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pines-troz · 4 years

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Weekend With The Warners Chapter Three - Animaniacs & Pinky and The Brain

Summary: When the CEO assigns Pinky and The Brain with the important task of watching over the Warners for the weekend, Brain is prepared for any antics that the children have in store. What he didn’t take into account was forming a familial bond with the kids.

Word Count: 7,652

AO3 Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/27849962/chapters/68854656

The big day had arrived and the two genetically altered lab mice were on top of their schedule. Brain had set his alarm clock to 6:00 AM. He and Pinky woke up and gathered their belongings. Brain decided to bring along his newly modified robotic man-suit just as a precaution. Once the mice were ready to go, Brain hopped into the pilot seat of his robot and placed their mouse-sized suitcases into his pants pocket. Pinky climbed up the suit and made himself snug as a bug in the front pocket. The intelligent mouse steered the suit and exited the lab at around 7:00 AM, about an hour before any of the scientists would arrive for work.

The mice made their way down the streets of Burbank and decided to have breakfast at a local diner. There, they spent a little of an hour consuming their morning meals and engaging in some casual conversation together.

By the time they arrived at the Warner movie lot, it was a quarter to nine, and the mice swung by the main office building to retrieve the credit card from Nora Rita Norita. When the mice made it to the top floor, Brain made his way over to her office and gingerly knocked on the door.

“Enter!” The CEO boomed from the other side.

Brain cautiously opened the door to find Ms. Norita in her workout attire stretching on the treadmill. She took the small towel and scrubbed the sweat off of her face before tossing it over the handle.

“You must be here for the credit card, I take it?” The businesswoman remarked as she eyed Brain’s robotic suit.

Brain wordlessly nodded while trying his best to muster his courage while confronting the higher-up. Ms. Norita went over to her desk, opened the drawer, and retrieved the golden credit card. Pinky’s eyes lit up upon seeing the glistening card again. He eagerly reached out for the card, enamored with its shimmering aura.

“Try not to have too much fun over the weekend, gentlemen.” Nora Rita Nortia humored in her flat voice as she gave Pinky the credit card, who immediately hugged it.

“We won’t,” Brain assured, trying to hide his anxiousness from the formidable businesswoman as he made his exit. “I guarantee you that Pinky and myself will have an appropriate amount of fun while supervising the Warner siblings.” With a nervous chuckle, Brain grabbed the doorknob and carefully closed the door on his way out.

Once the mice left Ms. Norita’s office, Brain exhaled and leaned up against the wall as he gazed at his partner. “Pinky, I would be a liar if I told you that the CEO was not the least bit intimidating.”

“I heard that, and I plan on using that information to my advantage.” Ms. Norita shouted from behind the door.

Brain’s eyes widened with terror. Now that the CEO knew his weakness and planned on exploiting it, he had no choice but to stay in her good graces in the foreseeable future.

“Very well.” He muttered as he made his way towards the elevator. “Pinky, hand me the cellphone. I’m going to arrange an Uber driver to pick us from the movie lot at noon.”

Pinky turned on the smartphone and smiled. “Hey Brain, we just got a text message from Dot!”

The pudgy mouse retrieved the phone from Pinky and read the message.

We’ll be outside the water tower by 11:45 <3

Once the mice left the office building, they killed some time by strolling around the movie lot and making idle chit-chat. They arrived at the water tower ten minutes beforehand where they patiently waited for the Warners to arrive. However, the three rambunctious siblings proved to be fashionably late.

Brain decided to make some small talk to make the time go by faster. “Well Pinky, I am fully prepared for whatever comes our way this weekend.” He announced as he checked his phone, the clock now reading 11:55 AM. “I even took the liberty of educating myself on the slang of today’s youth. Everything from vibe checks to poggers...I had to make sure that the latter word wasn’t a derogatory slur. Thankfully it’s just a synonym for an excited, surprised overreaction.”

“That’s wonderful, Brain!” Pinky complimented. “Did you do all that research just so you could relate to the kids?”

“What? No, I just wanted to have some comprehension of the contemporary vernacular.” Brain denied whilst waving his hand downwards. “Now, where are those children? Our driver will be here at any moment.” The pudgy mouse scanned the lot in search of the three siblings.

“Hellooooooo mice!”

The enthusiastic shouts from above startled the mice. They instinctively looked up to see the Warners wave at them before leaping off the water tower with their suitcases in tow. Brain stared in shock as the three kids made their descent. Acting swiftly, the smaller mouse managed to catch the children in his robotic arms right in the nick of time. Once the children and their belongings were safe in his arms, he stumbled backward, trying to support the combined weight of the Warners and their heavy luggage. Fortunately, the mouse was able to shift the levers in his suit and quickly maintained his balance.

As Brain let out a huge sigh of relief, Yakko and Wakko leaned in and smooched his cheeks. Dot gave Pinky a kiss on the cheek. “Naarf.” The lanky mouse bashfully replied upon receiving the friendly affection from the girl.

Brain, on the other hand, let out an amused snort as he gently lowered the children on the ground. “It’s nice to see you kids all excited for our little weekend getaway.”

Dot immediately had her sights set on the mechanical man-suit. She tapped at the suit’s knees then proceeded to grab a hold on the right arm, carefully inspecting it. “Oh Brain, is this a new model?” She inquired, sounding rather impressed.

“Why yes. I’ve made some modifications to the suit over the years.” Brain answered, pleasantly surprised that the Warner sister would take great interest in his work.

“So what hotel are we going to anyway?” Yakko asked. “The CEO didn’t really clue us in on where we’ll be staying.”

“She reserved us a deluxe queen room at The Ritz-Carlton.” Brain answered.

“A hotel made entirely of Ritz crackers!” Wakko eagerly exclaimed with their tongue hanging out. “Sounds scrumptious!” Even Pinky was excited by the notion of an edible hotel and licked his lips.

“That’s the name of the hotel, Einstein.” Dot corrected, causing Wakko and Pinky to let out a dejected groan.

Brain felt his smartphone vibrate and fished it from his pocket. He opened it up to find a message from the Uber driver.

“Come along children,” Brain alerted the Warners. “Our driver just arrived, and we don’t want to keep them waiting.” The Warners gathered their luggage and walked alongside Brain.

“Oh, we are going to have such a fun-fun, silly-willy weekend together!” Pinky joyfully declared while clapping his hands.

As the five walked exited the movie lot, Brain caught a glimpse of Nora Rita Norita, now dressed in her usual business attire, as she led a group of white-collar businesspeople to their important conference. The CEO pushed her glasses upwards as she stared at Brain, knowing his weakness. The mouse flashed a nervous smile and a thumbs up to assure her that he would complete his assigned task to the best of his ability. Once she turned her attention back to her associates, Brain exhaled in relief.

Once the group arrived at the studio entrance they spotted a blue minivan with an Uber sign parked by the sidewalk.

Brain took the time to pack everyone’s luggage into the trunk while the Warners took their spot. By the time the smaller mouse arrived in the car, everyone already took their place. Yakko sat in the middle seat while Wakko and Dot took the back seat.

“Pinky, come sit next to us!” Dot hollered as she patted the empty seat between her and Wakko.

“Okay!” Pinky chirped. Brain took Pinky from his coat pocket and handed him over to Dot, who placed him in the middle seat.

Brain took his place in the van next to Yakko. After shutting the door and buckling his seat belt, the driver took off.

In the backseat of the car, Wakko proceeded to take out his tablet and showed an image from his favorite anime to Pinky while Dot quietly looked on.

“I’ve been watching this cool show called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,” Wakko gushed while flapping his hands, which were cozily tucked inside his sweater sleeves. “So it’s about these two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who have to find the philosopher’s stone so they can get their bodies back, and on their journey, they come across all sorts of crazy characters!”

“That sounds incredible, Wakko!” Pinky exclaimed. But as the mouse looked at the image of the blonde boy and his brother in a suit of armor, Pinky began to feel confused. “So, uh, which one of the brothers is the robot?”

Meanwhile, in the middle seat, Brain was sitting awkwardly as Yakko had his white earpods on and jammed out to the songs on his smartphone. The mouse could only imagine what kind of music the boy was listening to that had him this excited. As he twiddled the man-suit’s thumbs, Brain looked out the window, pondering to himself as he watched the cars pass by on the freeway.

After a few moments of musing and taking in the scenery, he felt a gloved hand prod his cheek. The mouse looked over to see Yakko taking out one of his earpods.

“You wanna listen to some tunes?” Yakko offered. “My playlist is full of oldies music.”

“Well, I can’t say no to that.” Brain obliged, accepting one of the white earpods. The intelligent mouse placed the small headphone into his left ear, expecting to hear pop music from the 1960s or old show tunes from the mid-twentieth century. But when Yakko pressed play, Brain was surprised to hear symphonious violins playing the main theme of ‘For Unto Us a Child is Born’, a chorus from the classic oratorio Messiah.

Brain looked over at the oldest Warner, who eagerly swayed in his seat, humming along to the song. “You weren’t kidding.” The mouse humored with a raised brow.

“Yup, George Fredic Handel’s Messiah is full of bangers!” Yakko proclaimed with a snap of his fingers.

Brain shrugged his shoulders and contentedly listened to the rest of the song. The eloquent mouse spent the rest of the car ride listening to the classical music on Yakko’s playlist.

Once the van arrived at the front of the hotel, the group retrieved their luggage from the back of the vehicle and Brain thanked the driver for their service while Pinky gave a friendly “Love you!”, to which Brain rolled his eyes at.

Once the group entered the hotel, the mice headed over towards the front desk to check in. Meanwhile, the Warners stood in awe as they drank in the scenery of the luxurious lobby. After taking in their surroundings, the siblings decided to release their manic energy in the lobby. Yakko and Dot immediately sprinted towards an empty sofa and started to bounce up and down. Wakko searched for something to stimulate his interest. Soon enough, the middle child found an abandoned gold bellman cart with red carpeting and knew what he had to do.

Meanwhile, The Brain was nearly complete with the check-in process as the front desk receptionist handed him three hotel keys: one for himself, one for Pinky, and one for the oldest Warner sibling.

“And here are your keys.” The employee said as she offered the three white cards over to the mouse. Using the robotic man-suit, Brain gingerly accepted the hotel keys from the receptionist.

“Thank you very much.” Brain politely acknowledged with a small nod.

“Enjoy your stay.” The receptionist smiled.

“You too,” Brain replied instinctively but winced when he realized his slip-up that the employee would not be staying in the hotel as a guest. “Wh-what I meant to say is have a good day.” The mouse attempted his conversational rebound with a nervous smile.

“Love you!” Pinky called out with a wave.

When Brain turned around, he scowled at his partner. “Pinky, you don’t have to say that to every person we converse with! Do you realize how uncomfortable you’re making them?”

“No, not really,” Pinky answered honestly as he climbed up to the suit’s shoulder so he could sit next to his partner. “I like to think that it makes their day a hundred times better!”

Just as Brain was about to come up with a witty retort, he saw the Warners were already causing playful pandemonium in the lobby. Yakko was driving the bellman cart, occasionally pushing his foot onto the ground to gain speed. Wakko and Dot were perched on top of the cart, with the Warner sister holding onto her sibling as they imitated the iconic Jack and Rose pose from Titanic. Wakko had his arms spread out while Dot placed her hands above her sibling’s side to keep them steady.

“I’m the king of the world!” Wakko cheered with their tongue hanging out.

Brain massaged his temple. “Of course, this is what I get for leaving the kids to their own devices.”

Pinky noted how stressed his partner was and decided to ameliorate the situation. He got out of the front pocket and climbed up on the robot’s left shoulder. Taking his fingers, he blew a sharp whistle out to the Warners, who immediately turned their attention over to the mice.

“Hey, kids!” Pinky called out to them. “We have the room keys so you can bounce around in the hotel room!”

“Okay!” They chorused as they pushed the bellman cart over to them. After they got off, the siblings placed their suitcases onto the cart. Pinky plopped down on the shoulder, pleased with the cooperative kids.

“Splendid work, Pinky.” Brain whispered into Pinky’s ear. The lanky mouse felt all blushy and gooshy when he felt his partner’s warm breath tickle his ear. Pinky giggled and instinctively wrapped his arms around himself to contain his feelings.

Yakko and Wakko pushed the cart over towards the elevator while Dot grabbed Brain by his robot’s hand, leading him and Pinky to the open elevator doors. One by one, they all entered inside. Wakko had their sights set on the buttons and immediately pressed all of them.

Brain looked at the illuminating floor buttons and released an exasperated sigh. “At least we’re only on the ninth floor.”

Once they reached the right floor, they all stepped off the elevator and walked through the corridor. The Warners trailed behind Brain until the mouse stopped at their destination: Room 920.

Brain used the hotel key and opened up the door to the hotel room. Two queen-sized beds, a flat-screen television, a leather couch, and an elegant bathroom. The room also had a phenomenal view of the city skyscrapers. Brain had to admit, the CEO clearly knew what she was doing when she booked the room for them.

Yakko and Dot awed in unison, their eyes glistening at the sight of their luxurious room.

“Naaarf.” Pinky purred with eyes full of wonderment.

“Poggers! This is the coolest hotel room ever!” Wakko declared as he ran into the room. As Yakko and Dot followed their sibling into the room. As Brain closed the door behind him and entered the room, he glanced over at Pinky and flashed him a confident grin to indicate that his studies on current slang have paid off.

The Warners gathered on the sofa and observed the city below them, their faces pressed against the glass as they took in the glorious sight. Brain cast a small smile at the children’s sense of wonder.

Pinky stood upon the suit’s shoulder and launched himself onto the comfortable mattress. The mouse landed with a soft thud. The bed may not be as squishy and homey as the sponge bed, but he enjoyed its welcoming softness. Pinky started to roll around on the bed, laughing loudly while doing so.

Brain was pleased to see his partner enjoying himself. He climbed out of the pilot seat of the man-suit and hopped down onto the bed to accompany his partner.

“Now sleeping arrangements should be quite obvious,” Brain addressed to the Warners, who were still gazing at the city view from the windowsill. “you children will share the bed by the door, while Pinky and myself will share the other bed.”

“Egad Brain, I finally get to live out one of my favorite fan fiction tropes!” Pinky exulted.

“Pinky, we already sleep in the same bed together back in the lab.” Brain dryly reminded his partner of the sponge bed he specifically made for him and his roommate.

“Oh, right,” Pinky said. “But still, we have a whole mattress to ourselves!” The taller mouse crowed, catching Brain in a surprise hug. The smaller mouse instinctively kicked his stubby legs in the air as he tried to resist the forced physical contact. Once Pinky let Brain down, he held the smaller mouse’s hand and started to jump up and down on the bed. Once they gained momentum, Pinky twirled Brain around, causing the intelligent mouse to cry out in protest.

“Nyaaaaaahhh!!!” Brain shouted as he was being twirled around against his will.

Yakko looked away from the window to find the mice dancing atop the mattress. He budged his siblings to get their attention and gestured towards their weekend guardians. The three kids instinctively clamored their way towards the bed, wanting to join in on the fun. Once Yakko, Wakko, and Dot perched themselves on the mattress, they started to bounce up and down. Soon enough, they joined hands as they bounced around in a circle, giggling as they contributed to the merriment.

While Pinky was enjoying himself, Brain kept screaming. As the mice jumped around, Brain noticed that they were too close to the Warners. Brain maneuvered Pinky, guiding him away from the three pairs of feet. They narrowly avoided being stepped on by the kids. Brain needed this silliness to stop before Pinky got hurt.

“Everybody off the mattress!” The smaller mouse yelled from the top of his lungs. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot immediately leaped over to the other bed, obeying Brain’s command. Once the intelligent mouse composed himself, he looked over to see how frightened the Warners were with his tone of voice.

Brain was overcome with tremendous guilt. “I’m sorry. That came off harsher than I intended.” He ruefully apologized. “Perhaps we should go outside the hotel room and find some engaging and wholesome activities to partake in.”

The Warners put on their thinking faces as they tried to come up with a fun way to spend the afternoon. “How about going to the pool?” Dot offered with a snap of her fingers.

“What a brilliant suggestion, Dot.” Brain complimented. “Now, let us prepare for a fun afternoon by the pool!”

“Woo-hoo!” Pinky cheered.

“Count me in!” Yakko declared while Wakko and Dot gave each other an enthusiastic high five.

It took about twenty minutes for everyone to get ready for their poolside excursion. The mice and the Warners were appropriately dressed in their swimwear. Brain wore his green and yellow palm-tree patterned swim trunks while Pinky wore a blue and pink floral print tankini. Yakko wore green swim trunks, Wakko wore a blue swim shirt and red swim trunks, and Dot wore a purple one-piece suit and yellow sunglasses. Brain packed a blue beach bag filled with five towels and various bottles of sunscreen while Wakko added their pool toys into the bag. Once the beach bag was packed, Brain placed Yakko in charge of carrying their belongings.

The pool was located on the rooftop of the hotel, so they took the elevator up to the top of the building. The moment the elevator doors opened, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot eagerly sprinted towards the pool. The children were close to jumping in, but a booming voice stopped them in their tracks.

“Not so fast there, kids.” Brain alerted as he walked alongside Pinky, holding hands as he chided the children. “No one steps into that pool until all of you slather your bodies with sun lotion.”

Yakko and Wakko groaned, their shoulders sagging in defeat. Dot, on the other hand, took a moment to see the mouse’s reasoning. “Yeah, he has a point there.” She concluded.

The three children approached the deck chair the mice claimed. Yakko opened up the blue bag and took out the bottles of sunscreen, and gave the mouse-sized bottles over to the murine couple. The Warners quickly applied the sunscreen on their arms, legs, ears, tails, and noses.

After Brain applied a good amount of sunscreen all over his limbs, chest, and enormous head, he turned over towards Pinky, who covered his fur with the lotion.

“Pinky, could you be a dear and coat my back with the SPF 50 sunscreen?” Brain asked.

“Well of course, Brain!” Pinky happily replied. Squirting an ample gob of lotion in his hands, the lanky mouse generously spread the white substance all over his partner’s back. Brain sighed with contentment as he felt Pinky’s gentle hands caressing his shoulder blades and working his way down his back.

“Yes!!!” Brain joyfully cried out as Pinky massaged his back with sunscreen.

Once the Warners protected their bodies with the sun lotion, they carried their aquatic toys and made their way over to the pool. Pinky retrieved his rubber duckie while Brain grabbed his mouse-sized pink inflatable pool chair.

The Warners splashed each other in the shallow end of the pool. Dot riding around on a blue pool tube while Yakko and Wakko whacked each other with limp styrofoam pool noodles. Brain drifted off in the middle of the pool, but kept a watchful eye on the kids. Pinky, who was mounted on his rubber ducky like a horseback rider on their equestrian steed, scooted over towards Brain. The lanky mouse desperately reached out his hand towards his partner.

Brain took notice of what Pinky was doing and turned to face him. “What are you doing?” He questioned.

“Poit! Why I’m trying to hold your hand,” Pinky strained as he kept extending his reach for his partner’s hand. “But I...can’t....reach…”

Brain sighed to himself and immediately took Pinky’s hand. The taller mouse’s eye lit up and smiled. Brain returned the smile as he locked onto Pinky’s eyes. Even though he knew Pinky for years, he could not get over how marvelously blue his eyes were. His eyes glistened like a sparkling sea during sunset. Then the smaller mouse blissfully closed his eyes as he held onto the mouse he loved.

Pinky kept his loving stare on Brain for what seemed like two minutes. When he decided to take a quick glance at the kids, he only saw Yakko playfully spinning Dot around on her pool tube in the shallow end.

“Brain,” Pinky alerted with a gentle squeeze of his hand. “I can’t find Wakko anywhere!”

Brain’s eyes shot open and he turned over towards the shallow end, only seeing two of the three Warner siblings. The mice looked over their shoulder towards the deep end of the pool, only to find a grey fin menacingly swarming them.

“SHARK!!!” Pinky screamed as he tugged Brain away from danger. Pinky stumbled as he stood up on his rubber duckie and instantly fell into the water, dragging his partner along with him.

Once the mice reached the surface, Brain desperately clung to Pinky as the taller mouse swam for him and his partner’s lives towards the edge of the pool as quickly as he could. But the shark fin interfered with their escape route as it stopped right in the middle of their path.

Suddenly, the shark fin emerged from the water, and so did Wakko Warner.

“Hi!” Wakko greeted with a friendly smile. The middle child wore a grey shark fin over their red hat. “You like my cool fin strap?”

Pinky was overcome with relief upon seeing Wakko. “Oh, that fin looks lovely on you, Wakko! Troz!”

With an irritable frown, Brain shook his head and retrieved his pink pool float. The mouse continued to swim towards the edge of the pool.

“Oh thank goodness,” Pinky chuckled. “I forgot that sharks don’t live in swimming pools. Narf!” But the mouse’s smile faltered into an anxious frown. “...or do they? Brain, do sharks live in-” He turned towards his left expecting to see Brain there, but was shocked that he was gone. Pinky swam around only to find Brain already out of the pool, carrying his pink pool float.

“Brain!” Pinky called out to his partner. “Do sharks live in swimming pools?”

“No Pinky, they don’t!” Brain spat before he continued his way to the pool chair.

“Oh that’s a relief,” Pinky said. “For a second there I was starting to worry.”

Just as the mouse swam over to his rubber ducky, he noticed Wakko in a surprisingly somber mood.

“Is something wrong?” Pinky carefully asked.

“I hope Brain doesn’t hate me,” Wakko admitted, overcome with remorse.

“Poit! He would never hate you, Wakko.” Pinky assured. “He’s just a little grumpy is all. He just needs time to cool off.”

“I hope you’re right,” Wakko replied as he swam over to join their siblings.

Pinky joined the Warners at the shallow end of the pool. Yakko and Dot waved at the lanky mouse as he approached the siblings.

“Hey Pinky,” Dot asked. “Yakko and I were wondering what you and Brain have planned for tonight?”

“Oh, I already made a reservation at the karaoke parlor after dinner!” Pinky exclaimed. The mouse looked at the children, who all seemed excited at the idea of a karaoke session. Even Wakko started to cheer up the moment he heard the news. “But don’t tell Brain,” Pinky told the kids. “I want it to be a surprise! Zort!”

“Oh, I love surprises!” Wakko declared as he waved their hands in the air.

“That’s good to know.” Yakko casually responded before wrapping his arms around his sibling. The oldest Warner picked Wakko up, who kicked their feet in protest.

“Let me go!” Wakko chuckled as he tried to free themselves from the oldest Warner’s grasp.

“Okay, if you insist!” Yakko replied, tossing Wakko back into the pool. Pinky laughed and clapped his hands as he watched the silly sibling antics.

After getting out of the pool, Brain walked over towards the blue bag to retrieve his latest invention: a folding web chaise pool chair with a manual crank attached to a metal harness that functioned as an elevator. The sole purpose of the device was to make jacuzzis and hot tubs more accessible to mice such as himself.

Brain walked over to the jacuzzi and secured his device by the pool’s edge. He then took a seat in the pool chair and used the crank to descend into the hot tub. The mouse stopped the crank once the bubbling water reached his chest. Brain placed his hands behind his head and let out a blissful sigh. The mouse looked over at the children, who were playing some sort of pool game. Brain decided to appreciate the moment of solitude while he still had it.

A few minutes later, Dot got out of the pool, shaking the water from her hair. Placing her sunglasses on, she spotted Brain and walked over towards the jacuzzi.

“Room for one more?” The Warner sister inquired.

“By all means.” Brain invited, and the girl settled herself in the hot tub.

“Wakko wanted me to tell you that he’s sorry for that little prank earlier.” Dot informed him.

The mouse felt a pang of guilt for his reaction to Wakko’s antics. He may have been upset that the middle child had ruined the peaceful moment between Pinky and himself, but the mouse held no ill will against Wakko for messing around.

“I’ll soon inform them of my forgiveness.” Brain replied. “I know that Wakko had no malicious intentions with their little joke.”

Dot nodded, happy to know that the mouse didn’t hold any grudges against her older sibling. “So, are you enjoying yourself?” She asked while adjusting her sunglasses.

“As a matter of fact, I am.” Brain answered honestly. “And you?”

“Oh, I’m having a lot of fun!” Dot eagerly replied. “Although I must admit, I need some time for myself. My older siblings can be too much at times.”

“I can empathize with the sentiment.” Brain agreed. “Pinky can be a little too outgoing and energetic at times.”

Dot nodded and hummed. “Say, you wanna know some fun facts about Yakko and Wakko?” She playfully asked.

“Oh, do tell.” Brain answered with an intrigued smile.

“Okay, so Wakko always does this thing where he copies the behavior of people he admires.” Dot explained. She looked over at the pool, and pointed towards her older siblings. “Watch closely!”

Brain focused his attention on the Yakko, who scooped a handful of water and threw it up in the air. Wakko followed suit, mimicking their older brother’s movements.

“Fascinating…” Brain commented as he watched the older Warner siblings.

“And Yakko normally stays in the shallow end of the pool because he can’t swim.” Dot informed him.

“Really?” Brain questioned. “How?”

“He never bothered.” Dot candidly answered. “He tried taking swim lessons back in the nineties, but he got kicked out because he was too busy making googly eyes at the swim instructors and lifeguards.”

“How am I not surprised,” Brain dryly responded.

“And as a heads up, Yakko can’t consume anything with lactose.” Dot said with a twinge of sadness.

“Duly noted.” Brain acknowledged. “I suppose I should tell Pinky to put in dairy substitutes if he wants to make his world-famous cheesecake for Yakko in the foreseeable future.”

“Hold the phone, Pinky can bake!?” Dot asked excitedly with glistening eyes.

“Absolutely! Pinky can whip up all sorts of pastries and confectioneries, ” Brain remarked. “Cheesecakes, cannolis, macaroons, eclairs, crème brule,” Brain listed before curling his fingers, pressing them to his lips for a passionate chef’s kiss. “They’re simply magnifique!”

“Wakko is definitely gonna have a field day with Pinky if he ever knew that.” Dot remarked.

“Oh, indubitably.” Brain affirmed with a nod.

Back in the pool, Wakko looked over to see Dot having a pleasant conversation with Brain. The middle child thought about what Pinky said, that the smaller mouse needed time to chill before he was fine. He could apologize to Brain and try their hardest to show the mouse how to have fun without coming off as mean or hurtful. Wakko finally worked up the courage to approach Brain again.

The middle child turned over to Yakko, who lifted Pinky up in the air. The mouse giggled as he splashed into the pool. “I’m gonna swing by the jacuzzi, I’ll be right back!” He informed the two.

Pinky resurfaced and waved at Wakko. “Okay, have fun!”

After getting out of the pool, Wakko carefully thought about the best way to approach his sister and the smaller mouse. He looked back to their older brother, who launched Pinky back in the air for another splash in the pool.

Wakko smiled, knowing what he needed to do. He knelt down in a runner’s starting position as their sights set on the jacuzzi. The middle child then broke out into a sprint.

“Hey fellas!” Wakko exclaimed. Brain and Dot turn their gaze over to the middle child as he sprinted towards the jacuzzi. Brain’s eyes widened, anticipating the upcoming disaster that was sure to happen.

“Cannonball!” Wakko sang as he launched himself in the air, bending his knees and wrapping his arms around his legs.

Before Brain could react, Wakko plunged straight into the middle of the hot tub. The splash launched Brain about ten feet up in the air. The mouse looked over at the city skyline and back down at the hot tub with a sense of dread.

“Oh dear lord...” He exasperatedly remarked as he began his swift descent.

“Nyaaaaahhhh!!!!!” Brain screamed helplessly. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. But instead of making a crash landing onto the hard ground, he landed in a soft cottony material. He reluctantly opened his eyes and realized that he was inside Wakko’s red hat.

A hatless Wakko looked at Brain with a mix of relief and embarrassment. “Sorry!”

“Wakko, you must never jump into the jacuzzi like that!” Brain berated. “You could have seriously hurt yourself!”

Wakko winced upon receiving his scolding. “I know…” He mumbled, their eyes shamefully cast downwards.

Brain felt his heart go out to Wakko upon seeing the regret on their face. Then the mouse’s frown melted away, turning into a soft smile. “And I want to thank you for saving me.” He gently praised the Warner sibling, causing them to look back at the mouse. “I would have entered a world of pain had it not been for your creative thinking and nimble reflex.”

Wakko beamed at Brain, glad that the mouse wouldn’t stay mad at them for the duration of the trip. “You’re welcome!” He happily replied as he scooped the mouse from their hat, placing it back on their head.

But a loud whistle broke the tender moment. Wakko, Dot and Brain looked over at a physically fit lifeguard, who wore a stern face as he marched towards them. The three braced themselves for a reprimanding speech on pool safety.

Yakko noticed this from the pool, and he had to think up something to get them off the hook. He looked to Pinky, who was climbing out of the pool, and came up with a surefire solution. The oldest Warner approached Pinky and whispered something into his ear. After a moment, Pinky gave the oldest Warner a thumbs up. Yakko gently picked Pinky up and placed him out of the pool.

Pinky took a few steps from the pool and started howling in pain. “Oh ho ho, I hurt me foot!”

The lanky mouse clutched onto his right foot and rolled around on the ground, pretending to writhe in agony. “Oh ho ho, I hurt me foot!” Pinky wailed as tears sprinkled from his eyes. “Oh, the pain! The agony! Narf!”

The lifeguard then moved towards the downtrodden mouse. Yakko quickly got out of the pool and gathered the blue beach bag and motioned towards his siblings and Brain to follow his lead. Wakko placed Brain on top of their hat, and followed Yakko and Dot as they fled from the scene while the lifeguard was distracted. The children and the mouse arrived at the elevator. Brain pressed on the button, hoping that the doors would open fast enough before the lifeguard could detect them. Fortunately, their desperate pleas were answered as the elevator doors opened. One by one, the four flooded inside the elevator.

Once Pinky saw that the four successfully made it by the elevator, he stopped crying and stood up on his feet. “Oh, I’m feeling better now!” He said in his usual cheerful voice before he skipped along his merry way towards the elevator doors. “Love you!” Pinky called out to the lifeguard.

The lifeguard stared at the mouse in befuddlement. “Love you too?” He muttered with a hesitant wave.

Once Pinky made his way in, Dot pressed the button to close the elevator doors and the button for floor nine. The doors swiftly closed and the group made their descent down to their sanctuary. When they were safe at last, Yakko cackled aloud and soon his siblings and the mice joined in, breaking out into a fit of laughter.

“I can’t believe that actually worked!” Dot exclaimed.

Brain hopped down from Wakko’s hat and approached the lanky mouse. “Good work, Pinky.” He complimented as he patted his partner’s shoulder. “You’re acting is as believable as ever.”

“Aw that’s nice Brain, but I can’t take all the credit,” Pinky explained with pink-tinted cheeks. “it was Yakko’s bright idea to create a diversion to get you three out of trouble.”

Brain looked over towards the oldest Warner and smiled. “Well Yakko, I admire your clever thinking.”

Yakko was overjoyed by the compliment, smiling gratefully at the intelligent mouse. “Hey, I’m always happy to help!”

The smaller mouse smiled back at the oldest Warner before turning his attention to the middle child. “And as for you Wakko, I recognize that you didn’t mean any trouble with your little shark fin stunt earlier and there’s no use in dwelling over what happened. It’s all water under the bridge.”

Wakko felt a wave of relief wash over and he softly smiled at the smaller mouse.

Once the elevator stopped on their floor, the five got out and made their way back to the hotel room.

“Well, I hope you all enjoyed our little poolside adventure, for I am certain that we won’t be welcomed back after our little scene.” Brain remarked. “But no matter, I already took into consideration other engaging and wholesome activities for the weekend, many of which aren’t limited to the confines of the hotel.”

Once they reached the door to their room, Yakko retrieved his key and inserted it in the metal lock. The green lights blinked from the lock, indicating that they were allowed access in the room. The oldest Warner opened up the door and allowed everyone else to walk in first before he entered.

Brain climbed up the nightstand. “Now I want you all to change from your swimwear into your finest attire, for we’ll take to the streets for tonight’s dinner!” Brain explained.

The Warners gave Brain a serious salute before racing towards the bathroom door. Dot managed to get in first, slamming the door behind her older siblings.

The next half-hour was spent getting prepared for their evening of fun. The siblings scoured through their packed suitcases to find their best attire to wear. Dot put on her Spotify playlist from the tablet, not that it bothered Brain in the least. In fact, he thought that the Warner sister had splendid taste in music, as her playlist consisted of pop music from the 80s and 90s.

Brain, now dressed in his light blue blazer and a cream collared shirt. He looked in the mirror as he adjusted his red tie whilst discreetly singing along to Kiss From A Rose. “Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey. Ooh, the more I get of you the stranger it feels, yeah.” The eloquent mouse crooned.

Pinky was settled on the bed, dressed in his checkered green suit jacket and blue bowtie, smiling contentedly as he listened to Brain sing and imagined that he was singing for him and him alone. The lanky mouse admired the way his partner could carry a tune along with his seductive voice. Oh how he could listen to Brain sing all day. Pinky was always quick to compliment Brain’s singing and tried to encourage him to showcase his talents to the world, but the big-headed mouse vehemently denied that request time and time again.

Pinky needed to find a way to pretend that he was busy with another activity so as to avoid suspicion from his partner. He hopped over to the nightstand where he found the hotel brochure. Surely there were plenty of pretty pictures to look at. But as he picked up the laminated pamphlet, he discovered the sparkling gold credit card that the CEO bestowed to him and Brain.

“Naaarf!” Pinky admired. The mouse picked up the credit card and placed it on the pillow. Pinky laid down on the mattress and propped his head in his hands as he gazed on the card’s entrancing glow.

Brain hopped back on the bed and looked over at Pinky, who was admiring the shimmering credit card. The pudgy mouse shook his head and walked over to his partner. Brain chuckled upon seeing how enamored Pinky was with the glimmering card.

“I see you’re enchanted by the credit card.” Brain observed astutely.

Pinky eagerly nodded his head. “It’s like watching the baby sun from the Teletubbies! Troz!”

“Pinky, are you pondering what I’m pondering?” He inquired with a cheeky grin.

“I think so Brain, but what if my milkshakes can’t bring all the boys to the yard?” Pinky asked anxiously.

“No Pinky, I was not referring to your dreams of opening an ice cream shop or your chest, as soft and comfortable as it is.” Brain berated as his cheeks blushed to a dark shade of red.

“You’re darn right, mister!” Pinky confirmed with a nod.

“The CEO informed us that she will pay for any additional expenses we make over the weekend. I intend to take advantage of her little gesture of kindness by making as many extravagant purchases as possible!” Brain eagerly explained with a devious smile. “And treating you and the kids to an elegant, fine-dining experience will be the first stop in our weekend spending spree!”

“Zounds Brain,” Pinky awed, but he then remembered what he had in store for the evening. “But we have to make sure that we finish dinner before 7:00 because I already made plans for a fun bonding activity with the kids at 7:30!”

Brain frowned at the thought of Pinky planning something without his input. “What plans?” Brain interrogated.

“Oh, I can’t tell you. I want it to be a surprise!” Pinky gleefully answered.

“I can hardly wait.” Brain responded sardonically. “Very well, I’ll try to find any upscale restaurants within the area, and make a reservation for six o’clock.” The intelligent mouse said as he scrolled through his smartphone. The CEO entrusted him and Pinky with the company credit card and, darn it, he was going to treat himself, his partner, and the kids to an expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant!

“Hey Brain?” He heard Wakko speak.

Brain put his phone aside and looked at the middle child, who was wearing a red cavalier hat with a blue feather sticking up from the side, a white tunic, and a musketeer tabard with the colors of the Non-Binary flag. The mouse was not surprised by Wakko’s unconventional fashion sense, but he certainly admired the middle child’s bold choice of wardrobe. “Yes, Wakko?”

“Can we go to McDonald’s for dinner?” Wakko eagerly asked.

“McDonald’s?” Brain scoffed. “Why on earth would you want to have serviceable fast food when we could easily go to any one of the more elegant eateries in the city?”

“Because other restaurants don’t have Big Macs.” Wakko answered with a confident nod.

Yakko and Dot soon came out from the bathroom and stood beside Wakko. Yakko was dressed in a black leather jacket and a white T-shirt in addition to his signature brown slacks. Dot wore a purple pantsuit, a white collared shirt, and a pearl necklace.

“Yeah, and it’s been ages since we last went to McDonald’s.” Yakko explained, backing up his younger sibling.

“And what other restaurant could provide a relaxed, down-to-earth atmosphere tailor made for the average American family?” Dot added with great conviction.

Brain was secretly impressed with the Warners’ gumption and steadfast determination, but he had to remind the children who’s boss.

“Oh no, I remember all of those times you annoyed me into taking you to McDonald’s back in the nineties!” Brain remarked with an exasperated tone of voice. “Well, I am here to inform you that my fortitude has hardened considerably over the years, and this little song and dance won’t work on me again!”

Yakko looked over at his siblings with a mischievous grin plastered on his face. “McDonald’s! McDonald’s!” The eldest Warner started chanting. Wakko and Dot immediately joined in. “McDonald’s! McDonald’s! McDonald’s!”

As the Warners chanted, The Brain crossed his arms, grumpily standing his ground. He was the adult in the situation and he would not bow down to the whims of the children. But the mouse was shocked to see his dearest partner join the children’s crusade, chanting alongside them.

“McDonald’s! McDonald’s!” Pinky exclaimed, pumping his arms in the air.

“Pinky! Who’s side are you on!?” Brain snapped exasperatedly.

“Poit! The one with the happy meals.” Pinky sheepishly replied with a shrug.

Brain knew he was outnumbered and outpowered. As much as he wanted to have an exquisite dinner at a high-end restaurant, he had to give the kids (and his partner) what they wanted. With an annoyed sigh, he held up his hands and surrendered to the sassy children's demand.

“Alright, we’ll have dinner at McDonald’s!” The Brain announced, eliciting cheers from the Warners and Pinky. The smaller mouse held up his hand, pointing his finger upwards to assure his dominance over the group.

“But if you children even think about causing anymore trouble under my supervision, then I shall sell you to the zoo!” Brain sternly warned. The mouse knew he was making an empty threat, and the children probably knew that as well, but he wanted to ensure that they would be on their best behavior while they were out on the town.

“We’ll be good,” Yakko affirmed before turning over to Wakko and Dot. “Right sibs?”

“We promise.” The younger Warner siblings chorused, smiling as golden halos appeared above their heads. Dot flashed a confident grin while Wakko wore a more nervous smile.

“Good.” Brain curtly nodded. The mouse climbed up the sleeve of his robotic suit, walked along the left shoulder, and settled himself in the driver’s seat. “Now let’s go.”

AN: And so the fun officially begins!

So originally this chapter was supposed to be longer, but as I was filling in the details, I realized that it was too long, so I decided to divide it into two parts (with part one being over 19 long lol) So consider this chapter to be part one of the Mice and Warners cause shenanigans on a Friday.

This chapter was so much fun to write because it gave me the opportunity to explore the dynamics between the two parties.

Pinky would definitely be the more affectionate one of the two, doting on the Warners and giving them lots of positive attention. He would have the strongest connection with Dot, since she finds him very cute and she’s always quick to compliment him and show him affection. Pinky and Wakko are both fun-loving, but naive and they’re always looking to have a good time. Yakko would love to make Pinky laugh because that boy craves validation for his humor and Pinky is the easiest to please since that mouse loves almost anything and he would find Yakko hilarious.

Brain is the responsible, but tired one who puts up with their shenanigans, but also respects the kids and finds them endearing. He and Yakko would have back and forth banter. Despite the two of them not always seeing eye to eye, Brain is quick to praise Yakko’s more positive attributes. Wakko just loves Brain, and Brain shares the sentiment despite the two of them having opposite personalities. In the next chapter, we get to see more of their relationship. With Dot having wit, Brain is able to connect to her the easiest, as the two of them would share intellectual conversations and spill some gossip as well.

The pool section was fun to write as I managed to come up with a lot of crazy shenanigans as well as quieter moments between the characters.

The McDonald’s bit was a lot of fun to write, and yes it was inspired by the classic McDonald’s alignment chart (“McDonald’s! McDonald’s! McDonald’s!”, “We have food at home.”, *Pulls into the drive thru as children cheer* *orders a single black coffee and leaves*), The Warners and Pinky would definitely be chanting for McDonald’s while Brain would be that one of those folks who orders a black coffee lol!

Thanks for reading!

#animaniacs #pinky and the brain #brain #pinky #yakko warner #wakko warner #dot warner

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ambiguoslyambitious · 3 years

Text

Chapter Two: Settling In

Author: ambiguoslyambitious (me!)

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 2,678

Summary: Bela Rivers has just spent her first night in Riverland Farm and the gravity of the work needed to maintain the farm has finally hit her. How will she manage to restore the once thriving farm back to its former glory? Meanwhile, rumors of the new farmer's rudeness has quickly spread amongst the townspeople. Will Bela be able to save her reputation? Or has her chance for a fresh start already been tarnished?

Caw-Caw!

Ugh, Bela groaned internally, burying her face in her pillow to hide from the early rays of the morning sun. There’s no way it’s already tomorrow.

After Mayor Lewis and Robin had departed from the dilapidated farm, Bela had simply thrown her luggage in the front room and thrown herself on top of the surprisingly new bed in her grandfather’s old room.

Seems like they did some renovations before I arrived. Bela thought gratefully. It didn’t take long for Bela to succumb to her dreams, her grief and long journey both taking a heavy toll on her.

Caw-Caw!

Bela groaned again, this time reluctantly pulling herself to her feet. She knew that she had several long days worth of work ahead of her and the sooner she got started the better.

She rummaged through her luggage and settled on a faded pair of ripped jeans, paired with an old t-shirt and boots. She styled her hair away from her face, taking a moment to stand over the kitchen sink and splash some cool water to remove any remnants of sleep from her eyes.

As she prepared to exit the farmhouse she noticed a dozen packets of seeds on the kitchen table with a small note next to it. Bela picked it up, feeling slightly embarrassed that she had failed to notice it sooner. It read,

Dear Bela,

This is just to help you get started. Good luck!

Mayor Lewis

Bela gave a small half-smile at the mayor’s act of kindness. It was heartwarming to experience kindness from someone who was pretty much still a stranger.

Maybe, Bela mused. Things will be different. In a good way.

She strolled out of the farmhouse, the crisp spring air nipping at her nose. She found a chest behind the house filled with old tools.

Hmm, Bela glanced out at the property riddled with overgrown grass, discarded tree branches and stones. Where do I start?

After pondering for a moment, she decided to grab the scythe. She figured clearing the grass was the easiest task to perform.

First, Bela sighed. I’ll clear out the main island and make a patch for a garden and plant the seeds Mayor Lewis gave to me. Then, I’ll clear the routes to town and up The Mountain.

With a plan in place, Bela began wildly swinging the scythe, desperate to rid the farm of the knee-length grass. Hours go by before Bela was able to completely clear the path to the farmhouse from town. She took a seat on her front steps, fully taking in the magnitude of Riverland Farms.

Shit. Bela thought to herself as she gulped down a bottle of water. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

_____________________________________________________________

“Honey,” a kind, yet tired voice called out. Caroline had just finished restocking the shelves at Pierre’s General Store. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“Have fun and tell the women to drop by sometime.” Pierre responded without looking up from the register. Today had been yet another slow day as Pierre struggled to compete with the nearby Joja Mart.

Caroline grabbed her sun hat from the counter and left without another word to her husband. I wish he would spend less time worrying about the store.

She walked out of the nearly perpetually empty store to meet with her friends in the town square.

“Hello, Caroline!” a cheery voice greeted her.

“Olivia! This is perfect timing.”

“I know!” Olivia responded, strutting over to the housewife. As usual, Olivia looked as though she was heading towards a photoshoot for Forbes magazine. ”Let’s not keep Jodi waiting.”

The pair quickly made their way to the edge of the square near the cemetery, where Jodi was already standing there waiting.

“Caroline! Olivia!” Jodi smiled at them. “How is everything?”

Caroline smiled back, “Oh, Jodi, you know how it is. Same as always.”

“Oh, I’m in a lovely mood today.” Olivia waved a hand across her perfectly made face and chuckled lightly. “I’ve managed to make quite a lot of money through some of my stocks. I think I might be able to make a significant payout and hire a landscaper to help maintain the yard.”

Jodi and Caroline quickly exchanged a look. Both women were housewives, struggling to make ends meet and keep their children in line. They would never admit it, but they were both a bit jealous of Olivia’s wealth and free time.

“Now,” Olivia continued on, seemingly unperturbed by the pair’s jealousy. “If only Victor would find himself a job, then things would be perfect. How are your kids?”

“Well, Sam’s gotten himself a part-time job at Joja Mart.” Jodi answered, fidgeting with the end of her braid. She gave Caroline a sympathetic glance before continuing, “And Vincent is still having trouble focusing on his lessons with Penny. Luckily, she’s been dropping by the house to give him extra lessons."

“Ah, Adrian has been struggling with the new math Penny introduced.” Caroline said, nodding in agreement. “And Abigail’s been slacking off with her online classes ever since that new Prairie King game came out.” She shook her head in disappointment.

“Hmm,” Olivia nodded. “I think Victor mentioned that they’ve been practicing in the saloon.”

“Oh, Yoba,” Jodi rolled her eyes. “That’s all Sam’s been talking about this week. Part of the reason why he got his job was so he could get it.”

“Ah, well, at least it’s been keeping the kids busy.” Suddenly, Olivia’s eyes narrowed. “Have any of you met the new farmer?”

Caroline sighed, knowing that Olivia always changed the conversation to gossip.

“Well,” Jodi answered shyly. “I tried going to that old farm with a bean casserole to welcome her, but no one answered. I even visited Mayor Lewis to just make sure that Bela had actually moved in and he said she arrived here Monday.”

“Well, when I went over there, I saw her working out in the field.” Caroline said, as the other two leaned in closer. “But, when I tried calling out to her, she just ignored me.”

“No way!” Jodi exclaimed.

Olivia gasped in surprise, “How rude!”

“I know!” Caroline sighed. “Forgive me, Olivia, I know things in the city are different, but I didn’t expect her to outright ignore me.”

“No, I understand, Caroline.” Olivia responded. “You would think she’d be a bit more polite. Didn’t Lewis say that she was around Victor and Sam’s age?”

Jodi nodded, “You’d think a young woman like that would have had better manners.”

“Hmph,” Olivia stuck her nose up sharply. “Seems as though we have another Andy in town.”

Caroline and Jodi looked around the square quickly, happy to see it empty at this hour.

“Olivia!” Caroline chastised lightly. “You’re too blunt.”

“Yeah,” Jodi agreed. “Maybe she’s just a bit shy like Sophia.”

“Well, at least Sophia has the decency to say hello,” Olivia shot back. “People like her are the reason why people like you think people from the city are so rude.”

Caroline and Jodi shoot another glance at one another, remembering when Olivia and Victor had arrived in Pelican Town just the year before. With her extravagant looks and taste for the finer things in life, many in town had been intimidated by her and her wealth.

“Hopefully, you just caught her on a bad day, Caroline.” Jodi said, trying to give the new farmer the benefit of the doubt.

“Hopefully,” Caroline sighed. “Well, ladies, I should probably help Pierre close the shop and get dinner ready for the kids. I’ll see you all again soon.”

Jodi and Olivia nodded in agreement, each of them bidding their farewells before heading their respective ways back home.

“You know, Caroline,” Olivia said in an unusually cautious tone of voice. “Sometimes, you and Jodi are too kind for your own good.”

“Goodbye, Olivia.” Caroline gave a weak smile.

Olivia rolled her eyes playfully, “Have a good night.” Not even a minute later, Olivia was opening the door to her beautiful manor where her son sat in the kitchen, nose buried into a book as usual.

“What did I say about bringing books into the kitchen, Victor?”

“Mother,” Victor raised his eyes sheepishly. “Apologies. I was just waiting to see if you needed any help with dinner and figured I would entertain myself. I’ll bring this back to the library at once.”

“It’s all right.” Olivia smiled. “And don’t worry about dinner, I’ve already prepared something for us.”

Victor turns to return his book to the library before Olivia continues, “Wait just a moment, dear.”

“What is it, mother?” Victor furrows his eyebrows in curiosity. Hopefully, not another inquisition about my unsuccessful job search.

“Have you heard anything about the new farmer, Bela Rivers?”

“What do you mean?” Victor frowns. “I haven’t yet gotten the chance to meet her, but I assume it’s because she’s been busy fixing up that old farm.”

“Hmm, interesting,” Olivia says, turning to grab their dinner from a pot on top of the stove. “I was just curious if you’ve heard anything from any of your friends, like Abigail.”

“Abigail?” Victor asks, rolling his eyes. “Did something happen with Caroline?”

“Well,” Olivia turns around, a glint of mischief in her dark eyes. “Since you ask, Caroline mentioned that Ms. Rivers appears to be quite rude.” She eagerly scanned her son’s face in hopes of inciting a reaction.

“Rude?” Victor’s eyes widened in surprise. “How so?”

“Apparently, when Caroline went over there she spotted the new farmer working out on the field. When she tried calling out to her, she just completely ignored Caroline. Can you believe that?”

“Hmm,” Victor frowned. “Perhaps she was preoccupied.”

“Still,” Olivia rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t take much to say, ‘Hello’ or ‘I’m busy, can we talk another time?’”

“I suppose so.” Victor stroked his chin in thought. “Perhaps, I’ll head over to make my introduction.”

“I wouldn’t waste my time.” Olivia said, carefully serving a plate of spaghetti to her son. “Jodi also wasn’t able to talk to her.”

“Oh, come on, Mother. Don’t be so judgmental.” Victor gratefully accepted the plate. “And have you forgotten that she’s from Zuzu City, like we were? She might not be used to the townspeople’s friendliness. I know I wasn’t.”

Olivia sighed before taking her seat across from her son. “You may be right. If you do decide to pay her a visit, make sure to extend an invitation to dinner.”

“Of course.”

“Now that that’s settled,” Olivia said, the mischievous glint in her eye returning. “Let’s talk about your job prospects.”

_____________________________________________________________

Victor Jenkins decided to pay this mysterious farmer a visit. He decided to bring a simple wooden basket, adorned with beautiful faux green leaves, holding one of his mother’s finest, iridium-quality aged Blue Moon wines as a welcoming gift. Inside the basket, Victor had written a simple note, inviting the newest resident to Pelican Town to dinner at the Jenkins’ residence.

His mother, Olivia, was a bit apprehensive about this invitation, especially since she had heard of the newcomer’s rebuff of her friends, Caroline and Jodi.

Regardless, Victor decided to try and engage with the farmer. After ensuring that the wine was secure in the basket, he promptly exited the manor and began heading west out of town towards Riverland Farm.

Maybe , Victor pondered. This newcomer is focusing on fixing up that old farm. If she grew up in the city, perhaps she didn’t realize the importance of antiquated pleasantries in a small town like this.

He chuckled to himself, remembering how awkward it was when he and his mother first arrived in Pelican Town. Similar to the newcomer, Victor and his mother had resided in Zuzu City. He was studying engineering at the prestigious Pellcar University, while his mother worked as an accounting manager at Joja Corporation.

Hmm, Victor thought. I wonder if Ms. Rivers worked in the same department as Mother.

After about twenty minutes, the cobblestone street of the town square had morphed into a simple dirt path. As he approached Riverland Farm, he was amazed at how much had already changed on the main island. The path he was on was clear of grass and any other debris, and across the farmhouse was the beginnings of a simple strawberry patch.

It seems as though the new farmer has been quite busy, Victor noted, looking around in admiration. However, it appears that quite a lot of work still needs to be done. He noticed that there were still many large stones and fallen tree trunks littered across the property.

After surveying the field and determining that the farmer wasn’t outside working, Victor walked up the steps of the farmhouse and politely knocked, his hands rapping against the wooden door quickly, yet loudly. He waited patiently before knocking once more, a bit more urgently. This time, the door suddenly gave in.

I suppose the farmhouse is in need of maintenance as well, Victor thought, wondering what his next move should be.

Well, Victor gently pushed the door open, I do suppose the door is unlocked.

“Hello?” Victor called out, peeking his head inside the farmhouse when he heard no response. “Ms. Rivers?” His eyes swept across the room, searching for the newcomer.

“Ms. Rivers?” He called out again, cautiously stepped inside the farmhouse. “My name is Victor Jenkins. Might I ask where you are, Ms. Rivers?”

The front room was surprisingly spacious, containing only a small table, chair, television and fireplace. He looked over to the left and noticed a small kitchen, also barely decorated and only containing the simplest of appliances. To his right, he noticed a door that stood slightly opened.

That must be her bedroom, Victor thought, There’s no way she could still be asleep, is there? It’s the afternoon.

He decided to walk over and knock once more. “Ms. Rivers? Are you in there? I don’t mean to intrude.”

Once again, there was no response.

Getting slightly impatient, Victor slowly pushed the door open wider and was annoyed to see the new farmer sweeping with her back towards him.

How rude! Victor was annoyed that his mother may have been right about the new farmer. How can she act like she hasn’t heard me calling her for the past five minutes?

Victor cleared his throat loudly. “Excuse me, Ms. Rivers. Did you not hear me knocking?”

Victor looked on in astonishment as Bela continued to sweep without acknowledgement.

“Ms. Rivers,” Victor raised his voice in annoyance. “I did not want to believe the rumors, however, you are acting just as rude as the townspeople have described you. How disappointing!”

Bela swept whatever dust she had managed to collect into a dust pan, finally turning to see a stranger in her doorway. She dropped her dust pan, screaming in fear. She gripped her broom with both hands tightly, pointing it at a man whose face changed from an expression of annoyance to one of fear and confusion.

‘“Who are you?!” Bela screamed, waving the broom threateningly.

She didn’t hear me? Victor thought in confusion. He looked at the angry and scared farmer, realizing that she must be deaf.

“My name is Victor,” he said slowly, taking extra care to emphasize each word. “I live in Pelican Town.”

Bela’s face burned bright red in embarrassment as she promptly lowered her broom. She raised her hand in a waiting gesture, before looking around the room for her hearing aids. She hadn’t worn them in days since she had been spending most of the time working in the field and didn’t think she needed to.

“I-I’m sorry, Victor,” Bela apologized, the red refusing to leave her face. “But, how did you get in here?”

“I’m afraid that your door was unlocked, Ms. Rivers.” Victor answered sheepishly. Now that the farmer was no longer threatening him with cleaning supplies, he couldn’t help but notice her beauty.

“Bela. Just call me Bela.” She nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Well, Bela,” Victor raised the arm holding the basket, “Welcome to Pelican Town.”

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whatwashernameagain · 5 years

Text

Keep him safe - Chapter 33

You can read the previous Chapters here: Ch 1, Ch 5, Ch 10, Ch 15, Ch 20, Ch 25, Ch 30, previous chapter, Ao3 Link, Lo’s, Pat’s and Virgil’s aesthetics, You are Magical, I’m dying to be with you, The Dreamer

Pairings: Logan/Patton, Roman/Virgil

Words: 12.491

Warnings: feeling everyone is against you, self-hate, cursing, mentioned addiction, mentioned past bullying

Summary: Detective Logan Sanders and his best friend and dorky partner Roman Prince have made a dear friend in the lovely pattisier Patton. Logan however, feels a lot more than friendship for the sweet man, even though he knows he cannot possibly have him. Their routine is broken abruptly when Logan finds bruises on Patton’s fair skin and slender wrists he could hardly have received from his costumary clumsiness. Meanwhile his partner Roman has his own demon to fight, which comes in the form of a little delinquent who seemed to have been pulled into a street gang quite against his will. Roman is determined to help the strange young man. It would be so much easier though if he just stopped hissing at him!

Notes: Thanks so much to my betas @spootilious and @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 for your continuous support and WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW PEOPLE WHO JOINED THE DISCORS SERVER! I am so happy you are all here! Anyone can join: Invitation:https://discord.gg/Y2WNAND

Also I thought I’d get out my stuffy Ko-fi page again since the story is two years old now and eating up huge portions of my life, in case anyone wants to support me. Reblogs and comments are just as welcome, though ;)

Chapter 33

Knowing how awkward Logan had been the first few days of waking up after a sleepover, and fearing an even worse reaction with Patton after falling asleep tangeld around each other, Roman cautiously chose to peek into the silent room the next morning. He was a valiant hero, after all. He would save his partner.

Upon finding them still asleep - and fully dressed - Roman stormed the room and cheerfully forced himself between them, asking for kisses and breakfast and knowing full well there would have been an awful lot of stuttering and apologizing on both sides without his glittering presence. He grinned smugly as Patton sleepily giggled and snuggled into his arms.

Upon entering the kitchen, Virgil softly asked Patton if he was okay, as he had every morning now that the baker thought about it. Logan on the other hand flushed and tiptoed around him until Patton cornered him.

“I’m sorry for making you worry.” He apologized once they had a moment to themselves and were able to settle down with some tea and cocoa, respectively, on the couch. Knowing Logan needed to have things explained carefully, he tried to put his stupid emotions into words that would cause as little harm as possible.

“You didn’t do anything wrong at all, it’s all me! I just got so used to having things go bad every once in a while, when I do something dumb, that I started to expect it. I sometimes – I don’t know - I keep seeing bad things that aren’t there. It’s silly. I’m sorry.” Patton rambled, curling around his warm mug.

“Your responses are far from silly, Patton. Please do not belittle yourself for your emotions.” Logan responded gently. His voice was deep and warm. He gazed at Patton’s pale, small hands quietly, at the light falling onto his silky curls, at his smooth, lovely face. His chest felt full with longing. The patissier was radiant in the sunlight bathing him, making him look bright and innocent and so brave. Logan could hardly breathe with how much he felt, suddenly. With how much he wanted Patton’s happiness. The urge to make things right was like an entity on its own, pushing at his ribcage, urging him to speak. He selected his words carefully.

“Something must have caused your worries. It would calm me greatly to understand which behaviors have caused you to respond the way you did so I may prevent them in the future. I truly wish to make you feel safe in this flat. Please support me in my endeavor to understand.”

Patton couldn’t help but feel stupid and guilty as he was confronted with such honest, unjudging support. He swallowed hard. The difference between the image he had made up and the man begging him to be allowed to take care of him couldn’t be more obvious. Logan’s dark eyes were so warm when he looked at him. He wasn’t smiling or complimenting him, or telling him how great he was and promising him gifts and such, but Patton still felt like he mattered more than he ever had. Logan’s attention was entirely focused on him, his tall form angled towards Patton, as if he were everything he cared about.

He wanted to apologize again and tell the detective that it was all his fault, that he shouldn’t worry. He also knew that Logan had developed a talent for seeing through his excuses. He wouldn’t be satisfied until Patton had told him how to help.

“It really isn’t your fault, Logan. Please believe me! It’s all in my confused head, you can’t help it when I make things up. And it’s not just you anyway, which shows how much silliness I’m coming up with - you really can’t trust my little head.”

“I do not understand. Did somebody else make you uncomfortable?” Logan asked, straightening in alarm. Patton felt like he had been shoved in the chest. It took him a moment to realize that the fact that Logan had automatically assumed he alone was to blame had hurt. Why was it that they wanted to care for each other so badly and still kept rubbing each other the wrong way? Patton just wanted - he just wanted to give Logan so much. He wanted to touch him in ways that made him smile, not doubt himself.

“Well, it really is all me, when If I’m being really honest!” Patton hastened to remind him. “But I guess it’s really – whenever someone fights or makes loud noises or – or argues about something and gets angry – and that’s okay of course! It’s all my fault and you are not doing anything wrong, it’s all in my head! But- that just, it just makes me an itty bit anxious, you know? I mean- you probably don’t, being a strong detective and all. I just worry that you guys might get in a fight or that I did something wrong. I do that plenty after all. But like I said, it’s all me being oversensitive, you should just laugh about it and go on with your day. I’m sorry for being a bother!”

Logan grew very silent after Patton’s explanation. Sightlessly staring at the tea in his hands, he tried to categorize the exchanges of the last weeks in the apartment. He had thought that they were all happy here. There hadn’t been any fights, any dramatic outbreaks or terrible mistakes he needed to fix. Virgil had grown so confident and Roman was happy. The pets were healthy and he had thought… he had thought Patton had everything he wanted. What arguments had upset the gentle man? Roman and him had been getting along as well as always. Virgil hadn’t had any visible adverse reactions to his therapy that he could think of either and he was clearly growing closer to Roman.

Had he been angry? Had he fought with one of them and hadn’t seen the effect it had on Patton? He just couldn’t understand what his friend was referring to for a long moment. Everything had been going so smoothly between him and the others. What could he have been doing that would be considered aggressive by a victim of abuse, such as the pâtissier?

It dawned to him quite abruptly. He’d been angry indeed. Just this morning he had grabbed Roman and growled at him for being dramatic and causing them stress over his gloves. His irritating partner had been howling about it too. Loudly. He had hardly noticed the sheer amount of noise he was making anymore; or the fact that he, himself, was apparently constantly frustrated with him. He didn’t mean it, after all.

The realization that Logan was indeed annoyed at one thing or another all the time came as a shock to him. He had been so content. He hadn’t noticed…

It was so natural for him to complain and lecture others, especially Roman, who liked to have his attention. It was part of their dynamic. He liked to grumble and his partner liked to wail and whimper and demand he be treated with admiration and given the pity his various plights deserved. They bickered like siblings because this was what had gotten them close to each other in the beginning of their friendship, when they hadn’t felt comfortable enough to ask for friendly cuddles. It was their way. He showed his affection in this manner. Whenever he grabbed Roman, his friend would lean into him or playfully wiggle about, letting him carry his weight. When he wanted to initiate contact, he woefully sighed or whimpered and draped himself over Logan. They shoved and bickered and roughhoused with each other to show their mutual affection and wish for contact.

Had Patton seen something he had missed? What if he had misinterpreted their interactions all those years? Was Logan actually insulting Roman? Was he unhappy as well? Was he secretly resenting him?

What about Virgil? He’d been so hurt and disappointed by the men he’d trusted. Did he feel threatened?

Logan felt like a sudden weight pressed on his chest. It hurt so badly he flinched from the sudden rush of agony. He drew a sharp breath, trying to control his twisting features. He was suddenly afraid he would start to cry and be absolutely helpless to stop it. Biting the inside of his cheek hard, he barely managed to place the tea on the table. His hands were shaking. He had to compose himself. Losing control and falling apart in front of Patton would be too much to bear.

His thoughts kept circling, defying his attempts to force them into order. What had he done? He couldn’t think clearly. His breath hitched. He felt like everyone was looking at him. Like they were talking about him, wishing he was gone. Like they used to in school, like the other children used to, wherever he went. He had thought they had been getting along. He had thought they had liked him – he’d tried so hard to always help with their exercises and tell them about the things he cared about, he had thought that they wanted to hear- but he’d misread the situation. He just couldn’t understand them. The shock of learning he had been hated by the other students in his class without even knowing, it had felt nothing like the possibility of having forced his family to live with a man that hurt them.

His mind was racing, churning up more and more scenarios that horrified him. There were so many reasons why they could feel forced to stay with him, to pretend they liked the man that was actually making them miserable. Virgil had nowhere to go. He would have to accept any situation that kept him out of harm’s way or out of prison, and Logan had been the key to his freedom. Roman needed someone to look after him, being all alone in the world without a steady presence, who else would he have turned to, but the man who’d bullied him into living with him? Patton had been pulled out of the steady relationship that had been his life and was now essentially homeless, helpless to go anywhere else, for fear of the man that might be waiting for him, not even able to rent his own place since his finances were still entangled with that man’s. Was it like the last time, where he had been the one that alienated everyone, the one who didn’t understand when he hurt feelings, the one everyone talked about behind his back? Was he suddenly going to be alone again? Before Roman, he had eventually given up. He had isolated himself to protect himself from this feeling, certain he couldn’t bear it a second time. And he had been right. His chest felt like something was breaking.

He stumbled as he rose, barely seeing what was in front of him through his blurred vision. He couldn’t be looked at anymore. Every look felt like an assault. He needed to hide.

“I’m sorry. Please- please excuse me. I am so sorry.” He stuttered, shakily wiping his eyes and nearly losing his glasses. He hit his shin on the edge of the coffee table but kept going, feeling his face heat with shame.

“Logan, wait please! What’s wrong? I’m sorry I upset you, please-” Patton pleaded. He was frightened. Logan had scared him and now he was trying to placate him so he wouldn’t hurt him again-

This was too much.

Logan stumbled into the corridor, feeling panic well up in him. There were footsteps behind him, following him. He barely made it to the bedroom and slammed the door behind him too loudly. He hadn’t meant to do that! Every sound he made was too loud, he was doing everything wrong and he hadn’t even noticed.

He hardly managed to turn the key with his shaking hands, needing the little bit of security it afforded him like the air he breathed. Tears were streaming down his face now. He couldn’t stop remembering Patton’s fear when he had reached out to him in his flat, broken and bleeding. What had he put him through after he’d thought he had rescued him? He’d thought he had finally learned to understand, but everything he believed was wrong again.

He sank down against the door, covering his ears with his hands so hard the way he squished his glasses against his skull hurt, rocking back and forth in his curled-up position. It was too much. Everything felt overwhelming to him!

There were voices on the other side of the door, loud and rushed.

“The fuck happened, man?” Virgil growled. Stress was making his voice rougher than intended. He had seen Logan flee from the room, completely out of it and couldn’t help the tide of protective anger.

Patton flinched, backing away from the door. His eyes were bright.

“I- I don’t know! I messed up, I think. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, Virgil!” He cried, hugging himself and looking smaller than he had in weeks.

Fuck.

Virgil took a deep, calming breath and told himself not to be an asshole for once.

“It’s okay, Pat. I’m sorry I yelled. I’m, like, really fucking anxious right now, but I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong. It happens. I’m not mad at you, man. Please, just- Roman, deal with this?” He asked, knowing when he reached his limit with emotional bullshit. His worry for Logan was already too much and seeing Patton hurt was frankly agonizing. It was more than he could bear. Roman would stay calm and be big and gentle and reassuring no matter what was wrong. He was amazing like that – nothing like Logan and him, who were, if he were quite honest, a mess when if came to vulnerable, emotional shit.

“Hey, it’s all good dearest Patton.” Roman crooned at the frazzled baker softly, reaching out to him with hands that were so tender. “Why don’t you come with me and we’ll hug it out? Our brilliant Virgil will fix everything and we fabulous darlings will get ourselves some well-deserved cuddles. Sounds good?”

Patton didn’t really get a chance to worry about making a decision since the detective was already bundling him up in the warmest embrace, tugging his little body against his bigger one. Roman allowed them a moment to rub his cheek against soft curls and hum a soothing melody.

Having moved them both back to the couch, he made sure to pull the smaller body between his legs and wrap him all up in his embrace. Keeping up a calming chatter, he rubbed his hands over the slender back and through his hair, hoping to slow his frightened little heart.

“I’ve got you, sweetest Patton. No one is angry at you. All will be well, I promise. We love you. Take a deep breath for me, okay? Logan will be just fine. We’ll always fix everything together and no one will be hurt or mad. We’re a family, we’ll get over the drama and have cocoa. That’s it.”

His voice was deeper and softer than usual, lacking all of the shrill, loud notes that had recently made Patton’s nerves flutter fearfully. He sounded certain and loving. Squeezing his eyes shut, he listened to his tender words.

Virgil pressed his ear against the wood, trying to determine what to do. He couldn’t hear Logan at all and he didn’t want to upset him even more by demanding anything. Should he call Remy and make him talk to the detective? His phone was out here though, and he’d need to get him to open the door first.

Pushing the emotional mess onto someone else sounded so tempting, but he knew Logan would be ashamed to talk to his old friend like that. Also, he had an idea about what had happened. Patton had grown frightened of- everything, really. He was starting to put it together properly only now that he had seen just how afraid he’d just looked. He guessed the same insecurity he had gone through himself had to be expected. But of course, it would be different for Patton. Virgil had thought Logan was the right one to fix it because- because he had fixed everything for him. He trusted the man so much because he gave him so much more stability and safety than he had ever experienced before. His touch always felt safe to Virgil and he always trusted him to listen and understand, because the way their minds worked was so similar in a way.

He was a fucking idiot.

Logan was acting like a father to him, platonically loving him and protecting him. His touch was safe. Virgil’s expectations towards him were safe. But to Patton, he was something else. Patton had been abused by the man he’d loved, so the relapse would of course make him project onto Logan most because he was closest to a romantic partner. The baker liked him. Their cuddles, despite how innocent and well intended, were never as platonic as Virgil’s and Logan’s. Of course he would think that if anyone was going to grow abusive as he clearly expected, it would be the man he unconsciously saw as a potential lover. If he kept projecting the fear that asshat had instilled in him onto Logan, they were in for quite a ride.

Virgil sighed. He should have seen this coming. He was such a fucking idiotic idiot.

If Patton had told Logan he was scared of him, Logan would overthink for sure – because he was also an idiot. He was probably in there thinking everyone was afraid of him and feeling like he had run over a baby bird or some shit. Someone with a pathological need to help would of course spiral right into self-hate. Hello, old friend.

Well, Virgil was nothing if not a manipulative bitch.

“Logan?” He called softly, knocking on the door far more quietly than he wanted to.

“Logan, you’re scaring me. Please let me in! I’m worried you’ll hurt yourself, I can’t lose you too. Please let me in!” He begged, making his voice high and frightened and feeling absolutely no remorse whatsoever for once.

The door was fumbled open as soon as his apparently fearful words had left his lips. The fucking sap.

Logan was disheveled and looked like he’d tried to wipe his tears off to hide them. He looked heartbroken and painfully shy. And he’d still opened the door because of Virgil’s pleading.

Fuck him, Virgil loved him so much.

He gave the startled, wide eyed man a hard push in the chest, angry at being forced to feel so much. How dare he think Virgil didn’t love him?!

“You’re such a- a fucking-”

He lunged at him and buried his face in the conservative sweater, squeezing so hard Logan wheezed for breath.

“You’re such a moron, man! Now hug me!” He demanded, holding on for dear life. Clearly utterly confused, Logan obeyed unsteadily.

“You clueless idiot.” Virgil growled into the cable-knit, hating how wet his voice sounded. Why was there always so much fucking drama in this flat?!

“Shake all those stupid thoughts out of your head and listen to me, okay? You don’t get to be a paranoid piece of shit, that’s my job!”

Logan drew a breath to complain and Virgil just knew he would try to tell him that he very much was not an idiot and that Virgil was not allowed to insult himself. Well, Virgil wasn’t going to let him turn this around onto him. However, he wished he was better at this. He wished he could just drop this emotional mess into Remy’s lap and hide under the covers where he could come to terms with how uncomfortably much he cared for Logan. He squeezed him tighter – effectively cutting him off before he could speak – pressing himself as close as he possibly could. There were no words for the things he felt. Patton and Roman probably had some; plenty, in fact. He didn’t, and neither did Logan. But his hands were uncertainly brushing over his back and Virgil liked that helpless, platonic affection very, very much.

“You absolute dimwit! Don’t ever think we don’t – that we don’t – we want to be here with you, okay? I trust you and I never trust anyone, cause I’m not a moron who adopts people, but I trust you so fucking much and I’ve had to make too many fucking confessions lately; so can you please just believe that we are your family and that Roman wants to be your fucking puppy; and Patton is messed up beyond belief but he’s fricking enamored with you; and that I’d really like to end this conversation right now, alright?? Don’t make me say anything else or I’ll knock myself out on that dresser!”

Unsurprisingly, Logan was at a loss for words. Not that he could have said much, considering how tightly Virgil was currently squeezing his ribcage. His little delinquent’s hug really was quite aggressive.

He didn’t feel frightened either. His face – as much as Logan could see of it – was bright red. The poor thing was clearly embarrassed and tired of baring his feelings this way. Logan couldn’t shake his insecurity, though. He could feel obligated to calm him, after all. Virgil was so dependent on him. Feeling lost and just wishing he could bury his face in the once again tangled, purple hair he liked to groom, Logan tried to make his embrace as safe and comfortable as possible to his little charge. How he wanted to protect him from the world. The frame under his hands was still so thin and slender. He didn’t know how to articulate the rush of warmth he felt. He wanted to ask more questions, desperate to be reassured the things he wished for so dearly were true, but he felt Virgil’s tiredness, and he shared it. Trying to understand the way people talked - silent and illogical just with their bodies and gestures and the insinuations he failed to understand – it was still confusing to him sometimes, and when he thought he had gotten something wrong, he tended to overanalyze every interaction he had had with that person until he didn’t trust himself anymore. He was just tired.

Embarrassed and stressed out of his mind, Virgil hid his face in their embrace and wished he could just crawl under the heavy, dark covers of his bed right now - the bed Logan had given him with all the books and space for his things and that citrus geranium that endlessly frustrated him with its wilting leaves. Pitying the poor, nerdy fool for his useless attempts, Virgil had started programming a sensor to monitor the plant’s humidity and sunlight intake for Logan. He had grown worried about the amount of annoyance that one dying plant caused the detective, okay? He didn’t want the dude paying his metaphorical rent to have a fucking stroke, that was all. And maybe he just wanted him to be happy. He had thought it might be something they could do together, though he hadn’t dared approach him about it yet. He didn’t want to annoy Logan with his nerdy ideas, and he hadn’t done something like this in so long. If his fucked-up mind made him mess this up he could never live it down. However, Remy’s voice telling him to quit being a drama queen and like, gush with the other massive nerd about his nerdy projects was clear in his memory. He didn’t want to talk feelings anymore. He wanted to huddle together with Logan and just fucking lose himself in something that made sense. Was it too much to ask to just be together? He thought that perhaps, it actually wasn’t.

Making a decision, Virgil suddenly used his wiry muscles to push his body against Logan’s, toppling them onto the bed. He wasn’t going to talk this out. No sir, not this time. They both needed a fucking break.

Logan huffed in surprise, especially since he was unexpectedly being pushed around by sharp elbows and bony shins until he had been shuffled into a position where Virgil could comfortably tuck himself under his arm and lay his head on his shoulder. Wrestling his phone out of his hoodie’s pocket, the younger man pulled up a still blank looking app that showed little else but two buttons on a white screen.

“Wanna show you something.” Virgil muttered half into his wool sweater before launching into an explanation about the app he was programming. Logan was instantly intrigued. Wrapping his arm around his little one, he pulled Virgil close to navigate the still almost empty display with him, getting lost in the fluttering, enthusiastic feeling a fascinating project gave him. Virgil’s app could monitor the factors influencing growth and compare them to different locations in the flat or different amounts of moisture in the soil. Perhaps this way he could finally attempt to grow a lemon tree once again. He’d failed three times before giving up. The Failure still irked him.

Before long, both men had comfortably cuddled together, discussing the advantages of a stainless-steel sensor as opposed to the inferior plastic ones other projects were using. Virgil was warm and small in his arm. His muscles were loose and he made sure to push and shove at Logan when he wanted to curl up more or wanted a certain space. Everything about him spoke of trust.

Though Logan attempted to keep his touch respectful, being acutely aware of the fears that could awaken in his little charge, Virgil gave him no signals of discomfort. His heart beat steadily where his chest was pressed against Logan’s side and his breathing was even and calm. He sounded pleased when Logan complimented his ideas. Undoubtedly, Roman would be able to tell him if he really as relaxed as the factors he was monitoring were suggesting. He could see it all from nothing but a look.

Roman never failed to tell him when he had messed up or needed to back off. Didn’t that speak of confidence? They had some difficult conversations about his actions in the past and his partner had always trusted him to tell him the truth. Certainly, he had told him plenty of times that he was limiting Roman’s heroic brilliance or ruining his entrance and such, but he had never complained about feeling hurt by Logan. Wouldn’t he at least have told him? But what about Patton? He had always suffered in silence rather than asking for help – or to stop.

Logan gasped as bony fingers stabbed him in the side.

“You’re thinking too loudly, dude.” Virgil complained, feeling ignored. He shouldn’t be surprised Logan needed things spelled out for him. He was Logan after all.

Sighing as if he was forced to do something terrible by disentangling out of the embrace that had been warm and really fucking nice, he rose without much enthusiasm and yanked on Logan’s arm.

“C’mon, you poor sod. Let Roman tell you how much he loves you. He might want to lick your face.”

“There will be no need for any of that.” The detective grumbled, reluctantly letting the smaller man pull him along. He didn’t know if he would be brave enough to face Patton without the aggressive interference. His face grew hot at the memory of the way he had fallen apart in front of him. He felt quite humiliated by his reaction. Patton had trusted him with his fears and he had made it all about himself and had made a fool of himself. Without the control he protected himself with he felt vulnerable. Naked even, as if his defenses had been torn away. This wasn’t how he’d wanted to be seen.

Feeling his friend’s feet drag with shame, Virgil wrapped an arm around Logan’s middle and offered him strength through their silent contact. He still did not want to talk about feelings, it was exhausting, but he could always lend the support of his body. He was learning to use it in different ways, lately.

Patton and Roman both sat up straight as they entered the living-room. From the way Logan hung his head in the futile attempt to hide his blush, it was clear to Roman what his friend needed now. It was his favorite partner’s love!

Giving Patton an encouraging pat on the shoulder on the way, the young detective wasted no time wrapping Logan (and Virgil – who was conveniently wrapped in Logan’s arm, sue him) into his embrace. His little wildcat gave an irritated little growl but since he was largely ignored in favor of pecking annoying kisses all over his partner’s face, he let the cuddling slide. After all, they both smelled good and were comfy and shit.

Logan turned his heated face away into Virgil’s hair, grumbling incoherently. He was too hot under the sweater and starting to get the feeling he needn’t have worried about Roman and Virgil after all. The little barista was comfortably leaning against him, letting him take his weight, and his partner was – he was reasonably certain – trying to annoy him in order to lighten the mood. He had overreacted once again. They must think him a dramatic child. He felt very, very inadequate.

Perceptive as always, Roman angled them so his friend could hide his burning cheeks from sight. The poor man was probably mortified at showing emotions in front of the people who regularly suffered emotional accidents around him.

“All is well now, my adoring fans. Prince Roman, beloved hero and winner of the Medal of Valor is here!” He cooed, hoping to get a rise out of them and lighten the mood. Virgil snorted. He made sure to push himself close to Logan and allow him to feel the way he was holding on to his sweater for support.

Virgil would have liked to stay in this position longer and allow Roman to take the weight of the attention onto his broad shoulders, but Patton was still cowering at the edge of the sofa, wide eyed and anxious. His shoulders seemed very small. Though he was entirely silent, his small hands were nervously fidgeting with his long sleeves. He looked lost.

The barista ached with pain for his friend. He had put himself through years of abuse to shield his piece of shit boyfriend and had blamed himself for his issues whenever he was suffering of whatever bullshit he got himself into. Patton was all about saving people. Having hurt someone he loved must be the worst kind of torture for him. Add to that the fear of retribution and he must be in one hell of a mess. And of course Virgil had attacked him after Logan’s little breakdown. Of course he had.

Though he was torn about forcing Logan to face his fear of having frightened the baker, Virgil gently tried to free himself from the tangled embrace, which wasn’t easy since he was squished in the middle.

Being especially weary about restricting his youngest guest, Logan immediately released the shorter man from under his arm, pulling his limbs close to his chest. Roman pounced and pulled his partner in again, humming to him lovingly. He would be patient to take this one step at the time.

Virgil was feeling less than patient, to be quite honest. Why did they keep stepping into piles of emotional shit when all they wanted was to live quietly with each other and sometimes ogle Roman’s ass? (that might just be him, though) He just wanted Logan and Patton and Roman - the fucking, special dork - to be allowed to be fine. Was that too much to ask?!

Of course, despite Virgil wanting nothing but to protect his friend, Patton saw the frustration written clearly all over the slim features of the moody young man. His breath hitched.

Aw shit.

Virgil may be emotionally stunted to the point of still kind of hating Remy for making him want to talk to him, but he wasn’t blind. Especially to Patton. It was easy to see why he was ending up in those emotion-shitpiles. He kept aiming for them and jumped right in. He’d thought Patton would focus on Logan because – well, he still remembered being scared out of his mind as he had sat at his desk, cuffed and desperate and Logan had been furious about the pain of his partner. It had made sense, too. Logan was the responsible adult in the flat and Pat was used to the men responsible for him to turn on him, but it wasn’t just him. Virgil was doing it too, and more often than he had noticed initially.

Making sure to appear nonthreatening – which normally wasn’t hard, considering how hunched and slim he still was, he pulled his sleeves over his hands and looked at Patton through his purple bangs. The baker swallowed visibly and attempted to smile at him, uncertainly.

“Look, Pat, can we talk? It’s all good though. I wanna apologize. You’re not in trouble. ‘s fine.” He mumbled, looking down at his shoes. Swallowing hurt, suddenly. His throat felt tight.

Patton didn’t speak. He was very pale.

‘You can do this.’ Virgil reminded himself as old, familiar pain rose in him upon being surrounded by suffering loved ones. ‘You took care of your mom and you’ll take care of him now. You can fix this. Just start somewhere.’

“Um, I – I think I messed up, I guess. ‘m sorry, man. I was really out of line before and I think I kinda scared you just now. Can we, um – can we talk about that? Please?”

Apparently finding the courage to speak in the face of Virgil’s scratchy voice, Patton finally responded with forced cheer in his voice.

“Don’t you worry, kiddo! It’s all fine! There’s nothing to worry about. I get a little messy sometimes but that’s all my fault. You all don’t need to take it on your shoulders, please don’t do that! I’m really sorry for upsetting you all! This whole thing is my fault – please, just ignore me and don’t let silly little me worry you! I’m really sorry.” He rambled, glancing at Logan still squished in Roman’s embrace. He bit his lip, his eyes suspiciously bright, before he smiled at Virgil once again. Seeing Logan hide in his partner’s arms, clearly feeling too ashamed to face them, appeared to unbalance him.

Yes, Virgil got that. Logan was supposed to be strong and seeing him insecure hurt in all kinds of ways that resonated deep in Virgil, pulling sharply at old wounds. Seeing the person you relied on weak and helpless cut you as if you were a child losing the protection of a parent. It never stopped hurting. Roman had situation that figured out, though. He joked quietly with his partner and finally simply pulled them both to the ground like a playful child, ignoring the complaints, and settled them against the bookshelves covering the first part of the living-room. Nicodemus had clambered onto the lowest shelf and wanted attention. With a little hop, he jumped onto his human’s shoulder, quieting his annoyance.

Hidden half behind the couch and visually separated from the others by the wooden beams loosely enclosing the little library, Roman finally managed to give his friend a bit of security by offering the safety of his large body to lean against. They were still close enough to be there for the others and later reassure Logan, but for now he had a moment to compose himself again.

That worked fine for Virgil. He didn’t know how he would have been expected to ignore the terrible fear for his protector, had Roman not calmly and sweetly taken over soothing him. Come to think of it, maybe the dork had the right idea with the cuddly, comfy shit.

“Um, hey… how about we sit and figure it out together, okay?” He offered tentatively. The kitten and Cat were on the couch as well, unravelling a ball of string and in Cat’s case trying to bite it into submission for tangling around her little hand-paws.

Patton nodded obediently, quickly rushing to clean up a place for them by tidying away Roman’s drawings and his knitting needles. Whatever progress he seemed to have made with Logan yesterday seemed to have crumbled in the face of actually making their most reliable protector crumble from his words. Virgil knew those moments where no amount of rationality could cut through the pain of having failed the person you love. Even if you had given up your education, your dreams, your time and health and safety, every failure replayed in your mind, pressing you down with guilt.

Virgil tried to swallow his memories through the heaviness in his chest. He ran a suddenly shaking hand over his face. He had relied on Logan and Patton so much to give him strength and structure and confidence and now one of them was still silently cowering on the floor, uncharacteristically small and fearful of the confrontation with Patton and still flushed hot with shame, and the other looked at him like he expected him to shout. His Patton. It was a position he had never expected to be in, anymore. One of the reasons he had left the Scorpions was because he couldn’t forget the pale, frightened face of the slight baker and now they were back, full circle, knee deep in a pile of emotional shit.

“Hey, no no no, c’mere, kiddo.” Patton cooed suddenly. His hands were still warm while Virgil’s had grown weak and cold. He pulled Virgil on the couch with him and without hesitation, into his arms. His little body folded against the barista like a cat’s, flexible and trusting. Running his fingers through the purple mess, Patton rocked him slightly.

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’m so sorry for scaring you, Kiddo. I just get like that sometimes. I know I shouldn’t and it’s stupid, so you can just ignore it and it’ll go away. There’s no reason to feel bad at all - you are doing wonderfully. Please don’t think about it. I love you so very much.” He promised, his voice tender and honey sweet. He nuzzled their faces together and curled them up comfortably, making Virgil feel so so small. Like a child in his mother’s arms. Taking a shuddering breath, he held on.

“That’s okay, Pat. I get like that, too. Just… different. I um – Remy says I get aggressive instead, and try to – to push people away and expect the worst of them – cause… cause of the – because after my mom… when she got – she got sick I…”

“You don’t have to tell me.” Patton mercifully whispered against his hair, impossibly loving. Virgil hadn’t even realized how irregular his breathing had become. He had almost told him about- his heart hammered in his chest with a sudden rush of terror. What the fuck had possessed him?!

After counting his breathing to get his shit together, Virgil tried again to make his point.

“Pat, I’m trying to- to tell you that I get it. I totally do. You go through all that shit and it fucks you up – sorry, I’m sorry – it messes you up and you expect to see sh-stuff around every corner and – and that’s fine! Remy says it’s normal and if we talk about it with – with them, they’ll get it. We’ve got triggers, man, and that’s okay. We triggered Logan a little bit and that happens, too. Now we know, right? I’ve got triggers and you’ve got them too, and we walked right in cause we’re all morons cause we don’t talk – cause it’s f-ing horrible. But – can we talk about it? Please?”

“Oh, of course. I’d like to know what makes you and… and Logan anxious. I didn’t want to hurt him.” Patton mumble quietly, very aware that the detective was still in the same room and they hadn’t cleared up the situation yet. His heart raced with anxiety over his reaction.

A little grunt signaled Roman wordlessly telling Logan his moment had arrived. With his elbow.

The detectives slunk around the couch and gently folded themselves on the free space on the couch, Roman shamelessly curling close to his partner and laying his arm over the armrest against Logan’s shoulders. Though he didn’t seem quite able to look Patton in the eye yet, Logan hesitantly spoke up.

“I believe a substantial amount of anxiety could have been prevented on every side had our communication been more efficient. I would like to discuss the situation in a nonjudgmental setting. Would you be willing to talk to us, Patton?”

The baker fidgeted with Virgil’s hoodie nervously, shrinking a little under all the attention. The younger man in his arm gave him comfort, though.

“Of course! I’ll do anything to make it okay. I’m really sorry I did this.” He promised softly.

Logan took a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling with it. Patton feared he was trying to hold back his anger. They were all here and stressed because of him. He had thought they had figured it out together yesterday but this time, he really was the one who had messed up. Never, in a million years, had he expected Logan to fall apart like that because of something he had said. He was still shaken to the core by the detective’s sudden vulnerability.

“Patton, may I ask you to stop apologizing?” Logan asked gently, finally looking at him through slightly reddened eyes. “There is no need to blame yourself. You have done nothing wrong. No one is upset with you. We merely wish to prevent further misunderstandings.”

“Oh.” Patton muttered, suddenly realizing just how much he’d been apologizing with a rush of shame. Trevor had told him how irritating his stupid repetitions were.

“I’m sorry.”

The words were out before he had any hope of composing himself. His breath caught in his throat, heat flooding his cheeks. He barely swallowed the urge to apologize for failing even at this simple request. Not knowing how to fix the situation, he fell silent, waiting for them to scoff at him. He had been doing so much better yesterday, why was he here again? Couldn’t he learn?

“It is alright, Patton.” Logan offered mercifully.

“But… I hurt you. I didn’t mean to.” Patton added, somehow trying to convey how sorry he was. He couldn’t seem to forget the look on his friend’s gentle, handsome face.

“I never believed you would harm me intentionally, Patton. You could not have known that your confession would cause me such anxiety. Addressing a topic that needs to be discussed is your right and I would like to encourage you to continue to bring such issues to my attention without fear. It lies in the nature of psychological triggers to cause severe reactions despite appearing insignificant to others. Perhaps, to improve your comprehension of the situation, I ought to explain that I was taken back to a memory from my childhood. Due to the fact that I am autistic, I read situations wrong quite frequently and thus unknowingly alienate my peers. I am afraid my failure to understand the discomfort you have felt in our home has forcefully reminded me of the possibility of a misinterpretation of the personal relationships in my life.”

Patton stilled, trying to take Logan’s words in. There was so much that hit him right in the heart. Logan was autistic? He felt like a light had been turned on suddenly and was illuminating their interactions in an entirely different way. He wanted to ask a million questions! This actually made a lot of sense. His head was spinning with the revelation and the new understanding it brought. He could picture little Logan quite clearly now, trying to understand the things that were still difficult to him now, but must have been impossibly confusing back then. He must have been so hurt by the other children! Pain shot through his chest like a living, furious thing ripping at his organs. Little wide eyed, nerdy, vulnerable Logan appeared before his mind’s eye and it felt like a punch, like he was drowning in sorrow. Patton had put him through that again. He was such an idiot, how could he have missed it? Logan had doubted himself so badly and he knew how much that hurt. Patton should have known sooner, Logan had obviously struggled with reading a room, but he had blinded the baker with how skillfully he handled all of his messes with his deep, commanding voice and confident hands. It was just that sometimes he lost control and showed how hard everything must be for him. Though he badly wanted to apologize again, to tell him how sorry he was for causing all of that stress and anger, especially after Logan had comforted him, he wanted to reassure him even more.

“I’m – but – you know that I care about you, right? I was just being stupid. Please don’t think that I or anyone else doesn’t trust you or doesn’t love you so much! You are the best friend I’ve ever had. You protect me and help me and I really – it’s really all my fault, you did nothing wrong! You are the smartest, kindest, most great and amazing man I’ve ever met! Ever! You’re a savior – my savior. Please believe me, everyone here loves you so much!” Patton exclaimed, helplessly grabbing Logan’s hand in his attempt to make him see. There was so much he felt for his friend, his heart was so full, it would burst if he felt more for Logan. He could barely handle himself from how much he wanted. He had never, ever wanted someone to know he was loved as much as him.

The detective startled as his hand was clutched, gently returning the hold. His smile was bittersweet.

“Thank you, Patton. Your kindness is appreciated. Perhaps I ought to have told you two sooner. It is possible that I still, subconsciously, attempt to pass for a neurotypical person. A foolish attempt, certainly. I will try to be more honest with you from now on.”

“You’re not that bad, man.” Virgil mumbled bashfully, awkwardly trying to break the silence that had fallen over them as they processed the detective’s words. They clever young man was clearly unsurprised by Logan’s confession. Roman smiled at him for his contribution, silently comforting his partner.

“I am… relieved to learn our relationship is not damaged beyond repair. And I would like to remind you once again that you do not need to apologize or take the blame for my issues. They are quite beyond your control.”

“What my bumbling, brilliant best bud is trying to say-” Roman chimed in, giving his friend a break, “is that we all have our little issues. They give us character and that is charming! They are part of our exciting origin stories! Even I, fearless Detective Roman Prince, owner of the Medal of Valor, have my own demons to vanquish.” He boasted, raising his free arm dramatically to pose. Suddenly feeling the supportive, undivided attention of his friends rest heavily on him (even the pest sniffed at his nose), he grew a little more quiet. Talking about his triggers was not fun, even for one as marvelously brave and exceptionally well adjusted as Roman. However, if he wanted his lovely dorks to finally open up, someone needed to make the start.

“I… you know my sister died from an overdose, right?”

Patton gasped.

Or maybe not. Oops.

“Oh my god, I am so so sorry for springing that on you, fair Patton! But all is well, please don’t fret. I shall tell you about it all another time if you like. You truly mustn’t worry about me.”

Patton nodded bravely, clutching onto Logan’s hand hard and holding Virgil so tightly he wheezed a little bit. Roman worried for his ribs. Yet knowing this conversation must be had in order to coax Patton – and perhaps even his stormy night – to open up, he marched on.

“So, because of my sister, I don’t handle drug abuse and such issues as glamorously as I usually do. And… because of… reasons…” Roman trailed off lamely, not trusting Patton’s bright eyes enough to also tell him about his neglectful childhood. Forcefully cheerful, he continued, “Yes, so sometimes when people ignore me intentionally or not or things get too silent around me and no one pays attention to me I feel really sad and lonely, like no one will ever love me again.”

Smiling brightly, Roman was met with deafening silence.

From the other side of their group, Patton lunged at him and yanked him into his arms, squishing Logan and Virgil between them with strength born from pure protectiveness. He appeared emotional beyond words.

Roman floundered a little, unbalanced by the awkward hug. It wasn’t so bad, though. Patton had somehow managed to climb half into Logan’s lap in order to get his arm around Roman, conveniently allowing the detective to hide his still flushed face in the baker’s neck and cushioning him between Patton and his rat. Poor Virgil had simply been dragged along – which he would have never allowed anyone else to do. To prevent him from tumbling off the couch, Logan had wrapped a quick, steadying arm around him, drawing his skinny body close. Virgil pawed and shifted against them a little, growling and grumbling, before sagging between them with a defeated sigh. The fuck was he supposed to do?! Tell Patton to release the suddenly iron tight grip on his hoodie? He didn’t think so.

“Uh, are you alright, dearest Patton?” Roman inquired tentatively. The baker nodded, obsessively nuzzling the young detective’s face with his own like a bespectacled cat. It was hard not to feel soft and faint when he was loved so obviously. Carefully, he brought his arms up to wrap around Patton – and Logan as a consequence, and Virgil on the other side, safely pulling him against his large body, lending stability to their embrace. The barista folded his slender limbs just right to fit between Logan and Patton pleasantly, just where they needed him for their comfort.

“It’s all good, lovely Patton.” Roman rumbled softly, filling the space between them with his deep, smooth voice. “We all fight our dark little demons that cling to our hearts, trying to tell us how small und unwanted we are. They are quite wrong, though, and sometimes we need someone to show us that.”

Remembering the path that brought him to confidently bump shoulders with Logan or push his head against his side for cuddles when they were working too quietly made his insides swell with emotion. It was a path both Patton and Virgil were walking right now; one they could join Logan and him on.

“Life is like a dance, my dear.” Roman murmured into curly brown locks. “Even when you found the right partner, learning the rhythm and the steps has to be done together, whether it’s a passionate tango where you twirl and dip your partner or a comfortable waltz where you quietly hold each other close. Even Logan and I had to find the right way to twist and twirl around each other. And we stepped onto each other’s feet plenty.”

Logan huffed softly, remembering the tense beginning of their partnership all too well and not missing it in the least.

“We were blessed with quite differing tempers, Logan and I.” Roman elaborated lightly. “I wanted his attention badly and tried to mold myself to what I believed to be his wishes. Every failed attempt to gain his approval felt like a person failure and discouraged me greatly. At the same time, Logan wanted my glittering friendship but felt irritated since he lacked the competence to appreciate my performance!”

Logan groaned, tentatively adjusting his hold on Virgil, staying very still otherwise, so as not to make Patton uncomfortable with their close proximity.

“Our cooperation suffered from a server lack of communication, as it turned out.” He added to Roman’s explanation.

“True! I mistakenly believed my stiff partner to wish for a boringly rugged, brash colleague to brood with – like Bruce Willis and such heroic, bland heterosexuals. There really isn’t a lot of material to mold my performance after, let me tell you! A travesty! But alas, we solved that pesky issue and I got to be the blessing you know and love!” Roman boasted, jostling a grumpy Virgil with his constant need to move around to embellish his story.

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, the young detective shifted so he could gently capture Patton’s chin to make him look at him. He wanted him to understand how much he understood his continued insecurity. The baker shyly returned his gaze.

“Having found our style doesn’t mean everything was suddenly easy, though. Friendship takes time, and practice.” He explained kindly. Releasing him again, he made sure to smile lovingly at the unbalanced little thing.

“Logan tried to show – in his own way – that he accepted me. But we were still two different people with different needs. I was cared for. For a long time, however, I suffered days where I could not see it. Logan needs a professional routine and sometimes silence to be able to work and I… I don’t do well with silence. When we worked a case, I sometimes got lost in my head, thinking Logan ignored me or that I had done something wrong, and he was pushing me away on purpose. As a response, I tried to gain his attention and approval any way I could think of – alienating and irritating him in the process.”

“Oh RoRo, I’m so sorry!” Patton mumbled tearfully.

“Oh no, Patton, love, it’s all good – all’s well that ends well, right? Logan might have been unsure of what to do with a colorful delight such as myself, but having learned how much I wanted our friendship, he was determined to be there for me.”

Logan, having tensed during the story about their frictions, relaxed very slightly.

“Being the literal nerd that he is, he decided to do what worked last time and took me out for a drink. Cocoa, this time, since alcohol is vile and disgusting, seriously! And he asked me what I needed from him, which is charming, but also slightly lacking in presentation – a renewed declaration of platonic love and perhaps a bouquet would not have gone amiss- ow!”

Feeling Logan’s annoyance and knowing he was still too mortified to draw attention to himself, Virgil took pity on him and poked Roman on his older friend’s behalf. All of them cringed at Roman’s high-pitched wail.

“Alright, alright!” The dramatic detective whined, trying to get back to the story. “So, my dearest, most beloved partner made an effort to adjust to my needs and we talked – dreadfully boring, I know. No grand declarations of friendship for me! However, we found ways to make me feel more welcome and cared about, which took a bit of experimenting, as you can imagine! Oh! I was sure Logan made a book about it with graphs and such but I never asked!”

The stubborn silence of the older detective spoke volumes. Roman grinned brightly.

“See, lovely Patton, the result of our efforts! Before learning to understand each other I would have missed the romance of a journal dedicated to my wellbeing – which I wanna see, pronto! And I would not have gotten quiet cuddles during his silent phases to be reminded of his undying devotion to me, or have his bickering, which is his attempt to reach out and shower me with the attention I so deserve!” Roman cheerfully explained, his eyes shining. He loved remembering all the little ways Logan tried to make him feel loved.

“A dance between two people can look all sorts of ways, you know?” He elaborated. “Ours includes little ways of supporting each other which might not even look that nice to the uninvited spectator. How is one to know that our bickering and roughhousing is a sigh of our epic bromance, grown through trial and tenacity?”

Quietly, Logan spoke up finally.

“I am afraid Roman is giving me too much credit. He actually handled our relationship with much more skill and subtlety than I would have ever been capable of. I had long feared making him uncomfortable with my unapproachable ways and complaints and had few, ineffective ideas about how to rectify the situation.”

Curiously, Patton eased his death grip on Roman, wanting to give Logan all of his attention. Their desperate knot of limbs eased into a comfortable huddle, thanks to Roman and Patton adjusting their hold on their partner and kiddo.

“You must certainly have noticed that I tend to come across as rather cold and intimidating, which I am aware of - mostly. Unfortunately, I did not yet know how to make myself more approachable. Additionally, I had offended more than one colleague with my inappropriate reactions and feared a repeat my mistakes with Roman. As a result, I attempted to limit my verbal interactions to the bare essentials, or – frequently failing to uphold this intention – talked too much and too clinically out of nervousness. Roman invested a considerable amount of care and effort into the improvement of our communication, which I am grateful for. He supported me by patiently explaining my failures and helping me improve, and even by taking control of situations that have threatened to emotionally overwhelm me.”

“Awww!!!” Roman gushed, grinning so brightly his eyes shone and his whole face lit up attractively. He was stupidly pretty and Virgil was not okay.

“There is no need for applause, my beloved fans!” The young detective exclaimed, raising his manicured hands to calm imaginary masses. “That bouquet I never got will do just fine! And that journal about your attempts to friend-court me – I demand you hand that over!”

“There is no such thing as a ‘friend-courting’ journal.” Logan growled, shuffling about feeling uncomfortably bashful in their cuddle pile with Roman half draped over his back. He didn’t dislodge his partner’s chin when it came to rest on his shoulder, though.

Patton watched their grumpy, yet somehow soft interaction though a now clear gaze. Logan looked annoyed and flustered and Roman was being a demanding diva, yet they were intertwined in friendly cuddles. The baker was still feeling a little tense whenever their deep, rumbling voices dropped low (or high, in Roman’s case), but there was no denying the tenderness filling their interactions. Ducking his head close to Virgil, he was reminded of how thoroughly he had messed everything up today. Their love had always been so obvious to him and now he could barely look at Logan without shame.

Shifting uncomfortably under Patton’s arm, Virgil started fidgeting with a loose thread on the soft cardigan he was pressed against.

“When I got here, I thought Logan and Roman would lock me in.” He muttered softly even as his face heated and his heart started hammering. Nausea was already making its way into his throat, yet he knew Patton needed to know he wasn’t alone in this.

The pâtissier tensed, his breath catching with surprise. Startled, he looked up at the pained faces of the detectives looking down at the bowed, purple head.

“They didn’t, f’course. I was just being stupid paranoid. Logan gave me a key and a room I could lock and Roman was – he was a good guy. They both were. They never asked for anything or pushed me or… I was making a lot of stuff up and kept making everyone nervous cause of it. Logan had to arrest me, you see, cause of the Scorpions. I wanted to leave and he didn’t know that yet, cause I’d botched it, and I’d hurt Roman and… I should’ve been in jail and I didn’t understand why I wasn’t. They even risked their lives to save me which I just didn’t get. So, you know – I made up reasons for their kindness for a long time and started looking for clues to support my ideas and I kept reading things Roman did wrong, and he knew. I was a screw up and kinda anxious and aggressive and Logan kept calming me and Roman kept miserably trying to not scare the screw up, which is nice, man. Thank you.” He muttered softly, daring to glance up at Roman for just a moment.

“But it’s okay, man. I’m starting to understand them better. There’s stuff I can do here – stuff I’m good at. I’m getting more comfortable with myself and that makes me less anxious about them and that makes them more calm – especially Roman. Logan is just – he’s really good at handling all that. He’s calm and - steady. And now I feel like… like things are getting better? But even that doesn’t mean they are perfect. I get… I still get issues and nightmares and stuff and I get angry, kinda a lot. Somehow, Roman knows how to deal with me when I’m like that. I don’t – I have no idea how he does it.” Virgil mumbled, trailing off softly.

The group was very quiet, sensing he had to gather his courage.

Clearing his throat and making extra sure not to look up from the protection of his bangs, Virgil took a deep breath.

“I thought I’d gotten it under control, with you. Helping you. But I messed it up big time, didn’t I? I scared you and I wanna explain it to you, you don’t have to forgive me.” He cut Patton off before he managed to speak, gently capturing his soft hand and squeezing it, trying to swallow the pounding, frantic emotion brewing in him.

“It’s just - I’m just mad at the world for not leaving you the fuck alone. Things keep happening all the time to you, and Remy and Logan try to help calm me but I - sometimes I can’t deal with it any other way! I just hate that you get hurt. I just- I just want you to be happy. That’s why I’m mad. Not at you, but… for you, I guess.”

Patton sighed deeply, feeling tears gather. His kiddo. He was so small and frustrated and helpless and Patton could see what he meant. He understood, suddenly.

“Oh. I hadn’t- I hadn’t thought of that. I just thought you’d be mad at me because – because I-”

“No one’s ever really mad at you, man. You’re a literal fucking angel.” Virgil interrupted tiredly.

“Language!”

“Sorry, man.” Virgil muttered demurely. But fuck him, he was tired. Emotions. He wanted back into Logan’s bed and snuggle up with him. He had the feeling if he fell asleep with his older protector, Logan would end up being the big spoon and that sounded quite safe.

“I get it, though. I’m doing this a lot to you, aren’t I? I get mad all the time cause I’m an aggressive screw up and you have to take the fall. I didn’t notice I was making you nervous, but I’ll figure it out, okay? We can make you feel safe if you help us understand what’s got you spooked.”

“Okay.” Patton agreed finally. “But you have to stop saying you’re a screw up! You’re not! You’re the smartest kiddo I know and I am so proud of you! You mustn’t feel bad because I get a little anxious sometimes! I just love you a lot and want things to be well!”

“Sure, Pat.” Virgil promised, deflating after his emotion-dumping was finally done. He could see the worry on Patton’s face, see his mind working with his attempt to figure out what exactly Virgil had been afraid the detectives would do to him, but that horrifying conversation could wait till another day. Preferably in ten or twenty years. Or never.

Meanwhile, Patton was looking up at all of them. At Roman comfortably draping himself over Logan’s back, letting him take his weight while he wrapped his arms around his older colleague, lacing his fingers over the others stomach. At Logan still trying to avert his gaze despite keeping a gentle arm wrapped loosely around Patton’s back, and at Virgil who was involving himself in a staring match with Cat who had rolled away, clearly contemplating whether he wanted to drag the moody raccoon into their mess.

Cat hissed at him.

Bristling, Virgil hissed back.

“I- um.”

Three pairs of eyes turned to Patton.

“I wanted to thank you, for opening up and telling me all that. I know it must have been hard.” He murmured softly.

There was so much he was still thinking about. Their exchange was like nothing he’d ever experienced. The way they all had learned to look out for each other because they had hurt their friends unintentionally gave him hope. These men were so kind and tender with their loved ones. They truly thought about their friend’s problems and tried to change in any way they could to be what the others needed. He had wondered how men such as Logan and Roman, who were so different, had managed to become so in tune with each other. It seemed like they had worked hard to get where they were and now, they were offering the same effort to Virgil – and to him. He was awed by their willingness to forgive his failures and the pain he had caused. He’d grown used to bearing the pain alone and being the one to keep trying to adjust, to do better and offend less and please a partner who wouldn’t be pleased with himself. He’d never been looked after this way.

With renewed confidence, he smiled at them, genuine and grateful.

Finally, Logan smiled back.

Though his posture was still not as confident as usual, the expression transformed his face and made him look soft and approachable. Like the kind of man that would soothe a defensive creature like Virgil with calm words or heal Patton with his gentle hands on him.

“There is no need to thank us, Patton. Considering the amount of times we have misunderstood each other, a conversation is long overdue and will benefit all of us.”

Patton’s little heart fluttered at the smooth tone of that deep voice. It was like Logan was intentionally speaking more quietly in order to soothe him. The pitch made his dark voice all kinds of rumbly. Patton felt a little nervous flutter upon being spoken to that way. Trying not to let his silly reaction show, he plastered a big smile onto his face.

“Okay. Alright. So it looks like it’s confession time! Buckle up, kids!”

Roman grinned at him encouragingly.

“Okay.” Patton said again, trying to sort out his thoughts and make the words come. Whenever he opened his mouth to speak it was as if something lodged itself into his throat, snatching his breath away. How did you tell your friends who had washed the blood off your body and accepted you into their home that he had been uncomfortable in their care? It was impossible.

Virgil leaned away from him briefly to snatch up Cat, somehow avoiding the sharp claws that tried to free her from emotional support duty. Snorting, Virgil pressed her back against his stomach and settled her into his lap, aggressively loving her.

“You’re a bristly beast, you know that? You keep pulling threads and gnawing on the furniture and you have an attitude.” Cat snapped her jaws at him. “That’s okay.” Virgil promised. “I dig it.”

Wrapping his arms around her more comfortably, Virgil allowed her to leave if she wanted to. She bit his thumb with sharp little teeth before curling her fluffy, striped tail around his elbow and settling in.

Patton laughed softly, recognizing the attempt to make him more comfortable with his confession. He loved Virgil so much.

“Okay.” He whispered one last time. “So, I – I sometimes get a bit antsy, because Trevor and I – we used to fight a lot. I can be a little difficult, after all. And I guess I got a little used to looking for reasons to worry, since there was always another thing to argue about. And you all didn’t do anything wrong! You are all wonderful and I know you wouldn’t do anything mean! But… there are some things I felt- that made me a bit… insecure, I guess.”

“What things are those, sweet Patton?” Roman inquired gently, keeping his voice soft.

“Oh, just little things. Nothing to worry about! I’m just overly nervous, is all! I guess I’m just too sensitive.” Patton confessed, trying one last time to avoid making his friends uncomfortable. Neither of them took the bait, though.

“Pat, it’s okay.” Virgil nudged him with his shoulder before grabbing Nugget’s middle as it tried to climb over them to get to its human and settled it into his friend’s arms. It curled its head and rolled into a purring ball.

“Yes, right. Sorry.” Patton amended. “So, I just worry sometimes, when I get nervous from time to time and start expecting things, when someone raises their voice it makes me a bit frightened. And… you guys just bicker with each other sometimes - when Roman starts complaining I get worried you guys might fight and when Logan has something to complain about because we make a mess, I worry that things might get… bad. And… and sometimes when Virgil gets annoyed at something – which I think is wonderful! I love that you’re passionate – but I – I just hear nothing but the tone, sometimes, and not what is being said. It’s stupid. I’m sorry.”

The group grew very quiet after Patton’s confession. The pâtissier was stoically looking at the kitten, trying to hide the gathering tears, while the men in his life tried to come to terms with his confession.

Finally, Roman reached around Logan and wrapped a warm, large hand around Patton’s where they were cradling the kitten. “It’s not stupid, sweet Patton. Your feelings are natural and you deserve to have them taken into consideration.”

“Yeah, man. We’re really sorry.”

“I too, would like to extend my apologies for causing you discomfort.” Logan added quietly. “I should have realized how our behaviour would affect you, considering your experiences.”

Patton quickly rubbed at his tears and tried to find his smile. He was usually good at pulling himself together and chase away everyone’s worry with a joke, but his tears just kept coming. It was the warmth of Virgil at his side, so slender and still supportive like a solid, graceful steel construction wrapped around him. Logan held him in a tentative hug and Roman towered over him, gently caressing his fingers buried in fur. Patton was warm and surrounded by loving people with tender hands on him and a raccoon that was drooling on his sleeve where it had rested its head. It was so much better than he’d ever dared dream of. He’d forgotten how much he had hoped for this. For a home. The realization that he was right in the middle of this group, cradled and protected and wanted washed over him. Even though he was being stupid.

“Thank you. So much.” He muttered, his voice thick with tears. “Please don’t change. I’ll be fine. I’m so happy to be here.”

The three men exchanged a look over his light brown curls, silently promising each other to come back to this topic and to make sure Patton always knew he was safe no matter how much their bickering got out of hand. For now, their beloved baker appeared tired enough to fall asleep in their arms.

“We are pleased to know you are enjoying our company. The feeling is mutual.” Logan noted carefully. “However, if it would be acceptable to you, we would like to continue working on making you feel safe with us like we have done for each other before and like you have been with us since the beginning of our friendship. It will not cause us any trouble. Additionally, I would like inform you of an offer Dr. Emile Harris asked me to relay to you.”

Virgil perked up slightly, hopefully raising his head to listen.

“Remy mentioned that he would like to visit us soon in order to spend time with me and personally continue his sessions with Virgil. Additionally, he would like to bring his husband with him who he explained appears to be quite fond of you. Roman has graciously offered to take the children to the park to entertain them… if you are amenable to being in the company of Remy’s husband, of course.”

Wiping his eyes dry with his long, soft sleeve, Patton thought the offer through. Remembering Emile with his sweet smile and warm eyes and his gentle playfulness with his children made him feel safe already. Talking to him had cleared so much up. Perhaps he could help him figure things out before they got out of hand next time, so he wouldn’t hurt anyone again. He’d really been silly. Sitting here, on this very couch he’d dreamed about, with his very own adorable baby kitten in his hands, he could hardly understand how he could have forgotten how much he loved it here. He never wanted to forget again. And he wanted to see Emile. It was difficult not to tell Logan it was all fine and to try not to cause more effort for everyone, but he could feel so clearly how much his friends wanted him to get better. Like Patton wanted with Virgil. He wanted his kiddo to heal and be happy and Roman to never feel unloved again and he wanted Logan to know he was so so cared about and just perfect the way he was. He wished he could see how amazing he truly was. Patton had so many feelings about his man. He longed to… do so much. Make him feel so much. They were all here to take care of each other, and if he wanted to look after them, perhaps he should let them help him as well.

“That would be lovely. Thank you.”

Roman grinned, immediately cheered up by the idea of going to a playground, dressing up and playing knights and princess and fighting dragons. Virgil, too, seemed to nestle against Patton more calmly. Reassured that his family was feeling secure, Logan finally relaxed properly in their cuddle pile. His breath left him in a deep sigh as Patton carefully leaned against him, rubbing his cheek against his wool sweater. He closed his eyes and buried his face in the silky curls.

***************************************************

End of chapter notes: So we ended in a cuddle pile again because who needs variety.

Once again, if you guys feel like supporting me, here’s the old Ko-fi page link :)

The app Virgil is programming wasn’t supposed to be in the story, actually. It just jumped at me that it would be a cool project from them to share because Virgil needs to build things again and Logan loves his plants and data. And ACTUALLY my boyfriend is making that very same app because our f*cking lemon tree keeps dying. I’ve bought him another one last year and it is constantly on the brink of death. The Failure is real. We manage to make it grow leaves and they keep falling off again. Every.fricking.time. The fucker. (We’re both having issues at this point). The app will be available sometime this year with his sensors and all. If you have a plant that keeps dying on you and you are as stupidly stubborn as Logan, I’ll post a link and you can nerdily try to save it. I’ll keep you updated because my boyfriend is making an app all on his own and I am just so darn proud of him!!! (And Virgil can program it with Logan which will be adorable and get Virge out there again).

ART:

@olcia46 made another edit I’d die for. I just think they are so pretty! The colours, the outline of the boys, all of it!

and I’m not even certain if I shared this LOVELY picture of @galaxy-sketch of Virgil and Nicodemus sitting on a counter yet but it’s lovely enough to look at twice!

Next Chapter

#Detective AU #Keep him safe #Sanders Sides #Patton Sanders #Logan Sanders #Roman Sanders #Virgil Sanders #Prinxiety #Logicality #my writing #Eva writes

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dokuhebi · 4 years

Note

❝I’m not angry anymore.❞

Maya Hart Starters // @shikkotsunin It hadn’t taken them long to make their choice when Konoha offered them an ultimatum. When the village leaders asked for Sakura’s location, in exchange for one of their children. While the choice of choosing which of their sons to save first was an impossible one, the choice between their old ally and their children was instant. As it would turn out, they didn’t have the former to decide at all, the son being released was up to Konoha, and with the painful decision of rather accepting the safe return of one son (at least for the meanwhile), over neither of their sons, they take the deal. Hoping another offer would be placed on the table for the release of their missing child. The reassurance of getting one of the boys back marred by the fact their family was still so jarringly incomplete. They had known where she was, they had been able to lure her away so that Konoha could try and corner her. They had also known it would not be enough, that the plan to catch the woman would fail. Of course, the serpent made sure well in advance that their child was to be handed to them the moment Sakura arrived as orchestrated. It was not in their interest whether Konoha executed this plan correctly or successfully. Instead, the serpent had fled with their returned child the moment they had him in their grasp. Drawing his small form in to their slender one, arms coiling around him like a serpent does its clutch, desperate to use any inch of flesh to stand a shield from the vultures looking to feast on the young shinobi. They had taken the boy and returned to the lavish estates, knowing that their false sage status would keep them an allied member, knowing that their sons sage status would only further their cause of being here. Not just a sage themself, or so the people here would think, but able to bear a sage child all the same. Mitsuki was in a bad way however, having been without the care needed. Not quite genetically composed of the very same things most common born humans were. His body was a sophisticated design, but one that had yet to be fully completed. His illness had only gotten worse with the serpent not there to properly medicate him. They know for a fact it was Rogu who had managed to stabilize the boy for this long, a boy not ready to be freed from the tank yet when the serpent was still with their family. A boy who was but in infancy. They have missed the years of Rogu’s growth, they have missed the years of Mitsuki’s, but the bond with their child, the maternal drive of any creator toward their children, is as alive as it was the moment they placed their hand against the cool glass of the boys waterbed. It is no surprise Mitsuki is the one handed over, having no information to offer his captors on a parent he’s never known, having barely even entered this world. Rogu on the other hand, who would be a young man now during the years that had passed, would have ample information to give. Yet they have all their doubts about him ever handing that information over. They have finally put their youngest son to bed, having sat at his bedside until he found the nerve to sleep in a foreign environment. After he had given himself a headache asking the Sannin who they were to him, and such an awful feeling it was, for a parent to be asked such a thing by their own flesh and blood. But they answer each question patiently, simply enjoying the presence of their son, able to be heard, seen, touched. Matching golden gazes looking at one another, until the younger shinobi’s eyes have finally closed, and he has fallen asleep. They would spend the next few days sealed away in this room, simply tending to their son, simply showing him the world from the confines of the room, since he was still so bewildered after a life in captivity. The next time they see Sakura, is when they have finally left their chamber. While Mitsuki did not need to eat food to sustain himself, the serpent was yet to rid themself completely of these human habits. Unable to starve to death, but certainly needing the energy it provided. Having starved themself for days being too wrapped up in their returned child, they have now shown their face. Catching their own reflection in the pristine marbled walls, and correcting a teal earring that they see glistening and tangled beneath silken locks of dark hair. They find her in the hallway, looking precisely as she always did. A little feral, a little wild, but not a mark from the colossal battle she must have fought when they sold her out. They’re quiet as she speaks, but their eyes offer no apology. “You say that as if I was worried you might be.” Perhaps it is the wrong time to be poking this particular bear, and perhaps they show this, as their hand places its palm on the door behind them. Sealwork spreading out like snakes slithering up the walls. Barring the door to their sons room shut. A clear mark of distrust around their young. The most primal of instincts, though she may not judge this, from one mother to another. “Do you know why I like science my dear?” they say, stepping away from the door that has now been barred shut. Bare feet padding lightly on the tiled surfaces as the gown of their kimono drapes to still cover them, sleeves concealing their hands as they pace gracefully down the long open archway of the giant windows, “I like science because it always offers proof, because it never expects me to believe in what it can not give evidence for. Gravity will prove itself by pulling everything it touches to the ground, chemicals mixed together under specific circumstances will always have the same reaction and outcome,” they say, drawing up at her side, so their eyes can meet more closely, “can you guess what I dislike about people?” They step around her then, their gaze cast out one of the large windows, looking hundreds of feet below, only to look instead toward the outstretch of land running toward the horizon, to where their missing son may well be, “I dislike how unreliable they are. I dislike the inconsistencies that emerge from senselessness. I dislike having to trust and believe in someone who has given me no reason to do either of those things. So tell me, where is the proof in you?”

#shikkotsunin #主 Kakusei; shikkotsunin #蛇 QUEUE; lie to the liars; steal from the thieves

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etlunainmorte · 5 years

Text

❄ Three Wishes ❄

***

"This,... is no time to be joking around." V was suddenly wide - eyed upon hearing Griffon's statement.

V seriously has no idea what turned him into that of all things in the first place. All he knew was that Avery and Roman were planning for something truly special for the kids in the neighborhood of Swan Lane for Halloween. Ideas were discussed, plans were formulated, even some weird props were bought from the local store.

What happened next was easily the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to the poor, clueless poet.

And that was almost seven weeks ago.

Despite that, V would still cringe from time to time whenever someone reminded him of that. But, it doesn't matter. All he knew was that, in spite of wearing heavy makeup and some form of unspeakable costume, you were there.

You were there.

And he could still remember the moments and every bit of conversation he had with you that day.

It all started when Avery and Roman transformed their mansion into a haunted mansion. Not only that, everyone he knew was commissioned ( not asked or invited ) to show up on that day in their most impressive Halloween costumes. Kyrie and Nero, being the two biggest suckers in the world when it comes to children, graciously accepted, and made costumes of their own. Dante, whose water and electric bills were due on the first of November, reluctantly accepted, and declared that he made a costume that would end all costumes. Nico also answered, and her participation involved effects such as different colored - spot lights, creepy sound effects, and a fog machine. Even Shadow and Griffon were given roles of their own.

And V? Let's just say he has no other choice but to go along with Nico's idea, since he didn't have enough time to buy or make a costume of his own ( unlike Dante, who chose to lie around the shop all day, the poet accepted jobs left and right, even though it pushed him to his limit most of the time ).

They had one job: to scare the children who dared enter the mansion and give rewards to those who could make it to the last room.

And Nico, being Nico, invited you of all people.

"This,... is no time to be joking around." V was suddenly wide - eyed upon hearing Griffon's statement.

"I'm serious here, V! She's already skulkin' 'round the courtyard." Griffon declared, his eyes were as wide as V's. "She'll be here within a few moments!"

Meanwhile, as you walked cautiously about the courtyard that was cutely decorated with skeletons, scarecrows, and graveyards, you felt someone stalking you from behind. You couldn't help but giggle, fully expecting something to jump out of the bushes and try to scare you.

And a few seconds later, as expected, something did jump, not from the bushes, but from one of the Styrofoam tombs. It was brown, it was furry, it has frightening claws, it has yellow eyes,...

... and it was wearing a pair of Fortuna University jerseys with the numbers 007 in it.

"Huh?" The werewolf thing mumbled as he scratched his head in confusion. "Were you even scared?"

"Umm, what are you supposed to be?" You asked the Wolf - man with an apologetic smile.

Nero was able to smile despite the few pounds of makeup and prosthetics on his face and flexed before you, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest. "I'm Bond. James Bond. Teen Wolf Bond, actually."

"Oh. Okay,..." you nodded. Not wanting to disappoint the young Devil Hunter, you added, "Oh, but, hey! That's a very creative costume!"

"I made it with Kyrie. The idea is mine."

"Well,... I like your creativity. Good job!"

"You do? Hehe, thanks!" If Nero could wag the fake tail that was attached to his bottom, he could very well do it multiple times in happiness after hearing your compliment.

"Go get 'em, Teen Wolf Bond!" You said, saluting him. Nero saluted and went back to where he was hiding to wait for his new victims.

Then, you made your way towards the mansion. Before you could even enter the premises, however, the door opened by itself, allowing you to walk freely and wander about the place.

Hmm, this must be the Artisan, Nico’s idea, you thought as you smiled and accepted the invitation. Nice touch,...

However, even before you could take a few steps inside the room, something jumped from one of the Grecian statues and howled with the full intention of scaring you. But, you didn't. Instead, you felt yourself bursting with muffled laughter at the sight.

With hair severely slicked back using some kind of cheap one - dollar wax, face hilariously pale with pharmacy - grade foundation, and a blue coat done with the worst stitching possible, Dante made quite an impression.

The smile on the Legendary Devil Hunter's face vanished as you finally let out the suppressed laughter that was quite literally killing you.

"That's not the desired response,..." Dante mumbled as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"I told you! No one's gonna get scared with that." Avery, who just came down from the second floor dressed up as Morticia Addams, scolded.

"You're wrong there, señora." Dante retorted. "My brother is the creepiest, most frightening creature I've ever met."

"I'm sorry, who?" You asked through your uncontrollable fits of laughter.

"My brother, Vergil!" Dante proudly announced. "Scariest of the scariest douchebags I know. He's away on a mission right now."

"Well, I'm not scared of him." You answered after catching your breath and finally calming down. "Unless he's a zombie who raids local pharmacies for cosmetics like how you're portraying him, that is. Then, I would definitely get scared. Of the real one."

Dante's pout almost made you hysterical with laughter once more, and before he could further embarrass himself in front of the children who would come and explore the house, Avery stepped in and intervened. "Think of a different strategy. I know you can do it." She said with a mighty tap on Dante's shoulder.

And with a smile, you left the two and headed for one of the rooms on the right. Skipping the life - size portrait of an evil - looking doctor with a moustache ( Avery placed Lancaster's portrait back on its former place for added horrific flair ), you entered what looked like a living room, complete with a sofa, a glass top table, and an old television in front of it. Thinking that the person here could be emulating a scary scene from a popular horror movie, you sat on the sofa and glanced at the television, which was currently only airing some weird static.

With a feeling of sheer anticipation for what's to come, you drummed your fingers on your lap and waited. And a few moments later, you noticed something coming out of the television's screen.

Nice detail, you thought to yourself as you watched a hand pop out of the screen. How are they doing this?

You continued to watch as another arm popped out of the screen, and inch by creepy inch, the lady in white finally managed to come out of the television.

So, she's doing the girl from Ring! You thought as you watched the lady convulse and hiss at you, her rotten face actually doing a good job of unnerving you. She didn't do anything else aside from that, however. She remained where she was, rooted to the ground and convulsing.

And so, as you thanked Nero's girlfriend for doing a marvelous job on her scary prank, you got out of the room just in time to hear some childish screams coming from the great hall.

Dante must've changed strategies now,...

As you were about to leave the hallway, you noticed something blue and shiny on the ground. You grabbed it right away and realized it was an exquisite feather that seemed to glow and cast light to the dark hallway. You looked ahead of you and noticed more of these blue black feathers scattered on the floor, clearly leading towards another room.

Rightfully thinking that this could very well lead to an interesting discovery, you followed the path made of feathers that was made solely for you. Picking the beautiful feathers one by one and collecting them, you felt the temperature in the mansion clearly dropping by the second, and when you reached your destination - a door which was being pointed by that last feather - you heard someone running about on the other side. You even heard some voices, not one but, two.

Smiling and feeling excited, you opened the door,...

... and saw nothing, aside from the three or four bookshelves and the old grand piano in the middle of the room.

Taking a step inside, you cautiously looked around the place, waiting for something to come out and chase you around.

The door closed on its own, and the temperature dropped even further. You closed your parka and took a few more steps. Then, you noticed something on the stool in front of the piano - a steel pot.

Raising your eyebrows, wondering what a steel pot was doing there, you walked towards it, and before you could even grab it, you noticed something that looked like a dishcloth next to it.

A steel pot, and a dishcloth,...

Do they want me to rub this thing clean?!

Rolling your eyes and chuckling at the simple thought, you carefully placed the feathers you collected on a small table nearby ( you wanted to make something out of those ), took the steel pot and the dishcloth and started rubbing it, waiting for something to happen,...

"Oh! Now?" You heard a whisper from behind one of the bookshelves. "Okay, here goes!"

All of a sudden, something like a weak electricity ran through your whole body and startled you, making you drop the steel pot on the floor, and when you bent to pick it up, black smoke rose from it, engulfing it and swallowing it whole.

Where did - ?!

"Greetings, my lady." A low voice spoke. You slowly looked up and saw,...

... that gentleman you met at your cousin's wedding.

Now, who was this man again? Oh! It's V! His name is V. Although,...

... what’s that funny – looking turban doing on top of his head? Why was he standing like that, all proud and mighty, with his arms crossed over his chest?

And, most importantly, why was his skin blue?

"Umm,..." You began, uncertain how to respond. "Y - your steel pot,... I don't know what happened. It seemed so real and - "

"You have set me free from a hundred years of slumber." V spoke in what he hoped to be a mystical kind of tone. "And to show you my gratitude, I shall now grant you,... three wishes."

"W - wait a second here, three wishes?" You asked, finally figuring out what V was supposed to be. "Do you mean to say you're a Genie,... trapped in a steel pot?!"

V felt his face heat up at your words but, due to his heavy blue makeup, he was most definitely certain that you couldn't see through his shame of being a Genie for Halloween. He knew you have every right to laugh at him, to mock him for going through such a foolish thing, however,...

... you only gave him a gentle and understanding smile as if you sensed his discomfort.

And it warmed V's heart.

"Wanna sit down for a while?" You offered, and a few moments later, you were laughing at his stories of how he ended up here doing Avery's bidding once more.

"Stand in a steel pot, she said." V said, his words making you laugh harder. "It'll be fun, she said."

"I'm glad you didn't stand in a steel pot, though." You answered as you gave the man an apologetic look. "One comic relief for a Halloween attraction is enough. We don't need to add another."

V hummed in agreement, not saying any more words to add to the conversation.

For a while, V just sat there beside you, appreciating the quiet and peaceful moment between the two of you. No words were exchanged between you for a while, and yet, despite that, V truly felt at ease next to you.

It was like,...

... he was back during that time when he first met you. Not during the wedding, no, but, way back.

It was right here where he saw you after wandering about in the dark for so long. You played the piano for him, and you even gave him words of encouragement. And those words were the very weapons he used against the evil that once imprisoned the innocent souls here in this mansion for its own gain.

It was also here where he kissed you for the very first time.

And he was well aware that, unfortunately, you couldn't remember a thing about him, only that you knew you have seen him before but, couldn't remember when or where exactly. He confirmed this, himself, when he started observing you from the moment you reunited with him during Avery and Roman's wedding.

And now, as he observed you in the corner of his eye, he noticed the subtle look of sadness in your face. You may have shown him that you were happy and well, when, in fact, you felt the opposite. And it unnerved, no, worried V, a lot.

He desired nothing but your happiness, he didn't need to see anything else but your smile. After everything you've been through in your past life, he knew he must give you what you truly deserved and more. He will give back everything he owed you, for saving him, for making him see the truth in the face of evil, for making him believe that he's strong,...

... for believing in him despite everything.

Right then and there, he made up his mind, and he swore he would never repeat the mistakes of the past.

He vowed that he will make you the happiest woman on earth.

As he stroked the antique locket in his pocket, he turned to you and quietly uttered your name.

"Hmm?"

"Have you thought of them?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Your three wishes." V clarified. "Have you thought of them?"

"Oh! I,..."

V helplessly watched as he saw you fidget on your seat. Did he say too much?

"What I mean is," V added. " ... you've set me free from the confines of the evil steel pot. I feel it is only fitting that I should return the favor."

And to this, you giggled once more. You found it simply cute and adorable that, despite his discomfort in playing the role of the Genie, he still managed to be in character.

Somehow, you felt that he's doing you a kindness you don't deserve. Would it be like taking advantage of his kindness?

"Oh, Mr. V, you don't have to. We're basically just playing trick or treat, right? I mean you don't have to go to so much trouble,..."

"But, I insist." V answered with that disarming smirk of his. Damn, that smile! "And you can call me V. No need for such formalities."

Just like how V felt a few minutes earlier, you felt your face getting hotter with just that killer smile of his. However, unlike him, you're not wearing any makeup, save for some light lipstick and mascara. You could never hide your true feelings from him.

And so, with a sigh, you decided to just play along. "I suppose you will have a negative reaction if I ask you to turn me into a millionaire,..."

"Is it what you truly want? Wealth? Then, I could - "

"No! I mean, I'm only joking." You smiled nervously, feeling shocked after learning that V truly meant his word - that he really wanted to fulfill your three wishes. "It's not what I want."

"Then, please, tell me your deepest desires." V urged, his insistence actually making you a bit nervous and excited for the wrong reasons. “And I shall turn it into reality.”

With a deep sigh, you contemplated on what to say for a while. And when you finally decided on what to truly wish for, you spoke once more.

"Okay, first of all, I want you to have a rest day every once in a while." You noticed the look of question in his face and immediately clarified your statement. "Ah, I didn't mean this in a bad or hard way, believe me! It's just that, I noticed you work too hard, you barely have enough time for yourself. Maybe eat outside or cook something. Have fun with friends. Go to the mall, shop for clothes, or watch movies. Or if you want, you can drop by our house anytime you want and gran and I will prepare something for you. Or maybe, ahh, hang out?"

"Is that," V mused, a look of fascination in his gentle features. " ... an invitation, my lady?"

You swore he could kill you with that sultry voice and that devilish smile of his! You were even positive that you were blushing quite madly and shamelessly right before him. "I g - guess so. Yes."

"Oh, my. How generous of you. Well, then, what about the second wish?"

"Umm, let's see,... I want to," You muttered as you looked up at the Victorian style ceiling. " ... I want to have a proper rest."

"Hmm, and what does the lady mean by those words?"

You smiled guiltily at him. "I’ve been having some difficulty in sleeping for a month now. I just toss and turn around in bed, and I still couldn't sleep."

So, that explains the dark circles underneath her lovely (E/C) eyes,... "That,... must be really,... bothersome,..."

"Oh, you could say that again." You agreed, then sighed as you allowed your posture to slip for a slouch. "I miss those days when I could easily sleep like a child."

V hummed, then, a few moments later, he cleared his throat and went on. "And the third wish?"

"I want to move on."

The words came too fast that it almost slipped past V's radar.

What,... did she mean by those words?

"You,... want to move on?"

"Oh! Ah, scratch that, please. It's a joke, n - nothing too important,..." You stuttered, fully knowing that V would see through your lie.

And see through it, he sure did.

The desire to go out and have fun with friends. The longing to have a peaceful sleep.

And wanting to move on.

He knew, or at least figured out, what was really going on.

With a simple smile, he raised his metal cane that once belonged to Victor Blake ( not William Blake’s descendant ) and gently tapped your head with it. Then, as softly as he could, he raised your chin with his long and slender fingers and made you look him in the eye.

"Your wish,... is my command,..."

After your talk with the mysterious V, the rest of the day went by without so much as a ruckus. The host and hostess Avery and Roman, dressed as Morticia and Gomez Addams, graciously welcomed all the guests at the gate. Almost everyone who visited the house had their photos taken with Nero as the Teen Wolf Bond. However, he was not the most popular Halloween attraction. Dante, who finally made up his mind to chuck out his cheap Vergil cosplay, decided to just throw all pride and pretense aside and simply morphed into his Sin Devil Trigger form to scare people. And he became an instant hit. V declared he was too tired of granting people's wishes as the Genie after your conversation and decided to let Griffon and Shadow ( who only scared and bullied the hell out of the people who made out of Dante's prank without so much as a tear in one eye ) take over as his wish - granting familiars. Nico, who was staying in one of the rooms on the first floor, enjoyed the hell out of frightening people with her awesome effects.

And Kyrie? Apparently, she was stuck in the kitchen, waiting for someone to get lost in there so she could offer them the magical potions she made as a Good Witch.

There never was a Girl From Ring in the first place,...

***

❄ Snippets of V and Reader's conversations were based on a real - life conversation with @la-vita . ❄

***

❄❄❄

***

#devil may cry 5 #vitale sparda #three wishes #v x reader #v x you #prologue

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angstmongertina · 5 years

Text

A Holiday Medley: Twelve Days of Christmas

Part 1/3 (technically two for now but I have another one planned) of my Secret Santa gifts for @corgi-shepard! Happy (belated) holidays! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I haven’t actually read any of the Tortall series in years so apologies for any inconsistencies!

There were some things about Midwinter that never changed. The squires still had their Ordeals, one a night, as the final trials towards their knighthoods. The pages still waited on his guests during the banquets under the watchful eye of their training master. Parties still stretched long into the night, opportunities to relax and catch up with those he had been too busy to hear from, at least on a personal level, and always featuring Raoul trying and failing to hide from matchmaking mothers determined to marry their daughters to one of the most eligible bachelors at court.

Presents still filled his and Thayet’s chambers when they awoke on the shortest night of the year, carefully vetted by his personal guard but left intact for their perusal.

And so Midwinter has passed, year after year. He and his Queen hosted and socialized, celebrated the passing of another year, and reconnected with friends whose duties took them far from the castle.

At least, until the arrival of one Keladry of Mindelan to the incoming page class.

To the undiscerning eye, the changes were minimal. He hosted the annual Midwinter banquets, where a quiet girl worked diligently amongst the crowd of young boys serving his guests, blending in with all of the pages in gold and red. He fielded complaints from the more conservative minded of the nobles, but that was nothing new in his attempts to bring about lasting changes to the Crown’s policies. He knighted each former squire as he emerged from the Chamber of the Ordeal, tired and shaken but proud. He chatted with his friends, trading updates and swapping stories.

But that was only on the surface.

He did not fail to notice the pinched looks on some of his guests' faces, the quiet rearrangement of the pages in the middle of the first night. While disgruntled nobles were a typical sight in his audience chamber, the sheer number for truly minor inconveniences reached a new high, subtle acts of protest that were not lost on him.

His friends gathered, regaling him with tales and gossip, but even the rowdy crowd not enough to disguise the absence of one fiery-eyed woman.

If he were to be completely honest with himself, he couldn’t even be surprised; once, he might have done the same, perhaps would have done the same if she had been discovered or put on probation. But King Jonathan of Conté was a far different man than the hotblooded Squire Jonathan of old, had new responsibilities and priorities, and could not afford those views that he and Alanna had bonded over, so many years ago.

And so her absence came as no surprise, but that didn’t stop it from stinging, the fact that she couldn’t, or perhaps refused to, understand his perspective, to see how tenuous forcing more social changes would make his position. How little Tortall could afford to lose her precarious stability with hungry neighbors at every side. Like it or not, he needed the support of the conservative families, and he would do what he needed to in order to keep it, for the sake of his kingdom and his people.

The shortest day of the year dawned, as it so often did, with grey and cold, but it meant nothing to the vast majority of the castle. Rather, attention was claimed by the squire ascending to knighthood and consequent ceremony before yet another party on the evening. But before it all…

By his bedside, a small pile of presents awaited his appraisal. While those from less familiar individuals had been put aside for his aides to assist with, the most personal ones were delivered to him directly, and it was to these he turned his attention once fully awake.

Thayet, at his side, teased him as she always did, on how in his eagerness, he seemed younger than their children were. And he responded, as he always did, with a kiss and a reminder that it was the one time a year when he might indulge in such immaturity.

Hidden among the various parcels and gifts—he could already see books no doubt from Gary and what was likely yet another hideous set of bookends to complement them from Raoul, a small package caught his eye. Small and wrapped in plain brown paper, he would have overlooked it were it not for the familiar purple warmth that surrounded it.

With what was likely a most unseemly haste, he grabbed it. There was no label on the paper, though he was fairly certain he would never need one, not when her Gift managed to linger on anything she gave him, a warm caress that was as comforting as her healing.

The paper fell away under his eager fingers, leaving him staring.

Midwinter gifts had been a long source of competition for them. Every year, he’d insist that she had no need to get him anything, that anything material he could possibly want he could easily provide for. It was not untrue, particularly when it came to weapons and tonics, which tended to be her usual gifts, but she was as stubborn as, if not more so than, he, and was always able to pick out something small but meaningful, and something he’d never expect.

This year was no different.

“Jon?”

He looked up to find Thayet watching him with a questioning, almost concerned, expression. Wordlessly, he handed her the gift and she gasped in delight, lifting it by its delicate golden chain and opening the cover.

Raised by its chain, the miniature clock twisted in the air, so compact that it could easily fit in his pocket. A small, intricate key rested within it, no doubt for keeping it wound, but more eye catching was the art on the face itself. Rather than just a plain finish displaying the time, its surface was carefully decorated with the Conté coat of arms, the familiar sword and crown laid on sapphire blue, around which the hands turned. Meanwhile, opposite it rested the tiny portraits of his family, each beloved face beautifully, painstakingly, painted.

And infusing the whole thing, subtle charms and protective wards swirled around him, undetectable to all but the most powerful of spells or, in his case, an intimate familiarity with the caster herself. Warm and full of care and unbelievably complex.

A quiet giggle interrupted his thoughts. Thayet held a piece of parchment that had slipped out from the watch when she had first eased it open, her eyes crinkled and fairly dancing with amusement. When he raised a brow at her, she chuckled again, passing the note to him.

“Don’t think this means I forgive you. —A”

At that, he could only shake his head and laugh.

#Tortall #Jonathan IV of Conte #Thayet of Conte #alanna of trebond #Tortall fic #Tina writes stuff.

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kurtty-drabbles · 5 years

Text

Coraline au (Egypt)

N/A: Anubis is not getting paid enough to deal with this.

@djinmer4 @sailorstar9 @dannybagpipesarecalling @discordsworld @look-ma-no-hands336 @bamfoftheundead

To say that Fortress City is odd would be the understatement of the Milenio. This city has all the normal things you would expect in any city, malls, jails, noisy neighbours and schools, yet, Kitty can recall how most of the neighbours leave for a few days to visit the lake.

Nothing odd in that, per se, except that Kitty was in the lake on that day and she saw no one. The cats often refrain Kitty to ever go with, in their words, ''people'' because they smell bad(a fact she can´t dispute) and they had bad intentions.

Terry and Cameron are slowly getting used to this new life. His job is coming steady and he is getting along with everyone, and Terry is enjoying the city(even if Miss Presley insist on being way too friendly with her husband)

"Terry, are we going to have salmon?" a voice jolted Terry from her inner thoughts and she almost recoils in fear as a fluffy white cat is asking this directly to her.

"No, not today, today we´ll have chicken, by the way, where is Kitty?" she asked trying to be natural. Trying.

"Training, of course"

______________________________________________

The neighbours such as Miss Presley can´t overlook how the Prydes have an abundance of cats lately. One call for the health department was made, of course.

Sadly for Miss Presley, nothing comes out of this. The cats aren´t in no danger or the house is in any bad state(the hygiene of the house is pristine as the officer did conclude to them) so they cannot get rid of the cats.

"What if...we kill them?" one suggests and was shot down immediately.

"You fool, never harm a cat...unless you want to die by IT" Miss Presley explains and the fool realize his almost mistake.

"And the child?" someone suggests, "our master says all life is sacred but is that life is linked to cats...does still have any protection?"

"I don´t know..the cats have to meddle with humans before, remember that girl, Coraline?" they nod and Miss Presley thinks for a moment "but is indeed odd how they are spending so much time with one human girl"

_______________________________

Mr Pryde returns home earlier and greets the cat, a black cat, with respect as if the cat is his boss(well, maybe the cat is his boss. The detail was never fully explained) and goes to see his wife.

"Hi, darling," he said kissing her.

"I´m not unhappy to see you earlier but is everything alright ?"

"Yes, well, it seems the people in this city like tradition and we still aren´t allowed to see what happen behind curtains" is all the explanation he can give and she understands.

"That folk, Xavier, tried to speak with us again," Terry said worriedly.

"About our daughter?" Cameron asked and Terry nods.

"She´s a mutant and will be better off in England with him, I told him, no, of course, but ...are we doing the right thing?"

Is not Cameron or Terry that reply. It was the cats.

"Yes, she is a mutant, of course, but, she is also a child and needs to learn before going with whatever happens in the life of a mutant" it´s a bit eerie that the cats, black and white, speak in unison. And is even creepier than Terry and Cameron agree.

"Where is Kitty?"

"Training"

_______________________

Jupiter has for today an orange fur, the cat explains that he can shapeshifter if he so wishes. Kitty is sitting in a lotus position, 17 years old and has a cat as a sensei and she finds this amusing. Well, why not see the good side of things? As she is in that position she starts to noodle something...she saw in her dream.

Jupiter the cat is talking about their final task, but, stops once seeing what Kitty is noodling.

"Kitty, what is this?" the cat asked jumping into her shoulder making the teenager think of Pikachu.

"Oh, you always talk about lucid dreams and we are always training for this as well, that, well, I decide to draw what I saw last night. My dream was the same, I was in school and I was controlling the situation" the cat nods" I didn´t enter in the gym because I didn´t want to enter there, instead, I went to the second floor" the cat nods approving this " and well, this is what I remember"

The cat sees the mass of eyes and mouth and nods approving. "What this means? Can I take this out of my dream?"

"No...not yet, you saw him in your school?"

"Well, I think it wasn´t the school anymore when I was there"

The cat assures her this is fine all lucid dreamers deal with that. "And why I must know how to be a lucid dreamer again?"

"Mutants have to deal with other mutants messing with their mind, now, if you are a ludic dreamer you have an advantage against them...do you want to be a target for Jean Grey or Emma Frost?" Kitty shakes her head.

"Then, let´s go to the final test and then we will eat...not salmon" the cat laments and Kitty promises that the chicken is good too. She pets his head and this consoles him enough. "Before we go on, Kitty, how many dimensions you think it exists?"

Kitty ponders that for a while. "Well, at first I thought it was just 3 or at least 4, but, now, I think is endless. We still have to find a way to travel through dimensions, all of them, but...well, is what I think I know"

"Good answer, but, is incomplete, however, you forget to mention you can phase through dimensions." Kitty blinks at this and the cat explains that when Kitty phases through an object she can also phase through its dimension.

The cat doesn´t reveal how this is unique.

Kitty looks at her hands for a moment. "How can I control where I will land?"

"With your mind, Kitten," he said and the cat still on her shoulder says "let´s try something easy, I´ll tell you about a place and you will vision and phase there, ok?" Kitty is a bit afraid and Jupiter comforts her "I´m here with you, if you can´t do it today is fine, remember I´m here. Don´t be afraid"

Kitty nods. Closes her eyes and let Jupiter(once she said she is ready) tell about this new location.

_____________________________________

"I did it?" Kitty looks to this dimension that looks like Ancient Egypt, with one big difference. There are two moons. One yellow and one red. The cat is looking at the moons as if challenging them.

"Jupiter?" she calls and Jupiter stops staring defiantly at the moon to give more instructions to Kitty.

"Kitten, your mission is simple, but, complex, we must go to Anubis and you must resolve the puzzle...no human as ever managed to finish that puzzle and no before you ask, if you fail you won´t turn into sand or whatever you are thinking...those fictional books you read don´t care for safety of children?"

Kitty is talking about how amazing it is to be able to phase through dimensions and if she can teleport, the cat explains she can´t, but, if she goes well Jupiter can teach a teleportation spell to her.

Jupiter ignores the two moons that are gone now.

_________________________________________

Anubis is on patrol having to guard whatever is inside, frankly, Anubis does not care. He hates his boos and hates his mini-bosses as well. His resting bitch expression does not change when Kitty and Jupiter arrive.

"Hi?" Kitty said and Anubis sighs and is rubbing his temples. "Anubis, can we get in?"

"I don´t get enough to deal with this!" Anubis said looking only to Jupiter "I can see why IT likes you so much, but, enough is enough..."

Kitty looks around waiting for Anubis to give more info´s about Jupiter´s boss(the cat is really secretive about this, which says something because Jupiter loves to talk) and all she gets is Anubis does not like this dude.

"You´re evil just like IT" Anubis said and Jupiter is not happy.

"Good and evil are points of view, sure you can understand that, now, should we fight to get in or you will be a good dog and let us in?" Jupiter said a bit cold.

"I hate my job!" he said and let the two enter. As Kitty is entering in the location(is a pyramid? is a cave? is hard to say it is always changing looks outside) she hears Anubis say one last thing before the door is closed. " Tell the Dark pharaoh, whatever happens, I take no part in this"

"He knows" Jupiter respond.

And prompt Kitty to follow him. The words dark pharaoh are in her mind.

"Who is the Dark Pharaoh?"

"My boss, Kitten, he has many names and faces," Jupiter said hoping she won´t make more questions about this. "and you will meet him, if you want, much later, he...does not like pupils"Jupiter is not lying but he knows he can´t stay in this thin line any longer.

And what you will do, my dear Jupiter?

Shut up, you old thing, I´m thinking and if you aren´t so ...you, we wouldn´t have to resort to this.

No reply and Jupiter is happy.

_______________________________________________

The puzzle is nothing more than crosswords, but, the catch is that was written in an ancient language. Kitty ponders for a moment, she never saw this language before, yet, she feels that she can solve this puzzle.

Meanwhile, Jupiter is there giving support, but, not giving answers.

Eventually, I will have to meet her

Well, everything is eventually. And since when you care for a human? Unless you want to admit I´m right.

The silence is a small victory Jupiter can take. Yes, Kitty is too young and small to deal with his...boss, but, eventually, she will be ready and he knows( with all his 9 lives) that Kitty will be perfect for this. She will be the one.

"Done!" Kitty states and Jupiter sees the crosswords complete in a correct way and hand a small present to Kitty. "Will, I ever meet your boss, truly?"

"....eventually!" Jupiter promised and Kitty looks as if she wants to ask more, she´s too clever sometimes, but, instead said Jupiter promised to teach her a spell of teleportation. "Fine, but after dinner, I´m hungry"

As Kitty is out of the pyramid/cave/whatever she notices the moons are gone. Yet, the name Dark Pharaoh´s name still lingers in her mind.

#coraline au #lovecraft au #jupiter the cat #kitty pryde #Lovecraft Kurt #LK your cats are more worried for your love life than you #Anubis hates his job and boss #Kurtty yet

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mangominaj · 6 years

Text

Hi guys, so here’s a rough draft of a story/documentary I came up with. The whole thing is not base off any cannon event (I don't think). Let me know what you think, I’m new to creative writing and this format (documentary style) is a sort of adventure for me.

The Rodian Hostage Crisis

Narrator:

The rise of the Sith in the Republic began long before the rise of Darth Vader. One of the first signs was a mysterious attack on a group of younglings heading to Rhodian to start their education in biology and the force. This group of farming Jedi were never meant to enter combat, but their destinies did not include a peaceful start to their Jedi careers. Shortly after entering the system of Rodia, a rogue star cruiser pulled out of hyperspace behind the small Jedi spacecraft. The Jedi younglings, only accompanied by a Jedi Padawan, were ambushed by unknown adversaries. Only 3 of the Jedi survived the encounter, but their experiences helped historians map the ascendancy of the Sith in the most powerful Republic known to date.

Historian:

It was extremely tragic what happened. Imagine, such a young group of children, led by someone not much older than themselves, forced to face the dark side. The attack was clearly for the Sith to recruit apprentices. The Rule of Two does not restrict the Sith from having a selection of apprentices, and that's exactly what they needed. In the beginning, the Jedi’s presence in the Republic was very strong, and they did not foresee such a random and horrific attack. That was the first mistake that lead the Jedi to their downfall.

Narrator:

The ship the Jedi traveled in was small and under equipped for space battle. When the cruiser approached the Jedi they were at first confused and thought the ship to be a cargo vessel heading down to the planet as well. When the cruiser finally overtook the small Jedi craft, it was too late to try and outrun or escape the docking system of the Sith’s ship.

Survivor 1:

We were too young to suspect anything. The Sith had been away in hiding for so long, we would have never expected them to come out, especially for a small group of farming younglings. With no protection either, we had to fend off the imminent attack.

Survivor 2:

The Jedi council deemed us not fit for Jedi Knighthood, so we were sent to become farmers and biologists. It is a peaceful and knowledgeable existence, but we were all naive to believe that we would never have to fight.

Narrator:

The group of younglings, lead by their Padawan leader prepared for the intruders. They attempted to hide within the walls of the ship. The old transport had been through its fair share of trips, and the walls were easy to remove and hide in. This was an honorable attempt, but the Sith were not easily fooled. Not only could they sense their presence, their sharp perception allowed them to see the damage done to the walls.

Survivor 3:

They sensed our fear through the walls. But something the Sith did not see was one of our smallest classmates managed to climb through the ship behind the walls, into the control room. He somehow managed to send out a distress signal! It may not have been complete but it was just enough.

Narrator:

Yes, that short message was enough to put the Jedi on alert and go investigate.

Survivor 2:

I can’t believe how it happened. (Wipes a single tear). Just as he was able to start his message and call for help, one of the Sith entered the cockpit and sliced open the wall finding him. The Sith, with his hand around our classmates neck, brought him back and said; “Now, we don’t need the Jedi to come and spoil your new masters introductions do we?”. Hardly able to get out a squeak, the boy spat in the Sith’s face and yelled; “You will never be our masters!” Wow, he was so brave, I don’t know why he wasn’t chosen to become a Jedi Knight. (Wipes another tear).

Narrator:

That young boy sparked hope in the rest of his classmates hearts, but it did not last long. The Sith did not take kindly to the disrespect just displayed, so in one swift, cruel stroke, the boy was killed. The first fatality of the hostage crisis.

Narrator:

The Jedi were loaded onto the cruiser, but not as easily as the Sith had anticipated. After the first youngling was killed, the Padawan learner tried to attack the Sith, and yelled for the younglings to run. While the Padawan proved to be a good distraction, he/she was no match for the Sith. Very quickly they were all apprehended and dragged into the cruiser.

Survivor 1:

At that point we thought we were doomed. With only a Padawan to protect us we had no idea how we could be saved. We already lost one of the group and we had angered the Sith so we knew they were ready to kill another.

Narrator:

The young Padawan was brought to the deck of the cruiser while the rest of the younglings were brought down to the holding cell in the hull of the ship. They did not hear from the Sith or their Padawan protector for several hours.

Historian:

Meanwhile on the planet of Rodia, the incomplete distress signal sent by the younglings was received. The (Rhodians/Jedi/Republic) sent multiple responses, but to no avail. This worried them and a Jedi hub on Rodia signal was sent out to all ships in the surrounding system to search for the lost Jedi. This was the first outright attack on Jedi younglings in centuries, so the Jedis were caught off guard, therefore they had no plan of action. This slow response to the missing children was a critical mistake by the Jedi and Republic leadership.

Narrator:

The Sith had not realized that all the younglings were to become scientific Jedi, and not destined for combat. They decided that the Padawan had already learned too much from the Jedi and it would be too difficult to try and persuade her to the dark side. The easiest course of action would be to get rid of her.

Survivor 2:

Although we were not meant to become Jedi Knights, we still had strong force sensitivity. Even if we did not know how to understand the feelings of the force, we all sensed when they killed our Padawan escort.

Historian:

At this point the Sith had already gotten their hands too dirty and needed to leave the star system as soon as possible so they jumped to hyperspace. Just a little while after, a small freight cruiser stumbled upon the younglings transport. Having received the transmission about a missing cruiser from the surface of Rodia, the crew entered the ship and found the killed youngling, but there was no evidence of who had invaded the cruiser.

Narrator:

After receiving the transmission from the freighter, the Jedis immediately alerted the council on Coruscant and requested that a fleet be discharged to search the nearby systems for the perpetrators. Unfortunately for the Jedi, the Sith had already jumped to hyperspace and brought the younglings to their midway camp on Lannik.

Historian:

These midway camps were used to check the physical strength of the recruits and to drop off those not deemed fit enough to withstand the training.

Survivor 3:

We were off-loaded into a dark cave and forced to stand in a line. Each of us were then given a lightsaber and asked to ignite it. At that point I realized they didn’t know we had never been trained in combat before. Most of us had no idea how to even hold it right.

Survivor 1:

We were told that we were to begin the start to our training in the ways of the Sith. They tried to explain to us that we were chosen for a reason and that compliance would bring us to our rightful destinies. It wasn’t that we believed their nonsense, it was more so that we were too scared to try and fight back against them, so we followed their instructions and began their test.

Narrator:

The younglings were subjected to hard physical exams such as using the force to blindly dodge objects, use the lightsabers to destroy objects, and even use the force against each other.

Survivor 2:

After many rounds of us failing their tests, the Sith were fed up with our inexperience. They brought us down to a new holding cell and told us to rest because in the morning there would be more exams to come. While walking down to the cell, a few of us noticed what seemed like a command room located in a hall near to the training room. After the Sith had left us in the cell, the 7 of us younglings decided that the only way to escape would be to save ourselves. Thanks to us noticing that command room we planned in the morning during the exams we would split off into two groups, the first of three and the second of four.

Survivor 3:

The group of three would distract the Sith by throwing our lightsabers at the roof of the cave causing it to collapse, and the group of four would run to the command center we passed on the way down to the holding cell.

Survivor 1:

We thought that taking the distraction route would lead to our more imminent end, and we took that risk so the other could get away, but our plan did not fold out as we planned.

Narrator:

When it came time for the younglings to unveil their plan, the group of three threw their lightsabers and landed a successful hit to the roof, but as the collapse began, the room began to get blocked in half and the three were trapped in a small fully enclosed space.

Narrator:

The four others knew there was no time to was so as soon as the rubble began to fall they ran for the control room. When they reached it, two of them tried to block the entrance while the other two looked for the long distance communicator.

Narrator:

Once they found it, they immediately attempted to contact the Jedi council, but due to the damage from the cave collapsing the long range communicator was damaged and unusable. Trapped in the control room, the barricade they made was no match for the now nervous Sith and they without a seconds pause, killed all the younglings and ran off to find the rest.

Survivor 3:

Once again we all sensed the death of our comrades, but this time it was an immense feeling of loss and darkness.

Survivor 1:

At that moment, even though we were scared, we all decided it wouldn’t be the Jedi way to just wait there to die.

Survivor 2:

With the very little knowledge of the force we had, we together tried to use it to lift the rocks off of us so we could crawl out and escape.

Narrator:

Using their mustered up courage and young potential, they were able to make a small enough rift in the rocks and climb through. After escaping the rock slide, they ran for freedom towards a forest hiding the cave. The Sith meanwhile, found the younglings had escaped the cave and hopped on speeders to find them.

Historian:

The Sith realized they were in big trouble now, if the younglings escaped and somehow got back to the Jedi, their cover of mystery would be blown. Especially with Lannik being a Republic member, the younglings were quickly slipping through their hands.

Survivor 1:

We ran as far as we could, but night fell quickly and we had to stop. Lucky for us, the dense forest life surrounded us with the force which made it very difficult for the Sith to track us using the force.

Narrator:

The youngling were temporarily safe in their hiding spot, but hunger and thirst called for them to use survival skills and scavenge for food. Two days went by and they were able to avoid harmful toxins by cooking all their foods. But during an outing to find water one of the younglings was spotted by the Sith scanning the area on their speeders.

Survivor 2:

I was so caught up in looking for the clean water source that they snuck up on me. I turned around at the sound of a speeders engine whirring behind me. I started to run back to the camp when I tripped and rolled down into a swamp. I quickly noticed a cavern directly under the path where the Sith were chasing me. I ran into it and hid there waiting for the sound of the Sith speeders to disappear. Just as I was about to crawl out to see if it was safe to go back, I heard a hissing noise from above me. A young Newoongall jumped down from the roof of the cavern on top of me. Since it was small I was able to squirm out of its grasps but just as I was about to stand up, it scratched my leg. I didn’t notice the cut was poisoned until I was walking into camp and I started to lose consciousness.

Historian:

The Newoongall had poisoned the youngling and a child typically only lasts two days before the poison fully kills them. They were now running out of time.

Narrator:

With another night approaching and a youngling poisoned, the option of heading for civilization was unavailable. As the immobilization of the poisoned youngling kicked in, the younglings had run out of solutions. It would take a miracle for them to survive.

Survivor 3:

And a miracle is what came! A day after (Survivor 2) was poisoned, a group of Lannik surveyors stumbled upon our camp. At that point we were all so weak and helpless we couldn’t even ask if they were friends of the Republic. They loaded us into their trucks and took us to a medical center in the city of Palasia.

Narrator:

As the younglings were being treated, they were identified by the Jedi council as the missing children from Rodia. They were able to be picked up and commended by the council for their bravery. After some time to heal, they were properly escorted to Rodia and began their training. As for the council, they were not at ease. How could a direct attack on younglings occur and the deaths of five younglings and one padawan not be prevented. A sense of rising turmoil troubled the council, but with no leads or information on the mysterious Sith, they remained hidden until the beginning of the Empire.

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filmista · 6 years

Text

The Piano (1993)

“What a death! What a chance! What a surprise! My will has chosen life! Still it has had me spooked and many others besides!”

Jane Campion’s The Piano is well known for being the first and until recently one of the only films that has won a woman a Palme D’or for best director at Cannes. It’s still one of New Zealand’s best known pictures and a steady reference, when discussing female directors.

The only thing I knew about it however was, how successful it was at Cannes and that it was at the time (and perhaps still) regarded as a very controversial film, of which it has been heavily debated whether it is or isn’t a feminist picture in nature. It’s kind of sad that in large part today it lives on through its reputation of “difficult”, because it’s truly a stunning film.

When I first watched it (I have seen it twice since) I was swept away and fell in love instantly, it quickly got a spot amidst my favorite period dramas. It felt thoroughly modern and at the same time timeless to me.

I love it when a film and its maker alike, are brave and it isn’t afraid to sometimes shock or provoke a little. And not out a need to just shock necessarily, but more about a passion to let their vision go uncompromised.

The piano certainly is that kind of film. It wasn’t difficult to imagine that not everyone liked this and that some people might have felt shocked or even appaled.

I think this is in part due to the fact that it doesn’t offer us any clearly defined or initially even likeable human beings in it. They’re all far from perfect, but that makes the film all the more grittier and emotionally rawer, which might be why it has endured in time.

What made it for me so special and masterful, and what fuelled a desire to watch it again almost immediately after, is the fact that the film is so clashingly different from what you usually expect of a film of the same kind.

It’s at times a living contradiction, it embraces conventions, and then dances around them. It might be a period drama, but its the first period drama in a while; that had me in genuine suspense, shocked and surprised pleasantly at every turn while its story was unfolding.

I had a vague idea that this was a period drama, and read that it involved two men, I just thought it might be extremely pretty to look at melodrama. I like period dramas, but only when they manage to do something unexpected.

Something that surprises me and The Piano certainly succeeded at that. Visually it does justice to the time period it’s supposed to take place in, the clothes and artifacts and attitudes of the people match and are what is supposed to be expected, initially...

Yet as I said, at its heart it clashes with these traditions and expectations of the genre and subverts them. And that’s what’s so exhilarating about it for me, it’s a powerful film, in that it gently imposes its feeling and emotions onto you.

If it reminds me of any other film, it’s only in one thing of Picnic At Hanging Rock

in that it takes “proper victorian society, and puts everything upside down. Letting it run wild, letting it be led completely by instinct, and at the same time show the perversion of its repression and properness.

The Piano is an incredibly beaufiul film in terms of visuals. Like many or at least good period dramas it painstakingly recreates the period its supposed to take place in. However it is as I said also visually a gem.

The cinematography is sumptuous and lush, alternatingly light and dark according to the mood of a scene and often of a character. The colors of the landscape heightened, to put emphasis on both the beauty and wild unpredictableness of it.

It’s been criticsed a few times for its editing being too abrupt or grainy in quality. But personally I love it, the cinematography and the sound, don’t follow any sets of rule any more rules than its story.

Again what surprised me about it, is that for a period drama it was surprisingly untame and erotic, yet at times brutal while still elegant, like only a female touch seems able to bring to a film sometimes.

The Piano opens with Scottish mail order bride Ada (a magnificent Holly Hunter) being sent to New Zealand by her father alongside of her young and preccocious daughter Flora (Anna Paquin in one of the best child performances I’ve seen), to marry Stewart a local farmer and settler.

As soon as we see this, we know what kind of world to expect, and how the society in it functions. Women were still regarded as little better than cattle, to be sold off and bought, with the other only purpose of bearing children.

You best weren’t too temperamnental or strong willed. All things the film’s protagonist is not. We discover another curiosity about her: she hasn’t spoken since she was 6 years old. We don’t know why this is; it’s ever since her last husband was struck by lightning when they were singing in a forest during a thunderstorm once, according to her daughter.

During another moment she tells someone that it’s because her mother says that people talk rubbish anyway, and that it isn’t neccessary to listen. It’s probably a bit of a combination of different things, she very likely has been emotionally traumatized at one point in her life. We don’t know whether something happened as a child, or with the man that gave her, her daughter and who he was.

Very likely her muteness is equal parts brought on by trauma, as selective. It gives her a tranquility, she doesn’t have to answer, if somehting displeases her. Yet all the while in her mind she can think whatever she wants, and no one will read her. It’s also a trait that would make it perfectly socially acceptable to be a bit withdrawn sometimes.

With her daughter she communicates through sign language, and her daughter translates them for her whenever the need arises.. Their dynamic with each other works, until of course going to New Zealand.

Things start off bleak immediately, her husband isn’t there on time to meet her and her daughter. So the two are forced to sleep in an improvised tent, made out of her underskirt, and sleep outside on the beach.

The next day he arrives, but rather than apologize,instantly complains to someone about how small she is. Prior we see he had written her a card sayng he didn’t mind her being mute, as god loves even dumb creatures.

Through the tone of the voiceover we can instantly tell how she feels about him, not positvely at all. Ada has one thing in her life that allows her to feel like she can speak and feel alive, her piano.

However her new husband, even though she empathically, desperately makes lcear how important it is to her, he could care less, and tells her it is too heavy, the piano is now exposed to the elements on the beach.

No affection, love or lust grows between her and her husband. And initially her daughter refuses to call him papa. Stewart grows frustraed, especially since she also doesn’t talk, she looks at him with an icy expression at all times.

He doesn’t seem to understand that this is because he never tries to see her fully, try to understand her and show kind of tenderness that’s unforced and from within him.

Ada is eventually so melancholy by the separation from that she sneaks off to the beach to play it. There a neighbour hears it and is so moved by Ada’s playing that he offers her husband a deak, land in exchange for letting his wife come over to teach him how to play piano.

We quickly find out his plan is not enitely act out of love of music, but also a strong sexual attraction to Ada, he isntinctually gets that her piano is a way to come closer to her.

And here is where the film takes its often controversial trun, into nasty romance territory. The film becomes about sexual power play, and how the power can shift from one person to another. Though here that grows into genuine affection on both sides.

Banes makes Ada a rather crude offer, small sexual favors, in turn she gets to play her piano. There’s 88 keys, acts like taking off her jacket might equal one, while raising her skirt would be five. Each act is assigned a number of keys.

Initially she seems bothered by the offer, but accepts in order to play. Had a man directed the film, we might have been shown this in a much more impersonal and aggressive way, there’s never anything grauitious about it.

But we really get to see the perspectuve off both. Both people are lonley and long for a real human connection. Ada knows this of Baes, and quickly realizes her power: he desires her company, and is affected when she pretens to not care.

Meanwhile she has the power to negotiate the sexual acts in the direction that she lies, increasing the number of keys required for a certain action.

While this offer is undeniably crude and borders on prostutituon. Campion did take a surprsingly affecting trun. Both people find warmth in each other. And by the time they make love, they are eactually in love.

And surprsingly for a that takes place in the time it does, he checks in with Ada, sees if she’s okay with it. And unselfishly proceeds to focusing on her pleasure, something she likley hadn’t experienced.

There’s even a scene in which he lifts her hoopskirt to perform oral sex (wild!) there’s a genuine affection and passion; and it is with him that she finally speaks, whispering something in his ear during the act, he seems overjoyed by her reaction.

And while it’s a powerful moment, it’s one of a great many in the film. It shows them connecting a personal level. However Ada’s husband, saw the two of them, only discoering the betrayal because her daughter Ada had told her stepdad, who she has finally come to like.

After sleeping with each other, Banes tells her they should not see each other again, as he was already suspicious and mean towards her. Thus sacrificing what he feels for her.

Howver after the incident events take a turn for the worse. And George snaps completely, actually locking her in the house, by setting wooden boards around points of exit. His stepdaughter voluntarily helps him. Campion never explicitly places blame on the child though.

She was likely, dangerously acting out childhish jelaous, as she is ni longer her mother’s only source of happiness and thing she pays constant attention to. But she is eventually horrified, when Stewart in his mad jealousy goes even further.

Ada whilst not in love with her husband, knows exactly what he wants. And starts to play right into it, finally approaching him physically, so that he thinks she’s warming up to him or even falling in love. Finally he trusts her and allows her to go outside, however she can’t really do much because her daugher is still there.

So she decides to write Banes a declararion of love. Asking her daughter to deliver it to him. However she brings it to her stepad, who opens and reads it. And finally fully loses it.

Previously he had already tried to rape her (after catching her in the act), but he now drags her outside towards a choping block cuts off one of her fingers, that he sends to Banes with the threat “come near her again, and I’ll cut off the others”. There’s a moment in the film, in which certain characters attend a play of the Blue Beard story, perhaps this foreshadowed his violence in the end.

There’s a look that Ada gives her husband after it happens, it’s one of pure disgust and hatred. The way a person would look at their shoe after having stepped in dog poop.

Something interesting happened at this moment, the veneer of “respectiful Victorian society cracks. Stewart turns out to be more insensitve and ulimately a bigger brute than the man who had “gone native”.

The difference is that Banes has long ceased to give a shit about the ways of societt, and what anyone thinks. And that he is therefore free to see and treat Ada as a fully layered and equal human being.

By which she reveals sides, she hadn’t shown anyone and thus feels appreciated and falls for him. And he falls for her in spite of her, what would at the time have been deemed an unseemingly strong will for a woman. I’s very likely why he fell for her to begin with.

Yet Stewart, regarded her almost as somehthing inhuman, and sees her as somehthing he’s entitled to as a man, and expects that she will automatically submit to his authority.

Ada however doesn’t. Like Banes, she seems to care very little for societal norms as well. If Stewart had been kinder to her maybe the relationship would have evolved different, but since his actions at the beginning of the film, he condemmned himself by his unwillingmess to “listen”.

Finally stewart realizes tat Ada will never love him, and allows her to doo what she had wnated: run off with Banes, we don’t know if it’s entirely selffles, if he in the end realizes his mistakes and wants her happiness, or if he has given up.

Regardless it sets about a change and Ada is now with Banes, who has fashioned her a metal finger. When they go away with each other, he takes her piano, knowing how important it is. She however no longer wants it and demands it to be thrown in the water. Where she ends up with it.

The piano at least I think so, represents her past, her bad memories and a means of communication. Or rather that with which she escaped having her “voice” oppresed as a woman. Briefly she seems to contemplate dying with it, but then fights to the surface and joins Banes, to embark on a new life.

The figure of her lover, is a controversial one. Some reduce him to a rapist, since they say that Ada had no choice or agency. But that would mean denying things, first that Ada isn’t as demure and innocent looking as she seems.

She read the situation, and played into all the while realizing, her power, it’’s ultimately she that sets the pace and decides what happens when. But more importantly, this interpreatation dismisses Ada as sexual; it denies the possibiluty that she could have desires and enjoy pleasures, or have a kinky side that enjoyed the seductive game they played initially.

There’s a moment where the tone shifts completely, Banes gently makes a hole in her stockings, and caresses the skin underneath it. We see Ada’s face, she responds with a visible gasp of enjoyment, that makes it clear she’s excited by what’s happening and wants it.

That’s another thing that’s great in the film, it subtly and accurately shows feamle desire and pleasure. The Piano could be at times considered quite steamy, but not because you see all that much but rather how what you see is shown.

Focused on the emotions , and often the joy of the moment. That moment in which Banes lifts Ada’s skirt to pleasure her is signifcant, there’s urgency and laughs, at just how difficult it is to lift.

It recognises that sometimes sex isn’t always perfectly in sync and sometimes just funny, but more importantly here fun. One of my problems, with the sex scenes in some films, is that there’s always taken so terribly seriously...

And it’s quite surprising that given the film’s age, that scene still feels so incredible refreshing. It is just like Holly Hunter’s performance, that makes the film, literally quitely brilliant.

Hunter learned to play the piano herself, so whenever she plays it (sometimes only as backgorund music) it sounds genuinely beautiful and moving, and like someone with actual passion for music is playing.

For an actress playing someone mute, must be hard but Hunter handles it beutifully, never laying it on to thick. But rather knows how to sublty convye emotion through her face and body at each moment, we can read from her face what she is feeling or how she is interpreting a certain situation, it’s fascinating to watch.

The character of Ada is not simple one. She seems like a quiet, calm and reserved woman and seems to enjoy a certain isolation. Or rather is revealed to perhaps enjoy the company of those she likes, and doesn’t have to pretend to.

As soon as someone does something she doesn’t like, she clearly lets this be known, indicating a fierce pride. And Hunter shows that beautifully, just with one look Ada can seem to shimmer with rage and indignation. The Piano is ultimately a fascinating look at gender and societal norms, and a beautiful ode to the priceless freedom of loving passionately and who we chose.

“Ada, I'm unhappy. 'Cause I want you. 'Cause my mind has seized on you and can think of nothing else. This is why I've suffered. I am sick with longing. I don't eat, I don't sleep.”

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kyloren · 7 years

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Mileven post-S2 fanfiction recommendation list: PART VI

To compensate for the long wait, part VI is extra long. For past rec lists please see instalments I, II, III, IV, and V. If your fanfic isn’t featured, apologies. Message me and we’ll amend that grievance in the next rec list instalment.

* marks the ongoing stories.

canon:

chain reaction* by FourthHorse: “Old ghosts come back knocking, and growing up was never meant to be easy.”

what makes you different by cali-chan (girls_are_weird): ““I wish you could see yourself like I see you,” he breathed out almost subconsciously. “Because then… you’d know.””

+ its sequel: we are not alone by cali-chan (girls_are_weird): “And just like that, the library at Hawkins High had become a war room, a strategy session where all the members of the party devised a plan to protect one of their own. Because that’s what friends do.”

i wanna dance with somebody by @eleventhemage (richiewheeler (jormaperalta): “Eleven is popular. And mike feels insecure about it (she gonna chose being popular over him) but she chooses him.”

a year in the life by @jeeno2: “Four times Mike and Eleven don’t kiss and one time they do.”

eleven things* by Socalledfriend: “Eleven returns, but things don’t just go back to the way they were. It’s not clear how she managed to get home, and meanwhile Will’s sickness is only getting worse. Some things never change though, and while she’s back, Mike manages to teach her at least eleven things about the outside world.”

the rules by Strange_Archivist: “Hopper lays down the rules for Mike.”

what’s in a name? by @isaksredscarf (wordsarelifealways): “It’s been about a fortnight, and El wants to share her real name with Mike.”

day 21 by kittenCorrosion: “It’s not the first day, day one, but it’s the first day she hears him. The first day she realises how much he misses her. The first day she remembers just how much she needs him.”

return to me* by AdelaideElaine: “Eleven reappears as suddenly as she left, and although she wants to stay with Joyce Byers, it’s decided that it would be best for all involved if she lives at the Wheeler house. Karen tries to teach her to cook, Mike tries to teach her to dance, and Nancy is charged with the task of trying to teach her how to be a Normal Girl — even if having Jonathan Byers back in her life means that she has less understanding of what that means than ever.”

are you gonna be my girl by cali-chan (girls_are_weird): ““So,” he whispered in her ear, dropping a kiss on her cheek that she leaned into, “what do you say? Do you want to be my girlfriend?””

jane, pt. 1 by EvieSmallwood: “El tells Mike her real name.”

jane, pt. 2 by EvieSmallwood: “Love is a funny old thing.”

time together by JoMo3: “Mike and Eleven have a sleepover.”

+ its sequel: more than like by JoMo3: “Mike and El have the “l word” talk.”

understand by DBSean: “Mike Wheeler and Chief Hopper have a long-overdue discussion about their favourite person.”

christmas with the wheelers by luxuriousvoyage11: “On the first week in December, nerdy stuttering Mike Wheeler had done his routine visit and bashfully invited El and her adoptive father over for Christmas dinner.”

contact by sporadicallyceaseless: “Before, El didn’t know any good people, or things she liked, or touches that didn’t hurt. Things are much different now. Much better.”

safe by DBSean: ““El?” Mike asked, now fully awake, his concern and confusion quickly overriding any remnants of sleep or exhaustion he may have been experiencing. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Eleven nodded, and Mike saw for the first time that there were tears in her eyes. “Not safe.””

11 months by @eddiesghost (thewolfmoon): “Eleven’s gone for 353 days. Mike struggles through each and every one of them.”

like a distant star by someone.else.before: “Now that Mike knows El is alive, he’s not going to let even the scariest police chief in the world get in the way of seeing her again.”

first christmas by Browneyesparker: “Mike and El celebrate Christmas together.”

crying in the rain by DreamersMyth27: ““I miss moments like this more than anything,” Mike sighed. El looked at him curiously and tilted her head to the side slightly.”

the first summer* by Kiddo7: “It’s the gang’s first summer all together, and Mike can’t wait to show El all that it has to offer.”

sugar cookies & snow days by Browneyesparker: “Mike and El have a snow day, and bake some sugar cookies together.”

the first outing by pathvain_aelien: “Eleven goes bowling.”

+ actually pathvain_aelien has a lot of interesting stories that you should check out.

perfect summer day by AR357: “It was a sunny summer day in 1984. Mike had been looking forward to this day for a while. With each breath of crisp summer air, he felt more and more invigorated. With each hill he crested, he felt his heart thumping away. But then again, maybe he was just thinking about what the day’s events would hold.”

things you said* by Brown Eyes Parker: “a collection of one-shots revolving around Mike & Eleven and things they say to each other.”

things you said, alternate stories* by Brown Eyes Parker: “Original and alternate or continuations of stories in my “things you said” series.”

cold, helpless, fragile as glass when i shatter, i will find you* by janeelevenives83: “Mike and El Wheeler had never expected their life to be normal. One little stick at 4am on the bathroom floor changes that. But when old ‘friends’ come back to play, they leave with not only their ultimate goal, but a piece of Eleven that leaves a gnawing hole in her. And Mike won’t stand for it…”

raspberry breeze by urdearestmom: “Sometimes she stays up with him, and she calls him ridiculous. How don't you fall over when you get up in the morning? She asks. Pfft, I don’t need sleep! Who do you think I am? He says, but then he smiles and her heart melts, she’s never been able to be angry at this boy for more than a few minutes.”

alternative universe:

lost in translation* by cosmilk: “For a whole year, the Wheelers are going to live with a foreign exchange student. Little does Mike know he’s going to get pretty attached to this girl.” foreign-exchange-student!El AU.

(all i wanna be is) somebody to you* by sinclairsmax: “Elle Hopper never thought that she’d win American Idol. Then again, she also never thought Mike Wheeler would fall in love with her. Behind the cameras, everything is turned upside down.” YouTubers AU. [I AM FREAKING OUT. I AM FREAKING OUT.]

inked mesmerisms* by apathetical: “Twelve year old Mike Wheeler isn’t sure what to make of things when the numbers ‘011’ suddenly appear upon his wrist one day.” Soulmate AU.

infinite, undying* by @eleventhemage richiewheeler (jormaperalta): “When Hawkins Lab and Department of Energy officially decided to merge, it was discovered both factions had been experimenting on children in order to create super spies. 011, a tekekinetic, was from the Hawkins Lab side. “Mike,” a fire manipulator, was from the DoE side.” Mike is also an experiment AU.

mixtape* by @elevenseggoobsession (frankiethebard): “Mike & Jane hook up at a party, then discover their parents are engaged to be married. Can they put their attraction aside, or will it be too strong to ignore?” High School AU.

greyscale by @trash-the-tozier (littleboxesofstars): “Soulmates are what make the world vibrant, colors getting brighter and brighter the closer a pair of souls get to one another. In usual cases, the world starts off black and white and changes as a person travels, but for Mike, colors have always been there. Faint, but there, and that doesn’t change until the night his friend Will goes missing.” Soulmate AU.

you ain’t nobody until you got somebody* by lovelysarcastic: “What if soulmates aren’t good for us? What if that so-called soulmate, the one that supposedly is so good for you, instead of loving you right, destroys you?” Soulmate AU.

no remedy for memory by runawayrunt: “At 23, Mike Wheeler is going for broke. Having quit college on his sophomore year, he traded the diploma for the dream. At 18, Jane “Eleven” Hopper is ready to leave her entire life behind. She took a bus ride from Sacramento to Los Angeles on a hot day. The chorus of the cicadas sounded off like a farewell hymn.”

all sorts of far away* by BinarySunrise: “Eleanor Hopper is a quiet, pretty cheerleader with more than a few mysteries in her past. Mike is a nerd with a secret crush on her. She has more walls in place than the popular crowd cares to tear down, and he’s more than a little paranoid about reaching out to girls like her, but fate still finds its ways of pushing them together.”

reality in motion* by AkaiaOwl: “It hurt her to listen to the ruthless voice in her head, but, as much as she hated to admit it, El knew it was probably right. It had happened countless times before. Well, actually two. Two times in which El found herself feeling funny and giddy and hopeful about someone, only to be disappointed. It always ended that way. She was destined to be alone and it was probably for the best.” College AU.

things change* by untiltheyfindtheperfectgirl: “Two years have passed since Eleven went missing. A distraught Mike has pulled away from the party and made friends with his middle school bullies. What happens when one day in sophomore year a mysterious character from his past resurfaces?”

karma by reddieforlove: “Mike didn’t fully understand the meaning of instant karma until a small hand came out of nowhere and whacked him in the face with enough force to blind him for several moments.” College AU.

all for one* by PaladinofFarore: “1985 was going to be a wild school year.” Time Travel AU.

blind date by reddieforlove: “Mike is a waiter. Eleven is on a terrible date.”

crossover:

a happy thought by midas_touch_of_angst: “The Party tries to summon their Patronuses. El seems to be having the hardest time.” Hogwarts AU.

+ bonus: wherein The Party is featured prominently once again:

a different kind of monster by @bananannabeth: “Billy Hargrove seems to have a habit of getting Karen to answer the door in nothing but a robe. Unfortunately for him, she’s noticed that he also seems to have a habit of beating his step-sister.”

love (and other weird things) by cali-chan (girls_are_weird): “The Wheelers travel to New York to spend Thanksgiving 1987 with Nancy, and Mike is having trouble going two days without speaking to his girlfriend.”

a gift for mike by PureShores: “Lucas, Dustin and Will come up with the perfect Christmas gift idea for Mike. But giving it to him might be a little more complicated.”

raising peter rabbit by @paradiamond: “After the Gate closes, Jim and El kick off their better start.”

the wild youth (reckless) by dumbledore_93: ““He looks really bad,” Dustin croaks. “There’s a lot of blood.” Mike steps over cautiously. There is a lot of blood.”

kids these days by apollos: “Between fighting monsters and catching her little brother doing that with his girlfriend, Nancy would rather have the monsters.”

and then there was one by @timetravl (dustingspace): “In which Dustin is the last remaining party member to believe in Santa Claus; and the rest of the party has to debate over whether or not to tell him the truth.”

you’re not alone* by Playfulelectrode: “This is right after El closes the Gate. We start with Mike, and what it’s like while he waits for Hopper to come back with El. There will be an exploration into the world as El tries to not only figure out where she belongs, but also who she is.”

after the gate closed* by insomniacwriter17: “Jonathan doesn’t know how to deal with all the people staying in his house after the events of the night. Luckily, he’s not the only one.”

finally (i don’t care about tradition) @eleventhemage richiewheeler (jormaperalta): “I don’t care about tradition, you try and get me to kiss you under the mistletoe and I will punch you.”

you are in love* by @upsidedownpromises (rainingcatsandkisses): “Little moments that make Eleven realise that she’s in love.”

sometimes a family is* by merrymegtargaryen: “Just some domestic fluff with only the vaguest inclination of a plot.”

someone to turn to by Val-Creative: “El finds meaning in her new identity and home and a relatively peaceful existence. When things don’t go the way they should, she’s grateful for Mike sticking with her. Max attempts to befriend her one last time, for the sake of their friends and themselves.”

a girl is the strongest thing you can be by @timetravl (dustingspace): “She thinks about the Demogorgon and the MindFlayer and part of her wonders if she’s the same girl now that she was when she defeated them. People don’t treat her like she is.”

the importance of thinking happy thoughts by selkieskin: “Eleven didn’t want to be angry any more. So when she was alone in the cabin during the day and she tried to use her powers using an emotion other than anger, she just kept on thinking of how much attention Mike was paying to Will, not her, and anger kept welling up anyway.”

i’m gross? by untiltheyfindtheperfectgirl: “An unexpectedly eventful snow day...”

so i could kill them for you by valancysnaith: “Max deserves so much better. The party is there for her.” [this one is…odd, to say the least.]

time’s just holding me down (i’ll tear up this town) by jormaperalta: “The Snow Ball is this weekend, and the Demogorgon is back. Thankfully, so is Eleven.”

an even stranger connection by untiltheyfindtheperfectgirl: “Mike looked down at Eleven, his eyes wide. Was he really hearing Eleven in his head?”

P.S. I’m trying out a thing where I tag the author’s tumblrs if I find them. With that in mind, if anyone knows the authors I featured in previous instalments, would you please tag them. Thanks. 🌸

#mileven #mileven fanfiction #mileven fanfiction recommendation list #mileven fanfiction recommendation #character: mike wheeler #character: eleven #pairing: mike x eleven #ship: you made a slow disaster out of me #tv: stranger things #fanfiction recommendations #in this tag resides fanfiction #♔: victrix #*

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malecsecretsanta · 7 years

Text

Merry Christmas, @sweetlittlepeapod!

I hope you enjoy the holiday (or whatever you celebrate!) I wasn't sure on prompts for you but I gave it a go anyways and this came out of it. Hope you enjoy <3

Read on AO3

*****

Hot chocolate can find you dates

A lot could be said about Alexander Lightwood. For one, he enjoyed his peace and quiet. But on the other hand, some could say that’s a lie because of the child his sister and her wife have that he loves dearly. Or the fact that he has a Jace Wayland in his life, or Herondale depending on who asked.

Though Jace only uses the last name Herondale for the perks (Alec truly didn’t understand his brother’s mindset with that one) or to get people off Alec’s back whenever they would tease him about being gay. The upperclassman of New York weren’t the most accepting of people but Alec has learned to deal with it and move on, but not Jace. He throws his last name around to “strike fear into them” as his brother claimed to do. (And truly, it only worked because his grandmother was a feared judge.)

He loved his little brother, although sometimes that was debatable. Especially with the day that Jace came to his apartment with a Clary Fray and Alec truly hasn’t known what a quiet day means or is after that.

But today, oh today was the day he was committed to having a day to himself. No immature adults, no children, no going outside. He had even taken the day off work today – which he usually never does! – to be able to “fully enjoy himself” in the words of his sister Isabelle.

He was going to sit on his ass on his couch while binge watching movies (or television shows, he hasn’t quite decided yet) and pretend to be a teenager again without a worry in the world (which isn’t quite true either, not when you grew up with a mother like Maryse Lightwood) but damn if he wasn’t going to try.

Sometime between laying down and getting comfortable, he began to doze off. He hadn’t planned on letting his eyes close, or to fall asleep, but his eyes were just so heavy and really, would it hurt to close his eyes for a little?

✧ ✧ ✧

He was jerked out of his light napping with the sound of his front door opening. He wasn’t expecting anyone home at this point in the day, his siblings in countless meetings and the handful of people had a key to his flat, as far as Alec knew, were all busy today. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he bolted into an upright position with his body tensed, braced and ready to defend against an attacker.

He squinted his eyes in questioning when he heard the soft giggling of a child and a loud ‘ shh! Uncle Alec is sleeping !’ followed by a female’s voice of ‘let’s go wake him up Madzie, he can’t sleep the day away.’

Alec bit back a groan because of course it would be Lydia and her daughter Madzie here to visit him on his day off.

He didn’t want to crush the little girl’s excitement of waking him up though (it wasn’t very often the little girl was able to do that, her uncle was up before everyone else in the morning.) He laid back down, stifling a yawn as he closed his eyes and forced his body to relax, not wanting the little girl’s mission to go interrupted or foiled. No sooner did he relax his body did he have his arms full of an excited 7 year old who was – if he heard right – demanding him to make her hot chocolate and, wait, did she mention Christmas shopping?

“Madzie! Is that the way we ask for things?” Lydia scolded the child while Alec tried to hide a grin. He didn’t mind when Madzie got this way, he knew the little girl was over excited and sometimes when that happened, her asks turned into demands. She shook her head and turned apologetic eyes onto Alec.

“I’m sorry Uncle Alec,” she murmured and released a sigh.

“It’s alright,” Alec replied and gave a sleepy grin. “Did you want to help me with making the hot chocolate?” He released a laugh when he got an excited squeal in response and felt his arm being tugged by a 7-year-old to his kitchen. He turned around to look at Lydia who was trying to hide her laughter behind her hand.

It wasn’t every day you saw a tall giant like Alec willingly going along with being pulled around wherever the young child desired and snuck looks around Alec’s loft - she had very clear instructions from Isabelle that morning. Before her wife left for work she demanded that Lydia go over to Alec’s apartment to make sure her big brother was living fine; see if he needed anything and she would go later to pick it up for him.

It was heartwarming to see how much the Lightwood siblings cared for one another, including Jace. But it definitely got exhausting at points. Deciding Alec was living fine and would “live to see another day” (her wife’s words, not hers) she followed the pair into the kitchen, pulling up a chair to sit down at the kitchen table.

Alec kneeled down to Madzie’s height and cleared his throat. “Alright, this is an important mission. Are you sure you’re up for it soldier?”

“Yes, Uncle Alec!”

The sound of Lydia’s laughter sounded around his kitchen at the antics between the girl’s uncle and her child. Alec was truly gifted when it came to looking after children, not that she was surprised. But it always warmed her heart to witness it for herself and she couldn’t wait until Alec had kids of his own. He’d be a great father and she was looking forward to getting back at him for the amount of times he had pumped Madzie full of sugar before sending her home to Isabelle and her.

“Okay, first we need a big enough pot to boil the water in. Do you think you can find one for me?” The little girl shook her head in a nod quickly and ran off to Alec’s cabinets in search of the pot. Alec smiled at the little girl’s excitement and went digging through another set of cabinets for the hot chocolate mix.

Madzie let out a triumphant noise when she found what she was looking for, presenting the pot she found hidden away in Alec’s cabinets with pride. Lydia shook her head and went over to the sink to help her put the water they were going to boil into the pot, placing it onto the stove top and waiting for the round to heat up. Meanwhile on the other side of the kitchen, Alec was frowning and searching around.

His frowned deepened when he came up empty handed and turned around to face the little girl. “We don’t have hot chocolate mix anymore, Madz,” Alec began. “But, if it’s okay with your mommy we can go to the grocery store and pick it up?”

The girl squeaked and turned to Lydia in a rush. “Please mommy! Please!” she turned to Alec and added, “I promise I’ll behave for you!”

Sighing and frowning a little, Lydia turned to Alec. “Are you sure?” she questioned. “I can take her out myself, you don’t have to feel pressured to take her.”

“It’s alright Lyds, I don’t mind.” Grinning he added, “Besides, it’s been way too long since we’ve had only Madzie and Alec time.”

“What he said mommy!” Madzie nodded in agreement and Lydia let out a sigh of defeat.

“Okay,” Madzie cheered and ran over to give her mom a huge hug. “But I want you on your best behavior, do you understand me?” The little girl nodded from where her head was buried in her mother’s stomach, Lydia wrapped her arms around her child and picked her up, resting her on her hip.

“Let’s go get you ready, you little munchkin,” murmured Lydia and proceeded to get her child dressed for the chilly winter day while Alec turned off his stove and set the pot with the water in it aside.

✧ ✧ ✧

“There, there!” Madzie pointed to the store’s doors as Alec struggled to keep up with her. For someone with tiny and short legs, she can run Alec thought to himself as he struggled to keep up. His heart was pounding into his chest with nerves as his niece ignored his warnings – and they were in a parking lot!

“Slow down Madzie!” Alec called after the little girl. “You might get hurt!” He managed to catch up with the little girl and released a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. Stopping in front of the girl he put on his ‘mean uncle face’ as both Jace and Madzie called it and began scolding.

“What did I tell you about listening to me?” and fuck, those were tears beginning to form in her eyes but he had to do this. She could’ve been severely injured.

“You promised me you wouldn’t run off Madz, but that’s exactly what you did. Do you understand that you could’ve been severely injured by one of the thousands of cars in this parking lot? Or you could’ve been snatched away by a mean, mean person and I could’ve never seen you again?”

“But Alec—“

“There’s no buts here, Madzie. What would have I told your mother if that happened? Do you think your mother would’ve let us spend time together again after something like this happened while you were in my care?” And okay, he knows he’s being a bit dramatic – he knows that. He knows that both Isabelle and Lydia would have forgiven him but he never would’ve been able to forgive himself. Not when something like that happened to a kid under his care and his niece at that.

He received a quiet ‘no’ in response to his questions and sighed. “Look Madz, I don’t want to be the bad guy here but you need to understand that what you did could’ve had serious consequences.”

“I... I understand,” she whispered and looked up at her uncle. “I’m really, really, really sorry Uncle Alec. It won’t happen again. Promise.” She held up her pinky finger and waited for her Alec to do the same. She would never ever break a pinky promise, especially not to her favourite uncle.

A grin slowly graced its way onto Alec’s face and let out a small laugh. “Now I for one want hot chocolate,” standing up he held out his hand for the little girl. “I don’t know about you though... bad girls don’t get hot chocolate—“

“I’m a good girl!” exclaimed Madzie and stomped her foot with her cheeks puffed out. “Plus you promised me hot chocolate last week when you couldn’t make it to our play date last week because of work!”

“Alright, alright,” replied Alec amused. “Let’s go find you some hot chocolate mix.”

And that’s how Alec found himself with an overactive 7-year-old when they finally stumbled across the hot chocolate after countless minutes of searching. And to think I was supposed to have a relaxing day to myself he mused.

Alec winced when Madzie let out a high pitched squeal, high enough to rival that of a cat being stepped on. “Uncle Alec, look! Look!” The little girl pointed to the sign and Alec squinted. The sign the girl was pointing at read ‘3 for $9’ because of course today would be the day everything Madz likes goes on sale.

“Can we pick up the three boxes Uncle Alec?” she bounced with excitement. “Can we? Can we?”

“We can—“

“—thank you!”

“But you’ll need to promise me that if I get you the extra two boxes you’re going to behave yourself for your parents.”

Madzie nodded her head furiously and turned pleading eyes onto her uncle. “I will, I promise!”

“Pinky promise me Madz?”

“Pinky promise!” She held out her pinky and locked it together with Alec’s pinky, a grin spread out on her face and giggling. “Come on, we have to go buy them now!” She grabbed Alec’s hand and dragged him to the cash out, hurriedly placing her items down onto the thing with a bounce to her step.

“Settle down now Madz,” murmured Alec affectionately. “You have to let the person do their job in a timely way so they don’t mess up.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, darling,” and fuck, Alec already loved the sound of that voice. “But I don’t think that’ll be necessary. I have been working here for two years now.”

Alec looked up and lost his breath. The owner of said voice was the most gorgeous man Alec had ever laid his eyes on and god , Alec was staring at him like a fish out of water with his mouth open and he could vaguely hear Madzie telling him he looked like a fish out of one of her books, giggling with glee.

“I.. uh.. right,” replied Alec dumbly. He had met this man for a whole minute and he’s already a stammering idiot in front of him. Way to go Lightwood. If your last name wasn’t going to scare him off, the amount of brain cells you’re currently showing off will.

“That’ll be $9.45 please,” the gorgeous cashier said with a small grin on his face. Like he knew the effect he was having on Alec and was proud to do so. He stared back at the man but was broken out of his staring when Madzie began tugging on his sleeve.

“Uncle Alec, come on!” she urged. “I want my hot chocolate!”

“I.. right.” He fished in his back pocket for his wallet and pulled out a ten dollar bill. “You can keep the change,” Alec shrugged. “I’ll have no use for it.”

The male nodded and flashed a smile towards Alec who could feel a blush creeping up his neck, dropping his eyes down to find a name tag resting just below the male’s collar bone. The name tag read Magnus .

“—your receipt and your bag, sir.” The man, Magnus he reminded himself in his head, had apparently been talking and Alec awkwardly nodded along, pretending he had been listening to everything he had been saying to him. In truth, though, Alec really had no clue but he didn’t think it was anything different from when he had gone through countless other cashes with other cashiers.

He picked the bag up and stuffed the receipt inside, giving a little wave and murmuring a small thank you to Magnus. He grabbed Madzie’s hand and began walking back to his car with her, praying that Madzie wouldn’t go blabbering about this to Lydia.

✧ ✧ ✧

Alec was really starting to hate his luck. He had hoped Madzie wouldn’t mention anything about the meeting with the gorgeous cashier but as soon as she had one tiny foot through the door she had begun telling Lydia all about the “handsome man that had made her uncle speechless” and “uncle Alec looked like one of my fishes from one of my books when he saw the man mommy!”

Lydia had been listening to her daughter go on and on about the man and Alec threw his hands up, walking towards the kitchen to begin making the little girl her cup of hot chocolate. The two girls had followed him into the kitchen and as he went to go throw out the bag with the receipt inside, he was stopped by Lydia.

“There’s writing on the back of this,” she said as she bent down to pick it up and turn it over. On the back with neat cursive writing made Alec wish a hole would open up and swallow him.

578-945

text or call me some time :)

~ magnus (the cashier)

Lydia burst into a fit of laughter. Madzie was too busy watching the water boil for her hot chocolate to care about what was going on – Alec couldn’t be more grateful for that, truly, but why did Lydia of all people have to find it before him? There was no way she or his sister was going to let him live this down.

“Only you could go out for hot chocolate and come back with someone’s number,” she said in between her fits of laughter. Alec scowled and tried to get the receipt out of Lydia’s clutches.

“Come on Lyds, it’s not that funny,” he tried to reason with the blonde but she wasn’t having it. She had calmed down a little at this point, so Alec believed it to be safe enough to turn around to help Madzie with her hot chocolate. He had just finished preparing her cup and ready to pour the hot water into the cup when he heard his phone chime. He looked around confused and his eyes landed on Lydia who was trying her best to act innocent.

“What did you do?” questioned Alec as he moved to pick up his phone.

“Nothing,” the girl replied. “Just sped up the process a little.”

“What do you mean—“ Alec looked down at his phone and his face lost all colour to it. Of course this is what she meant. How could she?! He wasn’t ready to talk with Magnus, he was fully prepared to throw out the number and pretend it never happened but of course Lydia wouldn’t let him do that and oh god, what was he supposed to do?

“Breathe Alec,” Lydia said as she walked over to the table where he had sat down, Madzie’s cup of hot chocolate in her hand with cool whip brimming at the top of it. The little girl had bounced over to her seat and beamed at her uncle.

“Thank you Alec!” she chirped and Alec managed a small smile, though he imagined it looked more like a grimace. His phone chimed again and he looked down at it, his breathing picking up and he looked at Lydia with panic evident on his features.

From: Alec

To: Magnus

Hey, this is Alec. We met at the grocery store earlier.

From: Magnus

To: Alec

Hello, darling. Is your name short for Alexander?

Would you mind if I called you that?

From: Magnus

To: Alec

Forgive me for being this forward but would you like to

go out and have some drinks tonight? My treat?

“He wants to have drinks this Saturday,” Alec said with a panic. “What do I do? What do I say ? I’m not good with this!” Lydia finally took pity on her best friend when she saw the man was close to bursting into tears or having a panic attack – or both.

“You tell him yes and that you’re looking forward to it.” She reached over and typed a reply for Alec. “There. Now all we have to do is wait for him to text back the time and place,” she continued on. “And wouldn’t you know it? Just like that you’ll have a date Alexander,” she teased.

“It’s Alec,” he corrected her and she only grinned back in reply. He rolled his eyes at her and turned his attention back on Madzie who was almost done her cup of hot chocolate. He was about to ask if she wanted some more as it’s not like he was going to run out of it any time soon when his phone chimed for the third time that night.

From: Magnus

To: Alec

I know this great club and it’s near my place.

I can pick you up tonight? How does 7:30 tonight work for you?

He stared down at his phone and started typing out a response, erased it, and repeated. This went on for a full two minutes before Lydia took pity on him.

“Any reply will work Alec. He’s obviously already interested in you,” she laughed. “I think you could text him back in Indonesian and he’d be happy just to have a reply back from you.”

“Still, it has to be the perfect reply. I don’t want to think I’m some uneducated person who is only after him for his looks – which he looks absolutely beautiful by the way you should really see him.”

“Right,” she said amused. “You forget the little fact of me being a lesbian and not having any interest in the male body.”

Alec groaned and stared back at his phone. He frowned before picking it up and texting Magnus back.

From: Alec

To: Magnus

7:30 works for me.

He hesitated for a moment before beginning to text again.

From: Alec

To: Magnus

I can’t wait to see you again.

He hit send and covered his face with his hands while he awaited a reply. He didn’t have to wait for too long though, a reply chiming through his phone a few seconds later.

From: Magnus

To: Alec

I can’t wait to see you again too, darling <3

He smiled down at his phone and looked towards Lydia. She made a gesture with her hands as if to say ‘see, that wasn’t so hard was it?’

He turned towards Madzie who had started to fall asleep after drinking a warm drink and felt nothing but contentment. He had wanted to start this day off as a relaxing, quiet day but Lydia and Madzie had stormed into his apartment to change that but Alec couldn’t find it within himself to be mad at the two girls for it. Not when they had brought someone as beautiful as Magnus into his life.

And to think, it all started with Madzie Lightwood-Branwell wanting hot chocolate.

#sweetlittlepeapod #malecsanta17 #*fic17 #*gifts17

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