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#but at least it was a relatively WARM tornado
raychelsnr · 11 months
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The active August in the country pushed us pretty far above average for the year on the tornado count, but a quiet fall is moving us back toward average again. This year has gone in fits and spurts, with us spending time above and below average at different points.
The exciting thing about this year is that the typical ‘peak’ of tornado season in May and June was relatively quiet, but we’ve had so much ‘off-schedule’ activity throughout the year that we’ve been able to stay on track largely. This trend honestly fits with what I think has been one of the most unique overall yearly seasons I can remember in some time, with the Spring featuring nearly constant low-level threat days that were chaseable (and rewarding) but very few tornadoes — with major outbreaks on either side of Spring.
Looking ahead, the pattern overall doesn’t favor a lot of tornadoes anytime in the next 7-10 days at least — so we may slide even closer to average towards the end of the year if the pattern were to persist for much longer.
Still, there is a lot of warm air forecast this week for the Plains — and the Gulf does remain anomalously warm. It will only take one potent, slow-moving trough to bring that moisture back north with a significant risk of tornadoes in tow — so it is best to stay vigilant as we head toward the end of the year.
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sa7abnews · 2 months
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Tropical Storm Debby slows down, dumps on southeast US
New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/tropical-storm-debby-slows-down-dumps-on-southeast-us/
Tropical Storm Debby slows down, dumps on southeast US
By Russ Bynum and Jeffrey Collins | Associated Press SAVANNAH, Ga. — Tropical Storm Debby brought prolonged downpours and flooding to the southeastern United States on Tuesday and was expected to hover over the Atlantic Ocean for the next few days, then boomerang back onto the mainland, leading to potentially record-setting rainfall. The storm was forecast to move relatively slowly across some of America’s most historic Southern cities, including Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center has forecast up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain in some areas. Significant flooding in one Savannah neighborhood led to people trudging through water nearly to their waists Tuesday. Mayor Van Johnson said in a social media video that the city was making resources available to the residents. “The water is serious,” Johnson said in the video. “For those who felt this was just a rainstorm, that’s not it.” The storm’s center was 10 miles (15 kilometers) southeast of Savannah, the hurricane center said in its 2 p.m. advisory Tuesday. It was moving east-northeast at just 5 mph (7 kph), and right along the coastline near Georgia’s Tybee Island. “Tropical cyclones always produce heavy rain, but normally as they’re moving, you know, it doesn’t accumulate that much in one place,” Richard Pasch of the hurricane center said. “But when they move very slowly, that’s the worst situation.” Tropical cyclones derive their energy from warm water, so Debby has weakened over land, but part of the circulation was interacting with water over the Atlantic, Pasch said. The storm’s center could restrengthen Wednesday before it moves inland again Thursday over South Carolina, he said. The National Weather Service reported 6.68 inches (17 centimeters) of rainfall in Savannah on Monday. That’s already a month’s worth of rain in a single day: In all of August 2023, the city got 5.56 inches (14.1 centimeters) of rain. Flash flood warnings were issued in Savannah and Charleston, among other areas of coastal Georgia and South Carolina. Both cities announced overnight curfews as the rains picked up. Tornadoes knocked down trees and damaged a few homes on Kiawah Island and Edisto Island between Savannah and Charleston. A Walmart, an Applebee’s and other businesses were damaged and several vehicles flipped in Moncks Corner about 30 miles (48 kilometers) inland from Charleston. Charleston police barricaded all eight roads leading into the 350-year-old city built on a marshy peninsula Monday night after urging nonresidents to leave, and said the curfew would remain through Tuesday, letting only essential workers and emergency personnel pass through. The Myrtle Beach area in South Carolina was seeing some of the heaviest rain bands move through on Tuesday. Crooked Hammock Brewery in North Myrtle Beach decided to close early. “Flash flooding is super unpredictable, and we’d rather our staff and guests be home and safe,” marketing coordinator Georgena Dimitriadis said. The flooding wasn’t limited to coastal areas. Water started spilling over the top of a small damn near Walterboro, South Carolina, but it didn’t crumble, Colleton County Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief David Greene said in a video briefing. An apartment complex in Walterboro, roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Charleston, did flood and a number of roads in the county were blocked either by standing water or fallen trees, Greene said. Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Weakening winds made it a tropical storm again, but its slow forward movement and the ocean water it picked up caused intense flooding in places. At least five people have died due to the storm, either in traffic accidents or from fallen trees. About 500 people were rescued Monday from flooded homes in Sarasota, Florida, a beach city popular with tourists, the local police department said. Just north of Sarasota, Manatee County officials said 186 people were rescued. State officials said it may be two weeks before staff are able to fully assess storm damage in parts of north central Florida, as they wait for river levels there to crest. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Tuesday that the threat wasn’t over. “You’re going to see the tributaries rise. That’s just inevitable. How much? We’ll see,” he said. “It may be that it’s not flooded today and it could be flooded tomorrow.” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp shared a similar message Tuesday morning, warning of more rain and flooding in the coming days: “Do not let this storm lull you to sleep,” he said. More than 155,000 customers remained without power in Florida and Georgia on Tuesday morning, down from more than 350,000, according to PowerOutage.us and Georgia Electric Membership Corp. More than 20,000 others were without power in South Carolina early Tuesday. President Joe Biden approved emergency declarations making federal disaster assistance available to Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Related Articles
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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency Monday. Several areas along the state’s coastline are prone to flooding, such as Wilmington and the Outer Banks, according to the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program. North Carolina and South Carolina have dealt with three catastrophic floods from tropical systems in the past nine years, all causing more than $1 billion in damage. Forecasters said Debby could make another landfall near Charleston on Thursday. The hurricane center predicts the system could move up the middle of North Carolina, through Virginia and into the Washington, D.C. area by Saturday. Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press contributors include Jeff Martin and Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; and Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia.
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weather-usa · 4 months
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Here's why the US experiences more tornadoes than any other country.
Editor’s Note: The CNN Original Series “Violent Earth with Liev Schreiber” delves into the increasingly frequent and severe weather events driven by our changing climate. The premiere episode, focusing on tornadoes, airs on Sunday, June 2 at 9pm ET/PT.
The US averages over 1,150 tornadoes annually, surpassing any other country. In fact, this figure exceeds the combined total of tornadoes in Canada, Australia, and all European countries.
Every state in the US has experienced at least one tornado, with some states encountering dozens each year. The US stands out in producing a significant number of tornadoes, especially the more violent ones.
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On average, tornadoes cause 73 fatalities per year in the US. In contrast, Europe, where tornadoes tend to be weaker, experiences an estimated 10 to 15 fatalities annually.
Some states are particularly prone to deadly tornadoes. Texas leads with an average of 140 tornadoes each year, followed by Kansas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. However, the sheer number of tornadoes doesn't always correlate with the death toll. For instance, Alabama averages 42 tornadoes per year—far fewer than Texas—yet it tops the list for tornado fatalities, with an average of 14 deaths annually, nearly double that of Missouri, which has eight deaths per year.
The time of day and the topography where a tornado occurs significantly impact the fatality rate.
In Alabama and other Southern states, the landscape often includes rolling hills, plateaus, and a higher density of trees compared to the Plains states like Kansas, Texas, and Nebraska, where tornadoes can often be seen from miles away. The greater visibility in the Plains allows for faster reporting of tornadoes, providing more time for people to be warned and seek shelter.
Southern states such as Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas experience more tornadoes overnight than other states. This leads to higher fatalities since many people are asleep and unaware of an approaching tornado.
See Weather Forecast for Utah today:
https://devpost.com/software/weather-forecast-for-utah
“Tornadoes in the Southeast tend to be more dangerous than their Great Plains counterparts,” says Brandon Miller, CNN Meteorologist. “There are several reasons for this, both meteorological and geographic. Southeastern tornadoes often travel faster, driven by a swifter jet stream.”
All these factors contribute to a higher fatality rate in Southern states compared to the Plains. However, these regions share a common feature: ideal atmospheric conditions for tornado formation.
“The basic ingredients for severe thunderstorms that can produce tornadoes include warm, moist air near the ground, relatively dry, cool air aloft (about 10,000 to 30,000 feet), and horizontal winds in the storm environment that increase with height and change direction, blowing from the equator near the ground and from the west aloft,” explains Dr. Harold Brooks, senior scientist with the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory.
In the US, low-pressure systems pull warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cool, dry air from the Rocky Mountains or the High Desert in the southwest. The states situated between these regions are in an ideal location for severe weather to develop.
“No other place in the world has the combination of large warm water to the south and a wide, high range of mountains extending north to south to the west,” says Dr. Brooks. “All other tornado-prone regions have at least one suboptimal feature.”
The US leads the world in the number of tornadoes. While other countries, such as Germany, Australia, South Africa, eastern China, Japan, Bangladesh, and Argentina, also experience tornadoes, the disparity in numbers and fatalities is striking.
Despite Europe being comparable in size to the US, the frequency and fatality rates of tornadoes are significantly lower. From 2011 to 2020, the US averaged 1,173 tornadoes per year, whereas Europe averaged around 256. However, Dr. Pieter Groenemeijer, Director of the European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL), notes that the European figure may be underreported, particularly for weaker tornadoes in countries like France and the UK.
European Russia, west of 58 degrees East longitude, has the highest number of tornadoes annually in Europe, averaging 86. Germany follows with an average of 28 tornadoes per year.
A study on severe storms in Europe, published in December 2020, highlights that the peak density of tornado reports aligns with high population areas in Belgium, the Netherlands, and northern Germany. The study also reveals that thunderstorms are twice as frequent in the US, with up to four times more storm reports compared to Europe.
One commonality among most countries is the time of day when tornadoes occur, typically in the afternoon and early evening. However, the peak tornado season varies by region. In the US, spring is the peak season for tornado activity. In central and northern Europe, tornadoes are most common in the summer. The western and central Mediterranean regions see the most tornadoes in autumn, while the eastern Mediterranean experiences peak activity in winter.
See more:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/196044493/Weather-Forecast-for-California
Outside the US, Canada ranks second in the number of tornadoes, averaging about 100 per year.
Tornadoes are not exclusive to the Northern Hemisphere. Australia experiences dozens of tornadoes annually, and South Africa also reports tornado occurrences each year. In South America, there is a tornado hotspot known as the "pasillo de los tornados," which includes Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and parts of Brazil.
In New Zealand, tornadoes are relatively rare, with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research reporting an average of seven to ten moderate to strong tornado events annually.
Notably, tornadoes in the Southern Hemisphere typically rotate clockwise, opposite to the counterclockwise rotation of tornadoes in the Northern Hemisphere.
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pridewon · 2 years
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@tvrningout​ said:  sit.  for your muse to encourage mine to sit and rest. + lap.  for your muse to pull my muse onto their lap. ( for makiko and kuroo!! bc i can definitely see makiko running around the apartment stressed and doing a million things to distract herself until kuroo gets her to stop one way or the other :' )) ) (via the system of touch)
This has been going on for ten minutes already. Ten minutes are not that long a time, he supposes; but he would argue that time being too long or not enough is a pretty relative concept. Ten minutes is very short for a tv show, for instance... but it feels like an eternity when you’re watching your girlfriend just pacing across the apartment, picking up laundry that doesn’t need picking up here, washing dishes that have already been cleaned there, and otherwise being a tornado of... busy business. Busy as the proverbial bee - he would almost hear her buzz.
“Makiko...” He tries, a first time; arms crossed over his chest as he sits at the kitchen table, a cup of tea cooling down on the table (which Makiko decides to warm back up before he can even react). “Makiko.” He tries, again (this time she’s on the other side of the room, correcting the slightly scanted angle of a photograph frame - absolutely crucial, as the reader can see). “Kiiiiko-chan...?” He tries for the third time, a little sing-song toe imprinted to his voice in a bid to catch her attention.
To no avail. 
Makiko continues to buzz and fly around and there is no stopping her frenzy. Not with words and pleading, at least.
Well. Time to break out the big guns, then.
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Tetsurô holds back a sigh, hazel eyes fixed on her like cat awaiting its prey -- and when she waltzes by close enough, unsuspecting? He catches her - looping an arm around her waist (she yelps, and it’s pretty cute) and pulling her into his lap, other arm coming in to close the trap. “Haha. Gotcha.” Of course he brags; ignoring the scowl and the pout she gives him. “You know you have no credibility, trying to look like you’re mad at me when you’re blushing?” If she wasn’t blushing before, she certainly is now - haha, he’s so funny. 
Fine. Time to take pity on the poor girl. “You’re going to run yourself into the ground if you don’t take a break. Can’t have that before your first game abroad, right?” Of course that’s what this is about, right? She’s been ruminating on it for days now... the kettle was bound to boil at some point, he supposes. Cheshire grin softens into a fonder smile; fingers pushing back a strand of light hair from her forehead. “You’re going to do great. You’re more ready for this game than anyone else, so just relax, and enjoy it when you’re there, ‘kay?” His chin comes to rest on her shoulder. “Otherwise I’m calling Yakkun and telling him you’re freaking out, and we’ll see whose sermon you fear most, mine or his.” 
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Best Friends My Ass (one-shot)
Synopsis: Being in love with your best friend whom you’ve had since childhood can be tough. Being in love and being dumb can make it tougher. Meet the Reader and Harry. They’re the latter. And everyone’s fed up.
Pairing: Harry Styles x fem!Reader
Genre: fluff, maybe little bit of angst, tiny bit smutty, but not a lot
Warnings: swearing, two idiots pining for one another
Word count: 7524
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Even when Harry was little, he’d known he’d have an odd path in life. Just because it was odd, didn’t mean it’d be bad, but it would make him absolutely stand out in the crowd.        When Y/N was young she didn’t see herself having any extraordinary adventures. Sure, she’d travel and explore the world with its secrets, but she didn’t have any plans to draw the attention of the masses. That was until Harry’d come into her life.        They were both young, still kids in that tender age where childhood crossed into teenage years, when they met. For Harry, it was like one of those scenes in the movies where the pretty girl walks into a room and a billion fans make her hair look like the wind is sweeping through it, and her eyes glisten like gemstones. Also known as the 'love at first sight' scene.        For Y/N, it was hard to keep her breakfast down as she walked inside the classroom, twenty pairs of scrutinous eyes on her, trying to figure out if the new girl was a predator or prey.        Luckily for Y/N, the biology teacher wasn’t a total witch and didn’t make her present herself to the class, and just pointed to the free seat next to a curly-haired boy. Luckily for Harry, that free seat was right next to him.        With a sigh, she dropped her heavy backpack beside the chair, giving the boy a shy glance, and was surprised to see a genuine and large grin right back at her. It wasn’t the kind people gave when they had bad thoughts. It was the kind people gave when they were truly excited and wanted to give a good impression. Y/N’s chest grew warm at the thought she might actually make a friend that day. And she did.        “I’m Harry.” He extended his hand for her to take, the grin never leaving his face.        She gave him a big, relieved smile. “I’m Y/N.”        Ever since then they were not only lab partners in classes they shared (which was biology, physics and math), but also in mischief. Together they managed to enrage Anne, annoy Gemma and absolutely horrify Y/M/N, and whenever one went down, the other made sure to go down as well.        So when a few years down the line, Harry had told Y/N about his idea to audition for X-factor she wasn’t surprised one bit.        “I mean, as long as you don’t trip and break your nose on stage, you’ll be fine.”        For that, she received a slap on her arm from him.        “I’m just saying!” Y/N defended herself. “You’re great at singing, Mrs Aberdeen certainly thinks so, you don’t have two complete left feet, and you’re alright to look at.”        That for the first time since the decision and application had been submitted, made Harry smile. He loved how easily Y/N was able to lighten the mood, to take his thoughts away from the bad, and just erase them with her wit and smile.
       “Besides.” She nudged his shoulder with hers and then intertwined their fingers. “I, Gem and our Mums will be right there for you. Won’t even blink until the end of the performance.”        With how her insides trembled in excitement and fear for her best friend, it truly seemed to Y/N she hadn’t blinked at all on that fateful day. Her breath hitched when the judges were talking. She couldn’t even remember what they said, all of it turning into white noise.        And then he got through, and Y/N screamed so much she was sure she’d blown out Anne’s eardrums, and had hugged Harry so tightly she was afraid she’d broken a rib. But with his victory also came a fear, because, for the first time in Y/N’s life, she was terrified as to where she’d stand in Harry’s. Since day one it’d been secure, but now, with the newfound fame of X-factor and who knows what kind of an amazing future, she didn’t know if he’d throw her to the curb, simply forget about the mundane friend from high school or maybe use her for something.        But it wasn’t like that. Not one bit. After insane hours of rehearsals, Y/N was one of the three people he always called. It was her, his Mum and Gem. Always. And he loved to listen to her speaking of what was happening at school, how the lessons were, which teacher turned out to be hooking up with which. As much as Harry knew he was made for the extraordinary, he loved the ordinary Y/N brought in his life. She was his safe harbour. But what he never agreed with were her own thoughts she was meant for a simple life, so he took it upon himself to bring a little bit of eccentricity in hers, as he explained how he’d gotten united into a band with four other boys, now going by ‘One Direction’, and it was his mission to join his newfound friends with the most important friend he'd had.        “This is Y/N,” Harry introduced her to the guys after one of their late-night practices, one where they weren’t being filmed. “If you do anything that even mildly upsets her, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”        The slap against his arm made him let out an ‘Ow!’ while the rest of the boys laughed and welcomed her with open arms.        In a weird way, Y/N became part of the band. She didn’t sing or play any instruments, but she was always around, gave her input on songs and setlists. That kind of closeness made all of the fears and doubts about losing a place in Harry’s life disappear. She was his personal hype-man while at the same time knocked him down a few pegs whenever the fame started to get to his head.        She was there for his highs and lows, for the break-ups and break-off in the band, and watched as he ventured into a solo career as much as she could with school and all, but when summer break rolled around it was like Harry couldn't get rid of her even if he tried. Not that he wanted. Sharing the success and happiness with his best friend was one of the biggest rewards he could have.        And Y/N would never admit it because it’d boost Harry’s already elephant-like ego, at least that’s what she said, but she kind of liked the attention she received because of him, especially because most of it was pleasant.        Had she been terrified that being known as Harry Styles best friend would make people think she was just a gold-digger, seeking fame and leeching it off from him? Yes. And there were people like that. But ninety-five percent of what people said on her social media accounts was actually nice, some even said ‘thank you’ that there was a person like her in Harry’s life to keep things real, and most importantly – cared about him through it all.        Harry also saw those comments; he loved to read about how people saw just how much Y/N cared, and it kind of stirred something in him. He didn’t know when exactly, but it was around the age of twenty-four for him and twenty-three for Y/N when he started looking at his friend in a different light. And it bloody terrified him. He didn’t know if she felt the same, and the thought of putting his heart on the line like that only for the possibility of it being crushed was the scariest thing ever.        He did, however, have an inclination as to what incident had prompted them to surface. The feelings that were. It was a night after a party. Y/N was on winter break from her master’s at uni, which meant he used every opportunity to spend time with her.        The hangover was real, I mean it’s what you got by mixing vodka, tequila and beer into an empty Sprite bottle and chugging it. Harry stumbled over sleeping bodies on his way to the kitchen in search for some leftover pizza he was sure he and Y/N in their drunkenness had ordered, as well as to make two cups of black coffee. He knew she hated the taste, but cold junk food and bitter coffee always did the trick with her. That was when he’d found her.        Although he’d woken up in Y/N’s room, she hadn’t been next to him. Instead, as it turned out, she’d gone on a food search sometime before him and had passed out on the couch, a Cookie Monster onesie on her body, but most importantly his signature pearls around her neck. And one of her hands even rested against her collarbone, as if scared someone would take them away from her.        That’d been the first time his heart had flipped in his chest at the sight of her, but most definitely not the last.        He did however keep this change in his emotions to himself. He wasn’t really sure what it was, so it would be unfair to dump that on Y/N and have her figure it out for him because he didn’t know where she stood on her own, let alone do the work for him.        Luckily, despite the tornado of feelings, their friendship didn’t falter, and when his Vogue cover came out, he was incredibly nervous for people to see it, but especially for those who mattered the most to him, like his Mum, sister and Y/N. Especially Y/N, for her opinion had become the most important one outside his blood relatives. After all, all his thoughts went to – if we dated, would she be as proud of me as she was of me as a friend?        Her support meant the most because he was away in the middle of filming; he had no way of getting physical comfort, so all of the messages, calls, social media posts and FaceTimes was the world to him, especially when Y/N sent a picture of herself with three copies of the magazine, two beside her head as she laid on her bed and one clutched to her chest, which she also posted on Instagram with the caption ‘Can’t hug you for real right now, so this will have to do. When I do get to you @harrystyles, I’ll crush your ribs with my love. And that is a threat.’        Then the comments came in from the rest, and one stood out more than the others.        Bring Back Manly Men.        At first, he felt odd about it. It didn’t really bother him, but at the same time, it made him sad. He knew that he was seen as somewhat of a controversial figure, as he painted nails, wore frilly blouses and now full-on dresses, which were all typically categorized as feminine things, but he never understood why a nail colour or the shape of a shirt suddenly became exclusively for just one gender. Which is why he was so grateful to have Y/N in his life.        “I mean, anatomically speaking, men should be wearing dresses and women trousers. It’s you who have all the dangly bits,” she said through a bite of food. “The Scots have been onto it since the beginning.”        Harry threw his head back in a laugh, shifting an arm behind his head. “So I assume your favourite pic is the one in the kilt?”        “Well, it did remind me of that awful punk phase I had back in school with all those safety pins, only in a more tasteful way, but no. My favourite one is you in that brown, grey off-shoulder jacket thing.”        “Why?”        Y/N wiggled her brows at him. “Shows enough of your cleavage but leaves enough for imagination.”        “Of fucking course.” Harry snorted, shaking his head. “Objectifying much?”        “What? I’m not going to deny that my best friend is a sexy beast.”        He wouldn’t say it out loud, but when she called him her friend, it made his heart clench in a painful way. Harry had been trying to be a bit flirtier around her, but given his open nature as it was, Y/N hadn’t seemed to notice it, nor had she seemed to notice how he looked at her while she was frowning at her computer screen.        Harry’d had relationships with some women who could be considered the most beautiful in the world, but if he’d had to say, in his opinion, who’d receive that title, it’d be Y/N. The way she snorted when she laughed too hard, the way small crow lines had already appeared next to her eyes from how much she smiled and the way her forehead creased when she was concentrating. It enthralled him to no end. He could read her life’s story on her face, how she’d lived and thought and experienced, unlike so many people he met who couldn’t move a muscle.        Though the reason she was so concentrated in that moment was because thousands of people had tagged her in a tweet of a woman, she’d heard of for the first time in her life (because Harry had been trying to keep that one off her radar), and what she saw made all the blood boil in her body more than any other hate comment had.        Without hesitation, Y/N atted her and tweeted “Bring back manly men. Please! Millions of people would let him raw them WHILE WEARING THE DRESS. I mean you tried, so I’ll give you the gold star you so desperately want, but that was pathetic.”        At that same moment, a notification popped up on the screen of Harry’s phone. He only had notifications on for one person, and when he saw what was written, he gasped, looking at Y/N. “You did not just do that!”        “What?” Y/N shrugged biting down on the chocolate bar she’d been savouring for the last half hour of their conversation. “I just said what everyone was thinking. Besides what the fuck does ‘bring back manly men’ even mean? Go chop some wood? Fight a bear in the Siberian woods? Have your ‘friends’ stab you to death at a political meeting?”        “You’re a menace.”        Y/N winked popping the last bit of the chocolate in her mouth. “Only to those who dare go for the people I love.”        His heart fluttered at the last word, but all he could do was mask it with a large grin and shake of his head.        For another hour they spent talking, Y/N kept hyping Harry up, tried to get as many plot details of the movie he was filming, while he avoided as many spoilers as possible and attempted to steer the conversation somewhere else, but when that happened, Y/N jumped onto his music, which he had told her all about. In fact, there wasn’t a music video made without her approval, and neither would his next one be. “You’ll fly out to see me film for ‘Treat People With Kindness’, right?”        Y/N sighed, giving him a sad smile. She hated disappointing Harry. “I’d love to. But you know with everything going on, I don’t think I’ll be able to.”        “Phoebe Waller-Bridge will be in it.”        She gasped, in real excitement. “Well, why didn’t you say so from the start?!”        “So that’s what this friendship has come to. I’m just your gateway to celebrities?”        “Harry you’ve always been just my gateway to the people living in LaLa Land.” But she let out a small breath much like she’d done before. “I really do want to come, Harry. You know that; I miss you like crazy. But Phoebe or no Phoebe, I don’t think I can.”        Harry bit his lip nodding, but he still needed to try one more time. “Is there anything I can say or do to get you here?”        “Get me a private jet and a quarantine mansion?”        “Deal.”        “Woah! Wait!” Y/N pretty much jumped up from her position in bed. “That was a joke! Harry Edward Styles, I swear to God, if you try an –“        But with a giant grin, he just blew Y/N a kiss and ended the call.        She was quite terrified if she was being honest, that Harry would do what she’d asked. He already had once. It'd been around Christmas time while she was still in First Year at uni, and she’d seen a glistening necklace at a jewellery store display. She hadn’t said anything, hadn’t even uttered a word, but just seeing the sparkle in Y/N’s eyes, was enough for Harry to make the decision and gift it for her.        When the next day, around five AM her time, she got a call from Harry’s manager Jeff, she was ready to rip both of them a new one, an e-mail with a plane ticket popping up in her inbox.        “I swear I’ll poison your drinks when I see you,” she’d grumbled, but couldn’t hide the excitement as she threw everything she could in the suitcase. “And no one will find your bodies, mark my words, Azoff.”        He snorted. “Yeah, tell that to the FBI agent listening in on this call.”        “Fuck. Gave myself away,” she said softly, giggling right after.        “You know he’s stoked beyond belief.” Jeff piped up. “He literally jumped out of the bed this morning, and during the dance rehearsals he didn’t miss a step.”        That made Y/N’s heart warm. “Well, you can tell him to curb it a bit. Otherwise, I’ll just stay at the fucking mansion – which, by the way, it was a joke, Jeff! I’m pissed enough he’s spending money on me as it is, let alone such a chunk on the plane, you didn't have to get me an actual mansion.”        “You know, for you, he’d give away all of it.”        “Yes, well, he might need it for his funeral, if he keeps spending it on me and on shit like this.”        The man shook his head but didn’t say anything else. He wasn’t the only one trying to drop hints to Y/N that Harry felt something more, but he’d leave it to the man himself. He didn’t need to possibly ruin everything, and have her decide not to come. His client was nightmare enough without her around, because Harry was like day and night when Y/N finally arrived on set for ‘Treat People With Kindness’.        To say he enveloped her in a hug would be an understatement as he didn’t let go of her for ten solid minutes, having grabbed her by the underside of the thighs and sat down on the ground just so he could prolong the feeling of being with Y/N.        The fact that she’d actually gone for it and hadn’t scolded Harry too much for spending that insane amount of money, for having brought a small piece of home to LA with herself where they were filming, made him now fully acknowledge the true extent of his feelings, especially as she didn’t pull away from their embrace, rather hid her face in the crook of his neck.        I mean, in the end, he did have to let her go because everyone had to get back to shooting, but not before Y/N had stripped the meticulous jacket from him, and went to have a glance at herself in the large mirror, one of the costume designers playing along and adjusting the clothing on her body, as if she was going to be the one performing.        Harry felt someone slide up to him and he looked over to his left, a smiling Phoebe standing there. She nudged his shoulder with hers. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”        He nodded, looking back over to where Y/N was still looking at herself in the mirror, wearing the heavy jacket as if it was nothing like it was made for her. “I’m a cliché, I know. But I can’t help it.”        “Of course, you can.” She squeezed his side. “All you gotta do is tell her.”        But it wasn’t that easy. Comparatively, getting Y/N to appear in the video was easier than coming to terms with the fact, all they’d ever remain would be friends if he didn’t do anything.        Yet the shoot for the video ended as quickly as it had started, and Y/N needed to fly back to the UK to defend her PhD paper, and Harry had to go back to filming ‘Don’t Worry Darling’, thousands of miles stretching between them once more. And Harry was a romantic, he couldn’t confess over FaceTime. Besides, he wanted to make it a special evening for her, plan something out, rather than risk a shitty connection cutting him off mid-word.        He hated it though. It’d been almost four years since Harry had realised his feelings had developed from just friendly into romantic, and still, he hadn’t said anything. Even the people who’d never met Y/N in person like Florence Pugh saw what was going on.        But unlike the cast and crew of ‘Treat People With Kindness’ who had to deal with his pining for maybe a couple of weeks, it’d been almost half a year for her at that point. Did she just want to call Y/N and tell her how Harry felt? Sure. She’d had enough of him coming into her trailer only to fall down onto her pillow and whine. But it wasn’t her place. So instead, she was going to figure out a way to get Y/N to the set and make him tell her himself.        Getting Harry’s phone away from him should’ve been the inspiration to the next ‘Mission Impossible’ script though, because it took her literally a whole day to fish it out from his coat's pocket, and she only had about ten seconds to find Y/N’s number (which wasn’t that hard given how it was the number with literally hundreds of calls next to it) and put it in her own phone.        Once their filming was done for the day, Florence rebutted Harry’s invitation to a movie night, saying a massive headache was coming on, so he wished her a good night and with slumped shoulders went to sulk on his own. Which is why she practically sprinted to her own trailer to finally call Y/N        An unsure ‘hello?’ greeted her ears before she responded. “Hey, this is Florence… Pugh.”        That stunned Y/N into silence for a few seconds before she spluttered out a greeting and said ‘hi’ as well. “Not to be rude, but how did you get my number?”        “Stole it from Harry’s phone. Look, he’s miserable. Keeps moping around, and I can’t take it anymore. Last night I found him crying in his pillow with your shirt over it.”        “What? Why?”        “Because it didn’t smell like you anymore.”        Y/N’s heart broke. “Why didn’t he tell me anything? We just talked, and he said he was fine. God, that man is so dumb sometimes.”        “Is there any way you could find a way to get here?” Florence asked biting down her lip.        She heard Y/N sigh at the other end of the line. “I’ll – I’ll try and figure something out. Have to know what’s going on at work, I mean it has been like two months since the video, so maybe…” She was more so talking to herself, but then remembered about Florence. “Listen, can I give you a message when I find out if my boss will let me?”        “Of course!” The actress was excited about the possibility of Y/N getting here, as long as it got Harry out of his depressive mood.        “Oh, and I’ll need to know what kind of restrictions are on set. I’ll figure something out with flights and quarantine, but I have zero clue as to what’s it like where you’re filming.”        Florence waved her off, even though she couldn’t see the motion. “Leave that to me. Just get your ass over here before the guy cries himself dry.”        It was a struggle though on all three ends – Harry was still moping, because not only had Y/N’s shirt lost its smell of her, but homesickness was hitting full force, Florence was getting more and more desperate as she attempted to take his mind off of things, but nothing seemed to work, and Y/N was trying to get on any possible flight to Harry while arranging two tests and an AirBnB she could self-isolate in for two weeks while attempting to set up her work from afar at the same time.        Two days after Florence’s call, Y/N sent her a message ‘Flying in tomorrow at 4 AM. Don’t tell Harry. He’ll feel even shittier cause I have to stay alone in quarantine. First test came back negative.”        She sighed in relief at the message and immediately texted back ‘i’ve got you a set pass ready, just need a picture. selfie will do. also, masks are mandatory on the lot, so bring those.’        Immediately Y/N sent a thumbs up, and a picture of herself she didn’t absolutely despise to be used on the ID card. All that was left was to pack. And spend two weeks in an attempt of not going crazy with anticipation before seeing Harry.        Those two weeks turned out to be worse than the two months between the music video shoot and going to the filming lot. Because throughout then, Y/N knew her only access to him would be through FaceTime, but to be about twenty minutes away from the man without the ability to touch him was pure torture, but at least Harry seemed completely oblivious to the change in her surroundings.        As they still continued on with their calls, not once did he mention her background, or how the paintings suddenly had managed to switch positions or the fact that Y/N didn’t even own paintings. She was sure she could’ve been missing an arm, and he wouldn’t have mentioned it with how tired he looked.        “Have you even slept, Har?”        “Not really,” he groaned, getting more comfortable in his bed. “We’ve had a bunch of early shoots and then late nights, ‘cause we need to get the continuity for the scenes, and then the day’s full of Zoom calls, and well, I can’t not call you.”        Y/N scoffed, scolding him. “You know damn well I won’t be offended if we sacrifice a couple of calls for you to get some proper sleep.”        “I know, but I will.”        Y/N sighed, knowing in a way it was her fault. She could tell him she no longer was hours of time zones away, but rather watched the same sunset and sunrise as him, but she also knew Harry, and he would be unable to stay away from her until her quarantine was over.        She was quite happy she’d sat through the fourteen mandatory days, because when she got on set, even though Harry was usually good at keeping his composure during a scene, despite the mask, he’d recognise Y/N anywhere, and all of the lines flew out of his head.        “Jack?” Florence’s hand came to cup Harry’s cheek, trying to bring him back on track. “You alright?”        But he didn’t even care about improvising to get out of the flub as his lips were split apart by a grin, and he dashed away, a loud ‘CUT!’ ringing throughout the set, but Harry already had Y/N in his arms, spinning the girl around.        “Best friends my ass,” Florence murmured as she went to the two.        Harry was speechless, Y/N’s face in between his hands as he looked her up and down. “How are you here? What? Why?”        “Thank Florence.” Y/N gave an attempt at motioning to the actress with her head. She set the whole thing up.”        Harry’s head whipped to his scene partner. “You knew Y/N was here for two weeks and told me nothing?”        “Your brain short-circuited when you saw her! You wouldn’t be of no use on set at all if I had.”        Harry scoffed, throwing an arm over Y/N’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get away from this meanie.” But as he walked away, he looked over his shoulder and mouthed a grateful ‘thank you’ to her.        All Florence could hope for was that he’d get it together and confess, but it didn’t seem like he was in any sort of a rush. Y/N was set to be there for three weeks, but the thought of the woman leaving without knowing how Harry felt, leaving him in a sea of his own heartache, made her miserable, especially after a night they’d all spent together.        Harry really wanted Y/N to get to know the people he worked with so he invited the ones closest to him for a movie night, during which he himself had been the first one to actually fall asleep, of course.        For most of it, as ‘Westworld’ ran on in the background, he spent curled up in Y/N’s lap, his head resting against her chest with her fingers weaving through the shortened locks. She had to get used to the length, motion automatically wanting to go on longer than it was possible to. Soon enough, the soothing motions lulled her to sleep as well, their bodies leaning into one another and perfectly fitting together.        As tired as Florence was of seeing Harry, a person who’d become her friend now pine for someone so hard, it was absolutely heart-melting to watch the two interact. Everyone could see Y/N had the same feelings as Harry did for her, only she hid them a bit better. A little, but not by a lot.        No friends acted the way those two did around one another. Sure, people could be touchy, but not like that, not with such intimacy behind the motions. She felt like she was being a little creepy as she pulled out her phone to take a picture, but it was too cute not to.        A loud noise from somewhere outside set made Y/N shoot up straight, and Florence held her breath as she clutched onto her phone, having swiped it accidentally into video mode and filming the whole thing.        “No,” Harry whined, a hand reaching up for Y/N and grabbing at her elbow. “Come back. ‘S too early.”        She just nodded, grumbling something unintelligible but possibly along the lines of ‘don’t make me throw hands’ before laying down and snuggling into Harry’s chest.        Florence let out a large sigh of relief and decided to get some sleep as well before their annoying four AM alarm woke them up for set.        This time it was the other way around, as Y/N whined for Harry to ‘come back and keep her warm’.        Florence watched as Harry slipped out of Y/N’s grasp, but not before pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead and a whispered a promise to ‘see her when the Sun’s up’. The second the trailer door was closed, she slapped his shoulder, and Harry gasped in shock. “What'dya do that for?”        “Stop that! Stop that stupid dance!” She stomped her foot on the ground. “I’m sick and tired of watching you watch her with that dumb longing expression on your face. I can’t take it anymore. Why do you think I went through all that trouble to get her here?”        “I told you I would!”        She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look, I know it’s not my place or anything, but she does like you. A lot.”        Harry threw her an uncertain gaze. “And how do you know?”        “Because that woman spent two weeks in self-isolation just to see you! She’s gone through how many of those awful Covid tests just to go and visit you! She’s dropped everything for you, has supported you through so much, and never fails to boost you up.”        “That’s what friends do.”        “No.” Florence shook her head. “That kind of loyalty… that’s what people in love give. I haven’t talked to my best friend in like a month. What’s the longest you’ve gone without speaking to Y/N?”        And with that question, she left Harry to ponder not only his feelings but the girl’s he was in love with as well. Because if he had to be honest, the reason he’d been dragging everything out, the reason he’d stayed pining for Y/N for years on end was that he tried to write everything she did off as something a childhood best friend would do.        The truth was more terrifying than anything because once that came to light, it’d change everything, and Harry didn’t know if he was ready. He wanted it, desperately so if it meant Y/N becoming someone he could love freely and openly, but not if by the end of it, she'd disappear from his life, leaving a hole the size of his heart in his chest.        His thoughts were cut short as someone knocked on the ‘Hair&Make-up’ door, and an assistant let in a pouting Y/N. Well, he couldn’t’ see the pout behind the mask, but he definitely knew it was there, making a smile come on his own face.        She plopped down in an empty sofa and crossed her arms. “I was cold.”        Harry snorted, wanting to shake his head, but didn't as to not ruin the hair stylist’s work. “You’re always cold.”        “And you’re a living furnace.”        “ ‘S that why you like cuddling? Leeching off my warmth?”        The same assistant who’d let Y/N in handed her a cup of coffee, which she was ready to kiss the woman for, but opted for a ‘thank you’. “We’ve established I only use you to get to other celebs. What makes you think I wouldn’t use you for those sort of things.”        For a moment, the trailer settled into silence, as Y/N enjoyed her morning coffee while the crew kept doing their own work.        “It’s so weird,” Y/N piped up, eyes racking up and down Harry’s body. “Don’t even wanna really look at you like that.”        He let out a mock gasp of hurt. “What d’ya mean? Am I suddenly repulsive to you?”        “No!” she let out a laugh. “It’s just odd seeing you without the tattoos. They’re such a huge part of you, even the dumb ones. Can’t really imagine you any differently.”        “Would you love me any differently without them?” The question was bold, even though he knew she did love him, he had to start making moves.        “No,” Y/N shook her head. “I don’t think so. I believe I’d be a different person then as well, but I’d love you all the same. As long as you’d do the same with me.”        Harry nodded looking down at his hands then back up at her, catching her eyes through the reflection in the mirror. “Don’t think there’s a dimension out there where I don’t love you.”        “I mean that is a bold statement,” Y/N said, sipping on the remnants of her coffee. “What if I’m like a weird, cat-skinning psychopath in one dimension? Would you love me even then?”        “Jesus Christ, Y/L/N, do you just normally come up with those gruesome scenarios or is it a hobby?”        She wiggled her eyebrows, standing up and throwing away the paper cup. “There’s a reason I have a VPN and clean my search history. I’ll see you in your trailer?”        “Yeah.” Harry nodded and smiled. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”        The next half-hour he kept hyping himself up, about how he was actually going to do it, but Florence intercepted him right as he was turning down the way his trailer stood. “How are you gonna do it?”        “I – “ Harry huffed and placed his hands on his hips. “In the beginning, I had like a whole romantic outing planned, but… I’ve dragged this on long enough, so I think I’ll just tell her.”        “Okay, good.” Florence nodded and slapped his shoulder in approval. “And if I don’t hear that trailer rocking, I will throw you in a ditch.”        Harry’s eyes widened at the statement, fully knowing she meant her words, but she was already half-way down the track, blond hair swishing behind her back.        It was then or never.        Slowly he opened his own trailer door as if it was Y/N’s place not his, but by the looks of how she’d sprawled out on his bed, she had made herself right at home. Just like she’d done it on the first day of school, but just with his heart.        “Hey!” She smiled looking at him. “You ready to film?”        “Yeah, but umm… I kind of wanted to talk to you beforehand.”        Y/N’s brows furrowed at Harry’s serious tone, so she sat up, nodding. “Sure. Is everything alright?” “It’s nothing bad, at least I hope you won’t take it in a bad way... I’ve actually been wanting to tell you this since that winter’s break party you had while doing your masters...” He let out a small chuckle but seeing Y/N’s eyes widen in a panic he stopped. “Oh, God,” she moaned. “You have a kid! Oh my God.” “What? No!” Harry spluttered. “Why the hell is the first thing you assume that I have a kid?” “I don’t know!” She was now standing facing him completely. “We’ve never had secrets between us, especially for as long as you’ve apparently kept them, what am I supposed to think? Maybe one of the girls you hooked up with got pregnant, and you’ve been hiding the fact you’re a baby daddy because you know I wouldn’t be able to keep the fact I can be the cool drunk aunt to myself.” All of that came out as is she’d prepared it ages ago. “Well, no.” Harry shook his head stepping closer so he could be chest to chest with Y/N. “I’m not anyone’s baby daddy. At least I don’t think so, but umm... when that moment would come... when I have a kid...” He looked up at the ceiling and sighed before lifting a gentle hand to cup her cheek. I wouldn’t want you to be the drunk aunt. I um...” There goes nothing. “I’d kinda like if you were the mom.” “Of course, I’ll be the Godmother!” Both of them said at the same time, making the other’s brain stumble over the words said. “Wait, mom?” Y/N’s question was breathless. “Like donate my eggs or some shit?” “No like, I’ve been in love with you for close to four years, and I wanna try and build a future with you, where you’re more than just my best friend.”        “Oh.”        That was all that managed to escape her mouth as he fully opened his heart, and Harry couldn’t lie – it shattered. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it was more than that. “That’s...” Y/N huffed sitting down on the bed. “That’s a lot to take in Harry. Like a lot.” “I know.” He sighed and sat down next to her. “Which is why I’ve been pushing this away for as long as I could, but... it was time. It wasn’t fair to you or me to keep on living like that. Look.” Harry took her palm in his. “Whatever you want us to be, we’ll be that. I - I mean I’ll be heartbroken if you say you don’t feel the same, but no matter what you tell me now, I won’t let you leave my life. I love you, and I’m in love with you. This is your choice which way you chose to go with.” Y/N shook her head, interlacing their fingers and finally looking up at him. “I don’t want you to be heartbroken. It’s the last thing, I’d ever want to see you like. And umm well, if it takes me using the pair of ovaries I have to admit I’ve been in love with you too to change that, I guess I’ll have to say it. I’m in love with you too.” Harry’s eyes glimmered with unshed tears of happiness, as he looked at Y/N like she’d hung the stars in the sky. Not that it mattered. He always looked at her like that. “You mean it?” “Yeah,” she chuckled, wiping away a few stray pearls from her own cheeks. “I guess I always thought I’d end up the drunk aunt in your life, so that’s why I thought you’d ask me to be whatever future child’s Godmother. But I love you, and I’m in love with you too.” “Can I – “ Fuck, Harry was too giddy for his own good. “Can I kiss you?” And when Y/N chuckled, nodding he swore he already was in heaven. “Yes, please.”        At first, the touch of his lips was gentle, almost afraid, but the second he pressed them to Y/N’s, and she gasped at the sensation, it became full of lust as passion, years of pent-up pining and angst and just plain old stupidity surfacing and morphing itself into a steamy make-out session.        In a split second, she was sprawled out on Harry’s bed, his toned body leaning over hers and teasing hands moving along her sides, making her squirm and ache for more of his touch, but she wasn’t the only one who wanted to explore a body with a new mindset of what was possible.        As Y/N moaned from Harry’s tongue invading her mouth, her hand couldn’t help itself as it slid down his chest, and her finger flicked against the button of his trousers.        “Can I touch you there?” Y/N whispered against his mouth, and Harry eagerly nodded.        “Please. Been dreaming about this for literally years.”        Smiling, she allowed him to continue and explore her mouth with his tongue, intoxicated on one another’s taste. In fact, Y/N was so far gone just from the kiss, she forgot how a fly worked and needed Harry’s help to open it.        “Get back here,” she grumbled as he chuckled, having leaned up a bit to make it easier for her to get the offensive piece of clothing off. “We’ll see how you fare with a bra.”        “Oh, I’m an expert.” His hands trailed to her shoulder where he snapped one of the straps against her skin, making her yelp.        “You do not want to do that when my hand is an inch away from your dick.”        But the threat had no merit to it, as she dipped her palm behind Harry’s boxers while his mouth went to soothe the sting and leave a little mark on her skin, which he’d get to admire later on.        The second, Y/N wrapped her hand around his cock an involuntary moan escaped into the air, as she gripped him. Fuck, she couldn’t wait until he was inside her, because, and it might sound a little cliché given how they were best friends who’d fallen in love with one another, but she was one hundred percent sure, he was made exactly for her.        But no matter how much she twisted her hand or how gently or roughly she rubbed the tip, he couldn’t get hard, and Harry was on the verge of tears, which Y/N saw and instantly pulled away, cupping his face.        “I’m sorry,” he choked out. “Fuck, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”        “Hey!” Y/N cooed. “None of that. It’s alright. Shit happens.”        Harry nodded understanding that she was right, but he still felt shitty and well, he felt insecure about it. “I just. Fuck. Usually, when I think of you, I’m hard in like a second.”        And although all Y/N wanted to do was smirk and tease him about the fact that he thought of her while wanking himself off, that wasn’t the right moment.        “I promise, you turn me on, you do." He sniffled. "This had never happened before.” But Y/N wasn’t offended or sad, and her laugh wasn’t mocking or trying to hurt him.        “Harry you’re dead tired.” She cupped his cheek with one of her hands, and if he’d been ice cream he would’ve literally melted. “You had to wake up at four in the fucking morning and won’t go to sleep until two the next day. Let yourself rest a bit.”        “But,” he whined and then huffed. “But I wanna love on you. Wanna show you just how crazy I am about you.”        “And you will. You know I’ll always hold you to your word. But this won’t be fun for either of us if mid-fuck you suddenly collapse on me asleep. I don’t need to go to the A and E and explain the broken nose is because my boyfriend decided to take a nap while shagging. A nap on my face.”        But Harry hadn’t really heard anything she’d said after Y/N mentioned the b-word, a dopey smile on his face. “I’m your boyfriend? You really want me like that?”        “I mean I would prefer if you were Phoebe…”        Harry pinched her side, making her squeal before tackling her in a hug. “Shut up!”        And that’s how the two fell asleep (and were woken up twenty minutes later by an assistant in a panic given how Harry was supposed to be on set in five minutes)  – wrapped up in one another’s arms, smiles on their faces, and no longer best friends, but lovers.
Tags (crossed out wouldn’t take):
Everything tags: @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64​ @supernaturalbaesduh​ @breezy1415​ @crazy--me​ @thatawkwardlittlefangirl​ @sea040561​ @staryeyedgirl​ @deathbyarabbit​ @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91​ @dalilx​ @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns​ @averyrogers83​ @in-the-end-im-still-trash​ @gallifreyansass​ @dewy-biitch​ @avxgers​ @unlikelygalaxygiver​ @magicwithaknife @ollyoxenfrees​ @bnhvrdy​ @tvwhoresblog @celebsimagines @thatkindofgurl​ @sj-thefan​ @teenwolflover28 @lestersglitterglue​ @im-squished​
Harry Styles tags: @sarcasticallywitty15​ @breezykpop​ @girlboss99​ @harrystylesdoesntknowiexist​ @alliyjane​ @sirtommyholland​
A/N: I loved writing this so much :)
P.S. my tags are always open
P.S.S. I don’t take requests, sorry. Also, please don’t repost my story on other platforms (wattpad etc) without specific written permission. 
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thegoosewiththemost · 2 years
Text
Sick
Summary: request for @nak3d-snak3 , Feral BJ and sick reader. Hope you get better soon!
Why not have the best of both worlds by having feral BJ make you sick?
eyyy thanks for answering me! For a request I would love either more feral bastard! BJ orrrr BJ with a sick reader (im sick rn so im projecting). No rush babe and hope you have a great day!
It was deep winter and BJ had had the brilliant idea to steal your fluffy nightgown and slippers away from you sometime during the night. Your room never had the best insulation as it was and the chill wind that morning made it no better.
You fumbled around searching for your coat as the alarm rang, being careful to not catch a cold as you transferred yourself from the warmth of the blanket to what you hoped would be the snug fit of your gown. But you couldn’t find it. Frowning, you wrapped the blanket around closer to yourself, suspecting foul play and also refusing to expose yourself to the cold.
You had been sure to leave it hanging by the bedside as you did every night before you went to sleep so you looked everywhere around the bed, under the blanket, on the floor and in the dresser where a stack of Bio-Exorcist flyers were half-scattered on the inside of the drawer.
Ah. So it was going to be one of those days. Sighing with frustration, you realised there was nothing to be done but get up or risk being late to work.
Betelgeuse sure knew how to pick the worst possible time for his antics, and while they remained relatively harmless, you noticed that he was becoming bolder by the day as he tried to test your limits. You figured that maybe it was his way of communicating his need for your attention.
Reluctantly, you placed your feet down on the false timber floorboards, feeling the cold seep up your legs. You dreaded needing to walk into the tiled bathroom which was always undoubtedly freezing more than anywhere else in the house.
Shivering, you ditched the blanket in exchange for a much lighter coat, a bad idea, you figured after you realised just how much the temperature difference was when wearing it. It felt like placing a thin shift on in the middle of a rainstorm and expecting it to block out all the wet and cold.
A loud sneeze like a tornado siren rose up out of you as you realised you lost the battle. You would at the very least be cursed with a runny sniffly nose the whole day and as for the cherry on top, work was fast approaching. You always left just enough time for you to have a warm cup of tea or a hot breakfast, but that morning it seemed that neither would be possible when you found that all your mugs and bowls had gone mysteriously missing from their places in the cabinets.
“Ohhh someone’s got a runny nose today! What’s the matter, babes? You look like death.” Leaning against the front door was Betelgeuse, lounging in your fluffy gown and slippers with all the charm of a voice like nails on chalkboard and the entitlement of a freeloading roommate.
“I would say that I’m keeping all this warm for you, but I’m dead cold, if you know what I mean.”
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genesisrose74 · 4 years
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A/n: This idea just popped into my head this morning and I needed to write it out, guess who finished in one day instead of focusing on summer school aha ha...so here’s the next edition of Class 1-A quarantine hc’s! I think I’ll include a bit of background for all of these, just for future reference if anyone likes them lmao. Today we have everyone’s favorite nitroglycerin king, Bakugo Katsuki! Hope y’all enjoy cause I’m honestly so soft for this one okay BYE-
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Surprisingly, you’re initially part of the Dekusquad, but you’ve always been close with Kirishima and Mina and feel comfortable hanging out with their group as well so you start gravitating to the Bakusquad 
At first, Bakugo is really standoffish because, “You’re seriously friends with that damn nerd Deku” - wow everyone be hating on our cinnamon roll smh
But then he sees how much the rest of Bakusquad likes you and he starts warming up
It starts with small little things like not hogging all the space on the couches in the dorms and having you sit beside him
Then he notices that you’re very forgetful of your jacket and he ends up keeping a spare in his bag just in case the weather gets really bad
“I mistakenly grabbed two this morning, so lighten my load and carry the jacket—I don’t give a shit if you put it on, just hold it will you!” 
He’s acts all aggressive whenever he tries to be subtle and someone calls him out on it pffft- 
“What the hell are you talking about? You trying to get punched in the face?”
And his feelings are emphasized when the whole class is allowed to use the pool one afternoon and you’re pulling up with Mina and Momo
You’ve got a cute swimsuit and a sun hat on, and King Explosion Murder starts sweating a dangerous amount of nitroglycerin 
Bakugo Katsuki has a thing for soft girls who can pull a one-eighty and kick ass no I do not take criticism
The class wants to play chicken and everyone is choosing partners, but in the corner of his eye Bakugo sees you getting cornered by Mineta 
You’re usually able to handle the horny tornado but you’re feeling a bit too exposed in a bathing suit and start losing your cool
When I tell you the whole Bakusquad BOLTS to come rescue you-
Mineta is literally launched out of the pool by Sero like a rocket ship in orbit and the rest of the group is in this protective barrier formation around you (yes the squad has protocols for this kind of thing don’t even deny it)
Bakugo is beside you in a second with his hands secured on your waist because no one is coming near you like that when he’s around
“Why don’t you be my partner, yeah?”
And that's the story of how y’all destroyed everyone at chicken with absolutely no mercy and Bakugo finds your competitiveness that entire day attractive as hell
Walking back to the dorms afterwards, he pulls you away from the group and the look he gives you is  s e a r i n g
“For the love of God, go out with me” and he does not have to tell you twice
Literally the entire class is SHOOK because you’re actually pretty mellow and Mr. My Only Vocabulary Word Is Die is...ya know...✨volatile✨
But let’s be honest he’s actually a softie if you’re close enough to him (sorry Deku you’re the exception but we still luv u) and everyone ends up adoring y’all being together
When quarantine rolls around and you both have to live back at your respective houses, everything is decently calm for about two days and then you both start getting bored as hell
Honestly longer than you expected 
Bakugo hates social distancing with a passion but he agrees to abide by the rules and ends up asking you to Facetime at least twice a day
His bedroom is actually very tidy ‘cause Bakugo hates clutter, especially when he’s doing schoolwork
I wholeheartedly believe that Bakugo is a beast in the kitchen and y’all can fight me about it because his knife skills are canon and you best believe he learned it to be more independent 
He’s been experimenting with new cooking recipes and is a master at making something out of practically nothing in his fridge, which is really handy when a trip to the grocery store is long overdue
He sends you pictures of his dishes and your responses are all praise and none of it’s exaggerated either; this boy can COOK 
Netflix Parties with the Bakusquad — the chat gets loaded with Denki and Kiri spamming and Bakugo yelling at them in all caps to shut up
Your lock screen is a picture of the group on Facetime and you all have filters on (somehow you got Bakugo to use one don’t ask how); literal friendship goals
And then it’s been about a whole month since quarantine started and Bakugo wants to come visit you, but his mom shuts that down quicker than Barry Allen in the Speed Force
He’s pissed because he and his family feel perfectly healthy but his mother will not let him leave under any circumstances
So when his parents go to visit some relatives who were more susceptible to the virus and needed help with a couple basic tasks you decide to sneak out to see him (in good health of course)
Imagine his surprise when his typically rule-following girlfriend calls and is already standing in his backyard, bags of groceries in your possession
***
Bakugo shot you an incredulous look as you sat at the kitchen table. “You know I could have just opened the front door for you.”
“Yeah, but going through the window was way more fun,” you defended. “It’s not like I’m very rebellious at any other time, so might as well live it up while I have the courage.”
The blond snorted, sifting through the numerous bags you brought along to his house. They were filled with an assortment of foods: vegetables, meat, rice, sauces and the like. 
“What’s all this for?” he inquired, pulling out a bottle of teriyaki sauce.
You couldn’t help the small smile that grew on your face as your boyfriend curiously examined the items. “It’s for you to cook with, duh.”
“And how am I supposed to explain the new abundance of food in the fridge to my parents?”
“Say that I had it sent over through Postmates or something. Even I thought of that, Katsuki.”
He rolled his eyes as he placed down the last bag of items. “I can’t believe you snuck out and brought all this stuff,” he murmured, leaning over to kiss the top of your head. “Thank you, babe.”
A faint blush rises to your cheeks, despite the fact you’ve been dating the first year student for a few months now. Girlfriend or not, verbal thanks from the King Explosion Murder was rare. “You’re welcome.”
Bakugo turned to the stove and started organizing a number of ingredients on the counter beside it, pulling out kitchenware from cabinets as he went.
“Since you’re here and all, I suppose I could make your dumb ass something,” he remarked. 
Your eyes practically sparkled with excitement at the offer; you were hoping the blond would make you one of his iconic dishes eventually. A ghost of a grin was present on Bakugo’s face at the cheer that left your mouth, his back facing you as he got started. 
You were quick to situate yourself on top of the kitchen counter, Bakugo lifting you by the waist to place you farther away from the flaming stove but still allowing you to watch as he worked. His knife skills were almost scary when chopping up the vegetables, the pace at which he was cutting them astonishing you, and the overall aroma of the space had your mouth watering before he was even close to finishing the meal.
“I feel like a judge on Master Chef,” you giggled, and the boy shook his head at the comment as he eyed a timer he had set for the pork he put on the stove. 
“I’m pretty sure my girlfriend of a judge would be a bit biased over the contestants,” he pointed out. 
You hummed thoughtfully. “I mean, if he keeps looking this attractive while making food I think my bias is justified.”
He glanced at you perched on the counter top, and took a few steps in your direction, cupping your cheek in one hand to kiss you quickly. 
“You’re distracting me,” the first year mumbled, running a thumb over your jaw. “Quit being so cute, dummy.”
You saluted playfully. “Yes, chef.”
He let out a soft laugh before moving back to silence the timer that had started beeping, alerting him that the pork on the stove was ready to go. The blond shooed you away and had you sit at the dining table as he took the skillet and turned off the stove flames.
As you waited patiently for Bakugo to finish up, you sang under your breath and set two spots at the table directly across from each other. By the time he was done, two plates of steaming food in hand, you were already sitting down and twirling a fork between your fingers. 
“What did you end up making?” You asked as he set a plate of rice and pork in front of you. 
“Tonkatsu,” he replied nonchalantly. 
It smelled like absolute heaven, and your hunger was only emphasized in the midst of the fast food you had been surviving off of during quarantine. This boy was even good at presentation, and you began to wonder if he was just talented at everything he tried.
Bakugo took the spot across from you and watched as you took the first bite. He wouldn’t admit it, but he felt a bit nervous that you wouldn’t like what he made. But that thought dissipated as quickly as it came once your fork flew into the meal for a second time, and you shot him a wide-eyed look.
“So good!” you exclaimed with a stuffed face, a few grains of rice falling from your mouth and back onto the plate.
“Don’t speak with your mouth full or you’ll choke, stupid,” he reprimanded, but your praise had an evident effect on the male as a smug smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“I expect gourmet lunches from you at least once a week when school starts again.” 
“Not a chance in hell that I’m doing extra work in the mornings.”
“I’ll buy you all the ingredients you want~” 
“...I’ll think about it.”
Next thing you knew, all the food on your plate was gone, gladly relocated to your stomach. Rounding the table, you wrapped your arms around Bakugo’s shoulders as he also finished eating. 
“Thank you for dinner, Katsuki,” you hummed contentedly, resting your chin on his head. “It was seriously masterclass, especially after all the takeout I’ve been eating.” 
“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome,” he waved it off. “I think a movie of my choosing is in order.”
“After we clean up, hot shot. Your mom would kill you if she realized someone was over.”
“Why wouldn’t she kill you too?”
“Please. Your mom loves me.”
The blond barked out a laugh before standing up and holding your waist, ushering you back to the kitchen. “True.”
Cleaning up was quick and easy with the both of you working together, stocking away dishes and remaining groceries. The evening sky, visible through a large window in the living room, glittered with stars as you sidled next to your boyfriend on the couch, the kitchen and dining room returned to its normal prestige.
“Katsuki?” you murmured, voice laced with a touch of contented sleepiness.
He turned his head from the television screen to face you. “Hm?” 
“I missed you, silly.” 
An arm was thrown around your shoulder and you were pulled closer to the male, who gently kissed your temple. 
“I missed you too, dummy.”
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solalunar-eclipse · 4 years
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Scars You Can’t See - Chapter 12
Chapter title: Beliefs
Word count: about 4100 words
Author’s Note: How did I write over four thousand words?? Mostly I’m just grateful this chapter got out in time, but still. Wow.
First  | Previous | Next
...
Over the next few days, Team Sonic dedicated their time to helping their counterparts recover from the exhausting ordeal of the past couple weeks. Tails worked to replace some of Omega’s burnt-out wiring (from his attack on G.U.N.), while Knuckles and Sonic...well, they wanted to take care of Rouge and Shadow, but it was very difficult when both Mobians kept insisting that they were “fine really, don’t worry about us so much” despite looking like they could collapse at any second.
The general stress level on the island was only raised upon a second call from the president, since she requested that a few of them come see her to discuss what should be done with G.U.N. at her office. Shadow and Rouge obviously weren’t going. Neither of them were ready to deal with the president, let alone the press (even if the latter continued to insist otherwise). The sheer idea of being in the same city as G.U.N. had especially shaken Shadow, even if he refused to say so.
Sonic had seen how he cringed at the mere idea.
Since Knuckles absolutely refused to leave his island, it was decided that Sonic, Tails, and Omega would travel together to see the president and hear what she had to say. She seemed pretty trustworthy, and if any of her staff wasn’t...they’d be able to handle themselves just fine.
While Tails helped haul Omega into the back seat of the Tornado (an impressive feat considering that he’d used to struggle with lifting Sonic in his early years) and prepared for takeoff, the hedgehog in question was zipping all around the island, trying to make sure everything would be okay while he was away and unable to defend his friends.
“You guys are sure you’re gonna be alright?” he asked for what was probably the fifth time, after Shadow had needed to physically stop him from starting a mini-whirlwind.
“Yes, Blue, we’ll be fine. Now go! You don’t want to keep the president waiting!” Rouge insisted, pushing the worried hero towards the Tornado.
He twisted around, trying to make eye contact with both of them. “You’re really, really-”
“Sonic.” Shadow said calmly. “It’s going to be alright. I promise.” 
The hero could practically feel his body untense, finally willing to jump onto the top wing of the biplane and prepare for takeoff. Before Tails fired up the engine, he took one last look at his friends.
Knuckles had walked up beside Rouge and looked like he wanted to put his arm around her waist without being awkward...which just made him look awkward anyway. The bat took the initiative herself, leaning against him comfortably. Her eyes were back to teal again, since she and Shadow had both taken out their contacts pretty quickly. 
Rouge had taken off her leather jacket by now, and Sonic could see it lying on the altar next to Omega’s generator- Angel Island was pretty warm, after all. Shadow was still wearing his hoodie, though he’d taken off the glasses. Omega had tried them on once out of curiosity and nearly broken them in the process...so the hybrid simply hadn’t bothered with it after that. His quills were still in a ponytail, which Sonic wasn’t complaining about in the slightest. (It was a good look on him, that was all!)
He switched on his earpiece and settled into his ‘flight’ position once again. “You guys read me?”
“Loud and clear, hon.” Rouge said. “Now go!”
The Tornado’s engine kicked up a roar as the plane wheeled down the clearing and began to lift off the ground. Knuckles and Shadow both waved, while Rouge opted for a mock-salute, which Sonic returned cheerfully as the plane pulled up above the altar.
He crouched low on the top wing as Tails pulled into a turn, angling the plane so that their course was set for Central City yet again. The fox switched on the turbo engine, too, but it would still take them about an hour and a half to reach the city at this rate.
To pass the time, Tails and Omega started talking almost immediately about how they needed to take some time in the workshop to fix up the latter’s various dents and scratches. Both of them seemed pretty excited about this- the former because he’d get to return to his workshop, the latter for style reasons, and both because they’d get to spend time together. Somewhere along the way, Omega insisted loudly that Tails “must return me to my original color as soon as it is possible to do so.”, clearly less than happy about his current paint job.
Sonic sighed as the conversation turned to advanced technical terminology, feeling a little bored. It was a little funny for him to say so, considering that he was blasting through the sky on a biplane going at speeds rivaling advanced jets...but here he was. Bored.
He tapped his feet, trying to look for shapes in the clouds or enjoy the feeling of the wind on his face, anything to avoid checking how long they’d been up in the air….
Too late.
The hero sighed loudly upon discovering that it had only been ten minutes since takeoff. How could something that was usually so cool be so...just...not?
Sonic quickly decided that he had to call up Angel Island right now so that he could find somebody to talk to. As the earpiece patched through to the other end, he heard a sudden “Ngh-” followed by a loud sigh. 
“Hey, everything okay there?” he asked, resulting in a startlingly high shriek from the other end.
“Sonic! Don’t do that!” Shadow hissed at him. “Give me a little warning next time!”
“There’s, like, actually no way for me to do that without talking.” Sonic shot back cheerfully, feeling more upbeat already.
“Ugh.” the hybrid groaned, before some sort of thud came through the mike.
“Seriously, though, you okay?”
Shadow sighed. “I’ve spent the past four minutes walking through a tangled, vine-filled forest in any direction that is away from the altar. It could be worse, but it could be better too.”
Sonic frowned, worried. “And why were you walking away from the altar? Are Rouge and Knuckles with you?”
“No.” the hybrid muttered. “They’re kind of busy making out. At the altar. Which is why I’m not there, obviously.”
“Aw, man...they probably just missed each other a lot.”
Shadow sighed. “I know they did, and I’m not judging them. But they deserve some privacy, and I really deserve to not have to watch that.”
Sonic grinned. “Hah! That’s fair. So whatcha doing now?”
“Lying on the ground next to a lake and watching some Flickies on a tree. You?”
“Sitting on the plane. And bored. Or, at least I was. Bored, I mean.” Sonic amended quickly.
The hybrid snickered. “I’d hope you’re still sitting on the plane.”
His smile only grew. Talking with Shadow was always fun- he didn’t know why he hadn’t called sooner!
“Soooo...you feelin’ any better after those power naps of yours?” he asked curiously.
“Actually, yes. Mostly it helps to not be looking over my shoulder all the time.” Shadow sighed again. “It’s…” he trailed off, clearly embarrassed.
“Hey, you can tell me!” Sonic said encouragingly.
“It's difficult to adjust. I...still catch myself looking over my shoulder only to see it’s a fly buzzing, not a plane, or something like that. I shouldn’t be, but I am.”
Sonic wished he was back at the island already so that he could give Shadow all the comfort he deserved. “There won’t be any planes there, Shadow. I mean it. And none of that ‘shouldn’t’ talk, either, ‘kay? It’s alright to be a little stressed, just remember everything’s gonna turn out fine.”
“That means a lot...thank you. Again.”
Sonic could feel a grin spreading across his whole face. “No problem! Now, what I really need to tell ya about is……”
He spent the rest of the flight chatting with the hybrid, catching him up on all the jokes, memes and random news he’d missed over the past couple of weeks. Shadow was eager to listen, and Sonic was so glad to finally be able to tell him everything that he swore he’d never take his friend’s presence for granted again.
Eventually, though, he was pulled back to reality in the middle of a particularly passionate explanation of why exactly it was so cool that the Tomatopotamus 2 movie’s release date was finally out when Tails tapped on his shoulder. “Uh, Sonic? We’re here now.”
“What?” The hero glanced down, only to discover that yes, Central City was in fact right beneath them. “No way, that was like twenty minutes!”
Omega shook his head. “Correction: it has been an hour and twenty minutes.” He sounded smug for some reason, and Sonic glowered at the robot irritably.
“I guess I gotta go for now, sorry.” he sighed into the earpiece. 
“Good luck to all three of you.” Shadow said. “I’ll be listening in, and I’ll go break up Knuckles and Rouge now.”
“Good luck to you.” Sonic snickered. He could practically hear Shadow roll his eyes at that one.
They coasted to a stop on the back lawn of the president’s home, the hedgehog pointedly ignoring Tails and Omega’s conversation about the theory of relativity, or something along those lines. Even though he didn’t know what exactly they were talking about, he could guess, and he didn’t approve. At all.
Sonic hopped off the wing of the plane before it had even finished landing the moment he spotted someone on the grass, waving hello as the president herself walked over to greet them. He rushed over to her, taking her hand and shaking it happily. 
He and the president had spoken a few times before- being a hero meant he ended up talking with quite a few famous people, but she was one of his favorites. She was relatively young compared to most of the others who had held that title, but she handled herself with the confidence and strength she deserved (and needed) for this station.
“Hey there! How’s the job?” he asked with an understanding grin, knowing all too well how it felt to be responsible for large groups of people at a time.
She dropped his hand (and the remaining air of formality) in favor of running copper fingers tiredly through her hair, letting out a long sigh. “These last few days have been tough, but I know it’s probably not as much stress as you guys have been dealing with. Still sorry about that, by the way.”
Sonic looked up at her, still sympathetic. “It’s not your fault. I bet you’ve probably got a lot on your plate too- dealing with this fallout ain’t gonna be easy.”
“I know, but it’s what I have to do. For your friends, and for everyone.” she said, squaring her shoulders determinedly.
Tails rushed over not long after, having parked and shut down the plane by now. “Hi, Ms. President! How are you?”
“Hello, Tails,” she said. Impressively, she was one of the few adults who refused to talk down to the young fox, instead treating him like the mature person he was. (This definitely earned her a few extra points in Sonic’s book.) “I’m perfectly alright...I hope you all aren’t doing too badly.”
The president had the thoughtfulness to at least look a little awkward at that, clearly embarrassed by the fact that some of the United Federation’s most famed heroes were now essentially unable to live in the country without being in serious danger. 
Omega greeted her as well as he made his way over, clearly alright with being at least somewhat decent to the woman who had helped shut down G.U.N.
“Would you like to come inside?” she asked politely. “I promise, there’s nothing inside but some Secret Service...and hopefully cake, if I requested it early enough.” she added with a warmer smile.
“What are we here for?” the robot asked bluntly, unprepared to trust as easily as the two Mobians were.
“Right!” she said, taking his question in stride. “I’m working on a new set of rules with the congressional branch that deal with some of the problems within G.U.N. so that they don’t crop up in the future, as well as trying to figure out what to do with them in general- so I wanted your opinion on both of those subjects! As long as that’s alright with you?”
Shadow spoke up in Sonic’s ear. “Rouge is interested and so am I.”
“Totally!” Sonic chirped, following her inside. Omega agreed with Rouge and Shadow (somewhat reluctantly), having tapped into the hero’s communications as they were landing.
Halfway up the stairs to the president’s office, the first lady came rushing in the opposite direction, apologizing all the while for getting in their way. “Hi, Sonic! Hi Tails! Hello, Omega! So nice to see you! Sorry, the cat’s gotten loose again…” she sighed, sagging against the railing briefly.
“We really need to get him a tracking collar, don’t we?” The president shook her head, her soft Afro bouncing as she pinched the bridge of her nose briefly. “Good luck finding him, anyway.”
“Have fun in your meeting!” the first lady chirped, winking overdramatically at her wife for emphasis before rushing off in search of their cat.
Tails grinned up at the president. “I know how you feel...sometimes I want to get a tracker chip for Sonic when he stays out too long on a run.”
“Hey!” the hero protested, but nobody seemed to be terribly worried about his pride. He could hear Knuckles, Shadow and Rouge laughing in his ear, too, and he pouted, wishing more than anything that he could offer a snappy comeback- but he couldn’t give away the fact that he had an earpiece in.
The president invited them into her office and began to lay out her plans for how to improve the country. The legislative body was working with her on some sort of complete shutdown and restructuring of G.U.N.- it seemed like there were going to be new leaders, new hiring processes, review systems, a different set of priorities…and that was just the start.
It was a lot, but Sonic was glad that she’d at least given them the opportunity to hear about these plans. Shadow and Rouge got to provide their input as well, which was great, but only through Omega, not Sonic. They would’ve trusted the president with that information, for sure, but the two members of the Secret Service behind her desk?
No way.
Especially not when Rouge recognized one of them from G.U.N.’s special training programs. They might not be close enough with the organization for it to really mean anything, but the group definitely didn’t want to take chances.
Partway through the meeting (not long after the cake arrived), the main phone on the president’s desk rang, startling everyone out of their conversation. She picked it up with a calm “Hello?”, but her eyes quickly widened as the person on the other end began to speak.
“Thank you.” she said quickly, before putting the phone down. Her eyes met Sonic’s, and he felt his stomach drop. The hero suddenly wished he hadn’t eaten just yet…
 “Three representatives of G.U.N. are at the front gate.” the president said quietly.
The hero heard a gasp in his ear. He wasn’t sure who had done so, but the sound made his surprise morph quickly into defensiveness. “Omega. Tails. Do you guys want to meet with them?” he asked coolly, his face losing most of its expression. 
“I would...like to do so.” the robot said.
Tails met Sonic’s gaze. “Yeah, same here.”
They moved to the main conference room, and the three heroes stood at one end of a long table, waiting for the members of G.U.N. to appear. It didn’t take long before they were buzzed in, and Sonic could feel himself shifting into a more confrontational stance, prepared to fight if necessary. 
The commander was the first one to enter the room. His presence immediately raised everyone’s tension levels- at the very least, he seemed to be aware of it. He almost looked...a little embarrassed? 
The silence on the other end of the communicator was near-deafening.
He was followed almost immediately by an agent that Sonic didn’t recognize, a wolf who seemed more than a little bit awkward and apologetic. She sat down to his left, sneaking glances at each of the three heroes in the room.
After that, a skinny, pale sort of guy entered the room, looking incredibly full of himself. Sonic wasn’t usually one to get bad first impressions of people, but this person irritated him almost immediately. Omega obviously recognized him- and not in a good way- as he began to make several loud clicking noises not unlike those of guns loading. On purpose, of course.
The commander sat down last (still seeming less than comfortable), cleared his throat, and looked up at the other three. “Before I speak, is there anything you would like to say?”
Sonic, Tails and Omega regarded him in stony silence.
He shuffled some of the papers in front of him and sighed quietly. “I would like to begin by apologizing for the distress I and the organization I serve have caused to you and your friends. All of you. I wish...no, I should have handled this in a different manner- requested a meeting, spoken with you first, done something to ensure that my intentions did not appear malicious. But instead…
“...instead I have distanced myself from three of the most skilled people ever to serve under my command, as well as further tarnished G.U.N.’s already ruined reputation. I…” The commander sighed here. This speech was already taking a lot out of him, Sonic could tell.
“I fear that my father’s views have heavily influenced my own, to say the absolute least, especially regarding my job and what needed to be done to serve this organization. ‘Shoot first and ask questions later’ was a favorite motto of his, and one that I accepted for a long, long time...my family has discussed with me lately (and quite gently, perhaps more so than I deserve) about how that ideology is problematic, to say the least.
“I liked to think I was not a bad person. That I was being more open-minded. But now I see that I was foolish to believe as much. I chose to try and salvage G.U.N., to cover up the mistakes as others have done before me because it was ‘for the good of the country’, because ‘other people wouldn’t understand what needs to be done’, and more. My guilty conscience wishes I would blame my father for my mistakes, but at some point, one must take responsibility for one’s own failures.
“Particularly…” and here he looked directly at the three of them, though he almost seemed to be searching for someone else instead, “...having alienated the last person on this planet who truly can comprehend the life I have led.”
Sonic realized with a start that he was talking about Shadow.
“All I can say now is that as of tomorrow, I am resigning as commander of G.U.N. I clearly have not succeeded in improving this organization at all, so I believe a new, younger face...someone without prior biases or contacts...would be better for us now.”
The hero heard gasps in both his ears- one from Rouge and Shadow, the other from the wiry man in front of him. Said human immediately started stammering at the commander, asking him why in the world he thought this was a good idea. The older man in turn merely waved him off with a stern word or two, forcing the other human to sink back into his seat with an obviously displeased expression.
The lavender wolf, the president, Omega, and Tails, on the other hand, all seemed to approve of the commander’s decision, as did Sonic. The hero felt nothing but relief now, hoping that finally, the big things could start to change for the better.
They spoke a little longer, the tensions mostly eased now (with the exception of the skinny guy, of course, who Rouge irritably identified as the less-than-respectful PR officer that the team had spoken to way back in the beginning). The conversation wasn’t very important, just polite nonsense about how change should be made soon and all that. 
Things weren’t comfortable by any means, and they shouldn’t have been, but...Sonic felt a little lighter at the thought that someone important in G.U.N. at least accepted what was going on.
As the three heroes left, the commander asked them for one favor. “Could you please tell Shadow and Rouge that I apologize for the way G.U.N. has behaved? The way in which I have commanded this organization is wrong...I can see that now.”
Sonic offered him a quick flash of a grin, realizing that the commander truly didn’t know about his earpiece, nor Omega’s connection. “Hey, being able to apologize says a lot, too. I’ll be sure to let them know, don’t worry.”
“Thank you, and safe travels.”
“You too, alright?” he replied politely, before hopping onto the Tornado with a wave.
The flight back seemed to take forever (really, this time), partly because Sonic was dying to get back and partly because his friends seemed too busy talking seriously to chat. He tried his best to bask in the feeling of hope, but it was difficult to focus when his excitement was rising with each passing second.
As soon as they landed, he jumped off and ran over to his friends. “It’s gonna be alright now, guys!” he said, grinning at them. “You’re gonna go home soon!”
Rouge gave him a big smile back, before rushing over to Omega to celebrate. “Did you hear that, Omega? We’ll be home in a couple of weeks, max! Shadow-”
She trailed off, watching him carefully. The hybrid was staring down at the ground, his hands trembling slightly. “It’s...done? Then what now? What should we do?” he asked, trying to keep his voice calm and failing miserably. Sonic’s ears drooped a little as he heard the shake in his friend’s voice.
“Now you get to rest. You’ve earned it, you know that? I know it’s tough to just...go back and chill after everything, but you gotta know when to let other people carry on the work ya started, alright?” Sonic said carefully, stepping closer and closer to Shadow. His hands hovered slightly over his friend’s arms, unwilling to touch the hybrid unless he was alright with it first.
Suddenly, Shadow leaned into Sonic’s chest, his eyes shut tightly, clearly fighting back some sort of emotion. The hero held his friend tightly, sinking to his knees in an attempt to comfort Shadow better. Rouge and Omega rushed over, holding him tight as well. “Hey…” the bat said gently, “Shadow, we’re all going to be okay, I promise. We can stop now.”
“How do we know? What if something happens and it all goes wrong-”
Sonic stopped him right there. “We can set up whatever you need to feel comfortable, but trust me, we’ll all make sure nothing goes wrong. I’ll hold the president to her word, and so will everyone else here.”
“But...nobody’s ever really been able to stop G.U.N. before...not even me.” Shadow said quietly.
“There are more people on your side now, Shadow.” Omega replied, looking down at him. “You are not alone in this fight- so many others want this too.”
“I’ll have to wait and see before I can believe that.” he muttered, sighing.
Tails and Knuckles walked over too, the former offering him a hopeful smile and the latter clapping a hand on his shoulder. “You guys can stay here a while longer, I guess, until everything’s sorted out.” the echidna said, trying his best to help.
“Yeah!” Sonic cheered. “We’ll make sure this all gets fixed up properly, alright?”
Shadow smiled faintly at him. “I’ll hold you to that, Sonic.”
The hero couldn’t help but grin back, all his hope for his friend bursting through. And when Shadow’s smile grew just that little bit more real, he was determined to do absolutely whatever it took to make the hybrid smile properly again and again, without any fear holding him back.
He knew, without a doubt, that Shadow was more than deserving of all the happiness in the world.
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cutegirlmayra · 4 years
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Metamy Prompt for the Week event
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Prompt:
In the Classic Dimension, Sonic has discovered that Dr. Robotnik has collected ‘Phantom Shards’ that carry the same basic principle abilities as the once intact Phantom Ruby. However, seeing how unstable they are apart, he’s created a gooey substance that puts it’s trapped target to sleep and creates their dream-clones!
Wanting to target Sonic’s friends, Dr. Robotnik places them into a sleep that the Phantom Shards then make into their worst nightmare!
Fighting off these nightmarish realities, Sonic has successfully awakened Tails through a data-bit thunderstorm zone, dodging bolts as they try to electrocute him.
Faster than sound also means speedy close-calls, and Sonic learns from rescuing Tails that his friends’ greatest dreams seem to be the key to destroying their nightmares.
For Tails, he had to believe in himself, that he could be just as brave and cool as Sonic was as a hero.
This desire manifested as the X-Tornado, that ghost-piloted Sonic towards the antidote after defeating a flying Egg-boss.
After taking the antidote, Tails awoke and immediately began looking into these Phantom Shards, and their antidote for waking up.
Sonic also saved Knuckles, who’s nightmare was failing in protecting the Master Emerald, leading to the end of the world. Dr. Robotnik greatly underestimated the Phantom Shards power, and as the world fell into chaos, Sonic discovered Knuckles’s greatest dream was to create world peace.
This manifested as the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald giving Sonic the necessary power to turn Super, even if they were just dream-clones of the actual emeralds.
Saving the day yet again, Sonic was surprised to learn Dr. Robotnik still had one prisoner left over... and could fathom who that could be...
Sonic darted into the room and the metal doors quickly slid shut, he looked to see that from the far right corner was what appeared to be like a giant water chamber that resembled the steampunk diver’s suit head.
He saw Rosy the Rascal floating in her sleep within the goo... much like his other friends.
He zoomed up to the glass and began banging on it, trying to look in more but a strange optical illusion was keeping him from seeing her well enough.
Then... flying down directly behind him... was Metal Sonic.
Sonic turned around and put his fists up, but Dr. Robotnik came down from a chute with... Another Metal Sonic!?
He laughed his typical way, then seemed to state that Rosy’s worst nightmare was indeed, Metal Sonic!
He stated that Sonic may have defeated his greatest creation previously... but two of them!?
Phantom Metal Sonic and Metal Sonic then spread out to come at Sonic from different angles, and it was a tricky fight to maneuver.
However, Classic Doctor Robotnik wasn’t able to predict the feuding robotic spirit that the real Metal Sonic had. Wanting to be the one to fight and end Sonic, it would constantly get cut-off or crash into the Phantom dream-clone, causing Sonic to wind around them and set-up some intercepting collisions.
He defeated the real Metal Sonic, having had a miniature explosion that knocked him to the right into some consoles... making him slide his metallic, heavy body off and hang with his arms still crooked up on the consoles but his head down.
The dream-clone of Metal Sonic was also looking like it’d short-circuit... twitching in the with sparks, but glared menacingly over to Rosy’s water chamber.
Without the antidote, she would remain asleep... and taking her out of the goo with the Phantom Shards inside would be risky... So Sonic didn’t see this coming.
In a last effort to remain permeant in this reality, Phantom Metal Sonic dived and slashed open the glass fisheye effect of the holding water chamber, gushing out the goo that Sonic had to dodge, least he’d be put under a sleep paralysis as well.
Dr. Robotnik started biting his nails, faking his concern for Sonic, before laughing at the predicament he was now in.
 Rescue the girl and risk falling to the Phantom Shards’ nightmares? Or continue fighting a never-ending struggle?
Sonic had to think fast, grabbing the Miles-Electric that Modern Tails had gifted him, he remembered that Modern Tails had told him he had an ‘app’ of sorts that could reprogram one Eggman robot to do one specific task. But it would only work for a short period of time.
Looking to see the real Metal Sonic struggling through sparks to rise and fight again, he rushed over to him and turned the Miles-Electric upside, clicking the app and quickly typing in his commands with his tongue out on the other side of his mouth.
A lightning static traveled between the two orbed points, and he shoved this into Metal Sonic’s head, the electric waves now traveling through his metallic shell and into his computing processes.
Enraged at the ‘cheating’ Dr. Robotnik hollered and stomped in his Eggmobile, seeing Metal Sonic retrieve Amy from the Goo and wipe it off her.
In his eyes, Tails’s logo showed the downloaded processes completed, and he stared at her as though wondering what he was doing.
She looked so small and frail in his arms... immediately, he accessed what his new programming was.
The timer was set... and the command: Be her replacement hero while I’m busy, help her to learn to rely on her own abilities but with your aid, protect and make her unafraid of you anymore.
He was twitching at the loathsome command, the new objective was so humbly sickening.
Of course this frail creature should fear him!
He felt his claws twitching before finally, Sonic sped over after distracting the dream-clone and held her, showing he was still actively fighting but glared back at the dream-clone.
The Phantom Metal Sonic suddenly stopped and began to shake again, finally exploding as he saw Sonic protectively shielding her.
In a humorous quip, Dr. Robotnik concluded that Rosy’s greatest dream must be that ‘Love conquers all’ and then opened the metal doors for Sonic to come and face him... The greatest of all fears!
Sonic rolled his eyes, watching him disappear up the chute and then handed Rosy back to Metal Sonic, giving Metal a condensing pat on his heat as though rubbing in the harsh truth of his new servitude to her.
Absolutely unacceptable..!
Sonic took off as Metal Sonic was left to babysit the sleeping girl, and his face revealed every bit of malice he felt towards the situation...
For the first few minutes, he just monitored her heart beat.
In the next, his eyelids began to soften from their cold-stare and turn to a neutral look as he noticed her getting cold and began to regulate a heat through his engine, making sure not to scratch her as he did so, but heating her soggy form up to dry.
When she sneezed in her sleep, he felt his whole systems freak out as her heart momentarily adjusted to the increase in body pressure and decrease blood flow back into it.
Even though it was a mili-second of change, the fact that her body’s output had slightly altered sent him into a panicked frenzy.
Not knowing how to handle that, and seeing she was back to recovering health and stable levels, he lowered his eyelids as though frustrated with the fact that now... this once ‘greatest creation’ that could compete with that of even Sonic, invented to be the better of his organic trash, was suddenly now the nursemaid.
Infuriating!
She breathed lightly.
Insulting!
He adjusted her headband that was slightly slipping off from the slippery goo in her quills.
... Revolting...
He lightly pushed her up more towards his chest so she wasn’t sagging limply in his arms, and giving her the heat necessary for her chest and the rest of her clothes to dry and stay warm.
... Pathetic little thing...
He sharp, silvery claw shone as he lifted it to her bangs, moving them with a waft to the side.
He recounted the humiliating memory of another instance, where he had crashed into a sliding metal door while Sonic had successfully made it to her, tied up and hanging from a pole.
His sharp quills had freed her at once with a low-turning spin-dash, and she had hugged him in gratitude while Metal Sonic was incinerated by a frustrated Eggman.
His memory was downloaded into another Metal body, upgraded but relatively looking the same.
... And yet, Sonic didn’t want to burden himself by taking her along to fight Eggman.
He even chuckled at the scene of Metal holding her.
He wanted her to conquer her greatest fear... Him.
Metal Sonic looked up a moment, his new programming trying to come up with ways that she wouldn’t be afraid of him anymore.
Although he didn’t like the programming, nor any living-organism,... he still contemplated ways to achieve his newly downloaded goals.
Sonic finally returned, and as he did, gave Rosy the antidote.
Upon waking up, she was teetering, but her enthusiasm over Sonic’s face made her want to run to him. Instead, she lunged forward and Metal Sonic had to catch her before falling.
Once her eyes adjusted, she noticed Sonic still chuckling with a hand over his mouth as her eyes blinked over to being in Metal Sonic’s hold...
She immediately summoned her hammer and started to bash him.
Sonic takes off as Rosy tries to follow him, still scared and whining out about the loyal, puppy-like Metal Sonic tagging along behind her, but when he knocks one of Eggman’s missiles away from hitting her... using all his jet-strength to propel it in a new direction... she stood amazed.
He flew down to her and just stared at her...
She tried to walk back but he zipped at sonic-speeds to place his hand to her waist and pull her back.
She blushed in fright but looked back to see him pointing to a muddy puddle, showing she would have stepped in it.
He let her go as she marveled and covered half her face with her hands... bundled into fists at her shyness.
She begins to defend herself and learn how to fight the Eggman robots while under the careful, chaperone eye of Metal Sonic.
As she runs up a loop-de-loop, he’s there to assist her.
When she swings and misses a robot, he annihilates it before she can open her eyes, so she believes she hit it and destroyed it.
With her confidence rising, she learns self-reliance, and finally catches up to Team Sonic as they prepare for the last few zones of battle.
Dr. Robotnik put himself into the dream-goo, so his greatest dream might come to pass! Switching the concoction around, his Phantom Empire was glitching into existence everywhere.
Metal Sonic didn’t mind...
But his eyes turned to Rosy, who was fearful of these images...
He immediately decided he didn’t like it, and glared threateningly towards the metal statues and structures.
However... He didn’t notice the timer... had finally concluded.
Not wanting to leave her side, he fought as the Eggman objectives began to successfully override Tails’s software update, and rebooted him.
As he stepped away, hoping to move as far away from Rosy as possible, he gripped his head as Eggman’s logo began to flash and show the rebooting process downloading up.
When the others realized this, Rosy threw out her hand, stopping them. She wanted to be the one... to defeat him.
It was emotional, seeing the once helpful friend turn into a fierce, villainous robot once again.
But she wasn’t afraid of him anymore.
She couldn’t deal the last blow, and as she fell to her knees and cried over his sparking form, he lifted a metallic claw up...
Sonic quickly moved her out of the way of his attempted slash, as his claws lengthened to try and deal further damage to her.
Rosy softly cried as Sonic moved away from her, spun to give one last finishing blow and kicked him into the sky.
As he exploded, Rosy reached out to him, crying out as Tails and Knuckles had to hold her back.
She was so saddened to see him go... she vowed that if she ever found a nice robot, she could preserve it, no matter what the cost.
Her outstretched hand... withdrew into a shaking fist, full of conviction.
She wasn’t afraid of robots anymore...
She wanted to help them.
Although Metal Sonic had reverted back to his original form, forgetting all about their adventures together... her silent knight in dark blue, metallic armor that would let her practice in safety... swinging her hammer... as he then almost swiped her away after his programming changed...
She sobbed quietly into her hands, still shaking in anger at how Eggman could create such terrifying robots... but amazed at how Tails could reinvent them into loving friends.
“You really shouldn’t have made him so nice, Sonic. Then, Rosy wouldn’t have formed such a strong attachment to him.” Classic Tails commented, putting his hands to his hips and leaning towards the culprit.
Sonic just shrugged, looking back at Amy and wanting to comfort her, but feeling that she needed to cry over it a little bit longer.
Metal Sonic had completed his objective, after all... and Sonic smiled to see that, but quickly frowned as he closed his eyes, folded his arms, and waited for Rosy a distance away...
She balled over Metal Sonic’s deactivated head... unable to, in the end, part with it.
It took several minutes... and some could argue, still more time later for her grief to mend… but that’s where her love of reforming others came into play, along with her independence... she would never forget when she first got so excited over completing the zone that she reached a fist up for a light pound of comradery.
Realizing he was her greatest fear though, she hesitated and pulled back slightly, but he immediately, robotically, advanced up to her and without blinking or removing his eyes from her, directly faced her and lifted his own hand up.
Slowly, he curled every finger into a fist and lightly knocked her bundled hand in the show of ‘Good job, congrats on your first--kinda--solo run.’
She would never forget it... and holding her hand close to her heart... she would never forget what lessons it gave her.
About robots. About people...
She looked to Sonic, who--as though sensing her inquisitive gaze--looked back over his shoulder at her...
Some robots could be even warmer than people...
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anarchyduck · 3 years
Text
Peas in a Pod
Day 20 Alt Prompt: De-Aged 
(posted it on AO3 yesterday, forgot to post it here oops) AO3
----------------------
“So let me get this straight,” - Tony massages his temple in effort to soothe his growing headache - “There was a wizard.”
“Yeah,” Ned nods. “And he was shooting off fireballs, like real fireballs, and it was awesome and kinda scary and-”
“Ned. Ned. Find the shortcut to the point. Because nothing explains” - Tony gestures towards the couch - “that.” 
Ned blushes with embarrassment and nods . “Right! Sorry, sir. So, uhm, Pete was fighting the wizard guy and he was doing really good! Was totally kicking his ass! And then the wizard like, shot him with some kind of purplish black energy ray stuff? Like it shot right out of his hands. Then the wizard was gone and Pete was… like this.” 
Tony eyes the kid on the couch. Same curly brown hair. Same doe brown eyes. It’s everything else that’s wrong. Peter is sixteen, a teenager, and this kid looks like he’s no more than five years old. 
As for Peter, well, he looks content watching videos on Ned’s phone. Some children’s cartoon about dogs or something, Tony didn’t quite catch it. But the kid likes it and he isn’t crying anymore so Tony counts that as a win. Judging from the confused state the kid was in upon arrival, it’s safe to assume Peter’s memories are wiped. Or, rather, memories of his life in the present day which is a problem in and of itself.  
“So,” Ned’s drawl catches his attention. “What are we going to do?”
Tony raises an eyebrow. “We?” he shakes his head. “No, no, you are going home.” 
“What about Peter?” 
Yeah Stark, what about Peter? 
“He’ll go with his aunt.” Tony says simply. Easy enough solution. 
“You mean you can’t like, fix him?” Ned asks. “What if he ends up staying like this forever?” 
Tony waves off the teen’s concerns. “He won’t.” he assures. “Whatever the wizard guy hit him with will probably wear off in a couple hours. Easy peasy.” After all, the kid couldn’t stay like this forever, could he? That is just absurd. 
----------
The effects don’t wear off. 
Two hours later and Peter is still a child. Ned is gone, reluctantly dragged out by Happy who also delivered clothes that fit the kid better so he’s no longer swimming in the Doctor Who shirt Tony assumed belonged to one of the boys. During that time, Tony contacts May to fill her in on what’s going on. The woman is stuck at work (“We’re incredibly short staffed today, it’s ridiculous.”) and unable to leave before her shift is over. 
It leaves Tony in charge of the kid which, while normally wouldn’t be an issue, he suddenly finds himself out of his depth. Teenagers, he can handle. No problem. They could be reasoned with. But small children? 
“Mr. Tony?” 
Tony jumps, spinning on hell with his hand pressed firmly against his heart. “Holy shit!” he gasps.
Peter flinches back, eyes wide and looking as startled as Tony feels. Then his bottom lip begins to quiver. 
“No no, don’t cry.” Tony says in a rush. “I didn’t mean to scare you, kid. You snuck up on me. Ought to put a bell on you someday.” 
That earns him a giggle which washes away the rising guilt. “Uncle Ben says that too.” Peter says. “Says I’m really good at sneaking.” 
“You are good at sneaking.” Tony affirms. “What are you doing down here anyway? Thought you were watching TV?” Least that’s where Tony left him. Kid was content with watching the cartoon with the dogs and he figured he could get some work done tracking down the wizard guy. 
“I was, but it’s over now.” Peter says dismissively, his eyes already wandering the workshop. Then he actually begins to wander. Tony watches him, contemplating on whether it’s a good idea to let a four year old wander his workshop. It isn’t exactly kid proof and if he knows anything about kids (which is very limited) it’s they like to touch everything. And put things in their mouths. 
“What’s that?” Peter asks and Tony leans to the side to look past the monitors and equipment to see what the boy is pointing at. 
“Oh that’s DUM-E.” 
The robot chirps in response, clicking it’s claw as it peers curiously at the boy. Tony takes a couple steps towards them, immediately thinking Peter might fear the robot. Much to his relief, the boy’s mouth is agape with wonder and eyes equally wide. 
“Wow!” he gasps. “Hi DUM-E. I’m Peter.” Peter reaches up to pet DUM-E’s extended arm, giggling as the robot chirps at him. “So is he a robot?”
“Yep. I made him.” 
“You made him?” Peter gives him the same look of wonder and amazement. “Wow. Are there other stuff you’ve made?” 
“I’ve made a lot of stuff.”
And so Tony gives the kid a proper tour of the workshop. Like his older self, Peter is sharp minded and incredibly smart. He asks questions Tony doesn’t think a four year old would know to ask and hangs onto every word Tony says. When he introduces Peter to FRIDAY, the kid is so ecstatic he can’t sit still. It warms his heart to know Peter keeps that same excitement as he aged. 
After the tour, Tony brings him into the kitchen to feed him a late lunch. The kid sits on the kitchen counter next to him, watching Tony’s every move. PB&J sandwiches are the easiest thing he can fix and turns out to be the kid’s favorite.
“So you’re a superhero?” Peter asks curiously. 
“Sometimes.” Tony replies as he spreads the peanut butter onto the bread. 
“Like Batman?” 
“Kiddo, I am way cooler and richer than Batman.”
Peter giggles and Tony thinks it might be the cutest goddamn thing he’s heard all day.
“My daddy is like you.” the kid says suddenly.
“Oh yeah? How so?” Tony asks, finding himself equally curious. He knows through his early research into Peter Parker that the boy’s parents are deceased. Father worked for OsCorp, mother worked for some type of law firm. Aside from the atrocious choice of working at OsCorp, both of them seemed relatively normal. 
“Because he makes stuff. B-But not robots like you do. He makes other stuff and-and he white wears a coat and he helps people.” Peter gives a long, wistful sigh then and adds, “I want my daddy and mommy.” 
Tony freezes, butter knife stuck in the jar of jelly. Quite suddenly he remembers something else about Peter’s parents. 
They both died in a plane crash. 
When Peter was four years old.
The man internally panics, mind going blank on what to do, what to say because what can you say? 
“Mr. Tony?” Peter’s little voice draws him from his internal crisis. He tilts his head, looking at him curiously and, dare Tony say it, concern. “Are you okay?” 
“Yeah.” Tony sniffs and finishes up the kid’s sandwich. “Yeah, totally fine kiddo. A-OK. So you want this cut up?”
“Yes.” Peter replies, apparently moved on from the incident. Yet, as Tony puts the knife to bread in order to cut, the kid shouts, “No! No no, not like that! You have’ta make the X.” 
“Huh?” Tony looks a little helplessly from the kid to the bread.
“The X!” Peter leans over and traces an X on the sandwich. “Like that!” 
Tony cuts it up according to the kid’s desire and it’s only then that he sees what the kid means. “Yeah, guess it does look like an X when you cut it, huh? Well, here you go kiddo. Eat up.” He slides the plate to the boy’s side. 
Peter takes a large bite and hums with approval as he chews. “‘Ood yob!” he says around his mouthful. It’s the additional thumbs up that makes Tony chuckle. He grabs a juice box from the fridge for the kid, something teenage Peter would have rolled his eyes and grumbled about. Toddler Peter says a polite ‘thank you’ and picks it up with fingers covered in grape jelly. 
He decides to capture the moment for May and pulls out his phone. “Heads up, kiddo.” he says and takes a picture. Peter is caught in a half smile, peanut butter smeared on the corner of his mouth. There’s a glob of jelly on his shirt that’s run down the image of Thor’s hammer. 
“I wanna see! I wanna see!” Peter instantly demands. 
Tony moves to stand next to him and flips the phone for the kid to see the picture. Peter grins and immediately reaches for the phone. “Uh uh, sticky fingers.” Tony says, which gets the kid giggling about being called ‘sticky fingers’. He moves the phone out of reach and sends the image off to May. 
“So,” Tony says. “What do you want to do after lunch? TV? Go play with DUM-E? Whatever that wannabe Merlin did to you took away your powers, or maybe just suppressed them. Maybe we ought to run some tests to figure that out.” 
On second thought, maybe not. Teenager Peter detests needles; he imagines little Peter hates them just as much. 
“DUM-E!” Peter says excitedly. 
“You’re going to spoil that bot, kid.” 
---
“Thank you so much, Happy.” May says as she steps into the Tower’s elevator. “You really didn’t have to pick me up. I could have drove.”
Happy directs FRIDAY to take them to the penthouse then shakes his head. “It’s no problem.” he says. “Boss wanted to make sure you got here quickly and with that guy who attacked Peter still running around-”
“Right.” May sighs. “Well, guess he could have done worse things than turn Peter younger. At least him and Tony seem to be hitting it off.” She smiles fondly as she recalls the image Tony sent her. She only hopes Peter has been good while they wait for her.
“Yeah, well, the kid’s grown on him.” 
“I feel a little jealous, honestly.” May admits. “Peter was so cute when he was little.” 
The elevator comes to a stop, the doors slide open to the entrance of the penthouse. It’s oddly quiet inside and the lights are dimmed. “Tony?” Happy calls out as he and May walk through the foyer into the living room. 
It looks like a tornado hit it. There are papers thrown about with childish drawings covering them. A sheet covers the kitchen table which has been pulled away from the dining area and there are mini marshmallows covering the floor with some sticking to the large windows that overlook the city. A device that looks like a mini catapult sits on top of the table next to a pile of marshmallows and markers. 
May follows the chaos, finding the TV on with the Incredibles playing on a low volume and both Tony and Peter fast asleep on the couch. Peter is still a toddler in every way May remembers, sleeping with his head on Tony’s chest. There are stickers on their faces and she spots marker smears not only on Peter’s arm but also on the hand that’s resting on Peter’s back. 
“Did you find-” Happy starts, quietened as May shushes him. He comes to her side, expression softening at the sight. “Least they kept each other busy.” he remarks. 
May nods in agreement as she pulls out her phone to take a quick picture of the two. “Like two peas in a pod.” 
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blueeyedrichie · 4 years
Note
I feel like the fandom is split on this issue so I need to know your thoughts~ with Reddie who do you think can cook and who is a kitchen disaster?
OKAY so honestly? I think Richie can cook (but is also a kitchen disaster ofc, it looks like a tornado came through every time) and Eddie cannot (at least not for a while, he does learn tho) and here’s why (also I’m sorry I got a lil carried away bc I loved this) (also one of my fav hcs is that Richie and/or Maggie teach Eddie how to cook so that’s the vibe uwu):
There’s no chance in hell that Sonia lets Eddie near the oven/stove/lbr prob not even the microwave because it’s not safe, Eddie bear; let mommy do it for you. So instead, Eddie is always stuck setting the table and doing the dishes, but never getting to cook. Eventually he just assumes this is normal, even though on TV sometimes he sees kids helping their parents make dinner, but TV isn’t real life, and Eddie knows that. So he kind of just stops thinking about it after a while. He’s sure he’ll learn how once he gets older and has to cook for himself.
It’s not until he has a sleepover at Richie’s house that he sees for the first time Richie helping Maggie in the kitchen. Went was the one to let Eddie inside the house, telling him to find Richie in the kitchen. Eddie assumed that Richie would be seated at the table, waiting for his mom to finish up, just like Eddie did when he was at home.
Instead, he finds Richie stirring the spaghetti sauce in a pan at the stove, with Maggie next to him, buttering the garlic toast. Eddie watches in awe for a moment, trying to quietly take a seat, but the chair scraping against the tile gives him away, and Richie whips around, a splatter of sauce on his cheek.
“Eds! You’re just in time; dinner’s almost ready!”
Eddie smiles, not saying anything other than, “You’re a mess, Rich.” 
Richie gives him a confused look, and Maggie laughs when she glances up. She gestures to her own cheek to indicate what Eddie is referring to, and rather than grabbing a napkin or a towel, Richie wipes his face on the shoulder of his t-shirt, to which Maggie and Eddie both react with a groan.
Normally, Eddie can’t stop talking when he’s at the Tozier’s. He loves it here, and he feels more comfortable here than he ever has in his own home. Maggie and Went always encourage him to go on, and Richie adds in his own little jokes and anecdotes throughout. But Eddie stays relatively silent tonight, and while Richie and Went take care of the dishes, Maggie nudges his shoulder gently.
“What’s the matter, Eddie? Did Richie’s cooking make you sick?” She teases, and Eddie giggles softly, shaking his head.
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
He debates making something up, but the earnest look in her eyes reminds him of Richie’s, and the overwhelming feeling of trust pushes the words up from his chest.
“I always wanted to try cooking. But my ma won’t let me. It just looked like you guys were having so much fun.”
Maggie doesn’t even ask why, and Eddie knows that she knows how his mom is. At least, enough that this isn’t a surprising discovery.
She gives him a thoughtful look, and Eddie’s sure she’s going to say well, don’t worry. You’ll learn when you’re older!
Instead, she says, “How about you help me with dessert then?” And Eddie’s eyes light up, and he wastes no time hopping up from his chair and bumping Richie out of his way with his hip anytime he tries to steal a taste of the apple pie filling that Eddie makes with gentle instructions from Maggie. She even lets him lay the crust and place it in the oven, and calls him back downstairs from Richie’s room - where they’re surrounded by a mess of comics - to very carefully remove it and place it on the stove.
“Wow, looks like you might have some competition, mom.” Richie mumbles around a mouthful of warm apple and cool vanilla ice cream, and Went hums his agreement from his place across from his son. Eddie blushes, but his heart lifts when Maggie offers him a soft smile from across the table.
“He’s a natural.”
From then on, it kind of just becomes routine. Eddie sleeps over on the weekends, and Maggie always asks what Eddie feels like making. Sometimes, she’ll even let Richie and Eddie do everything themselves, only interrupting when they get too rowdy and too distracted covering each other in flour or garlic or whatever else they’ve decided to destroy Maggie’s kitchen with. 
And years down the road, when they’re finally together, living in their own home, they take turns cooking for each other, and Richie buys Eddie new recipe books all the time. And sometimes they still can’t help but slap each other’s bottoms and leave flour-covered handprints there like they used to do playfully when they were kids. Only now, it’s followed by a kiss.
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Text
The Heart Gambit (Dennor): 2-The Arbiter
Word Count: 1,566
Summary: Mathias and Emil meet the day after the party for drinks but things take a surprising turn when Emil has to leave suddenly.
Author's Note: Yay next chapter! Sorry it's a little late! I had a great time writing it so I hope you enjoy it and do leave me some feedback so I can keep getting better!
Previous: 1-Where I want to Be
---
Mathias took a swig of his drink. The bar was mostly quiet except for some old men having a conversation in the corner, occasionally punching through the quiet with bouts of hearty laughter. He anticipated the noise would pick up as the night went on and hoped his drink would loosen his nerves.
His plan was to persuade Emil to introduce him to Lukas, but Mathias was having doubts. He'd spent the last night tossing and turn in his hotel room. Should I say I'm sorry for saying he doesn't have a life? Would he believe me? Why do I care what he thinks? Mathias wasn't really sure why he wanted to talk to Lukas so badly.
He thought back to the conversation he had with Alfred last night. All Mathias has to do was shake hands and be relatively polite; win them over with 'charm'. He'd done it a million times before. He remembered how much fun it was at the beginning of his career. He liked seeing people smile and laugh when he was loud or made a snarky comment. No one has seen a Chess player like that before. Breaking the stereotype worked in his favor for a long time, but the more Mathias thought about how he felt about keeping up this facade, the more the same thought came to his mind: I'm tired. This wasn't the first time he had this thought. It started maybe a year ago, and to say it scared him was an understatement. He couldn't fathom losing everything he worked for at the time. He relished the fame and loved his lifestyle. But these days, he had half a mind to be a no-show at the match and run away to a small village nearby and spend the rest of his days breathing in the fresh air, soaking in the sunlight.
Mathias quickly zoned back in as he heard the door open. Emil stepped through, looking much different from the night before. Rather than the suit and tie from last night, he was wearing a striped button-down shirt and brown jacket that looked as if it had been hastily thrown on. Emil looked over at him. He stared for a moment before recognizing Mathias and walking over.
He didn't blame him for not recognizing him. When he's not as some stuffy get-together, Mathais wore his hair much wilder and popped the collars of his shirts. Mathias also wouldn't be surprised if he looked like he went through a tornado considering how tired he was when he got dressed. At this point, it wouldn't phase him to learn he was wearing two left shoes or one black and one brown.
Emil made his way over to Mathias's table and sat across from him. Emil looked a little stiff and his gaze was fixed on the table. He chuckled a bit.
"You know, part of me did think you'd show up," he said with a half-smile.
Mathias beamed.
"Of course! I wanted to finish our conversation from last night! Talking about your brother is way more fun than a stuffy party! To be fair, it's also way more fun when you're not AT the stuffy party!" he laughed. "'Though, I'm kinda curious. What about you, huh?
Emil was taken aback a bit. Just last night, Mathias was mostly well-behaved with a bit of an ego. Now he's asking about him? Everything Lukas told him made it seem like Mathias would be the kind of guy to spend half the time talking about how great he is and the other half talking sponsorship and bulldozing rainforests.
"Well, there's not much to talk about." He shifted a bit in his seat. "It's just been me and Lukas for a long time. When he picked up Chess and started getting serious, I joined him. I never really liked competing, though. So I ended up becoming his second. Now my job is to make sure he actually eats food instead of just reading. The rest is history."
Mathias took a swig from his drink.
"So why stick around, huh? If you don't like the whole competition scene then...well I guess I'm asking what you'd be doing if you weren't doing chess?" he implored with a childlike smile.
Emil scratched at his palm.
"I... well... I've always wanted to go back to school. It's not like I'm that old or anything! I used to wanted to go to school for geology or something like that," Emil said, his face lighting up. "I've always like volcanoes and things like that!"
Mathias gave a bit smile.
"That's so cool! You should tell me what lava feels like when you get to touch it!" he exclaimed.
Emil raised an eyebrow.
"I don't think... never mind. So what about you, huh? Got any plans for after the match?" Emil asked, stealing glances at his watch.
Mathias paused for a moment. He couldn't exactly say he hadn't thought about it before. Of course he has. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't think of somewhere he wanted to be. He couldn't see himself as any conventional job like a lawyer, teacher, and certainly not an office worker. If he was honest with himself, he didn't really fit any job in particular. He didn't have a higher purpose anymore. Chess became his life, his life became chess, and he was scared of who he would be without it. He lost so much to Chess, but he most regretted the time he lost, the life he wouldn't get back. Maybe that's what he would do. Spend the rest of his life making up for all the time he lost at uncomfortable parties, being purposely arrogant and hurtful, and for every game he played after he realized it didn't make him happy anymore.
Mathias managed a small smile.
"Oh you know!" he said, trying to sound cheery. "I think I wanna take a break for a while! No more stuffy lame parties for a long time! I'll get a house somewhere nice and just have a good time!"
Emil opened his mouth to respond, but his watch began beeping. He jumped up from his seat and stopped his watch.
"Sorry! I have to...um...go...I'll be right back!" he said, practically bolting out.
Mathias barely had time to process what happened before the door opened and a familiar figure walked through. Emil was right, he did come right back. Only something was different. Mathias got a second look and felt himself stiffen up.
"No way," he whispered under his breath.
Lukas was scanning the room with furrowed brows. He carefully made his way through the now more crowded bar, looking at every patron as if he lost something. Mathias found him jumping up from his seat and weaving his way through the tables and chairs towards Lukas. In all honesty, he had no idea what he was doing or what he was going to say to him once he got there. He just knew he had to meet Lukas.
Ok, I'll open with an apology! Yeah! 'Sorry for being an ass during the interview!'. Then maybe I can ask him to get a drink or something or-
Mathias felt something bump against his chest that caused him to take a step back. He snapped back to reality and noticed someone sprawled on the floor in front of him.
"Woah are you ok!? My bad! I totally didn't see you there!" he cried out, a bit too loudly.
Mathias stuck out his hand. The person on the floor sat up a bit, rubbing their arm.
"Sorry...I'm just looking for my brother..." the person replied quietly.
They reached out and grabbed Mathias's hand, finally making eye contact. And at that moment, Mathias knew it was all over. Lukas's hand was so soft and warm in his own, he couldn't imagine ever letting go of it. The feeling of his hands sent electricity through his veins. Falling to the ground made his hair a little messy, strands of blonde hair covering his face, and he was partially tangled up in a long white scarf. But what made Mathias know he was done for was Lukas's eyes. Like Emil, they were so blue they seemed violet, but Lukas's were different. They always seemed so cold in the pictures Mathias has seen of him. Those weren't the eyes he met. Mathias saw soft eyes, like a child's. There was concern in them, maybe even a little embarrassment. Lukas's eyes managed to see right through Mathias straight into his soul. He felt his heart flutter for a moment and a warmth spread to his cheeks. And with that, his whole world turned upside down.
Lukas had already begun pulling himself up when he finally recognized the man attached to the hand.
"Thank y- WAIT A MINUTE YOU'RE-"
Lukas's grip on Mathias's hand slipped and he found he found himself crashing back onto the floor with another loud thud. All Mathias could manage to do was stare for a moment before forcing himself to offer his hand again, praying Lukas would take it.
"Hi...I'm...um...I'm Mathias...nice to meet you..." was the only thing he could get to come out, feeling the least confident he'd ever felt in his life.
Lukas hesitated for a moment before taking Mathias's hand.
--- Next Chapter: 3-Coming Soon!
a/n: I'm so excited to be writing this! Things are definitely gonna start getting more interesting in the next chapter!  I’m going to take this time to plug my non-hetalia work “ Intro to Love ” about a college student who struggles to keep her superpowers a secret and while making new friends.  How much of her normal life will she give up to save her friends from a mysterious villain that drains students’ brains and turns them into zombies? The complete Chapter 1 is out NOW! And Chapter 2.1-'The last of the Good Days' will be out in the next couple of days!
Thanks again for reading! Send some feedback my way! Can’t wait to continue this story!
Quotev link: here
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teacup-baphomet · 4 years
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G/t Drabble (Crash landed on a hostile planet trope but NOT via the a tiny vulnerable human in a planet of mean powerful alien bigs route)
tw: a bit of censored cursing. Uh. I’m not sure what else. Maybe broaching of sensitive tops such as sexuality and religion. But not really. Mostly it’s just rlly dumb word play/lame humor and a confused alien being confused (and kinda freaked/troubled due to the confusion? you’ll see if you read it i guess). there is some sad lorg boi times. idk. no romantic relationships. just a shaky friendship is forming between a crash-landed big-arse alien (a human! *gasp*  i woulda never guessed something as vile as that o: ) and one of the much smaller, very much not human locals. most want to kill the poor dude who got stuck on this planet of hostile lil guys who think he’s a monster and immediately decide they much off him asap. so like having this one ally is kinda important to him. But it’s hard. because. lots reasons rlly. culture differences. the language tech can only do so much. the size diff creates definite issues because trust is hard in general. and trusting a big being that could easily cause havoc on your planet mostly just cuz he /seems/ nice is not a very good foundation... there is much to learn between the two before they can be truly good frens. so uh good luck to them lol *raises glass* I mean. I don’t think I’ll ever write these two again. but I’m sure they’ll end up good friends. probably.
Anyway without further adieu, here have a disappointment (read: attempt to be creative but i’m kinda lazy tbh and still kinda bitter I can’t draw for more than like 10 minutes before I start spacing out :/ )
"We are called humans or the scientific name is homo sapiens" spoke the large alien, Lyle.
"Homo sapiens? That is rather long, is it not? Why is a "scientific name" even a thing? Why would that be necessary? Scientific name versus what kinda name? Emotional name? Why are these science names two words? Seems annoying. What is wrong with just calling yourselves simply homos? Or something else just as nice and concise. Straight to the point if you will. Probably. I... Uh.. I obviously don't know what exactly is the purpose of a scientific name as i already implied... Sooo..." The much shorter – and much scalier- native being (called Torrynts) awkwardly looked off the side to stare at the plain, blank, siding of their dilapidated, isolated house as if it were the most interesting thing in the entire vicinity. Which it wasn’t of course. There was a f***ing alien 15 times their size only a few them-sized lengths way…
 Lyle gave his new comrade – and only friend on this gawdforsaken planet that mostly wants him dead- th pondering, and possibly ironically, rather colourfully scaled Torrynt by the name of Kyvlar a bemused look, bordering on coy.
"Huh. 'Straight' to the point you say?" He paused with a small snort. "Well, my not-so-statuesque friend, do I got news for you~"
Kyvlar suddenly blanched, giving a Lyle a look that was like a knife to the heart while blurting out. "Wait, wait, wait! Hold up! We? There are more than one of you? Here? On this planet? Were you just a distraction the whole time. Oh... Oh no.... Have we really been victim a secret homo invasion this whole time! I-"
 Their panicked monologue was interrupted by a most horrendous noise. Like a slowly dying tornado with the hiccups or something.
"STOP. Stop I-I can't. I can't. This is too much much!" Spoke Lyle with his hand covering the bottom half of his  and his eyes scrunched shut.
 'Welp,' thought the Torrynt, 'This is the end. This is when I die. I should have known better than to immediately put my trust in such an enormous obviously dangerous specimen. Ho-'
 Kyvlar’s dramatic internal speech was interrupted when the alien surprised them by uncovering the his face, revealing a huge grin. ‘They weren't upset? Huh?’ The Torrynt blinked owlishly at the human in confusion.
 "Sh*t, bite-size (Kyvlar noticeably paled at the impromptu nickname not 100% the foreign joking tone, well it would have been noticeable to someone their size at least), I know you don't mean to, context-wise, but you reminded me of my great aunt Karen when my Uncle Todd and Uncle Copper decide to have their friends over along with relatives for a gatherin'."
Plastering on a faux distraught look and blatantly mocking tone, he  continue with exaggerated hand gestures. "Oh no, it's the...the...," he paused with snort, "... the homo invasion... No, no, no... Not here... not in this... this good, Christian neighborhood. Aren't just two of them enough? Oh woe is me!" The alien dropped the mocking tone and smirked towards the smaller being. "Heh. Good ol' great aunt Karen could never remember Uncle Todd was Jewish and so was the majority of that neighborhood.... It’s where my Uncle Todd was raised actually…"
 The said smaller being just stared blankly at the homo-no-human they supposed as just “homo” meant something else, they weren’t sure what else, beyond just something else.
 "Uhhm. Wh-what? U-Uhm, so what exactly is “homo” then? And what’s Christian? And Jewish too. What’s that? Are... Are those other types of -uh- intelligent, sentient creatures on your planet? Y-you know, b-beside hom-er-h-humans? Or are these subtypes of humans? What kinda are you? What is a great aunt? or Uncle? Does the great indicate a larger size? Oh gawd, a-aren't you humans b-big enough regularly? Oh... W-wait. O-or are you a great- uhm- great aunt, was it? E-er, g-great something? Ohhh. Zyntall (Torrynt swear). I'm sooo confused r-right now... " The timid tiny being, sighed in frustration before their eyes snapped open wide in a panic, and they did an immediate one-eighty with their behavior, and it was off all their previously trust, as wavering as it was, vanished in an instant, squeaking out a quick "sorry. oh, Z-zyntall... I'm so-so-sooo sorry. I-I hope I d-didn't offend y-you or anyth-thing... p-please, oh please, don't hurt me" while gazing everywhere except towards the much larger alien, hoping desperately the 'bite-size' nickname was just a bad joke...
 Clearly they not only didn't get what so hilarious about the whole thing but also thought he was a monster prone to violence – still. Lyle sighed, all the mirth that was previously in his expression draining out of him leaving him with an uncomfortable grimace on their face. How disappointing... They really wish there was another human here to share in the jesting. But alas, that was not meant to be. At least as far as they knew there was no "homo invasion" in the making. Lyle wasn’t naïve. He knew humans were easy to slip into a gray moral state, at best. The role of villains at worst. And many of his kind would likely take advantage of a planet full of tiny, vulnerable people. Lyle couldn’t help but inwardly cringe at the thought, getting nervous about something that wasn’t an issue. At least now. Currently, human-wise, it was just him on this distant planet. And as far as he knew, no one - well, no other human at least- had any clue where they were. It probably just seemed he simply disappeared. Never to be seen again most likely. Trapped on this random alien planet in scenario that is akin to some sort of a personal hell of sorts.
'Wow. Hello, major depressive episode that’s making me overly dramatic. I haven't seen you since I was - what - eighteen?' thought Lyle regretfully. Calling this planet a personal hell was probably a bit over the top. But still, he couldn’t even seem to keep the trust of his single native ally. It only adds to his feelings of lonely isolation. And he feared his lonely angst will only get worse and worse. But only time will tell.
Giving a small sigh, he mentally prepped himself to try and get back his small friend’s trust. At least he was able to laugh for a wee bit earlier. It had been so long since he had done such. It was nice. Hopefully next time it will not lead to a backtracking in his attempted friendly ships with an open local, or even worse, a hostile local. The little laser guns that native being had stung like a b*tch. It reminded him when he got bit a couple times by some fire ants during a vacation as a child.
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So yeah these were rando improvised characters made on the spot.
But Lyle is a guy (he/him. He’d be chill with they/them too)
And Kyvlar is… a Torrynt. So like they/them I guess. Torrynts don’t have genders. Like at all. I guess they hermaphroditic (intersex if talking by human terms but not really as they are capable of reproduction and they aren’t human so… I dunno… Not even sure if hermaphrodite is a useful term. As idk if hermaphroditic animals, in nature, are capable of reproduction… I don’t think so? But I’m not sure tbh…). There is no variants like there are with human “sex”. And male/female concepts are 200+% foreign to these wee reptile-like aliens (albeit warm-blooded minded, so perhaps more draconian than reptilian idk. Also aliens being described as reptilian gives me hives due to a conspiracy theory that is like super bigoted actually n’ stuff. Very yikes. Don’t want to talk it about it rlly…). Their reaction would def be “wtf. That’s the weirdest sh*t ever” to such a thought as male n female binary dynamics & whatnot. No exceptions. They’d be like why a lot of you guys limiting yourself because of whether or not you are a potential offspring vessel or not. I don’t understand.
So Yeah. Uh. Anyways.
Their conversation about this prolly (or close to this):
Lyle: Hi. I’m Lyle. Just some random dude form Earth I guess.
Kyvlar: a random dude what?
Lyle: uh. I’m a dude. I guess I meant that I’m a boy though dudes don’t really have to be boys I think. But not to derail too much… Yeah. I’m a man/guy/boy/brosef, whatever you wanna call the male gender. Please not by brosef actually, heh. Anyway. Yep. A boy. That is what I am. Uh. How about you. I can just tell… you ….you have uhm two legs. Oh damn. Wait. That sounded so stupid. I wouldn’t assume your gender or anything. I just… You don’t look exactly human so..uh. UGH. Nevermind. I don’t even know where I was going with that... Heh. ANYWAY, so yeah what’s your gender is what I’m trying to say. Sorry I’m awkward as f***. I’m not used to socializing much. Been doing deep space sh** on my own for a few years now and.. uh.. yeahhhh….
Kyvlar: *stares blankly*
Lyle: Uh. Yeah. So. A Gender? Do you, uhm, have one? Or…????
Kyvlar: Uh. I think so? I mean I’m mostly a day-by-day I’ll figure it out then type but I, I really want be able to fix my home up. I want to learn to cook. Kinda suck at it now. Uhm. I guess… Uh. I should probably help you get on good terms with my people so they stop trying to kill you. You seem nice n’ stuff… so yeah. There’s that. I could use a little more purpose in my life. Not to-
Lyle: wait. Huh? What are you talking about? Are you talking about an agenda?
Kyvlar: Yes????
Lyle: *snorts* I didn’t say an agenda. I said a gender. As in A. Gen. Durr. Like are male or female or maybe something off the typical binary track??
Kyvlar: Uh. Er. Huh??? I, I’m so confused right now…
Lyle: Hooo boy. I’m so not prepared for this discussion at all.
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One of these days I’m gonna have a character that’s silver-tongue and smooth af and not some bumbling awkward doofus (*cough* like I am *cough*).
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thechosenburrito · 3 years
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The Heart Gambit (Dennor): 2-The Arbiter
Word Count: 1,566
Summary: Mathias and Emil meet the day after the party for drinks but things take a surprising turn when Emil has to leave suddenly. Author's Note: Yay next chapter! Sorry it's a little late! I had a great time writing it so I hope you enjoy it and do leave me some feedback so I can keep getting better! Previous: 1-Where I want to Be --- Mathias took a swig of his drink. The bar was mostly quiet except for some old men having a conversation in the corner, occasionally punching through the quiet with bouts of hearty laughter. He anticipated the noise would pick up as the night went on and hoped his drink would loosen his nerves. His plan was to persuade Emil to introduce him to Lukas, but Mathias was having doubts. He'd spent the last night tossing and turn in his hotel room. Should I say I'm sorry for saying he doesn't have a life? Would he believe me? Why do I care what he thinks? Mathias wasn't really sure why he wanted to talk to Lukas so badly.
He thought back to the conversation he had with Alfred last night. All Mathias has to do was shake hands and be relatively polite; win them over with 'charm'. He'd done it a million times before. He remembered how much fun it was at the beginning of his career. He liked seeing people smile and laugh when he was loud or made a snarky comment. No one has seen a Chess player like that before. Breaking the stereotype worked in his favor for a long time, but the more Mathias thought about how he felt about keeping up this facade, the more the same thought came to his mind: I'm tired. This wasn't the first time he had this thought. It started maybe a year ago, and to say it scared him was an understatement. He couldn't fathom losing everything he worked for at the time. He relished the fame and loved his lifestyle. But these days, he had half a mind to be a no-show at the match and run away to a small village nearby and spend the rest of his days breathing in the fresh air, soaking in the sunlight. Mathias quickly zoned back in as he heard the door open. Emil stepped through, looking much different from the night before. Rather than the suit and tie from last night, he was wearing a striped button-down shirt and brown jacket that looked as if it had been hastily thrown on. Emil looked over at him. He stared for a moment before recognizing Mathias and walking over. He didn't blame him for not recognizing him. When he's not as some stuffy get-together, Mathais wore his hair much wilder and popped the collars of his shirts. Mathias also wouldn't be surprised if he looked like he went through a tornado considering how tired he was when he got dressed. At this point, it wouldn't phase him to learn he was wearing two left shoes or one black and one brown. Emil made his way over to Mathias's table and sat across from him. Emil looked a little stiff and his gaze was fixed on the table. He chuckled a bit. "You know, part of me did think you'd show up," he said with a half-smile. Mathias beamed. "Of course! I wanted to finish our conversation from last night! Talking about your brother is way more fun than a stuffy party! To be fair, it's also way more fun when you're not AT the stuffy party!" he laughed. "'Though, I'm kinda curious. What about you, huh? Emil was taken aback a bit. Just last night, Mathias was mostly well-behaved with a bit of an ego. Now he's asking about him? Everything Lukas told him made it seem like Mathias would be the kind of guy to spend half the time talking about how great he is and the other half talking sponsorship and bulldozing rainforests. "Well, there's not much to talk about." He shifted a bit in his seat. "It's just been me and Lukas for a long time. When he picked up Chess and started getting serious, I joined him. I never really liked competing, though. So I ended up becoming his second. Now my job is to make sure he actually eats food instead of just reading. The rest is history." Mathias took a swig from his drink. "So why stick around, huh? If you don't like the whole competition scene then...well I guess I'm asking what you'd be doing if you weren't doing chess?" he implored with a childlike smile. Emil scratched at his palm. "I... well... I've always wanted to go back to school. It's not like I'm that old or anything! I used to wanted to go to school for geology or something like that," Emil said, his face lighting up. "I've always like volcanoes and things like that!" Mathias gave a bit smile. "That's so cool! You should tell me what lava feels like when you get to touch it!" he exclaimed. Emil raised an eyebrow. "I don't think... never mind. So what about you, huh? Got any plans for after the match?" Emil asked, stealing glances at his watch. Mathias paused for a moment. He couldn't exactly say he hadn't thought about it before. Of course he has. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't think of somewhere he wanted to be. He couldn't see himself as any conventional job like a lawyer, teacher, and certainly not an office
worker. If he was honest with himself, he didn't really fit any job in particular. He didn't have a higher purpose anymore. Chess became his life, his life became chess, and he was scared of who he would be without it. He lost so much to Chess, but he most regretted the time he lost, the life he wouldn't get back. Maybe that's what he would do. Spend the rest of his life making up for all the time he lost at uncomfortable parties, being purposely arrogant and hurtful, and for every game he played after he realized it didn't make him happy anymore. Mathias managed a small smile. "Oh you know!" he said, trying to sound cheery. "I think I wanna take a break for a while! No more stuffy lame parties for a long time! I'll get a house somewhere nice and just have a good time!" Emil opened his mouth to respond, but his watch began beeping. He jumped up from his seat and stopped his watch. "Sorry! I have to...um...go...I'll be right back!" he said, practically bolting out. Mathias barely had time to process what happened before the door opened and a familiar figure walked through. Emil was right, he did come right back. Only something was different. Mathias got a second look and felt himself stiffen up. "No way," he whispered under his breath. Lukas was scanning the room with furrowed brows. He carefully made his way through the now more crowded bar, looking at every patron as if he lost something. Mathias found him jumping up from his seat and weaving his way through the tables and chairs towards Lukas. In all honesty, he had no idea what he was doing or what he was going to say to him once he got there. He just knew he had to meet Lukas. Ok, I'll open with an apology! Yeah! 'Sorry for being an ass during the interview!'. Then maybe I can ask him to get a drink or something or- Mathias felt something bump against his chest that caused him to take a step back. He snapped back to reality and noticed someone sprawled on the floor in front of him. "Woah are you ok!? My bad! I totally didn't see you there!" he cried out, a bit too loudly. Mathias stuck out his hand. The person on the floor sat up a bit, rubbing their arm. "Sorry...I'm just looking for my brother..." the person replied quietly. They reached out and grabbed Mathias's hand, finally making eye contact. And at that moment, Mathias knew it was all over. Lukas's hand was so soft and warm in his own, he couldn't imagine ever letting go of it. The feeling of his hands sent electricity through his veins. Falling to the ground made his hair a little messy, strands of blonde hair covering his face, and he was partially tangled up in a long white scarf. But what made Mathias know he was done for was Lukas's eyes. Like Emil, they were so blue they seemed violet, but Lukas's were different. They always seemed so cold in the pictures Mathias has seen of him. Those weren't the eyes he met. Mathias saw soft eyes, like a child's. There was concern in them, maybe even a little embarrassment. Lukas's eyes managed to see right through Mathias straight into his soul. He felt his heart flutter for a moment and a warmth spread to his cheeks. And with that, his whole world turned upside down. Lukas had already begun pulling himself up when he finally recognized the man attached to the hand. "Thank y- WAIT A MINUTE YOU'RE-" Lukas's grip on Mathias's hand slipped and he found he found himself crashing back onto the floor with another loud thud. All Mathias could manage to do was stare for a moment before forcing himself to offer his hand again, praying Lukas would take it. "Hi...I'm...um...I'm Mathias...nice to meet you..." was the only thing he could get to come out, feeling the least confident he'd ever felt in his life. Lukas hesitated for a moment before taking Mathias's hand.
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Next Chapter: 3-One-Way Screen a/n: I'm so excited to be writing this! Things are definitely gonna start getting more interesting in the next chapter!  I’m going to take this time to plug my non-hetalia work “ Intro to Love ” about a college student who
struggles to keep her superpowers a secret and while making new friends.  How much of her normal life will she give up to save her friends from a mysterious villain that drains students’ brains and turns them into zombies? The complete Chapter 1 is out NOW! And Chapter 2.1-'The last of the Good Days' will be out in the next couple of days! Thanks again for reading! Send some feedback my way! Can’t wait to continue this story! Quotev link: here
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Survey #363
(one more that’s a late upload from way earlier in the day, and i yet again don’t feel like updating the answers)
What brings out the worst in you? When I'm very anxious or having a PTSD episode, I can become very snappy and just not a joy to be around. What all did you eat today? This morning I had oatmeal, I had a rice cake as a snack, and lunch was ham and cheese on a tortilla. Some people were really destructive as a child, were you? No, I was a good kid. Who was the last person you were in a car with? My mom. Who was the last person you cried in front of? It was probably Mom. Do you talk about your feelings or hide them? I usually talk about them somewhere, like in surveys if I feel I can't with anyone else. Please be vocal with your feelings. It is so destructive to let them build up. Who was the last person you were with that smelled REALLY good? I'm unsure. Do you know anyone that is gothic? A good number of people, myself included at least in spirit. ;~; I can't really afford good attire, nor do I have the patience for so much makeup maintenance. Have you seen UP? I actually haven't seen the full movie, but I'd like to. How is your mom? Stressed as fuck and tired of everything. What color hair does your mom have? She recently dyed it black. Her hair is growing back totally gray now and she hated it. She's gotten so self-conscious as she's aged. When was the last time you were told you were cute? Idk. Do you feel comfortable getting up and giving speeches? FUCK NO. Have you ever dipped french fries in a frosty? I tried it once and did not get the appeal. Did you have school/class today? No. My school endeavors are done. Do you have any paintings in your room? If so, of what? Yeah, I have my big painting of meerkats grooming above all my 'kat plushies. Have you ever had your photo professionally taken? As a child and by school photographers, anyway. Would you prefer eating jello or pudding? Pudding. After washing your hair, do you put any products in it? No. Last time you ate a salad? Like a week ago when we went to Ichiban for my sister's bday. Do you know how old your house is? No, I don't. Have you ever been described as ”adorable”? Yeah. Have you ever given a lap dance? No. They seem incredibly awkward to me?? Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make mega bucks? No. I can't do a job I hate for anything. I would be so depressed. Are you a moody person? Yes. What are you listening to? I'm watching Gab Smolders' new episode of Resident Evil 8: Village. I'm deadass watching four different LPers play it, I'm only moderately obsessed lmao. What video game could you waste the most time on? WoW, given it has like a zillion different things to do. Yet I still get bored lmao. What is your favorite condiment? Maybe Ketchup? I think I use that for the most things. What is the worst thing that you have ever done? I don't feel like getting into this. How old were you when your parents gave you the "birds and the bees" talk? They didn't; I learned in my school's sex ed in the 5th grade. Have you ever questioned whether or not you'd benefit from therapy? I have benefited from it. What would you like it to say on your gravestone? Hypothetically, idk. But I'd rather be cremated. Would you ever wear real leather or animal fur? NO. Have you ever completely failed a year of school and had to repeat a grade? No. Have you ever been bitten by an animal that wasn't a cat or a dog? Which? I think my old baby iguana bit me once or twice, not that it was very painful at her young age. I can't recall another animal. What type of literature are you most likely to read? (book, magazine, etc) Books. Do you prefer using candles, wax melts, or incense? Incense. Are you someone who actually doesn't have a Facebook? No, I have one. What kind(s) of Facebook groups are you active in, if any? I'm not really *active* in any; I just observe them and interact via "like"s. I'm actually in a whole lot of groups, though. Do you enjoy any herbal or fruit teas? What kinds? Neither. Do you hear any animals right now? No. What are your thoughts on Avenged Sevenfold? I know and like a few songs, especially "Dear God." Do you like Batman? Yeah, I like his "refuse to murder" ideology. The only thing is I kinda have a bad connection attached to him, because Batman was Jason's thing. Have you ever played fetch with a dog? Yes. Does your house have a fireplace? Yeah actually, but it might be fake? I don't even know lol. Have you ever pet a stingray? No. Have you ever dissected a baby pig in a class at school? Oh my god, no. I literally could never. I did dissect a frog in the 7th grade that wound up to be pregnant, though... I wasn't happy about it, but at the same time it was very interesting. Who is the last baby you held? My niece. Do you like Sunkist? The orange kind is fine, but the STRAWBERRY flavor? Jfc I love that shit. Would you ever consider being a cannibal? UM NO Do you have any scars from an animal? I have a lot of scars on my hands from playing with Roman. I scar extremely easily, so just his little scrapes leave marks. Have you ever seen an Igloo? No. Do you like Korn? Love 'em. How many animals do you have? Really two, but we have three in the house right now. Idk when this dog is going away. Are you more afraid of tornadoes or hurricanes? Tornados. Ever rode in a helicopter? No. Do you like rabbits? Yes, they're adorable. Do you like mushrooms? NO. What was the last movie you cried at? I want to say Logan, but I'm not sure. I watch movies so rarely that I really don't know. Would you rather work for a small or large company? Small. I'd feel more useful. What is the rudest thing a guy has ever done to you? I don't know. Have you ever read the book 13 Reasons Why? Yeah. I thought it was good, but now I don't remember like... anything about it. What did you have for breakfast this morning? I had apple and cinnamon oatmeal. How many times have you read your favorite book? Just once. I don't re-read books. Have you ever been on Omegle? No. Are you still in love with one of your exes? "In love," no. Do you think being born was a mistake? Yeesh, no. Has a relative ever been arrested? My psychotic uncle (by marriage) has been. Was it a serious crime? Quite honestly, I don't remember. I just know he's an angry and dangerous motherfucker. Do you think the Fountain of Youth exists? No. How about in a parallel dimension? Doubtful. Do you believe humans are part of a giant alien experiment? I ponder over the possibility of being a research simulation, kind of like a much advanced version of The Sims, but I honestly doubt it. Have you ever been suicidal? Yes. Was it a passing phase or is it something controlled by medication? Therapy and medication saved me. Is there a holiday you wish no one celebrated? Which is it? Why do you feel that way? Fight me about Christopher Columbus Day. He didn't discover shit. Have you taken any writing classes? How about art? I've taken a writing course in college, and I've taken loads of art classes. What’s your all-time favourite band? How about all-time fave singer? Ozzy Osbourne; Freddie Mercury. What three songs do you want played at your funeral? Why those particular songs? "Like A Woman" by Alice Cooper, "Life Is Beautiful" by Sixx A.M., and "Angels on the Moon" by Thriving Ivory. I just like them and find them suiting. Do you think most mythological creatures exist? No. Have you ever had lice? No. What is one superstition that freaks you out? Why is that? I’m not superstitious. Are either of your parents retired yet and if not, what do they do? No. Dad is a mailman, and while Mom doesn't ~officially~ work yet because she's recovering from intense cancer treatment, she very recently resumed lightly cleaning a church for a small payment. Kinda like a warmup. When did you or do you want to move out of your parents’ house? I wanna move out once I'm in a long-term, stable relationship with someone so we can live together. Me living alone is NOT a good idea. How do you like your current job, or if you’re unemployed, have you been looking for employment? I don't have a job, but when I go to my tattoo appointment, I'm going to ask them if they'd be interested in hiring someone for the front desk. I think it's def something I could do because I love the environment, there's really not that much I need to know (like where the Doritos are, dealing with exact change, answering a dozen unique questions), it's not insanely busy, and the occasional phone call would challenge my anxiety and just be a minor inconvenience to me until I got used to it. My partial hospitalization program really got me wanting to fight back against what gives me anxiety, to truly expose myself to what scares me, while not going totally overboard with it. It was encouraging to hear my therapist there thought it was a magnificent idea for me. I decided I wanted to ask while at the parlor getting work done to show serious interest (like I'm not just some random chick walking in and asking for a job), as well as let the people warm up to me. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but damn am I wishing. I want it so badly. What kind of booze did you last take shots of? I've never taken shots.
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in-class-daydreams · 5 years
Text
Parlay (Kuroo x Reader) | Ch. 3
Pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader (ft. Roommate Kenma)
Word Count: ~2400
Genres: Fluff, angst if you squint, general buffoonery
CW: Some swearing, but otherwise none!
Summary: (Y/N), a first-year student attending Tokyo U, is living with her best friend, Kozume Kenma. Little did she know, her life would be turned upside down after being exposed to Kenma’s volleyball teammate and close friend, Kuroo Tetsurou. One wrong move, and the parlay’s stakes only get higher each time.
Chapters: First | Previous | Next 
Honestly, Kuroo dreaded 2:00 pm every Tuesday and Thursday. His lecture was two and a half hours long, and it was in one of the school’s bigger lecture halls, meaning he spent two days a week sitting at an itty bitty desk in an overcrowded lecture hall. It was always hot and muggy, and there’s always that one guy that you can smell three rows back. It honestly can’t be that hard to take a shower once a while, right? Personal hygiene. What a concept!
‘Before making assumptions about a person who smells - like thinking they don’t shower - consider their living situation and the fact that not everyone has access to--’ A memory from a conversation with Bokuto flashed through his mind. He begged the Bokuto that lived inside his head to please shut his piehole.
In retrospect, he really should have taken an easier class, but no. His academic advisor had strongly advised against taking an easier class to fulfill this requirement because it wouldn’t ‘enrich his academic talents.’ He could just hear his teammate’s irritating tone.
“Don’t worry, Tetsu-Chan! It’ll be a good challenge for you!”
‘Good challenge’ his ass. He really had to stop trusting other people’s judgement.
Despite his admitted hatred for his 2:00 lecture, at least he and Bokuto got to chat beforehand. The frat boy had a class at the same time: Women and Politics in Continental America. According to him, so long as you did your work and ‘are at least a somewhat decent person,’ the class was relatively easy to get a quality grade in. So while Kuroo was dreading the next two and a half hours of his life he’ll never get back, Bokuto could talk Kuroo’s ear off about his “Owlets” without a care in the world, that bastard.
“Bruh, they’re so cute! We played freeze tag for warm ups today ‘cuz they’ve been good all week and, man, little kids are hella fast!” Kuroo cracked a smile at that. Bokuto loved both volleyball and kids, so when he started working as a youth instructor at the sports center, the guy was living his best life. About halfway through hearing a story about the Owlets dogpiling on Bokuto, Kuroo heard a group of girls giggling a little further down the hallway.
There he saw Kenma’s cute girlfriend making an exaggerated sad face. Her surrounding girlfriends were half laughing and half consoling her. They patted her back and he could vaguely hear ‘next time, next time!’ and ‘--boba right after?’
As they got closer, he heard one of the girls chime in, “Hold on, we can’t go right after. That guest speaker for Native American Lit. is speaking in Ballroom One at six.”
“Oh yeah... After that, then?” another girl offered.
(Y/N) shook her head, “I promised I’d pick up a shift at Chisai at 5:30,” she told them apologetically. Her friends collectively booed as Kuroo pushed off the wall he was leaning against.
“I’ll see you at practice, man.” Bokuto paused his story. They gave each other a bro-nod in farewell.
“Okay, ttyl.”
Kuroo halted in his tracks, “...did you just say ttyl out loud?”
“It’s easier that way. My kids like it!”
“They’re nine, Kou, they like everything you do.”
“Nine is a very enriched age and it’s important that we don’t undermine the abilities of--”
“Whoops, gotta go!” Kuroo speed walked in the direction of the group of girls. Bokuto went out of his way to stay “woke” - his words, not Kuroo’s - and it made him a great guy, but Kuroo could only handle so much social consciousness. (Y/N) noticed him before he reached them.
“Oh, Kuroo-san! You have a class in this building?” For someone he’d met only once before, she looked happier to see him than a lot of people normally would. Did she look at everyone like that?
He gave each of the girls a charming smile. Several of them looked from (Y/N) to him, wide-eyed. In all objective terms, Kuroo knew the effect he had on people. He was used to people of all genders’ gazes lingering on him. After all, he was the whole package: tall, handsome, charming, and it was obvious he drank Respect Women Juice every day.
“Unfortunately, yes,” he nodded his head towards his lecture room, “Not my favorite class this semester.”
“Well, I’m in this class, too. If we sat together, would it be less agonizing?” she asked. Before he could answer, she turned to her friends, “I’ll see you probably tomorrow.” They said their goodbyes, and a few of them flirtily waved Kuroo goodbye. In return, he gave them a sly wink, “Ladies.”
“If you have other friends in this class, though, I won’t be offended at all if you sit with them,” his attention snapped to her. He held the classroom door open and gestured her in. She unthinkingly led them to the same side of the room as the one Kuroo usually sat, a few rows ahead of his normal seat.
“Actually,” he said, “All my friends were smart enough to take other classes,” he laughed. “Besides, who wouldn’t want to sit next to a such a cute girl?” he gave her a cute wink.
‘What a flirt,’ she thought.
“Is that your signature move?” she teased.
Kuroo put a hand to his chest in mock offense, “Move? A gentleman doesn’t use ‘moves.’”
“Are you a gentleman, then, Kuroo-san?”
“If you wanted me to be.”
“Cheesy.”
“Don’t worry. I get worse over time.”
(Y/N) mentally cheered. If Kuroo was flirting with her this blatantly, surely he must have a feeling that she and Kenma weren’t serious. Then, Kenma would have to admit that she wasn’t oblivious and she’d win the bet!
Kuroo’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. “But don’t think I’m trying to steal you from Kenma. Bro-code is sacred text, you know.”
Oh. Well. That’s okay! He might not figure it out right away, but surely when he sees that Kenma doesn’t care one bit that he was flirting with his ‘girlfriend,’ he’d figure it out eventually! ...right?
“Don’t worry.” She replied, “He couldn’t care less.”
The professor walked in about 2 minutes before the class officially began. The man in about his mid-40’s cracked his RhedBhull energy drink and chugged the whole thing in one go. Crushing the can in his fist, he tossed it into a nearby trashcan and started plugging the projector cable into his laptop. In a way, Kuroo was glad even the professor was having as much of a hard time with this class as much as he was.
While he’d been watching the professor prepare himself, he hadn’t noticed the girl next to him pull out a notebook, two mechanical pencils, a big eraser, a set of highlighters, some gel pens, and some sticky tabs. At first he thought she was the type to make pretty notes and not actually learn anything, but as the class dragged on, whenever he glanced at her notes, he noticed that her diagrams were frighteningly detailed and every bit of information had its place. He didn’t want to be that guy by constantly looking at her notes, but even the comments in the little text bubble she drew made more sense than anything on the lecture slides.
Leaning in towards her, the taller male whispered, “I’m sure you don’t need the help, but do you want to study together sometime?” No answer.
“Kenma can come too, if you’re worried about him getting the wrong idea.” Nothing. Was she ignoring him? Had he somehow managed to offend her? He was nearly offended until he realized that nothing was affecting her at all. Not when someone sneezed or when the glass side door slammed loudly and nearly everyone jumped out of her skin. Save for her hand working like a machine, she hardly moved. Just her hand and her eyes flitting up, down, up, down, up, down from the projector to her notes. A tornado could rip through campus and Kuroo wasn’t entirely confident that she’d move.
‘Cute.’ Kuroo shook his head at his own thoughts. Sure, she was cute, but she was as off-limits as possible.
‘Though,’ he reasoned, ‘Being friends isn’t a crime.’
Lost in thought, the end of the lecture came sooner than anticipated. Twisting in his seat, his spine made a loud crack. Ah, the ripe old age of 21. In his defense, the chairs in the lecture hall weren’t exactly ergonomic.
“I doubt that’s a healthy noise for your spine to make.” She peered at him over her bag as she gently organized all her pens into a baby pink pencil case with little green aliens on it.
‘Cute,’ he thought.
“Thanks! It was a gift,” she chirped. He blinked.
“Huh?”
“The pencil case? I got it as a gift.”
It took Kuroo a moment to register what in the world she was talking about. When the realization dawned on him he mentally kicked himself.
‘I said that out loud???’
They headed outside where the sun had nearly set. She asked him what his plans were later on, and he mentioned his volleyball scholarship.
“Wow! It’s super competitive just to get on the team here. Congratulations!” He chuckled at her enthusiasm and thanked her for being so encouraging.
“So…” she trailed off for a moment, “You’re Tooru’s teammate, then?”
Kuroo gave an ugly, barking laugh.
“Yeah. Not sure if that’s good or bad. He’s the best setter I’ve ever met, but he’s also super cheery and will smile while he roasts you within an inch of your life.”
They both chuckled. (Y/N) looked at the ground shyly and said in a small voice, “Yeah, that sounds like him.”
“You know each other?” it suddenly occurred to that she and Oikawa were on a first-name basis. “You a fangirl of his?” he teased.
She squeaked. Waving her hands in front of her frantically, she said, “No, no, no! I just-- We just-- We both went to Seijoh, that’s all.” Kuroo was mildly offended that she thought he’d believe such a poorly delivered lie, but he decided to let it go. For now. Changing the subject, he said,
“So, where are you headed? Practice to watch your boyfriend?” She tensed, then quickly relaxed.
“I’ve never been to a practice since I always seem to have a shift at the same time. I have work at 5:30 today, actually.”
“You’re walking around when it’s this dark?”
“It’s only about a 20 minute walk from here. Don’t worry, I have pepper spray.”
“Mildly comforting, but not much. If you don’t mind, I could walk you there?”
His gesture was rewarded by an adorable eye smile, “Oh, that’s so kind of you. Okay, if it’s not too much trouble.”
On the walk there, she told him all about Chisai Tea House and about Grandmother, the sweet old woman who owned it.
“I worry, though. Gran is getting old. She’s not in a condition to work all day like she does.”
Kuroo looked up at the darkening sky, “When people love something, it’s hard to pull them away.”
“Mm, don’t I know it?”
Kuroo asked what kinds of things Chisai served. Besides dim sum, of course.
“What people order just depends on what they want at the time. There’s no ‘good’ thing to get because everything’s amazing! We make traditional green teas, Korean songpyeon, khao neeo mamuang, and don’t even get me started on the har gao and sumai, and all the dim sum stuff. All of our recipes have been passed down through families for generations.”
Around 5:20, she stopped at a door along the line of shops. The place was bustling with customers, and the air around it smelled of sweet treats and green teas. The whole place had a traditional Chinese feel. Through the windows, the busy place looked busy, but peaceful. On the tables nearest the window, he saw moon cakes and songpyeon that made his mouth water.
“Thank you for walking me to work! If you have some free time, would you like to come in for something to eat? My treat?” she offered.
“I wish I could, (Y/N)-san, but I have practice--!” Kuroo choked on the word. Practice! How could he forget? He’d been going to volleyball practice on weekdays since he started high school!
“Is there something wrong?” the shorter girl asked, concerned. He shook his head.
“Not at all. Thanks for keeping me company,” he winked. He didn’t want her to feel like him being late was her fault, so he waited until she was fully inside the tea shop before he turned tail and hauled ass. The gym was about a 10 minute walk, so there was a chance he could make it.
After some hardcore sprinting, the boy almost cried tears of relief when the building finally came into view. He flung himself through the locker room door. Inside, he saw all his teammates finishing up getting dressed, putting on knee pads, tying shoelaces, the like. Every head turned his way.
“Bro! What’s-- Hey! Why are you all sweaty?” Bokuto shouted from the far end of the locker room. Kuroo meant to respond, but he found himself completely out of breath. Volleyball players might not be cut out for long distance sprinting. At least, he definitely wasn’t.
“Overslept?” Iwaizumi clapped his teammate on the back as he brushed past him through the doorway.
“You know coach doesn’t like it when people are late to practice. Better hurry up, Tetsu-chan!” Oikawa said in a tone all too gleeful to be genuine. Forcing his legs to move, Kuroo stumbled as he yanked his shirt off and ran to his locker while simultaneously trying to shimmy his pants off. Bokuto came up beside him during his frantic clambering to get ready.
“What happened, man? You don’t usually get here this late?”
Kuroo glanced over his shoulder at his friend’s worried expression.
“I’m good, bro, I just...” he panted, “I just lost track of time.”
“M’kay, if you’re sure everything’s Gucci?”
“Yeah, man, I’m good.” The wing spiker nodded and headed out the door. Alone at last, Kuroo stuffed his feet into his shoes and rested his head against his locker for a moment. Next time, he’d stop creeping on Kenma’s girlfriend and focus on making it to practice on time. This wouldn’t happen again.
~~
(A/N): At last! We have tapped into the interactions between Kuroo and (Y/N)! And yes, the Bro-Code is very important! (Well, I'm female, but I’m fully aware of how it works lol). Please continue to give/leave your feedback and thoughts on the story! Be sure to check out the Tumblr/Wattpad for more updates! Thanks and see y’all soon!
- Admin Kiwi-Chan
(A/N): Yeeeaaaaaa boiiiiiiiiiiiiii.
- Admin Mango-Chan
~~
Taglist: @joyful-jimin
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