#fun fact: when i saw this sprite for the first time i said out loud:

[relicsongmel]

Do you guys ever think about Iris' blushing sprite?

Do you ever think that the first time we see it. is RIGHT AFTER she hears Phoenix use her real name for the first time?

Imagine loving a man. that didn't even know your REAL NAME until five years after you "broke up." Imagine that man loving you back despite him not knowing a thing about who you really are. And you're okay with that

Because you don't really like who you are anyway.

And once the illusion shatters and fate forces the two of you apart?

None of it matters anymore. If anything it's what you deserve for thinking you could live out your lie with no consequences. It's what you deserve for daring to try to find happiness in a world that has cast you and the people you love aside time and time again.

And then. When against all odds he blindsides you by entering your life again

You hear your name escape his lips. And in that moment you realize

Maybe being seen for who you really are isn't so bad after all.

Maybe. JUST MAYBE. With time. You could learn to finally drop your facade and live in earnest. To fight for what's right the way he told you he wanted to do.

And it shows on your face. It's shown by your rose-colored cheeks and a shy smile that's impossible for you to hide. And for the first time in several years

You don't feel like you need to.

[flourgirl]

Even If It’s a Lie

Part I to “Even If It’s a Lie”

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Peter drags you to one of his frat parties, and you realize something you should have a long time ago.

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: SO much angst, and lots of pining from Y/N. A couple swear words here and there.

A/N: I liked writing the first one so much that I couldn’t stop when it came to this one! Enjoy :-)

“This is the last time I'm asking you this Put my name at the top of your list This is the last time I'm asking you why You break my heart in the blink of an eye” -The Last Time, Taylor Swift

“Pete, I don’t know about this…” you said, looking yourself up and down in the mirror. You looked like a completely different person in the short burgundy dress that MJ had picked for you. The shiny satin contrasted with your dirty, white sneakers that hadn’t seen the light of day since you played tennis in the 9th grade.

“Trust me,” MJ had said when she was choosing your outfit earlier that day, “You don’t wanna wear any shoes that you actually like to a frat.”

“Why can’t you go with him again?” you whined, wishing Peter had somebody, anybody else, to accompany him to his “induction ceremony” into Sig Ep. 

“I don’t think I’m what any of those frat guys meant when they said ‘Bring a hot girl’. Plus, you were Peter’s first choice,” MJ replied, nonchalantly biting her nails as you held the dress up to yourself. “That’s the one.”

“I’m not hot,” you sighed as you started to hang the many rejected dresses spread across your floor back onto the rack. “I wore a sweater with a cat on it yesterday. That I hand-knitted.”

“Well... you’re cute. And that’s good enough. Plus, you can keep Parker from getting plastered. You know he’s a lightweight,” MJ laughed, reminding you of the many times Peter had called you to pick him up from a late night of partying.

“Yeah, I guess so,” you sighed, still worried about the fact that you did not like parties. Or strangers, or crowds, or really anything that involved socializing with more than four people at a time. Peter had been the same way all throughout high school. That’s what made you guys so close, but... things hadn’t been the same since you started college.

Peter ran from the other room, smoothing the wrinkles out of the gray t-shirt that fit him just right. You saw him grin from behind you in the mirror’s reflection, and he placed his hands on his shoulders, jostling you lightly.

“Y/N! Are you excited! It’s your first college party!” he exclaimed, spinning you around to look him in the eyes. You stared down at your feet, self conscious over how short you felt in your sneakers next to him.

“That’s not true. I’ve been to parties before! Ned’s birthday was just last month,” you reminded him. “Don’t you remember how you watched me bake a cake from scratch and your only ‘contribution’ was eating the buttercream?”

Peter laughed, ruffling your hair like you were his little brother. “No, Y/N, I meant a real party. With booze and music that’s so loud that you can’t hear what someone is saying. That kind of party.” 

Your brows furrowed as you began to fully accept that Peter had changed. So, so much. He wasn’t the dorky kid from Queens that carried your books and watched your favorite animated movies with you just because anymore. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

It didn’t take his spidey-senses for Peter to realize how upset he had made you. “Y/N, I’m sorry. You know I didn’t mean it like that. I just want you to experience everything college has to offer.”

“I think you do that enough for both of us,” you muttered, plopping dramatically onto the couch. Peter followed you, running his fingers gently across your arm as you pouted into a throw pillow. “Couldn’t you have asked any other girl to participate in your frat’s misogynistic tradition?”

“I didn’t want to ask anybody else,” Peter replied. You sat up to look at him, fixing your hair and smoothing out your dress. “I promise, Y/N. I miss you. We never hang out like we used to.”

You rolled your eyes. “And whose fault is that? You’re always—”

“—it’s mine. I know that. So, just come with me tonight and let me make it up to you,” he pleaded, pulling out his signature puppy dog eyes that you could never say no to. “Come on. All you have to do is say the word and we can leave, okay?”

“Okay.”

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

Your nerves worsened the closer you got to the frat houses, not mentally prepared for how loud the music would be or all of the sweaty bodies that would inevitably be pressed against you on the dance floor.

As you approached Sig Ep, Peter gave your hand a reassuring squeeze. He looked deep into your eyes, “Y/N. I meant what I said. All you have to do is tell me that you’re ready to go and we’ll leave.”

“You promise?” you asked, chewing on your lip.

“Promise,” Peter smiled, holding out his pinky to intertwine with yours.

Some tall, buff guy was standing at the doorway and greeted Peter with a fist bump. “Hey, Parker! Good work with the dime! She got a boyfriend?” You recoiled at his attitude towards you. It was as if you weren’t even there.

“Nah, Ryan. She’s off limits.” Peter replied coolly, pulling you inside.

You heard Ryan wolf-whistle from his post, causing you to roll your eyes. “Hell yeah! Didn’t know little Petey had it in him!”

Peter wrapped his arm around you, partly to make you feel better, but also because there wasn’t much space for you two to squeeze your way into the kitchen. “Just ignore him,” he said, handing you a red plastic cup, a bottle of Sprite, and a shot glass of vodka. 

You peered up at him, unsure. You weren’t much of a drinker, but maybe, just maybe, it would help you ease up on your nerves. Swirling the liquids together into the cup, you downed it before recoiling from the burn. Cheap vodka sucked, you remembered.

“That’s my girl!” you barely heard Peter say from right next to you, feeling him patting your back before he did two shots himself, swallowing them as if they were water. “Come on, I have some people who’ve been dying to meet you.”

The butterflies in your stomach were going crazy. He had called you his girl. You gripped his hand tightly as he led you down the hallway and onto the back patio, where a group of people sat crowded around a bonfire. 

A girl with bleach blonde hair and a dark green dress that hugged her figure came running up to the two of you, practically jumping into Peter’s arms as she greeted him. “Peter! I’ve been waiting for you. Come on, you can sit next to me.” 

She pulled Peter towards the bonfire, patting the empty spot on one of the benches next to her. Peter turned to nod at you, gesturing for you to follow them. Once again, it felt like you were invisible to almost everybody at this party.

The blonde girl leaned close to Peter’s face, giggling with an obvious drunkenness. “So, who’s your little friend?” she asked, waving her fingers towards you like you were some kind of pet.

“This is Y/N, my best friend.” Friend. That’s all you’d ever be to him, especially when there were girls like her around.

“Hi, Y/N! I’m Gwen. Gwen Stacy. Peter and I met in our thermodynamics class last semester,” she smiled, showing off her perfectly white teeth. “You should’ve seen him! He made everything look so easy.” You already knew that. Peter could do anything he set his mind to.

“Yeah...” you mumbled, refusing to make eye contact with her bright, gray eyes, which matched Peter’s shirt. “So, uh, who are you here with?”

“Oh, duh!,” she said before tapping the guy on her left’s shoulder, pulling him out of the conversation he was having with the people next to him. “This is Harry Osborn. We go way back. Harry, this is, uh…”

“Y/N,” you reminded her.

“Right! Y/N. She’s Peter’s friend,” Gwen told him. He nodded his head and offered a small wave before returning to his conversation. Of course, you thought to yourself. Peter had only asked you to come with him tonight because she was unavailable.

You stared back down at your stupid shoes as Peter and Gwen talked about titrations and bond solutions. Things that you knew nothing about. Was this why Peter was always out at parties? To see her? 

You thought about Peter’s promise. Just tell him, you thought. Tell him you want to leave. But you knew that you wouldn’t. You knew that you couldn’t ruin Peter’s fun just because you decided to be a baby and get scared after just thirty minutes into your very first frat party.

Looking back up at Peter and Gwen, who now had her arms draped around his neck, you excused yourself to the restroom, wherever that was. You just needed a break. Peter nodded towards you before turning back to smile at Gwen.

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

A banging on the bathroom door startled you. “Hey, uh, could you, like, HURRY UP? I have to take a piss,” a boy yelled from the other side. You got up from the edge of the bathtub that you had been sulking on for the past five minutes to open the door.

“Oh. Sorry, Y/N. Didn’t know it was you.” It was Flash Thompson. Flash, the guy who had made Peter’s life a living hell in high school. “God, you look good. Hey, how’s about you waiting out here for me and we could, you know, catch up?” He winked at you and you wanted to throw up.

Your first instinct was to say no. How could you give Peter’s bully the time of day? But you thought about Peter and Gwen. Gwen. Gorgeous and smart and better than you in every possible way, who was probably sitting in Peter’s lap by now and running her fingers through his hair. Your heartbeat quickened as rage rushed through your body. You wanted to hurt Peter, like he had hurt you. “Yes,” you replied, before he slammed the bathroom door in your face.

One minute later, you were pulling Flash down the stairs and towards the backyard. “You washed your hands, right?” you asked, desperately hoping that the answer would be yes.

“Don’t worry, babe. I just peed. Everyone knows that as long as you don’t get it on your hands you’re all good,” he mused. “You use less water that way, too. Save the planet, am I right?”

You dropped his hand, mentally rolling your eyes, and continued trudging towards the bonfire. You watched as Peter turned to smile at your reappearance, which swiftly dropped once he saw who you were with. It seemed like Gwen had backed off when you were gone too. Was this some kind of weird, territorial act that she was putting on to prove that Peter liked her and not you?

Maybe you were overthinking, but it was too late to backtrack. You sat back down on your place next to Peter, the awkwardness thick in the air. Flash had decided to squeeze himself between the two of you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder.

Peter leaned forward and shot you a dirty look, which you immediately recognized as his “What the fuck, Y/N?” face. 

A familiar voice boomed from behind, and you turned around to find Ryan had finally tapped out of bouncer duty to join the festivities. “Who’s ready for Truth or Dare!”

Shit. You hated truth or dare. Peter knew that. Ever since you had been dared to kiss Tyler Rosado in the 7th grade and he laughed right in your face before flat out rejecting you, the game had become a sore spot.

But you looked at Peter, who was cheering alongside the rest of the group, excited as ever to participate in the game that you swore you’d never play again. He doesn’t care, you thought to yourself, not like he used to.

You felt a vibration from your pocket and scrambled to pull your phone out of your jacket. Well, Peter’s jacket. The one he had let you wear on the way here because you were cold. It was a text from MJ. 

“How’s everything going?”

“Not good”, you replied, adding multiple sad face emojis at the end of your message.

“What did that idiot do this time?,” she asked. It was like you could hear her “I’m so going to beat Peter up for this” voice through the screen.

“I’ll tell you when I get back,” you sent, before locking your phone and sliding it back into the jacket pocket.

“Alright, alright, alright. So, who’s up first?” You heard Ryan ask, remembering the terrible event that was taking place right before you. “Hey! Gwen, how about you do us the honors?”

“Of course!” she chirped back. “I’m always up for a challenge.”

“I know you are,” Ryan laughed, causing the crowd of people to whoop and holler around you. “So, truth or dare.”

“Definitely dare,” she slurred, taking another sip from her beer.

“Who’s got a dare for pretty, little Gwen here? Anybody?” Ryan asked, looking around the backyard.

Flash raised his hand. Fuck. Why did you think that it would be a good decision in any way, shape, or form to bring him with you? 

“Gwen, I dare you to make out with the hottest guy here!” he giggled, obviously thinking that she’d pick him. What a dumbass.

She smirked, before turning to Peter. “Gladly,” she said as she moved to press her lips against his. You struggled to watch as they made out right next to you, much to both you and Flash’s dismay. It felt like it had been going on for forever when they finally stopped sucking each other’s faces and the crowd’s cheers died down.

That was it. That was the last straw. You got up from where you were sitting and headed back towards the front door, having had enough of frat parties for the rest of your miserable life. Peter probably wouldn’t even notice that you were gone.

You felt hot tears fall down your cheeks as you stumbled out onto the sidewalk, calling MJ as fast as you could. “Could you come get me,” you managed to choke out. “This—this was a mistake. Please, just come get me.”

MJ asked for your address and let you know that she’d be by in a couple of minutes. You plopped onto the front steps, emotionally and physically exhausted from all that Peter had put you through tonight. 

A few minutes later, MJ’s car pulled up in front of Sig Ep, and she ran out to hug you, gently rubbing your back to get you to stop crying. “Where is he?,” she asked angrily, glaring towards the frat house. 

You pulled her back, sniffling at her, “Don’t. I just want to go home.”

“Fine. I’ll deal with him later,” MJ said, before the two of you got into her car and drove back to the apartment that you shared. Upbeat pop music played on the stereo, which you promptly shut off, preferring to mope with your head on the windowsill, staring out at the cloudy night sky.

MJ unlocked the front door, and you were greeted by Ned and Betty sitting on the living room floor around a Monopoly board. Betty was obviously winning, and Ned was almost bankrupt. 

“Y/N!” Betty squealed, getting up off the rug to hug you. “Oh my god, what happened?”

“It was Peter,” MJ muttered, shooting daggers at Ned.

“What!? I can’t control him,” Ned tried to reason. “Y/N, on behalf of my idiot roommate, I’m sorry for whatever he did this time.”

“It’s okay, guys. I just really want to go to bed, okay?” you told them, heading towards your bedroom.

You kicked off your sneakers and threw Peter’s stupid jacket, which smelled just like him, onto the chair in the corner, plunking yourself face first into the mattress. Ned, Betty, and MJ stood in your doorway, watching the entire thing.

“Yeah… I don’t think she’s okay,” Ned whispered, loud enough for you to hear.

Betty hit him on the head. “Ow!,” Ned replied, rubbing his temple from where she had flicked him.

“Will you all just shut up and leave me alone!?,” you screamed, startling your friends.

“Yeah, of course. Just tell us if you need anything, Y/N. We’ll be right outside,” MJ reassured you, before shutting your door behind her.

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

You woke up the next morning to the smell of blueberry pancakes and maple syrup wafting throughout the apartment. Dragging yourself to the bathroom, you wiped away the leftover makeup from last night and brushed your teeth, ready to forget about everything that had gone wrong yesterday.

“Good morning, Y/N!” Betty sang from the stove, placing yet another pancake onto the already towering pile before sliding the plate in front of you. “They’re for you. Blueberry, with a little bit of cinnamon, just like how you like ‘em!”

You managed to give her a weak smile, before digging into the breakfast she had so lovingly prepared for you. “Where’s MJ,” you asked, knowing that she would never still be asleep past 7 a.m.

“I’m not supposed to tell you…” Betty answered, obviously trying to deflect from wherever their roommate was. “Apple or orange juice?”

“Apple,” you replied. “No, seriously, Betty. Where is she?”

Betty placed the glass next to your plate of pancakes. A heavy silence hung all throughout the kitchen as you realized the only place that MJ could be right now. She was going to kill Peter.

“Oh my god!” you screamed, scrambling to pull your shoes on and running out the door. Betty mentally cursed herself out for not being able to keep a secret, chasing after you down the stairwell.

“Y/N! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop! Please, MJ is just looking out for you!,” she panted from several stories ahead. Betty had no idea when you had gotten so fast.

“Don’t care! He’s my best friend!” you yelled back, before rushing out onto the sidewalk and running across campus towards Peter and Ned’s dorm room. You hated how much you still cared about Peter after all this time. You hated how much you loved him.

As soon as you reached their door, you frantically knocked on it until Ned opened up. “Oh, Y/N, you’re not supposed to be here. Hey, wait—”

You didn’t let him finish his sentence, squeezing your way past him and into their common room. There, MJ and Peter sat playing a game of chess. Until MJ transferred to your school, nobody had ever been able to beat Peter in chess. You scanned the board as they became aware of your presence, and felt a sense of pride seeing that MJ had his pieces tied up to ensure that she’d have a checkmate in five. He’d either have to resign or let her pick off his queen, two knights, and rook one by one.

“Oh,” you sighed with relief, seeing that Peter was still alive. Everyone in the room was staring at you, waiting to see what you had to say. 

“Well. I’m going to head home. See you later, MJ. Bye!” You turned on your heels and headed towards the door, where Ned was standing with his jaw on the floor.

Peter scrambled to his feet as he caught up with you, grabbing your arm and spinning you around just as he had done yesterday. “Y/N. Let me explain,” he whispered softly, like there was nobody else in the room. Curse those damn puppy dog eyes. You were better than this. You needed to stick up for yourself.

“Goodbye, Peter,” you said, before breaking free of his grasp and walking out the door, doing your best not to cry in front of everybody.

He started to follow you before MJ pulled him back, uttering a simple “Don’t.”

Walking back to your apartment, you realized that you had been right all along. Peter had changed, and nothing was ever going to be the same between the two of you.

[summonerscenarios]

So, mc adopting at least one of each of the Child mobs, how would that go?

IT MAY BE 4AM BUT THAT'S NEVER STOPPED ME BEFORE LETS DO SOME MF HCS.

Sadly I was only able to work on two of the mob kiddos as I didn't want this to get too long but I still hope its okay~!

Also just a heads up a lot of this is a pure waffle of information based on my own interpretations of the mobs so here's hoping I did a good job with them lmao.

---------

It wouldn’t have been the first time you’d ended up inadvertently adopting someone, nor will it be the last knowing your luck. It’s not like you intentionally do anything to draw people to you, it just so happened that the things that you did and situations you got wrapped up in led to you getting to know all kinds of people in the process. And those people saw you in all kinds of ways - most saw you as friends, others saw someone else in you, more than a few made no attempts to hide their blatant flirting - and, rarely, a few would even see you as a role model,a mentor or parental figure to look up to.

You honestly have no idea why, after all, it’s not as though you go out of your way to make particularly responsible decisions (if anything, you get yourself in enough trouble that you’d imagine you’re anything but a role model) but a lot of the younger transients and students seem to flock towards your presence, looking for comfort, advice, or just someone who respects them. At first it was just the younger members of your guild that you technically took under your wing - as the Guildmaster you assumed it was only natural to look out for them, and you’d long gotten used to protecting Agyo and Kijimuna, wanting to make sure that the only thing they had to worry about was having the chance to be kids rather than getting dragged into the Guild’s app-based affairs. It’s not like responsible parental figures are easy to come by in this world of app-battles and fighting, so that’s perhaps why when you start taking a more protective, nurturing role with the younger ones that more of them begin popping up.

Surprisingly, the ghosts are some of the first mob children that you noticed began flocking towards you. Roaming spirits are unusual but certainly not rare, and it honestly breaks your heart a little to see so many young ghosts lingering around in the unexplored corners of the city, searching for one thing or another. Things feel...off, for a while before you can pin down the issue - you start feeling as though you’re being watched when you’re in the guildhouse by someone other than your teammates, and when your attempts to shake off the uneasy feeling doesn’t work, you decide to bring it up to your fellow Guild members in case it’s someone trying to spy. You want to make sure it’s not someone who can bring danger to the guild, but you don’t have much of a chance to set up a search of the building when the D-evils come tottering into your field of view, screeching up a storm and motioning towards an otherwise unassuming corner of the window.

Turns out you weren’t the only one noticing the other presence, as Shiro’s D-evils seem to have picked up on it to - and when your attention snaps over to the window to see what they’re pointing to you barely catch a glimpse of the flickering figure of a ghost child as they disappear from view. From that point on you start spotting the child more often - he’s shy or wary, always lingering someone just out of the corner of your eye but never getting any closer almost like he’s afraid. He seems to have taken an interest in you though, especially whenever the younger guild members come around to spend time at the guild, and it isn’t long before you notice that he’s intently watching the way you watch over and care for the kids of the guild - he looks almost sad in these instances, but never dares to get any closer and disappears as soon as you turn to look at him. Over time it becomes almost normal to have a resident ghost at the guild (though Agyo still shudders at the mention of ghosts despite having seen the kid plenty of times since arriving). He seems to be more at ease after a while of watching you, and things finally come to a head one day when you’re playing videogames with Hanuman and the other kids, noticing that the little ghost has wandered far closer than he’d ever done in the past, watching the small screen setup on the floor with an avid interest that seems far happier than the forlorn looks he’d had before. Taking a chance you tilt your head to look over at the ghost child, motioning him to come over and join; he disappears for a moment, startled, but right as you start to worry you may have scared the kid off he rematerializes, inching hesitantly closer and closer till he’s hovering beside the rest of your group, eyes fixed to the characters on screen with a child-like wonder.

You aren’t quite sure how this ended up with you adopting the ghost child yourself. It’s just one day you were talking about how you were pretty much adopted by the teachers at school and how you’d like to pay it forward some day, and the next you were talking about ‘son’ this, and ‘might as well take the kid under your wing’ that - you were practically acting like an impromptu parent for like a fifth of the people you knew anyway, so what was actually adopting a child? Toji had just about choked to death when you’d made the unfortunate decision to announce that fact mid-drink, and Shiro spent more than his fair share of time probing you with the legal questions surrounding a student adopting a child, ghost transient or not. Ryota seems incredibly excited by the idea however, gushing about being an uncle and wondering if your new son can eat and if so what his favorite food is - plenty of questions for a later time.

Ghost is certainly the most clingy of the children you end up adopting, and it’s clear from the get go in the sense that the poor little one is essentially glued to your side from the moment you take the venture to actually adopting him. With few things remaining in the physical world to cling onto, the familial bond is something that the little one cherishes and he absolutely refuses to budge on letting it, and by proxy, you, go. For a while he actually fears you’re going to leave him and take back what you said about protecting him and being a good parent. He of course had parents once, and their lack of presence at his side now paints a tragic picture no matter what way you look at it, so the kids got more than a few attachment issues you need to work through. Ghost doesn’t really talk too much, instead relying on gestures and interacting with things around him to talk to you and others - it takes a little bit to get used to if you’re unfamiliar with some of the gestures but it’s easy to pick up as time goes on.

Definitely one of the more well behaved children of the bunch, given that once you’ve convinced him that you’re not abandoning him he’s dead set on making you proud. He gets antsy when you’re not around, spending most of his time at the guild when you're at classes, but he takes to following Agyo around instead during these times. Agyo’s more than a little startled at first, and is a bit awkward about the whole situation as he processes it, but before long Agyo’s not only getting along with your ghostly son, but he’s also teaching him the ‘lion dog duties’ that he’s been teaching you - you’ll never quite forget walking in to Agyo giving the poor kid a detailed rundown on the upkeep of the guildhouse and all that it pertains.

It was supposed to only be the one child, you swear, but damn if you haven’t got a bleeding heart and a knack for attracting trouble. Word travels around fast about your adoption, and as more people learn about your impromptu push to parenthood people start coming to you for help - namely, kids with nowhere else to go. Maybe it’s your bleeding heart or savior complex, but before long one kid becomes two, and then two becomes three, and soon enough you’ve got four kids on your hands.

There’s no denying that things get a little bit rocky when you start taking in other children. Despite the other kids in the guild, Ghost has technically been the only child up to this point, and with your attention shifting from both him and the other children at once it’s a sudden change - one that you thankfully discussed with him first to make sure he was okay. Even with the okay though, Ghost is more than a little anxious when you bring the second child, a nether sprite, ‘home’, especially because of how loud she is by comparison. Nether sprite is an absolute ball of energy and mischievous to boot, so she more than makes for an interesting parallel to the otherwise quiet Ghost you’ve been taking care of the past few months.

She’s a handful, especially during the first few weeks that she’s settling in - it takes her a while to really start seeing the place as home, and even longer for her to even consider you a parental figure (she’s seen you as more of a babysitter till you proved you were willing to stick around and put the effort in to be a good parent). Once she does settle in however she takes to the place quickly, and, to your surprise, your two kids become thick as thieves. The Nether sprite catches on quickly to how Ghost communicates, and given his penchant to linger around those he’s close to and follow them around she’s more than happy to drag him all over the shop from one activity to another - it’s a surprising development but one you actively encourage. Unfortunately as I mentioned she’s still mischievous, though tones it down from anything too troublesome if it’ll cause you too much grief.

However that hasn’t stopped the amount of times you’ve gotten calls from someone about the kind of trouble you two little ones have wound up getting themselves into - looks like they both picked up your knack for getting intentionally and unintentionally dragged into the weirdest events (sure, it’s fun when you do it, but having your kids doing it only serves to give you grey hairs from the stress.) And things only get crazier once the other kids end up coming along, for both better and worse - but that’s a story for another time.

[henryobsessed]

The Borrower and Her Bean

Summery: Melina lives in the wall between two houses with her family. What happens when lockdown is put in place and her Bean (Henry Cavill) is home.

Word Count: 1700

Warnings: Nothing Yet :) 

A/N @witcherfan​ thank you for the request for a Borrower Henry Fic lets see where my brain will take this lol - I just watched the borrowers for the first time yesterday 😜 

Picture from  Ratgirlstudios's DeviantArt Gallery on pintrest

Part 2

Part 1 –

Melina enjoyed listening to the sounds of the morning, it was her normal waking practice to listen first before she opened her eyes. She could hear sounds of the wind rustling through the blades of grass outside her bedroom. The sounds of the crickets chirping a good morning to each other and the frogs singing their morning tunes. Everything sounded as it should except today there was a new sound, a sound that signalled a change.

She opened her eyes her heart beating faster now that she had heard him, the heavy footfall of the bean that lived in their house. Melina loved their house, in fact, they lived between two wonderful muse houses. There was another family that lived all the way down at the other end of this set of muses but these two were all theirs.

The house to their right was great fun, the beans that lived there had parties all the time. With lots of dancing and loud music that mum and dad were always complaining about. Melina and her brothers loved it. The one thing her mum and dad did not complain about was the food. Because they had so many parties the beans never noticed the missing food. Lots of fruit, cheese, meat pies and salami’s perfect sizes for her father and brothers to bring home. It was a good thing too because the bean who lived on their left was often gone for months at a time. If they had to borrow food from him, they would have starved or would have had to resort to getting food from the other borrowers.

Apart from the lack of food though Melina loved his house. Because it was empty most of the time, they had free reign. Her twin brothers Greg and Carson had worked out how to turn on the bean’s computer and between the two of them had even managed to play one of the beans games. Laughing she thought about the last time the bean had come home. Watching from a hole in the wall she had seen him turn on the computer and go bright red as his game had come on the screen. The boys must have done terribly because he had jumped up and stalked about the room swearing “Bloody hackers, destroying my hours of work. *&^%$ how did they even get past my firewalls” He had spent at least 3 days glued to the machine trying to undo what they had done.

Melina had two favourite things to do when he was not home. He had these statues that he liked to paint, of warriors and monsters. This time while he was away, she had gotten up the courage to paint her own statue, the paintbrushes were small so easy for her to use and sometimes she would paint for hours. There was a little part of herself that hoped that he would like the work she had done even if he never told her directly. Her absolute favourite thing to do was to sit on the windowsill in his bedroom. She could see the whole world from the window and at night if she was feeling really brave, she would sneak up there with a pillow and blanket and fall asleep watching the moon and the twinkling stars in the deep indigo sky.

He was home now so life would change, they would go back to living in the shadows. Only coming out at night and living in fear of being seen. Melina hated this, sometimes she would look up at those stars and wish with all her might that she would change from a borrower to a bean. Then maybe, maybe her heart's desire would come true. You see Melina was 25yrs old, there were no borrowers her age to go courting with. If she was really honest with herself, she would admit that she wanted to be with her bean, but that was the ultimate betrayal of her emotions to want something that could never happen.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she put her feet into the cotton balls that she used for slippers. Stretching her toes, she stood her full 4inch of height. Her room was along the wall that had ventilation to the outside facing the garden. She had chosen this spot because she loved watching the animals play in the grass and often, she would watch her bean playing with his big shaggy friend. She smelled the fresh air and turned looking casually in the pocket mirror her daddy had borrowed for her. She fixed her dark brown hair up into a braid that curled around her head. Smiling as it made her 4 inches just that little bit taller.

She changed into her day dress and walked down the hall to the room they used for a kitchen. She had dawdled this morning and the image that greeted her told her she was late. Everyone was sitting around the dining table, which was a small Jar that Daddy and the boys had scavenged from my bean’s pantry. Mum had made a tablecloth out of a piece of cloth the boys had found by the computer; it was a perfect size and she always laughed at the image of a doggie on it and the words glasses cleaner underneath. She sat on her die seat and grabbed a grape.

A loud pitter-patter could be heard running alongside the wall and sniffing, everyone froze. Daddy put his finger to his mouth admonishing us to be silent. My stomach fluttered as I heard the deep rumbling of my bean “Kal what have you found?” the puppy yipped and continued to sniff at the wall. Fear and hope mingled as Melina heard footsteps come to a halt by our room, as we all stayed silent. My bean’s deep rumble was so close as he praised “Silly puppy, I can’t hear anything, but I might put out some mouse traps ok buddy? Good Job” as both sets of pitter patters and footfalls retreated, we collectively let out our breaths. “That was close” mummy breathed as she mopped her brow with her apron.

Daddy eyed the boys and me, a frown on his face “Looks like he bought his puppy with him so you will all have to be incredibly careful if you venture into the house. I would prefer that you did not go into the house while he’s here, he is never here long, but your adults……. Or at least close to it” he said looking at the twins who had just turned 18. I hated when daddy got strict, I’m an adult granted unmated but still, I should be able to make my own decisions. I glance at my brothers who seem to be also grumbling under their breath. Don’t get me wrong I love my mum and dad, but they are old fashioned, they have lived with the motto that Borrowers should never be seen. That we should be quiet, cautious, brave and inconspicuous. Greg spoke up for all of us, looking for agreement from Carson and myself before saying “ok dad”

I was frustrated, I had been so close to finishing my statue. Instead, I spent the day sitting by my vent writing. I liked writing I could escape into a fantasy world where my dreams could become realty rather than just a thought in my head. As the day sky became dark and the stars came out I itched to sit on my sill. My bean and his puppy should be asleep. After saying goodnight to my family I crept up the brickwork steps to the small hole I had made in the wall under his bedside table. It sat up against his window to provide a perfect way to get to the sill. As I peeked out into the room, I saw his puppy sleeping at the end of my beans bed. I watched for a good 15mins to make sure he was asleep.

The beautiful puppy was a huge black and white animal. Once she heard the tell-tale snore from the bear's mouth she breathed a sigh. She was surprised her bean had not seen her rope hanging from his bedside table it had been there now for the last few years and it never seemed to be found. Gaining her footing she made the steep climb up the side of the table. Reaching the top she paused, listening, watching, her adrenaline pumping so hard she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She slowed her breathing and made the final climb to the sill.

Now she was this high she could see not only the world outside but she could see her bean. He was tucked up under the covers, only his face and his curly hair tussled into a mop on top of is head could be seen.

A gentle snore could be heard from his parted lip letting Melina know that he was in a deep sleep. She watched him for a while, she knew it was wrong but there was something comforting watching this gentle giant. Turning around she settled herself into the crook of the window from here she could see the stars and the moon as well as her bean. Again, she made her wish to the stars, her desire to be loved and to love, her desire for the one she could never have.

As she relaxed, she heard a small whimper coming from the bed. Her bean’s face scrunched up creasing his forehead as more whimpers made their way out of his mouth. Hoping to soothe rather than awaken she moved to the bedside table and hid behind the books he had stacked up ready to read. Softly at first, she began to sing a lilting lullaby. As she sang his whimpers settled down, she continued to sing until she could hear the gentle snore again. Moving back to the window she looked out to the night sky and whispered, “Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Stars watch over us tonight.” Then before she could fall asleep she made the long journey back to the safety of her bed.

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[cosmic-lavender]

Insecure chapter 3

Otis driftwood x Reader

( I do not own these gifs)

Masterlist is here. Please see warnings ⚠️

The next day the eve before Halloween, you were at work; you worked about one or two days a week at Captain's Spalding's gas station and chicken roadside attraction. Spalding had become a father figure to you in the years you've known the family. He knew your father too briefly when home; this is where your dad would always fill up his truck before leaving again. You'd still hang out in the shop with your dad while he chatted or killed time. He knew you were a good kid; that’s why when he found out you were dating his adopted son Otis he was overjoyed. You would help him outrunning the register while he would make fried chicken in the back. It was a fun environment, you talking with Spaulding for hours and laughing until your sides hurt. So that night, you're sweeping the gas station/ art exhibit while admiring Otis's art around the place. It filled you with pride that your guy was so talented and creative. 

The shop bell rang, and in walked two young men who were not from around here. You listened in on their; conversation, and apparently, these groups of young people were on the road in hopes of writing a book on offbeat roadside attractions. You watched and held in a laugh from behind one of the shelves as Spaulding messed with one of the young men you learned was named Bill; he always liked to press people's buttons, and this time was no separate thing." oh, I'm just messing with ya son! Look take a load off. I’ll have y/n get ya some refreshments or something. At the same time, I set up the ride y/n Darlin c'mere would ya" you set down the broom. You walked over to the men, your boots clacking on the wooden floor. " Evening gents, I'm y/n does anyone want any water, sprite … burdon?" 

You chucked a bit, which seemed to loosen the guys up; you learned the other was named jerry. " Oh, we're good; we’re just gonna go get our friends who are out in the car. I'll be back" as Jerry leaves, you turn your attention to Bill, you lean slightly against the counter "so roadside attractions, huh? Seems interesting" "Yeah! It's been pretty cool so far being to a lot of interesting places," you noticed Bill was giving off some you assumed to be nervous body language, I mean, you couldn't blame him; this was placed in the middle of nowhere with a loud clown gas station owner. " Is Spaulding making you nervous? He's a lot, but I wear he's just a pussycat he won't hurt ya ``'' oh no no he's fine it's just been a long drive, so how long have you been working here you like it ?" Bill asked while seemingly eyeing you up and down " I like it's it's.." your conversation was cut short by the two women coming inside. They seem to turn their nose up at the place before setting their sights on you with an unimpressed expression, sigh, so it was these types of girls. " Evening ladies! Can I get you anything? We have " " Jerry Bill, when are we going to leave? We don't want to go on this stupid ride," the one you later learned was named Mary said. You took this opportunity to walk away, passing Spaulding toward the backroom; he winked at you as he passed, " everyone ready for the ride; let’s go, people ''.

Afterward, you got your coat and waited for Baby; usually, Otis picked you up from work when you worked nights at the gas station and call him old-fashioned. Still, the idea of you driving alone didn't sit right with him. But this was different; you insisted o. Still, the picking you up because 1. She was already heading into town to get people from red hot pussy liquors, and 2. You knew Otis wanted to work on his art and let off some steam with the cheerleaders there 3. You suddenly saw your guests for the evening event tomorrow. While the group was on the ride, you decided to call the house and inform Baby of the plan. While the guests loaded up into the ride, you pulled Spaulding aside and informed him of what you planned to do. He smiled wide and said, " this is why you're one of our kiddos.” Baby agreed to have you drop her off on the road toward the path of the tree and instructed Rufus to blow out the tires while you went along to the house. 

Everything went off without a hitch. As everyone sat down for dinner, you hurried down the stairs from freshening up in the bathroom; you eyed Otis sitting at the front of the table, god he was so handsome, and you were so in love. You walked over to him when you heard your name "y/n wow hey!! You live here what a small world" you turned to see Bill smiling at you, " oh hey Bill! What a small world indeed" you turned back to Otis ``honey you want a beer?", Otis didn't answer at first; instead he looked back and forth to Bill and you, eyes shifting ever so slightly, he cleared his throat " yeah sure Darlin I'd love one" as you passed him he grabbed your belt hook and pulled your toward him, " give me some sugar first" you happily obliged leaning down to give him a soft kiss on the lips. He kissed you back, never taking his eyes off Bill, who awkwardly looked away from the scene. 

You came back with a beer for Otis and went to take a seat next to him; he instead pulled you down into his lap. You quickly got comfortable not minding the PDA at all; this was your family; they were used to this kind of affection between you both. You looked over to Denise's ring on her hand; it was beautiful, a ruby, you thought. " Wow, that is a gorgeous ring! Is that a ruby" you leaned forward a bit to get a better look, to which Denise pulled her hand away and set her hand on her lap. " Um yeah, it is, and it's a real Ruby too it's from Jerry '' she looked over to him "wow, that was a nice gift," you said " yeah, well I deserve it," Denise replied. " You want a ruby someday y/n? '' Otis asked, causing you to turn back to look at him " I'll get you one day if you want,” “ I wouldn't say no to a ruby someday,” you replied. The rest of the night went on as planned; the group was tied up and used for the family's party favors. 

As the night winded down, you stood out in the backyard smoking; the house had been pretty humid with the rain and hot air; it was a nice stillness standing under the porch watching the rain. " There you are the fuck you doing out here, shoulda told me you were going for a smoke" Otis appeared behind you, standing in the doorway biting his lower lip. "Sorry handsome, you looked so focused and didn't wanna intrude on the art project" he sat down next to you on the porch bench as you passed him the joint. " This was a good day, '' you told him, leaning Into him as he put his arm around you. " Yeah, it was huh," he takes a long drag of the joint and slowly blow it out, " you think you could see yourself doing this forever?" " Doing what? smoking in the rain, yeah, of course ``'' I mean spending your days doing fucked up shit with me"  you take the joint back, also taking a long drag, " nowhere else I would rather be ''.

 He removed his arm from behind you and turns to face you. "I've been thinking," he scratches his face and looks down at his hand all stained with blood, " I know I ain't the most attentive or expressive kinda guy. I'm not good with the mushy shit," you start to protest. He puts his hand up " let me finish like I was saying I ain't good at the mushy shit or telling you how I feel. I know I can be a pain in the fucking ass to deal with, but you are the greatest thing I've ever come across." He looks at you fully this time with sincerity and vulnerability you've never seen; it was rare to see this much from Otis, usually only showing you got some pieces of his soft side when you two were alone. 

You didn't Dare move or speak after that. It was almost like you were seeing a baby deer in front of you. You didn't want to spook him, the forgotten joint just burning between your fingertips." For one, you're as sharp as a tack; I can't talk to anyone else about what I can talk to you about. You're patient with the fact I'm a grumpy asshole; you like my huge art; most people can't stand to look at it, but you not only encouraged me to do it, you offer to help. You're loyal and don't ever show signs of hightailing it no matter what you see here. You're funny; you got some comebacks that I never thought would come out of Lil ol, you mamas, and you're sexy as fuck like God damn, I saw the way Bill what's his face was looking at you, and I don't blame him. I don't even know what I did to have you. I mean, look at me, I look like shit," he chuckles; you still hadn’t moved from when he began talking. " I guess what I'm saying is I know I have made you feel insecure this past; weeks, but like I'm sorry ok, and I don't want you to ever doubt how I feel about cha" he then reaches into his pocket and pulls out the ruby ring.. "so I was wondering" " oh my god! " This pulled you out of your trance. “ Are you... I what are you" " hey, can you shut up and let me finish?" " Sorry, sorry," he starts again, " I want you to know I'm in this for the long haul your mine forever, alright? So you ok with that or no?" " You nodded a huge clumsy nod feeling the tears start to form in your eyes, " I'ma need a verbal yes or no here you are crying doesn't tell me shit" " yes a thousand times yes" he slipped the ring on your finger which shockingly was a perfect fit, you jumped onto his lap and straddled him linking your hands around his neck into his long hair, he rested his hands under your butt gripping them, " I'm your forever Mr. Driftwood." 

You both sat this way for a while, just taking in each other's smells and listening to each other's heartbeat; the only sound to be heard was the falling rain. "Otis?" "Hmm," he hummed, buried in your neck, nuzzling. " Can I help today?" You usually helped with the artistic side of the whole ordeal, helping him assemble, get supplies, clean the bodies. Still, you never joined in on the actual killing despite all the time you've been here, but something about today seemed like the right time to jump in. How eyes shot open, and he looked up at you with a wild surprised, yet aroused look, " you sure sugar? You don't have to know, but God damn, it's so sexy to hear you say that '' he gripped his hold on your waist, leaning forward, and kissed you slowly yet profoundly, sliding his tongue into your mouth. You moaned into his mouth, tightening the handle on his neck; you pulled back, gasping for air " yeah, I'm sure I wanna do this with you" " shit mamas, let's go then HELL YEAH'' he hoisted you up bridal style and carried you into the house down to the basement. 

[roseyful]

Mars Red: Edge of the Nightmare - Review

Now, my Tumblr has been a bit quiet lately (been queuing a lot of things so then it wasn’t too quiet during my absence), but it has been for a good reason; last month I was approached [on my private twitter account] and asked if I would be able to playtest a game and write a review, and of course, being someone that enjoys games, especially those that follow an otome style, I had to say YES.

So its proud to say that after a while of playing the game, I finally get to write this review.

Now before I get into the game itself, I would like to take the moment to give appreciation to the team for being so helpful during my time of playtesting the game and before that, as not only would they let us know when there was an issue and the date had to be pushed back, they were so polite and helpful whenever I would run into a problem. That’s something you’d want to see in a gaming company and I’m so glad that my first experience with this company is one with positive results. I personally found no issues with the team themselves, and I do hope they keep this up after the release. Thank you favary for being so lovely and patient with me, and other beta testers.

Mars Red: Edge of The Nightmare was the game that they asked for me to play, however when I originally looked at their website, I couldn’t help but notice that the concept was originally one of a ‘Sound Theatre’, and while I couldn’t figure out what that was, I eventually was lead down a rabbit hole and ended up looking at the other things that Bun-O Fujisawa has worked in. Very interesting stuff, just like the game. However, it’s best to look at his other stuff in your own time.

Please note: I will be keeping this spoiler-free for the sake of letting people go in with no idea of what’s going on besides what I mention and on the website.

Story

The game is set in the early twentieth century in Japan, or better known as the Taisho, in which the website also says ‘[is] influenced by Romanticism’, in which vampires rule the night, as they could only feed off blood and those that stepped into the sun would surely die. Keen senses, incredible physical abilities, and yet they were still vulnerable. You see that very early on with the main character that we play as; Yutsufusa Yuki, a vampire whom became one against his will.

I will be honest, I did not like Yutsufusa when I first started playing, as I felt like he was a bit too willing to die, but that is something that you can overlook when you get further into the story. Yutsufusa is obviously one of the youngest in the group, due to the fact he wears the more ‘modern’ [at the time] clothing out of everyone, well, there is someone else who wears similar clothing but he’s human.

You control Yutsufusa throughout the game, influencing his voices and living his life through his eyes, him acting as the reader insert as you learn about the other characters and begin to grow a bond with them. While the story is a bit slow at first, it does start picking up around the middle-end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2 after you play the prologue, as you begin to assist “Code Zero” in their work to rid the world of vampires that wish to feast on humans..

Be mindful that there is an anime, however, Yutsufusa does not appear in it, as it focuses on the other main characters, so if you have watched the anime already be sure to remember that they’re either two separate timelines or different points in time. I do not want to confuse anyone with this.

The main cast is quite an interesting bunch, as it covers a wide range of personalities, and sometimes even time periods as you play through the game and unlock things; you might say you might learn a bit of history from it if you end up looking up some of the references I’ve found in the game. This is a great reflection on the idea of ‘immortality, and even has moments where said immortality leans into a few jokes (such as knowledge of birds).

If you’ve played games such as ‘Ikemen Revolution’, you may be familiar with the ticket system. Every day you’re allowed a certain amount of tickets to progress through the story, however, if you run out of tickets and you must read more, then you’re able to progress the story via using ‘amber’, the game’s currency that you can use for different functions. However, this is not needed, as every day your tickets will be replenished. I personally found myself not even needing to use my amber, as I would always wait for the next day. There are mini-stories that you can get if you finish a chapter within a certain amount of time, but I personally don’t find them to progress the story a lot after I read the first one I got. Then again I had other things to occupy my time while I wanted as well. If you wish to reread chapters, you get a bonus third option of currency; coins. Coins can be used to reread chapters in the place of amber or tickets, which means that you can grind out coins via the exploration option in order to see more options (looked at a bit later).

I personally found the story to be engaging, between the use of minigames (or investigations, covered a bit later), it broke up the reading with fun activities that progressed the story.

Is the game an Otome?

No! I was shocked as well when I saw the all-male cast since I was wondering if I was playing a boys love game, but in the end, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this is actually a detective game. While it may carry the usual look of an otome, with the story and choices of how you speak influencing the endings of chapters, the game more feels like one of finding new friends and solving kick-ass investigations than finding romance. It’s refreshing.

This is especially true between the minigames in which helps influence the story that is all very unique in their own way and do not seem repetitive once you get into the flow of how they work.

Minigames

The minigames come forward in two forms; investigation, interrogation, and infer. Investigation sounds exactly how you’d expect, as you have to poke around and look at things, which you can review in a little notebook that sits in the top right of your screen in the case you need to review what you’ve looked at. When I was first launched into this section for the first time, I had a little trouble remembering exactly what I needed to look at (as I was given a set of things to tap), however, I do have to thank the team for thinking ahead and adding the option to be able to watch ads in order to see what you need to do. This was one of the two times I’d have to watch ads, as they don’t shove them in your face every few seconds like most mobile games do which is rather nice. Sometimes you gain information or items that you have to use later, so it’s a good idea to keep track of what you look at.

Interrogation acts as a question-based information gathering, in which you talk to NPCs in order to gather information to use in the investigation. Like Investigation, these points are put into your notebook for later.

Infer takes the first two investigation segments and combines the information, as you now get interrogated by one of the main characters, and you must respond back with the proper information in order to make sure that this segment is successful. You are able to read back on the notes from the other segments at this point by pressing the button with the book icon in the upper right corner, as this aids you in selecting the right answers. When I first came to this section, I did feel under pressure due to it, but it was interesting to see the negative answers from the character if I got it wrong.

Exploration is another part of the game, that while outside the story, there are parts that require a certain amount of story points in order to clear ‘point blocks’. This is where you get the coins from and frankly is good to use once you have finished using all your tickets for the day and want to use the rest of the time to grind coins. During the exploration, you set up 2 characters, a place, and a set [in real life] time of how long you want them to be out and about. Depending on the number of points earned, you may earn something called a ‘mummer’, which reveals more about the characters you chose to send out, and even get dialogue of the characters interactions (which can be pretty funny in itself) that shows the dynamic of the two characters- are they friends? Are things tense? You get to learn more by sending them out together.

Artstyle

As an artist, I was incredibly pleased with the art of the game, as the characters do not look the game, there are different body types and ages (from teen to elder), you never had to look at the same face twice for two characters. I will be honest, I do wish the characters were a bit more ‘animated’ with their expressions (such as body movement when they’re feeling certain emotions), however other than that, the sprites are magnificent.

The backgrounds are also really interesting to look at and even tell so much story before you even start investigating within the investigation sections. The design team also needs props, because while a few characters are wearing similar outfits, they’re all wearing them in different ways which shows their character and even the way they probably fight. Though I will say I am a bit biased towards Takeuchi, then again, I really enjoy fun and loud characters in general, and his hair is interesting in a sea of mostly black, purple, silver or blonde hair. Maybe will make a fanart of him in the future if I learn to draw his eyepiece. (on that note, please release the full sprites for us artists to reference, we’d love you eternally for it haha).

Oh no, it’s a-

Yes, its a bit of a gacha game, however, you do not need to actually play the gachas in order to progress through the game; it mostly just unlocks bits of story for those that want to have extra stories, or just want that extra dose of dopamine (haha, me). As someone who plays gacha games ever since they turned 13, I was glad that this game isn’t actually gacha centric, and thus is very free-to-play friendly due to this.

Who would I recommend this for and would I recommend it myself?

Personally, I think this is a game that suits the niche of those that enjoy a good mystery and even play those ‘find an item’ games, mixed in with those that enjoy reading otomes and history. Maybe even someone that enjoys theatre since there’s a character that does theatre. Would I personally recommend it? Yes, I would. The game is very interesting and engaging, the staff behind the game are so lovely.

Once more, here’s the game’s website link ❤️: https://marsred-game.net/en/

[ckneal]

So, I’ve had this idea kicking around in my head for a little while now, based on this premise: What if, due to some wire crossing that Chuck never anticipated, because he never anticipated Jack, or his powers, or that Jack might use his powers to tear open a portal to one of his cast off-worlds, allowing a scrapped draft of Michael to waltz over into the main canon universe, the OG Michael experiences some side effects? Such as, perhaps, his grace syncing up with the AU’s, causing his appearance to change for seemingly no reason, unaware that it’s corresponding with the other Michael changing vessels?

And as this is going on, Michael and Adam are at different stages in processing how they view one another. Adam’s just at the tail end of digesting the fact that he might be bisexual. Sure, there might be times when he and Michael are talking, and Michael says something, or—god forbid—laughs, and Adam feels this warm rush of affection, but that could just be something that happens when you’re part of a friendship that’s gotten this close. And, so what if he occasionally thinks about what might happen if they kissed, doesn’t everyone have that thought from time to time? That’s probably normal. And anyway, Michael looks just like him. Maybe he’s just getting vain.

But then, right in the middle of a conversation one day, Michael’s grace suddenly goes haywire. There’s this blinding flash, and Michael’s human form changes to that of the AU Michael’s apocalypse vessel. Dark hair, long coat, delicious beard, and neither of them have any idea why.

And this change is jarring for Adam. But it’s even more so for Michael, because, firstly, why did this happen? But also because, when he separated himself from Adam in the cage, for the sake of “privacy,” which Adam had made a big to-do about, Michael might have glossed over the fact that he couldn’t actually separate their minds completely. And, to a certain degree, a large part of maintaining their agreement, unbeknownst to Adam, involves Michael pretending that he doesn’t hear the odd fragment of a thought trickle over from Adam’s head. So, when Michael looks down at himself, at his hands and his new clothes, and then asks Adam what he looks like, he hears:

Holy shit—gorgeous—fucking hell—take me now. . .

“. . .Different.”

And with time moving more slowly in Hell than it does on earth, even though AU Michael only briefly wore this vessel after he crossed over, this new look sticks around for a little while for OG Michael and Adam. Which initially changes their dynamic a bit. Michael begins to wonder if he should tell Adam that his thoughts are not as infallibly private as Adam had been led to believe. However, there’s only so much entertainment in the cage, and there is something unspeakably gratifying about the fact that now, when he and Adam get into a debate, and Adam has a really solid argument going, Michael can stretch his neck like he’s trying to work out a kink, and hear Adam’s train of thought come to a screeching halt as he helplessly imagines what it would feel like to nuzzle into the expose skin. The thought generally only lasts a second or so, but inevitably costs Adam his footing the conversation every time, as it’s usually followed by Adam chastising himself for upwards of twenty minutes.

On one occasion, while discussing something called Kohlberg’s stages of morality, Michael evidently said Adam’s name in such a way that made him excuse himself to the far side of the cage, where Michael knew for a fact Adam spent the entire time scowling at the ceiling and thinking:

Creep—Stop staring at him—Not his fault he looks—sexy—gorgeous—fucking get it together. . .

Michael is aware that he has no business finding the whole situation as amusing as he does. After all, if Adam were to ever act on his errant thoughts, Michael would have to tell him that, as an angel of the Lord, entertaining any kind of relationship with a human would be utterly inappropriate. Angels simply didn’t do that sort of thing. . .

That said, a week or so later, Michael can hear Adam telling himself not to look at the dip in the V created by Michael’s new button-down shirt (it had arrived with the top two buttons undone, and Michael had refrained from altering it). Michael is getting ready to throw Adam off his game, again, when his grace flares. When the light subsides, Michael looks down at himself and sees that his human form has changed again. He looks up at Adam to ask what he looks like now, and Adam says. . .

Like an asshole.

“You look like Dean now. What happened?”

“I don’t know. . .”

Sadly, this change lasts significantly longer than the last one, and the awkward shift it causes in their dynamic is a lot less fun (for Michael). The second Michael’s face changes, Adam’s inner turmoil shifts from untoward appreciation, to a running loop of reminders that he’s looking at his brother’s face, which does not have nice eyes, and even if it did have nice eyes, the person looking out of them is a divine being with no interest in—in anything, and that the whole train of thought was sick, and redundant, and Michael didn’t mean to listen in, but he was already in the habit by this point.

Nor could Michael contradict Adam’s inner monologue, because of course Adam was right. Michael certainly wasn’t interested in—well, if anything, Michael was relieved that temptation had been taken out of Adam’s path. If Michael excused himself at one point to quietly explore the possibility of snapping himself back to the mysterious form from before, it was purely out of curiosity about the strange glitch in his powers, not for any other reason.

And, finding that, having never possessed or even seen the body in question, his attempts to revert to past vessels only brought up John Winchester’s form, Michael certainly didn’t feel disappointed. Nor did he spend the better part of an hour contemplating whether Adam’s father’s face would be an improvement over his brother’s, before remembering that he is not supposed to know or care about whether Adam is repulsed by his appearance.

Their rapport recovers, but nonetheless, they are both secretly relieved when Michael’s grace flares of its own volition once again. This time Michael is standing when the change happens, and the first thing he notices after is his height. This vessel was taller than Adam, or so it initially seemed, until Michael realized it was equipped with footwear that bolstered its natural height by a few inches. It was wearing fewer layers, and accessories securing its hair and dangling from its ears. Michael studied them with his hands.

“You look great,” Adam says before Michael has a chance to ask.

Obviously, Michael doesn’t care. By this point, Adam’s rush of lustful imaginings has become a relatively distant memory. Which made it all the more surprising when Michael was teaching Adam to speak Enochian sometime after the newest change. Michael was leaning forward, speaking slowly to show Adam precisely how he moved his lips and tongue around the syllables, but Adam’s accent was abysmal and distorted one word so badly that it threw off the entire sentence he was trying to say, and Michael briefly forgot himself to the point of actually laughing out loud—at which point, he heard the word Beautiful resonate through Adam’s mind.

Adam seemed to like this face. Words like “regal” and “stunning” crossed over from time to time, but, more significantly, Michael feels a surge of warmth come from him whenever Michael smiles—sometimes so intensely that the affection takes up residence in Adam’s eyes while they’re talking, and Michael can’t seem to look away.

After experiencing that, feeling his grace billow out of his control once again filled him with dread. Michael struggles to resist the change this time, but the flash of light comes nonetheless. Running his hands over his jaw afterward, and noting the familiar set of his legs, Michael knows before Adam says anything that he has changed into Dean Winchester again.

Adam chuckled when he saw Michael’s face. “You almost look disappointed.”

“Of course I’m not. I. . .I just wish I knew what was causing this.”

Once again, Dean’s face stays longer than it had any right to. To himself, Michael carefully thinks back over what he had been doing at the time of each change, wondering if he could possibly trigger another randomization. He had been talking each time—could it have been a key word or phrase, perhaps even a gesture or. . .thought?

Adam humors every experiment that Michael suggests, always with the same amused expression on his face. After the fourth or fifth failure, he says, gently, “You know, Dean’s face kind of suits you. Is it that bad?”

Michael retorts that this was not about vanity.

After all, Dean’s face is a reminder of their abandonment in the cage, and precisely what turn of events had led to Adam’s residency in particular. Michael would not force Adam to live with it peaceably when he should be capable of less offputting alternatives.

He’s overjoyed when the the now familiar surge of power finally courses through him again, and Adam has to bite his lip to stop his grin when Michael immediately begins running his hands over his new face. This vessel is the shortest to date; even with heels, Michael only stands as tall as Adam’s shoulder. This one also came with the most elaborate accessories. One of Michael’s new rings catches in the pins restraining his hair, necessitating the removal of both, and releasing a mane of shining red curls.

Adam helps him with the hair pins. And promptly grins when Michael’s thanks comes out in the cadence of a lilting Scottish accent.

Adam’s reaction to this one is easily the loudest since the first change. However, the words that Michael overhears run the gambit of Spitfire, Adorable, and Spritely—words that Michael is not accustomed to hearing in relation to himself, and not certain if he approves. He finally takes offense at the term pixie, and in the midst of a conversation about Purgatory, detours into a tangent about how angels and pixies are in no way similar to one another, regardless of humanity’s affinity for portraying the two specifies as humanoid beings with wings.

During this spiel, Michael fails to notice Adam raising an eyebrow at the abrupt segeway. He spends a minute, leaning against the side of the cage, half listening to Michael, while also trying to deduce how pixies came into the conversation. Then suddenly realization hits, and the fact that he is able to keep his face completely neutral is nothing short of a miracle.

Adam’s rather proud of the fact that he’s managed to get himself under control since coming to terms with his attraction toward Michael. Being around Michael after the first body swap had been difficult, and then confusing, after the second change put Michael in the shape of a blood relative, and not exactly a fondly remembered one at that. Self-control had become a matter of sanity for Adam, and, once he’d acknowledged his feelings to himself, vital for maintaining their friendship as it was. He hadn’t imagined making out with Michael against the side of the cage in ages. But now, with Michael’s tangent, with his fussing after each vessel change in mind, he had a hypothesis to test.

Michael was still talking when Adam’s fantasy hit him: Adam pushing away from the wall, three steps to close the distance between them, and then tilting Michael’s pixie-esque face upward to kiss him breathless. It was. . .very vivid. Michael could almost feel Adam’s arm slip around his waist, and the ghost-like caress of his tongue along his lips, requesting admittance. The fantasy cut short before request could be answered.

Adam bit back a grin watching Michael trip over his consonants. Even before he walked over, he could see the blush spreading out on Michael’s face. Michael doesn’t move back as Adam approaches him, coming in closer than he would normal go. Instead, Michael seems to lean into the closeness, tilting his own head back as his lips parted, eyes on Adam’s face. Adam’s tempted to run a hand along Michael’s jaw. 

Then. . .

“.. .I’m sorry, I got distracted thinking about something. Can you repeat that last part?”

“W—Yes, of course.” Michael practically flies three steps back. “As I was saying—”

“Wait, Michael. . .”

“Yes?” When Michael, flustered, finally looks at Adam again, Adam is giving him a look that normally means a joke has gone over his head—though what the joke could be is beyond him. Michael tries to listen into Adam’s mind, but all he can detect is vague confusion.

Meanwhile, Adam is not sure whether he’s being rejected, or if Michael had honestly just missed the part where Adam caught him listening in on his thoughts red handed, and maybe caught him in something else too. Judging by the look on Michael’s face though, Adam was going to have to ask the question outright. . .

“You know, I think we got off topic. Let’s take it back to Purgatory.”

. . .But he cops out.

Shortly after the pixie incident, Michael experiences the opposite of the power surge that marks the onset of a change. His grace seems to short circuit for a moment, and when the riotous flickering subsides, he’s reverted to Adam’s form. What this means, neither of them know. They carry on, neither of them saying it, but both secretly braced for the next change. Instead, the next time Michael senses an unexplainable rush of power, the cage door swings open, and the two of them sit there gaping at their freedom for an embarrassingly long amount of time before either moves to step outside.

When they do, Michael is wary. He doesn’t know of many beings that could simply open the cage, and he can’t dismiss the thought that this might be a trap of some sort. He pulls the two of them back into one being and ventures out cautiously. He knows where the doorway to earth is, and can get there as easily on foot as by wing. . .but then they happen to pass by the new queen of Hell, seemingly out on some kind of procession. Which is unusual enough for Hell, since festivities are not typically done there, but more importantly, Michael gets caught on the queen’s appearance.

“Michael? Why are we stopping?”

“That woman.”

“Yes?”

“Doesn’t she look familiar?”

“Um. . .I don’t know? Why, is she some important bible-y character?”

“First, we are not characters, Adam, but also—” Michael struggles to articulate his thoughts. He’d seen that woman in Adam’s fantasy! She was attired differently, in red and gold, with her hair arranged in waves woven through with braids, but it was her. He knew for a fact that Adam had once gazed at her in amazement that he could find anyone so unreservedly endearing while they were in a “mood,” as Adam had put it, yet now he hardly seemed to notice her. To think that Adam could be so offhanded with his affections was disconcerting.

Michael sets it aside, but the thought cycles back when he and Adam are at the diner later.

“You really didn’t recognize that redhead?”

“Jeez, Michael, did you?” Adam shoots him a look as he takes a bite of his pizza. It’s the one that usually meant there was something humorous going on that Michael didn’t see.

One thing that had slipped Michael’s mind when he bound Adam and himself back together in Hell, was that their proximity would make Adam’s thoughts significantly easier to overhear. As Adam chews, Michael distinctly hears:

Go on, say it—You’re not going to say it—Say it, I dare you. . .

“What’s with the frown?” Adam says after swallowing and wiping the corners of his mouth with his napkin.

“I’m still figuring that out.”

Adam chuckles as he picks a french fry off the plate of his first entrée. . . .Yeah, you’ll get there. . .

[puckinghell]

11:11 | Carter Hart

Summary: Hockey players are a little superstitious, so wishing on shooting stars, rainbows and dropped penny’s isn’t a rare occurrence. Normally, they’re wishing for things like wins and awards and cups, but Carter has a little something else on his wishlist.  Words: 2,5k Note: based on the song 11:11 by Jae Jin which is the cutest songs I’ve ever heard. Note 2.0: This has been sitting in my concepts for over a year cause I just don’t love it but I like it too much to throw it away, so I finally decided to just post it and be done with it. Hope you guys like it anyway!

---

It’s a well known fact that hockey players are superstitious. 

It’s a better known fact that hockey goalies are stupidly superstitious. 

So far, Carter has been trying to break the stigma, and he’s pretty damn good at it, thank you very much. He doesn’t care if he puts on his left or right skate first, he doesn’t have to turn the shower on and off twice, there’s no pregame meal better than others. Winning games depends on how well he’s playing, not on setting his alarm at 4:32 when he takes his pregame nap.

Carter isn’t superstitious, but he is a little stitious - and he’s watched The Office way too many times, clearly. There’s just one thing he can be superstitious about. Only one thing. 

You.

---

You’ve been sitting on your porch, sketchbook in hand, drawing your neighbor’s dog. He’s big and black and at 11 years old, you’re not really sure if you’re supposed to be scared of him. He looks a bit scary, but he’s never done anything bad, and your parents don’t seem to mind him.

It’s hot outside. Too hot, really, to be outside your air conditioned living room, but your brothers are yelling inside and you just wanted some peace and quiet.

Some peace and quiet, and to stare at the boy next door. 

He’s a little older than you, a lot taller too, and he’s always intimidated you a bit. Sometimes he hangs out with your brothers, who are older too, but today he’s with some boys from around the neighborhood. 

They’re playing street hockey, like they usually are. You like watching them play; it’s such a fun game to watch, and you really wish you could try it, see if it’s fun to play too.

But your brothers always tell you to go away, and you’ve not had the guts to ask Carter. That’s the boy next door’s name; you heard it one time when his mom called him in for dinner. 

You’re focused on where the dog’s ears meet his head - on your paper it doesn’t quite look right - when something goes flying past your head.

“Duck!” you hear someone yell, but you’d already ducked in reflex. A plastic ball comes zooming past your ear, hits the wall behind you and bounces back; it rolls past your feet and ends up in front of somebody else’s.

“Are you okay?” the same voice asks, a little worried, and when you look up it’s Carter staring at you with wide eyes. “Did he hit you?” 

It takes a while for his words to synch into your brain, but then you shake your head. “No, he didn’t.”

Carter smiles, at that. “I’m sorry,” he says, “I’ve told Alex his aim is so bad he shouldn’t be allowed to play in public, but he didn’t believe me.” 

The other guy, Alex you presume, comes running over, his hockey stick still in his hands. “Shit, sorry,” he says, and you’re pretty sure you’re not allowed to say that word but you don’t mention it. 

“It’s okay,” you say instead. “You didn’t hit me.” 

“Maybe keep an eye on the clock,” says Carter to his friend. “If it’s 11:11, you can wish to actually hit the target, some time.” 

“If you catch 11:11 you can wish to actually make a save,” Alex shoots back.

“If I caught 11:11 I would wish for you to shut up,” Carter snaps back and that’s when you giggle.

Instantly, both the boys turn to you. Carter is grinning at you, a wide and happy grin that makes it impossible for you not to grin back. “What would you wish for, if you caught 11:11?” he asks.

You know the answer; it’s right there on the tip of your tongue and it tumbles out with thinking, words filled with earnest honesty like only those of a kid can be.

“I would wish that I could play hockey.” 

The boy in front of you smiles, yanks the hockey stick out of his friend’s hands and extends it in your direction.

“Come play,” he says. “It’s not like you could be any worse than Alex, anyway.” 

And under loud protest of Alex, a new friendship is born. 

---

Your 16th birthday party is crazy exactly the way 16th birthday parties are supposed to be, with beers snuck into the kitchen as your parents go away for the night, telling you again and again that you can always call them if you need them, even if you think they’ll be mad.

There’s loud music everywhere, and people; you don’t even know half of them, but your brothers promised you they’d make it a party to remember and they’ve kept their promise.

The thing is, well, you’re not the biggest fan of parties, actually. You thought it would be cool, would be like in the movies and you’d feel all grown up and cool, but instead you feel a bit lost, with the noise of the people too loud and their drunken dancing having you worried about your parents furniture.

You also found out you really don’t like beer. 

You get a Pepsi from the fridge, where some friend of your brother’s is mixing some of your dad’s rum into a bottle of Sprite - it doesn’t seem like a good match, but then again, you’ve never tasted rum - while your brother is eating cheese straight from the packet. 

It’s all a bit too much, too sudden, and you find yourself yearning for some peace and quiet, some familiarity.

You make your way to the back yard; it’s quiet, there, the October air a little too cold for your guests, and you sit down on the porch, wrapping your arms around your knees.

The music booms through the walls and you can still hear people screaming, but it sounds more muffled, and it allows you to breathe.

Almost immediately after you sit down, you hear the creak of the backdoor and footsteps against the wood of the porch, and then a familiar body sits next to you, smelling like foresty cologne and floral laundry detergent. 

“Hey,” Carter says softly, smiling at you when you gaze up at him. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, just needed some quiet.” You take a deep breath. “It’s a bit too much, I guess.” 

Carter is your best friend; has been, for years, and you would trust him with literally anything, so you don’t hesitate, telling him the truth. You don’t think there’s anything you’ve not told him the truth on.

Except when he asked you why you never said yes to the boys asking you out on dates.

First, you’d tried to dodge, told him you never got asked, but that didn’t work because James had asked and you’d shot him down, and James was on the hockey team with Carter so obviously Carter had found out.

When he confronted you with that, you just shrugged. 

“Just not into it, Cart.” 

Because they’re not you. I would say yes if it was you. But those are words only meant for your own ears, words your heart utters into the silent void because there’s no way your brain would even let you say them out loud, not when it could ruin the best friendship you have. 

“You know,” Carter says now, “maybe we see a shooting star. Then you could still make your birthday wish.” 

You raise an eyebrow at him. “What are you on about?” 

He laughs, lightly. “I saw you when you blew out your candles, on the cake, earlier. You were super quick with it, there’s no way you made a wish.” 

It earns him an eye roll, from you. 

“Maybe I didn’t wanna make a wish. Maybe there’s nothing I wish for.” 

“Everyone has something they wish for,” says Carter wisely. He bumps your shoulder and then frowns, suddenly. “Fuck, Y/N, you’re freezing.” 

You put your hands on your own arms, wrap your arms around yourself, to feel that indeed your skin is cold and there’s goosebumps on your arms. Before you can comment on it, Carter has taken off his hoodie and is tugging it - not so carefully - over your head.

“Auw,” you whine, “you’re pulling my hair.” 

He immediately stops, then very slowly pulls the fabric down the rest of the way. It’s worse, that way, makes it feel more intimidate than it is. 

“Well,” you say finally, “there’s no shooting stars, so I guess no wish for me, this year.” 

Carter sighs, sounding defeated, then glances at his watch and his whole face lights up. 

“It’s 11:10! You can make a wish at 11:11!”

You can’t help but giggle at his excitement. “Cart, that doesn’t even have anything to do with my birthday.” 

“No,” says Carter, talking slow, as if he’s explaining something to a toddler. “They’re more special. Everyone gets a birthday wish, because everyone has a birthday. Not everyone catches the 11:11, though. That’s the universe telling you it’s your turn for a little bit of luck.” 

It’s dumb, and you don’t believe it, but he says it so adorably convinced, that when he motions at his watch that it’s time, you close your eyes and make a wish.

It’s fine if the wish will never come true. As long as it makes the tall, slender boy next to you happy, the way he does you. 

---

Carter’s first year as a Flyer is stressful.

You get to watch it from up close cause you followed him to Philly; there was never really an option not to. You know, after years of searching for something else, someone else that makes you feel the way he does, that it’s a lost cause.

It’s him, for you. It’s always been him. 

You’re driving to his apartment, the night of what you knew has been a hard game. They lost, again. You know Carter will - wrongfully - blame himself, again. You know you’re gonna do whatever it takes to pick up the pieces, again, and probably fail, again. 

Maybe Carter’s stupid goalie superstition has rubbed off on you, but when you drive through a tunnel, you hold your breath until the end of it.

Let him be okay.

His front door creaks as you open it; he gave you a key as soon as he moved in, and you’ve been using it ever since. You don’t even think you know what his doorbell sounds like.

“Carter?” you call out. You know he’s not asleep; he never sleeps well, after losses. It takes him ages, tossing and turning in his sheets until he just gives up and sits on the balcony, staring at the stars.

He says it calms him down.

You’re pretty sure you know where to find him.

“Cart?” you mutter, opening the balcony door carefully, and indeed, there’s a human figure slumped over the railing, head down, hands tucked into the sleeves of his hoodie. At your voice, he looks up, and you’re struck with how tired he looks. 

Dark circles surround his bright eyes, which seem to light up the dark night as much as the city lights below you.

You go stand next to him, close enough for your shoulders to touch; warmth is still radiating off him, his cheeks are flushed. 

“I don’t get what you’re looking at, here,” you tell him, giving him time to decide whether or not he wants to talk about the game. You know he doesn’t do well when you push him. “You can’t even see the stars. The city lights are way too bright.” You crinkle your nose in disgust. “The stars were so much more beautiful back home.” 

“Do you miss home?” Carter asks.

You shrug. “Sometimes. Some things. You?” 

“I miss my family.” Carter pauses. “Not home, so much. I thought I would, but, the one part I thought I’d miss the most...” Another pause, then a tentative smile. “Well, she followed me here.” 

Your heart flutters at that and you have to remind yourself that he’s just in a mushy mood, probably trying to hide his emotions about the game. 

But you still wanna let him know you appreciate it, and you feel the same, so you lean closer, letting your head drop to his shoulder. Right away, his head is resting on top of yours.

“Can you wish on city lights?” you ask, just to fill the quiet night, and he chuckles.

“Probably not, but I don’t think I’ll need the stars to wish on. I make wishes when I hold my breath in tunnels, when I throw pennies in wells, when I blow out candles...” 

“There’s no wells around here,” you interrupt, and you feel Carter’s shoulders shake with muted laughter. It’s so much better than the sad expression he wore when you got here, and you feel the brick that’s settled in the pit of your stomach since you saw the score, slightly dissipate. 

“I think it’s probably around 11,” says Carter, then. “If we catch it, we can make another wish.” 

You know what you would wish for; the same thing you’ve been wishing for for 8 years. You also know you might as well be wishing for the sky to turn purple, so you’re not really too worried about catching 11:11.

“What do you wish for, anyway?” you ask him. He turns slightly, so he’s facing you now, and incredulous look on his face.

“You really don’t know?” he says. “It’s the same thing, every time.” 

“How would I know?” you huff. “You’ve never told me.” 

“Guess.” 

You don’t see the fun in this game but you’d do anything to see him smile, anything to keep his mind off the game, so you humor him.

“Stanley Cup.” 

“No.” 

“Vezina?” 

“Nope.” 

“World peace.” Carter seems like that guy.

“No, but I would, if I thought it was possible.” 

“A puppy.” 

He laughs. “No, but I should.” 

“I don’t know, Cart,” you tell him, smiling now. You expect him to say something silly, but a serious expression crosses his face, and then his hands come down and grab hold of your hips. He takes a step closer and your breath hitches in your throat.

“What...” are you doing, you start, but he interrupts you.

“When I wish on 11:11, I’m wishing for you.” 

His lips touch yours before you’ve processed the words, but as soon as you realize what’s happening, you hook your arms behind his neck, push up on your tiptoes to kiss him deeper. 

You try to put everything you have into that kiss; try to tell him, wordlessly, that you wanna grow old together, wanna be his person, want him to stay with you even when you’re scared, that you think he’s beautiful and magical and everything you could ever wish for. 

That every time you wish on shooting stars and ticking clocks, you’re wishing for him too.

“I think we might’ve missed 11:11,” is the first thing you say when you finally pull apart, breathing a little heavily, Carter’s cheeks tinted a little pink.

He breathes out a chuckle, rests his forehead against yours.

“That’s okay,” he says. 

“I’ve got all I’d wish for right here.” 

[harringtonstudios]

vegas run (III).

plot: it’s the annual las vegas run. let’s see what kinda trouble you get into this year!

A/N: i have finals coming up, but i will update as soon as i can! hope yall are enjoying this as much as i am :’)

masterlist!   (part I).  (part II). 

Checking into the hotel rooms was easier than it had ever been. Slim and Dub had landed an hour earlier, and already gotten the two rooms settled, knowing that most of the night wasn’t spent in them anyway. All you guys did when you got back to the hotels was knock out on the closest bed and then wake up the next morning to do it all over again. 

You threw your duffel bag in the corner of one of the rooms before booking it to the bathroom so you could pee before the festivities started. The plan was simple for today: hit up the first casino you saw, play until the wheels got a little blurry, and then take a break in the fresh air before moving onto the next. 

The bright lights and constant flow of people in Vegas made the nights blend into one, and the only way you would know the actual time was if by some chance your phone hadn’t died yet. The Vegas Run was a gamble on itself and you found yourself ready to waste the week away with poker chips and margaritas. 

Patting your face with some cold water, you took a look in the mirror. You looked good, hair loosely falling around your shoulders. The jean jacket you were wearing paired nicely with your black top and the ripped denim adorning your thighs. 

Leaving the bathroom, you tied up the laces on your Converse before grabbing your mini-backpack from inside your duffel bag. It was extremely small, containing only your wallet and a phone charger. You’d somehow managed to wedge a water bottle in there, and you picked up a pair of fruit snacks that somehow had been dumped on the little desk in the hotel room before zipping it up completely. 

“Good to go?” you asked, eyes moving around the room. 

Slim was collapsed on one of the beds, legs hanging off the edge. He shot you a thumbs-up from under the baseball cap that covered his face as you laughed. Kells was sitting on the floor in between both beds and he got up at your question, moving towards the door. 

“Alright,” you mumbled under your breath, smacking Slim’s leg to get him up as you followed out the door. 

-

The switch to Vegas mode was automatic. Colson propped his hoodie up, hands rifling through his pockets as he pulled out his ID to get into the first casino you all spotted. 

The rest of the boys followed suit, walk eased as they sauntered past the bouncers into the light up floors filled with the sounds of shuffling machines. 

Baze had a tight grip on his girlfriend Ellie’s hand, pulling her along in as you closed up the back of the room, pulling out your own ID as the bouncer waved you past.

The room was loud, sounds filling the air around you as you followed the pack to the bar. Everyone grabbed a drink, and then scattered to the different games being held in the casino. You waited a second back, letting the drink settle in your mouth. Bringing your tongue to your teeth, you looked around trying to figure out which machine you wanted to try your luck with. Playing one of the bigger games wasn’t in your forte, you had a terrible poker face, and a lot of the people that lingered around the tables were naturals, ready to make any money they could. 

Your eyes landed on the slot machines, empty in the corner. You had to convert your actual money to gold coins first, to ply into the machines, and you sighed realizing you were going to lose a lot more money tonight than you wanted to. Feeding the conversion machine a ten dollar bill, you grabbed one of the plastic cups sitting at the top of the machine, filling it with the gold coins that came pouring out. 

-

Half an hour later, you were down to your last three coins. You’d gotten exactly one turn to land exactly on the same three pictures, gaining a net value of five dollars. Not that it made up for the fact that you’d been hiding out in this corner, jamming in coins and sipping on an empty drink. You’d been drinking the melted ice cubes at this point, the lemon wedge you’d been given with it sucked and sitting at the bottom of the cup. 

You rationalized that you didn’t know what exactly you were hiding from, but your mind knew better. Colson had walked by exactly once, two girls plastered at his side. His arm wrapped around their waists, and you had immediately bit your tongue, leaving your mouth open as you had gone to tell him about your little win. It shouldn’t bother you. It didn’t bother you. 

You went for another spin on the machine, pushing away all the thoughts as the screen started spinning. You needed another drink soon, and honestly it wouldn’t hurt to explore the casino a little. There were enough people in here that you would be easily able to find someone from the squad, and they wouldn’t leave without gathering everybody together anyways. 

-

One more drink turned into three and then you were following a blonde into a corner, arm loosely wrapped around his, ice clinking in your glass. The bitter taste of lemon lingered  in your mouth, and you thought you heard someone calling your name, but brushed it off, eager to do a little kissing tonight. 

You didn’t really know who the blonde was, just that he had bought you the two other drinks and played with your fingers as you tapped them against the counter. There was the little part of you that knew why you chose to spend time with him, he’s got the same blue in his eyes, a tattoo peeking out from his shirt. 

Another echo of your name went around the room, louder this time, and you looked up trying to find the culprit, eyes landing on none other than one Machine Gun Kelly. His arm was wrapped around a girl, but the other waved up at you, calling you over. 

“Y/N! Over here,” he shouted again, and you shook your head a little, pausing your walk. 

The blonde tugged at you, “He know you or something?”

“Yeah something,” you started as Colson bellowed out your name again. Rolling your eyes, you dropped the guy’s arm, muttering out a “sorry” as you walked towards the game table. 

“You’re here! Watch me win,” Colson exclaimed, empty hand moving across the table to pick up the red dice. The girl at his side squealed as he started shaking, watching the board as you moved closer to the game master. Locking eyes with you, he grinned and threw you a wink before dropping the dice down. 

“SEVEN!,” the woman standing next to you shouted, arms in the air and suddenly everyone around the table started yelling. The man sitting on your left grumbled, tossing in what seemed like a big stack of cash as you watched Colson jump off the stool, taking the rest of his drink down like a shot in victory. 

You were pretty confused, but clapped nonetheless as the game master wiped the board, chips all gathered on one side again. There was another commotion, and then Kells was leaning across the table, arm stretching out towards you.

“Let’s go, next game,” he mumbled over the noise, and you let him pull you forward until you were flush with the wooden board, awkwardly feeling it dig into your front. 

“Coming,” you muttered back, pulling your arm from his grip and apologizing to the game master who threw a dirty glare in your direction. 

-

Two big poker games later, you were trailing behind Colson as he celebrated his victory for the third time that night. He had started stuffing the money he was making into your backpack, eagerly shoving it in as the prices of his win kept going up. 

Every game, he would ask you to stand across from him, eyes meeting yours any time the dice ended up in his fists. It was fun, watching the energy build up as he worked towards another win, but it had gotten repetitive. 

You weren’t even playing, just standing opposite him, often leaning on the table, or letting your eyes wander around trying to find the blonde you’d let go of earlier. 

“You’re my good luck charm I swear,” came his voice rumbling as you stumbled behind him approaching the bar. 

“I thought we were gonna play another game?” you asked as you moved back to your spot on the bar, leaning against the slightly sticky countertop, ignoring the way your chest tightened when he said those words.

Colson put his head down. 

“Yeah, yeah. Need to get my head on straight or I’m gonna lose everything you’ve gotten me,” he mumbled out, fingers signaling the bartender back. 

You waited for him to get his drink, catching the way his movements seemed a little slower than usual. There was no way of you actually knowing how much he had to drink already, but you knew from previous years that the minute he slowed down, he’d hit a limit. 

“Do you- uh have a joint?” you asked, hoping that he’d say yes so you two could go get a breather outside. 

“Do I have a joint? Who do you think I am Y/N,” he mocked back, one hand already going into his jacket. 

“Can’t smoke in here,” you pointed out the obvious, your hand rushing to cover his, “outside?”

“Mhm,” he said, nodding before downing his drink. 

You took your own vodka sprite, leading him out. You could feel his arm find its place around your shoulder and you relished in the comfort it gave you, warm and grounding as the lights around you started to spin. A few of the guys were lingering around and you smiled, seeing Ellie shout on as Baze spun one of the wheels. 

-

Moving into the cool air, you sidestepped the bouncer pulling Colson alongside you. Purple fluorescent lights bounced off of the surfaces, illuminating the sidewalk beneath your feet. People were bustling around, cars honking as a group stood in the middle of the street, flash going off as they took a picture. 

“Fuck we should’ve stayed inside,” Colson mumbled into your ear, bending down so you could hear him over the noise. 

Just then, something went flying over your head, landing right by your feet. It was a bright orange flyer turned into a paper airplane, and you turned around to see the perpetrator but they were long gone, caught up in the hubble of people crossing the sidewalk. You stepped over it, taking a breath before looking around to see if there was a space to chill anywhere.

A second later, you felt a hand reach yours, fingers grabbing on tightly. Looking up at Colson, he grinned down at you before walking in front, leading you across the active streets. You could see cars approaching in the distance, panic building up in you as he mindlessly strolled the lanes. 

Your first thought was to grind your heels but then you realized that both of you would just end up stranded in the middle of the road and that wasn’t ideal. Deciding to rush along forward, you passed Colson as his laugh echoed behind you. 

“C'mon fucker,” you spat into the wind, fingers still clutching his as you dragged him forward this time around. 

There was the beeping of a horn, and then a car went straight past the both of you as your feet hit the curb and you pulled him onto the sidewalk. 

“Where’s your sense of adventure Y/N?” he asked, eyebrows raising as a glare covered your features. 

“Standing in the middle of the street is NOT an adventure,” you ripped back, as he pulled up your joined hands to his face, turning them around. 

“When’d you hold my hand?” he asked, face distorted in confusion. 

“You held my hand,” you responded right back, knowing damn well he’d grabbed onto you first. 

“Oh,” he nodded, dropping your hands back down but not letting go. You furrowed your brows but let it go, at least this way you two wouldn’t lose each other in some crowd.

After a minute of standing in silence at the edge of the sidewalk, you looked around, wondering why the two of you were stuck here. 

“Why’d we cross the road?” you asked. 

“The dudes,” he explained, making absolutely no sense as he slyly pointed to the edge of the sidewalk with a head tilt. Following his motion, you saw a group of guys sitting on the curb, smoke clouds surrounding them. You could see a bong being passed around, and you grimaced, not even wanting to see how dirty the water might be. 

“I’m not smoking with them,” you clarified as he laughed. 

“Lost my lighter, I was gonna ask for theirs,” he voiced before finishing out with, “if it’s cool with you?”

You nodded, happy with the idea of him asking for permission. He dropped your hand then, walking over to the little group and you wiped your palm on your jeans, hoping it wasn’t as sweaty as you were feeling under the red, emanating lights of the club doors. 

Pulling out your phone, you glanced a look at the time. You still had half battery, and you sent out a quick text to the group chat, letting them know that you and Kells were taking a little bit of a breather outside, coincidentally leaving out the part about a joint. Slim got real upset when you wouldn’t include him in the smoke breaks during Vegas run, and you didn’t really want to share this with anyone else right now. 

-

“Got it lit,” Colson mumbled behind you as you turned around. The joint was already in his mouth, orange glow at the end lighting up, and you reached up for it, taking it from his lips into yours. 

Breathing in, you let the weed hit your lungs, feeling full. Blowing it out, you could already feel the lightheadedness and you smiled, knowing that in about five minutes, you’d be floating in space. Passing it back to him, you started walking again following the flow of the thinning crowd. 

You knew he was following you, could tell by the faint smell of weed lingering around, but you reached back anyway, curious to see what would happen. 

Cold fingers found yours, and you smiled at the familiar feeling of nerves building up in your stomach. This time around you were prepared for them. 

-

You’d been walking for some time now, the joint often passed between the two of you, hands swinging occasionally. You’d passed two Elvis impersonators, a wedding chapel decked out in bright pink, and three dudes in mohawks ripping out skateboarding tricks right in the middle of the street. The last one peaked Colson’s interest and you both stood there for a few minutes, cheering on the guys as they landed a high jump. 

You were a few blocks down and all of a sudden you both seemed to have stumbled into an impromptu concert. There was a little circle formed around, and you decided to check out what instrument was blasting out the music you could hear. Moving into the circle, you stepped closer until you saw the girl band. They had guitars and a smaller drum set propped up, a microphone placed as one of them stepped up and started singing again. They were covering some old song, and you moved to the beat, letting her voice shape up the melody. 

Colson was right next to you, the last of the joint glowing as he held it in his mouth, swaying up and down to the beat. The song finished, claps filling up the air around you. Before you could say anything, Colson let go of your hand again. 

Stomping out the burnt joint, he reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. Moving to where there was a bucket set for collection, he dropped a couple of bills, before turning back to you and finding your hand in the dark again. 

“That was awfully nice of you,” you snickered, finding happiness after the music filled up your veins. 

“They were hard. Probably gonna take over the world someday” he mumbled, knocking your shoulder with his own.

You hummed in agreement, letting the crowd guide you to your next destination. Vegas was weird, but the exact type of weird you needed right now. Reality seemed so far away and you let yourself live in the moment, enjoying the feeling of being lost within the crowds with someone you cared about. 

-

 taglist: @iamdorka​ @no-shxt-sherl​ @bakerkells​ @findingmyths​ @rosegoldrichie​ @mayaslifeinabox​ @itjustkindahappenedreally​​ @hnbtx​​  @backoftheroomandnotbelonging​​ @nowhereiswhereibelong​ @whyisgmora​ @oopsiedoopsie23

[troop-scoop]

Mistakes & Regrets XIV

Summary: When a trip to your Dad’s hometown of Hawkins goes wrong, you end up in the year 1983, and have to learn how to cope with being stuck in the past.

Pairing: Steve Harrington / Future!Reader (like, a really slow burn)

Warnings: Swearing, 

• • •

The car was mostly quiet while you drove, except for the low 80’s hair bands playing over the radio that you didn’t care to change. Whenever you sat in this car you got a bit sad. But it was a kind of bittersweet sadness. SInce you learned to drive here in Hawkins.

Dad always promised that he’d teach you as soon as you turned sixteen, that he’d take you to get your permit, and be your emotional support when you took the driving test. 

Pa always said that he’d help you buy a Volkswagen. A kind of generational thing to him. His dad owned a Beetle as a broke kid in Connecticut, he owned the exact same year and model as you currently did. Except yours was preowned, and you knew with how he was raised, he bought it new. 

“We should have a tape.” 

It caught you off guard a little, being off on your own train of thought to remember the eighth grader who was in the seat next to you.

Turning your head to briefly look at Will, you looked back at the road. “What?” 

“Well I mean, you, Jonathan and me have all been hanging out together a lot when you’re not hanging out with Steve, we should have a cassette we play whenever we’re hanging out together.”

Sometimes it was hard to remember that Will was your dad. They were technically the same person, and yet, they were different. Your dad and you were as close as could be, a lot of people seemed to be closer to their moms growing up. But considering you didn’t have one you attached yourself to your dad. But Will was just a kid, who went through something terrible that was traumatizing, and it was hard to connect the two together. But you did realize that your little brother looked a lot like your dad when he was younger. The only difference being their eyes. With Will having hazel eyes and Danny having dark brown eyes. So, you often found yourself treating Will like you would Daniel. 

Will’s suggestion reminded you of the fact that you and Pa had made a playlist on Spotify for the trip to Hawkins. It had been a good idea, and you got suggestions from both your dad and Daniel, but now, it just made you remorseful. 

“Nevermind, it’s a bad idea-”

“What? No! It’s a good idea!” You rushed, looking back and forth from the road and back at Will. seeing the arcade sign in the distance. “Just make sure you put some Queen on there.” You added with an awkward smile, seeing Will’s face light up a bit. 

Pulling into the parking lot you found a spot by the door, seeing Mike, Dustin and Lucas all walking up to the bike rack right outside, and waving as a greeting to the two of you. 

“Okay, what are the rules?” You asked turning to Will as he reached down to the floorboard and pulled out your bag, handing it to you. 

“If we get separated, don’t walk or bike home, just ask to use the phone and call mom, and if anything happens to find you.”

You nodded, taking the bag from him, taking the keys out of the ignition. “Sweet, let’s go.” Opening the door of the driver’s side you got out of the car. 

Having grown up when places like arcades and movie rental places started going out of business, you never got to go to them. The first time you’d gone to the arcade with the boys, you stuck to Pac-Man, always being able to go on your chromebook at school and play it on the google browser. 

You had the high score on Pac-Man since March of that year, and when they got Tetris in late June, after it came out, you quickly took the high score of that game as well. Having had it on your phone since sixth grade, you knew how to play. Not even Dustin or Lucas could beat your scores. 

Giving the three other boys a smile you went inside, seeing Keith behind the counter, you walked over. “Hey, can you sneak me a drink?” 

Arcades didn’t technically sell food or drinks, they weren’t going to because of the games, and children being irresponsible. But Keith would sometimes hide a few sodas in a minifridge to sell them to the older kids and teens. 

“Two dollars.” He told you, leaning down to grab one from the minifridge while you pulled out a two dollar bill, briefly seeing the portrait of Thomas Jefferson while you exchanged it for the beverage. “Tell Robin that our section leader wants her to change seats-”

“Sorry, I don’t speak ‘band geek,’ bye.” You told him, opening the can of sprite while you made your way over to the Pac-Man machine, placing the can on the slanted control board, letting it lean on your abdomen to prevent it from falling on the ground. 

You played your game for what felt like a good thirty minutes, the map changing every time you beat it until you eventually died one too many times. 

Taking a sip from the aluminum can you sighed a bit hearing Will and his friend clamoring on the other side of the isle, at ‘Dragon’s Lair.’ before their voices fell silent, meaning that whoever had gone up to play it, died. But that was only for a second before you heard the faint cursing of Dustin. 

Smiling to yourself you pulled out a quarter from your back pocket, inserting it into the machine. 

Placing the drink down, you heard the unexpected sound of sliding, which made you panic, because you knew that the drink was about to fall. 

You acted quick, but the boy to your right acted quicker. He caught the can and looked up at you, he looked almost terrified that you seemed to notice his presence. 

He looked oddly familiar, he was a boy, with medium brown hair that was at an odd length, and he seemed disheveled. 

“Heh,” he laughed nervously, holding the can out to you. “Here you go.” He said. Taking the drink from him you saw how quickly he practically ran off. He couldn’t have been much younger than you. Maybe a year or two, if that. 

“Okay. . . that was weird.” You told yourself before the string of “No, no, no, no,” Came from behind you. Turning around you saw Dustin turning to Dig-Dug

“Who’s Madmax?” Dustin demanded of Keith, while you walked the meter or so over to the group. You wanted to say something related to Madmax: Fury Road, but you knew better at this point. 

Over a year spent in a time period where no one understood the references you made, you learned to usually not make the jokes or sarcastic references. 

“Better than you.” Keith responded, with a shrug. Both you and Dustin held up your middle finger to the highschool senior. 

Usually you were the mediator between him and the kids, and often times you wondered if that’s how it felt to be either one of your fathers who tried to stop you and your brother fighting with each other, or how Uncle Jonathan felt trying to get you and your youngest cousin, who was your age, to stop fighting whenever you all got together. 

“Is it you?” Will asked, holding up a hand and pointing at Keith. 

He scoffed and shook his head. “You know I despise Dig Dug.”

“Then who is it?”

You watched them converse with the older male while you held your soda, taking a small sip. 

“Yeah, spill it, Keith!” Dustin told him.

“You want information, then I need something in return.” Keith looked from Dustin to Mike, and you knew what he trying to get. 

“Gross, Keith.” You told him, grimacing.

“No, no, no! No way! You’re not getting a date with her!” 

“Mike, come on. Just get him the date.” Lucas reasoned while you glared at him. 

“Guys, she has a boyfriend.” You reminded them.

Mike nodded and pointed back at you. “That, and I’m not prostituting my sister!” Dustin and Lucas began to bicker with Mike while you and Keith began your own bickering. 

Sure, you were a lot like Will in many ways, but you were also a lot like your Pa in many others. Always being the one to try and prove someone else wrong, or just bickering for the fun of it. 

“You’re friends with Robin, Jonathan, Nancy and Harrington, yet you hang out with toddlers?” He tried to insult, while he took a cheeto from his bag. 

“Different hairstyles exist, Keith, you don’t have to try and copy Steve’s from last year.” You told him with a fake smile.

“Toddlers,” He said again, gesturing to the boys who were still bickering. 

You smiled a bit and pointed to your own two front teeth. “Cheeto dust.” You told him, before pointing at him.

Keith turned his attention back to Mike, Lucas and Dustin while you turned yours to Will upon feeling his shoulder brush against your arm while he moved past you. 

“Will, you okay?” It was a simple question, that would probably have a simple answer, with a complicated background to it. A complicated lie he wouldn’t ever say was one. But you blinked and suddenly everyone but Will was gone. 

“Do you see the-” He turned back around and his eyes landed on you, confused and worried. You looked at the front windows and saw the white particles that at first looked like snow, until a second longer and they reminded you of the Upside Down. 

The lights went out and you looked to the Pac-Man machine to your left, seeing the screen was on, but something big was covering most of it. The lights flickered on the machines, and the sound of electricity struggling to stay on had you stuck in one position. Which was your legs tensed and your hand clutching onto your soda while you stared at the screen, finally placing what it all was. 

There was a loud bang, which made you drop your drink and grab onto Will’s arm, pulling him back only to realize it was just the door that had swung open. 

“You see it too?” 

You nodded before taking small steps towards the door, keeping Will behind you while you walked outside. The sign still turned, but in the distance you could see clouds, which you didn’t remember from being in the Upside Down. It had always been too dark to see any sort of sky. 

The lightning was red and while you stared at the sky, you felt an uneasy feeling come that you hadn’t felt in a long time. The same chills that were sent down your spine the year before having you practically paralyzed in fear. 

You couldn’t quite put it into words, but it felt like all of those stories where you look into a certain spot in the woods that’s so dark you don’t know what’s there, but know there’s something, that you’re not just crazy, and it felt malevolent. Like it wanted to hurt people, but specifically, you. 

You felt someone grab your sleeve, and looking down, everything was normal again, with Mike and WIll right by your side. Will still looked scared, but Mike seemed confused and worried. “Y/n, you okay?”

You nodded a bit “Yeah, I’m fine.” You told him, taking one last look at the sky.

• • •

The woman hummed a gentle tune while writing something down in her notebook, a college textbook in front of her. 

“Y/n, don’t stalk me, just have a conversation.” She told you, turning her head to look up at you, her eyes the same as your own while she gestured to the seat across from her. 

You glanced over to the seat before sighing and walking over, taking a seat on the uncomfortable wooden chair. 

“You came here for a reason, what’s going on?” You shrugged a bit, crossing your arms on the table and leaning down to rest your chin on your forearm. “Sweetheart,” She reached out, a gentle hand on your exposed bicep, your pajamas consisting of a muscle shirt and ballet shorts. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me?”

You knew what you wanted to ask her, but you were nervous. “Did you know? That’d I end up like this? That’d I be like you?” 

Her face softened a bit and she shook her head, eyes downcast while she placed her pen down, giving you all of her attention. 

“No,” She answered. “I didn’t. I only knew when you were born. I felt it. And I’m so sorry, you don’t deserve this.”

Looking at the textbook in front of you both, you examined the picture that was upside down for you, seeing the diagram of the human skeleton.

Getting up from her seat she came over next to you. “You carry a burden, and so many people will try to use you as a weapon, because you have abilities that could destroy entire nations. People want to manipulate you.”

“You’ve told me.” You reminded her. “I saw the Upside Down.”

Her face fell as she kneeled down next to you. “You got back in?” 

“No. One moment I was safe, in the arcade, and the next, I was there. And there was a storm in the distance. The lightning was red, and I was frozen, in fear. It wanted to hurt me, I could feel it, it wanted me dead. Anne, I don’t what to do-”

“Miss L/n!” 

Your eyes snapped open, and you quickly wiped your nose of any blood looking up to see the entire class staring at you, while the principal stood by the door, and Mr. Haul pointed to the book “Before Mr. Olson takes you, can you tell me what the main message of Animal Farm is?” 

You gave a nervous chuckle. “Communism, bad?” It got a few laughs out of the class, while Mr. Haul scowled at you before jerking his head to the side to let you follow the principal out. 

In a rush you shoved your things into your bag and got up, going over to Mr. Olson. This happened once or twice every few months. 

The older man led you out of the class and down the hall, while you struggled to get your walkman out of your bag. Looking up you saw Steve coming out of the restroom, sunglasses on. “Jesus,” You shook your head a bit as you and the principal came closer to crossing paths with Steve. 

“Only blind people and assholes wear sunglasses inside, Steven.” You mumbled when you passed him. 

“Funny,” He mumbled back, hiding a grin from you while he walked back to his class, and you smiled as well when Mr. Olsen opened the front doors, where you saw Hopper waiting by his car. 

“Have a good afternoon, Miss L/n.” He told you  as you left the building, with you returning the sentiments.

When you were in the car, it was mostly quiet between the two of you. The music that came from the foam headphones drowning out the killing silence. You needed it. In the past year, silence always felt like it was trying to kill you. Lately everything felt like a death trap, and you felt like you were going crazy. 

“You gained a pound.” Owens informed when he walked in the room, where you sat, Hopper was to the left of the medical seat, while the stool Owens usually sat at was to your left. “That’s good news.” He added, placing the clipboard on the table.

You hummed a bit. You were slowly but surely getting back to the weight you should be at, from a month of being starved and dehydrated from the Upside Down. It fluctuated for a long time, being so one moment you were on the right track and the next, you were under the original weight you had been at when ending up in Hawkins. 

“How has your medication been working out?” 

“It’s been fine.” You stopped taking them six months ago, and currently had a small box of plastic pill bottles that you used for noise when you forgot batteries for your walkman. 

“That’s good.” Owens commented. “Are you doing anything for Halloween? I know Will is going trick or treating.”

“Probably just gonna be home watching Halloween and handing out candy.” You shrugged a bit, feeling uncomfortable under the eyes of the nurse, Hopper and Owens. 

“No parties?”

“And get ‘sheet faced?’” You quoted the party invitation Nancy had showed you when she tried to convince you and Jonathan to go. “No thanks.” 

Owens chuckled a bit, and Hopper put a reassuring hand on your shoulder. Looking up at the Chief, he gave a tight lipped smile, showing he was just as uncomfortable as you were. 

“Okay, let’s talk about this episode you and Will said you had.”

You nodded a bit, knowing that all Owens would do was come up with a stupid excuse as to why you and Will had the same experience that you both nervously talked about on the car ride back to his home. 

“I. . . I took Will to the arcade so he could spend time with his friends, and so I could a game or two. His friends and I got into an argument with someone who worked there, and then I felt Will move past me. . . One second we were in the arcade, and then everyone was gone, then we were. . . back in the Upside Down.” You told him. 

“Okay, what happened next?”

“The door. . . it was flung open, and we walked outside. I kept Will behind me, and when there was a storm brewing. And it was straight out of a comic book, the clouds were dark, and then there was red lightning, I felt. . . I felt. . .” 

“What did you feel?”

“Like I was in danger. Like there was something staring back at me. Something evil, that has no. . . human emotions. It’s like when you’re a kid, you just watched a scary movie like Paranormal Activity or something, and you feel like there’s something in your room when you’re trying to sleep. You feel like something’s there with you. It wanted me dead.”

“The evil?”

You nodded and looked up at him, feeling the parts taped your head shift a little under the tape. “Yeah. It wasn’t like it wanted everyone dead though. It wanted me dead.”

• • •

Add yourself to the taglist!

@disneyprincessbuffyannesummers​​ @jxnehxpper​​ @yllwtaxi​​ @songofcosplay​​ @potatopooper05​​ @cheesecakeisapie​​ @robinsdolan​​ @yall-wildin-like-siriusly​​ @the_passionate_freak @bisexualpears​​ @ilovebucketbarnes​​ @random-thoughts-003​​

[randomfandomfiction]

An Introduction to Tododeku Pt.2

a collection of tododeku recommendations and essential reading!

part one | part three

Him & I by Aurigardyn (67k, T+)

The man lifts his eyes and smiles and wow. Inwardly, Izuku groans. This guy is so out of his league, it’s unfair. Izuku is usually barely coherent near gorgeous boys, let alone gorgeous and rich boys like this guy.

Or : that unnecessary cheesy billionaire romance nobody asks for

Timely Problems by Imwastingmylifeinhere (47k, GA)

There is a point where something happens that's just too weird. For Izuku Midoriya, that point is when a portal opens in the middle of the common room and two children fall out that introduce themselves as his children with Todoroki. Has he mentioned that he has a ridiculously bad crush on Todoroki? Yeah, this is going to be fun.

yours, mine, ours by cityboys (45k, GA)

In which Momo winds up with a catering job and Shouto tries to delay the inevitable.

Cut From The Same Cloth by ShanaStoryteller (31k, T+)

When Endeavor finishes delivering his ultimatum, All-Might uses one of his precious minutes in his hero form to punch Endeavor in the face. The force of it sends the number two hero staggering back and into an alley wall, leaving an Endeavor-sized imprint in the bricks.

“THAT IS NOT HERO-LIKE BEHAVIOR!” All-Might roars.

~

Endeavor finds out some secrets, and the price of his silence is the marriage of Izuku Midoriya, the anonymous hero Deku, to his youngest son.

history has its eyes on you by aloneintherain (16k, T+)

Midoriya looked over the occupants of the room with butter soft eyes. “We should do this again. Seeing everyone in one place … it’s like we’re back in school again.”

Todoroki said, “It feels like a family reunion.”

(Social media fic, counting down the five months to Class 1-A's ten year reunion.)

Through the Looking Glass by livinglittlelie (16k, T+)

In a world where superpowers were a common thing, there was something almost miraculous called soulmates. Those who had the luck to have a soulmate would agree that it was the best thing that had happened to them.

After discovering he would never have a quirk, Midoriya Izuku thought his life was over. However, things started to change when, instead of his reflection, what he saw in the mirror was a boy he didn't know.

two sided feeling by sunflowerfaun (14k, T+)

When Todoroki slips up and does something he would never do, it becomes a common practice between him and Midoriya. He didn't know it would end up like this.

i won’t just buy you a rose by aknightley (13k, GA)

Shouto decides to visit his mother for the first time in years, and decides to stop at a flower shop along the way.

 He freezes in place, and before he can move again someone is bustling through the door behind the counter, all messy hair and wide green eyes. It’s a teenager, a little shorter than Shouto but probably the same age. He’s got a wide smile and there’s a smudge of dirt on his cheek, which instantly draws Shouto’s attention. His fingers itch to rub it off.

Cider Sweet by crispykrimi (13k, T+)

“Come over this weekend!”

Shouto takes a half step back, catches himself and adjusts his stance to be more grounded. His face is closing off rapidly- he has to do this quickly .

“Izuku-”

“Not- Not for the whole break! I know you’ve already made up your mind and I told you, I won’t stop you. But… just for one day?” Izuku takes a rushed breath, gaining speed as he pleads, “Spend Sunday with me. You can stay the night! My mom will feed you pumpkin bread until you puke and you can have at least one good memory from the break. Please?”

Fever Dreams by crispykrimi (12k, T+)

“It’s a cold, alright. It’s been going around. It’s usually a simple fix, but his quirk complicates things…”

“I think it might be my fault.” Izuku holds his elbow with one hand. “He’s been having, uhm,” he feels his cheeks heat. “Temperature fluctuations? A lot of them.”

Recovery Girl hums at him knowingly. “That would do it, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately his immune system is shot, and he just doesn’t have enough stamina for me to heal him. From his condition, I have to say he’ll most likely get worse before he gets better.” He had guessed as much… Izuku grits his teeth at the helpless feeling gnawing on him.

“However,” she says kindly. “He will be fine with a bit of rest. You’ll take care of him?” Izuku nods emphatically.

“Then we have little to worry about. He’s in good hands,” she takes his right hand in hers and pats it gently.

the price you pay for dreams by Captain (11k, T+)

Izuku is gone.

He just—disappears one morning. There's not even a fight going on at the time: he's just there one moment and the next moment he's not, as if spirited away by some mysterious sprite or stroke of magic, somewhere between the dorms and the main campus.

A Life Full of Dreams by ArgetCross (10k, T+)

Tomorrow, Midoriya would graduate UA and become a pro hero.

The sheer incredulity of having survived these last three years had hit him this morning. He had woken up at five am, ready to run to the gym to get to the good mats before class, until he realized there was no class. Midoriya had dropped back into bed and stared at the ceiling.

--

Or on beginnings and endings.

Hitsuzen by Methoxyethane (10k, T+)

He would have ended up falling for Izuku at some point no matter what, he was certain. No matter what path life took him down he'd have still ended up here, not because of anything as elaborate as destiny or fate but instead due to the simple fact of inevitability. Because Izuku was Izuku and Shouto liked just about everything about him, couldn't help but admire him and would always want to be around him, just for who he was.

fake it till you make it by writedeku (7k, M)

“Your d-d-d-date?” Izuku swears he’s overheating. He can almost feel the steam coming out of his ears. He’s lucky they’re the only ones in the room, because his face is so red, it could rival Kirishima’s hair.

“Yes. I would like it if you could pretend to be my boyfriend for the duration of the wedding,” Todoroki deadpans. “It would piss off my father.”

a huge mistake that wasn’t actually that huge by itenixol (6k, G)

shouto, being the biggest mess on planet earth, decides its a lovely idea to speak his feelings out loud to (what he thinks is) a sleeping izuku.

A Little Love Never Hurts (Until It’s No Longer a Little) by furihatachlookie (4.5k, T+)

It all started at the Sports Festival, and it all goes downhill from there. For Todoroki, at least.

not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all by theroyalsavage (3k, T+)

The proposition is simple: fake-date the single scariest human being on the planet so Todoroki Shouto can go out with his brother. The thing is, with Bakugou, Kirishima thinks he may have signed up for more than he’d bargained for. (A 10 Things I Hate About You AU.)

10!! THINGS!! I HATE!! ABOUT!! YOU!! AU!!

[make-it-mavis]

Homesick (Entry #23)

01/09/88   5:17 AM

Hey.

Hey. Hi. Hello.

I know I’ve said this dozens of times already. But Devs, I don’t want to write this. It’s just a huge, chaotic web of bad, and I just get tangled up whenever I think about it. It just pulls me into a freakin’ mind spiral again. But there are a lot of things I should have told you. There are things that part of me wanted to tell you. I wanted to trust you with this. I wanted to tell you why I shut down and wouldn’t look at you. But I didn’t have time. Or, I guess I didn’t have the guts to do it while I still had time. I was afraid of what you’d say. Of what you’d do. But you can’t say or do anything anymore, so there’s not much at stake. I might as well tell you now.

I believed you were never really supposed to care about me.

I’ve always been pretty sure no one is. It’s just felt like part of my programming. And yeah, I know I adhere to my program the least of any sprite in this Dev-forsaken arcade, but this was different. I did not screw with this. I couldn’t risk getting it wrong. I’ve always had ample reason to believe that being the sort of Easter Egg that I am… more or less means I’m not made for love. Not the real kind, anyway, the kind that actually lasts. The Devs showed me that with their sweet little gamer angels. They love me when I’m new and novel, but the second they get bored, they drop me flat. Say you love me, use me, abuse me, and you’re gone. That’s the formula. It might seem harsh, and, I mean, it is harsh. I’ve been hurt too many times to count. But I adapted. It seemed pretty simple -- don’t give anyone the chance. Don’t get attached to anyone, and never believe anyone is attached to you. They might say they are, they might think they are, but they’re not. They’ll figure it out eventually. I learned this years ago, and I never forgot it.

I begged the question of myself, then, why did my stupid, masochistic, self-sabotaging ass deliberately ignore my own rules when I met you?

My code was constantly screaming that you would leave me if I didn’t leave you first. I could have done it. There were so many opportunities for me to walk away. Maybe we both would have been better off if I did. But I didn’t. I saw it happening, I saw us becoming friends, I felt us hit unsafe territory, and I chose to stay. If what we had was going to end, I decided that you would have to be the one to end it. 

You didn’t. Years went by, and you still didn’t end it.

For a long time, it really seemed like you wouldn’t leave after all. It really seemed like everything was going to be okay.

But then you cared about me.

You just had to go and actually care about me.

Look… I know a lot of this is stupid. It’s about to get even stupider. Now that I’m out of the thick of it, I can recognize a lot of my fears at the time to be ridiculous and irrational. Sometimes, it feels like I’m coming to a point where none of me believes it anymore. I know what happened to you, now. I’m starting to understand why it happened, too. But there are nights where the quiet gets to me. These thoughts come creeping back into my head, and they nibble away at my brain.

Most of the time, the pain I would feel over being abandoned felt like a sort of punishment from the Devs. Like they could see me trying to feel loved, despite being shown time and time again that I’m to stay out of that business entirely, and decided to scold me for it. I know it’s stupid. The Devs can’t see us. They can’t do anything to us. They just left me to run free with this crappy programming, and if I trip over it and bash my face in, that’s on me. I should know how to live with it. I’d like to think that I usually do.

But with you, I just… didn’t know what to do. You were different from anyone else I’d ever had to keep at arm’s length. You’d been the exception to so many rules in my life already. I wanted you to be the exception to this one, too. You know, I just… I wanted to pull you in. So badly. So, being stupid, arrogant, and reckless, I threw caution to the wind and broke the one rule I never broke.

So imagine how it must have looked on my end when, just like that, just as I let you in, you burned up.

I’ve been making my own semblance of peace with that concept, little by little. But, that night at Tapper’s, the pain felt like the Devs’ most horrific sort of punishment of all. It felt like they saw that I had the gall not to leave you, and that you weren’t going to leave me like you were supposed to, because you actually cared about me. So they intervened and ended our friendship for us. It felt like they took you away to keep me in line. It felt like you were paying for my mistake.

Just imagine, for a minute, feeling like your best friend’s death was your fault.

Maybe that will help you understand why I did what I did.

As I stood there in the bathroom stall that night, this revelation tore into my brain like a pack of hungry dogs. The muffled sounds from the bar faded, and I heard -- clear enough to make me jump -- vicious barking. 

This ghost audio cut in and out, and my brain thrummed with each hit, flashes of binary cutting through my vision. I clamped my hands hard over my ears, but I couldn’t shut it out. I just heard it all again. Loud and clear, I heard what that sicko screamed as she beat me.

“You knew this would happen! You could have stopped it! But you didn’t! You let this happen! Now he’s gone! For good! Forever! And that’s on you!

It’s on you!”

I couldn’t breathe. I’d started hyperventilating. My chest heaved wildly and my intentions for a scream came as airy whimpers. All the weight, everything I’d been carrying on my shoulders, bore down and brought me to the floor. Literally. The strength went out of me and I fell back against the stall door, slipping right down onto my ass. I stared at the tile between my feet and found it moving. My vision started to darken around the edges. I knew from unfortunate experience that I’d pass out if I didn’t do something.

So I grabbed my hat and breathed into it as deeply as I could. It just barely helped. Every time I’d start to regain control, my thoughts would spiral again and I’d be gasping. I was just gripped by this feeling of impending doom.

But then someone came in.

When I heard the door swing open, I froze. I almost stopped breathing entirely. I willed my heart to stop, too -- any sign of life that could indicate my presence. But none of that would have mattered. She could see me under the stalls.

Her footsteps stopped a little ways in, and it took a minute for her to say something. I don’t really remember what her voice sounded like, but I know she asked, “Are… you okay?”

I forced myself to take a few deep, steadying breaths, and leaned over to spit in the toilet. With all the strength I could summon, I got to my feet. “Had a bit too much,” I said in a regrettably shaky voice before I flushed away my fictional puke. “Go on and take your piss, I’m fine.”

She didn’t take much convincing. Once I heard her enter a stall, I left. I walked back into the bar room, drawing the gaze of the ever-present accusing eyes all around, without breaking stride. I didn’t care what they thought anymore. I wasn’t afraid. I thought I knew the truth, and it was scarier than all the arcade’s hatred put together.

Wreck-it was back in his stool by the time I got to our spot. I didn’t stay for chit-chat. I gave Tapper his drawing, accepted my pay, and told him I’d be back with another soon. With that, I said goodbye, and was on my way. Wreck-it fell in step behind me after a second, apparently under the impression that we were a unit that evening. I don’t remember if he said anything on the way back, but I certainly didn’t. Not until we were back on that pile of bricks.

I sat in my temporary nest, and he settled in by his stump. After a minute, he prodded awkwardly, “So… how did it feel to get out there again?”

I heard his words, but they meant nothing. They were just sounds demanding more sounds from me. So, automatically, I said, “Good. Thank you.”

He paused. “Wait, wait. Did you just thank me? You?”

I barely noticed the tears spilling down my face. I was frozen.

After receiving no sass, or any response at all, he muttered, “Well… You’re welcome. I’m glad it helped.”

He fell asleep shortly after.

I didn’t sleep at all.

I sat, quivering, for Devs know how long, hands clamped over my mouth, my whole body clenched so tight I could barely breathe, just desperately trying to keep quiet. My eyes wouldn’t close, they just stared blankly off into the dark and overflowed down onto my hands. There was a battle raging in my head, a last-ditch effort to remain in control. I was losing.

It was the first of many attempts to convince myself that you didn’t, in fact, give a crit about me.

I still do this. All the time. If I can believe you never cared, it’s easier. Then it’s your fault. Then I can be angry at you, and being angry is easy. You never cared about our friendship, because you never cared about a single thing but yourself. I was a toy to you, an object, a trophy. I was fun, I was pretty, I was something you had that no one else in the arcade could even lay a finger on, and you loved that. But it wasn’t me that mattered. It was your pleasure, your pride. You trashed me without hesitation. You’re the asshole. You left me behind. You did this to me. It’s your fault. All your fault. 

It didn’t work then, and it certainly doesn’t work now, knowing what I do.

I was so, so wrong to want proof that our friendship mattered to you. I have more of it now than I can handle, and I can never let it go. It’s not in a letter or a memento, something I can destroy and forget -- it’s in all my Dev-forsaken memories. I can see it in all the things we did together, the things you’d say, the way you treated me different from everyone else, in things I don’t have the heart to mention. 

I won’t say that those memories aren’t important to me. I won’t say that I really want to forget them. I will say that there are still nights where I think of each one, and I wonder if they were all nails in your proverbial coffin. At the time, I certainly believed they were.

Those memories assaulted my head as I sat there, woven into horrid echoes of barking and shouting and my own screaming.

I couldn’t stand it.

I just couldn’t stand this new reality I’d pieced together where it was my fault you were gone. I couldn’t stay in it a day longer. I needed to leave. I needed buffs -- not cutesy vanilla Boosts or Heals anymore, no. I didn’t need to blur reality, I needed to change it.

I needed Game Changers.

And, thanks to Tapper, I had the credits for it.

[love-dreams]

i’m always right

jimin/reader | nerd!au, college!au | genre: fluff

synopsis: i don’t know why you even bother questioning me when i’m always right.

alternate synopsis: in which both reader and jimin can’t help but yearn for a relationship deeper than the term “study buddies”

contents: mild cursing, confession, mentions of drinking alcohol and parties

note: i lost my writing journal and i’m so sad *cries* but luckily i remembered this from the depths of my nonexistent brain. edit: nvrmind i found it lol 

song rec/inspo: 《247》by seventeen, performance team 

wc: 2.2k

“You must not be in your right mind, the answer’s obviously 74.”

“I'm not in my right mind?? Jimin, please check your work again.”

It was a nice Saturday afternoon, beautiful weather, sunny, blue skies...except you were stuck in the library with Park Jimin studying for your upcoming math final. The bane of your existence with you in the same room.

“I’ve checked it 2 times already, show me yours.”

With a groan, you handed your notebook over to the blond headed male beside you, already regretting your choice of studying with him. Jimin was smart, that wasn’t refutable, but was he a good person? Sometimes you questioned that. Especially when he questioned every single damn-

“Are you sure you divided correctly?” Jimin asked critically, after a few seconds of scanning through your work.

“Are you sure you divided correctly?” you snapped back, already annoyed that Jimin had questioned your answer.

The bickering between the two of you almost never stopped, leading to many of your peers wondering why you even studied together in the first place. 

Jimin rolled his eyes at your childish response and moved onto checking the answer of the next question.

Because he’s smart, your rational side told you. It could benefit us to study with another person too! 

However, after another ten minutes, you gave up. Screw this, I’ve been here for nearly two hours with this idiot!! 

You stood up suddenly, slamming your books onto the table with a loud bang in the quiet library. Jimin looked up, surprised at your sudden action.

“I’m going home. This is stupid and we’re not getting anything done. I can be productive elsewhere without you annoying me.” 

While packing up your textbooks, notebooks, stationery, and others, you noticed Jimin looking at something intently.

“Hey! That’s mine!!” you snatched back the notebook Jimin was curiously examining, blushing profusely. 

Jimin smirked, “Well, I guess now I know what you meant by ‘being productive elsewhere.’ Have fun on your date!”

You blushed harder and chose to ignore Jimin’s taunting, throwing the remainder of your things into your backpack and exiting the library, walking quickly. He had picked up your planner, in which every hour of your life had been planned in. You couldn’t imagine what he had seen in there that had made him say that. 

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

Mentally checking your schedule for the day, you did not have a date like Jimin suggested. In fact, you weren’t sure why it was written like that in your planner anyway. As you walked down the busy streets of Seoul, you started thinking about Jimin’s last comment. He didn’t seem to be very happy while reading the events in your planner…

I must be out of my mind. The math test is in a few days. I don’t have time-

“(Y/N)!! Over here!”

You looked up at the sound of a voice calling your name, scanning the street around you. Then you saw the small cafe with an enthusiastic waving hand. Smiling, you walked over to the cafe and sat down in one of their empty chairs. 

Suddenly you remembered the planner.

“Yeri, were you the one who wrote ‘date’ in my planner?”

Yeri looked momentarily confused before chuckling “That was such a long time ago! You kept on forgetting, so I wrote it in your planner. Well, it worked, didn’t it? You’re here!”

Annoyed, you pinched at your nose.

Yeri, seeing your frustration, shrugged, “It is a date! With your girlfriend that’s all. Why are you so upset-” Yeri shrieked when you pinched her hand, embarrassedly covering her mouth. “Hey-!”

“Jimin saw it!! And now he’s going to tease me for the next few weeks just because of this! Yeri, we have a math test in-”

“Come on, (Y/N), it’s just a little joke. Don’t worry about it.”

And with a late afternoon snack with your best friend, the scenario was washed from your mind.

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

“Shit, shit, shit.” 

You had woken up a little bit late, exactly ten minutes after your alarm clock rang, and you were panicking. It was the day of your big math final and without those extra ten minutes, you wouldn’t have enough time to grab your coffee and eat a good breakfast as well. Rushing out of your apartment with your bag, you made it onto campus ten minutes before the exam started, breathless as well as a little sweaty. 

As you jogged up to the entrance of your test building, you heard a familiar voice passing you.

“Hey! (Y/N)!”

Turning around, you saw Jimin, glasses, cheeks a little pink from the cold morning air of Seoul, and was that a ponytail? Jimin jogged over and stood in front of you, nervously before pulling something behind him.

Jimin handed you a cup of warm coffee, “Good luck on your exam, (Y/N).”

You nodded numbly, unsure that this was even real. Surprised, you managed a “Yeah, thanks” before turning back around to head into the building. 

Nonetheless, you finished five minutes before the time was up, grateful for the extra kick of caffeine. You weren’t sure if you could’ve made it through without your daily dose of coffee. Not only was it surprising to even have the cup of coffee from Jimin, but that it was perfectly made. It almost seemed too suspicious. 

After the exam, you and your friends decided to go to lunch at the local campus cafe. Almost immediately after getting seated, Joy blurted out, “Oh my god, (Y/N), you never told me you and Jimin were dating!”

After the initial shock, you quickly retorted, “What are you even saying? We’re just studying together.” 

Joy nodded smugly, “And where’d you get that cup of coffee from, hm?” 

You groaned out loud, “Oh my gosh, it was just for good luck. Why’d you have to make it so awkward?” 

Joy sighed dreamily, “I think he might like you, (Y/N)..”

You rolled your eyes before looking down at the menus the waiter had placed on your table before connecting the dots.

“Wait, Joy, was it you who told him to get me a cup of coffee?”

Joy looked up, surprised by your accusation, “No..?”

“But then how was it-”

“Okay fine. It was me. Stop bullying Joy.”

The two of you turned around to stare at Yeri, who had been quiet while this whole conversation between you and Joy. Yeri looked nonchalant though, as she diverted her gaze back to the menu in her hands. 

Shrugging it off, you added, “I guess it doesn’t matter then, if Yeri told Jimin to get it.” 

Yeri waved her hands, contradicting you, “No, no. I didn’t tell him to get it. He asked how you liked your coffee, that’s all.” 

Although you were surprised that Jimin even thought of you, you didn’t dwell on it much. It might have just been a thank-you gift for studying with him. Quickly changing the topic, you made it a point to not bring up Jimin in the next hour with your friends. While waiting for dessert, however, your thoughts suddenly turned to Jimin. What even was Jimin to you? Friends? Absolutely not. Just thinking about that made your blood boil. Study buddies. 

“What’d you say?”

You looked up, surprised to see Joy and Yeri’s confused faces. Waving it off, you mumbled something about the recent math exam and the attention was directed off you once more. Jimin was starting to become troublesome. 

Once you stepped foot into your apartment, you noticed that you were still holding the coffee cup Jimin had given to you. A rush of annoyance surged through you and you were about to throw the cup into the trash when you noticed lettering on it. Curious, you twisted the cup around to see what it said. 

“Good luck with your exam (Y/N)!! Also, it was 78, not 74. You were right,” written in Jimin’s normally messy handwriting, a little neater. 

Smiling, you kept the cup on your tiny kitchen counter, and went to your bathroom to wash up, trying to wash out thoughts of the cute dimpled boy.

That night, you dreamt of coffee cups and a smiling Jimin. 

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

Exam season was now over, leaving you with lots of free time. So much time that you weren’t sure what to even do. Thankfully, you had your two best friends there to make sure you weren’t holed up all the time in your bedroom listening to K-pop and watching anime all day long.

“C’mon, it’s the end of our year as freshmen in college! We should all go out and celebrate!”

Yeri joined in with Joy’s excitement, “And who knows? We might even see Jimin there!”

You groaned at Jimin’s name, covering your blushing face with your hands, “That’s one of the reasons I don’t want to go…”

After exams were over, you rarely saw even a hint of Jimin’s face. After all, being study buddies meant you only saw each other while studying for exams. Now that it was all over, the two of you had no excuse to see each other.

Eventually, your friends managed to drag you out in a decent outfit to another freshmen’s fraternity home, Soonyoung. There were already a lot of people at the party, despite being only 8:45. Within a few minutes, however, the house was packed with people, Joy and Yeri nowhere to be seen, leaving you alone in the crowds of people. 

You sighed, standing in one of the corners with a cup of non-alcoholic Sprite, keeping your head low to avoid being recognized. 

“(Y/N)?”

You looked up, surprised to hear your name being called, and even more surprised to see the blond head of Jimin. You smiled unintentionally when seeing the familiar face, gripping your cup of Sprite slightly harder.

“What’re you doing here?” 

“I could ask you the same thing.” 

Awkward, you looked down at your shoes, taking a deep breath before breathing out, “Uh, I just wanted to say...thank you. For the coffee.”

Jimin chuckled, also feeling a little awkward in the party atmosphere, “No problem, it’s what friends do, right?”

Your face burned at the word friends. 

“Yeah.”

Pushing his hair back, Jimin looked up at the ceiling to try and calm his racing heart. “Do you-”

“I kinda want to leave now, wanna come with?”

Jimin stood, a little taken aback before sputtering out, “Yes, sure, absolutely, actually I wanted to leave too.”

You grinned, “Did you have a drink, Chim? Your face is really red right now.” 

Jimin blushed harder, trying to cover up his face with his arm, “Yeah, maybe just a little.”

The two of you left the heated house, sighing in relief once the cool air outside hit. You could still hear the faint sound of party music even outside. 

“Jesus, I hate parties,” you said, breathing in the night air, leaning back on your arms to stare at the starry night sky.

“Yeah same. I guess I prefer quiet libraries,” Jimin agreed, following your gaze.

You smirked, “You’re such a nerd, Jimin.”

He stuck his tongue out and pouted, “As if you weren’t.”

You sat on the curb with Jimin, indulging in the silence between the two of you. Your thoughts drifted to the first time you saw Jimin in the library. His hair was still black back then, and shorter. 

“(Y/N)...”

Jimin’s voice made you snap out of your thoughts. 

His face was really red, but you had no doubt that your face was the same shade of scarlet, maybe even darker.

You smiled shyly, trying to conceal your pounding heart and sweaty hands. 

“Spit it out, Jimin.”

Jimin smiled and leaned closer, close enough for you to smell his cologne and a little bit of alcohol as well. 

“We’ve known each other for a long time...as friends, study buddies, whatever you wanna call it.”

You nodded along, letting him finish his thought. 

Before Jimin could finish, he broke down, “Ugh, I can’t say this, it’s so embarrassing,” covering his face with his small hands, you finally laughed. 

“Don’t laugh at me!” he pouted, letting his eyes peek through his hands. 

You gradually stopped, holding your stomach for comfort. Then you faced Jimin, leaning just as close as he had before. Carefully you took his hands into your own, letting you see his face clearly. 

“You dumbass, ask the question.”

Unfaltering from your insult, Jimin smiled shyly, looking down at your intertwined hands, “Be my girlfriend.” 

Despite preparing yourself with Joy and Yeri, your heart still skipped a beat and you gulped. 

“That’s not a question, idiot.” 

Jimin laughed, bringing you even closer that you could feel the warmth radiating off of him. 

“Do you like me as well, (Y/N)?”

Sighing contentedly, you buried your head into his chest, “Of course.” 

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

“You knew I liked you?!”

You hushed Jimin in the library, feeling the weight of judgemental stares on you. 

“Yes, now can you be a little quiet? We’re in a library, Chim.”

Jimin blushed, diving back into his textbook. Within a few minutes, though, his curiosity got the best of him. 

“But..how did you know?”

You looked up slowly, eyebrows cocked, before smirking.

“What can I say? I’m always right.”

[talpup]

Erase the Shadow:20

Summary: Despite sharing dreams with Teris for as long as he can remember, Aizawa Shouta never believed in soulmates.  That was until he met Teris in the real world on his first day at UA.  Trouble is, Teris doesn’t know anything about their shared dreams.  And the one time Shouta tried to tell her, he nearly lost her completely.

Five years after graduating from UA, Shouta still believes Teris is his soulmate.  But things have only gotten worse.  Teris moved to another town shortly after graduation.  And now she’s dating his best friend Yamada Hizashi.

Please remember, this fic is rated explicit and has warnings of sex, violence, and other possible triggers.

If you prefer reading off AO3 here’s the link for that: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22027552/chapters/58217263

Sorry for the delay in this update.  I recently started re-working and posting Lost Song, a fic that has beasts, spirits, and sprites with human forms.  And focuses on a love triangle between Sphinx!Aizawa, Dragon!Kai, and Reader/OC.  Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this update and would LOVE to here from you if you did.

Also, if anyone is interested in what the layout of Hizashi, Shouta, and Teris' house looks like, let me know and I'll try drawing it up and posting it.

20.1

It had been hard enough leaving Shouta for three days when they had only been together for a little over two weeks.  But the fact that they had just moved into their new home four days ago made it all the harder.  The thought of Shouta alone in the big, beautiful place.  Never mind the fact that Hizashi had put so much tech into it that both she and Shouta barely knew how to work the coffeemaker and lights.  She just hoped the house wouldn’t revolt and kill Shouta while they were gone.

Stepping into the top floor hotel suite, Teris tried to focus on the time she would have with Hizashi, not the time she would be away from Shouta.

Near the elevator, Hizashi tipped the staff that had brought up their bags.  A single small suit case for Teris and two large suit cases for Hizashi.

Teris and Shouta had made fun of Hizashi despite knowing one suit case was taken up mostly by the protective hermit shell case that held his directional speaker.  In truth, Teris appreciated how careful Hizashi was with his hero persona. He knew that both the press and fans would hovering around like flies. And the case containing Present Mic’s directional speaker would be a dead give away to who he was.

The move of packing the case within a suit case had been done as much for himself as for her. Not being widely recognized without his trademark hairstyle and iconic speaker afforded Hizashi a much needed break from the celebrity hero that he was. But it also allowed Teris to enjoy being out with her boyfriend without too much worry that someone would snap a picture of them and turn her underground hero self into a household name.

Shouta had admonished Hizashi almost constantly in the days leading up to their departure, annoying his best friend to no end.  Teris found it kind of sweet how concerned Shouta was about her hero persona staying out of the press; knowing as well as she that if it was discovered Shadow and Present Mic were dating her career as an underground hero would be over.  But Hizashi had been right when he told Shouta that they had been dating for four years without any word of her or Shadow being linked in the press to Present Mic.

Though she hadn’t liked how snippy Hizashi had been when he said it. Teris had kept silent.  It was difficult to know when or if she should step it.  The dynamic of the three of them was still so new.  And with Shouta and Hizashi being best friends, the last thing she wanted was to overstep or appear as if she were playing favorites.

Teris pulled out her phone, smiling at the thought of Shouta’s expression when Hizashi had handed him a step-by-step list of instructions on how to do the simplest things, from answering the door to turning on the tv.  Well, simple if you didn’t live in a smart-home designed by Yamada Hizashi.

Hizashi came up behind her.  He kissed her shoulder, smiling when she leaned back against him.

One eye on the screen of Teris’ phone, the other on her, Hizashi nuzzled her neck. “Whatcha doing, Baby?”

“Letting Shouta know we got here okay.” Teris mumbled, typing out a text.

Hizashi rolled his eyes, pushing down the angry swell of jealousy.  Even when Shouta wasn’t here he still invaded.  Hizashi reached around her and snatched the phone out of Teris’ hands.

“Hey!”

“You can message Shou when I’m doing that interview this afternoon.”  He tossed the phone onto the sofa. “Right now,” he stepped backward, tugged her along, “why don’t we check out the bedroom.  Yeah?”

20.2

Teris stood along the back wall of the hotel convention center with Nux, Hizashi's producer and friend.  There was a long line of fans for Present Mic’s booth, were his signed autographs and took pictures.  Hizashi had a full schedule.  Yesterday had been his first interview, followed by a photo shoot.  This morning he had been a guest on some show, followed by another interview.  At least after this he would be done for the night.  Though there was more scheduled for early tomorrow right before the award show.

Like watching Shouta work with his capture weapon, it always amazed to see Hizashi work a crowd. The man never tired and was never fazed.  At least not in anyway that openly showed.  As Present Mic, Hizashi was ever smiling and friendly to all.  And had so many fans.

Teris shook her head, blinking in wonder at how Hizashi managed to engage with so many people when they were all calling and clamoring for him.  Happy as she was for Hizashi, she felt bad for the other radio hosts who sat at their booths with nobody and nothing to do but sulk and watch the circus.

“Jealous?” Nux smirked when one fan, bent over asking Hizashi to sign her unofficial Present Mic booty shorts that had ‘YEAH!!!’ printed on the ass.

Teris turned to the man and arched an eyebrow.  “Should I be?”

“No. But that wouldn’t stop most.  I mean look at them.  All those women, and men wanting a piece of him.  Honestly, this is nothing.  Pretty orderly and tame.”

“I’ve no doubt.”

“At least that one’s asking him to sign her shorts. There was one time a guy displayed full moon asking for an autograph.”

Gross. Still, Teris huffed in amusement. “Loud Blonde is an ass man.”

“Mic even entertained a few.  Well, a bit more than a few.”

Teris rolled her eyes.  She had no illusions about that. Hizashi was handsome, charismatic, liked to party, and loved sex.

“But that all stopped when he got with you.”  Nux assured. “He’s crazy about you.”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

Nux took in her dopey smile, glad that appeared to be the case. In all the years he had known Hizashi, he had never seen the Hero so taken with someone.  He never imagined a day when Present Mic wouldn’t accept an offer from a fan that met Hizashi's particular type.  Nux looked at Teris.  She was most definitely Present Mic’s type, but that didn’t explain what made her so different from the others that Hizashi took to bed and forgot about the next day.

Teris’ phone dinged.  She pulled the device out of her pocket, smile growing at the text.

Shouta: Miss you.

She typed a quick reply.

Teris: Miss you more.

Shouta: Doubt it.  What are you doing?

Teris: Watching Present Mic with his fans.  He’s amazing.

Shouta: You’re amazing.

Teris: Flirt.  What are you doing?

Shouta: Trying to figure out how to work the light switch in our bedroom.

Teris: Really?!?

Shouta: No.

Teris laughed at her phone.  She could almost hear Shouta's dry response. See his deadpanned expression and the shine in his eyes that told of his humor.

Shouta: Looking forward to our three days alone.

Teris: Same.  I miss you.

Shouta: You can be sure I won’t be ignoring you for fans.

Teris: Only cause you don’t have any. :P

Shouta: Don’t need or want any.  So long as I have you...

Teris: Quit being so sweet!  You’re making me miss you more.

Shouta: Fine.  How about this.  I can’t wait to break in our bed when you get back.

Teris’ eyebrows furrowed.  How much more did a bed need to be broken in?  She blushed thinking about all the ways Shouta and Hizashi had had her.  They had done it in their bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen…  It was as if the two men had agreed that they needed to fuck her in every room of the house. And before she and Hizashi had left, they nearly had.

Teris: ??? Didn’t we do that already?

Shouta: Not the shared bed.  Our bed.

Her faced heated all the more.  The fact that Shouta called his private bedroom theirs.  That he had put in comforts that she knew he normally wouldn’t have simply because he saw the space as theirs and knew she wasn’t as minimalist as he.

Shouta: Are you blushing?

Teris: No.

Shouta: Don’t lie to me.  I’ll tie you down and make you pay.

Teris: You’ll probably do that anyway.

Shouta: No probably about it Kitten.

She looked from the screen, eyes nervously darting about, as if someone could discover what was being typed by just looking at her.

Teris: And how do you plan on making me pay for being a naughty Kitty Cat?

“Whose that?  Your other boyfriend?”  Nux teased.

Teris dropped her phone.  “What!”

“I--”

Nux had been about to say he was joking but before he could Teris cut him off.  Her face blanched of color, a mixture of anger, fear and mortification in her eyes. “He told you!”

“He… Wait? What?”

20.3

Shouta woke up still holding his phone.  He checked the device.  Teris still hadn’t responded to his last text, but it finally showed as read.  He wondered if his reply had been too detailed, but shook off the worry.  Teris’ question and calling herself a naughty Kitty Cat had been a clear sign she’d been hoping he’d reply the way he had.  He wasn’t like Hizashi trying to push and persuade her into things.

But then why hadn’t she responded?

He told himself that it was to be expected.  She was out of town with Hizashi.  Any number of things could've happened that stopped her from replying.  But he felt a twinge just the same. None of this would've happened if Hizashi hadn’t taken her away.

Enough. Shouta scolded himself.  It’s done.  By late tomorrow night she’ll be back.

Shouta sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.  He liked the new house. He especially liked that he shared it with Teris.  Their room was even better than the larger shared bedroom that she, he, and Hizashi would be using most nights. Both rooms beds were comfortable.  Not too hard or too soft.  Though the bed in their room would be even better once it was broken in by a night spent with Teris in it.

One more night, Shouta told himself.  One more night and Teris would come back to him.  He looked forward to the time that he took his three days and two nights alone with her.  But that would likely have to wait until summer break after training camp with his new class.

A bell rang throughout the house.

Shouta got out of bed and made his way to the small screen beside the light switch, forgetting he could use his phone to make sure who it was and buzz them in.

He knew Hizashi was something of a techie when it came to audio and visual but his friend had gone all out in decking out the place with security.  Their living space was on the second level and basically looked like a big box within the massive warehouse.  There was roof and window access for when Shouta was going out or returning from patrols.  The main point of entry through a gate in an alley.

Once through the gate there was a door to enter the warehouse, to the right were a set of stairs that lead to the house proper.  The gate and two doors locked automatically and opened for its inhabitants either through key, code, or RFID.  Visitors rang at the gate, and small screens with intercoms in every room of the house allowed residents to see and speak with callers.  Though the same could be done with a synced phone.  From there the visitor could be buzzed through either one or all of the barriers with a simple push of one, two, or three on the screens key pad.

Complexly simple is what Hizashi had called it when Shouta had complained about the fuss.  Shouta agreed with the complex part.  He still couldn’t see the simple.  What was wrong with a basic lock and a key, or ignoring unexpected visitors until they went away?

Activating the screen, Shouta saw Nemuri and tapped two, letting her through the gate and door into the warehouse. “Come through.  Enter the door to your right.”

He made his way to the front door of the house and opened it.

Nemuri waved at Shouta from the bottom of the stairs.  “This place is huge!”

Shouta grunted in agreement.  But he like the home gym and training ground the space provided.  Not to mention he and Teris were walking distance to UA and both their patrol routes.

Once inside the house proper, Nemuri gawked all the more.  “I gotta say I was a bit surprised Zashi agreed to live here.  The place looks even rougher than the neighborhood it’s in.  But this...”  She looked about.  “This is so Hizashi.”

Shouta nodded.  Even though Hizashi did listen and hadn’t gone overboard with color and character, the place still read Yamada Hizashi. Shouta didn’t care.  So long as he got to be with Teris, had a comfortable bed and sofa, and Teris was happy, Hizashi could deck the place out however he pleased.

“He even had a small recording studio built.”  Shouta remarked, eyes glancing to what was effectively Hizashi's side of the house.

“Does that mean he plans on doing his show from here?”

“I… don’t think so.”  Shouta hadn’t considered that.  He hoped not.

Though he had said that they would revisit their agreed upon evenings alone with Teris at the start of the school year, Shouta still hoped to have Friday nights alone with her. Having Hizashi doing his show from home would be weird.  Would Hizashi come out of the sound booth during breaks?

“I think plans on using it for his music.”  Shouta said, hoping that was the case.

“Well he does make good music.  Care to give me a tour?”

“Not really.”

“Oh, come on, Shou!  You know I’m the reason your here.”

Shouta frowned.  “How so?”

“Well, I’m the one who put the idea in Hizashi's head that he should open things up a bit and share Teris with you.”

“Why?”

Nemuri plopped down on the couch.  “Cause I’m a good friend!  It was clear that you and Teris still had it bad for each other.  Hizashi came to me worried that--” She smiled and shook her head.  “Sorry.  That’s not for me to say.  Anyway, it was my idea.  All three of you are my friends.  Teris my closest girlfriend.  Despite everything going on, I want you all to be happy.”

Her smile tightened thinking about the latest visit from the Void.  She didn’t know what the Void wanted with Teris.  Or why he had wanted her and Shouta kept apart all those years ago only to flip and decide he wanted them together now. But she had done what she could to set Hizashi and Teris up on the Void’s order.  And she would've hated herself if she hadn’t tried to help Hizashi when he’d been so afraid to lose her.  So desperate to keep her.  It wasn’t as if Teris didn’t love Hizashi.  She just happen to love Shouta a little bit more.

Based on evidence alone, it was easy to say Teris’ greater care for Shouta was purely because the two had almost gotten together in UA. That along with the whole what might've been, there was also the you always want what you can’t have aspect to it. But Nemuri knew better.

No doubt Hizashi thought that once things settled and the newness of Shouta and Teris being together wore off, her love would become more equal.  Again. Nemuri knew better.

Nemuri couldn’t put a finger exactly on it. But she was certain it had to do with the reason why the Void hadn’t wanted Shouta and Teris together in the first place.  There was just something between Shouta and Teris. Something she wasn’t sure Teris or Shouta even realized.  It was something that would never settle enough to make things equal between Shouta and Hizashi in Teris’ heart.

Nemuri had no doubt that Teris loved Hizashi.  That if Shouta wasn’t around, or had never existed, Hizashi would be Teris’ greatest love.  But Shouta was around.  He did exist.  And he reigned supreme in Teris’ heart.

Shouta didn’t know what to say about Nemuri's involvement.  A part of him was… grateful?  If Hizashi hadn’t come up with the idea he might've lost his best friend.  But being with Teris just a couple weeks, Shouta was even more sure that she would have left Hizashi to be with him.  It would've been hard.  Teris would have felt guilty.  He would’ve felt guilty.  But he wouldn’t have had to share her.

“So, since you’re not gonna show me around the place.  What can I do you for?”

Down to business.  Shouta could do that.  Still Nemuri was his friend. Not wanting any hurt feelings he said.  “Yamada’s planning some housewarming party.  He’d be upset if I showed you around.  He’d be able to do a better job anyway.  I still struggling with working the coffee maker.”

“Zashi always wanted a smart house with a killer sound system.”

“Thankfully the place doesn’t have a remote.”  Shouta huffed wondering which one of them would’ve been the first to lose it if it did.  He sat down in a chair beside the sofa.

He had been wanting to talk to Nemuri ever since Delphin had told him the Void had someone working for him with a somnambulist type quirk.  But now, seated with her, Shouta once again worried for his friend's safety. He questioned his carefully thought out quires, wondering if they were worded carefully enough that Nemuri wouldn’t wonder at them and put herself in danger seeking answers he wouldn’t give.

You need answers yourself, Shouta silently told.  You’ve gotten next to nowhere checking the quirk registry.  The Void seems to be growing stronger.  He’s not just in your shared dreams anymore.  Villains are starting to act in his name.  And on top of that, it seems as if your shared dreams with Teris have stopped completely.

Shouta's heart clenched at that.  It hurt losing his best and oldest friend. Yet at the same time he had finally won her in real life.  Why didn’t she remember?  Why were they no longer sharing dreams?  What if Teris still went to what had been their dreamscape every new moon and the Void visited? It was bad enough that he couldn’t properly protect her since they couldn’t touch in their dreams; but at least she hadn’t been alone.

Steeling his nerve, Shouta took a breath. “I was wondering if we could talk about somnambulist type quirks and how they worked.”

20.4

“You sure you’re alright, Babe?”

Teris stepped off the elevator and into their hotel suite.  It had been a long day.  She certainly hadn’t expected to get caught up in the action when some guy, hit by a quirk, had mistaken her as his ex-girlfriend and thought Nux was hitting on her.  Poor Nux.  From his reaction right before the guy had grabbed her thinking her his ex, Nux had no clue what she had been talking about.  Her misunderstanding had ended up telling him what she had angerly assumed Hizashi had when Nux jokingly asked about her other boyfriend.

She turned to Hizashi, grimacing.  Would he be angry that Nux knew?  She hadn’t meant to tell him, but that didn’t change the fact that Nux now knew she was with two people.  Would Hizashi be okay with his friend knowing?  Would he be embarrassed?  Was Nux the kind of person to judge or make fun of Hizashi for it?

“Zashi… I wanted to talk to you about Nux.”

Hizashi frowned.  “What about him?  It’s you I’m worried about.  That guy who grabbed you--”

Teris shook her head.  “That guy was confused.  Thought I was his ex who he missed and wanted to get back with.  Honestly, Zashi.  You didn’t even have to step in.”

Hizashi's frown deepened.  “I was just taking care of you.”

“You called me merchandise.

Hizashi rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly.  “I said you were merch that wasn’t for sale.  Would you rather I have called you my girl?”

“With all those fans and media around?  No.  We’re lucky everyone seemed to think I was some helpless civilian that was saved by Present Mic.”

“I’ll always save you, Baby.”

Teris stepped to him, arms wrapping around his neck.  “Yeah, well let’s hope no one goes looking for a name of the helpless damsel you protected today.”

“Speaking of saving things.”  Hizashi reached in his back pocket and pulled out her phone.

“Where did you find it?  I was--”

“Chatting with Shouta?”

Her eyes lifted from the phone and met his.  “I was gonna say looking for it.  But yeah.  Before everything happened I--” Her eyes closed, remembering the message she had sent right before all that.  What had Shouta replied?  Whether adding heat, or turning it down she hoped he didn’t think she had ghosted him the rest of the day.

“Nux gave it to me.  Said you dropped it right before that guy showed up tryin’ ta claim you.”

“He wasn’t trying to claim me, Zashi.  He was trying to get back with his ex and the quirk he was hit with made him think I was her.  We’re just lucky whatever it was wasn’t some substance that infected others.”

“Or you might be looking to get with your ex too.”

Teris eyebrows knitted together.  “What’s with you?”

Hizashi turned off the switch on his headphones that produced a frequency that excited the molecules he sprayed in his hair and made it stand on end, giving him his trademark do without need of damaging products. He released a heavy puffing exhale as his soft locks fell down around his shoulders. “Sorry, Baby.  Long day.  While PR and everyone else might’ve enjoyed the show of me taking down a villain, I was just worried about you.”

“He was a victim not a villain.”

“He grabbed and pulled you around.”  Touched you and said you were his. If no one was around, I would’ve made him hurt a thousand times worse.  No one touches you and calls you theirs.

Teris smiled, arms once again looping around his neck.  “My hero.  Thank you for saving me from the real villains.”

Hizashi quirked an eyebrow.

“The media and their cameras.”  Teris supplied.

“It’s the fans you gotta worry about, Babe. They’re ruthless.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“Well I saw the one that had you sign her ass.  Though according to Nux, I should be grateful it was the back of her shorts and not her actual ass.”

Hizashi cleared his throat.  Was she jealous?  She never got jealous.  Damn, he wanted her to be jealous.  What was wrong with him?

“Don’t worry, Sunshine.  I’m not jealous.  I trust you.”

“It’s not just about trust.”  Hizashi said, defending his own hidden jealousy. “I mean… I love you.  So it’s about that too.  Right?”

“Yeah. It is.”  She leaned up to him.  “I love you too, Zashi.”

His arms wrapped around hers.  “Do you now?”

She nodded enjoying the kiss he gave.

It bothered her a bit that Hizashi had moved to help her with the guy. She was a pro hero just the same as him and had things well in had.  But it was sweet how Hizashi had clearly been watching and paying attention to her while he worked.  How else would he have noticed the problem if he hadn’t been?  In the end, Hizashi's quirk incapacitated the poor victim quicker and easier than she would've been able to. Though Hizashi doing so had garnered a lot more attention than she would've.

She broke the kiss, pulling away.

Hizashi stepped after her.

Smiling, Teris placed a hand to his chest.  “You wait out here, Sunshine.  Get yourself a drink and make yourself comfortable. I got a surprise for you that I need to slip into.”

“Oh?” Hizashi grinned widely, arching an eyebrow.

She nodded, shyly biting her lower lip, and stepped backwards.

“You gonna put a show on for my, Baby?”

Teris blushed.  “Maybe.”

“Can I record it?”

Her breath caught.

“Just for us.”  Hizashi assured.

She reminded herself what this weekend was about.  Remembered why she had accepted Hizashi's card when he had given it to her, telling her to not only get a new gown for the awards but a whole new wardrobe for the three day weekend.  How his brilliant emerald eyes had sparkled when she hadn’t argued but accepted his generosity letting him ‘spoil’ her as he always tried and wanted.

This weekend was all about Hizashi. About showing him just how much she loved him.  How grateful she was for him.  How much she appreciated him and his understanding about her love for Shouta.  She wasn’t exactly comfortable being videoed in such a way.  But she trusted Hizashi when he said it was just for him. Stepping out comfort level and allowing him this was just another way to show her care and thanks for him.  Besides, she had told herself she needed to be a better girlfriend to him and this was just another way of doing that.  Right?

Too embarrassed to look him in the eye, Teris mumbled.  “Sure.  You can record it.”

20.5

It was late.  Hizashi wake, having left Teris sleeping in bed.  Hooking up his phone to his laptop he downloaded this evenings video file.

Teris had been beautiful.  The lingerie perfect on her amazing body.  Just a little bit innocent, with a hint of naughty.  Though she had thought he would stop recording after her little show, he had gotten her to allow him to record the entire thing.  Her going down on her knees.  Swallowing his cock...

Hizashi skipped through the video, lowering the laptops volume, and pushing play.

“You like that, Baby?  Sucking on my big, long cock?” Hizashi's voice sounded, though the image stayed focused on her lovely face and stretched, drooling lips.

She blinked watery eyes, and hummed around him.

Hizashi skipped forward some more.  This time Teris was on her hands and knees, the image focused on his cock pumping in and out of her dripping pussy.

”Say it, Baby.  Tell me and I’ll let you cum.”

His hand entered the frame slapping her ass hard with a satisfying crack, resulting in an equally satisfying cried moan from her.

“Zashi! Please! Fuck! I—I love it! I need it. Please. Please!”

“Say it all, Baby.  Say it!  Who do you belong to?”

“You! No one else but you and Shou—ta.”

Hizashi sighed, hitting pause, and sitting back.  He frowned at the screen.  He had told her to say she was his, but she had added to it saying she was his and Shouta's.  He told himself that was why he was doing this.  That doing so didn’t betray her trust and make his words a lie.

‘Just for us.’ Could easily be made to include Shouta.  After all she had been the one first include him wanting and loving Shouta, and then saying she was the both of theirs when this was their time and Shouta wasn’t even here.

He opened a basic video editor and got to work.  It wouldn’t be the big orgasmic end he had wanted; but it would have to do.  At least Teris had been breathless enough that the cut wouldn’t be obvious.  Shouta need never know she had included him and called herself both of theirs.

20.6

Shouta returned from patrol exhausted and in a mood.  It didn’t help that he was coming home to an empty house.  It was somewhat logical and startling how quickly he had become accustomed to living with Teris. Never mind how the place was rarely ever quiet with Hizashi there too.

He took off his googles and capture weapon, unclipping his utility belt. His phone dinged and he scowled, wondering who could be messaging him so late.

Taking out his phone he noticed it was a video from Hizashi.

Hizashi: Just a little something to help you through the rest of tonight and tomorrow. Don’t say I never do anything for you.

Shouta hit play.

I want to thank those who have left hearts. And give a VERY special thank you to those who have left comments or re-blogged. They REALLY mean a lot.  Especially those of you who comment and/or reblog regularly.  It might be weird to say that hearing from you brightens my day, but it does.  I just really love interacting with you all. So THANKS!

As always, an extra special thank you to @inorganicone2230 for their encouragement and friendship.  Also for them helping plot bunny this story out and encouraging me to give into my desire to start Lost Song before finishing Crossroads.  This fic was my personal guilty pleasure, and without them never be getting posted.

[emilyplaysotome]

Chapter 1 - Down the Rabbit Hole (fix)

Lately it seems that everything I write ends up never seeing the light of day so I wanted to write something fun, that might actually get read. If you guys like it I’ll continue the story.

Let me know what you think!

I woke up, eyes bleary, head pounding in a hospital bed I’d never been in, but could have sworn I’d seen before. As I rubbed my eyes, I racked my brain to try and remember how I’d gotten here, but could only come up with fragmented moments on the subway platform. It was a fair assumption to say that I’d passed out. Something like that had happened to me once before, and upon coming to had left me feeling very similar.

“It’s good to see you’re up.”

I turned to see a man standing over me, wearing a white doctor’s coat, with a pink collared shirt, and simple plaid necktie. He gently pushed his glasses up as he examined my chart, finally offering me a concerned smile.

“You were brought here yesterday after you collapsed, but we couldn’t find any identification on you.”

My eyes began to focus, and I squinted as they adjusted to the sunlight streaming in through the large windows that lined the far wall. The room was a simple hospital room, with multiple beds, all empty at the moment. Separating each bed was a seafoam curtain, and across from me were some yellow flowers that must have been left behind from another patient.

I looked at the doctor again, who leaned a bit closer.

“Can you...understand me?” he said slowly.

My eyes caught the name on his nametag. Irie.

“Yes, I understand. Sorry, I’m always a bit off when I first get up,” I joked.

His face relaxed, and he smiled at me.

“Take your time. You were out for a good 18 hours.”

Irie...Irie. Why was that name so familiar to me? I studied his face as he scribbled some notes down in my chart. He didn’t have any defining characteristic of note - dark hair and eyes, Japanese, a calm demeanor.

“Soichiro?” I muttered to myself, barely audible.

He paused and looked at me, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Do we know each other?”

I looked again at the room once more, and then back at the man standing before me. There was no way. It was impossible. I was...me and he was just a character in a game. However as crazy as it was, before I could stop myself I found myself asking, “I’m at Ebisu General, right?”

Doctor Irie nodded. I could feel my face getting hot, panic setting in. This had to be a dream. There was no other explanation but it didn’t feel like any dream I’d ever had.

“Have we met before?”

“No. Your reputation precedes you,” I lied.

In actuality, I’d spent hours with Soichiro Irie. I’d been in the man’s apartment. I watched him fall in love. I knew more about him than he probably knew about himself.

Yet here I was, unable to tell him the truth (that he was merely a character in a game) without sounding certifiably insane. Even if this was a dream, the last thing I wanted to do was be shipped off to the psychiatric ward of Ebisu General, so...I lied.

He blushed faintly at the compliment, and crossed his arms just like his sprite did, except in real life he felt closer to the published age of 40 than he ever did in the game. There were slight crow’s feet around his eyes and as he shook his head with a placid smile, I could see the wrinkles hiding behind his hair that fell across his forehead.

“Oh no. I’m sure that’s not true” he said softly.

The Japanese modestly I’d experienced in these games came through loud and clear in that one moment. It was sweet - quite different from the confident and often unwarranted conceit most American men doled out.

“Doctor Irie, I...have a bit of a strange question. I feel ok but...what language am I speaking?”

Doctor Irie cocked his head to the side, “Japanese. You’re in Tokyo after all.”

“I see. You wouldn’t happen to have a mirror...would you?”

As he left to find a hand mirror, I racked my brain at how implausible it was that I’d be speaking Japanese. It had to be a crazy dream, perhaps I was even in a coma, and my mind suddenly placed me in the universe of these games.

In fact, it was entirely possible that I’d been playing one when I blacked out in my world. But...I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything going was far too real to be something entirely contrived by my own brain and its memories of various games I’d played months ago.

Doctor Irie returned with a mirror that revealed that I still looked as I’d remembered. He also brought the items I’d had on me when I’d collapsed - a phone, a coat, and the stupid knit hat I’d stitched in 9th grade and kept for whatever reason. The phone booted up but all my apps were replaced by knockoffs like Skaipe, Tweeter, and Chatsnap. I shook my head, dejected upon seeing this.

I was hoping my phone would be something that would link me to the real world from which I came, but outside of that dumb knit hat, everything else was a gamified version. I sighed loudly and Doctor Irie studied my face with concern.

“So...am I able to leave now?” I asked.

“We’d prefer if you stayed until you’re better. Plus we’ll need your insurance card and -”

“I’m afraid I don’t have my wallet on me,” I quickly cut him off.

“Well, we can look your information up. What’s your name?”

I paused. There’d be no record of me in this world. I thought carefully before replying.

“Naruko...Sasaki,” I said. Or was it Sasaki Naruko? I could never get it straight but it didn’t really matter. Doctor Irie nodded and scribbled her name on my chart before writing something else on his notepad.

“Here,” he said, handing me a paper with a number on it. “If you get into trouble, or need a place to stay, or feel sick again just give me a call.”

For a moment, it crossed my mind that if I called this number, I would be entering Doctor Irie’s route in this world. I wasn’t prepared for that, not because I didn’t like him, but because I had more important things to think about than romancing a fictional doctor. I needed to get home.

I did my best to bow graciously, self-conscious the entire time, and slightly worried that someone would call me out for cultural appropriation.

“Thank you Doctor Irie.”

The first thing I did once I left Ebisu General was pray to the Wishes Gods. When none of them showed up, or even gave me an inclination that they'd heard my wish to be sent home, I formulated a new plan. I found an empty park bench that was shaded by a Revance billboard, and wrote down every single potential guy I’d ever played with the knowledge that I was in the voltage universe in order to figure out what my next best bet would be.

You’d think that being the MC in a real-life-game would be fairly exciting but I promise you, it isn’t. Instead, I found myself fairly stressed out once the realization set in that in order to survive long enough to formulate a plan to get sent home I was going to need to approach the more dangerous characters in this universe. When you’re playing from the comfort of your home it doesn’t matter that your love interest is borderline abusive, or in the mafia, or a criminal mastermind. However, when you’re in the actual game, it’s a lot more stressful than you’d think to approach one of these guys.

I knew what I had to do if I was to survive here. I jogged up to the next nondescript Person 1 and asked, “Excuse me, can you point me in the direction of the Tray Spades?”

“You mean the Tres Spades?”

“Whatever.”

The pixilated version of the hotel had looked pretty good on my iPhone as I played at home, but being there in person was something else.

I’d been lucky enough to travel and stay in some luxurious hotels in my world, but the Tres Spades was like nothing I’d ever seen in my life. It was fair to say that depending on who you asked, it was either a garish eyesore or the most opulent hotel you’d ever laid eyes on. I was still trying to decide for myself as waited in the lobby for my target.

If everything went according to plan my time at the Tres Spades would end in false papers, a temporary job (with housing if I remembered correctly), and no involvement in the auctions. But that was only if things went according to plan and I reminded myself that they rarely do.

I was still mulling it all over when I saw him, or I suppose more accurately, he saw me.

“Excuse me Miss.”

His maroon jacket was even tackier in person but I found him to be more handsome than his sprite gave him credit for. Sure his real voice was actually a bit smarmy, and his mannerisms reeked of a guy who spent far too long reading Neil Strauss’ The Game, but that was to be expected.

“Yes?”

“Are you waiting for someone? Me...perhaps?”

It was impossible for me to hold back my disgusted sigh. Baba in person was so much lamer than he ever read.

“Ahahahaha,” a young man cackled, practically doubled over. “Look at how disgusted she looks!”

“Oh no I didn’t mean...”

I desperately tried backtracking but it was no use. I’d never been good at hiding my emotions and it would seem today was no different. Unfortunately for me, if I was going to have any chance in this world, I’d need to significantly improve my acting skills.

“Don’t apologize!” He exclaimed, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks, “That was the funniest thing I’ve seen all day.”

“You don’t need to rub it in Ota,” Baba pouted.

It surprised me that I liked Ota more in person. He struck me as boyish and mischievous in a way that was far more charming than Baba’s insincere pick up artist act.

As I panicked internally, racking my brain how to get these interactions back on track, the two bantered with each other. Ota teased Baba mercilessly, who in turn desperately tried to recover from the embarrassment of Ota having witnessed him crash and burn in front of a girl.

“Please,” I grabbed the sleeve of Baba’s gaudy maroon jacket all the while putting on my best damsel in distress expression. “I’m actually looking for someone who stays at this hotel. Do you work here?”

The two stopped arguing and Baba looked at me, genuinely surprised. There was silence for a moment and then Ota burst out laughing again

“Ahahahaha! She thinks you work here!”

Collectively Baba and I shared a sigh, and then a smile. He took his hat off and gave me a little bow, then a wink, and said, “At your service.”

“This might sound...a little crazy but I’m looking for a guy, his name is…”

I pretended to rack my brain and my act seemed to be working as Baba appeared to hang on my every word.

“...Lupin?” I whispered.

Baba’s eyes widened slightly, and his cheeks flushed. Ota, still chuckling to himself gave Baba a slap on the back.

“The old man finally catches a break.”

With that, Ota strolled out through the double doors of the hotel lobby, and I found myself being offered Baba’s arm.

“Follow me.”

There was no turning back now. But if I was going to have any chance of getting myself home, taking his arm was my only option.

So I took it.

Continue reading - Part 2

[god-hunter]

I feel very stupid (pt. 2)

This is a little follow up to my rant from last night.  I thought a hang out wasn’t gonna happen, but it did at the last minute and in the end, I got what I wanted.  Right?

Well this rant will be a little less whiney and serve as more of a Reminder to sober the Hell up out of this work crush I’ve got goin’ on for this girl.

There was 4 of us.  Technically 6 of us, but one couple split mid-way through the night to go to a different bar together, and then home.  Which is fine.

But yeah, we went to 2 clubby bars and at first I definitely drank mixed drinks first, which isn’t usually my way.  All 4 of us got shots of Fireball, but my crush got 2 extra because there was a deal on getting 6.  So we did 2 extra together.

Since the place was loud with a DJ, there wasn’t much room for actual conversation.  Instead she started dancing a little bit with the girls in the group. Sometimes her and I talked about the songs, but soon enough we were out of there and on to the next place.

I decided to be a gentleman and offer her my scarf in the cold and she accepted.  This was my soft-flirt, which could just be interpreted as the “nice friend” thing, which I’m fine with.

We got into the next place which was a real club, now.  Loud dance music all night, everyone was going crazy, and pretty much right away the group was all over it.  We had more beers in us.  I definitely got a Sprite & Vodka and offered her a sip.  She took it.

She easily could’ve said, “No thanks,” so this I thought was another soft-flirt.

Then of course the dancing was coming in.  I kept it light.  We are co-workers after all.  We are friends.  We both have partners...  But I know she’s on the outs with her man, and she knows enough that I’m not great with my girl... [I’ll get to that later]

I remembered any of the videos I’ve been watching.  “Make your intentions known.  Start touching when you talk or dance,”  So.  I did.

Light back grazing.  Around the shoulders.  Eventually it was even the hips and lower back!

She took it!  But it wouldn’t be long before she would twirl and back away.

I felt like this was a light acceptance.  Of the attention if anything.  

Which in a way is fine, considering our current situations.

I’m gonna fast forward to the end of the night, where this other guy came in.  Definitely younger than me, definitely ripped, and he was definitely flirting with her.  He’s a friend of another girl in the group, so it wasn’t like he was a rando.

But eventually I caught him whispering to her, making her laugh, and then they swapped phones, and he put in some info.

I for sure thought that they were trading numbers.  The other girl in the group danced with me and I just asked in her ear if that dude was getting her number. And she was like, “Noooo, he’s getting her Instagram.”

And then I was like, “Yeah, but that’s low-key getting your number, isn’t it?”

And she said, “No way.” and that it wasn’t like that or something.

But then I saw them dancing...

Keep in mind, this girl was drunk and on her phone ALL NIGHT.  Dancing, twirling, grinding and texting!  I couldn’t believe it.  She is Addicted to her screen.

Eventually I playfully said, “Wanna dance with me, Social Media?”

And she smiled and put the phone away.  We did our thing for literally a minute before she kind of turned around and danced with the group some more, before pulling out her phone again.

Which brings me back to the way she danced with THIS guy.

She fuckin’ walked right into his space, ran her finger down his chest, and sort of stopped with her hand right by his lower stomach.

It was very clear what she wanted.  And it wasn’t me.

And in that moment, I had to leave.

Look... I did all the right things.  We talked, struck up conversation.  (Meaningful ones too, when we stopped to get more drinks). She bought for me, I bought for her.  I even saved her from a creepy older dude, who was trying to grind with her.  She thanked me for dancing her out of the situation.  But when it came down to our own dancing... she’s just not into me like that.  Period.

Ya gotta know when to fold ‘em dude.  And I did.

I was definitely drunk.  I should’ve probably sat for another half hour or so with water, before leaving.  But I had to get the fuck out of there.  I couldn’t look at that for one more second.  No matter how ‘not like that’ it was.

So in the end, I let my intentions be known.  I came right over to the girl, put my hand out and she took it.  Then I pulled myself in with a shake-hug and I spoke in her ear, “I’ve gotta get out of here.  I had a great time tonight.  Thank you for this...”

And I kissed her on the cheek.

She was probably confused.  I don’t know if she was put off.

But she just made the peace sign and said, “Ok bye,” or something like that.

I was so defeated.  I felt stupid again.

The other girl who’s a little more perceptive went over to me after I said goodbye and asked if I was okay to drive.  I said yeah.

And I was.

But God, was I dehydrated and had to Pee!  Like, really bad.

...I walked to my car the wrong way, but not for too long.  Found it, got home without any trouble, and I was in bed by 2.

My phone had died, but this girl had apparently texted me 3 times at 2:00AM to ask if I was alright and got home okay.

When I saw that this morning, I thought that was so sweet.

But also...  I can’t forget the body language and overall vibe of last night.

She’s my Friend.  And beyond that, she’s not into me.

Anything to make me think otherwise was from past conversations where I overheard her tell another co-worker that I’m her Favorite person here.  And she outright told me that she thinks I’m amazing the last time we drank.

So...  Of course, I thought I had some clout.  But she probably never thought of me that way.  I’m just the cool older dude, that’s still hip enough to hang.  But who the fuck am I kidding?

This blends into another topic for another day possibly/probably.  But what the fuck do I want??  This girl made it very clear to the group that after she breaks things off with her boyfriend, she doesn’t wanna be tied down to no man.

And of course, if things went south on my end, absolutely.  I’d love to fuck her.

But I know where that goes, and soon enough I do get attached, or the other one does, but there’s the weird title/non-title social phobia that gets in way of the headspace.  Everything gets gray and wishy washy.  I’ve been there before and it’s incredible until it sucks! Those years are Over!

I really can’t back pedal.  I can’t go in reverse.

So this blog is just a Reminder...

That no matter how much attention this girl gives me.  How many nice texts of, “I had so much fun last night,” and whatever meaningful conversations we have..  All the initiations for getting food at work or talking about future hang outs, that come from Her!!! ...  I have to take them in stride, and Know that I am her Friend.  And will only ever be a Friend to her.

And honestly, that’s probably the best thing that could’ve happened last night.

Through all my bitching about this girl last night, about how this hang out wasn’t going to happen because she got sick.  I was initially going to say that this was like the Universe Balancing itself out, making sure the right thing happens.  The rant was headed there, before she called me out of nowhere and completely changed her mind to stick it out and get crunk with all of us.

But that leads me back to what I was just saying...  What do I want?  A Party Girl?

Last night was a lot of fucking fun, [minus the very end], don’t get me wrong.  But I can’t make that my life.  I’m not a clubber.  That’s not my scene at all.

Going to SHOWS, now that’s my scene!

And... people do this when they have crushes on each other.  They imagine the other person in their life.  And they invite them to things that the other doesn’t usually do.

I invited her to my show a month ago, and she was SO excited about going.  She texted me a lot the night before, but it was a complete bust.  The show got snowed out and barely anyone came.  I was really bummed out, but I understood.  She also expressed the most sincere, sweetest apology in person, which absolutely made my day.  She was just as bummed out as me that weekend, for not being able to go.  And I knew she meant it.  That really meant a lot to me at the time.  

But that’s beside’s the point.  She asked about seeing one of our co-worker’s plays together.  It won’t just be her and I, but the rest of our friend group don’t like plays...  Which means it would be a couples thing if my Woman wants to go.  But assuming her and her boyfriend are done?  She might 3rd wheel it.  Or maybe my Lady won’t really wanna go out.  Who the fuck knows?

But I’m not even gonna let myself get excited about it, because after last night.. I can tell that she doesn’t want me.  Not in that way.

The texts this morning were super minimal.  At 7:53 I got back to her saying that I got home okay.  Since that was her request.

An hour later, “Good, I was nervous,”

20 minutes later I said, “Sorry about that! My phone died, remember?”

I absolutely told her that when we were getting our beers at one point, but she might not have heard me, or just forgot.

Either way, I was just open opening this tab to start my rant at Noon when she started texting me for real.  Responses were way quicker.  Minutes apart.  I do feel way better, and less down on myself.

We had a nice conversation about last night and how much fun she had, she asked if I had a good time.  I half-truthed about needing to leave.  I was honestly at my drinking limit and I was getting tired.

The topic of that guy did not come up at all on either of our parts.

But that doesn’t change the fact that it happened.  Or could happen again if I continue to come out to her dancing bars.

During the night, I absolutely set a precedent saying I would absolutely come here again after doing my usual Friday Night lessons.  And she really liked that.  This seems to really be her jam.

Which again, brings me back to her pulling me into her life, right..?

But my hopes aren’t up.  I honestly don’t want things to advance with her.  Not in the situation that I’m in right now...  Maybe if I was living alone, but if things were to ever go in that direction [which I highly doubt], then it would only make things VERY ROCKY here.

Which brings it back to me.

What the fuck. is up. with me.

...I don’t know.  It’s rant for another day, man.

This 2020 is about sealing the cracks in my current relationship, and if I absolutely can’t, then I won’t.  It’s only February, but so far we went on weekend vacation with 2 close friends where all she did was complain about how far things are and how much her legs hurt.  There was a lot of resting in our Air BnB, and not a lot went on...  And last week I took her out to a little bar where my old college bud played an acoustic set of Classic Rock.  My Woman isn’t a bar girl, but Holy Shit was the food amazing at this place.  Other College acquaintances were there too, so it turned into this impromptu group dinner reunion, which she really enjoyed actually.

My Woman’s very social.  And that’s one of the things I love about her.

But in the car on the way home she wasn’t talking to me...

Like I said, this is a rant for another day.

But it’s been 5 Years, man.  I’ve been here before and I know how this goes!  You run out of things to say...  And sometimes even the smallest of interactions can piss you off...

We’re both very moody people.  Her, more than me, although she would absolutely contest that.

And of course she’s never In the mood.  Which brings me to all of this.

My eye is out.  It’s been out for a while.

THAT is the rant that I’ll need to do, to really get introspective.  The only problem is that I think it would be aimless.

I don’t know.

Anyway, this is how my night went and where my life is going right now. I absolutely like this girl at work, who’s young and fun, but I’m probably misinterpreting her conversations and giggles as flirty.  Or maybe I wasn’t and somewhere she changed her mind.  Or maybe she doesn’t know what she wants either...  I’d opt for that.

Whatever this Slow Burn is, I know it’s not a good idea.  Especially not in the current state I’m in.

Given different parameters, it’s still not a great idea.  There’s no longevity in the bigger picture, as I know she wants to eventually move out of state and focus on the career. Yada yada yada.

And what do I have to offer?  

I couldn’t hack it as a Music Teacher, so now I got an Office Job...

Yeah... that’s fuckin great.  That’s a hard sell to anyone.  New or Old.

Which is why I need to get my shit together.  All around.

Better job, better living with the Woman.

And hopefully all of these dumb flirtships will go away.  Because honestly they’re going nowhere.  At least nowhere good.