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zigtheeortega · 4 years

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unrequited [part 3]

✿ pairing: bryce x mc

✿ word count: 6327

✿ warnings: innuendos, mention of drugs

✿ author’s note: well, this took a lot longer to finish than i expected (lmaooo). i kind of lost interest in open heart after seeing how horribly characters were sidelined, including my fav surgeon. i’ve worked on this on and off since april after i posted part 2, so this is like 4 ish months in the making. this series means the absolute world to me because it was the first time i was really confident in my writing. not as confident in the conclusion, but it’s been weighing on me for months, so i felt obligated to finish it! i hope you all enjoy it!

added my tags to the end bc there’s quite a few, so i’m sorry if i tagged you and you didn’t want to be – i’m going off of who asked to be tagged/asked for a part 3 months ago!

[read part 1 and part 2 here]

•─────────✦✿✦────────•

She slumped into the seat in the deserted waiting room, her joints popping as she stretched, her deep sigh echoing off of the tile. She was exhausted.

She could usually push through the worst of her shifts, but fatigue settled into her bones, a lethargy she’d never experienced entrapping her like a net, and she couldn’t fight her way out of it this time.

“Hey, Spence. What’s wrong?”

She glanced at the door, expecting to see his arm pressed against the frame of the door, slouched casually like he hadn’t a care in the world. Instead, Bryce was unusually close to her, standing right next to her chair, like he’d appeared out of nowhere.

“I’m just so… tired. It feels like I’m trying to sprint underwater right now and I don’t know why. I can’t explain it,” she watched him, gauging his reaction, but something was off.

“C’mon, I think I know exactly what you need right now,” his smile was Bryce’s, but the familiar twinkle of mischief and flirtiness in his eye wasn’t there.

He turned wordlessly, walking out of the door and down the hallway, which was a lot longer than she’d remembered.

She shook it off and trailed behind him, heart beating soundly in her chest. Was he bringing her to the on call room? To the supply closet? Maybe to an unattended office?

“So, where are you taking me?” She asked playfully, reaching out to link her finger in his, but she fell short, even though he was right in front of her.

He either didn’t hear her, or ignored her, walking straight ahead at the same pace. “Bryce, did you hear me?”

He didn’t pick up his pace, but she fell behind, trying to keep up, – to no avail. She looked down, thinking maybe – crazily – that she’d stepped into cement, slowing her pace to a crawl, or something else that was explainable.

But she was fine.

She pushed herself harder as she fell farther and farther back, Bryce’s stride never breaking.

She pumped her arms, leaning forward, trying desperately to swim through the thick atmosphere, practically pedaling against the ground to gain some type of momentum.

“Bryce? Bryce! Hello?” She yelled, as his figure got smaller and smaller, the hall literally stretching to accommodate the distance between them.

She watched as the wall space stretched, new door frames popping up, the number of rooms multiplying by the second.

He turned back for the first time as she clawed her way towards him, making no progress. “You gotta try a little harder for me, Spence.”

He smiled, not sinisterly, but just wide enough, lacking just the right amount of his effortless charm, that she got chills.

She jolted awake, the sound of her alarm interrupting her R.E.M. She snatched her phone off the dresser and tapped her screen, met with a brief silence before the distant noise of traffic – engines rumbling, and horns blaring below – filled her room.

She sat up, panting, her back slick with cooled sweat, the thin fabric of her top clinging to her skin. She breathed deeply, calming her quick pulse, until a muffled sound broke her concentration.

Her phone laid face down on her comforter, slivers of light peeking out of the sides. She flipped it, and her eyes widened in horror after reading Bryce’s name at the top of the screen, but even more so after watching the numbers tick higher and higher.

It wasn’t an alarm – he’d called her at 3 a.m.

“Hello?”

“Hey, you okay? You picked up but I didn’t hear anything besides heavy breathing.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You just woke me up.”

“Right. Sorry.” He was silent long enough that she almost asked if he’d muted her. “I didn’t know who else to call.”

“About what? You’re freaking me out a little bit,” she laughed once, but it came out as a scoff, and she kicked herself internally.

She didn’t want him to think she was mad. If anything, she’d been craving any time she could get with him.

They’d maintained a semblance of normality after the party, speaking to each other in the hallways, hanging out in groups, but they never unpacked their past conversation further.

She knew she’d said some profoundly batshit things while she was drunk, and vaguely remembered professing her feelings to him, but he never brought it up.

When she surprised the group with tickets to a music festival, she had ulterior motives. She wanted to get him as alone as she could in a sea of thousands. She wanted to make things right. But because Bryce was wholly intoxicating, she couldn’t do anything but live in their moment, the tough conversations – though inevitable – a million miles away.

They danced, they kissed, and she was enraptured by him. The way her hand fit into his own, the way his warm palm felt against her lower back, the way the cool tones of the stage lights bounced off of his bronzed skin, the way the smooth bass of his voice sounded as his full lips were nearly pressed against her ear, the way his smile was just crooked enough to be a smoulder and a smirk at the same time, and it was insufferable, but she adored it… Everything about Bryce was everything she’d ever wanted.

And she thought she was close to getting it back. She thought that’d be the end of it. They made up, and they could move forward. She wanted him, and he wanted her, finally.

But nothing came of it. He never avoided her, but he never stayed around long enough for her to bring up the night of the party.

The seed of hope in her chest blossomed, budding slowly every instance they spent enough time together to make it feel like when they were interns, the exhilarating sensation of hooking up freely a nostalgia she craved. She’d worked up enough courage to treat her situation dramatically – like in a movie – showing up at his apartment, wine in hand, ready to have make up sex and lay it all on the table while they were both sober.

The hope bloomed, coming to fruition when she surprised him, only to find that he’d been hiding his personal problems. It explained why he’d been avoiding her, she thought.

Bryce Lahela was a prideful bastard – one who couldn’t admit he needed a lifesaver until he was already sinking. He was in over his head, drowning underneath the pressure of fostering his kid sister, whom he had virtually no relationship with, all the while balancing residency – as well as… whatever was happening between them.

When she planned to spend her whole life making it up to him, she wasn’t bluffing. So when she saw the opportunity to salvage and strengthen the siblings’ relationship with something as simple as cooking pasta, she dove in headfirst, hand outstretched, eagerly pulling him to safety.

“Keiki’s gone,” he sighed, and she could feel his anxiety and overwhelming dread through that one deep breath.

“Gone? What do you mean ‘gone’? Did she go back to Maui?” She asked frantically, throwing her covers back, and began pacing the room.

“For all I know, she could be at the airport or across state lines by now,” he chuckled humorlessly.

“Why didn’t you tell me? We could’ve thrown her a going away party or something. Or at least given her a card,” she huffed, kicking at a dirty shirt she’d left on the ground.

“Well, it was kind of, uh, sudden.”

“That implies that it was out of nowhere. So she just bolted? Unprovoked?”

“I mean, it was a little provoked.” He said under his breath, just above a whisper.

“Bryce… what are you not telling me?” She asked, uneasy. She didn’t know if she wanted to hear his answer.

“We got into a fight –”

“And she ran away.” She finished for him.

“... And she ran away.” He said.

She could sense his shame through the phone, his voice getting weaker with every word. She slipped out from under the covers, and tiptoed to her closet, throwing on the first shirt and pair of pants she touched.

“You can explain why later, but right now we need to go find her. We can meet at the subway stop closest to your place. You can start by retracing her steps. Are there any corner stores she liked? Maybe a skate park? She seems like she’d be into that kind of stuff –”

“Spence.”

“Yeah?” “You don’t have to help me. I know things have been kind of weird lately. Don’t feel obligated to help me. This is my fuck up, not yours.”

“We can talk about ‘us’ later, Bryce. Even if we were on bad terms, you know I’d drop anything to help you and Keiki. I know you don’t have anyone to lean on.”

He took a deep, shuddering breath that she could barely hear over the slight static of the phone. “Thank you.” “You can thank me after we find her.”

––––

As soon as she stepped off the subway, Spencer hit a near sprint, trying to get to their designated meeting spot. The Boston weather was as unforgiving as ever, the chilled wind stinging her cheeks.

She ran towards the hole in the wall pizza joint that Keiki had told her about offhandedly the night they’d cooked together.

As soon as she saw Bryce’s form, she slowed to a jog, nearly breathless, both by the physical exertion and how awful he looked. His features mirrored the one she’d seen in the supply closet, his defeated expression a painful memory she’d worked hard to bury.

She’d never seen him cry before, but from the way his red-rimmed eyes nearly sagged, nose rubbed raw, lips tight, she felt emotionally spared by not being there whilst the tears fell.

“Bryce?”

“Hey, Spencer,” He smiled weakly, sniffling and rubbing his nose on the sleeve of his hoodie.

“Did you go inside and ask the owners if she stopped by?” “Yeah, they said she was here an hour ago. She stopped for a slice but didn’t stay long,” he said, shaking his head as he pulled his phone from his pocket, before tapping on his screen.

“Okay, that’s great news! She couldn’t have gotten far,” she said, before swivelling back towards where she came from. “C’mon, I hope you have your monthly pass. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

“Where to next?” He joked, but his heart wasn’t in it.

“First thing’s first, did you check to see if her location was on?”

“She never had it on in the first place. I guess she thought I’d show up and embarrass her or something,” he shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

They stepped onto the dingy subway car, nearly empty except for one other person who was slumped over in their seat, asleep.

“I doubt it. She has a soft spot for you, Bry,” she sat down, readjusting her loose sweatpants before doing so.

“If she did, then she doesn’t anymore. I think I really fucked up this time,” he said, more to himself than her.

He ended it there, so she decided to nudge him a little. “You don’t have to tell me, but it might help if I had some context.”

“No, no, I… want to. I trust you,” he glanced over to her, holding her eye for the first time that night. He inched his hand over to hers, cautiously, debating, she thought, before settling on rubbing his thumb up and down her pinky finger.

The dying bud in her chest bloomed once again, warmth spreading throughout her limbs at his touch, his soft gesture quenching the thirst her heart so desperately pined for.

She blinked, eyes trained on his mouth, unable to tear her gaze away from his lips. He didn’t seem to notice, or he was good at hiding it.

“I said and did some things I shouldn’t have. Some things that might’ve reminded her of our parents,” he started.

She waited for him to continue, watching his chest shake as he tried to find the words between the deep breaths he took to calm himself.

“She’s taking after me, and I don’t like it. Not me, like Dr. Lahela, one of the best surgeons this world has ever seen –” a hint of a smirk curled the corner of his lip – “but like the rebellious, angry, reckless teen Bryce who just wanted… attention. From anyone.”

“So… why don’t you give her that?”

He blew out a sharp huff of air. “I don’t get her. And I’m trying really hard to. But there’s only so many hours in the day, and I don't think she felt like I was trying hard enough.”

“You got wrapped up in work like your parents did, huh?” She asked softly, placing her other hand on top of his, quietly lacing her fingers through his.

“Yeah,” he said, remorseful. “I just wish I could’ve kept my fucking mouth shut for once –”

“Hey, hey, stop that. You can feel as guilty as you want after we find her, but we have to stay positive right now,” she said, a bit sternly, covering his hand with her own, gripping it tightly.

He watched her face, searching for something. Maybe a crack in her sincerity? Ulterior motives? She wasn’t sure if he trusted people or not, and it perplexed her to think about it – she’d known Bryce for over a year and couldn’t name a single person that she knew he definitively trusted.

“Thanks, Spence. I really mean it,” he said finally, a little more relaxed than he was seconds before.

He checked his phone every couple of seconds, clicking the lock screen to check the time, before locking it again, just to repeat the cycle incessantly.

“Can I be honest about something?” He asked, staring straight ahead, brows furrowed.

“Of course.”

“I… ignored her. Just like they ignored me when I started acting out. I…” He shook his head. “I said I’d never be like them.”

“You aren’t, Bryce,” she affirmed, rubbing his shoulder blade in soft circles. “The fact that you’re out here searching for her says so much about who you are.”

“It doesn’t say enough.”

“What do you mean?” “Running away from home means nothing if I’m not better than them. Thousands of miles of distance and I turned out just like them,” he scoffed. “The fucking cycle repeats itself.”

“Bryce…” she shifted her body, facing him completely, while he stared ahead, not meeting her eye.

“Just because you’re not good with coping with all of this doesn’t mean you’re a bad brother.”

He turned towards her finally, attentive.

“Yeah, you tend to bottle things up until they blow up, but you didn’t ask for this. You’re not her parent – you’re her brother, first and foremost. You can’t put those expectations on yourself because you’re not them. You’re doing the best you can as her brother, not her parent.”

She laced her fingers over his, squeezing the hand she’d been holding. “You can’t fault yourself for making mistakes. This is new territory for you. You’re learning and she is, too.”

The doors opened in front of them, the only indicator that they’d made it to the next stop. They were both so engrossed that they hadn’t noticed.

“We should probably get out here,” she said, standing. She didn’t check to see if he followed suit, missing the way he watched her as he walked behind her.

They clopped up the stairs again, Spencer shivering despite her cozy getup.

“Do you want my headband?” He asked, digging into his pocket. “It’s really warm.”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks,” she took it, pulling the thick band over her hair, snug against her ears, but comfortable.

“No problem,” he said, watching her adjust it, his eyes trained on the way she pursed her lips when she couldn’t get all of her hairs to lay down just right.

“We can split up,” she started, pointing down the main street across from the subway. “I’ll check the restaurants that are open down this way, and you can go the opposite way. I’ll text you when I head back –”

“I don’t want you walking alone, Spence,” he said, shutting her down immediately.

“We’re gonna cover more ground if we split up. I can handle myself. Don’t worry about me,” she shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”

“I can’t handle the idea of you getting hurt while helping me look for my sister. Please,” he pleaded, eyes soft.

“Fine,” she sighed.

They checked a handful of diners, breakfast places, and even a bar, but with no luck. Even when Bryce flashed a photo from Keiki’s Instagram, no one’s eyes lit up in recognition.

He looked more and more defeated with each subway stop, his posture slumping, his lips set in a thin line.

She could feel herself deflating as well, but she couldn’t bear to show him she was quickly losing hope, too. No one was going to support Bryce the way he needed, except for her.

“Let’s stop by that skatepark. If she’s not there, there’s bound to be someone who’s seen her,” Spencer nodded resolutely, absentmindedly grasping Bryce’s hand and tugging him towards the stop.

“It’s no use,” he whispered, and she whipped around at the sound of his voice, his body grounded, like his feet were nailed to the ground.

“What’s no use?”

“This,” he gestured with both hands, tugging his chilled hands from her grip. “She doesn’t want to be in Boston. It’s my fault she hasn’t adjusted. I haven’t exactly been the best welcoming committee.”

She shook her head vigorously. “Bryce, she could care less where you live. She came here for you.”

His brows furrowed, his face contorting, his features scrunching like he was in physical pain. When he covered his face with his hand, without hesitation, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, pulling him down to rest his face in the crook of her shoulder.

She whispered words of affirmation in his ear as he sobbed into her jacket, and she rubbed small soothing circles, doing her best to comfort him.

He’d never been this vulnerable in front of her. It was hard to decipher how he felt about things going wrong, his killer smile usually a convincing mask.

He pulled away after a while, his tear streaked face glimmering in the light. “Sorry. That was embarrassing,” he laughed shakily, flashing his teeth, just on the cusp of being a signature Bryce smile.

“Oh, shut up. I’ve cried in front of you before –”

“And it was embarrassing,” he teased, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

A laugh bubbled from her before she could stop it. A body aching, chest heaving, breath stealing guttural laugh that shook her to her core because of how unexpected it was. That type of joy was nearly lost on her. It was so foreign compared to the past couple weeks, and it felt good.

He cackled with her, more so at the involuntary snort that ripped from her nose, less at his not-so-subtle roast. He grasped at his chest with one hand, gasping for air. “God, I’d willingly do appendectomies for a month straight if I could get a video of that snort. I’d snap everybody.”

Her eyes widened, his words triggering a memory.

“Oh my god,” she smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. She quickly opened her phone, navigating to the app she needed. “What? Is it bad?”

“No, I just realized she added me on Snapchat, so her location might be on,” she smiled to herself, opening up the geolocation map, seeing Keiki’s Bitmoji pop up – in the city. “Oh my god, Bryce, she’s still in Boston! Look, it’s her!” She hugged her phone to her chest. “She’s a couple of stops down but not that far away from us.”

He watched her with a confused expression, a little hurt, almost.

“What’s wrong?”

“... She never added me on Snap,” he nearly pouted.

She cackled again, covering her mouth with her hand, shoulders shaking – real laughter. Another fleeting moment of pure joy was the eye of the storm, and she gladly basked in it.

“I didn’t know you two were so close,” His mouth lifted at the corner, a knowing smile forming.

“Well, I got her phone number and snap in case she wanted me to show her around Boston, y’know, if you were busy,” she said between breaths, still coming down from her fit. “Or if she ever got tired of you,” she teased, the feeling of normality settling between them like there wasn’t a massive elephant in the room.

“How could you ever get tired of this face, though? I’m adorable,” he grinned, flashing her favorite 1000-watt smile that made her stomach flutter. “Nah, but really. Thank you. I don’t really know where I’d be right now without you.”

His eyes softened, the debonair facade parting just long enough for her to see what was undoubtedly her favorite side of him.

He laid his hand on her jaw, the warmth of his palm comforting, a striking contrast to the nipping cold of the night air. Both his touch and the temperature differences elicited a reflexive shiver from her, goosebumps raising on her arms underneath her jacket.

Part of her wanted to admit she’d shuddered solely because of his warm skin, because she didn’t want to inflate his ego – but there was no denying it. A single touch from Bryce was all it took to make her putty in his hands.

His gaze flickered to her lips, and he stretched his thumb to lightly drag the pad of it over her bottom lip, parted in awe. “Spencer…”

The tension thickened, their anticipation making it difficult to breathe. God, there was nothing she wanted more in that moment than to grab his face and taste him again. As much as she wanted to kiss him, it wasn’t right.

“Bryce,” she whispered, eyelids fluttering as she watched his tongue flick out to wet his lips. “You can kiss me after we find her.”

––––

The skatepark was nearly empty, the streetlights casting long shadows from the ramps onto the concrete.

“You’re sure she’s here?” He asked, wispy streams leaving his mouth as he spoke.

“Unless she dropped her phone here, she should be close by,” she nodded towards where a few scraggly teenagers were standing around, pungent smoke in the air.

“Keiki shouldn’t be out here with those dumbasses smoking weed out in the open like that,” he huffed, eyeing them as they walked towards the back, the grassy area coming into focus.

“Relax. I doubt she’s out here to smoke. You say that like you didn’t smoke too,” she raised a brow at him, challenging.

He pursed his lips. “Oh, so it’s like that.”

“What? You can’t go all dad mode and expect me not to play devil’s advocate,” she quipped, shrugging.

Before he could form a retort, Bryce held her arm back, stopping her in her tracks.

On the steps leading down to the grass, sat Keiki, headphones in her ears, tapping her foot as she dug into a bag of chips, crunching loudly.

Bryce looked absolutely helpless, like he had no clue what to do next – so Spencer stepped forward without a second thought, trying her best not to startle her.

When she was in her line of sight, Keiki’s eyes bulged from her head, and she nearly choked on her soda. “Jesus fucking christ, you scared me,” she coughed into the crook of her elbow. “What are you doing here? Did he tell you I left?” “I was worried about you,” Spencer said, evading the last question, trying to play it cool. Keiki hadn’t noticed Bryce at the top of the stairs.

“Yeah, but how’d you find me?” She popped a chip in her mouth.

“If you wanna be harder to find, you gotta try a little harder than that,” she said, plopping down on the concrete stair next to her. “Snap maps.”

“I wasn’t trying to go off the grid or whatever. I just wanted some space. It’s no big deal,” Keiki huffed, scooting away from Spencer.

“Maybe so, but you can’t leave after a fight with no explanation. You’re too young to be out here alone this late.”

“You act like I haven’t been through worse,” she muttered.

“I know you have. But you can’t just walk out like that. Bryce is all you’ve got out here.”

“Oh, so you didn’t come alone,” she rolled her eyes. “He begged you to come, didn’t he? Did he not feel like coming himself? Did he have work or something?”

Spencer winced at Keiki’s tone of voice, simultaneously laced with seething rage and hurt. “No, he’s here. You need to talk it out.”

She set her mouth into a thin line, whipping her head around to gaze up at the top of the stairs, flipping him off.. “Go away.”

She gently grasped her wrist, pulling her hand down. “Please, Keiki. There’s a lot of things he won’t say to you, but I’ve heard them. If he didn’t regret what he said to you, I wouldn’t be helping him,” she pleaded, squeezing her wrist comfortingly.

Keiki glanced away, then back to her eyes, then back to the ground, unable to hold her gaze. “Okay.”

Spencer stood up, motioning for Bryce to come towards her. He met her halfway down the stairs, his gaze soft and admiring. “I… I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Don’t worry about that right now,” she smiled, reaching out to rub a hand against his arm. “Go work things out with your sister.”

He leaned in, surprising her with a soft peck on the corner of her upturned lips. “Thanks.” He winked and took the rest of the stairs two at a time, a spring in his step.

She watched as he bent down to sit next to her hunched form, nearly dwarfing her. Over the next twenty minutes, she focused on their backs, heads bobbing as they discussed and argued. They gradually relaxed, Kekei’s body unfurling from her condensed form, Bryce draping an arm on the step behind her.

And when they arose to walk towards Spencer’s place at the top of the stairs, they were both laughing, flashing the same grin.

God they were so similar – and didn’t even know it.

“I’m gonna wait over there while you two makeout,” Keiki grimaced, frowning as soon as her joke dawned on her. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Glad you’re back,” she called, but she was already throwing up a peace sign, back turned, probably not registering what she’d said.

The second they were alone, the nerves hit, the heat of his body next to hers already stifling. While she debated whether or not to meet his eye, he spoke.

“You wanna cash in on that kiss now?”

She glanced up, breath hitching in her throat when she realized how close his face was to her own. Her half lidded gaze was trained on his bottom lip, caught between his teeth. As soon as a quiet “yes” fell from her lips, he captured them in a searing kiss.

For a few blissful moments, the only sound between them were their soft sighs of contentment. She couldn’t remember if Bryce always kissed like this – so passionate and so enthusiastic, yet so cool, so suave.

Every methodical movement of his jaw was so practiced, so refined, she felt like underneath the flickering streetlight, in Bryce’s strong grip, she was the one he operated on, her chest reopened, her heart exposed. Everything she had to give was laid out on the metaphorical operating table, and as cheesy as it sounded, there was a chance he could save her.

The kiss was a reawakening for her. She knew what she had to do. She’d never been more sure of anything before.

She pulled back, their noses touching, as she whispered four words she knew he wouldn’t expect to hear. Maybe he’d forgotten what he asked her the moment it left his lips, but she was determined to mend what she’d broken.

“Ask me to choose.”

“Huh?” He panted, running a thumb across her jawline.

“Just ask me.”

“What do you choose?” He laughed, clearly confused.

“You. Always,” she breathed, tugging him forward by the collar of his jacket, sealing her promise with a kiss.

––––

On the ride home, Spencer sat cuddled up next to him, their fingers tightly wound – like they were afraid if the other let go, it wouldn’t be real.

“Did I say anything… big to you while I was drunk?” She asked, breaking the silence.

Bryce chuckled softly, trying not to wake a sleeping Keiki, curled up next to him, somehow lulled to sleep by the loud, aggressive music blaring from her headphones.

“Yeah, you did.”

“Shit, I really thought I’d made that up,” she shook her head, covering her face with her other hand.

“Nah, you definitely dropped a bomb on me that night.”

“Bryce,” she whined. “Can’t you just tell me? I’m already embarrassed enough.”

“Glad I’ve got you hot and bothered,” he grinned, teasing. “Well… you said, and I quote ‘I think I love you’.”

Her cheeks warmed, and she turned, burying her head in the crook of his neck. “Did I really?” “I said it back.”

She looked up from her place against his shoulder, mouth agape as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

“Do you think or do you know?” She whispered, unsure if she wanted the answer.

“After tonight, I’m more sure than I ever have been,” he shook his head. “Probably more sure of this than anything else in my life right now.”

He used his free hand to cup her face, kissing her lips tenderly. She couldn’t remember a time he’d kissed her with that much care.

“So are you gonna say it first, or am I gonna have to?” He murmured against her lips, earning a surprised laugh from her.

“I’ve done a lot of your dirty work tonight,” she joked.

“Not the kind of dirty I’d prefer, but I’ll give you the credit you deserve,” he laughed as she swatted his chest. He pulled back, holding her gaze with no ounce of fear in his deep brown eyes.

“I love you, Spencer,” he said, his voice taking the most candid tone she’d heard from him.

“I love you, too, Bryce. I always have,” she said, feeling her throat constrict, voice cracking. “I should’ve told you sooner how I felt.”

“I think it happened at the right time. I wanted a lot from you when I didn’t even have my own shit together,” he shrugged, still cupping her face in his calloused palm. “I couldn’t even give what I wanted to receive, ya know?”

“Wow… that’s profound,” she said, in all seriousness.

“Oh, you’re making fun of the meathead for being smart now, huh?” He cackled. Keiki didn’t even stir next to him, despite his booming laugh reverberating throughout the empty car.

“No, no, I’m serious. That’s the most self reflection I’ve ever heard from you.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve had a lot of time to think about my mistakes.”

“Me, too. But… we can work through that stuff if you want to talk it out,” she offered, cuddling up to him for warmth again.

“Is therapy your side hustle or something, Spence? Is there something you need to tell me?” He teased, tickling her ribs with his freehand.

She let out an ear piercing shriek, completely caught off guard. “Bryce! Stop it! Please,” she said between laughs, noting the way he smoothly slid his arm around her waist, so that when he stopped, they were closer than before.

“Can you two shut up? I’m trying to sleep,” Keiki grumbled, taking them out of their moment.

“Oh, so you’re exhausted from scaring the shit out of me. By all means, get your beauty sleep,” he said, taking the headband Spencer borrowed from him, slingshotting it directly at Keiki’s forehead.

“That’s it!” Keiki shouted, leaping up on the bench and grabbing Bryce in a headlock, scuffling with him while he most definitely let her win.

Spencer was thankful their car was empty as chaos ensued but she couldn’t help herself from smiling at the fight in front of her – they’d never done typical sibling things like that before. They were robbed of normality from such a young age, and a playful fight was a step in the right direction.

“Uncle, uncle!” Bryce called out convincingly, winking at Spencer. Keiki’s fingers were tangled in his hair, one of his arms trapped in the crook of her elbow. He swatted at her face, trying to get her to let him go.

“We don’t have any uncles,” Keiki said, chomping down on his hand.

“Ow! You little shit – I need these for work –” He hissed.

“Yeah, you didn’t think I was gonna go for the kill? Serves you right for underestimating me,” she huffed, hopping off of him and back into her spot on the bench.

“I won’t do that again,” he smiled softly, reaching over to tousle her hair.

The doors slid open, startling them all.

“I’ll go ahead so you can talk to your girlfriend. Bye, Spence,” Keiki said, waving, strutting out towards the stairs without a second glance.

Her heart swelled at the younger Lahela sibling’s use of the nickname Bryce coined for her.

“So…” She said, as they stepped out into the chill night air for the last time, the first rays of sunlight peeking over the tops of the buildings. “What do we do now?”

“What, after this thrilling conclusion to our months of back and forth?”

“Bryce,” she rolled her eyes, barely holding back a smile. “We barely even talked any of this out. I mean like… where do we go from here?”

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re clean slating it.”

“You don’t wanna talk about that stuff at the party? Or in the supply closet?” She winced. “Maybe when we wanna tackle that, but as of right now, I’m just happy to have you all to myself,” he grinned, snaking his arms around her hips, leaning in to press another kiss on her bottom lip.

“You don’t know how fucking badly I wanna bring you back home right now,” he murmured against her lips.

She groaned, lacing her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. “God, me too.”

“Soon as I spend some time with Keiki and can get some time set aside for us, I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he smirked, eliciting a shudder from her.

“I guess we’re dating now, huh?” She raised her brows, quirking her mouth to the side. “Don’t tell your roommates yet, please. I wanna see how long it takes them to put two and two together,” he said, a mischievous look in his eye.

“As long as you don’t tell yours,” she teased.

“Keiki’s definitely gonna notice we’re a thing if you keep showing up and leaving with wobbly legs,” he said, and raised a brow at her.

“Shit, you’re really flirty today,” she giggled, her face flushing because of both the Boston air and his innuendos.

“I’m making up for lost time, baby,” he grinned, pulling her in for what seemed like the hundredth kiss that night, but it felt just as incredible as their first supply closet makeout.

Although they had to part ways that night, both of them were rejuvenated in a way they hadn’t been in months – since they were noncommittally hooking up, secretly hoping the other made some kind of move to solidify what was between them.

And although it took way too fucking long for her to come around, Spencer was finally giving him what he deserved. Every single part of her. No distractions, no restraints, no excuses.

Every quip, every embrace, every kiss they shared that night nourished the flora of her heart, quenching her desperate thirst for his validation like a gentle summer rain, and she basked in it, head upturned like a silent thank you to the universe for giving her the chance to mend what she’d broken.

The vines that’d once had her heart in a constricting hold made way for the blossoming flowers; they’d both never forget their past mistakes, passion-fueled arguments, or the pain they’d endured at the hands of each other, but amidst those heated moments, amidst the beautiful disaster, their garden of love budded, a harmonious existence.

––––

tags: @beccadavenport ; @senatorraines ; @felix-hauville ; @messofakind ; @violinet ; @hudush ; @altairadtaz ; @agentdumortain ; @drsobemoji ; @levineseth ; @omgjasminesimone ; @lahellacute ; @doctorsurferbro ; @eleanorbloom ; @tarajoyful ; @bobbysmckenzie ; @raleiighcarrera ; @pixeljazzy

#playchoices #open heart #bryce lahela #bryce lahela x mc #bryce x mc #my fic #jade writes choices fics #just in time for the oph awards LMFAO #um i worked really hard on this and i'm very nervous #so please be kind #this is my longest fic too #so like im sorry if there's dips in quality - but i'm still very proud of it #anyways thank you to anyone who's ever read it

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minijenn · 5 years

Text

Universe Falls Chapter 75

AN: Just realized I never posted Gravity Falls Drift on here in the usual format so here’s this super fucking late whoops my bad oh well byeeeeeeee

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/189818825584/universe-falls-chapter-74

Chapter 75: Gravity Falls Drift

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“They told me there wasn’t enough room on the road for the Universe. And I told them, the universe is my road.”

Steven grinned confidently as he adjusted his sunglasses before gripping the steering wheel in front of him. And then, with a deft move of the gear shift, he pressed the pedal to the metal, more than ready to take on the road ahead.

“Pew! Pew! Pew!”

The young Gem was slightly caught off guard however as he looked to the passenger seat, or namely, to Mabel, who sat alongside him, leaning out of the open car window as she held her fingers together in the vague shape of a gun. “Oh, were we not doing the whole cop thing?” she asked, noting Steven’s look of confusion.

“Well, if you were, you guys aren’t really doing a very good job of it,” Dipper noted with a casual grin as he came to stand beside Mabel’s window. “No offense.”

Before either of the pair inside the car could counter this, a sudden knock on Steven’s window caught their attention. Connie smiled as the young Gem turned to her, offering him a bright wave until he rolled down said window to greet her.

“Oh, hey, Connie!” Steven grinned, taking off his sunglasses before opening the door to the brand-new used vehicle. “Thanks for letting me practice, Dad,” he said to the former rock star, who stood by, admiring his new set of wheels as he had been for the past several hours now. “Hey, maybe one day when I’m older, you can teach me how to actually drive using it!”

“Eh, l-let’s not get ahead of ourselves there, Schtoo-ball,” Greg remarked with a small, if not anxious chuckle. “We’ve still got several years until--well, then again, you are 14 now so… Oh boy…”

“Your new car is sooooo cool, Mr. Universe!” Mabel quipped excitedly as she got out of the car herself. “Though… ya might wanna think twice before you move into it. It seems like it’d be just a bit too small to live in it like you do your van.”

“Heh, thanks for the concern, Mabel, but the van’s still home sweet home,” Greg said. “I just thought that now that I’m swimming in dough, why not get a new car?”

“A new car?” Connie questioned, looking over the vehicle, particularly its bumper. “But it’s got this big ‘used’ sticker on it.”

“I like to think of it as more experienced than used,” Greg grinned, slapping a sticker of his own, one that read ‘Dad on Board’ over the one the car came with.

“So what kind of car is it anyway?” Dipper asked, curious.

“Glad you asked,” Greg proudly placed a gentle hand on the top of his new vehicle. “This baby’s a Dondai Supremo, from the era of frosted tips, mood rings, and slap bracelets.” A beat of silence passed at this, in which all four of the kids simply stared up at the former rock star, completely clueless as to archaic period he was talking about. At least, until he kindly clarified. “You know, before you kids were born.”

“What a time to be alive,” Connie remarked, impressed.

“Whoa… that’s like… forever ago!” Mabel gasped, awestruck. “Then that means this car must be super old!”

“Ah ah ah,” Greg wagged a correcting finger. “Not old, experienced. I’ve had my eye on this Dondai even way back when.” At this, the former rock star pulled out a stack of photos, depicting a younger version of himself in a car lot, fawning over a then brand-new Dondai. “I loved that car. I wanted that car.” The series of photos eventually reached a bizarre conclusion as the younger rock star was caught romantically sharing a plate of spaghetti with the car before ultimately being chased out of the lot by security. “A-anyway,” Greg cleared his throat, tossing the photos aside. “Another great thing about these cars? They’re crazy on the road.”

To prove his point, the former rock star took over the driver’s seat, pointing out several of its best-known features to the kids. “Front wheel suspension, tons of ponies, and best of all, it has a tape deck!”

Greg readily inserted a favorite cassette of his into said tape deck, allowing the Dondai’s strong speakers to play out a laid-back beat across the car wash’s parking lot. Caught up in the chill vibes of the music, the former rock star “rocked” out to it via air guitar as the kids decided to pitch in to help him spruce up the new car up a bit. Taking up wet sponges and a hose, they began washing the Dondai in the hopes of making it shine as if it were completely new rather than lightly used. However, they didn’t get very far into it before the lighthearted mood of the afternoon was interrupted by an unexpected, unwelcome arrival.

Said arrival came in a sharp yellow sports car, one that sped down the hill that led toward the car wash, loud booming rock music rising over its roaring engine. The group gathered at the car wash all got a good scare as it drifted aggressively onto the otherwise empty lot, spinning a tight circle to turn itself around before grinding to a stop. And yet, as unruly and downright disrespectful as this sudden entrance was, the person behind it was hardly surprising at all as he rolled his window down to bark out an order right off the bat.

“Give me a wash, old man,” the teen called, barely even sparing a glance out the window as he continued the conversation he was having on his phone.

“Uh, right away, young man,” Greg responded, dutifully taking up a bucket and a sponge to head over to do just that.

“Huh, you know, that really rude guy seems kinda familiar…” Mabel noted with a frown.

“Yeah, I--wait,” Connie squinted to get a better look at the teen. “Is that-”

“Kevin…” Steven scowled, instantly set off as he squeezed the water out of his sponge in quiet fury.

“Ugh, that guy?” Dipper asked disdainfully. “He’s still around? I would have thought he’d been kicked out of town for being the biggest creep ever.”

“Yeah, he should have been,” Mabel agreed, sticking her tounge out in disgust. “He was super icky at that part, especially when he flirted with you guys like that,” she said to Steven and Connie in particular.

“Tell us about it…” Connie glanced down, rubbing her arm. She did take pause however as she spared a glance over at Steven. The young Gem’s expression was consumed in a rare type of fury, fury that was all directly aimed at Kevin alone, even if he didn’t seem to be aware of it whatsoever. And in light of that newfound, almost unsettling fury, Connie couldn’t help but be instantly concerned for Steven’s wellbeing in light of being met with one of the biggest obstacles they had faced during their first time fused together.

“I didn’t say iron the socks,” Kevin huffed as he continued on the phone. “I said I want my socks pressed. And--whoa, wait, wait!” He snapped at Greg quite suddenly as the former rock star began wiping down his wheels. “Careful with the tires, grandpa! I got a big race today and my car has to look as beautiful as me.”

“Back off, Kevin!” Steven exclaimed, boldly rushing to confront the callous teen in his father’s defense. “He’s not a grandpa! He’s just a regular pa!”

Kevin took pause at this, lowering his sunglasses a bit to give the young Gem a dry, cursory look. “Have we met before? I think I’d remember a twerp like you.”

“You do remember a twerp like me!” Steven shot back harshly, his hands in tight fists at his sides.

“Uh, y-you… you just look like another guy we know!” Connie hastily interjected with an uncomfortable laugh, Dipper and Mabel joining her in doing the same.

“Yeah, t-though totally not like this really scummy guy who was at this party we cra-” Mabel was abruptly cut off before she could give too much away by Dipper quickly covering her mouth just in time.

“Uh, l-like Connie said,” he said much more cautiously. “You look like someone we know. That’s all.”

“Tch, that’s impossible,” Kevin scoffed, rolling his eyes at the kids. “There’s only one Kevin.” At this, the teen turned his nose up at the kids, coldly speeding off in his car every bit as noisily as he had arrived without even sparing any of them a second glance whatsoever.

“Hey!” Greg called after the sports car as it zoomed out of sight. “He forgot to… Eh, what do I care? I’m rich.”

However, even in light of Kevin’s departure, all was not well, especially not with the young Gem as he let out a frustrated growl, glaring off in the direction the teen had went. “Augh! I hate Kevin!” he huffed hotly, ignoring the startled looks the others sent his way upon hearing this.

“Whoa, Steven!” Dipper exclaimed, practically shocked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say you hate someone before.”

“Yeah, or seen you this angry,” Mabel noted before muttering something to herself with a discreet smile. “It’s kind of cute…”

“Yeah, watch the four letters, bud,” Greg cautioned with a frown. “Hate’s a strong word.”

“It’s a strong feeling…” Steven grumbled, crossing his arms.

“Do you kids know that guy?” the former rock star asked, curious to know exactly who Kevin was to have elicited such a strong reaction from his son.

“Well, kind of…” Connie explained apprehensively. “When we fused into Stevonnie, we met him at a dance and-”

“And he was a creep!” Steven interjected harshly.

“Steven!” Greg scolded, surprised once more by his son’s severe language.

“What? That’s five letters!”

“He kept asking us to dance with him,” Connie continued much more calmly. “Even though we said no. It was really… uncomfortable.”

“He didn’t even care about how we felt at all!” Steven professed, still quite upset by the unsavory experience. “He only cared about himself and getting what he wanted! He’s the worst!”

Greg wavered upon hearing this, his stern expression turning sympathetic as he met his son’s clear anger evenly. “I… had no idea that happened,” he sighed softly. “I’m really sorry. But that guy? He’s not even worth the time of day. Don’t even give him the satisfaction of thinking about him.”

“Thanks, Mr. Universe,” Connie smiled, thankful for such good advice.

“Yeah!” Mabel chimed in with a supportive smile. “Why think about a loser like Kevin when you could think about ice cream, or puppies, or roller coasters, or-”

“Or literally anything else,” Dipper interjected before Mabel could keep her otherwise endless list going.

Despite the bout of light laughter everyone shared over this, Steven didn’t join in on it. Instead, he kept his gaze on the ground, his expression still quite cross and bitter. It had been quite awhile since he’d felt like this, and it certainly wasn’t a feeling he enjoyed stewing in for very long. And yet, for whatever reason, he couldn’t let that feeling go, not as long as he remembered Kevin and what he did to them. Not as long as he thought about how terrible it had felt then, and how it still cut deep, even now.

Which was why, even hours after the fact, the young Gem thoughtlessly held onto that feeling, willingly letting himself fall even deeper into it all the while.

The starry evening sky was crisp and clear and warmed by the lofty summer air. Normally, such a night would have been a relaxing sight to the kids, but even as they sat comfortably atop the Dondai to admire it, a noticeable air of discontent still hung over them all. Discontent that the others could all practically feel from Steven in particular as he heaved a long, frustrated sigh.

“Um… you ok, Steven?” Dipper asked, glancing down from the spot him and Mabel were sharing on the car’s room with apt concern.

“Never been better,” the young Gem replied, disgruntled as he continued reclining on the hood.

“...Are you still mad about Kevin?” Connie asked, looking over at him knowingly.

“Yes!” Steven instantly admitted, his expression souring even more at the mere mention of the haughty teen.

“Well, that explains a lot,” Mabel noted, leaning forward somewhat. “But Steven, remember what your dad said; Kevin’s such a major jerkface that he isn’t even worth thinking about!”

“Ugh, I know!” Steven groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes before he sat up to turn to the twins. “But it’s not that easy! You guys only watched what happened; me and Connie were there when he--a-and it was… we just… AUGH!” The young Gem let out another angry growl as he flopped back down onto the hood, barely even able to articulate just how much of a negative impact the awful experience really had on him.

While the twins exchanged a worried glance over Steven’s rare anger, Connie simply kept her sights steadily on him. And, when she spoke a moment later, her tone was much softer, yet it still carried a hint of lingering satisfaction all the same. “Steven… I know how you feel,” she said, sitting up. “I’m mad about what happened too.”

Steven finally stilled at this, looking to her with apt surprise as he also sat up once more. “You don’t seem mad,” he noted, concerned.

“I’m thinking mad,” Connie sighed, shaking her head. “I still feel like there’s something… big I wanna say to him, you know? Something to make him think, like we’re thinking.”

“Ooo, maybe you guys could call him a major jerkface to his face!” Mabel suggested pointedly.

“Uh… somehow I don’t think that’s really gonna help, Mabel,” Dipper remarked, deadpan.

“To bad we can’t just… race against him,” Steven said, remembering just how much shallow pride Kevin seemed to have over his impressive vehicle. “Then we could use the first place ribbon to wipe that smug look off his face!”

“Well, that’s not the worst idea ever,” Dipper said with a shrug. “Just a little flawed given the obvious problem with it…”

“Really? What problem would that be?” Mabel asked, somewhat obliviously.

“Uh, we’re kids,” Connie replied, furrowing her brow. “And kids can’t drive; that’s against the law.”

“...We weren’t kids when we met Kevin…” Steven pointed out with a growing smile as he looked to Connie hopefully.

Connie smirked at this, understanding the young Gem’s intent almost immediately. “I smell what you’re steppin’ in,” she noted somewhat deviously.

“Ew,” Steven returned, his own wry grin still apparent.

“Ohhhhh my gosh!” Mabel gasped, getting the point of the plan herself. “Fusion racing! Its like regular racing, but with fusion! I LOVE it!”

“Uh, ok, but we all realize that this whole thing is still pretty illegal, right?” Dipper asked with a frown. “I mean, it’s not like either of you have driver’s licenses that are gonna just… fuse along with you, right?”

“You don’t need a license to drive a Dondai,” Steven remarked, taking on a cool, sauve tone.

“...Yes, you do,” Connie noted. “But then again, street racing is pretty illegal too, so… I guess two wrongs make a right in this case?”

“It will,” Steven’s tone turned serious once again at this, solidifying his resolve toward this plan and how it could--or at least he hoped it could--at long last set this egregious wrong against them right. “Especially if it finally helps take Kevin down a peg like he deserves…”

Out of all of the various hills and outlooks surrounding Gravity Falls, Demon’s Peak was by far the most notorious, and the most popular with the town’s young racing crowd. Most of its long, winding stretches of road were covered by a dense forest canopy, concealing much light at all during the later hours of the night. And as that road led to the top of the small mountain, drivers who took on its challenge were often met with a perilous journey filled with sharp turns and narrow paths along the way, not to mention the countless rumors of the peak being haunted, which of course, had contributed to its famous name. However, many of the town’s teens still flocked to the mountain each Friday night to get a taste of the high-octane thrills each race had to offer.

This night was no exception as a large crowd had gathered at the base of Demon’s Peak, many within it bringing their own vehicles to compete for the title of the fastest racer around. And yet, try as they might, there was really only one among them who could even hope to come close. A fact that they were all bitterly reminded of as a certain yellow sports car zoomed past the finish line in first, just as it always did.

A loud, disappointed groan arose from the bystanders as Kevin rolled his window down to smirk triumphantly over the car he’d just bested. Jenny returned that smirk with an irritated scowl, her frustration only growing as she pressed against the wheel of her car. “Ugh! My practice didn’t pay off at all!” she groaned, frustrated. “That was so bad.”

“I know, baby,” Kevin grinned as he stepped out of his car and walked past her. “I’m the worst.”

Jenny simply returned his smug, flirtatious remarks with another bitter scoff before she rejoined the spectating crowd herself. “Ugh… what a creep…” she grumbled as she came to stand alongside her friends.

“Seriously, and I thought I was a jerk,” Robbie remarked, his arm casually flung over Tambry’s shoulder. “But Kevin’s on, like… a whole other level.”

“Tell me about it,” Tambry remarked dryly, texting away as she usually did.

“Oh, I will, I-”

“Don’t, babe,” she glowered, briefly glancing up at her disgruntled boyfriend.

With yet another competitor beaten, Kevin also reconvened with his pair of friends, or rather, his partners in racing. One was clearly the muscle of the group, a large, intimidating, towering young man who barely even looked like teen with his impressive frame and noticeable facial hair. Flanking him was a much smaller girl, one with a keen, expensive fashion sense and layers of makeup to spare to match her practically flawless golden hair. Despite the drastic differences, both of them carried the same exact air of haughty arrogance as Kevin himself did, one that was apparent as they surveyed the crowd of apparently much less “fabulous” teens before them.

“Yet another flock of losers down,” the girl remarked, eyeing Jenny, Robbie, and Tambry smugly. “So… who’s next?”

“Anyone else think they can beat us and my Himitsu X-12 on the downhill course, step right up,” Kevin formally offered the challenge, though nobody seemed to take it. Instead, several members of the crowd seemed to shrink back at the offer, all of them too afraid of the inevitable shame they’d face upon so much as even trying to beat Kevin and his friends at their own game. “Oh, come on,” Kevin teased, disappointed by the lack of any real competitors. “How are we gonna get a cool-down lap if no one wants to go?”

“I’ll race you!”

The entire mood of the crowd shifted to surprise as a new car drove onto the scene--a certain Dondai, to be exact--driven by a certain fusion who, after a few self-taught driving lessons, had come more than ready to race.

The bystanders’ muted amazement continued as Stevonnie stepped out of the car, their expression stern and brazen, even as they faced their old foe once again. While Connie’s father’s jacket had been rather large on her, when she fused with Steven, it now fit Stevonnie perfectly, adding a unique sense of flair to their already bold style. As the fusion properly stood, they fluffed the collar of said jacket, briefly glancing down to the Dondai’s tinted window to exchange a discreet nod with Dipper and Mabel as they watched everything from their hidden spot in the back seat of the car. After all, even though the twins couldn’t exactly compete in the race itself, they were still dedicated to standing by Stevonnie’s side for any support they could offer, especially when it came to getting back at Kevin for everything he’d done.

As baffled as Kevin and his pair of friends were by this unexpected challenger, before any of them could say anything to Stevonnie, Ronaldo happened to run up to them from the crowd instead. “Ah! Is that a ‘96 Supremo?!” he asked the fusion enthusiastically.

“Uh… I think it’s a Dondai?” Stevonnie replied, looking to the car behind them.

“A Supremo is a Dondai!”

“Whoa. Really?”

The teen adjusted his glasses, dumbfounded at this. “..Are you saying you don’t know the true power of the Supremo?”

“Uh…” Stevonnie frowned, unsure of what to say. Briefly, they looked back toward the twins for help once more, both of whom shrugged, just as clueless as they were.

“Hey!” Kevin suddenly interjected, glaring at the fusion from across the lot. “That’s why I knew those brats at the car wash; they’re you!”

“Oh, you mean those ten year olds you flirted with at that party a few weeks ago?” his female friend asked with a sharp, teasing smirk. “Creep.”

“Ugh! For the last time, Lacy, I didn’t flirt with them!” Kevin growled before turning back to the fusion. “You twerps totally tricked me by looking like... that. But your whole ‘two kids in a beautiful trench coat’ routine isn’t gonna fool me this time, so don’t even try it!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Stevonnie shot back just as coldly as they slammed a hand down on top of the Dondai. “And I’ll show you what I’m made of when I beat you at this race!”

While a ripple of “oos” and “aahs” passed through the crowd at this, Kevin himself was hardly phased as he instead let out a smooth, sardonic snicker. “Oh. I see what’s going on here.”

“Do you?” Stevonnie asked, crossing their arms disdainfully.

“Yeah,” the teen smirked knowingly. “You’ve had a taste of Kevin, and now… you’re obsessed.”

Needless to say, Stevonnie was absolutely taken aback by such a remark, as were the twins inside the car as they met the fusions shocked look of disbelief evenly as they looked toward them once again. Yet even so, Stevonnie was absolutely having none of it, especially not from Kevin. Not again or ever again. “What?” they asked harshly, essentially whispering the word through their tightly-clenched teeth.

“I get it,” Kevin shrugged innocently. “I have that effect on people. Its cute. But aren’t I a little old for you?”

By this point, Stevonnie was far too set off by the teen’s continually slimey behavior to even come up with a coherent response. Instead, they simply let out a frustrated, disgusted groan, their hands shaking in fists of tight fury at their sides. Even so, they were more than ready to keep this argument going, at least until Kevin’s friend, Lacy, happened to interject.

“Ugh, enough already,” the girl rolled her eyes, clearly bored. “I swear, Kevin, I’m gonna puke if you keep this going any longer. Let’s just settle your whole ‘baggage’ with this fashion-blind wanna-be on the road, k?”

“Y-yeah!” Stevonnie agreed, glaring Kevin down once more. “You wanna race or not?”

“Do you?” Kevin raised a critical eyebrow at the fusion.

“Uh… yeah?”

“Hmph, then I guess you didn’t hear,” the teen smirked coldly. “Tonight’s race is a tag-team gauntlet. Three on three, with each racing one leg up to the top of the mountain and back down again. I’ve already got my team with Brock,” he nodded over to the mighty teen alongside him, who simply nodded gruffly and silently. “And Lacy here.” Lacy offered Stevonnie a patronizing grin and playful wave, her ego clearly large enough to match Kevin’s own. “So… where’s yours?”

“Uh, a-a team…?” Stevonnie frowned, briefly taking a look around the group of teens gathered behind them. Despite their initial support of the fusion however, they were all quick to avert their rather pleading gaze for help, none of them willing to face could very well be an embarrassing defeat against Kevin and his friends. “Um… well… I don’t…”

“No team, no race,” Lacy interjected, wagging a finger at the fusion. “Those are the rules.”

“Yeah, so if you can’t follow the rules like us ‘big kids’ here,” Kevin added, hands on his hips. “Then why don’t you go back to kindergarten and play with the rest of your little friends, hm?”

Stevonnie took in a sharp breath at this, gearing up to shoot back just as harsh of a retort back at the callous teen. That is, until they paused to actually consider a part of what he’d said, something that actually managed to give them a timely idea, especially as they turned to glance down at Dipper and Mabel still inside the Dondai beside them. “‘Little friends’, huh…?”

“You want us to what?!” Dipper asked, completely shocked by the outlandish idea Stevonnie had just proposed to him and Mabel.

“Look, I know it sounds crazy,” Stevonnie began, pacing around the secluded clearing they’d pulled the Dondai into to talk this out with the twins. “But I-”

“But I LOVE it!” Mabel suddenly interjected, stars in her eyes. “Just wait until Kevin and his jerky friends get a load of MAVEN! They won’t know what hit them once we blaze past ‘em on road, leaving them behind to eat our sparkly fusion dust!”

“That’s the spirit!” Stevonnie agreed brightly. “So obviously, Maven’s in but… we can’t be a real team without Stepper too…” The fusion looked to Dipper with a hopeful, pleading smile. “So… what do you say, Dipper?”

The most Dipper could really do was let out a small, relenting sigh as he looked between both Stevonnie and Mabel, knowing he couldn’t very well say no to either one of them. Even if the entire situation as a whole was an odd mix of ridiculous and risky. “Ok, fine,” he said. “But… this is gonna be tricky. I mean, you look normal enough, Stevonnie, but Maven has four eyes. And I don’t even wanna know what they’d say out there if they got a load of Stepper’s extra set of arms….”

“No woes, bro-bro,” Mabel grinned, tossing an arm over her brother’s shoulder. “That’s where Mabel comes in. Now, Steven… if you will…” Her smile widened as she extended a hand out to Stevonnie, who was more than happy to comply by gracefully unfusing. And with Steven and Connie apart, the latter was just as ready to go from one fusion right into another.

However, what none of the kids spotted as that fusion was formed in the usual flourish of radiant light, was a bright flicker of purple flame sparking in the nearby woods. Nor did they notice the lone figure, completely obscured by shadow outside of her more fiery features, discreetly watching the entire scene from afar. “Well, well… How interesting…” she grinned deviously to herself. “Better get a front-row seat. After all, this is one race I’m not about to miss…”

Though they had agreed to allow Stevonnie enough time to gather their “team” together, the longer Kevin and his friends were left to wait, the more impatient they became. Said impatience was first voiced by Brock, albeit in his usual wordless way in the form of deep, disgruntled grunt.

“Yeah, I know,” Kevin huffed, annoyed as he glanced up from his phone. “They’re taking forever. Should have expected as much from a bunch of dumb kids.”

“Who knows?” Lacy remarked with a broad grin. “Maybe they chickened out. You know how little kids get when they’re scared. They’re probably running home to their mommies and daddies even as we speak.”

Both Kevin and Lacy broke into a round of mocking, vindictive laughter at this and even Brock let out a small, albeit very slow chuckle. However, that laughter was short lived as the Dondai came speeding back toward the crowd, albeit rather haphazardly to the point that several of the teens had to hastily leap out of the way just to avoid being hit. As surprised as everyone was by this wreckless arrival, it soon became apparent that Stevonnie wasn’t behind the wheel this time as a seemingly new figure entirely emerged from the vehicle instead.

“Hi, everybody!” Maven cheerfully exclaimed the moment they burst open the door. The fusion rose to their full height just as brightly, showing off their more “mature look” as they decided to dub it in the form of the sweater now tied around their neck, their long hair tied up tight and most importantly, the pair of dark sunglasses completely concealing their upper pair of eyes from view. Confident in that look, Maven strode forward, clearly happy to be there as they continued waving to the dumbfounded crowd while passing them by. “Hey! Hiya! Maven here, ready to race!”

“Tch, looks like they managed to scrounge up a team after all,” Kevin remarked with a dry glower, though it soon turned into a flirty grin as he looked Maven over. “Hey there, baby, I-”

“Whoahohohoho--whoa, whoa,” Maven instantly cut him off, aggressively shoving a finger over his mouth to silence him. “Back it up there, big guy. You really oughta learn to quit while you’re ahead before you go and embarrass yourself. Again.”

Kevin was admittedly quite taken aback, especially as he met the rather dour, disapproving glare Maven was sending his way. Even so, he did his best to play it off with a cool scoff, backing away from them as he maintained his usual pompous demeanor. “O-oh yeah? Well, maybe you should learn that socks and sandals together are about the biggest fashion mistake anyone can make! Same goes for wearing sunglasses at night!”

Maven was clearly unaffected by such shallow remarks, however as they simply shrugged easily. “Eh, it’s a look. One that I can totally pull off. Makes me stand out in a crowd, ya know?”

“Ugh, whatever,” Kevin scowled, crossing his arms. “So, where’s the rest of your team? Did ‘Stevonnie’ or whatever their name is wimp out and head home?”

“Nah, Stevonnie and our other teammate Stepper are just… a little busy right now…” Maven turned, sparing a brief, wry wink over at the Dondai. From its back seat, Dipper and Connie spared a peak outside the window, not wanting to give their cover away, to the point that they had already carefully cautioned Maven not to do exactly that. Not that they believed such caution would do much good when it came to the somewhat flighty fusion but still, it was a protective measure all the same. “But don’t worry, they’ll be ready when they need to be. For now, Kevin,” they remarked pointedly, turning back to the teen. “Are you ready to race me?”

“Oh, I won’t be racing you, sweetheart,” Kevin grinned evenly. “I’ll leave that up to Brock.”

“Oooo what?” Maven said with a challenging grin. “Are you too scared to take me on your… self…?” The fusion stopped short as they noticed the large shadow looming over them. When they turned however, they were met face to face with the practically massive form of Brock, who easily towered over their own impressive height, making them feel quite small by comparison. Even so, Maven took it in stride, offering the much larger teen a wry, cheerful wave all the same. “Oof, you’re a big fella, aren’t you? Say, what kinda diet does a guy have to be on to get that… you know…” Maven trailed off, puffing their chest as they flexed their muscles to show what they meant. “Is it a protein thing, or like a balance of the right vitamins and minerals, or do you, uh….” The fusion frowned as Brock turned without answering a single one of their questions, instead heading toward Kevin’s car to begin the race in earnest. “Oh, um… good talk, I guess?”

“Don’t mess my car up, or you’re done, you hear?” Kevin remarked to his teammate, his tone cold as Brock barely managed to squeeze his way inside. As always, Brock simply nodded silently, his expression stern and unreadable as he turned his sights toward the starting line ahead.

At the same time, Maven returned to the Dondai, eagerly taking the driver’s seat as they gripped the steering wheel confidently. “Alrighty,” they grinned, adjusting their mirror to get a glimpse to catch a view of Connie and Dipper in the back seat. “You guys ready to be a part of the best, most action-packed race ever!”

“Uh… maybe we could tone down the ‘action-packed’ part, just to be safe?” Connie purposed, anxious.

“Remember what we talked about, you guys,” Dipper reminded cautiously. “You need to drive carefully. Losing to Kevin and his pals are one thing; but sending the car plummeting over the side of a cliff with all of us inside it is… something else entirely. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who would rather not have that happen.”

“Aw, relax, Dip-bro,” Maven assured, adjusting their shades. “I got this. Not only are we gonna beat Kevin and his cronies, but we’re gonna do it in style.”

“That’s… kind of what we’re afraid of…” Connie muttered, exchanging a nervous glance with Dipper.

Even so, the race was clearly all set to begin, the pathway leading up the mountain clear and open for both cars competing on it. And, with a swift wave of the checkered flag, the first leg of the three-part race was at last underway.

“All right!” Maven cheered, daringly pushing the clutch forward as they pressed the gas pedal all the way down. “Full speed ahead!”

Both the Dondai and the sports car blasted forward right out of the gate, their engines equally thunderous as they peeled out onto the road. For the first stretch, both vehicles were neck-and-neck, clocking in the exact same speed as they rounded the first bend uphill. However, as that turn leveled out, Borock began taking on the slightest lead, something that the pair of passengers in the Dondai’s back seat were quick to notice.

“He’s getting ahead!” Connie warned, glancing back to the fusion in the driver’s seat.

“Not for long!” Maven grinned, shifting gears to gain more speed. The Dondai suddenly jerked forward on that speed, throwing Connie and Dipper back into their seats, though Maven readily thrived on it as they leaned forward, exhilarated, especially as they passed Brock by. “Whoo! This is so fun! Its like I was born for the road and the road was born for me!”

“Uh, m-maybe you should keep your eyes on that road!?” Dipper suggested tightly, holding onto his seat for dear life as Maven recklessly swerved around another hairpin turn.

“Hey, no worries, Dip-bro!” Maven assured, glancing back at the pair to the point that they weren’t looking at the road at all. “Like I said, I got this in the bag! There’s no way that big guy will ever catch up to us! Especially not when we shift into turbo!”

“T-this car doesn’t even have any turbo gears!” Connie exclaimed, aptly frightened by Maven’s dangerous driving.

“Wait,” Dipper gasped as he caught sight of what awaited on the road dead ahead. “Maven, no-”

“MAVEN YES!” the fusion exclaimed, pushing the Dondai as hard as it would go toward the natural ramp made up of a handful of logs. They still had a solid lead over Brock as he trailed behind them, but with this new, risky route in mind, Maven hoped to claim a victory that would be all but guaranteed.

As the Dondai reached that ramp, Dipper and Connie were mutually covering their eyes out of sheer terror for what could very well be their painful demise in the very high likelihood that the vehicle didn’t stick the landing. Even so, Maven took the leap confidently, their sunglasses flying off to reveal their upper pair of eyes, which were practically sparkling with excitement as the car soared into the night. For a few brief, breathless seconds, the car was completely weightless, until gravity began to bring it back down toward the road. Or rather, toward the entirely new pathway that had suddenly been paved, as if by magic, right as the Dondai landed solidly (and above all else, safely) upon it.

However, said magic pathway did divert its driver off of the main path, something Maven didn’t notice until they happened to catch sight of a familiar yellow sports car breezing past them out their rear view mirror. “Hey!” the fusion exclaimed, grinding the Dondai to a screeching halt within the wooded clearing they’d accidentally driven into. “What gives?! This wasn’t part of my totally awesome plan to victory!”

“Maybe not yet… but it could be!”

“Huh?” Maven blinked, surprised as they looked around the clearing. Likewise, Dipper and Connie exchanged a confused, still quite breathless from the harrowing leap they’d just miraculously survived.

“Who said that?” Connie frowned, looking out the window to notice the surrounding trees were encompassed by an odd purple glow.

“I don’t know… but I’m gonna check it out,” Maven said, summoning their grappling shield just in case.

“So are we,” Dipper said, Connie agreeing as they all slowly, carefully got out of the car. The woods were strangely quiet as the kids all grouped together, Maven still brandishing their grappling shield as they looked around for anything out of the ordinary. The race was all but forgotten in place of a possibly more important threat, one that, even without their swords, Dipper and Connie were more than ready to back Maven up in facing.

And that supposed threat soon made itself known as a bright, mischievous laugh began echoing through the woods. It was accompanied by a ring of sudden pinkish flames that surrounded the kids and the Dondai, catching them off guard even more as they all pressed a bit closer together defensively.

“Who’s there?!” Dipper demanded brazenly.

“Show yourself!” Connie added just as sternly.

“Yeah! I got a whole, loaded grappling shield here and trust me, you do not want a piece of it!” Maven warned, holding said weapon aloft. “I should know, I’ve accidentally bonked myself in the head with it more times than I can count and it really smarts.”

The odd, chuckling voice didn’t respond to any of these threats, however, as it was instead replaced by the loud din of an approaching roaring engine. The kids still had no idea what to expect as the shape of a motorcycle soon began to materialize amidst the flames, though what was even stranger was that its silhouette soon seamlessly transformed into the shape of what seemed to be a racecar. However, as the flames finally began to burn out and the wild laughter quieted down, that car somehow became a vibrant bike once more. A bike carrying an even more vibrant rider.

The motorcycle screeched to a stop right before the startled group of kids, allowing them all to get their first clear view of that rider. Based on her sharp horns, claws, fangs, and tail alone, she clearly wasn’t human, as if her bright purple skin and matching, literally flaming hair weren’t telling enough of her otherworldly nature. Yet beyond that, her entire look fit her high-speed ride quite well, from her pink torn jacket, to her slick black leather skirt and gloves. All this was topped off by a sharp black biker helmet, with a pink visor that obscured her eyes but did reveal her large, broad, toothy grin.

“Beware foolish mortals!” she began, hovering high over the dumbfounded group of kids, displaying her claws threateningly as her flaming hair burned brighter. “For you have incurred the wrath of-” She cut herself off sharply as a sudden small shield zipped past her, nearly hitting her in the process, though she happened to dodge it just in the nick of time. “Hey! I was trying to pull of a dramatic entrance here!”

“Oops, sorry!” Maven apologized as they reeled their grappling shield back in. “Please, continue.”

“Ugh, no, forget it,” the biker groaned, annoyed. “It’s already ruined. ‘Sides, I’m not really one to drag on with a bunch of dumb ‘theatrics’. Really just drags things down to a crawl if ya ask me.”

The kids still had no real idea of what to think about this strange being, though even so, Dipper was the first to speak up to get a better read on her. “Uh… who and… what are you, exactly?”

“Ooo, gettin’ right to the point,” the biker grinned, levitating a bit lower. “I like that. Well, since you asked soooo nicely, the name’s Zoom. And I’m what your kind calls… a speed demon.”

“A-a demon?”Connie asked, exchanging mutually nervous glances with Maven and Dipper.

“Aw, what?” Zoom asked with a patronizing smirk as her visor disappeared to reveal her set of five multicolored eyes. “Are you kiddos scared of a big, bad demon? Lemme guess, it’s ‘cause of this guy, right?” Her devious smile widened as she positioned her hands in the shape of a triangle over her singular, center eye.

“B-Bill?!” Dipper exclaimed, aptly alarmed. “You… you know him?”

“Ugh, wish I didn’t,” Zoom finally scowled as her visor reappeared. “Cipher’s a total chump. Gives all of demon-kind a bad name. Sorta like how those ‘friends’ of yours give racers a bad name.”

“Kevin is not our friend,” Maven clarified much sharper than they usually would have.

“Yeah, I kinda figured seeing how you kiddos are so dead-set on beating him in your little race,” Zoom noted, casually reclining back in midair. “I’m usually not too keen on all these punk mortals, thinking they can tear it up on my turf. I’m the only one with enough skills to really race around here; that’s why they call it Demon’s Peak. ‘Cause it’s mine.”

“Uh… well, we’re… sorry for racing on your peak,” Connie began earnestly. “But we-”

“Eh, don’t be sorry,” Zoom shrugged. “Believe it or not, I’m actually a big fan of how you kids operate. The whole ‘sparkly, glowy magicking into the same person’ thing? It’s a pretty killer angle, even if it pales in comparison to what I can do on the road.”

“Uh… you mean… fusion?” Maven asked, somewhat confused.

“Sure, if that’s what you wanna call it,” Zoom said, leaning in closer to Maven to get a better look. “And just look at you! Lovin’ the look, especially the whole four eyes thing you’ve got goin’ on. Almost as wicked as my look. Almost.”

“Wow, thanks!” Maven grinned, warmly accepting the compliment. “You know, for a demon, you’re awfully nice.”

“Yeah, sure, ‘nice’,” Zoom said, emphasizing with air quotes. “Anyway, enough talk about you, let’s talk about me. See, like I said before, I got a little… problem with so many mortals racing on my mountain. But I think you kids might just be the solution I’ve been looking for to curb that little problem once and for all…”

“Uh… how do you see that?” Dipper asked, somewhat uneasy.

“Simple,” the demon crossed her arms confidently. “You wanna take those chumps down a peg, right? Well, you’re never gonna do it in an old hunk of junk like that,” she seamlessly teleported behind the kids to take a seat on top of the Dondai. “Though I will give ya points for keeping it classic. So here’s the deal; I’ll use my special “speed demon powers” to help you kids win the race.”

“In exchange for…?” Connie asked, worried.

“Nothin’!” Zoom smiled amicably. “You get to win and I get the satisfaction of watching a bunch of dumb, tresspassing losers drive home with their tails between their legs. Everyone leaves happy! Well, ‘xcept for… ‘Kyle’ or whatever his name was.”

“Kevin,” Maven corrected. “And… I… really kinda like this idea! Especially if it involves putting Kevin in his place.”

“Uh, Maven?” Dipper interjected. “A word?” The fusion agreed, leaving Zoom on standby as both Dipper and Connie pulled them aside. “This is a really bad idea,” Dipper began in a tense whisper. “She’s a demon. And we should all know by now that deals with demons are practically destined to end badly.”

“Aw, but c’mon, Dipper,” Maven protested. “Zoom seems really cool! And if she wants to help us out, then why don’t we pitch in to help her in return? After all, wouldn’t you be mad too if a bunch of strangers started racing all over your mountain?”

“I highly doubt this is actually Zoom’s mountain, you guys,” Connie frowned. “But still… she could give us a leg up in the competition… which we’re currently losing, by the way.”

“Yeah, we are,” Maven crossed their arms, disgruntled. “To Kevin and his friends…”

“Wha--Connie!” Dipper exclaimed, caught off guard. “You’re supposed to help me be the voice of reason here!”

“I know… but... maybe this won’t turn out as badly as you think it will, Dipper,” Connie proposed thoughtfully. “That’s all I’m saying.”

“You better believe it won’t!”

The kids were all caught completely off guard as Zoom suddenly interjected into the conversation, appearing seemingly out of nowhere as she hovered in the space between them. “So, do we got ourselves a deal here?” she asked, extending a hand out to Maven in particular.

Maven took pause at this, glancing between Dipper, who shook his head disapprovingly, and Connie, who simply shrugged indecisively. Even so, though one half of the fusion themselves wasn’t quite sure what to do, their other half had essentially no doubts. Kevin deserved to be humbled, needed to be knocked off his high and mighty pedestal. And if beating him and his friends in this race was the only way they knew how to do that, then they would just have to do whatever it took to win. No matter what.

“Deal,” the fusion said, shaking the demon’s hand solidly.

Zoom simply smiled at this, her fiery hair blazing brighter as her visor flashed with unknown intent. “Perfect…”

“Ugh, keeping us waiting again?” Kevin asked as he stood alongside Brock and Lacy at the end of the first leg of the race. “What’s wrong with those dumb kids and their dumb friends?”

“They had to have chickened out for real this time,” Lacy remarked, touching up on her makeup. “Figures they wouldn’t be able to hand the heat, right, Brock?”

Brock simply nodded, his icy expression set straight ahead as it always was. Even though he’d crossed the finish line without contest quite some time ago, he’d hardly celebrated the easy win like Kevin and Lacy had. Still, the latter pair were more than happy to claim victory in the first third of the leg of the race, confident that they’d be able to do just as well in the other two rounds.

“Ohoho, look who decided to show up after all!” Kevin called as he spotted the Dondai finally approaching. “What, did you get lost on the straightaway up here?”

“Nope,” Maven remarked smoothly as they stepped out of the car. “I was just… taking care of some business, is all.”

“Heh, well, while you were busy with your ‘business’,” Kevin said with a pointed grin. “Our boy Brock here was basically driving circles around you. Or at least he would have if you had been here.”

“Oh, I know,” Maven nodded coolly, adjusting the shades they’d recovered their upper eyes with. “Congrats, by the way. Though, I’m sorry to say, that’s the last one you guys will be getting tonight.”

“Oh, really?” Lacy asked with a scoff. “And why is that?”

“Mm… let’s just say we’ve got a little extra… team spirit on our side…” the fusion grinned, looking beyond the trio to the forest behind them. Or rather, toward Zoom as she casually sat atop a distant tree. The demon’s visor disappeared, allowing her to offer Maven a playful wink, one that the fusion readily returned, albeit with one of their hidden upper eyes.

“Whatever that’s supposed to mean,” Kevin rolled his eyes. “So is your next racer coming or not? You’ve already made us wait on you guys twice now and we don’t have all night. Kevin needs his beauty sleep.”

“Next racer… oh, right!” Maven exclaimed, hurrying back to the Dondai. “Uh… lemme get go him! Be back in a jiff!”

“Ugh, seriously?!” Lacy groaned as the fusion took off once again. “More waiting!?”

Mabel and Connie both sat on the hood of the Dondai, watching with anticipation as the light of fusion steadily died down to reveal their ‘next racer’. Like Maven and Stevonnie before him, Stepper’s attire was somewhat changed, though only really in the form of him wearing Dipper’s jacket as opposed to his usual vest. Even so, the fusion was diffident right off of the bat, especially since half of him was largely still opposed to most of their rather risky undertakings this evening.

“Ok, Mabel... “ Stepper began, frowning down at his lower arms. “You came up with a pretty clever solution for Maven’s extra eyes, I’ll give you that. But… how exactly are you planning on hiding these?”

“Hm… you do propose an interesting challenge, dear… technically half-brother of mine…” Mabel nodded thoughtfully. “But… if I recall correctly, Dipper happened to bring his backpack along with him, didn’t he?”

“Uh… yeah?” Stepper shrugged, confused. “It’s in the back seat. Why?”

Mabel didn’t answer, instead sliding off the hood to fetch the aforementioned backpack. Connie and Stepper watched curiously as she dumped everything out of the pack before pulling a pair of scissors out of her sweater. “Um, Mabel?” Connie spoke up, quite bewildered herself. “What are you doing?”

“Less talk!” Mabel exclaimed, digging the tip of her scissors into the backside of the pack. “More snip!”

“Wha--hey!” Stepper gasped, reaching for the pack. “Mabel! That’s my, o-or that’s Dipper’s backpack!”

“Correction, Ste-bro, it was Dipper’s backpack,” Mabel grinned as she turned to present her finished product to him. “But now, it’s your backpack, ‘specially made just for you, Stepper!”

“Um… thanks?” Stepper said, half smiling as he took the pack before his expression and tone turned deadpan and flat. “Yeah, thanks, you cut a gaping hole into the back of it. Super helpful.”

“You bet it is!” Mabel proclaimed proudly. “Especially when it comes to tucking away those extra arms of yours out of sight where nobody can see ‘em…”

“Oh? Oooooo…” Stepper’s eyes widened as he looked back to the backpack with newfound realization. “That’s brilliant, Mabel! Well, at least it will be if it actually works…”

“Well, try it on and find out,” Connie encouraged with a small, curious smile.

Stepper did so, sliding the back on before (albeit a bit awkwardly) bending his lower arms behind his back to slip inside the pack’s opening. It took a bit of doing, and while it wasn’t the most comfortable setup in the world, it certainly worked in concealing his lower arms perfectly fine. “Oh wow!” Stepper smiled excitedly. “We might actually be able to pull this off after all!”

“You’d better, kiddo.” The fusion gasped in alarm as Zoom suddenly materialized out of thin air alongside him. As startled as he was, his shield journal flashed into his grip, a small shield forming over it as he braced himself for an attack he found he didn’t have to unleash after all.

“Oh, hi, Zoom!” Stepper greeted, blithely at first before shifting into clear distrust. “Ugh… you again. How exactly do you plan on ‘helping’ us anyway? What, are you gonna turn our car into some sort of soul-eating monster? Turn the road into a lava-filled death trap? P-possess us to make us a better driver?!”

Zoom barely even flinched at any of these suggestions, instead only letting out a wry, amused chuckle after the fusion was done. “Ohoho, all good ideas! When you think, you really think big, dontcha, four arms?” she proceeded to playfully pinch Stepper’s cheek at this, something that set the on edge fusion off even more, especially given the demon’s sharp claws. “But… luckily for you, my strategies are a little more… subtle. And you’ll just have to wait to get a taste of them until you’re actually out on the road.”

“Hmph, I’ll be looking forward to it…” Stepper remarked dryly, crossing his arms.

“Uh, speaking of the road, you guys should probably get back into the race,” Connie reminded.

“Yeah, you don’t wanna keep Cody or Kameron or what’s-his-face waiting,” Zoom teased, turning Stepper’s cap backward as she floated past. “Or more importantly, you don’t wanna keep me waiting. See you on the road, kiddos.” The demon let out another smooth chuckle as she called upon her bike once more, revving it loudly before driving it out of sight in a bright burst of her iconic purple flames.

“Ugh,” Stepper growled as he straightened his cap, though he still left it on backward as he took his seat inside the Dondai. “Let’s just get this over with…”

Compared to Stevonnie and Maven, Stepper was admittedly much less comfortable behind the wheel, a fact that was made obvious given how touch-and-go the fusion was in so much as driving back to the start of the next leg of the race. The Dondai slowly, almost cautiously approached the trio of waiting teens, largely as a result of Stepper trying his best to drive as safely as possible, especially after the wild ride Maven just had.

“A-alright,” Stepper began somewhat unsteadily as he got out of the car to face the teens. All the while, he made sure his lower pair of arms were safely secured out of sight within his backpack, hoping to come across as normal enough. Or at least, to not completely blow the cover they’d all been scarcely keeping up so far. “Let’s race?” he offered the trio an apprehensive smile, one that none of them returned as they instead offered him a shared cursory look.

“Are you kidding?” Lacy spoke up, hands on her hips. “I have to race you?”

“Uh… yeah?” Stepper raised an eyebrow as the girl walked up to him. “What of it?”

“Tch, I knew this was gonna be easy, but this?” she laughed, essentially circling the confused fusion. “Schoolyard backpack? Baseball cap? What are you, 12?”

“N-no!” Stepper snapped, flustered. “I-I mean… t-technically not right now I guess, b-but whatever. It doesn’t matter how I’m dressed; I can still race laps around you!”

“Heh, maybe if we were racing tricycles,” Lacy mocked, leaning in close to the fusion. “You know, despite your garbage taste in fashion, you are pretty cute. Say, why don’t you and I ditch the rest of the race and go have a real good time…?”

“Augh!” Stepper instantly recoiled in disgust at such a flirtatious suggestion. Even so, he was hardly surprised by it; after all, this was one of Kevin’s friends who was offering it in the first place. Even so, the fusion was quick to regain his cool, adjusting the sides of his jacket as he took a large step back from Lacy. “Sorry,” he said with a cold glare. “But I’m already spoken for.”

“Hmph, your loss,” Lacy shrugged, heading back to stand alongside Kevin and Brock. “Enough talk; let’s race.”

“Finally,” Stepper groaned, turning to get back into the car. He was still largely simmering with anger even as he got back behind the wheel, largely ignoring the surprised looks both Mabel and Connie were sending his way as he did. “She’s going down…” he grumbled crossly, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“Ohoho! Feisty Stepper!” Mabel grinned excitedly. “I like it! Throw some of that fire under our tires and we’re sure to win!”

“Well, between that and Zoom’s help, I’d say our chances are pretty good,” Connie noted with a relieved smile.

“We don’t need her help,” Stepper scoffed, annoyed. “We can do this on our own.”

“Oh, can you now?”

“Ah!” the fusion gasped as he glanced to the passenger seat, only to find a certain speed demon casually reclining in it. “Will you stop doing that?!”

“Aw, c’mon, kiddo,” Zoom grinned playfully. “I just figured I’d hitch a ride, get a taste of how you are on the road before I make my move.”

“No need,” Stepper huffed, pulling up to the starting line. “I’m just fine on the road, thanks.”

“Lemme guess,” Zoom said knowingly. “This is your first time ever getting behind the wheel, right?”

“Uh, technically it’s my third,” the fusion corrected. “But it’s also sort of my first--b-but it doesn’t matter. I can do this.”

“We’ll see about that…” the demon remarked, getting comfortable in her spot in the passenger's seat.

“Well, we believe in you, Stepper!” Mabel cheered brightly.

“Yeah! You’ve got this!” Connie warmly agreed.

Enthused by their encouragements, Stepper resteeled his grip on the wheel, blocking out any further distractions as the countdown to the start of the race began. And yet, the moment the flag came down to start it, Lacy instantly sped off, the sports car blasting out onto the road that led the rest of the way up the mountain. However, Stepper on the other hand, noticeably did not.

“Uh… Stepper?” Mabel frowned, leaning forward from her spot in the back as she noticed Stepper’s relatively low speed. “We gonna… pick the pace any time soon?”

“Um, no?” the fusion scoffed, keeping his eyes on the road. “The signs say the speed limit is 30 miles an hour here. I may be trying to win, but I’m also trying to keep us from crashing. Unlike another fusion I happen to know.”

Mabel stuck her tongue out at Stepper upon hearing this, at least until Connie worriedly interjected. “Uh, ok, but… we’re never even gonna catch up to Lacy at this rate. Staying under the speed limit is important, but I think, in this case, it might just be ok to break it…”

“And risk speeding off a cliff?” Stepper asked incredulously, still maintaining his slow, steady pace. “I don’t think so.”

“Yawn,” Zoom groaned tiredly. “You’re puttin’ me to sleep with all this ‘safe driving’, kiddo. Looks like you need my help more than I thought. So… why don’t we turn up the heat?!”

“Wha-” Stepper cut himself off sharply as the demon suddenly disappeared, only to reposition herself on top of the vehicle. Then, before the fusion inside of it could even try to protest, Zoom slammed her hands down on top of the car hard, engulfing it in a bright, purple aura. The Dondai suddenly catapulted forward, flames of the exact same color erupting from its tailpipe as Stepper panicked under this newfound burst of manic speed.

“W-what’s happening?!” the fusion cried, desperately trying to maintain control over the car as it zipped around a sharp turn. To help the effort, Stepper hurriedly pulled his lower arms out from his backpack, gripping the wheel with them as well in the hopes that they’d give him some better leverage. A tactic that, surprisingly enough, actually happened to work.

“I’m happening, kiddo!” Zoom laughed loudly from her spot atop the Dondai, her flaming hair flickering wildly in the wind. “And if there’s anything you should know about me, it’s that I race… to WIN!”

“Whoohoo! Yeah, you do!” Mabel cheered, pumping her fist as she took a peek out the window. “Look! We’re about to catch up!”

“I-If we don’t crash first!” Connie exclaimed, aptly fearful.

“Aw, relax,” Zoom scoffed in amusement. “I like you kids too much to let ya crash. But as for your little friend up there… well, she’s an entirely different story…”

As the Dondai sped forward, Lacy did largely the same in Kevin’s car, brazenly confident in her victory to the point that she was hardly even trying at all. “Tch, looks like ‘baseball cap’ should have thrown in the towel when he had the chance,” she smirked as she adjusted her rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of her own reflection. “There’s no way he’ll ever be able to catch up driving so--what?!” Lacy snapped harshly as she stole another glance out of the mirror to see the Dondai rapidly approaching from behind. “Hmph, looks like he’s more than just a pretty face after all…” she noted before shoving the car’s clutch forward aggressively. “But so… am I!”

While the sports car got a hitch of speed, Zoom responded in turn, pressing the Dondai even further as she disappeared out of sight to carry out the next part of her plan. At the same time, Stepper’s eyes were wide as he watched the speedometer waver wildly back and forth, never able to settle on a single speed as he continued using all four of his arms to keep the car on track. “I-I can’t stop it!” he cried, slamming his foot on the break only for the car to continue on its haphazard way. “W-what do we do?!”

“Win, silly!” Mabel exclaimed, exhilarated as she pointed out the front window to what lay ahead. “Look!”

The fusion did so, only to find that Zoom had taken up a perch atop the sports car this time, where she briefly glanced around before finding exactly what she was looking for. A burst of purple flame materialized above her hand, one that she instantly lobbed toward the forest far ahead of her. Her aim hit true, striking one of the several shorter trees bordering the road squarely at its base. The blast was enough to uproot the tree entirely, sending it careening forward into the road right as Lacy sped toward it.

The kids inside the Dondai all let out a startled gasp as they saw this, genuinely frightened that the teen would actually end up in a deadly crash. However, Lacy herself managed to spot the falling tree just in time, letting out a terrified scream as she slammed hard on her breaks. The sports car spiraled out, coming to a sharp stop just shy of the downed tree now barring up half of the road ahead. Shaken by the harrowing experience, Lacy took a moment to catch her lost breath, her usually pristine hair and makeup completely askew. However, she was about to receive an even greater shock as a certain Dondai suddenly drifted past both her and the tree in her way.

Stepper spun the wheel hard to avoid hitting the tree himself, finding a place on the small patch of the road not covered by it. As he did, the Dondai swung out to the point that its front window was briefly facing the sports car, effectively allowing him to be face to face with Lacy. And, even despite his own abject terror, it was an opportunity the fusion wasn’t about to waste as he flashed her a broad smile, lifting three of his four hands away from the steering wheel to offer her a playful, teasing wave.

“WHAT?!” Lacy gasped, dumbstruck as she saw this, though only for a moment before Stepper sped past her entirely. Acting quickly, she forced the sports car back into action but it was already far too late now. The Dondai had gained an incredible lead, still pressed on by the otherworldly power Zoom had fueled it with. And, unlike before, Stepper reveled in this lead, letting out an excited laugh, one that Connie and Mabel gladly shared as their car glided swiftly over the finish line at the peak of the mountain, completely uncontested.

With one victory in hand, Zoom finally cut her magic off, at last allowing the Dondai to come to a safe stop. The moment it did, Stepper, Mabel, and Connie all piled out of it, more than happy to celebrate their unexpected triumph together. “W-we did it!” the fusion exclaimed, both sets of arms happily embracing himself. “We actually won!”

“Correction: I won,” Zoom remarked, taking up her usual spot on top of the Dondai as she appeared out of nowhere. “You… well, you mostly just sat there screaming the entire time, but I guess you were there, so kudos to you for not dying, kiddo.”

“Uh, yeah, speaking of that,” Stepper’s smile finally faded into a disapproving look. “Can we talk about how you nearly killed someone back there? That wasn’t part of our deal.”

“So what if it wasn’t?” the demon shrugged, unconcerned. “You won, didn’t you? And that’s what you wanted, right?”

“W-well… yeah, but…”

“But nothin’, kiddo,” Zoom turned her back to the kids. “Far as I’m concerned, if you wanna win any race, then you’ve gotta be willing to do whatever it takes. No matter what…”

Upon hearing such an ominous statement, the kids all exchanged a mutually concerned glance, all of them silently wondering exactly what the demon’s true intentions really were. And yet, they didn’t get a chance to figure that out as the loud roar of a familiar engine sounded out from just down the road. “Look alive, kids,” Zoom advised, smirking as she disappeared into her usual purple flames once more. “The final lap is about to begin…”

If there was one thing the kids could all agree with the demon on, it was that. Which was why Mabel and Connie quickly piled into the back seat as Stepper concealed his lower arms once more, just as the sports car pulled up alongside the Dondai.

“Look, I’m not crazy, Kevin!” Lacy snapped, getting out of the car first as Kevin and Brock sullenly followed. “He really does have four arms, see?!”

Her companions took a skeptical look over at the fusion, who simply offered them an innocent smile and wave, his lower set of arms still completely hidden away inside his pack as they’d been before. “Yeah, ok, whatever, Lacy,” Kevin scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Sounds to me like you’re just coming up with excuses about why you lost,” Stepper pointed out with a patronizing smirk. “But there’s nothing to be ashamed of. I am pretty great behind the wheel after all.”

“Tch, suuuure you are,” Lacy deadpanned crossly. “If driving like my grandma is what you call ‘great driving’.”

“Hey, it was enough to beat you, wasn’t it?” Stepper snarked right back.

“Only ‘cause you cheated.”

“W-wha--how’d you--I-I mean, no, I didn’t-”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Kevin interjected, coming to stand between the pair. “You ‘ladies’ can always argue about which one of you is prettier later. ‘Cause now, it’s time for the main event.” The teen turned to Stepper, who only had a severe scowl to offer him and nothing more as he continued. “Tell your friend, Stevonnie, that Kevin’s ready for ‘em. And this time, the winner takes all.”

Upon hearing this, Zoom simply laughed quietly to herself, perched against her bike just past the nearby treeline as she watched the exchange unfold. “They always do, bud,” she grinned, her visor flashing mysteriously as she prepared to get in place for the race’s final leg. “They always do…”

Stevonnie let out a deep, steadying breath as they pulled the Dondai up to the starting line. The last third of the race would lead all the way down the mountain back to where it had all begun, taking a much shorter path than the two-segments of the race that had led up to the peak to begin with. Even so, it was a tricky stretch of road with sharp turns and narrow passages aplenty. Even so, the fusion was determined to tackle both it, and more importantly Kevin, head on in the deciding lap of the currently-tied race.

“You know,” Kevin spoke up, looking out his open window with his usual smooth grin. “This mountain pass has some really beautiful views. Shame you’ll only be seeing my tail lights the entire time.”

Stevonnie gripped the steering wheel tighter at this, agitated as they clenched their teeth and let out a hissed response. “You wish.”

“Don’t listen to him, Stevonnie!” Mabel encouraged from the back seat in a bright whisper.

“Yeah, he’s just trying to get inside your head,” Dipper added just as supportively. “You can do this! H-hopefully in a much less dangerous way than the past two rounds…”

“Thanks, guys,” Stevonnie grinned, remaining subtle as they set their sights on the road ahead. However, as they waited for the starting flag, they failed to see Brock send Kevin a subtle signal from the sidelines. One that only the teen saw, prompting him to get the race started before the flag even fell.

“It’s Kevin time!” he grinned, slamming his foot on the gas to peel out from the starting line several seconds early.

“Shoot!” Stevonnie exclaimed, startled as they quickly gathered their bearings, pushing the Dondai into motion itself. The vehicle took off, speeding down the road at a steady, yet confident pace, matching the fusion’s own determined confidence as they made their brazen attempt to win this race once and for all.

At the same time, Kevin also carried an air of confidence in his own driving, assured that he’d be able to turn the current tie in his favor, all for the sake of maintaining his undefeated title. However, he was quite caught off guard upon catching sight of none other than the Dondai starting to gain on him from behind, in no small part thanks to another round of help from a certain unseen speed demon.

Zoom smirked as she reclined against the back of the Dondai, the bright flames sparking out from her feet giving the vehicle the exact boost of speed it needed to catch up. It was a boost Stevonnie readily took as they steered the vehicle deftly, shifting gears and barely even flinching as they breezed right past the very disgruntled Kevin.

“Ha ha!” Stevonnie goaded, sending the bitter teen a taunting grin, that is, at least until they spotted what awaited them on the road ahead. “Uh oh…”

“C-cliff!” Mabel yelled warningly, hugging Dipper fearfully as the Dondai sped toward it.

At the same time, by now the race had reached a point where the group of spectating teens at the foot of the mountain could see the competing cars clearly again. And as the Dondai approached the dangerous cliff turn first, needless to say they were all beyond captivated to see what would happen.

“Oh my gosh!” Ronaldo exclaimed, lowering his binoculars. “This is it!”

“A-are they gonna crash?” Jenny asked, worried.

“Should I be recording this?” Tambry asked, poising her phone to do just that.

“No! We’re about to witness the true power of the Supremo!” Ronaldo said, pointing back toward the mountain.

At that exact moment, Stevonnie reacted just in time, shoving the car’s gear hard as they slammed their foot on the break. At the same time, Zoom maneuvered around the car, using her powers to craft a few extra inches of road to give the fusion enough space to make the tricky turn. And, through this partnership, they fortunately did, drifting skillfully around the turn before quickly straightening back up once again. “Whoa…” Stevonnie gasped, amazed, especially as they spotted Zoom gliding past their window. “Zoom, did you do that?”

“Eh, yeah, just a little trick I picked up a few decades back,” the demon shrugged casually. “No need to thank me, you kids winning will be thanks enough.”

Stevonnie didn’t get a chance to ask what she meant by this as she vanished into thin air once again, ready to help whenever needed. However, in place of the speed demon, something else soon began speeding by the fusion’s window, and a much more unwelcome sight at that.

“So you do know how to use that thing,” Kevin remarked with a wry, somewhat vindictive smirk.

The fusion did their best to ignore him, remembering the twins’ advice as they paid attention to the road instead. However, as they approached the next turn, Kevin remained tight up against them, never passing them as he instead opted to remain neck-and-neck instead for some reason Stevonnie couldn’t possibly begin to understand. As both cars cleared that turn, they were essentially inches apart, nearly scraping against each other as their speeds remaining consistent all the while, neither of them daring to slow down whatsoever.

“I know you wanna be close,” Kevin began, once again peering over at the fusion smugly. “But this is a little clingy.”

“Ugh,” Stevonnie stuck their tounge out in disgust at this, shuddering at this blatantly flirtatious remark.

“Ew, seriously?!” Dipper remarked quietly from the back seat. “Can this guy be any more of a scumbag?”

“Can anyone?” Mabel asked, quite baffled herself.

“What’s the matter?” the teen continued to patronize the frustrated fusion. “Feel like giving up yet?”

Stevonnie growled, gripping their steering wheel tightly to the point that they could bottle up their growing anger no longer. “Why do you have to be such a jerk all the time?!” they snapped hotly, more than ready to receive one of Kevin’s usual catty responses. What they actually got, however, was perhaps the very last answer they could have ever expected.

Kevin was quiet at this as he glanced down, his smile falling into an ashamed frown. “Truth is… I don’t mean to be this way. I-I just lash out because of my little brother.” He took in a sharp breath, clearly trying to hold back tears as he continued. “He’s sick. Been sick all our lives. Sometimes, I think if I act real cool and never let anyone see my pain… t-then maybe the pain will go away. A-and maybe…” He briefly trailed off, covering his eyes with his hands as he choked out what sounded like a sob. “I can take his pain away too....”

Stevonnie stilled at this, exchanging a brief, surprised glance with the equally dumbfounded pair of twins in the back seat. With this brand-new bit of rather tragic context revealed, it was as though their entire demeanor toward Kevin had changed. While his behavior was absolutely abhorrent, yes, perhaps there really was a grounded, grieving reason behind it after all. And in light of that fact, Stevonnie couldn’t help but feel rather guilty for their own attitude toward him as well. “Kevin…” they began sympathetically, earnestly. “I-I… had no idea…”

The teen didn’t respond at first, instead still crying, at least until his ‘sobs’ steadily turned to a bout of harsh, mocking, hysterical laughter instead. “Dude!” he cackled deviously, satisfied that his sob story had worked perfectly. “I don’t even have a brother! I’m like this because its funny!”

“Oh what?!” Mabel exclaimed, appalled from the back seat. Her initial reaction was to leap forward to give the callous teen a piece of her mind herself, though she was narrowly stopped by Dipper pulling her back just in the nick of time.

“Like I said,” he scoffed, just as disgusted as his sister was. “Total scumbag.”

“Augh! You’re awful!” Stevonnie snapped back at Kevin, absolutely floored by his despicable lie.

“You better believe I am,” Kevin chuckled, still quite amused as he his car finally began speeding past the Dondai. “Chowzers.”

The teen offered the fusion a playful wave as he passed them by, barely even paying any mind to how absolutely outraged they were by his terrible behavior. “KEVIN!” they yelled after him, forcing the Dondai to go as fast as it could possibly go. By this point, they didn’t care about anything, not about whether or not Zoom was lending them a hand, not about what obstacles might be on the road ahead, not even about the concerned pair of twins calling for them from the back seat. As far as they were concerned, the only thing that mattered now was Kevin and how they were going to beat him, no matter what it took.

And with that sole, sharp thought in mind, everything else seemed to disappear, the forest around their vehicle turning to sheer darkness as Dipper and Mabel’s worried cries turned into strangely distant echoes. Some part of the fusion noticed this, gasping in surprise as the road ahead suddenly seemed to narrow to a dangerous degree. “W-what’s happening?” they asked, suddenly nervous, at least until their former rage returned full-force. “Ugh… Kevin!”

That fury wavered back into shock as they stole a glance out of their rear-view mirror however. The road behind them was crumbling, rapidly falling to pieces behind them to to the point that soon, there would be nothing left for them to stand on at all. “W-wait!” they cried, both panicked and angered as they returned their bitter glare back toward the Himitsu before them. “No! We have to beat him! He deserves to lose!”

The fusion could barely, barely feel two pairs of hands on their shoulders, desperately trying to shake them back into reality. Likewise, the panicked cries had all but fallen on deaf ears as they tried their best to lock their focus onto the car currently in the lead, refusing to back down until they’d finally passed it. Until they finally bested him. Until they finally won.

And yet… just before they could…

Stevonnie lashed back in shock, their terror and anger finally overwhelming them in the form of a ghastly image of Kevin’s face, looming large and powerful before them. That image overtook their entire window, rushing for them with glowing red eyes as it prepared to devour them entirely. In a last ditch effort to avoid it, the fusion snapped the steering wheel hard to the left, closing their eyes tightly in an attempt to avoid their gruesome, hateful fate.

And as they did, it was with a flash of bright, blinding pink light that everything suddenly went black.

“-even! Steven!”

“Connie! Wake up, you guys!”

“H-huh?” Steven slowly opened his eyes, groggy yet largely unharmed. He was quick to notice that they had unfused, largely since he sat shoulder-to-shoulder alongside Connie, still buckled up in the Dondai’s driver’s seat.

“Oh, yay!” Mabel cheered, catching the young Gem’s attention. Both her and Dipper stood just outside the open door, fawning over the pair with immense concerned written all over their faces. “You’re both alive!”

“N-not that we thought you were dead,” Dipper clarified. “I mean, we somehow didn’t hit anything, but still, you can never be too careful.”

“Ugh, what happened?” Connie asked, rubbing her sore head.

“We don’t know!” Mabel answered honestly. “You guys just… shut down and wouldn’t listen to us even though we were super scared for you! And then ‘poof’! You unfused!”

“And without Stevonnie, the car spun out so… here we are…” Dipper added with a worried frown as he offered a hand to help Steven out of the car first. “Are you guys ok?”

“I think so,” Connie said, accepting the help that Mabel was extending to her. “Are you ok, Steven?”

“...Yeah,” the young Gem nodded, quietly glancing down as he stepped out of the Dondai. He stopped however, upon noticing Connie turn to face the road leading down the mountain, her expression stern and solid as she looked away. “W-what are you doing?” Steven asked, confused.

“What are we doing?” she turned the question back around as she turned to face the others.

“Uh… I thought we were racing…” Mabel pointed out with a frown.

“Well, at least we were…” Dipper noted, knowing their chances of catching up to Kevin were practically non-existent now. .

“W-we’re getting back at Kevin!” Steven added instantly. “We’re about to beat him at his own game! We’re about to win!”

“Yeah…” Connie nodded solemnly. “But… why do we even have to play his game?”

“B-because!” the young Gem exclaimed tightly, his anger starting to build up all over again. “He… h-he’s… augh!”

“I know!” Connie agreed, understanding Steven’s frustration all too well. And yet at the same time she also knew, there just had to be a better way of dealing with that frustration than losing themselves to it as they had mere moments ago. “So why should he get to have any say over how we feel?”

“H-he doesn’t!”

“But he’s the reason we’re racing,” Connie pointed out. “Steven… he’s the reason we all fused…”

Needless to say that Dipper, Mabel, and Steven alike were all taken aback by it, unable to deny that this was completely true. Because like it or not, the very reason they had formed Stevonnie, Maven, or Stepper this time around had been solely for the sake of this race. Solely for the sake of trying to beat Kevin and his friends at their own twisted games.

“W-we… we are obsessed with him…” Steven muttered, letting out a small, shaken gasp of realization.

“What were we thinking?!” Mabel pouted regretfully. “Fusion is supposed to be for fun--and the occasional throwdown with uber-powerful bad guys--not for major jerkfaces like Kevin!”

“W-we really let ourselves get carried away… didn’t we?” Dipper noted, just as perplexed by their mutual error.

“We did…” Connie nodded with a sigh. “But… it’s not too late. I wanna finish this race… but not for him.”

Steven paused as he noticed the hand Connie was offering him, one carried a message of solidarity rather than spite. And as he met that hand, suddenly he completely understood. What Kevin had done to them, how he made them feel was awful, yes. But holding onto those feelings, letting themselves linger in just how awful it all was, was doing none of them any good. And chances are that besting him in some simple, silly race wouldn’t change that fact. The only ones who could have any sort of power over how they felt were themselves. Which was why there was no doubt between any of the kids as they all exchanged warm, resolved smiles with one another as they came together; this time around, they were going to feel better, win or lose.

“For us!” they proclaimed in an affirming unison, ready to take this last leg of the race on together, no matter what happened.

And yet, before Steven and Connie so much has had a chance to try and fuse again, a sudden blast of bright purple flame broke out between the kids, quickly forcing them apart. And in the midst of those flames, Zoom herself materialized, her expression absolutely outraged as she hovered high above the startled kids. “What do you dumb kids think you’re doing?!” she hissed harshly, her clawed hands in tight fists at her sides.

“We’re gonna get back into the race!” Steven exclaimed brightly.

“Yeah!” Connie, Dipper, and Mabel readily agreed, though Zoom, on the other hand, was having none of their shared enthusiasm.

“You’re gonna LOSE the race at this rate!” the demon snapped angrily. “While you brats were sitting around here ‘talking about your feelings’ or whatever, that chump Kelvin is taking the lead! And you’re just gonna let it happen?!”

“Uh… sure?” Connie shrugged, unconcerned.

“Yeah, it’s just some silly ol’ race,” Mabel smiled with a wave of her hand. “Who cares if he wins as long as we’re having fun?”

“I CARE!” Zoom shouted furiously, her flaming hair flickering wildly. “We had ourselves a deal, kiddos. I help you brats out, so you could win! That’s what ALL this was about! That’s what it was always about! That’s what everything’s about: WINNING!”

“Yeesh, somebody’s a little over-competitive…” Dipper remarked with a bit of a wry smile, eliciting a brief laugh from the other kids.

“Oh, what am I some kind of JOKE to you now?!” Zoom growled, snapping her fingers to call her set of shapeshifting wheels onto the scene. “Well, we’ll just see who’s laughing when I’m standing in the winner’s circle, kiddos! Catch you in the photo-finish… NOT!”

The speed demon let out a cackling, wild laugh as she hopped onto her bike which was quick to turn into her otherworldly car as she took off, barreling down the road in a burst of violet flames. The kids stood by, watching her all the while, hardly minding as she, much like Kevin, got an impressive lead ahead of them. Yet even so, they hardly minded, instead exchanging a blissful shrug just shy of Steven and Connie reclaiming each other’s hands, engulfing themselves in the light of fusion once more to face this final lap, and whatever came after it, together. And this time, they were going to do it entirely on their own terms.

The Himitsu thumped rhythmically with the electro tunes blasting through its speakers, Kevin nodding along with them as he rounded one of the last bends of the race with ease. He hadn’t the faintest idea as to what happened to the fusion, nor did he care; all he knew was that his victory was all but guaranteed, just as it always was.

That is, until an entirely new competitor blasted her way into the race entirely out of nowhere.

“Tch, finally,” Kevin grinned, spotting the shape of a car approaching from behind in his rear-view mirror. However, it only took a second glance at the fiery pink car to see that this vehicle was not the Dondai he’d been expecting. “Wait, wha-”

“Outta the way, slow-poke!” Zoom shouted, honking her horn obnoxiously as she easily caught up with Kevin. “I don’t got the time or patience to deal with a second-rate novice like you.”

“Hey!” Kevin snapped, offended and absolutely dumbfounded as he glared over at the demon. “W-what and who are you supposed to be?!”

“Oh, me?” the demon smirked. “Nobody important. Just the demon who’s gonna win this race without even trying!” Zoom let out another rowdy laugh as her car swiftly roared past Kevin’s, leaving the teen even more baffled, and even more set off than before.

“Over my beautiful dead body!” Kevin scowled, shifting the Himitsu into high gear to catch up with the speed demon. He managed to keep a good pace behind her for quite while, that is, at least until his other competitor finally returned to the race. The teen’s cold grin returned as he caught a glimpse of the Dondai out his window as it pulled up alongside him, knowing that it wouldn’t be able to keep that tie going for too long if he had anything to do about it. “You caught up,” he remarked to Stevonnie. “I was worried you’d miss seeing me win.”

Much to the teen’s surprise, however, Stevonnie didn’t even spare him a single glance, instead looking forward with a calm smile on their face. “What, so you’re shy now?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at them. Still, the fusion didn’t answer, even as they happily began to catch a bit of a lead on him. Shocked and appalled by this, Kevin accelerated, pushing the Himitsu hard, even as both cars rounded another tight turn. However, it was only as they cleared this turn that Stevonnie finally happened to glance away from the road… and toward the view on its other side instead.

“Whoa…” the fusion gasped in amazement, taking in the grand sight before them. From their spot on the mountain pass, all of Gravity Falls could be seen laying out before them, bathed in the cool, milky light of the full moon. From the mysterious floating cliffs to the north to the glistening lake to the east to the temple statue towering high into the western sky, the charming little town sat peacefully, resting easily under the beautiful canopy of endless stars hanging over it. Stevonnie couldn’t help but smile as they took in those stars, elated by just how lovely it all was now that they had spared a moment to enjoy it. Briefly, they glanced back at Dipper and Mabel behind them, both of them pressed against the window to catch a glimpse of the radiant outlook themselves and admiring it just as much as they were. And as the fusion met their delighted smiles, they reveled in them and the fun they were having, to the point that they didn’t even notice, nor did they care as Kevin raced past them altogether. After all, simply being here, together, was more than enough for any of them.

However, even as the finish line came into view, Kevin himself wasn’t the first to cross it. Zoom sped over it, cackling wildly all the while as her tires treaded flames behind them. The spectating crowd all gasped in surprise at this unexpected racer, especially as her car seamlessly shapeshifted into a motorcycle as she peeled past them, high on the adrenaline of her easy victory. “Let this be a lesson to you, punks!” Zoom shouted back to the confused crowd with a sinister smile. “Demon’s Peak is my turf! And anyone who thinks they’re good enough to race on my turf better be ready to put the best to the test! See ya, LOSERS!”

With yet another triumphant laugh, Zoom raced off into the woods, leaving a very baffled group of teens behind in her wake. “WHOA!” Ronaldo shouted first, trying his best to capture any photos he could of the demon for his blog. “Who was that?!”

“I dunno... “ Robbie remarked, hoping to get another glimpse of the retreating demon himself. “But she was kinda hot--ow!” He was quick to rub his sore ribcage the moment after Tambry harshly elbowed it to remind him to keep his eyes on her instead.

Mere moments after Zoom claimed her victory, both the Himitsu and the Dondai came careening across the finish, the former only barely scraping a clear victory past the former. The crowd let out a collective disappointed groan at this, knowing that, as always, Kevin had triumphed in yet another race.

“Aw, I was rooting for you, Dondai!” Jenny called supportively.

“Kevin is the worst!” Ronaldo exclaimed, briefly putting his phone down. “Boo!”

“Hmph, guess that crazy pink girl wussed out…” Kevin noted to himself as he got out of the car, not spotting any signs of Zoom in the vicinity. “Uh… I mean, that’s right! First place, baby! It’s like I invented winning!”

“Actually… I think you were in second…” Stevonnie noted with a small, cordial smile as they approached the smug teen. All the same, they offered their hand out to his, maintaining their even calm, manner all the while. “Still, good race.”

“You… tryin’ to kiss my hand with your hand or something?” Kevin asked, eyeing their hand suspiciously.

“You know, Kevin, you were right,” Stevonnie said, still smiling.

“I know,” the teen said, turning away before looking back to the fusion, slightly confused. “...About what?”

“The view from the mountain was pretty great,” Stevonnie grinned warmly, nodding back up to the mountain itself.

“H-hey! Don’t try to teach me a lesson! You lost!”

“Eh, third place isn’t so bad,” Stevonnie shrugged, accepting that fact as they made their way back over to the Dondai. “For my first time driving a car!”

“Ugh!” Kevin scoffed, agitated by just how unbothered the fusion seemed to be. “Look at you! Y-you’re so obsessed with me, you’re gonna drive away!”

Stevonnie did just that, smiling contentedly all the while as they began to drive off away from the mountain, even as Kevin tried hurrying after them to prove his point. “Fine! Go play with some kiddy toy cars with your dumb baby friends! I-I could beat you at that too! Don’t forget! You’re obsessed with me! Obsessed!”

“Yeah, you guys are totally the obsessed ones…” Dipper deadpanned to Stevonnie as the Dondai continued driving away.

“Looks like he’s got me pegged,” Stevonnie shrugged just as sardonically, taking one final glance at Kevin out of the rear-view mirror before they passed over a hill, blocking him from sight.

“You guys!” Mabel cut in blithely. “This was so much fun! We should really break out Stevonnie, Maven, and Stepper back to back like this more often! It’s like we had our own personal fusion party!”

“Well, it would have been more personal if it had been just for us from the start…” Stevonnie noted thoughtfully. “But yeah… it was a lot of fun, wasn’t it?”

“You can say that again, kiddo.”

“Huh?” the fusion gasped, looking over to see Zoom casually reclining in the passenger seat once more. “Zoom… y-you’re… not mad?”

“Pfft, please,” the demon scoffed with a small chuckle. “I was never mad to begin with. I was just itching to get out into the race myself, so I did. And I’m glad I did. The look on all those chumps’ faces? Classic!”

Zoom let out another amused snicker, eliciting shared looks of apt confusion from all of the kids until Dipper finally addressed it. “Wait, I still don’t understand. You helped us in the race, yeah, but what was really in any this for you to begin with?”

“Ooo, did you wanna teach us an important lesson about how winning isn’t everything?” Mabel asked, curious.

“Uh, no,” Zoom scoffed. “Like I said, winning is everything. I just did all this to mess with you kids.”

“Uh… why?” Stevonnie asked with a frown.

“Because it was a total blast!” the demon grinned brightly. “This is the most fun I’ve had in centuries! Gotta hand it to you kiddos, you got a ton of spunk. Well, for a bunch of mortals, at least. Maybe next time you’re in my neck of the woods, we can have ourselves a real race.”

“Yeah,” Stevonnie smiled, allayed. “Sounds like fun.”

“Well, this demon’s gonna call it a night,” Zoom stretched out with a fake yawn as she began hovering above her seat. “I’ll see you kids around. Keep it real.”

“Always,” all of the kids agreed in solid unison as the demon disappeared for the last time. Still holding onto their warm smile, Stevonnie turned some relaxing tunes on to accompany the drive home. A drive that each of the kids readily enjoyed as they rode through the crisp warmth of the beautiful summer night solely for themselves… and for each other.

As they did, a single engine drifted its way up to the very top of Demon’s Peak, awash in vibrant purple flames. As it came to a slow, easy stop, its enigmatic, demonic rider proudly sat upon it, smiling up to the full moon above her, always ready for another race.

#jen writes #universe falls #gravity falls #steven universe #crossover #au #steven #connie #dipper #mabel #stevonnie #stepper #maven #kevin #greg #gravity falls drift #please dont read these chapters on dumblr they're not formatted correctly alsdjlkasdalsdl

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countess-rosegold-blog · 5 years

Text

Best for My Girl

Characters: Scott Lang x Reader

Warning/s: Fluff, language

Word Count: 1,795

Note/s: This challenge just got real! I’ve missed two days now, but that’s no excuse to stop. To the anon who requested more Scott Lang smut, I wanted to write that so bad for this prompt, but as this went on it didn’t feel right. Still, I’ll be writing that in the future for sure.

If you happen to read this and/or leave some feedback, thank you! Enjoy.

Prompt: Day 5: Starry night from @ibwhellospring ‘s Spring Short Story Writing Event

You sit in silence as you watch the city lights warp into dark silhouette of trees outside your passenger window. The windows of the 1963 Chevy pickup are rolled down, a slight chill from the night breeze soothing your face and brushing your hair aside.

You have no idea where you’re headed, or where Scott got this old truck or why he’s in such a mood, but you don’t miss the way he’s purposely trying to ignore you.

It’s a moonless night and it’s dark out, the last sign of life was from opposing traffic you passed twenty minutes ago. You’ve been in the road for almost forty.

Your stubbornness to match his cold shoulder wears thin.

“Babe, please. Can you just tell me why you’re mad? Or at least where we’re going?” Or why and where in the world would you get this vehicle for a late night drive? You’re dying to know the answer to the last one but it may irk him more, so you keep it to yourself.

His grip tightens around the steering wheel and he shifts slightly in the driver’s seat. “I’m not mad, Y/N.”

You sigh in frustration and run a hand down your face. Right. Not mad. But also not baby, not sweetheart--just Y/N. You bite back a remark. You’ve been wracking your brain for whatever led to this bizarre situation. You come up empty.

Today was like any other and it could easily blur into the thousand other days of your life. You started the day with a run, attended a briefing with Hill at 9 a.m., then worked on your station the rest of the day. Average day. Mundane.

Your thoughts are interrupted when you notice Scott take a right turn toward a steep hill. It’s pitch black save for the headlights but the darkness doesn’t last long.

You emerge in what appears to be the summit of the hill--a clearing--and it offers a striking view of the city from a distance. Yellow and red spots twinkle in the night.

You cast a surprised glance towards Scott who slows the truck down to a stop, but not before he makes a 180 turn--robbing you of the view. With the truck facing the dark path you came from, he turns off the engine and leans back in his seat.

This place is… unexpected. Beautiful. But he still seems mad.

“Scott?” You whisper as dread begins to creep in your chest. Oh, God. Is he gonna break up with me or something? The thought barrels into you like a freight train and you gasp out loud despite yourself. Tears blur your vision.

He finally looks at you, astounded. “Wha--? Sweetheart, why are you crying?”

You barely register what he says because your thoughts bombard your mind. I can be quite emotional, you think. Maybe that’s why he needed to get me away from the Compound. To avoid eyes and ears when I break down.

Suddenly your top feels constricting, the air in the vehicle stuffy. You take time taking off the safety belt but when you’re free of it, you open your door and climb out. Somehow you underestimate the drop to the ground and pain greets your ankle when you land.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” You hiss into the night. This makes you more vulnerable and you sob as you drag yourself towards the back of the truck. You hear Scott’s door open and close and he’s right beside you.

He wraps his arms around your waist and helps you upright. The warmth of his body does not ease the dread.

“Sweetheart, what…?” He struggles to complete the sentence, confusion laced in his tone.

You hold up a hand to stop him as you gather yourself. “So it’s sweetheart again,” you mutter under your breath.

You lean on the side of the truck and face him.

“You didn’t have to bring me all the way here to--” You wince. You can’t even bring yourself to say it.

You take a deep breath and try again. “The truck, the view? It’s all beautiful, Scott. But I’d rather have you done it at the Compound than go through all this trouble just to soften the blow.”

He looks at you, brows furrowed and dumbfounded.

You continue, “What I’m saying is, I think I know now why you brought me here.”

Then the sobbing continues.

An exasperated sigh escapes him and he tilts his head towards the sky before looking back to you. “Okay, baby. Just breathe.” He caresses your arm and touches your cheek. “But with that speech and all the tears, I don’t think you have any idea why I brought you here.”

His hands settle in your waist again and he brings you closer to him. You’re pressed together, your hurt foot positioned awkwardly away from you. He kisses your forehead and smells your hair, then tilts up your chin so you’re face to face.

“You’re not breaking up with me?” You croak.

“That’s what you thought?” Scott asks in disbelief. “Oh, baby. You may be the brains of the Weapons and Tactics Division, but you’re my idiot.”

You glare at him through remnant tears and he chuckles.

“I’m not breaking up with you, silly. To be honest--and don’t freak out--I can’t imagine a future where I break up with you.”

You feel a burning in your cheeks. “Really?”

Amid the dark, his signature goofy grin lights up his face. “Really.”

It’s a first-time feeling and it washes over you. I can’t imagine a future where I break up with you. The feeling licks your skin, like warm milk trailing your body. Your breath hitches and you close the distance, sealing his lips with yours.

He’s surprised for a second before he melts into you, mouth exploring your own. He grips your lower back and softly pins you on the side of the truck. Your hands find his neck and kiss him deeper.

He suddenly breaks away, breathless. “Okay, Y/N sweetheart,” he holds up a finger and moves to open the backseat of the truck. The upper half of his body disappears into the vehicle as he reaches for something. After what seems to be a little bit of struggling, he emerges with a huge transparent zipper bag with something inside and what appears to be a black vacuum insulated tumbler.

Scott looks giddy as he showcases the things in his hands. “It was pretty last minute but I came prepared.”

You inspect the thing in the bag. “Mr. Lang, is that a comforter?”

He grins mischievously. “That is correct.”

You bite your lips to suppress a smile. “And what’s in the tumbler, if I may ask?”

“A little yorsh for m’lady.” He dramatically bows.

You can’t help but laugh.

He hands you the tumbler as he sets the bag down and unzip it. He wiggles the fluffy comforter out and the waft of fresh linen fills the air. He hugs the rolled sheet and hurls it inside the back of the truck.

“Wait here,” he instructs as he rounds the vehicle to open the back of the pickup. He climbs and there’s some shuffling before he jumps back to you.

“How’s your foot?”

“Better now.”

“Yeah? I think we should still take precautions,” he stalks toward you then before you could register what he’s doing, you’re already off the ground, tucked in his arms.

“Hey!” You giggle as he settles you in the comforter he laid out. He settles beside you, propping his body with one arm. The back of the truck gives a breathtaking view of the city below.

It’s a standstill moment; there are many things you want to say but you form no words at all. You stare at the view but also very aware of Scott beside you. You bask in the familiar scent of baby powder and watermelon, breathing him in.

“I know this night may have been a weird one for you,” he says. He’s suddenly looking shy as you look up at him.

You grin. “Maybe a little bit.”

He chuckles. Then he clears his throat. “I’ve been meaning to bring you here for quite sometime now.”

You smile up at him but wait for him to go on.

“I know we’re still kind of new; we’ve only been together months,” he says and take your hands, clutching it in his chest. “But everytime I look at you, I see tomorrow and the days to come and I know you’ll still have my heart then.”

And in that moment you know what he’s going to say, why go through all this plan, because it’s also how you feel.

“I--” overwhelmed, you try to speak but stop yourself. This is his.

He kisses your hand.

“I love you, Y/N. I’m deeply in love with you.” He proclaims. “I’ve been for a while now, but every other instance I wanted to say it didn’t feel right.”

Tears form at the corners of your eyes. “This moment couldn’t be more perfect.”

You kiss him then and it’s a kiss like never before. You revel in it, Scott tasting like salt and honey. The slight stubble in his jaw caresses your face.

When you take a pause and your faces inches apart, you look up the night sky full of stars. “You remembered,” you whisper to him.

“Profess your love under the stars and you’ll have my heart forever,” he quotes. It’s been a joke, a long time ago, a time when you and Scott weren’t even together.

Since the Weapons Regulation and Supervision Initiative, Stark and Fury tasked you with overseeing the management of weapons and any other paraphernalia needed for assignments. Gone were the days when agents and the Avengers get to equip themselves with whatever weapon they wanted. Leveling of threat assessment and collateral damage projections are considered before deployment. The enhanced weren’t affected much, but the humans took issue. And so the badgering and bargaining began. The more persistent ones tried to woo you into giving more of what was allowed to them. It’s been a running joke for some of the guys to declare words of love just to get what they want, and you’d retort with the quote.

“Well it is a starry night. I know I had to give the best for my girl.” He winks and you chuckle.

You look at him, eyes roaming over his features. You get it then--what he said about looking at you and seeing what lies ahead.

“I love you too, Scott Lang. I’m deeply in love with you,” you mirror his words.

He’s shocked and he’s teary-eyed and he smiles the biggest smile, and you kiss again under the million twinkling lights.

#ibwhellospringday5 #ibw: hello spring 2019 #scott lang fic #scott lang x reader #marvel fic #mcu #scott lang

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365daysofsasuhina · 6 years

Text

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Forty-Four: Do Not Tell ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Of Monsters and Men ] [ AO3 Link ]

...she really needs to stop running into this guy! What, is he following her? Stalking her? Keeping tabs on her? Because...to be fair, she ran into some other trouble first.

Though Hinata’s had some close encounters with the other side, as her mother called it, it’s only gotten worse as of late. While she’d see things other humans just...didn’t seem to see, she never reacted to it. Or, she tried not to. It would only draw attention to herself, after all. And that might have gotten her killed.

But now she’s gone and done it. Landing herself into trouble, and then ending up bailed out by none other but one of the most infamous of monster kind: a vampire. And not just a vampire, but one tasked with keeping their kinds - Nightwalkers, as they call themselves - safe from encroaching and curious humans.

Then she’d gone and accidentally used magic on him. Something she’d, admittedly, never done before. She’d never had a chance. Her encounters with monsters had never been so severe as to need it. And before she’d had an opportunity to use it on her actual aggressor, the Enforcer had shown up. As per his laws, the mandates as they call them, he’d tried to drug her, get her to forget...but she’d stopped him. And simultaneously freaked him the hell out, because her kind is to monsters as monsters are to humans: myth.

Hinata is one of few that’s a strange...in-between. Monsters call humans Daywalkers. And they took their own title as Nightwalkers: trapped in mankind’s shadow as they get to enjoy the sun. But she, and others like her, have another name: Hinata is a Twilightwalker. She’s one that exists between the two planes. Not a monster, but not really a human, either.

Because Hyūga Hinata is a witch.

Her mother had been one too...when she was alive. Typically a talent passed only from mother to daughter, magic - as many call it - traveled from Hanako’s veins to Hinata’s.

Once, long ago, the Hyūga had been regarded as powerful miko - shamans who would speak to the gods. It was rumored that they could see the future. But then the miko were ousted, their temples robbed, and their reputations tarnished, forbidden from their arts.

But better than being burned, as many of their western sisters were.

Since then, their bloodline - once tracked and carefully tended - has spread, and thinned. Those with the talent are rare. Hanako had professed to having only partial ability. She would get the occasional headache that would predate a blurred, vague vision. But her skill in foreseeing what was to come was only part of her gift.

Nightwalkers can manipulate what lies within. It’s what gives them their ability to Shift, to change. But witches? Twilightwalkers? They grasp at what lies outside. Elements, usually. But also other beings. Namely Nightwalkers. The old folktales of witches and their familiars were...dumbed down. Glorified. While some monsters would forge contracts and do so willingly...that was rare. Most witches that ordered an inhuman creature did so by force.

And that was exactly how Hinata escaped her memory being fogged.

The vampire - she didn’t even get his name - had been clearly rattled. It had been quite some time since witches - or, in Japan’s mythology, miko - had been anything more than legend to anyone. To him, it was like a human catching sight of him draining another person’s neck. Witchcraft, magic...was just as terrifying and startling to see. Because losing one’s freedom to the will of another is, indeed, a frightening thing.

But he’d let her go, despite being the equivalent of a policeman in his world. She’d broken a law, in technicality: humans aren’t allowed to observe their kinds. But, she supposes she’s not exactly human. Whether or not the mandates were written with her people in mind, Hinata isn’t sure.

It’s been three weeks since that encounter in the alley. The bruises had brought alarm from her roommates at university. She’d told them she’d been mugged, but saved by a policeman. Not...technically a lie. But not the whole truth, either. The more they’d begged for details, the more nervous she’d gotten. Keeping what she knows secret isn’t easy when you’re surrounded by humans most waking moments.

Thankfully the marks faded quickly, and with them, most of the rumors and discussion. She’s been far more careful about her time out and about after dark since then. In fact, it’s practically nonexistent now.

But something always comes up, it seems.

A night out with friends to see a movie after a series of exams has run rather late. And yes, they’re traveling as a pack. But Fate, it seems, just has it out for her.

A crowded station means plenty of bodies. And given Hinata’s short stature and lack of forward action, she gets separated, unnoticed in her absence due to her typically-quiet nature.

When the train pulls away, she’s the only one not on it.

Panic.

True, she can wait for the next one. But now she’s alone, surrounded by strangers. Surely no Nightwalkers will try anything here. It’s too visible, unlike a dark alley. But that doesn’t stop her mind from conjuring horror stories.

“Hey.”

Nearly jumping out of her skin, Hinata barely restrains a screech as a hand finds her shoulder, spinning her around to reveal wide, pale eyes. And what do they meet but a familiar pair of dark irises that look to her cautiously.

It’s him…!

He lifts a finger to his lips. “I saw what happened. If you’d like, I can give you a ride.”

Mind reeling, she automatically retorts, “W-why, so you can try to knock me out again?”

“That’s when I thought you were a Daywalker and a liability. Now I know better.”

“...why do you want to help me?”

“Because you’re the first like you I’ve met, and that makes you valuable.”

Hinata’s nose wrinkles. “...what is that supposed to mean?”

“Look, we can stand here and half-shout at each other in a crowded train station and risk being overheard, or I can start driving you back to your dorm, and you can ask whatever you want in the quiet. Okay?”

She eyes him for a moment, weighing her options. At the very least, she knows she has at least some sway over him. If things get bad, maybe she can order him to stop the car so she can make a run for it. And given that things only seem to be piling up...maybe it’s a good idea to talk to someone who might know more, and be able to tell her what on earth is going on. “...okay.”

He nods, and then leads their way back out to the streets. A sleek black car lets them in, engine purring to life.

“...what’s your name?”

“Uchiha Sasuke,” he replies without hesitation, checking his mirrors to pull out into traffic. “I’m a vampire, as you...probably already guessed.”

“And you’re...an Enforcer? Is that what you called it?”

“Mhm. Think of it like...special police for Nightwalkers.” A glance to her. “...monsters. Vampires, werewolves, harpies...that sort of thing. The man who attacked you was also a vampire. He broke a very strict law, so...I had no choice but to take him down. I thought you were human, and that he’d revealed himself to one. There’s few bigger crimes than that.”

Hinata goes quiet, thinking that over. “...I’m -”

“Hyūga Hinata. I already know. I...did a little digging after I met you. Trying to figure out more about you, and...what you are.”

A suspicious glance is thrown his way. “...and w-what did you find?”

“Not much. You’re an average student, come from an average family. Father, younger sister, deceased mother.” He pauses. “...was she like you?”

“...yes. But not very strong. I...I’d never done that before I met you. I’d never needed to…”

“You caught me by surprise, but still...your power is impressive. Not many are around who know - let alone believe - that those like you exist. I...wasn’t expecting it.”

Realizing her actions likely wounded his pride, Hinata can’t help a hint of a smile. “...I didn’t hurt you.”

“No. And I didn’t hurt you. We just...startled each other.”

“...mhm.” For a moment, she stares out the window. “...so...am I in any trouble…?”

“...not directly. The relationship between Nightwalkers and...your kind has been off and on in the past. But after the shifts in history that scattered us both, any traces of it - good or bad - have been pretty much wiped out. Most of our kinds don’t even believe yours exists. It probably goes without saying, but…” He gives her a pointed look, and Hinata pauses as she finds not black eyes, but crimson. “You do. Not. Tell. Anyone...about what you know about us.”

“O-of course not! Everyone would think I was lying, o-or deranged if I started talking about m-monsters, anyway.”

“I know. But our existence is still precarious. I can’t afford to let anything slip. You’re a stranger - I can’t just trust you...but I guess I don’t have much choice. In return...know I’ll do what I can to help keep you safe. Despite popular belief, we protect humans, too. It’s a balance that has to go both ways. Just...try to stay out of trouble, if you can help it.”

“Believe me, I try. It just...has its ways of finding me.”

“That’s probably because of what you are. There’s not a lot of information left on your kind, but...I get that impression from what little I’ve found. Just be careful. I’ll try to handle the rest.”

It’s then they pull up to the university grounds, Hinata directing them to the proper building. Moving to get out of the car, there’s a pause as he takes her wrist. “...what?”

“...you probably already know this, given what happened to you. But there are dangerous Nightwalkers out there. Most are just as scared of humans as you are of them. They don’t want to be seen. But some...well, they don’t really mind. So if you suspect someone’s...like me, just avoid them. It’s safer that way - for you both. They’re not all as honorable as those of us who serve the Senators.”

Senators…? Before she can ask, Sasuke relinquishes his grip, and she takes that as a sign to leave. “I’ll...keep that in mind.”

He nods. “...be safe out there.”

Hugging herself against the night chill, Hinata watches him go before heading inside. It looks like the others aren’t back yet...she might as well wait.

And start thinking up another alibi.

Welp, so much for my 'upload before midnight' streak, but...today was kinda long, and a lil stressful. But hey, done is done! Another Nightwalkers piece! This one a sequel to Day Thirty-Five! Both Hinata and Sasuke have a lot to learn about each other, and what they are. But at least they have a kind of truce...for now. But that might depend on if anyone else discovers Hinata's secret :3c Anywhoozle, that's all for tonight - thanks for stopping by! And I'll see ya tomorrow, as always~

#uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #sasuhina #of monsters and men [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

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rykerelias-archive · 6 years

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TRANSFERRED FILE. || @magicandsciencemuses Jessica & Elias. VERSE: ac. ( organic damage. ) 007. THREAD: your chariot awaits.

❝ don’t know, don’t care. ❞

“Mmkay,” the detective replied, a sigh escaping, one hand rubbing at the back of his closely cropped head – he STILL hadn’t got used to the idea that he could grow it out if he wanted. “I realize you’re, uh,” a vaguely awkward clearing of his throat. “Pretty wasted, ma’am.” Diplomacy wasn’t his strength, what. “But if you can’t give me an option of where to take you other than the drunk tank, you’re going to the drunk tank so – do us both a favor, save me some paperwork and try and remember where you’re staying. PLEASE.”

Jessica snorted. Since when was she a fucking MA’AM?MA’AM was for Meth bitches like Trish’s mother, a woman who’d long since ditched her humanity for celebrity. “I’ve… I’ve got a card. Address.” At least she hoped she did, although maybe a night in the slammer breaking the jaws of every dickhead who tried to feel her up would help her vent for a change. Fishing in the pockets of her leather jacket – which, she realized after nearly a minute, was inside-out, dammit – she finally finds her wallet and ID. “Work out of my apartment. Just moved.” Which explained why she wouldn’t have been able to give directions even if she’d been sober.

It was an ADJUSTMENT, going from CTAC Marine Corps to Bay City Police Department detective. For starters, the LEEWAY seemed extraordinary, but, if anything cinched the distinction, it was the fact that he could smirk and NOT risk getting his lights punched out. MAYBE. He tried to hide it anyway, contemplating whether or not he should try and help her dig through her pockets, but the last thing he needed was her taking something the wrong way. “Right,” he replied, scanning the ident card and the shimmering holo card that reaffirmed her name along with company name and, what he assumed was the newest address. “Can I, uh –” Another hrmph, a clearing of his throat. “Offer you a ride home, Ms. Jones?” He didn’t really want to try and take her in. She wasn’t really causing that much trouble, just loitering where someone had been annoyed enough to bother to call it in.

Maybe if Jessica hadn’t been a little bleary-eyed from the copious alcohol she’d imbibed – MUCH more than it should take a woman her size to get drunk – she would have been pissed off by the detective’s smirk. “Sure, why the fuck not.” Given her profession as a P.I. and her tendency for organic damage when occasional perps found out about her tailing them, the police might as well know how to get to her new digs. “Ms. Jones is my dead mother. It’s Jessica.” Sober-her would have put a lot more vitriol into her words, but as it was, they were barely more than grumbles. All she wanted was a shower and to curl up with another bottle of Jack.

“Fabulous, it’s a date –” A sweeping gesture of his hand indicated the road where his car hovered; generic issue, unmarked cop car, nothing exciting, but it got from point a to point b fast as anything, and it was decidedly a step up from his personal … vehicle, if it could be called that. The faintest twitch at her offhanded comment about her mother, but it seemed she was too far gone to notice, at least. “Jessica,” he finished, one hand lightly pressed against the small of her back to coax her in the direction of the car, the other hand lurching out to pull open the passengers seat to let her slide or droop or collapse her way in. He just hoped she appreciated not being put in the back seat behind the divider enough to not upchuck all over the upholstery. “Detective Ryker, by the way. Elias. Or Ryker, or Detective, or hey dickwad, I answer to pretty much anything really.”

Oh, so he was THAT kind of guy, used to flaunting his whipcord bod and getting girls to fall over him or some shit. Hard to even tell what kind of shape he was in, aside from the thinness of his face, because of his layers upon layers of jackets and hoods. “Whoa, at least take me to dinner first before you get all handsy, police boy,” she said, still a hint of a slur in her voice. Hell, he was lucky she was too… simultaneously drunk and hungover to care much, or else she might have taken his arm off at the shoulder socket. She half-sank, half-slumped into the passenger seat, immediately buckling her seat belt. The interior of the car smelled… foul, a stale blend of cigarettes and food wrappers, more like a parole’s car than a detective’s. ELIAS. Not all men could pull off an ‘Elias’. “Dickwad, huh?” she snorted as he got behind the wheel. “I think I’ll go with Detective Dickwad.”

“No prob, Ms. Jones,” Ryker was quick to slide his hand free – though it hovered nearby in case she lost her balance somewhere between standing and sitting, a half and fleeting smirk PROBABLY going unnoticed. She was SPUNKY he’d give her that. “Hands off til otherwise indicated,” he said, shutting the door after her and loping around to drop into the driver’s seat, thumbing the engine on and giving it a second to pull up off the ground before he draped a hand over the wheel. His other hand dropped, sliding a pack of smokes from his jacket pocket, tapping one out halfway to offer towards her if she wanted it, shoving it into the corner of his lips if she didn’t, tip pressed to the patch on the side to light it, the window rolled a good halfway down to let the smoke escape. “Detective Dickwad it is – I mean, I did kinda walk myself right into that one,” he agreed. “So – private investigator, huh. And just what is it that you investigate, privately, as a general rule?” She looked … small. And thin, to be the kind of girl that threw herself headway and recklessly into other people’s business for a living, but it took all types and he’d learned long ago that looks were deceiving.

“JESSICA,” she insisted. Cocky dickwad, wasn’t he, presuming he’d eventually GET that invitation? As if! She slouched down in the passenger seat, eyes closed, listening to him start the vehicle, feeling it ease airborne. “No, I don’t smoke.” She kept her vices strictly booze and sex related. Rolling her own window down partway, and feeling the greasy Bay City air against her face as they climbed, she hid her small smile with a shrug. “Yeah, you did. Not real interesting stuff. People just turn to me when the police don’t do jack shit about their cases, either ‘cuz it goes cold or there’s no proof there even IS a case. Mostly missing husbands or wives, not showing up, ‘working late’, their partner afraid they’re sleeping around.” Quickly growing too warm from the metabolizing alcohol in her system, so she clumsily yanked off her scarf and leather jacket, exposing the plain black tank top underneath. She knew from experience that she’d have to pile the clothes back on in a minute, but the relief to her overheated skin was welcomed.

One sided first name basis, check. Hands off, check. A half smirk lingered, though, a long exhale as he drifted into traffic, MOSTLY content to let the autonav handle the driving, though a nudge here and there seemed necessary, at least to him, to keep things in line. He’d only trust tech SO far – a strange sentiment for a species with their sentience in chips in their heads maybe but. Some things he justPREFERRED to do himself. A sideways glance, again, as she eased back, at least for a minute, before wrestling out of the jacket and scarf. He didn’t offer to help – he was pretty sure she’d actually smack if he suggested it. Stubborn or self sufficient or both, he didn’t know, but – it made him smile. “That usually the case? Infidelity, I mean –” He’d had enough experience with humanity to guess it was, but then, he’d never been one to investigate the reasons why someone didn’t come home unless they just weren’t coming home at all, at least, professionally. “Imagine that must lead you down some pretty … INTERESTING avenues in Bay City.” He’d seen some of the skeeviest joints IN Licktown on some of his cases, and that was only dealing with the brothels and the virtuals, he didn’t TYPICALLY get dragged through the seedy motels and bars. Well. PROFESSIONALLY.

He had a… half-decent smile. For a man. And long, pretty hands, resting on the steering wheel as though at any moment the auto-nav would fail and he would have to pilot them to safety. As unlikely as that outcome was… Jessica didn’t doubt his ability to handle it. She idly started to wonder how GOOD he was with those hands… “Yeah, usually,” she grumbled, glad that in her half-still drunk, half-hungover state, she’d remembered to put her camera back in her canvas messenger bag. That would have been a bitch to replace, not to mention she would have to stalk the same brainless wangrods all over Bay City again. “The husbands are dicking around, nine times out of ten. Usually either with an intern or somewhere in Licktown, a titty bar or wherever. Missing wives are sometimes tricky, more like fifty-fifty, affair or shopping spree.” She reached along the side of the seat, found the reclining lever, and hiked it back at a good tilt. “Wake me up when we get there, cowboy,” she murmured, draping her jacket over her face to drown out the whizzing lights that flashed past the air-car’s windows.

“Gotta say, not overly surprised.” He wasn’t especially BEAMING with pride for the human species as a whole, and maybe it was just the jaded part of him speaking, or maybe it was from experience, but then he’d seen a lot of shit in his day, and that was before taking up the mantle of ‘detective’. “Men do tend to be led around by their DICKS,” he agreed, with a loose shrug of broad shoulders, his statement more matter of fact than anything else. “Could excuse it away as primal instinct, alpha male bullshit, blood not being where it’s supposed to be but – I’m generally not one to defend the sins of man-kind,” he remarked, with a half smirk, dividing the syllable to create the distinction from ‘humanity’ to ‘men’. “Men are assholes. Sorry you gotta put up with it, but – at least you get something out of the shitty deal right?”

A small snort of a laugh, his finger drifting over the control column to adjust the temperature to a generally more moderate one – he tended to prefer it chilly, but that wasn’t going to help her regulate any. “Why does the shopping spree angle not surprise me.” A shake of his head, a sideways glance as she made herself comfortable, the jacket dragged over her face, and he fell mostly quiet then, an occasional beat or two of whatever song was playing in his head rumbling through his throat, until the aircar drifted down with a soft chirp as the buffer eased down. Sliding out, and popping open the passenger’s side door, he cleared his throat softly, hesitant to actually try and shake her awake – he rather liked his limbs attached. “Hey. Sleeping beauty, your chariot’s landed,” he said, tugging LIGHTLY on the sleeve of the jacket draped over her face.

#ELIAS & JESSICA.#ELIAS & JESSICA. ( ac. ) ( organic damage. )#IC.#REPLY.#MAGICANDSCIENCEMUSES. ( jessica. )#MAGICANDSCIENCEMUSES #VERSE. ( ac. ) ( organic damage. )#THREAD. ( elias & jessica. ) ( ac. ) ( organic damage. ) 007.

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greenappleeyes · 8 years

Text

Secret Lives (Part 3)

Words: 1.4k

Summary: You and Steve(Castiel) are enjoying your new relationship when an old friend shows up.

Warnings: Angst, fluff, language

A/N: This one actually made me sad to write. There is obviously some canon divergence here (no assumed date with Nora, no sad Steve!Castiel- but we can still assume he was attacked) Tags at the end, let me know if you want to be added.

—————

You and Steve acted like a couple, although you never formally defined your relationship. He went about his routine of shifts at the Gas-n-Sip while you fielded calls and helped with minor researching for active hunters. You were amazed at how you started to think you could live a life like this permanently. You never would have thought about staying in one place before; not until you met Steve.

He eventually asked you how you earned money. You hated lying to him, but you didn’t want to expose him to the dangers of hunter life. “I work on an off as a private investigator.” Not completely untrue. “I like to think that I help people, but it can be a stressful job. Always being on the road, staying in these motels, never feeling home anywhere; it gets old.”

He nodded, thinking of Sam and Dean. “Yes, I have friends that work in a similar profession. It keeps them very occupied.”

“What about you? What’d you do before the Gas-n-Sip? Let me guess! You’re highly educated, well-mannered, and a totally adorable dork. Professor, maybe?” you questioned with a grin.

This was the moment he had been dreading. How was he supposed to explain having no background prior to becoming human? “Um, no. I worked with my… family. I made mistakes and they felt it best that I leave. I have no way of fixing it now, so I’ve moved on.”

You wrapped your arms around him because you could tell it was a painful memory. “That’s awful, Steve. I’m sorry. Everyone makes mistakes, ya know. To just abandon you and leave you all alone? That’s just terrible.”

You knew he preferred to focus on the present; the past was seemingly full of painful memories. So you never asked him about it again. You both were completely happy with what you had right now.

—————

One day, you had finally made up your mind. You were tired of this motel. You had been staying there with Steve for almost 2 months now. You wanted to find a place of your own to share with him. You hadn’t said it out loud, but you loved him. It shocked you immensely how hard and how fast you fell for him, but you couldn’t deny it.

When you told him your plan, he was equally excited. “I haven’t had a place to call home in a long time. I would love to share a home with you. I’ve, very much, enjoyed our time together.” He smiled and winked at you. “In bed and otherwise.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him for a moment. “I’ve also enjoyed our time together.” You mimicked his wink. “In bed and otherwise.” You giggled as he tossed you to the motel bed and stretched out over you. His sexual appetite was practically insatiable.

“Steve!” you giggled. “You have to be to work in less than 20 minutes.”

“Mmhm,” he mumbled against your neck. “We have time.”

“Steve…oh fuck… baby we do–on't… have time.” You barely got the words out due to his knowledge of exactly which spots drove you wild. You pushed him up to look in his lust-blown eyes. “You’ve got to get ready or you’re going to be late.”

He grunted, knowing you were right. He didn’t have the time to fuck you like you deserved right now. “Mmm fine. We will continue this tonight after I help out Nora.”

“Oh, right. You’re babysitting tonight. Such a good employee.” you joked, pulling him down to kiss you. You had intended on it being brief, but he drew it out until you forced him away from you with a laugh. “Go! Get ready.”

You drove him to work as usual, receiving your usual peck on the lips. Before you let him go you felt, for some reason, now was the right time to tell him. “Hey, um, you don’t have to say anything, but I wanted to tell you something.” He cocked his head the way he always did when he was slightly confused. “You mean a lot to me Steve. I, um, I love you. Like I said, you don’t have to say…”

He cut you off with a kiss. “I believe that I love you too, Y/N. You have made me happier than I ever imagined I could be.” He sighed and looked towards the store. “But, I have to go, or else I will be late. We can finish this conversation, tonight.” He held your chin with his thumb and forefinger and kissed you again before making his way inside the store. ————

Returning to the motel, you say an all-too-familiar black Impala sitting in the parking lot with an equally familiar man leaning against it. “Shit.” You muttered to yourself. “Fucking Winchesters.”

Stepping out of your car, before he even had a chance to say hello, you asked, “What do you want, Dean?”

“Well, hello to you too, sweetheart.” he was mildly annoyed, but used to your short tone with him. “It’s been too long, how have you been.” You knew that tone. That was the ‘we used to hook up occasionally after a hunt, but we don’t anymore’ tone.

You let out an exasperated sigh, “I hate to be the girl that responds to a guy with the boyfriend line, but I have a boyfriend Dean. He’s a good man and…” you tried, but failed to hide your blushing smile. “And he loves me. I have a life, a normal life. So please…”

“So please just leave before he gets back, yeah yeah, I get it.” He actually sounded a little disappointed.

“I’m assuming you didn’t stop by for a hook-up. What did you actually need? I can help question some folks or do a little research, but I don’t hunt anymore.” You softened your tone because you technically owed him your life, more than once over.

He leaned back on the Impala and crossed his arms. “Rogue angel’s been killin’ humans.”

You raised your eyebrows, “Oh, is that all?! Why don’t you get your own little angel buddy, what’s his name? Castiel? Why don’t you have him help you?”

He let out a sad sigh, “He’s not exactly available at the moment. But, don’t worry about it. I’ve got another guy close that can help.” He reached over and put his hands on your shoulders.“Live your life kid, you deserve to be happy.”

You pulled him into a hug, “Thanks Dean. Don’t be a stranger though. I may not be a hunter anymore, but I’d like to think I’m still your friend.”

He pulled away, “Alright alright, no need to get all gooey. I’d better head out and get this angel business dealt with.” You said your goodbyes and he was off with a rumble with an engine.

————

You had waited for Steve to call you until you fell asleep. When you woke up and saw daylight without hearing from him you got worried. You called Nora and she informed you that he had left her house the evening before without incident.

You tried the police, but he had used a fake name and Nora wasn’t exactly thorough with a background check. You tried to track his phone, but the SIM card must have been ditched and destroyed. You used every single hunter trick in your book and searched for weeks, but he was gone.

Sitting in your motel room, with a mostly empty bottle of whiskey, mourning the loss of the man you fell hard and fast in love with and the life you could have had with him. Tonight was your last night in this room full of once wonderful, but now painful memories. Tomorrow you would be on the road to investigate a series of suspicious deaths in California. Raising your glass, as the tears streamed your face, you said to no one, “Once a hunter, always a hunter.”

————— Tag list: @splendidcas @Seasalticecream0131 @grunge-crybabies @love-charmer-sketch @hamartiamacguffin @heavenlyrainyparis @crowleysminion @mysteriouslyme81 @bitchasaurus @smoothdogsgirl @aly-birleanu @djs-lacrimose

#castiel x reader #cas x reader #Steve!cas #Steve!castiel #castiel fluff #castiel angst #castielxreader #castiel fanfiction #castiel fic #supernatural fic #supernatural fanfiction #GreenAppleEyes writes

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guacnroll · 8 years

Text

that 100 question jawn

Yeah so @starsburnouttoo tagged me in this like a month or two ago and I typed it up and never posted it so here it is. My bad.

1. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR CLOSET DOORS OPEN OR CLOSED?

Closed. I always thought some kind of monster was in there as a kid. Now it’s out of habit.

2. DO YOU TAKE THE SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONER BOTTLES FROM HOTELS?

Why? That’s just more shit to pack and potential spillage to clean up later.

3. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR SHEETS TUCKED IN OR OUT?

Sheets tucked in. You know, like a normal person.

4. HAVE YOU STOLEN A STREET SIGN BEFORE?

I haven’t, but I would and I will.

5. DO YOU LIKE TO USE POST-IT NOTES?

I just use the memo app on my phone.

6. DO YOU CUT OUT COUPONS BUT THEN NEVER USE THEM?

I don’t use coupons unless I need them, so nah.

7. WOULD YOU RATHER BE ATTACKED BY A BIG BEAR OR A SWARM OF BEES?

Swarm of bees, because they could probably be dealt with easier. Smoke or some shit. Worse comes to worse, there’s a better chance of survival with a swarm of bees.

8. DO YOU HAVE FRECKLES?

I don’t think I’ve known any full Filipino with freckles.

9. DO YOU ALWAYS SMILE FOR PICTURES?

Lmao barely.

10. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE?

Getting interrupted while tal-

11. DO YOU EVER COUNT YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU WALK?

There’s an app for that, bruh. Count calories.

12. HAVE YOU PEED IN THE WOODS?

I went backpacking in the mountains for a week for a class, so yeah.

13. HAVE YOU EVER POOPED IN THE WOODS?

A week. At least we had toilet paper.

14. DO YOU EVER DANCE EVEN IF THERES NO MUSIC PLAYING?

Why would I do that? I’m not even a good dancer in general.

15. DO YOU CHEW YOUR PENS AND PENCILS?

I used to. Not anymore.

16. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH THIS WEEK?

Do engineering textbooks count as people?

17. WHAT SIZE IS YOUR BED?

Twin because that’s what the apartment provided.

18. WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK?

Suede – NxWorries

19. IS IT OK FOR GUYS TO WEAR PINK?

Why would it not be okay?

20. DO YOU STILL WATCH CARTOONS?

Listen man, there’s so much anime out there, and with that Steven Universe shit coming out, damn. Speaking of which when is Koe no Katachi and Kimi no Na wa getting subbed this needs to be a thing also back to Steven Universe what’s Cartoon Network doing like are they trying to lower rati-

21. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE?

If I don’t like a movie I’ll just stop watching it. The worst movie I remember having to watch all the way through is the second Percy Jackson movie, and I only watched it because my little sister wanted to watch it.

22. WHERE WOULD YOU BURY HIDDEN TREASURE IF YOU HAD SOME?

I’d probably take a long drive somewhere, and find a nice secluded area. Then I’d bury it there, and record the geo coordinates somewhere.

23. WHAT DO YOU DRINK WITH DINNER?

It depends on what I’m eating man. You gotta match the drink to the food, bruh.

24. WHAT DO YOU DIP A CHICKEN NUGGET IN?

Chick-fil-a sauce, Polynesian sauce, BBQ, ketchup, honey mustard.

25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?

Filipino food’s da bomb.com.

26. WHAT MOVIES COULD YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL LOVE?

Any Studio Ghibli movie, probably. Or, you know, Shawshank Redemption. Maybe Clerks? Idk.

27. LAST PERSON YOU KISSED/KISSED YOU?

Someone at a New Year’s Eve party.

28. WERE YOU EVER A BOY/GIRL SCOUT?

Luh mao. Nah.

29. WOULD YOU EVER STRIP OR POSE NUDE IN A MAGAZINE?

Yall are funny.

30. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A LETTER TO SOMEONE ON PAPER?

I dunno, like, sixth grade? Yall ever heard of e-mail? Game changer, man.

31. CAN YOU CHANGE THE OIL ON A CAR?

I drive. I better know.

32. EVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET?

Nah.

33. EVER RAN OUT OF GAS?

I try to make sure that doesn’t happen.

34. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF SANDWICH?

Either chicken parm or pulled pork.

35. BEST THING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST?

I was talking to a few of other Filipino friends earlier. Bacon, eggs, and rice seems to be a staple in Filipino, or at least, Fil-Am culture. Idk if that’s just an Asian thing or a Filipino thing, tho.

36. WHAT IS YOUR USUAL BEDTIME?

Electrical Engineering major and late working hours dictate between 12-3 AM.

37. ARE YOU LAZY?

Despite all the work I piled onto myself, I still find time to take naps. So yeah.

38. WHEN YOU WERE A KID, WHAT DID YOU DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN?

Astronaut, Harry Potter, the usual.

39. WHAT IS YOUR CHINESE ASTROLOGICAL SIGN?

Year of the ox.

40. HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK?

My parents tried teaching me Tagalog as a kid but apparently my bitchass was like “Speak English I’m an ungrateful brat hahahah.” I know a few words but other than that, nah.

And English. But that’s a given.

41. DO YOU HAVE ANY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS?

Nah.

42. WHICH ARE BETTER: LEGOS OR LINCOLN LOGS?

Better question: who would answer Lincoln Logs?

43. ARE YOU STUBBORN?

Only on something that really matters to me. So like “drop this class it’s getting in the way of your grades,” I’ll be like “nah.” Other than that prolly not.

44. WHO IS BETTER: LENO OR LETTERMAN?

I don’t watch a lot of late night talk shows, and those guys are like before my generation, bro.

45. EVER WATCH SOAP OPERAS?

My sister told me to watch this K-Drama called Goblin and that’s basically a soap.

46. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS?

If there’s no railing then yeah.

47. DO YOU SING IN THE CAR?

Not unless I’m the only one in the car honestly.

48. DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?

Lmao nah.

49. DO YOU DANCE IN THE CAR?

Only when I’m with close friends or alone.

50. EVER USED A GUN?

Yeah. It was pretty fun ngl.

51. LAST TIME YOU GOT A PORTRAIT TAKEN BY A PHOTOGRAPHER?

Last year.

52. DO YOU THINK MUSICALS ARE CHEESY?

[has flashbacks of high school pit band]

53. IS CHRISTMAS STRESSFUL?

The most stressful part of Christmas is my mom bringing us to Church for like 3 hours.

54. EVER EAT A PIEROGI?

They’re pretty good.

55. FAVORITE TYPE OF FRUIT PIE?

Apple, probably.

56. OCCUPATIONS YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID?

Musician, author, scientist, somebody famous with lots of hoes and money, idk.

57. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?

My friend claims he talks to ghost and I’m inclined to believe him tbh.

58. EVER HAVE A DEJA-VU FEELING?

Yeah, a bunch.

59. DO YOU TAKE A VITAMIN DAILY?

Nah.

60. DO YOU WEAR SLIPPERS?

Don’t touch my chinelas cuh

61. DO YOU WEAR A BATH ROBE?

Nah.

62. WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED?

Sweatpants, t-shirt. The basics.

63. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT?

Kanye West, floor tickets, TLOP PSU 2016 heh heh

64. WALMART, TARGET, OR KMART?

Target bruh

65. NIKE OR ADIDAS?

I have a pair of Adidas sweatpants so like Adidas I guess

66. CHEETOS OR FRITOS?

Cheetos if I had to choose.

67. PEANUTS OR SUNFLOWER SEEDS?

I hate peanuts.

68. EVER HEAR OF THE GROUP TRES BIEN?

Ohhh you tryna go there? You think just because you know one obscure band means you’re all that but I bet you don’t even listen to prog rock you hipster piec-

69. EVER TAKE DANCE LESSONS?

I should.

70. IS THERE A PROFESSION YOU PICTURE YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE DOING?

Nah. But the dream girl is probably Yuja Wang, so if you’re classically trained in any instrument then you’re probably an 8/10 in my book already.

71. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE?

Nah I got dem recessive genes bruh.

72. EVER WON A SPELLING BEE?

Like, once. In third grade. It wasn’t a huge thing.

73. HAVE YOU EVER CRIED BECAUSE YOU WERE SO HAPPY?

The only time that would’ve happened in my life is when my sister was born.

74. OWN ANY RECORD ALBUMS?

I got a vinyl of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band b/c y not ya feel

75. OWN A RECORD PLAYER?

I’ll probably buy one. Eventually.

76. DO YOU REGULARLY BURN INCENSE?

The only thing I burn regularly is dat broccoli heh

77. EVER BEEN IN LOVE?

Yeah, that’s like a thing most people do.

78. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN CONCERT?

I’mma see Chance the Rapper soon, but other than that, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Isaiah Rashad, and I’d like to hear Yuja Wang perform some Prokofiev or Rachmaninoff or something.

79. WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU SAW?

Kanye West lol

80. HOT TEA OR COLD TEA?

Hot tea preferably.

81. TEA OR COFFEE?

I like both, but given my life I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee to stay awake recently.

82. SUGAR COOKIES OR SNICKERDOODLES?

Idk.

83. CAN YOU SWIM WELL?

I know how to swim, I guess.

84. CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH WITHOUT HOLDING YOUR NOSE?

Who can’t?..

85. ARE YOU PATIENT?

I wouldn’t be able to be an engineer if I wasn’t :^)

86. DJ OR BAND AT A WEDDING?

I’ll figure it out when I’m at that point.

87. EVER WON A CONTEST?

Does winning a music scholarship for my high school count.

88. HAVE YOU EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY?

Nah.

89. WHICH ARE BETTER: BLACK OR GREEN OLIVES?

I’m not, like, an olive expert man.

90. CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET?

Nah.

91. BEST ROOM FOR A FIREPLACE?

The living room I guess.

92. DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED?

Yeah sure.

93. IF MARRIED, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED?

Nah.

94. WHO WAS YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH?

There was some cute bassist in the pit band in my junior year. I prolly could’ve asked her out, but like she was a senior going to college so I didn’t really see a real reason at that point.

95. DO YOU CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR OWN WAY?

No because I try to be better than that.

96. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

Nah.

97. DO YOU WANT KIDS?

Sure.

98. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

Idk, blue, maroon.

99. DO YOU MISS ANYONE RIGHT NOW?

I’m at home rn so nah.

100. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TAG TO DO THIS VIDEO NEXT?

Is this a video? This isn’t a video.

@katie-be-happy @bluebrry What’s up yooo

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bharatiyamedia-blog · 5 years

Text

Ryan Kalish, Lars Anderson seek for life after baseball

http://tinyurl.com/y5usvem7 I used to be launched to Ryan Kalish this winter at a spot in Santa Monica, California, identified for respectable burgers and chilly beer. I recalled he’d had greater than a little bit promise as a participant. I additionally hadn’t heard a lot of him for some time. He was staying within the space with mates and he nodded towards a desk the place a handful of women and men had been selecting chairs and hanging their coats. He mentioned he wasn’t taking part in ball anymore and that he was educating pilates and had a stake in a startup firm known as Birdman Bats. He appeared enthusiastic about each, and we agreed {that a} story in regards to the bats, an enterprise that had begun with a single lathe in a storage in Northern California, could be worthwhile. His buddy,��Lars Anderson, was a co-founder, he mentioned, and for the second time that night time I used to be struck by a reputation and profession I knew existed however couldn’t fairly place. He mentioned Lars had performed abroad in recent times however had retired as effectively, and that I’d like Lars, who was clever and humorous and had an attention-grabbing means of taking a look at issues. The place was getting louder, my burger colder, my beer hotter, and we shook palms, promising to remain in contact. My 26-year-old son, sitting beside me, mentioned, “Who was that?” A man who used to play ball, I informed him. “Used to?” he mentioned. “How previous is he?” I tapped at my telephone. Thirty. I tapped once more. Lars was 31. A number of months later, this time at a Thai place in an El Segundo, California, strip mall, Ryan recalled that night time in Santa Monica and mentioned, “Man, I used to be so rattled then.” He checked out Lars, who smiled. “Inform him about your routine,” Lars mentioned. “My routine?” Ryan mentioned. “Oh, yeah. Get up, cry, pilates, cry, cook dinner, cry. It was like every single day. Each single day. Listening to those songs that I, I really needed to flush it. You understand, I knew it was taking place. So I placed on these songs that might sort of set off it, simply let it out. You understand?” It wasn’t precisely the baseball working out of him, however maybe the since gone imaginative and prescient of who he’d be in baseball, what he would do in baseball, how the 2 of them — the gifted younger man and the sport, his sport — would have grown not less than a little bit older collectively. Certainly, by now, he’d have carried out nice issues, created higher moments, stood in physique and soul with the participant he’d all the time imagined. As a substitute, a little bit greater than a yr in the past, he’d talked himself into the spring coaching lineup of the impartial New Britain Bees, requested his ineffective knee to carry for a couple of extra minutes, flared a single, breathed that in and surrendered. The bat didn’t make it. They had been drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2006, Lars 9 rounds after Ryan. Lars was from Northern California. Ryan from New Jersey. They turned mates late in that very same summer time in Fort Myers, Florida, and within the coming summers had been street roomies and bus mates. Ryan reached the massive leagues in July 2010, Lars a couple of month later. They had been 22. The sport that they had performed since they might hardly bear in mind, since Christmas mornings meant toy bats and balls, since they’d begun to see they had been possibly just a bit higher than the opposite youngsters, was solely simply starting. Staying was the onerous half, everybody mentioned. Getting there, although, that was one thing, too. Over elements of 4 seasons unfold over seven summers, Ryan performed in 153 main league video games. If his swing and arm and foot velocity and instincts had been keen, they usually had been, his physique was not. His knees, his shoulder and his neck took turns sending him to medical doctors and trainers and, ultimately, a actuality that his profession could be these 153 video games, and people could be surrounded by the types of experiences that has a person schedule into his day a great cry. Lars performed in 30 video games over three seasons, all with the Crimson Sox. His first profession hit — a single towards the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park — additionally noticed the runner forward of him flip recklessly at second base, get back-picked from proper area and tagged out. So Lars stood at first base within the second he’d labored his younger life to expertise whereas a full home booed Invoice Corridor. He’d get seven extra big-league hits, then almost a decade later strike out on a baseball area in Germany, pack his gear bag yet another time and head residence for good. “I don’t have disappointment or despair over my profession as a baseball participant,” Lars mentioned. “I believe I’ve extra nervousness about what lies forward. I’m not mourning not having the ability to play. I don’t even take into consideration taking part in baseball. I performed sufficient. I miss batting observe. For me, the disappointment and the fear and the nervousness and the worry is extra primarily based on possibly the lack of id. Simply feeling such as you’ve abruptly slipped into anonymity. You’re not related anymore. It’s like a sure dying of this projection that you’ve got of your self. How individuals determine with you. Which isn’t essentially wholesome. … I’ll recover from that. “However, I assume for me, the factor is, I’ve had one job my complete life. I’m certain some issues will begin to emerge. I’m thinking about plenty of issues. … However this can be a dying. We’re going by means of a dying. You don’t know what occurs if you die. I’m in that interval the place it’s like, ‘Oh rattling, I don’t know what’s coming.’ And that’s actually scary.” ‘Twice as more durable than hell’ to remain within the majors Roughly 60 p.c of gamers who log at some point within the main leagues don’t attain the service time required (about three years) for wage arbitration, in line with Steve Rogers, the previous main league pitcher who heads the Main League Baseball Gamers Affiliation’s profession transition program. The common main league profession for these gamers, he mentioned, is about 1 ½ years. Of the remaining, the 40 p.c who do play lengthy sufficient to safe the monetary features of wage arbitration and past, the common profession is 7 ½ years. Primarily based on the union’s analysis, Rogers mentioned, the common main league profession is about 4 years. Given minor-league salaries barely cowl meals and grooming merchandise, and the foremost league minimal wage is lower than $600,000, and most gamers don’t end school if they begin it in any respect, the fresh-out-of-work ballplayer would appear significantly susceptible in a job market that usually requires schooling, expertise and, effectively, expertise past hitting or throwing a fastball. The presumed path, maybe, is a minor-league teaching job, if the sport nonetheless runs deep sufficient and choices are few. To that finish, an entry degree, A-ball hitting coach may count on an annual wage of about $50,000, and there’ll be loads of competitors for it, and that sort of cash may be simply sufficient to get a coach to his offseason job. Steve Rogers retired in 1985, the top of a profession during which he’d received 158 video games and been an All-Star 5 occasions for the Montreal Expos. He had a petroleum engineering diploma from the College of Tulsa and had plans to enter the oil trade. Within the first 9 months of his post-baseball life, the price of a barrel of oil fell from $70 to $10. He went to work for the Gamers Affiliation. Former Montreal Expos pitcher Steve Rogers now heads the Main League Baseball Gamers Affiliation’s profession transition program. (Getty Photographs) Extra Fifteen years later, he started work with others on a pilot program that might help gamers — some lively, others retired — in profession transition. A brand new iteration of that program shaped in 2008, close to the ultimate days of Don Fehr’s management and the start of Michael Weiner’s, and the present multi-phased program took form about six years in the past. This system is partnered with the Ayers Group, a division of Kelly Companies. Roughly 100 gamers have taken step one in that course of, which is to satisfy with and endure an analysis by a profession coach and design a path ahead, often persevering with — or restarting — their schooling. (MLB funds the Persevering with Training Program, which financially assists retired gamers as effectively, and lots of drafted highschool gamers have school tuition written into their contracts.) The primary part is supplied without spending a dime by the union and the Main League Baseball Alumni Affiliation. On the finish of final week, Rogers was in Miami, the place he distributed program data to the New York Mets and Miami Marlins. The week earlier than, he mentioned, three gamers, all just lately retired, contacted him. “It isn’t rocket science,” he mentioned. “The reality of the matter is, it’s more durable than hell to get to the foremost leagues. And it’s twice as more durable than hell to remain there. So the whole focus is on getting there and staying there and ‘I’ll take care of the remaining later.’ And ‘the remaining’ hits nearly everybody. And ‘the remaining’ lasts longer. … It’s comprehensible. It’s not a damaging. It’s the character of the beast.” So he goes clubhouse to clubhouse and leaves folders for gamers who imagine the life-changing cash is coming and the baseball won’t ever finish and possess neither the time nor the top house to contemplate the options. And he screens a program designed to clarify what may very well be subsequent, in English and Spanish, when essentially the most urgent query in these clubhouses is — and needs to be — what’s now. The remaining, effectively, that’d be anyone else’s drawback, till it isn’t. ‘I favored performing for the world’ Virtually earlier than that final hit fell, Ryan Kalish was on the telephone with John Baker, a good friend and former teammate and, at the moment, a coordinator within the psychological expertise program for the Chicago Cubs. Although his physique ached and his baseball was unaffiliated and he’d left his twenties behind, and although he’d had an concept today was coming, Ryan knew he was in for a troublesome experience. “I actually needed it,” Ryan mentioned. “I put myself by means of plenty of ache to try to play. This man” — he nodded to Lars — “can attest to a few of the surgical procedures that I had, the rehabs, the shoulder, the knees. The knees had been the worst of it. Having neck surgical procedures, two of them. A variety of ache. And proving, quick, that I may play on the highest degree. So it was onerous for me to just accept, wow, I’m actually not going to get to show what I believe I may present everybody I may very well be. Everybody. As on the planet, man.” He laughed regardless of himself and continued, “I favored performing for the world. I favored to be on the stage. I needed to do cool issues. And ultimately, I needed to turn into an inspiration, too. I assume in some methods I’m. However it could have been larger on an even bigger stage. I favored that. Inspiration only for a combat. Simply to attempt. Like in no matter it’s that you simply wish to do exactly preserve attempting. Like, if you’d like one thing dangerous sufficient preserve going. I don’t know. I actually pushed the boundaries of how far I may go. “Hear, I do know individuals have had it worse. Ryan Westmoreland, that man, I all the time take into consideration him. I roomed with him throughout his mind surgical procedures and all that. So I do know I don’t have it the worst. However I took it fairly far. I had it fairly dangerous within the damage division. In order that was actually onerous to just accept, that I’m not going to play anymore. I by no means bought that likelihood. That was what was onerous for me.” Baker was raised in Northern California, performed baseball at Cal, was drafted within the fourth spherical in 2002 by the Oakland A’s and performed seven main league seasons as a catcher. He went residence at 35. Former catcher John Baker performed for seven seasons within the majors. (Getty Photographs) Extra “It’s like being thrown out of a helicopter into an ocean that’s the actual world,” Baker mentioned. “Earlier than that, you’re in perpetual Peter Pan-hood. You get to be a baby. You reside in a locker room. You’re round individuals who aren’t all that superior from highschool.” These are all good issues. Ok, anyway, that hardly anybody needs to go away, to go to a spot the place the sport modifications, the place you make the schedule, the place what’s subsequent is a thriller and possibly not all too comfy. “He known as me from the dugout,” Baker mentioned. “After the hit. He mentioned he was carried out. The very first thing, I needed to verify he was sure. Man, when he was wholesome, he wasn’t only a good baseball participant, he was top-of-the-line baseball gamers on the planet, a extremely particular expertise with a physique that couldn’t stand up to what a physique may do.” Ryan’s plan was to go to Europe for some time, watch Lars play in Germany, then bounce round, see the world and put far between himself and the earlier 13 years. After that, he’d transfer again to New Jersey, begin over there. He signed a one-year lease on an condominium in his hometown, broke that in two months, bought in his automobile and headed west till he reached Gilbert, Arizona. John and Meghan Baker’s home. They shared a bunch hug on the entrance door and began the rebuild. When the baseball goes, Baker mentioned, three issues go together with it. First, the previous participant now not has an apparent ability to grasp. “Hitting might be essentially the most addictive factor on the planet,” he mentioned. “You get a success and there’s a chemical launch. You’re so pleased. After which it’s the driving drive to stand up the following day.” Second, he mentioned, there isn’t a extra collaborative aim. No extra group. No extra scoreboard. “Once I first went residence I used to be destroying my 3-year-old in tic-tac-toe,” he mentioned. “That will get previous.” Then, he mentioned, the ex-player has nowhere to place his thoughts. “The quantity of stress they endure when taking part in, 50,000 individuals screaming, an enormous image of your face, your silly face, subsequent to your crappy file,” he mentioned. “We miss being beneath stress.” So there was Ryan Kalish. Adrift. Scheduling cries. Refusing eye contact. Asking for assist. For all Baker knew, Lars could be driving up any minute. He didn’t. He may’ve. “Ryan was looking,” Baker mentioned. ‘No matter occurred to that Lars man?’ Lars Anderson sat this spring on a inexperienced knoll behind a backstop at Camelback Ranch exterior Phoenix, the place the Los Angeles Dodgers prepare. He’d kicked his footwear into the grass in entrance of him. He watched batting observe, the a part of baseball he missed, and he watched a Dodgers coach flick floor balls with a Birdman Bat fungo. From a methods again, he’d seen afternoons like this one coming. Possibly from the primary time his identify made the waiver wire right here, or when he was launched, or possibly from Japan or Australia or standing at first base as a Solingen Alligator of Germany’s Bundesliga. The breeze, the clack-clack-clack of BP, the music from the close by ballpark, a case of recent bats at his aspect, he mentioned, these had been sufficient. He was a salesman now, a type of buoyant souls who units up a row of bats close to the cage or exterior the clubhouse and fights the earnest combat of the start-up. He’d grown Birdman internationally. He’d help in Birdman’s intentions to discover a place among the many company bat giants within the U.S. There was a protracted solution to go and that was OK by Lars. He had the time. He had the curiosity. He had the sport expertise. “I used to be not a man who swung one bat,” he mentioned. “I sampled all of them. I used to be very sanguine in my bat life, like a butterfly flying from department to department. So I bought to know loads about it simply accidentally. “Generally you get a vibe about it. My dad, when he would take me to purchase bats as a child, he’d say, ‘Lars, if you choose it up it has to say ‘Sure’ in your palms.’ I sort of saved that with me all through my profession. The issue was plenty of bats mentioned sure after which typically they’d say sure for a month after which begin to say no.” Ex-Crimson Sox infielder Lars Anderson co-founded the Birdman Bats firm. (Getty Photographs) Extra The bat firm, like their friendship, like their life paths, binds them. They went searching for an condominium just lately, pretty sure Southern California would maintain them for now. Ryan is gaining traction as a pilates teacher and part-time minor-league coach with the Dodgers. His brother, Jake, is a left-handed pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, pitching in Triple-A. Lars composes dance music and has written a number of first-person items for The Athletic. They nonetheless fret over their futures. They snigger about their pasts, the great elements and the not-so-good elements. Additionally they have switched roles in latest weeks, Ryan now the settled one, pretty sure he’s on strong floor, Lars questioning what’s on the market for him. Possibly a e-book about his travels in baseball. Possibly enterprise college. And there’s nonetheless all these bats to promote. Once I requested him who was most pleased with the profession he did have, he grinned and mentioned his grandfather, who’d just lately died. “Any article about me, he’d print it out and also you’d go to dinner with him and he’d hand the hostess that article,” Lars mentioned. “I’m like, ‘She doesn’t care.’ He was simply so stoked. He’d come to spring coaching, he’d come go to me through the season. “However I used to be considering, since he handed, all of the individuals within the service trade are going to be like, ‘No matter occurred to that Lars man? I haven’t bought an replace shortly.’ ” He’s nonetheless engaged on that. So a lot of them are. What comes of those that made it, however didn’t fairly make it? What occurs when the final half is left undone? The place’s that sit of their heads? Of their hearts? Of their pockets? “As soon as I knew there was an expert baseball, that you would do this to your job, that was what I needed to do,” Lars mentioned. “So, at Three years previous. I didn’t consciously select my career out of school or one thing. That’s what I’m doing now. Nevertheless it was by no means even a selection. It was simply, I’m doing it. Prefer it selected me. It wasn’t a 12-year profession, it was a 31-year profession. As quickly as I may hit socks that my dad pitched me when he was folding them in the lounge, that was it.” Ryan grinned. Being an ex-ballplayer hasn’t been straightforward. Possibly it by no means might be. Nevertheless it was inevitable. And it’s nonetheless higher than the choice. “It all the time follows you, man,” he mentioned. “Yeah,” Lars mentioned, “I don’t assume that’ll ever go away, truthfully.” “It by no means goes wherever,” Ryan mentioned. “I’m curious,” Lars mentioned, “to see how that goes.” Extra from Yahoo Sports activities: Source link

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