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lu-undy · 3 years

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Un-alone, Chapter 17

Here it is!

“So, how’s your uncle?”

“Not too bad. I was tellin’ the others that he probably could come but the physio’s insisting for him to not rush things. At his age, stuff takes a real amount of time to heal up.” Mundy took a sip of his drink while Larry returned to one of the couches. Richie went to the other end of the counter, tending to other customers. That left Mundy and Mark alone.

“How long before you think he’ll be alright?”

“Physio reckons it’s gonna be an extra month, maybe a month and a half.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Why? Does he owe you money or somethin’?” Mundy chuckled.

“No, I just miss talkin’ to him. He’s a cool guy.”

“Could still visit him at home. I'm sure he’ll be happy to see some people.” Mundy said, without thinking too much.

“You think so?”

“Yeah. I mean…”

“If you don’t wanna, it’s fine.” Mark answered, and now for Mundy, it was clear. Mark was not asking to visit his uncle as much as he was scouting Mundy’s heart. As one would dip his toe in the water of a calm lake to measure its temperature, Mark was testing Mundy’s mood, where he stood with respect to him.

“Wanna play some darts?” The blonde asked.

“Sure.”

Better leave it blurry, Mundy thought. There was no point anyway… Or was there?

Both men stood a few metres away from the target and Mark threw his first dart.

“Ha, not bad, eh?” He proudly said.

“Yeah, true.” Mundy closed one eye and took aim. He looked at the target and saw the blurry dart in front of his face. “Hm!” He threw it.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me…!” Mark laughed and shook his head. “A bullseye? on the first try?”

“Well, if there’s somethin’ I can do, it’s aim.” Mundy said and took a step away for Mark to replace him in front of the target.

“Oh, that I know, Aussie.” Mark threw the second dart. “Ha! I’m gettin’ closer, man!”

Mundy smiled under his hat. He took Mark’s place and shot again.

“What?! How d’you do it?!”

“Told ya.” Mundy’s raspy voice chuckled through his words. “I can aim.” He raised intense eyes to Mark. The American looked left and right.

“Wanna get harder targets?”

“Pff, Mark-”

“It’s ok if you don’t like the challenge, eh.” The blonde quipped. “I’ll just let you win and assume it’s your luck.”

“Told you, Mark, I’m a hunter, gimme darts, arrows, a rifle, anything, and I can aim with it.”

“I'm a hunter too.”

“Are ya now? Where’s your game then?”

“Maybe…” Mark looked left and right. He took a step towards Mundy, leaving hardly a few inches between them. “... I need a few lessons from someone who's clearly better than me, and a little bit older, huh?”

“You could ask yer Dad.”

Mark's head swooshed to Larry on the couch.

“He’s too busy right now, I wouldn’t want to bother him while he plays God knows what with his friends.”

“So you prefer to bother me?” Mundy answered and the blonde raised lustful eyes to him. Ha, Mundy had never been too good at telling the hints, seeing the signals, but the way that Mark stared at him with his hazel eyes was louder than sirens.

“Yeah.” Mark blinked delicately, or maybe he fluttered his eyes slightly. “So? Is your van free for another lil’ trip?”

Mundy pondered for a split second. His head was showing him wild pictures. Was it worth it? Would he end up living in New Mexico with Mark? Would he introduce him to his parents? Nah, he wouldn’t. Mark was way too hot-headed, Mundy did not really like that. But…

But his guts screamed at him. It had been a while since anyone had hit on him, and his ego was more than pleased with it all. The colder Mundy looked at Mark, the colder he behaved with him, the harder the young American clung to him. Gosh, Mundy loved the feeling, looking down in his eyes and seeing how much the other wanted him… When was the last time that it happened? Far too long.

“Alright.”

THe night was as dark as the last time that it had happened and the privacy of the van wasn’t enough for Mundy. He raced through the dry and golden desert of New Mexico, which now was as deep as the night could be. The Moon wasn’t there.

“Oh, yeah, M-Mundy… Take me - arh!”

The Aussie shut his head and listened to his body, to his blood pumping everywhere, to this feeling of sharing something with someone, doing something exceptionally not alone. Well, yeah, he could just lay there in his bed and do it with his hand. But nah, he was there with someone. And as Mundy looked under him at the man laying on his stomach, he felt everything mix within him. As the thrusts of his hips resounded in the slapping of his sweating skin against Mark’s, as the groans of the blonde filled him, as the golden streaks of sweat raked Marks skin under the old, yellow light in the van, Mundy realised he heard nothing and saw nothing either.

Only his thoughts were there. The same thoughts he had when he was alone. Was that person the right one? Did he like them? Was there something in his heart that would push him to do the unthinkable for that person? Would he drop hunting for them? Would he drop hunting beasts for them? Would he drop hunting… men? Would Mark fill the part of himself that unbearably itched for decades now? Could Mundy let that itch irritate him and burn him instead of deafening it as best as he could with one-night stands?

What did his heart think? Heart? Heart? Is there anything there for Mark and me or…?

Ah, yeah, well…

“Mundy, I’m gonna-I’m gonna… Arh!”

Mundy almost stopped thrusting as he rose back from his daydream. The blonde had somehow risen to his knees and elbows, and as Mundy recovered his ability to see, he realised that Mark had been frantically using his hand on himself until, well, the end. And it pulled the Aussie to finish too.

“Oh, man… It was even better than last time…” Mark concluded as he rolled on his back.

Mundy’s lips pursed into a smile, but the voice inside him still banged at his heart’s door.

Heart? Heart! Tell me! You can’t just not answer! C’mon! Tell me if I can hope for something with this bloke? Yes or no?! How hard can it be?!

He banged again and again, as both him and Mark cleaned up and lay down to sleep, this time together, in the narrow bunk inside the van.

Heart?

-- A few weeks later --

It had become a habit. Mundy would meet with Mark and spend his nights with him, without either of them questioning it. And it took less and less for Mark to ask him. As of late, a simple nod of the head towards the pub’s main door sufficed to signal to Mundy that the American was in the mood.

Mundy indulged every time. Why? Because it never felt bad to have someone to do it with rather than his own hand, to be blunt. But of course, the more they met, the more Mundy wondered. And the more he wondered, the more he harassed his own heart and his head for an answer, because quite frankly, if he asked what he had below the belt, his relationship with Mark could last forever…

During his days, Mundy became more familiar with the geography of the city and the overall State of New Mexico. He appreciated dearly the patch of desert not too far from his Uncle’s and spent time there when he wanted a corner of solace, an outer haven. And he spent his time there alone, as always. Not that he would fight anyone who would like to join him, but no one ever did want to come along.

Not even Mark.

Mundy had asked him one day.

“D’you wanna stay here tomorrow mornin’?”

Mark was half asleep, naked next to the Aussie in his warm van.

“Nah…”

“You sure?”

“What would we do here in the middle of nowhere?” The American spoke half into the pillow.

“We could spend the day huntin’, under the sun, just you and me. We’d be far from people and uh, y’know, just enjoyin’ ourselves.”

Mark chuckled in the pillow.

“You’re a funny guy, Mundy… See ya tomorrow.”

The Aussie thought about that slice of conversation again and again, it was playing on loop in his mind as if it had been recorded on a broken disc. Was Mark just too tired to have a chat after their usual meeting? Or did he genuinely laugh at Mundy’s suggestion?

The Aussie sighed. In the silence of his lonely van, he thought about it. Hold on. Mundy may not know Mark’s intentions but he knew how he behaved. The American would always ask to be cleaned, then roll to his side and sleep. The only thing Mundy would hear from him was sometimes praise of his performance of the day, and a “Night, night.”. Well, then maybe he did not really laugh at him…?

The Aussie finally decided to exit his van. He had been parked in front of the pub for a long enough while, just lost in thought. He needed a distraction, and a beer would surely-

“Hey, Aussie.”

Mundy gasped.

“Oh, hey, Mark. Sorry, I didn’t see ya.”

“No worries.” The blonde chuckled. “You came here early today.”

“So did you.” Mundy answered.

“I’m just playin’ the taxi driver for my Dad. He wanted to have a chat with Richie to organise the next big party here. Samantha’s gettin’ married with Jerry.”

“Oh, alright, congrats to them then, eh…?”

“Yup.” Mark nodded. “But what're you doin’ here this early?”

“I just wanted a beer or somethin’.”

“Mind if I tag along?”

“Sure.”

Both entered the bar and got served quickly. It was too early to be really busy, although a few patrons were enjoying their lunch there.

“So, uhm, Mark…?”

“Yeah?”

“D’you uh… Would you like to maybe spend some time in the desert?” Mundy asked with his eyes down on his beer. Mark laughed.

“Again with the desert stuff? You like it more than lizards do!”

Mundy smiled.

“Yeah but, I mean, it’s nice out there. Nice and calm. We could go for a bit of hunting, eat what we catch.”

“Pfff, and then what? Grill under the sun for some wild thing to make us their dinner? Nah, Mundy… You go and get roasted if you want, I like it better in the shade.”

Mundy frowned slightly.

“Right, then uh… What about somethin' else?”

“Like what? You’re not tryin’ to take me out on a date, are ya?”

“N-No, nah, I'm not the date kind of guy…” Mundy shook his head. “I just… Gets quite lonely out there, just lookin' for some company, and uh… You’re a hunter too so I thought that uh…”

“Well, it’s my father who’s big on the whole hunting thing. I follow him sometimes when I’m bored but I’m not huge on it.” Mark took a gulp of his fresh beer and Mundy’s eyes dropped to the floor.

“So you don’t wanna hang out with me sometime?”

“I think we’re good the way we are.” Mark answered. “Why change it?”

Mundy sighed. He looked at his beer and he didn’t want any of it anymore.

“Right.” The Aussie took off and left the bar, his pint still almost completely full.

“Mundy?”

He turned back to Mark with a hand on the pub’s front door still.

“What?”

“You angry at me?”

“No.”

“What? What’s this mean then? You just leave and you haven’t finished your beer?”

Mundy sighed and looked left and right. The last thing he wanted was his private life and his interest in men exposed to people who knew Phil very well. He entered back and went to Mark.

“Listen, if you're just with me for the nights, I’m not in anymore.”

The bluntness with which he spoke shocked Mundy himself.

“I thought you liked it better that way?”

“No-Yeah, I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.” He spoke between gritted teeth.

“So much for tryin’ to make me believe you're not mad…” Mark said with a scoff. “If you don’t know what you want, I can’t answer you, Mundy.”

“Alright, then. Here’s what I’d like to know, Mark.” Mundy removed his hat and slammed it on the counter. “Are you just with me for the nights?”

“I mean, that’s what we’ve been doin’ and I-”

“Answer me.” Mundy’s fierce glare made Mark gulp down audibly before he frowned.

“Yeah, guess I am.” The American finally admitted.

“D’you wanna go on like this or d'you wanna…?”

“Do I wanna what?” Mark frowned, now he was as mad as Mundy.

“I don't know!” The Aussie answered. “Maybe we could do stuff together instead of just using each other like that?”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Mark asked.

“Nothin’!” Mundy got his face closer to the American’s. “I just don’t like bein’ used, is all.”

“For someone who doesn’t like it and who’s a grown up man, you never said no, you never even raised the concern and you were the one fuckin’ me.” Mark spoke between gritted teeth for his shouts to be muffled into hard whispers. “You were the one to open your van, you were the one to get me out of my clothes, and you were the one to put it in me! Now if you didn’t want any of that, you never even gave me a clue about it! How could I have known?!”

Mundy sighed.

“Look, I don’t know, I just… I can't go on like this.” Mundy answered and spun on his heels to leave again.

“Alright then, go back to spendin’ your days alone in the desert, see if that does you any good!”

Mundy stopped sharp.

“What did you just say about me?” He said, slowly, and growling menacingly.

“I said: go back to the desert you like so much, I bet you’ll feel better there.” Mark repeated.

“Pray that I never find you again, Mark.” Mundy pulled the hat down on his eyes and left.

“Or what, huh? What're you gonna do, huh? Hunt me down like I’m a deer?!” This time, Mark had raised his voice, but as he did, Mundy left and was already outside.

The Aussie slipped in his van and drove back home. No. He needed the desert. He shifted gears to reverse.

“Mundy! Mundy, wait!”

The Aussie almost didn’t hear the voice calling for him. Larry came running to the van and banged the door on Mundy’s side.

“Mundy, hold on!”

The Aussie lowered the window, his face as dark as his boiling rage made it. The shy Mundy within him wanted to blush. After all, Larry was Mark’s father.

“Your mum’s called here, they’re asking you to go back home.”

Mundy’s eyebrows jumped and his face brightened, as if the storm raging within him a second ago had been pushed by the sun.

“Oh, uh, ok, thanks, Larry.”

“Pleasure, son, see ya!”

Mundy nodded and drove off. It took him the usual fifteen-ish minutes to reach back home.

“Mum? You wanted to see me?” Mundy said as he entered. “Oh? What’s all that?” As he had pushed the door and entered, Mundy’s feet bumped on wicker bags. That one had towels at the top, oh, there was a cool box there.

“Yeah, Micky, come in and go help your Uncle, will ya?”

“Sure… What’s with all the bags?” The Aussie entered the kitchen to find his mother making sandwiches.

“We had a chat with your Uncle today. They say the weather’s gonna be real hot and sunny for the next week at least so we decided to go to the beach for a few days.”

“Oh…” Mundy’s eyebrows jumped out of surprise. “Alright, sure. You said Uncle Phil needed my help?”

“Yeah, he’s packing his stuff. I already dealt with your things and I assume you have some swimming shorts in your van, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Then it’s all good. I’ll drive his car and you get your van with Marty next to you, yeah?”

“Works for me.” MUndy nodded with a smile.

“Perfect, now go before he goes mad. I’ve been hearing him grumble to himself…!”

“Sure, thanks, Mum.” Mundy came to leave a kiss on his Mum’s cheek.

“No worries, baby.”

About an hour later, everything had been loaded into the van and the car, and Marty happily joined Mundy in his van, on the passenger’s seat.

“How long is it till we get there?” Mundy asked.

“We’ll have to drive through the state and then through more or less the entirety of Texas to get to the sea.” Philip answered. “But if you ask me, better Texas than California!”

“Alright, you know your business, UNcle Phil.”

“It’s a twelve hour drive but of course, we’ll make a lot of stops and we’ll sleep on the way there. I know a few good places along the way. Used to make the trip with some colleagues at work once a year at least in summer.”

“Wow, twelve hours… I don’t think I’ve ever driven for that long.” Mundy answered.

“It’s fine, son, we won’t do them all in one bite, eh?”

“I know, I know.. Still…! Right, let’s get started then.”

“You’ll just have to follow your mum, I’ll be with her to guide her.”

“Ok, thanks Uncle Phil.”

“Thank you, son.”

Mundy climbed in the van, on the driver’s seat. As he did so, Marty who was sitting on the passenger’s seat started wagging his tail.

“Hey, Marty, ready for the journey?”

The dog leaned into Mundy’s hand to enjoy some good head scratching.

“Right, gimme a paw then, eh?”

The dog obeyed.

“That’s a good boy right there, good puppy. Right, Mum’s starin’, you sit and be a good boy while I drive, yeah?”

#tf2 spy #tf2 sniper #sniperspy

8 notes · View notes

neerasrealm · 4 years

Note

Christmas with poly!Slenjack, Slendra, and Y/N’s kid from slenjack x single parent!reader (and Jasmine and Juliette if it’s not too much)? Love your writing btw!

I LOVE THIS ASK AND I AM SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO GET TO. I kind of fell out of doing requests and writing except for lore stuff so I apologise. I’m getting back on track now and I’m going to clear out my inbox and get to the requests that have been rotting away in here for so long. I’m sorry for all of this yall :( I just needed a break I guess. Edit: forgot to tag @queenofmandy bc she basically fleshed out the twins and made them developed characters and ik she’ll wanna see this HSDGDSJ

Anyway enjoy!

Your conventional christmas would be spent with family, surely. Dinner with your parents and exchanging gifts with your little boy, Sam. But this year is a little different. You took Sam to see his grandparents that morning. He seems very happy with his gift, and all the extra candy that's probably going to keep both of you on a sugar rush till January. Now though, it's afternoon, and you're headed for another place. Your boyfriends house. Not boyfriend's, boyfriends. Plural.

"Y'know I don't know HOW Slender keeps managing to get the minivan through to the house," you murmur as you lead Sam through the forest. He giggles and you adjust the big plastic bag in your free hand. "You excited to see em sweetie?"

"Yeah!" He chirps. "Are Jasmine and Juliette gonna be there?"

You laugh a bit. "Sweetheart, it's christmas. They're not going anywhere."

"Juliette doesn't have a date?"

You snort. "For once, no." You chuckle a bit as you walk over the line of mushrooms and into the spacious front yard of the house. Typically, it'll be full of colour from the bushes and flowerbeds, and the large tree in the yard would be bearing lots of fruit, but now it's all covered in snow. You trudge through it, noticing a few snow angels in the ground as you pass, before reaching the front door. You knock a couple times before opening it. They always leave it unlocked for you. "C'mon sweetie." You call gently as you step inside.

You help Sam take off his coat, hat and scarf before doing the same with yourself. He's dressed in a brand new outfit you got him. Denim overalls and a rainbow striped shirt. It's probably obvious where he got that outfit idea from. In the other room up the hall you can hear laughter and yelling. You grab your bag again and walk up the hall, Sam following at your heels.

"Can ye reach luv?"

"Pff- yeh da, I can-"

"Or do ye need ta go higher?!"

"DA! PU' ME DOWN-" Juliette squeals as LJ stretches his arms, lifting her higher up into the air. She kicks her legs and laughs along with him. You grin as you enter the living room. LJ is holding one of his twin daughters up to the gigantic christmas tree, cackling in amusement. Sam stares up in amazement.

"Sammy!!" Jasmine, the second twin, squeals as she spots you. She dashes over and sweeps Sam up off the ground, holding him up. ‘’There ye are ye li’le bin lid!’’ she coos. You chuckle a bit. Jasmine adores Sam, and Sam adores Jasmine. She grins.

‘’Hi!’’ Sam chirps quietly. He kicks his legs and giggles at her.

Jasmine puts him down with a grunt. ‘’Ye’re ge’in big, ain’tcha?’’ she says with a wide smile. ‘’No’ g’nna be able ta pick ye up much longer.’’ Sam whines in response and she pats his head. ‘’Don’ worry, da can still lif’ ye up,’’ she looks over at Jasmine. ‘’Righ’ Jules?’’

LJ turns to look at you. His bright blue eyes widen in surprise as he spots you. He puts Juliette down and turns to you, grinning wide. He’s wearing a thick lavender sweater, rather than his usual monochrome outfit. ‘’y/n!’’ he chirps before rushing over to you. He hugs you tight and sweeps you up off the ground. You cry out in surprise and he leans up and pecks a kiss onto your lips. He giggles. ‘’I’s good ta see ya luv!’’

You laugh a bit. ‘’You too, sweetie.’’ you reply fondly before kissing him again. He blushes a soft pink and giggles some more.

“'Ow are ye, me dear?" He asks softly, looking up at you with big blue eyes. You smile gently at him.

"Good. Saw my parents. Sam is really happy," you glance over at your son and smile. He's excitedly talking with the twins, probably about the gifts he got earlier. You look back at LJ. "How about you, birthday boy?"

He grins and giggles. "Pre'y good," he gently sets you down again and toys with the sleeves of his sweater. "Th' kiddos 'ave been 'avin' a grea' time." He glances at the girls. Juliette notices and pauses for a moment, giving a gap-toothed grin and waving before going back to playing with Sam.

The kitchen door suddenly swings open behind him. "Jasmine dear can you-" Slender leans out of the kitchen before suddenly noticing you. "Y/n!" He steps out into the living room, having seemingly forgotten about Jasmine. You smile softly as he walks over to you. He’s wearing a red apron with a fluffy white trim. He leans down and you peck a kiss onto where his mouth would be. He stands up again. ‘’You’re early.’’

His stern tone surprises you. ‘’I am?’’

‘’Yes! You said you’d be here by three, it’s half past two!’’ he glares at you and you laugh nervously.

‘’Oh. Oops.’’ you murmur. He stands up and sighs, moving quickly back to the kitchen.

‘’It’s fine, it’s fine- you’ll just have to wait a little for lunch.’’ he mutters.

Sam’s head perks up, noticing Slender. He grins.‘’Slendy!’’ he squeaks. Slender stops for a moment and looks at him. A tendril reaches over and pats his head of messy curls. Sam giggles and Slender disappears into the kitchen again.

‘’’E’s comple’ly run off ‘is fee’, th’ poor bugger…’’ Jack murmurs behind you. You glance at him and he shakes his head, sighing. ‘’Ev’ry year ‘e does this, worries abou’ makin’ th’ day perfec’...wish ‘e’d jus’ relax fer once, ye know?’’ he looks down at you and shrugs, as if to say there isn’t really much to be done about it.

‘’y/n!’’ you turn around at the sound of your name being called. Standing in front of the kitchen door is Slendra, LJ and Slender’s third daughter. She’s short, but also taller than her older sisters. Her hair is fiery, turning from blonde to red at the tips, and she has small horns that curl toward her face. Her skin is a reddish-brown, with golden eyes and freckles across her face. She’s wearing a small red dress with a white collar and trim. She smiles at you, hands clasped together politely. ‘’Happy christmas!’’

You smile and step toward her. She runs over and hugs you. ‘’Happy christmas, sweetheart.’’ you murmur softly. She steps away and looks at the bag in your hand.

‘’Want me to take that?’’ she asks, polite as ever. You chuckle and pull it away.

‘’No, no. Those are the presents.’’ you wink at her. She looks surprised for a second before breaking into a grin. You can feel LJ’s eyes gazing intently at your back. He definitely heard that. You walk past Slendra and crouch down at the gigantic christmas tree. A bonus of having a big house with high ceilings. You take your gifts out, one by one, and set them under the tree. You glance up and see LJ is standing next to the tree, watching you intently. You giggle. ‘’You’ll get yours later, sweetie. Promise.’’ you chide. He smiles and laughs a bit before moving over to you. You let out a noise of surprise as he suddenly picks you up and carries you past the kids to the couch. You laugh a bit as he sets you down.

‘’Ya want anyfink, luv?’’ he asks. You think for a moment.

‘’A drink would be nice.’’ you say before glancing at Sam. ‘’Sweetie, do you want anything?’’

He looks over his shoulder at you. ‘’Do you have batteries?’’ he asks. Jack arches a brow and looks at you.

‘’He got a car from his grandma. It needs batteries.’’ you murmur. He smiles in understanding and nods before reaching into his sleeve.

‘’Sure, kiddo.’’ he pads over to him and pulls out a package of batteries. ‘’Le’ th’ girls pu’ ‘em in, okay? Don’ want’cha ge’in ‘urt.’’

Sam grins and nods, taking the batteries. ‘’Thanks Jackie!’’ he chirps before handing them off to Jasmine. Slendra walks past them as LJ disappears into the kitchen, sitting down beside you with a sigh. You tilt your head at her and smile.

‘’I like the dress.’’ you say simply. She looks at you and smiles. ‘’You been working in the kitchen?’’

She nods. ‘’Yeah. Mum needs ‘elp, and th’ twins are lazy soooo…’’

‘’I ‘eard tha’!’’ Juliette calls, glaring at you both. The two of you laugh. You listen to Slendra talk about her morning so far. She got some notebooks, a new dress from her uncle and a couple stuffed toys. You listen to her ramble about the lunch she’s been helping Slender make. Apparently she’s supposed to get more gifts, later, after everyone’s eaten. Slender and LJ must be saving some for when you and Sam came over. Considerate, you wouldn’t expect anything less.

"Ere luv," LJ's voice makes you look up from your conversation. He's holding a glass of champagne in one hand. He smiles at you and holds it out. "Budge up, will ya?" He moves over and takes a seat on the couch, putting himself in between you and Slendra. Definitely on purpose, as he ruffles the girl's hair affectionately.

"Pops! Be careful! If ye mess up me 'air mum will be mad!" She squeals, pouting. LJ laughs and looks at you.

"Kids, eh?"

You roll your eyes. "Tell me about it." You reply with a grin. You sip your champagne and look over at Sam and the twins. The car is up and running, and it's spinning around the floor in donuts. You smile a bit, watching Sam play with the twins (if by playing you mean listening to them talk his ears off).

The kitchen door swings open and you glance aside. Slender seems to smile. ‘’Lunch is ready, my dears.’’ he calls softly. You smile and get up. Jack takes your hand in his and tugs you into the kitchen. You can hear the twins behind you, still talking to Sam. He doesn’t seem to mind. He’s probably happy to be included in a conversation, especially with much older kids. The second you enter the kitchen you’re hit with the heavenly smell of fresh-baked pastry and roasting meat. You glance around, admiring the decorations before your eyes fall on the table. It’s practically a banquet, with plates of pastries, bowls of vegetables, a roasted ham and what you assume to be a casserole? You stare in wonder at the pigs-in-blankets before the sound of a cork popping makes you look up and over at Slender, who’s holding a bottle of wine. ‘’Do you want a drink, dears?’’

‘’I’ll ‘ave one!’’ Juliette calls with a grin as she sits down at the table. She ushers Sam to come over and sit between her and Jasmine.

Slender shakes his head. ‘’I know you do, Juliette.’’ he murmurs. ‘’You too Jasmine?’’ he asks. The girl nods. He doesn’t even need to ask Jack, he already knows it’s a yes. He looks over at you as he walks over to the table. ‘’y/n? Wine?’’

You smile and nod as you sit down beside Jack, across from Juliette. ‘’Sure.’’ Sam watches Slender pour out the wine and glances at you.

‘’Can I have some too?’’ he asks innocently. Your eyes widen with surprise and Jack wheezes beside you. The twins both cock a brow, looking at him in bemusement. Slendra watches him from her own seat, seemingly impressed by his brave ask.

‘’No, wine isn’t-’’

‘’Sure, sweetie,’’ you interrupt Slender, catching LJ’s eye and grinning slyly. ‘’One of the girls can give you a sip, can’t they?’’ you look over at Jasmine. Her eyes narrow at you for a moment, seemingly debating if she wants to go along with you or not. Eventually she gives in, holding her glass to Sam.

‘’Aight.’’

‘’Jasmine!’’ Slender practically shrieks, making LJ snicker. Slendra has to slap a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Sam takes the glass from Jasmine and takes a small sip.

His nose scrunches up in disgust and he shakes his head. ‘’That’s icky!’’ he declares. Juliette wheezes beside him, leaning her hand on the table for support. You can’t help it- you start laughing too. LJ is the same, cackling with that infectious laugh that has Slendra giggling beside him. Slender folds his arms.

‘’You’re all ruining christmas.’’ he mutters before sighing. ‘’Slendra, Sam, do you want juice?’’

‘’Yes please.’’ they both chirp. The rest of you start eating, passing around plates and bowls. The food is delicious. The roast potatoes are cooked to a perfect crisp, the meat is juicy and flavorful and the casserole is apparently potato, cheese and chicken. The pastries too are perfect. Fluffy and crispy, filled with delicious vegetables and meat. This is supposed to be just lunch?

‘’I think I did the ham wrong.’’ Slender murmurs, breaking the silence. You didn’t even realise nobody was talking, you were all too busy eating. You glance at him in surprise. ‘’It’s a bit too sweet.’’

Jack rolls his eyes. ‘’Slen, ye did i’ grand. ‘Ones’ly, this is amazin’. This is good enough fer th’ bluddy queen.’’ he gives Slender a firm look and you nod in agreement.

‘’Yeah,’’ you pause to swallow the bite of casserole in your mouth. ‘’This is delicious, sweetheart. I don’t think I’ve ever had something this good! Definitely better than I can do, right Sam?’’

The boy nods. ‘’Yeah! You could never make something as good as Slendy’s cooking!’’ he chirps. Your smile drops.

‘’Gee, thanks.’’

The twins giggle on either side of him. You roll your eyes playfully and get back to eating. The food is amazing, as you expected, and the meal is fun. LJ and Slender’s family are always fun to be around. The twins poke fun at each other, LJ makes bad jokes and Slender always has a blunt comment to add that makes you and Slendra laugh in unison. By the time you’re finished eating, you’re stuffed, and dinner feels like an impossible task. Slender shoo’s everyone out of the kitchen, and LJ leads you by the hand to the living room and onto the couch. He pulls you onto his lap, nuzzling against your neck lovingly. He feels soft, like a giant pillow, which makes you giggle. Jasmine shoots you a dirty look, but it disappears when Slender walks into the room.

‘’Are we ready for gifts?’’ he asks. Sam and LJ’s heads snap up, looking at him. You laugh a bit.

‘’Think so.’’ you reply. You wriggle out of LJ’s arms and move over to the tree, crouching down. ‘’You guys mind if I go first? I uh- put a lot of effort into my gifts and wanted to make them really special…’’ you look over your shoulder and smile a bit. LJ grins and Slender nods. You smile and sit back on your knees, pulling out two of the presents. ‘’Uhh...these are for Slendra and Juliette.’’ you turn around, holding out the gifts. The two girls walk over, taking their gifts. Juliette shakes hers, since her gift is bigger, while Slendra kneels down and carefully unwraps the paper on her gift. She gasps and holds it up.

‘’No way!’’ she grins at you. In her hands is a small box, with transparent plastic on the front, showing off the bow-tie inside. In the centre is a bright blue gem, and on either side, several peacock feathers. She grins and looks down at it. ‘’This is so fancy!’’

You chuckle. ‘’Yeah! I saw it and- well I remembered that time we went to the zoo.’’ you smile at her. She chuckles.

Juliette suddenly squeals and you turn to look at her. She’s grinning wide. ‘’Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!’’ she squeals, picking up the box.

LJ tilts his head from the couch. ‘’Wo’ is i’, luv?’’ he asks, smiling in amusement.

‘’A nail kit!’’ she squeaks. ‘’L-Like in th’ salons! ‘Cept I can do i’ a’ ‘ome now!’’ she grins, turning the box over to look at the information on the back. You chuckle.

‘’I remember coming over here and hearing you complain about how expensive getting your nails done is so…’’

She looks up at you and smiles in surprise. ‘’Ye were listenin’ t’ all’a’?’’ she asks, her voice soft and taken aback. You nod and tilt your head.

‘’Of course I was.’’ you reply. She looks down at the box again and smiles wider. She looks genuinely happy. You grab the other gifts and stand up. One large, flat triangle and an elegant black bag. You walk over to the couch and hold out the triangular gift to Jasmine. Jasmine has always been a little...wary of you. You don’t blame her. You’re dating her parents so it makes sense. She takes the gift, unwrapping it curiously.

Her eyes widen and she gasps. It’s a large, heart-shaped eyeshadow palette. ‘’I’ve been savin’ up fer this!’’ she yelps. You catch LJ’s eye and he winks at you. Jasmine looks up at you and smiles, pressing the palette to her chest. ‘’...Thanks y/n. I luv i’.’’

‘’Ye be’er plan on sharin’ tha’!’’ Juliette calls. Jasmine purses her lips and narrows her eyes.

‘’...only if ye do me nails fer me.’’

‘’Deal.’’

You laugh and turn to LJ and Slender. You smile nervously and reach into the bag. ‘’I hope you guys don’t mind...I combined your gifts into one.’’ they both tilt their heads curiously as you pull out two small white boxes. You hand one to each of them. ‘’You guys are...really open about yourselves. I mean- the matching wedding rings, eheh- and I know I’ve only been dating you guys a couple months but...I wanted to get something that represents all three of us.’’

LJ opens his box and pulls out a small, gold necklace. He gasps. ‘’Oooh!’’ he grins, eyes sparkling excitedly.

Slender is more delicate as he lifts up his own necklace, examining it. ‘’Oh- oh! Oh, dear you shouldn’t have…’’ you can tell he’s really happy. His head turns, looking at LJ. ‘’Dear do you- know what the symbol on it is…?’’

LJ looks up. ‘’Eh?’’ he looks down at the necklace. ‘’I’s er- well i’s a ‘eart, and one ‘f em uh- infini’y symbols!’’ he looks up, smiling, seemingly proud of himself for getting it right. You laugh a bit.

‘’I mean you’re half right,’’ you murmur. He looks at you as you tug out the gold chain around your neck, revealing that you yourself have a necklace to match them. ‘’It’s an infinity heart...it’s a symbol for polyamory. It represents us.’’ you explain softly. LJ looks at you in surprise, then smiles.

‘’Awe...luv…’’ he grins and reaches over, pulling you onto his lap. You giggle and grab his necklace, fastening it on for him. He smiles proudly and pecks a kiss onto your forehead. You laugh again, blushing hard. Slender suddenly taps your shoulder, catching your attention. You look up at him.

He’s holding a small gift, wrapped in festive red paper. Curious, you take it and pull off the paper. Inside are two things. A picture frame, and a piece of paper. You flip over the picture and your face lights up. It’s a picture of yourself, Slender and LJ from one of your first dates. You smile. ‘’Awe...Slender…’’ you don’t even have to ask if it was his idea. This has his name written all over it. He pats your head, pleased that you like it. Your attention turns to the slip of paper. You grab it, flipping it over. Your eyes widen and you look up at Slender. ‘’A- a spa weekend…?’’

‘’Tha’ wuz my idea.’’ Jack says above you, sounding proud. You look up at him in surprise and he smiles. ‘’Ye work real ‘ard, y/n...fer Sam, fer me an’ Slen...ye deserve a break. Ta trea’ yerself.’’ he leans in close and kisses your cheek. His clawed hand runs through your hair.

‘’We can look after Sam while you take the weekend to yourself.’’ Slender adds. You look up at him, then back at LJ. You smile softly. ‘’We really care about you, my dear…’’

‘’Yeh!’’ LJ smiles at you gently and caresses your cheek. His expression softens. ‘’...ye are g’nna look after yerself, righ’ luv?’’ he asks. ‘’Cuz we care abou’ ye...a lo’.’’ he tilts his head, cupping your face in his hand. Slender’s hand rests on your shoulder, reminding you he’s there, and that he loves you. You smile gently and give a meagre nod.

‘’Yeah...I will. promise.’’

#creepypasta #creepypasta hcs #creepypasta hc #slenderman x reader #creepypasta x reader #laughing jack x reader #slenjack #poly slenjack #the twins tag #<- they get a tag <3 #single parent!y/n #<- and so do they #slendra jackson #request #writing #ask #anon #anonymous

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necrokittytales · 5 years

Text

Necrokitty Tales: Trouble in Inkwell Isle (Chapter 29)

Authors’ note: Necrida’s writing will be in italics and SPKC’s writing with be regular font. If you have no idea what this roleplaying thing is, you can start from the beginning here. NSFW here!

(A long time coming - sorry about this, totally on SPKC for this one - got nailed by life in general. An extra long, action packed chapter to make up for it!)

———————————————————————————

“What is taking him so long?!” Sullivan said, dress up in a blue Hawaiian shirt, a white cap and white shorts. “It’s only been like five minutes! Calm down already. You’re making me nervous,” Hilda snapped. She was similarly disguised, wearing a white cloth on her head, red sunglasses and a white dotted red dress.

Carlos had told them he would get the tickets and asked them to wait for him near the bridge to the third isle. The waiting was starting to make both of them antsy but Sullivan’s whining was the straw to break Hilda’s back if he kept yapping. Thankfully, after a few more minutes, Carlos returned. He walked calmly towards them with a big smile on his face.

"Finally!” Sullivan yelled, “What took you so long?” “You can’t rush love, mi amigo…” The cat said, holding two tickets. Sullivan and Hilda looked at each other, preferring not to ask any more questions and just took the tickets. “Two tickets…So you’re not coming?” the salamander asked. “I will accompany you, my friend, but I don’t need one to get in,” he assured with a wink. They arrived at the hive and got in the line for the visitors. When they arrived at the door, a very slim male bee asked to see their tickets. Sullivan and Hilda showed theirs. The bee turned to Carlos who smiled charmingly at the bee. “I’m here for Beatrice,” the cat informed him. The bee narrowed his eyes. “…There’s 235 Beatrice’s in this hive, sir…” “I’m here for THE Beatrice,” Carlos repeated. The bee opened his eyes wide. “THE Beatrice?” Carlos nodded, smiling even more. “…A moment, please.” He stepped behind the reception desk and made a phone call. The three saw the look of surprise in the receptionist’s face. He hung up the phone wordlessly before returning to the group. “..eh… Mr. Buenaventura?” “At your service.” The cat tipped his hat. “.. She’s asked for you to wait for her at the Main Hall,” he said, still looking at the cat, skeptical. “Muchas gracias!” Carlos waved and walked, whistling happily next to the other two, who were as surprised as the receptionist. They entered the hive and quickly followed the group of tourists before finally arriving in a circular hall as tall as several stories of the hive. There was buzzing sounds and movement everywhere they looked. The visitors group gathered in the center and four guards accompanied them. A very small female bee greeted the tourists and started explaining the history of the hive. Sullivan and Hilda tried to remain behind the group and be as discreet as possible as they tried to figure out where the prison was. After the speech was over, the guide asked the group to move forward to a corridor that would take them to the honey factory. “Vaya! That was surprisingly interesting,” Carlos said, happy to have learnt something new. “Say, how much do we owe you for the tickets?” Sullivan asked, grateful. “Your friendship!” Carlos replied patting him in the back. “I would do anything to help love soar. Now you two go ahead and save your loved ones, and live your happily ever after!” Sullivan’s eyes brightened. “Thank you, Carlos! I will never forget this!” He shook his hand. Hilda rolled her eyes. “Happily ever after…pff…” She mumbled, crossing her arms and blushing slightly. “Carlos!” A female voice called from behind the hispanic cat. The cat turned around to see an impressive bee fluttering toward him. “Oh! There you are my beautiful sunshine!” He greeted the large female bee guard wearing her uniform. “Sorry I made you wait.” “No need to apologize, it was actually very instructive,” he explained, gesturing to the tour group. The bee looked at her wrist watch. “I only have an hour before I need to go back to work…” “Then let us not waste time!” He offered her his arm and walked towards the mess hall. Carlos turned and shot a wink at Hilda and Sullivan before disappearing into the crowd. “Hey! Keep up or you’ll be kicked out” One of the guards flanking the tour group yelled at Sullivan and Hilda, forcing them to return back to the group.

____

Amber bounded through a beautiful field full of catnip. She wasn’t sure how she arrived here but it was a welcome respite from her ordeal in the hive. The wonderful sun felt warm on her fuzzy body and she couldn’t help but rejoice in this new experience. She pounced and leapt and napped. This was the best day ever! She thought it couldn’t get any better when a dark shadow rose over from behind. She turned around to see a very monstrous looking Cagney. “I’m gonna to eat you!” He roared. Her eyes went wide. “No! No! Don’t eat me!” She tried to run away but found she couldn’t move. She looked down to see the field was turning to mud under her feet. She tried to run faster only for his large gnarled hands to seize her. She waved her paws pathetically. “Wait, wait! I’m not very tasty! I’m all fur!” “You’ll be a delicious pussy!” He growled as he lifted her up in the air above his face. She almost groaned at the pun…until she realized it wasn’t a pun. The flicking of his tongue between her legs made her tail shoot straight up. “Wait, wait!” Amber shrieked, pushing down her suddenly way too short skirt.

He continued to lash at her entrance and she bucked and squirmed helplessly. “Ooh, uh wait? No, a little to the right. Yeah, ah!” Amber mewled starting to enjoy the attention. She threw her head back and felt something sharp poke her. Amber woke up with a startled gasp, looking around wildly. When she realized she wasn’t being stabbed, she sighed. “Just a dream. Just a really messed up dream!” She exhaled, trying to shift only to find herself unable to do so. She looked down to see a pair of green, leafy limbs wrapped around her body, holding her snuggly. She glanced behind her to see Cagney dead asleep to the world, snoring. Was he…cuddling her? That was kinda cute? He was mumbling something about a blimp and rubbing his petals into her back, every now and then poking her with a thorn. That thorn part was less cute. She remained where she, scrunching her nose as she couldn’t remember why they were here together. There was a knock at the door and Amber jerked fully awake as Cagney groaned. Holy crap, how could she forget? They were in the hive. Queen Rumor’s hive, to be precise. And it was quickly becoming a dangerous place to be for anything non-insect.

Although Cagney would probably disagree with that statement, she remembered, spotting the bandanna around his neck. It was imbued with some form of magic curse that turned this flower into a mindless vegetable, subservient to the crazy Queen. The Queen would be most displeased to find the feline here within Cagney’s quarters and Amber did not want to stick around to find out what punishment would lie in store for her. “Gotta go, stay safe, Cagney,” Amber whispered, wriggling out of his grip as the door started to unlock. She climbed up the wall into the rafters just as the door opened. Cagney felt around and blinked unsuredly. “Amber?” He asked. The cat was gone.

Rumor opened the door slowly, holding the scepter tightly in her hand “..Sorry for waking you up,” she spoke coldly, glancing at the salted water and locking the door behind her. “Just came here to check on you.” She pointed her scepter at the water and turned it back to dirt.

Cagney brightened considerably at seeing the bee. “Good morning, Rumor…it’s morning, right?” He stood up, still hesitant eyeing what used to be the salt water. “Listen, I kinda want to apologize for what happened yesterday. When I’m in that form, I don’t have the best control and it just really wrecks my ability to think.”

Rumor’s heart melted at the carnation’s apology, but she kept her cool facade. “You’ve turned into that before?” She asked, a bit relieved that it wasn’t her bandanna's doing.

He nodded. “Yeah, one of the ‘perks’ when I traded my soul to look like this,” he gestured to his body. “It’s kind of my body’s way to defend myself if things get really bad…or if I get really angry.” He stretched. “Still wasn’t strong enough to stop Cuphead and Mugman when they collected our contracts,” he chuckled.

The Queen’s look softened. “Why where you angry before? Was it something I said?” She played the scene again in her head, blushing heavily.

He hesitated. “I don’t think it was anything you did. Maybe I was just anxious about becoming a royal gardener. I mean, do I have to make public appearances and stuff?” He asked.

“That’s what’s bugging you?” She smiled sweetly, getting close to him and taking his hands. “You just have to keep doing what you’ve been doing in your own garden. Except, in here… with me…” She got closer to his face, encouraging the plant to kiss her.

The carnation perked up at the touch of the bee and nuzzled her with his petals. “You’re a doll, Rumor,” he sighed happily. He eyed the spot on the bed that had been occupied just a few minutes before and brightened even more. “By the way, I really want to thank you for sending in your special service guard last night.”

Rumor’s soft look disappeared. “what are you talking about?”

Cagney nodded, not noticing the change. “Ya know, Amber. The cat I was fighting with? She came in and told me all about how you recruited her for the special guard thing ya had and how she was here to protect me.” “And I gotta admit, I never petted a cat before, but she was pretty soft. Definitely helped relieve some of my stress!” He exclaimed with a chuckle, “I don’t even know when we fell asleep but it was probably one of the best sleep I’ve had in a while! It was like holding a warm teddy bear. With teeth.” The carnation showed Rumor his hand where the cat had bit him. “She bites pretty hard if you touch the wrong spot. Gotta make sure to stroke correctly.” He pressed a kiss to Rumor’s cheek. “So, what’s the plan for today?” He asked cheerfully. He paused at the expression on her face. “Something I said?”

____

The Queen Bee stormed out of the room. “Guards! GUARDS!” She screeched loudly and almost instantly a couple of guards, armed with spears, appeared on the corridor. “Yes, my Queen!?” They both answered. “Seal the hive. Nobody gets in or out! Look for the small cat we caught the other day at the docks with Cagney, and bring me the responsible bee of the prisoner transfer to the camp!” The guards nodded and immediately flew to carry her orders. An alarm blared and the hive became a buzz with commotion with windows and gates quickly being sealed.

Cagney followed Rumor out, looking really confused. “But she was wearing one of these?” He pointed out, gesturing to his bandanna. He doubted Rumor could hear him.

Rumor turned to Cagney, even more confused and angry. “What? What did she tell you? What did you do in there?” Jealousy started to sting her heart. “My Q-queen!” Beatrice, the giant female bee guard, flew towards them, exhausted. “I-I’m sorry - I was-!” “Silence! Escort Cagney to my chambers. Nobody but me goes in or out!” Rumor yelled at the tired bee who nodded and made a sign for Cagney to follow her. “We’ll talk later” Rumor said to Cagney before flying down the corridor, leaving him alone with the bee.

____

“And that’s how we manufacture the delicious honey we all enjoy!” The small female guide announced, holding a jar of Rumor’s honey. “Are there any questions?”

Hilda and Sullivan seemed a bit traumatized by what they had seen but at the question of the tour guide, they quickly snapped out of it. “This is a waste of time,” Sullivan loudly murmured to Hilda. “We got to find a way to get out of the group!” As if an answer to his prayers, an alarm suddenly blared loudly throughout the hive. “Attention please! A fugitive has escaped. For your safety, please remain indoors and cooperate with the guards!” The bees started to fly in an organised fashion to their homes and places to shelter themselves. The tourist group though, started screaming and running to the nearest exits. The guards were trying to keep them together but they were too many to control. Hilda smiled, grabbed Sullivan’s hand and ran away from the group, back towards the main hall.

____

Cagney allowed the large guard bee to lead him away as Rumor flew off. He couldn’t help but notice the fur on her uniform. “I think you got some fur on your pants…and your chest,” he pointed out, realizing midway through his observation that this was probably not the time to be pointing this out to the clearly stressed out but yet simultaneously relaxed looking bee. He cleared his throat and changed the topic. “So, eh, any chance I could go looking for the intruder too?” He asked hopefully.

Beatrice immediately cleaned the fur from her uniform and cleared her throat, ignoring her red cheeks. “You heard the Queen. No one in, no one out” They reached Rumor’s office and the guard opened the door for Cagney, signaling him to enter. “I’ll be guarding the door."

Cagney entered the room only to hear it lock behind him. He turned around and tugged on the door knob uselessly. "I’m getting really sick of being the damsel in distress around here,” he grumbled. He looked around his surroundings, trying to see if there were another exit.

The big window that allowed the light to come in, was now sealed shut. The only light came from several small lamps hung around the room. The lamps illuminated the walls in Rumor’s chambers revealing them to be covered by books, perfectly arranged on the shelves. A few books were laid on the ground opened and stacked.

With no easy exit, and nothing else better to do, Cagney flopped himself down on Rumor’s bed and began to play with his petals. “Ugh, hopefully Rumor fixes things up so I can get out of here.” He hummed to himself, “Maybe I could make friends with some friendly woodland creatures or sing a song or…” He jerked back up. “Oh my God, I AM turning into a damsel!” He spotted Rumor’s patch of garden and gave a slight smile. “Well, at least that’s something.” He rooted himself within the dirt and started to strengthen himself, especially since he was still feeling pretty sapped from the salt water.

____

Having escaped the tour group, Hilda and Sullivan now looked around, trying to find a sign or some indication of where the prison cells were. Although there were thankfully no guards in sight, there was also nothing else but hundreds of bees flying in perfect lines to their shelters. “Arg! How can they live without any signs?!” Sullivan groaned in desperation. “Let’s just think for a second!” Hilda exclaimed. She paused and thought. “If you build a prison here, where would you put it?” Sullivan seemed to be thinking but before he could come up with an answer, Hilda spoke again. “Underground! No windows, only the doors you build, it’s perfect to lock up people!” She exclaimed. They found a set of stairs going down and they ran towards it. “I can’t help but be nervous that you were able to think of this so quickly!” Sullivan admitted as they descended, “and so enthusiastically…” he couldn’t help but add.

____

Amber ran like hell through the halls, using all four paws to propel her tiny furry body like a speeding bullet, whizzing past confused bees and tourists alike. Looks like Cagney had blabbed and very soon she wouldn’t have an exit. And without an exit, then it was only a matter of time before the guards found her. Then she might actually end up wearing a real piece of jewelry instead of the fake one she currently sported. One that turned her brain to mush. She scurried along the top part of the main hall but paused at the sound of a familiar voice.

Amber knew that voice. That was Sully! She saw him and an unfamiliar looking woman running toward the set of stairs leading into the dungeon and she nimbly leapt down behind them. “Hi, Sully! Looking for me?” She called out, striking a pretty pose.

Sullivan turned to the voice behind him and his eyes brightened at the sight of his beloved feline. “Amber!” He hugged her tightly. “I was SO worried about you! What did they do to you? Did they hurt you?” He asked, turning her around to look for wounds.

Amber allowed Sully to check her for wounds. “Aw, I’m okay! Nothing I can’t handle."

Hilda looked around, hoping to see her friend any second now. "Where’s Cagney?” Amber looked at the woman and realized who she was. “Oh….you’re Hilda, aren’t you?”

Hilda lowered her sunglasses to have a better look at the cat. “Have we met?”

“Officially? No. From what Cagney told me or, uh tried to tell me when he could,” Amber admitted, “I figured you had to be her."

She glanced aside and pulled them into a side hallway as a patrol buzzed by. She glanced at Sullivan. "This place is a looney bin, Sully. You shouldn’t have come, although it’s awfully romantic that you have,” she purred.

The salamander blushed. “Gee, well, of course I had to come. They took you without even hearing you out! It was all a misunderstanding.” He paused, looking at the patrol fly by. “Yeah, yeah, get a room!” Hilda snapped at them. “Where’s Cagney?” She hesitated. “…And what exactly did he say about me?” She asked, her curiosity stronger than her survival instinct.

Amber would have to break the news to Sully eventually. Especially considering there were nearly a 100 eye witnesses placing her at the scene of the crime, it was only a matter of time before he found out. But now was not the time. She turned to Hilda. “Well, last I saw, he was locked in his room. And do you wanna know what he said before or after he got brainwashed?” She asked, smoothing down her fur.

Hilda raised an eyebrow. “His room? Since when does he-brainwashed!? What are you talking about!?”

The cat groaned. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on here. After we got arrested and tossed in jail, the Queen talked to Cagney and he must have pissed her off something royal-” she hated herself for the accidental pun- “Because the next morning, they came down to the prison talking about taking us to reprogramming camps or something like that.” She shuddered. “A lot of the bees are acting really weird, more weird than normal after they all went to this reprogramming thing so I busted us out. We were doing pretty well until we ended up in the Queen’s office and uh…Cagney couldn’t hide in time.”

Amber motioned for them to duck down with her behind a cleaning trolley. “It was the Queen and some scary ant lady. And guards. Lots of guards. She scampered down another hallway. "He and Rumor started yelling at each other until she made him put on this stupid cloth and the next thing I know he’s acting just as weird as those bees, going all gaga for the queen!”

Sullivan noticed the cloth on Amber’s neck. Before she could speak any further, he grabbed the feline and pinned her facing against the wall. Hilda nearly jumped in surprise. “What are you doing!? Has everyone gone insane today?!” She exclaimed, yanking off her glasses. “I’m so sorry!” The amphibian apologized profusely as he carefully removed the bandanna. “How do you feel now?” he asked once it was removed from Amber’s neck, “Are you still mind controlled?” Hilda facepalmed herself.

Amber turned bright red, feeling the salamander press into her from behind. “Sully, trust me I’d love to but now is not the time-oh!” She chuckled. “Oh, that’s just a cleaning rag I swiped from one of the janitorial trolleys! Fooled old grumpy petals last night into letting me crash the night with him so I didn’t get caught.”

Sullivan released Amber. “Oh boy! I-I-I’m so sorry!” He blushed and felt horrible for being so bold with her.

Amber’s face turned serious. “No, the real one doesn’t come off. And that’s a big problem. It’s messing with his mind. Every minute he’s starting to forget stuff. He’s having trouble remembering why he came here! He can’t even say your name anymore!”

Hilda felt a slightly jealous at twinge the mention of the cat sleeping with Cagney, but the thought quickly stepped away at the idea of her dumb weed forgetting completely about her. She shook away her thoughts, focusing on their situation and how dangerous it had quickly become. She paid more attention to the bees around them and noticed that the worker ones had a bracelet, while the higher ranking bees had bandannas around their necks. “The cloth must be more powerful than the bracelets,” Hilda concluded, talking more for herself than for them. She pulled off for her own cloth on her head and tied it around her neck. “Sullivan, wear the cat’s cloth! We’ll pretend we are brainwashed that we found the fugitive and we are on our way to deliver her to Rumor." She turned to Amber. "You think you can take us to Cagney?”

Amber nodded. “Yeah, I last saw him locked into the room. But there’s a good chance Rumor moved him to hers when the alarm went off.” Amber scratched her ears. “Which one do you want me to take you to?”

Hilda sighed, starting to get anxious. “I guess the best option is going to Rumor’s directly. That way if he isn’t there she might tell us where he is.” Sullivan nodded as he tied the fabric around his neck.

Amber nodded once more. “Okay, then hold onto me like you’re taking me prisoner and I’ll whisper directions to you."

Hilda, Sully and Amber traveled through the hive, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, which was rather hard to do when you were a human, a lizard and a cat in a hive full of bees. However, Hilda had that natural 'approach me and die’ look to her that deterred most bees from asking any questions and they were able to make it to Rumor’s door soon enough. As they neared the door - and the large bee guarding it - Amber’s fur suddenly went on end and she hissed.

"HALT!” The guard shouted. “ What’s going on here?” She demanded, extending her arm signaling them to stop. They obeyed but Sullivan couldn’t help but tremble, nervous at the sight of the imposing figure.

“We are taking the fugitive to Rumor” Hilda said, keeping her cool. Beatrice eyed them skeptically before looking at their bandannas. “Rumor is not here. Who gave you the order?” She growled. Hilda gulped but remained still. “Beatrice,” she said, knowing that there where more than 200 Beatrices living in the hive. “Beatrice who?” The bee started to reach to her gun. Hilda was about to reply 'Smith’ when Carlos appeared from another hallway. “Ah! Ahí estás, my sunshine! You left me wanting more,” he smiled charmingly, leaning against the door and waving a pair of handcuffs, one side still attached to his wrist. The large bee looked at him, surprised, and then reddened. “H-how…?” “I told you I was full of surprises,” he purred. He noticed the group and gave them a smile. “Is this the fugitive I keep hearing about?” “Y-yeah,” Beatrice admitted, “But, uh, I’m not sure~” “Great! Then YOU can turn off the alarm and WE can finish what we started.” He shook the cuffs, smiling mischievously. Beatrice was really tired of guarding the door. She took one more look at the group, trying to figure out if they were really brainwashed. “Who did you say gave you the order?” “Uhh..” Hilda was caught by surprise, but Sullivan quickly intervened. “Beatrice! You know… the one with the…” He did a gesture with his opened hand circling his face. The guard opened her eyes widely. “Oh! Beatrice Smith?” Hilda grunted. “I thought she had to leave because of the wax incident.” The bee mimicked the same gesture around her face. “Y-yeah, uh… ” “The fugitive hid in her home,” Hilda intervened, noticing Sullivan was running out of material. Carlos signaled Beatrice to get lower and whispered something in her ear. The group saw the bee blushing and they both started giggling. It was comical to see the large, tall bee being all cute with the smaller skinny cat. “Fine! Fine. You can leave the prisoner here.” She unlocked the door. “I’ll go call Rumor." Beatrice flew away through the corridor. When she was out of the way, Carlos applauded the trio. "Bravo! Bravísimo! Honestly, I never thought you were going to make it”

Amber cautiously watched Carlos. “What’s he doing here? Who is this?” She asked Sully as Hilda strode towards the door and fiddled with it

“He’s a friend, he helped us get in the hive,” Sullivan answered Amber, letting her go when the bee left. Carlos made a small bow and smiled charmingly.

Amber stuck close to Sully. “If you say so,” she acquiesced. Hilda opened the door with a shove, eager to see her friend again. “Cagney! Cagney?” She called out looking around the office and noticing the Queen’s chambers door open. Cagney’s head jerked toward the office at the familiar voice. “Hi-hello?” He tried, peeking out..

“Cagney!” Hilda smiled and ran towards him to give him a hug. “What are you doing in here?”

Cagney saw the slender woman running toward him and instinctively put out his hands to stop her from touching him. “Woah! Lady, ya can’t just run at a guy like that!” He cocked his head. “And how do you know my name? Have we met?”

Hilda stopped and looked at him, surprised, not really certain if he was joking or not. “How do I know your name? It’s me! Hilda!” She waited for his reaction. “Hilda Berg? The sky witch? Your best friend?”

Amber heard the shouting coming from the bed chambers and face palmed. “Oh shoot, it doesn’t sound like he remembers. Give me your bandanna, Sully.”

Sullivan gave Amber the fabric, wondering what she was planning to do. Cagney twitched at the name but he didn’t know why. His throat started to itch but he ignored it to keep looking at the woman. “Best friend?” He echoed before shaking his head. “Nah, Rumor and me are besties. You sure you don’t have your flowers messed up?” He asked, uprooting himself slightly.

“Wha…?” Hilda felt a knot starting to form in her throat. “I’M your bestie!” Tauros was starting to take room in the woman’s head. “You only like her because she’s a bee!”

Cagney scoffed. “Uh, no! She’s actually a very intelligent bee. And nice…when you know, she’s not turning dirt into salt water,” he admitted with a chuckle. Amber scampered in, wearing her bandanna. “Hi, Cagney!” Cagney looked past Hilda to see Amber. “Hey. Did you know Rumor’s looking for you?” His eyes hardened. “And did you also know she also says you’re lying about being a secret guard?” Amber pshawed. “Whhhattt? No way! If I was lying, why would I be here? Wouldn’t I be running away?” He raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you run away this morning?” Amber paused. Shoot. He had a point. She broke into a wide smile. “Seems like you’re having a really stressful day so far!” “You can say that again. Rumor’s furious, this broad says I’m her friend,” Cagney jutted a thumb at a disbelieving Hilda, “And no one’s explaining anything.” Amber crept a little closer. “Would you like to pet the kitty?” She offered. The carnation’s eyes lit up. “Really?” “You can even pet the belly!” Amber insisted. “That would be great!” “Excellent, just reach down, yes that’s it, rub the belly,” Amber coaxed as Cagney reached down to pet her. Just as he was about to touch her belly, she latched on, nails out and sank her teeth into his hand. He swore and ripped Amber off of his arm. “Goddammit, Amber! That fucking hurt!” He turned toward Hilda and demanded, “Hilda, what the hell?! Did you know she was going to do that?!”

Sullivan looked unbelieving what Amber was doing, and Carlos laughed at the trick, for it reminded him of the many times it helped him get out from a sticky situation.

Hilda smiled at him. “You DO remember me, you dumb dandelion!” She couldn’t help but hug him tightly.

The carnation felt like a ton of bricks hit him as the memory of who Hilda was came back heavy and strong. “Hilda?!” He wrapped his leaves around her tightly and returned the hug. “Aw man, I’m so happy to see you!”

The cat and the amphibian looked surprised as the Carnation seemed to recover his memory.

“Cagney we gotta get out of here!” The witch grabbed his hand pulling him to the door. “And take that bandanna off!” She managed to keep her voice steady, terrified her friend would forget her again.

The carnation couldn’t help but snuggle her hand, blowing off the tightness in his throat. “You can say that again. All I did was come here to ask Rumor for help but… Rumor!” He suddenly remembered where they were and he stopped snuggling her. “Hilda, Rumor’s nuts!” He insisted.

“And you just noticed now?” Hilda chuckled. “You can tell me all about it later! C'mon!” She pressed on.

Cagney stopped following Hilda. “I’m serious. She’s never been acted like this before.” He pulled away from her and grimaced. “Something’s really wrong and I can’t figure out why because I can’t think straight! And every time I try to think about it, it just hurts more, Hilda!” He grabbed his head with both hands. “Why does it hurt so much to try to say your name!? Or even think about you?!”

“Cagney!” Hilda drew close to him, not sure what to do. It was painful to see him like this. It reminded of her when she found out about the constellations living in her head.

Amber hesitantly eyed Cagney as he looked almost frantic. She psst the other cat, trying to get his attention.

Carlos ear twitched and looked at Amber curious.

Amber pointed to her neck and made a pulling motion toward Cagney, hoping the other cat would get the hint as the carnation proceeded to become more panicked by the second.

Carlos nodded at Amber and discreetly came closer to the carnation as he struggled with his thoughts. He got in position and waited for Amber’s signal.

“Cagney,” Hilda said softly, noticing the cats moving closer. “I know what it is to have a mess in your head. Just, uh, think about something that made you very happy. Like, eh, the first day of spring? Or uh…” She was getting really nervous as he started gasping. “I don’t know! Mineral water? Focus on that!”

“Mineral water?? Are you kidding me right now?” He gaped at her, “What kind of stupid idea is that?” His eyes widened as the bandanna tightened and he fell to his knees, choking. One of his arms reached back toward the soil in the room. “Now, now, now! Before he touches the dirt!” Amber yelled pouncing on the carnation with Carlos, trying to rip off his bandanna. The carnation plunged his hands in the soil and immediately started changing form with a snarl. He flung the cats off and turned on Hilda with a glare. “You’re just using me, just like she said you would. Just like you always do!” He sneered.

Hilda stepped back frightened. Her heart broke to see the hatred in his best friend’s eyes… again! “Cagney, what are you saying?” She felt Tauros wanting to take control in her mind.

He tried to continue speaking but any further speech Cagney had been capable of vanished as he continued to warp into his monstrous form. Carlos shook his head and saw the flower growing bigger. “I think it’s time to leave now!” He suggested, hopping to his feet. Sullivan immediately came to aid Amber. “You ok? Where does it hurt? ” He worriedly asked.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Amber groaned. She unsteadily got to her feet with Sullivan’s help and turned to see the carnation approaching a scared Hilda, the bandanna still snugly around his neck. She looked around for something but saw nothing she could chuck at him. “Kick his ass!” She finally shouted at the woman. The carnation turned away from Hilda at the sound of her voice, sharp teeth exposed.

“You ALWAYS have to ruin EVERYTHING!” The group turned to see Rumor screaming as she barged through the door, glaring daggers at Hilda. Beatrice and a bunch of other guards accompanied the queen and took positions surrounding the intruders.

Sullivan stood between the nearest guards and Amber, extending his arms to protect more with his body. Carlos, used to these kinds of situations, remained calm and discreetly tried to approach Beatrice. “Rumor! What did you do to him!?” Hilda shouted pointing at the monstrous carnation. “I opened his eyes, Hilda! You can no longer control him, you manipulative witch! He’s FREE!” Rumor shouted, waving her scepter and throwing a strange purple sphere towards her. Hilda dove behind Rumor’s desk, barely managing to dodge it in time. The sphere exploded just inches where she was standing before, leaving a burnt mark on the floor. She popped her head out from under the desk. “You fucking crazy BEEch!” She shouted, surprised that she would blast her without a second thought. She knew they weren’t good friends, but they never fought this serious before. “Seriously!? Bee puns? Now?” Rumor answered angrily and, very bothered by it, threw another sphere, destroying her own desk. “Jesus Christ, Rumor! Did you brainwash yourself too?!” Another blast from the queen’s scepter forced her to jump near Cagney. “Snap out of it, Cagney! Do something” The meteorologist pleaded with the huge flower. “Oh! Good idea!” Rumor chuckled maliciously, flying in the air and waving her scepter, pointing to the ground. "Do something, Cagney. Get rid of the intruders!” A bright blast turned the floor into dirt. All the bees started to fly in place, avoiding contact with the ground.

"Oh shit.“

That was all Amber managed to get out before large green tendrils shot out from the newly formed ground and seized Hilda, Sully, Amber and Carlos, hoisting them into the air. The intruders struggled to free themselves, trying to unwrap the vines around them with minimal success. Cagney chuckled darkly and looked toward Rumor, as if waiting for her next order.

Hilda had a déjà vu feeling. She couldn’t hear the constellation’s voices but she could definitely feel their panic. All except Tauros. He filled the woman’s body with enough anger and adrenaline to keep struggling. "So we’re doing this again, you overgrown weed!?” Hilda was so scared that she allowed Tauros to take over. “Well, this time I’m not holding back!” But when she was about to turn she realized nothing was happening. She looked down at herself. “What the-?!” “Hahaha!” Rumor laughed. “What’s the matter, witch? No sky to drain power from?” She delighted herself to see the woman powerless between her lover’s grasp. She flew closer to Cagney and sweetly stroked his petals. “We do make a great team! Right, Cagney?” She gently kissed him making sure Hilda was watching.

The witch’s heart broke into pieces and her eyes started to get glassy. “You… fucking… is all this just to get at me somehow!? IT’S NOT MY FAULT HE DOESN’T LOVE YOU! You-you-” “Oh! But he DOES love me, Hilda. He ALWAYS did. But you kept luring him away from me! For your own benefit! Always taking advantage of his kind heart” She turned to the flower. “But now he sees the truth, what you really are. And what I really am…” She almost whisper tenderly to the carnation, stroking gently his petals.

Cagney leaned into Rumor’s touches, the bee knowing exactly where to touch on the monstrous flower’s petals to entice him further. At the sound of Hilda shouting, he turned toward the distraught woman and paused briefly, something flickering in the back of his mind at how upset she was. His vines loosened ever so slightly on the prisoners.

“Alright, screw this,” Amber finally growled, freeing her front paws. She grabbed the vine wrapped her chest and bit down on it as hard as she could, drawing sap. Cagney roared and smashed the cat through the honeycomb wall leading to the next room. He lurched himself blindly toward the new opening of the wall. Rumor attempted to hold him still but this only led to him shaking himself wildly, knocking the gloating Queen out of the air and into her flying soldiers. The scepter flew out of the bee’s hands and clattered to the floor, shooting out a stray purple laser. It narrowly missed Hilda’s head, instead searing and blasting a large portion of the ceiling clean off. Large chunks of roof like honeycomb crashed down on everyone in the room, pinning some of the vines down and scattering the soldiers. The carnation could see nothing but red even with the sun now shining down on them. He whirled on everyone else left and opened his mouth, revealing very large sharp teeth. More appendages sprouted up and restrained both bee and mammal alike now.

“Amber!” Sullivan shouted, struggling to get out of the flower’s tendrils. He bit and scratched, but his tiny fangs and claws barely sunk into the monstrous carnation’s skin, and only made him tighten his grip, making it more difficult for the amphibian to breath. Carlos, feeling the loosened grip and taking advantage of the chaos, decided to follow Amber’s way and bit the vine as hard as he could before being thrown against the wall near the entrance door. Hilda’s eyes widened at the view of the sky and felt the constellations getting stronger. Her eyes and bracelets shone brightly and a thick mist started to cover her body and the rest of the room. “Let’s put an end to this!” The witch’s voice resonated like a thunder within the walls of the hive.

The carnation heard the loud boom of a voice and shot spiked vines toward the cloud of mist that billowed from where Hilda had been, leaving the rest of his captives trapped on the ground. The vines grabbed nothing but air as they attempted to seize where Hilda had been.

From the thick fog, a bull charged forward, avoiding the thorny vines, and headbutted the carnation. He recoiled after the impact, cackling, happy to finally be able to strike a blow. Rumor shook her head and looked at the transformed Hilda with horror. “Cagney! Stop her! Get her away from the sky!” She yelled, searching for her scepter.

Cagney reeled back from the impact, shaking his head as he saw stars. He looked around, slightly confused, but upon Rumor’s order, hardened his expression and attacked Hilda. He coughed and hacked up dandelions toward the rampaging bull, trying to knock her out of the air, flaring his petals angrily when he continued to miss.

Taurus kept avoiding the tumultuous dandelions with quick turns and swirls. “Hahaha! Looks like the bigger you are, the dumber you get! You’ll never hit me with those! But I bet I can hit YOU!” Taurus did a swirl, creating a strong draft that flipped the dandelions back toward Cagney. A few of the dandelions hit some of the guard bees as well as Sullivan, who started to feel dizzy and confused. Carlos withdrew a knife from his coat and started hacking his way toward the scepter, dipping and ducking under dandelions. Rumor buzzed her wings rapidly, creating a draft to shoo dandelions away but still found herself struggling to completely get out of the tendril’s grasp.

A couple dandelions hit Cagney right in the kisser and he grew very disoriented, inadvertently releasing whatever captives he had retained. “Stop moving!” He yelled, his voice strained, even as he rocked back and forth, trying to keep his balance. He winced as something cut him again and took a wild swing in the direction of the attack.

Carlos got hit by the swing of the vine, knocking him against Rumor making both to fall down.“Ouch! Perdone, señorita!” Carlos apologized only to be pushed by the angry Queen. Taurus groaned.“Oh! NOW you remember me!” Noticing the flower’s confusion, Hilda saw her chance to get the bandana and flew quickly around Cagney’s head. To make sure the flower would stay disoriented, she flew in circles several times to confuse him even more. With each turn she drew closer and closer. “Don’t worry, Cags! I’ll get you out of this!”. “What are you doing!?” The queen shouted at her guards. “Get her! Don’t let her get close to Cagney!” Most of the bees were still disoriented. They tried, without success, to chase the fast cloud turning in circles, confusing them even more.

“Beat this!” Cagney snapped, plunging his hands back into the soil. Large vines shot up from all around, effectively surrounding and closing around him until it was almost a cactus like cocoon. He continued to cackle from inside his makeshift fort.

“Oh! You bastard,” Taurus groaned but his mouth turned into a twisted grin. “Let’s put you to the test. How much can you take?” The mist grew thicker again around Hilda’s body and turned into a giggling Gemini. “Fair warning!” They spoke in unison towards everybody. “Get out while you still can!” And with a sinister laughter, Gemini created a golden sphere that started shooting projectiles in all directions, most of them hitting Cagney’s cocoon, leaving some significant burnt marks.

Sullivan was still disoriented, but at the warning he started calling out for Amber.

Amber stirred awake in the next room at the sound of her name. She limped back over to the hole she was flung through and peeked inside. Her eyes widened at the chaos as projectiles, vines and bees flew in all directions.

She spotted a disoriented Sullivan and grabbed him by his shirt before dragging him back through the hole. She waved her paw in front of his face. “Hey? You okay? What’s wrong?” She worriedly asked, not liking how confused he look. She continued to snap fingers at Sullivan, growing increasingly worried when he didn’t respond. “Hey! You in there or not?!”

Sullivan started to recover. “A-Amber? You ok!?” He grabbed her by the shoulders. “You gotta get out of here!” He looked around trying to find a way out.

Amber nodded along with Sullivan. She looked around the room they had been launched into and scowled when she realized there were no other exits. That crazy bee really did have everything sealed off.

“Ay! Otra vez no!” Carlos lamented, helping a confused Beatrice to dodge some projectiles. Rumor was livid, having been the painful recipient of quite a few golden shots. She clenched her fist, seeing red. “Kill her! KILL HER!” She ordered finally reaching for her scepter. “YOU WON’T TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME AGAIN!"

The least disoriented bees started to wonder about their queen’s sanity. The way she was yelling orders, not caring for their safety was unlike the monarch. Even Beatrice, one of her most loyal bees was starting to have her doubts about whether or not she should follow the orders.

When the last of Hilda’s projectiles finished firing, the cactus cocoon crumbled, revealing a large hole. Before Gemini could react, Cagney emerged from the dirt behind them and seized the women with his hands. He was fairly beaten up, the fiery ball of death having done its job well and damaging everything - including all the plant material that was part of him. He stared at Gemini, a confused but still upset expression on his face. "Turn back into Hilda,” he finally panted.

Gemini struggled in the flower’s grip and the mist surrounded them. Cagney felt how the delicate figures merged into one and suddenly he had to tighten his grip to the feeling of something trying to burst out of his hands. The mist cleared and in front of the flower was Sagittarius trying to push the carnation’s hands apart with his powerful hooves. “Transform back to Hilda? So you can squish us again!?” The constellation glared at the flower, showing more fear than confidence. Sagittarius was still Hilda, and he didn’t want to hurt their dearest friend. Gemini had already done enough damage. “M-my queen… it’s dangerous here! We have to take you to safety!” Beatrice managed to say to Rumor, as Carlos held her up by her arm. Rumor didn’t listen to her guard, instead watching Cagney’s movements intently, waiting for the moment he would crush the witch and putting an end to all this. Beatrice and some other bees trembled noticing the craziness on their beloved queen’s eyes. Sagittarius was incredibly strong but Cagney was determined not to release his grip. “I don’t want to let go!” He growled, and he wasn’t talking about the constellation. Memories were starting to come back and it was a struggle to hold on to them. He wasn’t sure if he was going to pass out first. He looked desperately at Sagittarius. “Hilda! Please! I don’t want to let go of you again!” Sagittarius saw the despair in Cagney’s eyes and felt his heart quiver. The mist started to cover the constellation, revealing a very worried Hilda trapped in his monstrous hands. “Cagney?” She almost whispered, tired of the struggling and fighting. She looked deep into his eyes, hoping to find her best friend again. Her eyes were glassy and it was getting really hard to hold her tears.

Cagney looked at Hilda, immediate relief seizing him at seeing her alive and…uh, not exactly well, but in good enough condition. He saw how worried she was and he could only imagine what she had to get through to even get here. He clasped her to his chest and enveloped her in the biggest hug he could. “I am so happy to see you,” he exclaimed, trying not to crush her in his excitement. He nestled his petals against her even as the bandanna began to tighten. “Hilda, please don’t let me forget you,” he choked.

Hilda returned the hug as hard as she could, a couple of tears escaping through her cheeks, when she noticed the bandanna. She immediately grabbed it and looked for the knot. Rumor couldn’t believe her eyes. “What are you doing!? CRUSH HER!” “NO! Cagney, please!” The witch tried to whisper calmly but it was hard to talk with a knot in her own throat.

“CRUSH HER!” The queen repeated. “Cagney! Hold it! I almost… got… it… ” Hilda said going as fast as she could.

Cagney felt himself dipping back under Rumor’s influence and he panicked at the loss of control. Hilda was starting to fade into a target again and it was only another second or so before he made do on the order to crush her. He needed to get hurt again. He spotted one of his sharp spiky plants still erect, with a particularly long thorn protruding from the side. It was within reach. He winced preemptively as he seized it, continuing to hold Hilda to him with his other hand. “This is going to hurt,” he chuckled before he thrust the thorn sharply inwards, stabbing himself in the stem. His grip weakened on Hilda and he continued to chuckle, shooting Rumor a dirty look even as he felt himself bleed sap.

Hilda, noticing the loosen grip, saw her friend stabbing himself. “Shit, Cagney!” She finally untied the bandanna and she held it tightly in her hand. “I GOT IT!” She shouted, happily waving the fabric, victorious. “Cagney, I got it!” She hugged him again. “No…” Rumor whispered. Her eyes narrowed and her fingers tightened on the scepter within her grasp. “WHY DO YOU ALWAYS RUIN EVERYTHING!” She screeched, launching herself into the air.

Rumor flew in dangerous zig zags before aiming the scepter at the embracing couple. A dark smile formed on her lips as she instead flipped the scepter downwards and blasted the ground, obliterating the entire floor of her office. With the exception of Carlos who held onto a levitating Beatrice for dear life, everything that had been on the office floor, furniture and folks alike, plummeted downwards into the depths of the hive.

The moment Hilda had pulled that bandanna off his neck, there was a second of clarity and nothing else. The next second, Cagney was hit with an intense pain from his self inflicted stab wound and a deluge of memories about Hilda, both good and bad. It was so staggering, he swore he was falling backwards into darkness just from the sensation of it all.

Well, until he realized they really WERE falling. Not that he could do much about it. Without the dirt around his roots, he had no powers to stop them from the fall. Seeing Hilda’s face near his and realizing that the memory of her wasn’t going away did make him smile. “Thank you, ya dumb blimp,” he chuckled, returning the hug once more.

The action made him wince. The lack of dirt also meant he lacked any ability to heal. “Man, I really wish I hadn’t stabbed myself so hard,” he finally managed still laughing, even as he felt like passing out.

Hilda was still hugging the carnation. She was so happy to hear his insult she didn’t realize they were falling until they hit the bottom floor, Cagney’s body breaking their fall. The plant’s grip slackened on her with the impact and she was aware he wasn’t moving much. “Cagney! Shit! You ok!?” She reached down to check for wounds only to be stopped something violently yanked her off of him.

Hilda struggled to pull herself free and looked up to see Rumor had been the one to grab her, making sure to bruise her skin with tightness that the bee held her. Before the sky witch had a chance to fight back. Rumor flew up as fast as she could and threw Hilda against the wall with all her strength. Cagney definitely did not feel so good either. One minute, Hilda was holding onto him and the next he was hitting the ground and she was getting dragged off. “Ugh, wait come back…” He groaned quietly.

____

Amber walked back over to the hole in the wall and blinked in surprise. The floor was completely gone!! And everyone was in the process of tumbling down the new large hole. Which was probably the only way out. She grimaced and turned toward the salamander.

“Hey, how good of a climber are you?”

Sullivan nodded and got to the door to climb down. His amphibious body was perfect for latching onto the sticky huge wall. He secured his grip before looking up at Amber. “You need help going down? You can hold onto my back.”

Amber nodded. “Yes please.” She carefully climbed onto Sullivan’s back and held on tightly as the salamander quickly scaled the wall. She glanced below to see the Queen bee tossing Hilda like a rag doll and winced.

____

For a few seconds, Hilda saw more stars than what she was used to. When she recovered, she was on the floor next to a few drops of blood. She reached for her head with a shaky hand and realized that it was her blood when the crimson liquid decorated her fingers.

Her eyes glinted with a combination of anger and pain. “Fuck is WRONG WITH YOU, RUMOR!?” She managed to stand up, her bracelets and eyes shining very brightly as Rumor descended upon her in her bomber jet form. “Since when do you want to kill me?!” She quickly turned into a blimp and rocketed up in the air just as Rumor launched towards her, missing her and hitting the wall with her face. “This!” Rumor spat, recovering from the hit. “This time, I WON’T LET YOU WIN!” She charged again against the confused blimp. The bees tried to recall their queen back to her senses, but the royal bee wouldn’t listen. Carlos had been watching the fight from the side but upon seeing Cagney on the ground barely moving, signaled Beatrice to take him down to the ground. “Petals! Petals, groan twice if you’re still conscious” He asked, surprisingly worried. He barely knew the guy, but seeing how he hugged the crazy moon lady, it melted his heart. Plus, he was losing a lot of sap at an alarming rate and that couldn’t be good for a plant. Sullivan and Amber arrived shortly afterwards to the ground floor.

Amber spotted Cagney and bit her lip. “…uh, Sully. The flower doesn’t look so good.”

The amphibian carefully let Amber get down from his back and saw the flower’s bleeding wound. “Oh boy…”

Amber scampered over to the carnation. “Hey! Hey! Wake up!” She yelled but the carnation only groaned again and waved weakly at her.

“Does anyone know any first aid?”

“I do!” Sullivan and Carlos answered at the same time as Beatrice left Carlos on the ground and looked at her queen, terribly worried. “We have to remove the thorn,” suggested Sullivan. “Not before making sure we have something to stop the bleeding,” Carlos added, looking closely at the stab wound.

Amber pulled off the yellow bandanna off her neck. “What about this? Can we use this?” She asked hopefully.

“That might work!” Carlos said to Amber with a smile.

“I’ll call for reinforcements!” Beatrice flew quickly out of the room and made a signal to the other confused bees to tend to the other wounded bees.

____

Hilda had never seen such a furious Rumor in her life. She kept avoiding the plane’s charges, hoping that Rumor would come to her senses once she figured out she was destroying her own hive, only to realise the queen didn’t care what she charged to. Everyone was in danger. Hilda looked to the hole in the roof and flew quickly in front of it. Perhaps, if she could lure Rumor out in the open, she would have a chance to knock her outside without hurting anyone. “Rumor! C'mon! I know we had our differences but brainwashing!? Aren’t you taking it a bit too far?” “Ha! You’re the one to talk!” Rumor yelled. “You’ve been controlling him ever since you met him!” “Stop saying that!” Hilda was getting tired of hearing that. Or maybe it was exhaustion from transforming so much. “Cags and I have been friends since before we met you! It’s not my fault you don’t have friends, only these-these brainwashed zomBEES!” She chuckled. “DAMN YOU, HILDA!” Rumor shouted, charging towards her again, but this time, with saws on her wings.

Hilda waited until the last second to dive out of Rumor’s way, an error she paid dearly for by getting slashed on her leg, making it really painful to pedal. Rumor flew through the hole, making it bigger with her deadly wings. So manic was she that she acted in a bloodlust, hardly aware of the pieces of ceiling that tumbled down…nor the falling scepter that had slipped from her grasp during her transformation.

____

“Ok, then, listen up,” Sullivan signed Carlos and Amber to get closer as Beatrice left. “Carlos and I will take the thorn out. As soon as it’s out, Amber will tie the bandanna and put pressure on it."

"C'mon Petals! Don’t fall asleep now!” Carlos said, getting ready to pull the thorn. “His name is Cagney,” Sullivan corrected him. “Petals is easier to remember”. Sullivan rolled his eyes. “Ready, Amber?”

Amber nodded. “Ready!” On that, Sully and Carlos pulled the thorn with a yell. She immediately dove on the wound, bandanna on hand and applied as much pressure as she could. She smiled but then looked at Sully. “Uh….now what?”

Cagney gasped in pain at the thorn’s removal. “Shit,” he muttered, “now I know how Hilda felt.” He listlessly looked around for the woman only not to find her. The sounds of explosions and destruction clued him into the fact that she was probably up in the air. He tried to focus on her but his vision was hazy. She looked like she was moving slower somehow. Which didn’t seem right. The crash of honeycombs smashing near him didn’t really get his attention until the clank of something metallic followed it. He looked over to see Rumor’s scepter sticking out of a honeycomb and his mind started racing. He remembered all this craziness started as soon as Rumor pulled out that dang scepter. Which didn’t make sense. She always had a scepter. But this one looked different from what he recalled. Almost dull and warped. Whatever the change, he had to get it. He reached pathetically for it, just out of his fingers’ reach.

“Now we should find a way to disinfect and stitch the site,” Sullivan explained, looking for something they could use, unaware of Cagney’s attempts.

“Say no more!” Carlos opened his jacket and pulled out a flask, a needle and a thread. Sullivan looked at him strangely. “You just walk around with that all day?” “Of course!” The Hispanic cat replied, gesturing for Amber to remove the bandanna and spilling the alcohol over the wound.

The splash of alcohol on Cagney’s wound burned like hell, forcing him to jerk upwards with a girly scream before Amber could slam him back down with a surprising amount of strength from such a small feline. “Ow! What the hell?!”

Carlos continued. “Mi abuelita used to tell me: 'Carlitos, it’s a very big world out there, and you’re a very clumsy boy! Always take a first aid kit with you’ ” He spilled some on the needle and thread. “Ok Petals! Not gonna lie to you, this is going to hurt… I think. I’ve never had to stitch a tree before…"

____

Hilda wasn’t sure how much blood she was losing from her leg wound but it had to be a lot. She knew she couldn’t keep up pedaling for long and she rested on the roof of the hive, turning back to herself. She struggled to stand, but she managed to stay still as Rumor did a U turn in the air and back headed towards her again.

"CAGNEY IS MINE!!!” Rumor shouted, completely mad, her eyes full of hate, and her grin twisted with anger. Hilda was very angry herself, her bracelets and eyes glowing like a fire. “You’re gonna have to kill me to get to him!” Her voice was distorted with the voices of the twelve constellations. She lifted her arms and thick clouds covered her entirely in a magnificent spiral.

Rumor couldn’t see anymore and, although she was very angry, knew better than to fly through the sky witch’s cloud. She halted just outside of it as clicking and tinkling sounds emerged from within. The mist parted as Hilda emerged in crimson moon form, a malicious grin upon her lunar face. “Let’s put an end to this!” Rumor didn’t waste a second and fired missiles as Hilda did the same. The aftershocks of the projectiles exploding in the air produced some twisted fireworks visible from the other isles.

“Cagney would be so much happier if he never met you!” Rumor shouted as she sliced the moon’s cheek. “You keep using him to boost your weak, pathetic ego!” She jabbed again, inflicting another wound. “What is wrong with you, Rumor?! You’ve never been this crazy for him! Or anybody!” Hilda argued, hoping an appeal to reason would slow her down. “I found a good friend, Hilda. She warned me about you. She showed me what you really are!” The plane charged again but this time Hilda was ready for her, deflecting the attack. The counterattack infuriated Rumor and she instinctively reached for her scepter only to realize she didn’t have it. “W-what? W-where is it!?” She started to panic, a moment that Hilda took advantage of to launch one last attack: throwing missiles, stars, and even herself towards the confused plane.

____

“Can’t you let me just die or something?!” Cagney whined as Carlos haphazardly stabbed him against with the alcoholic needle. “No! You need to stay alive, you petal for brains!” “The only one who’s allowed to call me that is…Hilda!” The carnation looked up to see Hilda in her moon phase. That was her last resort attack which meant she must be really faltering now. He looked around for and spotted the scepter again. It must be connected to all this. He had to get it. He tried to reach for it only to recoil in pain with another jab of the needle.

“You call that stitching?” Sullivan shook his head seeing the poorly attended wound. “As long as it holds, mi amigo”. “It’s not going to hold! Argh! Gimme that!” The salamander took the needle from Carlos and begun stitching gently, doing a better job than the Hispanic cat. “Help Amber hold Cagney down,” Sullivan ordered. Carlos obeyed and held the flower’s stem down to the ground.

Cagney struggled against their help. “No, I gotta do somethin! Hilda ain’t gonna last much longer!” The flower reached for the fallen scepter one last time, this time grasping the base of it and dragging it to himself. He panted and collapsed again, holding the dumb metal rod to his chest.

“Hey!” Carlos exclaimed, noticing the scepter. “How did you get that?”

The whole world spun for the carnation but he finally managed to stand up, shoving off Carlos and Amber’s attempts to lay him back down. He waved the scepter. “Hey, Rumor!” He yelled, attempting to get the attention of the Queen Bee.

Hilda and Rumor looked fairly war torn, having taken some serious damage from their special attacks. Despite their exhaustion, they still glared at each other, neither women determined to give up the fight. They were about to charge into each other again when Cagney’s voice from below drew their attention and they looked down. “Cagney?” Rumor called back sweetly, glad to hear her beloved call out her name and not that of the witch’s.

Cagney smiled weakly. “I’ve been thinking about us and, ya know what?” He held out the scepter toward her. “I think we should take a break!” And with that, he slammed the scepter into the ground, shattering it into hundreds of pieces.

“NO!” Rumor screamed, transforming back into her royal self. She rapidly landed and attempted to scoop up the pieces of what remained of her scepter. “What have you done!? What have… you…you…?"

Her voice died in her throat. Her mind flooded with blocked and distorted memories that the scepter had prevented from her remembering. The queen felt like everything was swirling around her as flashes of memories kept popping in her mind confusing her. Hilda turned back into herself and cast a cloud with what little energy she had left. She slowly levitated back into the hive, putting pressure on her leg wound before she landed close to carnation. Sullivan, Carlos and Amber didn’t dare move a muscle, expecting the Queen bee to burst angrily any minute.

Finally, Rumor took a shaky breath and looked up to see the two island bosses. "Hilda? C-cagney…?” She asked softly, uncertain if she was hallucinating, looking more like herself again.

“Hey, Rumor,” Cagney painfully managed, “Glad to see you being you.” He made a motion to step forward only to wince and clutch the side of his stem. Hilda approached him and he pulled away his leafy hand to reveal it was now coated in thick sap. Her eyes darted down to see the wound now free flowing, the sutures having popped during his exertion.

He looked down at himself before back up at Hilda with a strained pale smile “…I’m just gonna stop standing now, ok, Hilds?” And with that, his legs crumpled from underneath him, passing out without another word.

———————————————————————————

CHAPTER 28 (nsfw) ; CHAPTER 29 (You’re here) ; Next (not ready yet)

#necrokitty #tales #smallpersiankitten #necrida #fan art #fan fiction #cuphead #amber alleycat #Sullivan Wells #carlos buenaventura #hilda berg #cagney carnation #rumor honeybottoms #submission

27 notes · View notes

lestered · 5 years

Text

thunder only happens when it’s raining

t, 3.6k

Obviously Manchester isn’t perfect either. But he’s seen at least three same-sex couples playing tonsil hockey at this party alone, and no one’s batted an eyelash. There’s something to be said for the fact that this is probably the most comfortable he’s ever been at a house party, and really he’s just half-drunk in a room full of strangers.

or: Dan wants to get something out of his system.

originally conceived as an idea for pff’s pride flashfest, but finished waaaaaay late. millions of thanks to @lvatt for holding me accountable and listening to all of my despairing while i wrote this.

read on ao3 or under the cut

There’s a boy across the room, and he’s the hottest thing Dan’s ever seen.

That’s saying kind of a lot, because Dan’s seen some things. Many things, actually. But that was back in the hellscape that he calls home, over 200 miles south of Manchester, and he really limited the type of stuff that he let himself see back there.

He doesn’t regret it; it was for his own good. Or his own safety, at the very least. Dozens and dozens of parties just like this, crowded rooms and loud music and cheap booze and fumbling around in the dark with too many girls and not feeling a fraction of the heat that he does looking at this boy’s broad, strong shoulders and long legs, his pretty pink lips and sharp cheekbones, and his scruffy black hair that sweeps over bright, ocean-blue eyes.

“You know, Phil’s not gonna shag you if all you do is stand here ogling him.”

Dan chokes on his drink, eyes watering as he coughs up the rum that’s burning its way town the wrong tube of his throat. “Fucking hell.” He rasps when he finally catches his breath. “Warn a guy.”

Cara - he’s pretty sure that’s her name, anyway - just grins, taking a long drink out of her own cup and leaning back against the wall next to him. He can’t remember if she lives in this house, or if she’s just a friend, or someone’s girlfriend, but she knows that Hot Boy’s name is apparently Phil, which means she fits with this crowd a lot better than he does.

Not that that’s hard. He’s not even sure where he is, just that someone in his group of hallmates loosely defined as ‘friends’ was invited here, and now he has no idea where any of them are either.

That doesn’t bother him too much, though. Cara’s nice. Nice enough to have introduced herself when she found him standing alone by the drinks table, anyway.

“Look, I love Phil, but he’s not exactly astute.” She tells him, her words a tiny bit slurred and her voice laden with a thick Northern accent. “If you want him to know you fancy him, you really need to smack him over the head with it.”

If you want him to know you fancy him.

Dan’s cheeks heat up and he narrowly avoids choking on his drink again, but can’t ignore the sudden churning of his stomach or his racing heartbeat.

Fancy him. Fancy him.

It’s a harmless phrase, isn’t it. Said so casually, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Like he’s not disgusting. Like he’s not about to get punched or called a series of slurs for looking at a boy for more than 3 seconds.

He’s not upset. His veins are full of icy dread and his fight or flight response is rearing and ready to go but he’s not upset. Cara picked up on him fancying a boy, but it doesn’t matter, especially since she clearly doesn’t care.

That doesn’t change that fact that he kind of feels like he can’t breathe. He firmly but gently reminds himself that he’s been conditioned.

“Fancy him?” He finally manages with a pitchy laugh after god knows how many seconds of silent panic. “I don’t fancy him, what are you on about?”

Cara seems confused. But to be fair, she kind of has a right to be. After all, she’d noticed him staring at Phil earlier and asked if he liked what he saw, and he’d been too flustered to even answer. He’s sure that didn’t exactly give off a heterosexual vibe.

That’s not a bad thing, he reminds himself. He’s not actively trying to do that anymore. That was part of the appeal of getting so far away from home. One of many, many appeals, if he’s being honest, but definitely one of the biggest.

He tries to distract himself from how very unconvincing his lie to Cara must have been by chugging down the rest of his drink, suddenly not regretting the extra shot of rum he’d poured in for good measure.

She’s still looking at him when he puts the cup down, though, her eyes careful and searching.

“Okay. You don’t fancy him.” She nods, pausing for another drink before looking across the room at Phil again. “It’d be no big deal if you did, though. He’s gay.” She pauses to give Dan another passing, faux-casual glance. “And you’re kind of exactly his type.”

That causes another churning in his stomach, a different kind. Instead of the usual fear and guilt, this one comes with a blush and an urge to smile. He schools his features, or tries to. But Cara’s giving him a knowing look and he can’t help but let out a breathy laugh, crossing his arms and shuffling idly in his place. His heart’s beating faster now.

He feels kind of silly for it, but the implication that someone - another boy, specifically - might actually be attracted to him and more importantly, unashamed of it, is more exciting than he would’ve expected.

“Shut up.” He finally mumbles, giving in but still doing his best to bite back the stupid grin that’s threatening to take over his face when he looks back across the room at Phil. “No way I’m his type.”

“I’ve been friends with him for two years now, wanna bet?” Cara nudges him in the ribs with her elbow. Dan’s trying to come up with a sassy retort when, as if on cue, Phil glances up and meets his gaze from across the room, and Dan feels suddenly like he’s had the wind knocked out of him.

Cara notices. Of course she does.

“You know…” She sing-songs when Dan finally forces himself to look away after a few seconds longer than what he’d consider a casual amount of eye contact. “I could go talk to him for you.”

She’s got a playful, knowing glint in her eye.

Dan draws in a deep breath through his nose, swallows the lump in his throat, and exhales.

It starts off with Phil recognizing his Twilight’s Last Gleaming shirt. Apparently they have the same taste in movies.

Turns out they also like a lot of the same TV shows. And animes, and bands, and video games. It’s kind of uncanny.

Somewhere in the middle of discussing their favorite Ghibli movies, Phil kisses him.

Dan’s so stunned that he doesn’t return it at first.

It’s not exactly the kiss itself that’s shocking, though; he knew they’d get to that at some point. They’ve been tucked into a dark corner for well over an hour now, sharing a beanbag chair and shifting in closer and closer until Dan’s nestled right up to his side, Phil’s arm draped casually over his shoulders while their gazes flit between eyes and lips with gradually more intent. No, the kiss has been a pretty long time coming.

What’s surprising is how soft and gentle Phil’s lips are against his own. He kisses him slowly, sweetly, without urgency or a hint of an expectation for anything more. He supposes that’s just what Phil’s like. That he’s just sweet. He seems that way. He could also just be drunkenly projecting, because after all, he hardly knows Phil at all. But he feels like he does. He may know almost nothing about Phil as a person, or the details of his life, but he does know that in spite of all that, he feels like a safe space.

Okay, he’s definitely projecting a little. But he also trusts his gut instinct.

He only gathers himself enough to kiss back for about half a second before Phil pulls away, his face flushed from what Dan assumes is more than just the alcohol.

“Uh… sorry.” Phil breathes out what sounds like a nervous laugh and ruffles a hand through his hair. “I never… I don’t usually just kiss people, I swear, but you’re…”

Dan doesn’t allow himself to think before surging forward and silencing Phil by pressing their mouths together again, this kiss much firmer and more assured than before. He feels Phil smiling against his lips when they part.

“Sorry.” He whispers, opening his eyes to meet Phil’s soft, slightly unfocused gaze. “I’m what?”

Phil’s arm moves from around his shoulders to wrap around his waist instead, and Dan has to look away for a second because there’s something like fondness glinting in Phil’s eyes and he’s feeling enough as it is, especially when he hears Phil’s soft, murmured response.

“You’re cute.”

It's chilly enough outside that Dan slightly regrets wearing only a short-sleeved shirt. The October air bites at his cheeks, but the alcohol coursing through his veins and Phil's flannel clad arms wrapped around his waist are keeping him decently warm, so things could definitely be worse.

"Anyway," he whispers, his eyes fluttering shut when Phil presses a kiss to a particularly sensitive spot behind his ear. "That's why... fuck-- that's why Final Fantasy VII has the best soundtrack."

Phil nods and trails his lips up from Dan's jaw to meet him in another kiss. "Interesting," he mumbles. "I always preferred Final Fantasy VIII, but you make a compelling argument." Dan can feel him smiling when he presses another kiss to his cheek, and he tries not to get caught up in the way that his heart keeps somersaulting over in his chest.

Phil's lips find his again, and he draws in a deep breath through his nose to collect himself. He focuses first on his senses - on the warm press of Phil's body against his own, on the muted sound of the party music seeping through the walls, on the whistling of the wind and the way Phil's lips taste like vodka and cranberry juice and the scent of cigarette smoke coming from somewhere nearby. He's not exactly sure where, though. As far as he can tell they're alone on this porch, though he supposes there could always be someone lurking around the corner. The thought might terrify him in another context, but here it feels alright. Not completely unguarded, but it's that thing about Phil - the thing that makes Dan feel somehow assured that Phil really isn't the type to put him in any danger. Phil knows this place better than he does, knows this crowd better than he does, and if he thinks that sucking face outside this house party is fair game, then damn it, Dan's gonna trust him.

"Your turn." He finally murmurs when their lips part, swapping their positions so that Phil's pressed back against the outside wall of the house and Dan's mouth is latched onto his neck.

Phil's hands scramble for purchase on his back, fingers bunching in the loose fabric of Dan's t-shirt.

"Right, um..." Dan feels Phil's throat vibrate against his lips and has to force himself not to grin like an idiot. "We were doing... uh... soundtracks?"

Dan nods.

"Right." Phil takes a deep breath - Dan knows this because he can feel the rise and fall. "So, um, the soundtrack to Once More, With Feeling..."

Dan snorts against the soft skin of Phil's neck, despite himself. "Sorry, the soundtrack to what?"

“The Buffy musical episode?” Phil replies easily. “Christ, I thought you had good taste. Now I’m second guessing myself.”

Dan pauses, then pulls back. “You’re shitting me. There’s a Buffy musical episode?”

Phil’s eyes widen comically. “Okay, that’s it.” He dramatically drops his arms from around Dan’s waist. “I can’t sleep with someone who doesn’t know Buffy. I’m sorry, but I have standards.”

In another context, Dan would definitely find the fact that Phil’s apparently a Buffy fanboy to be adorable, but he can’t really think about that right now, because of the other thing that Phil just said.

I can’t sleep with someone.

Sleep with someone.

Sleep with him. Somehow it hadn’t occurred to him that Phil would want to go any further than this. Which is stupid, because if this were a party back home and he was doing this with a girl, he’d expect it to be headed exactly in that direction. With Phil, though, it feels different. And the realization sort of hits him like a freight train.

It must show, because Phil immediately follows up, his voice quieter and a little nervous. “I mean… only if you want to.” He tells him, fidgeting with one of the buttons on his shirt. “No pressure, I just kinda thought…” Phil trails off, seemingly waiting for Dan to say something, but he still can’t find any words.

“I-I’m sorry.” Phil finally stammers. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed. We don’t… if you don’t want— “

“I want to.” Dan cuts him off without thinking. He feels light and floaty and a little foggy and also kind of terrified, but he somehow knows with complete certainty that he wants Phil.

Phil’s eyes seem to search his face for a moment, and he must look alright now because the worried creases in Phil’s forehead eventually smooth out and there’s a new sort of weight to his gaze and his smile when Phil reaches out to take his hand.

“Alright. Wanna get out of here, then?”

Getting out of here apparently means stumbling upstairs and into a bedroom about halfway down the hall. That’s probably for the best - his nerves and desperation are both building fast so the sooner he gets Phil alone, the better, and he’s not sure how capable either of them would be at walking much further than this anyway.

He’s no sooner got the door closed behind him that Phil’s pressing him back against it, crashing their mouths back together and reaching out for the light switch with one hand, fumbling only a little bit. As if he already knew exactly where it was.

“Uh, is this your room?” He asks when Phil tugs him backwards towards the bed with what seems again to be practiced ease. He hadn’t imagined that this was Phil’s place, but he supposes it’s likely enough. They’d had more interesting things to talk about than their accommodations.

Phil’s first response is to tumble them both onto the bed, climb over on top of him and press a number of urgent kisses into Dan’s neck.

“No, not mine,” he murmurs then, just as Dan’s starting to think that maybe Phil hadn’t heard him. “My house is next door, my mate Ian lives here. It’s cool though, he hooked up so many times in my bed last year, he owes me.”

“...Oh.” Dan whispers. He’s not sure why, but that strikes a bit of a strange chord and he finds himself squirming.

He lets his eyes flutter open slowly. Suddenly the ceiling looks like it’s descending. He doesn’t recall feeling terribly drunk before, but now the light in the room seems too bright. It hurts his eyes, they water and his vision goes even blurrier and he squeezes them shut again.

Phil lands another kiss on his neck, then his cheek, then on his lips, and Dan barely registers it. His chest tightens as it dawns on him that he’s about to have sex with a boy for the first time ever.

It dawns on him that Phil’s not.

After all, it’s kind of a given that Phil’s done this before. Phil’s older than him, more assured than him, he knows what he’s doing. He’s touching and kissing him in all the right spots and whispering all the little bits of praise that Dan wants to hear. Phil’s not confused or scared.

That should be reassuring.

He doesn’t know that he’s shaking until he hears Phil’s voice, high pitched and concerned as he repeats Dan’s name again and again.

“Dan… Dan?” He feels Phil nudging at his shoulder cautiously. His eyes fly open to find that Phil’s rolled off of him, now propped up on one elbow on his side with eyes full of what seems like mostly apprehension, and maybe a bit of fear. He sighs out in relief when they make eye contact. “Oh, thank God. You went somewhere else for a second.”

“Sorry.” Dan answers automatically, propping himself up too and drawing in a deep breath. “Sorry, I’m fine. We can keep going.”

He tries to ignore the skepticism in Phil’s eyes when he leans in to kiss him again. He’s disappointed but not exactly surprised when Phil’s lips are dry and unmoving against his.

“Phil, it’s fine.” He whispers. He can feel his heartbeat in his throat when he tries to kiss Phil again, sweat prickling the back of his neck. “I’m fine, promise.” But Phil just sits up.

“I think…” Phil sighs, scratching his jaw and pressing his back against the headboard. “Fuck. I don’t think this is a good idea.” He casts Dan an apologetic look, his eyes bleary and his hair messed up and his shirt halfway unbuttoned. God.

“I think we’re too drunk.” Phil hurries to explain when Dan doesn’t respond. “It’s not you.”

It clearly is him, though, Dan can tell. He’s definitely the problem. Because things had been going pretty great before he’d gone and gotten weird about it.

He breathes in deep, feeling his cheeks heat up. “I’m not that drunk.” He sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. He’s already embarrassed as hell, but if he at least comes clean, maybe Phil won’t think he’s a total weirdo. “I’m… I’m just nervous.”

Phil casts him a quizzical look, and Dan sighs in defeat.

“I’ve never done this before.”

Phil’s expression stays confused for a moment before the realization dawns. “Oh! Oh. I mean… oh.” He pauses for a moment. “You’ve never had sex before?”

“Not with a guy.” He clarifies quietly. He’d really like nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow him whole. He’s sure that he sounds like a total loser, and the longer that Phil doesn’t respond, the worse it is.

When Phil finally does speak up, though, it’s not quite what he expects.

“I hadn’t either.” He says quietly, and Dan feels the bed shift when Phil scoots closer to him again. “Before I got to uni, I mean. No one from home even knows I’m gay. Not even my family.”

Something about that makes Dan feel around 20 pounds lighter, and he finds the courage to actually look at Phil again. “Yeah?” He asks quietly. He feels vulnerable, and small, but Phil’s expression is patient and earnest and Dan almost feels like he could cry. Phil’s a complete stranger, and yet Dan can’t remember the last time anyone looked at him this way. He’s not sure anyone ever has.

“Me neither.” He says, his voice small and soft. “I mean, enough of them think that I am. Or they feel like they need to make up some reason to hate me. But I’m not, um.” He clears his throat. “Not actually out. To anyone. At all.”

The silence that falls between them then isn’t excruciating like before. It’s calm. It’s… soothing, almost.

“I really like you, Dan.” Phil whispers after a while. “Like… I really like you.” He feels Phil’s shoulder bump gently against his own and he shifts in closer and when he turns his head Phil’s right there. He barely has to lean in at all when Phil kisses him softly.

It feels really good. But it’s lacking the heat from before. “So…” Dan whispers when they break apart. “Do you still wanna—”

“Yeah.” Phil interrupts him. “I do, I seriously do. But… not right away?”

Dan pouts to mask his actual disappointment, but the smile that it earns from Phil makes it well worth it. “Look.” Phil laughs. “I’m not someone who thinks your first time needs to be perfect, or with your soulmate, or even with someone really special, but it should at least be, like. Pretty good. And I can totally do better than this.”

Dan feels himself blush as he glances around the room. Granted, Phil’s right - it’s not exactly a nice atmosphere, with its ugly posters and bad lighting and soda cans and dirty laundry strewn across the floor. Apparently Ian doesn’t really have his whole aesthetic nailed down yet. He also notes that there’s a nagging pain in the back of his head, intensifying the more his buzz wears off, and he’s tired and his skin is tacky with sweat.

Yeah. Dan’s pretty sure that he can do better than this, too.

“Right.” Dan sighs out a bit of a laugh, relishing in the wave of relief that suddenly washes over him from head to toe. “I can handle a rain check.” But he can’t help but notice when he looks back over at Phil that… well. He’s really cute. He’s really hot. Even if they’re not about to have sex after all, Dan’s not exactly willing to pull himself away.

“What about until then?” He asks. His stomach does another little flip, a different kind, when Phil grabs his hand and tugs him up off the bed.

“Until then,” Phil smiles, a teasing glint in his eye when he presses a quick, chaste kiss against his lips. “You’re coming home with me. You have a Buffy musical to watch.”

#phan #phanfiction #phanfic #fics #*

97 notes · View notes

omoghouls · 5 years

Text

I can’t stop thinking about that time you said Swiss would help and comfort Mountain in public washrooms when he was feeling particularly bladder shy. This thought makes me feel better when I’m sad so I hope it helps you feel a little less stressed.

Imagine the gang hanging out in a bar or restaurant or something after a ritual. They’ve all had a couple drinks and the night is winding down. Swiss has been watching Mountain closely for last couple of hours. He can tell that the earth ghoul has to go pretty bad. The way Mountain has his legs crossed, the stiff movements he makes, and the fact that he’s been withdrawn from the conversation, obviously with his mind on other things, gave away his situation long ago. But Swiss also knows that Mountain probably thinks he can make it home. He hates public washrooms so this isn’t an unusual situation for him. Swiss hates seeing his boyfriend in pain though so he comes up with a plan to help.

“Hey Aeth, did you get around to making that call to the venue about setting up for tomorrow’s practice?” Swiss asks.

“What call?” Aether replies.

“Oh the cardinal didn’t tell you? I over heard him talking about it as we were leaving today. Something about making sure we’ve got enough space to position the set properly. Ya know what, I think I remember what he was saying, I’ll just step outside for a minute and make the call now before it gets too late.” Swiss offers, glancing around the table at the others to make sure there are no protests from the group.

“Thanks,” Aether agrees, “Looks like we’re ‘bout done here anyhow. Why dontcha head out and make the call, we’ll wait for the bill and meet ya out front.”

“Sounds good.” Swiss agrees, standing up from the table.

He looks down at Mountain bouncing his legs up and down under the table, hands griping his thighs, visibly sweaty.

“Actually, why don’t you come too. Your drums take up the most space, it might be helpful to have your input.” Swiss suggests to Mountain.

Mountain is clearly uncomfortable with the idea. Just the thought of having to stand up makes his stomach drop. He grinds his hips into his seat in an effort to hold off a wave of desperation, and looks to Swiss with worry in his eyes.

“Come on I could really use your help.” Swiss urges, giving Mountain a quick pat on the shoulder, trying to reassure him that it’ll be ok. Mountain agrees reluctantly and the two head off in the direction of the doors.

Dewdrop leans in to the two remaining ghouls.

“Pff they think they’re so slick,” he scoffs, “as if it isn’t totally obvious what they’re doing.”

“What’s that?” Rain asks, brows raised.

“They just wanted some alone time to snog eachothers faces off. I swear they can’t keep their hands to themselves for 10 minutes.” They all laugh.

Outside Mountain groans as the cold evening air sends chills down his back, making his body tense and adding extra pressure to his already full bladder.

“Can we make this quick?” Mountain pleads, pressing his thighs together and bouncing in place.

“Why? Got somewhere to be?” Swiss teases, giving mountain a playful nudge.

The sudden jolt to his bladder causes him to panic, bending at the waist and pressing his hands into the front of his pants.

“Shit. Sorry.” Swiss apologizes “I know the problem, I brought you out here to fix it, not make it worse. Here.” He says, grabbing mountains hand and pulling him into an ally between two buildings.

“You go. I’ll stand lookout and take this fake phone call.”

Swiss turns and stands in the entrance to the ally, pretending to be on the phone, as Mountain does his thing behind some trash cans or something. When he comes back to meet Swiss Mountain is visibly relived. He thanks Swiss for his help and leans in to give him a kiss.

It’s at that moment that the other three walk outside. Dew elbows Aether in the side “see? Told ya.” He says, gesturing to the two ghouls lock in an embrace just a few feet away.

Aether calls out to them “Alright boys snog fest is over, let’s head home.”

----

AaaaaaaAAA omgg that is p r e s c i o u s 😭💖💖💖💖 Swiss helping Mountain out and being so kind about it??? G o o d stuff

And omfg- Dew just instantly thinking that the two are sneaking off to makeout, rather than figuring out the real reason behind the phone call excuse? Hell y e s (maybe the fire ghoul saw some of Mountain's fidgeting movements and took it as the earth ghoul just wanting to get back to the bus so he can wrap his lanky limbs around the multi-ghoul 😂)

But aaaaaaa just that is so good holy shit, snowflake u know you bless us with your content, right????😭💖💖💖

#we dont deserve you omggg #omorashi #omocute #nsfc #nameless ghouls #Mountain ghoul #earth ghoul #multi ghoul #swiss ghoul #submission #aaaAAAA #heck now I gotta write smth with bladder shy Mountain omg #x

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vega-ssi · 5 years

Text

My therapist: Go OUT do THINGS!!! You can't waste your summer you'll become a hikikomori!

Me: It's over 30C outside with about 70% humidity, nothing is worth going out right now. I can have fun at home just fine

My therapist: Pff come on go to the beach and sunbathe!! You are not having fun inside!! You need to SPECIFICALLY have fun outside to satisfy me!

Me: My body is weak and prone to sickness if I go out right now I'll die

My therapist: That's silly you won't get sick!

Me, who threw up 30 minutes before therapy because the sun was too strong in the 10 minute walk it takes to get there and almost fainted AGAIN and got the worst headache because I was out for too long:

You see I really love her but sometimes she just has to understand that I know myself and my body better than she does and that if I'm refusing to do something it's not necessarily because my mental illness wants me to get out of it. She listed a bunch of pointless activities I could do outside that I have no interest in and I'm not about to go outside and challenge my very shitty health to please her because she personally thinks people have to go out and do stuff to have fun. If I have to go out, I will if the thing I'm going out for interests me and seems worth dying or feeling like crap for!!

I already get very cranky when I'm not feeling well and I need extra time away from everything to get better, going to therapy in the first place was such an effort you wouldn't believe. I'm just tired of people giving me orders because they think they know better. And then when I try to explain, they either laugh it off or don't believe me.

I'm sorry for the unexpected, overly-personal salt but as I said I'm feeling like trash, I'm cranky, I'm tired of people bossing me around and I needed to let it out

#Delete later #And yes i tried to explain it to her but it's hard when #A) You already have trust issues #B) You don't find it easy to open up. At all #C) She is kinda mocking you over it and telling you you are silly without giving you a chance to explain #It's not even the first time it happens even some of my ex-closest friend would do this and it was infuriating #Just because you can't relate doesn't mean it's stupid to get sick over things like these #You don't?? Good for you!! Now you can fuck right off and leave me alone with my issues since it's clearly too hard for you to respect me

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noblechaton · 6 years

Text

Miraculous

extra late Day 4 for @mlshipfleet‘s Alyanette Week!

(1, 2, 3)

AO3 ____________

“So…” Marinette hummed, glancing up at the rumbling sky amid a downpour of rain. “It’s been a minute, and I think it’s only getting worse.”

“Yeah,” Alya looked up from her phone. “And it’s supposed to keep going for the rest of the night.”

“Don’t suppose you’ve got any other ideas, huh?” Marinette chuckled.

“I did,” Alya lightly scoffed. “But you left it at the dorm.”

“Why would you give me the only umbrella you own?”

“Because it was romantic!”

Marinette snickered until she coughed. “It’d probably be more romantic now.”

“Hm, I don’t know, that moment was pretty special, but...” Alya took a quick look at the otherwise empty street as it was relentlessly pounded by rain, the streetlights glowing in the darkness. “Alright, maybe by just a little ”

“Pff, I was just messing with you.” Marinette lazily ran a few fingers through her hair. “You stood there in the pouring rain for me, Alya, holding that umbrella over my head until I took it and I...I wouldn’t trade that moment for anything.”

“Don’t forget the part where it snapped shut on you.” Alya teased as a means of hiding her blush.

“You probably rigged it to shut.” Marinette playfully accused, giving her a slight nudge with her shoulder. “Er, anyway, we...really need to get out of this before it gets even worse.”

Alya nodded in agreement. “Well, the way I see it, we’ve only got two options. The first one is where we pull our bags over our heads and book it down the street.”

“Not the safest idea, but I always did love jumping in puddles.” Marinette smiled.

“Yeah, well, the other option is where we run for the nearest alleyway and...slip into something more comfortable.”

“Oh yeah, good point. Tikki’s passed out in my lunchbox.”

“Er, on second thought, I don’t know how good an idea it would be for you to transform, too.”

“Whaddya mean?” Marinette sneezed on cue.

Alya subtly snorted. “That’s what I mean.”

“You think I can’t handle flying while sick?” Marinette rubbed her nose and put a hand to her hip.

“I think we shouldn’t risk you running us into the Arc de Triomphe.” Alya handed her their last remaining tissue.

“Aw, c’mon, we’re not even close to that and besides,” Marinette plead her case. “How else are we gonna do it?”

“I was thinking I’d carry you.” Alya answered.

“So you’d carry your bag, my bag, and me?” Marinette chuckled under her breath. “You know I get two extra arms, right?”

“Good point,” Alya brushed a thumb down the side of her face. “We don’t need you dropping our stuff all over the city with all your wheezing and stuff.”

Marinette playfully pouted. “I thought you said you liked the wheeze.”

“Yeah, the one you have when you’re not sick.” Alya snickered and pulled Marinette’s hood up. “Now, let’s get moving.”

The two looked both ways and took off as soon as the coast was clear. Alya kept one hand on the straps of their backpacks while the other was tightly locked around Marinette’s. The run felt longer than it actually was thanks to just how much rain hammered down on and around them in the process. Both of them ended up drenched and shivering before too long.

“Alright,” Alya took a breath and pulled her bag around. “Just, gimme a second.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to?” Marinette chimed in, adjusting the drawstrings of her hood some. “I mean, I don’t think I’m that sick, and you’ve done plenty for me tonight.”

“And I’m not done doing stuff for you, either.” Alya smirked and gave it a thought while she continued rooting through her things until she pulled out a small box. “Are you sure you can handle it?” she looked back up with an eyebrow cocked.

“Definitely.” Marinette flexed. “Er, but if I do drop your stuff, I’ll totally...buy you new stuff?”

Alya shook her head. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, especially since you can’t buy new me.” she pulled the pink book-bag off and handed it over.

“Yeah, you’re limited edition.” Marinette unzipped her backpack, then her lunchbox. “Hey, Tikki,” she whispered into the bag. “We need you.”

The Kwami zipped out after a second or two and hovered between them. “Hi, Alya. What’s going on?” Tikki asked after a stretch.

“Heya, Tikki.” Alya gave a wave and got one back. “We kiiiiiiiinda need to get out of the rain.”

“I can tell.” Tikki smiled and turned back towards Marinette. “Just say the magic words.”

Marinette smiled. “Spots on!” She muttered out between coughs.

A brilliant light then enveloped her body from head to toe. Gradually it replaced her rain soaked clothes with that of spandex. An extra set of arms appeared below her normal ones, with three fingers on each hand. Two long, shining wings sprouted from her back at the same time two antenna flickered around her face.

“Much better.” Ladybug remarked after the light faded away, getting a feel for her altered form. “Now, your bag?” She held out an arm towards her while the other picked her own backpack up off the ground.

“You shouldn’t try to act cute when you’re sick.” Alya smirked, putting her necklace on before handing her stuff over. “Makes it hard not to kiss you.”

“Oh, well, I’m probably not that contagious.” Ladybug teased. “Not yet, anyway.”

“I’m already taking enough chances tonight.” Alya chuckled and watched as her Kwami appeared. “Hi, Trixx, sorry to wake you up.”

“It’s no problem at all, Alya!” Trixx cheerfully replied. “I’m happy to help!”

“Alright, well, in that case,” Alya cleared her throat but kept her voice quiet. “Let’s pounce!”

A similar wave of light washed over her for a few seconds. Ears shot up from the top of her head while it trailed further down her body. It turned her teeth into fangs, her fingers into claws, and her shirt into orange and white fur. A somewhat wide, twitching tail appeared behind her but quickly sank to the ground.

“Okay,” Rena Rouge stepped up to Ladybug’s chest, wrapping either arm around her chest. “If you drop me, you’re losing your extra pillow privileges for the rest of the month.”

Ladybug snickered. “Oh, I don’t intend on letting you go any time soon, Miss. Rouge.” She gave a smirk, the wings behind her fluttering themselves dry.

Rena scrunched her face with a quiet growl. Maybe it was just how her lips looked while they were drenched, or maybe her cheesy lines were actually working. Whatever the case, she found herself more than a little mesmerized by her girlfriend. For as bad an idea as it was, she figured they'd been out in the cold long enough that standing there just a little longer probably couldn't hurt.

“I really shouldn’t do this.” She pulled an arm around and slowly ran a single claw up Ladybug’s face.

The antenna on Ladybug’s head gently nudged up against Rena’s ears. “Do what?” She couldn’t help but grin, her spare hands grabbing and kneading at various patches of fur on her sides.

“Kiss you.” Rena answered with a smirk of her own. “But I’m gonna do it anyway.”

Whatever slight distance between them was closed with a quiet moan that almost sounded like a sort of purr. Rena’s tongue cleared Ladybug’s lips of rain first, tasting both the saltiness of the storm and the sweetness of her vanilla lipstick at the same time, then nudged its way into her mouth.

Ladybug slowly accepted the kiss, mostly out of worry that she might cough or sneeze and ruin the moment. But thankfully no such thing occurred and they only sank deeper into one another with thunder rolling through the sky.

Rena’s senses seemed to flare up. She could hear Ladybug’s heart beating a little faster than usual, each quiet moan that was stifled in her throat. And the way she tasted so comforting and warm, like butterscotch and sugar. That was what she smelled like, too, only the scent was much more subdued thanks to the rainwater.

“Okay,” Ladybug begrudgingly felt responsible and pulled away, her antenna gently unwrapping from the tips of her fox-like ears. “We, um...We can pick that up later.”

“Er, yeah, we...” Rena needed a moment to come down. “I mean, we might. After you, uh, eat, and stuff.”

Ladybug smiled at the blush on Rena’s face. “Yeah.” She agreed, wrapping all four arms around her and squeezing tight to make sure everything was secured. “Ready?” Her wings fidgeted and spread out.

Rena made sure to have a firm grip around her waist before giving a nod. “Ready.”

#Miraculous Ladybug #Alya Cesaire #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #mlshipfleet #Alyanette Week #Alyanette #Noblefic #Haha anyway have I ever mentioned that i'm totally in love with the monsterbug/rena designs??? bc..............#This might be my favorite of the week so far tbh #Next to study date at least

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stan-and-the-newbie · 6 years

Text

A kpop newbie’s reaction to MAMAMOO

Alexa: bold

Alex: italic

today you’ll react to Mamamoo even though you technically already know them

i mean, i don't know all that much about them, really. so this should still be interesting

well, as before, first thing that comes to mind

should i do the top one or

they’re in the same order. we love consistent queens.

hmm... wheein? then uhhh, s-solar..? then moonbyul and of course my queen.

did you guess them or. you got two of them right !!

i did in fact guess them. oh. fuck it, i'll take it

hwasa and solar, m-my baby. the first one is moonbyul and the third one is wheein

i figured

and apparently this is their formation in every group photo ever

oh, good to know

so, the first one is moonbyul. how old do you think she is and what’s her personality

she's 23 or 24, and she's a lovable goofball

is she a singer or the rapper

f uc k uhhhuuhhhhh singer

smol baby child. yeah, she's born in 1992, so she's around that age in this photo i think. i’m not sure when it was released. she's the rapper in the group, so her image on stage is cool

i knew it was either her or solar, smh. i remember it distinctively from that height song.

but irl she's greasy and flirts with everyone, tomboy-ish and probably gay idk

alright, so she's the cool one

yeah, she's also the tallest, staying proud at 165 cm

that image was misleading smh. she looks like a silly nerd in it/ are you trying to sabotage my score, miss <-<

i mean, she Is a silly nerd. she usually makes lives with solar and flirts with her all the time and gets herself some slaps on the arm. and she gay panics on stage every time hwasa is in her close vicinity. and she's known for having heart eyes every time a girl talks and she's also the Girl Crush of the entire industry lmao

first we had heart smile now we have heart eyes soon enough you'll be describing a monster from soma. a walking blob made of exposed, beating hearts.

oH SHUT UP

*then i showed him the Wonderful Confession Immortal Songs performance*

that middle aged lady fangirling after hwasa goes "look at me now" lmfao

sadfrghgfdsDFGHJK ME.

this is fokin great. i just got to the rap part. fam they're genuinely talented don't @ me

mamamoo are known for making every show their concert lmao

pff. it do be like that, and i wouldn't have it any other way. a bunch of girl dancers suddenly appeared and i thought my vision was going blurry and i was seeing double. anyway, the rap works surprisingly well, considering the general tone of the song.

moonbyul also has two tattoos. i don’t know what one of them says, i think its just her family portrait.

w h o l e s o m e

but the other one says “N'oublie pas de t'aimer”

alrighty my grill next up is your bias

give her an age

i'll say 24. and she's a singer

she is 27 :)

oof, can you really blame me tho

i can’t. she has an actual baby face. what’s her personality?

i imagine she's sweet and soft, but can be jokingly sassy and teases the others sometimes

oof, she wishes. she’s the oldest, and the leader, but the other members always bulli her. she’s the mom friend though, and the best at english, even tho her english isn’t all that good anyway sdfghds. and shes a complete goofball

awh ;; is she the short one, then?

nop, shes the second tallest

wait hold up how can the leader be the one who gets bullied this doesn't add up

*then i showed him this marvellous video*

2 seconds in and i've seen enough

*then i showed him the Passion Flower Immortal Songs performance*

solar doesn't have any tattoo but she's scared of bugs so there's that

wholesome. she's a quality idol i like her. this song is dope yo.

the one wearing a hat there is wheein

the wheeout puns are overwhelming ngl

,,,,,,,,,,they fucking are. once u wheein u cant wheeout. she's the same age as hwasa, but a few months older, so hwasa is considered the actual "maknae" (which means youngest member

that much i know. mainly because i googled it a while ago

and here's wheein with short hair cuz fuck yeah

whats her personality?

she's uhh the Short One (tm)

yes, that too. she is Evil

idk, she seems like a sassy singer, but that's just a shallow impression. does she tease the other members a lot, or.. <<

tbh, she is pretty sassy. she's also very carefree and a derp. but she does tease the other members a lot and laughs when something funny and unfortunate happens to them. she's been friends with hwasa since middle school, and they have a couple tattoo

ooh, noice

on their ankle, they both have "resonance"

i've seen a picture of that somewhere, if i recall..

she has two other tattoos. one she drew herself, and one that says "la vie est courte l'art est long"

what's with the french affiliation. should i be learning french instead of korean?

probably.

*i showed him that infamous “mamamoo sold their friendship for ice cream” video*

"hyejin-ah, you know your thighs are the size of your face, right?" i told you, wheein is evil

c r i t i c a l h i t

hwasa :) what do you think her personality is like lmao

she's the serious one (sarcastic humor <<3), the lead rapper but also sings (i noticed this by watching some performances)(edited)i also know that she cooks for them, so extra mom friend points there and she's very independent, but also warm

omf u really are whipped for her

<-<;;;

apparently she really likes beyonce, so some fans call her ahn-yance

yep, shes also a big rihanna fan, and work is her hoe anthem

that's dumb, on one hand because it kinda sounds like "annoyance", and on the other because bey-ahn-ce is a much better pun. i would perform umbrella for her like tom holland, don't @ me

oh, also, hwasa has four tattoos. the "resonance" one, one on the back of her neck, with "maria", her christian name, cuz she is Holy

oh shiet. that name fits her well actually ;;

one on her arm saying “Paradise is where you are”

if she's in your immediate vicinity, then obviously

and one right above that one, that’s a triquetra

mamamoo are well known in korea, and most of their fans are girls!! i think theyre the group that appeals the most to girls there actually

oh, that's interesting

and here are some songs

*i showed him “Words don’t come easy”*

this is what we call s m o o t h g u i t a r. and that sexy sax, oh boye (and here is where alex’s inner Shiverbert Creepstein came out, god bless, the only writer i stan) this one's really nice, i'd love to listen to it in a cafe. there's this really nice mental image that you'll never achieve, but it's nice to think of anyway. just sitting alone in the corner of a dimly-lit cafe, watching the performers on the stage sing as you down another shot, people taking quick glances in your direction and wondering what it is you're thinking about, when in fact you're just listening to the music mix in with the raindrops hitting against the windows. i got carried away, oof

o damn, mister shiverbert

<-< hey, nobody clapped

its a nice lil image, though

anyway, that was a great song

*and here i showed him “Decalcomanie”*

oh, this one's more i n t e n s e. the translated lyrics without any rhyme sound like some sort of strange poem

i know;;

noh-noh is apparently knock knock. the vocals are fokin great

:(((((( stop slandering them, theyre trying

i'm not roasting them, i just find it cute ;;that was a nice song. in fact- (he pinned it)

so, last thoughts on mamamoo?

god bless them best kpop idols out there hwasa please sit on my face

amazing

ayy, that was this week’s reaction!! alex was actually more excited this time because it’s his ultimate bias’ band

there are some things i (alexa, cuz alex never edits these posts) didn’t mention, im sorry if i missed anything important;; i decided to focus more on what alex thinks and says this time, rather than ramble about stuff y’all already know

i hope y’all enjoyed this reaction and if you want, you can leave suggestions!! buh-bye~ ^ω^

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1800areyouslapping · 6 years

Text

More Yakuza!Friend junk

Gal Pals here!

I’ll be writing out the ‘Gold’ stuff another time. It’s long as shit, and it’s like 95% smut. But I got sick and it’s hard to concentrate on smut stuff so I’m sending some scrambled stuff. Hope you don’t mind!

I’ve been thinking about Yakuza!friend and Sis!Shimada again at work. Here’s a mixture of stuff I’ve thought up:

Femininity

For some reason I keep thinking it’s very important for the friend, in this world of men that she’s working in, shows off loud and clear that she’s a girl. She wears pink, loves dresses and kimonos. Most of all she (along with sis) love Sanrio and cute shit. And the day she sparred with the guys at the dojo to show off to the sis, she wore a fucking gi with sanrio characters embroidered in them.

I had this funny imagery in my mind that all the Yakuza clans were called to the meeting, and some of them are writing shit down, and here is the friend wearing bright colors and she has one of those light-up pens with fluffy tops as she happily scribble notes down. I HC that she gives Genji one of those pens with games on it (search up classic game pen.)

I think the Yakuza!Friend should be open about her interests and femininity, and it’s not some big ruse to cover something up, but if it happens to confuse her enemies and make them look down on her, it makes it even sweeter when she crushes them.

CeCe’s note: I love that! It makes her stick out, which could both be bad and good for her. At least it shows that she’s not afraid to be herself and embraces her feminity which I think is an awesome thing. Though I don’t really see people taking notes with pen and paper, I can still see her carrying around cute pens and stuff. But her halopad would definitely have a cute Sanrio case on it. And her stylus would definitely have like a bouncy cat head on it. Imagine her giving Genji an Etch-A-Sketch pen he’d get up to some nonsense with that thing.

Clan

Every leader has an enforcer, or a mad dog and I think friend’s clan should be the scary enforcers or interrogators or torturers. Or a combination of the three. The friend eventually gathers this reputation as incredibly ruthless and very efficient in her job. (I swore, I thought there was more to this but I think my sick brain is making me forget ;_; )

CeCe’s note: Sorry to hear your sick :/ Hope you feel better! I think it should just be all three. Cause Interrogators/torturers almost would come hand in hand. If somebody’s not giving up info, you’d like a ruthless yakuza leader wouldn’t hesitate to implement torture in order to get the info that she needs to get. But this is great because that would mean that Sojiro would have really good use for her.

In this room, it’s a world of only you and me

One night, the sis and friend are alone in her room (friend snuck in). They’re just relaxing with friend’s head on sis’ lap while sis is gently running her fingers through her hair. Sis asks her if killing is hard. Friend says it was at first, though she never showed it, and it’s gotten easier over time. Friend says how she doesn’t want to lose her emotions, the regret/twist in her gut she feels whenever she kills, even if it feels like it’s eating her up inside; she doesn’t want to end up cold like her peers. The job is hard, the burden of carrying her clan’s scary legacy is difficult too, but she is proud of who she is, though she is tired. But the friend tells sis, she cherishes these moments with her, and one of them is because the sis welcomes and loves her humanity, she allows (even welcomes) her to feel.

The friend gently takes the sis’ hand and presses soft kisses on her fingers, hoping that she’d never have them covered in blood like she has to.

I feel a bit weird sending this romantic moment just because everyone sends you like raunchy stuff lol. I hope you like it anyway? I promise you the Gold stuff I’ll send is like all smut to make up for it.

CeCe’s note: Romantic stuff is perfectly fine! And this is really sweet, I could really picture them hanging out together in sis!Shimada’s room, being sweet to eachother. Two girly girls being themselves with eachother in a rough and tumble man’s world. It’s a nice dynamic. You don’ gotta rush the Gold stuff, even though I am very curious what the color has to do with the smut.

GP: Fuck. My muddled brain forgot this part. In the moment between friend and sis. The friend says something about how if the other clan leaders discovered her feelings they’d skin her alive or something. And the sis vehemently says that they’ll have to go through her first, that she’ll protect her. The friend is very moved. (Pff, this moment is kinda corny but I like it)

GP: Wow. My brain is real dumb. More ideas. =_= I was thinking that Sojiro tries to keep this Shimada Sis out of most Yakuza business, to keep her pure and safe. But she gets kidnapped one day as hostage and that’s when she learns just how dark and brutal their world is. She’s heard of the darker things they do, but it’s much scarier now that she’s part of the experience, especially as hostage.

GP: She gets rescued by her gf, and as they’re sneaking about. Sis witnesses her kill people with cold efficiency; she sees the other part of her that the friend doesn’t like showing to her and it chills her to see someone so warm being capable of this. And maybe this is when sis understands why Genji doesn’t like being part of the Yakuza. GP: I don’t know how, but sis overhears friend tell Sojiro that in retaliation, they should sneak into the enemy hq and kill the leader’s daughter, hack her into bits and put pieces of her in random parts of the house. Sojiro and Hanzo are murmuring other stuff they could do as retaliation, leaving sis chilled at seeing this different side to the people she loves.

CeCe’s note: I love that sis!Shimada is so sheltered and innocent here but she’s still threatening to protect yakuza!friend. Like she’s one of those small, loving, and fierce dogs that’ll run at a giant grizzly bear to protect their human even though it’s a very unbalanced match up. Like yakuza!friend loves her to death, but is also like, “yeah, yeah; I’m sure they will.”

First of all yes, let yakuza!friend knight and shining armor (more like a really cute gi) into enemy HQ and save sis!Shimada. I actually would kind of like it if sis’ watching yakuza!friend stick people kind of turns her on. She likes watching her show off her skills. Take care of herself and her skillfully. She’s kind of in the background letting her do work with heart eyes, even if it’s jarring and also scarring the shit out of her since she’s never been in this kind of situation before.

BUT the angst of sis!Shimada getting his with the cold reality of the yakuza life that she’s apart of is also good. Maybe it causes sis!Shimada to second guess her feeling for her a little bit? But not just her she also second guesses her feeling towards her own family. Specifically Sojiro and Hanzo. Genji’s been dropping hints about leaving, and she’s been ignoring him. Could this possibly make her think twice about it? She goes to Genji really upset, sobbing after hearing Hanzo, Sojiro, and yakuza!friend talking about retaliating. Does the rival clan leader’s daughter deserve to die? She doesn’t want that guilt on her back! She didn’t ask for that. This could lead to a rift in their relationship (between sis!Shimada and yakuza!friend). Would be even extra drama if Genji and her ran off together, maybe to join Blackwatch? (Platonically)

#gal pals anon #yakuza!friend #sis!shimada #musings #submission

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lu-undy · 3 years

Text

Chapter 106 - SBT

Here it is!

“Alright, here we are."

"Meow." Perle sat down and Soot imitated her. A couple of weeks had passed since the birth of the kittens now and they had opened their eyes fully.

"Mundy, I would rather stay outside, I really don't think that-"

"No." Mundy cut Lucien's speech. "No excuses, no half-truths. We go together." Lucien raised his eyes to Mundy and sighed. "Don't look so sad, Lu', you're not the one takin' risks here."

"Of course I am." Lucien answered. "If this whole idea fails, who is going to carry your sorrow with you?"

"I… Yeah, I'm sorry." Mundy sighed and adjusted his grip on the basket he was holding in his arms. The kittens were squeaking and squealing gently there.

"It is fine." Lucien answered. "Mundy?"

"Yeah?" Mundy raised sorry eyes to his lover.

"Je t'aime, mon loup. You will make it."

[I love you, my wolf.]

"Hope so… C-Can you knock on the door for me, please?"

"Before I do," Lucien raised his eyes to Mundy. "Take a deep breath."

Mundy melted and his shoulders sank. He smiled, albeit sadly.

"Love you, Lu', you're my everythin'." He whispered and their eyes locked, both blushing.

Lucien raised his hand and gave the dark brown door a few knocks.

"Oh, hey boys, come in, please…" Caroline opened the door and let both men through.

"Who's that?" Mike asked from his sofa.

"It's Micky and Lucien." Caroline answered while throwing a mildly scared glance at Lucien. The Frenchman nodded to her.

Mike appeared at the living-room's door, his hand on the door frame.

"What d'you want?" He bluntly asked.

Perle took a step forward and her fluffy hair spiked everywhere along her spine. Soot joined her, standing defensively between his wife, his children, his fathers and grandmother, and Mike.

"The cats had babies, we've come here to show them to Mum and you, Dad." Mundy answered.

"Pff…" Mike looked down at Perle and Soot. They were showing their fangs and hissing.

"Pearl, Soot, no." Mundy said, but the cats disobeyed, their posture was defensive. "Please, guys…"

The old man took the stairs up and disappeared.

"You guys come in and make yourselves at home, I'll go and talk to him." Caroline almost whispered to them, and both men agreed.

They sat in the living-room, Mundy on the sofa and Lucien on the armchair. Mundy put the basket on his lap and Perle jumped to her little ones. Soot helped her bathe them all.

"I'm not so sure it'll ever wo-"

"Shh." Lucien cut him. He was pricking his ears up, trying to hear what Caroline and Mike were saying, but to no avail. "I cannot hear them…" He finally gave up. "Not with the babies mewling that much."

"Bah…"

"Meow." Perle took them out of the basket one by one and lay down. The babies were hungry and the Mummy had felt it. She started feeding them when Caroline and Mike came back downstairs.

"So! Where are my great-grand babies…?" She excitedly asked.

"Here, Mum, look."

Caroline took a seat next to Mundy.

"Aw, look at them… There are… four! They're adorable! How old are they?"

"Just two weeks today." Mundy answered.

"Aw…" Caroline stared at the little ones feeding from their mother who was trying to bathe them at the same time. "Do they have names?"

"Yeah, Lu', c'mere and tell Mum."

"Uhm, of course…" Lucien rose from the armchair and crouched in front of the sofa. "This lady here is Marshmallow, this one is Inky, and then we have two brave little males. This black one is Bushcat, or as Mundy calls him, Bushkitty, and this white one with black paws is Glovy the Second."

"The Second?"

"Yeah," Mundy answered. "Previous litter had a similar kitty but with inverted colours and we called him Glovy. He liked his food a lot too, a bit like this one. He's always the first on his mum's milk and the last to go away from her. He even sometimes falls asleep still sucklin'..."

"Poor baby…" Caroline smiled. "Ooh, they look gorgeous, look at their eyes…! Bushkitty has one green and one blue, eh? That's very pretty!"

"Yeah, one from his mum and one from his dad."

"Congrats, Pearl, your babies are gorgeous…!" Caroline gently patted Perle's head who closed her eyes under the tender gesture. "Mike, come have a look-see, they're adorable…!"

Lucien went back to the armchair to leave some space and Mike approached, not without glaring at the man…

"Listen to them mewl, aw, cutie pies…" Caroline insisted, trying to get a reaction out of Mike, but the old man remained as lively as marble.

Mike took one more step and Soot jumped to his feet to hiss and show his fangs, digging his claws on the couch's armrest. Perle's ears were pulled back too. She curled on her babies defensively before slowly rising to her feet as well.

"Right. They don't want me to get close." Mike sighed.

"Pearl, you get down and Soot too. What's this now?" Mundy's voice was authoritative and it surprised everyone in the room, from Caroline and Mike, to Lucien. The cats immediately stopped and Soot withdrew to Mundy's lap. "There. And stop hissin', we raised you better than that."

"Meow…" Both adult cats lowered their heads apologetically.

"It's ok, but don't hiss like that ever again, not at Dad's dad, alright?"

"Meow."

He scratched Perle and Soot's heads.

There was a second of silence in the room. Everyone was processing what had just happened differently. Lucien was melting on his seat, only he didn't let it show. He didn't know Mundy could be authoritative, and gosh, his insides were molten lava.

Caroline was overwhelmed by the pride she was feeling. If this was what Mundy was like as a father, then her job on that planet was done. He knew when to step his foot down but showed compassion too. The mother couldn't help but take some pride for herself, surely Mundy had learnt that from her, at least a bit?

The one whose emotions were hidden as well as Lucien's, was Mike. God only knew what he thought of that, but he came closer and sat at the edge of the sofa, on the armrest. Perle looked at him intensely and turned her head to Mundy, who nodded.

The lady cat carefully approached the old man, who was offering his fingers. She smelt them from a distance and got closer, ever so slowly. Soot jumped on the sofa and tended to the babies.

Perle looked in the direction of her Papa, who nodded too. He wanted to speak, but Lucien was trying to make himself as small as possible in the room.

The lady cat finally brushed her head against Mike's fingers gently. The old man softly scratched her and she purred, her meows wrapped around the rolling of her purrs.

"There ya go, baby, this is your Gramps, he's nice."

"Meow?"

"See how I'm your Dad?"

"Meow."

"Well this is my Dad."

"Meow?"

"Yeah, this is my Mum, and my Dad." Mundy explained.

"Treat her like your kid, huh?" Mike finally broke the silence.

"Yeah, she listens." Mundy said and scooted over. He pulled Perle to himself to create some space and Mike joined them on the couch. Caroline and Lucien exchanged an eager gaze.

"Lucien, d'you mind helpin' me with the tea?"

"Of course." Lucien took the bait and followed Caroline out. They went to the kitchen and shut the door. Then, both promptly stuck their ears to it…

"So, how've you been, Dad?"

"Not too bad. Last week, we sold most stuff at the market. With the extra, I had the car fixed."

"What was wrong with it?"

"The cylinder head gasket needed replacin'."

"Ah, fair. Is it fixed now?"

"Yeah, it's alright now."

Both were nervously petting Perle while the little ones mewled and explored the sofa, wrestling with each other while wobbling on their short legs.

"And uh… What's up with you, son?"

Mundy's ears pricked up at "son".

"Not much. Been busy with these fluff balls. Hard to raise them proper with the daytime job and all, but we manage. Lu' works in the mornings, I take the afternoons, unless there's an emergency."

"They're alright? Growin' well?"

"Yeah, so far, so good. Today's their first day outside the house."

"They're curious, eh?" Mike said as Glovy and Bushcat tried to climb on his thigh.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I can take them back…"

"No, no, they're fine." Mike gently let his finger run on the little ones' heads, and Mundy grinned. "Son?"

"Yeah?"

"I uh… I still don't get it." Mike said in a serious tone. "For Lucien and you."

"Ah yeah, well… It's uh, it's alright. You don't need to-"

"No." Mike cut him short. "I… I wanna understand this. Been talkin' to your Mum about it." He scooped Glovy and petted him between his hands. "I don't know, son…"

Perle took Bushcat in her mouth and gently dropped him on Mike's lap. The young black male curled down and looked up at Mike.

"I listen to your Mum, see? She's been tellin' me a lot about you and Lucien. Every time she visits you guys, she comes back and tells me about it, gives me the news."

Perle took Inky and dropped her on Mike's lap. She sat down there and didn't move.

"I don't get it cause I don't feel it in me. Never felt more for a bloke than just bein' friends. Hell, it never came to me that you could be more. And we didn't raise you like that, son, nah, we didn't. So of course, I thought about it all for a long time. Where the hell could you have got the idea from? You can't have just thought about it on your own, can you?"

Perle finally took Marshmallow and brought her to her great-grand father's lap. The poor kitten lay down, curled in a ball against Bushcat, she seemed afraid.

"But then, when I thought I could never get it, I asked your Mum. And as always, she knew."

Perle lay down, curling her body around her babies, on Mike's lap.

"She asked me why I chose her. I told her that it was because she was kind, and pretty, and compassionate… I went on until I couldn't think of any words anymore. D'you know what she said then?" Mundy shook his head. "That your Auntie Sally was the same." Mike chuckled and Mundy smiled. The old man laced his arms around Mundy's shoulder. "Then she told me that there is no rhyme or reason as to why I chose her. Yeah, she's nice and all, but lots of other girls are like that too. But your mum has somethin' special that speaks only to me, on the inside, somethin' that no one can put into words. And that's why I chose her."

Mundy smiled at his father's dreamy eyes. He could clearly see that even after all these years, Mike still loved Caroline, a bit out of habit of course, but the feelings deep down, they were still the same.

"Then she said it was the same for you and Lucien. You chose him cause he's nice and all, but also, there's stuff you can't explain to me, you can't explain it to anyone, but when you think of him, it feels alright."

Mundy nodded.

"Y'know, I still find it a bit weird but… I'll try. I can't promise I won't give weird looks, I'm sorry, it's just so strange to me. But that doesn't mean I don't love you, Micky. It's just that I'm a bit… surprised, if that makes sense."

"Does that mean you're ok with Lu' and me?"

"I'm… I'm tryin' my best, son and uh… I'm sorry I didn't just understand it sooner." Mike pulled Mundy in an unexpected hug. "I made your mum and you worry about me and for what? Cause you were happy with a bloke. God damn it, I asked Maurice and he told me he was a war hero that Lucien of yours, did you know?"

Mundy nodded, returning his father's hug and holding him close.

"Y-yeah, I know."

"He's… Maurice told me he's a hell of a guy, traditional, and honest, hard-workin' too."

Mundy nodded again.

"Micky?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you really happy with him?"

The Aussie closed his eyes.

"Yeah, I am."

"For sure?"

"Yeah. He saved me and sacrificed everythin' for me, even his own self. I won't find anyone else like him, Dad."

"Right. Then, please go and get him out of the kitchen, I need to talk to him." Mike gently pulled himself out of the embrace.

"Alone?"

"Nah, bring your mum too."

"Ok… Uh, Dad?"

"Mh?"

"Thank you." Mundy smiled.

"Heh, I should be the one apologisin' and you're thankin' me? Gosh, son…" Mike ruffled Mundy's hair. "You're a good boy. Now go and get Lucien."

"Alright."

Mundy went to the kitchen and gestured to Lucien and Caroline to come. They brought Caroline's usual tray of tea and biscuits.

"You wanted to see me, Mike?" Lucien asked.

The old man gently scooped the kittens out of his lap and Perle helped him remove them. He then stood up to Lucien and looked up at him.

"You sit down next to me."

Lucien nodded and obeyed, Mundy went to the armchair.

"Now you listen here… I talked to Micky. I talked to Caroline too. I'm not sayin' any of this makes sense to me at all, alright?"

Lucien nodded.

"I wanna ask a few things."

"Pray do."

"What d'you think of my Micky?"

Lucien took a deep breath.

"He is… unique. Without a doubt, he is the most compassionate soul I have ever met. His unconditional love for you and Caroline speaks at length for his faithfulness, his patience and his loyalty. I have seen him show love for his family, for his friends, and for animals in an outstandingly respectful way. I have also seen his wrath and his frustration, and I admire him for them too. There is something beautifully frightening in seeing a man so gentle become furious. But as of late, I have had the privilege of seeing a more confident Mundy, and what a sight… I think you have raised an example for the human kind, Mike. You might not even see it, or not the way that I do, but please hear my words and believe them."

Mike had listened, frowning all along and nodding from time to time. From the armchair, Mundy was shaking, his limbs were trembling silently as his jaw clenched.

"Is Micky happy with you?"

"This is my only worry." Lucien answered. "I strive to make his life complete, to make him feel as whole as possible. If in your eyes I am not doing enough for it, then please understand that no one else on Earth would do as much as I have, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I am, and will remain, the only person who will go to unthinkable ends for Mundy's happiness."

"Lu'-"

"Son." Mike raised a hand to silence Mundy. He turned to Lucien again. "You takin' care of him as best as you can?"

"Oui."

"Hm." Mike nodded to himself. "You… You really make him happy, huh?"

"More than I thought I could make anyone, including myself." Lucien answered.

"And d'you have plans for the future?" Mike asked.

"Neither him or I are young anymore. I do not plan anything else but live with him for as long as God allows it. Whatever his wishes, whatever he dreams of, I shall know of it and bring it to him. Those are my plans for the future."

"Hm…"

Mike remained silent for a minute that seemed like an entire life and a half for everyone in the room.

"Meow…" Perle moved her babies to both Lucien and Mike's lap before sitting on Lucien's lap. She raised a paw to him and he gently held it and put it back down.

"Attends, ma chérie, je parle avec Mike, c'est important."

[Wait, my darling, I am talking with Mike and it is important.]

"Caroline?" Mike asked.

"Yeah?"

"Anythin' you wanna ask him?"

"N-no…?" She answered surprised.

"Well, c'mon, y'have to, we can't let Micky go with him without askin' a few things…!"

"Mike, they already are together, what are you on about?"

"Yeah, but you know that this isn't about them bein' together, it's about you and I givin' our blessin'."

Mundy's eyes watered up. Lucien saw it and looked at Perle before nodding in direction of the poor Aussie, melting on his island of an armchair, further away from the action. Perle turned her head to her Dad and both Soot and her went to comfort him. The kittens squealed in Lucien and Mike's lap, seeing Mummy further away, but both men kept them warm in their palms.

"I have nothin' to ask, I've seen them. I've seen them and I've heard them at home, they're… They work perfectly, Mike, they might even work better than you and me!"

Lucien was sandwiched between Caroline and Mike and leaned back on his seat to not block their conversation.

"C'mon, Carrie, ask him one thing at least, just for good measure…!"

"Right, right…. Uh, Lu'?"

"Oui?"

"Will you excuse Mike and his century old manners with you?"

"Carrie!" Mike exclaimed and Lucien smiled.

"Non, please, I am an old man, and a man of tradition too. It is only normal that Mike asks me a few things." Lucien tried to calm both parents down.

"See? He gets it!" Mike said.

"Oh well then, now you agree with Lucien, Mike, hm?"

"Course, I do! He talks sense! Now, please Carrie, give us some tea, throats are dry here and we can't think anymore."

"Right, right… Here, Lu', pass this on to the old man from the last century, yeah?"

"Of course, Mike? Here is your cup." Lucien handed him the cup that Caroline had given him.

"This is for you, Lu'... And this is for… oh?"

Mundy had been staring, his back hunched and tears were streaming down his face.

"Mundy…!" Lucien put his cup aside and the kittens on the carpet before going to Mundy. "What is wrong, Mundy?"

"Step aside, son, I think this is for me to handle."

Lucien felt a hand on his shoulder and withdrew.

"Stand up, Micky."

The Aussie pushed on his wobbly legs and Mike pulled him into a hug, to which Mundy couldn't resist and burst out sobbing, his knees gave up but Lucien held him from behind and helped him stand.

"Dad…"

"Shh, son, don't cry… What's Lucien gonna think, eh? Didn't raise you to cry like that, eh?" Mike patted his back and held him close. "What's yer… uh… companion gonna think, eh?"

"Dad…" Mundy sobbed again, the only word he repeated was Dad for long, long minutes of wringing himself.

"C'mere now, sit down." Father and son took a seat on the sofa. "There, there, thanks, Carrie. Look, your Mum's handin' you a tissue, yeah, wipe that mess off yer face, good boy… Now, can you speak?"

Mundy's breath was hitched, his whole ribcage was trembling in erratic waves.

"Y-yeah… I-I'm sorry… I…"

"Now, now, shh… You have nothin' to be sorry about. I should apologise to both of ya. Sorry, Micky, I didn't want to be mean to you or anythin', I just thought… I couldn't imagine how you could be happy with a man. And you," Mike turned to Lucien. "You continue takin' care of my Micky, alright?"

"Oui, Monsieur." Lucien nodded.

[Yes, Sir.]

"See how sensitive he is? He's fragile, my boy. But he's strong too, eh? I didn't raise a sissy! He's strong and sensitive. He's my boy, and if I learn that anyone's been mean to him…!"

"Mike," Caroline answered. "So far you've been that one…"

"Yeah well, I was… not really bright, anyway! That's not the point, point is, I love you Micky, you're my boy, the baby we chose to raise and we both love you. As I said, don't expect me to not give you the occasional weird stare, I can't help it, you can't change an old man, but I don't mean any harm. I'm just… I'm just surprised, is all."

"Thanks so much, Dad, I…" Mundy hugged his father, clawing and clinging to him.

"There, there, it's alright… Now, Carrie, give the boy his cup of tea, he's lost lots of water and will need the hydration. There we go… Now…"

Everyone held their cup and Mundy turned to take Lucien's hand in his. The Frenchman blushed intensely.

"Lucien?" Mike called.

"Oui?"

"Did I tell you that one time we went fishin' with Micky and he caught a fish with his bare hands, or rather his bare foot?"

"Oh, non, I don't believe you have." Lucien smiled in anticipation.

"Well, it's not a flatterin' story, not at the beginnin'..."

"Dad, please…"

"Let me tell him, it's a good story."

"Dad…!"

"He caught the fish, see? But the fish caught him too! It was a vicious thing that grabbed his foot!"

"Oh, God…" Mundy hid his face in his hands.

"See, we were on a lil' row boat and Micky fell in the water trying to pull on his fishin' rod too hard. When he came back to the surface, the damn thing was on his lil' bare foot!"

Lucien chuckled and Mundy shook his head.

"Dad, he doesn't need to know that…"

"Yeah, he does. Now there was also that one time where he tried to hunt bees, now I'm sure you can guess how it ended, eh?" Mike chuckled. "Carrie, get us the photo album, Lucien's gotta see the picture…"

"Dad, no, please…!"

"Come on! It was ages ago, let me show him what specimen you were… See, he caught the bee in the end, but the poor thing stung him on his ear as it tried to escape and the poor kid got an ear as big as a frying pan!"

Caroline brough the photo album.

"Now, squeeze a bit boys, c'mere Carrie… There we go… Now, let's have a look, yeah?"

"Dad, do we really have to?"

"Yeah we do! Lucien has to know what kind of a kid you were. Now, where was I…?"

Perle gathered her little ones and with Soot's help, they all went on their parents and grandparents' laps. As it turned out, the kittens were as curious about the pictures as Lucien was.

The Frenchman turned his head to meet his lover's gaze and smiled. Mundy's eyes were still a bit red with the crying, but he grinned back, and he slid his fingers between Lucien.

#tf2 sniper #tf2 spy #sniperspy #SBT

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creepywonderland-pony · 7 years

Text

Tag Game

Rules: Answer questions given to you, write 11 new questions, and tag people to answer those questions!

Reglas: ¡Contesta las preguntas que se te den, escribe 11 nuevas preguntas y etiqueta a otros para que respondan esas preguntas!

I was tagged by @real-life-sucks-ass (thanks!)

I’m answering this in two languages so I can tag more people c: / Lo responderé en dos lenguajes, así puedo etiquetar a más gente c:

1) What would an evil version of you look like? Describe it or draw it. / ¿Cómo luciría una versión malvada de tí? Descríbela o dibujala

I am my own evil version. Lmao kidding. Oh boi, it took me a lot of time to get this one! I think my evil version would be as extra as me, therefore she would dress in all black and have really showy makeup (unlike me), and will be very very rude and conceited. Lowkey I want her to have a cool hairstyle, but ceteris paribus, my hair is so straight that she would probably be trapped in the same I-cant-do-anything-with-this-hair hell.

Soy mi propia versión malvada. Lol, broma. ¡Me tomó mucho tiempo pensar en esta pregunta! Creo que mi versión malvada sería tan extra como yo, por lo tanto, se vestiría completamente de negro y tendría un maquillaje muy vistoso (a diferencia de mí), y sería muy grosera y engreída. A medias quiero que tenga un peinado genial, pero ceteris paribus, mi cabello es tan liso que probablemente quede atrapada en el mismo infierno de no-puedo-hacer-nada-con-este-cabello.

2) Share your knowledge! Teach us something weird you know :D/ Comparte tu conocimiento! Cuentanos algo extraño que sepas :D

I’m not quite sure of how unknown this fact is, but it will always shock me that the first biological weapons were corpses contaminated with the black plague catapulted into walled cities. And just to be sure I can surprise you, I’m going to tell ya that plesiosaurus and pterosaurs weren’t dinosaurs, in fact, all dinosaurs lived on the land. These species are classified due to the differences in its anatomy (especially bone structure) as big flying/swimming reptiles.

No estoy segura de cuán desconocido es este hecho, pero siempre me sorprenderá que las primeras armas biológicas fueran cadáveres contaminados con la plaga negra catapultada a las ciudades amuralladas. Y solo para asegurarme de que pueda sorprenderte, voy a decirte que los plesiosaurios y pterosaurios no eran dinosaurios, de hecho, todos los dinosaurios vivieron en la tierra. Estas especies se clasifican debido a las diferencias en su anatomía (especialmente la estructura ósea) como grandes reptiles voladores/nadadores.

3) You find a way to stop the time, as long as you want, as many times as you want. Only you can move, everything else is frozen. While it’s frozen, you don’t age. How do you use that power? / Encuentras la forma de detener el tiempo, por tanto como desees y tantas veces como lo desees. Solo tú puedes moverte, todos lo demás están congelados. Mientras [el tiempo] está congelado, no envejeces. ¿Cómo usas ese poder?

As I’m the most boring human being on this planet and also because I’m always stressed with college or wanting to write or watch a show, or paint, etc; I would probably just sit down and do as many things as possible. It would be very helpful tbh. I would also enjoy some time on my own, and maybe i would also be a little robin hood and take a few things from large commercial chains to give them to the poor. Yeah, mostly those kind of things.

Como soy el ser humano más aburrido de este planeta y también porque siempre estoy estresada con la universida,d o con ganas de escribir, o ver una serie, o pintar, etc; probablemente me sentaría a hacer tantas cosas como fuera posible. Sería muy útil tbh. También disfrutaría algo de tiempo por mi cuenta, y tal vez también sería un pequeño robin hood y tomaría algunas cosas de las grandes cadenas comerciales para entregárselas a los pobres. Sí, como ese tipo de cosas.

4) Can you cook? If so, please share a recipe with us? / ¿Puedes cocinar? Si es así, por favor comparte una receta con nosotros

I can certainly prepare a really good white rice and some pasta and salad lmao. Mmm sweet things are my speciality tbh, but I never learn the recipes from memory so… sorry.

Ciertamente puedo preparar un arroz blanco muy bueno y un poco de pasta y ensalada. Mmm cosas dulces son mi especialidad tbh, pero nunca me aprendo las recetas de la memoria así que … perdón.

5) If your life was a book, what would the first lines be like? (It can be a serious biography, a funny light book, poetry, drama, romance, or even a comics of child’s book, whatever you want!) / Si tu vida fuera un libro, ¿cómo serían las primeras líneas? (Puede ser una biografía seria, un libro divertido, poesía, drama, romance, o incluso un cómic de un libro infantil, ¡lo que quieras!)

“No one would have thought that Constanza was worthy to be a heroine, for her life is so boring that this book will make you sleep” Pfff, this is a hard one. I would probably like to have a really smart and sarcastic context, as Jane Austen always wrote; but in the case I’m blessed with being part of a fantasy book I want it to start with a fight or super badass escape.

“Nadie hubiera pensado que Constanza era digna de ser una heroína, porque su vida es tan aburrida que este libro te hará dormir” Pff, esta está dificil. Probablemente me gustaría tener un contexto muy inteligente y sarcástico, como Jane Austen siempre escribió; pero en el caso de que sea tan afortunada como para ser parte de un libro de fantasía, quiero que comience con una pelea o un escape súper rudo.

6) How’s your day so far? / ¿Cómo ha sido tu día hasta ahora?

Pretty calm, I woke up late, eat my breakfast and spend some time on my social media. I also got a comment on a fic so I’m happy c:

Muy tranquilo, me levanté tarde, desayuné y pasé un tiempo en mis redes sociales. También recibí un comentario sobre un fic así que estoy feliz

7) How many languages can you speak?

I can speak Spanish (native), English (quite fluently, but I mumble some words, working on that tho), and I started learning French (but I can only say really simple stuff).

Puedo hablar español (nativo), inglés (bastante fluidamente, pero farbullo algunas palabras, estoy trabajando en eso de todas formas), y comencé a aprender francés (pero solo puedo decir cosas realmente simples).

8) Rec us one or two good fanfics you’ve read recently! / ¡Recomiéndanos uno o dos buenos fanfics que has leído recientemente!

Ok, so. These are going to be different answers for obvious reasons. Lately I have not read so much in English and I do not know if we will coincide in fandoms but:

Rose Tinted by darkbrokenreaper is a Killing Stalking fanfic that i really like because it doesn’t romantice the uhealthy relationship between the characters, it characterizes them very well (which is especially laudable in my opinion, especially considering that there are some whose minds we still can not totally understand), the plot is really good and over all is really really well written. As a summary: Bum has amnesia and Sangwoo, after realizing that he has fallen in love, takes advantage of it pretending that they are married; from there it develops everything that Bum lives from waking until he realizes that something strange is happening, and seeks to escape.

Another fic that i liked is from Yuri on Ice, On My Love. It is so well written and full of feelings that i cant even think clearly. Just read it please, the plot is so iteresting and i literally cried twice. As a summary:Yuuri has an accident and wakes up young again, in a world where he does not know Victor (his beloved husband) and dode has not yet made a career in figure skating. Many feelings.

I actually need to catch up with both fic yet oops

Ok. Estas van a ser respuestas diferentes por razones obvias. Últimamente he leído mucho de latin hetalia so:

Arranquemos del invierno de rantingprince me gustó mucho. Lo estaba leyendo en clases y me sentí embargada por sentimientos de nostalgia y a la vez una enorme calidad en mi pecho. Si alguna vez le ha leido dabrán que redacta muy bien y su estilo fluye y te hace flotar. Muy recomendado, no tiene un gran plot pero sí mucho sentimiento.

Seguimos dando Vueltas de Iris también muy recomendado, me la sufrí toda leyendo (ppor Martín y por Manu y por todo), pero fue tan lindo al mismo tiempo como todas las heridas fueron sanando y ambos encontraron en el otro lo que necesitaban. Claro que para entender van a tener que leerse La Mansión Prado primero, pero tbh ambos son tan tan buenos que me lo van a terminar agradeciendo.

Y ya que estoy en esto, hay versiones traducidas al español de On My Love de Yuuri on Ice, que no sé cuán buenas sean. Pero si lograron captar la mitad de la belleza de ese fic, entonces deben leerlo. En serio.

9) What do your family members and/or partner think about you being into fandoms (and writing fics or drawing fanarts if you do so)? Are they supportive? / ¿Qué piensan los miembros de tu familia y/o pareja de que estes en fandoms (y escribiendo fics o dibujando fanarts, si lo haces)? ¿Te apoyan?

My family doesn’t even now what a fandom is and they don’t know that I write fics, neither I want to tell them. I’m not sure, but they probably would not be very supportive (not for the writing part but for writing about gay otps). Also, I’m single af lol.

Mi familia ni siquiera sabe qué es un fandom y no saben que yo escribo fics, ni tampoco quiero contarles. No estoy segura, pero probablemente no me brindarán mucho apoyo (no por la parte de escribir, sino porque escribo sobre gays). Y soy super soltera lol.

10) Your top 3 fav characters ever? / ¿Tus 3 personajes favoritos de la vida?

After a long time of reflection I have decided that my fave of all time is Fitz Chivalry Farseer from The Farseer Trilogy because he is so useless but at the same time he tries so hard, and I suffer so much each time I read him to the point that I already feel that he is a part of me now (but I’m always changing of mind tho, since The Fool is so bold and sarcastic, and every time he opens his mouth I can not stop smiling, it’s really hard to choose between these two).

My second is Merlin from BBC Merlin. He is such a cinammon roll and his smile is so beautiful and he always tries to hep people and also he is so sarcastic too. If I was not so emotionally engaged with Fitz after reading so many pages of him, Merlin would be my number one. And honestly he is my number one of all the tv shows I’ve seen. I love him.

Finally, I’m going to choose Wonder Woman both as my favorite female character and favorite superhero (I’m sorry spidey, you are my second tho, and I still love you). I literally cried on every single fight scene because I felt really empowered and after watching it I wanted to kick some asses tbh. To this day I still smile when I remember the movie. And she is so strong and smart and kind, it is impossible to not love her.

Ugh, I left so many of my faves outside. This was hard.

Después de un largo tiempo de reflexión, he decidido que mi favorito de todos los tiempos es Trapié Hidalgo Vatídico de la Trilogía de Vatídico porque es tan inútil, pero al mismo tiempo se esfuerza tanto, y yo sufro demasiado cada vez que lo leo, al punto que ya siento que él es parte de mí ahora (pero siempre estoy cambiando de opinión, porque Bufón es tan atrevido y sarcástico, y cada vez que abre la boca no puedo parar de sonreir, es realmente difícil elegir entre estos dos).

Mi segundo es Merlin de BBC Merlin. Es un cinammon roll, y su sonrisa es tan hermosa, y siempre trata de ayudar a la gente, y también es tan sarcástico. Si no estuviera tan emocionalmente comprometida con Fitz después de leer tantas páginas de él, Merlín sería mi número uno. Y, sinceramente, él es mi número uno de todos los programas de televisión que he visto. Me encanta.

Finalmente, voy a elegir a la Mujer Maravilla como mi personaje femenino favorito y superhéroe favorito (lo siento spidey, tú eres mi segundo de todos modos, y aún te amo). Literalmente lloré en cada escena de pelea porque me sentí realmente empoderada y después de verla quise patear algunos traseros tbh. Hasta el día de hoy todavía sonrío cuando recuerdo la película. Y ella es tan fuerte, inteligente y amable que es imposible no amarla.

Ugh, dejé a muchos de mis favoritos afuera. Esto fue dificil.

11) Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself / Cuéntanos 3 datos divertidos sobre ti

-I have a little mole under my right eye that I find cute / Tengo un pequeño lunar bajo mi ojo derecho que encuentro lindo.

-I’m really into women’s political issues and I want to work on that area / Realmente me interesan las cuestiones políticas de las mujeres y quiero trabajar en esa área.

-I used to be blonde, now I’m brunette / Solía ser rubia, ahora tengo el pelo castaño.

And now I’m tagging: @a-pair-of-iris, @leochamposa, @coloresfrios, @bluebirdinatree, @pico-sour, @lemonmilk1, @im-a-boat, @veektahr @mardeleste y @dinosauria–anacleta

To answer these questions / Para responder estas preguntas:

1) What is your favorite song and why? (You can choose 2 if it is too hard to only pick one) / ¿Cuál es tu canción favorita y por qué? (Puede elegir 2 si es demasiado difícil elegir solo una)

2) If you had the ability to enter the universe of any story, which one would you choose and why? (You can choose anything: video games, books, comics, movies, etc) / Si tuvieras la capacidad de entrar al universo de alguna historia, ¿cuál elegirías y por qué? (Puedes escoger cualquier cosa: videojuegos, libros, comics, películas, etc)

3) Tell me, what are your top 3 favorite things about yourself / Dime, ¿cuáles son tus 3 cosas favoritas de ti?

4) If you could make a wish without any limits, what would it be? / Si pudieras pedir un deseo sin ningún límite, ¿cuál seria?

5) What would you do if the zombie apocalypse started right now? What is your plan? / ¿Qué harías si el apocalipsis zombie iniciara ahora mismo? ¿Cuál es tu plan?

6) What is your favorite historical time and why? / ¿Cuál es tu época histórica favorita y por qué?

7) What would be your ideal future life? / ¿Cuál sería tu vida futura ideal?

8) Your top 5 writers evers and why? (can be both books and fanfics) / ¿Tus 5 escritorxs favoritos de la vida, y por qué? (pueden ser tanto libros como fanfics)

9) Best 2017 memory? / ¿Mejor recuerdo de 2017?

10) Do you have any oc? If so, would you like to tell me a little bit about them? If not, tell me a little about your favorite character ever and why you like them! / ¿Tienes algún oc? Si es así, ¿te gustaría contarme un poco sobre ellos? Si no, cuéntame un poco sobre tu personaje favorito y por qué te gusta!

11) If you could be a magical creature, what would you choose to be and why? How would you look? / Si pudieras ser una criatura mágica, ¿cuál escogerías ser y por qué? ¿Cómo lucirías?

Por supuesto pueden decidir no hacerlo! No hay ninguna obligación (: Espero que se diviertan~

#tag game #tag meme #i have a lot of fun answering these #personal

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thewayiremember · 4 years

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14.5 - NATHANIEL

SUMMER. 1 YEAR BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.

I swear nothing ever goes my way. That summer we decided to pretend we were responsible adults and that it was time to start earning some money on our own. Well, Bobbie and Nicole decided, I didn’t have a say. You’re not kids anymore? Cool, well, I’m not a kid anymore either, pff, I can get a job… Even if I really don’t want to… Plus, I knew it was going to be good for me. I would never have to ask for money again. And hearing less from my parents about how I’m lazy and not doing anything was a pretty great reward actually.

Being fifteen didn’t leave us a lot of options. Not many employers want to hire a bunch of kids. But I was clever about it and knew how to at least make some fun out of it. I convinced them to apply for a job in an amusement park. They always need extra hands in the summertime. Smart? Of course it is. We would have free tickets. Free rides every day. And it’s close to the beach so we could go there and cool down after working in the heat for so long. It was a great plan.

But as I said before, nothing goes my way. I should have known that by now. We called, went for a job interview, everything seemed fine. “Okay, you’re going to be ushers,” he said. Well, that was simple, wasn’t it? Yeah, too simple as it turned out. The next day we were supposed to be sent an e-mail with work regulation and that kind of stuff. And we were, but I got a different one. Something along the lines: “Sorry to inform, but we hired someone better than you.” They had enough people, apparently. Well, don’t hire Bobbie and Nicole either, what am supposed to be doing without them? No, I’m kidding, they wanted this job for real, so I’m glad they got it.

But seriously, what was I supposed to do? If I had told my parents about it they would have only made me feel worse than I already did. And now, that Nick and Bobbie were going to be unavailable for the majority of the time, I had to find another job. Even I know that wasting time in my room the whole summer would be very foolish of me.

I saw on Facebook the other day that a girl who had just finished her senior year in my school was looking for someone to help her or rather keep her company selling ice cream. Her name’s Martha and she has her own ice cream truck. She’s cool. I’d met her before, actually, while volunteering at school to spread awareness about climate change. I messaged her and got the job.

The first day wasn’t that bad. Martha and I had nothing in common, but surprisingly the conversations were endless. She had just finished high school and she still didn’t know what she wanted to do in life. You’re old, how can you not know that by now? But she really didn’t seem to be bothered by it. “Whatever life brings,” she told me. Kind of refreshing.

On the second day, I started to realize why she was looking for someone to help. Sure, it wasn’t that hard of a job, but doing it alone I would have lost my mind. And I don’t know what the problem was, but we didn’t have that many clients. Like, really, what was the problem? Kids are weird these days. When did they stop liking ice cream?

After a week I already regretted that I had taken the job, but I tried very hard to hide it from Martha so that she wouldn’t feel bad. Looking at the weather full of potential outside the truck’s window got pretty depressing. I could have had so much fun in that amusement park and instead, I was locked in that claustrophobic space with nothing to do. I told Bobbie to stay alert and if anyone in the park would quit their job I was ready to quit mine. Sorry, Martha.

We had our three favorite parking spots in our city. One with a view of the hills, one with a view of the ocean, and one with a view of the lake. Maybe we would have had more clients if we stayed more in the middle of the city, who knows? But again, Martha didn’t seem to be bothered at all, so neither was I.

The spot at the lake is the closest to my house and most of the people from that area who are my age go to the same school as I do, so a lot of the faces I saw during work were very familiar. But some of them I saw for the very first time. Like that Golden Retriever Boy. That was the first thing I noticed about him – Golden Retriever vibes. At least from the 50-meter distance that we usually had between us. He always had so many friends with him. He has too many. I don’t like them. Every other day I’d see them hanging out and wondered where were they going and what was their plan for that day. That job made a very nosy person out of me. I just hoped that nobody would notice.

The Golden Retriever Boy wore the same camel shorts every time I saw him. And I thought my sense of fashion is poor. But one day he wore different ones. Wow, look at him, spicing it up! Haha. I snorted too loudly. The boy and his friends all looked at me from across the street. Oh God, he’s looking at me. Oh my God, he’s coming here. Oh my God, what do I do? I looked at the ice cream fridge to see my reflection in the glass. It was too late to hide, so I fixed my hair and tried to act natural.

“Double vanilla for me, and single dark chocolate for a friend of mine that you’ve been checking out for the last couple of days,” he said with a bright smile on his face, kind of laughing at me. Yeah, there are three of them, who is he talking about? I eventually assumed he was talking about the girl.

“I’m sorry… I… I wasn’t… You can tell her I wasn’t,” I tried to explain myself while trying to get a proper scoop. My hands were shaky and I felt redness on my face. I can see him trying not to laugh. Like, “Dude, it shouldn’t be that hard to give me that ice cream.” And he’s right, it shouldn’t! I don’t know why I’m so nervous. I handed him the first cone and for the shortest second our fingers met. My heart’s not beating, I died. I tried to do it again with the second one, but God gave up on me, and I wasn’t so lucky this time.

“Well, I’m glad you weren’t… checking her out,” he said, still kind of laughing at me. He winked at me. Is that a friendly wink, or a passive-aggressive one?

“Nathaniel, come on! We’re gonna be late,” I heard the girl yell at him from across the street and watched him go. Is that his girlfriend? Is that why he confronted me? Okay, well, I’m just glad he happened to be chill about it.

Martha was laughing at me too. “Ugh, boys,” she shook her head.

“Yeah… Boys,” I sighed.

Nathaniel… That’s a pretty name, it suits him. Ugh, get out of my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about him that day, or the next day, or the day after that. About his messy hair, his flawless, already a little sunburnt skin, and those eyes… mesmerizing golden-brown eyes. Whenever I tried thinking about anything else I’d feel my hand still tingling from his touch. I knew I shouldn’t be giving myself false hope, but I wished he would order those stupid ice cream cones once more. I really wanted to see him again. But four days had passed, and still no sign of him.

“You’ve been quiet lately. Does that pretty boy has something to do with it, maybe?”

“Martha, stop it.”

“Oh, Ian, you’re blushing.”

“Martha, you know I will never admit it. It’s too cliche.”

“Oh, look, speak of the devil.” My body acted before I could even think. I straightened my posture, tossed my hair, and turned around. Okay, Ian, don’t act like an idiot this time.

He ordered the same flavors as before. One for him, and the other one for his friend, a guy this time. I hadn’t noticed he had freckles before. Not many, only a couple on his nose. On the inside, I was pretty tense, but I don’t think it was that noticeable this time. My hands were steady, and I could even speak full sentences.

“Hope your girlfriend didn’t think I was some kind of creep. I really wasn’t checking her out, you know?” His friend laughed out loud trying not to spit out his ice cream. Why is someone always laughing at me?

“Oh, she’s just a friend, and don’t worry about it, she didn’t really care that much.” He seemed embarrassed, I really shouldn’t have asked, it’s not really my business. But, oh my God, was I happy to hear that. I smiled, making him even more embarrassed. His friend was still repressing his laughter and for a while none of us said anything. Eventually, Nathaniel broke the silence. “We should get going, but the ice cream’s good, I’m sure I’ll be back,” he said, winking goodbye.

A day later I got a call from Bobbie saying that they’re looking for ushers again at the amusement park. “Um, you know what, Bobbie, I’m good… Yeah, I know what I said… But it’s not that boring in here after all…” Nathaniel said he’d be back. There was no way I wouldn’t have taken that chance.

He was back. A couple of times, actually. Sometimes with a friend, sometimes alone. We weren’t really talking about anything but ice cream, and I didn’t think it was my place to change that. I was at work, I really shouldn’t be making clients uncomfortable. But the time was passing by, and the butterflies in my stomach were growing bigger each day.

The next time I see him, I’m going to give him my number. That was the plan, anyway. Would he laugh at me, if I told him how I feel about him? Maybe, but you only live once, I guess. Of course, I wouldn’t be brave enough to tell him in person, so I had to figure out a plan. Don’t laugh at me, but after staying up all night, writing him a note was the best plan I came up with. I tried finding him online, but you’d be surprised how many Nathaniels live in this area. So I wrote a note and was preparing myself mentally to give it to him. I was excited, and extremely nervous, and Martha was cheering me on… but he never came back. August 14 was the last time I saw him. At least that’s what I thought.

1 YEAR LATER. 7 DAYS AFTER THE INCIDENT.

I’d done my time in the hospital and was about to leave for good. And I couldn’t wait to leave. That place was really depressing. But I couldn’t without telling him what was on my mind.

“I was really hoping you’d wake up before I had to go. I couldn’t believe when I saw you here, lying in the same ward. I thought I’d finally have a chance to get to know you. Cause I liked you, you know? I don’t know if you remember me, but we’ve met before. The ice cream truck, from a year ago? You always ordered double vanilla, remember? Cause I do. I was always hoping you would come back so that I could see your smile again, to hear your voice. I even got the courage to finally ask you out… kind of. I wrote you a note. Want to know what it said? “I like you.” And I left you my number. I remember I tried to be more poetic, but that was the only thing I had in my mind. Why did you come back? I know I didn’t even know you, we barely talked, but I really felt like I lost someone close to me. For a while, I would catch myself wondering how you’re doing, and I was sad for a while, but you know, it passed. Were you thinking about me sometimes, too? Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I only feel comfortable talking to you about it because it’s ancient history. And because you’re asleep.”

I thought that was a good time to stop talking, because deep down I didn’t think it was ancient history at all. I tried to convince myself that it was, that’s for sure, but I felt like I was playing the part of Megara from Hercules and all I could hear were the Muses singing repeatedly in my head “Who do you think you’re kidding, Honey we can see right through you,” and I felt helpless.

I got a text from my mom saying she’s waiting for me in the car, so I got up, gathered my stuff and took the last look at him. “My name’s Ian, by the way,” I said, thinking I’d never see him again. Again.

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nageki-yuki-blog · 7 years

Text

TsukiPara Drama - Chapter 3 Translation

[This chapter focuses on Kakeru and Koi and their battle with the lottery. Read on under the cut~]

[Also, Thank you to the people who sent me messages! I’m really glad that people are enjoying my translations ^w^ It’s hard finding time when I have so many college assignments but I’m going to continue doing my best! Here’s chapter 3~]

3章 – Chapter 3

駆と恋の福引大作戦！

Kakeru and Koi’s Big Lottery Strategy!

1話 – Part 1

癒しをプレゼントかあ

Giving him relaxation as a present, huh

Kakeru: Today’s “performer productivity measurement” compilation, is finally done, I’m tired~

Koi: Rather than productivity measurement, it felt more like an athletic meet.

Kakeru: Koi, your face became completely white from the candy eating competition… pff!

Kakeru: Ahahaha! The staff was really laughing about it too!

Koi: What the heck! You too, during the bread eating competition, you started biting onto even the bread from the other lines, it was so hilarious!

Kakeru: (Gulp)! So I was seen…! The bread looked so shiny and delicious…!

Koi: … Well, it did make everyone laugh.

Koi: The staff and Tsukishiro-san all praised you, so it feels like the results were a huge success… … Huh? That reminds me, where is Tsukishiro-san?

Kakeru: He said he would be waiting in the waiting room.

Koi: Oh! Well then, let’s stealthily go to his room… and let’s surprise him!

Tsukishiro: Hah… It’s no use. My shoulders are so stiff it gave me a headache… I don’t want to think about it but… I wonder if it’s because I’m getting old?

Koi: … Huh? Tsukishiro-san, he really seems to be in tired-mode? (whisper-whisper)

Kakeru: Yeah…… Now that you mention it, his complexion doesn’t look that good either. (whisper-whisper)

Koi: Are you okay~? Tsukishiro-san.

Tsukishiro: ! You scared me! You two, when did you return?

Kakeru: We returned just now. Thank you for your hard work today!

Tsukishiro: I see. I’m sorry I didn’t notice. You two also, thank you for your hard work.

Tsukishiro: In today��s photoshoot, the very lively expressions you two had were fantastic. You were very popular in the photoshoot location too. I’m really proud of you too.

Kakeru & Koi: Thank you very much!

Koi: I’m really happy about that but……

Tsukishiro: Is something wrong?

Koi: …… Tsukishiro-san, is your health okay?

Tsukishiro: Huh? … Ah, is it that…… you heard me talking to myself a little bit earlier?

Kakeru: Yes, very clearly. …… Are you okay?

Tsukishiro: Ahaha, well that’s embarrassing. It’s not that my physical condition is bad or anything. I’m just a little tired……

Tsukishiro: Thank you for your concern.

Kakeru & Koi: ……

Tsukishiro: Well then, we should get going home! After this I need to go to another location with Arata-kun and the others……

Kakeru: Alright then, we will return to the dorms!

Tsukishiro: Alright, please be careful. I’m sure you both are tired so please make sure you get enough rest, okay?

Kakeru: Tsukishiro-san, he said to us “I’m sure you both are tired so please make sure you get enough rest” but……

Koi: That’s what Tsukishiro-san should be doing.

Kakeru: Yeah…… He’s managing all 6 of us members all by himself…… It’s natural that it would be tiring.

Kakeru: If it’s possible, it would be great if we could heal him but……

Koi: Yeah that would be great……

Kakeru: Tsukishiro-san is always helping us out so we are very grateful…… We could give him a present of something that could heal his fatigue?

Koi: Giving him relaxation as a present, huh…… Hmm.

Kakeru: I can’t really think of anything good this fast.

Koi: …… For now, let’s just think about it while we are going home.

(To be Continued)

2話 – Part 2

福引いってみようよ！

Let’s go check out the lottery!

Koi: Excuse me. May I have the bill?

Shop Employee: Yes. Your total bill is 1000 en. …… And also, this is a lottery ticket.

Kakeru: Lottery ticket?

Shop Employee: Yes. Right now, if you buy things in this shopping district or purchase food or drinks, you will recieve a lottery ticket. You can try challenging yourself in getting more if you’d like.

Kakeru: Sounds like fun! Let’s go check out the lottery!

Koi: Yeah!

Kakeru: Looks like the booth is over there.

Koi: Let’s see~? The highest prize they have is a…… “2 day 1 night hot spring trip”!

Kakeru: A trip to a hot spring! That would be great, I wanna go-!

Koi: … Oh! Wait a second Kakeru!

Kakeru: What is it all of a sudden?

Koi: This hot spring, Tsukishiro-san has said before that he wanted to go to this one!

Kakeru: Huh, really?

Koi: Yeah, when I appeared on a travel variety television program, he said “I would like to visit a hot spring like that too”.

Kakeru: I see. …… Ah! This is it!

Koi: What is?

Kakeru: For the conversation we had before about giving him relaxation as a present…… This is it!

Koi: So that’s what you mean! We can get the top prize hot spring trip, then gift it to Tsukishiro-san!

Kakeru: Yes*!

[*he says this in English]

Kakeru & Koi: We’ve got no choice but to try it!!

Shop Supervisor: …… Now then, draw one ticket please.

Koi: Alright…… (pulls one out)!

Shop Supervisor: Oh! It’s a hit! You’ve got the third-rank prize of 10 kilos of rice!

Koi: Huh!? Rice!? Yay!!

Kakeru: No no no! You shouldn’t be happy about that! What about our objective……!

Koi: Huh!? Oh yeah!

Kakeru: A third-rank prize huh…… If you think about it normally, you should be happy getting a hit but.

Koi: We wanted the first-rank hot spring trip prize.

Koi: Well, of course it didn’t turn out that well~…… Boo-hoo.

Kakeru: (After that I talked to Koi about it but, we couldn’t come up with any good ideas other than the hot spring trip……)

Kakeru: (I wonder if there’s any possible way to get that hot spring trip.)

Kakeru: (But if we just spend money and buy the trip ourselves, Tsukishiro-san will feel too reserved……)

Kakeru: (If we win it in the lottery……, knowing that would help him relax the most……)

Koi: (If I can draw from the lottery a bunch of times…… It might hit the first-rank prize too but, I would also have to buy a bunch of stuff in the shopping district……)

Koi: (…… I wonder if there’s any way to get lottery tickets without buying things?)

Kakeru: I know! When I have free time between (idol) jobs I’ll work at a part-time job! And, how about if I could get paid in lottery tickets!?

Kakeru: Ah~, but, Koi, I think he was really excited for a new game that just got released……

Kakeru: …… Anyways, I’ll try getting a part-time job on my own!

Koi: Uh huh. Getting paid with lottery tickets at a part-time job, is a great idea even if I say so myself!

Koi: …… But, with Kakeru’s schedule, he seems quite busy this week……

Koi: …… Anyways, I’ll collect lottery tickets on my own! So it doesn’t cause trouble for the office, I’ll try as hard as possible to work behind the scenes.

(To be Continued)

3話 – Part 3

これも福引券のためだ！頑張れ俺！

This is also for the lottery tickets! I’ve gotta do my best!

Kakeru: ……Ma’am! I’ve finished the delivery!

Liquor Store Owner: Thank you very much, Kakeru-chan. Next can you go to Kimura-san’s house in the third district?

Kakeru: Yes! …… I haven’t done this kind of part-time job in a long time, as I thought it’s pretty fun!

Koi: …… One, two, three…… No matter how many I count…… the amount of plates I have to wash never ends!!

Restaurant Owner: New guy! Wash these extra plates too!

Koi: Okay! …… Ugh! This is also for the lottery tickets! I’ve gotta do my best!

Koi (wearing a pink bear costume): (After that I used that stimulus to work hard at my part-time jobs between my idol jobs……)

Kakeru (wearing a brown dog costume): (…… I absorbed myself in focusing on getting lottery tickets from my part-time jobs…… I’m glad that it hasn’t taken that long for me to come this far!)

Koi: (…… But after this part-time job is over, I am completely finished with no problems! With the lottery tickets I’ve gathered, I will get the hot spring trip!)

Kakeru: (but…… Today’s part-time job is an issue……)

Koi: (…… It’s too hot! I can barely breath!)

Kakeru: (Wearing an animal costume in this kind of weather is really intense!)

Event Staff: …… Alright! Get ready children! Let’s dance with the dog and his friends!

Koi: (W-We have to dance in these circumstances!? …… Th-That’s too harsh! However, I have no choice but to just do it!)

Event Staff: Wow! Bear-san, you’re really good at dancing!

Kakeru: (Huh!? Th-That bear…… Those dance steps look way too hard for being in a costume!)

Kakeru: (Grr……! I can do that too! As part of Six Gravity, I can’t lose here!)

Koi: (What!? Over there, how is he doing such sharp movements in a costume that is so difficult to move in!?)

Koi: (Cr-Crap! If this is how it’s going to be, I’ve gotta do better!)

Event Staff: B-Bear-san and Dog-san….. Y-You guys are amazing……

Koi: (How about this--!)

Kakeru: (Take this--!!)

Event Staff: H-Hey…… you guys are getting a little too close……

Koi: (H-Huh…… My eyes are getting a little……)

Kakeru: (It’s getting dark……)

Event Staff: Wa-Wait a second! Bear-san!?

Kakeru: Hmm…… Where am I?

Koi: Huh? Why am I sleeping? …… Hmm, Kakeru?

Kakeru: Koi!? What are you doing here!?

Koi: I was…… doing a part-time job wearing an animal costume, and while I was dancing I started to lose consciousness……

Kakeru: Then, that pink bear…… That was you!?

Koi: Then the brown dog was Kakerun*! …… No wonder I thought you’re movements were so good.

[*Koi’s nickname for Kakeru]

Kakeru: Ahahaha…… But why the heck were you doing a part-time job wearing a costume?

Koi: Actually…… I, really didn’t want to give up on getting the hot spring trip from that lottery.

Koi: So, I was secretly doing part-time jobs, and I thought I could get paid with lottery tickets.

Kakeru: Huh!? You too!? I’ve been doing the exact same thing.

Koi: Seriously!? …… Wow. We have the exact same way of thinking. I’m a little surprised.

Kakeru: Really, as expected of my partner!

Koi: …… Well then, let’s go together.

Kakeru: To go challenge the lottery!

(To be Continued)

4話 – Part 4

それじゃあ！レッツ福引！

Well then! Let’s do the lottery!

Kakeru: …… With both of us together, we’ve gathered this large mountain of lottery tickets.

Koi: If we have this many, Pulling the first-rank prize, is not just a dream! Probably!

Kakeru: Yeah! …… Well then! Let’s do the lottery!

Koi: …… “If we have this many, Pulling the first-rank prize, is not just a dream!”…… I also thought that for a while.

Kakeru: I didn’t think, that they would all be just consolation prizes of tissues……

Koi: Ahh! Why! We had so many so many lottery tickets and every one of them was a loser, that’s a miracle on it’s own!

Koi: …… But, if you really think about it, there’s no possible way that unlucky Kakeru-san would be able to get the best prize.

Kakeru: …… Disappointing Koi-kun boasted about an ultimate weapon, and I was hoping it would be spontaneous luckiness……

Koi: …………

Kakeru: …………

Koi: Crap! Kakeru! How many more lotteries are there after this?

Kakeru: The thing is……. We don’t have any more lottery tickets. We have a bunch of vouchers but…… we are lacking just one more.

Koi: Just one more…… Let’s look around to see if we dropped one anywhere!

Koi: Voucher…… Voucher…

Kakeru: Voucher…… Otherwise a lottery ticket……

Koi: Huh…?

Kakeru: Oh!!!

Kakeru & Koi: There’s a voucher!

Kuroda: ……

Kakeru: Wait…… This animal holding the voucher in it’s mouth is……

Koi: Ku-Kuroda!? You, why are you in a place like this!?

Kuroda: ……

Kakeru: Kuroda, is it possible that you were trying to help us…?

Koi: O-Oh! That’s gotta be it! …… Thank you Kuroda. We won’t give up until the very end!

Kakeru & Koi: Kuroda, thank you for the voucher!!

Kuroda: ……

Kakeru: Alright…… Koi! This is our last chance! Let’s challenge the lottery together!

Koi: Yeah!

Kakeru: (It’s certainly true that I may be unlucky but……)

Koi: (I may be called disappointing but……)

Kakeru & Koi: …… We always have resolve when we make a choice!

Shop Supervisor: Oh, it’s a big hit!! First-rank prize!!

Kakeru & Koi: …………

Kakeru & Koi: Yay!!

Koi: Look! Kakeru! Look at that shiny gold ball!

Kakeru: Oooh…… I’m so happy……

Koi: …… We finally did it. We got the first-rank hot spring trip prize by combining our power.

Kakeru: Yeah…… I hope Tsukishiro-san is happy about it.

Koi: He will definitely be happy! Next time we see him during a job, let’s give it to him as a present! This will be so fun!

Kakeru: Yeah! But…… that would be great but……

Kakeru: …… What should we do with this large amount of pocket tissues…?

Koi: …… A-Ahahaha!

~END~

[As I was typing this I thought, rice is such a weird prize. But then I remembered, I actually won a bag of rice in a raffle once, and THAT was the big prize. LOL. It was at a booth for some brand of rice at a convention so it made sense that they were giving away rice there. XD]

[I also seem to have bad luck with lotteries lately, or specifically the gasha in Tsukipara. I really wanted some of the Circus themed cards since I love anything circus themed and I didn’t have any (I wasn’t playing the game when that event happened) so I planned on buying a few but I ended up having to buy 5 of the 6-card gashas before I finally got one~ I spent so many Tsukino jewels though and I didn’t get Rui’s card which I wanted the most > < I got Shun’s card btw~]

[Anyways~ chapter 4 with Shun and Kai will be up next~]

#Tsukipara #Tsukipro #Tsukiuta #My translation

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imrainai · 7 years

Text

Before the Dawn, chapter one

(aka if greens won’t write stone age fic for me then I WILL DO IT MYSELF)

Warnings: There’s some sickness and blood, but nothing major.

"Eran!" screamed some kind of hobgoblin, before plopping itself down beside his bed. "Eran, it's almost lunchtime."

Eran mostly didn't care what time it was. He curled up tighter, pulling his blanket over his head. The hobgoblin made a small noise of impatience, then began peeling his blanket off. Eran was stronger, but the hobgoblin was determined, and in any case, he couldn't very well sleep while fighting over his blanket. He let go, which knocked the hobgoblin off balance and caused it to fall down a few feet away from his bed.

"Ow! That hurt, Eran!"

"It's your own fault," he muttered, trying in vain to stay warm without his blanket. The hobgoblin had succeeded at waking him up. He was upset about it, but he didn't think he could go back to sleep at this point.

The hobgoblin threw off the blanket indignantly, revealing itself as his two-year-old sister. "Just 'cause you're springing doesn't mean you can sleep all day. It's not a sickness or anything."

"Says you," muttered Eran.

"It isn't! And it's not like you're the only one! Everyone else is springing, too, and you're making things harder for them." Eran glared at her. His sister crossed her arms and glared right back. "I bet if I were springing, I wouldn't be such a baby about it. Especially once I’d had whole entire weeks to get used to it.”

"Pff. We'll see about that, won't we."

"Only if I don't die in the next two years," she said, rather dramatically. "But I think my chances of survival will be fairly slim unless someone makes sure we have enough to eat."

"You're hardly starving."

"I will be soon, if we don't get more food! You promised to show me how to use the sling right, Eran! You promised!"

"Children!" snapped Naji, scowling at both of them from the mouth of the cave. "If you're not going to contribute, you could at least avoid bothering everyone else."

Eran glared at her--being called a child seemed a particularly cruel insult right now--but he decided not to dig himself any deeper. He sat up. "Sorry. Just telling Esi to get her sling so we can practice hunting."

Esi stilled immediately. "Really?"

"Yeah. Gimme a second to eat something, then we can go."

"You are the best big brother ever," she said earnestly, before dashing off to grab her sling. The kid was easy to upset, but easier to make up with. When he wasn't being cruelly snatched from sleep, he generally considered Esi to be one of his favorite people. Her only rivals were his oldest sister, Sadha, and Sadha's second son, Sefre. Sadha got points for being the most eminently reasonable person he had ever met, as well as the group’s official midwife. It was very likely that she would become a grandmother this year. Sefre got points because, as a fairly even-keeled five-year-old, he was the person closest to Eran’s age who wasn’t an absolute prick.

Eran drank some water from his own drinking gourd, begged some stew off of Naji (who was, after all, also his sister, if a relatively less pleasant one), then grabbed his own sling and spear. He didn’t expect to use the spear, but running into something larger and meaner than a rabbit was always a possibility, and it was important to be prepared. Esi had already eaten (had, in fact, spent the morning gathering firewood and generally making herself useful), and by the time he was done, she was already prepared and balancing on the balls of her feet at the mouth of the cave.

“Good job doing your hair up this time,” said Eran, approvingly.

Esi smiled, bringing one hand up to touch the crown of purple braids on her head. She was used to having her hair done up in similar styles, but she was still practicing braiding her own hair. It had come out less lopsided than usual this time. “Sadha taught me,” she said proudly, as if he didn’t know. “It’s good this time? Like yours?”

“Uh-huh. Shouldn’t get in your way at all, as long as you stop poking at it.” She brought her hand down to her sling again, trying to focus on the task at hand. He suspected her hair looked better than his, considering that he hadn’t taken his own braids out in days, but he didn’t expect his hair to present any practical problems. “We should probably go down to the stream to get more ammunition, OK? Then we can bring water on our way back. Hopefully people will be less annoyed with us then.”

“OK!” agreed Esi. “We have to be quiet while we walk through the forest, right? So we don’t scare the game away?”

“Right. See if you can at least spot something without scaring it before we get to the stream. If you point it out, I’ll hit it for you, OK?”

Esi nodded eagerly, then ran for the trees.

“Make sure you return with her before dark,” said Naji, sternly. “And make sure you bring something back. You owe me for the stew.”

“I’ll bring you something twice as good,” promised Eran, before following his sister.

Esi knew the basics of hunting with a sling. She could often hit stationary targets from a distance of ten yards, though her accuracy got significantly worse at longer ranges. She certainly wasn’t good enough to hit anything moving, but this was to be expected. She had only just turned two, and while she’d been rather seriously practicing with the sling for around half a year, she hadn’t devoted as much time to it as Eran had at her age. She wasn’t any less diligent than he was, she just liked to be helpful. Practicing with her sling wasn’t helpful to anyone else yet, so she ended up neglecting it in favor of gathering roots or tending other people’s fires.

Even so, Esi was a good student, and when she did practice, she took it seriously. She took it even more seriously when someone else was helping her, as she didn’t want to waste anyone else’s time. They were slow to make it to the stream, as Esi couldn’t move quickly and quietly at the same time, but they did manage to make it there without making too much noise. He missed the first animal she pointed out--a squirrel that wouldn’t sit still, and which was really too far away besides--but he hit the second one, a green songbird. There wasn’t very much meat on songbirds, but they had time to hit something else, so he figured they were doing OK.

The point of going to the stream was to get smooth stones from the bottom. In a pinch, of course, you could use stones that weren’t particularly smooth, but your accuracy would suffer, so it was best to have the right kind of ammunition from the beginning. Esi knew exactly what the stones were supposed to look like, and she began gathering them without Eran having to ask her. When they had enough stones, he had Esi start trying to hit things. She consistently missed. Since he hadn’t been expecting her to hit anything, it was easy for him to avoid getting frustrated, and he focused on calmly correcting her mistakes. He stressed that it took thousands of attempts at something like this before one was able to really improve, and Esi swallowed her own frustration and accepted this. She no longer apologized for failing to hit things, but she continued to thank him for helping her.

She really was a good kid, Eran thought. He wasn’t remotely worried about her. She had patience, and that was more important than skill, at her age. Eventually she would be a perfectly competent small game hunter.

When they found a berry bush, they stopped to eat. Esi explained to him how she knew the berries were safe, as if he didn’t know. (He didn’t stop her; he figured repeating the information probably helped her remember.) After a moment she paused, thoughtfully. “Is springing actually really bad?”

Eran considered the question. “It kinda sucks if you’re not married yet. But it’ll be less bad once someone has a baby, I guess. And everyone has to go through it, and they mostly make it through OK.”

Esi nodded. “I’m sorry I stole your blanket.”

“Don’t be. I had to get up. I’m sorry you fell.”

“S’OK. Thanks for teaching me stuff.”

“Mhmm.”

He glanced at the sun through the trees, trying to decide whether they ought to head back. It wouldn’t take as long for them to return as it had for them to get here, if they stopped caring about moving quietly, but he didn’t want to be late, either. Esi was young enough not to have official responsibilities, and old enough that nobody was likely to worry about her until it got dark, so that wasn’t an issue. Eran, however, was technically an adult, and while people would tolerate moodiness at the beginning of someone’s first spring, he still didn’t want the rest of the group to be annoyed with him. He figured that sleeping all morning and hunting all afternoon for one measly songbird was a pretty good way to make everyone else annoyed with him. It would probably be best to have Esi wait for a bit while he hunted for something more filling, at which point they could return home and hope that someone else had made enough extra dinner that they could combine it with their own findings.

He was about to suggest this to Esi, but then she suddenly stilled and looked out across the river. “Eran? You hear that?”

There was no sound of rustling plant life to alert him to movement. There was only a dull moan. It sounded human.

“Wait here,” said Eran, getting to his feet. Esi ignored him and dashed off. “I said wait!”

It was a young woman, about his age, lying stomach-down in the mud. She grasped feebly at the dirt when she saw him, trying to get away, but it seemed her strength was too far gone for that. She made a noise that sounded more like a language than like mindless babbling, but he didn’t recognize the words. She was unhealthily thin, indicating that she probably hadn’t eaten enough recently. Her right leg had a bloody gash in it that didn’t look like it was healing properly. He pressed his hand against her forehead, and found that it was hot.

“She’s hurt,” said Esi.

“Yeah. I think she’s pretty far gone.”

“I bet Sadha could help her. Sadha knows a lot about helping people, right?”

“Yeah, but…” he glanced uncertainly back the way they’d come, trying to gauge the distance. “It’s a long way to carry a dying person, and I don’t think she can walk.”

“We can’t just leave her! And there isn’t time to go back and bring someone else before night!”

Eran frowned. He brushed the girl’s tangled, muddy hair out of her face. Apart from the mud and the sickness, she was kind of cute. This struck him as the sort of thing that was probably not terribly relevant information, but he noted it anyway.

Man, he hated spring. Hated the entire concept of spring.

“Eran!” insisted Esi, tugging at his shirt.

“OK, OK, I’ll see if I can carry her back. You run back and tell people what happened, and send some people to meet us so I don’t have to walk the whole way.”

Esi blinked. “By myself?”

“Yeah, by yourself, I gotta carry her. Look, you can take my spear. It’s not like I can use it while carrying her anyway.”

Esi took the spear in her hands and stared at it, as if it were a foreign object that she had no idea what to do with. He really doubted that it made her any safer, but he didn’t actually want to carry it and the girl back the whole way. “OK,” she said flatly. “I’ll come right back.”

Then she was gone. Eran turned his attention back to the injured woman. “I’m going to carry you back to the cave, OK? There are people there who might be able to help.” He assumed she couldn’t understand the words, but he hoped the tone would be reassuring. She cried out when he tried to lift her, but she was too weak to put up more than a token struggle. As soon as he’d gotten her off the ground, she went limp.

“That’s it. Rest. You’ll need your strength later. Like I said, we’re going to the cave. That’s where Esi and I live. There’s our mom, Shasa, and her father, Karel. And our sister Sadha, and our sister Naji, and their husbands, and Sadha’s three children, and Naji’s four. It’s a lot of people. We have enough to take care of someone else for a while, I think.”

The woman’s eyes drifted shut. He went on, telling her about each of his siblings in turn, and each of Sadha and Naji’s children. He really hoped she couldn’t understand him. He wasn’t terribly polite in his assessments of them, and it’d be pretty embarrassing if the girl parroted it all back to them after she came to her senses.

When Sadha and her husband arrived, they instructed him to lay her down and treat her now, rather than carrying her back further. The woman protested as Sadha washed the wound out with river water, but was too weak to stop her.

“Will she live?” asked Eran.

“I’m not sure,” said Sadha. “I think that’s up to her.”

#amenta rp #before the dawn #imrainai writes #will i finish this one? lmao probably not #but I think Eran and Esi are cute enough to post anyway

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