#instead of this cringe walking matchstick

[cadavorcist]

i love being normal about fictional characters

[ashintheairlikesnow]

AAAAAH!!! Petition for the news people to show Chris's face on tv and Akio and his mom see and come to rescueee -🦖

(follows from this piece, in what I am calling the Chris Saves Himself AU)

CW: BBU, some vaguely dehumanizing language, references to child abuse and ableism

"Mom! Aki!" Emi's voice rises loud enough to filter right up the stairs and into Akio's room, audible right through his headphones while he listens to his playlist of Tristan's favorite songs and lays in bed.

Akio sniffs, sitting up and taking the headphones off, rubbing the tear tracks off his face. It's still light outside - he never knows what time it is anymore, not since he quit gymnastics. "Emi? Did you say something?"

"Yeah, you better get down here like right now! Right now!" The urgency in her voice sets his heart to beating faster and Akio pushes himself up, taking the stairs three-steps-to-a-jump. His mother is right behind him, coming out of her own room with her book still in hand, thumb marking her place.

"Are you okay, honey?" Aimi calls out. Somehow even though she doesn't skip any steps she beats Akio to the bottom. "Em? Emi?"

"I'm fine, I swear, just-... look at the TV!"

Akio and Aimi swing into the living room, finding Emi sitting on the couch, remote in hand, groaning in frustration.

"Damn it, they just cut way from his-... hold on, let's see if they cut back before this ends. You have got to see this."

"Just what have I got to see?" Aimi asks, frowning, walking up behind Emi and absentmindedly tucking a bit of hair behind her daughter's ear. Emi sort of ducks-pulls away, rolling her eyes. "I'm almost to the bit where the ship sinks, Em."

"I know, I know, don't mess with your reading time but-... but look!"

Akio's eyes scan the TV, reading the chyron - the little moving headline at the bottom - that says MYSTERY BOY FALLS FROM BALCONY IN GOVERNOR'S MANSION - IN HOSPITAL WITH SERIOUS INJURIES - POLICE LOOKING FOR CLUES TO IDENTITY - GOV. BRANCH CLAIMS LEGAL PURCHASE FROM WRU - WRU DENIES CULPABILITY...

Talking heads banter back and forth about the seriousness of the scandal, the lack of documents to prove any kind of veracity to the governor's claims.

The anchors start interviewing a woman with short, dark red hair with a cold smile that sends a chill down Akio's spine. Karen Renford, WRU Representative to the Media, reads the little nameplate beneath her as she speaks.

"Since when do you care about politics?" Akio asks, head tilted. "This is stupid. I don't care about any of this."

"WRU sponsors your team, Aki-"

"It's not my team anymore. I'm going back to my room."

He turns to leave, but feels Emi grab at his wrist, and when he looks back her black eyes are pleading. "Please, Aki. Please. Trust me, you will want to see this."

He sighs. Everything feels too heavy to add one more thing to his days right now. But Emi is his little sister, and... "Yeah, okay." He moves around the corner of the sectional and flops himself down on it. He's put on some weight since he quit gymnastics, the waistband of his jeans digging just a little into his stomach where he used to have to wear a belt.

He doesn't care. It's... actually really nice to not have to care. He kind of likes himself better this way.

If only he didn't have to be grieving his best friend's death to get there-

"There!" Emi hisses, and her nails dig hard into Akio's forearm, hard enough for him to wince. "There, Aki, fucking look!"

"Language, young lady-" Aimi starts, and then falls silent. When she whispers, "Nantekotta..." That's when Akio looks at the screen.

Where his dead best friend is very much alive in a hospital bed.

He hears a thump and jumps, turning to see his mother's book on the floor, fallen from suddenly numb fingers as she stares unblinking at the boy on the TV screen.

Akio looks back and swallows, hard, and then swallows again. Inside him there is a sudden burst of fight between the despair and anger he's been living in and a kind of awful, horrifying hope.

"Tris?" He whispers.

"I told you!" Emi says, still holding his forearm painfully. He doesn't pull away from her - he can feel her starting to shake right alongside him. His eyes flood with hot tears and he has to blink them away to focus on the screen.

"-are speaking with the boy, who appears to be a legitimate WRU product. A simple barcode scan was performed, and police have the pet's designation, Facility number, and basic identification number." Karen Renford's voice speaks in voiceover. "However, WRU has been unable to find in our own records at the Facility any record of the boy's existence or training. WRU has strict ethical protocols surrounding the age of accepted trainees who apply, and it's increasingly clear that none of our Facilities would have taken on this individual, especially not our flagship Facility here in Berras-"

Akio hears none of this.

Instead, he hears only a rushing as loud as a waterfall filling his ears, the sound of his own blood pulsing through his veins as his breaths go shallow and gasping.

Tris is right there.

He's alive and he's right there.

He's sitting in a hospital bed, cringing back from the doctors speaking to him, looking at them with wide, terrified eyes. There are bruises around his neck like someone-... bit him, or something. His arms are bruised, wrists rubbed red in circles. He doesn't sway or rock or tap like Tristan Higgs, he sits perfectly, hauntingly still.

But it's Tris.

It's him.

"He's alive," Akio says, and his voice is strangled. "Tris is alive, he's alive, but he's-... he was-"

His mother's hand rests on his shoulder and Akio tenses at the firey rage he feels right through the tension in her fingers. "His aunt," Aimi says with a voice that cuts through bone. "His aunt told us he was dead."

"She said he-... you know... did the thing. To himself," Emi says, looking nervously sideways at Akio. "That he ran away and they found him."

"He told me she took away all his stuff and stopped giving him his meds and then she took his phone... why would she say all that if he was alive the whole time, Mom?" Akio looks back up at Aimi, and she looks back down at him.

He is terrified of her, in that moment. Scared of her the way you are scared of a bear rushing at you, knowing that you aren't much more than a matchstick in its way. But he also wants - needs - her to tell him everything is going to be fine.

Instead, she pulls her hand back off his arm and turns to leave the room. She murmurs to herself in a rapid-fire string of Japanese even Akio isn't quite keeping up with, and he jumps up to follow her, Emi on his heels.

"Mom? Mom, what are you doing? Mom, answer me-"

"Mom?"

They manage to catch up to her in the den, where she's picked up her cell phone still charging, plugged into the wall, and dialed a number.

"Mom-"

Aimi holds up one finger without looking at him, phone to her ear, and Akio's voice cuts off immediately.

"Yes, hello," She says to whoever picks up. "My name is Aimi Nakamura and I am calling about the boy found in the governor's mansion today. I believe I can tell you who he is." She pauses. "Who he really is."

Another pause.

"Yes, I'll wait."

Yet another pause. Akio and Emi stay in the doorway, staring at her in baffled confusion. Neither of them dares to speak when her face looks this way. They know better than that.

Finally, Aimi takes another breath. "Yes. Thank you. Hello, Detective... Davis. Right. My name is Aimi Nakamura." She rattles off her phone number and address when she is asked for them without hesitating. "Yes, as I said-... as I said to whoever answered the phone, I know who the boy in the governor's mansion is. I have absolutely no doubt... Yes. His real name is Tristan Paul Higgs. He was born-... oh, yes, sorry. I can slow down. His birthday is March 6th... yes. I don't know his social security number entirely but I know the last four digits were 6654... his mother and I were close friends. Veronica Botham Higgs - Ronnie. She was murdered, with her husband, it was a double-... oh, you remember? Tristan survived it. Custody went to his only surviving relative, Joanne Botham..."

Aimi swallows, and Akio feels Emi's hand seek his out and squeezes it tightly, reassuringly, as their mother's steel comes flashing to the surface underneath her usual deceptive tranquility.

"Joanne Botham works for WRU. Her nephew lost his family and was given to her. And now, more than a year after she told us he was dead, he falls out a window with a WRU barcode. I think you see where I'm going with this, detective."

Another long silence.

"Yes. I need about an hour and a half. Is that too long? Perfect."

She hangs up, and turns to look at Akio and his little sister. There is a startling brightness to her that makes Akio think she's feeling exactly what he is - grief and horror and rage and that awful swell of hope.

Maybe it really was just a horrible mistake.

Maybe he's never been dead.

Maybe he's still breathing.

"Put your shoes on," Aimi says in a flat voice. "We are going to meet Detective Davis at the hospital where Tris is."

[particularemu]

68 & 86 with hyunjin pls 🥺

Prompts: 68 (He’s four years old!!) and 86 (Am I scaring you?)

Word Count: 2090

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for requesting. I had fun with this one :) 

Send in a number!

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Hyunjin was having a bad day. 

Not the kind of day that can be fixed with a cuddly movie night either. No — this was the kind of day that would probably leave him in a sour mood until he was ready to turn in for the night. 

Despite the sour mood Hyunjin was in, he couldn’t help but be excited to go home to his family. You and his son Taemin were the light of his life, and he was positive seeing you two would lift his mood. 

Hyunjin sighed when the elevator opened, leaving him in front of the door to your apartment. After entering the pin code, he stepped inside, smiling when he saw you and Taemin cooking in the kitchen. 

You were chopping onions, holding an unlit matchstick between your teeth to keep the onions fumes from making your eyes tear up. It always made him laugh to see you chop onions with a matchstick between your lips. 

Taemin was propped up on the counter, happily stirring — what he assumed to be noodles — in a large pot. Every once in a while he’d stir really fast and say, “Cook noodles cook!” 

It took a minute for Taemin to notice that Hyunjin was home, but when he did, he frantically pointed towards the door saying “Daddy’s home! Mama, daddy’s home!” 

Hearing his son be so excited to see him made Hyunjin’s heart swell. Being an idol with a family wasn’t easy, but times like these made it worth the trouble. 

Your head snapped up, a bright smile taking over your features when you saw him. You spit out the matchstick before blowing him a kiss. “Hey baby.” 

“Daddy! We’re making your favorite!” Taemin sat on the counter, stirring the noodles in the large pot with a ladle. 

“Is that right?” Hyunjin ruffled his son’s hair before giving you a peck on the lips. “How’s the little chef doing?”

“He’s been stirring those noodles like a pro.” You chuckled, leaning forward to give Hyunjin a kiss on the cheek. “How was practice?”

Hyunjin threw his head back, a deep sigh escaping his chest as his head lolled to the side, a slight pout forming at his lips. “Not so good.” 

You could see the day’s struggles in his body language. His eyes held the same sparkle they always did, but you could see a twinge of exhaustion and worry in those brown eyes. His nails were shorter, showing that he’d been chewing on them. It was a habit he picked up as a kid — something he did when he was stressed. You wanted nothing more than to take all his worries away, but sadly, there wasn’t much you could do. 

“That bad?” You stopped chopping onions, setting the knife on the table so you could wrap your arms around your husbands waist — without the danger of stabbing him in the side. 

Hyunjin leaned his head down into the crook of your neck, a soft “mmhmm” whispered into your shoulder. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” You ran your fingers through his hair, pausing to scratch lightly at the base of his neck. You couldn’t help but smile when you felt the shivers travel up his spine. Hyunjin always loved it when you played with his hair. 

“If you keep doing that I’ll tell you everything.” He chuckled, arms wrapping around your waist. 

“Hold on. Let me get our child away from the burning stove.” You giggled, pulling away from your husband to set Taemin on the floor. “Go play bub. Your father and I are going to talk for a little bit.” 

“Ok mommy.” He smiled and skipped off to the living room. 

You couldn’t help but smile as Taemin grabbed a rope toy and started to play tug-of-war with Kkami and your pomeranian. The boy was tugging gently on the toy, before letting go to let the dogs win. His happy giggles echoed in the room as he played with the dogs. 

“Now that our child is occupied, what’s up?” You pressed a kiss to his cheek, hoping the small act of affection could ease his worries. 

“Jisung and I got into it pretty good today.” Hyunjin sighed, eyes drifting shut as guilt filled his brain. “I thought he was messing up the choreo to our new song, but —” 

BAM!

Your eyes widened as you glanced over the marble countertop. Taemin had started a game of keep away with the dogs. He was running left and right, giggling loudly as he held the ball over his head. Taemin climbed up the couch, hoping the height would give him an advantage, but the dogs hopped up onto the furniture. He let out a loud giggle and hopped off the couch, landing on his heels with a loud THUD!

This wouldn’t be a problem if you lived in a small house in the countryside. But no — you lived on the 5th floor of an apartment complex. Your apartment happened to be above a grumpy elderly couple who didn’t like kids. Hyunjin was particularly sensitive when Taemin was too loud because he hoped one day, you guys would get along. 

You could see Hyunjin cringe when Taemin jumped once more. “Taemin. Be quiet baby. We have people living downstairs.” You called to him, hoping he’d listen as usual, but you knew he was just trying to get his father’s attention. 

“Yes mommy.” Taemin replied, dropping the ball and opting for a game of tug-of-war with Kkami instead. 

You rubbed Hyunjin’s arm, a soft smile tugging at your lips as you urged him to continue. “Sorry. Go ahead.” 

“I didn’t sleep well last night. I guess I was a little bit irritable.” Hyunjin sighed once more. “I told him he was doing it wrong and he immediately got pissed off.” 

BAM!

Hyunjin closed his eyes, head leaning back as he tried to control his frustration. Your heart panged in your chest as you called out to your son once more. “Taemin. What did I say?”

Taemin was normally so well behaved, but he’s been acting out lately. At first you couldn’t place the reason why he’s been such a pill, but you started noticing it happened a lot more when Hyunjin was home. 

Hyunjin being an idol means he’s constantly away, and you knew that. Hyunjin leaves for tours, he’s gone from 5 AM to 8 PM nearly every day, and he only has one day off to spend with his family each week. Over the years you dated, you got used to this lifestyle. Unfortunately you didn’t realize the impact this had on your son, until recently. 

“I just tripped.” Taemin’s little voice shook you out of your thoughts. Guilt replacing your frustration immediately. 

“Ok, just be more careful.” You called out. 

“Ok mommy!”  

You took Hyunjin’s hand in yours, rubbing your thumb along his knuckles. “Sorry. Go on.” 

“Where was I?” Hyunjin’s brow creased as he attempted to remember where he was in his rant. 

You chuckled a bit. “Jisung got pissed.” 

“Oh yeah.” Hyunjin’s facial expression softened as he played with your hand while talking. “We got into a big argument. Chan had to break it up. Minho ended up telling me that I’ve been doing the choreo wrong the whole time.” 

“Oh no.” You couldn’t help but feel bad for the boy. Hyunjin doesn’t like to fight with anyone, let alone his group members. He must feel so guilty. 

“I was in my head the rest of practice. I couldn’t seem to get the choreo right.” Hyunjin let go of your hand to run his hand through his hair. “On top of that, I forgot the lyrics for a couple of our songs while we were recording.” 

BAM!

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hyunjin mumbled before snapping, “Taemin, knock it off.”  

Taemin immediately stopped what he was doing, tears gathering in his eyes as Hyunjins “scary voice” echoed in the room. That tone of voice almost never came out, but when it did Taemin was quick to listen to his father. The only times you’ve ever heard Hyunjin yell at your son was when his life was in danger. 

“Hey, that’s not necessary.” Your mama bear side came out as you placed yourself between Hyunjin and Taemin. Not that you thought Hyunjin would ever hurt your son — no far from it — you just didn’t want Taemin to see his father in such a mood. 

You could see pure rage in Hyunjin’s eyes as he turned to you. “You’ve told him 3 times to quit jumping. We have neighbors downstairs. He can’t be doing this.” 

You couldn’t help but scoff, “Are you kidding me? Hyunjin he’s four years old!!” You crossed your arms over your chest. “He’s just playing with the dogs.” 

“Our neighbors must love us.” 

Hyunjin’s sarcastic tone made your blood boil. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Your brow creased. “I don’t let him make a ton of noise all day. If you were ever here, you’d know that.” 

Ooooh that stung. 

Hyunjin knew that being away was taking its toll on his family, but he didn’t realize you were so upset about it. 

“You think I want to be gone all the time?” Hyunjin was beyond pissed. “I’m doing my JOB.” 

“Daddy, please don’t hurt mommy.” 

What?

Hyunjin paused, all previous anger melted away at the sound of his son’s voice. Pure guilt panged through his chest as he looked over to Taemin, who was huddled on the couch hugging Kkami as tight as he could without hurting the pup. 

“Am I scaring you?” Hyunjin’s heart nearly shattered as Taemin buried his face in Kkami’s fur. Hyunjin slowly walked over to the couch and kneeled down to his son’s level to ruffle his hair, coaxing a small smile from the boy. “I would never hurt you or mommy.” 

“Okay good. I know she can be… you know… but we should love her anyway.” Taemin threw his arms around Hyunjin, smiling when Hyunjin hugged him. 

“What?” Your eyes widened. That was probably the cutest and most insulting thing you could ever hear from your boy. Well, at least you know your boy loves you. 

Hyunjin couldn’t help but laugh at your reaction — even more so when his son simply said, “You always say to be honest mommy.” 

Hyunjin smiled as you wrapped your arms around both of them. “Sorry. I was just in a mood today.” 

“Like when mommy doesn’t get her chocolate?” Taemin giggled.

“Ok!” You stood up. “Roasting mommy time is over! I’m going to keep cooking dinner.” 

You couldn’t help but laugh. Normally Taemin was sweet and innocent and full of compliments. When did that little shit become such a jokester? He must have gotten that from you.

You shuffled off to the kitchen, hoping the little argument didn’t ruin dinner. Fortunately, the noodles were cooked perfectly. All you needed to do was add some more onions. You dumped the chopped onions into the pot and stirred, hoping they would cook through in record time. 

Hyunjin’s arms snaking around your waist practically gave you a heart attack. “Oh my god Hyunjin I didn’t hear you come in.” You giggled. 

“I’m sorry.” Hyunjin whispered into your ear, resting his chin on your shoulder. “I know you’re raising him well.” He pressed a soft kiss to your cheek. “You’re the best mother anyone could ask for.” 

The loving words nearly brought tears to your eyes. There have been several occasions where you’ve wondered if you’ve been a good enough mom to Taemin. After all, you don’t really know how you did until they’ve either become a serial killer or a doctor. You turned around in Hyunjin’s arms, resting your head against his. “Thanks.” You wrapped your arms around his torso. “I needed to hear that.” 

Hyunjin hummed quietly as he pulled you closer. “I need to say it more.” He kissed your lips softly, “I love you. Thank you for sticking with me through this.” 

“Ewww.” Taemin’s giggles brought the two of you back to reality. 

You looked at Hyunjin and smiled. “What do you think?” 

Hyunjin grinned and looked over at Taemin. “I say we get him.” 

Taemin screamed as the two of you chased him, allowing him to dodge you a few times. Hyunjin lifted him up before plopping him on the couch, attacking his sides with tickles. 

Earlier, you might have told Taemin to quiet down. But now?

Fuck the neighbors. They’re assholes anyway.