#computer is finally back up and running THANK GOD it was a simple fix

[runawaymun]

some Celrond smoochies warmup sketches

[mellowswriting]

2, 3, & 48 with the least expected choice: JAVI BB! 😭 Please I just starve for domestic!Javi a lot

Second Chance 

pairing || Javier Peña x F!Reader

summary ||  Javier comes back to the U.S after taking down Escobar to find you - and what he finds changes his life forever.

word count || 4,824

warnings || angst with a happy ending, soft dad Javi, allusions to sex

a/n || This was so interesting to write, because Javier as a dad??? Yes please! Also because I’m so used to writing mainly fluff that angst can get a little tricky for me. Thank you for this little writing challenge, anon!

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Two years. It had been nearly two years since Javier had seen you - correction, since he had watched you walk out with tears in your eyes and did nothing to stop you like a fool. It was one of his biggest regrets, and that was saying something coming from a man whose job required him to make hard and fast decisions that often left people dead. All he could do was hope and fucking pray that you wouldn’t slam the door in his face.

Even if he did deserve it.

A drive that typically would’ve taken only an hour from the airport took nearly double that, Javier’s hands shaking and stomach turning the entire time. He should’ve done this sooner, should’ve followed you out that door or hopped onto a plane and met you back in the States. Nothing felt right without you, the world around him slightly distorted by your absence. An absence that was entirely his fault.

He shouldn’t have snapped at you. All you had wanted from him was the promise that he would try to play it safer. It was a simple reassurance that he could have given you if he hadn’t been such a moron and snapped at you that if you couldn’t handle the realities of his job, you had no business sticking around. You were scared, worried for him after one of his harebrained plans nearly got his head blown off.

And all Javier had done was make you feel stupid for caring about him. It didn’t help that he did nothing to try to fix it the next day; he was embarrassed, ashamed of his immaturity. And you left because of it. He hated himself for it. He would only hate himself more if he didn’t go to you now that he had taken down Escobar. Better late than never, right? He was back in the states and could’ve gone anywhere, done anything, especially now that he was so well known for his hard work in Colombia. Instead, he used that new status to find out where you ended up and scribbled your address onto a crumpled piece of paper.

It was a nice house. The kind he always hoped you would get, picturesque with the neatly trimmed front yard and picket fence. The sun had just risen enough to tint the sky by the time he pulled up and killed the engine, his millionth cigarette of the day perched between his fingers. You were home. Tiny movements that he could see from the windows and the car parked in your driveway told him that much.

The love of his life was right there. Less than twenty yards away, practically nothing separating the two of you after so long. That realization had Javier finally shoving the car door open and stepping out - and damn near getting himself run over in the process. In his haste, his excitement, he didn’t even glance around himself enough to see the car approaching and… pulling into your driveway?

A spike of fear shot through him. Please, fuck, don’t let that be a man. Don’t let that be some man who is going to walk through the door and kiss your cheek as you welcome him home from work and…

No. A woman, brunette. Launching herself out of the car and practically skipping up to the door. She didn’t bother knocking, just walked right in and closed the door behind her. Something familiar about her tickled the back of Javier’s brain, the hazy memory of a polaroid of her next to you wearing matching goofy grins. Ah, your sister. Amelia, if he remembered correctly.

Javier hesitated at her appearance. He didn’t want to interrupt something. God knows you were already going to be pissed enough at him. So he leaned against his door and puffed on that cigarette like it was his only lifeline, ready to wait for however long it took.

Just his luck that he wouldn’t have to wait long. The door reopened not fifteen minutes later and the two of you both appeared on the porch and holy fuck, Javier’s heart was ready to fly out of his chest just at the sight of your smile as you chatted with your sister. He watched, enraptured, that damn cigarette damn near falling from his lips, his heart leaping at the way your head tilted back with a big laugh. God, he missed that sound.

You turned and poked your head back into the doorway and called something that he couldn’t hear, pausing before rolling your eyes and walking back inside. You appeared again a second later with -

A kid? Propped on your hip with your arm propped under them with ease.

Javier’s heart dropped. Of course. He should’ve known that someone would have scooped you up the second you returned home. If he hadn’t have been such a fucking idiot, that could have been him building a home with you and fuck, he had to leave. He needed to get in his car and fucking go before you -

“Javier?”

It had been so long since he heard you say his name. Even when it was layered with surprise, his name never sounded better than when it was falling from your lips. Javier froze with his hand on the handle. He could hear your sister’s ill attempt at whispering, the harshness of “Wait, the Javier? The one that -” that you cut off before she could finish.

Javier turned, his heart flying in his chest, and started walking up to the gate. The shake in his hands was undeniable when he lifted the latch. Your mouth hung open, chest rising and falling rapidly with your almost frantic breathing, the little girl perched on your hip seeming confused. She was yours, that much was obvious. Her nose, her lips - that little girl was your daughter.

Something in you snapped back into place, your mouth closed and a fake smile quickly replaced it as you turned your softening gaze to your little girl. “Okay, you have fun with Aunt Amelia, okay? Mommy loves you.”

Javier watched the exchange with a heavy heart, watched as your daughter gave you the tiniest kiss on your cheek with a small ‘pop’ of her lips, watched as your sister took her and gave him a wide berth as she went to strap her into the carseat in her car. The moment she was out of your sight, the warmth from your eyes fell away and regarded him with something colder, something angry and sad.

“What the hell are you doing here?” You asked.

“It’s done.” He mumbled, his fists clenching at his sides. “All of the bullshit with Escobar, it’s over.”

“Yeah, I know.” You scoffed at the surprised look he gave you. “What, you think I didn’t keep track of you after I left? Just because I wasn’t around doesn’t mean I stopped caring about whether you lived or died. That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I never should have let you leave. I… I shouldn’t have driven you away to begin with.” Shame flooded him for the millionth time at the flash of hurt in your eyes before you looked away from him, your eyes falling to the ground. “The kid… uh, congratulations I mean. I didn’t know you started a family, I never would’ve shown up like this. I’m not a homewrecker.”

“The kid?” You repeated, your voice incredulous, and Javier cringed. Yeah, not the most eloquent way to put it, but he was never good with words.

“Yeah, uh, she’s a cute kid. You and your… husband or whatever, you got lucky.” Every word that fell from his lips, he regretted. They were true, sure, but holy hell did it sound so awkward coming from him.

“The kid.” You scoffed again, a sound he hadn’t realized he missed so much. You finally locked eyes with him, somehow even more guarded than before. “She’s yours.”

Javier blinked. The words didn’t compute, his brain falling blank at the very thought that he… no, no fucking way. He took a half step back, his mouth falling open. He watched you watch him, watched the way your eyes studied his every movement. Air rushed in and out of his chest rapidly, black spots blinked at the edges of his vision, and suddenly his ass was hitting the hard stone of your porch.

He barely heard the rough, concerned way you said “Shit, Javi!”, barely noticed you disappear from his side. No, he couldn’t believe it, couldn’t accept that. There was no way in hell that his stupid fucking mistake deprived him of this, of his family. Of watching you bring his child into the world and watching her grow, teaching her how to walk on unsteady feet and picking her up when she cried. Of you teaching him how to gently pull her pretty brown hair into the little sprigs of pigtails, just like she wore when he caught a glance of her before she was whisked away.

The cold, wet feeling of a cloth dragging across his forehead made his eyes refocus and there you were. Your eyes, once cold and hesitant now tinged with concern as you gently drug a washcloth down each of his cheeks, trying to pull him out of his panicked state. You were murmuring something to him, something he couldn’t hear over the blood rushing in his ears. Javier’s hand grasped at yours, pressing it against his cheek tightly.

“Name.” He rasped. “What’s her name?”

You paused, a small smile perking up the corners of your lips. “Elianna. We call her Ellie.”

Ellie.

Javier had a daughter.

“I have a daughter?” Javier needed to hear you say it again.

“You have a daughter.” You nodded and pulled your hand away from his cheek, much to Javier’s disappointment. He missed your touch. You patted him hard on the shoulder before hauling him up. “Come on, we have a lot to talk about. Might as well do it on the couch where it’s comfortable.”

The inside of your home was just as picturesque as the outside, but in a completely different way. Colorful toys were strewn about the living room, a few soft baby blankets crumpled on the couch. It was comfortable, lived-in. Happy. Javier sat heavily on the couch, mind almost on autopilot as he gently touched the blanket next to him, his fingers barely grazing the fabric like he was worried his touch would somehow taint it.

You handed him a cold bottle of water that he accepted graciously and sipped as you sat next to him, a foot-wide war zone of space between you that felt like a stab to his heart. If only he hadn’t fucked everything up. You would be curled up right against him, your head on his chest as the two of you watched the little girl you created together babble over her toys.

“Tell me about her?” Javier asked tentatively, his voice uncharacteristically small.

“What do you want to know?” The hesitance in your voice made him feel even worse.

“Anything. Everything.”

And you did. Javier watched and listened, enraptured as you gushed about little Ellie. At nearly fifteen months old, she was damn near running and constantly getting into everything. She was curious and bright and laughed like she couldn’t breathe when you would roll around on the floor and play with her. Just the sight of the happiness and light in your eyes when you retold the first time you heard her say ‘mama’ made pride swell in his chest.

The intense urge to have her here with him pulled at him, but he knew better than to ask. You were already indulging him by bringing him into your home and answering his questions. Hell, he was lucky you told him to begin with. He could feel the intensity of your gaze on his face as he tried to absorb all of the information that was dumped on him. Silence filled the living room when you trailed off, a few heavy moments where he didn’t know what to say.

“I know you have questions, Javier.” You said, your words slow and deliberate. Clipped, like you were terrified he was going to disappear once again.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Javier whispered.

“Well, I didn’t know I was pregnant when I left.” You began with a sigh. “I thought that the nausea and the missed period were from stress, because god knows I was wrecked. I found out a few weeks after I got back to the U.S and… I just didn’t see the point to tell you.”

“Didn’t see the point? Of telling me you were having my child?” His voice rose with his anger, his frustration and he watched as those walls slammed down, your vulnerability hardening in less than a second. He took a deep breath before continuing, trying his damnedest to soften his voice. “Do you really think so little of me?”

“Are you kidding me, Javier? You had just told me to leave. Was I supposed to think it would change anything?” You deflated into the cushions slightly and the sight of the exhaustion and pain in your eyes made some of his anger fall away. You rubbed a hand down your face. “Was I supposed to hop back on a plane back to Colombia? Put myself and my baby in danger? Or maybe I should have just called you. ‘Hey, Javier, I know you just told me to get out of your life, but surprise! I’m carrying your child!’ How would that have gone over?”

“But after? How could you not…” Javier choked up, unable to finish his sentence. You were right, he knew that. But he was grieving the loss of everything he had missed out on. He couldn’t blame you, not really. It was an impossible situation.

“I wanted to. There were these moments that… it took everything in me not to call you and beg you to come to me like some pathetic little…” You trailed off with a shake of your head, your voice cracking. “But I couldn’t. The closer you got to catching Escobar, I just… I couldn’t pull you away from the fight when you were so close to winning. The past few weeks, though? God, I almost called you at least a dozen times. The second I heard about it, I wanted you here, but I was so… so scared, Javi.”

And there it was. Javier’s heart snapped in half. He broke your heart and you managed to still prioritize his career, his fight against Escobar, while you brought his child into the world and shouldered that responsibility on your own. He cleared his throat harshly and squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to hold back those traitorous tears that threatened to fall.

“You don’t have to be scared. If you’ll have me, I swear to god, you will never do this alone again.” Javier whispered, his eyes still closed. Debilitating fear kept him from looking at you, afraid to see the rejection on your face. “I want to be here, I want this. I want my family.”

“Do you mean that?” Your voice trembled with disbelief.

“Of course I do, hermosa.” He insisted. “Please, give me the chance to show you.”

The small, relieved sigh that came from you made something tight ease in his chest and Javier hesitantly brought you into his arms. You relaxed into his side with your head propped on his shoulder, the both of you taking refuge in the familiarity of the touch that was missed for so long. He felt you look up at him and met your eyes, hoping you could see his sincerity. Words had a tendency to fail him but he still had his actions. He absentmindedly licked his lips before asking, “Can I kiss you?”

You smiled at him, a small smile that was still a bit sad, but a smile nonetheless, and nodded. “I've missed your kisses. I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” He confessed and finally kissed you. After two years, Javier felt the softness of your lips against his and finally felt like he was home.

----------

Javier’s knee bounced rapidly as he sat on your couch hours later, his nerves bounding untethered and desperate for any outlet. Just on the outside on the porch, you had stepped out to greet Amelia, who had brought Ellie home.

His daughter was on the other side of the door and he was about to meet her, for real this time. Excitement and fear warred with each other, neither able to win out over the other in their rising volume. Excitement at getting to hold her, maybe even make her smile. Fear over the possibility of hurting her or being too rough - he didn’t have much experience with babies, after all.

The door pushed open and he heard you call his name softly. “Can you grab these bags for me?”

He was on his feet in an instant, glad to be of help and already jumping at the chance to start proving himself to be a good father. A mess of brown curls poked out from the baby blanket you had draped over your chest where Ellie was apparently still fast asleep, distracting him slightly as he grabbed the bags from Amelia. She… did not look too happy to see him. The hardness in her glare told him something that didn’t need to be vocalized: if he hurt you or Elllie, his body would never be found.

Javier nodded slightly at her. He couldn’t blame your sister. If he were in her position, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he would be breaking noses. At your request, he set the bags on the kitchen table before walking back to you - and the sight of you swaying in the middle of the living room with Ellie knocked out against you, your cheek propped against the top of her head, took his breath away. The smile you gave him brought him closer, his hand settling on Ellie’s back softly as he pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“Do you want to hold her?”

It took a moment of maneuvering, but the second you settled Ellie against him chest-to-chest, his entire world came into focus. Her cheek pressed against his chest just so, making her mouth form the tiniest little ‘o’ that he had ever seen. She was so calm, sleeping so deeply, and Javier couldn’t fucking believe his luck. How could he have had any part in creating something so perfect?

He had to sit down. He didn’t trust himself to hold her with unskilled hands while standing. She harrumphed slightly when he eased down onto the couch, but other than that, his little girl stayed off in her dreamworld, content and safe in her father’s arms for the first time.

“Just be careful not to touch the bottoms of her feet even a little bit, it wakes her up every time. She’s just like you with that.” You said, your voice lowered as you sat next to him much closer than before. He preened under the idea that any part of him was reflected in Ellie, even something so small and silly.

“She’s so warm. Is that normal?” Javi asked. He hoped she didn’t have a fever, he knew that a fever could really hurt a baby even with his limited knowledge. You reached out to gently feel her forehead and cheek, smiling after a moment.

“No, she's just a little furnace.” You settled against the back of the couch with a content smile. God, this just felt so right. Having you so close and smiling, having his daughter asleep and safe against him. He could feel the pieces snapping together, could feel himself becoming whole. “Yet another thing she has in common with you.”

“What else?” Javier whispered, desperate to hear everything.

“Hmm, let’s see. You have the same grumpy face.” You laugh when he glanced up at you, his eyebrows ticked together and lips pursed slightly. “Mhmm, that’s the one. Plus she hates carrots. Acts like I’ve personally offended her if I even offer them.”

“That’s because carrots are fucking disgusting.” Javi grumbles goodnaturedly as he gently rubs Ellie’s back. She’s so small, such a tiny, delicate little creature, and he can’t believe it. Any of it. You let him in after everything, took him in and introduced him to an entirely new world of possibility, one where if he was smart and did right by his two little ladies, he would get the life he always dreamed of.

Your fingers brushed an errant lock of hair from his face and Javi sighed, his eyes falling closed as he leaned into the soft touch that he missed so much. He hummed happily, practically purring like a pleased cat, when your fingers buried further in his hair and massaged over his scalp. Heaven. He was in heaven.

A gentle stirring against his chest made Javier glance down at Ellie and that first glimpse of her big brown eyes only confirmed what he already felt deep in his soul - this little girl was his everything. It was the most basic, simple thing he had ever felt, no question to be had about any of it.

Ellie wiggled against him, trying to get herself upright, and Javier immediately held her under her arms to sit her on his thigh. She looked inquisitively up at him from his lap, glancing over at you to confirm that you were nearby before staring at him as if he was the most interesting thing he has ever seen. Her little hand reached up to tug at his mustache, giving him a toothy grin at the way he laughed.

There were tears in his eyes and he couldn’t even deny them, couldn’t pretend they weren’t there. Javier could see them mirrored in your eyes as you watched Ellie stand in her father’s lap and try to balance herself with her hands on his shoulders.

You cleared your throat. “She’s about to start bouncing.”

“What? Whoa!” Javier exclaimed at the sudden feeling of what seemed like Ellie falling in his lap, his hands rushing for a firmer grip only for her to pop right back up and do it all over again. All three of you cracked up, your melodic laughter mixing with Ellie’s high giggling in the most beautiful way.

That night Javier got to cut up his daughter's food and help spoon bites into her mouth, sat at the table with Ellie and the love of his life, eating dinner like a family. He could picture this for the rest of his life. Eating breakfast and dinner together. Kissing the both of you goodbye in the morning and returning to his daughter running down the hall to wrap him in a hug. Chasing Ellie around a park and helping her down slides and pushing her on the swings.

This was his second chance, and he was going to do it right. God help him, he was not going to miss out on anything else. So when he saw the hesitance in your eyes that night after putting Ellie to bed, Javier settled himself on the couch with nothing but a gentle kiss to your forehead. There was no reason to push you. He wanted you to be comfortable, he owed you that much.

A week went by like that. Javier would rise in the morning to the sounds of you coming downstairs with Ellie on your hip and stretch, realigning his spine and pulling the tension from his sore back. He offered small pieces of affection and grinned every time they were accepted - a small peck on the lips here, his arm raised for you to curl closer on the couch there. Little Elianna was all too happy to join in on those little couch cuddle sessions, too, clambering into his lap or yours and snuggling close.

It seemed like the more Ellie warmed up to him, the more you did as well. Javi caught those small smiles when you watched him help ease his little girl to sleep for a nap. The more he proved himself to be a good father, the more comfortable you were letting him in, and it felt like progress. You laughed openly at his stupid jokes, reached out for him for affection of your own volition - kisses over coffee, holding hands as he pushed Ellie in the stroller - and it felt so good.

Javier fluffed up a pillow before tossing it against the arm of the couch, but before he could collapse his exhausted body into the cushions, he felt your hand curl around his bicep. The look in your eyes was almost afraid and worry clenched his stomach, but before he could spiral, you pulled him close and leaned up to kiss him.

A surprised sound hummed against your lips but Javi quickly regained himself to kiss you back. There was something softer about the way your lips pressed against his, something that had been absent from the quick, nearly chaste kisses you shared since he returned. This time you parted your lips and licked along the curve of his bottom lip, your hand coming up to press against his jaw and pull him even closer.

“You aren’t sleeping on that couch anymore.” You whispered against his lips.

“Oh, thank fuck.” Javi grumbled as he pressed even closer and kissed you again and again, slowly guiding you back to your bedroom.

He woke up the next morning with his bare chest against your back, his face buried in your hair, and he didn’t think life could get any better. His arms tightened around you as he gently rubbed up and down your side, the soft touch easing you out of sleep. The way you groaned made him smile; it was a sound he missed, even if it though was grumpy. You rolled over in his embrace and wrapped your arms around his neck to drag him over you, smiling sleepily at him before kissing him.

“My thighs are fucking aching, Javier.” You grumbled against him as you pressed a line of kisses along his jaw and down his neck.

He shivered at the feeling of your lips against his sensitive skin. “Mm, yeah, and you love it.”

You giggled in that way that made his stomach flip. “Fair enough.”

The door pushed open suddenly, almost hard enough to crack against the wall, and Ellie appeared on your side of the bed, her arms raised as she waited impatiently to be picked up. Javier happily pulled her up onto the bed. Scratch his earlier assumption - now his life couldn’t get any better. He watched Ellie jump and tumble around the sheets with happy squeals and that’s when he heard it. At first, he thought maybe he was hearing things until he saw the way your mouth fell open into a big grin, your eyes flitting back and forth between father and daughter.

“Papaaaa!” Ellie called out, her hands opening and closing rapidly, reaching for him from the other side of the bed. She kept saying it, repeating the two syllables over and over until it all bled into one long call for her dad.

Javier pulled her into his arms and squished her to his chest tightly, his eyes on you as his heart fluttered high in his chest. He couldn’t find the words, his voice choked out by his overwhelming love for the little family he had. He watched as you shuffled forward to kneel next to him and kiss the top of Ellie’s head, then his lips, pride shimmering in your eyes.

“Marry me.” Javier said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Your jaw dropped. “Javi… you don’t have to do this. I - I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

“Are you kidding me? I want to grow old with you, have kids with you, even have a fucking white picket fence.” It was as if the faucet was turned on and there was no stopping the words he so desperately wanted to say. “None of this is out of obligation, hermosa. I want you to be my wife.”

“Yes.” There were tears in your eyes as you listened to the words you had longed to hear for far too long. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Javier surged forward and kissed you again, and in that bed with the precious little girl the two of you created together and the promise of being yours forever, he knew he was right where he belonged.

{Taglist}

@iamburdened @everyhowlmarksthedead @jenrebloggingfics @xserenax-13 @silverstarsandsuns @luminescentlily @peterpstuff @leonieb @lazybeeches @withasideofmeg @freeshavocadoooo @chattychell @ew-erin @viktorialukowski @cjbtw @agentshortstacc @a-skov @himbotroy

[asset35-maya]

Prompt no. 18 from this list

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”

“Sorry, just give me a minute, babe. I need to recalibrate the interface I’m using…”

Gavin’s voice trailed off. The only sound in the room was from the clacking of his keyboard, his fingers flying across the keys.

Nines tried his best to take his mind off his situation. Immobile in bed… with the very real possibility that it could be permanent.

It was a just a software update… just another afternoon nap… but now he had no idea whether he’d ever move again.

Noticing his stress levels spiking, he focused on Gavin. The crease of his brows… the old scar across his nose… the determined set of his jaw as he scrubbed through lines and lines of code to find the root of the problem.

Gavin.

Lover. Friend. Saviour.

The man he depended on for everything, including his continued existence.

Nines silently thanked whichever force of nature had brought him into the safety and sanctity of Gavin’s embrace. RA9 or God or the laws of physics that dictated where atoms would end up from the beginning of time.

Not all androids were as lucky as he was.

After the Revolution, the digital giant known as Cyberlife had been dissolved under political pressure from New Jericho and its vehement supporters. Android production ceased, Cyberlife’s assets were stripped and its R&D departments were spun off into smaller, more benign companies.

People were elated in the beginning… and then they realised there was no one around to maintain and service the androids that now comprised 30% of American citizenry. Private technicians had booming business, but they were eventually overwhelmed.

The worst of it was the software.

The patches, the bug fixes, the security.

No single company was able to do it by themselves and individuals realised they were pretty much on their own. Human husbands and wives and girlfriends and brothers and pretty much everyone scrambled to learn how to take care of beloved androids on their own.

Gavin was one of the most capable ones. He knew how to do most of the mechanical work and quickly taught himself the software and systems elements. When Nines asked him how he was so proficient… whether he learnt any of it in college… he wouldn’t respond directly. The closest Nines had gotten to an answer was a grumbled “s what happens when you share a room for fifteen years with the nerdy prick that started all this trouble in the first place”

It was initially tough on the both of them… and expensive… as they figured out how to do things by trial… but Gavin was confident and adamant that he wouldn’t let Nines down. He quickly reached a steady state, even managing to get a maintenance routine in place.

But he couldn’t be perfect.

And there were things he couldn’t control.

Androids were the most complicated cyberphysical systems on the planet. Anything and everything could go wrong at any time…

And it had… during a major OS update.

“Babe, can you hear me?”

Nines’ LED cycled yellow once and went back to red.

Gavin held one of the limp hands in his own.

“Can you feel this?”

The LED spun again.

“Great. And I’m pretty sure you can see me, I know that look in your eyes, babydoll. Hmm… okay, that means all the sensors and IOT device connections are fineee…”

The musing continued as Gavin set aside the laptop and scooted closer to Nines. A gentle hand came up to tilt the android’s face from side to side.

“But you can’t talk…”

“AAAAAAAAAA”

“Wow. Never make that noise in the bedroom again. Hmm… Okay, this means your vocal chords are fine but you can’t move your mouth. Huh.. well… you can’t seem to move anything… not that different from your usual participation levels in bed then. Not to worry.”

The only thing Nines could do was glare and Gavin seemed relieved that even that was possible. He patted the android’s cheek.

“I’ll check your motor actuation and control. Simple modules. I should be able to see anything strange right away.”

Gavin resumed scrolling through the chunks of code and running searches for common errors. But minutes passed… and turned into an hour… and the hour, doubled, tripled.

But Gavin was undeterred. He had to be. Giving up was not an option. Plus, years of being a dedicated police officer had wiped out any fears of hard work and failure… he would scroll all night if it came to that.

A notification popped up on the screen.

RK900 #313 248 317 - 87: Sweetheart, you’ve been trying for hours. Take a break.

Gavin turned to his side. Nines could detect the worry and agitation behind the facade of lighthearted calm.

“I know right. It’s not fair. You’ve been chilling this whole time I’ve been working. Tsk tsk.”

RK900 #313 248 317 - 87: I’m serious, Gavin. Stop. Take a break for today. Call someone. You can try again tomorrow morning.

“Nines, you’re not a work assignment. I can’t take a break from you. You can get up and close this laptop for me.”

A few more hours passed. Frowning, Gavin climbed under the covers with Nines and began troubleshooting and testing all other modules too. It was a massive undertaking, but he’d be damned if he didn’t do it.

RK900 #313 248 317 - 87: Know when to give up on a lost cause.

It was nearly two in the morning when that message popped up. Gavin’s eyes were red from all the screen time, but his fighting spirit had not flagged. If anything, he felt close to the finish line. Having gone through nearly the entirety of his lover’s system architecture, there were only a few stones left unturned. He’d identify the problem, win half the battle and then the solution would flow from there. It always did. They’d be fine.

He turned to tell Nines precisely that and balked at the tears staining the android’s perfect face.

“Hey…”

Gavin leaned over his partner and wiped the tears away.

“Hey… shhh… don’t… don’t worry, I’ll take care of you…”

RK900 #313 248 317 - 87: I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I’m putting you through all this. Things can’t go on like this. I’m such a liability. Emotionally, physically, financially! You can’t keep doing this for me, Gavin.

Gavin placed the laptop on the bedside table and slipped deeper under the covers, wrapping himself around Nines’ still form.

“It’s a good thing you can’t speak right now, cause you’re talking some major bullshit, baby. You are going to be FINE. I will take care of you, like always, like I promised.

You are not a liability. You are my man. I signed up for this. If you were human and sick and I dunno, needed a kidney or something, I’d simply give it to you. You and I are bound like that. For life.

So quit bitching, let me do my thing, and when you’re back… you know how to thank me.”

He smiled genuinely as he said that, stroking the android’s skin and trying to calm him down. When the speed of the LED cycles came down and the colour stabilised at a warm amber, Gavin kissed the frozen lips and gave Nines one last cuddle before returning to his computer.

Sunrise began to streak across the dark sky by the time the critical error was identified. Gavin sighed deeply as he pulled up the faulty synchronisation that had jammed the hundreds of motors and drives throughout Nines’ body.

There was actually nothing much to be said for the root cause of the failed execution loop. Just improper methods written for some of the new hardware they had installed the previous week.

That’s what they got for using uncertified biocomponents and unlicensed third party software bought off the seedier parts of the internet. Some incompatibility somewhere would inevitably trip them up. Gavin was usually able to see such trouble before it found them… but even he couldn’t be perfect.

He stretched and cracked his spine and wiggled his fingers before plunging into rewriting the problematic section. He would sleep like a log after this… but first, he had to sprint to the finish line.

And he did.

At 7AM, Gavin finally copied the clean code into the compiler and hit execute. After a brief reinitialisation, Nines blinked awake. He raised his hands tentatively. As soon as he realised full functionality had been restored, he sat up and threw himself at Gavin, smothering the exhausted human in a giant hug.

Gavin hugged back, fighting to keep his emotions at bay.

“All… all good?”

“You saved my life. Again.”

“I’ll do it a thousand times more if I need to.”

“I thought I was done for.”

“Don’t be dramatic. It was just some bad code.”

“I could have been stuck like that forever. Never moving, never talking. Just lying there till my charge drains out. That could have been the end for us, and frankly, I was prepared for that eventuality. You should be too.”

“Never.”

“I don’t doubt your abilities, sweetheart, but we are painfully limited by our resources. There’s things in this world that only Cyberlife can do and they’re never coming back. We have to make our peace with that. Pulling all-nighters just to keep me alive… it’s not sustainable.”

“Hey it’s not like this happens all the time, Nines. I get that this was really scary, but it’s not always like this… so please don’t tell me whether things are sustainable. I will always fight for you. End of discussion.”

Nines didn’t respond and just rested his head on Gavin’s shoulder. His steel blue eyes were fixed on the pair of birds fluttering outside their bedroom window. They sat intertwined like that on the bed for a while. Now that he could, Nines didn’t seem to want to stop holding his partner. The birds landed on the window sill, chirping away and enjoying the morning breeze.

“They’re really quite sweet, aren’t they? The two of them are always here in the morning. I should build them a little bath in our garden.”

“They’re mates.”

“Huh. Just like us.”

“You know… it’s just a myth, what they say… that birds die when their mates do.”

“What?”

“Most species will go through a grieving period, but after that they will begin courtship again.”

“What the phck are you on about? No one’s dying and no one’s beginning courtship again. Nines, I’d move heaven and earth before anything like that happens.

Besides, if I really, really couldn’t get your body to work, worst case scenario, I’d just transfer you to a mobile device. Carry you around like a voice in my head… like my conscience… I promise you that nothing can keep us apart.”

It wasn’t all that easy to convince Nines, and Gavin wasn’t about to try. It had been an ordeal for the both of them. It wasn’t the first time, and it might not be the last. But for the time being, they had emerged, and they had each other, and that was all that mattered.

Yawning, Gavin lay back among the mussed sheets and pulled Nines with him. Birdsong and the muted whir of thirium pump compressions lulled him into a dreamless sleep.

[kozumekenza]

house of memories :: four

:: kageyama tobio x f!reader :: playlist :: masterlist ::

:: taglist: open :: wc: 2.3k ::

the last you had heard of kageyama tobio, he was following his grandfather’s footsteps and leaving you behind to join the syndicate. a chance meeting throws him back into your life, along with all of the memories.

tw: mafia elements, profanity, blood, gunshot wound, kidnapping, implied drug use (marijuana)

a/n: posting an hour early :)

“I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Simple words, and predictable ones, but his heart still hurts. He knew this, he knew it was coming, he knew what you would say, he prepared himself for it, so why does it feel like his world is crashing down? He’s leaving you, but he guesses you’re leaving him first. The thought brings him comfort. He didn’t want to involve you in this, as much as it hurts watching you walk away. He should be thankful that you’re breaking his heart and not the other way around. He should be thankful that you’ll hopefully hold this against him for the rest of his life. He should be thankful that you will never know the cold steel of a gun, the glint of an attacker’s knife. 

You’re long gone by now, probably tucked into bed. He’s right where you left him, although he is no longer staring at the spot where you were standing. Now, he’s watching the moonlight on the water. The world looks cast in melancholy blue; a beautiful setting for his final night and a tearful goodbye.

He is thankful for this last chance to see you; to memorize your features and commit them all to memory. He is thankful for the tears on his face, as he will not be allowed to show them in the future. He is thankful for all the emotions that he is currently feeling; he savors them, knowing that when he wakes up tomorrow, they will be long gone; suppressed forever. 

---

You’re up and running before you even have the chance to fully grasp the situation at hand. There’s blood, so much blood; Miwa’s calling to you, but you can’t hear her. There’s only the pounding of your heart in your ears and the four years worth of schooling you’ve received; racking your brain for any and all useful information. 

“I need all the medical supplies you have; a first aid kit, bandages, forceps, scissors.” You pray that Miwa is listening, that your voice is projecting. “I know we probably can’t take him to the hospital, but if you have a doctor you normally see for stuff like this, call them.”

You press your hands to the wound. From what you can tell, it’s a bullet wound towards the bottom left of Kageyama’s chest. His heart is still beating and his breathing is slow, but steady, and you allow yourself a moment to be thankful that his lung hasn't collapsed. You focus on your next steps: stopping the bleeding, fully assessing the severity of the wound, and stabilizing Kageyama somewhere that isn’t the foyer’s floor. 

Miwa drops down next to you with what you hope are sterile rags. “I called our doctor, she’ll be here soon.” She unwraps the plastic covering and hands you the rags, and you press them to Kageyama’s chest. “If we can just stop the bleeding, he’ll be fine.”

You can’t help but shiver at the thought that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. 

---

Kageyama Tobio is used to being shot at, but the bullets rarely meet their mark. Unfortunately, due to his own stupidity, this one does. 

He curses as he runs to his car and jams the keys into the ignition. The fleeting thought that the blood will be a pain to get out of the seats crosses his mind, but he shakes his head and it’s gone. His only goal now is to get back to the penthouse. Miwa will know what to do. 

When he stumbles in, feeling faint, his exhausted brain short-circuits at the sight of you. He falls to the floor as his vision blurs, feeling slightly thankful that if he dies tonight, at least the last thing he saw was you.

---

He knows he’s dreaming, that he’s drifting in and out of consciousness. He dreams of his childhood spent by your side, he dreams of your final goodbye. Even when he thinks he’s awake, he knows he must be dreaming, because you’re here, holding his hand and sitting by his side. He tries to reach out, to brush the tears off of your cheeks, but he can’t. He feels as if he’s failed you again.

---

The doctor is nice, a woman in her late twenties named Kiyoko. She performs her duties clinically, allowing you to help where you can and reassuring Miwa that everything will be fine. When the bullet is finally removed and Kageyama is stitched up, you collapse into a chair next to his bed.

You watch him carefully as Miwa flits around the penthouse, cleaning up and moving around Kageyama’s appointments for the next few weeks to allow him time to recover. You hold his hand in your own and rest your head on the side of the bed.

You were terrified tonight, you’ll admit it. You aren’t quite sure how you kept your cool and focused on the task at hand. You’re thankful that he is still breathing, that his heart is still beating. 

If you hadn’t walked away, would this be the norm for you? Would you be accustomed to Kageyama coming home bleeding and half-dead? You don’t know how you would cope in a situation like that, unsure if Kageyama would come home in one piece or even come home at all. The thought terrifies you; knowing that for these past four years, there were times where he was injured and you had no clue, and that he will most likely continue to get hurt in the future.

Is it better or worse to be here for it, to be aware? Is it better to know and be there for him while enduring the pain of it all, or is it better to be blissfully unaware, back to your normal life where you know his job is a risk, but you aren’t involved?

---

The man is thrilled at all of the information contained in a tiny computer file. Better than he ever could have imagined; giving him the ability to hurt his enemy is the worst possible way - through the people he cares about. 

It’s a low blow, even in this world, but what can he do? He’s run out of options. His enemy’s reign over Tokyo has encroached too far into his own territory, and has been occurring for far too long. 

You’re an easy target; far better than attempting anything with his sister. She has the knowledge and power of the underworld to wield against him, but you, you, are perfect. No skills with a weapon, no comprehension of how things work in this world. 

An innocent, perfect girl for him to corrupt. 

He grins at the thought. 

---

When Kageyama’s eyes finally open in the early hours of the morning, you almost burst into tears. You knew that he was physically fine; the wound would hurt, but was stitched and bandaged and fixed. You didn’t know how it would take a toll on the rest of his body. Some people suffer traumatic injuries and don’t wake up for days, months, years, ever. 

You grin as Kageyama slowly opens his eyes, assessing the room around him. 

“Y/n?” His voice is weak, but he’s awake. Alive. 

“Yeah?” You’re still holding his hand, leaning on your arm as you reach for his forehead to check his body temperature.

“You’re here.”

He’s clearly still a little out of it, and you can tell that his brain is trying to piece together the picture of you before him. You laugh a little before you answer, “Of course I’m here. Where else would I be?”

His face is blank and he’s completely impassive when he says, “Not here.”

Miwa walks in to you laughing at Kageyama, who clearly does not understand why you’re laughing at him. She rushes over to him when she sees that he’s awake, gently hugging him.

“Tobio, thank god you’re alright. I was so fucking worried about you, you little shit.” She slaps his shoulder lightly, causing him to wince. 

You step away to give them some privacy, heading out to get some water and pain meds from the kitchen, but as you cross the threshold of the bedroom, Kageyama speaks up. “Y/n, are you leaving?”

The ache in his voice is obvious, and it sends a pang to your heart. “I’m just going to get some water and medication for you.”

He’s smiling a little when he turns back to Miwa. “Okay, good.”

---

The next few weeks are fine, generally speaking. You spend the majority of your time at Kageyama’s penthouse, watching over his recovery and hanging out with Miwa. Hana becomes a bit suspicious when she notices you’re away from home more than you’re there, but you simply say that you met an old friend at the club that night and you’ve been hanging out with them. It’s not necessarily a lie, and she buys it regardless; she’s so busy with Ushijima and school that you doubt she really notices how much you’re missing anyway. 

Most days, Miwa or Kageyama’s driver picks you up from the university in the afternoon, and you spend the rest of your evening in the penthouse. Sometimes, you sit by Kageyama’s bed and do homework while he rests, which most of the time ends up being a fight to get him to stay in bed while he insists he’s well enough to work. Other days, mostly when Kageyama is too tired to put up much of a fight, you hang out with Miwa, watching movies or cooking dinner together. 

It surprises you, just how easily you fit into their lives. Miwa says so as well, telling you that it has to be fate; there’s no way that someone could adjust to their lifestyle as quickly and as well as you do. You spend a lot of time thinking; you don’t mind being with them, in fact, you cherish your time at the penthouse. Kageyama’s job doesn’t phase you as much anymore. You don’t think about it when you spend time with him or Miwa, instead, you think about how appreciative you are for their roles in your life. 

Most recently, you’ve started helping Miwa with a task she deems “Mission: Impossible”. Apparently, Kageyama is disastrous when it comes to organization, so she’s taking the opportunity of him being bedridden to organize his office and the rest of the house. You don’t bat an eye when you and Miwa categorize what she refers to as the “weapons closet” or even when you come across files of all the hits that Kageyama has ever put out. The only thing that even makes you pause is when you come across Kageyama’s secret stash of marijuana.

“Really?” You hold the plastic bag up in one hand, your other hand on your hip. “Blunts?”

Kageyama just groans, sitting up. “If you and Miwa weren’t going through all my shit, you never would’ve found it.”

“Your shit is a mess! When was the last time you organized anything in this house?”

Kageyama brings his hand up, scratching the back of his hand. “Uh, never?”

“I can’t believe you.” You collapse onto the chair next to his bed, tossing the bag to him. “Now where’s the lighter?”

---

When Kageyama is finally cleared by Kiyoko to go back to work, you think that you won’t be seeing him and Miwa as often. You assume that they’ll be busy with whatever it is they do normally, so it comes as a surprise when you see Kageyama waiting for you after your last class. 

He’s leaning on a black McLaren Artura, turned away from you as he talks on the phone. You stop on the steps of your lab building, pausing to look at him while he’s not paying attention. After seeing him in sweats and t-shirts with messy hair for weeks while he recovered, it shocks you to see him in formal attire again. The late fall chill embraces you as you survey the black jeans and dark jacket, the wind-whipped hair and gold chain peeking out from beneath his collar. It’s times like these when your breath fully leaves you at how attractive Kageyama is. He’s receiving many stares, whether it’s from the boys checking out his car or the girls checking out him. He remains oblivious as always, talking pointedly into the phone until he spots you. 

He hangs up and opens the Artura’s door for you when you approach. You can feel the whispers surrounding you, but you ignore them in favor of sticking your chilling fingers in front of the car’s heat vent. Kageyama starts the car and peels out of the parking lot.

“I’m surprised to see you today. I thought you would’ve been busy on your first day back.”

He shrugs, giving a noncommittal hum. “It was mostly boring shit, meetings and such. I was completely over it by noon, so Miwa took over the last few for me.”

“You’re done already?” It’s only four in the afternoon, and you know he normally works much, much later than that.

“Done for now. I’ll go into the club later tonight to check on a few things, but that’s at least interesting.”

“Hm.” Looking out the window, you notice that you’re not heading towards the penthouse. “Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you out.”

You choke on air; as someone with Kageyama’s career, this could mean one of two things. “O-on a date?”

“Yeah,” he glances at you, “what else would that mean?”

“You don’t want to know what I was thinking.”

“Damn, y/n, I’m not going to kill you.” The wry smile on his face warns you of his upcoming words. “That would get blood on my seats.”

“Haha.” You roll your eyes and punch him lightly on the shoulder. “But really, you’re taking me out on a date? You didn’t even ask.”

“Well it’s more of a ‘thank you for nursing me back from the dead and helping Miwa’ date, but it can also be a real date, if you want that.”

The slight nervousness in his voice makes you grin. Only Kageyama could shoot someone in cold blood and be afraid to ask a girl out. “Okay.”

You watch as he glances at you out of the corner of his eye, a sly smile on his face. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

taglist: @lilith412426​ @itoshibaby​ @wallywaffle​ 

[atinydise]

Ateez reacting to their s/o asking their a tricky question

❦ Genre: Fluff.

❦ Pairing: OT8.

❦ Word count: 2k7.

❦ A/N: Pretty short writing, but I’ve been inspired for this today so here it is! Hope you will like it! 🤍 Stay all healthy! 🦋

HONGJOONG: “If you needed to choose between your career or me? What would you choose?”

“What about this?” Asked Hongjoong, trying to find the right beat for the song’s instrumental. “It sounds like the previous one.” You replied lazily, sitting on the couch. “But it fits the whole thing well.” “I’m not sure... I’m not really convinced by it.” “You are so dedicated to your productions. It makes me feel a little bit jealous sometimes.” You claimed, eyes still glued on your phone. “Come on I grant you more time nowadays.” You raised a brow and stared at your boyfriend’s back. “If you mean these 5 more minutes… than spoiler... it’s not enough for the clingy girl that I am.” “Okay I got it.” He giggled. “Give me 15 minutes and I’ll stop for the rest of the day. Deal?” “Okay deal.” You replied satisfied.

You both focused back on your screen, even if yours was an Instagram feed. When suddenly a question popped in your mind. “Joongie?” You called him nicely. “Hum? What is it girl? I’m almost done.” “I have a question.” “Tell me.” He said without looking at you. “If you needed to choose between your career or me? What would you choose?” Hongjoong went tense right before you finished to talk. The boys told him that he should have been ready for this type of questions, but he never thought you would ask one for real. He stared right at his computer screen in front of him. He needed to answer quickly because you might start to get mad. “Huh... well...” he coughed. “That’s a simple question of course.” “Really? Then what would you choose?” You insisted. “Since you are my muse, I can’t write music or produce any beat. So, I need you.” He replied taking care at each word which was coming out of his mouth. “Oh. Cute. Thank you.” You said before taking back your attention on your phone. Hongjoong couldn’t believe it. All this panic just for a “cute” and “thank you”? “Women...” he whispered before playing again with his production.

SEONGHWA: “Why did you choose me over your ex?”

“You are so focused on your ‘cleaning things’.” You stated from the bed. “Cleaning things?” He repeated. “It’s a healing time for me Y/N.” “And that’s make you even more weird.” You teased him. “Then maybe, the weirdo that I am shouldn’t clean your apartment again.” He winked, starting to remove his plastic gloves. “Wow wow wow! I was kidding!” You stopped him. Seonghwa smirked, he knew you would change your mind. “Jeez... I really need to teach you offbeat humor.” “Help me instead.” He suggested even though he knew you wouldn’t do it. “Nevermind, you are so funny!” You slipped under the sheets. Seonghwa went back to his cleaning session. For sure his favorite think was to clean a Sunday morning with your being around. It was a peaceful atmosphere.

“Babe?” You asked shyly, just showing the half of your face. “Yes. Have you changed your mind?” He smiled. “Actually no. It’s just that I’m curious about one thing?” You said more seriously. “What is it?” He focused on you. “Why did you choose me over your ex?” Seonghwa’s brain went from relaxation to the warning mode. He stared at the sponge in his hand, not daring to make an eye-contact with you. “I know, it’s unexpected but my brain really wants to know how someone like me could interest someone like you.” “W-well.” He stuttered. “In fact, it should be the opposite.” Not understanding what he meant, you furrowed your eyebrows. Just this expression sent him in a panic mode. “I mean... I’m the luckiest one between both of us. There are not many girls who would stay with me because of my busy schedule. Like when I can’t hang out with you for several months or even miss our anniversary date. So… thank you for being this comprehensive and kind.” He smiled. “And my ex was a big mistake. I don’t even consider her as an ex-girlfriend. So, no matter what, it will forever be you over everything else in this world.” He finished. When he finally looked at you, he only spotted your teary eyes. “Are you crying?” He smiled. “No... I have a dust in my eye.” You lied. “Yes sure. Both eyes?” “Just clean the room better than this. So many dusts.” You said before bidding once again under the bed. “I guess my answer wasn’t that bad.” He congratulated himself.

YUNHO: “Why did you choose me over your ex?”

A little walk outside with your boyfriend was the thing you needed the most right now. Yunho’s week has been stressful and your boss seemed like a tyrant today. Both of you needed to escape in your own little world otherwise you would end crazy. “You are not cold Y/N?” Made sure your boyfriend. You pouted when you beard him using your name. “I had a terrible day, and you call me ‘Y/N’?” Yunho giggled at your face expression. “Sorry. You are not cold... my love?” A smile immediately appeared on your face. “No, thank you Yunho.” “Hey!” He laughed. “Don’t call me Yunho when I gave you little cute names.” “That’s what you deserve.” “Even though that’s unfair… that’s one reason of why I love you.” Happily, you wrapped your arms around his. A little bit snuggling next to him. “By the way...” you started. “How do you know I was ‘the one’?” Yunho almost tripped on his foot. “Ohw! Take care idiot!” You helped him to gain his weight back. He giggled embarrassedly, secretly hoping that you talk about something else. “So? How did you know it?” You asked once again.

Mission failed.

“P-probably like you. When you knew that I was one.” He tried to reverse the situation. “Well for me I had this feeling! It’s like my brain knew it before my heart.” “Yes!” He snapped. “It’s exactly the same for me.” “Oh really?” You smiled. Yunho nodded, not wanting to dive more in this conversation. “Did you have this urge craving for food and for love too?” You asked. “Sure!” He lied again. “So… this is destiny.” You claimed, tugging on his arm. “Exactly.” He concluded. “Destiny that I met a liar like you.” “Completely!” Then he realized. “Hold up? A liar?” You only tossed him with a single stare and continued to walk by your own. “Y/N! No- Babe! Wait for me!” He ran after you before wrapping his arm around your shoulders. You wouldn’t stay mad for long.

YEOSANG: “Would you still love me if I was different?”

“For God’s Sake Y/N, please pick a dress.” “Yeosang, this is an important event I can’t wear something picked in 2 seconds.” “You are just going to meet my friends... they won’t even look at your outfit.” “Then should I go there naked?” You asked sarcastically. Yeosang stared at you for 5 longs seconds before turning back to fix his shirt in the mirror. “Pick one instead of saying non-sense.” “The red one is cute but maybe a little bit too sexy for a casual meeting.” “Then pick the blue one.” He sighed. “But the blue one might be a little bit too casual.” You said. “Oh gosh Y/N.” “Oh, come on! It’s easy for you! You look good in everything, even a trash bag.” You claimed jealously. Before you finish mad (more than right now), Yeosang gave up. “Wear what you want then.” He said before plopping down on the bed.

You felt a bit bad and mad for being insecure and taking so long just to pick an outfit. “Would you still love me if I was different?” You asked, grabbing the blue dress. “Hell no.” He instantly replied. “No?!” You turned back. “I mean yes!” He sat correctly with a big smile. “You are a bad liar Yeosang.” Your boyfriend bit his lip, trying to rectify his mistake. “I meant that I fell in love with you for who you are right now. If you were a little bit more different, it wouldn’t be ‘you’ anymore.” You tilted your head, “but why if I was just a little bit more confident or stuff like that?” “It wouldn’t be you.” He replied. “When we met, I loved the insecure side that you had because I was in the same mind.” “So… we are kind of working on this… together?” Yeosang nodded, agreeing with you. “Well...” you looked at your reflection in the mirror. “It’s going to be the blue one.” “Hallelujah.” Claimed your boyfriend.

SAN: “Why do you love me?”

“It’s Y/N turn!” Claimed Wooyoung next to you. “Again?” You grunted. “Truth or dare young lady?” Asked Yunho. “Truth.” “Come on you are not funny.” Pouted San. “Y’all crazy! If I choose dare and you are going to ask me to run naked in the street.” “She’s not wrong.” Admitted Wooyoung picking a candy. “So, truth.” “Okay then... of what or how women think?” You scoffed, “that’s a girl secret.” “Then do we need to give her a pledge?” Asked Mingi. “No no no okay.” You changed your mind. “So?” “We think exactly like you. Not always these girlies stereotypes, like shopping and nails.” You explained. “Food?” “Yes, we think about food a lot. Even too much.” “And sex?” Asked San. “Of course! We have our moments too.” You admitted. “Okay next.” Said Seonghwa changing right away the conversation. “San?” “Truth.” “And I’m no fun Huh?” San was making an excuse while you were hardly thinking about a though question. What could make San flustered or embarrassed? “Okay!” You smiled enthusiastically. “Why-” you paused. “Do you love me?” All the boys around whistled while poking San’s body to tease him. “W-what kind of question is that?” He stuttered.

Mission accomplished for you. 1-0 for you.

“Answer it or you are going to have a pledge.” Smirked Wooyoung. San was sweating. This question was hard to answer because he knows you would end being mad, no matter what. There was no escape, and his teammate were not being helpful at all. “So?” Repeated Seonghwa, enjoying the situation too. “I-I-” he started stuttering a bit, ignoring what to do or where to start. You loved to see him this way. You were really appreciating every second of it. “Pledge.” He finally said. For sure, you would be mad, but it was the only solution he had right now. “Okay then tell us why you love Y/N. 3 things.” “I hate all of you.”

MINGI: “When do you think we will get married Mingi?”

“Hello lovebirds.” Greeted Yunho before plopping down on the sofa. “Hello!” You replied back. “How was your day?” “Nobody ever told me how acting was tiring.” He yawned. “More tiring than practicing all day?” Asked your boyfriend, head resting on your laps. “Hum... no but still. There’s so many scripts to remember, so many facial expression...” he enumerated. “Come on... I’m pretty sure you are enjoying it.” You claimed. “I do. It’s just exhausting for a beginner, at least.”

You smiled at Yunho, he had so much acting opportunities these times. People started to see him as a talented young boy and not only as a Kpop idol. “And you lovebirds? How was your day?” He asked politely. “Pretty good we went to my friend’s wedding ceremony. It was pretty cool.” He replied. “Oh yeah, true.” He smiled the tall guy. “And how did you find it Mingi.” “Less bad than I expected.” He replied still staring at the TV. “He loved the buffet too.” You giggled. “Wedding’s food is the B.E.S.T!” Admitted Yunho. “I’m more impatient for the food that he ceremony itself.” “So true!” You clapped. “Don’t worry we will prepare a good one for our wedding.” Yunho and Mingi exchanged a quick glance. “When do you think we will get married Mingi?” Your boyfriend gave his friend a quick stare saying “save me” or “say something” but Yunho was clearly enjoying the situation. “Mingi?” “We are a bit too young no? I- I mean in maybe 3 years okay b-but now... it’s-” Mingi looked at every expression on your face and right now, you were completely in the incomprehension one. “Okay it’s late! Let’s go to sleep!” He changed the conversation. Your boyfriend rushed to turn the off the TV and run to his bedroom. “Did he-” you paused. “Run away? Totally.” Finished Yunho.

WOOYOUNG: “What do you love about me?”

“Do you know what you are going to eat?” Asked your boyfriend, putting down the menu. “Everything here looks so tasty.” You whined. “Take everything you want babe.” Smiled Wooyoung. “Do you want me to spend all of your money?” “Why not.” He smiled. “Okay Sir.” You stuck your tongue out at him. Finally, after taking a year to order your food, you finally chose your favorite Korean meal. When the waiter left, you focused back on your boyfriend. “So why did you choose this restaurant for the Valentine’s Day?” “Because you are not really into the fancy restaurants?” “True.” You smiled. “You know me so well.” “After 2 years of dating. I better know you correctly.” He held your hand on the table. “Already 2 years wow.” You stared at your intertwined fingers. “Time goes fast huh?” “Really fast.” He smirked at you.

“By the way, I never really asked this but, what do you love about me?” Wooyoung blinked dumbly. It’s like the left part of his brain already had the answer, while the right side was aware of the tension this question could bring. “What do I love?” He repeated, hoping you changed your mind. “Yeah.” You confirmed. “Well- Haha…-” he grunted. “There’s so many things you know.” “Like what?” You insisted wanting more details. “Like what?” He repeated again. “Well, you know! Your personality, ‘youreverythingbodyeyesandstufflikethis’.” He muttered, trying to talk quickly so you couldn’t understand. “My what?” Wooyoung stared at his phone next to his arm, thinking about a way to escape this situation. He removed his grip off your hand and grabbed his phone. “여보세요*?” “Your phone didn’t ring. At all.” You crossed your arms around on your chest. “Ah Yunho! Is it urgent because I’m with Y/N right now?” “Wooyoung.” You called him. “Sorry I will need to take this call outside.” Lied your boyfriend, standing up before leaving the restaurant. “Wait for me here!” “You are the biggest coward ever,” you yelled before he could exit.

*여보세요/Yeoboseyo: hi/allo in korean.

JONGHO: “When are you going to introduce me to your parents?”

“Y/N would never ask these types of questions.” Sighed Jongho. “Never?” Repeated Hongjoong. “You are ignoring a lot of things about girls.” “Please, the vision you have about girls is so cliché.” “He’s still naive and innocent. Let him see the real side of Y/N, by himself.” Suggested Yeosang. “I know Y/N well.” He rolled his eyes. All the boys were gathered around a good diner in the new kitchen at the dorm. The casual conversation they had at the beginning, ended in an interview of Jongho, to learn a little bit more about you. All the eldest boys acted like they were dating experts, but only few of them have been in a relationship before. “Stop making assumptions about Y/N, she’s not like the other girls.” Just when he finished to talk, his phone buzzed on the table. “Oh Y/N!” Said Mingi pointing the phone. “She probably felt that we were talking about her.” “Pick up and put the speaker so we could see if she’s asking you these types of questions.” Challenged Seonghwa. “Good. I will prove you she’s totally cool.”

Completely sure of him, Jongho executed what his Hyung suggested. “Hello babe,” you greeted him. “Hello love, are you okay?” Asked Jongho, eating his hamburger at the same time. “Pretty good. Hyebin just left so I’m all alone.” “Do you want me to come a bit later?” “Yes, sure why not!” You accepted. “But actually... I have a question.” All the members smirked at the maknae. “It’s starting to be interesting.” Whispered Hongjoong. “What is it love?” Gulped Jongho. “Hyebin told me how she introduced her girlfriend to her parents and then... I was curious to know… when are you going to introduce me to your parents?” Jongho’s face decomposed while the entire team were high fiving each other. “Okay maybe it’s too early. No pressure but I was just wondering.” You reassured him. “I call you back, there’s a fire in the dorm.” Lied Jongho. “Huh wait for re-?” When he hung up, he felt seven stares on him. “I don’t want to hear anything from one of you.” He threatened them. “It was just a random question okay? She’s different.” “Yes sure, if you say, fireman.” Said San, patting his back.

[kendo413]

ValVarez headcanons, pt 3

Here is the final part of the Judy/Fem!V headcanons. Thank you for checking these out, and as always, if any of this sparks interest have at it.

V deals with a lot of fixers. She's the hottest merc in town right now, and everybody knows her name. Judy has opinions on them, based solely on how V talks about them.

Rogue is a bitch, but she's Johnny's bitch so V resolves to just not speak about her much at all. Apparently she and Johnny made a deal not to talk about outputs, former or current, and Judy does not want to know what Johnny thinks of her.

By far, Regina is V's favorite, and Judy's too. Judy has seen the text messages between the two, and never once has Regina insulted her girl. Regina praises V and tells her she did a good job even if V can admit her performance was less than preem. When V talks about her day, she saves the Regina gigs for last so she can always end on a high note.

Wakako sounds every bit the Tyger Claw she is. Judy doesn't like her, in fact she is Judy's least favorite fixer in all of night city, and V can't deny feeling that way as well. V relays that Jackie always told her she would never get a "Good job" out of Wakko, but that's never stopped her from trying anyway.

Mr Hands sounds like something out of a cartoon. Even V admits he's a bit eccentric for a fixer, but she's only worked with him a "HANDful" of times so far so she doesn't really have a read on him.

El Capitan is a professional, through and through. V can appreciate that, and respects the way he cares about his mercs. Judy can appreciate that if her girl goes missing while working for him, he won't just write her off as a deadbeat who skipped town.

Dino is a character. V says he's loud and enthusiastic, always quick to openly tell V when he is impressed by her skills. He's the only fixer V has ever gone drinking with, and the first person since Jackie to drink her under the table.

Padre is someone V knew before she moved to Atlanta for two years. V seems to have a lot of respect for the way the man conducts business, and based on what V has told her, the man knows more about honor - true, Night City honor - than Takemura ever will.

When Judy meets Johnny for the first time later on, he will admit that was the moment he realized he was wrong about her. Judy won't ask him to elaborate, and he won't offer.

Dakota values family above all else. When V does a good turn for her in the Badlands, she is quick to offer solemn thanks, but when V makes a mistake she is even quicker to criticize. V makes a point to avoid Dakota whenever she swings by the Aldecaldos camp.

Sometimes V's fame is a double-edged sword, no pun intended. V admits while bandaging a gunshot wound in her arm that when gangoons see a woman sprinting towards them with a blade in hand, their first instinct is to shoot without thinking. They know they're outmatched and by reputation, V rarely shows mercy. V only laments that sometimes she isn't fast enough to reach them before the trigger gets pulled and an innocent is executed before her eyes.

V disappears on a mission for Johnny with Rogue, and comes back from it with an altered perspective. Johnny isn't the leech in V's head anymore, but apparently a broken man that against all odds has gotten a second chance. V tells Judy she is going to give Johnny the space to make amends, give him control for a while if he needs it. Judy disagrees, they argue, and this time it's Judy who shows up at V's door with an apology and an offer to watch Nibbles at her place, in case Johnny forgets to feed the cat.

V agrees, but only after relaying - through tears of laughter - a series of indignant rants from Johnny about how he can take care of a simple animal. There are also increasingly specific instructions from him about what she does and doesn't like.

Later, V will admit some worry over how Johnny knows so much about the cat's likes and dislikes, since she isn't sure they've ever interacted at all before. Not that she remembers, anyway.

Misty always seems to know when Judy is having a particularly bad day. Maybe that one dinner was enough to tune her into Judy's aura, or maybe Misty just has impeccable timing. Either way, Misty has a way of clarifying things that Judy has been stewing on in the most indirect manner Judy has ever experienced. Whether she has mystical powers or not, Judy can admit she has a strange knack for helping people.

V goes with Takemura to find a way to clear her name with Arasaka and get rid of the construct in her head. Instead, a parade becomes a battle ground, the Arasaka princess is kidnapped, and Takemura dies. She doesn't hear from or about V directly, but she does see her gonk of an output sprinting past Gillean Jordan's report moments after the reporter goes live.

When Panam shows up with a bottle of tequila and a bag of takeout the next day, Judy expects the worst. Turns out Panam had just been craving something other than nomad food, and Judy's apparently near one of her favorite hole-in-the-wall wonton shops.

V finds them later, giggling over trash TV and ineffectually trying to shoo Nibbles away from the empty containers. V is just glad Panam hasn't pushed her down to fourth favorite human in the cat's opinion.

After V relays the tale of the parade, Judy is grateful it's Panam expressing relief that Takemura died instead of V. Johnny must agree, or at least say something that V can't argue with, because she spends the next 15 minutes pouting on the rooftop. She comes back smelling of cigarettes and helps herself to any leftovers Nibbles has abandoned, grief shelved for the time being.

At some point in the night, Panam swears a blood-oath on-her-mother's-grave pinky-promise-guarantee that if anything happens to V, Judy has a home with the Aldecaldos and they will take her wherever she needs to go. Drunk Judy starts crying and can't stop, both touched at the offer and gripped with dread at the prospect.

Judy is also relieved that should her worst nightmare come true, at least she won't be alone.

V shows up after a day or two of running errands for Johnny with Kerry freaking Eurodyne's autograph and an honest to god pair of prescription glasses. Apparently Kerry gets a mild thrill out of making Johnny - in any form - wear the ridiculous square framed glasses. It's also the least he can do for V after literally getting the band back together.

V is ecstatic when they look out over the city and she can see more than just an admittedly impressive blur on the horizon for the first time since she was 14 or so. Judy is not so subtle about how sexy she finds V with them on.

They're both very disappointed when they break just a few days later.

Judy meets Johnny, and it goes as well as can be expected. Nibbles notices the difference first, and then Judy picks up on the differences. Really, the dark aviators around her neck and the frequent crotch scratching should have been a dead give away.

They have a meal that Judy throws together, Johnny polishes off the rest of the whiskey V brought over some nights ago, and the conversation is stilted but civil. Judy makes him sleep on her couch, and it takes a lot of coaxing from V - her V - to share a bed again after the strangeness of seeing a stranger watching her from V's face.

It really shouldn't be surprising that V has a lot of money saved up. Not only is she amazing at her job, but V picks up everything unclaimed that she finds lying around to sell, she doesn't buy cars because she sucks at driving anyway, and unlike most people in Night City, she doesn't really bother with adding more chrome to her arsenal. By that logic, it's no surprise at all.

Judy supposes the real shocker was finding out her output is officially a multimillionaire that runs around the city wearing two different shoes because she couldn't find a matching pair that didn't have blood on them.

It takes a lot of convincing, but she does manage to get V to go clothes shopping with her. In ends with V's new outfit getting ruined by a cyberpsycho attack. Zane can't issue a refund, but Judy is very appreciative of him calling V back in with the promise of a discount a few days later. Who knew her adorable murder machine would look so sexy dressed up like a corpo?

Judy finds a collection of shards in V's apartment, in a box under her computer desk. It should be creepy that V has dozens of shards from random dead people she finds in the city. V explains that they're all victims, not of her, but of various unfortunate happenings in Night City. They all seem to be either right before they died, or something that jumped to the fore of their mind as they were crossing over.

V explains, as gently as she can, that the shards remind her of how Evie kept replaying the fight she and Judy had during her darkest moments. V didn't want them to just get tossed away and forgotten so she kept them. Judy may not be able to say it yet, but she makes sure V at least feels the love Judy has for her in that moment.

Kerry turns out to be a needy bitch, if Judy gets to have an opinion on the situation. He only seems to call V for things at 2 in the morning, when they've both just managed to fall asleep after a very long day. Maybe she's just aggravated that V is always willing to drag herself out of bed to help a friend in need with his stupid rivalry. Nibbles isn't nearly as warm a bedmate, but somehow hogs more of the covers.

V sends a selfie of herself and River, a mountain of chopped veggies between them and Judy can't help but think it isn't fair. Nothing is fair in Night City, but that V is dying now, when she's making friends and learning new skills as though she isn't close to flatlining at any moment is just Not. Fair.

Judy fixes her makeup before calling to tease V about how her chopping skills need some work. V is indignant at the very thought, and River assures her they've been practicing. V promises to bring some over later, and Judy's heart swells with affection.

Kerry and V destroy a yacht, and V announces it's officially the most expensive vehicle she has ever destroyed. Johnny is insistent that the Porsche she wrapped around a pole 30 seconds after taking the wheel was priceless, and the internal argument is apparently so intense that neither notice when Judy goes to bed for the night.

Everything happens fast, or at least suddenly. V's condition has progressed too far, and if something is gonna happen it's gotta happen now. V still makes time to call Judy before she goes off for what could be her last gig.

Judy spends the next few days occupying as much of her time as she can with editing their BD. If she stops working, she starts worrying, and she can't afford to lose faith that V will come back to her. Not now.

When she gets the call from Panam, she can't help but physically sag in relief. V did it. There isn't much time though, so Judy grabs the already prepared bags - one for her, one for V, and one for Nibbles. As she shuts the door to her apartment behind her, she feels like she's finally going home.

The second they get a quiet moment alone together, Judy informs V that she is not going to be the one to tell Mama Welles they ditched the city.

[adg1115]

The Club Princess

After my little run in with Jax things around the clubhouse seemed more off than normal.  I tried to keep myself as far away from Jax as possible.  I was angry more with myself than him.  I knew what living this life would entail and yet I am still here.  I may have overreacted at the situation, dramatic if you will.  I have been attracted to Jax since my hormones decided to notice the beautiful men around me.  So my hormones may have been in overdrive with that little spanking incident.  I wasn’t thinking straight.  I mean who would after that?

Dani had been bugging me about what I possibly would want to do once I was free of bar duty but to be honest I had no idea what I wanted.  I mostly wanted a chance or choice to do something else.  Dani asked me to come work with her not as a dancer but behind the bar.  Another place, same bar wench - no thank you. 

It was another Saturday night at the Clubhouse: music blaring, half naked women all around, dunk men, and me behind the bar.  I plastered a fakish smile on my face.  Don’t get me wrong I do love the club and didn’t mind the bar it was just another night, same routine. 

“Ready for another one?” I asked as Opie sat down on one of the stools.  

“Yeah I can use another one.”

“Rough day?” 

“You could say rough week,” Opie said, cutting his eyes to mine like he knew what I was talking about.  I turned to get his beer and placed it down in front of him.  He just stared at me like I could read his mind. And everyone said women were confusing as fuck. 

“What?!” I screamed at him.  Not that he could really tell the difference in volume with as loud as they kept the clubhouse.

Opie just shook his head at me laughing, “You have no fucking clue what you do to that man.  Give him a break princess and talk to him. Forgive him. Fuck him.  Whatever you need to do to make it right.  He's miserable and has been taking it out on all of us.  So for the love of God and the club, fix it.” Opie took a long drink from his beer and then left me at the bar with nothing but my thoughts.  

Jax was miserable. Highly doubted that.  I have never seen him miserable over someone since Tara left his ass.  Not even when his drugged out ex wife left him with a baby to raise.  He had an impenetrable force field around him. I glanced over to where the man in question was sitting with other guys from the club and croweaters around him.  He didn’t look miserable to me.  In fact, he looked quite comfortable with a g-string covered ass on his lap.  He threw his head back and laughed at something someone has said.  As he lowered his head his eyes locked with mine.  I knew I should look away but I just couldn’t.  He had me in a spell with those deep blue eyes.  He tapped the croweater on the leg and motioned for her to get up.  Fuck.  I really didn’t want to talk to him.  I wanted to talk to him so bad. I wanted him to forget about our conversation. I wanted to lay back across his lap.

“Hey.” God just a simple hey and I was ready to forget our little argument, jump this bar, and hump his leg like a desperate dog looking for attention.

Get it the fuck together, y/n. “Hey Jax.” Calm. Sweating. Cool. Gonna throw up. Collected. Freaking out. 

“Can I get another one?”

“Yeah of course,” I let out with a sigh.  This is crazy.  I grabbed a beer and asked, “Can we talk?”

He took a sip and raised his eyebrows.  “Yeah we can do that.” 

“Maybe somewhere out here so it doesn’t get out of hand?” Fucking smooth, y/n. 

“Yeah I’ll get someone to cover for you.   Meet me there,” he said pointing to a table in the corner by the pool table.  It was far back enough that no one would bother us but still in the open so I wouldn’t end up back across his knees. 

I grabbed two beers and headed to the table, my body shaking the whole time.  I have no idea why I was so nervous.  This was Jax, what’s the worst that could happen.  I piss him off and he kicks me out?  Doubtful.  Piss him off and he never talks to me again? Didn’t see that happening.  Throw myself at him? Yeah that's more likely. 

“What’s that face for?” Jax whispered in my ear as he came around the table.  The goosebumps immediately formed. 

“Oh, yeah nothing.  Just thinking.” About us doing naughty things.

“Hmmm thinking? About what?”

“I have a few things I want to say so please let me get them all out then you can yell at me, kick me out, whatever you plan to do.” Jax lowered his brows and frowned at me.

“Y/N….” I held up my hand to stop him.  I had things to say and I knew once I started it would be verbal diarrhea and everything would come out but it was for the best, we could move on. 

“Let me do this.” With a nod from Jax I continued, “I’m sorry.  I overreacted to everything.  Jax you and the club have been nothing but amazing to me and for that I could never repay you.  I am so grateful that you take care of me in exchange for me working at the bar.  But Jax I’ve done this for so long with nothing else.  No future.  I want something that makes me truly happy.  That I wake up in the morning and I have this energy flowing through me. That if I don't do this one thing, I’ll literally explode.  I used to have that with the bar but now it's more like a chore than a thrill.  I don’t want to end up behind the bar for the rest of my life.  I love you guys with all my heart.  And in this case it’s one hundred percent me and not you.

I’m not looking to become a croweater and fuck everyone I see but I would like to meet a nice guy, go on dates, to feel like I’m attractive for once in my fucking life.  I know guys want to fuck me, I’ve been propositioned more than once but I want something lasting. You hurt me when you said that.  Like you don’t even know me.  When have I thrown myself at all the dick running around here? Never.  Oh God, am I making this worse? You look pissed off.” I was screwing this up.

In a deep voice I have never heard from Jax he replied, “No continue because then I have some things to say.”

Shit this is not how I wanted this to go. “So anyway Dani asked me to come work with her…”

“That is not fucking happening.” 

“...but I told her no.  I want something else besides being behind a bar. I wouldn’t fucking dance Jax.” 

“I wouldn’t let you.” This overgrown fucking man child.

“It wouldn’t be your choice but that is besides the point.  I have been thinking about what I wanted to do and I was thinking of maybe taking a few classes at the college to maybe see what I like.  I took those computer classes senior year.  Remember? And I really enjoyed that.  So maybe.  I’m rambling.  The main point is I’m sorry.  I overreacted.  Plus that spanking had me feeling very very confused.” I ended with a laugh.

“You done princess?”  When I nodded he continued. “First I'm sorry. I should have never insinuated that you wanted to be a clubwhore but you pushed my last fucking button.”  When he saw that I was about to fucking rip into him he held up his hand. “It’s my turn.  I know you probably better than you know yourself. I know you wouldn’t fuck just any random dude.  I know this but you have no idea what you do to me princess and that is all my fault.  I want you to accomplish and get all that you want out of life but I’ve been selfish since day one with you.  I have this connection to you that I can’t break.  I told everyone to stay away from you.  I stuck you behind that bar so I knew where you were at all times and that you were safe.  But after our last little argument and talking with some of the guys it's time for things to change.  So look up what you want to take at Charming Community.  We will work things out here.”  Jax gave me a smirk like he knew all the secrets and wouldn’t be sharing with me anytime soon. 

“Jax I need to talk to you, now,” Clay called out. 

Jax hung his head and let out a breath.  “We aren’t finished talking about this,” he said standing up and walking right next to me.  He leaned down to my ear, “But know this that spanking didn’t confuse me at all. In fact, it made me realize how fantastic it will be.”

I swallowed and whispered back, “How fantastic what will be.”

Jax kissed the side of my face and whispered, “When I finally get to fuck you.”

Tag list: @ames2024 @samxslaughter @notquitecannon @alievans007

[captain-tch]

Technical Difficulties

You work in the IT department and help the Finance manager with his faulty laptop. After that, he keeps finding reasons to talk to you.

"Good morning you're through to the IT department, my name is Y/N. How can I help?" You recited your script, unaware of the life changing effect this was going to have on your life.

"Hi, Y/N. My computer keeps glitching - can you help?"

You nearly dropped the phone. Erwin Smith. The Finance manager. Asking for your help. Anxiety started building in your throat. Why did the most attractive man in the company have to ask for your help?

Your thoughts drifted to his tall, muscular stature, and his piercing blue eyes. He was the posterboy for attractiveness. From the small interactions you'd had with him (if you class him opening a door for you as an interaction), his disarming smile rendered you speechless. It wasn't his beauty that made you freeze the moment he flashed his teeth; it was the sincerity, and the kindness behind it.

"Hello?" Erwin's silky voice echoed through the phone. You swore you could have died of embarassment.

"Hi Erwin, apologies for that." You cleared your throat, hoping you didn't sound as nervous as you felt. Your dry throat was not helping at all. "How long have you been experiencing these issues?"

He paused. You could imagine his blonde eyebrows pulling together in thought. "For the past 20 minutes."

Relying on your internal script, you whittled off a few questions to him. You asked him if he had tried restarting it, tried running updates and if he had noticed any other issues with the machine. From what he said, it sounded like it wasn't a problem you could fix over the phone.

Fuck.

"I'm sorry Erwin, but I'm going to need to have the laptop to fully understand whats going on. Have you got another way of working in the mean time?"

Thankfully he did, so you didn't need to set up a loan laptop. You breathed a sigh of relief. At least you had less chances of making a fool of yourself in front of him.

"Great, do you want me to come pick it up or are you free to drop it off?" You crossed your fingers, praying he wouldn't ask to drop it off.

"I can drop it off. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Double fuck.

Just like that the call ended. Panic overwhelmed you. Glancing at the chaos otherwise known as your desk, you started sweeping god knows what into your drawers, paying no mind to the loud bangs as some screwdrivers fell.

"What in the ever loving hell are you doing?" Levi asked, his eyes narrowing on you. Being the only other person in the IT department you two had grown close, but even you struggled to read him sometimes.

You brushed his question off, laughing lightly at the engineer as he shrugged, turning back to the task at hand. He wasn't the type of pester you for the answer. You looked at his desk in envy - spotless. Jealously ripped through you. How can you be an engineer and have a clean desk? The very thought baffled you.

Jumping to your feet, you quickly checked the clock, noting how you had a minute to run to the bathroom to check you had nothing in your teeth.

Shit.

Not enough time.

Desperate, you spun around, grabbing Levi by the shoulders and fixing his attention on you. A scowl instantly etched itself onto his face. "What are you doing?"

"Do I have anything on my face?"

"Yes."

Wide eyed, you stared at him. "Is it noticeable?"

"Very."

"Where is it Levi! I don't have time for this, he'll be here any minute."

Realisation dawned on his face. "Dreamboat is coming here?"

"Levi!" You snapped, gripping his shoulders tighter. "Please tell me what is on my face."

"A lot actually. Your eyes, your mouth, your nose. All very noticeable."

You could have slapped the man. If it didn't cause a HR fiasco you would've. Clenching your teeth together, you stared at him straight in the eyes, your gaze burning. He slightly flinched under the intensity.

"Do I have anything in my teeth?"

Levi opened his mouth to answer, a knock ringing out at the door. You squealed, begging for Levi to answer so you could at the last minute make yourself presentable.

With a shit eating grin on his face, Levi shouted, "Come in!"

You were going to murder him.

Jumping as far away from Levi as humanly possible, you tried to make yourself look busy. Your panicked hands grabbed a pencil, and in a manic thought you pushed it behind your ear.

Nothing says busy more than a pencil tucked around your ear.

Erwin opened the door, entering the room. You felt sweat instantly break on your forehead. This was going to be the longest period of time you had been with him and holy hell you were nervous. Not only that, but speaking to him? Your palms grew damp at the prospect.

Glancing between you and Levi, Erwin raised a brow. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

You laughed really loud, at such a high pitch you're shocked you didn't deafen everyone in the radius. "Don't be silly. You got your laptop with you?"

"Right here." He lifted his arms, showing the machine in his hands. Grateful that he didn't notice the awkwardness, you gestured for him to put it on the side, quickly slipping away from the role of love sick girl to engineer. You wheeled your chair over from your desk, apologising as it spun slightly out of control and a wheel hit his foot. He smiled, waving it off.

You powered the laptop on, sliding the machine in front Erwin so he could type in his password. Your breath caught in your throat momentarily as he reached around you, fingers moving over the keys with ease. You could smell his earthy cologne from here.

He was so close that if you moved your head to the right slightly, your face would be in close proximity to his. A tickle of his breath warmed your cheek.

He froze, about to enter the password as he looked at you from the corner of his eye. You darted your eyes downward, fingers playing with the power cord.

Taking back the laptop, you instantly noticed the issue. The display was bouncing up and down, all of the words and images blurring. You blinked rapidly for a moment. "Bloody hell I think I'm having a seizure."

Erwin's throaty laugh sounded from behind you. You nearly jumped. "That's what I thought too."

"You say its only been happening for about twenty minutes?" You tried to ignore the jolting of the screen, typing and trying to diagnose the issue. He nodded. "Was that when you turned it on or had you been using it for a while beforehand?"

"Just turned it on."

"Hm." You pondered, your mind instantly jumping to a conclusion. Hands flying over the keyboard, you started an update of the drivers.

"What are you doing?"

"Updating the drivers on your laptop, if that fails, try updating the BIOS. If something isn't updated, machines can do loads of weird shit."

You waited a few minutes, the update finally complete. Quickly restarting the machine, you cheered as the machine turned on with no video display issues whatsoever.

"Wow, it was that simple?"

"Sometimes, not always."

Erwin rubbed at the back of his neck, eyes downcast. "I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"Don't be daft." You resisted the urge to clamp your hand over your mouth, praying what you said didn't come across as rude. "You weren't to know. It was a pleausre to help."

Smiling, Erwin thanked you once again, eyes darting to you occassionally before leaving the room with a resounding click of the door. A sigh of relief coursed it's way through your body.

Thankfully, you hadn't made too much of an embarassment of yourself.

In the back of the room, a poor imitation of your voice left Levi's lips. "It was a pleasure to help."

You snatched the pencil from behind your ear, tossing it in Levi's direction. He rapidly ducked under the desk, the pencil never even reaching near it's mark. Despite the cold words leaving your mouth, a laugh was slipping past your lips. "Fuck off Levi."

*

Over the next few weeks, you had an influx of technical support calls. All of them from Erwin Smith.

Sometimes you'd go down to his desk because he was having "power issues" - the power cord wasn't connected. He once came to your office claiming the files from his laptop had disappeared - he was looking in the wrong place.

After a while you started to get the sense that he wasn't experiencing technical difficulties - you were struggling to believe that someone could be that technically inept - and believed that maybe he was looking for an excuse to talk to you. It made sense. Every time you helped him he made an effort to speak to you. And not in the make small talk way, but in a meaningful way. He knew a lot more about you than you realised you'd let slip. He knew your birthday, had a glimpse of what your childhood was like, and even knew about your family. Soon, your hands didn't clam up when speaking to him. If anything, your heart raced in excitement at the thought you could speak with him.

"Are you two going to date already or what?" You laughed at Levi's remark, shaking your head. You were glad you had a PC in front of you, focusing on taking it apart to hopefully salvage some parts for your home project. The dust had accumulated inside from many years of being unopened, but the parts were mostly salvageable.

A knock at the door interrupted your conversation. "Can you grab that Levi?"

Your eyes caught sight of a hard drive, its blocky shape captured inside a caddy. With a victorious smile on your lips, you started unscrewing the screws, loosening the caddy to pry the hard drive free.

He huffed, standing up from his desk and opening the door. "Oh Erwin. What a surprise."

Your body jolted before you could process your reaction. Your hands gripped the hard drive and pulled jerkily, a cry escaping your lips as you fell back a few steps, the hard drive gripped in your hands. Levi snorted, disappearing behind his desk. It was the closest to privacy he could give you two.

"You okay Y/N?" Erwin asked, a concerned look worrying his features.

"Yeah I am." Tossing the hard drive to the desk, you wiped a hand across your forehead, unknowingly swiping grease over your face. "How can I help?"

"I was wondering if I could help you actually."

Your eyebrows shot up. "Okay? Help with what?"

"I'd like to buy you lunch one time."

"That's so nice of you, thank you!"

"I don't..." Erwin sighed, a light red spreading across his cheeks. "I mean I want to take you to lunch. For a date."

"Oh." From the corner of your eye you could see Levi smirking. Knowing little shit. "My lunch is in thirty minutes. I'll meet you out front."

Erwin left, a huge smile plastered on your face. The door hadn't fully shut when you heard a huge cheer roaring from Erwin's mouth, seeing him raise his fists in victory.

[wrenhyperfixates]

The Gift

Pairing: Loki x reader Summary: Tony says no pets in the Tower, but since when has Loki ever listened to him? Warnings: like one curse word A/N: Any Tom Hiddleston stans out there should get the Easter egg in this one :)

Disclaimer: Picture not mine

“Oh, come on, Tony! Please,” you whined for the fifth time that week. “Not even just a little one?”

“Absolutely not. It’d make a mess of the place. Not to mention that this isn’t exactly the safest place for a pet.”

“So it gets into a lab accident and we have a super dog. Not the worst thing ever,” you said, half joking, though Tony actually seemed kind of intrigued now. You changed your tactic before he got any ideas. “Besides, it won’t make a mess. I’ll train it. And not all dogs shed.”

“I guess, but someone might be allergic,” Tony countered, thinking he delivered a winning argument.

“We can get a hypoallergenic dog,” you shot back, though you’d already checked with almost everyone and no one said they were.

Tony grumbled, running out of excuses to give as to why you couldn’t get the pet you’ve been pleading for the past few months. Tony had become somewhat of a father figure to you during your time in the Tower, and you’d been pretty sure you could use that to your advantage. Sadly, though, nothing had been working. In fact, that relationship had been more of a detriment to you than anything else as you didn’t want to make him upset with you. Otherwise, you might just go out and buy the pet of your choosing. Maybe even more than one. Although, to be fair, it was Tony’s building, and he was allowing you to live here rent free, so you should probably just drop it. But you really wanted a pet, and you knew you weren’t the only one.

“Sorry, but still no.”

“Fine,” you relented with an overdramatic sigh. “For now, anyway.”

“Thank you,” he said, going back to whatever he was tinkering with before you came in.

You pouted in the lab for a bit, hoping he might change his mind, but to no avail. Eventually you slinked out and went into one of the common rooms, plopping on the couch between Peter and Bucky.

“So, how’d it go?” Peter asked after popping a handful of Skittles into his mouth.

“No luck," you responded sourly, stealing some of the colorful candy from him. “None of my strategies are working.”

“What if we tried for something smaller?” Bucky offered. “Like a gerbil.”

“I guess,” you grumbled as you flopped back in exasperation. “But we’ve had our eye on that Cocker Spaniel for a while. A gerbil just wouldn’t be the same.”

“Yeah, I know.”

You all sat in silence for a bit and watched as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck argued about what hunting season it is, mulling over the situation. Admitting defeat seemed to be the most likely option at the moment, but you hated to just give up when you were sure there was a way to get what you wanted and not have Tony be upset with you.

“I’ve got it!” Peter suddenly shouted, bubbling with excitement. “We go and adopt it and then tell Mr. Stark that it just followed us home!”

“Except he wouldn’t let us keep it even then,” you stated, having already thought of that yourself.

“So we hide it. Simple,” Bucky chimed in. “By the time he notices, Peter will be so emotionally bonded to it, Tony wouldn’t dare take it away.”

“Great idea, Mr. Bucky,” Peter said, high-fiving him.

“Yeah, if only there weren’t cameras everywhere. Not to mention a home system that tells him everything,” you added, growing more upset at the lack of options by the minute.

You pushed up from the couch as the episode’s end was heralded by Porky Pig’s “Th-th-that’s all folks.” After waving bye to your friends, you headed to your room to brainstorm in silence. The figure lurking in the shadows didn’t even register in your mind, so you had no idea that a certain god heard your whole conversation. Not only that, he was about to fix all your problems.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mr. Loki, where are we going?” Peter inquired as he and Bucky were led into the city by the trickster god.

“All will be revealed, spiderling. I assure you.”

Bucky just shrugged when Peter looked at him, and so they continued following Loki through the busy New York streets. After hearing about your plight, he had hatched a plan to get you what you wanted. All it took was a bit of research on that infernal computer device, and he was pretty sure he’d found the right shelter. It was a far walk from the Tower, and since neither he nor his travel companions could drive, he resorted to taking the subway, an experience he’d rather not have again. Finally, they arrived at the destination, and Peter was about to burst with excitement.

“Mr. Loki!” he gasped. “This is exactly where we were looking for dogs!”

“But I have a feeling you knew that already,” Bucky said.

“Indeed,” Loki replied. “I must confess that I overheard your conversation in the common room yesterday.”

“Oh I get it now. You’re doing this for-”

“No time for speculation, we are here to get me a pet,” Loki interrupted, “Go on. After you, spiderling.”

Peter, still blissfully unaware of Loki’s true intentions, led the way into the shelter. They were greeted with the sound of happy barking and the distinct smell of dog treats. Loki had to admit, he wasn’t the biggest fan of animals. He found some to be more agreeable than others, such as a good steed, but overall he thought them to be more of a nuisance than anything else. Thor had bought a cat for Jane once, and it tore up half of his capes before he presented it to her. Loki was glad his brother kept it away from him and his belongings. Not to mention he didn’t appreciate the sheer number of similarities people said he had with felines. Dogs, however, he was fine with, so long as they were trained properly.

“Hello, how may I help...” the girl behind the front desk trailed off, her eyes going wide with excitement upon realizing who the trio was. “Y-you’re... Oh my gosh. My friends are never going to believe this! But, uh, how may I help you?”

None of the heroes were particularly comfortable with the attention and star struck gaze of the girl, so it took them a minute to get over their sheepishness. Loki looked at both his companions before realizing he would have to do the talking. He sighed but knew the look on your face would be worth it. You’d look at him the same way you had so many times before, whenever he did little things for you, whether it be rubbing your shoulders after a stressful day or brewing you a cup of tea on a chilly morning. The two of you weren’t dating, exactly, but you weren’t exactly not dating, either. Loki found himself incapable of asking you to make it official, lest it ruin what you currently had. He didn’t know what he’d do if you no longer casually held his hand or rested your head on his lap while reading in the evenings. Even though he was fairly certain you felt the same way, that last bit of doubt wouldn’t leave him alone. Besides, despite usually being quite a great thinker, he couldn’t come up with a good way to confess. He supposed that kissing you would do the trick, but he wasn’t brave enough for that, so getting you a dog would have to suffice for now.

“My friends here were looking at some of your dogs recently, and there is one that they are quite smitten with. We are here to adopt it.”

“That’s right! A Cocker Spaniel named Bobby,” Peter offered. “He hasn’t already been adopted, has he?”

“Nope!” the girl responded in a perky voice. “He’s all yours as soon as you fill out the proper paperwork.”

“Mr. Loki, are you sure about this. Mr. Stark told me I couldn’t get a dog.”

“Exactly. He told you, not me,” Loki replied, picking up a pen.

“Well, yeah, but I don’t really think he meant it just for me. I think it was more of a general kind of thing.” Loki and Bucky looked at him in exasperation for a second, wondering how he could still be so innocent, before he caught on. “Oh, ok. I get it now. Carry on.”

The three boys huddled around the page as Loki filled it out, providing Tony’s credit card as payment when the time came. It seemed appropriate, Loki thought, that Stark should have to pay for making you upset, and taking that in the most literal sense was the only somewhat acceptable way, it seemed. No longer could The God of Mischief go around stabbing those who hurt the ones he cared about. In a way, he missed the good old days, as he referred to them, but his new life led him to you, which made the rest of it fine with him, he decided, as he finished his signature with a flourish.

“There,” he declared, admiring the loop of his fancy, cursive L. “Finished.”

The girl disappeared into the back, only to return with Bobby a moment later. After giving the paperwork a quick once over, she handed the leash over to Bucky, who couldn’t stop the smile from growing on his face. Peter immediately bent down to scratch the dark brown dog behind his ears.

“Who’s a good boy? You are! You’re a good boy!” he cooed.

“Spiderling, he hasn’t even done anything yet,” Loki said, somewhat perplexed, as Bobby rolled over onto his back, stopping at the god’s feet. “Though, I do suppose he is a rather good boy,” he added, an inexplicable smile tugging at his lips.

One stop at the pet store and a taxi ride later, both unknowingly paid for by Tony, they arrived back at the Tower with the newest member of their family. It wasn’t even ten minutes later that Tony strolled into the room where they were playing with Bobby. He stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed the dog, happily playing tug of war with Bucky.

“What is that?” he asked, pointing at the Cocker Spaniel.

“A dog,” Loki deadpanned.

“Yeah, no shit. I mean what is it doing here?”

“I adopted it. Really Stark, for a supposed genius you ask a lot of obvious questions.”

“Don’t get snippy with me, Rock of Ages,” Tony quipped back, gritting his teeth a little. “This is my Tower and I say no pets, except for maybe a goldfish.”

“Yes, this is your Tower, but it is our home, is it not? As thus, we should be allowed the simple pleasures of life, such as having a pet. After all, studies show that having a dog can reduce stress, something I’d say is rather important for people in our position.”

Tony glared for a minute, not really having a good response to that. Then he called your name, certain you were behind this.

“No, Mr. Stark,” Peter said. “They had nothing to do with this. Don’t blame them.”

“That’s right,” Bucky also defended you. “It was all us.”

It was already too late, though, and you appeared in the doorway. Loki had been planning on presenting your gift to you in some cute or clever way, but all he had time to do was a magic up a bow on the pup’s head, a green one, of course. Bobby started happily yapping at your arrival and trotted over to you, looking for a scratch behind the ear.

“Oh. My. Gosh. He’s adorable!” you exclaimed as he rolled over for belly rubs. “You finally got a dog for me, Tony? Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Sorry, but I can’t take credit for this,” he said, turning down the hug you were offering him by putting a hand up. Then he pointed at the mischievous trio whose doing it was.

“Well actually, it was mainly Loki,” Bucky said, nudging the god in the ribs.

“But Mr. Bucky, we all- Oh wait. Awwww,” Peter gushed as he realized what Loki was feeling.

“Oh. In that case, thank you Loki!” you shouted, throwing your arms around him in a hug.

Without a second’s hesitation, he wrapped his arms around you, too, returning the embrace. “You are quite welcome, my darling.”

You nuzzled into the spot where his shoulder met his neck. In turn, he put his head on your own and breathed in your scent, forgetting the others in the room for a minute. It seemed you had, too, because you looked equally startled when Tony cleared his throat.

“Ok, fine. He can stay,” Tony conceded, “but only if he doesn’t wreck the place. And keep him out of the lab.”

You all chorused your thanks and, despite his harsh tone, could tell that Tony had already taken to Bobby, who was now the center of attention again. After playing with him for a bit, Bucky made some excuse about having to leave and took Peter with him, both of them wanting to give you some alone time with Loki.

“This really is very sweet, Loki,” you told him after a few minutes.

“Think nothing of it. It is my gift to you.”

“I feel bad, though. I don’t have anything for you,” you said, biting your lip. “Well, actually, I do have one thing that I can give you.”

“Oh? What would that be, my darling?”

The end of his sentence was nearly cut off by your lips crashing into his. The kiss was a little sloppy, but filled with so much love and desire that neither one of you cared. After gathering his wits, Loki kissed you back, cupping your cheeks as you grabbed his shoulders, still a little unsteady from surging forward.

“That,” you breathlessly whispered, pulling away as Bobby began barking again.

Later that night, Tony found you and Loki passed out on the couch, Bobby sprawled out across both your laps.

“Huh,” he mumbled, draping a blanket over your shoulders. “I guess it’s a good thing they got that dog, after all.”

[mermaidsneedwater]

you see him after the break up

This was requested as a part two to this post. They can be read seperately! I hope it came out okay :)

⇒ jaebeom

Oh no no no. This could not be happening to him. Jaebeom panicked when he saw you and some guy walking towards him by the river walkway.

Should I turn around and run? Or maybe I should crouch down and hide? Whatever Jaebeom was going to, he needed to decide quickly because here you came.

Walking hand in hand with a guy he didn’t recognize, Jaebeom awkwardly smiled when you finally came face to face with each other.

“Hi Y/N.” He said.

You still looked beautiful. Damn this was going to be hard. He wondered if you were happy with the other guy. He pondered the possibility of you missing him as much as he missed you.

“Hey.” You replied awkwardly. “Honey, you know the guy I mentioned before? This is him, Jaebeom.”

The stranger looked him up and down, seemingly sizing Jaebeom up before reluctantly shaking his hand. “Hey. I’m Chris.”

“So how have you been?” Jaebeom asked turning to you, “I haven’t seen you in... what a year?”

“Yeah I think so.” You nodded. “I’m good, how about you?”

“Same old, I just got back from an overseas tour.” He replied. He cringed internally, way to bring up a touchy subject Jaebeom.

“Oh that’s great. I’m glad things are going well for you.” You politely smiled.

Jaebeom noticed that Chris was holding your hand a little more tightly as he spoke. “Baby, we should get going, we have that thing.”

Jaebeom winced at Chris’ nickname for you, that was his name for you. You were his baby. Were.

“I should get going too. It was nice seeing you Y/N” Jaebeom said, trying to relieve the awkwardness of the situation. Turning to Chris, he joked “She’s a great girl Chris, don’t screw it up like me.”

“Trust me I won’t.” Chris said with condescending smile. “I’m never letting her go.”

“Good. I wish I had done the same.” He muttered in response.

Jaebeom waved goodbye to you both as you walked in opposite directions. He turned around to see Chris’ arm around your waist, whispering something in your ear. You laughed and smacked his chest lightly.

Even after a year, Jaebeom could feel his heart break in two all over again, with no one to blame but himself.

⇒ mark

“Y/N? Y/N L/N?” The voice on the phone spoke.

“Yes?” You answered.

“I’m calling because you were listed as an emergency contact for Mark Tuan. He’s been in a car accident.”

Your heart sunk in your chest. “I see. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Walking into the hospital, you stopped at the reception desk. A young lady greeted you with a small smile. “Hello miss, how can I help you?”

Frazzled, you ran a hand through your hair. “I’m listed as an emergency contact for a patient here, Mark Tuan?”

“Okay let me check for you.” She looked to her computer screen, pulling up his file virtually. “Yes, he is in room 241.”

“Is he okay?” You asked, praying that nothing bad had happened to him.

“You’ll have to discuss that with the doctor miss.”

Thanking her, you walked to room 241. With each step you took, you could feel the air leave your lungs. Though you’d only left him last week, you’d never be able to live with yourself if something had happened to him. Your hands trembled as you reached for the door, before you could touch the handle, you were stopped by a woman.

“Who are you?” She asked, holding a clipboard at her side.

“I’m Y/N, I was listed as an emergency contact for Mark Tuan, I heard he was in an accident.” You explained nervously. “Is he ok? What happened?”

“So you’re Y/N. The patient was asking for you when he arrived in the emergency room.” The Doctor brought her clipboard up to tell you the situation. “He is okay. Mr. Tuan was in a minor car accident. Though his blood alcohol level was .087%, which means he was drinking and driving. Injury-wise he’s going to be alright, we did a CT scan and found that he broke a couple of ribs.”

Exhaling a breath you didn’t know you were holding, you responded. “Oh okay, thank god. Thank you so much doctor.”

“He should recover in one to two months, I’ll prescribe some medication for the pain.” She continued. “You can see him.”

Nodding, you took a breath and entered the room. Mark laid in a hospital gown on the bed, looking out the window. He was hooked up to multiple wires, the room silent except the dripping of his IV bag. As you took in the sight of him, your blood began to boil.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” You shut the door behind you. “Are you insane? Were you trying to get yourself killed?!”

Mark turned to see you at the foot of the door. Overcome with relief, he could only whisper “Y/N.”

“Drinking and driving? How stupid do you have to be!” You continued yelling.

“Y/N.” Mark spoke again.

“What!?”

“You look good.” He said, taking in your appearance. “How have you been?”

Your face softened at his words. His antics had accomplished his purpose, bringing you face to face with him since your break up. This was exactly the kind of thing you had hoped to avoid, as you’d left him a note explaining that your relationship was over.

“You can’t do this Mark.” You told him.

“Do what?” He replied innocently.

“Things that are endangering your life. You need to stop being so reckless. It won’t bring me back to you.”

He grabbed your hand, begging “I realize I was wrong. It took me a little bit, but I know. I don’t want to be with anyone but you. Please reconsider.”

“Change your emergency contact.” You told him, taking your hand out of his. “And please take care of yourself. I’ll call your friends to come take care of you when you’re discharged.”

⇒ jackson

I want to see you. it’s been two months and I can’t get you out of my head. let’s meet for lunch.

Jackson had sent you this message this morning. Unsure of what to say, you decided it was simply best to say nothing. But when you checked your phone that evening you were greeted with one more.

meet me for one coffee. i won’t bother you again.

Unable to decline his invitation, you texted him back. tomorrow at 1.

thank you

That was how you found yourself face to face with Jackson once again.

“What can I get for you two today?” The waiter asked.

“I’ll have an iced coffee and she’ll have a latte with an extra shot of espresso please.” Jackson ordered for the two of you.

You had both forgotten the comfort and familiarity of your relationship. Sitting at the table felt like old times, almost.

“I’m sorry for ordering for you, force of habit.” Jackson apologized.

“It’s fine, at least you got the right order” You joked.

Half smiling, Jackson fiddled with his rings. “So you’re probably wondering why I asked to meet... And honestly I’m grateful you came. I know after what I did, I wouldn’t have if I were you.”

Silently nodding, you were curious as to what he would say.

“I just– I miss you. It’s as simple as that. I daydream and I think about you, I can’t eat without thinking if you are too, when I wake up in the morning I still reach out for you in our bed.” Jackson rambled. “What I’m trying to get at is, I think we should–“

“Wait.” You stopped him. “I have to tell you something.”

“Oh– okay. What is it?” Jackson asked.

“I’m moving.”

“Like across town?”

“No. To New York.” You told him. “I leave in three days.”

Jackson sat back in his chair. He ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, I can do long distance. We can make it work.”

“No Jackson. I don’t want to. And I don’t think getting back together is a good idea.” You told him. “I’m moving because I need a fresh start. There’s nothing left for me here”

“But what about us?” He asked.

The waiter came back with your coffees, setting them down in front of you.

“Jackson, I can forgive what you did, but I can’t forget. Every time I look at you all I can think is back to that moment.” You admitted. “I’m not saying I don’t love you. I’m saying I need space from you.”

You watched as his fell. The goal of this meeting for him had not been accomplished. You signaled the waiter for the check. Leaving cash for both your coffees, you stood up. “Goodbye Jackson.”

⇒ jinyoung

You turned the key to your apartment. Former apartment. It had been a week since you’d last spoken to Jinyoung.

Slowly walking in, you grabbed the boxes you’d brought and pulled them inside. You turned on the light and were startled by the figure hunched over the couch.

“You scared me.” You exhaled a breath of relief.

“Sorry.” Jinyoung grumbled. He sat up on the couch and looked to you at the door. “I guess you were serious.”

You watched as he stood up from the couch. He looked disheveled. You could see the dark circles on his face, his hair messed up and his scruff had been unshaven for what seemed like days.

You walked past him and went straight to your bedroom, intent on getting your things out as quickly as possible.

As you headed to your closet, you set the box you were holding down and began to take your clothes off the hanger.

Jinyoung quietly came into the bedroom and watched as you packed.

“So this is it?” He said. “We’re really over?”

Ignoring his voice, you continued with your packing.

“Just do something. Yell at me. Throw something. Scream. Cry. Anything. I can’t take this silence.”

Not looking back at him, you placed a pile of your folded clothes into the box. “I don’t want to do that. I want my stuff and then I’m leaving.”

Jinyoung got up from the bed and held your hand, turning you to face him. “Don’t do this. Don’t end something good.”

“What do you want from me? You think I want this? I never asked you to cheat on me. You did that all by yourself.”

Shaking his head, he pulled your hand to his cheek, “Tell me what I can do to fix this. I made one mistake, I can do better.”

You took your hand out of his and turned back to the closet. “Please don’t make this harder than it already is. You want to fix things? Let me go.”

Jinyoung watched you, dejected and drained. He slowly watched as the apartment transformed from your home to just his apartment.

Taping the last of your boxes, you began taking them to your car, one by one. Jinyoung watched from the window as you shut the trunk of your car and drove away.

Now he was left with nothing but an empty house and the consequences of his actions.

⇒ youngjae

You sat in bed, scrolling through the articles about Youngjae and Mina’s relationship. It had only been 3 weeks since you’d broken up.

They’re so cute!

This is my dream couple xoxo

Youngjae looks so happy with Mina

Frustrated, you threw your phone against the wall. Leaning over to your bedside table, you grabbed the can of ice cream and dug your spoon into it. You contemplated for a brief moment whether you should get out of bed to get a real bowl, but at the moment you couldn’t be bothered with such things.

You’re roommate walked in to find you holed up in your room. “Y/N when was the last time you left this room?”

“I don’t know maybe a couple days ago?” You shrugged, having another bite of the ice cream.

“Okay just give me the ice cream and we can talk.” Your roommate said slowly.

You frowned as she successfully pried the pint out of your hands. “Leave me alone. I just want my ice cream, I think I deserve that much.”

“Okay, that’s it,” your roommate said setting the tub down. “You’re going to shower and get dressed, tonight we’re drinking.”

“Oh no. I have plans with another pint of ice cream and the new Scream movie.”

“Y/N, you’re going out and that’s final!” She insisted.

A few hours later, you stood at the bar of some club your roommate had taken to you. Sipping on a gin and tonic, you scanned the room sullenly.

“Can you at least try to smile?” You roommate nudged you. “You have to put yourself out there. Have you ever heard the saying, in order to get over someone you have to get under someone else?”

“I’m sorry. I’m just really not in the mood.” You said, taking another sip of your drink.

“Fine, do what you want but I see a guy checking me out so I’m going to go talk to him.” She huffed.

Raising your glass, you signaled the bartender for another drink. “Okay, have fun. I’ll be here. Sad and alone.”

Tracing the rim of your glass, you sat alone. Before long, you heard a voice speak.

“One soju please.”

Oh god. You knew that voice anywhere. Turning the other way, you attempted to hide your face.

“Y/N?” Youngjae asked. “Is that you?”

Oh shit.

Turning around you saw your ex-boyfriend, he stood tall in a sleek blazer and some jeans.

“Hey you,” you said awkwardly. “What brings you here.”

“Oh, um. It’s Mina’s birthday.” He said. “She wanted to go out with some friends.”

“That’s great.” You said bitterly, downing the rest of your drink. “I’m glad you guys are happy.”

You left some money for the drink and began to leave the bar.

Texting you friend, you headed out the entrance of the club. don’t feel well, going home.

You pulled out your phone to order a car.

“Y/N! Wait!” You heard a voice call behind you.

Youngjae ran, coming to stand in front of you. You looked down at your phone ignoring him.

“Let me take you home.” He said. “Please,”

“I’m not really your concern anymore.” You said defiantly. “I think I can get a cab on my own.”

“Please Y/N.” He said, holding your wrist. “I’m just trying to do the right thing.”

“Like you know anything about what’s right.” You rolled your eyes. “Just go back to your new girlfriend. You guys make a great couple.”

“Y/N,” he started again.

Your cab pulled up in front of the club. “Just do me favor? The next time you see me in public let’s just avoid the pleasantries and do our own thing.”

And with that you shut the door of your cab and watched through the window as you drove away.

Youngjae could only watch and let you go, what right did he have to do anything else anyway?

⇒ bambam

“And she just laughed when you told her?”

“Yup.” Bambam nodded.

Yugyeom sat in disbelief. “Wow. Maybe you guys are better off broken up.”

“What? No.” Bambam refused. “I just need to go apologize to her and we can work through this.”

“Why are you trying so hard to put this relationship back together? Clearly you didn’t want to be in one since you were cheating on her. Most guys would be out celebrating right now!” Yugyeom replied.

“I don’t know, I just feel like I’m missing a piece of myself without her.” Bambam hadn’t admitted that out loud before. “I need to make things right.”

“Yeah but does she want to make things right?” Yugyeom asked. He paused for a few moments to let his best friend ponder the question. “Anyway, I should get going. I’m sorry about your eye again.”

“I deserved it.” Bambam muttered. They were of course referring to the fact that Yugyeom had punched Bambam two weeks ago when he refused to tell you that he was cheating on you.

That night Bambam found himself awake and restless. When he closed his eyes, his mind would run wild with thoughts about you, making it impossible to actually sleep. He got out of bed and put on a sweater, intending to take a stroll at night.

Walking along the street at night, he watched as a couple passed him by. Were they in love? Were they doomed to fate like you and him? As he crossed the street he didn’t even see the car turning the corner until it came to a screeching stop.

“Hey!” He called out looking to the driver.

He was shocked to see that it was none other than you. Walking to the side of the car, he knocked on the window.

“Care to tell me why you almost ran me over?”

“The light’s about turn green. Get in the car.” You told him.

Weighing his options for a brief moment, Bambam sat in the car. “Where are we going?”

You turned to him, laughing a little, “Nowhere? Everywhere?”

Bambam shook his head, “I feel like I don’t understand you anymore.”

“I couldn’t sleep. Can’t really walk around alone at night, so I thought a drive might help.” You explained.

“Me too. Until you almost ran me over.” He tried to joke.

“I’m sorry. But in my defense you came out of nowhere.” You told him, merging onto the road overlooking the river.

You pulled the car onto the side and sat with water moving in front of you. Slowly coming to a stop, you drummed your hands on the steering wheel.

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” Bambam asked.

“You first.” You said, looking straight ahead.

“I was thinking about you. I miss you. I miss what we had.” He admitted. “Now you.”

You leaned back in your seat, taking in his words. “I was thinking about us too. And if I’m being honest, I was scared. And that’s because I felt so free when we broke up, like a weight had been lifted off my chest. I couldn’t sleep without feeling like our entire relationship had been a waste of time.”

Bambam was taken aback. Our entire relationship had been a waste of time.

“Y/N–“

“Look, if you’re here to try and get back together, then you should just leave. Don’t make things more complicated than they already are.”

He slunk in his seat, he could now see the writing on the wall, you were done and better off without him.

“And if I’m not?”

You turned to look at him, sadly smiling. “We drive around for a bit, I drop you home, and then we go on with our lives. We never hear from each other again.”

⇒ yugyeom

Yugyeom knew this was a idiotic idea. His friends had told him it was an extremely dumb thought. But still he couldn’t help but do it.

He sat at the café by the JYP building that you’d often visit him at. Yugyeom figured that if the café was the place your relationship had gone wrong, it had to be the place to make things right.

Since your break up, it had been like you’d vanished off the face of the earth. You’d effectively blocked him out of your life, changing your phone number, secretly moving into a new apartment, he couldn’t even look up your profile on Instagram to cyber stalk you. Yugyeom only realized when you were gone how much he loved you. One moment you were together, and the next every trace of you had disappeared.

So for the last 3 months, he’d been hoping to ‘accidentally’ run into you at the café. Yugyeom figured that when the moment finally came, he’d apologize and convince you to take him back.

At first he’s told himself that he’d wait for you a week, then two weeks, a month, and now three months. He knew nothing about your life without him, so he could only guess your routine.

Yugyeom was sure that for the ninety-second day in a row, you wouldn’t show. That was until he unmistakably heard the sound of your laugh.

Following the sound, He looked to find you on the phone entering the café. Overwhelmed with the sight, he quickly stood up to take a peek at you.

Surely enough, you were even more beautiful than he remembered. Your hair had grown a bit, and you’d walked into the café radiating a kind of confidence he’d never seen before.

Nervously running a hand through his hair, it was time to act on the plan he’d been concocting for the last 3 months.

He waited at the table, until you’d finished ordering your drink. When he saw you step up to the counter, Yugyeom brushed against you.

“I’m so sor–“ you started before realizing who you’d bumped into.

“Y/N? What are you doing here?” Yugyeom asked, pretending to be shocked.

“Oh, I was just on my way to meet someone and thought I’d stop for a coffee. How about you?”

“Lunch break. Just picking up a quick bite before I go back to practice.”

“Right! What are you doing nowadays?” You asked, suddenly remembering.

Has she really forgotten that I’m in an idol group? Yugyeom wondered. She used to know my schedule better than me!

“We have a comeback soon. But anyways...” grasping for a topic Yugyeom panicked, “the weather has been so nice lately right?”

When you chuckled at his question, Yugyeom was confused.

“This is so awkward.” You said blatantly. “Of course this was bound to happen to us.”

Relieved that you’d broken the ice, Yugyeom laughed with you. “I guess so.”

“It’s okay Yugyeom. It doesn’t have to be like this.” You reassured him. “I’m not angry with you anymore.”

“Y/N, I just have to let you know how sorry I am.” He admitted. Placing a hand on your shoulder, he continued “I never meant to hurt you. I was so stupid, I didn’t realize what I had until I lost it.”

“I forgave you awhile ago. We just weren’t meant to be, it happens.” You shrugged. “You deserve to be happy. And so do I.”

Taking your coffee from the counter, you took out your wallet to tip the barista. “Be well Yugyeom.” Waving to him, you left the café.

Yugyeom watched as you walked out the door. He couldn’t help but feel an ache in his chest, realizing that he’d now lost you for the second and final time.

return to masterlist

[hermannsthumb]

Wrote it a year ago!! How efficient lol Did you already do 79?

Anonymous said: Have you done 79 about the ex gift finally being done?

79. we broke up almost three years ago but you message me out of the blue saying that my gift is finally done and you… you built me a house? [or choose your own gift!]

from winter writing prompts here

almost new year’s! i imagine this takes place somewhere in the pre-2025 PR timeline, not using pen pal canon, for extra awkwardness

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

“You what?” Hermann says.

On the other end of the holographic computer display, Newton laughs sheepishly and ducks his head. The picture is a bit rubbish—Shatterdome tech is outdated across every base, it would appear—but even the graininess and ghostly blue tint to Newton’s skin can’t conceal his blush. “I said I finished your present,” he repeats. “The one I promised you—shit. Two years ago? Three?”

“Three,” Hermann says, automatically. It’s not because he remembers any sort of gift ever being promised, but because three years ago is the last possible time he could ever imagine Newton gifting him something. They were still on good terms, three years ago; they were beyond good terms three years ago. He and Newton still—well. Er. “Though I don’t recall you ever mentioning a gift.”

“Of course I wouldn’t have, dummy,” Newton says. “That would’ve ruined the surprise.” He fixes his glasses. “My tracking number says it was delivered today. Did you get it?”

A stack of mail was indeed dropped off at Hermann’s laboratory today, shortly after lunch, though Hermann has not yet had the time to poke through it. He squints across his desk at it now: there is a larger box at the bottom of the stack, larger than anything he had been expecting, which can only be Newton’s present. Hermann slides it towards himself with the handle of his cane. Newt Geiszler, in the corner, with the return address of his laboratory in his Shatterdome. “Can you open it on camera?” Newton says. “I want to make sure it—well, you’ll see.”

Hermann tears open the tape seal with the nib of a dried-up pen, and pulls out an absurd amount of tissue paper before finding…a sweater. “Ah,” Hermann says. He unfolds it. It’s nothing too terrible, like Hermann had (frankly) been expecting a sweater from Newton to be. A nice shade of brown, a nice thick wool, a bit simple and shapeless, but comfortable-looking nonetheless. He can’t imagine how Newton took three years to give it to him. “…Thank you, Newton?” Hermann says. “How…thoughtful.”

“You don’t remember, do you?” Newton says with a grin.

Hermann shakes his head.

“It was ages ago,” Newton says. “We went out to that taco place for dinner, and I knocked your wine all over your sweater by accident, and you got super pissed, and I was like, dude, it’s just a sweater, I’ll buy you a new one, and then you—”

“Oh, God, I remember,” Hermann groans. It’d been towards the end of their, er, relationship, and every little thing about Newton had started to set Hermann off: Newton’s humming in the lab, Newton’s jokes, Newton’s clothing, Newton’s smile, even (a thought which made Hermann feel horrendously wretched), Newton’s insistence on Hermann getting a proper sleep, Newton’s coffee runs and lunch runs and fixing Hermann breakfast every morning… The wine spill had been one of the final straws, and one to which he—admittedly—far overreacted. Hermann could simply not see a way in which it wasn’t intentional, in which Newton did not do it deliberately and maliciously, and the row they’d had over their bloody burrito bowls and Hermann’s merlot pool had been one of their finest. I’ll buy you a new one, Newton had said, and Hermann had shouted back about that not being the point—how Newton could knit one and it still wouldn’t be the point—and called a cab to take him home. Separately from Newton.

Newton was knocking on the door to his bunk an hour later, eyes fixed on his shoes as he mumbled out another apology, and he’d looked so pitiful, and Hermann felt so guilty over leaving him with the bill that he had sighed out one of his own. They didn’t touch in bed that night, not even an accidental bumping of shoulders. In the morning Newton did not fetch Hermann coffee. They ended the whole thing two weeks later, and Newton was transferred to another Shatterdome by his own request not even a month after that.

And now, here he is, Skyping with Hermann. This is not a new development in their working relationship—each of them does, after all, gather information that could be crucial to the other party, and they’ve occasionally had to ring each other up for a virtual discussion that typically ends in bickering—but it is the first time they’re doing it outside typical laboratory hours. And it is the first time one of them has dared to bring up…certain events. Usually, they just skirt around the fact they dated for two years like their lives depend on it.

“Thought you might,” Newton says, with another uncomfortable laugh. “Anyway, I know you said it wasn’t the point, but, I started teaching myself knitting a few days after that, because I really wanted to replace yours, and I’ve been super busy, so I kinda just finished a couple weeks ago.” He shrugs. “You can throw it out. I don’t really care.”

A closer examination of the sweater confirms the story. It’s far too lumpy to be anything but homemade, and the stiches fluctuate in dexterity and neatness throughout the whole thing, though grow better overall the further up from the hemline they are. It is indeed a similar shade of brown to Hermann’s ruined one. Hermann feels an odd lump start to swell in his throat. “Oh,” he says. He brushes his fingers over the hem; when Newton made those stitches, Hermann realizes, he still thought he would be gifting the sweater to Hermann as his boyfriend. “It’s—a very lovely gift, Newton. Thank you.”

“Try it on!” Newton urges.

Hermann obliges, though he flushes when he realizes it will require him to divest himself of his blazer and sweatervest in front of Newton. Newton’s sweater is a perfect fit, of course. Better yet, it’s comfortable. “Thank you,” Hermann repeats.

Hermann has always felt no small amount of shame over the breakup. It wasn’t really because of Newton’s humming, or his clothing, or anything quite so shallow, after all; it was because Newton was too damn affectionate. Loving. He loved Hermann so unabashedly and unashamedly, and Hermann—who has never been unabashed or unashamed in anything in his life—simply did not know how to handle it. It scared him. His feelings for Newton scared him, too, so he did the logical, Gottliebian thing and repressed them. The worst of it all was that Newton understood why.

Now, though—now his feelings, which he’d ignored for so long, threaten to bubble over. Of course he still loves Newton. It was foolish of him to pretend otherwise. “Newton,” he begins.

But Newton doesn’t hear him. “I was thinking about transferring back to Hong Kong,” he says. He fiddles with his glasses again, one of his nervous tics. “I don’t really have a team to lead anymore here—everyone’s been fired, or quit, or…well. I was thinking I’d probably be more useful back there with you.”

“With me?” Hermann says.

“I submitted a request, anyway,” Newton says.

Hermann wants Newton back here with him.

“There’s not much laboratory space, in case you’ve forgotten,” Hermann warns him. “We’ll have to share again.”

“Eh, I don’t really mind,” Newton says. Sirens suddenly begin going off on his end, and he winces. “Shit, that’s loud. We’ve been having kaiju drills all week, it’s driving me fucking insane. I gotta go, dude, talk to you later.”

He waves as he flickers out. Hermann’s holographic display clicks off with a small whir. “Goodbye,” Hermann murmurs.

He goes to sleep that night wearing the sweater, and hoping—foolishly, and perhaps selfishly, for he’s sure Newton’s work has been invaluable across the Shatterdomes he’s bounced between—that Newton’s transfer request is approved.

[seostudios]

mr.lee

pairing: ten lee x fem!reader genre: fluff, smut info: professor!ten, student!reader, established relationship warnings: public sex word count: 1.4k a/n: this is inspired by pretty little liars and a request i recently got

MAY 2018

You gaze out the display window behind the mannequin you were currently dressing. Working part-time at an boutique was hard enough but, you made it your goal to reach above and beyond, farther than any student would ever dare to go past, you make your back to the table, sketching out a couple of ideas that had just popped into your head after measuring the life-size doll. You bring your hand out to grab your marble cup, to sip on the green tea you made earlier that morning. 

The shop wasn't open yet since it was still the earlier hours of dawn, but the ring of the bell in the front indicated someone was in too much of a rush to pay attention to the sign outside, reading 'CLOSED' Bringing your eyes up, you see a man. He wore a faded black grid plaid blazer, paired with a tucked-in white tee, and Levi's jeans. It was simple, yet so chic his choice of attire already said so much about him. He seems sophisticated, better than you. He knew that. "Hello?" He asked, looking around and above the clothing racks to look for a worker. "Right here," You reply, waving at him motioning him to come forth. "You do know we don't open for another," You look over at your wrist to the watch, "20 minutes." You finish, you notice him raise his hand to scratch the back of his head awkwardly, informing you he walked in so fast he forgot, "It's fine, what can I help you with?" You ask him. "I need a little hemming done on this blazer, could you do that?" He requested, you hum looking him up and down before getting up from your seat. You ask him to remove the blazer so you can chalk it, what you didn't expect was the boy to be pretty ripped. His arms were a sight you didn't miss. He was older than you, a good 8 years probably. "Are you gonna hem or just stare at me?" He laughs, looking at you fondly as you go reddish, “Right.”

"Here you go, on the house," You say, handing his blazer back, fitting him more perfectly than it probably did in the first place. He throws a quick thanks before running out. You grab the stranded marble mug with your now, room-temperature green tea, still sipping on it as if it was freshly made. What you don't expect to see out the display window is the man,  jogging right back in. "Can I-" He pauses to bend over panting, how fast did he run? After catching his breath he swoops his hair back to look at you once more. "Can I get your number?"

OCTOBER 2018

It had been almost seven months since you've started dating, Chittaphon. After his, not so exceptional gesture of asking you out, he had been trailing behind you like a lost puppy until you agreed. Who would reject such a cutie though, you had to be mad. You've learned over time that he was a professor, for literature in the East end of Dongguk University or other words; your school. The two of you weren't aware of this until he had strolled into the West end of Dongguk to the Economics side. The first set of eyes he met were yours while entering the lecture hall, he was shocked and you were ashamed. It was a misunderstanding, he thought you are attending a school online, but you were taking online courses until September. Sooner or later reality will take a toll on you two, your love, but now, you enjoy it while you can.

SEPTEMBER 2020

It's been 2 years and 4 months since you've met Chittaphon and 2 years since you've met Mr.Lee, you have to admit it's been quite a fun year indeed. You've both had your ups and downs, risks, were most definitely performing an immense part in preserving your relationship, making sure you two stay inline and don't get in over your heads, there have been days where you were almost caught by students, faculty and even your friends. "We've been together for a little over two years now Y/n, I think we should celebrate," Chittaphon said, hand grazing over your thigh, laying beside you in your shared bed. "I don't think so, you almost got us caught today with what you pulled in the Computer Lab." You say rolling your eyes, too focused on your phone. He sighs in defeat, opting to cuddle away his hard-on. Yours enclosed around him holding him close as his leg flung over you, arm tightened around your waist. He made sure you felt his teeny pecks with his head in the crook of your neck, "Stop, sleep." You mumble Chittaphon sees you are still idling on your device so he pulls his teacher-card, "You have to attend a class tomorrow Y/n, I think getting some shut-eye is what you need, right?" He said in that voice which boomed over the empty room- you fire back, "You have to TEACH a class tomorrow Mr.Lee I think you need more sleep than me." You state hearing his whine beside your ear, knowing how badly he just lost that. "Please Y/n, I just want to cuddle you and kiss you, Please, for me?" This time he opted to whine, oh god what a child you thought chuckling to put your phone away. You bring your hand up from his back to comb your fingers through his hand, lightly massaging his scalp knowing it puts him to bed fast.

SEPTEMBER 2020

"Y/n L/n? Is there a Y/n L/n?" Mr.Lee, who's voice boomed throughout the auditorium. Your grin was slapped off, as you nervously stand from your seat, "Yes? That's me," You say licking your lips, "I need to discuss your proposal for the literature contest you are applying for, please stay after class." He said watching you nod, sitting back down in your seat. He nods and continues his conversation with some students upfront. I can't believe out of all the teachers available, they pick Chittaphon to sub this class. You mentally face-palm at yourself and your boyfriend for causing such a scene, now everyone is gonna think you are bad at literature, only the dumb kids get held back! Finally the end of class, you get up along with the 50 other students in the class to walk over to the door, you stood by the entrance, waiting for everyone to leave the room, "How horny do you have to be to make me stay after class?!" You shout at the man in front of you, whacking him with your textbook. "Hey! I'm not horny!" He shouts in defence, "I wanted to talk with you about your contest entry." At least he tried to look believable. I mean this pent up sexual frustration hasn't been used, due to recent school projects which required a lot of energy which couldn't be wasted. But you didn't have any more classes and Mr.Lee was available for another hour. You walk over to sit on his desk, "Mr.Lee" You say interrupting him in the middle of his sentence, "I think we should focus on something more important," Pointing your finger over at his growing buldge. He walks over, your quick to grab his tie pulling him closer, between your legs, rubbing your clothed core against his pants. "I think so too," He told you before you brought up your hands to the base of his neck pulling him in.  

One hand was over your mouth suppressing any noises you were making from the sensation of having Chittaphon's cock stuffed in you. I guess calling him Mr.Lee brings out his dark side. He's been relentlessly pounding into you like crazy, nonstop. You've come like what once? Twice? Keeping up at this point was too hard to calculate, But Chittaphon was about to paint your walls with his cum all over again if you keep clenching around his thick cock. Your back arches; reaching your climax again as he came. "You did so well babe," He praised, grabbing the tissue box beside you to wipe his liquid off you. "You're so hot," You tell him, getting up fixing your physical appearance, your dress was pulled up to your stomach, and your panties, which were in his mouth. After retrieving your undergarments from Chittaphon (which was a challenge itself) you help him fix himself up, buttoning his shirt and doing his tie. "There, as handsome as always." You cooed ruffling his hair around, "You got a class, and I gotta go make dinner,", "Short-ribs?" He questioned remember you were talking about it last night. You nod,  "Correct, Bye-bye I love you" You finish dashing out the door, leaving him alone in the silent room which was filled with both of your sinful noises not too long ago

[artzychic27]

Reverstrator

‘This is perfect, astoundingly perfect.’, Lila thought to herself, hunched over her computer. For some time, she’s noticed her control over the class was wavering, and it was all because of those two idiots from the stupid art club- Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Marc Anciel. They had some nerve, getting into her minions friends heads and pointing out flaws in her lies. It wasn’t her fault people wanted to hear so many of her stories; she just had trouble keeping up with them sometimes! Lila gave them a chance like she gave Marinette. Either believe her lies and keep their friends, or become social pariahs... They always choose the second option.

So, she went around claiming that Nathaniel stole some of her drawings, Marc plagiarized some of her essays, and she even threw in a couple of lies about Marinette, saying she convinced the two boys to go against her. But what Lila didn’t account for was Alix. She never really believed her lies either. Apparently, the famous skateboarder Lila told her about was dead so that got the pink-haired girl suspicious. Whenever Lila tried to make Marc, Nathaniel, or Marinette look like the bad guys, Alix would step in and act like their self-righteous white knight. Well, she won’t look like the hero tomorrow, her and Adrien. When those idiots in her class turn against those two, Lila will be free to ruin the comic book duo’s reputation as she pleased, she’ll have Adrien all to herself, and Marinette gets to suffer. Win-win-win! ‘Damn it!’, Lila mentally cursed as she glared at her computer screen, ‘Undo... Undo...’

How is photoshop so easy for some people?! And how can they edit these crappy romantic pictures without gagging? Especially this photo she snapped of Marc and Nathaniel a couple of weeks ago while they were on one of their dates. ‘Ugh.’ Lila nearly threw up when she took the photo, and this was taking up way too much of her time. Fixing the lighting, finding the right photos of Adrien and Alix, it was so frustrating! But it’ll all be worth it tomorrow when she finally puts those losers in their place

And hopefully, Marc or Nathaniel will get akumatized. Sure, this would be a stupid reason, but people have gotten Akumatized for less. Hawkmoth was a great guy and the Italian admired his work, but Akumatizing a baby, and a man obsessed with pigeons like thirty times? If she had the Butterfly miraculous, she would at least give the Akuma a gun. Then Ladybug would finally perish and be out of her hideous sausage hair.

‘Focus! You can fantasize about her death later.’

—

“Geez, Nath. I haven’t seen you look this happy in a long time,” Alix said as she poked her redhead friend who had a dreamy look on his face with her pencil “So, what’d you and Marc do last night?” she asked with a smirk, making Nathaniel snap out of his daze and blush madly, “Alix!” He looked around the cafeteria to make sure no one heard that

She snickered, “I’m kidding! Come on, tell me what happened. Your date had to have been amazing if you’re all happy and stuff.”

This is one of the things Nathaniel loved about Alix; she was a great listener. Growing up, no one really paid attention to him. Ever since his dad left, his mom has been busy running the diner, he always blended in with the background so no one at school noticed him either. It sucked until he met his first real friends

His mom took him to the Louvre when she noticed his interest in art and while there, he met a brunette girl running all around the museum while a ten-year-old boy tried to catch her. She was loud, energetic, and immediately took a liking to the young boy. Over time, she was able to pull him out of his comfort zone and he listened to whatever he had to say.

Then he met three other girls when he was ten- One with black hair, one blond, and one bluenette. The four of them met at a fine and performing arts fair and were probably some of the youngest people there to enter each of their work in the fair contests. His painting of the Seine took third, which wasn’t too bad. First and second were high school students. The three girls immediately went to congratulate him and asked all sorts of questions (The black-haired girl didn’t talk as much, though) For once in his life, Nathaniel had friends. Friends who noticed him and listened.

“Well, it wasn’t much,” he answered with a smile, “We just got ice cream from Andre’s, went to this new museum that just opened up, went to the park.”

“Didn’t it rain a little yesterday?”, she asked

“Yeah,” he blushes, “I may have used my blazer to cover us up-”, off Alix’s snicker, he playfully slapped her arm, “Alix, come on!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”, she continued laughing while Nathaniel gave her an annoyed look, “Go on, continue. But if you say anything else like that, don’t expect me to keep a straight face.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes, “So I used my blazer as an umbrella,” he rephrased, “and well, we were just so close, and... God, he looked cute in the rain. So, I just leaned in and kissed him.”

Alix sighed dramatically, “Ah, to be gay and in love.”

“Uh, I’m bi,” he corrected with his arms folded

“Yes, and I’m aroace, Rose and Jules are lesbians and Mari’s pan as hell. These are things we know.” she said as she leaned back into her chair and propping her feet up on the lunch table, relaxed before perking up and asking, “Did’ja give him the necklace?!”

Without saying a word, Nathaniel pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture of him and Marc kissing in the rain. Alix zooms in on the silver half-heart necklaces around their necks. She remembered how Nathaniel begged her to help him look for a gift he could give to Marc on their date. She helped him in exchange for a drawing of her performing some skating tricks. It took hours to find a gift; this is one of the reasons why Alix doesn’t date. Finally, they settled for a simple, but sweet silver heart necklace and Alix had never been so relieved to see jewelry before.

Alix couldn’t help but let out an out-of-character squeal at the sight of the picture. Her excitement turned to bitterness when she looked at something else that made her narrow her eyes “Where’s she going?”

Nathaniel follows her gaze and glared at the Italian girl leaving the cafeteria, “Don’t know. Maybe she’s just looking for more people to buy her lunch.”

“Or carry all of her stuff.”

“Or carry her.”

“Or build her a palanquin.”

“How about a monument made out of solid gold?”

At that last one, the two best friends laughed

“Lying skeeze,” she muttered, “I’m glad the others are sorta taking what she says with a grain of salt, but she’s still got them wrapped around her talons. Especially Bustier and Damocles.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes at the mention of his teacher and principal, “Ugh, don’t get me started on those two. I almost got detention because Lie-la claimed that I stole her ‘masterpiece’. Thanks again for backing me up.”

Alix responded with a nod, “Yeah, but it’s bull that she didn’t even get in trouble. Claimed it was a problem with her long-term memory or some shit, and Bustier ate it up!”, she exclaimed, “God, we’re surrounded by idiots. How long do you think she’s gonna last?”

Nathaniel pondered before answering, “I give her one more week. She’s exposed by an Akuma who’s after her for lying about them or one of their friends.”

Alix nodded, “Three days. Truth akuma who just blasts people at random and she gets hit, so she’s forced to tell the truth. Put that in your comic”

Nathaniel reaches into his messenger bag and pulls out his sketchbook, “Maybe something like... Lady or Lord Justice?” He pulls out a pencil and begins sketching on a blank sheet

“Truth fairy?”

“Lie-on Tamer?”

Alix shook her head, “Now that just sounds like a bad pun.”

“Akumas have dumb names,” Nathaniel said with an eye roll, “If anything, this is better than what Hawkmoth comes up with.”, he gets back to work on the sketch

“... Can’t argue with you there, man.”

—

“Come o-o-o-on, Marc! Tell us everything!”, Aurore urged the shy writer as the group of four made their way to Mme. Mendelieve’s class

“Who made the first move?”, Julian asked, smirking

Marc blushed, “Guys, keep your voices down.”

Mireille squealed, “Sorry, but you can’t just go on a date and not expect people to be all excited and ask what happened! So tell us!”

Marc loved these three to death and loved them like they were his sisters and brother, but sometimes they got just a little too much for him. When he first announced that he and Nathaniel were dating, the three of them wouldn’t leave him alone for weeks and constantly asked questions whenever they went out together

“Well, went out for ice cream, went to a museum we both like, and spent the rest of the day at the park before it rained.” He smiled fondly at the memory, “Nath actually used his blazer to cover us up.”

“Aww!”, Aurore and Julian cooed while Mireille squealed, “So romantic! Please tell me you kissed in the rain!”

When Marc tried to hide the blush forming on his cheeks, that was a good enough answer for his grinning friends

Julian clasped his hands together and crouched a little lower, “Please, please tell me you have photos!”

Marc laughed at his friend and pulled out his phone, “I do.” He shows them the screen and Aurore immediately grabs the phone out of his hand. Mireille and Julien huddle around her, “Oh my God! It’s like a scene from a movie!”, Mireille exclaimed before squinting her eyes, “Wait... Are you wearing the necklace now?!”

“Necklace?”

“He gave you what?”

Marc knows there’s no hiding it from the people who were very invested in his love life now. He slips his hand under the collar of his shirt and pulls out the little half-heart charm connected to a simple white cord. Marc was once again bombarded by questions

“Guys, can we do this after class? We’re gonna be late.”

Aurore let out an exaggerated groan but complied, “You better be prepared for any question we throw at you, Rainbow.” She said his nickname teasingly as the four of them made their way to class, but stopped to look and see Lila walking out of the locker room

“How long is she gonna be here?”, Julien questioned, his tone laced with venom, “I can’t take another minute of, ‘Oh, but all of her stories are real,’ ‘Don’t be so mean,’ ‘Lila’s hurt, don’t put any more pressure on her,’ ugh! Marc, I’ll say it again, your boyfriend and cousin’s class is full of idiots.”

“Well, their hearts are in the right place, they’re just being taken advantage of.”

“It’s been like three months since she, ‘Returned from Achu,’” Aurore said with finger quotes, “How has that lying fox not been exposed yet? Everything she says is full of holes!”

“It’s because whenever someone tries to point out her lies, she’ll play the victim and get sympathy,” Mireille said, disgusted, “It’s honestly just sickening listening to her fake crying.”

“Here, here,” Julian said in agreement, “I cannot wait for a truth Akuma to appear and just make her reveal everything so her classmates and that teacher will finally stop kissing the ground she walks on.”

“That would make for a pretty good Akuma,” Marc commended

“Hell yeah, it would.”

—

‘One for the soulless redhead. And one for that... “boy.”‘, the Italian sneered as she slipped an envelope into the vent of Marc’s locker, ‘Let’s see if they’re still together after this. Once Alix is out of the picture and Adrien only has me to talk to, I’ll ruin those losers’ lives. They should know damn well than to cross Lila Diabla Rossi.’

--

Nathaniel felt like someone was burning holes in the back of his head... Or rather the side. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, he moved his bangs to the side, acting as if he was just scratching the side of his face, and saw Lila glaring at him before quickly looking to the front. ‘God, what’s her problem?”, he thought to himself. ‘Probably gonna spout out more bullshit about how I stole her work. Heh. Good luck you vursht-kherd ligner.’

The bell rang, ‘Finally. I get to see my Rainbow.’, Nathaniel thought as he gathered his books in his bag. He was about to grab his sketchbook, only for it to be snatched by Lila. ‘Great, now I have to disinfect it.’

“Oh, Nathaniel! I’m so sorry about what happened!”, she “apologized” in that over-the-top sweet voice. “I just have so many problems with my memory because while I was helping disabled children in America, I fell off of a ladder while trying to get their frisbee off the roof of one of their homes, and I hit my head.”

‘Maybe that isn’t a lie, because that would explain so much.’, “Okay, so can I have my sketchbook back?”, he asked in a bored tone

“And I draw Ladybug all the time because we are besties after all!”, she exclaimed

“Great, so my sketchbook?”, he holds out his hand

“And your little drawings look so much like mine, and I got concerned. I’m sure you understand, right?”

“Can I have my sketchbook back?”, He repeated, now very annoyed, and even more when Lila sent him a smirk she didn’t think he noticed. ‘This bitch is trying to make me lose my temper or something?’ Then she just started talking again

“I know how awful it is for an artist’s work to be stolen! I actually witnessed art-theft first-hand, so you get why I accused you of stealing what I thought was mine. I just didn’t want to believe that you would steal a fellow artist’s work.”

‘God, strike me now.’

“But if you stole it out of jealousy, I would completely understand.”

“... Excuse me?”

‘Got him.’ “Well, let’s face it. Your art style is a little overused and no offense, but, not very original. So, if you were jealous of my drawing style, then there are no hard feelings. You’re still an amazing artist. While I’ve studied and perfected my work over the years, you-”

“Oh meyn got! Zey shtil!”

The students who were packing away their materials and getting ready to head out turned their heads towards the redhead who was shouting furiously in Yiddish

“Ir zent nisht a farshiltn kinstler! An anoying, lignerish hur iz vos ir zent!”

Alix, who actually understood a little of what Nathaniel was saying, tried not to snicker

“Aun gebn mir meyn sketshbook, ir vursht-kherd tokhes!” At that last sentence, Nathaniel snatched the sketchbook out of her hands, then he looked around and saw the shocked or confused looks on his classmates' and teacher’s faces. He ducked his head down, trying to look as small as possible right now

Breaking the silence was Alya, “What did you say?”

“It... It was...” Nathaniel stammered and his face turned as red as his hair.

Max turned to the little robot hovering beside him, “Markov, can you translate what Nathaniel just said?”

“Certainly, Max,” a little pixelated hourglass appeared the screen on the little robot’s face before disappearing with a little ‘PING!’, “Oh my.”

“Oh, what did he say?”, Lila asked as innocently as possible.

“I’m not comfortable repeating the last two, but he did tell you to shut up, and that you have sausage hair.”

“Oh, crap,” Nathaniel muttered

Lila started rubbing her eyes to make it look like she’s crying right now. “Nathaniel, how could you be so rude?! I was only trying to help you!”, Alya and Mylene went over to console her, not noticing the smirk on her face. The classmates that were on Lila’s side sent the redhead glares and disappointed looks

Mme. Bustier frowned, “Nathaniel, go to the principal’s office, now!”, before Nathaniel could respond, Marinette spoke, “You can’t do that. It’s the end of the day, so you can’t tell Nathaniel what to do,” she sent her enabler of a teacher a sneer

“W-well, I-”

“Check the rule book!”, Alix snapped, “Students are out of teachers’ jurisdiction as soon as school hours are over. So, you can’t send him to detention.”

“But he called me horrible things!”, Lila wailed

“Well, it’s not his fault,” Juleka whispered, but everyone heard and turned their heads toward her, “... He has bipolar disorder, and sometimes he just... Yeah.” Rose takes over for her, “And you did take his sketchbook, Lila. I saw you snatch it off the table before he could grab it.”

“W... Well, I just wanted to see it!” She claimed

“Doesn’t give you the right to snatch it,” Nathaniel murmured. Marinette walked over and took his hand, “Let’s go.” The five art club students made their way to the door, but Mme. Bustier called out, “Hold on! Nathaniel still needs to be punished for using such language in class!”

Alix rolled her eyes, “Did anyone in the class, besides Markov, understand what he said?”, all she got in response were head shakes and some muttering, “Did anyone hear any curse words?”, once again, head shakes. She turned to Mme. Bustier and shrugged, “As long as he doesn’t say it in French, I don’t really think you can punish him. He said it in a language none of us knew, so you can’t really punish him for cursing in class.”

Bustier’s face turned red in embarrassment. A student just corrected her in front of her own class. Before she could say more, the five of them were gone.

—

“Nath, that mouth!”, Alix cackled, “That was priceless!”

Marinette smiled, “I wish I knew more Chinese so I can cuss Lila out in class. The only curse word I know is húndàn.”

Nathaniel blushed, “Thanks for helping me out back there, you guys.”

“Of course, Nath!” Rose hugged him, “Lila stole your sketchbook, you had every right to be upset.” Juleka nodded in agreement

Nathaniel smiled before he realized something, “I left my colored pencils in my locker.” He reluctantly pulled away from Rose’s legendary hug and ran to the locker room, “I’ll catch up with you guys later!”

Once Nathaniel walked into the locker room, he made his way down the row of lockers until he got this. Right between Alix and Nino’s lockers. He put in the combination on the purple lock he brought from home since the school has terrible security. After Marinette’s near expulsion, some of the students bought locks for their easy-to-open lockers so no one could frame them for theft. Damocles tried to stop them from doing this but he was severely outnumbered, and the fact that some of the students had lawyers for parents who could sue the school for not protecting their children’s items made him concede

Once his locker door was open, an envelope fell out as he went to reach for his pencil face. Furrowing his brow, Nathaniel picked up the mysterious envelope he didn’t remember being in his locker. ‘Maybe it’s my report card?... But it’s the middle of the quarter.’, he thought, ‘And why would they put it in my locker?’ With a shrug, Nathaniel opened the envelope and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. He unfolded the paper, and his eyes widened in shock. His jaw hung open, his hands were shaking, and his breathing became unsteady

In his hands was a photo of Marc and Adrien, but not just any photo. It looked like someone took a photo from a distance, but you could make out every detail. The two of them were sitting on a bench in the park, hand in hand, bodies pressed together, and kissing. Nathaniel wanted to cry, to punch Adrien, to throw up. He looked over the picture even though his brain told him not to, but he had to look for something. Watermarks, any signs of smeared paint, anything!... Nothing.

“N-no... No... He wouldn’t... H-he...” He crumples the paper and throws it to the floor, then he makes his way over to the door. When he opens the door, he froze at the sight. Adrien and Marc were walking the stairs, talking. Adrien must’ve said something funny because Marc started laughing. “... Oh my God...” A tear streamed down his heartbroken face which contorted into a scowl. Not able to take another second of this, Nathaniel charged out of the lockers room and ran to the doors, bumping into people along the way, but he didn’t care. He just needed to leave.

__

Marc laughed, “Oh my God! He really cursed Lila out in Yiddish?”

“Yeah, it was pretty funny,” Adrien chuckled, “If I knew we could do that, I would’ve cursed Lila out weeks ago. But yeah, if he seems a little off in art club, it’s because of Lila.”

“Thanks again, Adrien,” Marc smiled

“No problem. I’ll see you around Marc.”, and he left

Marc still couldn’t believe his sweet boyfriend cursed someone out. But, it was Lila, so he could understand that. He made his way into the locker room and walked over to his locker. He pulled a silver key out of his pocket and uses it on the lock he bought for his locker. Marc’s always been a little protective of his stuff, but after what happened with Marinette and... Her... He and most of the students took action and bought locks for their lockers.

As he opened his locker, he noticed a crumpled ball of paper on the floor. Before Marc could go to pick it up, out of peripheral vision, he saw an envelope fall out of his locker and land on the floor. Marc picked up the envelope he didn’t remember being in his locker before and looked over it to see if anyone write anything like their name. With a shrug, Marc opened the envelope and found a folded piece of paper. With some hesitation, thinking it might be something bad like a photo of something gory or inappropriate, he pulled it out and slowly unfolded it... It was worse.

His widened green eyes scanned over the photo of Nathaniel and Alix, holding hands as they kissed on a bench in the park. He dropped the photo and sat on one of the benches, looking pale and shaking. Then he brought his gloved hands to his face and started crying. “What did I do wrong?”, he asked himself

__

“Anger, despair. Both caused by an untrustworthy partner, and those who turned out to be false friends. So hard to pick.” Hawkmoth beckoned a butterfly that landed in the palm of his hand. Once covered by his other hand, the butterfly was consumed by dark magic and turned black. Hawkmoth released the Akuma, and it fluttered away, “Fly away my little Akuma, go towards the one who feels the most pain!”

__

The akuma fluttered over to the school and found its target. Sitting on the steps of the school with his head tucked into his knees was Nathaniel. And while he could sense Marc’s sadness, Nathaniel’s feelings of rage and betrayal were too good to pass up. So, it dived down and flew into the half heart necklace turning it black. He looked up, revealing the Akuma symbol over his face

__

Once Hawkmoth felt Nathaniel’s emotions, he smirked, “Welcome back Evillustrator. I can assure you, you’ll have your reven-”, Hawkmoth stopped mid-sentence, a look of confusion on his face, “What’s this?”

__

Marc lifted his head up from his hands, revealing an Akuma symbol over his tear-stained face. And his necklace was now pitch black

Hawkmoth rubbed his temples, obviously overwhelmed by the emotions these two boys were feeling. Anger, sadness, betrayal, disbelief, “Well, there’s no need to choose now. Reverstrator, I am Hawkmoth. With my help, you won’t be separated from the one you love again, no one will come between you. All I ask in return is that you bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous.”

“Yes, Hawkmoth,” they say in unison. Once the Akuma symbols disappear, the purple and black mist bubbled up from their necklaces and surrounded them. The purple mist that covered Nathaniel went towards the front doors of the school, phased through, and made its way through the courtyard, startling a few students, then it went into the locker room and combined with the mist that covered Marc

The mist lifted up revealing a tall akuma, around Kim’s height, who looks like a fusion of Evillustrator and Reverser. The left side of his face is purple while the left is black, and his lipstick, while the same colors are inverted. The left side of his short-sleeved hoodie is white with black slanted stripes, the hood is black, he has black sleeves with white stripes under the hoodie, and he has white fingerless gloves which reveal black fingers. The other side is inverted. On the front of his hoodie is a black and white circle with the primary colors on it, but one is half yellow and half black. His pants are half black and white, he has a black boot on his right foot and red on his left. His hair is similar to Evillustrator’s but is more downward, the purple tips at the end are now black and white, and he has a black beret. Two noticeable traits about this Akuma is that he has two forearms on each upper arm, and he has four eyes, but two are closed at the moment while the top eyes, which are turquoise, are narrowed.

“I’m coming for you, Agreste.” He summoned Evillustrator’s tablet and pen in his hands

__

“Man, why isn’t Nath texting back?”, Alix questioned as she continued texting Nathaniel for the sixth time, “He’s been gone for like five minutes.”

“Yeah, and Marc isn’t here either.”, Marinette said, “You think they got... Sidetracked?”

Rose giggled, “Maybe.”

M. Haberkorn intervened, an amused smile on his face, “Now let’s not assume anything. They’re probably helping each other look for something.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet.”, Juleka said, a hint of playfulness in her monotone voice

Alix shook her head amusedly, “Alright, they get three more minutes, then we gotta go looking for them.” The three other girls nodded in agreement before they heard some screams coming from the courtyard, “Must be another Akuma.”, Alix said. The students and the teacher peaked out of the window and saw the Akuma running rampant around the courtyard

“WHERE IS HE?! WHERE’S ADRIEN AGRESTE?!”

“Who’s that?”, Juleka asked, shocked at the appearance of the enraged Akuma

“Damn, Hawkmoth,” Alix whispered, “you’ve made some weird-looking ones, but this one is just... God.”

“And why does he have Evillustrator’s tablet?”, Marinette piped up when she noticed the familiar Akuma weapon on one of the arms, and in the akuma’s hand was the drawing pen. She took a closer look at the Akuma and noticed a necklace with a heart charm around his neck. The more Marinette took in his appearance, the more she noticed how similar it looked to Evillustrator and Reverser, “Guys, I think that’s Marc and Nathaniel!”

The four looked at her in bewilderment before she urged for them to take a closer look at the Akuma. “It is them!”, Rose exclaimed

“They’re fused like Oblivio,” Juleka said, “How did this happen?”

M. Haberkorn shook his head solemnly, “I don’t know. But the four you need to get out of here before someone gets hurt.” As if proving his point, a loud crash was heard followed by more screaming. “Wait until I say it’s safe.” The four of them nodded. He made his way over to the door and carefully opened it. Peaking his head out, he saw the Akuma was erasing walls to classrooms, trying to find Adrien. His back was turned to the art classroom. “Alright, hurry out,” he whispered

They nodded and quickly ran out of the classroom; M. Haberkorn went to help any of the other students evacuate. Alix, Marinette, Juleka, and Rose ran through the crowd of panicking students, but Marinette stopped suddenly and ran in the direction of the locker rooms while Alix, Juleka, and Rose made it out

She opened her purse, allowing Tikki to fly out, “How do you think this happened?”, Marinette asked the tiny goddess, “I don’t know, but this Akuma is a combination of Reverser and Evillustrator, so you need to be careful. You remember how they were last time.”

Marinette nodded at the memory. Marc and Nathaniel were reckless, hostile, and apathetic as Akumas. Nathaniel almost killed Chloe with a buzz saw, and Marc nearly caused a meteor shower that could’ve destroyed Paris. Fused together, there was no telling what destruction they could cause. Before Marinette could say the phrase and transform, she noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. Curious, she picked it up and opened it, revealing the photo of Marc and Adrien kissing

“What the?”, she whispered. Tikki’s eyes widened, “Well that answers Nathaniel’s akumatization, but what about Marc?” Marinette shrugged, but then noticed a piece of paper by the bench. She picked it up and saw that it was a photo of Nathaniel and Alix kissing. “There’s no way these are real. Marc and Nathaniel would never cheat on each other, Alix is Nathaniel’s best friend, she’s aromantic, and Adrien’s dating Kagami!”, she narrowed her eyes at the fake photos, “Someone must have wanted this to happen, t-to get them to break up, or maybe even deliberately try to get them Akumatized.”

“Well, you can figure this out later!”, Tikki told her chosen

“You’re right.”

TIKKI, SPOTS ON!

__

“He’s obviously not here, you jerk!”, a voice that sounded a lot like Reverser’s exclaimed

“Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!”, Reverstrator shouted, “Fine. I’ll go look somewhere else.”

“NO! We’re going after Alix first! You let her get away!”

“What’s your deal with her?”, he growled, “She didn’t do anything!”

“Neither did Adrien!”

“Oh, of course, you take his side!”, Reverstrator exclaimed as he drew a boxing glove that punched the front doors open. Before he could walk out, Ladybug’s yoyo wrapped around his waist and flung him into a wall, “Oh, great. You’re here.”

Ladybug retracted her yoyo and spun it, preparing to use it as a shield, “The feeling is mutual! Marc, Nathaniel, whatever happened-”

“DON’T SAY HIS NAME! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT RIGHT NOW!”, he shouted, then drew seven swords, all aimed at Ladybug

From her hiding spot under the stairs, Lila watched the scene unfold with a twisted, unsettling, sadistic grin on her face. “Come on, do it!”, she whispered

Ladybug dodged each sword, quick and easy. They embedded themselves into the courtyard floor and formed small cracks. Lila stomped her foot in frustration and cursed out the Akuma for his failure to kill the spotted heroine, “Stupid akumas can’t do anything right!” Caught up in her ranting, Lila doesn’t notice Aurore standing a few feet away, but still in earshot, recording the battle and her. The blonde weather girl looked appalled.

“HOLD STILL, YOU PEST!”, Reverstrator was becoming angrier and angrier every time Ladybug dodged his drawn weapons. Swords and axes? Avoided and embedded into the ground. Missiles? Uses her yoyo to fling each one into the sky so they don’t destroy Paris. Boxing glove? Jump over it and just let it fly through the holes in the school walls. As she prepared to dodge more attacks, Ladybug noticed Reverstrator holding his head, and it sounded like he was muttering to himself

“God, you suck at this.”

“Well, why don’t you try it if you’re so great at it?”

“Maybe I will!”

“Don’t you dare- AH!”

Reverstrator seemed to go limp above the waist for a moment and stops moving. Ladybug slowly approached him, but stopped when he suddenly straightened up, and she grimaced when a few bones made an audible crack. His turquoise eyes closed and two monochrome eyes below them open up. Evillustrator’s tablet and pen disappear and are replaced with four monochrome paper airplanes sitting in Reverstrator’s hands.

“Let’s try this again! Your powers are useless now! REVERSION!”, Reverstrator hurled the four paper airplanes at Ladybug who acted quickly and shielded herself with her yoyo, blocking each one, “Are you KIDDING ME?!”

“Not so easy, is it?” Evillustrator’s voice snarked

“Shut it!”, Reverstrator yelled to the voice in his head as the glowing Akuma symbol appeared over his face

“Reverstrator, focus!”, Hawkmoth yelled, “I want my Miraculous!”

“Forget this!”

“No!”

Reverstrator’s body convulsed a bit, and as the monochrome eyes closed, the turquoise ones opened, “I’m going after Adrien,” Evillustrator's said, speaking through Reverstrator. His tablet and pen reappeared, which he used to draw a ball and chain around Ladybug’s ankle, preventing her from moving

“Don’t go after the boy!” Hawkmoth commanded, now concerned for Adrien’s safety

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t,” Reverstrator snapped, “You don’t even care who lives or dies when you send out a damn Akuma every week!”

“Your prime objective is to take the Miraculous!”

“Sure. Right after I give that rich boy what he deserves!” He drew a jetpack on his back and took off. Ladybug wrapped the string of her yoyo around the anklet, and it snapped open due to the strength of the magic weapon. Before she could swing away, Ladybug noticed Lila glaring up towards where Reverstrator flew away. ‘Later,’ she thought to herself before swinging off after Reverstrator.

__

Adrien, Nathalie, and the Gorilla sit through some traffic. Nathalie scrolls through her tablet, “You have a piano lesson in two hours, then tomorrow after school, another photoshoot...”

Adrien just zones out as she drones on in her monotonous voice. Plagg pokes his head out of his pocket and gives him a bored look as he munches on a piece of cheese. Adrien feels himself dozing off when suddenly- “ADRIEN AGRESTE!”

Nathalie put a protective hand on Adrien’s shoulder and ushered for him to duck down. She looked out the window, seeing nothing but cars and a few people getting out of there to see what’s going on. It was quiet for a moment when suddenly, an arm penetrates the roof, making Adrien let out a yelp as the hand grabbed his head, two more burst through and grab his face. Nathalie reacts, hits the first arm with her tablet, making it recoil, and grabs the other two arms wrists, “Adrien, run!”

With a nod, Adrien bolted out of the car and ran down the sidewalk, catching a glimpse of the Akuma as he rounded a corner and made his way into an alley. Plagg flew out of his pocket, eyes widened, “Did you see that guy?!”

Adrien nodded, “Hawkmoth is officially twisted.”

PLAGG, CLAWS OUT!

__

Reverstrator finally releases himself from Nathalie’s grip and runs off to find Adrien, “WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“Lookin’ for me?!”, Chat Noir’s boot made contact with his stomach, sending him to the ground and knocking the wind out of him, “I know I’m no Adrien Agreste, but you gotta admit, I’m way better.”, he smirked

Reverstrator got back up, “That, we can agree on. Adrien Agreste is a backstabbing two-timer who steals people in relationships!”

“What are you talking about?!”

Chat Noir furrowed his brown in confusion, and he didn’t have time to react when a fire hose drawn by Reverstrator sprayed him with a powerful blast of water. Chat backed away, grabbed his baton, and spun it around so it acted like a shield, deflecting the blast

“Marc, Nathaniel! Stop!”, Ladybug yelled as she dropped in and wrapped her yoyo around Reverstrator

“Don’t call me that! I’m Reverstrator now!” Suddenly, his torso started rotating around rapidly, unwinding Ladybug’s yoyo. Chat surged towards him with his staff ready. Reverstrator grabbed the staff with one set of hands and used the other set to grab Chat Noir by his waist then fling him into the streets. Ladybug threw her yoyo at him, but he managed to catch it just an inch away from his head. Grabbing the string of his yoyo with all of his hands, Reverstrator kept a tight grip as he spun his torso around and then flung Ladybug right into Chat Noir when he abruptly let go of the yoyo

Reverstrator got out his pen and drew a hole on his tablet, then a second later, one appears beneath the heroes and they fall in, “See? That’s how you get rid of heroes!”

“...”

“Oh, silent treatment, huh?!”

“Reverstrator! Why didn’t you take their Miraculous before sending them into the hole?!”, Hawkmoth asked, enraged

Reverstrator rolled his eyes, “They can’t get out of there. I’ll come back for them later.” He leaped onto a roof and made his way to the Agreste mansion

__

“Oh, I hope Marinette’s okay,” Rose voiced her concern as she, Juleka, and Alix walked back into the school when they saw that Reverstrator was gone

Juleka places a hand on her shoulder, “Maybe she just got separated while we were running. I’m sure she’s okay.”

Alix agreed, “Yeah, she can take care of herself. Maybe she just hid in the locker room.” The three of them walk into the locker room and look around for the pigtailed girl, “Marinette?!” She called out, “Marinette?!”

Juleka knocks on a few lockers, “Marinette? You in here?”

Rose walks out of the bathroom and shakes her head, “I don’t think she’s in here.”

Alix furrowed her brow in confusion, “Okay, maybe she got swept up in a group. Jules, you might be right about her getting separated.” Juleka smiled at that

Rose sighed with relief and then sat down on the bench, “Well, that’s good.” She felt her foot brush up against something and looked down to see the photo face-down on the floor, “Hm?” She picked up the photo, flipped it over, and her eyes widened in shock, “... Alix? Could you take a look at this?” She hands the photo over to Alix. The pink-haired girl gave the photo an incredulous look, “WHAT THE HELL?!” She stomps over to Juleka who’s looking down at something in her hands, “Are you seeing this?! I did not kiss Nathaniel!... Jules?” Juleka shows her and Rose what she’s looking at.

Rose gasped, “That’s why Reverstrator is after Adrien!”

“So if Nathaniel saw this photo, then Marc must’ve seen the other one.” Juleka turns to Alix, “So Reverstrator might be after you next.”

“But I didn’t kiss Nath!” She exclaimed, “And Marc definitely didn’t kiss Adrien!” She takes the photo out of Juleka’s hand and examines both photos, “These had to have been photoshopped, o-or something!”

Rose notices something on one of the photos, “Hey, what’s that?” She points to an orange smudge in the corner of the photo of Alix and Nathaniel kissing, “Looks like nail polish.” Juleka smirks, “Or Nathaniel uses hair dye.”

“Wait.” Alix narrows her eyes at the nail polish stain, “There’s only one person in the whole class who wears orange nail polish.”

“LILA!”, Rose and Juleka said at the same time

Alix nodded, “It makes sense. They know she’s lying too, so of course, she’d pull this shit! We gotta tell them before they go after Adrien!” She’s about to head out of the locker room, but Juleka stops her by placing a hand on her shoulder, “But what about you?” “I’ll be fine. It’s Lila you should be worried about when they find out what she did.” After that, she stormed out of the locker room with Juleka and Rose behind her.

__

Ladybug and Chat Noir were still in the hole. Ladybug tried using her yoyo to get out, but there was nothing for it to wrap around outside the hole. Chat Noir then wrapped his arms around Ladybug and extended his staff so that they rose out of the hole

“Nice thinking, Chat.” Ladybug commended as Chat shortened his staff

Chat smiled, “Thank you, m’lady. Now let’s go!” He and Ladybug vaulted and swung away

__

Reverstrator landed on top of a roof and just stands there, “... Why can’t I move? What are you doing?!”

“We need to talk right now!”, Reverser’s voice shouted

“I don’t want to!”, he yelled back while covering his ears, hoping that will block out his voice

“Well, I’m not letting you go until we talk!... Please?”

Reverstrator sighed, “Fine.” The monochrome eyes slowly opened, and immediately a few tears pour out as Reverstrator has a conversation with himself

Reverser speaks through Reverstrator, “... Why would you do this? W-what did I do wrong? I... I love you and you just...” One of his right hands wipes away the tears. Evillustrator speaks through Reverstrator, “I could ask you the same thing. I-I don’t know why you’re mad, but you really hurt me.”

“How did I hurt you? You kissed Alix!”

“W-what?! I never kissed Alix!... Is this why you’re mad at her? You think we kissed?”

“... Yeah.”

“No! That never happened! And I saw the photo of you kissing Adrien!” The turquoise eyes start crying, “Then I saw you and him laughing. An-and I just-”

“Well, that’s only because he was telling me what you said to Lila in class! I-I would never cheat on you. I love you...”

“I’d never cheat on you either, and Alix would never hurt you like that.” Reverstrator’s right hands wipe away the tears forming in the monochrome eyes

“I’d never do something like that to you... But where did the photo come from?”

The turquoise eyes narrowed when they noticed Alix, Juleka, and Rose walking down the sidewalk, “Let’s find out.”

__

“When I see that girl tomorrow in class, I’m gonna-!”

Reverstrator dropped down right in front of the three girls, startling them and cutting off Alix’s rant, “ALIX!” Upon seeing the menacing glare he was giving their friend, Juleka and Rose shielded Alix from the Akuma

“You better explain why there’s a picture of you kissing Nathaniel!”, Reverser shouted through the Akuma and summoned two paper airplanes in the two left hands

Alix gently nudged Juleka and Rose out of the way and approached the Akuma, but the two girls held onto their friend’s arms for protection, “Nath, Marc...” Hearing Reverstrator let out a low growl, she corrected herself, “Reverstrator, those photos are fake! I never kissed Nathaniel, and Adrien never kissed Marc! We wouldn’t do that!”

Before Reverstrator could say anything, Juleka spoke, “Lila faked those photos. W-we found some of her nail polish smeared on the back of one of them

“That... That...”

“Lignerish shlang!”

Without saying another word, Reverstrator crushed the paper airplanes in his hands and ran off to find the lying Italian who nearly destroyed a beautiful relationship. Alix called out to him, but he was already gone, leaping over the city once again. A second later, Ladybug and Chat Noir land by them. “Are you okay?” Ladybug asked as she checks to see if Reverstrator hurt them in any way

Alix nodded, “Yeah, we’re fine. But it’s Lila that you gotta save.”

Ladybug tried not to show her disgust at the mention of the liar, but Chat Noir wasn’t holding back, “What’d she do now?” he asked bitterly

“’Now?’“ Rose parroted

Chat continued, “Yeah. This wouldn’t be the first time she’s pissed off an Akuma.”

“Chat,” Ladybug hissed, “Not now.” She turned back to Alix, “So what happened?”

“Lila photoshopped a photo so it would look like Marc kissed Adrien, and Nathaniel kissed me,” she explained. Off the heroes’ looks of disgust, she continued, “Yeah, and all because they knew that she was lying!”

Ladybug took a sharp inhale. That liar could ruin her life all she wanted, but rope her friends and cousin into this? There will be hell to pay, “Alright. I guess we have to save her again. The three of you better get to safety.” Then she and Chat swung and vaulted after the Akuma as the three girls just stood there

“We’re gonna see how this goes, aren’t we?” Juleka asked after a few seconds of silence

Alix nodded, “Hell, yeah!” She exclaimed as they began springing in the direction of Reverstrator and the heroes went, “Hey, if we’re lucky, Lila might be exposed in front of everyone.”

__

Lila was walking on air. Marc and Nathaniel were probably beating that pesky bug to a bloody pulp right now. She was a little miffed that they didn’t slice her open with one of those swords or reverse her powers so she’d be useless as always. And hopefully, when she fails, those two f*gs will become public enemy numbers one and two. She could spin a whole sob story about how they were jealous of her relationship with Ladybug and they’ll be banished from Paris. Maybe she could even throw in something about Marinette and those d*kes she hangs out with. They are close; maybe get the idea of them working for Hawkmoth into those idiots’ heads-

“So, what do you think of doing another interview tomorrow?”

‘Ugh. Remember your fanbase, remember your fanbase,’ Lila reminded herself every time she hung out with Alya, “Alya, that’d be wonderful! I’d love to!” She exclaimed, before quickly dropping her expression, “But I just hope I’ll be okay to do it tomorrow. I’m just so worried about my bestie getting hurt!”

Alya nodded, “Yeah, Reverstrator doesn’t seem like the type of Akuma to hold back. But, I’m sure she’ll be fine... Though, I wonder why Marc and Nathaniel got akumatized in the first place.”

Lila internally smirked, ‘Perfect,’ “You don’t think it was because of me, do you?”

Alya immediately went to comfort her, “Girl, I’m sure it was just something else. Maybe stressed out from their comic, or-”

“But we haven’t been on the best terms lately, and-” She choked back a sob, “I can’t help but feel that I’m the reason they were Akumatized... Or... Maybe they were jealous that I’m friends with Ladybug?”

Alya frowned, “Well then, that’s just not right. Once they go back to normal, we’re gonna confront them about this!”

“ROSSI!”

Parisians cleared the way as Reverstrator dropped down from above and landed in the middle of Pont des Arts. “It’s time to reveal every single one of your lies!” Four monochrome paper airplanes materialized in his hands, “REVERSION!”

Lila ducked out of the way as the planes came for her, and they instead hit a few pedestrians who started revealing everything they’ve lied about, “I-I didn’t do anything! Please, whatever happened, I can help you!” She whined while throwing in a few tears for good measure

“ENOUGH!” Evillustrator’s pen materialized in one of his left hands, and the tablet on his right arm. He began drawing, “You won’t try to tear us apart ever again!” A buzz-saw appeared beside him and spun its way towards the two girls. Not taking any chances, Lila grabbed Alya and put her in front of her like a shield

“LILA?!”, Alya screamed as she struggled to get out of her hold, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” The more she struggled, the more Lila’s nails dug into her skin and she let out a pained scream

“Call it off! Erase it!”, “I’m doing it!” The buzz saw was erased from existence, and Alya was safe. Lila pushed Alya to the ground then ran away. Reverstrator was about to run after her, but when he saw the look of betrayal on Alya’s face, he said to her, “I’d start looking for new friends if I were you.” And he ran after Lila, leaving Alya horrified at what just happened

‘How could she do that?’ She thought to herself, ‘She used me as a human shield, I-I could have died. Why would she do this?... I thought we were friends.’

Rousing her from her thoughts was the sound of a notification from her phone. She wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks and checked her phone. She furrowed her brow as she read what was on her screen. Aurore had made a post on her blog, Bug & Cat Chat. She wasn’t a fan of the blonde girl having a blog that rivaled her own and stole most of her viewers, but she kept tabs to see what she posted and how she could make the Ladyblog better. ‘Ladybug’s Supposed Bestie Roots for Akuma?’

__

Lila ran as fast as she could down the streets of Paris, but Reverstrator was faster. She dodged every paper plane, every sword, dagger, and flaming arrow, shoving pedestrians out of her way and almost getting them hit in the process. When the attacks stopped, Lila stopped running and took a few breaths.

“Damn it, Hawkmoth,” she cursed under her breath, “Control your freaks.” This moment of peace was cut short by a scream. Lila looked back and saw a car being tossed into the air and heading right for her. She leaped out of the way as the car hit the ground

“Lie-La~” Reverstrator called out, “It would be easier for everyone here if you just gave yourself up!” He started lifting another car

Lila rubbed her eyes to make it look like she’s crying, “I didn’t do anything! Why are you after me?!” She looked through her hands and saw people in the vicinity giving her wary looks, ‘Why are none of these idiots helping me?! Can’t they see I’m in danger?!’

“Mommy! That’s the girl who put the Ladyblogger in danger!” A little boy shouted

Lila looked again and saw many of the citizens scowling at or backing away from her. Some were even looking down at their phones. When she listened closely, she could clearly make out Alya’s panicked voice coming from their phones

‘Who the hell recorded that?!’

“Aurore got a video of her rooting for the Akuma!”

“She wanted Ladybug dead!”

“I bet she’s working for Hawkmoth!”

Lila scowled, ‘That blonde b*mbo!’ She put her hands behind her back and pinched her wrists to make herself cry, “I-I’d never do that! I’d never put Ladybug in danger!” Another car was thrown her way, she ran with Reverser hot on her tail

“IT’S NO USE RUNNING, LILA! JUST GIVE YOURSELF UP! EVERYONE ALREADY KNOWS WHAT YOU’RE REALLY LIKE!”

Lila was about the round a corner, but Reverstrator grabbed her by the back of her jacket and held her up in the air, “It’s over! Now confess everything you’ve lied about!”

Even when her life was on the line, Lila would not own up to her lies, “I didn’t do anything wrong! I don’t know why you’re after me, but-”

“ENOUGH!” Evillustrator summoned a paper airplane, “You are now forced to tell the truth! Reversion- HEY!” He tried to yank his arm away as Ladybug’s yoyo wrapped around his wrist

“Reverstrator, stop!” Ladybug called out as she and Chat Noir arrived, “Everyone already knows that Lila is dangerous-”

“SHUT UP LADYBUG! NO ONE ASKED YOU SHIT!”, Lila screeched, making everyone gasp. Lila was about to say more, but one of Reverstrator’s other hands wrapped around her neck and she started choking, but then he dropped her to the ground when Ladybug yanked on her yoyo and flung him into the side of a building

Chat narrowed his eyes at Lila who had taken off running a while ago, “Better hurry before she causes more trouble.”

Ladybug nodded then called for her, “LUCKY CHARM!” What dropped in her hands was, “Another yoyo?”

Chat Noir extended his staff, “Better figure out how to use it quick; Reverstrator won’t go down so easy!”

Reverstrator started drawing again, and another buzz saw came spinning for them. Chat Noir jumped in front of Ladybug and yelled out, “CATACLYSM!” The buzz saw crumbled into black dust, and immediately, the heroes were barraged by arrows. And with his free hands, he threw paper airplanes at them. They take cover behind a flipped car. Not wanting to risk getting shot by an arrow or reversed, Ladybug used the mirror in her yoyo to find a way to use her lucky charm

Use your yoyo to deflect his attacks

Wrap both yoyo’s around Reverstrator’s arms

He has super strength, so you won’t be able to hold him down on your own

Tie the ends of the yoyos to the lamp posts; they’re bolted tight to the ground

Break the necklace, catch the Akuma

Ladybug turned to Chat Noir with a determined look, “Hey, Kitty? Ever use a yoyo before?” With a grin, Chat takes the lucky charm yoyo and extends his staff. Ladybug spins her yoyo; the two run out from behind the car and start deflecting Reverstrator’s planes and arrows. Once they got close enough, Ladybug wrapped her yoyo around Reverstrator’s left arms, and Chat wrapped the Lucky Charm yoyo around the right arms. They ran in opposite directions and tied the yoyos around lamp posts so he can’t get free.

“NO!” He growled with tears in his eyes, “You won’t separate us!”

Ladybug walked over, reached into the monochrome hoodie, and pulled out a black heart-shaped necklace. She threw it to the ground, making it shatter into many pieces so the Akuma would fly out. She quickly unwrapped her yoyo, “No more evil-doing for you little Akuma... Time to De-Evilize!” She caught the Akuma, “Gotcha!” Fluttering out from the yoyo was a pure white butterfly, “Bye-bye, little butterfly.”

Chat Noir tossed her the lucky charm yoyo. She tossed it into the air and yelled out, “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!” The yoyo burst into millions of ladybugs. The swept around the city, fixing the school, getting rid of the weapons drawn by Reverstrator, removing the reversion curse of citizens who were hit by the paper airplanes, and finally, Reverstrator was washed over by a black and purple mist that lifted up and revealed Marc and Nathaniel passed out on the ground

Ladybug and Chat Noir did their signature fist-bump, “Pound it!”

“Ugh,” Nathaniel got up and rubbed his head, “What the hell...?” His eyes widened when he saw Marc on the ground, “Rainbow!” He rushed over to his boyfriend’s side, “Baby, are you okay?” Marc’s eyes fluttered open, and Nathaniel let out a relieved sigh, “Marc, I’m so sorry I thought you cheated on me, I- You’d never do that! I just-” “Nath...” “When I saw that photo, I just panicked!” “Nath!” Nathaniel was cut off by Marc throwing his arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss. “... I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions either. Nath, I’m sorry.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir offered their hands and helped the two boys up, “I’m guessing you guys remember what happened.”

Nathaniel furrowed his brow, “I-I just remember seeing that photo of Marc kissing Adrien...” No one noticed the look of shock on Chat’s face, “Then I remember Alix mentioning...” His expression darkened, “...Lila.” Marc held his hand and kissed his cheek, “She’s sort of had out for us ever since we pointed out a few holes in her lies.”

“Well, don’t worry. I’m sure you won’t be seeing much of her anymore.” At the superheroine’s words, the two boys smiled. Suddenly, the distinct beeping of Ladybug and Chat’s miraculous’ were heard

“Well, we best be off,” Chat said as he extended his staff and vaulted away

Ladybug gave the two one last smile, “Bug out.” and she swung away

__

Hawkmoth threw his can to the ground, “NO! How could they have beaten Reverstrator? He should have unstoppable! Ladybug, I swear, I will have your Miraculous!”

__

Lila felt all eyes on her as she walked into Dupont. Normally she would preen at the attention she was receiving, but these looks were hate-filled. They all looked like they wanted her dead. Ignoring the glares, she put on a prideful demeanor as she strutted her way to class...

...Where she was met with even more death glares.

Alix stood from her seat, “You’ve got some fucking nerve coming back here, Rossi.”

She reared back, “Oh, Alix!” tears began to pour, “How could you say something like that?!”, she started sobbing into her hands but no one was buying her fake tears

Nino wrapped his arms protectively around Alya and glared at the Italian, “Just get lost, Lila. Everyone in Paris saw the shit you pulled.”

“I-I don’t know what-”

“YOU PUSHED ALYA IN FRONT OF A BUZZ SAW, YOU BITCH!” Marinette screamed as she stormed over towards the Italian, “You could have killed her!”

Lila backed away from the enraged pigtailed girl, “I-I was trying to push her out of the way, but my carpel tunnel acted up, and-”

“Cut the crap, Rossi!” Nathaniel yelled, “Marc and I almost killed Alya because of you!”

“It wasn’t my fault you two got akumatized!”

“IT WAS!” The entire room went silent when the redhead slammed his fist on the desk, “You photoshopped pictures of us cheating on each other, and that’s what got us akumatized!”

Lila forced tears out of her eyes, “I’d never do something like that!” she whined

Juleka spoke up, “We found your nail polish on one of the photos,” She held up the photo and pointed to the orange nail polish. Before Lila could retort, Marinette held up one of her hands, her nails were still painted the same shade of orange as the nail polish on the photo

“Th-that was just a coincidence! It’s a very popular color!”

Chloe laughed, “Newsflash, Rossi. Raw sienna looks good on no one. Especially not you.”

Adrien stood from his seat, “And I’m sure you can explain why there’s a video of you cheering for the Akuma,” he sent Nathaniel an apologetic look, “then saying Akuma’s can’t do anything right.”

The Italian went silent before, “Ow! My head hurts! See, while I was in Africa, I hit my head and-”

“That explains a lot,” Ivan muttered

“B-but guys, I’d never...” Seeing that no one was buying a single thing she said, she scowled, “Alright, fine! So I pushed her in front of me, so what?! Better her than me!” Marinette and Nino looked ready to strangle her. She points to Nathaniel, “And you and your f*ggot boyfriend should learn your place you k**e!”

The entire room gasped at the slur used against their friend

“Lila Rossi!” Everyone turned to see Mme. Bustier standing at the doorway, “Principal’s office, now!”

“B-but Mme. Bustier!” Lila stammered

“NOW!” She repeated, “I will not have that type of language used in my classroom!”

“But Nathaniel cursed me out yesterday!”

Mme. Bustier nodded, “Yes, but no one could understand him.” She shot the redhead an apologetic smile and he smiled back, “You on the other hand, we understood you loud and clear. I will not tolerate the use of derogatory terms in this class! Now go!” She points to the door. Defeated, Lila trudges out but not before she adds, “And I’ll be giving your mother a call as well.”

Mme. Bustier followed her out and slammed the door behind her, leaving the classroom in silence

“... Okay!” Kim yelled out, “No one’s saying it, so I will.” He approaches Marinette, “Mari, I-I’m sorry that I didn’t believe you. You’re one of the most honest people I know, and I just picked that... Cáo nói dối over my own sister.”

Marinette smiled and embraced Kim, “Thanks, Kimmy.” The athlete wrapped his arms around her, “Anytime, em gái.” The whole room started apologizing to the students who didn’t believe Lila’s stories and gathered for a group hug

Marinette hummed, “Guys, this is nice... But if you ever do this again, I will not hesitate to knock some sense into each and every one of you. And believe me. I will be very violent.”

Mylene chuckled nervously, “Noted.”

__

“Hey, Rainbow.” Marc looked up from his journal and saw Nathaniel standing by the stairs, “Hey.” Nathaniel went under the stairs and sat next to Marc before littering his face with kisses, making the black-haired boy blush

“What’s got you so happy?”

Nathaniel smirked, “Two things. First: Lila’s being arrested for possibly working with Hawkmoth,” off Marc’s incredulous look, he nodded, “Seriously! After that video Aurore posted, the police took her in for questioning.”

Marc tackled Nathaniel into a hug, “That’s amazing! So, what’s the second thing?” He gives Nathaniel a knowing look

“Well,” he takes Marc’s hand and kisses it, “Ever since we were fused together, I just... I’ve never felt closer to you. Even though we were Akumatized, it just felt amazing.”

Marc can’t help but blush, “Yeah. I-I know we were arguing most of the time, but I still loved being that close to you.” His smile dropped a little, “I could feel how upset you were. That also showed how much you really care about me.”

“Of course I do, Rainbow,” Nathaniel said as he caressed his cheek, “You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I was prepared to murder Adrien because of that photo.”

“And I was going to throttle Alix...”

“... Not our best moment.” “No, not really.”

“But,” Nathaniel pulls his sketchbook out from his messenger bag, “It does give me a few ideas for our next comic.”

Marc shows Nathaniel the page he was working on, “Me too.”

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Breathe ~ Doctor (part 4)

A/n: I will get to requests soon, I promise. I just want to get to Donna in this series, because I have PLANS it’s going to be great.

Word Count: 11,000+

MASTERLIST

"Shit!"

"Language please, we are still in a school." Y/n turned around to see the principle that still made him feel so incredibly uncomfortable to be around, and tried once again not to look as terrified of the man as he felt.

"Right sir, sorry." Y/n offered a small smile and the other man continued on his way. What a relief.

He was still wrapping his finger as he walked into the cafeteria. He had cut it on accident, and though it was small it was in such a place that it had bled quite a lot before finally calming down enough so he could plaster it. He got his food, passing Rose who was working as a lunch lady, and the two shared a look. Rose's was irritated, and Y/n's was amused. Next Y/n looked around the room to find the Doctor, making his way over to sit across. "How was Physics?" Y/n asked.

The Doctor's eyes fell to Y/n's finger. "How was mechanics?"

Y/n had applied for the mechanic job, same as Rose had gone for lunch lady and the Doctor had aimed for teacher. They'd all gotten it. Mickey and the Doctor had taught Y/n enough about how to fix things that mixed with that and his impressive ability to pick up on simple things pretty easily, he was actually quite good. Only two days in, even the weird staff members that gave Y/n the same vibe as the principal did called Y/n when they needed help with something, instead of the janitor like they had for years.

"You know there's more this gig than just tightening screws and helping the English teacher figure out how computers work. Mr. Bele, the janitor, has actually been teaching me some plumbing stuff. I think I'm properly working." He was rather proud, and it made the Doctor smile. Y/n caught movement in the corner of his eye and looked over to see Rose approaching. "Unlike some people."

She was at the table in a few seconds, pretending to wipe off the surface when she'd just passed four empty tables who needed it far more than this one did. Y/n held in a laugh for her sake - she seemed irritated. "Two day," she reminded. "We've been here for two days.

"Not everything is running from death and facing down mythical beasts," Y/n said casually. "Sometimes it's just scooping lunch and waiting for the right time."

Rose rolled her eyes. Unlike Y/n, the Doctor didn't seem hesitant to irritate her further as he motioned to a spot on the table with his plastic fork. "Sorry, could you just... there's a bit of gravy." She wiped at the wrong thing, and the Doctor pushed it even further. "No, no, just there." She glared a him and he grinned.

"Doctor." Despite her obvious irritation, she did find the right spot and wiped it up.

"Blame your boyfriend, he's the one who put us up to this," the Doctor reminded.

Y/n tried to hide his smile. The three of them were involved, that was obvious, but they hadn't ever made anything official or used labels. Since Rose was technically dating Mickey and hadn't officially broken up with him as well, the Doctor and Y/n had been teasing her about it occasionally. All in good fun, of course, but it still made her scoff every time.

"Have you seen anything to prove him right then?" Y/n asked, resting his chin in his palm as he popped a fry in his mouth.

"Yes actually. One of the kids in my class this morning, got know;edge way beyond planet Earth," the Doctor began.

"You eating those chips?" Rose asked.

Y/n rolled his eyes. "How can you think of food right now? There's a child with extraterrestrial knowledge, Rose."

The Doctor smiled at that, but allowed Rose to grab a few off of his plate anyway. Y/n smiled to himself at the way they so easily invaded each others' space. It wasn't a problem at all for them. "No worries," he dismissed. "I didn't want them anyway they're a bit... different."

"Oh but they're gorgeous." Her mouth was full but also curved in a smile and Y/n chuckled under his breath, shaking his head at her. God she was adorable. "I wish I'd had something like this in school."

A hum came from the Doctor. The kind that told them he wasn't fully paying attention. His mind was somewhere else. "It's quite well behaved, this place."

Y/n had noticed it too. "Yeah, every time I go into classes to fix something they all just sit there and... stare at me. It's not like they're threatening, just a bit unnerving. Just sitting there, patiently waiting for me to finish. I've heard stories about how kids use their phones and talk during lectures, let alone when there's nothing going on. I don't know Rose, is that the norm?"

She nodded, far used to Y/n asking questions about things that he should have experienced but never did. "Yeah one time the teacher needed help with something and two kids snogged in the back of the classroom the whole time. One kid used to throw pencils at the back of my head during class, until I moved seats."

"Yeah I thought they'd all be happy-slapping hoodies. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBO's," the Doctor input. "Happy slapping hoodies with ASBO's and ringtones, yeah?" He seemed quite proud of himself. "Don't tell me I don't fit in."

Before Rose could tease him, the head lunchlady approached, her eyes on the blonde at the table. "You are not to leave your station during a sit in."

Rose stood. "I was just talking to this teacher, and his mechanic friend."

"Hello," the Doctor greeted as Y/n smiled, nodding politely rather than voicing something. It was pretty reflective of how they usually worked, with Y/n tending to sit back and blend in and the Doctor sticking out like a sore thumb and grabbing all the attention. It wasn't a bad thing, just what was normal. The whole thing with the wold had been rare. A nice rarity though.

"This professor here says he doesn't like the chips," Rose added, shaking her head. It seemed to be some attempt at a joke to break the tension. Something the other woman could relate to maybe.

It fell short. If anything, she seemed offended. "The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance. Now get back to work." And with that, she turned around and left.

Y/n blew air out of his mouth, eyes wide as he looked back to Rose. "See?" She said to him, shaking her head. "This is me." She began to leave, walking backward so she could motion to her apron and uniform. "Dinner lady," she added with a grumble as she turned her back to the two men, heading back to the kitchen.

"I'll have the crumble," the Doctor shot back.

The last thing they heard from her was, "I'm so gonna kill you." Y/n covered his laugh, trying to stay third party to their banter as usual. Sometimes he had his fun as well, but he tended to be laid back enough to play peacekeeper more than anything.

The Doctor leaned into him, snagging his attention. "What?" Y/n asked upon seeing an odd look in the Doctor's eyes.

The Timelord just smiled. "What do you think it would have been like, this? School and such?"

Y/n scoffed. "Terrible, from what I hear. Especially for me." He messed with his food, distracting himself as he always did when he had to be vulnerable. He only ever did it for Rose and the Doctor, but it was still hard - even for them. "I think I have anxiety." A short, bitter laugh. "I've never really had to face it of course, with being as apart from society as a human who lives on Earth can be. It kept me alive and made me really functional, living on the streets as a child. I learned to steal pretty quickly, motivated by my hunger and constant paranoia that I'd get caught. I didn't trust anyone, not even those I probably should have. Kept me alive though, I bet. Something like that, in a place like this? No. I would have crumbled for sure. Wouldn't have been able to read aloud or say the answer when I was called on or been able to make any friends. I probably would have sat in the corner every day, in every class, and prayed I wouldn't get noticed." His smile dropped. "Kids like that... they struggle in school. People are mean."

The Doctor reached over and took Y/n's hand. "Well, I'm lucky. You've got some very good survival skills. That instinct of yours has saved my life more times than I can count, I'm sure."

"Nah." Y/n chuckled to himself. "You'd have been fine without me. Figured something out, I'm sure."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed. "Thanks to you I didn't have to, though." He smiled. "Lots of people have you to thank for saving their lives as well, Y/n. If nothing else, you do well in this life."

That did cheer Y/n up actually. "I hope it'll always be that way. I'd hate to slow you down."

At that, the Doctor actually laughed. It was low and quiet, unlike his usual laugh, but far more domestic. Calm. It was a laugh that didn't need to be showy - it was good enough to be familiar. "If ever comes the day I'm not trying to keep up with you, then I'll start to worry."

Out of the corner of Y/n's eye, there was movement. He looked over to see some of the kids looking between the two men and their hands. Y/n suddenly got rather bashful, attempting to pull his hand away. The Doctor only held on tighter. "You know, we're in public," Y/n noted.

"Yep," the Doctor agreed.

"Showing affection," Y/n added, nodding to their hands.

"Indeed." The Doctor smiled and Y/n thought the man odd, in a pleasant way. The way he wasn't afraid to be himself was rather refreshing - especially when the plan had been to be polite and pleasant, but otherwise act as strangers.

Y/n spent the rest of lunch enjoying the moment. Word would spread, but these kids didn't seem the type to prod, even though children of this age should be at peak curiosity, yet to develop a social censor. The perfect disaster for pushy, nosey kids asking questions they probably shouldn't be. Not at this school though. For now, they could enjoy the exchange and that was enough.

Then lunch was over and it was back to business.

A little bit later, Y/n was pushing his cart down the hallway to go around his usual round to check if anything was out of place that hadn't been noticed - this was used most for normal schools where kids pulled pranks, but at this school he could use the guise to get information wherever he could - when he was stopped by the Principal, who had a woman at his side. "Ah yes, Mr. Doe," the older man greeted. "Miss Smith, this is our handyman. He help the janitor quite a bit - had some training in more things than cleaning and basic plumbing. Helps with the cooling and heating, and when machines break down or are hard to understand. Since when did things get so advanced, am I right?" He chuckled softly, but didn't get a response.

The other two were too busy staring at each other. "Sarah Jane," Y/n whispered, eyes wide.

Sara, though she knew for a fact that she couldn't know this man in front of her, felt that... maybe she did, actually. There was something familiar in his eyes, aside from the raw and obvious recognition that he looked at her with.

The principal seemed surprised. "You two know each other?"

"I-" Y/n panicked. If he said yes, Sara would surely be confused. But if he said no... well obviously that was a lie. How could he explain that he knew her, but she didn't know him? "We met briefly. I have a fantastic memory, when it comes to faces. Like a steal trap. I'm sure you don't remember me, but I dare say I could never forget a face as pretty as yours." It was probably odd to flirt with her as she was quite a bit older than he was, but he couldn't help it. He had someone else's memories, and the feelings that came with them.

"That makes sense," Sara voiced. Her words seemed a little distant though, her eyes boring into Y/n's, as if searching.

A little panicked, Y/n looked away. "Nice to see you again, Miss Smith. I hope you won't think me rude, but I must be off. Got work to do." He nodded to the principal. "Good day." Then he left, feeling Sara Jane Smith's eyes on his back the whole way.

Things were about to get very interesting.

-

"Kenny?" Y/n was surprised to see the spikey haired boy looking so shaken. Y/n had a habit of making friends with people as he went, in a way that Rose and the Doctor didn't. They were friendly and formed attachments, of course, but Y/n had an aura about him that made those who were lost or scared or confused flock to him for protection and understanding. It just so happened that those who were in such states in the line of things the Doctor and his two companions did, often had the most information. Y/n's friends were often full of just the information he needed, and they trusted him so much that it wasn't very hard to get it out of them.

Like now.

"I think I'm going mad," the young boy squeaked.

Ah yes, the staple sentence that meant someone had seen something important. "Now why's that?"

Kenny seemed to debate for quite a while, until Y/n rested his hand on the young boy's shoulders, encouraging him to talk. "I heard something weird in one of the classes, so I went to investigate. And... well I looked under one of the desks and there was some sort of... gargoyle, or bat or-" He shook his head. "I spooked it I think. It stood up and it was one of the staff." Y/n's eyes went wide. "He told me to go. Am I losing it?"

Kneeling down, Y/n got very serious. "You've not lost anything, Kenny, do you hear me?" The boy hesitated, then nodded. "I believe you. I do." That seemed to make Kenny quite relieved. "Now go to class and leave it up to me. I'll figure this out, promise." He hesitated before adding, "And Kenny? Don't tell anyone else what you saw, or that you told anyone. Do you understand me?"

The boy seemed unsure, but nodded again. "Okay."

"Good boy." Y/n let out a breath of relief. "Run along now and get to class. I don't want you being late." Kenny did go off, and Y/n turned back to his cart, looking at it a second before continuing on.

Did this mean he had to admit Mickey was right? God he hoped not.

-

"He said... a bat?"

"Or a gargoyle," Y/n confirmed to the Doctor's question. "Anything come to mind?"

"No." He frowned at the door they were about to go into as Y/n took the lead, using his keys to unlock it so they could all get in. He seemed worried by his lack of knowledge. If they were all being honest, it made Rose and Y/n just as nervous to see it. The Doctor was rarely caught off unawares and when he was... Well it wasn't good.

Once inside, Rose found a good joke as always to lighten the mood. "Oh," she whispered, her words mixed with laughter. "It's so weird to be in a school at night. Kinda spooky." She giggled, nudging Y/n who smiled. "When I was a kid I used to think all the teachers slept in school."

"Alright team," The Doctor began, shifting focus back to what was important. "Oh-" he cut off, making an odd face. "I hate people who say 'team'. Uh- gang? Uh... comrades."

"Squad?" Y/n offered.

"No," the Doctor shot down. "Anyway,  Rose, go to the kitchen and get a sample of that oil. Mickey, the new staff are all maths teachers, check on the maths department. Y/n, look around to see if you can find any traces that could give us more clues on these bat or gargoyle creatures. Anything at all. I'm going to check out Finch's office. Meet back here in ten minutes." He took off, leaving the other three alone.

Rose hesitated around Mickey. Y/n didn't know where the two were at anymore, since Rose, Y/n and the Doctor had become... official? Weren't they? I guess they'd never said. It was quite confusing now that he was thinking about it. Rose still seemed to care about Mickey, so there was that. Even now, she checked in one him. "You going to be alright?"

"Me?" He brushed off far too eagerly, as if he'd been waiting to show that he was cool and capable. Something gave Y/n the idea that Mickey was doing so specifically to seem more cool and collected than the Doctor. Jokes on him, the Doctor was neither of those things and tended to actually be rather unhinged and chaotic. Y/n wasn't going to correct Mickey though - it was funny to see the man scramble and make a fool of himself. "Infiltration and investigation? I'm an expert at this." He began to walk off and Y/n was a bit impressed at how calm and confident he was being... until Mickey came back to ask, "Where's the maths department?" Rose pointed him in the direction as Y/n did a bad job at hiding his mocking chuckles.

When Mickey was gone, Rose rounded on Y/n. "What is your deal?"

"What do you mean, I've always been at odds with Mickey," Y/n pointed out.

"Not like that," Rose argued. "You're usually at least polite if nothing else. And you can't blame this on the Doctor, because you were the one who backed me up when Mickey called and the Doctor tried to dismiss it. You respect Mickey, deep down. And you care about him. The only time I've seen you act like this, lashing out by being petty, was when we were younger and you were upset but wouldn't tell me. So, Y/n, what's your deal?"

Y/n wasn't sure when she had gotten so perceptive of him. Perhaps she'd always been this way. He knew how they always worked though. She wouldn't press if he asked her not to, and he couldn't risk this coming out. He didn't even know it was bothering him as much as it apparently was, but it didn't matter. His current... condition had to stay a secret. "Nothing, really. We have to-"

But Rose had changed too, just as Y/n had, and the usual way she let things slide didn't seem to be what she was okay with anymore. "We haven't kept secrets in ages now. You can trust me Y/n. That's what partners do, right? They talk to each other? Communication and all."

Partners. Wait, what? "I thought... you and Mickey-"

Rose offered a shrug ad a sheepish smile. "We've loved each other for years, you and me, and now we also love the Doctor. That's... a bit chaotic, I'm not going to lie. It's going to be hard enough loving two men who are equally reckless, I can't deal with the drama of someone else too. I... adore Mickey, I really do. He was good to me for a long time. But I've seen what wasting time and waiting too long can do, and if you two are eventually going to have to say goodbye to me then I am going to soak up ever damn second I have until then. I'm tired of wasting time, Y/n. It only hurts more in the end."

"Oh." Y/n rubbed the back of his neck, smiling to himself. "Okay."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You're adorable, truly, but you're not going to distract me. I want answers."

A panic flashed through the man and he did the first thing he could think of. He grabbed Rose and kissed the living hell out of her. When he leaned away, she looked a little dazed which is what he was going for. "I'll tell you. I really will. Just... not right now, okay? I can't do this right now, especially because there's too much else going on. I'm sorry." Then he took off toward the halls, ready to look around to find something that would help them all out.

He did find something. He opened the door, revealing a sight that made his blood run cold. Then he heard a scream, and he booked it over, running in to see Mickey. Before the boy could explain his exclamation, the Doctor joined the scene a second later, Rose and Sara Jane on his heels.

Y/n froze. "Sara Jane." He cleared his throat, able to handle it much better the second time around - especially with eyes on him. It sounded less like someone greeting an old friend, and more someone just saying hello in general.

"James," she greeted back. "Mr. Doe, I mean. Sorry, I got your first name from the principal quite by accident. Since you used mine I figured-"

"No worries," Y/n rushed. "It's - uh - not James though. It's actually Y/n. I went by a fake name myself. The Doctor stole John though, so I went with James instead. Different enough that no one would call me out for the obviously fake name."

"Oh," Sara Jane realized. "John Doe." They both chuckled, but the sound was cut off by an irritated Rose, who seemed to be very much not enjoying the exchange between the two.

"Why did you scream, Mickey?" She demanded, turning attention back to the reason they were all there. Unfortunately, Y/n did not miss the odd way the Doctor looked at him, confused by the interaction between the two.

Mickey seemed suddenly wanting to disappear. "Sorry, I uh..." He moved aside to let everyone see in. "You told me to investigate, so I started looking through these cupboards and all these fell out on me."

"Oh my god they're rats," Rose realized. "Dozens of rats. Vacuum-packed rats." Y/n had to agree with her wonder at it all.

"And you decided to scream?" The Doctor stood, looking at Mickey with a raised eyebrow.

"It took me by surprise," Mickey defended.

"Like a little girl?"

"It was dark! I was covered in rats!"

"Nine, maybe ten years old. I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt."

"To be fair," Y/n piped in, feeling this wasn't fair on Mickey. "There's a lot of tension and people tend to die on these adventures of ours. I don't blame Mickey for being tense." Seeing Sara Jane had put him in a rather good mood if he did say so himself, even if he refused to admit it. It countered his anxieties about having the Doctor's memories and brought him back to normal.

"Can we focus?" Was the nest thing said, and that came from Rose. "Has anyone noticed anything strange about this? Rats in school?"

"Well obviously they used them in biology lessons. They dissect them," Sarah Jane pointed out. "Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?"

That took Y/n off guard, but before he could play peacemaker Rose shot back with, "Excuse me no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are from, the Dark Ages?"

"Anyway!" The Doctor butt in, looking between the two women with confusion. Y/n seemed to be the only one who got it, what was happening. "Moving on. Everything started when Mr. Finch arrived. We should go check his office."

"Actually." This time it was Y/n. "I found something, before we all got here. Rather convenient if you ask me, I won't lie. Now we can all go back together."

"And you're only saying this now?" The Doctor demanded.

Y/n rolled his eyes. "You shut your mouth. Between the jealousy wafting off of all four of you at all times and trying to keep the peace between all of it, I think I deserved a moment of silence for myself." Then he turned away, storming off toward the teacher's lounge where he'd seen the thing before.

"Jealousy?" the Doctor scoffed, offended. "I'm not- Y/n wait up!"

Y/n lead the way, the other four following. The Doctor was right behind Y/n, Sara Jane and Rose on either side of him and then Mickey behind them. As they walked, he heard, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who exactly are you?"

"Sara Jane Smith," she replied. "I used to travel with the Doctor."

"Oh!" Rose spoke with the voice that told Y/n she was getting pissed. The two women pushed ahead to be on either side of Y/n and even began to walk a little faster. Y/n didn't mind it, getting his kicks when they turned the wrong way at first and then had to catch up again. "Well, he's never mentioned you."

"That's it." Y/n stopped cold, the Doctor ramming into him. He ignored the man, facing the two women in the hallway. "You both listen to me. I'm not going to have you taking stabs at each other all night. Sara Jane, the Doctor didn't talk about you, but not because he doesn't care. He cares a lot, actually. Maybe two much. He's just got a lot on his plate at literally all times, and talking about his past hurts so he rarely does it - if ever. I already have to deal with the Doctor and Mickey, I won't tolerate this too. Sara Jane, you started this, and I want you to end it right now. Rose is just responding - neither which I condone by the way. Get your things in place." Then he turned back around and began walking again, leaving the other four to walk silently behind him for quite a stretch of time.

No one spoke again until they got to the teacher's lounge. "Maybe those rats were food," the Doctor thought aloud, actively trying to ignore the other two women and focus on Y/n, who seemed to be the only one with a level head tonight.

"Food for the gargoyle bats?" Y/n asked.

"Maybe, or-" but then the door opened and he looked around inside, and his voice died. "Rose, remember how you used to think all the teachers slept in school?" He began walking in, everyone filtering in after him. "Well, they do." Y/n was the only one who stayed out, already knowing what was inside.

Of those who went in, Mickey was the one who left first. He booked it out, causing everyone else to follow. He went right out the front doors, turning away from the school and catching his breath, hands on knees and eyes slammed close as he tried to shake the image of those things out of his head. "I am not going back in there," he stated firmly. "No way."

"Were those the teachers?" They were all out of breath, but Rose managed to look at the Doctor for more answers. He, however, was thinking it through, still trying to figure it out himself.

"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies, and a nurse - thirteen. Thirteen big bat people." He looked back at the school. "Come on."

"You've got to be kidding me," Mickey complained.

"I need the TARDIS," the Doctor explained. "I've got to analyse that oil from the kitchen.

"I might be able to help you there," Sara Jane piped up. Rose rolled her eyes. "I've got something you should see." They all followed to her to her car, where she opened the trunk to reveal something covered in a blanket. The Doctor pulled it aside.

Two voices rang out at the same time. The first was the Doctor, which made sense. The second, unfortunately, was Y/n, who was yet again too caught off guard by surprise and too small a window of time to think clearly and stop himself. "K-9!"

Sarah Jane and the Doctor looked at Y/n, who was immediately struck with fear. God why did he have to have such a big mouth? By some mercy, Rose piped up before either of the two people now staring at Y/n with far too many question - none of which he was willing to answer - could begin asking. "Why does he look so... disco?"

That caught the Doctor's attention. "Oi!" He complained. "Listen, in the year 5000 this was cutting edge. What happened to him?"

Finally Sarah Jane looked away as well. "One day just... nothing," she answered.

"Didn't you try to get him repaired?" The Doctor sounded a little offended. It made Y/n smile to hear him whine like that.

"It's not like getting parts from a Mini Metro," Sara Jones pointed out, defending herself. "Besides, technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone!"

"Ooh." The Doctor's voice dropped, speaking to K-9 as if the dog was alive and could hear him. Like one would speak to a real dog. "What has the nasty lady done to you?" It made Y/n smile even wider. God, he was rather adorable too, wasn't he? The Doctor reached up and scratched the metal behind where K-9's ears were. It was only then Y/n realized Rose and Mickey were confused by the whole show, rather than endeared. Y/n also noticed Sarah Jane, who stood up from where she'd been bent over before, giving Rose a look like she'd won something.

Y/n was about ready to lose it on the woman. Why couldn't these two just stop for one second and let the Doctor enjoy something? He didn't get to far too often. Before he could say something, Rose did. "Okay, could you two just stop petting for a minute? Never mind the tin dog, we're busy." With that, they all got into Sarah Jane's car and  headed to a nearby diner that was still open to fix K-9 so he could analyze the oil. There, the Doctor and Sarah Jane got acquainted once again. Y/n was too scared to reminisce with them, so he stayed by Rose and Mickey. Turns out, that was an even bigger mistake.

"You know what's really impressive is that she's been here an hour and I still haven't said I told you so," Mickey mouthed off.

Y/n felt his anger boil. "Probably because you didn't tell anyone anything, and you're just being a dick."

Mickey glared. The pair had only gotten hostile a few times, but had always been calmed by Rose. Rose, it seemed, was not in the mood to play peacemaker. It had been Y/n's role for too long now. "I'm sorry, YOU look at them then. Tell me that they weren't just like Rose and the Doctor."

Y/n absolutely noticed how Mickey cut Y/n out of that equation. Had she not told him the specifics, or was he just being extra petty? "Okay yes, Sara Jane traveled with the Doctor just like me and Rose do now, and things... were between them. Sort of." He scoffed. "But that was ages ago. Neither of them feel that way anymore, they're just nostalgic. The Doctor disappeared on Sarah Jane one day and just never returned. She thought he was dead, and he's been carrying that unfinished business with him ever since. There's been no closure." He sighed. "Can you imagine, Rose? Nine hundred years he's been alive, and you want him to have spent the majority of that all by himself, after watching his entire planet be destroyed? Think about how he was before we came in his life. How lonely it had to be. When the Doctor gets left alone like that... he gets too much in his head. He gets too fixated on his power and potential and how in control he is. His species is like a god to most others, and he's the last. If he'd been alone all this time, it would have gone to hid head long ago and he wouldn't be the man we know and love. Not even a shadow of him."

Rose didn't seemed cheered by that like Y/n thought, though her body did relax and her expression changed. She was still rather grim, but rather than with jealousy toward Sarah Jane, it was... worry. Confusion. All toward Y/n. "Why do you say that like you know? Like... you were there?"

Y/n didn't have an answer for that. Not one he wanted to share. "I..." He looked away. His mind was blank and he didn't know what to say. In that moment, he began speaking. "Can you imagine what its like to watch your family die right in front of you?" The room was suddenly quite silent, other than the Doctor and Sarah Jane still chatting in the background. "He has the weight of universes on his shoulders. The weight of time and space as a whole. All that ever was and will be. What is, and what can never be. He has it all in his head, swirling around in there waiting to swallow him whole. Think about how incredibly smart he is. No one is that smart anymore. Everyone we've met whose that smart was... lost, in a way. Knowledge is power, but power unused is a waste. Remember the Daleks? Just as clever as him, unable to handle the weight of emotions that comes with it, so they stripped it all away to just survive. They got so arrogant and so obsessed with the power of their minds they stopped really living, labeled themselves as the superior species, and going around destroying worlds with billions of people on it as a past time, for fun, because they legitimately believe that anything other than them is inferior and therefore needs to be destroyed. Can you imagine if it was just one of them? Alone, for hundreds of years. No one can match his intelligence or capability. When he fails, everyone else panics because he's the one we depend on to always have the answers and get it all done. he leads and everyone follows. If they know his real power, they usually do so without question and they'd be right to. The Doctor's wrath is unmatched, and his power is limitless, and without someone there to check him he'd have been lost long ago. It's just fact, Rose, and not hard to piece together. Pain changes people, and no one has been through more than the Doctor. If he wanted to, he could destroy everyone. Everything. But he doesn't, because he has people around him to remind him what is important past just facts and figures. Past logic and fixed points in time. I think that's why he likes humans so much. We remind each other."

"Two quid, love." Three pairs of eyes snapped to the side as Rose remembered why she was at this counter. She took her food with one hand, paying with the other. The trio all gathered their thoughts before heading over to a table for three, sitting down so Rose could eat her chips.

"Do you think he's only into us because of that?" Rose asked softly. "Because we ground him?"

Y/n smiled to himself. "No, not at all. I understand him. He hasn't been understood by someone stable and sane for a long time. It's usually the worst people who know what he's been through, or the people who had so much potential but have tragic endings. It's... disheartening, to say the least." He looked at Rose. "He likes you because you're all the best humanity has to offer. You care, loudly, and you do everything with your heart and never your head. You... you're the opposite of him, I guess. You're so much good. All of the good, even. A little reckless and loud, with a bleeding heart and a determination that can never be put out even in the bleakest of scenarios." Rose blushed and Y/n cleared his throat, looking away. "You know, he probably misses how big his family used to be. So many people fit in the TARDIS. I think... even if she does stay longer-"

"You think he'll invite her to come along with us?" Rose asked.

A shrug was all she got for a few seconds. "She knows things already. They had good times, the two of them. You can tell from the way she smiles at her. He gives himself to everyone he travels with, even if its just a little because they're not around long. It's like coming home to an old friend from your childhood. One who was a beacon of light in a world of darkness. Like if you and I lost touch and didn't talk for years. When you saw me again, still on good terms and missing how things used to be between us. Wouldn't you want that to not end?"

Rose didn't like that answer. Y/n thought he'd probably spoken enough at this point and the trio sat in quiet as the Doctor fixed K-9 and Rose ate her chips.

The next thing they knew, the Doctor was jumping up from his table as the robotic dog whirred to life. "All right!" he exclaimed. "Now we're in business."

"Master," K-9 said, in an electronic voice that brought memories back to Y/n he shouldn't have.

"He recognizes me!" the Doctor crooned, grinning at Sarah Jane.

"Affirmative," K-9 spoke again.

"Rose." The Doctor turned around to face the three humans sat away from him and Sarah Jane. "Give us the oil." AT his call, the three rose and joined him so Rose could hand over the little jar she'd collected earlier from the school. He took it, opened it, and went to dip a finger in to scoop it out.

Rose stopped him. "I wouldn't touch it though, that dinner lady got all scorched."

"I'm no dinner lady," the Doctor declared in such a serious voice that Y/n almost laughed. "And I don't often say that," the man added, eyes taking in Y/n's amusement. He then dipped a finger in with no harm at all, smearing the oil onto K-9's censor. "Here we go," the Doctor encouraged as K-9 began to beep. "Come on boy here we go."

K-9 spoke again, his words stuttered. "Oil extract..." he began. He seemed to be struggling. "Analyzing."

"Listen to him man," Mickey chuckled. "That's a voice!"

"Careful," the Doctor warned. "That's my dog."

Y/n smiled to himself. For a second he imagined the Doctor in a life different than this. A life the Doctor wanted but would never be allowed to live. One he never let himself think about. A life in a house, a ring on his finger and a dog barking in the front lawn. Children... It would be a nice life. Y/n could see the man playing with that dog as he did K-9, but more. Just fun, rather than gaining knowledge and analyzing data and running into danger head first. He'd have so much fun with a real dog... That life though. Y/n tried to imagine the Doctor really in it. Settling down in a house of his own. Getting a job. It would be a happy life. A stable and safe life. It would not be a life that really fit him though. The Doctor is and always would be a traveler. It was a life he'd chosen for himself, on purpose. One that fit him.

He felt eyes on him and looked over, locking eyes with Sarah Jane. Her gaze widened as she saw that familiar thing in Y/n again. The thing, she now realized, she always saw when she looked at the Doctor. She recalled her surprise when the Doctor had revealed himself to not be Y/n, realizing that the first time they'd talked, she'd subconsciously thought Y/n and the Doctor the same man. She searched Y/n's should, trying to understand. Y/n saw a question that startled him.

Are you a Timelord?

She seemed to ask it silently, scanning Y/n's face for signs. But there wouldn't be, even if Y/n was. Of course he wasn't... and yet. The question was warranted. What made a man who changed faces and personalities and age and ethnicity every time he died? Who became a new man over and over again, over hundreds of years? Other than the obvious biology that kept him consistently a Timelord no matter what face he took, the thing that made the Doctor was his memories. His mind. The way he saw life and knew things that should be impossible. If that was what made Timelords special - what made the Doctor special - did Y/n having that knowledge somehow make him special too? No, he wasn't a Timelord, but he did have a very significant piece of one locked inside of him. He had a whole other person in his mind, with a life he never lived and people he never met.

So no, technically, Y/n was not a Timelord. Not biologically. But perhaps... perhaps just a little, in away, he was. What an interesting thought.

"Are you two coming?"

The pair looked over to see Mickey, and an even more surprising sight. The Doctor, looking between Y/n and Sarah Jane with the same look that Rose wore for Sarah Jane and the Doctor. With... jealousy? Well that made absolutely no sense.

"Yeah," Y/n responded, realizing everyone else was headed back out again. "Sorry, I missed that last bit. What's happening now?"

"We'll update you on the way," the Doctor dismissed, seeming suddenly rather far away. They all left the diner and piled in the car again. During the drive, the empty spaces in the missed conversation were filled in and everyone was caught up. First to be dropped off was Mickey, then the Rose, the Doctor, and Y/n, who always stayed at Rose's when they needed to. Jackie never minded.

The night was stretching on and Y/n couldn't sleep. There was a spare room that Mickey sometimes slept in, which the Doctor took now on Y/n's insistence. They'd agreed on switching off nights, and tonight was Y/n's turn on the couch. Perhaps that was what gave Rose the courage to come into the room and face Y/n. "I can't sleep."

Y/n sat up. "Neither can I. Want to watch a movie and drink something warm?"

The blond shook her head. "Can I just... lay with you? We don't have to sleep or stay awake. I just don't want to be alone." Y/n scooted, making room for her. He patted the spot next to him, where she settled. After a second she leaned into Y/n, and he let his arm wrap around her, pulling her into his side. "You know, I've been playing it off but... there really will be a time after me, for you two. You don't die, and he... he's lives hundreds of years, I'm sure he'll be here after I die. Do you think - I mean, he and her were close once too. Do you think he'll forget me like he did her? He doesn't even talk about her anymore. I just-"

Y/n held her tighter. "He doesn't forget anyone, Rose. Really he doesn't. It's just like I said before - it hurts him to talk about his past. If he lingers in what he misses, he drowns in the sadness of all he's lost. I- you're different, I think. If not for him definitely for me. Maybe I do have forever ahead of me, but there's nothing like your first love. You'll always be with me, Rose, I promise you." Y/n sighed. "I can't speak for him though. You should talk to him yourself, after all this is done."

Rose didn't respond. Wrapped in each other's arms and held together by a promise that Y/n meant with all of his being, they finally relaxed and fell asleep.

The next morning, they all had to go back to school. They weren't wasting time pretending to do their jobs this time though. They didn't know what was happening, or when it would get worse, and no cover was worth the life of another student if they took too long.

"Rose, Sarah, you two go to the maths room and crack open those computers. I need to see the hardware inside." He took out his sonic screwdriver, handing it to Rose. "Here, you might need this. Y/n, you keep an eye on the kids. I don't want anymore to go missing. Mickey, surveillance. I want you outside."

"Just stand outside?" Mickey asked, confused.

"Here, take these." Sarah tossed Mickey her keys. "You can keep K-9 company."

"Don't forget to leave the window open a crack," the Doctor called back as Mickey walked back to the car.

"What? He's metal!" Mickey threw back.

"I didn't mean for him!" the Doctor replied. He shot a smile at Y/n, but this time Y/n did not give one back. Making fun of Mickey was losing his touch. This whole thing was getting to Y/n and he couldn't find much amusing at the moment. He'd been thinking nonstop about what he would do if Rose- I guess, WHEN Rose left them. It was a terrible thought and he very much hated it, but he couldn't shake it either.

Rose cut in on his thoughts by asking the Doctor, "What are you going to do?"

The Doctor's smile dropped as he got serious. "It's time I had a word with Mr. Finch."

That was where they parted ways. Y/n drifted through the halls, hovering around the principal's office when the man wasn't around, and then heading outside when it was break time. The alarm went off for everyone to go inside far too early and Y/n hesitated, staying back, as the kids rushed back into the building again. He had a horrible feeling in his gut. What was about to happen?

A hand rested on Y/n's arm. He looked over to see Kenny, to his relief. "Sir..." the boy hesitated. "Have you gotten any closer to stopping the bat people?"

Y/n smiled, nodding in reassurance. "Much. I promise, we're just about to figure it out. Go to class Kenny, I swear we've got this handled."

"We?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah, me and some friends. Uh, you know the blonde lunch lady with lots of attitude, and the physics teacher?"

Kenny stepped back. "You're one of them."

"What?" Y/n stepped toward him, but the boy stumbled away even further. "No, Kenny, I'm-" but Kenny didn't wait for an explanation. He just turned and ran. Y/n wanted to go after him, but couldn't. It wouldn't help much, and he had to keep an eye on the children - especially now that things seemed about ready to hit the fan. So, instead, he counted his losses and jogged into the building to see all the kids filtering into classrooms with computers that light up with green screens. He couldn't go into any of them without crossing a teacher he knew was one of the bad guys though, so he headed on and on until he found the room with the others in it.

Rose was there to greet him. "You were right." He paused, unsure how to proceed after that. She did it for him. "Sarah and I talked. She's pretty cool actually. We decided to stop fighting."

Y/n did smile at that. "I'm glad to hear it." Rose took his hand, turning and walking toward the Doctor, pulling Y/n after her. She seemed to be hovering between helping him - which she really couldn't do - and watching the doorway to make sure no children came in, which is probably what she was told to do. None of them seemed to be making much headway in any direction.

Suddenly the screens light up with green light and words that none of them could understand. Well, none of them bu the Doctor surely, whose eyes seemed to scan the screen, taking up as much as he could as it all raced across the screen almost too quick to read.

"Well, you wanted the program," Sarah sighed. "There it is."

"Some sort of code," the Doctor whispered. After a second, he stepped forward. "No... No, they can't be."

"What is it?" Y/n asked gently.

"The Skasas Paradigm," the Doctor finally said aloud. "They're trying to crack the Skasas Paradigm."

"The Skasis what?" Sarah rightfully asked.

The Doctor struggled to explain. "The god-maker. The universal theory. Crack that equation and you've got control over the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control."

"What, and the kids are like a giant computer?" Rose asked, horrified.

"Yes." The Doctor seemed to not like the answer, but not just in a general way. None of them liked this, but the Doctor seemed to hate this. On a personal level. He suddenly turned away from it, not wanting to see it anymore. "And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil! That oil from the kitchens, it works as a conducting agent, it makes the kids cleverer."

The other women turned to watch the Doctor pace, but Y/n watched the screen, as if transfixed. His mind felt a little far away. He felt that same thing he'd sensed in the Doctor. He didn't just not like this. He hated it. He loathed this entire thing. "But why?" It came out soft and quiet. Maybe even a little broken. He finally looked at the Doctor, finding confusion among all the anger surging through him. "That's not living, controlling everything. It's not experiencing or learning or anything. It's... creating a world for others to live in. What's the fun in knowing what's going to happen next and controlling everything to go your way? Makes it so much more fun to improvise. Makes it... better. Life is meant to be experienced, not... I mean, authors don't experience their stories, readers do. Characters. Why would anyone choose to be the author?"

The Doctor almost smiled. "Because life is hard and scary. Some people don't want to live through that fear and struggle. They forget the fun and the thrill and the adventure, and they destroy it in favor of getting rid of those hardships. That's what so many living beings forget. You can't have happiness without sadness. They create each other. It's no fun to be the smartest in the room. To know everything and having been everywhere. The fun is in the confusion. In the chaos. In the complete lack of control."

"Okay nice psychology and all," Rose interrupted, breaking the two men away from their locked eyes and racing minds as they connected yet again in a way she missed. "But that oil, I mean, that's been on the chips. Y/n and I have been eating them."

Immediately the Doctor faced her, shooting, "What's 59 times 35?"

Without hesitation, Rose replied with the exact sane tone, "2065." He tilted his head and she added, "Oh my god." Y/n found himself enjoying this. There was still that anger, but it wasn't affecting him negatively. It cleared his mind and got his heart racing. He felt his body speeding up, and his mind running faster than it ever had before.

Y/n's anger was only fueling him, and now he was smarter than ever. Nothing could stop him.

"But why use children?" Sarah asked. "Can't they use adults?"

"The god-maker needs imagination to crack it," Y/n answered without thinking. He had tapped into the Doctor's knowledge long ago, soaking in every detail running through the Doctor's head up until the day Rose Tyler and Bad Wolf and the Doctor's new regeneration. He'd been holding back so much, afraid of exposing himself, but now he was rushing on adrenaline and smarter than ever. Not only did he have the information, but he could understand it, and there was none of his usual and there was none of his usual anxieties stopping him. "Name one adult with imagination. Real imagination. Enough to create lives and worlds and universes - stories, or games. Enough to look at one thing and see something magical. Nearly impossible in adults. Much easier to get from children."

Y/n's energy made the Doctor pause. "Precisely," he affirmed softly. Sarah and Rose both seemed surprised as well. "They're not just using the childrens' brains to break the code..." He calmed significantly, turning to the other three with a grim expression. "They're using their souls."

That. That was what Y/n had been so angry about. It clicked as the Doctor said it.

Just in time, they had a visitor. "Let the lesson begin." Y/n swung around, coming face to face with the one person Y/n wanted to see the most. "Think of it, Doctor. With the paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it."

"What a rubbish idea," Y/n sassed, rolling his eyes. "The universe isn't meant to be controlled."

"The whole of creation with the face of Mr. Finch," the Doctor agreed, scoffing. "Call me old fashioned, I like things the way they are."

Mr. Finch seemed annoyed by that. "You act like such a radical and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order."

"What's wrong with the old order?" Y/n demanded hotly.

Finally Mr. Finch looked at Y/n. He paused, his eyes roaming to the Doctor again and then back to Y/n. He seemed stunned a second. Only Y/n knew why. Just as Sarah had before, Mr. Finch saw the same look in Y/n's eyes as he saw in the Doctor's. The aged look of one who had been through too much for too long and was still trying to keep going. Keep going despite a small voice at the back of the mind that begged for peace and quiet. One that would never be listened to, because peace and quiet was too terrifying and too many people needed help.

When Mr. Finch spoke next, he spoke to Y/n and the Doctor both. "Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good."

Immediately the Doctor was ready with a snappy response. "What, by someone like you?" Y/n let out a sound that was halfway between a scoff and a laugh in agreement.

"No," was Mr. Finch's answer though, taking both of the other men slightly by surprise. "Someone like you." There was a split second of quiet so thick it was nearly suffocating. Mr. Finch cut it off rather quickly. "The paradigm gives us power but you could give us wisdom. Become a god, at my side." He took a step closer to the Doctor. Y/n did the same, but his movements were protective, rather than an attempt to convince. To break. "Imagine what you could do. Think of the civilizations you could save. Perganon, Ascinta - your own people, Doctor. Standing tall." The Timelords, reborn."

"That's not right." Y/n stood straight, that anger in him again even stronger, but this time because he knew how much this hurt the Doctor and he couldn't bear it. This wasn't fair, and Y/n was tired of the Doctor dealing with things that weren't fair. "Everything has its time. Everything ends eventually. The Timelords earned their ending the same as everyone does. How could you ask that of him? It would be chaos. There would be no balance. True chaos. Living forever is painful, and defying death is unnatural."

"Nature, reality, chaos, balance - this could all be ours to change. The rules can be different," Mr. Finch pointed out in response. "You could be anything you wanted to be. You could get those memories out of your head."

Y/n felt all his energy drain. He kept his eyes away from the Doctor, staring purposefully at Mr. Finch while the Doctor shot lasers at the side of Y/n's head. "There's so much you don't understand. You asked for wisdom, and you're ignoring it as its given to you. This isn't some kind of play pretend. This isn't a fantasy that you get to make into a paradise where you always win. You have to lose sometimes, because other people get to win sometimes too. Life's hard and complicated and long and it sucks, but only because we have to hurt in order to know the bliss of not hurting. There's balance. There's fairness. Not always, because sometimes even fairness has to be overruled by unfairness. But that's how it goes. Everyone gets their time, and its short because there's only so much time to give. If one person's time doesn't end, there will be no more time to give to anyone else - don't you understand?"

"I do understand," Mr. Finch sighed. His eyes moved to Sarah and Rose. "You four... clinging to each other, knowing you will eventually have to part ways. This way, it'll never have to happen. No aging or death or going away. No more goodbyes." He looked at the Doctor. "How lonely you must be, Doctor, after a lifetime of one goodbye after another. You can finally make it stop." He looked at Y/n. "You can stop the hurt, for all of them. You who speaks with wisdom you shouldn't have. Who relives over and over again pain and misery that isn't yours. You can make it go away. You can forget all of it. Erase it. Undo it. Make it never happen. Happy, forever. Join us."

"I could save everyone." Y/n looked away, closing his eyes as the Doctor spoke.

"Yes," Mr. Finch encouraged.

"I could stop the war." He grew quiet, thinking about that. Imagining Gallifrey. Seeing it in his memories, but... better. As he is now, Rose and Y/n by his side. His family and friends, returned. His home gloriously breathtaking once more. Y/n could see it too, and... he couldn't speak for the Doctor this time. He knew what he would do if the situations were reserved, and he'd already said his piece. This wasn't his to have an opinion on.

Sarah Jane disagreed. "No," she argued. "The universe has to keep moving forward. "Pain and loss, it defines us. Y/n was right - we need it. Just as much as happiness and love. Whether it's a world or a relationship. Everything will have an end when the time comes. Y/n... knows." She looked at Y/n then, and he turned away from her too. In those last two words was more than what seemed to be there at first. She was not speaking about him knowing loss as she did. She was saying that he knew loss as the Doctor did. Y/n was right, she seemed to beg them all to understand. He knew better than all of them.

Suddenly the Doctor picked up a chair, rushing forward and chucking it at the screen on the wall and shattering it. They all took off running, trying to get as far away from Finch as they could. They ran and ran until they met Mickey, who asked questions there was no time to answer as the others like Finch crawled the halls, screeching and taking off after the Doctor and his companions. So they turned and ran a new direction that took them to the lunchroom. The doors were locked, and right behind them were Finch and the others. This wasn't seeming to be going their way.

"Are those the teachers?" The question came from Kenny, who Y/n had missed joining the group with Mickey when they'd all been running.

"Yeah, sorry." That came from the Doctor. Kenny and Y/n locked eyes and smiled at another. Whatever had been complicated before had been cleared up now - it was obvious whose side Y/n was on.

"We need either the Doctor or the other man alive. Y/n. Just one." Finch looked right at both men as he said their names, and got back a glare in response from both. "As for the others... you can feast."

And so began the fight for their lives. Creature came swooping down from the sky as they all scattered, trying to avoid getting caught in the way of claws or teeth. The Doctor grabbed a chair. Y/n stole his sonic screwdriver and slid toward the door, trying to get it unlocked. It was a hard time as Y/n kept getting almost attacked. At one point, he wasn't fast enough. He turned his back and pressed the sonic screwdriver to the door, trying to work on it. He was too distracted to see the claws aimed for his back. Rose only had time to scream Y/n's name before there was a loud. high pitched sound and a shot of red from the corner of Y/n's eye. He spun around to see K-9. The dog had shot the thing from the sky, killing it, and saving Y/n's life.

Unfortunately, that only seemed to anger Finch more.

Abandoning the door, they took off in a different direction that was open now that K-9 had taken one of them out. They shot off and hesitated only a moment to collect their thoughts. They couldn't run forever - they needed a plan.

As always, it was the Doctor who thought of something. "It's the oil!" He realized. "Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil! That's it! They've changed their physiology so much that even their own oil is toxic to them. How much was there in the kitchen?" He asked Rose in a rush.

"Barrels of it," she responded.

Just then, the Krillitanes made their presence known as they began to scratch and rip at the door separating Krillitane from human... and Doctor.

"We have to get into the kitchen," the Doctor began. "Mickey-"

Mickey had some sass of his own bottled up though. "What now?" he demanded. "Hold the coats?"

Y/n shot him a glare, and Mickey stuck his tongue out in response. The Doctor didn't waste time, instead ordering, "Get all the children unplugged and out of the school. Now then, bats. Bats, bats. How do we fight bats?" To that question, Kenny had an answer. Without saying anything, he hit the fire alarm. The Doctor looked around and then grinned, a laugh of victory coming from him. The rest of the group smiled as well.

With the enemy distracted, they all took off running past the door that had kept them from escaping, right past the Krillitane who were now all on the ground in pain. They ran and ran toward the kitchens. Along the way, K-9 joined them as well. The whole group was back together, and Y/n found his heart swelling as he took in the crowd. This was how it was supposed to be. A group, friends and partners, all there and caring for the Doctor and helping him save the world however many times it needed saving.

In the kitchens, they ran into a problem that quickly wiped away Y/n's good feelings. "They're all deadlock sealed, I can't open them," the Doctor told the others as he tried to use his screwdriver to open up the oil cans. "Finch must have done it."

K-9 had the answer this time. "The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser, but my batteries are failing."

"Right," the Doctor picked up again. "Everyone out the back door. K-9, stay with me." Y/n hesitated, but Rose caught his arm and the Doctor shot him a direct look, as if knowing he would try and stay. So he turned and he ran and he hated every second of it.

They were outside now... which meant they were safe, but also that if the Doctor needed help they had no way of getting to him.

When the Doctor came outside, there was a wave of relief inside Y/n... until Sarah Jane asked a question that made his heart plummet. "Where's K-9?"

"We need to run," was the Doctor's response as he deadlocked the door behind them so none could go back.

"Where is he?" Sarah asked again. This time Y/n was needed to grab her hand and pull her away, knowing she didn't want to move and probably wouldn't without help. "What have you done?" she demanded as Y/n dragged her along on their dash for safety. Behind them, there was an explosion.

Y/n and Sarah both stopped short, eyes on the building and pain in their eyes. The Doctor turned to Sarah to comfort her. Y/n tried to get used to this feeling. Having feelings that should not belong to him. Experiencing loss for people he didn't know. No one turning to him to comfort him, because he shouldn't need comfort to begin with.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor apologized to Sarah Jane.

"It's alright," she responded, standing tall. "He was just a daft metal dog - it's fine, really." Her voice broke with emotion and Y/n felt his heart fall. He turned away from the others to hide it. No matter what adrenaline he was on and how much he hated hiding things from the Doctor and Rose, hiding pain from others was still one of his core responses.

With the whole thing over, it was time to go. Y/n hated goodbyes. After today - after thinking about a world without them - Y/n had enough of them for now. He went further into the TARDIS into the room he'd claimed for when they eventually had to sleep. Where he kept his stuff and such. He stayed there until the sounds of the TARDIS started up and he knew they were taking off and headed for the next adventure.

Only one thing bothered him now: how long could he keep knowing the Doctor's past quiet now? After everything that had happened was beginning to add up... how long would it be before the Doctor put it together? Or someone else?

Y/n was running out of time.

-

Story Taglist:  @shoochi @e-reads-fics

Male readers taglist: @sheepfather​

[millenniumpuzzle]

a flaw in the code

Kaiba runs his Twitter more or less automatically, including a function to mass-block people who interact with Tweets he has blocked. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that he blocks people he doesn’t mean to block. When he gets confronted over this, how will he respond?

my introduction to canon x oc (the oc being kazuko kubota, the child of me and @duelistkingdom ) and it’s from kaiba’s pov (feat unrequited rivalship), because of course it is. enjoy! read on ao3 here

“Kaiba.”

Kaiba’s spine stiffened at the familiar voice. He clutched his books to his chest, their reassuring weight giving him the courage to spin on his heel. As he expected, Yugi Mutou was behind him. Or, not Yugi, but the other Yugi. He was wearing the uniform jacket properly, unlike his tendency during Battle City, but he was no less imposing.

Kaiba swallowed, hoping his voice came out naturally. “Yugi. What’s this about?”

“My partner was discouraged this morning. When I asked him why, he pulled up his phone instead of actually talking to me. So, I will do the same to you: care to explain this?” With all the flair he usually saved for revealing a Spell card, the other Yugi flipped his phone towards Kaiba. Kaiba had to squint—he wouldn’t be caught dead in his reading glasses at school—but when he finally made out the text, he frowned.

“So you’re blocked by somebody on Twitter? Please, Yugi, this isn’t something to get worked up about. It’s not like it’s a personal attack.” He ignored the voice in his head reminding him that he had written a program for his own Twitter that would block anyone who associated with certain tweets. Tweets that featured Yugi boasting about his beautiful, talented, clever girlfriend in particular.

“Just somebody, huh?” The other Yugi fixed Kaiba with a stern look. It should have seemed out of place on Yugi’s round, friendly face, but Kaiba couldn’t help but feel suddenly small. “Try again.”

Kaiba sighed, but took Yugi’s phone in his own hand, finding the appropriate position where he could read the text with the least amount of eye strain. And— “What is this?”

The other Yugi was right; he wasn’t blocked by just any random loser on Twitter. The screen was on Kaiba’s own Twitter page. Instead of the Kaiba Land promos and Duel Disk news he had most recently retweeted, however, the screen was gray, apart from a block of tiny letters. “You are blocked by this user,” the website proclaimed, though as Kaiba met the other Yugi’s piercing eyes again, it felt more like an accusation than a simple statement of fact.

“I’d think you would know,” the other Yugi replied, voice startlingly cool.

To his horror, Kaiba found himself at a loss for words. “I don’t—I mean—” He cut himself off, squeezing his eyes shut and taking a couple deep breaths. As he did so, he searched his memory, but he couldn’t recall hitting the block button on Yugi. At least, not of his own volition.

“Use your words, Kaiba.”

Kaiba growled, but forced his eyes back open. “I didn’t block you.” At the other Yugi’s raised eyebrow, he rushed on, words running into one another in his haste to get them out. “At least, not on purpose. In fact, my account is more or less completely run automatically, using programs that I wrote specifically for that purpose. Some of these scripts do involve blocking users, so it’s possible that your account got caught in some filter accidentally.”

The other Yugi frowned, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers against his elbows. “So what you’re saying is, your computer programs blocked my partner by mistake?”

“Exactly.” Kaiba couldn’t help but feel a jolt of envy at how quickly the other Yugi picked things up. “It was a quirk of the system, nothing more. Tell Yugi that he can stop moping about it.” He felt ridiculous asking someone who, for all intents and purposes, was Yugi to pass along a message to Yugi. Ever since Battle City, though, he’d found himself a bit more amenable to the ridiculous, implausible things that happened around Yugi Mutou.

The other Yugi, for his part, perked up substantially at the mention of his own name. “I can do better than that!” A genuine grin spread over his features, drawing Kaiba’s attention to his plush lips, the dimple on his left cheek. “I can bring him out so you can tell him yourself!”

He continued speaking, but aside from a few mentions of the word “partner,” Kaiba was no longer listening. Ice had shot down his spine, while paradoxically, heat bloomed in his cheeks and sweat formed on his hands. “That won’t be necessary,” he snapped, interrupting the other Yugi’s joyful monologue. “Just tell him what I said. Goodbye.”

With that, he turned on his heel and fled the hallway, books still clutched close to his chest. He could feel his heart hammering in his ears, even as he turned into the men’s room and locked the door behind him. The wooden door was cool against his back as he sunk to a sitting position against it, letting his school supplies fall from his arms.

God damn it. Kaiba exhaled sharply, dragging his hands down his face, before pulling out his phone and opening Twitter. A rare occurrence, as of late; there wasn’t much that he needed to keep up with online, and he rarely wanted to check the inane tweets his contemporaries made. When his profile opened, he navigated to the “Blocked Users” page. There was quite a bit to scroll through, but eventually, he was face-to-face with Yugi’s smiling profile picture.

Almost immediately, he turned his phone off, pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face in his crossed arms. He really did block Yugi. Prevented from interaction with one of the only people he actually wanted to interact with by his own programs.

He allowed himself a moment of despair, before pulling himself back together, unlocking his phone once more. Even so, he still flinched at the reappearance of Yugi’s picture. Keep it together, Seto. You’re just seeing what triggered the block. Think about it like a programming error.

One of the benefits of Kaiba’s auto-block program (nicknamed “Crush Tweet Virus” by Mokuba) was that if Kaiba blocked a tweet, not only did it block the person who made it, it also hid the profiles of anyone who interacted with it. What’s more, it allowed him to see the blocked tweet a given user had liked or retweeted. This was a nominally useful feature. In Yugi’s case, however, the reason for the block made Kaiba’s blood run cold. God. Anything but that tweet.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he tried to blink it out of existence, the proof was there. Kaiba opened the blocked tweet in question, and his stomach immediately turned over. He didn’t have a name for the emotions burning in his gut. All he knew was that the image of Yugi pressing a kiss to Kazuko Kubota’s outstretched hand, the caption declaring “These two are couple goals,” threatened to overwhelm him with discomfort. He had blocked it for a reason.

In fact, there was a theme to the posts he had blocked. They all contained some reference to Yugi Mutou, Kazuko Kubota, and/or the fact that they were currently in a relationship. As much as he wanted to lie to himself, he knew what irked him so much about the reminder that Yugi was dating somebody. It was the fact that he wanted to be the person whose hand Yugi was kissing—the reminder that Yugi clearly didn’t have the same feelings toward Kaiba.

His face was burning. If only he could take his uniform jacket off, splash water on his face, anything to calm him down without ruining his composed appearance. Instead, he navigated back to his “Blocked Users” page, once again making eye contact with Yugi’s smiling headshot. If his fingers trembled at all as he hit the “unblock” button, Kaiba certainly wouldn’t admit to it. He would have to reprogram “Crush Tweet Virus” to exempt Yugi entirely, as he would almost certainly interact with other tweets about his girlfriend. Girlfriend—the word made Kaiba’s stomach do another unpleasant flip.

He thought he was done with the whole endeavor. In fact, he was almost at peace, comfortably eating his lunch on the roof a few days later. Part of that had to do with the fact that he hadn’t interacted with Yugi in all that time, but nobody needed to know that. Unfortunately, things couldn’t be so easy for him.

“Hey, Kaiba! They told me I could find you up here.”

Kaiba nearly spit out his mouthful of rice. Surely, his ears were playing tricks on him. Kubota went to Rintama, she wouldn’t have time to make it onto the roof of Domino High during her lunch break. Yet, as he craned his neck up from his lunch, his stomach dropped. Those baby-pink hair buns could belong to nobody else.

He jumped to his feet, uncomfortable with looking up at the much-shorter duelist, then cleared his throat. “Kubota. What are you doing here?”

Kubota just grinned at him, though it looked more like a hostile baring of teeth to Kaiba. “I was in the neighborhood. Figured I’d drop by and thank you for unblocking Yugi.”

“You knew about that?” Kaiba said, keeping his gaze fiercely locked with her lavender eyes.

“Of course! Yugi and I don’t keep things from each other,” she responded, sounding hurt. “He was really upset when he realized you blocked him, so finding out that it was a mistake made him feel way better. So, uh, thanks.”

Why was she thanking him? He and Kubota didn’t speak much, but when they did, she was usually admonishing him. The lashing she gave him at Duelist Kingdom flashed through his mind; he suppressed a shudder. Yet, analyzing her body language, he didn’t think she was being sarcastic.

She cleared her throat, then, and gestured towards him. Right, she had said, “Thank you.” What was the right response to give? He settled on a curt, “You’re welcome,” and a brief jerk of his head, an abridged bow. Yet, she didn’t turn to leave. Instead, she glanced up and down his form, hands on her hips. One side of her face twitched—a suppressed smile?

“So, the stowaway tells me your Twitter account is basically automated,” she said casually, slipping one of the straps of her bright red bag off so that it hung from one shoulder instead of both.

“Stowaway?”

“Right, you don’t hang out with us much. That’s what I call the other Yugi.”

Kaiba flushed with embarrassment at the memory of the prior conversation. “I see. Yes, he’s right. That is how Yugi got blocked.”

Kubota leaned in, one eyebrow raised. “So, what program blocked Yugi? ‘Cause Stowaway tells me that he didn’t think you were lying about it being an accident, but I haven’t heard of anything that blocks people so liberally.”

“What do you mean?” Kaiba asked, frowning. “One person getting blocked by my program doesn’t mean that I’ve blocked everybody.”

“Are you sure about that?” Kubota wasn’t looking at him anymore, instead focused on her own phone. She scrolled for a moment, fingers moving in time with the rhythm she chewed her gum, before turning her screen towards him with a cry of triumph. “This thread says otherwise.”

Again, Kaiba was forced to squint at someone else’s phone screen, and almost immediately, he regretted ever signing up for Twitter in the first place. The first tweet was from Mai Kujaku, reading, “Lmao, guess I pissed him off somehow!” It was accompanied by a familiar screenshot: Kaiba’s own profile, with the text “You have been blocked by this user.”

The next tweet was from Kubota herself, remarking, “Lol, I’ve been blocked since Duelist Kingdom.” After that, the replies were full of Yugi’s friends, all posting similar screenshots and complaining about (Mazaki) or rejoicing (Jonouchi) being blocked by Seto Kaiba.

Damn him for forgetting that Kubota was an excellent strategist in her own right; he shouldn’t have let his guard down around her. He would never admit he had been thrown off, though. Instead, he straightened his posture, using the extra inch of height to sneer down at Kubota. “So my program kept the dweeb patrol from interacting with me. Seems like it’s working as intended.”

“But you didn’t want it to keep Yugi out, right?” Kubota said, a confident gleam in her eye that he recognized from when she dueled. She was right, of course, but he kept his mouth shut rather than admit it. “Whatever your program does, it obviously has a chain effect, since I haven’t interacted with any of your tweets. Maybe it doesn’t involve your tweets at all? I can puzzle this out all day, Kaiba.”

“Fine! If I tell you, will you stop talking?” Kaiba growled, frowning all the harder when Kubota grinned in response.

“Sure.” Her voice was as bouncy as the curls escaping her buns. Kaiba hated it.

Kaiba paused, trying to collect his thoughts. All the while, Kubota rocked on her heels, humming a melody he didn’t recognize. Finally, he happened on a good starting point.

“I thought I was aromantic.”

To his dismay, Kubota appeared to choke on air, coughing hard before breaking into disbelieving laughter. He crossed his arms, glaring at her, until she finally collected herself enough to say, “I’m sorry, I just— That is not what I expected you to say.” At Kaiba’s silence, she sighed, putting her hands up in a placating gesture. “Fine, I’ll be quiet. I guess you’re not aromantic?”

Kaiba thought about saying something in response to her air-quotes, but thought better of it. “I thought that I was above all of that. I didn’t have time for romance anyway—I still don’t. But then, you and Yugi got together, and it made me feel...ill.” Kubota’s face twisted, but he didn’t address it. “At first, I thought I was having romantic feelings towards you—”

“What?” Kubota’s horrified cry was a bit much, in Kaiba’s opinion, but he felt the same way.

“Calm down, that wasn’t the case.” He narrowed his eyes at Kubota’s exaggerated exhale, but continued. “After some thought, it became clear that… I was experiencing romantic attraction, but not towards you.” The other words on his tongue died once that horrifying revelation was out, and he snapped his mouth shut, letting his confession linger in the air.

Kubota’s brow was furrowed, however. Why was she confused? Kaiba had told her everything she needed to know! He was about to accuse her of taunting him when she gasped, eyes widening. “Are you… Coming out to me?”

Kaiba’s already-pale face became even whiter. “No?”

“Yes, you are! You’re coming out to me! And you started your coming out speech by telling me my boyfriend was your gay realization?” With every step, she advanced on him, until she was close enough that when she pointed her finger for emphasis, it brushed his chest.

“That’s—a blunt description, Kubota.”

She just shook her head. “I mean, it’s fine, I’m bi, but it’s a weird way to tell somebody you’re gay. And this relates to Twitter...how?”

Kaiba scoffed. “I could be bisexual.” When Kubota’s brow raised, a familiar irritation began coursing through him. Better than embarrassment. “I could! You don’t know that I’m—that I don’t like girls.”

Kubota scoffed right back, undaunted by his bristling. “Whatever you want to tell yourself. I just want to know what this has to do with blocking Yugi on Twitter.”

“It has everything to do with that,” Kaiba said, but his mouth dried up as he realized exactly why Yugi and the rest of his friends were blocked. He cleared his throat, then balled his fists and looked away from Kubota. The words felt like venom in his throat; the only way to alleviate the burning they caused was to spit them out. “I set up a program to block anybody who liked certain posts. Posts that talked about yours and Yugi’s relationship.”

A raised eyebrow. “Just talked about? That’s kind of a broad net, even for you, Kaiba.”

“Fine. They were posts which included photographic or video evidence of you being a couple. Usually with highly supportive comments. Those were the kinds of things I blocked, and the virus associated with it blocked anyone who interacted with a post I blocked using this system.”

Kubota shook her head. “Even your weird Twitter bots are like Duel Monsters cards. I’d say to get a hobby, but it seems like you’ve got your hands full already.”

“Are you challenging me? Because I’ll wipe the floor with you in a Duel, we both know that,” Kaiba growled.

“No,” Kubota said lightly, “but not because I think I’ll lose. You’re so predictable, Kaiba. I should have seen this coming, though I didn’t think you would be this weird about me and Yugi. Guess I was wrong!”

Arms folded, Kaiba surveyed his adversary. Five-foot-nothing, blowing a bubble of gum at him while she rocked back and forth on her booted heels, skateboard underneath one arm. Her Buster Blader cards came to mind, and he cringed internally. He made a mental note: find a copy of her Battle City deck and run simulations against it, to discern ideal counter-strategies.

But, he needed to respond to her before that could happen. “Hmph. As long as Yugi doesn’t forget who his true rival is, I suppose I don’t need to make a fuss about his romantic decisions.”

Kubota’s shoulders shook, but she looked him in the eyes and nodded. “Thank you, Kaiba. Are you...sure you’re okay?”

“Of course I am,” Kaiba said, more off-kilter than he’d ever been. “Now, the bell’s about to ring, and I haven’t finished my lunch.”

Checking her watch, her glossy lips parted in surprise. “Shit, you’re right. I gotta get back to Rintama. Don’t be a stranger, Kaiba!” With that, she ran toward the stairs, waving at him over her shoulder before the door slammed behind her. Kaiba exhaled slowly, and looked at the remains of his bento. He wasn’t very hungry, all of a sudden.

What had he done?

[kawaiikichi]

I Would (Saiouma)

Saiouma “You have to stay awake” with happy ending for @just-a-random-shipper-passing-by and Saiouma “You can’t die, I won’t let you” for Anon! I hope you don’t mind that I combined these two requests, both of them were speaking to me for this particular one-shot.

I also apologize for the extremely long wait! I’ve been busy as heck with work, planning and working on pieces for two bangs and an exchange, and also battling with writer’s block and begging for motivation to hit me.

I feel that this one isn’t particularly angsty, but some sad stuff goes down at the beginning.

I hope you guys like it and let me know if you would like anything changed/edited! :D

*Based on this request and this request*

Title: I Would

Prompts: “You have to stay awake” and “You can’t die, I won’t let you”

Summary: Shuichi and Kokichi have a heart to heart that ultimately leads to a secret being revealed.

One-Shot Notes: Actors AU (well, to be precise, they’re drama actors; been watching a lot of Kdramas recently so there’s that)

(I’m posting on mobile due to my computer finally choosing to die on me so start reading under the emojis!)

💜💜💜💜

Blood.

That was all Shuichi could see as he held Kokichi in his arms. His white shirt was soaked in it, the gunshot wound on his stomach gushing blood. Shuichi had called the ambulance, which was arriving soon.

Shuichi choked out a sob.

“The ambulance should be here at any moment, you have to stay awake. You just have to!” he shouted.

Kokichi smiled sadly.

“Hey...don’t cry. I don’t like it when you cry, remember?” he said.

A bloody hand moved up to wipe away Shuichi’s tears, which only made him cry harder.

“You idiot...why did you have to take the bullet? Why?!”

“Because...my task was to protect you, Masahiro-kun. I can’t have you dying on me. Imagine what your parents would think if you died.”

“And what about me?! What about what I would think if you died, Shinji-kun?! I care so much about you! I don’t want you to die!”

Kokichi chuckled weakly.

“Well…” he coughed. “It is what it is.” he said.

He continued to stare into Shuichi’s eyes.

“If I do die today, I won’t regret it. I saved the one that I love, so it’s alright. I’ll be able to die happy as long as you’re alive.” he said.

Shuichi shook his head.

“No, don’t say those kinds of things. You can’t die, I won’t let you.” Shuichi told him.

Kokichi coughed more, blood spilling from his mouth.

“I’m sorry. I’m so...sorry…” he trailed off.

His eyes shimmered with tears.

“Remember...I love you, Masahiro-kun.”

Kokichi’s eyes slid shut as the life in him began to disappear. His hand fell from Shuichi’s cheek, falling to his side as his body went limp in his arms. Shuichi was paralyzed with fear.

“No...no, no, no, you can’t die. You can’t leave me like this!” he shouted.

He began to shake Kokichi’s body.

“Wake up. Wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake up!” he let out a wail. “No! Wake up! You can’t leave me alone! You can’t leave me by myself! I can’t live without you!”

He let out another heart wrenching sob.

“No! Shinji-kun!” he screamed.

“And cut!”

Kokichi’s eyes flew open and they moved from their position on the ground as applause was heard.

“Excellent! Just excellent! That was some superb acting from you two, Saihara-kun and Ouma-kun!” a girl with blue hair tied back into a ponytail and blue eyes behind white framed glasses exclaimed.

“Thanks, Shirogane-san.” Shuichi said.

“Okay!” Tsumugi clapped her hands together. “Break time! We’ll resume filming at two thirty!” she declared.

Everyone dispersed soon after, indistinct conversations filling the air. Shuichi sighed, running a hand through his hair as Kokichi spoke.

“Maaaaaaaaaan, they really overdid it with the fake blood! It was absolutely everywhere! I actually liked this outfit a lot. Such a shame that it had to get ruined like this.” he commented.

“There should be a spare one in the back, you know.” Shuichi told him.

“Oh, I was only joking. Thank god I won’t have to wear this outfit again! It goes against my aesthetic.” Kokichi stated.

He headed to the back with Shuichi following suit.

“What, you prefer wearing a gazillion patterns over something simple?” Shuichi asked.

“To be more precise, it’s checkered patterned clothes.” Kokichi corrected.

As soon as they stepped into the backstage area, they headed to their changing room. Shuichi closed the door behind him as Kokichi began to shrug off the tan peacoat he wore.

“So, where should we go for lunch this time, Saihara-chan?” he asked.

“Hm…I’m not sure. Are you in the mood for anything in particular?” Shuichi answered.

“I’m fine with anything, really. Are you in the mood for something specific?”

“Tempura sounds good right about now.”

“Then, tempura it is!”

As the white button up shirt fell to the floor, Kokichi clicked his teeth as he watched himself in the mirror.

“Ugh, this looks absolutely gross. I’m going to have to shower before we go.” he said.

“Then, go ahead. I’ll just get changed in the meantime.” Shuichi said.

Kokichi glanced over his shoulder at Shuichi as the taller male went to grab his clothes.

“Say, you did very good. It was extremely convincing.” he commented.

“I’m glad. I spent two weeks trying to perfect it.” Shuichi said.

“So Saihara-chan...say I got shot by some mafia gangster dude to protect you.” he began.

Shuichi narrowed his eyes at him.

“Ouma-kun…” he trailed off.

“I am just saying. It is only a scenario. So anyway, say that happened. Would you cry over me and beg me not to die like Masahiro-chan did with Shinji-chan?” he asked.

“I would.” Shuichi replied without hesitation.

Kokichi arched a brow.

“I think you should think about that a little more. Would you really?”

“I would. There’s no need for me to rethink it.”

Kokichi pressed his lips into a thin line as he turned away.

“You sure about that? Because honestly, it’s not like we’re close enough that we have a huge impact on each other. I’m that one actor your friends don’t want you to get close to because of my shady past and the things that I do. Heck, I get into trouble a lot for things you would never forgive, so—“

“Ouma-kun.”

Hands were placed on either side of Kokichi, trapping him against the vanity counter. Kokichi slowly rose his view, breath catching in his throat at how Shuichi stared at him through the mirror, golden eyes glinting with a seriousness that he rarely ever saw.

“I find that during the course of filming this drama that we have gotten pretty close. We go out to eat a lot, we hang out a lot, and we’ve talked to each other about things that I haven’t even told my closest friends. I feel a special connection with you that I haven’t felt with anyone else. I feel comfortable around you. And I feel so many other things around you.” Shuichi said.

“Like...like what?” Kokichi asked.

“My heart skips a beat when you smile, when you laugh, and whenever you’re close to me. I find myself looking forward to when I see you next and I’m always thinking about you.” Shuichi told him.

Kokichi’s heart hammered against his rib cage as Shuichi continued.

“As for those things that you did in the past, I don’t care. That’s all in the past and you’ve stopped doing those things now. You’re a better person. So forget what my friends think, all I care about is the current you.” Shuichi licked his lips. “Ouma-kun, why do you put yourself down so much?” he asked.

“I…” Kokichi reached up to twirl some hair around his finger. “It’s not that I’m putting myself down…” he trailed off.

“No, you are. Ouma-kun, you’re an amazing person. I don’t know what I would do if you died on me. I think I would cry a lot and miss you terribly. Honestly, just like Masahiro, I wouldn’t be able to live without you either.” Shuichi said.

“Saihara-chan...what is it that you’re trying to say?” he asked.

“I think you know what I’m trying to say, Ouma-kun.” Shuichi said.

“I don’t.”

“That’s not what your eyes are telling me.”

Kokichi bit his lip, his eyes fixed on their reflection in the mirror. Shuichi continued to stare as he spoke.

“Ouma-kun...I have feelings for you.” he said.

Kokichi’s heart raced faster at Shuichi’s soft-spoken confession. He had liked Shuichi from the first time he watched one of the dramas he starred in. But, he didn’t think that Shuichi would give him the time of day, so he tried his best to get rid of that crush.

Hearing that Shuichi felt the same way about him was enough to make him nearly combust.

“You...like me?” he asked.

“I do.” Shuichi replied.

“Since when?” Kokichi asked.

“Hm...I think it was when I saw you filming for a drama a year ago? You looked very cute that day and it was love at first sight for me. I wanted to try and get closer to you, but your schedule was very packed and my friends kept advising against getting to know you. When I heard that they were going to start working on this drama and that you had been chosen to play the role of Shinji, I went and auditioned for the role of Masahiro. I gave it my all because I wanted to act with you no matter what. When I got it, I was so excited. Not only would I be able to act with you, I would also get to talk to you and become friends with you. These feelings I had for you grew stronger over time, but I feared that if I confessed and you turned me down, things would get so awkward. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship so I kept quiet.” Shuichi explained.

“So...what prompted you to confess to me now?” Kokichi asked.

“I guess you could say it felt right.” Shuichi replied.

“I see…” Kokichi trailed off.

They fell silent. The only sounds were conversations going on outside and footsteps heading up and down the hall. Shuichi looked at Kokichi, watching how he bit his lip tentatively.

“You don’t have to answer me right away. I know that it was very sudden, so take all the time you want to think about it.” he told him.

Shuichi pulled away and Kokichi wanted nothing more than to pull him back. But, he decided against it.

“I’ll go and change. I’ll be waiting outside the studio when you’re done.” Shuichi said as he headed off to get dressed.

Kokichi could only stare as Shuichi left, his heart racing quickly. His hand flew over his chest.

“He likes me...he actually likes me…” he trailed off.

A smile made its way to his lips.

Saihara-chan likes me.

He had to stop himself from squealing in delight as he grabbed for his clothes and headed to the bathroom, excited for what would happen next.