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redrobin-detective · 3 years

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The 101 Deaths of Danny Phantom

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One of the first things people learned about dealing with ghosts, other than not to try and date them, is to never asks about their death or obsessions. That doesn’t mean the citizens of Amity Park aren’t curious though, especially about their resident ghostly hero and the confusing and concerning comments he sometimes makes.

“Are you okay?” Phantom asked Maisie as she shook and tried to hold back tears after that car had almost slammed into her. She sometimes joked about getting hit crossing the street of her college campus to pay her obnoxious loans but it was another thing entirely to almost experience it herself. Maisie was nearly twenty, she shouldn’t be comforted by someone younger than her little step sister but here she was, shaking like a lead and leaning into Phantom’s comforting, chilly touch.

“Sorry,” she stuttered, “thank you, I’m sorry I’m just-”

“Hey, it’s okay to be upset that was very scary. The thought of dying is very scary.” Through her adrenaline and her tears, she took in the ghost’s unnatural glow, his faded, barely visible appearance and the fact that he was floating a foot off the ground. Maisie knows this ghost, this boy, knows more than she ever could about death.

“And getting run over by a car sure is a bad way to go,” the ghost kid chuckled awkwardly, taking his cold hand off her shoulder to scratch at the back of his neck. “You should see how my dad drives or my mom or my sister if she’s running late enough,” Phantom paused in thought. “No one in my family should have a license now that I think about it. Anyway,” he dismissed with a wave.

“My sister and I were getting ready to head out to school and my dad was backing out of driveway too fast and didn’t see us and uh, luckily I got my sister out of the way in time haha,” Phantom trailed off awkwardly. Was it because of the uncomfortable conversation or because he noticed her dawning horror.

Her best friend ran the community college’s Phan club so Maisie was a member by default. Phantom’s death was sometimes talked about late at night, everything from wrongful murder to a freak accident. She never in her worst nightmares imagined being him being runover in front of his own house by parental ignorance. It was so normal, a quick mistake and a life lost.

“Oh my god,” he said with an adorable little green blush. “Why am I babbling about that? You almost got hit by a car, I’m probably retraumatizing you or something. I should probably go get the jerk who almost hit you,” he said before disappearing into thin air.

“Tia is not going to believe this,” she whispered to no one. All she knew is that for the rest of her damned life she was going to look both ways when crossing the street. She’d seen first hand what a single moment of reckless driving could cause.

XxX

Matthew, not Matt or Matty or Hughie, Matthew shivered from the cold. He was only in his boxers with little Pacman on them. It had been fine when he’d gone to bed considering it was mid-August but Phantom and this stupid flaming mecha ghost had tussled outside the summer camp he was working at. He could see some of the kids snickering at his state of undress though he was just extremely glad they were alive enough to disrespect him like this.

“Oh man, I’m sorry,” the ghost kid said with big, sad eyes that looked so human despite the fact that they were literally glowing. He looked around at all the snow and ice left over from his fight. “Jeez you guys must be freezing, I wish I could warm you all up but all I can do is make things colder.”

“S’okay,” Matthew said through his chattering teeth. “Teaching the kids how to start a fire was supposed to be next week but we can get a jump on it.” That got a smile out of the ghost and within a half hour, the other counselors were distributing blankets and hot beverages to the kids clustered around multiple fires. They didn’t seem particularly upset by the potentially fatal attack, Matthew will breakdown about that at a later time when he was alone. For now, he just smiled as the children chattered happily with the ghost while he cleaned up as much of the damage as possible.

“So you spend all day fighting ghosts?” Zoe asked with stars in her eyes.

“A lot of the nights too,” Phantom nodded, “I do other stuff but yeah it seems ghost fighting takes up most of my time.”

“Where’d you learn those cool powers?” Zuri asked, miming a punch.

“Comes with being a ghost,” Phantom shrugged, “my ice powers came in later though so I still struggle a bit with them but I’m getting better every day.”

“Why ice though?” Morris said with his cocked curiously to the side. “I see some ghosts use fire or shadows, why do you have ice?”

“Ah that’s a little personal,” Phantom chuckled but his posture was easy despite the invasive question. “Specialty powers like my ice require special circumstances and a certain uh connection to the ghost. Someone like me couldn’t use fire or electricity or plants, ice is in my soul, it’s who I am.”

Matthew paused in drinking his lukewarm coffee as a horrible thought came to mind. He’s been an outdoorsman all his life, practically from the time he could walk. He’d been a deep woods camping guide for a decade before switching to working at summer camps. But the years working in the relative comfort of a stable camp didn’t erase his knowledge of how unforgiving and deadly the woods in the winter could be. A grown man, much less a young teen, would freeze to death in 20 minutes if it was cold enough.

It made sense for ghosts to develop powers related to their deaths. Had Phantom been one of the dozens of unfortunate kids he read about every year who ran away in the middle of winter only to found later as a frozen corpse. He eyed the boy’s snow white hair and frigid aura he exuded with mournful trepidation. God, what a horrible way to die.

“I’d get chilly with ice powers,” Tabby said with a shudder, she held out her cup of cocoa. “You want some of my cocoa to warm you up?”

“No thanks,” Phantom said with a soft smile that was warm despite everything. “The cold hasn’t bothered me for a while.”

XxX

Ghost attacks may be the norm but, if there was one good thing that came out of whole mess it was the fact that violent human crimes went down drastically. So when the rare murder did happen, the shock and fear rippled through the whole town.

Stanford Newton had only been sheriff of Amity Park for eight months after the last guy had gone gray overnight and moved to Florida the next day. It was a daunting position but one he bore proudly. This wouldn’t be his first murder investigation having initially cut his teeth as a beat cop in Chicago but it would be the first in Amity. And it certainly was the first in which the dead served in an active capacity.

“Amanda Chastain, 27. Officially she was a waitress down at Spengler’s Diner but she’s been picked up for prostitution twice in the last year,” Stan said calmly, ignoring the cold, angry presence over his shoulder. “History of polysubstance abuse as well, not that either of those things mean she deserved this.” Used, beaten to death and then dumped in the trash like yesterday’s paper.

He wondered if she’d come back a ghost or if she’d finally get some peace this world hadn’t offered her. “We don’t have many leads right now, I’m afraid. Acting illegally as they are, there’s not a lot of resources these poor girls have to turn to.”

“I’ll find them,” The Phantom said with blazing conviction, his voice thick and sharp as ice. “I’ll find and bring them to justice and make sure no one else is hurt again.”

“I believe you,” Stan nodded, shutting his notebook as he finally turned to face the teenage superhero haunting his town. He can’t say he liked what he saw. The Phantom looked even less human than usual, his aura flaring and flickering like the foggy mist before a heavy snowstorm. His unnatural green eyes glowered, painting his too young face in a terrifying light.

The kid looked furious, clearly taking this death to heart. He’d read the Fenton’s memos about obsessions and such but this seemed beyond that. “But don’t hurt anyone to do it, or yourself while you’re at it.”

“I won’t, I’ll make sure they’ll face human justice and don’t worry,” Phantom gave a snarling smile. “No mortal can hurt me, not like this,” he growled causing the hairs on Stan’s arms and neck to stand on end. He flew off after that, presumably to track down Amanda’s killer.

“Not like this,” Stan mumbled to him, pulling out his handkerchief and wiping his brow where a cold sweat had broken out. “Jesus Christ that poor kid.” Stan had seen plenty of murdered and mutilated bodies in his lifetime, some of them even kids. He just never got to talk to them after they’d had their life forcibly snatched away. It would explain the ghost’s near fanatical determination to save others, why he took a stranger’s murder so personally.

“I hope your own murderer is behind bars,” Stan said as he tucked his handkerchief back into his coat pocket. “Or even six feet under, for killing a good kid like you.” Stan made his way back to his squad car so he could head back to the station and move forward with the official investigation. But he’d eat his hat if there wasn’t a stammering lowlife there by tomorrow ready to turn themselves in.

Maybe after all this was settled down, he’d delve into some of the cold cases stacked in the cellar. Maybe in there he’ll find a picture of a smiling, carefree teen who’d disappeared and returned with the power now to ensure no one else suffered as he had.

XxX

“Yes, I know about the Phantom,” Luis Oliveira will say to anyone who so much as brings up the ghost kid. Locals know better by now but the tourists eat it up every time. He twists his finely combed mustache and gestures to the floor where his audience is standing. “He died right there oh ten or eleven years ago.”

Luis has worked his way all across the the United States since he emigrated from Brazil in the 70s. He finally settled in Amity Park about twelve years ago. He’d never intended to stay in the small Midwest town but the fatal shooting of a young customer kept his little corner market open.

“He was a nice kid, always said hi to me and paid in exact change. Was big fan of the snacks I made, would stop by after school and take half my inventory. He had big brown eyes and a crooked nose,” Luis would smile at the memory before closing his eyes and frowning sadly. “One day, he came late. His teacher made him stay after to go over a failed test, I remember he complained. He was pulling out his money when robber burst in, demanding my money. I fumbled for the register key, dropped it. I bent down to grab it and I hear shots going off. Two over my head, another right into the boy’s throat.”

Luis will hear the sound of that sweet boy’s guttural choking sounds as he drowned in his own blood until the day he himself died. The robber left after the shot, Luis called the police and held the young man’s hand as he died. The would be thief were never found and Luis never did learn anything about the boy who’d died on his floor for getting hungry after school.

“As soon as I saw Phantom on the TV,” Luis would say, perking up after his moment of somber grief, “I knew it was that boy come back. Those kind eyes, I’d recognize them anywhere. He’s never come here but one day he will and I will be able to pass on my regret on not being able to save his life that day.”

XxX

“I think he killed himself,” Mikey whispered to Lester during lunch period, angling his voice low. “The jocks may love Phantom for his powers but I just know he was one of us, an unwanted nerd. I’ve seen him chatting up a ghost I’m pretty sure is Poindexter, Casper’s suicide kid. They’re probably bonding over their similar deaths and the circumstances that led to it.”

“That’s pretty dark,” Lester whispered back. “I also get unpopular vibes from him but I don’t think he’s the time do uh do that to himself; he’s too stubborn and protective. But I bet he was the victim of a prank gone wrong. Dash locked Fenton in the Janitor’s closet last Wednesday, he got out okay somehow but maybe something like that happened to Phantom. He always looks kind of annoyed at the A-listers, maybe they remind him of old bullies.”

“Nuh-uh,” Clara said, pushing up her glasses with her middle finger. “The ghost kid totally got electrocuted or something. He was fighting that weather ghost and he sent lightning bolts his way and Phantom flinched. He fought the Ghost King and yet a little electricity scares him? It might not’ve even been a lightning strike but something manmade like a machine backfiring or something.”

“Get real,” Mikey scoffed, sipping his milk with an eyeroll. “I’m sure we’d have heard about some poor kid getting zapped to death; this town isn’t that big.”

“We’d have heard about a suicide too,” Lester noted with a wry grin.

“Shut up Mr. I base my theories around Fenton who’s a known weirdo”.

XxX

“I’m telling you, the ghost kid died of some debilitating illness,” Abbie McMillian, retired school teacher and three year reigning champ at the Tristate area’s Daylily Competition. She sipped her tea and spoke with as much confidence as she had back in the day wrangling Amity’s impressionable youths. “The superhero thing is clear wish childhood fulfillment, a chance to live and be free like he never got to in life. You see how happy and carefree that young man looks while flying? Clearly he spent his formative years sick and weak.”

“No way,” Greta von Martin frowned as she aggressively stirred her own tea to show her displeasure. “I worked in a hospital for close to 30 years and I know what chronically sick kids look like and Phantom doesn’t fit the bill. I will agree he’s carefree when he’s not battling spooks but he acts like a stupid teen. I’m telling you, the boy got into his parent’s liquor cabinet or took a few too many of whatever pill was going around his school. Tragic but something that happens every day.”

“Greta, dearie,” Abbie said with a pinched frown. “We’ve been friends since grade school and I love you like a sister but you are wrong and until you admit it, I won’t share anymore of my recipes.”

“You’re just being stubborn because you can’t see what’s right in front of you even after working with kids half of your life, Abbie, love,” Greta sniffed. “And you can kiss my grandson’s help weeding you garden goodbye until you relent.”

XxX

Perhaps one of the most human traits is curiosity, especially about what comes after death. Now the good people of Amity Park know a great deal about the dead so the lives before is what attracts their attention and none so more than the ghost boy. Maybe it’s because he’s their hero or maybe it’s because he’s so young. Or perhaps it’s because Phantom is such a mess of contradictions that it’s very hard to guess how the unfortunate boy met his end. But everyone has their own theories, from the mundane to the fantastic, some with evidence backing them up and others pure poppycock.

But for all their curiosity, as much as it burns them to know, they’ll never ask. They don’t want to risk the powerful ghost’s wrath but, moreover, it seemed in poor taste. The boy risked his afterlife to keep them safe, they couldn’t ask what traumatic and miserable circumstances had led to this point.

And besides, it was so much more fun to look up at ghostly figure as he sped through the skies and wonder.

#danny phantom #my writing #i made a headcanon post and immeaditly said 'i have to write this'#and then I did #tw: suicide mention #there is a non described background death of an OC #opinions are like assholes #everyone has one #and *everyone* has an opinion on how phantom died #some are reasonably close and some are waaaay far off #but they wonder and gossip and argue when the kid cant hear #its human nature

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idreamofplaid · 4 years

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Bigger Dreams

Square Filled: Photgrapher!Jensen for @spnchristmasbingo & Pregnancy for @spnfluffbingo

Characters: Jensen x Reader

Rating: Teen

Summary: Sometimes dreams can change, and sometimes they can work out even more beautifully than you imagined.

Word Count: 2174

Created for @spnchristmasbingo & @spnfluffbingo

He would be home soon, and you’d be waiting for him by the door, well near it at least, with a cup of hot coffee spiked with Irish Cream. The barometer outside had dropped, just a little more and snow for Christmas was a possibility. The warmth in the cup would drive the chill out of him and put him in a better mood.

You heard Jensen’s key in the lock right on schedule. He always hurried home as soon as he could. Your relationship was still new, and you couldn’t get enough of each other. He smiled as soon as he saw you, closed the door, and crossed your tiny living room to join you on the sofa.

As he sat down, you held out his cup of coffee. He took it from you, letting his fingertips brush over yours as he did. “How was it today?” You started to massage his shoulders, working out the stress induced kinks there while you waited for his answer.

Jensen relaxed under your touch. “Three screamers, two criers, and one runner,” he answered, rolling his neck and making a contented sound. It was working; he was feeling better and letting the tension of the day fall away.

You stopped massaging and let your hands rest on his shoulders. “I’m sorry, babe.” Jensen considered photography an art, his chosen artform; but it was hard to make a living as an artist. Until he was able to do that, he made a living in the much more lucrative world of family photography; and the holidays were the busiest time of year in that line of work. It seemed nearly every parent in the city decided it was necessary to dress their kids up in red velvet and have professional photographs made.

You could understand why they would want to do that, much better now. Absentmindedly, you ran your hand over your stomach. Jensen never said much about the kids he took pictures of, except how much he hated it. They wouldn’t sit still, wouldn’t smile, and the worst was when siblings started fighting. That could really “fuck up a schedule,” and the frequent result was an unhappy client with some expensive pictures of red faced kids.

It made what you needed to tell him that much harder. This pregnancy wasn’t planned, instead it was the result of a night of too many tequila shots that made the two of you careless, but from the first moment the doctor had verified there was a baby growing inside you; you’d loved your child. It was an instant and all consuming love. Problem was, you had no idea how Jensen felt about being a parent or how he was going to react.

The only time you’d ever talked about children was when he told you about the kids he worked with, and those conversations weren’t favorable. Maybe it’d be better to give him a chance to shower and change clothes. You could feed him and then tell him.

Several minutes later, Jensen was wearing his favorite henley and a pair of jeans. You were putting the last of the dishes on the table as he walked up behind you and circled his hands around your waist. He kissed the side of your neck, then raised his head and scanned the table. “You outdid yourself tonight, babe.”

Jensen sat down and took another look at the spread in front of him. All his favorites were there. “When did you find time to do all this? Didn’t you have two auditions today?”

You hadn’t expected the conversation to take this kind of turn. Lying to him wasn’t an option. You just weren’t going to do that, but you had been hoping for more time to lead up to what you were going to say. Your finger played with the edge of your plate. “I did, but I cancelled them.” The roles you had planned on auditioning for weren’t for pregnant women.

Jensen stopped spooning potatoes onto his plate. “What is it, baby? Are you feeling okay?” Normally, nothing would cause you to miss an audition. Your desire to be an actress had been similarly as strong as Jensen’s was to make art through his photography.

You moved your finger from your plate, opting to fiddle with the napkin on your lap instead. You smiled weakly at him. “I’m fine, Jensen. It’s just those parts aren’t right for me.”

“What changed your mind, sweetheart? You were so excited about those auditions.” He looked down at your almost empty plate; morning sickness had started to set in. “Are you sick, Y/N?”

You paused for a second. “No, Jensen. I’m not sick.” Why was it so hard to say this? So many thoughts were swirling through your head. He had plans for his career, and you’d had plans for a career as well. Finding out you were going to be a mother immediately changed that for you, and you were happy to change your way of thinking. Visions of baby booties were now dancing through your head, and you were mentally making plans of how you wanted your baby’s nursery to look.

Jensen’s eyes reflected the various colors of green like a prism, and those beautiful eyes now filled with concern. It was time to tell him the truth. “Jensen, I…” You stopped, took a breath, and tried again. “I know we haven’t talked about this, and I wasn’t trying. Jensen, I wasn’t. I promise I wasn’t.” Tears started to roll down your cheeks.

He got up, walked around the table, and kneeled beside you. “Y/N, honey, what’s wrong? What are you talking about? Talk to me.” He reached for your hand and took it into his.

You loved Jensen’s hands. They were broad and strong. Whenever he touched you, held you, it never failed to make you feel cherished and safe. This time was no different.

With his other hand, Jensen reached up and brushed your cheek with his knuckles. He wiped away your tears as he did, and the words bubbled up past the knot in your throat. “Jensen, I’m pregnant.”

It took a couple of seconds for recognition to register in his mind. “A baby?” His eyes fell to your stomach, and his hand started to move toward it before he stopped it in mid air. Jensen looked to you, a softness now filling his eyes. “Can I?”

You took his hand and led it to your belly. “Of course you can.”

His hand was warm, and even though he couldn’t feel anything at this point, Jensen’s eyes grew a little wider. “We’re having a baby?”

You didn’t let go of his hand, and Jensen made no effort to move it. You focused on his hand beneath yours and drew strength from it. “I want this baby, Jensen. I know you have so many plans, and this wasn’t one of them.”

The strength you had been feeling just a few moments earlier ebbed and faded away. You felt a fresh wave of emotions wash through you, and the tears started to flow again. “I don’t want to ruin your life and mess up everything you wanted. I’m sorry.”

Jensen wiped away more of your tears, but they were coming almost faster than he could brush them from your face. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. I want this baby too. This is incredible, Y/N.” He took you into his arms. It felt safe; he made you feel wanted, you and the baby. Or, was that just all in your mind because it was what you wanted to believe? Jensen stroked your hair for several minutes; not saying anything, just repeating the soothing motion of his hand over your hair.

Your tears turned into full blown sobs; the pregnancy hormones were already reeking havoc with your body. “You don’t like kids. You never said you wanted any.”

You were starting to sniffle and trying so hard to stop crying. You’d done this to yourself. You took the napkin Jensen handed you and tried to daintily blow your nose.

“Y/N, sweetheart, why do you think I don’t like kids?” One of his hands was resting on your knee and the other was cupping your cheek.

“B...because they stress you out so much. You come home from work tense and miserable most days” You clutched the used napkin tightly in your hand.

Your eyes were still filled with tears, blurring his handsome face, but you could hear him clearly. “I like kids, Y/N. It’s just those kids I work with are unhappy because they don’t want to be there. They don’t want to wear the fancy, itchy clothes, and they don’t want to sit still. They want to run and play and laugh. Just be kids. I don’t want to be there either. Photography is art to me, not taking glorified snapshots. I want to take pictures that will hang in galleries, maybe even a museum one day.”

His eyes focused on yours, and his voice grew gentle. “It doesn’t mean I don’t like kids. It means I’m frustrated with where my career is right now.” He smiled at you, and his eyes took on that reflective dreamy quality that had shown you the depths of this man and made you fall in love with him. “I knew I wanted to have kids with you almost immediately. I’ve never known a kinder person.You are going to be the most amazing mother. Our baby is the luckiest kid in the world. You’ll teach our baby to be a good person just like you.”

He touched his lips to yours, kissing you in a way that was clearly beyond chaste, but it didn’t seek anything more than what you gave him in that kiss. When he pulled away, the glimmer of a tear was shining in his eye too.

“I’ve got an idea,” he said excitedly as he stood. He came back with his camera in his hand. “Will you let me take your picture?”

“Jensen, I’m a mess.” You smoothed your hands over your hair, but that wasn’t going to help your tear stained face.

“I’ll focus on your stomach this time.” He leaned in to kiss you again. “I want to capture every part of how beautiful you are through this whole process.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Next December

It was the most festive and happiest of nights. One year ago, on this very day, you’d told Jensen you were pregnant. Now, you were holding your precious little daughter in your arms at her daddy’s first gallery opening. You watched him across the room, networking, making the contacts he would need to ensure he was never stuck in a job ever again that didn’t bring him happiness.

Jensen left the group he was talking with, walked over to you, and took Leigh from you. The way he smiled at her was like nothing you’d ever seen. “How’s daddy’s little angel?” He turned his attention to you, kissing your cheek. “Mommy looks gorgeous.”

You lowered your head. “Jensen.” He was making you blush like a schoolgirl, or maybe it was the pictures of you all over the room in various stages of your pregnancy. He had named the collection “The Blossoming of a Mother”. If you didn’t know you were the subject of those photographs, didn’t remember posing for him while he took them, or the way he’d made love to you after every single one of those photo sessions; you’d never believe they were pictures of you. You’d never known you could look like that.

Jensen held Leigh in the bend of his arm, took your hand, and led you to one of the photographs. You were dressed only in a blush pink silk sheet that was billowing around you, one of your hands cradling your round stomach and the other on your breast. Jensen leaned in and whispered so only you would hear, “I’m keeping that one.”

You also lowered your voice to a whisper. “How do you feel about pictures of me being on other people’s walls, being in places where anyone can see them?” It wasn’t the first time you’d talked about it, but you wanted to hear him say it again. “It doesn’t bother me because I know they’re never going to see you the way I do, never hear those beautiful sounds you make when we’re together.”

You were blushing again. “Jensen, stop.”

He smiled at you with that sexy flirtiness he possessed glinting in his eyes. “I promise that’s not what you’ll be saying later tonight.”

You watched him turn and walk back across the room to a group of potential clients. He could certainly fill out a pair of dress pants. If you weren’t careful, Leigh would have a little brother or sister soon. A smile crossed your face as you observed him showing off his daughter to the gathered crowd of people, proving to you that she was an even bigger dream for him than his art.

Everything: @gambitwinchester @princessmisery666 @onethirstyunicorn @peridottea91 @logical-princey @emilyshurley @beenlovingromansincedayoneish @fangirlxwritesx67 @waywardbaby @atc74 @shaniquacynthia @mariekoukie6661 @tumbler-tidbits @67-chevy-baby @fandom-princess-forevermore @terrarium-jpeg @emoryhemsworth @crashdevlin @heycasbutt @jules-1999 @mrsdeannafuckingwinchester @cosicas-cuquis @sammyimpala-67 @queenoftheunderdark @dean-winchesters-bacon @mrs-meghan-winchester @timelordy-fangirl2 @sweetness47 @hobby27 @awesomesusiebstuff @kickingitwithkirk @sandlee44 @supernaturalgrandma @lonewolf471 @dawnie1988 @volleyballer519 @outcastedangel @kdfrqqg @lizette50 @sorenmarie87 @winchesterxfamilybusiness

Dean/Jensen: @deansyahtzee @flamencodiva @deanwinchesterswitch @feelmyroarrrr @focusonspn @akshi8278 @ladywinchester1967 @sgarrett49 @wingedcatninja @coffee-obsessed-writer @adoptdontshoppets @ellewritesfix05 @weepingwillowphoenix

#spnchristmasbingo #spnfluffbingo #jensen fluff #pregnant!reader #jensen angst #jensen x reader #spn rpf

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ressyfaerie · 3 years

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I would love love love to see something along the lines of a Tyka mer au?? Especially if Kai is the merman!! I do love them ever so. Any age rating/idea I am so down for, pretty please!! 🥺🙏❤

Keep up with the great Tyka content it makes my day!

I know who you are and you always give me the best fic inspiration! I read your Tyka mer comics and I am INSPIRED. This might be longer than expected! But here I gooooo

So now that I finished it, I’ll be putting it in a readmore since it’s VERY LONG!!

It’s very rare that I write in first person! But this story definitely called for it, and I AM COMPLETELY IN LOVE. You’re going to want to ask for more, I can already tell.

So here it is:

When I was young, I was saved by a merman.

I remember how the cold seeped into my veins. My head was pounding from the force of hitting the water.

I was too young to know how to swim.

I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.

My body was numb, I descended into the dark blue sea, I saw the light glimmer from the surface, and felt water invade my lungs.

That’s when I saw him.

A flash of blue and milky skin. I felt the smooth scales wrap around my body. I saw his face, clear as day. His purple eyes, silver hair, and blue face markings. His face looked panicked, bubbles erupted from his mouth forming inaudible words. His face turned blurry, and my vision grew dark.

I woke up on the beach. No one believed me when I told them. Just a child’s fantasy gone overboard.

I always wondered how I made it back to shore without knowing how to swim, or how I missed all the rocks.

Someone must have saved me.

The more I visited the beach and saw no sign of a blue finned merman my belief started to dwindle.

Growing up I drew pictures, I even based my imaginary friend off my hero.

In my teens, my best friend Max reminded me of him.

“Tyson! I was just telling my friend about that mer-boy that saved you when you were a kid!”

I laughed it off, “it was a fairytale, Max. Nothing more.”

Years before, Kenny and Hilary sat with me on the beach one day after training.

“Could he still be out there?”

I cleaned my surfboard, looking off into the mysterious ocean.

Hilary passed me a bottle of wax for my board, “you know, I read at least eighty percent of the ocean remains undiscovered.”

Kenny looked up from his laptop, “every mermaid sighting has been proved fake. I still think what you saw was due to a lack of oxygen.”

I gave him an angry look, I didn’t mean to.

“Uh… but miracles have happened.” Kenny tried to reassure me.

I knew the truth.

Mermaids and mermen weren’t real.

After my Mom died, and my Dad left with my brother to explore the world, I had two things, my Grandpa, and my imagination.

Thinking of that boy was my playground. I’d bring sandwiches to the beach, and pretend to talk to him.

I made friends. And became a surfing champion. With my success my imagination drifted away.

I guess I really wasn’t ready for what came next huh?

“Tyson!”

Hilary and Kenny made their way towards my desk, I slammed my textbook closed, I was done with studying anyways.

“There’s a carnival in town! It’s close to your house, you want to come with us tonight?” Her eyes were bright.

I felt a pat on my shoulder, I looked to my right, Max’s blonde hair caught my eye.

“Carnival? Count me in!”

“I’m going too…” Kenny mentioned awkwardly, “Tyson?”

I rolled my eyes, carnivals were for kids. Besides I was planning on catching some waves tonight, but the weather was supposed to be really calm. I guess I could spare the time.

“Alright, sounds like a plan.”

I was right. Carnivals were for kids.

Doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun though.

We rode ride after ride. Kenny had to sit on a bench after he got sick, Hilary rubbed his back.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, partner!” Max slapped my back, “let's get some more snacks!”

Max pulled me towards another booth. I love food, but after a dozen different snacks, and a dozen different rides, I had to admit, I wasn’t feeling too well.

Max handed me a candy apple, I took a bite and felt my stomach turn.

“Bluh,” my lip turned in disgust.

“Wanna take a break from the rides?”

I nodded.

We lost Kenny and Hilary ages ago. Walking through the parts of the carnival with fewer people, we came across a mirror maze.

“Tyson, let’s go in!”

“Sounds fun!”

It was no surprise when I lost Max right away.

I could hear his excited giggles and him shouting my name, I tried to go in his direction, but eventually his voice faded out, and I found my way to the exit.

“Max!” I shouted into the maze, but there was no reply back.

He might have gotten out already…

I walked through the carnival looking for my blonde haired friend. No luck. There was a fortune teller, I made a mental note, Hilary would have liked to go back there.

Then something caught my eye.

ANASTASIA’S HOUSE OF WONDERS

It looked like a cardboard standee, with dark tents behind it. It couldn’t have been that big. I saw some people leave out the exit. There was someone in front of it. They were dressed in a creepy joker costume.

“Hey man,” I got his attention.

“Do you dare enter the house of wonders!”

“Uh, maybe? Is it cool? Like… what’s in there?”

“Things that will make your blood boil—”

“Things?”

“And creatures unknown to this world!—”

“Creatures!?”

“And above all—”

“Oooo what else!?”

“Look kid.” The grey haired joker lowered his arms and sighed, “can you just let me finish my speech?”

“Oh, yeah sorry.”

“I’m Bryan the sharpshooting joker! For only a few bucks—find yourself immersed in a new world!—”

“Okay,” I raised my hand, “that’s enough.”

“Oh thank god” Bryan’s voice dropped a few octaves.

The guy seemed kinda chill, so I leveled with him.

“So dude, is it actually worth my time in there?”

Bryan nodded, “yeah, it’s actually really cool.”

“Alright, sign me up.” I handed him a couple bills.

“Enjoy.” He counted the money.

Before I left I looked under his costume hat, “wait, don’t I know you?”

“Maybe?” He grumbled, accidentally revealing his true persona.

“Yeah! You were in the last surfing championship! You’re that crazy intense guy Bryan! What the heck are you doing here?”

“Uh, sidegig.” He lowered his mask, “have fun in there, kid.”

“Okay…”

I brushed off the awkward encounter and turned to the entrance. It was covered in two extravagant curtains. I pushed the fabric to the side and walked into the darkness.

Wait, is this a haunted house? Damn I shouldn’t have gone without Max!

The first thing I noticed was there was a lack of… people. Tesla coils and odd gimmicks littered the floor of the first hallway. I rolled my eyes, remembering carnivals were for kids.

The next room was bigger than expected, it was a dome with a button in the middle. I pressed it, who could resist a big red button after all?

Suddenly a snow storm picked up. I covered my face, “ah!”

It stopped before I could figure it out, I stared at the sleeve of my red jacket, where snowflakes started melting.

“Alright, that was definitely real snow! I’ll admit I have no idea how you did that one!”

I shouted to no one, but it still helped my nerves.

I—couldn’t figure out where the exit was.

I walked to the edge of the dome, it looked like a carnival tent, I tapped the edge, it rang back with a metallic sound.

“Uh.” I grew worried, “an exit would be nice?!”

I heard a sound from the other side of the room, and some fabric fell from nowhere, revealing another dark room, “thank you!”

Cautiously I made my way to the dark room.

I wish I hadn’t.

Inside were weird animals in green jars.

“Oof, these can’t be real.”

I tapped one, the baby bird inside moved.

“I assure you, they are all real.”

I turned to the corner. A.. man? He had a raven masquerade mask, and when Tyson locked eyes with him, he screamed and revealed massive black wings from his back.

“What the!?—”

I fell backwards, falling on my rear.

The bird boy made his way towards me.

“What are you?!”

“I’m Ian, the birdman.” He sounded tired.

“And in there,” he pointed to the next room with a black talon, “you’ll find my wolf friend.”

“You’re what!?”

I sat up, “naw, I’m done with this place. Your costumes are a bit too real for me.”

He shrugged, “that’s what they all say.” he sat on a crate with a loud thud, “enjoy the rest of the tour.”

I went to the next room because that guy was freaking me out. I really wanted to head back the way I came, but I couldn’t seem to find it.

Also, that guy seemed kind of familiar.

The next room felt colder than the rest. My heart raced when I saw a cage.

“Uh, hello? This haunted house is getting a little weird…”

I heard the clanking of chains, and a flash of red. On the floor of the cage was a boy, a bit older than myself.

“Are you okay?” I asked knowing it was an actor.

I heard a deep growl, and he lifted himself off the floor. I gasped when I saw his face.

A white wolf with a red mane bared his teeth at me.

I took a step back.

I felt the room grow cold, as the wolf tensed and growled.

It lunged forward and snapped it’s jaw, it hit the bars of the cage with a strength that boy shouldn’t possess, I turned and ran.

I ran through a wall tearing down fabric sprinting through tents.

It was dark, I couldn't see anything and didn’t know where I was going.

“Ah!” My foot got caught on a stone and I fell forward.

“How is this place so big! It did not look like this from the outside!”

In front of me was a curtain, it just barely touched the floor, I could see light shining from under it.

If I can’t find my way out… I might as well head for the light.

I lifted the curtain up and shielded my eyes from the bright white light.

In front of me I could just make out the wheels of a traveling train car. The front of it wasn’t metal, it was glass. Bright fluorescent lights hung over it. There was a sign next to me, I rubbed my eyes and could just make out the writing.

Newest exhibit! A rarity of its kind! Stay back, he splashes.

“What?”

Then I saw it.

The flash of blue, silver, and purple.

A merman threw himself against the glass repeatedly, tossing his fists against it. His wrists were in chains, and his constant assault against the glass only amounted to hollow thumps echoing through the tent.

I felt my body freeze.

It was the merman from my childhood.

Is this real?

I slowly made my way to the sealed aquarium.

The boy must have seen me enter the ring of light, because he stopped, he started floating, and stared at me.

“Hello?”

The merman didn’t move, he simply floated in place, I could see his chest move up and down.

“Do you recognize me?”

I made my way to the glass, getting a good look at the boy for the first time.

I placed my hand on the glass. I saw how red his wrists were from the chains.

He put his hand against the glass, only a thin separation between us. I smiled, and looked into his purple eyes.

I think he smiled at me. He opened his mouth slightly and a few bubbles popped out. I chuckled, and he looked back at me.

I stared up at the top of the tank, the lid was thick glass. A massive padlock kept it down. He saw me look at it, and he shook his head frantically.

I nodded, and placed my head against the glass, “you’re not supposed to be here.”

I jumped and hit the lock with my hand gauging how tough it was.

The merman waved his hand and mouthed words shaking his head.

“I’m gonna get you out of here!”

I looked around the room for a tool to use to break the lock. The only thing I could find was the sign I had seen previously.

I grabbed it, and tossed it to the ground, ripping it off its base.

The merman kept throwing his fist against the tank to get my attention, I ignored him knowing I had to help him.

I climbed the edge of the train cart so I was standing on top of the glass looking down at the silver haired boy. He floated on his back and kept banging on the glass with both hands.

It seemed like he was mouthing the words ‘get out get out!’

I used the stick tool I had made and bashed the lock, making loud sounds through the room. I kept doing it, but it didn’t budge.

The merman was banging on the glass mouthing the same words.

“I’m trying!”

I jumped down, knowing I would have to find a different tool, but I bashed it again in frustration.

The merman was frantically pointing now.

“What? What is it?” I watched his lips.

‘Behind you!’

I felt someone grab my shoulder, before I could scream they grasped my shirt and yanked me to the floor, dragging me away.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to touch people in a haunted house!”

I kicked and screamed while watching my merman frantically swim in circles and hit the glass with his tail. He was trying to get to me, but I knew it wasn’t going to work.

The man threw me into another room. I couldn’t see anything in the dark, I was tossed on a chair and sat up. He turned on a light with a click, and an old fluorescent bulb hung from the ceiling. I blinked a few times trying to find my way in the new surroundings.

A silhouette of a man sat on the opposite end of a table.

“You think you can try to take one of my treasures?”

“He is not yours!”

“Months ago I captured him. He’s rightfully mine.”

“Who do you think you are?!” I screamed at him, knowing full well this full grown man could cause me serious harm.

“He’s a rarity, I won’t let him fall into the hands of some snot nosed teenager with a superiority complex.”

I spat, “do you own this crazy place?”

“I do.”

“Don’t think I didn’t recognize your workers. I surfed with most of them in last year's competition.”

The man simply laughed, I finally got to make out some of his facial features. He was an older man.

“And why does the world champion desire my merman?”

“I don’t desire him, he needs to be free!”

“Ha!” The man’s voice bellowed.

I frantically searched for answers, for a way out—for the both of us.

“I’ll buy him from you!”

“Like you could afford him.”

“If I win the next competition—”

“You won’t.”

I grinned smugly, “you don’t know that.”

“You won by luck, my team is far superior.”

“Your team of monsters? Isn’t that cheating?”

“And you think being a descendant of a storm dragon is fair?”

“I’m a—what?”

The man shook his head.

“I know who you are, Tyson.”

“You gonna tell me who you are?”

The man chuckled in response to my anger, making me even more furious.

“The name is Boris. I take care of these boys—”

“By imprisoning them? Leave my merman alone!”

“Excuse me? Yours? Did you not just meet this creature?”

“Let’s say I’m feeling friendly.” I crossed my arms.

“He seemed to react to your presence, what did you do?”

I panicked, “how long were you watching for!?”

“Long enough. I’ve had him here for a few months, yet I can’t seem to break him.”

“Break him?” I was in disbelief, my childhood hero was not some horse at a stable!

“Yes, perhaps you could help—”

“No.” I grimaced.

Boris tapped his fist on the table, “well, it seems we are at an impasse.”

“You’ll never have my help.”

“I think I can live without it.” He stood up, he was much taller than me. “Please leave my circus, and don’t come back.”

“I’m not leaving without the merman.” I stood my ground.

“That’s a shame.”

I felt something heavy hit my temple—

I woke up on a grassy hill. I rubbed my head.

When I managed to sit up I overlooked the carnival from across a field. The lights were all out. It had to have been late for it to be completely closed.

Boris…

Now that I knew my merman was real, and that he was captured by such an evil man I had to find a way to get him back.

I’ll steal him. I’ll figure something out…

You better watch your back Boris.

I stared in the direction I thought my blue finned saviour would be in.

Hold on, I’m coming for you.

#mer AU #merman #grabmydigits #ressyfaerie #ressyfaerie fic #request #tyka #tyson #kai #AU

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yungidreamer · 4 years

Text

A Sprinkle of Love

Prompts: (from the Walking in a Winter Wonderland Collaboration)

“From afar I’ve loved you, but never let it show. And every year another December comes and goes.” - Kelly Clarkson (Wrapped in Red)

“You’re here where you should be. Snow is falling as the carolers sing.” - Kelly Clarkson (Underneath the Tree)

Wordcount: 3.6k

Summary: Mingi has been in love with his neighbor across the street since she first moved in. Sadly, he’s never gotten up the confidence to do much more than stare at her longingly. But maybe, with a little Christmas magic, and with the help of some sweets, he can get the gift he has really been pining for... her heart.

Content warnings: None, this is pretty much pure fluff. Mingi is a nervous and adorable dork in love.

Mingi hummed as he carried the bag of groceries up to his front door on his hip. Christmas was coming soon and the cold weather that had fallen on the city made the air crisp. The puffs of his breath hung in the air like crystalline clouds. A shiver ran through him as he paused at the door to search for his keys. That familiar jingle filled his ears, almost like sleigh bells if you used your imagination.

From the house across the street he heard the soft foof of the door there open. Mingi’s eyes turned to see her scurry out the door carrying a bag of trash out to her trash can. As she dashed back to her front door, she noticed Mingi, giving him a quick wave before heading inside. He waved back, half forgetting that he was just standing at his open front door. Shaking himself mentally, Mingi stepped inside, slipped off his shoes and headed to the kitchen to put away his groceries.

With a sigh, he opened his phone and started his Christmas playlist. It was the holidays, the time to be in a happy, magical mood. Darn it, he was going to enjoy this holiday, even if he couldn’t spend it with her.

From afar I’ve loved you, but never let it show. And every year another December comes and goes.

Mingi sighed at the lyrics wishing he was just a little stronger, a little braver. How many times had he missed the chance to ask her out? How many times had he chickened out of even just going across the street to talk to her? He banged his forehead against the wood of the cabinet door, as if that could knock a little bit of sense into him. Sadly, it mostly just made his head hurt.

She had moved in a week after he did and, for him it had been love at first sight. Her warm smile, laughing eyes, and the way she always waved whenever she noticed him just standing like an idiot on his doorstep, watching her. Thank goodness she was nice and at least seemed to not think he was a complete weirdo and idiot. A perception he might have deserved for as many times as she had caught him just staring.

A sharp knock sounded on the door, shocking him out of his self-pity. He couldn’t help but wonder who could be there. He had just talked to his parents and he knew that Yunho had already headed back home to spend the holidays with his family. No one else really came by to see him.

He shoved the last of his groceries in the cabinet and headed to the door to see who it could be. When he opened the door he felt his soul float out of his ear and his heart stop in his chest. There she was, standing at his door, looking adorable and bundled, holding a little plate of something covered in foil.

“Hi Mingi,” she said brightly. “Merry Christmas! I made some turtles yesterday and thought you might like to have some. Umm, so, here…” She pushed the plate towards him so he could take it and for a second all he could do was look at it. His brain told his hands to take it, and told his mouth to utter the simple words thank you, but somehow, none of his body seemed to work the way it was supposed to.

“Turtles?” He finally managed to ask as his hands started moving to the plate. All he could think of the little shelled creatures and he was almost positive she wouldn’t be handing him a plate of them to eat for Christmas.

“Oh!” She laughed, luckily reading his reaction as confusion. “Pecans, caramel, and chocolate. It’s a treat my family always makes this time of year. Wait, you don’t have a nut allergy...or are lactose intolerant?”

“No no,” he was quick to reply, taking the plate from her hands before she could take it back. He would have cherished them even if he was, he just wouldn’t have been able to taste them, but he still would have loved them. “Thanks so much.”

“I’m glad you can have them,” she smiled. “Umm, anyway, I also came over because I wanted to ask if you were free this evening. Would you like to come over and decorate some cookies?”

“Tonight?” He blinked at her.

“Yeah, if you’re busy, don’t worry about it,” she gave him a carefree shrug and another grin as she took half a step back.

“I can come,” he rushed to reply, wanting to kick himself for not saying yes right away.

“Okay, great,” She nodded, straightening the collar of her sweater. “See you at six then?”

“Yes, I’ll be there,” he agreed, still holding the plate, gripped a little too tightly in his fingers.

“Good, good,” as she backed away, she stuffed her hands in her pocket. “Bye, see you tonight.”

Mingi watched her go, stuck where she had left him, holding the plate until she gave a final wave and disappeared through her front door. He couldn’t believe it. She had come over, she had invited him over. He felt giddy for a second before the butterflies in his stomach fluttered into a cloud that caused a little nausea to rise.

“It will be fine,” he told himself as he made his feet carry him inside, his eyes focused on the foil covered plate. “Don’t freak yourself out,” he told himself. “It’s just cookies. It doesn’t mean anything.” His voice came out with a little crack, like he was still some teen just hitting puberty. “She’ll probably have other people there anyway,” he reasoned, his stomach dropping a little at the realization she probably would. I mean why would she invite just me? He wondered to himself. She probably just thinks I’m a weird loner in need of a pity invite.

With a sigh he took the plate to the kitchen and set it on the counter. Pulling back the foil, he looked at the treats underneath. A smile teased at his lips. They really did look kind of like turtles. Four little legs on the sides and a little bump for the head. Picking one up, he took a bite and he had to admit, it was a lovely treat. A perfect mix of bitter and buttery from the nuts, creamy sweet from the caramel, and tart sweetness of the dark chocolate. Oh, he suddenly thought, I need to get her something in return for these. He started wracking his brain for ideas even as he moved towards the front door to head back to the store.

Mingi stood on her stoop, willing himself to take those last few steps to her front door, but the tingling weakness in his knees kept his feet glued where they were. She’s waiting for you, he scolded himself. She invited you, you can’t just not show up. As he stood there, willing himself to move, the door opened, warm light shining out through the crack as it grew until she slipped outside to greet him where he stood frozen.

“Are you ready to come in?” She asked, a teasing note to her voice.

“Yes,” he stuttered, finally getting his feet to move.

“Glad you could make it,” she commented as she stepped aside to let him inside. “I wasn’t sure you would actually come.”

“Why?” He asked, looking down at her with wide eyes as she shrugged off his coat.

“Well, you seemed a little wary when I invited you this afternoon,” she gave a self deprecating laugh. “I thought maybe you’d come up with some excuse to not come.”

“Oh, no,” Mingi shook his head and pushed the second of his shoes off with a little more force than necessary, causing him to become unsteady on his feet. As he teetered slightly on his single socked foot, she caught him, bringing their faces together to an awkwardly intimate distance. She’s so pretty, he thought as he looked into her eyes, their faces only a few inches apart.

“Let’s get to the kitchen,” she cleared her throat, taking a step back and breaking eye contact. “I have the dough all ready to roll out. You can help me pick the shapes we’ll be decorating.”

“Okay,” he agreed, following her through her cozily decorated living room, lit up by the glow of a well decorated tree tucked into a corner beside the hearth. Together they stepped into the little kitchen, warm and filled with the scent of vanilla, cinnamon, and orange. The white tiles of the backsplash glistened alongside the stainless steel of the cling wrap covered bowl that had been placed next to the sink. It felt like the sort of place that begged for company and a warm cup of hot cocoa topped with a fluffy marshmallow.

“Do you know how to roll out dough for cookies?” She asked as she offered him an apron.

“I did it a few times as a kid,” he shrugged. “I don’t remember it being hard at least.”

“Good,” she smiled and handed him a wooden rolling pin. “You can put those strong arms to good use then.” Turning to face the table, she laid out a silicon baking mat and put a light dusting of flour on it before pulling out the large ball of cold dough. “Okay just be careful. It is a little hard at the moment.”

Mingi nodded and stepped forward, a serious look on his face. This may just be cookies, but this was his chance to show her that he could be useful and that he was more than just her stuttering, nervous neighbor who lived across the street. Pursing his lips, he pressed the rolling pin into the middle of the mound, perhaps with a little more force than necessary, causing the dough and the baking mat to slip and the rolling pin in his hands to loudly thunk into the table.

“Oops,” he chuckled nervously.

“Gosh, I was afraid of that,” she sighed, looking perturbed at the dough. “I didn’t get it out far enough ahead of time.”

“I can do it,” Mingi said with determination. “I’ll just be a little more careful this time.”

“Are you sure?” She questioned, peering between him and the dough. “We can give it another 20 minutes to warm up.”

“I can do it,” he stated, giving the dough a look that said he was not a man to be challenged by mere flour and fats. He put the rolling pin back at the highest point, carefully pressing down, making it just a little flatter before picking it up and pressing it down again at a different angle. Ever so slowly, he managed to work it down into a flatter, wider slab of dough about the right thickness for cookies.

With a smile, she took the rolling pin and evened out the dough, spreading it a little thinner and a little wider. Finally satisfied, she stepped back and brushed her hands on the front of her apron to clean them off. She gave a little nod and minced over to the counter, gathering a mess of little metal shapes in her hands and bringing them over to the table where he was waiting.

“Okay, what do you think?” She asked as she let them tumble onto the table on the other side of the dough. “Trees? Ornaments? Reindeer?”

“I always think that trees taste better somehow,” Mingi admitted with a laugh.

“Okay I always feel that way about ornaments,” she giggled back, looking up at him with a joyful camaraderie. “Maybe let’s start with those two. I always feel bad eating the things that are supposed to have faces anyway.”

Mingi nodded with a look of sympathy at the quirk. Of course she would feel bad eating cookies with a face, it was just so her. He had been too scared to instigate anything with her, but every time she had stopped by to ask for something or to let him know about something that had happened in the neighborhood, it had been something that made his heart melt. From the time she had come over to remind him to check under his car for a cat she had seen run under it the evening before, just in case, to all the times he had come out to find his windows already scraped free from frost. The first couple of times, he had been completely baffled as to how it had happened, until he needed to head out a half an hour before his usual time and found her bundled up, scraper in hand, clearing up his window. She had been surprised to see him so early, but had greeted him happily, telling him she just had a little more to go. Since then, he had gotten up every morning when frost was likely, started coffee, and checked out his front window every ten minutes until he saw her coming or already at his car and quickly headed out to give her a mug of warm coffee as a thanks.

She handed him the cookie cutter shaped like a Christmas tree and picked up the mostly circular ornament shaped cutter and pressed it into the dough. Mingi followed suit and before long they were putting dozens of cookies on a tray ready to go into the pre-heated oven that was warming the room. She slid the full tray into the oven and set the timer before turning to him with a smile.

“I think we have enough for one more tray when that comes out,” hands on hips, she estimated looking at the scraps on the table. “More trees and ornaments or something else?”

“What about this?” He asked, picking up a heart shaped cutter.

“Sure,” she agreed, squeezing the scraps back into a ball to roll out again. “It’s never the wrong season for love.”

Mingi could feel a blush rising on his cheeks as he watched her roll out the dough again. Everything about her just made him soft and he really wished he had the courage to say so.

They finished the cookies in a flash, pulling them out of the oven and setting them on some racks to cool and setting to work making the icing in all the colors they needed and putting out all the balls, flakes, and sprinkles she had, ready to decorate. They were done well before the cookies were fully cool and she, as if she had read his mind when he had first entered, made them both big mugs of hot chocolate.

She guided him into the living room and turned on some holiday music and invited him to sit with her on the plush, blanket covered couch. Mingi took a seat, holding the Christmasy mug between both of his hands to keep them from fidgeting nervously. His eyes flicked to look at her as the first song filled the quiet air of the room.

“Oh look,” she said excitedly, setting her mug on the coffee table in front of them. “It’s snowing!”

“Is it?” Mingi asked, setting his own mug down and following her to look out her front window that looked out onto the yard and towards his house.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” She enthused. “It’s really starting to feel like Christmas.”

“Yeah,” He agreed, stepping just a little bit closer to her. “Beautiful.”

“I love snow,” she sighed, looking up at him for a moment when she could bring herself to look away from the slowly falling fluffy flakes.

“Me too,” Mingi agreed. “Well at least when I don’t have to drive in it.”

“Well then, isn’t it lucky that you don’t have to go anywhere tonight?” She grinned.

“Yeah,” He looked down at her and wished for the hundredth time he was brave enough to just say… I think I love you. A jazzy piano version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas started playing and she stepped back from the window, moving as if she was going back to the couch only to pause in her tracks. Stepping back toward Mingi, she took one of his hands and pulled him close to her, effortlessly pulling them into a gentle embrace to move together in time to the music. They swayed together in time to the song and then the next, letting themselves get ever closer with each song.

Just at the moment when Mingi thought he might have the courage to say something, or maybe even lean in to steal a quick kiss, the bright peel of her doorbell startled them apart. She apologized, her cheeks a little pink if his eyes were to be trusted, and moved to answer the front door. The moment her door opened the clear, melodic sound of voices carried through it.

“Hark the herald angels sing,” sang the group of five carolers who stood on her porch, bundled warmly against the cold and the snow. Mingi came to stand behind her at the door watching and listening to the cheery group sing.

“Okay, $10 if you stay and sing two more songs, deal?” She offered as she dug into her pocket. “Do you by chance know Silver Bells?”

“Yeah, and deal!” An eager teenager in the middle nodded, extending their hand for the bill. The group broke into song and she leaned back gently against Mingi.

“Merry Christmas, Mingi,” she murmured quietly so that only he could hear her. “Since there isn’t going to be a better time than this… do you maybe want to go out on an actual date?”

“An actual date?” Mingi asked, eyes widening. Had he actually managed to get a date with her and not know it?

“You don’t have to,” she faltered slightly as she spoke. “And, ummm, I can always send the cookies to you if you just want to go—”

Mingi couldn’t let her finish that thought and leaned in, pressing his pillowy lips to hers as he pulled her close. A few of the carolers paused in their singing to let out little giggles and aww’s until the one who had taken the money cleared his throat and started singing a little louder.

“Is that a yes?” She asked with a blushing grin.

“Yes, it's a big, sure, happy yes,” Mingi grinned back, cupping her cheek with his big hand.

“Do you want to stay over tonight,” she pressed, holding his hand to her face.

“Can I?” He asked, excitement flaring in his chest.

“Well,” she shrugged. “You’re here where you should be. Snow is falling as the carolers sing. It would be a real shame not to let the moment we have last.”

“Yes please,” He leaned in again, taking her lips as the carolers finished the last song and started off towards the next house, snickering slightly at the cute couple. They moved inside when the nip of the frosty air was stronger than the pleasing fog of finally confessing that had enveloped them. Pulling her inside, Mingi closed the door behind them. As they stepped inside, something caught Mingi’s eyes, a little something sticking out of the pocket on his coat.

“Oh wait,” he burst out, reaching for it. “I have something for you.”

“Something?” She asked, following his gaze to see the little box poking out of his coat pocket.

“Yeah,” He blushed as he pulled it out and handed it to her. “I wanted to get you something as a thank you for the turtles… and for all the mornings that you helped me out with the frost on the car windows.”

“I didn’t mind,” she clutched the little red box to her chest. “I had to do mine in the mornings anyway. A few more windows wasn’t that much more time.”

“You didn’t have to,” he gave her a wistful look and wished he had gathered the courage to ask her out months and months ago. How many kisses had he missed? How much more?

With a last smile up at him she slipped the ribbons off the box and took off the lid. She let out a little oh at the sight of the little bracelet that sat inside the box on a pillow of black velvet. The small silver chain had a single pendant hanging on it; a little frosted snowflake.

“Oh Mingi,” she sighed happily. “It’s beautiful. You shouldn’t have… it’s… it's too much to give me in return for a little candy.”

“It’s a thank you for every morning of helping me and for every wave you gave me when you caught me staring from across the street,” He explained, pulling it out and fastening it around her wrist. “And maybe now when you see it, you’ll remember today and think of me.”

“I wouldn’t need a bracelet to remember today,” she replied gently, lifting her hand to cup his cheek and bring his lips back to hers. “This will be a Christmas I’ll never forget, I can already tell.”

Mingi melted into her kiss, enjoying the warmth of her body where it pressed against him. She seemed to fit him perfectly just like he had always hoped.

“Do you want to work on decorating the cookies?” She asked, pulling back and drawing in a shaky breath.

“Yeah,” he agreed, brushing a little kiss over the corner of her lips. “Let’s decorate the cookies. We have time for everything now.”

“Merry Christmas, Mingi,” she pressed her forehead to his.

“Merry Christmas, my angel,” he responded with a giddy smile.

Masterlist

#mingi fluff #song mingi #mingi #ateez fluff #kpop fluff #christmas fluff #ateez christmas #ateez scenarios #ateez fanfic #slice of life #yungidreamer #short fic #one shot #boyfriend mingi

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tomboyneedshercoffee · 5 years

Text

Thin Ice Pt 3 || Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: The decathlon team gets snowed in and room 401 and 412 decide to play truth or dare.

Word Count: 4.3k

Author’s note: Wowie this took a long time to write but I’m glad I finally finished it!! Hope everyone is safe and remember, if you need toilet paper, just use the shower to wipe your ass!

Warning: Swearing, teen drinking, mentions of sex, forced kiss kinda

part one || part two || part three || part four || part five || part six || to be continued

Cindy rummaged through her luggage as you mindlessly scrolled through Instagram, spamming through Flash’s insta-stories of the day. MJ laid down right beside you on the hotel bed, making a quick joke about how he probably buys his followers.

You had all just eaten dinner and the chaperones had made their last rounds visiting rooms when the news of an incoming blizzard was heading straight towards the resort. It wasn’t meant to cause any damage but your whole trip itinerary would have to be pushed back a day or two depending on when the blizzard would stop.

You were slightly glad that this storm had decided to roll through because that meant that when it cleared up, there would be hardly anyone on the slopes so you could snowboard without the fear of running into a child on skis.

“ Found it! Who wants to go first?” Cindy asked as she pulled out her bag that was filled with various facemasks.

You and MJ both looked up for a second before turning back to your phone screen unphased.

“ I’ll pass. Last night you made me try it and I couldn’t wash off the pink tint. I looked like a freaking pokemon,” You shivered as MJ laughed beside you.

Cindy got up from her spot on the floor and plopped down beside you, grabbing the phone away from your hands.

You protested as she held the phone above her head, catching a glimpse of your case,” Seriously? A spiderman phone case? Are you and Flash a part of some creepy fangirl club?”

MJ watched as you leaped up and snatched your phone from Cindy quickly, immediately turning it off in the process. You looked at the nightstand beside you as you laid back onto the bed, pointing to her phone that was charging.

“ Oh so you rather me have a hello kitty one?” You teased as you lightly pushed Cindy away with your foot,” what are you twelve?”

Cindy wasted no time and grabbed your foot and pulled you off the bed, causing you to let out a yelp. You landed on your butt as MJ peeked over the bed to make sure you were okay. Once she saw that you were fine, she just shook her head at the two of you and laid back on the bed.

“ Hello Kitty is for all ages thank you very much,” Cindy defended as she sat down on the bed and held up a blue container,” Come on MJ. This is a collagen one from Korea and you know us Asians have great skin.”

MJ rolled her eyes at Cindy but sat up from her spot,” Fine, as long as Y/N does it too.”

After a minute of whining, you and MJ both found yourself sitting upright with a scented sheet mask covering your face. You continued to scroll through Instagram when Betty entered the room holding the ice bucket to her chest.

“ Guess who I just ran into?” Betty asked excitedly as you all perked up,” and might I say, a girl might be catching feelings.”

“ What? Are you talking about Mr. Harrington?” Cindy laughed as Betty put down the ice bucket and stuck her tongue out in disgust.

“ Gross! I mean I did see Mr. Harrington going to the jacuzzi but I’m talking about Ned! Since the chaperones already checked the rooms for lights out, he’s thinking we can all hang out in our room!”

“ Who’s we?” MJ asked as Betty started to clean up her clothes from off the floor.

“ Everyone in his room so Flash, Brad, Peter, and obviously Ned. What else are we gonna do all night?” Betty asked as you pointed to your face.

“ Um hello? Facemasks and talking shit all night sounds like the perfect plan to me,” You shrugged as you turned on your phone and looked through your messages,” plus what if we get in trouble? You know Mr. Harrington will have an aneurysm if he finds four boys and four girls in one room.”

You were already in a weird spot with Brad since this afternoon and you knew that he was the type to hold grudges. You couldn’t imagine being in a room with him and all his attitude but at the same time, you wanted to hang out with Peter.

Betty zipped up her luggage and put it in the corner next to the other mini-fridge,” Y/N, I know you didn’t go but we almost died on our last two trips. Considering all that happened, I think us watching a movie and playing charades with a bunch of science nerds will be harmless.”

Sometimes you envied how everyone seemed to bond over the last two trips for the decathlon team but then you remembered the falling elevator story at the Washington Monument and the droid attack at the Tower Bridge in London. While no one died, you were glad you weren’t apart of that “bonding experience” and you knew if you wanted to bond with people, you would stick to just trust falls exercises.

“ In that case, I call dibs on Flash!” Cindy shouted as she raised her hand promptly, earning a confused look from everyone in the room,” What? Have you seen his house? Securing Flash means securing his bank account and I’m trying to financially invest in my future.”

“ Then I call Brad!” Betty raised her hand but lowered it when she made eye contact with you,” wait nevermind. I forgot about how close you and Brad are.”

“ First off, it’s 2020, we’re not claiming anyone,” you said as Betty rolled her eyes,” secondly, you can have him. I’m not interested in him or any guy right now.

It was half true. You couldn’t care less about Brad going out with someone, even if it was one of your best friends and the idea of you and Brad together made you feel so uncomfortable.

You didn’t really have a crush on anyone but there was something about Peter that made you drawn to him. You didn’t know if that meant you had a crush or not but when the idea of him coming into your room and seeing you in a face mask in your pajamas made you feel embarrassed.

Before Betty could confront you with your lie, you all turned your heads when you heard a knock at the door.

Your heart stopped and now you weren’t sure if you were more nervous to see Peter or Brad.

Betty calmly made her way over to the door even though you knew she was a nervous wreck on the inside. Once you heard the boys start to come in, you took off your facemask and rubbed in whatever moisturizing element it had left.

MJ had done the same but instead of throwing hers away, she made it into a soggy ball and threw it at Flash, who shrieked in disgust.

“ Did we miss the sexy pillow fight?” Brad asked as he smiled at you, almost like he hadn’t gotten mad earlier.

You decided to let whatever happened this morning slide but once you caught eyes with Peter, you felt anxious.

“ Hey, we’re twinning!” You said as you pointed to your Harry Potter pajama shorts and Peter’s sweatpants to try and calm your nerves,” I never pegged you as a Gryfindor Pete.”

Peter looked down at his pants and chuckled lightly,” I never thought I was either.”

He wasn’t going to lie, he wore those on purpose cause MJ had texted him that you had a similar pair in your luggage and he liked the idea of you two matching.

“ Is that alcohol? How did you sneak that onto the trip?” Cindy asked as she grabbed the bottle from Flash’s hands,” We could get in so much trouble.”

“ Only if we get caught,” Flash said as he opened up his backpack and brought out plastic cups.

He passed one around to Ned and Betty but when he came to Peter, he just stopped and scoffed,” Are you sure you can handle your liquor? The girls probably have some apple juice in the fridge for you to drink.”

Truth be told, Peter couldn’t handle his liquor at all but that was before he had powers. Now, he could forever say goodbye to hangovers and embarrassing drunk encounters.

It wasn’t like he was a big drinker pre or even post-spider bite but his body operated differently than a regular teenager so instead of passing out after two shots of Remy Martin, he could easily call himself a heavyweight.

“ I think I’ll be okay,” Peter said plainly as he practically ripped the stack of plastic cups out of Flash’s hand causing Flash to flinch.

Peter passed one to you as you hesitantly took it from his hands. You were second-guessing everything and you weren’t sure if it was the paranoia of getting caught or the mix of alcohol amongst the group.

Brad watched you from his seat on the ground and shook his head, letting out a tsk from his lips,” You’re not fooling anyone Y/N, you don’t drink.”

The hell was that supposed to mean?

Brad knew you all too well, you almost made it through high school without drinking (with the exception of your aunt’s wedding where they served champagne) and you didn’t want to ruin your streak now.

At the same time, peer pressure was real and while no one was asking you to drink, you still felt like you almost had to.

You shrugged and handed out your cup to Cindy so she could pour some of the Smirnoff into it,” There’s a first time for everything I guess.”

Everyone took a seat on the ground in a circle, with Peter on your left and MJ on your right. Brad and Betty both made a toast and before you knew it, you took a sharp sip of your drink and coughed after you swallowed it.

“ Yeah, okay that freaking sucks,” You cringed as you put your cup down beside you.

You felt better knowing that Flash and Betty both had the same reaction but you were a bit surprised how easily Peter took down the shot. Peter noticed you from the corner of his eye and pretended to shudder, even though it almost tasted like water to him.

After about a half an hour of mingling and drinking amongst yourselves, you could already feel the alcohol running through your system. You didn’t feel nauseous but if someone had asked you to spin around in a circle, it wouldn’t end pretty.

You watched from your spot on the office chair as Brad made his way over to you, smiling wide.

Here he goes, you thought as he sat down on the desk and looked down at you.

“Y/N, you look mad.”

“ I’m chill but clearly something upset you this morning,” You said as Brad shrugged plainly and took another sip,” what’s been up with you? You’ve been dodging me all day.”

From the outside, Brad looked fine like any other tipsy teenager but you knew better. There was something behind his eyes and you could literally see the gears spinning in his mind.

“ I can’t be protective of you?” He asked as you responded with a confused mm as you took another small sip of your drink,” obviously I’m talking about you know who.”

You watched Brad’s gaze fall over to Peter, who was sitting on the bed beside MJ and Cindy deep in a conversation. You rolled your eyes and you gave Brad an unconvinced look.

You were many things but being someone who needs protection was definitely not one of them. You knew Brad long enough to know that he had never cared about any guy being around you but for some reason, he was so threatened by Peter.

You knew if you said it out loud, Brad would just get madder like earlier but deep down, you knew he was jealous. What made you even more upset was that this jealousy practically came out of nowhere and you and Peter only started to hang out just this morning.

You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol or your pure frustration alone but once you opened your mouth, any chance of having a PC filter was gone,“ You don’t have to worry about Peter, he’s a good guy. I like him so do me a favor and stay in your lane.”

Before Brad even had the chance to reply, Flash grabbed the bottle off the dresser and sat down in the center of the hotel floor.

“ Lets play something cause I’m bored as hell. How about a friendly game of spin the bottle?” Flash suggested as everyone was adamant on playing something else,” you guys are so lame, would you rather play truth or dare?”

MJ poured herself another small amount and handed the bottle to Ned, who immediately passed the bottle away from him.

“ That’s so cliche,” MJ groaned as she looked down at her cup before taking it all down,” but I’m in. If you don’t want to answer or do the dare, you gotta take a shot no matter what.”

You shifted in your seat and mentally cursed. You hated truth or dare and frankly, it was the dumbest game to suggest especially since you knew that most of the group wouldn’t be down to do a dare that was too risky.

On the other hand, you were the type to always pick truth because you rather let people know your deep dark secrets than lick a toilet seat.

After a few rounds of Flash running through the hallway in just his underwear and of MJ switching clothes with Brad, it was Betty’s turn to pick who was next.

“ Okay, my turn... Ned,” Betty said, catching Ned off guard,” Truth or dare?”

Ned looked around and shrugged, looking visibly uncomfortable,” Truth I guess.”

“ Do you want to get back together with me?”

You were the only one to gasp and you covered your mouth in shock when you realized no one else had the same reaction,” Sorry I- you guys dated? Since when?”

“ Oh right I forgot to tell you, we were a couple during the Europe trip but it ended when the trip did. You really missed a lot,” Betty explained as she moved her attention back to Ned, waiting for a response.

Ned looked at Peter who only nudged him back in response which made the situation even more awkward. Instead of answering the question, Ned took down his shot like a champ and shook his head,” I’m not falling for that one.”

The room busted out in ooos as Betty’s face grew red. She quickly composed herself and poured herself another drink,” Your turn then.”

Ned looked at Peter as if he was asking for permission but Peter shook his head. Peter knew Ned wanted to be a good wingman but Ned tended to take the title too seriously and go overboard.

“ Okay then I’ll pick Peter,” Ned said as Peter’s hands started to feel even more sweaty than before,” Truth or Dare.”

If it was anyone else asking Peter, he could easily choose Truth and move on with the game but because Ned was in control and knew too much about his crush on you, he was worried that something would slip.

“ D-Dare,” Peter stuttered as he cleared his throat, his eyes locked on Ned as if he was pleading to have a normal dare that didn’t involve you.

Ned smiled and looked over in your direction as his plan started to come together.

“ I dare you to kiss the prettiest girl in the room.”

The room grew silent for only a moment before it bursted out in mixed conversations. All eyes were on Peter and he could feel how hot his ears were burning from embarrassment.

Peter tried to play it off and lifted his cup in the air,” I’m definitely not doing that.”

Cindy groaned from her seat and sat up on her knees,” Come on Peter, it’s just a kiss. It’s not like it’s your virginity or anything.”

“Cindy!” Betty smacked Cindy’s thigh sharply as if she was a child acting up in a grocery store.

“ Ow! I didn’t even say anything bad,” Cindy rubbed her thigh but glanced over at Peter,” I’m sorry but even if you are a virgin, that’s not a bad thing!”

You and Betty both gave Cindy a ‘Stop Talking’ look and you turned to Peter, his face flushed by now.

“ If he doesn’t want to do it, he shouldn’t be forced to,” Flash said as he leaned over and poured a shot out for Peter,” but just for the record, he totally would’ve kissed Y/N.”

“ N-No I wouldn’t!” Peter stammered, feeling completely mortified.

“ You hear that Y/N,” Brad smirked as he looked between you and Peter,” Peter doesn’t think you’re pretty. I on the other hand-”

“ That’s not true!” Peter shouted over Brad as he turned to you sympathetically,” Y/N I-I do think you’re pretty!”

“ Um, thanks Peter, you too,” you said simply as you tried to catch up to the conversation.

If you could be honest, you felt like you were on a five-second lag thanks to how much you had been drinking and you weren’t processing what everyone was saying as well as you should’ve. You weren’t really paying any attention to the conversation until you heard the word virginity and your name. What you did notice the whole night was Brad’s small attempts to get you a bit annoyed while flirting at the same time.

Since you two had been friends for so long, you knew how he operated and whenever Brad liked someone, he would always make little jabs as if girls fell for that kind of stuff. You needed to get him alone to set him straight because you didn’t want to ruin your friendship over his small crush on you.

You shook your head at Brad as he watched you pour yourself another shot that was almost triple of what you took earlier.

“ What were you saying Brad? About Y/N?” Cindy asked as you looked over to Brad who only shrugged.

“ Nothing I was just going to ask Y/N truth or dare,” Brad said as Ned shook his head.

“ No it’s Peter’s turn, those are the rules remember?” Ned insisted as he gave Peter a quick look.

Peter had nothing against Brad but Peter wasn’t stupid or blind either. He clearly had feelings and wasn’t going to waste any time going in for the kill. If it was any other guy then maybe Peter had a chance but Brad Davis? Not only did Brad have an advantage since you two were friends for so long but Brad was practically a clone of you.

You both had similar interests, identical backstories, and the same sense of humor so of course Peter felt threatened.

What was worse was that Peter could tell that Brad knew about Peter’s feelings for you so now, it was almost a competition for Brad.

“ Oh come on, he doesn’t mind,” Brad laughed as he looked at Peter and tilted his head to the side,” do you Pete?”

Peter only nodded as Peter took his shot and crossed his arms over his chest. You weren’t sure why you were feeling particularly bold today but when Brad asked you truth or dare, you chose dare.

“ I dare you to do seven minutes in heaven with me in the restroom.”

You leaned back onto your hands and tilted your head to the side. If it were any other day, you would’ve passed on the offer but this was just a game to Brad. He knew you would say no and that would prompt Brad to make even more jabs towards you for being a prude.

“ Okay Davis, I’ll bite,” You grabbed your cup and drank the whole thing before handing it to Peter,” see you guys on the other side.”

You got up from your seat as Brad followed you closely,” Don’t wait up guys.”

Peter clenched his jaw as Brad gave a thumbs up to Flash who was whooping in celebration.

Once the bathroom door had shut, Flash nudged Betty and stuck his tongue out,“ They’re gonna get down and dirty-”

“ Shut the hell up, Flash!” Peter didn’t even realize he had said it out loud until he noticed that everyone was staring at him.

Peter’s face flushed a deep red and sighed deeply before grabbing his phone and got up from his seat,” It’s late. I’m going to bed.”

Everyone watched as Peter practically stomped out of the room and was fuming from head to toe.

Once you were in the bathroom, you sat up on the counter and looked up at Brad, who just locked the door.

“ I know what you’re doing Brad,” You said as Brad leaned against the counter next to you,” you’ve done this move before on Katelyn Gomez at the homecoming after-party. I’m not stupid.”

Brad smiled innocently as he ran his fingers through his hair,” I have no idea what you’re talking about. Can’t I just have some quiet time with my girl?”

You let out a dry laugh and shook your head, you really couldn’t believe what was happening. You heard the main hotel room door slam shut which made you turn your head to the door. You didn’t hear anything follow up so you turned your attention back to Brad.

“ That’s my point, I’m not your girl,” You motioned between the two of you with your hand,” this is not a thing and will never be a thing.”

Brad acted shocked and placed a hand over his heart as if he was in pain,” Why do you love breaking my heart?”

“ You’re my best friend Brad which is why this can never happen. I mean come on, my mom used to bathe us in the same tub when we were younger!” You exclaimed as Brad shooed your hand away.

“ Okay fine, we have history but there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not asking you to marry me I’m just asking for a chance,” Brad sighed as he moved over and leaned closer to you,” are you really saying that you don’t have feelings for me?”

You looked down at Brad’s hand and back up to his face. Brad looked at you longingly with puppy dog eyes but you were smart and you knew better than to fall for it.

“ I have feelings for you... but not the kind you have for me. I love you Brad but as a friend. I trust you more than anyone else I know and I like being a part of your life,” You watched as Brad nodded softly,” our friendship is so important to me and I don’t want to ruin it.”

For the first time ever, it was like you had left Brad speechless. You could tell how hurt he was and it made your heartache. Brad was never someone to take things so seriously, especially if it was with a girl. Brad could be rude at times and a little too sarcastic for your liking but so were you.

“ I’m sorry,” you said, trying to interrupt the silence between the two of you.

Brad shook his head and bit his lip, a habit that he had been doing since he was six whenever he was nervous,” You don’t have to apologize. I’ve been a dick to you lately and I’m sorry...Can I ask you for something? It’s okay if you say no.”

You nodded and squeezed Brad’s hand,” Yeah, anything.”

“ I know you want us to be friends and I respect that but...do you think I could kiss you?”

You tensed up as you shifted against the counter,” I don’t know Brad..”

“ I’m not asking to make out, I’m just asking for a quick peck on the cheek,” Brad stammered as you nervously bit the inside of your cheek,” pretty please?”

You thought things over in your head but all you could think about was Peter. What would he say if he found out? You shook your head and tried to get Peter out of your head, why would Peter care? Better yet, why were you thinking of Peter right now?

“ Okay, but only if it’s a cheek kiss.”

“ Deal...okay can you close your eyes?” Brad asked as you rolled your eyes but did so anyone.

You sat there with your eyes closed and shook your head,” You’re so weird Davis.”

After a few seconds, you felt Brad move off the counter and scooted between your legs. You felt him place his hands next to your thighs and leaned closer to you,” Ready?”

“ Whatever man just do it. God this is so weird,” you mumbled as you heard Brad count down from 5 to 1.

When he got to you, you expected to feel his lips press up against yours but when you felt his lips against yours, you opened your eyes in shock and pushed him away with your hands.

“ What the hell Brad! You said it was a cheek kiss!” You shouted as you wiped your lips with the back of your hand.

“ I-I’m sorry” Brad backed away from you and rushed for the door handle,” I’m going to go.”

Brad didn’t even look at you as walked out of the door, leaving you alone in the bathroom. You couldn’t believe your best friend just kissed you and you were somewhat thankful you felt nothing but disgust from it.

Peter. You rubbed the sides of your temple in frustration as you thought of what would happen if Peter found out. Your heart sunk as you thought of why you didn’t want Peter to know what had happened between you and Brad.

Damn it, you had a crush on Peter. And you were pretty sure he felt the same way.

@holland-in-disguise @yeahimcrying @greatpizzascissorstaco @mysticalbanshee @weyheyavengers @infinityflamesworld @fandom-fangirl22 @peterparkoure @crumpets-are-better-with-jam

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btswishes · 4 years

Text

I will adopt you.

Monsta X (Shownu) hybrid au

Part1 / Part2 / Part3 / Part4 / Part5 / Part6 / Part7 / Part8 /…

A/N: I know a lot of you like these series and I am taking too long with them. I am sorry, I just have to juggle university and this. I am still getting used to my program ,but I will try my best to find time to work on stories as well. For now texts and Shownu/Wonho scenarios will be my main. Sorry for any mistakes made and I hope you like this.

Word count: 2,909

Warnings: I mean ,just normal 21 century teen cussing

——————————————–

(I suggest you to listen to THIS as you read the chapter, thank you and enjoy)

It had been already a full day since Shownu left in a hurry. You were beginning to get worried with each passing hour. The same way the sun rose, it started to set, without the familiar body frame walking around the house, or casting the usual shadow over you ,as you focused on your work. No matter how much you wanted to finish what you had planned for the day, it just wasn’t going to happen. Your mind was occupied by the empty feeling in the house and inside your heart.

Your thoughts were drifting from darker to darker places, as you bit down on your finger nervously. “Where is he?” you fumbled around the pen in between your fingers. “Should I look for him?” a swift motion of your feet took you to the window again. It was the 15th time in the passed hour that you were staring outside, hoping he would come back home any minute. The previous night you left the window open just in case he returned, but in the morning to your disbelieve the bed was cold and empty.

4pm came and went, then 5 rolled up , 6 followed fast and 7 didn’t want to be left behind by its siblings, so it greeted you soon enough on the lit up phone screen. You were restless, tired and scared. He was strong, no doubt in that but somehow you kept forgetting that about him. Even if he was a hybrid or werewolf, to you he was just a confused tall ball of fluff that should have staid home. What if he is in danger! What if he is hurt.....what....what if he never comes home. The thought of him leaving was the last drop in the glass. It didn’t spill, on the contrary, it broke into millions of pieces representing all the different scary ideas you had.

Putting on as many warm clothes as you could, you armed yourself with motivation to search for him, even if it meant days or unbelievable distances. The doorknob didn’t turn in your hand, as you remembered the howling winds. He left almost naked, I need to get him something! In a old backpack you hadn’t used in a long time , you put some of his clothes. Ready for a hunt, you ran out the apartment and into the cold winter storm. The moon was once more looking at you gently, trying to illuminate the path to your man.

The streets were surprisingly full taking into consideration the temperature and the over all wind speed. You were walking fast and fierce through the piled up snow, blocking the wind with your arm in front of your face. It was all or nothing.

8:30 pm waved at you from the city clock and you still weren’t successful in your search, not to mention nowhere near to that. Where could he have gone!? I looked everywhere! But you actually hadn’t. Your feet could take you only so far. He traveled with the speed of an unhuman animal and you walking like a baby compared to him. He could be in the Maldives at this point. Your body hit the wall of an alleyway, while you were hiding from the storm. The sound of the wind was muffling your deep breaths and blowing away the mist coming from in between your lips. You began to tremble, was it the cold or your aching heart? I am such an idiot! you felt the soft material of your mittens covering your eyes, as tears started to form and cool down your face. Why did I have to react like THAT! I should have just stayed calm and...and not done that. The feelings were strong and bubbling out of you. Your hands pulled away from your wet and red face and wrapped around yourself. What wouldn’t I give to hug him, to have him hug me right now. To say how sorry I am for making him misunderstand the whole thing. Your foot hit the ground aggressively a couple of times imitating a childish tantrum.

Your behavior didn’t mirror your outside manners at all. You were an independent woman in all areas of your life. You wanted to feel safe, so you worked to have enough money to achieve that. Here you were though, alone in a dirty and dark alleyway, crying your eyes out begging to be treated like a child. Being strong takes you only that far. He was stronger, bigger and scarier than you, but the feeling of comfort and safety you felt being in his arms. Like a blanket that covered you, hiding your innocents, letting you be as childlike as you wanted without being judged, called weak or even treated as pray by other men.

Your head hit the brick wall behind you, as you aggressively exhaled that air trapped in your throat by the waterfall of tears. A shiver went down your body as you tried to pull yourself and your emotions together. Usually it wasn’t something too difficult for you, but right now, in this very moment it was proving to be a challenge. Where are you! like a spell the words summoned the tears again, stronger than before. .....please..... the mittens were soaking up the emotions off your skin as best as they could. Your skin was red from all the rubbing. Everything was a big blurr in front of your eyes and inside. A mess simply said, waves of calmness and then sudden uproar or crying and begging. Had you ever been in such a state before, not to mention for a men you have known for not that long. I will be better I promise! We will go out more and and I will make you whatever you wanted to eat! Yes! And and....just come home pleaseeee, I need you. There was no amount of hitting or screaming that would change this.

You were tired, no more tears just the trails left by them on your skin. Yet even they were cooling off like your heart and drying up by the cold wind finding its way in the tight alleyway. Calm and controlled, your heart beat followed your breathing ,while you were looking around the dirt and rocks around you on the ground. This stage was emptiness, no feeling, no care, just existence. I don’t want this to be true, I don’t want to accept that this isn’t going to change. I can...if i try harder. a hit of energy jolted you in a matter of seconds, maybe hope or denial Yes! If-if I try harder I can do this! hard work payed off for you so far many times, why not now?Yet your jaw clenched and your lip began trembling again NO! I am strong, hey! your hands slapped the irritated skin on your face I got myself from nothing to something! I just have to be strong, for both of us! Even!...even if he doesn’t want me anymore. Once more your emotions were somewhat under control. Closing your eyes you took a deep breath ,when it hitched, taking in a few gasps before it stops in your lungs, filling them only half way. As your body took in the cold oxygen, your cheek warmed up with a sliding motion towards your ear.

“You don’t have to be strong always.” even with closed eyes you knew, you felt it in your soul. Your arms trembled towards his and you grasped it firmly, tears streaming down again and again. “Why are you crying?” one hand turned into two as he cupped your cheeks

“I- I am not, I am too strong for that!” you tired to prove an unexisting point

“No you are not, you are acting. You have been hurt one too many times and now this is just a character you created to fool yourself and others. I can feel it.” his face came closer to yours till you felt his lips leaving a few butterfly kisses under and onto your eyes, cleaning the tears “Look at me.”

“No no!” you shook your head aggressively to the point where he had to keep you still “If-if I do that you will disappear. You have to be a figment of my imagination, there is no other way you co-” your lips and cheeks squished back as he pushed his face into yours. Lips onto lips, molding into strange, soft shapes that oddly fit together like an infinite puzzle. As slow and gentle as he could, he pulled away letting the warm vapor of his breath mix in with yours.

“Be vulnerable around me, stop pretending to be strong even in situations where you are breaking. Let me be your shield. If you don’t want people to see you crying, grab onto me, hide in my chest. I promise you, I will always wrap my arms around you and keep you safe.” his words turned into reality as he pulled you in. The hug was strong, but it covered you up away from the world. In a matter of seconds the mask on your soul began to crack, the harder and the closer you got to him, the bigger the cracks got till it...broke. Your brows frowned and your fingers clawed at his clothes, your face buried into his chest as your screams filled the alley.

“It’s ok, let it all out.” unknown time passed before you pulled back to look at him. It was Shownu, it was your Nunu. His thumb wiped under your left eye closing it for a second. “See? I am still here. I didn’t disappear.”

“How did you know?! How did you know I was here.”

“I know silly.” his usually stoic face lifted the corners of his lips up towards the moon into a gentle and comforting smile, before he lead forward and placed his forehead onto yours. Closing his eyes, he didn’t speak only his thoughts could be heard. I will always know where you are, I will always hear you through your thoughts. When you call me, wherever it is I promise to come to you. I will pay the price of hurting you with loyalty that i will take with me even beyond the grave. Shownu’s eyes fell onto the slight cut on top of your lip.

“Can we go home?” your voice was still showing signs of the emotional rollercoaster you went through

“Yes, we can.” Shownu looked around, hooking his arms under your body picking you up gently, as if trying not to hurt you. “Let’s go.” it felt like the air around you threw you up in the air. Flying, yes that was the right word to use in this situation. You were gripping onto him, when his hand pulled away from your head and he let go. You panicked, so high up and not being held by the only thing keeping you alive.

“DON’T PANIC! I GOT YOU!” he yelled out with a soft and calm voice underneath you, reassuring you to trust him “OPEN YOUR EYES!”

Your body stopped midair for more than enough time for you to come face to face with the shining moon. Like a pearl in the sky. It was reflecting in your eyes, turning your irises into silver crystals. You couldn’t say anything, but it felt like the light itself was whispering to you. Reaching out towards it, you began falling down. The night had hypnotized you to a point where you had forgotten the sheer height you were at. Shownu caught you just on time, intertwining his fingers with those on your extended hand.

“Do you regret trusting me on this one?” he asked softly with a hint of accomplishment hidden between his words, yet you kept staring at the moon

“No...” it came out gentle, like a whisper from between your lips. You couldn’t stop your gaze from following the body in the sky. Shownu’s hand carefully pulled your head into his chest, to cover you from the harsh cold wind nibbling at your skin.

“Shownu I can’t see anything. “ you struggled to look anywhere but his body

“I can take you on a night time run when summer and spring come around, it’s too cold now.” you pouted under your nose so verbally that he felt it. Letting a sigh out, he repositioned you on impact as he jumped off a near by rooftop “Look around then.”

“Oh wow...” your voice had become breathy as you did what he suggested. The speed at which he was moving made the snow beneath you look like thousands of diamonds glistening in the moonlight. One could almost identify them as a huge sea of stars or white sand, giving the over all chilly winter a warm summery energy. Shownu was big and keeping you very warm, making you forget all out the biting storm that was howling over the walking people. At this height it felt more like a song of a seasonal fairy, telling her goodnight story to all the sleeping under the snow plants, covered by the the blanket of the sky.

One could easily see what most old school authors saw in this cold times, like living in a book from times past. The night began so rough, but ended so warm and comforting. You gaze shifted from the astonishing land to the man gifting you all these new memories. His strong neck, grabbing onto his firm and sharp jawline, as his eyes shined in a deep rich golden color and tensing under you with each long jump. It felt like he brought with himself not only love and safety but also the gift of flight and a whole new world.

The window of your apartment shined in your eyes “Shownu, I closed the window.” he looked down at you, changing the strategy in his head to that of a normal human. He landed behind the building so no one would see or notice you guys coming from literally the sky. Putting you down gently, you fixed your clothes and tried to find your footing in the deep snow. Instinctively you reached out and grabbed onto him.

“You finally leaned onto me.”

“What?” looking up you saw the shadow oh his face and moon forming a halo above him

“Till now you tried to find your way through the snow on your own, falling and getting up. This is the first time you reached out to me for help.”

Your eyes were met with a smile, but you didn’t know how to react as this was something you weren’t used to.“Let’s go inside, it’s cold.” he smirked at your sudden panicked answer, but took it as a small victory.

Rustling through your bag you pulled out the keys and were lucky enough to find the elevator already on the 1st floor. In a hurry you got in, rubbing your arms up and down to warm them.

“Are you feeling cold?” once Shownu let go of you, you remembered how cold it actually was

“Aren’t you freezing?” you looked him up and down “You are dressed so lightly, come to think of it ,how do you have clothes on?!”

“I took some with me, can’t go running around naked in my human form.” well it did make sense, but now the backpack you had on served no purpose “You are shivering.”

“I am fine.” the boy was like a damn radiator even without all the fur covering his nonhuman form

“No you are not.” he leaned down nuzzling into your neck, making you step back till your body hit the wall of the elevator “You are freezing.”

“S-shownu w-what are you doing?!” you gasped at the warm skin of his, sucking away the cold in the area of your neck. His hands pushed against the wall, trapping you between himself.

“I am checking if you are cold since you keep lying to me about it.” his nose was rubbing against you, sending all kinds of sensations down your spine and body

The elevator came to a stop at your floor, but the doors revealed our lovely nosey neighbor and her obsession with Shownu.

“Oh my hahaha.” she gasped and started laughing, as he she hid her eyes behind her spread fingers. She didn’t want to miss any juicy details to tell her husband and family about later “Oh you young kids these days! So wild.”

“It’s not what it looks like!” you panicked even though you yourself didn’t know what it was. Shownu looked at the neighbor innocently as you grabbed him and pulled his large frame out of the elevator. As the woman stepped in, she slapped his shoulder gently, giggling “ Be more direct boy, she doesn’t seem to notice you making a move on her. Go get her tiger.” the doors closed and the ding sound send her upstairs to her meeting with the other middle aged wives of the building. We all know what todays topic will be.

“Come in.” you were holding the door to your apartment open. “Don’t just stay there.” Shownu ran up to you and stepped inside. “Welcome home.” you said taking all your thick clothes off and throwing them on the couch.

He staid still for a moment before he said “I am...home.” his hand slid behind him as it closed the door, not even taking his eyes off you, lovingly.

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spacegaywritings · 4 years

Text

“Burning old Bridges and making new ones” (Oneshot)

Teen and Up // Virgil x Logan // ALL sides appear (Janus and Remus only vaguely)

Summary: Logan is tired of the light sides, not being listened to. He cannot handle the utter irrationality his co-sides display when trying to manage some of Thomas’ deepest issues. In frustration, he slowly starts to turn away to them, and open the doors for others.

Tags: invalidation, not listening to one another, slight logan angst, hurt and comfort, analogical, Patton and Roman are too fantastic, thomas, sides au, dark side Virgil, illusions, (which is kind of gaslighty!!), alternating environments, mentions of blood, metaphors of blood etc, crying, tears, heart break, name reveal, ridiculing people, talking over one another, dark side Logan, converting???, calling the sides by their functions instead of names.

My KoFi - Support me ♥ or Commission me

Note: If you miss any tags, have issues with links or any other concerns, please feel free to contact me. Anon is on and my DMs are open.♥

Links broken? Inform me, please!

Story under the Cut: (Word count: ~5k)

10:24 am.

Logan sighed.

They were in Thomas’ apartment, being the helpful sides they were. Thomas had sliced them into functions, so he could better argue with his different motivations in life. Currently, he was debating on yet another issue. He was wondering about whether or not to get that subscription to a gym. On one hand, it was practical, it might motivate him to do some exercising, to work out and talk to professionals about routines and which exercises would be best for him, his body and his goals.

Roman was all for it and so was Patton.

Yet, they left out Logan, as always.

As soon as he had brought up finances, he had been called “party pooper” and “professor of unfun”. For a moment, the malicious words of “obstructing Thomas’ acting career” were aimed at him in one of Roman’s incredibly immature and uncontrolled fits.

Patton was simply up for it. He just took it, complimented the thought and said it was the best thing to do. The fact that Thomas had never held up these sorts of obligations was always shut out. The repeated intervention of Logan’s rational musings and his careful warnings of the consequences and alternatives had all been shut down.

Roman and Patton ran into one another, hugging and cheering on one another. Apparently, things were settled. Logan did not know. He had stopped listening. If he walked out on them or simply ducked out, Thomas would get upset, the others would get suspicious. There would be yet another issue to resolve around feelings, Logan’s feelings. For some days, the other sides would act as though they cared.

Until they would stop keeping up the exhaustive pretence to care even a little.

Logan shrugged the matter off, trying not to get the “HE WILL BE HERCULES! ONLY LESS GREEK!” and similar yells and cheers get to him. The completely delusional Patton and Roman had turned on him and his valuable input once more.

He was seriously tired of it.

If they only listened enough to consider his arguments - it would make him one of the most satisfied sides in the entire Thomasphere. Instead, they banned him from discussions, completely excluding him. Thomas was not ready to realise it.

The logical side disappeared up the stairs, reserved.

Feelings were all over the place. When he faded into the upstairs area, nobody questioned him, nobody held him back. They let him go, ignoring him.

Nobody paid attention.

Nobody even cared.

Thomas tried to hug his sides. It was one of the last things Logan could sense when he pulled himself out of the affair. The sounds of betrayal and ignorance were too loud in his head. It hurt, it thumped, it was agonising.

It needed to stop.

“ugh.”

At the very least, Logan’s unwilling isolation has taught him more than enough things.

As he stepped into the mindscape, he reviewed his knowledge. One foot in front of the other, a slow pace. He was crossing over to the dark side.

1. The dark and light sides were separated from one another.

2. There was no more separating them than the way Thomas imagined them to be

That meant:

A) The sides were marked by different colour schemes

And

B) The sides’ “rooms” were separated from one another in a way that “light” and “dark” sides had two different sides of one hallway.

At the moment, Logan was crossing from one side to the other. Nobody was usually in the hallway. It was just him, crossing over again and again. From one side to the other.

3. There is no need to sneak from one side to the other. Everyone is either in their own room, with Thomas or in the parts of the Imagination.

He stepped closer to one of the doors, hand rising up to the door handle. However, his hand retreated just as quickly. Instead, he remembered something crucial.

4. Every dark side had preferences to their doors and how to open them.

Logan stood tall, straightening his posture. He reached out, this time with a curled fist. Three times short, three times long, three times short again. It was the knocking signal for S.O.S. . Logan thought it to be more than ironic for “Anxiety” to have such a kind of knocking sign as preference.

The door handle disappeared, then the door opened.

5. About half of the space designated to the dark sides was imaginary.

This was supposed to ensure nobody uninvited or unwanted would invade their space. It was rather clever, Logan had to admit.

Anyway, rules aside, the door opened slowly, revealing a dimmed room. Some colourful lights seemed to stream from the glossy ceiling into the room. They danced over the floor, shifting and switching. It was a wild and uncoordinated dance but at the same time, it felt natural, following a pattern invisible to everyone’s eyes.

The floor was stone, dark and partly broken. Several parts revealed cracked areas. Through the cracks, a few flowers seemed to grow. They were lonely but strong. Every single one of them was purple, yet it were different tints of purple in every flower.

For all that was worth, it looked like an abandoned temple. Raided, forgotten.

Some chains hung from the ceiling, around the glass part in the middle. The mosaics of translucent colour-filters was somewhat spheric. The chains were occasionally strewn around that, revealing little lanterns with warm, yet weak light. They were traditionally black, or at the very least, anthracite. From one corner of the room, a bit of smoke rose, striving through the room, twirling and twisting around itself in alluring manners. Incense was burning, giving the room an oddly peaceful feeling to it, no matter how destroyed and abandoned it seemed to be.

Logan cleared his throat. His eyes were still looking for a certain side. Usually, there would be a more obvious sign of that person, but right now-

Ah, there.

Virgil was hanging up some sort of tapestry, monochrome in colour. The design looked ominous, sort of mysterious. It was a moon, a castle around it. It seemed as if there was a whole other layer of meaning to it. Logan could not even imagine it. He was bad at seeing these kinds of things. But it did not even matter. Virgil was turning around to him and Logan nodded politely, not moving until Virgil gestured for him to come in.

“Good day, Logan.”

He slowly moved inside. The door manifested right behind him. When he turned around to see it, there was a lot of stone. It was a wall. There was no door, no more. Actually, when paying closer attention to it, it seemed to be a gate. There was a little metal ring, partly embedded in the same dark and cracked stone material, for knocking.

This had to be how Virgil got out.

“Greetings, Anxiety.”

They both stood there, for a moment. Anxiety looking almost bored. The logical side was unusually quiet. Everything around him was new, confusing. No matter how often he got here, it would always strike him as absolutely novel. It was just that different from where he lived, from where he used to hang out.

“What you doing down here, again? Can’t get enough of me, yet?”

He smirked smugly.

Whenever Anxiety would join in on their conversations, he would “ruin the mood”, aggravate Roman and make Patton stiff and uncomfortable. Anxiety was the one to make them listen, to settle conversations and feelings.

He was the kind of down-to-earth Logan needed and appreciated for their group. He, for once, was inclined to include Virgil in their group. Not that the group of the “light sides” was particularly great, but it was simply for the fact that Thomas needed Virgil to have more say, if he shut down his own logic that much.

Logan felt something tingle at the start of his spine. He shivered, trying to hide away the goosebumps.

Anxiety was dressed in a simple black shirt, a red symbol all over it. It looked like a pentagram. He came closer.

“So?”

Logan swallowed, inhaling the sweet smell of fresh breezes and comfortable darkness. It smelled of earth and of cold snow. Anxiety had the most beautiful shade of brown in his eyes, out of all the other sides, they looked the most grounded and genuinely.. warm.

“Perhaps I needed your input on something.”

His words came out one by one, delicately, taking their time to unfold in Anxiety’s hearing. The edgy side rolled his eyes.

“Lies aren’t welcome here, what do you need, Logic?”

Ah, straight to the point.

It had Logan’s chest feel warm, tingly inside. It was as if he was tickled from the inside. He couldn’t help but smile. It was just a little, more like a shadow.

“It happened again.”

Anxiety’s shoulders fell a bit, tension replaced by a softer, more tender feeling. His eyes seemed to widen in empathy. He could feel Logan’s pain.

Not being heard, not being understood.

Being ignored and invalidated only, but at the same time made to feel as if it was not alright to face this truth, as if they cared more than they actually did.

He sighed.

“You can stay. Spill the beans, ‘the fuck happened?”

The two started talking. Well, Logan was mostly talking. Words cascaded out of his mouth, feelings foaming around his lips in furry and frustration. There was so much piled up and the whole stack was simply tumbled over by someone jumping around from one to the other side of his room, in nothing but black yoga pants and a rather loose punk-styled shirt. His feet were bare, as bare as Logan’s feelings when he came inside.

Every now and then, Anxiety would roll his eyes, chip in with comments like “of course” and “ah, sure, thing.” They were sarcastic, but they did not arm at hurting Logan. No, it was meant to make fun of how hypocritical and unkind the other light sides were. No matter what Anxiety contributed, it felt holy to Logan.

There was the harsh, brutal honesty in direct, raw lines. They were short, they were sharp and the dark side did not hold back even a little.

Logan wandered with him, from one corner to the other. They hung up the tapestry together. Anxiety mumbled something about Tarot cards and heavy meaning. Logan let him have it, smiling at the new information and interesting input.

His steam was off, he was calmer now.

The whole room seemed to be much friendlier, more peaceful, too. The flowers were at full blossom, the dim lights were shining in new vigour. Some of the cracks seemed to be fixed and the floor felt warmer, more inviting.

This was not an abandoned temple, it was a reclaimed sanctuary.

“Do you want to come over?”

Anxiety shook his head. However, he patted something like a table. There were blankets and pillows on top of it. Logan was not sure whether it had been there before. It looked like a bed, but the base was made of stone. He shrugged, taking it.

“For now, until I can trust you fully, you can come here and that’s it.”

Logan nodded.

He was okay with that.

His body lowered itself, automatically, already. It was as if his programming was made to listen to Anxiety, to be flexible with him and lay with him. The dark side roamed around, pulling on a chain. It set off a mechanic, unleashing some sounds. Calm music came out of the ceiling. Logan sat up a bit but Anxiety pushed him back down.

“Take a moment”, he advised. Logan nodded. He laid back down, listening to the calming, almost tangible beats. They were so soft, it was surreal. If they had disappeared at once, Logan would not have noticed either way.

Slowly, he drifted off to something Anxiety would later refer to him as “lo-fi” beats.

***

This was one of their first meetings. By now, Logan could barely remember how he had met Anxiety in the first place. He only knew he had been angry, upset by Patton’s irritating cheerfulness and pure ignorance. Any thought of this experience already pumped adrenaline and disgust through his veins.

Despite his intellectualism and his expansive vocabulary, he was incapable of describing just how sick he was of Patton and Roman completely shutting him out. They were so out-of-touch with life that it could only lead to Thomas getting hurt.

Logan sighed, pushed his thoughts aside. A tug called him into action, asking him to join yet another discussion. He could not believe it.

Still, he tried his best to be helpful, to be present. For the sake of Thomas, he tried to stay strong and persistent enough to make good points, objective points. Maybe he could at least get a word in.

Within the blink of an eye, he was in the living room with more than familiar faces. Well, they all had the same faces - it felt as if this thought was but a comment Anxiety would utter out. It was true, but why say it? Anyway, the princely and fatherly side were there, already chatting up Thomas and asking him about his issues, asking him about what was wrong.

Those were words and sentences they threw at one another, yet never at Logan. Actually, looking around, Logan realised they were not in the living room as expected. (Not anymore). Thomas was walking over to the kitchen, taking his sides with him.

“Okay, this is not too much of an issue but I feel unusually torn about it.”

Patton nodded, an encouraging smile on his face.

“We are always here to help you Thomas! Now, what’s the issue?”

Thomas seemed a bit embarrassed, shuffling his feet, avoiding eye contact. He fidgeted with his hands. If Logan did not know better, he would assume this sort of behaviour reminded him a lot of Anxiety.

Wait-

Before he could even finish thinking his thought, the ice crystals of Anxiety’s appearance could be felt. The time seemed to slow for a moment, then explode. Something in Logan seemed to wake up.

“Now, now, now. What’s this again, Thomas? Do you really think, you should be doing this? I think we can all agree it’d be best to just pack up, go back to bed and leave things like that.”

Thomas frowned.

Hands moved, fingers curling around the handle of a katana. Roman extended his arms, skilled movements exercising a threat imposed on Virgil who literally yawned in Roman’s face as if he could not be bothered to even look at him for longer than a moment without being terribly bored and disinterested.

Roman gasped, pulling back.

“You fiend!! Insulting Thomas and then me?! I am the prince! Keep in line, I am warning you!!”

Patton rushed to his side, appealing smiles on his face. They looked like hearts. Logan’s frown seemed to settle deeper into his facial skin.

When he realised Anxiety was basically next to him, he had to swallow down a gasp. Why was it so warm all of a sudden? It had to be his body balancing out the cold Anxiety would usually bring along with him. He felt strangely comfortable. Again, Logan rationalised his emotions by thinking it was simply nice to know someone was at least somewhat on his side. Having someone to balance out the extreme of Patton’s and Roman’s idiot suggestions.

“Wait a moment! How about we all take a deep breath and wait for a bit.”

Patton’s movements seemed forced when he gestured for Roman to put his sword down. His smile at Anxiety was as fake as his “logical arguments”.

Thomas looked around his sides, tentatively raising one tiny hand to greet the anxious trait. He dismissively shrugged Thomas off, looking at Roman and Patton with brooding eyes.

“Look, this is the same issue all over again. Thomas does not know how to cook and is embarrassed about it. He threw all his money out for usual shit like rent and all - and his new gym subscription - and now he does not have enough money to go get some takeout. This is all a matter of poor management of money.”

Patton gasped at the accusation.

“No!”

He composed himself, trying to contain his sudden outburst.

“Thomas can deal with it. Like a good adult, he will just move past this.”

Roman rose to the conversation, nodding.

“Yes! He will learn how to cook cheap and easy things, so we can adjust our diet!”

Patton squinted.

“What? Why? Thomas does not have the time. Okay, listen to me guys, your old daddy-do knows what to do!”

Logan groaned. Anxiety echoed the sound, seconding the emotion they shared.

“Thomas will just drop his gym subscription, then he can keep up with his meal subscription and does not have to worry about cooking or anything. We don’t want to repeat the last mistake we had in the kitchen ~”

Thomas grumbled, frustration boiling over in him. He pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest as if to defend himself from the cruel, yet true words.

“Fine.”

Logan’s head snapped to the side. He needed to adjust, so he could look at Thomas. Previously he had been looking at Anxiety much longer than expected or than he had realised. But the speed at which he had craned his neck to the side would probably have injured him, if he was human at all.

There was a scowl all over his face. Thomas winced like a cartoon.

Logan tried very hard not to snap, or at the very least let out an extremely done sigh.

“Thomas, you cannot be serious. You have barely listened to anyone’s opinion on this matter. Can you truly say you are actually making an informed or at least a thought-through decision at this moment? I suppose it would make more sense to listen to everyone, one by one, then wage the different arguments and options and try to find the most satisfying solution to your problem. You might be acting too fast and face preventable consequences if you go o-”

Patton chimed in.

“Logan, Thomas already made his decision. He can do it. He is an adult and doesn’t need to keep thinking and thinking about everything. It will make him sad.”

Anxiety hissed out.

“Not thinking can get us killed, you want Thomas to die?”

Patton gasped.

“I would never!!”

Roman roared.

“Fiend!!”

Patton held Roman back, face slowly darkening.

“I think it is best we leave Thomas alone, now. He is an adult, he made his decision”, then he turned to Thomas, beaming like he did not know anger and pain at all. It was a terrible act but an act nonetheless. The good-hearted man tried to nod it off.

“I am proud of you, Thomas! Let’s go and get yourself some food. Remember, you got a credit card! Now that you are an adult, you can do whatever!”

Anxiety pushed forward, tempest tongue activated but Thomas already willed them away, feeling the anxiety coming on. The dark side found himself in Logan’s room, sitting on a comfortable bed, a fluffy unicorn onesie right under his butt. Before him, Logan appeared, expression unreadable.

“That was rough.”

Logan nodded, mutely. The sadness drained over him. Bit by bit, there was more emotion raining over his face. Anxiety could see the very moment Logan allowed to let the emotions flow into his heart, drown his professional appearance and attempted objectivity.

His chest ached and he got up, slowly catching the crumbling man in his arms.

“It’s okay, Logan.”

The logical trait shook his head. He could not even care about how the onesie was exposed, draped all over his bed. He did not care that the dark side was with him, in the realm of the light sides. His mind could not begin to wrap around the fact that someone else than a light side being there could potentially warp this side of the mindscape.

All he felt was the sadness ripping at his heart, squeezing his feelings and making him so sick, he wanted to vomit out blood until it was over. It felt exaggerated but also somewhat appropriate for the situation.

He had stacked up every bit of feeling, every moment of ignorance and invalidation. The sharp comments, the audacious interruptions. He was sick of it. Everything was like a load of blades he had swallowed again and again. Now it was churning inside of him, ripping him up and destroying him from the inside out.

He coughed, the feelings wanting out and his lungs too exhausted to keep up with all his pain. The repressed emotions and denied doubts all came back to him, haunting him. They were multiplied in intensity, hitting him the hardest when he was at his lowest.

Sobbing, he fell to his knees, Anxiety slowly tugging him to bed and comforting him. Time was no concept for him anymore. He measured the moments in tears and how much it hurt when his heart and lungs sobbed along with him.

Eventually, he could feel more than just his chest’s agony. There was warmth around him, distracting him from the destruction going on inside of him. Anxiety had put a soft blanket around his shoulders, patting him and applying soft pressure with his supporting arms, his uplifting hugs.

As Logan was falling, tripped over by his “friends” - Patton and Roman -, the dark side, the half-stranger was catching him, holding him up and bringing him back to his feet.

Time went by and he did not count the hours or try to keep track of the light intensifying, then dimming down until night settled in. All he knew was that the dark side held him throughout everyone, stammering every now and then, trying to offer him some tissues and cups of water.

“You have to hydrate, Lolo.”

A nickname.

He cried harder, dry-sobbing. When his emotions calmed a bit, he took the cup. His head nodded carefully and he swallowed the cooling water slowly. There was a purpose in his actions and the anxious trait carefully patted his head.

“You’re doing good. Promise.”

He hesitated for a moment but continued to talk after a small break. Logan barely noticed.

“It will get better. I will assure you that.”

Logan inhaled deeply. For a moment, he did not move. Then, he nodded.

“Thank you-”

“Uh”

The dark side interjected. He shifted softly. Logan’s head was in his lap and took the shifting as a cue to move away. Awkward. He slowly rose, rubbing his cheek. It was flat and red from how long he had rested on his knees, his thighs and lap.

“Oh, no. I , uh - fuck. Now, you are looking at me and it’s.. it’s weird again.”

He blushed, shifting away a bit. Logan’s heart skipped a beat. Hope? Panic? The friend turned away, pulling his knees close and hugging them ever so softly. He sighed, trying to steady himself.

“Are you having an attack?”

He shook his head stubbornly at Logan, yet he did not dare look at him. The logical side sighed. His eyes fell on how Anxiety pressed his lips together, afraid of sounds coming out when he was so intense, the tempest tongue would come up again. He had disclosed to Logan, in a moment of trust, that he could control it to some extent but how it would just happen that his voice started distorting itself when he lost his sense of reality, started dissociating or was otherwise in deep distress.

“I, uh - name. My name.”

Logan nodded.

6. For the dark sides, a name reveal was more than just a “big thing”. It was a tremendous vulnerability, hence revealing a name was the ultimate sign of trust.”

“Virgil - It’s Virgil!”

Logan’s mouth went dry.

He.. he actually had done it? He had actually told him his name?

“Really?”

Virgil nodded, weakly.

This time, it was Logan’s time to blush, reach out for the other and squeeze his hand.

“I think it is beautiful. Thank you for trusting me so much.”

He let the word rest on his tongue for a moment, treasuring it.

“Virgil.”

The dark side smiled.

It was Logan’s turn to blush. The two were still holding hands, squeezing one another for comfort as their gazes locked and refused to budge. The black jacket around Virgil was too big, his usual outfit for when he popped up as a side. It looked like the similarly black blanket draped around Logan’s shoulders.

In a way, they were so similar, only in different places.

Little did they know the conversation happening outside their bubble. Voices overlapped, harsh sounds were exchanged.

“Shush! Can you feel this? Padre, there is something happening with the mindscape!”

Roman hissed, looking around. The walls around him seemed to change. He was not in the Imagination as he usually would but he was in the room with Patton. Patton was sitting on his bed. It was a bunk bed with fairy lights all over, colourful blankets and plushies stacking up like in a rivalry. He tilted his head.

“What do you mean, Roman? Do you think there is anyone visiting us?”

The prince tugged at his Katana, fidgeting with the calm yet threatening handle. As he approached the inner walls of the room, his steps seemed to slow down, quieten down. He held his ear against the wall. Slowly, his hands found the wall. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the structure of their realm.

The realm of the true light sides.

7. Patton and Roman might be a part of the light sides but that did not mean they were the “light” kind of personalities.

A shiny blade was drawn. Patton was in the dark, shadows casting over him, shielding the world from his appearance. He rose, slowly, heroically - only that he was a hero to himself and nobody else.

“I think we need to pay someone a visit.”

Patton giggled while Roman detached himself from the wall, blade gleaming and lusting for a few stabs and fights.

“Very much so, Padre.”

***

Yet another day, yet another rejection. This time, Patton’s flowery face gently shoved Logan back into his room, asking him to take time for himself and please be on the lookout because they needed him for Thomas.

It was odd.

He said that while separating him from a meeting with Thomas, trying to figure out yet another issue. Logan felt pushed and eventually just nodded, trying to get away from the sudden force in Patton’s behaviour.

“Good choice! You are so clever, Logan! I wish we talked more!!”

Logan bit down onto his lip. If he had applied just a bit more pressure, he would have drawn blood. The man was too much in control of himself, especially after letting his feelings out excessively, to break out like this again.

As if you would even dignify with as much as your genuine attention, Morality.

In his own mind, he had started empathising with the dark sides so much, he used their names, knew their names. The light sides had become some sort of forbidden topic for him. He did not pronounce their names, only their functions. He pushed them into the corner of his minds, banning them from his own mental conversations.

He waited patiently. His back turned to open the door but he only pretended to do so. At the end, he only waited until Patton was out of sight, so he could rush over to the other side of the hallways, to his true and new home. He passed Roman, not even paying attention to it. The darkness sucked him up, shielding him, as he rushed into the new territory. Doors slowly disappeared before him, gates opened and then he was in Anxiety’s, no!, Virgil’s room.

Before he knew it, calming arms caught him. The darkness engulfing him was gone. He swore he could have heard Roman’s voice calling out for him, someone calling him a traitor. But when he looked up, he did not see Virgil’s room. The colourful lights, the dancing shadows. All of the were gone. They were not in the sanctuary of the abandoned and the forgotten anymore, they were in a whole new place. At the same time, it was more than just a bit familiar.

He saw his own room, slightly altered. Behind him, a door appeared.

“Logan-”

Patton’s and Roman’s calls echoed through the mindscape.

“You can do it Thomas! You just have to believe in yourself!”

“Don’t I have to study?”

Thomas. Oh, sweet sweet Thomas.

“Aw, why would you, little man? You are really clever and your friends need your time more than your books need you. I mean, can you hear your books calling out for you?”

“I guess you are right.”

There was hesitation, so Roman jumped in. Besides being his ego, his passion, he was also his motivation and a bit of that was needed in genuine belief.

“Damn RIGHT he is! Let’s be a true hero to ourselves, to our friends, and go to this gathering!! Prince Roman into the FIGHT!”

Logan cringed. He could feel Thomas do the same, deep inside of him. Deep inside of him, buried away in the dark realm of his own thoughts.

“It is just a barbecue.”

Now Thomas was trying to use Logic? He could feel a tug. It was fainter than it used to be. Virgil was next to him, leaning against the solid walls.

“Feel the changes already?”

Logan turned to him.

It was yet another moment in time when he had neither thoughts nor words to pronounce. It was not that he did not think anything about this, though. This time, unlike when he was crying and his mind went blank, he was full of thoughts and ideas. The only issue was that there were so many, he had trouble ordering them and listening to every single one of them.

“I suppose I do.”

He frowned.

Virgil shrugged, applying his eyeshadow as if to get ready for a party. So he actually did sit down to apply it. Wait, since when was there a mirror- oh yes, he had forgotten, this was his own room. In the dark sides’ area.

“Am I a dark side now?”

Virgil turned around. He actually did look like a raccoon.

“Yeah, seems like it.”

He shrugged, finishing off his dark accents. When he was done, he let his things vanish, simply disappear into thin air. He turned to Logan, grinning.

“Well then, Logic, I suppose it’s time for a new time, a new place and a whole lot more fun~”

He extended his hand.

“Wanna get Thomas to listen to you a bit more?”

His hands were warm. Logic could feel the warmth engulfing him, protecting him. Slowly, more presences seemed to whirl into the blend of energies and imaginations in his room. He nodded, captivated.

“I think I can do with convincing people.”

A sleek voice mused.

Another voice popped up, scratchy and slightly used up. It was almost comically hoarse.

“I think I can do with getting Thomas to listen to everything you want to show him!”

The energies came in, shaping into appearances. Logic nodded again, a smile on his face.

“Welcome to the team, Logic.”

#joey writes #oneshot #sanders sides oneshot #fanfiction #ts fanfiction #sanders sides fanfiction #ts analogical #logan angst #rest is tagged already hflesjgsr

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shi-daisy · 4 years

Text

Snowed In

Well this it folks, my last Ulquihime Week entry for this year. As always it's been a joy to participate and see everything that all of the other users have created, and that those who host the event take such care to plan our ship week. I had a blast and I'm looking forward to doing this again next year. Till then however, let's all keep on making content for our otp!

Ok so onto the story, today's theme is Winter/Warmth and I really didn't know what to do, until I remembered I have a whole AU I could use and stuck with that. For those who haven't read my entries from previous years the Reunion AU basically had Ulquiorra and Orihime meet again after a few years, Orihime ran off from her wedding with Ichigo and Ulquiorra is now human(along with the other Arrancar). At this point in the time the two have been dating for a month. Hope you like!

@ulquihimeweek

Ulquihime Week- Day 6: Winter/Warmth

Snowed In

"For the last time Tia, I'll ask her but that dosen't mean she'll say yes." Ulquiorra repeated over the phone for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

His friends had all told him to invite Orihime over for Christmas dinner, and while he wasn't too keen on the holiday he knew his woman was. This would be the first time he would be asking her to spend an event with him and his 'family' and while he might deny it, Ulquiorra was nervous.

"Schiffer, of course she'll say yes. That girl is quite taken with you."

"I'd like to think so, but still, don't be disappointed if she declines."

"Yes, yes, I am ready to accept a negative answer. Still, I wanted some civilized company this year."

He could tell she directed her angry tone at Nnoitra. From over the phone Ulquiorra could hear them bickering.

"If ya don't want me to eat the cookies. Don't leave em on the table!"

"Those were freshly baked! How are you not burned?!"

"Cuz I still have Arrancar-like skin."

"Fool! Your hands are red! I have to go Ulquiorra. Our gigantic toddler has injured himself again."

"No surprise there. I shall see you later."

He arrived at the cafe soon after his call ended, yet he knew things weren't right. Orihime usually waited for him outside, but despite the closed sign in the door, she was nowhere to be seen. Ulquiorra rushed into the cafe, immediately upon entering he heard a loud noise.

"I know language was never your best subject but I think the sign on the door was pretty easy to read Kurosaki!"

"Inoue, just let me explain everything."

"I told you to fuck off!" Orihime angrily took off her arpon and walked away. Ulquiorra headed towards her. The second she saw him, her anger subsided.

He dared to look at Kurosaki. The redhead was no longer the headstrong teen he had met six years ago. His hair was shorter, and while he's grown taller, Ulquiorra thought he looked less intimidating.

"How- How are you here? You died."

"I got better." Ulquiorra answered sarcastically. "Now, I believe you heard the woman. She's not interested in speaking to you."

Ichigo didn't seem keen on backing down, his surprised stare turned into a glare. "You don't get to decide for her anymore, Ulquiorra."

"Oh just shut up already, Ichigo! I don't owe you shit! Tatsuki picked up my stuff a while ago, I've kept away from you and your kin, and paid back what I owed to you father. Aside from those unresolved matters we have nothing else to talk about!"

"I think leaving one's own wedding and then vanishing for two months is something to talk about! You never gave me an explanation for that."

He'd never seen Orihime so enraged, her pale face turned red and she was clenching her fist so hard her arms shook. "You want an explanation?! Fine! I left because just as I was going to get Kenpachi-san to walk me to the altar, I found you and Kuchiki-San! Then you kissed her! When we were young I thought you were in love with her, but since you proposed to me and made me feel as if I was the one you wanted, my worries faded. Imagine how I felt at that moment! I gave up NASA for you, scholarships, internships, my own damn college ambitions all went down the drain! All because I wanted to be with you, and look where the fuck that got me!

So there's your bloody explanation! Now scram!"

There was a small moment of silence before Kurosaki left. The second he was out the door, Ulquiorra hugged Orihime close. "Let it out."

Orihime didn't want to cry over it anymore, but her body betrayed her. She shook as she cried, her sobs echoed in the small cafe and the only solace she could find was the warmth Ulquiorra's hug provided.

As he held onto her, Ulquiorra checked an alert on his phone. There was a snow storm coming to Naruki.

"Woman, it's likely we won't be able to reach your apartment in time. Would you like to accompany me home?"

Orihime stopped crying after hearing that. "Yes. I'd love to go with you."

"Good, I've sent a message to Szayel, he should be coming to pick us up before the storm gets worse."

"Okay."

Orihime stared at Ulquiorra's face for a moment. When she first saw him again after all these years he looked just as he did the day he turned to ash under her touch. Now, he seemed so different. His hair was longer and styled, he often wore leather and dark make up, and even facial jewelery. She also noticed he began doing those things when the two began dating. Maybe it was an effort to become more human like for her.

"Ulqui, are you sure it's okay for me to come home with you? I don't want to bother the others."

"It's no bother, they were all hoping to see you again." Ulquiorra cleared his throat, as he often did when he was nervous. "Actually they were insistent that I brought you home for Christmas celebrations next week."

She blushed. "Really? I'd love to go! Spending Christmas alone is not much fun. I would be happy to spend it with your family."

He sighed in relief. "I'm glad."

"You sound nervous, did you think I'd decline?"

"Well, yes. But that's not why I was nerveous. It's just the others can be quite a handful. I don't want them to overwhelm you."

"I'll be fine, I love hyper groups of people. Besides you and I can have some alone time later."

"That I won't mind."

Szayel arrived at the cafe slightly later than expected. The sky was already darkening, and the road was icy. He drove slowly but made sure to calculate the time properly.

"Inoue-san, I hope you don't mind, Halibel has prepared a room for you, along with clothes. It's likely the snowstorm will keep you from going home tonight, perhaps even longer."

"That's fine. Thanks for telling me Szayel. I'll be sure to not cause any trouble."

"Oh sweetie it's no trouble at all, we are all looking forward to having you around. Ulquiorra has told us so much about you!"

Ulquiorra, Who had been dozing off in the front seat, was now wide awake and glaring at Szayel.

Orihime laughed at the scene before her. "Does he? What has he told you?"

"That he enjoys speaking to you, and that you have a lovely aura, and that you look very pretty in a sundress."

By now Ulquiorra was a blushing mess, he hid his face under the hoodie of his coat, but Orihime has already seen it. She smiled and blew a kiss in his direction. "Well I think he looks good in black clothes."

Ulquiorra caught the hint. Black was what he always wore, meaning Orihime always found him to be cute. He smiled, this time without covering his blush.

***

Her arrival had been met with hugs, greetings, an enthusiastic snuggle from the family's pet.

"Kukkapuro's no stranger to cuddling new people. He won't leave you alone for the rest of the night." Stark drowsily told her as he tried to get Kukkapuro to move. The hollow puppy ignored him.

"That's okay, Stark-san. I don't mind."

The sleepy man nodded and went back to his favorite spot, on the lap of his boyfriend. Szayel rolled his eyes and let him sleep.

She smiled at the scene, it reminded her of the times she'd act overly affectionate and Ulquiorra would be either unimpressed or dead quiet. Strangely enough she didn't mind.

"Orihime! Can you come to the kitchen? I need your help!"

She followed Halibel's voice to the kitchen. The older women had baked a new batch of cookies and wanted her opinion.

"You're the star baker after all." She told her.

The woman's tone was so sweet Orihime couldn't bear to tell her she hadn't finished culinary school.

She took a bite, savoring the sweet yet salty ginger cookie. "These are great! You're an incredible baker, Halibel-san."

"Thank you, it means a lot coming from a professional. There is something I'd like your help with."

"Anything."

***

"Are you going to chose a movie already?!"

Ulquiorra glared at Nnoitra, who had probably been banned from the kitchen.

"I am not choosing anything until the girls come back with the food. Have some patience Jiruga!"

"I am plenty patient!"

"I agree with Ulquiorra, you have a short fuse. Now be quiet." Szayel snapped.

"Tch. If I'd know you were going to be so moody I would've spent the week with Tesla and Cyan."

"Tesla might've been your fracción but I think even he knows you shouldn't be around a newborn." Stark mumbled in his drowsy state.

Ulquiorra chuckled, as he remembered the little bundle Cyan had given birth to a week ago. He didn't consider himself the baby type but that had been disproven the moment he was allowed to carry the tiny child.

"Maybe you and Inoue will produce a cute baby one day."

Ulquiorra almost fell off the sofa. "Nnoitra if you don't shut up I will disembowel you!"

Szayel shushed them both and pointed down to a sleeping Stark, but by then it was too late. The pair began bickering and Kukkapuro howled along.

***

"See? It's always like this. Can't get some quiet until bedtime."

"Don't worry. This'll warm them up!"

The girls walked out of the kitchen with cookies and hot chocolate. "Settle down! We're here with the treats! Ulquiorra you can pick a movie if you'd like."

He nodded and began browsing. Orihime gave everyone a cup of chocolate and cookies. Once her boyfriend had picked a movie, she sat down with him and their treats.

It didn't take long for the others to fall asleep. According to Ulquiorra this was a common occurrence. 'They'll be asleep before the second act ends.'

The couple was snuggling together covered by a thick blanket, they had finished their sweets and once the movie ended they would be going to bed.

"Hey Ulqui."

"Yes, love?"

"Thanks for tonight. I don't know how badly things would've gotten if I hadn't come with you."

Seeing Ichigo had soured her day greatly, and walking home alone in the freezing cold to cry herself to sleep would've been twice as hellish. Thankfully her boyfriend was there to dry her tears and make her smile again.

"You're welcome woman. I shall always be here for you, so whenever you feel like the world is falling apart remember to lean on me. It is now my eternal duty to keep you smiling."

She giggled and nuzzled close to him. "Thanks Ulqui. You're really sweet." The beating of his heart was lulling her to sleep, but Orihime resisted, she wanted to see the end of the movie. "I have to repay you one day for all the kindness you've given me. Feels like I'm only taking."

"No, you're mistaken. It is I who's repaying a debt to you. Back when I was a hollow you brought joy into my life again, and since then I've thought that one lifetime won't be enough to repay you."

"Then you better be with me in every other lifetime."

He wouldn't refuse such a request. Ulquiorra looked down at Orihime, their gazes met and he knew this was the perfect moment to do as he had planned for so long. He leaned down to press his lips against hers, a soft kiss which caused them both to blush. They both tasted of chocolate and ginger cookies, still it was perfect.

"I love you." He whispered only for her.

Orihime caressed his cheek and smiled. "I love you too."

They stayed like that for the rest of the night, tangled in a warm embrace as the snow continued to fall outside.

#uhweek2020 #orihime x ulquiorra #Ulquihime #orihime inoue #ulquiorra shiffer #Day 6: Winter/Warmth #reunion au

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zenonaa · 4 years

Link

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Fukawa Touko/Togami Byakuya Characters: Togami Byakuya, Fukawa Touko Additional Tags: togafukaweek2020, there is one nsfw bit of dialogue right at the end

Summary: Byakuya and Touko go to Iceland for their honeymoon.

Comments: Day 2, traveling and outfits! Ice caves look so pretty ahhh.

***

Barren trees sat in ragged clusters on and around the brown mounds surrounding the gravel car park. In the distance, snow dusted the tops of black mountains overlapping each other, their silhouettes stark against a cloudy backdrop like ink on paper. The chill of crisp air masked any aroma nature may have breathed. Touko rubbed her gloved hands together before returning them to the harness she was meant to be finishing putting on.

In the Icelandic car park, she didn’t have a pen and paper to scribble down all the similes and metaphors that sprouted in her mind’s garden. Condensation puffed out between her parted lips as she stared at the distant mountains, herself small unlike a mountain and human unlike a mountain. Her curious eyes traced over the mountains’ outlines while her hands fidgeted with her partially done up harness.

Next to Touko, her husband, Byakuya, reached over.

“Here, let me do that for you,” he said, and he secured Touko’s harness for her.

A smile glinted on her face. He progressed onto snapping the straps of her helmet into place. Unlike Touko, he had taken his gloves off temporarily to give his fingers more dexterity. Nearby, others also put on their hiking equipment over their outerwear, but she didn’t pay them any more attention. They chatted in languages she didn’t know fluently, such as French, German and Russian.

Not that any of that mattered to her. She was here with her husband. Her husband. On their honeymoon.

“There,” he said, with his hands either side of her head. “It’s on now.”

That just left her crampons to attach to her feet.

“Thank you, Darling,” she replied, beaming up at him.

Byakuya’s hands cradled her cheeks for a few seconds more before he nodded and turned away. She could still feel his touch linger as she watched Byakuya walk over to a white tub by the minibus they all arrived here in. From it, he drew out two ice axes, and then he padded back to her. He passed one to Touko.

The lower shaft was straight while the upper shaft curved slightly. Their tour group’s leader, a round woman with a fluorescent orange helmet and bright blue coat, flourished her axe and said something to the group. After she repeated it in another language, Byakuya translated for Touko.

“Straight shafted axes are ideal for flat planes and moderate slopes. Technical ice axes curve a lot more and are for higher grade slopes. We’re just ice-walking through some caves, so we’ve got axes between those two extremes,” he explained.

“I see,” said Touko with a bob of her head. Her helmet wobbled slightly, and noticing, Byakuya clicked his tongue and adjusted her straps again.

Excitement vibrated through her body, but it came edged with nervousness. Yes, she survived a killing game. Yes, she survived a city where children murdered adults. And yes, she even survived her wedding’s afterparty where Yasuhiro drunkenly yowled into the karaoke machine. But here, she wasn’t confronted with someone to outwit, to outwait. This was nature.

Byakuya took his hands off her helmet, satisfied, and motioned to her feet. She still had yet to put her crampons on completely, just standing in them.

“If you haven’t worn crampons before, try walking in them now rather than wait until we reach the glacier,” he said.

Touko hadn’t worn them before. Never had reason to. Never had anyone to give her reason to before.

“Do you remember how to walk in them?” asked Byakuya.

“I do,” she said, and she bent down to strap the crampons to her boots.

Prior to the tour, the pair researched ice-walking online to give themselves an advantage, and the tour leader had gone over general things on the ride here that Byakuya translated. Touko inhaled and took a step forward while keeping her legs slightly more apart than usual, like a cowboy in an old western movie.

She didn’t fall over. Good. Easy. So long as she didn’t shuffle and kept the sharp edges of her crampons away from her faux fur lined leggings, then she would be fine.

“Good,” said Byakuya, observing, having just put on his own crampons. He fixed his glasses into place. “We’re ready.”

Confidence glowed on his face. Byakuya shifted his weight and Touko suspected he had meant to take a step, but he instead lurched and started to tip over. Her heart jolted as she darted forward, ready to catch him.

Thankfully, he wobbled and regained his balance at the last moment so didn’t end up landing on her. He straightened with a pout, shoulders slumping. She sidled up to him and hooked her arm around his elbow.

“I’ll put them on when we get there,” he mumbled. Touko rested her head against his arm.

Soon, the tour leader called them all together, and they set off. She led the group down a gravel path with chocolate brown terrain either side of them. Not snow. Not yet. As they trekked along, admiring the scenery, the tour leader rambled on about miscellaneous facts that Byakuya translated for Touko, such as how glaciers covered ten percent of Iceland.

After a ten-minute walk, the ground sloped down onto uneven, icy terrain. Clumps of brittle ice dotted the landscape here and there, mixed in with rocks of various sizes. The layer of ice and snow was rather thin so didn’t blanket the ground completely, reminding Touko of a dark wooden kitchen surface that had sieved flour splattered across it. Anyone yet to put on their crampons did so now, and once the tour leader gave a brief safety talk, they ventured onto the field of ice.

Touko squared her shoulders and marched forward, hearing the ground crack and grind under her feet. Initially, the sound made her waver, but the ground didn’t give way so she pushed on. She stayed close to Byakuya, using her ice pick as a cane despite the fact that even though the ground rose and fell, it wasn’t too cragged yet.

However, it still wasn’t flat. At one point, Touko stumbled on one of the many rocks embedded in the ground and shrieked. Fortunately, Byakuya spun around, catching her before she could fall completely. Touko slumped into his chest, first because of momentum, but then she buried herself in him with relief.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his axe planted in the ground next to him.

A grin spread across her face as she looked up.

“It s-seems I’ve fallen for you,” she quipped.

“We’re married, so I should hope so,” he told her. He peeled Touko off his chest, holding her arms.

She shivered and scrunched her hands together. When she exhaled, she could see her breath spread its wings and fly. Her eyes followed her breath upward, and she stared at the colourless sky.

“Do you think we’ll see aurora borealis tonight?” she asked.

To be honest, of all the activities to take part in and all the sights to enjoy here, seeing the northern lights ranked at the top of her list. She tried to imagine them now, imagine watercolours bleeding into a night sky, but the clouds absorbed her daydream before she could visualise even a few paint strokes.

“The locals can’t control the weather, but Iceland is one of the best places to see it,” said Byakuya. He let go of her and extracted his axe from the ground. “Still, the trip advisor said to have plenty of other things planned just in case.”

Such as ice-skating, hiking and visiting landmarks. Every night, Touko had stood at their cabin’s window, hoping to see the lights, but every night, she had curled up beside Byakuya without seeing any.

At least she got blessed with the sight of his face beside her every morning. That more than perked her up.

Touko shimmied her shoulders and simpered sweetly. “I don’t know, darling. We could spend two weeks in our cabin in bed and I would be more than happy.”

Byakuya made an inarticulate noise between a grunt and a yelp and turned away. She snickered a little as they set off again. After several paces, though she continued to walk, she gazed at the sky and hoped it could somehow understand the desire gleaming in her eyes that longed to see the northern lights during their trip.

If the sky understood, it didn’t let on.

From a distance, all they had been able to see were small hills, but as they wound through the ice field, they realised crevices ran through the terrain too. Some were thin, black dirt veins engraved in the icy flesh, some dry, some with hissing water that trickled through, ranging in width and depth. Some could accommodate a foot, others full bodies, and the walls either side of these indentions varied in height. Could reach up to an ankle or tower over a person. Then there were the different textures on the walls and mounds. Dusty. Chunky. Smooth.

Touko brushed her gloved fingers across a wall crusted in crumbly snow before moving on, able to see Byakuya a couple of strides ahead. She spotted a hole in the ground nearby and peeked inside. So far, she had noticed a few of them. Some could allow a human to slide down their throats into the stomach, while others were not wide enough to fit more than an adult’s hand into their mouths.

As for this hole, when she crouched down to inspect it closer, she reckoned a person could slide down on their stomach and perhaps find themselves in one of the ice caves on the other side. Byakuya sauntered back to Touko, who glanced up. He adjusted his glasses, continuing to stand straight next to her.

“Do you think we could fit down there?” she asked, focusing on the hole again. “J-Just the two of us? Such a secluded area... think of what we could get up to down there...!”

She hugged herself and trailed off, laughing under her breath, and knew Byakuya well enough to know without looking up that he wrinkled his nose.

“You mean like... kissing? In a block of ice?” he asked.

Her smirk grew, and she raised her head. Yep, his nose was wrinkled.

“If you want somewhere private, we have a cabin,” he pointed out. “We don’t need to risk getting trapped in ice.”

“W-We can still imagine, though,” she said. She stood up and leaned her hip against him, then her head against his shoulder. “I-Imagine... we tumble in and have to wait in a small air pocket until we’re rescued... while we’re stranded, we have to keep warm and share oxygen, so we... heheh...”

The ends of her lips climbed as high as they could go. Touko cupped one cheek and shuddered, keeping her other cheek pressed against Byakuya.

“This place is incredibly inspiring. I’m already... feeling a bit warmer,” she said.

“I’m not,” replied Byakuya, fidgeting his scarf with a telltale blush across his cheeks. “So let’s carry on.”

Snow crunched underfoot, and soon something else grabbed their attention. Up ahead, they discovered an ice cave, naturally made, with tunnels that they could walk through. Touko stared, mouth hanging open as they entered. As the tunnel wasn’t particularly long, light intruded and highlighted the lining of its throat. The cave tinged everything in a blue glow. In places, the texture on the walls reminded Touko of honeycombs. Ripples ridged the ceiling, motionless, frozen in time. It made Touko feel like she was walking through the bottom of the ocean.

Byakuya nudged up his glasses, looking around.

“During the summer, warmer temperatures and sunlight melt the ice at the surface of the glacier,” he told her. “The water drains downward through cracks, sinkholes and moulins, melting the ice at the bottom. This creates the area which we’re walking through now. It will freeze over again when it’s colder, only to happen again. Year to year, the formations change... we’re seeing a formation that will not exist this time next year, or even ever.”

Touko placed a hand over her heart. The tour leader happened to be nearby and stared at them with a polite smile. Byakuya said something to her in English, which Touko assumed was what he just told Touko in Japanese.

“That’s right!” said the tour leader in English, sounding impressed. “It sounds like someone has done their research.”

Much of Touko’s understanding of English was restricted to written form. She glared at the tour leader but said nothing, tugging on Byakuya’s arm and leading him away. The cave was a simple tunnel, and they could see the light at the other end, but Touko and Byakuya approached it casually, in no hurry, drinking in their surroundings. A range of blues inhabited the icy walls. Some areas were speckled black, while others sported clear blues and creases of white.

Not long after they left that cave, they entered another. This one had a lower ceiling, crystallic with icicles hanging down from it. However, though the ceiling consisted of translucent whites and blues, the ground was coal black. Touko fumbled with her camera, stored in her satchel, and took a few photos. Then she turned to Byakuya and snapped one of him.

So handsome.

Her finger pressed the button again.

His sandy blonde hair.

Dreamy blue eyes.

Kissable lips.

He looked as if the Gods themselves had chiseled him from their finest marble.

Touko snapped another photo.

Then another.

And some more.

She giggled dreamily.

Byakuya noticed and gave a small sigh.

“You will end up filling the memory card with just photos of me. Let me take a few,” he said, and she readily handed him the camera. He looked around, his finger on the capture button, then aimed it at her.

Touko stiffened, but he didn’t take a photograph like she expected. Instead, he positioned himself next to her, holding the camera an arm’s length away from them and pointing it at their faces.

“Are you taking a selfie?” she asked, nervously rotating the handle of her ice axe in her hands.

“Yes,” he said. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer.

As a child, Touko often avoided being in photographs. Classmates would take them of her to ridicule later. Some people were honest about their cruel intentions, guffawing in her face, but others weren’t upfront about it. Even so, she would hear their muffled laughter, pick out her name buried in whispers. Byakuya, however, played no tricks, and Touko relaxed as he pressed on the camera a few times to capture images of them together, then he checked to make sure he had taken a picture in case he hadn’t pressed hard enough without realising.

“These ones are a bit blurry. Let’s try again,” he said.

After he took another round of photos, they strolled forward, and he occasionally snapped a photo of something nearby. Their footsteps plopped as their boots stamped on puddles of water.

At the end of the cave was a lip-shaped opening, revealing a dim blue sky past its prime. Touko’s stomach tightened. Not long from now, they would either see the northern lights or not see them.

“This way, Touko,” Byakuya called out, waving his arm. He had slipped ahead. She hurried after him.

They investigated more caves, then an hour later, they returned to the minibus which drove them to their original meet up area. The temperature outside dropped, evening air nipping at their exposed faces, and before they retired to their cabin for the night, Byakuya and Touko stopped by the restaurant where they enjoyed kjötsupa – a traditional lamb meat soup, enriched with herbs and vegetables that balanced the savoury meat with low-key sweetness.

Throughout dinner, Touko’s eyes flickered between her husband’s face and the window that taunted her with a stubbornly black sky. All she could see were stars sprayed across it. No ethereal lights. A tremor in her chest made her feel fuller quicker, but though she ate slowly, she persevered, eating most of it.

Despite how full she felt, though, the fluttering in her stomach still had room to bat its wings.

By the end of the meal, they had warmed up considerably, and full up after their flavourful, peppery soup, they retreated to their cabin. The wooden plank interior offered warmer hues than the ice caves, brimming with lush browns, and not just the walls but the furniture too.

Byakuya and Touko went into different rooms to disrobe from their outer gear. Touko popped into the bathroom and came out in a pink onesie with a cat-eared hood, gifted by Komaru. Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Byakuya had changed into a set of fleece pajamas, composed of a navy long-sleeved top and checkered dark green bottoms. Hearing the door, he turned toward it, sitting on their bed, and raised his eyebrows but said nothing, observing her quietly as she trod over to the window.

Black sky. Black as the deepest recesses in the ice caves. No aurora. Not yet.

Assuming it would even come. They had one night here after this, and then that would be it. The ice caves had proven to be an enjoyable distraction, but now she couldn’t avoid the fact they hadn’t seen the lights. She heaved a sigh and heard Byakuya join her.

“What if we don’t get to see it?” she asked, clutching the window ledge. “We might not be able to afford to come here again anytime soon...”

Not with the Togami Conglomerate’s forced termination years back. Not after Touko’s parents drained her account dry years back. Not with their teachers’ salaries. Neither would trade in the lives they had now, not for anything, even for a chance to witness the northern lights, but that didn’t mean Touko couldn’t wistfully stare at the sky.

“Don’t get me wrong. Even if we don’t end up seeing it, our honeymoon will still have been wonderful,” said Touko. “I’ve felt like I’ve been on a high the entire time. It’s just... when I think of aurora borealis, s-such a beautiful natural phenomenon... I think of our relationship, and how magical it is. It would have been nice to see it on our honeymoon, like a mint leaf on peach mousse.”

As she peered out of the window, Touko imagined. Imagined herself and Byakuya, holding hands while the sky flared in front of them, when in reality the sky may as well have been a chalkboard.

He didn’t answer right away. She didn’t look at him either, absorbed in thought. Then, Byakuya piped up.

“I think our relationship is more than that,” he said.

Touko tensed and turned to him. His brilliant eyes were fixed on hers.

“What we have together is more than natural or a coincidence,” he explained. “The timing... Our victories, battles, and traumas... Perhaps, what we have together could be described as supernatural because of how perfectly everything lined up, as if we were destined to be together.”

His words blew a gust through Touko that both rejuvenated her and knocked the wind out of her. She breathed in, found herself unable to speak.

“Like you said, it would have been ideal if we could have witnessed the lights,” said Byakuya. “But being with you... is far greater than any force of nature.”

The back of her eyes felt hot and she nodded, which seemed enough for Byakuya, who took her hand and led her to the bed.

“Why don’t you read to me for a while?” he asked. “I packed some books.”

He showed her a selection of them, and she shuffled through them. Mystery. Mystery. Mystery novel. Then she saw a familiar cover and froze. Stared.

She went, “That’s...”

“... one of yours, yes,” he said. “I believe you published it during our first year at Hope’s Peak? It’s one of your books I haven’t got around to reading yet. I would like you to read that, if you would.”

“Of course!” Touko blurted.

The two settled on the bed, with Byakuya resting his head on her lap, and she began reading from the first page of the book. It focused on a girl who moved into a boarding school after escaping a cannibalistic cult, though she had never eaten human meat herself, and at the school, she fell in love with a student whose parents had arranged for him to marry someone who he didn’t connect with, didn’t love, who wanted him solely for his fortune.

Touko cringed in places at some of the phrasing. A voice in her head told her how she would write it now. How she would simplify this sentence, or use a synonym with a different connotation. Despite what she considered to be its flaws, Byakuya betrayed nothing, listening contently as she read aloud. As if he didn’t notice them, or even perceive them as flaws.

Initially, she put on a distinct voice for each character, but then stopped, though when she did, Byakuya spoke.

“That’s not the voice you did before,” he told her, so she resumed doing them.

Occasionally, Touko snuck glances at the window, and an unlit sky greeted her each time. Her heart sank a bit whenever this happened, but she refused to let it dampen her spirits, remembering what she had said to him and treasuring what Byakuya had said to her. She didn’t need to see the lights, not when they had their relationship that was infinitely more precious.

It still would have been nice though.

More than nice.

Oh, well.

As the night wore on, she felt herself grow more and more tired, and Byakuya’s eyes crept shut. Touko was tempted to call it a night when she gave the window of their room one last check, and this time, she gasped.

“I think I see something!” she yelled.

In her haste, she nearly dropped her book on Byakuya’s head as she scrambled off the bed. Byakuya sat up, grabbed their camera off the bedside table and crawled off after her.

A green streak writhed in the sky. He opened the window and began recording it, though he watched it unfiltered too. One moment, the light was shaped like a fishhook, and in the next, it straightened before curling up into a ball and melting into the weaker green hue surrounding it. Seconds after that, the green streak returned, yawning larger, brighter. It danced with the whole sky as its stage, and a faint green hue spread out from around it. As it soared, more vivid streaks of light emerged to perform alongside it.

Gradually, the entire sky became tinted green. Touko held her breath, gripping the window frame tightly. They could still see the night sky through the green shroud, sprinkled with stars. She propped her head against Byakuya’s shoulder. Byakuya shifted. Not to move away though. He wrapped his arm around her middle. Kept his hand on her side furthest from him. Held her.

Then pink light filtered in through the sea of green. It swam in the emerald ocean, twisting and leaping and billowing. The colours mixed together into a milky swirl that couldn’t help but ooze green and flare pink. Touko managed to tear her gaze away for long enough to sneak a glimpse of her husband. Byakuya was still engrossed with the light display, his lips pressed into a frown that wasn’t unhappy, just thoughtful. She turned back to the window.

Eventually, clouds rolled over, and the lights lost their intensity until the pair could barely discern them. They stayed at the window.

Touko wrung her hands together. Spoke first. “T-That was beautiful...”

“It was,” Byakuya agreed just as soberly.

He removed his arm from around her and gently deposited the camera onto the bed. It made a dull thump, and he picked his phone up off the bedside table. Flicked the screen on.

“Two ante meridiem. It’s quite late,” he noted, and she stirred.

Earlier, when she thought the lights weren’t going to happen, she had been prepared to end the night there on the bed. Nearly fallen asleep too. Now, however, she was full of energy, which meant she could pull off what she had prepared for earlier.

The thought of it energised her further. Electricity scuttled up her body. Burst out of her in a squeak. Touko twitched.

“W-Wait!” she exclaimed, thrashing her hands. “We can’t go to sleep. N-Not yet...!”

Byakuya blinked. She unzipped the front of her onesie and stripped it off, dragging the outfit down to her feet. His breath caught in his throat as she straightened up. He stared.

“Is that my underwear?” he asked, eyeing the black thong.

Touko nodded. It was all she was wearing now. Byakuya pursed his lips and turned his head to one side. Pushed up his glasses.

“I wondered why you were wearing that thing,” he admitted, referring to her onesie. “And why you got changed in the bathroom this time. I mean, that thing isn’t ugly... but...”

“Cat girls can be sexy, right?” she asked him, and she pawed the air with one hand for good measure.

“Yes. No. I mean, only if it’s you,” he said, getting redder and redder. “It’s just... It’s funny you did that, because...”

She wondered which funny he meant. Byakuya unbuttoned his pajama shirt from the top. As more of his chest became exposed, Touko’s mouth cracked open.

“T-That’s...” Touko started, trailing off. He pulled down his pajama trousers. She ogled him. “That’s my underwear...!”

Her red bra and panties, to be precise.

“It seems we had the same idea,” he said, gesturing to himself. “So I assume we also thought up the same thing that happens next?”

Touko whispered in his ear. His eyes widened.

“... I didn’t plan for that much anal, but I’ll take it,” he said, and he pulled her onto the bed, on top of him, and the night carried on with both of them smiling brighter than any lights that had been outside.

#touko fukawa #togafukaweek #byakuya togami #togafuka #danganronpa #dr3 #toko fukawa #fanfiction #one shot

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wordscorrupt · 5 years

Text

Febuwhump: Fire

Where in I couldn’t wait for Day 22 (Drown) and got creative instead.

Schools had been canceled after a storm dropped close to five inches of snow on the entire state. Pepper had stepped one foot outside and then swiftly came back in, stating that she was working from home today. Which, true to her word, she had been cooped up in her office for the past three hours, leading Tony to watch over Morgan and Peter who were currently sledding after had they finished building their third snowman. Tony had begrudgingly sent them off outside earlier, but not until he had bundled each kid to his heart’s content.

Now, he was stirring up hot chocolate on the stove for the kids to enjoy once Tony finally dragged them inside in a little bit. He glanced threw the window, watching as Peter pushed Morgan down on her sled, his little girl screaming in glee as she raced down the hill, stopping at the bottom near the lake dock. He smiled, shaking his head.

He was rummaging through the cabinet for the bag of mini marshmallows when Morgan’s screams interrupted the silence that had settled inside. He stumbled out of the pantry in time for Morgan to come barrelling inside the house, face red from the combination of the cold and tears running down her face.

“Daddy, help! We were sledding and he fell into the lake!” Morgan shouted, eyes wide and terrified.

Tony’s heart seized and a second later he was bolting out the kitchen door, his daughter’s words echoing through his mind as he raced towards the lake. There was no time for thinking, no time for planning as rushed to save his kid. His bare feet hit the snow as the brisk cold air slammed against his skin, shocking his body but he refused to stop.

“Peter!” He shouted as he saw the kid flailing in the water, struggling to keep his head up. The snow and cold were hindering his movements and he cursed, willing himself to move faster. He stumbled against his feet and by the time he crawled back up, he could no longer see Peter in the water.

“Fuck! Peter!” He yelled, a sob building his throat.

A moment later a flash of blue flew across the sky and dived deep into the hole Peter had fallen into.

“Daddy!” Morgan cried as she reached her father, grabbing a hold of his arm. Tony held her close, shivering as he watched as Pepper in her Rescue suit, emerged out from the lake, holding Peter in her arms. He gasped, turning around and running back to the house dragging Morgan behind him. He stumbled into the house and into the living room where Pepper was rolling Peter onto this side, urging him to cough up the water clogging up his lungs.

“There you go, baby,” Pepper cooed, pounding on the teen’s back. Tony fell onto his knees in front of Peter, cupping a hand under the teen’s head to support him as Peter started to spit and cough the water back up until a steady puddle formed on the floor. Once Peter had gotten all he could out of his system, he curled up on the floor, sobbing softly.

“Get him out of his clothes. I’m going to go get him new ones. F.R.I.D.A.Y. get in contact with Doctor Banner. If he can’t be reached, try every pediatrician in the area until you get a hold one that can be here as soon as possible,” Pepper ordered as she deactivated her suit, moving over to the mantle and starting up the fire.

Tony watched her leave but not before stopping to pick up Morgan who had been huddled in one of the corners scared out of her little mind.

He turned his attention back to Peter, smoothing the kid’s wet curls back before pressing a kiss to the frozen skin. “Come on, baby. We need to get out of these clothes,” Tony urged. He reached down grabbing hold of Peter’s snow boots and slipping them off before getting started on his socks. He threw everything off to the side before getting started on Peter’s pants. Peter whimpered as his bottoms were slipped off, but as soon as the heat from the fireplace hit his bare skin, he basked in the warmth.

“Easy, kiddo,” Tony cooed as he helped Peter sit up before stripping the rest of the soaking layers of clothes off him. He quickly grabbed a throw blanket from the couch, wrapping it around Peter before settling the teen in his lap right next to the fireplace.

“You’re okay. I got ya,” Tony whispered, rocking Peter in his arms as the boy continued to shiver. He peppered a few kisses to the boy’s forehead.

Pepper ran back into the room a moment later, arms full of Peter’s clothes. “A doctor is thirty minutes out,” She stated as she sat down in front of the two, grabbing the socks on top of the pile of clothes and slipping them on Peter’s bare feet, quickly followed by another pair.

“S-sorry,” Peter stuttered.

“Nothing to be sorry about, kiddo,” Tony reassured.

Peter, thankfully, offered no other apologies. Pepper and Tony quickly got Peter dressed in the warmest layers possible. Tony wrapped a thick blanket around Peter once he was dressed, letting him curl up in his arms, basking in the additional warmth from the fireplace. Pepper headed off to the kitchen to prepare some tea.

Morgan tiptoed into the living room a few minutes later. At this point, Peter’s head was resting on Tony’s chest where he dozing off, letting out the occasional cough. Morgan paused midway as she saw her big brother sleeping, but Tony beckoned her over gently.

She walked over, placing her head on her father’s shoulder.

“You okay, baby?” Tony murmured, feeling his little girl take a deep breath before nodding her head.

“Is Peter gonna be ‘kay?” She whispered.

“He’s gonna be just fine, sweetheart,” Tony replied. Morgan sniffled, nodding her head before she sat down on the floor next to him.

Pepper joined them a few moments later with a steaming cup of hot tea but once she realized that Peter was asleep, she set it off to the side, determining that he needed to rest more than he needed the drink.

The small family huddled near the fireplace in silence, Morgan now in Pepper’s lap, holding vigil over Peter.

The pediatrician arrived fifteen minutes later. By that point, Peter had stopped shivering and warmed up enough for Tony to carry him up to his room where the doctor took his time examining the kid.

“His lungs sound a little wet, but nothing he shouldn’t be able to cough up in the next couple days,” the doctor stated as he listened to Peter’s chest. Surprisingly, Peter remained asleep which concerned Tony but he was reassured that it was normal after such a situation.

“Temperature is still a little low, but nothing too concerning at this point. Keep him warm like you guys are doing, plenty of rest and fluids and he’ll be good as new. I’d schedule a follow up with his normal doctor in about a week.”

Tony nodded his head, covering Peter back up and tucking him in as Pepper came upstairs to escort the doctor back out. Tony took a seat on the edge of the bed next to Peter, the weight of today’s events was now weighing heavily on his mind and he couldn’t imagine when he would be able to erase the horrid thoughts running through his mind. But for now, he reveled in the sound of Peter’s soft breathing and gentle snores. He reached over to curl his fingers through the teen’s now dry curls before leaning down to press a soft kiss to his forehead.

“Love you, kiddo.”

#iron dad #febuwhump #tony stark #peter parker #morgan stark #pepper potts

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tsarisfanfiction · 4 years

Text

Melt VI

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Angst Characters: Kayo Kyrano, Virgil Tracy, John Tracy, Brains, Grandma Tracy, Scott Tracy

Part 6 of my entry for @gumnut-logic‘s SensorySunday: Smell. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

I give up. This fic wants to do its own thing and I am simply the helpless scribe.

A soft hand on her arm alerted Kayo to the fact she was trembling. Not from cold or fear, but anger. She knew Brains, trusted his genius; their Pods were all well-tested and reliable. John said something was afoot, and she fully agreed.

If Grandma hadn’t put her foot down and firmly request she stay and keep her company, she would have been on the mountain by now. John hadn’t been able to find any sign that anyone else had been there, but there was only so much a space station could do, even if that space station was Thunderbird Five. Some detailed scans of the area using her own hand-held scanner, and they’d find something. What that something would be, Kayo didn’t yet know, but it would be something and they’d have a trail.

Someone had tried to kill her brothers. Of that, Kayo had no doubt at all. The question was who, and how?

She rested her hand over Grandma’s, and waited. They hadn’t been able to see Scott before he’d been taken in for surgery, despite John’s guidance through the corridors, but Grandma insisted that she wait for him to come back out before ‘haring off’ on her investigations. Despite her fury that anyone would dare attempt anything like this, the little sister in her wanted to see him for herself, and she’d agreed.

From what she’d gathered from John, Virgil was in no hurry to rendezvous with her, anyway, and Thunderbird Shadow was both faster and closer. She had plenty of time to sit with the elderly woman who had lost so much but refused to give up yet, and wait.

Hospitals were unpleasant places, full of the sick and dying. It tore at her every time one of her brothers ended up in one – this was not the first time, and nor would it be the last. The sterile stench of antiseptics couldn’t quite disguise the prevailing illness of the place. It was almost certainly her imagination, but she could even pick up the congealing scent of burnt flesh, taunting her with the knowledge of what had happened to her brother.

Kayo wasn’t naïve. With her estranged half-uncle and many years investigating the underbelly of the world, she had seen many things that a woman of her age could barely imagine. She’d seen men and women with horrific scarring, with stories of fire to go along with them. If it was so bad that Scott needed surgery – and he did, was in there right now – all the money in the world wouldn’t stop this incident from adding another collection of scars to his skin.

A nurse approached them, informing them that Scott was out of surgery, and despite her clear intention of keeping them away from him for a while longer, there was no arguing with Doctor Sally Tracy. Kayo slipped into the room on the heels of the diminutive yet formidable lady. It was a private room; the boys might dislike using their money for privileges but this was something instilled in them by her father long ago. It was easier to maintain security that way.

Scott was still asleep, too soon out of surgery to have shaken off the anaesthetic, but that made it easier. If he was awake he’d be arguing, refusing to let her go back to the mountain and throwing an absolute fit over Virgil also going back. In an induced sleep, there were no nightmares plaguing him, and the ever-present frown that seemed to be settling as his permanent expression these days was gone.

She ran her fingers through his hair, gel stubbornly clinging in there but losing its battle to keep his preferred hairstyle intact after the day it’d had. If not for the bandages on both his fingers, she might have held his hand, but that wasn’t possible and besides, she had places to be. This visit was a quick one of simple reassurance for her; he was alive. A more sentimental, emotional, visit could wait until she’d got to the bottom of what had happened.

“I’ll be back,” she promised. She met Grandma’s eyes, got a nod, and left.

“Virgil’s fifteen minutes out,” John told her the moment she left the hospital, appearing above her wrist uninvited. He didn’t ask redundant questions – how is he, how did the surgery go? Like her, John had one priority – find out what happened, and make sure it wouldn’t happen again. He probably already knew the answers to those questions, anyway. Kayo had long since accepted that the combination of Thunderbird Five and John Tracy was enough to terrorise anyone who knew the full extent of their reach, and that was before EOS entered the equation.

She didn’t know how much John saw, but she trusted that he saw enough, and that he ensured she knew everything she needed to.

Closer and faster, she got to the mountain first.

“Don’t land or leave Thunderbird Shadow until Virgil arrives,” John told her firmly. Even if she didn’t know the Tracy’s personal history with avalanches, Kayo would have been wary. As it was, she appreciated that their already fierce protectiveness was ramped up to the extreme in this environment and additional situation. She could handle this herself, but out of respect to a family that had never fully healed, she didn’t.

Instead, she had Thunderbird Shadow lazily circle the peak, keeping far enough away that her engines wouldn’t trigger another avalanche, and set the scanners going. Immediately a signal jumped out at her, Thunderbird Shadow locating her buried sister. That was where Scott and Gordon had been found; presumably, that was also where they and the HeliPod remains had landed.

She spiralled down lower, until she could see disturbed snow with her naked eye. Tell-tale signs of something heavy on otherwise loose snow told her where Virgil had landed to retrieve them, with the hole he had melted leading down towards Thunderbird One’s signal.

Her brothers had been buried there. She tightened her grip on the yoke.

“Thunderbird Shadow, I’m on final approach now,” Virgil said, his hologram appearing above her console. He looked tense, and she remembered John mentioning the family bear being unhappy with the return mission. That didn’t seem to have been an overstatement – in fact, from the look on his face it was almost certainly an understatement.

“F.A.B., Thunderbird Two,” she responded, turning her ship around to see the green craft appearing on the horizon.

“What’s our plan?” he asked her. His voice was clipped; no, Virgil was not happy.

“I’ve already done a fly-by of the mountain. No signs of anyone except our climbers,” she reported, scowling at the peak. There had to be something. There was no way Brains’ well-used invention would have exploded like that otherwise. “I’ll keep looking, unless you need a hand with Thunderbird One?”

“Keep looking; I’ve got MAX with me for extra hands,” Virgil grunted. “Brains also wants him to retrieve or at least scan the remains of the HeliPod once we’ve got Thunderbird One secure.” Kayo rather suspected that Brains’ priority was less the Thunderbird and more the HeliPod, but said nothing. There was a time and a place to poke an angry bear with a stick. This was neither. As long as they got all the information they needed, the order in which they gathered it probably wouldn’t matter.

“F.A.B., Virgil,” she said instead. “I’ll leave Thunderbird Shadow hovering and-”

“No,” he interrupted. “Stay in that cockpit.” The glare she got through the hologram told her that if she even tried to leave Thunderbird Shadow, she’d find herself plucked out of the air by a grappling cable.

She’d forgotten just how touchy Virgil could be when Scott was hospitalised. Their brother’s hospitalisation, combined with their current location, had him entirely on edge. If it was Scott, she’d have argued. John could be dealt with via a ‘communications blackout’, while Gordon and Alan were straight-up ignorable as long as it wasn’t their speciality environments.

When Virgil was in this mood, it was best to just obey him no matter how much her instincts screamed that she’d get better information if she went EVA.

If push came to shove, she could always come back again later.

As it turned out, push did not come to shove.

Her circling remained fruitless all the while Virgil and MAX worked together to extract a battered Thunderbird One from the snow – it was a good thing Scott wasn’t there to see the damage the avalanche had inflicted on his precious ‘bird. The side facing the downslope was near enough intact, but from the sky it was painfully obvious that the perfectly cylindrical shape of the main fuselage was no longer perfectly cylindrical. The right wing was crooked and clearly wouldn’t be retracting into its sheath any time soon, and the side of the hull looked like it had been punched repeatedly by a giant.

There was a painful symmetry in how both the right side of Scott’s body and the right side of his bird were injured. Kayo immediately decided not to dwell on that and watched from a hovering position higher up the mountain as the silver Thunderbird was hauled clear of the snow by her big green sister.

“MAX is scanning now,” Virgil told her after a moment. “Is something wrong? You’ve been hovering in the same place for a few minutes.”

“No, nothing’s wrong,” she assured him. “Just-” An unwelcome thought struck her. “Virgil, where were the climbers trapped?”

“You’re hovering right there,” he told her, and the unwelcome thought spread wings.

She was hovering here because it gave her a good view of the mountainside and the crash site.

Neither she nor John had found any evidence of anyone else anywhere near the mountain.

“Virgil, where did you drop off the climbers?”

“The hospital,” he shrugged. “Didn’t have a chance to check them over myself, and we were going there any- Kayo?”

Dammit.

She gunned the full throttle.

“Kayo?” John had joined in again, and she caught a glimpse of Alan behind him. When had John gone home? “What’s going on?”

“Brains, once MAX is done scanning the HeliPod, have him scan the mountain immediately below where the climbers were rescued,” she ordered.

“W-What? W-Why?”

“Think about it! We’re not showing up evidence of anyone else, and the climbers could see everything in the valley from where they were,” she pointed out agitatedly. “We were so busy looking for something else-”

“We forgot about the climbers,” Virgil finished, his face a dawning horror.

“Put me through to Grandma,” she told John.

“Already done,” he said, as the older woman appeared over her console.

“Dear, what’s going on?”

“Don’t leave Scott’s side, and don’t let anyone you don’t recognise in,” she said quickly, pushing her ‘bird to go faster. Someone had tried to kill Scott and Gordon, and if she was right that same someone was in the hospital with a now unconscious Scott, whose only protection was his grandmother. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“You think they’ll try to finish the job?” Alan asked her, his voice small. She’d forgotten he was with John.

“I’m not taking chances,” she replied grimly. No point sugar-coating things at this point. “John, my ETA’s two minutes; what’s EOS got from the security cameras?”

“Nothing yet,” he said, equally grim. “But we’ll keep looking.”

“Let me know what you get,” she replied. “Brains, what’s MAX found?”

“MAX is still w-working on the scans of t-the HeliPod,” he said somewhat apologetically.

“I’ve got Thunderbird Two scanning,” Virgil interjected. If she’d thought he was angry earlier, now he was downright thunderous, not that she could blame him. “You’re right, Kayo. There’s something here that doesn’t look like it should be.”

He didn’t share the scan results with her, but John and Brains simultaneously let out noises that could almost be hisses.

“That’d do it, alright,” John muttered darkly. “This whole mission was a trap.”

The hospital loomed in front of Kayo and she grit her teeth.

You should never have left Scott and Grandma alone in an unsecure hospital. That was a rookie mistake, Tanusha Kyrano.

She just hoped it wasn’t a mistake that would cost a life.

Part 7

#sensorysunday #sensorysunday2020 #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #tsari writes fanfiction #kayo kyrano #virgil tracy #john tracy #brains #grandma tracy #MAX #alan tracy #scott tracy #eos #melt

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perihelionicarus · 4 years

Text

Alright, it’s long story time. I read a whole bunch of accounts of ex-cops yesterday, and they were all TOO similar to how my experience in cadets went. I think (I hope) I can shed some light from the inside about how easily corruption happens in a space like that. While you read, think about how similarly the police system works.

If you have no idea what cadets is, think of it like a junior military (ages 12-19). You get discipline training and drill training and classes about how the military works, but there’s no obligation to go into the military after. A lot of people do, though. A lot of them also go on to become cops. I was in cadets because you could get your pilot’s license without having to pay for it.

The way a cadet squadron is organized is you have commissioned officers (COs), who are actual military members and sort of oversee the whole thing. Then reporting to them are non-commissioned officers (NCOs), who are the kids, usually in their older teens, who pass a bunch of tests and stuff and achieve the rank of sergeant. At this point you become one of the “leaders” and are in charge of cadets, who are divided into sections and aim to work their way up to NCO.

Our squadron was famously pretty hard-ass about the NCO/cadet dividing line. Once you were a NCO, the other NCOs and the COs would make you delete your friends off Facebook who were cadets, and you had the “privilege” (eyeroll) of learning the NCOs’ first names. The phrase I heard a lot was “don’t fraternize with cadets”.

My friend who I went to high school with was promoted to sergeant before me, and had to delete me off Facebook. She pulled me aside at school, though, and warned me not to become an NCO. I asked why. She wouldn’t tell me at first, but after a while she confessed there was “initiation”, yeah, a fucking hazing process and the other NCOs would treat her like garbage if they found out she told me. I later found out they didn’t like her anyway, because she had spoken out and fought back during the hazing. Also because she told one of the other guys not to smoke weed while she was in the car.

I went ahead anyway, because I wanted my pilot’s license and the higher your rank the better your chances of getting on the course. I got promoted to sergeant at 17 at the same time as two other cadets.

I honestly can’t remember too much of initiation, because I’ve long since stuck it in a trauma box in my mind. I remember it involving tying our belts around our eyes, being shoved around, forced to say things, dance, and it ended with us being herded into a car and brought to someone’s house (at which point it was over). You have to realize though that I went into it fully prepared for it because my friend had warned me. I can’t imagine how scary it was for the other two who were with me.

After that, we learned their first names. They suddenly treated us like their best friends. The worst part? It worked. We were part of the inner circle.

We were then privy to the email chains. It was so long ago I don’t remember specifics, but it got pretty fucking racist, sexist, and any other -ist you can think of. We weren’t all white or straight, not everyone outright made racist statements, and it never got n-word bad, but it was still awful and we were all complicit in that the rest of us never called it out. And if you made fun of your own groups? Your respect level shot up. (I might even still have those emails, since I rarely clear my inbox).

We also basically had a no-narc policy where if one of us did something wrong--gave a kid contradictory orders, didn’t back down if we incorrectly scolded them about uniform etiquette, singled out and humiliated someone--the rest of us would not report it to the COs. But the number one no-narc policy was about initiation.

We had another initiation in the dead of winter, when three new sergeants were promoted. Their initiation was similar to mine, but they were also forced to strip down to their t-shirts while it snowed outside. One of the boys (he was only 14!!) got fed up, ran out, and called his mom to take him home. Another boy finished initiation, but was crying. For the coming days and weeks, we treated these two like less-than, ignored them in meetings, and generally treated them like shit, until they got fed up with it and reported the whole initiation thing to the COs.

I say ‘we’ throughout this whole thing because even though only 3-4 of us (out of 15-20 of us) were the perpetrators, the rest of us were fully complicit in our silence. We knew it was wrong but still allowed for it to happen. A lot of us were “good people” and treated the two boys, not to mention other cadets, just fine. We allowed ourselves as a whole to become a corrupt body because of “one or two bad apples”. Sound familiar?

Our punishment for initiation was a stern talking-to, a couple people (the ‘most guilty’, I guess) getting demotions, our parents being called, and being told to stop excluding the two boys who had reported it to them. That’s all. We were all still NCOs, and still in charge of a whole bunch of kids. My mom, notoriously strict, didn’t even give a shit. She was proud of me for not being a weakling for once. Really, staying silent was the weakest possible thing I could have done. The strongest people among us were the boys who reported it despite the threat of being ostracized by their peers.

I aged out of cadets shortly after, so I don’t know if initiation happens anymore. It stopped for a while as the COs kept a scrutinizing eye on us. But before I had even been promoted, initiation had happened for years, so it may well have started up again. That’s a lot of corruption that went unpunished. We were told that to be an NCO is to be a leader, and that integrity was to do the right thing even when no one was looking. We passed these sayings among ourselves, all believing we were the paragons of doing right. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There is a really sinister high you get from being liked by a group of people that hates everyone else. It’s something I’ve been incredibly wary of ever since. In cadets you are given camaraderie within the NCO body, and power over other cadets. Recipe for disaster.

My point here is that I am 100% sure this is what happens with police. I don’t know if they do hazings, but I would not be surprised in the least. No matter how “good” they are, they power inevitably trip. They lose sight of what they’re supposed to be doing. Racism, sexism, homophobia, and ableism all run rampant. Their bonds with each other overshadow their supposed “sworn duty”. Every single cop is complicit in this; complicit in their actions and ESPECIALLY their lack thereof. All the ones who want to and do speak out are immediately ostracized. They’re organized by fear and not much else. There is no such thing as a good cop, just as there was no such thing as a good NCO. And it is no coincidence the sheer number of NCOs who later go on to the military or the police.

It’s been almost 10 years, but to this day I’m ashamed of the way I acted. I’ve told this to maybe one or two people in my life. I’m sharing the story now because now is the time to see how easily “a few bad apples” can fuck up a whole organization. Google some of the memoirs of ex-cops, and you’ll see just how similar this is and just how easily that happens. So let me reiterate: power corrupts. There is no such thing as a good cop.

#long post #very long post #someone let me know if i'm swerving way out of my lane here but cops are garbage and i need yall to know why #I know I'm preaching to the choir but I've seen some members of the 'some cops are good' crowd on here and mmm nah #I was on the 'some cops are good' side until a few days ago when I started reading and remembered just how easily cadets fucked me up #not that im like naturally a good person but i certainly never had bad intentions and yet. here we are #sh*t percy says

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skvaderarts · 4 years

Text

Hiraeth Chapter 9: Salvation

Masterlist can be found Here!

Chapter Nine: Salvation

Note: As always, I loved your comments on this chapter! Keep being you! This chapter was one hell of a wild ride to write...

-~-

The road forward was treacherous, much like the road behind them, but they carried onward regardless. At this point in their journey, they were tired and beyond thinking about the little things that affected them such as falling to their death into a crevice. In all truth, that was less of a small issue, but they were so tired that it didn’t really matter to them anymore. The two weary travelers were practically ready to willingly roll down the mountain if it meant reaching something akin to safety. The sooner that they were able to assess their situation, the better it would be for both of them.

As V and Morgan continued forward, the older teen with the white hair allowed his mind to wander for a moment. While still paying close attention to their surroundings, he was still somewhat distracted by the conversation that they had both just participated in. Everything about this situation worried him profoundly, and he wasn’t sure how to reconcile that kind of information. It seemed that no matter how far he ran from his childhood, the seemingly supernatural trapping of his reality would always find a way to catch up with him. There was a part of him at that moment that contemplated the possibility of that being among the reasons that he had grown up without his family in the first place. Was he cursed or something? With his track record, it seemed likely to some degree. While that wasn’t the sort of thing that he could strictly say he believed in, he could certainly say that it believed in him. It simply wasn’t possible to be this unlucky otherwise.

Morgan glanced over at him as he tested a particularly precarious section of the snow-covered rock face with his foot, unsure as to whether or not he trusted the structural integrity of what he was forced to work with. While he wasn’t entirely convinced that it could hold their weight, he was willing to try if for no other reason than the fact that there was literally no other way that they could get down this side of the mountain, and he would be damned if they backtracked. It was simply too risky of a maneuver to go back into the woods. It was practically a miracle that they’d made it as far as they had without encountering any further resistance. There was no reason to push their luck.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t like our chances,” Morgan said hesitantly as she looked over the edge of the slippery ledge that her companion was testing out. It didn’t take a genius to see that this wasn’t the safest option in the world. “I mean, there isn’t really a better option, but still. What if this crumbles and we fall and break our legs or something? That would make things really easy for those creeps that are after us.”

V glanced over his shoulder at her, internally agreeing with her sentiments. To be perfectly honest, he’d never been very keen on heights. There were certain things that just instinctually creeped him out, and the idea of benign this high up was pretty far up that list. The only thing that made it even remotely acceptable was the fact that everything was covered in snow, so it made his depth perception less accurate. That was both a blessing and a curse considering the fact that the one thing he truly needed in that situation was accurate depth perception. Well, that and a warm blanket. It was truly cold outside, and they both needed to get out of the elements as quickly as possible.

“You make a good point. We must not willingly go to our deaths in our haste to find salvation. It would be rather unfortunate for us to tumble over the edge due to impotence and impractical thinking.” V shifted uncomfortably, looking over to his left side at the woods. Something stirred in him as he gazed at the unfeeling wall of dead foliage, practically acting as a physical counterargument to his point. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but the longer they stood there, the more compelled he felt to get the hell away from their current location. “That being said, while this is far from the safest route down, it is the quickest. And since it was my idea in the first place, I’ll do the right thing and volunteer to go first.”

Swallowing heavily, he peered over the edge again, regretting it immediately. That’s right. I truly dislike heights, don’t I? The self-sabotaging thought was almost enough to make him backtrack on his former statements, but he liked to think that he had more integrity than that. It would make little sense for him to bring them both this far only to dangle his young companion to the wolves at the critical moment. He was an adult, and it to say that it would be cowardly to allow a young teenager to go headfirst into danger because he was too scared to act first would be an understatement.

And it would be even less acceptable if he took the fact into account that she had stayed behind and saved him from their attacker when she’d had a perfect opportunity to flee and leave him to his fate. They were basically strangers, after all. She’d demonstrated resolve and bravery, and now it was his time to do the same. And while he knew this and accepted his fate, he only wished that the universe had been kind enough to present him with another obstacle instead. But then again, when did he ever get exactly what he wanted? That wasn’t the nature of human existence, especially when it came to the nature of the wilderness. Mother nature hated humanity with a burning passion, and that was a fact. Maybe he could get lucky and just crack his entire skull open on the way down?

“Oh, you don’t have to-” Morgan began as she took in the gravity of what V had proposed, a tinge of horror coating her tone of voice. The idea of watching her new companion plummet to the depths below shook her deeply. He didn’t deserve such a fate. But before she could continue, he hushed her gently.

“Please don’t. Let me do this for you. Before I lose my nerve.” He gave her a gentle but serious look as he waited for her to comply. With a heavy, disgruntled sigh, he relented and lowered her arms to her side, worry evident in her face. He was a grown adult and she knew that, and if there was one thing that she’d learned in her young life, it was that adults didn’t tend to make the best decisions at times, but it was probably best to just let them learn the hard way. She knew that at the end of the day he meant well, and could only hope that this particular lesson wouldn’t cost him his life. He didn’t deserve to die, and she didn’t deserve to see yet another death that day.

With a heavy sigh and a nod of confirmation, V turned towards the edge of the rockface that could easily spell his doom. crouched down and put his hand on the ledge. Everyone had to die at some point, right? He hadn’t expected to have his nerves tested so vigorously when he’d left the house that day, but here he was, looking down an icy slope and seriously readying himself to clamber down it like he actually knew how to do that. The situation had called upon him to be brave, and he knew that that wasn’t something that he was capable of doing at that moment. But what he could do was take a deep breath and take things slowly. This wasn’t the first time he’d been called upon to descend a great height in order to procure his salvation. This was but another unfeeling stepping stone in his path. He could overcome this.

Crouching down on all fours, he tested the edge on the ledge with his grip one last time before gripping it as tightly as he could and sliding over the edge, trying his best not to mentally consider the fact that he was now dangling just over a story up in the air. Below him was a ledge at least ten feet wide. If he could get down to it safely, then he could get Morgan to safely. And at that moment in time, that was all he cared about. Perhaps that was the kind of single-minded focuses that this situation required.

He tried to ignore the dull aching that came from the cold ice making contact with his fingers as he placed his right foot on a chunk of ice, pulling his body into an uncomfortable vertical position. His gloves were the typical cheap sort that you got from a hole in the wall general store, and as such, had not been constructed with this kind of activity in mind. They barely carried out their most basic function of keeping his fingers warm in the first place. This was asking a lot of them.

As he attempted to place his left foot on something solid below him, he quickly realized that his right hand wasn’t coming loose from the ice above him. It seemed that the thin fuzzy fabric was now stuck to the ice, the combination of cheap material and heat from the palm of his hand making it impossible to pull free, at least from this position. He cursed himself internally, opting to try and recenter himself with his free hand as he tried to pull his hand out of the glove. It would have to stay in his pocket. Much to his surprise, his hand was not budging, seeming caught in the position that it was in when it had frozen in the first place.

Somewhat miffed, he yanked the appendage harder, earning him a sharp pain in his wrist, and an unsettling cracking sound for his trouble. But, much to his dismay, he knew that the cracking sound hadn’t come from his wrist. There was a part of him that wished it had, but he knew that wasn’t the case. V was granted a momentary second of horrifying clarity before he lost his footing and slipped downward, hitting the ice blow side first with the kind of impact that he imagined a wayward car would probably do to a fire hydrant. Morgan covered her mouth with her hand and yelped in horror as he hit the ice fifteen feet below with a horrifying crack, his left side catching a stray branch that stuck out of the side of the cliff face before he teetered to his right and made his final impact with the frozen ground below.

For a moment, V laid there and wondered if that was what death felt like. Both sides of his body ached horribly in what had to be the worst dull throbbing sensation he’d ever felt. The only emotion that he felt was profound regret, his sides now burning like he’d been lit on fire. Somehow he mustered the physical energy to be able to curl up into a ball and shiver in discomfort and squeeze his eyes shut, all the while noticing that a distant sound from above him. It sounded like he was underwater, his ears ringing and muffled as his entire upper body throbbed. He sucked in as much air as he could get into his body, yet the dreaded lightheadedness that he felt indicated to him that he might still not be getting enough air.

It was perhaps the most discomfort he’d ever felt all at once, and though there was a part of him that was sure he should probably count himself lucky, all he felt in that moment was horrible pain and immense regret for everything that had led him to that momentary outcome. Perhaps it was easier to just lay there and let the elements get the best of him? Would anyone even notice if he did that? Before he could ponder that thought any further, his ears stopped ringing, and a quiet but distant voice registered to him. It was Morgan! How quickly pain had made him forget that she was still above him!

“Holy shit, V! Are you okay?!” A horrified voice shouted as quietly as it could from about him. Morgan was leaned over the edge of the ice shelf, her messy curly hair hanging down from above him like curtains framing a window. “ Try to breath slower and deeper. It might help. That’s what I did when I broke my arm leg in a skiing accident as a little kid. Just calm down, okay?!”

He tried to calm himself, a potent mixture of anxiety, pain, and confusion overloading his senses and overtaking any rational thoughts in his mind as he tried to take slow, deep breaths. After a moment, the pain began to relent slightly, giving him a brief window to attempt to sit up. He needed to know if he could still move, and he needed to find out as fast as possible. With a pained, shuddery groan he pushed himself up into a sitting position on the ground, his trembling arms barely holding his weight. His hand was badly scraped, his head felt like he’s been hit with a cinderblock, his eyes throbbed as they made contact with the light again, and he was certain that he was going to be covered in bruises soon enough, but he was still alive, and he was positive that with the extreme amount of adrenaline coursing through his veins, he would be able to stand.

With a low, pained groan, he stood up and steadied himself, brushing the snow off of his soon to be bruised body and collecting his shoulder bag. Part of him was sure that the garment bag had probably contributed to his fall, but he didn’t care at the moment. At least nothing inside of it could break, and nothing inside of him was broken, either. At least as far as he could tell. He couldn’t say for certain just yet.

“T-thank you. I think I’m alright.” V took a few steadying breaths, positioning himself so that he could maintain his balance as he held his sore arms up towards Morgan. “If you jump, I’ll catch you. We might both roll the rest of the way down the hill, but it’s much less steep here. Can’t be more than twenty feet or so.”

Morgan gave him a hesitant look, her large hazel eyes containing a mixture of apprehension and concern at the prospect. She was more than certain that she didn’t want to experience what she’d just seen V go through, but he did have a point. She just hoped that it didn’t have to come to that. With a deep breath, she sat down on the ground and slid over the edge of the frozen embankment and towards V, hoping with everything in her that he actually managed to catch her as terror flooded her bloodstream with adrenaline.

To the surprise of both of them, V actually did manage to catch her. They both groaned in discomfort from the impact as he set her down, the pare of them rubbing their shoulders as they attempted to massage the sore muscles in their shoulder blades. Morgan exhaled in relief, the realization that they were not technically out of the wood and in the village settling in. Now if we could just get off of this damn mountain in one piece…

Suddenly, a loud cracking sound echoed through the air as they turned to face what looked to be a way down. Something hit the icy wall behind them, ricocheting elsewhere out of sight. The pair yelped in terror as the realization that something had just shot at them registered in their exhausted minds. Morgan grabbed V around the waist and tackled him to the ground, sending them both rolling down the hill. They kicked up large plumes of powdery snow as they went, a sight that they might have found reasonably funny if not for the circumstance.

As soon as they rolled to a stop, they were met with the barrel of an old rifle, several villagers with guns standing over them. One held back two barking dogs on short leashes, the two slavering hounds eager to do their master’s bidding. Morgan and V sat up, immediately raising their hands as disbelief, confusion, and fear set in. What in the world was going on here?!

“Hey! Put the guns away! What the hell is your problem?!” Morgan shouted in horrified frustration. She’d had more than enough bullshit for one day. “Some crazy people are after us! Were just trying to-”

Before she could finish or V could interject, one of the men fired off a round into the air as he approached from behind the mob, eliciting a startled scream from Morgan. V placed himself partially in front of the young girl as she backpedaled, the pair completely at a loss as to what was going on and why. Perhaps a calmer approach would elicit a more positive response?

“She speaks the truth. Were being pursued. We only seek safe passage through your town. We were hoping to contact the authorities… The town we live in, Lympha, was attacked a few hours ago.”

The man who had approached from behind nodded, cocking the gun and pointing it down at them as he approached. “Oh, we know, boy. We know. They told us you might be coming this way. Said that they’d leave us alone if we handed over any stragglers to them that they missed, especially if they were young like you lot. You’re the only ones so far. Everyone else, well…” He looked around at the rest of the group, his eyes lingering on the dogs for a moment. “Well, it looks like your going on a little trip.”

Morgan shook her head in disbelief and horror. “Your working with them?! How could you?! Their murderers! Shoot them, not us!” The anger and pain in her voice was evident as she gave them a fierce look, V sliding further in front of her to both hold her back and to hopefully block any stray bullets if things took yet another nosedive for the worse. “Were not going anywhere with you, especially back into that forest! Your all crazy!”

Laughter irrupted from the group of men as they disregarded her words. V felt a chill colder than with winter air run down his spine as he considered the reality of the situation they were in. Had he helped walk them into a trap? Were they going to die here? They couldn’t fight nearly a dozen armed men, especially with the condition he was in. Had this entire plan only ended them back up in the same situation that they had hoped to escape in the first place?

“You see, that’s where your wrong, little lass. Our town has lived in the shadow of that mountain for as long as any of us can remember. They promised to free us from it. And all we’ve gotta do is bring you to the witch vault. Pretty sweet deal if you standing where we’re standing.”

V shook his head, sharing Morgan’s seething fury. Well, if he was going to die, then he might as well do so spitefully. “I would imagine that it is. But we wouldn’t know since we actually have a sense of morality and we’d never willingly ally ourselves with mass murderers. I’ll have to take you at your word.”

An angry look crossed the man’s face as looked down at V raising the but of his gun. “We’ll see how funny you are after you meet your new friends. We weren’t asking for you to cooperate. We don’t need you to.”

Before either V or Morgan could respond or even hope to register the reality of their situation, the butt of the gun came down on them, and everything went black. As he faded into concussive blackness, V could only hope vainly with what little faith in humanity that he still possessed that things couldn’t get worse. But one way or another, he was determined to get them out of there alive. He’d made a promise, and he intended to keep it. Even if it meant that he didn’t leave that place, he had to make sure that Morgan got to see her mother again. He’d never be able to live with the guilt if he did.

-~-

Mini arc my ass lol! This probably has about 2-3 more chapters before it’s over. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Well, enjoyed is probably the wrong word for this, isn’t it? It’s okay, V is tougher than he looks, and I’m sure Morgan, too. She’s got a lot of spunk in her. See you in the comments, and hopefully again next Friday. Something tells me that V’s hope that things can’t get much worse might be a little bit off base.

Boy, this fic is one hell of a bittersweet pain train. That angst tag wasn’t playing around!

#V #V's Backstory #Post Devil May Cry V #Vitale #Hiraeth #Devil May Cry #Post Devil May Cry 5 #Some help this poor unluck bird boy ffs #DMC #DMCV

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firstlady-mercedesevans · 3 years

Text

Stone Cold

INVOLVED: Mercedes Evans and William Samuel Evans LOCATION: Loudon Park Cemetery; Baltimore, Maryland TIME FRAME: - NOTES: Mercedes goes back to the family home. AUTHOR’S NOTE: trigger warning; mentions teen death.

“We’ve arrived, Mr. President.” The frozen Baltimore wind whooshed into the car. William clutched his knees, inhaling the stiff, bitter cold. “Of course.” He whispered; stomach clenched. Where else could they be? He exhaled and inhaled, wrestling the emotion to leave this Godless place. “Sir…” William’s head snapped to the face of the secret service agent. Nothing changed about the guard’s demeanor. Not his face; or his hand holding the door of the presidential limousine. But the trained killer conceded. He took a half step away from the open door.

She’d been seen in better light than this, even as snow fell, she couldn’t bring herself to get up. The stairs had her bound to them, despite how horribly uncomfortable laying against them was her body hadn’t quite caught up with her mind. She blinked slowly as she gazed at nothing in particular, exhaustion had met its match with heartbreak and now they both tangoed with her soul. The tears against her face left like ice cubes yet, she still didn’t move. How could she? She’d be leaving him here again, as she did before, as she’d done the day of his funeral, like she had every day for several months on end after that. She was bound, rather it was her body or her soul that she didn’t know but she was okay, okay with the thought of dying here. Because she didn’t see herself moving, getting up wasn’t a choice, she’d lay here, lying near him here brought more peace than the pillows she’d lie on elsewhere.

William nodded, an affirming action for himself, then climbed from the car. His feet crunch on the snow-covered gravel of the drive. He rose from the car, working his glove over his hand, determined to tower over the bone filled ground. A reminder to the sea of graves they had no claim on him. Pulling in another deep breath, the cold burned his chest. So, he repeated the process over and over again. Claiming another victory over reaper. Six secret service men surrounded the president, leading him through the labyrinth of graves. Everything is covered in white. Everything except the ring of guards surrounding Mercedes. They stood out like some dark omen arriving too late. That’s when he spots her. “Jesus…” He utters and breaks into a run. The men quickened their pace, keeping pace with the older man. William tore at the buttons of his overcoat. Hissing, he uses his teeth to pull off his glove and spits it to the ground. He tugs at the last 3 buttons of his coat, removing it. Going to one knee, he threw the jacket over the first lady, tucking it in around her frame. His finger brushed over her bangs, her already frozen skin alarming him further. “Mercedes … it’s time to go.”

Mercedes breathed a heavy sigh; her fingers were freezing at any moment she felt they’d fall off. But it still wasn’t enough for her. Her eyes closed for a moment before she opened them longingly. Again, staring off at nothing at all until she heard his voice, her eyes moved slowly to climb up her husband. One arm tucked under her head she said, “what are you doing here?” confused and dazed to an extent. His words were so predictable, it’s time to go, of course it was. His jacket did feel a little warmer though “I was in labor with him for 26 hours” she spoke her eyes fixed on a headstone nearby “and I didn’t even get to spend 26 years with him” she said, a sniffle leaving her as she closed her eyes.

Williams squeezed his lips together to keep his teeth from chattering. “I tried to call.” He told her softly, “You didn’t answer. So… I came.” He told her rubbing his thumb across her cheek. His eyes clung to her face as if she was the last life vest on a sinking ship. “I know. It’s not fair.” He looked up at the sky and exhaled, at a loss for words. “Hey, hey.” he said after a moment, “Here.” he slipped his hand under his wife’s arm, lifting it. Then rested her head in his lap. Silently, he ran his hand down the length of her body. It was not a gentle, loving gesture. He wanted to rub warmth back into limbs.

She almost felt the love in his statement and his touch when he caressed her cheek, a simple action that brought back so many memories of what used to be. He shifted her slightly and she winced at the sudden change, she knew she needed to get up. Mercedes shifted her sleeping feet a bit, trying to wiggle some life in them in her suede heel. “I did it to spite you at first, but I have so many people counting on me to make a change in this world. And I don’t know if I can, Madison was right I can’t handle all of this. What’s left of my heart is just breaking all over again…” she said as she began to break down.

William’s hand slowed to a stop. He’d ranted and even accused her of using this to hurt him. Somehow her confirming his accusations. That hurt. His jaw cliched and he swallowed thickly but went back to rubbing the woman’s side. “You are changing the world. Right now.” He said matter of fact. “You are brave enough to know your limits. To show the world, it’s okay to grieve.” He exhaled a white cone spreading out in front of him. A pain expression came to his face as he thought of his little girls. “Our daughter is insightful. You need more time to heal. That’s all. Then you can do anything you want. You always have.” He felt her sobs coming, instinctively. He leaned in to cover her with his body, kissing her hair as he repeated over and over again. “It’s fine… It’s fine.”

He spoke to her like a grief counselor, where was his emotion? She sniffled hard when she thought about it to herself, he accused of moving on, yet they never saw him do anything. Just like now. A pat, a rub, a kiss to the hair. His son had died, his only son. And the only thing he could offer her was “it’s fine” it fell from her lips, a pivotal moment of realization. It jolted her to realize that he had given her her own rope. She was quizzical even now, blinking a few times before she said “I need to get up” sluggishly to him. So, she attempted, sniffling again Mercedes patted her face a little dry with her bare fingers and pulled herself into an upright position.

William eased back giving Mercedes the space to right herself. His hand slipped low on her waist, but he didn’t move from his seated position. This was what he needed her to do. He nor the secret service could move his wife. She had to want it for herself. It was her nature. One of his favorite parts.

As she sat upright the damage, she’d cause to her aging body finally showed its ugly head, but she inhaled and exhaled to herself. Closing her eyes for a moment she shifted only a little before she opened them. “Okay” she said to herself as she swallowed down the grief for now “okay” Mercedes said, stretching out her hands for the two men she had grown to love dearly. It was their job to protect her yes, so by right she had to love them for that. But honestly, they were comforting, though others might not have seen it that way at all. With the men’s help she got onto her feet with slight discomfort here and there “thank you” she said to them politely.

William stayed silent as Mercedes reset herself. He watched her come back from the brink overseeing it all, patience. He exhaled, relaxing physically when she reached for assistance. Then eased himself to a standing, shaking, a bit at the loss of warmth his wife’s body provided. He reached for her hand now, taking it lightly. “Ready?”

Mercedes wiped her face dry with her hands, her makeup was probably ruined right now after all of that crying. She inhaled and exhaled deeply again looking at her husband. “Yeah” she said before she looked towards the boys resting place. “One second” she said as she moved back towards the structure again, holding the man’s coat against herself “okay kid, I have to go now. I’ll be back” she said “I wish I could take you with me” she said it was irrational, but it didn’t stop her from thinking that. “Again, I am so sorry” she told him “I could have done more, could’ve helped with what was paining you. But I guess my karma is living the rest of my life with my own….” she said before she leaned in and kissed the door of the building leaving her stained lip print. “I love you” she told him as she pulled away finally. “I’m ready now” she said as she grabbed his hand finally.

William turned solemnly as Mercedes returned to the mausoleum. His eyes lowered, her words of goodbye pulling at him, his mouth twitching but he clapped his lips shut holding tight to his thoughts and sentiments. She would return year after year. And there was nothing he could do to stop her. Did he really expect her to do anything different? He wrestled with that thought, until her hand returned to his. Her words pulled him from his thoughts. It was time to depart, he met her eyes and gently reclaimed her hand.

As Mercedes held his hand, she finally realized for the first time the detriment of what she’d done. She saw the News vans and the paparazzi; she hid a bit. She couldn’t imagine what was being reported and she knew once again that she may have caused a bit of trouble when it came to him. He was the President now to some degree; she really didn’t have simple human rights because everything she did or could do would be used against them. Or paint her in a bad light. Sighing to herself, she tucked some hair behind her ear as she looked down while she walked.

The press of reporters were held back by a line of men in black. Never had William ever been so grateful to the Secret Service. He followed close on the heels of the Service men as they wounded their way back to the awaiting warmth of the limo. The service man in front of him touched his ear. “Mr. President, they are asking for a statement. The press wants to know if the first lady is okay.” William continued to move mouth drawn. “Mr. President” “We need to get back to the cars” he said, stiffly. “I’ll issue a statement when we get home.”

With her eyes low Mercedes walked alongside William, she only looked up when she heard the man. It was just another thorn being added to William’s side and she knew she’d probably hear a complaint about that later. However, she’d have enough time to think of a good enough statement to write for him to make up for it, hopefully.

William’s hand tightened on his Mercedes, steps quickening when the car came into view. He’d done his best to ignore the cold, but the snow accumulating in his hair and on shoulders was causing his entire body to shake. The men had the door open when they approached. William stepped aside ushering Mercedes forward.

Mercedes felt him squeeze her hand and she looked up at him, moving her hand for her nose. It was freezing out here and what she wore was not built for it. Hopefully she didn’t get sick for being so stupid, her tights were damp from the snow. Moving into the vehicle she let his hand go and slid to the other side as she sighed in the warmth, closing her eyes. She rested her elbow against the window and rubbed her temples a bit.

William waited for Mercedes to clear the car door, then climbed in behind her. He wrapped his arms around his frame and rubbed frantically at his shoulders, forcing warm blood back into his arms. There in front of him were two large blankets. He grabbed one and opened it laying over Mercedes before taking the other for himself.

Mercedes only leaned up when she felt William she shifted against the seat, feeling for her purse but it wasn’t with her. “Damn” she said as they began to move, she could have used a pen and paper. “I’ll write something” she told him as she toed her heels off. She gently rubbed her feet as she looked out the window for a moment, snapping back to reality. She had two other children and it hit her “where is Madison and Mackenzie?” she asked him.

William wrapped the blanket over himself, sighing. He turned his head slowly towards Mercedes the ever-deepening lines on his forehead becoming cavernous. “Don’t worry. Either Phillip will have something prepared, or we’ll see to it on the plane.” At her next question he turned away from Mercedes and removed his remaining glove with his teeth. “They’re at home. I asked them to stay off social media and the TV until I-- We could get back to speak with them” he said, biting off his words.

“Okay” she said back to him noting his short tone and she looked away from him. “I didn’t think that would be a spectacle too” she argued though he hadn’t really started one. Mercedes looked out the window, watching as they passed by homes and trees alike. “But of course, I’ll be blamed for that, why even bother….” she said under her breath.

William closed his eyes. “No… No…” He exhaled, “You need to rest first. After we have rested, we will see what needs to be done.” He said head, falling to the side. “Nobody’s blaming you. You’re a grieving mother going to see her child. No one is going to blame you for that. Just rest.” He repeated, rubbing his hand over his face.

“I wasn’t referring to the media” Mercedes said back to him as she rolled her eyes gently. She leaned back against the seat, her eyes still on the road as she peered out the window. She couldn’t be worried about him, Phillip, or however had taken her writing spot from her. She had to now devise the proper way to handle her children especially Madison.

William’s eyes opened gradually, and he turned his head to look over at Mercedes. “Then what are you referring to?” He asked, doing little now to mask his growing irritation. He might have just spun the perfect narrative but the reality of what had just transpired was beginning to set in.

Mercedes didn’t say anything to the man instead she just sat there with her head resting back against the seat. She rolled her eyes shut deciding within herself that right now was not the time even if she didn’t say it.

William sat up, the blanket slipping from his shoulders. He rubbed his hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I...” William shook his head and dropped back against the seat, turning his face towards the window.

#thread: stone cold #thread.#samcedes rp

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