#dorkface dads au

[vagrantblvrd]

Myan just being dads. Please, I have a craving and there's only like 3 fics about it.

I’m super behind on prompts and the whatnot – Because Reasons – but I’m still working on them. Just like. At a glacial pace. Because me.

I really, really love this?

One night when Michael’s getting off work he gets gets (roughly) a million texts from Gavin who’s his roommate in this AU, right?

Making dinner because he knows Michael will be getting home soonish or resurfacing from whatever work project he’s involved with at the time because hunger?

And Michael, Michael, they’re out of this, and that, and on and on like he’s just going from cabinet to cabinet and fridge compartment to fridge compartment and so on.

Michael doesn’t get a chance to check the messages right away – first he’s driving or dealing with paperwork or whatever before he actually gets to get out of the building and in his car.

Once he does though he’s just like SIGH because Gavin, but also oh, wow, yeah. It’s been a while since neither one of them have done a proper grocery run, hasn’t it?

Work or something else getting in the way of something so exciting, and sometimes it’s just easier to grab fast food on the way home or call a place that will deliver and so on.

But he’s not in the mood for fast food or take out at the moment, and there’s a grocery store on the way home. (Also some of the stuff Gavin texted him about are staples or something they use all the time and would super shitty to wake up the next day and remember they ran out and just. Yeah.)

He calls Gavin and asks him to come up with a list of things they absolutely need Right Now he can get on the way home. The rest will have to wait until they get their shit together and do a grocery run sometime in the next few days.

Gavin tries to tell him they need ALL the things, but he’s being a little shit and they both know it so Michael doesn’t feel guilty about hanging up on him. (Or ignoring the texts Gavin sends him as he drives to the store.)

And then!

He’s at the store – kind of late at night because work and shifts and what is time?

Just a few people there – some college kids, a tired looking guy with a baby in a cart and looking more than a little frazzled, a couple bickering over coupons? And so on.

He doesn’t think much about any of it as he goes through the aisles picking up the things on the revised list Gavin texted him.

And, yeah. There’s some bullshit stuff on there Michael mentally crosses off because Gavin and annoying fuck and Michael can’t be bothered to be annoyed.

When he gets up to the register the guy with the baby’s in front of him, and wow, okay, wow.

The poor bastard looks like he hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in pretty much forever.

Tired and scruffy and moving real slow like all his energy is going into not falling over onto his face.

The baby, though?

Adorable as fuck, even if it’s just staring at Michael.

Unblinking.

Little stuffed animal that Michael thinks it might have started life off as a cow, but it’s clearly much loved – or gnawed – and talk about covered in baby drool because yeah.

So Michael’s standing in line behind this poor bastard whose baby who clearly wants to fight Michael with the way it’s staring at him.

The guy doesn’t seem to notice his baby is staring Michael down, which fine. He’s got his hands full not dropping his shit all over the floor as he unloads his cart. (Usual baby stuff – diapers and wipes and formula and other such things. Food for himself – and okay, yeah, guy loves his diet coke? But not like it’s Michael’s place to judge, right?)

He makes faces at the baby and it keeps Staring, which is fine because what was Michael expecting from a baby?

But whatever, the baby’s kind of cute. (For a baby.)

Someone’s phone goes off, this horrifically obnoxious thing that sets the baby off, startles it or whatever and the poor thing bawls its eyes out.

Full-on wailing while the asshole with the shitty ringtone answers their phone and has a Loud Conversation with whoever called them and oblivious to what they’ve done in regards to baby meltdown.

The Tired Guy is like, trying to calm the baby down and not drop the carton of eggs he’s got in his hands and doing a terrible job of both, but eventually he manages to get the eggs down on the conveyor belt-thing and picks the baby up to soothe it and whatnot.

No one notices when the baby drops their stuffed animal between the crying and everything else. (Which, incidentally is Not Helping the baby calm down but everyone assumes it’s just tired baby being tired baby and expressing itself the only way it knows how.)

Tired guy manages to juggle his baby and paying for his groceries before leaving with the still crying baby.

Michael feels bad for the guy – baby’s still crying and they can see him through the front windows trying to calm the poor thing down with no success – but not like he can do anything to help, right?

He moves up and accidentally steps on the baby’s little stuffed toy (cow???) and is like, oh shit, because that would go a long way in explaining why the baby’s still upset?

He picks it up and wipes it off best he can and tucks it under his arm – ewww, baby drool – and pays for his groceries and hurries out of the store before Tired Guy leaves.

Makes it outside just in time to see Tired Guy start to make his way to the parking lot and calls out to him waving the stuffed toy. (Knows he probably comes across as a creep or weirdo and hopes the guy won’t react badly before Michael can explain.)

Tired Guy doesn’t react badly, which is nice.

Seems confused as hell before he realizes what Michael’s holding – the fact the baby stops crying the moment it sees what Michael has is helpful in that regard – and Michael’s like lol because the baby is making grabby hands for their toy.

“Here,” Michael says. “I think the kid dropped this back there.”

The baby’s getting frustrated at not having their toy back Right Now, and Michael looks at Tired Guy for permission to give the baby to little stuffed cow and gives Tired Guy this smile because the guy looks so goddamned relived the baby’s stopped crying?

Michael hands the toy over the baby is instantly happy again, making happy baby noises as they hug the little toy cow and being adorable as hell.

Michael ends up chatting with Tired Guy. (Okay, it’s more like he’s chatting at him because the guy tries, he does, but it’s pretty obvious he’s too tired to keep a conversation going no matter how thrilled he is to be talking to someone who isn’t a baby?)

And, look.

Michael gets it, he does. Has had enough family members and friends with their own kids and that thing where it feels like they’ve not seen someone who isn’t a literal child in forever or talked about anything no child-related for an equal amount of time.

(Also, maybe. On second glance Tired Guy’s kind of not terrible to look at and while he sounds tired and his voice is a little shot, it’s also not terrible to listen to. Michael knows this won’t go anywhere because come on, his life’s not a goddamned romcom, and also the guy’s got a baby. That usually implies a SO of some sort or other relationship and all, but hey, he can still talk to the guy, right?)

Right.

He finds out Tired Guy is actually new in town, staying with a friend of his until he gets his own place and doesn’t know a lot of people here yet. (Works from home or something with computers???)

It goes fine for a bit, but eventually they hit this slightly awkward silence/lull in the conversation.

And then (conveniently) Michael gets a new text from Gavin asking him where he is – Michael told him he’d be thirty, forty minutes late getting home with the grocery stop and it’s well past that by now – and the baby thwacks Tired Guy in the face with the toy cow because it wants attention or just for the hell of it, who the hell knows what a baby’s ever thinking?

They’re both like oh, right, right, better get home, and make their awkward goodbyes. Michael halfway home before he realizes he never got Tired Guy’s name or anything and man, what a shame because he actually liked talking to the guy?

He was funny and nice and Michael’s still kicking himself about not getting his name or number – its not easy being in a new place and not knowing anyone and all that, but nothing he can do about that now.

Until, you know, later.

Because Michael helps his landlord out with handyman projects around their building he gets a percentage off their rent.

Sure, it means he ends up tangled up in repair jobs and such from time to time, but for cheaper rent it’s not a bad trade-off. (Most of the time, anyhow.)

One day the landlord calls Michael and asks him if he could check things out in this one apartment. New tenant and something to do with the wiring or something?

Michael is like SIGH because he’s been pulling doubles at work and was looking forward to a long weekend to do nothing but relax, catch up on sleep and all that.

But, whatever, right?

He garbs his tool belt and heads over to the apartment in question and boy oh boy, is he surprised when the tenant opens the door and it’s Tired Guy.

:O!

It takes a moment for Tired Guy to recognize him, and then it’s the two of them  staring at one another like idiots because what are the fucking odds, right?

Tired Guy looks a hell of a lot better than he did when they ran into one another at the grocery store. Still kind of tired, but not the kind that invites worry over his well-being that may or may not require an intervention of sorts.

“Uh, hey,” Michael says, when the staring is getting to be ridiculous. “I’m here about the call you put in to the landlord about a problem you have?”

And then Tired Guy (who, come on, we all know it’s Ryan) is like ??? and then !!! because, oh, yeah, right.

That.

He shows Michael over to where the problem issue is. Turns out to be some dumb problem the tenant before Ryan caused by trying to be a DiY’er or something with regards to rewiring something or other. Botched the whole thing and hid it to avoid having to pay a fine or whatever to the landlord and all that. The apartment’s been empty for a while before Ryan moved in – and Michael is like, huh, because he remembers Gavin chattering on about their new neighbor.

Nice enough guy he ran into in the hallway a few days ago, but Michael kept missing because working longer hours than usual and other typical reasons in this kind of scenario.

Now he’s keenly aware of Ryan as the guy moves about elsewhere once Michael told him the problem he’s having is an easy fix, maybe half an hour, forty-five minutes to deal with and feel free to ignore him while he does.

And Ryan takes him up on that, apologizes because kind of rude? But also he was working on something and he’s just a room away if Michael needs anything and so on.

Ten, fifteen minutes go by before Michael hears a baby crying. The loud, awful full-on baby meltdown and Ryan wanders back into the room holding the baby and doing his best to calm the poor thing down.

Michael glances over when he gets the baby to fall asleep – tired and fighting sleep every step of the way until it couldn’t anymore – and smiles at the picture the two of them make.

Ryan a tired dad and adorable kiddo drooling on his shoulder and just.

Adorable, the both of them.

“Cute kid,” Michael says, because the baby is cute.

Impressive set of lungs and all, but still cute.

And Ryan, tired and on auto-pilot as he rocks the baby he’s holding and murmurs nonsense to it speaks without thinking.

Just goes and says, “Oh, she’s not mine,” and makes another circuit of the room, passing right by Michael who is like.

Huh.

Because Ryan doesn’t seem like a baby-stealing lunatic, but who knows, right?

Watches Ryan  wander past again before what he said actually registers and Ryan is like

!!!

“Wait, no. I mean - “

Michael tries not to laugh as Ryan falls over himself reassuring Michael he’s not a baby-stealing lunatic (and incidentally succeeding in making himself look like a general sort of lunatic ).

Tells Michael that friend he was staying with when he first got to town has this whole. Fostering Things going on.

Looks after kids and such whether it be short-term or long-term (They’ve got a couple of kids they’re in the process of adopting because they can’t not have them in their lives for forever after getting to know them and so on but it’s a hell of a process and legal battles and all that going on to complicate things.)

But they’re out of town for something or other and couldn’t take the baby too, and Ryan offered to watch the baby for them. (Not the first time he’s done it and definitely won’t be the last.)

At the end of his explanation he’s watching Michael like he’s expecting him to call the cops or something and looking even more like a lunatic.

Michael just rolls his eyes because yeah, no. He didn’t really think Ryan was a baby-stealing lunatic in the first place, so calm down idiot.

They end up chatting again while Michael works and Ryan sits down on the couch with the baby deep asleep and it’s.

Kind of nice?

When Michael finishes up he remembers to get Ryan’s name – and his number – and a promise from Ryan to give him a call if he needs help. (Handyman projects or baby stuff or whatever, you know?)

He goes back to the apartment he shares with Gavin and Gavin is like. Knows Something Happened and gets the whole story out of Michael. (He knew about Tired Guy and Crying Baby from the grocery store and cannot stop laughing when Michael tells him Tired Guy is actually Ryan, and also their new neighbor?)

Michael is like SIGH because yeah okay. Fair enough because God knows he’d do the same if he was in Gavin’s shoes for something like this.

He doesn’t really expect to hear from Ryan again, but a week later he gets a text from the landlord and surprise, surprise, Ryan’s found another problem in his apartment.

Michael heads over and finds out it’s another botched DiY shitshow from the previous tenant and sets about fixing it while they chat.

The baby’s there again, and Michael is like huh, at the way Ryan is with her. Definitely in love with the tiny baby even if he doesn’t realize it yet (None of his business, but he hopes it works out for Ryan’s sake.)

After that Ryan texts Michael about some random something that made him think of Michael and things kind of snowball from there.

The two of them being all dorks falling in love (and not realizing it) and also there’s a baby?

Like.

The baby features a lot, this sweet little girl with pretty blue eyes named Abigail.

Ryan freaking dotes on her, spoils her, and Michael rolls his eyes and tells him he’s spoiling her even as he brings over new toys or games or whatever to grab her attention or make her laugh.

Ryan is like “Do tell,” and absolutely laughing at Michael the whole time.

One night Ryan asks him over for dinner one night (it’s a thing they do, they’re just friends for fuck’s sake Gavin, stop looking at Michael like that) expecting the usual fast food or take out or something, but no!

No.

There are goddamned enchiladas, clearly homemade because no way any of the places around there could make anything that looked half as good. (Maybe Michael’s biased???)

“Oh, hey,” Michael says, this huge smile on his face. “I thought you were bullshitting me about these.”

Ryan’s all nervous and worked up about something, and just when Michael’s about to ask him what the hell is going on, Ryan blurts out that he’s going to go through with the adoption process for Abigail.

Michael is just like, even bigger smile because he thought Ryan might do something like that sooner or later, given how much he loves her.

“Congratulations,” he says, and laughs. “When I saw the enchiladas I thought you were going to ask me on a date.”

He tries to make it sound like a joke, all ha, ha, hilarious and all that because obviously that would never happen. (They’re friends and all.)

Only.

Ryan’s not laughing.

Ryan, in fact, looks confused as hell.

“I thought I already did?”

Because look.

All this time the two of them have been having dinner and watching movies and all kinds of date-things, but for whatever reason Ryan never officially asked Michael on a date.

So Michael’s been thinking they’re just friends while Ryan is like My Boyfriend is Best Boyfriend :DDDDDDDDDDDIt’s just.

Super Awkward for a moment, and then it’s hilarious as fuck because Ryan?

And also annoying as fuck because all the smooches and ~other things they could have been doing all this time? (Almost a year by that point and Ryan you moron.)

But hey, they’ve just got stuff to catch up on and what better time than now to get started?

Smooches and Michael laughing at Ryan who laughs at himself and Michael and it’s stupid cute -

So of course Abigail chooses that moment to start crying and they break away to laugh about her impeccable sense of timing.

“Jesus,” Michael says, laughing a little as they untangle themselves from the pile of throw blankets and dumb pillows on Ryan’s couch. “Can’t wait for that to get old.”

Because cock-blocking baby that’ll be a toddler and on and on and on and wow, fun? (But also that sweet little girl with the pretty blue eyes that Ryan -and okay, Michael – loves so goddamn much.)

Ryan laughs because same? But then he goes to see what Abigail’s crying about now, and comes back out with her dozing off on his shoulder and just.

Michael’s watching the two of them with this look on his face, all soft and fond and he makes room for them on the couch where he and Ryan watch something on Netflix with a sleeping baby and really, okay, really, there are worse things than this.

(And then happily ever after with shenanigans and occasional enchilada nights and Gavin and all their other friends laughing at their dumb dorkfaces for forever.)

[fayfictions]

I thought that last misfits family au was adorable so. (Prompt) toby and cam are sleeping in their bedroom upstairs, because its fathers day teenage swags, preteen matt, child jay, and todler mason, want to do something speical (sorry if i spelled that wrong) for them, lets just say it doesn't go as planned but they get lots of kisses from their dads for the effort

this is late for fathers day but if u didn’t say happy fathers day to fitz ur dead to me

this is also way too long oops

~

jay was the one who had the idea in the first place. he scrambled up into eric’s room first, jumping on top of him until he woke up with a groan. “what the fu- fudge. what the fudge are you doing in my room. its,” he looked over at the clock, “5 in the f- freaking morning, jay. why are you up so early?”

“its fathers day!” jay whispered excitedly. “I wanna do something for mom and dad!”

“okay, and you woke me up because…?”

“because I want you and matt and macie to help!”

“have you talked to them yet?”

“no, I wanted to wake you up first cause you can get them out of bed better.”

eric sighed, sitting up before grabbing his glasses. “fine, i’ll wake them up.”

jay grinned excitedly. “yay! meet me in the kitchen!” he ran out of the room after that, and eric sighed again.

he went to matts room first, turning on the light. matt’s face was in his pillow, still unmoving. eric rolled his eyes and threw the blankets off of him.

matt tried feeling for them, and then eric took the pillow matt was currently face first in. matt woke up fully from that, groaning and turning around. he squinted in the light. “dude, what the heck’s wrong with you?”

“get up, dorkface. its father’s day and jay wants us to do something for mom and dad.”

“cant we do it later?”

“no. now get up before I drag you to the kitchen myself.”

“why do you have to be so mean to me?” matt grumbled.

“because I can be. now come on, I gotta get macie up too.”

matt sighed, finally getting up. “there. happy?”

“just get to the kitchen.”

matt mocked him as he walked past, and eric didn’t waste any time smacking matt in the back of the head. matt whined, and eric only shushed him, pushing him off into the direction of the kitchen. 

eric snuck into mason’s room, holding his breath slightly. mom and dad better not be mad at me for waking him up this early, he thought as he went over to the crib. he picked mason’s up slowly and carefully. he carried him out to the kitchen, where jay was getting ingredients out. 

“I wanna make them breakfast in bed!” jay told eric after he saw him.

“oh no,” eric grumbled under his breath. “jay, isn’t there something else you wanna do for mom and dad? breakfast in bed might be…a little messy.”

“no, we have to do breakfast in bed! they’ll love it! they gotta!” jay huffed, grabbing a pan. “I wanna make pancakes.”

“you just want pancakes because you wanna eat them all,” matt grumbled.

“nuh uh!”

“yes huh!”

“both of you, shut up before I boot you back to bed and we don’t do anything for mom and dad,” eric hissed, which shut them up pretty quickly.

mason had woken up at this point, and was trying to understand what was going on. he patted eric’s face, babbling a little. 

“good morning, macie,” eric cooed softly, “we’re makin’ breakfast for mom and dad. you wanna help?”

mason heard the word breakfast and lit up. “I wan’ breakfast!” he giggled.

“shh, be quiet, macie, its a surprise for mom and dad, okay? youll get some breakfast too, don’t worry.”

jay had called matt over to hold the bowl to stir the batter. “youre not stirring well enough!” matt told jay.

“I am too!” jay argued, struggling to stir without getting it out of the bowl.

“why don’t you hold the bowl and I stir?”

“I cant hold the bowl! you stir so hard!”

“no I don’t, quit being a sissy!”

“im not a sissy!”

“jesus, cant you two be together for one minute without trying to kill each other?” eric interrupted. he walked over, setting mason down on the ground. mason held onto his leg, sticking his hand in his mouth as he looked up at everyone with wide eyes.

eric took the bowl and began stirring himself. “jay, get some orange juice out of the fridge. matt, get two cups.”

they did as they were told, understanding that they needed to pour the juice into the cups.

“got em!” jay said cheerfully after they had finished their task.

“good. keep em on the counter, don’t let them spill.” eric was cooking the pancakes at this point. he hadn’t really learned how to know when to flip them, so he was trying to guess as best as he could. 

“we need something else!” jay said.

“like what?”

“bacon!” matt said with a gasp. “we need bacon!”

eric held back a groan. “you want me to make bacon?”

“yeah! it cant be that hard, can it?”

“I don’t know how to make bacon at all!” eric hissed.

“bacon!” mason said cheerfully, still not fully aware of what was going on.

“see? mason agrees, don’t you, macie?” matt asked.

“bacon!” mason repeated again, giggling and clapping his hands. 

“I hate you,” eric grumbled. he flipped the pancake, pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t burnt. he figured he could leave it there for now as he grabbed another pan to cook the bacon with.

matt and jay had begun playing around, matt chasing jay around in circles in the kitchen. jay was trying to stay quiet, but he kept squealing every time matt almost had him.

“you two better not hurt yourselves or im gonna turn you into pancakes,” eric chuckled.

then matt had tripped, catching himself onto the counter. and spilling the drinks.

“crap!” he exclaimed, putting the glass back up as orange juice spilled.

“uh oh,” mason said, tugging slightly at eric’s pants.

“what did I tell you?” eric groaned, grabbing a towl and leaving his station to clean up the drinks. “quit running around and knocking everything over!”

“its not like I mean to!” matt argued.

“yeah, well either way quit it or im gonna beat your ass!”

jay gasped. “that’s a bad word! you cant say that!”

eric groaned, holding his head in his hands. this was turning into a big mess, just like he thought.

“is something…burning?” matt asked.

eric’s head shot up. “shit!” he cursed, running back to the oven. the pancake was burnt on one side, and the bacon was way too crisp. he turned the oven off and tried moving the pans off, and burnt himself in the process. “motherfu-” he bit his tongue, going to the kitchen sink and turning on the cold water to cool his hand.

“what in gods name are you boys doing?”

the voice from their father caused all of them to look up.

cam and toby stood there, confused and slightly upset.

jay began to tear up. “we-we-we-”

“we were trying to make you breakfast in bed,” matt said sheepishly.

“happy fathers day!” eric said, not looking up at his father’s.

cam and toby looked at each other and sighed. “boys, you didn’t have to do this,” toby said.

“we-we wanted to!” jay said, tears falling down his face.

cam sighed, picking jay up in his arms and kissing his head. “thank you, jaybird. really.”

toby picked mason up and looked over eric’s shoulder. “did you burn yourself?”

“a little,” eric admitted, “but its fine, I promise.”

“oh, you get that clumsiness from me. sorry, love. theres bandages under the sink, look there and put some stuff on it before wrapping it up.”

matt had grabbed the orange juice and filled the cup that was empty before grabbing them both and giving one to each parent. “happy father’s day!”

toby and cam both smiled at him, giving him a kiss on the head. “thank you, baby,” toby said, giving him a hug. 

“you did good,” cam said, also giving him a hug.

“you all are wonderful. thank you so much,” toby said, smiling at everyone.

father’s day hadn’t been ruined after all.

[sftykth]

The Live Of Dorks / Nerd!Stiles AU

Author: voidwriter

Summary: Y/n is in love with Stiles who is in love with Lydia who is dating Jackson. When Jackson seeks out Stiles for secret comic book lessons, Stiles sees his chance to be with Lydia. But Lydia’s more interested in setting Stiles up with Y/n. What could go wrong?

Author’s Note: This series is based of the movie, The secret lives of dorks, therefore I don’t own the rights to that movie. I’m just having some fun re writing it but with different characters! Let me know if you want to be tagged in part2.

Warning: It might seem like it stiles x lydia but trust me it not!

Word count: 4k

"Obi-Wan told me to follow my instincts, and my instincts are all over you. Or, you stole my heart like the rebellion stole the Death Star plans. Wait no this one is even better! Your smile glows brighter than a lightsaber" Stiles continued to throw each pun at his friends' which consisted only Scott and Issac. Both of them giving Stiles a strange look.

"Where are you even getting these lines from?" Issac questioned, Scott, nodded in agreement. "Alright, you know what? I hate you both, yeah that right. Unbelievable" He babbled rudely, whirling away so he wouldn't have to look at his both very confused best friends. When he caught the sight of the most beautiful girl he has ever laid eyes upon. She took his breath away like no else could, from her bouncy red hair to her amazing body posture. Stiles visibly gulped admiring her looks from afar, as she walked past everyone with a smirk on her face, like she owned the place.

"She is the hottest girl in our class" Isaac spoke behind Stiles, looking, more like staring at her. "And has been since eight grade" Scott mumbled his puppy-like eyes scanning over her body. It felt like Siles couldn't even look away or even move an inch, being paralyzed to the spot he was standing on. He nodded slowly and said, " If it weren't for that damned sun, she'd be the hottest thing ever created; but even then she is the hottest thing created"

All three boys stared as Jackson, sadly her boyfriend lunged at her and captured his lips with his own as they made out in the middle of the hall not giving a care who was staring. Stiles sighed his shoulders dropping low to the ground, as he had once again witnessed her kiss someone else who is not him.

"Dude, Jackson is gone this is the perfect time to talk to her" Issac hit Stiles arm not enough to hurt him, but enough to make him get out of his gaze. "Are you crazy? I'll get smashed" Stiles commented moving out of the way, his eyes wide. He didn't know where he gained that one percent confidence from, but he quickly said, "Hey Lydia, you look like you'll ignore me" Stiles finished off the last words with a mumble as Lydia didn't even bat an eye at him, walking straight past him.

"Hey, Lydia" Issac shouted over his shoulder, making Stiles stumble over his own feet. She turned out giving the three boys an odd look. "What?" She crossed her arms tapping her foot, waiting impatiently.

Stiles is a nerd, he was always more interested in comic books than any sport and despite as hard as his dad tried to change that. He was just not made to be a jock, he was made for comic books and a nerd live. Stiles was never the one to get any girl in his entire life or to even kiss one. Well except his grandma but that was a long story to be told another time. So that how the story starts, it all began when Lydia Martin moved to Beacon High school in eighth grade and swooped Stiles little heart, making him crazy in love. From the begging he new he will marry her, she was perfect. She was the Leia to his Han, the princess to his Mario.

Of course, there is always something in the way, or someone called Jackson. He was bigger than him and better looking than him in a traditional handsome way if you're into that. He thought, but this senior year he was going to become a superhero and make an amazing, extraordinary even power to talk to Lydia Martin.

"Your hair!" Stiles exclaimed the first thing that came to his mind, he cursed in his mind already screwing things up. "My hair?" "Your light looks very beautiful in that hair" Stiles received a very confused look from Lydia as he tried not to fidget as much as he was right now. "Wait no that really wrong. Your hair is... er... uh..." He kept pausing and thinking of something to say, that would flatter her, but he kept stumbling over his words and not being able to form a proper sentence.

Here we go again, it's like every year he forgets I'm a cheerleader. He's been trying to get my panties since eight grade, can't he see the uniform I wear every day. It means keep off unless you're a jock. Lydia thought, she turned around about to walk away once again, when Stiles tried to stop her from leaving and give him a chance. When suddenly, his legs tangles themselves somehow making him trip and bump into someone, making the cupcakes fly away from the plate straight on to Lydia.

Everyone gasped at the sight, some started to laugh not even trying to hold it in. Stiles was laid on the floor from tripping over, a guilty look spread on his face. He tried to apologize but no words could come out of his mouth.

"You. You're not going to ruin my senior year for me, you dorkface." She huffed and wiped the cupcake icing off her face, turning around and walked off. Stiles instantly groaned and stood up wiping the dust off his trousers with his hands.

"Great, five minutes in and I already managed to screw things up," He said head hanging low, a small pout on his face. He felt a hand on his shoulder rubbing it gently, he could already smell pity from his friends, he didn't even need to look at their faces to know. "I know I know, stupid of me to even think I can have a chance"

"Stiles, maybe you should stop trying. I mean if she really did like you, she would have already made a move by now, but as you can see she's not making a move anytime now" Scott replied a pity smile on his face he really did want Stiles the best, but he knew Lydia was not the one to make that happen.

"No Scott, I'm not stopping until she falls for me, I know she will, it can take a long time, but she will" Stiles answered and walked past Scott to his next class. Scott sighed sadly knowing how stubborn Stiles was and nothing will change his mind.

"He will never learn will he" Issac muttered as both boys watched Stiles walk of disappearing into the crowd of people. "No, not until he will get heartbroken but even then, it questionable if he will" Scott shook his head and began to walk to his next class as the bell started to ring echoing around the whole school.

Stiles was sat on the bench in the boys changing room, fiddling with his fingers thinking about what happened at lunch and how he screwed things up again. Everyone was nearly done changing, so the room was nearly empty. When Coach Finstockwalked past making sure everyone was ready, he spotted Stiles and squinted his eyes before saying, "Cmon Stilinski you got five minutes before the game stars, you better get ready now"

"I don't think that a good idea" Stiles mumbled still fiddling with his fingers nervously. Coach stopped midway and stood still before he sat down next to Stiles. "Why not?" "Well every time I'm playing lacrosse I somehow get kicked down there, or even the ball gets thrown down there"

Coach gave him a look and said, "I think you're exaggerating" "No, no I'm not I keep track in my journal" "You have a journal?" Coach asked surprised, his eyebrows raised. "Yes but that not the point" "Whatever I want you on the filed in five minutes if you still not down there, I will make sure to give you a detention." Stiles groaned and started to change.

-

"See not bad" Coach said as he sat next to Stiles as he kept grunting in pain, laid on the bench eyes closed. "Yeah not bad, just a casual kick in the balls defiantly not bad" Stiles was able to grunt out still in pain as he kept complaining.

"Stop complaining Stilinski and get to class" "Sure just when I'm done being in pain Coach"

As before Stiles never enjoyed sports, always too busy reading comic books or watching Star Wars, he never thought about sports in a serious way like some jocks do. For some people sport was their life, passion. And well for Stiles, it was comic books.

It was a free period and Stiles was in the computer room, or so the 'Nerd room' what some people like to call it. Doing some research for his upcoming biology test, when he felt a pair of hands land on his shoulders making him jump in his chair. "Whatcha doing there dork, watching porn?"  Jackson commented whiles smirking, looking around the place.

"What do you want Jackson?" Stiles asked, irritated that he got interrupted. "To kick your ass obviously, What else." Stiles pretended to laugh and carried on with his research forgetting Jackson was there for a second.

"Look, Stiles, I need your help" He paused for a minute why would Jackson need his help again, "I'm already doing your math and biology homework what else do you need from me?" Stiles questioned looking at Jackson unusually.

"This is different this is important. I need you to teach me absolutely everything about comic books" Stiles crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Jackosn and raised his eyebrow. "Why?"

"Yeah, you don't need to know that." "Okay fine meet me after school at the comic book shop" Before carrying on typing on the laptop. Jackon sighed, "I have to bring Lydia" He nearly jumped up from his chair from hearing the name Lydia, thoughts racing through his mind.

"Well I mean, if you have to bring her then I guess, that alright" He tried to play it cool, not to show the fact that Lydia was affecting him so much. "But she can't found about this" "I guess you can tell her, the school set you up to do your homework in the comic book shop as they keep catching you cheating?" Unsurely Stiles replied.

"And she will believe that?" Jackson questioned. "If you tell her it was my idea, she will." "Cool alright"

Stiles' eyes travel over the sky, at the sunsets swirls of oranges and yellows, nerves started to sit in as he will be able to see Lydia after the incident again. His heart fluttered at the thought, even though, he was nervous as hell he couldn't wait to see her beautiful face. Stile just couldn't get enough of it. He approached the comic book shop and walked inside ready to buy some more comic books.

"Excuse sir is this where you find the information about comic books" A voice whispered behind Stiles making him roll his eyes. "Oh hey, Jackson, nice jacket" Although, his eyes fell on Lydia walking carelessly around the shop a bored look on her face. Wow, Lydia in a comic book shop, could my day get any better, Stiles thought.

Oh god, he's looking at me, I have to find a way for him to stop drooling over me. Lydia thought at the same time. "Nobody knows we here right?" Jackson's voice broke Stiles stares at Lydia and it fell on Jackson. "Nope, just me Lydia and everyone around us" Stile gave a sarcastic smile and handed some comic books that were good to start with.

"Spiderman" Jackson suddenly said, "I saw the movie I don't need to read this one"

"Actually, the comic book is completely different from the movie." An unusual voice said next to Stiles, he didn't even turn to look who it was to busy looking through every comic book. "Whatever, let's go" Lydia hurried.

"Hi, Stiles" He furrowed his eyebrows when he heard a girl voices say his name. He turned to look but he lifted his shoulder in a half shrug and shook his head. She walked around so she would be on his left now and said, "Have you ever checked Depressed boy it, my favorite webcomic series" She stopped for a second then carried on saying, "it's about  a shy guy who has a hard time talking to girls"

"Webcomics are for people who can't get dates" Stiles replied and turned away once again.  "All comic books are for people who can't get dates" Lydia commented smirking.

"I bet Stiles can get a date" He gave her a strange look. Y/N a girl who never brings attention to herself even slightly, a nerd like me but a very strange one. I mean she isn't that bad but she gives me the chills in a very bad way, so I try to keep my distance. Stiles thought.

"Hey Stiles there's this show coming to town this weekend, I heard it something to do with Star Wars, maybe you would like to come?" She questioned. Y/N always liked Stiles ever since she saw him she knew her heart belonged to him. She found it cute how he can be a dork but adorable at the same time. But she never had the confidence to ask him out, she always showed hints that she liked him, but he was too busy obsessing over Lydia Martin.

"No one is going and I don't want to go alone" "Really. Because I also want to go, and I don't have anyone else to go with" she shoved her hands in her pocket, "Well that sucks, I guess we both are going to miss it"

"Hey, Lydia do you like Star Wars?" Stiles beamed turning away to look at Lydia.

What a dork. Wait a minute they are a perfect pair, both nerds, both like comic books, both are losers. If I get Stiles falls in love with Y/N, he will stop drooling over me and I won't have to worry about him ruining my senior year. Lydia thought a small smirk appeared on her face.

-

"Go Mets!" Cheered Stiles sister who was much younger than him, "Dad, you should probably teach her to say other things, at some point." " Cmon she knows other stuff. It true watch again." Stiles let out a breath before shaking his head, threading a hand through his hair.

"Cmon catch it, catch it, catch it" Stiles dad kept mumbling, before shouting, "Yes!" He jumped up happily that his favorite team won. "Run that shit" "Annie" Stiles bolted up, "what?" "Dad!" "What?" "Annie just said shit!" "While watching the game" "She's six" "Oh cmon she's not too young to watch football properly."

He rubbed his forehead, "That why she needs a women figure in her life" "Oh cmon you did that one fine" "Oh great, thanks" Stile grumbled before closing the book shut and throwing it on the table before scurrying off.

"Oh cmon it doesn't mean anything" The only reply his father got was the sound of the door slamming closed.

It was the next day and Stiles was in the library, doing his homework right at the back of the room. But what he didn't know was that Lydia Martin herself was looking for him. It was quite a surprise for people to see her walking around the library, but they got over it soon.

My first step to my master plan was found Stiles, it wasn't easy but it wasn't difficult either. The only places he could be found was either the library, the computer room or the canteen. I really hope this works. Walking around the library for a couple of minutes she spots Stiles right at the back.

"You're paranoid" Lydia's voices makes him jump not expecting to hear her someone especially Lydia Martin. "You like hiding in places where you know you will be alone. Where no one can torment you or torture you" Lydia shifted from one foot to the other. "Um. I'm just doing my homework like a normal person" "I saw on Dr. Phil, he did a show on it last Thursday" Lydia smiled like she knew Stiles very well.

"I'm not paranoid, I just like it here" "Well you're paranoid when it comes to girls, that for sure" "What?" "You're just scared to ask a girl out who is standing right in front of you, wanting to be asked"

"What are you trying to say?" Was Lydia Martin hinting to ask her out? "Y/n is sweet, nice - most importantly she is interested in you" "Y/N?" Stiles imagines the girl whose lips were always chapped, her eyebrows never done. And she usually hides her face with her hair, you never get to see her face properly just half of it.

"Yes Y/N, she is a great catch for you" Lydia smiled. "Girls are usually never interested in me, they either want me to do their homework or be my friend. Nothing more." "Look it no big deal if you can't ask a girl out"

"Lydia, I'm not asking her out I already like someone else" he mumbled the last part. "Look seriously, you got to ask her out. What the worst that could happen?" Stiles though for a second before he started to quickly ramble, "Well she and all her friend can laugh at me in the hallway in front of the whole school. Scaring me for life, destroying my low esteem to the point, where I have no nerve to ask another girl out as long as I live. And become a miserable, lonely, old man who dies alone." This was harder than I thought, Lydia thought frowning.

The next time that Lydia tried to achieve her plan was by texting him. It was in the middle of history and no one was really paying attention, well expect Stile and another couple of people. He was in the middle of a sentence when he heard his phone go off, he quickly got his phone out to see it was from Lydia. His gulped already nervous since he gave his number to her once when she was very drunk, he never received a text or a call from her. So to see a text from Lydia was a huge thing for Stiles.

'Let me teach you a few things about girls.' Wait, what? Questions ran through Stiles mind, before carrying on reading.

'Lesson one don't do that. Lesson two compliments are good, over-complimenting shows desperation; women sense desperation in like dog sense it fears, or food. I'm not sure which. Lesson three really don't be yourself, can't stress that enough. Lesson four, pay no attention to Jackosn, pay attention to things such as nail polish girls like it when you notice that sorta thing. And lesson five possibly the most important lesson you will get from me, always tell hot girls they are smart, and smart girls they are hot.

How was Stiles going to follow every lesson, he groaned in frustration.

Debate class. Stiles least favorite lesson, you can already tell why. Stiles and Scott were both sat on the chairs chatting away whiles Lydia and Issac were up for a debate when Issac got chosen he nearly screamed (out of happiness of course) when he got Lydia.

"Did you see their uniform, uh, they were gorgeous. Well cut, well designed, and so little color to chose from. Sure the Nazis wanted to take over the world, but they looked fabulous doing so" Everyone gasped, but started to clap when Lydia finished her debate.

"Thank you, Issac and Lydia very interesting angle but well argued. It is a close call but I think I will have to award it to you Lydia" She squealed happily, "you pick the net pair" Mrs. Thompson said. "Okay I pick Y/N and Stiles" "Okay Y/N and Stiles step up to the stage"

"Your topic is baby seal hunting, Stiles for and Y/N against" Mrs. Thompson once again said, silence overtook the whole room, Stiles looked around feeling uncomfortable.

"Well people could argue baby seals hunters need to make a living, but argument is much more basic" Stiles paused, "Have you ever seen a baby seals face they just have this expression that says: beat me, club me, smash my brains in, please" Everyone started to whisper and argue against Stiles argument.

Y/n sighed giving him a look that Stiles couldn't tell if it was a good look or a bad look she was giving him, " Stile has anyone ever told you, you look exactly like a baby seal?" As Y/N replied to his argument everyone burst out laughing, at the burn she just sent to Stiles. He scratched his neck and began to take off.

But then Stiles remembered what Lydia has told him about the lessons, so if he wants to win over her, he has to ask Y/N out. He whirled around and puffed out his chest, before approaching Y/N.

"I love your nail polish" "I'm not wearing any" Y/N replied adjusting her bag strap, "Erm, look I'm sorry about that burn, it was the first thing that came into my mind. To be honest, you don't look like a baby seal, you look cuter anyway."

"So um... I... had something important to ask you Y/N" Stiles replied, "Really, um what that?" she clasped her hands behind her back, staring deeply into Stiles honey-brown eyes, "Did you like the new Star Wars movie that just got released?" "I will talk to you later Stiles" Y/N frowned and walked away from him, she thought he was finally going to ask her out. But of course not how dumb could she be. After Y/N vanished in the crowds, Stiles cursed under his breath as he messed up already. Asking Y/N will be harder than he thought.

-

"Look Lydia, I tried asking her out" Stiles affirmed rolling his eyes, "If you don't ask her out by tomorrow you're lost cause and I don't work with lost causes" Stiles thought for a moment before a great idea popped up, "I will text her later tonight" "Wow you're so romantic" Lydia beamed sarcastically. "Oh, um thanks" Stiles smiled sheepishly.

"Call her" "On the phone?" Stiles instantly panicked, he can't call her that would make it even more awkward than it is. "Yes, on the phone - so you are going to call her on the phone, right?" Lydia questioned.

"Well, actually I have been working on some excellent pickup lines." jamming his hands in his front pocket, "No pickup lines. Ever understood?" "But they are really good" he informed. "Don't you realize a girl with a half a brain hates to pick up lines" "Just pretend your Y/N, okay?" Lydia scoffs crossing her arms over her chest.

" You’re hotter than the flames on Mustafa"  " Are you a Jedi Master? Cause, Yoda-Licious!" Stiles babbled enthusiastically.

"Just forget the pickup lines, just call her and ask her out" She made it seem so easy like it was nothing. I didn't understand why she wanted me to ask Y/N out but I knew I would do anything to get Lydia to go out with me.

"She will say yes I promise" she assured me. "Okay" "Okay"

Stiles was pacing back and forth in his room, phone in his hand ready to dial Y/N number. "Just call her, it not that hard" As he pressed to call it rang for few seconds before he ended the call quickly, "I will text her. No Lydia will kill me, ugh." He dialed her number again and pressed call, waiting for her to pick up. "It Y/n unless your stupid, you know what to do" Stiles sighed, "Hi Y/N, um... I'm sorry I'm bothering you, well the reason I'm calling you is that I wanted to ask you um. This probably sounds crazy, but if you're busy that fine. I wanted to know if you maybe if you-" Stiles got cut of my reaching the message limit. He cursed out load for not being straightforward.

When the phone started to ring it took him few seconds before he answered her, "I would love to go out with you Stiles" "Wow really?" "Yes, really"He heard her beam she seemed so excited and happy.

"I have a date" Stiles whispered to himself not believing it, "Not of Lydia, but still a date" he swayed on his feet a small grin plastered on his lips. "A date, a date"

He finally got a date but was it with the right girl?

[ezra-blue]

You’ve Got Something - 30

For @baronvonriktenstein‘s Messy!AU

30: Trust Issues

Word Count: ~3500

Gojyo gets some bad news, but after sharing with Hakkai, he comes to an uncomfortable realization.

TRUST ARC - PART 1

You’ve got...

30: Trust Issues

“Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!” Gojyo and Lirin hadn't planned to start chanting it together, even as Jien laughed on the other end of the line, but damn if they hadn't both started doing it. Lirin had bolted into the garage floor the second she'd gotten the call from Jien, and now both of them hovered over it in excitement.

“Guys, guys, come on!” Jien chuckled, their ruckus nearly drowning him out over the phone. “How the hell do you know what I'm callin' for, anyway?”

“Don't jerk me around!” Lirin set her hands on her hips and leered into the phone. “You told me, Yaone was seeing the doctor, now I wanna know what he said!”

“C'mon,” Gojyo added, finding himself more eager every second Jien stalled. “I saw her photo on Facebook, she's gettin' a tummy, that baby must be getting bigger, you gotta tell us the news.”

“Jeez, fine!” Jien barked one last laugh, then composed himself. “The baby's doing fine. On track, healthy. Just as big as it's supposed to be. Everything's looking fine.”

“How's Yaone been? Still upchucking every time she turns around?” Gojyo smirked, and Jien laughed again.

“Way better, actually. She still gets sick in the morning sometimes, but she figured out if she takes it slow, it helps.”

“Enough of that!” Lirin slapped the table. “You know what I wanna know! Am I gonna have a niece or a nephew?”

Jien's joy swelled in his tones, even as he teased, “And what makes you think I know that?”

“Yaone said she wanted to know, so of course she knows, come on, dorkface, we wanna know!” Lirin stomped her foot, then started up the chant again: “Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!”

Jien kept laughing, protesting, “Is that really what's important? Come on, guys!” Gojyo just joined Lirin chanting, until Jien finally gave: “Fine, fine! It's looks like we're having a girl!”

“Yes!” Lirin threw a hand up, and Gojyo high-fived her.

“That's so cool, bro.” Gojyo could see it clearer than ever: their family was getting bigger. “I mean, it'd be cool either way, but...”

Jien's elation settled, but it still echoed in his tones, even as Lirin kept celebrating the 'victory of the girls' and dancing in little circles. “I know. It feels, like, solid when I think of it being a girl.” Gojyo caught Goku peering around the car he was working on from the corner of his eye, but ignored it and leaned closer to the phone.

“So, hey, uh, picked any names yet? Were you gonna go for Japanese names, or Anglo names?”

“Anglo first name, but maybe a Japanese middle name.”

“Any picked out?”

“I floated one.” Jien paused. “Olivia.”

Gojyo sucked his cheeks in, then felt fire blaze through his face as he put it all together. “You fucking bastard!” Jien howled with laughter. “No, fuck you! I had no idea what that picture was!”

“Hey, no, screw you, we liked it, we've been calling her 'the olive' ever since!”

“Come on!” Gojyo groaned. Jien's laughter petered out, and he cleared his throat.

“Hey, actually, Gojyo, mind if I talk to just you?”

Lirin whipped around at this. “It's my phone!”

“Yeah, but I need to talk to him anyway. Five minutes, Lirin, he'll give it back.”

“UGH!” Lirin stomped away, and Gojyo scooped the phone off and turned it off of speaker.

“What's up, bro?” Jien didn't answer immediately, and Gojyo's joy dwindled. “Bro?”

“I got in touch with our dad.”

His happiness froze into a stone in his gut. Gojyo tightened his grip on the phone. “Oh. Uh.” What was he supposed to say? “I thought he was dead.”

“Nah. Far as we're concerned, of course, good as.” Jien snorted. “Apparently he jumped the border for Ontario. He's still single, doesn't have any other kids he knows of. He's in a halfway house right now. Just got out of jail, so it seems. Uh, he said he wishes he hadn't left, or that he hadn't had to, whatever. He wanted me to apologize to you. He... he says he's sorry. For what happened to you, and for your mom--”

“I don't wanna hear it.” Gojyo hadn't known the words were coming until they did. “He, he fucking... He left. He vanished. Shit, he ain't my dad. If I'd had a dad, then...”

“I know. I just, I thought you should know.” Jien paused. “You're through it now, though.”

“I just...” Gojyo struggled, and found himself lost for words. “I... hey. Please. Don't, don't... your kid, Jien--”

“Y'know, I've learned from not having a dad just how important it is that a kid have one.” The levity in Jien's voice had been replaced with a strangely satisfying weight. “Me, Yaone, and Kou are rock solid, and I'm gonna do everything in my power to be the best dad she can have.”

Gojyo inhaled slowly, counted to ten, and exhaled. “I'm gonna go. Got work to do. Lirin wants her phone back.”

“Sorry to sour stuff. But, uh, hey, it'd be nice to see you and Hakkai again soon. Would you like to come for dinner tonight?”

“Some other time, maybe.” Gojyo grimaced to himself. “See ya round.” He hung up and took Lirin's phone back to her without another word, then returned to the garage to grab his tool kit. Goku hadn't stopped working on the car Gojyo had assigned him, but he did look up from refilling the oil on the car open in front of him when Gojyo came back in.

“Um, that sounded kinda heavy. You okay?”

“Yeah.” Gojyo pulled a face and popped open the hood on the next car on his list. “Hey, do me a favor and give me a head's up around noon? I'm gonna head over to Hakkai's for lunch.” He paused for just long enough to send Hakkai a text telling him the same, and got down to work.

It wasn't so easy to think about the future when the ghost of his past was lingering around. Luckily, he had a friendly reminder on call.

“A  girl?” Hakkai smiled at the news, leaning over his bench and spreading flour dust up his front as Gojyo stood propped on the other side of it. “Your brother must be excited! Did they have a preference?”

“Nah, not as far as I can tell.” Gojyo shrugged and tucked another bite of his sandwich. “It doesn't matter, as long as the kid's healthy, yeah?”

“Of course not, no. But some families do prefer sons. Family name and the like.” Gojyo scrunched his nose, and Hakkai noticed. “Ah, but I suppose that becomes a matter of which family name gets passed on.”

“I think that since Kougaiji and Yaone are the ones who are married on paper, they're going with Maoh. As far as I care, the Sha name can fucking drown.” Gojyo crumpled his napkin and threw it towards the trash can. “So, uh, apparently my dad's alive.”

Gojyo told Hakkai what Jien had told him. “The fucker's sorry for leaving. Doesn't change that he left, shit.”

“Oh, Gojyo, I'm sorry.” Hakkai slid a hand up to Gojyo's shoulder. “But you survived without him. You're more resilient than many. I'm sorry you had to be reminded of it all.”

“Eh.” Gojyo's face twisted again, mouth turning down into a sulk. “It's over, so that's good, but... I dunno.”

Hakkai studied him, his gaze unflinching. “Did you want to talk about it?”

Gojyo broke eye contact. “I dunno. Maybe... Maybe. I guess... I could talk to Mr. Koumyou first, sort it out. Some of my stuff... I guess I'm a little worried about scaring you off, y'know?” He tried to laugh it off, but Hakkai shook his head.

“It'll take a lot to frighten me off. If you'd like to try and sort it with Koumyou first, you should, but if it's something you want to talk about, I do dearly want to listen.” Hakkai laid a hand flat, tracing little circles on his bench, and his gaze dipped. “I... I suppose I'd like you to talk to me, too. I want to know what's on your mind. I want to understand you better.”

Gojyo, anxiety knotting up his guts and winding up in his lungs, shrugged a little and drew his arms up to his chest, folding them tight. “I dunno. I just don't.”

“What is it you tell him that you can't tell me?” Hakkai knit his brow up, and Gojyo felt the knots in him twist tighter.

“I dunno. There's just... I dunno!” He was starting to feel incredibly and increasingly stupid repeating himself. “I don't even know if I'm ready to talk about some stuff with him. I'm kind of still figuring out how much I gotta unpack now I've opened that goddamn Pandora's box.”

“I understand that.” Hakkai still seemed disappointed, but he slid his hand up to Gojyo's arm to cover Gojyo's knuckles. “I'll wait until you're ready, but I want you to know that you can confide in me, too. I may not be able to offer the same guidance, but I will accept every part of you.” He squeezed Gojyo's hand. “Please don't take this as pushing.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Gojyo shook his head, but smiled. “But, uh, same goes for you, okay? If you want me to know, I've always got an open ear.”

“Ah, well.” Hakkai laughed nervously, but Gojyo noticed him sliding a step back. “Don't worry about me, alright? I want you to take care of yourself first.”

Something about that hit Gojyo wrong, like wires crossing in his head and heart. “Huh. Well. I guess.” He studied Hakkai, who seemed entirely content in carrying their dishes to the work sink as if he hadn't said anything strange. It came to Gojyo's mind that for as much as Hakkai had told him about what his life had been like before Gojyo had come into it, he'd left just as much unsaid. He hadn't told Gojyo about dating Sanzo's brother, or why they'd broken up. Something Sanzo had said when they'd first met came back to Gojyo: that Hakkai never left the kitchen. He'd been “damn lucky” to see Hakkai outside of work, that Hakkai didn't go out. Had something happened? Was he still just mourning his sister? What was Hakkai not telling him? The thought was in his mind now, like a worm in a birthday cake. Gojyo couldn't see the danger, but he knew he had to have a taste or it might just drive him nuts.

"I'm glad to hear you've taken my advice." Koumyou was finishing up his notes, legs uncrossing for a quick stretch after sitting for a while, then quickly crossing again to restore Koumyou's poise. "But what I want to know is if you've found it helping you."

Gojyo, settled in the chaise and watching the shadows on the ceiling rather than the twitch of the end of Koumyou's peacock-feather pen, drummed his fingers on the arms of the chair as he thought. "I guess. I mean, it ain't like I've had any freakouts. Nothing to freak out about." He drummed his fingers a few more times, then sat forward. "There's something that's been bugging me, and I'm not sure if I'm handling it right. If the way I feel about it is okay."

"Mm. Reactions are not right or wrong, they are yours."

"Yeah?" Gojyo raised an eyebrow, but shifted around to turn towards Koumyou. "There was... today. My brother told me our dad's alive."

"Aha. Was that stressful?"

"I was upset. No, that ain't it." Gojyo scratched the back of his head. "I was mad and sad and angry all at the same time. I mean, fuck, the guy's nowhere in my life for more than twenty years, then calls Jien out of the blue and apologizes for leaving me. Fuck him, right? 'Cept, it also made me think about how different my life would be if he had stuck around."

"Humans are naturally curious, and since the path of your life was a painful one, wondering about other possibilities is a natural fantasy." Koumyou tapped his lower lip with the nib of his pen. "What did you think of? How would your life have been different with him present?"

Gojyo raised an eyebrow – he hadn't expected Koumyou to ask that. "Well. Uh. At first I thought, maybe my mom and I wouldn't have gotten into such a tough spot without him. Except, he was in jail in Canada, too, so maybe he would'a ended up in jail here, too, and we would've been in the same damn spot." He gripped the arm of the chair. "It's not like he was all that great, if what Jien tells me is right. He didn't have a job, or he got money in ways that made Jien's mom yell at him. Maybe my mom still would'a... I dunno." Gojyo paused, his hand running down the scars on his cheek. "If he had stuck around, maybe I wouldn't've ended up living with Jien when I was little. But maybe I wouldn't've ended up in foster care, either. There's some stupid kid in me that thinks, if I had a dad, life would've been rainbows and sunshine, he and my mom would'a been happy, and everything would've been great, but he had a chance to be good for me, and he didn't. Finally, I figured it wouldn't'a changed much."

"I see. Did accepting that help you?"

"I guess, but I was still all jumbled up, angry and sad." He loosed a weak laugh. "Maybe I was just mad he was alive at all and hadn't come for me before, and never even tried to care for me. I'd honestly thought he was dead, and I was fine with that, but then it turns out he wasn't and I gotta unbury all the shit that I had accepted when I gave up on thinking he might come back. Him not being around made shit harder for me." He fidgeted. "You think it's fucked up I don't even want him in my life?"

"The heart is not right or wrong, Gojyo. It only contains truth. You have no interest in bringing this person into your life, and that is your truth. If that truth changes or evolves, then so be it, but what's important is that you live by it." Koumyou smiled serenely, as placid as the white surface of a full moon, but Gojyo just felt a whorl of turmoil churn in his guts.

"Truth, huh." He fidgeted again, tracing the grooves in the arm of the chaise. "There's something else I'm not sure how to deal with." He forced eye contact with Koumyou. "There's a lot of stuff that I don't know how to talk about yet."

"Ah." Koumyou didn't sound surprised. "Do you need help finding the words, or are your memories somehow clouded?"

"Sometimes." Gojyo promptly broke eye contact at the renewed scrutiny, but gestured as he tried to explain. "Sometimes, I think, there's no way it happened the way I remember it, it wasn't like that, it wasn't that bad. And then, for other stuff, it's like, it's over now." He let his hands fall to his lap. "What's the point of talking about it? It won't change it or fix it. It's just gonna make me think about it again. I don't wanna live through it again. And Hakkai's askin' me about it, and I don't know what to tell him. I don't want him to think I'm keeping secrets, but at the same time, I'm worried that this stuff'll make him think less of me." He twisted his finger through the thick seam of his jeans, winding it tight around his fingertip until it hurt a little. "I know I've been some fucked-up places, but I'm through them now. It's over and I'm done with it. Why should I have to bring it up all over again? It'd just be like walking through razor blades a second time."

Koumyou considered the question, eyebrows knit up. "Ah. Why indeed. I suppose, if you are so completely settled, at terms with your life experiences, you no longer need to see me."

"No! Shit. I know there's stuff I still gotta deal with!" Gojyo groaned.

"And you realize that unless we are both acknowledging your reality, I cannot help you work through it, correct?"

"Yeah." Gojyo sagged, feeling defeated. He could hear Koumyou tapping his clipboard with his pen.

"Please look at me." Gojyo forced himself to tip his eyes up. Koumyou's face was not of pity, but he had no better name for that gentle expression. "The key to peace is understanding your truth and knowing how it has affected you, and how you should not let it affect you. You have to trust me."

Gojyo bowed his head again. "I'm tryin', doc."

"And for someone who has clearly held all of his turmoil in for so long, you're doing well at unearthing it. Even if you're not certain of what your truth is, we should discuss it." Koumyou sighed to himself, sounding rather resigned. "As for Hakkai, I cannot speak for him, but his desire to know your truth should be seen as a desire to better understand you, all the things that led to the person he knows and seems to very much care for. If he cannot love you from every angle, then your relationship will be very difficult."

Gojyo blanched. "That's what I'm afraid of." He squeezed the arms of the chair again, then let go. "Say, uh, he saw you for a while after his sister passed away, right? He said you taught him, uh, coping mechanisms."

"Oh! Yes. Those are little exercises you can do during stressful moments or to bear off panic attacks and the like. If you'd like, I--"

"I mean, yeah, sure, but..." Gojyo hesitated when Koumyou raised both eyebrows. "What did you guys talk about? His sister? One of his exes? He won't tell me what messed him up before I met him, and I gotta know."

Koumyou's hands fell open, his clipboard sliding down his palms, but he quickly righted it. "Gojyo. Do you recall what I told you during our first session? Everything that's said in this room stays in this room, meaning, between you and me."

"Yeah, but --"

"The same goes for everything that was said between Hakkai and myself. I took an oath when I became a therapist, and the privacy of every one of my patients is part of that promise. I can't violate the trust Hakkai put in me, even to you. Especially not to you," he added in a near-whisper. Gojyo hung his head again, but Koumyou reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You two should have that trust. It's something you can work on with him. You both should feel safe enough to share these things with one another, or if you're not there yet, work towards developing that security. I can suggest couple's therapy, as I am certified for it, but I want to work with you by yourself for now. Is that alright?"

Gojyo sucked his lower lip for a second, then grumbled a petulant "Yeah." Koumyou patted his shoulder a few times.

"Talk to him. When he's ready to tell you about Kanan and Ken'yuu, he will."

"I got it," Gojyo sighed, but, sharp-eyed card shark he was, he quickly spotted that Koumyou had admitted a few details without realizing it.

Ken'yuu. Was that his ex? He could have sworn Goku had said "Nii," but fuck it, maybe that was a last name. Either way, Koumyou had all but admitted that something Ken'yuu had done was something Hakkai had needed help for. Plus, he'd said "and." Whatever it was involved the both of them, and more than ever, Gojyo needed to know what that was.

He had to get Hakkai to tell him.

He hardly paid attention to the rest of what Koumyou was saying as he tried to puzzle out what could possibly be so bad, so damaging, that Hakkai was still recovering. Maybe Hakkai was struggling with his truth, too, like Koumyou had said about him.

Was this how Hakkai had felt about the things he hadn't told him yet? Was he going to have to choke it out and admit a few hard truths if he was going to get to Hakkai's? He knew nothing Hakkai could say or do would change how he felt, but he knew that there was no way Hakkai's past was as filthy as his. Now that he knew Hakkai needed fixing, he wanted the chance to make that repair. How could he possibly say he loved Hakkai (and fuck, did he love Hakkai) if he couldn't say that?

Why wouldn't Hakkai just let him help?

He left, headed for Hakkai's home, still dizzied with doubt.

[vagrantblvrd]

aliciaforferris replied to your post “Myan just being dads. Please, I have a craving and there's only like 3...”

Listen, there's a reason that "accidental baby acquisition" is a goddam classic fanfic trope!!

Yessssss! Oh my God, yes! I’m such a sucker for it because usually clueless dorks (with or without Pining) plus cute baby make for the best shenanigans.

Also, though, ones where they’re not so clueless about baby/kid things and just. Yes. XD

Ngl, I was super tempted to do this in a FAHC AU?

Ryan with surprise!baby that has him retiring somewhere and Michael as a civilian - and conveniently next door neighbor - and then ridiculous Pining and domestic shenanigans and Ryan goes from being unsure of quitting the criminal life to actually being happy with his ~boring life. (Also, also, the others stopping by to visit or movin in nearby after their own retirements and being like. !!! at seeing Ryan all happily settled down with a baby - that’s new? - and also this Michael character and ensuing shenanigans.

OR.

Ryan with surprise!baby and him fucking off somewhere without really telling the crew why, and Micahel who’s angry/annoyed and wants to know why Ryan up and left. (The two of them dancing around one another for years and just when he thought it might not all be in his head/a one-sided thing Ryan leaves and he just. Wants to know what he did to fuck up or if Ryan wasn’t interested or what. Just a little closure you know? But then a haggard looking Ryan - barefaced and all, aside from the scruff and whatnot - answers his door and there’s a baby in his arms and spit-up on his shoulder and what the fucking Christ is this, Haywood?

And then Michael just kind of moving in to help out once he realizes Ryan got himself in a mess - a freaking baby, wtf? - and never leaves and also definitely mutual pining and oblivious idiots until they’re not.

(The rest of the crew being curious and go looking for the two of them and then it turns into my favorite happy ending for these assholes where they ~retire to form a commune of former criminals and idiots and nothing hurts.)

...not to ramble on or anything. /o\