#anyways hi hello I’m strange and weird and no one stays interested for long either

[threebyfours]

I love saying idc but I clearly still do

[mrwavellswaps]

The Parental Solution

“Could you at least put on some shorts or pants if you’re just gonna lie around the house like that?” I asked my dad after walking in on him sprawled across the couch, wearing nothing but a pair of white briefs that did little to hide his large assets. Especially when he had his thick thighs spread like that

“Come on kiddo. It isn’t anything you haven’t seen before. Can’t a guy just lounge around on his day off.” He replied with that same subtle smirk he always had as he rested his head against his hand. I cursed myself internally for not being able to help glancing at his armpit for a moment. “Besides, I’m the man of this house and so if I wanna lie around in my underwear then I’ll do just that.” He added sternly before reaching down to give his fat bulge a rub.

I rolled my eyes a little before quickly exiting the room and letting him get back to watching sports on TV. After all, I didn't want to give him a chance to see the growing erection in my pants. I just can’t help it when he shows off his body like that. He knows exactly what he’s doing too. You see that man lying on the couch and showing off his manly form isn’t actually my dad. Not in spirit anyway. It’s actually my best friend Jason inside my dad’s body!

It all started when we were kids. Both me and Jason had pretty shit parents and it was part of the reason we bonded so much. We became each others support whenever we needed it. For me I lived most of my life with my dad after my mom walked out on us when I was very little. Ever since then my dad had been distant and bitter. He wasn’t abusive towards me or anything but he was certainly neglectful to say the least. Jason on the other had definitely got the worse end of the stick with parents that were borderline manipulative and even abusive towards him growing up. I remember telling him all through high school that the moment he turned 18 that he should just get the hell out of there. That day came over a year ago now. Jason turned 18 not long after me but even with the job he had, he still couldn’t afford to move out. Especially with his parents practically stealing half his wage. Before long the two of us were 19 going on 20 soon and Jason still couldn’t see a way of escaping his parents for years to come. That’s when I decided something had to be done.

For weeks the two of us had been brainstorming ideas to get Jason out of his parents house. We considered putting our wages together and renting a place to share but with how much prices had been going up recently, that didn’t seem like a sustainable option right now. Neither of us had other family members we could stay with either. We even considered going to a homeless shelter together but decided that’d probably do more harm than good in the end. After all my home life wasn’t nearly as bad as Jason’s but I wouldn’t wanna leave him alone. After a while we started to lose hope, believing that Jason would just have to put up with his horrible parents for the foreseeable future. That was until I stumbled across a curious shop that I’d somehow never noticed before…

———

Gilgamesh’s Magic Shop - For all your magical needs

The shop radiated a strange presence that I couldn’t help being drawn to. “Magical needs?” I raised an eyebrow as I read the large golden letters that adorned the sign that sat on the front of the building. My first thought was that it was one of those fake magic trick shops but it seemed pretty interesting and I didn’t exactly have anything else planned that day so I decided I might as well check it out.

Upon stepping inside I came face to face with a plethora of weird items and objects filling the many shelves around the shop. It all looked incredibly ornate with how well organised and decorated it was. Naturally I couldn’t help poking around a little, inspecting all sorts of books, potion bottles and crystals that all claimed to have magical properties.

“Ah, hello sir!” A man called from behind the front desk. I couldn’t help but jump a little as I could’ve sworn he hadn’t been standing there a second ago. He looked to be in his early 30’s or so but still looked amazing for his age. He had short hair that shimmered in the light with its golden blonde colour while his handsome face adorned a dusting of stubble. The clothes he wore looked rather unusual, almost like a mix between a wizard cloak and casual suit. “My name’s Gilgamesh but most people call me Gil. I’m the owner of this place so if there’s anything in particular you’re looking for then just ask.”

“Oh… um thanks.” I blushed a little at the stunning man’s proposal. “But I don’t think any of this fake magic stuff is gonna help me all that much.”

Gil laughed. “Please. The magic I sell is anything but fake. Here I’ll prove it.” I watched as he walked around the front desk and grabbed a potion bottle off a nearby shelf. Without any hesitation he popped the top off and downed the potion in one go. What I saw changed my view on magic forever. There was a moment of silence as Gil smirked over at me. Then without warning he lurched over and groaned. I could only watch on in astonishment as his once ordinary sized frame began expanding at a rapid rate. Seeing as his clothes grew tighter while his body packed on excessive amounts of fat and muscle. His entire body growing thicker and stronger! It was hard to tell at first but as his clothes started to rip I began to see how he was growing hairier as well! Even his light stubble from before poofed out into a large blonde beard! At first I’d thought the groans meant he was in pain but as the transformation came to an end, after his voice had deepened significantly, I realised they were actually groans of pleasure!

“W-w…what the fuck… just happened!?” I stuttered, looking up at the new man before me.

Gil turned and smiled at me. “Muscle bear potion.” He stated simply. “Does exactly what it says. Turns you into a big muscle bear of a man like so.” The huge shopkeeper gestured down at his now massive burly body. “This one is only temporary and should wear off naturally within a week but we do sell permanent versions as well.” He explained as he made his way back behind the counter once again, struggling to move a little with his big belly and thick appendages straining against the torn fabric of his clothes. “Looks like I’ll have to grab a new uniform from the back to use the next week though. Oh well, I’m sure my boyfriend Simon will enjoy seeing me like this.” He laughed heartily.

Before I stepped foot into that shop I believed magic was nothing but tricks and fantasy. But after witnessing that man transform right before my very eyes, I had no choice but to believe everything about this shop was real! All the spell books, all the magical clothes, all the powerful crystals. It had to all be real!!

After regaining my composure I managed to explain my situation to Gil. Telling him all about Jason and the situation with his parents. Of course Gil sympathised with the situation and told me I was a good friend for sticking by Jason and wanting to help him. He stroked his beard a little as he thought until he came up with a magical solution to my problem. “You know, I think I’ve got just the thing that’ll sort your friend's situation right out.”

Gil began wandering through the shop, searching the shelves for something in particular as I followed behind him. As he did I couldn’t help glancing at his big bear butt from behind and I guess he could feel my eyes on him judging by the look he gave me shortly after. Before long he ended up pulling another vial off the shelf, this one being filled with a shimmering blue liquid. Strapped to the bottle was also a small instruction manual on how to use it. “This should do the trick. Nectar of the bodysnatcher. Its pure liquid essence made from the blood of real bodysnatchers.” He explained though I didn’t even begin to pretend like I knew what he was talking about. “Drinking this will grant you the powers of a bodysnatcher for a one time use. I think it’ll be perfect for your friend Jason.”

Next thing I knew we were back at the cash register. After much reassurance that this potion was exactly what I needed to help Jason, I ended up forking over my cash and buying the strange looking vial while silently hoping I wouldn’t come to regret it.

———

When I first told Jason about what I’d bought he thought I was insane and rightfully so. Before visiting the shop I would’ve been the same. But after a ton of persuasion I managed to get Jason on board with my plan to get him away from his parents. To put him in a whole new body. I’d given it a lot of thought already by this point and had decided on the perfect candidate. My dad. I figured that way I’d be hitting two birds with one stone. Jason can get away from his parents and Jason can take the place of my asshole dad! It was perfect! He was quick to agree to this as he’d always had a bit of a crush on my dad anyways so anything that involved him was a green light from Jason.

Once it was decided, I brought Jason over to my house while my dad was napping and began going through the instructions with him.

STEP 1: Drink the nectar of the bodysnatcher to allow its power to sink in. Drinking the whole vial is recommended for a smoother experience.

Jason was a little hesitant but with a little encouragement from me he twisted the lid off the vial and tossed it back. Before long the entire potion had disappeared down Jason’s throat. Moments later he described a strange feeling pulsing through his body. Almost like he’d just taken a bunch of caffeine as new energy pumped through his veins.

STEP 2: Find a recently worn article of clothing belonging to the person who’s body you wish to take and put it on.

The two of us snuck upstairs as quietly as possible so as not to wake my dad. We could hear him snoring quietly from his bedroom as I reached into the dirty clothes hamper. Moments after I pulled out a pair of my dads smelly black socks that he’d likely worn to work that day before passing them to Jason who immediately pressed them to his nose.

“Oh come on dude. Really?” I whispered, watching my best friend shamelessly huff on my dad’s worn socks. “Just put them on.”

Jason rolled his eyes, giving the socks one last sniff before starting to pull them on. “Whatever man. I still don’t believe this weird magic shit is real but I know your dad’s hot scent is.” He sniggered quietly as he finished tugging the oversized socks on.

STEP 3: Find the person whose body you wish to take and kiss them directly on the lips. This act will activate the magic now within your body.

Now that Jason had my dads socks on, the pair of us crept towards his room as quietly as possible before slowly pressing the door open. There, laid out on the large king sized bed was my dad. His body was only half covered by the bed sheets as he slept in nothing but his underwear from what we could tell. I could already feel Jason’s eyes burning with desire as he gazed upon my sleeping father. He didn’t even care if the magic worked, he just wanted to plant his lips on my dad.

The two of us tiptoed closer until we stood over my dad, gazing down at him while he dreamt. I gave Jason a nod and he knew exactly what to do. Slowly and silently, Jason undressed until he was completely naked besides my dad’s socks before creeping onto the bed. I held my breath nervously as he manoeuvred his way on top of my dad so that he had one leg on each side of my dad’s body. Jason glanced over at me with a smile before looking down at my father again. Then without another second wasted, Jason lowered himself down until his lips pressed against my father’s…

Almost immediately Jason’s body began to glow slightly while a volt of magic surged through both his body and my dad’s. This immediately woke my dad, his eyes going wide as he saw his son’s best friend kissing him. But they couldn’t pull away. It was as if their lips were glued together somehow! I could only watch in bewilderment as my dad started kicking his legs beneath Jason and flailing his arms around but it proved pointless as soon enough he seemed to lose all the strength in his body. Almost like he was paralysed. It seemed as though Jason was experiencing the same thing as his body now laid dead flat on top of my dad. I would’ve been worried had I not heard Jason moaning delightfully through the kiss. Whatever was happening I knew it had to have felt good.

What happened next looked like something directly out of a Sci-fi movie. Jason’s body glowed once again as it slowly began to sink into my dad’s body. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me but as I watched Jason’s legs disappear into my dad’s beefier ones, I was forced to believe it. The rest of Jason’s body soon followed suit as his arms were next, Jason lining them up with my dad’s before allowing them to sink in as well. By this point my dad must’ve been experiencing just was much pleasure as Jason was by how his eyes had rolled back, not to mention how they both had obscene bulges that were rubbing against each other. That is until Jason’s crotch sunk into my dad’s as well, causing my dad’s dick to grow even harder. This process only continued with Jason’s torso fast disappearing until the only thing left was his head sticking out of my dad’s body, lips still pressed together. But of course that didn’t last long as even Jason’s head eventually pushed its way down inside of my dad’s head. Sinking into his body completely until my father was the only one left, now wearing the socks Jason had stolen from him.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried when my dad’s body started convulsing. For a moment I considered calling 911 but just as suddenly as it started, the convulsing stopped, leaving my dad’s body still and calm besides the pulsing erection in his underwear. “Dad? Jason?” I asked the sleeping man, not knowing who’s name to call. He didn’t reply. Only grunting and murmuring with his eyes closed. Then, without warning, he let out a deep moan which resulted in the pouch of his underwear getting soaked in cum. I had to look away in embarrassment…

“Whatcha lookin that way for kiddo. The show’s over here…” I heard my dad’s voice say but the tone behind it didn’t sound like him at all. It sounded cheerful almost, totally unlike his usual resentful self. I turned back around and I saw my dad now sitting up in bed with a huge cheesy grin on his face as he ran his hands along his thick hairy pecs. “You know I didn’t believe you at first but holy fuck… this is great! My voice is so deep! And I’m so hairy… fuck and these tattoos.” He traced a finger across the inked skin of one of his biceps while simultaneously admiring the thick muscle it sat upon.

“Jason? Is that really you in there?” I asked, still not quite believing that potion had actually worked even after all I’d just seen.

“Who else baby!” I watched as he hopped out of bed excitedly and dashed over towards my dad’s bedroom mirror. The way his face lit up upon seeing his reflection said everything. “But you can call me dad from now on…” he stroked his beard, admiring the facial hair he’d never been able to grow before as he inspected his mature looks. I could tell just by the expressions he made as his fingers ran across his face and down his body once again that he adored each and every sensation. Groping every part of my dad’s body that he’d always fantasised about touching. His pecs, his biceps, his ass and of course his cock. One of his rough hands glided over his wet crotch as he squeezed his cum soaked dad dick, still bulging in his underwear. The way he smirked so full of lust and desire was a look I never imagined I’d see on my own father’s face. Only after all that did he finally turn back to look at me and say “Unless of course you’d rather call me daddy instead.”

“Eww no! You’re literally my dad now Jason! That’s… weird…” I trailed off a little at the end. I’d never been attracted to my own dad before. Why would I be? He was an asshole!! Sure he might’ve been exactly my type with muscles, body hair and tattoo but… he was fucking dad for fuck sake! So why the fuck did I feel butterflies in stomach when he put a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m just kidding man. But seriously thank you for this. With your dad’s body I never have to go back to my shitty parents. Not to mention I look hot as fuck! I always wished I could fuck your dad but this is a whole other level.” With that he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a big hug, something my dad hadn’t given me since I was a kid. His strong hairy body and sticky crotch grinding against my own. “You’re the best *son* a dad could ask for.” He added, holding me tight in his arms allowing for me to get a good whiff of his scent.

After that I could’ve denied the feelings I had all I wanted but the semi in my pants was a dead giveaway. Jason chuckled as I rushed to hide the bulge but it was too late. My face went red as he gave me a pat on the back. “Don’t worry about it, Son. Can’t blame you for getting a little excited around your old man with how manly I am.” He was already acting so cocky and confident. “Now how’s about you and I head downstairs and go through everything I need to know to pull off being your dear old pops. That is after I’ve taken a nice long shower of course to familiarise myself with this hot dad body heheh.”

By that point I could already tell this was going to be a wild ride…

———

And that brings us back to the present. It’s been two weeks since Jason took my dad’s place and he’s been able to play the part perfectly, albeit coming off as a much friendlier version of my father. Turns out that when Jason took my dad’s body, he absorbed my dad’s soul as well. This in turn allowed Jason to tap into all of my dad’s memories, emotions and personality whenever a situation called for it. For all intents and purposes, he literally was my dad now. Hell he even insisted that I always call him dad even when no one’s around. It was weird at first but I’ve gotten used to it I guess.

He never fails to mention to me how great being inside my dad’s body feels. Whether it be his new muscles as he flexed them in the mirror, or bragging about how big of a load his big dad cock and balls can bust now. Loving his new beard, smacking his new ass, appreciating his new tattoos, gawking over his smelly new armpits and the list goes on. He described to me how great it feels to finally be treated like an equal by all the other adults around him when at work only to come home and boss me around in the most seductive ways possible.

If there’s one thing I do somewhat regret about all this however, it’s that now Jason won’t stop teasing me with his new body every chance he gets. Like today when he’d been laying on the couch in just his underwear, practically waiting for me to walk in on him. Whenever we were home alone he made sure to wear as little as possible to show off his body and I was always trying my utmost to tear my eyes away from him. But when he walked around in the house in nothing but a tight jockstrap that showed off his bare ass, I just couldn’t stop myself from staring and imaging what it’d be like to stick my face between my dads hairy cheeks… fuck! I can’t believe he’s managed to do this to me!

Now here I was scampering out of the living room, trying to get the thoughts of my hot new dad out of my head. Everyday it’d been getting worse. I’d been popping boners to my dad more often and even multiple times a day. It didn’t take long for him to slowly start infuriating my jerk off sessions starting with him crossing my mind for a moment as I jerked off until eventually it got to the point where I was having entire jerk off fantasies around him! Imagining what it’d be like to fuck or be fucked by him. And could you blame me when he was constantly shoving that hot body of his in my face! It was torturous at this point. Like he was slowly trying to wear me down. And it was working.

“Hey son. Why don’t you come back through here and watch some sports with your old man. You can snuggle up to me if you want.” Jason said as he came up behind me and wrapped my dad’s strong arms around me and pressed his arousal against my ass. “Come on, I know you love being close to dad.” He cooed, his voice so deep and soft at the same time that I practically melted on the spot.

Before I knew it Dad had managed to guide me back towards the living room where the two of us sat on the couch together watching sports. Jason had never been that into sports before so I could only guess it was a trait he’d picked up from my father after the takeover. As we watched he made sure to wrap an arm around me to keep me pulled close against his body. I didn’t want to admit it but I actually really enjoyed getting to be this close to him now. To feel his hairy body pressed against me as the scent from his pits filled my nostrils. It was driving me crazy.

At one point during the game, dad decided to stuff his free hand down his briefs to fondle his fat hairy balls. Just watching him do such a thing made me horny as fuck to the point where I wished I could’ve been the one cradling his big balls instead. Of course this was all according to dad’s plan as quickly noticed I’d lost all interest in the TV and was now totally focused on him. With a smirk dad pulled his hand out of his briefs and without a second of hesitation he pressed that very hand against my face.

“There you go boy. Huff on that.” He commended as the powerful aroma of his sweaty dad balls invaded my nose and overpowered all my senses. Before I knew it I was sinking deep into his hand, sniffing the scent deeply and craving even more. I knew it was wrong. It was my dad’s body. My dad’s balls. My dad’s scent. But… I craved it so fucking badly! And I only had myself to blame for giving my best friend that damn body!

In a flash I was down on my knees and between dad’s legs as I shoved my face into his pouch. Feeling the heft of his heavy balls press against my face through the tight fabric of his briefs. Allowing the powerful smell to wash over my face. He held my head down, forcing me to kiss and lick his bulge as his thick length grew harder. I wanted nothing more than to take it in my mouth and swallow every last drop of cum he had stored in my dad’s balls. And as he finally pulled down his briefs, allowing his thick cock to spring out in front of me, it seemed as though I was about to get my wish.

What followed was a scene of a father relentlessly face fucking his son as dad absolutely destroyed my throat with his cock. It was clear he’d been waiting to do this ever since I helped him steal that body. Thrusting his hips back and forth as he forced his thick cock as far down my throat as he could, making sure that I gagged on every glorious inch. I have no idea how long it went on for as I was still entranced by his aroma and by just how good it felt to feel his thick dad dick in my mouth but soon enough his moan started to grow and before I knew it my mouth was filled to the brim with thick salty cum.

I fell backwards having just swallowed my best friend's load. No… my dad’s load. I couldn’t believe what I’d just done but at the same time I didn’t find myself regretting it either. If anything I wanted to do it again right! When I sat back up I was of course greeted by a view of my dad’s softening cock as it dripped with cum. “You’re such a good boy for swallowing all of daddy’s cum.” He placed a gentle hand on my cheek, smiling softly. “As a reward, I might let you sleep in my bed tonight. Maybe then dad can give you a demonstration on how real men fuck. How’s that sound?”

“Oh yes please dad! I need your dick inside me!” I blurted out without thinking. I couldn’t believe how much of a slut he’d turned me into.

Dad chuckled softly before shoving my face back into his crotch. “If you clean me up nice and good, I’ll make sure your wish comes true son.” He didn’t need to say another word, I was already licking away. Dad went back to watching TV while I cleaned off his cock. Lapping up any remaining cum dripping from his cock before running my tongue across his soft, but still surprisingly large, shaft. Even after that I couldn’t stop myself from licking his big sweaty balls which dad didn’t seem to mind. God they tasted incredible…

And as my tongue slid back and forth, I couldn’t help but be thankful that I found that strange Magic shop when I did. To think that magic not only existed but could make something as crazy as this a reality?! Maybe I’ll have to head back there sometime and pick out something for myself. After all, Dad won’t stop going on about how amazing it feels to have a bigger, more mature body. Maybe I should find a way to get one myself to see what all the fuss is about…

Read The Sequel next!!

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[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

Cat

Gale has a terrible, no good, very bad day. Thea decides to help in an unconventional way. NSFW.

If he was being honest, Gale found that most of the days on their adventure had been good. Today, however, was not one of those days. Fat. Middle aged. Can’t keep up. Not hitting the target enough. Putting her in danger. Gods, if anything happens to her because of me, I…

“Meow?”

Is that a cat? That surely cannot be Tara because she would’ve announced herself with an energetic, “Mr. Dekarios!” He pulled the flap of his tent and, as he predicted, the cat was not Tara the tressym. It was an orange tabby with bright green eyes. Funny, that’s the exact color of Thea’s eyes. “Hello there! Are you lost, little one? Come in, come in.”

The cat meowed happily and walked in, waiting for Gale in an excited way. A cat excited about a person is very strange, though perhaps that is simply how this lovely cat is.

He went back to sitting on his bedroll, and the cat followed. Seems to be waiting for me to say something? Very curious. “I don’t know why you’re here, my friend, but I’m happy for the company.” The cat began to purr and climbed onto his lap. He laughed nervously. “Want a cuddle, do you? I suppose that’s alright. You’re awfully cuddly, aren’t you, sweetness?” He starched behind the cat’s ears, the purring growing louder. “You know, this is just what I needed. I had, quite frankly, an awful day. Every day on this journey I’m feeling my age more and more. And look at me!”

His parasite tingled.

I do see you, Gale, and I, quite frankly, love what I see.

Thea?!?!?!

Yeah! Hi! Sorry, I didn’t mean to like…be weird or anything. When we got back, you just seemed so fucking sad, and I had no idea why. I felt so bad, love. So I thought, “Well, Gale likes cats, and I can wildshape into one in seconds, maybe that would make him feel better.” So…I did that! Yup. The cat stared up at Gale with what he thought were adorably pleading eyes.

My love, you are the most thoughtful and sweetest woman in the realm. And it’s not weird! I’m still very interested in learning more about the magic behind wildshape.

I just…do it. I know that’s not the most helpful, but I’d say it’s the most accurate. At least for me! Maybe Halsin could explain it better. Anyways, if you want me to change back, I can.

Absolutely not. Unless you want to, of course! I don’t know how comfortable you are…

Thea practically began to vibrate with purrs in his lap. Are you fucking kidding me? I’m a cat in a nice, warm, soft lap. This is heaven, Gale love.

He chuckled softly, scratching behind her ears. Darling, you may stay in heaven for as long as you’d like. Then a thought slowly dawned on him. Oh shit. The glamour—

Gale, please—

One moment!

You look better with it off!

He stopped just short of his earring. I…do?

Yes. Well, I think so. You’re very handsome either way, but I prefer you like this. You’re just so snuggly, and I love that.

Gale blinked. Snuggly? I don’t think I’ve ever had that word associated with me at any point in my life. I will…take that as the compliment I hope it is.

Gale, of course it’s a compliment! Listen, I know that I’m literally the last person who should be saying any of this, but you’re very, very, very handsome. I love how soft you feel…it makes me want to hug you more than I already do. The gray in your hair is gorgeous, makes you look so distinguished. You’re hot. That’s all there is to it, love!

He laughed. Thea darling, I’m not quite sure how to respond to all of that. However, I will say that I’m pleased that I make you feel that way.

I’ll show you “pleased” Mr. Of Waterdeep! Thea leapt off his lap and then reverted to her quite beautiful wood elf form. “Sorry, I just need to do this!” She scooched over to him and then threw soft arms around him. “I love you no matter what you look like, okay? But as you are, right now, in this exact moment, you are perfect. To me, you are perfect. Perfect as you are.”

He motioned for them to lay down, which they did face-to-face, their fingers entwined. “I’ll take your word for it and hope that you know that it applies to you as well. You are stunning. You take my breath away. You arouse such feeling in me, my love. What I feel for you is more than anything I’ve ever felt towards anyone, mortal or immortal.” A wry smile tugged at his lips. “I love you no matter what you look like. As you are right now, in this exact moment, you are perfect. To me, you are perfect. Perfect as you are, dearest.”

They moved closer together, enough that their noses touched. Her bright green eyes (I know those anywhere, my love) met his brown ones. She felt one of his hands caress the softness of her wide hips, as one of hers rubbed one of his lovehandles. “I love you, Gale.”

“Love you too, sweetness.”

They shared a quick kiss and stayed lying like that for some time before Thea spoke. “I don’t think you’re that old either, if I’m being honest.”

Gale rolled his eyes. “Darling, you’re a wood elf and a druid on top of that. Of course, forty isn’t going to be that old to someone like you! But to me, it simply means my youth has passed.” Fat. Middle aged. Physically unfit. Thea loves it. Thea loves me. She loves me as I am. To her I’m perfect. “Ah, but with age comes wisdom, I suppose, so it can’t be that bad.”

She stuck her tongue out at Gale and made a valiant attempt to look angry but alas, she only looks more adorable. “A wood elf and druid I may be, but I am only thirty! And you’re not that bloody old even for a human. I mean, Elminster Aumar’s like twelve hundred right?” She grinned at him. “Surely Gale of Waterdeep could figure out how to live a few hundred years?”

His expression was playful with more than little seriousness. “Challenge accepted, my dear. While I get to work on that, there’s something more immediate, more pressing, one might say, that I need to see to.” The hand on her hip slowly drifted up to an unbelievably perfect breast, gently kneading it. “I find this to be a quite serious distraction.”

“Do you now?” She teased, bringing a long leg over his hip. “Is this also distracting?”

His lips met hers in a somewhat sloppy kiss, the hand on her breast continuing to knead. “Quite. Might I suggest—” He was silenced with a kiss and a squeeze of his side. “What? Is something wrong?” Gods, have I overstepped? I don’t think I have. She would have it written all over her face if I did.

Any hint of teasing left her face, though she was smiling. “If you ask something of me, then I’d like to ask something of you too, love.”

I’m not sure what she’s getting at, but I’ll play along. “Of course, but I only wondered if you’d take your shirt off.”

She moved to sit up and remove her shirt, revealing what Gale had longed to see---porcelain skin covered in freckles and a large, soft belly and equally large breasts. Gods be good, she’s even more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Thea, you are a goddess. “Now you.” She whispered as she lay back down.

“As the lady requests, so it shall be done.” he said as nonchalantly as possible, ignoring his heart threatening to beat through his chest. She thinks I’m perfect. She thinks I’m handsome. I trust her judgment on so many things, so why not this? “Here goes…” Sitting up, he took a deep breath before taking his shirt off.

He was not prepared for the gasp that escaped Thea.

“Oh my gods, you’re so hot!” She squeaked, her hands over her also perfect mouth and green eyes wide. “I bet she never told you you’re hot! Well, you are!” Suddenly, she grinned and reached for him. “Come here, love!” As the lady commands! He resumed his former position, their bodies pressed against each other. A look of wonder graced Thea’s face as she ran her hands over his hairy chest that made Gale’s heart skip a beat. “You feel amazing…”

“So do you.” He captured her with a passionate kiss, a hand running up and down her pillowy upper arm. “How would you like it if I kissed every freckle on your gorgeous body, o goddess of mine?” As her cheeks turned red, he chuckled. “One must be able to take compliments when one is so willing to give them, my sweet.”

Shaking her head, she said shyly, “I’m not a goddess. I’m just me.”

Gale shook his head vehemently. “You are. I happen to be an expert on such matters—”

“Mhmm.”

“And I can say with one hundred percent certainty that you are, in fact, a goddess.”

“I-I’m not.” Her entire upper half is blushing. Goodness gracious, she’s so beautiful. “I’m a normal—”

“Not normal, extraordinary. Extraordinary in every way.” He kissed her, slowly at first and then more heated. “Please allow me to show you why you are deserving of worship, darling. Please.” He tugged on her lower lip, noting how she moaned. Perfect. Moan more for me. “Please, my beauty.”

She nodded wordlessly.

He tutted at her affectionately. “No, sweetness. Use your words.”

Gale did not know how it was possible for his beloved to turn redder, but she did. “I-I…I want…” She trailed off as her gaze returned to his plump, hairy chest. In every part of her life, she seems so confident and sure of herself. But in this arena, she’s so shy. Maybe I should take the lead.

Tipping her chin up, his brown eyes met hers. “Would you like me to touch you?”

“Yes.”

That’s a start! His other hand untied her trousers and slipped inside her underwear. He imagined a mass of ginger curls at the apex of her thighs based on what he felt. “May I touch you here?”

“Gods, yes.”

Smirking, his long fingers circled her clit, causing her to moan. “That’s it, darling. There’s a good girl.” While this is greatly enjoyable, I think a change of position might make things easier. He withdrew his fingers. Oh, she is not happy. Don’t worry, my love! “Lie on your back, sweetness.” Still blushing, she did as she was told. “Good girl. You are so worthy of devotion…let me show you…”

She wrinkled her nose and giggled, reaching for her trousers. “And maybe I should show you the rest of me. That’s if you want—"

Within moments, he was tugging her pants and underwear off, panting heavily. Once they were discarded, he stopped. “There’s something you need to know. I won’t be making love to you tonight.”

Upon hearing that, she whined. “Gale…”

“Shhh, I won’t leave you wanting. Especially after how good you’ve been to me this evening. My beauty, I have something very special planned for us, but it’s…not quite ready yet.” A few more days of preparing, and then I will make the sky come alive for you. There was a time I could do it in an instant…no. Don’t go down that road tonight. Focus on her. “I want it to be the most magical night of passion you could ever dream of.”

“I’m happy to wait, love, and I’m very interested in hearing about how you won’t leave me wanting.” She attempted to squeeze her thighs together for more friction, but with him now in between her legs, she got no relief from that. But relief is coming, my sweet.

With a sly look on his face, he smirked. “This tongue isn’t simply for speaking, my darling pussy.” Pause. “Cat.”

She laughed and groaned, covering her hands over her face. “Gale, I love you so much, but that was awful!”

He looks far too pleased with himself. “Well, I happened to think it was clever. But if that’s not to your taste, my dear, then my tongue has other talents.” His head dipped as his hands gripped her thighs. They are so incredibly large. Soft. Full of freckles like the rest of her. “So wet for me already, my dear, and I’ve barely done anything…” His very practiced tongue circled and sucked her clit. She tastes so sweet. My beauty, I could feast upon you every moment for the rest of our lives, and it wouldn’t be enough to sate me. Must taste more of her. All of her. His hands kneaded her thighs, her soft flesh spilling through his fingers. She is perfect. Perfect in every way. I can’t wait to show her the Astral Plane, making her feel sensations she’s never felt, hear her cries of utter pleasure as I— The tadpole stirred once again.

As you what, love? I’m so close…

That must wait, sweetness. There’s so much I want to show you. But for right now, let go. Let go, my love.

Several small gasps escaped Thea’s perfectly plump lips as she came apart on his fingers and tongue. “That’s it. There’s a good girl. What a good girl, my darling.” He purred, finally taking his mouth off her and glancing at her heaving chest and belly. “What a sight you are! Still trembling as I wring you out…so wet…good girl, Thea…good girl…” Her breathing evened out as he praised her, her body eventually stilling. “Such a good girl for me. I’ll clean you up and then—”

“What about you?” She inquired softly. “You’re quite…excited…” That’s one word for it.

He sat up and conjured a bowl of water and moistened a clean cloth with it. “No, no, no. Don’t worry about me. There will be many other nights for that.” They fell into a comfortable silence as he cleaned her (and licked her juices off my fingers and wiped my beard) and then settled on the bedroll with Thea spooning him. I’m in heaven. This must be heaven. It must…

She planted light kisses along his shoulder and kept one hand on his hairy belly. Truly, this is heaven. I’ve never had any lover as interested in my body as she is. No. She loves me. All of me. No one has ever loved me as she does. “Hey, you alright love?” She gave his middle a squeeze. “You’re very quiet, which is not exactly normal for you.”

He chuckled. “Simply thinking, my love. Would you like to stay? Obviously, you’re free to return to your tent and sleep, if you wish.” Good gods, man. You’re forty years old, not a Blackstaff apprentice.

Gale felt her smirk into his shoulder. “Elf or cat?” she asked, punctuating each word with a kiss.

She won’t see this coming.

“Darling, I can never have enough pussy.”

“You naughty man!” She managed to get out as they both exploded with laughter. “Gale, you are the very definition of a chivalrous pervert.” He turned his head to give her a kiss.

“You wouldn’t have me any other way, would you?” He teased lightly. However, he felt as if his heart was beating through his chest. I know what you’ll say. But I so need to hear it.

Her bright green eyes were full of emotion and sleep. “Never. You are just what I’ve always wanted and hoped for. Never, ever change, love.”

Gale thought of his previous lovers, including Mystra, and how he had been asked by every single one to alter part of himself to suit their needs and desires. And then there’s her. She who wants me as I am. She who wants me alive and safe and happy and…She who wants…me. “Thank you, my darling girl. You are a wonder. Truly.” He kissed her nose and then turned his head back around, sleep starting to claim him as well. The protest on her lips died as Thea’s meditation started, her hold on him slackening slightly. “Have the sweetest reliving of memories, Thea my dear.” He whispered, as his eyes fluttered closed.

And you have the loveliest dreams, my handsome man. Her voice murmured in his mind via their tadpoles. My beautiful wizard. My Gale.

I will certainly try, my beauty. Good night.

[wroetospotterwp]

Potion Partners

Pairing ✨- Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader

Summary 💓: Y/N is a quiet girl that stays clear from trouble, but that becomes difficult once she has to partner up with Fred Weasley in Potions.

Word Count 🖊: 1,724

A/N 🗣: hello all!! this is my first ever imagine on tumblr and first i’ve ever written really, so this is quite different to what i’m used to! but i hope you all enjoy anyway!

Warnings ⚠️: this is just fluff so i think we should be good

Requested? 📮 - nope

Masterlist

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

It had been the one class Y/N had been dreading all day: Potions. It wasn’t that she wasn’t any good at the subject, she just didn’t like how Professor Snape treated the students and favoured others.

Y/N was not one of those favoured, unfortunately.

As soon as she had finished Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, she raced to Potions, Snape couldn’t take housepoints from her if she arrived early. It took some time, but she finally arrived, only a few other students waiting outside the classroom. Clearly they had the same idea as her.

With a smile to her fellow classmates, she walked over to the stone wall and opened one of her books. Might as well spend the rest of time preparing for the class. It was quite peaceful, only the flames from the torches and quiet chatter from students were heard.

But of course, it didn’t stay quiet for long. A door behind Y/N swung open, slamming against the stone loudly. The noise completely startled the girl, dropping her books on the floor. Y/N quickly glanced up to see it was the Weasley twins that had just entered the corridor.

Fred and George Weasley. The class clowns of Hogwarts and two heartthrobs that the students of the school adored. Would Y/N be lying if she said she hadn’t fancied one of them? Completely. Fred Weasley had always a been a secret crush of hers since she first saw him, but who could blame her?

Unfortunately, girls like her didn’t stand chances with boys like him, and she had accepted that a long time ago.

Before the red head could catch her looking at him, she focused her attention back on the fact her books were completely sprawled along the stone floor. Y/N bent down and started to try and gather her books, lucky for her one of her fellow classmates started to help her pick them up.

“Thank you.” Y/N muttered before she stood back up and accepted the books from the classmate.

“No problem.” The voice accepted, Y/N looking up and seeing it was none other than Fred Weasley. Her eyes widened slightly, mentally kicking herself as she realised how strange she looked.

Y/N didn’t say anything, just gave a small smile and turned away from the tall Weasley. But he didn’t seem to be finished talking to her.

“That’s a lot of books you have there, Y/N.” Fred pointed out, which almost made Y/N’s heart leave her body. He knew her name?! She kept to herself and only had a few friends, nothing that would put herself out there enough for Fred to know her name.

“You know who I am?” Y/N quietly muttered, her cheeks starting to turn a bashful red. Oh how she was thankful that everyone else was focused on their own conversations to see what was happening.

Fred raised an eyebrow and let out a breathy laugh. “Course I do.” He replied, like it was just so obvious.

Fred Weasley had messed up here, he had only found out who Y/N was just a few months ago thanks to Angelina and Alicia. He was dragged to the library by his two friends and seen Y/N reading at the table herself. Immediately, he caught himself staring, how had he never noticed her before? She was beautiful.

He questioned his two friends and they informed him who Y/N was, but they didn’t know much about her themselves. Fred was desperate to find out more about the mystery girl, starting to try sit near her in classes and in the Grand Hall, hoping she didn’t think he was weird.

She didn’t notice most of these advances, and if she did, she avoided eye contact with him at all times, which he didn’t understand why, had he pulled a prank and she had fallen victim to it? He wasn’t sure.

Y/N didn’t have the chance to reply to Fred as the Potion’s classroom door opened, Professor Snape walking out and sternly looking at them all.

“Most of you will be unable to do this, but enter the classroom and stand by your desk.” Snape eyes fixated on Fred and George.” “Calmly”

Fred and George just smirked at their Professor as the rest of the class entered his classroom. Y/N smiled at Alicia Spinnet, who she shared a desk with, as they settled into the seats.

Snape didn’t seem to trust the Weasley Twins today, motioning them to get up from their seats as soon as they sat beside each other.

“I don’t believe that either of you can be trusted working with each other. So today you’ll be split up.” Snape informed them, Fred and George usually always worked together so most of the class were shocked at their Professor’s demand.

Snape had a very slight smile. “George with Miss Spinnet, Fred with Miss Y/L/N.” He requested them. Y/N couldn’t believe it, how was she going to work with Fred? Alicia got up from her seat and walked over to where George stayed seated, Fred getting up and walking over to where Y/N was seated.

“Alright?” He greeted as he sat down, Y/N nodding slightly, Godric how she hoped that it wouldn’t be this awkward the whole period.

Snape explained to them what potion they would have to produce today, Y/N writing down all the ingredients while Fred was busy balancing his quill on his forehead out of boredom.

“Do you want me to go collect the ingredients?” Y/N questioned, bringing back Fred into reality, who had just realised that the class had began to make the potion.

“I’ll go up.” Fred offered, getting up from his seat. “Are they all written down here?” Y/N nodded as she handed him the piece of parchment, her hand briefly brushing his, sending butterfly’s to her stomach.

Fred didn’t have a clue what half of these ingredients were, grabbing what he thought was each product and hoped for the best. He brought the stuff back over to Y/N, who raised a brow.

“Are you sure this is all the right stuff?” Y/N asked, scanning the stuff Fred had picked up.

“Of course.” Fred confidently replied. Y/N shrugged, picking up a bottle to start the potion when a hand went on top of hers. “I’ll do the potion, you can sit and relax.” He offered.

“Oh, Fred, it’s no problem.” Y/N gave a small smile. “Everyone else is working in partners, you don’t need to do everything.” She didn’t trust he knew what he was doing anyway, so she just hoped he let her help.

“I’m actually quite the potion’s master, Y/N.” Fred smirked as he began to add random ingredients to the caldron. That smirk kept the girl quiet, her face turning bright red and unable to respond.

Fred was surprised that Y/N was actually talking to him, and actually holding eye contact. He hoped for his sake that his random ingredients he picked up would benefit him and make the potion that was required.

But life would be too easy if that happened.

The potion exploded up in the air, barely missing both Fred and Y/N’s face. Fred let out a laugh at what just happened, not noticing the complete shock present on Y/N’s face. Her eyes looked to the front of the class to see Snape’s face.

Safe to say he was pissed off.

Snape gave them both detention, something Fred was used to and Y/N not so much. They stayed after class since it was the last period of the day and Snape demanded that they cleaned every caldron to be completely spotless.

Snape had left to go to speak to Professor Flitwick, so it was just Fred and Y/N, alone. For the first few minutes, it was silence. Y/N too busy scrubbing one of the cauldrons to notice that Fred had walked up beside her.

“You know, I’m quite happy we’re in detention together.” Fred smirked at her, Y/N thought he was having a joke around.

Y/N smiled at him. “Fred, you basically live in detention, why would this be any different?”

Fred faked offence to this. “You wound me woman, I actually have a life outside of detention.” He joked, Y/N letting out a laugh. “Seriously though, this had been my favourite one.”

“I’m glad my company has been fun.” Y/N giggled, starting to feel more confident around the red head.

“I’m just gonna go straight to the point.” Fred informed her, making Y/N stop cleaning the caldron for a moment. “Do you want to go to Hogsmeade together at the weekend? To the Three Broomsticks?”

Y/N raised a brow at the boy. “Are you asking me on a date?” She questioned, quite confused.

“That’s typically what a man does when he fancies a girl, yes.” Fred replied, Y/N didn’t trust him, this must be some sort of joke.

“Is this some sort of prank?” Y/N asked. “Make me think you’re interested and make a fool out of me for believing?”

“What kind of pranks do you think I do, Y/N?” Fred let out a laugh. “I’m sorry if I’ve pranked you in the past-“

“You’ve never pranked me, Fred.” Y/N interrupted. “I just didn’t think you liked me.”

“Lucky for you, I do.” Fred smirked, Y/N playfully rolling her eyes.

“So charming, Weasley.” Y/N beamed, she felt so much better about talking to him, she needed to tell him she felt the same way. “I’ve liked you…for a quite a while now.”

“No one can resist me so it’s understandable.” Fred joked, he couldn’t help himself, could he? Always making a joke about anything and everything.

Fred began to lean closer, eyes flickering from Y/N’s plump lips and her gorgeous eyes. Y/N leaned forward too, this would be her first kiss, she hoped it would go alright.

Their lips pressed together and it was like the both of them had been together for years, they fit together like jigsaw pieces. They were too busy in the moment with each other to notice the classroom door swing open, the Slytherin head entering.

Professor Snape never partnered Y/N and Fred ever again after what he seen.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

i ramble on so much and at the end i felt like i rushed it! i need to figure out how to write these because i’m not sure this was that good, but i tried! first imagine so go easy on me if this is bad!! i’m used to writing fics hahah

my requests are open btw! :)

taglist: @malfoysstilinski @drearyxo @just-a-bittersweet-tragedy @fizzleberries

[remuswriting]

first words; t. kei

Summary: In a world where the first words your soulmate say to you is on your wrist, Y/N manages to get “hello”

Pairing: Tsukishima Kei x Male! Reader

Warnings: Intense angst, Hanahaki, slight enemies to lovers, swearing, mentions of fighting, brief mention and vomit (mentioned with Hanahaki).

Word Count: 18,572 words

Notes: This took months to write but it’s finally done.  I hope it’s not entirely over the top and somewhat enjoyable.  This is my longest ficlet I’ve ever made and I literally slept for 14 hours after I finished writing it.  Anyways, would you guys be interested in longer pieces like this or do you prefer shorter things?

Read on ao3 if it glitches on you!

Y/N loved the concept of soulmates.  Seeing the first words they’d say to you on your wrist seemed magical.  Sure, it was weird to get it on your 10th birthday, because what if you had met your soulmate before then?  The h/c haired boy didn’t really care though because soulmates were so cool.  Someone that was to love you for the rest of your life and in return, you loved them back.

His mother had to tell him to calm down because he’d start coming up with all sorts of scenarios of what they could possibly say to each other.  His best friend Hinata Shouyou shared the same enthusiasm over it though, so he supported the excitement his mother didn’t like.

Hinata’s 10th birthday was before Y/N, and the words on his wrist were really strange.

“One day I’m gonna set for you.”

The two spent the ginger’s birthday looking up what that meant, and they learned about volleyball. The ginger didn’t seem as excited about it until he’d see the match on the tv when he was riding his bicycle a year later.

The h/c boy’s birthday finally came around and Hinata had stayed over so they could find out what his soulmate would say together.  When the clock struck midnight, the word appeared and Y/N wondered if he still liked soulmates.

“Hello.”

He looked over at Hinata, who was staring at his wrist in confusion.  It was common to get regular greetings, but that didn’t mean Y/N wanted one. It was fairly silent until his mother opened the door excitedly with a huge grin.  She had been excited about this too, but hearing her child come up with things his soulmate would say was hard to handle at times.

“So, what’s she going to say?” The woman asked, and Y/N slowly showed her his wrist.

“She’s going to say hello.”

Silence fell back over the room.  His mother and father had cool words, but he got stuck with ‘hello’?  He wanted something cool like what his father had, which was ‘We’ve been here for way too long’ or is his mother’s ‘You’re right, let’s leave.’  Those are cool and you automatically know who’s your soulmate, but hello gave you nothing to work with.

“I know what to do,” Y/N said as he put his hands together. “I will just never say hello unless it’s to an adult.”

His mother and his father looked at him confused before the ginger’s face lit up as if he suddenly understood.  Y/N’s mother was still in the dark about what was going on.

“She’ll be the one to know! If you say something weird, then there’s no mistaking it!” Hinata exclaimed and the h/c boy nodded excitedly.

“Yes!  If she’s decided to mess up my life, then I’ll mess up hers!” Y/N exclaimed, and his mother just stared at him and sighed.  Of course, her son would act like this.

When they went back to school Monday, people asked him about what his soulmate would say and would look disappointed that it was only ‘hello.’  He was known around school for getting everyone involved in interesting conversations, people knew who he was without even having to say hello.  Next year, he’d be in junior high and hopefully he’d find his soulmate there.

 ****

 Y/N moved before his first year of junior high, he was 30 minutes away by car; so, it wasn’t like he was 100% gone.  He played on his junior high volleyball team because he had also fallen in love with volleyball when Hinata did, and he hoped one day they’d go against each other.

“Hey, you’re L/N, right?” Naoko asked, he was on the soccer team.  The h/c boy nodded as he sat on a bench outside wrapping his ankle with an ace bandage.  He had twisted it during practice but refused to let anyone actually know about it.

“You’re Naoko, right?” He asked, and the black haired boy nodded.  Soon enough the soccer player sat next to the h/c boy on the bench.  It was awkward because the h/c boy haired boy didn’t know why the other was there.

“I have a friend who wants to confess to you, but doesn’t know how,” Naoko said, and the other just looked at him confused.

“I don’t know either,” he said as he looked back at the wrapping as he checked to make sure it was good. “I don’t ever get confessions and I’ve never confessed.  Why not ask a girl or something?”

The black haired boy looked at him frustrated, but not in a way that it was at him.  What was so frustrating about all of this?  The girl could just come up and say she likes him, it’s not like he’ll accept if he doesn’t know her.

“Just tell her to just confess to me.  My schedule is pretty much the same every day.”

“It’s not a girl,” Naoko said. “That’s why he doesn’t know what to do.”

Y/N looked up at him in shock and confusion.  He’d always thought it was fictional for people to be gay; something for women to fetishize, so he’d never given it a single thought.  The guys in his class always talked about girls, but he had never really been interested in it.  He preferred to be around his teammates because they made him feel warm.  Well, not all of them, but definitely Takeshi.

Takeshi was a wing spiker who always told the team to rely on Y/N more because he was their libero. The libero always stared at him more than normal, but he couldn’t help it; he was so pretty with his brown eyes and bright smile.  Y/N stopped for a second, realizing what he was thinking about blinked his eyes several times.

“Why did you even come talk to me?” He asked, and the black haired boy dragged his hands down his face.

“Fuck, I don’t know,” Naoko admitted. “I just thought if I told you and you said you were straight, then it’d save him heartbreak.”

“If I don’t know him, then I definitely won’t date him, so do I know him?” L/N asked, and the other shook his head.

“No, but everyone knows you,” the black haired boy said with a slightly smile. “You do realize that you are friends with nearly everyone in our year whether or not you know it, right?”

Y/N nodded slightly because he did know that but it didn’t mean they really knew him.  Very few people knew about the important things about him, so how could they possibly be in love with him?

“Yeah, but I still don’t know him.  It’ll be pointless if he confesses to me.”

 *****

 Y/N started to shut down after he spoke to Naoko, because he didn’t know where he stood anymore with soulmates and sexuality.  He’d stare at the word on his wrist and wonder if it was a girl or guy going to say it. What if he couldn’t fall in love with his soulmate?  What if he never met his soulmate?  What if he was gay?

He was so trapped in his head that he started to hate soulmates.  Why was he required to fall in love with someone when he could who he wanted to?  People had always frowned upon people loving someone that wasn’t their soulmate.  Y/N had fallen in love with someone who wasn’t his soulmate, his best friend Takeshi.

It was hard to escape the other because they were on the same team, so he just ignored it.  He put everything into volleyball because that’s how he knew how to cope.  Whenever he was emotional, he just used it to his advantage in volleyball.  His coach always praised how his receives were going to beat Nishinoya Yuu from Chidoriyama Junior High, which the h/c libero didn’t think was accurate.

Hinata wanted to be the next tiny giant and practiced constantly for it.  He constantly told Y/N how he wished he had a real team so he could finally practice like he wanted to.  Shouyou had once said he wanted to meet the volleyball player he idolized and that Y/N could do that by meeting Nishinoya (not that Y/N idolized him, he just really wanted to be like him), but the h/c haired boy said the only way he was going to meet the libero was by playing against him.

His relationship with Hinata was unaffected because he wasn’t attached to his volleyball team. Shouyou was completely outside of that world, even when they played together occasionally.  Y/N was grateful to have some sense of what he used to be like and have someone not constantly question if he was okay.

“I want to know what crazy person says to someone that they’ll set for them,” Shouyou said as he and Y/N tossed the volleyball around. “Especially as their first words.”

“We’ve always said that she’ll probably be better at volleyball than you,” Y/N said, and the ginger gasped.

“I’ve never said that!”

Y/N laughed into his hand and Hinata looked genuinely upset.

“Oh, I guess it was just your mom and me that said that.”

The ginger threw the volleyball at his best friend, only for the h/c haired boy to receive it.  Hinata forgot all about the comment, now asking his friend to teach him how to receive.

Although he was doing good in volleyball, he wasn’t close to his teammates like he used to be.  He focused on practice, not anyone else’s problems because he didn’t see a need to.  This was a different him, because he used to be the person who spent so much time trying to figure out what was going on with others because he just wanted to.

Takeshi tried to talk to him about it, because it was concerning to see one of your best friends become something that wasn’t him.  After numerous ‘I’m fine, stop asking’, the ace got the point and stopped asking. The watchful eye made the h/c haired libero angry though because the other didn’t have the right to do that to him; to care.

He handle his anger by taking it out during practice and one day he managed to knock someone down from how aggressively he had received the ball.  No one had known that was possible, but it was apparently something he could do.

“L/N! Go take a breather!” Coach screamed at him, and he nodded as he walked out of the gym.

He found himself standing in front of the bathroom, his forehead against the wall before he turned around a pressed his back against the wall and slid down.  The moment he hit the cold tiled ground; he hid his face between his pulled up knees.  He needed to stop thinking; stop feeling.  Interhigh was coming up fast and he needed to focus on that.

“Hey, you okay?” Takeshi asked, and Y/N didn’t look at the brunette.  He wished he weren’t actually there. “L/N-san, I know you say you’ve been okay, but you’ve really been acting weird recently.”

“It doesn’t matter how I’m acting,” L/N said softly, afraid he’d start to open up. “Why are you even out here?”

“Coach wanted me to come make sure you wouldn’t break anything,” Takeshi said as he fell to sit next to the other. “I didn’t think you would though.”

“Why are you my friend” Y/N asked as he finally looked at the other.  Somehow Takeshi was still unbelievably attractive even though he was drenched in sweat to where it was almost like a hair gel that controlled his unruly curls. “Why did you decide to be my friend?”

“L/N-san, you’re friends with everyone.  You’re fun to be around and you always know how to make people happy.  You know how to make me happy,” the brunette said slowly as he looked over at the other with a soft smile. “That’s why some of us are worried about you.  It’s like you’ve cut all of us out and you’ve gotten so aggressive during practice. None of us know why.”

“Things are just really difficult right now,” Y/N said as he looked down to his feet, internally chanting not to stare at Takeshi for too long. “Just been a lot on my mind.”

“I understand that,” Takeshi said with a laugh. “I’m in love with someone who isn’t my soulmate, but volleyball has been helping me get my mind off of that.”

“Who?” Y/N asked without hesitation, and it felt pathetic to get so excited over hearing that.  Maybe this would be their confession, sure it wasn’t romantic but it would be a confession.  Takeshi blushed as he looked down at his lap.

“Don’t tell anyone, but it’s Tamura-san,” the brunette said softly, and Y/N felt like he had been stabbed in the heart.  Of course, it would be Tamura; Takeshi’s childhood best friend and captain of their team.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” the libero said with a soft smile and the other smiled back at him. “You can head back; I just need a couple more minutes.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I promise I’m fine.”

Takeshi left and the h/c haired boy sighed as he leaned back so the back of his head was against the wall. Soulmates wouldn’t hurt him like this. They wouldn’t be in love with someone else and tell him like this because they believed they were only best friends.  Soulmates had to love you back, they always did, and they wouldn’t break your heart like this.

Y/N let himself cry for a couple minutes, because maybe this could be what he needed to get it all out of his system.  He could stop being in love with someone who clearly didn’t love him.  It was going to be okay because he had a soulmate out there waiting for him.

 *****

 After the talk with Takeshi, his feelings did go away but knowing he was gay didn’t.  Y/N decided to just stop thinking about that and put all he had into volleyball, but he accidentally stopped talking to Takeshi like they once had.  It had hurt too much to around someone who broke his heart, but he was nearly through with feeling those things.

They won at Interhigh, beating Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High in the process and Y/N will never forget the look of anger on the King’s face.  The libero had received nearly every serve the setter had done, even if it was aimed to be somewhere the h/c haired boy wasn’t.  Beating Shiratorizawa Academy Junior High was also the highlight, even though he hadn’t been able to beat Ushijima like he had wanted to. Winning put L/N in high spirits, even made him act like himself again for the rest of the day.

“Y/N!” A voice called out and the libero turned to see Hinata running towards him at full speed. “That was so crazy!”

“I didn’t know you came to watch,” Y/N said as he caught his friend in his arms before he could be tackled. “You told me he was an asshole to you in June, so you know I had to really destroy him.”

“Your whole team is so cool! My team wasn’t even really a team,” Hinata said, and Y/N nodded, because he knew.  He knew the ginger had been the only member of the volleyball club until three first years showed up and he forced his two friends that knew nothing about volleyball to join for the game. “So, it’s really cool to see my best friend playing on a real one!”

“Come on, L/N-san, the bus is about to leave,” Sora said, and the h/c haired boy sighed at Hinata���s upset face.

“You’re already leaving me!” He wailed and the libero whacked him upside the head.

“Come over tomorrow. It’s not like you’re incapable of doing that.” He ruffled his best friend’s hair. “I’ll text you later, Shouyou.”

“Okay!  See you tomorrow!”

 *****

 “So, you’re really going to go to nationals?” Hinata asked, and the libero nodded.

“You bet, but I need to figure out what high school I’m going to before that,” Y/N said as he looked over at the other. “Do you know where you’re going to go?”

Hinata was drinking a cup of hot chocolate Y/N’s parents had made for him.  The worn volleyball they always played with was situated in his lap. L/N found it funny that they were both obsessed with volleyball, but Shouyou wanted to always be touching the ball. Hinata looked over at him with the biggest grin Y/N had seen in a while.

“Karasuno obviously! I’m going to be the next tiny giant!” Hinata exclaimed and the h/c boy chuckled at the excitement.

“Shiratorizawa is trying to recruit me, but maybe I’ll go to Karasuno,” he said softly, which made Hinata’s brown eyes light up.  His mother wouldn’t like this decision, because she wanted him to go to the best places because he was outrageously talented and pretty good academically. “My only question is what are you going to do every morning?  Take the train?”

“No, I’m going to bike!” Hinata exclaimed as the volleyball fell to the snow covered grass.  He looked overly excited, as if it were the best idea he’s ever had; it might have been though. “I’ve been getting used to biking everywhere.  That’s how I got here.”

Y/N looked over at his friend as he shook his head with a chuckle.  How was his childhood friend so determined and motivated?  The h/c haired boy had once been like that too, but then he became scared of himself and the world around him.  It was hard to give your absolute all when you’re scared if people will learn who you truly are.

“You amaze me,” he said as he ruffled the ginger’s hair a laugh.

“If you go to Karasuno, then we can finally play volleyball together!” Hinata exclaimed and the libero gave him an awkward smile.

Y/N was scared to join another volleyball team, because what if he felt in love with another team member? His heart had been destroyed last time, and he wasn’t sure if he could handle it.  He caught himself looked at his wrist before he really looked at Shouyou, who was grinning as he picked up the volleyball as if it were his prized possession, and Y/N knew he’d do anything to make his best friend happy.

“Yeah.  Yeah, we can.”

 *****

 Going to Karasuno was different than what L/N had been expecting, even though he didn’t really have any expectations going into it.  He knew he’d be on the volleyball team and most likely in the college prep class, but that was about it.  When school was over, Hinata was waiting outside the h/c haired male’s classroom and Y/N really wanted to strangle him.

“I know you don’t know this, but first years typically don’t go to practice for the first week of school,” Y/N said as he was being dragged to the gym.

“I’m just excited, I have to go now!” Hinata exclaimed, and the h/c boy chuckled as he continued to follow the other to the gym.

Karasuno High had a really nice campus, but Y/N would never say it was nicer than his junior high’s campus. He missed that school though; missed his team.  He regretted not doing a proper goodbye with them because he had started to cut off friendships when he realized he started to love Takeshi again.

When Hinata opened the gym doors, there stood Kageyama Tobio in all of his shitty glory.  He had heard Hinata talk about the setter, but L/N also had dealt with the setter before.  He had defeated his team at Spring Interhigh, but the libero destroyed him that November.  The setter focused more on the ginger than he did the libero, which was nice.  The e/c eyed boy needed to breathe because he wanted to absolutely destroy the setter.

“Aren’t you L/N Y/N?” Kageyama asked, and Hinata was outraged that he remembered his best friend’s name but not his.

“Yeah, aren’t you the douche bag whose teammates ditched?” Y/N asked, he looked like he didn’t care but his voice held resentment. “I’d say that’s why your team lost to mine, but we were already kicking your asses before that.”

“You don’t know shit,” Kageyama sneered, and three upperclassmen showed up.  They looked at the three first years before one of them looked at Y/N in amazement.

“Noya is going to freak when he gets back,” the shaved head boy said, and the first year libero looked at him so confused.

“Is that a good thing?”

The attention was turned over to the black haired setter, and he was thankful he wasn’t being put in the spotlight like that again.  He wanted to be seen on the court, not outside of it (although that became mainly a thing in his third year of junior high).  L/N then watched in horror the chaos of Kageyama and Hinata’s rivalry, and then watched as they were kicked out of the gym.

“Well, that was something,” he said, mainly to himself, and Sugawara (the vice-captain) laughed slightly.

“We take teamwork very seriously here,” the captain, Daichi, said, and the first year just nodded slowly.

“My coach in junior high was the same way,” Y/N said before he looked away. “Sometimes we’d get way into our heads and have to be kicked off the court for a bit so we could breathe. You can’t play as a team if you can’t only think about what’s happening on the court.”

After they spoke for a bit, the first year sheepishly asked if he could join practice and the team said it was okay by them.  Y/N decided he liked his new team but the guilt from not saying goodbye to his old one loomed over him the entire practice.

 *****

 L/N woke up in a good mood. He had finally actually slept for the first time in who knows how long and felt good because of it.  Maybe it was because he wasn’t constantly stressing about what anyone finding out if he was gay, because they didn’t know him well enough too and didn’t seem like they really cared to know.

“Y/N!” Hinata called out, and Y/N turned to see his best friend running towards him excitedly.  He also looked like he had been working out, but it was only 8am and the ginger never looked like that after biking.

“Hey, Shouyou,” the libero said as he stopped to wait for the other. “What’s up with you?”

“Sugawara-senpai and Tanaka-senpai let me and Kageyama practice this morning,” the ginger said with stars in his eyes, and the other looked concerned.

“Does Daichi-senpai know about it?”

Hinata shook his head, panic in his eyes at the mention of the volleyball captain.  L/N chuckled at the other before the h/c haired boy caught eyes with a tall blonde boy across the yard.  He looked like he didn’t want to be surrounded by everyone, and Y/N couldn’t blame him.  Even though he was best friends with Hinata, he really didn’t like to befriend people anymore but part of him wanted to befriend the annoyed blonde he had just seen.

“Who are you staring at, Y/N?” Hinata asked as he tugged on the h/c haired boy’s sleeve.

The libero looked over at the energetic boy, blinking a couple times.  It wasn’t that he was disorientated, but because he hadn’t really been paying attention to anyone around him except the blonde boy.

“Some blonde guy,” he said before he bumped shoulders with the other. “Let’s get to class, because you definitely need to use your brain.”

“Hey!  That’s not nice!”

“Shouyou, we’ve been friends for years; I don’t have to be nice to you.”

 *****

 Y/N decided to swing by afternoon practice, just to check it out, when he saw the blonde boy there from earlier there.  Daichi was standing in front of him and there was another student next to the blonde, he had olive toned hair and a nervous composure.  The h/c walked over to the three, an awkward smile on his face, because what if they were other volleyball members.

“Hello, L/N,” Daichi said, and the libero sent him a bright smile.

“Hey, Daichi-senpai.”

The two others looked at him confused, which was understandable.  The h/c haired boy had been confused yesterday when everyone had being introduced.  Although yesterday was a lot to handle.

“Hello, I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi,” the olive toned boy said with a slight smile.

The blonde looked over at him out of the side of his eye, seeming to evaluate him.  Usually the libero would be uncomfortable but being so close to the guy who interested him when he had seen him outside earlier that day trumped the nerves.

“Hello,” he said, not adding anything, which made Y/N do what he always did; say something ridiculous.

“I wish snakes had arms,” Y/N said, and the blonde and olive toned boys frozen, which caused the h/c haired boy to tilt his head before his eyes widened. “I’m so sorry.  I know that’s really weird, but my soulmate is to say hello and I decided to say crazy things so they’ll know.”

“Are you fucking serious?” The blonde asked, and L/N took a step back as he put his hands up as if surrendering.

“Yeah?  I mean hello is a pretty vague thing.”

“My wrist has said ‘I wish snakes had arms’ all these years because of you.”

Y/N’s eyes widened before he looked to the ground and chuckled awkwardly.  How was he supposed to respond to that?  It was technically blondie’s fault for being so basic by saying hello.

“Tsukki, it’s not like he knew what he was going to say,” Yamaguchi said, and the blonde rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki.”

“It’s not my fault that you had to say the most boring thing!  How was I supposed to know who my soulmate was if we were both to say hello or hi?” Y/N screamed, and Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “You haven’t given me an answer.”

“Wow, my soulmate is a little bitch,” Tsukishima said, and that’s when Daichi decided to step in.

“Hey, we don’t talk like that to our teammates here,” the captain said strictly while the two soulmates glared at each other. “Do I need to do what I did to Kageyama and Hinata to you two?”

“I’d quit,” Y/N said, wondering if maybe he could just pretend he had never met the tall blonde. “You said I couldn’t play in the 3-on-3 anyways because I’m a libero, so you can’t punish us that way.”

“Maybe you should quit,” Tsukishima sneered, and someone was suddenly holding the h/c haired boy back. His blood was boiling and all he wanted to do was kick the other down to the ground so he could properly deck him.

“Maybe you should learn that being an asshole isn’t a personality trait,” Y/N sneered back, which made the other’s brown eyes narrow at him.

“I think we can call it a day for the first years,” Daichi said, obviously looking panicked. “We’ll talk tomorrow when everyone is calmed down.”

Tsukishima started to walk away, mumbling something that caused Yamaguchi to give the blonde a shocked look.

“You know we eventually have to fall in love with each other, it’s how soulmates work!” L/N screamed, which stilled both of the other first years.  Tsukishima didn’t turn around, but Yamaguchi turned to look at the h/c haired boy, who was still being held back by Tanaka.

“We’ll see about that,” the blonde said before he started to walk again.

“I wish my first words had been ‘you’re a piece of shit’ instead of the dumb shit I said,” Y/N mumbled, and Sugawara appeared, a hand covering his mouth.

“Your first words were really ‘I wish snakes had arms’?” The vice-captain asked, and the h/c haired boy nodded sadly.  He wished it had been something better than that, but at least it wasn’t hello. “You really will fit in on this team.”

 *****

 Y/N wasn’t included in the three-on-three because he had been practicing with the team and they knew his playing by now.  It also just wasn’t fair for one team to have a libero and the other not to.  He was told to come to the match for it because it showed team unity.

“Y/N, this is going to be so fun!” Hinata exclaimed as they walked to Karasuno High together.  The ginger had stopped at L/N’s house so they could walk there together, also to drop off his bike.

“It’ll be your second game ever, right?” Y/N asked before he took a bite into a pork bun he had brought from home.

He was glad his mother wasn’t there to see him because she’d scold him.  It was considered lazy to eat while you walked down the street, because you didn’t know how to plan your day out, but the h/c haired libero couldn’t find it in him to care.  Hinata had refused to eat one, because he was worried it would make him sick.

“Yeah!” Hinata exclaimed before he suddenly looked nervous. “Oh no, what if I mess up?”

“Everyone messes up, Sho-chan.  I wasn’t a starter until my second year because I messed up receives constantly,” Y/N said with a yawn. “You’ll get to play no matter who wins, so don’t worry.”

“Kageyama won’t get to play setter until his second year and he’s really upset about that,” Hinata said before he pushed his hair down and started doing an impression of the first year setter. “I must do everything volleyball by myself and I don’t need any help. I must always play setter.”

“As much as I hate him, I get where’s he’s coming from.  If I couldn’t be a libero, I’d just quit.  It’s my position, especially because I’ve only learned how to only do that. I’ve never spiked a ball before.”

Hinata’s eyes went wide. Apparently Y/N had never gave the other that information.  He assumed the ginger would figure out that being a libero means you can’t really spike or set a ball, so there wasn’t a need for him to learn those things.  L/N wanted to assume he’d be decent at it since he could jump high, but he didn’t know if his spikes would be any good.

“Spiking is the best!” Hinata yelled, only to be shushed by the other. “It makes me feel so gaah, you know?”

“You mean it makes you feel alive?”

“Yeah, but more!”

The rest of the walk was full of Hinata rambling about how much he loved spiking and how hard receiving was.  It was the first time they had done this since before Y/N moved and it felt good to do it.  Made it feel like no time had passed, even though Y/N was 5’6” now and Hinata was still the same height but with fluffier hair.

“We never talked about the fact that Tsukishima is your soulmate,” Hinata said, and the libero sighed as he looked at the ground.

“We’re not going to. I’m going to ignore the fact as long as possible.”

“You shouldn’t though! You know that can be dangerous!” Hinata exclaimed as he threw his arms around. “Y/N-chan, I know you don’t like that it’s a guy, but it doesn’t stop the fact that if you ignore it then you could get Hanahaki disease or Kirameki disease!”

“Those are unrequited love things, Shouyou,” Y/N said as he rolled his eyes.  “Also, they rarely happen in soulmate cases.  It’s typically when you love someone who isn’t your soulmate. Or if your soulmate loves you and you don’t love them at all.”

“Still!” Hinata yelled before he grabbed at his friend’s arm to stop him. “There’s nothing wrong with being with a guy!  Just make sure you don’t get hurt!”

“So, you don’t care that I apparently like guys?”

Hinata made a confused face and shook his head.

“Why would I care? It’s not like you’re in love with me.”

“Yeah, I do have standards.”

“Hey!” Hinata exclaimed with an annoyed expression and the h/c haired boy laughed. “I think I’m part of the high standards!”

“Shouyou, you don’t even understand what I’m saying,” Y/N said as he tried not to laugh. “Having standards means someone has certain things they want in someone.”

“Explaining it made it worse!” Shouyou yelled as he threw his head back.

Y/N didn’t know why he was so worried about Hinata knowing he was gay.  The ginger was still the same idiotic person that the h/c haired boy had known back in elementary school.  As his laughing died, his smile stayed on his face.  He really was thankful for his best friend.

 *****

 Y/N found himself staring at Tsukishima as the blonde played in the three-on-three.  It was normal to watch people play that you’d never seen before, but he knew he couldn’t stop staring because the other looked good when he played.  L/N was fairly certain he didn’t look all that attractive when he played because he sweated as if he’d never have another day to.

“So, snakes with no arms,” Sugawara said as he went to stand next to the h/c haired libero.  The third year setter loved the first words so much that it was now a weird nickname. “I see you’re staring at Tsukishima, especially after he took off his sweatshirt.”

That was attractive. Seeing the middle blocker getting into the game to the point he had to take his sweatshirt off was enough to get Y/N wanting to get over the entire ‘I hate you’ thing.  Maybe if the blonde kept it up, L/N would be attracted to him enough to want to kiss him.  He couldn’t just tell someone that because that’s weird.  It would be especially weird if it were his upperclassmen who was staring at him way too intensely.  His cheeks started to burn red from the attention and he looked at the floor.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but your staring is a bit too much.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Sugawara looked away from the other, and it seemed like he actually felt bad that he overwhelmed the other.  The libero could tell that the third year probably would go back and not stress him out if he had the chance to.

“It’s okay to look at him though.  He is your soulmate,” Suga said, and the first year looked over at the ash blonde curiously. “No one is going to get mad at you, well except for Tsukishima.  He seems like a real stick in the mud kind of person while you’re peppier and a very subdued version of Hinata.”

Y/N laughed a little as he shook his head. “I’m not sure if you’re insulting me or not.”

“I don’t insult my underclassmen until I’ve known them for at least a month,” the vice-captain said and the first year gave him a weird look.

“I guess that gives me time to do stupid shit and not be bullied for it.”

Sugawara laughed as his hand landed of Y/N’s shoulder.  When he looked at the libero, his eyes held more mischief than the h/c haired boy liked.

“Insulting and bullying are two different things.” The third year looked over and pointed at Tsukishima. “Anyways, you can go back to watching your stick in the mud soulmate block people again.”

Y/N reluctantly did but he also watched Hinata, who would always be overdramatic and over trusting, spike Kageyama’s perfect sets.  The h/c haired boy hoped the setter didn’t end up hurting his best friend by going back to his harsh ways from junior high.  If he did hurt Hinata though, then L/N would have to kill him because no one was allowed to do that to.  The ginger brought light with him everywhere, his name literally meant sunshine, and he had been the one thing in the h/c haired boy’s life that had never changed.

He wanted to see if he could receive those crazy quick attacks.  Wanted to know how much power was behind them and if they’d hurt his arms when it came into contact with them?  How fast would he have to become to know when they’re going to happen and where.

It wasn’t surprising that Kageyama and Hinata’s team won because they had created a new freak quick attack.  This meant Kageyama would get to play as setter if the coach allowed him to and it seemed that Karasuno’s coach/advisor did whatever the third years told him to. He’d get to play as a starter in their practice match against Seijoh because of course, the first year setter’s senpai had some sort of rivalry with him.

“Tell me, Kageyama,” Y/N said and the blue eyed first year glared at the other. “Damn, I was just going to ask why Oikawa seems to be targeting you.”

“I don’t know,” Tobio said as he looked down at the ground and h/c haired boy wasn’t so sure he believed that but didn’t say anything.

“Y/N-chan, did you see my spiking!” Hinata exclaimed and the libero nodded.

“Yeah!  You’re better than I thought you were, but not by much.”

“So mean, Y/N!”

The h/c haired boy saw Tsukishima looking over at him, only for the blonde to look away.  Soulmates were supposed to be curious of each other and try to learn more about one another, but it seemed the middle blocker was going to be difficult.  

“Hey, Tsukishima. You’re really good at blocking,” Y/N said, seeing what would happen, and the blonde rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t ask,” Tsukishima said with a slight glare and the h/c haired boy shrugged.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t say it,” he said with a chuckle. “So, get used to it.”

“Annoying brat.”

 *****

 “You’re doing a terrible job at getting Tsukishima to like you,” Suga told Y/N before practice one day and the first year libero gave him a confused look.

“I’m not trying to do anything.  It’s going to take time because he’s obviously incredibly stubborn,” Y/N said with a sigh. “So, it’s not worth rushing.”

“I met my soulmate in junior high.  He goes to a different high school though,” Suga said before he chuckled slightly. “His first words to me were ‘I didn’t know angels existed’ and mine to him was ‘hey, are you going to faint’.  He still calls me angel.”

Y/N smiled at his upperclassmen because that was one of the few slightly cute word exchanges he had heard of.  Most middle schoolers had stupid ones but the libero couldn’t judge anyone by any means due to what he said.

“Why doesn’t he go here?” L/N asked and the ash blonde fetched his phone of his bag.

“He moved to Sendai right before first year of high school but we still talk,” Suga said before he showed the first year a photo of the ash blonde with a brunette with glasses.

“He looks like Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran High School Host Club,” L/N said and the Koushi looked at the photo and smiled.

“I guess you’re right.” He put his phone back in his back and gave the h/c haired boy a look. “You’re incredibly charming, just use it on Tsukishima.  He’ll bully you for the rest of your life because of the words but at least you’ll have each other.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

 *****

 The sight of Kindaichi and Kunimi made Y/N roll his eyes.  Of course, he had to see those two again as if having Kageyama on his team wasn’t bad enough.  The dirty look they gave him as he walked by made him roll his eyes because of course they’d act like that.  It hadn’t been Y/N’s fault Kitagawa lost but their own fault for crumbling as a team.

“We’re not going to lose to you again, L/N,” Kindaichi said and the h/c haired boy looked at him and shrugged.

“Words are just words, where are your actions to prove them?” He asked and it had been the last thing he said to the boy in front of him at Interhigh Finals.  The turnip haired boy had always talked big but never fully showed what he actually had.

“Stop talking to them and come on,” Tsukishima said and the libero rolled his eyes.

“Okay but do you ever wonder if snakes have arms?” Y/N asked a smile on his face and the blonde glared at him.

“You make it so hard to even try to be nice to you,” Kei said as he walked ahead, no longer alongside L/N.

“Awe!” Y/N exclaimed as he covered his heart with his hands, making sure to be extra overdramatic. “You were trying to be nice to me, how cute!”

“L/N, stop harassing Tsukishima!” Daichi called out and Sugawara elbowed him in the side, making the captain let out a small ‘oof’ sound. “Let’s warmup!”

 *****  

The match was going just fine, especially the small competition that Watari and Y/N had going to see who could get the most digs.  The Karasuno first year libero was fairly certain he was the only one aware of this competition but that didn’t matter to him because he wasn’t going to lose. He wanted to destroy Kindaichi every time they went against each other, purely because the other always made the comment he would beat Y/N.

Kageyama and Hinata’s quick attack took the other team by surprise but that was to be expected. Without it, L/N was pretty certain Karasuno wouldn’t have been doing so well.  Seijoh had a team that was recruited, unlike the crow school.  Seijoh had tried to recruit Y/N but his mother had been so fixed on him going to Shiratorizawa to the point she told him to just unfriend Hinata because he wasn’t on Y/N’s level anyways.

When Oikawa Tooru entered the court, the h/c haired libero looked him over and knew the pretty boy would most likely end up being trouble.  He had been on the bench his first year of junior high but he had seen Seijoh’s setter destroying people with his jump serve and there was no telling how deadly it was now.  No telling how badly the libero would want to receive every last one.

Y/N was rotated out with Tsukishima for reasons he didn’t understand but let happen.  When Oikawa started targeting the blonde and Shouyou, he wanted back on the court then because sure the two couldn’t receive for shit but he wanted to be the one trying to receive those serves.

“Do they really not know how to receive?” Y/N asked Sugawara as he flinched at the sight of the two first year struggling. “I thought Hinata was getting better.”

“That’s him being better,” the third year said with a slight chuckle. “I thought you would know how bad Hinata is at volleyball since you came to Karasuno for him.”

Y/N hadn’t really gone to Karasuno entirely for Hinata but because he had someone to lean on, so then he didn’t fall in love with someone on the team.  The fact that Tsukishima was his soulmate fucked up everything. He could’ve just gone to Shiratorizawa and been gay for Ushijima like nearly every other volleyball player and it be acceptable but instead he had to go to Karasuno and meet his fucking soulmate.

“L/N switch out with Tsukishima,” Kiyoko said and the two first years quickly did so.

The blonde looked annoyed and the h/c haired libero couldn’t blame him.  It would be like Y/N trying to spike and block when he’s never done those things, although Tsukishima had learned to receive; just not to the ability he should have.

“Look at who Karasuno’s libero is,” Oikawa said and e/c eyes tracked his every movement.  He was going to give a nasty serve and direct it at Hinata most likely. “Doesn’t mean much at this point.”

The serve was perfect and somehow Y/N got it to go up.  He knew it looked flawless but his arms hurt like hell now.  Hinata scored the last point and the libero smirked as he looked at Kindaichi.  He’d always beat anyone who told him he couldn’t.

“That was a nice receive,” Oikawa said and the libero looked over at the setter before he shrugged.

“Pretty easy one to get so I’m not sure why everyone was struggling,” he lied and he could feel his arms throbbing, knowing that time was luck and he’d have to train to receive the other’s serves next time.

“Why are you with Karasuno? You obviously have more skill than anyone of them.”

How does someone say that you fell in love with someone in middle school who wasn’t your soulmate and realized you were gay, which broke you down and the only person you felt at ease with was your best friend who wanted to play volleyball with you, so you picked the school you never thought you go to?

“I mean I could’ve joined your team or Shiratorizawa but,” he said but he was cut off.

“Are you just going to talk all day?” Tsukishima asked and the other two players had no idea when the blonde had arrived.

“Sorry, seems that it’s time to go.  It was good finally playing against you, Oikawa-san,” the h/c haired first year said before he turned to leave but the brunette grabbed his wrist.

Y/N looked down at his hand and Tsukishima stepped in, detaching the hand from the libero’s wrist. He didn’t speak but it was obvious the words he wanted to say were “don’t you dare” but the third year setter apparently couldn’t tell.

“I know you hate Kageyama, so why are you so okay with playing on the same team as him?” Tooru asked and there a weird sort of desperation in his eyes, as if he had been searching for an answer to the question for longer than he’d let on.

“I don’t think I actually hate him,” Y/N said with a shrug. “Hated how fucking annoying of an opponent he is.”

“Can you please stop talking about the king and go?” Tsukishima asked and he was obviously frustrated.

Your soulmate has to care for you.  You could hate them with all you have and still care about them because that’s how soulmates work.

It was why Y/N knew he didn’t need to work so hard to get Tsukishima to like him because it would happen. His mother had always told him that your soulmate is required to love you, which wasn’t always beautiful. Sometimes you loved a person who was evil and you had no control over it.

“Yeah, it was nice meeting you, Oikawa-san,” Y/N said and followed after the blonde middle blocker, who had an irritable expression on his face. “Thank you for getting me out of that.”

The first year middle blocker didn’t respond but Y/N could see the faint red tinge to his ears. What a tsundere.

 *****

 “Are you saying that because I’m short?” A voice asked as Y/N entered the gym to see Hinata next to a dark haired boy with a blonde streak in the front of his hair.  He froze because that couldn’t be him.

“No, you’re good at receives,” Hinata said before he smiled wide. “Also, my best friend is a little taller than me and he’s a libero too!”

“Really?” Noya asked and L/N wanted to leave the gym and pretend he had never been on the volleyball team because meeting the other libero was going to be embarrassing.

“Yeah!” Hinata exclaimed before he noticed the h/c haired first year and pointed at him. “There he is!”

Noya looked at the frozen boy with wide eyes before he grinned so wide it looked like it could hurt. Tanaka, Sugawara, and Daichi were all over to the side, ready to watch this interaction.  The second year had grumbled about the fact he hadn’t been able to play against third year L/N Y/N because he looked like he could kick his ass.

“You are L/N Y/N!” The 5’2” libero screamed as he went over to the other and all Y/N could do was nod. The libero was cuter without a net between them and it made the first year nervous. “I’m Nishinoya Yuu from Chidoriyama Junior High, you may remember me.”

“Of course, I remember you,” Y/N said with an insulted tone in his voice. “You were the best libero I ever went against in junior high.  No one has ever pissed me off more but it made the game exciting.”

“I thought the same about you!” Noya exclaimed with twinkling eyes that made the h/c haired libero swoon slightly. “So, if you’ve gotten better, then I may be fucked.”

Y/N had found the second year libero attractive when he went up against him about two years ago.  He’d never gone against a libero that was obviously as dedicated to the position as he was.  Passion was attractive and the h/c haired boy would admit to that every time and it was probably why it was hard to find Tsukishima attractive because he just never seemed passionate about anything (except that once during the 3-on-3).

“He is definitely better than you,” Tanaka said, obviously just trying to rile up the second year libero. “Just wait until you go up against each other again and he kicks your ass.”

“I’m not that good.” It didn’t seem like the other two heard him and he wasn’t sure what to really say to get their attention. “He’s going to always be better than me.”

Noya looked over with a smirk that made the first year weak in the knees.  He had never found anyone as attractive as the blonde streak second year and would have to say he still had a small crush on him.  He wasn’t a second year in junior high anymore though and now knew who his soulmate was but why did the other still make him feel like he could be in love.

“No need in trying to flatter me when you’re already my favorite.” Noya laughed slightly and Y/N’s heart was beating so fast it hurt. “We will see who the best libero is but just know I’m not going to throw it just because I’m an amazing senpai.”

“I’d never want you to throw it, senpai,” Y/N said and the second year libero turned bright red at the title.  The first year looked at him curiously, unsure as to why he turned so red. “Is everything okay?”

Tanaka’s hearty laugh rang throughout the gym and Noya glared at the shaved head middle spiker. There was obviously something more than L/N knew and he just kept looking at the two curiously because he didn’t understand what he was missing.

“Don’t worry, it’ll make sense later,” Sugawara said as he placed a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, only to make Y/N jumped slightly. “Or it may not and you’ll have to ask me what it means.”

Y/N just nodded as he looked over at the two second years, who were now wrestling, and sighed slightly. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do about Noya because this would result in disaster.  It was already clear to him that he didn’t want to be soulmates with Tsukishima and if he started to fall in love with Noya– well who knows what would happen.  Maybe he needed to quit the team because it was justifiable now because his nightmare would most likely come true.

“Maybe I should quit the team,” Y/N said and the ash blonde third year looked over at him curiously. “I mean Noya is going to be starter and I doubt we will ever need to sub for him, so I’ll just be waiting until my third year to finally play.”

“Are you really admitting defeat?” Noya asked and the h/c haired boy looked over to see the second year have a challenging look in his eye. “The L/N I played against two years ago would have never just said that.  He probably would try his hardest to kick my ass and show me who’s boss, even as a first year.”

He was right because that’s exactly what Y/N had to do to play before his third year in junior high. He surpassed his senior because he wanted to play against Nishinoya and wanted to become good enough to consistently receive the powerful jump serves Oikawa had shown.  L/N had struggled to get better but he did it in a way that surprised his coach as well as the amount of schools that had tried to recruit him for high school.

“Okay, so how do you want me to kick your ass?” Y/N asked as he took a step closer to Noya, who also took a step closer to the first year. “Want me to slam you to the ground?  Or maybe you’d prefer for me to tease you until you’re at my feet.”

The blonde streak boy’s cheeks were burning bright pink and he couldn’t look at the boy in front of him, which cause Y/N to smirk.  This wasn’t his normal self but the competitive side that came out whenever he was challenged, typically during a game.

“You’ve broken him!” Tanaka exclaimed with a laugh and L/N looked the second year libero up and down before rolling his eyes.

“What has L/N done?” Tsukishima asked as he entered the gym and he looked interested in knowing what’s going on.  It was because his soulmate was being spoken about and you’re always curious when your soulmate is being spoken about.  Part of Y/N wished it were more than that.

“He broke Noya!” Tanaka exclaimed, his laughter nonstop as if this were the funniest thing he had gotten to experience in a while.

“Noya challenged him and when L/N gave the same energy back, and well our libero started to malfunction,” Sugawara said and there was a glint of something in the blonde’s eyes.

“Oh really?  Can L/N even beat Noya in a competition?” Tsukishima asked and the h/c haired boy turned around to look the middle blocker in the eyes.

“Do you just want to see me play?” Y/N asked with fake innocence in his voice. “It’s okay if you do because I’ll practice right in front of you.”

Tsukishima didn’t change in any way but the libero wasn’t fully ready to break him.  He was in full on competitive mode, something he hadn’t shown off at the practice match because that one didn’t matter like the real thing would.

“Or do you want me to lose so I’ll go running to you and you can comfort me?” He asked as he tilted his head. “Too bad I’m not going to lose, so you’re just going to have to ask me to run to you.”

Tsukishima looked over the libero and Y/N knew this was a moment of your soulmate has to find interest in you; has to want you.  Suga had said he really needed to charm the blonde but it seemed like he didn’t really have to try so hard.

“Wait, they’re soulmates?” Noya asked and Sugawara nodded as he watched the two first years, unsure if he was able to look away. “But I wanted him to be my soulmate!”

Tsukishima’s eyes shot over to the second year and there was a look that made the libero fidget slightly and quiet down.  The blonde pushed the h/c haired boy’s shoulder gently for him to move as he looked at the blonde streak boy.

“It’s too bad that he already has one, isn’t it?” Tsukishima questioned before he turned back to the first year and rolled his eyes.  He acted as if Y/N had just done what the blonde did, which made the first year libero scoff.

“I’m actually open to changing who my soulmate is.” Y/N’s smirk and how he checked out the middle blocker created just a tinge of pink on the blonde’s ears. “Mine seems to hate me most of the time.”

The tension was already thick but Tsukishima’s silence made it even worse.  Hinata, who had somehow managed to stay quiet throughout all of this, decided to finally speak.  L/N wasn’t sure if he should love his best friend of debate on fighting him.

“Did I ever tell you what my soulmate is going to say to me?”  

Hinata’s eyes were bright and shining, which would make everyone assume that he was just being annoying but he was trying to get the attention off of the situation.  It also helped that he hadn’t shared that since the entire thing of L/N and Tsukishima had happened.  The excuse of it wasn’t every day that teammates ended up being soulmates and it was excited that it had happened.

“No, I don’t think you have,” Suga said as he looked over at the ginger boy, who grinned brightly. “Want to share it?”

“He always wants to share it,” Y/N said with a laugh and he wasn’t sure if they all knew that he and Hinata had been there for their words.

“One day I’m gonna set for you,” Hinata said as he showed his wrist. “It’s exciting that they also love volleyball.  I just don’t know if it’s going to be a girl because isn’t that something a guy would say to you?”

Thankfully, this opened up a whole other debate and L/N turned to leave and maybe even go to the club room and stay there.  Or maybe he’d just leave and never come to another practice because no matter how confident he could act; Noya would beat him.  It wasn’t something that destroyed him to know because it made sense and you can’t go against sense.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Tsukishima asked, his long fingers wrapped around the h/c haired boy’s wrist.  If he really wanted to, Y/N could just break out of the hold and continue walking but he didn’t. “Well?”

“To the club room.” His voice is soft, unlike when he was cocky with competitiveness. “You’re free to join if you want.”

The hand let go of his wrist, which made it just fall limp to his side.  He turned around to see Tsukishima looking at him with analytical eyes, which put him on edge.  What would the blonde see that the libero wouldn’t want him to, or just not yet.

The effects of soulmates seemed to only be affecting Tsukishima and Y/N wasn’t sure as to why. There weren’t any feelings of wanting to be closer to the blonde.  There weren’t really even any feelings of attraction.  The middle blocker just existed and happened to be soulmates with him and that was that.

“Sure, why not.”

Yamaguchi said nothing when they walked past him, although it was obvious he wanted to.  He wanted to make a comment about the sudden closeness between the two but it died before he even opened his mouth.  Y/N wondered if the olive haired boy feared the middle blocker because he saw no reason to.

Did he see Tsukishima differently than everyone else?  He didn’t see a real reason as to how he could.  The blonde was just closed off and bitchy and the h/c haired boy had dealt with someone like that on his old team.  He had gotten into a fight with L/N the second week into their first year because the libero just snapped back at any comments.

“So, you want to quit?” Tsukishima asked and the h/c haired boy looked over at him with a shrug. “Well, don’t.”

“Why?” Y/N asked as he tilted his head slightly and the blonde looked away from the other.

“Won’t be the same without you.” His ears were tinged pink. “Also, it shouldn’t matter if someone is better than you if you can obviously get better.”

A smile played on the libero’s lips as he looked the blonde over. “Are you trying to say that you think I’m a good player?  Are you trying to compliment me?”

Tsukishima grumbled slightly as he looked down at the concrete.  He was embarrassed and the h/c haired boy wanted to laugh but all he could do was smile at his soulmate.  Moments like this were when L/N should find the middle blocker attractive because it was a moment where he was actually raw and not calculated like he wanted everyone to see.

“It’s not really a compliment if it’s a fact.”

Y/N stopped walking and stared at the blonde, who stopped in his tracks a couple of strides in front of the other.  People had said that to him before and he never believed them.  Sure, he knew he was a good libero but he wasn’t good enough in his book.  Tsukishima saying it felt different though and the h/c haired first year would end up saying it was just because they were soulmates.

Soulmates always changed everything.

“Do you really mean that?” Y/N asked and his confident façade fell as he looked at the other with wide eyes. “Do you really think I’m good player?”

“Of course I do.” Tsukishima rubbed the back of his neck as he looked anywhere but his soulmate. “Everyone thinks so.  Do you not?”

“Not really.”

Why was he telling the middle blocker this?  They were merely teammates who didn’t actually talk about anything except for plays and when Tsukishima saved him from situations.  He’d just blame soulmates because he didn’t think he’d start to actually want the blonde this fast.

“Why?” Tsukishima asked and he looked like he actually cared and it was too much for L/N.

“Maybe I’ll tell you another time.” He spoke fast. “I’m going to go to the bathroom.  See you later.”

The blonde first year didn’t seem upset by the sudden change in heart and just moved to the side for the other to walk by.  L/N started to run whenever Tsukishima was no longer in sight and ended up at the tennis court.  Maybe he should’ve actually gone to the bathroom instead of receiving weird looks from the boys’ tennis club.  He didn’t care enough to actually to turn back and fell to the ground to lay in the grass as he stared up at the blue sky.

He was scared to fall in love, even with Tsukishima.  He was scared to fall in love with his own soulmate.  How fucked up was that?  Most people eagerly accepted the feelings that came with soulmates but those feelings just made him feel gross.  It felt wrong.  It all just felt wrong.

It didn’t feel wrong like this when he fell in love in junior high.  It didn’t feel wrong to have a crush on Nishinoya.  Why didn’t those feel wrong?  Why did feelings concerning his soulmate feel wrong?

He didn’t like how it felt whenever Tsukishima gently touched his shoulder or small of his back the very few times he had done it.  The feeling lingered until that night when he was in bed and it was all he could feel.  It was all that consumed him to the point where he had to reach into his boxers and imagined it was Tsukishima’s warm hands instead of his own.  After it was over, he felt so disgusting that he couldn’t look the blonde in the face for a couple of days.

Y/N hated how he always leaned in to hear more of what the other first year was saying.  It was a soulmate thing because you always wanted to hear your soulmate whenever they spoke.  He found it annoying and hated the way Tsukishima always turned his body towards him when he spoke.  The way the blonde’s voice was deep and made L/N’s knees weak at times.

He wasn’t attracted to him though because it all felt wrong.  It felt wrong to masturbate while he thought it was someone else.  It felt wrong to be affected by a voice.  It felt wrong to not even find that person attractive, even with everything else attached.  Y/N wanted there to be something that made the blonde attractive but there was no spark there.

Takeshi had been attractive. He had made the h/c haired boy dizzy from his smile and how his eyes shined with excitement whenever he stepped into the gym.  There was also the way he laughed and always leaned into the libero, which made his lightheaded.  It all felt so good compared to whatever he was feeling with Tsukishima.  Why did it feel so different?

 *****

 Tsukishima had grabbed his wrist during practice and pulled him out of the way of a rouge volleyball. Y/N wanted to scream at him to stop touching him because he couldn’t handle it.  The thought of going home and eventually having to touch himself because it was all he could think about wasn’t something he wanted to do.

Instead he pulled away with an awkward smile before he went over to Nishinoya to practice more receives. Noya gave him a playful smile as he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Trouble in paradise?” He asked with a laugh.

The second year hadn’t been quiet about his crush on the first year.  He was loud about it to the point Tsukishima glared at him constantly and asked Y/N to change his position to something that wasn’t a libero.  The h/c boy said that Noya would eventually find his soulmate and the crush would go away.  It wasn’t like they were going to fall in love or anything.

“Wasn’t paradise to begin with,” Y/N said as he tossed the ball over to the dark haired boy to start receiving in between each other. “Pretty sure he still hates me a bit but that’s fine.  I’m not really ready to fall in love yet.”

Noya only nodded before he smirked at the other.  L/N always wanted to know what the other was thinking but never asked.  He never asked questions about anything.  Never saw a reason to.

“Do you remember the first words you said to me?” The second year asked and the h/c boy nodded.

“Pretty sure I was going to kick your ass or something.” Y/N received the ball with more force than normal. “Why?”

“Just wondering.” Y/N caught the volleyball and stared at him. “I just find it weird that your soulmate is Tsukishima.  It would make more sense if it were me.”

L/N wouldn’t necessarily agree.  When he wasn’t having a crisis, he was more like Hinata but not to an extreme.  He made more sarcastic remarks, quick comebacks, and genuinely happy the majority of the time.  It was just that now he was using volleyball to avoid thoughts and feelings, just like he did back in junior high.

“Soulmates don’t work out how we want them to or how we feel like they should,” Y/N said, his mother had told him this when he said his was a boy. “We have to accept and let it all happen.”

“Yeah,” Noya said with eyes that showed he was trying to understand. “Let’s make people serve for us.”

Y/N nodded as he threw the ball over into the ball cart and followed his upperclassman.  He wondered what his wrist said because he couldn’t see it through the orange sweatbands that covered both wrists.  Was it embarrassing?  Was he ashamed of it?

“Nishinoya-senpai, what are your words?” Y/N asked and the second year was getting used to being called the honorification, so the bright red face was now just pink blush on his cheeks.

“Doesn’t matter,” Noya said before he tackled Tanaka and the first year watched his upperclassman carefully.

L/N wanted to know why it didn’t matter but he was fairly certain he wouldn’t get an answer.  Maybe it actually didn’t matter.  Tsukishima and him being soulmates only mattered because they were on the same team and everyone had to deal with it.  Hinata’s words only mattered because Y/N had been there to experience whenever the ginger received them.  Sugawara’s words only mattered because he had told them to the first year.

Soulmate words didn’t matter just like soulmates didn’t.  He started to hate soulmates again because everything was supposed to feel magical and perfect instead of whatever he currently felt.  It didn’t make his heart race when he caught Tsukishima staring at him, instead it made him want to vomit.  There weren’t moments where his face felt hot from the blonde. He didn’t yearn to be next to the middle blocker when they were apart.

L/N wasn’t in love with Tsukishima and decided that maybe they weren’t meant to be soulmates.

 *****

 Y/N had never been one to get sick.  He had taken care of Shouyou when his friend got the flu and didn’t get it.  He had never missed a day of school because he was sick. His mother had once said it was like he had a superhuman immune system.  So, when he complained about being nauseated, his parents were slightly concerned.

“Have you been overworking yourself?” His mother asked as she made him some porridge. “I know it’s been stressful for you and handling the soulmate thing as well as not being a starter.”

“It hasn’t been announced yet who the starter is, we find out in two weeks.  Remember golden week?” Y/N asked and his mother nodded. “I’m not going down without a fight, so of course I’m working hard.”

His mother put some of the porridge in front of him and he looked at it as if it would jump out at him. The smell wasn’t great but it also wasn’t bad.  Hinata had always complained about the taste of it, so L/N was surprised when it wasn’t all that bad.  He ate a little of it, his appetite still lacking, and was sent to bed.

Apparently it’s not allowed to practice if you don’t feel well.  It was just another reason as to why the libero decided he would never get sick again.  Sure, no one wanted to be sick but he really wanted to be at practice right now.  He had started to get the hang of a rolling receive and Nishinoya was getting pissed over it.  Y/N had reassured his upperclassman that he wouldn’t scream rolling thunder whenever he did it.

L/N wanted to be better than Noya or at least be proper competition because it was fun to bicker with him.  He enjoyed having the second year as his friend and his crush faded slightly when he got to be around him to the extent he had been.  They’d also be going up against Nekoma, a school he had heard about from some family that lived up in Tokyo as well as the new coach.  Coach Ukai didn’t seem extremely qualified for the position but Y/N didn’t really care as long as he got to play somehow.

When he finally laid down, he felt the need to go to the bathroom.  Hopefully, the porridge was just gross because was going to really refuse to be sick if he actually was.  The race to the toilet was perfectly timed and he threw up not just the porridge but three white flower petals as well.  He didn’t remember eating flowers.  Was he really that sick to where he ate flowers?

He stared at the toilet bowl; the smell terrible but he couldn’t stop staring at those three white flower petals.  Y/N heard his mother coming down the hall and he quickly wiped his mouth off with toilet paper and flushed the toilet.  She looked at him so worried when she opened the door and he tried to reassure her he was okay; the porridge just didn’t sit well in his stomach.

She ordered him to go to bed immediately, even though he didn’t have a fever.  L/N wasn’t tired and all he could think about was when he and Hinata walked to the three-on-three together.  He remembered exactly what Hinata said, word for word.

“Y/N-chan, I know you don’t like that it’s a guy, but it doesn’t stop the fact that if you ignore it then you could get Hanahaki disease or Kirameki disease!”

L/N really thought that those things were myths.  Only ever told to kids to scare them into making sure they love their soulmate. Those three petals said otherwise. He felt stupid now and wondered what he was going to do.

Hinata was right.  You can get Hanahaki disease if don’t fall in love with your soulmate.

 *****

 L/N never had a fever, his appetite was just nearly nonexistent and he ended up getting a cough. He expected to throw up more but it was rare, which went against the symptoms he had seen online.  If his mother was to look through his computer history, then she’d be concerned for his safety.  He mainly looked at academic articles over it because he didn’t want to read fucked up fanfiction about celebrities having it.

A study had been done that if both soulmates didn’t like each other, Hanahaki wouldn’t happen. There was unrequited love when one loved the other but the feelings weren’t reciprocated.  The only way to reverse it was to fall in love with your soulmate, which was shown to be easier than the libero thought it would be. That’s what statistics showed at least.

He was in stage one where only a couple petals appeared but not every time he coughed.  He needed to avoid as many symptoms as possible.  Symptoms for it could be coughing, vomiting, trouble breathing, fever, uncontrollable shaking, loss of appetite, low body temperature, and hallucinations.  Y/N already had coughing, vomiting, and loss of appetite.

The first year was smart in how he planned to try to fall in love with Tsukishima.  He started to sit next to him when he could and asked to walk home with him after practices.  It was just that it wasn’t working the way he wanted it to.  Kei (Tsukishima had told him to call him that) was actually funny when he wasn’t being a complete asshole.

He had even put his headphones on L/N and the libero learned that the middle blocker was into K-pop and J-pop.  The two stopped in the middle of street because the h/c first year couldn’t stop laughing about it.  Y/N looked up some of the groups the blonde had shown him and made vague comments about it during practice.

“Stop flirting,” Sugawara joked with a teasing smile.  He was probably the most excited to see the two finally interacting in a way that wasn’t at each other’s throats.

“I can’t help it, have you seen him?” Y/N said and Kei chucked a ball at him in response, but the libero received it. “You can’t take me by surprise when it comes to volleyball.”

It felt like they were just childhood best friends and L/N had slammed his head into the wall next to the vending machine outside the court.  Things between them had changed so much but he still struggled to form romantic feelings for the blonde.  What was different between Takeshi and Noya compared to Tsukishima?

Takeshi had gotten into his face once.  They were so close and he gripped his shirt as he screamed in L/N’s face to start acting like a libero.  It was his first year and he was still new and clumsy with volleyball but the brunette didn’t care.  Y/N got frustrated and stopped giving it his all but Takeshi didn’t allow it.  Even though they had both been first years, the brunette was the only person to make Y/N get fired up to play.

Then he heard and saw Nishinoya play and it was almost like someone had lit a fire in him.  He was antsy on the side of the court his first year and wanted to go against the other.  Noya was stunning to begin with but his love for volleyball made him even better.  L/N remembered when they had looked at each other through that net and he knew that everything just felt right.

“I hope you’re ready for me to kick your ass,” Y/N said to the other libero during warm-up. Nishinoya gave him a challenging look. “We’ll be going against Shiratorizawa.”

“Only way that’ll happen is if I give up.” Noya took a step closer to the other. “And I don’t do that.”

“Good because neither do I.”

Even though L/N’s team had lost in the end, he felt like he was on cloud 9.  His love for volleyball was at an all-time high.  His team was pissed at him for being so happy but Takeshi made the comment that it was rare to see two good liberos go against each other. It didn’t matter what it was but he felt like he was in love with Noya and volleyball.

Oh.

L/N realized that his crush on the two boys had started because of volleyball.  The crushes grew when his love for volleyball grew.  Their inspiration made him want to be better, love always did that though.  He read about it.

Tsukishima hadn’t inspired him the other boys had.  He showed no passion towards anything, especially not volleyball.  That was why Y/N kept struggling to fall in love with him because there wasn’t an actual connection of a share interest.  Sure, he could sing the lyrics to songs Kei loved but he didn’t love them himself.

There wasn’t a proper way for him to tell Kei that he didn’t love him, when the blonde obviously loved him, and it resulted in Hanahaki.  He couldn’t demand for him to show passion for something he wasn’t passionate about.  It was just that Y/N didn’t want to die.  He wanted to play with Karasuno and go to nationals.  He wanted to be in love with his soulmate.

If he told Tsukishima that, what would the blonde do?

 *****

 L/N had never been more excited for Golden Week because he loved practicing with his team.  He loved practicing with Shouyou and how the ginger was so excited about everything.  The h/c first year loved watching his friend run through the place they would be staying with wide starry eyes.  Even though Hinata had inspired him to play volleyball, he never fell in love with him.  Most likely because he had seen him as a brother for so long before that.

Kei placed his futon next to Y/N, which caused the two to be teased by Sugawara and Tanaka.  Daichi shut them up and sent the two first years an apologetic expression.  The middle blocker seemed more embarrassed than the libero, he moved his futon next to Yamaguchi’s instead.  He didn’t like attention, yet everyone gave it to him, mostly girls.

“Do you not want to sleep next to me?” Y/N asked when no one else was around. “It’s okay if you don’t but ignore them if you do.”

“Do you want me to sleep next to you?” Kei asked as he took a drink from his water bottle.  His expression was hard to read but the other knew it was because he was trying to feel out the situation.

He didn’t know if he wanted Tsukishima to sleep next to him.  Part of him honestly didn’t care who slept next to who as long as everyone got to sleep and no one was bitchy in the morning.  His old team had always been so bitchy in the mornings to the point he was told to stop being so cheery.  All he had really done was say good morning during breakfast.

“I want you to be happy,” L/N said and he was sincere. “If it makes you happy to have your futon next to mine, then do so.  I’ll deal with the others if I need to.”

Kei had a small smile on his face, the h/c first year nearly didn’t catch it.  The blonde was pretty when he smiled but the effect would go away all together if he started to smile all the time.  The barely noticeable smile stayed while he put his futon next to his soulmate’s but disappeared when it was no longer the two of them.

L/N smiled at him but there was a sadness to his smile.  He still wasn’t in love with Tsukishima and he was to the point that he so desperately wanted to be.

 *****

 When Hinata ran off without the team, L/N and Sugawara were teamed up somehow.  Tanaka said that Y/N and Tsukishima couldn’t go alone because they would get all lovey dovey.  Tsukishima told them he didn’t want to look for Hinata and L/N said he was going to go look and would join someone if needed.

As he and Suga walked around, he started to feel a little sick to his stomach.  The first year had grown used to this feeling but he was typically at home when it hit him.  He really didn’t want to throw up his breakfast in front of his upperclassman, especially if there would be flower petals in it.  Sometimes you don’t get to decide what you’re going to do.

L/N threw up on the side of the road and would’ve preferred a trash can but there wasn’t one around the two.  Suga looked over at him concerned and the libero could hear him go to talk before he fell silent.

There was a fully formed flower in the midst of the vomit.  A white candytuft, one of the more common Hanahaki flowers.  It meant ‘indifference’ and usually given to those who had tried to ignore their feelings.  He was getting worse and he knew it was because his efforts to fall in love weren’t working.

“How long?” Sugawara asked as he looked at Y/N. “How long has this been going on?”

“About two weeks. I’ve been leaving the gym to cough and the vomiting has happed maybe four times now.  This is the first fully formed flower.”

“I thought you were in love with him,” Suga said and the first year closed his eyes.

“I want to be.” His voice soft and he felt he could cry. “I look at him and I want to be in love with him so bad but he’s not passionate about anything.”

Suga’s upset expression fell into a gentle one.  He didn’t make an effort to move to comfort the other though.

“You’ve only ever been attracted to volleyball players, haven’t you?”

L/N looked up at him with tears running down his face. “Yes.  They make me want to be better.”

“Are you still in love with Nishinoya?” The setter asked and the libero wanted to act like he had never been in love with the second year but they both knew that would be a lie. He had been just as obvious as Noya.

“No, I’m not in love with anyone.” He crouched down and put his face between his knees. “That’s the fucking problem.  I’ve focused so much on trying to love Kei that I don’t even remember what feelings feel like anymore.  How am I supposed to feel?”

“Your heart beats faster whenever you’re around them.  You’re happy whenever they talk to you or you just see them.” Suga crouched down next to the other. “Life feels better when they’re around, even if it’s in mundane ways.”

“Those are all just soulmate things though,” L/N sniffled. “Everyone feels that for their soulmate.”

“What do you feel for Tsukishima?”

“I like being around him. He’s really fun to be around when he’s not as concerned with everything.”

The vice-captain placed a hand on the other’s back and it was comforting.  Koushi’s touch didn’t feel like Kei’s and Y/N was happy about that. He wanted that to only be a Kei thing because he wanted something to only be a Kei thing.

“We’re going to figure something out,” Suga said and L/N started to cry harder because he knew they wouldn’t. “I promise that you’re going to be in love with your stick in the mud soulmate soon.”

“You can’t promise things like that,” L/N cried and Suga’s hand rubbed comforting circles on the other’s back.  “You can’t get my hopes up.”

“Trust me, I always keep my promises.” He took his hand off the other’s back and stood up. “I’ll go find Hinata and we’ll come back around here.  You can have a bit to yourself.”

Y/N nodded as he looked at the flower that stared at him from the grass.  What would Tsukishima think when he learned the h/c boy’s flower meant indifference.  The only way you got that flower was when you actively decided to no longer want your soulmate.  There wasn’t much you could do to make yourself fall in love with someone past what he had done.  Countless articles had said so.

He wanted there to be a universal thing that made soulmates fall in love.  Typically just because they were soulmates did it but there were times this happened.  He wondered if maybe he was aromantic but turns out their soulmates are strictly platonic and they’re matched with someone else who is aromantic.  It also wouldn’t make sense because he had been so in love with Takeshi and Noya.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Someone asked and L/N had moved to sit somewhere that wasn’t the street. Tsukishima stood near him with a confused expression. “You’re not telling me that you got lost looking for Hinata.”

He called Shouyou Hinata whenever he was around L/N because the libero asked him to.  Said it was fine to tease his best friend but he didn’t want to hear the teasing when it was just the two of them.  Y/N had asked this with what Kei assumed to be fond eyes and the blonde couldn’t say no if he even tried.

“I don’t feel too great, so Sugawara went to look for Sho without me,” L/N said and realized he wasn’t lying when he said that.  He still felt nauseated and like he needed to lie down.

“You kind of look like shit,” Kei said before he placed the back of his hand of the h/c forehead. “You’re a little warm but you don’t feel like you have a fever though.”

“I love when you say I look like shit; you really know how to woo a guy.”

Kei smiled at him slightly. “Just for you.”

It was moments like this when Y/N wanted to love him so bad.  Moments where he wanted to reach out and just hold the other’s face between his hands and tell him all the reasons why he loved him.

“Do you love me?”

L/N didn’t mean to ask that. Maybe if he heard it, he’d love the other back.  Maybe he just needed confirmation that he was allowed to love him.

“Of course I do, dumbass.” He took a step away from Y/N. “Why else would I come look for you?”

Because you’re my soulmate. Because you feel like you have to. Because everyone told you to.  Not because you love me.

“Don’t know, thought you wanted to get more exercise in,” L/N teased and Kei rolled his eyes.

“Let’s get back to everyone, I don’t want to hear them go on about how long we were gone.” Tsukishima reached out a hand for the other to get down from the brick ledge better.  It wasn’t even that tall but the gesture made the libero want to cry.

“Maybe they should have reason to tease us.”

Tsukishima ears went red, especially when the libero grabbed his hand.

“Shut up.”

“Aw, don’t be like that Kei,” Y/N pouted but they both knew he was only joking around. “I know you want me to talk always.”

As they walked back to the team, holding hands, Kei realized Y/N never said he loved him back.

 *****

 Tsukishima noticed more than he let people believe.  It wasn’t like he suddenly knew someone just by observing but he could pick up tendencies people had.  Tadashi’s ears turned red whenever he lied, which was rare.  Hinata was livelier when he walked to practice with Y/N.  Kageyama was always in a mood and the blonde started to think it was just the setter’s resting personality.  Then there was Y/N and he couldn’t get a proper read on him.

Y/N always teased Kei when he thought was appropriate.  After heavy moments, there was always something to make the blonde roll his eyes and get out of that atmosphere.  He did it in front of everyone too.  He made SHINee references more than the middle blocker wanted him to but at least no one else on the team knew what he was referring to.  Y/N also called him Tsukki because he said he felt left out that Yamaguchi had a cute nickname for him but the h/c didn’t.

Tsukishima had grumbled and told him to call him whatever (he was then referred to as Optimus Prime) but he loved when the other called him Tsukki.  He loved when Y/N did anything when he was near him because everything felt so easy.  There was the argument that it was always felt that way with soulmates but the blonde refused to believe that.  He wanted it to be special between them.  It felt special to him at least.

L/N never told him that he loved him back though.

It had been eating away at him the couple days and it was finally the day of the Nekoma match.  He was near Y/N, who had clenched fists as he glared at the floor.  The h/c wasn’t made a starter and Noya had even fought with the coach about it.  Said that Y/N could be used in the second set because he was just as good as the second year.

“Hey,” Tsukishima said and the L/N looked up at him with watery eyes. “It’s okay.”

That was the wrong thing to say and he blamed not being able to get a good enough read on the other. He blamed his soulmate for not being transparent with him.

“I understand that this is just some fucking club for you but it’s not for me!” Y/N screamed as he dug a finger into Kei’s sternum. “You don’t understand because you get to play while I don’t.  I could’ve gone to Shiratorizawa and I don’t get to fucking play here.”

Usually, Tsukishima could get angry and throw sharp words at someone who acted like this towards him. He didn’t this time.  He grabbed the other’s hand and just held it as everyone stared at them.  Sugawara held back Noya, which was good because the blonde wouldn’t be as kind to the second year as he was to his soulmate.  The feeling of the Nishinoya being a threat had went away when Y/N decided to start being around the blonde more.  It went away when Kei felt like the other first year finally felt the effects of soulmates like he did.

“You’re right.  I don’t understand and I probably never will.” Tsukishima paused when he noticed the h/c had started to cry. “You can scream and cry and do whatever but everything will still be the same.”

Y/N ripped his hand away before he wiped his eyes.  Normally Tsukishima would find people pathetic for acting like this over some club but the boy in front of him was different.  He was different because he was his soulmate and because he just loved him.

It was obvious though by the way L/N looked away from him and grumbled at the court again that he didn’t love him back.  The realization made it crystal clear on how to read the libero.  Everything the two had ever done together made sense now with how Y/N acted.

He was shy to touch and only allowed hand holding.  Tsukishima had accidentally grabbed onto him one day when he tripped over something and the h/c refused to look at him for days after.  He didn’t let anyone touch him unless it was Hinata but they were basically brothers.  Any time that Kei had initiated something, there was tight smile on the other’s face as if he were being forced to deal with it.

Tsukishima had never walked him home because the other always said it was too far out of the way for him.  Hinata had made comments of Y/N living the closest to Karasuno out of anyone on the team. The blonde had already known that was a lie and he assumed that maybe L/N’s parents were like his mother, who had tried to invite the libero to dinner the first time he had been walked home.

He watched as Y/N stormed out of the gym and Hinata follow after him, and he couldn’t get himself to move. A hand touched his shoulder and it was Sugawara, who looked as if he could see right through the blonde. Maybe he could but Kei did nothing in response to the third year.  He stared straight ahead and tried to figure out what he was going to do with all these feelings.

“You’re allowed to be upset,” Suga said and the blonde looked over at him. “You’re allowed to talk to him about it.  I actually encourage you to because he most definitely won’t.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kei would just be cold hearted again and this wouldn’t bother him then.  He knew though that the next time he saw the first year libero, he’d forget that.  He’d just be happy to be next to him, even if he didn’t show it how most did.  His affection was making a playlist of his favorite songs to show Y/N before he had even thought about letting him actually listen to him.  His affection was keeping an extra hoodie in the club room in case the h/c complained about being cold.  His affection was everything no one actually saw.

“Sure you don’t,” Sugawara said before he lowered his voice to a whisper. “And Y/N definitely doesn’t have a flower collection growing.”

Tsukishima froze in place as his upperclassman walked away.  He didn’t move when Y/N came back with Hinata.  He watched Noya tackle the first year and shower him in compliments.  He couldn’t move because Y/N’s flower collection would be in his lungs and the blonde didn’t know what to do.

 ******

 It was dark outside by the time everyone had returned to Karasuno High School.  The h/c libero was still upset about the starting lineup and everyone knew.  Him yelling at Tsukishima had been one of the lighter things he had done.  There had been a fight with Coach Ukai where he had been threatened to be kicked off the team and Y/N told him to do it.

“There’s no point to volleyball if I can’t be a libero!” Y/N screamed and some of Nekoma stared at the sight.

“You’re still a libero, you’ll just play when rolling thunder kid can’t,” Ukai said and Takeda stood near them with a concerned expression. “It’s not that bad being on the bench.”

“It is though!  I thought you played volleyball.” Y/N threw his hands up in the air. “This is fucking ridiculous because you’re pulling class rank on this when he and I can just switch out when needed!”

“Don’t speak to me like that!” Ukai yelled back and the libero stared him down. “I will kick you off this team.”

“Do it.”

Everyone stared at the two and Hinata later made a comment that he had never seen Y/N so serious. The h/c first year had a look that made everyone uneasy.  It was almost as if he felt nothing and you were being forced to experience it.

“Hey, let’s not get ahead of ourselves now,” Takeda said, finally stepping in. “No one is going to be leaving the team today.”

Y/N had been quiet the entire way home and gave no attention to anyone except for Noya, who he quickly hugged.  When he walked over to Tsukishima, the blonde was surprised about it.  He had assumed that since the other didn’t love him and was in a shit mood that it would make sense for them to not talk.  L/N was more vibrant and vocal when he hadn’t just been threatened to be kicked off the team.

“You’re walking me home, let’s go,” Y/N said and Kei waved bye to Tadashi, who looked as confused as the blonde felt.

It was nice outside, even though the summer heat was nearly upon them, and Y/N didn’t talk like he normally did.  He was silent in a way that made anxiety build up in the blonde’s chest.  He could deal with a pissed off Y/N but he couldn’t deal with Y/N when he was pissed and possibly had Hanahaki.

“It’s so fucking ridiculous that he thinks he’s qualified to be a coach just because he used to play,” Y/N said and the blonde looked down at his soulmate, whose brows were furrowed together. “I just feel so useless to the team now, even after I spent my entire junior high dedicating myself to volleyball.”

He stopped in the road and look at Kei, who turned to look at him.  It was weird to be standing like this.  They never stopped on their walk home unless L/N started laughing so hard he couldn’t walk anymore.

“In junior high, I fell in love with a guy on my team and I used volleyball to try to get rid of those feelings.” Tsukishima just stared at him with no response. “I don’t love him anymore.  I don’t.”

He was struggling to say what the blonde didn’t want to hear.  He hated lying so much and hated being betrayed by those he trusted but he would be okay if Y/N lied to him forever if he didn’t have to hear it come out of his mouth.

“You don’t love me,” Tsukishima said and his voice was cold and the h/c nodded.

“I want to though.  I want to so badly.” Y/N was sincere in his words and Tsukishima didn’t expect for him to lie now, so he knew he wasn’t. “Please show me some kind of passion.”

“What do you mean?” The blonde asked as he tilted his head and leaned more into the other’s space. “Why do I need to show you passion?”

“Because I can’t love you and will die if you don’t!”

Y/N’s expression was blank but somehow his eyes held more pain than Tsukishima wanted to see.  He confirmed that he had Hanahaki in those words and the blonde didn’t know what to say.  Was he supposed to pull some fake passion out of his ass?  He couldn’t do that, even if he wanted to and he did.

“How long?”

“About two weeks.” Y/N looked down at his shoes. “Got my first entire flower the day Hinata got lost. Suga went on without me because I was sick.”

Tsukishima wanted to be angry.  He wanted to feel the need to scream and throw things.  Instead, he felt sad because he wasn’t sure on what there was to do. Explaining why he loved the other wouldn’t make him want him back.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to break your heart.” L/N’s voice was soft and weak. “I wanted to keep you happy for however long I possibly could.”

Tsukishima watched the other clench his fists before crying.  It was pathetic but it made his heart hurt more than he wanted it to. Y/N let out a wet cough and white flower petals ended up in his hands.  Sure, the blonde was in pain but it was obvious that the other was as well.

“I’ll just fall out of love with you since you can’t fall in love with me.”

He thought it was a good idea.  They could just back to pissing the other off and he could stop caring about how close Nishinoya stood next to the first year.  The way Y/N grabbed him by the collar and yanked him down said otherwise.

“It doesn’t work like that,” Y/N spat out as he glared the middle blocker dead on. “Once you fall in love with your soulmate, you’re in love with them.  You’re forever destined to be in love with me.”

It wasn’t fair that the blonde didn’t get a choice in this.  He deserved to get a choice in if he loved the other or not, especially if L/N had gotten that choice.  It wasn’t fair that he thought the other looked beautiful with wet cheeks and snot dripping from his nose but the other didn’t see him the same.

“Why don’t you love me?” Tsukishima asked and his voice was calm, which differed from the volume in his head.

“You’ve never really shown passion.” Y/N let go of his shirt and pushed him back slightly. “You got into the 3-on-3 but you never showed anything more than that.  Passion is different than not wanting to lose.”

Kei stared at him, surprised he remembered the 3-on-3.  He was surprised the other actually paid attention because he had never made it seem like he remembered the little things Tsukishima did.  He didn’t notice things like the blonde did; he didn’t want him. Kei’s brown eyes focused on the 5’6 libero as his fists clenched.

“I’m passionate about you!” Tsukishima screamed as he pointed at the h/c. “I’m so fucking in love with you that it hurts but you say I’m not passionate about anything.”

Y/N froze and Kei wanted him to do something.  He was angry and he didn’t want to say everything he thought or felt because he didn’t do that kind of thing.  He bottled everything up but he couldn’t do that with the other anymore.

“I text you to make sure you got home because I want to talk to you more, even if we talked the 30 minute walk to my house.  I love when you laugh at my comments and when you try to impersonate a song when you obviously can’t sing for shit.”

L/N kept staring at him like he couldn’t breathe.  I kept staring at him like he didn’t know how not to.  The fact that there were no interjections made the middle blocker continue.

“I’m honest with you and I’m not like that with anyone.  I don’t give two shits if it’s apparently some soulmate bullshit because to me it’s just a you and me thing.  You make me feel safe enough to say what I want to.” He stepped closer to the libero. “You make me fucking happy with your stupid comments and how you try to fix your hair before class even though it looked just fine before you messed it all up to fix.”

L/N’s breath hitched when the blonde took another step closer and the h/c first year finally looked up to where the two were making eye contact now.  Kei waited a moment for the other to say something but he didn’t. Y/N continued to just stare at him as if he still didn’t understand what was going on.

“I actually want to go to volleyball practice because I can see you play.  You’re amazing when you’re not on the court but you change the moment you’re in the gym,” Tsukishima said and he noticed how the other took a step closer to him. “You make me want to be a better player; to be on your level.  If I’m on your level, then I can actually play next to you like you’d want to.”

“Is this really how you feel?” Y/N asked, his eyes cutting through the blonde. “Or are you just saying in hopes that I won’t die.”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.” Tsukishima looked down at the ground. “I also don’t want you to die.”

L/N threw his head back as he laughed.  Kei stopped breathing for a second at the sight and sound.  The 5’6 boy leaned forward into the blonde; his head landed on Kei’s chest as he continued to laugh slightly.  Warmth spread throughout the blonde’s body and he refrained from wrapping his arms around the other.

“I hate you so much,” Y/N said in between small laughs. “You had to get pissed at me for not thinking you’re passionate for it to all finally click.  You had to basically admit that I make you passionate.”

Kei wrapped his arms around the shorter male, who let out a deep sigh.  They had never done this before and now it’s all the middle blocker wanted to do.  He could basically hear their soulmate teacher saying that the effect of soulmates makes everything so much greater than it actually is.

“Can you do something for me?” Y/N asked as he pulled away enough for the blonde to look him in the eye.

“What?”

“Come closer,” Y/N said before he pulled the other down by the first and kissed him quick. “Thank you.”

Kei’s face was bright red and he couldn’t tell if the libero was flustered as well.  He felt like both of them should be flustered and he moved down to the kiss the other again.  It felt better than what he thought it would feel like.  His mother had said the moment she kissed his father, all of those feelings were real and not just dreams.  He felt the same right now, especially when the other looped his arms around his neck to keep him down.

“You’re in the middle of the street!” Sugawara screamed and Y/N pulled away with a laugh. “At least go home.”

“Do you guys always make out when walking home?” Hinata asked as he pulled his bike along and the h/c winked at the ginger, who shrieked.

“Of course, we don’t make out when we walk home,” Kei said and L/N pouted slightly. “He just happened to have jumped me.”

“I would never,” L/N gasped as he placed a hand over his heart. “How dare you accuse me of that?”

“Y/N-chan, I bet I can run down the hill faster than you,” Hinata said, bored of the conversation, as he put his bike down on the sidewalk.

“You’re on shorty!” Y/N exclaimed and the two started running.

“So, how is his flower garden?” Sugawara asked and Tsukishima jumped at the proximity of his upperclassman. “Did you kill it?”

“I think so,” he breathed out and the ash blonde nodded. “Unless he’s lying.”

They watched as Y/N tried to trip Hinata as they started to walk back up the hill.  The two first year boys laughing, mainly L/N, and Hinata would scream a ‘not fair’ every couple of moments.  It was the first time either of them had seen the h/c first year look so at ease in the month and a half of knowing him.

“I don’t think he’s lying,” Sugawara said.

L/N walked up to the blonde, beating Hinata back up to their stuff (even though he had technically lost by tripping the ginger five times), and beamed at him.  His smile felt like sunlight on a cold day and his eyes were fully of warmth, something the 6’2” first year had never noticed before.

“I’m hungry, want to get something to eat?” Y/N asked as he grabbed the other’s hand and Tsukishima��s skin tingled. “It’s on me if you want to be cheap.”

Kei intertwined their fingers and nodded. “You’re totally free to pay for me.”

Y/N groaned and looked over at Sugawara, as if the third year would help him out.  The ash blonde laughed slightly and looked over at Tsukishima.

“I think he wants you to pay,” Sugawara said and Kei looked down at his soulmate, who was pouting at him. “You don’t want to make him sad, do you?”

“Yeah,” Y/N said. “You don’t want to make me said, do you?”

Tsukishima sighed. The way the h/c looked at him was different and it made him want to do whatever the other wanted.  He didn’t have a lot of money to spend but maybe he could spend all of it on his soulmate.  He’d definitely do it if L/N kept looking at him with sparkling eyes and warm smile.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Pork buns!” Hinata exclaimed and Y/N started to laugh.  The ginger was too cute for the libero to handle.

“I was thinking more of sushi,” Y/N said and then he looked at his best friend. “I was also thinking of it more as a date.”

Hinata’s eyes widened as he nodded and the libero laughed a little at him.  He felt like he did before Takeshi and maybe the ginger would realize that.  The decoy turned to the blonde and tried to give him a threatening look.

“If you hurt him, then I’ll have to kill you.”

“Shouyou!” YN exclaimed. “He’d beat you before you could even try.”

The two started to argue over how mean L/N was and e/c eyes met brown eyes, which made Kei look away. Y/N walked over and grabbed the other’s hand that he had dropped when he started arguing and smiled over at Hinata.

“As much as I love you, I really want sushi.”

He also really wanted to kiss Tsukishima some more because it was better than anyone had ever described it to be.  He still felt warm all over and the other’s touch lingered on his skin but it didn’t feel like it used to.  Kei’s hand was warm in his and he wanted to bring it up to his face to kiss.

“Come on, Hinata,” Sugawara said as he wrapped an arm around the ginger’s shoulders. “I’ll buy you some pork buns.”

When the two were gone, Y/N looked up at Tsukishima and grinned at him.  He was going to get sushi for free.  The other first year couldn’t back out of it now because he basically said he’d buy it.

“You ready to go, boyfriend?” L/N asked and brown eyes widened as they looked at him.

“Boyfriend?” Tsukishima asked and it was obvious the title affected him but he was attempting to make it not seem that way.

“Yeah,” Y/N said as he brought the middle blocker’s hand up to his face and leaned his cheek into the palm. “Is that okay?”

Tsukishima’s thumb caressed the skin and love swelled up in his chest.  It had all hit him at once and it was so much more than he had ever felt for Takeshi and Noya, so he felt like he needed to make it happen.  He needed to make sure that they were on the same page because he feared he would continue to have Hanahaki if they weren’t.

The soft and fond smile on the blonde’s face made Y/N lean into the touch.  He wondered if they’d get to be affectionate like this more now. He hoped so.

“Of course, it’s okay, brat.” Tsukishima leaned down and kissed the crown of L/N’s head.  The nickname held so much affection that the libero wanted to laugh.  Only Kei would make an insult a pet name but it was okay. “It’s more than okay, you should know that.”

Y/N knew that but he had wanted to hear it nonetheless and it felt like he could finally breathe again.

Tag List

@chaoswrites​ @joyuyush​ 

[boldlyvoid]

Amoreena | Chapter ten

chapter ten

main summary: Heaven is a real place and it's located exactly 14.6 miles away from the FBI, Quantico Headquarters. Off behind a small park, under a fantastical willow tree surrounded by wildflowers, in every colour young minds can imagine.

Don't forget, heaven also comes with angels.

Chapter Warnings: immense amounts of fluff, discussion of bad dreams death and past trauma at the end all related to canon

word count: 5.3K

from the beginning <3

Dreaming wasn’t something that came easily to Spencer. When he did dream they never made any sense, dark and twisting basements, endless staircases, treading a deep dark sea for hours as the waves swallowed him whole. Wind chimes that he couldn’t find wouldn’t stop twinkling as he aimlessly ran around a trailer park. It was never peaceful.

Then his mind found the park and couldn’t stop re-creating it, over and over again in his mind every single night when he closed his eyes.

He was in the middle of the most perfect dreamscape, his girls reading under the sun as Y/N’s head rested on his shoulder…

Then his phone started to ring, opening his eyes to the sun barely waking up as well. He answered the phone before Y/N could wake up beside him, “hello?”

“Spence, I’m so sorry to wake you,” JJ’s voice slipped into his mind and woke up right up, she wouldn’t call unless she needed to. “We have a really bad case, we have to leave like right now and the babysitter can’t take the boys and Henry is still too little to make sure Michael eats during the day and he’s still so little—“

“Hey it’s fine,” he cut her off as he sat up, waking Y/N in the process. “I’m only 12 minutes from Quantico, leave them with Anderson and I’ll be right over.”

“Thank you so much, Spence, oh and they need breakfast, I’ll leave some money with Henry, can you make sure they eat?”

“Absolutely, don’t worry, good luck and be safe,” he reminded her, feeling weird that he didn’t have to go as well.

“Thanks again Spence,” he could hear her smile before hanging up, leaving him to stretch and finally get out of the bed.

“Was that JJ?” Y/N asks, getting out of bed and putting on her housecoat to follow him to the bathroom.

“Yeah, the boys need someone to watch them if you don’t mind?”

“They’re family,” she reminded him with a sleepy smile.

“They need lunches for today, I can drive Amoreena to school with them too?” He’s splashing water on his face so he can wake up enough to drive safely to Quantico, wiping the water from his eyes as he hears Y/N laughing softly.

“It’s Saturday silly, and Monday is their last day anyway if they need to stay that long,” Y/N reminds him, “I’ll try and have breakfast ready when you get back.”

“Tomorrows the 14th, shit,” he remembers his calendar. “I have to take my mom to get her yearly scan and cognitive test done tomorrow morning, I won't be able to send her off on her last day.”

“That’s okay, as long as you’re there for the little graduation and the all about me display ceremony it’ll be fine, it starts at 1:30,” she didn’t mind him missing it but everything in him felt like the worst person ever if he did.

He never wanted to miss anything ever again.

“You’re sure that’s fine?”

She nodded again, wrapping her arms around him and looking up into his beautiful, tired eyes. “Family comes first, that means Diana was in the calendar longer so you go with her. Amoreena just wants to come home with you from school, for the next 10 years of school she’ll be coming home to you.”

“Why don’t we wake Amoreena and go get breakfast with the boys? I’d like to get to know my god kids too…” her voice cooing as she soothed his morning anxiety, blessing him with more time with her, he nodded.

“You go get the boys and come back and pick us up, I’m sure she’ll take a few minutes to contemplate feeding chickens or breakfast,” Y/N smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek softly.

She pulled away but he pulled her right back in, pressing his lips right against hers again and again until they were both laughing, teeth bumping into each other in their early morning delirium. She finally pulled away from his grasp, rushing to the bedroom door so he couldn’t follow her.

“Go get the boys!”

He fake huffed, “fine!”

Slipping into his jeans and a sweater, placing her grandpa’s hat back on his head once more. He made sure he had his wallet and identification, the guards knew him it’s not like he wouldn’t be allowed into the building with a visitors pass.

And then he was out the door and driving down the road. Pulling into Quantico with a strange feeling in his gut, he didn’t realize how much he hated it here until he didn’t need to be there all the time. He was granted a visitors pass, parking in the garage and taking the elevator right up to the BAU.

He walked into the briefing room to find Henry on his phone and Michael sound asleep again on the couch.

“Hey, uncle Spencer!” Henry cheered, not waking Michael in the process somehow.

“Hey buddy,” he said, scooping the now 13-year-old Henry into his arms for a quick hug. He was still cuddly and sensitive and quiet, much like Spencer at that same age.

It was almost like JJ picked him as the godfather knowing he would need him. Choosing to text or call Spencer about cute girls and chess games and new star wars movies, instead of going to his dad for chats about football and beer… or whatever Will was into. Spencer really didn’t give him a chance to get to know him over the last 15 years, harbouring a hatred for him that he didn’t really understand until he met Y/N.

Now will was the jealous one in a sense, wondering what he could do to get his own son to come to him for advice and support. But he understood it, Henry was exactly like Spencer and he needed to see that being awkward and quiet doesn’t last forever.

“So, I’m not sure if your mom and dad told you, but I got married and my wife has a daughter and we’re going to take you boys out to breakfast, okay?”

“She said you’re Nini’s dad, like for real?” Once again someone from the LaMontagne called Amoreena Nini and he had no idea why.

“I donated sperm when your mom got pregnant with you, I didn’t think I’d get to have a family,” he was honest with him. He was old enough to know how it worked and mature enough to hear the word sperm without freaking out.

“Cool, Nini and Mike are normally friends.”

“Why do you guys call her Nini?”

“Michael couldn’t say Amoreena when he was 4 so he called her Nini, and then Dad would call her that when he teased Mike about his crush on her,” it made complete sense for a kid to not be able to pronounce it.

But his brain got stuck on the crush part, turning to Michael who was still sound asleep with his face pressed into his backpack, drooling slightly. JJ’s kid had a crush on his, a weird fantasy he had coming true where he and JJ can be friends forever as in-laws.

It was too bad Amoreena really didn’t like boys, not even in the 8-year-old ‘ew cooties’ way either. She was raised around women and she was comfortable with them, and she had no problem punching Michael in the face if he ever pissed her off. It was going to be interesting seeing them interact today.

“Okay, well let’s get your things and bring them back to our house and then we’ll go get breakfast with my girls,” Spencer smiled, seeing Henry’s face light up at the day he gets to spend with Spencer. “You’re going to love Y/N.”

And he did… walking into Spencer’s new house to drop off his backpack, dropping his jaw when he saw Y/N instead. He was so much like Spencer it made him laugh, patting Henry on the shoulder, “I know,” he teased him.

Henry turned to him with wide eyes, “I’ve never met Nini’s mom, that’s her mom?” He whispered that same anxious boy Spencer used to be staring right back at him.

He nodded with a smile, “yeah, she’s really nice don’t worry.”

“Henry! It’s so nice to meet you,” she says as she walks into the main room.

Henry turns around to see her when she’s pulling him into a big hug, Spencer can see his eyes are closed as he takes a moment to hug a pretty girl. Spencer couldn’t help but bite his tongue, not wanting to laugh and embarrass the poor boy now that he was noticing pretty girls. Even if that girl happened to be his wife, it was inevitable for Henry to crush on one of Spencer’s girlfriends with how much he copied him.

She pulled back softly, Henry’s arms still around her waist, she brushed his beautiful blond hair behind his ears. “You look so much like your mom, you’re so handsome!”

Henry forgot how to breathe, trying to stutter out a thank you as he backed up out of her space and turned to Spencer, “he’s always looked like JJ, you should have seen how tiny he was originally,” Spencer jumped in to save him. “Where is Amoreena?”

“She’s trying to pick between 2 different dresses, I’ll go make sure she’s in one by now,” she smiled at them before leaving the room, heading up the stairs to Amoreena’s room.

“You good?” Spencer nudged Henry, laughing lightly. “She’s your aunt now, she’s not going to think you’re a dork so you can calm down around her, I promise.”

Henry released a deep shaky breath, “you’re right, sorry.”

“It’s fine, I was like that around your mom before you were born, you should have seen me,” he tried to sympathize with the boy, only making a disgusted face arise on him.

“Ew, that’s completely different she’s my mom!”

Spencer wrapped his arm around him, “and Y/N is my wife!” He whispered as loud as he could so that it wouldn’t be heard by her.

Henry sighed, “and she’s like what 50?”

“35,” Spencer looked at him and laughed as he shook his head, “how old do you think I am?”

“Mentally? 6-years-old,” Henry bullied him right back for all the brotherly teasing, “but physically you look 79.”

“Thanks,” Spencer said, tucking the boy under his arm and messing up his hair, “now you look like a dork.”

He loved Henry more than he could express, unlike Amoreena he knew he wasn’t his kid, it wasn’t fatherly at all. Henry was his best friend's kid, his godson and his little brother, and as he got older he was becoming more of a best friend than he thought he would.

—

After breakfast when everyone was awake and happily full, Y/N took them all into town to visit the farmer’s market. Letting the kids look around and see if there was anything they wanted to all make for dinner, she was the best mom and aunt in the whole wide world and Spencer kept falling more and more in love every second he spent with her.

She was glowing in the sunlight, walking through the booths looking at all the fresh vegetables and fruit, Spencer followed her with Michael’s hand in his and Henry not far behind. Amoreena was off talking to her favourite vendor, an older woman who reminded her of her great-grandma, it was sweet.

Spencer thought about how their future would be much of the same, Y/N and him with a couple of kids while the rest of them did their own thing. He couldn’t wait to see all the little faces they’d create together, to get to know all the personalities and raise them into being just as wonderful as their sister and cousins.

“Ugh,” Y/N stopped dead in her tracks then, they were heading towards the butcher’s booth when she turned around, almost green as she reacted to the smell. “Nope, not going down there.”

Spencer couldn’t stop smiling at her as she tried to not throw up in the middle of the market, people watching her dry heave as she walked away. Spencer knew JJ was pregnant with Michael before she even told Will because she was the exact same way very early on. Living on ginger ale and baby cookies to stay sane, Y/N was going to need that hack.

He didn’t say anything, just profiling her in his mind as he followed her again.

Henry and Michael used the money JJ left them to buy some homemade candies from the market, Y/N picked up some donuts to bring home to her parents, and Amoreena only wanted fresh strawberries. Spencer however snuck away from the group really quickly to get something they passed earlier, something he wanted to get for Amoreena.

There was a vendor with homemade shirts and dresses, knitted hats and all sorts of collectables. If he was going to miss her last morning before kindergarten, he wanted to get her something to wear that morning so he’d be there in spirit.

There was a beautiful handmade purple dress hanging on the wall behind the vendor, the same kind old woman that reminded Amoreena of her GG. “Hello, how can I help you today?”

“We haven’t met, but I’m Amoreena’s father,” he introduced himself with a smile, and the old woman face beamed.

“Yes you are,” she smiled. “She has your nose, it’s lovely to finally meet you!”

“you too, um, I was interested in that purple dress,” he points behind her, “it looks like the one from tangled, I’m sure she’d love it.”

“that’s exactly how she described it when she saw it today,” the woman explains as she takes it down from the wall for him. “It’s $35, but I’ll do $20 for my favourite little friend.”

“That’s very kind, but I don’t mind,” he says, taking $35 dollars out of his wallet and laying it beside the cash box. “Thank you for always making my girl smile.”

“Thank you,” she smiled again, folding the dress nicely and placing it in a white bag, “would you like some tissue paper so she can’t see what it is?”

“That would be great, thank you,” Spencer smiled too, incredibly happy that this was his life now.

She handed him the bag then, stuffed to the brim with purple and pink paper, Amoreena was going to love it. He said his goodbyes and met the rest of his family at the car, hiding the present between his legs in the passenger seat as they drove home.

—

Henry and Michael did end up having to stay the night, switching into their PJs after dinner and joining them all in the living room for a movie night. They let the kids stay up later to watch the whole movie, watching Michael fall asleep once again on the carpet, he had been so well behaved all day it was like he was afraid of Amoreena now.

Michael was perfectly happy sleeping on the couch all night, Henry, on the other hand, slept in Y/N’s old room to have some privacy and so he could sleep in on Sunday.

By the time JJ and Will got home on Sunday night, Y/N and Spencer were just putting some burgers on the grill, they had enough for the whole team and so sure enough, the crew made a short trip from Quantico to Heaven.

Matt called his wife, she drove their handful of children over, Luke of course let Penelope know, the two of them still happily seeing each other now that she wasn’t on the team, it was cute to see them together. Then Penelope, of course, invited Derek and Hank. Emily, Rossi and Tara coming along just to witness Spencer being happy.

It was the best summer party they’ve ever had. Bob and Linda were beyond excited to have so many new faces in their yard, throwing on 2 more packages of burgers, feeding a whole army like normal.

The kids were all running around together in the field, playing with the cats and the goats, rolling down the big hill towards the cows, chasing fireflies as the sunset.

It was all of their last day of school on Monday, a weird day to end on but they were excited nonetheless. Y/N’s father lit up a bonfire in celebration, setting up every lawn chair and log they had to make sure everyone had a seat, they all gathered with marshmallows on sticks and drinks in their hands, smiles on their faces and love in their hearts.

Spencer made a happy life for himself that he was no sharing with them, and they call understood perfectly why he chose this one. It was peaceful, perfect and the most loving environment he’s ever been in. They were beyond proud of him.

“This place is amazing,” Tara leaned towards Spencer, “your family is wonderful.”

“Thank you,” Spencer smiled at her, raising his voice then as he looked at the rest of the team, “I just want to thank all of you actually, you’re all my family and it’s been so surreal introducing you all, I’ve never been happier.”

He was swarmed with hugs then, everyone also using it as their queue to gather their kids and hit the road. They watched everyone get in their cars one by one, Penelope did everything in her power not to leave with at least 3 cats, Matts's kids asked if they could come back, often, with Y/N reminding everyone that the gates are always open.

It was everything he ever wanted.

Amoreena jumped into his arms then, he held her against his side as they both waved at everyone, saying goodbye to all her new aunts and uncles and cousins. Her family kept getting bigger and bigger by the day and she was so incredibly happy about it. She’d take in a million more family members if they let her, her heart didn’t have a capacity level for love.

He carried her up the porch stairs then, bringing her into the kitchen where the white bag with purple tissue paper was waiting for her. Her eyes lit up as she saw it, “is that for me?”

“You bet it is,” he enthused, “I’m not going to be here in the morning, grandma Diana has a doctor's appointment, so I got you something for tomorrow morning.”

He set her down on the floor, handing her the bag and watching her carefully remove all the tissue paper. She laid it on the table softly to keep it for later, saying it was good to make barbie dresses with. When she finally saw the dress her jaw dropped.

Y/N was there too now, watching in awe as he surprised both of them.

“Did you buy this from Candace?” She asks softly as she takes it out of the bag. Holding it to her chest as she twirls around lightly.

“I did, I thought you’d like to have something to remind you of me there, I’m sorry I’m going to miss sending you to the bus on your last day,” he tried not to cry as he crouched down to her level, taking her into his arms and giving her a soft hug.

“That’s okay, you’re always in here,” she took his pointer finger in her hand and poked her own chest with it, “I love you, dad.”

“I love you more, Amoreena,” he smiled through the tears, scrunching his nose so they wouldn’t roll down his cheeks, giving her another hug before Y/N started her bedtime routine.

—

For the past two weeks, his dreams have been filled with lush fields of green draped in the most beautiful golden glow. Both his girls sitting beside him as they read, each of them has a book and it’s silent. It’s serene, the dictionary definition of peace.

However, it took him a while to fall asleep tonight, he was too anxious for Amoreena’s last day of kindergarten in the morning and the fact he wouldn’t be there for the drop-off.

Y/N was sound asleep on the pillow beside him as he stared at her, for what felt like hours, brushing her hair off her face lightly and making sure the blankets were still covering her. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room just enough that he could see her face twitch into a smile as she fell deeper into her slumber.

Seeing her happy relaxed him enough to follow her. Blinking into his dream realm and finding a few new faces waiting for him by the tree…

“Dad!” Another little girl he’s never seen before was running towards him, wrapping herself around him as he held her.

Suddenly, 7 other children he doesn’t know are surrounding him in hugs, tacking him to the ground in a fit of giggles and tickles, “we missed you! Why were you gone for so long?”

He’s so confused, he knows he’s dreaming but he chooses to stay, to wander the world and ask the questions his mind was so obviously trying to answer. “I’m sorry,” is all he can reply, taking Amoreena’s hand and following her towards Y/N as she sat on the picnic blanket.

She was older, which meant he should be too, looking in the pond quickly for his reflection to see’s his wrinkled face, the white in his hair and beard. Their kids had all grown up but where was he for it?

“Welcome home,” she smiled as he sat down. “it’s about time you met the girls.”

“Where was I?”

“You don’t remember?”

He shakes his head, “I was supposed to be here.”

“Amoreena got into Yale, did you hear that, cutie? Elly, Junie and Theo are in high school now, look how beautiful they are…”

He watched his children frolic in the field, running around without a care in the world that he missed everything. Why did he miss everything? How could he miss everything?

“It’s too bad you missed Cordelia and the other twins, can you believe we had 3 sets of twins, Spence?” She laughed like it was funny, “how could you leave me alone with 9 babies?” Still smiling, staring into his soul as he died a little inside.

He started to panic then, breathing heavily as he tried to remember where he was to miss everything, “I was supposed to be there for them!?”

Suddenly he’s ripped awake by Y/N shaking him and pulling him against her skin, “hey, shhh, it’s okay.”

He was crying and shaking in his sleep, sweating as he tried to fight off the dream, his anxiety in full swing for absolutely no reason, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for leaving you.”

“You didn’t go anywhere, Spencer, you’ve been there the whole time,” she reminded him, rubbing her hand over his back as he settled into her arms. “You were mumbling and then yelling.”

“I got to the park and you told me I missed all of them growing up,” he whispered the painful words into the open, freeing them from his mind and letting them exist somewhere else.

“Them?” She coo’s, holding his head against her chest as she rests her cheek against it, holding him as close as humanly possible.

“We had like 9 girls, they were all so beautiful as you and Amoreena, they all had my nose and your lips and the curliest blowing hair in the whole world, and I missed everything, again,”

“I won't let that happen, do you have any handcuffs leftover? Because I can keep you here for good?” She teased him in a hushed whisper, playful and happy to prove that he was fine, they were fine.

“I’m sorry for waking you up,” he whispered again shimmying down lower to lay his head on her lower stomach, kissing her stomach softly. “I’m not leaving you all, never.”

“I had a bad dream too, that’s what woke me up first,” she replies softly. “Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of Stephen’s death, and the first time I never visited him.”

Spencer felt the need to sit up then, making eye contact with her to see her true feelings. “I don’t want you to stop loving him because you also love me. He’s special to you, you should go see him soon.”

“Spencer,” she smiles at the concern in his voice, “I will, I only didn’t because I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant, I was bleeding a little yesterday and then it stopped, that probably means the implantation worked and I don’t want to tell him yet. And I tell him everything.”

“Everything?” He asks in a way that she hears; “even about me?” inside his thoughts.

She nods softly, “I went on that first Monday after I dropped you off at your apartment, I needed him to know I was finally ready and I thanked him for sending you to me.”

“What was he like?”

“He was from Boston, accent and everything,” she smiled with sad eyes as she recalled him to her mind. “He was in theatre school, I met him in the summer at a music festival in Chicago, he was playing guitar and we had too many beers and I lost my virginity to him in a tent in some field.”

She recalled it like it was a fond memory, missing him but not enough to be sad about it now. “I ran into him again when I went to college in Boston and we were talking outside before the rain hit, like one of those classic movie scenes, and my apartment was closer, the rest is history.”

“Hey Stephen is the one song you always skip, I never wanted to ask why but I don’t think you’ll mind telling me?” He wonders out loud, still a little delirious from the lack of sleep.

“He looked like an angel when I first saw him, he was standing under a street light reading his music sheets and the light was glowing perfectly, it was amazing I wish I had a picture of it. But then the Fearless album came out for the first time and it was my favourite song because it was like she wrote it for us. He was my perfect angel, my superstar, he was going to be on Broadway one day and we were going to move to a cottage in England, we had lots of plans and that song just makes me think of the life me and him must be living in the universe where it all worked out.”

It’s long-winded and she doesn’t seem to be over-emotional by the end, in a shocking turn of event’s it seems like she feels freer after getting it off her chest.

“I haven’t always been this happy and cheerful Spencer,” she adds, “I had a really dark spot after he died, it was horrible for me. I was so angry, I was reckless and mean and hurtful, and in that time I wasted precious moments I could have spent being happy with my grandma, and so my dream tonight was just the fight I had with Evan and my grandma dying and the cops saying Stephen was dead and placing that stupid fucking flower on his coffin thinking it made up for the fact I couldn’t even look at him in there.”

“How you respond to trauma isn’t really up to you, that’s why it’s trauma. Your brain can’t really cope and so it does typically the stuff you’ll regret the most in that time of grief, it’s not your fault and I’m sure everyone understood. You had every right to be mad, hell, I’m mad you lost him because I know how much you hurt in silence for so long,” Spencer can’t help but wish he could have been there for her.

“What happened to you after Maeve died?”

It was only fair that he shared too, “I locked myself in my apartment and didn’t take care of myself, I didn’t talk to anyone, I just sat in my living room and almost died reading every book I had because I didn’t feel like I was worthy of being taken care of so if I starved to death, so be it.”

“You still haven’t told me what happened with her and the kidnapping,” she reminds him of their little chat a few weeks ago at the school. “I get it if you’re not ready, I’m sure it’s a lot.”

“I was getting headaches, really bad ones, and so I reached out to a geneticist to see if she could help me. I sent her my brain scans and some blood tests and she helped me find supplements and natural ways to help my body rest from the stress of my work,” he explained it easily like the feelings didn’t hurt anymore.

“We talked on the phone a lot and I finally asked her why she was so afraid to meet me or have me know anything about her. She had me call her from a payphone, always a different one each time, I was to call and let it ring once, then hang up then she’d call me back. She thought she had a stalker, she was getting weird messages and threats and she felt genuinely unsafe, and she had every right to,”

“10 months went by and we thought she was safe, but her ex-fiancé got a private investigator to find her and in return found me instead. It turns out that Maeve had a student who felt wronged by her and wanted to outdo her, so she dated her fiancé and scared her underground but then she wanted me.”

Y/N’s face is full of concern like she’s listening to a true-crime thriller where she knows the ending won't be good.

“I tried to talk her stalker down, I almost had her and then she kissed me and I keep looking at Maeve, she saw right through me. She threatened to kill Maeve, she had a gun to her head but at the last minute she killed herself, but Maeve’s head was too close to hers,” the words hurt on the way out.

“And someone also had you sent to prison?” She asks, wanting all the trauma in one night to save him the trouble.

“Yeah, she was an assassin, I tricked her into thinking I found her dad and I was so smart she thought I was her soulmate, it was all an elaborate plan to bring me down to her level.”

“Did you kill someone?”

“I’ve killed too many people,” he answers with complete honesty once again. “I’ve killed mostly murderers and rapists, I typically don’t have to. I really try not to, but I’ve also killed people to keep myself safe. And I’d probably kill someone to keep you or Amoreena safe too.”

“Get in line,” she laughs, able to make every single conversation easy even when they shouldn’t be.

“I uh,” he wants to tell her more but he doesn’t know-how. “I was also sexually assaulted in prison, and I was kidnapped and drugged in 2007, I OD’d and died but then I was resuscitated, I wasn’t kidding when I said it was a lot.”

“I am so sorry Spencer,” she rests her hands on his cheeks, looking into his eyes as best as she could in the dark, still seeing the goodness in there. “You’re safe here with me, forever and always, I can promise you that.”

“Thank you,” he’s never going to stop thanking her.

Settling down on the bed once more, he cuddles back into her side. She brushes his hair behind his ear softly, humming a soft melody as she soothes him back to sleep. He snuggled right against her, holding her gently as he fell back to sleep on her, dreamless as she was everything he needed.

love you all for all the support thank you x100 <3

tag list: @shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria @spookyspence @reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @samuel-de-champagne-problems @jswessie187

[considermeharmless]

The Labyrinth Games - Part 2

Hello, hello, you wonderful people! The new day enfolds and it has quite a few surprises. Hold on to your seats! Status of the previous day, then today’s simulation right below the cut. OvO

Night 1

Now, how will some of these new characters act in the darkness of the night...

Hah! Don’t we all! XD

Hmm... Can’t say much about it. On one hand, it seems like a good strategy to avoid getting attacked by surprise, but he also runs the risk of being less focused on the next day! If he survives this long, that is. 

Uuuuuhhhh okaaaayyyy? That’s an interesting pairing XD

Wounds? What wounds? Up to this point, he got fishing gear and a hatchet but nothing really happened to him that we kno-... Wait. Could it be? I’m pretty sure he must have some fishing skills and knowledge but... Could he have messed up with the fishing hook and got his own skin hooked or something? XD That or he really had no idea how a hatchet worked x)

Awww :’c Is it because his little hunting gang (The Night Terror, Leticia, Ventis and himself) got dissolved at some point?

sHe aLrEaDy HaVe sOmE tHrOwiNG KniVeS!!! And she didn’t even need those to begin with!

HAHAHAHA!! Oh the irony! X’D But also... Kinda sad... I dunno, am I the only one to have some weird pity for TNT? Anyway, this coincidence in the wording is outstanding. 10/10.

Good for her to have found some food!

Sweet dreams. u3u

Always a lady with smarts!

Again... What infection? XD He slept through the day before! Infected with good rest??

Ah welp, that’s a shame ^^’ So far, he has had more killing/scary skills than survival ones XD

That’s... pretty impressive for sure. Although, very little surprises me to what this man can do x) But why in this context would you spare such a big threat after you defeated him, Michael?!

NOOOO VEN!! D: Was that really necessary, Chaos, hm?? You already scared Bradley man away and killed Donald! Calm down! And yikes, a molotov?! Who else are you gonna destroy in cold blood!

Cool! Remember to stay hydrated, kids and adults :D

There it is, people! The fried-chicken-feather-duster is no more!

You can now put down your pitchforks XD Oh and slow-clap for Sarah dying by trying to arm a bomb =v=

Day 2

Oh noooooo those 3 are too good at their jobs and too similar. This will probably either go terribly or beautifully.

Yeah, I bet defeating Bigby in a fight the night before must have left at least some little cuts or bruises that need medical attention TvT

What a bunch of peaceful events for Oswald today. He slept well during the night and now spends the day getting fruits!

NDUZHOJDNHOAJNSJND. Good on Mickey for getting away! Not good for the Night Terror though XD It has proven itself to be much deadlier. 

Oh no! XD Chaos and Mayhem?? Working together?! And poor Michael has done nothing but try to hunt for others with no success and cry since the beginning c’:

Oof. Wonder how this came to happen... The running away from Amish, I mean. Not the sprain XD 

O.O 

But why..? And how? But mostly wHY???

No idea where this trident came from but good for her if it gets her a meal!

Labyrinth Event

Oooo, Arena Events! Or Labyrinth Events, really. They’re always fun, wonder what this one will b--

CARNIVOROUS. SQUIRRELS.

Yep. You read it right. I know this, because I triple checked! XD Oh dear stars and planets the absolute madness... But anyway uhhhh sorry still reeling in the craziness of this meeeeean Michael for playing dirty! But a kill is still a kill TvT

OvO

Again... Madness... And also, what? “Separate”? You mean they were sticking together up until now? XD But alas, the Chaotic Lads from yesterday are no more...

Good for them! And impressive since “carnivorous squirrels” seems like a strangely catastrophic threat now.

AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

What-- what is this?? And why did you have to word it like that, simulation? “In agony”, I... QnQ But, but what if she had survived the attack, huh? D:

“there are too many”... So she died from the attack?! OnO 

“Beware of the creature with four mouths”, “Don’t trust Sarah Songbird”, “Don’t follow the voices inside”, HAH! The squirrels are the real enemies in the Labyrinth, now!

The God of Chaos too??? What are these rodents made of?!

... Well. Both Holly and her version of a different reality/universe, dead in the same manner. How fitting and tragic. TvT

Nice. At least some of them got away from the rats of doom...

Soooo, they were beside each other up until then? :’D Mugsy... You’re a sweetheart, but in these simulation and a bit in story too, you’re a taaad scary XD Still sad to see them both go though! And he had some explosives too...

*weak yay for the both of them after this tragically devastating rollercoaster*

The Fallen characters

So... so many... And such powerful ones too! The Night Terror, Sarah, Chaos, Mayhem, Luka... And the other ones as well! All so much more deadly than rodents or so I thought. 

... Maybe Mickey... survived because... y’know what? I’m gonna shush XD

Status of the day

What can I say? With how murderous the squirrels were, I’m not fazed by the little amount of kills the characters had between each others! Still, I’ll keep an eye on team 10... See ya tomorrow!

[everlarkficexchange]

Written by: @alliswell21

Title: One of Us

Prompt 145: She moves in with her aunt and uncle when her parents dies in a small town. After suffering through trama, Katniss slowly starts to get better with the help of her family (aunt, uncle, cousin) and the Mellark brothers. But when things starts happening to her and the people around her, it’s revealed that she and almost everyone in the towns are apart of the werewolf pack and that one of the Mellark brothers is her mate. #werewolves [submitted by @animekpopxx]

Rated: G for general audiences.

Tags: Canon Divergent!AU; Modern with a dash of Supernatural; Grief/Mourning; Feeding as a Language of Love.

Note: This is my final submission to this year's EFE challenge! Yay! I really am grateful to @xerxia31 and @javistg for their continued support of this fandom and for hosting once again this event. You are such amazing people, and I’m absolutely honored to be part of a community with people as amazing as you two are! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for keeping EFE alive!

@animekpopxx, thank you too! You feed my muse! And you give me Werewolves!!!!

This story was a bit of rushed job, though, and there’s more of it, I mean... we haven’t seen them turn into wolves yet!!! 🤣 I just didn’t have time to edit the complete fic before the deadline, but if you’d like to read the finished product, keep an eye out for it on AO3. I’m fairly sure the rating will keep, but we will see.

 Kpkpkpk

There’s nothing but the sound of crickets and frogs filling the vast darkness of the night.

It’s another moonless night out here in Panem… or is I like to call it ‘the middle of nowhere’. It’s weird, how dark nights feel here, there’s barely a start peeking tonight, but in a strange way, I like it.

Sitting on my aunt and uncle’s porch to watch the infinite dark ahead while listening to the nocturnal critters it’s about my favorite thing to do… it’s what did used to do when we came here for long summer stays, anyway. He used to say he felt at peace and relaxed, connected with nature. Too bad it took him to be gone, for me to appreciate what he meant by that. So every night I come out here and sit in the steps hugging my knees, staring at nothing but the deep, black night surrounding the cabin, whisking my dad was sitting next to me.

Tonight is different than usual, though. It was raining until recently, and the smell of wet earth is so familiar my chest feels tight and my throat is knotted.

“Petrichor, Katniss,” I mumble the words noiselessly, “is the smell of rain, hun. It smells the same everywhere in the world.”

I lean my chin on my knees, wishing I could go back to feeling numb like when my parents just died. But thinking of the word petrichor, while smelling the thing, is bring forth a plethora feelings and memories I don’t know how to handle.

Dad used to love Scrabble, crossword puzzles and trivia challenges. He tried to get me interested in those games, teaching me words and their meanings, every time he had a chance.

I wish I had been more enthusiastic about learning the darned stuff; it would’ve meant an extra moment spent with Dad, and less regret to feel right now.

An involuntary whine leaves my chest. It hurts to think about it, and not for the first time, I dig my nails into my skin to keep myself rooted in place, and not tear running into the void.

I feel like I’m spiraling out of control, I fear this time something will break in my head and I’ll do something crazy, like scratch my skin away and run wild into the woods, like a beast… but the overwhelming thoughts gets halted when I hear soft noises from out in the distance.

It’s like the crunching of footsteps on the gravel at the mouth of my aunt and uncle’s property. It’s too dark and isolated here, deep into the country. I’ve seen big wildlife roaming around: deer, raccoons, coyotes and even a lynx. But the longer I hear the noises, the more certain I am I’m being stalked by something big and fast.

My heart beats erratically in my chest; every hair in my body stands on point, fear is clawing its way up my chest and into my throat, my eyes feel about to pop from my skull, and then I’m disentangling my knees from my arms, standing up as tall as I can— which isn’t saying much—and then I call into the night, “Who’s there?!”

I hear a faint disturbance of air, and then…

“Good evening, Katniss!”

Slowly, from the shadows, a blonde head pops, eerie for a second. Broad shoulders follow, and then a torso. Before the rest of his body comes visible into the light of the porch, two more blonde heads come into view, flank the first person on either side: Shoulders, torsos, Jean covered legs… The three Mellark brothers make their way leisurely towards me.

I nearly faint from relief after the rush of adrenaline pumping in my veins. Going through so many emotions: grief, sorrow, dread and relief, so fast in such a short amount of time has left me winded and unsteady.

I lose my balance, but one of the boys— Peeta, the youngest— breaks ranks, and rushes to hold me upright.

“Are you okay?” He asks softly, helping me sit back down on the porch steps. I lean my head against the main post.

“I’m okay. Just a little lightheaded,” I try not to glare. They gave me a fright, but I doubt they did it on purpose.

It’s something I’ve learn over the years. People in Panem are kind of quirky.

“Sorry we scared you,” Peeta offers, sheepishly. “We wanted to check up on you, and bring you something…” he looks up at his two older brothers and Rye — the middle one— steps forward, holding up a brown, paper bag, with little greasy spots on the sides.

I can guess what’s inside. They’ve been bringing me cheese buns almost daily, since Peeta found out they’re my favorites.

Rey hands the baggie to Peeta, and the latter offers it to me with a soft smile.

“Thanks,” I mumble, gratefully. I can smell the cheesy, yeasty treat through the bag; I can feel the warmth of the buns too! “While I love freshly baked cheese buns, you guys didn’t have to make this trek just to bring me a treat… on a dark, moonless night no less,” I fix them with a glare. “How did you even get here anyway? You couldn’t have walked and I never saw a car coming?”

My aunt and uncle’s cabin is at least 4 miles from town, and surrounded by woods; but then again, most houses in this weird little place are built in similar locations. It seems the townsfolk take their privacy extremely seriously.

“We rode our dirt bikes,” chimes Rye in, cheerily. “Not much light on those bulbs, though, but it’s okay. Our night vision is prime!” He gives me the A-Okay gesture.

“Rye,” the eldest, Bannock, warns lowly. Baring his teeth.

Rye shrugs and slips his hands on his Jean pockets.

I swear Rye hisses something like “it’s true” under his breath, but Peeta has been rubbing my back with the tip of his fingers all this time, and I’m getting drowsy, so I may have imagined the whole exchange.

“You should eat those while they’re still warm,” Peeta murmurs close by my shoulder.

I nod, and open the bag, releasing all the delicious smells of the buns, while Peeta massages my shoulders, encouragingly.

I must be really out if it tonight, because outside of my family, I’ve never been comfortable with people touching me… but, my family is all gone now, and I can’t go through the rest of my life without human touch, can I?

Grief stricken me out of nowhere, and barrels through me. I gasp at the acute pain in my soul at the loss of my parents. But in an instant, I’m enveloped in strong, thick arms, warm and steady. I’m sobbing into a hot, solid chest, covered in the softest cotton I’ve ever felt.

“Shush… I’ve got you, Katniss. I’m here for you,” Peeta whispers soothingly into the crown of my head.

He smells so good; like cinnamon and dill, from the bread he must’ve made this afternoon at his family’s bakery.

It takes a few minutes for me to get a hold of myself, and embarrassedly push out of his embrace, “I’m sorry,” I mumble, mortified.

Bannock presents me with a handkerchief, and I take it gratefully to wipe off my face and nose, before returning the soiled square of fabric to him.

I’m not sure why the Mellark brothers are being so nice to me. I’ve never been around them more than a handful of days over the past few years, when we came to see Dad’s remaining family outside mom and I, his half brother, his wife and their child.

I don’t know the Mellarks all that well, but in the handful of weeks since my parents’ funeral, the three brothers have been incredibly attentive and generous to me. Peeta more than the other two, but I don’t mind… I like him best anyway.

“It’s okay to cry and be devastated, Katniss.” Says Bannock, sagely. “You’re going through the worst time of your life, and we care for you… like family.”

“Oh,” I sit straighter, blowing my nose. I feel a little strange hearing him say that, “thank you? I appreciate your kindness,”

He nods, “Peeta’s right, though. You should eat the cheese buns before they go cold.”

“A full stomach always helps me feel better,” Rye adds, patting his belly, and smiling at me.

My stomach growls, as if to show agreement. I am hungry. I didn’t touch my supper earlier. I pick up the bakery gingerly, and pretty much shove my nose into it. The steam curls out of the baggie, filling my nostrils with the delicious smells. I pluck out a bun and practically inhale it in a second; quickly followed by another one. My third cheese bun, I decide to savor, slowly.

The Mellark siblings just hang around while I devour my treats.

The front door opens just as I’m wiping my hands on my leggings. My aunt’s head peeks out of the door.

“Oh, why hello everyone!” She greets, as bubbly as always. She’s wearing a dark purple wig, to match her dark purple outfit.

“Good evening, Effie,” says Peeta, standing from his squatting position next to me. “We brought Katniss a gift,” he points at the now empty bag in his hand.

“How sweet of you, Peeta!” my aunt gushes, “thank you for checking on our girl, and making sure she’s put something in her tummy before bedtime!”

I roll my eyes. Aunt Effie keeps treating me like a kid. I hate it. I’m 17 and mourning, not a freaking baby!

“It’s no problem at all, Effie! We were just on our way home anyway.”

“Well, it’s always nice having you boys over,” she offers, “but it’s getting late, and Primrose is already in bed, which is why I came out here to begin with, to let Katniss know that her sister was already asleep, so she’d know to tip toe back inside when she was ready to go to bed herself,” my aunt smiles.

I feel a slight pang of guilt; I’ve been wallowing in my own sadness this evening, and missed tucking my sister in to sleep. She’s the only person I’m sure I love, yet tonight I’ve let my own misery drown me.

“Don’t mind us, Effie,” Says Bannock, “We were about to leave…” he pauses and then calls a meaningful, “Peeta?”

“I’m going to wish Katniss a good night, and then we’ll go,” he says.

Not for the first time, I wonder if Peeta has a crush on me? I wouldn’t know he did, even if I wasn’t feeling so rotten inside. I’m not very good at flirting… but with Peeta it is different I think. He’s so nice to me, he’s taken up asking if I’ve eaten that day and if I haven’t, he feeds me something from his family’s bakery without charging me… it’s like he actually cares for me and my well-being, and his brothers care, because he does. It’s mesmerizing at times.

Peeta looks me in the eyes, “Are you ready to go inside?” He asks, offering his two open palms to me. He helps me up from the floor, and then smiles sweetly. He doesn’t let go of my hands while we stand facing each other.

Then something strange happens. Peeta doesn’t blink, as his clear-blue eyes bore into mine, and then his pupils blow out full, until only a ring of deep, glowing azure remains for his irises, “Sleep well, Katniss,” his voice sounds deeper and warmer than usual, “Rest and have a relaxing, dreamless night. Remember what I said: we are all here for you, to help through this hard time… alright?”

I feel groggy, “Yes, Peeta,” I mumble feeling my eyelids getting heavier.

“Oh dear, can you please instruct her to walk herself to bed? She might look lithe, but I promise, her little body is as heavy as any of us,”

Huh? What’s aunt Effie going on about? I don’t understand.

Peeta chuckles, squeezing my hands warmly in his, “You heard Effie… don’t fall asleep until you’ve gone into your bedroom and change into comfy pajamas.”

I nod, “Okay,”

“Good night, Katniss, I’ll be back tomorrow. Try to eat something on your own, I know you’re sad, but you need your strength for when the solstice comes.”

What a weird thing to say! Everything is strange here though… so I nod and march inside the house, mumbling my good nights to everyone and rubbing my very sleepy eyes. Once I’m in my sleep clothes, I lay in bed, and try to ignore the yearning of having Peeta rubbing my back like he was doing while I ate my cheese buns.

I sigh and go to sleep, a weird thought pops into my mind: “I’m so lucky to have such a sweet, caring mate. Peeta Mellark. Can’t wait to be bonded with him,”

[knox-enden]

I had an idea, I wanted to write it. Let's gooo

TW: Implied Death, Death

*-*-*

Tommy's father always told him to never go past the Nether Portal that was located just a few miles down from their home. Tommy's father had also told him to never enter said Nether Portal.

Now, Tommy didn't always listen to his father. In his defense, his brothers didn't either. Tommy's brothers were just more careful in their rule breaking, where else Tommy was always ready to present his disregard for the rules in a flashing show.

So when Tommy's father went once more on one of his trips, the ones that Tommy's father never tells him of, well, Tommy can't help but think that this was a perfect time to past the Nether Portal. And more importantly-

The perfect time to go through it.

Of course, Tommy would have to be careful. He wouldn't want his brothers to try and chase after him, always concerned for his safety they were. It got annoying sometimes. Tommy was a big man, he was able to protect himself. After all, he had just turned thirteen a few months ago! He was a strong man!

In the dead of night, as the gentle sounds of the arctic that laced the outside of their very, very old home, Tommy crept from his bed. He made sure to keep an eye on the twins, careful to keep quiet whenever they made any motion in their beds.

Tommy grabbed his red backpack he had secretly stored up and made his way downstairs, climbing down the ladder that had been repaired far too many times. Tommy didn't understand why his father didn't simply replace the cracked and splintered wood. But then again, his father was very strange.

Tommy glanced around the room, realizing he couldn't find his regular red jacket. That was a problem. He needed that! Tommy, as quietly as he could, searched the living room that the family was so accustomed to.

A hint of blue caught Tommy's eye. The closet door had been left open, and Tommy saw a blue cardigan, made of wool. Tommy grabbed it, noticing how unique the patterns were. They almost resembled discs and flowers. Tommy smiled to himself. How lame.

But, it was better than nothing. Tommy slipped the blue cardigan on, noticing how warm it was. How had he never noticed it before? Perhaps he didn't need it then.

Now that Tommy had something warm to wear outside, he grabbed his bag he had left at the door, and races out. Once more, careful to leave not a sound.

And Tommy's brother told him he couldn't be quiet. This'll show him, Tommy decided.

Tommy traveled through the light snow. He was lucky enough to pick a night where no snow was to fall, and the only thing to keep him company was the stars that lite the sky above. He stared at the stars, noticing all the different shades of colours that passed around them.

There was a name that Tommy was thinking of. But he couldn't place it. Perhaps he'd figure out later.

The Portal was taller than Tommy expected. Made of a pure dark rock, obsidian, Tommy would guess. He roamed around it, noticing a few chunks had fallen from it. Tommy huffed at that. Lousy portal.

Tommy scuffled through the snow, locating any pieces of fallen obsidian he could, careful not to harm himself on any of the sharp edges. He slotted the chunks back into wherever they would fit. To Tommy's surprise, he noticed that they didn't fall. Weird magic stuff most likely.

The Portal did not light. Tommy stamped his foot. Of course, he needed fire. A bubble of though entered Tommy's mind as he smiled.

He reached into his bag, pulling out a small metal box. Known to be his brother's lighter. His brother didn't smoke, but always kept the lighter on him anyways. Tommy didn't know why.

Tommy swept a bit of fire onto the obsidian, watching the portal light with purple swirls. A success! Tommy hopped in excitement, not another thought as he jumped right through.

The first thing Tommy felt was heat. Not blistering heat, not enough to make him melt, but certainly enough for Tommy to take notice. His arctic home was always cold. Always. Sure it was sunny at times, but the snow was always a reminder of what Tommy would always feel.

So to feel this heat? It was enriching to Tommy. Exciting even!

The second thing that Tommy noticed, was the rocks that scattered across an otherwise red floor. Tommy crouched, staring at the rocks. Cobblestone. It was cobblestone.

Tommy loved cobblestone.

So, naturally, he followed the rocks. Only registering halfway through that it was a path. And when he made it to the end of said path, he stared in awe. Broken bridges, some more ruined than others, played across the insides of the Nether. Some paths bathed in cobblestone, some paths with an obsidian lining. It was new.

Tommy followed the paths, a part of him begged to follow the obsidian. A feeling of dread and desire rushed through him, staring at the pathway that led to said feelings. Tommy wondered if perhaps had he not caught the sight of signs, then he would have followed the path. But signs were too interesting.

If only the signs had anything written on them. Words etched away, almost has if claws had come to them, destroying them. As Tommy studied the claws, they reminded him of the old abandoned shed that laid in his backyard. Another place that his father had forbidden him to venture in. The shed was littered in claw marks. Almost like these.

Tommy frowned. There was another feeling in him. One of familiarity. But it mattered not, as when he looked away from the sign, he saw a Portal. Another Nether Portal. Except this one, was still lite. Perfect!

He rushed towards the portal, and yet again, he jumped through it without another thought.

Now, Tommy had seen ruins before. He saw his old shed in his backyard after all, but, his shed was nothing compared to the absolute mess he had wandered into.

There was obvious signs that buildings had once laid there. Obvious signs that life had once stayed upon these paths. But, it was destroyed.

Tommy saw the gentle remains of buildings, swarmed by greenery. It was beautiful, yet sad. Tommy wondered what had happened here. He wondered how many good memories laid in these ruins.

As the night continued, so did Tommy, venturing out into the ruins of what looked to be a city. There were buildings, some prettier than others, in tatters. Some seemed intact, a brick building with bits of white painted stood beside another brick building, bright greenery and flowers laced that building. Tommy led his path forward, glancing down at the wooden path before his feet.

The feeling of them was marvelous. They felt special. Important. Tommy barely missed the realization that unlike the rest of these ruins, the wooden path had no greenery growing upon it. Only around it.

It was so beautiful.

A large thud caught Tommy's attention, switching his head to look behind him as he saw a creature. At first, Tommy concluded an Endermen, simply based on its height and colour. But then Tommy saw white. Black and white skin covered the tall creature. It was bent over slightly, as if it had developed the habit to bend.

Tommy, for but a swift moment caught it's eyes, a green and red. Odd for Endermen, who usually have bright purple.

"H-Hello." Tommy spoke, hopefully the creature was sentient and hopefully kind. But the big man Tommy wasn't scared. The creature said nothing. Just, stood there. Tommy noticed black and white hair, tracing all the way to the ground, leading a trail from the wooden path. The black and white claws the creature owned certainly weren't ignored by Tommy. For but a split second he wondered if those claws would match the marks from his shed and the signs.

"Who?" The creature spoke, the words gargled as if it hadn't spoken in a very long time.

"I-I'm Tommy. The biggest man ever!" Tommy stamped his foot, to show how tough and brave of a man he was. Tommy noticed the way the creature tensed, before relaxing.

"Tom...my?" The creature gurgled out. As if it was piecing together a story Tommy didn't know of.

"Uh, yeah big man. Tommy. Tom-my." Tommy repeated. The creature jumped at that, almost like Tommy did when he was excited.

"Tommy!" The creature's gurgled voice was gone now. Tommy noticed the colourful purple dots that began to circle around the creature.

"There you are Tommy!" The creature, sounded young. For an Endermen that was. Tommy looked up, confused.

"What?" Tommy deadpanned. Why did the creature speak to him with such... Fondness?

"I've been looking all over for you! Tubbo has been upset for so long now- But now you're here and he'll feel better again!" The creature hummed, reaching and taking Tommy's hand. Tommy tried to protest, but the grip was to harsh.

"Hey!" Tommy exclaimed, "What the fuck man? Who the fuck are you?" Tommy asked, very much not wanting to be a snack if that was the case. And who the hell was Tubbo? The creature turned back, staring at Tommy in amused bewilderment. There was an edge in the eyes of the creature. Tommy had seen it before, in his father's eyes so often.

Sorrow.

"It's me, Ranboo, of course. Are you having memory issues?" The creature, Ranboo, laughed gently, "That's my thing Tommy. You should know that!" Ranboo? What kind of a stupid name was Ranboo?

"I don't even know who you are!" Tommy yelled out, flinching at how Ranboo tightened his grip on Tommy.

There was so much sorrow in his eyes.

"Ha. Ha." Ranboo's fake laughter was hollow. "Very funny Tommy, now come on, Michael is also waiting! He'll be so excited to know that you're-"

A golden arrow pierced Ranboo's arm, causing him to let go of Tommy. Tommy ran back from Ranboo, but never admitting he was afraid. Ranboo screamed, clutching his arm. A hiss formed to his face, glaring at where the arrow had come from.

"Leave him be Ranboo." Tommy froze as he heard his father's voice. Ranboo, also seemed to become frozen. A sorrowful smile on the creature's face.

"Philza! You're here too!" What? Tommy glanced up, noticing his father stood beside him, an empty expression resting on his face.

"Ranboo, leave." Philza threatened. Tommy knew it was a threat, but from the way the creature laughed, it didn't seem to register.

"But why? Tubbo needs to see Tommy! Tubbo has so much to say! And Michael! Michael too! And Techno, and Wilbur, and Quackity!" Ranboo went on, another emotion spreading through his voice. Tommy would call it desperation. Tommy found it creepy that the creature knew his brothers names.

"Ranboo..." Philza gave a pitiful hum. The creature shook its head, a smile planted on its face. A hollow smile.

"Ah, hold on Phil, I think I just heard Niki and Fundy calling me!" Ranboo exclaimed, a purple glint in his eyes. He turned around, calling out to nothing but the air as he fled from the father and son.

Tommy didn't noticed he had held his breath until he was breathing again. He glanced up to his father, whose expression was mixed with a colourful display of emotions. Tommy could recognize pity out of all of them.

"Dad?" Tommy started, "Who was that?" Instead of an answer, Tommy was met with a bitter glare.

"You are in so much fucking trouble." Philza barked lightly, yeah, Tommy expected as much. Tommy saw Philza falter for a moment, staring at Tommy's attire.

"Tom's, where did you find that?" Philza asked, pointing towards the blue cardigan that Tommy had on. Tommy shrugged.

"Found it in the closet. It look warm." Philza stared at the boy a moment longer, before looking back towards the creature, Ranboo, who was standing around, talking to no one but himself.

"It looks as if my trip is on hold for now." Philza sighed, "Let's go Tommy. I'll explain in the morning."

Tommy knew that was a lie. But Tommy didn't worry about it. Philza will talk to Techno or Wilbur about it, he always did. And then they'd tell Tommy.

Tommy nodded. Another question formed in his mind.

"Hey dad?" Tommy asked, quietly as the two made their way back to the portal, ignoring the chattering of the weird Endermen creature.

"Yes?" Philza asked, looking down to meet Tommy's eyes. Blue eyes met with blue eyes. Tommy stumbled in his footing, clutching his blue cardigan as if it was something he needed. Something he couldn't be without.

"Dad... Who's Tubbo?"

[royalnugget42]

3RD Life x Steven Universe

Green Pearl. It was irregular for an emerald to have a Pearl, but this emerald was one of the best of them. Such a rare gem, and with a more decorated past than any but the diamond commanders. It seemed only fitting that she be gifted a Pearl as reward for years of service to the Diamond authority.

Of course, she didn’t really spend much time with said Pearl. More often than not, she was out fighting insurrections or attending ceremonial battles in the arenas. It didn’t leave much for her Pearl to do really. That’s where the trouble started.

Green Pearl, or just Green, as he liked to call himself, was not a very well behaved gem. The first instance of this being his constant use of he and him. It was a habit he’d picked up from one of the more distant colonies, something that the organic lifeforms apparently used. He just couldn’t get enough of it, and though he didn’t correct his Emerald, that didn’t stop him from correcting everyone else.

He was bored so often. With nothing to do but stand around and hold things and sing songs every now and then. He liked singing, but Emerald didn’t ask him to often, so most days he spent thinking up ways to perform his usual acts of petty mischief. Because Green Pearl absolutely loved to prank people.

Usually these pranks consisted of sneaking up on unsuspecting gems and scaring them. Sometimes he’d make a loud noise, sometimes he’d announce the presence of his Emerald, and sometimes he’d sneak up to just say hello. Something he loved to do was give them strange random items that he’d collected and stored in his gem. He had fabric scraps, balloons, dirt, some flowers, and his favorite, something Emerald had called a tree branch. This he never gave away, choosing instead to poke other gems with it from a distance.

It annoyed other gems of course, but for a Pearl he spent so much time with soldiers who either laughed it off or just ignored him, that he faced little to no punishment most of the time. At most one of the soldiers could call Emerald over, and she’d just sigh and put him in her chambers for awhile.

He was still in there plotting his next practical jokes when she returned, talking loudly into her communicator.

“Yes of course, my diamond. I will of course be present to observe.”

Immediately he hopped up from where he was seated, hands outstretched for anything she needed him to hold. She ignored him, finishing what sounded like a very important conversation.

“Yes my diamond. Thank you for this honor, I am so unutterably flattered. Emerald, out.”

She waited for her diamond, yellow diamond, to hang up, and passed the communicator off to Green. He dutifully stored it in his gem, eagerly awaiting what he assumed was important news.

“There’s to be another tournament, and I will be attending to oversee the event and evaluate the battle. Begin preparations to leave for sector 3,” she instructed.

“Right away, my emerald.”

“Oh and Pearl?”

He frowned slightly, at not being called Green, but replied, “Yes, my emerald?”

“Please, for your sake if not for mine, do try to behave yourself. This will be a very important event, and I’d rather not deal with any of your little pranks.”

Without waiting for a response, she left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Little pranks. It was all he could do to pass the time, though, and other gems fighting each other wasn’t nearly as exciting as they made it seem. It was all respectful dueling and perfectly choreographed movement. At the end of the day it was all staged. It wasn’t a test of skill or instinct, or reflex, just memorization. It bored him to death. They could at least add a few explosions.

Behave yourself. Stay still. Don’t bother the agates, don’t upset the hessonites, don’t ever disobey your emerald. It seemed like at every turn he was ignored and told to sit still and make as little noise as possible. Maybe he should try to behave, just once, but the more he thought about it the more it irked him. No, he would simply have to do the opposite. Maybe if they wouldn’t add explosives to the fight, he’d just have to bring some of his own. He smiled, and brought some of his more secret items out of his gem.

***

Not much can be said about the actual event other than the fact that it was utterly boring until Green managed to sneak away to prepare his joke. Of course, it wasn’t supposed to actually cause any real damage, just some colorful lights and loud noises. Really, that Sardonyx Agate was so oblivious that it was hardly his fault his form was destroyed.

But of course Green took the blame, and there he sat in a room listening to one of the other agates complain and berate him. His punishment was apparently a demotion. He would serve not as an Emerald’s Pearl, but as the Pearl to the Sardonyx he had inadvertently damaged. It was fair enough, he supposed, he just wished he could have at least told off Emerald if he was going to be punished. In for a penny in for a pond right?

But no, he just had to wait quietly for his agate to reform, and then he’d help with whatever it was that an agate does. Maybe it would at least be more interesting working for someone who hated him, but he doubted it. Most likely his agate would just ignore him like everyone else.

It didn’t take long for the reformation to be complete. Green supposed it was a better punishment than being shattered or rejuvenated, but he had to grit his teeth for what would pass through them when the light started shining.

As soon as the agate reformed, Green went into his prepared speech.

“My agate, I’m glad to see you have reformed.”

Sardonyx just looked confused, which was understandable. A Pearl being assigned to an agate, well, it was probably something that very rarely happened, which of course served to make the appointment even more embarrassing.

“I see you are confused, allow me to introduce myself,” he said with a humble bow. “Your physical form was destroyed by some mischief that I caused at the tournament. Therefore, I have come to offer my deepest apologies for my transgression, as well as my service. I am Green Pearl, but you may call me Green if you so choose.”

All in all it was a masterful speech. He had spent a while working out the exact phrasing, and to practice sounding genuine in his regret.

“Well, I am a little surprised, but I accept your service, and your apology.”

“Thank you, my agate,” he said, breathing a small sigh of relief. The Sardonyx wasn’t angry then. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. “I assure you, it will not happen again. I look forward to serving you.”

Green waited quietly for a response, or a dismissal, or something, but when he looked up he saw his Sardonyx staring intently at him.

“Um...my agate?”

Then suddenly his agate laughed. And laughed and laughed. Green started to join in nervously, unsure of what was so funny.

“Oh you nearly had me,” Sardonyx said, still chuckling. “You’re an excellent liar, Green.”

What?

Had he said something wrong? Had something in his manner been incorrect? He had practiced so much. No one could tell when he was lying, not even Emerald! Perhaps this was a test of some kind?

“I...I assure you, I meant every word. I-If you are still upset I understand, but please, I really am sorry!”

“Relax, relax. I’m not upset. You don’t need to lie to me, though. You shouldn’t apologize if you don’t mean it,” Sardonyx said matter of factly, as if he wasn’t accusing Green of something he could be destroyed for.

“Wh-why? Why won’t you just believe me?”

“Are you angry?”

“Yes of course I–“ he cut himself off before worse words could be spoken. He didn’t want to be shattered. I’m the agonizing moment after he made his mistake, before anyone realized what had happened he had come to that conclusion. He didn’t want to be broken.

But if he was going to be shattered anyway, he might as well say what he was really thinking for once.

“You know what? Fine. You want the truth? I’m not sorry, I never have been, for anything that I’ve done. It was your own fault you weren’t paying enough attention to avoid the fireworks and still, even if you were standing directly in the line of fire, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. The look on your face when you got spooked was worth it, it was hilarious.”

Sardonyx looked up as though preparing to interject, but Green just cut the agate off.

“And frankly I added better entertainment than anyone else at that awful tournament! Do you know how agonizing it is to sit there clapping politely for a victory you already know is predetermined? There’s nothing interesting about it. And for the record, when you do have me shattered, feel free to call me Green, because that’s my real name, and use he and him when you refer to me, and–“

“Whoa whoa whoa, why would I have you shattered? This is great!”

Ok, now that was a weird turn to take. Either this agate was especially cruel, and willing to drag it out, or they were being genuine.

“Why...why is it great? I just insulted you, my Emerald, and plenty of other gems.”

“Because I don’t even have to get you one my side about this! You’re already very anti Diamond I bet, and what did you ask me to call you? Green? And you use he and him instead of she and her? That’s so genius, it sounds so much better, wherever did you learn that?”

“Um...thanks...I guess? I just sort of picked it up. Seemed to annoy people so I kept it. You can also use his for when something belongs to you.” Green was very confused now but he wasn’t going to question it. What was the phrase one of the soldiers taught him? Don’t look a gift horse in the towel?

“Yeah, ‘He walked. He is an agate. His Pearl taught him something new.’ Oh that is fantastic, can I use he and him, too?” The Sardonyx was beaming, like he had been given a new toy.

“Sure, I’m...uh...not in charge of you. So…”

“Great. My name is Scar by the way, so you can drop the whole ‘my agate’ thing.”

“Uh...why Scar?” Green asked, growing more curious and less scared by the second.

He replied, “Oh it’s sort of a joke. I have a stripe that looks like a Scar on my chest, so some of the others started calling me Scardonyx, and then it just got shortened to Scar.”

Now that was intriguing. “Others? What do you mean others?” Green asked excitedly.

“Oh just you wait, they’re gonna love you! We already have a Pearl with us, we call her Moon, but she took so much longer to really open up to us. Come on!”

“I’m still confused, where are we going?”

Scar turned around, smiling blindingly bright. Green could see in his eyes that this was someone like him. This agate knew how he felt. Suddenly, for the first time in his life, Green was not alone.

“To freedom, Green. We’re going to freedom.”

[kam-tree]

how BiNu confessed

Hello! I’m back~ It’s exam season but here I am. I hope you guys like it! Don’t be shy and request anything if you would like.

Theme: Fluff

Eunwoo

hey, I’m sorry I’m busy today! Just reminding you I love you

A smile painted your face as you sent a reply back to your boyfriend, Eunwoo. You were a little sad that Eunwoo had a schedule today but it is what it is right? It’s his job after all. Although you missed seeing him, he always made an effort to video call every night and occasionally would drop by your apartment at night before heading back to the dorms. He always tried his best and for that you loved him dearly.

That’s alright! I’ll enjoy this nice day for the both of us~ Keep working hard! I love you

After sending your message, you were immediately met with a cute emoticon. Giggling like a 5 year old, you sent one back. Truthfully everyday seemed like a dream. It was such a blessing you met Eunwoo and the fact you were in a relationship with him still felt surreal. He was such a caring and selfless man, always considerate and hard working. When you first met him, it was a little hard to believe how polite and caring of a human being he was. You didn’t know if he acted this way because he had an image to up hold or not. But your doubt was eventually proven wrong after some drinks and a very real and raw conversation.

You still remember the smell and sounds of the tent bar. The loud business men coming to drink after a long day of work, the group college students ignoring their final assignments and the smell of soju. Eunwoo and you weren’t very close friends back then and it was certainly awkward when your mutual friend didn’t show up. However 3 bottles of soju seemed to do the trick and helped you both let loose and start talking about your dreams and insecurities. It was refreshing getting to know Eunwoo and his mind. At the moment you really admired him as a person, how hard working he was and how considerate he was. You felt horrible for misjudging him and doubting him. It was probably then when your feelings for him started.

It took eight more months for anything to actually start. You tried your hardest to stop your feelings for him as you didn’t want them ruining your friendship. Anyway, how could he feel the same way about you anyway? That’s why you were taken aback when you were both resting on the couch on your apartment and he suddenly became agitated. You had invited some friends over just to have a little breather and you were all playing charades. 

At first you thought he was just frustrated because his team couldn’t play for shit and yours won as the game ended with 9-5. Rocky had you on his back as you both celebrated your win with your two other teammates. You were laughing while holding Rocky tightly so you wouldn’t fall as he began dancing when you felt an icy stare coming from somewhere. Your eyes met Eunwoo’s and you were slightly taken aback by the glare he held on his face. Confused, you watch him flee to the kitchen. You got off Rocky as gave another ‘whoop’ before making a beeline to the kitchen.

“Look, if I’ve done anything wrong, let me know. I can’t read your mind and glaring won’t help either ok?” You spoke bluntly as you found it rare that he would be this childish.

“I just- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to glare.” He said as he brushed his hair back and swallowing a lump in his throat.

“Well I can still see your not in a very good mood. Do you want to step out and talk about it?” You offered with a smile while taking his hand and staring into his eyes. You swear you melted right then and there. He seemed to think about it before nodding and letting you lead the way to the door. 

“Damn it, it’s cold” you muttered to yourself as you left the warmth of your apartment. You felt a pair of arms wrap around you and suddenly it felt like you were in a sauna. Trying to get rid of the blush on your cheeks, you wriggle out of his embrace. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll survive. Now tell me what’s been plaguing your mind.”  You said turning around, trying to not be flustered. Although you felt safe in his arms; as if you belonged, you didn’t want to give yourself false hope. To him it might just be an innocent hug but it sent butterflies to your stomach. 

“I have feelings for someone and I don’t think they’ll return them.” He said as he stepped back and met your eyes. You felt your stomach drop. Ignoring the slight pain in your chest, you turn to look at him as he stares back at you. 

“Ahh, I see. How would you know if you haven’t heard that person’s answer? There’s a 50% chance they’ll return them or not. But seeing as to how you act like the perfect gentleman, the chances are probably higher.” You smiled before looking away, trying to not let him see the slight pain in your face.

“Is that so?” He said as he moved to were your eyes were looking off to and waited until your eyes met his. “What are the chances of you returning my feelings?”

“What?” Honestly, you were so confused. What was happening? Is what you were thinking happening? He smiled before holding your hand in his.

“I like you Y/N” A blush seem to creep on both of your faces. Unable to meet his gaze, you nod.

“Me too” You felt time stop as he smiled at you and pulled you into a tight embrace against his chest.

“Thank god.” He sighed in relief before planting a light peck on your lips.

Moonbin

“You made all this?” Moonbin said with excitement and disbelief as he stared at the six lunch boxes in front of him; one for each member of Astro. “Thank you so much!” And with that, you were engulfed into a big bear hug. 

You dramatically gasp for breath before he pulls away and places a kiss on your forehead. Smiling up at the man, you realise how awfully tired he looked. A pout soon graced your face, Moonbin noticing immediately. He stroked you hair and put his chin on your head, pulling you into a gentle and warm hug.

“I’m alright. I have your food to energise me through the day! Don’t worry about me.” He said gently.

“I know I shouldn’t worry, I just wish you could have a day off and sleep like sleeping beauty. To rest properly.” You mumbled into his shirt. You feel him kiss you head before pulling away and looking into your eyes.

“My day off’s on Sunday, I’ll make sure to sleep like the dead.” He laughed before turning to the door “I’m super late! I’ll text you when I get there and when I should be home. I love you~” And with a kiss goodbye, he was out the door. 

Watching him leave in a rush always made you laugh, his poor time management was always the product of him sleeping in. It always worried you how he’d come home late and leave early for his schedules. He practiced like crazy as well. It also reminded you of when you first met.

Your friend wanted to introduce you to a dancer as you expressed an interest in it. You were hesitant, as your interest was only a passing comment and not meant to be taken seriously, however you also suspected this was your friend’s way of setting you up with someone. They had been constantly asking you if you were seeing anyone for the past year. You were too busy with your part time job and being a full time student in culinary school. With some persuasion, you finally went with your friend to meet this man. Honestly you kind of judged Moonbin when he was 20 minutes late. You were thinking about how you could have been studying for an upcoming exam and here you were, waiting for some dude. However after talking to man, you seemed to become smitten with him. He was funny and gentle but was also ready to fight with anyone who thought cats were annoying. 

As cheesy as it is to say, time seemed to stop. You didn’t really pay mind to your friend leaving you two alone and you also didn’t realise the sun was already beginning to set. You realised that this man was a breath of fresh air to you so when he asked for you number as you were both about to part ways, you absolutely did not hesitate.

Your relationship was little complicated for the next 4 months. It was like you were a couple but at the same time you weren’t official. Both of you would go on dates, talk late at night and would have movie nights in your apartment. You both knew that each other was interested but neither had actually spoken about it. It was a strange and weird situation to be in.  

At first it made you heart flutter every time your hands would brush past each others or when your faces would be so close to a kiss. But soon you grew a little tired of it. Moonbin seemed to be the person you could count on whenever you wanted to rant about school or your co workers and would always taste you dishes with very honest feedback, however you were tired of this wishy washy relationship you both had. As much as you knew that Moonbin was a kind and caring man, you insecurities started to overtake your mind. You often wondered if he was like this another girl, he was an awfully handsome and talented man so who wouldn’t want to have him?

You began to think he only saw you as some fun on the side. 

Your chain of thought was disrupted when you heard a knock at your door. Ah, that’s right, Moonbin said he was coming over after recording. Opening the door, you were greeted with a smile that could easily turn you into a puddle. He had said he couldn’t stay long as he needed to back at the dorms before 10pm. A little confused as to why he would bother coming over if he needed to leave in 45 minutes, you followed him into the apartment.

“Then why are you coming to visit then silly?” You said in a playful tone as you offered him some gimbap you made. You were shocked when he rejected them. What as going on? Moonbin rejecting food? And then it dawned on you. He was probably gonna tell you that he wasn’t interested and only saw you as friend.

“I’m sorry I should have done this earlier” You braced yourself for the rejection as your hands found the hem of you shirt and played around with it. He looked into you eyes with an intensity you had never seen before and it made you nervous. As you felt some tear beginning to form, you look away from his gaze.

“I like you. Like a lot. I’m sorry for not telling you early enough. I was just shy and didn’t know if you would like me back.” what? You looked back at him in confusion. Your mind went blank and you were left to just stare, no words seeming to form. 

When you didn’t reply back, his head hung down for little bit before he looked back up at you with a bittersweet smile. “It’s ok, you don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to confess my feelings.” As he was about to reach for the door handle, you snapped out of your trance and rushed to stop him.

He was caught by surprise when he left your arms embrace him from the back. You didn’t trust yourself to talk to him with his eyes on you so you mumbled it into his back. “I like you too. I like so much. I didn’t know if you actually liked me or if you were just having some fun” He quickly turned around to your words and cupped your face.

“Of course I like you. How could I not?” Moonbin smiled as he kissed your forehead and then your lips.

[imaginethatneathuh]

Brother P2: Shadow Moon - American Gods

Platonic relationship, male!reader, gn!reader, TB being himself.

CW: Smoking and swearing. Mentions of death, spirits, and betrayal.

Word count:  2,719

I’m still learning how to do this, please be patient.

“Masterlist”

•

“Well, hello there,” the person said. “Who the fuck are you?”

You looked at him, blankly, and groaned, regretting everything.

Losing your voice, you pulled out your pen and paper and wrote. “An idiot. And you’re a god. What about it?”

The boy scoffed and his tongue ran across his top teeth.

“Okay, motherfucker, first off, how do you know that?” He asked. “And second, you aren’t supposed to be here.”

Pressing his mouth around the tip of his weird looking vape, the boy took a drag.

You wrote your response as quickly as you could.

“First, it’s not that hard to figure, and, second, I’m not even supposed to be alive.” You mocked the way he asked his question. He didn’t seem to notice.

He choked on the smoke in his throat and coughed. Because of his pale skin, he turned slightly red. The boy coughs, beating his chest slightly.

You didn’t know why people did that. It’s not like it would help. Would it?

Clearing his throat, he said, “What I meant was, Shadow Moon was supposed to be here not, whoever the fuck you are.” He gestured with his, what you assumed to be, vape.

“Y/N = name,” you wrote.

He nodded, keeping his gaze fixated on the ground. “Pretty.”

“Yours?”

You watched him deliberate before he spoke.

“Technical Boy,” he said. “But you can call me Tech.” Pausing, he thought about what he said. “Or TB, if it’s easier to write.”

You nodded, thankful you didn’t have to write all that out.

“Who are you, exactly?” He asked.

You twisted the pen in your fingers, trying to figure out what would be most concise and would reveal the least.

“Friend of Shadow’s.”

Technical Boy read the paper and leant back in his seat. He looked thoughtful, as if he was analyzing the situation. Maybe he was. Maybe that’s how he worked. You didn’t know enough about this god to say for sure.

You had your own thoughts to contend with anyway.

Whoever this god was, he was dangerous. Maybe not like Wednesday, but he there was this underlying intimidation to him. Like all gods really. But this was different. He was different. Thinking is dangerous and Technical Boy was sure as hell taking his fucking time thinking about something.

Even if it wasn’t that, he still gave you the ‘don’t fuck with me’ kinda vibes. They weren’t Wednesday’s ‘don’t fuck with me vibes’. No, they were different. More in your face; just like everything else about this guy.

Which was nice. You knew where he was; his intentions practically seeped from his pores.

Unlike with Wednesday, who had too much mystery about him for you to trust with even a penny of your money.

“Your friend, does he know what he’s gotten himself into?”

You shook your head.

“He doesn’t even know who Wednesday is,” you wrote.

Technical Boy slowly nodded, thinking. He took another drag from his vape.

You could swear the thing in the sphere-like pod blinked at you.

The god followed your gaze to his vape.

“Synthetic toad skins,” he said. “Wanna hit?”

You shook your head. You didn’t need your mind fogged up by anything right now.

He shrugged, taking another hit and blowing out O’s.

You coughed as the smoke hit you. Now, that’s a dick move.

Guess you didn’t have a choice. Either take a hit directly, or get one from second-hand smoke.

Shadow probably would have snapped at him by now.

“How do you know about us?” He asked. “Gods, I mean.”

You raised an eyebrow, silently questioning his question.

“How does anyone know anything?” You asked him, writing it down on your pad.

He quietly chuckled and pointed at you.

“I like you,” he said. “Confident. Smart. Good qualities to have.”

“Point?”

“Straight-forward is also a good quality and a rare one. Wonder how you got it.”

Ouch. 

Technical Boy leant forward, studying you. “My, I suppose you could call him, boss, wants to know what Wednesday is up to.”

“A spy?”

Technical Boy nodded. “If you want to call it that, sure,” he said. “You can be our inside man.”

He was offering you a job.

Made sense.

The weather had been strange as of late. Then Wednesday shows up, offering Shadow one in a weird fucking way. When you had consulted the future (which is always vague) and the spirits (which are even more vague), they gave interesting answers. Everything seemed to be pointing toward something big happening and soon by the looks of it.

“Do I have a choice?”

Technical Boy nodded and said, “Sure. Death is always another option.” He quickly noticed your uneasy movements. “That was a joke, I swear. I didn’t actually mean that. I was just trying to be a dick.”

You leant back, breathing a little easier.

“Why should I?” You wrote. “Work for you instead of Wednesday. What are the benefits, cause the downside is that I’ll be hurting a friend and likely have to sneak around behind their backs.”

“Is money a good incentive? How about a steady job? You ever had either of those? Or maybe, all expenses paid for?” Technical Boy took another drag and blew out the smoke. “Also, the best tech you could ask for and whatever you need to get the job done.”

“I don’t give a shit about that.” The god seemed shocked by that, narrowing his eyes at you and leaning back like he was trying to see the big picture of you. Never gonna happen. “What I want to know is, why should I hurt my friend for someone I don’t know and for a cause I know nothing about?”

Technical Boy nodded, understanding the question. Barely, but he got there.

“Wednesday is in the past; we are the future. The Old Gods are fading, crumbling in America. They are nothing. Especially compared to us,” he said. “Don’t you want to be part of the winning side for once?”

His arrogance was definitely his worst trait.

“The Old Gods will always be there. They are a part of our culture,” you wrote. “Try as you might, the US will always be the melting pot of the world. There are too many cultures here to make it any different.”

Technical Boy smirked.

“Like I said, smart.” The god thought for a moment before countering. “That may be true, but those cultures are melting together and can’t stay apart for long. They will become one giant culture and that will be of the good ole U.S. of A. You can’t stop that. No one can.”

“Maybe. Why are you trying to convince me to work for you?”

Technical Boy shrugged.

“My mission was to find out what Wednesday has planned. You are, currently, the best way of doing that. Besides, maybe you can convince Shadow to join us too. He seems to be important to the old man, so why not?” The god gestured with his vape before taking a drag. “Just to fuck with him, ya know?” He blew out the smoke through his nose.

“Can I think about it?”

He nodded.

“Sure, take your time. Just not too long. We don’t have forever.”

“How would I get in contact with you?”

A smartphone materialized in your lap. It’s black, sleek case and the screen shined.

“Call me,” he said before cringing. “Text me, I mean. My number’s already in there.”

You nodded.

Technical Boy reached for a strangely shaped thing on his left. It looked like one of those plumbob things from The Sims but cut in half and with some sort of box sticking out of it. That's what it looked like from your perspective anyway. His hand hovered over the middle of the box before he pressed down on whatever it was. You could have sworn it turned red, but you couldn’t tell; it was too far away now.

“See ya on the flip side,” he said.

A piece of the roof gave way, opening like a box lid.

You were pulled from your seat and, in a way, floated out. It was strange. You didn’t feel like you left the whatever it was but you could see you had. It was like you were going upward while everything else was going down. It made your stomach hurt. You knew what direction you were going and what way was up just by looking, but none of it felt real. Nothing from the last few minutes felt real. Not the god, not the phone that burned in your pocket, not the offer the god had made, and certainly not the room, or whatever it was, you had been in.

What did feel real was Shadow holding you and calling your name.

By the gods, you did hate the gods.

“Y/N?” Shadow said. “Y/N, are you okay? What happened? Y/N?”

He kept calling your name, shaking you slightly, but you couldn’t respond. Not with your pad and pen and definitely not verbally.

Your mind was racing to catch up with everything as your body had.

Finally, you managed to sit up, Shadow holding you to help stabilize you. You weren’t built for this. Not in any way, shape, or form. Someone like Shadow? Probably. But you? No, not in the slightest. Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten in the way, but it was too late for that.

Everything hit you like a train as you watched the face-hugger-like contraption fold in on itself and disappear. Like it just blinked out of existence.

But that was the gods for you; always covering up their tracks. Some even pretending like they had nothing to do with how humans acted or what happened to humans. It’s sickening really, the way they act. But what can you do?

Some could hold their own under the gods’ onslaught; but you were too much like your parents, not strong enough to handle it.

Shadow kept his arms around you as you leant into his chest.

Technical Boy likely had no idea how that would have affected you so you couldn’t blame him; he was, afterall, looking for Shadow, not you. The two of you had entirely different genetic makeup.

You looked at Shadow as he looked fearfully at you.

“Y/N, are you okay?” He asked.

You nodded and breathed heavily.

“We have to get away,” you said. “Whatever is going on is dangerous.”

Every word hurt to say.

Though you wanted to tell him everything, you knew he wouldn’t believe you. He was that sort of guy.

“I made a deal with Wednesday,” he said.

You sighed, your gaze falling to the now muddy ground.

“I can’t break that. But you can leave, if you want.” Shadow let you go and stood up, offering his hand. “It’s okay if you do. I’d understand.”

You scoffed and took his hand. “And what? Let you get yourself killed? Not happening.”

Shadow smiled, pulling you up.

You were brothers; you couldn’t just walk away from each other like that.

•

You know that feeling that people get when they think they’re being watched? Well, that was the feeling you got as you and Shadow climbed back to the street. It felt like someone was spying on you from the bushes or something, but you pushed the feeling aside.

The both of you would need a shower after this. That and clean clothes.

•

You both found your separate rooms at the motel. They were right next to each other, like your cells had been the first time you met.

Collapsing on your bed, mud caking your shoes and clothes, you stared at the ceiling and considered your options: join these New Gods and betray your friend, deny their offer and side with the Old Gods, or skip town and never interact again.

The third choice was your favourite.

Joining the New Gods was a no-brainer really. They, as Technical Boy said, were the future. But is that a future you really want to be a part of? One where minorities were attacked, locked up, and killed for no reason. One where the planet was being poisoned by large corporations. A future where people’s entire future’s and live’s depended on one election. Is that something you really wanted? There was also the whole moral thing of betraying someone you trusted whole-heartedly. You couldn’t give less of a shit about Wednesday and whatever he was doing. But you did care about Shadow and, like he said, he did make a deal. He always keeps his deals.

On the other hand, there were the Old Gods. They were obviously going to lose. They weren’t powerful enough. It’d be great for whoever they fight in the name of (Wednesday) but they’d still lose. The only plus side was Shadow. Keeping him safe was all that enticed you to consider this course.

But you could still keep him safe with the New Gods.

The last option was taking Shadow and getting out. But you knew he wouldn’t go with you. He needed the money and had already sealed the deal.

You sat up and stared at the carpet before flopping back down on the bed.

You knew what you had to do, what the smartest choice was and would all but guarantee Shadow’ safety.

You had to play all sides.

It was obvious when you thought about it.

You would agree to spy for the New Gods, so long as Technical Boy would be your “handler”, help Wednesday with whatever (while supplying that information to Technical Boy), but your main goal would be convincing Shadow to leave with you. You knew a small town in Wisconsin that would be perfect to hide away in. Your family had hid there before. It may not have done you any good back then, but things change.

Yes, this would require a level of deception that you hadn’t used in years, but it wasn’t the hardest plan you’d ever come up with. Plus, people always had a habit of underestimating the quiet one. That was often their fatal mistake.

With that plan in mind, you pulled out the phone Technical Boy had given you and turned it on.

Technical Boy must have known you did because a text came through.

‘Decided?’ It read.

‘Yes,’ you texted back. ‘I’ll work for you, but only you.’

‘Good.’ A new line of text appeared. ‘Text if Wednesday reveals anything or you find out anything useful.’ Another line popped up. ‘I’ll set up meeting places. Don’t text unless you need me or have information.’

‘Got it.’

You tossed the phone onto the bed and covered your face with your hands.

What had you just done?

Something stupid, that’s what.

If he found out what you were really doing, you’d end up dead for sure. Or worse yet, Shadow would.

You pushed the thought away. You couldn’t afford to think like that, not now. Not when you had to focus on manipulating and lying to people, one of which you would do anything for.

•

Wednesday walked over to you as Shadow helped the moving men load stuff into the truck.

You leant against Betty, as he called her. Pulling a package of gum out of your pocket, you plucked one out and took off the wrapper. Quickly stuffing the piece in your mouth, you put the package away and crumpled the wrapper up, putting it in your pocket.

“So,” the older man said. “Shadow and I talked last night.” You said nothing, just nodding along. “He said that you pushed him out of the way of some sort of device. That the thing was stuck on your face for a while. That you were shaken when you came out.” You just nodded. “What did he say to you?” Wednesday asked. “What did he promise you if you helped him?”

You looked over at him and rolled your eyes before pulling out your pad of paper and your red crayon.

“Don’t worry, I told him to take a hike,” you wrote. “Odin.”

Wednesday stepped away from you, surprised.

“I weighed the risks. Shadow is more likely to get hurt with them than you.”

The Old God nodded and realized where your loyalties lie; with Shadow and Shadow alone.

[th3atr3phant0m]

Math Cadets [Chapter One]

Being the son of world-renowned Professor Membrane meant a lot of things. It meant a slightly strange family dynamic, it meant weird, new technology and experiments coming in and out of the house constantly, it meant pressure from the world, and, as Dib had learned several years ago, it meant attending one of the most elite schools in their area. Astra Academy- the school district that Dib had been part of ever since childhood- was the local STEM school that focused the majority of its education system around science and mathematics while still focusing on the engineering and technology aspects of education far more than typical schools did. Considering what fantastic work they did in the areas of mathematics and science, Professor Membrane enlisted both of his children in the curriculum as soon as they were old enough to attend.

Dib supposed that, had he attended any other school, he would be universally hated by his peers. He came from a more wealthy and powerful family than the majority of his fellow students did and had some obsessions that he knew wouldn’t be considered normal at a school that wasn’t specifically for students like he was. His obsession with the paranormal and with aliens, in general, was fairly weird at his school as it was and that was taking into consideration the fact that several others attending his school also believed in those things. He was also shockingly good at his schoolwork in a way that was, at Astra Academy, impressive, but would likely just be irritating at any “normal” school system- especially when considering what he did with his abilities. 

Astra Academy had high expectations for its students and always had since they first opened. Students could crack under the pressure of regular public schools, so, needless to say, that wasn’t any different at Astra- not when the expectations were frequently even higher there. Good grades in Astra meant amazingly high chances of getting scholarships and being recognized by and accepted into the best schools in the world. Several students who made fantastic discoveries at their school even ended up being able to take part in conferences held by real scientists and people working in whatever field it was that they had made breakthroughs in. Students made discoveries about the scientific world at their school rather than just learning about them and those who did were immediately highly regarded by local universities. Overall, the better you did in Astra Academy, the better you did in life and the more likely it was that the rest of your life would be far easier than the average person’s. Considering the fact that the majority of parents who sent their child there did so with that in mind, most of his peers’ parents were, well, hardasses and not particularly forgiving or understanding when they struggled with school. It was a lot of pressure weighing on the majority of them- and that was just where their grades and such were concerned.

As much as Dib felt for the people who attended school alongside him and were struggling immensely- both in school and mentally because of school- he had never been the most… empathetic person ever. In fact, he saw his peers struggling around him and immediately thought about how he could twist the situation to benefit himself.

He… felt a little guilty about that.

Dib tried not to let the guilt get to him, though. It wasn’t like he was exchanging doing people’s homework, tutoring them, and feeding them test answers for money or drugs, so he gave himself a little slack. The only thing that he was receiving in exchange was assistance in his paranormal research and avoiding harassment from his fellow students. He tutored or blatantly gave others answers to homework in exchange for their respect and help on his journeys. Despite it being a somewhat seedy business, he was good at it and a lot of people either needed or wanted his help. The little business that Dib had set up for himself long ago had only grown over the years and had put him on a bit of a pedestal in his school (now that DIb thought about it, he was almost certain that the majority of his peers would hate him, were they not afraid of openly doing so… oops).

No matter, though. What did matter was the fact that he was absolutely thriving in school and that that helped him succeed in his studies that took place outside of school as well as spreading the word of his research along the way. Dib was doing wonderfully at school and he was happy with where he was. Life was reasonably stable, even with the strangeness of STEM school in mind, and that allowed him to clearly see his bright future as a revered paranormal investigator. He had almost no obstacles in the way of his future and the security of his day-to-day life made everything easy and predictable.

That was, at least, until Zim arrived at their school.

Despite their school being incredibly diverse considering their area, Zim was the only kid in the entire school with pale green skin, no nose, and no ears. He was the only one of them with that particular, strange vernacular that he used. He was the only student who was very clearly inhuman in every way, yet no one saw it aside from Dib and his younger sister.

A combination of disinterest and being far too laser-focused on their studies in school made the for the perfect cocktail of willful delusion and ignorance. Dib may have been surrounded by plenty of smart kids, but he was surrounded by just as many idiots. The morons and geniuses alike were completely overlooking the fact that Zim was clearly not of their world.

The moment Zim walked into Dib’s chemical engineering classroom and introduced himself as “Zim; the normal human” Dib knew he was an alien- how could he not? As he heard the strange introduction, his gaze scanned across the room at his fellow students, but the majority of them were either focusing on their work and getting a head start on their class in some way or were just completely ignoring him in favour of chatting or daydreaming. None of the other students seemed as deeply disturbed and shocked at the presence of Zim- all too preoccupied or disinterested to care.

Seriously?

Dib was mildly disgusted and surprised that none of the others seemed to take any notice, though he supposed, considering he was one of the only ones in the class who was interested in aliens, it shouldn’t have been too shocking.

Even if his peers didn’t notice what Zim was right away, Dib wouldn’t let that distract him or change his mind. He knew he was right and, with his intellect, the power of the student body, and the assistance of technology all on his side, he would be able to finally succeed in what he had wanted for the longest time. Dib would be able to prove that aliens were real!

When Mrs. Summers told Zim to take a seat anywhere in the class, Dib called him over to his own table- he didn’t have a consistent lab partner like most of the others did, anyways. At the very least, this would give him the opportunity to carefully watch and research Zim- maybe even get into his head a little bit and intimidate him (Dib was thankful that he had taken that psychology class last year).

“Hello, fellow worm-baby,” Zim flashed Dib a grin, bearing his strange, off-coloured, zipper-like teeth.

Dib just narrowed his eyes at Zim for a moment before glancing to the people seated at the lab table behind them. He gestured at Zim somewhat dramatically, “Are you guys not seeing this?”

The two of them just shrugged and returned to their work.

“What is there to see? I am just a normal, disgusting human like you are.”

Dib turned his attention back towards Zim, leaning in towards him and pushing against the chair to raise himself up slightly, hoping that it would come off as intimidating (did the kind of psychology that they covered in class last year apply to aliens as well?).

“They may not notice what you are, Zim,” Dib glared threateningly, “But I have no problem seeing through your disguise, Space Boy.”

Zim returned the glare, “Whatever are you talking about, Stinky?”

“You may have them fooled for now, but there is no way in hell I am going to let it stay that way for long. I will be your worst nightmare. Don’t get too confident in your position here on Earth.”

“We’ll see about that, Earth Trash.”

“They all will, once I’m through with you.”

Keep reading here.

Beautiful cover art done by @crazy-buckets​!

[zecretsanta]

FIC:

To: @seen-true-evil

From: @windsorgirllove

Hello! For your gift I went with your Eric/Mira prompt, and I hope you enjoy longwinded talks about emotions! There will be a second chapter some time in January, because I ended up writing a lot more than I am prepared to edit right now, but I hope you enjoy!

AO3 LINK

They were alone in their apartment. Sean was over at Sigma’s getting some upgrade or other. The two of them were in the bedroom. Eric stood very still as Mira traced her finger along his shirt.

She paused over a seemingly random spot. "Right... here."

"You sure?"

"Positive." Mira nodded, mostly to herself. She tapped the spot again with her long nail. "Right here is where your heart is."

"Wow..." Eric brought his hand up to the spot she had indicated. Mira's hand skittered away when he brought his close, like a nervous spider. He lay his hand flat, palm down on his own chest. "That's incredible."

“It’s really not.” Mira shrugged, watching him. Her expression was even more unreadable than usual. "It's just anatomy. After a while it just comes down to memorization. But yours is right... there." She took his wrist and moved his hand to the left, slightly, and shifted it up. "Exactly there."

Eric looked down at himself. If he concentrated, he could almost feel his heart beating underneath his skin. "Huh."

They were both silent for a moment. Then Eric asked, quietly, "What... what do you remember?"

Mira raised an eyebrow. "What do you remember?" she asked him back.

Too much. Eric had been trying to sort through his memories since the desert, and every time he thought about it too much his head started hurting and he got dizzy. But a few things stood out.

"I... I think I died?" he said. "A few times."

"Any one in particular?" she asked, leaning against the dresser and crossing her arms. Eric sat down on the edge of the bed, hard, and folded his hands in front of him. Both of them were far too calm for the situation, in Eric's opinion. Discussing how you died wasn’t something calm, rational people do. He would gladly volunteer to be the person freaking out, except somehow he couldn’t. It was like someone had simply switched off the part of him that panicked. It would be nice if it weren’t so worrisome.

"Umm... in the library," he said, to answer her question. "The standoff. The kid shot me... no, wait, they tried to shoot you. And I jumped in front of you."

Mira nodded. "Both," she said. "At different times."

"How do you keep track of all of them?" he asked. “The timelines, I mean. For me it's all... jumbled. I can barely keep track of our one timeline that led to here. It's so complicated."

"It is," she agreed. "Believe me, I'm not having an easier time at all. That one just... stands out more to me."

"Oh." The pod room. Mira's body. The nail marks. Out of all the timelines, that was the one that stood out the most to him. He could almost feel the too familiar icy grip of a panic attack coming over him even now, as he thought about it.

"This is weird, right?" he asked. "Like, this is such a weird thing to talk about."

"Don't ask me." Mira cracked a smile. "I don't think I have a very good grasp on what could be considered normal."

"Don't say that. You're normal."

Mira laughed softly. "You still haven't remembered everything, have you?"

Eric was silent. He moved his hand from his chest to the back of his neck, rubbing slightly. At his throat his heartbeat was much more prominent, easier to find. Harder to ignore. "What about the library? You said that it stood out to you."

She nodded, slowly. "It did."

"Why?"

"The second one. Where you protected me. You didn't need to."

"I wanted to," he said, with complete conviction. He didn't actually remember how it went down, but he was certain of that. "You're my girlfriend, after all. Of course I would."

"I didn't for you."

"Well, it happened so fast. No one could expect you to react in time. Hell, I don't know how I managed to react for you."

"Hm." Mira tilted her head and examined him, her eyes narrowed. "Do you remember the Heart Ripper?"

"The serial killer?" They did talk about that at some point, didn't they. With Sean, in the rec room. He couldn't remember why it had come up, but he did remember Sean having some impressive facts that he just threw out at them. Which, knowing what he knew now, made sense. "What about him?"

"Her."

“Hmm?”

"I'm the Heart Ripper," she said, casually and calm as you please.

"...Oh." It should surprise him more. It should terrify him, make him want to run screaming from the room. But it didn't. He already knew it, after all. At least, technically speaking. "Why?"

"Why?" She laughed. "That's not the question I usually get."

"Have you told a lot of people that you are the Heart Ripper?"

"No, not many." She pushed off the dresser, taking two winding steps forward and cradling her arms against her stomach. "Why? That's kind of a long story. I should finish the first one first."

"The first one?"

"The library." She stopped in front of him, staring down at him with her arms crossed. "You didn't die immediately when Sean shot you. You could have survived, if we had given you immediate medical attention."

"Oh," Eric said. "But I did die. I'm sure of it."

"Yes. I shot you."

"Oh." He felt something turn in his stomach, and did his best to push it back down. "Well, it was a quick death, then, that way. Less agony."

"That's not why I did it."

"I know, you wanted to get out. I don't blame you. I mean, do you remember how insistent I was about leaving? It must have been a tough choice."

"That's not why either." Mira tilted her head, her hair falling ever so slightly in front of her eyes. "I wanted to kill you. Ever since we first met."

"Oh." This supernatural calm could only hold back so much of his nature. Eric began to panic. He stood suddenly, forcing Mira to take a step back. "Why? W-what did I do? Did I hurt you? I mean, I don't think I messed up our first meeting that bad-"

"No, you didn't. You did nothing wrong." She tried to step back towards him, but Eirc scrambled over the edge of the bed to get away from her. Mira stopped, her hand hanging in midair as though she wanted to comfort him. Her voice didn't sound particularly comforting, however. It was the same cool, almost monotone voice that she always had. "Have you ever heard the phrase about touching someone's heart?"

"Um?"

"It was something my mom told me. About when you touch someone's heart, then you can understand them. Then you can feel." She let her hand fall to her own chest, over her own heart. "I don't feel. I never have. That's why I kill. That's why I take out the hearts. To touch them. To feel what they felt."

"Mira, I..." Eric laughed, surprising himself. It was just on the edge of bitterness. "That's not how it works. I mean, that's just a saying. The heart isn't actually where we feel things. It's just a muscle. We feel things in the brain, through, um, chemicals, I think."

"Really?" Mira sounded genuinely surprised. "It's always worked for me, though. I feel... something when I hold their hearts. Something different from what I always feel. Different from each other, too. Maybe it was the remnants of their spirits, still giving off their final thoughts?"

"Come on, you don't really believe that stuff, do you?"

Mira tilted her head. "Don't you?"

"I mean, I was raised that way, I guess, but I don't actually know about souls or any of that spiritual stuff."

"I don't think it's any stranger than some of the stuff that we experienced at DCOM."

She had him there. "Well, that isn't the most important part, I guess. I mean, were you just... waiting to kill me? Ever since we met?"

"It wasn't like I was waiting with a knife behind my back for you to turn around since day one. Murders take time to plan. There's a reason I haven't been caught, you know. Besides, I never try to go for a kill the moment I meet someone. I want to wait and see, you know? In case the last one was the one that flipped the switch and turned my feelings on." Her face changed, her expression adding just a hint of sadness to it. "It never does, though. No matter how many feelings I collect, it doesn't change me. I can't add them to myself."

There were a lot of questions racing through Eric's head at the moment. He chose the one that was least likely to give him emotional damage. "Why did you agree to come to DCOM with me?"

"Because I was bored. I think I told you as much the first time you asked me."

"Oh, right." He had expected her to say no when he first brought it up. It was a strange whim to begin with. Eric wasn't exactly sure why he had wanted to do it himself. It was just... something to be a part of. Something bigger than himself. If the next step on the mission was to actually go to Mars, well, then, his name would be in history books, as one of the first test subjects in the initial experiment. It was just... something that mattered. For once in his life he wanted to do something that mattered.

"And I mean, it was interesting," Mira continued. "Whatever else you could say about the experience, it wasn't boring."

"No, trauma is a lot of things, but it isn't boring," Eric said, a bit sarcastically. Mira didn't seem to notice. Eric sighed, rubbing his face. "Why are you telling me this, anyway? Why confess now?"

"Because I didn't want to lie to you?" Mira asked. "No, that's not true. It's more that I wanted to tell you something, and you need to have that context to understand what I'm trying to say."

"What is it?"

"I'm getting to it." She took another step closer, and sank down to sit on the bed. Eirc stayed pressed up against the far wall. Mira counted out her points on her fingers. "Alright. You died. I killed you. Shot you in the head. And it wasn't to get out. It wasn't to give you a quick death. It was an opportunity - finally, a perfect opportunity to touch your heart." She curled her hand up into a fist, running the fingers of the opposite hand over her knuckles. "It's easier than you think to get through the body. Once there's no resistance it's like digging through a melon. I usually use a knife, at least to get to the heart, but once you were dead I just dug in with my bare hands."

"Damn.” Eric swallowed, his heart hammering. Apparently it had heard all of this talk about itself, and wanted to make itself known. “You did this all in front of Sean?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't usually do it in front of people, but that's only because usually people would send me to jail if they saw me digging into a body. I knew that Sean couldn't do anything about it, so I didn't mind."

"But still, he's a kid... that's not something you should do in front of a kid."

"Is he a kid?" Mira tilted her head. "You didn't seem to think so in the game."

"Well, I wasn't in the best state of mind in the game," Eric admitted. "I know better now."

"Either way, I don't think Sean minded. He didn't try to stop me, at least." She smiled, more to herself than to him. "It was the best one. You know that? Every heart that I've held, most of them are filled with fear, or with anger. Bad thoughts. Not you. You only had..." She stopped, thinking for a bit. "You really loved me, didn't you," she said softly.

"Yes," Eric said. "I do."

"I didn't really understand why," she continued. "I mean, of course I didn't. I don't know why anyone would love anyone. I don't think I gave you any reason to. But even when I killed you, you held no grudge. It makes no sense. Why are you like this?"

"Why am I... like this?" It was a strange question to Eric. "I mean, I guess I just am. Is it weird to care about someone?"

"When it's like this, yes. I've killed a lot of people. A lot of boyfriends. A few girlfriends, too. You're the only one who loved me at the end." She smiled again, worrying her thumb over her knuckles. "It felt nice. It felt so, so nice. I think... I think I felt... happy."

"Oh. Well, that's good. I'm glad."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're glad? I killed you. I don't think that you should be this happy about it."

"I wouldn't say that I'm happy about it, but... well, either way, I'm not dead now. I'm alive. That's what matters, I think."

"You're alive," Mira repeated to herself, her voice sounding dreamy and distant.

Eric slowly approached her, his hand held up in case of any sudden movements. "Um, was that what you wanted to tell me, or...?"

"Oh, you wanted more?" Mira asked playfully. "Should I tell you about the other time I killed you?"

"The other time?"

"No, I guess that wasn't everything," Mira said, before he could ask anything else. "But it's... it's what you said before. You're alive. I've touched your heart, and you're still alive. That's never happened before." She swallowed. Eric got the impression that she was nervous. It wasn't something that most people would be able to notice, but Eric had spent a lot of time watching Mira's face. He was starting to pick up on her cues. "I mean, you are the only person who's heart I've touched who is still walking around, who I can talk to after the fact. It means that... you're the only person who I can really, truly understand."

"Oh," Eric said weakly. "Neat."

"Neat?" She raised an eyebrow. "Is that it?"

"I'm sorry, I guess I just... don't really know what that means."

"It means that you are the only person who I can love."

"...Oh." Eric's breath caught in his throat. He rushed over to her side. "You mean it? You love me?"

"I said that I have the possibility of loving you now," Mira corrected. "But, yes. I guess I do."

"Really?" Eric could feel a genuine grin spreading across his face, almost without his control.

"You shouldn't be so excited," Mira said. "But yes. That's what I wanted to tell you. So..." She stood, taking a few steps away from him and the bed. Eric frowned, confused. "I don't know what you want to do now," she continued. "I don't even know what I want to do now. But if you want to leave I don't blame you."

"Leave? Why would I want to leave? Mira, wait." Eric scrambled after her. "Are you breaking up with me?"

Mira paused, half turned away. "I don't think that's my call to make," she said. She turned back to him and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. Her body language was defensive, even though her voice was still even. Now Eric felt like he was the one who had to approach her carefully, like a frightened animal, one who was liable to bite.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the one who has done things wrong," she said. "I think murder probably ranks above, like, cheating when it comes to relationship do's and don'ts. I've told you everything, and now you have a choice to make. Either leave, break up with me, and walk away - and I don't blame you if you do. Or, you could stay, I guess. I won't stop you either way."

"Well, I want to stay, then," Eric said immediately.  "That's the one that I choose."

"Why?" She cocked her head. "That doesn't make sense."

"Does love make sense?"

"No. I just told you."

"No, I-” He sighed. “Not just to you, I mean-"

"I mean, this doesn't really follow the rules of a relationship, as far as I understand them."

“Maybe not, but Mira- it’s fine.” He approached her slowly, reaching a hand out. She didn't move, either towards him or away. She just allowed him to come. He reached down and took her hand. "For the rules of a relationship, I think... maybe relationships don’t need to have rules. Maybe we can just take it slowly, day by day."

"But I killed you."

"You're so hung up on that."

"I think you should be a little more hung up on it," Mira said. "I mean, you need a serial killer to tell you that you shouldn't be with someone who wants to kill you."

"Well, do you still want to kill me?"

Mira shook her head. "There wouldn't really be much of a point anymore."

"So, yeah. I'm not in danger."

"I might kill other people, though," she said. "Maybe people you know. People you care about."

"You won't," Eric said quietly. "You can't. There's no one left. No one but you who I care about."

"That's pretty sad," Mira said.

"Yeah, well. You’ve killed people before. Do you feel sorry about it?"

Mira shook her head. "That's the thing. I'm not. I would do it again. It's been the only thing that has worked, to let me look into what it might be like to be an actual functional human being. Do you know what that's like?"

"To be an actual functioning human being?" Truth be told, Eric didn't, not really. More and more his coping mechanisms had been failing him, letting in more of the cold, the fear, the emptiness. Deep and dark, like the depths of the lake. He didn't know how much longer he would last on his own. He didn't want to be alone anymore.

"I should feel sorry, shouldn't I?" Mira asked. "If I was really feeling things, then remorse should be one of them, right? What if all of this was just me deluding myself, and I actually didn't steal feelings from the dying hearts of my dead boyfriends."

"Ha," Eric laughed, softly, but Mira looked serious, as though this was a legitimate concern. He shook his head. "Well, I don't think that you would ever have felt things the same as most people, even if you did go about it a different way. As far as I've seen, every person feels things a different way. I don't know, I'm not really an expert on these kinds of things. So I don't really know if you should feel sorry, or if you should feel anything, really. As long as you are happy."

"Hmm," Mira hummed. She considered him. Eric was close enough to touch her now, but he didn’t. "I don't know if I'm happy. I simply am. But I don't want to change. I think, if I had to choose, I would still choose the road that led me to here. Or rather, I don't know who I would be if I wasn't who I was right now. What if I was worse? What if I was just a complete monster, with no remorse?"

"I thought you said that you weren't sorry?"

“I'm not. But... I don't know. I can't say I didn't enjoy it, because I did, but I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have to. There was a reward in it for me. Without that, there would be no reason for it. Right? I wouldn't have killed if there wasn't a reason for it?"

"I don't know, Mira," Eric said honestly. "Only you can know that."

Mira frowned, and looked down. Eric hesitated, and then slowly reached out and took her hand. Mira let him. "Hey. Okay. So, you've killed people in the past. Fine. Do you still want to kill people now?"

Eric watched her take a deep breath, and then let it out with a sigh. "No," she said quietly. "I don't think I do. I mean, I can remember what it felt like, now. It fucking hurt.”

"Okay, so. There you go." Eric smiled gently. "No more murders. That's really all that we can ask of you, I think.”

"Excuse me for asking, but are you really okay with this?" Mira asked, raising an eyebrow. "Dating a murderer? Murder, in general? You should probably be calling the cops right about now. You aren't reacting normally to this at all."

"No, I... I don't think I react normally to most things, if I'm being honest." Eric scratched the back of his head. "Like I said, emotions are difficult for everyone. Mine are... mine are weird."

"...I don't think they're weird," Mira said.

Eric smiled. "Thank you." Their hands hung down between them, intertwined. They could try for more. But for right now, this was enough.

[black-streak]

Waiting for the Worms - The Trial

Part 18

I've just been staring at this completed chapter for thirty minutes. I've been working up to this moment for so long and to see it finally written is just. Insane. (No this is not the last chapter. There is much more to come)

By the way!!!! This chapter was not suppose to end this way! Y'all influenced this shit! Goading me into it, I swear.

CLOSED List of Beggarts I regularly feed (I'm running out of names to call you): @northernbluetongue @thethirdwheelfriend @shizukiryuu @theatreandcomicfreak @michellemagic @karategirl119 @moonlightstar64 @my-name-is-michell @mystery-5-5 @zalladane @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm @miraculousdisapointment @dorkus-minimus @jardimazul @allthebooksandcrannies @g-arya @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @persephonescat @mycupisbroken @luciferge @18-fandoms-unite-08 @dawnwave16 @alwaysreblogneverpost @kris-pines04 @emjrabbitwolf @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @weird-pale-blonde-person @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @kokotaru @naclychilli @slytherinhquinn @clumsy-owl-4178 @ladybug-182 @darkthunder1589 @evil-elf16 @dast218 @lysslovsanime @emilytopaz @naoryllis @iloontjeboontje @thepeacetea @danielslilangel @finallyaniguana @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @vixen-uchiha @yuulxd @bleeding-heart-romantic @magic-inthe-stars @st0rmy-w1th1n

~---~

He'll be after Jason seeing as the new Robin described him and he definitely knows about Joker's death.

They watched as the shadow took off across the rooftops, occasionally tossing out a grapple or swan diving off a ledge. Four blocks off, another figure, much brighter and attention grabbing, took a similar route, small body taking to the sky seemingly not taking notice of the eyes on him. Or perhaps used to it.

You'll watch the bird, keep him distracted. Nothing extreme enough to catch the other's attention. Just hold off any interference.

A dozen mice ran along the sides of gutters and along the alleyways below, awaiting their signal. They kept the brighter figure in their sights, drawing his attention with slight rustles and squeaks from unexpected places. Just loud and weird enough to avoid interest in any other movement in the area, drawing out a natural curiosity and investigative need in their target.

You'll play as backup. As soon as we instigate our target, I expect you to help keep the Replacement within ear range but incapable of assisting.

A fox dashed across the streets, keeping a close eye on the game between the bright figure and the mice scattered about. Any time the bird snuck up on where one hid, she hid the mouse in illusions, sometimes a real rat, other times a startled, hissing cat. 

Tail swishing in a twitchy dance behind her, she awaited the main event from her perch.

You two will take to the sidelines, backup if it should come to blows. Otherwise, keep everyone updated on the others' positions and monitor the situation.

A cat slinking around corners kept an eye on all of the players, including the two unseen by the rest, coordinating positions and ensuring no one moved off course, uncomfortable in knowing a double agent held eyes in the sky and taking precautions to avoid cameras as she whispered soft directions into a comm, made by their miraculouses and impossible to hack due to the ancient magic encasing it.

By her side, a dragon crossed with a horse hovered in a tense side to side sway, awaiting her command. The other kept on tiptoe, knowing the call to assist could come at any point and from any direction. In the end, their disappearance back into the night at the end of all of this relied on her. Waiting too long differentiated between success and potential capture.

We'll take on the Bat. After all, I think it's high time he met my soulmate.

With baited breath, they watched as a shrouded man dropped in front of the Bat, making the figure twist at the last second to avoid a headlong collision. Batman turned back on the spot, dropping into a crouch and launching towards the man. The man dropped onto his back, kicking upward into a stomach and using the momentum to launch Batman across the roof while rolling back to a stand. He stayed facing away, though they saw his head tilt, listening to the almost silence behind him. As a flash of silver flung towards his back, he easily spun off to the side, dodging a barrage of batarangs as Batman methodically tossed them while placing himself closer and closer to the other before moving in to initiate hand to hand combat. The man seemed to take this in stride, shifting into the new pattern.

Across the rooftops, Robin took note of the fight and moved to aid. He made it three blocks before a fox dropped in front of him, growling. Taken aback, but knowing not to allow the distraction, he attempted to grapple upwards, only to find the grapple gone, in the teeth of a mouse like figure, taking off away from him, other mice figures crawling about his feet, holding him in place as the fox watched on, teeth bared in a silent warning. Keeping an eye on the strange creatures about him, he looked back to Batman, startling at the realization that he recognized his attacker. Jason. Suddenly he remembered the strange abilities of the lady from the night before and realized the creatures holding him captive where meant to keep him from interfering. As he made to move anyways, a voice in his ear on a private channel spoke up, asking him to stay still. Agent A.

"What's going on, A?"

"You'll see."

The figures continued on until the Bat begin to advance harder, looking to restrain his opponent, calling out to him, having deducted whom the figure is by this point.

"Jason stop!" Right as a fist went too fast to block, aimed straight to the man's nose, a cord wrapped around his fist, yanking in back. As Batman began to turn towards the source, a punch came to his face, bringing him back front and center. A possible second cord wrapped around his other wrist and the backs of his knees were kicked out from under him.

The others watched as a Ladybug held a yoyo taut, strings in a Y formation, the focal point centered between the Bat's shoulder blades to evenly distribute the tension. The Ladybug looped the yoyo over a pipe and pulled up until his arm bent back and upwards without tipping his torso down. If he tried anything, the bug could simply yank him airborne. The Bat choose to focus onto the man in front of him for the moment.

"Jason-"

"I'm not Jason."

We should switch. I have more experience with the Pit Madness than you. If I'm in your body, I can hold the entirety of it while you get a reprieve to focus on the mission. To have a clear mind while confronting him.

"What?" He demanded.

A sharp, feminine voice spoke up behind him, loud enough for the others to hear.

"I am."

Batman froze in his spot on his knees as the figure that looked like Jason sat down in front of him.

"Hello Bruce. It's good to meet you officially. Though I suppose I've known you much longer than you've known me." The lower, masculine voice was offset by its' soft lilting tone.

Despite his brain whirling with the information, he shoved it aside, firmly refusing to put it together himself.

"You're lying."

"She's not," the voice from behind moved closer, the yoyo secured on their hip to prevent his movement but free up the hands and gripped his shoulders in a crushing grip, "You see, Bruce, I hadn't been with you long enough to trust you with the secret of my having a soulmate. And you never knew me well enough to tell when we switched. Some detective you are, hmm?"

"So what, that makes this okay?" He growled.

"Patience," the figure in front of him smirked softly.

"Getting caught by the Joker at that moment, that was my own dumbass fault. You not arriving on time isn't your fault. I could live with that, but that isn't the end. I want you to look into the eyes in front of you, feel how small the presence behind you is. How tiny and young, despite being seventeen. I want you to look her in the eyes and know that she was only fourteen when she was launched into my body where she was beaten to a pulp by the Joker. Blown up. The connection broke. Then because it wasn't her body, she sat in my corpse for months before the resurrection. Had to crawl her way out of a grave and to a hospital."

The team tensed in the distance, having not heard the full story before now. Robin's eyes blew wide behind the mask, the tension in his body going slack in horror.

"Do you see that swirl of green in my blue eyes? How they look almost teal? That's from when the League threw her into the Lazarus Pits. She's combating insanity as we speak. And yet even with the healing effect it had, you can see the scars all over. There's an autopsy mark as well."

The shoulders in Jason's hands shook with his words and he looked up at Mari who seemed calm, letting the man stare at her and take in her reality.

"And none of that is truly your fault. But you know what is?" Marinette spoke up now, "That a fifteen and fourteen year old were ever put into that kind of danger to begin with. What's the likelihood of either of us ever falling onto Joker's radar without your placing us in the costume? Without making us Robin? Do you think Jason would've become a target had you not decided it was perfectly acceptable to allow children to fight criminals?"

"Jason was troubled, he needed someplace to put that anger. Something to let out-"

"Many children are troubled or angry. Do you know what other parents don't do? Allow that teen angst to turn into taking on the adult underworld. But sure, we'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Explain then why you couldn't care enough for Jason, for any potential child's life enough to create a permanent solution to our murderer? How many people, how many innocent kids is the Joker's life worth to you?"

"You obviously care more for the clown than us," Jason added.

"That's not true!"

"Then why? Why was my grave barely marked?"

"Two sentences in the Tuesday local obituaries."

"Swept under the rug to be forgotten."

"While you hunt us down for killing the clown. We deserve to be hunted down for avenging our own death."

"Meanwhile you do no such thing to the one who killed your supposed precious Robin. Did we mean so little to you? I wonder if the newest Robin means anymore than we did."

"So you're angry you were replaced?" Batman barked out, overwhelmed by their constant barrage of accusations.

Mari reached forward, forcing the man to look into the teal of those eyes swirling in front of him, watching him flinch away at knowing who she was, "You misunderstand us purposefully. It's not that we were replaced. It's that you know a child died for your cause and you still insist on placing another in harm's way. You take broken children desperate for guidance, for connection, for anything and abuse that position over them. You as their guardian are meant to keep them from harm's way. To protect them from the horrors of the world until they're old enough to face it in their own way. Not throw them in a costume, train them into weapons and then let them fight the most dangerous criminals the city could offer. Yes, we made some stupid choices of our own, but you set us up to even have those choices presented to us. Does it even occur to you that had we not shown up to save the little bird, another child would have died under your care? Does that mean nothing to you?"

The Bat growled, trying to break free of his binds. The two hid grins, knowing him unaware of the young eyes listening desperately for his answer.

"You certainly haven't thanked us for keeping him alive. Does it mean less to you that he is alive then it does that Joker is dead."

"You know the rules! We don't kill!"

He fell for it. He might as well have told the new Robin his life was forfeit to his cause. The mice scurried off Robin's feet from where he stayed, a rooftop over as the fox curved around his calves in an almost apologetic movement.

"Jason swore to abide by your rules. I never did. I was fourteen when I died due to your negligence. I was innocent. I was a happy little girl with dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Now I can't even keep the voices in my head from screaming in my ears at all hours of the day. But the only thing you truly care about in the end is yourself. I fear for any child that gets dragged into your mess. And I will do whatever it takes to protect them from the inevitability of your cruelty."

With that, she stood from her spot and took off into the shadows, a cat, dragon and mice following out of sight. The fox looked at the boy who stood broken on the rooftop and nudged him, dropping the illusion of an animal and holding her hand out in offerance. He looked back at the thrashing Bat.

Jason, taking hold of the yoyo once more and tightening his grip, leant closer, "I don't blame the Joker for our death. I blame you."

With that, he used the yoyo to fling Batman in the opposite direction, taking off in an off kilter path towards the others. Looking back at the patient fox figure, hand still waiting for his choice, he hesitated.

"The choice is yours, Timothy. I'll support you no matter what," A's voice spoke softly through the comms.

Exhaling slowly, he took her hand.

She lead him to their rendezvous point where he saw the mice form into one person, the two from the roof and two other unknown figures. As he looked at them, each gave a soft nod in turn before the one opened up a blue portal before them, the fox letting go of his hand to follow the others through. Eventually only him and the ladybug themed one remained. Jason.

"Come on, replacement. You can stay with us however long you like."

With the smallest smile of gratitude and the encouraging words of Alfred in mind, he followed the other through, the portal closing behind them.

[things-we-used-tc-share]

The Town That Never Was

[Image Description: a long road with decaying plants on either side, with text overlayed that reads ‘the town that never was’ in white. A white icon of a clock is placed underneath the text /end ID]

I’m re-releasing the first four chapters as I’ve edited them! 

Ships: DLAMP/CALMD, Remile. 

Warnings: Cheating is mentioned at some point during this fic in the past, some slight horror themes but in a comedic sort of way, kidnapping is mentioned but again this is like a comedy-horror so there’s not a lot of suspense. 

Plot: In Hell, a town of roughly 1,000 people, nothing that is supposed to happen ever happens and everything that physically should happen, does. Logan, a scientist, goes there in hopes of studying the world’s most unfortunate, and miraculous, town. But no one who ever enters ever finds the will to leave again.

--

Chapter One: The man who can see everything, and the scientist from normality. 

Logan has a habit that mostly includes acting first and thinking about his safety a few hours later, usually when he has a burned hand or a broken bone, and then it’s followed by a “worth it!” as he accepts his own recklessness in favour of science. Today is one of those reckless days. Well, so far it’s been a reckless week (and a reckless life), as he’s been driving for about four days now.

He sees the “Welcome to Hell,” sign that has been overgrown by an abundance of tree roots despite the fact there are no trees for miles. The blue-eyed scientist sighs to himself absently as he gets the foreboding feeling that the next week of his life, should things go the way he planned, is going to be a series of these events and as it stands he has been driving far too long to hop out of his car near sunset to run tests on tree roots that should not exist.

The sun is, by the way, setting far too early for this time of year.

As he gets within the town’s boundaries, his car radio fizzles and automatically tunes into the suddenly only available radio station; Logan assumes this is harmless and simply listens to the soft indie beats that are now playing with no issue. The sky; where the sun is setting, is painted in a brilliant red, whilst the sun itself looks to be a somewhat magnificent ball of fire (which, of course, it is, but it doesn’t usually look literally as a ball of fire, you know, the kind when some idiot in class decides to bring a lighter to school and sets the waste paper bin on fire? yeah, that sort of fire). There are tall, black pylons everywhere, and the buildings seem old and are either wooden or Greek, which is interesting because as far as Logan knows, the ancient Greeks never quite got to America, yet these buildings certainly seem very old. Impossibly old.

He already has an infinitesimal amount of questions, and he’s aware that (as warned) that small pile is going to grow over the course of his stay here.

The music stops playing and a voice tunes in over the static waves of the radio “Welcome back listeners,” The dulcet, deep tones rumble against Logan’s ears and if voices could be a point of attraction then Logan would say this is an attractive voice. “A special welcome to the mildly ominous white economical car that just rolled into town full of what appears to be an impressive amount of science equipment, I don’t know who you are but you are apparently quite handsome, so I’m certainly hoping I’ll know you at some point,” Logan flushes a little and as if the radio presenter could see him, he chuckles. “We’ll run into each other, anyway, to the regular listeners this is your usual news on the town,”

Logan pulls up outside the place he had booked to stay but as he turns off the car he can’t help but lean back to listen to the radio presenter some more. “The sun is on fire, but more so than usual, the police advise you don’t look directly into it, or do, I’m not the boss of you and you can make your own decisions for yourself,” Logan snorts a little, shaking his head full of dark curls “Three strange cult-like figures have appeared in the outskirts of the town, on the west side entrance, they don’t appear to be doing anything but simply standing there, if someone has recently attempted to summon a demon or any otherwise ominous presence, please report it to Roman, our town’s exorcist who will help you deal with this problem, unfortunately until he knows exactly what they are, there is nothing he can do to help, thank you Roman, for being as useless as ever,”

The scientist laughs then and finally turns off the radio, grabbing his bag out of the back amongst a whole load of gadgets as he walks up to the front door. He can hear voices on the other side before the front door is thrown open extravagantly to reveal a young man with unruly dirty blonde curls. Logan, who hadn’t even knocked yet, blinks with a perturbed expression “Hello?”

“Hello!” The stranger replies with a smile a little too wide and hazel eyes a little too bright. “Don’t mind Remy, he turns into a cat when he’s anxious, but come on in!” Logan exhales deeply, cheeks puffing out as he shakes his head. “Oh yes, you’re an outsider, you’re probably not used to Hell standards of weird, sorry,” The man picks up the cat and places him on top of the counter before he moves around the other side “You’re staying for a week, yes?”

“That’s the plan,” Logan chuckles “...but I’m told plans don’t tend to work out here.”

“Oh no, they never do, all rooms are booked for at least a month just in case, I’ve added a few extra days on free of charge, we don’t tend to get many visitors so I doubt they’ll go amiss,” The man scans a keycard through the computer system, it fizzes slightly and he hits the side of it before trying again. “There you go, you’re in room 13,” He hands the keycard over “...and if you need me just ring,” he taps the phone “Phone number is on the bedside table.”

“Thank you....?”

“Oh! Emile, I’m Emile, that’s Remy, he’s not a cat, he just looks like one right now,” Remy blinks two wide golden eyes at Logan, he does certainly look like a cat. “He should be back to normal when he’s finished having a tantrum.” Remy hisses in response. “Have a nice night!”

Logan decides that he’s already reaching his limit with weird and he’s only been here maybe half an hour, although his watch has also mysteriously stopped working so there’s no real way to tell. He puts on his pyjamas, climbs into bed and tries to fall asleep.

It takes him an hour and a half to do so. Roughly.

--

When he wakes up the next morning, and finishes going through the usual human morning routine, he wanders downstairs to find a man who isn’t Emile sat on the chair behind the desk with headphones on. His name tag read “Remy,” and he’s wearing sunglasses inside. Otherwise he’s completely normal; a worn down leather jacket accompanying a black shirt and ripped jeans, hanging off a man who is of normal height and stature for someone in his early 20′s.

“Sorry about being a cat when you got here,” Remy pulls an earphone out to speak, chewing on bubblegum as he does “...me and Emile were having a domestic, how is your room?”

“Adequate,” Logan replies, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “So the turning into a cat thing is that...genetic?” Remy laughs a little and shakes his head.

“In what world would that be genetic?” He kicks his feet off of the table and sits up a little straighter “No, it was a curse.” Logan nods slowly, wondering why one is less likely than the other, and then thinking that he doesn’t want to know why because then he would start thinking like a resident here, and that sounds like a nightmare. “We do have an exorcist, and he’s supposed to really be able to dabble in lots of different type of magic, but so far he’s been unsuccessful.”

The dark-haired scientist recalls the radio presenter from last night “Roman, right?” Remy nods in response.

The door opens then to let in a bright array of sunshine, and Remy scrunches his nose up in distaste, pushing his sunglasses even further up his nose as if that might have been possible. The man that is silhouetted against the door frame looks too bright, but as he speaks, Logan recognises the deep and soothing tone “Good morning, stranger.”

The door closes behind him and the man leans against the wall with a wide grin. His skin is tan, a caramel colour with light blonde hair that has been pushed to the side and back, exposing two-toned golden snake eyes. Logan is starting to regret his journey and coming here at all, and he is certainly not enjoying the way his own heart thunders in his chest, or the slight warmth to his cheeks. Perhaps it’s the sharp angles of the man’s jaw, the snakeskin that covers half of his face, or the gentle radiant glow this man has, but he is...astoundingly beautiful.

Weird shit, Logan can deal with, feelings? Not at all.

“Welcome to Hell, literally, that’s the name of this place. America’s most singularly, scientifically fucked town, where everything that shouldn’t happen, definitely does happen,” The man grins, dark eyes blinking. Logan blinks back, opens his mouth, and then decides he doesn’t have any words in his extensive vocabulary to explain this. “What brings such a handsome young man to the town?”

“Science,” Logan mutters. “I came to investigate the town, scientifically this place is fascinating, a hive of energy that exists nowhere else.” He straightens his lab coat and holds up a device that had been in his hand. “So far I’ve discovered extremely unusual readings, and...” Logan talks, he explains, and the stranger looks at him with an incredibly dopey look.

“Uh-huh,” he mutters as the scientist talks extremely enigmatically, all strangeness and shyness are forgotten as he loses himself in his interest.

“Sorry, I didn’t ask what your name was, I don’t think I caught it last night.” The tan-skinned man smiles softly before shaking his head.

“You didn’t,” Logan doesn’t know how he knows this. “My name is Deceit, but most people call me Dee, I run the radio show,” The scientist smiles and nods, offering a hand for him to shake. Deceit practically purred at the contact to his gloved hand; he can’t help it when someone so pretty comes wandering in, all fair skin and dark hair with such...enticing cobalt eyes, he has to blush a little.

But the moment of bliss is interrupted as the door opens again, slamming behind the second newcomer of the morning. Remy, who clearly does not like having visitors, sighs in annoyance and looks up to a dark-skinned man with long hair and is..dripping in jewellery. The man is holding a book in his hand and he goes to speak before he looks up, only to see Deceit (in which his gaze turns sour) and then Logan (in which his eyebrow quirks, a slow smirk crosses his face and the book snaps shut in his hand). “Remy,” The stranger has an accent that sounded to be somewhat partially American. “You have a visitor?”

The cat-like man sighs. “It would appear I have quite a few,” he unplugs the other earphone and tosses them on the table “What do you want, Roman? I told you at this point this curse isn’t that bad, plus Emile finds it harder to shout at me when I’m knee-high to a grasshopper and fluffy,”

That would be some sound logic, Logan thinks to himself, ...if he were not talking about turning into a cat. “That’s fine, there is clearly someone much more interesting to talk to,” The elegant man holds out a hand and wears a grin that is almost a little too revealing. 29 years of not being flirted with and today it happens twice one straight after another.

“As if your two boyfriends weren’t enough Roman, you hop on the poor fresh meat like he’s dessert,” Deceit cuts in, a displeased look on his face as he folds his arms across his chest.

“He certainly looks like dessert,” Roman retorts. Logan thinks blushing is going to become a hobby whilst he’s here and looks over at Remy for help.

“Dee, don’t you have a radio show to host? Roman, don’t you have a demon to maintain? Logan I have no idea what you’re here to do but I’m sure it’s more than being the ruler in a dick-measuring contest between two insufferable assholes.” There’s a beat. Roman has the audacity to blush as if he hadn’t been saying some fairly explicit things by Logan’s standards, but a moment ago.

“Oh well, I’m here too...”

“Logan, dear, you’re cute, but I spent an entire night as a cat, and my better half, who is, by the way, all of my patience and will to listen to other people, is at work, right now I’m as bitchy as I can get, please don’t try and explain to me science unless it’s the science of how to make a coffee so strong my heart will stop...” Remy’s glasses slide down his nose, revealing two bright gold cats eyes, and they narrow as they stare at Logan. “All of you, out.”

“I’ll bring you a coffee, Rem,” Roman mutters as he starts towards the door.

“Thanks, Roman.” He doesn’t sound very thankful at all.

--

Roman offers to show Logan around town, he asks about the device in the scientist’s hand but anything he says is completely lost on the bejewelled man. Who is, by the way, wearing a lot of jewellery. His hands are covered in rings that have thin chains hanging from them, connecting to bracelets or each other. His nose, lip and eyebrows are pierced twice and the entire left side of his ear has small chains hanging off of them.

He looks like a prince.

“This is the coffee shop, my boyfriends both work here, and they live upstairs too, fair warning, one of them is a demon,” Logan nods a little numbly, unsure what else he was expecting really. Does anything normal happen in this town at all?

They walk in to see a scrawny and sickly pale man behind the counter, to the point where Logan would worry about anaemia until he saw the veins that were completely onyx running underneath the skin. The demon, then. “Welcome to Hell’s Pat-isserie, what may I get you?” His voice sounds bored, but then he looks up and sees Roman and his face lights up.

“Just a latte please,” Logan smiles nervously.

“That will be the cost of your soul please,” The demon’s voice darkens and shakes like lightning, Logan has to admit he felt a slight spike of fear before both the pale man and Roman start laughing.

“Virgil I keep telling you to stop doing that!” Logan looks up at the sound of a new voice, only to inhale sharply by what he’s greeted with. A man, with soft, freckled cheeks and a round face that has so clearly smiled so much, bounces up with stray blonde curls falling around his face. He bats a tea towel at the demon (Virgil, Logan assumes), before fixing Logan with a wide and blinding smile.

Blushing is indeed becoming a hobby.

“Roman, you’re late, help me with the coffee machine won’t you love? It’s jammed again the stupid bloody thing.” The man’s voice is as soft as his appearance dictates, and he hands the tea towel to Roman, who vaults over the counter to help. Then his attention focuses on Logan and he’s not entirely sure his heart can handle those pale blue eyes. “Sorry about these two, they’re a handful, just a latte was it? That’ll be $3.50,” Logan hands over the money with a dazed expression. As he’s handed his change, he can’t resist asking.

“What’s your name?”

“Patton, you?”

“Logan.” Patton smiles again, and Logan can’t help but liken it to the first flowers blooming in spring, and other cheesy metaphors that people come up with when they think about love at first sight.

“Well, Logan, take a seat, and we’ll bring your coffee over shortly,” A pause “...and thanks for keeping Roman out of trouble, it’s practically his day job,”

The scientist can’t help but absently think he’d hold back an inconclusive amount of danger to see Patton smile again. Then he reminds himself that he has a job to do; even if the rate of his own heart around these men is the strangest thing that has happened to him since he arrived in Hell. He can't afford diversions.