#picking up where i left off on the latest Scars That Heal ch be like

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

[bunny-hoodlum]

The Art of Concealment: Ch 1

My submission for NH2020 April Theme “Celebrity AU”. Read on AO3

Pairing: NaruHina Rating: Teen Genre: Modern AU, Celebrity AU, Romance, Angst & Feels Summary: Hinata is an established make-up artist and YT icon. Naruto is a wannabe actor. When they meet on set, they steadily begin to realize that maybe they don’t have to hide from each other.

"Hello everyone."

Her soft voice floats from a distant place, brushing against his ear like a kiss of cotton.

Naruto refuses to greet the sun pressing against his eyelids. Instead he takes a deep breath and sinks in deeper into his best friend's sofa.

Every morning has started off just like this.

"I apologize for the delay in content, but as you can see, I finally have my new HD camera! You can tell my complexion has been suffering lately, can't you?" She giggles.

Another voice interjects, that of his best friend Haruno Sakura, and the screech is like that of tires as a car hard brakes, and he's just been flung straight through the window.

"Suffering? Suffering?! She's still a fucking goddess!"

Naruto smacks his face with both palms and takes a sharp breath, holds his temper in his chest and lets it out in slow sputters.

Now he's awake.

Eyes open, he turns his cheek against his pillow and lets his arm drape over the side.

He really has no right to be indignant.

No other couches will take him.

"... Okay, now we're going to sweep from the apple of your cheek down to the edge of your mouth. You want to emphasize the hollows of your cheeks…"

Naruto was scared of what the results would be this time.

Once the teeth of self-pity brushed against his skin, he reached for his phone and rolled into a seated position.

He had no time for wallowing. No time for hoping things will go his way for once.

He had to make things go his way.

He didn't frown when his phone had no voicemails to display.

He did what he always did next: he called his talent agent.

Each ring depleted the air of oxygen, little by little, but he held steady.

Sakura emerged from her bedroom, smartly dressed in her-- He double-taked for half a second before regretting it and he stared at her coffee table, playing it off as if he never saw anything.

His free hand closed over his mouth to conceal his pursed lips.

In his periphery, she placed her hands on her hips, but he wouldn't look, he wouldn't say anything that would endanger his life.

Not when she looked like twenty years had been scooped out of her face.

His nose tickled as his snicker went rogue, his lips vibrated together and it was all over.

He folded over, laughing his lungs out.

I'm gonna die now.

"Narutooooo!" Fists raised, she stomped towards him and he steeled himself knowingly.

A small price for everlasting friendship. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto soaked in the tub, his phone still ringing as it laid on the side, and he sighed.

Of all the agents he had to get, it had to be a boozy skirt-chaser like him.

No doubt he was passed out in the streets with his pants down and his credit cards maxed out.

Naruto tapped the red button, cutting his fifteenth attempt short.

When he picked up his smartphone, he stared at his reflection across the black mirror, at the very face that's been getting in the way of his dreams.

Three jagged trenches, pasty white and rimmed with pink, spanned across his cheeks, from nose to ears.

His left nostril bears a divot where the middle scar begins.

The skin above his mouth and along his chin is crinkled with troughs of thin scars, his philtrum deformed and the right side of his lip clefted.

His nasal bridge is crooked, even after the surgery, and his right eyelid doesn’t close all the way, the healed skin stubborn and inflexible.

He reached up, smoothing his fingertips along the edge of his forehead. He stopped when smooth flesh met a subtle deformation. It looks like a comet and feels almost like rubber.

He still recalls the excruciating pain, the way that cigarette seemed capable to sear down to the back of his brain.

He really has no business wanting things, striving for things, in particular the admiration of others.

But he wasn't the kind of guy to settle for a Plan B.

He's good at acting.

He's really, really good at acting.

If only he was good enough to make people forget the scars. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura went to her job.

She's one of those medical device salespeople.

Pushy and overly confident.

She's very good at demonstrating the latest tech.

She showed up to his hospital room, in her fitted pantsuit and concealed panic, and every awkward attempt at encouragement somehow went back to her work.

"You know, it's entirely possible to erase the damage up to 89%. If we just move you over to Konoha University Hospital, they can--" Her words died on her tongue when he finally looked her straight in the eyes.

She must've witnessed the abyss that hides inside of him, because after that, she couldn't look him in the eyes for the remainder of her visit.

Oh, she tried to carry on a normal conversation, but then her voice cracked one too many times and she had to leave.

But it's okay now.

The way she treats him, it's the same as it's always been.

He can put on a good act, because she sets the stage for him.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Beneath an Aurora Sky ch. 11

Summary: The South Pole Station is equipped for research and Edge has always made sure things run smoothly for the inhabitants. His charges are meant to follow his rules and regulations, and in turn, he makes sure they survive in the arctic temperatures. It takes plenty of hard work and determination and Edge, along with his crew, can handle both.

He wasn’t counting on one of the newest researchers. He wasn’t expecting Rus.

Tags: Spicyhoney, First Time, Arctic AU, Hurt/Comfort

Notes: So, bourbon came up with an amazing AU and did some lovely art for it: please look at it and love it.

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four

Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten |

Read Chapter 11 on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

The next morning, Edge reluctantly resisted the temptation to go to Rus’s room and check on him. To begin with, it wasn’t really appropriate to show so much favoritism, no matter how amusing it was the others at the station. He was here to keep them safe, not entertained.

His other reason for was more for his sanity. Trying to sleep the night before had been less than successful, his mind was filled with Rus, pretty Rus and his eager kisses, wondering if that eagerness would be extended to other areas, how the soft sounds he made muffled between their mouths would be in the open air. If Edge went to him this morning, he didn’t think he’d be able to resist if Rus invited him in again and he couldn’t shirk his duties no matter the temptation.

Instead, he wasted a shower token and stood beneath cold water until his bones were chilled, dressing briskly before heading down to the dining hall. Deciding to give in to Rus’s charms didn’t mean there wasn’t a great deal of work he needed to get done today and tonight…well, he would deal with that when it came.

The obscene pun that floated through his thoughts was firmly pushed aside, along with the mental picture of his brother grinning at it. A stroke of luck that Red was vanishingly unlikely to be up for breakfast this morning; his healing sessions took a toll and much as Red hated enduring them, he was usually happy to take advantage of the excuse to sleep in.

In the dining hall, the large table was already mostly filled, and to Edge’s surprise, one of the benches held Rus. He skipped breakfast regularly and after last night, Edge expected the same, the drunken flock that followed Undyne sleeping off whatever hangover they’d been granted.

His worries earlier about being invited into Rus’s bed now looked to have been for naught. Rus looked rather wan, his skull a shade paler than normal. It was a match to the other scientists who’d been with them the night before, the three of them looking more like extras in a polar zombie film than researchers. Breakfast this morning was a hearty porridge with plenty of topping to add, syrups and jams, berries grown in the hydroponic gardens and a dish of chopped dried fruit. Delicious and filling, perfect for dealing with the subzero temperatures, but those three were stirring their bowls apathetically more than attempting to eat any of it. Rus was slouched over his dish, his skull propped up on one hand and his sockets closed.

Unlike Undyne, who was shoveling in her portion eagerly, her bowl heaped high with all the fixings. She swallowed before flashing Edge a sharp-toothed grin. “Morning, boss!”

“Good morning,” Edge said evenly to the table in general. There were several empty seats he could have chosen. A message was being sent by taking the one directly next to Rus, and while Undyne surely got it from the way her needle grin widened, Rus didn’t seem in much condition to appreciate it.

Edge leaned over to him to ask softly, “How are you feeling, Rus?”

One of his sockets opened with a nearly audible creak, the pale eye light bleary and tinged orange. “thinkin’ about changing my middle name to regret.”

A mumble of agreement came from the others further down the table. Those two were leaning against each other, one holding up the other and Edge felt a faint jealous pang that he couldn’t do the same for Rus. No matter that a relationship with any of the researchers wasn’t against the rules—they were all adults and could choose to share whatever beds they liked—but some decorum was necessary. His command of the others depended on it.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t offer some soothing, and while he was trying to decide where he could safely touch Rus in front of the others, the kitchen door opened. Bonnie emerged, ducking a little to avoid clipping her long ears against the doorframe and carrying a tray of steaming cups. That in itself was unusual; coffee was readily available at all times in vast quantities, one of the largest supplies they ordered. She only set a one of the mugs in front of Rus and the other two in front of those who’d made the mistake of taking Undyne up on her offer of a drink.

What is that? Edge signed, warily curious, but Bonnie only gave Rus a light nudge, pointing to the cup.

Rus sat up straight, blinking, then took the cup and sniffed it. He cringed, his face clearly reflecting what he thought of the contents. He started to sign something, paused, and made a shoving aside gesture to begin again. He was facing away from Edge who only caught flashes of his hands, but Bonnie was watching him, her scarred face twisted with amusement.

When Rus finished, she shook her head and pointed firmly at the cup again. Whatever it was, Bonnie wasn’t taking no for an answer, and Rus sighed exaggeratedly, picking up the cup again. His face scrunched again in distaste, but he swigged back the contents, coughing and gagging lightly as he swallowed it.

The mug was nearly slammed to the table as Rus quivered, scrambling for his water glass and downing half the contents. By now, everyone was watching him, mostly with a sort of dismayed awe, or in Undyne’s case, glee, except the young women from the night before. Their horrified looks kept darting from Rus to their own mugs to Bonnie, who was waiting patiently for them to drink it.

“it does help,” Rus rasped out, flicking his bony finger against the mug. The ceramic chimed lightly. “old monster recipe, you’ll feel a lot better after. only problem is you need to drink it for it to work.”

“Is it safe for humans,” one of the women asked uncertainly. She was peering into the cup, attempting to identify the murky contents.

“oh, sure, it’s fine. you’ve all had a recent tetanus shot, right?” Her head snapped up and Rus laughed. Some color was starting to return to his skull and that alone was a good testimony, “kidding, kidding, yeah, there’s nothing in it that isn’t food-worthy. it’s just not usually mixed together. don’t think about it too hard, get it down the hatch, keep it down, and it’ll help.”

Edge fully expected them to both decline and instead, head back to their rooms to search out whatever analgesic they’d brought with them. It was certainly a surprise, and a pleasant one at that, when both of them clinked their mugs together in a sort of toast before slugging back the contents.

True to Rus’s word, getting it down was the most difficult part. Sweat broke out on their faces immediately, their eyes nearly bulging as they gagged down the sludgy liquid. Everyone was watching them avidly, taking in the latest episode in this ongoing drama as both women managed to swallow it, slamming down their mugs in triumphant unison.

“water,” Rus called, “trust me!”

Again, as one they scrabbled for their glasses, drinking them down and by the time they’d finished, some of their pallor was already receding.

“That actually helped,” the first woman said, wonderingly. She turned to Bonnie and her signing was awkward, one speaking by rote rather than a learned language, but it was still a recognizable ‘thank you’.

Bonnie’s smug expression flashed with shock. Unsurprising, no other researcher who had come to their station ever bothered trying to communicate to her in her own language. They took their food as their due, their heads and thoughts buried in their notes. Rus was the first exception, but a Monster speaking in hands wasn’t nearly as astonishing as a Human. Bonnie signed back ‘you’re welcome’, every movement slow and deliberate, chosen for one who was not fluent, and the Human woman smiled with delight, awkwardly mimicking until Bonnie nodded in satisfaction.

With a huff, Bonnie gathered up the mugs and disappeared back into the kitchen, paying no mind to the astonishing scene she was leaving behind.

Another researcher, one of the climatologists, spoke up, “You said it was an old Monster cure. Do you happen to have the recipe?” He already had a pen in hand, poised over a blank sheet of paper, but Rus shook his head.

“sorry,” Rus smiled wryly. “i can’t boil water without causing an incident and bonnie probably isn’t going to share her trade secrets.” Almost, Edge expected some belligerence, the common reaction when telling a Human researcher that he wasn’t allowed to know something; recipes, Alphys’s research, the Core. But he took it well, only sighing in mock disappointment and set his pen aside.

“If you want to try it yourself, I bet Undyne would be more than happy to help out,” the other woman said wryly. She was starting to show more interest in her oatmeal, spooning up a mouthful.

Laughter rounded the table, Undyne’s the loudest of all, “You bet, come on down to the kitchen tonight, nerd, I’ll show you some real research.”

More laughter, and Edge could hear the warm rasp of Rus’s, throaty and charming, so close to him. The table settled down, everyone digging back into their breakfasts. Even Rus, who began adding brown sugar and berries to his bowl, stirring it into a sugary sludge. He was left-handed, Edge realized, his right hand resting on the table between them as he spooned up mouthfuls of porridge. Sitting next to him was a message of its own and Edge knew that lightly settling his ungloved hand over Rus’s was another, not quite twining their fingers together, allowing for escape.

Rus stilled briefly, his spoon hovering in the air between the bowl and his mouth, dribbling porridge. Then he moved, but not to pull away. He only turned his hand over, meshing their fingers together and if it was slightly awkward trying to eat while holding hands. Edge found that he didn’t mind.

He could feel the weight of Undyne’s stare, her palpable satisfaction, but she said nothing, only helped herself again to the porridge pot, piling her bowl high with fruit and a heavy douse of syrup.

Edge’s own bowl was plain, with only a little dried fruit stirred in, but eating it was satisfying, and scraping up the last of it came far, far too soon.

~~*~~

Today was one of Edge’s days to work in the hydroponic gardens and normally he enjoyed it, picking over the plants for dead leaves, gathering the produce Bonnie requested for the evening meal.

But now with his thoughts lingering on his possible evening, the damp air seemed aggravating, too warm and claggy, clinging uncomfortably to his bones. Edge never claimed to be one of great imagination, but some heretofore undiscovered creative side of his thoughts seemed eager to suddenly prove their skill, offering him sly images of what Rus would look like it his bed, his pale bones against Edge’s sheets.

Ridiculous thoughts; he hadn’t even asked Rus if he would be interested yet. It could very well be that he had time-sensitive research ongoing and he didn’t have time to spare for Edge’s whims. Flirtations aside, that was what Rus was here for and it would be a very expensive waste for him to neglect it in favor of a little indulgent bed play.

The truth of that had no effect on Edge’s libido and while once it had been dormant, only showing itself on the rare occasions that Edge woke in the mornings to find a need for a little self-service, now it was well and truly roused. Demanding satisfaction in the form of a tall, slender skeleton with a soft laugh and teasing smile.

The crackle of the radio interrupted his untoward thoughts, his brother’s staticky voice coming out, “boss, you need to come down to the radar, right now.”

“On my way,” Edge said, already sliding on his coat. He bundled up hastily, hunching against the wind as he crossed over to the main building. The radar was in a room off the main entrance, meant for easy access. There was another in Alphys’s lab and he was sure she was looking at it with the same bleak dismay as Red and Undyne when Edge came in.

He didn’t bother shedding any of his outdoor gear, boots leaving puddle on the floor as he demanded, “Report.”

“There’s a storm blowing in,” Undyne said grimly. She tapped the screen where a large blob of red glowed. “We didn’t get an alert earlier because it wasn’t supposed to head this way. Looks like it decided to take a detour.”

“Who is still out?” Edge snatched away the sign-out sheet when Undyne held it out, scanning it.

“The seal gals are already in, I saw them coming in when I grabbed the sheet, I just didn’t give them a chance to sign off. But boss,” she pulled up the last sheet, tapping the surprisingly tidy signature at the bottom. “Rus went out to Checkpoint #3 after breakfast and he ain’t back yet.”

“He could be heading back right now,” Red pointed out.

“Or he could be standing out there with his ass hanging out and have no idea what’s coming,” Undyne countered. Her voice was sharp as her teeth, rich with concern. “We can’t reach him on the radio, but that station’s behind a ridge, communications have always been shit. Or the snow could already be interfering. Alphys’s been working on it, but—"

“I’m going out,” Edge announced abruptly. He tossed the sign-out sheet down on the table with a clatter as he pulled his gloves back on.

“Boss—“

But he was in no mood to hear their protests. “Even if Rus is headed back, he drives so slowly, he wouldn’t be back in time to beat the storm. He won’t make it if I don’t go out there.”

“you go out now, you’re staying out,” Red warned. His eye lights were dark, implacable. “unless you bump into him right outside the door, when you find him, you get to one of the shelters. don’t try to head back, not even in the cat.”

“I don’t need you to tell me how to handle a rescue,” Edge snapped, turning to the door. “keeping the researchers safe is my job!”

“Our job,” Undyne cut in, stilling him, “and no, you don’t. But you’re pretty damn fond of the fashion victim and you don’t have the distance you usually do.” Neither of them so much as flinched from his temper, following behind him. “Red’s right, you two will be safer in a shelter than trying to head back, you’d do better to shack up. Take one of the Core kits, just in case.”

“they ain’t been fully tested,” Red protested.

“They’ve been tested enough,” Undyne countered. She briskly unlocked one of the storage lockers, pulling out one of the units. It was the size of a lunch box but much heavier, a compact version of the Core that Alphys had been designing and tweaking. At the moment there were only a few locked up and scattered around the buildings in case of emergency. “It can work as a heat source. The shelters all have kerosene heaters anyway, but this works a hell of a lot better and if it doesn’t, you’ll still have the others as a backup.”

He took it, balancing the weight in his gloved hand even as Red eyed it warily. His brother shook himself visibly and said, “if you’re going, you need to get gone, bro. take any of the snowmobiles, they’re all fueled up and checked over. be fucking careful.”

“I will,” Edge promised. He dared to lay a hand on his brother’s skull, gloves scruffing over the knit cap that covered his injuries. But that was all and he turned on his heel, heading back out.

There was nothing but white emptiness on what little view there was of the hardpacked snow that made up the roads, no signs of the headlights of the Cat heading in. He hurried to the vehicle shed and the snow was already falling as Edge turned the snowmobile towards Checkpoint #3, obscuring his vision through his goggles. He knew the route well and didn’t hesitate, the headlight cutting through the darkness as he pushed the machine to its limits, the engine roaring over the sound of the wind.

There was a little time yet and he would need all of it.

tbc