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zwritestuff · 4 years

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Some Things Are Bound To Be (Chapter Four) - Kyara

A/N: HELLO I AM ALIVE AND WELL. This chapter was such a bitch to write, I swear I have more deleted scenes that actual scenes. A million thanks to Emerald ( @fromthenorthernskies ) for putting up with be while writing this and beta-ing, and to Ella ( @dawningofdrag ) for correcting the Tagalog bit. I love you both very much.

Read On AO3.

***

“Kyne, if you pinch me again, I swear to god—” Kiara’s threat is interrupted by a yelp, and a giggle from Kyne’s end as she secures the pin on the fabric.

“If only you would stay still, I wouldn’t pinch you while trying to make some adjustments,” Kyne says simply, standing up and briefly inspecting the waist area. “Does that feel tight enough?” She asks, walking around Kiara, who just nods, absent-mindedly running her hands around her torso.

She’s not sure what time it is, only knows that the night has arrived hours ago and there’s been a soft rain falling for half of that time. It’s hard to notice the passing of time when she’s with Kyne, talking and laughing and being closer than she ever imagined, when she puts her hands firmly on her body to make arrangements or to keep her still - it’s hard to notice reality altogether.

Kiara goes to the bathroom to take off the dress, and as she’s slipping back into her own clothes, she hears how the rain starts pouring harder and harder. She sees a streak of light in the sky from the tiny window, followed by thunder. She jumps slightly, mumbling a curse as she leaves the bathroom and re-joins Kyne in the living room, who’s quickly closing the windows.

“And the weatherman said we’d have a week without rain,” Kiara says, leaving the dress on the couch. “What time is it, anyway?” She asks, looking around for her phone.

“Like 2 a.m.,” Kyne quickly replies, taking the dress and placing it over the coffee table, flopping onto the couch right away. “How did it get so late? Jesus. I didn’t even notice.” She rubs her face with the back of her palms, stifling a yawn. “You wanna eat something? I have leftover lasagna from yesterday, or I have enough cheese to make pizza if you want—”

“I think I should leave before it gets worse,” she interrupts Kyne, fetching her jacket from the rack. She turns to see her, finding her with a frown on her face as she fidgets with her hands.

“Y’know, it really is late, the storm is getting pretty bad by the second, but you live half across the city. I really wouldn’t mind if you stayed the night, y’know.”

Kiara blinks repeatedly, before she realizes what Kyne just said. She feels her face heat up, and it takes her a moment to manage a sentence without stuttering. The offer had taken her completely by surprise.

“I don’t wanna bother you, it’s fine,” she says, dismissing it with a wave of her hand.

“You’re not a bother,” Kyne is quick to reply, shifting on the couch and staring at Kiara with a gentle smile. “I mean it, you can stay here.”

There’s silence for a moment, in which Kiara thinks of a hundred and one excuses to give Kyne to not stay the night. She’s no stranger to running away after a hookup, but this is different in all ways possible, and the way Kyne’s looking at her, silently hoping she’ll accept with that small smile on her face - it’s hard to say no.

Kiara sighs, rubbing her temples as she hangs up her jacket on the rack again and tells Kyne she’ll take the couch. Kyne gives her a toothy smile, saying she would never let her sleep in her room, anyway - she wants to have some dignity left after this, thank you very much.

“My parents would probably scold me and tell me to give you my room, but it’s a hot mess in every way possible,” she tells her over their dinner: heated lasagna and coca cola. “‘Sides, I have a very complex system for finding things, and I would prefer to keep it a secret.” Kiara cocks an amused brow, sipping on her drink.

“I didn’t have you as the type to be messy,” she comments, resting her chin on her palm. Kyne rolls her eyes slightly, stuffing her mouth with the last bit of the lasagna.

“There are many things you don’t know about me.” She winks at her cheekily, proceeding to leave the dishes in the sink, telling Kiara to just leave it like that, she’ll clean up tomorrow. Right now, all she wants to do is get a good night of sleep. But her words are running through Kiara’s mind: she’s not exactly wrong - there are a lot of things she doesn’t know about Kyne, and there are a lot of things she’s discovered in such a short time. She’s curious about what else there’s to unravel regarding Kyne’s personality and life, and she’s never been particularly patient, but for her, she guesses she can make an exception.

Kyne brings her pillows and a blanket, trying to make the couch as comfortable as she can, and she assures her that everything is good, until they realize something. Kiara’s clothes aren’t precisely comfortable to sleep in.

They stare for a moment, before Kyne sighs, mumbling something Kiara can’t quite catch and leaves for a moment, only to come back with a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt, saying she can wear them if she wants. Kiara bites back a smile when she notices the rosy tone of her cheeks as she hands her the clothes.

“I’m gonna go sleep now, you can change in the bathroom, or here, I don’t know, that’s up to you, and, uh, if you need a charger I have a spare one in this drawer,” she rambles a little, pointing at the drawer. Kiara just thanks her with a polite smile, amused at the rare sight of a flustered Kyne. “Good night, Kiki.”

Kiara’s a little thrown off when she hears the nickname come out of Kyne’s lips for the first time, but smiles nonetheless, “Good night, Kyne.” They smile at each other for a moment before Kyne leaves to her room, and Kiara is left standing alone in the living room.

She takes a deep breath and gets changed, immediately being hit with the smell of vanilla emanating from the clothes. She smiles a little, breathing in the scent as she lies on the couch.

The sleeping part doesn’t come easy, mostly, she supposes, because she’s at Kyne’s place, on her couch, and all the photos of Kyne hanging from the walls that are looking down on her, somehow reminding her that this wasn’t part of the plan and it will only make things more awkward once it’s time to call their scheme off. So she does the only logical thing she can think of: texting Rita and Tynomi.

They have a group chat that’s mostly for talking shit about other co-workers, sending files and, in Tynomi’s case, to use it as a replacement for the notes app. Neither of the three uses it much outside work hours, but now, it really comes in-handy.

So, you guys won’t believe this, she prefaces, hitting send way too quickly; she doesn’t think either of them are up, anyway.

That’s where she’s wrong.

Tynomi answers after some moments, while Kiara is still typing, and Rita follows suit. Kiara deletes what she had just typed to ask them what they are doing up at these hours.

Kiara snorts, re-typing her whole message with odd excitement.

Rita and Tynomi answer almost immediately to Kiara’s surprise, apparently she’s caught their attention. She takes a deep breath before replying; she knows they’ll freak out and take things out of context before she has an option of explaining, it’s their thing. Especially considering they’ve taken every opportunity they have to pester her about Kyne.

She bites back a giggle as she hits send on a meme, completely flustered at the conversation going on - Tynomi’s “you don’t usually stay the night” hits too close home, but, she reminds herself, this is different. She’ll probably forget this happened in a couple months, once they’ve broken up and this turns into a funny story they can confide to their friends.

Kiara talks to them until she’s running out of battery, and has to inevitably go to sleep, not without fetching Kyne’s charger and setting it aside.

Rita and Tynomi’s words linger on her mind before she finally falls asleep, and Kiara wonders for a split second what it’d be like if she were actually dating Kyne. She supposess not much would change, not really.

***

Kiara isn’t woken up by the sun, the birds chirping, or any of that - rather, it’s the noise coming from the kitchen that makes her reluctantly wake up. For a moment she forgets where she is, until she hears Kyne’s voice and remembers she had been persuaded to stay the night. She rubs her eyelids, trying to shake off the sleepiness, and unwillingly gets up to meet Kyne at the kitchen.

It’s tiny, and she easily finds her perched against the counter, wearing a worn out tank top and shorts, glancing at the coffee machine with annoyance, muttering things under her breath as she fidgets with her hair. Kiara can't believe she has the audacity to look good just woken up.

“Hey, mornin’,” she greets, and Kyne jumps a little, before lazily smiling at her, rubbing her eyelids.

“Gandang umaga,” she says, dragging the last A. “If you want coffee, may tasas diyan sa cabinet, though you should take a seat, this coffee machine is shit, kainis eh, tagal bago makagawa ng kape,” Kyne mutters with a growl, not realizing the inquisitive look Kiara is giving her.

They stare at each other for a moment, Kiara cocks an amused brow, perching herself against the doorframe, before Kyne realizes she clearly doesn't know Tagalog.

“Sorry, I do that a lot, mixing Tagalog and English I mean. I can't properly function without my morning coffee,” she explains, stifling a yawn. She stands on her tiptoes to reach a cupboard, and Kiara quickly approaches her from behind, fetching two mugs with ease, setting it on the counter. Kyne turns to see her with a slight frown. “I could reach for it without help,” Kyne says, with an annoyed tone that just causes Kiara to giggle. She mumbles something else under her breath that Kiara can’t quite catch, both because the noise coffee machine makes and because she can’t understand Tagalog.

“Whatever you say.” She puts her palms up in surrender and watches as Kyne pours the coffee in the mugs, telling her to grab them and set them on the table while she makes toasts.

They move with ease around the kitchen, despite the lack of space making them bump into the other more than once, mostly because they’re sleep deprived, but Kiara can clearly see how Kyne evades her gaze, how she keeps herself busy to not have to make small talk. Kiara tries not to think much about it, maybe having her there threw her off a little from her morning routine - either way, it’s too early to overthink.

Well, she’s not exactly sure what time it is, but it’s not like it matters, anyway; not when she’s with Kyne.

They make breakfast together, anticipating the other’s movements with ease and silently enjoying each other’s company. It’s homey, and peaceful, and surely it’ll be the last moment of peace they have together before all hell breaks loose at 8 p.m., once they arrive to the Starzy Ball and Kiara has to put up her cutthroat business woman facade while Kyne clings from her arm, until they inevitably have to meet Kiara’s parents - she’s been, simultaneously, dreading this day and anticipating it with excitement bubbling up in her stomach.

Maybe it’s just the spending time with Kyne part that she doesn’t mind at all, the part where they gossip and snicker about the rest of the people at the ball while they eat various fancy snacks - the part where fancy balls are tolerable for once, not because they’re more bearable, but because she has Kyne to make them better.

Once they’re done with breakfast, having cleaned the mugs and last night’s dirty dishes while they listened to one of Kiara’s random playlists, Kyne asks her if she wants to join her in with her skincare routine, though really, it’s just a facemask she bought per one of her friends’ recommendation and she has used ever since. Kiara accepts happily, but in hindsight, she probably shouldn’t have; Kyne delicately but firmly takes her face in one of her hands, and with the other, she applies the creamy mask with an old brush.

They’re sitting in Kyne’s living room, and their faces aren’t even that close, but Kiara feels as if there’s not enough air in the room, as her heart plummets against her ears and all she can do is try to keep her cool as Kyne gently traces the pattern of her face.

Yet Kiara can’t quite put two and two together, though.

She leaves Kyne’s apartment two hours after, with a dress that fits her like a glove and a weird feeling that’s settled in her chest. Kyne tried to persuade her to stay for lunch, since it was almost time for it anyway, but she’s spent too much time at her place already, and she doesn’t want to bother her anymore.

Despite Kyne saying that she likes her company, Kiara can’t help but feel weirdly uneased, especially when she spots Kyne stealing glances at her out of the corner of her eye, with an indecipherable look.

She can only hope things go smoothly tonight.

***

The hours pass too slowly for Kiara’s liking, and she finds herself wandering around her own apartment, bored out of her mind, more than once throughout the afternoon.

She eats lunch alone, ordering takeout from a nearby restaurant and planting herself in front of her TV, flickering through Netflix’s catalogue, searching for something that can set her mind off Kyne, but most movies bore her even more if that’s possible, and the shows she usually re watches with a smile on her face aren’t cutting it either.

She texts Rita and Tynomi throughout the day, not mentioning at all what she’s feeling, because the last thing she needs now is those two on her case. Instead, she just fills them in on what happened in the last hours.

Tynomi says it wouldn’t surprise her if they end up dating for real, Rita agrees, and Kiara only sends them eye rolling emojis.

Kiara is many things, but she’s not delusional enough to believe they’ll end up in a real relationship - she thought that once, way before Kyne appeared in her life, and things didn’t end up well. It doesn’t matter how well it looks like they get along, Kiara won’t take that risk again.

She rubs her eyelids, deciding that taking a shower and a nap wouldn’t hurt.

***

Before Kiara can even stop to realize what’s happening, to overthink everything one last time, she’s holding the door open for Kyne as she slides in the passenger seat, ready to head to the ball and meet her parents. Admittedly, focusing just on the road is simply too difficult for Kiara, who can’t help but to steal glances at Kyne every other second.

She looks mesmerizing, even more than normal - her suits of every color of the rainbow, high ponytail and sharp eyeliner she always wears to the office are something Kiara’s become used to, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less radiant. Though this isn’t the first time she sees her wearing this dress, it sure is the first time she sees Kyne in a full face of makeup, with her hair down in soft waves and killer heels.

She’s stunning, and just looking at her knocks the air out of Kiara’s lungs. Kiara hopes and prays that helps for acting like a couple in love.

They make small talk while Kiara drives, soothing each other’s nerves with encouraging words disguised as playful banter, and though Kiara was scared for a second to give Kyne the aux cord, she forgets about it as soon as Donna Summer starts playing.

Kyne loudly sings the lyrics to Bad Girls, making Kiara laugh as loud as her, and it makes the drive go by in the blink of an eye - almost as if on cue, once the playlist ends, Kiara pulls up one block away from where the venue is, saying unprompted that’s because she knows it must be packed and it’d be a nightmare to get out of by the end of the night.

Her hands tremble as she turns off the engine, her nerves and self doubt suddenly kicking in. Would she be able to pull this off without making it too obvious it was false, thus embarrassing both of them? She feels Kyne give her shoulder a squeeze, interrupting her train of thought, looking at her with a feeling she can’t quite put a finger on.

“Listen, I’m as scared as you are, but I’m never going to have any other occasion to wear this dress, so.” She shrugs, leaving the sentence in the air, smiling slightly. “We better get walking, ‘cause I was promised food, and I’m getting hungry,” she jokes to lighten up the mood, and Kiara smiles back.

They walk in silence, and at some point Kyne intertwines their hands, giving Kiara’s hand a little squeeze. It’s a little gesture, but it makes her breath hitch in her throat, her heart beating faster and faster with every step they take.

Once they’re in the queue to enter, Kiara pulls out her phone from the pockets in her dress to shoot her parents a message, telling them that they’re waiting outside. She feels Kyne tug at her arm while her stare is glued to her phone, so she hums noncommittally.

“I thought this would be more… Fancy, y’know. I feel as if I’m on my senior prom all over again,” she mutters, close to her ear so she’s the only one that hears. Kiara involuntarily snorts, putting her phone away and turning to see Kyne, who’s shamelessly looking around the queue, judging everyone’s clothes.

“Not everyone can have great taste like you,” she playfully replies, earning a chuckle and an eye roll from her.

Once they reach the front, Kiara pulls out their invitation envelopes and they’re quickly let in, and she can’t help but to smile when Kyne looks around the venue, taking everything in and squeezing her hand. She squeezes right back as she guides them through the sea of people, stopping every so often to greet people that she knows because of her parents.

When Kiara finally spots her mother among the crowd, her stomach flips, stopping in her tracks to look back at Kyne, who looks as anxious as her, practically wanting to go anywhere but near Kiara’s parents - she can’t blame her, really; at the end of the day, they’re still her bosses.

“It’ll be alright,” Kiara manages to say, trying to convince herself more than anything. “They’re nice people, they’ll like you, like I do,” she assures her. Kyne cocks a brow, a cheeky smile blooming in her face as Kiara’s cheeks heat up when she realizes what she just said. “No, I mean— you know what I meant.”

Kyne giggles, swinging their hands. “Yeah, I know,” she replies simply, “Let’s go, I’m eager to get fired.” Her faux sweet delivery makes Kiara laugh, easing the nerves as they walk up to her parents.

Her mother spots them before her dad, quickly making her way towards them with a huge smile on her face, stare fixated on Kyne and their intertwined hands. Sweat prickles the back on Kiara’s head, but it’s too late to back down or run away, so she just gulps and allows her to hug her tight before wrapping Kyne in another hug.

“Hi, darling! Kyne, right? I’m Rebecca, and it’s great to finally meet you!” She chirps excitedly, the smile never leaving her face. Kyne briefly glances at Kiara before returning the smile and the pleasantries. “Honey, let’s go find your dad, shall we? I know he’s dying to meet you too.” She motions at them to follow her and they follow suit, their hands finding each other again.

Though Kyne didn’t exactly know Kiara’s mom before, she sure as hell has seen Kiara’s dad around the company, but never actually met him. Once they find him, the squeeze she gives her almost makes Kiara yelp, but she reminds herself that she dragged them here, so really, she can’t complain.

“Papa, this is my girlfriend, Kyne,” Kiara says, her stomach flips again when she addresses Kyne as her girlfriend for the first time. She knows it’s fake, but she can’t help the fuzzy feeling that spreads in her chest.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Kyne greets with a smile, awkwardly sticking her hand out to shake. Kiara’s dad smiles gently, accepting the handshake.

“It’s good to meet you too, my daughter has told me lots of great things about you,” he says, and Kyne immediately turns to look at Kiara with a sneaky smile, probably wondering what she’s said about her.

It doesn’t take long before they’re asking Kyne about her job at the company, about herself, her family; Rebecca does most of the questioning, eager to know more about her supposed new daughter-in-law, while her husband just nods, talking every so often.

So far, things are going well, and it seems like they’ll be able to pull this off successfully - they have the right amount of chemistry, and Kiara finds it easy to naturally place an arm around Kyne’s waist at some point during the night. Though Kyne jumps at the contact, she quickly relaxes into it, and Kiara figures that’s just her going along with it to not seem suspicious.

The only part that’s proving difficult is not getting bored out of her mind while talking to the other guests, most of which her parents know one way or another, and thus she’s forced to interact with them. Some look at her hand wrapped around Kyne’s waist with an eyebrow cocked, curiosity in their gaze as they bite their tongue to avoid asking a stupid question.

Some do ask questions, wonder if she’s Kiara’s girlfriend with faux politeness she’s all too familiar with, inquiring afterwards how they met. The looks on their faces always change when Kyne replies that she works for her company before Kiara can say anything, a fake smile plastered on her face as she watches how they probably wonder if she’s a golddigger.

“At least one of us is having fun,” Kiara says ironically, while they’re getting snacks from one of the tables near the walls. Kyne hums, her mouth full of appetizers.

“I mean, if you think about it, I’m never going to see these people again, so what’s the matter?” She shrugs, reaching for more appetizers. Though it’s technically true, that statement makes Kiara feel weirdly uneasy, but she pushes those feelings away.

Truth be told, the only reason the night is bearable is because Kyne runs her mouth a lot more than Kiara thought, with her deadpan humor that no one but Kiara seems to understand. She only gets chattier and chattier as she drowns glass after glass of champagne, saying she’s drinking in Kiara’s name since she can’t drink tonight.

At some point, Kiara’s arm finds her way around Kyne’s waist again, when she comments that she’s starting to feel a little lightheaded. It was almost instant, and this time around, Kyne didn’t even flinch at the contact. Kiara, again, thought nothing of it.

Aside from meeting Anastarzia and her kooky, weird secretary that wore a suit with mismatched colors - Jimbo, if they heard correctly - nothing really exciting happened. Sure, the food and the drinks were nice, and Kyne was having the time of her life sending photos after photos to her friends’ group chat with a shit-eating grin. She takes a lot of dorky selfies with unflattering angles, usually pulling Kiara into the frame, and it takes a lot of her willpower to not laugh loudly at Kyne’s faces.

More than a couple hours have probably passed, though they’re nowhere near the end of the event, when Kiara feels Kyne tug at her arm while they’re pretending to be interested in a conversation they were dragged into.

“I don’t know how to tell you this nicely,” Kyne begins, settling her chin on Kiara’s shoulder, speaking softly enough so only she can hear. “But I’m bored out of my mind,” her faux sweet delivery, along with the flutter of her eyelashes, makes Kiara chuckle.

“Well, what do you want me to do?” She asks softly, as Kyne looks up at her with a blank expression.

“Let’s go to McDonalds, I’m hungry,” she suggests, her expression lightning up almost immediately. Kiara laughs wholeheartedly this time - she spent the whole night devouring those appetizers! Almost as if she can read her mind, she continues, “Listen, it’s not my fault those appetizers can’t satisfy me. Rich people's food is lame, and I know you’re hungry too,” Kyne states, matter-of-factly.

Well, she can’t really argue with that - she does feel a little hungry, despite all the snacks she ate. And, if she’s being honest, she appreciates the excuse to leave, so she finds her parents to quickly bid them goodbye, saying Kyne has a headache and wants to leave. Her mother makes Kiara promise she’ll bring Kyne to the family dinners soon, and he echoes the sentiment. She forces a smile and falsely promises she will, turning around as Kyne tells them again it was really nice to meet them.

“I think they liked me,” she comments, latching onto Kiara’s arm to not stumble with her own feet. “Who would’ve thought Antoine Schatzi would even know my name!” She giggles, resting her head against Kiara’s shoulder again. And Kiara knows she’s more than tipsy, that this is all pretend, but the warm feeling that spreads through her chest at the contact is everything but fake.

***

Though it’s fairly late, there’s still people inside the nearest McDonald's Kiara could find on Google Maps, so they resolve to just order through the drive through - even if she had no problem eating in a fancy gown and a full-face of makeup, the decision was more due to Kyne’s inability to walk straight. Crowded places weren’t exactly good if she wanted to keep Kyne from falling flat on her face.

Even though Kyne was the one that suggested they go to McDonald’s, her brain short-circuited for a moment while ordering, asking a tad too loud if she could have one of those paper crowns with her order, before remembering that’s a Burger King thing. Kiara just ordered a cheeseburger and a Big Mac through hiccups of laughter and dead silence on the employee’s end.

“Did you really drink that much?” Kiara inquires as they’re waiting for their order. Kyne rolls her eyes, pinching her on the arm.

“That’s none of your business,” she replies, childishly sticking her tongue out as Kiara looks at her in amusement.

Just a week ago she would’ve never imagined she’d get to see this side of Kyne, satisfied with their short encounters during office hours and polite enough friendship, but now, she wants this Kyne as a friend too - the messy drinker, quick-witted, caring Kyne that makes her laugh with every other word she says.

They’re sitting on the hood of Kiara’s car, eating their hamburgers and stealing each other’s fries as they talk about anything and everything - mostly about Kyne’s impressions of everyone she had met at the ball, not holding back on her opinions now that they were alone.

As she’s mimicking the voice of one of the women they met, Kiara notices a stain of what looks like mayonnaise in the corner of Kyne’s mouth, so she takes a napkin and brings her hand to her face to clean it up, making Kyne stop in the middle of a sentence. Kiara instructs her to be still and she complies, her gaze never leaving Kiara, even when she withdraws her hand, tossing the napkin into the food bag.

There’s a moment of silence, though not an uncomfortable one, before Kyne speaks again.

“Y’know, if I forget to tell you when you drop me home, I really like spending time with you. I enjoyed being your fake girlfriend,” she says earnestly, and the softness of her voice and tone makes Kiara’s heart race.

“I really liked having you as my fake girlfriend,” she echoes, though she doesn’t actually mean it - not because she didn’t enjoy the night, or because she regrets asking this to Kyne, not at all. She doesn’t regret anything.

It’s just that, as she stares at Kyne, listening to her chaotic train of thought while she tries to steal her fries, it hits her that she likes her. Actually likes her. Has probably liked her since the moment they met, when she made her giggle within minutes of meeting each other, when she let her hide in her office without much of an explanation, when she listened to her problems and offered solutions in her own Kyne way - she’s not sure when it started, but now that she knows it, the whole fake dating arrangement doesn't sit well with her.

#my fanfiction #rpdr fanfiction #kiara schatzi #kyne #online kyne #kyara #fake dating au #some things are bound to be fic

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clownsgobeepbeep · 5 years

Note

heheh chase

My original idea for this was a lot funnier and cuter, but I decided to go with a completely different fic

There’s still another thing I have to write before this, that thing being a little more angsty because of certain reactions uwu

But anyways, this takes place in the future after the Ula and Atlas issue uwu

At this point, it was clear that nearly everybody knew about what had gone down just the other day.

It first started with the family who, despite not meaning to, listened to the words being yelled out, muffled yet not unheard through the walls. Now, the sound that was heard yet muffled was the loud music coming inside the bedroom belonging to Ula.

Just outside the bedroom door stood her siblings, making strange faces as they heard the loud music booming from inside. They turned to each other before finally speaking.

“This is like when Schrader left.” Cordelia whispered as Davey gave a nod. “Except she’s not listening to his favorite song but instead My Radioactive Love.”

“Radioactive what?”

“Love. You know, that band she would always listened to when we were younger and she would dressed all black with the thick eyeliner.”

“Cordelia, it’s My Chemical Romance.”

“Davey, I’m pretty sure it’s My Radioactive Love.” Cordelia stated in a matter-of-fact-ly tone before Davey rolled his eyes, then looking back at Ula’s door before grabbing the doorknob. He hesitated for a bit as he gave his younger sister a glance, Cordelia nodding before Davey turned the knob and slightly opened the door to see their older sister lying in bed as the music inside basically hit them in the faces.

Ula’s back faced the door as her large scar was exposed and she didn’t seem to be moving very much. So, Davey quietly shut the door again before he and Cordelia turned to each other.

“Maybe she’s asleep.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Cordelia deeply sighed before giving a gasp, though she covered her mouth before Davey felt a bit of panic as well.

“What are you guys doing here?” came their father’s voice as he approached them, glancing at the door they stood next to. “Kids…”

“We were just checking up on her!” Cordelia exclaimed in a whisper before Lennie released a deep breath, shaking his head slightly.

“Ula needs some privacy right now, okay?” Lennie pat the kids’ shoulders before they gave nods. “Just...go and check on the pups, yeah?”

Once again, the siblings nodded before doing as they were told after leaving. Lennie on the other hand, he bit his lip before grabbing Ula’s doorknob to cautiously open her door, peeking in to see that she was still in bed. He gave yet another sigh, then starting to close the door until a voice stopped him.

Don’t close it.

“What?” Lenie turned around, scanning the area as the voice was nothing more. In fact, it probably wasn’t his voice and just his...imagination.

“Dad?”

Lennie turned around again and he blinked in surprise as he looked into Ula’s room, realizing that she had now been staring at him after having turned down her music.

“Ula, hi.” he gave a slight wave after having opened the door just a bit more. “Are...how...um-”

“I’m fine, dad.” Ula replied as she now sat up in bed, Lennie noticing that Mana had been inside the room the entire time as he now placed his head onto Ula’s lap. “Did you need anything?”

“No, no. I’m fine, just wanted to see how you were doing is all. Do you maybe want some ice cream?” Lennie offered before Ula shook her head. “Maybe some waffles?”

“I’m okay.” Ula gave a shrug before Lennie stepped into the room.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lennie questioned as he stared Ula directly in her eyes, watching as she gave a gulp before biting her bottom lip. There was a silence between them before Lennie noticed her lip quiver and her hands started to shake a bit, tears at the corners of her eyes before she shut them and opened her mouth.

“No…” Ula shook her head with a sob, Lennie hurriedly approaching her after having shut her door. Meanwhile, Mana rubbed his head on Ula whilst licking her hands to comfort her as best as possible.

“Ula, come here.” Lennie now got on Ula’s bed, sitting down before inviting her into his space, Ula accepting and hugging his body as she lay her head against him. “Hey, it’s okay….it’s okay…”

“N-no it’s not…” Ula shook her head as Mana nudged her side, curling up beside her with his head layning on her. “I’m such an idiot dad!”

“Ula, don’t say that. That’s not true.” Lennie stroked her hair before moving it out of her face. “You’re not an idiot.”

“But I am!” Ula sobbed as she felt Lennie kiss the top of her head. “I-I-I….I...A-Atlas-”

“Ula, breathe.” Lennie lifted her head so she could look up at him, Lennie staring at her messy face as tears poured out of her eyes rapidly. “Just breathe right now, okay? Calm down, let it all out.”

Ula stared back up at Lennie while gasping for air, sobs never ceasing as Lennie wiped her eyes with his sleeve. After a while though, she eventually did calm down, yet her tears remained.

“Dad...I...I-I’m such an idiot…I’m such a fucking idiot…”

“Ula…”

“I-I did-did-didn’t even, let him talk! All I did, was, was yell at him…” Ula continued as she buried her face into her dad’s chest, hugging him tighter whilst being careful not to hurt him. Mana scoot himself closer towards the both of them, curling up on Lennie and next to Ula who he attempted to lick her.

“Ula, Ula please listen to me.” Lennie now held Ula’s face after she had looked up at him. “Ula, it’s not your fault.”

“B-but-!”

“Ula, I know...I know he didn’t get much of a word in, but...look, I know where you’re coming from. I agree with you in that it wasn’t very nice of Atlas to think those things about you, and Schrader.” Lennie stroked her hair once again, his other hand still holding her cheek as his thumb rubbed over one of her cheek swirls that had faded into a duller red. “Couples, they sometimes argue. Sometimes they but heads and can’t always agree on everything with each other.”

“But dad! I t-threw him away like he wa-was nothing! He’s my b-best friend!”

“Ula, best friends also sometimes have their own arguments. Not everybody is perfect.”

“What about mom?”

“Well, that’s a different story.” Lennie chuckled with a tiny smile, wiping Ula’s tears once again. “But Ula, look. You can’t be so hard on yourself, especially if the two of you are just taking a break from each other. Because, you didn’t break up, right?”

“No…”

“You guys are still together, even if Atlas....isn’t here.”

“He left because of me.”

“He left because he was too upset, and I know you would have probably left too. It can be upsetting being around somebody who hurt you, I know. But in time he’ll come back and things...things will hopefully get better.”

“Dad.” Ula now looked at Lennie in the eyes, finally having actually calmed down despite her voice being the slightest bit shaky. “Dad, I need you to be honest with me right now.”

Lennie gave a nod as Ula wiped her nose, steadying her breath.

“Dad...do you think Atlas had a point thinking those things?” Ula started as she now glanced away. “Thinking that...I still have feelings for Schrader?”

“I...I don’t think it was right of him to jump to those sort of conclusions so quickly.” Lennie replied with a bit of a smile, thought it was forced and another attempt to reassure Ula. “But, even if you did have feelings for Schrader still...it would only be right for Atlas to know this.”

“Would it have been wrong if I did still have feelings for Schrader?”

“Well…” Lennie scratched his head to ponder for a moment. “Like I said, you would have to tell Atlas about it, especially if you told him it wasn’t true that he thought that.”

“Well it isn’t true, I don’t feel about Schrader that way anymore.” Ula shook her head.

“Okay, but Ula, if you did love Schrader still…” Lennie now gave her a real smile. “Then just know that I’m with you all the way. I support you no matter the path you decide to take. With either boy, both boys, or neither one. As long as you’re happy. Even if you don’t know what you want in life, it’s okay.”

“Okay…” Ula nodded before sitting up to wipe her eyes once again, then turning to Mana who still looked at her worriedly. “I...I love Atlas...but...I...well, I k-k-know I sa-”

Ula was then interrupted by the sound of knocking, Mana hopping off her bed before he rushed over to it, somewhat alert as he feared anything could hurt Ula more now. He barked at the door, especially as more knocking was heard.

Lennie turned to look at Ula who nodded, so he spoke in the direction of the door.

“Come in.”

At the sound of Lennie’s voice, the door slowly opened to reveal a surprise to Ula and Lennie. Speak of the devil.

“Schrader.” Ula breathed out as said young man walked inside, Mana’s demeanor taking a turn to a much more excited one as his tail began wagging.

“Hey, Nungen.” Schrader gave a bit of a wave before clearing his throat upon noticing Lennie. “Mr. Blueblood.”

“Hey Schrader.”

“What are you doing here?” Ula wiped her face in attempt to hide the fact that she had been crying earlier.

“I just came to check on you, if that’s alright.” Schrader crouched down to pet Mana who began licking his hand. “And I also brought you a milkshake, and Sonny gave me some cheesecake he made specifically for you.”

“Oh, wow, thanks.” Ula finally managed to give a smile as Schrader smiled back at her. “You didn’t have to.”

“Sure I did. You’re not in the best situation right now.” Schrader approached Ula and Lennie before giving him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry I didn’t bring anything for you or the kids Mr. Blueblood.”

“Don’t worry about it Schrader.” Lennie gave a thumbs up. “We’re all fine.”

Schrader gave a nod, opening his mouth to speak before he was then interrupted by a loud gasp that startled everybody.

“Nooo!”

“What was that?” Lennie tried to see what was going on, hearing barks and footsteps before the bedroom door opened even more as something ran in. “Oh no-”

“Puppies! Come back!” Cordelia shouted as she and Davey ran down the hallway and into Ula’s room where all the axolotls were now gathered after having been chased by the siblings.

“Dang it, get out!” Davey also shouted before running back out, an axolotl having run off to be chased again by Davey. “Petunia!”

“Dad I’m sorry!” Cordelia exclaimed as she now grabbed one of the axolotls who wiggled around in her arms. “They escaped!”

“Hey, I’ll help out.” Schrader gave a chuckle as he set down the things he brought for Ula, then grabbing one of the axolotls, then noticing the mother of them all. “Hey there Kala.”

Said axolotl then turned away with a stern expression, giving him the cold shoulder before hopping onto Ula’s bed to snuggle with Ula and Lennie, specifically Ula however.

To this, Schraderd gave a bit of a shrug, then picking up another axolotl before taking the two he held back to the room they belonged in. Cordelia also followed behind him with another one as two remained, as well as the parents.

Ula gave a bit of a laugh before Lennie and Kala turned to her in curiosity, Ula smiling as she stroked Kala’s head.

“Funny how...every time Atlas leaves off to some far off place, Schrader’s here.” she then turned to Lennie who gave a bit of a nod, then feeling as Ula gave him a hug while giving a sniff.

“Schrader’s a nice boy.”

“Yeah.” Ula nodded seeing as Schrader came back with Cordelia, letting her get one of the axolotls as he grabbed another to take them back to their room. She then looked down at Kala who nudged her head on her arm, doing it so that Ula’s arm was on her back.

“Thanks dad...I think...I’m okay now.”

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