#platonic hugging

[thenoellebird]

Something I wrote

supposed to be for right after D&D&more D (the episode)

Its a nice little wholesome hug fic. Not exactly reconciliation but hey.

Hope you enjoy.

FOR THE RECORD:

ALL OF THIS IS PLATONIC, and if anyone tags it or IMPLIES OTHERWISE, I will BLOCK YOU! There's NO MERCY offered here.

if you're a proshipper, don't interact with my stuff.

____

After setting the rift back in his desk, Ford heaved a sigh as he looked at the remnants of the portal that still needed to be taken apart.

He put a hand on the metal door that led to the portal room, but hesitated, feeling exhausted from the events of the day.

A second later, the elevator dinged and Dipper came running back into his lab, a smile on his face.

“Great-Uncle Ford! It’s dinner time–you did say ‘call me for dinner’ earlier, right?” Dipper said altogether too quickly. Ford stared at him a moment, processing what he’d just heard and then shook himself.

“Oh! Yes, yes I did,” Ford said quickly. Dipper nodded excitedly and ran over to the elevator, Ford following with slower movements.

They were both silent for the elevator ride, and then climbing up the stairs–it was as though they didn’t know what to say to each other. Ford felt awkward and put his hands behind his back.

He cleared his throat as he pushed open the hidden door. “So. What did Stanley make for dinner?”

“He says it’s ‘tuscan chicken.’ Mabel and I have had it before, a month ago, I think. It was really good,” Dipper informed him with a bright, eager smile.

Ford made a noncommittal sound as they entered the kitchen. The aroma in the kitchen was warm and inviting, and Ford hoped that the food tasted as good as it smelled.

Mabel was already sitting at the table and Stan was walking over with two plates, and there were two more on the counter behind him. He set one steaming plate in front of Mabel, who was kicking her legs beneath the table since her feet didn’t yet touch the floor, and he set the other that he was holding in front of Dipper who sat up straight, looking eager and hungry. The young boy picked up his fork almost as though he was hoping nobody else would notice that he’d done so, glancing at his sister, who was patiently waiting for Stanley.

Stan smiled at Mabel as he came back to the table and slid one of the remaining two plates in front of Ford and took the last for himself.

“Alright, kiddos,” he said with a smile, reaching over and ruffling Mabel’s hair affectionately, and then turning to Dipper and knocking his hat askew. Dipper laughed and fixed his hat as his sister giggled and then they both immediately started eating. Stan chuckled as he watched them for a moment, simply enjoying the delighted expressions on the kids’ faces as they ate his cooking.

Ford, in turn, watched Stan for those few seconds, then, realizing that he was staring and that staring was considered rude in this dimension, turned his gaze to his food. He’d had difficulty with food for a few days after getting home, but he was starting to eat more regularly now, generally eating whenever the kids would–and generally eating whatever Stanley made for them. Stan had quickly caught on and had evidently started making enough for Ford, for which he was grateful.

But if he said “thank you” to Stanley, it might be taken the wrong way, so he refrained from speaking that phrase around his brother.

Ford took a bite of the tuscan chicken only to realize it tasted even better than it smelled. He gave a small sigh of satisfaction just after he swallowed. Thankfully Stanley was already eating his own dinner and not watching Ford.

He didn’t want to make a big deal out of liking the dish, but he couldn’t really help enjoying it. And as he did, he found himself staring out the window, wondering why he was so out of it.

At first, he’d chalked it up to exhaustion from the events of the day–since he’d spent it being chased by a wizard from his favorite game and nearly getting killed by ogres and almost having his brains eaten by said wizard–but he’d realized as he started eating that this wasn’t the case.

He’d also tried to chalk up his increased disconnection to stress, but it seemed that the stress and the disconnection stemmed from the same thing.

Ford didn’t figure out what it was until dinner was over and the twins were helping Stan clean up.

He saw Stan put a hand on Mabel’s shoulder and place a kiss on the top of her head before sending her off to play and he saw Stan lift Dipper up and set him on a chair so he could better reach the dishes he was attempting to wash.

He saw Stan flick water on Dipper and Dipper splash Stan right back, and saw the two of them laugh together. He saw Stan’s hand on Dipper’s head, ruffling his hair and saw Stan holding his nephew in a gentle hug before sending him off to play with his sister.

He saw Stanley drying the dishes with a small smile on his face, the light of joy still in his eyes. Stan wiped off the plate he was drying and smiled at it, but Ford could tell exactly what was on his mind.

And Ford now knew exactly what he wanted.

He wanted Stanley to touch his shoulder. He wanted Stan to splash him and splash his twin right back. He wanted to laugh with Stan and feel the warmth of his brother’s embrace around him.

He just wanted a hug.

Ford could’ve thrown himself into the bottomless pit out of embarrassment. He was still sitting frozen at the table, unable to speak or move due to his sudden realization. Stan was just finishing putting away dishes when he spotted Ford.

“Whatcha doin’ in here, Poindexter?” Stan asked gruffly, the smile fading off his face as the light of the leftover joy from the twins’ presence left his eyes, leaving them sad and cold. Ford shivered.

There’s no way I can…just…ask him for a hug. There’s no way I can just ask him to touch me.

Mabel would give you a hug if you asked her. She’d give you one even if you didn’t. Dipper might even hug you. Why can’t you go talk to them?

But…But I want Stanley to hug me.

It was so childish. So stupid. So incredibly simple and illogical that Ford decided he hated the feeling.

“Hey there, didja hear me?” Stan asked, waving a hand in front of Ford’s face. Ford slowly looked up at him, feeling more disconnected and lonely than ever.

“I–I didn’t–” Ford muttered, feeling anxious and awkward. “I–I’m not–I’m n-not sure–” Ford felt himself stutter and immediately got frustrated with himself. Professional scientists did not stutter. They stated their facts and observations clearly, with precision. No unnecessary words or stammering.

Stan looked at him quizzically. “Nobody’s takin’ time away from ya, Six. You can think over your words, if ya want to.”

Ford huffed. “I shouldn’t have to, Stanley, I’m a scientist, we’re supposed to be well-spoken,” Ford said quickly, regaining his ability to speak.

Ford looked down at Stan’s large strong arms and suddenly wished his brother would just reach around him and hug him tightly.

It was a burning sensation in his chest. He couldn’t remember being touched gently in the portal. And he just knew that Stan still gave the best hugs.

Stan scoffed at Ford’s statement and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Just tryna help, I guess,” he muttered more to himself than to his brother, turning away and walking back to the counter.

No, no, no! Say something! DO SOMETHING!

Ford stood up and followed Stan, standing a few feet away from him, fidgeting nervously with his hands as emotions welled up inside him.

Stan didn’t notice for a moment as he started the dishwasher, but he jumped slightly when he turned around, clearly expecting Ford to still be at the table.

“Dang, Poindexter, what do you want?” Stan asked, cocking his head to the side. “Just say it!”

“I–I’m–” Ford tried, but he couldn’t get the words out.

“Come on, Ford, you’re a well-spoken scientist, apparently. Just let it out,” Stan said, rolling his eyes.

He was about to cross his arms. Ford knew he would cross his arms, and then Ford would never be able to hug him.

Ford’s breathing became shallow and his breath hitched as emotions made tears well up in his eyes.

Before Stan could cross his arms, Ford stepped across the few feet separating them and fell onto his brother, throwing his arms clumsily around Stan and pressing his face against his twin’s shoulder, bringing them chest to chest, holding the back of Stan’s suit tightly in his fists.

Stan froze completely for a moment. But then Ford felt all of Stan’s muscles relax as his brother wrapped his big arms around Ford, just like Ford wanted.

Stan was warm. So warm. And safe. Ford snuggled against his shoulder with a loud, embarrassing sniff. Stan’s arms were strong and warm and just like Ford had imagined. The burning pain of the longing was satiated and he felt like he was no longer on fire. The warm contact from his brother was solving his problem so easily, it was as though there hadn’t been one in the first place.

Ford felt himself melting into Stan’s hug like it was the easiest thing in the world. Stan’s arms tightened around him, squeezing him just enough that the pressure felt comforting. Ford closed his eyes and let his tears fall as he let Stan hold him.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I should’ve asked.”

“No need,” Stan said gruffly. “I’ll always hug my brother, if he wants me to.”

Ford gripped Stan’s suit jacket more tightly. “I don’t want to let go. I’m…I’ve been alone…for…”

“It’s alright. I get it. This might be hugging, but we’re not fixed,” Stan told Ford softly. “But that doesn’t matter right now. You’re my brother. That’s what matters. So I’m going to hug you till you don’t need me to.”

“And if I said that maybe I need you to keep hugging me for the next few days?” Ford asked, unable to disguise the hope in his voice.

“Then I’ll hug you,” Stan murmured, leaning his head against Ford’s comfortably.

Ford shivered where he stood. “Can we keep it to ourselves and not tell the kids?” he whispered.

“Yeah, sure.”

A moment later, Stan was pushing Ford out of the wonderful hug. Ford’s body started burning with longing again and he whimpered, reaching for Stan.

“Ah, ah, ah. Come on. I got a better idea. Follow me,” Stan told him softly, putting his arm around Ford’s shoulders. “Come on.” He steered Ford out of the kitchen, past the living room where the kids were playing, and into Stan’s bedroom. “Come on, go lay down,” Stan told him, pushing him gently towards the bed as he shut the door.

Ford walked over and gingerly sat down on the bed, feeling like he didn’t belong.

But Stan obviously thought he did, because he sat down beside Ford and opened his arms. Ford clambered into his twin’s embrace eagerly and didn’t object when Stan lay down and pulled him close.

“This is much easier,” Stan sighed comfortably. “There we go. That wasn’t so bad, was it? And now you can be close to me while I nap.”

Ford sighed contentedly and muttered something about napping too, but Stan only chuckled at him. Ford snuggled his head in Stan’s chest and Stan cuddled him closer, rubbing his hand up and down Ford’s back comfortably, brushing his curly gray hair away from his face.

“I love you, Ford,” he heard Stan whisper. And then–wonder of wonders–he felt pressure on the top of his head and knew that Stan had kissed him on the head, just like he would do with Mabel and Dipper.

Ford didn’t acknowledge it and just relished in the cuddling.

Their relationship might not have been fixed, but this…

…this was more than acceptable for now.

___

thanks for reading this random fluff drabble I wrote! I wasn't sure if it was long enough for Ao3. I'll probably repost it anyway tho. Hope you enjoyed!

[ushouldwatchhaikyuu]

Tobio Kageyama's thing with hugs

Part one: Winning euphoria (Nishinoya & Kageyama)

summary: Kageyama has a thing with hugs. Sure, he's touch starved enough to appreciate any form of physical affection- but there's something about hugs that does things to his chest. Things he'd never say out loud. Things that, eventually, he says anyway.

(aka. kageyama has a thing for hugs. he & the other karazuno boys realize this, after a few particular situations where each of the members hugs kageyama for the first time. based on this post)

Warnings: cussing

Okay, so in hindsight, Nishinoya realizes that perhaps jumping onto Kageyama and hugging him out of nowhere was not the brightest thing to do.

And he probably knew that much even before doing it, but he just... didn't really think, to be honest. His chest was rumbling with the excitement of having won their first match of the tournament, and his hands tightened into fists as he celebrated, shouting at the top of his lungs. He could very strongly feel the burn of his stomach, having quickly dived to save the ball before their last point, but he loved it. And so he did what he always does whenever he's excited; he jump-hugged one of their teammates.

Why Kageyama, you may ask? Why not Tanaka, who was just screaming just as loudly as him at the excitement winning? or Hinata, who was also very loud when it came to celebrating, and who was certainly very open to physical affection? Even Suga, who was also loudly cherring for them over at the bench, and who was always happy to comply whenever any of the team members wanted a hug?

Well. Perhaps Noya's first excuse would be to say that Kageyama was the closest to him at the moment. But he knew very well that, with his quickness to get from one side of the court to the other, that fact wouldn't have kept him from running over to any of the other members to hug them- as he usually did, really. He doesn't quite know what got to him then- all he knows is in that moment, feeling the raging euphoria of winning and remembering this is why he fucking loves volleyball, the person that came to his mind was Kageyama.

Kageyama, who was oh so reserved, and put on such an stupid fake act of being mean and quiet and being annoyed by his teammates. Kageyama, who worked himself to fucking shambles, who would give anything for his teammates without a second of doubt. Kageyama, genius player Kageyama, who was probably superior to any of them in terms of ability- and yet.... Kageyama, who was maybe the one who worked the hardest out of all of them to get better. To win.

Kageyama, who had taken the ball Nishinoya had barely managed to get up, and somehow turned it into the textbook definition of a perfect set for Hinata to strike, winning them the matchpoint, and allowing them to play the next game tomorrow.

So. Why Kageyama? Nishinoya couldn't really answer, if someone asked. But there was something in his heart that yelled at him to hug that stupid boy the second they won, and he always listened to his heart.

So, he went for it.

He barely registered making his way up to the setter. He jumped without even thinking about it, and his arms wrapped tightly around the other boy's neck, squeezing him and putting his whole bodyweight onto him as he hung there for a bit. A loud laugh erupted from his chest at the pure happiness of winning. His eyes had probably gotten teary as well, but he didn't bother hiding it- the sweat dripping from his face would conceal it well enough. And, honestly, he honestly just couldn't give less of a shit about it, in that moment.

All he was thinking about was how happy he was, and how, if he was really honest with himself, his happiness was partially thanks to Kageyama.

So, he just hugged him tightly. Even as the others stared at them, dumbfounded. Even as Kageyama himself looked at him in utter shock, eyes widening and hands rising up instinctively, but stopping right before doing anything- before pushing away.

It took him a few seconds to snap out of his excitement to get back on his feet and look up at the setter, a smile still on his face and arms still wrapped around him as he was hit by the realization of what he was doing.

He froze.

He wasn't sure if he imagined it, but he thinks he might've seen Kageyamas eyes tear up as well.

Right before he could let go and blurt out a nervous apologize, or some sort of joke to brush off his sudden show of affection, the libero felt a pair of warm, strong arms wrapping around him, ever so gently. He almost thought he could feel the other's hands shake slightly for a second. He seemed unsure- almost careful. Like Nishinoya would suddenly slip away if he hugged him just slightly too tight.

The look Kageyama gave him was mostly unreadable. There was something deep within his eyes. Something like fear, or like fondness. The setter dared to give him a small, shy smile. They looked at each other for what must've been barely a few seconds, but Nishinoya felt like they stared into each other for minutes- like he could suddenly see into Kageyama's mind. Or perhaps it was his heart.

Whatever it was, the reality was it only lasted a second, before he burst out laughing in a mix of happiness, excitement and surprise. He hugged Kageyama even tighter and the setter let out a small gasp as Noya pressed his face against his chest. He could feel Kageyama's heart beating loudly, and it almost matched the loudness of his own heartbeat.

And just like that, Nishinoya gave Kageyama the first hug he'd ever recieved from any of his teammates.

Not the last one, though. That was for sure.

—

idk how many chapters i'll make of this lol. might just make one for each karazuno boy. might make more/less. idk. tbh i dont have any plans, im just happy i got over my writer's block and finished this first chapter after like. two years of not writting. LMFAO

masterlist / next chapter

[shaotie]

What D.I.D I Do Wrong? - Short 3

Healing Powers - Chapter 2

"Eight months!?" Splinter exclaimed in surprise after Raph told him and his family the news Draxum hastily shared with the eldest brother before portalling back home to resume his required bed rest.

Everyone was there but Donnie - who refused to leave Leo's side after what he dubbed 'the incident', absolutely insisting someone come take his place for the few brief moments he had no choice but to leave to use the washroom (with Mikey and Raph each lovingly bringing his meals to him and sitting with Leo when it was there turns even though Donnie never left his twin's side).

Leo didn't yet know anything about Draxum's mystic scan or the results Raphael was currently sharing with their family - that he had aged ten months in the time frame his brothers aged two, meaning he had been inside the prison dimension for eight - because he had been stuck in the catatonic void for the past two days it took for Draxum to properly combine all the ingredients Mikey picked up for him to perform the spell that brought to light how long Leo really was in the prison dimension with Krang Prime.

Everyone gave themselves time to let the weight of that news settled into their hearts and minds, and then April was the first to speak up - with her voice crackling a little from the tension when she asked: "How was he still alive!?"

"Krang have healing powers."

Casey spoke those words so solemnly he could have been taken for a preacher giving a eulogy at somebody's funeral.

All eyes were on the future boy who was born in and survived through a krang dominated apocalyptic earth, while he kept his two eyes firmly fixed on his honorary sister as he continued answering her question in a speech that sounded like a commander sharing important intel with his subordinates, because of the seriousness of this subject.

(Which sounded an awful lot like future Master Leonardo when he had important news to share and it was imperative that everyone pay close attention to his every word)

And the way his eyes glazed over told them he was reliving the experience in his mind's eye.

"I was part of a recon group. We were sent to find out why our sister camp stopped responding to our requests for updates. What we found was..."

Casey's watery eyes threatened to overflow with tears so he shut them and lowered his head for a moment to help him regain composure of himself so he could keep going.

"The krang found their camp," he continued, keeping his head pointed down and his eyes closed because this was getting to be too much for him.

"They kept them alive just so they could torture them over and over again, to punish them for being part of the resistance, and to send a clear message to anyone else who tried to fight against them."

Casey took a deep breath, switched over to his soldier mentality to give him the strength he needed to continue, and opened his eyes again - this time pointing his face at Raphael as he clenched his fists from the anger he felt at what the monstrous krang aliens did to innocent people, and went on.

"Krang can use their assimilation tendrils to heal. We managed to get some people out, but we couldn't..." he got choked up and had to stop to clear his throat, "we couldn't get them all so Master Donatello bombed the place to end their suffering. The people we rescued were never the same."

The room fell silent again as everyone hung their heads, letting the gravity of those words and this situation with their beloved brother sink in.

They had spend two months not understanding why Leo had taken the events of the alien invasion harder than the rest of them. Despite not knowing why he routinely screamed bloody murder in between going completely catatonic for days at a time - and without really knowing what he needed because they didn't know why this had been happening to him - they had each shown him love and patience. Including Donnie. Up until his angry outburst that led to Leo crying out for him to stay and subsequently succumbing to the void for the past two days.

This time when someone spoke it was Mikey, who asked: "Who's gonna tell Donnie?"

Immediately five sets of hands went up (including Mikey's) with a chorus of: "Not it!" leaving Raph standing there staring dumbfounded at his fam, before frowning at his dad - whose hand was still up - and grumbling: "Really Pops?"

Splinter let out a nervous laugh as he lowered his hand and timidly gave as his excuse: "The last time I gave Purple bad news he set up my tv so I could only get nature documentaries for two weeks."

With a roll of his eyes Raph grumbled: "I guess Raph's the one who's telling him," and turned around to walk away and share this tragic news with his already remorseful younger brother.

🔹🔹🔹

~The Next Day~

Leo wasn't quite sure what roused him from the void but the first sensation he noticed was the comforting body warmth of someone laying beside him and the gentle breath tickling his shoulder on every exhale from whoever was laying in bed with him (that someone most definitely not being krang because every part of that alien monster was squelchy and cold)

It took a few minutes for him to become aware enough of his surroundings that he knew he was in his bedroom, and then he turned his head to see the sleeping frame of his twin brother actually laying in bed beside him for the first time since the invasion (that he knew of), facing him with an arm draped over his body.

Leo's eyes initially widened from surprise but then he was quick to roll onto his side to grasp Donnie in a hug - squeezing him as tightly as he could muster both for the comfort it provided and how it helped keep him grounded in the moment.

'You're real, you're real, you're real, you're real, you're real...'

Donnie woke up as soon as Leo rolled over and proceeded to squeeze him back just as tightly - blubbering and muttering: "I'm sorry Leo, I'm so sorry I left you alone, It'll never happen again I promise!"

'...you're real, you're real, you're real, you're real...'

Donnie was real, which meant Leo was really here.

Meaning he was not there.

"Yes yes I'm real Nardo, I'm real," Donnie reassured, helping Leo come to the realization he had actually been faintly whispering those words of self-reassurance through the tears of gratitude.

"Leo we didn't know, ok? We didn't know," Donnie next blurted out, squeezing his brother tighter before adding: "I didn't know..."

"You're real, you're real, you're real, you're real..."

"...We thought it was just a few minutes for you..."

"...you're real, you're real, you're real..."

"...but it wasn't, and..."

"...you're real, you're real..."

"...now that we know what you're going through we can get you the help you need."

"...you're real."

Without pulling out of their hug, Donnie leaned his head back far enough so that he could look in Leo's eyes when he firmly but kindly told him:

"Yes Leo, I'm real."

Leo instantly stopped his muttering and went to mush in Donnie's arms, tears of relief and joy continued falling from his eyes, and he pulled Donnie close to sob on his shoulder for a good, long time - until exhaustion took over and (as opposed to succumbing to the void) he fell into a deep, satisfying sleep in his twin brother's arms.

🔹🔹🔹

~Two Days Later~

Leo was sitting on the edge of his bed, feeling a little wobbly but he had been awake and aware more than usual over the past two day and was doing good overall with his current grounding - thanks to his little brother's help.

At the moment Mikey was with him, and although Donnie did his best to spend every spare moment with his twin brother, he couldn't stay with him all day and night and was currently having a shower.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mikey questioned, watching Leo carefully with his hands out, ready to catch him if he fell after taking his first steps since coming home the day of the invasion (ten months ago for him, during which the first eight he was basically floating in an endless darkness).

Leo kept his eyes down on his lap and nodded his head, wanting a change of scenery, wanting to leave this room and join his family in the living room for their Jupiter Jim movie they had been planning to watch in Leo's room with him.

It couldn't be that hard to walk the short distance from his bedroom to the living room, right? All he had to do was walk through the rec room, past Donnie's lab, and voilà, there he would be in the living room, ready to huddle up in a turtle pile with his bros, chow down on popcorn, watch JJ shoot some alien creeps in the face with his atomic deatomizer, and try his best not to succumb to the void (at least not until after it was over and he was back in his own bed).

How hard could it be?

Mikey had brought in a walker they had in the med bay in addition to the cane Leo asked for when he typed out the message on his phone that he wanted to walk to the living room (because his throat still seized up and his jaw clamped shut whenever he tried to speak, so that although he was making progress in that area he still wasn't able to say much more than a few words here and there).

Although nervous about his brother (who had been bed ridden for two full months) falling, Mikey didn't object any further and pushed the walker up to Leo, but the slider shook his head, pushed it away, and stubbornly reached out for the cane laying up against his bed beside him instead.

"Ok, but promise me you'll use the walker if it gets to be too much for you," Mikey nervously insisted. Leo gave him a thumbs up, forced himself to let out a hushed, raspy: "You got it bro," to try and reassure his little brother that he was more that up to the challenge and...

How did he get here?

Leo blinked into awareness before looking around in a dazed confusion and coming to the understanding that he was leaning heavily on the walker, standing about five feet away from his bedroom entrance with Mikey by his side.

Did he...

Did he do that? Did he walk this far without remembering any of it?

Boi, these bouts of sudden not-in-the-void amnesia were really getting to be annoying. But he shrugged it off and tried to also shake off the whole body sweat he had broken into and the way his legs (his entire body for that matter) was trembling to lean all his weight on his walker and shuffle his right foot ahead.

How long had it been since he last walked? Splinter told him he had been mostly out of it for two months, so take that and add it to the eight months...

Leo's vision went blurry and his head felt dizzy from the thought of where, exactly, he had been for those eight months, but he worked hard at pushing through it so he could be with his family in the living...

Blink and you miss it.

Apparently Raph had come to the rescue (either because Mikey called out to him or he happened along while Leo was sweating and trembling under the weight of gravity), because Leo came to once more as his big brother was gently lowering him into his blue bean bag chair in the living room beside Mikey's orange one, where Casey was currently scrolling through news feeds on his phone, learning about how a krang-free world operated.

"There you go buddy, you with us again?"

A hand (Casey's) encouragingly patted Leo's knee, and keeping his eyes shut to counteract the dizzying sensation in his head Leo gave his big brother a thumbs up and put in the effort to work at speaking again by telling him: "Yeah," in his voice that was still hoarse from disuse (mostly pushing himself to speak because he was afraid his big bro would insist he return to his room after needing to be scooped up and apparently going dark for a moment).

"Do you remember that number system Don taught us? Can you tell us what number you are?"

Leo nodded his head and raised up a closed fist to show Raph where he was on the 0-3 grounding number scale Donnie recommended earlier that day when he was awake and clear-headed enough to be able to follow along.

"If this is too much for you we can bring you back to your..." "No Raph!" Mikey curtly objected on the slider's behalf, looking about ready to lay down the law. Which he did with the very stern words: "Leo wants to watch JJ in the living room with us so bad he tried walking here himself so that's what he's going to do!"

Good ol' Dr. Delicate Touch to the rescue.

Leo smiled at his little brother's 'don't mess with me!' attitude on his behalf, and then the welcomed scent of freshly popped popcorn from the bowl Splinter was carrying into the room helped to settle him into his body a little more, so that he held up a single finger to let his fam know he had upgraded from a zero to a one.

Raph rubbed a hand over Leo's head as if he was going through the motions of ruffling non-existant hair, saying in a very happy tone: "That's good bro. And Draxum said if you keep doing this good with your grounding you can start physio soon to get your strength back."

Leo gave his big bro a thumbs up at the same time Donnie sauntered into the living room last of all, looking down at his phone and saying: "Apes can't join us she has to work late at her new job," before putting his phone away and plopping down right beside his twin brother in the spot Mikey was about to sit in.

Mikester shot Dee a dirty look but opted to sit on Leo's other side by squishing in between him and CJ, and as they conversed about April's new job at a fish market Leo settled into his spot between Dee and Mikes with that grin on his face growing from the comforting familiarity of it all, even going so far as to throw out a (lame) joke about it being a 'fishy business' or something or other that got him snorting out a laugh and feeling very pleased with himself because of how it made everyone groan.

🔹🔹🔹

~Two Weeks Later~

Leo had been brought to the kitchen to sit at the table with his loved ones as part of his therapy after Mikey studied about traumatic experiences and learned that maintaining a predictable routine can be comforting and helpful.

He wasn't sure if it was the noisy conversation of his family or the smell of Mikey's spaghetti and meatballs that roused him, but whatever it was he was glad to be mentally present again (for the third time that day!)

He wasn't sure who was all there yet because he tried to open his eyes but was hit with a dizzying sensation and was met with the hazy darkness around his vision that meant he might dip back under any second.

Upon realizing he was awake there was the sensation of someone putting their hand on the back of his chair and that same person leaned their face in closer to his.

It didn't take him long to find out it was his overprotective big brother Raph who had leaned in close to him, because his kind-sounding voice spoke close to his ear when he greeted: "Hey buddy, what number are you?"

Leo held up his close-fisted hand to indicate he was at a zero and at risk of succumbing to the pull of the catatonic void (currently being so low on the scale after two weeks of progress because of a krang nightmare he had no more than half an hour ago that woke him up with a sore throat because of all the screaming he had been doing in his sleep - but luckily Donnie was already there to help bring his anxiety down).

Raph patted his back - the sensation helped ground him in the room - and said: "We're glad to haveya bro. Do you think you can eat some of Mikey's meatballs before they go cold?"

Leo swallowed his saliva in preparation of replying, but the thought of speaking (or even nodding his head in response) at this moment was too much for him, and all the sounds around him muffled for a second because he was almost sucked under. So he zoned in on the clinking of utensils and the warmth and pressure of Raph's hand on his shell, and opted to hold up his fisted hand a second time as his only response.

Raph nodded his head in understanding (even though Leo couldn't see it because his eyes were still closed) and said: "We're glad to have ya for however long you got, bro."

"Although if you do go back under that means I'll get extras of Mikey's delicious meatballs," Donnie dryly joked.

Leo put a smile on his twinsie's face when he blurted out a laugh at Dee's comment - knowing full well he meant it as a joke - but then when Raph rose to go back to his chair he took his hand off Leo's shell, unknowingly removing the one thing that was helping him stay grounded in the room most of all.

Penelope abruptly snapped to awareness in the front and opened Leo's eyes to look at his big brother as Mikey was in the process of telling Leo about some new grounding techniques he learned about.

Despite the fact that since Leo uttered his first word he was still struggling to string more than three or four words together, Penelope was capable of speaking on his behalf.

Which was exactly what she did right now, catching the attention of everyone in the room, who stared at her slack-jawed when she opened Leo's mouth and addressed Raphael with the clear words:

"Your hand was helping to keep Leo grounded."

Everyone stared for a few more seconds before Donnie dropped his fork and let out a single nervous laugh when he said: "You're Leo."

Without taking her eyes off Raph or in any way addressing Donatello's statement, Penelope focused on helping her dear Leonardo who had one figurative toe in the void and told Leo's (so therefore her) eldest brother:

"Leo needs comfort, he doesn't want to go back in the void, put your hand back on his shell, please."

Nobody moved.

Splinter's whiskers twitched.

Casey nervously bounced his knee - having seen this before from krang survivor victims but hoping he was wrong in his assumptions.

Mikey's meatball slid off his fork onto his plate.

Donnie's upper lip twitched.

Raph kept staring at Leo with his mouth agape.

And Orado pulled Penelope out of the front to push her back to her spot in the shared mindscape because he was upset that she revealed their presence.

Nobody knew about the different personalities inside Leo's shattered mind yet.

Even Leo didn't have quite a full understanding of what was going on because of how frequently he either fell catatonic or was protectively pushed into his subconscious by his dominate personalities over the past two months.

Orado was the one who routinely pushed Leo through his painful and exhausting physiotherapy over the past two weeks, and he also regularly pushed Leo into his subconscious when he wasn't outright catatonic whenever there were any exterior stressors that reminded him of the krang, because he believed that was in his best interests right now.

Cleo was the one who woke him up from scary nightmares and screamed until his throat was sore because she had learned that was a surefire way to attract the attention of all his family so Leo got the love and emotional support he needed.

Boo hadn't yet shown himself outside of Leo's mindscape, and although Penelope was a mental and emotional strength for him - a calmness in the middle of a figurative stormy sea - she hadn't yet felt the need to present herself externally.

Until now.

Leo was dipping into the void.

Orado wasn't speaking up for him because Leo was mostly nonverbal and he decided it made more logical sense to let them all fall back into the dissociative darkness rather than reveal their presence to 'outsiders' - whose minds he couldn't read therefore who didn't deserve his trust.

But Leo really didn't want to go catatonic right now. He wanted to finally be able to enjoy a meal with his family. A meal he was - for the first time he could remember - awake and aware enough to be able to eat at the kitchen table, instead of having to eat it later in bed because of having missed his window of opportunity.

So Penelope took the initiative to speak up in his behalf and got out the important parts she needed to say before the dominate persona - aka Orado - pushed her back into her home and was currently in a tizzy because she revealed information about the inner workings of Leo's shattered mind.

. . .

Comfort.

Right.

Raph got his head on straight.

Leo needed comfort, he needed grounding, and regardless of how the message was conveyed Leo (or someone) had requested it of Raph.

The snapper pushed his worry over this surprising situation aside and practically fell out of his chair to quickly kneel by Leo's side, where he put one hand on the small of his back while gripping his shoulder with the other one.

Leo gasped in a deep breath through his mouth when he did so because of how that simple touch yanked him out of the edge of the void, and he reached up to grip his big brother's hand, squeezing it to help him latch on to the firm, grounding touch so he could return more fully to the room.

"Tell me what you want Leo and Raph will do it," the anxious snapper offered, without taking his eyes off Leo's face.

Leo kept his eyes closed and his head down but rubbed Raph's hand in circles as his way of trying to convey he wanted Raphael to rub circles on his back.

Meanwhile everyone watched with rapt attention as Raph asked: "You want this?" and proceeded to rub Leo's shoulder.

Leo shook his head and took his hand off Raph's for just long enough to tap his back.

"Like this?" his big brother asked, rubbing circles on the bottom section of Leo's shell.

Leo breathed a sigh of relief and his body relaxed a little as he released the tension he didn't realize he had been holding in.

The just right, not to soft, not too fast circles Raph was rubbing on Leo's lower back gave him something concrete to latch onto, yanking him out of the void and settling him into his body as a solid '1' bleeding into a possible '2'. So he blinked his eyes a few times and opened them to stare at his green turtle legs before feeling he was well enough to open his mouth and say a quiet, hoarse: "Thanks," because despite Penelope having just talked for him his voice was still a little rough from disuse.

Raph gave Leo reassurance that he was happy to help and that was when Donnie spoke up to ask: "What number would you say you are right now Leon?"

Leo took his hand off Raph's to raise up two fingers for his family to see.

"Mm hmm, mm hmm, good," Donnie nervously commented while nodding his head before jumping up from the table, throwing out his hands, and loudly blurting out: "Do you want to tell us what that was all about!?"

Leo tensed and grabbed Raph's hand with all his might as he felt Orado pushing his consciousness into the back of his mindscape.

"Donatello!" Splinter snapped with Mikey joining him in shooting Dee a sour look for triggering Leo.

"Fine!" Donnie roughly sat his turtle bum back in his chair, crossed his arms in anger, and voiced his frustrations by complaining: "I guess we're not talking about what just happened."

A chill went up Dee's spine when Leo - or rather Orado - snapped his eyes up to shoot a warning stare at him before putting his head down and closing his eyes again, letting Raph continue with the back rubs because they were soothing Leo.

Then when Leo sensed he was being nudged further toward his subconscious he directed his next thought Orado's way.

'No, I wanna stay.'

Orado warned: 'I'm staying close by,' before relinquishing the front to Leo, who did the best he could to explain what had just happened by pointing to his head in a circular motion and telling his family: "Voices."

"Are you saying you hear voices in your head?" Splinter softly asked with a strain to his voice from the worry he felt at this new revelation.

Orado shared the front with Leo.

Leo kept his eyes closed and nodded his head before using one of the few signs he could remember from his childhood when they all learned some sign language to help Donnie - who occasionally went non-verbal when he was little - to indicate he wanted to eat by putting his hand up to his mouth.

Which was really his way of trying to say 'I can't deal with this right now!'

In the mindscape Penelope held his figurative hand and Orado calmed down and pulled a little bit back from sharing the front when Raph agreed that they should enjoy their meal and talk about this later.

So the family did their best to enjoy their time together by keeping the conversation light-hearted, Raph scooched his chair over closer so he could keep a hand on Leo's shell while they ate, and Leo eventually felt well enough to open his eyes and even picked up his fork to poke at the food on his plate.

And even though he wasn't yet mentally capable of joining in on the conversation, he was able to throw out a few short, well-timed puns and to eat just under half of his dinner; and that turned out to be the best family meal he had ever since his brothers rescued him from the bad place.

🔹🔹🔹

<<previous

🔹What D.I.D I Do Wrong? Masterpost

🔹My Main Masterpost

[cherrb333]

the lost hamato sibling

chapter 2: an unlikely friendship

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

Masterpost

It had been a few days since she moved in, and the breakdown in her room. So far, she had been adjusting well, And Usagi was out most of the time, which was a plus. She didn't have to see that stupid rabbit for a week after the move-in. He was out getting intel on the turtles. She didn't mind. It gave her time to be alone with the thoughts that consumed her mind. She supposed it wasn't healthy to marinate in hurtful words, but maybe she deserved it. After all, it wasn't as if what she was doing would be a good thing. She sighed, deciding to get up off the couch and go out. Some fresh air might clear her head. She grabbed her hood, grabbed the portal Key Mama had given her and opened a portal to the human streets, where she began scaling a building. It was peaceful up here, the sky was cloudy, dark and gloomy as the hint of a downpour clung to the winds. She jumped from building to building until She made it to a recluse little rooftop, no one in sight. She dropped soundlessly onto the concrete beside what seemed to be a pool, her eyes gleaming in joy as she slowly surveyed her surroundings before dipping into the cool water. It felt nice against the smooth green of her skin, the scales shimmering with the glistening liquid that soon covered her. She slowly sunk deep under the water, she sat on the bottom of the pool just relishing in the complete silence that surrounded her. It was nice. Her thoughts seemed to wash away with the waves that pushed against her as she swam around in the pool. Being a turtle had its perks, she could stay under the water for a lot longer than a normal human, and she swam better because Of the skin and shell she had. Her tail wagged as she relished the feeling of blowing bubbles under the water and watching them float up to the surface. She didn't know how long she stayed under, but by the time she pulled to the surface, the clouds Had disputed and All that was left in their wake was a beautiful starry sky. She shivered as the cold air fell on her shoulders. She got out, grabbed her cloak from where she'd thrown it and began fasting it to her shoulders, cuddling into The warmth it provided her. She began the walk back to her home only to stop when she caught a glimpse of red blue purple and orange. She stopped in a trance as she scanned the roofs with narrowed eyes in hopes of catching another look and hoping it wasn't just her eyes playing tricks on her. She pulled her hood further down as she started in the direction she saw them disappear. She froze when she came across a fight scene. Four turtles, all varying in size, the ones she had caught a glimpse of from where she was on the rooftop, stood around what looked like a giant hippo yokai who was firing floating rings at them. She slipped down a fire escape to get a better look, still sticking to the shadows. They seemed to be very good at fighting from what she could tell she slowly slid to her knees, peeking Through the metal bars that kept her from falling forward as the blue one summoned up a portal(she didn't even know you could do that) from the tip of his sword, blue swirls coming to life as it formed the familiar glow of a portal she had seen mama use once or twice. But this one was different, it was blue, matching his mask's colour. She gasped as what looked like a giant red fist projection of the big one came barreling through the portal, landing a hit right in the back of the hippo's head.

“Ah! You pesky turtles! Always interfering with my plans! Well, I'll show you what happens when you mess with a magician's magic trick” the hippo growled, summoning more rings that were bigger to come raining down on the four. The big one smacked them away from them with his big red hand, sending them flying. Right in the direction of Renai. Crap. She yelped as she jumped back, cursing as the turtles looked in her direction. She almost fell off the railing with how quickly she ducked behind a compost bin that conveniently sat on her. Luckily, they all shrugged off the sound thanks to the enemy using the distraction as a point to attack the brothers. She let out a shaky breath as she slowly glanced over the compost bin. Thank god, but she had to be more careful...

“Where have you been?” The harsh tone called from in the black room as Renai slowly slipped back in from her night adventures. She yelped, heart dropping as the clatter of her weapon jostling against her hip filled the room followed by her clumsily tripping over her own feet as he startled her by His sudden appearance. She turned around to glance at him, cowering in the gaze that greeted her, feeling a sense that she was in trouble.

“Heyyyyyy usagi” she chuckled nervously, slowly dropping to the ground and turning to shut the window behind her. 

“Don't 'hey usagi’ me. You weren't supposed to go out yet. And especially not without me! God, do you want Mama to kill me?” Usagi began lecturing, eyes narrowing in concern and anger as he stood up from where he was sitting, Furiously tapping his foot. Flinching away from the gaze She slowly slipped past him to head to the kitchen.

“Listen. I'm fine! You don't have to badger me, I don't need you to babysit me! I'm 12 years old! I'm practically a grown-up” She huffed as she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, taking a huge gulp of the cool liquid. Usagi furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance.

“That's just it. Your 12! You shouldn't be alone, especially in this city! Do you know just how many enemies Big Mama has!? You could've gotten hurt!” Renai slammed the fridge closed, turning to glare at the rabbit.

“I can take care of myself. In case you've forgotten, I am the battle nexus champion. My whole life has been a battle to survive. This city is child's play compared to the battle nexus.” she growled as she sauntered away to her room in anger. Usagis's face fell as he remembered what he had heard yesterday through the door. He Inhaled slowly, tears welling in his eyes.

“I'm sorry” he whispered, causing Renai to stop in her tracks, breath hitching as she turned swiftly to glare at him.

“What?” She scoffed, crossing her arms as she felt her cat rub against her leg. Usagi bit his lip, foot still Violently tapping as his mood shifted to one of anxiety.

“I'm sorry,” he said a little clearer, rubbing his hand nervously on the back of his head. “I…I didn't realize how much you've been through. I just want you to know that you don't have to do it alone. I…I was also in the battle nexus. I know how gruelling it was, and you? You were only a child! You shouldn't have been put through that.” He huffed, looking at her with a sorrowful look. Her face blanked As she processed his words. What? Why was he apologizing? Didn't he hate her? Lots of people did so She had just assumed-

“Why?” Her voice cut coldly into the warm atmosphere, the tone unnervingly monotone. Usagi shivered as he blinked In confusion.

“Huh?” He slowly dropped his hands down to rest at his sides, tilting his head at the younger kappa.

“Why are you being so…nice? I thought you…I thought you hated me.” She spat as her face became unreadable, emotions becoming too much for her to express. Usagi’s face fell in anguish

“What?” He whispered, Slowly creeping forward to the younger Turtle as he placed his furry hand on her shoulder “Hate you? Never. Sure, I like teasing you but hate you? Why would you think-” A look of realization fell on him followed by a look of sorrow. Now he felt even more bad. Had he come off as hating her? Shit. He needed to fix this. “I'm…sorry if my banter came off as hating you… I…I see you as A younger sibling, I didn't mean anything by those words. I'll refrain from that if that makes you happy” he softly spoke as he watched renais closed-off expression melt. For the first time, she was feeling something other than the hate she had thought was clouded around her. She felt her chest tighten as tears slipped from her eyes. She furiously wiped At them as she frowned.

“thank you” she sniffled as she felt Usagi pull her into a hug, he slowly ran a warm hand up and down her back to comfort the kid. She shivered at the feeling of his fingers on her shell, whimpering at the touch, he stopped at the sound, moving his hand away as he frowned in Concern.

“S-sorry…should've asked…” he muttered as he slowly backed away from Renai, who sniffled and made grabby hands for him.

“No…its��fine…I like your hugs, fluff ball” she joked trying To lighten the mood despite the tears that glistened on her striped cheeks. Usagi rolled his eyes, pushing her away.

“Ok, that's enough hugs for you then” Renai whined as Usagi stood up, crossing her arms and huffing in sullen anger.

“Boo”

___________________________________________________________

usagi and renai's relationship is completely platonic, please don't interpret it as anything else I will cry lol. anyways thanks for reading:D

First Previous next

[starlight299]

The S1-S2 party: “Steve has always taken all this stuff so well.”

The kids (mostly Dustin): “He’s practically invincible.”

Nancy probably: “He’s too dumb to be affected by Trauma.” (The rest of the party hates that but Dustin’s the only one who argues)

Robin not even a week after star court: “Steve is traumatized and hurt, he just tries to hide it, and he’s not even that good at it you guys just don’t care enough to notice (Dustin is offended; he does care he’s just a kid and Steve is actually pretty good at hiding it.)

Eddie a week out of the hospital: “Steve, you're not very good at advocating for yourself." (Steve didn’t get his injuries attended to because he thought he could handle it and ‘the others needed him’)

Steve: “I'm supposed to be advocating for myself??"

The entire party (minus Dustin) after Robin and Eddie scream at them for over an hour about Steve’s condition (they’re a little nicer to the kids it’s not really their fault): “Oh shit, we fucked up.”

Steve after people start being nice to him all of a sudden: “There’s an imbalance in the universe, am I being Vecna’d? Did he not really die? Shit. What is happening?”

Eddie and Robin: *crying*

[risibledeer]

hugs, all of joel's soulmates, lizzie, grian and eefo lol

Psst reqs are open, ik I draw a lot of Joel but i like drawing most hermipires so feel free ti ask, if uf like to

[simpleart]

Y'know, just bros hugging and being affectionate

[everfallenwings]

found family; with sae itoshi -> female reader

imagine volunteering at japan's u20 working a small job but unintentionally becoming friends with SAE ITOSHI... no, not having the usual equal respect and companionship, or expectant friends to lovers. you're the same age as his little brother, so he oddly treats you like a little sister. the weird thing? he's so nonchalant about it.

"excuse me, but they're confirming if you wanted a red or white zip up again..." twiddling with your fingers softly before pointing to your pushy bosses, you seem to be making good friends with the floor while speaking to a famous, pro-league, good-looking but mean soccer player (sae itoshi). your classmates were all practically screaming at how lucky you were to secure volunteer service in professional sports, in professional soccer. i mean, the card collecter boys in your class were practically feining, asking you for autographs and other stupid favours. maybe you could ask for a picture, yeah—you were definitely going to ask sae itoshi for a picture, but that thought was soon dispersed at the man's dismisive tone. "white is fine," the midfielder curtly replies, with a straight face and one hand planted on the side of his hip. "how old are you?" he looks down at you with the world's most unreadable gaze and ridiculously long lower lashes, "sixteen." you reply, finally facing him. "oh," sae dryly responds, that bored look in his eyes in never, "you're about the same age as my little brother."

oh!

"[name], come here." sae itoshi murmurs, laying flat on the floor in the middle of the training center, you look around the empty facility at five in the morning, confirming if he was even POSSIBLY speaking to you again. "yeah?" he tuts on the floor, lifting a muscled leg in your field of vision, "i need help stretching, pull on my leg."

your eyes scan hesitantly over the dangling cleat, before your hands lock around his ankle, attempting to pull and soothe his strange stretching, though definitely failing. why was the midfielder so heavy? he wasn't even trying to make this easier by at least slightly lifting himself. "you're bad at this, not even lukewarm." he'd say, though his tone didn't show any real frustation or intended offense. instead, cerulean eyes blow open when you pull a little too hard and hear something crack that most likely wasn't supposed to.

on other days, he'd pat your head and buy you a popsicle, two for the price of one was a better deal, anyway.

and on the day of japan's u20 verus blue lock's eleven, when RIN ITOSHI's piercing gaze catches the melting popsicle clutched in your hand and sae handing you a napkin, he freezes. his gaze softens in a way that doesn't melt away at the icy chambers of his heart, but instead softens and melts it wholly intead. that day, you were genuinely bewildered and confused that blue lock's number one gave you more dirty looks that day than any actual player on the field.

"your brother is scary," you mutter, causing the taller midfielder beside you perk up in interest. "he kept giving me death glares." sae rolls his eyes at the thought, "maybe he likes you, i dunno. he's in his rebillious phase." it truly made you, at your adolescent age, realise that sae itoshi's head was entirely hollow when not thinking about football. buuut, he buys you ice cream, so who really cares?

-> series masterlist

[eydilily]

cleaned up some slabtek today

[golswia]

may i interest you in some losers

[munsons-mutiny]

I keep seeing everyone talking about Jayce being the only person capable of saving Viktor. How in every universe Viktor chooses him.

But I don’t see anyone talking about how that means in every universe Jayce breaks his promise to destroy the hex core. In every universe Jayce can’t let him die, can’t let him go, chooses him over his morals, his integrity, his common sense.

These boys are gonna be the death of me.

[yourstrulynobody]

Funsies EAPS comic based off "Charlie IS THE CURE!" + Eclipse hugging his kids and the "ruin virus" overall and its effects :3

Now its Eclipse's turn for angst!! (Is this angst? Idk anymore man...)

Again: I am the absolute WORSE at interpreting the personalities of characters, so please, by all means, correct me on anything I got wrong! I personally think I may have made Eclipse too soft in this comic, so I would like some corrections. Ty :)

Click first image and swipe to next image so the comic flows well :)

Im testing out how I should make the comics, so I think this may be the style I go for so less pictures to put? c:

[bitter-like-coffee]

im not done w the game, please don't spoil in the tags or otherwise!

do NOT tag as ship

[glitchedcosmos]

Fuck kissing , I need to see two bitches HUG. I need to see them EMBRACE. I want them to hug so tightly and so sweetly , because they never want to separate again, they both fear that when the hug is over, they will never be able to embrace each other again. I want them to throw every emotion they’ve ever felt for each other into that soul cradling hug. I NEED to see them tho blue from the grip, and never, ever let go.

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

//the slightest of shaking you

Sonic's ego is actually used for the delight effect on his friends hhhgh your killing me with wholesomeness/j

I wonder though, is there's ever any nonverbal platonic methods aspecSonic could have developed?

Aroace Sonic pt 8 (no they're not dating)

Sonic’s got all kinds of ways of showing affection. Obviously there is more than just these, it’s just all i doodled last night before passing the heck out in bed hgLKJSDF

1. Sonic usually moves away if anyone expresses active verbal dislike of his physical affection; Knuckles is the exception to that rule. He would genuinely throw Sonic through a wall if he actually didn’t like what he was doing, no words required. But Knuckles is touch starved! He doesn’t know how to do this whole physical affection thing, and most everyone else is kinda nervous about crossing boundaries with him so it means he gets very little touch. Sonic notices that and instead of drawing attention to it, he just invades personal space like the gremlin he is and no one questions it, chalking it up to his usual antics. Knuckles gets a safe place to get the physical affection he needs without worrying about how it looks and Sonic gets to love his friend, it's a win-win. (Rouge is p much the only other person chill with touching Knuckles casually since she’s just comfortable with physicality and not the least bit nervous around him.)

2. Speaking of Rouge she and Sonic are very silly with physical affection because Rouge is extremely comfortable expressing herself physically and Sonic is chill with p much any small gestures because its just another way of showing affection. Platonic cheek kisses and aggressive flirting are pretty normal for them! They find it funny to fluster other people this way.

3. Sonic will very randomly just plant his hand on someones face if they're standing close enough. No context, no warning, usually they're not even part of the conversation that's happening and he doesn't move it off unless they move it themselves or it's time to leave. (He does this whenever he notices someone zoning out or look like they might be lonely since they aren't part of the main conversation to make them know someone else notices they're there and cares.)

4. Sonic's physical affection is so incredibly casual that if you're around him long enough it kinda starts to fall of your radar and you just stop noticing when it happens, (i.e Tails.) It's much more common than his verbal compliments so it ends up pretty commonplace. Physical touch is actually his first go-to unless the person is really touch-averse.

5. Falling asleep on people is his ultimate weapon because they're less likely to try and escape if he's asleep (cat sleeping on lap rules sorry.) The other reason is because they're free to be as soft as they want without worrying about him using it to gloat at them later. (A lot of stuff this dude does is hecka strategic.)

[rosstrytobe]

Also the differences are not subtle anymore because:

THIS IS A PLATONIC GOODBYE HUG WITH THE BESTIES

THIS IS A ROMANTIC CODED HUG IN THE RAIN