#keith's snippets

[keithisbae1]

SasuSaku Month Day 2:  From Me to You

Sasuke couldn’t stand watching the scene in front of him, of this guy lying, being so smug and acting way too friendly to his teammate. Who did he think he was? This guy was nothing more than a stranger taking advantage of her losing her memory.

If Sakura still remembered them, more specifically -him- there was no way she would entertain this loser.

But of course, what else did he expect? Naruto mentioned that Sakura had more admirers now, and with no memories of who she was or her feelings of him then it wasn’t surprising that men would want to take advantage of the situation. They knew they wouldn’t stand a chance with him, Sakura was always upfront and honest with her feelings.

And he couldn’t do anything about it.

“You know this wouldn’t be happening if you were honest about your own feelings for her.” Sasuke had almost forgotten his teammates were standing next to him. What a sight this must be.

It wasn’t planned, but as they were close by Sasuke thought about visiting his other teammates and Sakura was more than intrigued wanting to meet them. She has, she knew them vaguely enough and got along well with them but to this Sakura it would be her ‘first time.’ And she was curious on wanting to meet more of ‘Sasuke-Kun’s friends.’

How could he say no?

Sasuke was grateful for Orochimaru not being there, if there was a chance for Sakura to regain her memories, he didn’t want the first one to be the moment in the Forest of Death of them having a near death experience and having to explain everything that’s happened since then.

Unfortunately for him, team taka had decided to join them on their journey. For a bit they said.

We only want to help.

Yeah, more like they were nosey and wanted to watch him make a fool of himself. Perhaps he was being too harsh, although that was partly true, they did seem concerned and confused as to why Sakura had re-introduce herself to them. As if she and Naruto hadn’t forced all of them on dinners together as a team to get to know one another.

“Suigetsu…” Jugo gave a low warning.

“What? It’s true, how can you be jealous when you won’t even be honest with your own feelings towards her?” Sasuke said nothing, still keeping an eye on the guy making sure he wasn’t trying anything funny, but he was listening.

“What if I tell her on your behalf, then we wouldn’t have to-” He was cut off when Karin smacked him on the head causing a splash. “Idiot, you can’t confess on someone else’s behalf.”

“Oh, and you and Jugo are now love experts?”

“More than you that’s for sure.” Karin mumbled.

But he was right, what gave him the right to be angry and jealous after everything, he did to her? Not to mention this wasn’t the right time to confess.

For Sakura, leaving the village was a weight off her shoulders. Everyone wanted her to remember that it got too much and overbearing, she needed a break. Sasuke had made a promise to her that next time she could travel with him and that’s what he offered.

Naruto saw it as a perfect opportunity for the two of them to get close again so who was he to turn down such a ‘brilliant idea.’ But that’s not what this was for, he wasn’t doing this for his own selfish reasons but for Sakura.

Confessing and forcing her to remember anything wasn’t a priority.

Unless she was the one with questions.

As if feeling Sasuke’s eyes on him the man gave him a smirk putting an arm around the girl pulling her closer. Way too close for his liking.

Sasuke could swear he activated his sharingan and was about to march over there to give him a piece of his mind. Before Jugo brought him back to his senses and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder stopping him from doing something he’ll regret.

“Don’t let him rile you up, otherwise you’ll scare Sakura-San.”

“Just say the word, I can take him out.”

“I’m sure I can slip some poison when he’s not looking.” Both Suigetsu and Karin offered their solutions.

“Don’t give him ideas.” Jugo sweat dropped.

Was he the only one thinking rationally and trying not to cause a scene.

“The poison idea sounds good.” It wouldn’t kill him, but they could probably give him a bad case of diarrhoea. Karin smirked at Suigetsu when her idea was chosen.

“Peh, taking all the fun.”

And just as quickly as they interacted Sakura turned her head seeing Sasuke and his team smiling away. Completely ignoring and not even excusing herself, Sakura ran over to them basket in hand full of tomatoes.

“Here you go Sasuke-Kun,” he tilted his head confused as to why she brought him that. It didn’t help that his three teammates were also staring.

Suddenly feeling so self-conscious having not only one but four people looking at her so intensely Sakura explained.

“Oh, um Naruto mentioned that you liked tomatoes. I vaguely recalled having a recipe with them, I don’t really remember what it was for but wanted to make something special as a thank you for everything you’ve done for me up till now.”

“Kato-San was helping me find the ingredients. It was meant to be a surprise but then he got too… clingy. It was weird and-”

Sasuke merely tuned out the rest of her words, never mind the fact that she was only with this ‘Kato’ guy for him but he had recalled a similar time to where Sakura took off at one point during their mission to find some ripe tomatoes so she could make something for him for his Birthday.

It seems regardless of whether or not she had her memories she was still the same.

“Ah, thank you.” Sasuke smile warmly causing her cheeks to flush.

At hearing a cough from Suigetsu breaking their little moment Sasuke tsked taking her hand in his pulling them away. He made sure to give a well revenge satisfying smirk to the other guy who was left dumbfounded with the way she left him there. She was caught off guard feeling her heartbeat quicken to how casual and normal it was for him to grab and hold her hand like that.

The three followed not long after.

“I still think we should poison him.” Suigetsu remarked.

“I think so too.” Karin agreed.

“I never said we weren’t going to.” Jugo sighed.

“Poison who? What are you three up to?” At least Sakura was understanding and knew well enough to not include him in this scheme.

[catsushinyakajima]

Keith doesn’t place his helmet on the ground as much as he slams it. It bounces and rolls away out of sight, but his mind is elsewhere. He doesn’t even bother to wait for the ramp to descend; he jumps out of Red’s mouth the second she lands. Tremors wrack his joints but he doesn’t care. There’s something more important to focus on. Someone more important.

“Lance!”

Keith skids to a halt in front of Blue and bangs his fists on her hatch. “Let me in! Lance, let me—”

There’s muffled coughing from inside the lion. It’s minute, but it’s there. It makes Keith’s heart skip. He’s alive. He’s alive, he’s alive, he’s alive.

“Lance?” He croaks.

He can’t tell what picture will be painted once he breaches the cockpit. Whether it’ll be covered in shades of red or blue. Whether Lance will greet him with a weak wave and a tired hug, or he’ll be on the floor, limbs twisted in odd angles. The hit he took during the battle looked heavy, but there wasn’t much Keith could see past the blinding explosion. There was no telling how the impact rattled Lance. In that moment, when orange and white seared the inside of his eyelids and his heart plummeted to his stomach, Keith had been so sure Blue had been burst into pieces.

But now he stands outside the intact lion with its pilot still inside, still alive, but who knows for how lo—

“Lance, baby,” Keith croaks with his head against the metal door. It’s still battle-warm. “Won’t you let me in?”

There’s a slight whirring noise before the door slides open. Keith all but collapses inside. He searches wildly, eyes roving everywhere, looking for a body, a suit, tan skin, anything—

Lance is slumped over in the pilot’s chair. “Yahoo,” he mumbles, “Right here.”

“Lance,” Keith inhales a bated breath and rushes over to assess him.

He receives a half-hearted peace sign for his troubles. Lance’s fingers tremble. “Hey, good looking. You come here often?”

Still joking. That’s good. Keith pats his body down to assess for injuries. He meticulously starts removing armor when the bulky plating gets in the way.

“Woah, woah! At least three dates before the clothes come off, man. I’ll have you know that I’m a decent guy.”

“We’re literally dating, Lance.”

“Oh.” He dishes him a lopsided grin. “Well, in that case, proposition away.”

Keith ignores him. He’s concussed, that’s for sure. Who knows what other injuries are hiding? He wishes he had more light, but any more brightness would surely stab at Lance’s eyes. He continues to peel off pieces of armor and feel his limbs up and down. Keith only stops when he hears Lance wince.

He holds his forearm precariously. “Here? It hurts here?”

Lance nods. “Yeah it—I was holding the throttle lever when it, you know—fuck.” He grits his teeth and clenches his eyes shut.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I don’t—I didn’t notice—I’m,” Lance takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be difficult.”

“You’re not difficult,” Keith rushes out quicker than he breathes, “Don’t be sorry. Ever.”

Lance lets out a watery laugh. “Ever?”

Keith nods solemnly.

“What if I do something evil? Like uh, get rid of all food that’s not goo? Or chuck your jacket out the airlock?”

“I might cry.”

“Fuck,” Lance hisses, “That’s worse. So much worse. Don’t uh—Keith, don’t do that.”

“Don’t cry?” Keith finds a gauze to wrap his bleeding arm in. Lance winces when he tightens it around the wound.

“Ah—yeah. You can’t cry. It’s illegal in ten states. And all of space.”

It takes all of Keith’s willpower not to burst into tears in that moment. He swears he’s not trying to be spiteful or petty, but the tightness in his throat suddenly has him in a chokehold. Everything catches up to him once he’s got Lance safe and secured in front of him. He’s here. Lance is here. He’s alive and he’s not hurt—not too badly—not skewered or impaled or crushed by anything, not unconscious or unresponsive. God, it could’ve been worse. So, so much worse. He could’ve, Lance might’ve—

“What?” Lance cries. “Did you have the waterworks ready on cue? What in the grammy-nominated actor is this? Are you—what are you—” He splutters. Despite all of it, Lance reaches forward with his uninjured arm to whisk the stray tears off his face.

“Guess I’m—” Keith hiccups. “Guess I’m an outlaw.”

With slow, stiff motions, Lance detaches himself from the seat and leans downwards to where Keith is kneeled. He winds his arms around Keith’s neck and fists his fingers into his hair.

“What are you doing? Your injury, it’s—”

“I’m obviously arresting you, genius. Hands behind my back.”

Keith sniffles but he still complies. “I thought it’s hands behind my back.”

“Nuh uh.” Lance shakes his head. “My lion, I make the rules.”

They stay like that, in their awkward embrace, until well after it becomes uncomfortable and Keith’s limbs get sore. They’re still drenched in their battle sweat and it’s a little gross, but he doesn’t want to let go. Lance’s heart beats against his, and what’s most important is that it beats. Keith feels it, feels the rise and fall of his chest, the little breaths against his neck, and the hair tickling his shoulder. He lets himself soak in it and he remains ever so grateful that it, this, can exist for even one more day.

if you liked this you might like my fics on ao3!

[thepenultimateword]

Your stuff is so good!! You should write a villain x weapon designer civilian snippet :0

Thank you, thank you, friend! Also, I’m loving the idea of that dynamic, so here you go!

CW: Weapons, unconsciousness, knockout gas

...

“Move and I’ll blow your head off.”

The ridges on the gun's metal barrel dug sharply into Civilian's hand, but they managed to keep their aim and voice steady as they pointed both at the villain in front of them. The criminal was currently backed up against the train doors, hands in the air, gas mask dangling nonchalantly off two fingers.

The villain raised their brow. "What are you some sort of hero?"

"No talking."

"I've never seen you before. I thought I'd met all of the agency's sentinals in white. Though you're not exactly dressed for the position. Maybe you're not--"

"I said no talking!" Civilian barked, taking a step forward and jerking the gun forward menacingly.

"Ok! Ok!" Villain said. They raised their hands higher. “Touch-y.”

On any other day, Civilian would have been like the other passengers, huddled up together in the far corners of the train or pressed back tight in their seats, as if they could disappear by mere force of will. But today, Civilian had been tasked with transporting their newest prototype to the agency for a demonstration. An electro-pulse gun that they’d tested on no less than five watermelons the night before. They were well acquainted with the damage it could do. They’d ripped the thing from its protective case without even thinking.

“I’ve already alerted the heroes to your location,” Civilian said. “So there’s no point in fighting anymore. Stay still until the next station and you’ll be arrested in one piece.”

“You alerted the heroes?” The villain raised both brows high. “How? I jammed the cell signals over the next twenty miles. Unless…” They grinned. “You have some other form of contact. You do work for the agency, don’t you?”

“Have you listened to a thing I've said? No more questions!"

“You’re the one who keeps chatting, darling. What? Nervous?”

Yes. And no. Their body was alight with adrenaline, every nerve a buzzing, quivering charge, and yet at the same time, they were surreally confident, gut numb and mind blank.

Villain pushed lightly off the doors with their elbows, taking a small, probing step forward. “Would you even really shoot?”

“You really want to try me?"

“You heroes make a lot of talk but not much action. What, don’t you have a code? 'Do no harm' or something like that? Besides, you're so cute." Another step forward. "I don't think you've ever been in a fight, let alone killed someone, so why don't you just--"

Civilian aimed the gun at the ceiling and squeezed the trigger. The energy projectile punched through the metal with ear-splitting BANG! The passengers shrieked. Villain knocked back against the doors with a thud.

The wind whistled loudly overhead as the air whooshed over the new gap in the roof, and after that shot, their ears might as well have been stuffed full of cotton, but even if they couldn't quite measure their own volume, they fixed the gun back on Villain's head and drove their point home.

“I’m really trying not to traumatize all these lovely people with the visual of your head exploding, and honestly, I’d really rather not kill you. But if you press me…if you doubt me, you’ll be dead faster than you can question me again.”

Villain gripped their mask abit tighter but their expression remained smooth and their posture loose. They whistled a long low note. “You’re something else, gunslinger. When this is all over, feel free to look me up anytime.”

“Fortunately, I don’t frequent prisons.”

“Me neither." Villain flashed a broader grin, full of white teeth and pocked with a dimple on one side. "Looks like we have something in common.”

The train screeched, the deceleration sending everyone lurching a bit to the right. In that exact moment, when Civilian's gun swayed a few centimeters off target, the villain's free hand shot to their belt.

"Hey!" Civilian shouted, stumbling a little as the train came to a complete stop. Villain tossed something small and round to the floor. Ping! Ping! It bounced twice, rolled a little into the aisle, and exploded in a cloud of cool fog. No not fog. Gas.

Civilian immediately turned their face into their shoulder, tipping the gun even further off target. The whole train car shrieked while Villain calmly pulled the gas mask over their head, obscuring the beginnings of an infuriating grin. Civilian opened their mouth to launch another threat but immediately choked on the sickly sweet gas. It raised around them so rapidly, they could barely see the nose of the weapon let alone, Villain. Not to mention...everything was getting sorta...slanty...

"S-sleepin'gas?" they slurred.

"I was never here to harm any of you." Villain's muffled voice seemed to come from all directions, echoey and distorted.

Civilian fell to one knee. Was it normal to feel like their head was buzzing?

"You made a really cute gunslinger, though. Like a western sheriff. Or an outlaw. Bet you'd be good in a holdup."

The train doors hissed as they opened. As some of the gas slipped free, they caught a glimpse of the Villain's shoulder as they darted out onto the platform.

The gun suddenly felt so heavy in their arms but they forced it up anyway. The barrel tipped to and fro, and their finger trembled on the trigger. They wanted to risk a blind shot, but there could be dozens of people standing outside on that platform. If they hit anyone else...

Their vision blurred, then blackened. They barely managed to set the gun down on the metal floor before passing out over top of it.

When they awoke, they were in the agency medical wing. They recognized it immediately by its obnoxious orange bedsheets and, well, Keith. Sort of hard to miss a giant, shining man in hero-white scrubs.

Civilian slowly pushed themselves upright. Their head throbbed with the movement, and they let out a rogue groan.

Keith turned away from the figure two beds down, covered from head to toe in bruises and now enveloped in their own cocoon of white luminescence.

"Civilian!" Keith beamed, light glimmering off his teeth. "You've regained consciousness! Any pain?"

Civilian rubbed the bridge of their nose. "Just my head... Was I hurt?"

"Not necessarily." Keith pressed both large hands to the sides of Civilian's skull. Civilian closed their eyes as they healer's glow wrapped around their head. Warmth trickled over their face and under their skin, ebbing the pain away little by little. "Just a very large dose of some sort of gaseous anesthesia. Luckily, there have been no long-term consequences so far. The ventilation created by the hole in the roof probably lessened some of the potency. Your handiwork?"

The events on the train rushed back all at once. They pulled out of Keith's grasp.

"Did we get them?" They looked rapidly around their bedside. "Where's my pulse gun?"

Keith stepped back and leaned against the empty bed beside Civilian's. "The gun is in weapons testing, I think."

"And the villain?"

"No. They escaped. We arrived just moments too late before they must have blended with the crowd.

Civlian threw themself back against their pillows with a heavy sigh. "Great."

"You still helped. You stopped Villain from completing whatever they originally planned and provided many citizens with immediate medical treatment by calling us in."

"Oh yeeeeah, I'm sure the whole team was just dazzled by my competence and quick-thinking. Especially when I couldn't hold Villain in place on anything but a moving train."

Keith frowned. "You don't need the title to be a hero."

"Thanks, Keith, that's really nice and heartfelt, and I'm sure you believe it, but seeing how you do have the title, and no one in power here thinks the same, it doesn't really mean that much to me."

Keith frowned but luckily didn't argue any further. Civilian knew they were being rude, but they really didn't need anyone else telling them that they were special the way they were. That they could do good their own way. That being a hero didn't even matter that much. It mattered a whole lot to them. And now they'd practically proven the entire agency right.

"What were they even doing on that train?"

"Robbery?" Keith shrugged. "Knock out the passengers and loot all their valuables."

"Alone?" Civilian traced the lines of the ceiling panels with their eyes. "They didn't even have a bag. How much could they have gathered if they planned on knocking out an entire train?"

"We don't know they were alone. They could have easily had accomplices posing as civilians throughout the train."

"True... Does the agency have a file on them? Tall, skinny, long black coat, annoyingly perfect eyebrows. Didn't show a power."

"I could look...but I'm not supposed to share that sort of info outside of other heroes..."

"Come on! What was that whole, 'you don't need a title' nonsense?"

"It wasn't nonsense! You are a hero! Just...not a legally sanctioned one."

Civilian sat back up and lowered their voice. "Come on, Keith. I'm not going to do anything; I'm just curious. You don't even have to give me the whole file. Just take a couple pictures of anything you think might also be on the news."

Keith grimaced.

"Please? I was so close today. So close to being what I always planned to be... Just let me chase that high a little longer. Then I'll go back to the weapons lab and never mention it again. Promise."

Keith inhaled a long breath, letting it out in a loud, irritated sigh. "Ok, fine. But don't bring it up to anyone. Ever. And I'm only giving you the first page."

Civilian's insides sank a little; they weren't sure what a first page of a villain file looked like, but they could assume it wasn't much. But they couldn't really be picky, so... "That's fine. Just the first page is perfect."

Keith looked like they had hoped that detail would deter them, but he continued on. "It might take awhile. I'm a hero, but I'm a healer, so no one is expecting me to march into the files room and request info on villains."

"That's ok, I can be patient. I work in weapons, remember? That's like the ultimate test in being patient."

Keith slid a hand over his face. "Ok. I'm also going to need more detail than 'annoyingly perfect eyebrows.'"

[mothmanavenue]

Imagine Keith’s fucking surprise when he turns around, ready to throw hands with the idiot that had tossed a fucking can through his bedroom window, and instead comes face to face with the boy in the photographs that the McClains had set up on the table with the candle, a memorial for their dead son.

He opens his mouth.

“what the fu-”

“STOP THROWING OUT MY THINGS DUDE, COME ON, HAVE SOME FUCKING RESPECT,”

Keith considers that, maybe, Shiro was right, and the isolation was, in fact, fucking with his head.

Hm.

Whatever, this fucker just threw a can at him, and if his mama taught him one thing it’s to not take shit lying down.

“IF YOU DIDN’T WANT ME TO GET RID OF YOUR SHIT, WHY’D YOU HAVE SUCH BAD TASTE?”

Shit, he’s pretty sure you aren’t meant to indulge the delusion.

The boy, if possible, glares harder, form flickering in and out of existence as he raises his hands to his hips, nose scrunching and eyebrows furrowing.

Cute.

Ah fuck, wait, no-

“Bad. Taste?” the boy is seething now; Keith’s pretty sure if this was the looney tunes his head would’ve been steaming, “bad. Fucking. TASTE? I ONLY DIED LAST YEAR, AND ILL BET MY ROTTING BONES THAT UGLY MULLETS HAVEN’T MAGICALLY COME BACK INTO STYLE!”

Keith’s eye twitches. Oh this little shit was gonna fucking get it.

[fluffykitty149]

@empressgeekt heard you’ve been feeling down and thought you could use a pick me up! I honestly just wrote this for fun and wasn’t going to show it to anyone, but it’s the FoF + Caught In The Middle mash up I asked you about a while ago! Had a serious brain rot about it so I ended up making this snippet!

——————————————————————

The wedding ceremony was going great. It never ceased to amaze Branch of the fact that his girlfriend was able to concoct an amazing party regardless of size. She may have struggled with taking charge and staying organized for defense in the past but it’s become abundantly clear that she was and is in fact a master planner. They’d gone back and forth on whether or not Branch should wear his Forest Guardian uniform at the wedding as Branch believed since he’s head of the trolls' security he needs to be ready and Poppy argued that he should dress for the occasion but both Gristle and Bridget assured them that it was okay. It probably helped that Gristle was wearing a T-Shirt tux instead of an actual one. Poppy later confessed that she just wanted to see Branch decked out in a tuz and after a bit of blushing and some persuading kisses he agreed to maybe switch to one for the reception.

As the officiant went on with her speech a forest scout signaled for Branch to come over. Branch lightly brushed his arm against Poppy’s and when she turned to him he signaled that he had to check something out and Poppy nodded in acknowledgement and scanned the rooftops herself before looking back to the bride and groom. Once Branch checked that Keith was still in the wedding rings with his blue tuft of hair sticking out he followed the scout to the other side of the reception. “What’s the situation?” Branch asked as he and the scout climbed up a building. 

“Tresillo caught some trolls sneaking around,” the pop troll answered as they continued to climb. “3 presumably male, 1 presumably female. Pop trolls like us but I haven’t seen them before.”

That caught Branch off guard. Sure he didn’t really know everyone in the village but most of the tribe recognized each other easily. The scout continued “the female one appears to be having some sort of PTSD episode? Kinda like you used to have, she’s convinced we’re all in danger right now from the Burgens. We’ve tried explaining the Burgens don’t eat us under the decree of King Gristle and if she had concerns about a particular Burgen or group she was suspicious of but it’s more like she doesn’t know about the peace that we have now.”

Branch winced at the memories of his thankfully now rare episodes before he finally scaled the wall and found where the other trolls were “go back to your post. I’ll take it from here.” The troll took a final look at the group before they nodded and walked off. As Branch got closer he could hear the group talking animatedly and the familiarity of the male trolls’ voices made a pit drop in his stomach. ‘There’s no way that’s them,’ he said to himself in denial, as he slowed down. 

“Come on man we’re Brozone! Can’t you help us out?” That was definitely JD’s voice. Turns out Branch didn’t miss it nearly as much as he thought he did.

Branch cleared his throat and the guards surrounding the group backed off and Branch was able to get a full view of three out of his four brothers. Spruce had gotten bigger and seemed to be sporting a more beach aesthetic with his hair styled down in a sweep, Clay’s hair was green instead of yellow and curled out and was much taller than Branch remembered sporting a sweater romper. He seemed to at the time be arguing with Wani who had some of her members standing by a pink troll with one of them showing her breathing techniques. JD switched out the boyband vest and pants for a more nature-like vest lined with fur and worn green shorts. Still the same stupid goggles though. And same stupid grin. 

“Would someone from your group mind explaining what’s going on here?” Branch asked in an authoritative tone. It annoyingly didn’t seem to phase his oldest Brother. 

“Hey man, sorry to bother you with… whatever is going on here.” JD gestured with his hands. “We haven’t been around the tree in a while and we’re trying to look for our siblings.”

Branch’s crossed arms helped hide his hands squeezing his biceps. ‘A while would be the understatment of the mother fucking century’ he thought to himself.

“Would you mind explaining who you’re looking for specifically?'' Was it a good idea to pretend he didn’t know them? Probably not. DId he care at the moment? Nope.

“We’re looking for Bitty B man! From Brozone!” Thank god Branch was wearing a mask because the deadly glare he was shooting right now would be beyond suspicious. 

“I don’t know of anyone named Bitty B that lives in the village. Are you sure this sibling of yours isn't’ somewhere else?” Branch asked curtly. If JD could at the very least say Branch’s actual name he might consider telling him the truth. 

“Psh come on man, who wouldn’t know Bitty B! He’s Brozone!” 

Branch drummed his fingers against his arm “again, there’s no one here named Bitty B now if you’re just here to cause a scene at a wedding that helps signal the peace between pop trolls and Bergens then I’ll have to ask you to lea-”

Before he could finish, a pink and blond blur zipped up to him and shook him by the collar “WHERE IS MY SISTER, WHAT DO YOU MEAN PEACE WITH THE BERGENS, AND WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?” 

The other scouts turned to him warily but he didn’t flinch. “Would you mind telling me your sister’s name? We can start from there.”

The woman looked bewildered at him “SERIOUSLY!? I’M TALKING ABOUT POPPY!!! DAUGHTER OF KING PEPPY!!! THAT POPPY!!!”

Now it was Branch’s turn to look bewildered “Poppy? As in the current queen?” 

Viva’s face dropped but then was brought back up “Yes! Yes her! Is she okay!? She’s not in danger is she?”

Branch’s heart seemed to be going back and forth between panicking and sinking. “No, no,” he said gently as he removed her arms away from him “she’s why we have peace with the Bergens. You’re her older sister?”

Viva’s fear turned to excitement and Branch’s heart sank furhter “Oh my gosh she did this! No way I am so freakin proud of her!” the way she bounced in excitement reminded him painfully of Poppy. ‘Peppy what did you do?’ he thought to himself while watching her stim and cheer. 

“Poppy’s busy with the ceremony right now, would you mind me grabbing your dad?” Viva’s face shifted between distraught to hopefulness and it made Branch’s heart squeeze tighter. 

“Dad’s alive?” she asks wiping a tear.

Branch nodded “I’ll just be a moment. We have multiple guards and scouts stationed on the rooftops on the venue. Even if there was a chance of a Bergen wanting to eat a troll we have contingencies in place.” He leapt off the roof of the building onto another and ran back to the reception.

Anger began to burn in his body that fueled him to run faster to the venue. He made it to where the group is and slipped in to grab Peppy’s arm. “You’re needed on the rooftop. It’s urgent.” Peppy barely had enough time to respond before Branch picked him up with his hair and ran off. The rest of the snack pack and Prince D looked somewhat baffled but turned back to the ceremony. 

It probably wasn’t professional for Branch to be running on all fours but focusing on going fast took his mind off of the interaction that was about to happen. One of the perks of traning with Smidge was that his hair was much stronger and could easily hold Peppy well enough not to hurt him as he scaled the wall. He fired a grapling gun up to help him climb with a still bewildered Peppy in his hair. “Branch?! Is everything alrgiht?” 

“Not really,” he huffed making his way up. “You have a lot of explaining to do.” Still on all fours he managed to make his way to the rooftop where Viva and his brothers were. It was definitely a tough sprint but he skidded to a stop and carefully put Peppy down. As angry as he was at the man he wasn’t going to throw him around like a rag doll.

Peppy stumbled for a second and was about to ask again what was going on when he heard a small “Dad?”

He whirled around and saw the daughter he hasn’t seen in over 20 years. “V-Viva?” he whispered shakily stumbling towards her.

“Daddy!” she cried out jumping to hug him. Branch almost stepped in incase of a fall but Peppy let his cane drop and colleceted his daughter in his arms. 

“Oh my sweet sweet girl,” he whispered holding her tightly. “I never thought I’d see you again.” he kissed her over and over again on her head stroking her curls. 

“The tunnels-” he stuttred as he pulled he away to get a better look at her. “W-we dug for hours, all we found in the ruins was your hug time bracelet. I-I thought you-” he sobbed as he pulled her tighter again. 

“I’m alive,” Viva chuckled breathlessly. “I got everyone out, it was tough but we found this old golf course to stay in! I should have gone looking for you guys I kept waiting for you to find us and I had no idea you thought we didn’t make it!” Viva sobbed as she burried her face in his neck.

“No sweetheart, it was my fault. I never should have stopped trying to look for you.” Peppy sighed as he rubbed her back.

Branch cleared his throat and Peppy’s face turned pale. “Poppy doesn’t know about her does she?”  he whispered. He hated being the bearer of bad news but it was clear what had happened. Trolls got separated during the escape and King Peppy lied about it. ‘No troll left behind’ was a total scam. A scam Poppy believed with her whole heart. It made Branch’s blood boil.

“What?”

Branch and Peppy turned back to Viva who’s face had completely dropped with her body becoming stiff. “What do you mean Poppy doesn’t know about me? I’m her sister! Of course she’d know who I am. Right?” She turned to her dad who looked completely guilty.

“I-I didn’t want her to mourn you.” Peppy mumbled fidgeting with the lapels of her jacket.

“Were there others with you who escaped?” Branch asked but Viva remained mute in shock. 

It was Clay who spoke up “there were 36 all together. With new kids we now have 40 as a group.” he said seemingly also in shock.

“Branch is everything okay? We’re supposed to be heading to the reception now.” Everyone’s head swiveled to Poppy who carried Keith on her hip.

“Cake time!” Keith shouted with raised fists and a blank stare. Everyone stared at the duo for what felt like ages before turning to Branch and bouncing back and fourth between them.

“BRANCH!?” “POPPY!” “HOLY SHIT!”

Viva rushed to hug little sister while the brothers crowded Branch asking a million questions at once. 

“YOU’RE ALIVE!?”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY WHO YOU WERE!?” “WHAT’S WITH THE OUTFIT!?”

“YOU KNOCKED UP VIVA’S SISTER!?”

“WHAT!?” Branch, Poppy, and Viva shrieked as Viva grabbed her sister tighter as she turned to Branch.

“Keith’s adopted!” Poppy said, as she tried to catch up to speed. She then turned to Viva “Hi I’m Poppy, nice to meet you. Who are you exactly?” Viva looked heartbroken while Peppy looked guiltier than ever.

“WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU THE AUDACITY TO PRESUME ANYTHING ABOUT ME!?” Branch shouted angrily as he shoved his brothers off of him.

“TOO LOUD!” Keith screamed as he clammed his ears shut with his hands. 

Branch tensed with guilt before turning back to his biological brothers. “I took Keith in about two years ago when his dad died and we see each other as each other’s brothers.” he said with an indignant huff. He then turned to Poppy. “Peppy apparently hid the fact that there were trolls left behind during the escape. Viva, your older sister gathered as many stragglers as she could and kept them hidden.” He paused to monitor Poppy’s reaction before he continued. “I’m so sorry Poppy I swear I didn’t know.”

Poppy’s grip on Keith loosened so he slid down and ran to Branch. “W-what?” She turned to her father in shocked betrayal.

“I was going to tell you I swear!” Peppy stammered. “After the rock apocalypse I realized it was wrong of me to try and hide the truth from you. You got so busy for a while so I figured I would tell you after the wedding in the tree.”

“I have a sister?” Poppy whispered as she turned back to Viva. 

Viva gave a small wave “hi Poppy,” she said as she nervously fidgeted with her hands.

“HOLY SPRINKLES I HAVE AN OLDER SISTER!!!” Poppy cheered as she scouped Viva up and spun her around. “MUSES I KNEW I FELT SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!! I WAS DRIVING EVERYONE CRAZY WITH ‘GOD I WISH I HAD A SISTER’ OR’ HAVING A SISTER WOULD LITERALLY MAKE MY LIFE SO PERFECT’ AND YOU WERE HERE THE WHOLE TIME!!!”

Viva burst into tears and wrapped Poppy in a hug of equal force. “I am,” she sobbed in Poppy’s shoulder “I’m right here!” 

Both sisters tried getting a good analysis of each other’s appearance but got too excited and with another squeal tackled each other in spinning hugs and jumps.

Branch picked up Keith to check on him and thankfully now that the arguing stopped he’s seemed to calm down. “We’re not getting Bergen sized cake are we?” Keith said with a pout. “We can ask Bridget and Gristle to save us a slice.” Branch chuckled. 

“Branch, is that really you?” Spruce asked which soured Branch’s mood. 

He hissed between his teeth before turning back towards his brothers. “Yes it’s me. This is Keith, he’s my little brother and if any of you say anything negative about him I’ll throw you off the building.”

The ex-brozone members turned to Keith in different forms of bewilderment but JD was the one who snapped out of it the fastest. “Welcome to the family bro!” he was about to hug both Branch and Keith. Keith lunged to bite JD but Branch managed to hold him back. 

The brozone brothers remained stunned while Branch brought Keith back to him “I think we’d both appreciate not being hugged if its all the same to you.” he huffed as he readjusted Keith on his hip. 

JD chuckled nervously and brushed dust off him “heh, got it. My bad.”

“Why were you asking all those questions if you knew we were looking for you? It was just wasting time.” Clay asked, already tired from the journey.

“Excuse me if I’m not jumping for joy that the brothers that abandoned me at 2 randomly showed up. What the hell are you all doing here anyways?” 

The brothers looked grief stricken for a second and before Clay could explain things JD blurted out “we’re here to reunite the band and pull off the perfect family harmony!” he cheered with a fist pumped in the air. Bruce smacked a paw against his face and Clay dragged his paws against his.

"No thanks, I'd rather choke on rocks than go through that again." The only reason Branch hadn't lost his temper was the fact Keith was still with him and he'd rather not go on a screaming vent in front of him. "Good to know you assholes are alive but you can crawl back from wherever you came from and never contact me again if you wouldn't mind." Branch turned his back to his ex-brothers and headed to where the Royal family was to help them figure out how to transport and shelter the other trolls that got left behind.

Before he could walk far Clay jogged to get in front of him. “Look, we’re here because Floyd needs to be broken out of a diamond bottle. Some wanna be super stars kept him trapped in one to drain him of his talent. We got him out of Mt. Rageous where he was but we need to get him out of the bottle too. I am really sorry our reunion was shit and that our oldest brother has what I can only infer is foot-in-mouth syndrome-"

"hey!"

"But we're going to need all of us if this is going to work."

Branch stood still as he processed everything Clay had said while Keith hopped down to listen in on the Royal family's family issues. "Would you guys have bothered to come back if it wasn't for the harmony?" He muttered with fallen arms.

The other two brothers had caught up by now and heard what Branch had said. "Branch, I did come back." JD said walking towards them. Branch whirled around in shock and even the other two looked surprised. JD wasn't paying attention to them though, he only stared at Branch. "I came back a couple of years later and found the tree dead and abandoned. I spent ages trying to track you guys down but couldn't find a trace of anyone. With all that added up I wasn't sure if any of you were..." he sniffed and wiped his nose.

None of the other brothers knew what to say to that. 

JD noticed all eyes on him and forced back on a smile. "But you're all alive!" he said relief evident in his voice. He ran to hug Branch and while Branch remained completely limp in the hug he didn't push JD off him either. It was the first time Branch noticed his Brother's colors were a bit duller than they were when he was younger. He cursed not being able to properly see out of one eye. 

He managed to get JD off of him "so you want us to try and perform the perfect family harmony, something we messed up so badly you all didn't want to be a family anymore, to save Floyd from being in a trapped bottle?"

"That is verbatim why we are here yes." John said confidently. Clay and Bruce gave each other a look before gauging  for Branch's reaction.

Before he could respond Poppy slammed into him with a hug. "BRANCH I HAVE A SISTER!" she cheered with a shake. 

"Congratulations Poppy, I really hope your relationship with her is less of a train wreck than the one I have with my brothers."

"Hey!" Branch's brothers responded indignantly 

"You're fine Keith."

Keith nodded satisfied and climbed back into Branch's hair. 

"Oh my gosh I am so sorry I was totally busy with other stuff!" Poppy said turning to Branch's bio brothers. "Hi I'm Poppy, Branch's girlfriend so nice to meet you all! I had no idea Branch had brothers!" She zipped to each of the brothers analyzing their clothes, mannerisms, hair, teeth, expressions, everything. 

"Oh yeah, definitely Viva's sister." Clay chuckled. 

Poppy turned to him instantly "you really think that!?" she squealed and hugged him. Then instantly jumped off "sorry boundaries! Branch isn't much of a hugger."

"I am!" JD cheered and Poppy instantly jumped to hug him. 

"Ooh! Ooh! I want a Branch's girlfriend hug!" Bruce exclaimed with a laugh. Poppy rushed to squeeze him too.

"Okay great everyone's had a Poppy hug now can we-"

"Wait a second," Poppy interrupted further analyzing JD "I know you! You're that guy from Brozone! We were just listening to them!" 

By this time some of the snack pack had also made their way up to the roof building. "Brozone? I love Brozone!" Cooper cheered. 

"Was Brozone that boy band you showed me last week? Their music is tight!" Prince D responded.

'fuck my life' Branch thought to himself as he watched the scene unfold.

"Okay, okay, let me guess, you're definitely not the heart throb,"

"What?" JD asked bewildered by Poppy's statement. CLay and Bruce snickered in the background.

"Fun one? No you're way too uptight."

"Uptight?" JD asked now seemingly shocked as Clay and Bruce wheezed in the background. Even Branch couldn't fight back a grin on his face. 

"Not the sensitive one either..." Clay and Bruce struggled to hold back their laughter.

"Okay, a lot of presumptions for someone you'd just met." JD said now a bit offended.

Poppy tapped her foot on the ground "Oh I remember! You're John Dory!"

"The leader!"

"The old one!"

Bruce and Clay laughed shamelessly on the ground completely fallen over and even Branch couldn't hold back his snickers. JD rolled his eyes at their antics. "Put food on the table and this is what you get." he grumbled as he fixed his vest. Bruce gave a somewhat apologetic smile but Clay was beyond happy with the interaction. "Branch your girl is a keeper" Clay said as he wiped a tear away. 

"So wait if you're Brozone and Brozone were Branch's bros..." the memories of old magazines started to click into place as Poppy turned to her boyfriend with a loud gasp. She remembered how much brighter his original colors were when he's in an extremely joyful mood. "BRANCH!? YOU WERE BITTY B!? HOW COME YOU NEVER TOLD ME?!"

Branch was about to defend himself when Keith spoke up "Branch's brothers left him when he was two so he doesn't like them anymore." That brought the mood down instantly.

"Ooohhhhhh that explains so much about Branch's personality." Cooper said quietly

"Oh and the gift swap." Prince D commented.

"Oh yeah! Oh my god it makes so much more sense!" Cooper cheered

"Wait what happened during the gift swap?" Guy asked as Tiny climbed down to see everything. 

"Branch blew up his bunker." Tiny commented as he took some popcorn.

"WHAT!?" his bio brothers asked as their heads whipped towards him.

"Yeah, he was convinced that if he didn't get Poppy the perfect gift she'd leave him. He even had a little doodle of Poppy holding a suitcase saying 'goodbye forever!' on it. It was sad man." Cooper said with a shake of his head.

Clay inhaled sharply through his teeth, and it made Branch's head turn to his brother's reactions. Clay had pained expression, Bruce looked at Branch with pure pity, and JD looked at him in grief stricken horror. 

Branch struggled for what to say to them. His right arm was locked and twitched nervously as he struggled with something to say or just think. He could only try to keep his breathing steady as everyone's eye's were on him. There was a small tug on his hair that reminded him that Keith was still there and it kept him grounded.

"Branch, you okay?" Poppy asked as she made her way towards him. He focused on her to avoid the stares around him and it helped him calm down.

"Fine," he said exhausted from this terrible reunion. "There's 40 trolls all together. 36 that were with Viva and four who hatched on the course. We should probably start figuring out how to transport and shelter them."

"And contact their families," Poppy said with an excited grin. Her upper teeth stuck out a bit and Branch couldn't help but adore her beautiful smile. "We can head back to the village for now. Viva said something about one of your brothers being in a diamond bottle?" Poppy asked with a curious eyebrow raised.

"Apparently so. There's more than just Bergens out to get us." The crowed grew a bit tense at that. It had only been 20 years since they escaped and it barely passed the one year of peace. The fact there were more creatures out there was terrifying for all of them.

"I'll talk to King Gristle about keeping an eye out for Rageons. Did anyone here get a proper view of them?" Poppy asked.

"I kinda drew what they looked like," Clay said as he pulled a folded piece of paper out of his hair. "I gave a copy to one of the guys at the course."

Poppy took the drawing from Clay. "Awww they look so cute though." Poppy cooed.

"Theyre about as tall as the average Bergen though, that's way less cute." Clay commented.

"Oooohh look at my fabulous little sister taking charge!" Viva said as she slide over to where Poppy was. Poppy immideatly jumped to a hug that Viva was more than glad to reciprocate. 

"Awww thanks Vivs! I'm just gonna hand this to Gristle and- OH GOD I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THE WEDDING!" Poppy shouted as she smashed her paws against her cheeks. "Sprinkles they could be waiting for us! God I'm the worst Maid of Honor ever! I need to go ASAP!" Poppy picked up her skirt to run but Viva grabbed her by the arm and stopped her.

"WAIT YOU CAN'T GO!" Viva exclaimed terrified.

Poppy raised an eyebrow "Why not? I'm the Maid of Honor if I'm not there I can't help if there's a disaster and then Bridget's wedding will be ruined and It'll be all my fault and I-"

"Easy Poppy!" Guy said as he took her hands "We told Bridget that there was a situation and to go on without us, if things seem fine you, Branch, and your families can head back to the Village." He then straightened up and hammered a fist to his chest. "As life of the party I solemnly swear to make sure that this wedding after party is at maximum level fun for all!" Epic music played in the background.

Poppy stared in an awed daze for a moment before going back to a nervous twitch "ugh! I'd never doubt your party skills Guy, but I feel like such a let down as a maid of honor! I should be there for Bridget every step of the way! I'm like a 'maid of not honor'!" She exclaimed as she dragged her paws down her face. 

Branch hated the amount of stress Poppy was under "I'm sure Bridget would understand." He said as he gently took Poppy's shoulder. "Just give her a quick run down of the situation and ask King Gristle to have his guards keep an eye out. Then while I deal with my brothers mess, we can also check on our defenses and notify the other tribes about the Mt. Rageouns."

"Yeah, you're right, we should definitely give the other tribes a heads up," Poppy mumbled as she tugged on her lower lip. "Alright fine," she sighed. "It's not every day you find out you have a long lost sister, I'm sure Bridget would understand." Poppy then turned to Viva "I do really need to go see her and give her and her husband- still can't believe they got married!" Poppy squealed excitedly "a 411 and we can totally catch each other up when she gets back from her honeymoon but I can't leave without saying goodbye!" She pleaded, as much as she loved Viva she'd rather not be forced to stay on the rooftop any longer. 

"I- You can't just-" Viva fidgeted with her rubber hands antsily. She wasn't trying to make her sister feel bad, or piss off any Bergens for that matter. But the thought of Poppy with those beasts terrified her.

Almost as if she could read Viva's mind, Poppy took her hands in hers "I promise, those two are some of the sweetest Bergens I've ever met." Poppy said encouragingly. "Bridget was willing to risk her neck to save us, and I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for her. And Gristle has been working hard to not only fix relations between us and help protect us, but also keep his subjects super happy!" Poppy cheered which jostled Viva a bit.

"It's okay if you're still uncomfortable around them, not every troll in the Village came to the wedding you know? I just gotta explain things to Bridget and Gristle. You can come if you want!" Poppy then tuned excited. "You'd love Bridget, she's such a sweet heart! And trust me Gristle is totally chill!"

"Poppy nearly took out his eye when she tried pitching holidays to him," Branch commented mirthfully "he was still willing to help decorate for the holidays and even helped trim the troll tree. If Poppy could get away with that I think you'll be fine."

"What?" Viva asked with a shocked laugh.

"Ugh! Come on Gristle brings it up less than you do at this point!" Poppy pouted and kicked a nonexistent pebble. Her faux upsetness melted away when she heard Viva laugh a bit more freely.

"Okay, how about I keep an eye from a distance? That way if for whatever reason they do decide to eat you I can grab you and dash." Viva asked as she pulled out her sticky hands.

"Okay 1. Those look so cool please teach me how to use them later, and 2. I totally respect you gotta do what you gotta do to keep calm but if it helps Branch has a bunch of his guards stationed all around. It's how you guys didn't get all that far remember?" 

Viva drummed her fingers in thought "that's a good point... but I think I'll keep an eye out just incase okay?"

Poppy shrugged her shoulders "no problem! Oh my gosh I have got to introduce you to Bridget I swear you're gonna love her!" She took her sister's hand to run to where the reception was. "Branch try not to kill your bio brothers while we're gone!" Poppy shouted as she and Viva ran over rooftops.

"No promises!" Branch waved back.

[sweetpaintedladie]

keith richards & patti hansen by ronnie wood, early 80s

[soulreapin]

The door swings open and a warm golden light bleeds out. Keith and a black, furry mass exit, and the figure of a taller, buff man stands in the doorway. They go back and forth for a minute until the door shuts and Keith comes down the front walk, opening the side door and letting Kosmo into the backseat, saying, “Careful, booger, don’t climb all over ‘im.”

Kosmo doesn’t necessarily heed this warning, because as soon as all four paws are in the car, Kosmo is nosing at his shoulder and pawing at his side and licking his ear. Keith tries his best to reign in the wild dog, but Lance just laughs jovially and buries his hands into his fur, scratching behind his ears and telling him nonsense about how handsome he is and how good of a boy he is.

“I’d say he’s not usually like that,” Keith opens the driver’s side door and slides into the seat, “But he’s a sociable creature.”

“Polar opposites attract, don’t they bud? Oh, yes they do, oh you’re so cuuuttee, you’re so much nicer than your dad,” Lance babbles to Kosmo, who woofs happily and knocks heads with Lance.

Keith pulls the car into drive, “Damn traitor dog. You’re sleeping on the floor tonight.”

“So, we’ve got your dog,” Kosmos woofs again, “What now?”

[erithel]

To give everyone a bit of context and excitement (hopefully) for my next comic! Plus more stuff later on.

You can read it here.

[born-to-lose]

[seldomscilence16]

Alright so this all started with a lego set at work, turned into a long ass intro, then its 11 on Christmas Eve and I decide to just do the Christmas snippet and finish the rest/context later.

So please ignore spelling 😬 and Happy Holidays all! Also TW for a bit of Racism at one point, theres a bullying scene but a short one. "Well if it isnt..." is where it starts and "there a problem here." Is where it ends.

Hope you enjoy this snippet! Stay safe everyone and thank @autisticlancemcclain for the Bug boy Lance!

...

Lance could kick himself.

He knows better than this. He knows what happens, he knows that once they get what they want, they'll leave.

And yet, here he is, spending hard earned money, on four classmates. Sure he'd saved them for last, focusing on his families gifts first and foremost- its the main reason he got the job, part going to saving for emergencies, the rest to spend on Christmas- but he was doing the thing he'd sworn off.

No people. People hurt and use and lie and tease. Lance was supposed to he strong until college, his fresh start, but then these four had to go and be NICE and do their part and- yeah the bar was really low...

"This isnt going to end well." He mumbles, the hustle and bustle of the mall overwhelming with holiday traffic and leaving him worn out before he even enters an actual store.

He scans aisle after aisle, berating himself for putting so much thought into something he wasnt even supposed to be doing. His eye catches something green and he comes to a halt. Its legos, one of those collectors sets that costs an arm and a leg, but Lance hadn't even known Lego did THIS.

'The insect collection'.

"Blue Morpho Butterfly, Hercules Beetle, and a Chinese Mantis." He breathes in awe, eyes scanning every detail.

"Well if it isnt Mclame."

His head snaps up, a group of classmates before him, most of which are his very reason for his No People rule.

"Still a freak about bugs I see, surprised you havent married one yet- maybe even they dont want you!" He snorts when he laughs, a strange noise from the back of his throat that remind Lance of a Donkey or Pig.

"Not like he could even afford it, if you want you can have your mom come clean my house." One girl taunts from the back, Lances blood boiling at the blatent racist remark despite Lance's CUBAN heritage.

"If you do have money to spare you should buy me lunch instead, for having to be in your vecinity for this long." Another boy plugs his nose, like he showers every day. Lance sits behind him in English, and he does not.

"There a problem here kids?" A man in the mall security uniform eyes them all carefully, eyes giving Lance a once over that makes him uncomfortable.

"No sir." He replies polity, deciding another store may hold better finding anyway- at least better company.

....

Lance's budget was low to begin with, but eventually he comes up with ideas for the four.

It starts with Hunks treats. The things that get them through their library sessions when the projects blur. And Lances job allows him access to plenty of people who would love to share things with anyone who will listen. So painstakingly, Lance translates recipes to paper as the older generations he enteracts with give him a little baking show.

Shiro's, surprisingly, comes next. A single comment about how much he hates ruined shirt sleeves, as they get caught on his prosthetic port. Its winter, and tank tops simply wont do, so Lance finds himself knitting in his spare time. Doing hours of research to see what possibilities will be the most comfortable, with of course a very lame joke on the front.

Pidge's was an accident. Lance's bike- sabataged it would seem- leaves him crashing off path in a ditch on his way home from work. He ends up limping his way through thick folliage, dragging a broken bike in the late hours of the afternoon. The little squeak is almost ignored, the second one however, well its Lance.

The little thing is a puffball, Lance was almost sure it was a toupé, until it moved and blinked at him. He thinks its a dog, no idea what kind, but its tiny and fluffy and following him home. Lance has three allergic family members, but Pidge mentioned a family dog who had sadly passed away and nearly broke Lances heart. The green eyes tell him this little thing will be a lovely match.

Keith is the hardest. Lance honestly almost buys a knife, because the guy is a conspiracy theorist and gets into way too much trouble not to have a few knives on him. But it doesnt seem right.

But Lance see's how often he doodles.

Freakin gorgeous doodles.

Then he finds the brand 'Keff Artistry' and its too close to 'Keef' for Lance to pass up.

...

He almost tells his family to simply lock him up and burn the gifts, but then they'd be worried and he's trying to avoid that thank you, hes been doing an excellent job masking his turmoil thus far.

So, the day before Christmas Eve, Lance gathers his gifts in trembling hands, and slips out of the house unseen. If this turns into a mess, he'll deal with it himself this time. He has to grow up eventually, he cant keep crying about bullies to his family, its not a big deal anyway.

"What the heck happened to your face!?" Pidge's incredulous tone has everyone eyes snapping towards said face.

"Its nothing, bike accident." Lance shrugs it off, as he'd done when he'd come home with it, he had too little proof anyway. Anyone could have carved 'McLame' into the side of it.

"Accident huh?" Its mumbled by someone, but Lance cant place it and decidedly ignores it anyway.

"I uh... have gifts... for you guys." He changes the subject, directing the attention to the bags he carries.

"For us?" Hunk asks, eyes wide and sparkly, "You know you didnt have to buddy."

Well, supposedly.

"Yeah, its not much, but uh, here." He hands them out carefully, extra careful with Pidge's.

"Guess its a good thing we brought ours to you then." Shiro says, pulling a wrapped box from the spare chair.

Lance's eyebrows furrow, staring at the box in confusion, perhaps with a little trepidation,

"You guys got me something?"

"Yeah! We all pitched in!" Pidge grins at him, something she does sparingly- grin that is.

He takes it with clammy hands, still shaking ever so slightly. He holds it to his chest as he watches the others open their bags, watches their faces carefully.

Hunk holds the hand bound book tenderly, eyes shining as he flips through the pages carefully.

Shiro stares in awe at his sweater, a chuckle escaping him as he runs his fingers over the soft material.

Pidge squeaks, as the small dog bumps its head against her face, cold nose sniffing excitedly. She holds the animal close, the dog snuggling up like he always belonged there.

Keith is staring at his gift. The art set held half out of the bag, as if he hadnt been expecting it. He turns wide eyes towards Lance, and the cuban can see the emotions there.

This is one of Lance's favorite parts about giving. When he did good in the eyes of the reciever, when they LIKE what he gave, genuinely. No matter its monetary value.

"Lance, this is amazing." Shiro breaks the silence, turning wide eyes his way, smile big and bright and real.

"I cant imagine how long this took, this is amazing! I havent even heard of some of these!!!" Hunk is tearing up, book hugged to his chest, grinning at Lance like he'd been given a great treasure.

"I cant believe you got me a dog! He's just a little puff!" The excitement is so nice to hear, its practically contageous.

"I... havent recieved something this nice from anyone but family before. Thanks Lance." Keith is downright shy as he admits this little fact about himself, and Lance could cry.

"I'm... really glad you guys like them."

"Now open yours!" Hunk encourages quickly, sitting to watch him intently, practically vibrating.

Lance could almost feel scared, but....

He allows himself a little hope.

He opens the paper gingerly, savoring his first gift from anyone outside of family. A corner is revealed, familiar for some reason, another inch-

Lego Ideas The Insect Collection.

"What-" It comes out choked, shock clear on his face.

Is it a joke? Are they mocking him? It was expensive, theres no way they'd spend that much on a joke right?

"Its the one you wanted right?" Pidge asks, a slight pinch to her brow.

"We only saw you from across the mall, so we didn't know- You're crying oh Gods, whats wrong Buddy-" Shiro Panics, quickly kneeling by the chair Lance had collapsed into.

"I don- Why- I can't- "

"Breathe! Come on-" Hunk exagerates his own, encouraging Lance gently to follow as he chokes on tears and air and spit alike.

"Its not a joke right?" He finally gets out, looking pleadingly to the group, running a reverant hand across the box, "You did this to be nice?" He can hear the vulnurability in his own voice, but he's about a second from breaking completely.

"Yes, yes, of course! All 1,111 pieces are inside!" Shiro assures quickly, rubbing a soothing hand over his shoulder and arm.

It gets a wet chuckle from Lance, as he pulls the box to his chest once more.

"No ones... thank you so much, I can't... can't tell you how much this means." He wipe at his face, "I'll repay you, I promise-"

"Hey, its a gift Lance." Keith says, voice softer than ever, "We wanted to get it for you."

"Merry Christmas Lance."

"Merry Christmas."

[keithisbae1]

Juubisuke

Juubisuke questioning his reason for existing. He knows what his goal is or rather who his target is. Sarada Uchiha. But also can't help but feel all these complicated emotions. Which shouldn't be happening as far as he's aware. There was something irking him, something that didn’t sit right. Perhaps because it was the memories and feelings of what the real Uchiha Sasuke was feeling. But even then, this shouldn’t be happening. He was his clone sure but should be without emotion.

These memoires, these bonds… they shouldn’t matter to him. He can feel Sasuke's emotions and see his memories. Some particular ones come to mind. Of Jiji stating that a husband and wife shouldn't be apart and Sasuke wishing he could stay with his family. And so he has his own goals. To capture the two, Sarada and Sakura Uchiha. Even if it goes against their original goal. 

Selfishly, in his mind if they were cloned then he can have his own family and maybe that will stop all these conflicted feelings. But who’s to say, maybe they will thank him for they could also be with their Sasuke.

“Where are you going?” Matsuri asked. “Out,” he didn’t elaborate, and knew none of them would try to stop him. 

~~~

It was late by the time he got to Konoha, probably for the better. Despite never setting a foot inside the village his feet dragged him to an all too familiar setting. As if he’s been here countless times. He can picture the scene, of Sasuke’s wife welcoming him home with a light blush on her cheeks, the Uchiha certainly notices every small detail. And Sasuke’s daughter, his target, grinning away asking if they could train the next day. The lights were on, and door unlocked, most likely Sarada wasn’t home. “About time you got back. What time do you call this?” Sakura halted seeing the strange man before her. A man that certainly wasn’t her daughter. “Wait your not-” At first glance Sakura’s heart skipped a beat, this man looked so much like Sasuke, but it was clear he was not, and she feared for the reason why. Sakura knew Sasuke went ‘rouge’ again for their daughter’s sake. There was so much she didn’t understand but she trusts Sarada. However, with the enemy here did that mean something happened. Was he there to kill her? 

“Hidari,” at the questioning look he repeated. “My name is Hidari.” “Right…” At least that was a bit of useful information. This Sakura wasn’t the usual one he could see in Sasuke’s memories but that was to be expected. Yet something churned in his stomach, a feeling he couldn’t quite place and felt disturbed about. He had hoped coming here would solve everything and quench his curiosity but now he had more questions. And the look of uneasiness and trust she was sending didn’t help either. She was a strong kunoichi, that much he was aware of so had to be cautious. “Why are you always on his mind?” She remained silent. “I see you, you, and your daughter. He’s always thinking about you non-stop. I don’t understand why.” What was there for him to understand? Hidari wasn’t human and would never be able to understand the complicated emotions of Sasuke. Yet the word of what he was feeling was on the tip of his tongue, something even Sasuke had experience. Did you give me this ring to scare off other guys? Jealousy? Could that be it? 

“I don’t know who you are or what you’re talking about. But if you think I’m going to let you lay a hand on my daughter your mistaken.” Sakura cracked her knuckles smirking; whatever his plan was she wouldn’t let him get away. Our daughter. His mind wanted to say. No this was Sasuke’s daughter, yet he still couldn’t help but be amused. It was no wonder the Uchiha had such an interest in her. 

Hidari will take her with him, he’ll convince them that cloning her will make it easier to target Uchiha Sarada. And then if they cloned her, perhaps having his own ‘family’ will get rid of this jealousy. 

[catsushinyakajima]

A little snippet of a fic I'm uploading soon...

“You’re sleeping?” Lance cries.

“Great observation.” “I thought you—I thought—” Lance splutters. “I didn’t think you were going to sleep!”

Keith turns over his shoulder to see Lance’s agape expression. It’s funny enough that the humor distracts him from the pitter-patter of his heartbeat. “What did you think I was going to do?”

“Brood? Stare at your sword? Punch a wall?”

“Why would I punch a wall?” Keith frowns. “We literally have a training room.”

“Who knows?” Lance pushes himself away from the pillows. “I’ll…go then. I don’t—my bad, dude. Wouldn’t have bothered you so much if I knew you were headed to nap. I’ll go, then.”

“Wait.”

Keith’s breath catches in his throat. He doesn’t—what is he supposed to say? It occurs to him that he wants Lance to stay. That despite all his complaints and irritation, he wants Lance. Keith doesn’t want to go to sleep, at least not alone. He doesn’t want to be alone with his wicked, racing thoughts that hammer at his brain with every footfall. And he doesn’t—Keith’s mind roves through the faces of all his other teammates—want to be with anyone else.

It should be a shocking discovery, to know that he craves Lance’s presence, but Keith stumbles upon it like a natural truth that he has known all along. Like watching the laws of physics fall into place or the route on his father’s map lead to the Blue Lion.

posting it next week! Stay tuned!

[imagoddamnonionmason]

Im about to hit you with the most diabolical ask.

"I know you better than you know yourself." for Keith and Jodie 👀

August, 1984

Jodie had just managed to put Ashley to bed, after the poor eleven month old had woken up screaming. It didn't take long for her to calm, as Jodie came rushing in, eyes still adjusting to wakefulness, and her arms were outstretched to scoop up the baby into a hug.

But now, while Jodie stared at the wall-mounted clock in the living room, she wondered if she would ever be able to fall back into restful sleep. The clock read 03:00AM and she was wide awake, ears pricked for any small sound from her daughter, just in case she needed to run back in to comfort her again.

Then, something strange happened. Something that had Jodie growing tense, as that sickly feeling of dread pooled in the bottom of her stomach.

The phone was ringing.

It could have been anything. It could have been Frank, as he was on a mission. But, then her mind would jump straight to the worst; what if she had lost him.

The phone rang three times before she plucked it up and placed it against her left ear. There was silence on the end, if only for a second, and then a voice caused her blood to run cold with ice.

"Hello, little lady."

Her face was a grimace, the bridge of her nose creasing with disgust.

His voice continued, "bet you thought you'd heard the last of me, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint."

In response, her voice was low, clipped, and dripping with hatred, "who the fuck do you think you are?"

He tutted on the other side and she could just imagine the look he was giving her and it made her blood boil, "c'mon now, little lady, that's no way to speak to a dear friend, is it? I remember we were so close."

A chuckle sounded and she remained quiet.

"Heard you've found yourself someone new," he said, heaving a sigh, "sounds like you downgraded, if I'm honest."

"You and honest don't go in the same sentence, Wells," she replied, fighting internally about whether she should slam the phone straight back into the receiver, ending the call.

But, she didn't.

"You're hurting my feelings, little lady," he said, "don't let your little girl hear, you don't want her growing up with an attitude."

"What do you want?" Jodie snapped, her grip growing tighter on the phone. Her knuckles were turning white.

"Ooooh," he drawled out, a smile in his static tones, "I want you."

Tears were forming in her eyes, as she stared at the same spot on the wall, unblinkingly. The building emotions in her chest were like fire, burning white hot and the flames were licking at her skin. She wanted nothing more than to reach through the phone and tear out his throat.

"Come to me, Nadežda," he said, "and maybe I won't hurt your family."

Through a shaking voice, Jodie was barely able to recognise the name she once had and fought to keep her tone level, "and if I don't?"

"You will," he breathed, "I know you better than you know yourself."

Then, the line went dead.

[ace-does-words]

*hits your blorbo with the synesthesia beam and runs*

[keithwinters]

Please, talk to me for just one more moment Just a little bit is enough; it doesn't have to be words

It can be memories

[noahtally-famous]

stop it, kit, you cannot start another td fic nor even think of starting one. especially not a rewrite au, you already have so many of those, plus you gotta finish 'a guide to surviving the apocalypse' first, one thing at a time, kit, GODDAMMIT STOP IT-