#i love making ocs from wildly different projects talk to each other it's always a good time

[psygull]

guys who deal with personal issues by killing people in an evil building support group

Bishop from UNTITLED DOOM RIPOFF belongs to @steampunkforever

[dyemelikeasunset]

would you be able to include flag country names for the dom&mor characters lineup? ty!

(i love how diverse all your art and characters are, i wish i could read thru all about your ocs and stories like browsing through a wiki in an autism way)

THANK YOU!! In fact I can do you one better and write little blurbs for everyone! Including our leading ladies too of course Under the readmore:

Mor's side

Morgan: Jamaican American Lesbian. Mor's parents came from Jamaica but she was born in the US, where she grew up with her mom in Boston before moving to NYC. Mor went to university for a BA in Graphic Design and met most of her friends there. She works from home these days. Mor doesn't really realize she's the resident Pretty Girl in her group of friends (she has bad self esteem)

Lexi: American Nonbinary Lesbian. Lex met Mor in high school when they both played on the softball team, and they both came out to each other. They've been able to stay friends all these years cause their tastes in girls are wildly different. Lexi belongs to a different group as the rest of Mor's friends since they didn't go to the same college, but they're Mor's very annoying ride-or-die

Panos: Greek Ethiopian and Bisexual. Panos met Mor through their shared degree and has been a mentor and big brother figure for her since. They help onboard her to a lot of projects, and the two of them rely on each other professionally. He never really stops talking about his wife and daughter-- it's the price everyone has to pay, since he's so reliable and understanding and helping everyone all the time

Ryan: (Sansei) Japanese American and Gay. Out of Mor's art friends, Ryan is the one who's most practical about his job. Instead, he puts his energy into being a menace in his dating life. He loves to gossip about his and Mor's very messy love lives and is convinced Morgan is just as much of a heartbreaker as he is behind her innocent facade. She has unfortunately told Ryan all her dirty laundry so he teases her relentlessly every chance he gets

Barjis: Malay Trans and Bisexual. Barjis came to the US with their boyfriend to pursue their degree and also start their transition. They have a surprisingly cute illustration style and work with Panos and Mor often. They love to talk animated movies with Morgan, and it's one of the few things that gets them to talk a lot. Very skittish and tired all the time, and has a bit of a fear of "normies"

Elsa: Norwegian Lesbian. Elsa is Mor's unwitting rival in love because they always crush on the same girls (Ryan loves to tease her about this). Elsa is currently losing (Mor: 7, Elsa: 2) but she's not bitter, just single and sad. She's currently working in web journalism even though she wants to publish her novel. Friendly and considerate, but awkward

Dom's side

Dominique: Korean/Chinese and Asexual. Dom was born in Beijing but grew up in Seoul with her mother. She started working as a model at 16 and moved to the US alone when she was 18. She's currently coming back into the modeling world after a 2 year hiatus. She's charming and good at socializing, but she doesn't really know how to make friends, which frustrates model coworkers who want to be closer to her

Farid: Afghan French and Gay. Farid became a model in his late father's footsteps, so he's often accused of being a nepo model. He's fussy and annoyed easily, but he can never refuse helping people. One of Dom's only real friends, he's a bit like a little brother to her and relies on her a lot. He has a bad habit of dating married men and acting like it doesn't matter to him (it matters. A lot.)

Maithili: Indian Canadian and Pansexual. Maithili is breezy and easy-going, but behind her dreamy facade is a very level-headed personality. She works with Dom often for body diversity shoots, but she'd really like to do more high fashion. Very flirtatious, calls Dom and Farid her "work boyfriends" all the time

Wynter: British Trans woman. Wynter started modeling a little later than her peers. She was scouted after a big transition point, so modeling has brought her a lot of euphoria. She's one of the more mature personalities in Dom's life, and looks after her and the other models a lot. She lives with her boyfriend and is hoping he'll propose soon

Evita: Argentine American and Bisexual. Evita started as a social media influencer and has been able to make her way to the runway as a petite model. Despite their nonchalant persona, they work very hard and are very passionate about their job. Her current romance hangup is how oblivious Dominique is, and she knows she needs to move on

Inessa: Russian (and no fruity business). Inessa met Dom backstage at a Fashion Week while having a breakdown that Dom helped her through, so she's been attached like an inprinted duckling ever since. The type of straight girl who is obsessed with pretty women in a platonic way, so she really wants to get to know more about Dom's cute new girlfriend

[randomfandomimagine]

Love’s Worth Running To. Chapter 3: The Accident

Pairing: Barry Allen x Stephanie Williams (OC)

Fandom: Justice League / DCEU

.

⬅ PREVIOUS CHAPTER • CHAPTER INDEX • NEXT CHAPTER ➡

AO3

A/N: This is when things start to get serious! I hope you enjoy chapter 3! As always, remember to give this some love, please reblog and leave feedback! It would make my week! 🙏💜

The next day the lab feels the same as ever, though it appears even brighter than the other day as Stephanie walks inside, coffee in hand. She beams and smiles at Ben as she approaches him. He stares at her, cutting her off before she can greet him with a cheerful ‘good morning’.

“Good morning to you too, Stephanie” He gladly takes the coffee that she offers him.

“It’s rude to interrupt people, you know?” She playfully wrinkles her nose at him.

“Just when I thought you couldn’t be any nicer and more of a ray of sunshine” Ben jokes. “Does this have to do with your mysterious childhood friend?”

“Kind of” She purses her lips to suppress her big smile. “It suddenly feels like a missing part of me has returned”

“Oh, no…” He playfully dreads. “You’re not going to get sappy, are you?”

Stephanie rolls her eyes a little and softly slaps him in the arm. He laughs.

For a moment she questions whether to tell him about yesterday. The conversation with Barry, the awkwardness turned to warmth as they reconnected again, and even the near death experience that was the strange culmination to an otherwise lovely soiree. However, while she stares at Ben tangling with the computer, she decides against it.

As close as she is with Ben, it feels slightly out of place to talk about it. Too personal. Ben would surely intently listen to her, smiling politely as he always does. Nonetheless, even if a part of her wants to share that euphoria with the only person she’s close to, the other part prefers to keep it to herself. Silently treasure it.

“Is the computer behaving?” Stephanie asks instead, sliding on her white lab coat.

“For now” Ben absently replies, focused on entering commands on it. “Let’s hope it doesn’t glitch today”

“I’m feeling lucky” She happily replies, earning a curious look from him.

Like every other day, Stephanie automatically puts her hair behind her ear to get it away from her eyes. Then she leans down on the microscope, looking through it and analyzing the samples after Ben has done the small adjustments to the force field they had been exposed to.

The usual dullness overcomes her once again as a force of habit, but one thing’s different. After so many hours of hard work and perseverance, there’s finally something. Understanding what the change can mean, Stephanie gasps.

“Ben!” She shrieks with such urgency that he jolts up in startle.

“What is it?” He rushes to her side, planting a comforting hand on her back.

“T-The samples!” She announces, wildly gesticulating. “It’s starting to work!”

On an instinct, Ben goes to look at the samples through the microscope just like Stephanie was doing a moment ago. With a light chuckle, he backs away.

“You’re the biology expert, I... don’t know what’s happening”

“The molecules are being altered, but the reaction is positive” Stephanie’s heart races with intensity at the thought of what it could imply. “And if we arrange the force field in just the right way and the molecules have a flawless positive reaction…”

She feels out of breath with excitement. Finally, her long awaited goal would come to fruition. Finally, they will have a force for good on their hands, a technology that could help and protect countless of people.

“We need to keep working” His ever undisturbed polite facade breaks slightly as he fidgets in the spot, patting her and glancing around as though he doesn’t know what to do. “But we’re making progress?”

“We’re making progress!” To celebrate the success that has taken them months to achieve, they hold on to each other’s hands. Their restless energy surges through them, only spreading further to each other.

“There you are!” An outside voice cuts through the moment as someone walks inside the lab. “It took me forever to find-”

When the two turn, they find themselves with the unexpected presence of a tall thin boy with dark hair. He’s very familiar to her, but a complete stranger for Ben.

“Barry...” Stephanie mutters, suddenly very aware of the rare touch of Ben’s hands.

“You must be the friend” The latter says, breaking away from her.

“The friend?” Barry’s previous gawk changes into a grin. “Have you been talking about me, Steph?”

“Oh, um… sorry...” Stephanie chuckles to hide her embarrassment. “Ben, that’s Barry… you know, my friend. Barry this is Ben, he’s kind of… my boss. Well, not exactly…”

“I’m just in charge of the project” Ben corrects her, witnessing her struggling. “But we work together as equals”

“Yeah…” The young woman suddenly feels overwhelmed as her present and her past collide in the form of the two men.

“Nice to meet you, Barry” Ben holds his hand out for him to shake.

“You too, Ben” The boy smiles, tapping his hand before letting go of the handshake.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but…” Stephanie tugs on Barry’s sleeve. Ben stares at the two, and his gaze flusters her. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I just came by to say hi” Barry simply says, shrugging a little. “I just… I just missed you, okay?”

Stephanie must have given him a look of utter endearment, because he bashfully averts his gaze and begins to walk around the lab.

“Can I… hang around for a bit?” He asks Stephanie, but she looks at Ben.

“I guess” He kindly replies, politely smiling. “It’s not top secret or anything”

“Cool!” Barry continues to carelessly wander around the lab. “The tech looks fancy”

“Thank you” Ben takes the compliment upon himself, as he is the one in charge of that.

“What are you working on?” To Barry’s question, Stephanie glances at Ben once again. He only nods his head for confirmation. Only then does she talk about the project.

“A force field” She motions over to the small machine that projects the energy towards the molecules vibrating in the air. “We’re currently making sure that the molecules react correctly in order to-”

“Ensure the force field could be projected on people?” He ventures, and Stephanie quickly nods her head, smiling. “That would be awesome! It could be used in such amazing ways!”

“I’m the techno-scientist in charge of the force field” Ben explains, even though Barry and Stephanie are peering at each other and barely paying attention. “Stephanie is the biology expert we hired to control how the molecules react when they’re exposed to it”

“What?” She chuckles, flustered under Barry’s smitten stare.

“You’re still trying to save the world, huh?” He nudges her a little.

“So she’s always been like this” Ben meddles in, looking from one to the other.

“You have no idea, buddy” Barry glances at him, even if his permanent smile is directed at the girl.

“I…” Ben clears his throat, taking a step back. “I better leave you two for a bit. I’ll get ourselves a snack”

“Thank you” Stephanie tells him as he moves further away. Her gratitude isn’t only in response to his kind offer to grab something to eat, but also for allowing them a moment alone. He understands how important Barry is to her.

After Ben leaves, the two are alone in the room. It fills with silence. Barry continues to wander, pretending to look at the equipment littered around the lab. In reality, a question bubbles in his chest, growing bigger by the second and threatening to become unbearable until he finally lets it out.

“So…” He begins, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning on a table. “Steph”

“Yeah?”

“Are you free today?”

“Yeah, after work. Why?”

Barry casually shrugs, pouting his bottom lip in a carefree gesture. He picks up an unused flask and fiddles with it, even if his eyes are fixed on her face.

“I dunno… I thought we could go out again. I mean... if you want” He gulps, looking away before she can even react to his suggestion. Barry hurriedly continues speaking, not letting her say anything yet. “We could go take a walk or go to the cinema or…”

“So soon?” Stephanie’s tone is playful. “You should take me to dinner first, Allen”

“Huh?” Barry gawks at her, completely oblivious to her teasing and panicking in fear of her response.

“I’m joking, silly” She giggles, closing the distance that separates them to rub his arm. “I would love to meet with you again later”

Barry grins, heaving a breath of relief. He nods to himself, putting the flaskback on its place. He pushes himself off the table and opens his mouth to say something. However, something interrupts him. Stephanie might have not noticed the noise, being so used to it, but Barry freezes at the sirens outside the window.

“Okay, so what time do you get out?” He begins, slowly walking back to the door.

“At… three” Stephanie half-questions, watching him in confusion.

“Okay, cool” He carelessly says, staring at the street. “I’ll pick you up then”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I gotta run”

“Barry...”

“See you later!”

Before she can even say goodbye to him, he has already run off. The glass door closes with a soft sound that still echoes in her ears. She sighs. With that, Stephanie resigns herself to go back to work. Her thoughts wander nonetheless.

She has to get used to being around him again, is all. They haven’t seen each other in so long, and things have changed. It’s strange to think that they’re both adults now, with jobs and responsibilities, but it’s the reality. One she must accept.

Just as she finds herself staring at the display of the experiment yet not seeing it, it happens. The force field crackles and vanishes, undoing hours of progress. For a moment, she freezes, not knowing how to react.

“No…” Stephanie whines, sulkily walking over to the computer.

She still doesn’t really understand how such an advanced model works, but she takes a look nonetheless. The screen is glitching like it has been for days, so she waits for several seconds. Nothing happens. Stephanie taps the screen, and it seems to return to normal. It asks to press any letter to restart the projection of the force field.

Breathing in relief, Stephanie does as asked. She makes a mental note to tell Ben about it anyway. The machine comes to life with the press of a button. She waits. A crackling sound begins to her right. She looks with the corner of her eye and turns slowly. The force field, once small and contained, is now growing at an alarming rate with a static sound. If it weren’t impossible, she would think it has developed a mind of its own.

“Oh, no…” She gasps, realizing what is about to happen. Her gut knows it before her brain does. A sinking feeling grows in her stomach. Her mind can only focus on one thought. One emotion. Fear.

Time stops. She makes to move out of the way, but it’s too late. She can almost feel the invisible electricity in the air before it hits her. Stephanie closes her eyes tight and puts her arms before her, trying to protect herself from the inevitable. In vain.

Her entire life seems to flash before her eyes as the whimsical time slowly speeds up again. She sees Barry in her mind. Despite her discontent, despite her nostalgia and despite everything, there isn’t a single thing she regrets. Not anymore. As she resigns herself to her doom, she feels satisfied with her life. If he’s to be her last thought, it will be a beautiful one.

An immense blast of energy then shoots her way, being so powerful that it throws her across the room. She screams. The wind is knocked out of her when her back violently hits the furthest wall, claiming a guttural grunt from within her. She falls on the ground like rag doll, barely capable of remaining conscious. Pain is the only thing her brain can conceive. Her lungs have seemed to stop working. Stephanie struggles to catch her breath again, but her attempts are futile. Before she can breathe again, she has succumbed to a pitch black darkness.

_

Barry comes to a halt once he returns to S.T.A.R. Labs. He takes a deep breath, recovering from the unplanned rescue mission, and heads to Stephanie’s lab once more. The remnant of the ashes from the fire still linger on his clothes. He can’t linger on the people he saved for long, however. Something else claims his attention.

He walks slowly, overcome with a strange feeling of dread. It forcefully settles in his stomach. Everything is quiet in that floor. Too quiet... He just left her not that long ago. Barry checks his watch, seeing that only twenty minutes have gone by. There are no voices, but even if Ben hadn’t returned… Something feels wrong.

“Steph?” The boy calls as he approaches her lab, still anguished by the silence. A strange atmosphere lives in the air. “Stephanie?”

Just as he arrives, he places the hand on the doorknob. An unexpected noise makes him freeze. A buzzing light. He sees it flash through the glass door. Still no signs of her.

“Stephanie...?” He tries again, tentatively opening the door. The sight he is received with makes his heart skip a beat. Time has never moved so slowly for him.

The entire lab has been destroyed, like a bomb or a hurricane passed through. An explosion definitely seems to have blasted through the entire room. There is broken glass and papers scattered around the floor, crunching under his sneakers. Every piece of technology that he had admired before, including the computer, are broken to pieces.

The buzzing light blinks on and off, projecting its yellowish light in small intervals to illuminate the darkness that otherwise drowns everything. There is another thing, far more alarming than the others. A figure lying on the ground. Completely still.

“STEPH!” Barry speeds through the room, instantly moving to that corner. “Oh god...”

Stephanie lies face down. The wall behind her is dented, and a nasty feeling assures Barry that her body caused that. What happened there?!

Swallowing hard, he reaches out to touch her. She isn’t moving. Is she breathing? Is she hurt? Is she... alive? Please, let her be alive...

“S-Steph?” He sobs, gingerly gathering her form in his arms and leaning her against his chest. A tuft of hair limply glides off her forehead to reveal her eyes. They are closed. He shakes her slightly, but she limply lies against him. “No, no… I just found you… d-don’t leave me again…”

Stephanie still doesn’t move. Shaking from head to toe, Barry leans closer to her. He can’t hear a heartbeat when he presses his ear against her chest. Moving up slightly, he can’t hear her breath from her parted lips either.

He can’t breathe. It feels like a train has run him over. Only that it would hurt less than this.

“No, no, no, no, no…” He gulps, his vision growing blurry when tears inundate his eyes. “Please, Steph...”

He observes her, heartbroken by the pained expression in her face. It is stuck like that. If only he could do something, if he could save her… A crazy idea suddenly reaches him. Lifting one shaking hand, Barry snaps his fingers. The electricity curses through, crackling in his hands and illuminating her pale skin. He hesitates, but the thought that he’s running out of time convinces him to try it. He has to.

“Please work…. Please, please… please work…” Closing his eyes tight and mentally praying to any and all deities he can think of, he puts his hand over her heart. The electricity passes over to her, and Stephanie lightly spasms with it.

He holds. His heart continues to race as he watches her expectantly.

Boom, boom. Boom, boom.

Although she remains still, Barry can hear a faint strangled inhale coming from her.

“Stephanie?” He quickly asks, so much so that he runs over the syllables.

Her eyelashes flutter. Barry holds his breath. She frowns, letting out a pained yet weak groan. Still, he almost starts crying in relief.

“S-Steph...” He calls her again, gingerly cradling her face in his palm.

Stephanie opens her eyes. A blinking light stabs them. A person is very close to her as his face comes into focus. All she can see is a pair of gentle dark eyes she is very familiar with. Her fuzzy brain is having trouble recognizing them. Now they’re also flooded in fear and concern. He’s moving his lips, but she can’t hear the sounds he’s uttering. A loud whistling in her ears makes it impossible to focus.

Stephanie tiredly stares at him. She wants to move, to speak, to do something, but she can’t. Everything hurts. Her brain burns with a fog that quickly eats up her thoughts. She needs to lift her arm and touch him, make sure he’s really there and not just a dream.

Barry...

She can’t.

Her sore body and mind take over her. Stephanie’s eyes roll into her skull. Despite it all, she smiles. Because he’s here with her. She can feel his warmth. As long as he’s there, she groggily thinks, everything will be alright.

Stephanie gives in to exhaustion and forsakes herself to darkness once again. He hears him screaming her name, so loud that it overpowers the loud whistling in her ears.

“Steph!!” Barry’s heart skips a beat. The tears that had frozen in his eyelashes freely travel down his cheeks when he notices she has grown completely still again. “S-Steph?”

He continues to sob, desperately clinging her body against his chest as a harrowing void fills his chest.

_

An unexpected knock makes little Stephanie freeze. She leaves her homework and waits, fearing who might be at the door. The knock comes again, this time accompanied by a kind voice.

“Tephie!” Barry insists. “Open up!”

Hurrying to her feet, Stephanie runs to the door in astonishment and opens it to let him in. With a mildly mischievous smile, Barry rushes in as soon as he is able to. She follows him with her gaze as he goes to the table and puts the homework away.

“Barry!” She whispers at first, but then she realizes she doesn’t have to. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to cheer you up” He drags something out of his pocket. “I know you argued with your mom and dad again. They aren’t home, right?”

“No, they’re still working” Stephanie goes after him as Barry goes to the TV. He introduces the mysterious object he carried and hid in his hands into the VHS player. “Barry, what…?”

“I found this really cool movie” He looks at her with a grin. “I know you’re gonna love it, we can do a sleepover!”

“Those never end well” She smiles a little in spite of herself. “Remember that time you chased me around the house and knocked down my mom’s favorite vase?”

“I only wanted to tickle you…” He defended himself as he set the movie up.

Stephanie laughs, shaking her head at him. Barry only shows him an innocent grin.

“What movie is this?” She asks as they both sit in the ground as they always do.

“The Breakfast Club”

“Haven’t heard of it”

“Shame on you!”

“What’s it about?”

“Just watch the movie!”

She giggles, trying to hold the laughter in and focus on the movie. Still, she looks at Barry. His presence has cheered her up already, and the arguments with her parents don’t seem as important anymore.

The boy turns to her as well, sweetly smiling in return. It is an expression that has etched in her memory. Even after all this time.

As her senses return, reality and dream mix as the latter slowly dissolves. A boy is sitting close to her. The same one from her dream.

Barry stares at her with those warm dark brown eyes. A happy twinkle shines in them.

There are dark circles under his eyes, seeming gloom and inundated in tears. She can tell even as he averts his gaze, absently staring at the window. But not seeing it.

His smile is wide and bright, glad that the plan works and she finds the movie entertaining.

There is no sight of that smile, only a preoccupied gesture that has his lips tightly pursed. When they’re not, they shake with the meek sobs that wreck his torso.

What’s wrong? Why is Barry crying?

Disoriented, she glances around. A bright white hospital bed surrounds her. The walls are made of tiles and make the whole room cold. She is resting in a soft bed, with a thin sheet covering her body. When she looks to the side she focuses on him.

“B… B…” She tries to call out, but speech has left her. Nonetheless, his sobbing halts.

“Steph?” He gasps, hurriedly wiping his tears and leaning forward in the chair he’s sitting in. “Are you awake?”

“Ba… Barry…” She opens her mouth, trying to reply.

“No, no, no, don’t speak. Save… save your energies!”

Stephanie only groans, overwhelmed with discomfort and pain as the veil of sleep completely fades. It had been safe and comfortable, but consciousness feels like a torture. All the unpleasant sensations that plague her multiply when a sudden pressure engulfs her as Barry throws himself to hug her.

“Oh, Steph...” He dissolves in feeble sobs as he gingerly squeezes her in his arms. “You’re okay… For a moment there, I… I thought I lost you...”

“B-Barry…” The word gets stuck in her raspy throat and dry mouth. The effort causes a violent coughing fit that shakes her entire body.

“I’m so sorry!” Barry immediately pulls away, giving her some room to breathe.

Stephanie continues to cough, wincing as the strain only brings more pain that layers on top of the existing one. Barry dissolves in apologies as he hurries to pick up the water bottle that he kept ready in the table beside him and hands it to her.

The coughing fit lessens enough to let her drink, but she can’t reach out to take the bottle from him. Stephanie’s arms feel heavy as though they’re made out of lead. Every single muscle hurts and she can only manage a pathetic attempt at reaching out. The arm heavily falls down onto the bed again. She huffs in resigned frustration.

“Hey, it’s okay, I got you” Barry opens the bottle for her and brings it up to her lips.

As much as she appreciates the help, Stephanie can’t help but to scowl a little. She feels completely useless, being unable to even hold up a plastic water bottle.

“I’m sorry about that…” Barry tells her. “You’re still weak, I need to… you need to…”

Not really listening to him, Stephanie lightly nods her head. Understanding the gesture, he puts the water away and returns the bottle to its place on the table. She hadn’t realized how dry her throat was until she drank.

“What…?” Stephanie finally manages to croak out, her voice still hoarse and raspy.

“What happened?” He completes for her, earning a nod so mild that he barely sees it. “You had an accident at the lab… I… the… the force field exploded”

Stephanie closes her eyes as the memories come to her. On top of all the unwell, a nasty feeling grows in the pit of her stomach. She vividly remembers it now. The iron claw of fear returns to her, even if as a shadow of its former self. The force field went out of control. That explains why every fiber of her body hurts in a way it never had before. It’s like the aftermath of a thousand workouts put together, only that even worse.

“You’re okay, though” Barry tries to reassure her. “You broke a few bones, but you’ll heal and… you’ll recover in no time, right?”

Unable to participate in Barry’s optimism, she continues frowning. Having the haunting suspicion that she broke some ribs, Stephanie cautiously breathes in. Indeed, a sharp pang reaches her side when she does. Watching her grimace, Barry can only wince in empathy, wishing there was something he could do to help.

“Do you... need anything?” He kindly offers, fighting the urge to fidget. “Water, food? Are you cold?”

Stephanie whines, reaching out her hand. He doesn’t hesitate to take it.

“Me?” He questions, earning a soft nod from her. “I’m here, Steph, not going anywhere”

To further demonstrate, Barry plops back down on the chair, squeezing her hand. She seems to at least be a little more at ease now. He breathes out in relief as well, trying not to make it too obvious.

Just when everything was starting to settle down, the door to the room urgently swings open. They both turn their heads in startle. A blond mop of hair sticks out, and familiar blue eyes sweep the room.

“Stephanie…” Ben utters, barely glancing at Barry before he settles on her.

“Hey, man…” Barry warns him, getting back up. “Take it easy with her, okay?”

“Of course” The other gravely nods. “Thanks for looking after her, I got here as fast as I could”

“Ben…” She croaks, letting go of Barry’s hand and reaching out for him.

“Hello” The aforesaid does his best to smile, even if wrinkles of concern form on his face. “How are you feeling?”

Stephanie only moves around in the bed, feeble. She wishes she could just get up and give him a hug. Give them both a hug. But her body is screaming for her to lie still and rest. Defeated, she only sighs and tiredly leans her head on the pillow.

“Is she okay?” Ben asks, bearing the physical manifestation of utter heartbreak in his voice.

“Yeah, she’s just…” Barry sighs in exhaustion. “A little weak right now”

The two share a preoccupied glance. They murmur as Barry puts him up to date on what the doctors told him. She should be okay. The accident was bad, but the important thing is she survived it. She’s out of danger now. All she needs is rest.

“Don’t… mutter…” Stephanie weakly begs them, only feeling worse about it.

“Sorry” Ben turns to her once more, forcing out another smile and holding up something that he had been clinging in his hands. “I brought you these”

Stephanie manages to genuinely smile for the first time as she watches Ben. The beautiful bouquet of flowers is gingerly put over the table. Roses. They brighten up the room with a touch of color. From there, Stephanie can also smell their pleasant scent.

“I… actually wanted to apologize, Stephanie” Ben admits then. He uses his professional voice, the one Stephanie has heard many times when they talk about work. “It was my fault that such a horrible thing happened”

“What?” Barry pipes up, watching the scene develop. “How could it be your fault?”

“I was in charge of the technology” The other tells him, then turning back to her. “I should have avoided it, I should have kept the computer from glitching like that”

Barry averts his gaze. For the first time, he sees the situation from a very different perspective. Glitch… His gut twists in a nasty manner when realization hits. The technology glitched. It isn’t the first he hears of it, even if they don’t know . Something tells him it wasn’t an accident. One thing is for certain, though, it wasn’t Ben’s doing.

“I-I’m sure it wasn’t your fault, man” Barry pats his shoulder, but Ben shakes his head.

“It was my responsibility” He insists. “I still can’t understand what happened but… I should have known… I should know”

“Stop…” Stephanie pleads, hating that the situation only worsens.

“I should at least have been there with you, to...” Ben’s bright blue eyes become watery with tears. “To protect you when it happened”

“That’s true” Barry agrees, but corrects himself when he realizes how it sounds. “I mean me! I shouldn’t have left you alone, Steph, I feel terrible”

The two of them softly talk over each other, taking the blame as they reassure the other.

“Guys…” She breathes in slowly, successfully catching their attention. And, relieved that it doesn’t develop in another coughing fit or a wave of pain. “If you were there… you would have… just… gotten hurt too…”

That small effort has rid her from any of her remaining energies, but it was hopefully worth it. The silence heavily falls on them. It reigns. The boys look down to their feet, filled with remorse and anguish. Both of them care deeply about Stephanie, they realize as they look up at each other, it’s the one thing they have in common.

“Well, I…” Ben gulps, giving a third attempt at a smile. “I should get back to work, there’s a lot to do right now”

“Don’t... worry” Is all Stephanie manages to tell him to assuage his fear. “I’ll be... okay”

“Hey, Barry?” When the boy peers at him, surprised, Ben continues. “Look after her?”

“I will” They shake hands, like they did less than a day ago. “I promise”

Showing his best effort yet, Ben smiles once again. Then, as he waves goodbye at Stephanie, he quietly leaves the room. After closing the door behind him, Ben exchanges a glance with Barry. The boy nods his head, assuring him he will keep his promise. He doesn’t need to tell him twice.

“He’s so… sweet…” Stephanie languidly says, although her ability to speak is returning little by little.

“Yeah…” Barry bites his lip, watching the spot Ben used to be in. “Ben’s a nice guy”

He feels stupid for being jealous of him at that very moment. Of course, he wishes he could have spent all those years with Stephanie like he has. Years that she spent with Ben instead of with him. Perhaps it’s because Barry was so close to losing her that every single second away from her, past or future, suddenly feels unbearable.

Gathering himself, he takes a deep breath. There is still the present. He can be with Steph now. So he will be there, because she needs him. Because he wants to be there.

“Anyway” Barry grins at her, hoping the gesture is uplifting. “What do you need, Steph?”

Once again, she holds her hand out. He laughs a little as he delicately wraps his fingers around hers. Suddenly, the pang of jealousy in his chest dissipates.

“That’s right” A bright and more genuine grin grows on his lips. “That’s where we left of”

Just when he’s about to sit, however, Stephanie tugs at his hand. He looks up at her, frozen mid—movement. Their eyes meet. An unspoken need glows in hers while his are a reflection of the softness he currently feels. Because of her.

“Closer” She just asks him, and he doesn’t have the heart to complain. A part of him is afraid that he will hurt her in that fragile state, but his need to comfort her overcomes it.

“Okay” Barry sweetly smiles, pausing for a moment as he stands up straight again.

Stephanie makes an effort to scoot while he glances around. His hoodie rests over the back of the chair, so he takes it and gingerly places it over her. Stephanie smiles and gladly shrinks under the warm garment. Barry looks around again, making sure there’s nothing else she might need before he lies down with her and settles there.

“Barry?”

“Stop talking, Steph!” He nervously hisses, but when he hears how hard that sounded even in his worry, he corrects his tone to a more playful one. “Gosh, I’m the one that rambles around here, okay? You have no right taking my place like that”

She smiles, and the beautiful sight warms Barry’s heart. It replaces the lonely coldness that had harbored inside his chest for so many hours. Of uncertainty and fear.

“What if I…?” She still says, even if she obliges and quiets nonetheless.

“Need something?” He completes for her again. “Let me think…”

Barry carefully goes to lie down in the bed with her. He moves slowly, slower than he ever has. As he lightly sinks down into the bed, Stephanie immediately accommodates. She snuggles closer to him, sighing in content when their sides are pressed together.

“Okay, here’s what we’ll do” Barry can’t help but to smile as she comfortably leans her head on his shoulder. “You can squeeze my hand”

“Mm-hm” Is all she says as she closes her eyes, finally feeling at ease.

He exudes a soothing warmth that envelops her and makes her feel at home. Although he is fidgety and restless, he tries to stay still. Not move an inch. As small as the gesture is, Stephanie treasures it fondly. While she is wondering in the cozy state he helped her achieve, Barry is being true to his word by rambling on.

“One squeeze if you need comfort, two if you need water or food...”

“Mm-hm…”

“Oh, and three if you need me to get the doctor or something”

“Mm-hm”

“Did I miss anything? What else?”

Barry waits, assuming Stephanie is thinking about it too. After a few seconds of silence, and a very telling sound, he glances down at her. She is softly breathing. Barry feels a fluttering in his stomach while he watches her sleep in his shoulder.

“Sleep well, Tephie…” He whispers to himself, smiling fondly.

The overwhelming worry that had haunted him for so many hours grows smaller. It still shimmers in the surface, but leaves room for something different. Like the wave of affection that reaches him.

Barry takes a breath, gently wrapping his hand around hers. He holds it. If she wakes and needs something, he’ll be ready for when she squeezes it. For now, he will rest with her.

Not moving from that position, Barry closes his eyes. He feels the inviting and well-deserved slumber catch up to him. He falls asleep delicately squeezing her hand and hoping to infuse her with all his energy for a speedy recovery.

Tag list: @scared-to-be-lonely345 // Ask to be added to be notified when I post for this series!!

[hoebii]

Like me better

Pairing : Park Jimin x Reader

Genre : Fluff, Highschool!Au, e2l, rivals

Rating : PG13

Warning : ‘Curse’ words are mentioned (is ‘shit’ even a curse word fhgjv), OC wanting to choke Jimin and not in the kinky way, brief mention of Jimin being a playboy thot, hating on mint chocolate because it’s the worst flavour to exist you can fight me on this

Wc : 4k

A/N : Alright, this was originally supposed to be a birthday drabble but it got a little out of hand as you can see. We had a whole lot planned for this fic but it got too long oops- so we decided to cut it short and keep the ending open huhu. Happiest birthday to our precious maknae @heejinnien​ from @xiaokoo​ (who also made this AMAZING banner btw) and I. Hope you like your present baby! We love you so so so much~<3 Also this isn’t as edited as I’d like it to be but I got impatient okay don’t @ me :<

----------------

The bustling crowd of students bumped into you repeatedly as you weaved through them to get to class. You kept a strong grip on your books so as to not drop them. People squeezed passed as you tried not to trip and fall flat on your face. You had slept through your alarms and were currently rushing to your class, cursing at yourself for this blunder in your head. 

“Sorry, excuse me, oh shit!” You catch yourself as you tumbled to the ground. Your books splay across the floor as you winced at the sore feeling. Hopefully, no one would step on you or your books - you had paid good money for them!-. As for tripping over, you looked over your shoulder, glaring when you caught sight of a group of boys laughing. 

“Aw is little princess hurt?~” You heard one of them call out, the others snickering in the background. You ignored them and started gathering all your books, telling yourself they weren’t worth the trouble. You were almost done picking up all the books on the ground when one was suddenly snatched from your grasp. Looking up at the culprit you see Park Jimin, the bane of your existence, holding it up.

“Are you sure you even need books?” He snickers, flicking through it. “You’re not even smart, why bother studying if it doesn’t do you any good?” 

You feel your blood boil. How dare he?! You were smarter than him in every possible way. He had no right to mock you, sure he was smart but you always placed second. If there was one thing you hated, it was being second best to Park Jimin. 

“You’ll just come second like always.” 

That comment hit you hard. You tried to keep your cool, resisting the urge to punch him in the face. Sure, Jimin was annoying but there was no way you were going to create a scene because of it. Not again. Instead, you rolled your eyes, choosing to ignore him and walked away. There would be no reason to argue with a dumbass. Why waste your time?

Jimin watched as you walked away. He smirked to himself. Despite acting calm, he’d known you long enough to know that you were fuming inside. There were buttons he knew how to push to get the reaction he wanted and he thoroughly enjoyed provoking you. 

--------

You stumbled into the classroom, panting from the light jog. “Damn I need to get back in shape, Jesus Christ.” you whispered to yourself. 

“Miss Y/L/N, care to explain why you’re five minutes late to the class?” Your professor’s voice boomed in the small classroom. You look at him, giving him a sheepish smile as you rub your neck. 

“I… got lost…?” 

What was that?! You wanted to smack yourself at your own words. So much for your perfect attendance. 

“You got lost?”

“Y...es…”

Your professor took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Just, just go to your seat.”

You scurried to your seat, setting down your books and sitting down. You heard snickering from beside you and you turned your head slightly towards the sound to see none other than Park Jimin laughing at you. Feeling your face flush in embarrassment, you turned towards your professor and started jotting down notes. You were not going to get riled up by Jimin during a class. 

-----------

It’s official. Life hates you. You must have been some sort of a witch in your last life who thrived by torturing others. That had to be it. Why else would you ever get partnered with Park freaking Jimin for your science project?! Apparently, the professor had said it was because you two were ‘top students that will compliment each other well’. But you’re certain it was actually because she hated you and you must have tortured her or something in your past life and this was her way of getting revenge. You’re pretty sure you came up with at least 7 ways to end Park Jimin in the time he took to move his seat closer to you for ‘discussing details about the project.’ 

“So you’re gonna draw the diagram and write everything,” Jimin started as soon as he sat down. He dumped his bags to one corner taking out the necessities. “I will be supervising you as I’m clearly the better one here.”

Oh how much you craved to just lean forward and wrap your fingers around his neck and choke him. How can a person be this insufferable? You could just shove a damn pen up his- 

“Alright class dismissed! Remember, the deadline is on Monday next week! Have a nice weekend.” Your professor announced, snapping you out of your thoughts.  

“I’ll see you tomorrow then, don’t screw up the project.” 

With that Jimin left you sitting there fuming at him. You let out a tired sigh and begin packing up to leave too, mind running wild. Why couldn’t Jimin just be a good person for once?

-------------

The weekend seemed to go by in a flash, just you working on the project with Jimin, who had surprisingly been quite helpful. Just when you thought he had a heart, he had said it was ‘so you don’t ruin my grades.’ Yeah nevermind he still sucks.

What you didn’t know was Jimin being nice - well as nice as a jerk can get anyway - was because he had a bet to win. One of the boys had proposed a bet after class when he caught Jimin bickering with you yet again. The bet was simple really, ask you out and date you for a while before leaving you. Jimin had refused at first but then everyone started taunting him. Who liked getting mocked? No one. It was plain simple anyways, no one would actually get hurt, wasn’t like you liked him. So he accepted.

It wasn’t easy to catch your attention, given the fact the both of you were mortal enemies, it was near impossible. He did everything in his power so you would look at him but all tactics had somehow managed to flop. There was only one other way of actually getting you to notice him and that was annoying you. However, that would ruin the whole point of the bet. 

“Y/n, Y/n, Y/n.” Jimin chanted as he poked you on the cheek incessantly. “Y/n pay attention to meeee.” He continued to whine. 

You felt your right eye twitch. Why was this dumbass bothering you?! There was no reason for him to even be five feet close to you. 

“What is it Jimin?” You turn to him, a sickly sweet smile on your face. “What is so important that you’re trying to talk to me?”

Jimin grinned, his eyes turning into crescents as he poked his cheek and gave a wink. “Hi~ How are you doing?”  

Is he for real right now? Did he think he was cute? You felt like throwing up. “Park what are you up to? You never act,” you started, eyes squinting in suspicion, “like whatever you’re doing right now.” 

Jimin gasped and placed a hand on his chest as if in pain before exclaiming, “What?! Me? Up to something? Impossible, I’m as innocent as an angel.” 

An angel? More like a devil. There was no way he was telling the truth. You’d known him long enough and not once in your life had he treated you with such...whatever that emotion was.

“Right. An angel. Okay.” You nodded.

“Do you not believe me? You can ask anyone on this campus and they would tell you how amazing I am.” He gestured his hands wildly. 

You scoffed at that, of course they would, he had slept with the majority and had the remaining wrapped around his tiny fingers. Plus, no one wanted to cross Park Jimin. He ruled the campus and everyone knew it. 

“Listen, just get to the point. I don’t have time for this nonsense.” You said, rolling your eyes and huffing. You had to get to your next class in about five minutes. There was no way you were going to be late because some idiot was bothering you. 

“Go on a date with me.”

You choked on air at that, did you hear that right? “E-excuse me what?!”

Jimin shrugged and crossed his hands, flexing slightly, “You heard me, go on a date with me this weekend. Heard there's a new ice cream shop here, we could go there.” 

“You want to take me on a date?” You look at him skeptically. Was this a test? Were you being filmed? “You’re joking.”

“No.” He fixed you with a stare. “I’m serious. One date, if you don’t enjoy that one date, I promise I won't bother you ever again.”

You stood there staring at him, alarm bells ringing in your head. This can’t be real. He’s lying. “You? Never bothering me ever again? That’s like saying you don’t sleep with everyone you meet.”

“I didn’t sleep with you.”

“That’s different!” You exclaimed, face flushing. “You hate me!”

Jimin tilted his head, his nose scrunching up. “I never said I hate you.” You open your mouth ready to retaliate. “You simply assumed I did, my actions don’t mean anything unless I say something.”

You stood speechless. There had to be one occasion where he had stated he hated you. One. You searched your brain. Sure enough there was no such memory. 

Not wanting to lose to Jimin nonetheless you stomped your feet and said, “Yeah well that makes no sense! Haven’t you heard ‘actions speak louder than words’? I thought you were smart” You tsked, shaking your head as if you were disappointed.

“But I’m standing here asking you out, I’m sure that counters all the things I’ve done to you.” He gives you a sly smirk, one you’re all too familiar with. “There’s really two options Y/n. One’s yes and the other is...yes. Which one do you choose?”

If you could you would have burned him to a crisp with your glare. Unfortunately, you hadn’t been gifted with laser vision like superman. It would have been quite a gift if you had. Imagine how peaceful life would be without Park Jimin judging your every move. Then again, you would miss him. Wait what?! You shook your head to clear your mind before looking at Jimin.

“No.”

Jimin’s eyes widened as he spluttered. “W-what do you mean no?!”

“N-O. No. Don’t tell me you forgot basic english.”

Jimin clicked his tongue in annoyance, glaring at you. No one had ever turned him down. Whatever Park Jimin wants he gets. Right now he wants you. 

“Why not?” 

You gave him a look. “Well, it isn’t exactly a secret that you sleep with anything that has two legs. I don't even know why you’re asking me out, you never go on dates.”

“That's because you’re different.”

You scoff. “Listen Park, this isn’t some shitty rom com that you can charm your way to my heart, this is reality and I’m smart enough to realise how much of a jerk you actually are.”

Words seemed to die in Jimin’s throat. A jerk?! Sure, he annoyed you but he didn't think he deserved the title of a jerk. If it wasn’t for that stupid bet he wouldn’t even be asking you out. There was no reason why you couldn’t go on just one date with him. It wasn’t as if he was asking you to juggle swords and then swallow them. Besides, Jimin was a very attractive person and he knew it too. What’s so bad about going out with him? You should feel blessed he was even asking you out in the first place!

“Just say yes already woman. One date won’t kill you,” Jimin groaned out, throwing his head back in frustration.

“One date with you will.”

You stared at each other, no one making a single move. The silence stretched on for a moment before Jimin sighed loudly and ran a hand through this hair. 

“Come on!”

“No”

“...Please?” Jimin couldn’t believe he had to beg. He never begs! The things he does for a stupid bet.

Rolling your eyes at Jimin, you sigh, “Fine. We can go there this Saturday.”

“I begged, why won’t you just accep--” Jimin started before cutting himself off, “Oh you said yes. Um, well, yeah ok.” He mumbled, trying to fix his composure. “Yeah see you there or something. Bye,” and with that he walked away, leaving you both amused and confused… and also late for class! Damn Park Jimin.

-----------

You stood in front of the ice cream shop waiting for Jimin to show up. He was late, but then again what were you expecting anyway? You rolled your eyes as you looked around, “If he doesn’t show up in the next minute, I’m leaving.” you mumbled to yourself, checking your watch for what felt like the umpteenth time. 

“Y/n!” A voice shouted from behind causing you to turn around. Jimin ran towards you, panting slightly. “Sorry, I had to run all the way here.”

“Did you forget about the date or were you just being a jerk and were late intentionally?”

His face flushed pink, avoiding your gaze. “I might have forgotten but that wasn’t completely my fault, I just lost track of time.”

“Yeah whatever.” 

Jimin went to hold open the door for you but you beat him to it, opening it for yourself and slamming it in his face. He held back the urge to leave right there. A bet needed to be completed. He followed you inside trying to strike a conversation with you, trying to get just a crack of a smile.

“So Y/n, how’s your day?” Jimin asked, giving you a sweet smile that would have anyone swooning but it had no effect on you. 

“It would be good if the one who asked me out on a date came on time.” You didn’t look at him, instead you were staring intently at the menu. 

Jimin bit his tongue to stop himself from saying something he would regret, giving you a tight lipped smile. “I’m sure your date regrets being late.” ‘And asking you out in the first place’ Jimin thought the last part but didn’t say out loud.

“Doubt it.” You shrugged. 

Jimin knew what you were doing. You were specifically trying to provoke him, there was no way that he would ask you out on a date voluntarily. You were trying to gouge out any secrets he was hiding. His job, obviously, was to try and not let you find out those secrets. There was no way you were going to cooperate if he told you about the bet. 

The two of you knew each other since you were both babies, your mothers knew each other and would always coo at ‘how cute these two will look together.’ Unfortunately for them though, since you were both young the two of you had some sort of competition going on. Didn't matter if it was who was smarter, who was faster or who could fit the most grapes in their mouth, the both of you were always competing. 

As you both grew older the bickering turned into bullying on his part. In truth, you actually didn't know what started this long feud, all you remembered was one day when you were five an annoying boy yanked your hair so hard that a few strands had come out. Annoying boy turned out to be Park Jimin and the two of you haven’t stopped arguing since. 

“What flavour are you getting?” Jimin peered over your shoulder. He looked at you expectedly. “I’ve already chosen mine, so it’s just up to you and I’ll pay.” He holds his wallet out. 

“Vanilla.” You said plainly.

“What?!” 

You turn to face Jimin, frowning. “What’s wrong with vanilla?”

He makes a face. “Y/n, it’s so boring, like you no doubt.” The last part had slipped out accidentally and he regretted it as soon as it left his mouth. That was it. You were going to scream at him and he would lose the bet.

Instead, you ignored his comment fixing your gaze back onto the menu. “What do you think I should get then? I’ll give you the choice, assuming you don’t pick a disgusting flavour like mint chocolate chip, I’ll be fine.” 

Sure, it was a stupid decision giving Jimin the power to pick what you were going to eat, but what could go wrong? Worst case scenario, you didn't like the flavour and he would be forced to go get a new one, which would cost him more money. It’s a win win. 

“You’re giving me the freedom to pick what flavour you’re having?” Jimin asked, making sure he didn't misunderstand your statement. You simply nodded, shrugging nonchalantly. 

“Yep” you replied when he stared at you for a while longer, popping the p.

Jimin smirked. “I’ll get you the best flavour to ever exist then.”

You raised an eyebrow at his statement, “Oh?”

“Yeah, mint chocolate~” 

You stared at him in disgust, scowling as you said, “Dude I just said that flavour is disgusting. Made by the devil himself.”

Jimin tapped his chin, as if he had no clue about you were saying, “Did you really? Can’t recall anything like that. Hmm.”

“Park Jimin, I swear to god if you get me that flavour I will rip your eyeballs out and shove them up your ass.”

“So you wanna touch my ass now?” He grinned smugly. You felt your cheeks heat up as you spluttered, desperately searching for a comeback.

“Just- just get me whatever you’re having. Unless it’s chocolate mint, then get out of my sight right now.” 

“Don't worry, I hate the flavour as much as you do. So, two birthday cakes coming right up.” You try to find ‘birthday cake’ on the menu. 

“Dude, the thing looks like a unicorn just threw up on it.” 

Jimin shoots you a glare. “Don’t disrespect the superior flavour bestowed upon us by the ice cream Gods.” You gape at him open-mouthed. Ice cream Gods?! The guy was insane. You were on a date with a guy who was insane. Rest in pepperoni to you.

“You’re insane,” You shake your head. “I’ll be waiting over there. Be quick.” You point to a table in the corner. 

“Yes ma’am” Jimin saluted before going to order at the counter. You shake your head. You’d known Jimin of most of your life and he’d always been silly and annoying. 

Some reason you knew a lot about him. You blamed it on your parents making you spend too much time with each other when you were younger. Also you needed to know every little thing about your mortal enemy, wasn’t that what mortal enemies did? You had to be prepared for anything and keep track of them at all times!

“Got your ice cream.” Jimin placed the cup in front of you as you stared at it with distaste. You’d never really had ice cream often but when you did you always went for the plain vanilla. It was simple, no need for toppings or colourful flavours. You weren’t one to take risks. 

“What monstrosity did you get for me, Park?” 

“Oh stop being a baby, it’s just strawberry with some syrup on it.” Jimin answered while he rolled his eyes, lips tugged up into a small smile. Eyes twinkling with adoration as he looked at you. 

“I’m not eating it.”

“Oh yes you are. Here comes the airplane!” Jimin started, taking a spoonful of the ice cream and moving it towards your face as if talking to a child. 

“I’m not a kid. I’m not ha-” Jimin shoves the spoon inside your mouth when you open it to retaliate, his lips lifted into a sly smile. You snatch the spoon off him while glaring at him and start feeding yourself. “Don’t patronise me, you jerk.” You grumbled.

Jimin almost cooed out loud at your pout but he barely controlled himself. Since when were you this cute? He watched as you ate.

“Is it good?” 

“...yes” You reluctantly answered, still pouting.

Jimin smiled, leaning back on his chair as he pat himself on his shoulder. “Another job done well by yours truly.”

You rolled your eyes. Then you noticed that Jimin’s ice cream looked slightly different to yours. It wouldn’t hurt to ask for a bite. Would it?

“What’s on yours?” Jimin looked up, the tiny spoon still in his mouth. “What’s on your ice cream?”

“Just extra sprinkles and chocolate sauce, nothing too special.” He shrugged, continuing to devour his dessert. You stare at your cup and then at his. Something must have been possessing you because before you knew it you were leaning over and digging your spoon into his cup.

“Hey, you can’t just do that!”

“Pretty sure I just did.” You popped the spoon into your mouth, savouring the taste. “You know you really weren’t kidding when you said this was good. For once, you did something right, congrats dude.” 

Jimin would have made a snarky comment but the look of pure ecstasy on your face stopped him. Even though he knew you for most of his life, there were parts you kept hidden. He knew you didn’t get out much, constantly studying was the only thing you seemed to do. A nice feeling bubbled inside of him. It was nice to know you were enjoying yourself, made him feel happy for some reason. 

You giggled, shoving more of the sweet dessert into your mouth. Too busy to notice that Jimin was staring at you. When you did, you gave him a look of confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

“You got a little something here.” He pointed to the left side of his face, holding in the urge to laugh at your cute expression. “No here, no.” He leaned over brushing his thumb over the corner of your lips. He stared at you, had your eyes always been so pretty? You felt yourself grow red at the close proximity between you two, not knowing what to do. Jimin leaned away, - why did your heart sink at that? - and licked his thumb. “Love this flavour.”

You avert your eyes quickly, blush getting brighter. You should not have found that as hot as you did. Get yourself together Y/N! Park Jimin, enemy number one! Nothing he does is mildly attractive. Nothing. He is the devil reincarnated!

Suddenly your phone started ringing, shattering whatever moment you two had going on. You picked up the device and checked the caller ID. Why was Jungkook calling now? You gave Jimin a sheepish look.

“Hello? I’m out. No. What? How did you- Alright alright.” Jimin watched as you spoke on your phone. 

You sighed in annoyance, hanging up after a while and giving Jimin a sheepish smile, “I need to go. Jungkook somehow made the microwave catch on fire.” 

Jimin raised his eyebrows in shock, looking at you as if you had grown two more heads. “What? How is that even possible?”

“Not a clue but I gotta dip. Thank you for inviting me here today. I still think you’re up to something though but whatever.” You spoke, getting up from your seat and grabbing your small messenger bag that you brought along. 

Jimin stood up alongside you, the both of you walking out of the shop and stopping on the sidewalk. “Yeah… Thank you for coming here with me.”

You two stood there staring at each other, not wanting to leave just yet. 

“Well then! I’ll see you on Monday. Bye Jimin,” You announced after a while, quickly pressing a small kiss on his cheek before dashing away. 

Jimin stood there in shock, hands raising to touch where you kissed him. Why was his heart racing so fast and why did he feel so warm inside? 

“Huh.. maybe you’re not so bad Y/L/N” Jimin spoke up to himself before he too started his walk back home, mind filled with thoughts of you.

[autisticstarseed]

if u could, perhaps, bless us with all the applicable symbols from that fic ask for hvh 👀

ooOoOOOoOO Rub s gay hands togehter omg ty friend 😍;;;;;;

💡 - What was the motivation behind the story?

hHH i hadnt written in 10+ years so when i latched onto this plot idea i just thought itd be a good time to jump the shark and try it again !! i just wanted smth really edgy and depthful bc im emo and the rest kind of snowballed

💎- What was your favorite part?

osdlfksd;lf it’s hard to pick a fav but the drunk scene was definitely the most fun to write at least

⛰️-  What was the hardest part?

THE SCENE WHERE THE GANG IS KIDNAPPED BY ENKI,,,, i debated toning down the violence but in the end i knew where the story was going (and where its still going) and that its gonNA be kinda dark so why hold back now ig

🎭- What was the feeling or mood you were going for?

BITTERSWEET AF,,, sort of just treading the line of ‘hopeful’ and ‘hopeless’ at all times to fully portray the feeling of being at your lowest, but with that classic tss ‘silver linings just around the corner’ kind of undertone

🏟️- Who was your intended audience?

mostly all the adults that watched tss as a kid and felt like spirituaLLY MOVED BY IT cuz i really tried to tap into that Emotion Tee Em we all felt when we found out that zak was [redacted]

🔬- Was there one scene you were building up to/knew you had to get just right?

hHH theres actually a LOT of scenes like that and i think a lot of my general motivation to keep going comes from that ‘WAIT FOR IT WAIT FOR IT’ vibe slkdf:SDF but the Plot Twist tm in the latest chapter was definitely a big’n, and theres a few more of those still to come :^)

🗝️ - What were you thinking when you wrote it?

kjdjFSDs:DF tbh whenever i start really writing, [’im shifting into soup mode’ seinfeld meme voice] im shifting into maladaptive daydreaming mode

🎥- Were there any tv shows, books, or movies that influenced this verse, if any?

:^) devilman crybaby pls forgive me for everytHing

📈- Was there a clear character arch you wanted____ character to go on?

i actually have a short list of what i somewhat consider to be the story arcs in my notes !! mostly just for organization and obvs i wont list the future ones but so far we’ve seen the kushtaka arc, the enki arc, and now we’re in what i call ‘the annunaki’ arc.

🎢- Were there any scenes you were nervous about? For audience reception or otherwise?

ALL OF IT JSHDJSKD, but again a lot of the enki scenes i was worried would be too edgy TM, and the whole annunaki plot as well i was worried might be too ‘out there’ for ppl, but it takes the story exactly where i always wanted it and lines everything up perfectly so i went for it lol. i was also ofc worried if people would like ila or not bc oc but most ppl love her actually which is so 😭❤️

☠️- Did you consider killing off any of the characters? Did you?

8^) [mickey mouse voice] this is a surprise tool that will help us later ,

✉️- Did you title your chapters? What title do you like best?

yes! the next one actually has my favorite chapter title yet, but so far i like ‘so strikes the harpoon’ since its a throwback to the first couple chapters

☀️- Was there symbolism/motifs you worked in?

o every single paragraph is an overly thought out middle school poem im entering in the talent show actually

🎵- Did you have a playlist/piece of music that went with this story?

Yes !! i have HVH insp part 1, Part 2, and an extra one for all those songs that have the vibes but just dont fit enough to make sense in a playlist

📜-Do you want to write something like this again in the future?

probably ! ive learned i definitely like the edgy/darker and emotionally driven stories with ongoing plot, so that trend will almost definitely continue. idk if ill write a dystopia again anytime soon, but i think my future stuff will at least retain that long and heavy vibe

💁- Did readers influence/change any part of this story?

oh yEA like basically i was ready to quit after the very first chapter before it was even written and kinda just got it all out on a whim of motivation but was expecting to flake on it like i tend to do with projects, but the invested response to it was just so uplifting that its what ive been riding on all ten chapters and im so grateful for it :’)))

✏️-Would you go back and change anything if you could?

hHHHHHHH yes and ok this is terrible but i actually tend to avoid re-reading my older chapters until i hAVe to bc i suffer from that sO much ,,, , its just little things like tiny words i wanna change or bits i wanna take out/put in and once or twice ive even caught a mistake or plot hole/smth i forgot to add that i rly do have to go back and edit and i just turn to dust every tim e

⭐- What’s a scene/paragraph you’re proud of?

i really liked the northern lights scene!! it was meant to be a pivotal moment of that ‘bittersweetness’ vibe i was talking abt and it was another one of those scenes i had been planning for a while;;;

“ I think of how much the rest of the family would love this. This isn’t like the moon and the sun, where I can see it and know that even if it looks different, they’ll see the same one soon enough, wherever they are. This reminds me only that I am not with them. It stings. It seems unnatural for something so gentle and natural to appear before us as if we aren’t in complete, total fucking chaos. After all we’ve been through, and the sky still dances. “

📣-What was the best piece of encouragement you got?

AVERY ALL OF UR LIVEBL OGS AND COMMENTS GIV ME SUCH L I FE, ,, ,, CRYIGN CAT FA ce

🔦-Did you learn anything while writing it? About yourself? Writing?

isdfhSDF YEs, part of my hesitation to write came from this thing where i always just assumed there was a wildly high standard of writing in fandom spaces like in original literature spaces, where you had to have like 10+ sentences to a paragraph and you had to describe every tiny detail of a setting and you had to follow every single grammar rule or it was unreadable but like. genuinely its like sculpting with words as long as you have a shape ppl get the idea which is such a weight off my shoulders lol, its still a lot of work but so much fun to know i can to an extent do what i want and ppl actually like it like that. i also learned that like most other writers i have to cause my favs emotional and physical pain,

🎁- Any writing advice for people who want to write something like this?

hhHHHH 1. please do it its so fun just give in to the edge my guy , 2. try to get comfortable re-reading your chapters, for me its like when ppl listen to themselves sing/act but im trying to do better bc its so much more consistent when i keep it fresh in my mind and it also boosts confidence when u can pick out the things u like instead of the things u dont, 3. trying to have at least one scene in mind for each chapter that ur excited to write so u can have motivation to update faster! for me it doesnt have to be smth i think would excite the audience either like it could be the most basic thing but just having an idea of it and knowing i want to see it come to life rly helps me stay on top of it all

TY SM FRIEND THIS WAS SO FUN x x )

[princeofdespair]

Don’t Screw It Up

Pairings: Platonic Polyamsanders/LAMP

Summary: Thomas has a date and his sides do their best to keep him out of trouble, all the while looking after each other.

Warnings: Minor food mention, minor swearing, negative thinking. Let me know if I need to tag anything else!

Word Count: 4,992

A/N: This is a...very different format then what I usually write. I wrote this in just a couple of hours but it usually takes a few weeks when I'm working on a fic, so I apologize if this isn't my best work. I just had this idea floating around in my drafts for a while and thought it would be a good fic for the one year anniversary of the Sanders Sides! I really hope you guys enjoy it!

Side note: I didn't give his date a name and kept his features up to the imagination because the alternative felt almost like making an oc to ship a real person with and I wasn't comfortable with that. Also, if the sides are arguing while in Thomas' mind think of it as when you're trying to make a quick decision and your brain is running a mile a minute, as in, Thomas is not just standing there blankly lol.

[Read on AO3!]

“Here, Thomas. This red shirt looks amazing on you. Wear this tonight.”

“I think the blue one would be a better match, it doesn't clash with his hair as much.”

“Um, excuse me?”

Roman turned his attention to the logical side, holding the red button up shirt in one hand, the other resting on his hip. He looks Logan up and down and sneers, “The last time I checked, I was the romantic side, not you.”

Logan rolls his eyes and grabs the blue polo from the closet. “I wasn't aware that made you the designated fashionista out of the four of us.”

“Well of course it does!” Roman exclaimed, clearly not picking up on his sarcasm. “The red shirt is obviously-”

“Blue. You'll thank me later, Thomas.”

“Red.”

“Blue.”

“Red!”

“Blue!”

Thomas puts his hands up and says, “Guys, please! Can we just agree on something!”

Logan and Roman are too busy glaring at each other and arguing to notice Patton slip between them to set a simple, gray long-sleeved shirt on the bathroom counter. It matches. Thomas silently thanks him and slips it on, ignoring his creativity and logic so he can start working on his hair. Patton goes back over to Virgil and sits down next to him on the bed where the anxious side is currently holding his head in his hands. Patton pats his back and Virgil only grunts. Did they really have to pull this crap already? They didn't have much time before Thomas had to leave to go pick up his date. Virgil was already on edge and the arguing wasn't helping his nerves one bit.

Roman finally notices Thomas' choice of an outfit and he huffs, throwing the shirt on the ground. “Fine, don't listen to me! You're romantic side! I mean come on, Thomas! This,” he gestures wildly around him, “is my thing!”

Thomas runs more product into his hair with his fingers and sighs. “I know, Roman. But you have to work with the others too, we've talked about this.”

Roman deflates a little and drops his arms to his side. “I...you're right. I apologize, Thomas. I'm just...”

“Are you nervous, kiddo?” Patton asks from his seat next to a still distressed Virgil.

Roman bristles, “No! Of course not! This is a date after all! Why would I of all people be...” He trails off. Who was he kidding? They were all connected, of course they knew. Roman sighs and joins Patton, sitting on the other side of him and quietly says, “Yes.”

Patton just smiles and rubs his back with his free hand, “Hey, that's okay! This is the first date we've had in a while, it's normal to be a little bit nervous!”

Roman leans against Patton's side and Virgil feels those old scars from Thomas' last relationship start to sting again. They needed to keep it together and play their parts if they wanted this to go smoothly. Virgil wasn't expecting anything good to happen tonight but he could at least hope it was just disappointment they had to deal with and not sadness or anger. Disappointment fell on him, sadness was Patton's to bear and although the moral side was currently smiling and excitedly trying to keep everyone’s spirits up, Virgil knew Patton was just as nervous. Maybe even downright scared.

Logan rubs the sleeves of the polo still in his hands and says, “Ten more minutes before we have to leave, Thomas.”

Thomas nods and walks out of his bathroom and back into his room. He spreads out his arms and asks, “How do I look?”

Roman sits straight up, a smile planted back on his face and exclaims, “Amazing as ever! Though, I still think the red-”

“Adequate. You're date will most likely find you more appealing than usual.”

Patton claps his hands and says, “Aw, you look so gosh darn handsome, kiddo! He'll love it!”

Virgil bites his tongue, thinking that the outfit was alright but not great and his face could be clearer and his hair was always a mess and they'd probably think he was a slob...but the others don't wait for his opinion anyway and it wasn't like Thomas didn't know that was what he was thinking. Virgil could let them boost him up a little, no harm in that.

“Right. Okay. Got my keys, wallet, pants are on, I think I'm all set!”

Logic hangs the shirt back up in his closet, brows furrowed in thought but Virgil is the only one who seems to notice. Great. He hates having to be the one to call them out.

“What's on your mind, Lo?”

They all turn to Virgil and then their eyes are on Logan who clears his throat and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“It's just...I'm not sure I understand why you're all so nervous.”

Patton cocks his head to the side. “Well, it's a first date, Logan. Anyone would be-”

“But the two of them have already established that they have, ugh, feelings, for each other. This isn't a stranger Thomas met online, it's someone he's known for years and had started to develop a romantic interest in months ago. Isn't the more obvious response to be excited about the beginnings of a potential relationship?”

Roman is the first to answer him saying, “Why, that's precisely why we're worried, Specs. We want tonight to be as perfect as it can be.”

“But one can assume that everything will turn out just fine! Thomas likes him, he likes Thomas. They've been friends for years, they're far past the awkward getting to know each other stage. They date, they become partners, maybe copulate-

“Logan, please!” Thomas yells, turning bright red.

Logan sighs and his voice is calmer when he says, “Apologies. All I’m saying, is that there doesn't seem to be a need for all this tension.

“Yeah well, I'm trying my best here.” Virgil draws his knees up to his chest and looks down at the floor. He really wanted them all to be happy but, he was anxiety. He couldn't always help it.

Logan reaches out and then draws back, he shakes his head and says, “That's not...Virgil I didn't mean to-”

Thomas' phone goes off and all five of them jump, Virgil actually whimpering as he's startled. Patton puts an arm around him.

Thomas turns the alarm off and says, “It's time to go. Guys, look...”

The sides turn their attention to him and Thomas does his best to literally pull himself together.

“Yeah, I'm pretty nervous. Heck if I'm being honest, I'm terrified, but I know it's been long enough and I really miss having someone to take care of and vice versa. Just...be on you're best behaviors tonight, okay? It'll be...it'll be fine. More than fine. I'll have an amazing night.” Thomas knows full well that he's saying this to himself, just as much as he is to the sides.

Logan beams at him. “That's the spirit, Thomas!”

Virgil buries his head against his knees and tries his hardest to calm down. Those nagging shadows won't leave him alone right now. They've been whispering to him all day and the closer they got to the date, the harder it was to tune them out.

Because, what if it's all some cruel trick and they get stood up? What if Thomas says the wrong thing and he gets upset and leaves right in the middle of it? What if he turns out to have been an asshole this whole time or what if-

“What if we get hurt again?”

Patton looks up when he feels everyone's eyes on him and quickly puts a smile back on his face. “Oh don't mind me! I was just-”

“No. We're not doing this again.”

Logan walks over to them and kneels down in front of Patton, he puts a hand on his knee and says in a hushed voice, “Patton, while that is an unfortunate possibility, nothing good will come out of dwelling on those thoughts. Thomas has learned a lot since...since the last time. We won't make the same mistakes again and we certainly won't let someone else hurt him.” He glances over at Virgil who clings tighter to Patton. No. He would not let that happen again. He'll keep them all safe but...what if keeping them safe means making Thomas unhappy?

Virgil stays silent but gives him an understanding nod. Logan turns back to Patton and says, “We have to look forward to the future, Patton, not shy away from what it has to offer.”

Patton wipes at his eyes and this time when he smiles, it's genuine. “Okay. Thanks, Teach.”

Thomas takes a moment to get a good look at each of them and then says, “Alright...you guys ready?”

Roman is the first to go, stopping to rest his hand on Patton's shoulder before he sinks out. Logan follows, then Patton. Virgil and Thomas meet eyes for a moment, and then he joins the others.

Thomas thinks, as he gets into his car and heads over to his dates house, that it's both a blessing and a curse to have the ability to deal with oneself so intimately.

One thing Thomas still didn't know about his sides is exactly what happens when they sink out and into his mind. He knows they have rooms sure, and he knows now that when he visits them, he's just projecting a part of himself into that section of his mind while his physical form stays where it is. What he doesn't know, is that when Thomas doesn't need to see them directly, they assumes a new form entirely.

The closest thing to describe them would be ghosts. They seemed to float around in the openness of the mindspace, a giant window where they could see through Thomas' eyes in front of them. They all glowed a different color. Respectively, Virgil was a deep purple, Logan a dark blue, Roman a brilliant red and Patton a light, teal blue. They had no solid facial features but they could feel each other more intensely than they could in the physical world. Right now, Patton was beaming and the feeling from his smile was warm against the others forms.

P – He's almost there!

R – We should have gotten him a gift! If only someone hadn't talked Thomas out of stopping to pick up flowers.

He glares at Virgil who just rolls his eyes and repeats himself from earlier.

V – That would be too awkward. He would have to go back inside his house and find a vase and someplace to put them and, ugh.

L – Do not forget this dates circumstances are different from the others Thomas has been on recently. We know this person fairly well. There's no need to try and 'woo them' with trivial gifts.

R – It's still a date, nerd! You're supposed to shower your love with gifts!

P – Now kids, there's no need to fight...

Thankfully, the sides had gotten good at keeping their arguments low enough that Thomas didn't have to pay much attention to them. He was pulling up into their driveway now and Virgil could feel how anxious he was, which in turn, made him anxious and if he wasn't careful they would just bounce back and forth until one of them started to panic. Virgil kept his breathing even, the nervousness Thomas was feeling now was healthy. This was a new situation, he needed to have his guard up.

Thomas got out of his car and took a deep breath in and out, shaking his hands as if trying to shake off some of his nerves and then walks to his front door. He knocks three times. His date answers exactly thirty seconds after. Logan was counting.

He grins as soon as he sees him and says, “Hey, Thomas!” His date looks him up and down and whistles, “Looking good, man.”

R – DID YOU HEAR THAT?! HE SAID-

P – Hush!

Thomas swallows the sudden lump in his throat and chuckles nervously. He had always been very outspoken, this shouldn't be so surprising. “Thanks. Um...”

R – Tell him he's the most beautiful man you've ever seen. That his eyes sparkle like-

V – Do you have any chill?

“...you too.” He cringed inwardly, feeling Virgil cursing his awkwardness.

His date just laughed and started to head towards his car. “You don't have to be so worked up, okay? Let's just, you know, hang out like we always do.” He smirks as they get into his car and adds, “It's just not so platonic this time, if you know what I mean.”

He raises his eyebrows up and down and Thomas snorts out a laugh. They could all feel him starting to relax. It was just like Logan said, they knew this person, there shouldn't be anything to be afraid of. Virgil still wasn't convinced. The others could get all comfortable if they wanted to but he wasn't letting up. He promised Logan he wouldn't let Thomas get hurt again. He wouldn't break that promise, even if it meant making Thomas a little more anxious.

They stop and get dinner first. A nice sit down restaurant, but nothing too fancy. Despite what his date said earlier, everything still felt somewhat stiff. They stuck to safe conversations while they waited for their orders (“How's work? “Good, good. And you?”) but after a while, they slowly fell back into something familiar. Making dumb jokes and geeking out over things just like they always did.

Virgil feels Logan's presence behind him as he reminds Thomas (again) to stop drinking so fast or he'll choke.

L – I know what you're doing.

V – Making sure we don't die? Yep.

Logan actually chuckles and settles down next to him.

L – Thomas is doing really well, but I can still sense that he's anxious.

Virgil doesn't respond. He was determined. Not even Logan could talk him out of this. To his surprise, Logan smiles at him.

L – Thank you.

V – What?

L – I asked you to protect us and that's what you're doing, isn't it? Making sure he doesn't put too much of his heart into this one date?

Virgil stays silent, he's not sure how to respond to that.

L – You're managing to keep his anxiety levels low enough that he can enjoy himself, but high enough that he doesn't go too far. I'm quite proud of you, Virgil.

Logan leaves him then, just in time to go over and stop Roman from throwing another unnecessary compliment at his date and Virgil stares at the screen, trying to process all of what he said. He never really learned how to take a compliment.

After dinner, they go to an aquarium, an idea all four of the sides could easily agree on. A little nerdy, a little romantically cliché, fairly quiet and basically perfect. Roman pushes Thomas to slip his hand into his dates before Virgil can stop him, but he just intertwines their fingers and smiles at Thomas who's thankful that the dim lighting could shadow his blush.

They enter a room with a giant jellyfish tank right in the center and his date runs towards it, eyes wide and full of wonder like a little kids. The butterflies Virgil was doing a good job of controlling up until now, fluttered helplessly inside Thomas and he sighed.

He turns around and says, “I love these guys. They're so freaking cool, don't you think, Thomas?”

Thomas hums in agreement and walks over to them, he's feeling nervous all over again. “Some jellyfish can actually clone themselves.”

R – Oh no, not this again.

L – What? I was just thinking how fascinating it is that in some cases, an injured parent can create...

“...hundreds of baby jellyfish with pieces of itself”.

V – Logan! Knock it off, you're making us look like an asshole!

P – Virgil, watch your language! But...Lo, maybe ease up just a little before-

“Seriously? That's freaking awesome!”

They all stare in shock at the screen, even Logan who truly didn't mean to get over excited. It had proven to have negative effects on people in the past.

They take Thomas' hand again and drag him to another tank. “Alright smart guy, know anything about these cuties?” He points to the butterfly fish swimming around in the tank and looks at him expectantly. Thomas looks at the fish and then back to his date and gulps. “Um...”

The three of them focus in on Logan who would probably be sweating right now if he was in his physical form.

L – Uh. Those are-

R – He knows what they're called, Genius!

P – Be nice...

R – You got us into this, Logic! Just dig down in that big head of yours and tell him, Logic! What do we know about butterfly fish, Logic?!

L – I don't know, okay?! Do I look like a marine biologist?

R – No, but you do look like a jackass!

P – Creativity!

Roman flinches at Patton's raised voice. Virgil tries his best to tune them out while he focus on keeping Thomas from sinking.

(V – Tell him the truth. It's fine, Thomas.)

“I actually don't know anything about them.” He laughs nervously and adds, “But I got a whole lot of jellyfish facts if you want!”

He raises an eyebrow at him and Thomas wishes he would let go of his hand because he's trying hard to keep them from shaking.

“Why do you know so much about jellyfish?”

Thomas shrugs. “I don't know, I get bored and start researching random stuff when I can't sleep. I just happened to have read the entire Wikipedia article for jellyfish once and managed to retain some of what I learned.” He gives another awkward chuckle and then adds,“Super weird, right?”

“That's actually kinda cool.”

“It-it is?”

“Yeah! I mean I always knew you were smart, just another reason why I fell for you I guess. Among other things.”

Roman stares at the screen, and then slowly turns to Logan who looks just as surprised. Then his aura glows a little brighter and a smugness, that could only have been directed at the fanciful side, washes over them.

“Oh,” was all Thomas managed to get out.

His date quickly looked away from him, and cleared his throat. “Ahem, anyway! Give me more facts about jellies.”

Thomas feels Logan's presence flex happily in his mind and says, “Yeah...I can do that.”

They had been out for several hours but it felt like only a short amount of time had passed. When they walked out of the aquarium they were greeted with the night sky. It was past ten p.m and they both had work to do the next day which meant...this was it. Their date was coming to an end.

There was a strange atmosphere in the mindspace. Happiness, because the date went so well. Sadness, because it was over. A hint of fear, because...what comes next? Virgil feels Roman sigh and glances over to see Patton circling around him. Trying to cheer him up, whispering to him.

P – Don't worry! We can ask him out another time! I'm sure he had a good time too!

Virgil got the feeling it wasn't just Princey he was trying to convince.

The drive back was quite but the atmosphere was much more comfortable than it was at the start of the date. Thomas catches his eye at every stoplight and he always greets him with a warm smile. Virgil can't help it as he flickers and the butterflies in Thomas' stomach flare up, every single time.

When Thomas pulls into his driveway, there's a sense of sadness around them now. He didn't want this night to end but it was getting late. Logan reassures him in the back of his mind, that the date seemed to go well so he would most likely ask to meet again. Roman pushing for Thomas to ask first this time, ignoring the anxious energy Virgil pushes onto that idea.

They sit in the car in silence for a few moments until his date says, “Well...this is my stop.”

“Yeah. Sorry, I drove as slow as I could.”

He laughs and then bites down on his lip nervously. He hesitates, then finally manages to say, “I know this is gonna sound dumb but...can you walk me to my door? Please?”

Thomas tenses up. That smile driving the butterflies in his stomach crazy. Such a harmless request and yet-

R – Oh my god.

L – What? He is simply asking Thomas to walk with him to his door? Perhaps he has some irrational fear of the dark or-

R – He wants us to kiss him.

L – Roman, please, he's obviously...

Logan's words trail off as he reassess the situation, then his form flickers. He goes to push his glasses up, forgetting momentarily, that he was in the wrong form. A nervous habit he pretended he didn't have.

L – Oh. Ahem. I believe you may be right for once. This scene does look very textbook.

Roman's form is glowing brighter than ever now. His smile is so wide and bright the others can't directly look at him without squinting.

R – Thomas! Listen, as soon as you get to his door you sweep him off his feet and-

V – NO! Are you freaking kidding me?!

Roman fixes his gaze to Virgil and glares, his form changing to a fiery, dark red.

R – This is my territory, Anxiety. I'm not letting you ruin this for us.

V – They don't want a kiss you idiot! He’s...he’s going to tell Thomas he doesn't want to see him anymore...

R – What?!

Fear shoots through Thomas but he's thankfully gotten good at hiding it. He puts on a smile on says, “Yeah. Of course I will.”

They both get out of the car, his date leaning against the passenger side as he waits for Thomas to walk around from his side. He smirks at him and, man it would be great if his sides would stop bickering in his head and just let him enjoy this.

They all get the message loud and clear and the three of them turn to Virgil. He shrinks into himself but his aura starts to glow brighter as he works himself up.

V – Oh god, what did we do wrong this time? Shit. Shit, shit, shit this was a bad idea, I knew it! Thomas has been lead on before but this bad?

P – Virgil...

V – I messed up. I messed up so bad Thomas is gonna get hurt again I messed up I messed up I-

Virgil feels a warm presence wrap around him, he tries to shrug it off, literally holding his arms around himself and shaking back and forth. The presence doesn't relent, moving all around him, annoying but somehow comforting all the same. Virgil looks up at Patton's smiling form. He sticks close to him, pushing as much positive energy as he could on the darker side.

P – You're doing so good, Virgil. You've been such a great help tonight, I'm really proud of you.

Virgil shakes his head and Patton brushes his fingers through his spectral hair.

P – I know you're scared...I'm scared too, but...we'll be alright, Verge.

V – You can't know that.

P – No. But you can't know that this will all fall apart either.

Virgil stares at him wide eyed. Patton was giving a lot of himself to this person and after they were burned so hard the last time...that should scare him. Virgil should be pulling him back in, protecting him. Protecting all of them. But...

Thomas and his date have reached the door. Logic thankfully taking over for the small talk that was commencing. Roman, for once, patiently waiting beside him. He glances at the other two, a pleading look on his face. Virgil looks back to Patton who just nods reassuringly.

Maybe this time...

“I uh, had a really great time tonight, Thomas. Seriously you're um...pretty great.” He snorts and rubs the back of his head, his cheeks are flushed and gosh he was so pretty. Roman is practically whining as he looks back and forth between Thomas' vision and Virgil. They wanted this so bad. Virgil takes a deep breath, in for four seconds...

“I'm so dumb...sorry.”

“No, no! You're...you're perfect.”

...hold for seven seconds...

He giggles and Thomas' heart is racing so hard he's starting to worry that they can actually hear it. His date hums and rocks back and forth on his heels, not quite meeting Thomas' eyes. “I know this is cliché as hell but I didn't want to do this in the car. I just...look I know this is only our first date but I've liked you for so long and you...said you felt the same?” It came out as a question and Thomas could only nod, as Logic was busy keeping Roman and Patton in line. Both of them waiting with bated breath, their forms blindingly bright.

…breath out for eight seconds.

“Yeah. Yeah uh, fuck it. You want to skip all the awkward dates and just...be my boyfriend?”

Logic short circuits. Princey is staring starry eyed and completely dumbstruck. Anxiety can feel how fast Thomas' heart is beating and that usually works him up but now. Now he doesn't know what the hell to think. They're all frozen and just vaguely aware that Thomas is staring at his date (boyfriend? Boyfriend?!?!?) mouth agape like an idiot and they're finally snapped out of it when Morality let's out a joyous shriek.

Thomas squeaks out a giggle and then quickly slams his hand over his mouth (Patton, please!). His date just laughs and says, “You're such a dork. A cute dork.”

R – I'm going for it.

V – Roman, wait!

R – I'M GOING FOR IT!

V – ASK FIRST YOU IDIOT!!!

Thomas takes a deep breath and says, “Can I...kiss you?” They're cheeks flush pink and he nods.

Logan and Virgil stand back and let Roman and Patton take over as Thomas takes his face in his hands and gently pulls him into a kiss. Everyone is glowing now, a feeling of pure happiness washing over them so strong, not even Virgil could overpower it. It's short, far too short in Roman's opinion, but he lets up and when Thomas pulls away, his date is the one looking love struck and dazed for once and a fierce sense of pride, coming from Roman, fills all of them. Roman turns to Virgil and smirks and Virgil just shakes his head with a smile of his own. Patton is floating around the space, cheering and Logan finally gains some control back and goes to calm him down.

“Wow.”

“Yeah...”

“So...is that a yes?”

Thomas let's out a surprised, oh! And then nods, “Yes! Of course!” They both laugh and their date boyfriend pulls him in for another kiss, much to Roman's delight. It is late and Logan insists on saying goodnight, so Thomas does just that. A kiss on the cheek, a wave as his new boyfriend goes back inside and then he just manages walk, not skip, back to his car. Once inside, he leans back against the seat and-

V – Hold it...

-makes sure that no one can see him-

V – Okay, now.

-and then loses his shit. He actually screams and bounces in his seat, throwing his hands up triumphantly. Virgil feels Patton around him again, whispering 'thank you', over and over, he doesn't say a word but he smiles. Yeah, this was kind of terrifying. It could end just as bad as the last relationship, or way worse even. Virgil had no way of knowing but the others might be right, something new didn't have to automatically spell out disaster.

On the ride home, Virgil feels Thomas call out to him and he manifests in the passenger seat. He beams at him and says, “About what Patton said earlier. I'm proud of you too, Virgil. I couldn't have done it without you.”

“Ahem!”

Roman had appeared in the backseat, arms crossed in a pout. Thomas glances at him in the rear view mirror saying, “And you too, Roman. I'm so blessed to have all of you, just the way you are.”

“Eh, good enough, I suppose.”

Thomas shakes his head and chuckles as Roman sinks back into his mind. Virgil rubs the sleeve of his hoodie between his fingers, his voice is soft when he says, “He can still hurt you.”

Thomas lets out a heavy sigh, “I know. I'm not letting my guard down but...I got a good feeling about this, Verge.”

Patton had a good feeling about his last partner too but Virgil keeps that to himself. There was no reason to upset him right now, especially after all the good that came out of tonight. Thomas was still riding on that high and he wasn't going to bring him down just yet. He does however, sit up and give him his best menacing glare and says, “Don't screw this up.” He couldn't not pump at least a little bit of fear into him, couldn't let him think he was going soft.

Thomas doesn't seem to be fazed, he just grins and says, “I'll try.”

Virgil shakes his head, “Nope. Not good enough. Don't. Screw. This. Up.” And then, as he sinks out he adds, “You got this.”

As Virgil retreats back into his mind, Thomas grips the steering wheel and whispers to himself, “Yeah. I got this.”

A/N: *blows a kiss to the sky* I put a lot of energy into this, here's hoping it helps the universe send Thomas an amazing boyfriend.