#head full of hiromi thoughts tonight friends.......

[banqanas]

Dear Gaga tells us that Hiromi's catchphrase was a homage to his father's own heroic sacrifice. That's why he was always recklessly endangering his own life because it's one step closer to Hiromi following in his father's footsteps.

But now, thanks to George and Daiji's influence, Hiromi no longer holds his ideals and self-worth to sacrifice himself but to devote his heart and soul for his friends

[sleepingcrisis]

Haha remember when I said age swap AU?

Anyway got excited lol-

Meetings

“Hey old man why are you watching us?” Kaoru snapped over in the direction of some light blue haired man who had been standing around for the past half hour and seemed to be watching the three younger men. These three being Kaoru, Ainosuke, and Kojiro. They were at the skate park and currently Kaoru and Kojiro had paused their bickering when Ainosuke had pointed him out. Prior to that they were seeing who could do a longer rail slide and couldn’t seem to come up with a winner. 

“Me?” The blue haired man asked and pointed to himself as he tilted his head. 

“Yeah you, who do you think I’m talking about!” Kaoru shouted and Kojiro grabbed his arm with an eye roll to keep Kaoru from going and starting a fight with some stranger who was probably just genuinely curious. Perhaps they had impressed him so much that he would go and get a board of his own? The thought was short lived when the blue haired man made his way over on his own skateboard. It was quite a bit longer then anything the three younger males had and something looked <i>weird</i> about the wheels. 

“I was just thinking about something, don’t mind me. If you don’t mind me watching please continue your competition? Oh and could you join in?” he asked. He kicked his board up and held it as he watched the three. 

“Seriously? I have to-” 

“Just humour me?” the light-blue haired male requested of his darker haired counterpart. 

“Fine.” Ainosuke rolled his eyes. 

The three did their nose grinds again. Ainosuke went the farthest with Kaoru not far behind and Kojiro stumbled off which made Kaoru laugh and declare himself the winner and Ainosuke rolled his eyes with a small grin. The pink haired and green haired male dissolved into bickering once more since Kojiro wanted to try again. The three had nearly forgotten about the adult that had joined them until they heard him stifle a laugh. 

“You are still here?” Kaoru asked. 

“I’m sorry- it is just nice to see new talent. I’m La- Snow. People call me snow. Would you three like to try your hands at competitive skating?” Snow asked. 

“We are fine, we do well enough out here,” Ainosuke started. 

“How about this. If I can do a trick that neither of you three can land then you three accept my invitation?” Snow suggested. The three were curious, they had been since they had noticed something weird about the way this man's wheels had been attached to his board. 

“Fine.” Kaoru grumbled and rolled his eyes. Of course it wasn’t like they couldn’t just take it back after or not show up to whatever this was. But then it happened. The three were left speechless when the older male use the half pipe to do some full body flip that they had only seen done in videos and even then it was very rarely done in skateboarding. 

“Frontside rodeo,” Kaoru muttered. 

“Good eye,” Snow hummed and gave a smile. “So which one of you is going first? I was snowboarding when I first started but the cement seems like an equally nice landing wouldn’t you three agree?” Snow suggested and chuckled softly. He already knew none of them would except it though- or at least he thought. 

“I’ll give it a try,” the dark blue haired boy said and shrugged. 

“Yeah and then we will accompany you to the hospital,” Kojiro grumbled but noticed that Kaoru looked like he was about to attempt it. “Idiots.” Kojiro whispered. 

Their attempt didn’t last long, for when Ainosuke tried and had to be basically caught by Snow, that was the end of Kaoru’s confidence. 

“Thanks,” Ainosuke whispered and felt his face warm a bit before pushing himself away from the other to go and retrieve his skateboard. 

“No problem, but this does mean I win our bet unless either of you two would like to try?” Snow suggested and glanced at the other two who shook their heads. They definitely did not want to try. “Well you three will need these to get in at the gate and the address is written on the back. Don’t leave those laying around,” He said and offered the boys each a fabric sticker that had a large C and S on with the aesthetics of a sunrise and sunset on them. “I’m excited to see you three there,” Snow said and just like that he was gone.

“Are we going to go?” Kojiro asked as they each looked at their stickers. 

“If it means learning to do something like that then hell yes we should,” Ainosuke muttered and grinned. 

Kaoru and Kojiro looked to Adam before looking back to one another and managed to grin at each other. The three met for a fist bump and that sealed the deal. They would be going to Clear Skies. 

***

Hiromi fell with a yelp and sighed softly. He recalled the words that those older teens boys had said at the skatepark. The pink haired male had told him to stop wasting space, the blue haired male told him that if he was going to spend his time falling about then he needed to at least move out of the way fast enough so he didn’t get hit. Meanwhile the green haired male had apologized for his friends when Hiromi finally decided to leave. Assholes. He decided that he would go back when he could finally land a rail slide. He didn’t have rails to practice on so instead he had taken some wax to a curb and prayed that no one would slip off. Lately he hadn’t seen the older three at the skate park as much but it didn’t matter. He wanted to prove himself before he came back. Wanted to prove that he could be just as good if not better. Currently he never landed even a 50-50 twice in a row. He figured that he definitely needed to at least do that and maybe even a nose grind before he could head back. Then those three would be impressed for sure. 

When he was able to get his 50-50 a few times in a row he grinned and began to head home since it was a lot later then he normally stayed out. He would love to stay out longer but then he risked the chance of his parents noticing. Despite his tough exterior of all black and wild hair (with far too much hair gel), he didn’t want to worry his parents. In his hurry to get home he didn’t even notice the sound of another skateboard and when turning a corner he smacked right into someone. 

Hiromi hit the ground and groaned. 

“H-hey what gives man-” Hiromi started but trailed off when he got a look at the man who had knocked into him. He was very red? Yeah. He had red hair that was slicked back in a spiky fashion and a toothpick between his lips.The man was also wearing aviator style sunglasses that kept the colour of his eyes a mystery. He possessed a stubble and a dark red leather jacket that was unzipped with no shirt underneath and black jeans. 

“Sorry kiddo, I was in a hurry,” came the man's voice. He offered Hiromi a hand and soon was pulling him up. 

“No problem,” Hiromi muttered and went to go get his board. 

“How long have you been skating for?” The man asked. Now Hiromi was fully aware that his parents would not be impressed with him talking to an older man, but Hiromi was of the mindset that skating was a community activity and that people within the community simply understood one another. Hiromi just wasn’t sure if he was a part of that community. 

“Around a year,” Hiromi said and shrugged. 

“Nice. Show me what you got,” the red haired man seemed… excited? Hiromi didn’t think anyone had been excited to see him skate. Hiromi suddenly felt the pressure of not messing up- that pressure didn’t do him good. Instead of landing a sick ollie the board slipped out from under him and he fell. The red haired man laughed but went and grabbed Hiromi’s board for him. 

“Hey, it is hard to get better all by yourself. You should come to Clear Skies,” the red haired man said and shrugged. 

“Clear Skies?” Hiromi asked and took his board back and was soon offered a sticker. 

“The address is on the back, it is a skating community. You would be one of the younger ones there but we would be happy to have you, I go by Phoenix by the way,” the red haired male said. 

“O-okay,” Hiromi whispered and carefully took the sticker. 

“See you there!” Phoenix hummed and with that he was off and Hiromi was left in the dark. 

***

Tadashi sometimes needed a night out. He sometimes couldn’t handle the fact that he would spend his entire life serving the Shindo family. He used to not mind so much. He used to enjoy spending his time with Ainosuke because at one point they had been friends. Tadashi was going to be graduating soon, but once they had gotten into highschool they had been growing apart. Ainosuke was being given more responsibilities by his family and he had told Tadashi that when he went out he wanted to be away from it all, not have Tadashi around to remind him of what waited for him at home. So instead he made friends with Mr. Sakurayashiki and Mr. Nanjo. Tadashi was left behind. 

So tonight, while Ainosuke was in trouble for some school paper he hadn’t done well on, Tadashi had opted to leave. He had grabbed his skateboard and left. Needing space. Tadashi used to love skateboarding. It was an escape from everything. Then he had taught Mr. Ainosuke how to skateboard and it became all that much better. Then Ainosuke had left him behind and Tadashi had this bitter pit in his stomach everytime he skated. He just wanted to skate with Ainosuke again and yet he couldn’t. 

He ended up at the skatepark- one with a bowl- and just allowing himself to cruise around it. His movement was fluid and when he managed to get a decent amount of air he felt like he was dropping down a roller coaster when he came back down. It was exciting. Despite how it was fading, he still loved it. How could he not? 

He heard a low whistle which caused him to fall as he glanced over with a yelp. 

“Not again-” he heard one say. There were three older men who made their way over. Each in wildly different… costumes? Was there a festival he didn’t know about? One was a red haired male in a leather jacket and sunglasses and- why wasn’t he wearing a shirt? Another was dressed in… okay it was basically a male version of Elsa from Frozen. He had long light blue hair. The third- the third wore a mismatch of colours. Neon green hoodie with cat ears and gloves that went far past the edge of his hoodie and a tail. He also had his ears decorated in piercings as well as one on his nose. He had long black hair that fell along his shoulders.

“What do you mean again?” the black haired male asked and scoffed. 

“He had a run in with junior,” the blue haired one mentioned. 

“You don’t get to make fun of me for not knowing his name when you didn’t catch a single name while watching those three bicker for forever!” The red haired male shot back which made them laugh. 

“Hey you okay?” the black haired male asked and crossed his arms. Tadashi realized he had been staring and began to pick himself up. 

“Thanks for your concern but I’m fine-” 

‘Well that’s good. So you won’t have a problem accepting our invite?” the male-elsa asked. 

“You are being rude,” the black haired one mentioned. 

“I am?” the blue haired one didn’t even seem to realize. The black haired male rolled his eyes and looked back to Tadashi. 

“We run a skating ring, you should join it. We are always looking for fresh talent,” the black haired male explained and extended a gloved hand to offer a sticker. “Think about it,” was all he said when Tadashi took it and with that he turned to leave on their skateboards. The flashy outfits had distracted Tadashi enough for him to just realize that they had skateboards. 

“That wasn’t very convincing,” the red haired male mentioned. 

“Yeah I think even I did a better job-” 

“He will join if he wants,” the black haired male said which seemed to shut them up as he left. 

“What the hell was that?” Tadashi muttered to himself- allowing himself to swear as he looked at the sticker and flipped it over to see the address. “Okay,” Tadashi whispered. If they met at night he would be able to sneak out and do this. Maybe he could actually have some fun instead of just using this as a distraction too. 

[retirementhomecollab]

☾ the witching hour

☾ decision: open bedroom

☾ warnings: f!reader, mention of drinking games

☾ word count: 1.9k

At the entrance of the hallway, you look back at the living room. The party is bustling to the brim. That’s what you get with the hosts’ overwhelming popularity throughout campus. Without Hiromi by your side, you’re suddenly a tiny bit conscious, a tiny bit drained. It’s okay to take a little break from all this, right? Thinking back, this is probably the first time you’ve been in the boys’ apartment. You know Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi live together, and you’re friends with them, Akaashi’s even suffered through a few all-nighters of Russian classics analysis with you. With one of the doors opened, they probably wouldn’t mind you taking a breather in there.

“Y/n! Whatcha doin’?” 

Back at the coffee table, Kuroo has gathered a bunch of people for King’s Cup. Over by the dining table, Bokuto wraps up what has got to be the fifth round of beer pong since you’ve arrived. You raise an eyebrow in Kuroo’s direction as Bokuto hollers at another victory — he slams back a drink anyways, and you visibly cringe at the ickiness of it all — and Kuroo only gives you a what-can-you-do-it’s-Bokuto kind of shrug. Grinning at you, he beckons you over to join them. 

A small smile and a shake of your head, you mouth to him, “Headache. Later.” 

His smirk falls, eyebrows knitting together with concern. 

Having known him since he tutored you in a cursed compulsory chemistry class, you know that he’s about to lecture you. To pacify his mothering instincts, you follow up with a sleep hand gesture and what you hope is a reassuring grin.

Kuroo gives you a withering look, one reserved for Kenma, Lev, and the other underclassmen he claims maternal responsibility over, like you. You only continue to grin at him, shaking your head once again.

After a pause, he sighs dramatically, setting the last card down on the table. 

“The room with the open door. Should be empty,” he yells.

With a mock salute, you leave the party behind you for now.

The room’s lights are off, but between the brightness streaming in from the party and the glow of the moon above the windows, it’s sufficient. 

Neat and organized, you know that Kuroo must have tidied up for the party. There’s still the telltale Chair in the corner: a mountain of clothing on the chairback and a stack of textbooks on the seat. 

You give an amused snort. Good thing Akaashi had the sense to lock Bokuto’s terrestrial supernova of a room from curious eyes. And probably his own from the likes of you. 

You wonder what your fellow literature student’s room would look like, but you doubt he would ever invite you to his room anyways.

He’s never even expressed interest in having you over to his apartment much less fulfilling this kind of wishful thinking. 

You take off your cloak, not wanting to make Kuroo’s bed too dirty, and lean back down. He has good taste: plush comforter, mattress not too hard, not too soft.

Not ten minutes later, there is shouting from outside your door, and the door is flung wide open.  

“Bokuto-san, what are—”

“Akaashi, it’s for your own good.”

“Yea, ‘Kaashi, listen to your senpai.”

“Kuroo-san! You pain-in-the—”

He falls through the door frame, and you squint against the light in confusion.

Akaashi lurches forward to stop the door from slamming shut but as expected of the scheming captain, everything is well timed. 

Akaashi doesn’t even bother twisting the unlocked door; Kuroo’s already put Bokuto on door duty.

He sighs, hand smoothing over the top of his head. The lights are still off but it’s not difficult to guess who’s in his room with him. It’s someone who had inspired both Bokuto and Kuroo to interrupt their winning streaks in order to lock their poor housemate in his own room. At a Halloween party he was largely responsible for running.

“Akaashi?” You guess, very confused, slightly amused. 

In the moonlight, his outline is bulkier than usual, and you miss the mass of haloed curls around his head. But if your groggy state is even slightly reliable, it’s definitely Akaashi.

“Y/n-san,” he greets you with what you’re sure a smile sounds like.

Akaashi sighs again. This time internally. 

He isn’t dense. He knows what his senpai are planning. It’s kind of difficult not to when he has to stop Bokuto from babbling whenever you greet them on the quad or when he threatens Kuroo for inviting you to their apartment every other week, on days that Akaashi is bound to be home alone. They’ve been pestering him for weeks to ask you out, but Akaashi has kept his distance. 

And now he not only has to explain the situation but also his costume. 

“Y/n-san.”

“Yes, Akaashi?” 

His voice is serious, and you think that maybe this situation isn’t as funny for him as it is for you.

“I’m going to turn around,” he says cautiously. “Please do not scream.”

You give him a very confused frown before realizing that he can’t see that. 

So you reply with a hesitant “okay.”

Slowly, Akaashi reveals himself in the moonlight. A shiver runs through you, in anticipation? in wariness? You weren’t sure. 

But you didn’t think you’d actually scream. 

“Y/n-san.” Akaashi pads over slowly, carefully. “I asked you not to scream.”

“But, but.” You look at him incredulously, hand gesturing wildly at his head. “You’re bald.”

He chuckles lightly as his hand runs over the top of his head once again. 

“There’s hair at the back.” He turns his head to show you. “So, I’m not entirely bald.”

You look at him, jaw dropped to through the mattress, beyond the bedframe, right to the creaky floorboards. “You shaved your head for Toyotomi Hideyoshi?”

This time, he laughs an uninhibited, full bodied laugh, the heavy fabrics of his overcoat hunched over as he walks towards you. 

He makes a whole show of carefully tearing off the scalp part, and you watch in horror before Akaashi grins at you, smile a gentle white in the moonlight.

“It’s a semi-bald cap,” he clarifies, holding up the floppy rubber. The halo of lacquered curls are back in commission, and you finally relax knowing that his gorgeous hair is intact.

You sit up, scooting over when he moves to sit on the edge of the bed. The room is getting warmer.

“Though, I’m impressed you got it correct on the first try,” Akaashi smiles. “I’ve been getting either Date Masamune or Oda Nobunaga the whole night.” 

“From mainly girls?”

“Yeah, from girls and Kuroo-san.” Akaashi quirks a brow. “You don’t happen to know anything about this, do you?”

With a snort of disbelief, you look towards the door before replying loudly and clearly, “I didn’t take Kuroo for a dating sims fan.”

There is a muffled kind of shuffling before you hear a very explicit “Shh!” from not Kuroo.

You and Akaashi turn back to each other and burst into laughter. 

“There’s a dating sim for the warlords now?” He chuckles. 

You nod solemnly. “Date and Oda are the most popular characters.”

“Ah,” was all Akaashi could come up with as a reply. “I suppose you play it as well?”

There is a glint in his eyes as he watches you try to dance around the question. Eventually, you give up on any kind of vague answers, and give a small nod. 

“Who’s your favourite character?” He asks in playful seriousness, suddenly very interested in your Sengoku boy of choice. 

You’re sure that the moon turned a bright red just to highlight your embarrassment.

Akaashi sits there, pleasantly waiting for your answer. 

Finally, you muster out a small admission. Perhaps the witching hour would conjure up some magic tonight. 

“Toyotomi Hideyoshi.”

In the silence that follows, you can hear the breathing from outside the door, but neither of you spare those interlopers a glance. 

“Not Date Masamune?” Akaashi asks quietly.

You laugh weakly at this, unsure of how to tread. 

You fidget with the lace of your sleeves. “He’s too similar to Kuroo for me to take his route seriously.”

Akaashi doesn’t think of himself dense, but he supposes that self-awareness is a lifelong teaching. 

But at this stage, even he knows that this is a confession, despite it coming on Halloween with him and his crush locked in his own room discussing Sengoku dating sims. 

With her confessing that she likes Toyotomi Hideyoshi, aka him, Akaashi Keiji. 

“I thought you liked Kuroo-san?” He blurts out.

But then he asks stupid questions like these, and Akaashi wonders if you can pass away from pure stupidity. 

“What?”

“Kuroo Tetsurou.”

“I know who Kuroo is.” For you, this isn’t really the kind of witching hour you were expecting as you conduct the calmest yet most bizarre confession you’ve ever given.

“You’re very close to him.”

“We’re good friends.” You surprise yourself with your cordial, pleasant reply. Maybe it’s because it’s Akaashi that you’re like this. Despite your get up, Akaashi the Toyotomi Hideyoshi is definitely the witch of this witching hour. “Plus, that lovesick idiot probably has his own crush to chase.”

“So, you’re not in love with Kuroo,” Akaashi clarifies. In his defense, things can get weird on Halloween.

“No,” you confirm, “I’m not.”

“And you like me?” His voice raises ever so slightly, but he still keeps quiet, not for those nosy people outside but for consideration that if he says it too loudly, he might jinx the whole magic of the night. 

“Yes,” you nod. “You as in Akaashi Keiji, not Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ikemen or otherwise,” you add on for further clarification. 

“Oh.” Akaashi flops back down on the bed, and for a second, you’re worried you might’ve broken him. “I’m happy.”

You wait for him to continue. 

Akaashi pats the space beside him, and after a moment of deliberation, you fall back beside him. 

“Did you get the guy in the end?” He asks, a strange emotion in his voice, something not quite a smile but something not unpleasant. “In the game, I mean.”

“No,” you frown, “I keep getting the sad ending.”

Akaashi smiles a small smile to himself as he turns to you. Witching hour indeed. 

“If I promise you the happy ending,” he breathes out carefully, “can you not scream if I kiss you?”

Once again, the moonlit red beams upon you, and you nod, a grin gradually spreading to your lips. 

Akaashi cups your cheeks, and as he pressed his lips to yours in a simple lunar kiss, you’re very grateful that in the witching hour, he is Akaashi Keiji — not Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Date Masamune and definitely not Kuroo Tetsurou.

In the glow of the Halloween moon, you and Akaashi lie at the foot of the bed, his arms around you, wrapped in the magic of the night. 

“They’re waiting for us, right?”

“Yeah,” Akaashi laughs. “Any longer now, and Bokuto-san might suffer from brain hypoxia with how Kuroo’s probably told him to be ‘as quiet as the grave.’”

You do love an all-rounded literature student. 

“So,” you grin, already knowing the answer to your rhetorical question, “do you think it’s time to go back out? Kuroo probably wants his room back too.”

“This is my room.” Akaashi pulls away with a quirked brow. “Kuroo’s bed is unmade, and he has two Chairs.”

Once again, your face flushes red as you try to stammer out an explanation.

“You’re fine. Things have been weird tonight,” Akaashi chuckles. It’s a good thing he’s taken off the horrifying atrocious bald cap or else the beautifully mischievous expression would’ve been lost on you. “Let’s keep them in suspense a little longer. It’s Halloween after all.”

Pick a different room: > Go to the closed bedroom. > Go to the balcony. > Go to the kitchen. > Go to the hallway. > Go to the bathroom. > Go to the living room.

[tcrmommabear]

Temporal Shift (TCR B-Day Bash)

Hey demons, it’s me, ya girl, coming back from the depths of depression and anxiety to throw this at you for TCR Week. In all seriousness, I’m finally in a really good place. It’s not all sunshine and roses, but for once in my life, I can actually think. I can actually love and enjoy things again.

But with that sappiness over with, I’m back, and better than ever, with some angst that’ll really kill ya ;)

For those familiar with Wolf 359, yes, I am giving you the AU you never knew you wanted, let alone was possible. To those not familiar with W359, it’s a space audio-log style podcast that @catsafarithewriter and I have been in love with lately. It’s funny, it’s dark, it’s exciting, it’s brilliant. If you don’t mind the spoilers, take a read down below! If you’re interested in it now, maybe skip this prompt until you get up to episode 47, past Special Episode “Change of Mind”.

For those who don’t care, enjoy down below :)

(Bonus: Here’s the song that Persephone listens to)

The station port creaked open, swinging in to reveal the deep expanse laid out before them. She stepped forward, trusting the heavy boots to hold her steady. There was no hesitation, the feeling of weight settled at her feet, the smell of stale, cycled air familiar.

Comforting.

She glanced back at her companion, watching as they took fearful steps forward, hesitating to lift and step. She laughed, stepping back to offer a hand. The other accepted, grip tight even between the stiff rubber gloves of their suits.

“So-o-o-o-o,” she began, breathless, never letting go of her hand, “how often do you do this?”

She shrugged, glancing back and meeting sapphire eyes. She flushed, nervous laughter tumbling out. “Oh, three or four times a week. Mostly when everyone is asleep.”

“I see,” the other hummed, grip tightening on her hand as they stopped walking.

“Louise,” she watched her jump, a smirk spreading, “is this your first space walk?”

She didn’t need much beyond the immediate silence, the way the taller tried to duck her head and hide.

“You were supposed to do ten hours our first week here!”

“I know, I know-!”

“Shock, scandal, utter betrayal!”

“Please don’t tell-!”

She waved a hand, cutting off Louise’s plea, “Your secret’s safe with me. So, let’s go.”

Louise paused, cocking her head. “Go where? What?”

She grinned, raising her hand to point at the stars. “Let’s go free float for a bit, c’mon.”

She smiled sheepishly, taking a step away from her. “You go ahead, Persephone. I’ll get there just… Not tonight.”

They shared a smile, though looked away when they felt each had stared a moment too long.

“Suit yourself,” she said, deactivating her boots. The sensation took her slowly, creeping upwards. She felt a tug, and realized her and Louise had never let go of each other. She twisted to face her, floating just barely above her. Louise reach her other hand out, which she easily took, their helmets gently knocking against each other.

Even as she was floating in space, she could have never felt so light, so free. She gave a giddy giggle, memorizing the pattern of her freckles, the way one eye looked greener than the other.

“Go on,” Louise breathed, “float with the rest of the stars.”

She could only nod, letting go, turning to face the vast expanse. Wolf 359 glowing, bright, shimmering. There was a crackle of music, her cassette playing through the comms. The only song that felt like home.

“So-o-o… What did we learn, Persephone?” he purred, creeping into the corner of her vision. She stood on her ship, never breaking eyes with the twirling ball of fire.

“You just… Had to ruin the moment, didn’t you, Duke?”

His suit was too finely pressed, the whites sharp enough to kill. He was difficult to look at, his voice really the only clue to who he was. He hummed, “Sorry. Just the way it goes, sometimes.”

She nodded, fists clenching. Let her chest expand, meeting eyes with her star. Fiery, bright, blinding.

“You know you can’t stay here…”

“I know,” she answered, firmly, “I just… Needed to remind myself of something. To see… To see her again.”

“But, humor me here, why this moment? Why here?”

“Maybe because… She was the real star. Because I knew, for sure, here. How much I would do for her.”

He was silent this time, watching as her star, out of focus and blurred, suddenly came into focus, stark and clear. Warping into a deep blue.

“It’s almost time,” he sing-songed, voice grating, tearing her further away from her moment, her precious memory.

“Was any of this real,” she suddenly asked, “Was this… Really mine? Or was this the story I was told so I’d think I-?”

“A question with an answer only you can determine for yourself, Persephone. Ready?”

She sighed, glaring, blurred as her world melted.

“I’m going to mess you-!”

“Clear!” giggled out.

Electricity surged through her, igniting her senses. The entirety of her body washed over her with the shock, washing away as quickly as it came. Another bolt, twice as strong, froze her in a snapshot, memories siphoning into her brain.

Moments of the life she lived.

Young, lips tight, fire in her eyes.

Nose bleeding, fist cocked, army written all over her.

Heart broken, family, friends, all lost, station echoing behind her.

Grim determination, false confidence, curling fear overtaken with frost from cryo.

Ice bathed in flames.

Electricity surged, surged, surged, overloaded her until she was hacking half her lungs out. Her world came to her in puzzle pieces and tsunami waves, understanding far from her mind. Voices called, pressure on her skull that she didn’t know how to process.

“I’d say we’re about… Half way there. After that kids? Training wheels come off.”

***

He locked Machida and Muta separately, hands still shaking as he entered the locking code. He took the long way through the station, working through the damaged and hollow halls until he came back to the medbay.

Persephone slept on the bed, chest rising and falling like it had never stopped. Like a bullet didn’t paint the back wall of the comms room with her grey matter. The shaking returned with fervor, but he sucked in an unsteady breath, digging his nails into the flesh of his palm. Let his chest expand.

No time for fear. No time for fear, for revulsion, for outright grief. He packed the feelings away, stored them in a little box out of sight, and set about to look for Haru. He scoured what remained of the ship, bunks, bathrooms, the mess, only to find her in the first place he thought she’d be, and the last place he wanted to find her.

Even with one less full body bag on the floor, the feeling of death weighed the room down heavy, obscuring the beauty of the stars with the cruelty on man. She didn’t look at him, staring out the observation deck window to the blue star haunting their station. He took a seat beside her, studying her face, following the tear tracks, examining the flecks of blood Persephone coughed onto her.

“Haru…” he began, but what do you say? What do you tell someone, when they’ve witnessed the craziest, most miraculous, most insane thing possible and called it their friend? Nothing. You say their name and sit like a fool with nothing to say. God, they needed to send out a better manual.

She turned to look at him, took in his own mess of an appearance, of a life, and turned away. Tried, measured, and found wanting.

“You can say it, you know…” she mumbled, never breaking eyes with the star.

“Say what?”

She laughed, rubbing her eyes as more tears began to build. “That… That all of this is my fault.”

He froze, heart cracking between his ribs. She watched as she started to cry anew, her hands pressing against her face. He packed everything away, his own sadness, his own guilt, his fiery rage at the world that’d make her feel like that. She was the only one that mattered.

“Haru, none of this is your fault!”

“I was the one who found the signal! The one who didn’t want to kill Toto, the one who got stranded and needed a dumb rescue, bringing the others here! It’s my fault she got shot!”

She wouldn’t- couldn’t- stop shaking, warmth and hope draining out her eyes and down to the floor.

“Stop that, stop that right now,” Yuki commanded, her sweet voice furious, echoing in the makeshift morgue. Haru jumped, looking around for the camera Yuki used to see.

“Yuki?” she called out.

“I won’t have my best friend thinking she’s the sole cause of this hell. It was all of us. It was none of us. It was a chain reaction of horrible decisions and the cruelty of monsters disguised as people. None of us could have prevented, or even predicted this. Not even me. It’s wasn’t you, Haru.”

“She’s right,” he jumped in, taking her hands between his, pulling her attention, “None of this is your fault. Persephone… Persephone made her choice. Machida, Muta, Hiromi… Toto… They all made their choices. You are not responsible for the actions of monsters.”

Haru hiccuped, gasping for breath to find an argument between their truths, but he wouldn’t have it.

“Haru, you are the bravest, the smartest, the kindest person I had the joy to meet. A regular, golden-orange sun will shine on us, one day.”

She nodded, and kept nodding, until he pulled her tight against his chest. He reached a hand, pressed it against the wall, hoping to do something to include Yuki in their human matters.

“I’ll get us all home safe,” he promised, “I’ll make Goddard pay for everything.”

She shook her head, pulling away. He saw the fury burning beneath her skin, jaw set in determination, “No, not before I burn them all to the ground.”

He nodded, rubbing his other hand down her back. She leaned back against him, warm and hurt and vulnerable.

“I’ll take care of you, Haru. And you, Yuki,” he said, confused when Haru pulled away again. Her hands found his cheeks, holding him in place, forcing him to look at her.

“Commander Baron, you can’t carry all of this yourself,” Yuki said, worry laced in her words. He sputtered, tried to reel back, prove he was fine, assure them that he could, but Haru stopped him.

“Baron,” she pleaded, soft, gentle, “let yourself grieve. Let it all process- Besides, I know about you and Toto.”

He jerked, glaring at Yuki’s camera accusingly. Her voice came out nervous, but not regretful.

“My duty is to protect my crew. And, according to my code that I had to bend for a loophole, that means spilling secrets to my best friend to keep her heart from breaking.”

“I pressed her for it, Baron,” she told him, tilting her head with a rueful smile. He didn’t like that look, that train of thought that’d keep him from… A wonderful chance, one day.

“Once, in the beginning, Haru. There was something, a wonderful and… Strange something. But that ended a long time ago. Died, when he hurt you and Yuki.”

She gave a shuddering sigh, shoulders sagging. She pulled him down, arms tight around her neck, his face buried in the crook of her neck.

“It’s okay, Baron,” she soothed, nervous laughter freezing in his throat. His breath hitched, lost in brown hair, the smell of metal and… That damn seaweed shampoo Toto made. The tears fell, Haru whispering kindly in his ear.

“Just let go.”