#he opened his inventory to grab steak

[calciumyum]

Etho is so silly for this

[brokenpieces-72]

Stray

Task force 141 x dog! reader

Author note: in this story, you are 100% dog. Not a hybrid (unless we’re talking mixed breed), not a half human half dog. You are a full on dog. Think Lassie or Littlest Hobo. With that in mind, enjoy.

Let me know if you want to added to the Taglist.

The 141 are taking some time straightening out the base, doing general tasks. Ghost is fixing up some jeeps, changing the oil, making sure the engine is working properly, and loading it up with the proper gear. Soap is doing some inventory stuff, after going through weapons he was asked to help in the kitchen, assisting with meal prep. Gaz has a similar task but it was more based on an accident from another soldier who spilled a couple storage totes of ammunition. He had to sort all of them with the soldier’s help. Price was having to go over some files and paperwork that Laswell had sent over to review and fill, as well as writing some reports.

You wander on to base by sheer accident. You overhear noise and strange smells in the garage. The bay doors are open for Ghost’s safety, as he does need to turn on the engines from time to time (carbon monoxide). You wander in and sniff around curiously, while Ghost is under a vehicle lying on a creeper. Your nose picks up his scent, but it’s very faint from all the stronger ones. Instead you find the toolbox more interesting than the oddly masked man in the black t shirt and overalls. You find an odd metallic tasting stick and bite down on it to pick it up. For a while you try chewing it before getting fed up and shaking your head around. The tool gets out of your grip and flies across the room, hitting the metal walls. The loud bang startles you and you bolt from the garage. The lieutenant rolls out from under the vehicle, to inspect the sudden bang. He looks over and sees the torque wrench across the room. Once he gets to his feet to retrieve it, you’ve long since bolted out of there and into another part of the base. Eventually you smell something else. Food? You notice a couple soldiers hauling cargo towards the base kitchen. Not wanting to be spotted you follow them and duck behind the crates waiting for the soldiers to leave before slipping inside. Once you see an opening you wander in and sniff around looking for what you’re sure is meat. At this point though you would take any scraps, your mouth visibly drooling. At this point Soap has been getting the meat cooked and you smell the remaining juices on his hands. You’re tucked behind an island counter, watching him work away. Soap finishes prepping the steaks and gets them seasoned and laid on foil for them to cook later. You still smell those mouthwatering, delicious smells of prepped steaks as he walks to another spot in the kitchen. Then you hear running water, and small something else. No no no, the smell is disappearing! Where did the meat go? Did he wash it down the sink?!

Soap finishes washing his hands and goes to another part of the kitchen where a couple of soldiers are sitting around an emptied box with a few other boxes with potatoes inside. Soap is glad he wore his comfortable cargo pants today cause the chairs were not gonna be comfortable to sit on for long periods. He got a new apron, discarding the old on in a bin. It didn’t hold the same smell, to your disappointment. But those potatoes would do. You just needed to get them away from the boxes. You’d learned from experience that kitchen staff don’t like when you take their food, even when you beg nicely. Soap puts a new apron on, not wanting to get wet stains on his grey shirt, if he missed the box.

You wait patiently, which isn’t really patient. It feels like forever that they’re peeling potatoes but you know more people might come, and you’re really hungry. This would have to be a grab ‘n grub. You eye one potatoe, and it goes into soldier’s hand. Okay not that one. That potatoe then, nope another soldier took it. Dang it. They kept grabbing them before you could lock on to a proper target. Screw it, you’re hungry. As soon as Soap takes out the potato from the box, locked in conversation with the others you make your move. You bolt out of the hiding spot, and snatch the food from his hand, just getting his fingers a bit. Soap looks down, only seeing an oddly shaped mass coming towards him out of the corner of his eye. He isn’t fast enough though to stop you from getting your target, and snatching it from his hand and running off out of the kitchen. You do knock over some boxes and cause a soldier to stumble while Soap is still reeling from what just happened.

Finally you’ve got some food! Your tail is wagging while you’re bounding across the base with joy, looking for somewhere to eat. It’s a little difficult as your stunt got you in a some trouble, so soldiers are looking around to figure out what happened. Nothing to high security but it’s clear you’ve cause a bit of a disturbance and you hear the soldier barking and shouting to figure out where you are. While he’s outside you best go inside and you find another door open, this one leading into the big building. You duck around corners and into rooms as you look for a safe spot. Soon you find one just outside a storage room. The potato is nothing compared to the meat Soap had been making but it would suffice. You continue eating, chewing away until you notice a couple men leaving the room. Not noticing you laying on the floor with a potato you go back to it until you hear someone sighing inside the room. Thankfully you’re able to finish your potato and lick up the rest before peeking inside and noticing Gaz sorting cartridges. They were pretty much everywhere with one right by your paws at the door. Gaz was sitting on a bin collecting groups of cartridges and putting them in groups to oraganize back into bins afterwards. After a good stretch you pick up one of the cartridges in your mouth and bring it over to him. Gaz looks up surprised to see a dog, but pleased seeing what’s in your mouth. When he tries to take it though you pull it away. You offer it again, but pull it back again.

“Come on dog, give. Drop it.” He orders. You don’t and instead step back bouncing with your front paws, and wagging your tail. Gaz gives in and stands reaching for the cartridge and you pull it away again, nearly making him trip over the other ammo on the floor.

“Oi! Come here.” He says, but you’re running off again in no time, making him give chase. By now he knows you’re not a K-9 so he wants to avoid damage while he can. You figure it’s all a game though. You keep running and eventually run past Price’s office who by now hears Gaz calling after you to drop the ammo. He gets up and peeks out of office, seeing only your fluffy tail as you round a corner, while Gaz slows outside his office.

“Kyle you want to tell me what’s going on?” Price asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Cap’n I-“ Kyle starts, but soon is cut off by a ticked off Scottsmen further down the hall.

“Ya bloody food stealing mongrel!” Soap shouts. Kyle and Price exchange a look before heading in the direction of the Scottish anger.

They find soap cornering you with the cartridge still in your mouth. You know you’re in trouble now. You finally drop the cartridge, ears going flat and whimpering.

“Sergeant?” Price asks. Soap doesn’t take his eyes off you, keeping you in the corner.

“We’ve got a rogue dog.” The sergeant calls back.

“Yeah I can see that, ease up on it Soap.” The Captain instructs. You whimper in the corner, barking at Soap now. You just wanted to leave now. You didn’t like someone keeping you cornered, and yelling at you.

“Soap let up.” Kyle insists. The sergeant steps back and as you continue to cower in the corner, giving a few more scared barks. Price shook his head. Clearly a stray that had wandered in by accident and was just hungry and wanting attention.

“What do we do with it captain?” Kyle asks. You look up at the burly man who is asking himself the very same question. Price sighed and stepped closer putting his hand out for you to sniff. There’s more whimpers at first, but you give a small sniff.

“You’re okay… you’re okay.” He says softly, and reaches out to touch you. You whimper again but his gently hand in your fur calms you down. It’s not everyday you get someone willing to pet you, or rather show you kindness. You keep your eyes on the captain letting him pet you. In the process Price was checking your collar for any information. Nothing. The collar was pretty rugged and in leather.

“I think this one needs a bath. Don’t need anyone getting fleas.” He says.

Taglist: @yourlovely-moon @kaoyamamegami @H0n3y_L3m0n @sans-chara @1mommyrose4ever29 @smitten-haematite-quartz @talia-the-gemini @yuki2129 @whitetiger846

[nicoforlifetrue]

chapter three

read part two here

read it on ao3 here

and read it on tumblr below!

Getting into the shut-up cafe was shockingly easy; Green could only assume it was because fake-Second came here semi often. The front windows and door were boarded up, but there was a back window with a tarp over it that you could lift and slip inside. The broken down space had Second written all over it— somewhat literally, considering the sketched approximation of a cat that bound over and started purring against Red’s legs upon entry.

The entire space was filled with doodles, and was oddly clean for somewhere that was supposed to be condemned— a pile of real blankets and pillows covered in sketched cat fur sat in one corner, with a note written into the wall beside them claiming they were for “friends + Mia the shop cat”. Sketched vines crawled across the walls and ceiling, blossoming with black and white flowers. A cup sat on what used to probably function as the counter, a photoshop brush, a paint pencil, and various assorted animation tools sticking out of it, with an eraser carelessly thrown just beside it.

The few remaining tables were covered in sketches that didn't move, and as the group explored the space a woodpecker in Second’s distinct style fluttered down from the rafters and settled on one of them, head tilted as it watched everyone before flying over to a sketched jukebox and pecking at it until a soft classical melody floated through the space.

“Well, if he isn’t Second he’s damn good at pretending,” Green couldn't help but joke, and a few of the others chuckled before going back to the uncomfortable silence because they all knew the truth. Only Second could do this. He was the only one whose drawings came to life so easily— others had tried to replicate it, but that just hadn’t worked, the drawings would remain lifeless and still until Second added his own touch and willed it to come to life.

So either this other Second had been right, and they had somehow— what, changed universes? Or a person exactly like Second had somehow gained the power. Somehow both possibilities seemed equally unlikely, but with that poster Red found… well, there’s only so many options, and he's not entirely sure how cloning would work with the hollow heads. In fact, he doesn't even want to think of multiples of them running around the same world. Just Cho and Dark had done enough damage,, but if there were more of them?

He felt a shiver run down his spine.

“Well it’s time to play the waiting game,” he hummed with a clap of his hands, grinning at the worried faces of the group that quite quickly turned into a myriad of grins, Red grabbing a blanket and spreading it across the floor as everyone gathered into what was basically a circle.

No one pointed out they had left a space open for Second.

“Alright, inventory, what we got?” Green asked, already looking over his own. “I’ve got a full tool set, a half stack of note blocks, some string, and for some reason twenty sponges.”

“Half stack of most passive spawn eggs, twenty iron blocks, some wheat, full tool set, and a stack of leads,” Red shared next; Mia the shop cat made home in his lap with a disgruntled mew.

“Two stacks of netherwart, full tool set but no shield, enough potions to create god himself, and a stack of golden carrots,” Blue hummed, chewing on a piece of the aforementioned netherwart.

“The staff of course, two stacks of redstone, just my pickaxe, and a half stack of pistons,” Yellow basically waved off, having said staff out and fiddling with the command block inside with a concentrated expression. “You know I don’t carry much on me when I have it.”

“Just a couple stacks of fireworks and some steak, I didn’t think I’d be hanging out for too long,” Purple admits with a shrug, looking just a bit embarrassed.

“Well that works.. alright, so that's our supplies, we’re in a world where apparently Cho joined rocket really early on, Second doesn’t know us but is willing to help, and we know it’s Second because, well, obviously. And the only hint we have to what happened is a heat haze dome… dumbest theory wins, go!” As he says that he pulls out his phone and starts a timer, for five minutes— Purple, who’s seated next to him, looks extremely lost before Yellow speaks while still fiddling with the staff.

“Obviously Second’s father forgot to clean the heat sink and this is all just a very strange dream as we wait for him to wake up and fix this mess.” It’s spoken in his normal deadpan, the only thing giving away his participation a faint smirk. “That’s why it was a heat haze that did this, it’s quite literally scrambling our brains like an egg.”

“No, obviously this is Cho’s idea of a prank,” Blue cut in, leaning on Yellow with a grin. “Him and Second have been planning this for actual months, made an entire city on the drawing tablet just to mess with us— clearly they wanted something so ridiculous we’d only believe it if they really sold it, you know Cho, he doesn't do that silly thing called moderation.”

“Cho is the terrorist The Chosen One?” Purple whispers in his ear; he nods, watching them pale even further. “And Cho is Second’s brother?” 

“Oh please you two,” Red scoffs, leaning back, arms crossed in faux superiority. “You’re fools if you don't think we haven't managed to simply successfully fall asleep in the nether! This is why it’s so dangerous, it connects you to the hivemind and shows you the impossible!”

“Yeah obviously, Alan makes them sturdy, duh,” Green whispers back, watching Blue gasp in false offense.

“Of course you'd go with the possessed option, don't you see you fool, Sec and Cho are finally getting back at you for the cake incident, the rest of us are in on it too!”

“He didn't use thermal paste on the heat sink, it’s hot glue,” Yellow quipped, grin growing at the conjoined rebuttal. “I’m just saying, he built the PC on his own this time, perhaps we should have stayed in the harddrive a bit longer.”

Green can’t help but smile when he hears Purple giggle under his breath— the waiting game was something from back before Second had freed them, a way to pass the time while waiting for something new to happen. First you take stock of your surroundings, then make a scenario out of those surroundings! It used to be about what the users were doing, or about the last stick to pass through their home…

And now it’s about their current situation— five minutes to come up with the stupidest, most unbelievable, but still somewhat logical, course of events that could lead them here. The last bit had to be tacked on after the color monster bit went on for Eight. Hours.

…They had been very bored before Second came along.

“Nope, Blue just left the potion maker running until the potion turned to steam and now we’re here,” Purple finally added, giggling even more when horrified “NO”s turned onto them. Red wins the first round, after pulling out the idea that the reason everything was extra weird was because the piglin tribe Blue had befriended were attempting to treat them with mushrooms, obviously making things significantly worse.

It goes on like that for hours— new, impossibly dumber situations being pulled for various other things, like why Blue had enough netherwart to not eat in a millisecond, or why the only one without a full tool set was Yellow, before finally they end up just chatting, timer forgotten, musing about this world’s version of people.

“Think Minecraft actually got destroyed this time? Or like, did Cho stop him?” Red hums, gesturing at the ceiling. “Or did you like, stop him on your own, Purp?”

“Eh, probably on my own, we can still use craft stuff here so it’s gotta exist, right?” Green’s being used as a pillow, Purple’s cheek squishing into his back as the stick’s wings flex sleepily. “Speaking of Cho, what happened to his partner in crime, that red hollow?”

“Ugh, Dark,” Blue huffs with a shiver, nods spreading throughout the group in agreement with the noise. “If we’re lucky? Dead. If we’re not? Highly injured but still a threat, and we’re screwed.”

“Well then, consider yourselves properly fucked,” a voice growls from above them, so familiar and horrifying it has Green leaping to his feet with weapons out in less than a second, the others all doing the same as they look up— bright red glowing eyes that match Chosen’s twinkle down at them from the darkness of the rafters, and light catches on a sharp-toothed grin just before he jumps down, form revealed in the soft light of the diner.

“Hello children,” The Dark Lord purrs, “miss me?~”

[chrysochroma]

Hermit Horror Week

Day 2: Environment

@hermithorrorweek

Title: Anthropocene

Prompt: Environment

Rating: Teen And Up

Words: 1,219

Warnings: Gore, Blood, Violence, Death, Horror, Dead Bodies

Summary: Grian comes across something interesting while mining.

read on Ao3

Grian had been strip mining for almost an hour, with very little to show for it. 14 diamonds, about a stack of iron and a half stack of gold were all that made up the contents of his inventory, not counting the stacks of cobblestone and other various materials.

Grian sighed, placed a torch on the wall of his 1x2 tunnel, then put his pickaxe away and took a bite of steak. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, debating on whether or not he should just call it quits for the day. Then, he heard a low, airy hum from below him.

Suppose checking this one couldn’t hurt, Grian thought.

He took another bite of the steak, then re-equipped his pickaxe and started to dig a staircase down towards the origin of the sound. He only had to dig out a couple of blocks before he dropped down into a twisting cave. He walked through it, mining out any ore he saw and placing torches as he went. Finally, the cave came to an end, closing itself off right after a vein of diamonds. He went to mine out the gems, each one appearing in his inventory with a pop.

As he broke through the last piece of ore, a window of darkness opened up from the other side. Not another layer of stone, just pure darkness, and a stench bad enough to make Grian start to cough.

Zombie spawner? Grian wondered.

He knocked another block so he could get inside, then climbed through the hole. He was met with he sight of not a spawner, but a pile of … something. Trying to breathe as shallowly as possible, Grian grabbed a torch from his inventory and held it up.

A pile of bodies in different stages of decomposition filled the room. The ones at the top of the pile almost could’ve been sleeping, if not for the facts that their eyes were frozen open and their chests were still. The further buried the bodies were, the more decayed they got. Grian’s eyes glanced over masses of rotting flesh peeling off the bones of the bodies they were on. The ones at the bottom of the pile were nothing but stark white bones. They looked damaged, too, all in different ways. A few of the corpses looked charred, others’ bones were cracked or snapped in half, and others were covered in black veins that seemed to lie just under the surface of the bone.

Grian’s eyes focused back on the top of the pile, at the less decayed bodies. He froze. He swore that one of them looked like Scar. The longer he stared at it, the more convinced that it was the body of his friend he became. They looked exactly the same, save for the lack of blush in his cheeks and movement in his eyes.

He pulled his eyes away, more confused than he had ever been. He searched through the pile, looking at each of the bodies in turn. Mumbo, False, Ren—the more he looked, the quicker his breaths became. He raised the torch up higher, letting its light flood over the rest of the pile. Impulse, Doc, Stress, Tango—the list went on and on. He started to walk around the edge of the pile, horrifyingly transfixed on the stack of corpses.

There were several of each Hermit, each seeming to be damaged in different ways. Fire, combat, even the void showed their effects on the bones. Grian’s mind shot through a list of possibilities, each worse than the last.

A sharp cracking noise came from the stone above. Grian glanced up at the source of the noise, and a chunk of stone fell from the ceiling, embedding itself in his now cracked skull. Slowly, he moved his hand up to meet a drop of liquid rolling down his forehead. He stared at the bright red on his finger.

Grian woke up.

Above him, a peaceful blue dotted with white painted the sky, letting the sun’s rays shine down on him. He reached back up to his forehead, then looked at the lack of blood on his fingers.

He wasn’t confused to be alive and he wasn’t afraid of death. Maybe it was the curiosity, or maybe something else, but he stepped out of his bed and began to fly back to the entrance to his mine. He dove down the tunnel he had made only an hour ago, ignoring all of the branches from the main tunnel he had dug. Finally, he reached the bottom. Diligently, he retraced his steps, only taking a few wrong turns. He reached the end of the tunnel he dug, then lowered himself down into the cave. A dissonant reverb and subtle clicks filled his ears as he ran through it, finally coming to a dead end. Before him, the cave tapered into nonexistence, with no trace of the entrance he had dug into the room. Then a speck of turquoise caught his eye. Carefully, he pried a chunk of diamond out of the stone. He dropped it, then turned back to the cave wall.

Grian began to tear through the wall with reckless abandon, destroying much more of the cave than he needed to get into the room. It was almost exactly the same as when he had left it—there was nothing to suggest he had even been there. No crack in the ceiling where the rock would’ve fallen from, no rock on the ground, no blood. Almost the same.

Grian picked a torch from out of his inventory and held it up, looking at the top of the pile. There he lay, rivers of blood dried on his forehead, the rock still embedded in his crown. Even though some part of him was expecting this, he almost stopped breathing. His heartbeat increased as his world seemed to slow to a stop. He was transfixed on the sight of himself motionless, atop a pile of the bodies of his best friends.

He inhaled sharply, then spun around to come face to face with a stone wall that he knew was not there minutes ago. He took out his pickaxe and began to chip away at the cave wall, doing much less damage to the stone than he usually would. He kept hammering, though, relentlessly determined to leave this place.

With a snap, Grian’s pickaxe broke. He switched to the other one in his inventory, disregarding the fact that it was supposed to be reserved for Silk Touching materials. He continued to hack at the cave wall, producing little more than a hairline fracture. His hunger bar slowly depleted itself, his stomach screaming at the lack of food. His muscles started to fail, and his head began to swim in a mix of sharp pain and overwhelming numbness. A few strikes later, his second pick broke. He took a bite of the last piece of food in his inventory. He shivered, then sat down against the unyielding stone and finished the last bite of steak.

He sat there for hours, unmoving, letting his body heat fade and watching his hunger bar tick down as his torch burned itself into embers.

He inhaled. He exhaled, shakily and ragged. He closed his eyes.

Grian woke up.

[rocketterrier]

Wandering Trader

Words: 455

Warnings: No warnings apply

Characters: Wandering trader (Minecraft), Original Character

Fandom: Minecraft: Story Mode, Minecraft

While working on projects late one evening, Wulfric meets a new friend.

Read on AO3...

Deep in thought, Wulfric stared at the wool sorter in front of him. Something looked off but he couldn't figure out why? Maybe the stone brick stairs? Maybe a different type of wood would look better? He hem'd to himself and paced back and forth.

"Hrm?" Wulfric sat up as he heard a noise from the ground floor. He looked at the clock upon the wall. Almost time for bed. Wow, I spent all day down here… He rubbed his jawline with his knuckles. "Hrrm, hrm!" There it was again!

Wulfric ascended the ladder and padded to the door. Kicking himself for putting down a door with no windows, he creaked the door open and peered out. Standing at the door was a wandering trader. Wulfric could hear the llamas tied up somewhere nearby.

"Hrr-hrr!" The wandering trader said, peeking back to look at the dwindling sunlight. "Hrrm-hrrm hrr hrm?"

"Oh, um, sure. Come on in…" Wulfric stepped away from the door and allowed the villager to make his way inside. "I've got some food in here, if you're hungry. Do you like pork?"

The wandering trader shook his head. "Hrrr, hrm? Hrr-hrr hrm."

"Oh yeah, I always carry some steak on me. Here you are." Wulfric reached into his inventory and pulled out a steak for the trader. Grabbing one for himself as well, he sat on the bed tucked into the corner and patted for the stranger to take a seat. The wandering trader sat next to Wulfric and scarfed down the steak like a rabid wolf.

Wulfric was only halfway done with his when he noticed. "Hey, hey, slow down, man! You're gonna give yourself a stomachache. When was the last time you ate?"

The trader cocked his unibrow and sat for a moment. "Hrm." he replied.

"Wow, that long? If you want more steak, I've got plenty." The wandering trader nodded and eagerly grabbed another chunk of meat. "I guess you've been traveling for a while. Why don't you stay here for a while and relax?"

Another moment of silence, and then a response. The wandering trader shook his head head. "Hr-hrm, Hrm hrrm hrr."

"Oh, that's too bad. Well, if you at least wanna hang around tonight, you can take this bed, here. Don't worry, I can make another one." Wulfric smiled, and the wandering trader smiled back. He stood up to grab the wool for another bed. "Oh, um, by the way, Mr. Trader, do you have a name I can call you? Maybe something we'll see each other again, somehow."

"Hrm-hrm 'Hrr-Aam'."

"It's nice to meet you Hrr-Aam. I'm Wulfric. Now, we should probably get some sleep. I'm exhausted." Wulfric said, placing his bed down.

"Hrr-hr." Hrr-Aam agreed.

[yeastinfectionvale]

Shaw Pack Minecraft Play Styles.

David: Dirt House connoisseur, the man built a three story dirt mansion once and use acacia wood for detailing. Doesn't mind mining but has a secret love for creating efficient wood farms and goes around planting sapling like Johnny Appleseed.

Asher: Speed Runner (dodododo) Supreme, he loves finding new ways to beat the ender dragon and boasts a 10 minute PB (He would be a lot quicker but he keeps getting distracted by baby cows and he has to spend a minute apolagising to the adult cows for making their children orphans.)

Milo: The Fighter™ he can kill anything and has defeated the warden in iron armor. The only thing he can't defeat? Building, Milo lives in a 2 x 2 hole that has a staircase going straight down to the ancient city. He only lives on steak that he gets by lighting a cow on fire and killing it. Asher has tried to get his to use less brutal methods.

Sam: The poor man is a hobo who only has a bed and two apples in his inventory at any time. He does get better supplies but accidentally leaves them in a chest 1000 blocks from spawn. Somehow he ends up in the nether and gets the first blaze rods.

Angel: Architect Supreme. Give them any block pallette and they'll make a building so good you think it was naturally spawned in. They are in love with the new Cherry Blossom biome because of the little petals that fall on the floor.

Babe: The Potionmaster, Babe has all potion recipes memorised and always has suspicious stews in their inventory that actually regenerate their hearts. They also have given Milo a suspicious stew of blindness and now he never takes food from them.

Darlin': The naked wanderer, Darlin is actually the first person on the server to get full netherite armor and weapons (hoe included) but never uses them so it is assumed that they are still using wooden tools. Angel has made a base for Darlin' and Sam but it is used more as storage for all the cool things the two find when looking for Sam's tools.

Sweetheart: The gatherer, Sweetheart is able to get anything , and I mean anything. They once got Christian and Babe elytra wings so they could recreate flappy birds. Once Sweetheart was on the look for cacti for a build Angel was doing and ended up over 10000 blocks away from spawn.

Christian: The one that always has what you need. Christian is the type of guy you can ask to see if he has a certain item and he always will have it, half the time he forgets why he has said thing in his inventory.

Amanda: Mapmaker, Amanda is a wizard when it comes to maps and buried treasure. Amanda is always dropping gifts in everyones house, or into their inventory when they are AFK.

Gabe: He's a wither skeleton, the man died before he could touch Minecraft. But he would be a hardcore player with a 6 month world.

Marie: Mama bear, Marie has only played Minecraft twice. but both times she played she is saving all the villagers and animals from harm.

Colm: He has only played minecraft oce and that was when visiting Milo and Sweetheart's new house. The game was open and he grabbed the controller while he waited for Milo to get out of the shower when Sweetheart was at work. He made a villager-zombie converter to get cheaper trades. He never played after that.

[emphasisonthehomo]

It’s Not You, It’s My Enemies + Bar/Restaurant AU

If anyone else would like to throw a trope mash up into my askbox!

OHHOHOHOOHOHOOHOH

Let's say Danny is the head chef at some snazzy restaurant in the touristy area. He spends a lot of time unfortunately cooking expensive steaks to a state of well-doneness, because Mike and Jenna from Utah have terrible taste.

And unbeknownst to him, the restaurant in question is maybe involved with some light money laundering for the yakuza. Even if he did know, that's the owner's problem, not his. He just runs in the kitchen okay? He worked at a pizza place that was definitely a mob front when he was in his early twenties, whatever. Fuck off. He's here to make ends meet so he can afford to stay in Honolulu and do fun dad stuff with his Gracie.

So one day before opening, he's in the pantry doing restaurant things? Idk checking inventory to see if they have enough onions or whatever, when a man comes running in and slams the door shut.

"What the fuck are you - " Danny stops short, because oh shit. That's a gun and a badge.

The guy makes a violent shushing motion and jesus shitting christ pulls his gun, standing stock still by the door.

Danny clutches at his inventory list and wonders what the fuck he's gotten himself into. Usually when he's in a small room with a hot man, there's no guns involved. At least the guy has a badge? Danny hopes that's a good thing, but he's met too many bastard cops to rely on that.

There's a rush of commotion outside, the sound of people running, and another door slamming. After a good minute or two of silence, that Danny spends with his heartbeat loud in his ears, the guy relaxes a little bit, and holsters his gun.

"You didn't see anything," He tells Danny seriously.

"Uh. Bullshit," Danny says, because yeah. Bullshit.

The guy scowls.

"You're the one who decided to hide in an occupied room," Danny points out.

"What, was I supposed to go for the walk in freezer?" He demands.

"Why the fuck are you in my kitchen?" Danny asks then, because that's actually a much more pressing issue. The restaurant isn't open yet, his line cooks aren't even here. Danny's the only one who should be back here right now.

The guy points at his badge with a raised eyebrows.

"That means jack shit and you know it," Danny snaps, "Do you have a warrant? Why are you being chased around my kitchen?"

He rolls his eyes and ignores Danny completely, turning to open the door and UH NO. UNACCEPTABLE.

"Listen here Chief Wiggum," Danny grabs the guy by the arm and stops him from walking out the door, anger making him stupid, "You didn't answer any of my fucking questions."

Grabbing the man was very obviously a mistake, because he's jacked holy hell, and he goes very still and glowers and shit shit shit. But Danny's talked his way out of worse situations, he can figure this out.

Danny lets go immediately and holds his hands up.

"Lemme see your badge, at the very least," Danny offers, because yeah oops he is in a room with a man with a gun. He should pump the breaks.

The badge is shoved into his face almost immediately, and that's how Danny meets Steven McGarrett, Commander of the Five-0 Special Task Force.

~

And then blah blah blah plot. Steve is in the middle of investigating some more organized crime bullshit, and it would be deeply stupid for him to get too close to the chef, no matter how attractive he is. That's just asking for the poor guy to get in trouble, considering what the restaurant owners are involved with.

At some point Danny does cook Steve a very late dinner, in the kitchen long after they've closed. The two of them standing too close while Danny holds a spoon for Steve to taste the sauce.

Steve also uses one of Danny's good knives in some impromptu combat, and he not prepared for how furious Danny is after the fact. Once Danny's ascertained that Steve is in one piece, Danny goes off because WHAT THE FUCK that is NOT FOR STABBING that is for FINELY CHOPPING.

Also Danny's trans, but that almost goes without saying, with my stuff.

[dreamersdivine]

Foxhunt

Word count: 1.1k

Warnings: lost of cursing, blood, F!reader, msyterioushybrid!reader

reader does something that makes tecnoblade mad (maybe they said something or took one of his precious weapons), and so they run and hide and now it basically has turned into this kind of manhunt where they are just running from Techno

You stared down at the broken handle in shock. You had been messing with Techno’s rocket launcher while he was out mining, you hadn’t meant to break it. it just sort of...happened. 

“Shit,” you whispered. 

“Oh fuck,” you held it to your chest while looking for a place to stash it, you would just have to fix it later. 

“fuck, fuck fuck,” 

You muttered to yourself, each one more frantic than the last. Glancing out the window you could see a red cloak approaching from the distance. 

“Oh shit!” 

You hurriedly threw it under your bed and made it seem like you hadn’t been upstairs today. Anxiously you snuggled into the corner with Steve. The big cuddly polar bear flopped its head onto your lap, demanding love. “Hello Steve,” you cooed.

Anxiety was tearing your stomach to shreds. Just what would Techno think when he saw the broken weapon? Maybe you should get up and just tell him the truth. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea. If you wanted today to be your last. No. it would be fine. Techno would understand, right?

As you started to leave your spot from the corner, the door swung open. “Hello pipsqueak,” Techno grunted setting a bag of coal on the floor. When you went to speak a small squeak left you. Techno glanced back eyebrow raised. You cleared your throat

“Hey Techno, how did the mining go?” 

“Went well, got you this,” he said setting Technodrill down. 

Techno turned and handed you a golden necklace. You chuckled. Like any other piglin he was obsessed with gold.

He put it on your neck, admiring how it sparkled in the lantern light. You started pulling things out to make some dinner. “So what did you do while I was gone,” he asked. His pink eyes trained on you. It was as if he had already known, and was trying to coax the answer out of you. It wouldn’t work that well. “I just cuddled with Steve, read some books, checked on the animals with Philza, you know the usual,” you responded softly. It wasn’t a lie, you really had done all those things but you chose to leave the one obvious part out. 

Techno just hummed. 

He walked up behind you placing his hands on your hips, chin on your shoulder. He swayed you slightly as you finished cooking some steak and baked potatoes for you both.

"Your heart is pounding,“ he murmured. 

You froze for a second before resuming making the plates. "You always make me a bit nervous,” you said swiftly. Technoblade pressed a kiss to the back of your head. “I’ll be back,” he informed you before heading upstairs. Very quickly you grabbed your backpack which held all of your inventory. You heard his footsteps stop before you heard a thump, something dropped on the floor. 

“I’ll be back. I’m going to run to Puffy’s for a bit,” you called out. 

“I think you’ll be running farther than that,” 

there was a loud thud causing you to slowly turn. He had thrown the beloved broken bow on the table. “Sweetheart,” he questioned you. You didn’t respond.

His eyes now glowing red. The voices were not happy. “Now Techno, i- I was going to tell you,” slowly he stalked towards you, bringing his long pink hair up into a ponytail. 

“10, 9, 8-” 

“it was just an accident, I was going to fix it later,” you held your hands up as you backed to the door. 

“7, 6, 5-” he tilted his head at you.

You turned and threw open the door, dashing out into the snow. You looked both ways before darting into the forest nearby. If you could just wait it out, the voices would lose interest. You hid behind a tree breathing deeply. The air was cold and pierced your lungs. Something told you to move and you ducked just as an arrow was shot at her.

“Shit,” you sprinted past the tree. 

You needed to get off the ground so you didn’t leave tracks. You reached up and grabbed a branch. Hoisting yourself up you heard a stick snap nearby, you scrambled up the tree faster. When you reached the top you waited for a few seconds to catch your breath. Techno had to be using his hybrid senses, so why couldn’t you? You took a deep breath and steadied herself. The unfortunate thing is by using your hybrid abilities you would be more visible in the snow. It was a price worth paying to be able to move faster than him. You began hopping from tree to tree. Your abilities allowing you to barely touch the branches before leaping again.

Looking in the distance you realized you were running out of trees. The ground didn’t seem like a good idea either since it was his territory. 

“Come down sweetheart,” a voice called through the greenery. 

Startled by the sudden words you lost your footing and tumbled down the tree. The pine leaves scratching your face and arms. You fell into a snowbank with a loud thump. Snow scattered into the air making it difficult to see. Groaning you went to sit up but there was a blade at your throat. 

“Uncle, uncle” you whined. Techno chuckled, his eyes turning back to his gentle pink shade. 

“I win,” He pulled back his blade and helped you up. “again,”

"Whatever, I could have won, our game,“ you rolled your eyes. 

Techno’s hand cupped your cheek rubbing it gently with his thumb. "I didn’t hurt you did I?” He murmured softly, eyes tracing all the cuts. You just laughed. “No, you didn’t. Just startled me and I had a tumble,” you said pointing to the scratch on your cheek. It had begun to bleed a little. Techno tilted your chin up, You blushed thinking he was going to place a kiss on it. You were mildly surprised when his tongue traced the wound. 

“Ugh,” you groaned in disgust, playfully pushing him away. 

“You’re so nasty,” 

“Blood for the blood god,” he hummed before squatting down. 

You climbed onto his back and began the trek back to the house. “You know I made it farther this time, you have to admit I’m getting better at these little hunts,” You sighed twirling some of his hair around your finger.

“You fell out of a tree,” 

“L-listen. That was an accident. I got distracted,” you stuttered, cheeks burning in embarrassment. 

Techno’s chuckle rumbled deeply in his chest. “Don’t worry my little flower. And if you wanted a hunt you didn’t have to break my crossbow,” he said bouncing you, adjusting how you were on his back. 

“Okay well that was an actual accident, I didn’t mean to break it, and I already said I was going to fix it,” 

Techno’s fingers gripping on your thighs. “Maybe one day you’ll get win, but at some point, you do have to face me instead of running. We are training you to protect yourself,” he laughed. You sighed. 

“Nah. I’d rather you just protect me like always,” you buried your face in his neck and listened to him hum.

[snoopdoodle]

snow storm

platonic!ranboo x male!reader

pronouns: he/they

summary: Y/N was an admin on the dreamsmp. They had not wanted to play any part in what was happening around him, not liking the attention that would be given to them. He had made a little cottage further away, in his own little plot, a neutral area in a fitting tundra biome, on their own. Until one day when an enderman-like 16 year old comes around, searching for a good cave without Technoblade and Philza, and not expecting to find a god in a cottage after a snow storm picks up.

SO! I will say that for this one-shot/story, the reader has 4 wings on their back, and keeps their height at around 10’4. They have the ability to change heights, but for this, I wanted to make it so they had intimidation. As a god/admin, the reader already knows Dream, DreamXD, and Philza. Philza spoke to Y/N before, and he would say that they are on the border of friends- ANyway, continue. :)

The winged person looked around. The shine of the morning sun bounced off of the trees in the dense spruce tundra. The sets of wings fluttered on the Admin’s back as he plucked the carrots from the ground. The basket that had been holding got heavier with every crop put in. There was enough food in this 12 x 23 crop bed to last for years. And it did. The god was at the ripe age of 12, 914, which in a god’s case, was pretty fucking old. Yet, the admin still had the face of a 24 year old. A slight stubble appeared on his chin, which he would have to shave later. The snow had begun to pick up, and the temperature had decreased a bit more. A storm was brewing around him, and they didn’t want to have to get caught in the rapid-growing cold any longer. 

 The god had used one of his wings to block his face, and the other 3 to wrap around himself to preserve heat. Y/N walked up to the entrance of the house, ducking down when he made it into the 9-foot-tall door frame. They walked inside the cottage immediately taking in the heat. Hey, you might be wondering, ‘Why doesn’t Y/N just use their powers to make himself warmer?’ You then might think, ‘That’s not how his powers work, probably.’ Well, I hate to break it to ya, but they can exactly do that. And no, they aren’t too lazy to do it, and no, they know how to. It’s just that he doesn’t. They had been living in a “survival” set mind for so long that he just doesn't see the need to anymore. Sitting down on the large leather chair they made, he heaved a sigh.

His wings scrunched uncomfortably behind him. He chuckled a bit as he felt a touch to his wings. “Hello there, chat,” He greeted the shadow-like figure. They were about 5’5 in height, happily preening their wings. That was a figure that had many different voices. All telling him to do different things. Some asked to go mining, some asked if they could feel the crops, others wanted to sleep, and his favorites were the ones who begged to feed the farm animals. He laughed again, as Chat had pulled a wing, tickling them. A knock interrupted his thoughts and laughter.

“Hello?” A muffled voice came through the thick dark-oak door. Y/N put on a stoic face, nodding for chat to hide in their room. Chat nodded and ran off. Another knock came as Y/N stood on their feet. They grabbed an enchanted netherite axe and walked over to the door. “H-Hello? Is someone there…?” The same voice came again, this time fear laced in every word. Y/N realized that this was the voice of a child now. He put down his weapon and opened the door, only to be met with a half and half person. Their eyes were heterochromic, one a deep red and the other was a forest green. The boy looked up after begging startled by the door opening, only to be met with a 4 winged person who rivaled his height. “Come in,” Y/N spoke, with a caring tone, ushering the boy in, knowing full well why he needed to get inside.

“Th-Thanks,” The boy stuttered due to the chattering of his teeth. Y/N found this fatherly instinct that he decided to put to use, wrapping the boy in a blanket that was on the end of the couch and starting up a fire. His wings fluttered with delight at the boy’s smile. “I’m Y/N.” They started simply before jogging into the kitchen. “Stay there!” He yelled from the other side of the room, “ I’ll make you some warm food!” The half enderman nodded, even though it went unseen. He began to scooch closer to the fire that the stranger had put on ever-so-kindly for him. He smiled and pulled out his memory book, nerves still on high alert as he saw weapons hanging on the wall and one on the ground by the door.

‘A person by the name of Y/N let me in their home during the snowstorm. They have 4 wings, pretty (color) hair and (color) eyes. They seem nice, but I still should be weary as of right now.

-8:24pm’

He closed the book as soon as the ink dried and put the bok back into his inventory. Y/N had walked in right as he put the book up.

“AH, good, you’re heating up. Anyway, there is some steak. It warmed it up in one of my furnaces, but if you don’t want it, it’s fine.” Y/N gave a soft smile, still trying to keep their stoic face on. The boy smiled back but it was strained due to the cold. Y/N took a few steps towards the boy, still not trying to scare him. He seemed to realize this, but stood still. They walked over to him and sat a few blocks away, the heat of the fire radiating off the wood. The enderman stood still, not knowing what to do. "I’m sorry to sound rude, but do you think you could give me your name?” He asked kindly. The younger nodded his head a tad bit. Y/N decided to sit down.“My n-name is Ranboo.” He spoke, teeth still chattering a tad. The man smiled and knocked on the floor twice, telling chat it would be ok to come back out. "Alright then Ranboo, We'll wait for the storm to pass and I'll help you get home after, sound good?" Ranboo smiled, looking at the man again. "Yeah, sounds great."

FIRST POST AHHH!!! START SENDIN' REQUESTS !! :D

[snelbz]

Life As We Know It {Chapter Five}

Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.

Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.

Instead of doing a tag list for this story, we have decided to have a set posting schedule. Chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays and Thursdays. Chapters will be posted on both my and Tara’s blogs! >> @tacmc.

Life As We Know It Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

Nesta’s time for mourning was up.

As she pulled into Elain’s driveway, reality set in. It would be her first day back at the restaurant since the accident, since her life was thrown completely upside down.

She wasn’t ready

But, she had no choice.

Elain was already smiling when she opened the door, reaching out to take Nyx. “Hi, my baby! Aunt Lainy and Seph are so excited to spend the day with you, yes we are.”

“I’m glad, because Aunt Nesta isn’t so excited to not be spending the day with him,” she said, sighing.

Elain gave her sister a wistful look. “I get that. How about Cass, how did he feel going back to work last night?”

Nesta snorted. “Don’t know. He never came back. They started inventory around two this morning after last call, according to the short text I woke up to. He says he’ll be there for most of the day.”

Elain lifted a brow. “Wow.”

Nesta blinked. “He’s a bartender, what do you expect?”

“No,” Elain chuckled. “I meant: wow, looks like you two are actually communicating. I’m shocked.”

Nesta rolled her eyes. “We’ve been living together for three days. If we weren’t communicating, what exactly would we be doing instead?”

Elain carried Nyx into the living room, sitting him down in the playpen she’d set up in the corner. “I mean, honestly, Az and I just figured you were pretending each other didn’t exist.”

For all intents and purposes, they had been, but they had made sure to talk about important things. Like whether Nyx had been fed, when he needed to go down for his nap and what the schedule for the next day would look like.

To be totally honest, she hadn’t even realized Cassian had her number until she’d woken up to a text from one she didn’t have saved in her phone.

“We’re…adjusting,” she finally said, watching as Nyx crawled over to the pile of toys in the corner of the playpen. “I gave him a bath last night, and he said he would handle the next one, since he had to go to work. But… Gods, Elain, giving a one-year-old a bath is exhausting. I looked like I’d just left the pool, not to mention the entire bathroom was soaked.”

Elain chuckled and shook her head. “Seph loves baths, but we’re still having them in the sink right now. She’s not quite ready for the bathtub yet.”

The baby in question was asleep in a bouncer, resting on the floor by the couch.

Nesta glanced at her watch, whatever reply she had falling from her lips. “Shit, I have to go, I’ll be late.”

“Go,” Elain said, wrapping her sister up in a hug. “The day will fly by and you’ll be home with Nyx before you know it.”

Nesta nodded, even though her core was filled with dread.

Nonetheless, she was across town in fifteen minutes, hurrying into the café just before nine. She tossed her purse behind her desk after she unlocked the door to her office and looked around, only to find everything exactly where she had left it.

With a sigh, she pulled a bottle of water out of her mini-fridge, only to find it completely warm. They must have unplugged it when they were cleaning. It wouldn’t be the first time.

She didn’t have time to think on it too much, though, because there was a knock on her office door, her manager’s voice calling her name through the wood.

Her first day back had officially begun.

*

Cassian was exhausted.

For the past couple hours, he felt like he was lost somewhere in a dream. Now, as he continued to stare at the shelves of liquor in the back room, he debated curling up in the corner and falling asleep.

He’d messed up so many drink orders the night before, worrying about whether Nyx was okay or if Nesta had forgotten to do anything for him. He knew Nesta was perfectly capable of taking care of Nyx, had been doing so since Rhys and Feyre had died. But he still worried about him constantly.

He yawned as he shoved a box of tequila up onto the top shelf, turning to see how much was left.

Only to find the store room empty of boxes. He let over a relieved sigh, pulling out his phone.

10:37

He knew the opener would be in at eleven, a shift that was usually his, but as the manager, he preferred to ensure inventory was done correctly, and with such a big shipment, thanks to his unexpected time off, he told them he would work the night before.

His feet damn near shuffling across the floor, he made his way into the office and sat down at the desk, to wait for Kallias. He didn’t see a reason to lock the place up when Kal would be here five minutes later to start setting up.

He didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep until he heard a knocking on the office door and sat up quickly, his feet falling from where he’d propped them on top of the desk.

Cassian found Kallias standing in the doorway, a small smirk on his lips. “Baby keeping you up at night already?”

He yawned, dragging a hand down his face. “No. Well, sometimes, but not this time. Didn’t finish inventory until about fifteen minutes ago.”

Kallias whistled. “Damn. You should’ve called. I would’ve come help.” Cassian shrugged. “No use having both of us exhausted.”

Kallias just shook his head. “If you say so. Go home, Cass. Get some sleep. I’ve got everything under control.”

Cassian didn’t need to be told twice. He stood, clapped Kallias on the shoulder, and walked out to the parking lot. After hopping into his truck, Cassian dozed off.

And six hours later, he woke up, his head against his steering wall, his neck hurting like hell, and his chin glistening with his slobber.

It wasn’t an attractive sight.

After a curse, he looked at the clock on the dash, and swore again.

It was just after five.

The truck was in gear and he was speeding home seconds later. When he rounded the corner, Nesta’s car was already in the driveway.

He parked beside her, hopping out and hurrying to the back door. When he threw it open, he found her standing at the stove, stirring something in a pan. It smelled delicious.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, collapsing in the nearest chair at the kitchen table, his head dropped into his hands in exhaustion. Even after his impromptu nap in the truck, he still felt like he needed another eight hours sleep. “Inventory took way longer than usual and then I passed out in the truck.” He shook his head, letting his obvious exhaustion explain the rest to her.

“It’s fine.”

He looked up and glanced at her stiff back. She hadn’t turned back to look at him, was completely focused on whatever she cooked on the stove.

Her tone said it absolutely was not fine.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but I’d been awake for over twenty-six hours.”

“Elain had to reschedule a shoot with a client tonight. She was expecting you to come pick up Nyx after you got off and got some sleep.”

He cringed. Nesta had texted him around ten, while he was still focused on inventory, asking him to get Nyx from Elain before three. He didn’t ask why, had honestly forgotten she’d even texted him.

“I’ll call her later, I’ll apologize,” he sighed.

Nesta turned abruptly and tossed the towel she was using to hold the warm handle on the counter. She was pissed, he’d seen that look in her eyes more than once. “I get that you worked and you were tired, but you have to be more responsible, Cassian.”

“I said I was fucking sorry,” he said, standing. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep in my truck, but I did. I’m fucking sorry.”

She rolled her eyes, but turned back to the stove.

Cassian scoffed, and was nearly ready to bite her head off, but then Nyx’s soft cries came from the living room.

“He fell asleep in the pack and play,” Nesta said, continuing to stir what she had on the stove.

Cassian took that as his dismissal. He hurried into the living room and picked up Nyx, who was standing up in his pack and play, gripping the edge. When he saw Cassian, his hands shot straight in the air.

“Hey buddy,” he said, quietly, as he lifted Nyx out of his pack and play. Nyx instantly relaxed in his arms, laying his head on Cassian’s shoulder.

“He’s probably hungry,” Nesta said, as the boys made their way back into the kitchen.

“I’m aware,” Cassian snapped.

Nesta’s shoulders tensed.

Cassian said nothing more as he opened the fridge and took out some leftover mashed potatoes, Nyx’s favorite.

“He should have some kind of protein with that,” Nesta said, her back still to them.

Cassian spun around, exasperated. “Shit, anything else you’d like to add?”

She said nothing, pretending he didn’t even speak. Cassian didn’t say anything else, but he fixed him a bottle, and set Nyx in his high chair. As Cassian shook it, Nyx held out his hands, reaching for it. He gave it to him, turning to the microwave to heat up the potatoes.

He heard plates being set down at the table and found Nesta setting two plates full of stir fry on the table.

He hesitated, but moved Nyx’s high chair closer to the table. He took the already empty bottle from him and got a small spoonful of potatoes for him. He quietly said, “You didn’t need to cook for me,” as he fed Nyx.

“I made too much,” she replied, simply, sitting across from him. She didn’t meet his eyes as she took a bite.

He watched as her eyelashes fluttered in satisfaction.

As Nyx grabbed his bowl from the end of his high chair and stuck his face into it, Cassian looked down at his own plate, at the steak, broccoli, peppers, peeled carrots, and snap peas that sat before him.

It smelled delicious.

He hesitantly took a bite as Nyx clapped his hands and began to babble.

“Afraid I may poison you?” Nesta asked.

Cassian blinked, meeting her eyes. They remained like that for a moment, staring at one another, then Cassian took another bite. “It’s good. Thanks.”

“I made too much,” she repeated. “Cut Nyx up some of the steak. It’s tender enough for him to eat, just make sure the pieces are tiny. The broccoli, too. He likes broccoli.”

Cassian did as he was told without a word. He set the food in front of Nyx, who instantly had his chubby little hands on them.

“Don’t think I’ll be cooking every night,” Nesta said, in the middle of their otherwise silent meal.

“I wouldn’t think of it,” Cassian said, then cleared his throat. “I can cook sometimes, too. I’m not bad in the kitchen.” A look crossed Nesta’s face that said she didn’t quite believe that statement.

“I make a mean breakfast,” he said, after chewing through another bite. “I’ll show you. We’ll do breakfast for dinner one night.”

Nesta nodded, but Cassian couldn’t tell if that was confirmation or just agreeing to shut him up. After a minute, she set down her fork and cleared her throat. “Speaking of breakfast, I’d prefer to not share the table with any friends you may bring home.”

Cassian’s brows lowered, not fully understanding. And then what she was saying clicked and he was coughing around the bite of food he’d been swallowing. He drank from the glass of water he’d grabbed, and cleared his throat, ensuring he could breathe. “I don’t see how that’s any of your concern.”

“If I live here, it is my concern,” she said, going right back to eating, as if she hadn’t just brought up an extremely unexpected topic. “I don’t want Nyx to see a revolving door of women leaving either, he doesn’t need to get the wrong idea.”

Cassian could only stare at her, though when Nyx heard his name, he paused his eating to look up at her. He finally said, “He’s one, first of all, so he has no idea what that would even mean, and secondly, I can have whoever the hell I want here, and they can stay for breakfast. I live here, too.”

“Would you care to see an endless string of men coming out of my bedroom every morning?” Nesta asked, her tone light, but her eyes full of hellfire.

Cassian’s chewing slowed. No, he wouldn’t care to see that, but he’d never admit it. He wasn’t even one to bring women home...well, at least not often, but apparently she thought of him as some unhinged casanova.

“As long as you ask me to join, I don’t care who you bring home,” Cassian said.

Now it was Nesta’s turn to choke on the bite of steak she just took. Her cheeks turned a bright shade of red as her eyes watered. After catching her breath and taking a long drink of water, she said, “That’s inappropriate.”

Nyx giggled, his lips covered in mashed potatoes, as if Nesta had just said the most hilarious thing in the world.

He took one last bite of his food before standing and carrying his plate over to the sink. “You don’t bring up my sex life and I won’t bring up yours. Deal?”

“Fine,” she said, picking up her plate as well and dropping it next to his on the counter. “You take care of the dishes, I’ll give Nyx his bath.”

“Fine.” That seemed to be their word to end conversations, as most of them ended with one of them snapping the word at the other, and it being repeated right back to them.

He wanted to fling more insults at her, wanted to snap that he wasn’t the man-whore she apparently thought he was. He never had been, despite the obscene amount of those stupid condoms she’d seen in his glove box all those years ago. But he knew she wouldn’t believe him.

He heard her unclipping Nyx’s high chair and then she was carrying him upstairs. Cassian was already wrist deep in soapy water when he heard the bathtub running from upstairs.

It was then that he realized he had originally told Nesta that he would give Nyx a bath tonight.

He didn’t pick him up from Elain’s.

He didn’t give him a bath like he said he would.

Maybe Nesta was right.

Maybe he was just setting himself up for failure.

As he scrubbed at the dishes, Cassian felt that sense of failure wash over him and sent a thought to Rhysand, wherever he was, hoping that his oldest friend wasn’t as disappointed in him as he was.

[vien0w0]

What if Fundy was there with Quackity and Slimescicle when they were being attacked by Purpled and Fundy made a deal with Mumza in order to save Slimescicle?

HOOOO THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION!!

i'm gonna make a sorta headcanon thing sorta actually writing jxhskvqksgid this is giving me so many ideas thank youuuuuu

when Fundy saw the chest, he was suspicious of it.

whether it was his animal instincts telling him to book it or his mind telling him Purpled is acting weird, he can't tell.

but what he can, he knows he shouldn't be there. that he should grab Slime and – hell – Quackity and fucking run for the hills

but he doesn't.

he stays close to Quackity, slightly behind him as Slime opens the chest. when said mob turned around with a look of confusion, saying "There's nothi– oh", and the dawning realization hits him and Slime. Fundy turns to look at Purpled, the cold look in the kids eyes said it all.

his ears fold, he shakily reaches for his sword

then he noticed the lever, and it was pulled before any of them could react. Purpled followed down

"Fundy, I'll let you leave alive. So go", Purpled called out, placing his gear on

Fundy and Quackity did the same

Fundy wanted to leave, he didn't care for Quackity that much, but Purpled didn't tell Slime to leave. he was fond of the pile of goo, he didn't like the thought of him being hurt

the argument between Quackity and Purpled began, Fundy stayed quiet.

he was a few strides away from Slime, his shield and sword on the ready to defend

Fundy kept glancing nervously between Quackity and Purpled

he didn't know what to do

then Quackity admitted that "even if I had the book, I wouldn't give it to you"

Fundy's fur stood on end when Purpled said "Have it your way" and turned around

at first he thought Purpled was coming for him, but then he saw him ender pearl behind him

Fundy leapt into action, pouncing on Purpled with a growl before he reached Slime

"Fundy!" said man yelled, his hand reaching out nervously. Quackity came sprinting over

"Don't you fucking dare hurt him!" Fundy and Quackity both yelled, Fundy didn't swear however

Purpled escaped Fundy's grasp, pearling to the other side of the platform

"Not you too", Purpled said angrily. "He manipulated both of us! He's using us! He's manipulating and using him!"

"I don't care about that, I'm mot gonna watch you kill my friend!" Fundy yelled back, his mouth twisted in a snarl.

Purpled was mad, but he knew he'd lost. he wouldn't be winning this two on one fight

so he left, before Fundy or Quackity could reach him

they were about to follow, before they heard a strained "Hey guys..." from Slime

when they turned, they saw he looked... more slime-y than usual, as if he was slightly melting

"I'm not feeling hydrated, could you dap me up with some moisture?" he asked with a nervous smile

Quackity rushed over, searching his inventory for a bucket

Fundy offered him one

they made a small two by two hole for Slime and filled it with water

Slime went in, sinking in and sucking in a bit of the moisture

"Fundy from L'Manberg, thank you for saving me back there" Slime said with a warm smile

Fundy stammered out a "it wasn't a big deal"

"Yes it was, Fundy from L'Manberg! I would've turned to dust if you didn't!"

the reminder that Slime could've died hurt both men, Slime seemed unaffected with the information, just smiling at both

Quackity offered some steak for Fundy, saying a small "thank you". both knew he was thanking him for saving Slime

they then looked for a way out together, and once they did they got Slime out of the water and made their way over

once they were out, Slime snatched Fundy in a hug, his huge muscles caging the fox hybrid in them

"Thank you again Fundy! You're a real one!", Slime said with a smile that could rival the sun

"C'mon Slime, we need to get you somewhere safe" Quackity said, slowly and gently easing Slime's arms from around Fundy. "Also, Fundy, tell the others that Purpled is a traitor and he should be captured or killed on sight" Fundy simply nodded, and started walking away, before Quackity spoke up again. "And seriously, thank you"

"It's nothing, anything for a friend I guess"

KAJHEJGDIDHGD I WROTE THIS IN ONE SITTING LET'S GOOO!!

i hope this is what you're looking for, sorry if it isn't! don't be afraid to ask for more and have a great day!! [:

c!Fundy in this at c!Purpled: i think the fuck not you tricky ass bitch

edit: hshegjrgsh i realized you asked that if he made a deal with Mumza omg i'm gonna writw that separately i'm so sorry kdbejdhjegdjgekhw [':

[aressss1]

Through Fire and Ice Chapter 11

(Technoblade x Reader)

Chapter 11

< Prev Chapter | Next Chapter >

~~~~~~

“Ugh…” You woke up with an over-powering headache. When your eyes opened you questioned where exactly you were…  This wasn’t Niki’s ceiling. Looking around you sigh… Right… You had a home now. Your stomach turned with nausea… Or was it hunger? This caused you to groan out. How did you even get here? You couldn’t even remember much of last night. Just small parts of the drinking game, as much fun as that was, your memory was now trashed. You weren’t sure you ever wanted to drink again after how you felt now. You knew that if someone offered you any sort of alcohol you would retch at the smell of it.

 The house had a draft to it so when you got up you took your blanket with you, wrapping it around your shoulders. You let out a groan at your headache. When your feet met with the cold ground, you shivered. Making your way to the door, you turned the doorknob. Out in your living room you focused in on Technoblade, who sat on your couch. When the door opened to reveal you, he looked over at you, as if he were a deer in the headlights.

“Mornin’.” You rubbed your eyes when they had gotten blurry. The springs of the couch sounded off throughout the room and his footsteps toward you caught your attention.

 “How are you feeling?” The look he gave you made you blush. You gave a half shrug unable to meet his lingering eyes.

 “Like shit if I’m being honest.” Your voice sounded scratchy, and you tried clearing your throat. Your eyes felt really heavy and irritated as if you had been crying. “This place is cold…” You wrapped yourself up tighter in your blanket.

 “I’ll build you a fireplace,” His words were hesitant, and you wondered why. He led you to his old spot on the couch, and he summoned a canteen in his hands. “You need to drink water.” He handed you his canteen and he headed into the kitchen. Sipping on the water, you appreciated how cool it was on your tongue.

 You felt yourself dozing off on this couch. You wondered why Techno was here. Did he stay the night just to make sure you were okay? You let a smile show on your lips as you laid your head down on the couch. The sounds of Techno’s activities in the kitchen calming you to sleep. Every now and then you would take a swig off of the canteen and go right back to resting your eyes. The cold still getting to you.

 Techno had come out to check on your resting form, seeing that you were still shivering, he laid his cloak over you once more. You very tiredly thanked him, and he knelt down so he could be face to face with you. He studied your features, and when you were out like a light, he brushed your hair out of your face. He wasn’t out of the woods yet; he didn’t know if you remembered last night. He didn’t want you to be embarrassed, and he certainly didn’t want to lose your friendship.

 He stood, upon hearing the food in the kitchen sizzle. He would talk it over with you later… Whatever you wanted to do he would live with it.

 Sometime later, a knock rang out in the living room and Techno cringed when he heard it. His eyes scanned over your sleeping form, relieved when you hadn’t woken up from the sound. Letting out a relieved sigh, he hastily made his way to the door. He expected it to be Dream, but when he opened it to reveal Niki, he let out a sigh in relief.

 “Oh, thank goodness.” Niki put her hand on her chest as she smiled at him, looking relieved. Techno stepped outside closing the door behind him so he wouldn’t wake you up with their chatter. “I’m glad this is the right house.” She lets her eyes wander over the porch. “I just wanted to check in on you two.”

 “Things are alright here.” Techno shrugged leaning against the railing of the porch. “She’s sleeping off a hangover right now.”

 “Well… What about you Techno. How are you feeling?” Niki looked at him with her curious blue eyes, cocking her head. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but…” Techno put a hand up to stop her. His eyes glued to the dark wood door.

 “I’m alright, everything’s alright…” Techno started. “But last night she kissed me when I brought her home.” He could see the excitement well up in her, but he could only sigh as he ran his hand through his hair.

 “What did you do?” Niki asked as she clasped her fingers behind her back.

 “I ran away, because she was drunk.” He grumbled, watching as Niki processed his words.

 “You did the right thing Techno.” She gave him a reassuring smile. He nodded pushing himself off of the railing. His eyes scan over Niki, one of the only few people to actually treat him as an equal. He cleared his throat.

 “Did you need help today?” He would take over your route if need be. “I’ll step in for her, seeing that she’s not in the best shape.”

 “I’ve got the route for today.” She waved him off. “But if you would help me out in getting my order of supplies from the farm today, I would really appreciate it.”

 ~~

 You had woken up to the smell of food, your stomach twisted and turned. Hearing voices from behind the front door. You got up to use the bathroom, taking a moment to look at yourself in the mirror and wincing at your ragged appearance. When you were done in the bathroom you looked around for Techno, finding no sign of him in the house. The food still crackled in your smoker. Your eyes slid over to the front door.

 You approached the door, putting your hand on the doorknob. You were about ready to turn the knob when you heard the word ‘drunk’ escape Techno’s lips. Niki told him he did the right thing, but… What were they talking about? Your head pounded and you weren’t sure you had the mental capacity to think about it right now. You opened the door after Niki asked him to get supplies for her shop.

 “Good morning!” Niki smiled at you as she brushed her hair out of her face. “Last night was so fun!”

 “I really wish I could remember it.” You chuckled, pulling Techno’s cloak tighter around your shoulders. You had traded your blanket for Techno’s cloak when you walked around. Techno couldn’t help but notice the way it looked on your frame. The red complemented your features. He felt relief from your words, he visibly relaxed, but at some point, he knew he would have to talk to you about it.

 “It’s a shame, really.” Niki clicked her tongue. “Techno danced with you, I have never seen Techno dance,” The hybrid shot her a look, begging Niki not to go on. She gave him a taunting look back. It was a playful look, but it didn’t help the anxiety Techno felt about this whole situation.

 “Then I’ll just have to get him to dance with me again.” You half shrugged, a smile pulling at your lips. You didn’t know the weight of your words, but to Techno, that’s all he wanted. To hold you close, sway you to the beat of the music. To hear the laughter spill from your lips like it did last night. He stood there still as a rock, barely listening to the chatter between you and Niki. Some semblances of hope for the future, alight in his eyes.

“I have to go but I’ll see you later Techno?” Niki looked up at him expectantly and he nodded. “Just go talk to Sam, he should have it ready to go.” She gave you a wave as she stepped off your porch and started heading back toward her bakery. You looked up at Techno curiously.

 “Does she need help?” You asked, guilt churning in your stomach, you really didn’t want to let Niki down. She had shown you a lot of kindness. She was a great friend. Techno nodded as he led you back into the house.

 “I’m going to grab a shipment from the farm for her.” You walked back to your place on the couch, taking another swig off of the canteen. “If you’re feeling better you could come with me…” You hadn’t picked up on the nervousness in his voice because you were more fixated on your headache.

 “Mm hmm,” You pressed your palm against your forehead to relieve some of the throbbing pain. He looked back toward you, noticing your state. When he tended to the food in the smoker, he doubled back, and he knelt down as his eyes worriedly bore into yours.

 “Headache that bad?” He asked, when you nodded, he let out a sound of disapproval. “You still have that golden apple?” You slightly nodded, summoning forth the apple from your inventory. “Eat that apple and it should help quite a lot.”

 Your eyes scan over the shiny apple in your hand. When would you ever need to use this apple? Maybe for when you and Techno go through the nether? You hesitated, opting to save the apple for later. Techno gave you a nod, standing once more, heading back to the kitchen. It wasn’t too long before he was serving you a plate, you had dozed off on the couch once again. He woke you, nudging your foot with his.

 “Don’t feel like you need to eat this, if your body can’t handle it, don’t push it.” He handed you the plate. Steak and eggs were laid out on the plate along with a watermelon slice. You smiled at him and thanked him. You weren’t sure how much of this you were going to be able to eat, but you were very appreciative of him. The two of you shared a nice morning filled with a good breakfast and good conversation.

 --

 You weren’t able to eat too much, but what you did eat helped you. Your head didn’t throb as much, and you weren’t too nauseous after that, but you still had your moments. The two of you found yourselves mid-day on your way to the farms. On your way there, Techno pulled you in the cart.

 “You realize, you can’t ride in there when we have Niki’s shipment right?” Techno said smirking when you gave him a mischievous smile from inside the cart. You winced when the cart hit a bump in the road, which jostled you around a bit. Your fingers tapped on the wood, as you retorted back.

 “Yeah, but that’s why I could just ride on your back. You’re the best pack mule.” You beamed at him, giggling at the unamused expression to cross his face when he looked back at you. He wasn’t having any trouble carting you around and he quite enjoyed this, he enjoyed joking with you on things.

 “Wait that’s why I was going to take you mining with me…” Techno joked, “You’re supposed to be the pack mule.” Techno reveled in your laugh, as you leaned forward.

 “I’ll be the worst pack mule you’ll ever see Techno.” You rested your arms and chin over the front of the cart, so you could see past Techno. You looked around at all the businesses and other buildings that had been nothing a month ago.  Techno gave you an amused grunt, as he shook his head.

 The walk was short but during the process, you saw Phil flying through the cave overhead.  You marveled at the sight. People around you hooted at Phil when he passed them. He was really graceful flying through the air. Curiously, you watched him as he disappeared from your view. Techno chuckled at your reaction.

 “That reminds me…” Techno started. “Phil wanted to see if you were okay with dinner and family game night tonight after we deal with this. If you’re feeling okay.” Techno looked down at your expression gauging your reaction. Shrugging your shoulders, you nodded, thankful that you felt immensely better now.

 “I think it’ll be okay; I still have a headache but I’m hoping that will go away soon…” You trailed off as you saw a group of girls staring at the two of you. They were passing by, as if they were on their way to the residential district. One of them scrunched up their face, whispering to the other ones. Techno followed your gaze, seeming to walk faster with the cart, he quietly moved his body in front of you obscuring their view of you.

 They watched the two of you as you passed. Feeling the heat rise up to your cheeks, you bit your lip, feeling embarrassed. You started wondering if they were laughing at your appearance… Having not putting much thought into how you looked for the day, you didn’t care, you weren’t feeling well… But now you felt like you should have cared… They erupted into laughter, which made Techno’s hold on the cart tighten, his knuckles turned white as he grasped the handle.

 “What was that about?” You questioned, he looked down at you moving back to his original position. His hair shielded his face from your view.

 “I don’t think that they like hybrids.” He said simply. You hadn’t considered that. You never saw him as a hybrid, you hadn’t ever come into contact with a hybrid before him, but no one told you to stay away from them. Knowing that there was more he wasn’t telling you, your eyes furrowed up at him.

 “Do you get treated like that often?” Your heart sunk when he nodded. A sigh escaped his lips, as his fingers twitch anxiously.

 “I don’t think I get treated like that because I am a hybrid, maybe it has something to do with it… But I think it’s because of some of the things I have done in the past.” He cleared his throat and you decided not to question him further because he seemed uncomfortable. “We’re almost there.” He changed the subject, and you hoped that you would be able to help him vent about his past even for just a little bit.

 --

The farm was incredibly impressive, the progress that was made from the first day was phenomenal. Huge fields with crops laid out on different floors in this massive hole in the wall, they were all automated thanks to Sam. Right next to the farm, was the tree farm coupled together with Tubbo’s bee farm, all of the bees had access to the crops, furthering their growth. The frontage of the place was made of glass, so it would be hard to steal from the crops without someone seeing.

 Grabbing Niki’s order had gone well, Tubbo and Tommy had kept you busy at Tubbo’s bee farm, and Techno had talked to Sam. Sam ended up requesting for more redstone that Techno had already mined up, in return for emeralds. Who was Techno to deny such an easy request, especially when there were emeralds involved? Sam wanted to get more farms into motion, but he needed the redstone to do it.

 Techno watched as the two boys introduced you to another person. Techno had seen him around, but he had never really talked to him. Another hybrid, like himself, he watched you laughing at one of his jokes. Techno and Sam made their way over to the four of you and Techno planted himself behind you, his eyes scanning over the goopy stranger.

 “Techno, I’d like to introduce you to our person working on the slime farm, his name is Charlie.” Sam clapped a hand down on Charlie’s shoulder. Immediately regretting his choice, he draws his slime covered hand back and tries shaking the goop off, only to wipe it on Tommy’s shirt when the slime won’t come off so easily, making the younger boy start to yell and curse at Sam. Techno watched you giggle at the entire thing, his heart warming at the sound of your laugh.

 “Friends call me Slime!” He held an oozing hand out toward Techno to shake his hand. Techno chuckled and shook Charlie’s hand. The slime stuck to his hand; strings of slime lingered between his fingers. He wasn’t bothered by it. In fact, this was nothing compared to the carnage of war that had clung to him once upon a time.

 “Techno,” He smirked pulling his hand away, when you and Slime had started talking again, Techno walked over to Tommy who was still yelling at Sam over his now slime covered shirt. This time Tommy saw Techno coming over.

 “Like hell am I letting you do what Sam did… BITCH!” Tommy directed at Techno, before he ran off, with Tubbo trailing behind him. Techno and Sam shared a look and Sam helped Techno wash the slime off. His eyes would drift over to you and Slime every once and a while, he grimaced at the puns Slime would say. He liked watching you make friends though, he liked watching you live your life to the fullest. From what you told him, you didn’t do that before you met him, you even seemed to have some trauma from your old life, Techno wanted to take you from all that.

 When the two of you left, you helped Techno pull the cart, not that he needed the help. But you felt bad just walking next to him, not doing anything. The two of you walked in comfortable silence the rest of the way back to Niki’s. You helped unload the cart, Techno taking the brunt of all the work. You just sat there loading things into his arms so he could take it in to Niki who would put everything in place. You wanted to do more, but he wouldn’t let you, seeing as you weren’t fully recovered from last night.

 Techno did end up packing you on his back when the two of you were on your way to Phil’s house. Mostly because you mentioned it again jokingly, but this time he didn’t joke. So… Here you were… On this Piglin hybrid’s back, your arms wrapped around his shoulders. His arms wrapped around your thighs to keep you on his back. You pressed your cheek against his back, listening to him breathe. He was so big compared to you. His scent calmed you to the point of where your eyes fluttered closed. You felt entirely safe with him. He was your best friend, but deep down you knew you wanted more. Even if he didn’t want you like everyone else who had abandoned you in your life. Being friends would be enough.

 You were lost in your thoughts when you felt him stop. Opening your eyes, you were met with the familiar sight of Phil’s door. You remembered the last time you were here. You were scared to meet Phil, as if he would stab you again. But when you actually got to talking with him, he gave off a vibe, that could only be described as fatherly. He was a good guy who you caught in a bad moment.

 Techno didn’t bother knocking this time, he just opened the door, letting the two of you inside. This was his temporary home, even if it was just a couch. He set you down on the floor gently, his eyes scanning over your sleepy face, to make sure you were okay.

 “I’m home Kristin,” Techno sounded off toward the kitchen. The clink of dishes could be heard before she side stepped to the opening of the kitchen. Her eyes landing on you. She gave Techno a smirk, before waving.

 “Hey guys, make yourselves comfy,” Kristin enthusiastically said as she returned to doing the dishes. “Phil and the kids will be here shortly,” The whole house smelled of good food. Techno sat you down on the couch, allowing you to take advantage of the down time, he wrapped his cloak around you once more, and let you sleep. He took this time to go help Kristin, chatting about life with her. She was just as special to him as Phil was.

 It wasn’t long before everyone had come bustling in, Tommy immediately going to change his shirt. Ranboo even came in with his dragon egg strapped to his chest as if it were a small child. Tommy, Tubbo, Phil, Wilbur, along with Niki, when her job was done, had come in. The whole gang had shown up and Techno enjoyed how easily you fell in line with all of them. This group was an amazing one, and it had only gotten better with you in it.

 There were too many people to sit at the dining room table, so it was decided that everyone would eat in the living room. Tommy flicked his carrots at Tubbo during the meal, letting out a boisterous laugh. Phil questioned Ranboo on his fashion choices considering the egg. Niki and Wilbur sat quietly in their corner quietly talking. You didn’t exactly like that she stayed back when there was a larger group, and you were happy that Wilbur plopped himself down next to her. Kristen played a good hostess, making sure everyone was happy.

 When the games rolled around, nothing but laughter… and competition could be heard, Wilbur and Tommy were at odds on many of the games, showing just how competitive they were. But in the end, they were smiling, and everything was right in the world… Well at least since they came down here. Techno would help you if you didn’t know how to play any of the games. Niki had found that her game was a card game called B.S. and for some reason, Ranboo was really good at poker.

 All in all, the night was a success… And it was another night that Techno would keep close to his heart. He left his worries at the door; he would come back for them at another time.

[rainbowtransform]

Neither Of Us Will Be Missed

Hello! This is a wip I’ve been trying to get done for a bit now! It’s Manhunt Dream and Dream SMP switch places, basically. :D. If you wanna read it on Ao3 it’s right here! This is the first chapter of three coming up, and I hope you guys enjoy it!

                                                           ***                                                                 

Dream’s fingers twitch, and he grabs the final Ender Eye, examining it. He places it into the portal, hears the age old sound of a large door finally opening, and he takes a deep breath. They’re somewhere else, he thinks. His hunters are trapped somewhere else, they won’t be here until the dragon’s dead. (And then they’d Jump back to the beginning, to the not-dead dragon and the Hunters ready for another year of pursuit and tricks and they only grow smarter). 

(Dream doesn’t know why they’re all trapped in an endless cycle, but they killed him a few times, and he’d killed them, and he’d beaten the Dragon before. It never stopped, it always Jumped, and Dream never stopped running. And they never stopped chasing.)

But Dream takes a deep breath, and then jumps into the Portal.

                                                          ***                                                                

“Who’s Tommy?” A man in a pig mask asks him, and Dream’s immediate response is to back up just a few steps. He bumps into a cabinet, and hears a harsh breath and a finger (maybe) touching the back of his arms before Pig Mask⸺before Techno⸺takes a step forward. “Oh, that guy⸺”

Dream pulls out his axe and holds it up to Techno. “Who the fuck’s Tommy?” Dream asks, feeling dumb as Techno’s own expression changes into a look.

What the fuck are you talking about, Dream, he’s asking. Dream doesn’t respond with one of his own, instead opting to look around while keeping Techno in sight. There’s an Enderman sitting in a boat, there’s a cabinet behind Dream with someone inside it. There’s particles all around them and there’s deep gasps coming from that area, (invisibility); there’s chests next to the Enderman, Techno’s in front of Dream, and there’s windows all around him with two doors next to Techno. 

Dream holds the axe tighter, acknowledges how Techno doesn’t take his eyes off Dream’s hands and then. Just the slightest flicker to the cabinet behind him, Techno lunged forward and Dream bolts.

He manages to snag Techno’s cape, blue instead of his signature red, on his axe and Dream kicks open the doors and runs into the forest.

                                                          ***                                                                

Dream covers his tracks, swipes snow over his footprints and makes new, fresher ones going in tons of directions. He breaks twigs, and branches, overturns rocks and tries to pretend to rush through something. It’ll make it more believable, but it won’t hold Techno for long. When it’s done, Dream climbs into a tree and examines the inventory that’s been given to him. 

A stack and a half of steak, Netherite armor, Netherite weapons, some wood, sticks, half a stack of bread. Some iron, Enderpearls, no blaze powder, but Dream’s been given worse. He’s got a water bucket, too. And Techno’s cape, which he think he needs to put on a branch somewhere else. So, all he’s got to do is find a lava pool, and he’d be good enough for the Nether. This Hunter must be Techno (but how?) instead of his Normal ones. Dream has to be extra cautious about this. Even if the Jump resets, Dream still can get hurt, injured, and killed. 

Dream makes a little place for himself in the trees, splits half of a loaf and eats it quickly. He wraps up his arm, bleeding from the fight earlier. Dream watches as the moon rises, and knows that when dawn breaks tomorrow, he’ll be up and ready to go.

Nether tomorrow, find blaze rods, make Ender Eyes, find the End Portal, fight the Dragon.

It’s a plan. It’s a plan, and it’s Dream’s plan, but he knows that there’s going to be hiccups along the way. Techno won’t let himself go down this easy, nor will he ever actually let Dream go. Techno doesn’t rest easy, and Dream knows that the whispers of Technoblade never dies aren’t just whispers. 

Dream sets himself, takes a deep breath and settles down. He can go to sleep, can’t he? He’s safe for right now. 

(But Techno’s looking, Dream. You aren’t safe here.)

Dream climbs higher in the tree.

                                                          ***                                                                

“Where are you?” Fangs calls. “Come on, Mask. We’re not playing anymore.”

Dream holds his breath, refuses to move from his spot in the wall. The compass Fang keeps around his neck with string sticks on Dream’s skin. They’ve all got a Compass, and some of them keep it close to them (Flame keeps his in a gold chain, in the same place as Fang, while Cat and Bow keep theirs in their backpacks. They’re all back-ups, after all.)

But Dream got the compass. He stole Fang’s compass. And Fang’s alone, right now, so he can’t find Dream and if Dream doesn’t move, or make any sound he’d never find him. Fang clicks his tongue, and snarls. 

“When I find you,” he promises. “I’m taking the compass back.”

“Or next Jump,” Cat says and Dream hears a quiet thump as he jumps down and peers around. 

“Hey,” Fang says. “Do you mind if I borrow your compass?”

“I left mine at the Base,” Cat said. “George is brewing a bunch of potions, though. I guarantee if we go back right now, he’ll be done with them. We can come back and find him then.”

Fang hums. “I think he’ll be long gone by then.”

“But we’ll still have three more Compasses. And we’ll get yours back.”

Fang sighs. “Of course,” he says. “Where else is he going to go where we can’t follow?”

“That’s the Spirit,” Cat says. 

They walk away, and Dream breathes a sigh of relief.

                                                          ***                                                                

Dream wakes up an hour into the sunrise, and he bolts upward. There’s nothing there, just some clean fresh snow and Dream shivers. His hoodie’s designed to keep him warm in some rough temperatures but not in extreme cold like the fucking Arctic. On the bright side with the snow, his old tracks are now covered and Dream can go about running through the trees. 

Dream moves quickly, he slides down onto a lower branch and jumps to the other trees. He weighs skipping breakfast (the other half of the bread) before his hunger gets the better of him. He’s been doing Jumps since he was sixteen, and he has done his fair share of skipping plenty of meals and fainting (and, by result, failing the Jump) so he’s already decided to not do that. 

He eats the bread as he goes, and almost misses the branch. But he scrambled to grab a hold to the tree’s trunk with his (freezing) fingers, and he almost snarled. But Dream’s also learned when to be quiet and when to be bold. He holds onto Netherite things and (no doubt) Techno’s got them, too. The Jump’s all about being fair, and Dream with Netherite, even against Techno, is not fair.

Dream rights himself on the tree and takes a quick glance around again. Some snow is shaken off the trees where Dream had landed, but he shakes it off. By the time Techno comes looking in this area, Dream will already be far far away in the Nether. 

Dream folds his fingers into his armpit, trying to think for just a moment. While his fingers warm up again, he’s already planned for three encounters, two deaths, and a reset. 

He doesn’t want to walk through the snow, but with how the forest is growing thin, there’s no choice. He slips down, lands with a crunch sound and Dream stands. The snow’s basically covering his lower body right now and he tries to wipe it off before it melts into his jeans.

Dream takes off Techno’s cape and throws it over a high branch. That’ll at least confuse him for a second, if Techno’s smart (which he is) then Dream just bought himself about thirty seconds of escape time. 

He sets off to find a lava pool, or a warmer climate at least. Dream climbs over some hills, checking for a flash of pink or a glint of something before he continues onward. But there’s nothing except the endless Arctic and some blue dye that’s been scattered around. He’s brushing the snow off his shoulders, when he notices the purplish glint of a Portal just a couple paces away from him. 

Nether, Dream thinks. He’s got to find the Fortress, get some blaze rods and then get back to the same portal, in the same freakin’ Arctic. (But he can bring some lava with him, right? To keep him warm? It worked last time, when Bow and Flame were the only ones who were chasing him. 

Dream steps through the Portal, hoping that the bucket of water won’t evaporate in his pack, and he goes from a freezing temperature, to overwhelming heat

                                                          ***                                                                

He’s on a pathway, snaking its way toward something else, and Dream’s instantly wary. He’s shifting, ready to jump off the side of the pathway before he notices the huge lava pool that’s below him. 

“Okay,” he mutters. “Then I guess we’re following the path.” He holds onto the compass around his neck and darts forward. 

There’s a bunch of cobblestone and a wood bridge that’s just… it’ll burn too easy, Dream notes. But it also might help to keep Hunters off Dream’s trail. Dream pushes his way through and there’s another portal sitting right in the middle of this huge place. There’s a chest a couple steps away which Dream riffles through and ultimately thinks that it’s useless. 

And he looks at the portal, sticks a hand through it and then takes it back. He really should go find the Nether Fortress. But, the portal’s also ticking his curiosity and Puffy always told Dream that he’s never satisfied. 

And if this portal takes him to a different one, then he won’t have to go back to the Arctic! 

So, he steps through.

                                                          ***                                                                

Niki laughs and runs her fingers through Dream’s hair. “You’re just full of questions today, aren’t you duckling?”

Dream nods, and points at the bowl she’d been mixing. “What’s in it?” He questions again and Niki laughs. She’s almost twenty-one years old, and Mom and her have been together for almost a year now. 

“Oh, it’s just something really quick that I’m making.” Niki says, smiling. “Some jelly tarts, maybe a pie later on. Want to help?”

Dream nods eagerly, and there’s a brief moment of: what am I meant to do? Before Niki gives him a bowl and a whisk and shows him how to mix the ingredients without making a mess of himself and the kitchen. 

When Mom comes home from Foolish’s doctor appointment, there’s cooling pastries in the kitchen and two sleeping people on the couch.

                                                          ***                                                                

He’s standing on a town. That’s the only way he can explain it, and he’s staring across at this huge building. It’s red and stone bricks build on top of the water itself; and Dream takes a quick step forward, eyes dark. He wonders why, exactly, it’s there. 

(You can hide there, Dream. For a little bit. Techno won’t know you’re here.)

And so he breaks into a run, and slides into the house quickly and quietly. He takes a deep breath, and looks through the windows, his mask feeling plain in this colorful world. There’s a huge castle to the left of him, a quartz building to the right and right in front of him looks like a courthouse and another house that’s been abandoned. 

(Hide, hide, hide, hide, they’re here. Can’t you hear the heartbeat? Let’s go.)

Dream takes off, and he hears a quick shout behind him, but it doesn’t matter. He’s got to go, and he slides to the left and runs to the castle. It’s big enough for Dream to climb the tops of it and get away from whoever’s calling his name right now. 

The compass burns hot on Dream’s skin.

                                                          ***                                                                

“Mom.” Dream says, lips stiff. “Mom I didn’t do it, okay? Whatever they’re saying, I didn’t do it, Mom. Mom, please.” Dream’s sixteen.

He’s scared. He doesn’t know what he’d done to deserve this, but whatever it is, it’s apparently bad enough that a Hunter’s after him. Niki is holding onto Puffy’s hands, and Foolish is crying, he’s reaching for Dream. 

“‘Dream. Dream!” Foolish keeps saying, reaching for him. He wants to be hugged, and Puffy’s holding him back. 

“Duckling,” Puffy says, her eyes wet. “Dream.” 

And his head snaps to meet her eyes. She never calls him Dream. Niki guides Foolish further into the home, all the while he keeps looking back at Dream, and Puffy looks away, swallows, and then remeets her son’s eyes. “Dream,” she says again. “I can’t…. We can’t…”

“Mom,” Dream says again, voice breaking. “Mom, please. I didn’t, Mom.”

“No, Dream.” She says. “You’ve got a Hunter on your back. And with Foolish, we can’t. I’m sorry, duckling.”

And she closes the door, and Dream’s left with a chill right to his very bones.

“Mom,” he whispers. “Puffy…”

                                                          ***                                                                

And that’s the first face he sees once he’s climbed to the top of the castle. Puffy, looking at him with her mouth open, calling his name. His hands shake, and he takes a moment to drink her in. Her hair’s the same as always, and she’s wearing Netherite. That’s weird.

Only Hunters get Netherite. 

She’s not a…?

(She is, she is, she is. Stay away from me, stay away from me, stay away from me.)

                                                          ***                                                                

He takes a look at the others, too. There’s a boy with bandages all over his arms, a almost-naked guy walking with him, a creeper hybrid (Warden, stay away), and⸺Cat.

(He’s not alone, but he is alone. But everyone else had Netherite except the boy does that mean they’re all Hunters? Is the boy an apprentice?)

Dream feels a tear roll down his cheek. Puffy’s his mother, sue him. Doesn’t mean he can’t miss her. Why are there so many Hunters? He jerks forward, loses his balance just slightly, and hears the creeper call up a “be careful,” and Dream shrinks back and lets loose a hiss. 

The creeper hisses back and Dream bares his teeth. Cat doesn’t look like he really cares all that much, but he just calls a simple “Don’t fall. Remember what happened last time you tried to climb the castle?”

Dream says nothing back. Cat raised an eyebrow and waits, impatient and taps his foot. “You’re just not gonna say anything?” Cat calls again, and Dream edges toward the edge of the Castle’s back. 

“Dream?” Cat calls again, and Dream snaps his head over. 

“You don’t know my name,” he shouts finally. “You’ve never learned it. How did you find out?”

“Your name?” Cat calls. “Why wouldn’t I know it?”

“Duckling?” Puffy calls, looking worried. 

Of course, Dream thinks, glancing back to Puffy. Why wouldn’t he know his name? They’ve got his mother on their side. 

“Dream?” Is that⸺Bow? Flame?⸺“What’re you doing up there?”

Dream swallows. Five Hunters. God, he’s really in trouble isn’t he. 

He jumps.

                                                          ***                                                                

Dream is sixteen, and he’s on his own. He’s got one Hunter on his tail, and he’s killed the Hunter a million times. Dream’s been killed a million times, and he’s killed the Dragon a million times. Each time, it resets him with the Hunter to a different World and Dream doesn’t know why. 

He’s Captain Cara Puffy’s kid. He’s got to survive for his brother, and for his mothers. The crystal in his pocket hums warmly. At night, Dream takes it out and he knows that it honed into his Home World, and he wonders what’ll happen if he takes it home.

The Hunters would find him and his parents, wouldn’t they? They’d hurt his family, just to get to him. And isn’t that ironic? Dream hasn’t hurt anyone. 

He hasn’t. Dream doesn’t know where Wilbur and Tommy went, he doesn’t know how Technoblade managed to escape but he wasn’t involved. He wasn’t. 

Foolish comes to Dream’s mind. His birthday already passed and he’s what? Ten now? Maybe older, but Dream can’t quite remember what age he is, let alone his brother. (Age didn’t matter when he was sixteen and on his parents’ doorsteps, with a Hunter closing in on time; age didn’t matter when he was almost seventeen and threw himself off a cliff because that’s better than dying to a Hunter. Age doesn’t matter when you’re on the run.)

But that hasn’t happened yet. Right now, he’s still sixteen running from One Hunter.

                                                          ***                                                                

Dream rolls to a crouch, and takes off again. He’s got Technoblade, Cat, Bow, Flame, Puffy and the Warden after him. Dream keeps going, oblivious to his mother’s calls of his name and his nickname. He can't, he won’t go back. This is a trick, he thinks to himself and he looks over at the forest that’s beside him and the buildings thats in front of him.

He makes a rash decision, and runs into the woods.

[starglossie]

how can we deny what we feel?

summary: where cherry is joe’s date for a dinner party because he lost a beef. and when joe gives himself a chance to truly consider how beautiful cherry is. and how they nearly get into a brawl in the middle of the dance floor, because their love language has and always will be: fight first, fall in love later.  rating: e for explicit! wc: 4.7k!  pairing: matchablossom !!!  CAN BE READ ON AO3 + under the read more below! 

“Excuse me?” 

Kojiro anticipated the dirty, crumpled napkin, hurled his way and dodges just in time. Kaoru’s eyes widen and his eyebrows are crunched so hard Kojiro’s convinced they’ll connect by sheer force alone. His cheeks are red. His lips are pulled upwards into a snarl. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

“Just for a weekend,” Kojiro continued while Kaoru looked for a fork. Or a knife. Probably both. “It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”

“Once! One time! That was the promise!” Kaoru hisses and Kojiro is so close to losing it. 

“Okay, well, you know what they say about the second time being the charm… Don’t give me that look!” he takes a purposeful step back as Kaoru leans forward to grab him by the collar. “Listen. It’s for the restaurant. It’ll only be for a few hours. And the food will be delicious.” 

Kaoru’s expression barely shifted, but it’s one Kojiro noticed. A little acquiescence to the idea of good food- free, good food. Something Kaoru could never deny. Kojiro grinned. Kaoru’s shoulders visibly relaxed, though he was still on edge. That’s also nothing surprising. 

“... You think I’m so cheap to be bought by food, you brainless musclehead gorilla ?”

Kojiro’s eyebrow twitched. “I absolutely think you are, gearhead . Anyways, you lost the beef.” he crossed his arms over his chest, smug. “I’m just entertaining your back and forth at this point. You know the rules.” 

If there was a bet made during a beef, the losing party had to abide by the terms the winning party set out.  Kojiro knew this. Kaoru definitely knew this. He was just being stubborn. And really, if the roles were reversed, Kojiro would be doing the same thing. But they’re not. So he’s enjoying every second of it. 

“I hate you,” Kaoru mumbled, stabbing his fork into his steak Kojiro made. 

“The feeling’s mutual. So 8 o’clock. Be ready. And don’t bring Carla.” 

“Huh? That’s not a part of the deal! Carla comes or I don’t come.” 

“Do you have separation anxiety? She’ll be fine. She told me she needs space from you to spread her AI wings and fly.” 

“She would never speak to you or say anything like that. Carla comes .” 

Kaoru’s stubbornness was going to be the death of Kojiro. He was sure of it. “Alright. Alright she comes. But she’s on mute .” 

Kaoru opened his mouth and then promptly slammed it shut. “Fine. And one more thing.” he said, though it was much quieter than his earlier words. 

Kojiro raised an eyebrow. Waiting for Kaoru to speak. When he does, it's like he hadn’t spoken at all. “Huh? Speak up! Stop acting like you’re all shy!” 

“I-” Kaoru’s frustration was apparent. Kojiro braced himself for a hit but what came instead was… not expected. “No repeats. Of last time. Strictly platonic.” 

Ah. And maybe, at this point, a physical punch would have been better. Kojiro can’t tell why his stomach curled into a horrible twist or the sharp twinge that followed. Can’t explain why his brain suddenly went into overdrive about why and what does he mean as if he wasn’t aware of what Kaoru was referring to. 

He remembered the heat. And nails down his back. And the cramped fit of the closet. And being on his knees. 

Was this feeling, the weird heat up his neck, disappointment? 

Better play it off. 

“Cool with me,” Kojiro shrugged it off. He picked up Kaoru’s plate and placed it in the sink. “We go. We mingle. We leave. In and out. Easy peasy.” 

He carefully watched Kaoru’s expression and body. How the man’s shoulders still seemed taut with tension. How his frown deepened even further and his eyebrows were bunched so tightly, Kojiro feared they’d magically meld together and form one, pink unibrow. Kaoru wouldn’t look at him. But Kojiro caught the red tinge on the tip of his ears, and held back the urge to snort. 

Sometimes he was so easy to read. 

“In and out,” Kaoru finally said, agreeing. 

“Easy peasy,” Kojiro repeated, smiling. 

-

Dinner parties were never really Kojiro’s things.

Sure, they were fun. Especially when he got a few drinks in his system. And socializing was never a problem for him. Well, until he socialized a little too much. To the point where two people were fighting to see who went home with him. Cliche, horribly so, and happened a lot more than he would think it would-now that he gave it a little bit of thought. But then again, he had two hands-so why fight? 

That normally worked. 

As he adjusted his tie, he looked towards the suit hanging by his mirror. He really hated suits. They felt tight around his shoulders and arms always . He was a big guy, with a lot of muscle. He’d rather wear loose jackets, or no shirt at all. 

Really, this was all for formalities. A lot of investors and restaurant connoisseurs came to these kind of fancy smancy events. He’d rather be out skating. Out feeling the wind in his hair and the open road before him. Rather than feeling the gel in his hair, and the sparkling lights of chandeliers and designer jewelry. Had to be done, though. For the sake of business. If he wanted to keep his place afloat, he had to show up to these things at least once. Get his face out there. Make nice with people. Laugh at the right jokes. And then steal a platter of shrimp cocktails before heading home. 

And then there was Kaoru.

This wasn’t the first time he’s done this. Gone with Kaoru to one of these events. The first time it happened spurred from a late night, drunken conversation. When Kojiro had gotten a look at Kaoru's back profile, with his hair over his shoulder and his elegant stance-proud, sure, strong. And immediately thought about how Kaoru would look on his arm, done up in a different way from his usual attire. 

“Be my date for this dinner party,” Kojiro slurred, his smile coming across nice and easy. 

Kaoru frowned, confused. “Huh? Why?”

“Because you’re beautiful,” Kojiro had said aloud. Faster than he could catch them. But the words were already out in the air. And really, Kojiro was never one to go back on something once he’s said it. 

He watched as Kaoru’s face exploded in a brilliant shade of red. All the way to the tip of his ears. Kaoru didn’t speak. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. Instead, he had reached for his glass. Downed whatever whiskey was left. And quietly, but fiercely, responded-

“Fine.” 

That same night ended with them in a closet. Also drunk, but this time a little better dressed than Kojiro in one of his casual t-shirts and Kaoru in his casual kimono. How did they get into the closet? Kojiro wasn’t sure. 

But did they have fun in the closet?

As much as Kojiro remembered, they did. 

“No repeats,” he said to himself in the mirror. He wasn’t upset. Not really. Hooking up with Kaoru was not on the top of his list. But it did reside on his list. If he had to have a moment of honesty with himself as he stared at the reflection in his mirror. 

He slipped into his suit the same time as the door to his room opened. He caught Kaoru first in the mirror, and turned around immediately to get the full view. 

His hair was loose. Not in its usual high pony or low pony. But free. Kojiro had rarely seen Kaoru’s hair out since high school. He normally kept it tied up because he hated how it got into his hair. He didn’t have his glasses on. And he wore a brilliant purple kimono. 

Kojiro’s throat went dry. 

“What?” Kaoru fidgeted and Kojiro realized he must have been staring a little too intently. 

Kojiro beamed, from ear to ear. “You really know how to sweep a guy off his feet. I should have known your pride wouldn’t let you come dressed anything less than your best.” 

“Well, I have a rep to uphold,” Kaoru sniffed. 

“Right right. The purple is actually a good choice. It brings out my eyes.”

“You’re the most annoying individual to ever grace the earth.”

“Thanks, I try. Ready to go?” 

-

They arrived fashionably late. 

Kojiro never liked to be on time for things. Kaoru liked to be on time for things a little too much. 

So yes, maybe Kojiro did take an extra five minutes for them to do a shot of courage before leaving his place just to waste time and get on Kaoru’s nerves. 

Absolutely worth it. 

“You wanna drink?” 

“No,” Kaoru said, folding his arms across his chest. 

Kojiro shrugged and reached out for a champagne flute by a passing waiter. “Suit yourself. You’re gonna regret it later, though.” Kojiro could never get through this party without being a little drunk. Just for funsies. 

“We already drank before we came here.”

“One shot is not drinking.” 

Kaoru rolled his eyes and stalked off towards the buffet table. Kojiro watched as he left, gaze intent. Kaoru was usually a bundle of spikes and clenched jaws. However, when he was walking through the crowd Kojiro couldn’t deny the elegance and grace Kaoru swiftly adopted. 

Shoulders high, gaze straight and resolute, and striding with purpose. Kojiro carefully sipped his drink watching as the crowd of sparkling individuals quite literally parted for Kaoru. 

“He sure knows how to command a room,” Kojiro murmured. He scanned the crowd to see if any of the usual, important connections were there. He had at least three people he needed to follow up with about inventory, marketing, and promotions. So with another sip he slipped into the crowd himself to mingle. 

Mingling was easy. It didn’t take much for Kojiro to find what a person loved to hear and then, repeat those very same words like silver and silk to get what he needed. Conversation was never something Kojiro struggled to cultivate. Once he painted on his smile and adjusted his body language as open, friendly, and warm-the rest was quite easy. 

“Are you by yourself tonight, Kojiro?” Hana was one of Kojiro’s important connections in the restaurant business. She was beautiful and quick witted. Any restaurant in Okinawa who wanted to stay on top of the latest trends knew it was best to have her on their side then against them. She was, quite literally, the pulse of their social circle. 

Kojiro’s eyes cut through the crowd slowly. He found Kaoru at the buffet table chatting with a man Kojiro didn’t recognize. Kaoru was engaging pleasantly. No doubt putting on his fake, charming persona to engage the man with. 

“Hmmm,” he debated what to answer. He could say no. And see if that would lead to Hana offering to go off, just the two of them. They’ve hooked up before at one of these functions. And she was always a fun company to be around. 

But then he saw the man talking to Kaoru lean forward. Whispering something in Kaoru’s ear that made him flinch. 

“I am,” he said to her, smiling. And then took off to where Kaoru was. 

Kaoru caught Kojiro’s gaze as Kojiro was walking over, and Kojiro immediately caught the tense aura surrounding Kaoru like a cloak. 

“Kaoru,” Kojiro made his voice syrupy sweet, slipping an arm around Kaoru’s waist. Kaoru leaned in, pressed to his side. A part of Kojiro’s brain said this is right . He shut that part down. “Sorry to make you wait. I was catching up with some friends.” His gaze cut to the man who looked much smaller up close now that Kojiro had a good look at him. “Who’s this?”

“Oh, don’t mind me!” the man smiled shakily. “I was just complimenting your date’s attire, as all.”

“Did you have to lean so closely to do it?” Kojiro asked. “Surely you can respect another’s need for space and leave them be, no?”

“Kojiro,” Kaoru muttered. He placed a warning hand on Kojiro’s chest and then flashed the man a dazzling smile. “Don’t mind my date. He’s overprotective as all. Though I’d appreciate that if we ever have the unfortunate experience of crossing paths again, you don’t try to touch me so inappropriately in such a casual manner.” when Kaoru opened his eyes again they were sharp, and cutting. “Now begone.”

The man scurried off into the crowd without another word. 

Kojiro watched him go, laughing. “Man he can haul ass.” More seriously, he asked. “Are you okay?”

Kaoru yanked himself out of Kojiro’s arm. Kojiro looked down at the now empty space and frowned. “Fine. Did you have to do all that? I was capable of handling it myself.”

“You looked uncomfortable. What sort of date would I be if I didn’t come to your defense?”

“Oh please. Don’t act like you’re a gentleman when you were off flirting with some woman.”

“Who?”

“Don’t play dumb! The woman who was hanging off your arm!”

“Hana?” Kojiro asked, slowly. “We weren’t flirting.” then a beat later, “Yet.”

Kaoru scowled, muttering a curse Kojiro couldn’t hear but definitely felt. A waiter with a tray of champagne glasses walked by. Kaoru waved them over and grabbed two glasses. He downed them with scary efficiency and placed the empty glasses on the table. “I’m going out for some air. Don’t follow me.” 

Kojiro could have let Kaoru walk away from him again, tonight. But something in him wanted Kaoru to stay. Maybe this was another one of his urges to push the boundaries between them. Or, maybe, it was something within Kojiro that still felt irked having seen that man get a little too close to Kaoru.

Whatever it was, Kojiro reached out and grabbed Kaoru’s wrist. 

Kaoru turned back, glowering at their hands. “What?” 

“Let’s dance,” Kojiro responded, smiling. 

Kaoru balked, “Excuse me?”

The music turned into a slow tempo and Kojiro just continued grinning as he led Kaoru to the dance floor. “Dance. You and me. Do something a little different from getting incredibly wasted, stuffing ourselves with food, and then passing out in the Uber home.”

“That sounds much better than this idea,” Kaoru said but he still allowed himself to be pulled. And when Kojiro looked back, he could see a blush coating his cheeks. 

Cute , Kojiro thought. There were people on the dance floor, some chatting and some dancing with their dates. Kojiro wouldn’t call himself a dancer. But he’d been to enough of these events to know a few basic steps. He placed one hand on Kaoru’s waist, and grasped one of Kaoru’s hands in his own. 

“I’ll lead,” he smirked. 

“I’m going to step on all ten of your toes,” Kaoru smirked back. 

Kojiro threw his head back and laughed as he led them through the dance. “Please do! I’d love to see you try, metalhead.”

“Metalhead? I’ll have you know per your request I haven’t even unmuted Carla, you monkey in a monkey suit.”

“Monkey in a monkey suit? Is that the best you can come up with?” 

That earned him a stomp but it was well deserved. The two continued bickering back and forth through the dance, much to the amusement of anyone who caught them. It was truly comical. Kojiro turned them around and around while Kaoru barked insults and Kojiro threw back as good as he got. 

When the song ended, the two’s foreheads were pressed together. Their hands were now interlocked in a fierce embrace as they snarled at each other. 

“I didn’t even want to come! Meanwhile you basically blackmail me to come-”

“-You lost the beef, idiot!”

“Shut up! Don’t talk about that here! You brainless meathead! And then you have the audacity to flirt with someone woman when I’m your date!”

“Oh so I’m just supposed to turn away people who come talk to me while my date is getting himself felt up by somebody else?”

“You act like I wanted that to happen! I was ten seconds from ripping all his fingers off!”

“If you weren’t gonna do it, I was!”

“All you do is talk and talk and talk! That’s why I can never take you seriously. Because all the talk you speak is just empty flattery to everyone and everyone! You drive me crazy .”

“You’re the only person I never just chat to! You’re the only person I’m ever serious with!” God when did his voice get so loud. And when did their faces get so close. And when did Kaoru’s face get so slack, so shocked. What did he say? What had he said?

The weight of his words finally crashed. He felt like he’d just wiped out on the track. 

Kaoru leaned back. “What…” he said slowly, carefully choosing his words. “Do you mean by that?”

They’re on the dance floor in stupid, fancy attire. Amongst stupid, fancy people that Kojiro had to woo and smooze once every few months. Yet it’s in this moment where the chandelier is above them and the violin strings are softly building up momentum and Kojiro is filling the champagne in his veins and he can’t help but think. Think that in Kaoru’s rage he is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. 

At this moment, he could run. He could put on his pretty words and regulate Kaoru to everyone else, like he said. With pretty words and pretty lies and shallow promises. 

But it was Kaoru.

And Kaoru was always different. 

“It means. It means, I like you, Kaoru.”

The music stops. Kojiro’s feel his entire face heat up. Kaoru’s face turned a brilliant red and he’s so beautiful. God he’s so beautiful. Why had Kojiro never allowed himself to see that? To allow himself the ability to gaze upon the most beautiful man he’s ever had the pleasure of calling his best friend. 

Why has he not kissed him yet?

Kojiro pulled Kaoru back, until his arms were around his waist. Their foreheads touched again, and he could feel Kaoru’s heart pounding. And Kojiro’s remembering when they were drunk in the closet. And how he wished they weren’t in the closet, but back at his place. Getting to know each other. Getting to learn each other’s bodies. Getting to slowly fall in love with the parts of themselves they’ve always known, but now they could experience one another in a whole different fashion. 

He wanted that so badly he could taste it. 

“I like you,” he said, softer. He closed his eyes. And he’s not sure if his pulse quickens out of fear or exhilaration. 

“Kojiro,” Kaoru’s voice sounded strained. Kojiro opened his eyes, Kaoru’s face was still bright. His eyes shining with something Kojiro couldn’t quite place. But then Kaoru’s leaning forward, and their lips almost touch. “Take me home.”

If Kojiro didn’t know Kaoru so well, he would have taken those words as rejection. But Kaoru was gripping his shoulders tightly. Biting his bottom lip. Glancing down at Kojiro’s lips and then back again. 

“Yeah. Yeah ok.” 

_ 

“Is this alright?” Kojiro asked, as he placed a soft kiss on Kaoru’s neck. 

Kaoru gripped Kojiro’s shoulders, “You keep asking me that. I’ll punch you if I don’t like it.”

Kojiro frowned, lifting himself up. “One, don’t do that. And two, you said you didn’t want any repeats. I want to respect that. So tell me, now. If you want to keep going, or if you don’t.” 

He’d respect it. Even if every nerve in his body was screaming to be inside Kaoru and feel him down to the wire, if this wasn’t something Kaoru wanted to do tonight-he’d respect that. No questions asked. 

Kaoru glanced up at him, and Kojiro got such a glance of how wrecked Kaoru looked already. His lips were red and glistening from their earlier kissing. His pupils were blown and his kimono was slipping off his shoulders. The sight was… so much. It made Kojiro’s cock ache tightly against his pants. 

“Thank you,” Kaoru said softly. Then his hand moved to cup Kojiro’s hardening cock through his pants. He stroked a few times. Kojiro moaned, head dropping forward and hips shallowly moving into the touch. “I appreciate your concern, but.” his thumb traced the tip of Kojiro’s cock. He was too good with this. Moving his hand up and down Kojiro’s hardening erection like he was making brush strokes. “I want this.” 

“Are you sure?” Kojiro gritted his teeth as Kaoru gave him a particular squeeze. 

“Yes, you idiot.” Kaoru wrapped his legs around Kojiro’s waist, pulling him close. He leaned up so his lips were near Kojiro’s ears, “I want you to fuck me. Make a mess of me. I want to feel it tomorrow morning.”

Kojiro didn’t really need to be told twice. He stripped out of his shirt and jacket until he was just in his pants. Where he unzipped himself and freed his cock. He reached over to the bedside table where his lube and condoms were. 

Kaoru started stroking Kojiro’s cock with his. Kojiro groaned, dropping his head to Kaoru’s shoulder as Kaoru worked them slowly. “You’re far too fucking good at this.”

“I know,” Kaoru replied, smug. 

Kojiro snorted and kissed him again. “Hold on, stop.” Kaoru did as he was told, and Kojiro spread Kaoru’s legs wide as he kissed down the slope of his body. Kaoru’s cock was leaking, strained against his belly. Kojiro pressed a kiss to the head. His own cock twitching as Kaoru sighed in pleasure. 

He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about sucking Kaoru off again. He never thought the opportunity would arise. Now that it had, he wasted no time swallowing Kaoru to the base. 

Kaoru’s hips raised off the bed. He moaned Kojiro loudly as his hands fell to Kojiro’s hair. Kojiro hummed, his tongue running along the underside of Kaoru’s cock. He pulled off with a pop after a few sucks. With the lube, he poured some over his fingers and began to slowly work open Kaoru. There was some resistance at first, but he made sure to go slow. First, with one finger, and then another, and finally-a third. 

He watched as Kaoru became an utter mess. Writhing and cursing, an arm flown over to cover his face. Kojiro kissed the inside of Kaoru’s thighs, feeling them tremor and shake. He kissed up and up until he was at the base of Kaoru’s cock. As he thrust his fingers forward, working him open, he licked Kaoru from the base to the tip. He suckled on the head, swirling his tongue around and into the slit of Kaoru’s cock. 

“Fucking Kojiro , stop being a tease.” Kaoru pushed at Kojiro’s shoulder. “In me. Put it in me.” 

Kojiro slipped Kaoru out of his mouth as he removed his fingers. He reached for the condom on the bed and ripped open the packet with his mouth before rolling the condom onto his cock. “I should have known even in bed you’d be super demanding.”

“Yeah yeah,” Kaoru rolled his eyes and pulled Kojiro closer. “I should have known even with my dick in my mouth you can’t shut up.”

“It’s part of my charm,” Kojiro grinned as their tongues met, a sloppy intertwining as he lined himself at Kaoru’s entrance. He pulled back so he could guide himself slowly, feeling Kaoru’s walls stretching to his size. He sank until he was inside, fully. Groaning at the heat. Kaoru was so tight . He was so tight. Kojiro had never felt something sweet. Nothing better. 

He held onto Kaoru’s thighs, lifting them up so Kaoru was angled slightly off the bed. “You okay?” he asked, voice tight. 

Kaoru exhaled slowly, nodding. “Go slow. I’ll adjust.”

Kojiro obeyed. He eased himself out slowly and slid back in just the same. Kaoru’s soft gasp at the thrust sent a warm jolt down Kojiro’s spine. Their pace was gentle, as he took the time to work Kaoru open, in and out. Kojiro went in for another kiss. Their lips wet, and tongues sliding against each other.

Kojiro’s fingers curled around Kaoru’s hips, and he snapped forward with a roll that had Kaoru gasping his name into Kojiro’s mouth for him to swallow. 

“Faster, there.” Kaoru commanded. 

“Yes,” Kojiro snapped his hips forward again while he picked up the pace. 

Kojiro threw his head back and moaned. Kojiro dipped forward, sweat coating his brow, to kiss and mark up and leave Kaoru’s neck a red mess. 

“You feel so good,” Kojiro moaned while he fucked Kaoru. “So so good. I’ve thought of this. Of me fucking you. Me kissing you. Like this. You feel better than expected.”

“Shut up. Shut up, Kojiro. You’re so cheesy-Ah!” Kojiro’s next thrust hit the right spot, it seemed. Once found Kojiro angled his hips so he could hit that pressure inside of Kaoru again and again. 

Kaoru couldn’t speak. He could only moan and let loose curses as they continued. Their hips meeting each other for every thrust. Until Kaoru reached down between their bodies. Grasped his dick in his hands, and jerked himself off shakily. 

Kojiro grabbed his hand and placed it above Kaoru’s head. Kaoru growled but Kojiro leaned forward to kiss him. “No. Let me make you cum. I want to.” Kojiro released Kaoru’s hands and leaned forward, pressing his weight on Kaoru, and rolled his hips with deep, quick thrusts. Kaoru grasped onto Kojiro’s back, nails digging into his skin. Every word out of his mouth was of pleasures, moans and gasps and moans and gasps until his breath started hitching. 

He rolled his hips frantically, cock leaking and hard and pressed between their stomachs. With a few more thrusts, Kojiro felt Kaoru’s walls tighten around his cock and felt wetness spurt between their bodies. 

“ Kojiro ,” Kaoru groaned as he came. Kojiro fucked him through his orgasm, holding him tightly as he felt his own come upon him. He groaned Kaoru’s name into his neck, fingers gripping tightly upon Kaoru’s back. His whole body shook with the force of his orgasm.

After a few moments to catch his breath, Kojiro pulled out of Kaoru and rolled over. He took off the condom, tied it, and deposited it by the trash can by his bed. 

He turned back onto the bed. Laying on his side as Kaoru laid spread out, his entire skin a soft pink. His kimono ruffled. His hair all over the place. And beautiful. Utterly beautiful. 

Kaoru looked up at him, as Kojiro looked down, and their lips naturally found their way to one another. They kissed lazily, with no rush to start another round and no rush to kick each other out. 

Kojiro leaned back, pulling Kaoru to lay on top of him. Kaoru frowned but he didn’t make any moves to get away. 

“You’re sweaty.”

“So are you, Kaoru.”

“You’re sweatier.”

“Oh my God can we just bask in the afterglow of some bomb sex, please?” 

“You like me.” Kaoru said instead. 

Kojiro had the audacity to look embarrassed, “You’re … I-yes?”

“Since when?”

“Uh… honestly? Probably since, high school.”

‘Since high school !” 

“Listen! I just recently realized tonight I like you, ok! I’m just saying that I’ve probably always liked you since back then and didn’t know until… now.”

“God, you’re an idiot.” Kaoru huffed and dropped his head onto Kojiro’s chest.

Kojiro chuckled, running his hands through Kaoru’s hair. “That I am. Yo, you gonna tell me you like me too or did you just use me for sex?”

He felt Kaoru’s mouth move against his chest, but whatever he said was too quiet for Kojiro to hear. 

“Huh? What was that? Can you speak up please?”

“I said I like you.” 

“What was that?”

“I SAID I LIKE YOU, YOU IDIOT. YOU BUFFOON. YOU OVERSEXED GORILLA.” 

Kojiro’s laughter rang through his room as he flipped them over and kissed Kaoru all over his face. 

“Since high school too, right?” Kojiro asked, laughing between the kisses. 

“Shut the fuck up.”

“ Knew it. ” Kojiro was grinning ear to ear. He smiled down at Kaoru’s scowling face that soon transformed into a small smile in return. Kaoru wrapped his arms around Kojiro’s neck and pulled him in for a sloppier kiss, all tongue and saliva. 

“Congrats. Now fuck me again.” 

“ Anything for you, Kaoru.” 

[hermits-that-craft]

Full Moon In Alpha

this is based on @target-block‘s stuck au, go check them out!

He’s more than worried, the potion that he always kept on him having disappeared from his inventory with the rest of his things. He needs that potion, though he knows he won't be able to brew it until they get that update, though the full moon is tonight. He hasn’t made any preparations, he needs to get going before night gets too close and he puts Impulse and Grian in danger.

Still, Ren stands calmly outside the small wheat farm that he made, watching as the wheat grows slowly, and the grass-like plant dances in the wind. It’s calming here, not nearly as calming as the small room under the ocean that Doc built for him, all glass and stone and safety, hiding him away from the moon and the other hermits. 

But here is as good as it can be, Ren supposes, a faint smile fluttering across his lips. Grian walks by, wood planks in his hands, humming a tune to himself that Ren recognises but doesn’t remember. It’s surprisingly fast, how many memories that end up smudged, faded over time. Friends faces, song names, words that fall on the tip of your tongue. Ren should remember Doc’s face, Xisuma’s favourite song, the soup False makes for the hippies and the area 77 boys when they get too sick to cause mischief. And he can, in theory. Words he would describe Doc’s face as appear, a few bars of notes that Xisuma taught him, the taste of mushrooms in the soup. It hurts, remembering home, though it hurts more to forget. Forgetting is painful, hard to wrap his head around, so he doesn’t. Instead, he brushes his hair absentmindedly, combing his fingers through the thick, tangled messes. It’s thicker than usual, and Ren knows that he’ll need to leave soon, before the sun sets and it’s too hard to excuse his disappearance to his fellow hippies. Before the moon comes out.

“Hey Ren!” Impulse calls, watching him from the door of their little cabin. “Are you going to come in yet? It looks like it’s going to rain, and the sun’ll set soon!”

“Uh, can I take a walk my dudes?” Ren calls back, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. Grian laughs from inside the cabin, and Ren curses himself. He should have left earlier, before Grian was back.

“Do you want to get torn apart by a zombie?” Grian asks, and Impulse grabs Ren’s shoulder, pulling him towards the building. “You know how hard night is now, you can’t go out!”

“How about tomorrow?” Impulse suggests, shoving Ren through the door. “We can all go out tomorrow morning. Find some flowers, you know?”

“There are only roses and dandelions, Impulse.” 

“I know Grian.”

“Roses hurt, Impulse.”

“I know Grian.” Impulse sighs. “Still, it’ll be nice, you know? Relaxing.”

“Sleep should do that though.” Grian yawns. “Anyone want some steak? The roof is repaired, by the way. I put some torches up there so we should have anymore creepers spawning up there.”

Impulse takes a steak off of Grian, handing it to Ren before he takes one for himself. Ren holds it in his hands, fear turning his stomach into knots. He can feel his mouth water at the smell, and his teeth sharpen painfully in his mouth, cutting into his cheeks and tongue as they grow in a space too small for them. It’s going to be a painful night, Ren knows that much. Ren turns the steak over in his hands, his nails sharpening to claws. He’s turning, earlier than normal, and fur pokes painfully under his skin. 

“Uh, Ren?” Grian’s voice is quiet, and Ren’s head snaps to the small hermit, his pupils blown. “What’s going on?”

Impulse moves in front of Grian, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. None of them would ever attack the other, but Ren looks like he isn’t there, isn’t in control. Ren snarls at the men before a scream rips from his throat, his bones breaking and elongating in painful contortions. Fur springs out from under his skin and his pupils dilate so far that his eyes are black. Grian and Impulse shout, Grian quickly building a barricade between the now wolf Ren and the two very human hippies.

“Grian.”

“Yeah?”

“Since when was Ren a werewolf?”

“HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT IMPULSE I ONLY JOINED THIS SEASON?” Grian yells, panic written across his face. “What do we do? How do we help him?”

“What if he doesn’t want our help? He can’t tell us if we’re hurting him or helping him, how are we supposed to let him know that we want to help?” Impulse and Grian both take a deep breath in, trying to calm themselves.

“I’m going out there. Maybe all we have to do is open the door for him, so that he can get out safely?” Grian doesn’t sound sure, as though he doesn’t know if its a good idea.

“And let him get shot? Lets just give him some hugs and then head off to bed.” Impulse suggests, and Grian nods, breaking the wood blocks that are barricading them into the corner.

Ren is curled on the ground, thick, long brown fur hiding the bed underneath him. He’s huge, larger than any dog that Impulse and Grian have ever seen and the two humans coo, surprising Ren, who looks up at them, tilting his head to the side. Grian walks over to Ren, his hands out in front of him, and Ren sniffs them before his tail starts to wag uncontrollably. Impulse coos, walking over and letting Ren sniff his hands as well. Grian and Impulse grin, happy that their friend feels somewhat comfortable.

“Doggo.” Grian mumbles, his hands over his mouth. “Ren’s a doggo.”

Ren boofs loudly, and Impulse and Grian burst into laughter, losing their minds as Ren boofs again, nudging Impulse. Impulse lifts his hand up, cocking his head to the side. Ren presses his head against Impulse’s hand, and Impulse begins to scratch at the spot that his hand landed on. Grian yawns, trying to find the bed under Ren, wondering why Ren decided to sit on his bed instead of Ren’s own bed. Impulse laughs at Grian’s dilemma, and Grian sighs, deciding instead to flop against Ren. Impulse joins Grian soon after, and the three hippies fall asleep like that, dreaming peacefully for what feels like the first time since they arrived in Alpha.

[my-funky-little-cowboy]

Fight Nights

Chapter 1 - Golden Ticket

Themes: Modern AU, MMA AU, Found Family Characters: Arthur Morgan, John Marston, Hosea Matthews Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence (Fighting), Drug use, Gore Relationships: N/A yet, John and Arthur are roommates Words: 5,626 [ko-fi] || [ao3]

The door closed gently behind him, he tossed his backpack onto the floor and hung his coat on the rack. Kicking out of his boots he tucked the butcher paper packages under his arm reaching down to shoo the ferret out of his shoe.

“C’mon Noodle, not there.” The ferret dooked and jumped back, scurrying behind John’s leg before jumping back out and chasing Arthur into the kitchen. . 

John stretched and turned from the computer, leaning back in the chair, turning toward the kitchen. “What’s for dinner?” 

“Yeah, hi to you too.” Arthur opened the fridge tossing one of the packages into the fridge, stooping down to pick up the ferret clawing up his pant leg. He draped Noodle over his shoulder and opened the cabinet pulling down a couple shakers and cans. He unwrapped the second package and grabbed for the nearest shaker. 

John rolled his eyes and turned back to the computer, typing out a few quick messages before pushing away from the monitor and joining Arthur in the kitchen. He crowded the space, trying to see past Arthur to the counter. 

“Burgers?” He fished a pop from the fridge.

“That alright?”  Arthur reached over and stopped the fridge from closing, pulling some garlic and worcestershire from the door. “If it isn’t you can make your own meal.” 

John scoffed. “It’s fine, just curious. Damn.” Arthur ignored him, working his hands through the ground beef. ”The game starts in twenty, wanna watch?”

“Who they playin’?” Arthur asked and glanced over his shoulder.

“Coyotes.” 

“If they don’t win I’m gonna have to find another team.” Arthur deadpanned, he shook his head and huffed out a laugh.

“You’ve stuck with them through worse. And they are in the running for the cup!” John countered and flipped the TV on, flopping onto the couch. 

Noodle, realizing he wasn’t getting any of the meat, got antsy on Arthur’s shoulder and began to slide his way down Arthur’s arm.

“Noodle. Hey. Hold on, just wait a second.” Arthur scolded. 

John glanced over, jumping up just in time to catch the ferret as it made it’s leap toward the counter. “You’ve got a death wish, don’t ya.” John shook him and walked back to the couch, tossing him onto the couch. 

Noodle bounced off toward the far corner of the couch, flopping onto his side. John slid back onto the couch and Noodle attacked, popping up and pouncing onto his chest, dooking softly. John poked playfully at the ferret as he picked the remote back up, trying to distract him  while he changed the channel. Failing miserably as Noodle took to trying to steal the remote, the chewed and worn buttons a testament to how often he took this particular prize

The small apartment filled with the smells of food and warmth. Arthur cracked the door on the oven checking the vegetables before pulling the door open and tossing a couple rolls onto the wire rack, the burgers sizzling on the griddle. 

“Hawks won the coin toss.” John called from the sofa and Arthur glanced up at the screen. The bright banners of the United Center flashed on the screen.

“Food’ll be ready in five.” He flipped the burgers, and started on the dishes, quickly rinsing the prep dishes and putting them up to dry. John grunted as Noodle latched onto his finger. He barked and jumped off the couch, scampering into the kitchen and over Arthur’s foot. He flopped over and bit playfully at his sock. With his foot, Arthur slid Noodle across the floor and out of the kitchen. Arthur padded over to the couch and handed John a plate, motioning for him to move over. The horn sounded from the TV as the puck dropped. John shouted at the screen as the Hawks lost possession. 

The night continued, the boys arguing with the screen over the refs calls, the Hawks eking out a victory in overtime. John pushed off the couch as the post game started and Arthur reached for the remote, pulling it away from Noodle. He flipped mindlessly through the channels, distracting Noodle with a small piece of meat from his plate. 

“You done?” John pointed to the plate being licked by Noodle.

“Nah, it looks like I am still picking.” 

John picked up the plate and brought it to the sink, cleaning them and placing them on the dry rack. His phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket, typing out a quick reply and grabbing a jacket and his bag, waving a quick goodbye at Arthur. 

Arthur kicked his feet up onto the couch, the theme song to Cheers quickly cutting off as he flipped the channel again. He finally settled on a rerun of Dirty Jobs, Noodle jumped up onto his chest, flopping over and nosing his way into Arthur’s shirt pocket. Arthur playfully grabbed at the ferret’s face, the tiny teeth lightly sunk into the side of his hand before the ferret darted to the other side of the couch and began pulling at Arthur’s socks. Noodle continued to jump around and play for a bit before settling down again on Arthur’s chest. 

Arthur blinked the sleep from his eyes, the tv playing a string of infomercials. He reached for the remote and clicked off the TV and tossed the remote onto the back of the couch. He yawned and cracked his neck, Noodle snored lightly on his chest. Arthur scooped the ferret into the crook of his arm and sat up, shuffled into the kitchen and turned off the lights. He stretched and placed the ferret onto his pillow, heading into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

He flipped off the light and slid into the lower bunk. Setting his alarm Arthur plugged in his phone and closed his eyes, feeling Noodle move to his normal resting place curled against his shoulder. 

The door opened quietly a few hours later and John slid back into the apartment, closing it behind him and disappearing into the bathroom. The light clicked off as he opened the door jumping onto the top bunk, the silence settling into the small apartment.

Arthur’s alarm went off, 6:30, the sun just starting to brighten the apartment. He pulled the covers back up in an attempt to make the bed, grabbing Noodle and putting him up onto John’s bunk. He finished getting ready for work, making himself a quick breakfast before heading off to work.  

The L was packed, the cold wet morning keeping people from walking, Arthur being one of them. The train was slower and he hated the cramped feeling. He hated the stares he got. Arthur knew he was a big guy, but here he couldn’t get away. He fished through his bag and pulled out his Zune and headphones. Quickly getting himself lost in the music. 

                                                         -- ♦ --

Simon Pearson flipped the lights on in his small butcher shop. Cinching his apron tightly around his waist, he disappeared into the cooler, returning with a couple chickens and began prepping them to render. The delivery door swung open and he glanced over his shoulder.

“Mornin’ Arthur.” Pearson called. Arthur pushed through the door and disappeared into the small kitchen. Tossing his backpack onto the table and hanging his coat on the hooks behind the door, picking up his own apron and tying it around his waist. He rolled his sleeves up and joined Pearson near the freezer.

“Mornin’.”

“Gonna be a busy day, grab that side of beef.” Arthur nodded. 

They worked in comfortable silence until they opened for the morning. Pearson had Arthur work the front-of-house most days, he had been unsure if this kid was gonna be a good fit when he hired him a few years back, barely old enough to hold a job. But Arthur had surprised him, a quick learner and a hard worker, and surprisingly good with customers.

“I need another half rack of ribs.” Arthur called  back to Pearson. 

“Heard.” Pearson called back, moving to the cooler, he pulled out a rack of ribs quickly cutting it down and wrapping it in some butcher paper. He pushed through the door to the front-of-house and handed Arthur the package. 

“How are you today, ladies?” Pearson smiled as Arthur turned back to hand the ribs to the older gentleman near the door. He took care of the women as Arthur cashed out the gentleman and the shop cleared out.

The day came to a close and Arthur cleaned up and took the final inventory of the case for the day. Pulling a few of the steaks from the case and a handful of brats. He packaged them up and put them into the back of the case. 

“Got the final numbers for today, I’m also taking a couple of the porterhouses and some brats for the weekend, I put those under my list.” Arthur handed him the clipboard. “Need help cleaning up back here? I’m all done up front.” Pearson waved him off, wiping down the table.

“Get out of here, I’ll be fine. Have a good night, I’ll see you in the morning.” Arthur thanked him and grabbed his things, heading out the door.

                                                        -- ♦ --

John rolled out of his bed and padded into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Fixing himself some food he found his way to the couch. Flipping through the channels he stopped on a Scooby Doo marathon.

His phone buzzed on the kitchen counter and he glanced over toward the clock. He pushed himself up from the couch and dropped his bowl into the sink, reaching for his phone. 

Hey. You holding?

Yeah. Whatcha need?

1/2 oz

Cool. Meet me at Jefferson Park. 3pm. 

John threw the phone back on the counter and went into the bathroom, the ferret stretching deeply on his pillow as he passed. He showered and shaved, catching himself in the mirror, he sighed. He rubbed the towel through his hair before tossing it over the door. He got dressed and picked Noodle up off his bed, draping him around his neck and grabbing him some food for him from the kitchen. Noodle bounced excitedly on his shoulder, climbing his way down John’s arm as they moved through the apartment. He set the food down and unloaded Noodle into the cat tree to eat.

He rummaged under the bed, pulling out a box and putting it up on the desk, pushing his keyboard out of the way he sat down at the desk. He weighed and portioned out his remaining product, setting aside the ½ oz requested. 

He didn’t normally deal with larger portions than dimes, preferring not to have too much on him at any time. He knew how much Arthur hated that he still sold, but he couldn’t complain about the extra money. 

“You aren’t a kid anymore, they catch you, it’s an actual felony.”

“It’s just a lil’ weed, and it’s not like I’m some big time dealer.” John said. Arthur scowled and threw up his hands. “You ain’t complaining about the extra cash!” He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Most of his clients being local kids or skids who couldn’t afford more than a little here and there. He tucked the extra bags back into the box, turning off the scale and tossing it in with the bags and snapping the lid closed. He slid the box back under the bed with his foot.

                                                            -- ♦ --

He had just kind of fell into this when they moved here. His dad found work at a local railyard, looking to make a fresh start after his mom died. A couple kids had found him smoking behind the gym and asked him if they could buy, and who couldn’t use the extra cash? 

He had taken them up on it, hoping to make some friends in the process. Except the other dealer in school had taken offense to and sent a couple of people to convince him to stop. It’s how he had met Arthur, he had stepped in. He had a strange reputation around the school, and not many people wanted to mess with him. 

“Thanks, but I would have been fine.” John picked up his bag.

“Didn’t look like it.” Arthur held out his hand. “I’m Arthur, and you’re bleeding.”

John wiped his sleeve across his face. “John.” He shook Arthur’s hand. 

“I’ve seen you around, you live near Gage Park?” 

John nodded, feeling extremely small next to him. He adjusted his bag on his shoulder. “Y-yeah. We just moved here. Dad got a job at the railyard.”

“Me too, we can walk together.”  Arthur patted John on the shoulder and started down the road. 

                                                          -- ♦ --

John picked up his other phone, dropping it into his jacket pocket before grabbing the bags off the desk and heading for the door. 

The sun had finally come out at around one, pushing the temperature into the high teens. John hated winter, the cold and the snow. He wrapped his jacket more tightly around himself picking up the pace as he made his way toward the park. His phone went off, another text. He fumbled for the personal phone in his pocket, pulling it out. 

Got off early. Gonna play some ball, wanna join?

I’m already at the park.

Jefferson?

Yeah

Cool, See you in 45

John pocketed the phone as he rounded the corner and through the fence into the park. He wandered over toward the swings checking his phone for the time. He sat down in the seat, pushing his sneakers into the sand. He found a few kids looking to buy, selling a couple of dimes before his actual client showed up, he pocketed the cash and started toward the basketball courts.

He tossed his bag underneath the hoop, the impact causing the fresh snow to billow out.The light dusting on the court flurried in the wind dancing across the blacktop. It’d been a while since they had played, Arthur had been so busy lately. He kicked at the snow drifts along the courtside.

“You’re gonna play in that?” John turned to see Arthur walking toward him.

“Not like I had planned to play, I was already out when you texted.”  

Arthur laughed. “Coulda brought you a change of clothes, ya know.” He tossed the basketball at John. 

John caught the ball and began to dribble it lazily.

“S’fine. It’s one-on-one, a friendly game.” He tossed the ball back to Arthur. “Don’t know how you aren’t freezing your ass off right now though.”  Arthur looked down at himself, his shorts and sweatshirt not seeming that out of place for a game, but he knew John hated the cold.

“Me? You’re  gonna tear those jeans, how do you even get those on?” John scowled and Arthur smirked, giving him a quick shove. “C’mon, let’s play.”

The sun was starting to set when they finished. John was exhausted, he was gonna have to admit he was out of shape, he exhaled heavily and looked over at Arthur. Steam rose off him as he breathed heavily, the ball tucked under his arm. John had managed to pull out a win, scoring the last shot before Arthur called the game, stating that it was getting late and he was getting hungry. 

“That was a good game Johnny. That three-pointer was impressive as hell! I take it back, maybe I should get me some of those painted on jeans.” He clapped a hand to John’s shoulder. “Let’s go, I’m starving.”

They walked together, bullshitting down the street, the same road home John always took. They stopped at the corner to wait for the light when an older man shouted at them.

“Hey. Hey! You’re that kid!” The boys turned around, glaring at the man who jogged across the street to meet them. Arthur’s body language stiffened next to John and his expression went stony. “You never called me.”

“Yeah.” Arthur snarled. “You were a weird adult.” The gentleman ignored him, his attitude just as chipper. 

“You still wrestling?” He looked him over and Arthur shifted under his gaze.

“No.” John could feel the ice in his voice, colder than the evening winter air. He stepped between them, worried that Arhur was going to hit the man.

“Who the fuck are you? Who the fuck is this?” He turned back to Arthur, his eyes locked on the man. Arthur towered over the man, and for the first time John saw what had made Arthur intimidating to others all those years ago. The gentleman glanced over at John, his eyes drifting back to Arthur.

“You’re bigger.” Arthur straightened up to his full height, his patience at an end. He felt the anger bubble in him as this man sized him up, clearly unfazed by Arthur’s intimidation. “My offer still stands, if you’re still looking to fight.” The message was received and Arthur bristled more. 

He was goading Arthur. Pushing him, to see if he still was as quick to anger.

“This is my gym.” He thumbed behind him and Arthur’s eyes followed the gesture glancing at the name Bessie’s Bane before returning to his face. 

“Sure.” Arthur turned away from the man, stalking past him and down the street, leaving John and the man alone. John glanced after Arthur, before turning back to the stranger and glowering. He took off after Arthur, leaving the man standing alone in the street, a smug smile on his face. John caught up to Arthur two blocks down, grabbing him by the shoulder.

“Hey, slow down. What the fuck was that? Who is that?” John spun Arthur around.

“Nothing. Just some guy from high school.” Arthur grumbled, the heat still radiating off him.

“You gotta take him up on his offer, dude!” 

Arthur barked out a laugh, his expression painted with surprise. “WHAT? Fuckin’ why?” He cocked a brow at John.

“Bro. This is EXACTLY how the Karate Kid started!” 

Arthur crossed his arms over his chest and rolled back onto his heels. “Are you fucking serious?”

“ARE YOU NOT? Some mysterious stranger asks you to train at his gym and you say no?” 

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “John…”

“Arthur, come on. What have you got to lose? He’s creepy and you kick his ass.” John’s eyes were pleading.

“Yeah...sure.” Arthur dismissed, turning to head back toward the house. John shivered in the cold night air as Arthur left, jogging after him.

Arthur flipped on the lights in the apartment and dropped the ball onto the floor, trapping it with his foot. John followed him in, dropping his bag into the computer chair and grabbing his blanket off the bed before slinking over to the couch.

“That’s gross.” Arthur scolded. “At least go take a shower if you’re cold.” 

John ignored him, burritoing himself on the couch and reaching for the remote. Noodle growled from the floor, climbing his way up the side of the sofa before burrowing his way into the pile of blankets that was John. 

Arthur opened the fridge, pulled out a number of ingredients and then moved to the cupboard to pull down the worn recipe book and the lasagna noodles. He flipped through the book stopping on a well worn page. He soaked the noodles and prepped the sauce, layering the lasagna and tossing it into the oven. 

“Lasagna’s in the oven. I’m gonna take a shower. Keep an eye on it.” Arthur closed the bathroom door. John grunted that he heard him, nuzzling deeper into the blankets.

Arthur turned off the shower and pulled back the curtain, stepping out of the tub. He wiped the condensation from the mirror, his eyes wandering over his reflection. 

You’re bigger. 

The words echoed in his head and he inhaled deeply. He had filled out in the last couple years and grown a few more inches. He had kept his strength up working in the butcher shop, but he had softened overall. Arthur ran his hand through his hair, shaking the excess water from it. He picked up the electric razor, trimmed down his beard and inspected the cut in the mirror before flicking off the light and going to get dressed. 

The smell of the lasagna filled the apartment as he threw on some lounge pants and returned to the kitchen, pulling open the oven door and removing the bubbling pasta. Arthur dished out the lasagna and brought it to the couch, motioning for John to take it. 

Wiggling out of the blanket he took the plate, it felt heavy in his hands. He was going to be sore tomorrow, he could feel it. John dug into the plate, only now realizing how hungry he was. He glanced over to see Arthur finish his off, getting up to get himself seconds.

The pasta warmed his insides, and John finally started to feel normal. His eyes grew heavy as he watched the TV. Noodle snored lightly on his chest. He drifted off to sleep, unable to keep his eyes open.

Arthur’s alarm went off and he groaned, stretching out his sore muscles. He stood and started to get ready for work. Noodle stretched out on his pillow before slithering beneath the pillow to keep warm. He grabbed his bag from the floor and packed some clothes into it, grabbing Noodle from under the pillow, hushing him and taking him over to the couch where John was cocooned in a giant blanket. He placed Noodle on the blanket and watched as the ferret burrowed his way into the warmth of the blankets.

“So. You gonna check out that gym?” John asked, his eyes still closed. Arthur turned and walked out the door.

The rest of the day passed slowly, Arthur’s mind preoccupied with what John had said. Was it insane that he was going through with it? This whole idea that this was a once-in-a-lifetime thing? He was mad at himself for getting excited for the possibility. The man was a creep, right? Who was he? Some recruiter? Why was he there that night?

“Arthur -- Arthur. Kid. You with us?” Pearson reached out, putting his hand on Arthur’s shoulder. Arthur tensed under his hand.

“Yeah. Sorry, I’m here. What’s up?” He put down the broom.

“Could you come help me pull this carcass for dressing?” Pearson started toward the back with Arthur in tow. “What’s got you so lost in your own head?”

“Had a weird encounter last night.” 

“Someone was able to creep you out?” Pearson turned around, an incredulous look painted on his face.

“Let me ask you something.” Arthur’s brow furrowed. “Some guy tells you he wants you to come fight for him, would you? This guy, who you’ve only ever met once before, back when you were a minor. That’s weird, right? Weirder that he remembers you like 4 years later, and confronts you about it on the street?” He paused then muttered. “Weirder still that I am thinkin’ of takin’ him up on his offer...”

Pearson laughed. An over-the-top sound that startled Arthur and he scowled.

“Listen, even if this guy is a freak. Look at you, you can take him. What’s the worst that happens if you go? They tell you that you can’t leave? Then make them let you. You pass this up? You’ll never know if this was your golden ticket.” Pearson waved him back to work. “I’ll be honest though, I’d be lyin’ if it wouldn’t suck if it was true and you left me. I like you kid. You’re a hard worker. So even if it does come up for shit, you always got a job here.” 

“T-thanks.” Arthur rubbed the back of his neck, a smile creeping across his face. He pulled down the pig and hauled it over his shoulder, his legs screaming from the game last night. He dropped it onto the table for Pearson and went back to the front, his head a little clearer.

The remaining hours passed with him feeling a bit better about his choice. He stretched as he put his apron back onto the hook behind the door, grabbing his bag from the chair in the corner. He waved a goodbye to Pearson and made his way toward the gym.

                                                          -- ♦ --

Arthur stood outside, looking up at the faded sign that hung over the entryway. He readjusted the bag over his shoulder. The panic rising in his chest that he was making a terrible mistake, he paced on the sidewalk, Thinking back to what John had said. If this really was once-in-a-lifetime what would happen if he wasn’t good enough?

“Oi!” A voice called out and Arthur stopped. “You can’t loiter, it’s private property. Get in or get lost, tiny.” The man in the door crossed his arms. Arthur glowered and turned toward the door. The man threw up his hands in frustration. “I mean it.” 

Arthur moved toward the door, his eyes throwing daggers at the doorman. He shoved past the man as he held the door open for him.

“Take your time, buddy.” He sneered as Arthur passed and it took every ounce of his control to not slam the man into the door. He pushed into the lobby and the man let the door close behind them.

A hand on his shoulder made Arthur turn, the gap-tooth grin of the man made Arthur recoil. The strange man chuckled.

“Yer a big sonovabitch!” He stepped back, taking Arthur in. “Sean.” He held out a hand. “This is Bessie’s Bane.” Arthur took his hand nervously.

“Arthur. Ya’ll got lockers?” Arthur pulled his hand back, and Sean nodded toward the back of the gym.

Arthur wandered through the gym toward the locker room, checking out the offerings. He ducked into the locker room and changed. He walked over and checked out the ring, two fighters were sparring loosely. A familiar voice called out from behind him.

“Curiosity got the better of you.” The older man stepped beside him.

“You could say that.” 

“And? First impressions?”  The man crossed his arms over his chest.

“That kid is a douche.” Arthur said, motioning to Sean.

“He is. So, want a tour?” The man turned and started back toward the free weights.

“Why me?” Arthur paused. “And who are you? He started after him. The man stopped at a boxing bag hanging in a far corner.

“Show me what you got and I’ll tell you.”  

Arthur rolled back onto his heels, crossing his arms. “You know how creepy that sounds, right?” 

The man shot him a look of annoyance. “Hosea. Hosea Matthews. Listen kid, you weren’t cut out for wrestling. The way you move. Your control, the way you read your opponents moves before they even think about them themselves. You were being wasted in wrestling.”

“It was a school sport, it really wasn’t that serious.” 

Hosea grabbed the bag. “There is real money in this, if you have what it takes.”

“And what’s that, exactly?” 

Hosea smacked the bag. “Whatever keeps you on your feet and winning.” 

Arthur frowned. “That ain’t an answer. That could be literally anything.” He deadpanned.

“Just show me a coupled good hits.” He patted the bag again and Arthur loosened his stance. “You ever heard of MMA?”

“Sure, just didn’t think there were whole gyms dedicated to it.” Arthur delivered three heavy hits to the bag. Hosea watched him, his expression impossible to read.

“Again, but this time pretend it can hit back.”

Arthur transferred his weight to the balls of his feet and danced around the bag. He jabbed quickly at the bag, landing three hits in a quick succession before bringing in a final heavy hit.

“Again, more power.” Hosea stepped back from the bag.

Arthur growled, his first strike sending the bag in a high arc. He spun around, his leg catching the bag and thrusting it angrily to the side. He dodged the imaginary return blow ducking low and releasing a flurry of blows into the side of the bag. Hosea smiled. 

Arthur continued to pummel the bag, the stress and anger from the week melting away. His arms fell to his sides. Exhaling slowly, he stopped the bag with his hands, his eyes flaring. Hosea chuckled, his hand finding Arthur’s shoulder.

“There it is. C’mon. TOMMY!” 

Hosea turned Arthur and led him toward the ring. Out of his peripheral he saw a large man lumber toward the ring, the man called out as he reached the ropes.

“Yeah?” The rope bowed heavily under his weight.

“Tommy. This is Arthur, he needs a sparring partner, want some ring time?”

The men touched gloves as they started the fight, each squaring off. Tommy took the first swing, moving to try and break Arthur’s defenses, knocking him back onto the heels of his feet. The second hit connecting with his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over and a knee connected with his face. Arthur swung wide as he reeled back, catching Tommy square in the jaw with his fist.

Both men took a staggered step back before returning to their defense stances, Arthur wiping the blood from his nose. Each sizing the other up. Arthur danced around some of Tommy’s heavier hits, taking only glancing blows. His speed, the only advantage he had. His blows seemingly ineffective against the mountain that was Tommy.

Hosea watched them, his eyes on Arthur, watching his movements. Each time he adjusted his fighting style Hosea smiled. The men slowed as the fight wore on and Hosea called it. 

Tommy’s giant hand clapped down heavily on Arthur’s shoulder “You’re damn good kid, keep up the work.” He turned and headed off toward the locker rooms. 

Hosea leaned against the ropes next to Arthur. Arthur chugged back water, wiping the rest of the blood and sweat from his face onto his towel.“So? Come fight for me?” 

Arthur huffed out a laugh, his skin on fire with adrenaline, a huge smile crossing his face. “You got yourself a fighter, old man.” He held out a hand to Hosea who shook it firmly.

Arthur slid out of the ring and made his way back to the locker room, his breathing returning to normal. He grabbed his things and headed out the door. 

                                                          -- ♦ --

Arthur unlocked the door and stepped inside, tossing his bag next to the door. John looked up as he entered, the color draining from his face. 

“Holy shit, dude! Are you okay?!” John yelped. The black eye bloomed on Arthur’s face. The blood from his nose and split lip spotted the front of his sweatshirt, the sleeve smeared with blood. Arthur smiled at him, holding up his hands.

“I’m okay Johnny!” He pushed past John into the bathroom, stripping off his sweatshirt and tossing it into the sink. John’s fears were not put to rest as he looked at Arthur’s back covered with deep red bruises already starting to look angry. Arthur flipped the water on in the shower, letting it warm up and walked toward the kitchen. He pulled baking soda and vinegar from the cabinet. 

John stepped behind him, blocking his way back to the bathroom, puffing himself up. “Seriously dude, what happened?”

“I went to the gym, that’s all.” He pushed John gently out of the way and headed back into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

John paced the room. This was all his fault! He got Arthur hurt, because he wanted to believe that this could be some kind of big break for him. He crumpled onto the couch, his head falling into his hands. 

Arthur opened the bathroom door a while later, his cuts bandaged and cleaned. The red bruises angry against his skin as he pulled a shirt from the rack. John pushed up off the couch and Arthur threw the shirt over his head.

“You really got your ass kicked...at the gym?” John crossed his arms, still not convinced this wasn’t just Arthur trying to protect him or close him out. 

Arthur pulled on the shirt and chuckled. “Yeah. Dude was built like a fuckin’ brick wall!” He flopped down onto the couch. He grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels. John sighed, dropping back onto the arm of the couch.

“Sorry…I told you to go” He mumbled. 

Arthur let the remote fall to his side. Glancing over to John. “Nah bro. Thank you, really. It was amazing!” He picked the remote up, flipping through the channels again. “Hosea wants me to come by tomorrow, get me started on a regiment.” John looked down at Arthur, stunned into silence.

He watched Arthur, his feelings bubbling through him. Still blaming himself for how hurt Arthur got, but conflicted with how at peace he seemed. John watched as Noodle scrambled onto Arthur’s chest, curling up, Arthur’s large bandaged hand gently scritching the ferret. John glanced down at the floor, guilt overtaking him again.

“You hungry?” Arthur turned to John and he propped himself up onto his elbow. “Hey, you okay?” John kept his eyes trained on the floor. Arthur leaned over, reaching for John as Noodle rolled off him onto the couch.

“John, you didn’t do this. I am fine, honestly! It’s just a couple of cuts and bruises, no worse than I used to get during wrestling. I had a blast!” He shook John’s leg. “Come with me tomorrow!” John looked up at him, knitting his eyebrows. “Find out for yourself, since I can’t convince you.” 

John breathed out a short laugh shaking his head. A smile washed over Arthur’s face. He patted John’s leg and rolled back onto the couch.

“Fine.” He pushed up off the couch and walked over to the kitchen. “How about pizza?”