#damn near hyperventilating on the mic

[yaknowlikenyah]

Another lovely audio of an eager dog fucking their master! For a transcript look no farther than @your-favorite-dogboy Who's living up to his moniker by writing posts like this one

[cake-writes]

Drift (Part One)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Story Warnings: Age Gap (not huge because Reader’s in her early 20s but it’s very present), slight DD/lg undertones (no D/s dynamics), Borderline Personality Disorder (Reader), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Bucky), Fluff, Slow Burn, Violence, Angst, Eventual 18+

Exerpt: It does feel kind of nice, having him look after you like this – having a more experienced agent take care of you. If you weren’t so completely fucked up right now, you’d be mortified. It’s your first mission, for one, and for two, you barely know him. Hell, you still call him Mr. Barnes, but here he is, saying honey and sweetheart to make you feel a little better.

A/N: my hand slipped 💀

You’re fresh. Green. Not yet a ‘real’ woman, but no longer a girl; somewhere in that topsy-turvy place in between where you’re still unsure of yourself and your purpose in life. You haven’t yet had the success that comes along in your twenties because you’ve been too wrapped up in your studies, too wrapped up in academic achievements to focus on other things. 

And because of that, you haven’t been exposed to real failure. Not really. Not yet.

A new recruit, straight out of the Academy. Top marks in all of your classes. Excellent in theory, untested in practice. Training only. It makes sense that you’re a prime candidate to poach for the compound, but you’re still so young.

Too young. Innocent. Incorruptible.

At first, anyway. It doesn’t last long.

Your first mission breaks you in – shatters your wrist and your confidence when you get a taste of real failure. It’s nothing like a bad grade on a test, nothing like the embarrassment of getting too drunk in public, but tangible, acrid, dark. The taste burns acidic on your tongue, a bitter contrast to those sweet childhood dreams you’ve been chasing since you were a little girl. 

Cotton candy justice.

Now you’re in limbo, drifting away with the chilly spring breeze. The stars shine brightly overhead, and you stare up at them, dazed and confused and no longer sure of your place in the world.

There’s the Southern Cross. How pretty. How unfamiliar.

What country are you in again?

Bucky swears low and rough over comms, but you hear his voice sound from a few yards away, too. You don’t bother to turn your head because he’s already at your side, kneeling down beside you, snapping his fingers in front of your sight line. “Come on. Hey. Look at me.”

Unfocused. Unresponsive.

The moon’s full tonight and so, so bright. You just can’t look away.

“Shit,” he swears again, a little louder this time. “Agent down. Conscious but unresponsive.” A brief pause as he checks for a pulse on the dead body at your feet. “She already took out our target.”

“Looks like the new girl’s got some skills,” comes Sam’s wry joke crackling in your earpiece. “Headed your way with evac.”

You want to laugh, but all you can focus on is the coppery tang of blood in your nostrils. It’s not yours. You shot the target of this mission at point blank, but not before he snapped your wrist like a twig trying to wrestle your handgun from you. Not before two accidental discharges very nearly cut through your abdomen. Not before he slammed you to the ground – slammed the back of your head into the pavement.

The memory makes you shiver. Or maybe it’s the breeze.

Bucky’s hand comes to rest on the side of your face, then, to offer some semblance of warmth, and your eyelids flutter shut. He feels good. He feels warm.

“Hurry up,” Bucky orders, but he sounds a little more distant, now. “She’s in rough shape.”

Sam says something else on comms, and you don’t quite understand the words anymore. They sound blurry, almost like you’re underwater. 

You’re drifting along, drifting away—

Until Bucky jars you awake with a startling pat to your cheek.

“Hey.” Sharp words draw you back into the present, but they hold none of the bite he uses when addressing Sam. “I need you to stay awake for me.”

A groan bubbles forth from your lips when you somehow manage to pry your eyelids open again. It’s probably the hardest thing you’ve ever done. Your entire body is begging for you to sleep, to rest, to never wake up again.

“Oh, sweetheart, I know,” Bucky murmurs, voice soft with sympathy, smoothing his thumb over your cheekbone. “I know you’re tired. Does anything hurt?”

You mumble something indecipherable; it’s meant to be a ‘no,’ but that’s not how it comes out. Pupils dilate further over half-lidded eyes as you stare up into sudden blackness.

What happened to the stars? What happened to the moon?

With a grunt, you try to move— try to push yourself up in a panic.

Something’s wrong. What happened to the sky?

A whimper escapes your throat when you put pressure on your broken wrist, but Bucky’s quick to put a stop to any unnecessary movements. 

“You’re okay,” he soothes, easing you back down onto the ground and the cold, coarse gravel digs uncomfortably into your back. “You’re doing great. Just stay still, okay?”

“I can’t—” Things are starting to feel a little less blurry, now.  “The stars—”

A gasp for air. A stuttered breath. 

Panic.

“Breathe,” Bucky reminds you, but when your breathing only goes shallower, he adds gently, “Here. With me.”

His deep breath prompts your own, and after a couple of seconds, he exhales. You can’t help but follow suit, because his presence just commands you to listen. Gentle authority. Another breath and you follow along again, and again, until you’re not hyperventilating anymore. 

You don’t know how long it takes, but it’s like magic. 

Only when you’re sufficiently calmed down does he try for an answer. “What about the stars?”

You’d almost forgotten.

So you blink your eyes open again in search of the night sky, but everything’s still dark.

Panic starts to set in again, and in a fit of desperation, you reach your hand out for something, anything tangible to grasp onto. It’s the one with unshattered bones and unshattered hope, extending towards the sky like you can just turn the lights back on with a switch on the wall.

You can’t. It hurts.

Another breath. In. Out. 

It’s not so calming this time.

Bucky takes that same hand into his and brings it to his chest, where you can feel his steady heartbeat under your palm. It’s soothing. It’s grounding.

It’s not enough.

“I can’t see,” you finally manage in a delicate rasp. “I can’t see anything.”

Bucky’s grip tightens just slightly, and then he’s on comms again. “Damn it, Wilson, still waiting on that evac—”

“Am I— Am I dying?” you ask quietly, and you hear the sound of your own voice in your ear echo through Bucky’s open mic. You don’t sound like yourself at all, but fragile, scared, broken. Like a child. Like a little girl, and that’s exactly how you feel. A sob finally escapes. “I’m— I’m scared, Mr. Barnes—”

“You’re gonna be just fine,” he reassures you, gently, leaning forward to cup your cheek with his free hand. “You’ve got a concussion. Can you remember your training?”

Think back to the Academy. 

Thinking makes your head hurt, though, and you wince. 

Vision loss is a symptom. Memory loss. Drowsiness. Headache.

You let out another whimper, then, as the splitting pain finally makes an appearance; it spreads like wildfire from the back of your head through the rest of your skull, a searing headache that makes your wrist feel like nothing in comparison. Even the memory stings. 

Comms crackles to life again – Sam’s just a couple minutes out, now. “Keep her comfortable,” he instructs. No jokes this time.

As if you could be comfortable—

“Screw you,” you groan in agony, but Bucky’s words echo back: You’re gonna be just fine.

“Let me have a look, okay?”

Bucky’s voice is still so soothing, almost like a velvet blanket lulling you to sleep, and you can’t help but make a sound in the affirmative. He’ll take care of you. It hurts, but you’re not alone.

That’s when he releases you to gently palpate your scalp. It hurts to move, and your arm goes limp without his support; your fingers quickly ball in the fabric of his shirt to keep your hand where it belongs. And then they tighten further, when he locates the very obvious goose egg at the back of your skull.

“There it is,” he mutters, more to himself than to you, but he follows it with, “Don’t worry. We’ll get you out of here soon.”

“But it hurts—”

“I know.” He slowly starts to stroke your hair, meant to distract, to comfort, and it’s effective. “The adrenaline’s worn off, honey. It’s gonna hurt.”

It does feel nice, having him look after you like this – having a more experienced agent take care of you. If you weren’t so completely fucked up right now, you’d be mortified. It’s your first mission, for one, and for two, you barely know him. Hell, you still call him Mr. Barnes, and here he is, saying honey and sweetheart to make you feel a little better. 

You can’t deny that it’s working when you find yourself leaning into his touch.  It still hurts, but this is... tolerable. It might even be nice. 

Just a little.

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” you mumble.

He stills for a moment, but at your insistent tug on his shirt, he continues to stroke your hair – and you sigh.

“Oh... That feels nice.”

It’s a good distraction from the awful pain, too.

“Must not be hurting too bad anymore if you’re making jokes,” he comments after a beat, but he doesn’t stop again. Instead, the next little while passes in near-silence – a pained whine here, a comforting, “shh,” there, until your evac finally arrives.

“What the hell, man,” Sam says in annoyance as he straps you down to a board. “’Rough shape’ my ass. She looks like she got hit by a train.”

“I can still hear you,” you chide, “and I think I look pretty good.”

Another joke, because they both know you can’t see.

Sam snorts. “That’s a good sense of humour, new girl. Don’t lose it.”

The straps stop coming, then, and you tense up in alarm when you don’t know what’s happening – at least until Bucky speaks softly into your ear, “You’re gonna have to let me go now, sweetheart.”

It’s whisper-soft – secretive, almost – and you realize, then, that you’re still holding onto his shirt. You’re too young, too green, so much that you’re holding onto him like a lifeline. 

That’s when the mortification sets in.

Your grip immediately goes slack, and the heat rushing to your face spurs on an even worse headache as the two of them load you onto the Quinjet. The only thing that keeps you awake this time is the stupid banter between them – but knowing Bucky is there is what makes you feel like everything’s going to be alright.

Part Two

[guessimjoiningthespidermanfandom]

Hell and Back Pt.1

Peter Parker x bisexual!reader

Peter Parker x fem!reader

Peter Parker x black!reader

Peter Parker x villain!reader 

Warnings: Language, drug use, mentions of death/the dead, parental neglect, mentions of selling hard drugs, brief mention of drugging, self deprecating thoughts, near death.

Word Count: 4.5k

Songs: Trouble Dont Last Always- Rev Timothy Wright, Violent- carolesdaughter, Feel Better- Penelope Scott, Kids- Current Joys, Never (feat. O_super)- Mag.Lo, Weary- Solange, Sleepwalk (Remastered 2010) Santo & Johnny, Dark Red- Steve Lacy, Glitter- 070 Shake. 

“‘I wish I could be a religious person. They always seem so happy and carefree. To be able to put that much trust into something or someone. I know you were never religious but your family was. My family isn’t really all that religious but they did always feel like prayer could solve all. I’d been praying my whole life and not one had ever been answered. All my family is a bunch of hypocrites and sinners, but hey hate the sin not the sinner right? Ha yeah right.”

A/N: The part two of this chapter should be out soon and there was only two proof reads sorry for any mistakes. 

Series Masterlist     Previous Part    Next Part

October 13th 

‘Dear Rose, This is stupid, this shit is for white people. Wait let me try again.’

I ripped the paper in half. I was trying to do that thing where you write letters to dead people to help you get over their deaths or whatever. I never had a diary and I felt stupid doing this in the first place so it was definitely hard. 

I was sitting in one of the queen-sized beds of the hotel room with an empty college-ruled notebook. I heard Bri and MJ go down to get breakfast, but I pretended to be asleep, I wasn’t hungry.

I’d already ripped three pages out but, I was going to do this, I started it and I wasn’t gonna back out now. 

‘So I don’t really know why I’m doing this but I miss you, like a lot. I cried last night. For like the first in at least 6 months. I don’t know why I felt that was important, but it was relieving. I’m in the fanciest hotel I’ve ever stayed (legally) at right now. You’d like it. It's just a Marriott but it’s pretty big. I don’t know if I believe in heaven (or a God even), but I truly hope you’re there right now. I know I’m probably not going if it is real. If it is I know you and my mom and everyone else is there and I just don’t want earth to be the last time I saw y’all. I just feel ungrateful because I’m not happy. I’m not happy to be where I am right now. I know I’m better off than almost everyone else in Melrose but I didn’t earn my spot. I lied and cheated my way to where I am. 

I remember that one argument we had. The biggest one back when you first started selling. I had the audacity to get mad at you for just trying to provide for your family. Then became everything I despised. I was trying to look back on the “good days”. Which was depressing because looking back at what we thought were goods days were just days that weren’t terrible. 

At least when you were selling you never lost yourself. I don’t even know who I am anymore. I just feel burnt out. 

Yesterday me and Bri were fooling around in the hotel which was fun so I guess that’s good. I’m tryna stick to the positives of my day. Another good thing was that I found one of Jay’s hoodies in my bag . It’s pretty comfortable. I miss him too. I’m trying not to think about all the people I’ve lost because that list could go on for eternity. I might do this again, I don’t know it doesn’t feel so stupid anymore. I’m burning this note though. I know you always said no one lives forever but why’d you have to go so soon, the good ones always do. If there’s truly life after death tell my mom I love her for me and I love you too.

Sincerely Y/N,’

October 14th 9:03am

‘I wish I could be a religious person. They always seem so happy and carefree. To be able to put that much trust into something or someone. I know you were never religious but your family was. My family isn’t really all that religious but they did always feel like prayer could solve all. I’d been praying my whole life and not one had ever been answered. All my family is a bunch of hypocrites and sinners, but hey hate the sin not the sinner right? Ha yeah right.

I remember Ms. Williams with that stupid  “Shoot for the moon and if you miss at least you’ll be among the stars” poster. It was tacky and we were always making fun of it. I never realized how much it bothered me until now though. I’d say I have selective memory if I have any memories at all,  but that poster is seared into my mind. I think it might be because I felt like it was mocking me because she knew goddamn well none of us were making it out this city. Let alone ever getting anywhere near the stars. Now, I was the closest to the stars and out of everyone who could've been here it was me. The person who deserves it the least.

Sincerely Y/N,’

October 14th 8:57pm

‘I think the reason I’m still doing this letter thing is because I don’t wanna stop missing you because missing you was better than feeling nothing. I don’t truly think I do anymore. Which sounds bad, but I just mean I’ve gone through the grieving process which I guess means, it’s time to let you go. I’ve never actually gone through a full grieving process without someone else dying in the middle of it. I read this thing once about people having favorite people or a favorite person and I think that was you for me. It means you basically can’t function without that person and when they're not around it makes your emotions go crazy. I don’t really want to say goodbye cause I miss the feeling of you in my life, but when it comes down to it I don’t remember it much. So I guess this is the final goodbye. 

Love Y/N, ’

  I was getting really fucking tired of Thorn. I was getting tired of Y/N L/N too. Why couldn’t I just exist. I don’t wanna have to be anyone. I just wanna get high and eat fruit snacks damn. but I could never have what I want could I.

I was sitting under some storage containers in a warehouse with all these old white men working on weapons and shit. Waiting for Vulture to come in. He flew into the warehouse I could almost see the anger, radiating off of him before he stepped out of the wings. He looked oddly familiar, if I hadn’t killed off all my brain cells I probably would have made the connection sooner but it got made and that’s all that matters. 

The Vulture was Liz’s dad. 

This is a fact I could and would be using to my advantage. I pulled out my backup phone and snapped a couple pictures of the people around me as a torn up van pulled up. 

A man hopped out and Liz’s dad immediately started yelling at the man about something. He seemed to think it was funny though. Like he was high on adrenaline or something. I caught the words Avengers. Then something about Shocker and getting fired. I’m guessing the Shocker had the same idea as me to tell his family about his business. He picked up the closest weapon and fired it at the man. He instantly crumbled to the floor in ashes. That was nasty as hell. 

Now these weapons are wayyyy more dangerous than I thought. He stormed out after bestowing another man the title of Shocker. Then it was only me and the guy working on some weird weapon left. I walked over to him and knocked him out. Taking the anti gravity gun with me and some shiny thing I thought looked cool I placed a tracker with a camera and mic on the Vulture suit before leaving. 

That was about two weeks ago. Now, here I was, on the back of the truck of some random company following Vulture around like a lost dog. I should be back at the hotel right now, but I’ve never been known to do what I was supposed to. 

He was talking to someone about a plan to steal more fuel for these weapons. 

I was hiding behind a dumpster and I accidentally hit something on my way to leave. 

I know he saw me. 

Fuck.

I didn’t have time to think I was just running and running. I didn’t even realize I was practically hyperventilating until I made it back to the hotel. I didn’t have the key to my room. I must’ve dropped it somewhere. 

I dropped it because I’m a dumb fuckup who’s gonna get herself and everyone else killed because I could never do anything right. I’d be better off dead. 

I knew Bri and MJ were asleep and I didn’t wanna wake them up. I was sitting by the door trying to keep myself from going into a full blown anxiety attack. I pulled the hood of Jay’s hoodie over my head and pulled my legs up to my chest. 

I think I might’ve drifted off for a second because I opened my eyes and Peter was standing over me looking concerned.

“What?” I asked sitting up. 

“It’s just,” He brought his hand up to his forehead in confusion “Why are you on the floor? Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m fine, what are you doing up?” 

“I was just walking around,” 

That wasn’t a very clear answer. Suspicious. 

“Are you sure you’re okay? Your eyes are puffy,” 

“I’m fine, probably just allergies,” He hummed like he didn’t believe my answer. 

“You can go back to your room now,” I added since he was still standing there staring at me. 

“You still never answered my question on why you were sitting out here on the floor,” 

I just ignored him and pulled the hood back over my face. 

He slid down on the floor next to me. 

“I’m not leaving until you answer me,” 

I didn’t feel like talking and honestly? I didn’t want him to leave. 

I turned to face him before saying 

“Looks like you’re gonna be here for a while then,” 

I ended up telling him eventually and he offered to let me stay in his room saying Ned wouldn’t mind. I was too tired to decline the offer. 

“Y/N,” I was awakened by Peter shaking my shoulder. 

“Hmm?” I hummed. 

“You gotta get up,” 

I rolled my eyes and pulled the throw blanket back over my head. I would have flipped over but I probably would’ve fell off the couch.  

“Everyone else is already at breakfast c’mon,” 

He pulled the blanket off of me reeling back when he brushed against my skin. 

“Y/N, you’re burning up,” 

“Mhm hm,” I hummed again turning onto my side. 

“I’m being serious Y/N get up,” 

“Ugh, fine” I exclaimed sitting up. 

“Do you feel sick?” He asked, touching my forehead again.

“I feel fine,” I said pushing his hand away. “Thank you for letting me stay here but, you seriously need to learn to stop being so repetitive,” 

I went downstairs where everyone else was eating breakfast and let MJ and Bri know I was okay. 

Now it’s really fucking stupid to smoke pre-rolls if you don’t want to be drugged but last night when I was watching out for Vulture someone offered them to me. Perks of pretty privilege I guess. MJ was all of my impulse control and she wasn’t with me so I smoked it. 

And when I tell you this shit was strong I mean it was strong. I have a high tolerance when it comes to weed because I smoke a lot but this hit hard. Surprised I wasn’t shaking. Maybe I was. 

Normally you don’t get full body highs from smoking. It’s usually edibles that do that but this wow. Couldn’t tell if this was Indica or Sativa. I thought it was Indica at first but I had too much energy for that. Maybe it was a hybrid if so, that’d explain the fog over my brain. 

I wasn’t thinking clearly I knew I shouldn’t get any closer to Peter than I already was, but I was bored. 

Now we were on top of some middle school jumping the roofs. I'm pretty sure he was only here because he wanted to keep tabs on me since he found me on the verge of a panic attack last night and currently thinks I’m sick. 

“Are you sure this is safe?” He asked.

“Yes it’s safe, don’t be a pussy,” I rolled my eyes “Besides I do it all the time,”

“So you go to D.C and jump to different roofs of a middle school all the time?”

“You know what I meant smartass,” I elbowed him lightly and he laughed. 

I laid on my back and shortly after he joined me. 

“How do they get shirts so soft,” 

“What?”

“I said how do they get shirts so soft,” I sat up. 

“I don’t know probably lots of thr-” 

“C’mon let’s go down there,” I interrupted pointing at the building before hopping down. Running through the mall looking through almost every store I’d spent about $1,000 just shopping for everyone who came to mind. Eventually I walked into Zumiez with Peter trailing behind me. I was looking at the hoodies by the skateboard rack. 

“I always wanted a skateboard as a kid,” He said coming up behind me. 

“Pick one,” I nodded my head towards the rack of decks. “I’ll get it for you,” 

“ I can’t let you do that,” He said. 

“No, I insist,” I laughed at my word choice “That’s a fancy word” I laughed and he laughed too “No but for real, pick a deck and I’ll buy it for you,” He shook his head “I’m not leaving until you do,” I turned his words from the earlier night onto him.

“Fine,” he sighed walking back over to the shelf. 

After picking the rest of the accessories for the board he said. 

“I still have no idea how to ride it,” 

And with me still not thinking I said

“Ok then I’ll teach you,”

We headed back out the mall but not before I got a diamond chain because why the hell not. We were about to get on a train to head back until I interjected. 

“Wait,” I grabbed his arm. “Come with me,” 

“Are you sure this is safe?” He asked as we sat under the bridge that the train runs over. 

I laughed at his nervousness. 

“I do this all the time and I'm still here, aren’t I? Don’t be a pussy,” 

Waiting for the next train coming over I put on a song that's been stuck in my head for a while. Weary by Solange. I didn’t realize I was singing along until he complimented my voice.

“You should sing more often, you have a really nice voice.” 

“Shh” I hushed feeling my heats heating up at the compliment. Soon I felt the train coming “Just live,” 

I leaned back on my elbows and closed my eyes. I guess this was some form of therapy. The rumbling of the tracks traveled through my body. It would’ve been loud but I’ve picked up the ability to block out noises I don’t want to hear on command. After the train passed the sun was already setting. I figure I might as well get food. This would classify as the first real meal I’ve eaten in awhile. I’ve heard of people not being able to eat unless high which I never thought would or could happen to me. Right next to the restaurant we ate at. There was a 7/11. I’m not sure how many people know this but almost every night shift employee at 7/11 is a plug.

“Can you hold my bags real quick?” I asked.

He nodded so I let him know I’d be back quickly and I had to go to the bathroom 

I did not.

The employee I ran into proved my earlier statement.

He had about 10 mg of adderall and some xans. I wasn’t really planning on taking the xans, maybe I’d just sell them. I went back and forth adderall because it’d enhance my brain function instead of actually producing a high. I got two slushies and some other bottled soft 

drinks. 

 I put the key up to the door then slowly opened it. They were on the couch and looked up at me when they heard the door open. If I knew they weren’t gonna be mad at me for just leaving and not telling anyone, I’d actually be happy because Bri was getting along with my friends. 

“So where’d you go?” MJ asked.

“I just went out mom,”  I replied, sitting on the dresser by the door. 

“Well you clearly went shopping,” Bri said. 

“Yeah and?” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry I had a babysitter,” I rolled my eyes again. “You know you can come in right?” I referred to Peter who was still standing by the door.

He moved in, still not moving any farther than the bathroom door. I moved to close the door behind him before sitting on the bed closest to me.

She moved closer to me and looked into my face. 

“Are you high right now?” She asked gazing into my eyes.

“Really?” I asked incredulously “No I’m not, and fuck you, now I’m not gonna give you your shit,” 

“No! I’m sorry,” She said and I rolled my eyes, a smile cracking onto my face “What’d you get me?” She made grabby hands at the bags. 

I handed her the one from Hot Topic. 

“There’s a whole buncha stuff in there but…” I reached into the bag and took out the socks with weed plants on them. “These,” I held them up to her. “These are mine,” 

“Alright weirdo,” she said looking through the bag. I went to go over to MJ but Bri grabbed my arm. 

“Hey where are you getting the money for this?” She asked in a hushed voice.

“Don’t worry about it,” I waved her off. 

I got MJ at least 7 books from a series she was reading and Peter said he had to go back to his room. 

I was watching a movie on Bri’s phone while MJ started reading her book. 

We heard a knock on the door.

I gave Bri a look that said I’ll get it. Then pushed off the bed. It was Liz.

“Hi,” 

“Hey,” 

“Me and some other kids are going to go down to the pool, so we were wondering if you wanna come?” 

“Yeah just gimme a second I’ll be down,” 

I ended up convincing Bri to come with me because I didn’t want it to be awkward. 

It was nice. The pool I mean. There was a slight breeze and pretty much the whole team was there. Minus MJ, Ned, and Peter. 

I didn’t really think about getting my hair wet. People were playing games toward the end of the pool. Bri was halfway in and halfway out on her phone. 

I was floating on my back. It was as if I was drifting down a long river with my eyes closed. The breeze over my body pushing me along. There was a heavy weight on my back that had been building since birth, but the water took a hold of that weight for me. 

I just lied there on my back floating and breathing. 

Things were peaceful at the pool. They however were not back at the room. 

I could not sleep. Believe me I tried. I looked through my bag with “everything” I brought. It wasn’t much since I hadn’t been home in a long time. However I did pack that cart I had in class a while back.

I was scrolling through Tiktok and remembered it was still next to me. I made a tiktok to that one audio with the whistles where you ghost the vapors on each whistle  because I thought it looked cool and I can do whatever I want on my account.

 I don’t know how long it’d be but I finally felt my eyes fall shut for the night.

When I woke up it was weird because I was already at the decathlon. I’d already been working on whatever problem it was that’d we’d gotten, but I didn’t need to because MJ had already gotten us the answer and we’d won. 

I should’ve been more excited. 

 Why wasn’t I excited? 

You couldn’t tell I wasn’t as happy as I made myself seem. I had become quite the little actress over the years and by actress I meant liar, I’m really good at lying. 

I didn’t realize Peter was missing until we’d gotten on the bus to go to the Washington Monument. 

“Hey,” MJ waved her hand in my face “You okay? You’re doing that thing where you scratch your inner arm, and you only do that when somethings on your mind.” 

She placed her hand on mine to stop me 

“So what’s up?” 

“Nothing much like you said just thinking,” 

“About?” 

“Everything,” I didn’t want to tell her what I was really thinking about because things would get real awkward real quick. 

MJ just wouldn't drop it though.

“There’s clearly something bothering you so just tell me what it is you can tell me anything,”

“I just told you,” I sighed. 

“Tell me what you’re really thinking about,” 

“Death,” I looked at her, who looked back at me, “There, you happy with your answer now?” 

“No,” She said and I looked at her knowing it was a look of exasperation. “Who’s death?” She asked.

“Mine,” 

“What about your death?” 

“Just wondering if it’d be painful,” 

“Oh,” 

“Yeah,” 

When we pulled up Bri was standing by MJ, she didn’t want to go into the tower because of it being built by slaves. I understood that I didn’t really want to go either but my feet were moving on their own accord. 

I could’ve fallen asleep right then and there on that elevator. It was if my brain was checking in and out all day. 

I might've. I don’t know. The rip off police officer was saying something but it all sounded like gibberish to me. 

I closed my eyes and leaned on Liz’s shoulder. She patted my head and went back to whatever she was doing. Then there was an audible snap.

Followed by a jerk of the elevator.

My shot open and I looked up at the ceiling and there was a circle of singed metal.

“We’re all gonna die here,” The kid who I believe's name is Abe claimed. 

And for my sake I pretended I didn’t hear him. 

Everyone staring up at the ceiling, another student said.

“We’re freaking screwed,” 

To think I was just thinking about death less than an hour ago and here I was about to taste the sweet kiss of it. 

“I know that was scary, but our safety systems are working,” The police officer said. 

Yeah fucking right that’s what they all say. They just didn’t want us to panic but that’s exactly what I was doing. Panicking. 

“We are very safe in here,” she added. That's what they say seconds before everyone dies. 

The trap door above the elevator opened and everyone began to move again. I could feel the elevator shaking again. No way was I gonna move and risk snapping the cords. 

I was gonna die here. 

Most of the team had gotten out already. Then it was Flash’s turn and he just had to put the fucking trophy up with the rest of everyone. The elevator fell farther as he got out. I wanted to move but I couldn’t. My brain power wasn’t stronger than my muscles. I couldn’t will them to do what I needed them to. 

Something hit the ground above us and the elevator was free falling. 

It stopped second after we were launched to the ground then low and behold Spider-man 

I swear it was like he was stalking me. I’d be kinda freaked out if I didn’t know he was Peter.

When he spoke it was in a very poor accent. 

He was telling Ned not to move because he was shaking the elevator. 

He pulled the metal death box up to the doors and Mr. Harrington, Ned, then Liz got out. 

Spider-man or “Peter” said something but I couldn’t make out what exactly I was still trying to process everything. 

Then the elevator was falling, I reached out towards Spiderman but wasn’t close enough to reach him. 

A web caught my arm but I was still hanging.

Until I wasn’t. My feet were planted on the ground but my brain was moving too fast for me to keep up. 

“Y/N?” My shoulder was being shaken.

“Yeah huh?” I said trying to locate and place an identity to the voice it was Bri. 

“I was asking you if you needed a ride home,” 

Oh yeah she didn't know. 

“Uh I don’t know maybe,” 

“Alright…” She said turning back over to whoever she was talking to this time. 

Since I was the one to almost fall they wanted to check me out in one of the ambulances. 

Which I do not trust at all.

The whole medical field is a giant scam so is insurance, ask MJ she’ll tell you. 

Once we’d gotten back to the school. Everyone’s parents were all freaking out over them and asking if they were okay. Majority of everyone had already left. Peter had his Aunt. MJ had her parents. Ned has his dad. Bri had her dad. Everyone has someone.

Well almost everyone. 

Flash was still waiting too. With Mr. Harrington off in the distance. 

Then there were two 

I moved over and sat down on the curb next to him.  

“You got no one either huh?” I asked.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” Fair enough. The hostility was understandable. I did punch him in the face less than a week ago.  

I kept talking though.

“My dad never picks me up from anything either. “ I didn’t really want him to but he could’ve at least asked while I was still living at that apartment and now he expects me to come back like it’s nothing. 

A car pulled up and some random white guy who was probably a chauffeur picked up Flash. 

Then there was one 

I wanted to go home but I had no home.

I guess I had one home in the cemetery. Everyone I love leaves me. That’s something I learned over the years. It applies to many and the sooner you learn that the easier life will be for you. I hadn’t been back here in the longest. I’d normally just show up and clean the graves of the people who I’d known closely. 

This was embarrassing but sometimes I’d talk to my mom. Today was one of those days I sent. I stayed talking to my mom and Rose so much for stopping the letters which I did for way longer than I thought I would. 

I was already in my old neighborhood and before I knew it I was at my “house”.

I really didn’t mean to come home. I just did before I could stop myself.

Taglist: 

@tomdiddlyumptious

[elisaphoenix13]

You headcanoned beautifully, I'm so excited to read the story.

(AT) Some Things Aren't Worth The Risk

"Peter..." A small voice whispers. "Please wake up..."

Peter groans when someone shakes his shoulder and he blinks heavy eyelids open. He heard the kids more than he saw them first. His senses told him all of the Avengers kids were with him and they were definitely not home. The room they were in was dark so it took the teen's eyes a couple of seconds to adjust before he saw the kids huddled on a single mattress in the corner of the windowless room. Mainly Clint's kids and...fuck...Diana. She could barely sit up by herself and she was mainly on a bottle and pureed food still. Tony and Stephen were still introducing solids to her, and Peter had no idea how long they had been there.

Based on the smell, either she or Nathaniel needed a diaper change.

Cassie was the one that had woken him up though. Peter groans again when he tries to move, and his entire body screams at him to take it slow. He cracks his neck and stumbles to his feet as Cassie moves away and looks around the room to look for any cameras or mics. There weren't many places to hide those things since the mattress was the only piece of 'furniture' in the room, and once he confirms there's no cameras or mics, he turns to the kids.

Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel were in their own little huddle. Diana was sitting up next to them surprisingly not too upset with their current predicament (small mercies, Peter thought; though it wouldn't last long), and Cassie had returned to the teen's sister to make sure she didn't fall down. Which answered his question of who had taken care of her when he was unconscious.

"Does whoever took us know I'm Spiderman?" Peter asks them.

Cassie shakes her head. "I don't think so. They took your bracelet though and broke it."

"Damn it." The teen mutters under his breath.

He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The bracelet would have at least been able to tell FRIDAY and Victor his location, but they somehow managed to break his nanotech? He couldn't try breaking them out either because he had no idea how many people he was dealing with and if they had guns. He wouldn't be the reason one of the kids got hurt. He had no choice but to wait and hope his parents and the rest of the team would find them. Peter would have to make sure the kids were safe and taken care of.

As if on cue, the door is cracked open just enough to throw in some food and baby supplies before closing again, and the lock turning back into place echoes loudly in the nearly bare room. Peter didn't waste any time to go through the small amount they were given. Their captors didn't seem to want them dead so the teen figured the food was safe to eat as he evenly distributed granola bars to the older kids, before making quick work of both Diana's and Nathaniel's dirty diapers.

For once, he was glad his parents had the mind to show him how to do it.

Once those were thrown in a bag and tied as tightly as possibly, he throws the bag near the door, and hands Cooper a jar of baby food. "Can you feed your brother?"

"Yeah." The boy says quietly. "Sometimes I help Mom and Dad."

"Good. That's your job right now."

"Why can't you get us out Peter?" Lila asks and the teen sighs.

"I don't know anything about who has us or where we are, and I don't want to risk getting you guys hurt if I try something. We'll just have to sit and wait for our parents to come get us."

Thankfully, the kids accepted his answer and ate their food in silence as Peter fed Diana. He didn't want to mention guns. That would only scare them more, and they were probably only staying calm because Peter was with them. It went without saying that he wouldn't let anything happen to them as long as he was able, but that was another problem he didn't voice. Granola bars would not hold the teen over. His metabolism was too fast and in the likely event he and the kids would be here for more than a couple of days, it would be a problem. Unfortunately, he would have to at least tell Cassie of the possibility that he would get very weak, very fast. She had a good head on her shoulders. For now though, he would play it by ear. It was all he could do.

______________________

Alarms blare throughout the tower, scaring both Tony and Stephen into consciousness, and both parents jump out if bed, only for their knees to buckle and their heads spin. Both men grab onto the nearest piece of furniture to steady themselves and wait for the dizzy spell to pass and Tony waves his hand in the air to get FRIDAY to turn off the alarms.

Once the floor goes quiet again, Tony shakes the last of the dizzy fog from his head. "Wh-what's going on?!" He croaks out.

"Boss! All of the children are missing!" The AI responds with a hint of distress.

"What?! Why wasn't anyone warned?!" Tony yells.

"A virus was released into my programming. It took me until now to destroy it and fix it. Victor is still offline." FRIDAY says.

Tony and Stephen rush out of the room and separately check Peter's and Diana's bedrooms, and the sorcerer comes out of Peter's with a hand over his mouth. Tony joins him moments later and anxiously combs his hand through his hair as the elevator hisses open and both Clint and Scott rush in. Their words die on the tips of their tongues when they notice the anguish on the couple's faces and the archer swears loudly.

"Peter and Diana are gone too." Scott says.

"Did you both wake up dizzy?" Stephen asks quietly.

Clint nods and Tony rubs his eyes. "FRIDAY, any explanation?"

"I'm sensing traces of sleeping gas in the vents."

"Flush out the tower and track Peter."

"I've already tried Boss. Karen is offline. I believe Peter's suit has been destroyed."

Tony snarls. "Find my kids FRI. I don't care how you do it."

Stephen storms into Peter's room and has to hold himself back from tearing his and Diana's room apart to find a strand of hair. Someone took his cubs and he was furious. Mama Bear had pushed back the doctor and the sorcerer. Clint and Scott quickly caught onto what Stephen was doing and left to hopefully find hair strands from their own kids on their own floors while the rest of the Avengers came up a few minutes later, tired but alert. The alarms had woken them up as well and Stephen could only guess that they had to fight through the side effects of the sleeping gas. While he tore apart the family floor, Tony filled them in on the situation, and half of them decided that a blind search was better than nothing before leaving. The other half stayed to help look for hair or through the city's cameras.

Unfortunately, Scott and Clint came back empty handed, and it triggered an anxiety attack in Stephen. His breathes came in short gasps. He froze in the middle of the living room, hands shaking, and Tony had to ignore his own terror to get his husband to sit on the couch and calm down.

"Stephen, listen to me. We'll find them. Peter's probably with all of them and he'll take care of the kids until we do."

"They might know he's Spiderman. His bracelet--" Stephen starts, his voice quivering.

"Can be mistaken as a tracker. It doesn't mean they know." Tony grabs one of the sorcerer's trembling hands and places it over his heart. "Right now, just focus on breathing. You're hyperventilating."

Stephen focuses on Tony's heartbeat and matches his breathing with the engineer's until he feels himself calm down. He buries his face into his hands once he pulls away and slouches forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and Wanda walks over to rub his back. Stephen couldn't help but think of worst case scenarios and it took a lot just to beat those thoughts away before they gave him another panic attack. He felt powerless. He had no way of searching for his kids. They had to hope that they caught some kind of glimpse of anything in cameras and that was already failing based on the negative mumbles coming from the remaining part of the team.

Stephen resists when he feels himself being tugged down, but the other person doesn't relent until he finally allows himself to be guided down. To his surprise, his head didn't land on Tony's lap, but Wanda's. She must have taken the billioanire's place to help keep him calm while Tony went back to help look for the missing kids.

It made him feel pathetic, but at the same time, he needed it. He would continue to be useless if he didn't rest and kept panicking. He had no choice but to wait unless someone came across a hairbrush or something.

______________________

A couple of days had passed, and Peter only knew that because their captors fed them three times a day. It was always dry, non-perishable foods, and just enough to keep the other kids stomachs from growling. All but him of course. His stomach felt like it was trying to eat itself, and just yesterday he was feeling extremely tired and sluggish. Now? He could barely move. It was a good thing he told Cassie what was going to happen, and made sure she could take over his duties because he was now completely unfunctional. Cooper and Lila had noticed, and he could tell they were trying really hard to stay calm. If they started freaking out, the babies would follow, and Peter was the only one in the room that would be able to soothe Diana if she started crying. Cassie had done an amazing job so far in keeping the babies happy, only leaving them to Cooper and Lila when she tried to help Peter at least drink some water. He was beyond food at this point. He tried to eat this morning but it took too much energy that he didn't have.

"Peter." The teen slowly opens his eyes and Cassie holds up a bottle of water to his mouth so he can take a few gulps. She had learned quickly to read his facial expressions and Peter hated that she had to do this. She was ten for crying out loud! He glances toward the kids on the mattress and Cassie pulls the water away. "They're asleep." She puts the lid back on the water bottle before looking down at the floor. "You're dying aren't you?"

Oh god. She wasn't supposed to be this attentive. Peter couldn't even lie and tell her no or at least shake his head...but he was. He honestly didn't know how much longer his body could go without proper sustenance. He was probably dragging out the inevitable with the water, but no matter how miserable he felt, he would cling for as long as he could for the other kids. If he died, they would definitely panic.

"Daddy will help find us. So you have to stay alive."

He was trying. He was hanging on by his fingertips, and he never wanted to be held by his parents so badly until now. He was cold, his limbs were heavy, he was beyond starving, and he was dehydrated. He wished he could at least make his way over to Diana so he could cuddle with her but even that was impossible.

He would die here.

Peter was only comforted by the fact that when he did, Stephen and Tony still had Diana.

The thought pushed a single tear out of the corner of his eye and down his cheek, something Cassie noticed and gently wiped away. She then grabbed her blanket and laid it over Peter's shoulders. A small comfort. It was thin and barely kept the cold out but it was nice all the same.

Cassie and the other kids jump when the door flies open, and one if their kidnappers steps in with a flashlight and surveys the room before settling on Peter. The teen squints until Cassie holds her hand in front of his eyes, and Peter begs his limbs to move when the man steps in closer.

"What's wrong with him?" 

Cassie squares her shoulders and looks up at the kidnapper. "He's sick! He needs a hospital!"

"Not happening." Diana starts crying from being loudly disturbed from her nap. "Shut her up before I do."

"Only he can do it and he's too weak!" Cassie yells as she points to Peter. For a ten year old she was very brave.

"Fine."

Peter's eyes widen in pure, unadulterated terror when the man approaches the mattress and crying baby. He fought his body and another tear rolls down his cheek when his limbs betray him yet again. He was supposed to protect his sister and he couldn't even do that. He would have to watch this man kill her. He would have sobbed when the man pulls a knife out, but the fear was soon replace with relief when a golden whip lashes out and wraps around the kidnapper's wrist.

"If you hurt any of them, I will renounce my oath and kill you." Stephen says with a menacing growl from the open doorway.

Peter watches as the man is suddenly thrown onto his back, away from the children on the mattress, and Levi wraps itself around the man to restrain him. Scott grows back from his ant-size and rushes over to Cassie, gently cupping her cheeks, and Stephen gathers Diana into his arms.

"Oh peanut...are you okay?"

Cassie's lower lip quivers but she holds back her tears as she looks at Peter. "He's sick Daddy. Really sick."

Scott looks over at the teen and swears when he takes in the boy's ashen skin and dulling eyes. "Strange! Something's wrong with Peter!"

Stephen's head snaps in their direction and he moves away from Clint's kids when the man himself enters the room, and crouches next to Scott. He reaches out with a free hand to lift his son's chin and his heart plummets.

"Were you fed?" He asks Cassie.

"Yeah...but Peter said it wasn't enough for him. They only gave us some granola bars, water, and baby food."

Stephen was starting to panic again. "When did he stop eating?"

"Last night."

The sorcerer hands Diana to Scott and turns to open a portal straight to the tower's med-bay. Clint and Scott waste no time going through with the other kids, and Stephen scoops Peter up into his arms.

"Victor, send a message to Tony that we have the kids and we're back at the tower!"

"Yes doctor."

Stephen steps through the portal, letting it close behind him and leaving the team behind in the house Cassie's hair had led them to, and carefully lays Peter on a vacant bed. When he finds the teen's eyes closed and the boy unresponsive, he yells for Bruce who moves from Lila's side to join the sorcerer.

"His body is shutting down."

_____________________

Peter had slipped into a coma and his parents were devastated. He was hooked up to so many machines, a feeding tube being one of his many attachments, and his survival was still questionable. The other kids were reasonably healthy and were just sent to bed after a proper meal, showers, and their parents...except for Cassie. She finally let her brave face fall away and she cried. Not because of what they went through, but because Peter had made sacrifices to keep them safe and fed and could die because of it. Tony and Stephen almost never left Peter's side until both Clint and Scott made them. They promised to help take turns watching over the teen since it was the least they could do for him after what he did for their kids, and that was where Scott was two weeks after they recovered the kids.

Peter still showed no signs of waking.

"You sleep any longer shortstack, your parents will be in here next." The ex-con mumbles.

"Bruce says he's getting better." Rhodey says as he enters the room. "It's up to Peter whether to wake up or not."

"Then he should wake up soon right? We know this kid, he wouldn't worry Mom and Dad anymore if he can help it."

"That's the hope. You need a break?"

"Nah...I just got here. Thanks though." Scott says with a flippant wave and picks up the tv remote to put on a show as Rhodey gently takes one of Peter's hand in his.

They both sit back in their uncomfortable chairs to watch tv and Scott's shift goes by uneventfully. At least until Clint walks in. Then Rhodey physically jumped out if his seat and looked down at Peter when his hand was squeezed lightly. Scott jumps out of his own as Clint rushes over to join them, and they all find brown eyes looking up at them groggily. Peter lifts his free hand to fuss with the feeding tube but Scott quickly stops him and keeps the teen's hand in his, much like Rhodey.

"Hang on kiddo. I'll get Bruce and your parents." Clint says before running out of the room.

"Two squeezes for yes, and one for no. I know you probably feel miserable, but are you okay otherwise?" Rhodey asks. Peter squeezes his hand twice, and pretty quickly much to the colonel's satisfaction. "Need Mama Bear cuddles?" He asks and smiles when the teen squeezes his hand hard twice. "I'll take that as an enthusiastic yes."

Bruce barges into the room and looks over Peter, before telling the adults on either side of the bed that he was going to remove the tube. It was probably going to be uncomfortable for Peter so they were to stay and give him some support. The teen squirms briefly as Bruce removes the tube as carefully as possible and then coughs to get the foreign feeling out of his throat.

"Mum...and Dad..." Peter wheezes.

"They'll be here any second kiddo." Scott reassures him. "I'll probably be kicked out when they do, so I wanted to say thank you for what you did. Cassie's really worried."

Peter nods, still a little groggy and weak, and almost instantly releases Scott and Rhodey to raise his arms when Stephen is the first to run into the room. He didn't care if he looked childish. He just knew he wanted to collect on those hugs he so desperately wanted while in captivity, and even now when he was feeling weak. Scott barely had enough time to move out of the way when the sorcerer rushed over to sit on the side of the bed and answer his son's silent request and pull him into his arms.

"You're okay. You're safe."

He wasn't even sure if the words were for him or for Stephen. Both probably. Peter tugs the sorcerer down and the man understands immediately, making himself as comfortable as possible on the small bed so the teen can curl into him as much as possible. Peter let himself drown in Stephen's natural scent and was only soothed further when the smell motor oil and coffee filled the room. He didn't have to look up to know Tony was there too. A calloused hand brushes his hair away from his forehead long enough for the engineer to plant a gentle kiss on it before letting his hair flop back down and making the bed dip in the small area left open.

"Normally I would yell at you for being stupid-"

Peter frowns and curls into Stephen even more, and the sorcerer glares up at his husband. "Tony!"

"Buy you were far from stupid Underoos. You decided to sit and wait instead of risking the other kids lives by trying to fight your way out, and I am so proud of you. You scared the shit out of me and Mama Bear but you did the right thing." Tony finishes.

His words were what brought on the teen's tears. He had been scared since his body started to shut down on him and made his one of his fears a reality, not being able to protect others. Especially Diana, and was upset with himself because he had to force Cassie into a position she shouldn't have been in in the first place. He had felt like he did everything wrong, and Tony came and broke down his wall of doubts with just a few words.

"Kid, Laura and I are so grateful that you were there. Things could have been a lot worse, but my kids came home unharmed and only a little bit hungry." Clint adds.

Peter's tears slow and he fists the front of Stephen's shirt. "I couldn't help Diana. I tried but--"

Tony stops him by brushing his hair back again. "Dia's fine. We don't blame you. You were sick and Mama Bear got there in time. There are some things you can't help or control."

"Cassie had to--" Peter starts again but Scott interrupts.

"Cas is fine. She was more worried about you."

Peter turns his head to look up at Scott. "I'm pretty sure she saved my life. I want to thank her before she goes back to her mom's."

The ex-con grins. "Sure thing shortstack. Get some rest though."

Scott pats the teens leg and Clint gently ruffles his hair before the two leave, leaving Tony, Stephen, Rhodey, Bruce with Peter. He was getting tired again, still weak, but he could move and talk and that was already enough to relieve some of anxiety. Once he saw with his own eyes that all of the kids were safe and healthy, that would help with the rest of it.

Getting to cuddle Mama Bear was a huge plus.

"Looks like I'm not needed anymore. I'll be upstairs." Rhodey squeezes Peter's shoulder. "I'm glad to see you awake kid."

"He can try something solid, just not too much. Call if you need me." Bruce says before following the colonel out of the room.

"You wanna try to eat something Underoos?"

Peter shakes his head. "Just wanna go back to sleep."

"Do you want us to stay?" Stephen asks softly.

"At least until Dia needs you." Peter says before burying his face into the sorcerer's neck.

Tony chuckles. "I don't think Nat will mind babysitting. We'll be here when you wake up again."

"Okay..." The teen mumbles. "Love you."

Tony and Stephen smile. "Love you too kid."

[whatisaoneshot]

Tomorrow

Summary: Shinsou has been dealing with his panic attacks just fine. In fact they’ve almost left him entirely alone...almost.

Notes: Bit of a warning, Shinsou does hallucinate a tiny bit and does have a panic attack. Also, thank you to my beta reader:  thatbubbleguppy

Characters: Shinsou,  Midoriya, All Might, Eraserhead, and Present Mic

It had started from the moment he woke up, as it normally did. He woke up and she was just…bitching up a storm. He wasn’t good enough. Aizawa-sensei took pity on him. What did he think he was, a hero? He could never be a hero. Were the eggs cooked all the way through? They weren’t yesterday. Salmonella could kill him.

As usual, Shinsou ignored her. She was a constant droning buzz in his head anyway. No need to spare her the time of day, despite her voice nearly screaming right in his ear.

She could be louder than Yamada-sensei. Yet, he knew how not-real she was. No matter how loud she got, he could clearly hear everyone around him. No matter how softly Aizawa-sensei spoke, he could hear his every word perfectly.

The therapist said it was because she was an intrusive voice that he could sort-of, kind-of hear. The same therapist said he was the most down-to-earth crazy person he’d ever met so…whatever.

        He’d been managing just fine without a therapist. He had figured out all of the things he told him on his own, after each attack. Aizawa-sensei had been insistent, however. He needed to see someone. He needed to work his way up to taking meds which, honestly, didn’t sound like a bad idea.

And since gaining as many friends as he had in A-1 and having a more stable home life with two (almost three? All Might-sensei had been around more often; so had Midoriya, but that was a problem for another day) caring and—dare he think it—loving parental figures. He’d been doing better.

So even as he ignored his eggs entirely and listened to his classmates talk over each other to drown her out, he thought maybe today wouldn’t be too bad. Despite both Aizawa-sensei and All Might-sensei shooting him worried looks, because of course Aizawa-sensei knew something was wrong and probably told All Might-sensei as much, he actually wasn’t feeling too bad. She was just loud. Louder than she had in quite some time but manageable. He couldn’t even feel the anxiety pooling in his stomach.

He’d just have to tread carefully today. And not look at his hand. Easy enough. Especially with Midoriya giving him giant smiles and chattering constantly to him about strategies he could use for his quirk. He drowned her out no matter the type of day.

School helped too. He had things to do, things to think. She could be as loud as she wanted. She didn’t want him to fail, despite thinking he was a failure. She was weird like that. Then again, as a hallucinated representation of his anxiety, she didn’t have to—or really should—make any sense.

Yamada-sensei hovered in English. He was always the more obvious with his feelings. Shinsou appreciated the soft, warm smiles he shot him every time they made eye contact. He appreciated the offer of letting him into the staff room for lunch. On days like these though, it was better to be around too many people than not enough, especially ones he felt too comfortable with like his guardians.

He couldn’t prevent an attack like that. He wouldn’t have a reason not to have an attack. Instead he sat through lunch with Midoriya and co. talking off one ear and a hallucination snapping at him in the other. Nothing new. Nothing he couldn’t manage. He’d live. He always did.

Even training with Aizawa-sensei after school was fine. Sure, it was just the two of them, but she was always silent, even on bad days, when they spared. Too much brain power went into not getting punched or figuring out how to get the best of Aizawa-sensei for once.

His therapist did tell him something useful, once. His anxiety was the activation of a fight or flight response. It was overactive but only for the most useless shit. It actually gave him a damn good reaction time, even in the middle of an attack. He once started to collapse near some tables during a boneless attack, but in an instant, he was catching himself before nearly slamming his head into the corner of the desk.

Once he was sure he was safe, he rolled to the side and just laid on the floor until the attack was over. His anxiety wanted to protect him, not cause him more pain or danger. He wasn’t about to thank her for being a bitch, but it was good to know he wouldn’t hurt himself…majorly. He wasn’t looking at his hand for a reason.

Aizawa-sensei went easy on him for it, but that was alright. He got a nice throw in and decided to be happy with that. Mainly because Aizawa-sensei clearly was as surprised as he was that he’d managed it. Then he gave him that weird, crooked smile that meant he was proud of him, and she left him alone for some time after training.

All in all, it was turning into a good day. Even at the end of the day when it normally got worse. The rest of the class had shuffled off to bed after watching a movie together, leaving their teachers to clean up what they hadn’t, he felt pretty good.

He and Midoriya were the only students to stay behind, helping to straighten up since they both had a hard time sleeping anyway. Their teachers were talking quietly in the kitchen, All Might-sensei and Yamada-sensei laughing at something. He and Midoriya were cleaning up some crap from the floor in the living room.

She was talking, as she had all day, but Midoriya was louder, as he had been all day. Then she stopped. Then he stopped.

Huh. So it was a bad day after all.

“Shinsou-kun?”

That would be Midoriya. He sounded pretty freaked out. He didn’t really blame him, moments like this were pretty freaky.

Judging from the warmth on his side, that was probably where Midoriya was sitting. He couldn’t see him, couldn’t lift his head from where it was hanging loosely from his neck to see if he was right. Couldn’t do anything other than blink and breathe, actually.

He was sitting, or more accurately, leaning back against the couch. He must have tuned out when he started to fall, since he had been near the TV and now was against the couch. Midoriya must have seen him go and caught him.

That was good. Less good was the realization that he was comfortable enough around Midoriya to have an attack. Even less good was how worried his guardians would be. Oh boy.

“Shinsou-kun?” Midoriya said again, louder this time, a warm hand on his shoulder.

Nope, nothing was moving him right now. He couldn’t even twitch his fingers. The hand on his shoulder was keeping him upright.

“Uh—Uh…” Midoriya breathed, and Shinsou wanted to sigh, wanted to tell Midoriya to get Aizawa-sensei or Yamada-sensei. They, he knew for certain, knew what to do.

But he couldn’t speak or move.

“Midoriya? What’s the matter?”

That would be All Might-sensei. Less than ideal, but he probably knew considering he was a teacher. He had warned most of the teachers he had and they, of course, talked to other teachers.

“I—I don’t know! Shinsou-kun just—just started to collapse? And now he’s not responding,” Midoriya rambled, and Shinsou blinked slowly at his hands. Don’t look at your thumb. Don’t look at your thumb. “His eyes are open and—!”

“It’s alright, my boy. Calm down,” All Might-sensei said, and Shinsou’s eyes zeroed in on the thumb on his left hand. Well shit. “You’re not helping him by getting scared. Just stay with him while I get Aizawa-kun.”

Midoriya made a noise of agreement, and Shinsou stopped listening to All Might-sensei’s clunky feet stomp away. He was staring at the weird gap between his thumb and the rest of his hand.

His thumb itself looked like plastic. There were shining, metal joints at the knuckle. There was no nail, just the indent of one in the plastic. It felt heavy and looked so comically unreal. He couldn’t remember how he lost it. He didn’t want to be wearing it anymore.

“Shinsou-kun?” Midoriya said, as he raised his hand, staring at his thumb.

Slowly, he reached his other hand up, grabbed his fake thumb, and yanked. It didn’t come off, but he heard the locking mechanism crack.

Wrinkling his nose, he yanked again. No noise this time, but he felt something shift. He yanked again, and his hand slipped off, the thumb still firmly in place. Stupid thing. It needed to come off. It was annoying. It was heavy. It wasn’t real. It had to go.

Again and again, with frustration and anger burning in his stomach, he pulled and yanked, but it wouldn’t let go. With a snarl, he raised his hand and tried to slam it against the ground.

“Hitoshi.”

He froze and went limp again. Someone was holding his wrist. Midoriya was babbling nonsense beside him. He blinked twice then looked up. Aizawa-sensei was kneeling in front of him. His hair was pulled back into a messy bun and his eyes dragged with bags, although he didn’t look tired. For once.

        “Hey, hey,” Yamada-sensei peaked into his vision from his other side, soft smile on his face. His hair was down and pulled back into a braid one of the girls did for him.

Shinsou blinked at both of them before pain radiated from his thumb and realization smacked him in the face. He’d just tried to pull his thumb off—his very real, attached thumb—in front of Midoriya and All Might-sensei.

The panic was instantaneous. With a jerk, he was curled into a ball, hand ripped from Aizawa-sensei’s grasp to grip his head between his hands as a painful sob ripped from his throat. Shit. Fuck. Balls. He didn’t tell his classmates for a reason. They’d be even more freaked out by him.

Hyperventilating was unavoidable at this point, and he knew it, despite holding his breath to prevent it. His nails dug into his skull, as Yamada-sensei hugged him close. Aizawa-sensei was holding his hands, trying to slip his fingers under his own to keep him from hurting himself.

He thought about screaming a few times before he actually was screaming. Thankfully the damn walls were sound proof. He was frustrated at himself, at her, at his thumb. He didn’t even know what he was anxious about at this point. Stupid panic disorder. Stupid brain. Stupid voice.

“One.”

Aizawa-sensei’s voice was stern but gentle. Warm and inviting. The way out. He had to count. Had to count.

“Two.”

Was he counting? He probably wasn’t screaming anymore. He could hear the pop song Yamada-sensei was humming in his ear.

“Three.”

The boulder in his throat was slowly sinking into his stomach. Every breath didn’t feel like it was about to make him pass out.

“Four.”

She wasn’t done yet.

“Five.”

He was so tired.

“Six.”

He just…didn’t want to deal with looking at Midoriya when he calmed down. When the attack was over.

“Seven, Hitoshi.”

He knew he was still in the room. They would have to carry Midoriya out, and All Might-sensei probably wouldn’t do that.

“Hitoshi, I need you to look at me.”

And All Might-sensei was another thing. The man couldn’t not look sympathetic to save his life.

He just…didn’t want to.

So he didn’t.

Aizawa-sensei sighed as Shinsou went limp in Yamada-sensei’s arms, eyes thousands of miles away.

“I got it,” Yamada-sensei muttered before Shinsou was being rearranged to be leaning against him, head on his shoulder, arms limp on the floor. He saw them both hovering over him with concern on their faces. They had long since gone past being surprised by what his panic attacks could bring. They just had to move onto the next tactic.

“Hey, kiddo!” Yamada-sensei said cheerfully, bright smile on his face. “Did I ever tell you the time Shouta tried to be romantic?”

Shinsou’s eyes snapped to Yamada-sensei, Aizawa-sensei groaning and trying not to smile. He failed without his scarf to hide behind.

“It was our third anniversary,” Yamada-sensei began, and Shinsou knew the story instantly. It didn’t stop him from listening closely, watching the way Yamada-sensei’s face twist and grin.

“See, I was complaining about him not being romantic enough, and he actually took it to heart,” Yamada-sensei said, and Aizawa-sensei sat heavily on his other side. “So he decided he’d do something fantastic for our anniversary. Starting with actually going to a party being thrown at the radio station for us. I was going to tell them no because I know how much he hates those things, but he insisted it would be fine.”

“It was anything but fine,” Aizawa-sensei muttered and Shinsou’s eyes snapped to look at him. He managed something like a soft smile. As soft a smile as he could manage anyway. “Two minutes in and everyone but us were drunk off their fucking asses. Got wine poured on my head.”

Shinsou heard All Might-sensei snort, and Midoriya say something faintly in the background, but barely reacted. He’d have to face them sooner rather than later.

“And then someone threw up on the sound board, and everyone ended up wearing cake because someone thought it would be funny to throw it at us,” Yamada-sensei laughed lightly, and Shinsou managed a small smile, fingers twitching. “They missed and hit the ceiling instead.”

“Fucking awful,” Aizawa-sensei muttered. “And I had to interact with people.”

That got a bigger smile out of him. His guardians smiled back. This story worked, every single time. No matter how many times Shinsou had heard it.

“So then we leave and get changed, and Shouta thinks he can still save the day,” Yamada-sensei said, smiling fondly at Aizawa-sensei. All Might-sensei and Midoriya shuffled into sight and Shinsou spared them a glance before looking at Yamada-sensei again quickly. Midoriya had pink and puffy eyes, probably from crying.

“I almost did,” Aizawa-sensei muttered, and Yamada-sensei shook his head.

“He had a picnic prepared. He cooked all of my favorite things—er, well—thought he had.” Yamada-sensei snickered and looked down at Shinsou. “He ended up burning everything.”

“We didn’t find that out until we got to the park, and it instantly started raining,” Aizawa-sensei muttered, and Yamada-sensei and All Might-sensei choked on laughs. Midoriya smiled and rubbed his eyes.

Shinsou smiled and slowly began to sit up. Yamada-sensei and Aizawa-sensei helped him upright and scooted him back to lean against the couch between them.

“It was an awful day,” Aizawa-sensei said, once Shinsou was snug between them.

“I thought it was sweet! You tried,” Yamada-sensei cooed, grinning at Aizawa-sensei over Shinsou’s head.

“And I’ll never try again,” Aizawa-sensei said with a nod, smirking when Yamada-sensei instantly started to whine.

Shinsou smiled but knew they were going to need more stories.

“I—uh—I once spared with Aizawa-kun,” All Might-sensei said with an awkward cough, after taking one look at the falling smile and glazed over look coming onto Shinsou’s face. In an instant, he had Shinsou’s eyes on him and smiled awkwardly. “When we were younger. Aizawa-kun was just starting out as a hero.”

“Oh yeah,” Aizawa-sensei said blandly, Shinsou’s eyes snapping to him. “You lost that fight.”

All Might-sensei laughed, choking slightly. Midoriya looked between them with a look of awe. “I didn’t know what I was getting into.”

“What? I don’t remember this,” Yamada-sensei said, raising an eyebrow at Aizawa-sensei, who shrugged.

“Miss Joke dared me to,” Aizawa-sensei said with a shrug. All of them stared at him for a moment, and he sighed. “Our agency was working with him, and the three of us were in the training room. She wanted to see us duke it out and offered to pay my rent if I won.”

Yamada-sensei burst out laughing, and Shinsou smiled. Midoriya’s eyes were massive, looking between All Might-sensei and Aizawa-sensei. The gears were smoking in his brain, trying to imagine what that fight might have been like.

“I didn’t know about the bet until afterwards. I didn’t actually know what Aizawa-kun’s quirk was,” All Might-sensei said, smiling sheepishly. “I agreed to the sparring match without thinking.”

“You didn’t know?” Aizawa-sensei snorted, grinning maniacally at All Might-sensei. “No wonder you lost so badly.”

“Oh, please tell,” Yamada-sensei said, laughing fondly at Midoriya nodding rapidly from All Might-sensei’s side.

“Oh, well—“All Might-sensei laughed lightly, shaking his head. “I didn’t even get a chance before my quirk was erased and Aizawa-kun had me wrapped up in his capture weapon. I was hanging from the ceiling before I really knew what was going on.”

“It was pitiful,” Aizawa-sensei snorted, shaking his head. “The all-powerful Symbol of Peace taken out in less than a minute.”

“I don’t think I could have done better even if I did know,” All Might-sensei said, glancing at Shinsou. “Uh—“

“Kaachan once threw me into a lake!” Midoriya said quickly, trying to smile when Shinsou’s eyes snapped to him. The teachers looked aghast, all of them appearing vaguely horrified, although only one of them was any good at hiding it. “Well—he meant to, but it was to help me!”

Shinsou smiled as Midoriya rambled incoherently for a moment before getting back on track. What a damn nerd. He liked this kid. Minus probably freaking out and crying, Midoriya was handling this entire situation pretty well. “We were playing in the park and Kaachan hadn’t gotten his quirk yet but some of the other kids had. One of them could breathe fire! And, well, he couldn’t control it really well? We were playing near the park’s lake, and he started to hiccup and spat fire every time he did! And I happened to be in the way once, and my shirt caught fire. So Kaachan grabbed me and threw me into the lake. It was really impressive! He could lift me and everything! Oh, and the lake wasn’t very deep…I could stand and I wasn’t hurt. Just wet…”

Shinsou managed a weak chuckle when their teachers only stared at Midoriya. He found himself sitting up and rocking back and forth. Yamada-sensei rested a hand on his back while Aizawa-sensei shook his head, Midoriya laughing awkwardly.

Shinsou smiled and there was silence for a moment. They all watched him, waiting. Waiting for him to lapse back into his attack. He didn’t, just kept rocking, glancing around the room and staring at them for a few moments before looking away again.

Yamada-sensei waved at Aizawa-sensei who stood and quickly shuffled off. He was probably getting the whiteboard. He wouldn’t be talking until tomorrow. How late was it anyway? Probably late. At least tomorrow was their day off. He’d actually get sleep tonight too.

“Shinsou-kun?” Midoriya said softly, shuffling closer. “Are you okay?”

Shinsou nodded and smiled at Midoriya.

“Hitoshi,” Yamada-sensei said softly, leaning forward and smiling at him when he looked over. “Do you want to tell Midoriya, or would you rather I say it?”

Shinsou stared at Yamada-sensei for a long moment and almost went boneless again. Hard questions were a no-go, and Yamada-sensei was ready for it, his hand firm and warm against his back. He did like explaining what he wanted to new people, but he didn’t have the energy right then. He would tell Midoriya everything later anyway, and he wanted to reassure him. So he nodded once.

Yamada-sensei smiled at him before looking at Midoriya. “He’s alright. This happens from time to time. He has a panic disorder.”

Shinsou found himself watching All Might-sensei instead of Midoriya’s widening eyes. All Might-sensei caught his stare and smiled softly back. It wasn’t sympathetic or even empathetic. It was tired. It was understanding. It made him feel a little better.

“When he panics too much, he either shuts down or starts to hallucinate, sometimes both,” Yamada-sensei said softly, rubbing Shinsou’s back. “It can happen at complete random or over nothing.”

“Oh,” Midoriya said softly, frowning at the ground then at Shinsou’s left hand. “Is that why he was…”

“Yes,” Yamada-sensei said quickly, grabbing Shinsou’s hand before he could even think of looking down. He usually did that when he started to stare at it. “He was probably trying to pull it off.”

Midoriya flinched, and All Might-sensei looked ill for only a moment before sighing.

“Pull it off?” Midoriya whispered, before shuffling closer and plastering a bright smile on his face. “But you’re okay now?”

Shinsou could appreciate Midoriya acting like he was actually there. Sometimes foster homes explained it like he wasn’t there at all. Smiling, he nodded before looking up at the sound of Aizawa-sensei’s feet. He was usually quieter than that, but it was for Shinsou’s benefit. He couldn’t be startled either.

Without saying a word, he set the white board, a marker, and the eraser down beside him before sitting on his other side. He also pulled a small tissue box out from under his arm along with a water bottle. Shinsou ignored all of them. Both All Might-sensei and Midoriya looked like they wanted to say something about it, but thought better of it.

Instead, they sat in silence for a few moments. Shinsou’s head was blissfully empty. There were no extra voices or even a thought to be had. Just empty fuzz. He was tired. He felt safe. He felt secure in knowing that neither All Might-sensei nor Midoriya seemed willing to abandon him because of this.

Attacks and episodes fucking sucked but the peace that came after them sure was relieving.

“Hitoshi,” Yamada-sensei said softly after a moment. “Do you want to stay with us tonight?”

The teacher’s room in the dorms fit all three of them. Normally it would only hold two, but since Aizawa-sensei and Yamada-sensei were married it was currently accommodating three plus two cats. Aizawa-sensei and Yamada-sensei shared a room, while All Might-sensei had his own. Despite that, there were a few nights that Shinsou just slept on their couch. He got some of his best sleep on that couch.

He nodded, and Yamada-sensei smiled and nodded back. They lapsed back into silence for a moment before All Might-sensei awkwardly cleared his throat. “Would it be best to move into there?”

Shinsou didn’t see Aizawa-sensei and Yamada-sensei share glances, but he knew they did. He just shook his head. “He probably can’t walk yet,” Aizawa-sensei said casually.

        “And carrying him is a bad idea,” Yamada-sensei said quickly with a chuckle when All Might-sensei opened his mouth.

“Can’t walk?” Midoriya said with a worried frown.

Aizawa-sensei opened his mouth, but Shinsou found himself scooping up the whiteboard, and he stopped himself.

Shinsou’s handwriting looked fucking awful. The lines were shaky, and the pen was red. He couldn’t help but think the letters looked like a dying person drew them with their blood. He also couldn’t help but be amused by that thought. He remembered the last time he had an attack and told Yamada-sensei and Aizawa-sensei that exact thing, leading him to believe that—just maybe—that was why Aizawa-sensei chose the red marker.

My legs won’t hold my weight for a while. They’re like over cooked noodles. They’re the last thing that kicks back into gear after an attack. He wrote before turning the board for All Might-sensei and Midoriya to read.

“Oh,” Midoriya said, relaxing slightly. “As long as you’re alright!”

Shinsou blinked at him before smiling and snatching up the eraser. Why are you such a pure cinnamon roll?

        Only Yamada-sensei and Midoriya got the joke when he finished writing. He grinned proudly, as Aizawa-sensei and All Might-sensei stared at him blankly before shrugging it off.

        As Yamada-sensei explained the meme to them, Shinsou yawned and sighed. He did want to go to bed. He felt better now and it was unlikely that he would drop back into the attack now. Setting the whiteboard down, he glared at his legs, poking at his knee. He could vaguely feel the pokes. They always felt numb just like his thumb still hurt. It was all very familiar and made him feel like he was floating in jello all the same.

“Shinsou-kun?” Midoriya said softly and his head snapped up. “Do you want to stand?”

That stopped Yamada-sensei in his tracks. Shinsou felt the adults’ eyes on him as he nodded. He looked at Yamada-sensei and held up his hand, fingers balled into a fist, thumb over his knuckles.

“S,” Yamada-sensei said cheerfully, eyes bright. He’d been slowly teaching him American Sign Language. He had a hard time holding onto words of any form, sign or spoken, during or after an attack, but it was still useful for when Yamada-sensei didn’t have his hearing aids in around the house.

Shinsou kept his middle to pinky fingers folded and raised his pointer and thumb in the shape of an L.

“L!”

He held up his palm, his fingers bent at the first knuckle.

“E.”

He pulled his hand into a fist then did the same sign again.

“E!”

He folded all of his fingers put his pointer, pointing at the ground. He pressed his thumb against his finger.

“P! Sleep? You want to go to bed?”

Shinsou nodded his fist and Yamada-sensei smiled brilliantly at him. He was way too happy. It was nice.

“Alright!” Yamada-sensei said in English, pushing himself to his feet. “Shouta?”

Aizawa-sensei nodded and stood as well. They got Shinsou’s arms over their shoulders and hauled him to his feet fairly effortlessly. Midoriya scrambled to his feet, while All Might-sensei gathered up the whiteboard, tissues, and water.

Although his guardians were holding all of his weight, his feet were secure against the ground. For a brief second, they all thought he might be able to hold his weight. That was dashed the instant they put any of his weight on his legs and his knees instantly gave out.

He huffed a sigh as they easily caught him and held him up again. “Want to sit down again?” Aizawa-sensei muttered, Midoriya and All Might-sensei watching with worried frowns.

Shinsou shook his head and gently tugged on their shoulders a bit. Hesitantly and with shared glances, they put a little weight on his legs again. His knees gave but then, after a moment, got back under him and held him up shakily.

It was a slow walk from the common room to the teacher’s apartment. All Might-sensei rushed ahead of them to open the door. Midoriya hesitantly followed after them, frowning worriedly.

“Midoriya,” Aizawa-sensei said sternly, looking back at Midoriya and finally looking tired now that his adopted son was walking mostly on his own. “Go to bed. He’ll be able to talk tomorrow.”

Midoriya hesitated, but when Shinsou smiled back at him and gave an awkward wave over Yamada-sensei’s shoulder, he nodded and headed toward his room, glancing back at them until he disappeared around the corner.

“He’s a good friend,” Yamada-sensei said cheerfully, as they got Shinsou over the threshold of the apartment, All Might-sensei holding his arms out when it was a tight squeeze to get all three of them through the door at once. “I approve!”

Shinsou and Aizawa-sensei snorted and rolled their eyes. Yamada-sensei just grinned at them, as All Might-sensei beamed.

They got him over to the couch and gently dropped him onto the cushions. Shinsou puffed a sighed and smiled tiredly up at the three of them. The water, tissues, and board were resting on the coffee table.

“You know what it was this time?” Aizawa-sensei said, sitting on the arm of the couch.

Shinsou shook his head and Aizawa-sensei nodded. They sat for a moment before Yamada-sensei yawned and stretched dramatically.

“Welp! Time for bed! Let’s go, Yagi,” Yamada-sensei said, almost pushing All Might-sensei from the room and towards the bathroom.

“Oh…uh…alright?” All Might-sensei chuckled, waving at them before looking at Yamada-sensei. “Ah, American Sign Language?”

“I learned sign in America!” Yamada-sensei said cheerfully, as they disappeared down the hallway.

Shinsou smiled after them before looking up at Aizawa-sensei, who was staring down at him. “You were doing pretty okay.”

Shinsou nodded. Aizawa-sensei didn’t say anything for a moment. “This was the first bad one for a while.”

Shinsou nodded again, nearly jumping when a heavy hand landed in his hair. “I’m proud of you, Hitoshi. You’ve grown up a lot.”

Aizawa-sensei smiled down at him, but it wasn’t that weird crooked thing. It was a bright, warm thing. Something like what Yamada-sensei got sometimes. It was that fond thing he only saw on his guardian’s face when Yamada-sensei did some stupid, random things.

Shinsou sniffed. Normally, he wouldn’t fall prey to his desire to cry in happiness, but he was tired and emotionally drained and...well. He accepted the tissue Aizawa-sensei offered him and waved off his concerned look. Just as rare as that smile were moments where Shinsou really felt like he was Aizawa-sensei’s son.

He blew his nose, cleaned away the snot, wiped his eyes, and then pointed at himself. Aizawa-sensei nodded and Shinsou held out his pointer finger and his middle finger, pressing his thumb in the junction between them. He pressed the back of his pointer under his chin and slid it out in front of him.

Aizawa-sensei relaxed and nodded. He patted his head and gave him his crooked smile. “Going to be alright to sleep?”

Shinsou nodded, and Aizawa-sensei sighed and stood up. “Alright. Goodnight, kid.”

Shinsou waved and watched him disappear into his and Yamada-sensei’s room. After a moment of listening to the water run in the bathroom, Hanna burst out from All Might-sensei’s room and ran up to him.

Smiling, he picked her up and laid down. She was a ridiculously soft long hair cat. She was just the sweetest thing, rubbing her head all over his, as he pulled the throw blanket from the back of the couch and resituated the pillow Aizawa-sensei left on the couch for when he slept there.

Hanna settled down the moment Shinsou had. The instant he closed his eyes, he was falling asleep. Tomorrow he’d have to talk to Midoriya and maybe even All Might-sensei, but that was alright.

Tomorrow, she would be back and his peace would be over. Tomorrow he could sleep in and do some homework. Tomorrow he could stay in the teacher’s apartment and learn some more American Sign Language and maybe just talk and listen as his two guardians (possibly three guardians? He really needed to talk to them about that) tell stories or banter.

Tomorrow would be okay.