#for planting the seed of enjoying characters with they/them pronouns in my brain back in 2014

[barclaysangel]

"Light Showers"

Here it is! My very first Junior Wheeler/Lexy Cross oneshot! This one is INSANELY long, the longest oneshot I've ever written and I worked so hard on this, so I reeeeeeally hope you all like this! Please comment because comments mean the world to me!

Enjoy! :)

Word count: 8.3K

Warnings: Mention of underage drug use, mention of food issues/eating disorder, swearing, Logan and Chucky are warnings enough, not proofread because proofreading is for losers

Notes: Junior is biromantic asexual and a demiboy who uses he/they pronouns, Junior and Lexy are the main characters of this story and everyone else are background characters, a lot of Barclay-Wheeler/Final Family elements, very tiny hint of BarclayPierce, Junior is more in touch with his Filipino side

~You are the light I've been searchin' for forever~

Junior and Lexy’s relationship at first had always been rocky at best. 

Lexy was controlling and Junior let her be. He knew that it had to deal with their own issues of always obeying other people, particularly his father. So Junior did whatever Lexy wanted them to do. 

Well, mostly. Junior could never go further than making out despite Lexy’s insistence of wanting to do more. That was a discovery he would need to uncover later on on their own, his asexuality. 

There were also times Lexy would flirt with Oliver Hayden and it made their heart clench. Junior truly cared for her, maybe he was close to loving her at the time, but what the hell did they know about love? So he held their head down and allowed it, just like how he did in their personal life as well. 

Well, that didn’t last very long until Junior finally made the move to break up with her.

Ironically, it wasn’t because of Lexy’s controlling behavior or flirtatious nature towards someone else. It was her distance and all the secrets she was hiding from him. Junior hated secrets. And after just finding out about their mother’s cancer, his mind was far too occupied so they decided to end things with Lexy. 

He hated seeing the tears in her eyes but felt that was the right thing to do. 

Until Junior’s life fell apart. 

~Feels like, man, I've really never felt the rain~

Their mother, Bree, died right in front of him. 

Junior spiraled further into depression and was certain that they would have died by his own hands that night had Chucky not invaded their life and mind. 

Chucky planted the seeds in his brain to murder their father and eventually, he did. 

Years of anger, of pain, of conforming and destroying themself to be exactly what Logan Wheeler wanted him to be was released. Taken out onto their father’s skull over and over and over again by his own son to the point where he was almost unrecognizable. 

After that, everything seemed to go blurry. 

It was like Junior wasn’t in control anymore. Everything happened too fast and they continued spiraling, this time into madness, until it was too late. 

The knife in his chest that they took in order to protect Lexy was proof of that. 

And that was when Junior Wheeler died. 

~Buried in the desert, didn't think I'd push through the dirt~

Well, not entirely. 

Junior’s heart stopped for three minutes until the doctors were able to bring him back. They supposed he should send them a thank you note, but at that moment, they didn’t want to be alive. He just wanted to be with their mom. Or in hell. The latter seemed to be a more likely option since he was a murderer. 

But circumstances occurred that caused their true desires to be haltered. He escaped from the hospital a couple weeks after their near survival and landed in the woods. 

Practically dropped on Andy Barclay’s doorstep. 

And then it was them against the world, despite their rough start. But it became worth it and after some time, he began to feel almost like they were home with Andy. Junior opened up more as well, about his daddy issues and their somewhat tumultuous relationship with Lexy. 

Lexy…she was someone that he couldn’t get out of their mind. Despite being broken up, he still cared deeply for her. How could they not? He basically died for her. They remembered her crying as she held his bleeding body, begging them to hold on. But all he could do was apologize before their world faded to black. 

But late at night in the abandoned cabin he and Andy shared, when Junior was still awake with their mind whirling with too many thoughts, he would pray to every single Greek god they ever heard of for her to be okay. That’s all he wanted. They just wanted Lexy to be okay and for her to one day forget about Junior Wheeler and the harm that he caused. 

Please, gods, let her be okay. Junior Wheeler prayed while staring up at the ceiling that they were certain was growing mold. Just let her live the rest of her life in peace. Please make sure Chucky never gets to her again. Please let her find someone who can be whatever she wants them to be and have a family and be happy. Let her forget about the person who ruined her life by joining Chucky. Just…let Lexy forget about me. 

Well, he didn’t think the gods heard them that night. Because the following day, after a year, he saw Devon…and Lexy. 

~You just cleansed me like a waterfall, you came~

The moment Lexy saw Junior, she couldn’t take her eyes off them. He couldn’t blame her, they did make her believe that he was dead all this time. Besides, she wasn’t the only one staring. Devon was too although it didn’t seem to be as intense as Lexy’s. But even after explanations were given, she still wouldn’t look away. 

Junior would admit, it started to make them feel uncomfortable. He was never fond of staring, it always felt like when someone did stare too much, they were staring into their soul. Trying to find out every single secret from him so they knew how to tear them apart from the inside. Maybe that was what Lexy was trying to do. He wouldn’t blame her, they did deserve it after everything he’s done. 

Before their asshole side could come out and snap at her to ask if there was something on his face, Lexy suddenly reached out and placed her hand on their cheek. 

The abrupt motion made Junior stiffen and flinch away slightly before he quickly gave into her touch. 

Was her hand always this warm and soft? 

“Umm…what…whatcha doing there, Lexy?” They managed to ask her instead once he found their voice, now staring back at her. 

Wow…she still has those little green flecks in her eyes. He thought absentmindedly to themself before she gave her response. 

“You’re…you’re real…right?” It was an odd question, but it was something that was yet again not that surprising to Junior. 

She thought he was dead. Now they’re alive and well, with only a scar on his chest to prove their near death experience. Maybe she thought he was seeing a ghost or something. A ghost that somehow looked a little bit taller and had longer hair that was almost touching their shoulders rather than to look completely the same as when he “died”. 

Then again, what did they know of ghosts? There was a serial killer possessing a doll for over three decades, anything was possible. 

But instead of saying all of that, Junior just leaned into her hand and grazed his fingertips on her wrists lightly. “Yeah. I’m real. I’m alive, Lex.”

Calling Lexy by that nickname seemed to soften her more, relieved tears filling her eyes before she smiled at them. After what felt like forever, she finally pulled her hand away from his cheek. 

Junior would later find out that she asked if they were real because she started to do drugs. And when she was too high, she would sometimes hallucinate and see him. However when she wanted to reach out and touch them, he would disappear. 

It broke their heart knowing this but Junior still promised that he would help Lexy through her recovery. They would be by her side every step of the way. 

Once again, with ease, he fell back into the role of willing to do anything for her. 

Only this time, Lexy would do the exact same for Junior too. 

~I'm screamin' like a kettle on a stove~

After that, it was like Lexy couldn’t take her hands off them. 

Not that Junior minded, of course. He adored physical affection but had only really received it from their mother, so he had been fairly touch starved still. But Lexy wasn’t one to be so touchy with them. 

Sure, she’d hold Junior’s hand at school or kiss him in public sometimes, but that was it. They never cuddled or hugged or anything like that. But now, it was completely different. 

At first, Lexy would press her shoulders to theirs when they were standing or sitting close by. Then, it led to her looping her pinkie around his. That soon evolved to intertwining their fingers together when they held hands, hugging their arm, and resting her chin on his shoulder if they were sitting down. 

Honestly, it was adorable. Junior was seeing a different side of his ex-girlfriend that they didn’t even know existed. Even Devon and Jake looked confused by her sudden acts of affection toward their best friend and cousin. 

While it was incredibly cute, it just made him realize that she was perhaps just as touch starved as they were, maybe even more. 

That was something he had no problems fixing. 

Just about a week after they reunited, Junior noticed how fidgety Lexy was acting. Picking at her skin, shaking her leg, and they remembered that she was trying to go through withdrawal. So he allowed themself to finally return her physical affection. 

He moved closer to her and wrapped their arms around Lexy, pulling her into a hug. It took her a few seconds to hug him back but when she did, she immediately buried her face in their chest, right where his heart was–and subsequently, close to their scar. 

“You’re doing great, Lex. You’re okay. You’re gonna get through this, I promise. I’m not leaving you alone again. I’m here.” Junior told her and began playing with her long hair, twirling the blonde strands around his finger while their other hand stroked her back up and down soothingly. 

He could finally feel her starting to relax and Lexy’s grip tightened around their body as if he could disappear if she didn’t. She even moved her head just slightly so she could plant a small kiss on the pink scar that was hidden under their shirt. 

With how close Lexy was, Junior wondered if she could feel his heart racing. 

~You cranked the heat up, I was cold~

Junior had a hard time deciphering their feelings for his ex. 

On one hand, they genuinely still had an attraction to her. What he thought was an old flame was proven to be false the moment they saw Lexy again and that feeling only grew when he realized just how much she’s changed for the better. 

But at the same time, there was too much chaos happening in both of their worlds. With Chucky, drugs, and self-discovery, Junior felt it was too soon for them to get back into a relationship. They were hesitant to tell her this but when he did, she understood. Lexy just held their hand and reassured him that they could take it as slow as they needed to. 

“I’ll wait forever for you if I have to,” she told him with that sweet and genuine smile, “take your time. I’ll be right here when you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere, Juni.” 

Gods, Junior almost gave in and wanted so desperately to kiss her right then and there when she called them by that nickname that always had him so weak. 

But they did take it slow. They would still hold hands or cuddle, sometimes sleeping in the same bed, but that was it. And they were both fine with that, even with their so-called friends teasing them about their strange new relationship. 

It was a little odd, Junior would agree and admit to it. They didn’t say they were “dating” and they haven’t even kissed since the last year before they broke up. But Lexy didn’t press on it even though they knew that she did want to kiss him whenever they caught her staring at his lips. Junior was tempted too, but thought it was still too soon. 

This “arrangement” continued for a month until Christmas changed that far too soon. 

Ironically, it wasn’t mistletoe where they had to be forced to share a kiss to honor a stupid tradition.

It was Lexy covered literally head to toe in Chucky’s blood with a chainsaw in her hands.

Junior wasn’t sure what came over them. 

Although if he thought about it more, it was maybe just because the most beautiful girl they had ever seen was soaked in the blood of the piece of shit that ruined their lives and the lives of everyone they loved, with an almost maniacal look in her eyes after the deed was done. 

That must have been it because before he could stop themself, he went up to her, cupped her face in their hands, and slammed his lips on hers. 

Junior remembered the first time they ever kissed. Lexy’s lips tasted like her strawberry flavored lip gloss. 

This time, her lips were metallic with Chucky’s blood, some of it even dancing on their tongue from how intensely he kissed her. 

Junior was used to the taste of blood, having had some of it land in their mouth when he had killed their dad and tortured dozens of different Chuckys. But somehow, it felt different when it was on Lexy. 

Fuck, was he in love? 

When the dust settled and everything seemed to calm down after a few days, they both knew that they had to talk about this. 

“So…about the kiss…”

“It was the heat of the moment,” Junior admitted while fiddling with the zipper of their jacket, “but that doesn’t mean that I…that I didn’t enjoy it.” 

“Oh, I enjoyed it too,” Lexy giggled with an amused look in her eyes, easing the tension in her ex-partner’s chest, “I know we agreed to take it slow, and I’m all for that. But…do you think we could…do that again sometimes?” 

Junior smiled before nodding. There was no way he could go back to not kissing her again. He had a taste and knew they needed more. 

“Eh, I guess so.” He joked and she lightly swatted their arm with the back of her hand before leaning up on her toes, kissing him softly. 

This time, Lexy’s lips tasted like mint flavored chapstick and they could smell the hot chocolate that she drank earlier on her breath. 

Yeah, Junior could get used to this. 

~My past grew mold around my heart~

“No.” 

“Oh come on! Please?”

“No.” 

“I wanna see!” 

“No.” 

“Please?” 

“No.”

“Pretty please, Juni sweetie~?” 

“...no.” 

“Damnit, Junior, you’re gonna have to show me eventually!” 

“Like hell.” 

The banter that was occurring was out of Junior’s hands. Well, actually, the object in question that Lexy was so desperate to see was in fact in his hands. It was an object that had been taunting him and now they finally had to have it despite never wanting it ever in his life. 

Glasses. 

Junior Wheeler needed fucking glasses. 

They knew his eyesight was slowly getting worse over the last year or two. But they could squint and be able to see the words on a book okay, however the blurriness now grew more and more. Although it was easier for him to read something if it was further away from them. 

Stupid farsighted eyes. 

And now because of this, Andy finally noticed Junior’s predicament and insisted that he get glasses. Junior fought tooth and nail over this but Andy somehow managed to put his foot down and made them go to the eye appointment. 

And here he was, with glasses that made him feel like a fucking nerd. 

Junior was going to kill someone. 

Probably Jake because that asshole kept teasing them and was practically begging to be murdered. 

“Jun, I bet you’ll look so adorable!” Lexy insisted once again, now throwing her arms around his shoulders and leaning into them. “I just wanna see!” 

“So?” Junior spoke with no emotion. 

“Junior!” She now scolded before huffing. “Come on! I promise I won’t laugh or anything. I won’t even take a picture! Just…please?” 

He grumbled under their breath, not saying anything for a moment before he ended up giving in–just like they always did. He begrudgingly opened the case, pushed the glasses onto their face, and stared at her with the same deadpan expression. 

Lexy stared back at him before slowly smiling. “Juni! You look so cute!” 

“No, I don’t.” Junior groaned and was about to take the glasses off before she stopped them by grabbing his wrists. 

“Yes, you do,” she said stubbornly, “you look like Harry Potter!” 

They raised an eyebrow, seeming unamused. “Really?” 

She nodded her head quickly. “Yeah, but like, way hotter.”

Junior’s face flushed a bright shade of pink and he giggled quietly at the compliment. “Yeah, okay, sure.” 

“I’m serious,” Lexy whined and let go of their wrists so she could run her fingers across the circular frames, “you look super cute. Besides, now you can see me better so you can admire how hot I look too!” 

He snorted and rolled their eyes playfully. “My eyesight wasn’t that damaged, Lex. I just had a hard time reading up close, now I can do that.” 

“Then that means you get to read everything I post on Twitter about how you should be casted as the new Harry Potter.” 

“Oh gods no.” Lexy giggled at his reaction and then kissed the tip of their nose before standing up. 

“Wanna go to Starbucks?” 

Junior grinned widely. “Absolutely.” 

~And all my anger, sadness, regret disappeared~

Movie nights were a frequent occasion in their house. 

They had movie nights quite often, sometimes varying from twice a week to every single night. It depended on who was available to stay over and binge, also switching off on who picks out the movie each time. 

Jake’s turn was three days ago and Junior was relieved it wasn’t his turn again because it was far too soon for him to see another horror movie. 

Seriously, their lives were horror movies enough, they all didn’t need to watch even more of it. 

It was Andy’s turn this time but he was taking far too long on the phone with Nica in his room. Gods, it was so obvious that they were into each other and if Nica was in person, they’d totally be shoving their tongues down each other’s throats. 

But for now, they just had to wait for Andy to get off the fucking phone. So they sat around the living room, all talking about whatever was on their minds. 

Junior was sitting on the floor in front of the seat Lexy was on. They could sit on the couch with her but he was in an antsy mood and knew they would be moving around too much, so he settled on the floor instead. During the conversations, they felt Lexy move closer to him but remained behind them still. Before Junior could ask what she was doing, she ran both of her hands through his hair. 

The words died in their throat before they could even leave his lips, their eyes nearly rolling into the back of his head and they completely melted under her touch. 

If Junior tried to think about it, he would remember that they did tell Lexy earlier that morning that he enjoyed having his hair touched or played with, even scalp massages felt nice, and how it always helped relax them. But right now, his brain was completely mush. 

They could hear Jake and Devon laughing quietly at his reaction but they didn’t pay them any mind. Junior just allowed himself to be relaxed with her nails running across their head slowly, basically giving him a scalp massage. 

This must be what Elysium feels like. They thought to himself. 

Lexy continued doing this for a while, maybe ten minutes, until Andy came back into the room to start the movie. She pulled her hands away from him and Junior looked up at her with a pout. 

She giggled at the probably pitiful look on their face. “I’ll do it again after the movie, I promise.”

Even during the movie, Lexy was still playing with his hair. It wasn’t like the massage but she would still run her fingers around their hair, playing with it just like he would do to her own hair. The entire experience still made Junior completely relaxed, leaning their head on her knee so she can continue playing with his hair. 

And if Jake teased them about it later? 

Well, Junior would wait until he was agitated again so they could yank at his cousin’s curly hair. 

~It's madness, I'm not used to all this water, love, it's true~

Junior liked watching Lexy do her makeup. 

They weren’t quite sure why. Maybe it was because she was very precise in her work, completely focused when she was doing a winged eyeliner. Maybe it was the different eyeshadow colors she would use, sometimes darker and sometimes brighter, depending on the occasion. Either way, it was simply fascinating. 

Maybe too fascinating. 

“Do you think you could do my makeup?” Junior asked without thinking before completely shutting his mouth. 

Lexy had just finished applying her lipstick, a pretty shade of pink that almost matched her blush, before turning her head to look at them with an almost surprised look. “You want me to do your makeup?” 

Every single part of Junior was now screaming to abort, quickly shaking his head. “I–it’s–it’s nothing, sorry, forget about it–”

Before they could do anything else, Lexy was up, grabbing his arm, and pulling them to the seat she was originally on in front of her vanity. “Oh my god, I have been waiting for ages for you to ask me that!” 

“W-what?” 

“Juni, your face is perfect for makeup. Seriously, have you seen your cheekbones? And your jawline is to die for!” 

Junior began blushing deeply, making his ex giggle. “Well, I don’t even need to apply blush on you, so that’s one step out of the way.” 

“Lexyyyy!” They whined, blushing more as Lexy laughed softly and then grabbed a beauty sponge. 

He remembered calling it a clown nose before and she nearly threw her makeup bag at them. 

“Hold still, babe.” She told him and they obeyed, not wanting her to mess up as she began her work. 

The feeling of makeup on his face felt weird. It was a foreign sensation that a part of them enjoyed, while the other part wanted to stop. 

He knew what that other part was, the one that their father molded to be what he wanted his own child to be, a traditional masculine man. 

He hated that part of themself. 

“This isn’t weird…right?” Junior asked her, his eyes closed since she was applying gold sparkly eyeshadow on their eyelids that she let him pick out with the tips of her fingers. 

They felt Lexy falter for just a second before continuing. “No, of course not. I’ve always wanted to do your makeup. Besides, anyone can wear makeup. Doesn’t matter their gender or some other bullshit. Girls can wear it, boys can wear it, and anyone in between can wear it.” 

Her truthful response made them relax a little, opening his eyes to look at her after she finished their eyeshadow. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, I just…have that stupid voice in my head, you know?” 

She nodded truthfully, reaching to grab two eyeliner pencils. “I know, but you don’t have to listen to it. It’s wrong anyway, it’s just what your asshole piece of shit dad wanted you to believe.” 

Junior couldn’t help but to snort at how venomous Lexy sounded when she mentioned his father. Sometimes, it made him wonder who hated Logan more: them or Lexy. 

Probably Lexy now that he thought about it. 

Actually, Andy. Their guardian always looked like he was three seconds away from bringing Logan back to life only to torture him slowly and painfully whenever Junior talked about some of the things his father made them do, especially when it came to restricting his food intake. 

“What color do you want? Black or purple?” Lexy asked, shaking them away from their thoughts. 

“Purple.” He responded after a moment, finding the shade of darker purple nice to look at. 

Junior once again closed their eyes so she could draw the eyeliner onto his lower eyelid. It was harder for them to stay still during that part, the pressure of the pencil on his eye. It wasn’t unpleasant but it was certainly odd enough that they weren’t enjoying this process as much as the other ones. 

When Lexy finished, he opened their eyes again to see her grabbing mascara. “Okay, you gotta keep your eyes open for this one, Jun.” 

His eyes widened almost in horror and started shaking their head. “Uh uh, absolutely not, keep that away from me.” 

“Junior.” 

“I’m going to get stabbed in my eyeball.” 

“I’m not gonna stab your eyeball, I’ve done this a million times.” Lexy rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Your eyelashes are gonna look so fucking cute with mascara, so please hold still.” 

Junior groaned quietly before giving in, his entire body now stiff. Most likely not trusting that they won’t move, Lexy placed one hand behind the back of his head before using the mascara wand to go down and up their eyelashes. 

It took everything in him not to want to pull away, although they started to at one point but her grip tightened around him and she didn’t let go until she was finally finished. 

Lexy leaned back, looking at them almost proudly. “Fuck, you look so hot and you don’t even know it yet.” 

Junior snorted from her statement. “Does that mean I can see it now?” 

“No, not until we’re done. We just have one thing left,” she began rummaging through her makeup bag, “I think red would be a good color on you. Do you want to try red lip gloss or red lipstick?” 

He certainly didn’t feel like they were ready for lipstick, so he went with the former. Lexy pulled out the bright red lip gloss, carefully putting it on Junior’s lips. They couldn’t help but to stare at her as she did this, the way her eyebrows scrunched together with concentration and complete focus. 

Now that was fucking adorable. 

Finally, Lexy pulled away and clapped her hands together with a beaming smile. “Okay, okay, now you can look!” She told him excitedly and allowed them to look at the mirror. 

For a moment, Junior didn’t even recognize himself. Their eyes were glittering, his lips shimmering and face contoured and highlighted, noticing features in themself that he never thought to notice before. 

They looked…

“Pretty.” He ended up saying softly under their breath. 

Lexy dropped her chin on his shoulder, still grinning ear to ear. “Yeah, hella pretty. I told you, you have the perfect face to do makeup on.” 

Junior turned their head now to look at her, smiling softly. “Thank you for doing this, Lex.” 

“Of course, sweetie.” She told him affectionately with them leaning forward to kiss her but she quickly backed away. “Nuh uh, no kisses yet. I’m not letting you ruin my hard work, we’re taking at least a dozen pictures and then we’ll talk about kissing.” She insisted stubbornly, already reaching into her pocket for her phone. 

He rolled their eyes but knew that she wouldn’t settle on this. “Fine, but only because you did a really great job.” 

Lexy giggled triumphantly, quickly taking a selfie of the two of them. 

Junior would later notice that that picture she took would be on her lockscreen, and it only made his heart race. 

~But you made me want to~

Junior was exhausted. 

The weather was starting to get warmer now, spring hitting its highest, and the almost overbearing warmth was enough to make them tired. 

So he had gone to bed earlier than usual, with only one blanket on top of him because they would struggle to sleep without a blanket–believe him, they’ve tried. He must have been sleeping for a few hours, face down and drooling on his pillow while dreaming of two of the cutest kittens they had ever seen, before becoming slightly aware of the bedroom door opening. 

This still wasn’t enough to wake Junior up from his slumber. It was the feeling of a body climbing into their bed that finally jolted him awake. 

“It-it’s me, Jun.” They heard a familiar voice say next to him and they sighed softly, nodding and turning to face her. 

“Hi Lexy.” Junior said groggily as she shimmied under his blanket and curled up beside them. 

Of course it was her, this wasn’t the same time she had slipped into his bed in the middle of the night. Besides, they had done the same to her as well. 

“Hi.” Lexy replied with her voice quiet and almost shaky, as if she had been crying. 

That realization woke him up a little more and even though they couldn’t see her in the darkness of their room, he could still see her silhouette. They reached out carefully and felt wetness on her cheeks, gently wiping away her tears with his thumbs. 

“You okay Lex? Did you have a nightmare?” They asked her with a soft frown, still stroking her cheeks. 

Lexy sniffled and he felt more tears on their hands as she nodded. “I…I lost you. You died, Juni…you died in my arms and I–I couldn’t do anything to help you…”

Junior knew that this wasn’t the first time Lexy had nightmares about that night in the theater. She had told him before, it was a recurring nightmare she had when they were believed to be dead. 

“I’m here. I didn’t die, I pulled through. See?” He gently guided her hand to their chest, right where the scar was. 

He wasn’t fond of touching or even looking at their scar. Well, the first part would go out the window in moments where he was overwhelmed or upset, rubbing the scar because it felt like they were being stabbed again. But Lexy would often touch his scar or place her head on it, as if it was a reminder that they were alive. 

This method seemed to work because Junior could feel her start to calm down, lightly pressing her fingers on his chest. They knew that she could feel his scar even through their shirt, it was that noticeable. 

Lexy was quiet for a few moments before taking a deep breath and pushing her cheek against his chest. “If you ever die on me like that again, I’ll kill you myself.” 

Junior chuckled under their breath and decided not to mention the impossibility of that. He wouldn’t underestimate her, she would absolutely try if she could. 

“Go to sleep, honey. I’ll be here when you wake up. ‘M not going anywhere.” They reassured her, now rubbing her back with one hand. 

He heard Lexy hum in acknowledgement, keeping her cheek near their scar while fidgeting with his shirt by their waist. She continued doing this for a few minutes before finally falling asleep again. 

Junior smiled fondly when he noticed she was sleeping before doing the same not long after, accepting their fate to spend the night overheating. 

~Plan out my last days on earth, eating you~

There was a lot that Junior was still working through that his father implemented into their brain. 

That it was okay to be feminine, to take breaks, to cry, to wear whatever he wanted, to not need to change themself to be what someone else wants him to be. Just the basics, at least that’s what they saw it to be. 

But when it came to food, it was the hardest thing for his mind to work through. 

Junior still counted their calories, still sometimes slipping and asking Andy how much he was allowed to eat, hardly asking for seconds even though they did want more food. Thankfully, Andy seemed to know when Junior did want more and would always serve him more food without needing to ask them. 

Andy’s mother instincts were something he was still getting used to. 

But on good days, Junior could eat as much as they wanted without hearing his father’s voice in their head, even eating the occasional sugary and sweet desserts without much hesitance. 

However on bad days…he would barely eat. They would have maybe some snacks, or a fruit, but would throw himself into reading or writing or playing their guitar that he would genuinely forget about eating until someone reminded them. 

This week had been a bad week for Junior. He was lost in their mind and did what he could to distract themself. Unfortunately, that included skipping meals. But he thought that they had it under control. 

Until the day before when Junior nearly fainted in front of everyone after he lied about eating when in fact they went the entire day without eating. 

Now, he hadn’t meant to lie. It was a reflex when Andy asked them since he hadn’t been home that morning. He always said “yes” even if it wasn’t true. By the time they realized it, he didn’t want to go back on their answer. He figured that they would eat later on. 

That was proven to be false, of course. 

Junior would admit, it was a little scary. He stood up too fast and suddenly got punched in the face with dizziness and saw black spots over their eyes. He would have landed on the ground had Jake not been close by to catch them. 

His cousin and Andy were quick to get food for him, despite how embarrassed they felt. The embarrassment only continued when he noticed that they both were keeping more of an eye on him. All Junior could hope was that they wouldn’t tell anyone else about their little “incident”. 

Once again, the gods were not on his side. 

“Junior, I’m going to kick your ass!” Was the first thing Junior heard the next afternoon from Lexy, startled out of their reading and staring at her in both surprise and confusion. 

“What did I do this time?” 

“More like what you didn’t do. You seriously didn’t eat all day yesterday and almost passed out?! Are you kidding me?!” She nearly shrieked in frustration. 

He didn’t say anything for a moment before mumbling angrily under their breath. “I’m living with a bunch of snitching bitches!” 

Lexy stomped over to where he was sitting on their bed, snatching the book from his hands despite their protests, and replaced his book with a chocolate chip cookie that they hadn’t noticed she was holding. 

Junior went quiet, staring at it for a moment before looking up at Lexy. “I already ate breakfast, plenty of it. You can ask Andy or Jake, I’m sure they’ll attest to that.” 

“Oh I know that,” she started, “but I already decided to bring over cookies, there’s plenty more downstairs. I still want you to eat that.” 

He didn’t want to, their father’s voice kicking in the longer he stared at the cookie. They weren’t sure how long he was sitting there, staring with their hands beginning to tremble until Lexy sat down beside him and placed her hand over theirs. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” 

The phrase that Junior often said to his ex got them smiling a little, inhaling before speaking. “It’s just…been a bad week. I’m stuck in my head with everything my dad told me. I really really didn’t mean to not eat yesterday. I just needed a distraction and forgot to eat. I even lied about it, which really wasn’t my intention. I don’t want you all to be worrying about me.” 

“Juni, we’re gonna worry more if you’re almost fainting from not eating anything all day,” Lexy said gently, “if you’re struggling, you can talk to any of us. We’ll help you. You know that, right?” 

“I know,” he replied, “but we both know that me asking for help isn’t my forte.” 

“It’s not either, but I’m still trying.” She told them with a small chuckle, running her hand through his hair which caused Junior to close their eyes. “Now, will you please at least take a bite from your cookie? I’ll give you a kiss if you do.” 

Lexy truly was persuasive, wasn’t she?

And just like he always did, they gave in to her wishes. He opened their eyes and took a bite from his cookie–fuck, that tastes really good–, and after they swallowed the bite, he leaned in to kiss her softly. 

She kissed them back for a moment before pulling away just enough to breathe. “You taste like chocolate.” 

Her statement made both of them laugh before Junior said something. “Mahal kita.”

Lexy raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. “What does that mean?” 

Junior had been learning to speak Tagalog for the past few months. It was a way to connect more with their Filipino side and even understand his mother more. Learning the language felt like they were forming a bond with his mom, even though she was gone now. So far, the only other person who was trying to learn Tagalog as well was Andy. Well, Jake too, but he mostly wanted to know the curse words so he could understand if Junior was swearing at him. 

“It means ‘you’re sweet’.” They lied. 

Of course Junior had to lie. He couldn’t tell her that it meant “I love you”. That had to be far too soon, even though they had been together now for eight months, just without making it official. 

Besides, what Lexy didn’t know wouldn’t kill her. 

And she believed them too, smiling more at him. “That sounds so cute when you say it,” she told them truthfully before suddenly going serious, “but if you go an entire day without eating again, I will kick your ass. Got it?” 

Junior chuckled, knowing that Lexy wasn’t kidding or exaggerating, and took another large bite from his cookie. “Got it, Lex.” 

~The tips of your teeth fit perfect in me~

Lexy loved to go shopping. 

She could spend hours in the mall if she wanted to, spending money and splurging on clothes and makeup. 

As for Junior…

“I’m going to strangle myself with a hanger.” 

They had a raging headache. They both had only been in the mall for a couple hours, but Junior was bored and tired. He hated shopping even though they did know that he needed some more clothes–their style kept shifting and changing because he kept exploring their options–but right now, he needed a break. 

“Jun, we haven’t even been here for that long.” Lexy looked at them, seeming almost exhausted by his antics while holding up a red shirt to see if it would look good on them. “Come on, just a little longer.” 

“We can stay for another half hour as long as I can lay down on the floor.” He bargained. 

“Okay, that’s super gross and unhygienic. How about another hour, maybe a few minutes over, and I’ll buy you some food and coffee later.” 

Junior thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Fine, we have a deal.” 

They shook hands on it, both of them giggling before they went off to look at other clothes while also remaining within eye view of each other. 

They were still incredibly bored, browsing through different shirts and sighed loudly. He checked their phone and only five minutes had passed. 

It was going to be a long hour. 

Some time had passed, certainly not enough for Junior’s sanity, but he was managing to cope. A girl about their age even came up and started a conversation with him for a few minutes. She seemed kind enough and at the moment, they didn’t mind the company. 

Someone else, however, did in fact mind. 

Junior didn’t realize Lexy came back until she was almost right next to him. Before they could even greet her, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and slammed her lips on theirs with enough force that it made him take a step back. 

It was almost reminiscent of the passionate kiss they shared after Lexy killed her first Chucky. But this one was more rough, teeth hitting their own and he wouldn’t be surprised if she made their lips bleed. 

He almost struggled to breathe during the forceful few seconds kiss until she finally pulled away and looked at the girl they had been talking to. “Hi there. Who are you?” 

Uh oh. Junior knew that tone. It was the condescending, passive-aggressive tone she would speak in when Lexy was either pissed or about to say some of the most heinous things he had ever heard in their life. He hadn’t heard her use that tone in a while, so it did take them aback a little. 

He wasn’t the only one, the girl now looked nervous, stuttering over her words before coming up with an excuse to leave. When she did, Lexy stared daggers into Junior’s soul that had them nervous but confused as well. 

“Why are you looking at me like that? I should be the one looking at you like that! What the hell just happened?!” 

Lexy glared before spinning away on her heel and storming off. Junior was quick to catch up with her, his confusion growing. “Can you please explain to me what’s going on?!” 

“She was flirting with you!” She snapped and it had Junior blinking a few times. 

“What?” 

“I was watching you, she kept on flirting with you and you let her!” 

“Flirting with–no she wasn’t!” 

“Yes she was! I know girls and I know how they flirt, she was flirting!” 

“I didn’t know that! I thought she was just being nice!” 

Lexy stopped and whipped around to face them, a look of disbelief on her face. “You cannot possibly be that oblivious, Junior.” 

Junior threw his arms up in the air. “Yes! I can be that oblivious! Lexy, you were the one to ask me out on a date back in eighth grade. I didn’t even know it was a date until you told me! I thought you were just being nice and wanted to hang out with me. I can’t tell these things!” 

She stared at them even longer, running her hand through her hair with a look of pure frustration. “Are you sure that you and Andy aren’t actually biologically related? Because of how unaware you both are to women flirting with you has got to be a genetic thing.” 

“I don’t know, we haven’t taken a DNA test.” Junior replied lightheartedly, shrugging his shoulders before a lightbulb went off inside their brain. “Wait a minute…are…are you jealous?” 

Lexy seemed to flush red, her glare returning. “I was not–!” 

“Oh my god, you’re totally jealous,” he chuckled and a mischievous grin grew on their face, “I never thought I’d see you jealous before. Wow. I mean, I don’t mind it, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t cut my mouth open when you kiss me due to your jealousy.” 

She was quiet, huffing under her breath. “If it makes you feel any better, I think I chipped two of my front teeth on yours.” 

They both laughed before Junior reached out to twirl her blonde hair around his finger. “You don’t need to get jealous, Lex. I’m not going anywhere. Trust me, I’m definitely not interested in anyone else. Alright? Mahal kita.” 

A certain look flashed in Lexy’s eyes but it was gone as quickly as it came before they could try to identify it. “What-what does that one mean again?” 

“It means that you’re really cute. That’s all.” He once again lied, feeling grateful that she didn’t understand Tagalog. 

She just hummed and nodded, making Junior smile. “Now, can we get out of here? I really am hungry and am in desperate need of coffee.” 

“You’re too obsessed with coffee,” Lexy rolled her eyes but giggled, “let’s go, we just gotta pay for these clothes first.” 

“Fine, just don’t get jealous of the cashier.” 

“Shut the fuck up.” 

~You're a shower of light I'd devour any day of the week~

Junior always struggled with remembering what day it was. 

They would blame the year he spent with Andy in the woods, away from civilization and only remembering the days from recent newspapers Andy would bring back on supply runs. Sometimes, the days felt like they were just merged together. Sometimes they would think it was Friday when actually it was Tuesday. 

God, maybe Devon was right. He needed to get out more. 

But it really didn’t matter that much to them anyway. If he wanted to know what day it was, they could just look in the calendar app on his phone. Simple and easy. 

But while Junior didn’t always remember dates, including important ones, imagine their surprise when he was woken up with their door slamming open and light turning on in his room. “Junior, wake up!” 

Lexy’s voice absolutely shot them awake, protective instincts kicking in and bolting upright and grabbing his favorite switchblade from under their pillow. “What–what?! What happened?! Is it Chucky?! Where is he?!” 

“Woah, Jun, relax, there’s no Chucky, it’s just me–...why do you have a knife under your pillow?” 

“I think the better question is why don’t you have a knife under your pillow?” Junior threw back before lowering his weapon, now a little more relaxed. “What’s going on? Did you have a nightmare or something? What happened?” 

She didn’t say anything for a moment before jumping up onto their bed and settling next to him. “Happy birthday, Juni!” 

They blinked at her, quiet for a few seconds. “...what?” 

“Happy birthday! It’s your birthday today, September 26th. You’re sixteen now!” 

Junior slowly turned his head to look at their alarm clock before turning back to stare at her in bewilderment. “Lexy…it’s 4:30 in the morning?! You couldn’t wait another six or seven hours to wake me up for my birthday like a normal person?! 

Now it was Lexy’s turn to blink. “Wow…Jake was right, you are really grouchy when you’re woken up this early.” 

“That fucker knew about your little plan?!” He hissed, already now coming up with a dozen ways to murder their cousin and pin the blame on Chucky. 

“Yes, but it was just because I wanted to make it special for your birthday since I missed your last one due to you faking your death!” 

“I did not fake my death, I was nowhere near as elaborate to fake it.” He grumbled, pushing their switchblade under his pillow and started to lay back down. But Lexy prevented them, grabbing his shoulders and pulling them back up as he groaned even louder. 

“C’mon, Jun, work with me here.” Lexy whined, something she didn’t do often but made her sound adorable whenever she did. 

Junior’s eyes began slowly closing. “Can I work on it when I’m not running on three hours of sleep?” 

“No,” Lexy insisted stubbornly before cupping their face in her hands and the action made him open their eyes again, “I need to say something first and you have to listen.” 

Her serious tone was enough to make him wake up more, raising an eyebrow. “Uhhh…okay? What is it?” 

Now, she looked nervous. Shy even. Maybe even anxious. They were looks that Junior certainly wasn’t used to seeing. 

“I…ummmm…uhhhhhhh…” 

“...are–are you having a stroke?” 

It took another couple minutes until Lexy took a deep breath, looked into their eyes, and spoke slowly. “Mahal, masaya ako na nasa buhay kita. Ibig mong sabihin ang mundo sa akin. Mahal kita.”

Junior’s heart stopped. 

He understood every single word she said. 

My love, I'm happy to have you in my life. You mean the world to me. I love you.

Holy shit. 

“W-what?” 

“Look, I know I butchered the pronunciations, please don’t make me say them again.” 

“No, it’s–it’s just…when did you…?” Now Junior was the one struggling to get the words out. 

“I started learning Tagalog a couple months ago,” Lexy admitted, “I wanted to surprise you for your birthday. I mean, I’m definitely not fluent yet, but I understand the basics. And I…definitely know what mahal kita means now.” 

They closed his eyes for a moment and sighed quietly before opening them again. “You…you knew at the mall…?” 

“Yeah, I knew. ‘Sweet’ my ass, Jun.” She teased with a playful smile before looking serious again. “Why didn’t you just tell me what it really meant?” 

Junior wanted to look down but her hands prevented him. “I…I didn’t know if it was too soon. Or if you were ready to hear it. But…I did mean it. I…ummmm…” 

“Are you having a stroke?” Lexy repeated their previous question with a smirk. 

Knowing that he deserved that, they chuckled quietly before finally growing a pair and saying it. “I love you, Lexy. I always have. It just took some time for us to find each other again. But I love you. Mahal kita, maganda.” 

“That last one means ‘beautiful’, I know because you say that one a lot to me,” she grinned and it made them both laugh, “but I love you too. It took losing you for me to realize that. But now that I have you back in my arms, I am never letting go again.” 

“Good,” He smiled at her, leaning one side of their cheek to one of her hands, “so…does this mean we can be official? Like…you’ll be my girlfriend?” 

“Just as long as it means that you’re my partner.” Lexy grinned, amusement yet adoration in her eyes. 

Junior could drown himself in her eyes if they could. 

“I would love that, Lex. I’ll be the best partner you ever had. I know I’m oblivious and kind of an idiot, but I’ll still be by your side no matter what–”

“Juni?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Kiss me.” 

“Okay.”

~Baby, cleanse me~

[itstheclaud]

I wish all

Deltarune fan-artists who draw Lightworld Kris wearing fingerless gloves

A very pleasant

You make me love a character I already relate to even more, because I have Chilblains and have to wear gloves, just casually, even in the summer sometimes.