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onedaughterofman · 1 year

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You, forever (Chapter VIII: Spawn of pure malevolence)

Pairing: Papa Emeritus IV x g/n reader

Summary: The Clergy takes something from Copia, but he refuses to let go.

Warnings/tags: descriptions of corpses and deaths, implied/referenced murder, discussions of Luciferianism and religion. I'll probably edit it again another day, but if I don't post it now I'm afraid I'll never will. Around 4K words!

PREV CHAPTER HERE

“I heard the wind has changed in Har Megiddo.”

Below the surface, the Necromancer’s boots emit a thunderous sound against the ground. The echo travels through the chamber, vibrating in the walls before getting lost in the distance.

In slow motion, they stride around the room. Those dim eyes examine the surfaces, rapidly bypassing the decorations and statues that clutter the corners before centering on the glass coffin in the middle of the place.

Oh.

Huge pupils expand even more inside the light irises when the Necromancer takes a step forward. Then, another. Gaze locked, they move cautiously towards the casket. It's not an ordinary occurrence to find a corpse so carefully curated, so beautifully cared for. There are flowers and gold jewelry surrounding the body, delicate silk and velvet enveloping it like a fine cerecloth.

Those are not merely bloody, mangled human remains.

No. That is a piece of art and there’s nothing the Necromancer wants more than to lay their hands on it, to make it twirl under the midnight sun. All it would take it'd be a twitch of their fingers...

Of course, they can’t do anything for as long as Papa Emeritus stands in the way.

Such a shame.

Such a pity.

“I love what you have done with the place.” The words are devoid of emotion, completely empty. Indifference coats each syllable, extending the spaces with air. “I can’t believe this has been down here all this time.”

Papa Emeritus IV continues to be silent. Guarding him, stand two ghouls. They all stare in the Necromancer's direction, following every slight movement.

The leather of Papa’s glove creaks when he tightens his fist, muscles tensing upon the gesture. His clothes are spotless, carefully tailored to drape around his body in a way that it wouldn’t fit anyone else. The Necromancer has a good eye for details and they must admit that Papa radiates a strong aura of power and royalty, to the point it’s almost intimidating.

Fortunately, the Necromancer laughs in the face of authority. The glass is cold when their hand falls flat on the surface, nails grazing over the smooth material.

Tap.

“This is nice.”

Tap.

Papa doesn’t reply. The black polish on the Necromancer’s nails is chipped and messy, a somber color on the extremely pale skin. It requires a considerable effort not to react when they move closer, face almost pressing on the coffin and head leaning to one side. The warm breath fogs up the glass, coats the surface that shields your body from the dust and humidity of the underground tunnels.

“The mortician did a good job with this one.” Dark hair falls flat on the Necromancer’s forehead, casting shadows over their eyes. Yet, it does nothing to hide the undeniable glint in them. “Looks like they sleep peacefully.”

Too peacefully. The Necromancer practically feels as if they could rouse you up with a few snaps of their fingers. Over your nose, the black nails tap once and then twice, waiting for a reaction.

Nothing happens, there is no fluttering of eyelashes or twitch of your brows.

You’re dead.

That’s good.

It’s better when they are dead. The deceased can’t judge, complain or do anything but follow orders and dance round and round. To be the puppet master, the one who controls and possesses, that’s a distinctive type of privilege very few have.

It’s a gift, something that must be appreciated and exploited to the full potential.

Not everybody agrees. Looking back, the Necromancer finds Papa Emeritus IV standing a few meters away, jaw tense and burning gaze. Another short sound emerges from the glass when their nails tap again, never averting their eyes.

“Stop it,” Papa barks, and the ghouls bare their teeth at the command. The infernal creatures are practically as tense as he is, ready to jump and attack at any threat. The Necromancer fears no ghoul or Papa, but they have to admit this one is different from the rest. Historically, Papas have inevitably been nothing but a figurehead, a puppet in the hands of the Clergy.

Not this one.

Papa Emeritus IV possesses a certain air of danger surrounding his body and the unmistakable scent of Death holds close to his robes and skin. When he moves, the screams coming from beyond the grave sound louder, rising in a never-ending chorus of misery.

The voices inside the Necromancer’s head never shut up. It’s annoying, terribly so. The damned crave violence, blood, yearn for more destruction. Everywhere Papa goes, the shrieks follow him, for he has sent so many souls underground, condemned many to burn and decay until the end of times.

A hollow laugh escapes their lungs. The Necromancer remains still, back straight as they take half a step to the side. “I don’t think your lover minds it,” they affirm. “But I have to admit I’m a bit saddened at the fact that the body is unburied. Digging them up is the best part."

“I’ll give you everything you need to work with.” Copia assures hastily, moving a hand to motion at the other. “But don’t test my patience.”

The Necromancer’s teeth shine under the pale glow radiating from the old lamps. Oblivious to the threat, their lips stretch in a grin before they let out a few bitter chuckles. Even if their shoulders shrug, the hand never leaves the glass. Their palm lays flat on the surface, as a blatant provocation. “If you don’t like me, you can always get yourself another necromancer. I know the Clergy occupied some. They used to bring Nihil back all the time.”

Papa’s reply comes rapidly, brimming with poison. “I have already asked them.”

“Is that so?" They mock, elongating the words. "What did they say?”

“Bringing my love back is not the same as the old man.”

Naturally. Reanimating a corpse to perform an action for a few minutes at most it’s not a complex task. It’s children’s play. Now, to bring back someone for an extended period, both in body and soul…

That’s a whole different story.

That’s insanity.

Fortunately, the Necromancer rejoices in it. “The underworld is very possessive of the souls that fall into it.” They explain, circling around the box. “If you don’t know where to search, you might end up roaming in the dark forever.”

Papa Emeritus is unimpressed. He merely huffs, a hardened expression plastered on his face. “You will find the way," he states, nonchalantly, but it still sounds like a command.

No. It sounds like a threat.

The Necromancer’s hair moves to follow the soft nodding of their head, as they muse over the situation. “This one has been gone for a while,” they say, examining the body. “An ordinary human with no spiritual influence or important connections to the occult. Their soul could be anywhere. We’ll have to search for weeks, months even, and if we find them we’ll have to gamble with Death,” a pause. “Shit. It’s going to be a mess. Are you sure you want both body and soul? Can’t it be only the body? It’ll feel just the same.”

“I demand for all of them. Don’t play games.”

It’s not easy. Necromancers prefer to summon the recent departed, since they still retain some lucidity. Usually, that timeframe is limited to twelve months following the death of the physical body. Even so, a big part of the success will depend on the circumstances around the demise.

The circumstances, as far as they heard, are messy. “Like I said. If you don’t appreciate how I work, find another person.”

Papa’s touch burns like hellfire. His leather glove is harsh over the Necromancer's skin, fingers curled tight on their forearm. They try shaking him away to no avail. Under the hazy lights, his white eye casts a strong, almost blinding glow. Waves of energy emanate from his body, shaking the Necromancer to the core.

That’s the power of an Emeritus.

It’s terrifying, intoxicating.

“I searched everywhere! Nobody wants to do this,” Papa yells, pulling them closer. The following words are muttered through his teeth, barely discernible. “You are the only one crazy enough to accept, Goore.”

“That I am.”

Mary Goore. Expert necromancer, a brilliant person with a prosperous future, cradled by fortune and the promise of wealth and honor since birth. Goore, the first born of an influential family within The Clergy.

Also, Goore, the teen who was expelled from the Academy of the Occult for questionable necromancy practices and devoted the rest of their days performing in rundown bars, doing everything in their power to spit in the faces of the higher-ups.

Mary Goore, who died more than a decade ago and then without any forewarning came back to life. The story says a corpse covered in cemetery dirt and hair full of maggots rose from an unmarked grave during the snow moon.

How could that happen, nobody knows. “Not even Death wanted them,” Mary said with pride upon questioning. Not even the cold, unforgiving grip of the Undertaker could halt them.

Hell spat them up.

Now, Mary is in front of him; an unhinged smile tattooed on their lips. The gesture does not match the desolation inside their deep pupils and the mix of those two things does nothing to bring peace to Copia. Yet, he doesn’t have any other choice.

Copia is desperate, restless. It’s either Goore, or letting his lover go.

He can’t do that.

You belong with him.

You belong to him, not Death, not Satan.

You belong to him only.

“Is it true?” Papa asks, this time in a more subdued tone. He allows them to go, and Mary clutches their forearm with their left hand. “Can you bring anybody back?”

Mary’s chest expands with pride. There’s arrogance in their body language, oozing from each pore. Goore can detect the smell of his despair, his need. They know they have him right in their palms. “I can. I was the only necromancer talented enough to bring myself back, after all.”

“So it wasn’t a lie, then.” There are many versions of the story. Copia has got wind of most of them. “You fell ill and died, but managed to perform a ritual before exhaling your last breath. How?”

It’s an unfortunate thing. Goore was young. At the time of their death, they were only in their twenties. A fresh corpse was buried on unmarked ground, without a gravestone or a funeral. No one wept for them, not even their parents. The Clergy didn't want to be related to Mary Goore anymore.

The day they died, it was just another Wednesday.

A slow, hollow sound emerges from their throat when they laugh. Underground, the echo is louder, more distinct. Copia feels shivers down his spine, and the ghouls must sense some change in his demeanor, because their muscles immediately stiffen. A slight gesture from his fingers informs them to remain in place, not to attack.

“Is that what they say?” Mary questions, brows furrowed and head tilted. “I fell ill?”

No emotion can be found in that laugh. How such an empty sound can harbor so much bitterness and anger, Copia can’t thoroughly comprehend. He stands still, fingers curling and uncurling. The ghoul on his right growls, letting the deep rumble carry an explicit warning.

Below the surface, the earth screams for blood.

Goore’s energy is overwhelmingly negative, intense. Stinging like ice, but with a burning tinge in it. When their mouth shuts, those black pupils return to Copia’s face. “The stories about my demise are too lame, man. Do you want the truth?”

There’s no reason to say yes. Still…

Copia wants to know. Knowledge is power. He nods.

“Good boy,” Goore says, mockingly. Papa Emeritus bites his tongue not to react. “After those old men got rid of me, I did a bunch of things to piss them off.”

Stealing corpses from the Ministry’s cemetery and forcing them to play songs for their band, for a start. Goore didn’t recall their names. They merely knew those cadavers were important to someone, because they had the best tombs full of lovely flowers and glistening gravestones.

Then, the papal paint. Messy and greasy, tainted with blood and dirt. That was blasphemous, a spit on all their faces. Mimicking and tarnishing something so holy arose a wave of outrage and shock, making a few old men and women clutch their crucifixes in dismay.

Naturally, the open mockery played a good part. Repugnant was on its way to become an established band and they were about to make it big. Someone had to stop them.

“I was doing just fine playing my shit. One day I drank something weird and blacked out. Then, I woke up inside a coffin, mouth sewn and so cold.”

Being buried alive is a dreadful way to die. At the beginning, the desperation clings to your body and heart. The blood flows rapidly, so hot it makes you believe you are capable of opening a way through the wood and dirt.

You can’t.

When the lack of oxygen hits, there’s only despair. It becomes so bleak inside the coffin, frigid to the point you feel your joints slowly freeze. However, Death doesn’t come until your body starts decomposing, while your heart is still fighting.

Lost in the darkness, drowning in your own voiceless screams, you wish you could die faster. It’s torture, a terrible punishment. Goore seized all the dread, clutched it between their palms and reversed it into a spell.

They transformed their death into a rebirth.

Goore finds it funny but also sad. The process of decomposition is fascinating, they investigated and memorized it when they were merely a child.

An old poem in a foreign language, nine beautiful pictures burning in their memory.

After the heart stops, the body temperature drops but it will require hours until it becomes completely cold. Initially, the hands and feet get cold, then the lack of blood circulation causes the skin to look pale. Purple spots commence to appear, born from accumulated stale blood. The dehydration and acidification of muscles make the whole corpse stiff.

What once was a lovely face fades quickly like flowers after the summer. As the autumn leaves, life falls to the ground and evanesces into nothingness. There is no difference between the old and the young, no escape. Sooner or later, faster or slower, everyone dies.

The first step is recent death, then distension. Faces turn dark and lose their characteristic rosy color and the hair withers before tanging with roots and wood. As the organs rot away, the gasses push beyond the grave.

In a deserted tomb, the spirit goes to the other world in solitude.

When exudation comes, the melted fat, blood and fluids emanate from the corpse, coating the surface with disease. At this point, the corpse is beyond recognition. The rotten skin begins to fall, mixing with the body’s impurity.

The wind, sad and cold, is the only one who continues to mourn the dead.

Remaining skin and flesh will soon be gone as well, turning purple and blue before vacating space for the bones to appear. The necrophages will feast and devour for long days and nights, white maggots and green flies covering the dirty remains.

It arrives the time when there is no more flesh, blood or fat. There are only bones, lonely, empty. No one recognizes the name of the person they belonged to or the story behind them. The plagues disappear, wilt and die.

Everything becomes dust and only the trapped spirits cry at night by the grave, waiting to see if the ashes bring new blossoms or more decay.

That didn’t happen to Mary Goore. They ruled over putrefaction and decomposition, remaining petrified in time.

They conquered Death and came back.

“Was it the Clergy?”

Copia is the first one to shatter the silence. His eyes are lost in the distance, staring at ghosts no one but he can see. They dance like shadows, round and round, hitting the walls and falling on the floor, crawling around the dirt and dust, damned.

“Who else?”

A cold grave and sudden death. That’s the sole thing The Clergy can offer to their detractors. Goore knows it well. To become a threat and a distraction, someone who goes against those old men wishes… That’s something no one desires.

A cruel fate. One that both you and them shared.

“I don’t care anymore. I knew who I was provoking, but did they? Were they willing to sacrifice their life for sticking with you?”

The saliva is thick when Copia swallows, but his throat remains dry. The weight in his chest becomes more intolerable than before, burdened with the pressure of Goore’s accusation. Copia’s poor heart beats once, then twice before ceasing.

He’s speechless, silent. Something dark moves behind his back, a shadow with sharp nails and putrid breath. The claws scratch at his nape, grazing the arteries in his neck. A sonorous, guttural screech escapes its throat.

“You promised,” it whispers. “You promised we’d be okay.”

“Murderer.”

Guilt is a faceless monster, a spirit that perches on your shoulders and squeezes tightly until there’s no oxygen in your body and your lungs burn and cry for relief.

For a brief moment, Copia wonders if Mary Goore can perceive it too.

They do. “I bet you also knew it. You look dumb, but you are not that dumb.”

Anger is a good motivator. Copia’s jaw is clamp shut, tense. His teeth press on each other as a low growl erupts from his throat. To his right and left, the ghouls imitate the gesture, celebrating the promise of fresh blood, tender flesh and violence.

The energy permeates the room with an oxidized crimson color, almost like rust.

“Of course I didn’t,” Papa spits through his clenched jaw.“I thought they were safe. Everything was going great. Ghost was becoming more and more popular, the tour was a success, we had so many projects and…”

“And? Where’s all that, now?”

Gone.

It’s long dead and gone.

“I’ll kill you,” Copia whispers softly, after a bit. If the statement is intended to threaten Goore or to bring a resemblance of comfort to himself, he doesn’t know it. There’s no power in his words, no strength in his voice. There’s only coldness, a biting lot of it. The raw indescribable emotion should be capable of paralyzing anyone, but Goore stands their ground.

“You could try, right. Hell will spit me back out, just like it did once.”

One step, then another. The heavy combat boots sound like ground mines in Copia’s ears, exploding louder and louder as they get closer.

“I can hear what they say,” Mary confesses, hushed like it’s a secret no one else should know.“I hear the voices.”

“Hear them?”

Copia must have said it out loud, in a tone full of confusion, because Goore replies. “Of the dead, inside my head. Are you curious? Do you want to know what your lover says?”

No, his soul screams. No, Copia doesn’t want to know it. He doesn’t trust Mary Goore, doesn’t even trust himself. Knowledge is a gift from the Dark Lord, but also an onerous burden not meant to be carried on weak, weary shoulders.

Copia’s head barely shakes, breeze caressing his hair. Goore disregards it, leaning closer to whisper in his ear. The warm, wet breath hits his skin like needles. “They want to return to tear the flesh from the living.They are so fucking pissed.”

For the first time in weeks, months even, Copia is scared. No, not scared. Terrified. Your anger and hate are something he never had to confront. He rejoiced in your love, your tenderness and mercy. He embraced all the sacred and divine you gave him.

The dark, the bad, the ugly… He’s not prepared to witness it, to experience it. You must love him, forever.

You must adore him as much as he does.

When Mary’s laugh dies, the gleam remains in their eyes. “That’s a spawn of pure malevolence, the one you got there.”

A rabid fury, a corpse corrupted with malicious energy that fills the veins and permeates the tissues like embalming fluid. Anger consumes this cadaver, tormenting the spirit even far beyond the grave.

According to ancient scrolls, it is believed that in the event of a premature or violent death, the corpse retains part of that unused vitality. Stored deeply inside your guts, Goore can feel the complex whirlwind of emotions. It’s exhilarating, intoxicating.

“That’s enough.”

Papa Emeritus never pleads. Not anymore, but his voice sounds a lot like a plea, a prayer. His gaze is lost again, somewhere far. Still, when his pupils focus on the present, they feel a shiver run down their spine. Mary Goore doesn’t know when to shut up, but the threatening aura of Papa forces their mouth shut.

“I’ll do it,” they start, taking a few steps back.“Give me a few months, and you’ll have them again.”

“Weeks,” Copia spits out, through clenched teeth.“You have three weeks. No more. Don’t fail, or I’ll have you on your knees begging for death.”

An audible sigh. Goore leans forwards, tilting their head down in a short reverence, a mocking gesture. “As you wish, Eminence. You’ll get exactly what you are asking for.”

Before Goore leaves the underground room, an entourage of ghouls behind his back, Papa raises his voice one last time.

“Do you think they regret it?”

“Who?”

“Do you think the infernal divine regrets granting you this power?”

Goore’s laugh is boisterous, but again there’s no cheer in his eyes. “Infernal divine, you say?” They growl, biting down each word. “No, you got it all wrong. It’s the necromancer the one who demands the obedience of demons and other spirits, thanks to the power that was conferred upon them by a god.”

“God?”

They are ridiculous. Copia feels the air freeze in his throat as he struggles to understand the delirious rambles of a crazy person. When Goore continues, their pupils are completely black, an empty vortex.

“Yes,” a long pause follows. “I am my own God.”

Essence of the Sun, brighter than any other before him. A dual star, an Angel of Immortal light so beautiful and free. Hidden within old scrolls and ancient rites, He is the one who can awaken those who call, who reject the emptiness of a fake god and yearn for a liberal spirit.

He, who loves those who love Him, who comes for those in need. Through air and aether, from fire and earth, coating the water that makes us humans, He exists and can be sought within. Clothed in the sun and yet awakened in utter darkness, He rose as a beautiful man who will break the enemy’s will and uplift the strong who embrace Him.

Then, why?

Why is he alone?

Why is he lost?

Why is he the one to suffer, when he did everything right, followed every rite and prayer to perfection?

Why?

“Lucifer,” Copia mutters, lungs devoid of oxygen.“Lucifer, offer me guidance.”

Please.

What would become of life without a lighthouse on the horizon? Nothing but darkness. Lost as his soul is, Copia clings to safety. These old transcripts in his hands are safe, just like the sacred books that weigh on his lap.

“Hail Lucifer, rise Lucifer, come Lucifer, descend upon me, Lucifer manifest.”

Recite from the text.

Renich

Pray for guidance.

Tasa

For strength.

Uberaca

For mercy.

Biasa

For fortune

Icar

For glory

Lucifer

For absolution.

A man like him, bathed in blood and destroyer of empires, should seek no absolution. He has tarnished everything sacred and unsacred, both holy and unholy. He has tested and bypassed the limits of generations, delivered nothing but death and decay to his Church of Satan.

If the Old One is pleased or displeased, Copia doesn’t recognize it. He’s not like Primo, who used to hear His voice, or Secondo, who saw through His eyes. No, Copia has always been alone in this world, consumed in the dark, crawling blindly like a parasite.

Not even Lucifer is willing to walk by his side. Not even Satan or King Belial. There's no King Asmodeus, no Beelzebub, no Astaroth or Stolas.

No one is here to save him or laugh at his demise.

Copia is completely alone. Yet, he recites.

“Lucifer, Lord, King and emperor come and rise”

Among the rubbish from the ruins.

“Lucifer, The Fire of the south, The Air of the east”

Rise from putrefaction and waste.

“Lucifer he who is eternal, Lucifer come unto me".

Unto a servant, a believer.

Unto a fool.

NEXT CHAPTER HERE

Ps: the art Mary remembers is called Kusözu or "Painting of the nine stages of a decaying corpse". The poem (Kusôkanshi) is based on those paintings and was written by a Buddhist monk named Kukai.

The prayers at the end are based on "The Bible of the Adversary" and invocations from the Temple of the Ascending Flame. Will they work? Who knows.

I worked hard on this chapter and I'm still not sure if I like it. It was a big challenge, something different than the past chapters, but I hope you enjoy it. Mary is here.

#ghost band #ghost band fanfic #papa emeritus iv #papa emeritus iv x reader #mary goore #ghost band x reader #cardinal copia #ghost bc #my writing #my fics

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yournotsolocalcryptid · 1 year

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One

5/?

PREV (Room for Two) / NEXT

tags: @transeliot @mentallyunstablebish @sarah0687 @cjand10 @warmommy if you would like to be added or removed from my writing tag just lemme know :)

summary: Billy busts his stitches as you find an intruder in your home

pairing(s): Billy/Four x gn!reader

word count: 1.7k

Warnings: emotions, repressed feelings, angst, fluff, mention of hospitals, blood and injury, negative and complex emotions. poor writing skills, poor proofreading and editing, an american writing a brit. i think thats it? I know its been too long since the last part but here ya go

“Hi!” the man said with a wave and a quick smile.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m One”

“Okay…One… get out”

“ can’t Sorry”

“You Can't?” your voice was getting louder “why not? Why are you here?” your tone was steady and determined, not at all mimicking the panic you were feeling on the inside “GET. OUT.”

“Look, I just need to speak to the boy”

“Why”

The man paused, watching you for a moment, calculating a response “He broke a promise”

“Join the club”

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards at your quick rebuttal he composed himself and leaned forward so his elbow rested on his knees “look, normally i wouldn't let anyone sit in on the discussion we’re gonna have but ill make an exception for you. This is going against my better judgment and breaks so many rules but you may stay.”

“I MAY STAY?!” you nearly bellowed

One winced, deeply regretting his phrasing but responded by shifting his eyeline behind you and letting out a loud “FOUR!”

You heard a thump and your bedroom door swinging open and Billy appeared panicked, if your voice hadn't woken him, Ones sure as hell did.

“So nice of you to join us” one said with a petty smile as he leaned back again and pulled a gun from inside his jacket which he rested calmly on the cushion beside him.

“Shit”

“Yeah, shit is right my friend. Did you think i wouldn't find you? Did you really think id just let you go?”

“Billy w-what's going on?” your eyes shifted from one to billy. Billys face was sad, panicky and apologetic as he met your gaze.

“Wait- you haven't even told them yet?” one was shocked then after a moment he started laughing. You looked back at the strange man who collected himself enough to say “well… are ya gonna? Cuz nows your chance big guy.”

Your gaze flipped back to your former… whatever he was to you “what's he talking about?” you paused hoping he’d respond, his mouth dropped open but he uttered no words, his eyes big and regretful. You turned your body and faced him fully “Billy?” you grabbed one of his hands as you attempted to get him to finally tell you the truth but you stopped as you felt how clammy his hand felt. You glanced down and let it drop from your hands, you looked up again and saw his face had paled “Billy?” you asked, scared and concerned, one of your hands went to softly cup his cheek. Your eyes shifted from his face and slowly down his body until you saw his other hand pressed to his abdomen with red seeping into his shirt around his hand. “Shit” you breathed as you gingerly moved his hand

“shit“ he agreed

“Okay…” your mind was racing “your stitches probably bust. we should-”

“No more hospitals”

“But-”

“I agree no more hospitals” the man piped up

You whirled around, your hands not leaving Billys body, and snapped “you shut up” you faced billy again, “babe this could be really bad, we should-” He shook his head, his hand cupped your cheek “no hospital” he pleads “I know its been a long time but I'm sure you remember enough from patching us up back in the day to fix me”

You stared into his eyes for a moment before, captivated by the trust radiating from him. You nodded and you lead him to the bathroom. He sat on the closed toilet seat and you grabbed your first aid kit, hoping there'd be enough of what you’d need and convincing yourself it's not as bad as your gut was telling you it is.

You turned to find billy smiling to himself “what?” you asked

“You called me ‘babe’”

You knelt in front of him “and? What of it?”

“You haven't called me that in a long time is all” his hand was clutching his still bleeding abdomen as the splotch on his shirt continued to expand.

“And whose fault is that?” you asked as you tapped his hand, signally him to uncover his wound. He did without hesitation and your hands reached for the hem of his shirt, your mind flashing back to the hundreds of times you'd been in similar situations as kids, as teens, as young adults, as friends, as lovers. You’d patched him up a ton over the years because of his insistence on being a “physical badass” as he put it. Billy has been nearly obsessed with mastering parkour since he was a kid and you always supported him even tho the number of times he got- sometimes seriously- hurt was hard for you to see. But you learned to patch him up and he taught you some cool stuff too. You were by no means good at parkour but you had gotten pretty agile and gained some decent skills.

It's been a while, obviously, and this was different. This wasn't a scrape or a skinned knee or even a dislocated joint, this was a deep open wound that had just been reopened. You were nervous, your hands shook as you grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head. You dropped the shirt to the floor and billy grabbed your trembling hand.

“Hey, It’s okay. You’ve got this, love” you couldn't look at him, your eyes focused on the first aid kit next to his discarded shirt. “I trust you. I know I fucked up and I know you need time and answers. I will tell you everything in time. I promise. But I need time too. I don't even know where to start with it all” you still couldn't look up at him. His big green eyes always gave him away, always expressed exactly what he was thinking and feeling and always made you melt a little. You didn't know what he’d been through but you deserved answers, sooner rather than later.

“I trust you” he whispered again

“Well isn't that sweet”

Billys eyes shifted to the door where this ‘one’ now leaned against the frame while yours slid shut in an attempt to collect yourself. You stood and with a muttered “fuck off” you gave one a shove and closed the door in his face. You returned to your spot in front of billy, took a deep breath and started attending to his ripped stitches. You’d stitched him up once before after a misstep that resulted in a gash on his leg. He had insisted on no hospitals then as well and so you’d researched the basics of giving stitches and purchased the supplies most of which were still in your first aid kit.

You could feel billys eyes on you as you worked but you needed to ignore him and focus on having steady hands and make sure everything was as sanitary as possible given this was being done in your bathroom. Billys breathing was heavy and he was hissing and swearing under his breath every so often. You knew he had to be in a lot of pain, once or twice you winced with him, but you had to keep going. There was no stopping now, the second you’d started it was too late for either of you to change your minds.

When you were finally done sewing him up, you finally glanced up at him and found him again looking at you with soft emotional eyes. You looked away, grabbed the gauze, covered the wound and said as you collected the items you’d strewn across the floor “we’ll need to change the gauze and reapply the disinfectant every few hours. You will not make any sudden movements or do anything to rip them again, yeah?” you stood and when you heard his soft “yeah” in response you headed to the kitchen sink to wash the blood from your hands.

“You guys are just so darn cute”

You gritted your teeth, rinsed the red-tinted soap down the drain and dried your hands. You turned to face the peculiar and irritating man “what promise?”

He looked taken aback, you weren't sure if it was your question or demeanor or something else entirely but it was written all over his features when he didn't answer you restated your question

“What was the promise he broke?”

“To you or to me?”

“You”

One sighed and gestured to the chair across from where he was seated on your couch. You obliged and sat. he leaned forward, elbows on his knees again “since it seems he will not be filling you in any time soon I suppose I will.”

Your brow furrowed, knitting closer and closer together, and your mind raced as he spoke. You of course wanted to know about billy and his part in all this but one question stayed at the forefront of your mind as one rambled on. Why was he telling you all this?

When you asked you expected a short snarky answer maybe real maybe not but here he was telling you in detail about his operation and about everything they’d done. He went through each member and listed their skills and what they’d agreed to when joining him. He even went through how everyone's death was faked. By keeping tabs on you and by risking everything to feel near you and hopefully re-enter your life he’d broken every rule he agreed to when joining them and how he’d missed something because he was distracted by you and he landed himself in the hospital.

There was a pause after he’d finished then,

“Your turn”

You didn't move to look at him having expected this was transactional, but you still couldn't figure out why he’d told you so much. you said simply “he left, he lied, he hurt me”

You felt One’s eyes burning a hole in your head after a moment he said in a surprisingly soft and genuine tone “that seems like an oversimplification of a lot of history and a lot of promises” and he wasn't wrong

You murmured a soft “yeah” and stood. You turned, unsurprised to find Billy standing somewhere between the bathroom and where you and One were sitting, his eyes big and round and sad. His body language radiated shame from where he stood. “Ill give you two some time to talk” and with that, you went into your bedroom and closed the door.

Even though you'd only been awake for a few hours you were so emotionally wrung out from the past few days that as you laid down you knew you’d fall asleep, and you were so ready for it. And you did.

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juniperhillpatient · 3 months

Text

get to know you tag game

TYSM @dont-leafmealone for the tag! <3

Are you named after anyone?

I mean - a flower? lol

When was the last time you cried?

the last day of my last job at my vet job when I drove away knowing I couldn't go back even if it meant getting evicted lmao that job killed me on the inside :) don't hire people with no veterinary experience & expect them to be vet techs employers, job seekers don't assume loving animals means you're cut out for such a job you will be traumatized

Do you have any kids?

Yes (I'll insert a picture on mobile I'm using Tumblr's unusable desktop so I could copy & paste the game lol)

*edit* a picture of my lovely children

What sports do you play?

competitive lazing about (stealing that answer from prev 'cause same)

Do you use sarcasm?

Sarcasm? Me? Pshhh nooo (/s)

What is the first thing you notice about someone?

Hair probably

Eye color?

Hazel

Scary movies or happy endings?

My pretentious but real answer is that I like endings that fit the story & stay true to the themes.

Any talents?

I like to think I'm okay at writing, I can cook alright

Where were you born?

Arkansas, USA

Hobbies?

Writing, hiking, drawing, paranormal investigation, research on true crime, sitting on the porch with my family

Any pets?

2 cats <3

Height?

5'2"

Favorite subject?

Abnormal psychology or film class were two of my favorites in college, in high school it was always literature or creative writing

Dream job?

in college, I would've said therapist, more recently I would've said it's a fake concept, now I'd say my current job which is life enrichment at a senior home :) totally found my niche & never plan to leave. but prev's answer of pumpkin farmer is just so fun I hope you achieve that dream bestie I love going to pumpkin farms in autumn so much

this is lazy but I tag anyone who wants to because every time I tag a list of people I know I forget people I should've tagged & anyway y'all know I'll have fun reading your answers - just tag me & say I tagged you!

#tag game #thank you for tagging me friend!!! <333

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queenofhearts7378 · 1 year

Text

I posted 6,765 times in 2022

58 posts created (1%)

6,707 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@i-am-thornqueen

@heartclover

@tired-yeetling

@storygirl000

@linzerj

I tagged 678 of my posts in 2022

#irrelevant queen talking - 54 posts

#danny phantom - 31 posts

#ask thy queen - 18 posts

#queen will write - 15 posts

#danny fenton - 14 posts

#constellations - 13 posts

#dp twin au - 12 posts

#draco malfoy - 11 posts

#tuesday stream - 11 posts

#tuesday streaming - 11 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i have 9 pillows and 3 blankets and 2 baskets of laundry and my laptop and purse and a stack of book and i still have room to sprawl asleep

My Top Posts in 2022:

Constellations Ch. 5

Prev. Chapter - Next Chapter - First Chapter

Chapter Titles include: *Captain America PSA voice* So you've witnessed your first ghost attack, Baby's first battle, What literally everyone has been waiting for, Guess Who? Ghost Edition, and Sam Judo flips Draco. Buckle in this is a long one folks.

(Notes: Just a reminder that Danny spent a whole summer with the Malfoy’s before GoF. As such, I didn't think it felt right if all of Draco’s interactions in the book were exactly the same. So there were definitely some changes through the year, including him not being as big of a jerk.

Danny made him think about things.

….He was still a jerk though.)

..........

A week after Danny left Malfoy Manor, Draco’s parents took him to the Quidditch World Cup.

It was thrilling, as it always was. His father had made sure they had top box seats, as the Minister's personal guests even, with a sizable donation to St. Mungo's.

But all Draco could think of was that it would be a lot more fun if Danny had been with him.

He could have talked to Danny about the tactics and strategies they were using in the game. About the differences between school and professional games.

Danny probably would have laughed at the mascots brought out and told him another wild story from his hometown.

He hadn't even noticed Potter and his friends till the minister was showing him off like a prized owl. Draco rolled his eyes and ignored them.

Maybe it was better Danny hadn't come. He'd be insisting to meet Draco's "arch enemy". He found Draco’s hatred of the Gryffindors comical.

The match and the whole trip back to the luxury temporary house his parents had commissioned weeks before, were nothing but a whirlwind Draco didn't quite remember. It had been a relief to escape into the charmed house, where none of the partying outside could be heard.

The next thing Draco knew, his mother was pulling him out of bed.

"Get up Draco." She ordered. "Dress quickly and follow me."

His mother was waiting by the door by the time he made it down the stairs. It was only opened an inch, but Draco could hear the screams and spell fire coming from outside.

His mother looked at him, her hand on the door. "I'm going to get Lucius. Wait for us just inside the tree line."

Draco felt like a rock had suddenly dropped in his stomach. "Where's Father?"

"Don't worry about that," she said softly. She leaned forward to cup his face. "Wait for us, and stay out of the way."

And Draco did as she asked. He followed the crowd, till he made it to the forest. From there he wandered just in the tree line till he found a hidden clearing with a view to the camp grounds.

His back hit a tree and he grabbed his elbows, slowly sliding to the forest floor, for once not caring about the leaves and dirt that would get all over his expensive robes. All he could think about was "What if Danny had come with?"

He wasn't stupid, he knew what was happening as he saw flashes of red and green and a family of muggles spinning above pointed wands. He knew exactly who was out there. A dark head flopped forward and Draco felt his stomach twist into knots.

That could have been his brother.

There was a part of Draco that always….knew this was how muggles and squib were treated by some wixen. It was a mindset he had always known, this is how muggles were supposed to be treated. It was what he was raised on.

And Danny….Danny was such a muggle. He never hid his upbringing, always going on about the things he did and how different it was in the wizarding world. He gladly called himself a squib, a defiant look in his eyes as if he was taking the almost slur and reclaiming it as something to be proud of.

That could've been Danny. But he's safe.

He's safe.

For the first time in his life, Draco hated being a pureblood.

See the full post

50 notes - Posted November 3, 2022

Look what I'm working ;)

....

"Sam, what are you planning?" Danny leaned over her shoulder to see what she was writing. "Oh….I don't see how any of that will help."

"What are you planning to force on me?" Draco asked.

Sam smirked at him and started counting on her fingers, "The Craft, Blair Witch Project, Hocus Pocus-"

"One of those is not like the other Sam." Tucker said.

"Hush. Hansel and Gretel-"

"Maybe not that one!" Danny hissed.

Tucker snorted, "Isn't that the one with the guy that plays Hawkeye? Also the one that-"

"Yes," Danny interrupted, shoving his hand in Tucker's face, "What about Lord of the Rings? Mary Poppins, Nanny McPhee, Narnia?"

"Sleepy Hollow, Elvira, The Crucible." Sam continued.

Danny paused, "Maybe The Crucible, if only because it's on the study guide. He's staying for the entire summer, I'd rather not traumatize him. Please. I am begging you."

She looked at him flatly, "Then beg."

53 notes - Posted January 28, 2022

Broke: Isabela Madrigal is lesbian and that's why she doesn't want to marry

Woke: Isabela Madrigal is asexual and she's not interested in marriage at all

Bespoke: Isabela Madrigal is an asexual lesbian in the way that she thinks girls are pretty but keeps getting distracted by carnivorous plants, throwing cacti around, and dyeing her hair and dress different colors

128 notes - Posted January 19, 2022

People always make like....Dan or some eldircth being or Vlad the opposition when writing King Danny but yall are sleeping on a great potential villain:

Walker

132 notes - Posted March 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Constellations Ch. 4

[Alternatively titled: Draco's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

And, I just want to say, I love you guys :^) ]

Prev. Chapter - Next Chapter - First Chapter

....

Homeroom/English Literature

Wes came back with a scowl and refused to look in Danny or Draco's direction. Danny considered that a win for today. Mr. Lancer considered phoning Walter Weston about taking Wes out of school for the day.

"Semester tests are in two weeks," Mr. Lancer said, "The tests will take place on the last few days of school, and are optional for students that meet the proper requirements. For those of you who didn't quite make the grade, or didn't make it to class, " He shot a pointed look to Danny, "You will have to take them. I'll pass out the study guide, and we will spend this week going over it and reviewing the test material. For those of you opting out of the test, consider this a free period so long as you remain quiet and unobtrusive to those studying."

He started passing out the thick sheets of paper. Dash groaned when he got his, "Mr. Lancer this is, like, 50 pages long!"

"Front and back." Valerie muttered, flicking through the pages.

"It's only twelve pages, but if you don't think it's enough-"

He was immediately met with protests from around the room, insisting 'No, it's fine! We don't need anymore!'. He smirked.

Handing a packet to Danny's recent tag-a-long, he said, "Even though you won't be taking any tests, perhaps you could help Mr. Fenton study his. It would at least give you something to do in class."

Draco took the plain sheets of paper with furrowed brows and Mr. Lancer continued down the aisle. Quickly scanning over the paper, he leaned over and asked, "Danny what is 'Shakespeare'?"

Danny stared at him. He turned to Sam, "You are helping me study."

Mr. Lancer finished passing out the papers, and proceeded up front to go over them. Half the class was playing on their phones underneath their desks. (Or in Paulina's case, just holding it up in front of her face.)

The other half was at least attempting to take notes. Wes muttered furiously under his breath and Valerie was viciously scribbling down everything she could. Tucker jotted down schematic notes between questions as he thought about different improvements he could make to his tech and the Fenton's. Sam was reading something covered in black leather and dust underneath the table. Danny started out taking notes but then got distracted trying to explain….pretty much everything on the study guide to Draco.

Tucker leaned over, "Do you guys not have English Lit where you're from?"

Draco gave him a scathing look. "We have practical classes, on subjects we use in our daily lives. Why on Earth would you need to know-" he squinted at the paper, "'Who seems less impulsive and more realistic- Romeo or Juliet?' What use is that?"

Sam made a hm noise and pulled out a paper.

"Sam, what are you planning?" Danny leaned over her shoulder to see what she was writing. "Oh….I don't see how any of that will help."

"What are you planning to force on me?" Draco asked.

Sam smirked at him and started counting on her fingers, "The Craft, Blair Witch Project, Hocus Pocus-"

"One of those is not like the other Sam." Tucker said.

"Hush. Hansel and Gretel-"

"Maybe not that one!" Danny hissed.

Tucker snorted, "Isn't that the one with the guy that plays Hawkeye? Also the one that-"

"Yes," Danny interrupted, shoving his hand in Tucker's face, "What about Lord of the Rings? Mary Poppins, Nanny McPhee, Narnia?"

"Sleepy Hollow, Elvira, The Crucible." Sam continued.

Danny paused, "Maybe The Crucible, if only because it's on the study guide. He's staying for the entire summer, I'd rather not traumatize him. Please. I am begging you."

See the full post

139 notes - Posted February 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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xviruserrorx · 1 year

Text

Title: "The Rain Before The Rainbow"

Chapter 5/7: "Stuck Somewhere In Between, Alive And Living A Dream"

(Prev Chap-Edited) (Next Chap-Edited) • (Prev Chap-Non Edited) (Next Chap-Non Edited) • (Edited Chapter) • (Story Masterlist)

This fic was originally written around late 2019-early 2020 ish, but was abandoned for reasons and now I'm gonna re-write it to but I have a no-delete rule so I'm posting all the original drafts here for anyone who still wants to see them. "But Virus these are terribly written" you may say and, yeah I know, this story was one of the first things I had written after a 5-6 year writing hiatus... But here they are terrible Grammer and all!

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy (Tv & Comics)

Relationship(s): Five | The Boy & Everyone

Character(s): Five | The Boy, Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves, Vanya | Viktor Hargreeves, OC - Ymir Cyprus

Important Tag(s): Alternative Universe - No Sparrow Academy, Comic Book Elements, Time Traveling, Five-Centric

Rating: Teen and Up

Warning(s): Major Character Death, Cannon Character Death

Word Count: 9,590/41,006

The Hargreeves return from 1963 and find they have averted the initial Apocalypse. The siblings return to life as it once was but now together and not expecting impending doom. Five begins to adjust to life with his siblings how it used to be but knows something is missing. By something, he means someone. What happens when Five decides to jump back in time and try to save Ben. Is he successful? Or will he face the consequences of his actions?

"The End To The Beginning, The Beginning To The End" - Tumblr | Ao3

->Next: N/A

Continue reading below or read the edited version on Ao3

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Five (Pov)

Aching pain and stiffness flooded Five's body as his eyes fluttered open revealing the daylight. He pushed himself up by his arms so he was sitting down still leaning against the brick wall.

He yawned and attempted to rub the tiredness out of his eyes as he remembered where he had been laying the entire night. Five quickly pushed himself off of the grotesque floor and wiped his hands on his blazer.

'Gross'

He slightly swayed as he stood up and took a couple of seconds to get his balance back. The darkness from the alleyway made it hard to tell if it was morning or the middle of the day. As soon as he stepped out of the alleyway he realised that he had slept through time he could have been using to find the guys responsible for Ben's death.

Five rounded the back alley of the house that went off into the sidewalk so he ended up on the side of the house now facing the buildings across. He looked around making sure no one was around before slipping into the entrance of the old laundry mat that used to be there. Today was one of the siblings' training days so Five knew they wouldn't pass by the kitchen and notice him at the farthest end.

He knew the guys would probably pass the house at least once to stalk the family considering they had such an elaborate plan and detail on them. Five yawned again and lifted his hand to wipe away the tears that gathered in his eyes, even though he had gotten sleep last night the previous weeks of lack of sleep were still having an effect on him.

Sleep wasn't ever of importance to him for 45 years or since he returned. For the first 40 years he found sleep whenever he could, often sleeping in old crumbled down abandoned buildings to block out most of the wind as he could. The winter was the worst, snow and rain fell constantly with temperatures dropping well below freezing, he eventually found a place to go during the season but that didn't mean it made it any easier.

The last 5 years he was with the Temps he at least was given a hotel and a bed to sleep on every night. He's probably slept in every hotel around the world at least once possibly twice with some.

But now sleep was something that he was able to do without worrying about his siblings or the end of the world. Yet he never took advantage of it, the constant nagging of his siblings finding him awake at 3 in the morning making coffee happened almost every night after they all had returned.

Diego's lectures on how sleep was important for a "growing child" and the amount of coffee he was consuming was unhealthy. Or even Klaus joking around that Five should go sleep with Diego if he couldn't sleep, he often just responded to Klaus with empty threats.

Not that Five would ever admit the few times during their youth he snuck into the vigilante's bed. Or even the few times in the past weeks since they've been back that the thought had popped into his head after countless hours of tossing and turning followed by more than enough caffeine to keep a horse awake.

He is 58 years old and the top assassin of the commission yet he has Diego yelling at him every night to remember to brush his teeth before bed. Not to mention both him and Allison having a heart attack about every little wound he got, which was probably from him hiding that shrapnel wound from them.

Things changed yet at the same time they didn't

Five let out a sigh as he saw a black car pull up directly across from the academy.

Bingo!

One guy got out of the passenger side of the vehicle and Five immediately recognized him as one of the guys he saw at Griddy's Doughnuts. He was the much older and taller man of the two men he saw, but from what he heard there were others as well. The man pulled a hood over his head and walked towards a nearby shop that was across the street down the road a bit. Five knew he could follow and just kill the guy right there.

Like all the old times slip in, do the deed, then slip out all in a matter of seconds. He grimaced at himself for even having that thought, reverting to his old ways at the commission.

The man stays gone for a long while but then comes back to the car but doesn't get in. The Guy in the driver seat gets out of the vehicle, only this isn't the younger guy Five saw at the dinner. This guy is somewhere in his possible mid 30's. Not older looking like the other guy but not young either and he didn't have his hood up like the other man.

He walked around the car over to the sidewalk where the other guy was waiting. He sees him hand something covered in black cloth over to the other guy then they both begin to walk opposite directions.

Were they not working together?

Five knew it was too suspicious for them to have stopped right in front of the academy then both got out of the car wearing complete black hoodies for others to not recognize them.

Five had to follow one of them at least, they might just be splitting up but heading to the same location so other people wouldn't follow them back. Five opted for the guy that took the risk of not wearing the hood over his face like the other guy, he wasn't afraid to be recognised.

Five waited till the guy rounded a corner then Five jumped to hide behind the corner he just rounded. He knew he shouldn't use his powers because of the big attracting flash of blue but he needed to get across the street quickly.

The guy took another turn in between some buildings down an alleyway, Five knew he was trying to stay hidden. but as many twists and turns, he had already taken and in such a public place Five doubted this was too anywhere secret.

Five continued to follow, turning weird ways in all the back-alleys till he realised they had already gone in a circle.

Was the guy lost?

The guy was about to make a left which would lead them into another circle then he stopped and took a sharp right.

Five followed after and then remembered this way led into a dead end. The guy stood there facing away from Five staring at the wall of the dead-end and reached into his pockets.

Five reached for the switchblade he carried with him, having left his handgun at home, he didn't need to leave evidence that someone had traveled back in time by tracing the bullets and matching it to his model of gun. Let's just say it was more than a couple of centuries old.

Five didn't know if the guy was armed but he was reaching for something, but Five didn't know what he was reaching for.

The guy pulled his hand out and it was his phone, Five relaxed a little but still kept his hand firmly on his switchblade. The guy typed something short, possibly a single word before putting it back in his pocket.

Five still couldn't piece together why this guy went in circles for the past 30 minutes then stopped at a dead end and in all places an alleyway.

Before Five could register what was going on he heard the crack of a gunshot, but the guy in front of him still had both hands in his pockets and was facing the wall.

Suddenly Five noticed his ears were ringing and the world was spinning faster and faster till he collapsed to the floor. He felt the impact of the concrete against his body, the banging in his head as it hit made it seem like the world was flashing in and out. His heart was racing like that of a mouse as his hands began to get clammy from his pumping adrenaline.

It was a trap

Everything hit him, the pain searing in his left side followed by the warmth that seeped from the same side. It was so warm yet Five began to feel cold much like how he imagined Klaus felt all the time.

Death

Death was cold

Was he…….dying?

Five blinked his eyes and forced them to open again as he slowly moved his hand down to the pain radiating in his body. He didn't have the strength to move his head so he brought his hand back up to his field of vision. It was completely coated in the bright red liquid and smelled of iron.

He dropped his hand back down on the concrete floor he was laying on. He had to get up, he was supposed to save Ben, he had to return back to his family. Five's curled up hand glowed blue covering the crimson red his hand was covered in but quickly sparked out.

'Shit!!'

Five placed his trembling arms under him and tried to push himself at least on his back. He quickly came crashing back down to the floor as a heavyweight pushed him back down. Five felt the outline of a large shoe on his back holding him down. Five looked in front of him again at the guy he was following that was barely walking towards him.

None of this made sense to Fives foggy mind, how had he'd been so careless to not be aware of his surroundings. Five remembered the older guy who took the item covered in the black cloth case and walked in the opposite direction from the guy he was following.

It was a gun

They knew about him from the beginning, it was all a setup.

Five tried to push the guy's foot off of him but it only resulted in his head getting stepped on, slammed, and grinded into the floor. Five let out a cry he didn't mean to, it showed he was in pain, it showed he was weak. He felt his head spin and a sudden urge to vomit but kept swallowing back the saliva that collected in his mouth.

The guy's foot lifted off of his head as the one who he was following bent down in front of him and yanked Fives head up by his hair.

"Seems you actually feel for our little trap huh? Agent Number Five," The guy spit Five's name out of his mouth.

'The Temps'

The last that Five had heard Dot and Herb were in charge of the commission now but this is the commission he's talking about, things never stayed one way over there.

"See, since you left the commission has done some cool things to make the job easier for us," The guy began to pull off a latex covering that was over his face that Five hadn't even noticed. It looked like a professional makeup artist was the one who did it, which made Five wonder why they didn't have someone do that a long time ago. Way less risk of anyone getting caught.

The guy got his face too close for Five's liking and whispered in his ear, "You're following the wrong guy's Number Five." His breath was hot against Five's ear as he processed what he said.

"Think of us almost like doppelgangers…. The real guys that you saw at that little doughnut shop of yours are still out there scheming away to kill your precious little brother. While we were just some decoys to distract you and lure you farther and farther away from your target."

The guy let go of Fives head letting it fall back to the ground with a 'thud'. Five looked up at the guy as he stood up, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a pack half full of cigarettes and a black lighter with an Ouija board design on it.

Five's eyes widened

The lighter was Klaus'

And Five was 100 percent sure that was the same brand Klaus always smoked. The guy looked at him with a shit-eating grin on his face and gave Five a questioning look.

"Oh, these look familiar?"

No…..No…...NoNoNoNoNo!

Not Klaus, Not his brother

The guy bent back down and lit a cigarette, taking a puff out of it before blowing the smoke in Five's face.

"Ya see kid, you left your own timeline all by yourself……..Your siblings allllllll alone without you." He paused and took another drag from the cigarette.

Five put his head back down but was quickly pulled back up by his hair again by the guy standing on top of him. This time he was pulled by his hair up into a sitting position on his knees, his arms pulled back behind him together farther than they should be. Five's head lulled downwards, his breathing was uneven and every part of his body ached. The guy behind him pulled his head back so he was looking up at the guy in front of him.

"You abandoned your Precious siblings without even leaving a note or telling them where you were going," He tapped on the cigarette letting the ashes fall between both of them on the floor in front of Five.

Five inhaled a deep ragged breath

'Why did he leave when he finally had them back?'

Five's eyes stayed glued to the ashes on the ground. He hadn't seen ashes since he was in the apocalypse, all the siblings had made sure to keep things involving fire away from him. Klaus never smoked around him but they made the excuse that they didn't want him getting second hand smoke.

Diego always told him to stay out of the kitchen when he was cooking and said he just didn't want anyone getting hurt, yet Five's seen all the times Klaus, Vanya, and Allison have helped him make dinner.

Five now had a better understanding why they did all that for Him. Five looked over and saw the walls and buildings that were standing seconds ago now they were a pile of rubble on the ground. The normally blue sky and clear air filled with ash, so much it hurt to breathe. The blue sky was grey and everything was gone. He felt his heart pounding against his chest as the rise and fall of his chest became for rapid. He came back from literal hell to get home to his family yet he left them again. He left them to die and this time it was all because of him.

Five was yanked out of his train of thought as he felt burning on his knee. The guy was snuffing out his cigarette on his right knee and rubbed it till it started to bleed. He flicked the butt of the cancer stick over his shoulder and stood up in front of Five. Then he reached in his pocket and threw both of the items that belong to Klaus in front of Five.

"The one with the knives put up the hardest fight, quite protective too……. Now The skinny one in the skirt was the easiest to take out, didn't put up much of a fight did he?" He asked the one who was holding Five.

He held out his hand to the other guy who gave him a knife. Five knew those Knives they were the ones Diego always has used since they were very young. The guy twirled it in his hand a little before tossing it on the floor in front of Five with the other things.

Five didn't want to believe any of this until he saw the engraving of the throwing knife. The number 2 and an umbrella were engraved on one end, Five felt a lump form in his throat but he ignored it.

"You bastard!" Five said through gritted teeth.

The guy laughed, "Now the big fella was easy to take down too….well only when we told him a little secret." The guy put his finger to his lips in a mocking way. "7 siblings yet only 6 mothers didn't that ever seem strange to you?"

'6 mothers?'

"Well let's play a little guessing game why don't we?" He began to walk slowly back and forth in front of Five and continued to talk.

"Now... let's say two of the siblings are twins and they were born 4 minutes apart. As I recall you guys were numbered on who was born First, just so happens you guys were all born a minute apart from each other." He crouched down in front of Five and made his voice more deeper than before, trying to intimidate Five.

"So…... let's do a little math here and I'll give you a hint one of the twins is the big fella."

'No that can't be possible'

Five's eyes widened and the guys in front of him grin grew at Five's realisation,"Bingo!"

'He and Luther were…... Twins?'

The guy laughed and stood up," Wow isn't that a little mind fuck for you?"

'How was this possible?'

"As much as we would love to sit here and chit-chat some more, we have a job to return to and man oh man do you'll know how much of a raise we'll get when everyone hears WE killed Number Five, the best assassin the commissions ever had," He whistled.

'Killed…..'

The guy stepped back and swung his leg, kicking Five in the face throwing him across the concrete. Five felt so weak but he tried to push himself back up, he felt a shoe make contact with his ribs which just made him plummet whatever progress he made back to the ground.

His hand reached for his side which was still bleeding while they continued to kick him repeatedly. Five didn't fight back, correction he couldn't fight back.

Five finally thought they left when the hits stopped coming but realized they were set out for his life not to just torture him. Five felt the guy hover over him then stab right where the bullet hole was, twisting the knife before yanking it out. Five cried out in pain while he heard both men laugh.

Five knew he had to do something, anything before they killed him. He tried once more with his powers but his fist didn't even stay blue for a second before it fizzed out.

He was gonna die

The guy grabbed Five by his neck and held him just high enough the tip of Five's shoes scraped against the ground.

"Any last words kid?"

As soon as Five parted his lips to speak, the hand around his neck tightened, cutting off any oxygen for Five to breathe.

The guy laughed, "Cat caught your tongue?"

Five tried to kick his legs to get any traction on the concrete, but the guy only lifted him higher off the ground. Five clawed at the hands around his neck till everything started fading in and out and his hands went slack. Five attempted to reach for his switchblade, but it tumbled out of his grasp as his motor skills stopped working.

The guy walked over closer to one of the alleyway walls still with a tight grip on Five's neck and bashed Five's head into the wall.

Five couldn't hear anything, all the sound drowned out and everything went black as he felt his head getting bashed into the wall again. His body fell limp to the floor right next to the items of his deceased siblings. His hand fell next to Diego's knife and he attempted to move his hand over the centimeter to grab it.

He fought to keep his eyes open as his pinky hooked around the cold metal. His hand fell limp on top of it, the guy came over and stepped on Five's hand. He didn't have the energy to move his hand much less cry out in pain. Five grimaced and not from the pain, he wasn't even gonna use the knife he just wanted to hold it.

Everything began to feel fuzzy as Five fought against every ounce of his will to keep his eyes open. Both guys laughed and stood over him as the one who he followed in the first place bent down,

"Night kid…."

They both walked out of the alleyway and far enough away that Five could no longer hear their footsteps. Everything stayed hazy as the world got less and less unclear. Five let his eyes fall shut as it took more and more effort for him to breathe.

Maybe their father was right after all this time, Five never was ready to time travel. Now because of him, everyone he loved was dead for the 4th time. The only difference now was Five was almost dead now too as well, he couldn't save them or himself.

Five took one more forced inhale before letting the breath out. Everything was calm, almost warm, comfy, and peaceful like what most people called home. Only for him, his home was never anything more than a prison, a place designed to keep children locked away and abused.

Five laid there until everything stopped

~~o0o~~

Five heard what he thought was crying but everything was fading in and out as he started to feel his senses again. His body felt heavy and so did his eyelids but all he could concentrate on was the crying which he could definitely make out now.

Five felt something tight wrapped around his abdomen where the knife and gunshot wound was. As well as the areas where everything throbbed with pain.

Who was crying?

Five tried to pry open his eyes and only made it so far before bright fluorescent lights blinded his vision making him grimace and shut his eyes again. Five took a deep breath suddenly noticing the soreness of his ribs, it didn't feel like any were broken but bruised for sure.

Five attempted to open his eyes again this time succeeding on getting passed the bright lights. Five winced as he now realized he had a concussion and a bad one too as the lights felt like they were digging into his skull. Five tried to bring his hand up to block the light a bit but felt something tug back on his arm. Five looked over towards his arm and saw a IV threaded into the crook of his elbow.

Someone's sniffling brought Five's attention back forward which were the lights. Five grimaced again at the pain in his head but momentarily pushed it aside. He could recognise those lights like the back of his hand, having been under them many times as a small child.

He was in the medical bay at the Academy

So who was crying?

Five quickly looked over to his right side and found the source of the sound. All his siblings including Grace and Pogo were spread out on that side of the room. Klaus, Vanya, and Allison were crying while everyone else looked somber.

They were alive?

But……..how,what happened?

Luther was at the back of the room looking down at the floor so were Grace and Pogo. Klaus; who Five probably was hearing, was crying hard into Diego's shoulder while the elder had his arms wrapped around him very securely holding him as close as he could.

Diego was rubbing his hand up and down Klaus' back while occasional sniffling himself. Five could tell he was trying to hold it together for Klaus much like he always did in situations when he needed to be the big brother to them all.

Allison was hugging Vanya who were both crying but not as hard as Klaus, but Five still didn't know why everyone was acting this way. Five slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position letting his hand hold the spot where both wounds were. Nobody moved or even looked his way as if he was invisible, not even Grace or Pogo showed any acknowledgment towards him.

Five pushed himself to the end of the bed, making a lot of noise and movement yet nobody looked over towards him still.

"Hey, I'm awake, " Five said rather loud, announcing it to everyone in the room.

Still nothing

Five stretched his arm over and waved it in front of Diego who was closest to the bed and still no movement, not even a flinch.

"Diegoooo," Five drugged out his name and brought his hand up snapping a couple of times in front of his face. There was still no reaction which was getting Five irritated.

"Di…!" Five tried the nickname knowing Diego always responded to that in a heartbeat. Five still received nothing but silence from his older brother.

"If this is your guy's idea of a prank, i'm really not having it right now." Five reached out to tug on Diego's shirt but instead of grabbing the material his hand completely passed through his brother.

Five scrambled back on the bed looking at his hand, he couldn't ignore the racing of his heart and the aching feeling of anxiety that crept up on him out of nowhere. Five yanked the IV out of his and pulled his hands closed to him.

NoNoNoNoNo

He didn't understand any of this

Were they dead? Was he dead? Why couldn't Klaus see him if he was dead? Why was he even at the modern day Academy when he was in 2006?

Five wanted something, Anything to make sense right now. He felt like a child that had gotten lost from their mother in a grocery store; Scared, Lost, and Alone.

"Five?!" Five turned around and saw Ben walking in the door towards him. That was impossible Five hasn't changed anything for Ben's death not to happen.

"Ben?" Five hated the way his voice sounded so small as he said his brother's name. He was wearing the same black outfit with the leather jacket like they had all last seen him when they were trying to stop Vanya and Klaus channeled him.

Ben ran over and pulled Five into a hug, Five's hands clung onto the back of Ben's jacket. He was real, there was no blue aura surrounding him or anything he was physically in front of Five. Five noticed no one moved and looked towards Ben either when he walked in.

Ben pulled back away from the hug and watched as Five as he still hung onto Ben's jacket sleeve, afraid to let go as he might disappear again.

"Am I…..dead? A-Are our dead siblings? Are you still dead?" Five questioned Ben still confused what exactly the hell was going on.

Ben put both of his hands on Five's shoulders and looked him in the eye, "None of that matters right now okay Five? I just need you to Wake Up."

Wake up?

But he was awake?

Right?

"W-What but I… What's going on?" Five questioned his once younger brother but now physically older. Ben shook his head,"All you need to know is that Me and you are real, everything else here is just all in your head okay?"

Five looked around at everything and reached his hand towards the one person he knew would be able to tell if he was dead or alive.

Ben quickly grabbed Five's hand in his own, getting Five's attention back towards him, "Hey, look at me, you shouldn't be here okay, you can't be here with me. You need to leave so I need you to wake up."

Leave Ben?

But he just got him back

"Why can't you come with me?" Five asked even more confused of what was going on. Ben was dead yet here he was in front of Five completely alive without Fives intervention to the past. But now Ben was telling Five to leave him and to wake up even though Five could guarantee he was awake.

Ben sighed, "That's not know it works Five, please I just need you to leave here and I promise everything will make sense once you do."

Five knew Ben wouldn't randomly tell Five to do things unless he had a serious reason but that still didn't ease any of the tightness in his chest that he knew wasn't from an injury.

Five didnt realise the tears running down his face till Ben cupped his face in his hands, wiping away his tears with his thumb.

"I'm scared, Ben," Five sounded weak, and small. He felt tired and exhausted, he had that same aching feeling of wanting to go home like when he was in the apocalypse. He's never outright talked to his siblings about his emotions. All his siblings he always refused to open up to, to show any affection towards them, constantly pushing them away. Even when he lost them time after time, he took everything for granted.

Ben pulled Five up into his arms while Five held onto Ben because now he knew he was gonna disappear again. Five tried to stop the traitors from running down his face, they were going against what Five wanted but what his body wanted was more overpowering than what he wanted to do.

He felt Ben try to slightly pull away but Five refused to loosen his grip on him. He kept his arms wrapped around him gripping onto the back of his leather jacket,"Please…. don't go." Five didn't care that his voice cracked, he didn't care he was crying in his brother's arms, his walls were broken down and there was nothing he could do to rebuild them back up now.

Ben pulled back and looked Five in the face, "I'm sorry Five, I have to do this." Ben quickly let go and walked far enough that Five couldn't grab onto him before walking out of the room.

No No, please don't leave me alone

Five quickly pushed himself off the bed against his body's protest and landed on the floor. Five almost collapsed to the ground due to the pain he was in but was able to steady himself out.

Five grabbed his side and started to walk towards the door Ben walked out of. Instead of the normal dark hallway, it normally led to. Everything disappeared and turned black, Ben was gone and so was the house he grew up in. Five felt like he was falling and falling till everything stopped again.

~~o0o~~

Five bolted up but quickly but immediately regretted it, he grabbed at his side and fell back down on whatever he was laying on. He looked around, he was in a room, a bedroom to be exact and he was laying on a bed. Five looked down, he was bandaged up around his wound as well as many other places around his body that were injured.

His blazer, vest, tie, and white button-up were laid folded up nicely on the foot of the bed while he laid on the bed with just his White undershirt on.

Five turned his head and saw a bedside table with the things that belonged to his siblings as well as his switchblade. A glass, as well as a pitcher full of water, laid next to everything. Five pushed himself up as best as he could so he was leaning on his elbow.

' Where was he?'

Five looked over at the clock that was hung up on the wall, it read 5:43.

Five knew it was PM because the setting sun was shining in through the window that was open ajar, just enough for air to blow in. The Creme and peach-colored curtains swayed up and down as the cold gentle breeze rolled into the Room, making Five slightly shiver.

Five swung his legs over and pushed himself up to where he was in a sitting position at the edge of the bed. The bed was small but just about the size of Five's bed at home and close to the floor too so his feet didn't dangle.

Every part of his body ache yet Five wasn't focused on that but what he had just woken up from.

' Why did Ben leave him?'

He told him to wake up and everything would make sense yet everything that has happened the past 24 hours has made no sense to him. From what he was told, everyone was dead and He and Luther are…...twins?

Five's head was foggy not only from it getting bashed into the wall a couple of times but everything he was trying to process, he had too many questions but not enough answers.

Five reached out his hand and grabbed Klaus' lighter, he turned it over and sure enough, there was a small number 4 etched into the black paint of the lighter. Five closed his hand tight around the lighter and kept it in his lap.

Five reached over to where his clothes were laid and started to put them back on. He picked up his button-up shirt and started to slip it back on, his clothes smelled of soap but it threw Five off because his clothes have always smelled like the soap they used at the house, never anything else.

He buttoned up his shirt all the way to the top then draped his tie under his collar. He still didn't know where he was but was obviously in someone's house and they didn't want him dead so that was a plus.

Five balanced himself on the bedside table as he stood up to tuck in his shirt wincing at the bullet wound in his side as well as his bruised ribs. Five paused as he heard steps that were growing louder and louder. Five grabbed for his switchblade on instinct as the door creaked open revealing a woman.

"Your awake," she said to Five with a soft smile

Five instantly recognized her, she was the one who he borrowed the newspaper from outside of the convenience store. With an even closer look at her, she definitely reminded him of Grace. She was dressed like she was still in the 50s and had a calm atmosphere around her. Her short strawberry blonde hair was loosely tied back in a silk light pink ribbon.

"Oh!" Her eyes wandered down and she looked startled by what she had seen, Five followed her eyes and saw it landed on his hand which was holding the blade. He quickly closed it and placed it back on the small table then looked back at her.

"S-sorry, force of habit," His voice was scratchy and his throat felt like a desert. Five felt his face grow hot with embarrassment, as he let his hands fall back to his side.

She walked a few steps closer and held out what she was holding in her hand towards Five. It was his watch that Five had just now realised was missing from his wrist.

"I put the correct time and date on it, it seems to have gotten scrambled up possibly when you were hurt." Five lifted his hand and carefully grabbed his watch from her. He ran his thumb over the lens but quickly noticed something, the date. It couldn't be right

"How long have I been out?" Five's voice cracked making him clear his throat so it didn't feel like sandpaper.

"A little bit over a day, you were beaten up badly and lost a good amount of blood."

Fuck!!

He started to tie his tie as fast as he could then reached over for his other clothes and began slipping them on. He grimaced as he had to lift his arms up which hurt his ribs as he slid on his vest.

"You should probably get some more rest, you were really badly injured……..I don't mind you staying here at all," The woman said to him as he slid on his blazer. Five didn't realise his legs were trembling under him, he went to take a step and go collect his shoes which were on the other side of the bed but collapsed as soon as he put his weight down on his outstretched foot.

Everything spun as he fell to the ground, the aching searing pain from all over his body made his stomach knot up as he swallowed back trying not to puke.

He felt hands fall to his back as well as his arm as he was dragged up and placed on the bed he was previously laying on. His breathing was ragged and he could feel the perspiration gathering on the palm of his hands. Everything felt like he fast-forwarded time, maybe he did he didn't know, no energy meant no powers, and Five certainly didn't have any energy.

He felt his body grow heavy as a cool cloth draped over his body and the woman's hand pushed up his bangs and laid her palm on his forehead. He could feel the outline of a wedding band around her ring finger, she was married, certainly, there was someone else in the house too.

"My name is Ymir…... Ymir Cyprus," the woman said in that still gentle calm tone as she removed her hand from his forehead and sat at the edge of the bed.

Cyprus

Why did that name sound familiar to him?

"Can I ask your name young man?"

His name

He didn't have a name

He had a number

"Five….," He responded to her as she shot a confused glance towards him.

"Five?"

Five wanted to mentally smack himself,' Of course because everyone is named after a Number, Idiot!'

Five quickly covered it up, "It's a nickname from my siblings, I hardly even remember my real name, it's rarely used." Five wasn't technically lying but he was lying, he just never chose a name.

"Well nice to meet you Five, is there anyone I can call for you?" she gave him a warm smile and stood up walking over to the small desk in the room where a rotary dial phone was.

He had no one, he was away from his own timeline and it's not like giving her a fake number would work. Five kept quiet till she spoke again, "It's alright if you don't remember the number I can always look in the phone book."

Five cleared his throat before talking,"That's not the problem, I just….don't have anyone to call."

She lowered her hand from about to dial back to her side and walked back over and sat on the bed again."What about your parents, they must be worried about you, and those siblings you talked about?"

Crap

"Me and my siblings are all adopted, our father passed and our mother……." Five paused.

He couldn't say 'oh yes my mom is a robot built by my dad'......... Things most certainly won't go well with that sentence.

"Our mother isn't in the picture," Five finished off looking up at Ymir. Again he didn't lie, they all are adopted, Reginald is dead, and Grace was well…...a robot but he couldn't say that.

As soon as Five finished he heard a distant cry of a baby which made Ymir's head turn towards the door. She stood up and walked over to the door and turned around to look at Five before walking out.

"Well, I have dinner on the stove, which you're more than welcomed to stay for, I made more than enough." Five responded with a single nod of his head before she walked out softly closing the door.

When he heard the soft click of the door Five reached into his trousers pocket where he forgot his notebook was. He pulled it out and the whole thing was damaged due to that pond he fell in. The pages were all wavy along with the ink on some of the pages were smeared and illegible.

Five carefully flipped to the page where he had the equations he needed which weren't ruined too bad, but something still didn't look right about it.

Five closed it and laid it on the bedside table where everything else still was aside from Klaus' lighter that now laid in his lap.

He never understood Klaus' powers, he was immortal because the big guy upstairs (who Klaus said actually looked like an old western cowboy) didn't want him. Klaus often joked about this saying he wasn't wanted in heaven or hell.

'Did they actually kill him?'

Five still never understood how he was able to die in both apocalypses but not from countless drug overdoses.

He didn't know HOW his immortality worked so for all Five knows, he could be dead along with the others, or alive and just watched all his siblings get murdered and he couldn't bring them back.

Five shook his head, he didn't want to think about it either everyone was dead or Klaus was the only one alive still waiting for Five. He hoped none of it was true but at least hoped Klaus was alive if it was.

Five reached to the other side of the bed and grabbed his shoes, slipping them on before carefully pushing himself off the bed to stand up again.

He was glad his legs weren't hurt, maybe his right ankle got twisted a little but there were no injuries to his legs. Sure he couldn't run if he needed to due to the wound in his abdomen but the option was still there.

Five balanced himself first before he began to slowly walk to the door, grabbing onto surfaces or the wall along the way so he wouldn't fall. He turned the doorknob and opened the door revealing a short corridor that had 3 others doors along the way to what looked like the living room.

He walked down the hallway noticing one of the doors had the name "Imogen" spelled out in colorful foam letters while the other two doors were blank. He walked into the living room and could begin to smell the food in the air then turned a corner cautiously into what was the kitchen. It reminded him of Diego and mom whenever they cooked meals then called all the siblings to come eat.

Five immediately noticed Ymir already serving a dish for him as if she knew he would come over here. She looked up and smiled at him then set the dish down in front of a chair and pulled the wooden chair out for him as if saying 'sit'.

Five walked over and carefully sat down holding his left side as he sat. A plate of pasta was set on the table in front of him along with a glass of water. Ymair sat down in the seat opposite from him as he took a small sip of water from his glass.

Five still didn't know how he ended up here and exactly who this lady was other than her name which seemed too familiar to Five.

"How did you find me?" He asked once she had sat down.

She cleared her throat before talking,"I was on my way to work about to open up my cafe when I heard a gunshot come from the alleyway behind the building. An older gentleman and I were about to call the police then we saw two older men walk out unharmed." She paused for a second then continued on with the story.

"The older gentlemen walked away but I went to the alleyway where the gunshot was and you were laying on the floor. I was about to call an ambulance but remembered the previous day you were by yourself and didn't accept anyone's help. I made sure you were alive before bringing you back here."

Five actually did owe his life to her

They both stayed quiet for the remainder of the time that they ate until they were both finished. She stood and collected the dishes going over to the sink to wash them. Five carefully stood up from the chair and walked over to an image that was framed hanging up on the wall.

Five realised why her name seemed so familiar

" You're married, is your husband home?" Five had to test if this was what he thought it was. He looked over at her reaction as he asked the question. The expression on her face faltered then went back to normal, "Oh he's away a lot for work it's mostly just me and Imogen here all the time."

Five looked back to the image on the wall of Ymir, a man and a baby which he was certain was her husband and the baby was Imogen.

The newspaper article from a few months from now he had read when looking for the one of the day Ben had died.

Mother and child beaten to death by abusive husband

The picture on the wall was the one Five saw in the article along with the names Ymir Cyprus and Imogen Charlotte Cyprus. It hadn't occurred to Five till he heard her last name and even then it wasn't his main focus.

Five didn't like this one bit, he was a murderer but even then he had morals for who he killed. She's abused by her husband for who knows how long then beaten to death by him and he kills her daughter. Sure he's killed innocent people for the sake of the timeline but this was far beyond anything he would do.

Five grimaced he couldn't imagine Vanya, Allison or even Klaus getting into an abusive relationship and him not helping them if he had the chance. Allison he knew would probably leave before anything could happen but Vanya and Klaus were a different story. They both had horrible choices in men from Vanya dating a serial killer to Klaus and letting people treat him however to get drugs or sex.

This almost felt like a cry for help

And he could help, but at the same time couldn't. He was already messing with the timeline in doing what he was set out to do and wasn't even sure of the consequences.

Saving two more people from dying was sure to fuck up the timeline. Not to mention if he messed with something the Commission would be all over him more than they already were.

"What's his job?"

I mean he could still know where to go to make his life miserable.

"He works as a traveling business salesman, but even when he's home he's working at the office a lot." Five grinded his teeth together.

And the asshole was obviously cheating on her

At that moment there was a knock at the front door which caught both of their attention. Five stayed where he was while Ymir dried her hands on a towel and walked to the front door. Five heard a lock click then the opening of the door.

" We're sorry to bother ma'am but have you seen a kid, yey tall dressed in a uniform." That caught Five's attention as he peeked over and saw two people from the commission standing at the door.

How did they know where he was?

He moved back behind the wall as he listened to the conversation,"Oh are you two with the police?" Ymir questioned them.

"Um no we're detectives hired by the boy's family to look for him," one of the commission Hitman lied.

"May we come in and search the premises ma'am?" Fuck, now she's gonna think he's just some runaway kid….again technically not wrong but- That's not the point!

"Oh, yes just please give me a second to tell my husband, he's down in the shop doing some work.

'Husband?'

"Certainly ma'am take your time."

Five heard Ymir's footsteps walking to the kitchen then as soon as she saw Five she put a finger over her lips and grabbed his wrist pulling him somewhere. Five dragged behind her slightly due to him being injured but was able to follow where she was taking him. She walked down a section that led off from the kitchen into a walk in Pantry. She pulled him all the way to the back where there were cupboards towards the floor and opened it gesturing Five to go in there.

" You have to trust me on this," she whispered to him. Five nodded his head and got in the cupboard which was big enough that he could sit on his knees without being squished or hunched over. She closed the door behind him, leaving it open the slightest bit so he could look out.

'Why was she helping him?'

He heard her footsteps fade out till there was just muffled conversation that he could barely overhear. A few minutes passed and he heard footsteps get closer and the conversation became more clear.

"This is the pantry," her voice was still very calm, no panic or anything laced in her voice.

Both men walked into the pantry and looked around. One of the men started opening the rest of the cupboards that lined the bottom of the floors as the other started talking to Ymir.

"You haven't noticed any weird or out of ordinary things happening around here?" He questioned as the other man got closer and closer to where Five was.

"I don't believe so, I live in a quiet neighbourhood so hardly anything happens around her." She responded as her glance flickered over to the guy going one by one opening the cupboards.

"Are you sure you haven't seen this kid ma'am?" He pulled out and showed her a medium sized image while the other guy opened the last cupboard that was before the one Five was in.

Five pressed himself all the way to the back and put his hand over his mouth as it would help him not be found. The man reached and put his hand on the handle about to pull it open.

"Oh, could you not touch that one my husband just installed it, the glue is still settling in." She said, still acting unfazed.

The man removed his hand for the handle and walked back over to the other guy who put the photo away, " Everything looks clear here, sorry for troubling you ma'am."

She smiled at them," Not at all, let me escort you out."

They walked away and there was silence till he heard the closing of the door followed by a lock clicking. Five felt his shoulders drop from where he didn't realise he was tensing up as the cupboard door opened revealing Ymir.

"They're gone," She helped Five climb out of the cupboard and stand up before walking back into the kitchen where she sat down.

"How did you-?" Five was confused why she helped him and didn't believe their story.

"They were wearing the same thing those two men who shot you in the alleyway were wearing."

Five didn't know what to say, he didn't know why he was accepting the help from this lady he just met. He only had the rest of today and one day left to find out how to save Ben but things were not going as planned, like always.

" Who are those people?" She asked him as he straightened out his blazer.

He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the shattering of glass.

Both him and Ymir flinched before going over to where the sound was. The window in the living room was shattered everywhere while both men stood outside the window both with guns in hand.

Fuck!

Five pushed Ymir back into the kitchen as the popping of bullets continued covering up the crying of her baby. Five turned his attention to her,"I trusted you, now you have to trust me on something." She nodded her head at Five as he grabbed a hold of her upper arm blinking them into the room Five saw earlier with the name "Imogen" on it.

"What did-," Ymir started saying, looking like she was about to puke.

"No time," Five quickly said, interrupting her.

Five almost collapsed to the floor but held himself up on the wall as he held his wound. Five pulled back his hand and saw blood starting to seep through his vest, he must have ripped whatever stitches were holding it closed, open.

He looked over and saw Ymir had grabbed her baby, "Is there anyway out of this place!?" He yelled, still talking over the gunfire.

She quickly nodded her head, "The attic. There's a fire escape that leads out to the street from the back of the house. It's in the room you were staying in."

Five nodded his head and pushed open the door making the shooting become louder. He looked back and saw Ymir following him as he made his way down the hallway into the room he had woken up in. He closed the door behind both of them as Ymir pulled down the ladder that led to the attic.

Five ran over and grabbed all his sibling's things as well as his and shoved them in his pockets before following Ymir up the ladder. She led him over to a window that had a metal ladder going down off the side of the house.

She pushed Five to go down the ladder first, which he did followed by Ymir climbing down the ladder with her baby in her hands which he has no clue how she did that. She pointed towards a metal gate that was surrounding the house which Five now realised was a shophouse.

Five ran a few feet behind Ymir due to the wound which was now completely open as blood soaked through his blazer. She looked back at him and must have noticed. She reached back and grabbed Five's hand which was small compared to her hand which enveloped his. Five normally would have pulled away but he was too drowsy from pain and adrenaline to register what was even happening. Five followed her as she took sharp turns through shops and back alleyways running farther away from the gunfire.

Five looked behind him when the gunshots suddenly came to a stop and noticed one of the guys were hot on their feet ready to shoot. Five yanked Ymir against a wall as a bullet sped by right in front of them Five was surprised it didn't graze either of them. She pulled Five around the corner and pushed him to slip through a small opening between two walls. Five went through the opening but quickly realised she wouldn't be able to fit through it. She passed him her baby and put a finger to her mouth before leaving.

Five pushed himself up against the wall and put a hand over the baby's mouth so she wouldn't make noise but not covering her nose so she could breath. Five peeked out from the side and saw the guys pass right by shouting a string of curses.

"Fuck!" One of the guys shouted, kicking a nearby car tire making the alarm go off.

"Come on, we don't have time let's look somewhere else he probably teleported them who knows where." Five knew the commission would be after them if he tried to mess with the timeline but he didn't know they were gonna send more than 2 hitmen to take him out. Five waited till it got quiet and he could hear the distant wailing of sirens.

Five let himself slide down the wall as the exhaustion took over his body. Everything ached more than before and his lungs burned as he tried to catch his breath.

Five looked down as the baby still in his arms looked up at him with light hazel eyes. Five didn't know what to do or how to handle this situation, left alone with someone's baby.

He stayed staring at the small child in his arms as she smiled up at him giggling.

"U-um…... hi?"

'Yes, make conversation with the baby, smart Five!'

"Five!" Five turned to his side and saw Ymir coming over to him and putting her hands out towards him. He passed her, her baby then crawled out of the tight space holding his side.

She looked at the blood coating his right hand and quickly pulled him over to a nearby building and leaned him against the wall. As soon as he was placed on the wall his feet refused to support him anymore and he collapsed to the ground.

She quickly shrugged off a shawl she had over her shoulders and balled it up pressing it into his side with one hand. Five cringed at the pressure being applied to the wound and looked us noticing the worried expression on Ymir's face.

"You, young man, have a lot of explaining to do" She said it much like if it were Diego or Allison lecturing him like a kid.

"It's a long story," Five muttered trying to dodge having to do any explaining. She applied more pressure making Five wince.

"Then start talking"

Five looked at her stern glare then the wound that guaranteed he wouldn't be able to jump anytime soon.

This was gonna be a lot of explaining to do

Shit

#virusfanfic

0 notes

onetruesirius · 1 year

Text

or... something

I posted 5,652 times in 2022

That's 5,472 more posts than 2021!

52 posts created (1%) [figures]

5,600 posts reblogged (99%) [sounds about right]

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@pathetic-gamer

@lightkrets312

@ghost-of-someone

@hard-times-paramore

I tagged 1,309 of my posts in 2022

[look I don't want everyone seeing my business mkay?]

#star trek - 38 posts

#my ocs - 36 posts

#star trek strange new worlds - 30 posts

#if i have to suffer so does everyone else - 29 posts

#prev tags - 23 posts

#help the little blazed post get to where it's going - 22 posts

#saving this for later - 19 posts

#captain pike - 14 posts

#oh my god - 13 posts

#fuck - 13 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

I sent 2 gifts in 2022 [Hi Isa!]

My Top Posts in 2022:

Ace DAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY It’s ACE DAY.

10 notes - Posted April 6, 2022

Hot spicy fresh-ass take from a corner of the Pike Cult only a week and a half before SNW premieres:

I dont think this guy is straight.

I just

I really don't think this man is straight.

See the full post

18 notes - Posted April 27, 2022

Hey

Hey you.

Start Trek. Strange New Worlds.

Yeah. YOU absolute mOtherfuckers—

WHEN I SAID "SHE'S TOTALLY GONNA SACRIFICE THAT KID TO AN ELDRITCH ABOMINATION SO GOD WILL GIVE THE PLANET UTOPIA", I DIDNT FUCKING MEAN ACTUALLY FUCKING DO IT. JESUS CHRIST—

so yeah all bets are now off for Strange New Worlds

i said deadass like 3 weeks ago, and i quote, "they won't have the guts to blatantly kill a child onscreen" and i thought i was right midway through this episode but oh my god i was very very wrong like i could not be more wrong and i hate literally everything oh god oh fuck

18 notes - Posted June 9, 2022

@tsuntsunfangirl Now to be clear

I think it's probably good that no one has picked up on the whole adjunct situation because we know from his interviews: he's a private guy and obviously that sort of shit is quite literally career-ending in that line of work even on the best of days

but I'm very puzzled because what the hell happened to that classic 2015 shitposting did all the degenerates go to OFMD or something

25 notes - Posted July 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

The Big Five, Sleepy Edition

Summ art I did the other day of the Big Five [Gabe, Kat, Pippa, Chris, and Leland] having sleepy cuddles, because sometimes you're so damn tired after a long day, you just collapse on a cot with your buddies into a big warm pile of sleepy 'Fleet Cadet.

28 notes - Posted January 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

ALRIGHT, BACK TO WORK YOU LOT, THESE SHITPOSTS WON'T MAKE THEMSELVES!

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

1 note · View note

dejwrites · 2 years

Text

↠ characters: geto suguru, mentioned in the story: gojo satoru, toji fushiguro, choso kamo, nanami kento,

↠ warning: cam work, sex work, mentions of death, profanity, drug usage,

↠ pairings: geto suguru x black!female reader, a hint of toji fushiguro x black!female reader

↠ timeline: cam boy!au, college!au, sex work au,

↠ chapter summary: [y/n]'s weekly meetings with jin choi ends in an odd manner.

↠ a/n: this took me forever to update, but it's only because this story is slowly coming to a close with only four chapters left after this. just thanks for continuing to read this trainwreck of a fic tbh. love y'all.

check out the character edits for cam competition here. also check out the character aesthetic here. also, click here to join taglist.

↠ tags: @indiecursor @resonancesoul @luvingmyships @tojibreedingme @4dtk @svlims @warmchick @whatdidhesayyyy @gojos-hoe @thathoneybee3 @po3ticb3auty @levisblackbabe @whoatherenelly-blog @sanerihru

prev + masterlist

YOU PLACED YOUR GAME PIECE IN A DIFFERENT SPOT. Chewing at your lower lip trying to stay focused on the game in front of you. You watched countless videos on how to play Shoko and still was getting your ass kicked by the eldest man. He wasn’t even fully paying attention to the game, a pair of chopsticks in one hand and a book in another. Occasionally he would peek over it to see if you had moved your game piece yet.

“The detectives still haven’t pieced together what happened?” He questioned as he moved his game piece after you.

“Nope, they said it was a drug overdose…but she could have survived it.” You explained to him the same thing Geto told you. “However, it was a hit to her head that ended her life.” You soon add. “But you know how lazy some cops are. They’ll chalk it up as her hitting her head on something.“ Your eyes stared at the game pieces in front of you.

“And update on you being number one ranking?” Jin asked. His eyes peeked up at you through his glasses just to watch you shuffle around in your seat.

“I’m not at number one,” You huffed. “I don’t care to run your company if I’m being honest with you,” You admitted as you looked at him.

You couldn’t read Jin similar to how you could with Jules. He only moved his game piece and went back to eating the food you had brought for him. “Fair point, my company has a lot of baggage. I don’t blame you for not wanting to take over.” He answered.

“But I would want anybody but my daughter running my company.” He sighed. “So, what are the options? I’ll try my best to see what I can do to make it happen.”

Your eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “If you have the power to do that, then why are you just rotting away in here?”

“Because my daughter always crawls back to me when she’s in need, similar to what she did months ago,” He explained. “Now what are the options to the contender who’ll be running my company?” He asked again.

You let out a sigh as you were digging through your tote bag to pull out your iPad. You logged into your CamPop account. You would go to the ranking tab on the website while the older man was pushing the board game to the side. You placed the iPad in front of him and soon, clicked on the first profile.

“Sitting at Number 1 is SuguruSuga,” Your teeth grazed at your lower lip as you watched Jin go through Geto’s profile. “This is your partner correct? Jules's obsession?” He questioned.

You would only nod while you leaned back into your seat. “Yes, but I think he’ll make a good contender for the company.” You found yourself explaining.

Jin’s eyebrows raised at your comment. “Are you saying this because you’re dating him?” He asked. “Jules finds out he’s running the company, she may kill the guy and probably me,” he joked as he ate more of the food.

“But, well at number three SatoruG.” You changed to Gojo’s profile.

“Too cocky, plus I know his parents.” Jin bluntly admitted. “Next option.”

You clicked off Gojo’s profile to click on Choso’s profile. Your eyes looked up at Jin who leaned forward to look at the screen. He didn’t say much and only shook his head. “Jules mentioned him to me also. It’s a no for me,” He sighs.

“You’re being so picky considering that the clock is ticking. You said that whoever is at number one by the end of the month will be the owner. Which means if either one of them is number one, you can’t argue against it.” You argued.

Jin would look at you. His chopsticks pick up pieces from the side dishes you brought him. “You sure, you don’t want to run my company? You’ll be the perfect contender.” He said, completely disregarding what you had just said.

“You’re such a pain in my ass, like your daughter,” You sighed as you grabbed your iPad and let it drop back into your tote bag. You pushed the game board back in front of the two of you.

“Hypothetically speaking, if the SuguruSuga guy is at number one at the end of the month. Do you think he’ll want to run the company?” Jin asked as he moved his game piece.

“I don’t know, probably. He’s a good guy, I think he’ll be a good person to run your company.” You found yourself explaining. “He’s just different. He’s kind, down to earth..” Your voice trailed off while your lips curled into a small smile.

Jin would lean over and move his game piece. His lips parted to comment, but he would only give you a pleasant hum. “Well, from the way my daughter used to brag about him…I used to have my thoughts about the guy.” He adds. “But I would rather take your opinion seriously than my own daughter’s,” He sighed as he watched you move the piece.

When you moved the game piece, you noticed he didn’t do anything. You glanced up at him from the game pieces, “It’s your turn, old man.” You sighed.

“You already won,” He said as he pushed the game aside. Jin watched as your face lit in excitement.

“Yes! I stayed up all night watching videos about this damn game,” You smiled.

Jin sipped at his green tea as he let a chuckle tumble out his mouth. Your lips parted to speak, but your body completely froze when you heard the familiar voice. You watched as Jin’s body language completely changed. His hand gripped at the porcelain teacup and his eyes instantly darkened. You knew only one person could spark that reaction out of him.

Jules.

“Of course. I should have known when Choso was questioning about my father that this was what he had planned.” Jules huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

She had two men with her. You assumed they were her bodyguards, but one of the guys you do remember was at the meeting when you had to sign your contract. Perhaps that was the lawyer Jin mentioned when the two of you had met.

“Why are you here?” Jin asked. “You never come to visit unless you’re in trouble and considering the circumstances, I’m assuming you’re just that. You’re backed into a corner because of your reckless actions.” He sighed as he placed his tea down.

“Jin, you’re coming with us. Consider yourself now capable of running your company again, get him.” She would twirl around in her red bottoms going towards the entrance. But she stopped in her tracks to look at you, “You’re coming too since you want to be his fuckin’ nursing aid so much.”

You felt someone grab your forearm causing you to yank your arm away. “I can walk on my own.” You spat rudely as you followed them outside the nursing home.

You watched as Jules' driver opened the door to the car and you would just stand there. “I can drive myself.”

Jules rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. “You think I’m really stupid enough to do that, Vince goes with her. The old man is with me,” She waved her hand away as she got into the car.

You watched as her bodyguard pushed Jin into the car roughly. You walked to your car, eyeing Vince suspiciously before climbing into your car. You slowly buckled your seat belt and looked at Vince. “I’m assuming we’re going to this meeting,” You sighed as you glanced at him.

He couldn’t have been much older than you. His looks were even more intimidating due to the sharp scar on his cheek and his auburn-colored eyes. He didn’t say anything, so you just started following behind the car Jin was in. You kept wondering if he knew anything about Ayaki’s death. He had to, he seemed close with Jules. He always was by her side during the weekly press conference videos they sent to CamPop workers' emails. She even would post him on her social media pages occasionally.

While you were driving, you took notice of how Vince’s left thigh shook. He bounced it uncontrollably as if he was trying to keep his composure. He kept chewing at his lower lip and never actually glanced in your direction.

“Is everything okay?” You asked as you stopped the car behind the limo that Jules was in. A red light halting the both of you to your next destination.

“I’m sorry, just a huge fan of your…uh work,” Vince admitted as he looked outside the window.

Your lips formed a straight line as you started driving once again. But then, a little lightbulb went off in your head. “Really? So you’ve seen some of my work?” You questioned as you started driving again.

“Uhh yeah, it reminds me of someone.” Vince's words came out like a coherent stutter. He toyed with the ends of his perfectly tailored suit jacket.

“Someone?” You asked. “Someone like Ayaki?”

Vince grew quiet but he only nodded his head.

“You know what happened to her?” You asked.

Silence overcame the two before Vince found himself talking. “I wanted Jules to take her to the hospital. I did, but she threatened to make it my fault if I did take her to the hospital.”

“You need to tell the cops this,” You said as she made a turn into the parking lot.

“And go to jail? No fuckin’ way,” Vince said. “So I advise you to keep your mouth shut or else.”

“Or else what? You and Jules love threatening people, but deep down I know people like you two.” You put your car in park. “You think using your power will get you out of this, but it’s not. She’s going to throw you under the bus and I can’t wait to laugh when it happens. Surprised she hasn’t done it yet.” You said you looked Vince in his face with a dead expression. “So this raises my question, what does she have on you for you to be so loyal to her?”

You went to get out of the car, but Vince grabbed a hold of your arm tugging you back. He noticed that hard stern look you gave him and removed your grip from your wrist. “Before I met Jules, I was in debt with some bad people. She helped me out.” Vince sighed.

You found yourself rolling your eyes, “She paid off your debt and you’re not in debt with her.” You said. “But someone’s daughter is dead because of her and you’re protecting her. There’s nothing that would make me feel some form of pity for you. Just continue to be her lap dog.” You harshly spat. “That guilt is going to eat you alive and you know whose not going to care? Her.” You motioned to Jules who was exiting her private car.

When you finally got out of the car, you approached Jin. “You okay?” You asked.

“Yes, just wondering what my lovely daughter has under her sleeve.” Jin sarcastically admitted.

“I have something important to tell my…our employees. I think everyone should be here for my huge news and some things I have to tell everyone.” Jules says as she linked arms with her father who slowly removed her arm in annoyance.

“Last time I checked, I’m too much of a fuckin’ idiot to understand anything about my company.” He spat rudely as he walked ahead in the building that most likely had many CamPop workers that resided in.

You followed behind him to catch up with him. “What do you think she has up her sleeve?” You questioned.

“Most likely stepping down. It’s too much pressure to be the CEO of a company where one of your employees is dead. She can’t handle it, she’s going to crack pretty soon.” Jin said as he looked over at you.

“I talked to the Vince guy, he confirmed that he suggested they take Ayaki to the hospital but Jules threatened him.” You explained. “I said something quite harsh to let sit in his mind though.” You shrugged. “Ayaki didn’t deserve what happened to her.” You pushed open the door to the large auditorium.

“You two will sit in the front where I can see you,” Jules confirmed as she motioned to the clear front row.

“We’re not children, so I’m going to sit where I want to.” You rolled your eyes as you glanced around the auditorium searching for Geto. When you saw him, Gojo, and Nanami, you quickly moved over to them before Jules could protest.

You took the empty seat next to Nanami due to a blonde-haired woman sitting next to Geto. The two of them seem to be whispering among each other. Geto didn’t notice that you were sitting in the same row as him until Jules's voice echoed within the room.

“Good Evening everyone, I’m so glad each one of you took time out of your busy schedules to come to this important meeting,” Jules said in the microphone.

It was so quiet in the auditorium that you could hear a pen drop and Gojo’s loud snicker at what Jules said.

“Anyway, I want to make this announcement quick so we all can go back with our lives.” She added.

You noticed that Jules spoke with so much confidence. Her head held up and a charming smile on her face. No one wouldn’t know how cruel she was unless you were close with her.

You felt someone nudge your shoulder and when she looked over, Geto took the sit that Nanami formally was in. “Why were you arriving with Jules? I thought you said you were going to visit her dad?” He questioned.

“That’s where I was at until she came to get him. He’s sitting in the front,” You motioned to Jin lazily listening to his daughter's speech.

“He doesn’t look sick or anything, can’t believe she just threw him in a retirement home.” Geto sighed. “Actually, I can believe she would do that.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t particularly shock me anymore.” You said.

“We need to talk about something though,” Geto said.

“About what?”

“We never discussed collaborating outside of our relationship. From my knowledge, many couples that are in the sex work industry do venture out and work with our people other than their partner.” Geto explained.

Your eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, “Are you trying to say you want to collab with other people outside of me?”

“What? No!” Geto exclaimed. “It wasn’t even me she wanted. She wanted to collaborate with you,” He explained. “I just wanted to come to you before she approached you about it, so you wouldn’t be caught off guard.” He adds.

“I don’t think it’s a good time for that right now considering the circumstances of the ranking thing. Hypothetically speaking, say I collab with her and she gets pushed to number 1 when the month ends. What the hell are we going to do?” You asked.

“You think that’s possible?” Geto backfired. “Let’s be real, I’ve been stuck at number 1 for days.”

“That only because your identity has been exposed. Is that the girl sitting next to Gojo?” You said.

“Yes.” Geto sighed.

“She’s pretty,” You complimented. “Blonde and nice body. The perfect moment she could be pushed to number 1. You know it didn’t take me long to do the same when I first moved here.” Your eyes looked at Jules who seem to be searching in the crowd for someone. You noticed that her eyes landed specifically on the row that you were sitting in. Expecting for Jules’s eyes to linger on her favorite obsession Geto, but it didn’t. Out of curiosity, your eyes followed Jules’s gaze and it landed on the one girl who wanted to collaborate with you.

“Plus, could we even trust her.” You said to Geto before you pushed yourself out of your seat to move to the front row.

You had to learn more about that woman. You have been on CamPop for months now and had mainly gotten collaborative offers by sleazy men CamPop workers, never a woman. Plus, you felt like she just appeared out of thin air. You took the seat next to Jin who was on his cellphone not bothering to listen to his daughter.

“Moving on, you guys know the circumstances of where the company is at in the media. I am urging all of you to not make a comment about the situation or there will be consequences. As in your account will be terminated immediately.” Jules explained.

You could hear Jin kiss at his teeth at the comment.

“Lastly, I will be stepping down from my position for a while,” Jules admitted.

The number of gasps you’ve heard in the room cause you to sit up in your seat. Your eyes instantly met Jin considering the plan the two of you were discussing earlier. “Stepping down? You’ve told everyone in this room that I was incapable of running my company and now you want me to clean up your mess?” Jin questioned.

Whispers and murmurs lingered in the room as Jules let out a bitter laugh. “Who said I was stepping down for you to run it? I just want to see the look on your face as I assign a temporary person while I’ll be gone.” She shrugs. “Yuki, come on down sweetie.”

“If you guys don’t know. Yuki does cam work on the side alongside. She's also been my advisor through these long years of running this company." Jules admitted as she watched Yuki walk down on the stage.

“Wouldn’t this make it easier for the whole ranking situation?” You whispered to Jin.

“It should, considering that evidence I have against her for falsifying documents about my health. She won’t know what hits her when she returns and it’s not even her company anymore.” Jin explained. “But this Yuki girl, she used to be the advisor for my competition. She’s young but just as lethal as Jules.” He sighed as he stared as the two women embraced each other.

Your lips parted to speak, but the door to the auditorium everyone was sitting in. In walked many detectives, one of them being the detective Geto had been speaking with.

“Jules Choi, you’re under arrest for the murder of Ayaki Takahashi.”

#geto suguru x reader #geto suguru smut #jjk x reader #jjk smut #geto suguru fanfic #geto x reader #black reader #x black reader #geto suguru x black reader #jjk fanfic

161 notes · View notes

bts-trash-blog · 3 years

Text

Best Of Us

Chapter 8: Focus

Summary: Being an Omega is hard, it could be so lonely. The hardships that you would sometimes feel seemed to much, always expected of things you could never fully reach. Always seen as a piece of meat to some, seen as weak and stupid. So you worked your ass off to finally work your dream job. And the world all changed when you met one of the bosses. And couldn't help but end up falling.

Paring: Rap Line X Fem!Chubby OmegaReader

Warning: A/O/B!VERS, mentions of sexual harassment, heats, ruts, knotting, breeding, angst, possessive behavior, more warnings will be added as needed.

An(IMPORTANT...kinda of lol): Hello my sweets! I just wanted to give you all a heads up that I will be closing the Tag list after I realize Chapter Ten, just for a bit it will open back up eventually its just getting be to much to keep up with at the momment! So defiently keep an eyes out in the next couple of weeks of the tag list closing and when it should open back up if that makes senses lol. Also I was woundering if you guys would like to talk about the story togthers after each chapter? Like a reading party where you guys send in your thoughts and I will respound to as many, if not all of the replys, asks and anons! Defeintly tell my your thoughts on that if you fine it intresting or not! I hope you like this chapter, it’s most defitnly on the long side compared to the perivous chapters, and they only seem to keep getting longer lol. Anyway have a great day, and I hope you enjoy reading!!!

Chapter edited

PREV._.NEXT

God you were crazy,you had to be.

The way the air caught your breath as you wandered outside had you memorized, no matter what age you were the cold always fascinated you. It was memories of the snow days your father would pull you out of bed for, hands on your hips as he lifted you off the ground and caught snowflakes. Or the way you watched your mother fall to the ground to make snow angels how your father as you and your cousin had run around the snow, would catch your mother and spin her around. Their joint laughter had made you freeze eyes casting over seeing your mothers bright smile as your father peppers kisses across her cheeks, as you stood frozen your older cousin shoved a snowball in your face. The burn of your cold nose now having you reach up and rub, the overly large sweater that wraps warmth around you faintly smells of your mother. She had grown worried as days passed and you sat in your room, nesting, trying to get the paperwork done that the ‘sweet handsome Alpha’, Jin, had dropped off. You had yet to confined to your mother what was spiralling with your internship, your college professor none the wiser during your call on Wednesday. His voice filled with joy as he spoke of the email that Yoongi had sent him, encouraging your professor to give you the next couple of weeks off for class since he believes that this supposive internship was turning into a real opportunity for you. It drove you insane on how fast he was to jump, assume. Though you would do that same, you think.

The sound of someone talking on the phone had your mind racing back to the real world, eyes looking around, the tall glass building on the other side of the road. The way the sun reflected off of the glass shook you to the core, imagining Yoongi sitting at his desk, dark brown almost black hair falling into his eyes, the stupid look on Hoseok face when he constrates on the computer screen in front of him. The scent, the combined scent of the three of them, the same one you smelt the night that your world flipped, coursing through your head, the idea a lone had your stumbling over your own feet.Taking a deep breath, the sound of some teenagers laughing had you looking to the side, three girls, Beta, were walking next to one another, looks over worry and even on of disgust caught your eyes it had you cowering, rushing the the cafe door. As you entered, you saw cotton candy pink hair, the large round cheeks as Jimin called your name, it had you smiling as the boy left the counter moving to gester for you to sit making you straighten up as you do.

“You’re hair..is..uh pink.” he giggles as he sits in front of you, hearing the Beta from before chuckle as he shakes his head, his hair tossing side to side as he smiles brightly at you.

“Very, I’ve been wondering when I’d see you, thoses Alphas and their Omega come having been coming for the past three days, asking if you’ve shown up.” He wiggled his eyebrows as you bow your head, hair falling, covering your face as you take a deep breath and shrug. “Never thought they’d like another Omega besides Joon.” His words caught your attention as you look at him with a head tilt, “Namjoon is a friend of mine.”

“Oh cool, didn’t know you were close to any of them.” Jimin awkwardly nods as he huffs and takes a breath.

“So are you gonna stay?” His question made your heart stop, chest tighten, the air catching in your throat as you seem to choke on it. Coughing as he moves forward, hand resting on yours as he looks you in the eye. Safe. You are safe. “It..it’s okay if you don’t. Seriously, I..I don’t know how it feels for a trip to want to court you, let alone a thrio who all think you are already theirs, especially that possessive Namjoon.” His words go from serious tone to a teasing, his smile falling back on his face as his thumb rubs up and down your hand as you look at him. “Namjoon is probably more possessive then any Alpha I’ve met, and both of my parents are Alphas and so are my brothers, and my little sister who just presented is an Alpha. None of them are as possessive as our tall sweet Namjoon.” His words were rambled, eyes blinking, slowly looking away from your face, your own eyes widening.

“The only Omega in a whole litter?” You wonder aloud, making him nod slowly as his hand moves away from you, making your skin freeze as you take a deep breath. “Sorry that was blunt.”

“It’s fine, i’m used to it, being the only Omega out of five is odd, especially when the other four are Alphas.” His words had your nodding slowly as he cleared his throat and smiled back at you. “Being the only Omega was pretty handy though, got whatever the fuck I wanted. But back to what I was saying, the fact that Namjoon is willing to share his boys, and love you is pretty amazing to me if I’m being honest. So whatever you choose I’m gonna say it, he’s gonna be protective of you either way.” You nod at his words, his body moving up and out of the chair as he smiles at you and looks to his watch. “Well they should be showing up in twenty mintiues, think you’re gonna stay today?”

“I’m not sure yet.”He nods as he smiles as he places a hand on your shoulder, his forehead nuding your temple making your body relax as you take a deep breath and sigh. Hand moving to grab our phone, a text from Bambam had you swiping it open.His text had your heart pounding, cheeks growing red as your body grew hot it made you slowly blink as you took a deep breath in.

BamBam: So I am now a marked Omega, bounded.

Y/n: OMG I’m so happy for you Bammie, definitely need to see it next time we meet up.

BamBam: We’ll no shit, who else am I gonna show it too? My mother?

Y/n: I mean maybe?

BamBam: My mother will cry and tell me to stop growing up, then ask me about pups in the next sentence.

You let out a snort at his text, shaking your head as you place your phone back into your pocket, the feeling of eyes on you had the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. Your body tense as you move to keep your eyes down, moving your hands to grab a sugar packet as Jimin walks back up to you, a caramel macchiato in hand as you smile at him.”On the house.” Nodding you move to take a sip of it, meeting his eyes as he gives you his large smile. The ring of the door opening had Jimin moving back behind the counter, the smell of Alpha musk head cowering as you constarat on your drink, hoping that the Alpha wouldn't notice you, or would just ignore you. Yet you didn’t seem that lucky as you felt eyes on you, the sound of the deep voice ordering a coffee to stay has you shuffling your phone out of your pocket hoping that if you were on your phone he’d leave you alone. That he’d ignore you in some way. But luck never seems to be on your side.

Looking up when you hear the slide of a chair in front of you, you see brown eyes with black hair falling in his eyes as he gives you a smile as you look back down your phone. Body slightly cluring in one itself as you took another sip of your coffee. Healing the Alpha now sitting in front of your clear his throat, a growl rumbling with it had your body tensing, hand squeezing the cup making some of the coffee drip out of the straw as you look up at him. His smirk had only grown at your reaction, his body leaning forward as you take a deep breath in and lean back. A napkin being grabbed as you try to whip away at the croffe from the table. His eyes follow your hand as you take a deep breath in as he lets out a grunt as he rolls his lip between his teeth as he slaps his hand on the table.

“So pretty Omega, what are you doing here all alone?” His voice was a force smooth, his eyes gleaming at you as he leaned further, closer to you. Taking in a breath, your scent as his lips part and he smirks brightly at you. “I asked you a question.” He growled, making you jump your eyes closing as you take a deep breath.

“I’m waiting for someone.” Your words were sharp, quiet to the point as you started to take deep breaths again and again. Trying to compose yourself, to calm yourself down.

“Well how about I keep you some company till they show up...or you could just leave with me.” He pauses as he takes another deep breath in, your place you cup down letting out breaths again and again. Go away, leave me alone. You want to say, to scream it out like you had like last time. But the three men had made you cower, made you want to shy away from people around you. Your courage closed off. “Smell delicious little girl.” His words had your chest tightening as you stood up, leaving your cup behind as you rushed to the door, wanting, needing to run across the street, wanting to hide behind Hoseok as Yoongi chewed this Alpha a new one. You want them. “Hey get back here, I’m not done talking to you.” The Alpha tone had both you and Jimin whinine, your body freezing before the glass door. Three figures moving across the street had you whining as you heard the Beta manger growl, “Turn around.” You felt your knees shake, wanting to fight his command you whimper as you almost fall. “Now come here, and shut it beta I’m with my Omega.” his words felt wrong, gave you a nasty taste in your mouth as you shake your head at the Beta who let out a whine at the Alphas tone. Jimin cowering behind him as you felt your feet stumble forward, knees buckling as he growls when you weren’t moving quick enough for his liking. “I don’t have all day, now come.” You omega rushed forward wanting to stay safe to listen to the campand as you felt your neck stretch out as he chuckles and patts your cheek “That's a good girl.” His words were full of nothing but humiliation as you let out a whine, bowling lower as the door opens, the sound of a gaspe as the smell of sweet vanilla with firewood mixing with peaches had your heart slow as you hear a deep growl, mixing with another and whine hidden between the two.

“What the fuck is going on?” Hoseok. Your eyes close as you hear the Alpha in front of your growl as he scoffs at the trio.

“None of your business is just punishing a disrespectful Omega is all.” His words held a smirk, the tone and the words had you letting out a whimper, the sound had a hand resting on your shoulder, physical contact. Hoseok touch was familiar being the only Alpha out of two that has truly touched you in any way. And yet it makes you flinch slightly as your eyes peek up at him, his warm brown eyes looking down at you nodding behind him making you stand rushing backwards till hands were around your waist. Twirling your around, back facing away from the two as you hear growling making your grip the top beneath the palm of yours hands as you take a deep breath in.

“That Omega is ours, not yours.” Hoseok's words in any other time would’ve made your huff and roll your eyes, dismiss the man and walk away but Yoongi scent of freshly burning firewood with pine had your nuzzling closer. As close as you could get with clothes on.

“Focus on me.” His voice was soft, breathy against your ear, Yoongi's hand falling to your lower back, another slightly larger than Yoongi's hand pressed against the back of your head making you look up and peak seeing Namjoons cold eyes staring past your head. His fingers lace your hair between them as he moves closer, pressing himself flesh against Yoongi's back making the Alpha purr, his cheek rubbing against your neck as you take another deep breath. Trying to shake the Alpha command away from your mind, wanting to breathe, needing to focus. You hear the Alpha chuckle, as Hoseok growls once again.

“Well shit I’m sorry, she just doesn't have a mark let alone a scent mark. She a good fuck? I haven't tried an Omega yet...would you mind sharing for a fresh Alpha?” His words had the chest you were pressed against rumble with a growl, suddenly the sound of skin hitting skin with a grunt and a growl had you jumping as Yoongi twirl you around, your back against Namjoons chest. The omegas hand sliding across your waist holding you to him as Yoongi pulls back making you shake your head and whine as he pulls back his cold brown eyes staring at you as he cups your cheek and presses his forehead against your. “What the fuck? You fuck-” His words were cut off with another sound as a chair scraps against the floor, you hear Jimin whine making your eyes snap over tot he pink haird Omega for a split second, clinging to the back of the Beta who had his eyes wide watching the scen unfold, making you look back to Yoongi then Behind his head. Seeing the Alpha on the ground eyes closed as Hoseok shook his head out, shoulders moving with every single breath he took. Hands on your cheeks had your eyes snapping back to your focus. Yoongi.

“Hey, hey Y/n focus on me.” Your eyes watch his, the way his eyes never move away from your face, how his eyebrows furrowed together, and the way the tips of his ears were a bright red. His hair was slicked back slightly, forehead on show the collar of his shirt was messed up slightly from the coat he probably had thrown on while the three left the office. His tie was a maroon color, resting against an off white top from the feel of it was silk that was tucked into his pants. Your eyes catching the dull looking shoes from the day you had split coffee on, it head your cheek going red as his thumb rubs against your cheekbone having your eyes snap back up to his. “Breath with me, focus on me.” You nod slowly, breathing slowly down as you feel Namjoons nose running up and down your neck, scenting you slightly as his nose rubs over your scent gland each time. It had your body vibrate as Yoongi rubs slightly under your eye as he smiled softly at you as you tried to smile back in the moment you finally realized that tears that were falling down as you took a shaky breath in.

“Is she okay?” You hear hoseok ask making you look to see his warm eyes looking at you as you feel yoongi leave you completely making you whine as Namjoon tightens his grip around you calming you down as Yoongi takes Hoseok's hand. His thumb rubbing over his knuckles as Hoseok's eyes leave yours back to Yoongis as you watch the taller Alpha bump his forehead against Yoongis making him look up and huff.

“Just had to punch him.” Yoongi says softly, his head shaking as Hoseok chuckled softly as he looked at you as Yoongi rolled his eyes once again,hearing the groaning boy behind them, Hoseok turned and growled making the Alpha flinch as he whips his lip and huffs.

“Asshole, I hate new Alphas.” Hoseok's words had Yoongi nodding in agreement when pink hair caught your eyes as Jimin moved closer rmaking you pull from Namjoon as Jimin came closer. Jimins small frame pressing itself into you as you take a deep breath as you see the Beta talking on the phone.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry I couldn't do anything once that ton-” You cut Jimin off with a shake of your head as you grip his arm and give him a half smile.

“I get it.” You whisper as Jimin slowly nods, sighing as he looks behind you, namjoons eyes already on the pair of you as Hoseok and Yoogi get pulled to the counter taking the phone from the Beta. “Who..what is the betas name?”

“Oh thats Taehyung, he he was protecting me I’m sorry he just didn-”

“Stop apologizing, seriously I knew someone was gonna stop it whether it be him or someone from the outside. It's just a part of being an Omega.” Jimin slowly nodded again as the two of you pulled completely away from each other. “I’m just sorry for you having to deal with my situ-”

“Don’t you start apologizing, if I can’t neither can you.” Jimins words were light hearted, a smile on his face as you shook your head and gave him the softest smile, a forced one almost. “Namjoon looks worried.” Jimins words were now slightly teasing, trying to pull you from the situation, and in the end it worked.

“He can hear us.” Your words made me smile brightly as you shook your head and took a deep breath in as you turned around, eyes already on you as you moved slowly towards them. Namjoon meets you halfway, though you step back when he reaches to touch you making his eyes widen as he steps back. “Uh this definitely not how I thought this afternoon was going to go.” Your words were mumbled, soft as you chuckled awkwardly running your hand through your hair as you let out a huff. “I just..I..sorry about it.”

“No need to apologize Y/n, we’re just glad you’re okay.” Hoseok mumbled his own hand running through his hair, the red on his knuckles catching your eyes as you reached out slowly making his jaw slightly drop. You fingertips grazing the palm of his hand at you step forward. Your other hand moving to run over the knuckles, each red mark being gently rubbed by the pad of your pointer finger it had Hoseok's whole body relax as he looked at your movements. “You didn’t have to punch the guy.”

“No one disrpects Omegas, let alone..let alone an Omega that is mine..shit sorry.” He mumbled quickly when the last part of his sentence slipped out past his lips it had your lip slightly curling when the dig of the door opening had you jumping back. A police officer was there, Yoongi quickly moving to speak with them as the Alpha who was now sitting up slowly was suddenly cuffed. Your breathing stayed steady as another officer came up and gave you soft smiles, her beta scent was soothing, light and it did wrap around you.

“Are you okay telling us what happened?” Her voice was soft, your arm wrapping around yourself as your other rested on your cheek, eyes looking down to the ground as you took a deep breath in. “You don’t have to today, but if you want to press charges we do need you to give a statement within 48 hours.”

“I don’t want to press charges..he’s a freshly presented Alpha.” You were quick to respond as she nodded slowly, her hand reaching slowly hovering above your shoulder as she smiled at you.

“Of course, we’ll book him then for the night. Okay?” You nod as you see Hoseok pressing a hand to the back of Namjoons neck as the Beta officer walked away following after her partner as you let out a breath and looked over at the three men who were already looking at you.

Focus Y/n. Focus on what needs to be done.

“Okay so I thought about it..about us?” You question yourself out loud, looking down your fingers twirling the ends of your sweater sleeve. You hair falling in your eyes making your huff as you blow hair making the strains fly up and fall back down just a quickly making your eye roll as you stop fiddling with our sleeves, pushing your hair over your ear as you make eye contact with Hoseok, his eyes already on you as he slowly nodded. “I think..I think we should just leave it be..let whatever happens or doesn’t happen..well uh just happen.” Your words had Namjoon whining as Yoongi let out a tut at him as you gave the three a small smile. “It’s not a no, but it’s not a yes.”

“It's just an open for a maybe.” Yoongi mumbles, making you nod your head as you take a deep breath as you look at them.

“I’m going to be honest with you guys I wasn’t planning to agree to anything and just ask for you guy to drop this whole mate things...but I just have this need to try...which is honestly weird.” You pause as you take a deep breath eyes casting anywhere but the three of them, you felt heat again your arm making you look to see Namjoon already looking down at you through a small frown was on his face as you take a deep breath. “It's not entirely your fault though, I have a lot of trust issues and abatement issues that is gonna make this hard..I don't’ know why I'm letting you know instead of you guys just figuring out maybe it's because of what happened and I feel..I feel safe in this moment with you or its just the high of breaking and Alpha command or what.” You ramble looking down at your feet, the black worn out vans on your feet bending as you move. “I guess..I guess maybe today I was able to see you guys as normal I guess and opened up for a chance? So just don’t..don’t hurt me...cause it’s the only one you get.”

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sapnapsimparc · 3 years

Text

Just to feel something

relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound, implied Clay | Dream/Karl Jacobs, implied GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap

tags: first meetings, ambiguous/open ending

summary: the aftermath of what irl shipping your best friends can do to them.

word count: i have no idea but it's long i'll check tomorrow

notes: it's 2 in the morning but i had an idea at whenever i wrote my prev post and i felt like writing it i will come back and edit it when i wake up.

They started dating after all of their friends telling them to do so. All of them. They all made DNF jokes, they all complained about third-wheeling, and they all promised them both that the other likes them.

-----

They started dating when George was still in the UK.

Karl called George once when they were both getting ready for bed, no cameras on because he wouldn't have been able to keep a neutral face.

''He loves you so much, you know? I don't understand what you're waiting for'' Karl had said back then. ''That boy has so much love in his heart for you, if someone talked to me in that way I would spontaneously combust.''

And George felt so bad for not reciprocating the feelings, for falling for a different guy, but what was he going to do? Hurt his best friend by letting him down? No way.

And Dream? Dream was approached by not only Badboyhalo, not only Wilbur, and Tommy, but also Sapnap, who he thought had been crushing on George since the beginning, and Karl, who he himself felt deeply for. But what was he to do? If they all said that George, sweet and kind and amazing George, was in love with him, was he supposed to not ask him out in hopes of keeping him happy?

So he did. In one of their late night calls, in a post-editing state of mind, Dream bit the bullet.

''Will you go out with me?'' He asked George, whose breath hitched, making Dream believe he was exstatic about it, when in reality he was so torn between saying yes and potentially losing his friend that he couldn't breathe for a second.

''Yeah'' he answered in the end, both of their shoulders sagging a bit, but they would both chalk it up to relief over 'not having to' hide their emotions anymore.

''Nothing would really change, if you think about it, right?'' Dream asked a few silent moments later. And it didn't.

They still hung out off stream, talking just as much as before, if not more since they both feared facing Sapnap and Karl. What if they caught up on how unhappy the situation made them, and snitched to the other? Neither wanted that kind of heartbreak for the other.

It worked, for a while. George was an ocean away, so no matter how deep and intimate their conversations got, it was still purely verbal. The flirtatious comments kept going, neither putting more thought into them than before.

Then George's visa got approved. When he told Dream and Sapnap, Sapnap had whooped and cheered so loud George could've probably heard him across the ocean without headphones. It served as a good distraction from Dream's silence.

Then George packed up his life and got on a plane. He was so scared of living with his long-time love and his current not-quite-real boyfriend that he left his boxed up belongings at his parents' house, asking them to only ship them when he knew for sure he would stay.

Then George got off the plane in Orlando. Sapnap was there to pick him up, and pick him up he did - in a bone crushing hug, spinning him around a few times, loud laughs breaking out from his chest. ''You're here!'' he looked George in the eye, smiling wildly, but then suddenly stepped back, smile faltering, reaching for George's suitcase. ''I'll put it in the trunk, get in'' he said quietly, George's mood also dampening at the sudden change.

The road home was long and awkward. They both silently cursed whoever put airports so out of way from the city, and thanked whoever made them like the same kind of music so at least they could agree on a playlist without having to talk too much.

George was beyond confused. His friend, one of his best friends in fact, the boy he watched grow up and never feel an ounce of embarrassment about anything around George, suddenly so closed off and unwilling to talk to him. George wondered if he did something wrong, hugged too tight, wasn't happy enough, said something weird before he got on the plane... but he came up empty. He had not a single idea why Sapnap could be acting so off, but with the stiff air in his lungs, he didn't feel like asking. He hoped the situation would fix itself when they got home.

Home.

Sapnap thought long and hard about it. Would he be able to call it home, when his childhood best friend and the man he had been admiring from afar while being his other best friend would probably cling to each other 24/7, leaving him alone? Is that really what home would be like for him now? Over discord and facetime, he could keep his distance. He could disconnect when his heart was too full, deafen when the other two's jokes hit too close for him. But what will he do now? Hide in his room to let the other two live out their honeymoon phase in real life? And how far was he allowed to go? Dream was known to be a jealous man, but was he allowed to hug his own friend? Would Sapnap be able to stop at a single friendly hug, or would his heart scream for more?

And Dream? Well. He was nervous. Of course he was. This was George, pretty, kind George, who was going to see him for the first time. Who he was meeting for the first time. They both always imagined their meeting to be emotional, but ever since the label of a romantic relationship hung above their heads, they felt like it had to be something more. What if Sapnap sees their first kiss and it's more awkward than anyhing ever? What if Sapnap has the other boys on facetime and they all see how wrong they all were about them being in love? What if he upsests George by how uninterested he is in getting physical with him? He almost hoped George wouldn't like his face, that would make it all so much easier.

But of course, that is not the case. When Dream hears Sapnap's car pull up, he's all but sprinting towards the front door, waiting for his boys to come inside. When they do, George is in his arms in no time, hanging off of his neck, on his tiptoes to reach him, while he ties his own arms around George's waist to keep him close. It is still his best friend, after all.

Their first meeting was supposed to be exactly like this. Dream trying to pull away, to finally look the other in the eye, but George squeezing him one more time and whimpering into his neck as he feels warm tears hit his skin.

''George'' he whispers into his hair. ''George, sweet, darling George'' he mumbles, affection filling him up from head to toe.

''Clay'' George breathes into his neck, gaining strength to pull away. ''My Dream'' he looks at him, almost as if looking into his soul, and Dream relaxes. It feels like they both understood the expected and unexpected weight of the situation. It's George and Clay, not Dreamnotfound.

Once they are done greeting each other, they both note Sapnap's absence, share a look they didn't know could share and Dream silently grabs George's bigger suitcase and brings it up the stairs, into George's new room, close to Sapnap's, far away from Dream's, which would feel weird if either actually felt like dating the other, but George just let out a breath of relief he didn't know he was holding.

Sapnap eventually came out of hiding, hitting up the other two to do something together, celebrate the fact that they were finally together.

It was when the Moon was already high up on the dark sky when the boys said goodnight, exhausted from the day's excitement and from the nice meal Dream's mother brought over to welcome George. Sapnap called dibs on the shower he shared with George, so the technically-couple stayed on the couch, George finally meeting Patches while waiting for his turn in the bathroom. (Dream posted the pictures immedaitely. The fans were beyond happy.)

Once George had his turn in the bathroom, he knocked on Sapnap's door to say goodnight to him, but the boy seemed to already be asleep, his room dark, his body unmoving on the bed. ''Oh.'' George whispered in disappointment. ''Goodnight'' he said anyway into the darkness, and padded down the stairs to go into Dream's room.

Sapnap turned under his covers and listened to the descending footsteps.

nick🐼: day1 and i already cant take it

nick🐼: can i move in with you

kaaarl🦙: are they already that bad?:[

kaaarl🦙: ur always welcome here nick. stay strong and call me whenever yeah??

nick🐼: i rthought i couls take george being with him but i just heard him go down the stairs and i have never been thisbupset than now knowing they are prolly gonna fuck yknoe

kaaarl🦙: maybe he just went to say goodnight and also break uo with him bc he realized he loves u :]]]

nick🐼: lmao sure yeah

nick🐼: alrght imma try to sleep.

kaaarl🦙: gn sweet angel❤️‍🩹

nick🐼: sleep well k

Little did Sapnap know, however, that George was doing exactly what Karl said.

''So, why are we together?'' George asked as he flopped into bed next to a freshly showered Dream.

''Because we love each other?'' Dream supplied oh-so-helpfully.

''Yeah, and I love my mum, but I'm not dating her.''

''You also love Nick and are not dating him'' Dream smirked.

''Low blow, idiot!'' George slapped him on the arm. ''But only proves your logic wrong. Why did you ask me out?'' he asked seriously.

''They told me to'' Dream sighed and turned his whole body to face George.

''Who did?'' George asked, face open, eyes searching Dream's, not a single drop of hurt behind them.

''Everyone. Bad, Wilbur... Even Tommy called about it. And...'' he stopped to take a big breath. ''Sapnap did, too. He told me you deserve to be loved back as fiercly as you love me. And I don't disagree, George, you deserve the world, but...'' he cut himself off again.

''But not your world'' George finished for him.

''Exactly. And How was I supposed to know back then that you loved him? You never told me anything!'' Dream exclaimed.

''You never told me you liked Karl, either. I just knew, I think, deep down.'' George confessed, thinking back to how off everything felt after they got together and Dream kept looking for Karl in calls, asking him specifically if he will be in a stream, masking his disappointment when the answer was no.

''Then why did you say yes?'' Dream asked in a choked voice.

''Karl asked me to. He said if anybody talked to him the way you do to me, he would combust. He begged me to go out with you. I think he wanted closure'' George said, burrowing himself closer to Dream's chest so they could feel safe in the other's hold. ''And, to be fair, I saw the clips of us joking around. I thought, you know, maybe it wasn't a joke to you, and I didn't want to hurt you or lose you by letting you down'' he admitted.

''So you fake-dated me? What if I actually felt something for you?'' Dream asked sincerely.

''I would've tried to love you in the way you deserve to be loved. You are so easy to love, Dream, I have no doubt I would've been able to fall in love with you'' George looked in his eyes, both pairs welling up with tears.

''What would you have done about Sapnap?'' Dream couldn't help but bring up the other boy, probably trashing around in his bed above them.

''God, Dream, I don't even know what to do about him now, let alone in a made-up situation! I didn't think this far, okay?'' George exclaimed and turned in Dream's hold so his back was to his chest. ''I left most of my stuff at my parent's house in case I couldn't stay with you guys'' he admitted quietly.

''What?'' Dream pushed himself onto his elbow. ''George, no, what? You can't seriously believe we wouldn't both want you here under any circumstances!''

''It's not even about you guys wanting me here. I just...'' he took a deep breath. ''What if Sapnap would've gotten mad at me, or not be able to look at me anymore if I kept dating you?'' He turned onto his back to stare up at Dream. ''I love you, Clay, but I don't think I could've taken losing Sapnap over you.''

''Karl also asked me to date you'' Dream added softly. ''I broke down crying right after our call. It made me feel like he was letting me down the easy way, already finding me a replacement. Up until you said he wanted closure, I was sure it was his way of telling me there will never be anything between us. I might have used our relationship to heal my ego after being turned down so easily. You are so amazing, George, such a sweet presence, I thought, maybe, if you can love me, I'm not a basket case, you know?''

''So you used me'' George joked, hand coming up to rest on Dream's wet cheek.

''I did, a little'' Dream admitted.

If you asked, neither could tell you which leaned in first, but they ended up kissing each other for minutes, there, in Dream's bed, on George's first night, tear streaks on both of their cheeks, just to feel something after weeks of meaningless ''dating''.

In the morning, after they woke up in each other's arms, they agreed to do something about their respective love lives, promising to help each other out wherever possible.

#dreamnotfound #karlwastaken #sapnotfound #dnf fanfic #annie do be writin again

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khadij-al-kubra · 4 years

Text

Worst Impressions are the First (ch 7)

Main Characters: Logan, Patton, Roman, Virgil (Human AU)

Pairings: Romantic LAMP

Word Count: 5036

AO3

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Author’s (longer than usual but it’s for good reason) Note: *The Apocalypse—2020. Zoom in on a plague rat turned writer. She has survived thesis projects, getting a Master’s degree, burnout, writing and illustrating a children’s book, being a slave for the U.S. census bureau, months of overthinking anxiety spirals, and one or two incidents involving an asshole skunk. But now, battle weary yet unwavering in her love of art and love for her loyal readers, this onesie-clad tea slurping book dragon....has finally arisen from the ashes*

I LIVE BITCHES!!!!!!! And I am SO SORRY for taking so long!!! I’ve been hard at work, been editing like a mad woman, and I even have a beta now! The gorgeous and talented @humbletortoise So I am OFFICIALLY off hiatus!!! *cue confetti canon*

Also, one of the biggest reasons I’ve taken so long to update is because I’ve spent the past month or so essentially retconning the fuck outta this fic. I realized looking back at earlier chapters in this story that, although I was proud of them at the time and greatly appreciate the positive reactions, they were...not my best work. (shitty first drafts if I’m being honest) That’s because, at the time, I was trying to split my attention between writing this fic and working on grad school stuff, which resulted in my writing for this not being as best of quality as it could have been upon first posting. This story deserves my best, and so do all of you. So now I hope to give you that.

I encourage you to go back and re-read the previous chapters up till now (trust me, they’re near unrecognizable to the first drafts, but in the best way). Or if you don’t feel like doing that, you can just continue on from here. totally cool. For the sake of convenience and my own sanity, I’ll attach the AO3 Link to this fic from the start. I may also start just posting chapter updates on tumblr but only have the link to the chapter and add my reader tags. Again, for the sake of my sanity because Tumblr is a bastard when it comes to posting fics. (Also PLEASE let me know if there are any tagging issues if anyone’s on my tags list; yet another reason i’m considering just linking my fics in the future)

Anywho, without further ado, at LOOOOOONG last, here is the next chapter!

Chapter 7 - (POV Roman)

When Roman had offered to walk with Logan to class, it was only partly out of an innate sense of chivalry; a side of himself that he rarely got to show on account of being a socially awkward gay disaster. Though mainly, he saw it as a chance to get to know his second soulmate better.

He certainly hadn’t expected two long minutes of civil but silent walking. Well, as silent as a stroll through their school could be with its usual racket buzzing around them. With a vocabulary as big as the continents of Africa and Eurasia combined, you’d think Logan would be more of a conversationalist. Alas. He merely walked in step with Roman. They glanced over at each other every so often, but Logan stayed tight lipped and seemingly impassive; fiddling with his bumblebee hair pin every now and again. Damn. Looked like he was going to have to make the first move.

Roman was bad at this. How did people usually…Oh yeah, common interest. That’s a thing. He wracked his brain for some sort of ice breaker. One that’d make him look cool and calm or, something, in front of Logan. He was a fairly decent student though not quite mathletes level. He could compliment his outfit maybe? Was that too forward? Too shallow? Maybe he could find common ground? That was as good a place to start as any.

“So! So uhh…What kind of music do you like?” Roman asked. Yeah, that’s good. Everybody likes music.

Logan glanced at him. “Can you be more specific?”

Roman’s brow furrowed. “I mean, like, your favorite genre of music to listen to?”

“Classical,” said Logan in a clipped tone.

“That’s cool. I don’t really listen to classical myself.”

Logan only hummed, his face neutral. Roman was really hoping for more than that. A few awkward seconds passed, then Logan spoke up.

“Are you perhaps a fan of the classic Sherlock Holmes novels?” He inquired.

“Um, I haven’t gotten around to the books yet, actually,” Roman said, scratching his earlobe. “I mean, I’ve heard great things about them. And I’m a big fan of the Robert Downey Jr. movies.”

“Ah. I see.” Logan said, giving him the judgiest side eye.

Come on, Roman thought. Give me something to work with. “Oh! What about theater?”

“What a frustratingly vague inquiry.”

“Well, excuse me for trying to get to know my soulmate a little better.” Ay come jode, work with me here, man!

Logan sighed. “While I understand and appreciate your intention, I believe ‘getting to know someone’ as you put it, requires a certain level of specificity. Anything less indicates a somewhat shallow level of sincere interest, and I greatly despise shallow conversation. That said, if you’re inquiring as to whether or not I enjoy theater, no. I don’t understand the concept of professional make believe, though I appreciate it as an art form. I assume you’re a fan?”

Is he seriously implying I’m shallow? Roman groused, pushing his red frames up the bridge of his nose. Ugh, forget it Roman. He’s throwing you a bone here. Take it.

“Obviously,” said Roman, gesturing dramatically. “I mean I’m no actor—Eesh. No. Yikes—but everything about the artform enthralls me. And I like all kinds of genres and eras of plays, from Shakespear to Ruhl, but musicals are by far my favorite, because like, there’s so much you can do with them design wise. I mean just look at how groundbreaking Hamilton was.”

For a second, Logan’s face actually softened, his eyes lighting up. But just as Roman thought they were finally about to make some progress, his stony companion was back to wearing that platinum puss.

“Ah. How… original.”

Roman blinked. “Are you saying my tastes are basic?”

“Well, yes.”

Augh! Okay. Yep. I don’t like him. Patton was going to be so disappointed, and Roman was too. He’d wanted so badly to get along with all his soulmates, but Logan was a snob! Way less intimidating than Virgil and his ilk, but still a jerk. I wonder if soulmarks can make typos or something? Thank the stars they’d already arrived.

Roman and Logan filed in with the rest of the class for seventh period. Somebody had the liberty of opening a window– the AC was still busted in this classroom– so for once there was actually a decent breeze cutting through the usual mucky Florida humidity. Still smelled like it would probably rain later. Good thing Roman had packed an umbrella just in case, Mom’s orders. His hair looked too good today to be wrecked by frizz.

Roman took a seat at his desk, running distracted fingers over the carved letters in the wood while he mulled over his predicament. Just look at him over there, thought Roman as he glared at Logan, not two rows away from him. Sitting with his hands clasped on the desk all smug—of course he’d be near the front—and with such disturbingly good posture. What is he, a robot? Who is he to call my interests basic, the NERVE! And okay, sure, like Hamilton, sometimes I get over excited and shoot off at the mouth. But great Zeus, does that guy show passion for ANYTHING besides academics? Roman blew a raspberry, plopping his head in his hands.

He always thought soulmates were supposed to get along, even as just friends for life. Balancing each other out, bringing out the best in you and forming a deep connection—that was the whole point. He sighed to himself. Cymbals clashed less than he and Logan did.

He was stirred from his brooding by the bell. Apparently Mr. ‘Call-me-Terrence’ Williams had materialized without him noticing. Okay fine, he should probably pay more attention, but he was having a crisis here.

“Afternoon everyone,” Terrence greeted in that measured, upbeat tone of his.

He draped his navy blue blazer over the back of his desk chair and rolled his shirt sleeves to the elbows. Roman pitied the poor guy; he had to teach sauna of a classroom all day. He could see the glisten of sweat on his teacher's smooth forehead as he wrote things on the board. Yet he still kept a pleasant attitude towards his students.

“Alright class!” Terrence started, “Today we’re covering the next section on the American Revolution. Specifically, the Battle of Yorktown...”

Roman mentally punched the air. My time has come. He opened his textbook to the right page but didn’t bother looking at it. He already knew most everything about Yorktown. Not just because he’d listened to the Hamilton soundtrack fifteen and a half million times, but also because he’d done actual research on the event and time period that the musical took place; There was always the off chance he’d get to stage crew or, heck, even dramaturg the show. He liked to be prepared.

“So the battle of Yorktown took place in 1781, but a great deal of its success was thanks to the French Allies. Many especially aided in fighting the British Troops surrounding New York. Now who can tell me where the French Soldiers first landed?”

Roman half raised his hand. He was pretty sure he knew the answer.

“Logan.” Terrence called.

Roman turned to Logan desk, where his hand was held high and mighty.

“The French Ally ships first landed in Rhode Island, then made their way to Chesapeake Bay,” said Logan, adjusting his glasses. Not even a hint of second guessing in his voice.

“That’s right!”

He almost missed the quick smirk on Logan’s frustratingly pretty face. Look at that smug—thinks he’s so smart...Okay yes, he is smart, but he doesn’t have to be a show off about it. Terrence continued through the passages, calling on a student every now and again to review. Of course, Logan got called on most and he got every answer right. Roman didn’t feel like raising his hand anymore.

“Of course there were many turning points in the revolution, but Hamilton’s return to the field for Yorktown was a key point.” Terrence continued on. “And keep in mind- this was a man who up till now had never been in a position of command before. Not to mention the mental strains he must’ve been under, especially having had to miss the birth of his son Philip, the first of three children he had.”

Wait a sec. “Well, that’s not right.”

Even though he’d muttered, apparently Mr. Terrence still heard him. “Come again, Roman?”

Shoot. “Um, I said,” Stop sounding timid, you know you’re right. “I said that was, um, wrong.”

The whole class turned to him. Oh great, history class has its eyes on me. Roman cleared his throat and tried to look taller.

“What I mean is: Hamilton had eight kids, not three. And on top of that, Phillip was born a few months after they won the Revolution, not during, so Hamilton didn’t miss the birth of his son. I mean sure, it’s a small thing, but the devil’s in the details as they say. Heh.”

Terrence gave the most insultingly bemused look. And Roman definitely heard a few kids snickering behind him. He glanced quickly at the culprits and felt his ears go hot. This is what he got for putting himself in the spotlight.

“Roman, I applaud you for participating in the class discussion,” Their teacher started gently, “but I’m afraid you’re wrong on this one. If you read your textbook close you’d see in the fifth paragraph where it mentions from one of his later letters—“

“Actually Mr. Williams, if I may, Roman is correct.”

Roman saw Logan at his desk, one hand raised while the other adjusted his neck scarf. Was the teacher’s pet actually… backing him up?

“It is a common misconception that Alexander Hamilton only had two children, even more so modernly, what with the musical having only named two of them. However Roman has clearly done his research on the plays historical accuracies, which is more than I can say for some.”

Logan shot a cool but scathing look at their recently snickering classmates and they withered. Roman fought the urge to point and laugh aloud. He did however stick his tongue out real quick. What? He could be shy and petty at the same time.

“My guess,” Logan continued, “is that this textbook edition is also either misprinted or outdated, judging by the publication date in the copyright section.”

Brows furrowed, Terrence looked at the textbook laid open on his desk. He flipped back to the front, before pulling out his cellphone—“I’m the teacher, I’m allowed to do this. You guys aren’t.”—and after what Roman guessed was a quick Google search, their teacher looked up. His eyebrows drawn in a ‘hm, well damn’ expression.

“Looks like you’re right, Roman. And thank you Logan for bringing to my attention about the textbooks. I’ll have to talk to the principal about hopefully getting some updated materials. But we’ll see how that goes,” Terrence, muttered the last part, though Roman was close enough to catch it. Terrence cleared his throat and moved back to the board. “Maybe if we call on assistance from the inside. Much like how the Sons of Liberty sent in Hercules Mulligan to spy on the British...”

“Perhaps if we knew of an immigrant who was unafraid to step in,” Logan said just under his breath.

No one else seemed to notice the reference, but when Roman did, he felt like a mini volcano about to burst rainbow lava. Apparently there was a lot more to his soulmate than first meets the eye; and now that he knew, Roman was determined to see more of it. The rest of class passed quickly and everyone filed out to the halls as the first bell for the last class period of the day rang. Roman made sure to catch up to Logan on the way out and staccato tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, Logan?” He said.

When Logan turned, he swore time slowed down for a moment. The brilliant boy’s skirt flared around his waist, and somehow his skin glowed even under the dull, inconsistent school lights. His posture was erect yet natural, he could have been raised among nobility. Amidst the stench and clamor of loud sweaty students, Logan was as poised and striking as the goddess Athena. Oh...

“Yes, Roman?” Logan asked.

Roman gulped. “I uh, just wanted to thank you for backing me up in there.”

“Thanks are unnecessary,” Logan said. “I detest when someone is shamed by other students for speaking up in class, regardless of whether or not they have the correct information.”

“Well regardless, thanks for coming to my aid in the face of academic danger.”

“Dramatic, but my pleas—oof!”

A hurried passerby bumped into Logan from behind, rushing off with a half-assed ‘sorry’. Logan, caught off guard, stumbled right into Roman’s arms. The two looked at each other, cheeks filling with heat. Roman caught a whiff of something faintly floral on Logan, something natural– a lavender and honeysuckle perfume, perhaps. It was heavenly. They were still in the middle of foot traffic though, so he maneuvered them to the side. Which was tricky since Logan was still so close to him and also a good two inches taller with the heels.

“Well,” Roman flashed his pearly whites. “Seems you’ve fallen for me.”

Logan pulled away, but his lips quirked upwards in a teasing smirk. “Oh please, I merely stumbled into you.”

“Ah, but stumbling is the first step towards being swept off your feet.”

“Bold words from an abashedly charming homunculus in such an… eye catching ensemble.”

Did he call me charming!? He composed himself, “Hey, don’t let the sweater vest fool you. I may be short but I’ve got guns.”

“Aaah. But mind over muscle, as they say. Do you find yourself up to the task?”

“Only if it’s you, my brainy blossom.”

Roman’s class was in the other direction, but Logan didn’t need to know that. They walked through the halls, conversing. class was still in the next ten or so minutes, but Roman was having fun. Banter with Logan felt surprisingly easy. Natural like they’d been at it all their lives.

“By the way, was that a ‘Guns n’ Ships’ reference I overheard, pastel poindexter?” Roman asked.

Logan cleared his throat. “It… may have been, yes. I found myself unable to resist toppling the figurative dominos.”

“In other words, you seized the opportunity you saw,” Roman said, matching his own reference to the source’s cadence, which got a chuckle out of Logan.

“Precisely. Under more casual circumstances, I may have even recited Lafayette’s part.”

“You can rap? You can rap Guns n’ Ships? Like, the whole thing, no tongue twists?”

Logan stopped for a moment, turned to Roman. The taller boy cleared his throat, and after a moment wherein he seemed to mentally restrain himself, he simply adjusted his glasses. “I have an appreciation for poetry.”

Roman blinked rapidly. Holy shit, he’s an even bigger nerd than I am. He definitely needed to see that at some point.

They turned a corner, stopping just outside of the science room. Some students were going in to take their seats, and the teacher was already making notes on the board. Logan pulled an AP Physics book from his backpack, but made no move to leave, much to Roman’s delight.

“So then,” Roman leaned against the eggshell wall, “How come you acted so indifferent earlier and called my tastes basic? Oh, and I think I remember you also implied I was shallow?”

Okay, yeah, he was still kind of salty about that. But then he saw the shamed look on the nerd’s face, and Roman wished he could have taken it back. Logan looked at his shoes then back at him.

“To be candid I was… hesitant to show the full extent of my enthusiasm. In case you thought I’d be—I believe ‘being the most’ is the term— it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve caused someone to lose interest in conversing with me due to informational overload. I nearly bored my Aunt Patricia to sleep once talking about a fascinating article on jellyfish. And considering how I blundered our initial meeting—“

“Pfft, ya think?” He mentally slapped himself again when Logan went tight-lipped and turned to go. “No, no, wait. I—I’m sorry. Truly. ...Truth is, I was no gentleman either. I’m not always great at thinking before I speak. It’s why I’m so awkward around people. Takes a while for my true charming nature to shine through.”

“Clearly. Still, you show a level of interpersonal aptitude that I, well, lack.” Logan fiddled with his hair pin again and a stray hair came loose. “Reading people and expressing emotions has never really been—It’s something I struggle with.”

Much as Logan tried to maintain his cool composed posturing, Roman could tell that this was something that really bothered him. He tried so hard to seem put together and confident and serious, but really he was just as awkward and insecure as anyone. Roman smiled softly and stepped closer to Logan, reaching up to tuck the loose ebony strand behind his ear.

“Hey, everyone’s got things about themselves they can work on. Including me,” Roman smiled. “And believe me when I say that I will never judge you for being passionate about something you like. So if you ever want someone to ramble about jellyfish or Sweeney Todd to or—I dunno, calculators or something?—I’m all ears.”

Logan’s cheeks went pink and he gave a hesitant yet sincere smile. “That’s...very kind of you, Roman. And coincidentally, I also greatly enjoy Sweeney Todd. The use of iambic pentameter and alliteration to give a succinct synopsis to the story in just the first sentence alone is pure brilliance.”

“Right!? I mean the man’s a mad genius. I’m dying to design sets for one of his musicals someday. Like last year? I came up with the concept of having the Sweeney Todd sets done in a way that highlights the class differences with the characters.” Roman went into a small three minute ramble regarding the specifics before he cut himself off abruptly. Logan was blinking rapidly, a look of mild shock crossing his feature. Roman nearly started sweating; Had he messed this up again?

“That… that’s ingenious”

Roman’s ears were burning. Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!

“Hey, Logan!” They both startled and turned to an impatient cheerleader with a ginger undercut and they/them pronoun pin shaped like a coffin. “What’re you doing just standing out in the hall, ya dork? Oh, hey Roman.”

“Uh. Hey, October,” Roman said, waving awkwardly to them.

“I told ya, Red, you only get to call me that when we’re working on a show.”

“Wait, October? Red? You two know each other?” Logan asked, brow arching.

“Kind of. They sometimes help out with costumes for the drama club,” said Roman. And they have terrible timing. I mean seriously Tobes, we were having a moment.

“Come on Lo, class is about to start, and you promised to go over my homework with me real quick beforehand. See ya ‘round, Ro.” Toby grabbed Logan’s hand and pulled him into the classroom. “You can fill me in on what you were doing with Red later.”

Logan followed his—apparently—friend into their classroom, but he shot Roman an apologetic look over his shoulder. Roman bounced a bit on the balls of his feet before following halfway into the room. Logan was in his seat with Toby showing him an open notebook. A teacher in a tight grey hair bun was writing on the board. Students at their seats were chatting, and some looked up at the short dork in red who burst in. For once Roman ignored them, his mind set on one last attempt at wooing his green skirted genius while he still had the nerve.

“Hey, Logan,” he said. “I’ve also got some great layout designs for an Into the Woods set. If you’re interested, maybe we can meet up after school and I can show them to you? Maybe we talk a bit more over iced lattes or something?”

“Excuse me, Mr. Prince, seventh period starts in five minutes,” said the teacher. “Unless you’ve suddenly transferred to my class, I suggest you stop distracting my favorite student and get going.”

“I’ll be gone in just a second,” he said. “Well?”

Logan smoothed the silky fabric of his pink scarf and said, “That sounds optimal, Roman. I’ll meet with you. By the first floor water fountain perhaps?”

Roman grinned. “I shall be counting the minutes.”

“Mr. Prince,” said the teacher with a warning glare.

Roman blew a kiss at Logan and then ducked out of the doorway. Was he embarrassed of himself? Oh definitely. Did he regret it? Absolutely not. He felt ten inches tall.

Now to complete the quest of making it to class in time. He slid off a shoulder strap to unzip his classic Mickey backpack, getting out the notebook and the relevant homework. He found them amidst the mess of spiral notebooks, granola bar wrappers, two textbooks and rainbow sticky notes. But something was missing from his folder.

“Where are those– it should be here.” He could’ve sworn he had his stapled the blocking notes in his folder. No, wait, the last place he saw them was— “Ah shoot! I left them in the tech closet again.”

Under normal circumstances, Roman would’ve grabbed them after school, but the auditorium was locked on weekends. He’d have to wait till Monday to get them and that just wouldn't do! he wanted to show Logan his notes today! I’ll bet David Korins never has these kinds of problems. Okay, okay. Still got four minutes. He could rush to the auditorium, grab the notes, and then head straight to class. I should have enough time, right? Right. Besides it was only Spanish Class, he was already pretty fluent after all those summers visiting his grandparent in Nicaragua. He spent most of class time dreaming up blocking notes anyway.

Despite not being totally convinced by his own argument, Roman immediately turned on his heel and started running in the opposite direction. After a teacher told him no running in the halls, Roman power walked through the halls with a skip in his step and a song in his heart, feeling absolutely gay in both senses of the word. Logan had actually called his idea ingenious! And the way those sharp eyes softened just for him- he would squeal if not for the fact that it would draw too many eyes to him. The halls were still filled with a few stragglers rushing to the last class of the day, and he was already trying not to get caught being late for class.

Now he knew how Maria felt in West Side Story. Y’know, before Act 2. Oh sure, they’d gotten off to a shaky start, but as the Bard’s adage on the course of true love said; and Roman felt it in his gut that this was certainly the start of true love. Not just with brilliant Logan but also with soulful Patton as well. He didn’t know how an awkward geek like him ever got so lucky in the soulmate department…Then again, there was still the matter of Virgil. So maybe not so lucky.

Roman touched his arm, remembered flustered yet flattering purple words. I know they both said Virgil is secretly sweet and I can sympathize with the terrors of closet town, but COME ON! Virgil? Really? That gloomy gladiator? There had to be a mistake in that. After all, Patton liked to see the good in everyone. Logan was much more of a skeptic, but he does seem to have a blind spot with sarcasm. Maybe Virgil was messing with them somehow. Even if he’s not a jerk jock, the guy’s still kind of a creepazoid; with his dark eyes and cheeta-esq gait and those probably huge muscles hidden under that bulky jacket and big hands...

His gay disaster train of thought came to a merciful halt as he reached the auditorium. Roman pushed open the doors, took a pause to breathe in the quiet comfort of this chapel of the arts. Okay yeah, chapel was maybe a little kind for the school’s auditorium which doubled as the drama Club’s rehearsal space/prop closet backstage/Mx Joan’s unofficial office because the school didn’t fund the arts programs enough. Even so this space was Roman’s sanctuary. The place where he could help create magic from the shadows, bring stories of those gone and living to life. Here, Roman found something of a community with his fellow backstagers, glee club losers, and budding thespians (the nice ones). So he loved every squeaky stage plank, every duck taped seat cushion and every speck of dust that floated in the spot lit air like fairies.

Mx. Joan wasn’t around for once, thankfully. Probably in the teacher’s lounge or rendezvousing with the school nurse or something. They were pretty chill and Roman knew he was their favorite student, but the choir director/drama club moderator/music teacher (this school really needs to fix its funding habits) wouldn’t have been too keen on Roman being deliberately late for class.

Roman walked down the aisle and to the side room by the stage. It was originally a janitor’s closet, but their club moderator transformed it into a ‘Crew Only’ Storage Unit… Okay it was still a closet, but with less bleach and more coils. This was where they kept important equipment for semester shows, like the lighting and sound boards, along with other supplies. Roman made a quick mental note to get more gaffer tape later, seeing their supply was low.

He looked through the small pile of scribbled and highlighted sheets with the lighting cues for the spring show. I’ve really gotta get a binder for these…Ah-Ha! Here you are! Roman pulled out the stapled sheets titled ‘Into the Woods Dream Set’ and carefully shoved them into his bag. Perfect timing too. He might just be able to make it to class after—

RIIIIIIIIIIING

“GAH!”

What the heck? He could’ve sworn he was alone in there, but that yelp just now said otherwise. Up close, Roman saw that the curtains were rustling, accompanied by sounds of heavy breathing and moaning, yet not a footstep to be seen or heard.

Holy SHIT, this place IS haunted! I KNEW that backdrop fiasco last semester wasn’t caused by cheap slit plywood. My supplies are the best quality allowance money can buy. Great Macbeth’s bloody knife, I TOLD Kai we should've sprung for a ghost light! Remus always teased him for being superstitious but look who’s laughing now.

He dashed back into the crew closet and grabbed the heavy push broom leaning in the corner. Roman Prince was NOT about to be caught unawares and possessed by the ghost of a disgruntled student without a fight. He would defend his domain of imagination!

Roman slowly climbed the stage steps, wielding his broom like a bow staff, turned the curtain corner where the noises were coming from and was about to release a war cry on the—

“Virgil?”

Roman nearly dropped his weapon at the sight of Virgil Alighieri—star athlete, object of his fears and supposed soulmate—curled in on himself trembling and crying.

His jacket was pulled over his head like a hood, yet Roman could see the tear stained face peeking out from underneath. Virgil’s eyes were squeezed tight, making the dark circles he’d never noticed before more prominent. There was no denying the athlete had muscle but he was more lithe—thin enough for Roman to wonder if the guy ate enough. Virgil’s trembling could rival a chihuahua, shaky hands clutching his knees, and he was clearly in the midst of a bad panic attack.

Roman had built Virgil up in his mind as being like some odd combination of Hades and Ares. The strong silent wolf within his pack of jocks, a surging thunderstorm just waiting for the right nerd to come along and piss him off enough to strike down like the bolt of Zeus.

Someone to be afraid of.

But now? Seeing him in this state, all alone and whimpering like a wounded animal...it broke Roman’s heart.

He set the broom down gently and carefully crouched down in front of Virgil. “Virgil,” he said softly. “Virgil, can you hear me?”

Virgil let out a breathy sob but otherwise didn’t seem to register him. Just how long had he been sitting here like this?

Roman was at a loss for what to do. Sure he knew plenty of people with anxiety but never saw someone having an actual panic attack before. He did know that if he didn’t help the other calm down soon, Virgil was liable to pass out. He’d never wanted to hug someone so badly in his life. Roman tentatively reached out a hand but stopped. What if touching him makes it worse? What if I startle him so badly he actually has a heart attack!? Maybe I should get the nurse. But I can’t just leave him like this.

He caught sight of the colorful soulmarks written on Virgil’s arm. Saw his own harsh thoughts: ’Dios mio, he’s staring right at me—like he wants to punch my face!’

Roman took his shame and forged it into steel. I won’t abandon you...my soulmate.

Virgirl’s let out a hiccuped cry, and this gave Roman an idea. Something from back when he was a child. It was probably stupid and a long stretch, but it was all he could think of. He readjusted himself so that he was now sitting right next to Virgil, making sure not to startle him. Roman cleared his throat, then as softly as he could, he began to sing.

“Come stop your crying, it’ll be alright.

Just take my hand, hold it tight.”

Roman one and carefully gentled his hand over Virgil’s. After a moment, he felt a light squeeze, and that encouraged him to keep going.

“I will protect you from all around you.

I will be here, don’t you cry…”

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sgys-closed · 3 years

Text

content creator year in review !

was tagged by my lovely moots ilyyyy <33 (@soonhoonsol @sunnie-dk @uriboogyu) 💌💖✨

p.s. most works are going to be linked on my old account since i remade ahah

first creation in 2020:

since i basically just started this blog this year as well lol. i remember clearly that i made my first gif which was a taegyu gif (that i deleted alr because i was cleaning my acc LMAO) but i kept this soogyu gif which is basically like one of the first creations i made in 2020.

most recent creation of 2020:

this two (1,2) beomie set T_T (i really am more dedicated in making gifs nowadays ahaha but i wish i could post a gfx before this year ends!)

one of your favorite creations from 2020:

OH! this HUG stickers for caratrevival! i just really enjoyed making this and its my fave entry for caratrevival and i remember saying i would start a “create your own merch agenda” i would probably start posting things like that again ahah!

a creation you’re really proud of:

again! the HUG STICKERS i mentioned above! i just really love the colors and gradients are always one of the hardest to play around with and so im glad it actually worked! also some of the illustrations are made by me :D!

a new style you tried this year and a work that uses it:

idk if its really a new style for me? but this jun edit for caratrevival as well but because this edit is heavily textured based i really had a hard time fitting elements that should and shouldn’t be in it? but nonetheless i love how it turned out!

a creation that took you forever:

aaaaaaaaaa this!!! this!! THE8 FAN MAGAZINE! i also posted it late it was supposed to be for his bday but i was late lmao becauseeeee i had a hard time conceptualizing this magazine jsdhhfds i really want every pages of this magazine to have meanings and meta as possible. i collected every the8 images that i can work with. but now that i have everything i suddenly can’t work LOL?!?! plus the JUN EDIT! as well like i said the textures are just so hard for me to make it work.

your creation from 2020 that received the most notes:

this seungkwan set in my prev acc! and ALSO! this seungkwan set on this acc aaaaaaaa ;-; pls give lots of love on my seungkwan set <3 it makes my heart warm <3

a creation you think deserved more notes:

looking back to my old acc i really think these works deserves more notes (hug stickers, jun edit and especially the8 fan magazine) hahaha like if you’ve noticed these are the works i kept mentioning above! and also this dino edit aaaa ;-; im not usually proud of my graphics but these works of mine is surely i can be proud of! but if we are talking about a simple gif this beomgyu set i just really think he’s beautiful in this lmaojdshfjhdg and i like my coloring here! plus this svtxt crossover edit which i really enjoyed making and its a request!!

a new fandom you joined and a creation you made for it:

i honestly haven’t done anything from other fandoms but i could try especially for tbz!! their music videos and generation z introduction wow my mind wentttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a creation you made that breaks your heart:

not really “break” but it makes my heart warm. the countdown set i made for soobin’s day (1, 2, 3, 4) and also this inside seventeen set where seungkwan is just giving some love to his members ;-; <3 (i love my boys 😔💖)

a ‘simple’ creation that you really love:

THIS scoups edit for caratrevival! it’s simple for me in a sense that i just worked with pictures + borders + text and shapes and thats it! and also this bday post for soobin day! just did the same method :D

a creation that was inspired by another one:

i always get my inspiration from behance! this is my board and everytime i get stuck i always look into this and try to conceptualize something on my own!

a favorite creation created by someone else:

oh boy! i have lots like i try my best to make a comprehensive comments sometimes on someone’s creation but i just end screaming on the tags sdjhfjfhds plsss shout out to all content creators out there! what you put up is highly appreciated and keep sharing your works!!!

some of your favorite content creators from the year (tag you’re it! IF YOU’VE ALREADY DONE THIS im so sorry but im tagging u again just because i want u to know that i very much appreciate u):

@kyeomshine @soonhoonsol @softhyungkyun @iiasha @beomgyung @soobeannie @uriboogyu @smallkore @ajusnice @sunnie-dk @delicatecy @yeonbins @txtify @joshuahong @defgyus @myunqho @xuseokgyu @jonghan @umaio @woneko (these are just the few! BUT I HOPE ALL MY MUTUALS KNOW THAT I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR WORKS YES? YES!!!)

and for good measure, another a couple more creations of yours that you love:

pls give these more lots of love pls!

seungkwan my my set (1 & 2)

txt sherlock set (which i really am proud as well for txt they killed this!)

soogyu ‘hug’ set (i really love how this stage gif turned out bec i barely gif stages) (1 & 2)

FEAR SEUNGKWAN (do i need to say more)

#im so sorry if this is such a long post i talk a lot yea....#hoping that i could share more works next year! (hopefully really aaa;-;)#thank u again for tagging me!! chey! amy! and lee!!#tagged!

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asherranceoftheheart · 4 years

Text

Icarus Falls - Ch. II - Heat Haze Days

Story Summary: “You’ll never leave me alone right?“ "You think I’d actually let you go?”

A story about the slow descent and corruption of a lonely man, a demon who learns that bonds go both ways, brothers who deeply regrets their words spoken out of anger, and a conflicted man watching them all fall down from the distance. Here’s a Puppet!Chase AU that was written with extreme self-indulgence so beware and read the tags before entering.

Chapter Summary: In which some of you will hate me for what happens in this chapter. fucking rip everyone Pairing/s: None, Platonic Character/s: Jack McLoughlin, Chase Brody, Antisepticeye, Mentions of Other Septic Egos Genre: Angst, Fluff Chapter Warning/s: Creepy!Anti, Self-Deprecating Thoughts (Thoughts like I’m not as good as the others, etc.), Sadness (Archive Of Our Own Edition) (Prev. Chapter)

He was burning.

His head felt like it was a plugged up kettle, waiting to burst forth with the built-up pressure from the heat attempting to push out with a loud bang. His throat felt like he had swallowed up a mixture of burning coals and sandpaper. His skin was so sensitive that the previously comfortable weight of the comforter on his body was now suffocating and its cloth scratched roughly against his skin.

It was all too much! The mixture of pain and overstimulation drove him to kick the blankets off his body although that had probably been the worst action he could’ve taken right now. The sudden movement seemed to have taken out all the air in his lungs and he wheezed and curled up into a ball on his bed. His teeth clicked and chattered loudly while he shivered and trembled despite the fire that was burning a trail through his veins.

Through the heated haze of his mind, he knows that he has to go take his own temperature and find the meds that are in the other room. So with a loud groan scraping up his raw throat, he uncurled from his ball and attempted to sit up on the side of the bed. However, if it was as if he suddenly lost all control and strength in his shaking limbs and he careened forwards into the thankfully carpeted floor with a loud crash.

“Oh fuck, Chase!” He heard muffled stomping footsteps run towards him before two strong arms pulled him up to lean him back against the bed.

Chase opened up the eyes that he didn’t even notice he had closed and blinked hazily at the pair of grey-blue eyes gazing at him with concern.

“J-Jack?” Chase whispered hoarsely through the lump that had formed in his throat.

The man before him blinked, confusion darkening his eyes at the lost look that had shifted over Chase’s glazed expression.

“I mean… Yeah? Who else would it be? Henrik? The guy who practically lives in the hospital?” The man snorted and gave him a light-hearted smile. “I’m your only housemate, remember?”

Right… Right. Jackie, Marvin, and Henrik lived in their own places while Chase lived with Jack because they both didn’t like being alone. Originally, Chase had been planning on moving out a few weeks after he had been ‘born’ but he and Jack came to like being housemates too much and it just never happened.

Jack sighed and smiled when he saw the recognition click in Chase’s eyes. He pressed their foreheads together as they normally did when they were comforting the other before he yelped and jerked back with a flinch.

“Yikes! You’re burning up like the sun there, Chasey,” the older man rubbed his own forehead with a frown before he slipped his arms under Chase’s body and lifted him back up onto his bed.

He ran his fingers through the feverish man’s sweat matted hair, untangling some of the knots that tried to hamper his hand’s movements. Jack reached into his pocket and brought out his smartphone.

“Wait a sec there, would you? I’m going to get our thermometer and call our resident Doc to ask what I should do with you?” Jack covered his heated eyes with a cold hand and Chase closed them in bliss as it soothed the fire.

He must have drifted off for a small bit because the next time he opened his eyes, it was to the feel of something metallic being pressed into the hole of his ear and he heard a tiny beep before it was removed. He heard Jack click his tongue and murmur something too low for him to hear before he felt his bed dip at the other man’s weight.

Chase rolled over to his side and moved closer to Jack. He buried his face against his older brother’s side with a sigh before Jack moved him so that he was laying his head on his lap. Jack started to play with his hair again, digging his fingers deep into his scalp to relieve some of the painful tension drilling insistently from the inside of his head.

“I missed you so much,” Chase whimpered deliriously before he began to cry.

“Oh Chase… Why would you miss me when I haven’t left your side in the first place? You were probably just having a terrible nightmare that seemed to be lasting forever because of your fever,” Jack wiped away his tears and snot with the tissue he pulled from the nearby box. He leaned down and brushed his lips against Chase’s heated forehead before straightening back up. “Schneep said we’ll have to lower your temperature with the good old cold towel later on after I’ve given you your meds.”

Jack gave him an indulgent smile when his face twisted at the prospect of having to taste the bitter aftertaste of the medicine being washed down by bland water. His caretaker nudged him gently to warn him that he was about to move him before he helped the sick man sit up against the headboard, giving him stability in the form of the pillows he propped up on his back.

“Don’t worry, Chaser. I know how much you hate the taste of medicine so before I came back up, I heated up a bowl of the leftover chicken soup from the fridge to help you swallow your medicine down.” Jack told him before he stood up. “Wait there while I get the bowl from the microwave downstairs.”

“Not like I can move anyway,” Chase slurred his words, blinking drowsily at his brother who chuckled and patted him on the head before he walked away.

He was left by himself in the silence of his room. Chase reached up to touch his forehead where Jack’s touch continued to linger like a burning mark. How long has it been since he had been touched this gently? How much longer has it been since somebody took care of him while he was sick rather than him just stumbling into the other rooms and downstairs to nurse himself back to health?

A terrible nightmare…

It certainly would be one wouldn’t it? A demon haunting him and his family, a brother who’s basically trapped in a Sleeping Beauty curse type of sleep, a missing brother who was spirited away by the mentioned demon, and his other distant brothers who were having adventures in god knows where…

Before he could even allow himself to think deeper on that line of thought, Jack came back holding a steaming bowl of soup in his hands, the fragrance coming from the food awakened the monster that was his stomach.

G R O W L

He could see the growing mirth in his brother’s eyes but he ignored it. Previous thoughts forgotten and vanished like a wisp in the air in favor of concentrating on sating the ravenous hunger that seemed to have possessed him. Chase’s eyes followed the bowl like a predator stalking his prey. Jack teasingly moved the bowl around and snickered when his sick brother’s baby blue eyes never lost sight of it.

“Looks like somebody is hungry,” Jack teased his brother who in a sudden burst of childishness stuck his tongue out at him. “Cranky too, I see.”

“I will fuck you up,” Chase vowed with the fire and spite only a younger sibling could muster up against their older sibling. He narrowed his eyes at Jack but only succeeded in looking more like he was constipated.

He sulked when Jack tweaked his nose as if he was just the cutest little thing and heard him chuckle at his scowl.

“Sure you will,” Jack patted his flushed cheek with the most patronizing spirit an older sibling would use to infuriate their cute younger sibling. “I’m sure you’re going to fuck me up when you can’t even crawl on your stomach without feeling like you’re about to die.”

Jack left him there to sulk crankily at the face of the harsh truth he just laid on him while he went to the bathroom to get a towel to place on Chase’s body just in case they spilled his food. His caretaker settled the tower over his body making sure that most of his lap and chest are covered before dragging a nearby chair to sit beside Chase’s side. He scooped up a spoonful of soup and blew on it until it was warm and not scalding on the tongue.

“Want me to do the here comes the train schtick?” Jack sarcastically asked while holding up the spoon.

“Excuse me, you know I like the airplane one better,” Chase huffed petulantly before opening his mouth.

Jack made sarcastic airplane noises before he fed the soup to his brother, “Don’t choke on your veggies now, you big baby.”

Chase chewed on his food spitefully slow before making a show of swallowing it down.

“But Daddy,” even if it will kill his throat, Chase forced himself to pitch his tone up into a perfect copy of a whining child’s voice, “I wanna eat now!”

He watched with unrestrained glee as Jack nearly lost his grip on the bowl at his lap and threw his head back with a loud cackle. He had to place the bowl down on the bedside drawer while he curled in on his stomach from the force of his cackling. Jack slammed his hand down on the bed and grip the blankets tightly while his body shook in his attempt to calm himself down.

“You son of a bitch,” Jack panted as he finally reduced his cackles to giggling before he reached over to lock Chase’s head under his arms and heavily mussed up the extremely proud-looking man’s hair in spite of his outraged squeals. “Alright then son, open your mouth for Daddy. Here comes your airplane!”

He let go of his victim’s head and grabbed the bowl again. He scooped up another spoonful of soup again and began making it fly all over, taking care not to spill anything, before he led it back to Chase. If Chase didn’t feel like he’s going to die if he busted a gut laughing, he’d probably be keeled over on the bed wheezing like Jack had been earlier.

If Henrik was here, he’d be rolling his eyes at their dumbass antics.

Chase opened his mouth waiting for Jack to place the food in and looked at the other with a confused blink when the other man seemed to have gone into a stupor and stared at him with a dumbfounded look before he inhaled sharply and let out a sharp snicker. However, Jack didn’t elaborate on the weird pause, only snorting and snickering when Chase asked him about it.

It took them nearly an entire hour before the bowl was cleared of every drop of soup because of their teasing and horsing around, and Chase had finally taken his medicine while making a disgusted face the entire time he could feel the pill moving down his throat. In spite of still feeling like absolute garbage, his chest was warm not with the fever but with the happiness pulsing through his veins. His headache slash migraine is still there but it was being offsetted by the light-headedness that came from the drug like high of being given all the physical and verbal affection that he’s been craving from his best friend.

Jack helped him change into lighter clothes after noticing that his pajamas were soaked with his sweat. He said that Henrik mentioned that’s a good thing since it’ll help cool down his insides but it can’t be comfortable being weighed down by sweat-soaked clothes. Jack helped him drink a few glasses of water while rubbing his back to help him swallow down the stale taste and murmured small words of praises of how he’s being so good and how he’s so proud of him that eased most of the discomfort that he was feeling.

After asking him if he needed to go to the bathroom to which he replied in the negative, Jack helped him lay on his back again. The man smoothed his sweat matted hair back and told him that he’s going downstairs to wash the soup bowl and get fresh cold water to wipe him down with.

Chase blinked up at his ceiling in a dazed manner. He probably looked like he was drunk out of his mind right now with his half-lidded glazed blue eyes, the still prominent feverish flush on his cheeks, and his doped out silly grin that hasn’t faded ever since the fun that he just had. His mind kept replaying the past hour over and over almost obsessively to the point that he nearly didn’t notice his brother come back from his previous task. He heard footsteps and turned his head to blink at Jack who was now holding a wash basin that he was carrying carefully into the room. He placed it on top of the bedside drawer before bringing out the ear thermometer.

“Turn your head a bit,” Jack tapped his cheek with cold fingertips.

Chase turned his head to the side so that Jack could use the thermometer on his ear. He heard the soft click of a button being pushed and a few seconds later, the thing beeped and he felt it being removed.

“Thirty nine point one celsius… At least it’s gone down by point four.” Jack hummed to himself before he turned his body over to the wash bowl and slipped off the white towel that had been draped over his shoulders to dunked it into the water.

The sound of cloth being submerged into water before it was wrung out reached Chase’s ears. He turned his face back into the front position just as Jack lifted the wet towel up and started to dab the blissfully cold cloth all over his face and neck. Chase closed his eyes with a content sigh while Jack dunked the towel again and wrung out all the water before folding it into a small rectangle to place it on his forehead.

“That feels… nice…” Chase slurred his words while he blindly reached out for Jack’s hand and was rewarded by the man knotting their fingers together.

“It does, doesn’t it?” He could hear the smile on Jack’s voice.

They stayed in that position in silence while Jack would occasionally change the towel after it had lost its cold temperature.

“Where’s the others?” Chase suddenly asked, his drifting mind thinking of their other brothers especially Henrik who must be worried out of his head whenever he hears that one of them was sick.

“They’re busy with things but they might come by if they have some free time,” Jack answered while he rubbed the back of Chase’s hand in soothing circles.

“Mkay,” Chase muttered and they were silent again.

He must have drifted off for a few minutes again because he didn’t even notice that Jack had left for a bit before he was startled out of the sleepy haze at the sound of his brother cursing and something dropping on top of the bedside drawer loudly.

“Ah shit, I woke you up didn’t I?” Jack looked dismayed when he noticed that Chase’s eyes snapped open and was blinking at him owlishly. “Sorry Chaser, I stubbed my toe on your bed.”

“‘S okay,” Chase yawned and sleepily watched Jack as he sat back down in his previous position and made a new fresh towel to place it back on his forehead before looping their fingers together again. “Changed the water?”

“Yeah, you actually napped for an hour,” his brother smiled down at him and reached over with his free hand to pull the blanket up to his chin. “Sorry I woke you up.”

Chase doesn’t mind. He closed his eyes again, still feeling extremely fatigued from his sickness. They stayed there in silence. He could feel Jack’s gaze intently watching him and normally, he’d make a quip about how he’s being a little creep now he just felt comforted and safe under his watchful eyes.

“Hey Jack?” Chase cut through the silence with a whisper.

“Hm?” He felt him lean closer to hear him better.

“You’re… not going to leave right?” Chase peeked one eye open to watch Jack’s reaction.

His brother’s face was pensive as he considered the question that he laid on him out of nowhere. Then Jack huffed and tweaked his nose again, Chase just scrunching it up as a response to the by now another one of his brother’s affectionate slash teasing gestures towards him.

“Course not, if I left who’d nag you to death about taking better care of yourself?” Jack smirked and tapped the reddening spot on the tip of his nose. “You’re not getting rid of me for a very, very long time, Chaser.”

Chase’s lips quirked up into a tiny but adoring smile at his words. He relaxed back onto the bed and closed his eyes. Now that the serotonin rush has fully faded away, he felt himself crashing harder than he’s ever crashed before. The exhaustion from his stressful days (or was it nightmares?) and his fever dragged him down into that weird tiny barrier between the worlds of sleep and the waking.

“I love you, Jack,” Chase murmured and finally gave in to the persistent tugging of sleep.

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

Now that Chase had fallen into deep sleep, ‘Jack’ allowed his long ruse to fully drop. Those kind blue-grey eyes shifted back into acid green eyes that blankly stared down at the sleeping form. The friendly face that had comforted Chase so much lost the layered over illusion of softness as it was replaced by harder, sharper features that were accented by the sneer that was twisting down his lips.

Chase didn’t see his closest friend turn back into the monster that had been making his life a living hell for nearly an entire year. But then again… Chase never noticed that his neck had been wrapped with blood-stained bandages or the infamous black shirt and ripped jeans that would’ve been a dead giveaway that he wasn’t his Jack.

Was the blindness due to deliriousness brought about by his fever or was it willful blindness for the sake of allowing himself to be fooled so long as he kept up the happy ruse?

Anti looked down at their joined hands with disdain, observing the way Chase clutched it as if he or rather ‘Jack’ was his personal lifeline. However, despite the venomous look, he didn’t even attempt to pry it off.

“How annoyingly clingy,” the demon drawled yet oddly enough his harsh words only had half the poison it would normally have.

‘Is this why you’re so protective over him, Jack? Because he needed you more than you needed him?’ The demon asked the other who he knows would rather cut off his tongue than answer such questions. He sat there among the silence, absentmindedly rubbing the back of Chase’s hand with a thumb.

He stayed still for a few more minutes, head inclined to the side as if trying to listen for a voice that would never come.

Silence.

Anti huffed and smirked coldly at the wall, ‘You’re pathetic, Jack.’

He looked down at the younger ego when he heard him mutter something unintelligible under his breath. He tilted his head to the side, green eyes making note of the small shivers through Chase’s body and the slight wheezing. His mind went back to the past few hours where a spark burned bright as the sun in the man’s normally dull blue eyes. That happiness had been rather… infectious.

Anti scrunched up his nose in disgust.

“You’re even more pathetic,” Anti muttered angrily towards the sleeping man. “Falling apart just because you’re alone… This is why you’re the weakest link.”

He doesn’t understand why Chase had been so relaxed around him just because he so earnestly believed that he was Jack and easily believed his half-hearted lie that the past few months had just been a fever-induced vivid nightmare. Sure he was sick but Anti didn’t even try hiding most of his physical cues save for his eyes and softening the curves of his face.

Chase clung to him but it wasn’t really him that he was holding on to, he attached himself to Anti with the stubbornness of a leech and looked up at him with those deliriously happy eyes but he knew that the person Chase was seeing was the person that Anti hated the most in this entire universe.

Anti growled and scratched the side of his itching neck as something in him seemed to twist and curl with an emotion that he couldn’t quite identify himself. He had been so busy trying to comprehend the odd, irritating emotion that was buzzing beneath his skin that his soul nearly glitched out of his body when Chase moved in his sleep again and was now hugging his hand like a teddy bear, nuzzling his still flushed cheek against Anti’s hand. He watched the idiot’s towel slide down his face to the bed, creating a wet spot on the mattress.

…

He was starting to drool.

The eldest ego resisted the urge to sigh.

“It’s rather ironic what I barely even had to put any effort in our little game,” Anti tried to push his face back with a finger on his cheek but Chase just scowled in his sleep and nuzzled Anti’s hand in a more aggressive manner. “Clingy little bastard… I wonder if you’d still snuggle my hand this hard if you know where that thing’s been?”

Not that he wouldn’t know the answer to that considering little Chase practically hates his guts. If the younger ego had been more aware of his surroundings, he would have recoiled from his touch as if he had been burned by fire and would have spat insults trying to hide the wounded, almost feral gleam in those blue eyes.

It was interesting how his plans could change just on a single whim. Originally, he planned on merely inflicting worse nightmares on the man’s feverish psyche and messing with his senses when he’d stumble around the house trying to find the medicine and other materials he’ll need to bunk up in his bed to bear the sickness but then… He took one look at Chase’s panting, feverish state and he wondered just how far would he be able to take pretending to be his saintly older brother before the sick man would notice anything.

The answer to that is a lot.

Anti was willing to admit to himself that he did get too into his own acting out of his anticipation of witnessing the sheer fury, the denial, and the shattered visage of this man as he realized that he clutched so sweetly, so desperately to the demon who had been the main cause for his daily hell.

He wondered just what exactly Chase would do once he finally gave up the ruse. Would he scream his throat hoarse or until he was coughing out blood? Would he charge at him, seeing only red and thinking only of lashing out at the demon who fooled him, or would he run away like the coward that he was? Would he place his hands over his ears and tightly close his eyes while he shook his head in utter denial or what just happened? Or would he cry and cry and cry until he had no tears left and his spirit had been shredded into pieces?

An eerily wide smile slowly began to stretch out across his face as he tightened his grip around Chase’s hand. He lifted the drying towel from its fallen position and soaked it in the plastic bowl. The demon took his time wringing out the water from the towel before he began to wipe it gently, almost tenderly, all over Chase’s face.

“You better give me a nice show worth remembering later on, baby brother,” Anti cooed sweetly and pressed the cold towel over the sleeping man’s cheek. “Who know? Perhaps you might even surprise me. If you do… I will be very very pleased.”

Anti leaned over and pressed a small kiss on the top of Chase’s head, the brown fluff tickling his nose.

“Enjoy those sweet dreams while you can, clingy little puppet.”

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

Jack woke him up a few hours later to get the next dosage of his fever medicine. He was feeling much better compared to his previous bout of consciousness to the point that he didn’t need Jack’s help to go to the bathroom.

Chase leaned on the doorway of the bathroom after washing his hands and grimaced as the world lightly spun around him and the ground on his feet slowly began to disappear. This is why he hated getting sick. Even doing the simplest tasks makes him feel like he was one of those IPhones that would go from one hundred to thirty percent battery in two minutes just because he accidentally left the screen brightness a little bit higher than usual.

His caretaker was waiting for him on his bed, watching the other man play with his phone before he finally noticed him.

“What’re you doing over there?” Jack then gestured for him to come near with a wave of his hand and patted the free space on his side. “Come on over.”

“I’m gonna get you sick,” Chase protested weakly but still he walked over to his bed and slid into the space that Jack made for him. He maintained a few inches of distance between him and the healthy man.

Jack rolled his eyes and shuffled closer so that they’re shoulder to shoulder.

“Then we’ll just do the sick bro solidarity while Hen takes care of us and calls us dumbasses while cursing our existence the entire time.” Jack chirped while he waved his phone around. “By the way, Henrik sends his regards.”

His tone took an odd turn at the last sentence. Jack was wearing a secretive smile with a gleam in his eyes like he was laughing at a joke that only he could understand. Chase squinted at him suspiciously but thinking too hard on whatever his brother was implying was far too painful for his head. Jack ‘rewarded’ his suspicious look with a finger flick on his forehead.

“Hey!” Chase yelped and grumbled while he rubbed the stinging skin. “What’s with the weird tone and smile? Did you play a prank on Henrik or something?”

Jack let out a loud bark of laughter at his rapidly fired questions.

“Man, you’re getting pretty smart. That means you’re getting better!” Jack’s smile widened and it took on that same odd twist that slightly unnerved Chase earlier. “As for Henrik… Yeah, let’s just say I pulled a pretty neat prank on him. His reactions are starting to get boring and predictable though.”

“He’s going to kill you,” Chase stated as a matter of fact, his tone just sending Jack into another fit of giggles.

“I’d like him to actually try,” Jack smirked before turning over to relax on his back and crossed his arms under his head.

Chase yawned and he cursed himself for his sick body’s constant need for sleep. Jack chuckled at his frustration and let him lean his head against his side.

“How about the others?” Chase asked. “Did they pass by while I was completely dead to the world?”

“Jackie seems a bit busy right now along with Marvin. You know how those two are when they’re focused on their own projects or jobs. It’s like the entire world disappears and nothing else matters to them,” Jack’s voice was soft with both fondness and exasperation at those duo’s antics. “Remember that time you accidentally sprained one of your legs and had a concussion because you smacked the side of your head against the edge of a table when you fell down while you were attempting one of your more complicated trick shots? Those two idiots only found out two days after cause Henrik had to drag Jackie out from his headquarters because he wasn’t answering his phone and Marv was doing one of those magic projects that he spent days obsessing over.”

Jack shook his head while making a face when he remembered the aftermath.

“Henrik gave them some harsh tongue lashing after that. I thought he was going to kill them on the spot,” Jack murmured and slid his arms out from behind his head and slipped one under Chase’s neck as a makeshift pillow. “Can’t say I’d blame him for being so angry though.”

Chase slumped down at that. The memory of that day was blurry because of his headache but he could still remember the gist.

“You were too.” He softly pointed out, remembering the blank look that had shifted over Jack’s face while he avoided looking at the other two.

“Course I was… What if that had been a serious emergency? Two days would’ve already been far too late for them to come back,” Chase glanced at Jack’s face and noticed that he has the same expression that he had back then.

“They’re always on time when it’s for important stuff,” he defended his two older brothers and Jack turned this time to look him in the eyes.

“And you’re not important stuff?” There was a storm lurking beneath those eyes as he quietly asked him that damned question.

He could feel the blood in his face draining out at the snapback. Chase shuddered and looked away from those far too seeing eyes. A lump had grown inside his throat and he had to painfully swallow it down before he could answer.

“Can we not… talk about that? Please?” He pleaded and looked back with cracked glass for eyes.

Jack’s pensive look fell at that sight and he immediately turned over to tug Chase into his arms. Chase hid his face against his chest and shivered, trying to keep his heart together.

“Aw… You know I hate it when you look at me like that. It always feels like I kicked a wounded puppy or something,” Jack rested his cheek on top of Chase’s fluffy hair and rubbed the back of his neck to get him to relax. “I just don’t like it when you think that you’re the least important among all of us just because you seem the most normal, Chaser.”

Chase bit down the bitter words ‘aren’t I?’ and settled for pressing his ear on top of Jack’s chest and listening to the calming sound of his heartbeat.

The light atmosphere had been tainted by the sudden downturn of their conversation. He felt Jack breathe in and heave out a sigh before the older man began to tap his fingers up and down his spine.

“Sorry for ruining the mood, Chase,” Jack truly sounded very apologetic and this time it was Chase’s turn to feel like he just kicked a sad puppy. “I know you don’t like talking about these sorts of topics…”

“‘S alright. ‘M just not in the mood to get therapy especially from you.” Chase mumbled, injecting some sass at the end to lighten up the mood again.

He was relieved when he heard Jack snort at his half-assed joke.

“I’ll have you know I’m a good talker and listener,” He felt the chest pressed against his ear expand with Jack’s faked angry huff.

Chase just laughed and shook his head with a fond smile teasing at the edge of his lips, “I know.”

He closed his eyes and found himself easing drifting back into the world of dreams especially when he feels so safe and warm in his watchful older brother’s arms.

The man who had just fallen asleep doesn’t notice the comforting hand that had been previously rubbing the back of his neck grab the back collar of his shirt as if to pull him away from its disgruntled owner. It paused when Chase whimpered and curled deeper into his arms. A few seconds later, the hand relaxed and just settled on the middle of his back.

“Gone running back to the world of dreams again, Chaser? Careful now… Someone might just mistake your running away as a desire to replace Jackaboy in his coma,” Anti muttered.

He paused.

Chase was warm, Anti had noticed now. It wasn’t just because of his fever but his soul… It felt like he was sleeping near the fireplace while it was in the middle of winter.

“...” Anti decided to give in and indulge himself just this once. He closed his eyes and realized that perhaps this was the most peaceful and silent his normally buzzing mind has ever been. “Goodnight, Chaser. Get well soon.”

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

Chase woke up to Jack’s back touching against his own. He couldn’t help but quirk up a tiny grin at the soft sound of snoring coming from the other man. And Jack said that he doesn’t snore…

He took inventory of his own body’s current stats. The headache was practically gone, leaving a dull numb throb that felt more like a heavy weight on his head rather than anything painful. His body still feels weak and he doesn’t trust himself to jump around the stairs but he thinks that he’s getting there. His head and sight was also much clearer now, the world doesn’t feel like it’s constantly five inches away from his grasp and he’s not getting that falling down the rabbit hole weightlessness so he’s counting that as a win.

He reached up to feel the back of his hand against his forehead and let out a soundless sigh when it still felt hotter than normal. Well… He can’t exactly expect himself to immediately get better just because he spent an entirely relaxing day sleeping away. At least he’s not boiling from the inside anymore.

Chase looked around and caught sight of his phone on the drawer on his side of the bed. He wonders how the rest of the world was doing and wanted to get a peek before he decided to go for more naps. He moved slowly so that he didn't disturb the snoring man from his sleep and grabbed his phone. He pressed the side button and waited for it to boot up.

Once his phone screen fully loaded (both of his lock screen and wallpaper is of him and his brothers which never failed to make him smile), he froze when a text notification popped up on his screen.

Dr. Adam: I’d like to think that you just took my advice And that’s why you’re not visiting your brother today. Well… I truly hope you’re fine, Mister Brody. We’ve detected no changes from the patient as usual But I think you’d still want to know Have a good day. :)

He felt his body go cold as the blood drained out of him from the sight of that message. Every single memory of the past months began to play in front of his head like old cinema reels and he was hyper aware of the person who had somehow turned around while he was unaware and slowly wrapped an arm around his chest.

“Aww… I guess our little game of pretend is finally over,” Chase’s breath quickened and he could feel the corners of his sight growing dark while his blood roared in his ears. His shaking body was pulled close against the person who was giggling at his unfortunate state. “It’s almost such a shame… Did you have fun, Chaser? I certainly did.”

Those crooned words were spoken with such relished delight that grew along with the cold numbness that was spreading through his body.

“You were having so much fun too! I think that was the happiest I’ve ever seen you it’s almost pathetic,” Anti hissed the last word in a mixture of horrid amusement and disgust, “you were laughing and smiling so much, so convinced that your precious Jack never left and that your neglectful older brothers was just a phone away. That everything that happened was just a long nightmare.”

And then the shaking stopped and Chase was still… So still that for a brief second, Anti thought he had passed out.

“... up…” Anti arched an eyebrow when he heard Chase mumble something far too low for him to understand.

He leaned over and placed his chin on Chase’s shoulder in a mockery of their previously affectionate gestures.

“Pardon?” He sarcastically asked while he tilted his head closer to the mumbling man’s head as if he was craning his ears to hear a whispered secret. “Gotta pipe up a bit louder there, little brother.”

Despite expecting the possible outburst that would come from the tormented man in his arms, Anti didn’t predict that he would have the energy nor the strength to suddenly grip the wrist of the arm that was wrapped around his chest and manage to take advantage of his surprise to fling it off him and push him down on the bed. Chase swung around and straddled Anti, to slam his fists over and over the demon’s chest.

“Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!” Chase crouched over the older ego, his blue eyes wide and streaming rivers of tears. His lips were bared into a snarl as he kept hitting Anti’s chest. “Why couldn’t you have just shut your mouth? Why couldn’t you just leave me alone and let me forget this entire thing ever happened? Why? Why?”

Anti didn’t retaliate. He just watched his little brother’s agonized but furious tantrum as he lashed out at him. Those tears fell on Anti’s blank face, sliding down his cheeks, while Chase sobbed on top of him.

Those normally fragile blue eyes blazed with hatred despite the shakiness in that gaze. Yet despite the agony, despite the heartrending loneliness that lurked beneath the mask of anger, Anti could see that the spark that he thought had gone out for a very long time was burning ever brighter than the sun.

A slow smile curled up the corner of his lips as the hits slowly began to lose strength and Chase just hid his face away against his balled up fists while they’re digging into Anti’s chest.

“I hate you… I hate you so much…” Chase hiccuped on a low sob. “Stop it… Stop wearing his face… Stop acting like him to toy with me just to see me react to your bullshit…”

“You’re not Jack. You will never be Jack.” The shattered man gritted out, the tears never ending as he finally collapsed on top of the demon who merely reached up to start playing with his hair.

That familiar tender gesture was just another stab into Chase’s broken heart.

“But you want me to be, don’t you?” Anti whispered the damning truth into existence.

The words had been stolen out of Chase’s throat. He wanted to deny those words with all the vehemence he could muster. He wanted to yell more, scream more but he couldn’t. He couldn’t spit out such a heavy lie.

So instead he obfuscated, avoiding the harsh truth as he always did. He could’ve pushed Anti away, could’ve rolled over to the cold floor to get away from the touch that was making his skin crawl but he didn’t.

“I hate you… I hate you…” Chase continued whispering those words until his throat had grown hoarse and his eyes were swollen shut with how much he had been crying.

Anti never said anything, never moved to do anything other than letting Chase lay on top of him. He continued to treat him carefully as if he was glass that would shatter at the slightest pressure.

…

All these gentleness probably hurt Chase more than if he had laid his knife on him or taunted him with his weakness.

He fell asleep to the feel of those hands gently wiping his tears away.

#jacksepticeye #writersofjack #chase brody #antisepticeye #jack mcloughlin #icarus falls!AU #creepy anti #angst #fluff #soft anti but not really

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