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davidlikesguys02 · 3 years

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On A Very Special Episode...

M/n= Male name

word count= 2,847

GIF not mine also just Imagine that's you and Vision.

You're pacing around the living room rocking Tommy “Sweet, sweet Tommy, don't you wanna sleep? Daddy wants to sleep.” you sigh “if you go to sleep, I promise you will be my favorite twin.” behind you Vision is coming down the stairs “oh, come on now, darling. You know we love them both equally.” “Well, don't tell him that” Vision chuckles. “No luck with Billy”

“Tried reading to him, but for some reason, Charles Darwin’s the descent of man made him crying even harder. Oh. care to dance, darling?” “oh” you both chuckle. “It's almost like we're on a date.” “mm! Keep it down, lads, I was about to get my leg over.” you chuckle. “Vis?” “Hmm” “would you mind grabbing their binkies?” “Oh of course not. Binkies all round, I think” you and Vision set the twins down in their cribs.

Vision walks towards the kitchen “Now, I know parents aren't supposed to take shortcuts, but I think this situation calls for one, don't you?” the babies continue crying “so, go to sleep, my babies.” you move your hand but nothing happens “and go to sleep” you try again. The twins begin giggling “well, I don't think its very funny. Why won't you do what I want?”

“What's that, dear?” the babies start to cry again, you turn to see Vision has the binkies in his ears “that is not where those go” you grab the binkies and clean them “noise cancellation is not their primary function?” you put the binkies on the babies mouth and they stop crying “look, I think it's..” the twins shoot them out and start crying again.

“Vis?” “Mm” “what are we doing wrong?” “Oh don't worry dear.” Vision kisses your forehead “well figure it out. Perhaps we all need more time to get to know one another.” “maybe. Or maybe we just need some help.” the doorbell rings. “Oh” Vision walks over to the sofa and grabs a pillow to cover himself. “Hiya, kids” Agnes entered through the door.

“Oh, Agnes!” “Agnes, I was just fluffing this pillow. With my face” “oh, I was on my way to Jazzercise when i heard your new little bundles of joy were on a sleep strike.” “oh? Who told you that?” Vision asked, “uh, my ears.” Agnes chuckles, “Anyway, Auntie Agnes is here and I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve?” “oh Agnes you're a lifesaver.” “aw”

“Very well. But be careful of their belly buttons and remember to support their heads, and when was the last time you washed... Actually, you know what? It would be... Just... Maybe we better not.” the babies continue to cry, Agnes turns to you “um...uh… Do you want me to take that again?” you turn to look at Vision and turn back to look at Agnes “uh… I'm sorry?” “You want me to hold the babies. Should we just take it from the top?”

Vision chuckles awkwardly “what?” you chuckle “oh don't be silly. Vision, lets… let's let Agnes give it a try.” you chuckle nervously “fussy babies, meet buns of steel. We dare you to stay awake” Agnes and you both chuckle. “M/n” Vision motions for you to follow him “what was that about?” “what was what?” “what was what? That, that with Agnes just now.” you turn to look at Agnes and see that she's rocking the twins

“Well, I think she just got confused for a moment. She seems fine now.” you turn back to look at Vision “but what she said, the way she looked at you?” “how did she look at me?” “well, I dint… oh.” you turn back to look at Agnes she was spraying something over the twins “Lavender. It's supposed to have a calming effect. Ralph sprays it on me every night. But there's no taming this tiger..” she chuckles “it's so strange”

You start to whisper “that's not fair. It's not Agnes fault that she has an unusually high libido” “M/n did you really not see what I saw?” there's a thud behind you two “oh. Don't mind me. I'm just looking for your dark liquor.” “what?” “not for me. For the twins. What kind of babysitter do you think I am? I'm just gonna go and check in there”

You turn to Vision “Vision, the boys haven't slept in days. You and I both need a break and Agnes is just being neighborly, that's all.” the twin’s stopped crying “do you hear that?” “hear that?” “absolutely nothing” you gasp, Vision takes your hand and you two walk over to the cribs, “they finally fell asleep” “they're empty” “then where are the twins” “dad?, daddy?” you gasp “huh”

Agnes sighs “kids” she chuckles “you can't control em. No matter how hard you try” “well, hi” “hi” both you and Vision say “how are you doing, baby?” “aw”

You wander the world with a vision Of what life could be But then the years come and teach you To just wait and see Forces may try to pull us apart But nothing can phase me If you're in my heart Crossing our fingers, singing a song We're making it up as we go along Through the highs and the lows We'll be right, we'll be wrong We're making it up as we go along And there will be days We won't know which way to go But we'll take it higher You're all I desire When the going gets tough When push comes to shove We're making it up 'Cause we got love We got love We got love We got love Baby, we got... M/nVision

You walk around your house looking for Tommy and Billy. “Tommy, Billy?” you walk through the door and see Tommy and Billy standing in the kitchen “you know, I don't miss the crying, but jeez Louise, did you have to learn to walk? You two never stay put. Unless you're innocently forming a human wall in front of the kitchen sink.” someone sneezes “bless you” “Thank you” both Tommy and Billy say.

There's a soft bark “now tell me which one of you just barked? Scoot'' you gasp “oh, boy. waiter , what's this canine doing in my kitchen sink?” you turn to look at the twins “the doggy paddle?” “Can we keep him, daddy?” “Well, I'm sure his owners miss him very much. Come on.” you grab a towel and grab the dog and start to dry them “huh. There really is no collar?” “Can we keep him?”

“He was outside. Crying, alone.” “Now, boys, taking care of a living thing is a big responsibility. Dogs need food, exercise, training, belly rubs, and cuddles. And kisses between their little ears.” “morning, M/n. morning, boys.” you show Vision the dog “Good morning, unfamiliar wet animal.” you chuckle “who is this?” “we're not quite sure. Why so formal, honey?”

“Oh, it's just a precaution really. I had a hunch someone might pop over.” the back door opens and Agnes walks through “hi, kiddos” “with exactly the item we require” “my kitchen window told me someone got a new pooch.” the dog starts barking “did you name him yet?” the dog starts sniffing an outlet “how about sniffy” “oh” Agnes chuckles. Sparks start to come from the outlet causing the dog to yelp and run away. “How about sparky?”

You chuckle and hold out your hand “well, should we make it official?” you move your hand and a dog collar appears tommy takes the collar from you. “M/n” “hmm” “Agnes was right there!” “Well, she didn't notice. She didn't even notice when the boys went from babies to five-year-old's” “that's not what we agreed upon. You made no effort to conceal your abilities.”

“Well, I'm tired of hiding, Vis. and maybe you don't have to either.” you take your hand and start to crease his cheek “M/n, we are usually so much of the same mind. But right now… what aren't you telling me?” “so, is sparky our dog, daddy?” Tommy asks Vision “what?” Sparky starts to whimper.

“Boys, your father and I don't think you're ready to properly care for an animal until you're at least…” you turn to Vision “Ten” he coughs “Ten” “ten years old” you show them 10 fingers. The twins look at each other and smile “wait, now hang on there a minute…” “wait, no, no, no.” “...you young whippersnappers.” “no, no, no” you gasp as the twins age up. “Lets just hope this dog stays the same size.” Agnes chuckles “woof, woof”

You're in the living room with Tommy sitting next to you on the sofa “sit, Sparky. Now spin. Good boy” “oh bravo, Billy you weren't so bad either, Sparky” you and Tommy both clap “that's was radical. Where's dad? We gotta go show dad!” Tommy got up and walked towards the kitchen Billy followed behind him. “Oh, hes… hes at work” “huh?” “It's Saturday” the twins turn to look at you “no, it's not. It's Monday” “this morning was Saturday.”

“There was an emergency at the office and your father had to go in. end of story. look , he just… he needed a distraction.” “from what?” “from us?” “no! No way! No” you get up from the sofa and walk over to them “sometimes” you start to walk them over to the sofa so you can sit “your dad and I aren't on the same page, but that's just temporary. Like the two of you, you might fight over toys, but he's always going to be your brother. And he is always going to be yours. Because family is forever.”

“Do you have a brother dad?” “I do. Yeah he's far away from here. And it makes me sad sometimes.” Sparky begins to bark and he runs toward the door. “Hey , sparky, what's up boy?” sparky begins to growl “something scaring him” “stay here” you tell the twins and walk outside. You see a drone and you can hear a voice “M/n this is captain Monica Rambeau. Can you hear me? I just want to talk. That's it.” you look up at the drone and your eyes begin to glow red.

You use your powers to take the drone down and you grab it and start walking towards the outskirts of Westview. You can see the force field you put around the town and start to walk through it. You come out on the other side to see a camp of some sorts. “Is this yours?” you throw the drone at Haywards feet, you can still see your powers covering the drone. They have men and women armed around pointing their guns at you.

“The missile was just a precaution. You can hardly blame us. M/n” “oh, I think I can. This will be your only warning. Stay out of my home.” “I wish it could be that simple. You've taken an entire town hostage.” “Well, I'm not the one with the guns, Director.” “but you are the one in control.” “you're still here?” you start to see the red ball of energy around your hand.

“M/n, I didn't know the drones were armed. But you know that, don't you?” she begins to walk towards you “A town full of civilians. And you, a telepath, brought a S.W.O.R.D. Agent into your home. You trusted me to help deliver your babies. On some level, M/n, you know I am an ally. I wanna help you.” “how? What could you possibly have to offer me?”

“What do you want?” “I have what I want and no one” you look at Hayward “will ever take it from me again” you raise your arm and see the familiar red glow around the armed men. They all turn their guns at Hayward and you start to walk away. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa stand down!” “M/n” “Stand down”

you use your powers to change the force field you put around making it glow red you turn around one last time and walk through again.

“Sparky! Come on boy!” “sparky, sparky” you're walking around with the twins looking for sparky. “hey , what's the trouble little dudes?” “we can't find our dog” “ah, don't worry. He's sure to turn up. Your dad wont let him get far. Sir.” “I don't know where he could've gone” you tell the twins “here, boy, Sparky! Sparky!” you hear some rustling near some bushes “Sparky”

Agnes pops up holding something that appears to be wrapped “sparky”. Agnes sighs “I… I didn't wanna come until id wrapped him up.” “What happened to him?” you ask “found him in my azalea bushes. Don't know how many leaves he ate. I didn’t find him until it was too late. Oh…. Tommy. Billy, I'm so sorry.” you turn to look at the twins and see them looking at each other and nodding.

“Wait. Don't. Don’t” they look at you “don't what?” “don't age yourselves up. The urge to run from this feeling is powerful. I know.” “It's too sad” “you can fix anything, Dad. fix the dead.” “what? no” “you can do that?” you turn to look at Agnes and turn back to the twins “I am trying to tell you that there are rules in life, okay? We can't rush aging just because it's convenient.” you chuckle “And we can't reverse death. No matter how sad it makes us. Okay? Some things are forever.”

You can hear Agnes sigh behind you “you said family is forever.” “He is family. Bring him back, dad” “bring who back?” Vision looks over at Agnes “oh, boys. Come here” the twins walk over and hug Vision. Later you are picking up some toys and you turn to see Vision walk through the back door. “How are the boys?”

“A little heartbroken, but they'll be alright” “well, it's not often you get a dog and bury them the same day.” “Well, life moves pretty fast out in the suburbs.” you grab the basket of toys and take it over to the counter “I spoke with Norm” “Oh?” you look over at him confused. “I unearthed the man's suppressed personality and spoke to him free of your oversight. He was in pain, M/n”

“Vision…” you chuckle softly “listen, can we just…” “what? Watch tv? Turn in for the night so you can change everything over again? No, M/n. you can't control me the way you do to them” you look at him “Can’t I? I'm going to bed” “no! We're not done here. What is the Maximoff Anomaly?”

“The what?” “I have to believe that this, whatever this is, was subconsciousness at first and you only recently became aware of it.” “aware of what?” you walk out of the kitchen “Norm has a family, M/n” “he has a family, and he can't reach them because you won't let him reach them!” “I don't know what you're talking about” you turn to look at him. “Stop lying to me!” Vision begins to float.

The familiar red glow around your hand appears and you begin to float in front of him “This, all of this is for us. So let me handle it.” “What is outside of Westview?” “you don't wanna know, i promise you.” “you don't get to make that choice for me M/n” he points at you “you've never talked to me like this before” you start to slowly fall back to the ground.

“Before what?” Vision raises his Voice “before what? I can't remember my life before Westview. I don't know who I am! I'm scared!” you look up at him “you are my husband, you are Tommy and Billy’s father. Isn't that enough.” Vision slowly comes down “M/n, why are there no other children in Westview.” you walk over to the sofa and sit down “oh, god. There are just stop it.”

“No. no. the playground stands empty every morning I walk to work. Why? Tell me why?” “ Do you really think that I am controlling everything? That I am somehow in charge of everybody in Westview? I'm walking their dogs, mowing their lawns, getting them to dentist appointments on time? I mean, I…” you chuckle dryly ”I don't know how any of this started in the first place.”

“M/n, what you're doing here, it's wrong” he walks around and kneels in front of you “I…” “It's wrong” the doorbell rings, getting the attention of you and Vision “I didn't do that. I… you don't believe me.” “M/n, i want to, but at this point, I'm ignoring statistics entirely.” the doorbell rings a second time you get up and walk over to the door. You open the door, and are shocked “M/n who is this?”

“Long lost bro gets to squeeze his stinking brother to death or what?” “Pietro?” he nods, he opens his arms and you and hug him “who's the popsicle?” he points and Vision.

#marvel x male reader #Marvel x male!reader #WandaVision x male reader #WandaVision x male!reader #Vision x male reader #Vision x male!reader #Male reader #Male!reader

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jincherie · 5 years

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kiss it better | jjk

~ COMMISSION FOR @cinnaminsvga ~

✩ — pairing: jungkook x reader ✩ — genre: college/uni au, smut, cheerleader!jk, pining, borderline crack ✩ — words: 11.7k ✩ — rating: 18+ ✩ — warnings: koo takes a tumble, explicit sexual content; clothed sex, unprotected sex (not recommended), creampie, handjobs,light subby!jk, hand-holding during sex (potent), whining, thigh-riding, vaginal sex, minor hair pulling, public sex (sort of), multiple orgasms, overstimulation, light dirty talk ✩ — notes: out later than intended and a bit longer than intended !! whoops!!! i won’t/don’t charge if i go over the commissioned amount becayse that’s my bad!! but yeah. its been a hot second since i last wrote smut!! also none of my friends were awake to proofread this so….. apologies if it’s shit and has typos! its 2am! pls enjoy and lmk whast u think!!

When one goes to Kim Seokjin for advice, it’s almost guaranteed to never end well. This is something Jungkook learns quickly when he mistakenly follows treasured advice to ‘be smart’ and ‘use his assets’. He just did what he was told! Of course, the execution was a bit poor… and embarrassing. But hey, if rocking up to cheer practice in a skirt doesn’t woo your crush, what will?

masterlist | — posted; 01.03.2020

TUESDAY, SEMESTER 2 WEEK FOUR

It’s a beautiful day, the sun has just come to peak out from behind the clouds that had earlier obscured its climb from the horizon, and the grass of the Biological Sciences Library courtyard glistens with raindrops left over from the brief shower that prefaced the sun’s belated appearance. Students are finally beginning to emerge from the safety of the undercover walkways and overhangs, venturing boldly to shortcut over the grass. University life resumes, and everything falls back into its place, all as usual.

“Yah, is that Jungkook? Wait what is he—”

Well, everything except for one thing.

A red and black-clad figure slams to a stop right where two students are sitting and minding their own business outside the café attached to the back of the library—there’s no time to say hello. The table rocks dangerously on its beaten, metal leg, the impact of Jungkook’s beeline almost sending it straight to the ground if the two others weren’t already seated there to catch it.

“OW!” Jimin is never one to be quiet in his complaints, all too happy to holler his outrage at the top of his lungs. As his oldest hyung would say, no attention is bad attention. “Hey you almost jammed my fingers!”

Startled as Taehyung might have been, his focus is quickly shifted to other things. His wide eyes scan Jungkook’s panting form, taking in the clothes clinging to him like a second skin and the beet red colour of his face and ears. It’s not hard to put two and two together, but what comes out of his mouth isn’t exactly the most pressing thing he wants to ask, “Jungkook, why are you wearing the female cheer leading uniform I gave you?”

There’s a somewhat crazed look that makes itself known in the youngest’s eyes. “AHA!” he throws a finger in Taehyungs face, accusing. “So you ADMIT it’s a female uniform! Taehyung, you ass, how could you!”

Taehyung’s face is a question mark and Jimin squints, confused and still huffy about nearly losing his fingers and his triple-shot iced caramel latte that he may or may not have charmed the barista into gifting him for free. He wants to know what is going on and he wants to know NOW, damn it!

“What are you on about?” he asks, wrinkling his nose as he takes his drink into hand to prevent any future risk of spillage. “Why do you look like that time you ran the half-marathon on a dare?”

Jungkook glares at him, but it’s about as effective as it would be coming from a puppy. “Be quiet and sip your drink,” he says boldly, still attempting to get his breathing under control. Jimin considers throwing a retort back but ultimately decides against, it, shrugging and doing just that. He doesn’t want it getting warm, after all.

“Uh, yeah,” Taehyung says, sounding like he is a split second away from tacking on ‘duh’ at the end. “You asked me for a cheerleading uniform? I thought you knew some chick that needed a spare, I didn’t know you wanted one to wear.”

At Jungkook’s dumbfounded expression, Taehyung takes the liberty of continuing. “I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with it? You look surprisingly hot in a skirt, your ass looks fine as hell. But you seem kind of angry so IN MY DEFENSE, how was I supposed to know? That you wanted a male uniform? You never specified so—”

While each word that came out of Taehyung’s mouth just seemed to rile him up more, a different look passes over Jungkook’s features at that comment. “Wait, my ass looks good?” He straightens, attempting to peer over his own shoulder to catch a glimpse. “I wonder if she… No!”

He shakes his head suddenly to clear those thoughts and get back on track, whipping that same accusing finger in Taehyung’s face once more and levelling him with a renewed glare.

“Because of you, I just had the most humiliating experience of my life, and it was all in front of you-know-who!” His voice starts strong, but as he continues it shrinks to more of an angry whisper, his brows scrunched in a clear display of his displeasure. “I literally am about to commit seppuku.”

“Weeb,” Jimin utters at the same time as Taehyung asks, “y/n?” Jimin’s head whips up at the keyword.

Jungkook’s fight has all but left him at this point, and he pulls out one of the metal chairs to slump in it, defeatedly. His ears are turning crimson again as he recalls the events that had traumatised him so, and he slams his head to the table with a groan, muttering to himself in a voice that sounds dangerously like a sob.

“—stupid, was so stupid of me. I never should have asked Seokjin-hyung for advice. For actually listening I deserve nothing short of death. I’m so embarrassed I’m gonna throw myself into the lake.”

“Don’t throw yourself in there, think of the fishes—” Taehyung says at the same time as Jimin squawks, “WHAT?! You got advice from Seokjin?! He knows who your crush is? Oh my god, you’re more stupid than I thought…”

It’s all Jungkook can do to simply rest his head on the grubby-feeling table, eyes unfocused as he stares into the distance and regrets almost every single decision he has made in his waking life.

FOUR DAYS EARLIER

“My roommate,” Seokjin says, in between gratuitous sips of his monstrously sugary drink. “I think I’m almost about to get him to crack.”

“I feel bad for him,” you say, not looking up from your laptop despite the urge to gorge on your own drink. You made a goal not to look like a goblin when you woke up this morning and sipping your drink at a reasonable pace is a good start. “Being stuck in close quarters with you all the time. No doubt he needs therapy by now.”

As expected, Seokjin ignores you. You wonder if this is how he has managed not to get usurped as leader of the Contemporary Poetry Performance Club.

(To condense a very long story— he didn’t take being kicked out of the Drama Club very well. That’s on him though, he probably shouldn’t have called the Club Leader a tasteless fool for ordering a salad with his Happy Meal instead of nuggets. But, you digress.)

“I think I’m getting close these days,” the male muses, not-so-subtly making a reach for the McDonalds apple pie you have resting on the table next to your laptop. You smack his hand away without so much as a blink, more than used to having to defend any and all food from his wandering hands by this point. He continues, unaffected by the rebuttal, “Like, really close. It’s not long before my unrelenting bastardous antics wear him down and he finally breaks, spilling all his deepest secrets and confessing his long-time crush on me, thus allowing me to bring this act of friends-to-lovers pining to a close and get to the steamy stuff. “

At his spiel, you finally look at him, sporting a concerned and confused expression, if not somewhat intrigued. “… Are you talking about Jungkook?”

Seokjin chokes on the long sip he’d begun to drag up the straw, indignance making his voice rise. “NO, dumbass, I’m talking about Namjoon! Although…” He pauses only to bring a finger to stroke his chin, like a villain straight from an episode of Lazy Town, “You know, I never thought I’d be one for that harem shit, but now I think about it…”

“Gross,” you groan, wrinkling your nose. Seokjin releases a villainous cackle and you have no choice but to raise your fist in promise. He gets the message and quietens down immediately.

“No, but speaking of that little twerp,” Seokjin quickly starts up again, placing his drink down on the table. You feel an ounce of regret, knowing that means he’s about to talk for a longer time than you’re ready for. “I’m close to breaking him too.”

“He told you who his crush is?” you ask, brows raising in shock. Seokjin lets out a great sigh like the weight of the world is on his shoulders, making you snort.

“No,” he grumbles, before brightening straight after. “But! I’m getting close. He came to me for advice this morning.”

At his words, you’ve now completely abandoned whatever you were doing on your laptop and are looking at him in disbelief. “You’re lying.”

“Am not!” Seokjin denies, huffy. “He did! He wanted help making his crush fall in love with him, and so of course he came to me, Kim Seokjin, master of the heart and modern-day cupid.”

You pin him with a deadpan look. “Namjoon was out, wasn’t he.”

Seokjin’s glare is all the answer you need. He continues like you hadn’t even spoken in the first place.

“And since he so wisely came to me, of all people, and put his love life in my wise, gentle hands, I gave him the best advice anyone could possibly get.” The way his chest has swelled with pride and he’s looking all-too-pleased with himself doesn’t fill you with a good feeling. “I told him to play it smart, and use his assets.”

At first, you’re confused. “What, like… his cuteness? His endearing personality?”

“NO, dumbass, his assets! His ass! His thighs! His itty-bitty waist!” You think you hear him muttering something like ‘that lucky bitch’ under his breath, but can’t be sure. “Also, don’t think I missed you calling him cute, y/n. I’m filing that shit away for later.”

“I’ll kill you,” you inform him, but the threat has long since lost its impact. He rolls his eyes.

“Shut up, we both already know exactly how 'peggable’ you think he is.” He takes a haughty sip of his drink like he knows he’s right, and you hate that he is. “It’s not the most incriminating thing I have on you.”

You make the strategic decision not to say anything and dig your hole deeper, and Seokjin seems pleased at your silent admit of defeat.

“Anyway,” he says again, smacking the cream on top of his drink down into the liquid with a spoon. There is some fallout, but that’s never stopped him before. “Kid’s dumb as shit but pure of heart. I’m interested to see whether he will actually take my advice.”

“He won’t for sure,” you scoff, returning to your laptop at last. “Anyone who takes your advice is guaranteed to have an empty head and quarter of a brain cell to their name. Jungkook is smarter than that.”

As expected, Seokjin squawks in outrage, and it harmonises with the ambience of dead silence in your corner of the library. He doesn’t let the topic rest for the remainder of the day.

WEDNESDAY, WEEK FIVE

You think that the day Jungkook first rocked up to cheer practice at the gym a week ago at the same time you were coaching the women’s basketball team, is one firmly burned into your memory for the rest of your life. And, honest to god, you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Because the boy, in all his slim-waisted, sculpted-ass-and-thighs glory, had rocked up in a cheerleading crop top and skirt.

You have absolutely no idea why he decided to wear that to his first session after joining, but you do know that while the sight of him usually makes you drool, the sight of him in that made your brain cease all higher functioning and you, in essence, became a dog. You almost barked when you saw him, for real.

Even from across the room though, you’d quickly been able to gather that he hadn’t worn it on purpose (somehow), as his face flushed bright crimson and he quickly began to look like he wanted to neck himself in the middle of the gym. Yoongi, another bastard friend of yours who through a series of unfortunate events and regrettable decisions (for him) had become the cheer captain, had been insulted that Jungkook had shown up like that and “hadn’t taken cheer seriously”, and so had given him a punishment. Yoongi said that if he wanted to rock up in a skirt so badly, then for every coming practice he had to wear a skirt again.

Had you not been busy drooling you probably would have felt bad for Jungkook, as you did later when Yoongi filled you in. As it were, in the moment you’d nearly copped a basketball to the face for being so distracted. Regrettably, you’d had to turn away from Jungkook and back to your actual duties: coaching.

Although with Yoongi being out for your blood, you have had plenty of opportunities in the past week to ogle to your heart’s desire. A real shameful amount, if you’re being honest with yourself.

“Bora!” you call, watching the girl in question halt across the gym. “Fix your footwork or I’m gonna smack you!”

The girl rolls her eyes and turns away, flicking a ponytail of dark hair over her shoulder as she does so, but listens to what you say. The familiar squeak of rubber on gym flooring fills the air as she starts the drill anew. She has a tendency to get lazy and sloppy in her movements if you don’t ride her ass, and she knows it as much as you do.

“How did you even managed to get the coaching position?” Seulgi asks from next to you, her response almost cut off by a loud racket from the cheer side of the gym. It takes all of your willpower not to fall into the trap and look over. “I feel like people like you shouldn’t be in positions of power.”

You don’t even bother arguing with her since she’s technically right and you agree. “Sheer dumb luck,” you tell her, risking a glance to the side if only to give Yoongi the stink eye. “Actually, if you really wanna know, I only went for it because Yoongi wanted it and he did something that really soured my yoghurt and pissed me off. So I applied out of spite. I probably shouldn’t have gotten the job though.”

“Huh,” Seulgi voices, eyes unfocused. “Well you’re not too bad for a fake. The team has actually been improving since you took over.”

“That’s probably because you guys went through coaches so fast for a while that for like, six months you didn’t really have one.”

“Touché.”

The only reason the girl is on the sidelines in the first place is because she’d looked over at the wrong time and caught it just as Jungkook started one of the tumbling routines, getting it almost perfect on the first go and in the process flashing his pert ass to the air and any sorry beholders. He might have been wearing bike shorts under the punishment skirt he was modelling, and he might have traded the crop top for a singlet of reasonable length, but it was still a dangerous, nay lethal sight. You’d looked over at the same time so you knew why and how Seulgi managed to tumble and trip so terribly mid-drill. She rolled her ankle so bad that as she sits next to you right now with ice on it, it looks like there’s an entire boiled egg beneath the surface of her skin. It’s kind of gross but also kind of hard to look away from.

Back to the topic at hand, there is just something about the sheer athleticism and heaven-blessed ease with which Jungkook backflips and cartwheels across the mat that turns you into a brainless slab of goo. You’re unsurprised that Seulgi got distracted and ended up hurting herself as a result of it.

The afternoon flies by and before you know it, it’s dark outside, and you’ve finished riding the collective women’s basketball team’s ass for the day. As they disperse and leave the gym at a leisurely pace, you collect Seulgi and help her towards the gym locker room to get some fresh ice for her ankle before she journeys to visit the university nurse.

The cheer squad has just about finished up their own practice, and one by one they begin to filter out of the gym. Yoongi waddles over to where you stand by the door, eyeing Seulgi with a knowing look.

“Got distracted at the wrong time, huh?” He asks, very much already knowing the answer. You give him a dirty look while Seulgi goes bright pink.

Yoongi adjusts the collar of his university sports jacket, puffing his chest out. “That’s our golden boy for ya,” he brags, sounding very much like one of the aunties and old women you find gossiping on the street near the markets. “He was born for cheer. It’s like he’s been tumbling since the day he was born. Probably even came out doing a backflip.”

You want to tell him to stop pulling shit out of his ass, but you can’t bring yourself to say anything when you agree so wholeheartedly. You’re saved from having to summon a response when in the next second, Yoongi gets the urge to turn and catches Jungkook red-handed on his way out of the gym. He seems in a hurry, moving almost like he’s trying to sneak out unnoticed, but halts at the unmistakable sound of Yoongi’s holler when it breaches the air.

“Ah there he is— Jungkook-ah!” Even while calling out, Yoongi somehow still has an indolent, lazy drawl. “Good job today! Also, proud of you for committing to your punishment. Keep it up!”

The poor raven-haired boy had already looked somewhat mortified at being singled out amongst the students exiting the gym, but now as Yoongi finishes speaking and his big doe eyes flick to the side and take in you and Seulgi listening in, his face very suddenly and violently erupts into a blush.

“Th-thanks,” he squeaks, nodding, the tips of his ears darkening to match his face. His eyes are flicking from you to Yoongi in such a way he almost reminds you of a scared rodent. When it becomes clear he has nothing more to say, he turns on his heel and flees in the direction of the locker room. For his sake, you don’t ogle him as he goes. There’s a time and a place, and he seems so embarrassed that you’d feel bad for checking him out right now.

“… He’s so cute,” Yoongi remarks a few seconds after Jungkook disappears out the door, gaze still trained in the direction he’d left. “No wonder I always look over and see you drooling, y/n.”

You agree with the first part, but honestly… you could have done without that second comment. You give him the stink eye to let him know just that, before tapping Seulgi and readjusting your grip in preparation to walk once more.

“If you’re immune, Min, you’re not human,” Seulgi says, cheeky glint in her eye. Your heart warms—you can always count on her to defend you in the face of life’s meanies.

SATURDAY, WEEK 5

It’s not often you find yourself making the long, arduous trek down the street to the apartment building where Seokjin et al. live, but it does happen on the occasion. If possible, you like to make the journey in the morning or the afternoon, because there is little to no cover on the path that takes you there and the only thing you like less than being in the sun when you don’t have to is sweating.

Still, you make the trek today, even though it’s technically past the point in the morning where you would refuse. The heat starts to come anywhere from 8 to 9 o’clock, even earlier on the stinkier days. Call you lazy, but you stick by your own rules because they work and reduce your suffering considerably.

Namjoon is one of your project partners in a random elective the two of you chose, and he was meant to give you a part of the assignment he’d been working on yesterday but, of course, forgot it. And then again today, when he was meant to drop it off on his way to work, he forgot it once more. So here you are, walking to his stupid apartment and preparing to break in because it’s due next week and you need his part to finish yours, damn it.

Thankfully, air conditioning greets you the second you step inside the building and cools down whatever heat has managed to cling to your form from outside. Luck is on your side—no sweat today, babey! In a slightly better mood now that you’re out of the sun, you follow the path your legs have committed to memory to Namjoon’s apartment.

Normally you’d rely on someone being home to let you in so you can ransack Namjoon’s room, but in his apologetic text he’d informed you that everyone is out and so with a great, big sigh you’d resigned yourself and dug the lockpicking set you received one Christmas out from under your bed. It’s heavy in your back pocket now as you walk down the hallway of the floor their apartment is on, already feeling like you’ve committed a crime. Before you can even throw yourself into thoughts of which tool would work best on their front door, you catch sight of something you most definitely weren’t expecting.

There’s someone else in front of the apartment door, jiggling the doorknob and attempting to work it. You don’t know if they realise its locked and are trying their luck anyway, or whether they’ve yet to figure it out, but while their back is turned to you they have provided you with an excellent view.

Broad shoulders with tan skin peaking out from below a muscle singlet and glistening with sweat where their body catches the light. Dark curls are plastered to the back of their neck, arms out and a tattoo sleeve on one leading your gaze down its length. He’s very athletic, you gather of the stranger immediately, and you’re almost drooling at the way his bicep shifts and tenses as he tries the doorknob once more. Your gaze finally frees itself and scans over the rest of him; defined back, tiny waist, nice butt, thick thighs—

Wait. You know that waist. The sight of it bared by a skimpy cheerleading outfit is one you’ve committed to memory.

“Jungkook?” you say, feeling your stomach dip in excitement. Does it always do that when you see him? You can’t remember.

At the sound of your voice and how close it is, the male jumps in fright and lets out a noise eerily close to a squeak. He spins, slamming his back against the door and smacking a hand over his heart.

“Oh my god,” he breathes, eyes closing and head falling back against the door with a thud. The sight is borderline sinful when combined with his damp hair and sweaty form, and your thoughts threaten to take a dangerous route before you reign them in. You smack your libido back in place— down, girl! “y/n, you scared the living shit out of me.”

A moment passes before his eyes snap open and the breath leaves him in a whoosh, and he’s looking at you like a cornered rabbit, cheeks already warming in his fluster. “W-wait, y/n? What… What are you doing here?”

Cute. If you could, you think you’d pack him up and put him in your pocket.

You ignore his question only for the sake of asking him your own—much less incriminating as a choice. “Are you trying to break into your own apartment, Mister Jungkook?”

Instantly, as you’d almost come to expect at this point, his cheeks flush cutely.

“Wh- I, uh…” he swallows and clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “No! Kind of? I went for a jog earlier and Namjoon-hyung kind of… uh… he locked me out.”

As he speaks, you’re reminded of how much you actually like his voice. It’s smooth, melodious; even when its shaking slightly from nerves. Why is he nervous? The longer you stand in his presence the more curious you become. You kind of want to tease him a little.

You hum, a smile curling the corners of your lips and one of your brows raising. “Ah, so he’s scorned both of us, I see. But fear not, little gumdrop!”

He’s staring at you in something akin to flustered bewilderment as you reach behind you and pull out your lockpicking kit, brandishing it like a trophy. “I have the solution!”

“…” He’s stunned into silence, it seems, but you don’t mind. The look on his face right now is super cute—you kind of want to pinch his cheeks. Okay, damn it, you can’t help it—you pinch his cheek and make a short cooing noise as you step past, preparing to help him break into his apartment. At least this way it feels less like a crime and more like a service.

(You sneak a sly look back at Jungkook as you pass him, and your heart squeezes at the sight of his cheeks flushing pink from your teasing action, eyes wide as they follow your form. This boy is gonna kill you one day.)

Usually you have a bit of trouble picking locks (you don’t do it often) but you crack this one surprisingly fast, and before you know it the door is swinging open and you’re letting out a noise of glee.

“Excellent!” you announce, before darting right in to search for what you came for. Namjoon left it conveniently on the dining table, so you dash over and grab the folder and USB before turning around to be on your merry way.

When you return to the door, Jungkook is still standing there, tattooed hand pressed to the cheek you’d pinched – which are bright red, by the way— and his eyes somewhat dazed.

“See you at practice later, Jungkook!” you say, waving the folder to accentuate the farewell. “Don’t forget the punishment skirt! You look too good in it, it would be a crime to forget it.”

Once you’re done speaking, you turn back the way you’re walking, missing the facial expression that accompanies his flustered sputtering of a goodbye. Your stomach still flips in excitement as you retreat, a skip in your step, and you can’t help but think it wouldn’t be a bad thing if you ended up seeing more of Jungkook outside of practice.

WEDNESDAY, WEEK 6

You’re sitting in the campus sushi place, escaping the midday heat and grabbing something to eat, minding your own business. It is, though, a nice day and you don’t mind sitting back and just admiring it. This changes when a figure suddenly comes bolting towards you from a distance and nearly bowls you and the contents of your sushi container over.

“SEOKJIN!” you exclaim, barely having saved your food from a sudden and unfortunate meet & greet with the floor. You give him a glare strong enough to kill. “What the hell! My karaage chicken!!! Dude you KNOW they only make a certain amount of these per day, you almost made me drop it and I hadn’t even taken a bit yet! Honestly! You—”

“Shut! Shut up!” Seokjin grips you by the shoulders, giving you a shake; it makes your eyes lock-on to his flushed face, his breath coming in pants from his exertion. “Shut up I have something to say and it’s important!”

“Stop shaking me!” you cry, wriggling out of his grip and leaning as far back into your chair as you can to get away from this nutcase. “And what?! You finally slipped up and Namjoon found all the secret letters you write for him when you’re horny?!”

“No, better!” Seokjin makes like he’s going to grab your shoulders again and you smack his hands away. He continues, eyes alight with something akin to glee that makes him look just a little bit crazy. “I finally did it! I found out who that twerp’s crush is! You won’t beli—”

“What?!” you sputter, your gut churning for some reason. Is the sushi you ate off? “He told you? No way he would be stupid enough to tell you—”

“Hey!” the male cries, indignant. “I resent that! Also no, he didn’t technically tell me, but I have people on the inside…”

It takes a moment for you to scan through people in your head before it clicks. You gasp. “You bullied it out of his friends?! Seokjin! Taehyung and Jimin don’t deserve that!”

“I didn’t bully them! They told me of their own accord!” He points a finger at you in retribution. “Albeit, it was by accident, but I digress.”

You’re shaking your head, returning to your sushi and ignoring the odd sensations in your gut. “This is blood information, man. I don’t know if I can sit and be accomplice to—”

“It’s you!” Seokjin blurts, sticking his pink-haired head right in your face. “The twerp has a crush on you! Finally, at least one of my shipping dreams is coming true!”

You’re so shocked by the information literally thrown in your face that you honest to god almost drop your sushi, again. You stare at the male, mouth open, as you flounder to get some order back in your thoughts.

The first thing you think to say is—“What? No way. Your info is dodgy, man.”

“Look, I know you’re sensitive so I try not to say this often, but are you dumb, y/n?” Seokjin stands back now, hand on his hip. The look he’s giving you isn’t impressed. “It makes so much sense! Why else would he sign up to cheerleading in a skirt to use his assets if it wasn’t on at the same time as whatever his crush does? Honestly, I should have seen it sooner—the way he goes bright pink every time he sees you and his eyes sparkle like an anime girl every time we mention you. I just thought he was scared of girls or had pinkeye or somethin’.”

You kind of want to smack him, but the rest of you is busy attempting to process all the information unloaded on you. Your stomach gives a giddy flip, and you decide it can only mean one thing in the wake of finding out that Jungkook’s mysterious crush is you.

Maybe, just maybe, you like him too.

…

You’re gonna pursue him.

THURSDAY, WEEK 7

It seems that Jungkook has heard that his crush on you has been leaked, because you’ve been trying to track him down and confirm it ever since last week and he’s been avoiding you like the plague. You think you see him kicking up dust as he retreats as fast as his legs will take him around hallway corners when he sees you at the other end, you catch glimpses of him across courtyards as he spins and flees in the opposite directions. A part of you wonders whether its because he does indeed have a crush on you and is embarrassed that you know, of whether it’s because he doesn’t have a crush on you and is embarrassed that you might think he does.

Well, you can’t know until you talk to him and it seems like you won’t be able to talk to him unless you ambush him in the men’s toilets or something. Which, by the way, isn’t something you’re going to do because even though your friends might be crazy, you’re most definitely not.

It was even to the point that Jungkook missed the first two practices after you found out, and you have no doubt that he would have avoided you by missing even more had Yoongi not threatened him with adding a crop top to his punishment attire should he miss another practice. He’d showed up for the next one but every time he came within five metres of you he blushed and kept his eyes to the ground, fleeing as soon as he can.

It’s a little bit frustrating, and he’s still cute when he acts all shy, but you really wish you could track him down just so you know whether its true or not.

Perhaps, with time, he’ll grow a little less skittish and let you get close enough to start a conversation. You just have to hold out hope that a moment will come that will allow you to start bridging things back together with the two of you.

FRIDAY, WEEK 7

That moment comes sooner than you expect when, just the next day, you round a corner alongside Seulgi, having just come from the women’s locker rooms, and walk straight into someone. It’s like walking into a brick wall and kind of hurts. You stumble and let out a sound in pained surprise, but manage to stay on your feet for the most part— the joy at that moment of success passes quickly when you become aware of the cool feeling seeping down your thigh and stomach.

Before even looking to see who you walked into, your gaze is directed down to see what was spilt on you— it’s light pink, and the sugary sweet scent that brushes your nose and sticky sensation that begins to make itself known on your skin are something you recognise instantly.

Strawberry milk.

You look up in something akin to horror, but the expression all but falls from your face when you see who the culprit is.

Jungkook stands there looking very much like a deer caught in headlights, drink carton crumpled and empty in his hand now that its contents are all over your front. As you gaze at him you watch the tip of his ears turn bright red, eyes wide and so unguarded you swear you can see the thoughts whipping through his mind beyond them. You also see the instant regret and mortification that washes over his boyish features as he realises what has just happened and who he has spilt his drink on.

“y-y/n—” he stutters, voice caught in his throat. Whatever he was planning on saying is quickly overpowered by an obnoxious voice from his side.

You hadn’t even noticed Yoongi was walking alongside Jungkook until you hear him speak, “Wow, you know what you were coming around that corner so hard and fast that this is on you, y/n.”

When Yoongi first started talking, Jungkook had seemed relieved, but now a sense of panic has taken over his features.

“N-no! I am so sorry! This was my fault, I shouldn’t have had it open when I couldn’t even drink it yet. I just really like strawberry milk, and…” He’s so endearingly remorseful as he speaks, big puppy eyes looking apologetically into your own like he’s searching for any hint of forgiveness there to spare.

For a moment you’re absolutely blindsided by the way he just made your heart squeeze in your chest with how damn cute he is, but you recover just in time to catch it as the shocked expression on Yoongi’s face melds into something devious and fitting for his bastardly title.

“Right, he’s right, totally our bad,” Yoongi says, doing a complete 180 and bewildering both you and Seulgi beside you. “Wow, look at your pants, totally soaked through man. Here, come with me— it’s only fair we help grab you something to change into.”

“What—” you don’t get to finish before the cat-faced bastard grabs you by the arm and begins dragging you down the hall in the direction you came from. Seulgi and Jungkook remain in place, stunned by the turn in events.

“Jungkook, head to practice and get them started! I want some pyramid practice, and then some tumbling from you and the others. Chop chop!” — is all Yoongi throws over his shoulder in dismissal, dragging you where you now realise is one of the other locker rooms. You gape at him as he walks straight up to the one that has been locked for months and opens it with a key.

Catching your expression, he shrugs. “Sometimes you just need a place of your own to hoard things.”

You don’t understand what he’s talking about until you step in and see a table in the corner near the doorway piled high with first aid supplies, twiggy sticks and energy drinks. Your bewildered subsequent scan of the room for more treasured objects is cut short when a lump of clothing smacks you in the face.

You just barely manage to fumble it into your grasp, unable to swallow your groan when you see what it is from the pattern alone.

“It’s the only thing spare,” Yoongi says, radiating true goblin energy. You don’t trust him as far as you can throw him right now but you don’t know where to look to disprove him. “Try not to get my cheerleaders too worked up.”

You have an inkling as to why he’s done this from his words, but can’t confirm it right now. You huff, moving off to one of the stalls.

“If people get flashed, that’s on you.”

Ten minutes later sees you back in the open gymnasium with cool air brushing your legs that usually only get to see the light of day through rips in your jeans. You set your team to their tasks and drills already, so now you’re left alone with your thoughts. You know for sure now why Yoongi made you change into the cheerleading skirt.

Because ever since you walked out in it and nearly made him fall flat on his face in shock, Jungkook hasn’t been able to keep the blush off his cheeks or his eyes away from you for more than a few minutes at a time. You feel slightly empowered, contrary to how you thought the dangerously short piece of clothing was going to make you feel.

You have a nice body, you’re comfortable admitting it, and the way that your unplanned flaunting of it seems to be affecting Jungkook… well it’s a nice stroke of the ego, you won’t lie, but it also makes your stomach flip giddily. God, you want him. You’ve always thought he was cute but ever since he joined cheer and rocked up in that skirt like a sweet, hot fool, it was over for you. He’s so… ugh.

Trucking through the practice of your team is, for once, a struggle. It’s so hard not to look over every few seconds to catch Jungkook when you can feel his gaze on you, and you know that once you give in you won’t be able to help being distracted afterwards. It’s a miracle you get through to the end of it while remaining sane.

As your practice wraps up for the day, you allow yourself a glimpse to the side at last. What you see is a sweaty, panting Jungkook, the muscles of his arms straining as he holds up a brunette you vaguely recall as Tzuyu above his head. Wow, you’re actually a little startled at how much arousal just washed through you— is this normal? Maybe you’re more whipped than you thought. You don’t know.

What you do know, however, is that you want that boy, and right now especially you want to mess with him. Call it a con of being around such bastardous friends all the time, but you’re really feeling the urge. You barely manage to hold yourself back, marvelling at the animal he seems to reduce you to with just a flex of his bicep.

The practice for your basketball team finishes before cheerleading; Yoongi is a ruthless coach and relentless when it comes to formations and perfecting routines. More often than not their practices end long after yours. As your girls begin to filter out of the gymnasium, the cheer squad are still going. You make to follow after, but your name is called from the other side of the gym by a voice you recognise but know instantly shouldn’t be here.

“y/n! Come here! Don’t ignore me!” Seokjin is the fiend in question, hollering at such an unmistakable frequency that you couldn’t ignore it if you tried. It’s like he’s followed in the footsteps of cats and has pinpointed the exact frequency that a baby’s cry is at, and is now using it to his advantage. You turn, wary, and see him waving like a dumbass. “Come here! Don’t make me pspspsps!”

Now annoyed, you stomp over if only so you can get within beating range. As soon as you reach a few feet away he ducks behind Yoongi though, so you don’t get to follow through on your caveman instincts to beat him over the head with a rock.

“What?” you ask, giving him a stinky look. “Are you like, stalking me or something? Why are you so obsessed with me?”

You can tell he wants to laugh, but his instinct to rile you up overpowers the humour of what you said. “You think you’re worth stalking? I don’t need to stalk you to know that your day consists almost entirely of eating, shitting, and staring at a certain ass.”

Well, he has you there. You shrug, “I’m a simple girl.”

Seokjin is momentarily bewildered that you didn’t rise to his bait and Yoongi chokes on his laughter beside you, the sound coming out squeaky. You’re glad someone is laughing, it makes your dick hard when people find you funny. Again, you’re a simple girl.

“Nice outfit, by the way,” Seokjin says. Apparently it doesn’t take him long to recover, and he’s already shifted topics.

Yoongi, who had broken away to guide his team for a moment, chimes back in at the taller male’s comment. “It’s all apart of the keikaku, man. Everything is going perfectly. My golden boy is almost too fun to torment. I’ve tasted power and now I don’t know how to stop.”

“Who?” Seokjin asks, more out of habit than anything, before looking over to Yoongi’s minions and letting out a sound of realisation. “Ahh… Mister Jungkook.”

You swear you see the male in question, who is waiting his turn to begin the tumbling routine Yoongi has changed them onto, stiffen. You’re not sure whether it is a trick of the light or not, though, because in the next second he’s shuffling forward to second in line, juggling his weight from foot to foot with restless energy. His eyes are trained on his teammates flipping across the matts.

“So you know too? y/n, you big-mouthed whore!” Seokjin exclaims, pinning you with an exaggerated look of scandal. Jungkook trips slightly in his step as he moves to the front of the line, barely a few metres away.

You don’t bother defending yourself, since Yoongi speaks before you can anyway. “That y/n likes Jungkook and has wanted to peg his cute ass since forever? Yeah, I know.”

The timing of Yoongi’s response is truly unfortunate. As he started speaking, Jungkook began his run up— and it seems that whatever snippet he heard as he started were enough to throw him off completely. He goes into the front flip kind of wonky, and you have a feeling of dread creep up as you watch him.

He doesn’t do the mid-air turns he is meant to, and instead goes to land after just one flip— the timing is off, though, and your breath hisses through your teeth and you physically cringe as you watch his ankle roll upon landing.

“Ah SHIT!” he yelps, quickly dropping to the mat and removing pressure from his foot. You feel frozen as you watch, a large number of his teammates running over and asking him if he’s okay.

“Oh feck,” Yoongi says, checking his watch as he mutters to himself. “Shit. Okay we need to practice and only have the gym for another forty-five minutes, but he needs that looked at asap. Who…”

Barely a split-second passes before he’s looking right at you imploringly, with an inappropriately devious glint in the back of his eyes.

“y/n, you’re free and you have first aid training right? Can you take him to get that wrapped and iced up?” He’s not even done asking you before he’s pushing you in the direction of the male currently curled on the floor. “That room should still be open— I forgot to lock it earlier.”

“Wait, I actually have—” you’re about to let him know about the mountain of schoolwork you have to catch up on, but of course he’s not having any of it. He’s already barking at his squad.

“Okay, everyone, back off and back to tumbling! y/n here will take care of our golden boy, we have the gym for the next forty-five minutes and we’re gonna make the most of it, damn it!”

Yoongi abandons you at Jungkook’s side, and at his command the rest of the cheerleader begrudgingly disperse— you think you catch a few of the female ones giving you the stink eye at their lost opportunity, and you know it shouldn’t stroke your ego but still it does.

“I guess this is how the Kookie crumbled, huh,” you say, embarrassed that he could have heard all of what Yoongi said and attempting to cope using the classic— humour.

Jungkook, who had turned his wide eyes and red face to you the second you started talking, now seems to be blushing harder. Evidently, for a number of reasons, he is mortified. It’s like he’s trying to hide behind the long curls that have fallen into his face. Needless to say, it’s not successful, and now both of you are embarrassed. One of you needs to take the lead.

But right now neither of you are wearing the pants.

“Alright, let’s get that looked at,” you say, wincing as you look at his ankle already beginning to swell. “Arms up.”

He obeys instantly and without question, and you’re torn between the primal powers within you wanting to both cuddle him and to drop your panties then and there.

Getting Jungkook to a standing position while he can only use one leg is harder than you could have imagined, but you know that there’s no way you would have been able to lift him had he not helped you carry his weight. Once he’s upright and his arm is around your shoulder (still panting slightly and glistening with sweat, as you’re trying not to think about) you begin the arduous journey to the locker room Yoongi showed you earlier.

Jungkook doesn’t really say anything during the trip there, and neither do you— except he has an excuse, considering he’s probably in a fair bit of pain right now. You don’t have an excuse, except that you’re trying desperately not to think about how you can feel each hard line of his body against you right now. It’s a whole-brain engaging kind of activity.

Thankfully, the room is unlocked as Yoongi said, and you grab a towel to lay across one of the cleaner looking benches on the far side of the room— just because its cleaner than the others doesn’t mean it’s clean, per se. You smile when you see Jungkook’s thankful expression.

“Right,” you say, staying in front of where he’s sitting for a moment as you shake your arms out; the boy really is just all muscle, honestly. “Pop your ankle up on the bench, and I’ll grab some ice and stuff to wrap it.”

Jungkook nods, obeying wordlessly. His cheeks still are tainted the slightest pink, and he’s making a point to avoid meeting your gaze. Fighting a smile, you move to Yoongi’s stash and grab what you need, spotting some high-end painkillers and immediately adding them to the pile in your arms.

When you return to his side, you seat yourself on the bench beside his leg— thankfully, they’re wide enough that neither your butt nor Jungkook’s leg has to be sacrificed for the fit. You go through the motions with him, poking and prodding and bending to assess the damage; it’s just a bad sprain, but damn if each watery look he gets at the pain doesn’t make you want to coddle him to death.

Surprisingly, he’s still silent as you go about icing and wrapping his ankle. You contemplated filling the silence but you’re not good at chit chat or small talk, so refrain and settle for humming softly instead. Considering the rollercoaster of feelings he’s spun you through today, you’re almost disappointed that a wrap on his ankle is all that’s going to come of this.

Which is stupid, of course. You know. You digress.

You’re still somewhat disappointed as you finish up, popping the excess bandage back in its container. “Okay! You’ll need to…”

You make the mistake of meeting his gaze, and for once he doesn’t shy away from it— there’s something about them, the endless chocolate depths and the doe-eyed look, that completely disarms you for a moment. Blinking, it takes all your might to stop yourself from studying as you continue. “Ahem, uh… you’ll need to keep it elevated, when possible. Compressing it is ideal. Also, for swelling, ice it for 20-30 minutes every 2-3 hours for the first day or so…”

He blinks up at you, and you smile. “Any questions?”

Something intriguing crosses his gaze and he bites his lip, flushing slightly. Oh, he is doing a number on your willpower. You need to get out of here.

“Yeah, uh…” He clears his throat, continuing straight away. You watch even more colour rush to his cheeks, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously. “About earlier… when I stacked it… Was what Yoongi said true?”

Well. You were not… expecting that. For a moment you’re stunned into silence, self control hanging by a thread. “What… Yoongi said?”

Jungkook gives you a look like he can’t believe you’re making him say it. “That you, um…”

Humiliated but deciding to face it head on, you ask him with your own cheeks heating, “Are you asking about the pegging or the, uh… the liking you part?”

To your surprise, Jungkook chokes and stiffens in place, eyes shooting wide and face and ears going beet red. “I, um… I only heard the liking part…”

OH. Well. You kind of want to die, but… at least now he knows?

…You’re gonna throw yourself off a bridge.

He must mistake the cause of your silence for something else, because he seems to panic. “B-because, um, I know you know how I feel, and it’s okay if you don’t um— I was just wondering—”

In the midst of his spiel, you take a seat on the bench, closer to him than you were last time. It only makes him grow more flustered before you press a finger to his lips to shush him. He gets the message and falls silent instantly, making your heart skip a beat at his ready obedience. God, are you an animal?! Really?!

“I was trying to track you down to confirm it, you know,” you say, shoving your embarrassment into a box in the far reaches of your mind. Time to swallow your pride. “But you kept avoiding me.”

Jungkook’s eyes are still wide. “Oh… sorry.”

You smile at his soft, uttered apology. Testingly, tentatively, you shift your hand and rest it on his hip. His whole body stiffens once more, but its more in surprise than discomfort. “What would you do if it was true, hm?”

Like a deer caught in headlights, he’s momentarily speechless. When your thumb rubs against the hard line of his hip bone, drawing a shudder, he jerks back into motion.

“Oh my god, you—” he’s dazed before he narrows his eyes at you, voice dropping to a whisper that’s somewhat tinged with hurt. “Are you teasing me?”

You manage to hold back the laugh but can’t help the smile that rises at his words. “I always get the urge to tease you, Jungkook, but it’s not to be cruel.” You lean forward, holding his gaze. “I probably never grew out of that kindergarten stage.”

It takes a second for what you said to sink in. The way that hope enters his eyes is so cute that you’re humiliated at the urge to squeal that rises. “So, you…”

It’s embarrassing to say the words out loud, especially considering the filth running through your mind right now, and you can’t quite bring yourself to. Teasingly, you bring your other hand to his thigh, brushing the edge of the skirt with your thumb and enjoying the way he shivers. “It’s embarrassing to say out loud, so if you want to hear it, you’re gonna have to work for it.”

The soft, excited gasp he lets out emboldens you to carry out your next action— you move the hand on his hip, brushing your fingertips up the side of his slim waist before bringing them back down to rest over his crotch.

To your complete and utter surprise, there is already some firmness there that greets you. At your curious gaze, he flushes pink.

“It’s the skirt,” he confesses, averting his gaze to your lap for the briefest second. “You look really good in it…”

Not that your ego needs more stroking, but you’re happy to let it happen anyway. You hum, beginning to move your hand— he stifles a gasp.

“I know,” you say, grinning. It’s ridiculous how your stomach flips, arousal beginning to trickle into your abdomen and ache in the apex of your thighs. “I could feel you looking at me. I caught you a few times, too.”

He’s embarrassed, you can tell, but the current situation doesn’t leave much room for dignity as it is anyway. Still, you can’t help but tease him some more, voice soft as you rub over his growing bulge and lean closer. “Do you always look at me, Jungkook?”

He squirms, a gasp slipping out before he attempts to send you a glare. “This is embarrassing,” he whines. You raise a brow, increasing the pressure of your hand, and he is quick to amend his response in a whisper, “…Yes.”

“And what do you imagine, when you look at me?” you ask, unable to deny the thrill running through your veins and lighting heat in your abdomen. You pause your ministrations only to move your hand to the top of his skirt and slip beneath the material. This time a moan slips out before he can stop it. “Is it things like this?”

He lets his head fall back against the wall, looking at you through hazy, lidded eyes. “Yes,” he admits, and for how readily he supplied the answer you reward him by slipping your hand beneath the rest of the layers over his hips and wrapping your fingers around his hardening length.

He whines— actually whines— and rolls his hips into your hand, thick thigh tensing beneath the grip of your other hand. The resulting wash of arousal that floods over you is so sudden it almost makes you dizzy.

“Oh, you’re a good boy,” you mutter it without much thought, but surprise filters through you when you feel his length twitch and flush with heat in your hold at the words. Ah— he likes a bit of praise, does he? You slide your free hand up his thigh, working the waistband of his skirt and bike shorts down until they rest just past the beginning of his thighs. It’s like you’re looking at a work of art, you marvel slightly— the curls that begin to trail down a little below his belly button, the sculpted line of his hip bones and the hints of his abs that show as his body tenses. You’re just one woman.

“Does it feel as good as you imagined, Jungkook?” you aimed to speak louder but it comes out sort of breathy. You trail your fingers down the tan skin of his abdomen before gripping the material of his bottoms and using the moment to free his length.

If you didn’t have such a firm grip on it, you know it would have sprung back against his stomach— you try not to let your surprise show, either, because you could feel that he was packing, but seeing it is another thing and your stomach flips in giddy anticipation. Jungkook’s chest heaves as his breath quickens, eyes boring into you and hands bunching in the material of the punishment skirt. You stroke your hand along his length, pressing your thumb along the underside and relishing in the shudder it elicits.

“y/n,” he whines softly, face flushing as his cock twitches in your hold. Whether he’s forgotten you even asked a question or simply is too overwhelmed to answer right now, you don’t know.

As for how you’re doing— you’re so turned on right now that in all honesty you don’t know what to do with yourself. A solution comes to mind quickly and you don’t have the usual self control you do to stop yourself.

Mindful of his injured leg, you rise, keeping your grip on him as you do so. His lidded gaze follows you, soft gasps escaping him all the while.

“Give me your leg,” you instruct, relishing how quickly he listens. Presented with his thigh, you swing one of your legs over the other side of the bench and rest on it so that as little weight as possible is on his bad leg, your knees brushing his hips. As soon as you’re lowered, you can’t help but gasp and roll your hips— the only thing separating you and the smooth skin and hard muscle of his thigh is the thin layer of your damp panties, and the stimulation on your clit makes your entire core throb in arousal.

Apparently this is also one of the things he’s imagined, because Jungkook lets out a low, gasping moan and rolls his hips up into your hand— which, of course, makes his thigh muscles tense and shift, rubbing oh so nicely against your clit. You almost fall off from the jolt of pleasure that shoots up your spine, free hand shooting to grab his bicep, “Ah, Jungkook!”

He apparently has the sense of mind to support you by using the arm in your hold to reach and grip your hip. Generous amounts of precum have started to bead at his tip, and you drag your hand up his girth, collecting it on your thumb and smearing it down his length for lubrication. It elicits a whine, another roll of his hips, and like that you settle into a rhythm of sorts.

“y/n.” Each gasp and moan he lets out have to be specially designed to ruin you, you decide. He seeks your gaze with hazy, lust-ridden eyes. “Please kiss me.”

It’s a brazen request coming from him of all people, and you’re all too happy to oblige. You lean forward, the rock of your hips making you shudder, and connect his lips with your own— he’d sought your kiss as you did so, craning his neck forward and awaiting your lips. It’s a heated kiss from the beginning, given the situation— you don’t fight for dominance so much as assume it from the start. Each press of your tongue, graze of your teeth, has a new sound tumbling from his throat and into your mouth. It makes your heart race even harder than it already was.

It doesn’t take long for tension to begin to build in your abdomen, and you know if you’re already feeling it then he must be even closer. Not wanting this to end just yet, you force yourself to slow your hand down, breaking the kiss and shifting to press your mouth to his neck.

“Wh-what—” he gasps, shuddering as your thumb plays with his slit, rhythm slowed to a stop. Both of you are panting, almost, and you suckle a mark into the junction of his neck before pulling back with a grin.

“Surely that isn’t all you’ve imagined, Jungkook.” You lean forward, pressing a brief kiss to his mouth before pulling back— the way he chases your lips makes your heart squeeze. “What now? Be a good boy, tell me.”

Far from being embarrassed at this point and all but a slave to the haze of lust in the air, Jungkook’s breath hitches and he responds, somewhat tentative if anything, “… ride me.”

“Good boy,” you breathe, offering him a proud smile. He preens beneath your fond look.

You shift, and you think that he must have expected you to stand up fully and remove your clothes, or at least your bottoms, but to his surprise you simply shuffle up and reach beneath your skirt, slipping your panties aside and aligning his member with your entrance. You’re so turned on that you’ve soaked through your underwear, and you know you’ve smeared enough precum along his length that lubrication will be no problem. So you simply lower yourself down until his head parts your lips and begins to sink into you.

At the sheer size of him even as just the tip enters your cunt, you have to halt, gasping, “Fuck!”

If he wanted to respond, you don’t really give him time to; as soon as you get your bearings you continue sinking down onto him. There is a slight burn, of course, but you’re so turned on that it fades quicker than you can register. The sensation of him, the throb, his girth and the way he splits your walls, stretching you more and more as you seat yourself on him— it’s indescribable, and all you can offer is that it feels so good you swear tears are gonna prick at your eyes. From the look on his face, brows scrunched and mouth parted as a long, low groan slips out, you know it must feel just as good for him.

When the back of your thighs press against the top of his his and he’s fully sheathed in you, you feel like you’re about to lose your mind— this position has him so deep in your pussy that with each miniscule shift the tip of his cock presses against a spot that sends delicious jolts of pleasure up your spine. Honestly, if you weren’t so intent on seeing this through, you think you could cum from that sensation alone.

Even as you’re in a mess of pleasure and a haze of desire, you can’t help but tease him some more. You clench your insides, rolling your hips— the sharp, lilting moan he lets out makes your stomach flip. “What now, baby boy?”

You hold his hips down with your hand, feeling them twitch with the urge to rock up into you. A long, drawn groan escapes him. “Do you want to see me? More of me? Or do you want to feel me?”

You take his hand into your hold and guide it up to your chest, slipping it beneath your shirt and bra to cup your breast. His breath hitches, lashes fluttering against his cheekbones as he blinks and attempts to clear the haze from his vision. You relish in the control you have over him until his thumb brushes your nipple and he pinches it, tweaking it instinctively. A moan tears from you, the shock of pleasure that results making you clench around him again; his free hand scrambles for purchase against your thigh, fingers digging in as pleasure washes over him in turn.

Your breath is coming a little faster now. Leaving his hand at your chest, you move it to drag up his neck before threading your fingers in the damp curls at the back of his neck. Finding a firm grip, you tug his head back ever so lightly— it elicits a new moan that you haven’t heard yet, and you really begin to think this boy will be your undoing.

“What do you want?” you ask again, rolling your hips once more. It isn’t fair of you, you know, since you can hardly think yourself from the sensations. “You want me to move, baby boy?”

He nods, attempting to speak through the moan caught in his throat. “Please… fuck me, y/n.”

Well, who are you to say no to that?

Happy to oblige, you engage your thighs and begin to rise— the sensation of him dragging against your walls makes both of you gasp, and you almost falter in your movements from the feeling alone. Gathering your wits as best as you can, you continue your movements, successfully rising and then seating yourself once more. Unable to withhold much longer, you roll your hips and begin to set the two of you into a rhythm.

You stopped paying heed to the noises escaping you a while ago, but you don’t doubt that the sinful sounds tumbling from Jungkook’s mouth as you ride him are a large contributor to the way the tension in your abdomen quickly begins to knot and bundle once more.

Even with as heavenly as it feels, it’s hard to keep up momentum when your thighs begin to burn. Thankfully, Jungkook has more than enough stamina in his thigh muscles for the both of you, and when he senses your fatigue, he brings his grip to your hips to hold them in place before rocking his own up and beginning to fuck up into you.

Needless to say, the pace he sets is much faster and much harder than the one you had. Swears tumble softly from your mouth at the change in intensity of pleasure as it shoots through you, orgasm already approaching much faster than anticipated. Your hands come to grip his on your hips with a cry of his name, knees turning to jelly.

Movement against your hand surprises you, but not as much as the sensation of Jungkook’s hand shifting to thread his fingers with yours. You honestly feel your heart burst, and as he fucks up into you that bit harder you can’t help the way you clutch his hand like a lifeline, the sweet moment quick to pass but most definitely not forgotten.

“G-gonna cum,” you gasp, eyes closing and allowing the slap of skin and Jungkook’s gasping moans to overtake your senses. You don’t forget to indulge him in some praise. “Such a g-good boy, making me feel so g-good.”

He whines at your words, and right as your pleasure approaches its peak you feel his hips stutter and slam up into yours harder than all the times before. The stimulation of that spot deep inside of you is all that’s needed to push you into the throes of your orgasm, and it washes over you more intensely than you’ve ever felt before as you clench and tense with a cry of his name.

Distantly, you feel his own grip on you tighten, and his hips still as they’re pressed against yours. Warmth floods your core, cock throbbing as he empties inside you, and you swear you hear the softest of confessions uttered to the air as he joins you in your high.

He comes down before you do, although you’re not far behind him, and for a moment you sit in place, panting and attempting to come back to your senses. He’s softened inside you slightly, but when you shift and clench on instinct as you do so, feeling cum slide down your thighs, he twitches and throbs inside you.

Taken aback, your gaze whips to him and now that his shame has returned to him, he has the decency to blush. Well, apparently Jeon Jungkook’s stamina really is no joke. Maybe he really was born to be an athlete.

“Greedy. You want more?” There’s a teasing lilt to your voice, and a thrilling mix of fear and excitement dances in his eyes.

“y/n—” he rasps, desperate. You slide off of him, making both of you groan, but return to your previous position on his thigh. He moans as he feels his own cum leak out of you and onto his skin. When your hand comes to wrap around his slick member, he jolts and whines.

“You wanna tell me what you said just before?” you ask, beginning to twist your wrist and stroke his cock ever so slowly. He shakes his head, whether at your question or the overstimulation, you’re not sure— you know it’s probably a bit of both though, considering he twitches in your hold.

“‘S embarrassing,” he murmurs, back arching as you increase your pace just a little. “Ah, y/n!”

“I see. You know, I think I can get you to cum again,” you say, changing tactics.

Jungkook shakes his head, strands of his raven hair plastered to his forehead in sweat. “I can’t—”

“You should tell me,” you say, teasing lilt to your tone. He whines, rocking his hips into and then away from the sensations.

When he shakes his head again, letting it fall back against the wall and baring the column of his throat to you, you jump on his acceptance of the situation. You pick up speed, rolling your wrist and moving in tune with the shifting of his body. It doesn’t take very long before his oversensitivity throws him into another orgasm, stronger than the last but dryer. The few beads of cum that escape seem ever so tantalising as they roll down his length, drawing your gaze.

“You gonna tell me now?” you ask, already knowing the answer. Jungkook slumps against the wall, breathing heavy and sweat glistening on his golden skin. He looks at you through heavily lidded eyes.

“It’s still embarrassing,” he whines, breathy in his exertion.

Right, well. You know what he said, but you want to hear him say it with his own mouth once more and you’ll stay here all night to make that happen if you need to.

Of course, it’s not until a while and another heated moment or two later that Jungkook realises this and gives in.

His confession is so much sweeter on your ears the second time, and of course, as promised, you reward him with your own. It’s worth it for the way it makes his eyes shine, you think.

Jeon Jungkook really has you well and truly whipped.

a/n: thank u for reading and i hope u liked it! im super excited to have completed my first commission and would really appreciate it if u let me know what u think by sending me an ask and liking & rbing this with ur thoughts!! i read & appreciate everything!! thank u !! love u !! peace out !! :D

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keelywolfe · 4 years

Text

FIC: Just Swimmingly ch.4 (BAON)

Summary: Jeff doesn't know where they are or where they're going, but he knows one thing. It's probably not good.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Established Relationships, Hurt/Comfort, Additional Tags To Come

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

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Read it on AO3

Read it here!

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By the time the van came to a stop, Stretch still hadn’t woken up. Not that it mattered very much, there wasn’t a thing Jeff could have done to change their situation. At the moment, they were very much outnumbered, overpowered, and even if he’d had a clue where they were, it wouldn’t have done them any good. Before they dragged him out of the van, one of the thugs yanked a bag over his head. Blinded, he struggled to stumble along as two guys pulled him out, trying not to cry out as they led him barefoot across crumbling asphalt into a building with rough carpet.

He kept as quiet as he could, trying to not only listen in case they said anything useful, but also for Stretch, praying to a God he hadn’t spoken to since he was fifteen and his father threw him out that they didn't hurt Stretch. Jeff could survive a few bumps and bruises, but he didn't know how much Stretch could withstand. Intent was key when it came to Monsters, he knew that much, and these guys seemed to have plenty.

At first, he tried to keep track of where he was being led. An impossible effort when the twists and turns of being dragged along left him too disoriented to know his way up or down. They seemed to walk forever until his captors suddenly stopped and Jeff was shoved down into a chair. Rough hands grabbed at him, rope suddenly binding his wrists and ankles. He didn’t struggle as he was tied, only tried to tense his muscles as much as possible, some shitty internet meme he vaguely remembered reading said that it could help slip free later.

Turned out memes weren’t the best source for escape plans. When they were done, Jeff subtly tried to move and the best he could manage was a painful rope burn. The ropes felt like they were wound through the slats in the chair and unless Houdini decided to make good on his possible return from the other side, Jeff was going nowhere fast.

He could hear their captors moving around, muttering too low to be understood and the other sounds might have been more rope. Tying up Stretch, maybe, he hoped that’s what it was; at least if they were together, that was something, hell, that was everything right now.

The bag suddenly getting ripped off his head made him gasp, flinching from the glaring light pointed directly into his face. Squinting, he could barely see the shadowy figures standing behind it, but he was sure he could see a cell phone pointed in his direction.

“Say your name,” a rough voice demanded.

“Andy—” he began automatically. “No, Jeff, I’m sorry, Jeff! My name is Jeff!” There was nothing else and Jeff shifted, grimacing as the ropes dug in. It was on the tip of his tongue to go on, to blurt that he worked in public relations, that he was nobody important and not worth ransoming. He bit the inside of his lip to keep those rambles from pouring out. Partly because it was probably stupid to tell kidnappers your value or lack thereof, and partly because of Edge. He’d always told them to never offer more information than was necessary and yeah, he’d been talking about board games at the time, but Jeff doubted that Clue was where Edge learned that particular rule. If these assholes wanted more info, they could damn well ask.

Either his name was all they wanted or they already had whatever other info they needed. Jeff didn’t even have a chance to try squinting through the too-bright light when one of them came towards him and yanked the bag back over his head. He sat there, sweat beading on his face and his own breath threatening to smother him as he listened to their captors moving around next to him.

“He can’t talk,” one of them said disgustedly. “He’s still wasted.”

Stretch. That meant he was right next to him, thank fucking god.

The rough sound of a slap made Jeff tense, protests bitten off when the same voice cursed and there came the sound of someone rubbing their head, “What the fuck, man!”

“That’s exactly how we want him, dumbass! He doesn’t need to talk, all they need is a good look at him. Come on, they’re waiting.”

Footsteps and then the sound of a door closing. Jeff strained to hear if anyone was still in there with them around his own breathing loud in his ears, his pulse thundering. There was nothing, no shuffle of feet against the floor or the creak of a chair. Jeff waited a little longer, curling his chilly toes against the rough carpet.

Nothing. Jeff took a long, slow breathing, trying to calm his racing pulse. He needed to be cool right now so he could try to think of something. Even if the Embassy was willing to give these assholes whatever they wanted, they sure as hell couldn’t count on that saving their lives. He was no strategist, his degree was in sociology, for fuck’s sake, but. Stretch always called him Handy Andy and it made him feel like someone different, someone braver who could stand up to a violent asshole on a bus and help Stretch with crazy experiments involving swinging bottles of Diet Coke rigged with automatic mentos dispensers. Jeff might not be the best for this situation, but Andy was sure as hell gonna try.

“Stretch,” Jeff said softly. He waited for someone to shout or a slap followed by a demand that he shut up. When none came, he went on, soft and urgent, “I know you can't hear me, but, just in case you can. It's gonna be okay. I know you're big on promises and I'm promising you right now we're getting out of this. I promise you." If he could glean anything of what Jeff was saying, he hoped he could hear that much. At least maybe he wouldn't be afraid.

"i sure hope so, i didn't get this far in life to get dusted by a low rent group of third rate scooby doo level villains. seriously, they tied us up with rope, were they out of packing tape at ‘kidnappers ‘r’ us’ or were they just eager to try the knots they learned in boy scouts before they got kicked out."

Okay, that wasn’t quite the last thing he’d expected, but it was close.

"Stretch?" Jeff gasped out. He couldn’t see a damn thing through the bag, but he could hear a muted popping sound. Suddenly, the bag was gone, far gentler than before and then he was blinking up into Stretch’s smirking face.

Jeff looked around a little wildly and next to him was another chair, the still-tied ropes hanging from the rungs in loose coils.

“yeah, sorry. i woke up back in the van, didn’t want to tip them off. wherever they buy their roofies must not have given them a dosage chart.” Stretch settled his hands on Jeff’s shoulders. “hold still, this is a lot easier than fighting with knots.”

It was the gentlest and shortest teleport he’d ever felt. Only a brief disorientation and when his vision cleared, he was sitting on top of the ropes that had just been binding him.

Jeff scrambled to his feet, swiping his sleeve across his sweaty forehead. Holy shit, maybe he should take up praying again more regularly, this was the fastest service he’d ever gotten. “Can you get us outside?”

His heart sank as Stretch shook his head. “that's gonna be a no. with the bags on our heads, i couldn't see where we are. shortcutting is tricky, it's dangerous to teleport blind. that's how you end up stuck in walls or halfway inside a table or some shit.” Stretch waved a slender hand at the chairs. “dangerous, not impossible. a few inches above where i was sitting was a pretty safe bet to get out of the ropes, but anything else is more likely to get us dead than on the street.” He frowned, glancing around the room thoughtfully. “plus, i'm not going anywhere without a little intel. they’re fucking idiots, but they knew enough to drug me and how to do it. that's not information you can just look up on a wiki-how.”

“Okay,” Jeff took a deep, steadying breath. "So, what do we do, then?” He glanced at the door. “Can you pick locks?"

"sure,” Stretch said absently. He was looking around the room. It was a storage room of some sort, there was more dusty furniture aside from the chairs, including a rickety desk, and metal cabinets lined the walls. “but i can't do much about the door being barred. i heard something get braced against it when they went out.

"Oh. Right."

“yeah,” Stretch agreed, “at least one of them has a brain cell or two rolling around up top, enough to get them this far. but the road trip is over and it’s time to pay the tolls.” Stretch shook his head disgustedly. "first rule of kidnapping is never leave the kidnappees alone. seriously, i'm getting my cues from netflix and even i know that.”

His eye lights paused in their survey of the room, brightening. Jeff followed his gaze and saw in one corner there was an honest to god old-fashioned rotary telephone pushed into the far corner of the desk, nearly buried under the clutter.

"can't be that easy, can it?” Stretch marveled. He picked it up the handset and held to his skull, then sighed unhappily. “nope. no dial tone, no surprise there, no one has a landline anymore. don’t you worry though, little phone.” Stretch gave it a soft pat. “you’re gonna be real useful in just a minute. seriously, this is just embarrassing. my first kidnapping attempt and they locked us in a room with an entire arsenal.”

“I must be missing the vendor in the corner willing to hand over gear if we do a mission for them,” Jeff joked weakly.

“everything is an arsenal if you’ve got the skills.” Stretch rummaged through the desk and came up triumphantly with…a paperclip? He set it on the desk, adding a pencil, some scotch tape, and what looked to Jeff like an old tube of superglue. “kidnapped by the ebott equivalent of the america’s dumbest criminals, fuck me. edge is going to be up my ass for a month.”

“I don’t think you’re giving him enough credit.” It was easier to be calm in the face of Stretch’s ease. “I think six months is the bare minimum.”

“i really wish you weren’t right.” Stretch glanced around the room again, this time directing his gaze upward. “hm, that’ll work.” Tall as he was, the ceiling was still out of reach even for him. Stretch pulled one of the chairs over, ropes trailing behind it like tentacles, and stood on it, reaching for the smoke detector. Jeff could only blink in confusion as he yanked it right off the ceiling.

"You're going to burn down the building?” Jeff asked. Not that he didn’t trust Stretch, but, uh, that seemed extreme for a first escape attempt. “That’d get us out, but I don't think we'll be any more alive."

"nah, just need some parts,” Stretch jerked his head towards the door. “keep an ear on the hallway, will ya, in case they remember that leaving us alone is probably stupid."

“Got it.” Jeff went to the door but before he could press his ear to it, Stretch called his name.

"hey, kiddo, i'm gonna get us out of this." Stretch offered him a familiar, lopsided smile. "i know i don't look like much, but i've been known to keep my head in a bad situation."

"You already saved me once,” Jeff said honestly, "why wouldn't I believe you now?"

Stretch’s pale eye lights flickered with memory, his expression briefly tightening. How did he remember that horrible night in that parking lot, Jeff wondered, what nightmares haunted Stretch’s sleep? He knew something happened after the ambulance took him away, but he’d never heard the entire story. After he’d been released from the hospital, he’d been wrapped up in healing enough to start his new job at the Embassy and as time passed, he hated to ask, didn’t want to dredge it all up again, not when everyone was slowly getting past it. Besides, the others had their own shit to deal with, what with the attack in California and everything happening in Ebott. His trauma was his to handle and that was the end of it.

At the desk, Stretch got to work, humming the ‘mission impossible’ theme under his breath as he dissected the phone and smoke detector with a makeshift screwdriver made from a bent paperclip taped to a pencil. His hands were as deft and easy as any demonstration he’d done for the local kids and Jeff could only marvel at his ease.

“How can you be so calm?” Jeff blurted, wincing even as the words escaped. He hadn’t meant to say it, didn’t want to distract him. Stretch only flicked a glance his way, both browbones raised.

“me?” Stretch snorted, “i am not calm. beneath this gorgeous cookie crust exterior is a honey pie of a person who would start shitting themselves if i could grow the prerequisite equipment. but we're gonna be okay.”

“How do you know?” Jeff hated the faint pleading in his own voice, he shouldn’t be distracting; Stretch was as stuck here as he was and with his HP, it was even worse. He was supposed to be the one helping Stretch, he’d promised, and the best he could do was lookout.

“you seriously think red isn't already on it?” Stretch asked and as terrifying as Red could be, thinking about him right now eased some of the aching fear that was settled in Jeff’s stomach. “all he needs is a clue and we’re gonna get him one. i only hope he can keep edge from razing the city and salting the earth beneath it until then. people might be a little tetchy about that and i’m not even sure you can come up with a press release that’d cover ‘sorry about starting city-wide armageddon, my bad.’”

Before Jeff could think of a reply to that, either an agreement, or a protest that a little chaos could be excused considering the circumstances, he heard footsteps coming from down the hallway. Panicked, he hissed out, “They're coming!”

“fuck, okay, okay.” Stretch scrambled over and set some kind of contraption on the floor near the door that was all waggling wires and circuit boards. He grabbed Jeff by the wrist and dragged him along. “over here, come on, this a harder trick, but you can do it. i need you to hold as still as you can. if you move, they might see you, you get me?"

Jeff managed a hasty nod as Stretch shoved him into a corner, cramming them both in tight, out of the way. "don't move, don't talk,” Stretch reminded him, a low murmur close to his ear. The slim, bony arms around him were comforting and even knowing that Stretch couldn’t physically protect him, having him towering overhead as he caged Jeff against the wall felt oddly safe.

Then something happened. He didn’t know how to describe it. It felt like a heavy curtain fell over the world, everything going distant and muffled, even his vision greying like he was about to faint, only he’d never felt so awake. There was a sudden popping explosion as the door swung open and collided with Stretch’s contraption, but it sounded miles away, the kidnappers’ curses as muffled as if they were speaking from another world.

He didn’t move, held perfectly still even as that curtain slowly grew claustrophobic, nausea starting to churn. Jeff closed his eyes, swallowing convulsively and just went he thought he couldn’t stand it a moment longer, that he either needed to move or he’d start screaming, it was suddenly gone and Stretch was stepping back.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Stretch was pale, sweat showing visibly on his skull. "are you okay?" Stretch asked.

“Me?” Jeff blurted. He caught hold of Stretch’s arms to brace him as he wobbled on his feet. “I’m fine, what about you!”

"i’ll be okay.” Stretch wiped his face on the sleeve of the crummy shirt he’d been forced into with a grimace. “i pulled us halfway into the void. it works, but it burns a lot of juice. the assholes booked it out of here, but more importantly, they left the door open."

The door was opened, they could leave, and yet, Jeff found himself blurting out, “They’ll get away!”

“no,” Stretch said grimly. “they’ll look for us first, thinking we couldn’t have gotten too far. these guys aren’t gonna ditch and run that fast, they know too much. think about it. drugs work on monsters but how do they know what kind and how much? lucky for me, skeleton monsters are different. our systems are finicky, we’re hard to drug. whoever tipped them off about how to roofie me didn’t know that.”

His sockets narrowed suddenly, Stretch turning away to look in the rusty cabinet next to them. “oh, honey,” he said gleefully, “jackpot.”

Jeff joined him, peering into the cabinet as Stretch cautiously wrenched it open. “What did you find?”

He held up a bottle of bleach and said, smugly, “just some nice, normal household chemicals. they can be lots of fun if you know how to mix 'em up and i'm a one hell of a bartender. but first.”

On the desk was another little contraption that was mostly wires and tape. Stretch picked it up and walked over to squat next to a wall outlet. Carefully, he pushed it into the socket. There was a sputtering spark and a tiny red light blinked to life.

“there we go.” Stretch stood, dusting off his hands. “i don’t even want to think about how pants-shittingly angry edge probably is right now, but we can’t let them get the ransom that asgore is probably going to pay and we sure as hell can’t let them get away.”

He grinned then, wickedly sharp for all that his teeth were blunt. “so, how’s about we have some fun, yeah?”

Jeff nodded determinedly. Fuck, yes. If he was going to add to his repertoire of nightmares, he was damn well going to make sure someone else paid for it, in spades.

tbc

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #by any other name

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p0gue420 · 4 years

Text

!Too Young To Feel Numb! (Kie x Reader)

ATTENTION!! There are a lot of trigger warnings in this one! Including: drinking, drugs, talks of feeling alone, depression.

Summary: Y/n started smoking weed at the age of 8, It’s all she’d known; She grew up around it so it was normal for her to start super young, she told herself that’s the farthest she’d go...only smoking weed..never any hard drugs. She thought she could learn from her parent's mistakes, guess not.

pairing: Kie x female!reader, Rafe x Platonic! reader, JJ x Sister figure! reader

Warnings: Substance abuse, depression, suicidal thoughts, marijuana Underage drinking,(reader is 15),

A/N: Alot of grammar errors because i dont feel like checking it so sorry....not really,hehe

---------

I use to think people were crazy for even thinking about doing anything harder than weed. Yeah...I was like 7 so it doesn’t count.”Yo you gonna babysit that shit or pass it, I mean...I have all day but would love to do something besides wait for you to pass the blunt.” I rolled my eyes waiting for JJ to hand it to me.”Chill, what’s up your ass today?”

He finally passes it, after what felt like hours. I take a long hit before seeing he’s actually wanting me to answer his question.”Nothin. man, I’ve just got places to be.” I mumbled out hoping he wouldn’t start asking any further questions. He stares blankly awaiting me to pass it back, knowing I don’t share my feelings so he simply lays off. “Hey. You trynna go surfing today….whenever you’re done with your….things..?”

“Uhh, yeah text me and-” I’m cut off by the sound of my phone vibrating...Barry.

Barry:

Meet in twenty? I got extra today

I look up from my phone stuttering my words, and fumbling.“Uhm, I gotta go do something, but I’ll text you later to surf, yeah?” I say nodding towards JJ as I began walking out.”Uhm yea sure, hey-” I was already out the door.”-be safe.” he muttered to himself left wondering why I left so fast. On the way to my bike, I ran into Kie and Pope laughing about something before Kie began to make her way over towards me.

“Hey, Y/n! Heading out so fast, are we?”Kie pouted her lip out mimicking a whimpering sound.” heh, yeah sorry bub. I gotta go handle some things and I’ll be back later.” I peck her lips in a swift movement as well as pull up the front of her crop top, covering her exposed cleavage.”Those are my love,keep them covered” I wink at her. She laughs and heads inside after blowing me a kiss,that I catch and pretend to place in my heart..Wow im so whipped.

My thoughts cut off by a loud vibrating noise.

Barry:

You coming?

Read: 46 sec.ago

Me:

Omw now!

Read: just now

I hop on my bike heading over to Barry’s place knowing a shortcut I found a few days ago.

It only takes 10 minutes before i’m in front of his house walking up the steps of the porch.My clean oxygen is immediately replaced by the smell of cigarettes,weed,and...Is that burnt hair?I scrunch my face in disgust at the awful smells.”Aye look who it is!” Barry calls out after seeing my face, He’s standing beside..Rafe cameron.

Now...I’m not friends with Rafe but i also don’t exactly despise him.I babysat wheezie all summer last year,most the time he’d join..keep me company;I don’t think he knew i was with Kie but he’s not all bad.He’s helped me more times than I can count,only because i've done the same for him though.

“Yo waddup.I didn’t expect to see you here.” I share a short handshake with Barry and side hug Rafe,he seems unprepared for it so he stumbles a bit but eventually hugs back quickly.”uh yeah.just doing some..business” Rafe says avoiding eye contact,looking everywhere except my face.”anyway i'm gonna head out, i'll catch you guys later.” Rafe walks towards,im guessing his bike;I head inside following barry so i didn’t really catch what he drove in.

“So like I said I've got your usual ,and then I got a little extra something I thought you may like.”He continues on but I'm so wrapped up in the fact that I want to consume something soon,anything;I don’t know exactly what he's saying.”Sound good?” He asked “Uh what?sorry I zoned out a bit.”I shook my head pushing my long hair out of my eyes.”Look,Usually altogether this would be alot of money but considering I stole the pills,I'll spare you the oxy,wadda yuh say?”, “Yeah sure,80$?”

He nods his head holding his hand out as i hand him the money.He hands you a bag full of coke in a plastic baggy, along with the pills in its original container it was prescribed. “Ight,thanks man.Ill see you later next week!” I wave goodbye as I show myself out, shoving the ‘things’ I had bought into my bag and swinging it back on my back.

~Incoming call from:Bubbs<3

I instantly pick up not wanting to worry her.

I instantly hear the boys laughing and playing in the background,but wait for her to say something.”Hey baby, you heading back yet?” Kie questioned sounding bored of the childish boys we spend our time with.”Not yet,i promise im almost done,ask the boys if there's drinks at the chateau please.”She turns her head away from the boys asking what there is to drink besides sink water.

I hear a chorus of “We just stocked up”,”All good momma bird.” and other sayings coming from the overly hyper boys.”Did you hear that,or need me to repeat?” She hesitantly says, making sure I’m still listening ”Gotcha,I'm headed your way now,see you there” I say quickly hanging up without giving her time to respond.

I hop on my bike and drive towards…...the opposite of the chateau,instead deciding to go to the Camerons.I drive,stuck in thought of what ill do when i get there,not quite sure why i decided to come.I had been so lost in thought I didn’t realise I was suddenly at the Cameron residence. I park my bike and began walking up to the door,but before I can knock,Rafe walks up behind me.

“Y/n?” I swiftly turn around being scared for a minute before realizing who it was.”Oh!uhm. yeah...hey” I ‘smoothly’ say”what are you doing here?” he asks..The whole conversation was a blur and before I knew it I was walking up to his room to hang out.I sit on the bed laying back asking about what he wants to do.”I don't know,you came here,what'd you have in mind?” He asked curiously.”I'm not sure.” I snorted at my inability to maintain a conversation.

I dig into my bag as he starts up about how he broke his bed frame the other day, because he put too many boxes on the bed while getting rid of some old things. I finally found what I was looking for,the baggy of white powder.I lifted it up smiling widely.”Can I do this here or no?”I question,feeling my body begin to sweat at the thought of getting to snort the white powder.

“Uh,I mean.. yea sure,didn't know you did that kind of thing.. but I mean go ahead.” He rambles. He stares into space as I do a few lines, my eyes opening wide at the sensation of sudden adrenaline;I look over to see him trying not to stare.”Oh my bad,You want some?” I ask holding up the dollar folded into a cylinder shape , gesturing to the lines of coke spread on the dresser.

---

Hours go by,giggling,cracking jokes with rafe as well as doing oxy and maybe overdoing it with the coke seeing as the bag was almost gone.Rafe hasn't done much.I on the other hand was feeling VERY shaky and everything was just so hilarious..until it wasnt.My high started to get bad and overall scary.I must've did too much in such a limited amount of time.I look at my phone .

17 missed calls from Bubbs<3

8 missed calls from John B:)

9 missed calls from Popey boi

11 missed calls from JJ

Incoming call from Bubbs<3

“He-h-hello ,hi,hey.”

“DON'T ‘HI’ ME!” Kie instantly began screaming into the phone making me move my face away from it as Rafe looked at me with a worried expression on his face.

“Y/n,Where have you been! I’ve been so worried! I’ve-” I Blanked out again not in the mood to be yelled at.”Yeah,hey I nee-need,will-can youcomeandpickme up” I say jumbling all my words together. “Are you okay?Why are you talking like that?''She ask worried about my state of mind.

“Yeah am- I fine,Yes” I say yet again struggling to sound normal. I guess I was on speaker because JJ immediately began yelling into the phone asking about where I was.”Rafes house” Rafe sat silently waiting for them to break out into hysterics about me being with him.The phone went silent for a moment before the call ended.”So does that mean they not-....Vodka” was all i said before heading downstairs Rafe was sober enough to be able to notice what i was doing.I quickly went downstair searching through the freezer.

“Yessss.”I exclaimed before chugging the vodka.”Rafe continuously asking me to give him the bottle.I chugg at least half the pint bottle before having to give it up because Sarah comes down the stairs.”Y/n what're you doing here?” She asks excitedly until she saw me tripping over my own feet walking towards her,”Woah!” she caught me just before I hit the floor.

She turned to the door hearing someone pull up.Kie.”Rafe what did you do to her?” Sarah asked, holding me up scared of how out of it I was.”SHE BROUGHT COKE HERE,i did a bit with her, but she did A LOT. I legit did nothing this time I swear on everything!”He trailed back up the stairs not caring about the situation now that Sarah was there to take care of you.

I began to sweat, tears running down my face. scared of what's happening to me.John b and Kie rush through the front doors asking where I am.”IN HERE GUYS!” Sarah screamed for them to hear her.My eyes rolling to the back of my head as I went in and out of consciousness.

“BABYYYY!!!” i exclaimed making grabby hands at Kie as i started crying harder

Sarah helped me stand up shakingly as I tried to walk to my girlfriend,She came running towards me with a concerned look on her face. She grabs my face pecking my lips,”Bub. I need you to listen to me, okay?” I nodd in awe of the gorgeous girl in front of me.”John B is gonna take you to the van,we need you to tell us everything you took to get in this state, okay?” I drowsily nodded,growing tired.

Just as she said,the tall boy picked me up bridal style carrying me out to the twinkie.

I take notice to seating arrangement so i can close my eyes and know whos talking ,JJ being in the passenger seat,Pope watching From the bench behind the driver's seat.Kie stepped up into the van sitting on the floor of the vehicle waiting for John B to place me down beside her.As he did I sat up enough to lean my back against her chest.

JJ was surprisingly silent.Too silent.Pope looked so worried at my sweating body and dripping wet hair from sweat,tears,and vodka mixture.”Okay,Y/n,What did you take?” my girlfriend sits grabbing my face turning me to face her, my legs straddling her thighs on the floor as I nuzzle my head into the crook of her neck,but she pushes my head up making me pout but not being able to maintain due to the dizziness. “I took a few oxy,uhm when I -then i did a few lines of coke,and…..i chugged half a pint of vodka..” i said tears filling my eyes trying to not look into anyone's eyes,

Silent JJ was no more .”Are you fucking kidding me.Y/n Y/m/n Y/l/n.You’re not supposed to take oxy and drink alcohol together.much less do oxy or coke at all.ARE YOU DUMB!” JJ began turning around. A Quiet ‘im sorry’ came from my mouth.John B finally pulled into the chateau.

Kie carried me while my face stayed nuzzled in her neck still crying due to my,still,VERY high state.she sat me down on the couch out on the porch as everyone except her,went to get a few things.Pope came back with water and a wet rag to place on my head.JJ brought a blanket,John B came back empty handed because he only went inside to pee.

“Kie?” I whispered scared she was mad.”Yes baby?”

“Are you mad at me?” I questioned hiding my face in her shoulder due to the amount of dizziness being insured. She leaned her head on mine with an unknown amount of emotions,not quite sure of how to fully answer. “No I- I just don’t know what you were thinking I just- Well I figured you wouldn’t ever do anything like this considering what we talked about-and -and what you went through with your parents..”

“I know-I wanted to feel better tho..I just feel like i have no one-”

Shortly realising the guys were still in on the conversation as Pope cut in.

“Y/n, you have,and always will have us..” I lift my head from the girls shoulder before slowly looking at Pope in his sad worried eyes.

“I guess, I like-I dont know guys what you want me to say..Im trying to be better for myself for everybody,but nothing was working and i ran into barry one day and we talked and he offered a way to help,of course i was hesitant but its really not that bad...Im actually fine!” I said standing up as John b followed me.

“y/n, you were just saying you need help,so what the fuck are we supposed to do ,one minute you need help and having to be ushered here so you dont die! And-and-the next thing you’re yelling at us about how your fine,you’re not fine and you know it!” I stopped as I watched the long haired boy fight back tears trying to explain how all of them feel.

“Fuck you guys honestly,Im not a child i know how i feel,this is all just bullshit!” I yelled at them all, I ran to the spare bedroom covered in sweat,tears,and vodka; I slowly sink into the bed as tears fall down my face crying myself to sleep,what i didn’t know was that my bestfriend’s and girlfriend were all huddled up outside the door awaiting me to fall asleep so that they could come in and cuddle me to make me feel better.Sometimes things get better, but i dont think this is one of those times atleast for now anyway..

#outerbanks x reader #pogues x reader #pogues imagine #kie x reader #kie imagines #depression #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x y/n #jj maybank imagine #jj maybanks smut #john b x reader #john b routledge #sarah cameron x reader #pope x reader #madison bailey #madison bailey x reader #rudy pancow x reader

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prinxlyart · 4 years

Note

I will say, I am hungry again and I have a few ask for your Willumity/Vinira headcannons. HOWEVER to be fair to you. This time I will restrain myself and simply ask for you to share any headcanons you want to share as of now!

You can ALWAYS ask for more Willumity.

A L W A Y S

But!! Since you’ve given me free reign to just play in this sandbox, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do

We all agree that Luz is hella ADHD. This girl will talk for HOURS about the shit she likes. If something grabs her attention, she wants to know everything about it. She doesn’t like being told to do things, but she loves being asked to do things. For example: if someone tells her she needs to do a thing her brain will immediately click into the “No” position and will refuse to budge. If someone asks her to do something, her brain clicks to “help? I can help? I can help with a thing for this person? Yes! I’ll help this person with this task because it will make them happy! Yes! I can help!” This is why acts of service resonate so strongly with her.

I don’t know what mental diversity looks like on the Boiling Isles considering how just. Horror-based everything is? But I’m 100% on that autistic Amity train. She has to do things a Certain Way or she’ll teeter on the edge of a meltdown. She refuses to touch/eat certain textures. She usually doesn’t know what the appropriate response/reaction is to a given conversation, especially with her socialite friends, which is why she just remains a cool mask of indifference. She’ll inspect every detail of anything that’s handed to her. She’s incredibly smart, but doesn’t always know how to convey what she knows and understands into words other people can understand. The only people allowed in her personal space are her siblings. Eventually that also stems to Luz and Willow, maybe more as she grows more comfortable with herself? But usually anyone getting in her space is overwhelming and alarming. Defo has a hard time regulating/processing her emotions.

I need to make an entire post dedicated to Augustus Porter because my boy deserves it, but I’ll toss some random things here. He has a signed poster from the head of the Illusionist Coven framed on his bedroom wall. He and his dad have bi-weekly after-dinner standup comedy sessions with each other (Perry has kept a secret journal of all of Gus’s best jokes he’s done over the years that he reads whenever he needs a pick-me-up).

Perry and Eda knew each other in school in passing. Their social circles overlapped but they were never hanging out in the same groups. When Gus is very little (like, maybe 3 or 4?), Perry takes him to the market to just wander around and they find Eda’s Human Collectibles Stand. She and Perry catch up, he introduces her to his son, and Eda (ever the saleswoman) pulls out some shiny human thing that Gus is immediately taken with. In between her and Perry catching up, Gus asks her a million questions about the thing he’s been given and then even more questions about other stuff at her stand. She actually finds it really fun to show off her human shit to someone so enthralled by it. She makes some stuff up here and there just to mess with him, but he’s too young to realize it’s a joke or not true, and takes everything at face value. We all know Eda likes to get a little theatrical with her sales pitches; she does the Salesperson act with everything Gus asks her about. She lets Gus take a couple items home just because he was such a riot and Perry insists he pay for something, but Eda just waves them off and tells him that this is just an investment in a lifelong customer. She had no idea how right she was because Gus defo became obsessed with human culture from that point on. He also picked up on Eda’s super theatrical sales pitches (because he thought it was funny and because he thought that’s just how you’re supposed to show human stuff to people) and began showing off his own “human collectibles museum” to his dad with the same theatrical voice. Perry plays along with this too (as a news anchor he’s got a great announcer voice) and ta-da! That’s how we get the boy we all know and love today. It’s 100% Eda’s fault, but Perry definitely encouraged it because it made his son so happy. That’s also why Gus doesn’t seem especially perturbed at meeting Eda for the first time in ep 3. Or for interjecting his new Human Knowledge in the moment she was patting Luz’s head. He’s used to having conversations with her about human junk whenever she has her stand up. Eda’s secretly relieved that one of Luz’s new friends is actually someone she kinda knows. It’s Perry’s kid, and Perry’s a good guy. His little squirt seems to be growing up to be pretty good too.

Eda scoffs at “nerdy” shit as if she hasn’t owned the Clawthorne Braincell her entire life. “She worked twice as hard” “-that just made me work harder than you!”. Eda’s extremely smart and extremely talented. She likely created the secret room of shortcuts entirely on her own. She probably studied in the school library constantly, but under the guise of causing mischief. And like. She probably did both. She was a potions track kid so she probably knew all the best ways to make stink bombs that she could leave hidden in the shelves. She hated school because she was so limited and stifled; she only wanted to learn magic and was told no at every turn. So when she learned magic on her own, yknow, without the guidance of a teacher, there’s bound to be some major fuck ups. Once she’s fine-tuned her mistakes though, she absolutely turns them into pranks. You say I’m not allowed to study multiple tracks, bumpikins?? Well how’s THIS!!! How’s THAT for focus??? (Half of her pranks were also just her showing off and desperately hoping to prove that she could learn any type of magic and couldn’t be constrained to just the one. Bump recognized this of course, but he had strict guidelines to follow and no Luz Noceda to call him out for it.)

Camila treasures her daughter more than life itself. I personally refuse to headcanon anything to do with her extended family or why she’s a single parent (too many variables and options that could be addressed in the show), but I do know that she loves Luz more than anything. It’s exhausting being a single mom, working as a nurse, and trying to be there for her ADHD daughter when the rest of the world doesn’t seem to want her. It hurts her so much to see her baby, the light of her life, her Luz, be brushed aside and written off as “the weirdo”, or bullied, or even outright hated by some people just because she’s a little different. She’s had to have some words with the school staff for how they treat her on occasion. Did you see that Principal’s death glare in the first ep?? He hates her. Camila’s there not just because she’s Luz’s parent, but also to act as a barrier between the principal and Luz. She would move Heaven and Earth for Luz, but it can be a lot when you’re the only adult around. I truly believe she wanted Luz to go to that camp to learn how to be friends with kids that didn’t already know her or her quirks. Even she sounded unsure of what they would do at that camp, but she had full faith that this would be Luz’s opportunity to make friends with other kids that could teach her to like....more mainstream stuff. So she could learn how to mimic their (hopefully, toned down) behaviors. She just wants her baby to be accepted by others.

This next one’s a doozy so hold on to your butts

Lilith is technically smart. And I mean that in a literal sense - she can read and understand the fundamentals of magic, the concepts and execution of complex spells, recite entire chapters of Boiling Isles history, you name it. Many adults in her youth called her gifted because of it. All she actually did was absorb the information and regurgitate it when asked. She thrived on the praise she received. What made her different from her sister is that she never wanted anything more than to do as she was told. Her biggest goal? Her dream job? Was to just be given orders by the Emperor. I’m sure there’s all sorts of flowery propaganda surrounding that, advertising how incredible it is to be in the Emperor’s Coven, what an honor it is to work alongside the witch that can speak to the Titan. But it’s literally just. Taking orders. And knowing you’re somehow better than everyone else because you’ve been selected to be among the elite. She never strived for anything more; she never wanted to do anything else but enforce the Emperor’s will because that was “the highest honor” a witch could have. As a result (or in conjunction rather) she lacks literally any amount of foresight. There’s only one braincell in the Clawthorne Family and her sister has it because this dumbass doesn’t think about anyone but herself. Instead of talking with Eda about what they should do when they were told there was only one spot left in the Emperor’s Coven, she walked away. Only thinking of how she could secure her victory. She didn’t ask Eda how she felt about the situation, she didn’t let Eda speak her mind about what her own desires were; Eda made it clear enough that she just wanted to be by Lilith’s side, she didn’t care what that meant. She just wanted to be with her big sister. Eda tried to reach out to her to discuss their cirumstances, but Lilith just walked away like the broody, self-centered teenager that she was and resolved to cheat her way to victory. When Eda knew this was her dream. Why would she think Eda would take away her dream???? She could’ve asked Eda to throw the duel? She could’ve asked her to fake the match? Or even fake sick? Or just not even shown up! If she didn’t show up it could’ve counted as a forfeit and Lilith would’ve earned the spot by default! But no, she had to ruin her sister’s entire life in an act of cowardice and dishonor because she’s so full of herself and didn’t read the fine print. She loves her sister, of course she does, but she’s so self-absorbed that she’s never seen Eda for who she actually is and wasted both of their lives as a result. And this is all just analysis of her character and that flashback, this isn’t even headcanons. I think if she has any amount of respect for her sister (she doesn’t), her redemption will have to go far far beyond an apology and taking on half the curse. When I say Lilith is a dumbass, this is specifically what I mean. She doesn’t think about how her actions will affect those around her. She was the Head of the Emperor’s Coven, literally one of the most powerful positions she could possibly be in on the Boiling Isles and still sacrificed Amity’s dignity and years of hard work just so she could be ensured that she could one-up her sister. She did this in front of everyone in attendance of that Witches Duel. She risked Amity’s credibility as a witch, as a Blight, and as a person just to fuel her own ego. It’s no wonder Amity was so upset; the witch she’s been idolizing her whole life didn’t think she had what it took to best a human that couldn’t do magic in a witches duel. That can fuck up your self esteem something fierce. And Lilith hardly seemed to give a shit!!!! She didn’t care that she just trashed Amity’s reputation in front of dozens of spectators!!!! I’m v bitter about Lilith as a character in case you couldn’t tell.

If I had to throw a headcanon in, I’ll toss one in that sterling and I have discussed: Lilith literally doesn’t know how to live her life as an independent adult. Sure, she knows how to like. Make herself some easy dinners? But that’s literally only because she used to make herself and Eda dinners when they were kids. Beyond that, she has no fucking idea. She can do the basic household chores any teenager knows how to do, but she’s lived in the Emperor’s Castle with the rest of the Coven since she joined. It’s kind of like living in a college dorm; food and a room is provided, there’s maybe a laundry service, she’s never had to pay taxes in her life (not that Eda does, but yknow). The only things she buys for herself (if she doesn’t make it herself) is her hair dye and books. When she first moves in to the Owl House, she has no idea how the household chores are done. She’s on House Cleaning Duty Eternally and the first......I’ll say year. Eda will wake her up by banging pots and pans over her head once every month and scream-singing about how it’s House Cleaning Day, pull out her lawn chairs and some lemonade, and she and Luz (and sometimes King) will just sit back and relax and watch the show that is Lilith trying to clean Hooty. Hooty does not like to cooperate with her (partially because Lilith is a special friend and partially because he knows how much joy it brings Eda and Luz to watch her struggle).

Oof I could go on but this is already one hell of a post huh? Sorry (not really) for dragging Lilith so hard; not a joke, tumblr made me split hers up into two bullet points because it couldn’t comprehend my ranting for so long in one bullet point. I do love sharing these with y’all though, they’re so much fun and I’m so glad you guys like my rambling. <3333

#prinxly inquiries #wam-hope #the owl house #toh headcanons #toh meta #luz noceda #amity blight #augustus porter #gus porter #perry porter #edalyn clawthorne #lilith clawthorne #camilia noceda #camila noceda #long post #lmao warning for y’all I defo drag Lilith through the mud in this one #finally an excuse to release all my pent up rage and explain why I think she’s such a dipshit

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khorren · 4 years

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Fae's guide to Mad King's Lab.

Warning: Contains Opinions of a crispy 8 year vet who just wants everyone to have fun <3. It's a fun place, really! Bad groups make the baby Fae cry :(

First things first

Class to bring: Pick something mobile, tags a lot of things, and above all, mobile. Last year you'd see thieves and mesmers a plenty. Engies work too! Flamethrower and jump boots. Whee. A mediocre thief (that's me!) should have no problem with 500-600 bags an hour. If you're getting around a stack per half hour, you're doin' great. Even if you're getting a stack in an hour, that's cool. As long as you're having fun. You don't have to be OpTimAL on a damn festival farm.Just throwing out some numbers here!

Magic find! Go to your guild hall, and get the magic find buff from the tavern. Remember all those banners you got from the boss blitz event? Time to use em up! Halloween poops out magic find food and utilities, so don't really need to stock up before hand on these, just open a few ToT bags and you're good for the whole 3 week event.

Throw a Stamina and Speed sigil on your weapons. Endurance recharges like crazy, and speed sigil gives you all the swiftness. I refer back to point one. Be mobile. Be very mobile.

Don't be afraid to play with your traits. You're not looking for big DPS here, you're looking to tag things and be mobile.

Some groups will ask you to take off trinkets so your DPS isn't as high because you're one shotting things. The downside to this is when you fight Steve (The big skeleton with the chainsaw, we call him Steve. He looks like a Steve okay). It's polite to do this, or you can just be mindful and tag things once and move on. You only need to do like 1k damage to the mobs to get credit, you don't need to unleash your full raid ready DPS rotation. Tag and move on.

Autoloot mastery is key. If you're close to getting it, use this time before halloween to work on it. Otherwise you either end up leaving loot behind or you're the one left behind.

And most importantly, if you're new to the lab. Don't worry! It's not scary. It'll be a learning experience of how to keep up, and how to run in circles. You probably wont be pulling in big loot gains, but that's ok. Just learn from others. See what classes people are on, see what weapons they're using. Remember you’re scaled up here, so good time to level up a class :D

Getting into a lab instance! LFG fun times.

Lab can hold about 25 people. If you see a group in LFG with more than 25 people, just move to the next one. Or enjoy spamming "join instance" i guess? Commanders will generally keep their lfg up because numbers can dwindle pretty fast. Don't nag them to take their listing down. Just stop trying to join the big ones.

🚨🚨Controversy time! Alarm bells. Woo.🚨🚨 If you're there for profit, you want a lab that only does mob doors. Maybe vet doors at a push. But ignore "all doors" groups. Killing the big bosses takes way too much time. Sure you get some extra one per day loot, but you could have done like a full loop if not two in the time it takes you to to kill that stupid boss. No one is bringing their A game to fighting the bosses. People will die in droves to the Lich's Retaliation, and it's been 8 years and people still don't know to stand in the viscount's candy goo (but only a little bit) so they don't explode. Don't have high hopes for pug intelligence in the lab. Haha, looty man go brrrrr.You’ll sometimes get a daily to kill a boss, and that’s cool. Go do that.

And finally, when you join an instance and there's a group going on. Go join them. Don't open random doors, don't decide "i'm just gonna sit in the middle and afk farm!". By all means use a mount to catch up to the commander, but you MUST dismount, rather than use your number 1 skill to engage. You'll do too much DPS and be hated for the rest of the time you're in that group.Don’t be that guy.

Tips for commanders and everyone else.

For the love of god, go counter/anti-clockwise. When you get to the point of getting to the South East loot door, you do not want your zerg passing through the boss door just to the north. Because someone will have opened it and he'll just be chilling there. You do not want to pull your little brainless zerg through the boss to get to the mob door. Please, please, please go anti-clockwise.

Since you can't just do mindless loops on the outside, you have to go into the middle to give things time to respawn. Generally you want to go in either the north and south sides, or the east and west sides. Decide right now if you're gonna be a north/south or an east/west and stick to it. Basically go in to the middle at west, do a loop of killing the mobs there (please still go anti-clockwise) and head back out the west the way you came in. Then when you loop around to the east, go in to the middle and do a loop of mob killing there. Again, back out the way you came in. If you're taking over from another commander then try to keep the same pattern they did.

Don't try to outrun Steve. It's not gonna happen. If he appears, you go kill him. No buts. If you've told your group to take off trinkets, this fight will take a while.

You only need to go to the SW corner when the door is up, otherwise just take the little shortcut to the side.

Simialrly, don't go backwards. If a door pops and you're less than 5 seconds away, sure, maybe consider it. But everyone on that loot train is on auto pilot and watching netflix on their second monitor / mobile phone / tablet. You doing a 180 out of nowhere isn't gonna win friends.

And finally, commanders, give your groups a little break once in a while. We’re all responsible gamers here! Maybe after an hour just give em a 5 minute break up at the centre. Don't be salty if people still wanna farm the centre mobs though. General tips to everyone, if you need to go pee or whatever, just go find a safe place and go. The group will move on without you and that's ok, you'll catch up. The same goes for the commander. If you need to bail for 5-10 mins it's cool. Most groups can run on auto pilot. Maybe hand the tag to someone temporarily, just like, communicate with your group.

Tada. Yes I’m crispy when it comes to the lab. Thanks for asking. But yeah, some tips for everyone to have happy fun times.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

#Guild Wars 2 #fae rambles about stuff #long post #GW2 Halloween

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iwillhaveamoonbase · 4 years

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The Long Game ch. 4

Rayla watched on as Ezran and Callum argued. “I’m telling you; I can talk to animals!”

Callum folded his arms. “It’s the raccoons all over again.”

“Callum!”

“No. This is why you don’t have friends!” Rayla’s eyes went wide at that.

“Callum! Stop it!” She wasn’t even sure how they had gotten in on this bizarre argument. One minute they were enjoying their free time between lessons and the next Ezran was talking about how the horses were complaining about kissing in their stalls. Callum hadn’t taken kindly to it, calling Ezran a liar and now, apparently, Ezran could talk to animals. Rayla felt a headache coming on, but she also knew Ezran didn’t lie. “Just hear him out.” Rayla bent down to look Ezran in the eyes. “Ez, can you prove it?”

Ezran nodded. “The mice saw you two having conversations on your balconies. Every night, you two talk.”

Callum shook his head. “You could have easily overheard that. My room is right next to your’s and you have a balcony, too.”

Ezran groaned. “I’m sorry about the raccoons, OK?! I didn’t know they were all liars, but I’m not lying!”

Rayla put her hand on Ezran’s shoulder. “I know you believe this, Ez.” She looked at Bait in his arms. Ezran had always seemed hyperaware of Bait’s feelings….She took Bait and walked over to the stacks, ignoring Ezran and Callum asking what she was doing. “OK, frog. I’m going to tell you something nobody in this castle knows.” Bait looked up at her with his grumpy face, but croaked in acceptance, at least, she supposed he did. When she looked behind her and saw that the boys were still far behind them, she picked Bait up and whispered close to where she assumed his ear hole was. “My parents names were Tiadrin and Lain. My adoptive fathers called each other ‘My Heart.’”

Rayla turned back to Callum and Ezran, walking back with Bait. She had no idea what Bait was capable of communicating, but she figured, if Ezran could understand any of this, it would convince her. Rayla handed Bait to Ezran, and gestured for the glow toad to talk.

“What’d she do, buddy?” Ezran sighed. Callum raised a brow, clearly wanting to know himself. Ezran looked up and smiled. “That’s adorable.”

“What is?” Rayla asked.

“Your dads calling each other ‘My Heart.’ That’s so romantic!” Rayla’s eyes went wide. Callum looked at her, waiting for her to speak, she was sure.

“He can talk to animals,” Rayla said. Before Callum could ask, she walked away. She was going to have to be even more careful. If Ezran could hear the mice…she couldn’t say anything out loud. Nowhere was safe. Rayla’s eyes went wide as her breath came out in harsh pants. Had she slipped at any point? Would Ezran be able to understand her mumbles to herself? Rayla but her hand to her chest as she felt her heart beating loudly. “Oh, no…oh, no.”

“Rayla! How you-you OK?” Rayla looked up to see Soren, staring down at her. “You look like Callum when he’s having an anxiety attack.”

Was that what was happening? Blood was rushing in her ears. She had already failed and now…what if they figured if out and locked her up? They would kill her. Callum….Callum would hate her….Why did that hurt more than anything else? Rayla felt tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. “I’m fine,” she whispered. She couldn’t let anyone see her be weak. She was not weak. She was strong and brave and she would not fail in her duty.

“You don’t look fine. Do you want me to take you to your room?” Soren wrapped an arm around her shoulder, lifting her up. When had she sunk to her knees on the floor?

“I said I’m fine!” She pushed him away, putting her hand on the wall to steady herself. “I’m fine. Thank you, Soren.” Soren backed up, nodding at her.

“Do you want to, maybe, talk about it? I can be an ear for you if you want.”

“No. I’ve got it. Just learned something that shocked me.” Rayla walked away from Soren, ignoring his disappointed face. She didn’t have time for his flirting, even when he was trying to be kind. When she made it to her room, she settled on her bed and laid against the bed. She tried counting backwards, tried working through it. She tried a Big Feelings Time in her head, but nothing was working.

The tears of frustration came hard and they came fast. She was going to fail, just like her parents. She was a failure. This is why the guild had sent her. They had sent her to fail, get rid of her and end her miserable bloodline. She could feel herself spiral down deep into corners that couldn’t possible be true, but certainly felt true in the moment. Or was it true? Did they think she was doomed to fail?

She heard knocking on her door, but ignored it. She didn’t want to see anyone. “Rayla?” She turned her head to see Callum, his soft eyes staring right at her. Rayla turned away. She didn’t want him to see her like this. “Soren said you were upset.”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“Leave me alone,” she whispered in her pillow. “You wouldn’t get it.”

Instead of him leaving, he sat on the bed next to her. “You’re right, I probably wouldn’t.” She turned to look at him. He smiled down at her. Softly, hesitantly, he stroked her cheek and ran a hand through her hair. Rayla’s breath caught in her throat. “When my anxiety gets to be too much, I imagine my mom. It’s been so long since I’ve seen here, but she’s this calming force in my life. I miss her, all the time. I don’t remember my father, at all. I just know I have his eyes and talent for art.” Callum removed his hand, moving to the art journal he kept at his side at all times. “Do you want to see something?”

Rayla nodded, sitting up. She rested her head on his shoulder, taking in his scent of rosemary and balsam. He flipped through the pages until he finally landed on a picture of Sarai, Harrow, him, and Ezran. “It’s beautiful.”

“I draw this picture every year. I want to remember us from back then. My mom can’t grow old anymore, but I want us to have a family portrait every year anyways.”

“You look so much like her.”

“Thanks. It’s always a compliment when people say that.” He was quiet as he slowly flipped the pages for her to look through. “You missed the Jerkface Dance.”

“I did?” she whispered.

“I did the trick you did, with Bait. Ez now knows something really embarrassing.”

“What?”

“NOPE! It’s bad enough he knows.” Rayla didn’t push it.

After a few moments, she sighed. “I felt trapped by the fact that Ezran understands the mice. If he does, does that mean we don’t have secrets here?”

“I felt really upset about that too. Ez said he ignores the mice and has asked them to be quiet when they know he’s there. At least, about the things they hear around the castle. It’s too much of an invasion of privacy.”

“He’s a good kid.”

“He is. I felt really bad for saying that’s why he doesn’t have friends. Ez has always been a weird kid. But, that’s not fair, is it? He’s the future king. No matter what he does, people are going to look at him differently.”

Rayla raised her head, turning Callum’s head to look at her. “You’re both just doing your best. It’s too much burden for one so young. It’s not just him; everyone looks at you differently, too. I heard Viren offered magic lessons.”

“Claudia did. Primal magic since she has a primal stone. I’m gonna learn sky magic.”

Rayla smiled. “Do you promise, no dark magic?”

“I promise. It’s a shortcut and all it leads to is disaster. My mother…maybe she would still be alive if dark magic hadn’t been an option in the first place.”

“Maybe. Maybe it was her time. Who’s to say?”

Callum stared in her eyes. “It gets worse when I look in your eyes.”

“What does?”

“That tingling something’s off.” Rayla turned her head away, letting him go. “I’m sorry! That was rude!”

“No, it’s fine,” Rayla wrapped her arms around herself. For a second, she had forgotten the spell was there. He had looked at her like she was everything…stop, Rayla. Just stop. She couldn’t have him. She turned back around, Callum still looking at her. “Thank you. I feel better after you told me that Ezran doesn’t heed the mice.”

“I thought that was it. But Soren wasn’t sure. And, since he watches you so much…”

“He needs to stop. I’m not interested. Not my type.”

“What is your type?” It was so quiet she wasn’t sure she had heard right.

Rayla looked at him for a few moments. “Smart, willing to admit when they’re wrong, loving, kind.” She gulped. “A massive dork. Come on, we have lessons still.” She couldn’t give him time to think about what she had just said. If they did, what if he felt the same? Would she throw everything away to be with Callum? Rayla turned her head to look back at Callum, hand still holding her’s. Yes, she would give it all up if he loved her back as much as she loved him. She could never give him a chance to.

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

Callum huffed as he did his fifth fulminis. “Claudia, isn’t there any other spells?”

“You’re not ready, Callum,” she muttered. She was watching him with a critical eye. “You’re very quick with a primal stone, honestly. It took me weeks to get to this level. Dark magic was always easier.”

“Maybe I’m destined to be a sky mage?” Callum asked. The possibilities would be endless.

Claudia shook her head. “We were born with nothing. That’s why we need dark magic and primal stones. Come on, try dark magic. I’m sure you’d take to it right away.”

“No thanks,” Callum stood firm. Claudia was always trying to tempt him with dark magic and dates these days. He didn’t get it. The dark magic, he could. Claudia didn’t see just how dangerous it was yet. But the dates, that made no sense.

“OK. You wanna go get some jelly tarts?” And there was the date.

“No thanks.” Claudia nodded, not looking too torn up. “Is Viren asking you to ask me out?”

Claudia’s back straightened, turning away from him. “No?” It came out as a question. “I just think you and I would be good together.”

“Yeah, while I’m in love with Rayla and you’re not even attracted to me.” Claudia was quiet for too long. “You know I’m in love with Rayla, right?”

“So is Soren. Soren would be a good choice for her. He’s always trying to impress her and his sword fighting skills are pretty good.”

Callum looked down at his feet. That was all true. Rayla was too cool and pretty for him. She was his teacher and his friend, nothing more. There’s no way he could convince someone like her that he was even an option. “I know. I just don’t want us both to be miserable with each other.” Callum walked out of the room, heading towards the grounds. It was almost time for his lesson with Rayla. He saw her facing off against Soren. As always, it was clear as day that Rayla was the superior one with a weapon. She dodged and flowed like it was a dance, sweeping the leg effortlessly when she got bored of the match.

Callum saw that the crown guards around them were nursing injuries of their own. Rayla had probably gone through the lot of them. She finally swatted Soren’s sword out of his hand, putting the tip to his chin. “I win.” Her voice was crisp and clear, turning to look at the lot of the other guards. “He lasted longer than all of you. Do not forget that he is the head of the crown guard for a reason. You all need to stop making jokes about how a tiny girl keeps beating him. I think I remember Queen Sarai being the former general and incredibly skilled with a spear. Also, isn’t General Amaya a woman?”

One of the guards looked disgruntled. “You’re a slip of a thing and you’re so good.”

“I’ve got a lot of toned muscle. I prioritize speed over bulk. It’s not that complicated.” Rayla looked over at him, as if she had known he was there the whole time. Had she? “I’m doing the same with Callum. Making a move faster is just as important as might.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Rayla walked away, handing the sword to a random guard and grabbing two spears. “Good, you’re here. Let’s get this session underway. They were a good warm-up.” Callum followed before her, in awe of just how cool she sounded. They went to their more secluded grounds and went through the warm-ups of stretches and following basic spear-holding positions. “Eventually, we’ll get you doing swordplay again. Just to please everyone. How was your lesson with Claudia?”

“She suggested dark magic again.”

“And you said ‘no’?”

Why did she always sound so concerned when she asked that? “Of course. I have no interest in it.”

“Good.” Rayla turned away for a moment. She quickly spun the spear in her hand and turned to face him, moving to strike. He blocked her, trying to hold her ground as she added power behind her moves. She moved around him, trying to teach him how to keep grounded on his feet. “Better! Stand firm. No matter what, you cannot lose your balance. It’ll all be over if you do.” Callum nodded, bending his knees a bit. “Bad choice,” Rayla whispered. Callum couldn’t stop her from using her spear to sweep his legs out from under him, knocking him flat on his back. “You reacted to what I said in an obvious way. If you had waited, maybe I wouldn’t have noticed.”

“You’d have noticed. Don’t act like you wouldn’t have.”

“True.” Rayla stared down at him before offering her hand to help him up. “You are getting much better, though. I’m proud of you.”

Callum flushed at her words. It had been a little more than a year since she had arrived, crashing into their lives and disrupting his heart in every way. She now had to look up at him as his growth spurt had started. He watched as she spun the spear in her hand again, moving like it was a dance partner. Everything she did was like a dance. Perhaps, in another life, she was a dancer for a theater troupe. “Thanks.”

She smiled back at him. “Dinner will be soon, Your Highness. Go wash up.”

“What about you?”

“I want to stay here a bit longer. The peace and quiet does me good.” He nodded, leaving her behind. When he turned back for a last look, he saw her looking back at him, a soft look on her face. What did that mean? It reminded him of how his mom had looked at Harrow back when she had been alive. But, he couldn’t hope for that from Rayla. Someone like her was made for far better than him.

#rayllum #rayllum fanfic #tdp #the dragon prince #au #the long game #moonbase fanfics

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secret-engima · 5 years

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You mentioned an x-over with au and my mind automatically went ‘aeon meeting Nox and Ardyn’

Okay for THIS one I’m gonna be weird and try a fusion. Probably a bad one but HERE WE GO (note that this takes place during the early chapters of your fic? Just cause that’s what the muses wanted).

-Aeon gets thrown to Gilgamesh by a non-time-traveled Ardyn, and he still gets brutally trained by Gilgamesh but because this is a fusion and I’m feeling sappy, we’ll say the time-travel for Ardyn and Nox happened RIGHT after Aeon got thrown into the Tempering Grounds.

-It still takes Ardyn about eight months to finish sorting through the memories of this parallel dimension fused self and go OH SNAP and tear off for the Tempering Grounds with Nox on his heels.

-Aeon is in the middle of scraping what food he can from the scraggly garden when he feels the ground shake. Feels … something roll over his skin like fury and storms and ANGER and blood and hears his (tormentor) mentor howl in hatred that turns … pained?

-Aeon grabs his sword and runs to investigate. A part of him thinks to just take the chance and run, but he doesn’t think he’ll make it that far and if there is a greater threat about to come for him, he wants a chance to watch and see its weaknesses.

-Aeon is NOT expecting to see Ardyn. Ardyn wreathed in blood red flames, Ardyn with an entire armory of blades spinning around him as he tears Gilgamesh limb from limb with a tightlipped expression that Aeon thinks must be the fury he can taste in the air. Aeon decides that, as fascinating as it is to see Gilgamesh and Ardyn screaming at each other and tearing each other apart, this is a prime chance to run. So he does.

-He draws his sword and nearly beheads the person following him a second later. The sword is blocked effortlessly and blood red eyes drill into him with some emotion Aeon doesn’t care about, “Easy,” scoffs the black haired boy who must be his age, something world-weary and dark in his features that reminds Aeon of looking in a mirror, “I know a shortcut out.”

-“I don’t trust you.”

-A curl of lips, dark and feral, “You’d rather deal with all the monsters THAT,” a thumb over his shoulder at the screaming fight, “will stir up?”

-Aeon scowls as the boy slips by him, unafraid of exposing his back to Aeon just like Gilgamesh was unafraid.

-Aeon follows him out.

-He doesn’t know how long its been since he saw sunlight, just that it was too long, and for a moment Aeon has to stop and bask in it despite everything going on. The boy waits a wary distance away, watching the entrance to the Tempering Grounds and not flinching when the earth shakes. Aeon looks around and spots a campfire smoldering and something smells … good. The boy sees his look and says, “I cooked some fresh Behemoth sirloin. Figured you’d be hungry for something that didn’t come out of the ground.”

-Aeon eyes the boy warily, and for a moment considers questioning him as to why he is here, why he came, why ARDYN came and can apparently wield magic.

-Then he decides that it can wait until he’s eaten. The boy keeps watch on the entrance while Aeon eats, and Aeon is just finishing his first non-vegetable meal in months when Ardyn comes out, blood on his clothes but no wounds on his person, a dark look in his eyes that raises every hair on Aeon’s body. “There you are,” murmurs Ardyn and something in his eyes looks … off, “I feared you had died.”

-Aeon bristles, “You’re the one who threw me in there.”

-Ardyn looks away, studying the horizon line, “A grievous sin I have now rectified. There are supplies in the pack to your left, take them. Consider them a present for surviving Gilgamesh.” And Aeon wants to stab the man, wants to throw the bag at Ardyn’s head, but between one blink and the next the man is gone, vanishing into the shadows of the trees.

-The black-haired boy, who’s eyes are now blue rather than red, does not leave. He stays, and when Aeon breaks camp and leaves, he follows behind.

-Aeon snarls at him, hand on his mother’s sword hilt, “What do you want?”

-The boy blinks at him, “My name is Nox.”

-Aeon bares his teeth, his father’s fangs showing, “That’s not what I asked.”

-Another blink and thoughtful stare at the sky and then a slow, “Well. I suppose I want a friend.”

-And its the dumbest lie Aeon has ever heard, to the point where all Aeon can do is walk away in disgust.

-Nox follows him.

-It becomes a theme. Nox occasionally disappears, but never for more than a few days, then he always pops up again, falling into step in Aeon’s peripheral vision, just out of range of attack, content with the silence no matter how much Aeon tries to make him go away. Aeon thinks maybe Nox will leave once Aeon makes it to an outpost. He doesn’t.

-They end up taking Hunts together, only because Aeon can’t make him GO AWAY.

-Eventually he stops trying. Either Nox will get bored and leave or he won’t, and until then Nox follows him around, hunting extra food or helping to bring down monsters for the gil (not that Aeon NEEDS the help, but Nox listens to every demand except the one to GO AWAY)

-And so it continues for like- ten months. And eventually Aeon stops trying to make Nox go away or ignoring Nox when he finally breaks the silence between them to say something. Nox is just … always there. A constant fixture that does nothing to sway Aeon one way or another, or use him, or anything that makes SENSE.

-Sometimes he thinks about what Nox said all those months ago. About wanting a friend.

-Aeon doesn’t quite know when he started to think it just might be true. Not because it makes sense, but because nothing about Nox makes sense (he is Ardyn’s nephew, he claims, but he is so clearly an illegitimate Lucis Caelum even without the open use of magic around Aeon it’s a wonder no one else can tell) and if anyone would hang around Aeon just for … “friendship” rather than to use him as a weapon, it would be Nox. Stubborn, stupid, quiet Nox who sometimes acts just like Aeon and other times acts like someone else altogether (he’s messed up in the head, Aeon is certain, he’s seen the days Nox goes Quiet for reasons beyond Aeon refusing to have a conversation, the days Nox operates on instinct more than conscious thought).

-Aeon ignores the feeling in his chest the first time he grudgingly offers a hand to help Nox out of the dirt after a mistimed warp and Nox smiles at him with something like joy in his face. It makes no sense. But most of Nox doesn’t. So Aeon ignores it like everything else and they resume the hunt.

-Aeon doesn’t register the importance of their similar ages until well after he’s turned fifteen and a month or so after Nox mentions that he’s done the same. It really shouldn’t surprise him that they both present at the same time, when they both operate on the same routine and all, but somehow it does.

-It’s only sheer spite that keeps the two of them going to finish the hunt and not just lie down and drown in their combined emotions going EVERYWHERE, and he takes almost morbid amusement in the realization that Nox has no clue what is happening. Aeon has no patience to explain it beyond “keep fighting and we’ll deal later”.

-The two stagger back to an outpost and book a hotel room and somehow end up passing out in the same bed and for once Aeon is too freaking tired to care that Nox is within touching distance. It’s not like Nox is going to try anything, especially not when he’s just as miserable as Aeon.

-Later, after showers and joint miserable looks, they are approached by an Alpha Guide, who teaches them how to shield themselves. The Alpha Guide also gives Nox a crash course on basic biology that even Aeon knew, but apparently Nox did not as he hadn’t even known what it meant to be an Alpha Guide like Dave the Hunter.

-After they move on, Nox takes to occasionally reaching out with his emotions and mentally brushing against Aeon in affection-recognition-greeting before pulling back. Somehow, Aeon finds himself letting the slightest flickers of annoyance-greeting-affection slip out in return. Nox has grown on him, and even if the rest of the world is untrustworthy … Nox is too strange and dumb to use him as a weapon.

-And things go back to being routine. Him and Nox and occasionally Ardyn, who drops in with more supplies and news for Nox and a spar for Aeon after Aeon insists on learning how to combat the kind of red magic Ardyn uses.

-Then they overhear Niflheim Soldiers talking about their successful kidnapping of the Prince of Lucis and Nox growls, low and feral and for the first time since that day in the Tempering Grounds, Aeon can taste Rage on his tongue.

-Well. He supposes they’re off to rescue a princeling then.

(Gonna leave it here, hope you don’t mind this … basically AU drabble of your fanfic? But I wanted to try a fusion and then Nox was like “imma befriend Aeon before he ever gets revealed as Cor’s son” and so here we are.

Also they rescue Noctis and Noctis insta-recognizes Nox as a Relative and Nox panics and Aeon thinks he’s being Dumb but they walk Noctis to Hammerhead and Aeon gets shot and Nox goes BALLISTIC over it so whoops now they’re both revealed and Regis gets to join Cor on the “my son I didn’t know I had is Feral and Abused AAAAAA” boat).

#SE asks #sparklecryptid asks #Secret Engima Rambles #Nox verse #corling au #xover #sparklecryptid #other people's ocs #other people's fanfics

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dreams-of-kalopsia · 5 years

Text

Snowball Effect

Summary: Lance may have been the one to throw the alien snowball that set off the snowball war between him and Pidge, but it was Pidge’s alien snowball that ended it by incurring Allura’s wrath. Now the two were stuck in a planet blanketed entirely by snow, forced to make up and work together. Could it get any worse? Yes. Yes, of course.

Second half of the @voltronsecretsanta2k19 fic for @nessajjewell, who requested a snowball fight.

Read it on AO3.

----

Part 1: Snowball War

Part 2: Snow Fight

The dwarf planet came into view on the bridge’s screens. It was almost entirely white. Even though they were exempt from the punishment that awaited Pidge and Lance, Coran and the remaining Paladins felt themselves shiver. This seemed too extreme.

“A-Are you sure about this, Princess?” Coran asked.

“Do it, Coran.” Allura’s voice lacked hesitation. “But monitor their vitals and keep the comm links open. We want them to reconcile, not die.”

For a moment there, though, everyone else hadn’t been too sure.

Coran swallowed audibly. “Understood. Approaching drop-off in five. Four. Three. Two. One.” He opened the airlock where Lance and Pidge were detained. “Blue and Green Paladins successfully dropped off,” he announced over the two’s screams.

Shiro approached the main screen, worry lining his face. “This is the turning point in their relationship.”

“Yeah,” Hunk agreed. “They could return a couple.”

“Or they could hate each other forever,” Keith countered.

Hunk slowly turned towards him, eyes narrowed. “Aaare you trying to start a bet, Keith?”

Keith smirked. “Why, are you up for it?”

* * *

“Oof!” Pidge cried over the comms, though Lance couldn’t see her in the meter-tall snow. He shook off the dizziness from the drop and the snow that made it under his armor before trudging to shallower depths.

Pidge emerged eventually, very much disgruntled. “They deactivated everything,” she said darkly.

Unable to follow her train of thought, he asked, “Who did what?”

“Allura and Coran!” she answered, looking up at the Castleship hovering above them. “They deactivated my scanners and sensors—we’re literally lost in here!”

“Not forever,” Coran’s pleasant voice—turned unpleasant by the situation—reminded. “Accomplish Allura’s tasks, and we’ll be right down to get you both.”

“No! Get us out of here right now! I apologized to Vir already!”

“No can do, Number Five.”

“When I get back there,” Pidge growled, “I’m going to make you pay, Allura.”

Allura met her aggression with calm assertiveness: “I’d like to see you try.”

“Uhh, Pidge?” Lance called from behind Pidge, but she couldn’t be bothered to spare him any attention when she was still busy scowling at the Castle.

“What?”

“Are you up for another snowball fight?” he asked.

Preoccupied as she was, she missed the apprehension in his voice. “How could you even ask that? That’s exactly what got us in this position!”

“D-Do you want to fight a snowman, then?”

“I don’t think that’s how the old classic film goes!”

Lance groaned. “Stop retorting!”

“Then stop trying to get smart with me!” She turned to redirect her glare at him, but all her fuming anger dissipated when she saw what had him spouting nonsense. Numerous creatures were running towards them, snow-white and menacing. Suddenly, his nonsense made absolute sense.

Pidge summoned her bayard as Lance started shooting. It took only three shots from his bayard for them to realize that these creatures were made entirely of snow and were thus, basically, invincible.

For the second time in ten minutes, they both screamed, sprinting and fighting their way to higher ground.

“We’re gonna die! And not even because of Paladin stuff!” Lance whined.

Pidge scoffed at him. “Technically, they can’t harm us and we can’t harm them.” She released her grapple at an elephant-like snow creature. It reverted to its original lifeless form, hopefully permanently.

“They can bury us in snow! Our suits can’t regulate freezing temps for too long… we can die of hypothermia even if we don’t get wounded!”

“Stop overreacting, Lance. We just have to lose them and find a place to wait everything out.”

“Or—” Lance paused to evade a pouncing creature. It looked like one he’d seen in Syrma, although very malformed. “Or we could just do what Allura said and talk.”

She didn’t respond. He thought she was just finishing off the last few creatures attacking her. When she still hadn’t spoken after they’d been running for some time, he brought up his suggestion once more.

“Look, the sooner we do what we have to do, the sooner we’ll get out of here.” He caught a few breaths before continuing. “Don’t you want to go back?” he baited, if only to get a reaction out of her.

She shot him a glare. “Of course I do.”

“But…?” he encouraged, but she’d clammed up again. “What’s stopping you, Pidge?”

“I just—” she began. Her next words were interrupted by growling noises and sounds of many, many things lumbering and plodding through the thick layer of snow.

Lance and Pidge moved in sync to protect each other’s backs. Their training and survival instincts kicked in no matter how upset they were with each other. The creatures circled them hungrily—or as hungrily as their snowy features allowed.

Everything stilled in that one instant before the first of the pack leapt at the two.

“Go on,” Lance said as he shot at a three-headed alien snow creature.

“What?” Pidge asked, glancing over her shoulder.

“You were saying something.”

“Seriously? Now?”

“You said these things can’t wound us! So let’s get this over with!” More slashing sounds but no response from Pidge. “Pidge, c’mon!”

“I’m scared what you’ll say about me!”

Now he was the one to fall silent. Some alien snow Yeti charged at him. He slammed his shield into it, hearing Pidge do the same behind him.

That move seemed to keep the other creatures at bay. They circled them again with bloodlust and wariness. Lance and Pidge watched, ready for another wave of attack.

“You can go first,” Lance said at length, eyes following the wolf-like snow at the forefront of the pack.

Pidge almost whirled to face him but caught herself at the last second. “What?” She felt rather stupid having to ask the question twice within such a short period of time. Usually she was the one answering it, not the one asking. She really was out of her element in this odd situation in this unknown planet.

“You can go first,” he repeated, then shot at the snow-wolf just at it lunged at him. The others followed suit, and the fighting resumed.

His offer left her immobilized for a few moments—long enough to let a weird alien rat snow to get past her defense. A timely kick did the job, but it didn’t get rid of the sudden increase in the tension she felt.

“Pidge,” Lance grunted as he wrestled a creature near his size. “Are you… gonna do it or—?”

“You always let girls compromise our missions,” she blurted out, launching the bladed tip of her bayard to stab the snow creatures in its path.

He knocked down his current enemy before replying. “Hey, that was one time!”

“Is it?” Her doubtful tone made him reconsider as they finished off the remaining enemies and started running again.

“Okay,” he conceded, “maybe a couple times. But it’s not always!”

She moved on as if she hadn’t heard him. “Two. You act like you know everything.”

They were making their way up a hill now, jetpacks aiding their hike, Pidge watching their front while Lance guarded their back. His steps slowed at her words. “I had to. It’s the only time you correct me and I actually learn stuff.”

Pidge remained silent for a few minutes. She really didn’t want to do this. Not because she was scared of confrontations—she could deal with those—but because she didn’t want to hurt Lance and be hurt in return. She didn’t want to lose one of the only friends she had, and this talk was like the shortcut to losing one if they couldn’t work things out. At the same time, she felt the necessity of all this, for reasons yet unknown to her.

So she continued: “Three. You always protect others at the cost of your own safety.”

She heard a huff over the comms. “That’s what a Paladin does, Pidge!”

“No, Lance. That’s what someone who thinks they’re replaceable and unimportant does.”

The ensuing silence allowed them to catch the light crunching of snow to their right. Judging from the lack of obvious shuffling noises that bulkier snow creatures announced themselves with, Pidge expected this group to be more agile on average. She and Lance regained their breaths as they prepared for the next round of fighting.

Lance still hadn’t rebutted her. That fact made her uneasy. Very uneasy. “Do you… Do you think you are?”

“Just get ready for those creatures,” he replied, but his non-answer was a clear answer for her: yes. And she hated that more than his notorious self-sacrificing habit.

“I’ll change number three, then.” The first of the snow creatures showed themselves. Pidge planted her feet to the ground, lowered her posture, and re-centered her balance. “I hate that you think you’re replaceable—” She slashed at a distorted griffin-like creature. “—or unimportant—” Then garroted a six-legged creature with her bayard’s cord. “—or whatever it is you think of yourself.” Assuming he wouldn’t respond to that, she kept talking. “Four, you keep bugging me even if I want to be alone.” Another winged creature fell as snow at her feet. “Especially when I ask you to leave me alone.”

“I just can’t leave you alone.”

She frowned in confusion. “Why?”

“Because…” A few shots went off behind her. “Nobody really wants to be alone when they say they do.”

Her frown deepened. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Does to me,” he said so nonchalantly she actually heard him shrug.

They lapsed into contemplative silence as they crested the hill.

“Five,” Pidge huffed once they did. “I hate… that whenever Hunk and I run off to do something fun… I’ll turn around and not find you there.”

Lance had stationed himself atop a slab of ice a little farther in front and to her left, on the lookout for incoming enemies and a possible hideout, so she couldn’t see his reaction. She couldn’t hear anything other than his heavy breaths over the coms, either. Thinking that she’d done her worst, she sighed.

“I always thought you didn’t want me to follow.”

She jumped a bit. Both at his sudden reply and its meaning. “Why would you think that?”

“Because whenever I try to go after you guys, you’re already gone.” His voice sounded neutral and blasé, as if he was used to the fact. As if he’d already resigned himself to it.

Her heart sank at that. She made to move towards him, but her eyes caught something dark in the distance. It looked like… She gasped. “Lance, look!”

His gaze followed the direction she was pointing at, then directed the scope of his blaster for a better view. He gasped, too. “It’s an opening to a cave!”

They looked at each other with hopeful eyes and were about to set off when another pack of snow creatures emerged from the snowy woods to their right. They groaned.

“Don’t these things ever run out?!” Pidge complained as she slashed a creature in its chest.

“Guess not!” Lance shouted back, parrying a three-tiered snowman’s snow arms with his blaster.

She growled. “This is getting exhausting!”

“Here, let me rile you up,” he said, and she could tell what would come next.

Adrenaline rushed throughout her body. He’d already riled her up with just his preface; she wasn’t sure she could hear the rest without being distracted. She knew why, of course. She just didn’t ever want to admit it.

Lance took a deep breath to calm his nerves and regain his focus. He needed to keep what was left of his cool in order to fend off these annoying things and say his piece. “First thing I dislike about you…” He blasted two creatures in the head. “You never explain anything.”

The slicing noises from Pidge’s side grew aggressive following his words. “I do explain stuff!”

“Not to me,” he retorted, glaring at the next creature to attack before decimating it with a tad too many shots from his bayard.

“But you never ask anything!”

“You didn’t really—” He kept shooting even as more creatures appeared. “—make it easy for me.” Snow piled at his feet as the creatures turned back to snow. He heard her indignant huff but preempted her protest. “That’s why I always act like I know everything when I don’t know anything at all.”

It was Pidge’s turn to fall silent again. This alternating routine between them was getting funnier with every repetition. Add to that their current situation and the event that started all of this, and Lance would’ve died of the ridiculous hilarity of it all. Now if only he wasn’t one of the two exhausted people being chased by alien snow creatures.

Through a mix of strategy and luck, Pidge opened a gap for them to escape through by releasing her grapple to pierce a group of similar-looking snowies that had lined up to attack them. And they booked out of there, sprinting down the hill in the direction of the cave.

“Next,” Lance panted. Pidge didn’t react; he supposed she was too tired to respond. Understandable. He’d rather not speak when his lungs were already working overtime, too, but he knew that the only way to get back to the Castle was to have this uncomfortable discussion. And right now, he wanted nothing more than sleep in his bed cocooned in lots of blankets and pillows. “You… always run… off somewhere… I couldn’t follow.” He was still running at full speed when Pidge suddenly decreased her pace. He maneuvered mid-stride so he wouldn’t crash into her. “Hey! Why’d you—”

“Is that why you’re… not there when…?” she asked between puffs, turning towards him.

He was reluctant to meet her eyes, what with guilt and comprehension coloring her tone, so he waved a dismissive hand in front of his face. “Let’s keep running.” They could talk more later in safety. Continuing where he’d left off once they were on the move again, “Three. I hate that… you close yourself off… when something bothers you.”

All he got for that was a grunt, making him release a heavy breath.

“Yup. My point exactly.”

“My problems aren’t… your business.”

“It is if… they affect… someone important to me.”

They approached the foot of the hill with speed and caution. The cave waited for them just a hundred meters ahead, the shadowy silhouette of its mouth stark against the white blanket of snow, beckoning for them to take refuge. Get past the horde of snow creatures between them and the cave, and they would be safe in the meantime. Lance hoped that he and Pidge wouldn’t be sharing the hideout with another living thing out to get them.

A strategy formed in his mind while he studied the terrain and the rabid creatures before them. “Pidge,” he said, holding out his arm to stop her advance. “I’ve got an idea.” He felt her eyes on him, indication that he had her attention. “Let’s blast our way through their ranks. You go ahead and check if the cave is safe. I’ll clear a path for you and follow right after.”

Pidge nodded. “It’s a plan.” And she crouched, getting ready to sprint on his mark.

“I hate that you get all grumpy and violent whenever I talk about girls,” he squeezed in at the last moment. He didn’t want to dwell on it—at all. Hopefully she’d be too distracted and wouldn’t dwell on it, either. Much better if she’d ignore it completely.

“W-Wait, what?” she sputtered.

“Ready?”

“Lance!”

“Three, two, one. Go!”

Despite his blindsiding, Pidge set off without missing a beat. Quick recovery as always. That’s Pidge for you, he thought in admiration, summoning his bayard to start shooting at the creatures at the vanguard as he and Pidge charged by their twosome.

The creatures from this horde were larger than the previous ones, more agile and well-formed. It had taken Lance a rather long time to clear a path for Pidge. But the moment he did, she launched her grapple at the cave’s entrance and prayed it had something to hook to. Prayer answered. Using her jetpack, she jumped over the remaining distance that separated her and Lance from safety.

Pidge examined the dark interior as fast and thoroughly as she could with the limited light of her suit’s flashlight. She felt ill at ease having all her upgrades—developed to be useful for any contingency—overridden and deactivated on Allura’s command. Well, she could exact her revenge for being unnecessarily endangered like this later. She shone the light on every corner. Ground: devoid of snow. Walls: clear. Other end of the cave: covered with the same rocky walls surrounding her. Most importantly: no other living thing in sight. “Clear!” was her verdict.

She heard Lance’s whoop over the comms, accompanied by the crescendo of rabid growls and crushing snow. He was near; waiting on standby by the cave’s mouth to cover his entrance and get rid of the creatures hot on his heels would be best.

There was one thing she couldn’t wait about, though.

“Also, I so do not get violent or grumpy!”

“That right?” he huffed out, tone dubious. “So ‘accidentally’… hitting me when I… used to… talk about Allura—” Shots and whimpering sounds. “—and ignoring me for days… after fans ask for photos with me… are not violent and grumpy?”

Pidge fell into a sulky silence. She’d finally gained a visual on Lance’s helmet, so she directed a glare at it. It wasn’t like she could rebut anything he said, anyway.

“Like what, you jealous or something, Pidge?” he asked off-handedly, but even the comm-link couldn’t filter out the nervousness in his voice.

Her body returned to its fight-or-flight mode, and not because of creatures aiming their fangs at her neck. “Why don’t you answer your own question?”

“Don’t wanna… make a wrong answer.”

“You’ve got a fifty-fifty chance. You’d have to be unlucky to make the wrong one.”

He didn’t reply for a few moments. “Then… wild guess…” He was now close enough to the cave that she could probably lasso him if he neared the entrance a little more. “You’re jealous?” he hazarded in a hopeful tone, one he seemed to be trying—and failing—to keep away from his voice.

Pidge’s cheeks heated up at being found out. Nonetheless, she admitted to it with a very quiet “So you know.”

A shocked “—What?” went over the comms immediately after, but there was no time to elaborate. Lance had reached the effective range of her bayard. With snow creatures still close behind him, she determined that lassoing was the fastest way to get him to safety.

“I said…” Pidge activated her bayard, calculating the amount of force and timing needed to pull Lance away. “I’ll lasso you now.”

“What?!”

She aimed her bayard at him and released. Its cord wound around him a few times before the grapple hooked itself under his breastplate. Then she gave one hard yank, Lance screaming as her bayard powerfully reeled in the cord—and him—towards her.

After an instant release of his restraints, a sweeping survey of his surroundings, and quick thinking on his part, Lance shot at the hanging slabs of rock near the cave entrance. The rocks fell piece by piece, boulders sealing the creatures out and trapping the two of them in, at least until they were done with Allura’s tasks. The tasks were getting more embarrassing and difficult to do as they progress; he wasn’t sure he could go through this without the distraction of shooting at snowy things.

He could estimate Pidge’s position beside him based on the glowing marks on her armor, though he couldn’t see the expression on her face. Maybe that was why she wouldn’t turn on her suit’s flashlight or allow him to light his. Maybe that was for the best.

The silence would’ve been deafening if not for the scratching, shuffling noises outside the blockade. Neither of them spoke for a long time.

Unable to bear the tension anymore, Lance cleared his throat, which had suddenly become dry. “So… do you get jealous those times? Is-Is that why… you do what you do?”

“…I thought you already made a guess.”

“Yeah, but you have to explicitly confirm if it’s right or wrong, or it’ll stay as a guess.”

Pidge huffed. “Can’t you just infer? Why do you need explicit confirmation?” The glowing marks on her shoulders moved—probably to cross her arms.

“B-Because!”

“Yeah?”

“Because it would make it easier to say the last thing I dislike about you.”

She heaved a sigh. “Fine. You guessed right. Happy?”

His face flushed with heat and heart picked up its pace again. Physical exertion a few minutes ago and now emotional exertion? Man, he was being pushed to his absolute limits. As Pidge suggested, he inferred the rest. The happy giddiness that came with his conclusion sent his heart in a frenzy; he worried that it might burst if this went on longer, so he continued their talk.

“No, because that means you think I prefer someone else’s attention over yours.” He didn’t miss the quiet gasp that escaped her, and he couldn’t stop the grin spreading wide across his face. “I hate that you’ve convinced yourself that you’re not girly enough to be beautiful. Just being a girl is girly enough. And just because you don’t do or like what other girls do doesn’t make you any less beautiful.” Pidge’s confirmation had dispelled most of his hesitation, allowing him to be as honest and open as he wanted. “Do you even know how amazing you are? Have you seen your eyes when you’re intent on making everything go your way? Wait, of course you haven’t. But it’s like they’re alight with fire. If you saw them, you wouldn’t want to look a—”

“Wait, stop! Stop!” Pidge cut in with a flustered voice. “Can you even hear what you’re saying?!”

“Of course I can! I have ears! So please let me finish and don’t make me say all of this again!”

“No, no! I’ve heard enough—”

“But I haven’t said enough—”

“No, you have!”

“Pidge—”

“Just tell me one thing you like about me!” she cried out, finally silencing his protests. Even the shuffling sounds outside had paused at her outburst. “That’ll be enough. I’ll do the same.”

* * *

“I’ll do the same.”

“I don’t think we should be seeing this,” Keith said, face the same color as his Lion. His hand moved towards the main panel of the bridge, but it was pushed away by Hunk.

“Allura said we should keep an eye out for them—or ear. Right, Allura?” Hunk threw the question over his shoulder to where Allura stood watching from the center of the bridge, deeply engrossed with the video feed and hands clasped to her chest.

“Hunk’s right,” she replied. “But we should send Blue and Green out to fetch their Paladins.”

Coran quietly followed her command so they could all hear the rest of the conversation over the comm link. A glance at the panel screens showed that the Lions had left their hangars.

“Okay.”

* * *

“Okay. Let’s say it at the same time,” Lance suggested.

“But our answers will overlap,” Pidge argued.

“But it’s less embarrassing than saying it one at a time.”

She hummed in thought. “That’s true.” Her hands began to sweat beneath her space suit. “On three?”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“You.” “You.”

The universe stilled when she uttered her answer and heard his voice blend with hers with the exact same answer.

“Then… Then why…” she breathed out but couldn’t continue. Her lungs were short on air. Her heart thundered in her chest. Her whole body felt hot despite being in a planet frosted over with snow, breaking the rules of thermoregulation.

“Why what?” Lance asked. He sounded as breathless as she was, and the fact that she wasn’t the only one calmed her just enough to get more words to pass her lips.

“Why did you throw that first alien snowball?”

“Because… some Syrmi was getting too friendly with you, and I wanted to return your attention to me and keep it on me.” Lance knew that Pidge couldn’t see him, but he looked away in shame, anyway. All this was, in all actuality, his fault. He prepared himself for some reprimand, but Pidge’s reply caught him off-guard.

“You can just ask for it, you know?”

“I-I can?”

“…Yeah.”

“Well, can I have it now?”

“S-Sure.”

“And can I keep it?”

“As long as you want.”

Every question and answer grew more hushed than the exchange before them, until they were mere whispers, barely audible even to Pidge and Lance. Unconsciously, their hands sought each other in the dark, guided by the faint glow of their armors. With their hands intertwined, the rest of their bodies moved to follow, their heads closing the inches, centimeters, millimeters of space between them.

But then the ground shook, knocking their helmets lightly together.

“What the—?” Lance began, but Pidge shushed him.

“Listen!”

Silence from outside the cave. The shuffling noise of the snow creatures had stopped.

The ground shook again, and their hideout’s barricade of rocks crumbled. Light poured in, momentarily blinding them as their eyes readjusted. Despite their temporary loss of vision, they could feel two familiar presences waiting for them beyond the cave’s entrance. They knew exactly who those were.

Pidge and Lance grinned.

“Our rides are here, Lance!”

“Finally!”

* * *

“Alright! Lance and Pidge are a thing now!” Hunk cheered. “Which means I’ll be prepping a feast, Allura will be prepping for Pidge’s revenge—”

“I’m ready,” Allura interjected confidently and all too happily.

“Good to know, Allura. Pidge is merciless, as we’ve seen.” He turned from Allura to Keith, who was sulking in the Red Paladin’s seat with his arms crossed. “And Keith will be prepping himself to follow my command as the loser of our bet.”

“Do your worst,” Keith replied. He trusted Hunk with his life, but not so with his pride. And judging by the gleeful gleam in Hunk’s eyes and his love of pranks rivaling Pidge’s and Lance’s, there was just no telling what the guy would make Keith do for two whole months.

“Okay. You ready, Keith?” Hunk asked, chuckling in excitement. “Oh boy, this’ll be fun.”

Keith tried not to panic.

“For the next two months, I command you to…” There was a pause. It was too long for comfort. “…hang out much more with all of us.”

The penalty was so light and unexpected that it went over Keith’s head at first and didn’t sink in for a long time. It took Hunk’s huge grin, Shiro’s kind, lopsided smile, Allura’s gentle smile, and the welcoming expression on Coran’s face for Keith to succeed in processing Hunk’s command.

And once he did, he couldn’t help smiling back.

“I think I can do that.”

* * *

Lance had been hanging out with Pidge in Green’s hangar after a suspiciously celebratory dinner when he remembered something they’d missed. “We’ve never actually worked out five ways we can meet halfway,” he noted.

Pidge stopped tinkering with a prototype of an Altean version of Rover. “You’re right. It’s a good thing Allura forgot about it and let us back in.”

“Maybe she didn’t see the need for it anymore.” When she looked at him in confusion, he clarified, “Because we don’t hate each other anymore?”

“Huh.” She shrugged. “Guess it doesn’t matter now.”

Lance sat up in his chair, rolling it closer to her. “Wanna do it anyway?” he asked.

Pidge put down Rover 2.0.1 and faced him. She couldn’t really say no when he looked so eager. “Fine.”

“Okay. I won’t let girls compromise missions anymore. Unless you’re compromised. Then that’s a different matter.”

She rolled her eyes even as heat rushed to her cheeks. “I’ll make sure to explain stuff to you. But I can’t always tell when you don’t get what I’m saying, so you’ve got to ask me, too.”

“Got it. Hmm, what’s next? Oh.” He gave her a serious look. “Please try to open up when something bothers you, Pidge. You’re not alone. I won’t annoy you if I can help it,” he promised, and she believed him.

“I promise to wait for you. I won’t leave you behind again.”

“And I promise to always follow you.” He held out a pinky. She raised her brows at the childishness of it but humored him nonetheless. “Pinky promises are the real unbreakable vows.” They laughed.

“Last one,” Pidge said as her laughter faded into somberness. “You’ve got to stop putting yourself in harm’s way for others all the time.”

Lance averted his gaze. He made to turn away from her, but she’d already read his intention and so had gently cupped his face with her hands to stop him. His eyes remained adamantly trained elsewhere. Fine by her; he just needed to listen to what she had to say.

“Let’s state the facts here,” she said. “Out of billions of humans on Earth, Blue chose you. She’d waited for ten thousand years just for you to chance upon the cave she was hidden in. She could’ve chosen any of us, but she still chose you. Do you know how small your chance was? Almost nonexistent. And yet here you are, Paladin of the Blue Lion. Just from that you’re already irreplaceable.”

His eyes slowly met hers, and a thrill ran down her spine. She hadn’t known that they were this shockingly blue up close.

When did we even get this close? she wondered vaguely, too mesmerized by his eyes to give it any more thought.

“Also, as of today you’re the only person in the universe who holds my attention. You’re the sole keeper of it. If you go, all my attention goes with you.”

He released a quiet chuckle, his breath mingling with her breath. “Is that how it works?” he whispered, but she heard him loud and clear.

They were much closer now, she absently noted, and much closer when their noses touched. Her eyes fluttered shut.

“It is to me. You’re important, Lance. I can prove it.”

“Okay, prove it,” she felt him say.

She pressed her lips to his—slowly, gently but with no hesitation. Never hesitation. He kissed her back eagerly and just as gently.

The moment was brief, but it was warm. It thawed the uncertainties that had frozen her decisions and melted the fears that ran her blood cold. Somehow, she knew that she’d be okay. She knew that her path forward would no longer be as bleak.

“Believe me now?”

“Yeah.”

Pidge smiled.

Spring was on its way.

#voltronsecretsanta2k19 #voltron secret santa #nessajjewell #voltron #plance #sorry for the double tag!#writings

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gods-at-gunpoint · 5 years

Photo

howdy everyone! first monthly update for drgag, but first, thank you all so much for the support thusfar! im crying guys

lets get into it !

november’s been a bit of a hectic month due to the end of my schools semester rounding the corner along with the general chaotic energy of this time of the year, but without further ado!

main takeaways from this month of work has been

-loads of sprites! except. i realized pretty late in the process that i was making them in a very inefficient way and taking like. way longer on each one than i needed to because of this . like

for anyone making fangans as well its really a learning process and mass producing sprites and shit is a PROCESS. but i feel like the easiest way ive found to make different poses nd shit quicker is to like. LABEL my folders . when i make eyes that i know are gonna change i go in and make a folder where ill put all that. and then when it comes to bodies which i didnt think too hard about at first, especially when it comes to arms... like the best thing i think thats streamlined has been to just draw the whole ass torso and render it and THEN add arms to that, rather than drawing the arms and coloring the arms on the same damn layer as everything else... whereas you have to select the arms and then make a new layer and go BACK and recolor the torso bc u fucked up like... yeah....

ive mostly worked on kimiko and itsuki so far because i just love conveying their personalities a lot through their sprites, gonna post a few of my favs-

crackheads. i also made emi sprites but my clip studio file got corrupted? i have to fix that shit msldfkjdf add this to my to do list siri please smflksdf ...ok moving on

-splash art coming along slowly but steadily... will get there eventually its kinda just farther down on my list of priorities rn lol heres a kimiko wip tho

-writing!!! i revised . i HARDCORE revised how i decided to open the game like. shit. fuck. i just had a thought while i was watching nichijou one day and shit i just. damn. i dont wanna say anything bc im like so fucking excited about it but basically it calls for about 30 more scene cgs that i had not prior planned so ive been. grinding so much to try and get those illustrated mkanhuyfysoif but yeah!! i rewrote the whole ass introduction to the prologue god bless . the prologues all done written now but ofc im probs gonna go over it like 60 more times lmao

in other parts of writing i finished about half of the first and third trials, and most of chapter 1′s writing overall... we rlly out here gettin that bread bruh

with writing i guess the biggest thing is like. i have a fuckton of gaps where i just need to put like. the In Between shit mlksdfjiusdf lmao but yeahg. we out here

-programming shit!!! god i . worked on implementing UI into unity and holy shit it was all on fire my pain is immeasurable im not a fucking compsci major fmlkjasuhf98asdofp my compsci major friend was looking over my shoulder the whole time and shaking his head njhysuadgf8sduoifjkdsf but like. basically i figured how to put some basic text box shit up in unity but ive mostly just been grinding away at practicing related C# shit in order to get my life together. also ive been throwing around a lot of UI ideas like

i dont fucking know. i think im gonna have the whole student handbook on the side of it with shortcuts? at least the transcript, save, load, etc commands on the right side of it... also im thinking of making it much more minimalist than how the DR dialogue boxes are usually bc usually theyre like. largely flashy but yknow i . i dont know i just really like how minimalistic UI looks but i may or may not change my mind on this. god skdfjlsdkf

-here have whatever the fuck this is

god okay this got lengthy real quick so imma scuttl away now until next time... thanks yall again for your support!!!! i have some breaks from school soon so hopefully i can like. get a lot more stuff done especially w my sprite epiphanies lmao mlsfkjsdf

goodnight!!

-annie

art up there without text:

d8 night )

#fanganronpa #danganronpa gods at gunpoint #drgag #hanae masaki #keiko ishii #kimiko usui #itsuki nakatsuka #fortnight dances super hard im so sorry this is a mess msdflkjsdf #/long post

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mattzerella-sticks · 5 years

Text

Caught in His Webb, a speculative fanfic about what we hope have learned about season 15, episode 8

When Sam met one of Dean's old hunting buddies - made during his time at Stanford - he didn't know what to expect.

When said hunting buddy leaves, after finishing a hunt, and says goodbye with a chaste kiss - he doesn't know what to think.

Can Sam get Dean to talk about his feelings? And will airing everything to dry help Dean understand and come to terms with more than what happened after the hunt?

Sam watches Leo’s truck drive off, waiting until the cherry red Ford disappears around the corner before turning to Dean. His brother putters around the motel packing. Face hidden but flushed neck still burning minutes after Leo left. He isn’t surprised Dean bounces off the walls, especially with the explosive farwell Leo dropped on their laps.

“ Maybe in another lifetime… we could’ve had something good. ”

A cheek kiss isn’t the most suggestive gesture, except the only time Dean’s seen a man’s lips close in on his brother’s face was in the heat of battle. Creatures snarling as they fight against whatever shield or restraint that blocks them from tearing into his brother’s face. Nothing as soft, innocent, or intimate as a featherlight press against stubble.

“Dean -”

“We better get a move on Sammy,” Dean cuts him off, zipping up his duffel, “if we leave now we can probably skip an extra night on the road.”

Sam frowns, brows pinching tighter than a rubber band. “Dean… we need to talk.”

Dean’s hands pause from where they rest on the handles. His shoulders stiffen, enough that Sam doesn’t need to see his face to know his dimples are on full display. “Talk about what?” he asks. Gruff, tone warning Sam that if he chooses to travel down this road it’ll be filled with bumps, potholes, and traffic.

Luckily he knows all of Dean’s shortcuts.

“Leo was a pretty swell guy,” he starts, leaning against the wall.

Dean, thrown off like Sam planned, finally sneaks a peek. A fog of wariness clouds his gaze, as expected. “Yeah,” he says, “Glad to see the years don’t really change a guy…”

“So he was like that when you knew him?”

“Not exactly,” Dean says, “Was a lot less responsible, then again he wasn’t in charge of a whole camp. Just volunteered there a few times a week. More so in the summer… once it felt like I didn’t see him for two weeks when I was in town ‘cause he was putting in extra hours. I always felt like the bad influence, telling him to take time for himself so me and him could…” The smile slowly blossoming on his face withers away in the next moment as Dean catches onto Sam’s ploy. “No.”

“Dean -”

“I said no, Sam.” he barks, ripping open his duffel once more, “I don’t want to talk about our history, don’t care how much you want to.”

“ Our ?”

“Our what ?”

“You said our,” Sam smirks, “As in your’s and his… meaning there is history.”

“So?” Dean asks, attempting to play cool even as his shaky fingers give him away, “you and I got a past. That’s our history. Don’t know why you have to say it like that ‘bout me and Leo.”

“Because our history isn’t… your’s and Leo’s history.”

Dean digs further into his bag, messing with the already perfect packing. Unfolding jeans and wrinkling shirts, tossing guns and blades like they were wadded balls of paper instead of weapons. Sam huffs, pushing off the wall and gliding towards his brother. He takes the plaid shirt from Dean’s hands - knuckles pale, freckles pronounced - and sets it to the side.

“C’mon, Sam,” he says, voice trembling, “we can’t waste any time…”

“Dean. Please .”

The plaintive notes Sam spoke jar with Dean, tipping him over the edge. He shoves Sam away and roars, “What do you want me to say, huh? What do you want from me!”

“I want you to tell me the truth,” Sam says, “I want you to know that whatever that is… I’ll accept it.”

Dean challenges Sam with a long bout of silence, unaware to the lengths of awkwardly charged silence he’s willing to suffer through. Showing nothing but honest affection, Sam waits for his brother to fold. He crumples like a napkin, fog turning to mist.

“Shit, Sammy,” Dean coughs, rubbing at his eyes, “Couldn’t you have pretended you didn’t notice?”

Sam shrugs, mouth stretched thin. “Pretty hard not to.”

When Dean pulls his hand away Sam at least won’t comment on the redness rimming his eyes. “Me and him had this thing, okay? Dad had gone off on his own when I stumbled across a haunting here in town… Leo was gonna be its next victim when I swooped in and ran the ghost in with my crowbar. And then when the ghost came after me he did the exact same thing…”

“I figured it’d be a one-and-done kind of deal. We salt and burn the bones and then we go off our separate ways except… Leo didn’t want to leave. If that bastard is one thing it’s kind… saw hunting as another way he could give back. Tried to talk him out of it, tell him that it wasn’t the glamorous job he was thinking but… he was stubborn. And I guess I was lonely.”

Sam nods. “You and him hunted together?”

“Whenever I was in Texas,” Dean continues, “I’d call him up and we’d handle a case here and there, then we’d drive back to his place and patch each other up. I taught him all I knew about hunting and… well, Leo opened my eyes to this whole other world I was missing out on, too.”

“Then it wasn’t…” Sam sifts for the right words, “A one time deal? Some kind of gay thing?”

He can see Dean weighing the options, hands swaying from side to side as he compares. Thankfully Dean chooses and shakes his head. “Definitely more than that. We never put labels on it or anything… with me on the road all the time I didn’t want him wasting away, waiting after me. Whenever we met up though… it was like the world didn’t exist. Of course, one day the pressure gives and it crashes back into you.”

“Dad hadn’t checked in in over a month, and not even Bobby or anyone else heard from him. All we had was… Jericho, California.”

Sam tenses, reminded of ghastly women and burning ceilings. He thought he put that town far back in the rearview mirror, so much so it wasn’t even a speck. But as this year has proven, nothing can stay buried in the past for long. Like the aftereffects from that simple hunt years ago still shake the very foundations of his and Dean’s relationship. Swallowing around the stone in his throat, he asks, “When you came to get me?”

Dean hums, a tight-lipped smile fixed to his face. “I wasn’t planning on coming alone,” he admits, “I was with Leo, getting ready to hit the open road again when I… I guess I was feeling bold. Or maybe cocky… I don’t know. Something made me ask him if he thought about coming along, to help.”

Stunned, Sam unconsciously moves away from Dean. Wobbles with spinning vision, as if learning what could have been was enough to fell his oak-like stature. His mind races at the possibility of Dean showing up in his apartment with Leo in tow, both there to whisk him away to find John. How different the road so far would be. The worst possibility Sam imagines sends shivers racing up his spine. Where the max occupancy remains two, except it’s Leo taking the shotgun seat instead of Sam. Sam washes his hands of any responsibility for John and sends Dean off with a half-hearted goodbye. An apocalyptic decision, he thinks, given the only reason the world’s been kicking for so long is because of them and the friends they’ve gathered.

He clears his mind of the what-ifs, reminding himself that they don’t matter since he and Dean went to Jericho, alone. They didn’t find their father but they finished his mission. He lost Jess… but he found his brother.

Sam focuses on the present and his brother’s uninterrupted rambling. “...a mess, though. Like, what if dad was in Jericho? Leo wasn’t ashamed of who he was… dad would’ve known in a heartbeat what was going on between us. Doesn’t matter now, though, since Leo said no.”

“Why did he?”

“Texas was one thing,” Dean smirks, gazing at a point beyond Sam, “California was another. Thought that by me asking for him to come with I was really asking for him to leave his old life behind which… in a way I was. When you’re a hunter, it's really hard to live half-in, half-out. Leo couldn’t cut the ties.”

“And what did you do?”

“What could I do?” he chuckles, “Tell him he was making a mistake? You saw his life… loving husband, great kids… I couldn’t give that to him. I swallowed down the hurt and left early in the morning, before he could wake up. With a note saying that he should forget about the life… and about me . Then I ditched my phone and picked up a burner on the way to meet… you .”

Dean collapses onto the bed, uncaring to the mess he sits on. Gasping as he breathes for the first time without all that weight crushing his chest. Sam, at a loss for what to do, blindly reaches for his brother and squeezes his shoulder.

“Thank you for telling me all this, Dean,” Sam says, “I… I should’ve realized how close he was to you.”

The past few days make sense, the final piece fitting and highlighting the full picture. Dean’s awkwardness whenever they met up with Leo. His arms hung awkwardly at his side, no idea what to do with themselves. Over aware of their surroundings at all times, budgeting every word and movement like they were in short supply. Whenever Leo mentioned his family he jumped worse than a rabbit. How curt Dean became whenever Sam asked how he and Leo came to meet, offering only one or two words in explanation. Usually ‘no comment’. He figured there was hurt Dean kept hidden, but wouldn’t have guessed the cracks were in his heart .

Dean snorts, running his wrist up his face. “No, you shouldn’t’ve. Leo was my first and last . With him it felt like whatever anyone else thought didn’t matter, and when he was gone I… I locked the closet door behind me.”

Sam doubts that. With the floodgates open, memories pour into his awareness of times that Dean flexed the other half of his sexuality. How his eyes followed a mark a little too closely sometimes in the bar, leaning into them and blaming it on acting ‘drunk’. The snarky compliment here and there, masking the actual appreciation. Every time he deflected violently or made fun of Sam’s preferences weren’t the crumblings of Dean’s fragile masculinity. It was a scared boy, afraid that his younger brother was about to discover something he didn’t want getting out.

“Not even once?” he asks, “You know I wouldn’t have cared… right?”

His brother shrugs. “Yeah I knew. There were times I thought maybe I… could’ve said something. All those near-death experiences… and the actualdeaths… I was never able to break through those walls though. Every opportunity was shadowed by the fear of dad finding out… even when it wasn’t possible. I’d lose all ability to talk and I… I’d freeze up like a deer in headlights. Kept me from saying a lot… doing a lot… being - being with…” Dean tucks his hands under his armpits, curling around himself.

The sudden pause draws Sam’s curiosity in, his mind leaping ten steps ahead to finish his brother’s thought. He tries to do so, attaching every possibility he can consider. ‘Being comfortable with himself’ isn’t a wild guess, but it makes no sense seeing how Dean was already this vulnerable with Sam. ‘Being with Leo’ tracked, given the lingering thread hanging between them. But he doubts Leo would trade the life he made for himself here, nor would Dean give up his life. He said before how proud he was of the journey they’ve traveled - all the people they helped and the wrongs they’ve righted - and Sam doesn’t doubt the conviction threading through those words.

Although he does consider what life Dean and Leo could have made together. Would Dean continue hunting every month, slowly weaning himself into retirement. If Leo was in Dean’s life could he have prevented some of the crazier things that have happened. His influence a calming force in their Winchester whirlwind?

Maybe with Leo Dean’s chance at normalcy would have succeeded? Waking up every morning with a pair of blue eyes to greet the morning.

It hits him like a lightning bolt.

“Dean,” Sam starts, “do you… you’ve felt this way about somebody else, right? Who wasn’t Leo.”

Dean rocks on the bed, unwilling to answer.

“Dean,” he whispers, “do you love Cas -”

“That’s enough!” He jumps forward, throwing Sam’s hand off of him. “We’re done with all this… touchy-feely crap. My skin’s starting to crawl…” he mutters, picking up the stuff he scattered with a fury. “You know I like guys, big whoop. That’s the only emotional doozy I’m sitting on so let’s get the show on the road, okay?”

Sam cannot turn away. They’ve made it this far, he needs to see this through. “You love him.”

“Sam, he’s our friend. He’s like a brother -”

“And you love him -”

“I did!” Dean shouts, rounding on Sam, “I did love him. Did . Past tense… over and done. Meaning we don’t have to dive back into this bullshit. I felt it, I lived it… and I’ve gotten over it. Stacked it on a pyre and burnt the shit out of it. There’s nothing left to dissect but ashes, capisce?”

Given the grand display Sam finds it hard to believe. He stays silent though, the anger coursing through Dean’s gaze enough to char an iceberg. Sam retreats to his own bag. Cleaning in silence. A beat passes and Dean stomps to his duffle, shoving things inside.

They don’t speak to each other, and don’t need to.

Sam uses the time to reflect. On all the shared moments between his brother and the angel. Every charged exchange in the roller coaster of their relationship. From the highest peaks to the rocky lows. Remembers how friend and foe alike commented, reading more into what laid below the obvious surface. Again Sam figured they swung for low fruit in an attempt to rattle his brother. Actually they were striking closer to the heart.

The way Dean slammed Baby’s trunk reminds Sam of when Castiel died at Lucifer’s hands. When their friend’s grace dimmed, so did the light in Dean’s eyes. Returned only when he appeared in that alleyway. Dean’s face twitched, unable to smile. As if he forgot which muscles were used to lift the corners of his mouth. Or maybe was too scared that if he did Castiel would disappear in the next blink.

And therein lies the problem

“He’s as much in this as you are.”

Dean swerves, halfway out of the parking lot. Sam’s voice echoed in Baby’s cabin, the atmosphere too tense for any of Dean’s cassettes.

His brother squints at him, “What are you -”

“Cas,” Sam continues, “whatever logic you’ve used to convince yourself that he doesn’t love you back… it’s all wrong.”

Scowling, Dean completes the turn onto the main road. It takes one stop sign and two red lights for his brother to respond. “Who do you think you are, Mr. Know-It-All?”

“I think I’m the guy who’s had enough of his family falling apart and is yelling at the reason for it.”

“Me!” Dean shouts, “How is it my fault? Cas was the one who kept Jack’s soullessness under wraps. Who got mom killed -”

“Stow it, Dean.” Sam glares at his brother, shifting in his seat so Dean suffers the full force. “Cas isn’t the reason mom isn’t here. I know it, you know it - even mom knows it. What would she think if she knew you were acting like this to Cas?”

“But -”

“He thought he was doing what was right, and when he realized it wasn’t he apologized ,” Sam tells him, “You said you accepted it, but you still keep him at arm’s length. You barely speak to him unless it’s about a hunt. If it was really about mom, things would’ve gone back to normal but no - you’re afraid -”

“Maybe I have reason to be afraid, huh?” Dean snarls, clenching the steering wheel, “With Chuck abandoning us - for good - we have one shot. No more do-overs, no more hidden fixes. No kid to come by and shove another quarter into our slot, taking us into another level - none of it! And when things are on the upswing for us… that’s when the boot’s waiting to smush us. I can’t handle watching Cas die, again, Sam. The bastard’s more stubborn than you and I… he’ll go out in a blaze of glory before either of us. Where will I be then, huh? Mourning him all over? Wanting to die, again? Why shouldn’t I numb myself to that pain?”

Sam’s anger softens as Dean finally reveals the source of his problems. Worry lines add texture to Dean’s face, aging him severely. “So we have one shot,” Sam says, “now we’re no more special than anyone else. Good. You know how terrible it is being brought back again and again, Dean? Thinking you’ve found peace only to be shoved onto one last ride? With Chuck gone, it won’t be like that again. Finally we can choose how we end it.”

“Everyone ends up leaving me, Sam,” Dean whispers, tears pricking the corners of his eyes, “Cas always gets taken from me, just when I think I have him.”

“ Chuck took him away,” he tells Dean, “Chuck was the one who did that. To make you suffer for… character development . Like he did with Jess, and Eileen… Bobby, Rufus, Ellen and Jo, Charlie… dad and mom . We’re off the page now… it’s our life to live.”

“And die,” Dean says, staring into the open road as they leave the small Texas town, “Would it be more or less cruel if we die because of chance? If Cas gets unlucky during one fight?”

“Then wouldn’t it be worse to have loved him and not told him?” Sam asks, “Some of my biggest regrets are never telling Jess I loved her one last time… or asking Eileen to dinner… we need to make each second count this time around. So stop pushing us away and allow yourself to feel. It makes what little life we got left last longer.”

Sam, saying all he has to, faces the passenger window and waits. The flatlands go on for miles, blurring because of the speed Dean drives. They passed cattle and horse ranches, Dean not slowing down for either of them. He weaves through the traffic, a reactive driver even while stewing.

Overhead the sun dips, orange bleeding into the blue sky. They’re halfway through Oklahoma when Dean clears his throat.

“I love you, too, y’know,” he says, “Figured… if I’m gonna be saying it to Cas. And… don’t really know how many of those we’ll have left.”

Sam mirrors the tiny smile on Dean’s face. “I love you… no homo .”

“Sam!”

“What?”

“Quit ruining the moment!”

“I just wanted to make it clear -”

“Oh like I’d ever get with you -”

“Some people want us, too. And you said you weren’t in love with Cas anymore…”

“I was trying to get you off my back -”

“Maybe I’ll see if Cas is interested in me? I think we’d be great together. We’ve been able to hang out a lot since you’ve been avoiding him.”

“You touch him and I’ll drive us both into a canyon. I’ll end it right here, right now.”

“You wouldn’t do that, you love Baby too much!”

“If we’re both dead who’s going to drive her? Better she goes out with me than stolen by some spaz who won’t treat her right!”

They bicker while the sun sets, and well into the night.

#Supernatural #Spn15 #Sam Winchester #Dean Winchester #Leo Webb #Castiel #Destiel #Deancas #destiel fanfic #deancas fanfic #spec fanfic #based on theories for 15x08 #hoping they come true #bisexual dean winchester #bi dean winchester

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