#good lord those make me cringe if I think about em too hard | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

binunus · 4 years

Text

college bf!eunwoo

a/n I LOVE HIM !! I WOULD LITERALLY RISK IT ALL FOR HIM !! also rip to the disappointing hookup experience I had that made an appearance in this headcanon...yes I’m still angry about it.

→ pairing: eunwoo x f!reader

→ genre: smut, fluff, fwb to lovers

→ tw: hookup culture, mentions of drinking and drug use, implied almost SA, this is a bit heavy compared to the other ones like please be a cautious a little when you’re reading this

→ word count: 5.6k

_______________________________

here we go ladies and gents

i had something completely different planned for this

and it was super angsty and dramatic

but i had a monumental experience last night so I’m changing this up

and okay okay

i usually try to write all my stuff gender neutral but bc of the idea I have for some of this plot, it’s gonna be a female reader

im sorry to all my male identifying loves :(

and back to our regularly scheduled program

cha motherfuckin eunwoo

lee fuckin dongmin

he doesn’t go by dongmin, he prefers to go by eunwoo, only his family calls him dongmin

as soon as he stepped foot into the university, everyone knew him

and I mean everyone

he’s so attractive

but don’t get it twisted, eunwoo’s the humblest, sweetest bean

he gets very embarrassed when people compliment him for his looks

applied for random roommates his first year and got paired up with swimmer!bin

he and bin become besties and end up rooming together their entire college career

major: music performance, specialty in piano

most people (besides those in the music department or astro) would have never thought eunwoo was a music major, especially since he was incredibly smart and athletic too???

usually gets mistaken for a STEM major

often helps the boys (especially rocky and sanha) with their studies

and oof when he tries out for–and makes it into–the basketball team

everyone ???? floored

eunwoo has game on the court...now with dating??? eh not so much

(at least not sober shh)

he’s tried dating before, at least in the first year or so

the basketball team kept trying to set him up with people

but it never got anywhere substantial and eunwoo always trusted astro to really give the vibe check and no one ever passed

and so he settled for hookup culture every now and then

his emotions are guarded :’(

yes he’s very easy to talk to and always so nice and well mannered

but he’s only himself with astro

now, where do you come into this???

you’re a cheerleader

you and eunwoo know each other by association

you cheer for his home games, you’ve been in a couple of classes together, you’ve seen each other at parties

but would you call yourselves friends?? not really

now you know it’s highly unlikely for you to have a lasting boyfriend in college, especially with your affiliation as a cheerleader, so you also opt for hookup culture

less messy feelings, less drama, less commitment, all that fun

so the first time your paths really intertwine with eunwoo is at a party

the basketball team won a big game and they were out celebrating yuh

and ofc since it’s his team, eunwoo popped out

he only really attends parties hosted by the basketball team bc he feels a bit obligated to go LOL but he always brings swimmer!bin for support

and it’s chill bc bin is also an athlete–yes it’s exclusive like that

but this time, bin couldn’t go so it’s just eunwoo hanging with his team

and yes, you can guess it, you and him get partnered up to play beer pong together!

that’s so cliche omg

but ah ha you hear your opponent, one of eunwoo’s teammates say to one of your fellow cheerleaders: don’t worry baby, I’ll carry you through this game

and you cringed a little ugh men

eunwoo turns to you like: ah sorry if we lose, it’s all luck with me. The guys usually pick to play me bc I’ll probably lose. I’ll drink the cups for you though if you want me to.

you get a little fired up, like aw why do they pick on him that’s not fair

you: well I’m not horrible at pong, so let’s try to crush em

he played pretty well ok! you both got balls back twice in a row right in the beginning

your team was on a roll

you and eunwoo won three games back to back

you were feeling a bit bloated and hazy from the beer that you and him had to drink, but you were still pretty self aware

and you and eunwoo were just chilling after playing the games, you two were on a pretty good wavelength and you wanted to continue it after joking around in between plays

alright now obviously you don’t go into these parties just strictly looking for a hookup, you go to have fun and let loose

but if the person and situation arises??? you wouldn’t necessarily turn it down, especially if that person was cha eunwoo

and yeah, eunwoo was entertaining the idea too, it’s been a while since he vibed with someone like he has with you

basically by the end of the night, you brought him back to your place–you’d rather eat shit than hook up at the basketball house, it was messy and musty and just nope

your place was closer than his

and ~yuh~

it was pretty damn good

he didn’t stay the night, bc well this was a hookup, so after you both had your fill it was a casual alright see you around!

oh lord the fuss your cheerleading team gave you at the next practice asking how your hookup with eunwoo was

the news spread like wildfire

eunwoo didn’t hook up very often so every time he did, it was like breaking news

which is honestly a bit fucked up, but seriously this is how college is

alright so your sex drive skyrocketed after fucking eunwoo

you hook up with another guy at one of the following parties

but it didn’t compare to eunwoo rip so you were pretty disappointed

and you were sorta wondering like hm? should you hit him up? but decided against it

and then! you saw him at the gym working out with literally all of astro

bin probably forced the other 4 to come with him and eunwoo sksksksk

and you were like shit why does he look so good

not gonna lie, just in case he was looking over, you tried to make your ass and tits pop out a bit more, you know squats and shit

unfortunately, it caught the attention of other guys at the gym and not eunwoo grrr

and you were literally just planning to stop being a coward and go up and talk to him, but a guy blocked your path

and he was lowkey being very creepy and way too close for your liking

but you weren’t having it, hell no you ain’t a damsel in distress

being a cheerleader taught you how to defend yourself against predatory men

so you were basically telling him to fuck off and leave you alone, but he was being really damn persistent about it

and just as the guy was about to put a hand on you, eunwoo steps in and he’s like: dude, she’s clearly not interested, fuck off.

after a bit of a stare off, the guy leaves and wow you’re face to face with eunwoo again hehehe

his eyes switch from a glare to a soft worried look and he’s like, hey are you okay?

and you’re like a little giddy, maybe also a little bit turned on bc he’s still like fresh from a workout, his hair was brushed back revealing his forehead, his arm muscles were really defined right now, and just he’s so hot?

but you smile nonchalantly, you genuinely could have just slapped the shit out of the guy or kicked him right in the baby factory, but eunwoo stepping in was also a pleasant surprise, you weren’t complaining

you: yeah. I could have handled it, but thanks for helping

and he just grins, your confidence?? attractive

the two of you just like look at each other for a couple seconds and you’re yelling at yourself in your head like don’t cop out this is what you were waiting for !!

you: so...you’re here with your friends?

eunwoo: yeah, me and my roommate forced them to come work out with us haha. did you come by yourself?

you: yeah, I usually work out with my teammates, but I decided to come alone today

eunwoo nods and you see him like look at your neck and you immediately get a bit shy bc you knew there was a hickey there from your last (very disappointing) hookup: you’ve been having fun recently?

your face flushes: the last one was embarrassing really, so honest to god no

eunwoo: why was it embarrassing? if...you don’t mind me asking

you immediately facepalm: no, yeah I don’t mind telling you...ugh, eunwoo I was literally catfished. this guy really talked mad game about his dick and then when I agreed to hook up, he asked me to suck him off and it literally only took him less than ten minutes. and after he came, he just pulled up his pants and said “damn you give really good head” like the fuck? he didn’t even offer to return the favor or anything, and when I asked him “wait, are we gonna fuck?” he just said “maybe next time.” maYbE neXt tiMe?? I was played so hard, you have no idea how pissed I was, eunwoo. and now I have to wait for his dumb fucking hickey to heal so that I can literally just repress that hookup even happened.

his jaw literally dropped: he didn’t give you anything?

you shook your head, you were getting pissed again

eunwoo couldn’t believe his ears, he glances back at astro for a second and then he clears his throat: well...what are you doing after the gym?

you: nothing, just going home and taking a shower. My roommate’s not gonna be home tonight so I’m probably gonna wallow in my sorrows about that hookup again

he laughs: well sounds like you have a fun night planned, but if you want some company?? I’d be more than happy to come over and help you forget about the sad disrespect of that hookup.

who said eunwoo couldn’t flirt ???

and he was thinking about hitting you up again too before but he didn’t wanna seem like a fuckboy or anything

but seeing you defend yourself against the guy?? lowkey was a bit of turn on for him

obviously you agreed hello

eunwoo going up to astro: so uh...imma head out first...I’ll see you guys later. :)

sanha: hyung so scandalous *O*

you and eunwoo fuck again

and after this time, the two of you have a little bit of pillow talk

basically you tell him that fucking him ruined all other guys for you bc he was just that good

and eunwoo usually gets shy from compliments, but his ego with this one??? he felt a bit proud ohohoho

and he’s like: honestly, you’re the only person I’ve fucked in six months, but I gotta agree that our sexual chemistry is pretty good

so where do you two go from there?

friends with benefits baby, full on fuck buddies

you both talk and agree that you two weren’t looking for relationships at the moment, but the sex was good

i’m gonna get into specifics later, but for now a little more plot

obviously, you and eunwoo talk a lot more now that you two were basically fucking each other at least once a week

the guys notice that he’s so much more?? carefree?? less stressed out?? ever since you and him started your little agreement

and they’re already scheming by themselves, like eunwoo would not get into a situation like this unless he trusted you as a person

and at first it was really just, call each other over, have sex, stay for a little bit longer, then leave

neither of you ever stayed the night bc that’s just an unspoken rule

until there was this one party, a group of people were in one of the rooms at the basketball house and they told you to come join them and ~do drugs~

don’t dabble kids, I’m serious

and you were chilling with eunwoo and bin for a bit until they called you over and you were like: wanna try too?

eunwoo and bin didn’t do it obviously, but you were curious so you went and told them you would be back in a bit

eunwoo was worried about you, bin could see it from a mile away

he kept glancing back at the room and one by one people started to come out, but none of them were you

bin nudging eunwoo: go check up on her

eunwoo opens the door to see you being like pinned down on the bed and he turns livid

he pulls the guy off you and punches him right in the face like: what the fuck do you think you’re doing? what did you give her?

you’re noticeably out of it, sobriety? not there

the guy basically laced something in the drug he gave you, omg you were roofied??

bin comes in and he literally has to hold eunwoo back from beating the shit out of the other guy

the two take you back to their apartment and were making sure that you didn’t die or something shit

literally cannot believe the first time you slept over at eunwoo’s place was when you were drugged up

you wake up the next morning, nauseous, body weak, and confused

eunwoo also wakes up because of your movement: hey y/n, are you okay?

you: eunwoo...what...what happened last night??

he sits up and gives you a recount of the party and you just like hug your body tightly when he brings up the drugs and start crying

he’s a bit shocked when he sees your tears, but he just pulls you in for a hug to try and comfort you, obviously that must have been a bit traumatic

eunwoo: hey...it’s okay...I’m just glad I checked up on you before something worse happened

you: I’m such a fucking idiot...I can’t believe I let myself get put in that situation again...no wonder people think I’m a just a dumb whore.

~trauma~

you and him spill your deepest darkest most traumatizing secrets that morning and you just feel more connected to him

you: I honestly never really told anyone...thanks eunwoo, you’re a good friend.

he feels more protective of you after that??

you start hanging around with him and astro more

and the guys really like having you around !!

you’re very easy to get along with, you also joke and tease eunwoo with them, they love you !

you even become really friendly with the other guys’ partners

about half a year into your fuck buddy relationship with eunwoo

everyone: why aren’t you dating y/n yet?

eunwoo: what do you mean?? we’re just friends...with benefits??

before you even know it, you’re spending literally all your time (when you’re not training or practicing or at class) with eunwoo and his friends

you sleep more at eunwoo’s than you do at your own apartment

honestly you two are already acting like a couple

except for the fact that you only kiss each other when you’re fucking, or you don’t hold hands in public, or you don’t say the L word to each other obviously

but the cuddles? the jokes? the hanging out? if you two are seen together there’s still a little form of physical touch––like a hand on the waist, or resting his elbow on your shoulder––something that tells other people that you two are a bit exclusive to each other

and maybe it’s because both of your emotional capacities when it comes to relationships are akin to a pubescent thirteen year old, but you and eunwoo?? don’t really realize that you’re both basically in love with each other

and it’s also the fact that catching feelings in a friends with benefits?? forbidden

but what if both people catch feelings?

you don’t realize you like eunwoo until a year of fucking each other

damn a year?? y’all really suppressed those romantic feelings hard

you and him were hanging out, per usual, but in the piano rooms of the music building

eunwoo had to practice his repertoire for an upcoming performance and you were free so you decided to come along and keep him company

you knew he was a music major and that he played piano, but you never actually heard him play

you were just chilling by the window, scrolling through your phone, and then he just starts playing and your jaw?? literally dropped

it was so intricate and fluid and elegant, you looked over to the keys and his hands just moved so expertly over them

you were put in a trance, it was so beautiful??

and then you look up and his concentration? seriousness? he has honestly never looked more attractive to you than in that moment

and then eunwoo meets your eyes and he smiles a little: is it bad?

you: no, you’re amazing actually...

and your stomach does a triple somersault and your cheeks start heating up, like why is your heart going haywire???

you start spacing out and obviously he notices

eunwoo calls your name and pats the space next to him on the piano bench

eunwoo: what are you thinking of, hm?

you: n-nothing. keep playing, I wanna hear more

and so he does and your heart just won’t chill out, especially now that you’re literally sitting mere centimeters apart from him

he’s still playing and you just can’t stop thinking about how much you want to kiss him–and not in a sexual way

and that honestly scared you, so you panicked and put your hand near his crotch

eunwoo jolts in surprise, but he doesn’t say anything, he just chuckles and continues playing

do you have sex in the piano room to try and distract yourself from whatever you were feeling? yeah

you hide your feelings for a little bit, but the more time you spent with him, the stronger they got, and you honestly didn’t know what to do

so you tried distancing yourself, you gave eunwoo the excuse that cheerleading competitions were coming up–which they were, so it wasn’t a complete lie–and you needed to focus and have time to yourself

it was so weird for you not seeing him and astro all the time, you barely responded to his text messages or calls, and when you saw him around campus, you would immediately try to avoid him, and it hurt but you were ~scared~

eunwoo’s a smart boy, he knew something was off with you

but after a week of trying to contact you, he didn’t wanna seem annoying or a bother, so he tried not to

even though all he wanted was to see you or talk to you, like it was beyond sex at this point

he missed you, he thought he was going to go insane

he didn’t realize his feelings for you until he saw you talking to a guy in the athletic building

he had basketball practice, and you just finished your cheerleading practice

you were talking to this one guy from your philosophy class, basically joking around and talking shit about your professor

and eunwoo saw you smile at something the guy said and he just felt jealous

his fists clenched, he hated seeing you smile and laugh with the guy like how you used to do with him

and it also didn’t help that you and him haven’t really talked in two or three weeks and he just missed you so much :(

he tried not to think about it during his practice, but it didn’t work, he was off his game for this one, even his teammates and coach noticed it

he went back to his place after practice and called over the boys and basically vented his frustrations

jin: eunwoo. you like y/n

eunwoo: I know...fuck what do I do

bin: tell her, obviously

eunwoo: and risk our?? friendship??

myungjun: you’re a fucking idiot if you don’t see that she likes you back

rocky: yeah...I mean why else do you think noona started distancing herself from you?

eunwoo: maybe I’m just feeling like this because we haven’t met up in a while and I saw her talking to that guy and I don’t know? I’m horny?

sanha: hyung...you sound indenial and jealous.

bin: you like her. we’re surprised you didn’t realize this earlier.

anyway, the day of the competition comes, and the guys and their partners decide to pop out and support you

and seeing them actually made you feel so warm, you wave at them brightly and you meet eyes with eunwoo and you smile at him even though the butterflies are back and at full force

the group is so proud watching you and your team compete, their cheers are debatably the loudest and you literally have to stop yourself from laughing in the middle of your routine

your school places first yuh

and after talking with your team and discussing celebration plans, you go to the group

you were having such an adrenaline rush, you immediately run up to eunwoo in a crushing hug and you kiss him

eunwoo doesn’t even hesitate to kiss you back

astro and them: ohohoho hey

you: I’m so happy you all came! I can’t believe we actually won!

you were going to celebrate with your team bc you knew they were throwing a party, but celebrating with eunwoo and astro/their partners seemed way more appealing to you

you all go out to dinner and drink a little bit casually and it’s all such good vibes

you missed hanging around with them all and it just felt so right

eunwoo rested his hand on your thigh the whole time throughout dinner, he missed you alright, and just seeing you so happy with all his friends? he was hooked

when the group parts ways, it’s just you and eunwoo heading back to his place bc bin is spending the night at his partner’s apartment

and honestly the tension is so thick between you two

you barely make it past the door before you’re both latched onto each other, making out and all that steamy stuff

after you have sex, the two of you are having that post-sex cuddle in his bed and your heart is pounding so loud

you: hey...I’m sorry if it was weird that I kissed you earlier at the venue, I don’t really know what came over me, I was just so glad to see you guys

eunwoo: you don’t have to apologize for that y/n...I missed you

you roll around so that your back is to him bc you do not have the strength to look at him in the eyes right now

eunwoo hugs your waist and pulls you in his chest, he’s spooning you and he has no plans on letting you go any time soon

you: uh...eunwoo, I-we-uh maybe we should stop this...thing from going any further

he literally freezes: ...did I do something wrong?

you: no! it’s...I...fuck I don’t know how to say this...I know we’ve been hooking up for a year but just recently I...think I have feelings for you...and it’s not fair for either of us to continue this if we’re not on the same page.

eunwoo: y/n, I–

you’re rambling now, you’re scared of what he has to say: and honestly you’ve become someone I really don’t wanna lose in my life. You’re an amazing person and friend, and I don’t wanna fuck that up by having feelings for you, especially since you probably don’t feel the same. I just...can’t have casual sex with you anymore...I’m sorry, it would break me.

you’re like trying to get up and you tell him that you’re going to go to the party your team’s hosting but he just tightens his grip

eunwoo: don’t go...please

you: eunwoo, I can’t stay here–

eunwoo: you don’t even know what I feel, y/n...why are you so sure that I don’t feel the same way as you?? because I do...honest to god, y/n, I like you so fucking much. the month that you didn’t talk to me was like hell and I don’t ever wanna experience that again. I missed you so much I thought I was going crazy...please don’t go.

you roll around and face him again

you: y-you like me? you’re not just saying that because you want to keep having sex?

eunwoo: I’m not just saying that because of the sex...I promise

you: so...what does that make us now?

eunwoo: well would you do me the honors and be my girlfriend?

god finally you two are dating

you realize that not much really changes after the two of you make it official

the pda does increase though, you actually hold hands and kiss each other in public now

and you two are more cutesy with each other

yes astro pretends to gag whenever they see you act all coupley

petnames!! you call each other baby, sometimes you call him minnie!! as in dongminnie !! im screaming!!

a poster couple, the basketball player and the cheerleader

literally when you’re both wearing your uniforms and you kiss each other, it’s like one of those teen movies

lots of forehead kisses especially right before bed

eunwoo’s a clingy cuddly boy, especially now that you two are together

lots of study dates?? he is a scholar after all

you’re each other’s biggest supporters !! you always go to all of his recitals and basketball games, he always goes to your competitions

he’s very soft okay, will never stop showing you off or telling you how much you mean to him and how much he loves you

the first I love you came shortly in the relationship, and that’s because you’ve known each other a year prior and the feelings were really just building up since then

you were in the piano room again and he was just playing for fun, but you always loved hearing him ~tickle those ivories~

he was playing a song and singing along and you swear you had heart eyes for him, his voice was so soft and gentle and just wow

you’re sitting next to him and you just hug his waist while he’s playing

eunwoo’s smiling so wide and then he’s singing to you

he doesn’t even get to finish the song, because you’re grabbing his face and kissing him

he’s laughing in between kisses and you can’t help but laugh with him

grrr he’s so cute!

and then you two are just looking at each other

eunwoo: hm?

you: I love you, minnie

he doesn’t miss a beat: I love you too, y/n

you and him have a lot of deep talks together, especially right before bed

it’s the time when he can just let out all the frustrations of the day and just be with you

he actually holds a lot of pressure and worries, but knowing that you’re by his side, comforts him a lot

the two of you have so many pictures together it’s so cute

eunwoo’s a bit possessive alright, not in the toxic way, but will he tighten his grip on your waist if a guy seems to be getting a little too friendly with you? yeah

not gonna lie, you get possessive too, it’s hard especially if your boyfriend is cha eunwoo, he’s the fucking perfect package god dammit

you both tell each other that you don’t have to worry about other people bc y’all are just both so whipped for each other

but it’s still cute when either of you are jealous

he’s actually pretty into couple items, but it has to be like minimalistic-style

like matching plain color hoodies or matching pajama sets

will not wear a “he’s mine, she’s mine” shirt or something

but it’s okay bc neither would you sksksk

will he wink at you if he makes a three pointer during his game? yeah.

literally loves when you wear his clothes or fuck, his jersey?? a turn on

and here we go !! I’ve been talking about sex so much but let’s get into it !!

in the beginning, like before you two started dating, when it was just your fuck buddy friendship, it was sexy

and not saying that it’s not sexy now that you two were in a relationship, but before it was just lust

eunwoo’s a freak alright, you can’t convince me otherwise

he’s a little kinky

definitely into food play, you two use whipped cream during foreplay a little too much...

100% into anal

you know how much he loves ass, has a very nice ass himself

and we already been knew, but yes he’s an ass guy

s p a n k i n g

eunwoo seeing you in your cheerleading skirt? immediate turn on

will literally fuck you while you’re wearing your skirt...just your skirt.

alright alright, you have a hand kink...was it awoken by watching eunwoo play piano all the time? yes

does eunwoo use that to his advantage? yes

the amount of times he’s fingered you??? vaginal and anal??? lord have mercy

very much into overstimulation, will keep fingering you until you squirt

and yes im bringing back my the choking kink

literally if his hands make any contact with your neck area, even when he’s just kissing, you will drench

but ugh you and eunwoo making out and you know how he like cups the back of the neck?? i know y’all have seen it from the true beauty kiss scenes, and then it gets heated and his grip just moves to the front and squeezes and when your mouth opens in a gasp, he shoves his tongue down your throat

that’s so sexy

do you like choking on his cock? probably more than you should

does he make you deep throat until tears are literally streaming down your face? most definitely

he loves marking you?? it’s just a tell tale way to show everyone you’re his

he’s a bit feisty...will he manhandle you during sex?? yeah

eunwoo is a dom. I am 100% convinced that he is a dom, you won’t be domming him honey

daddy and babygirl kink...I said it...

okay he’s a bit of an exhibitionist...would probably be down to have sex anywhere as long as you don’t get caught

piano room sex? locker room sex? library sex? movie theater sex? restaurant bathroom sex? yes you’ve done it all

will he finger you while you guys are having a movie night with the guys? yeah

eunwoo’s a tease, he’s a little shit, will tease you until you’re literally in tears begging for him to just do something

favorite position is doggy, it’s the view of the ass for him

although you two both do like experimenting different positions, especially if it has to do with “training your flexibility”

will pull your hair while he’s fucking you from behind, and will plug your asshole with his thumb–don’t knock it until you try it...it’s...a pretty good feeling

sometimes wakes you up by eating you out

very much a giver ugh king

the type to grip your thighs tighter when you try to push him away from overstimulation just to force another orgasm out of you

believe it or not, he’s a gasper/grunter/groaner

nothing is hotter than hearing eunwoo groan right when he’s about to cum oooof grrrr bark bark

okay but soft gentle sex with eunwoo is so passionate

all you feel is the love and sincerity, especially when he’s just looking in your eyes

the love making happens a lot more obviously when you start dating

he’s just so in love with you alright

gives the best and sweetest after care ugh

cleans you up, gives you massages especially if it was a rough session, cuddles you, draws you a bath, brings you water, everything

always makes sure to tell you he loves you after sex

i would risk it all for eunwoo like please ruin my life

anyway

ugh I just wanna put the idea of protective eunwoo during a party in your head

his hand is always on you. waist, thigh, shoulder, anywhere casually

you don’t fight?? but you do argue

arguing is healthy, and you both would rather let it out and bicker with each other in the moment than let it bottle in and build up into something worse

but when you do have a disagreement, no matter how big or small, you two always make sure to never go to bed angry with each other

communication is very important for the both of you

you’re his better half :’) all the things eunwoo struggles with, you help him with it and vice versa

he figured out you were the one for him during one of your deep late night pillow talks

he was worried about what he’d do in the future after graduating, like he was genuinely having a crisis about it

but you just talked so calmly to him: baby, no matter where you end up after graduation or what you end up doing, you’re going to be fine. You’re such a hard worker and I know that you’ll succeed...no matter what, I’ll be here for you minnie. I believe in you, you’re future is going to be great.

and he just kisses you so sweetly: will you be in my future, baby?

you’re smiling and you just giggle at him: if you want me to be...I’d love to be a part of it.

ugh y’all are so whipped for each other !!

astro always teasing you two, even when you’re all older

you and eunwoo are equally ticklish so basically y’all are fucked when they wanna mess with you

both of your families love you and him instantly

they push marriage immediately after you both graduate college

even astro’s like: we know you two are probably gonna tie the knot first...when’s the wedding?

not gonna lie, you and eunwoo probably get married probably 2-3 years after college, pretty young age

sidenote: eunwoo 100% cries at your wedding, especially when he sees you walking down the isle in your dress

and he has huge baby fever so you bet y’all had kids fairly young too

the best dad !! ugh he loves kids !! ugh so domestic

im just gonna say, y’all have beautiful children

trusts bin and jinjin to babysit your kids the most...he’s scared of the rest of the boys watching over his children

anyway eunwoo literally deserves the world and I just?? love him so much?? happy ending yay hehe

_________________________________________

2-21-21

850 notes · View notes

dadsbongos · 3 years

Text

good heart

Movie/Game/Show: The Devil All the Time Dynamic: Arvin Russell/Reader Warnings: use of the daddy word but it’s purely platonic, sacrilege, post-canon, proofread but i am illiterate, fem pronouns Summary: Arvin knows he wants more, but he won’t let himself run for it. ~~~

Arvin slides onto the nearest stool he can find at the counter without looking around too much, peeling off his hat and holding it tight to the shiny surface with both fists. He keeps his head low and waits for a waitress to approach him.

“You want anything or you just getting out of the sun?” a voice teases from behind the counter.

His head lifts and he offers a fracture of a polite smile and nod, “Just a black coffee, ma’am. Please.”

“‘Ma’am’” you repeat as you write down the order, “You’re awful formal, don’t you think?”

“Sorry, ma’am.”

“Oh, no, you don’t gotta apologize for anything,” you awkwardly offer a smile, “I just tease sometimes, sorry ‘bout that.”

“Now, how many times have I told you to stop that,” an older man chides from the kitchen, “Bring that poor boy’s order over and stop messin’ with people.”

“Sorry, daddy,” you mutter, turning to hand over the ticket with Arvin’s measly order.

The man takes the paper and squints to read it, shaking his head before turning to the brunette boy at the counter, “Sorry ‘bout her. Gets bored around here.”

Arvin finally glances around the whole room and sees that the diner is empty of customers except for him.

He shakes his head and gives a slight grin, “Don’t worry none, sir. Just a rough few days, is all - nothin’ wrong with your daughter havin’ fun.”

He’s waved off by the older man and you soon return to Arvin’s front with a bounce in your step at his words, “Thanks for backin’ me up, stranger.”

“Just the truth,” Arvin murmurs, looking around the barren diner once again, “Slow day, huh?”

He internally cringes at the awkward starter but resolves to let it slide when you light up at the branch.

“Yeah, it’s Sunday service hours, ya know. Don’t get too many people willing to skip a meetin’ with the Lord for scrambled eggs and coffee.”

Lenora and Emma would be at service by now. Lenora would be praying with her neighbors and family by now. She loved services.

A bell dings before Arvin can claw out a subpar response and you’re making a trip to the little window between the kitchen and sitting area before carrying back a breakfast of toast, eggs, and coffee.

“Oh, I can’t- “

“On the house,” you wink, pushing the plate towards Arvin, “Don’t gotta eat it if you don’t want, but Daddy likes makin’ the effort to feed people,” leaning over and whispering so your father can’t hear, you let him in on a secret, “He looks mean but he’s got a real soft spot for people like you.”

He quirks a brow, picking up a fork to poke at his eggs, “Strays?”

You roll your eyes at the suggestion, “People who look like they need a good meal. He’s old but he reads people real well. I can take it back, if you don’t want it.”

“No!” he recoils and his face sours at the volume of his own voice, “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” you shrug, “Gotten a lot worse from customers for a lot less.”

Arvin finishes off a bite of toast before asking, “People yell at you often?”

Again, you merely shrug, “Polite young men like you ain’t exactly common around here.”

“Who could do that? You seem mighty fine,” Arvin shakes his head, “I don’t know you real well, ma’am, but somethin’ ‘bout that don’t rub me the right way.”

“Not much I can do ‘bout it. Daddy kicks ‘em out fast as he can but it ain’t like he’s always listenin’ out for people who don’t like his daughter.”

“What if I could get ‘em out?”

“What? You plan on sittin’ in a slow diner just waitin’ for people to get rough with little ol’ me?”

“Sad as it may sound, ma’am, I don’t got a lot goin’ on. ‘Sides,” Arvin shovels up more eggs on his fork, “your daddy ain’t a bad cook.”

You weren’t actually expecting Arvin to come back the next day. Or the one after that. Or the one after that. Or even the week later. But he did, just like he said he would - he came back and made sure nobody gave you a hard time. He wasn’t the tallest or the most muscular, but nobody could deny the intimidation Arvin could give out. He seemed like he’d seen more than most men his age. Seemed like he’d done a lot more than a lot of men his age. After a day you asked his name, he panicked and said Eugene just in case either of you knew of the sins living in Arvin Russell.

After a mere week of him coming around, your father offered him a job at the diner. He’d take the floor while you had the counter, and if the floor wasn’t busy he’d be on call for anything else needed. After a month, you asked where he was staying and found out he had nowhere to really go and he felt guilt claw at his chest that night when he wound up sleeping in your father’s bed with your father on the couch.

But he seemed sweet on you, calling you darlin’ in that backwoods drawl of his - offering to carry dishes when he saw you struggling. Offering to take over your position if you seemed overwhelmed. Helped your father around the diner and in the house, kept you company, kept out people who threw fits in the diner. Never made a fuss, never made himself difficult.

He didn’t give out his real name until a few months into his staying. His legs bouncing under the counter with nerves and hands gripping the surface for any sort of purchase. By now he figured you and your father would have some sort of attachment to him, maybe he wouldn’t have to explain his past - maybe both of you already knew. Maybe you’d turn him in. Maybe you’d understand. Maybe he could stay.

Please, Lord, let him stay.

It was after closing hours, leaving just the three of you as he spilled all the weight looming over his guilt-wracked mind. Telling you both - he wasn’t born as Eugene. He was born as Arvin.

“Russell, ain’t that right?”

He wants to dig himself a hole and die in it with how your father looks at him. Judging and waiting. Spying and predatory. It reminds him of those woods. It reminds him of the sheriff.

“How many people have you told?” he’s surprised by how you reach across the table so quickly to grab his hands and hold them in your own.

“Just you two…”

“You shot that reverend. Suspected on a sheriff. We heard about you,” your father’s voice is cold and he wishes he could go back by mere seconds and never tell either of you who he was.

He didn’t want to go to prison. He wasn’t a bad person, he had good reason. He knows he had good reason but the bodies piled up and he felt his chances at getting out of this diner in anything but handcuffs slip away. He knows any chance he had at companionship with anyone other than his own head were burnt to ash.

“Why’d you do it?”

His attention is brought back to you at your shockingly soft tone when asking the question, he purses his lips, “It’s gonna sound like a lie, but I swear that none of those people were any good.”

“Arvin,” you lean towards him slightly to make eye contact, “I wanna believe that, I do. But you’ve gotta explain yourself more than that.”

He lets himself find comfort in your sincere expression for a few seconds longer before looking to your father and then back to you, “That preacher - he, he - he hurt my sister. Real bad. She… she killed herself cuz a’ him. And the sheriff chased me ‘round after I…” he shook his head, clenching his eyes shut at how ridiculous he sounded, “They weren’t no good, I promise you. I swear it.”

“Arvin, why’d you kill the sheriff?” you pat his cheek gently, “Why was he chasin’ you? Was it over the preacher?”

“No, I- I shot his sister. And her husband,” he opens his eyes in time to see that your father has come closer and he wishes he never opened his mouth, “They were tryin’ to kill me. I swear it. They took me into their car, said they’d give me a ride but they- they stopped and I saw him pull out a gun and I knew they were up to no good and I had to protect myself. I didn’t wanna do it, I didn’t want- I didn’t want any a’ this,” he looks away from your father and back to you, tears now springing in his eyes, “I didn’t wanna hurt anybody… I didn’t wanna kill them… I’m not a bad person, I swear.”

You wipe away his tears, “Arvin, I wanna believe you, I do. But I also know you know this is a lot to take in, right?” you look back at your father as if silently asking where to go next.

He pulls you away from Arvin and stares down at the young man as if he could physically read whether he was lying or not. Arvin wishes he was looking at you again, he felt more comfortable when he was looking at you. He felt more comfortable with his hands in yours. He wants his hands in yours.

“If I was you,” he begins, “If my sister was hurt however bad yours was, I know that I’d kill that man. If anyone did what that man did to make your sister take her own life to my sister or, God forbid, my daughter, I know that I’d kill that man. I know that if someone tried taking me outta this world, I’d kill them too,” he nodded to himself, weathered and wrinkled hands splaying out on the table, “I’ve never killed anybody with these hands, Arvin. But if I think you’re lying for a second, they just might have to.”

“Daddy,” you pitch in over your father’s shoulder nervously, “what’re you sayin’?”

“I believe you, Arvin. I believe you’re a good kid, I believe you wouldn’t hurt someone without a damn good reason. You’re good to us and you do good work here. I believe you’re tellin’ the truth,” he looks into the young man’s eyes, “If you ain’t, and you’re lying to me, then I hope the Lord makes you see our faces every time you close those eyes.”

“I ain’t lyin’, sir, I promise,” Arvin shakes his head, growing desperate as tears pool at his waterline, he just wants one of you to say it - just say he’s okay. Say he can stay. He can stay here with you. Say he’s okay.

He just wants to be okay.

Your father leaves wordlessly, retreating to the kitchen, lights flickering as he began the routine clean-up for the night and preparation for an early tomorrow. Arvin turns to you in the growing silence, you’re a blotchy outline with the tears gathering in his eyes.

“D’you believe me?”

You come around the counter and reach out, taking Arvin’s head and pressing it to your chest, just over your heart. Gently removing his hat and placing it on the counter, your fingers begin carding through Arvin’s messy hair, “I believe you, Arvin. The man you’ve been to me is not somebody who’d go around hurtin’ people, I believe you.”

He swallows at the lump in his throat, eyes falling closed and hands grounding themselves in your work uniform, “Thank you, darlin’. Thank you, thank you, thank you...”

“You’re safe here, Arvin. We won’t tell nobody, I promise.”

Your voice is more comforting to him than the thought of any eternal bliss waiting outside this life. He wants to protect it - protect you. He wants to stay.

“Can I stay…” he turns his head to press his face into the cloth of your uniform as if that’d prevent any upcoming rejection, “Can I stay, darlin’?”

“You can stay, Arvin,” you murmur, continuing to run your fingers through his hair, “I want you to stay.”

Arvin kept himself wound around you for as long as you’d let him hold on, and you were content enough to keep him in your arms until your father was finished with his routine in the kitchen.

“Ready to head home now?”

“I’m goin’ too?” Arvin pulled away from you just enough to not muffle his reply, eyebrows furrowed, “I’m still stayin’ with you both?”

“Arvin,” you cupped his cheeks to direct his eyes with yours, a small smile just peeking at your lips, “We believe you’re good. Of course, you’re comin’ home with us. We love you, Arvin.”

Your father nodded quietly, patting the boy’s shoulder before walking past you both, “I’ll start up the car, so hurry up. We got an early mornin’ tomorrow.”

It was in the dead of night later on that Arvin found himself still unable to relax. His eyes wide open and fingers nervously tapping at his stomach through the comforter on what used to be your father’s bed. What if you both were tricking him at the diner and there’ll be a police officer out in the front lawn by morning? What if you were at the station turning him in right now and he’s actually all alone in this house?

That thought has him springing up from the bed and down the small hall to where your bedroom door is shut. He feels guilty doubting the sincerity you’d shown but his brain won’t rest and his heart refuses to calm down. He knows he could never blame you for giving him up but he needs you in his life now that he has you.

He curls around the doorknob and pushes open until he’s fully inside. He can just make out your figure in bed within the darkness, his eyes hurrying to adjust to the night.

Creeping to the side of your bed, Arvin hesitates but ultimately shakes you awake anyway, “Darlin’?”

You hum and groan and rub your eyes until you’re fully awake with Arvin at your side, “What’re you doin’ up? Didn’t you hear daddy? We gotta be up early tomorrow.”

“I can’t sleep, I- I keep worryin’.”

At the admission, you’re sitting up and bringing a hand over Arvin’s, “‘Bout what?”

“D’you really trust me, or was that just an act back at the diner?”

“I believe you,” you make room on the bed and drag Arvin into it, coddling him to your body, “I know you’re good. I’ve known you for a long while now. It’ll take a bit to get used to, but I know you’re a good man. I love that you’re a good man.”

You’ve gotten so close to saying what he wants to hear, he could almost pretend it’s what you’d said. He could almost pretend he heard you say you love him - he likes to pretend that’s what he heard. But he knows he doesn’t deserve that love - he just needs to protect what he has now rather than strive for more.

“Thank you for believin’ me, darlin’.”

“I’ll believe you ‘til the end, Arvin. I know you’re good.”

He feels comforted, once again, by those words - by your words. He feels comforted by your hold and he hopes that this is a safe place to lie until his bones give out - if you’ll let him. He knows what he wants is to have and hold and cherish this home you’ve given him both in the form of a roof over his head and the spot between your arms but he has to remind himself that what he needs is to just protect you. At least until you decide his sinful heart is worthy of loving with yours.

#arvin russell x you #arvin russell fluff #arvin russell x reader #arvin russel x you #arvin russel x y/n #arvin russel x reader #arvin russel fic

107 notes · View notes

bestfrownsforever · 3 years

Text

Heartache Arcade

Sorry for not having a proper cover again...hopefully these will do.

Also 1. my friend CLG is my co-editor now! Per's a master at finding grammar mistakes even I miss (ex. if you want the re-edited Dawn of a New Era then it's on Amino) so per'll be helping me from now on!

And 2. I'm hoping to keep a consistent schedule so expect a new Best Frowns Forever story every Tueaday! Starting with this story...

After having some brief fun as a Frown Lord, Puppycorn already hit a massive roadblock.

"Anyone else think this job doesn't make a whole lot of sense?" he asked while meeting with his co-workers around his bedroom table, "I mean yeah, it's fun to hurt people and stuff, but if we're so good at our jobs, then won't everyone be too scared to go outside anymore? Or maybe they'll leave the kingdom!? And if they do, should we want them to because it'd be bad if they did!? What should we DO!?!?"

Unikitty wrapped an arm around him from across the table. "Calm down, little bro," she assured him, "They're not going anywhere when the rest of the world sucks too."

"The solution's easy," Grandmaster Frown added, "Try luring them in with something fun and cutesy and make them almost want to suffer!"

"Oh come on," Hawkodile objected, "Something big pops up in the kingdom out of nowhere with us openly running it? They'll know it's a trap."

"Unless they're so desperate for a break that they'll take anything that looks happy and shiny," Dr. Fox suggested, "And Master Pain was the king of cringe before Frown's birthday."

"Hey!"

"I'm saying that as a compliment! You probably still like all that kiddie junk the citizens miss anyway, so why are you complaining about no ideas?"

Unikitty flew over to her brother. "I think she's trying to say that instead of using the things you like to try being cool, you can use them to actually prove your coolness as a Frown Lord!"

"Okay," Puppycorn considered, "But I already did accident-prone skateboards and roller skates...and that spiky ballpit."

"You mean I did them and you STOLE MY CREDIT!?" Dr. Fox reminded him before Brock pushed her away.

"Okay, someone needs a timeout...and if it helps, I've had the idea for a haunted arcade for a while now. But you're not wrong about the whole obvious trap thing, so from one gamer to another; how would you make it work?"

Puppycorn thought long and hard about the possibility until it hit him like his past self running into a brick wall.

"WAIT, I've been thinking into this job too hard! Grandmaster Frown did all this to be himself again, right? So maybe instead of haunted, the games can just be really hard to beat!?"

Everyone seemed interested except for the pouting Dr. Fox.

"But if they manage to win those games, wouldn't that be the best feeling ever?"

Puppycorn hummed until he lit up again like the lightbulb popping out of his head.

"They'll only get a few tickets and we'll make the prizes super expensive!!"

"Good enough."

Grandmaster Frown rose. "Then let's get to work, people! These games will need some Frown Lord-flare, and they sure aren't gonna make themselves!"

Puppycorn and Brock were the first to follow him to Dr. Fox's lab, dedicate many long days to porting the most difficult games they could find, and even more to making their own until after countless attempts at giving up, Puppycorn finally saw all his hard work pay off and open for business.

No one saw exactly when the new building appeared in the middle of town. It was just another rainy afternoon with nothing going on until people looked at their windows to see a massive, pale gray block of an exterior with a burgandy arching roof and neon colors everywhere from behind the windows. A tall sign next to it read "Heartache Arcade" with "& Casino" under it in smaller letters, both in some of the same bright neon colors.

Most closeby citizens came to the conclusion that their tyrants set it up, but some of them approached the arcade anyway, as if to say "How are they gonna break us this time?"

When they stepped in, they were greeted by giant rooms with arcade machines, gambling tables, and brighter lights everywhere, with a large prize counter and shelves for toys and other kinds of trinkets in one corner. They couldn't believe how everything seemed so...innocent.

They split up, each walking over to a different game or observing more of the retrospective dream around them, while Frown and Puppycorn spied on them from behind an "Employees Only" door.

"C'mon..." Puppycorn whispered, "Just play the games already!"

"Give 'em a bit more time," Grandmaster Frown replied, "They'll rip themselves in half before you know it."

Puppycorn turned to the nearest citizen, Theodore, stepping up to a slot machine, which hated having them there, but the others convinced him that gambling would make things all the more entertaining to watch.

"Supreme Slots, huh?" Theodore wondered before shrugging, "Well, guess it's worth a shot."

Puppycorn wasn't too surprised when Theodore bet the little money he had and won on his first try, only to get too cocky and lose it all too fast. Grandmaster Frown had a good laugh while Puppycorn looked the other way to spot Bim-Bom wrapping a hand around the joystick for the game he was most proud of; Furious Fetch.

Bim-Bom seemed happy at first, but just when Puppycorn worried even more, she got a a little confused as to what she was playing. Did she get to the lava pits yet?, he thought, Or the bugs? She's gotta know how hard running and jumping is by now though, right?

Then he heard the Game Over music.

"What!? There's no more lives!?"

Finally, a good reaction. Puppycorn was already holding back laughs and wagging his tail watching Bim-Bom pull out another token to play again. And then another. And another until she almost reached the end of the first level.

"WAIT, jumping on them doesn't kill them either!? What gives!?"

"That's the point!" Puppycorn snickered. She clearly wanted to give up but pulled out another out coin anyway. Maybe even keep going until she didn't have any left. But as if his silent prayers were answered, Bim-Bom slipped the token into the slot and lost almost as soon as the level started that time. Screaming, she stormed off to try something else as Puppycorn lost it.

"Cut it out!" Grandmaster Frown ordered, covering a hand over Puppycorn's mouth, "The evil laughing can wait, just don't blow this for us."

Puppycorn nodded, prompting his boss let go. They continued to look around, realizing more and more citizens were getting frustrated over what they were playing. And switching to other games or slots didn't help, it only strengthened the chorus of the most mixed reactions they'd ever heard in their lives.

"These games SUCK!"

"This was all the money I haaaaaaad!!"

"I can do this, I just need ONE more coin...anyone got some?"

"At least this isn't the other stuff we've had to put up with, calm down guys!"

"Are you nuts!? This is WAY WORSE!"

Puppycorn was too proud of himself to keep the door open. He shut it to chant and dance without a care until Grandmaster Frown laid a hand where his shoulder would be.

"Huh?"

"Not bad, Pain. Consider this your first

independent accomplishment."

"Really!? Aweso-"

They jumped at the sound of a sudden crash from the back room.

"Yeah," Frown ordered, "now take care of this place before the ragequitters can."

Puppycorn proudly nodded and saluted. "I'll do my best, boss sir!"

#unikitty au #Unikitty #unikitty!#best frowns forever #grandmaster frown #pain!puppycorn #fear!brock #misery!unikitty #plague!dr. fox #hazard!hawkodile #story #heartache arcade #heartache arcade & casino

14 notes · View notes

friendlylocalwhumper · 5 years

Text

content warning: referenced/implied child abuse, child homelessness

It’s hard finding food out here. Figuring out which shops are the least dangerous to steal from, finding people around who will slip him something to eat if he looks dirty and thin enough. It’s harder to find water, and impossible to find a decent place to sleep, unless he somehow hears about a nearby safehouse and they let him in.

Even warlocks look at their own kind and say you’re too desperate to not be a threat, a lot of the time.

It’s okay, though. Lux hasn’t been comfortable in a long time. He’s always had a bed and walls and doors, yes, and he was privileged for having that much - but he hasn’t felt safe for years. Being out in the cold in between shelters found and safehouses wheedled into is much, much better than being in a house with someone you fear. His nightmares have stopped, the flinching excusable as the instincts of a street urchin instead of the paranoia of a battered kid, so he’s feeling as confident and brave as he ever has. (Except for when his mom was around, and she’d pull this face after he had to face his dad, and she’d wrap him up in her arms and trace the bruise on his cheek gently and call him her brave little man.)

What he needs right now are shoes. He needs to find shoes. Or a couple pairs of socks to layer up - or even long strips of something, like bandages, that he can wrap around and around to protect the soles of his feet against glass and pebbles and things. He needs those, that’s number one; then water, then food, then maybe, maybe, a blanket to hide under and try to sleep.

Warlocks don’t knock, they sneak. Slip in or break in. He’s a sneaker, definitely not a big bully type, thirteen years old and hardly ninety pounds soaking wet. So Lux slips into this safehouse he heard about from a grabby, grimy homeless warlock a few blocks away.

“What are you doing here?” A witch asks, stalking right up to him when she spots a hunger-panged frame crouched over and hurrying from the briefly open back door.

“I - sorry, miss, I, I’m hungry -”

The crack of her palm striking his cheek, the slap ringing out loud and sharp, makes Lux gasp. The whole left side of his face stings hotly as he reels from the blow, finding with a tug on his arm that she’s got a secure grip on his wrist.

“And, I’m’a warlock,” He mutters, covering his cheek and blinking up at her, scared, before swallowing and widening his stance to be steadier on his feet. She can throw him out, but he’ll get back in somehow. He can’t find another place tonight, he just, he has to stay here no matter what it takes.

“Well, why didn’t you say so? Stupid kid.” The grip doesn’t leave his wrist. Lux yelps as he gets yanked over to the nearest room, a stubby black fingernail pointing into the space that holds four passed out warlocks. “That’s where we sleep.” More yanking, and she points into a room with various mismatched appliances with exposed wires and worn-down handles. “Kitchen. You burn yourself on accident in there, you don’t holler, you keep quiet. You do anything that gets us found and you get thrown to the cops, understand?”

“Yes,” Lux breathes, and he’s dragged along to the next room, and the next, until finally he’s brought all the way back to the kitchen and shoved inside.

“Sit on the floor. I’m gonna make you something to eat. Look like you’re about to faint. After this, you make your own food. And you don’t stay more than a week, got it? Kids mean trouble.”

With an annoyed huff just to hide how uneasy her shoving and anger makes him, Lux lowers himself to the ugly linoleum floor and watches her work with the stove, moving pots and dishes with surprising caution. One wrong clatter and the neighbors get annoyed, call the cops, get people killed. Lux watches and learns.

If cops get ya, too bad. Your fault. Run, duck, twist free, but if they get ya, it’s over. Lux knows this, he’s been told it plenty of times. He used to watch his dad’s cop friends coming over to the house, he would cringe against the wall as he was shoved out of their line of sight and told in a hushed, icy calm tone you know, if you’re ever bad enough, I can make one call and you’ll be hauled off by these guys, gone forever. He used to get hauled up off the floor where he’d been crying curled up around a broken bone and told what, you wanna go to a hospital? You want them to do tests on you and find out what you are? Shut up or I’ll take you there, I will, and they’ll put poison in you, they’ll get rid of you for me.

Well, there’s no Dad to hold that danger off now. Sixteen and stupid, Lux tried to steal a car to get to someplace different, to just get away. He didn’t know it was an undercover cop’s car.

He doesn’t actually know what happens if you get caught by a cop. He’s seen bodies, and he’s heard stories, but it’s never happened to him. He guesses that it will now.

“You see this?” The cop snarls, gripping one of Lux’s arms that are cuffed behind his back and shoving the kid forward with a fist in his curly hair. Lux cringes as his face is held inches away from the broken glass lining what was once a driver’s side window on a car.

“Yeah?”

“This costs five hundred dollars to replace. You got that kind of money?”

“N-no, I-”

“No, because you’re just some dirty warlock kid. Can’t help but steal and break things, it’s in your nature. Bet your warlock parents taught you how to do that.” The officer shoves Lux up against the side of the car, bigger and stronger and in the eyes of anyone who might see, completely in the right.

“S-, officer, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to -”

“You don’t break a car window on accident, warlock.”

“- to, cause any trouble, just wanted to -”

The grip on his hair tugs hard, and then his face, his skull, everything above his shoulders explodes into sudden pain. Lux cries out, wrists jerking in the handcuffs cinched too tight so he can’t slip free, skinny as he is. His head was slammed against the car, he realizes belatedly as the cop forces his head to turn so the damage can be inspected.

“Where are your little warlock friends? Your band of thieves? Did some older kids convince you to do this as some kind of initiation?”

“Inish…’nitia-, huh? I, I just - ‘m alone, just needed a car, I’m sorry!”

“Oh, you’re alone.” The cop leans closer, and Lux has no room to escape the threatening proximity. “I get it. You’re not a criminal warlock in training, you’re just a scared harmless kid, all on his own. How stupid do you think I am?��

He is alone. Lux has been alone for years. He runs, hides, steals. He’s not a criminal, not really, just - what do the older warlocks say, bitterly lounged on musty couches and chugging plastic bottles of liquor? We’re not criminals, we’re survivors. Lux is just a survivor. One who’s not yet very good at avoiding the law.

He’s pushed into the backseat of the cop car, and then the officer walks away. Doesn’t come back for an hour. Two hours. Lux’s eyelids droop, his breathing slowing then hitching as he finds himself tipping over.

He’s alone, and even this hard seat is better than the ground when he can’t find a safehouse to duck into, and it’s much warmer in here than outside. But, but do cops have cameras in their cars? Microphones? Will they watch him lower his guard, will they record his breathing and what he says in his sleep? If he does drift off, will the cop come back and put a bullet in his brain? Dump him out on the road when a car is coming? No, Lux can’t sleep. He’s alone, he’s handcuffed, he’s trapped in a space that belongs to someone paid to find and hurt warlocks. It’s just not safe, it’s not, he can’t sleep, he can’t… he can’t help dozing off with a low thrumming panic eating away at his nerves, sure to bring nightmares as soon as he’s at his most vulnerable, unconscious and unaware.

There are cinnamon rolls in the fridge, each one wrapped up carefully in cling wrap to keep it fresh and soft.

The plants on the windowsills are green and leafy, bouncing mildly in the breeze, scents sweetening the air in repayment for the water and sunlight and singing sometimes offered to help them grow.

Lux is on a couch. His head is lying on a rolled-up sweater, peach-colored and soft, that Emory was wearing earlier, curls and a cheek smushed up against the soft fabric.

He looks around, one knuckle just barely kissing the floor where his arm dangles off the side of the couch, socked feet propped up on a pillow. The speakers beside the TV are quietly playing a playlist that Emory put together for when Lux is bored lying around the house, each song especially picked for a Lux in a particular mood.

Twenty-two and safe. Twenty-two and calm, comfortable, sleepy and utterly relaxed. Lux, a warlock, the son of a veteran of the War on Magic, a criminal and a killer, lies sprawled out on something soft in a place he can call home. His boyfriend will come home soon with take-out, and kisses, and questions about how Lux’s day went. This place wouldn’t be so warm and safe if Emory didn’t live here, but Emory doesn’t lord over it, and the crazy man swears that it wouldn’t be a home without Lux here.

So here Lux waits, dozes, the only one in the house for the moment, but not alone. Not alone anymore. Never alone again, if you don’t wanna be, Emory promises, sometimes, when Lux asks to be held in the middle of the night so the anxieties that slide around his mind in the dark and quiet don’t grow and take root. I’m right here, Curls. You’re not alone.

It took a long time. Too long, he thinks, remembering when he was smaller and not yet used to all the ways the world could hurt him. But he’s finally here, in the home he was meant to have, and within the hour, he’ll see his Em, he’ll be in the arms of someone who loves him despite knowing him inside and out. Lux snuggles further into his boyfriend’s sweater and breathes deep, letting himself fall further into his early-evening nap. He’ll be woken by hands on his back, in his hair, lips at his cheek and shoulder, and Lux won’t flinch. He’ll stay sleepy and loose and hum a welcome home, and get a warm greeting in return. It’s just the kind of thing that happens when you’re home and in love, kisses and warm words and food. All his, whenever he needs them, forever. Because he’s not alone anymore.

#whump #angst #drabble #past trauma #lux #backstory #mine #homelessness #hunger #comfort

85 notes · View notes

doctortreklock · 5 years

Text

Pieces out of Puzzle Pictures - December 19, 2019

Part of my Resolution19. Read it on AO3.

Prompt: Rings that were Too Small for Fingers (x)

December is a month of remixes and sequels!!!

Fandom: Merlin

Title: “Hector the Collector” by Shel Silverstein

Words: 3961

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

Gwaine found Merlin in the pub about three hours after Arthur had thrown him out of his chambers in frustration. Arthur was frustrated because he was somehow married to Merlin of all people. Merlin was frustrated because Arthur seemed to think it was all his fault.

So, yeah. Pub.

And not just any pub, but his favorite pub. The bestest pub in all of Camelot. Because they got so many knights and lords through their doors that they didn't care that he was the Court Sorcerer. They didn't care who he was at all. Not like Arthur did.

"Uh-huh," Gwaine agreed.

Merlin figured he'd probably been babbling out loud a little.

"Yep!" Gwaine said cheerfully. "Now, I'm all for drinking, you know that, Merlin, but you're not usually so far in your cups." He took a deep swig of his own glass of ale. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I'm married to Arthur," Merlin told his glass miserably.

Gwaine slapped him heartily on the back and Merlin almost fell off his stool. "Finally! Hey!" he called to the barkeeper. "A round for everyone; my friend just got married!" A loud chorus of cheers echoed around the pub.

Merlin dropped his head on the table in resignation.

If anyone asked, the first person Merlin told was his mother. Well, maybe Gaius. But really. His mother.

Hunith was in town, after all. Ealdor had been hard on her after Merlin left, even with the other villagers looking out for her. And with Cenred's constant, overbearing taxation... Well, when her son landed a cushy job at court against all odds, it made sense to pack up the house and move into chambers in Camelot where she could be nearer to her dear son and her brother.

Arthur had promoted her to head of the household - likely out of self-defense - and Hunith had settled quickly into her new role as matriarch and overlord to all the various servants who worked within the castle.

Merlin knew right where to find her. As he descended the castle, he could hear familiar humming. The melody led him to the kitchens, where Hunith was holding court with Cook and a few of the serving girls.

He leaned against the doorway and watched with a grin as his mother dropped the last few ingredients into a pot of broth. The rich smell transported him back to two dozen winters in Ealdor, where the wind would howl outside the walls and rattle the window panes, but their house was warm and snug and smelled of home. It seemed a little out of place, considering the August heat, but Merlin knew he would treasure it come November.

Cook caught sight of him first. Merlin could almost see the "dratted boy" forming on her lips before she remembered his promotion. "My lord," she said instead, inclining her head the bare minimum required.

"Cook!" he greeted her cheerfully in reply.

At their words, Hunith looked up from her soup, music halting as she said "Merlin, what a surprise! Is there anything you need?"

Merlin laughed and ducked his head. "No, mother, I'm fine. I, uh," he hesitated. "I would like to speak with you, if you've got time."

"I've got plenty of time," she said. "The broth just needs to simmer for a few hours. Theresa," she continued, turning to Cook, "would you mind keeping an eye on this for me?"

"Not at all," Cook said, while Merlin was mouthing 'Theresa' to himself.

"Thank you ever so much." Hunith wiped her hands on her apron. "Now, Merlin. What was it you wanted to speak to me about?"

"Um. Well it's...uh," Merlin stammered. "Can we go somewhere else?"

"Of course," Hunith said, but Merlin could hear her surprise. There was little he had to say that wouldn't make it to the kitchen staff eventually, and both of them knew that. Nevertheless, she followed as Merlin led her through the castle to a room he knew was both empty and off the beaten path, reducing the number of curious eavesdroppers they were likely to have.

"What's this all about, Merlin?" Hunith asked warily as he shut the door behind them.

"Well..." Merlin leaned back against the door. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let it all out at once. "Arthur and I got married."

There was silence.

He chanced a peek to see Hunith still standing there, hands over her mouth and eyes watering.

He cringed. "Sor--" Merlin started, but before he could finish his apology, Hunith had moved, throwing her arms around him.

"Oh, Merlin! I'm so happy for you!"

Merlin let out a loud exhale and embraced his mother back. "Oh thank gods," he said weakly. "I thought you'd be mad."

"Mad?" she exclaimed, pulling back so she could see him properly. "Why would I be mad? My boy's getting married! I thought there was something between you and Arthur," she told him. "I knew it!"

"Um, we're kind of already married?" he chanced. "Remember Midsummer's?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "A Druidic wedding? That's so thoughtful of Arthur, considering your, well, heritage." She reached up to smooth a piece of Merlin's hair behind his ear. "I just do wish I could have been there."

"Sorry," Merlin said, hoping this was a more fitting moment for an apology. His surprise wedding and eternal marriage just seemed like the sort of thing he should have to apologize to someone for.

"Don't be," she told him. "I'm just glad you're happy. You are happy, right, Merlin?" And now she looked worried.

Any protests Merlin had about his marriage being a sham caused by accidental magic died unspoken. "Of course, mother," he said, and it was barely forced, his smile only slightly too wide to be real. "Arthur and I are both very happy."

Hunith smiled, and Merlin knew she'd believed him.

"Do you remember when we were-- No, no, that won't do. Er. When two men who hadn't previously considered-- No, that's worse. How about, Weddings, huh? Who needs 'em?" Arthur gave a full-body sigh and flopped back on his overly large bed. "No, no," he muttered to himself. "That won't do at all."

Before he could compose himself, there was a knock on his door. Arthur knew this was it.

He pulled himself off the bed, straightened his tunic, and opened the door. "Lancelot, Gwen, thank you very much for stopping by." He stepped back to let them inside and shut the door again behind them.

"Of course, Arthur," Gwen told him warmly. "Anytime you ask."

"Anytime," Lancelot echoed from a half-step behind Gwen. Arthur knew that despite giving his blessing, Lancelot still wasn't quite comfortable around his king, who happened to also be his wife's former betrothed. He hoped this conversation might put any fears to rest for good.

"Er," he opened with. "Lancelot, Guinevere," he continued. Arthur hesitated, then decided to just go for it and see what he said. Nothing could be worse that what he had practiced. "We were going to get married," he blurted, then froze.

Gwen and Lancelot froze as well, wide-eyed, and Arthur could tell Lancelot was not happy with the current course of the conversation.

"And then we weren't!" he finished hastily. "And that's a good thing!" Honestly, at this point he'd swear Merlin could have made less of a complete hash of this conversation. "Because you two are very good together!" He cringed.

Now Gwen just seemed amused and Lancelot was looking reassured, if a tad convinced his monarch was completely insane, which was understandable. Arthur himself was beginning to think he was a little mad.

"Er. This conversation isn't going the way I'd hoped," he admitted.

"It doesn't seem like it, no," Gwen said diplomatically. She would have made an excellent queen, Arthur thought, not for the first time. "Why don't we all take a seat over there and you can try again from the top," she offered.

Arthur thankfully accepted and they decamped to the ornamental couches by the fireplace.

Once they were settled, he took a deep breath. "The thing is..." He hesitated. This was the first time he was really saying it aloud, and it felt like if he never told anyone, it couldn't possibly be true. But Merlin said it was, and magic had strange rules and Merlin knew magic and Arthur trusted him about magic.

He closed his eyes and just said it. "Merlin and I are married." He continued quickly before they could interrupt with the questions he could see forming. "It was a Druidic ritual, we didn't realize at the time. It was a huge coincidence, really, and those sorts of things should come with warning labels--" Arthur cut himself off before he could start rambling like Merlin. "We seem to have become married," he said carefully. "And it doesn't seem reversible."

There was a moment of silence before Gwen clarified, "You didn't mean to get married to Merlin?"

"No!" Arthur exclaimed. "Not at all." He stood abruptly and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I mean, Merlin's alright," he admitted reluctantly to the fireplace. "But he's not...I mean...he's Merlin."

"Exactly," Gwen told him gently. "He's Merlin."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arthur snapped, rounding on them.

"She means that he is Merlin," Lancelot said quietly. "And Merlin has his own rules."

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked him, frustration still clinging to his voice.

"You have never treated him like a servant," Lancelot pointed out. "And you have never treated him like a knight. You treat your friends differently as well." He shrugged. "He is Merlin."

Arthur sank back into his seat. "He's Merlin," he conceded. "He doesn't really follow normal rules of logic, does he? Actually," Arthur realized, "I'm a bit surprised he hasn't been accidentally married before."

"Maybe he was waiting for the right person," Gwen said pointedly. Before Arthur could ask what she meant by that, she reached out and took one of his hands in hers. "Congratulations, Arthur, really," she told him sincerely. "Aside from Lancelot, I could not imagine two men who would be better husbands than you and Merlin."

Lancelot nodded his agreement. "There could be no better spouse than Guinevere," he told Arthur, "but if there were, it would be Merlin or yourself."

"Thanks," Arthur paused. "I think."

The castle of Camelot held many secrets in her depths. Some, like the Great Dragon Kilgharrah, had been discovered. Others had not, and could only be imagined from legend and myth.

One was well-known, and regularly received visitors...and new tenants.

The crypt beneath the castle housed dozens of generations of Arthur's family. 'The Pendragon Dynasty' his mother once quoted. The rows and rows of stone sarcophagi gave the cold room an ominous finality. Arthur had been there once, as a boy, when his father's younger brother had died. He hadn't visited after that until they buried his father.

In the light of Arthur's torch, he could make out only the first few stone tombs in any direction, creating the illusion that the room was infinite, and filled with death. A shiver ran down his spine and Arthur reminded himself sternly that he left the door to the crypt propped open with a torch burning to show the way. He did not need to look back and check. He was the king of Camelot.

He glanced anyway.

The light was still burning cheerily in the doorway. Arthur absolutely did not sigh in relief as he turned back to the crypt. The stone tombs nearest him were blank and empty. He knew that one day, he would be buried here, shut beneath a stone slab and locked under his castle. The thought was enough to make his breathing ragged, so he turned the thought aside and progressed steadily through the rows of identical lithic coffins.

He had once thought to be entombed here beside Gwen. Now he supposed he would have Merlin. The thought was oddly comforting.

Finally, he stopped, just past the last blank tombs. He was standing in front of the most recent graves. Uther Pendragon read one side and Ygraine de Bois Pendragon listed the other. Beneath their names were their dates of death and birth and his father's years of rule. There was already dust settled on the surface of their shared tomb.

He stood in front of his parents and felt the same way he did at his coronation: daunted. He cleared his throat. The sound was muffled in the pressing darkness and thick layers of dust. "Father," he greeted, "Mother."

He imagined for a moment what it might have been like to stand before them in person and tell them his news. He imagined his mother's delight. He imagined his father's fury. While his mother's reaction was fully fictitious, his father's was all too easy to imagine. It wasn't better that he had to tell them like this, but it was certainly easier.

"I've gotten married," he told them. "I'm a husband now. And," he hesitated, but their reactions couldn't hurt him now, "I have a husband." The words were awkward on his tongue. "It's Merlin," he said. "I'm married to Merlin." And those words were starting to make sense with enough repetition, starting to mean something.

"Father," Arthur continued, address his next words to the left side of the tomb. "I can't imagine that you would have approved. You didn't like Merlin when he was my manservant, never mind that you gave him to me." He paused. He knew Merlin would have been defiant, and that made him smirk a little. "Now that he's Court Sorcerer, I imagine you'd like him even less.

"Mother." He turned toward the other side, imagining he was likewise ignoring his father's blistering response. "I think you would have loved him," Arthur told her honestly. "He's clever and ridiculous and just when you think he can't be serious to save his life, he turns around and says the wisest thing you've ever heard," he told his mother, in the deep depths of Camelot's crypt. "He makes me a better man and a better king."

And over the sound of his father's imaginary rant, Arthur could almost hear his mother's voice. I'm proud of you.

Merlin didn't exactly mean for Gaius to be the last person that he told. Gwaine had just happened to be there. And then there was his mother, and then it turned out Arthur had told Gwen and Lancelot already, which was probably for the best, considering. But that just meant that when he'd told them again, he'd only gotten smiles and knowing looks.

So yeah, Gaius was the last person Merlin told. Oops?

"And what have you been up to these days?" Gaius asked him over a bowl of stew. Since his promotion, Merlin had moved out of Gaius's back room to his own chambers in one of the castle's towers, which Gwaine had absolutely not taken to calling the Wizard's Tower. Because that would be inaccurate, and Merlin had told him that. Repeatedly. So now he came down a few nights a week for dinner instead, usually with Hunith, but she was helping a new servant settle in that night and couldn't make it, so it was just Merlin and Gaius.

"Well, I'm trying to figure out how easy it would be to divert some of Arthur's linens to my tower," Merlin told him. "I mean, I don't think we'll be sharing a bed soon, but I don't need the feather mattress, just a few thick woolen blankets. And maybe a couple goose-down pillows," he added, putting another spoonful of stew in his mouth and completely missing Gaius's confusion.

"What are you talking about, my boy?" Gaius asked in exasperation.

"It's got to have some perks, doesn't it?" Merlin responded, fishing the last few bits of meat out of his bowl.

"What does, Merlin?"

And now Merlin looked up at him and had a Realization. "Oh, uh, Gaius," Merlin said nervously. "Didn't you hear? I'm married to Arthur." Then he quickly put a spoonful of stew in his mouth so he wouldn't have to say anything else.

"You're what?" Gaius put his spoon down entirely. "When was this?"

Merlin swallowed. "Um, Midsummer's?" he said, and it really shouldn't have been that much of a question.

"The Druids," Gaius inferred. "Well, this is surprising, but I can't say it's entirely unexpected."

Merlin dropped his spoon, splashing broth across the inside of his bowl. "Not unexpected?" he echoed.

"Oh, Merlin," Gaius told him fondly. "You did drink poison for the boy, you know. On top of everything else," he said pointedly. "And don't think I don't know exactly how many times you almost died for him."

"But he's Arthur," Merlin protested. "I couldn't let him die."

"Exactly," Gaius said, with the smug satisfaction of someone who just made an argument they know can't be disputed.

"What?" Merlin asked, beginning to feel like he was the one in this conversation who was lost.

Gaius just gave him a sort of fond, pitying look. "You'll figure it out when you're older."

Merlin just pushed away his stew bowl and dropped his elbows to the table before burying his head in his arms. He was so done with this conversation, he thought sourly as Gaius chuckled.

"Why have you summoned me here, young warlock?" Kilgharrah's wingspan blotted out the stars for a moment before he folded them around himself and settled into the clearing Merlin had called him to.

Merlin scowled. "First off, I'm not that young anymore. Second--"

Kilgharrah laughed. "Next to me, Merlin, you will always be young."

Merlin's scowl deepened. "Second," he continued pointedly, "There was something I wanted to tell you."

"What is it?" Kilgharrah asked, amusement running through his words.

"There was a Druidic ritual. On--"

"Midsummer's, yes."

"How...how did you know that?"

"Every magical creature knew about that, Merlin. When the Once and Future King and Emrys become bonded, everyone knows."

Merlin paused. "So you already know everything."

"Of course," Kilgharrah said. "Did I not tell you that you were two sides of the same coin? This was foretold, young warlock."

"I'm not talking to you anymore," Merlin informed him before turning on his heel and walking out of the clearing, muttering under his breath about dragons and old magic.

Kilgharrah's laughter just echoed around him.

Bonus:

A high-pitched giggle broke through the din and Merlin had to force his fingers to relax enough to set down his glass without shattering it. It was Arthur's thirtieth birthday and all the neighboring kingdoms had sent their unwed princesses and noble ladies to the festivities in the hopes of capturing the king's attention. It was October, three months since Midsummer's and two months and change since Arthur and Merlin realized what had happened on Midsummer's. And everyone still considered Arthur to be the most eligible bachelor in Britain.

Merlin ground his teeth together as another shrill squeal rose over the general cacophony of the room. From two seats down, Gwen shot him a sympathetic look. Almost everyone, he amended. There were a handful who knew, those who had been personally told by one of the pair. Everyone else, Merlin winced as a laugh reached truly glass-shattering pitch, had no clue.

He glared down the other end of the table. Two of Bayard's daughters had come down from Mercia and were attempting to monopolize Arthur. They were the source of the unpleasant disruptions. A third woman seated nearer to Arthur was attempting a more civilized conversation with him. She was from Mora, if he remembered correctly, a distant kingdom, thus affording its emissaries higher status.

Merlin scowled at his beans and tried not to hate her for bumping him from his customary seat directly to Arthur's right. It was only temporary. Once the party was over, they would all leave and Merlin could have his chair back. Not if he marries one of them, a voice said quietly in the back of his mind. Then it's permanent.

Merlin firmly told the voice to shove off.

He looked down the table again and met Arthur's eyes. To anyone else, Arthur appeared courteous and interested, the very picture of a dashing young king. To Merlin's eyes, he looked irritated and stressed. Merlin could read the plea for rescue in his eyes.

Well, Merlin wasn't going to sit here and watch. No. He was the godsdamn Court Sorcerer and he was going to rescue his king. Again.

Merlin stood up with a huff and started walking down the table to Arthur, past a half-dozen heiresses and duchesses. Who did they think they were? Coming into Camelot with their name and their wealth and hoping to take home a crown? Arthur wasn't shallow; not unless he was enchanted.

One of Bayard's daughters, the one seated directly on Arthur's left, reached over to pull him from his conversation, putting her hand on his arm.

How dare she? Merlin thought in a rage, barely keeping his instinctive magic in check. She shouldn't be touching him like that. Merlin should be the only person-- Oh.

Merlin stopped dead two chairs away from Arthur, his magic similarly halted in astonishment. He was peripherally aware of Arthur's concern, hidden behind a smile, and the curious whispers of the eligible ladies he was standing behind. But none of it mattered, because he...

Merlin abruptly realized what Gaius had been trying to tell him. Why his mother hadn't been surprised. What Gwen and Lancelot's knowing looks had been about. He'd bet Arthur's kingdom that if he were to look behind him, he'd see the same look on Gwen now.

And suddenly Merlin knew exactly what he had to do.

He locked eyes on Arthur, stepped forward, put his hands on either side of Arthur's face, bent down, and kissed him. On the mouth. In front of the entire court and representatives from several kingdoms besides.

The room immediately fell silent. Then Merlin couldn't tell if there were whispers or if it was just the buzzing in his ears.

Arthur's lips were rough and warm and, after a moment, opened easily under his.

When he pulled back, Arthur looked at him as if he was seeing him for the first time, which shouldn't have been possible, because Merlin could swear Arthur had looked at him liked that before, the first time Merlin did magic in front of him, and surely at some point Arthur would have seen all of him. He wasn't sure what Arthur saw when he looked at Merlin, but he figured it was probably terror or exhilaration. And maybe something like love.

"Pardon me," the princess from Mora said faintly, and Merlin magnanimously decided that he liked her.

"Excuse me," Arthur told her politely, standing up and taking Merlin's hand as if he'd been doing it for years. "It appears I have some unfinished business with my husband."

Arthur looked radiant as he said it, and Merlin knew his own grin was in danger of splitting his face. His magic bubbled excitedly inside him, and he wanted to laugh in joy.

"Don't stay on my account," she said politely. Bayard's daughters seemed to have fallen into a stunned silence. They would definitely be inviting Mora's princess back.

"C'mon, Merlin," Arthur said and tugged him along behind him to the nearest door.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Arthur pushed him back against it and kissed him again. Through the thick planking, Merlin could hear the hall burst back into riotous noise, and he grinned into the kiss.

Next Midsummer's, he and Arthur were totally hanging out with the Druids again.

#Resolution19 #Remixes and Sequels #Merlin #Merthur #Merlin x Arthur #okay #so i know this is late #but i have excuses!#i moved last week #and started new job #and found apartment this week #and wrote my yuletide last weekend #which was most of it tbh

35 notes · View notes

chokeonmydickgrayson · 6 years

Text

Headcanon #12

Taking the Batfam home to meet your Family.

Dick:

You’d probably have to tell him about twenty times on the ride there to keep his hands to himself, not even a little hand holding in front of your parents. (Lord knows how eager he is to have his hands on you at all times, though honestly you never mind it. You’re father however would slaughter him at the sight of any physical contact between the two of you and you were not going to be splitting up any fights tonight.)

Though Dick, being the playful idiot he was, would probably ignore your warnings. He’d slickly let his hands linger on yours as he’d pass you things around the house, subtitly winking to you as he did so. It makes your heart beat skip and draws a smirk to your lips, you loved his playfulness.

Other then his occasional defiance of the whole hands to yourself rule, he’d be a down right proper gentleman.

Before dinner he’d help your mother in the kitchen with the food, prepping the vegetables, setting and removing the pot roast from the oven, even grabbing her the various bottles of spices she collects and keeps stores up on the top shelves (which she can’t reach for the life of her and is to stubborn to move no matter how many times you and your father beg her to). Once he leaves the room your mother would most likely grab your arm and smack you lightly questioning instantly about plans of a wedding. “Your not getting any younger Y/N and neither am I! I want my damn grandbabies! He’s gentle, he can cook and he’s got the looks” she’d wink with a shake of the hips before giving a chuckle when youd flush red and burry your face in your palms “im just sayin’...the way he looks at you is the same way your father looked at me when we used to date...It’s clear he really loves you sweetheart.”

During dinner he’d probably be seated next to you. He’d probably let his leg rest against yours as he ate, he remembering to use those billionaire manors Alfred and Bruce instilled in him. It warmed your heart at how hard he truly was trying to impress your parents, you’d probably have to repay him the favor after dinner. He’d do his best to impress the table with some quirky banter and after the meal he’d be the first to excuse himself to help clear the table and help with the dishes. (Geh you almost wished he did the dishes at home. You’d give a chuckle and roll your eyes at just how much of a kiss ass he was being, but you thought it was cute.)

After dinner he’d probably try an attempt to spend time with your father. He was positive he had your mother’s approval but, he needed to know your father approved of him as well. It would come in hand one day when he asked for your hand in marriage. He’d probably sit back on the couch diagonal from your fathers recliner and watch the football game with him, he making small talk about the games plays. (As much as Dick enjoyed sports he never got to watch them, with your ever busy life styles sitting home and lounging in front of the tv watching Sunday night football was never an option). Your father knowing what Dick was doing would be the least bit interested in what he had to say. He’d give a sigh and mute the game, not making eye contact as he spoke “if you wanna brown nose my ass kid, your fucking shitty at it. Let me just save you the trouble, i will never approve of anyone that my little girl brings into this house, I know what a young guy like yourself wants with a beautiful girl like my daughter, I was your age once too.” He’d probably sip at a bottle of beer, before placing it on the coffee table in front of him leaning in closer for Dick to meet his eyes. “That being said, you make my little girl happier than I’ve ever seen her. You’ve made it further than anyone else she’s ever dated, no one else has made it into this house” he’d hum fingers rubbing at the short kept black beard on his chin. “You must be special to her...you two got pet names?” He’d ask Dick through squinted eyes, to which Dick unsure how to answer would blurt no. A bluff, your father could smell it a mile away. “What do bees make?” To which a very confused dick would blink and answer back “wait? What? Um, Honey?” You’d hear the word honey and poke your head through the kitchens serving window and respond with “Yeah baby?” Dick would turn bright red in the face and your father would hum with satisfaction, leaning himself back into his chair with his beer, returning the tv volume back to normal “your a shitty liar, you’ll do I guess”

Jason:

Jay wasn’t the most polished of all guys, sure he knew manners but more times than not he’d never use them. You’d beg him to at least try and act like he was raised in a damn house and not like a hood rat raised in the gutters of Gotham. He’d probably take notice of how important this was to you and do his best to comply. You debated telling him to be careful with how much physical contact he’d put out, but you knew it’d be a waste of your breath to even try.

His palms would be damp most likely out of nerves (but hell if he’d admit that to anyone.) You’d slide your hand into his regardless of the sweat, and knot your fingers together giving him a gentle reassuring squeeze “you’ll be fine, no matter what happens tonight i will still love you” you’d whisper to him leaning in and pressing a kiss to his cheek. He’d appreciate that more than he’d be able to express.

While you and your mother begin to cook dinner, Jason would be sat on a chair in the kitchen most likely findling with his phone doing some type of “work”. Generally unless spoken to, he wouldn’t speak which could problematically be seen as rude. Your mother would most likely eye you over with disapproval and annoyance motioning to the phone in his hand. Moms are gonna mom. You’d sigh and call his name, evoking an immediate response of “what?” You cringing at the tone. Throughly to be clear you’re not cringing due to the toughness of his tone, but from the fact that you knew his response was going to catch a bit of lash back. You’d just take a breath and hand him a carrot and a peeler. He’d look at you with a brow raised before looking down at the carrot “am I suppose to freaking chop it or something?” He’d ask honestly unknowing that some people did in fact peel the top layer of a carrot off. You’d just snort a bit to his response you not thinking anything out of ordinary it. With a gentle shove of the shoulder you’d take the carrot back and demonstrate proper peeling procedures before handing it back “think you can handle that Mr tough guy? If not I got some heavy dishes in need setting up that have your name engraved right on ‘em” you’d tease. Your mothers eyes would watch the two of you more eased by the way he reacted to you, however her impression so far wasn’t the best. Once he’d finished peeling the carrots and had left the kitchen your mother would pull you aside and voice her concerns. “I know you love him Y/N but are you sure he’s good for you? I mean I can see what you see in him” she’d pause watching him as he set the table. There was no denying Jason was one gorgeous man, the honest to god total bad boy packag. Stunning body build, beautiful piercing blue eyes, and that irritatingly gorgeous dark hair with that one white pinstrip. God you couldn’t help but watch him as well. You could have spent the rest of the night just fantising about what you’d do for him later if your mother had not stopped you. “I’m just saying baby, think about it before you make any choices. You say he treats you well, and I can’t be one to disagree, I just don’t appreciate the foul mouth and the attitude. He clearly means a lot to you and you clearly mean a lot to him...maybe just try and smooth his edges out”

During dinner Jason would most likely take a seat next to you, however across from your father. At some point in your meal you’d ask “daddy could you pass me the salt?” Hey, you were still young and your father was one of the most important figures of your life. Your father would reach forward his hand overlapping onto Jason’s, confusion and anger splaying over his face. Jason had unintentionally without paying attention as well reached to hand you the salt, seeing as how sometimes you could be guilty of calling him by the same name during bedroom play. Your face would be bright red as you sink in your seat, Jay casually chewing the piece of meat in his mouth “oh wow, this is kinda awkward....Id love to give you an excuse for why I reached for the salt, but i got nada.....your daughter calls me daddy too.” He’d smirk.

There was no after dinner, your fathers top blew, you and Jason being kicked out of the house. Don’t worry, your father would leave Jason with fairwell parting gift, a good clip to the jaw....It’s safe to say your father does NOT approve of Jason and your mothers view point may be more skewed now. He’d look defeated and upset that he messed up tonight so badly but how could you stay mad at him. Your family could be difficult there was a reason you didn’t come around much yourself. You’d just press yourself into his torso planting soft kisses there “I’m proud that you at least gave it your best shot Jay, but i hope ya don’t have hopes of ever being called Daddy again after tonight.”

Tim:

You would have zero concerns about taking Tim home to meet your family. He was respectful, smart, and handsome, he was everything you look for in the boy you bring home to mom and dad. You were excited for your family to finally meet him, you’d only chewed your mothers ear off endlessly about the amazing boy you’ve been blessed with, you couldn’t wait to flaunt him off.

Tim however, would be a nervous wreck. He’d probably ask Bruce about a thousand times how he should act and what he should say. He didn’t want to blow this, you mean the world to him, he’d hate for you to leave him over a small screw up. He’d be so nervous he’d practice the phrase “Hi Mr and Mrs Y/L/N I’m Tim, it’s nice to meet you” about a thousand times. You’d notice his jitters and would let your palm slip innocently against his lap, softly petting his upper thigh. “Relax Tim, you’re over thinking it. We’re just grabbing dinner with my folks, just be the Tim Drake I fell in love with, he’s the best guy I know” you’d tell him. I’d do wonders for his nerves.

Before dinner Tim would be attentive and helpful in the kitchen, he’d start cooking right along side your mother as if he were part of the family. (Which you were glad he felt that way) Your mother would love how eager Tim was to learn her cooking methods, even if he was a terrible cook. It was an A for effort from her. Youd crack a grin and watch as he used the might of those finely toned muscles of his to mash the potatoes. He’d look so adorable in your mothers apron, his tongue greased our past his lips in the corner as he really focused on the task at hand. You’d give a smile while your mother wasn’t looking and dab a bit of potato on his nose kissing his cheek softly. Nobody but you and Tim has to know about that. She’d smile when he walked out of the room, she watching him take his time to set out the table out in the dining room. “You were right Y/N, when your right your right. I didn’t believe you when you said you’d found the perfect guy but I can’t argue with you! He’s a little cutie pie, you two are adorable together hunny. He must really love you to go through all this trouble tonight, you’re very lucky.” She was right, you watched him with practically heart shaped eyes. You were incredibly lucky.

Dinner would go fairly smooth. He’d do his best to help clean up after dinner, though he’d end up making bigger mess in the kitchen so your mother would banish him from her realm.

After dinner he’d sit with your father, though Tim being the shy guy he was didn’t really have much to say. He didn’t give a damn about sports, the only thing Tim could talk about that he and your dad had in common would be you. He’d clear his throat and rub his palms nervously on his pant legs he clearing his throat “S-sir....i know I’m not the hippest guy on the block and I get it if you’d rather your daughter date someone cooler than me...but I can promise you I’m never gonna do anything wrong by her. She means a lot to me and I’m sorry I don’t have much else to say, I don’t think other than Y/N we really have anything in common” he’d nervously laugh “but I can tell you that I love her and I promise every day I fight to be a better me so she can have best me possible.” He’d say eyes locking with your fathers.

Your father would take in a deep breath and look Tim over once or twice not saying a word, turning his attention back to the tv. He’d pass a beer over to Tim cracking it open. “You’re an okay kid” he’d say pounding back a good swing of that alcohol before slamming the can down on the table “but if you’re lying to me and you break my baby girls heart I’m gonna break your damn knee caps” Hey, if ya don’t make the threat are you really her father? All jokes aside your father would absolutely approve. He’d pull you aside after he’d shaken poor Tim’s ass and whisper into your ear “don’t tell him i want him to fear me a bit, but I approve sweetie, you picked a good guy.”

#batman #bruce wayne #dick grayson #damian wayne #jason todd #nightwing #red hood #red robin #robin #tim drake #tim drake x reader #jason todd x reader #dick grayson x reader

66 notes · View notes

albaxsutton · 6 years

Text

I Hate Tuesdays || A Self Para

*TW: Mentions of abuse, mentions of violence

Alba decided she hated Tuesdays.

She tipped the wine bottle upside down, emptying the last few drops into her already full glass. To say that her day had gone badly was an understatement. Her day had to have been constructed specially by the universe to completely f her over. She had woken up that morning optimistic; she had a nice, long shower, her train came on time and she even managed to get a free coffee from the barista she frequently flirted with at the coffee shop a block up from the Rail.

But then she saw the dismayed looks on most of her colleagues faces. The same colleagues she had been competing with for the head writers position for the past few months. It was all friendly, of course. She only truly hated one or two people on staff and that was only because they were privileged idiots and constantly lorded it over the rest of them. The others she tolerated enough to smile and greet as she walked to her desk. Her desk, like most on their floor, was a tornado of organized chaos. Anyone would look at it once and wonder how she ever managed to get any work done. For her, she knew where everything was. She could navigate with her eyes closed and most of the time, was able to grab whatever she needed without looking away from her computer.

So, when she saw the bright, yellow sticky note taped to her computer, she frowned. ‘Come see me in my office, thanks, Xavier”. Simple and ominous. She plucked from her blank monitor and glanced around to the others, who all seemed to be trying too hard to avoid looking at her. Alba rolled her eyes and set down her coffee, purse and shrugged off her jacket before traveling the sea of desks to get to the editor’s office- which she hoped would be hers one day. It was situated on the corner of the building with windows on all sides looking out at the city. The only downside was that it had a pretty open view to the entire floor, meaning no one could pull any while he was sitting pretty at his big, modern desk with a cup of coffee and a perpetually dissatisfied expression.

She knocked on his door and entered when she heard the gruff, “come in” from the other side. Xavier was pacing behind his desk, his blue tooth on his ear. He gestured for her to sit at one of the leather chairs in front of his desk, which she did without hesitation, watching as he ushered whomever was on the other line off the phone.

“Yeah, I got it Janine… Yep… No, we can’t do that piece next month, we had to move it to December… Look, at this point, I don’t care. Let him know we have a circulation of 500,000 issues and about a million plays to review in New York. He wants an interview? Tell him to get available.” With that, he tugged the headset from his ear and tossed it on his desk. “Swear to god, these new age playwrights get a sold out opening night and suddenly they think they’re the god damned Shakespeare of their generation. Didn’t you deal with that wannabe last year, Sutton? The Italian guy, what was his name?”

“Phil Columbo?” Alba answered, obviously amused. “Yeah, I reviewed his one-man musical about the gentrification of Brooklyn Heights. Not subpar, but not the next Jonathan Larson of Alphabet City.”

Xavier shook his head and plopped down in his large, comfortable looking chair. “Yeah, you’re gettin’ him in December. I can’t deal with divas and you seem to like em’.”

“I like talent.”

“That’s what I said, didn’t I?” he shot back offhandedly before clearing his throat and settling into his desk properly. “You do good work, Sutton.”

Alba’s brows shot up in surprise. Getting a compliment from Xavier was like getting a blessing from the Pope at the Brooklyn Rail. His word was bible. “Thank you.”

“And you’re talented. I don’t say that a lot.” Yeah, no shit. “You’re the youngest writer on my staff, you outwork most of the people who’ve been here for years and you consistently give this magazine great content.”

She should have been basking in the praise, smiling like some idiots who got a gold star in Kindergarten. But something felt off. Something about the way he said the words set up an expectation for something bad to come. “I feel a “but” coming on…”

“That’s because there is.” Xavier said, his face both remorseful and disappointed. “If it were up to me, you’d be getting that head writers position. But unfortunately, it’s not just up to me.”

It took a few moments for her to grasp the words completely. There was always a good chance that she wouldn’t get the position, she knew that. But hearing it and expecting it were two completely different things. She felt like cold water had been splashed over her body, igniting every nerve in her body and making her fully aware of just how much that single sentence hurt. “Oh…”

Xavier sighed and sat back in his seat. “I could dance around with numbers and give you some sugarcoated excuse as to why you’re not changing your title, but I know you’re too smart for that. The fact of the matter is that you’re young and you’re not as tenured. Mikey, he’s been with us 11 years. It’s a matter of who is going to get the most respect and right now, that’s not you, kid.”

She wanted to yell at him and tell him that Mikey hadn’t written a good article since the West End run of “Cats”, but she knew that would leave her without a job and possibly blackballed in the New York journalism circuit. She wanted to tell him that she could get respect from anybody she talked to because that was just the kind of person she was. Instead, she sat and listened, her eyes not really focusing on Xavier or anything for that matter.

“I don’t have these conversations often because I don’t feel like I need to explain myself, but you’re different.” He said, his lips pursed in a thin line. “You wanted it. You worked for it and I saw that. I appreciate it. It’s just…”

“Nobody respects me.” She finished for him, her tone a tad bitter.

“Nobody respects you as supervisor material.” Xavier admitted. “Not now anyway. We respect the hell out you, you know that. Now’s just… not the time for you.”

The conversation had ended after that and she dragged herself through the rest of the day with as much grace as she had mustered. But of course, life hit her. Hard. Her interview with a rising, prominent artist had been cancelled, she spilled coffee all over her new shirt and just when her incredibly shitty day had come to an end, she missed her train and had to wait an hour for the next one. By the time she got home, she was a walking ball of nerves and irritation.

She drank from her wine glass and started to settle into her couch for a night of tipsy Netflix watching and trying to forget about the incredibly terrible day she had when a knock suddenly sounded at her door. She frowned. She hadn’t texted Mari, Terry or Siobhan about not getting the promotion yet, so it wouldn’t be them and Raul would never come over without texting first. With a heavy and irritated sigh, she stood up and crossed to her door to look through the peep hole. She froze as a face she hadn’t seen in a very, very long time appeared on the other side. Without another thought she reached forward and yanked her door open to glare at her mother on the other side.

Yelena smiled at her as if they hadn’t not been in contact in over ten years. She was exactly as Alba had remembered. Beautiful, long dark hair and big brown eyes. There were a few wrinkles on her face that weren’t there before, but she looked as if she had stepped out of a page of Alba’s memory. Or a nightmare of hers.

“Alba…” She started, looking her over. “It’s been a long time.”

She wasn’t sure what to say to the woman before her. She could feel the angry glare burning on her face, a distinct feeling of rage creeping up within her that she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to hold in. “12 years.”

Yelena nodded. “Yeah… how have you been?”

Alba stared at her in disbelief. “How have I been? That’s it?” She rolled her eyes and then squeezed them shut, a headache forming at the stress of her day. “What the f- How did you find me?”

“…I hired a private investigator.” She admitted, her smile turning sheepish. “You changed your last name, so-“

“Yeah, so that you wouldn’t find me.” Alba snapped at her.

Yelena sighed, adjusting her purse on her arm and Alba realized, suddenly, that it was designer. In fact, everything she wore was expensive, from her shoes to her coat and even her hair cut. Alba blinked at her, wondering how her mother -the woman who couldn’t hold a job to save her life- could afford those kind of things. “Alba, sweetie, I don’t want this to be antagonistic-”

“Oh wow, “antagonistic”, that’s a big word, Yelena.” She said sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s good to see that the drinking didn’t completely destroy your brain cells.”

“I didn’t come here so that you could insult me, Alba.”

“Then why are you here?”

Yelena sighed and looked down at her hands, perfectly manicured and weathered at the same time. “I... just wanted to see you. See how you were doing.”

Alba raised an eyebrow at her, completely skeptical. “You wanted... to see me?” She scoffed and cast her eyes to the ceiling in exasperation. “Ten years and you’re still a terrible liar. You wanted to see me? Where were you when I was in the hospital for a month after you set our apartment on fire?”

Yelena cringed at the words, at least having the decency to look ashamed. “Alba...”

“Where the hell were you when I was put into foster care? Where were you at my high school graduation, or my college graduation for that matter? You know I worked three jobs to put myself through school because I had nobody and ten years later, you want to see me?” Alba didn’t realize that half way through her rant, tears had started to pool in her eyes. Not because she was sad, she would never give the woman in front of her the satisfaction, but because she was angry. “Pick another lie because I don’t buy that shit.”

Her mother sighed. “I deserve that... Believe what you want, it’s true. I’ve.. done a lot of growing up and I just want to make amends.”

Alba, with a bored and disbelieving expression, scoffed at her words. “Cry me a river.”

“Why are you acting like I don’t know I made mistakes?” Yelena said, the words coming out quickly and with an emotion that made them waiver ever so slightly. She looked close to crying too, her eyes red and her lips forced into a thin line. “I did, Alba. I made a lot of them, most of them with you. I don’t know what you want me to say!”

“An apology would be nice.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Fuck you.”

To Alba’s surprise, Yelena gave her a sad smile in return. “Crazy thing is, you sound a lot like me.”

“No, I sound a lot like Alba.” She shot out, shaking her head. “You don’t get to take credit for anything but a strong liver, great hair and childhood trauma.” She leaned against her door and shrugged. “So last chance. You tell me why you’re really here or I slam the door in your face. Your pick.”

Yelena stared at her for a moment, looking unsure of what to say. Alba couldn’t really blame her. If she had been a bad mother, she wouldn’t be sure what to say to her kid either. The fact that she even had the gall to knock on her door would have been impressive if Alba hadn’t hated her so god damn much. She reached in her expensive purse them and pulled out a small, rectangular piece of paper and held it out for her. Alba glanced at the paper and then back at her, slowly taking it and looking it over. It was a check, one with her name and “$25,000″ in the amount line. Alba’s eyes widened as she stared at hit and she looked up at her mother in shock.

“Why the hell are you giving this to me?” She said, hastily putting it back into the woman’s hand.

The older woman took the check back looked at it, smoothing it over with her fingers as she spoke. “I got married five years ago. He’s... a really good man. He helped me get sober, get back on my feet. He paid for the private investigator to find you. He’s... going to be running for political office soon.”

Alba raised a brow at her. “And... what the hell does that have to do with you handing me a check for $25,000?”

“...He had a lot of my criminal record sealed, including the neglect and arson charge from... that day.” Yelena explained to her, clearing her throat uncomfortably. Alba didn’t know what pissed her off more. That she wasn’t exactly the woman she was from all that time ago, or that she was trying to act like that person was long gone. “I’m his wife, we can’t have any... scandals, affecting his campaign. If anybody found out that I had a daughter that I left behind... it wouldn’t be good for him.”

It slowly pieced together. And when the puzzle was complete, Alba was filled with an anger she hadn’t felt in a very long time. The anger that only came from a frustrated kid who just wanted somebody to come and whisk her away from her horrible life. Yet no one ever came. It was an anger with her mother as the singular focus. “You’ve... got to be out of your god damned mind.”

Yelena clenched her eyes shot and cringed. “Alba, just think about-”

“Oh, I don’t have to think about anything!” She yelled, not caring if her neighbors heard her rage filled words. Yelena had the good sense to take a step back as her daughter unleashed her anger. “Do you even remember all the shit you did to me? Do you remember all the times I had to defend myself when you went on some drunken episode? I had to lie to my teachers and tell them I fell. There were times I had to stay home from school because sometimes I couldn’t hide the bruises.”

Yelena listened to her with tears in her eyes and shame on her expression, but it wasn’t enough for Alba to feel satisfied. She wanted the woman in front of her to hurt just like she did. “I think we should take this inside-”

“You’re out of your fucking mind if you think you’re stepping foot in my house.” She snapped, her words low and vicious. She scoffed lightly and shook her head. “Years of court ordered therapy by CPS and I still can’t function properly.” She sounded hysterical at this point, letting her words move out of her without thought of consequence. It was like a dam had been broken and there was no way to stop the rushing waters from flowing free. “I spent a lot of time wondering what I had done wrong. Because what kind of child couldn’t be loved by their mother?”

Yelena tried to reach forward, her hand open in a caring manner that Alba wasn’t used to. “None of that was your fault!”

Alba ripped way from her. “How the hell was I supposed to know that? I was a kid trying to raise myself. You know, because of you I’m just some hyper sexual, asshole whose walking around angry all the god damned time with absolutely no decent moral compass and a deep embedded distrust of men. Because you had guys coming in and out of our apartment and more times than not, I had to lock my bedroom door because some of them would try to get in. You took everything that was good and decent about my life and you crushed it with your bare hands.”

They were both crying now. Yelena stood silently, tears running down her face while Alba had to catch her breath. “The only thing I hate more than you is the fact that deep, deep, deep down, I still wish we could have been different.” Yelena started to open her mouth but Alba cut her off. “And don’t you dare say that things can be different now, because I know you’re not that naive so... just go. We don’t have anything else to talk about.”

Her mother pressed the check forward again. “Alba, I know you have student loans and bills-”

“Which I will take care of, I don’t want your money and I don’t give a fuck about you or your husband, so just fucking go.” She sounded exhausted by the end of the sentence, emotionally and physically done with the small conversation.

Yelena, stubborn as stubborn was, leaned down and placed the check on her doormat between them, putting a business card along with it. “That’s one of two. I can give you the other half when you agree not to say anything about... that.”

“Woman up and say it.” Alba spat out with a shrug. “Your incredibly shitty and abusive attempt at being a mom.”

“...If I could take back everything I did, I would.” Yelena admitted, her tone close to a whisper. “I want you to know that.”

Alba didn’t respond, just stared at her dead in the eye and glared. “Go, before I call the cops and have them wheel your unconscious body out of my hallway.”

The threat was sharp and enough to make Yelena jump slightly. She gave her one final look and turned on her heel to leave. Alba wasted no time in slamming her door shut, her vision blurred with angry tears. She managed to stomp back over to her wine, not realizing how badly her hands were shaking until she brought the glass to her lips. Everything that she had repressed and forgotten about in the ten years since she had last seen that woman rushed forward to the forefront of her mind. She was suddenly a little girl again, scared and curled up in her bed. She was that little that she thought she had grown up from. But here she was.

With an angry cry, she threw the wine glass across the room and watched it shatter against the wall, red wine splattering across her furniture and floor. Her chest heaved up and down, trying to take in air that just wouldn’t come. After awhile, her legs were unable to hold her up and she crumpled to the ground, crying and feeling sorry for herself and the girl that she was.

She really fucking hated Tuesdays.

#alba || muse #alba || self para #nrp: inspo #tw: abuse #tw: alcoholism #tw: violence #tw:

6 notes · View notes

taco-night-frenzy · 7 years

Text

Never a Chair So Real

Hey, so I decided to be a weirdo and write a scene for @kaesaaurelia ‘s Never a Lovely So Real

It’s got spoilers for her fic in there, so don’t read it if you haven’t read her stuff. It’s good, and I am aping her style, but it felt like a fun little practice to get me writing again, since I usually never write in San’s perspective or in present tense or just you know write a scene about someone else’s fic.

Don’t take this too seriously at all. The scene takes place directly after chapter 26.

---

“Asgore! You…” Toriel huffs, possibly about to blow his whole apartment down. “You get your ‘fluffybuns’ to this door, right now!”

Ah, the ol’ sarcastic ex-pet name. Not exactly a good sign. As I scramble up the steps at a leisurely pace (mind you, I’m injured, can’t be running too hard, now.) I notice things feel a bit different. Can’t really put my finger on it, but something just feels off. I shrug. Got more important things to worry about.

I hear the door creak open meekly. “Tori, what is wro-”

“Don’t you ‘Tori’ me, Asgore Dreemurr!” She puffs and a slamming noise reverberates through my skull.

“Sorry,” Asgore stammers. “Toriel.”

Alas, that was the wrong response as well. Poor guy is soon about to learn nothing would be the right response. “You have much bigger things to apologize about, Asgore!”

I reach the top of the stairs and notice Toriel with her hands at her hips, positively fuming, like a tea kettle Asgore forgot to tend to. She doesn’t notice me, those globes of fire burning into Asgore. Asgore looks confused, of course. He’s probably used to her grump, but not usually this level. For a split second he sees me, but brings his attention back to Toriel, as if she might strike him while he wasn’t looking.

Gotta admit, I feel a bit bad. It’s probably too late for me to defuse the situation.

“Lord,” a voice floats in through the doorway. “What’s going on out there, now?” Of course, Patience feels the need to butt in and make things worse.

“Sorry, Ms. Gormon, I-”

Wrong again, Gorey.

“Don’t apologize to her, like I’m some burden!” Toriel growls. I didn’t think it was possible, but looks like Patience has managed to make her even angrier. “Just when were you going to tell me that our son was still alive, Asgore?”

For once, Asgore doesn’t have anything to say. His eyes go wide and I can tell his brain went up in flames. Again, he shoots a single glance at me, seemingly accusatory. Very unlike him.

I shrug once more, thinking ‘sorry Gorey,’ like maybe he can read my thoughts.

A sigh escapes his lips as he manages to comprehend the situation. “Toriel, I’m sorry, I planned on telling you.”

Wrong. “Planned on telling me!? Like a surprise birthday party?!” She waves a furred hand through the air, dangerously close to slapping Asgore across the face. He flinches. “‘Toriel, your son you thought was dead is actually alive and the leader of a gang of murderous humans! Have some tea!’”

If this weren’t such a tense moment, I’d congratulate Toriel on such a spot-on impression. Although, the tears in her eyes tell me now’s not the best time.

A few monsters are gathering around the hall now. A bear monster peaked through his door, Aaron gazes openly through a winking eye at the top of the stairs, and a few Vulkins are meandering in wondering if anyone needs a hug. Someone does, sure, but not these two.

“hey, maybe we should move things inside,” I say, noting my voice feels strange compared to a few minutes ago. Must just be nerves, not that I have ‘em.

Asgore finally notices the crowd gathering outside his door and around his future ex-wife. Even this guy seems to have his limits when it comes to shame. He sullenly nods. “Yes, maybe this is for the best?”

Toriel stamps down, wobbling slightly. The audience loses their balance a bit at the sheer force of her strength. “I do not care who sees! Let them see what a-a… a monster you are!”

Wow. That was harsh. Usually not good to refer to monsters in that connotation, but I can tell she’s upset, and rightfully so. I know she doesn’t need someone like me to protect her, but I can’t help but say, “we’ll tell ‘em all about it, but uhh, i could really use a seat right now. hurt arm and all.”

Truth be told, my arm does hurt, and I do like sitting. Plus, while most of the eyes were on the boss monsters, I feel those prying eyes looking at me as well. Unless I’m on stage, it’s not exactly a great feeling.

“Fine. I will do it for you,” she said finally, but not quite looking my way. I sensed some anger towards me, but luckily Asgore was there to soak up most of it.

Asgore sighs and steps aside as we walk past, his eyes downcast.

---

We get inside and the smell of Area/Time Relevant Flowers and tea accost us. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice smell, but it’s so Asgore. The sights and smells appear to only make Toriel angrier. His living area has a couple cups of tea still steaming on the table and a Patience sitting across from it. She doesn’t look happy, but that’s the norm.

I take the cushiest seat across from Patience, noting that Toriel would probably not be happy to sit across from her. Still warm. For a moment, I felt the urge to take a nap, but again, not a great time for my shenanigans.

Patience takes a sip of her tea, glaring my way. I notice her wrist is looking better. “You had to blab, didn’t you?” she says, knowing a little too much for comfort. I shrug. “And you guys thought I was bad,” she mutters, just loud enough so only I could hear.

Toriel takes a seat, her molten globes of fire trying to focus on Asgore, although she clearly is having trouble not staring at Patience. “I see you have made yourself quite comfortable in my husband’s home.”

“Yep.”

I’m starting to regret coming inside.

I look across the way to see Asgore standing awkwardly near the table, not too close, but not too far. He keeps shuffling his feet, trying to find the best spot so as to not be impolite. Why isn’t he sitting?

I look around. Ah. Only three chairs. Oops. Well, I certainly aint movin’. I’m pretty comfy here.

Asgore shuffles slightly forward, his foot lightly hitting the table on accident, rattling the cups. “Pardon me, I usually don’t have many guests here, so I am not quite prepared.”

“I wonder why that is?” Toriel hisses sarcastically.

Patience looks like she’s running thin. “Just take my chair, then.”

Asgore shakes his head. “No, no, it is quite all right, I am comfortable standing.” He clearly isn’t.

Toriel groans, all too accustomed to Asgore’s little quirks. “Now, again, when were you going to tell me that our son was still alive?!”

“Not technically really alive,” Patience corrects her. “Although, not really dead either.”

Toriel did not appreciate that little factcheck. She shoots Patience a glare that would turn any other monster to dust on the spot. Patience just sips her tea.

“Asgore can speak for himself!”

He wrings his paws and shuffles his feet, staring at the tea, probably wishing for a drink right about now. “I, uh, hm…” I start to wonder if he really can speak for himself.

“Christ’s sake, just take my damn chair,” Patience says.

“No, no! It is quite all right!” Asgore says, his foot tapping against the table again and rattling the cups again.

Toriel grits her teeth. “Just take the chair!”

Asgore flinches at the shout and looks at Patience like a lost puppy. “Ah, yes, maybe, maybe it is for the best.”

Patience frowns at this. “Oh, so when she tells you to take my chair, you’ll take it?”

Asgore finds himself deeper and deeper in his hole, and he keeps on digging. “No! I, I apologize! I did not mean it that way, please, you must keep your chair, then!”

Toriel looks like she’s about to explode. “Just. Take. My. Chair. Then.”

Poor guy can’t seem to handle the heat. He bumps his toe against the table again. Even I cringe this time. “No, I…. I am quite all right, I do not want to burden you.”

Patience groans and gets up. “You’re already a burden now, take the chair already.”

I notice Toriel is also standing up. Oh god, is this really happening. “Since you do not want to take her seat, then just take mine!”

I could swear Asgore is ready to cry. “I…” He looks between the two women, both angry and glaring. Boy, am I glad I’m not in his situation right now. “Thank you, but I will stand.”

“UGH!” They groan simultaneously.

In the next moment, Asgore is crushed by both chairs, his lifeless body limp under their weight. Welp, they killed him. Probably the best outcome for him, honestly.

#Undertale #Never a Lovely So Real

37 notes · View notes

yetanotherbuffyblog · 7 years

Text

Being evil sux

I’m back! I picked up the last set of DVD’s for season four at the library, and if God’s willing then I’m going to be able to finish this season during the week. I hope so, anyway. I may have closed in on a place to live so that won’t be taking up my time anymore.

Oh also Castlevania is now on Netflix! It’s only four episodes so check that out! But not if you’re squeamish because there’s blood and guts. Lots of ‘em.

Alright so when we left off, Faith was back and had switched bodies, with Faith-in-Buffy’s-body safe at home and Buffy-in-Faith’s-body being taken away by the police. Let’s see where this goes!

So one of the first thing Faith does in Buffy’s place is use Joyce’s credit card to buy a plane ticket out of there. She does her best to ingratiate herself into the Scoobies (who are actually called ‘The Scooby Gang’ in this episode), going so far as to practice talking like Buffy in the mirror. It seems to mostly work, actually.

Meanwhile in Faith’s body, Buffy’s in real trouble because no one will believe she switched bodies with Faith. And then she gets taken by the Watchers’ Council’s hit squad, who are exactly as dickish as you would expect.

Oh and Adam recruits some vampires to work for him. For...reasons.

Faith proceeds to go and try to do her own thing as Buffy. She goes and parties, flirts with Spike, has sex with Riley, and is generally dickish to everyone. When Willow sees her at the Bronze she takes the opportunity to introduce her to Tara, and obviously Faith is crude about the fact that Willow’s started dating a girl. But Tara realizes something’s wrong with Buffy and tells Willow about it, and they do magic shenanigans to work it out.

But throughout the episode, we see Faith get an idea of Buffy’s world. Faith isn’t hated by Buffy because she’s a terrible person, it’s because she actively tried to hurt the people Buffy cares about. When Faith tries to go and act dickish, like flirt with Spike or have sex with Riley for spite, all of it makes her feel more empty. And when she actually saves someone from a vampire she actually feels good about it.

Buffy, meanwhile, escapes from the Watchers and meets up with Giles, managing to convince him that it’s her. And Willow and Tara come in with a counterspell that Buffy can use to get her body back. But ohes noes! The vampires working for Adam go and invade a church, holding it hostage! Faith, who is about to skip town at the airport, sees the news report and elects to go kill the vampires. She does so, but she has to get saved by Buffy. They fight, switch bodies, and Faith makes a dash for it, skipping town.

So basically this episode was a Faith character study.

So notes!

-Oh wow lots to talk about here.

-One of the things Faith practices saying as Buffy is “Because it’s wrong!” because Buffy’s a stuck-up goody-two-shoes and that’s what she’d say. And then she repeats it dead serious when the vampires ask why they shouldn’t kill people and that’s A+ writing guyz, more of that please.

-Like Riley, Faith just doesn’t get Buffy. And what’s amazing is that Faith thinks that she’s mysterious and that all her feelings are hidden, and yet she’s an open book. At the very beginning of the episode Joyce points out that she thinks Faith is deeply unhappy with herself. And she seems surprised that Joyce has any sympathy for Faith at all.

Joyce is so cool. She’s probably toast.

-It’s entertaining (and also really, deeply sad) that Faith tries to seduce Riley by appealing to common kinks? Asking if he wants to hit her or have rough sex with her. And she makes comments about “using this body” which is interesting given that she’s doing exactly that: using a body for her own gain. That Riley doesn’t want to have kinky sex, but wants to be gentle in bed freaks her out. I don’t know what to do with that, other than point out that Faith clearly has issues with emotional intimacy.

-ALTHOUGH when she was like, “Get off of me! What are you doing?” I was under the impression that she was reliving some past trauma? I don’t know if anyone else got that impression from that scene, that she was at some point sexually abused, but...yeah, that’s what I got. I could be wrong.

-And then Forrest, Riley’s black best friend, is all like, “Wow Buffy you suck and you’re controlling Riley’s life!” And Faith-in-Buffy’s-body is all like, “No I’m not, it’s not your business, buzz off!” And Forrest calls her a killer, which Faith reacts very negatively to. The conversation ends when he asks her if she really cares what he thinks, and she (unconvincingly) denies it.

-Faith seems unsettled by the thanks of the girl she saved from the vampire, as if not sure how to react to someone being glad she helped.

-The point I’m getting at here through all of these points is that Faith is clearly someone who wants--no, scratch that, CRAVES affection and admiration, but has no idea how to actually get it, especially now that she’s already done all of those morally evil deeds. So she tries to put skeeviness in its place, and obviously that doesn’t work and pushes her further away from other people. And she’s finally realized what a horrible twisted unhappy thing she’s become by the end of the episode.

UGH THE FEELZ

-Okay so is the church that they fight in at the end Catholic? The fact that Riley gets there in time because he’s “late for church” and his name is Irish McIrishson, and the crucifix up front, make me think so. No way to know for sure though.

-Adam points out that vampires are a bit of paradox--they’re immortal, and they’re afraid of death even more because of it (Harry Dresden points out something similar in White Night). And that they’re demons, but in human bodies.

-He also asks them what they fear, and the lead vampire doesn’t answer before the cut; but when we get to the church, he says that the one he was afraid of, the Lord, wasn’t there to stop him. Which...makes me wonder about the nature of God in the Buffyverse (Whedonverse?)? I know that there isn’t a satisfactory answer given in the show, but holy water and crosses work, and if this vampire is clearly terrified of Him...well, you’d think that there’d be more hints as to how this worked.

-Although, after ranting about how God isn’t there to stop the vampires from killing these people, Faith arrives to stop the vampires from killing those people, so...I’m going to go with ‘it was God’s will that she be there.’ Oh, and her name is Faith. Huh. Didn’t see that…

-Wait, HOW do vampires invade a church? If it was a Catholic church, there should be tons of holy water lying around. And even Angelus cringed back at a cross shoved in his face; there should be crosses, on rosaries, on hymn books, all over the place! If it’s not a Catholic church, I’m much less familiar with the layout, but I’d think that crosses still wouldn’t be hard to come by.

-Alright the Watchers? Are bad at their jobs. The one guy on that squad claimed that he wasn’t sure about the Council anymore, and that they “used to stand for something” implying that members are beginning to question it, but...yeah.

-How does the Watchers’ Council operate? I assumed they were just informants stationed in strategic places to help whenever a Slayer popped up, but sometimes they assume themselves to be a ruling authority and have their own (inept) enforcers. Just… stupid faces. Though the Initiative doesn’t seem to know about them.

-What does Adam want already?? I get we’re not quite near the finale yet, but I’d like to get an idea of what he’s up to other than deciding that he was made to kill things. Why can’t they just blow him up??? Before he...does, whatever it is he wants to do? Take over the world, maybe?

-Do I need to talk about the lesbian sex scen--I mean MAGIC! Yeah, that’s totally magic. With Willow and Tara doing heavy breathing and the crescendo of their spell looking suspiciously like a climax. That’s… yeah. Not subtle.

-Buffy is clearly disgusted that Riley slept with Faith, even if he didn’t know it at the time. And to be fair, he looks pretty shaken up too. Would we call that rape? Because we could.

-While Buffy gets into the church, Giles provides a distraction to the police. What kind of distraction, you ask? Well he waves his arms and hollers this:

Giles: Damn it, man! We have to get inside! Our, uh, uh, families are-are in there! Our, uh, m-mothers and-and tiny, tiny babies!

And that’s hilarious.

See you guys next time!

#Buffy The Vampire Slayer #4x16 #Faith Lehane #Buffy Summers #Willow Rosenberg #Tara #I don't know her last name #review

8 notes · View notes

thefanficmonster · 3 years

Text

Corpse Infested

Corpse Husband & Reader (Gender Neutral)

Warnings: Mentions of dysfunctional family, Family problems, Swearing

Genre: Humor, Comfort, Platonic fluff, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: When your friend disappears for a long time, seemingly having lost interest in what fueled the most passionate fire in their life, you cannot not worry about them. Even if you wanna give them space, you will reach out, you will offer your help. You will tell them they always have you to rely on and talk to.

Requested by Anon. Hi dear! I’m really sorry it’s taken me so long to complete and post your request, but here it finally is! Hope you come across it and if you do I hope you enjoy the read! Love, Vy ❤

For me, it’s never hard to find things to do. I’ve constantly got things on my mind and tasks to tend to, keeping me occupied and my mind focused at all times. I think that comes with living in a home as dysfunctional as this one. I honestly can’t recall a time when my parents got along nor can I think of a time where there was at least one second of peace while the two are both present in the house. It’s always a warzone up there. I’m saying up there because I tend to live out of the basement of their home. I know living in your parents’ basement is considered a peak loser point, or the bottom of the bottom, but you’d have to believe me when I say - I wasn’t always like this. In fact, I only recently came back to this hell-hole and boy do I regret it. I mean, it was a decision forced upon me by circumstances. Trust me, I tried every other option there was. When my dorm was to be closed down and demolished, we were given a notice to start planning our next move about a month early. You can bet I immediately started looking at places but my very tragic and miserable budget didn’t allow such a purchase. No rent was adequate for me and my near-empty wallet so my second option was moving in with my best friend who was also not in the greatest of situations but I thought I’d give that a shot too.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t work out. She lived in a tiny apartment with her boyfriend and his best friend at the time, so four people in one apartment was a nightmare. Still a lesser nightmare than this one but a nightmare nonetheless. Some unwanted and downright traumatizing events chased me out of that place after barely managing to pack my stuff. Therefore, finding myself on the streets again, I had no other option other than the obvious and least liked one: moving back in with my parents.

Making money during my first year of college hasn’t been easy. Working two jobs at once and also streaming video games on the side was what my time was filled with all throughout the first semester but then this damn pandemic started and now ruined everything for me. I had things going for me, I was slowly getting my life together and now it has all fallen apart yet again. The places I worked at closed down due to quarantine and I haven’t been able to steam, not only cause I’d be the victim of my parents’ comments but also cause my terrible home life would be exposed to all my fans and viewers. It’s not like I could cancel out the commotion going on right above my head, it’s a livestream and this house’s walls are cardboard thin meaning all the arguing I hear almost 24/7 will serve as background noise for my streams.

I haven’t reached out to my friends or fans to inform them of this which I feel slightly guilty about but I’m really not looking forward to having to lie to them, just as much as I’m not looking forward to having to tell them the truth so instead I’ve picked silence which is probably either worrying them or driving them insane. Either way, I’ll make my comeback soon.

Well....not very soon by the looks of it...

I have to gather the money, then I have to find a place, then comes the packing, moving out of here, moving into the new place...oh God, there’s so much to it that I don’t even wanna think about. Just that thought that I’ll be inactive for that long makes my stomach turn. Streaming’s where I’ve been channeling all my negative emotions, turning them into something positive and entertaining with the help of my friends.

Speaking of my friends, I should probably put emphasis on how amazing they are. Basically the older siblings I’ve always wished I had. I’m the baby of the group, the eighteen year old freshman in college, powering through life the best they can cause they are constantly getting tripped up by inconvenient occurrences such as this one for example. I tend to have the gang poke fun at me quite frequently - all lighthearted and with good intentions obviously - but they are also the ones to get super defensive if anyone gets the balls to talk shit about me. They’d never allow me to be the victim of any smack talk or online rumors and ‘cancel culture’ or whatever the hell people will come up with to leave others restless and wondering if they did something shady a decade ago. Well, to be fair, I didn’t even know about the concept of social media a decade ago and I’ve never been one to post much but I still have a protection squad in case anyone decides to come after me.

Little do they know the people I need protecting from are the very people that are supposed to protect me - my parents. Luckily, they don’t venture into to basement very often if at all and I have my own exit to the outside world so I don’t have to run into them unless I absolutely have to. The only time I emerge to the surface of the house - aka the ground floor - I do so to leave my share of rent money on the dining table and I usually do it when they aren’t home or when they’re asleep - that happens often with how many bottles they each knock back on the daily.

*sigh*...at least I don’t have to talk to them, right?

Anyhow, remember how I mentioned I always have things to do? Well, right now I’ve tasked myself with rifling through the large boxes containing random stuff I found in one of the basements down here to see if there’s anything I could possibly sell online. For starters, I’d like to hope there aren’t any severed body parts in here because this was one shady-ass basement before I moved in and un-creeped it a bit so I wouldn’t have to become an insomniac due to the paranoia of there being a homeless person down here with me or some paranormal entity. Regardless, old basements tend to be, apart from haunted, also filled with junk no one would find valuable despite it actually being worth something after all. That’s basically what I’m hoping to find at the moment.

As I dig through the contents of the first box, the YouTube playlist I have put on on my phone cuts off causing me to furrow my brows in confusion for a second before my ringtone pierces the silence the lack of music created.

I quickly mute the ringing and take a look at the Caller ID to see a name I never thought would pop up on my screen as an incoming call - Corpse. I, as well as many of our friends, know that he’s not the biggest fan of talking to people on the phone so this is rather surprising. Still, I pick up the call in case it’s not a mistake and an odd chance that it’s somethin urgent cause Lord knows Corpse doesn’t call people willy-nilly.

Thank God it’s quiet up there at the moment.

“Hello?“ I try my best to cover up the confusion in my voice but I can only assume I didn’t do the best job considering Corpse replies with a slightly awkward chuckle.

“Surprised you, didn’t I?“ He asks, getting my cheeks to redden a bit, “You can’t blame a guy for calling after up and disappearing on him and on the whole internet. Where’ve you been?“

I open my mouth to respond when I hear the sound of glass breaking a shouted curse from upstairs.

Oh for fuck’s sake!

“Um...you know, places?“ I’m aware the answer isn’t only nonsensical but also sounds more like a question, but I can hardly focus on that right now. I’m too buys praying to an entity I don’t fully believe in for the situation above to not escalate.

“Uh, is everything ok over there? Where even are you right now?“ The teasing tone to his voice is all but gone at this point, replaced with deep concern, having obviously heard the commotion that did the exact opposite of what I prayed for - escalated.

“Y-yeah, it’s ok. It’s just another Thursday, you know.“ I attempt a small laugh but it’s blatantly miserable, “I moved back in with my parents when they announced the quarantine so that’s where I’m at now. They’re not the quietest of folks as you can tell so...“

“I FUCKING HATE YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! I HOPE YOU DIE“

Oh crap, here we go.

“...So I can’t really stream a lot...or at all.“ I mutter, cringing with all my might, “But it’s only temporary! I’ll get back in the saddle as soon as I find another place to stay.“ I don’t dare mention how long that’s gonna take me, it’ll be too disappointing and depressing for the both of us. “So yeah...um...thanks for showing concern but there’s really nothing to worry about. I’m ok, everything’s ok, things are just...a bit off the rails, but I’ll fix em no problem. Like I always do!“ I attempt to sound as cheerful as possible with little success due to the overwhelming anger I feel towards those people upstairs and the gut-wrenching nostalgia for the world of streaming I can no longer be a part of because of them. Actually, I put the blame first on the pandemic and second on my parents - if it wasn’t for Covid I’d probably still be in my dorm!

“Hey...um, I think I know an affordable place where you can take up residence. Only if you want to, of course.“ He sounds hesitant but I easily overlook that as excitement bursts throughout my entire being at the sound if an escape being offered to me just like that. Had I known I’d find the solution to my problem in the very people I spent time avoiding because I was afraid of their pity, sympathy and judgement.

“Oh please, it could be a rat and roach infested shoe box and I’d go running to it. How much is rent?“ I ask through a gasp of hurried laughter that’s a result of my inability to contain said excitement. Listen, I’ve been sitting here in Hellsburg for three months now and haven’t gotten a proper shuteye during that whole period, whatever Corpse is offering has to be better than this misery.

“Rent can be discussed once you move in...“ He trails off, “And it’s not rat nor roach infested but there’s a slight issue...“

“Which is?“ I’m honestly expecting the worst: in a bad neighborhood; faulty wiring with a high chance of being electrocuted; faulty piping with a high chance of flooding; people have died there; things get randomly moved around in the middle of the night etc. However, I don’t voice any of them to avoid getting laughed at for my wild imagination.

“Well, uh, it’s corpse infested.“ He says a little awkwardly, causing me to let out an inaudible sigh.

So my ‘people have died there’ guess was on point, huh?

“People have died there, huh? Well, I can turn a blind eye to that as long as I don’t find their bodies in the closet or meet their spirits at 3AM.“ I attempt to joke, now second-guessing my eagerness to accept the offer.

Corpse bursts out laughing his ass off at my statement, getting me to furrow my eyebrows in confusion and wonder what I said was so funny - it was a poor attempt at a joke, it in no way deserves that sort of reaction, barely a chuckle in my opinion.

“You’re golden, Y/N, I swear.“ He says once he forces the laughter to subside, “I meant corpse infested as in Corpse Husband infested.“ He breaks out in another fit as my brain slowly starts connecting the dots.

Oooohh he’s asking me to go live with him

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait, hold up for a sec. Are you aware of what you’re offering me? I mean, we’ve never met IRL, you barely know me and....and for all you know I could be the serial killer in this situation!“ I have no idea why I’m pushing my luck, don’t ask. I just don’t want him to make a decision he’ll later regret, I guess. “Like, I could kill you in your sleep!“

“Would you?“ He asks confidently, silently stating he already knows the answer.

I roll my eyes, “Of course not! But...” He cuts me off.

“Great, the offer stands on my end. I’m not a noisy nor nosey roommate so I suggest you start packing. If you choose to live in that hell-hole over living with me, I’m sorry but I’ll be hella offended, just so you know.“

Corpse sounds like he’s about to hang up on me, a decision already made, so I hurry to stop him. “Wait! What about rent?”

“Fuck the rent, pack your bags.“ And just like that, despite my efforts, he hangs up on me.

Well...this is a chance of a lifetime that I know refusing would lead me to not only remain stuck here but also put me in the hugest loser bin. There’s also the fear of being Corpse’s burden which I’ll try my best not to be - I mean, I’m a super independent person and Lord knows that if this offer came any other time or from any other person, I would’ve declined asap, no discussion.

But streaming

But sleeping properly

But having a normal life again

Yeah those are most certainly the reasons I get up and go into the closet in search on my emptied suitcase. Time to fill it up again, I guess. This time with a smile on my face and excitement fueling each and every movement of mine.

@maat-the-prescriptive @simonsbluee @save-the-sky @itsminniekat @hacker-ghost @bi-andready-tocry @imtiredaffff @jazzkaurtheglorious @hereforbeebo @fandomgirl17 @chrysanthykios @maehemscorpyus @loraleiix @letsloveimagines @annshit @i-cant-choose-a-username-help @enigmaticmaze @divine-artemis @waterlilypat @idontknowwhatthisisfam @evi-ka @classyandfabulous00 @redperson58 @lilysdaydreams @solowheein @mythicalamphitrite @axen-gers @luckygirl144 @nj01 @buddyemily @the-albino-lioness @stardream14 @gdhdkfnn @nomadicgypsyy @preciousskye @fluffysuicideunicornsworld @o-kaelin @manacharlotte @awkward-youtube-trash @lolalee24 @bonky-beerns @meme-lord-and-savior-sebastian @strawbrinkofdeath @teenloves @tams0527 @browneyespinkhair @starstruckllamapuppy @daisychains012 @y0ulooked @tinytacosuitcaseflap @supernatural-is-my-only-life @jula-pauline @melodykitty @just-that-bi-girl @crazybutconfidentaf @lowellshade @alphakees @bellero @weallneednamjesus @starryhanji @boiled-onionrings @husherstan @fockingwhore @melaningoddessthings @prettypastelpetals @haleypearce @godwhyamiawkward @y-napotat @daisychainyoonmin @little-miss-rebel3 @free-wheelin-bi-sexual @redmoon261 @darkacademic2 @wiseflamingoqueen @into-the-end @namikhai-i @nastiablr @thelittleplantlover @mirktuan @dont-hyuck @jjk-bunny @vintagegothlover @easygoingtheatre @itsrandombooklover @miiaivi @emmybaybee @befourgolden @jjk-is-my-shit @eternalteaaars @spacebadgerx @princesslunalight @acequinn14 @samm48 @misselsbells06 @simp-lykawa @fo-love @marishimomura-blog @therealglenncoco @cinnamonbun332 @killtherandomness @sanshinexxxsan @fee-btheweeb @press-lay @cathleenpotgieter16 @jazzydoesstuff @moonlxghtbay @forestrain2000 @hyunjinhugs @blood-of-fandoms @lovellylies @ukiyolixx @simpforhpcharacters @chrisdylan17 @parkerjisung @pedernille @theodonyous @wineandionysus @malfoystilinskii05 @morbid-x @coryisagee @jessewa26 @scoobydooluver97 @mindintheskies365 @raeanneinwonderland @indecisive-empanada @gluttonypalace @loriane2503 @btsiguess-kpop @khaoticbunny @lucidlycactus @smiithys @rottenroyalebooks @kpopgirlbtssvt @fangirl-tc27 @fr0z3n-1 @notmesimpingfortechno @shotarosleftpinky @kunoi-chan @idk-whats-wrong-with-me @yikeroonie @goldenstarofthunderclan @poetry-and-tea @ama-do-writing-stuff @wishbonewolf @emeraldxhope @t0xick1tty @kusuinko @speakyourselfloveyourself @sophia902103 @lo-manburg @classsykittykat @dmgama @depressedpuppythatneedscoffee @btsiguess-kpop @akaashi-baby @gun-jong-simp @geschichtenfee @yerapotato-wp @browneyedgirl365 @thysagclub @sparklycloudnight @helloatomicshadow @queentorresstuff @vtte @val-gal @lucy-bunny17 @aaliyahh0 @katluckybear @boyleanti @straybids @franchesca-791 @cosmicstorm19 @averyisbackinthetrashcan @aomi-nabi @xlanawriter @allensimpsforcorpse

137 notes · View notes

rurounidrift · 7 years

Text

June 14 Blurr’s Horror Stream - The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Look who’s not dead! It’s me!

Drift showed up as Blurr was welcoming Bevel to the team. He never found out that Bevel isn’t a “he,” but he DID find out that Bevel can shift to look like anyone she wants, including him. It impressed the hell out of him.

He told Blurr that there’s a high chance the Lost Light isn’t gonna be taking off again, and Blurr said he’d be happy to welcome Drift and Whirl onto his crew, if they want to come.

Welcome to the 'speedxstealer' room. The chat room has been cleared by the moderator. B l u r r: / shoving a cart inside and slides on his heels to slow down. Was going top speed. Smoke off the heels/ There we go. Snacks. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Frenzy coughs and waves smoke away from his face* B l u r r: Hey, Frenzy. ItsyBitsySpyers: \\SUP. HEY, SNACKS.\\ B l u r r: Mmhm. Whirl: *trots on in, bobbing his head* Sup, Teach. B l u r r: Hey, Whirl. Bevel changed their nickname to Bevel. boomtank: -peers in- Bevel: *trundles in right behind Blaster* boomtank: Hello!...um...? -forgot her name- Whirl: *gonna inspect these snacks critically before he takes his seat* Bevel: Bevel. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave tromps in after Frenzy, lopsided. One arm's long and skinny. One's regularly proportioned and buff. Apparently Rumble's not awake just yet.* ItsyBitsySpyers: *He gets settled on the couch and nods to the room at large.* Whirl: *and when he hears bevel announce her name he's gonna swivel his helm around and awkwardly try and bob it while looking backwards* Whirl: *the paragon of grace and aplomb* boomtank: Bevel. Hi. -and he's trying to not laugh at Whirl or Soundwave- B l u r r: / leans on the snack table/ Well, there's the mech. I was wondering where you were. /wiggles claws at Bevel/ Whirl: Pfft. That's a good look for you, Soundwave. Bevel: Hi! Nice to meet you. Bevel: *grins at Blurr* ItsyBitsySpyers: *He ignores both of these comments. He's already a damn rainbow when all six dock-capable minicons are on him. Weird arms are just weird arms.* ItsyBitsySpyers: ((oh, sorry, Blaster's was a narration thing. ignores Whirl's comments, then)) Whirl: Any of these brews noxious, Teach? boomtank: Nice to meet you too. I'm Blaster. B l u r r: Pardon? Bevel: Cool. Did you bring any of your minicons with you? boomtank: .................... boomtank: ((if that was directed at Blaster, then damn boomtank: ((all his are dead Whirl: These drinks. Anything really strong? Not--not grade-wise, I mean taste. Aything nigh-undrinkable? ItsyBitsySpyers: ((*gets the popcorn out*)) Bevel: [[omg boomtank: ((prepare youself Bevel: [[*faceinhands* Whirl: ((o man 8) )) ItsyBitsySpyers: ((*gets Shockwave ready with the ARE ALL DEAD sign*)) B l u r r: Hnnh... not sure. My taste pallet is a bit too specific to be the judge. B l u r r: / points to a few cubes / these are pretty strong. boomtank: -Well. He just froze. Might look a bit like a deer in the headlights about now.- I...I...I really....I really don't think I want to talk about that. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave lifts his helm and looks over at Blaster, now most curious* Whirl: *gonna huff over the cubes to get a good sniff;hmm. He probably can't taste them, but he'll take one anyway* Bevel: *oh. oh no. oh no she did the thing. rolodex tells her she needs to be more careful asking after people because a lot of times people are fragging dead.*Oh! Oh, I am really sorry. That is ok. Bevel: You do not need to talk about it. Bevel: *reassurring nod* B l u r r: / snort / boomtank: -small, aborted movement to what used to be docks before his accident- I...it's not a problem. You didn't know. B l u r r: Think you might like one, Whirl? B l u r r: [[ everyone ready? ]] Bevel: [[yes ItsyBitsySpyers: ((ye)) ItsyBitsySpyers: *...Oh. Ohhhh.* boomtank: ((yep! Bevel: I will try to remember in the future. ItsyBitsySpyers: *...Perhaps he should poke at that some time. Maybe Blaster would talk with someone who knew...?* B l u r r: [[ hang on i gotta check on something so screen gonna be black ]] Prowl: ((ye)) boomtank: ......yeah....hey, no hard feelings. boomtank: -Be prepared, he's locked those memories down- B l u r r: [[ kay. Everyone's good? Then we gon' start ]] Whirl: *clambers into the Whirl Hammock, taking a sip once he gets settled* It'll do. *he's either not noticing or pointedly ignoring the DAMN SAD CONVO that is popping up in this room* B l u r r: / scrapes claws along the snack tabletop. Yeeeah we like that nails on chalkboard sound/ ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave cringes and Rumble pops off with a wail* boomtank: -WHY!?- ItsyBitsySpyers: //Yo! Some of us was nappin'!// B l u r r: /blows claws off/ Now that I have your attention. Bevel: Ok. *awkwardly fidgets and then finally opts to smile* Wanna sit with me tonight? Bevel: *at least it wasn't Frenzy who was napping* B l u r r: My ship and I are celebrating. boomtank: Sure. -rubbing audios after Blurr's 'nails' trick- Whirl: *serenely took a sip through that whole chalkboard-sound fiasco* Oh? ItsyBitsySpyers: *Grumbles and stalks over to the hammock. Scramble scramble.* Drift: *BAM LOOK WHO JUST SHOWED UP* B l u r r: Yes indeed. You see, my crew and I are welcoming a brand new crew mate! Whirl: *shifts about to make room for Rumble and settles* B l u r r: / motions to Bevel/ B l u r r: [[ I apologize if the volume gets wonky. This film does it on its own. ]] Bevel: *oh attention on her hey* :D Whirl: *and offers a toast with his cube* Good job, Shovel. *looks as cheeky as someone with just an eye for a face can as he takes a drink* Drift: *ooh an announcement is being made. stops in the door to listen in and check out the New Crew Mate* boomtank: -small applause- Congrads ItsyBitsySpyers: //Good on ya, Big Bit.// ItsyBitsySpyers: //Bust up them expectations.// B l u r r: And, well... That and my crew is still open for some allies. B l u r r: And... stuff. /twitches finials / Bevel: Thanks! B l u r r: / okay, business is over. Guess who's gonna lunge over this snack table in a purple streak and NFL TACKLE BESTIE AT TOP SPEED / Drift: *raises hand* What's his na—? Drift: *NEVER MIND HE'S BEING TACKLED* Bevel: *names later apparently* Whirl: *snorts as he observes this* Oh, hey. He's alive, after all. Drift: *from somewhere under the purple streak* Barely. Whirl: Ain't we all? B l u r r: / lifts helm/ Hey, I was dead last week for ten seconds! B l u r r: It's a new record. Whirl: My lack of surprise is visible from space. Drift: Dammit, what were you up to? B l u r r: Had some upgrade problems. B l u r r: I tried to install something and it didn't go well. So Axis removed it. Whirl: Ugh, WHAT did I TELL you, about those upgrades. They've been NOTHING but trouble. B l u r r: / he is legit on top of Drift / Whirl: *looks to Drift, irritably* He went catatonic for like... what? A month? Because of these stupid upgrades. Drift: ... Honestly, I'm surprised you bothered to get Axis to do it. B l u r r: That was not because of the upgrades! B l u r r: ... I wanted to try. Drift: I'm glad you didn't try. Whirl: Yeah, everyone keeps saying that but nobody can give me an ACTUAL explanation so I'm gonna assume you're all wrong. B l u r r: / pushes up off of Drift / It was not because of the upgrade. B l u r r: it didn't help, but it wasn't the core reason. B l u r r: / holds claw out to help Drift up / Whirl: Well, what was it, then? Drift: Well, I don't know what the core reason IS, so I'm with Blurr for the moment. boomtank: ...-going to find a place to sit, if Bevel is busy- Bevel: *Bevel is going to sit down now as well* B l u r r: It was... personal. Drift: *lets Blurr help him up.* "Personal." Okay. Whirl: I was actually THERE, andI'm making my decision off what I SAW, so I'm with me. Drift: So, it's either the upgrades, or something even worse. Whirl: *rolls his optic* Well, believe whatever you want. I'm telling you now--those upgrades are bad news. Your processor can't handle 'em. You're gonna get yourself killed. B l u r r: It wasn't the upgrades... Drift: So. Something even worse. B l u r r: I suppose. B l u r r: / glances at Whirl/ I was just curious. Luckily, Axis helped me out. boomtank: -datapad back up to read and shove memories back down- Whirl: *shrugs* I've done my part, offered my highly valuable advice. If you ignore it, it's on you. Drift: So. *nudges blurr* New crewmate. Who is he? B l u r r: / points at Bevel / Bevel: *waves* Whirl: ...@Bevel Hey! Do the thing. Drift: *waves back* Hey! I'm Drift. Blurr's friend. B l u r r: /Best/ friend. Drift: BEST friend. Whirl: @B: That guy, Drift, has no idea you can do that. B l u r r: / flicks Drift's helm/ Or am I demoted? Drift: *throws arm around Blurr's shoulder* Of course not. Bevel: @Whirl: Shift to look like you? B l u r r: / smirks at/ Good. Anyway, that's Bevel. Whirl: @B: Shift to look like HIM. B l u r r: [[ be careful, Blurr doesn't know that is a thing either ]] Whirl: ((omfg)) Drift: Bevel. Hey. :D Bevel: @Whirl: Oh! Whirl: ((is whirl gonna make trouble for everyone in one fell swoop)) boomtank: ((oh? B l u r r: I didn't know you were coming by. I have to get your books together, Drift. Bevel: *stays sitting where she's at and transforms so that she looks and sounds exactly like Drift.* Hey! Nice to meet you. Drift: Book—? *!!!!!!* Whirl: *lowers his head behind his cube to hide his glee* Drift: *his first instinct is to get in a fighting pose and grab the hilt of a sword.* ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave sits up with both feelers out. Whoa, now.* B l u r r: / LOL UR FIRST INSTINCT? His speed mod is already charging tf up / Whirl: *sits up aburptly, alarmed* What the frag're you two DOING? Whirl: Calm down, you IDIOTS. Drift: *... And then to laugh* Bevel: *hey no one stabbed her, she's taking this as a win* boomtank: -twitched. then snickers- Oh, that was good. B l u r r: / crosses arms. Twitching digits on his arms. / Whirl: *rolls his optic* Lord. I can't believe I'M the calm and mentally balanced one here tonight. Bevel: *giggles* Whirl: What's the world coming to? B l u r r: I didn't know humans made /you/, too. Drift: Holy frag, what's—? What is this, some kind of, of... duplicator armor? I've heard of armor that mimics people. Bevel: *transforms back to her usual form* Bevel: Nope! It is just me. I can transform into a lot of different forms but I like being in this *motions to herself* most right now. Drift: ... Huh. What Blurr said, then, are you one of those—what are they called, CSI bots? KSI? The human-built ones. B l u r r: KSI. Drift: Yeah, that. Whirl: THAT looks like a problem. boomtank: ....um.... Bevel: I was created by Cybertronians. Whirl: Her beat's eating her. Whirl: ...*bed B l u r r: [[ fun fact: Almost all of her movements are real. They made a dummy of her for the bad scenes, but she was like nah i got this. So like all of it is really her ]] Drift: Was that her bed bending in on itself? Or a weight on top of the bed? B l u r r: Probably a weight. boomtank: That's...uh...what? Whirl: I think the bed itself ate her. Whirl: ..I guess that doesn't explain all her controtions. B l u r r: Huh. Well, it's just like what the KSI mechs CAN do. Whirl: But everyone needs to stretch now and then, right? ItsyBitsySpyers: [[He can confirm that she is not human made.]] B l u r r: I just wanna make sure you're not spying for the humans looking for /me/. Bevel: I want to meet one of those bots. They sound cool. B l u r r: Two live on the ship. But they aren't human made. B l u r r: Not entirely. Whirl: They're chumps. B l u r r: Dart isn't. Bevel: Aw Drift: *cool scene gone. back to the New Crewmate.* I've never seen that in a— well, Cybertronian-Cybertronian before. Rather than a KSI-Cybertronian. Whirl: *stage whisper at Bevel* They kinda are. Whirl: ...but, they helped me out when this genius over here--*gestures to Blurr* broke himself. Bevel: Still want to meet them then. B l u r r: I didn't BREAK myself. Whirl: So... two-thirds chumps. B l u r r: And you WILL meet them. If you're on the crew, you work with them Drift: Dart's okay. Just... try not to have too much to do with Nos. B l u r r: NOS is a pain... Bevel: I am a Shifter. They do not exist in every universe. Drift: Haven't seen them in mine. B l u r r: We don't have them in mine, I don't think. boomtank: ...Shifter? Like there are more like you? Whirl: Yep, not in my dimension, either. Bevel: Uh-huh. Bevel: Maybe not exactly like me but close. Whirl: I'm... trying to remember, the last time we watched a movie about possession, didn't they get some kind of cool, freaky powers out of it? Drift: *gestures at the movie* So, how come they targeted her? Usually in these things, ghosts and demons target a human for a specific reason, right? boomtank: That's cool. B l u r r: Not always. B l u r r: Sometimes they just see someone weak and want what they have. boomtank: ...that was...not...oh wow... Drift: But there's almost always, like—something that lets them in. The victim accidentally does a ritual or moves into a haunted house or her relatives sold her to a demon or something. Whirl: Wait, which movie did I miss where someone's relatives sold them to a demon? Drift: The one with the invisible demons on the cameras? Drift: They promised their first male descendant to a demon. Whirl: *squints* Whirl: Ohh, yes, I think I remember now. Drift: So everyone in the family got haunted until they got a baby. Bevel: Why did they promised their baby? B l u r r: for success. Drift: Magic power, I think. Whirl: I'd promise some dark entity my firstborn for power. B l u r r: Let's be honest... if I was offered magic powers, I think I'd give up something. Whirl: Because I don't propagate, see. Drift: I think the dark entity wouldn't make a bargain with someone that obviously couldn't keep up their end of it. Whirl: Well, what, it can see the future? That one had some bad luck with those generations of not-boys. Whirl: I'll bet they can be tricked. B l u r r: We should try it. B l u r r: I know some pretty interesting places. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Rumble nudges Whirl* B l u r r: What do you say, Whirl? Drift: Entities that are making bargains with Cybertronians probably know Cybertronians don't make offspring. Drift: ... Unless it's an entity from a different universe where they do. Whirl: *sigh* I would... but I'm already pretty tight with Heqet, I can't go around making pacts with dark, evil entities and all that. boomtank: ...what if the entity asked for you to carry the child? Bevel: Universes are weird. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Whirl: Careful whatcha say. Bevel's creators thought they couldn't propagate neither, heh. Drift: So you'd have to cross universes to get a bargain. B l u r r: Well, then come with me! I can make one. Whirl: *looks to Rumble* Yeah? B l u r r: I mean, what's the worst that can happen? Drift: An entity powerful enough to give you dark powers is probably also powerful enough to punish you when it finds out you can't keep the bargain, though. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Little nod.* Whirl: *blinks and nods* @W: Well, nobody in my universe, period, can propagate. It's a certainty here. Whirl: ...@R Whirl: ((whirl telling himself)) B l u r r: / looks at Drift / I don't know. I think I could pay it back. Whirl: Also, I can go, right now, to a universe where Cybertronians can make offspring. One of my pals recently did it. Would take me five seconds. AND if the entity gets mad... fight it with your powers. Drift: What these people need, obviously, is better doors. Demon-proofed doors. They just walk straight in. B l u r r: My debts are all paid off, actually. Whirl: At least you get a cool supernatural battle out of it. B l u r r: Kyeheheh. Right? ItsyBitsySpyers: @Whirl: //Yeah, well. Supposed to be certain here too. All I'm sayin'. Jus' don't go near no Matrix.// Drift: *looks at Blurr* If the demon asked you for your first born you could pay it back? ... What, would you give it Dart or Nos? Whirl: *antenna pins back* boomtank: ..... B l u r r: I mean, why not? Drift: ... Which one did you make first? Whirl: @R: Trust me, I WON'T. *not again, anyway* B l u r r: ... Hn. B l u r r: Dart, I think. Bevel: *the Matrix is a jerk* ItsyBitsySpyers: *Rumble nods again and kicks back to keep watching the movie* Drift: ... Offer the demon your second-born. Whirl: *nudges him back and offers the cube* @R: Wanna finish it? It's not bad, I don't think, but I can't taste it. I'm done. B l u r r: Who, NOS ? Kyeheheh. I suppose. B l u r r: There's not much of a soul to bargain with- there's only half of it left. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Whirl: //Yeah? Sure. Sorry we don't got the other stuff. Ravage's-- uh. Workin'.// ItsyBitsySpyers: *He'll pluck the leftovres outta Whirl's claws and get comfy again. Occasional sips.* Whirl: *hands it over* @R: Nah, you're good. I haven't brought anything to trade in a while. Bevel: *not really following this movie very well at all* B l u r r: So, this is basically a trial between people who don't believe scrap and people who do, huh? B l u r r: I'm on that lady's side. / points/ Drift: If she can't stand the sound of forks and spoons, then why doesn't she just eat the—? The whatchacallems. The things humans eat without forks and spoons. Drift: The McDonald things. B l u r r: Burgers? Whirl: Or just drink her food instead? Drift: Is that what they're called? Sounds wrong. B l u r r: I don't know. Fries? Drift: No, not fries. Drift: Maybe it's burgers. B l u r r: Nuggets? Drift: Definitely not nuggets. Those are the small chewy chunks. B l u r r: ... /confusion / Drift: ... But yeah, I guess she could've eaten nuggets too. B l u r r: I don't know what food you're talking about... Drift: It's the round flatish thing in layers. Whirl: Apparently, spiders. B l u r r: / hums/ sandwich? Drift: ... Well, if spiders works. Drift: Sandwich! boomtank: Uh....? B l u r r: Oh, there we go. boomtank: Ah. Uh...yikes? Whirl: Still not as wild as the craziest therapy session I'VE been to. B l u r r: I remember that one time that Soundwave tried to get all up in my head. B l u r r: He didn't like it very much. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[...Which?]] B l u r r: Oh, the one from Tyran. B l u r r: We only met once. Whirl: ((WHOA WAIT)) Whirl: ((THAT VOICE)) B l u r r: [[ yes i love her voice ]] Whirl: ((i knew i knew it she's in Mass Effect AND Destiny! THAT'S LAKSHMI-2, MY GIRL)) B l u r r: [[ mmhm! ]] Bevel: [[she's in the new ST show as well Whirl: ((omg....)) Bevel: [[or one of the movies, i'm not sure Bevel: [[Ah, it was Beyond, the tos reboot movie Whirl: ((even so, still a ST!)) Bevel: [[Gotta love ST actors Drift: ... Lots of crazy people know they're crazy. B l u r r: I don't like that word /grumbling / B l u r r: It's so overused in the wrong way. B l u r r: But, you're right. Lots of people know what they are. Drift: Well. Yeah, but you know what I mean. I'm just, disagreeing with him. B l u r r: Nah, I get you. B l u r r: That's why I'm on her side. I want her to win. B l u r r: Wait, she's the side that is defending the unrealistic, right? Drift: Yeah, she is. She's defending the demon story. B l u r r: ... Okay, I like her. B l u r r: I don't like that other guy. Whirl: I agree. *holds up claw* Speaking as someone who is vrazy and knows it. Whirl: *crazy B l u r r: I don't now why people panic when they hear things... B l u r r: I'd freak out if I didn't hear them. Whirl: Usually it means it's time to fight. Whirl: If there's a noise where you don't expect it, that is--especially if you're asleep. Drift: Most people don't have people with them all the time. B l u r r: ...Huh. B l u r r: / looks at Drift/ Isn't it too quiet? / looks around the room / Do you guys sleep in silence? B l u r r: / scratches helm / ItsyBitsySpyers: \\YOU'RE KIDDIN', RIGHT?\\ B l u r r: ...No ? Whirl: Mostly silence. Whirl: There's always some kind of noise on the ship. Drift: There's ship noises and Rodimus noises, but—mainly it's silent, yeah. Whirl: But if something loud happened, then yeah, that'd wake me up. B l u r r: Huh... I mean, I wake up to loud noises, too. B l u r r: But I've learned to tell the difference between them. boomtank: ...? Drift: If it's quiet enough, you can also wake up to medium noises. And that'll save your life. Whirl: Yep. B l u r r: Huh... /tilts helm and looks side to side / Whirl: And if you sleep with your proximity sensors on, then movement'll wake you up, too. B l u r r: / shrugs shoulders / I dunno, you guys usually talk when I'm asleep. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[He is a carrier unit. He is accustomed to resting with others or hearing their voices.]] B l u r r: / leans back / B l u r r: I don't sleep often, though, so I suppose I'm always ready for an attack. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[But he has learned not to wake to them unless it is excessive. He still wakes to other sounds and movements.]] Whirl: That's exactly why I sleep with my proximity sensors on. Gotta be ready. Whirl: And also, habit. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Familiar.]] ItsyBitsySpyers: [[It was unwise to get too comfortable in the Pits.]] B l u r r: Hm... interesting. You all sleep so different. B l u r r: Like, in actual beds and stuff. Whirl: These days, yeah. Whirl: *he just nods at Soundwave; he was never in the Pits, but he learned his habits in similar places* Bevel: *shrugs* I sleep with noise sometimes since Rolodex and I share a room. B l u r r: Yeah? See, you guys have roommates.. Whirl: Nah, they never saddled me with one. B l u r r: You have Killer, though. B l u r r: I suppose Oberyn is my roommate...even though he likes to lay across me and crush me Whirl: Well, yeah, but it doesn't make any noises, unless it's eating. Drift: ((upside down crosses are arguably more holy than rightside-up crosses wh do movies keep using them lmao)) Whirl: ((YEP)) B l u r r: [[ omg i don't know but lmao its so funny ]] B l u r r: [[ that they get it wrong ]] Whirl: ((St Peter refused to be crucified like Jesus, he's the one who demanded and upside-down one)) B l u r r: [[ it's so cool- this movie- cause from here on out, all of this is really her ]] Whirl: *SNICKERS* boomtank: -And this is when Blaster gets up, and heads for the door- Igotstufftodog'night! B l u r r: [[ like her actress does all this crap without help ]] ItsyBitsySpyers: [[...Farewell.]] boomtank: ((because mun remembered early work tomorrow Bevel: Night, Blaster Drift: ((it's like all these demons going "i'm not even good enough to die like jesus" like okay glad u feel that way)) ItsyBitsySpyers: ((ah! sleep well)) B l u r r: / waes claw at blaster / boomtank: ((thanks for the stream, G'night! B l u r r: *waves Drift: Pfffff! There it goes. Whirl: ((gnight!)) Drift: ((gnight!)) B l u r r: [[ ni ni ]] Whirl: *still snickering* Drift: ((playing a possessed person has gotta be one of the most fun movie roles)) Whirl: ((she Whirl: s killin it too)) Drift: ((right??)) B l u r r: she isss ]] B l u r r: i love her. Even the other actors said they were terrified of her at this part ]] Drift: ... Maybe the demon's name IS one-two-three-four-five-six. B l u r r: Who would name a demon that? Drift: Someone who likes numbers? B l u r r: I mean... maybe. Drift: ... Okay, I don't know all those names, but Judas is like a... a pretty high-ranking guy. Why'd she rate a bunch of high-ranked demons? Whirl: Yeah, I'm wondering that, too. B l u r r: I think the demon with her is the same one that was with that guy? Drift: Yeah, the demons said there were six of them and the one that was with judas. B l u r r: Okay so maybe six all got together and they had a free weekend? Drift: So they decided to party in a random college girl? B l u r r: I mean.... isn't that what college is all about? B l u r r: Partying? B l u r r: According to humans? Drift: Partying and learning things. B l u r r: Well, maybe the demons have school and this is their final? Whirl: *snrk!* Drift: I'd think that the one who possessed Judas previously would've already graduated. B l u r r: Maybe he's a mentor? B l u r r: Oh, maybe he's returned for his credentials Drift: Maybe. Whirl: PFFT. Drift: Where the hell did that car come from? Whirl: *bursts out laughing* B l u r r: / snicker / Whirl: It was the deeemond, Drift! *clicks his claws ominously* B l u r r: The demon didn't pass driving school! Drift: Pff! Drift: Too much time partying at college instead of studying for the driving test. B l u r r: you see? B l u r r: This is what happens when mechs don't receive proper education. B l u r r: / looks at Bevel/ You're educated, right? Bevel: Like school? B l u r r: Yes. ItsierBitsierSpyers: ((sorry my internet hiccuped)) Drift: ((soundwave shrank)) B l u r r: [[ it okaaay ]] Whirl: ((zoop, there he go)) Bevel: Um, kinda. B l u r r: [[ smolwave]] B l u r r: /hums/ Explain. Drift: ... Is that the tree Judas died on? B l u r r: I have no idea. Drift: It looks like it. From the movie. B l u r r: Oh? B l u r r: Huh... maybe it is? Bevel: I went to school when I was really little and then I learned stuff on my own. B l u r r: ... well, when you're on my ship, you have to do more than just live here. Thundertron had you working? B l u r r: / looks at Drift/ I killed the scrap out of Thundertron, by the way. He's super dead. Drift: Oh, cool. Good job. B l u r r: /nudges Drift/ I also met that Tyran Drift. /snerk/ B l u r r: He's not that cool. Bevel: We were hired as temporary extra crew. Guard stuff mostly. Whirl: He DOES turn into a chopper... but he's not as awesome as *I* am. Drift: He's a triplechanger. He's pretty cool. B l u r r: Guard stuff, huh? Well, we can give you something much more fun to do. B l u r r: / twitches finials/ He was pretty cool... until he got me detained. Bevel: Yeah? B l u r r: Give me a list of skills you two can do. B l u r r: I'd say... within the next two days. Bevel: I can do that. B l u r r: Good. ItsierBitsierSpyers: ((i'm having internet problems y'all i'm sorry if i'm quiet))

Missed some. Drift tried to explain to Blurr and other multiversal audience members what an amica endura is (not an american endurance, amica as in amicable and endura as in enduring, because it’s an enduring relationship with someone you’re amicable with). He went on to explain some of the legal and social benefits of having an amica—they can visit you in the hospital and make decisions for you, they get to decide what’s done with your stuff when you die, etc.

Drift: No, you don't have to. Whirl: You just do what everyone who doesn't have an amica does. B l u r r: / turns to Dodge/ I told you! B l u r r: You owe me five credits. Drift: The only "rights" you lose are things like, "rights to visit your amica in the hospital." If your amica's dead you can't visit him in a hospital so there's no longer a right to be exercised. B l u r r: Can you have more than one? Drift: Yeah. I knew someone with, uh... I think the max he had at one time was nine? ItsierBitsierSpyers: \\YA JUS' SAID YA GOTTA BE "ALLOWED" TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S DOIN' WITH TH' DEAD FRAME.\\ Whirl: Yep. B l u r r: Oh.. /turns around and council time again/ Drift: He had seventeen, but not simultaneously. War, death, all that. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Nine?]] B l u r r: I TOLD you. See? Whirl: ...hm. I never thought about that. Amica deciding what to do with your corpse... B l u r r: / swats at the air/ Velocity, no one wants to ask YOU to be their ANYTHING. Drift: Nine, yeah. He was popular. Bevel: I just have one. Nine sounds cool. I bet they were really happy. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Was he a carrier unit?]] B l u r r: / turns to Soundwave/ Wait, is THAT why you and Jazz hang out a lot? Drift: Eugh, Primus no, we don't have that in our timeline. B l u r r: You're those things, aren't you?! Whirl: *LAUGHS* Drift: Just hot spots and cold construction. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[...What things?]] Whirl: *wheezes* No, nono Drift, he means--like HIM. B l u r r: Are you guys... A-mi-ca Endura? ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Wait, no - a carrier unit. A host. Not a creator of offsp--NO.]] Whirl: *LAUGHS AGAIN* B l u r r: K-KYAHAHAHA!! ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[NO.]] Bevel: *giggling so hard* B l u r r: Well he sure seems to like you. Drift: ... Wait, isn't that the word for someone makes sparklings? A carrier? ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[In some other places. Yes. Not here.]] Pause. [[His here. Where he is from.]] Bevel: We call them creators! Drift: Huh. Bevel: I have creators but no one else has them here. We had to make a whole word up for it. Whirl: I'm going to call the one I know, "dad." Drift: "We"? You're from the... *gestures between Bevel and Soundwave* Same timeline, you two? Whirl: Like, not... me eprsonally, calling him dad. He's a dad. Drift: So what's a "carrier unit"? Bevel: Uh-huh! Bevel: *points to SW in answer* ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Jazz does not like him. Jazz likes pestering him. There is a difference.]] B l u r r: I think he likes you. Whirl: What she said. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[And he thinks you enjoy keeping your tongue. Perhaps you should silence it.]] Whirl: ...or didn't say. What she pointed. Drift: ... Okay, I'm getting that Soundwave IS one, but I still don't know what one is. B l u r r: / licks his sharp denta/ Ooh, please come tear my tongue out, I've been dying to install a new one Drift: ...... Is it the... carrying around smaller mechs thing? Bevel: Like Blaster. Drift: *paps Blurr's head* No self-mutilation. B l u r r: / is joking/ K-Kyeheheheh. I'm only hesting. B l u r r: *jesting Whirl: *raises his claw, makes a clicking noise like he's about to speak, pauses, and then just blinks* ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[He is part of a symbiotic relationship with smaller mechs. His duty is to host them - protect, work with, transport.]] Whirl: You know I... *looks to Soundwave, and then down to Rumble, since he's the closest* What IS the deal with carrier units? Drift: Huh. And that's a... thing? Whirl: *oh, wait, Soundwave's explaining* Drift: I dunno remember what sizes all his amicae were, but they weren't all way smaller than him. And I haven't heard of "carrier units" being a thing in our universe. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[It was. Then the war happened, and he eventually became the last.]] Taps his fingers. [[There may be more now.]] Bevel: Just like there are more Shifters! Whirl: *flips a lazy salute* Good luck on that. Whirl: I'll let you know if we ever figure out how to crack that problem ourselves, and if any of your types pop up. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[And, good. He has enough work to do without seven government forms.]] B l u r r: / sits back. His council is done and he is slouching / ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Gives Blurr a good staring now. That's right. You be quiet over there. Last time you went on about Jazz one showed up.* B l u r r: / twitches finials and swats at the air/ B l u r r: / stares right back/ What? ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[And yes. He's told the closest version your timelines have to him is... himself. Blaster does not count there. It is odd, in the way the multiverse always is.]] Small shrug. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Nothing. See it stays that way.]] B l u r r: Perhaps. B l u r r: / turns to his vacant side and pats the arm of the couch/ Don't worry, Dodge. We already did our thing. /mumbling/ ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Lapses back into silence, now that he's neither being teased nor pushed for data.* B l u r r: So what happens if you don't sign the paper? Does that mean you're not friends? Whirl: Nah, it just means you didn't sign the paper. Bevel: Means you have to sneak by hospital bouncers. B l u r r: Well. I don't go to hospitals so. Bevel: *she found that analogy really funny* B l u r r: You're all welcome to visit The Emperor. Drift: It means you don't have the legal benefits. Whirl: *nods* B l u r r: Oh. Whirl: I mean, in practice... I went the Frenzy route last time you got sick. B l u r r: Well. You mechs have fun with your Amica Endura business... B l u r r: / pulls up datapad / Whirl: Your chumps could've TRIED to stop me, but they did the smart thing. B l u r r: Well, they're not exactly the smartest mechs. Whirl: Smart enough to know not to pick a fight with ME. Drift: You're still friends and all, you just don't get the bonuses. And you don't get to tell people this is your amica. B l u r r: Oh...that must be nice, I guess. B l u r r: / snort/ Well, they didn't know you. Now they do. B l u r r: They just guessed right, Whirl. Whirl: Oh, no, I fully threatened them at one of your movie nights before I came to visit. B l u r r: Oh... they ran movie nights? Whirl: *utterly unrepentant* They had an idea of what they'd have to deal with. Whirl: Yeah. I stayed for one of them. Idiots held out on us until the movie was done. Bevel: Best friend sounds really important too. ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Soundwave can't tell people anyway.* B l u r r: Oh, they did? They're not that smart. B l u r r: / nods at Bevel/ I've only had two best friends in my life. B l u r r: One tried to kill me and the other hasn't yet. ItsierBitsierSpyers: \\BEST FRIEND'S BETTER. YA ONLY GOT ONE BEST. THAT OTHER FRAGGER GOT NINE AMICA, HE SAID.\\ B l u r r: / looks at Whirl/ Well, I'm sure they showed interesting movies. ItsierBitsierSpyers: \\CAN'T HAVE NINE 'BEST'. THAT'S JUST NINE 'GOOD'.\\ Drift: Well. Presumably one of your amica is gonna be your best. Drift: And that's sorta what having a conjunx is for. To promote one of your friends above the others. Drift: That's your bestest friend followed by your best friends. Whirl: *briefly contemplates, but Whirl already knows who was his one and only best friend; operative word being WAS* Bevel: I thought conjunx was for like kissing and spark stuff friend. Whirl: *antenna pins back a bit* I don't even remmeber. I didn't stay for the second night. Whirl: Something about corn. B l u r r: Ah... B l u r r: were you with me? B l u r r: / scratches helm/ I don't remember anything, honestly, and they won't tell me anything. B l u r r: They just keep insisting I had a visitor. I guess that was you. ItsierBitsierSpyers: //Eh. Good thing ya ain't got us types, I guess. We gotta go before that scrap. Probably torque off everybody.// Drift: You can do that too. Drift: But I mean—presumably the person you're in love with is also your bestest friend, right? Whirl: Yeah, that was probably me. B l u r r: You know, I think Drift's the only best friend I have, now that I think of it. My last one tried to kill me and shot my jaw off and sent me to Antarctica... B l u r r: / looks at Whirl again/ Well... thanks for visiting. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Are you not allowed more than one conjunx?]] B l u r r: I didn't think anyone would. B l u r r: Not that I was planning on the whole event. Whirl: *waves a claw* As if you could get rid of me. Drift: One conjunx limit. Bevel: Lots of bots in our universe would not like that. B l u r r: Mm... I see, I see. Drift: That's why it's above amica. It's special. Drift: ... Well, I mean. Amicae are special to. But conjunx is SPECIAL-special. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[He imagines that must cause friction with the other lovers.]] Bevel: What if you like two bots the same above everyone else? Drift: Well that's why you should only have one lover, now isn't it. :/ Drift: *MR. VICIOUSLY MONOGAMOUS RIGHT HERE* Whirl: *snorts* Not everyone's swimming in suitors, Soundwave. B l u r r: Uh.../ yikes awkward. WELL LETS TALK TO WHIRL / ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Whirl. Whirl, no.* B l u r r: Anyway. Uhm, they didn't tell me you visited a lot , so. Whirl: *he's looking dead at you* B l u r r: I was confused if you were the one. Whirl: I visited at least once. Tried to get you o snap out of it. Whirl: Obviously, it didn't work. B l u r r: ... You did? Whirl: Yep. Bevel: Are you really, Soundwave? B l u r r: Ah, Master must have been keeping my attention... /mumbles/ ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Quietly puts his hand over his visor and vents.* Whirl: *shrugs* Or, you just COULDN'T snap out of it on your own. That's what happened to me. Bevel: Aw, it is ok. You do not have to talk about it. *see she can take a hint* B l u r r: .. I don't know. Drift: *ZOOPS TO BLURR* You mean Optimus? What—were you having visions of him or something? Whirl: *he, however, cannot* He's kicking it with Shockwave and he's officially joined Prowl's Dating Circus. B l u r r: ...Uh.. No? ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Oh thank Primus, Drift's attention transfer---DAMN IT, WHIRL.* Bevel: *twitches at the sudden Optimus drop* B l u r r: I- I didn't have vision, I just... / twitches finials. / Bevel: *SW saved* ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Check ping on Bevel. He saw the twitch.* B l u r r: If Whirl is right, then I guess I wasn't registering what was outside of... my room? B l u r r: / sweats loudly / Drift: *slowly turns to stare at whirl* Whirl: More accurately, you weren't registering what was outside of your head. Drift: ... That's the fakest thing I've ever heard. B l u r r: ... Ah. Whirl: ...Okay, I'm going to need you to clarify which thing you think is the fakest thing. Drift: Actually, I don't know what part sounds faker. Shockwave in a relationship or Prowl having a—a "dating circus"? B l u r r: It wasn't that I couldn't register it, you know. Whirl: Because I honestly can peg a few of 'em. Bevel: *have a mental :| Soundwave* Whirl: *snorts* Believe me, or don't. See for yourself sometime. Drift: You're yanking my chain. B l u r r: / oh thank god, a different subject / B l u r r: / pulls up datapad. / Whirl: *shrugs again* Like I said: believe me or don't. B l u r r: / now he don't gotta explain shyte / ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Suspiciously silent. ... er.* Bevel: Shockwave. He really likes science. Whirl: Yep. Bevel: *to Drift* Whirl: Anyway... I lost my thread here. Whirl: So, okay, what now, Teach? B l u r r: A shame. B l u r r: / glances up from behind datapad/ Me? Whirl: I'm pretty sure you couldn't register it. I got noting out of you. Whirl: *nothing Bevel: *had no where to go with that answer to Drift's statement but her moods a little sour now anyway* ItsierBitsierSpyers: //I thought yankin' yer chain was the Captain's job.// ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Rumble, please.]] Whirl: *SNRK* Drift: Yeah. Yeah, he definitely—he really likes science. B l u r r: ... /shrugs/ Like I said, it wasn't that I couldn't. Drift: *looks Rumble dead in the optics* It's more of a gentle caress. B l u r r: I mean, I probably couldn't, but that's not why I asked them to.. uh. Yeah. ItsierBitsierSpyers: //Awww.// *Yeah, he's not even sorry.* //That's sweet. Mus' be a real romantic.// Whirl: I don't follow, Teach. Spit it out. Drift: Super romantic. B l u r r: / screws face up a little / I was having a really hard time processing everything happening to me at the same time. Whirl: *exaggerated wince* Rumble, don't encourage him. You're just inviting disaster. Whirl: HMM. You know that SOUNDS to ME a lot like a OVERWHELMED PROCESSOR--but nooo. Whirl doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm telling you--it's the mod. B l u r r: ... It wasn't the mod, Whirl, it was /me/. ItsierBitsierSpyers: //Yeah? What'd he do? Like, for real, not jokin'. I ain't pegged him for sap.// Whirl: Your brain just decided to up and quit on you? Drift: ... He'd probably kill me if I told you, honestly. B l u r r: No... I wanted it to quit. B l u r r: I asked Dodge and Velocity to make the pain stop. And it stopped. ItsierBitsierSpyers: //That mushy?// Impressed whistle. Whirl: *tilts his head, and then nods* Sort of shut youself down? B l u r r: I couldn't do it. I tried to get through it by myself- it wasn't working. So I shut down. ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Of course, you know not knowing means they're going to spread rumors about all kinds of romantic gestures. It is Their Way.* Whirl: *another nod* ...@B: Teach. What HAPPENED to you. *at long last, Whirl is starting to put two and two together. It only took him Literal Months* Drift: *annnnnnd his attention is back on blurr.* B l u r r: [[ ITS OKAY WHIRL UR SWEET ANYWAY ]] Drift: *... very slowly wraps an arm around him.* B l u r r: @W: :: A lot. A lot all at once, honestly. :: ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Soundwave is tempted to pry...* Whirl: *aloud, he says, brusquely but not unkindly* Been there. It happens. B l u r r: / flickers optic and pats Drift. / B l u r r: / he figures this is a normal hug so it's okay / Whirl: @B: I fully expect you to not tell me most of this but I got one question: WHO did it? Drift: *this is not a normal hug* B l u r r: @W: :: .. It started with Roadbuster. Then it spiralled into the fight with Thundertron, which was honestly right after that whole thing with JT, plus the struggle with the fleet and- it's a lot. :: Drift: *it is a very tight hug* B l u r r: / oh this is a tight hug okay. Pat pat ? / Whirl: *the moment Blurr mentions JT there's that very subtle shift in what's left of Whirl's face that suggests he's gone from being relatively calm to contemplating murder* @B: I see. B l u r r: / well he can hug Drift back while he's comming/ Drift: @Blurr «... If you don't wanna talk about it you don't have to. But do you wanna talk about it?» *100% oblivious to the fact that WHIRL'S ON THE OTHER LINE* Whirl: @B: Well, you took care of Thundertron. And your fleet seems to be doing fine. And last I checked, things worked out with 'Buster... so seems to me that you're bouncing back. Bevel: @SW: *ok curiosity has killed the... Bevel* Was Whirl really telling the truth? About Shockwave and Prowl? B l u r r: / OH GOD COMM CALLS ON ALL LINES / Bevel: *no one try to connect to AOL you'll knock everyone offline* ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[And you have an interest in his personal affairs because...?]] B l u r r: / looks at Drift/ @D: :: Maybe...yeah. :: B l u r r: @W: :: Sort of. Things are still rocky... But we're figuring out this reality thing. :: Bevel: @SW: Because you should be happy and Shockwave is all sciencey and everyone [Elita] says you like Prowl. Our Prowl. So a different Prowl is probably even cooler because you- Bevel: -did not try to kill each other in a war. Drift: @B «Yeah?» *will wait for blurr to elaborate, then* ItsierBitsierSpyers: *He's going to push Elita into a smelter.* Whirl: @B: Good. Well. I owe JT a lot more than a punch if I ever meet him. Bevel: *Elita would somehow survive and come back stronger, don't do it* ItsierBitsierSpyers: *You're right. He'll just continue to loathe her from afar.* Bevel: *safest option* B l u r r: @W: :: Uh... well. Maybe some day? :: B l u r r: /switches lines/ @D: :: ... Remember when I offered to give those coordinates to JT? :: Drift: *......... drift's not gonna like this* @B «Yeah?» Whirl: *metohdically flexes his claws and stares into space; he is not even trying to be subtle with his body language* @B: The moment I find him. *and, quite ominously, that's all he's gonna say* B l u r r: @W: :: Well he- wait... who's this? Wait. This is whirl. Uhm. Well... wait. :: /processing/ :: I couldn't tell you where he is. :: Whirl: @B: Don't worry about it. B l u r r: @D: :: I wouldn't advise seeking him out. :: /totally wrong line / Drift: @B «Hah. Ahh. Yeah. No. I—wasn't gonna.» ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Shockwave is "all sciency," yes. It is an attractive quality. But everyone should mind their own business. He distantly admired our Prowl's abilities. We did -not- like each other.]] B l u r r: @D: :: Wasn't gonna wha- wait... scrap. :: Drift: @B «... He got mad, didn't he. At you. Because I asked you for a favor. He took it out on you.» B l u r r: @D: :: No. No he didn't. :: Whirl: *pauses, draggig himself out of his burgeoning murderous fantasies* @B:Also, of course this is Whirl. Who else would it be? B l u r r: @W: :: I wouldn't suggest seeking him out- I got my lines crossed. :: Whirl: @B: Oh. *pauses and peers about; it's not hard to guess who else he might be talking to* @B: Well. Like I said, Teach, don't worry about it. B l u r r: @D: :: He went and killed them, so everyone got what they wanted, so it's fine! :: B l u r r: @W: :: He wasn't the sole purpose and you know it. I had a lot on my mind. :: Bevel: @SW: Duh. Prowl hates you. Drift: @B «He's mad at you. It's not fine. ... Did it—how bad is it? Between you two?» Whirl: @B: Yeah. Everything else is resolved.He's the only loose end. Besides, it's not the first time he's hurt you in some way and you KNOW it. B l u r r: @D: :: Nothing happened. It's fine. He just got annoyed, but it's fine now. :: Drift: @B «Don't give me that. I know it wasn't nothing.» B l u r r: @W: ::... Granted, yes, you're right. But we settled the issue already. :: B l u r r: / oh god he's sweating more than an operator back in the time of the switchboard/ B l u r r: @D: :: It wasn't on you though. And I told him that. I offered- and you know that's true. I did. :: B l u r r: @D: :: It was my idea. :: ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Good. May it stay that way.]] Whirl: @B: Mm-hmm. ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Slowly drifting toward the smell of MURDER on the wind* Drift: @B «Where are you two at now?» Bevel: @SW: Yeah well I hope you are happy and no one you like actually hates you. B l u r r: @W: :: It's true. :: B l u r r: @D: :: Well, we weren't talking for a while... but now we are. :: ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Oh, distracted again.* ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[That is an odd blessing. He accepts it.]] Bevel: *provides all the distraction :D* Drift: @B «... I'm sorry.» B l u r r: @D: :: It's fine- it's not a big deal. Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything. :: B l u r r: /distressed. Grips tight in hug. / Drift: @B «It IS a big deal! You were ready to DIE because I let you do a favor for me that you shouldn't have!» B l u r r: @D: :: I offered! It's - really it's okay! :: B l u r r: @D: :: Besides, I sorted it all out in the end. We're talking again and he even came over... That's sort of how we got talking- anyway. We're okay. :: B l u r r: / has not stated they're back together but u know it fine / Drift: @B «You almost DIED.» B l u r r: @D :: That's a monthly thing, though... :: Bevel: @SW: Not that odd. Hey, um, why is Dancitron open less? Drift: @B «But this time it was because you WANTED to die. And I helped cause it. I'm sorry.» B l u r r: @D: :: Oh for pit sake. :: /just hugs a lot tighter/ :: You didn't do anything. If you had, I would have taken it out on you. :: B l u r r: @D: :: I'm alive. You're alive. And you finally came to visit. That's enough for me. :: Drift: *tight hug* ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[His monitoring duties have increased since it was first opened. He needed the extra time.]] Drift: *with BOTH arms this time* Bevel: @SW: For what? ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Work, rest. The usual.]] B l u r r: / both arm hugs! Squeeze/ Bevel: @SW: ...you are really good at not answering questions. ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Yes. The Autobots used to think so too. It comes with the territory.]] B l u r r: / rest forehelms together/ @D: :: I have to tell you something else... It's not that bad. :: Drift: @B «Yeah?» Bevel: @SW: Spy territory? B l u r r: @D: ::... Roadbuster and I got together. Finally. Officially. :: Whirl: *has, in the few minutes since he spoke, calmed down a little; watching Blurr and Drift, his proverbial hackles smooth more* Drift: *perks up* @B «Yeah? That's great.» ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Yes. The borders of which happen to be secret.]] B l u r r: @D: :: He's a lot more fun now that we're not trying to beat each other up. :: B l u r r: @D: :: Maybe you can meet him sometime. :: Drift: @B «Heh. I bet he is.» Drift: @B «I'd like that.» B l u r r: @D: :: Mm...:: / tighter hugs for friendo/ Bevel: @SW: I tried to be a spy sometimes but I was not very good at it. Pretending to be people is really hard if you have to do it for a long time. Bevel: *especially since she literally can't stay in one form for very long either but also y'know* B l u r r: @D: :: But really. It's not your fault. So don't beat yourself up over it. :: Drift: @B «... Are you okay now? REALLY okay? It's fine to say if you aren't. I want to know.» Whirl: *Drift has this situation handled. Good. Gona tip back and streeetch again, careful not to tip his hammock* All right, losers, time for me to go. ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Makeshift learned that one the hard way. Still. You seem to have found a calling of sorts.]] Whirl: See you lot later. *clambers up and out* ItsierBitsierSpyers: //Seeya.// Drift: See you. Bevel: @SW: I guess. Bevel: Bye, Whirl Whirl: *bobs his head to each of his well-wishers in turn* B l u r r: / waves to Whirl/ Hey! B l u r r: Thanks... again. Whirl: *he was in the doorway when Blurr called him back, and he seems a little surprised* Well. Yeah. Of course. *bobs his helm again* B l u r r: @D: :: I'm adjusting to realitty again. It was hard the first few weeks, but... I'm better. :: Whirl: And I STILL say you should go easy on the mods. Idiot. *and with that affectionate goodbye zoop he's gone* Drift: @B «Anything I can do?» B l u r r: I will... / waves again / B l u r r: @D: :: I know I stopped talking about things with everyone, but maybe sometime we can hang out again or something? :: Drift: @B «Yeah, definitely. I think my schedule's about to clear up soon. I should be able to come over more.» B l u r r: @D: :: If you want to. It's not a must. I know you're busy. :: Drift: @B «I'm about to get less busy. And I want to.» B l u r r: @D: :: If you're sure. :: /hums/ :: We'll be stationary for a while... I need to recruit. :: B l u r r: @D: :: A sleepover would be cool.:: Bevel: *Found her calling. Something about that phrase nags at her and rather than think on it, she's going to bid the room goodnight and go ask Rolodex for help on writing that list for Blurr* Drift: @B «Yeah. It would be cool.» B l u r r: @D: :: Dodge says... you don't need to feel bad. But he wanted you to know that we're all okay. So, maybe we can have a sleepover sometime. :: B l u r r: @D: :: velocity is not invited. :: Drift: @B «Pff. Good. I don't want him there.» Drift: @B «... I've got a question. Don't repeat it to Whirl, okay?» B l u r r: @D: :: I won't. What do you need? :: Drift: @B «You've fought alongside him a few times. You think he's good? Like fighting alongside him?» B l u r r: @D: :: Whirl? :: Drift: @B «Yeah, Whirl.» B l u r r: @D: :: ... Absolutely. He's a bit reckless, but what's a fight with pristine movements? He's had my back and I've had his. He's reliable and knows what he's doing. Tough, too. Real tough. Why ask? :: Drift: @B «If he asked to join the crew, would you let him?» B l u r r: @D: :: Yes. :: Drift: *nods* @B «Okay.» B l u r r: @D: :: I trust him to not kill me, so... you know. :: Drift: @B «Pff. Always important.» B l u r r: @D: :: I consider him a friend. So, I mean... I don't think he'd listen to me, but I would say yes. :: B l u r r: @D: :: ... Why? :: Drift: @B «... This doesn't go beyond you, but...» Drift: @B «Unless we have a miracle, I think it's going to be a long, long time before the Lost Light takes off again. If it does. Something's broken and the tech doesn't exist to fix it.» Drift: @B «I'm looking at a few things right now. If I'm lucky, we could be up and running again in a week. But I can't plan for that.» Drift: @B «And, Rodimus is... I'm responsible for the crew right now.» B l u r r: @D: :: Ah... well, that's unfortunate . :: B l u r r: @D: :: well, if you need supplies, I can hunt them down for you. :: Drift: @B «If the Lost Light's grounded, they'll have to—go somewhere. Do something else. Most of them can handle that. But a few of them, I... don't think they'd adjust to Cybertron. I wanna help them.» Drift: @B «If we ARE grounded... if it's alright with you, I want to join your crew. And I'm going to try to get Whirl to come with me. I don't think he'd be okay in civilian life.» B l u r r: @D: :: Ah... :: B l u r r: / excuse him, he's having a moment / B l u r r: / More like he's just staring / Drift: @B «I'll find out from our engineers what kinda supplies we need and pass the list to you. If you CAN find them, I'd—we'd all be in your debt. But I don't know if they CAN be found.» B l u r r: / blinks/ Uh... @D: :: Oh uhm... right. Yeah. :: Drift: @B «... Would that be okay with you? Whirl and I joining? Or just me, if I can't persuade him to come.» B l u r r: @D: :: ... You'd live with me.:: Drift: @B «... Yeah. I would.» B l u r r: @D: :: Like...everyday. :: B l u r r: / that's what MOVING IN MEANS BUT OKAY / Drift: @B «Yeah. Like... everyday. It's kinda a big step, I know, but... I think it'd work out. If you do.» B l u r r: @D: :: I'd get to see you all the time... :: / ;~; / Drift: *drift's gonna take that as a yes. more hugs?* B l u r r: / turns to his left/ Shut UP I AM NOT-! / oh hugs! / B l u r r: @D: :: Of course I'd say yes to both of you!! :: B l u r r: @D: :: You guys are always welcome on my ship! :: Drift: *oh now drift's getting choked up.* Drift: @B «............... Th-thanks.» B l u r r: /oh no. Uh. Pat pat / B l u r r: @D: :: You're welcome...? Did I say something wrong? :: Drift: @B «No. Just. ... S'been a hard few months. This's nice. Good news.» Drift: *he's definitely trying not to cry* B l u r r: / smirks a little/ @D: :: Well, regardless of how hard it gets, you always have a place here with us. I made a promise. :: /wiggles scarred claw/ Drift: *takes claw with scarred hand* @B «I know. Thank you.» B l u r r: / lines scars up/ @D :: Sure thing, Drift. You always have a place here. Even if I die, they know to let you on. :: Drift: @B «... But don't die though.» B l u r r: @D: :: Well, I haven't yet, so. I doubt I will soon. :: B l u r r: @D: :: Next time, Drift. Don't ask. Just show up. You don't need permission to stay here. You can walk in any time and claim a room. :: Drift: @B «Pff. Yeah, okay.» B l u r r: /Rummages in subspace. Pokes a sticker on his forehelm/ @D: :: Dork. :: Drift: *sits back and takes it off to see what it is* B l u r r: / it is a gold glittery star / Drift: *...........* Drift: *sticks it next to the rodimus star on his chest. and now he IS crying. c'mon in for a hug* B l u r r: / oh my god he made drift cry / B l u r r: / goes on in for that hug and pats his back/ Sorry... are you okay? Drift: Yeah! M'fine! *he's cryin tho* B l u r r: Uh... well, you say that, but you're kind of crying. B l u r r: / worried noises / Drift: Good crying! I'm fine. I'm fine. Drift: *only half good tbh* B l u r r: ... Are you sure? /pats a bit more and just hugs/ You know you can still talk to me. Drift: ... I'm just— Drift: Rodimus is gone and I don't know when he'll be back, and I'm running the ship while he's gone, and I don't, I'm not made to be a captain, and it's— Drift: —it's just really nice to get a gold star. B l u r r: Ah... I see. /hums and just pulls closer for a hug/ B l u r r: You're my best student, you know. Very smart mech. Drift: I don't know if disbanding the crew is the right thing. Should I buy another ship? Should we continue the quest without Rodimus? Is that what he'd want me to do? B l u r r: / hums and looks contemplative/ If you don't feel like you are Captain, then I suggest gathering the crew and asking them to vote on a list of options. Drift: ... Yeah. Yeah, that's— okay. B l u r r: Is the quest important to you and your friends? Drift: ... It's only important to me if Rodimus is leading it. Drift: But... Rodimus likes votes. That's what he would do if he didn't know what to do next. B l u r r: / vents. Not even gonna start on the rodimus business/ Then do the voting. B l u r r: / reaches up and rests claws on shoulders/ I know this place isn't the best... but I'm telling you right now that it can be your home, whether it's temporary or permanent. If you need it. B l u r r: I'm no Rodimus... but. I'm not the worst Captain in the world. Drift: *crooked smile* It's good enough for me. B l u r r: / pokes his nasal/ It's nice to know I'm good for something. B l u r r: But... figure out what you have to first. And you can call me anytime if you need anything. B l u r r: and I mean that. Anything. Drift: Okay. I'll let you know. Drift: Same to you. Call me if you need anything. B l u r r: Mm. Sure. B l u r r: /pat pat/ Get some rest, yeah? I'll talk to you sometime soon- when you have time. You just let me know.

#chat

3 notes · View notes

hutcherette · 7 years

Text

Flowers in the Window Chapter 4

Wow only me 5 months to update, sorry! Life & work stuff just took over all my time. I will try not to be so long in my next update. As always many thanks to my lovely beta and friend Heidi. She had a big job on her hands, as this chapter is rather long, so ta very much dude! :D xx Hope you all enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading and for the lovely comments. Previous chapters can be found on A03

http://archiveofourown.org/works/7594528?view_full_work=true

"It'll have to do" Katniss muttered under breath after she had re-braided her hair for the fourth time that morning. She took a deep breath in, breathed out hard and studied her reflection in the small mirror above the basin in the female staff bathroom. 8:47 am. Nearly time to roll. Toying idly with the end of her braid she pulled out her go-to 'I'm fabulous' perfect nude lipstick for yet another coat. Letting out a resigned sigh she grabbed her handbag and opened the door quickly.

"Pull yourself together Everdeen" She chastised herself with a heated whisper.

Unfortunately in the heat of scolding herself she hadn't noticed Johanna racing in the door. Her black duster coat whipping behind her.

"Woah there, Nelly! Are you trying to make my hangover worse than it already is?!" Jo gestured to her head, which Katniss was guessing, was pounding.

"Morning to you too Jo" she smiled patting the side of Jo's head sympathetically.

"Wild night?!"

"Wet n wild times K, all the way" Jo drawled winking at her friend. Katniss wrinkled her nose, turned back to the mirror and started toying again with her braid.

"So things good with Thresh still?"

"That man has moves that out-sex even Gloss" Jo replied pulling out her black kajal liner from her bag with the smirk of a cat who had recently had her fair share of top quality cream.

"Wow; even Gloss the man-whore extraordinaire? Well I guess it must be love," Katniss teased.

"Please." Jo rolled her eyes & applied a heavy line of sooty black in her lower waterline.

"Why are you in here anyway, K? It's almost bell and you don't fuss or primp your hair or makeup. Ever. If I didn't know you better I'd say you were avoiding the soon to be love of your life… or at least a couple of months of good lays."

Exasperated, Katniss grabbed her handbag and started fidgeting with the zipper.

"I’m not avoiding him...I just...look...urgh we talked about this yesterday Jo, it's just all so...awkward."

"Oh come on K, it's only awkward because you're turning it into some dumb high school drama á la Delly! It's very simple. He likes you, you like him. You had some weird serendipitous meeting years ago where you hit it off with each other, so? Who cares? Get in his pants already!"

"Always boils down to one thing with you doesn't it Johanna?" Katniss snapped. Johanna glared at her from the mirror.

"Harsh, Everdeen. I'm actually trying to help you bring a bit of happiness into your life but if you're too brainless to see that then fine; stew in your own misery." She picked up her bag & turned to face Katniss.

"If you need me I'll be in the photocopier room. I just saw Mellark on his way to Trinkets room, just a heads up there to aid you in your little avoidance plan. He also asked me if I'd seen you..."

"What did you say?" Katniss asked in a half whisper staring down at the sink. She knew Jo was right, she had to give him and whatever they had or could have, a chance. The whole thing had been gnawing at her all weekend to the point where she couldn't sleep. She wanted to text him but this wasn't a simple case of boy meets girl, boy kisses girl, followed by the obligatory ‘oh so charming’ text games that usually lead to a first date or being ignored. She wanted to speak to him face to face but now the moment was here...she was terrified.

"I said no I hadn't. Besides why do you care? It's all too awkward right?!" Jo huffed back and walked out the door.

The shrill clanging bell rang out breaking Katniss from her thoughts. Oh Shit she slapped her hand to her head. Monday mornings were her half day teaching in D12's kindergarten. The worst part of her week but she had been railroaded into it by Effie who had insisted how good the experience would look on her CPD plan this year although the truth of the matter was that every other staff member had passed up the opportunity to do it and Effie knew she could talk her round by bringing out the guilt inducing 'we need you Katniss' speech. Besides it was that or lunchtime detention duties 2 days a week. At least being there would give her head a break from Peeta mania. Mind you, the prospect of having to face Peeta later on with snot stains on her clothes and paint on her shoes didn't exactly thrill her either. Feeling a little more relaxed Katniss walked down the old rickety stairwell down into the main lobby, kindergarten bound. The years had not been kind to D12's main building, built in 1936 the red sandstone three storey building looked impressive from the exterior but inside was another story. Leaking roofs, peeling paint and some furniture that hasn't been replaced since Eisenhower meant that the school was often in a dilapidated condition. Mrs Cray wanted to bulldoze the entire building and rebuild but Cressida favoured fund raising events to preserve and fix, what was at its heart, a beautiful building full of character and history.

Katniss was rifling through her bag to find the key card that opened the kindergarten entry door when those smooth molten caramel tones echoed behind her. "Hey Katniss" Oh god. Oh god. Thought I'd at least have a couple of hours before facing him. She breathed out. 1-2-3. Slowly, she turned around, her eyes locking with a motherload of electric blue.

"Hi," she squeaked a little higher pitched than she intended. She cleared her throat trying to find a way to ground herself and not make this anymore awkward than it already was.

"Hi Peeta, hey, um how are you?" Those eyes twinkled and a soft smile crept over his lips.

"Not bad, all the better for seeing you."

If she wasn't so self-conscious she'd swear that Peeta's face flushed slightly. And then… Silence. Say something, say anything!

"Th-thanks you too. Hope the White Russians were kind to you next morning. I felt a little queasy but it wore off. Johanna swears by a Virgin Bloody Mary with her secret recipe hash browns & bacon breakfast. Really does sort you out..." Her voice trailed off as she realised she was in full babbling overload and that Peeta was smiling at her with a look of bemusement.

"I'll need to try that sometime. I personally prefer Cheese buns and a black coffee. I was helping out at the family bakery all day Saturday & that combination saved my ass. Not sure if White Russians were my best idea ever." "No, no they were good." Peeta beamed at her. As she started to feel lost in his eyes again.

"Mr Mellark! Where are you dear?" Effie trilled her clacking heels echoing off the concrete floor as she waltzed into the lobby. Her face a picture of panic as two children from Peeta's class walked sullenly behind her. One covering his nose with a blood stained tissue. "Two of your children have been fighting, yes fighting, in the playground!" She shrieked from behind. Peeta looked behind him and then smiled apologetically at Katniss.

"Sorry, looks like duty calls. Listen are you busy at lunch? I brought in left over cheese buns. I'd..." He hesitated as if trying to gauge what her answer would be. "I'd really like to talk...not to sound all heavy. But I'd like to explain why I didn't tell you what I knew on Friday night."

"I'm sorry I didn't text you Peeta. I, I, sorry it was just a lot to take in."

"Please, don't be – sorry I mean... Kinda figured you'd need some time. Hell, when I saw you for the first time last week, I definitely needed some time to process it all."

That smile, the one that made her melt the first time she had seen it through that crazy green headpiece, beaming at her, was full front and centre.

"Sure... um… meet me here, 12.15? I... I like buns.... cheese ones, I mean." She closed briefly her eyes cringing at her last statement. Learn to talk Everdeen.

"Good, good" he grinned, the look of relief pertinent on his face.

"Made by my own fair hand, so they should be tasty enough."

Was he flirting or was this just bakery chit chat?! Whatever it was she was starting to feel extremely warm again.

"Ok, um, I better get to Kindergarten. See you later." She clumsily turned around and gave him a wave.

"Give 'em hell, Dorothy girl" He smirked. Lord.

"I try," she mock sighed, pushing down on the door handle & walking through. Ok it was flirting, she grinned, definite flirting.

*********

"Sweet lord... unh… these are amazing," Katniss groaned and wiped her mouth self-consciously after what was her third cheese bun. Peeta laughed offering her a napkin and carton of orange juice.

"Honestly Peeta, your talents are obviously wasted here in the teaching profession. You bake like a bad ass." She grinned taking the carton. Jesus could I stop babbling at the cheese buns for 1 second and actually focus on the fact that Peeta and I are on a semi date?! And did I just say the phrase 'bake like a bad ass?' Do I now have the oracy skills of a ten year old?! Too many ridiculous questions were swirling around her brain. She took a long drink from the carton. Calm down Katniss, she mentally soothed herself. Not noticing her embarrassment Peeta grinned back at her.

"Ah, why thank you kind lady but I think I'll leave the bad ass for my time in the kitchen and keep the genteel for the classroom."

"Shame," she smiled back meekly. Peeta had been standing waiting for her at 12.15 on the dot outside the nursery doors. To be honest, after 3 hellish hours of dealing with runny noses, (one child has actually wiped his nose on her hand), repeated readings of The Gruffalo including one session where the Gruffalo and fox toy props were thrown across the room, seeing a gorgeous guy with knockout blue eyes holding a paper bag of freshly baked bakery goods was just the tonic. They sat on a bench under the huge willow tree in the front gardens of the school. It hadn't been as awkward as Katniss had worried it would be. Peeta was good at small talk and filling in silences, and just as she remembered from that fateful Halloween night, he always knew the right thing to say. Katniss reached over to take her juice carton, Peeta caught her eye and smiled at her, his cheeks looking slightly pinker than usual. Silence. Damn I spoke too soon. He cleared his throat and crumpled the paper bag causally in his hands.

"Uh Katniss, uh about the other night I..." the assured smooth talking stance seemed to be faltering.

"Yeah?" Katniss prompted.

"Well, ok here goes, I had this all rehearsed in my head and now I've messed it up already." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I like you Katniss. I've liked you since that night at the party. After we met I couldn't stop thinking about you but I was still involved with Cashm... my girlfriend at the time. We weren’t really getting on that well when we met but we had been together since high school and I wanted to make it work. It didn't though and we split up 2 years later. I wish, I had looked for you… God I wish so many things had been different. You were seeing a guy too right?"

"Yeah I was... um Gale. We broke up last year actually." She bit her lip. Where was this going? Did he regret meeting her, was it just too messy for them to even try and start something?

"Oh, I would say I'm sorry but..." He gently placed his hand over hers.

"But?" she breathed out shakily. The warmth of his hand was sending out those jolts of electric charge again.

"Well with no disrespect to Gale, his loss might be my gain?" Katniss smiled shyly, stroking his thumb gently.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw you here, just across the classroom. I wasn't sure if it was you at first. Having been a few years since that night and the fact that you weren't clad in gingham," he laughed softly. "I wanted to tell you at the Med but we were getting on so well and I guess I wanted to see if the same connection was still there, and it was... I felt it."

"I noticed you looking at me but thought maybe it was my imagination," she grinned.

"Why would you think it's your imagination?! You're beautiful. I don't think you know… the effect you have. "

Ok the fact that his head had come closer in proximity was definitely not her imagination. She feeling a little intoxicated. Those eyes and the fact that he had licked his lips were now all she could focus on.

"It's the same effect I felt at that party. It's dazzling, you're dazzling Katniss" He leaned forward, placed his hand on her cheek to cradle her face. His fingers softly grazed her temples. She could get lost in those hits of blue. She felt his breath on her lips, it was going to happen. Fuuucckkkk. She let out a soft squeak as she felt his lips graze hers. Heaven, heaven she sang in her mind. What - what what's that noise?! No, no! She groaned internally as the school bell rang with all its shrill intonations. She opened her eyes, Peeta touched her forehead with his. His fingers still stroking her face.

"Saved by the bell huh?!" He whispered huskily.

"Don't think I'd use the word 'saved' more like cursed," she rolled her eyes and lifted her hand up to stroke the tendrils of hair at the nape of his neck. He laughed and slowly pulled his head away but still holding her hand.

"Probably for the best really. Last thing we need is Effie hauling us into her office for unprofessional conduct."

Katniss laughed picking up her handbag and jacket.

"Hmm.... I think I would have risked it." He smiled bashfully, running a finger slowly from her temples to jaw. She shivered, oh god she was done for.

"Peeta Mellark... you live right on the edge don't you," she teased.

"Oh Miss Everdeen you have no idea," he winked cheekily. They walked up towards the school entrance in a happier much more comfortable silence. She stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"Thanks for lunch Peeta, it was... lovely." She felt her blush creep back with a vengeance.

"You're welcome. My class were in the gym hall for all of lunch. Cressida organised a judo instructor as a treat for their class of the week award. So I better go, and hope none of them try out any of their moves on me."

"Good luck with that," she laughed and started walking up the stairs.

"Uh Katniss...?”

She turned around. Nervous Peeta was back in business. "Would you like to get together one night this week? Dinner, or a movie or both?"

"Sure." Damn. She had gone for casual but it came out rather high pitched again. "I...I could cook dinner if you like, at mine. I'm no cordon bleu but I can whip up a mean Lasagne," she blurted out quickly. Her place?! Did she really say that? What was he going to think?! That she was easy. Learn also when to shut up Everdeen.

"Sounds fantastic. Are you free Friday night? You cook and I'll bring more buns?!"

"Yes: yes to all of the above. Seven a good time? And please do bring your buns, the more the merrier."

Peeta gave her a bemused look. "Yeah 7, I look forward to it and Katniss... my buns are always available," he grinned and walked away towards the gym hall before Katniss could respond. She was glad that wouldn't be able to witness how flustered and warm she had suddenly become again.

She was really going on a date with Peeta Mellark... monster boy... eyes that make all the panties drop. Oh lord she was done for.

******

"Let me be clear, you... Katniss Everdeen... offered up your cooking?! To an innocent victim?!" Madge cackled down the phone line.

"What's wrong with my cooking, I don't remember you complaining when you had the flu and I looked after you for an entire weekend!" Katniss shot back. "Katniss that was mostly grilled cheese sandwiches and heated up pizzas, which you burned!" She continued to laugh.

"Uh no I did not! And that was 6 years ago! I've been practising. Anyway Jo's Lasagne recipe is fool-proof.”

Madge had phoned that night for a catch up and now it had turned into a critical appraisal of her Friday plans with Peeta.

"Ok, ok no more roasting of Katniss, pun intended. At least tell me what you're wearing?"

"I haven't thought about it, jeans maybe, black top."

"Pants on fire K, I know you too well. You're crazy about this guy, but trying to play it cool, your tried and tested defence mechanism against disappointment. Which is mental. It's Peeta friggin' Mellark! He's a gorgeous and a total sweetheart. Why didn't you tell me you guys met at the Halloween party?"

"You know why! Um, long standing boyfriend at the time, you remember him...6 foot 2, dark hair, answered to the name Gale?"

"Har har, I just meant, it would have saved you a lot of time had you guys got together years ago."

"I wasn't going to give up my relationship for a crush on a guy in a monster costume Madge!"

"Uh-huh look how well that turned out."

"I know…" Katniss replied sadly.

"I'm sorry Katniss, that was out of line. Just been a bitch of a day and Adam is driving me nuts." Madge sighed

"Please, it’s us, we always have a get out of jail free cards for crabbiness, especially if it's about men being assholes." Madge and her boyfriend, the same Adam Gloss from the infamous Halloween party, were in the middle of a messy breakup. Adam, at being the dumpee, had recently started behaving a petty and spiteful manner towards Madge resulting in weekly demands for clothes, books, or some other, often insignificant object, that he wanted back from her apartment.

"Thanks. But still I shouldn't take his shitty behaviour out on my best friend. He texted me earlier and demanded a shitty plastic shot glass that he brought me back from Bermuda. Seriously K, I'm so glad I ended it, look at the kind of guy he is. He's certainly no Peeta." She sighed wistfully at the end of the sentence. "Maybe you should date him," Katniss joked.

"Haha! Nuh-huh, I've heard he's got it baaaad for you Everdeen."

"What, please… How do you know that?"

"I have my sources, namely Johanna." Katniss could almost hear her smirking. "And when have you ever listened to Jo?!" She laughed.

"Jo's a little intense but that's half the fun right?! Anyway you still haven't told me what you're wearing? I think you should go and buy a new dress. I'm thinking a sexy black body con style with your hair loose in tousled waves... If I wasn't three hours away by plane l would be coming over and supervising this whole date, instead I'm entrusting Johanna to man the decks."

"Body con Madge? Seriously. It's a low key first date, not dress up like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Besides Glimmer wears all those sultry style clothes and it hasn't impressed Peeta one bit." Katniss bit her lip remembering how all over Peeta Glimmer was at the night out. "That's just not me."

"Ok I know, I know, I'm just so excited for you plus you have an amazing figure Katniss. You should show it off sometime."

"One step at time. Listen Madge gotta run. Call you Thursday night ok. Love you." Katniss walked over and opened the door to Jo.

"You too, say hi to Jo, bye."

After their disagreement in the bathroom Katniss had apologised and provided a peace offering in the form of Chinese food and allowing Jo to bring over a choice selection of possible date outfits.

"You're as bad as Madge!" Katniss groaned later, upon viewing the 2nd outfit in Jo's often inappropriate collection of dresses.

"Madge has got some damn good taste then!" She sniggered running her hand down an obscenely short dark red leather dress.

"No, and that's the end of it. Do you have anything here that is..." She caught Johanna's eye and her challenging expression and she inwardly flinched at possibly starting another row with her.

"That's what K?" Jo replied with slight defiance in her voice.

"Well..." Katniss chose her words carefully. "More... me?" She looked up feeling a little anxious about how Jo was going to respond. Much to Katniss's relief Jo grinned wickedly, pulling out a dress from underneath the red leather one. "Yeah, yeah I get you K," she rolled her eyes. "So I came prepared." "Whadda'ya think?" She held up a sleek looking fine knitted black ribbed sweater dress. "100% Italian wool, ya know."

"Oh my god Jo, that's beautiful. Why haven't I seen you wear this before?"

"It's a little strait laced for my taste." She winked. "My mom got it for my Christmas last year. Forgot I had it. She gets all these swish looking dresses at that boutique of hers. I guess she was trying to smarten me up."

"You don't need it, perfect as you are Mason." Katniss bumped her fist affectionately on Johanna's shoulder.

"Well duh obviously, Brainless!" She laughed tapping Katniss's hand. "Anyway it's yours if you want it?"

"I can't have this Jo, it must have cost a..."

"Two hundred and fifty eight plus tax... Yep she left the tags on, just have it Everdeen. Don't say I don't treat you!" Jo flung the dress at Katniss. "Go try it on... You're gonna look hot, Mellark will flip his little blondie lid!"

"Thanks Jo, this is perfect" Katniss examined the dress. It felt so soft between her fingers. She inwardly blushed thinking about Peeta checking her out in it. "Anytime. Now about your makeup. I'm thinking a dark red lip and killer contouring of those cheekbones." Katniss mock sighed loudly before heading to the bathroom.

"We'll see…"

"No way, if I'm giving you that dress you're getting the makeup I order." Jo called after her.

"Sure Jo, sure." Katniss laughed closing the door.

The rest of the week had gone by in a blur of shy smiles and lingering glances across classrooms and stairwells. She hadn't got the chance to speak much to Peeta due to it being his turn to supervise lunchtime detention this week. By the time Friday afternoon came Katniss was beginning to feel definite pre-date jitters creeping up on her.

"What's the worst that could happen? Blondie won't put out on the first date." Johanna grinned mischievously as she gathered up a huge pile of homework sacks to give out.

"Har-har Jo, thanks. I feel much more at ease now," Katniss deadpanned. "Always happy to help K, - AARON CRAY WHAT DID MISS EVERDEEN JUST SAY?!" She thundered across the room to deal with more Cray shenanigans.

"Hey,” that beautiful voice that she came to crave and be fearful of at the same time echoed in her ear.

"Gah," she spun round to see Peeta leaning against the door frame wearing a sinfully fitting blue shirt that just made the blue of his eyes pop out even more. "Sorry you startled me there Mr Mellark," she self-consciously pushed her hair behind her ear and felt her face begin that familiar burn again.

"Apologies Miss Everdeen."

That sexy grin should be god damned outlawed she inwardly groaned.

"Was just wondering if I could borrow your copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Promised the kids I'd read a chapter to them today."

"Sure thing," she walked over to her bookshelf behind her desk, smiling to herself. He could have sent his TA to get the book but he went instead. Yep must have definitely wanted to see her.

"Here you go, enjoy."

"Thanks and by the way," Peeta lowered his voice and looked furtively around the classroom for any eavesdroppers "We still on for tonight?"

"Yeah, yes definitely. Seven?"

"I'll see you then," he replied with a wink and turned around to leave. "Hey Mellark! I expect a good report," Johanna called across the room loudly.

Peeta looked a little stunned for a minute, rubbed the back of his beck and smiled back coolly.

"It'll be A star Miss Mason, I promise!"

The three kids standing beside Jo stared over at Katniss and Peeta looking completely perplexed.

"Hey you three, heads down and concentrate," Jo snapped then smirked at Katniss.

"See you later Katniss," Peeta smiled apologetically at her before walking out. "Jesus," she muttered as if her nerves weren't already frazzled. Would she even make it to 7 tonight?!

*****

Hair done, makeup on, dress on, ah shit perfume still to spritzed, teeth - not brushed!? Oh god yes good breath is imperative. Katniss continued to mentally compile the rest of her to do list while putting the lasagne in the oven. It was quarter to seven and she was running behind, and as Madge predicted the cooking wasn't quite up to Cordon Bleu standards. She had burned the onions in the Bolognese and had to run out to the corner shop to hastily get some more and now the fucking whipping cream for the individual trifles wasn't whipping.

'Soft peaks,' the recipe had said. No peaks, just a runny mess.

Where's Martha Stewart when you need her? She muttered to herself. Hang on, hang on she grinned at her own inventiveness. She pulled out a can of whipped cream from the fridge and started spraying it into the set custard. Sorted. She raced through to the bathroom toothbrush in one hand, her Black Nirvana perfume in the other. You got this in hand Everdeen, all is well she reassured herself in the mirror. She had managed to talk Jo out of applying her makeup by letting her curl her hair instead. The last thing Peeta would want to see surely was her face trowelled on with makeup like Glimmer or (dare she say it) Cashmere?!

Her buzzer rang in a volume that seemed louder than usual or was it her nerves jangling?! She ran over and hit the button.

"Come on up," she called trying to sound casual but epically failing.

1-2-3-4-5, she counted inwardly while standing by the door waiting to let him in. 6-7-8-9-10, oh god oh god it's Peeta, Peeta Mellark soon to be in my apartment, 11-12-13-14-15, on a fucking date.

16-17-18-19, Jesus Mellark how long does it take to walk up to my door?!

20 - a loud purposeful knock came from the other side of the door.

She opened the door a little cautiously. There he was all 5'11 of him, his hair styled lightly with gel so it was pushed away from his forehead. This just intensified his beautiful eyes even more. He wore a black fitted shirt, black jeans with a beige casual jacket over the top. She wasn't sure if Peeta hadn't actually moonlighted as an Abercrombie model in the past because he was certainly working it. She realised she'd just been staring at him when he politely coughed and smiled shyly.

"Oh, hi Peeta come in," she gestured with her hands a little awkwardly.

"Thanks," he grinned walking through. He seemed as on edge as her putting A hand in his pocket.

"Uh these are for you." He handed a paper wrapped small bouquet of golden orange sunflowers.

"They're beautiful, thank you. Take a seat I'll go put them in water. Dinner should be in ten minutes. Would you like some wine?“ she replied a little shrilly. Get to the kitchen Katniss, just get there and calm the fuck down. She scolded herself.

"Uh yeah wine would be good. Thanks. Can I give you a hand with anything?" He called as she sped off to the kitchen,

"No, no just relax," She hurriedly placed the sunflowers in the vase by the window. Grabbed the bottle of wine and two glasses. Before leaving she took two deep breaths and then went back through. She sat down next to Peeta on the sofa.

"You look beautiful by the way," he said softly his eyes never leaving hers. She grabbed the wine glass a little too hastily spilling a little on Peeta’s lap.

"Oh jeez I'm so sorry!" She grabbed a tissue from the table.

"Hey, hey it's ok, Katniss it's fine. Was just a little spill." He clasped her hand and gently rubbed her knuckles reassuringly.

"Besides it's not the first time you've spilled alcohol on me," he smirked taking a sip. She couldn't bring herself to take her hand away it felt so good.

"Oh god," she groaned, "that was so embarrassing," remembering her face slamming into his green Lycra clad private parts all those years ago. Peeta laughed.

"Without sounding like a total perv I didn't mind it at all." His flirtatious cheeky manner was in full swing and it was the sexiest feeling in the world to be on the receiving end of it.

"I'm glad someone enjoyed my shame," she laughed. His hand was still rubbing hers and god did it feel fucking good. He let go gently and took his jacket off. She missed the skin on skin contact immediately.

"So how was your day?" She asked. He was so good at putting her at ease in every situation.

"Not bad. Effie asked if-" Suddenly Peeta’s voice was drowned by the piercing wail of her fire alarm.

"Wha – oh, shit! The lasagne!”

Leaping out of her seat she ran to the kitchen. Smoke billowed out of the oven. Peeta appeared behind her his hand on her shoulder.

"Do you have a dish towel?" He called over the din. She grabbed one from the counter and handed to him. He immediately started wafting the smoke away from the alarm. Springing into action she switched the oven off, pulled open the oven door with the mitt and threw the lasagne in the sink with an almighty clatter. Tears welled up as she stared down at the burned lasagne clogging up her sink. She heard Peeta continue to waft his tea towel and the horrendous mocking sound of the alarm.

Suddenly silence. The smoke had dissipated somewhat but still clung around the kitchen.

"Well...." Peeta still had his hand mid-air clutching the dish towel. "That's a welcome I'll never forget!"

He looked at her and his mouth twitched in amusement. Whatever frustration and anger she had just been feeling drained and she burst into laughter with Peeta following suit. They howled with laughter and after a minute Peeta pulled her into an embrace, kissing the top of her head, before peeling with laughter once again.

"I think...." she breathed clutching her stomach with hilarity, "That this is god’s way of telling me not to cook anymore."

"You think?!" He joked rubbing her back.

The dinner was ruined, her pride a little dented but the incident had diffused the tension she was feeling and for that she was thankful. She could be herself not first date jitters-Katniss.

"You wanna order takeout? She said wiping tears of laughter from her cheeks. "I've got an idea that's way better than takeout. I'll cook for you." He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. There in the middle of a smoky, messy kitchen with her eyes streaming Peeta was caressing her face with both hands and kissing her. The kiss deepened and Katniss moaned, stepping back against the counter to steady herself. He lightly traced her bottom lip with his tongue before gently letting it caress her own. A few minutes passed before he gently pulled back still stroking her face and neck. His blue eyes a tad darker than their usual cerulean hue.

"If you cook the way the way you kiss then I'll be in for a taste sensation," she grinned rubbing her hands up his arms.

"Oh just you wait Everdeen," he pecked her on the lips again before making his way over to her fridge. "Hmm... ok yeah I can work with this," he murmured to himself.

"Go sit and relax, I should be ready in say about 20 minutes." He grabbed a carton of eggs, milk, butter and a packet of bacon.

"What no Peeta. I'm staying here to help you. Least I can do since I burnt your dinner."

"Nuh-uh. If you want your dinner you'll go sit. Go on... too many cooks and all that." He grinned, pulled her in for another embrace from behind and started playfully tickling her.

"Ok, ok, ok I give in," she laughed pulling him in for another kiss.

"Mmm, I could just stand here and do this all evening," he looked lustfully at her. "But I promised you dinner and cheese buns, so scoot. "

She laughed and left him to it. Sinking back onto the sofa she took a large gulp of wine and sighed. What a night. She was nervous as hell wondering how she was going to handle him being there and now there he was cooking her dinner and kissing her in an obscenely sexy way that made her want to clench her thighs together and head to her bedroom to recover. Peeta was special, there was no doubt about it and she felt so lucky that they had reconnected.

Ten minutes later, she heard some dishes clanging together. She kinda felt guilty about leaving him to it but he seemed determined. She switched on some music. The relaxing tones of Massive Attack's Unfinished Sympathy were welcome and soothing. Grabbing the wine bottle she poured herself another glass. She put her fingers up to her lips and thought about that kiss. God....

A loud knock at the front door reverberated through the room. What? Oh come on, who would be knocking at this time on a Friday? Maybe it was the Super coming to inspect the fire alarm. Oh joy. She opened to door quickly.

1-2-3-4-5

"Hey, Katniss."

6-7-8-9-10

"Gale," she uttered.

Duh duh duuuuuuuh! He's back...evil cackle.. Be rest assured i'm no fan of Galeniss in any form lol but Katniss needs to confront and deal with her past once and for all.

For those who don't know, i am a primary teacher like Katniss and I also dislike my time teaching in nursery. Her experiences were definitely drawn from my own. (Although sadly I didnt have Peeta waiting for me with cheese buns....such is life)

#flowers in the window #everlark #everlark fanfiction #katniss and peeta #chapter 4 #was so nervous about posting this #will not as long for next chapter mantra mantra

52 notes · View notes

takeenata · 7 years

Text

After

Darkness closes around me. I feel a change in motion, a force moving me; I feel weightless as I am lifted from the wetted ground. My attackers, are they moving my body as I die on the tainted alleyway filled with rain and my own blood? Do they not find satisfaction that I am dying as it is; must they continue to defy my soon-to-be-corpse further? “Sick bastards,” I think to myself. “Let my final moments be peaceful.”

A warm breeze rushes across my face, an odd change as I was just feeling the cold bitter embrace of both death and the storm around me. I no longer feel the weightless sensation as if I’m being dragged along the streets. My eyes remained heavy, but when I grip my hands, I feel soft grass at my touch. My feet are touched by the warmth; I can feel my legs again! Joyous, excited, but suspicious.

Not entirely suspicious. I never doubted the existence of an afterlife, I was just never entirely sure what was in store for me. My head raises, eyes slowly open, and I bask in the wonders before me. I’m gazing at an endless field of grass, the wind causing the green fields to dance in an unpredictable, yet relaxing, motion. A forest lays behind me, with trees taller than the ones that surrounded my village in Alaska. A forest of what looks to be oak trees, as well as a vast selection of other species; pines; weeping-willows; even maple. The sky is painted as something considered to be perfection: clouds are robust and making outstanding shapes, the sky shines a type of blue I can only describe as not too light, not too dark. In the distance is a house with a pillar of white smoke pouring from a chimney.

I pick myself off the ground. Natural muscle memory dictates that I pat myself off after sitting down, getting the dirt off my clothes. As I check to see if I had cleaned myself, I notice I am not wearing my rustic clothes. I am wearing a beautiful set of white robes, etched along the edges of my robe is a significant celtic-link design of gold thread. These white robes were utterly clean despite sitting in grass and dirt.

I’m quick to feel around my chest. There wasn’t any blood either on the robes, nor was there a knife protruding from me.

It’s clear what has happened to me. I am dead; this is Heaven. It’s strange that I am not standing before any golden gates that many stories have shared would happen. It’s more strange that I am not before Saint Peter too. It couldn’t be that elves are exempt from having to answer to the gate-keeper.

Maybe the answers are at home I see in the distance. I can make out two people standing on the porch, and they seem to be waving at me. I return the gesture and wave back at them, and proceed to walk myself to the kind folks.

…

A hand is placed on my shoulder before I am able to clearly see the couple on the house. The hand was not some form of greeting, rather, it was a type of stoppage. The hand yanks me back a few paces. I thought it to be some kind of devil to drag me to Hell, but I am relieved when I see it’s just Austin, my angel friend. “How’s it going, Tak buddy?”

“Austin,” I said with a nod, brushing his hand off my shoulder with a shrug.

“Surprised you’re here so unexpected,” he says, slowly putting his hand down to his side, tucking both hands into his pockets. He wasn’t wearing robes like I was, he had a gleaming white suit on.

“Unexpected?”

“We honestly didn’t expect to see you here until you were aboooout -” Austin stopped. I think he was about to tell me the age I was expected to die. And possibly how I would’ve died. Knowledge of which doesn’t matter now, because I’m already dead. “Nevermind! Point and fact is, you’re here now. Which is exciting, but also, a bit problematic.”

“I figured you would’ve been waitin’ forever for this moment. Why’s it problematic suddenly?”

“Because, Tak, it’s a matter of why and how you’re here right now.” “Why? How? I was stabbed in the heart; that kills just about anything that ain’t some kind of immortal being.”

“Correct. It’s a matter of who did it though! Which were, dot-dot-dot.” He pauses. “Demons!”

“You’re saying this like I don’t already know.” I make fake horns with my fingers on my forehead. “Odd colored skin and horns coming outta there heads makes it painfully obvious they’re --” “Not what I meant,” he cues in, interrupting my sarcasm. “It’s the significance of the demons. You might’ve noticed that each demon represented a circle of Hell.” “No. That I did not catch.”

“Your attention to detail has gone down a bit since the 90’s, hasn’t it?” Laughs Austin. “So, yes. Each demon was a circle of Hell, and from what some have reported, all rings were present at the time.” I had to chime in a detail. “There were only eight.”

He responds, befuddled. “Huh?”

“There were eight. There’s nine circles, Austin.”

A long extended pause follows. I see visible confusion written on his face, as he tries to find a way to explain this. With a snap of his fingers, he says “Safe to say purgatory wasn’t there.”

“That makes sense. It’d be weird to bring a baby to a fight.”

“Back to the point I’m making though.” I didn’t realize he was trying to make anything. “The demons, right? Hell is supposed to be Hell, meaning no order, no nothing.”

“But what about Marquette?”

“That’s business. ‘Cause you know, you can’t spell business without sin.”

Being a father, I tell bad jokes. Not sure if it comes with the title of being a dad, or if it’s just something I say. Being on the receiving end of a bad joke made my brain cringe. I didn’t like this feeling. “Go on,” I grunt.

“These demons banded together. Look what they did too; they killed you!”

“There was eight of ‘em, though. I was out-numbered.”

“You took on thirteen vampires, who were armed with ammunition and firearms to their teeth! The way you did it too, it was like thorough choreography!”

“‘Cause I had a lotta time to think to myself about how I was going to hurt ‘em. It festered, and it grew into something unable to be tamed. Like a wild animal.”

“That animosity you showed that night is what caught the eyes of a lotta us up here, don’t you remember?” Austin shakes his head, trying to pick up where he left off. I do this a lot too. “Back to the matter! They banded together, and that’s bad for us. Imagine if they could work together to take you out, imagine if hundreds got together. Or even thousands. Almighty Lord forbid that they all form together.”

“Not all demons are bad ya’ know.”

He raises a finger, shaking it in my face. “They may not be bad, but deep in their roots they’re ready to be controlled. Luckily the only one that can control them is frozen in the deepest pits of Hell, chained for eternity for his crimes against humanity.”

I decide not to say anything, as to not derail him. Austin is sometimes easily sidetracked by small matters. “Though this isn’t the first time demons have banded together. It’s just a rarity, you understand? However, they usually pull together to do something massive against humanity. A world-war, an act of terrorism, and even the enslavement of hundreds of men and women.”

“So you’re tellin’ me you’re all gonna deal with this then?”

“On the contrary; you are.”

“Huh?”

“When demons work together, they do massive damage. But these ones worked together to kill just you, and you alone. Nothing and no one were hurt, ‘sides you. We figured, who else to send to investigate the murder of you, than you. Who else to stop the demons, than the champion of Heaven.”

“I wouldn’t call myself the champion of Heaven. I know for a fact there’s hundreds else that have a calling from angels to do this business. But ya’ know. Passing away has been somethin’ I’ve been quietly looking forwards too.”

“To see your family; mom and dad?”

“Yeah, actually. They got taken away from me too early for a boy’s life.”

Austin puts his hand back on my shoulder, turning me towards the cabin with two figures on the porch. They waved once again. “You can take a guess who that is, yeah?”

“I didn’t wanna assume, but thanks for the clarity.”

“I can understand wanting to see them after losing them like you did. But, think on it, Tak. You’re being given the chance to go back with the family back on Earth. Would you be able to live knowing you had a chance to return?” He pats my back as I stare into the ground, thinking hard about what was just shared. “Do you think your parents would want that?”

“Y -- No. No you’re right.”

“Glad you see it that way,” Austin says, leading me away from the cabin. I gaze one last look at the home. I can’t say that I’ll be back soon, but I can say that I’m eventually coming back for good.

…

Austin and I walk for only a minute before he stops the both of us. “I’ll send you back as soon as I get this little briefing done. Your priority, from us, and from guys way higher in command than I am, is to find and eliminate those demons by any means necessary. Do not get caught off-guard, and do not get yourself killed again, because we will not send you back.”

“Will y’all be helping me in anyway?”

“The best I can give you is the names of most demons that were present. Take this paper here,” he says, whilst giving me a letter of parchment, tied with twine that wasn’t wiry or messy.

“You have Lucia, the demoness of Lust. I’m sure you remember; purple skin and a skin-tight suit that showed off her “best features.” Our reports say she owns one the largest brothels in the second circle, where damned souls are rumored to become the infamous succubus or incubus. Her place of business is called the Domus Meretrix; whore-house if you understand Latin.”

“I do actually.”

“Praeclarus! The fattest and fullest of the demons is Goluba. He has gone into hiding, so finding him will be a challenge. Careful around him, his hunger cannot be sated by man, angel, or even demon,” added Austin, with a peculiar look on his face that was filled with disgust.

“How is it you know all this, Austin?”

“We have eyes in a lot of places around the worlds of existence. Continuing is the imp called Salamendoza, the demon of Greed. Don’t assume he’s powerless; he has many ties and powers within the ranks of his circle. He probably has some manipulation over whether or not your friend Demetri has a good day at work or not.”

“It’s Hell, I’d imagine there ain’t no good day.”

“We all have our good and bad ones, even up here. After you died, he has been going around looking for a lost artifact to add to his hoard. Up next is someone quite new to us. Demons have taken the liberty of calling him Atan, whose very nature is able to cause a good amount of demons to fear his presence. He has been spotted all over the place, which should make him an easy man to find.”

If he’s able to be anywhere, I think that’d make him a little hard to find. “Heresy. Gothel. By some means, he was freed from the prison of the sixth circle. Shortly after you died, he managed to get put back into his old cell. I’m sure you can arrange some way to get close to him.”

I’ll think of it as time comes. This is a lot of enemies to process. “Who’s next?”

“In this case, violence is the answer. His name is Gash; he’s tall, muscular, and has tattoos all over his body. Gash has been a massive problem, and we’ve been unable to deal with him; just too strong. You should have no problem finding him though.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because he wants to fight you. Word will spread about your return to the living, and he will want to find you. Just be careful, we’re not sure what he’ll do. Finally you have Archibald, the man of Fraud. We have never heard of him till now, and honestly, we’ve got nothing on where he is either.”

“That doesn’t sound very helpful.”

“It’s better than nothing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, you’re right. So who’s eh, treachery?”

“The last demon? Well, person. We have tried to find out who that individual was. We cannot determine if they were demon, or human. Whoever they are, they want to remain hidden. Odds are, maybe interrogate the other demons about who they are. One of them is bound to know what’s going on.”

“I’ll see what all I can do I guess, since I’m going back and all. What’s the eh -- process for doing that anyways?”

“Oh well, it’s as easy as doing this,” Austin says, as he pushes me enough to cause myself to fall backwards. I was expecting the impact of the ground to hurt pretty bad, but, there was no ground beneath me. It was strange, I could’ve sworn there was more field of goldeness in our path.

I see him waving as I plummet down a tunnel of stars and celestial constructions. The gleaming light of Heaven slowly fades away, and the bright sky of Earth begins to illuminate the void around me; the stars fading away.

...

I open my eyes and see the world around me. I’m in Alaska, I know this for a fact. I’m where my village was destroyed all those years ago, like I requested. To my left, I see a dug open grave, and the coffin I rested in, exposed to the snow around me.

They buried me in something that I could handle as formal. A suit, but with a turtleneck instead of a button up and tie. There were patches of dirt on the suit; I appear as if I had crawled myself out of my own grave.

I should get home and change.

Shit. How am I going to get home?

#Takeenata #Takeenata versus The Inferno

1 note · View note