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teenwolffanclub-me · 4 years

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Season 1, Episode 11: Formality

Hey there beautiful reader! If you’re new here, this is a series I’m writing where each chapter is an episode from the first season of Teen Wolf. If you’ve been here before, hey! I missed you! Previous and future chapters are linked at the end of each part if you want to catch up.

Pairing: Stiles x Psychic! Reader (FINALLY!)

Warnings: angsty angst angst

Notes: Does anyone still like this series? The last part kinda flopped 🤨

Anyway, I’m back and super excited bc my babies are FINALLY official and they only had to almost die like three times to do it!

P.S. Lydia has terrible taste in men, Y/N still sucks at being a psychic, and the high school desperately needs more security

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Have you ever had a day go so unbelievably sideways that you honestly can’t even comprehend how fucked up it is?

Yeah, welcome to my Friday.

“This is the worst! My life is literally over.”

I huffed in annoyance, my jaw dropping at the pure absurdity of that statement. “Scott, Peter tried kidnapping you this morning and you’re worried about a dance?”

He frowned from beside me, his shoulders sagging. Last night, Deaton tried making Stiles and I leave the clinic once he was all patched up, but we both refused. I still wasn’t completely convinced that he was alive until he woke up with a start this morning.

It didn’t take long for Peter to show up, demanding that we hand him over. Actually, I can’t really say we because the three of us hid in the back while Deaton somehow took care of it.

Derek was still hanging out in the Argent’s basement, probably being tortured by Kate but most likely dead by now. I tried talking to Allison when I got to school this morning, but she practically ran away from me when I brought it up. I had no idea how much she knew at this point, and it was freaking me out.

And, to top it all off, Scott was flunking so many classes that coach banned him from the dance tonight.

Clearly, that was the most pressing issue.

He was so desperate afterward that he asked Jackson to watch over Allison, since he is her date. He apparently refused because it’s Jackson, so Scott had been losing his mind with worry all day. He was convinced that Peter would be after her next, but I wasn’t so sure.

She wasn’t an obvious choice. I mean, her family is literally just a bunch of professional werewolf hunters. Adding her to his pack wouldn’t make much sense.

“I just—I can’t sit by and watch him try to kill everyone I love.” Scott forced a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh.

My steps faltered and I peered over at him, my eyebrows raised in surprise. “You love her?”

“Oh,” His eyes widened as he realized what he said. “Yeah. I do. Holy shit. I love her.”

I watched as his lips slowly pulled into a grin, relieved that he wasn’t freaking out for a moment. It’d been pretty obvious for awhile that they loved each other, and I was honestly shocked it had taken him this long to acknowledge it, but happy for him nonetheless.

“That’s it. I’m going tonight.” His face hardened with determination before he turned on his heel and walked away briskly.

“Okay. Bye to you too!” I chuckled, curious to see how he’d manage to sneak in.

I only made it a few steps before someone rammed into my side forcefully. A pair of hands gripped my arms to steady me as I nearly toppled over. My eyes narrowed as they landed on Stiles’ sheepish expression.

“Hey. Sorry.” He let me go quickly and scratched at the back of his head. “Where have you been?”

“Class..?” I drawled slowly, my eyes trailing over his twitchy frame slowly. He seemed more wired than normal, which was saying a lot.

His chest was heaving as if he’d just run a mile—which I’d recently learned he was surprisingly incapable of—and his eyes were shining with barely contained anxiety.

“I just...uh—I have a, I’ve been trying to...will you go to formal with me?” He rushed the words out so quickly, it took me a second to process them.

I just stared at him, waiting a moment to see if he was going to follow that up with anything else. “You mean the one that’s tonight? Are you serious?”

His honey eyes widened, as if he wasn’t expecting that response. I mean, what else was I supposed to say? I’d been waiting for him to ask me for almost two weeks now, and he waits until the day of? Who does that?

“Uh,” He glanced away from me quickly, his cheeks turning pink under the fluorescent lights. “Not if you’re going to say no.”

I just rolled my eyes, ignoring the way my heart began fluttering at the thought of going with him. I took a step forward so that there were only a few inches separating us and leaned up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“It’s a date.” I patted his chest before walking away, an amused smirk pulling at my lips at his stunned expression.

————————

I let my fingers trail over the frilly materials hanging in front of me as I took in my options. I was failing miserably at finding something decent to wear tonight. I wasn’t used to dressing up or being overly girly, so I had no idea where to start. I’d really just been standing here for the last several minutes, overwhelmed by all the colors and textures.

Allison was standing to my left, inspecting a few dresses in a full length mirror. Lydia was long gone somewhere behind me with a mountain of cloth in her arms. I picked up a knee-length blue dress and decided it wouldn’t hurt to try it on.

I saw someone approaching Allison out of my corner of my eye and glanced her way fleetingly, but froze as my gaze locked with Peter’s. I looked around, not fully believing that he was here, before jerking my attention back to him. He gave me a slow, amused smirk before shifting his eyes toward her. My head whipped back to the dresses in front of me, my entire body going rigid as I tried not to alarm her.

Maybe Scott had been right this afternoon. But would he really try to turn her now? In the middle of the mall?

“That’s not your color.” I heard him murmur, and stole another look their way. I didn’t want Allison to catch on that I knew him, or that anything was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Allison shifted her weight, looking uncomfortable as he stared at her intensely. “Sorry if that was intrusive but, considering your skin tone, I’d go lighter.”

“Because I’m pale?” She asked quietly, somehow not questioning the fashion advice from a strange man.

“Fair.” He corrected, his head tilting as he tried to look well-meaning. “I mean, you can’t call skin like yours pale. Not skin that perfect...”

“Okay.” She laughed awkwardly and put the dress she was considering back on the rack beside her.

“Trust me, I have a...unique perspective on the subject.” She nodded and turned to walk away with a tight smile, obviously weirded out, but he stepped to the side so she couldn’t get away. My skin crawled at the predatory gleam in his eyes as he practically sized her up.

She watched nervously as he grabbed a new dress from the rack behind him and took her hand in his. She reeled back instantly at the unwelcome touch, but that didn’t stop him from bringing her skin up beside the material for comparison. “See? Much better.”

I’d heard enough. I took the few steps needed to close the distance between us, my heart racing in my chest. I wasn’t convinced that he was stupid enough to try anything wolfy in public, but I wasn’t about to take any chances, either. I stopped at her side and grabbed her wrist gently. Her wide eyes jerked toward me, swimming with relief.

“Hey, Lydia needs help in the dressing room.” I rushed the lie out quickly, barely registering that she nodded in understanding before pulling her away.

I didn’t even spare another glance at Peter as I weaved through the narrow isles briskly, not stopping until I found Lydia clear on the other end of the store. She actually was by the dressing rooms, posing to herself in a full length mirror. I staggered to a halt at the sight of the champagne dress she had on. It was somehow...familiar?

“That was so creepy.” Allison muttered quietly as she shook my hand off and plopped down onto one of the plush chairs beside the mirrors.

I walked right up to Lydia, unable to stop myself as I continued inspecting her dress. She watched me for a moment and raised her eyebrows expectantly when my gaze rose to meet hers. My face pinched in confusion. There was a persistent nagging at the back of my mind as I looked at her, like there was something I should be picking up on. But I just couldn’t place it.

“I think that’s the one.” I jumped as Allison suddenly spoke up from behind us. I cleared my throat and took a step away from Lydia, realizing how weird I was being.

She turned away from me with one last questioning glance before giving herself a satisfied smile in the mirror, her hands smoothing down the silky material before resting on her hips.

“Me too.” She spun around excitedly and disappeared behind one of the dressing room curtains.

I couldn’t explain it, but I suddenly felt my stomach twist as a dark cloud of dread washed over me.

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I looked over Stiles’ shoulder, the hardwood floors beneath my feet vibrating as loud music rang throughout the space. We were slow dancing for the second time tonight, my arms locked around his neck and my head resting against his chest. It was really nice, being this close to him. It helped lower the base level of anxiety I’d been fighting all day.

It’d been nearly an hour since I last saw any of our friends. We all met up with our respective dates at the start of the dance, Lydia having brought a random lacrosse player since Jackson was with Allison. Just then, my eyes found them dancing stiffly a few couples away, but the sight did little to calm my nerves.

He was completely wasted at this point, since he thought it was a good idea to bring a flask of vodka with him, and she was just trying to make the best of it until we all went home. It was clear that neither of them wanted to be here together, but Scott had pretty much threatened him into watching over her, and she didn’t want to be without a date.

Scott successfully snuck in through the roof—don’t ask me how—and was managing to keep an eye on them while dodging coach all night. My eyes swept over the room, seeing nothing but familiar faces, just not the one I was looking for.

Stiles suddenly pulled back and my arms loosened from around his neck. His eyes rounded as they flickered around my face with concern. “You okay?”

I glanced over his shoulder again, feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I also didn’t know how to explain the uneasy feeling I’d had since we got here. My dancing faltered as I noticed that Jackson and Allison were gone.

“Have you seen Lydia recently?” I asked absently, my eyes still sweeping around the gym quickly.

I took a step away from Stiles and turned all the way around, my chest tightening with anxiety. For some reason, I felt like I needed to find her. Right now. Or something terrible was going to happen. My anxiety was quickly rising to panic when I didn’t see her anywhere.

“Y/N?” Stiles put a hand on my shoulder and I glanced back to see him watching me closely, his brows pinched in confusion.

“I have to...” My skin was crawling with the intense need to get out of here. Something was wrong. I could just feel it. I leaned forward to place a quick kiss on his cheek, already feeling guilty for what I was about to do. “I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.”

I started jogging away before he could try and stop me. My legs had a mind of their own as I stumbled through the dense crowd toward the exit. I braced my hands against the gym doors and pushed my way through, stopping for a moment as they fluttered closed behind me to consider where she could be. I huffed, feeling an urgency deep inside me that was only growing with each passing moment.

I turned on my heel to keep moving, and slammed right into a hard chest. I reeled back, ready to brush past whoever it was, but stopped when I saw that it was Jackson. His chest was heaving, as if he’d been running, and his eyes were wide with fear.

“Jackson?” I asked tentatively, the look he was giving me only increasing my unease.

He stammered silently for a few seconds, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly. His eyes fluttered as they glanced away from me apprehensively. He was acting like he’d just seen a ghost, or maybe something worse.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” I pressed, taking a step toward him.

He gulped and let out a shuddering sigh. “I-I was out behind the school and...and I was...”

“What? What did you do?” My voice hardened with frustration as I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. He had definitely been up to something, if his guilt-ridden expression was any indication. I momentarily forgot what I was supposed to be doing as my curiosity peaked.

“I-I told...Allison’s dad, he was...”

My heart skipped a beat with panic at his words. Mr. Argent was behind the school? Why would he...

Oh shit.

Oh my God.

Without even sparing him another glance, I rushed past him and straight down the hall. Within seconds I was outside, the freezing night air causing my skin to rise with goosebumps instantly. My head whipped from side to side as I tried to figure out which way to go. On instinct, I starting running toward the lacrosse field.

My heart was hammering painfully in my chest as I sprinted as fast as humanly possible. I was suddenly very glad that I’d chosen to wear ballet flats tonight, instead of the heels Lydia had tried forcing me to buy. I let my intuition guide me as I kept going until I reached the edge of the field.

I staggered to a stop, my eyes widening at the sight of Lydia standing at the other end. Her back was to me as she walked around slowly, looking lost. I opened my mouth to call her name, feeling my chest loosen just slightly at the fact that she was okay.

I froze, my whole body growing rigid with fear as Peter suddenly emerged from the tree line just outside the field. His figure was mostly cloaked by the bright stadium lights as he approached her, and it didn’t seem like she’d seen him yet.

“Lydia!” I screamed, finally finding my voice through the panic coursing through me. I started running in her direction again, having no plan but just needing to be there with her.

She whipped around at the sound of her name, but made no move to get away. There was nothing I could do but watch in horror as Peter stalked toward her and opened his mouth wide, his eyes flashing bright red. She didn’t react nearly fast enough.

By the time I reached them, she was laying in a crumpled heap on the turf, blood splattered across her dress. All the air rushed from my lungs as a heavy sense of déjà vu washed over me.

Of course, how could I be so stupid? It was the vision I’d seen when Derek helped me, finally playing out in real life.

I let out a trembling breath, my chest feeling like it would collapse any second from the intense pressure. My mind went blank as Peter kneeled over her body, blood dripping down his face. His eyes, still red, slowly swept up to meet mine.

“Well, they don’t usually run toward me, but I’ll take it.” He muttered lowly, an amused smirk twitching at his lips.

My eyes were still locked onto Lydia’s unconscious frame beneath him. Her new dress was ripped, the red stain at her hip growing alarmingly fast. My heart clenched painfully and tumbled down into my stomach at the sight.

I was too late.

Peter took his time standing to his full height. I could feel his intense gaze on me, watching me closely, but I couldn’t look away from Lydia. She was so...broken. A wave of nausea washed over me and I forced my eyes to meet his.

My vision blurred as I tried desperately to catch my breath. “Is she dead?”

My voice was barely above a hoarse whisper, my entire body trembling. It was from the overwhelming terror being this close to Peter initiated, but I wasn’t just scared. I was angry. I knew something was going to happen all day, and I ignored my instincts. I saw this very thing happen weeks ago, but did nothing. And now, Lydia might be dead. Because of me.

Peter hummed low in his throat, his eyes scanning me from head to toe before glancing down at her fleetingly. “Not at the moment.”

A few tears escaped down my cheeks as I tore my gaze away from him to look at her again. I wasn’t even sure if she was breathing. If she was still alive, it was just barely.

My panic only rose as I thought about how unlikely it was that I’d get out of this situation in time to bring her to a hospital. Her chances of survival were dropping by the second. And mine too, probably.

“Tell me, Y/N, what do you see in my future?” Peter look a slow step toward me, and I stumbled back to keep some distance between us.

My eyes jerked up to his as I stiffened, a shiver wracking my body as I became more aware of the freezing temperature. “How do you know about that?”

The earth crunched beneath his shoes as he stalked toward me. I stood impossibly still, knowing I wouldn’t be able to escape him. He didn’t stop until he loomed only inches away.

“How does anyone know anything?” He murmured hoarsely into my ear, and I recoiled back, my stomach clenching painfully in disgust. My eyes pinched shut as one of his hands came up to brush a stray lock of hair away from my face. “You, my dear, would make a fantastic beta.”

My eyes jerked open again and I took a miniscule step away from him, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. “Trust me, I wouldn’t. I’ve been told I can be really annoying. I wouldn’t make a good beta. Or a good anything, really. I’m hardly a psychic. You should just keep searching because, you know, whatever it is you’re looking for...isn’t me.”

“Oh, I think I’m willing to take my chances.” Time seemed to slow as his eyes flashed bright red, his mouth opening wide to show his razor sharp canines.

I whipped around, ready to at least attempt running for my life, but instantly froze at the sight of Stiles barreling toward us.

“No!” I shouted frantically, my heart leaping into my throat with panic.

A strong arm wrapped around my stomach and wrenched me backward. I slammed against Peter’s chest, hard. The air was knocked out of my lungs from the force, just as a clawed hand snaked around my throat.

Stiles lurched to a stop in front of us, his dress shoes slipping on the damp turf. He flailed to the ground before popping back up instantly, his eyes wide with horror as they glanced down at Lydia before landing on me.

“Don’t kill her. Please.” His voice was trembling with desperation as he held a hand out toward us hesitantly.

The tips of Peter’s claws dug into my skin and I winced, tears now running freely down my face. I was terrified. For myself, Lydia, and now Stiles. Peter had killed many times before, and there was literally nothing stopping him now. Stiles’ eyes flickered to my neck, his jaw clenching tightly.

“Of course not. Just tell me how to find Derek.” Peter drawled, as if he wasn’t currently poised to do the opposite.

“W-what?” Stiles stammered, seemingly surprised by that request. His gaze was still firmly planted on Peter’s hand.

I felt a sharp stabbing at the base of my throat and my lips parted as a shuddering gasp escaped me. He was surely drawing blood at this point. Stiles’ eyes widened with alarm at the sight and his hand jerked toward us as if he were itching to intervene.

“Tell me how to find Derek Hale.” Peter leaned down, his warm breath fanning my shoulder. I tried jerking my head away, my heart lurching in my chest at his close proximity, but didn’t get far with his tight hold around me.

“I don’t know that! How would I know that?” Stiles’ voice rose to a frantic shout, his chest heaving as his glistening eyes finally moved up to Peter.

“You’re the clever one, aren’t you? And because deception has a very particularly accurate scent, Stiles. Tell me the truth. Or I will rip her apart.”

As if to prove the validity behind his words, his hand tightened around my throat. I instantly started pulling at his fingers as I felt my airway closing. My lips parted in a silent gasp, my lungs spasming painfully as I tried to force a breath in.

“Look. I don’t know! Okay?” Stiles rushed the words out in a complete panic, his eyes darting between Peter and my neck. Tiny black spots dotted my vision as I felt myself growing faint. “I swear—I swear to God I have no idea!”

Peter hummed low in his throat, his chest vibrating against my back. “Wrong again.”

Everything that happened next must’ve taken place in only a few seconds, but they seemed to drag on and on. Peter’s head jerked down to my left shoulder, his teeth digging into my skin easily. A scream tore through my throat as he finally released it, my vision blurring as unbearable pain rippled along my upper body.

Stiles face crumbled in utter horror and he lunged toward me just as Peter’s arms disappeared. I tried gasping for breath as I sagged to the ground, but my body just wasn’t cooperating. It felt like Stiles caught me, but I couldn’t be sure as I lost all feeling in my limbs.

Then, everything went black.

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I stirred, already wincing in pain as I slowly regained consciousness. A high pitched droning was the only sound in my otherwise quiet surroundings. My eyes fluttered open and instantly squinted against the harsh fluorescent lights above me.

Everything felt heavy. I sluggishly started turning my head away from the lights, but jerked to a stop as searing pain radiated from my shoulder. My face fell into a grimace as a pitiful groan escaped my lips.

Something shuffled at the foot of my bed and I froze. My heart jumped in my chest with panic. Memories of Peter came flooding back all at once, and I started trembling with fear at the unknown presence.

Stiles jerked upright, appearing at my side a split second later. I let out a small sigh of relief, wincing as my lungs angrily protested each breath I took. My body began relaxing as I realized I was safe.

“Oh my God! Y/N!” He practically yelled in my face as he leaned down over me. “Are you okay? Wait, that’s a stupid question. How are you feeling? Does it hurt?”

One of his hands disappeared beneath the thin mesh blanket covering my body and he pulled out a hallow cord with a small switch in the middle. “If it hurts you can push this button as much as you want and I won’t tell. You’ll be higher than a kite, but—”

“Stiles.” My voice was barely above a hoarse whisper as I interrupted his frantic rambling. “I feel okay. Just tired.”

Truthfully, I hadn’t been awake long enough to know how I felt. I’d gathered that I was in the hospital, but obviously didn’t know much else. My entire left side hurt like hell.

My eyes trailed over Stiles quickly, noting that he was still wearing his clothes from the dance. His white button up was stained with blood and dirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His black jacket had been discarded on a table by the door.

Maybe it hadn’t been long, then?

“Seriously?” He sagged down into the chair that sat beside my bed, his eyes widening in surprise. “You were asleep for almost thirty hours.”

“I was what?” I planted my hands on either side of my hips and pushed myself up, ignoring the pain that ripped through my shoulder at the movement.

How the hell had I been out that long? That meant it was already Sunday, although probably somewhere around midnight. Too many panicked thoughts invaded my mind at once to make sense out of any one of them.

Stiles bolted back to his feet and pushed me against the bed with a disapproving glare. “It was actually twenty eight hours, forty seven minutes, and sixteen seconds, if that makes you feel better.”

“You know what, somehow it does.” I huffed sarcastically with a roll of my eyes, wiggling around on the hard mattress in an effort to get comfortable again.

Stiles twitched his eyes at me while he sat back down apprehensively, as if not trusting me to stay put. He brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck as he glanced down to my injured shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Y/N...”

“For what?” My brows furrowed in confusion. I really had no idea why he would be apologizing. There was definitely a list of people that should feel bad right now, but he wasn’t one of them.

“I should’ve listened. If I’d just told him what he wanted...” He let out a heavy sigh and rested his elbows onto his knees before dropping his head into his hands.

I reached out and took one of his hands in mine, rubbing my fingers across his skin soothingly as he looked up at me cautiously. He had no reason to blame himself. Peter had already proven time and time again that he’s literally insane, and I’d made the stupid decision to run toward him mid-attack. I had a feeling he would’ve bitten me either way, regardless of anything Stiles did.

“It’s not your fault.” His lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes glistening with a slew of intense emotions.

I didn’t even have time to start deciphering them before he sat forward in his chair, his face hardening with determination. “I should’ve brought this up before I had to watch you almost die, but...you’re not—you know, how you are with me...with any other guys, right?”

His voice was timid as he struggled to stutter out the words. My heart swelled in my chest as my lips pulled up into a small smile. That was the most adorable, perfect, Stiles way of phrasing that question. For a moment, I forgot about all my worries.

“Stilinski, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”

His eyes twitched as he squeezed his fingers around mine minutely. “Only if you’re gonna say yes.”

I didn’t even have to think about it for a second.

“Of course I’m saying yes, you dork.” I let out a breathy giggle as a big grin took over his face.

His caramel eyes shined with happiness as he brought my hand against his mouth to place a gentle kiss on my fingers. It was about damn time we had that conversation. I honestly shouldn’t be surprised that it took us this long to make things official, considering how stubborn we both are. Regardless, it felt amazing to finally be able to call him my boyfriend.

My boyfriend, Stiles. It had a nice ring to it.

I only let myself relish the moment for a few more seconds before finally asking about the one thing I’d been dreading thinking about since waking up.

“How’s Lydia? Is she...?” I trailed off, not able to say the word out loud.

When I’d seen her last, she was only moments away from death. I was sure of it. If I’d been here this long from a bite to the shoulder, I couldn’t imagine the damage that had been done to her. My heart clenched with regret as I thought back to all the moments I could’ve done something differently that would’ve saved her.

Stiles winced beside me, hesitating for a long moment before answering in a quiet mumble. “She’s uh...missing.”

“Excuse me?” I instantly tried bolting upright at his words, my anxiety skyrocketing. Missing? How could she be missing?

He guided me back down gently with a hand on my uninjured shoulder, his eyes narrowing again in warning. “Yeah. She just kinda disappeared from her room this morning.”

It was like he could sense that I was about to try getting up again, as he peered down at me sternly and pressed his hand down more firmly. “My dad already has the entire department out searching. There’s nothing you can do.”

My mind was racing with anxious, jumbled thoughts. She could’ve been taken if no one was sitting by her bedside like Stiles had clearly done for me. Or, she could’ve run away. But why would she do that? She was in the hospital. Where she was safe and getting treatment. I guess, there was always a chance that she’d taken to the bite and shifted already...

I didn’t know what any of this meant for me. I could only assume at this point that I wasn’t a werewolf. I mean, my shoulder clearly hadn’t miraculously healed yet. I figured, if I were, it would’ve done so by now. I was just incredibly glad—and lucky—to be alive.

My eyes met Stiles’ as he leaned back in his chair and inspected me closely. He kept glancing toward the place where Peter had bitten me as he drummed his fingers against his lips. It was like he couldn’t tear his gaze away.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I breathed, suddenly nervous. His anxious expression couldn’t mean anything good.

“There’s something I keep—something Derek said awhile ago that I can’t get out of my head.” He mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing in apprehension.

I looked at him expectantly, urging him to continue. He was seriously starting to freak me out.

“The bite—he said it either kills you...and I think we’re good on that one...”

I glowered at his poorly timed sarcasm as his eyes continued flickering between my own and my shoulder. He swallowed thickly, and I could practically see his heart racing as he let out a ragged sigh. He finally caught my gaze, twitching uncomfortably in his seat.

“Or it changes you.”

Well, shit.

Episode 10 Episode 12

155 notes · View notes

sweethq · 4 years

Text

♡ Maniac // song scenario

𑁍 Characters: Oikawa Tōru, mentions of Iwaizumi Hajime

»»—Trigger warning(s): mild swearing, bullying, mentions of a car accident and death (kinda?)—-««

➶ Genre: angstttttt, timeskip!AU

✎ Word count: 5.5k

-ˏˋ A/N: Hello!! I’m so excited to share this piece of work with you all. This is my first attempt at writing a song scenario so please bear with me! This is also the first long-ish scenario that I am posting on this account which is super exciting!! I hope you all enjoy and I hope to keep posting content that you guys will like ^^ Also, I feel bad for making Oikawa look like a complete and utter jerk lol buuuuut you gotta do what you gotta do. Remember, this is all fiction and is all in good fun!ˊˎ-

Tōru has been acting weird the past few weeks, weirder than one should to their s/o after dating for nine months. The once loving, carefree boy that made your heart race seemed to disappear within a matter of seconds. You remembered the times walking in the city together. He would intertwine his fingers with yours, rubbing his thumb against the back of your hand while giving you a soft smile. Day trips out into the city are now rare, and when they do occur, the only physical contact is your arms grazing against each other which fades much too quickly.

You would visit his favorite bakery once every two weeks, ordering the same pastry every time: a strawberry iced doughnut. The first time you went there together, on your third date, your first bite ended with you smearing the icing on the corners of your mouth. Tōru chuckled, muttering a quiet “Clumsy,” before leaning over the table to wipe it off for you. You felt your heart clench in your chest, heat making its way up your neck and to your ears. Since then, you made it a point to order the same doughnut each time in hopes that Tōru would once again slide his finger over the corner of your mouth; and he did. Last week was the first time in nearly nine months that he didn’t, leaving an unsettling feeling in your stomach. These types of things were very routine in your relationship, so when they came to a sudden halt, you couldn’t help but feel curious and anxious at the same time. When the two of you are out together, it feels like he’s not even there. He doesn’t give the same warm smile, tell stupid jokes, or even give you a second glance. It just feels… distant.

You tried to approach him about it, knowing that there were too many things that were suddenly changing. “Do you not love me anymore?” “Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?” “Is there someone else?” Tōru felt guilty. Guilty that he would give you any reason to believe that he was being unfaithful.

“I’m sorry I’ve been making you feel this way, I never meant to hurt you. I’ll do better, I promise,” he stated before walking closer to you. He raised his hand to softly caress your cheek, deeply staring into your eyes with an emotion you couldn’t quite put your finger on. He placed a lingering kiss on your lips before pulling away and placing another on your forehead.

“I have to go, I promised Iwa-chan that I would go to his place to hang with him and the other guys. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” You gave a small smile and a nod, him returning the favor with another kiss on the forehead before walking out the door. You couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t give an answer to any of the questions you asked.

----------

A few hours have passed since Tōru left, and you can’t stop thinking about the unanswered questions from earlier. You went back and forth between pacing the room, sitting with your knees pulled against your chest, and laying on the floor; hoping that one of these things would help your brain think of a possible explanation. After hours of thinking, you notice his jacket resting on the back of one of your dining room chairs. Your eyes light up, knowing this would be a reasonable excuse to visit your boyfriend at Iwaizumi’s place.

The walk was short, but gave you enough time to think about what you would say when you saw Tōru, not quite sure why you feel the need to think of a script to talk to him. You stand outside Iwaizumi’s door, breathing a sigh of relief as you hear your boyfriend’s loud voice through the wall that separates you two. As you bring your hand up to knock, you suddenly hear your name be said by a female voice, making you freeze in your place. You can’t help but let your curiosity get the better of you. You slowly inch closer to the door and press your ear against it, hoping to not make any unwanted noises.

“Didn’t you say you only asked them out because you pitied them?”

“Yeah, I just felt bad for them. They would always follow me around and tell me how much they love me. I thought it would be fun to play a little game.” You can tell that Tōru’s words were laced with alcohol. The girls inside the room let out little giggles, one commenting, “What a freak.”

The longer you stand with your ear against the door, the more pain you feel in your heart.

“When are you finally going to ditch them? Aren’t you tired of sticking around someone you don’t even like?” There is a long pause after these questions are asked. I’ll never leave them. I love them too much. You hoped he would say something of that sort, but once again was met with disappointment.

“Well I thought that the longer I stay with them, the more fun it will be to end things. You know, it’ll hurt more, I guess…” His words are a little hesitant, voice getting smaller the further into the sentence he got.

“Who knows, maybe they’ll die from a broken heart.” The voice doesn’t belong to Tōru, but the laugh that follows after does. So many emotions are flooding through your brain and your heart, and you’re not sure how to comprehend them all.

You clutch his jacket in your fist, knuckles quick to turn white. Unwelcome tears pool in your eyes as your hands begin to shake. You silently pray that this was all a horrible dream and you didn’t actually hear those words escape his mouth, but know deep down that this is all too real. Quiet sobs left your mouth as you bend down into a squat, legs almost giving out under you. You can’t help but think back to your time with Tōru, all the memories you made together. Was it all a lie? All of the late night walks, the picnics by the river, the little inside jokes, the love… was it all a part of a game?

The sound of a door opening interrupts your thoughts.

You slowly lift your head up to meet the eyes of your boyfriend. You can sense the panic in his face, not sure how long you have been there or how much you heard. The tears streaming down your face tell him that you heard everything. He takes a slight step towards you, reaching out for your hand.

“Y/N, wait-”

You throw his jacket at him before running off the porch and down the street, wanting to be anywhere but in front of the boy who just tore your heart into pieces. You hear him shouting behind you. This is just a misunderstanding. Let me explain. What is there to misunderstand? You gave your heart to someone who promised to take care of it as if it were his own, and you’re now facing the consequences because of it.

You run all the way back to your home, ignoring the burning sensation in your calves. You slam the door behind you and lock it, not wanting any uninvited guests (Tōru). You stand in your empty house, eyes now dry from the cold wind that blew in your face on the run home. Everywhere you look you see him. All of the space between these walls has touched him and will hold him in its memory.

You walk to the kitchen, letting your fingertips graze the shiny countertop, smiling when thinking about the mess you two would always make while baking.

Snickerdoodles were always a must when the holidays came around. You were determined to bake the best snickerdoodles known to man when Tōru told you he had never tasted the heavenly treat. You prepared the ingredients on the counter, humming a soft tune to fill the silence in the room. Tōru stood beside you, admiring the calm look on your face and how delicate you looked. He approached you from behind, snaking his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder. He always found it fascinating to watch you bake since everything he would put in an oven would somehow instantly catch on fire. He started to slowly bring his hands back to place them on your hips then run them up your sides. You weren’t quite sure what he was doing, but let him continue anyways. After drawing little circles over your ribs, he started to tickle you, knowing that you would give him a reaction. You yelped, arms flailing without your consent, knocking over the open bottle of cream into the bowl where the dough was, ruining the cookies that were nearly ready to go into the oven. You gasped before quickly picking up the overturned carton, staring at the masterpiece that quickly turned into a disaster. You huffed and turned to look at your boyfriend who had an apologetic smirk on his face. How can someone express those two emotions at the same time? You stared at him for a second, trying to find the words to voice your frustration. You decided that instead of telling him how you felt, you would show him. You reached behind you and grabbed an egg off the counter, rubbing your thumb against its smooth shell before smashing it in Tōru’s perfectly styled hair, wiping the smirk right off of his face. You couldn’t hold in your laughs as the yolk dripped down his forehead and in between his chocolate eyes. The shock on his face didn’t last for long. He was quick to grab another egg and return the favor, this time topping it off with a handful of flour. Now the kitchen was covered with various ingredients flung in different directions and a couple of idiots that were even messier than the kitchen itself. As the sun was beginning to set, you ran out of items to throw at each other. You stared at him, chuckling at the mess you had made of each other. Even looking at him with egg in his hair and flour covering his complexion, he was still the most beautiful person to you. The sun’s rays beamed through the window making Tōru’s eyes look like pools of honey, sucking you into them deeper and deeper. You brought your hand up to his face and softly caressed his cheek, admiring every inch of his beauty.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” A coy grin on his face after he noticed you staring at him, a hint of pink on the tip of his ears. To his surprise, you pulled out your phone and took a picture of him just like he told you to, reminding yourself to make it his new contact picture later. He chuckled slightly, muttering a soft, “Idiot,” before putting his hand on the back of your neck and closing the space between the two of you. His lips tasted like cinnamon and sugar with a hint of vanilla. After the sweet kiss, you pulled away, making sure to keep your foreheads connected so you could just appreciate being with him in his arms.

You smile at the memory that is all too vivid in your mind. You walk into the living room and glance at the pictures that scatter the walls. You approach Tōru’s favorite picture of the two of you, one that you initially hated but grew to love over time.

It was the 18th of December when Tōru dragged you out of the house for your ‘special Christmas surprise’. You questioned him on why it couldn’t wait until Christmas day but he insisted that it had to be today. When you sat in the passenger seat of his car, he turned to you and held out a blindfold for you to take.

“There’s no way in hell that I’m putting that thing on,” you said, staring him dead in the eyes.

“Come on Y/N-channnn! Just this once, I promise. If you do it, I’ll buy you boba on the way home.” His words were so convincing. You were quick to grab the blindfold out of his hand, grumbling a quiet, “Fine,” as you tied it so it was blocking your vision.

The car ride felt like it took a lifetime and then some, but in reality took no longer than ten minutes. Tōru instructed you to keep the blindfold on and wait for him to come on your side of the car to help you out. You let out a loud sigh, not exactly sure why you still couldn’t take the piece of fabric off. He wrapped his arm around your waist and guided you to your final location, making sure to point out any steps or dips in the ground that were approaching. After a short minute walk, you were met with adults chattering and a mixture of children screaming in excitement and crying in fear. You concluded that you were definitely in a very public place, but had absolutely no idea where your lunatic of a boyfriend brought you. After standing around for a couple of minutes and you groaning about how bored you were, you heard an unknown voice shout, “Next!” which made Tōru take a few steps forward, you still in his hold, sightless.

“Okay baby. You can take your blindfold off now!” His voice was covered in excitement, which made you even more anxious to take the piece of cloth off. A smile crept onto your face but when the blindfold came off, so did your smile. You stared straight ahead at the surprise that Tōru had in store for you before turning to face him, a shit-eating grin on his face. You could see tears in his eyes from trying to hold in his laughter.

“Tōru…… What is this.”

“It’s….. It’s Santa Clause.”

“Yeah, but W H Y ?”

He didn’t give you a reply, but instead grabbed your wrist and dragged you to stand in front of the man of the hour. You forced a smile on your face, not wanting to seem rude.

“Hi Santa! My s/o over here really loves and admires you and would appreciate taking a picture sitting on your lap. Is that okay?” His words came out sweet, but they were covered in venom. This was probably payback for the time you ‘accidentally’ spilled your drink on his crotch when you went hiking and proceeded to tell people passing by that he just sweats a lot.

“Of course! Anything for this cutie,” Santa said in a voice used to speak to babies, pinching your cheek in the process. You kinda stood there, not quite sure what to do. You definitely did NOT want to sit on his lap, but at the same time, you were too nice to just walk out of there. Tōru could see your hesitance and decided to give you a little *shove* in the right direction (A/N: please know that y/n is not uncomfortable in this situation, but rather just finds the act embarrassing. Tōru would not make them do this if he knew that they would be uncomfortable). Once you found a spot on Santa’s right knee, you told the person behind the camera to quickly take the photo. You noticed Tōru standing on the other side of Santa’s chair holding a peace sign and smiling from ear to ear. You stare at him with pure anger, wanting to wipe that stupid smile off his face. You didn’t even realize that the photo had already been taken. Tōru ended up printing dozens of copies of this photo, making sure to give it to each of your friends and family on Christmas day.

You look at the photo of the two of you, well, actually the three of you. You seem so angry in the picture, but you know that behind all of that anger, you still were stupidly in love with him. You laugh at how it’s ironic to the situation you’re in. You’re mad. More than mad, furious. Furious that you have all of these memories together and all you can think about is how they are full of lies. Furious that even though he hurt you and will continue to hurt you, you still love that tall idiot.

There’s a knock at the door.

“Y/N… Please open the door. I need to see your face.” You don’t move a muscle, your eyes still locked on that photo.

Another knock. Two. Three.

“Please… You need to hear me out.”

More knocking.

You glance at the door, knowing what awaits you on the other side. The sound of knocking engulfs your house, it’s driving you mad. You breathe out a heavy sigh before storming towards the door and swinging it open.

“What,” you spit at him, trying to ignore the empathy that you feel at the sight of his red eyes and swollen lips. He just stares at you, almost like he was trying to tell if you were real or not. You started to close the door, seeing as you were just wasting time. His hand stops the door before it could shut. You open it again, wide enough for him to be back in your line of sight. He looks down at his intertwined hands that hold a single red rose before looking back up at you and extending his arms.

“I-i got this for you on my way here. I know you like daisies more, but I couldn’t find any so I thought this would be okay.” His voice was quiet and strained, like if he spoke up a little more he would break. He tries to keep a small smile on his face, but when you let a laugh escape your lips, he instantly frowns. You stop laughing.

“Why are you here, Oikawa?”

----------

You were with your friends partying

When the alcohol kicked in, said you wanted me dead

So, you showed up at my home, all alone

With a shovel and a rose

Do you think I’m a joke?

----------

Oikawa winces when his last name falls off your lips. He always loved it when you called him Tōru, and you knew that. But this wasn’t Tōru, not the one that you fell in love with. This wasn’t the same guy that would play with your hair when you laid your head in his lap, or kissed your fingertips when you’d accidentally burn them. No. This is someone different. Someone you feel you don’t even know.

“I’m.. I’m so sorry, Y/N! I never meant to hurt you. God, I’m such an idiot… I don’t even know how to explain myse-”

“Just answer me this. Did you ever love me? Or were these past nine months a complete lie?” You hold your breath, hoping the tears will stop threatening to fall. You were hesitant to ask these questions, knowing that the answer could crush you, but you needed to know. Oikawa’s eyes grew, tears cascading down his flushed cheeks.

“Of course I loved you! I still do, so, so much! These past nine months have been the best months of my entire life, none of it was fake, I promise. You’re the love of my life, Y/N. I can’t fake something like that…” Oikawa’s eyes were burning holes into yours, you started to wonder the last time he blinked. His words were convincing, but the words he said earlier this night kept playing on repeat in your head.

“Bullshit. If you love me so much, why would you say those things about me? Why would you tell them that I was some crazy stalker who was obsessed with you? Why would you tell them that you’re dating me as a joke? Why did you say all of these things that you knew would hurt me?” A single tear falls, causing the others to join. Oikawa takes a step forward, wanting to kiss your tears and pain away. You simultaneously take a step back, finally breaking the eye contact that bound the two of you together. His heart broke at the sight of you. Not only were you hurting, but you were hurting because of him.

“I-I just… Just… I-”

“You just what?”

He continues to stare at you, wondering whether or not he should even attempt to explain himself. His sober mind knows that his actions are the result of narcissism and stupidity, and there’s a chance that his lame excuse could hurt you even more.

“Most of the people that I was with tonight, I don’t usually hang out with. Recently Iwa-chan has been inviting them to hang out because they’re always pestering us and we thought if we hung out with them a few times, they would stop. So we invited them to hang out, have a few drinks, and show them how boring we are,” he stopped to take a breath, hesitant to move on. “I guess they knew that I was dating you and, for whatever reason, didn’t like that. They would make fun of me and say mean things and… it reminded me of my childhood when I used to get bullied and was an outcast. I guess it really traumatized me because when that feeling came back, I wanted nothing more than to make it disappear. I guess the alcohol made that decision for me and that’s when I started saying all of those horrible things and… I guess I didn’t think it was going to affect our relationship because I didn’t think you would ever find out… I know I’m such an asshole, but please you need to know that none of the things I told them were true. My love for you is completely and utterly real, and the fact that I screwed it up is killing me.”

You remain silent, once again staring into Oikawa’s eyes, reading him like a book. His eyes shine like glass, full of guilt and sorrow. His bottom lip is red from biting it, hoping to make it stop quivering. His interlocked hands are still holding the rose he brought you, his thumbs anxiously fiddling with each other. You can tell that he genuinely feels sorry and ashamed of his mistakes.

“Y/N. Please, say something. Anything.”

Unfortunately for him, there was no longer room in your heart for forgiveness.

“So I guess you’ve been telling them these kinds of things for a while now, huh? I guess that explains why you stopped acting like we’re a couple in public, right? You didn’t want one of your new friends to see us and question your motives.” You give a small laugh, not sure if it’s out of self-pity or anger. “You should go back to Iwaizumi’s. I’m sure they’re all wondering where you went and why you ran after your psychotic s/o who you don’t even like… Just keep telling them the same story, or better yet, why don’t you tell them that you broke my heart, threw it in my face, and then laughed at me? I’m sure you’ll earn some extra brownie points from them.” You look at his eyes one last time before turning around to walk back inside, pausing before shutting the door. “I’ll stop by your place tomorrow to pick up my things.”

Before you could close the door, Oikawa pleaded.

“Please don’t leave me. Please. I need you in my life.”

You pause at the shakiness in his voice, so close to caving in and forgetting all of the events that occurred tonight. Before you can make any impulsive decisions, you shut the door in his face, not wanting to think about how he’s feeling or what he’s going to do. You try to ignore any type of empathy you feel for him, he’s the one that hurt you, remember?

----------

Well, people like you always want back what they can’t have

But I’m past that, and you know that

So you should turn back to your rat pack, telling ‘em trash

----------

You lay on the sofa holding a picture of Oikawa in your lap, not attempting to move from your spot for the hour since Oikawa left. You hate that after all of the things he said about you, you still couldn’t stop thinking about him and how much you wish he were right next to you. You wish that he were holding you close and wiping the stray tears that leave your eyes, but instead, he was the one inflicting them. The white ceiling above you keeps your attention, becoming the screen as your memories become the projector. You can almost visualize all of the times you spent with Oikawa, even the times before you started dating. You wish you could go back to the simpler times, the times when things weren’t turning to shit.

Your phone rings beside you. You remember in the beginning of your relationship with Oikawa your heart would always race when you got a phone call or message, hoping that it was him on the other side. Even at a time like this, your mind can’t help but think of those chocolate eyes and soft brown locks. You pick up your phone and stare at the caller ID. It’s Oikawa.

You fight with yourself, deciding whether or not it would be smart to answer his call. You click ‘accept’ before you have a chance to back out again.

The call is silent with the exception of sniffles on the other end. Oikawa breaks the silence.

“Y/N? A-are you there?”

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m here. Why are you calling?”

“I just really, really wanted to hear your voice.” You hear the rev of a car engine through the phone.

“You shouldn’t be talking on the phone while you’re driving. It’s dangerous.”

“But talking to you makes me feel so safe.” Silence engulfed the phone call, neither of you knowing what to say to each other. Oikawa starts to cry, his sobs soon becoming the only thing you can hear. You continue to not say a word.

“God, I’m so stupid. I thought I was finally getting my life together. I’m in good health, I have my dream job, I met the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I had to go and fuck it all up. Honestly I don’t give a shit about my health or my job, all I care about is you. I just love you so much, I can’t-” His words are cut off by a long screech and then a loud crash. Once again, the call is silent.

“O-oikawa?” There’s no reply. “Oikawa?! Tōru?! Are you okay? Please answer me?” Your breathing was becoming erratic, shaky fingers having a hard time keeping the phone pressed against your cheek. You hear a groan and shuffling from the other side before getting a response.

“Shit. I crashed my damn car into a tree.”

“I don’t care about the car, are you okay? I need to call an ambulance for you-”

“No,” he interrupts you, “I don’t want to see any paramedics. The only person I want to see is you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you need to go to the hospital. You probably have a concussion, and you’re bleeding, aren’t you?”

“I don’t care. I won’t see anyone but you.” Oikawa takes a deep breath before getting out of his wrecked car. He starts his walk back home, not caring to wait for first responders. “I’m not going to beg you to come, but if you want to see me, you know where to find me.” He hangs up the phone, leaving you speechless on the other end.

You don’t want to waste another second. You quickly grab your car keys and toss your jacket over your shoulder. Even though you know it’s going to hurt you to see him again, you need to make sure he’s okay.

----------

You just went too far

Wrecked your car, called me crying in the dark

Now you’re breakin’ my heart

So I show up at your place right away

Wipe the tears off of your face

While you beg me to stay

----------

It’s stupid. Stupid that you’ll drop everything you’re doing to rush to his side whenever he says he needs you. Stupid that you still love and care about him just as much as you did in the beginning.

You turn the engine off upon arriving at Oikawa’s apartment. You swiftly get out of your car and race to his door, taking the stairs instead of the elevator to save a few seconds. You fiddle with the keys on your keychain as you reach his front door, trying to find the matching one. You knew all too well that one of Oikawa’s antics is always locking the door, even when he’s expecting company. You find the fitting key and waste no time unlocking the door and scouting the place for any sign of life. You figure he’s in his bedroom as the kitchen and living room remain vacant.

You peek around the corner that leads into his room, spotting the tall man laying on the bed, legs dangling over the edge.You gasp at the blood, cuts and scrapes coving his skin. You walk over to him and grab his cold hand, pulling him off the bed and into the bathroom.

“Sit,” you order, pointing at the counter. He obeys without a word, head hanging low. You search the cabinets for a first aid kit, knowing that he would have one from his volleyball days. After finding the small box, you pull out the materials that were needed to clean him up; lots of antibacterial wipes, gauze and band-aids. You take one of the wipes and press it onto a cut on his shin, Oikawa hissing at the impact. You ignore it and continue to clean the scrapes that scatter both of his legs, finishing with a deeper cut on his knee. As you finished cleaning it, you heard him sniffle and watched a tear fall into his lap.

“What are you, five? It doesn’t hurt that much-”

“I didn’t think you would come,” he whispered, voice shaky and emotionless. You peer up at him, his head still hanging and refusing to meet your eyes. You reach your hand up and wipe the tears that wet his face, your palm lingering, cupping his cheek. He melted into your touch.

“Idiot… Of course I would come.”

You spend the rest of the time patching up his wounds in silence, neither of you able to find the correct words in this situation. You finish putting the last band-aid on his cheekbone, your face in shocking proximity to his. He stares into your eyes, you looking anywhere but. You’re afraid that if you look into his eyes, there’s no turning back.

“I should go,” you mutter, not wanting to overstay your visit. You turn around to walk out of the bathroom, but come to a halt with the feeling of Oikawa’s slender fingers wrapping around your wrist.

“Please don’t leave me.” His grip tightened slightly, but not enough to hurt you. “I need you. Please.”

You stare straight ahead, not daring to turn around and face him.

“I’ll stay,” you start, “If you promise to give up your pride and tell everyone that you were lying. Tell them that you really do love me and that you were scared of what others would think. I’ll stay if you promise never to lie about those kinds of things and to never hurt me like you have ever again. Can you do that?” The silence was eerie, and made your stomach do hundreds of flips. You hoped that the universe would be on your side for once and hear the things you wished would escape his lips.

“I-I can’t… I just-”

You grabbed his wrist with your vacant hand and violently removed his grasp from yours, not letting him finish his sentence. You still stood with your back towards him, not wanting him to see the tears that were once again trickling down your face. You pull your keychain out of your pocket, finding your key to Oikawa’s apartment and stripping it from the rest. You drop it onto the floor by your feet, clanging a few times on the hardwood floor before it stops. As you walk out of the bathroom, your words make his heart clench in his chest.

“Goodbye, Oikawa.”

----------

Tell all of your friends that I’m crazy and drive you mad

That I’m such a stalker, a watcher, a psychopath

Then tell them you hate me, and dated me just for laughs

So why do you call me and tell me you want me back?

You maniac

#haikyuu #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu!!#hq #haikyuu social media #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu writers #oikawa tooru #oikawa x reader #haikyuu angst #oikawa angst

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angelicyoongie · 4 years

Note

Ok so that headband also made me think of these and I wanna know what you think, how would they react if 1. She was wearing one of those playboy bunny outfits with the ears and everything for halloween 2. If they found ears (like pet play) somewhere in her belongings?? Feel free not to answer!! I was just super curious after reading that ask, happy new year !! :)

Happy new year!! 💖

In both scenarios the boys would go absolutely feral, lmao 💀 I’m just going to use where they are in the story now as the basis for the questions, so: 1. If they all went to a party, I think the boys probably wouldn’t leave y/n’s side for one second. Not because they don’t trust her, but because they wouldn’t be able to stop looking at her. There would be no “you’re not allowed to go out like that” because one, that’s y/n’s choice and they know it, and two, they would enjoy the sight too much to ever entertain that type of thought. For the most part the boys would just be proud because y/n’s there with them, and no hybrid would ever dare to make a move on her due to how heavy they would have scented her before they left. And if any human would try, well, they would figure it out pretty quickly that their advantages are unwelcome with seven hybrids’ sending them death glares and y/n being too focused on her boys to really notice anyone else. Let’s just say that there would be a lot of lingering touches and y/n would love it. 😌 2. For some reason I just feel like Jimin and Hoseok in particular would enjoy that?? If any of the boys found them by accident then they wouldn’t bring it up directly, but maybe just hint towards it a bit to see if y/n actually was into it. Either way, I think they would like the idea of y/n dressing up as them and submitting to them, but only if she took turns doing all of their animals 😬

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616hakoda · 4 years

Note

omg,, have you got any dadto headcanons?? I'm super curious abt how he is with katara and sokka

OOOOO

-Okay Bato is the storyteller so when sokka and katara are kids, he’s in charge of that !!

-Katara allows herself to be way more emotionally vulnerable around Bato

-Bato knows only a little about bending from his mother who was also taken in a raid, so when Katara shows signs of being able to bend, he’s the one that offers to teach her what little he knows

-Sokka definitely enjoys days with Bato. They’re his chance to get to know Bato better and to catch up on things in his life. Usually, they go sail for a few hours and it gives both of them the chance to clear their heads

-The first time Aang and Katara have a huge fight, Bato is the one there to hold Katara as she cries and provide her with a hot drink and an open mind.

-He’s incredibly protective of them and whenever he’s in the fire nation and hears whispers about the firelord and whoever that water tribe peasant is he definitely is close to throwing hands (maybe one time he did and Hakoda absolutely scolded him for it)

-Bato is the actual cool dad so the kids usually have no problem whenever he’s around their friends

-He sings to them!! A lot actually. But it’s never unwelcome and his voice sounds amazing and soothing so usually it lulls them to sleep. It reminds them a lot of home and safety.

#dadto #bato?#i didn't know that was a thing hheheehe but i love it !#hakoda #bato being a dad #bakoda #kind of #undertones ofc #sokka #katara #kataang #zukka #zuko #headcanons #headcanon

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needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas · 3 years

Note

Can we get Sooga fucking Link in Gerudo armor? Like he just thinks its a pretty little thing in cute clothes??

I. Love this idea. Surprised it us so long to get here tbh. Let's go!

"This is ridiculous.”

“Oh come on, Sooga!”

Kohga had found Sooga to be a bit of a stick in the mug lately, so he commanded both Cil, and another blade master to take him out for a night of fun. So far, Sooga wasn’t having any. They were at a recently made bar, found right at Kara Kara Bazaar. The place was jumping, but Sooga was the only one not having any fun. Clif shrugged.

“If you want to go home and disobey Kohga’s orders, be my guest.”

Sooga mumbled, running his hands through his hair. It was one thing to waste time on something as stupid as drinking, but the fact that they were doing so OUT of disguise, made Sooga EXTREMELY uncomfortable. The third Yiga, a rather foolish one named ‘Von’, chuckled, nudging Sooga by his shoulder.

“Look, NO ONE knows who we are here. We could give them any bullshit name, and just have some drinks.”

“I don’t like either of you seeing my face.”

“it’s why we’re ALL like this! We’re ALL vulnerable out here. Now come on Sooga, ONE drink! Cil, back me up here!”

Cil gave a shrug of his shoulders.

“Kohga DID give us rupees to spend on you. You might as well take up on his generosity.”

Sooga took a deep inhale. He HATED being away from his Kohga. But, this WAS a command, who was he to disobey?

“Fine, fine. I will have ONE drink, then we’ll go home, and we’ll tell Kohga I had my fun. Fair?”

“Now we’re talking! Yo! drink vai!”

Von waved wildly at some poor waitress (he wasn’t a rude guy, he just liked women a BIT too much), who walked up to them, notebook in hand.

“Listen, we want three Noble pursuits, and make them strong for us, yeah? Our guy here needs to come out of his shell! Right Sooga?”

Sooga turned to him, ready to verbally humiliate him in front of some little vai, when he saw her. She was a vision. A small thing, with hair that reminded him of tabantha wheat, a small, yet sleek body littered in scars, and her eyes. Her eyes were emotionless and blue, like the coldest chunks of ice. Her black, lacy attire covered her face, but with help from the lighting, Sooga could see the shadow of a small, stunning mouth. The vai nodded, making note of the order, before Cil raised his hand up a bit.

“Oh and uh, I want something to eat too. Something to help me get a little less drunk than these idiots.”

The vai nodded, before walking off past the crowd of people. Sooga watched her leave, and found himself fascinated. He never particularly found himself attracted to women (hell, most frightened him), but something about this one...caught his interest. Von seemed to notice this, laughing as he shook his shoulder.

“Wait a minute! You were checking her out! You were checking a LADY out! Holy SHIT!”

“I...was not. I’m gay, what reasoning would I-”

“Maybe you’re bi, Sooga, don’t rule it out!”

Cil threw a napkin at his face, scowling.

“You’re going to suggest he cheat on Master Kohga? Have you no shame?”

“Isn’t Kohga CONSTANTLY fucking someone? Like no slut shaming, but didn’t he JUST fuck Daruk like two weeks ago? If anything, you’re selfish for NOT trying this out.”

Sooga and Cil turned to look at him, but struggling to follow his logic. Von reached over to steal someone’s drink, helping himself before he explained.

“You’re telling me Kohga WOULDN’T want you to explore and find out what you like? If we told him you were acting like a prude again, he’d have ALL of our asses for not doing as he told.”

Von wasn’t very smart, but even Cil and Sooga had to admit; he had a point. Cil sighed.

“I hate to agree with him, since he’s about as smart as a rock under a lake, but the worst you can do is give it a shot. If you don’t like it, oh well, Kohga would surely love a story.”

Sooga never thought about something like this. He had dated a woman back in his teen years, but now? Not really on his mind. But, Kohga always DID implore him to explore, so he nodded.

“Alright, I’ll give it my best shot. Just one question. How the hell do you talk to women?”

Von smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. Right, these two were gay, and he was pan, course they didn’t know shit about girls.

“Look, I’ll do all the talking for you. I got you covered.”

Just then, the vai walked in. Drinks on a tray, as well as an oily plate of fried eggs on rice. Cil helped himself to his drink and to his bowl, while Von wrapped his hand around her hip.

“Listen, vai, my friend here, thinks you’re super cute. How strong of a chance does he got?”

Sooga threw his hands up in the air.

“Really. THAT’S you ‘getting me covered’?”

“Hey, women like it when you’re honest. So, how about it?”

The woman scanned him up and down, and Sooga was ready for rejection. Only, it didn’t happen. She grabbed a hold of his face, and pressed her lips against his. Even through the fabric of the veil, he could tell she had soft, eager lips. She pulled away after a minute, before using her head to motion him into following her. Von held a big smirk on his face, as if he had accomplished something.

“See! Full proof! now GO!”

Sooga was on his feet before he could understand what was happening. He caught up to her, holding her hand as she guided him to a back room. Sooga peeked into every room, curious. Each room was covered in a thin curtain, not only giving a slight view, but doing nothing to handle the sound. It let him hear all types of moans and cries from men alike. She let go of his hand, motioning for him to stay put, before slipping off into a room. Sooga, bored and curious, peeked into one of the rooms, where the curtain was fully parted. He got to see a Zora absolutely PLOWING into the aft of a Gerudo woman. He had a rather nice...pace. Not that Sooga was noticing.

“That’s it, you can handle one more for me, can’t you?”

The poor woman couldn’t say anything past her pillow. The Zora looked up from her, to him. He was about to apologize, when he watched the fishman cum, right into him, all while making eye contact with Sooga. He chuckled after, giving Sooga a big flash of teeth.

“You like watching, eh big guy? Come in, I’ll give you a better view.”

Sooga was pulled away before he could even think of accepting the offer. He was suddenly thrown onto a nice, soft bed. She closed the curtain behind them, letting just a bit of light poke into the room, but not enough to see important details of her figure. She crawled into the bed, crawling over him. He was about to speak, when she dove into his neck, dragging her lips against his neck. Sooga sat there with his hands in the air, uncertain of what to do. That is, until she grabbed his hands, and put them right on her ass. He took the hint, and did the same thing for her as he did for Kohga. He gripped tightly onto her cute little ass, and she moaned against his skin.

That sounded so,,,familiar to him, in a way. He was about to ask for her name, when he felt her start to pull off his clothes. He sat up, helping her take off his shirt. Her hands wandered his body hungrily, and he couldn’t help but feel rather flattered by such a hungry touch. He was about to reach for her clothes, before she started to scoot down, pulling down his pants, just enough to reveal his semi hard cock. The hunger in her eyes was immense, and it only added to his arousal. He watched as the veil lightly parted, and she stuffed his head in his mouth. He tensed up a bit, uncertain of what to make out of a foreign mouth on his cock.

“You’ve...done this before, I take it?”

Her eyes looked slightly amused as she continued, slowly bobbing her head up and down on his girth. She was talented at this, what with how her tongue roamed, and her how her hands massaged and rubbed at his balls. He didn’t expect it to feel good. But it really, really did. A stranger sitting there, sucking him off, all while he heard others get off in rooms right next to him. He combed his fingers through his hair, slowly pushing his cock in her pretty little mouth. He got greedy, digging his fingers into her hair, and forcing her to take more. She didn’t mind in the slightest, slobbering all over his cock as it moved back and forth into her warm mouth.

“You like this, don’t you? Satisfied by a stranger’s cock? Didn’t know vai were filthy little creatures.”

At first he thought it was rude, but he saw her eyes. Hazy, lost in the realm of lust. She liked this. He was sitting here, pleasing her mouth with his own eager cock. Then suddenly, she pulled away. He sat there, wet with drool and hard, thinking he was suddenly unwelcomed, when he saw her pull off her pants. She even went so far as to peel off her panties, throwing it in his face. It kept him distracted, at least long enough for her to push her ass against his cock. He was going to tell her to stop, a bit worried about how a woman’s insides would feel, but he acted too slowly. She sank herself onto him, moaning loudly as his cock pushed inside of her. He hissed at the feeling, mainly because such a tiny body felt so tight around his cock.

“S-shit. Don’t...move so fast. Easy does-”

But this vai didn’t like listening. She held onto his thighs, and started to ride him far too quickly. He was ashamed to admit he liked it. Ashamed to admit he liked it enough to hold onto her little hips, helping her ride his cock. Her jewelry jangled as she rode him, and her little lips kept giving him such horny, needy moans. Though the sound...was odd to him. He swore he heard those breathy sighs before, but from where? He didn’t feel like asking though. Not when such a cute little ass was taking him for all he was worth. Granted he preferred absolute dumpers like Kohga’s, but this one was definitely on the cuter end. So cute, he couldn’t help but smack it. She seemed to love it, and like a horse, seemed to go only faster on him. It felt so good, fucking such a cute thing like this. He was going to cum. He was about to pull himself out, but it was too late. He came, pulling her right to his chest, and stuffing her. She mewled and whimpered, even as he pressed his lips against hers to try to silence her. He tore away from her, and saw her eyes, lost in arousal, with mouth open and drooling behind the cloth around her mouth.

“You really do enjoy the touch of another man, don’t you?”

She nodded meekly as his hand wrapped around her pretty throat. He had no idea why, but something in him didn’t want to be gentle to her. He wanted to be rough with her, wanted her to be bruised and stuffed with his semen.

“You could handle a bit more, couldn’t you little vai?”

She nodded, helpless as his grip on her throat only made better.

“I thought so. Lay down for me, right on your stomach. I’m going to show you what a man can do.”

And for the rest of the night, that was EXACTLY what he did.

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

“Wait. You..and a WOMAN?!”

“P-please don’t be mad...”

Sooga didn’t want to tell Kohga, but he could NOT keep a secret from his master. They were all currently waiting for Zelda and Link (She requested they escort them to some ruins in the desert), and he found now was as good of a time as any. He waited for the backlash, only to hear Kohga laugh.

“Well how about THAT! You like WOMEN now?”

“I’m...not sure. I know I enjoyed it, and I know I was attracted to her, but other women...make me uneasy.”

“Hey, maybe you just have a certain type. Either way, I’m not mad.”

“You’re...not?”

“Course not! You’re getting to know yourself! I can’t say I like women like that at all, but hey, if you do, I support ya in finding out.”

Sooga couldn’t help but smile. Kohga had been helping him discover a lot about himself, and he continued to surprise him.

“I...thank you, Master Kohga. That means very, very much to me.”

“Eh don’t sweat it big guy. Now look alive, we got company!”

Sooga was about to greet their guests, when he saw Link come into view. Hair of wheat, black cloth, and blue, cold eyes. He froze like stone, and Kohga noticed.

“What’s up with you?”

“I...I just now realized-I’m pretty damn sure I’m still gay.”

“The hell you-”

Kohga knew that look. The look of regret, some shame, with even a pinch of arousal. Kohga threw his hands in the air, completely ignoring his guest’s puzzled gazes.

“SOOGA YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!”

Sooga only had one thing to say. He looked down and Link, and without much regard for manners, spoke.

“Fuck you, Link.”

#asks #kohga #sooga #link #lemon #listen #sooga REALLY liked the vai outfit #its hot to him #and hes stupid bold of you to assume he could recognize link in that outfit

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stray-tori · 3 years

Text

TPN S02E10+E11 Initial Thoughts (anime-only)

Sorry for posting this so late (it was finished in my drafts for like a month why did I NOT POST???). since i dont have a lot to say for either, I’ll combine ep10 and ep11 into one post.

Season Thoughts overall

Overall: not a lot of hype or feelings. I don’t really want to say I don’t care but I was more invested in singular elements than actually seeing it unravel in front of me. I personally like that better than hating it (which I’m glad I don’t particularly feel betrayed or anything), though I guess based on the angle you could argue that anger often comes from a place of caring in those situations so-- maybe it’s a bad sign, but either way, I prefer it this way. the time when it was just stressful hurt.

Though it also hurts to know it’s truly over now (well, there’s the manga, but knowing that I waited for... little payoff haha) -- especially when they kind of teased how it could continue. I respect wanting to wrap it up but tbh just cutting it when they stay behind would have done it too pff-

maybe this will change upon rewatch but for now, here’s my “hype”/investment chart for tpn over the weeks:

I don’t want to call it “quality” because I’m not sure I’m being fair to that at all. I can tell its faults and at this point, I don’t care that much, but that is how I felt each week. active discontent is worse than being neutral for me.

I do think a 12th episode would have help not rush the Ratri exposition as much and maybe have some more of a through line to their quest. Even if it's more slideshow i would have liked a bit more context personally.

EPISODE 10

that was truly a doctor stone moment where they just built something super impressive (the balloons) out of.... somewhat nowhere haha.

I'm so glad Vincent stuff was just a classic CW cliffhanger-force pfff- I mean why it exists is questionable but I’m glad they didn’t force a conflict into it so late.

Mujika and Sonju went brrr on converting all those civillians haha

Will Emma ever get an epic action shot again, probably not.

Week 4 of wondering if the hideout Cislo or Vincent referenced will come back. at this point probably not but I guess if everyone is basically on their side already, they have the time to go collect every human in the world. [future tori: sadly the show did not] - or Mujika may help collect other humans and bring them to safety! I think I would have preferred a grey ending a la "we go over but who knows what happens" there but I'm still curious how it'll pan out specifically.

When Emma spoke to everyone over the farm speakers I was big emotional--

Somehow all the moms are instantly on their side despite being brainwashed all their lives? I guess maybe Isabella planted the seeds all this time and that’s the implication. It fell a little flat though

Also it implies that the sister/mom that urged Phil to get ready actually knew of the plan right? WHY IS EVERYONE SO OMINOUS pfff-

MICHELLE THOUGH!!! Its herrrrr. that’s a nice nod.

i liked how the tunnels of Sonju and Mujika came back around plot-wise :)

EPISODE 11

they didnt forget the kids from the mass production farms hazahhh (?) :D

it is kind of hard to unthink that none of the GF kids have reacted to Norman being alive lmao

i would have accepted a cut after the gate closed too tbh, but on the other hand it was rly nice to see the kids in the human world and see some of the frames of the demon world quest

in particular the one on water because it's also in the ratri exposition so I like that it's not completely random.

it is however very random and while I love to put some pieces together myself, I feel like there’s WAY TOO LESS to go off of in this case.

If you're gonna do a charlotte at least give them the 12th episode to work with but oh well

I feel like they could have done the slideshow over the ending but I guess saving effort wherever possible is a goal here sadly.

it's just.... the minimal runtime really hurts it - like a lot of it isn’t downright bad but it’s just so short-lived that it falls flat

as someone who's written very time-jumpy stuff too, I also sympathize because it's kind of hard to do a quick time "overview" right without just throwing in random moments.

I don't mind the slideshow for the exposition, it had a nice astethic and I don't have anything against it inherently bc you can't really quickly show moments after each other if it's not still images. like if its animated its kinda jarring bc stuff moves and its also just on screen for a short moment so i personally dont have anything against the slideshow itself

I do like the general ideas and concepts but it just felt like "okay that happened"

Because it feels like they are building on something with like that standing on water creature in the Ratri exposition and then in the time skip frames, but stuff around a lot of it and other things are just missing and that's why it falls kind of flat. Idk if that made sense. I'm not really angry or upset anymore, which I'm glad about. The elements i like i like and that's that. Though of course. I'll miss the anime. Even the mess of s2 haha because it still had those elements and I could see how it could have worked. Episode 9 however was insulting pff.

I would have also liked some info about how and where they live now tbh

like that weird on water dragon and the demon in front of it appearing during the ratri expostion and then with Emma - maybe he's like..... the promise manager? "hello we would like to apply for a promise slot. thank you"

it's funny they were fine in the human world immediately when it was set up as "maybe unwelcome". and where did they even get out?? is there just a big ass gate at the ocean haha

I guess the gate just stays open and they can visit Mujika and Sonju from time to time or something? :D Or did they close it? NOBODY KNOWS bc everything is vague

The last episode (ep10) left me wanting nothing.

This episode at least left me wanting more. More of their quest getting all the children. More of the trio in the human world. Just more... And I think that’s better than not caring at all.

#the promised neverland #tpn s2 #tpn anime #the promised neverland season 2 #tpn #tori talks #tori has opinions

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dweetwise · 4 years

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I have this wholesome crackship, Kate x Huntress. I just think they'd be neat together, they both place a great importance on family, they like singing and Kate is just a very kind person so I feel like she could try to understand a killer. Honestly I even have a whole scenario for how they'd start out but nobody asked about that and I'm rambling so whatever gstegsggsvs

i’ve had this sitting in my inbox for a while, and i’m not sure if it was meant as a request but i immediately knew what i wanted to write when i saw it <3 sorry for taking so long and i hope you like this little drabble!

ship(s): huntress x kate, super briefly mentioned ace x felix warnings: none word count: 1130

Huntress X Kate: Songbird

The Huntress patrols the forest, guarding it against intruders. The land isn’t the same as before, the monster having changed and distorted it. There’s no signs of life, no animals or bugs or anything but perpetual night. But it's still her home.

A branch cracks behind her and Anna instantly turns around, hatchet raised above her head and ready to either throw it in warning or to kill depending on who she finds. She has no sympathy for the servants of the monster that take pleasure in killing, following their captor willingly and sometimes coming to her home to try to threaten her into doing the same. She's axed the man in full leather at least three times by this point, and won't hesitate to raise her weapon against the others either.

But sometimes, it's a survivor that gets lost and wanders into the outskirts of her realm. She has no desire to kill them outside of trials unless she has to, as the small, unarmed humans pose no threat to her. A well-placed hatchet next to their heads usually does the trick; once, she even embedded an axe between the pink-shirted man's knees when he had the audacity to bring his new friend into her forest to frolic against a tree. No matter how much she missed the animals of the woods, she wasn't going to let them go at it like rabbits. Still, it was fun to watch him squeal, and she hasn't seen him or his tall friend since.

But instead of an unwelcome visitor, the Huntress' eyes land on the only person she's ever considered a friend, and it makes her immediately lower her hatchet.

“Anna!” Kate calls, running towards her quite clumsily, in Anna's opinion. She's lucky the forest is void of its predators or the noise would surely have attracted them.

The girl is smiling, a once foreign expression that Anna has now come to expect of her, knowing something is wrong if Kate's lips aren't curling upward. She's carrying something on her shoulder and has what looks to be several maps in her hand.

Anna makes a sound of bewilderment and tilts her head in question as the girl approaches.

“I have a surprise for you!” Kate is saying and while Anna doesn't understand the words, she realizes the girl doesn't want her to look at the items from the way she very obviously moves to hide them behind her back. It makes her curious, but Kate is still smiling, so she knows everything is alright.

“Why don't we go sit on the balcony?” Kate says, pointing to the house.

“Home?” Anna suggests eagerly, using one of the few words she's learned from Kate.

“Yes! Let's go home!” Kate smiles brightly and grabs Anna's hand in her much smaller one.

When they get to the house, Kate leads them upstairs, to a spot on the balcony where they can see the moon. She motions for Anna to take a seat, and Anna, a little reluctantly, lets go of her hand to sit down and lean against the cabin wall.

Kate settles opposite of her, sitting down cross-legged and setting the maps down in front of her. She pulls the item from her back, and Anna recognizes it as the stringed wooden box she uses to make beautiful music. It's not the first time Kate has brought the item with her and it makes Anna's heart start beating faster, eager to hear more of Kate's pretty songs even if she doesn't understand the words. Singing is the thing that initially made them approach each other, Anna being fascinated ever since she heard Kate softly humming in a trial.

She watches Kate pull the box into her lap before leaning down to straighten out the maps in front of her. There's some strange writing on them that Anna hasn't seen before, but she also doesn't know how to read. Maybe that's just Kate's language.

“Can you take your mask off, hon?” Kate addresses her, and Anna recognizes the word even before Kate brings her hand up on her own face to gesture to it. “I really want to see your reaction, if that's alright.”

Anna doesn't understand why Kate asks, but she removes her mask, happy that it makes Kate smile even more. She's reminded of when she first did this, removing her mother's mask with shaking fingers, and Kate's face went a little red and she said one of Anna's now favorite words.

“Pretty,” Anna echoes the sentiment now, watching Kate's beautiful smile as their eyes meet without any barriers between them.

“You are,” Kate responds, pointing at Anna and making her face feel warmer than before.

“Alright, here goes,” Kate is clearing her throat. She grabs the music box by its long neck, preparing to start her song and making Anna perk up her ears in anticipation.

The first sound from the item hits her ears and makes something warm bubble up in her chest. Kate's fingers expertly move over the strings, creating sounds Anna has only heard in her dreams, delicate but still so strong. There's something familiar about the song, but Anna can't quite place it…

And then Kate starts humming her mother's lullaby and it sends shivers down Anna's spine.

Kate is mostly watching the writing on the papers while she sings, but she glances up every now and then to look at her reaction.

They've sang the melody many times together, the words having gotten lost over the years in Anna's memory, but Kate doesn't seem to mind. And she doesn't need words, using her voice and her music to express every single one of Anna's bittersweet memories of her mother. The sounds from the strings sound both different and familiar, Kate creating something that's new and nostalgic at the same time.

When their eyes meet again, Kate's face softens into a fond smile and Anna realizes there are tears running down her own cheeks. But there must be something in her eyes that tells Kate that it's not because something is wrong, it's because something is right, since she keeps humming and playing.

When Kate finishes the song, Anna has to be closer, needs to be closer. She crawls over and grabs the item from Kate's hands, carefully, carefully setting it on the floor. Anna pulls the still smiling girl into a hug, thrilled when she eagerly returns the embrace and laughs a cute little laugh into Anna's shoulder.

“Did'ya like it, hon? It's a little different, but I tried my best,” Kate murmurs, nuzzling into her neck.

There's so many things Anna wishes she could say, but she has to settle for hugging Kate tighter and whispering a sentiment she knows the meaning of, hoping the tears and her trembling voice will convey just how much she means it.

“Thank you.”

#dbd huntress #kate denson #dbd anna #dweetwrites #dbd #dbd fanfic #dead by daylight #request #huntress x kate

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jenonctcity · 5 years

Text

Mr Right

Lee Jeno – Smut

Bestfriend-to-lovers!AU

Warnings: Oral, Fingering.

Word Count: 2.2k

Request: Requested by anon – Reader has feelings for Bestfriend!Jeno and goes on dates and flirts with other men.

The gentle click of Jeno’s bedroom door opening made him glance up from the glaring light of his computer. His glasses situated on his nose, the chunky headphones placed over his head and his hair covering his forehead gave him an innocent air to his look, one that made your stomach flutter with a stampede of unwelcome butterflies. You smiled timidly, his lips pulling up to give you an identical look. Turning to close the door behind you, you took a deep breath, putting on a fake façade as you had your back to him. You put on a big grin and skipped over to him.

“Hey Jen.” You threw yourself onto his bed, laying on your side with your head propped up on your hand.

“Hey.” He glanced back at you before putting half of his attention back on the monitor in front of him. “Where have you been all day? You usually come over a lot earlier on a Saturday, I was starting to worry.” He asked curiously, playing battlegrounds the best he could while trying to have a conversation at the same time.

“I was on a date.” You spoke nonchalantly with a shrug, acting as though it was nothing.

“Another one?” He spun around on his chair once more, pulling off the headphones at the same time. All of his attention on you now and his game being forgotten about.

“Yeah, it’s hard trying to find Mr Right.” You let out a dramatic sigh, flopping onto your back with a huff.

“Was it that guy you kept flirting with last week at the bowling alley?” He took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands to try and make the tiredness from staring at a computer screen all day fade away. You stared at him whilst he couldn’t see you, admiring the way his hair fluffed up as his fingertips brushed through it. Jeno never failed to make your knees go weak, palms go clammy, butterflies to flap around in your stomach, and your heart rate to beat like a drum, the sound pounding in your ear and making you nervous that he could hear it. But you never had the guts to tell him this though, worried it would completely destroy your friendship with him if he didn’t feel the same way about you.

“Yeah, he’s super-hot.” You didn’t mean to rub it in his face that you went on a date with someone, but you didn’t realise he felt the same way towards you as you did to him. It was starting to rub Jeno up the wrong way. But it wasn’t jealousy he felt, it was sadness and pent up frustration. For the past year he had to listen to your stories about all the wonderful dates you went on, only for you to tell him you didn’t actually like the guy that much. It irritated him that you couldn’t see the perfect man for you had been right under your nose since you were both learning how to read. He never told you how he felt because he didn’t think you’d be interested in him since you keep going on dates. “I don’t think he’s right for me tho-”

“That’s what you always say.” He snapped, interrupting you and folding his arms across his chest, the fabric of his t-shirt stretching across his muscles and causing your stomach to drop. “I’m fed up of hearing about it (Y/N).” He shrugged, finally reaching the end of his tether and frowning deeply at you.

“Bit rude.” You mumble, frowning back at him, but he heard you loud and clear.

“I’m just saying, you whine about not finding the right man, but you go on one date with them and then don’t give them a chance. I’m fed up of hearing you moan about it!” He stood up, pacing around his room as his heart sped up, not having expected himself to have let all his pent-up frustrations out in the form of words. You listened to him and sat up on his bed, your face heating up in slight embarrassment from being called out like this. “Bet you spread your legs for them all too.” He grunted, keeping his back to you and almost immediately regretting his words.

“Lee Jeno!! That is none of your business.” You stood up, throwing one of his pillows at his back and stomping towards his door. “You’re an asshole, don’t bother contacting me until you want to apologise.” Before you could get to the door you turned around to look at him again, seeing that he’d swivelled his body around to watch you leave and was looking at you with a dark look in his eye. “Why do you even care Jeno? It’s my life and if I want to g-” He cut you off once more.

“Because I’m in love with you!!!” He shouted loudly at you, finally letting go of everything he’d been keeping deep inside of him.

“Stop interrupting me!” You screamed back at him and then gasped when you realised what you’d just heard. “Holy shit…”

“Just get out.” He frowned, shaking his head and running his hands through his hair in frustration mixed with anxiety.

“Jeno I-”

“GET OUT!” He turned to you, his aggression surprising you and making you take a step back, your back hitting the door. He gulped, realisation of how he was acting hitting him suddenly. “(Y/N) I’m sorry…” He slowly approached you, watching as you stood your ground and raised your chin to him. You cleared your throat and sighed, stepping towards him so you were face to face with him.

“I’m sorry too, I didn’t mean to make you so wound up about it…I actually kinda love you too.” You twiddled your thumbs nervously, glancing away to look at anything but him. He reached forward, cupping your cheek in the palm of his hand. “I only went on dates to try and get over my feelings for you, but I guess that didn’t work.” You laughed weakly, glancing down at your feet apprehensively. He used your distracted eyes to swoop down and place a kiss to your lips. The kiss wasn’t perfect, you looked up at the wrong time so he only half kissed your chin, and you didn’t feel the stereotypical fireworks that everyone in movies spoke about when they kissed the person they loved. Once he’d readjusted your lips to fit together better, it felt right. You felt like you’d been waiting for this for so long that the relief of your feelings being out in the open was enough to make you relax into the kiss. After pulling away a few times to smile at you and trace his eyes over your features, he pressed his lips to yours with more heat behind the gesture. His tongue brushed against your bottom lip until he had full access to flick his tongue against your own. His hand trailed down your back and rested on the small of your back momentarily, before continuing its journey down south. The gentle pressure he put on your ass cheek made you press your body into his own, the warmth of his chest adding to the flushing of your cheeks.

“I’m a virgin.” You mumbled against his mouth, wanting to clarify that fact to him because of what he’d said to you earlier about you spreading your legs for loads of men. He pulled away an inch, his eyebrows raised and his adams apple bobbing as he gulped.

“I-I didn’t mean what I said…” He looked worried, hoping that you weren’t offended by his immature accusation.

“I know, I just thought I’d tell you because I can tell where this is going.” Your cheeks felt hot, leaning in to kiss him again.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to?” He spoke his words in a questioning tone against your lips. “This is going quite quick.” He stopped kissing you, gazing deeply into your eyes with his own curious orbs.

“Maybe we could just…do some stuff?” You suggested, too shy to say what it was you were talking about.

“Like?” He prompted you, a small smirk making his lips rise.

“You know…” You glanced away, trying to hold in the giggle that was building behind your mouth.

“Do you want me to put my mouth here?” His voice dropped lower as his hand cupped your heat over your shorts. You gasped, gripping onto his shoulders tightly in surprise. You felt a rush of butterflies’ flurry from your stomach down to your core, your clit suddenly aching like never before. Of course, you’d played with yourself and experimented, but having someone else touch you there was a completely different thing. Along with the feeling of his touch, the feelings of your emotions towards him came with it, intensifying the feeling of lust. “Or do you want my fingers?” He whispered, trailing kisses from your lips down to your neck. He placed a soft, lingering kiss to the juncture where your shoulder and neck met, before attaching his lips and sucking onto your soft skin.

“Surprise me.” He laughed lowly against your neck after you spoke, both of his hands travelling to your thighs before he swooped you into his arms, carrying you by your thighs to his bed. The sudden weightless feeling you felt made you squeak. He’d definitely taken your words seriously. He threw you on the bed, your head hitting the remaining pillow that you hadn’t thrown across the room in your rage. He stood at the foot of the bed, staring at you with a hungry look in his eyes. He licked his bottom lip, climbing on the bed and crawling up it slowly, teasingly, taking his time to keep you anticipating what he was planning. He parted your legs, situating himself between your legs and unhurriedly popping open the button of your jean shorts, taking the zip down with them at the same time. Grabbing them tightly with your panties he dragged them down your legs tantalisingly. He bit his bottom lip as he threw the clothes to the floor haphazardly, laying on his front and shuffling closer to you.

“So pretty.” He whispered, a finger slowly tracing your slit from top to bottom. He dipped the tip of his finger inside of your leaking hole, a huff of air leaving his mouth as he tried to contain his excitement. Instead he gave you a smug smile, spreading your wetness over your folds. You watched him intently, your mouth hanging open, the pleasure he gave you making you speechless. He used two of his fingers to part your soft folds, leaning his head forward and placing a gentle kiss on your clit.

“Shit.” You breathed out, your chest quickly rising and falling as he took your swollen clit between his lips and sucked it, his eyes flicking up and locking with your stare. His finger dipped back inside of you, steadily pumping in and out before he added another finger. He dragged his flat tongue from bottom to top, flicking it against you with a soft laugh.

“This okay baby?” He paused for a moment, waiting for you to give him your blessing. You nodded quickly and muttered a brief approval. The rhythm of his fingers and tongue mixed together perfectly, ripping a long moan out from your chest.

“Jeno!” Your back arched and toes curled as his ministrations didn’t let up, only causing a white-hot heat to rip through you faster than ever before. You came on his fingers, his tongue lapping up your juices as he withdrew them from you. He sucked his fingers clean and decided now he was going to be shy. His cheeks went red and he cleared his throat, quickly excusing himself from the room and coming back a minute later holding a wet cloth. He cleaned up what he didn’t get with his tongue and grabbed a pair of his clean boxers from a drawer. He dressed you in them and smiled cutely, his eyes turning into their signature crescent moon shape. You felt the heat leave your body, cooling down as you caught your breath. You felt giddy, a soft laugh coming from your mouth as he cuddled up to you on his bed.

“You just ate me out, now you’re pressing your erection into my thigh and you choose now to get all quiet and cute.” You pinched his cheeks, leaning forward to press your nose against his. He whined endearingly and wrapped his arms around you, still acting bashful.

“I’m just happy, leave me alone.” He sniggered, rolling his eyes and turning his back on you playfully. You kept your attention on him, laughing loudly when he turned his head to see if you were indeed watching him.

“Such a baby.” You slapped his ass hard, causing him to squeal and roll back to face you.

“Oh, you’ve started a war now.” He rolled on top of you and began tickling your sides, leading you to thrash underneath him widely. After the tickling stopped and you were snuggled into his chest, you spoke about everything you both felt and came to the decision that your next date would be with Jeno instead of some random man.

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httpbread · 5 years

Note

May I please request a teru x reader scenario where reader is just hHh pining so hard and teru is ALSO pining but like reader runs off every time he tries to talk to them 😳😳 thanks if you decide to do this !

Pairing: Teru x reader

Words: 2452

ngl i was bit frazzled when i wrote this,, super sorry if it’s a bit choppy!!

—

“Please accept this gift, Minamoto-san!”

Turning around, the sight makes his heart stutter.

It’s (L/n)-chan again.

They’re bowing at an almost ninety-degree angle, delicate hands shaking a little as they hold out an even more delicately wrapped box.

He ignores the heat fighting to meet his cheeks as he carefully reaches forward, not wanting to spook them again.

“Ah, thank you-”

The second the gift met his hands they were already at least three yards back and away.

He caught a glimpse of those bright, sparkling (e/c) eyes, looking overjoyed at him, before they left his sight as they turned tail and ran, clearly as quick as their shoes could carry them.

His heart sings fondly, despite their hasty getaway.

(L/n)-chan was good at what they did.

Both gifts-wise and in the way that they managed to run away from him each and every time they made contact.

It truly was amazing how they managed to slip right between his fingers each and every time he reached out to them, he honestly couldn’t even find it in himself to be the slightest bit frustrated with them.

He looks down at the gift left in his hands.

He just wanted to return the favor…

—-

It was only a few days later when he found something new sitting on his desk.

He was a little disappointed he hadn’t gotten to see their flustered face this time.

Though, the surprise he opened made up for it.

“Are those cat cookies?” A classmate uttered with a snort, “Did your mom run your lunch here or something?”

They’d made him lunch…?

That was a new one.

Not an unwelcome surprise either, his heart felt like it might overflow looking at all the clumsy cute animals they had made out of the food.

The obvious effort and care put into the lunch made Teru want to just melt, but he knew he had to keep it together.

First, though, he would eat the quality crafted lunch, and then continue to try and figure out a way to pin the runaway down.

—-

“Okay, now I’m kind of jealous. Can’t I have a bite?”

Teru shook his head, smiling politely, “Sorry.”

He didn’t elaborate.

(L/n)-chan had made him this lunch.

Despite them having been giving him a barrage of various gifts and occasionally even bashfully complimenting him, when they were feeling really brave, for the longest time now, he still couldn’t seem to get over the bubbly feelings they created in his chest.

“What? Are you trying to tell me that chop job came from… well, not your mom?”

Teru hides his annoyance with another smile at the boy, “No. It didn’t, thank you.”

The boy doesn’t seem to catch the sharpness in it or the hint.

“What? Does the school prince have yet another secret admirer or something?”

He’s ready to just as kindly turn down this notion.

He really was going to.

(L/n)-chan wasn’t a secret admirer. They had been brave enough to hand-deliver most of their thoughtful gifts.

But did they have a secret admirer…?

Teru wondered if that was his way in.

They couldn’t cut him off and run for the hills if they didn’t see him, could they?

A genuine smile tugs at his lips.

“Wh- Just because I’m in love with him does NOT mean I have to talk to him,” they heatedly defend, making wild gestures with their hands, sure that one of them would dismiss this argument with their friend, “It’s insane you even talked me to giving him gifts in the first place, but this is where I draw the line!”

“I’ll take these feelings straight to my grave! You just watch me!” They pointedly pull their chair out, ready to sit down, “I refuse to bother Minamoto-san, I won’t even-”

They stopped at their friend’s curious, squinting eyes at them.

“What’s with that look? Stop that. I don’t-”

“Uh, (Y/n)-chan, what, uhm. What’s that?” She draws closer, much to their dismay, “You got snacks in there or something…?”

“Snacks in what or-”

Their eyes had followed their sneaky friend’s gaze, pausing on the abnormality.

A gift bag.

Sitting on their desk.

…

“Ah. No, I think someone mixed up desks. This is-”

“Look! Look!” She gasps, already being nosy again, “Check this out, (Y/n)-chan!”

“No! No sticking your nose in someone else’s gift! It’s rude! I-”

She shoved the tag in their face nonetheless.

(Y/n) blinks at it, trying to focus on it being so close to their eyes.

‘For: (L/n) (Y/n)’

(Y/n) was sure their name had never looked so fancy until that moment!

Immediately, curiosity lighting a sudden fire under them as they snatch the bag away, “My name, not yours.”

The girl groans dramatically as (Y/n) peers excitedly inside.

From what they can see, there are three things inside.

A box, a rose, and a letter.

They’re more than happy to shove their hand in and grab the first thing it touches.

Which happens to be the rose, they note in surprise when they pull it out.

“Oi! Be more careful, you could cut yourself, genius.”

However, as they inspect the rose, they quickly find that’s not true! There’s not a single thorn protruding from the stem- and oh gosh it smells so nice!

They gently set it on the desk, ignoring the fact it’s quickly plucked up by their friend for a squinty-eyed inspection.

They pull out the letter next.

‘Dear (Y/n)’

They have to look away, heart fluttering too much to continue.

This really was meant for them? Someone with this fancy of handwriting was actually giving them something?

They try to calm their excitement, trying to focus enough to read the card.

‘I hope this doesn’t creep you out or anything, but I’ve had a crush on you for months now.’

Them? Really?

‘But I haven’t been able to confess.’

To them? Was this person really sure?

(Y/n) almost pouts at the words. They wouldn’t consider themselves all that intimidating, either, in fact, they thought of themselves as quite welcoming!

‘So, please, instead, accept this gift as a small tribute of my affections.’ They couldn’t help the small smile etched on their lips, ‘You like (f/f), don’t you?’

(Y/n) had a funny feeling it wasn’t a question… and also what was in the box at the bottom of the bag.

However, they did know one thing for sure.

They fucking loved (f/f).

—-

After that, it was a new gift every day.

Sometimes, they thought that they’d gotten lucky and slipped past their secret admirer…

Only to almost immediately find a gift when they turned around. Whether it was sitting on their desk, hidden in their locker, or even once outside the bathroom door after school, they’d always show up!

That last one had made them laugh a little, trying to imagine someone watching them go in so they could frantically shove a gift down and run off before they, of all people, came back out.

It was such a strange concept to them, someone too bashful to come up to them, resorting to anonymous affections.

It warmed their heart, that was for sure.

Though, they had their underlying concerns about the matter.

The stranger had been doing this for a month now, and they had no way to put a gentle stop to it.

After all, secret admirer or not, someone else still had their heart.

And as wonderful as it might seem to put down their love for the school prince and settle for this wonderful admirer of theirs…

They just couldn’t manage it.

So, today, when they found a pristine letter sitting on their desk, opportunity shone a light on them.

‘Please, meet me at the fountain in front of the school after classes let out. There’s something I should tell you.’

There was something (Y/n) should tell them first.

-—

Their confidence shriveled up and died when they found themselves at the fountain alone.

Had their admirer chickened out?

Had the situation been different, with (Y/n) facing Minamoto-san, they probably would have done the same, so they couldn’t really blame this stranger.

Yeah, had they given Minamoto-san a letter like that they would’ve changed names and moved countries before he could even blink!

Yet, they could really admire their secret admirer’s bravery. (Y/n) never had the guts to even think about confessing to their crush…

Much less give him gifts so frequently… So boldly!

Man, maybe they should have thought about the whole secret admirer thing before he’d seen their face.

Though… they supposed it was much too late to be going back now, huh…?

Their wandering thoughts were interrupted by a sudden scuff.

The unmistakable sound of a shoe against concrete.

Instantly, panic flared in their chest, a fear that made their lips jump apart.

“I’m sorry!”

It’s quiet after their words are spoken.

This doesn’t help their building panic.

Not to mention embarrassment.

What if this wasn’t the right person?

What if it was just a bird or something?

What if-

There wasn’t any time for ‘what if’s!

They had to be strong, and they had to be firm! That’s what their friend had instructed them to do early when they had confided in her with their problem.

So, that’s what they’d do!

They’d stop this confession before it even started.

“Wh-What I meant to say,” they fiddled with their fingers, looking down at them as though they’d provide some safe haven, “Is that- uhm.”

They wince.

“I can’t… accept your feelings.”

Hastily, they look up, lifting a hand to nervously comb through their soft (h/c) locks.

“Don’t get me wrong, you’ve been very kind to me, and I honestly can’t thank you enough,” they keep their voice level now, feeling a little more confident with the fact they genuinely didn’t want to hurt their admirer, “Which is why I want to tell you that my heart already belongs to someone.”

They ignore that the words set their face aflame as they continue finally.

“I’m in love with Minamoto-san.”

Their heart pounds in their ears as they hang their head low, hoping to show their respect.

“I’m very sorry, I hope you can understand.”

If no one was there after all, this random bird would at least know of their condolences.

“Ah. I see.”

Definitely not a bird.

“Well, since you turned me down…”

They hastily whip around, horror nearly knocking them right off their feet, threatening to yank them to a painful concrete fate.

Wait- No! The concrete wears better! They’d take the concrete! Anything but this!

“May I at least accept your feelings…?”

Anything but the impossible gazing back at them.

Their brain couldn’t even begin to comprehend what their eyes were trying to shove at it.

Minamoto Teru standing across the fountain from them.

“M-M-M-My… what?”

Despite their tongue’s valiant struggle to keep their mouth shut, they force the words out regardless, however unintelligent.

“You said, and I quote-” there’s a wide, dazzling smile gracing his perfect face, “I’m in love with Minamoto-san.”

“Oh… Did I?” They scratch the back of their neck, “W-Well, I- uh, I- surely meant uhm…”

They short circuit for a moment.

Then stick a finger at him, rebutting, “Kou-kun. Yeah!”

They hastily look back up to meet his gaze, ignoring the fear coursing through their veins, praying for some divine intervention to make him believe their shitty lie.

“Really? Because last time I checked you’ve always called me Minamoto-san.”

This was NOT the divine intervention they asked for.

He takes a step forward.

They take a step back.

“Plus, I think Kou would mention if a cute upperclassman was showering him with gifts.”

Shit! He was right!

Dammit- they forgot- oh no, the gifts, he had all the evidence! He even had a statement directly from their lips!

Wait- did he say cute?

He said cute, right?

Like- that was definitely a thing he had just said, correct?

“Gotcha.”

They looked up at him oddly, finding him right before them now.

“Got what?” They utter, too distracted with their thoughts to really process that it was Teru Minamoto standing there, his hands sitting on their shoulders.

“You.”

Until he dropped a bomb like that on them.

“M-Me?”

The beautiful laugh that leaves his lips is both a blessing and a curse.

“Yes, you, (Y/n),” he tells them attentively, those bright blue eyes sparkling under the afternoon sun, “You’re not running away this time.”

Running away…?

…

He’d ruined their only plan before they had even thought about it!

“I wasn’t going to run away,” they blatantly lie, looking away to try and calm their unhinged heart.

“Good, because I’m not letting you go.”

They note the gentle squeeze he gives the grip on their shoulders, a lightly placed threat.

A threat they couldn’t find themselves minding all that much.

“But…”

They look up at him as he looks away, much to their surprise.

Wait, wait, wait.

Was he…

BLUSHING?

“Why do you always run away…?”

They were almost too busy ascending at his adorable face to realize his words.

Their response is simple.

“Panic.”

He looks back down at them to raise a brow, “Why?”

They reach up to scratch their burning cheek.

Well, no point in beating around the bush now. They had literally told him of their feelings to his face.

“W-Well, I- uhm. I wasn’t actually ever planning on… y’know… confessing… to you…” their voice grows quieter with each awkward pause, absently poking their pointer fingers together repeatedly.

“And why not?” He asks as if there aren’t as many reasons not to as there are bugs in the wild.

“Wh- Because!” They hastily look up at him, frowning, not upset with him, but at the nightmare that had become their reality, “Y-You get confesses to a lot- and uhm, I didn’t want to bother you. So…”

The bar their lashes, trying to process when his forehead presses against theirs.

“So, you just never considered the possibility of me liking you back?”

They’re quiet, too fixated on his shining eyes to even speak.

“Because, (Y/n), I do,” he says softly, letting his words linger in the little space between them, “I’ve liked you for months now.”

“A-Are you sure?” They whisper, scarves to say the wrong thing and make him pull away.

A small smile finds his lips.

“Yes, (Y/n). I’m sure.”

“Like… really really sure? On a scale from one to ten-“

On a scale from one to ten, his lips were on theirs, shutting them right up.

#tbhk x reader #tbhk #jshk #jshk x reader #toilet bound hanako kun #toilet bound hanako kun x reader #jibaku shounen hanako kun x reader #jibaku shounen hanako kun #teru x reader #teru minamoto x reader #breadkinswrites

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ambersky0319 · 5 years

Note

A human AU where the Light sides were all like a found family, until Logan runs away and they are determined to bring him back no matter what, only to find him with Dexter(Deceit) and Remus and looking far happier than with them. But Virgil hates it, pushing the two away from Logan and trying to force him back before screaming "They're fucking monsters, they could never love someone like you!" Which causes Logan to fight against him and leave the lights for good

Hope you’re happy with this! It was super fun to write but also fuck Virgil in this-

Can be seen as either platonic or romantic Intruloceit, your choice really

Warnings : Unsympathetic Virgil, Somewhat Unsympathetic/Highly Implied Unsympathetic Roman, Morally gray Patton, past suicide mention(none of the main characters), mention of a panic attack, lmk if I need to add anything else!

Masterpost

——————————–

It was just by chance, meeting Dexter and Remus. Though Logan had known about them for a while. They had a small community on YouTube for their random and often insane ideas, usually done in the name of “science”. They did have some more serious videos, though, one that caught Logan’s interest the most being one where they talked about toxic relationships. They had still made some jokes, mostly about their past experiences, but the video was extremely heartfelt and made Logan curious enough to do some research on his own.

What Logan didn’t know, was that Dexter and Remus actually lived in the same city as him.

Logan had left his and his friends’ house after a particularly harsh argument with Roman, and took a bus further into the city to find a place to relax. He remembered a coffee shop from a few weeks ago that Patton had dragged him to. While Patton didn’t really like it as much as he thought he would, Logan really liked it as the people inside always seemed to be full of life and had hearts of gold(seriously, the barista he talked to looked as though she was glowing in the afternoon light).

Stepping inside, there was only one table open which he took quickly, setting his things down before ordering his coffee. The barista, the same as last time he had visited(a shock to Logan in all honesty that she’d keep the job), made his drink quickly and handed it to him with a bright smile, wishing him a good afternoon. Once back at his table, he took out his laptop to work on one of his many projects. He lost himself in one of his favorites, a novel he was writing. Eventually though, he was pulled from his focus.

“Hey um, sir?”

Logan looked up, and he nearly gasped. Nearly. Standing before him was none other than Dexter, looking rather sheepish as he interrupted Logan.

“Sorry to bother you, but all the other tables are full and I was wondering if my friend and I could sit with you for now, at least until one opens up?” Dexter jabbed his thumb over to the counter, where Remus stood chatting with the barista as she made their drinks and another prepared some food for them. Logan almost forgot how to speak, and he cleared his throat.

“Um, yeah, sure. I don’t mind.” Dexter smiled and slid into the seat across from Logan. Remus joined them not long after.

“I’m Dexter, by the way. And this is Remus.” Dexter slung his arm around Remus once Remus settled beside him.

“I kinda knew. I really like your videos, they’re far more informational than I thought they would be.” And then, it was as if Logan just remembered that he didn’t know these two personally, and his cheeks felt a bit warmer all of a sudden. “Oh, and I’m Logan, by the way.”

“Well Logan, it’s always great to meet a fan,” Dexter said, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah! Especially since most people just think we’re two idiots online, huh Dee?” Remus wasn’t really asking him, but he still got an affirmative hum. Remus tilted his head as he studied Logan for a moment. “Hey wait, I’ve seen you before! You’re in that one psych class!”

And that’s how the rest of Logan’s afternoon went. Other tables cleared, but Dexter and Remus didn’t leave Logan’s table as they spoke with him. And Logan’s computer was moved to his bag as he let himself open up to some people other than his main friend group. He wasn’t all too surprised that they had similar interests, and it was fun getting to complain with Remus about the number of projects their teachers gave them.

Over the following months, Logan continued to meet up with them and talk with them late into the night. He learned Dexter wasn’t in college and worked freelance as an artist to pay their house bills so Remus could focus on becoming a psychiatrist(Remus did do art commissions as well to chip in, but Dexter took care of finances the most). Logan also learned that Remus was the younger brother that Roman so often complained about, which initially pissed Logan off. When Remus learned that Logan was living with his brother, and heard of the things Roman had said, just shrugged and told Logan to not tell any of them they hung out. Dexter knew Virgil as well, though he was far less inclined to tell Logan what had happened, and just said they had a major fallout a few years back.

About two years into their friendship, Logan had sent the duo a text during their livestream(Logan had been doing homework and hadn’t noticed the two were busy). It was frantic, and Logan was stuffing essentials into his bag as he waited anxiously for either of them to text back. All Logan’s original text had said was “guys I need OUT”.

Dexter texted him back after ten agonizing minutes, asking what was wrong, and Logan called him, his voice unsteady as he explained the situation. Dexter listened as Remus ended their video so he could hear what was happening too. He and Virgil had gotten into a rather heated argument, and Roman had somehow been dragged into it. Normally Patton was there to calm them all down but he was working at the time, and Logan just couldn’t take any more arguing like this, not when it got so personal and to the point that Logan had been reduced to silence because of a panic attack.

“Do you want me to come pick you up? Lo, where are you?” Remus had snatched Dexter’s phone from his hand.

Logan swallowed thickly, his hand trembling on his own phone as he told them their address. “Virgil and Roman are both home though-”

“Just say you’re going to a last-minute meeting because our teacher is a jackass who does that and the things in your suitcase is this huge project he wanted us to do.” Further away from the phone, Remus called over to Dexter. “Got the keys?” Logan heard Dexter say something along the lines of ‘yes’ and Remus was back on the phone. “Alright, I’ll text you once we’re close by, kay?”

“Mhmm.” Logan took a deep breath, and before Remus could hang up he said, “Thank you, so much.”

He could almost see Remus grinning on the other end. “Don’t worry about it, Logan. See you in a bit.”

Twenty minutes later Logan was in the back of Dexter’s car, having faced no troubles in leaving the house and now on route to Remus and Dexter’s home. The drive was pretty quiet, the silence only filled by the radio playing some random songs softly.

They showed Logan to his new room, offering to take him out over the weekend to buy some paints if he liked and some other things Logan might want to add to his room. They had just given him their guest room, which was usually for the occasional friend to crash on(they claimed their friend Remy visited the most, but both were sure Remy wouldn’t care if Logan took the spare room). Logan declined their offer for going out shopping, saying that them just letting him stay was good enough.

He was able to move his things in quickly(he really didn’t have much while living with the others anyway), and Logan got to enjoy takeout with his new roommates as they lounged on the couch. Dexter was the first of the two to ask Logan if he wanted to talk about what had happened earlier with Roman and Virgil, to which Logan just shook his head.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Logan said after some thought, and Dexter hummed but didn’t push. He instead returned his attention to the documentary they had picked to watch.

Over the next few days, Logan ignored the explosion of texts he was getting from Roman, Virgil, and Patton, having already told them that he’d moved out about an hour after Logan had initially left. All of them just chose to ignore his message though, it seemed, and Logan actually grew frustrated with how many times the trio was calling him. Eventually, Logan just blocked their numbers and returned his focus to his papers that were due a few days from then.

About two weeks since Logan left the trio, and there’s an unwelcome knock on their door. Remus answers it when he realizes Logan is too caught up on writing and Dexter is busy making dinner, and he stares in shock at who he finds.

Logan looks up when he notices Remus frozen in the doorway to their home. “Rem?” He snaps Remus out of his daze, and Remus glances at him worriedly.

“Uhm.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Remus, just let us see him so we can talk this out!” Logan tenses at the voice, it’s unmistakably Roman’s, but then he just lets his shoulders fall and sighs. Taking this as an 'okay I’ll deal with it’, Remus lets Roman, Virgil, and Patton inside.

Logan closed his laptop, setting it to the side and staring up at the trio, the people he once called family. He still remembered the argument though, the words used which cut through him so badly Logan would have preferred to have been stabbed. “What is it?” He asked, resting his chin on his hand.

“What is it? Logan! You just up and disappeared for two weeks!” Patton exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. “You can’t just do that and make us worry!”

“Roman and Virgil were truly worried about me?” Logan sounded unimpressed. Patton glanced at his other friends as if daring them to answer otherwise.

“Of course we were worried, Logan, you’re like family-”

“So your ideal family is where you threaten to prohibit my breathing? Or claim that I was so annoying, always ruining everyone’s fun and curiosity with my 'boring facts’ and 'unwanted ramblings’ and 'caution’, and that it would just be better if I could disappear for a few hours? And that was just from our last fight!”

Dexter appeared from the kitchen, leaning against the wall that separated it from the living room.

Virgil bit his lip before letting out a fake nervous laugh. “Lo, you know I was only-”

“Oh Stormcloud, don’t play it off as a joke. You knew damn well how that would affect Logan.” Dexter cut Virgil off.

“Plus so many other things you two said!” Remus sang as he plopped down next to Logan, glaring at his brother momentarily. “Honestly, hearing Logan recount the argument, plus so many others you lot apparently had? It’s like none of you changed since we last talked.” Remus slung his arm around Logan, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “And Roman, reducing someone to a panic attack is low, even for you.”

Roman rolled his eyes, huffed, and blatantly ignored his brother. “Logan, c'mon, you can’t really just stay here.”

Logan glanced at Remus, then at Dexter across the room. He leaned into Remus’s embrace. “Actually, I can.”

Virgil glared, and he honestly hated how Logan didn’t even blink when he yelled. “But they’re fucking monsters! I mean, Dexter drove his mom to suicide and Remus is fucking Remus! What could either of them have that is even close to what you had with us?”

Dexter had wide eyes now, his confidence gone and Logan couldn’t tell if the look on Remus’s face was hurt or anger. Logan just stared at Virgil in shock.

“I mean, really! Neither of them could ever love someone like you, Logan, hardly anyone can put up with you-”

That got Logan to his feet, and as quick as the words had left Virgil’s mouth he was being shoved out the door, followed by Roman and then Patton(who was the only one of the trio to apologize to Dexter and Remus, and whisper his apology to Logan as he passed). Logan glared down at Virgil, and for once Virgil couldn’t come up with anything else to say.

“You know, there might have been the tiniest chance of me coming back. But now? Now I just hope you stay out of my damn life.” And with that, Logan slammed the door. He could hear Virgil and Roman argue with Patton about trying again, but it seemed Patton had convinced them to just leave.

Logan grabbed Dexter from where he was frozen by the kitchen entrance and dragged him over to the couch where Remus still sat. Once they both sat down, Dexter wiping away a few tears that had sprung to his eyes, both Dexter and Remus cuddled up to Logan. Remus laughed.

“Remind me to never get on your bad side!”

“Hush and enjoy the fact that the assholes are hopefully gone for good,” Logan muttered, and Dexter just hummed in appreciation. Their food was burned as they had all fallen asleep, and they just ordered a pizza and opted to watch some trashy horror film Remus had rented the day prior.

Midway through the movie, when Remus had passed out from sheer boredom, Dexter had looked up at Logan. “Lo?”

Logan looked away from their television just as one of the main characters was slaughtered(Logan couldn’t remember his name, he was destined to be murdered anyway so Logan didn’t bother to try and remember it). He tilted his head as he waited for Dexter to continue.

“You know we do love you, right?” Logan smiled slightly, looking back to the TV and he leaned his head on Dexter’s.

“I do. I love you guys, too.”

——————————–

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nalu4emily · 4 years

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The Unexpected Reward - Chapter 4

Summary: Natsu and Lucy go on a job together, but what they bring home is something neither anticipated. Forced to make a life changing decision, they have to adapt quickly, but that's never easy, especially given the circumstances. As they work together on their toughest adventure yet, they find themselves drawn to one another, in ways they never realised. Nalu/cute/fluff/multi-chapter.

Lucy groggily opened her eyes at the unwelcome sunlight shining through the window and onto her grimacing face. She had woken abruptly, feeling an emptiness on the mattress beside her. Actively seeking out the warmth that accompanied the dragon slayer, she turned over to cuddle closer and noticed he was no longer there. About to call out his name, she stopped in her tracks as soon as she caught sight of him. Natsu was perched on her couch, pink hair wild as ever, smiling and talking to the little baby in his arms. She could hear little Haru coo every time Natsu would smile or say something silly. It was so cute to watch them, he had done this every morning since they’d brought him back with them, it had become part of her day to wake up early and get a front row seat to Natsu bonding with his son.

Haru had been with them nearly a week now, and it was scary how quickly they'd had to adapt. He was such a sweetie, even when he was upset. Natsu had been so attentive and protective of the little one, he never took his eyes off of him, especially when they were out or at the guild. It was reassuring to have someone around like that who seemed so natural at this.

Lucy still struggled with the tremendous amount of uncertainty she had when it came to her parenting abilities, she would question every decision she made for the boy. And yet, Natsu never seemed to doubt himself. She knew that when she agreed to take him in that she would be taking joint responsibility with Natsu, but she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe she wasn't very natural at this. Those original doubts were still there too, she really didn't know what she was doing. There were no amount of parenting books or advise from her parent friends that she could use to educate herself in being a good mother. She was kinda jealous, in a way, of Natsu's innate ability to just be a dad, no questions asked. But, hell, did it suit him!

Lucy loved watching him be so fatherly, it was so sweet and made him all the more attractive. She had always found him good-looking though, any one with eyes could see that he was handsome. He had this alluring ripped body which she would discreetly ogle, loving the way he flexed his muscles when he moved. His crazy, pink hair seemed to have a mind of it's own and yet it perfectly framed his face. His skin was darker than hers, it was more tanned which complimented his beautiful green eyes, the same green eyes she would so often get lost in. They told her every emotion he was feeling even when he couldn't express it. He was like an open book, but only to those closest to him. Every smirk and stupid grin told a different story, adding another chapter to the endless mystery that was Natsu Dragneel.

She sighed in contentment, as she continued to watch the fire breather play with the little fella, thinking back to the other night when she had bathed Haru for the first time. She remembered the way Natsu had looked at her, was he about to kiss her? Damn that cat for ruining the moment! She thought about how she'd felt as he slowly moved his face towards her, they were so close, a few more seconds and maybe-

"I know you're not sleeping." She heard his gruff voice say from across the room, snapping her out of her haze. Busted! He hadn't even looked in her direction, how the hell did he know? She quickly bolted upright, pretending to have just woken up, doing a fake, over the top yawn and began rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Stop being a pervert and come join us!" He blurted, glancing over to her briefly to gauge her dumbstruck expression before returning his attention to Haru. Smiling to himself, "Your mama's being weird again!" He whispered to the baby, snickering when he responded by flailing his arms, "See Luce, even Haru agrees." He looked over to her and laughed when he saw her puffed out cheeks.

She scowled at the dragon slayer before heading over to give Haru a kiss on the head to say good morning. Glancing up at Natsu, still pretending to be annoyed, she flicked his forehead playfully, gaining a pretend gasp from him, before entering her bathroom to get showered and ready for the day. Natsu couldn't help but laugh out loud, she was so easy to wind up, it was one of his favourite things to do.

When Lucy walked out of the bathroom, Natsu looked up, about to tell her something when his words got trapped in his mouth, she looked stunning. He watched as her heavenly blonde hair cascaded down her back, he liked it when she let it down, it had grown so long. Her smooth, milky skin looked almost edible and the way her clothes seemed to hug her curves, made him drool. There wasn't any particular difference in the way she looked, yet, he was mesmerised. He couldn't look away, in his eyes she was just so beautiful.

"Natsu and I cooked you some breakfast Lucy, it's super yummy!" The little Exceed exclaimed with a mouth full of food. Knocking Natsu right out of his trance, he quickly looked away, attempting to hide his pink cheeks. Oblivious to his inner turmoil, she walked over and sat down, helping herself to some of the food on the table.

"Porlyusica said she wanted to do a full check up on Haru today at the guild hall." She said out loud, directing her gaze towards the dragon slayer who had just finished stuffing his face.

"I'll be there! There's just a few things I need to do before hand. But it shouldn't take too long." Natsu said cheerily, "Actually, I better get going. Are you going to be alright for a bit Luce, I'll be as quick as I can?" He asked, saying a quick goodbye to Haru and placing him in his crib, before making his way over to the window.

She nodded, unable to speak from all the food in her mouth. He grinned at her as he jumped out of the window and started running down the street. Lucy did wonder where he was going everyday, it had become quite a regular thing for him to just up and leave the past week, never telling her where he was off to. She had to admit she was curious, but he always returned and she had Happy to help her until he got back.

Once she had finished cleaning the awful mess that'd been left in her kitchen, Lucy, Happy and Haru made their way to the Guild hall. It was such a warm, sunny day as she walked along the canal, Lucy contemplated taking Haru for a walk in the park later. Her mind habitually drifted back to Natsu, focusing mostly on his absence. Should she have asked him where he was going? She did want to know where he kept running off to, but at the same time, she knew that he would tell her eventually. She sighed, as much as she loved Haru, being alone with him made her feel a little uncomfortable. And yes, she had Happy there to help, he was great with the baby, but Natsu seemed to just have this way of calming him when he cried, a way that Lucy hadn't mastered yet.

She couldn't help but panic when he started to wail, anxiety would course through her when he refused his milk. She felt a sense of helplessness, what was she doing wrong? Was there something wrong with him that she was missing? She didn't know, but each time he would cry for apparently no reason, Natsu had been there to soothe him. The more she thought about it, the more her good mood was fading. She couldn't help it, she wanted to be a good mother to Haru, he deserved it, but at the moment it felt like she was failing him. Natsu had tried to be encouraging when she told him about her worries, he was so supportive, but there was always this crushing doubt in the back of her mind that just wouldn't go away.

Before she knew it she was standing outside the Fairy Tail guild hall. She opened the door and walked in, greeting her friends as she sat down at the bar with Haru. Happy had flown off to go see Carla, that cat was hopeless. She chuckled to herself before starting a conversation with the girls that were so eager to hold the baby.

"Juvia wishes to have a baby. But her darling Gray won't give her one." The water mage said solemnly, looking a little defeated. Lucy kind of felt sorry for her, having a baby was a big thing as she had quickly found out, not that she regretted it but maybe Gray had the right idea for now, it wasn’t something to take lightly.

"I'm sure you'll have a family one day Juvia, you just have to be patient." Lucy said, trying to console her friend, "Gray will come around to the idea, I'm sure."

"Haru is so cute! I think you and Natsu should have more sweet babies, Haru will need siblings eventually." Mira said, gushing over the baby, whilst imagining more Natsu and Lucy babies.

"Siblings? Mira! Natsu and I aren't together in that way, how could we give him siblings?" Lucy turned the colour of a tomato, what was Mira trying to suggest? Surely they all knew that their situation was a little different to other parents.

"You say that, yet you chose to adopt a child together, you practically live with one another, you're inseparable and don't make out you don't see him that way, I've seen you staring at his fire dragon!" Cana blurted, whilst swigging from her barrel of beer, "There's just so much sexual tension between you two, it's suffocating!" She finished, wagging her eyebrows up and down, enjoying every second of teasing the young blonde. Lucy’s eyes were like saucers as she glared at Cana, wanting to give the brunette a piece of her mind when someone else decided to chip in.

"Open your eyes Lucy, you wouldn't have taken in a child with someone like Elfman or Laxus, right?" Lisanna asked, raising her eyebrow at the celestial mage.

"W-Well… I…er-" Lucy felt so flustered, she didn't know what to say, was this pick on Lucy day?

The worst part of it all was that they had a point. She wouldn't have done it with any one else, and yes, she did only have eyes for Natsu, how could she not? It wasn't a recent development, it was something that she had buried for a very long time. Taking in Haru had only made her attraction for the dragon slayer worse, so much worse in fact. But there was one problem with all of this, one detail they were failing to point out and that was, Natsu. She had told them time and time again, he simply had no interest in romance, if he did then surely he would have done something about it by now? She took a deep breath, trying to calm her rattling nerves.

"Guys, Natsu doesn't see me like that, he's just not interested." She said feeling sad about the whole situation, couldn't they see how much it affected her to know that? To truly like someone that didn’t like you back was heartbreaking. She thought back to the almost kiss the other day, that was the only time Natsu had ever looked like he was about to do something, but they had been interrupted so now she would never know.

"Lucy, I've known Natsu since we were children, believe me, he shows plenty of interest in you, he's totally smitten." Mira looked over at the blonde, from the little baby she’d been staring at, "He would never have taken in this sweet little baby if you hadn't agreed to it. Have you not noticed that you guys are all he talks about? He's so proud of his little family, and you're the one that gave him that." Mira smiled sweetly once she'd finished her speech, hoping that her words had been taken in.

Lucy sighed in defeat and smiled at the she-demon, she hoped that what Mira was saying was true, but she assumed only time would tell. If anything was going to progress between them, they'd created the perfect situation for it. They shared responsibility for the sweet baby boy currently cuddled in Lucy's arms, and that excited her for the future, a future that might involve her and Natsu being more than just best friends.

"What Mira's trying to say Lucy, is just do it already. Bend over and let him ram it home!" Cana bursts out laughing at Lucy's horrified face, sticking her tongue out and thrusting her hips suggestively.

Much to Lucy’s chagrin, every one in the entire guild had heard what Cana had just said, she was glad Natsu wasn't present. That was until she felt his strong arms wrap around her shoulders, his breath fanning against her ear, sending spine tingling shivers through her body. Quickly spinning around to look at him, bringing Haru up to her chest from her lap. He looked so casual, surely he'd heard what Cana had just shouted out if he had been that close?

"H-Hi Natsu, I didn't hear you come in." She stuttered, trying to push down the heat rising in her face.

"I didn't want to disturb your conversation, it sounded… interesting!" He smirked at her, he had only heard what Cana had said and that was enough to know what they were talking about.

He watched as the very flushed Lucy before him started to sweat as she took in his words, he could hear the other girls sniggering in the background. But as he was about to tease her further, little Haru woke with a start and began to cry loudly.

His smirk instantly dropped into a worried frown. He leaned in to get a closer look at Haru's little puffy face, wanting to find the cause of his distress. It was so heart wrenching when he cried, especially when he couldn't be soothed by milk or cuddles. Lucy tried for several minutes to calm the little boy down, but to no avail. She looked to Natsu, worry written across her face, who quickly took him into his arms and held him close. Warming his hands and stroking his back softly, he sat down at a bench and gently rocked back and forth. The wails slowly turned into whimpers as Natsu began to talk to him.

"That's it, good boy! There's no need for all of those tears." Natsu smiled lovingly at the little one in his arms as he continued to comfort him. Lucy couldn't help but watch, she loved to see Natsu like this. And apparently so did all the other girls, but for very different reasons.

"You seem to have a handle on this daddy business Natsu, maybe you two should have more babies." Lisanna giggled from behind the bar with Mira.

Lucy just wanted the ground to swallow her whole, why couldn't they just leave it? They just had to mention it in front of him. Natsu smiled but didn't respond, too preoccupied with Haru. He had heard the white haired mage, loud and clear. However, he wanted to save Lucy from any more embarrassment, especially with regards to their relationship.

"Luce, when do we have to go see that old woman?" He asked, still rubbing little Haru's back as he looked up to a now fully composed Lucy, smiling at her.

"Now actually, I think she's down in the infirmary, we should get going." She said as she stood up and gathered herself.

Natsu joined her, and gave her a reassuring grin, he could see she looked a little nervous but that was natural. He laced his hand with hers and made their way down stairs. They knocked on the door and entered, happy to see Porlyusica with the addition of Wendy, Erza, Gray and of course Happy. Lucy smiled at them, they'd remembered her telling them about the check up today.

"You all remembered! Thank you, this means a lot to us." Lucy chirped graciously.

"Of course we remembered Lucy, we wanted to be here to lend our support for you both." Erza said, as she greeted little Haru.

"Yeah, I think the girls just wanted an excuse to be around the baby, I didn't get a choice in the matter." Gray rolled his eyes, trying to act as if Haru’s cuteness wasn't getting to him.

"Well, now that we have that settled, take a seat and I'll begin. Give me the child." Porlyusica barked, not remotely amused by all the people surrounding her.

She took the baby from Natsu's arms and laid him down on the table. Lucy felt her worries grow with each passing moment, her heart was beating so rapidly she was sure the two dragon slayers could hear it. The others kept offering reassuring nods and smiles as she looked at them, even Happy had come over to snuggle into her lap, but she just couldn't shake her uneasiness.

It was a check up to see how he was doing after being caught in that fire, but why was it affecting her so much? Natsu could see her growing fear the longer the old crow kept them waiting. Natsu pulled Lucy closer to him and wrapped his arm around her back, with his hand resting on her hip, caressing it softly, while the other hand rested on top of hers, lacing their fingers together.

The baby had woken up at this point and had started to whimper, obviously not recognising the woman in front of him. His whimpers turned into cries as he urgently tried to get his parents attention. Lucy instantly tried to get up and go to him, but Porlyusica told her not to intervene and to sit back down. Natsu held her closer, he wasn’t entirely pleased himself with not being able to comfort the little one, especially as his cries became louder and more desperate.

"Don't worry Lucy, he'll be back in your arms in no time." Wendy said to try and reassure the blonde, who's face had started to sweat. Lucy didn't reply, too taken by the noise coming from her little frantic baby. She gripped Natsu's hand tighter, this is exactly what she had worried about, this and bad news, but Porlyusica hadn't said a word yet. Why was it taking so long?

"Luce, try and breathe." Natsu whispered against her ear, noticing that she was holding her breath, if she kept doing that she was going to pass out.

Little Haru had cried so much, that his entire body had gone completely red, his wails sounded pained and all Lucy wanted to do was pick him up and cuddle him. To show him that he hadn't been left alone, that mama and daddy were right here waiting for him.

Her mind drifted back to the day that they had found him, had he cried like this then? Was he just as scared? With no one there to help him, he must have screamed until he could scream no more. It was horrifying to think of such a helpless and vulnerable little newborn baby being stuck in that mess with no one to save him.

She couldn't take it any longer, her thoughts had become erratic and the dread she felt was unbearable. She needed to reassure her baby, he needed her, he was crying so hysterically. Without warning she stood up, pulling herself away from an equally troubled Natsu and walked over to where Porlyusica was standing and grabbed the little one from the table and held him close, rubbing his back whilst she spoke to him softly, letting him know that everything was alright until he gradually calmed down. Porlyusica stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, before piping up.

"Stop being so ridiculous! I wasn't hurting him, you've interfered unnecessarily and now I'll have to do it all over again!" Porlyusica huffed in annoyance, she couldn't understand what the problem was.

"Ridiculous? How dare you! Do you have any idea how hard it was to sit there and listen to him cry like that?" Lucy was seething, how was she being ridiculous? "He's just a baby! An innocent baby who was scared and as his parent- No, as his mother I needed to comfort him!" Her voice was raised, teeming with anger.

Surely any decent parent would want to comfort their child, regardless of the situation. She looked over her shoulder, Natsu had stood up and started to make his way over to her, probably to try and console her. But the other's were just staring at her, dumbstruck. Why were they looking at her like that? She hadn't done anything wrong, all she'd wanted was to comfort Haru so that he stopped crying and then they could have continued.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" She spat at them, not caring how they’d react, she couldn't be bothered with this.

"Luce?" Was all Natsu could say as he stood behind her and tried to reach out for her hand, stopping in his tracks from the death glare she'd given him. Before he could stop her, she bolted towards the door, Haru held safely against her and stormed out of it, walking up the stairs and out of the guild hall, ignoring anyone who tried to talk to her. She needed air, that room had been suffocating and she just couldn't shake the horrible guilt she'd felt as she’d listened to the helpless cries of the little boy in her arms.

She walked to the park and sat herself under a large tree, when she had thought about going to the park today, this wasn't what she had in mind, but she wanted to be left alone right now. She was still so angry, what had gotten into her? She never usually reacted in this way, but she just couldn't help it. Watching that woman prod and pull at her little Haru and not being able to comfort him as he cried had sent her over the edge.

She looked at the unhappy baby, who was still red and blotchy from crying, she knew what would cheer him up and took out a bottle of milk from her baby bag and fed it to him. She loved watching him feed, it was one of her favourite things. It felt like they were bonding as he looked up at her, with milk dribbling down his chin as she adoringly smiled back at him.

She didn't want little Haru seeing her so angry, and she definitely didn’t want to further upset him. Just watching him had managed to calm her down, how could she stay angry when she had the cutest little baby in her arms. Once he had finished with his milk, she brought him up to lay on her chest to gently burp him, humming a quiet tune. She relaxed instantly, taking in his newborn baby scent as he fell asleep so peacefully.

It had been a little while by the time Natsu had found her under the tree. He had wanted to run after her straight away but had been stopped by the others, wanting to give Lucy some space. She hadn't noticed him yet, he wanted to gauge her mood first before he approached, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Lucy's wrath, especially when it sometimes rivalled Erza's.

He stood back and watched her for a little while, she was singing some sort of lullaby to Haru, the sight of her leant up against the tree with the baby laid against her, as she gently rubbed his back to soothe him, melted his heart. It stirred feelings within him he couldn’t place with words, what a truly breathtaking scene it was.

She was always so worried about whether she was doing the right thing, that she couldn't see just what a good mother she undeniably was. She had spoken to him over her fears of not being good enough, not being 'maternal' as she put it. But he just couldn't understand how she didn't see it, she cared so much for their little boy. She always made sure he had everything he needed, so why was she so quick to put herself down?

It baffled him that she doubted herself so much, that she felt she wasn't good enough, when it was so clear to him that, together, they were little Haru's entire world. He'd decided that enough was enough, she was going to listen to him. If she was so ready to run herself down, then he would spend every minute of the day building her back up, if that's what it took.

He slowly approached, until he was standing in front of her, looking down at her almost intimidatingly so. Sensing his presence, she sighed, and looked up to him. What was she supposed to say? She felt so stupid for the way she'd reacted and the fact that she’d stormed off with Haru, without saying a word, how was she going to explain that to him? Natsu crouched down in front of her, staring deep into her eyes, she looked so lost, this was going to take some work.

"How you holding up, Luce?" He spoke softly, it sounded silly, but he didn't want to startle her and he definitely didn't want her running off again.

"I-I don't know. I can't explain what happened back there, I don’t know what came over me?" She answered, trying to think of the best way to tell him how she was feeling.

He remained silent, waiting for her to speak. He knew how her brain worked, he'd known her long enough by now to let her work through everything before she spoke.

"I'm sorry Natsu, I shouldn't have reacted that way towards you or stormed off like that, god knows what the other's think." She stopped, unable to meet his gaze, feeling utterly ashamed of herself, but she needed to carry on, to get everything off of her chest, "But I just couldn't control it, I felt so useless as he cried and my mind kept drifting back to when we found him and how terrified he must have been. He has lost so much already, and he's barely begun to live. I just wanted him to know that we were there waiting for him, that he didn't need to be scared. I let my emotions get the better of me and then I ran off with him in my arms without saying anything to you.” Her voice wavering as she found the courage to finally look at the dragon slayer in front of her, feeling completely overwhelmed by all of her conflicting feelings.

Natsu didn’t respond straight away, sensing she wasn’t quite finished. He reached out for her hand and held it, encouraging her to go on. He had a feeling that there was something more to this, something hidden that she was reluctant to tell him. He waited patiently, watching her contemplate the best way to say it.

“Why am I so bad at this, Natsu? Do you think it’s because I didn’t actually carry and give birth to him? I didn’t have those extra nine months to bond with him like other mother’s do. Surely that would have an effect?" A few tears started to spill down her cheeks, she laid Haru down in her lap to free up her arms so she could quickly wipe the tears away.

And there it was, he knew there was something eating away at her, making her doubt herself when there was just no need for it. He had to put a stop to this once and for all, to make her see that these worries were a waste of energy.

"Lucy, I need you to listen to me and listen closely." He said, voice stern and his face serious. He leaned in closer to her and made himself comfortable, eyes still locked onto hers, "The way you reacted back there, was totally normal, so there's nothing to be sorry about. Don't most parents want to comfort their children when they're upset? But you need to stop doubting yourself so much. You are Haru’s mother, so it doesn’t matter who carried him or brought him into the world. You're so good with him, you give so much of yourself and you still can't see it. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you, then you'd never put yourself down again. We're a team Luce, and now we're a family, and I want you to know just how important you are, not just to Haru, but to me as well. You always have been since the very beginning."

Lucy couldn't hold back her tears, how is it Natsu always knew the right things to say? She knew deep down he was right though, she needed to stop doubting herself. She would never be able to enjoy the time she has with Haru being so young with that kind of attitude, he wasn't going to be a baby forever. Natsu moved to sit next to her against the tree, he pulled her into his warm chest and wrapped his arm around her waist. She laid her head into the crook of his neck, savouring his warmth as they both glanced down at their baby.

Little Haru had woken up when Lucy had moved him a few minutes ago and now he was staring wide eyed at the two mages above him. Lucy moved her hand to slowly stroke his cheek, she couldn't stay upset for long, not with that sweet face to look at. She sighed in contentment this time, they really were a little family, her own little family that she loved dearly.

"Thank you Natsu, thank you for everything." She looked up at him, desperate to convey all her unspoken emotions.

He meant so much to her, he really had given her everything and even in times where she felt hopeless, he was always there, to offer a helping hand. He glanced at her still teary face, taken aback slightly, he wasn't expecting her to say that. And he definitely wasn't expecting her to climb atop of his lap, baby laid gently on the blanket next to them and pull him into a bone crushing hug. He couldn't complain really, the most gorgeous girl he'd ever known, had just straddled his hips and his face was currently nestled between her breasts. She smelled so good, and her skin was so soft, he could stay like this forever. He moved his hands to rest on her hips, fingers touching her exposed skin.

She pulled back to look into his eyes, she was so full of these feelings with no way to express them. She wanted to hold him, to touch him, to show him just how grateful she was to have him in her life, but not just as her best friend, as someone who meant so much more than that. She reached her hand up and gently moved a strand of hair away from his face, there was anticipation present in his eyes as he stared at her, waiting to see what she would do.

His hands had gone slightly under her top, touching more of her soft skin, stroking his thumb lightly over her hips. She let out a soft whimper at the feel of his warm hands, there was a hunger in her eyes that Natsu had never seen before. If they weren't out in public with a baby to look after he may have just taken her there and then. But he had to proceed with caution, if he got too excited, it was going to become very apparent between his legs, right where Lucy was sitting.

Lucy had moved ever so slowly, closer to his face wanting to taste his lips, and explore his mouth with her own. She figured that if he didn't want this then he surely would have pushed her away by now, but he hadn't. If anything he looked at her wantonly and that gave her butterflies, Happy wasn't around this time to interrupt them, which meant they could finally-

"Well, Miss Heartfilia, fancy seeing you here." She heard an old woman's voice coming from beside them. Why were people so insistent on interrupting them, couldn't they just wait? Lucy turned, about to tell the person to go away, when she recognised who it was.

"Oh, er, hello. This isn't what it looks like." Lucy felt her entire body flush as she quickly retreated off of Natsu and back against the tree. Natsu grabbed the cooing baby from the blanket and held him close, looking at the dumpy woman glowering at them. Out of all the people to catch them in such a compromising position it had to be Lucy's landlady.

"Don’t play coy with me, it's exactly what it looks like. I must say, you're looking well for a woman that's only just had a baby. Although, I don't ever remember seeing you pregnant, but then that baby's so tiny it must have just slipped out." She looked to Natsu, not taking any notice of Lucy's mortified expression, and glared at him, "I take it you're the father, I always knew you two would end up together. Teenager's these days, you just can't keep it in your pants and now look at you both." Natsu was utterly speechless, completely gobsmacked by the woman's rudeness. This was the first time anyone had assumed the child was biologically theirs, though he knew it would happen eventually. He just wasn’t ready to hear it so nastily, especially towards Lucy, from this old bat.

"Er, I think you've got it all wro-" Lucy started before she was interrupted by Natsu.

"Yes, Lucy and I have a child together which makes me the baby's father, I'm not entirely sure what you’re trying to get at here or what your problem is, Lady?" Natsu blurts, not really thinking about what he was saying but letting it come out anyway, he didn't understand what their situation had to do with her and why she was being so damn rude about it. He could feel his magic burning under his skin, he wanted nothing more than to torch this woman’s ass.

"Well, it would have been nice to be told that you were having a baby and had moved in together in the apartment you rent from me. I'm sorry Miss Heartfilia, but my apartment is for single people only. Now that you have a baby you'll no longer be able to stay there. You have two days to pack your things and leave, so I can find a new tenant." She said sternly, not taking any prisoners.

"Two days? What the hell, you're kicking me out?! Is this about rent money because it's not even due yet!" Lucy felt her little bubble of happiness burst as she realised she was about to become homeless in a matter of two days. What was she going to do? Her landlady didn't say another word as she trotted off out of sight.

Lucy just wanted to this day to be over, why was everything going so wrong? She leaned back against the tree and put her hand over her face. Wanting nothing more than to scream as loud as she could to get rid of all her pent up frustration.

"Why me! What kind of a person kicks out a mother and her baby?!" She shouts out loud. She was infuriated, what an absolute bitch!

Natsu hadn't said anything, he couldn't believe that old woman had done this to Lucy but he wasn't going to let it get Lucy down. He leapt to his feet with the biggest grin on his face, holding little Haru close, he looked down to Lucy and held out his hand.

"Come on, Luce. I gotta show you something!" He waited for her to take his hand but instead she just stared at him, deadpanned.

"Huh? Did you not just hear what that woman said? I've got two days to find somewhere new to live, and you're smiling!" She yelled, perplexed by his happy demeanour.

Her mind was frantic, what was she going to do? Where were all her and Haru's belonging’s going to go? Lucy felt as if the ground beneath her had crumbled and Natsu was still standing there, being so irritatingly calm about the situation, how could he be happy at a time like this?

"I'm smiling because you're gonna love it, I can't wait to see your face! Let's go Lucy!" He grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her up to her feet and before she could say another word, he sprinted off, Lucy and Haru in-tow, towards his surprise.

#Nalu #fairy tail nalu #natsu #daddy natsu #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #Natsu and Lucy #fairy tail fanfiction #nalu fanfiction #fanfiction #nalu fanfic #fairy tail #fairy tail 100 year quest #fairytail #natsu lucy

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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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