zero-gravity environment and protective force field around the planet allowed us to observe the meteors up close. None of y’all have lived at all if you haven’t seen comets changing colors and streaking through the darkness of space so close you can almost touch them. I haven’t seen such beauty since the first spacecrafts that landed on Mars was televised. Three of us saw Sigrid holding on to Paolo’s arm while they looked up, all mesmerized. Is she in love with him, or, knowing how much of a klutz he is, trying to stop him from careening over the observation deck by accident? We didn’t know. We just let them be.

After that, I realized I forgot my laptop in the lab. My boss said she’d go with me since she wanted to do some last-minute security sweeps and make sure the observation chamber wouldn’t explode again. All my friends went home and I went with my boss. She said she wanted to go there by spacecraft instead of warp gate because she wanted to take in the sights when we travel between Mars and Earth. Being that I have no plans and it’ll only take about an hour and a half anyway, I said sure, why not? She took her craft out of her bag, unshrunk it, and we set course for Earth.

There were some sights worth seeing, alright. Ever since humanity became capable of space travel 30 years ago, we developed a newfound appreciation for it. New quasars recently started to form between the empty spaces of Earth and Mars and I am ecstatic I live in a time I get to see them up close. Those beautiful gas clouds would eventually turn to stars and I cannot wait to see them.

I pondered a bit during that car ride. All this wouldn’t have happened if the planet didn’t get its shit together. 10 years before space exploration became a thing, Earth was on the brink of collapse. Thankfully, every country decided they had enough and actually worked together to finally put a stop to global warming. My parents said that to this day, they still can’t believe the sheer scale of unity that happened back then. From what I have read in history, I couldn’t believe it either. Holy crap, we can actually work together. All of those countries eventually became unified as the Global Alliance, one big-ass country with a big-ass, but more efficient government. All this happened a decade before I was born. I wish I could’ve seen it.

We finally got to the lab, and we did all the things we had to do. But my boss asked me if I can stay with her for a few minutes and have a couple of drinks. Turns out she has a secret stash stored in her office. It’s not late yet, so I said yes. I also wanted to know her better because she honestly seems cool.

We got to talking. I told her about myself; how I grew up in Washington, D.C., nearby what used to be NASA headquarters because my parents both worked there; how I saw the prototype for future spaceships being built; how all that inspired me to work in astronomy and join Stargazer Laboratories, all of it. To my surprise, she pressed further and asked me to tell her stuff about myself that has nothing to do with work or outer space or whatever. I mean… I guess she wants to be friends, too. Okay, sure.

Sorry to disappoint you, I told her, but there really is nothing else to tell. I can sing and play guitar a little bit, but I haven’t done those things in a long time because of work. They’re more of a hobby, really. She cut me off and told me that she actually kinda sings too, which just didn’t surprise me anymore considering she just seems like the type. I dunno, by this time I’ve just learned to throw away my initial impression of her that I got because she is clearly very different from the idea I had in my head. At this point, it’s getting very late, but we both didn’t care, so I just went ahead and asked her stuff about herself. She said she was born and raised in Russia, no surprise there. She also told me how her parents both worked in what used to be Roskosmos, the Russian space agency; how this also served as a catalyst for her to work in astronomy; and how she is also the eldest child, with four younger siblings. Now I know why she can lead a team so well. I thought this entire thing might be awkward at first, but man I am glad this happened. She gave me permission to call her Val outside of work, so I guess we cool now. We finally went home after a few hours. I should stop now. I still have work tomorrow.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.09.2050

As I predicted, I woke up super late this morning; 20 minutes before work started, in fact. It’s times like these I am very grateful for the existence of warp gates. I managed to prepare my tired ass in 10 minutes and get to work. I thought that would be the worst thing that’ll happen today. I still wish that I was right.

I got to work without incident. We conducted more chemical analysis on the definitely alien goo. Yeah, the others say there isn’t enough evidence, but I’m calling it right now; it definitely is. While in the middle of analysis, the power suddenly went out for a few seconds before turning on again. We checked the wiring and the generators after that happened; there was nothing wrong with them. Out of suspicion, I placed an EMP detector in the middle of the room and confirmed that there was an electromagnetic pulse that burst out in that spot — the exact spot where the purple slime was. We immediately contained it in the titanium-alloy box, and then I passed out.

I woke up in an ambulance, but thank heavens I was well enough not to go to the hospital. From what Val and the others told me, the slime exploded again the second we contained it. It was strong enough to break it open, which just gave me a lot of anxiety. Fortunately, it absorbed some of the impact and we were all just knocked out. Some of us have a few bruises — I have one on my left side right now — but aside from that, none of us were badly injured. We didn’t break any bones or anything like that. Aside from broken glass, shattered microscopes, and other things, none of our equipment was badly damaged. The construction crew said everything can be fixed by tomorrow, so most of us just went home early.

Jane went home because she can’t walk very well, but I saw Sigrid and Paolo going somewhere together. I am very sure they didn’t go home; not very surprising from what we’ve seen a few days ago. I also planned on going home, but Val asked me to hang out with her for some reason if I was feeling well. I said yes, since I can still walk fine and all.

She insisted on driving me there instead of just using a warp gate. I saw extreme excitement in her eyes, so I said yes out of curiosity. She said the trip would take about two hours, so I took a nap. I woke up and, to my surprise, we’re nearing Mars. I thought we were going to your house, I asked her. She said yes. Silence hung in there for a bit, then I realized. I mean, while I am kinda surprised that she lives on Mars, it still wasn’t that surprising. She seemed like the sort of person who would do it. But it turns out the surprise does not and there.

I got to her house, and my jaw dropped all the way to the floor of her spacecraft. It looked real fucking amazing. It was a behemoth of a structure. The middle looks like two giant gears. Surrounding it was what basically looked like a bunch of giant spears jutting out of the ground. The most insane part, however, was that the entire thing was made of glass. All of it. Made of glass. Oddly enough, it looked familiar, too; then it hit me. It looks exactly like the glass structure thingy Doctor Manhattan made in Watchmen! I said this to Val, and she looked quite surprised. She said that she planned it on purpose, and I was the very first to notice. Guess that’s another thing we have in common.

The landing bay was in the middle, so that’s where we went. The interior of her house — if you can call this thing a house — looks surprisingly normal. Well, normal for the head scientist of the world’s best space station, at least. It’s still big and all, but it doesn’t give off the scientist vibe. She took me to her living room surrounded top-to-bottom with bookshelves and a large-ass flatscreen TV. She served coffee, and we got to talking.

I saw her own copy of Watchmen and I lost my shit. It was a physical copy! The edges were a bit frayed, which showed that it was a well-read copy. She doesn’t keep it in a glass case because it’s a collector’s item or any of that bullshit, which is dope. Classics are meant to be read, not kept in a shelf to preserve it in “mint condition.” Physical copies of any books are rare these days — not that I’m complaining, since the almost non-existent use of paper did loads of good for the environment — but it’s still nice to see an actual book and not just a holographic facsimile. I saw her suddenly smiling at me like a maniac. “Nice to see you finally nerd out around me,” she said. “It’s nice that I can fully relax around you now,” I told her. She told me not to relax yet because she has a surprise.

She went into another room and gave me this huge box with wrapping paper. I stared at her like an idiot for a few seconds. She asked what was up, and then it occurred to me to look at the date. I felt like a moron in that moment and I told her why; I straight-up forgot it was my birthday today. Holy crap, I’m 30 years old already. She laughed at that. She laughed real hard. I mean, work’s just overwhelming and we might be dealing with eldritch alien horrors beyond our understanding, so it’s not surprising I forgot. After her fit, she finally handed me my gift. I opened it and my day got a whole lot better.

It was a Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure special edition boxed-set. All of the anime adaptations were in it, parts 1 until 10. It’s surprising Jojo even ended at all, but I guess even Araki had to retire at some point. Guess he’s not a vampire after all. But how did she even know I’m a fan? To answer that question, she told me how much I talked non-stop about Jojo back when we got drunk at that karaoke bar on Mars. She got it on video, even; although it was blurry as hell because she was also drunk. Damn, it turns out I talk a lot when I’m hammered. The party got started after that. She suggested we watch it together on her big-ass TV since she also hasn’t watched it in a long time, so we did. Holy crap, the animation looks better on a TV that large. Another fact about Val: she cooks a mean pasta.

After binging season 1, she told me to close my eyes for a bit. Guess the surprises weren’t over yet. I opened them after a few seconds, and my face suddenly got covered in chocolate icing. Turns out she secretly invited Jane and the others while I was distracted. We celebrated some more; we bungee-jumped off her balcony; we ate more food; we jammed to some songs, with me and Val singing some songs while I played guitar. We blended well when we sang some show tunes. It felt good to sing after a long time. I didn’t know that I missed it this much. I can definitely say this is the best birthday ever. Work begins again tomorrow. But for now, I rest. Can’t wait to binge Jojo again after all this.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.10.2050

For the first time in a long while, we finally had a breakthrough! We had to finagle the experiment a bit to get there, too. We already tested for temperature and got no results; putting the goo through varying degrees of temperature does not do anything to it. Lighting it on fire doesn’t yield any results, either. Because of that, we thought that maybe it’s being ignited like an actual bomb by an outside force and not through natural means. The idea we came up with is to simply put a small radio transmitter inside the damn thing. Yup. That’s it. It seems too simple to work, but it surprisingly did.

The transmitter lit up five hours after we put it in. Holy crap, we were right! The goo is somehow receiving radio signals from somewhere we cannot locate. A few seconds later, it exploded inside the two layers of the titanium-alloy box we put it in, so we know that radio signals can pass through the box somehow. I’m quite relieved and excited by this because it means two things: we’re just dealing with a criminal with sophisticated equipment and not extraterrestrial forces or whatever, and the solution to this won’t be too difficult. We just have to track the signal with better equipment, track down the criminal, arrest him and finally get some answers. After that, we put the goo back in the observation chamber with some signal jammers to ensure that it won’t ignite again.

I prepared to go home, since Jane and Sigrid are both sick so after-work hangout seemed impossible. But Val pulled me into her office. Paolo was also there, and apparently, he needs our help. He said that he and Sigrid finally became a thing a couple of days back, after almost a month of dating. Props to them. He said he hasn’t told her about it yet because it’s supposed to be a surprise; he plans on taking her to the restaurant peak of Olympus Mons tomorrow for dinner as their first actual date, and he needs us to take her there. Being the good friends that we are, we immediately said yes. He was so ecstatic he ran out the building skipping and yelling in glee. I was about to leave as well, but Val held me back. Okay, I guess she wants to talk a bit more.

She looked flustered as hell for some reason. I can tell she was blushing under the moonlight coming from her window. She kinda looked cute, actually. She said that it’s already been a month since we became friends, which was true. She also said despite it only being a month, a lot already happened and we were kinda close already and stuff, which was also true. I told her that yes, I also do think we grew closer in that time and that I think she’s really cool, especially after she threw me that surprise party. This was also the point that I asked her where she was going with this, and I am quite aware that I should’ve seen it coming. She told me she liked me for already quite a while now. It all started when I nerded out over her copy of Watchmen, she said, and that she’s been hinting at that the past few times we were hanging out. What I’m about to say next would be an approximation of the play-by-play of my thoughts during that moment and how I reacted: “She was hinting at it? How did I not notice? Am I that oblivious? More importantly though, do I like her back? I mean, she is cool. She lives on Mars on a giant glass mansion. She’s an anime fan, a singer, we click together. She’s a bit loud sometimes. She’s also assertive as a boss and a very chill person outside of work and I am definitely into that. She’s a very good leader and also a great friend and person so what do I really think--?”

That entire thought process went through my brain like lightning. My feelings for her immediately crashed down on me like a waterfall. It was insane. The reason my thoughts just stopped there was because I immediately kissed her suddenly, inside her dark office lit only by moonlight. I imagine she saw me blush after I pulled away. I profusely apologized after that and was almost out the door when I was cut off, this time by her kissing me back. Silence hung in the air for a minute after that.

So, she asked me back. “When did you start liking me?” I thought back, and I said it was probably the first time we drank in her office. We planned an actual date tomorrow, and we finally left the lab. I guess that’s that. I am quite surprised, although I know I shouldn’t have been. I went home feeling a bit giddy and at peace. I am gonna sleep well tonight.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.11.2050

[crying]

It’s been quite a long day. I… I’m not well. I’ll have to start from the beginning.

Work began normally, at first. When this day started, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. I had a date after work and I was also gonna help my friends with theirs; I had things to look forward to. But that all changed, just like that. God, I can’t do this.

It all began when Val informed us that Jane had been missing since yesterday. She received a call from the police just this morning; apparently, it seems like someone broke into her house. Signs of a struggle can be found everywhere, and she’s nowhere to be found. So yeah, one can say it was a rough start. We went to work, hoping she eventually gets found.

The uh, the thing happened when we were supposed to start analysis again. Paolo and Sigrid went into the observation chamber to get the sample. The rest of us were setting up equipment when we heard the sound of metal tearing apart. We ran there as fast as we could; I wish I hadn’t got there first.

We were shocked to see Jane there, except by that point, she wasn’t even Jane anymore. Her red hair has been cut short; patches of bald spots could be found everywhere. There were cracks all over her face and body, all glowing purple. Her eyes were also glowing purple and [choking sounds] she was swinging a kitchen knife around. We tried to go in, but she ripped off one of the empty glass cases from the floor and threw it at us with ease. She screamed in a garbled voice that wasn’t hers and lunged at Sigrid with the knife. Paolo pushed her out of the way and he got wounded instead. Sigrid screamed in shock, but she suddenly got cut off when the creature held her on the neck and threw her at the wall head-first, instantly breaking her neck. I can still hear her screaming until now; the moment that scream suddenly got cut off for the last time is still fresh in my mind.

Before any more damage can be done, the creature suddenly collapsed. With all the commotion, we didn’t hear the alarm sounding and the police getting here. They said they used a small taser to take it down; when we investigated, we saw a small, circular thing around its neck. It was the size of a button and probably where the electric shock came from. We immediately worked with the police to restrain the creature, being that we had all the equipment we need. We contained it in a large titanium box, the ones used to transport dangerous criminals. The creature was also restricted in there by titanium straps around her forehead, waist, arms, wrists, legs, and ankles. As a final measure, the box also has electricity running through the outside so that it gets shocked when it breaks the restraints and tries to force its way out. The creature will be interrogated by all of us tomorrow. First, we took care of my friends and gave them a proper burial. After work, I just climbed up onto the roof of the building because the moon looked beautiful and I needed to be alone. Turns out Val had the same idea. We just sat there, alone, not saying anything. Eventually, we just cried with each other for God knows how long until our tear ducts simply dried out. Knowing I can’t bear to be alone right now, I invited her to sleep at my house. She agreed, and we went home.

She’s asleep right now, as I’m recording this. That’s where my life is at, I guess. We’re one step closer to solving this mystery, but my friends have died. That’s simply not fair. [choked sobs] God, I’m gonna miss them so much. We’ve been through a lot now, even though we’ve known each other for only a few months. I hope the creature that took my friend’s body gives us what we need tomorrow. I hope it pays dearly for what it did. [crying]

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.12.2050

Just came back from the interrogation today. I won’t record much. I feel a bit sick to my stomach from what I’ve just heard, and I don’t think it’ll go away soon. I’ll just listen to the audio log of the interrogation the ICD was kind enough to share with us.

[end of audio log]

Interplanetary Crimes Division

Interrogation Audio Log #48783

This is Detective Charles Chapman speaking for the Interplanetary Crimes Division offices located in Tromsø, Norway. Just yesterday, one of the scientists at Stargazer Laboratories had brutally murdered two other scientists there and had also caused significant damage to some equipment. Considering that the perpetrator seemingly has inhuman strength, glowing skin, and other physiological anomalies that cannot be found in other human beings, the possibility that the perpetrator is no longer human but merely an empty shell being used is being considered as a possibility. The creature is now properly restrained inside a titanium box with titanium straps. The cage is also lined with electricity and is inside a forcefield. The interrogation will be conducted with me outside the forcefield; communication will only be done through wireless communicators.

Detective Chapman: Who are you?

The Creature: [silence]

DC: Do you have a name?

H: I am called Helvig, but my people have given me the moniker of The Oncoming Storm, for all the planets I have brought destruction upon.

DC: If I recall correctly, your friends told me that your name is Jane.

Helvig: The one you call Jane is no more. What you see before you is nothing more than her empty body, hollowed out when I took possession of it.

DC: OKAY. I’m glad we cleared that up. I guess the next thing I have to ask is, how did you manage to infiltrate this planet?

H: I came here when I destroyed your moon using what you call the purple slime as my weapon. I hitched a ride inside one of the resulting debris then took possession of this biped’s weak body. Do you know how hard it is to control human brains? It took me almost a month to assert total dominance.

DC: Really? Well, if that’s the case, how come you’ve been able to manipulate your weapon before that?

H: I have been able to assert a tiny bit of control before, although this biped didn’t know it at the time. I’m just damned unlucky that the times I gained little authority over this body and attempted to kill you all didn’t amount to anything.

DC: I guess that answers that. So why are you here? Why this planet in particular?

H: Why do you think I am called The Oncoming Storm? I am here to bring destruction, nothing more.

DC: Now, why would you do that? Were you ordered to do so by your people?

H: My people are no more. My planet was destroyed when two stars near the place your people call the Kuiper Belt collided; the resulting supernova destroyed my home, and the blast was so strong it propelled my ship all the way to your moon. Had I not found this body to possess, I might have died. But I am here, and this planet shall be destroyed in the memory of my people.

DC: If I may ask again, why? What could the destruction of this planet possibly do for you?

H: Nothing! It will do nothing for me! My people are gone, and my planet is no more. Keeping up our tradition of destruction will be the only way of preserving their memory. After your planet, other ones that bear life will also fall by my hand.

DC: Well, thank you for answering my questions without any fuss. You are the politest criminal I have ever talked to; you know that?

H: Thank you, Charles.

DC: In return, I will extend the same courtesy; do not attempt to destroy this planet. Humanity has advanced beyond your imagination, and there are a lot of us. You will not succeed.

H: [laughter] None of you can stop me! The only reason I gave you information freely is because I know none of you will be able to do anything; you weaklings only managed to restrain me because my powers have not settled into this weak body yet! Give it a bit more time, and I will burn this place to the ground. After this, your planet comes next! [laughter]

I decided to end it there, because I’ve gotten all that I need. Orders from the top brass indicate that the next course of action to be taken would be a joint effort with Stargazer Laboratories to find ways to defeat this creature and save the planet.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.13.2050

I guess I was wrong. We are dealing with aliens. If not for what’s happened, I would be very happy right now. But not even getting a definitive answer to the question of “are we alone in the universe?” would excite me; especially because one of the answers to that question just killed three of my friends and is now controlling one of their dead bodies like a puppet. Work has been postponed due to the damages our lab has taken, so I honestly don’t know why I’m making the effort to record right now; it’s not like something’s gonna happen today, anyway. Maybe I just need to distract myself from the quiet.

I tried to distract myself by other means, of course. I attempted to binge that Jojo box set I have, but it didn’t work; memories of my surprise birthday party just resurfaced. It’s just too painful. [sobbing]

I… I can’t. I just… I just, can’t. It’s not fair! [crashing sounds] [crying] It’s not fa- [static]

[end of audio log]

There you go. So I, uh… I may have gone berserk earlier, but I’m doing kinda better now. I broke my audio log recorder, but I think I’ve fixed it. Before I stop though, something did happen today that’s worth recording, so… I’m glad for that.

After crying for I don’t actually know how long, somebody rang my doorbell. I looked through my security cameras and found Val standing in my doorway; which honestly came as a surprise, until it occurred to me that she probably wants to check how I’m doing. It stung a bit, knowing that I was too sad and didn’t even think about doing the same for her. I hastily prepared myself and went downstairs.

She looked kinda disheveled and sad, like she’s on a great rush to get here; she had that sad look on her eyes, too. But that’s hardly a surprise, is it? What was a surprise, however, was how beautiful she looked despite all of that. It just so happens that my house has an awe-inspiring view of the hills, and the sunset just happened to hit her as she stood by my door. My day got marginally better after that.

I let her in, and we talked. I asked her if she was okay, and she told me she’s holding up as well as I am, after a cursory look around the mess I made just before she showed up. My recorder was broken in some parts; furniture was everywhere; my glass table was in pieces, all that stuff. We sat in quiet for a while. She eventually told me if I wanted to have the date that we had to postpone two days ago. It took me about two full minutes to think about it, but I said yes; it looked like we both needed it.

We warped to the grassy, quiet park on Olympus Mons; I’m still amazed at how far humanity has gone in terraforming. She prepared a picnic and everything. I cooked some pasta, because of course I did I’m good at it, and I needed a win today. The whole thing wasn’t very eventful, but it was exactly what we needed. We talked, like we always talked. We looked down from the mountain we were on top of, and the view was exhilarating. We looked up, and stared in awe of the stars above us. We reminisced, and remembered the moments we had with them; how Paolo got drunk and vomited in zero gravity; how Sigrid bungee-jumped from the top of Val’s roof and the anti-climactic result of it as we remembered that the artificial gravity was turned off; how Jane accidentally got a face full of cake when I threw it at her; all these memories and others, we remembered last night under the stars on top of the tallest mountain on Mars. It stings, remembering them; but it’s also comforting, somehow.

The nature of our friendship was contemplated as well. If Earth didn’t get its shit together all those years ago, the Global Alliance wouldn’t exist today; all the space travel and huge technological leaps wouldn’t have happened, and travel between countries would still be a pain. We were lucky that we were all brought together in one place. Thinking about the unlikeliness of our friendship just made both of us sadder, considering what happened. We eventually got up and left the mountain.

One last thing we wanted to do before going home was to visit the places where they’re now buried. We already conducted a funeral for them after the creature got arrested and sent them back to their families, but we wanted to see them again, so we can properly say goodbye this time.

First, we warped our way to Brazil to visit Paolo. His family was there, watching over him. We quietly mourned with them for a few minutes, although it felt longer than that. We eventually gave our condolences and left. Our next stop was Sweden, where Sigrid is. No one was watching over her grave, but we did see a few freshly-lit candles around it. The cold winds were swirling all around us, but we hardly noticed them at all. We had no idea how long we stayed, but the cold did get to us eventually, and we left. Our last stop for the night was in Canada, Jane’s home. This visit just made us sadder because we know that her grave is empty; her family will never have a body to bury. No one else was there, which wasn’t strange, considering it’s almost midnight, but we weren’t alone for long when two young women came there; they were her two younger sisters, it turns out. They brought warm tea, and they were kind enough to share it with us. We talked, reminisced about the memories we have with her, and we mourned. Before leaving, Val and I promised them that while we cannot bring their sister back, we can put her to rest by putting the creature down permanently.

I brought her back to Mars. We said our goodbyes, kissed for God knows how long because we didn’t count, and we went home. I… I miss them. I miss them so damn much. [crying]

[end of audio log]

Stargazer Laboratories

Log Entry – 08.15.2050

[crying]

I’ll admit. Considering what I’m about to do, I am scared. I fear that I may not come back from this, but strangely, I am also at peace. This insane, dangerous plan has a high chance of success, and I am more than willing to do it. But first, let’s go back to the beginning.

Yesterday, I got a call from the ICD at 6 am telling me that the prisoner has escaped. Apparently, it got out of its restraints and simply destroyed both the cage and the forcefield using brute strength alone. The thing that is defiling my friend’s body got stronger, just like it said it would. It killed almost all of the police officers before everyone got out and put the building on lockdown. The entire building was then launched through the sky via rockets attached to the foundation as a last resort security measure; it is now floating just a little bit above the atmosphere, surrounded by a bigger forcefield. The creature will be kept in there, but not for long. I immediately prepared and went to the lab with the others; I imagine they got the same call.

We immediately started to formulate a plan to defeat the creature. According to the police, the forcefield will only last until about 4 am today until it runs out of power. There’s also the trouble of the creature getting even stronger than it is now, so we had to account for that, too. The only consolation we have is that it can only use its psychic powers to activate the slime and nothing else; it has to be near it, too. One of the police officers suggested that we simply just have the rockets push the building farther into space, but that was shot down; the rockets simply weren’t built for that, so it doesn’t have enough fuel. We also thought of just straight-up making the building explode, but Detective Chapman shot this idea down, too. Turns out he already fired a couple rockets at the creature and it simply kept walking, unscathed. Our last idea was to warp the entire building to the other end of the universe, but we realized it was also futile; warp gates were made with humans in mind. Creating one as big as a building has never been done before; it might collapse in on itself and implode, or create a black hole that will destroy the Earth. We came to the conclusion that there is only one way to solve this once and for all; one of us has to go up there and destroy the creature ourselves.

A drone was sent to fly near the building and investigate. The entire structure was reduced to rubble. The creature was jumping around, throwing large chunks of debris at the forcefield in an attempt to destroy it. That gave us the drive to really solve this as soon as possible. I remembered what the creature told us back then; how it got to Earth because a supernova propelled its ship here while it’s trying to escape. Then I had a crazy idea.

I told them that the energy of two collapsing stars was the only thing we know of that almost destroyed the creature; I remembered how it told us it was on the verge of death and only survived because it found a host. Then I told them my idea; find three stars that’s the nearest to Mars, put an artificial gravity drive between them, wait for them to move towards each other, then siphon off the energy from the resulting supernova into the engine of a laser cannon. This is the easy part. The next step is that said laser cannon with the energy of three collapsed stars now have to be attached to a spacecraft and fired directly at the creature. The resulting recoil may destroy said ship; or it won’t. This is something no one has actually done before, so none of us are quite sure how this will happen. None of us can come up with a new plan, so this is what we have to go with.

We found three stars near each other just beyond the outskirts of Mars. Siphoning off large amounts of energy in a supernova was terrifying, but not actually that difficult. I, and two other scientists, finished the job in just a couple of hours. Val and I worked together to design a laser cannon strong enough to handle the energy of three stars. The next thing we have to do now is to decide who’s gonna fly up there and do the job. The ICD can’t do it; only two of them are left. One has no combat experience, and the other is Detective Chapman, who’s simply too old for the job. We can’t ask for help from the military, or the other offices of the ICD, either. All of the warp gates in the lab had been damaged, and the personal warp gates we’re carrying had also been messed up due to the star radiation we had to work with. We’re all alone in this.

I looked around the room and realized that the only person who can do this is me. I told this to the others, and Val vehemently opposed it, as I expected. After a shouting match, I told her we just have to talk it out in private. It didn’t really work; we just shouted at each other louder since no one was around to hear us. We finally ran out of energy and just sat down.

So… yeah. After calming down enough to talk, she asked me why I thought I’m the only one who can do it. I told her it’s because I built both the cannon and the modified ship with her, so I’m the only one who can use them. I also want to be the one to personally put the creature down. She got angry at me, told me that she’ll be the one to do it instead, since she knows the machines as well as I do. I tried to talk back, but she was still so angry and started speaking Russian, like she always does when she’s mad. I did something I didn’t expect to do; I laughed. It was real, too. I haven’t had one like it in what feels like a long time. She started laughing, too. We just did that until we ran out of breath again.

I explained to her that this was exactly what she did when I asked her if I can eat my rock pasta; it was also what she did when Paolo almost ate the purple goo. I told her that I love this about her; how passionate and caring she is for the ones that she loves; how I do not want her passion to be snuffed out of this world too early; and how I am sure I am the only one who can do this because she can still lead Stargazer Labs further into the future. I told her how I wanted her to see Earth and the rest of humanity go further into the reaches of space. Finally, I told her the simplest and most important reason why it has to be me; I told her I love her. I love her very much and I cannot bear to see her die and that is why I have to do this. After that, we just broke down together. The tears just kept flowing. She told me she loves me, too. She told me she can’t bear to see me go, either, but I told her she has to go on. I told her again how the lab needs her, and after this, probably the world. We just kept quiet, savoring each other’s company for what might be the last time. We eventually slept for two hours, in each other’s arms. We got up and made the last preparations. We had another short meeting on how things would be done. I simply have to fly up there and aim directly at the creature. Sounds too easy, but we all know it isn’t. After saying goodbye to them, I excused myself for a bit and ended up here.

It is now 3 am, August 15, 2050. I will do what I need to do half an hour from now. From what we’ve seen of the drone footage, the forcefield will last until 4 am, as predicted. I wish I was recording this at home, using my own recorder, but I have no way to get there, so here I am, using the only functional one in the lab. I’m gonna end it here, so suffice it to say the next words I’ll be saying may be my last.

Val, I love you. I know you’re my boss, but I’m glad we did away with the professional awkwardness that might have arisen and just found the time to relax with each other. I am so happy that we met outside of work during that Hamilton premiere on Mars. I thought that I have what I wanted out of life, working in a space station; I am happy you were the one who proved me wrong. [crying] I love you, Val. If these are the last things I will ever say, then I want them to be these words. I love you, and I always will.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 10.15.2050

It’s been two months, Leo. Two months. Two long, agonizing months since you passed. [crying]

It’s still clear as day, what happened. I remembered the kiss we shared before you took off. I remembered seeing the blast from the cannon finally incinerate the creature after a minute. I remember how we cheered when we saw you succeed, then suddenly get silenced when your engine blew up. I remember being horrified seeing you fall back down to Earth, then zooming in on the cockpit and seeing you smile one last time before the drone was destroyed by the blast.

The charred remains of the ship landed just outside the lab. Although burned, you somehow managed to stay in one piece. After that, we did what we were supposed to do. We cleaned up the lab and the ship, and we had your funeral a few days later. I was the one who gave your eulogy, you know that? I hope you heard it, and I hope you liked it if you did.

This is the first time in a while I came back to Olympus Mons. I finally had the courage to go after hearing the message you left for me. Your parents let me have a copy of the other audio logs you did. I’ll admit, I haven’t been doing well in a while, but hearing your voice again really helped me.

I think it’s finally time. You said you wanted me to see space travel advance further, right? I already have an idea. Since we now know that life exists outside of Earth, I thought of how maybe we can come up with ways to reach them. I know the last species we interacted with almost destroyed us, but I know there’s more of them out there. Perhaps they are kinder. Perhaps they’re willing to break bread with us. I was thinking of calling it “The Cosmic Unity” project but it sounds too tacky, doesn’t it? I just hope I already have a proposal I can pass to the Global Alliance in a year or so. All of this is for you, Leo. All of it. It’s for the sake of the planet’s progress, too, but it is for you I do this, most of all. [sobbing]

I love you, Leo. I love you more in every day that passes.

[end of audio log]

[every1studio]

SERIES: “stages of love: everything happens for a reason” [ateez: ???]

genre: FLUFF + ANGST + DRAMA + EXTRA EXTRA LONG

ficstyle: bulletpoints + series [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [END]

prompt: inspired by “I Love You 3000″ by Stephanie Poetri + “Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith/John Legend + “All In My Head” by Tori Kelly + “Should’ve Been Us” Tori Kelly + “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran + “Little Do You Know” by Alex & Sierra + “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars 

note: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT I GOT FROM THIS SERIES AND I HOPE YOU CAN SUPPORT MY FUTURE WORKS + PLEASE LISTEN TO THESE SONGS AS YOU READ THIS 

your life was finally starting to come together after that party

you cut Yunho away from your life as Wooyoung came into your life 

Wooyoung was the perfect boyfriend anyone could ever ask for 

although there were times you felt like you weren’t enough for him, he made you feel like you were the only one that mattered in the world

he was your curtain you could hide behind when you were nervous or shy 

and he was someone who hyped you up when you wanted to step out and be adventurous 

he knew your likes and dislikes but always gave you the chance to try something new 

little did you know, so did San 

San knew just about everything that Wooyoung knew about you 

but the only difference was, Wooyoung was the one holding your hand and he wasn’t 

San was quietly cleaning the cups as he watched you and Wooyoung having a lovey-dovey conversation on your break 

it was all of your last year of college; you still worked with San at his cafe, you also signed into a well-known music label as a producer by the end of your sophomore year and you had been dating Wooyoung since the party at the end of your freshman year

you told you only had small strokes of luck but you had been happy for a long time, you could hardly believe it 

Wooyoung caught you staring at him for too long as he was trying to explain to you his plan after college

he couldn’t help but burst into heart-shaped bubbles 

he gently pushes your forehead with his finger, “stop looking at me like that, or I’ll fall in love with you”

you pouted when he interrupted your daydreams with your future with him, “too bad..”

you leaned to squish his face, “you already are”

San couldn’t even look at the sight of you together; he was always “too busy” with the cafe to bother with you guys 

would check up on you and hear about all the perfect things about Wooyoung but since then, he hasn’t been too close with you

because he knew if he did, he would fall for you harder and harder 

San tried dating after you and Wooyoung became official 

he tried to forget about you that way

he tried to give his dates his undivided attention

but the moment he’d see your silhouette, he would fall for you all over again 

for a while, he kept his free time to a minimum to work at the cafe; so that would force him to keep some distance from you

he started to hire more people so that you could focus on school and spend least time with him

but every time you’d see him, you wanted to catch up and make plans with him

how could he say no?

“hey San!” you called over to his table 

“what’s up?” he answered with his signature smile 

“Wooyoung was wondering if you wanted to go to the summer festival with us tonight!” Wooyoung nodded at your suggestion 

San massage the back of his neck, “I don’t know... it’s been pretty busy with the cafe and a lot of workers wanna go so I don’t have anyone to cover tonight’s shifts..”

you sulked at his answer and Wooyoung rubbed your hands to ensure that it was okay

“would you like us to help you out?” Wooyoung asked

San hated Wooyoung

he hated how nice he was 

he hated how well he treated you

he hated how he made you happy

but those were the reasons for your smiles

and he couldn’t hate your smiles

“it’s okay! you two go out and have fun.. if the festival is still going on by the time the shop closes, I’ll let you know,” San tried hard to give you a genuine smile, “besides.. I have a date so maybe we can do a double date..” 

he lied so that you wouldn’t suspect him of anything 

you got super excited to see your best friend go on a date and to have you see him in action got you excited 

Wooyoung smiled as he saw a resemblance between you and a puppy

“he said “maybe,” don’t get your hopes up too high” he laughed

Wooyoung got up, “well I gotta go head over to my last class of the day..”

you got over to his side to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he purposely move so that you’d kiss his lips instead

you blushed as you looked up at him

“see you later, cutie~” he blooped your nose 

“bye~” you softly mumbled 

he walked backwards as if he couldn’t get his eyes off of you until he made it to the door

he winked before he left the cafe and you could feel butterflies fill up your stomach 

even though you’ve been with him for basically four years now, he still made you feel like everyday was a first date 

just like that, you went back to work

you didn’t think about anything but going to the festival with Wooyoung 

San saw how giddy you were

“Y/N?”

the way your hair turned and fell back in place when you turned to his call

he wanted to kiss you right then and there but he shook that thought away

one would’ve that after four years, San’s attraction towards you would falter

but it never did, not once 

even after you dated Wooyoung, or dated other girls  

“you can leave early to get ready for tonight.. you have like 30 minutes of your shift left anyways..”

you ran up and hugged him, “you’re the best boss and bestest friend ever!”

you ruffled his hair and grabbed your bag, “see you later!!”

the bell of the door chimed as you dashed out

“yeah.. see you later...” 

you put on an outfit you were planning to wear along with the perfume Wooyoung got you for your one year anniversary 

you couldn’t hide your excitement 

you got a text from Wooyoung saying that he was outside waiting for you 

you were too excited you didn’t see Yunho as you past by him down the staircase 

since the party, Yunho hasn’t tried to talk to you 

the bags under his eyes sunk in and they were always there no matter how much rest he got 

he didn’t want to ruin your mood with him being around; so he did everything he could to stay clear out of your sight 

he constantly looks at the pictures he has of you; especially the one you knew you had the matching one of

but you had that picture frame faced down and replaced with one with Wooyoung

that night, he broke up with Aurora, he told her that she deserved someone that could love her for her and help her to become a better person

to his surprise, she agreed to the breakup and both of them parted ways

Yunho hasn’t dated since 

a lot as happen since then, he told Mingi about the incident during their late night calls

Mingi was so mad with him, he stopped talking to him for a straight month 

Mingi entrusted Yunho to you yet he let some other guy swept you off of your feet 

Mingi yelled at him; saying, that he worked so hard to move back to Korea for you, that he had you in his head while he was dealing his hard times at home, that he thought he was doing the right thing by making you “happy” and for what?

to have him fuck up; Mingi told Yunho that Yunho did make you happy at a point in time yet he was the one that took it away, of course you weren’t going to stay unhappy and miserable 

at that moment after you past Yunho, Mingi called, “I’m coming back to Korea. you better clean up your act and tell her.. it’s been 4 years, man. If you don’t do it, I will..”

Yunho ended the call and ran his cold fingers through his hair, “easier said than done...”

you saw Wooyoung was waiting by his car with a bouquet of sunflowers tied with a beautiful, black satin ribbon that matched your outfit

“you shouldn’t have...” you reached for them

but he pulled them back, “what if I just got them for myself and I wanted to show them off to you?”

you crossed your arms and exhaled as you walked past to the passenger side of the door 

he smiled through his rolled eyes as he wrapped his arms around to give you a back hug as he presented the bouquet

“you honestly can’t throw a little fit like that, princess.. I was just joking around~” 

you were suppose to be pouting; but you couldn’t throw his addicting scent of his go-to cologne through his tight embrace

you grabbed the flowers and turned around to loop your arms through him

“you can’t go all romantic on me like that or I’ll fall in love with you”

Wooyoung smirks as he pulls you in closer to open the door behind you, “too late for that isn’t it, princess?” 

he bloops you on the nose end the conversation and guides you to your seat, “milady?”

“thank you~”

how could this boy fill you up with heart-shaped bubbles inside?

you didn’t know the festival was going to be this crowded; finals were a couple weeks away so you figured everyone wanted to relax before the storm of stress hits 

Wooyoung was already holding your hand as he held out his other one

“what?” you questioned

“your bag,” Wooyoung always held you bag, he didn’t care about what people would think if they saw him alone with your bag 

you tried to hide your smile when he said, “can’t have my princess lifting even a finger now”

“okay. chill, prince charming~”

Wooyoung was listing the things he wanted to do but made sure that the ferris wheel was the last thing you guys would do before leaving 

you were listening attentively to what he was saying until your stomach growled quite loudly despite of the loud festivities 

he chuckles as he pulls you closer to him, “did I just hear your stomach growl?”

“maybe..” your face was growing a light flush of pink

Wooyoung shrugs his shoulders as he nods, “well since you’re not that hungry, we’re just gonna past the frozen custard and churros stand-”

“WAIT I’M ACTUALLY HUNGRY!” you pouted as you swung his arm back and forth 

without another word, Wooyoung makes his way to the stand and has you wait for him by the table area near the water front

right around that time you saw Yeosang

although you haven’t talked to Seonghwa after you two broke up, you frequently talked to Yeosang whenever you saw him when you went to the campus bookstore that he worked in 

but you knew that, where ever Yeosang was, Seonghwa was closeby

those two were inseparable

Yeosang saw how awkward it still was between you and Seonghwa, “I’m gonna go get churros!”

“wait Yeo..sang..” Seonghwa tried to call out to his friend but he already left

Yeosang ran to wait in line with Wooyoung; points back at you and Seonghwa and Wooyoung gives a nod of confirmation

you wondered how Wooyoung knew everyone; trying to ignore the fact that you were standing there with your ex you haven’t spoken to since freshman year 

...

there was a moment of awkward silence; you were fiddling with the frayed strings of your skirt and Seonghwa was scuffing the ground with the bottom of his shoes

“you.. you look nice today...” Seonghwa tries to break the ice

you nodded without looking at him, “thanks...”

“um.. so I know it’s been a while.. but I want to apologize..” 

that got your attention; so you looked up to hear him out 

he missed those eyes, that face.. you

“I was a stupid, selfish freshman.. I know that I shouldn’t have done the things that I did and I know you deserve the world.. and I can see that you’re so much more happier now and it makes me happy to see you being with someone who can treat you better than I ever could and I want to say sorry for all the pain I caused and-”

you started to chuckle, “do you even breath? that’s a lot of “and’s” in one sentence”

he gives you a small smile, “will I ever be forgiven?”

“I never loathed you, Seonghwa. I just wanted to hear your side after all these years. honestly, if you apologized to me our freshman year, probably wouldn’t hear anything you had to say.. but I had a lot of time to think and reflect on what happened. I want to believe that everything happens for a reason.. the reason might not be the one we want it to be. but here we are..”

Seonghwa started to get nervous, for what reason, even he didn’t know what he was feeling inside, “so.. we’re good? we can move on from this, as friends?”

you stuck out your hand for him to take, “as friends”

he’ll take that offer over the selfish ex-boyfriend as he takes your hand

you both stood there for a moment until you felt a heavy arm on your shoulders; the familiar scent of Versace Dylan Blue cologne

Wooyoung gently pulled you hand back from Seonghwa’s, “holding on a little too long there, buddy..”

Yeosang comes back and nudges the cup of frozen custard topped with bite-sized churros to him, “everything good?”

Seonghwa nods as he takes a bite, “got everything off of my chest.. well, we’ll see you two around!”

Seonghwa pushes Yeosang in a different direction; the boys wave goodbye to you and you wave back, happy knowing that you got some closure from that old relationship

“did you get everything off of your chest too?” Wooyoung knew all about your previous boy problems; he was a good listener and a better advice giver

you nodded; re-latching yourself onto his arm

Wooyoung heard the sound of some guitar tuning and tugged you along, “I think there’s a performance going on!”

you quickly saw who was on stage, it was Jongho

“this is my first public performance and I’m really nervous. so before I start, I just want to give a special thanks..” it was like Jongho sensed that you were there when he made eye contact with you 

“a special thanks to my role model and my senior, you all probably know her, Miss. Y/N,” he formally gestures his hands over to you and everyone just looks at you 

although you were slightly shy, you didn’t look at anyone else but Jongho as you gave him a thumbs up

“Y/N, really helped me write my first song and it is my first time performing it, she also taught me a lot about singing techniques and music producing.. so I want to dedicate this song to her..”

to make his statement less of a confession, he adds in, “her and her boyfriend because they are such a power couple and I aspire to have a relationship like them one day..”

people started giggling at his statement; saying stuff like how cute he was and how thoughtful he was 

Wooyoung chimes in with the crowd, “he’s a good kid”

Jongho sings his song as he thinks about how lucky he was to be signed into the same label as you, without any prior knowledge of you signing with any company

he wanted to be a singer as you wanted to be a producer; so he didn’t see you as often as he saw the other trainees

but every time that he did see you, he took every chance he got to talk to you about composing and lyric writing and just everything about producing makeup 

his love for you is a love of respect; not in anyway romantic 

you could feel his love through his song and you nearly cried

“he’s gotten so good at singing...” you mumbled as you were about to have tears fall from your eyes 

Wooyoung holds onto your hands a little tighter, “thanks to the best teacher anyone could ask for~” 

you smiled even after he finished the performance and disappeared backstage 

Wooyoung saw a Shoot-The-Duck booth as you were gushing about Jongho’s performance 

before he could say anything about going over to the booth, you saw a HUGE Gudetama plushie that had a crown on it’s head that you REALLY wanted and pointed to it

“BABE-” 

“I gotchu..” you both walk over to it when you notice that person in charge of the booth was Hongjoong

he was flirting with a girl that was trying to get a plushy without playing the game; but he was being stern at the same time 

“sorry, sweetheart.. I wouldn’t get paid if I did that..”

Hongjoong was still as beautiful as ever; even though he was probably just eye candy from the start 

when the girl walks away, Hongjoong’s fell onto you 

“trying to win the lady over here some plushies?” he hugs a Sanrio plushy, “I got some pretty good ones but because it’s sucha high quality set on display.. it’s gonna be pretty hard to score even the little one”

Wooyoung just nods as he hands a ticket over to Hongjoong, “I’ll try anyways..”

Hongjoong loads the toy rifle with 10 tiny rubber bullets, “shoot away~”

you stand back with Hongjoong to let Wooyoung do this thing

“how are things going lately?” you asked him; you both were classmates in a lot of classes through the four years of college, so small talk was normal

“I got a girl now. she’s not as amazing as you, but you could say I’m pretty lucky to have her,” he showcases that oh-so-lovely smile at you,“she’s got flaws but it’s only been a month now.. I can say she’s a pretty hairy gal..”

you gave him a jokingly-extra surprised face, “way to call out a flaw on a girl, what’s her name?”

“her name is Luna~” he shows you the lockscreen on his phone

it was a picture of him and his husky/corgi puppy 

you couldn’t help but laugh, “she’s a keeper”

“excuse me, sir. could I get my lady her gift now?” Wooyoung shoves himself in between you and Hongjoong 

you both looked over at the shelf with the fallen king Gudetama on the ground

Hongjoong smiles as he collects the gift and gives it to you, “Wooyoung’s a lucky guy~”

you answered back when Wooyoung took the plushy from you, “I’m actually the lucky one here~”

“see you later, man” Wooyoung says to Hongjoong 

you finally got to experience the rest of the festival with a lighter heart 

at the corner of your eye, you swore you saw Mingi and Yunho but you didn’t get a chance to confirm when Wooyoung interrupted you

“babe, lets go to the ferris wheel~”

you smiled back at him to let him lead the way 

you tried to look back to where you thought you saw them, but they weren’t there 

you were waiting in line with Wooyoung when he told you he had to go to the bathroom

Mingi shakes Yunho from behind the pole; he whispers loudly, “HE’S LEAVING TO GO TO THE BATHROOM. GO! I’LL DISTRACT HIM IF HE FINISHES QUICKLY!”

Mingi shoves Yunho towards your direction and awkwardly walks quickly into Wooyoung’s direction

“Yunho?” you called out to him

he looks back at you and then Mingi, “y-yeah..”

“are you here with Mingi? I thought I saw him earlier..” you mumbled as you looked around Yunho; ignoring the fact that this was the first time you were talking to Yunho since the party 

“Mingi had to go to the bathroom,” Yunho mumbled as he shoved his hands into his pockets; slightly upset that you were more interested in seeing Mingi than him

but then again, he wasn’t surprised by your reaction to him

“you two ready to go on?” the ferris wheel operator asked

you looked for Wooyoung but he couldn’t get back into line; Mingi was with him

Mingi yelled, “just go on with Y/N, I’ll go on with my buddy, Wooyoung here!”

Wooyoung really did make friends everywhere he went

you looked at Wooyoung for some indication that he might say no, but just shooed you to go on without him 

you awkwardly went into the carriage with king Gudetama and Yunho 

“I hope this was a good idea,” Wooyoung murmurs to Mingi

Mingi slings his arm around Wooyoung, “Yunho’s got 30 minute to make it up to her.. have a little faith”

the first 5 minutes were just you two breathing the awkward air as the carriage slowly raised up into the air

the whole time Yunho just thought about how he wanted to be the one you went home with every night, the only laying next to you with his arms around you..the one to love you through and through 

you took the time to look around the campus; spotting all the places you’ve been to and all the streets you walked on 

you saw San’s cafe; all the lights were off

you hoped to see him after this awkward carriage ride to tell him all about your day and to see his date 

“Y/N..” Yunho broke the silence 

“hmm..” you didn’t look at him; you couldn’t 

“I..”

“I don’t want to hear an apology.. I just want to know the truth..” you mumbled 

it was different getting an apology from Seonghwa versus getting one with Yunho

Yunho was a part of your past, a ghost of your present, and a thought of your future 

he told you about how he confronted Aurora and how she was filled with hatred towards you; how she controlled him, how she was going to hurt herself if Yunho ever left her, and how she forbade him to tell you about the situation and to never ever talk to you

you must admit that would’ve been a sticky situation to deal with

but it wasn’t enough to mend the relationship you two used to have

you couldn’t say anything when he finished telling you EVERYTHING about how you two fell apart before the party

all of this took an additional 10 minutes of him rambling trying to get you to understand why he did the things he did 

taking your silence as a sign that wasn’t enough, he continued 

“I miss you..” you could hear his voice breaking apart

you couldn’t help but feel choked up by his voice; you clenched your plushy tighter 

“you don’t get to do that to me..” your voice was breaking even though you forced yourself not to 

but when you looked up at him, tears fell from your face, “you can’t expect me to wait for you throughout my childhood, basically thinking that you were dead.. then coming back into my life only to have it break apart because you thought I deserved better?”

Yunho didn’t know what to say but he wanted to respond to you

you cut him off as you shook your shake 

“I loved you... I didn’t care if it made me happy or anything.. I just wanted to be with you.. that made me happy. didn’t I show you that? was it real or was it all in my head?” 

the awkward air in the carriage became humid with tears and sniffling gasps for air to push away the lumps in your throats 

“you never said-”

“actions speak louder than words, Yunho!”

“but actions without words are confusing! I don’t know everything! I can’t read minds, Y/N!”

he exhaled sharply to calm himself down and you did the same

you were selfish, but you thought that you had the right to be after all that Yunho has done

“nothing I say now can take away what I did to you four years ago, Y/N.. but I really do love you and care for you still to this day.. you’ll always be apart of me even if I’m not in yours..” 

you agreed, nothing he said could take away the pain you felt but hopefully, one day, you both can move on from this 

“I do appreciate Wooyoung being the one caring for you though.. you two look so great together..” you could feel the sincerity in his voice

you wished he could’ve said the same about you two four years ago; that it should’ve been you two instead

and like that the 30 minute ferris wheel ride was over

Wooyoung and Mingi decided not to go on the ferris wheel and waited for you and Yunho instead

Wooyoung came up to you as the operator opened to door for you and Yunho

“you okay, princess?” he notices your slightly puffy eyes

“yeah we had a deep conversation but I think all is well now..” you manage to say

Yunho was so relieved to hear that, he didn’t notice Wooyoung getting on one knee in front of you

“Y/N...”

your eyes widened as you started to shake in pure astonishment 

“Woo- baby.. you..wha-what are you...” you couldn’t even form a sentence properly

“I was going to do this in the carriage of the ferris wheel so this will have to do,” Wooyoung pulls out a sapphire velvet ringbox and lifts it open

everyone around you could see the most beautiful ring you’ve ever seen

it looked like something the Great Gatsby would’ve proposed to Daisy with 

“you mean the world to me.. and I would do anything in the world to have you by my side.. so would you take the chance to rule the world with me as my queen?” Wooyoung looks at you through his slightly long bangs;  you could tell there was none of his usually teasing demeanor in sight

“Y/N.. will you marry me?”

San dropped the bouquet of baby’s breath he got for you; the first bouquet he’s ever bought for a girl, his first love

the girl who made him feel what love was for the first time

San was going to confess to you; more so just tell you how much you meant to him, how you were the most important person in the world to him, how you were the one his wishing star told him to meet 

but he was too late.. one year? two years? three years? four? 

he should’ve told you about his feelings for you when he walked you to the train tracks that one sunset four years ago 

he never used those chances that he could’ve had with you; all for the reason that things between you two could never be the same

and now, fate was sealed, you two would never be the same 

San runs past you as you were congratulated by everyone around you

Yunho clenches his jaw as he smiles for you; he saw this coming but not this soon

Mingi swallows the lump in his throat as he ruffles your hair, “she’s all grown up now.. the band would be so happy to see their baby sister in one of her happiest moments of life”

everything was happening so fast; you could feel the world spinning around you

but when San briskly walks past you, the spinning came to a stop

you kisses Wooyoung as you told him you’d be right back

you ran after him as you called out to him

he couldn’t hear you; you tried your best to get as close to him as possible 

San thought he was hearing things when he could hear you call his name louder and louder

he turns and sees you chasing after him

he immediately stops and lets you catch your breath  

“why didn’t you say hi or anything?” you huffed and puffed

San grabbed your hand and placed it on his heart

he was falling out of his usually calm state and started to show more of his real self; he wasn’t okay, he was heartbroken, he’s been heartbroken

“even though you just ran, why does my heart feel like it’s my heart is beating faster than yours?” you were confused at what he was trying to say

“San.. are you oka-”

“NO! I’M NOT!”

you’ve never heard him yell or raise his voice

“I’ve been by your side for so long.. I knew you never saw me the way I saw you. I ignored it. I tried to move on. I thought my actions would be loud enough for you to hear.. but why do you keep on making my heart beat so fast for? why do..”

San looks up at you with his glossy-coated eyes, “why do I love you?”

your mouth opened in shocked; San? you?

you could recall having deja vu when you said the same thing to Yunho

San felt his hand placed around the ring that Wooyoung proposed to you with and let go of it

“I tried to be “just friends,” but you know what? everything happens for a reason right? I’m sorry, pretend this never happened..” San smiles through his visible tears

“San..” you reached for him but he stepped back 

“congratulations Y/N... Wooyoung is one lucky guy...”

San runs as soon as he saw Wooyoung run up behind you, “babe, is everything okay?”

all you wanted to do was cry into his chest

Wooyoung didn’t question anything after he saw you breakdown

Yunho happens to find a bouquet of baby’s breath on the ground near the ferris wheel waiting area, “what’s a perfectly good bouquet doing on the ground?” 

he finds a card written inside

he recognized the handwriting and signature, it was his current roommate’s, San’s

it said everything that San had just told you

he chuckles as he stares up into the setting sun-colored clouds, “there’s really no one in this world like Y/N...” 

[FAST-FORWARD TO ONE YEAR AFTER YOU ALL GRADUATE]

it was your wedding day

you never thought that your scrapbook of your ideal wedding from high school would in handy

everything was perfectly the way you would’ve thought royalties would have their weddings 

and your dress?

it was specifically designed for you by Hongjoong who graduated as a fashion designer 

“are you sure you don’t wanna ditch this wedding and runaway with me?” Hongjoong joked as he made the final touches to your dress 

“I think I love my soon-to-be husband too much for that. sorry Hongjoong~” you have him a just-as-joking face of condolence

the hair and makeup crew came in for their final touches as well

Hongjoong dramatically bows, “I’ll see you at the alter, my sweets”

“yeah in your dreams~” you smiled at him 

you chatted with the crew when you saw Yunho walk in baring a little bag

“Yunho!” you slapped him on the arm, “what are you doing in here!?”

everything was how it used to be with Yunho; minus the romantic aspect 

he gave you a sincere smile as he hands you the bag, “thought you’d look better than you already do with these”

you rolled your eyes as you opened them; it was a pair of stunning earrings

“you shouldn’t have..” you pouted at him

he shrugs with his lips curved to the skies, “just putting the cherry on top for your special day~”

you thanked Yunho with a hug; he envelopes you like a teddy bear and kisses your head

he wishes that time would stop right there; hoping that it would be like how it used to be

but time stops for no one and he walks out the door just like that

“SURPRISE!”

Mingi comes in shortly after with the band, recording your reaction, “I THOUGHT YOU GUYS COULDN’T MAKE IT!!”

they all came in to give you a group hug; Mingi didn’t even join because 1) he was behind the camera and 2) he was just in awe to see how beautiful you were clad in white 

“thanks for coming.. it means so so much to me..”

“and you mean so so much to us. of course we would come, silly goose..” the bassist of the band pinches your cheeks and the others laugh

Mingi could’ve had a chance with you if he wasn’t so insecure in himself; he was so love in with you it scared to and made him back away 

but this was fine

because he convinced himself that you wouldn’t be this happy if you were with him a long time ago 

Jongho came in with a big flower sign from the company and gifted you and Wooyoung with a song he wrote; you had invited him as the spotlight singer for your wedding and Jongho couldn’t say no to that

Yeosang and Seonghwa came in to greet you as well, they were your flower boys because honestly you and Wooyoung didn’t think of that until last minute; frankly speaking all the other ladies who attended the wedding probably wouldn’t mind seeing some flower-looking flower boys

everyone had left the room when San was leaning by the door 

he saw you in your element; fiddling with the earrings that got caught in your veil

he doesn’t say anything when he walks over to help you

“San?” you were surprise to even see him

he’s turned into an acquaintance the after day he confessed to you

even when you tried to make conversations with him, he’d answer them bluntly and go back to whatever he was doing

you thought lost your best friend; he never made time for you anymore after that incident 

but something in your heart told you that it was more than just that

you haven’t seen him since you graduated

you sent him an invite but even you were skeptical that he wouldn’t come

he looks different now

he dyed his hair blonde and it was pushed back 

he wore a simple light grey suit; formal enough to be worn at a wedding but it was a pretty casual look compared to everyone else

“I didn’t think you were going to come..”

“why wouldn’t I?” his voice was softer and deeper than you remembered, “my best friend is getting married.. I wouldn’t miss it for the world..”

you knew how hard it must’ve been for him

but since he slowly detached himself from your life, it’s been hard on you too

you truly missed him

you didn’t know what to say; there were so many emotions running through your head and heart 

“I got you something. could you lift up your veil?”

you did as he asked and you could see his face ever so clearly

was he always this handsome?

when San made eye contact with you, he remembers all the feelings he tried to push away since he confessed to you

he places a necklace around your neck; it was dainty and it had yours and Wooyoung’s initials on strung onto the chain with diamonds in between each letter

“think of it as your final paycheck..” 

there it was

his signature smile 

his hands left the clasp of the necklace and you wanted to grab his hands

but you didn’t

“you look beautiful, Y/N.. you truly are one of a kind...” San shoves his hands in his pockets and left the room 

what moments lead up to this?

what feelings did you have bottled up inside?

what lies were you feeding yourself?

what lies were you feeding to others?

you couldn’t help but cry as you frantically get up to run

Wooyoung turned his head as he saw the beautiful sight of you

“Y/N, you know it’s bad luck to see each other before the wed- are you crying? babe what’s wrong?”

how could you tell Wooyoung you loved him when you loved someone else?

you wanted to tell yourself that that person that made you second guess yourself on your wedding day was the same person you thought you told yourself that you could never be interested in them

but Wooyoung saw through you

he knew everything

he knew the moment he met you for the first time; accompanied by San

he knew the moment he saw how you interacted with San

if anything, he was also convincing himself that there wasn’t anything there 

Yunho gave Wooyoung the bouquet of baby’s breath right after your encounter with San; he read the card 

Wooyoung always lived his life honestly but wanted to be selfish for once in his life

Wooyoung reached for your left ring finger and gently took off the ring, “everything happens for a reason, right?”

you felt so sorry towards Wooyoung; he didn’t deserve this

but he wiped your tears as if he could read your mind and kissed your forehead, “I’ll give up the world for you. even if I’m not going to be apart of your world, you’ll always be in mine.. I don’t think I’ll love anyone as much as I love you... but!”

he flips your veil, “you need to be with the one you truly love.. that would make me the happiest man in the world..”

“Wooyoung...” you gave him one last bittersweet kiss

he reaches into his pocket and hands you his card

“people are going to ask a lot of questions about this.. I think you should hide for a while.. I got this..”

he gently pushes you to the door; not giving you time to protest

“go to him... go to San..”

you cried as you looked at Wooyoung who was standing there by him lonesomeness 

you turned and ran; because if you stayed for a second longer, you wouldn’t have the heart to leave him the way you just did

Wooyoung cried for the first time in his life as he clenched the ring he thought would promise you happiness 

you ran

heels tacking against the marbled floor

you didn’t care that guests were coming into the venue; you had to find San

you saw his figure getting into his car

you knew you had no chance to catch up to him in your heels

so you through them away and ran to him 

but you stopped when you saw a silhouette of another woman wiping his tears

he grabs her hands and kisses her forehead

then he kisses her lips

you were seeing things?

the car backed up to exit the venue

that was when everything was as clear as it could’ve got

San was with someone else; he was crying in someone else’s arms 

she was someone that was going to mend his broken heart from you 

he looks out the window one last time; praying that you’ll have a happily ever after

that was when he saw you; face covered in tears dress slightly tattered from the gravel on the ground 

that sight of you like that would be ingrained in his head forever

he wanted to stop the car

he wanted to run to you

but he had no courage to

because if he did, he would never let you go 

so he let the car sped away from the venue, from you

Wooyoung saw all of this happen from the window of his room and ran to where you were

guilt washed over you

how could you ever love someone without feeling like you were the caused of all the misfortune of love around you ever again?

you weren’t mad at anyone but yourself

you felt a warm embrace; the scent of a familiar Versace Dylan Blue cologne

you never thought you smelled this scent ever again

you thought this scent would leave you forever

“I’m sorry.. Wooyoung, I’m so sorry..” you chanted 

you knew he was crying before you felt pellets of tears fall onto your veil

he carried you back into the venue

“we don’t have to do the wedding if you don’t want to... you don’t have to be with me-”

you shook your head to shake out the tears and any other second doubts you had in your mind, “please don’t let me go.. ever again...” 

at this point, neither one of you knew who was the selfish one in this moment

Hongjoong shooed Wooyoung away to fix your dress while the hair and makeup crew dragged him out 

the wedding went on like how it was planned

you and Wooyoung were the only one who knew of what happened and it was slowly pushed to the farther-most corner of your minds

time is foe enemy but time is also a foe

what did you regret?

what would you give to turn the clock back in time?

would you have said those unspoken words?

Hongjoong would’ve

Yunho would’ve

Mingi would’ve

Jongho?

Yeosang?

Seonghwa?

San?

even Wooyoung? 

everything happens for a reason; you knew that

but not everyone knows what the reason is

the reason could be happiness

the reason could be anger 

the reason could be guilt

the reason could be an answer

but the reason could be a question

END

I FINISHED THIS AT 7AM PST LOL. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT! I WILL BE CONTINUING WRITING REQUESTS. THIS SERIES WAS A JOURNEY AND NOW IT’S OVER. 

[ masterlist + guidelines ]

[ladywinterwitch]

Dead Girl Walking

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Actress! Reader  (Teather AU)

Summary: The reader is the sobstitute in a off-Broadway production for the Musical Heathers. The female lead can’t do the show, so she gets called in her place where she’ll met the male lead, a charming blue eyed man.

Warnings: musicals, cursing, mentions of smut, mentions of drugs, making out, Seb’s a little minx, other people from the Marvel cast are in here.

Word Count: 5007 (long AF)

A/n: Okay so the idea obviously came to me when I was listening to the song Dead girl walking from the off-bway musical Heathers. It’s my favorite song from the musical and where I find it really enjoyable and funny to listen to, it made me wonder how two actors would be dealing with the performace which is A LOT. I recommend you to see this video if you want to understand better how the dynamic works and to listen to the song.

The songs mentioned in order are Beautiful, Candy Store, Freeze Your Brain, Big Fun, Dead Girl Walking and Seventeen (reprise) 

ps: Yes, that’s an actual gif from the show

                                                (gif not mine)

It was a normal day, calm, average. You woke up, read a few times a script for a new audition, went out for lunch with your best friend, came home and started to read some pages of your last purchase, Stephen King’s Gerald’s game.

Now you were chilling on your sofa, with your cat sleeping near your feet, when suddenly the cellphone rang, scaring the shit out of you.

You jumped a little scaring off your pet which ran away. You sighed and streched to reach your phone on glass coffe table in front of you. The number was unknown, but you answer anyway.

-Hello?- 

-Y/n? Thank God, that’s the right number.- You recognized the voice of the director of the theatrical show you auditioned for, Heathers. Unfortunately you didn’t get the part, but you were called back to be a reserve for the main role.

-Theresa? Is everything all right?- you asked, sitting straight and putting your legs down the sofa, two of your fingers used as bookmark.

-Yeah it’s just, you got anything planned tonight? Or, well, right now?- the woman asked a little nervous. You could hear noise in the background.

-No, no. Absolutley nothing, uhm, why?- you basically jumped up.

-Perfect. Then we’ll wait for you at the theatre in like, ten minutes, yeah? See you.- Before you could ask anything else, she hang up. 

-Fuck.- you cursed loudly, literally throwing the book on the table and running to your bedroom. How the hell were you supposed to be ready and get there in ten minutes, when you were in your pajamas, had messy hair and didn’t have a bit of make up on? 

You think quickly and take from the wardrobe a military green dress and a pair of heel boots. Comfortable and quick, but still presentable. Then you rushed to the bathroom, brushed your theeth and your hair to make them look at least deacent. You decided to stuff into your bag you mascara and a dusty pink nude lipstick and you went to your car. You had already put on the musical’s playlist, listening to it while you drove there, just in case.

-

You arrived some minutes later, parked the car in a miracolously free spot and went inside. You entered the stage room and saw that the cast was rehearsing the song “big fun”. Theresa, which was at her director spot under the stage, turned around and when she saw you she motioned for you to come closer. You did, while the others continued to perform.

-I’m sorry, I’m a little late.- you apologized keeping your voice low. She shook her head.

-Don’t worry, our JD hasn’t arrived either.- she said with an hint of irritation, referring to the leading male part. She sighed recomposing herself.

-You can already imagine why I’ve called you, but still. Our actress for Veronica just broke her ankle, so she won’t be able to perform for a while. Are you still available? Tell me right away because you either would have to jump right on the stage and reharse all day until tonight or I’ll have to call reserve number three, which to be honest I wouldn’t be really thrilled to do.- she askedlike someone who definetly didn’t have time to lose.

You were in seventh heaven. You wanted that part so bad. You didn’t have a long resumee yet, and a show so popular like Heathers would’ve opened many doors to you as well as helping to make yourself know to the public. For a moment you didn’t even realized what she had just said. She gave you a side eye and you suddenly came back to your senses.

-Yes!- you said a little too loud, gaining a few eyes from the crew in the pit, but not from the cast on stage who were still singing. You calmed down a bit, before widening your eyes.

-Wait, you said tonight?- Theresa checked her phone while answering with a ‘yes’. You felt stupid for forgetting that.

-Tonight’s the premiere, honey. C'mon now, get on the stage, you have to rehearse and meet the cast.- you did as you were told, going up the stage. The guys were dressed with their own clothes and a man was on the piano. They were just singing and not doing the whole thing, which worried you a little, despite the fact that you knew all the choreographies and lyrics thanks to the rehearsals you did with the ‘backup’ cast. So you didn’t knew anyone from the actual one.

-Guys, we have our Veronica.- you head a few ‘thanks God’ and sighs of relief. 

-Five minutes break then we resume.- she clasped her hands going off the stage to make a call. A little group of people came to you. There were two blonde, fair skinned girls and one with dark curly hair and dark skin.

-Hey, I’m Scarlett, I play Heather Chandler. Those are Elizabeth and Tessa, and they play Heather McNamara and Heather Duke. Nice to meet you..?- she efficiently introduced herself and the other two girls with enthusiasm. You smiled at them, waving slightly.

-Y/n. And well, you already know I’ll be Veronica Sawyer.- you chuckle a little and they smiled. Then two guys joined you introducing themselves as Chris and Anthony, which respectively play Kurt and Ram, the two stereotypical frat boy douchebags. But they were all but that, instead they were both quite attractive and funny, and nice above all.

Then Hayley, a nice british girl, introduced herself too and said she was going to play Martha. You honestly could’ve never pictured her as a stereotyped loser with a few extra punds like the character. She was too pretty and definetly not fat. She had curves and she was stunning. But you knew that the voice was the main requirement to be choosed in this type of castings so you imagined that that was the reason they choosed her. Also, the make up would’ve done the rest.

The director interrupeted your conversation saying that it was time to resume the reharsals, so you all got in position, this time adding the dancing to the singing.

-

You started with the song “beautiful”, then the Heathers trio sang “candy store” and so on, until you got to your personal favorite, “Dead girl walking”. It had gone all pretty smoothly, the director intervening a few times to give advices and correct something.

-Okay y/n, you’re on your own now, I’ll sing for JD. Start at the note.- the piano man said and you nodded, clearing your throat slightly to prepare yourself. He started to play and on the right timing you began to sing, standing next to him since your partner wasn’t there to perform and doing it on your own would’ve been kinda awkward.

You performed beautifully and at the end the crew even clapped. You knew that was one of the hardest songs, so you felt a pinch of pride at their reaction.You blushed a smiled grateful.

-I see you found my new partner in crime.- you heard a deep, amused, voice coming from behind you. You and the rest of the cast turned around. A guy was standing on the door jamb with a smirk. He was tall, had brown hair, a little long just under his ears, and they were pulled back. He was probably the most attractive guy you’ve ever seen.

-What an honor for you to join us mortals. And you guessed right, Sebastian. Y/n will be your Veronica. Probably for the rest of the plays.- Theresa said shocking you. Your head snapped towards her which was looking at you with a grin. You smiled widely, a hand covering your mouth from the surprise.

-What about the other girl?- you asked walking to her. She shrugged.

-We don’t know when she will be able to walk and dance again, plus, your talent is pretty much the same. Only you’re nicer.- she confessed, you shook your head a bit in disbelief and gave her a hug.

-Thankyou, that’s an honor.- you thanked her sincerely. She nodded and tilted her head to the side.

-Don’t thank me, thank your preparation. Now go meet your partner. He’s a bit presumptuos, but he’s good deep inside.- 

You left her with the some other cast member and got closer to the group that surrounded Sebastian. Chris saw you coming and smiled.

-Hey y/n, congrats. We’re happy you’re going to stay with us.- you laugh a bit.

-Thankyou Chris, I still don’t realize it.- 

-Aw c’mon, you deserve it. In any case, we’ll leave you talk, from Veronica to JD.- Tessa held your arm for a second before going away with the rest of the people.

At that point you were left alone with Sebastian. You felt a bit intimidated for some reason. You didn’t know if was for his confident behaviour or the amused look that he was giving you.

-Well, hello there.- he clearly checked you out, keeping his smirk. You understood that he didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, it was just his way to be friendly.

-Hi.- you said a bit embarassed. 

-I would say congratulations, but it would be probably the tenth time, so I’ll just settle with nice to meet you.- he offered his hand and you shook it a few times, a lopsided smile on your lips.

-Likewise.- he didn’t take his eyes off of you. Before you could talk again, one of the producers spoke to everyone.

-All right folks, it’s time to get ready. The people will arrive in two hours and the stage must be prepared. To the changing rooms.- Your eyes widened and your heart started to race.

-Hey now, don’t panic. You were amazing earlier. Just take a deep breath. It’s time to get ready. It’s going to be alright.- he spoke in a reassuring tone that made you automathically smile a little. He started to walk away, then turned back for a split second.

-Well, actually maybe a few drops of alchol would help, just in case.- you laughed and he winked at you.

-

You shared the room with the four girls. It was a bit chaotic, but everyone did their thing professionally and without losing time. After a good forty-five minutes of make up, which was included: foundation, mascara, eyeliner, blush, and a pale cherry lipstick. The red lipstick was actually a tint, because you would have to kiss a lot and certainly there wouldn’t have been time to clean the mess and re-apply it over and over.

 The rest of the time was left for the hair to get done. First they tied up your hair with a few bobby pins, then applied a bald cap fixing it, and last but not least, they slipped on a raven black, shoulder lenght wig on your head. The hairstylist started to curl the black locks in loose curls at the tips. In the mean time the make up artist gave the last touches to the make up and then applied the tiny mic at the top of your forehead. applying some foundation to try to blend it better with your skin tone. 

During all the process you talked and had fun with the girls. You found out that Scarlett was dating Chris, that Tessa was excited because her new girlfriend would’ve been here to see her perform, that Hayley was originally from London but came to New York because her dream was to be on Broadway and that Lizzie was from a family of actors but that she was the only one who sang.

When the hairstylist had finished curling and styling the wig, she applied a blue hairband with a very simple knot on the right side.

Lastly, it was time to get dressed. You thanked God when you finally stood up from the make up chair, you couldn’t take to be seated anymore. The costume designer took yout plastic covered costume from the trolley hanger and uncovered it. 

-Tak off the robe, please.- the lady asked you nicely.

-Sure.- you responded right away taking it off. She passed to you a blue lacy bra and you rose an eyebrow. She shrugged.

-You know, that scene.- she responded, and you understood right away. She covered you with a jacket and you took off your current bra putting on the blue one. It was a bit tight, but it wasn’t uncomfortable thankfully. Then she helped you put on the rest of the costume which consisted in a plain white shirt, an electric blue elegant jacket, a light grey pleated mini skirt which barely arrived at your mid-thigh, a pair of white parisian stockings that reached just above your knees, and last but not least a pair of black heels. Not too high, thankfully.

You heard a whistle and turned your head. The girls were all ready except for Hayley which was still getting her, probably fifth, layer of clothes fixed. Scarlett wore red, Tessa green and Lizzie yellow, as their characters. They looked stunning.

-Look who’s gonna kick all asses tonight.- Tessa said. You all laughed. The costume designer helped you fit into a loose wool pullover with some ygly designs on it, then a scarf and an equally loose pair of brown sweatpants above your current costume. You started to feel a bit hot, but your told yourself that it was just for a few minutes of the first song.

-You don’t look bad yourself.- you talked back. Then there was a knock on the door.

-Girls, it’s time. Y/n on stage in ten.- a member of the crew opened the door and then quickly went away.

You breathed in and out to calm yourself down while you and the girls went to the backstage.

-So, all here? Good, good. So, just a few words.- Theresa spoke and you felt a hand on the small of your back. You tought that it was one of the girls, but you couldn’t be more wrong. You looked at your side, and got face to face with an incredibly sharp jawline. You turned back to look at Theresa, not wanting to embarass yourself, even if Sebastian’s touch was making you freak out a little.

-We worked very hard to get at this point. So behave and don’t screw up, kids. Love you all! And break a leg!-

A few seconds later you and the cast got called for the first song, 'beautiful’.

-See you later.- a shiver ran down your spine when he whispered in your ear. You looked at him. He had his hair back, just like before. He was now wearing combat boots, black jeans, a black t-shirt and a black long coat. And a smirk was painted on his face. The perfect Jason Dean.

You hated yourself for letting him have this effect on you, so you got your shit together and smiled seductively, gazing him straight in the eyes.

-Later, bad boy.- you teased referring to his role. had just a flash of his amused expression before walking away. You got on stage and began to sing.

- September 1st 1989. Dear diary…-  at first you were alone on stage, then some extras joined you, then Ram got introduced.

Anthony wore a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt, nikies and a red and white bomber jacket with a big W on the left side. He hit the prop lunch tray you were holding with a fakely innocent ‘oops’.

-Ram Sweeney, third year as linebacker. And 8th year of smacking lunch trays and being a huge dick.- you talked to the audience as planned with an annoyed tone.

-What did you say to me, skank?- he got closer, menacing. You jumped a bit and put on a scared face.

-Aagh! Nothing.- you responded quickly. You sang a few words of the chorus and then Hayley got on stage. She was almost make up-less and with some baggy and pastel colour clothes, glasses and and ugly liliac t-shirt with an unicorn at the front which could’ve easily made anyone at least two sizes bigger. She was almost unrecognizable.

-Martha Dunstock. My best friend since diapers.- you talked again to the audience, then to Hayley. 

-We on for movie night?- she replaced her british accent with the american one and pitched her voice a bit.

-Yeah! You’re on Jiffy Pop detail.- 

-I rented the princess bride.- she responded timidly. You laughed slightly raising your eyebrows.

-Ooh! Again? Wait, don’t you have it memorized by now?- you cross your arms against your chest, listening.

-What can I say, I’m a sucker for a happy ending.- she answered sadly. Then Chris came running from the right part of the backstage, and smacked Hayley’s prop lunch tray just like Anthony, and like him he was dressed with the same pants, shoes and bomber jacket except for his shirt that was grey. 

-Martha Dumptruck! Wide load, aah!- he screamed mockingly.

- Kurt Kelly, quarterback. He is the smartest guy on the football team, which is kind of like being the tallest dwarf.- you addressed the audience again, gaining a chuckle. Then you returned to spoke to Chris.

-Hey! Pick that up! Right now.- you ordered loudly. 

-I’m sorry, are you actually talking to me?- lucky enough that you knew that he wasn’t a real douche, because at this point you would’ve already slapped him. You noted to make Chris compliments later.

-Yes, I am. I want to know what gives you the right to pick on my friend. You’re a high school has-been waiting to happen, a future gas station attendant.- you said with the most insulting tone you could master. He furruwed his brows and narrowed his eyes a bit, looking down at you. 

-You have a zit right there.- he states. All the extras laugh out loud and you all resume to sing. 

Then after a brief instrumental pause everyone but you start to chant softly the name ‘Heather’. Scarlett, Tessa and Lizzie walk slowly on stage, almost in slow motion.

-And then there’s the Heathers. They float above it all.- you start to talk to the public as a narrator while you introduce them one by one. 

-Heather McNamara, head cheerleader. Her dad is loaded, he sells engagement rings.- the spotlight is on Lizzie, then it shifts to Tessa. 

-Heather Duke, runs the yearbook. No discernable personality, but her mom did pay for implants.- you continue, then do a shot pause and the light shifts on Scarlett, which was in the middle. Their costumes were basically the same: very short mini skirt, a white shirt underneath an elegant short jacket, parisian white stockings that reached above the knee and black high heels. The only differecies were the colours, yellow, green and lastly red. 

-And Heather Chandler, the almighty. She is a mythic bitch.- the music gets a bit faster while you keep going. Another piece of song goes on and you get introduced to the Heathers, you ask them to sit at their table so that no one could pick on you and in the end they accept and decide to transform you. So while another chourus goes on, you four get behind the scenes and the costume designer is quickly at your side, helping you to take off the scar, pants, pullover and to put on the heels, fix any eventual crease and in the end she brushed a bit the wig while you put on a rosy lipstick. Just in time, you go back on stage after Scarlett, Tessa and Lizzie.

The song ends and there’s a little banter between you and them which want Veronica to give Martha a fake love letter form Ram to bully her. You refuse and they get angry, which leads to their song.

After another song, finally is JD’s turn to be introduced. He and Veronica meet in a gorcery shop and you start to eat some red licorice while he was drinking a frozen slushie. He looked charming. You were also having a lot of fun, which was ideal for your chemistry. A few lines later he began to sing.

-I’ve been through ten high schools, they start to get blurry. No point in planting roots ‘cause you’re gone in a hurry. My dad keeps two suitcases packed in the den, so it’s only a matter of when.- he begins, and boy, was he talented. You smiled at him, not only because you felt like it, but also because it was in the script. 

-Freeze your brain, suck on that straw get lost in the pain. Happiness comes when everything numbs, who needs cocaine?- he sang a few words, then came back to talking. 

-Care for a hit?- he raised the plastic glass, pointing the straw towards you.

-Does your mommy know you eat all that crap?- you smirked teasingly. He tilted his head to the side, raising his eyebrows.

-Not anymore.- he resumed singing along with the music. -When mom was alive, we lived half way normal, now it’s just me and my dad, we’re less formal. I’ve learned to cook pasta, learned to pay rent, learned the world doesn’t owe you a cent.- the note got a bit high and his voice changed in a more teasing tone. 

-You’re planning your future, Veronica Sawyer. You’ll go to some college and marry a lawyer. But the sky’s gonna hurt when it falls, so you better start building some walls.- he sings the chorus towards the audience, then the song ends, and on the last note he snaps his head towards you, his arm stretched offering you the slushie.

-Try it.- the public applaudes and the lights go off, giving you the time to prepare for the next song. It’s a very crowded and messy song, set in a house party. At some point you refuse to obey Scarlett’s Heather Chandler and she says that you’re over. You go away from the party feeling lost. The song ends and the lights go off to give the time to the everyone in the cast to get away.

You were slightly getting more and more nervous for the next song, which woul’ve been a lot more challenging, both to sing and perform, considering that you had to basically ride Sebastian in front of the audience.

You were left alone on stage, if you didn’t consider Sebastian pretending to sleep on the higher stage behind you on a mattress.

-The demon queen of high school has decreed it. She says Monday, 8 am I will be deleted.- you start, the music fastening a little. -They’ll hunt me down in study hall Stuff and mount me on the wall. Thirty hours to live, how shall I spend them?- You walked near the lockers, your voice dripping worry.

-I don’t have to stay and die like cattle,I could change my name and ride up to Seattle. But I don’t own a motorbike.- you stopped suddenly, a lopsided smile sppearing on your face -Wait.- you looked at the audience.

-Here’s an option that I like. Spend these thirty hours getting freaky!- you hit the fist high note, pointing at Sebastian’s, fake, sleeping figure.

-Yeah! I need it hard, I’m a dead girl walking! I’m in your yard, I’m a dead girl walking! Before they punch my clock, I’m snapping off your window lock. Got no time to knock! I’m a dead girl walking..- the line getting softer.

You went up the stairs to the upper stage and walked towards him. He opened his eyes and sit up, straddled.

-Veronica! What’re you doing in my room?- he exclaims confused. You went closer and he got on his feet. Now he didn’t have shoes, had a pair of white boxers and a white tank top.

-Shh...- you put a finger in front of your mouth, shushing him seductively. -Sorry but I really had to wake you. See, I decided I must ride you 'til I break you ,'cause Heather says I got to go. You’re my last meal on death row, so shut your mouth and lose them tighty whiteys!- you start with a sweet tone that goes higher and stronger ‘til you hit the last note. You pointed at his boxers.

-Come on! Tonight I’m yours, I’m your dead girl walking! Get on all fours! Kiss this dead girl walking!- You pushed his shoulders with your hands until he got on his knees in front of you. The public laughed slightly.

He looked up at you, starting to caress your tighs with his surprisingly soft hands. They were going up and up, until he reached your ass cheeks. He wasn’t taking his gaze away from yours.

-Let’s go, you know the drillI. I’m hot, and pissed, and on the pill.- you snapped your head towards the audience, raising an eyebrow, gaining a chuckle. Then you returned your attention to Sebastian. -Bow down to the will-Of a dead girl walking!-

You both got on all fours and you gave him a little push to make him sit back, and crawled between his legs. 

-And you know, you know, you know. It’s 'cause you’re beautiful, you say you’re numb inside, but I can’t agree.-  You changed tone and got sweet, placing a hand on his heart. -So the world’s unfair? Keep it locked out there! In here it’s beautiful, let’s make this beautiful!-  

He looked at you and smiled, then exclaimed  -That works for me!- 

An instrumental moment began, and you both knew what would’ve come next. So you just did it, without thinking too much. He cupped your cheeks and forcefully pulled you to him, kissing you. You responded right away, trying to think straight and follow the script you started to take off your jacket and then his t-shirt, leaving him in his underwear. If your faces weren’t stuck together you woul’ve probably been jaw dropping at his tanned and muscular figure, but there wasn’t time for that. You pulled away and started to sing again.

-Yeah! Full steam ahead,take this dead girl walking!-

-How’d you find my address?- he asked scared. The public laughed.

-Let’s break the bed! Rock this dead girl walking!- you ignored him.

-I think you tore my mattress!- again, the crowd laughed.

-No sleep tonight for you, Better chug that Mountain Dew! Get your ass in gear, make this whole town disappear!- you motioned a ripping movement with your arms and hands. 

-Okay, okay!- he gave up, still scared.

You got on his lap, your legs on each side of his hips. The only thing that separated your intimate parts were your panties and his boxers, but it wansn’t actually enough.

-Slap me, pull my hair, touch me there, and there , and there and no more talking! Love this dead girl walking!- you hit another high note. This moment should’ve been arranged between you two before, like every performer ever does when he had to play scenes like that, but you had to improvise now.

It all happened rather quickly: He gave you a not-so-light spank on the butt, then put his hand in your hair and gently pulled to expose your neck, to the first 'there’ he cupped your breasts, then your ass and at the last one he tore open your shirt, that thankfully had clasp buttons and not normal ones.

In the end your lace covered breasts were exposed to him. You didn’t even had the time to blush, 'cause you started to ride his lap automatically following the script. He helped your movement with his hands on your hips.

-Love this dead girl walking!- you sang.

-Yeah!- you said together. -Yeah!- thrust -Yeah!- again.

-Ow!- he cried when you grazed on his neck with your teeth as you were planned to do, and then one last harsh thrust.

-Yeah!- you hit the highest note and the song ended. The audience cheered as the lights went down. You and him wnr behind the scenes while the crew collected the clothes and came back to the backstage, you didn’t dare to look at him as you both were getting dressed again with the help of the assistants.

-

The rest of the show went perfectly, even if you had a little bit of trouble looking in Sebastian’s eyes after that song. After the ’Seventeen’ reprise the show ended. You all came back on stage for the salute, and after that you went straight to the dressing room to change.

Scarlett was kind enought to let you borrow one of the two dresses she brought from home for the after party. You choose the first, which was mid-tigh, rose gold and sparkly, and had a collar to which the spaghetti straps were attached, leaving the back bare til the lower part. And abviously high heels. You fixed your make up and put on a quite deep shade of pink on the lips, then you were ready.

The girls continued to tease you about Sebastian. They haven’t seen the performance really well, but they did see the faces of you both when you came back to dress up. And that was enough. You shushed them while finishing to fix your now wig-free hair.

You arrived and many poeple made theri congratulations and compliments on your performance. Then you went outside to take a bit of air, your champagne in your hands.

-Hey. Nice play up there.-  you had learned to recognize that voice by now. You turned around. He was wearing a suit, the first few buttons of his white shirt unbuttoned.

-You weren’t that bad yourself.- you smiled briefly. He inched closer and whispered to your ear.

-Y'know it was a miracle that I didn’t get hard on the last bit. Your pussy grinding against my cock like your life depended on it.- you blushed from head to toe. You felt fire on your cheeks and not only there, if you’d had to be honest.

-And I know you did enjoy that too. The little wet spot on my boxers is proof. Am I wrong, babygirl?- he asked, his voice like velvet. You were a bit taken aback, but finally decided to do something. Fuck it.

-No.- you answered. The courage, didn’t even know where that came from. All that you knew, was that in that exact moment his lips were on yours, his hands on your waist and yours on his chest, leaving the glass to fall to the ground.

Someone must’ve heard that, 'cause Chris went outside to check and found the two of you quite occupied. He smirked and closed the door, going to Anthony to retrieve those twenty dollars they bet on you two.

This was a bit of an experiment. I really like Broadway songs and this looked like fun to write, so I did it. Obviously the musical’s plot, characters and lyrics do NOT belong to me in this case. Hope you liked it ;)

[faunusrights]

The scarlatinas are a big family with aunts and cousins visiting a lot right? Have you got an idea of how their house looks? (also could you release the Scarlatina family descriptions you gave me to the public?)

well, really the scarlatina family isn’t big in the, uh, family tree sense; it’s not like Velvet has 100+ cousins and that sort of stuff, but they’re big in the sense that they all live together, hjdshkjfsd. so it’s a big household! sixteen people! it’s nothing to sniff at! so the aunts and cousins dont visit, really, because they literally live next door, lmao.

the scarlatina homestead is split into two houses that keep getting added to every once in a while. the bigger one (aka the first) has georgette, rajah, taffeta, ash, chiffon, velvet, satin and hickory live there, whilst the second (rapidly growing) house has cotton, tenné, hawthorn (+ hawthorn’s wife, saffron, and their kid, fir), ramie (+ her wife, auburn) and birch. that said, the houses pretty much act as one, and people tend to drift in and out of either of em at will.

the houses are similar in terms of their footprint, since they sorta both evolved abt the same time for the same needs (oh shit a kid oh shit a marriage oh shit ANOTHER kid), and save for two smaller second storeys for storage/spare room needs, almost the entire thing is on the ground floor (heat rises, baby). they share a big old shed/workshop which ash lingers in CONSTANTLY, as well as two little gardens where they grow their own produce. they also have some solar panels and a huge windmill out front, both of which usually power their houses since they don’t typically draw a TON of energy, though they do have a generator that runs on fuel as a backup.

okay if we’re describing the whole family im gonna shunt this under a cut this goes on for a while dsfjhgjhskfgd

GEORGETTE SCARLATINA: the matriarch of the family! well, sorta; she’s let her own daughters sort of have run of the place in her stead, because she’s “retired” now and that means she mostly sits back and enjoys not Working all the time. back in her heyday the woman was an absolutely powerhouse, 24/7 on the grind, but even now she’s very… well, she’s still a force to be reckoned with, really, and whilst she isn’t uuuuuuuh Strict, per se, she’s very disciplined, and no matter what her kids and grandkids choose to do, she expects them to really throw themselves into it. weiss is both terrified of her and desperately wants her approval, which isn’t hard to get, but weiss is, how they say, dumbass. georgette is also the reason why taffeta and cotton are… Like That. like what? stubborn loud fuzzy taking zero shit, etc,

RAJAH SCARLATINA: scarlatina women seem to always land themselves timid men and nobody is sure how, or why, but georgette wasnt the first to start this trend and shes def not the one to end it. rajah is pretty mild-mannered, but like georgette, never rested when people needed help. he and ash (and tenné) get on real well because they’re happy enough to mind their own Fuckin Business whilst their wives barrel around with all the grace of rampaging bulls. still, rajah’s also very much a product of his time as an early settler to menagerie; he’s never really… happy with everything, because they lost so much leaving for this shithole, so he’s always kinda… mildly sad about stuff, but the same can be said of any faunus his age tbh.

COTTON SCARLATINA: the older of the two Scarlatina Daughters, cotton is… manic. full of energy, always looking to burn it off. she’s an optimist at heart since she and taffeta came to menagerie when they were ten and therefore are more accustomed to the island, and her primary objective is making a good home and a good start for the family. she’s not too interested in politics or revolution, mainly because she’s the type of woman who plans by meals and mouths to feed, if u get me. she’s also pretty smug because her side of the family are rly growing up (TWO wives. a GRANDKID. its ALL COMING UP COTTON) and it means she gets to spend more time doing stuff she’s passionate abt!!!!!!! nice!!!!!!!!

TENNÉ SCARLATINA: i put an accent on his name and i regret it every day of my life. anyway. tenné isn’t entirely sure how he ended up with just The Most scarlatina, but he did and, well, there’s no backing out now. tenné‘s a deer faunus and was around cotton’s age when he and his family moved with the scarlatinas to menagerie, so he and cotton have always been close. he’s very patient and doesn’t always have a lot to say, but he and cotton are a great team when it comes to managing the entire homestead together. again, he’s not a political type, and just wants to keep his corner of things safe in uncertain times. he always pretty rarely leaves the homestead for anything, so he’s also kinda reclusive, but so is cotton! it all works out!

HAWTHORN SCARLATINA: i won’t go into the partners lest i Die but hawthorne is the eldest child of cotton and tenné. got antlers like his da, and he’s a pretty big fellow by scarlatina standards (that is to say, not thin enough to fly away in a stiff breeze). hawthorn is… well, long and short, he’s a himbo, but he’s also a pretty devoted homesteader (this is a trend! watch this space). his wife, saffron, was from desert sands and they’d been dating for a While before they got married, and they’re the first to have kids of all the first-gen* scarlatinas. he’s got cotton’s love of the family and tenné’s sort of quiet offset nature, though he was pretty rowdy as a kid (he grew out of that once velvet broke his nose tho).

RAMIE AND BIRCH SCARLATINA: twins! twins! oh my god! twins!!! fraternal twins!!!

ramie is the older of the two (my friends who were w/ me when we played the RWBY ttrpg will Remember Her) and she’s. well she’s surprisingly enough like taffeta that cotton jokes that clearly she’s gone and had the wrong kid. she’s very Firm abt things and has a way of naturally corralling people to follow after her, if only because this bitch has enough common sense for herself and, like, five people. she was also voted Best Lesbian Cousin five years in a row, and she and auburn get on like a house on fire. they’re also very into PDA, don’t mind them.

birch is the younger of the two and ramie always calls them the emo one. they’re not really so much into people as they are into their crafts and their plants (their bedroom looks like a greenhouse dont mind them) and they have tenné’s nature and georgette’s focus on working all the goddamn time. they’re good company is you strike up convo in the areas they have interest in, but sometimes it’s like talking to a brick wall. ramie is very fluent in their noncommittal grunts of disinterest, though.

FIR SCARLATINA: he’s one year old. he’s a baby. idk shit.

TAFFETA SCARLATINA: here’s the bitch we’ve all been waiting for

taffeta is like georgette if georgette was somehow more like herself. whereas the other half of the family are more core to the values of the clan, taffeta’s a tribe woman, and when she wakes up in the morning her focus is always on the wider community. taffeta’s very much just a machine of intent; she farms, she builds, she repairs, she trades, she gives, she travels, she does SO much and she’s very much the face of the family at present (which is why ppl hear the name ‘scarlatina and go ‘oh god’ w/o realising the other half wont bother u even slightly djsfggjsdfh). she’s STURDY she’s FLUFFY and she has zero qualms abt putting u in a headlock if u deserve one. dont test her. that said, taffeta’s a very reasonable woman; i’ll eventually go more into that at some nebulous point in the future hdjsgfjghksfd

ASH SCARLATINA: it’s everyone’s favourite da! i’ll TRY and keep this short. ash (MUCH LIKE THE MEN SO FAR) is just. so chilled out. can everyone PLEASE be quiet. well, he didn’t used to be – ash lived in kuo kuana before meeting taffeta and had such severe anxiety abt crowds that the boy could barely put a sentence together, let alone much else, not in the scarlatina household, he’s very calm and hard to ruffle. ash really just likes to do his thing, which is everything taffeta doesn’t do; he cooks, he watches the kids, he fixes stuff in the workshop, and he’s big into photography of the family, which is where velvet gets it from! ash is basically taffeta’s counterbalance, but being with her means he’s also become pretty well known about the town (if not for. entirely the reasons you think,)

CHIFFON SCARLATINA: the eldest of ash and taffeta’s kids! chiffon is a weird one; she takes a lot after ash in that she’s pretty reserved and doesn’t let a lot bother her, and when stuff does bother her, she expresses it pretty quietly. also, unlike her cousins who are all homebodies, chiffon was the first kid to actually leave the homestead for kuo kuana to work on the docks during a biiiig overhaul and extension of the boardwalk. she wanted to get out and see the world, but human tourists really out her off the idea, so after about a year and a bit she ended up returning home where she’s stayed ever since. after taffeta retires, she’ll probably be the next face people know and relate to the name scarlatina, tbh.

VELVET SCARLATINA: do i. do i have to say anything about her. you KNOW this bitch. anyway. velvet’s got taffeta’s stubborn sense and ash’s compassion, wants to travel like chiffon, has enough determination to just keep going when it gets her down. extremely stupid. herbo energy. trans jock. has fists will punch. fluffy. fuzzy. hot. dumbass. seriously, do i have to say anything else?

SATIN SCARLATINA: it’s a baby! just kidding, she’s 11. satin is pretty young but she’s at that age where she’s tryna figure out the world for herself. she’s already shaping up to be a lot like taffeta – bold and brash and determined – and much like her older siblings, politics is already playing into her interests. satin really wants to see vale and her tribelands, but after what happened to velvet at uni, taffeta’s trying to… well, not talk her out of it, but encourage her, gently, to reconsider. it’s not working. she and chiffon get on spectacularly well, and she and velvet get on ever better.

HICKORY SCARLATINA: okay, NOW baby. well………. okay, yeah, he’s 7. hickory is a little dreamer, never really in the present. he’s super into making stuff and helping out the adults around the homestead, and he’s not really noticed enough to be infuriated like satin, so he’s got that youthful, uh, innocence, let’s say, that means right now? life is GREAT! eventually he’ll find out that no, it’s not all that great, tbh, but right now he’s a champ at feeding the rabbits, pulling up veggies, and finishing his plate. good job hickory!

AND THAT’S THE FAM (save for the inlaws). theyre great and i think abt em all the time. could u tell? could u tell, sharkie,

*so i looked up the whole ‘generations’ thing to check if i was right and it turns out both first-gen and second-gen have incompatible definitions (thanks america) but for the sake of not going nuts, all of cotton’s and taffeta’s kids r first gen and fir is second-gen. u could also argue cotton and taff are first-gen on account of being pretty young when they came to menag but honestly it’s too complicated. lets just leave it at that sdfjhgksdf

[anonfeather]

Closure

Title: Closure

Rating: Teen

Pairing/Characters: Alexander/John/Lafayette, Hercules

Warning/Tags/Content: Polysquad, Polyamorous relationship, sad, breakup, ansgt, 

Summary: Lafayette needs closure from Hercules’ break up with the Polysquad. 

Author’s note: Wow, I haven’t published anything here for a long while. Sorry! I’ve been overworked with other projects. But I decided to push on to publish something here for you guys. I wrote this back in November 2019, and did some editing today. I doubt I’ll re-read it again, so if you find some mistake, point them out and eventually, I’ll patch it up :)

This is a sequel to the ‘Break Up’ ficlet I wrote a while ago. Fic is also up on Archives of our Own. 

It had been four days since Hercules broke up with him - them. It’s been gnawing inside of Lafayette’s chest since. A deep, gaping pain that took his breath away when he thought over the situation. And he thought about it a lot. So much, that it left him hyperventilating when left alone. 

“Get over it,” Alex said to him. “He’s a jerk, and he left us! Stop pining for his ass.” His way of coping was anger and the need to lash out at everyone. Luckily for them, the brunt of his acid got caught by a telemarketer that was trying to sell printing supplies. 

“Let’s watch a movie to clear our minds,” Laurens offered. His way was avoidance. If we don’t talk, don’t think about it - it’ll go better. It made for sad, silent nights.

But Lafayette’s method was to express his feelings out loud. He needed to talk about it. And he needed to talk to Hercules about it. He sent a text and waited for an agonizing hour.

The first reply he got was simple but devastating. It was:  “I can’t.”

“Please, we need to talk. I need to talk. I want to clear things up.” Lafayette had texted back. He saw Hercules write, then erase, then write again. Five minutes of anguish later, the new reply said. “I’m sorry. I can’t. Not now. Please leave me alone.”

Out of sorts, Lafayette hid his phone in the freezer to avoid harassing Hercules. When Laurens added a new ice cream carton in there, the device fell. 

“What the fuck… Laf, is this your phone?”

“Yeah… Thanks.” He glanced at the messages. Nothing new from Hercules. His fingers typed a text quicker than his mind could gather. 

The answer came fast, without the previous hesitation. Hercules said: “Yeah, okay. Meet me at the café.” There was no need to detail which one. They had a good spot where the baristas were nice to them, allowing them to chill for hours if they ordered at least one coffee. 

Lafayette took what felt like hours to get ready. He shaved his beard to be handsomely symmetrical, his hair tied beautifully with voluntary curls given freedom. His clothing was his number one best; a set that Hercules had personally adjusted to fit his frame. A little dab of cologne, the same he brought over from France years ago and used exclusively for special events. 

“Wow, looking nice Laf, where are you heading out like that?” Laurens said, seeing his boyfriend so dolled up. Himself was in shambles of stained baggy pajamas and a holed hoodie. 

“Just… Out.” Lafayette didn’t want to start an argument that he was meeting up Hercules for coffee. Or worse, he didn’t want Laurens to join and have him burst in anger when they got talking. No, he wanted a calm discussion, to understand why Hercules broke up and to heal. He won’t hide the fact that he hoped to be able to convince the other man to come back. But it wouldn’t do if Laurens or Alex showed some negative attitude. 

“Really, just out?” Laurens wasn’t being aggressive in his questioning. Only confused. Like a puppy not understanding why his master wasn’t bringing him to work. Lafayette softly patted his cheek and gave a kiss on the forehead. 

“Yes, I’ll be back in a few hours. I felt the need to look nice to feel nice, you know?”

“Right. Well, have a good time. I’m staying in and feeling blah, so.” The couch had mounds of junk food waiting for Laurens, with cartoons waiting to be binged. Lafayette hesitated to leave seeing his dearest in such a state. 

“Where’s Alex?” He asked, hopeful his other boyfriend would be around to keep Laurens company. 

Laurens shrugged. “He made a ton of coffee this morning. Said something about going to the office to get a jump on things. I’m guessing he’s going to work himself to exhaustion.”

“Oh.” Lafayette was torn. Should he stay with Laurens and comfort him? Should he find Alex and drag him away from self-destruction? Should he think of his own need to get closure from Hercules? As he furrowed his brow in contemplation, Laurens took his hand giving a butterfly kiss on the knuckles. 

“Don’t worry, we’re fine.”

“But,” Lafayette had no arguments.

“Enjoy your day. I’ll see you later, I feel like cooking. And we all know the best way to get Alex to crawl home is through his stomach.”

It was true that Alex never took the time to eat while he works. And when famished, he does run home when you announce a hot plate is waiting for him. He might not stay long after gulping it down, but then again that’s why they kept ropes in the bedroom.

“All right, take care mon amour,” Lafayette said. He left before caved into taking care of Laurens until he smiled.

OoOoOo 

Hercules was already in the coffee shop when Lafayette entered. His heart skipped a beat as he took a moment to take in the sight of his missing lover - ex, he had to remind himself. It’s only been a few days, but his heart hadn’t gotten the memo. It was excited and wanted to skip out of the ribcage to hug the other man. Lafayette had to take a deep breath to reign that in. 

Luckily, Hercules was in deep concentration over his phone to notice the crisis. It gave the necessary time for Lafayette to calm down. He also took the opportunity to commit to memory Hercules - this could be the last time they ever see each other. The thought caught up in his throat and he swallowed it down, urging himself to believe that no matter what happens they need to stay friends. 

When he felt reasonably safe of not breaking down, he sauntered over with a fake bounce in his steps.

“Hercules, mon a-” his usual pet name was ‘mon amour’, but quickly switched to be more platonic, “mon ami.” It hadn’t felt natural, but Hercules didn’t comment other than an awkward smile. 

“Laf, hi,” he put away his phone. “You look nice.”

A blush crept on his face, like a schoolgirl in front of her favorite teacher. This was absurd; this was Hercules his… ex. It seemed like the status change in their relationship caused him to regress. Any attention he got made him fumble because it wasn’t like there could be more… Unless the possibility was still there… His heart danced at the prospect, getting his cheeks even redder and his palms sweaty.

“Thanks,” Lafayette stood like an idiot, before removing his grin and sitting down. “And thanks for seeing me…”

“Yeah, hum, sorry about how things went down,” Hercules said. He wasn’t here to beat around the bushes.

“Oh, yeah… That was… Anyway,” Lafayette fumbled. He wished for a cup of coffee to drink to hide his awkwardness. 

They kept their silence for a few moments, each shifting and coughing and murmuring worthless words until the barista came over and setting down their regular drinks. 

“Are the other two coming?” She asked.

“Ah, no, no, just us, thanks,” Hercules said, paying the tab. “Hum, so how are they?”

“Alex is on a work rampage and Laurens is in sloth-mode.” Hercules nodded in understanding, getting the references. 

“And, hum, you?”

“I’m devastated,” Lafayette dropped before he could think of a better way to put it.

“Oh, I -”

“Sorry, I didn’t want it to come out like that -”

“No, it’s fine. Say what you want. That’s why I’m here… To talk about it.”

“Right, okay. Why?”

Hercules took a deep breath. His tongue got tied, his heart pounded, wanting to break through his rib cage like he wanted to break away from this conversation.

“I’m sorry - I didn’t mean to put you on the spot,” Lafayette amended, seeing how uncomfortable it made the other man.

“No, no, it’s okay. I - just. It’s hard. I’ll… I don’t want you to feel like I’m blaming you or the others. But - Let me start from the beginning, alright?”

Lafayette nodded, game Hercules to gather his thoughts. 

“So - our relationship kinda started out of nowhere. I mean… Me and you, we were kinda flirting. And, I knew you were sometimes involved with Laurens. And, I think with Alex too,”

Lafayette nodded, to confirm Hercules’ story - he made sure not to speak out loud as to not break off the flow of words his friend was producing. 

“And, one day, Alex and Laurens told us they were dating. That was great! We were so happy for them. And you guys kept flirting like before - like them being a couple didn’t matter - well, they joked that you might as well join them into bed. You agreed - you remember how the whole mood shifted? How they thought ‘hey why not?’ It got real uncomfortable real quick. I was about to find some excuse to leave but they extended the invitation to me?”

Lafayette remembered that day. In his memory, it hadn’t been uncomfortable at all. It felt like the natural progression of their relationship. 

“You agreed…” Lafayette remarked. 

“Hell yeah, I did. Three sexy men, who are all my best friends, asking me to sleep with them. How could I not!” After a beat, he added softly, “and I think that’s I think the root of the problem. See, I joined because I went in thinking it would just be about sex. Or just a one time deal. I got it wrong. It took me a few months to notice it. And when I caught on that it was a relationship, a real one with each, I wanted to make it work.”

Lafayette didn’t understand. He thought Hercules was admitting that he broke up when he realized it wasn’t just about sex. Luckily, the other man continued without added questions.

“See… I understood that I wasn’t only dating you with an open relationship that allowed me to sleep with Alex and Laurens. I got that I was also dating them too. So I tried being a good boyfriend, tried to have intimate moments with each like a real boyfriend would do, but there’s something fundamentally wrong with how I saw things and how they saw it too, and it was getting to me.”

“Hercules, I don’t understand,” Lafayette said.

“I know, I know… Let me give you some examples… See, one day, Laurens had a day off at the same time I did. So, I decided we could watch some movies alone and cuddle up. But, it happened that you came home early and joined us.”

“... Okay…?”

“And, well I guess it’s normal for you to join, but I realized I got jealous because it was meant to be my time with Laurens. It’s not like I didn’t want you there, or that we didn’t have fun, but there was this little… flicker of annoyance… I brushed it off. Then another day, Alex was way over his head at work. I decided to make him a lunch to bring it to him. So we could have a lunch date at least because I hadn’t seen him in a week. Well…”

“We came with you, we made a picnic and forced him to come to the park,” Lafayette concluded the story. 

“Yes exactly, do you get my point?”

“No! Of course, we want to be all together.”

“Yeah, as friends that’s fine to hang out. But as a romantic relationship, it’s not possible.”

“It is possible,” Lafayette tried not to get upset. But he failed. He noticed it when Hercules drew back from his outburst.

“For me… I can’t do it,” he said. “I need to be one-on-one with the person I love. I can’t be with more than one. It doesn’t feel right. I keep thinking of the others but at the same time, I don’t want all of us on the same date. I felt a weird mix of jealousy and third wheel whenever you pair off. It was like I was excluded but invited I don’t want to join in because I didn’t want to intrude on intimate time…”

“I, we can work this out,” Lafayette said.

“But how? Ultimately, I came to realize, I’m not polyamorous. I want only one steady partner and I want them to only have me…It's an irreconcilable difference.”

Lafayette was speechless, what could he say? How about you give it a try? He couldn’t; Hercules had been in the relationship with them for months already. Could he ask that Hercules only date him - no he couldn’t. He clearly just stated that he wanted one partner that had no other partner. Even though he loved Hercules, he wasn’t going to break up with his other boyfriends. He loved them equally. 

He appreciated that Hercules wasn’t asking him that. If anything, he seemed determined not to suggest that idea.

“Anyway… I know I really failed when it came to the breakup. I - hum, Alex was really insistent on the sex and I didn’t feel comfortable going through the motion when I knew I couldn’t be with any of guys anymore. I didn’t want you to think I was only using you.”

“No, of course, we wouldn’t have thought that,” Lafayette reassured immediately. 

Hercules shrugged, “I don’t know man. If I put myself if your place… I might have thought it…”

“Was that why you pulled away from us?”

“Yeah, I was starting to feel so guilty whenever you guys wanted to get intimate…”

“That’s why you never were at the apartment anymore. Or always at your atelier, coming late, sleeping on the couch.” Lafayette was piecing together the hints. He thought that Hercules was tired or stressed because of a large order. He had tried to offer comfort any he could until he felt what was best was to give him a bit of space. Since the breakup, he was blaming himself that maybe he gave too much space which made Hercules drift away. However, he was coming to realize it wasn’t the case at all. If anything, the breakup was inevitable. It lifted a great weight off his shoulders and he exhaled in relief. 

“I really wished to have left with more… diplomacy. I had a few scenarios in mind on how I wanted it to go down. But I never knew when to bring it up. When Laurens got disowned - I knew I couldn’t pile up on it. And we all knew how important it was for Alex to pass the bar exam. I couldn’t add my little pity party to his mind. I could wait a little longer.” He sighed. “I waited too long. Do they hate me?”

“I… They’re very mad. You know how hot-headed they can be. And they feed the anger between them. You were always such a calming presence.”

“I know! And I still want to be there for them! I want to be their friend…I ruined it, didn’t I?” Hercules’ voice quivered at the thought. Quickly, Lafayette held his hand, squeezing in comfort. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll get them to calm down, explain what you’re going through. I’ll get them to listen to your side of the story. We need to let them cool down.”

Hercules took deep breaths, tears stinging. “Thanks - Look, I need to go, I can’t. It’s too much right now.”

Lafayette nodded. He wanted to break down too, but he’ll be the strong one at the moment. He had support at home whereas Hercules would be welcomed by an empty apartment. 

“Right, I understand. Keep in touch, all right? Promise you’ll call me tomorrow?”

“Hum, sure. Or a text?”

“Okay, a text for tomorrow. But promise we’ll see each other, here in at least a week?”

“A week? Yeah, I can do that.”

Hercules’ throat was tight and he left so fast that the baristas gave an inquisitive look. Lafayette gave them a tight smile before going to them from some treats for his other loves.