#precanon

[backstabber128]

I made it to the end of my Arcane prequel fic after a whole year. So here's an obligatory count down of all the art covers from chapter 11 all the way back to 2. (The first chapter is the only one without a cover rip)

It's truly been a wild ride. I still can't believe I put so much effort into it. It gets darker as it goes on and delves into some very heavy topics. It's a deep dive into Vi and Powder coping with their Bridge trauma and their new life in the Lanes.

If you're interested, here's the link to the story for context:

[janetbrown711]

Proud of Your Boy

Glass Shard || Vehicular accident || “Watch out!”

MK's missed one too many classes at his fancy schmancy school and now has to tell Pigsy he's at risk of expulsion.

However, MK would literally rather do anything-- anything other than tell him. Even if it means delivering noodles in rain so thick he can barely see.

This will work out just fine.

Ao3 Link

Pouring rain fell outside of Pigsy’s Noodles, setting a dreary mood for the already dreary teen pacing up and down the back alley. He was late for work, just as he’d been late for school, and late to wake up– all of which he had no good reason for.

He knew he should go inside, that his boss didn’t appreciate tardiness, but he couldn’t– he just couldn’t because sitting heavy in his front backpack pocket was a letter from MK’s principal, explaining that he’d missed roughly the maximum amount of classes for the year and was at risk of expulsion.

MK hated himself and his chronic lateness– it wasn’t that he was completely ditching classes most times, his trigonometry teacher just had it out for him, he swore. Though, it wasn’t like his other teachers were great either and sometimes MK felt like he’d sooner die than step inside those awful classrooms. Plus, it wasn't like Jian and his other classmates created a "welcoming environment".

Still, MK knew it was only a matter of time til he had to face the music– and turns out it just had to be today.

MK sighed. The last thing he wanted was to go into Pigsy’s restaurant and announce that all of the years of hard work making sure MK got into the same good and fancy school as Mei was for nothing, and MK had completely thrown it away because of stupid anxieties. He was sixteen, man– he should be over this.

But at the same time, Pigsy would be upset if he was late for work too. It was a lose-lose situation; MK was destined to get a scolding, but the question would be if it was about being late or about making him break his back with extra hours of work for years for nothing.

MK sighed, a particularly large drop of rain landing on his head and dripping to his forehead, which he quickly brushed away. He didn’t have time for this. He just needed to get in there and start delivering so he could avoid conflict with Pigsy for as long as humanly possible.

Taking a deep breath, the kid walked in, quickly slumping his soaked backpack onto the back office countertop, only getting more annoyed when he noticed there was a hole in the side, meaning one of his expensive textbooks was probably damaged by the rain too.

He was just on a roll today, wasn’t he?

“Put on your game face, MK, just get through today,” He muttered to himself in the reflection of the computer screen, noticing how disheveled his hair looked and the heavy bags under his eyes. He practiced a wide grin two to three times before he dared emerge and make his presence known with a quick, "Hey Pigsy."

"There you are, kid. You're twenty minutes late," Pigsy looked at the clock while frying shrimp.

"Y-yeah, I know– the rain delayed the bus," He lied. "Any orders yet?"

“Just one I’m wrappin’ up now," His boss informed, so MK took a seat at the bar, his legs bouncing the second they were at rest.

The kid glanced around the restaurant and noticed the stool next to him was empty. "Where's Tang?"

"Sick. At some point he's gonna order his usual for delivery online, but he isn't gonna pay, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask ‘im anyways," Pigsy rubbed his forehead a little with a sigh.

Great, Pigsy was already having a bad day and MK was just going to make it worse. What fun.

“School okay?” Pigsy asked, adding the final touches to the bowl.

“S’whatever,” He mumbled, messing with a scratch on the counter.

“If you make that scratch worse you’re payin’ for repairs,” Pigsy smirked a little.

“I’m not making it worse,” He stuck his hands in his pockets, cursing the fact Pigsy had eyes on the back of his head.

His boss got back to work with a laugh, and MK just sat and waited until he was done cooking and bagging it all up.

However, when Pigsy actually saw MK he paused.

“You… uh… doin’ okay..?” He looked him up and down.

“Like I said, the rain delayed the bus, can I take the stupid order now?” He rolled his eyes.

Pigsy frowned. “If the bus got delayed then it might not be best–”

“Pigsy, I’ll be fine, okay? The order was already made anyway, so let’s just take the money and that’ll be that,” MK snapped, surprising himself and the chef.

The chef shook his head and sighed. “Fine– just be safe, will you?”

“Yeah, yeah,” MK rolled his eyes, snatching the bag and heading out, hearing Pigsy sigh right as he passed the bamboo flap.

Once he was out and by the dinky little excuse of a delivery cart, he cursed the fact that it didn’t have walls or doors, but he was the one who built it so that was also his fault. Well, at least there was a see through rain tarp thing– he just had to roll it down– and try to avoid the massive pool of water it collected, of which he completely forgot about this time and was soaked even worse in seconds.

What a fabulous day this was, truly.

Grumbling to himself, he placed the order next to him in the passenger seat, buckling it tight before pulling up the address on his phone and heading out.

Traffic was annoying and the wind and rain made it even more annoying, as the lack of doors made for a very cold, wet, and anxious MK. It also didn’t help that his windshield wipers were powered by mere thoughts and prayers, so did very little to clear his vision. At the very least he still had his headphones, but being soaked and practically blind canceled out any benefits they would’ve brought.

But it was still better than telling Pigsy he was getting expelled, so MK drove on.

He managed to deliver the noodles in fifteen minutes and received no tip, which was– whatever at this point. What was one more sign he was a total failure anyways?

When he got back in the cart, Pigsy had texted him saying two orders were waiting, and Mei texted asking to call, so he quickly dialed her number.

“Heyyyyyyyyyyy~ how goes my favorite delivery boy?” His friend sang out.

“I hate the rain,” MK muttered, waiting to be allowed out of his parking spot but car after car kept passing him.

“Aw, is Mr. Piggy still making you work with the weather like this?” Mei sympathized.

“No, I asked to. I don’t know why, I really hate this,” He sighed, seeing a chance and going for it– cringing when a car honked at him.

“You know, I told you getting a motorcycle would’ve been better but nooOOoo~ you need a cart,” She teased.

“Oh, please, this thing holds a lot more meals than any motorcycle could,” MK rolled his eyes and joined the main road.

“Motorcycle would get you there faster,” Mei pointed out smugly.

“Pigsy says those things are death traps, you know,” MK countered.

“And that dingy little cart isn’t?”

“I take offense to that.”

“I’m not wrong~”

“You know, if you wanted to call just so you could bully me, just take a number because I deal with that enough already,” MK huffed, checking his blind spot and switching lanes.

“Ugh, are those boys still being punks to you?” Mei voiced her disapproval.

MK snorted. “You thought they ever stopped?”

“Look, if you want me to beat them up, all you have to do is say the word.”

“Funny, but I’m in trouble enough as is,” MK rolled his eyes.

Just then his phone beeped and there was a call notification from Pigsy.

“What’s that sound?” Mei asked.

MK sighed. “Pigsy’s calling, though I don’t know why– unless the customer I just dropped off already called to complain, which is… ugh.”

“Oh, are you gonna pick it up?” His friend asked.

MK bit his cheek. “Nah, I’m not too far, it’ll be fine.”

“Oooooo~ boss man’s gonna be mad~” Mei teased again.

“Do you want me to hang up on you? Because I can,” MK smirked.

“No! Pleaseeeee don’t hang up– I don’t wanna do my homeworkkkkkk,” Mei groaned and her voice became muffled, probably from her slamming her face into a pillow.

“Yeah, well, at least your homework isn’t telling your d– boss you’ve made him waste thousands of dollars for some hoity-toity school that’s kicking you out before you can even finish your third year,” He complained, turning right and Pigsy’s icon disappeared.

“What? Why?”

MK internally face palmed.

In his stupidity, MK forgot Mei went to his school too and would obviously be stressed at the news of his imminent expulsion.

“Nothing, I–” MK tried waving off, when a truck kicked up a huge amount of water right in front of him, causing water to soak his feet and ankles right where the tarp didn’t reach the floor. “I hate the rain, did I tell you that?”

“MK, what do you mean they’re gonna kick you out? Isn’t there something you can do?” he heard Mei sit up.

MK sighed. “Look– I really don’t want to talk about it, okay? So either hang up or talk about something else.”

“... I can see if my parents can do something? Like– give the school some more money? Sweet talk teachers? Anything, really,” Mei offered.

“Not in the mood, Mei,” he warned, making a right turn.

“Right, right, okay,” His friend sighed, and he heard her flop back on her bed.

There was a bit of silence, in which Pigsy called again, but MK just ignored it.

“Jeez, he doesn’t normally call when you’re driving, does he?” Mei asked.

MK shrugged. “Not really, but he’s probably just being a worry wart because of the rain, or–”

MK’s eyes widened and his stomach sank.

“Or what?” Mei asked.

“I-I– um…” MK hit ‘decline’ on his phone. “Nothing, hopefully– I-I–”

“Shit, is he mad at you?”

“I don’t know,” MK glanced at his phone and saw a text from Pigsy he didn’t read.

“Maybe you’re right and he’s just worried; that sounds like him,” Mei suggested again, and MK shook his head.

“I’m not far from the restaurant, maybe if I’m quick I can just pick up the orders and be in-and-out of there,” MK tried to plan.

“You think he found out about the expulsion?” Mei asked the question he dreaded.

“He’s totally gonna kill me,” MK lamented, pulling up to a red light before slamming his head against the steering wheel.

“He’s not gonna kill you– yell at you, maybe, but Pigsy wouldn’t kill you,” Mei emphasized but all MK heard was “blah blah he’s gonna kill you blah”.

Eventually, MK was greeted by the familiar sights of the restaurant and pulled back into his parking spot, which was where he noticed Pigsy… smoking.

“I gotta go Mei,” MK said, heart and stomach full of dread.

“We can video chat later if you need, MK,” Mei offered.

“Yeah, I–… we’ll see,” MK chewed his cheek.

“Talk later?” Mei asked again.

“Yeah, talk to you later,” MK hesitated over the red button, but Mei hung up instead.

MK glanced back at his boss, who wasn’t looking at the cart at all, his eyes towards the road with a distant stare.

MK took a deep breath, put the vehicle into park, turned it off, and got out. “Pigsy–”

“What’re these absences about, MK?” His boss looked at him, already holding the letter in his hand.

“How did you find that?” MK tried to dodge.

“Backpack had a hole in it and I decided to inspect it to see if I could fix it. Now answer my question,” Pigsy huffed, eyes firm.

“I-I– I know it’s bad– I know–”

“MK, you’re such a smart kid– so much smarter than me. Why would you do this?” Pigsy interrupted.

“I-I didn’t mean to-! I just–... you know it’s hard waking up on time,” MK put his hands in his pockets and went under the little ramada to protect himself from the rain, though stayed as far away as possible from the chef.

“How do you ‘accidentally’ skip nine entire classes, MK?! These aren’t late marks, they’re absences,” Pigsy pointed out, before taking a step back and smoking more. “I– I don’t get it.”

MK winced. “I-I–”

“You begged me to go to this school, MK. I have poured thousands and thousands of yuan– I just– why?” Pigsy looked at him all heartbroken and confused.

“I-I know you did, D– Pigsy, a-and I know– I know it’s expensive, I-I just–” MK started rubbing his arms anxiously and glancing at the door to the restaurant.

“Then why, MK? Why are you skipping classes?” He pressed.

Because he was a stupid and dumb idiot coward who didn’t want to deal with a few mean looks and would rather make his poor guardian spend a stupid, stupid amount of money for classes he didn’t feel like going to, that’s why.

“I-I… I don’t know–”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Pigsy huffed.

“I– look, can I just deliver the orders to get this over with?” MK switched subjects, not waiting for permission before going inside.

“MK, you aren’t going anywhere until I get some answers for why I’m even paying for that school–!” Pigsy urged, following him in, cigarette still in hand.

“You know quitting smoking is supposed to be a permanent thing, right?” MK bit back, picking up the orders.

Pigsy stepped back, looking hurt by the low blow before he shook his head. “MK, this isn’t about me– it’s about you.”

MK tried not to care, using Pigsy’s somewhat fallen demeanor to get past him and back into the cart.

“MK–! Where on earth do you think you’re going?!” The chef fixed himself and followed him.

“To make my stupid deliveries and get out of your stupid hair!” MK shouted, struggling to turn the vehicle on when thunder suddenly boomed.

“MK, get back inside, we are not done talking about this,” Pigsy demanded.

“W-well I am! So– yeah!” MK got the ignition to start and shifted the gear into drive without buckling his seatbelt.

“MK!”

MK ignored him, barely looking before turning the vehicle out of his spot and turning onto the main road. Of course, he didn’t have the addresses plugged in so he’d have to do that while driving, which wasn’t smart and–

“MK– WATCH OUT–!” Pigsy shouted at the top of his lungs, and before MK could even turn to look, a car crashed into the side front of the cart, causing it to go airborne before landing on its side. Since MK wasn’t buckled in the slightest, he took the fall hard, hitting his head against the ground twice, and he cried out in pain as something hit his foot. He also had a sharp, sharp pain in his side, and was surrounded by broken glass and other fun rubble.

MK groaned at his stupidity and tried sitting up, but every inch of his body screamed that it was a bad idea. He tried just looking around, but his vision was fuzzy. He tried listening to his surroundings, but that was all muffled too– the shouting, the talking, the horns, the honking, the rainfall– all of it.

Great. Just great. Real smart, MK. Get yourself killed over skipping a few classes. Way to make Pigsy proud of you.

“MK?! MK–!” Pigsy’s voice broke above the ringing. MK tried to see where he was, but that was a mistake if there ever was one.

He heard shuffling and whispers and talking and shouting when a hand touched his shoulder, making him flinch– which made the rest of his body move and thus made him cry out in pain.

“Kid–! Oh, kid– you’re gonna be okay, o-okay? I-I’m right here– Didja hit your head–? What am I sayin’, of course you did– I won’t let you sleep, okay?” He heard his guardian say, and MK wanted to say something, but thinking just of words made him groan.

“I-I know kid, I know, it’s okay, I’m here for you kid,” Pigsy’s voice cracked– which was unusual. “Wh-where does it hurt? I-I know in your head, I know, I know, but where else, okay?”

MK tried very hard to concentrate, eventually sputtering out a, “P–pi–” before the pain in his side was too much and he instinctively curled himself a little tighter.

“Y-yeah, it’s me, I’m right here kid– where does it–” Pigsy gasped, apparently noticing something. He felt his guardian’s hands near where the pain was stemming, but they didn’t dare touch him, and after a beat, he called out, “S-someone– a-anyone– call 1-2-0– please-!”

There was more muffled talking but all MK could hear was the sound of his ill-tempered guardian sobbing openly.

He then felt a soft hand touch his soaking wet hair, stroking it somewhat as Pigsy whispered, “it’s okay MK, it’s okay, you’re okay, you’re gonna be okay, it’s okay–” over and over and over again. MK tried saying anything to make his guardian feel better, but could only cough and cry and groan from the all consuming misery before sirens wailed.

He heard Pigsy tell the EMT’s things before there was organized counting and suddenly his right foot was freed– though obviously still hurt like a motherfucker. He was still in agony when they put him on a stretcher and took him inside an ambulance, but at least he could see Pigsy now, who sat next to him, still stroking his hair as lightly as physically possible.

“You’re okay, MK, you’re okay– I-I’m so sorry for yellin’ at you, I’m so sorry,” his guardian continued to cry, making MK just feel even worse somehow as they drove away from the scene.

When they got to the hospital, Pigsy was pulled away from him, which MK knew because his crying and protesting faded.

The second his guardian was out of earshot, MK’s tears went from pain to sadness.

Soon after, he was taken to a room, where he was given an oxygen mask and pumped full of drugs as doctors and nurses pulled out a massive glass shard that had been lodged into his side. After that, he was given stitches and a handful of weird pills before being taken in and out of rooms with all sorts of scanners and weird machines, all while he barely maintained consciousness.

After about three scans, MK was taken to an average and empty looking room, where he was given yet another handful of mysterious pills he didn’t question. He was hooked up to a heart and oxygen monitor, as well as a new IV and a few weird stickers they placed on his head before he was out like a light.

.o0o.

MK awoke feeling like his mouth was full of cotton, and the rest of his head was full of lead. His chest and sides felt numb from where he vaguely recalled there had been stitches, and his right foot was in a cast he didn’t remember getting.

As he slowly cracked open his eyes, MK was met with a hellish cold light that only added to the misery of the beeps and boops of the machines around him. But that soon didn’t matter at all, as MK saw his guardian pacing the foot of his bed, dark circles under his eyes that were still red and tear-stained from–

From him.

He had actually made Pigsy, the hot-headed chef of pure titanium, shed real tears over him that fell and everything.

It made MK cry too.

“P-P-Pigsy–” MK croaked, hot tears streaming down his face, making the chef stop in his tracks and rush to MK’s side, which was when MK noticed how bloodstained his chef's shirt and tank top were.

“Kid–! Oh I’m so glad you’re okay– I-I’m so sorry for yellin’ at you, okay? I-I was just– I don’t know what’s wrong with me– you feelin’ okay? You’re safe now, you’re at the hospital,” The chef stroked his cheek again and MK leaned into it this time since it didn’t hurt that much and he could.

“P-Pigsy, ‘m so s-s-sorry,” He cried, his whole chest shaking.

“No– no, MK, don’t be, it’s okay, I-I was so stupid– I should’ve handled it all differently– it’s not your fault, okay?” Pigsy wiped away his tears with calloused hands.

“I shouldn’ve skipped class, ‘m sorry,” the boy just continued to weep.

“I’m not mad MK, I promise I’m not– I-I’m so sorry,” Pigsy now held the boy’s face with both hands and MK was just overwhelmed by how warm they were and how he never wanted to leave his da– Pigsy’s embrace.

“M’sorry Pigsy– m’ so, so sorry,” He nuzzled Pigsy’s hands a little and the chef laughed weakly.

“You’re such a good kid, MK, I know you’re sorry, it’s okay, I’m not mad, I’m not,” The chef smiled warmly and wiped away some of the boy’s tears.

MK smiled weakly, though continued to cry, which Pigsy let him, which was… nice. It was so, so nice. It was so nice in fact, that it briefly made MK consider getting himself almost killed more often, but he’d never do that to Pigsy and Mei.

Unfortunately, the nice moment could only last a minute or two before a doctor suddenly came in. Both quickly wiped their faces and tried their best to pay attention to the medical mumbo jumbo.

It was a long winding conversation MK knew he should’ve paid attention to, but he was still absolutely exhausted and his head was filled with emotions and worries and aches and drugs– and also annoyance at the monitors and an obnoxiously loud AC unit.

At least Pigsy seemed to be taking note, nodding seriously and answering questions while MK was too busy looking at the shapes in the ceiling and a painting of a tree on the wall.

When the doctor left Pigsy sighed and wiped his face again, despite there being no tears to wipe away, but of course MK didn’t blame him and wouldn't dream of pointing it out.

“Kid, I-I’m–... I’m gonna ask you about the absences, is that okay?” The chef looked at him hesitantly.

MK sucked in a breath but nodded.

“So… I-I–... why? What’s going on..?” Pigsy looked at him for only a second before looking at the painting. “You’re so smart, MK. You don’t pull the same shit I used to do on the regular– and I keep trying to figure it out– a-and why you’d be so– so scared to tell me that you go out and nearly get yourself ki–...”

Pigsy choked on his words and clenched his eyes shut before desperately blinking away tears and taking a shaky breath.

“I just… a-am… Did I-I…? Are…?”

Pigsy took another breath.

“Are you… afraid of me?”

MK’s eyes widened. “N-no! No, never! I-I just– I– didn’t want to disappoint you, o-or let you know I’ve been wasting your money, which I know you work so, so hard for, a-and I don’t wanna seem ungrateful because I’m not! I-I’m so grateful, Pigsy– I-I–”

“Hey, hey, take it easy kid, it’s okay,” Pigsy looked relieved as he wiped away another one of MK’s tears.

“I-I’m just– I’m so sorry– e-even I don’t always know why I skip class. It's just– it’s like no matter what I do, I just can’t step in– but that’s only happened five times! The other times’re just because my trig teacher doesn’t let students be late, I swear! I-I don’t like wasting your money, Pigsy, I really, really don’t,” MK shook his head and covered his face, which made Pigsy pull him into a nice and warm side hug.

“What do you mean you ‘can’t step in’?” He asked softly.

MK shrugged weakly, leaning into the embrace a little more. “I-I don’t know… Sometimes it just– it feels like I can’t– like there’s a wall and if I pass it I’ll like… die or something. I know it sounds stupid, I know b-but– yeah…” he looked away in shame.

“Classmates bein’ dicks too?” His guardian guessed.

MK hesitated, but nodded.

“It’s okay kid, I know a thing or two about teachers n’ classmates bein’ dicks,” He rubbed MK’s arm and rested his head carefully atop his. “You’re a good kid, MK. You’re so grateful too– it’s almost concernin’ for a kid your age to be so aware,” his guardian tried to joke, but MK could hear the sadness.

“Still… m’sorry,” MK sniffled.

“Ah, it’s okay, kid, we’ll get this sorted out; I’ll send an email to that principal askin’ to switch trig teachers or somethin’, or try to deal with any punk kids– see if there’s a deal we can work out,” Pigsy chuckled tiredly.

MK nodded, but didn’t dare move from his guardian’s warm and protective embrace. To his relief, the chef didn’t seem keen on breaking it up either.

But after a while, MK couldn’t help but ask, “A-are you… disappointed in me?”

“What? ‘Course not, kid– if anything I’m disappointed in m–that– uh– that staff at your school. I pay ‘em how much a year and they don’t even take proper attendance? What a joke,” Pigsy forced a laugh.

MK looked down at his hospital blanket. “I-I was just– I was so scared you’d hate me o-or something and I-I just–”

Pigsy straightened up and forced MK to look at him and his deep, soft eyes.

“MK, you’ll always have your ol’ Pigsy, alright? I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”

MK nodded hesitantly and his guardian hugged him once again.

“Good… because– because I really mean it, there’s nothing you could do to make me hate or leave you.”

MK laughed weakly. “I know, Pigsy, I know.”

“Good,” Pigsy laughed a little too, squeezing him a little tighter before slowly letting go and fixing up the boy’s appearance– or what could be fixed of it anyways. “Are you feelin’ any better, kid? I know I should’ve asked that before but–”

“Yeah, much better,” MK chuckled, before a thought came to mind. “Is– um… Is my phone still in one piece? And do you have it? I think Mei probably thinks I’m dead so I should probably text her.”

“Oh, right, yeah– you kids and your phones,” Pigsy joked, fishing it out of his pocket and handing it to the teen, who instantly opened it and saw a myriad of texts from Mei.

4:15 You talk to Pigsy yet? 4:17: I’m going to take your silence as a no 4:20: Are you done yet? 4:22: MKKKKK are you doneeeeeee? 4:45: MK you’re making me actually consider doing my homework plz respond 😩 4:50: Did he kill you? If he did sorry I instilled false hope. In my defense, you didn’t seem like you believed it. 4:52: Okay I’m concerned fr fr– text meeeeeee 4:56: Damn you two must either be having a heart-to-heart or he’s ending your whole career– if so BIG oof 4:56: Praying for you 🙏 5:00: You done yet? 5:02: Is your phone on silent bc damn you aren’t even reading these– and here I thought we were friends smh 😔😔😔💔💔💔 5:13: DUDE there was a crash outside Pigsys Noodles! Did you see it?!! Call me!!!!! 5:15: MK WERE YOU THE GUY WHO CRASHED TEXT ME RIGHT NOW 5:16: MK you better be alive or so help me buddha I will motorcycle to your apartment so fast and kill you myself 5:17: OKAY i didn’t mean that, plz be alive I’ll be so nice if you’re alive 5:20: MKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK 5:25: Call me as soon as you can, okay? I’m worried over here 9:37: My parents took my phone but gave it back now bc I did my homework but you didn’t call so ig we can both be mad at each other 10:42: If this is revenge for Kim, you’re gay and that was middle school, I thought you got over that 11:01: /j 11:04: /lh /ily 💚 2:42: I really, really hope you’re okay… 💚💚💚

“Yeesh, you kids really do text a lot,” Pigsy eyed all the messages.

“It’s how she shows love,” MK laughed a little, and shot a quick text:

4:01 “Not dead 👍 in hospital”

He waited only two seconds before his phone flooded with more texts from his friend, none of which he read, just typing:

4:02 “Go to bed. I’ll call when I have the energy. Ily 💛”

The barrage stopped, and Mei sent back:

4:02 “Fineeeeeeeee, ily2 or whatever 🙄💚”

MK hearted the message and chuckled.

“You two need better sleep schedules,” Pigsy pointed out, shaking his head.

“Bah, I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” MK repeated one of his guardian’s favorite mantras.

“Har-har, I see how it is,” The pig demon rolled his eyes and MK laughed.

“Had to,” He grinned.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Pigsy ruffled his hair lightly before fixing it again.

MK chuckled. “How’s Tang doing? You call him at all?”

Pigsy half-shrugged. “Yeah– he was real bummed about not getting his noodles, but I talked sense into ‘im eventually,” the demon snorted. “He hopes you’re okay and get better soon.”

“Good, good,” MK nodded to himself, before glancing at his boss. “You– uh– gonna check up on him soon..?”

Pigsy laughed. “That big baby just has a cold, he’ll be fine if I stick around with you,” he assured him, though raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh well– um–” MK didn’t know how to respond. “I don’t know– I’m just– I’m glad you’re here, Pigsy,” he smiled weakly.

“I’m glad I’m here too, kid– I… I care a lot about you, you know that?” the chef asked nervously.

MK nodded with a weak smile. “Yeah, I know.”

Pigsy smiled with a soft hum, before he suddenly wrapped MK in another side hug and MK snuggled back up to him as best he could.

He knew it was stupid, that Pigsy was just his boss, but moments like these made MK feel like maybe in a different universe, Pigsy could be his dad, and that he’d stroke his hair and call him “son” and instead of saying “I care about you”, they could say “I love you”.

But that wasn’t what they had– MK was just his “ward” and employee, and Pigsy was just his legal guardian and boss, nothing more, nothing less.

But for now, MK could pretend and just be happy feeling safe and warm in his guardian’s arms without a care in the world– and a part of him could think that maybe– just maybe– Pigsy felt the exact same way…

Well, it was a nice fantasy no matter what, and he’d be fast asleep in the matter of minutes, snug as a bug in a rug in his guardian’s arms, feeling as though everything was right with the world for once in his chaotic young life.

[themculibrary]

There's another one where Foggy's family adapts Matt or another super sad and emotional one from Matt pls

is it this fic?

He Has a Few Complexes (ao3) - telm_393 T, 23k

Summary: In which Matt Murdock does not need nice things or non-essential feelings such as happiness, and Foggy Nelson is an unexpected (and vaguely bemused, though mostly skeptical) addition to the ongoing saga of 'Matthew Murdock Walks Alone'.

- Tori

[sentinelpri]

Under The Mask

Kakashi Hatake very rarely allows himself to care about people because of the cursed cycle he’s been put through since his childhood; he gets attached to someone who shows him kindness, they reassure him that they’ll be there for the long-run, and then, in a tragic turn of events, they go and die on him. Kakashi is sure that it’s some sort of karma that’s been delivered to him for being such a dickhead all his life, and at this point, he’s too afraid to test it to prove his theory correct or even question it anywhere outside of his own mind.

Unfortunately, just as he thinks he’s getting good at repressing the trauma from his father’s suicide (and Obito’s sacrifice, as well as his murdering of Rin, on top of Tenzou’s vanishing off the face of the earth, as well as Minato and Kushina’s untimely deaths), he makes the mistake of going and getting attached to yet another person who radiates sunshine and sparkles and all the other good shit in the world that Kakashi desperately tries to avoid in fear of losing it yet again. 

It’s Wednesday, and for as long as they’ve been doing this, Wednesday has been their day.

Ichiraku is dead empty aside from the two of them. Kakashi sits on the stool in the very right corner with Iruka sitting to the left of him. Iruka prefers the corner stool, but Kakashi is adamant about taking it from him every time because one, it’s the closest to the wall which eases his anxiety, and two, he’s able to protect Iruka a little easier if anything ever happens. 

Their dates- meetings- whatever they are, are unspoken. It’s been a couple years since it started; Kakashi noticed that Iruka would treat himself to Ichiraku every Wednesday and felt so drawn to the teacher that he “just so happened” to show up there on Wednesday’s as well. Iruka, the soft-hearted extrovert he is, immediately started sitting next to Kakashi and trying to talk to him. Kakashi rarely responds with much, let alone anything too personal about himself, but he does listen. He loves Iruka, and he loves everything Iruka has to say from his dumb stories about kids walking all over Mizuki to his deepest fears and regrets.

With how little Kakashi has openly invested into their relationship, he’s confused as to why Iruka keeps trying. He never questions it, though. He appreciates Iruka’s attention too much. At this point, he craves it so frequently that he finds himself doing whatever he can to see Iruka outside of their meetups at Ichiraku; trailing him home after he gets off work to make sure he gets there safely, showing up at the academy to watch him sit on that wooden swing outside the building after hours, dropping off groceries on his porch when he’s too broke to buy them for himself, “bumping into him” at his favorite book store. 

Now that it’s been a couple years, even Kakashi, dense as he can be, has realized what it is. It’s love. Albeit a bit obsessive and a bit creepy (especially considering the fact that he’s basically been stalking/bodyguarding Iruka since the start of their friendship), Kakashi knows that what he feels for Iruka is romantic love that has only grown since getting to know him better. The worst part is that he knows Iruka loves him back- or at least has a crush on him. It’s obvious in how Iruka so hurriedly insists to pay for Kakashi’s food despite making chump-change at his teaching job, and it’s obvious in how Iruka stares at him with a huge blush and his big brown eyes so sweetly when he thinks Kakashi isn’t paying attention.

But Kakashi will never confess- not because of a fear of rejection, but because he’s afraid of getting too attached only to lose someone again. He’s already in far too deep. He doesn’t want to know what it’s like to be even deeper. 

“Ah, that reminds me,” Iruka starts, having just finished telling Kakashi about some crazy mission that one of his students from last year went on. “I actually got assigned a B-rank mission. It’s supposed to happen next week during the kids’ final exams, which kind of sucks, but I guess Lord Third is really just that understaffed.”

“And what’s the mission?” Kakashi questions as his blood runs cold. He hasn’t seen or heard of Iruka going on a mission the entire time he’s known the Chunin. B-ranks aren’t especially terrible for him, but he’s concerned about Iruka having to go on one. The thought of this person- his person- that he’s fallen in love with going on a mission after years of not having done so and getting hurt or killed makes his heart drop to his stomach. “Hell, when’s the last time you’ve even been on a mission, anyway?”

“It’s just escorting this princess from here to Suna for her wedding. It’s nothing too crazy, but apparently there’s been rumors that there’s some A-rank rogues from her home town that want to kidnap her to make her father pay ransom… I haven’t actually been on a mission since I started teaching, but I’ve kept up with my training, so I should be fine? I’m more upset that Lord Third chose to do it right before finals and that he assigned it to me instead of to Mizuki.”

“Yeah, I’d be pretty pissed too. Then again, the wellbeing of this village’s children has always played second fiddle to the missions, so this shit doesn’t surprise me. He’s probably sending you because he knows you won’t fuck it up like Mizuki will.”

Iruka doesn’t respond to that, too nice to talk negatively about Mizuki even though the other Chunin is clearly a dickhead that has no idea what he’s doing most of the time.

“Well, I’m supposed to leave tomorrow night, so… Yeah. Wish me luck.”

To that, Kakashi doesn’t say anything.

The two of them finish their food in silence and play their usual game of racing to see who can pay first. This time, Kakashi wins, and with that, he leaves.

He’ll definitely have to stop by the Hokage’s office in the morning.

~

The following morning, Kakashi goes to Hiruzen’s office as soon as it opens at 6AM.

When he gets there and opens the door, Hiruzen does a double take and nearly spits out the hot tea he’s sipping on. It’s clear that he wasn’t expecting Kakashi at all, let alone expecting Kakashi to damn-near slam his door open so hard that it nearly breaks off of its hinges when it slams into the wall. 

“Kakashi, it’s early for you to even be awake,” Hiruzen stammers out with a cough before collecting himself. He sets his teacup down on a coaster and clasps his hands together on top of his desk as Kakashi fully enters the room and shuts the door behind him. “Is there an emergency? What’s wrong?”

“I heard that Iruka was assigned a B-rank mission…” Kakashi starts. It’s awkward and uncomfortable- he doesn’t want to have to admit that he doesn’t want Iruka to go, but he has to in order to be able to make this work. He stands slouched over in front of the Hokage’s desk and averts his gaze. “Do you think I could do it in his place?”

“What… Why?”

“The end of the year at the academy is coming up, final exams are soon. I’d hate for him to have to miss out on this vital instruction time with his students just because there’s a ninja shortage and you don’t have anyone else,” Admittedly, that’s not the true reason. Kakashi really doesn’t care about any of the shit that’s going on at the academy, even if he’s going to be forced to train a graduating group of Genin this year. What he really cares about is Iruka’s safety. He just doesn’t want that information getting back to Iruka. So, he lies. “Plus, he’s been teaching for a few years now… He’s probably rusty.”

“Well, excuse me,” Iruka’s soft, melodic voice rings through the room a little less than a second after Kakashi hears the door open. Kakashi quickly snaps around to face Iruka, his cheeks bright red and his eyes wide. He’s thankful that he’s wearing a mask over his face to hide his expression. “I didn’t know you were so concerned.”

“I-Iruka…”

“Well, to answer your question, Kakashi, I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Hiruzen says while drumming his fingers against the desk. Kakashi is thoroughly embarrassed, even more so by the fact that Iruka is smugly leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and an uncharacteristic little smirk on his rosy lips. “I need you for an S-rank that’s set a week from today, there’s no way you’d be able to complete the B-rank in time since it’s an estimated two weeks to get to and from where the B-rank destination will be located. I appreciate your concern about the academy students, but Mizuki will take proper care of them until Iruka returns. If they need any help up there, I can have Anko fill in temporarily.”

“But I-” Kakashi starts to object, only to immediately get shot down.

“No buts. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some paperwork to do…” Hiruzen trails off and avoids Kakashi’s eyes (or, eye).

While Lord Third doesn’t command Kakashi to leave, it’s pretty apparent that’s what he’s hinting at. Kakashi, having faced enough embarrassment today, figures he should probably make a quick exit- lest it get any worse. 

“Ah, Lord Third, before you do that, could I talk to you about something?” Iruka starts.

“Sure, Iruka,” Hiruzen nods. Then, he turns to Kakashi and offers him a kind, knowing smile. “Kakashi, feel free to see yourself out now.”

Kakashi quickly turns and makes his way out of the room, his shoulder slamming into Iruka’s by accident on the way out.

Just how much of that conversation did Iruka hear…?

~~

That night, Kakashi lies on his hardwood living room floor. He stares up at the ceiling with no true focus. Part of him is incredibly wired from the anxiety he’s feeling about his talk with Lord Third earlier and the potential of Iruka leaving on a dangerous mission tonight. The other part of him is exhausted and ready to sleep due to not having slept the night prior- nightmares be damned. His Jonin vest is abandoned on the back of his couch along with his village headband, leaving him in his blue sweatpants, blue turtleneck, blue mask, and black socks.

To his utter terror and disappointment, he senses Iruka’s Chakra from a mile away. Kakashi becomes confused as to why the younger man hasn’t left the village yet. He isn’t sure whether he should be relieved that the mission may have been a bust or scared that something bad may have happened. The next twenty minutes are spent with him being a nervous wreck, standing from the floor to pace circles around his couch. All of his Ninken- Pakkun, Bull, Akino, Shiba, Bisuke, Urushi, Guruko, and Uhei- curiously follow him around. They’ve probably picked up on his contagious negative feelings and are waiting for some sort of reassurance or explanation. All Kakashi offers them is a shake of his head and a dismissive wave, so they scatter to different places in the apartment.

Eventually, there’s a knock on the door. Kakashi knows it’s Iruka before he even opens it. Regardless, he acts somewhat surprised when he cracks the door just far enough to peek out and see Iruka. The Chunin is dressed in a large green sweater and black, form-fitting sweatpants that are far from his usual work apparel. Kakashi’s confusion about whatever the hell happened to Iruka’s B-Rank mission assignment only increases. 

“Iruka, what are you doing here?” Kakashi questions.

He’s careful to hide behind the door and only have it far enough open that Iruka can’t see much else aside from his eyes. While he doesn’t care about things like home decor and organizational skills, he knows that Iruka does, and his apartment is a mess of unmatching furniture, dog beds, dog toys, food and water bowls, and clothes lazily strewn about. 

“Kakashi, I think we need to have a talk.”

Usually, when Kakashi gets to hear “we need to have a talk” from someone else, he either gets told that yet another person in his life has been killed or that he’s about to have to deal with some other stupid bullshit that he’d rather not have anything to do with. So, when he hears the words from Iruka, he winces and hides even further behind his door.

“I don’t believe we do,” Kakashi denies Iruka’s statement with a clear shake of his head.

“It’s not a bad talk. I’m not upset with you or anything,” Iruka reassures him, so Kakashi acquiesces.

“Fine,” Kakashi agrees and holds the door open a little more. He notices that Iruka is holding a food storage container with a pair of chopsticks clipped on top of it. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to say thank you for trying to spare me from that mission. It was very sweet of you, even if I didn’t really need it,” Iruka explains. “Lord Third ended up being able to hire someone from Suna to cover for me after I expressed to him that Mizuki couldn’t handle the final exams by himself and that Anko wasn’t a suitable substitute.”

“Oh, well… You’re welcome,” Kakashi answers, somewhat relieved that’s all Iruka seems to want to talk about.

“In fact, I brought you this to say thank you. You know, as a teacher, I really don’t make enough to buy anyone in my life anything too nice, but um…” Iruka holds out the food, which forces Kakashi to open his door halfway to grab it from him. He steps out of the apartment to join Iruka on the porch while positioning his body to block the view of the inside of the living room. He doesn’t miss how Iruka tries to peek over his shoulder. In an attempt to block Iruka’s view, Kakashi straightens his posture. “I still wanted to do something kinda nice for you.”

“You really didn’t need to do that…” Kakashi responds and holds the food in his hands like it’s some sort of precious glass that he’s afraid to drop and break.

“Can I come in?”

Kakashi winces. He wants to say no. He also wants to just run inside, shut the door, and lock Iruka out. But, with Iruka’s big brown eyes practically begging him to say ‘yes’, he can’t muster up what it takes to deny the request.

“Uh, sure.”

With that, Kakashi fully opens the door and allows Iruka inside. He follows the Chunin inside, shutting and locking the door behind him, then cringing when Iruka is immediately bombarded by all eight of his dogs. Within seconds, Iruka is on the floor with three Ninken in his lap, two rubbing their heads against his hands, the the rest practically running over each other to lick his face.

“Oh, hi!” Iruka greets them while laughing, struggling to give them all attention.

Kakashi walks over to where they are and starts to peel the dogs off of Iruka one by one.

“Sorry about that, they’re not really used to company.”

“It’s no problem, I love dogs,” Iruka beams and stands up.

The Ninken follow them to the kitchen, where Kakashi sits at the table. While he opens and starts to eat the food that Iruka cooked for him, Iruka paces around his kitchen, looking through the cabinets and the fridge. Admittedly, it’s all pretty much empty, so he can understand the building concern that tears through Iruka’s expression- as much as he hates to admit it. All he has are a couple cans of miso soup stocked in the back of his cabinets as well as a single frozen meal in the freezer and energy drinks and bottled waters in the fridge. In the cupboards, he has a single pan, a single pot, one set of chopsticks, a soup spoon, a knife set, a plate, and a bowl. 

“Your kitchen is as barren as a wasteland,” Iruka promptly scolds him while shutting all of the cabinets and sitting on the counter. Kakashi suddenly notices that he’s only ever bothered to buy one chair for the kitchen table, and he feels guilty for it. Iruka looks incredibly uncomfortable where he’s perched on top of the marble surface. “I definitely did need to make you dinner. In fact, after seeing this, I may have to start doing it more often.”

“Please don’t,” Kakashi mumbles into the food, embarrassed. 

“What, do you think my cooking’s gross?” 

“Not at all- it’s better than mine, I just don’t want to bother you. Trust me, I’m fully capable of taking care of myself,” Kakashi tries to reassure Iruka to no avail. “But with the amount of missions I’m sent on, there’s no point in keeping perishable groceries here. I never have time to cook and I’m hardly ever here, so they’d just go bad anyway. It’d be a total waste of money.”

“Then what do you do when you are here?” Iruka questions with crossed arms.

Kakashi feels incredibly uncomfortable- so much so that he scarfs down the rest of his food and rushes to stand up so he can wash the container as he answers Iruka’s question.

“Usually, I eat out. With the money I make, it doesn’t cause too much of a financial strain… Not that I ever get anything super nice. It’s usually just Ichiraku or veggies and chicken with rice from the convenience store.”

This is too personal. Iruka is in his home, petting his dogs, sitting on his kitchen counter, talking to him as if they’re friends- and they are. It’s just that the deeply insecure, attachment-terrified Kakashi was hoping that he’d be able to enjoy the perks of their odd friendship without getting close enough to get burned. Then again, it may be too late for that, which is fine… He supposes he can maybe have a friend as long as he keeps Iruka at a good distance. Surely, as long as he doesn’t act on his romantic feelings to make their love for each other even deeper, things should be okay.

“I see. Well, assuming you don’t fail the Genin I send you yet again this year, your life is going to change. You’re going to have to be here a lot more often to support them, so you should really start taking care of yourself and getting good groceries. There’s plenty you can buy that won’t go bad super fast; rice, dried beans, dark chocolate, peanut butter, ramen, canned tuna, bouillon cubes for soup… I can even help you, if you want!”

The idea of Iruka taking him grocery shopping is the domestic sort of thing that Kakashi regularly fantasizes about before going to bed at night. However, the thought of it actually coming to fruition scares the shit out of him. It’s too domestic, too friendly, too intimate for them to be doing. Kakashi goes rigid and stares down at the inside of the sink as he dries his hands and speaks.

“Is that all you dropped by for, then?”

“Well, no. It was the main reason, but I just wanted to ask…” Iruka places his feet flat on the floor and stands up so he can place a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder. The contact has Kakashi jumping to turn and face Iruka, who stares at him with soft eyes. All of the Ninken seem to pick up on Kakashi’s panic, which causes most of them to flee to his bedroom. The only one who stays is Pakkun, who parks himself on the dog bed that’s in the corner of the kitchen and pretends to fall asleep. “Do you really think I’m rusty or incompetent or something?”

“What? Of course not… Don’t tell me you heard that entire conversation I had with Lord Third,” Kakashi says and shrugs Iruka’s hand off of his shoulder.

Iruka looks disappointed at the loss of touch and folds his hands together, almost as if he’s unsure of where he should put them if not on Kakashi. It takes everything in the Jonin not to grab Iruka’s hands and hold them for as long as he can. He has to shove his own hands in his pockets and ball them into tight fists to hold back from just reaching out and taking the affection that he’s craved for so long.

“I did.”

“Forget what you heard. I wasn’t being all that truthful with Lord Third. Most of what I was saying to him back there was shit I made up on the fly to try and get you out of it.”

“Why?” Iruka demands, much to Kakashi’s dismay. He never wanted Iruka to find out, let alone question his motives behind getting the mission canceled. Kakashi deeply regrets not leaving the issue alone since Iruka ended up advocating for himself and avoiding the mission in the end. Then again, hindsight bias is a bitch. “Were you worried about me?”

Kakashi wants to deny it, but he has a hard time lying to Iruka, so he hesitates.

“Don’t phrase it like that.”

“So it’s true,” Iruka practically beams, seemingly unaware of the anxiety that his prodding, interrogation-like commentary about what happened earlier is causing Kakashi.

Kakashi leans his lower back against the kitchen counter and grasps at the edges of the marble. His fingers turn white with the pressure exerted to squeeze the counter as he tries to keep his knees from shaking. Iruka is standing in front of him now, one hand resting on one of his wide hips and the other raised to point at Kakashi with a single accusatory finger. 

“No, it’s not,” Kakashi insists even though he knows damn well he’s lying through his teeth. “I wasn’t worried about you.”

“So you don’t care about me, then?”

Iruka sasses back with a pout. Kakashi briefly wanders what the fuck Iruka is getting at here, or what he’s even trying to do. What’s the point of this conversation? What is it that Iruka is hoping to get out of this? A confirmation of their sort-of-sort-of-not-kinda-maybe-sorta- friendship? A date? A love confession?

“It’s not like that either.”

“Then what is it like, Kakashi?” Iruka asks. His eyebrows are furrowed together, and for once, his expression is unreadable. Kakashi genuinely can’t tell whether Iruka is upset, amused, or some other emotion he doesn’t understand. “Because I’m not quite sure I understand the reason behind what you were trying to do this morning.”

And, the moment Iruka leans in to rest his hands on either side of Kakashi on the counter, Kakashi is trapped like a wild animal cornered by a skilled hunter. Iruka doesn’t relent and let it go like he normally would either- he just stands there, staring into Kakashi’s eyes, waiting for an explanation. Kakashi can’t look away no matter how much he wants to.

“You don’t need to understand- what you need to do is get your nose out of my business and get out of my apartment.”

“What if I don’t want to do that?” Iruka challenges.

Kakashi takes a deep breath to try to compose himself, only to find that it doesn’t work. He’s on the edge of hyperventilating, and his heart is beating against his chest. Avoiding Iruka’s line of questions didn’t work, nor did trying to push him away. 

Perhaps he’s let Iruka worm his way in a tad too much… And perhaps it’s too late to stop what’s bound to happen.

“I will pick your ass up and throw you out that door myself if I have to.”

Iruka scoffs. 

“You wouldn’t.”

Kakashi opens his mouth to object, only for nothing to come out. He allows his lips to fall shut again while he thinks of something- anything- to get out of this. Nothing comes to mind, so he lets out a sigh and throws his hands up in defeat.

“Okay, fine, I wouldn’t. What is it that I have to tell you to make you leave me alone?”

“I wanna know the truth,” Iruka slowly moves his hands and places them on Kakashi’s shoulder, cautious, almost as if he’s afraid to scare him off. Kakashi settles under the touch surprisingly fast and allows himself to meet Iruka’s eyes. “Look, Kakashi… I know we aren’t the best of friends, but I’ve considered you a good friend for a while now and I appreciate the time we spend together. I just… I don’t know what your intentions are. There are times where you completely ignore me when I talk to you and seem like you don’t care, and then there are other times where you make me feel like I’m on top of the world. I know you follow me home, I’ve seen you leaving groceries on my porch when I’m too broke to buy them, I’ve sensed you watching me sit on the swing after school hours, and I know damn well that you don’t like reading children’s education books and that you’ve never bought a damn thing from that store- but you show up every time anyway, and I know it’s because of me. All I want to know is why.”

Kakashi wilts under Iruka’s knowing gaze like a dying rose. It makes sense that Iruka would be able to tell, he’s never been good at hiding his feelings and their friends have made jokes about them needing to date already since the start. Kakashi should be relieved right now, knowing that Iruka seems to at least somewhat return his feelings, but all he feels is absolute panic. The collected, uncaring facade he hid behind for so long is crumbling before his and Iruka’s very eyes, and he’s failing to figure out how to put it back together.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?” Iruka frustratedly raises his voice. “I care about you, too, Kakashi-”

“I know you do. I see the way you look at me, Iruka, I can’t pretend I don’t,” Kakashi confesses and blinks away the tears that start to well up in his eyes. “But I don’t want to push this too far and see what happens when it inevitably breaks.”

Iruka doesn’t know- or, he shouldn’t know- the reason behind Kakashi’s fear of getting close to him. But, Iruka being Iruka, he somehow figures it out and reaches up to hold Kakashi’s masked face in his hands. Kakashi flinches because hell, the last time someone grabbed his head was to slam it into the ground during a mission and fuck, he’s not used to someone touching him without the intent of making it hurt.

“Are you that scared of losing me…?”

Something in Kakashi finally breaks. After years of pushing away everyone else to prevent losing yet another person in his life, Iruka has wormed his way in; into Kakashi’s life, into his apartment, and into his heart. No matter how hard he tries to get Iruka out, he won’t ever be able to. Whether or not they cross the line of friendship into romance, Kakashi is in love with him. God forbid something ever happens to Iruka, no matter what the label is on what they have, Kakashi will be ruined either way.

“...Yes,” He answers after a little too long and places his hands over where Iruka’s are on his face. “I am. I love you, Iruka. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, I… I don’t think I’d be able to go on.”

“I love you, too. You’re not going to be losing me any time soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Kakashi, is it okay if I kiss you?”

Kakashi hesitates at first. No one alive in the village has seen his face and he’s not sure if Iruka would even like the way he looks. Still, he’s spent far too many nights fantasizing about what it would be like to have Iruka kissing him to squander it. He nods and positions Iruka’s fingers so they’re clutching the top of his mask.

“Please,” Kakashi nods and allows his eyes to flutter shut- partially because this excitement is all too much and it’s making him very overstimulated, and partially because he’s too terrified to watch the way Iruka’s expression will change upon seeing his face for the first time- because while Iruka is a gorgeous sunkissed ray of sunshine with big brown eyes, silky hair, and a beautiful smile, Kakashi is this awkward looking, gangly gremlin of a human with a face that he’s always found to be quite average. “It’s all I want.”

Iruka pulls his mask down. 

Kakashi flinches, expecting to hear a gasp or some sort of dramatic explanation about his appearance. No such thing happens. Instead, Iruka caresses Kakashi’s cheekbones with his thumbs and leans in for a sweet, soft kiss… Or at least that’s how it starts. Before Kakashi can fully process the taste of Iruka’s strawberry chapstick and the chamomile tea on his lips, they’re both deepening the kiss. Kakashi’s hands fly to Iruka’s hips to grab at them and pull the Chunin even closer at the same time that Iruka’s hands entangle themselves in Kakashi’s silver hair. Years of built up want and affection are finally allowed to seep out through their connected lips, which move against each other fervently until Iruka breaks away to talk. 

“Kakashi,” Iruka breathes against his neck, somewhat airy and completely sincere in the charming way that Iruka has always been. “I promise, I’ll never leave you, okay?”

And Kakashi cries. It’s not a pretty cry, either. He sobs, loud and ugly and broken as he wraps his arms around Iruka’s frame and buries his face in the crook between the younger man’s shoulder and neck. Somehow, in the midst of it, Iruka drags him to his bedroom, which is- thankfully- vacant of his Ninken, most of whom like to hit the town at this time of night. They end up on the floor with Iruka sitting and holding Kakashi in his lap. 

It’s weirdly comfortable despite the fact that Kakashi is currently getting his snot and tears all over Iruka’s nice sweater. Iruka seems to understand enough to just sit there and hold him. Iruka’s arms gently circle around Kakashi so he can rub the Jonin’s back through his shirt. Kakashi allows it, too, so starved for touch that he can’t so much as think about moving away from it.

“Thank you,” He manages to get out through the cries and the sniffles. 

When he looks up, he realizes that Iruka is crying, too. Tears coat his long eyelashes and stream down from his chocolate brown eyes.

“Of course, Kakashi. You deserve it.”

The reassurance only makes Kakashi cry even harder.

So, they sit there for a few more hours, crying together and holding hands on Kakashi’s bedroom floor before eventually tumbling into Kakashi’s bed with puffy eyes and bright red cheeks. 

When Kakashi wakes up in the morning, he’s disappointed to find the bed empty- that is until he rolls over and sees a note on the nightstand in what he recognizes as Iruka’s soft, slanted handwriting. 

‘Good morning, Kakashi. Hope you slept well. 

I had to go to work at the academy this morning, but I got you breakfast. It’s on the kitchen counter for whenever you get up and decide you want it. If you don’t eat in the mornings or something, though, you can put it in the fridge and save it for later.

Come by mine for dinner if you aren’t busy, around 5pm if that works for you.

Have a good day. I love you.

-Iruka’

Kakashi smiles and folds the note, tucking it into the top drawer of his nightstand. Then, he gets up and looks at the clock. It’s just past 10AM and he has nothing to do that day until his plans with Iruka, so…

Maybe he should bring Iruka lunch at work.

[texas-writes]

Many Paths

Set a little while after graduation. Leon and Reader are both almost nineteen.

Warnings: unprotected sex, slight degradation, mention of pregnancy, Leon is fucking *built*

“You’re not really going to go, right Leon,” you ask, tucking your legs under you as you settle into the couch cushions.

He sighs and flops down next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders, pulling you towards him. “I… I’m not sure. I feel like it’s the right thing to do, but I feel like leaving is wrong too.”

“Then stay. You can wait another year before going to basic. You just graduated, you’re young, you’re free. Just spend the summer with me Leon, please?”

“Then what am I gonna do for work until then, huh?”

“You scored great on all your tests, all you have left is boot camp. You could come be a host where I work, it’d be nice to see you every day.”

He sighs and kisses the top of your head. “Yeah, I guess I could do that. It would be nice, but think of where we could go if I joined up now. We could go to like, Europe or something.”

“We?”

“Well, yeah, of course. Course I’d take you with me.”

“Wouldn’t that be…expensive because I’m a civilian?”

He chuckles and pulls you into his lap, draping his arms around your shoulders. “Not if we got married.”

“I- You- Le- married,” you splutter, turning to look him in the eyes. You’d been together since you were sixteen, almost three years, but you were still surprised by his forwardness. It was simply in Leon’s nature to joke about serious things like that, usually because it made him uncomfortable to wear his heart on his sleeve like that.

“What? You don’t want to marry me? I thought that’s what you wanted,” he asks, throwing his hands up defensively, feigning hurt.

“Well, yeah, I want that, but I thought you’d wait a long time to ask.”

“And risk losing a girl like you? No way,” he chuckles, bringing his lips to yours. “My parents aren’t gonna be gone until Thursday. Do you want to go to my room and, y’know,” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows at you.

“Only if you carry me,” you tease, wrapping your arms around his neck, making it easier for him to scoop his arms under you and carry you up the stairs.

“Anything for my Princess,” he jokes, untangling your arms from him and tossing you over his shoulder, making his way up the stairs to his room.

He tosses you on the bed and steps back, noticing how you watch him pull his shirt off and toss it into the hamper in his closet. His muscular back ripples as he moves, and his sweatpants rest low on his hips, allowing you to see the trail of blond hair that trailed down his belly and disappeared into the waistband, the sharp v cut of his muscles, God, he didn’t have on boxers either.

“You like what you see,” he taunts, stretching his arms above his head just to show off some.

“Mhm,” you whine, your hand trailing down your body and between your legs, gently touching yourself through your panties.

He leans forward, resting one hand on your thigh, using it to bear his weight while the other wraps around your wrist, pulling your hand away from your pussy.

“Come on now, you know that’s my job,” he chided, kneeling at the foot of the bed, throwing your legs over his shoulders and pulling you towards him. The sensation of him ghosting his fingers along the gusset of your panties before pulling them to the side is enough to make you shiver.

Leon’s breath fanning across your exposed flesh tickles as he pushes his face between your thighs, making you instinctively squeeze them together. His tongue is pleasantly hot as he presses it against your dripping sex, your taste making him salivate. He pulls away for a moment, spitting on your clit before grabbing your thighs and shoving his face into your pussy, kitten licking at your clit before dragging his tongue through your folds and burying it inside of you.

You use one hand to pull your skirt above your waist so you can watch him devour you, and the other slides into his sandy blond hair, cradling the back of his head while he mercilessly fucks you with his tongue, his nose bumping against your clit from time to time, making you squirm and tug at his hair.

He releases one of your thighs and replaces his tongue with two of his fingers, curling them inside of you as he pulls away, moving his other hand from your thigh and splaying it out across your belly, keeping your hips in place against the bed.

“I want you to cum on my face, I know you can do it,” he teases, curling his fingers into you, brushing against you with his thumb and smiling to himself when you whine and buck against his hand. “Can’t even speak, how pathetic, I haven’t even fucked you yet.” He returns his mouth to abusing your pussy, sucking harshly at your puffy clit, savoring every sound that comes out of you, holding himself back from just pouncing on you like an animal.

Your thighs quivering around his head only urges him to eat you with more frevor than before. His tongue laps at you softly while your cunt squeezes his fingers as they slow their pace inside you, easing you through your orgasam. He pulls away and admires the way your thighs glisten and your weeping pussy flutters around nothing as he pushes his sweatpants down his hips and stands before you, completely naked.

Leon is an absolute sight as you rake your eyes up his body to meet his. A mixture of his saliva and your juices drip down his chin and he wipes it away with the back of his hand, giving you a small smirk. You grab at the bottom of your shirt and begin weakly trying to pull it off of you, eager to get to the main attraction of the evening. He comes around the side of the bed and wraps an arm around you under your arms, pulling you up the bed so your head rests on one of his pillows. His scent fills your nostrils, making you sigh and relax. He makes quick work of pulling your shirt off you and is pleased to find that you didn’t bother wearing a bra when you decided to come over.

“No bra,” he teases, hooking his finger in the waistband of your panties and pulling them down your legs, tossing them somewhere behind him. “Whore.”

You whine at his degrading choice of words and spread your legs, reaching between them and spreading yourself open for him to see. He just laughs condescendingly and climbs onto the bed over top of you, wasting no time in lining himself up with your entrance and pushing his engorged head into you. You try to roll your hips against his, trying to get him to push deeper into you, but he just holds your hips down and stares at where the two of you are joined, relishing in the fact that he’s the one that gets to use you like this, that it’s his name that falls from your lips when you touch yourself, that you belong to him.

The very thought is enough to make him consider finishing inside you, but then again, you were already enrolled to start your college courses in the fall. It would be cruel of him to take that from you, but by God did he want to fuck a baby into you. You just looked so damn good, and took all of him so well. He never said it but he knew that if you ever left him he would be a lost man, indeed.

Finally after what felt to you like ages he bottoms out inside you, not even bothering to let you adjust to being full before he’s pounding into you relentlessly. You just felt so fucking good around him, and the way you moaned? It was heaven to him. He grabs your ankles, pulling them to rest on his shoulders, making him groan when he hits a deeper place inside you, turning his head to kiss your ankle.

You’re a whimpering mess under him as you reach your second orgasam, squeezing him so well that he’s not sure if he even has the willpower to pull out, but he does, finishing all over your tummy as you lay there trying to catch your breath.

He chuckles and unzips your skirt, pulling it off of you and using it to clean up his mess before tossing it aside and falling into bed beside you. “That was nice,” he murmurs, pulling you into his chest and pressing a kiss to the back of your neck.

“Mhm,” you agree softly, lacing your fingers with his.

“I love you.”

“Love you too, Leon.”

“I’ll stay here until you go to school if it’ll make you happy.”

“You mean that,” you question, releasing his hand and rolling over to face him.

“Of course baby, the military can wait another few months to get ahold of me,” he whispers, pressing his lips to yours softly. “You need anything?”

“Nap.”

“Looks like we can agree on that too,” he chuckles, resting his forehead against yours and letting his eyes fall shut. Before you can even think of a response he’s snoring softly beside you.

[psi-spectacular]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Psychonauts (Video Games) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dogen Boole & Sam Boole Characters: Dogen Boole, Sam Boole, boole parents (mentioned) Additional Tags: Sickfic, Whump, Sick Character, Short One Shot, Pre-Canon, Sibling Bonding, Protective Siblings, Emetophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Sam's pissed at their parents through the whole thing but shes trying so hard not to think ab it, Bad Parenting, Parentification

There is a criminally low amount of Sam and Dogen fics, so I decided to add something on the short but fluffy side while i procrastinate. Take my parentified sam hc and bear through horrors indescripable /ref

[massgrav]

The hateful twist of rejection Bends my heart

—

I apparently can't not make my favourite characters a little queer..... Age 30-ish to Old and Sad years-old

[meduseld]

A Case of You

For a weekend, Ziggy lived in Sunnyvale.

(Or, an offering for spooky month and these two on AO3)

[bingqiufics]

Title: you know how to play with the strings (of my soul)

Author: krmilia

Relationship: Jiuyuan

Timeline: Pre-Canon

Status: Complete

Rating: General

Length: 1K (Short)

Summary:

So, maybe, they are friends, and this friendship goes beyond a little bit. So, maybe, they like each other, both.

(But it doesn't necessarily mean that Shen Yuan wants to take a stray cat under his roof.)

[wingedcatp]

The old trio dressed up for some royal gala.  Check out my carrd co to find me on other sites Commissions are Open!

Posted using PostyBirb

[backstabber128]

Finally made it to Ch#9 of my arcane fic, it's almost to the end. It's so fun to draw a happy moment between these kids bc they deserve it There's one final climax of angst left after this 🙏

If you want context, you can read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42632040/chapters/121811236#workskin

[anasaitis]

Um! Liddle

[onedayanauthor]

:) 

[oldschoolfic-ds9]

The Persistence of Memory

by Keelywolfe, 1999

(Author did not provide a summary. The following is reader provided.)

It was a test, the kind that Tain was constantly throwing in his path, little challenges to overcome while Tain waited for his bastard son to disappoint him, for one mishap. Not a suggestion, but an order. Her or me? Whose side are you on, Elim?

Words: 1604, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: non-consensual sex

Characters: Elim Garak, OC

Relationships: Garak/OC, Tain/OC

Reader suggested tags (what are these?): pre-canon, implied underage, slightly incestuous

links (link broken? report it and try the archive.org alternative):

trekiverse / squidge

archive.org - option 1 / option 2 / option 3

[sentinelpri]

Always

It’s past four in the morning in the middle of the Land of Fire, where Kakashi Hatake is stuck on a grueling S-Rank mission. He’s been tracking a criminal rogue ninja, also an S-Rank in the bingo books, for two days straight with no rest. Thankfully, he at least has a lead from another spy in ANBU; the rogue is staying in a hotel just a few hours away and should be there for at least another day or two. Now, all Kakashi has to do is catch up.

The problem is that he’s exhausted, and when he gets exhausted, he gets paranoid as most people do. Every single sound, every brustle of leaves being blown by the wind and every one of his footsteps- it has him on edge. Though, he does know that someone is following him, and that unnerves him even more even if the pursuer isn’t an enemy. 

Frustrated, Kakashi speaks to the man who’s poorly hidden in the trees of the forest. 

“Come on out, Guy, I know you’re there,” Kakashi orders, only to receive no response. “Guy… Seriously, this is getting tiresome. You’ve been at it for two days now. Go home already.”

Guy doesn’t answer. Kakashi sighs and reaches into the weapon pouch that’s strapped to his right thigh. Six years have passed since Kushina and Minato died, and somehow, Guy has gotten worse and worse and worse about following Kakashi to places he shouldn’t. Instead of following Kakashi to his apartment or to the training grounds to challenge him to a new contest, Guy now spends his free time following Kakashi to dangerous ANBU missions, brothels, bars, and all the other places he believes Kakashi shouldn’t be spending his time at. 

Kakashi grabs a kunai and chucks it in the direction of the tree he knows Guy is hiding in. He doesn’t want to actually injure the older man, just force him to come out, and it works. Kakashi hears the sound of the kunai puncturing a tree branch, followed by the sound of Guy’s feet hitting the ground in front of him. 

After two days, the ravenette has finally come out of hiding.

“Wow, that was close!” Guy laughs.

“Seriously? You’re going to get yourself hurt out here,” Kakashi says in an attempt to get Guy to go home, but as per usual, it doesn’t work.

“Eh, I’ll be fine, Kakashi,” Guy easily dismisses the ANBU member with a smile and a playful wave of his right hand. “There isn’t anything out here that your fine rival here can’t handle!”

Kakashi’s eyes narrow as he stares at Guy’s face.

“Why aren’t you mad at me for throwing a kunai straight at you?”

“Kakashi, you have a perfect aim! Yet, that kunai landed five or six inches away from me. I know just as well as you do that you didn’t intend to hit me; you intended to scare me away.”

“Fine,” Kakashi admits with crossed arms. “Then what is it you’re here for?”

“You know why I’m here,” Guy mutters, his happy expression falling into one of concern and his voice dropping in tone and volume.

“Just tell me, will you?”

“I’m worried about you, and I want to keep you safe,” Guy reaches out and places a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder. Kakashi shrugs it off while trying to tell himself that no, he does not desperately crave or need that warm touch. He’s fine without it. He’s fine. “I know that the village is going through a shortage right now, but the fact that they’d send you after an S-Rank rogue by yourself with no back-up… It’s worrying.”

“I’m fine by myself. I’ve been doing these sorts of missions for years and I’m still alive, aren’t I? At this point, I can’t help but think I’m cursed to outlive everyone I’ve ever cared about…”

“Kakashi… You aren’t invincible, and you aren’t cursed, but I can see you falling into darkness and I’m starting to get seriously concerned!”

“You’ve been concerned if the fact that you’ve been following me for half a decade is anything to go by,” Kakashi grumbles and takes a step back, only for Guy to outdo him by taking two steps forward.

“Does that matter? I just want to protect you.”

“I don’t need protection.”

“I didn’t say you did, it just gives me peace of mind, dear rival,” Guy argues. Were it anyone else, Kakashi would have knocked him out and left or just outran him- but it’s Guy, and for some reason, he doesn’t have the heart to fully push Guy away no matter how much he knows he should. Kakashi is weak deep down, and all he wants is to have Guy in his life, so he keeps the other Jonin at a comfortable distance; close enough to still have him in his life, but far enough away to keep him from getting hurt by Kakashi’s ‘friend-killer’ tendencies. “Does it really bother you that much?”

“Yes, it does, but if you’re that determined to stay, the least you could do is help. The ninja I’m after is staying at a hotel that’s a few hours from here. I won’t reasonably be able to catch up to them without stopping to rest since I’ve already been at it for a full day, so I’m going to set up camp somewhere secluded and take a nap. Your job is to keep guard so that if any enemy ninja try to attack while I rest, you can wake me up and we can fight them off. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal!”

They walk together in silence to a more secluded area surrounded by trees, bushes, and a nearby river. Kakashi sets up a tent for them to enter. After sharing some rations, despite his agreement to do what Kakashi had asked by staying awake and keeping watch for potential enemies, Guy doses off- all whilst sitting up.

Sighing, Kakashi lays out a sleeping bag and positions Guy so he’s laying on top of the cheap material to sleep. He thinks of going and sitting outside the tent, but being away from Guy makes his chest squeeze tight in a way he doesn’t like, so he stays. Surely, if there’s an enemy out there, he’ll hear or sense them approaching.

“Ah… So you must’ve been awake following me this entire time. No wonder you’re so exhausted,” Kakashi smiles under his mask as he sits next to Guy’s sleeping body. He reaches down and moves the stray locks of hair out of Guy’s face. “I knew it. You’re such a fool, dear rival.”

Hours pass. Kakashi sits awake despite the exhaustion that tells him to sleep. He’s already been awake for two days, what’s a few hours more on top of that? Plus, he could spend forever staring at Guy’s beautiful face like this; familiar bushy eyebrows, chapped and full pink lips, round nose, defined cheekbones. Guy is a little awkward looking, and somehow, that’s just another part of him that Kakashi has fallen for. Hell, he’s been in love with Guy since they were kids- he just knows better than to say anything, because eventually, Guy is sure to leave him alone like everyone else will. 

He doesn’t want to rip the bandaid off and heal from everything that happened with his father, with Rin and Obito, or with Minato and Kushina to take that next step with Guy if the end result is just going to be Guy going and reopening that wound by dying on him. It would be a waste. So, he doesn’t bother no matter how clear it is that he and Guy have always wanted each other.

When the sun starts to rise, Guy jolts awake to Kakashi’s hand still playing with his hair. Kakashi jumps back in an attempt to make it seem like he wasn’t doing anything.

“Rival? What are you doing?”

“Nothing, Guy, I was just… Waking you up. You went and passed out on me when ”

“Wait, I fell asleep! I’m so sorry, Kakashi-”

“Don’t worry about it, but we’ve already been here for too long. We need to go find this ninja we’re after as soon as possible or they’re going to leave the hotel they’re at and I’m going to fail this mission, so… I’ll sleep for four hours, then you have to wake me up so we can go.”

Kakashi lies down as soon as he finishes his sentence, covering his Sharingan with his headband and allowing both eyes to flutter shut. With that, he falls asleep, not bothering to object even as he feels Guy pulling his head to rest in his lap. He can just pretend he was asleep the whole time, right?

~

Reaching the hotel and assassinating the rogue ninja was easier than Kakashi initially thought it would be. With the criminal having been charged with murders, treason, arson, rape, and a dozen other things, Kakashi expected to have a somewhat difficult time, but with Guy by his side, it was a relatively easy job. They’ve just finished cleaning the hotel room of any evidence and taking the body to be disposed of in the forest of the land of fire. As the summon animals finish eating the remains, Kakashi and Guy turn to walk away.

“Well, that was easy enough,” Kakashi says and crosses his arms.

He’s almost completely out of chakra, he hasn’t eaten in a day and a half, and he’s running off of barely any sleep, but it’s over- and, as much as he wants to push Guy away, having the older man there actually provides him with a warm sense of security that he hasn’t been able to find with anyone else.

“You weren’t bothered by that at all?” Guy asks, probably in reference to seeing the corpse torn apart by vultures and pigs. 

“Do you honestly think I’m capable of being bothered by anything anymore?”

Guy frowns at that.

“Look, Kakashi, we need to talk-”

“Yes, yes, I know, ANBU isn’t good for me and I need to leave before I get completely pulled into the darkness or whatever,” Kakashi quickly interrupts. The argument is one that they’ve had a million times now, one that seems to happen almost every time they see each other these days. “Are you done?”

“Kakashi-”

“Seriously, Guy, I’ve heard dozens of concerned speeches just like the one you were about to give me from the other Jonin in the village since Minato-Sensei died. I’ve heard millions of them from you, now, too. Do you think I’m dense? Do you really think I need another one?”

“I’ll give you as many as I have to if that’s what it takes for you to come back to us, I…” Suddenly, Guy stops walking and grabs Kakashi’s hand to hold it within his own. Kakashi’s eyes widen at the warmth, and this time, he can’t bring himself to pull away. “I miss how things used to be.”

“Well, things are different now. We both know that. I hate to have to be the one to break the news to you, but there’s no going back in time and there’s no erasing everything that’s made me into who I am. The best thing you can do for your own well being is distance yourself from me and live your own life… Everyone who gets close to me is seemingly destined to die, anyway.”

“Kakashi, you don’t mean that! We’d both be devastated if I ended this friendship, don’t even try to pretend that you don’t care about us,” Guy insists, and it’s true. Kakashi thinks of all of the silly contests, the shared lunches, the training sessions, the late night talks. He thinks of how Guy was at every one of the funerals that Kakashi’s had to go to over the years, wrapping an arm over his shoulder in silent support. He hasn’t been able to throw it all away no matter how much he knows he should. “Plus, I won’t go die on you- I’m the blue beast of Konoha, after all!”

“Are you serious? Do you think you’re invincible, Guy? Obito and Rin- Minato and Kushina- they all said those things, too, and you know what they went and did? They died just like everyone I love is bound to! Just leave me alone already, will you!?” Kakashi yells and glares at Guy, only to have those strong and familiar arms wrapped around his smaller body. Though tears fill his eyes, and though he feels himself melting, he still frowns and weakly asks- “Why won’t you leave me alone like everyone else has? Why won’t you let me go? I’m not… I’m not good enough for you to go through all this trouble.”

“Because when I was young and unsure of myself and lost in the darkness of self-doubt, you pulled me out of it. You brought light into my life and inspired me to be the best version of myself, Kakashi,” Guy answers. One of his hands is on the back of Kakashi’s head, rough fingers gently running through his hair. The other hand is on the small of Kakashi’s back. “Now that you’re shrouded in darkness and too blind to choose the right path, it’s my turn to help bring you out of it like you did for me… I’ll help you choose the right path even if it puts me in danger, even if it costs me my life. You’re good enough to deserve that.”

Kakashi crumbles. He crumbles, and he shatters, and he breaks. After years of trying to keep Guy at a distance, he’s failed. Guy has somehow managed to get through each and every wall that Kakashi has put up, somehow managed to get close to Kakashi when no one else could. 

“Guy?” Kakashi whispers and rests his forehead against the ravenette’s chest. 

“Yes, Kakashi?”

“Do you… Do you love me like I think you do?”

“Yes, Kakashi. I always have.”

“I see.”

“Do you love me back?” Guy whispers in return.

Kakashi can hear Guy’s heartbeat, which is loud and booming against his chest.

“...As much as I hate to say this, I always have, Guy.”

“Then let’s head back to Konoha; together this time.”

~

When they get back to Konoha, Kakashi is a mess. After hardly any sleep and no food, Kakashi feels himself start to lose his footing, but Guy manages to catch him with a worried exclamation of-

“Kakashi!”

“Guy, I’m fine…” Kakashi insists despite the fact that he clearly is not fine as Guy loops an arm under both of Kakashi’s and helps him walk. “This is a humiliating display, just put me-”

“No, I’m not going to put you down, you collapsed because you didn’t get enough rest and overused your chakra! This is exactly why I followed you- you know, if I hadn’t come along, you’d just be passed out in the middle of the village right now! This is why I was so concerned.”

“I get your point, okay? I’m not stupid, just… Just take me home.”

“You don’t want to go to a hospital?” Guy questions with a furrowed brow.

“No, I didn’t overdo it by that much. I just need to drink water and get some sleep, I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so…” Slowly, they manage to make it to Kakashi’s apartment. Guy opens the door with his spare key and takes them in. “Man, Kakashi, you’re always so cool! It burns me up thinking about how awesome you are-”

“Guy, you’re embarrassing me,” Kakashi interjects, confused as to how the hell Guy could think about how ‘cool’ he is right now when he’s bloodied and exhausted.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop! But I hope you know I mean it!”

“Oh, I know,” Kakashi smiles underneath his mask as they enter the living room. “Lay me on the couch, will you?”

“Why the couch? That’s horrible for your back.”

“I haven’t bathed in three days and am covered in blood and dirt. I don’t want to soil my bedding.”

“Then go take a bath or shower?”

“Guy, I can’t even stand right now, let alone get into a bath or stay up in the shower and wash myself.”

“Then we can just take a shower together!” Guy says as if it’s an easy solution that doesn’t involve them being naked and in close contact in such an intimate setting. Kakashi knows that he’s turning bright red from the top of his forehead to the bottom of his chest. “I’ll wash you.”

“You realize that-”

“We said we love each other just a few hours ago- plus, we’ve gone to bathhouses together before! It’s not that different.”

“Showering together in my confined bathroom is very much different than going to a bathhouse together. It’s a lot more intimate, but fine… If you insist, we can shower together.”

“Excellent!”

So, they go to the bathroom. Guy is careful to lean Kakashi against the counter to give him some support as he starts the shower with lukewarm water and tosses a steamer in to make the space smell like lavender and mint. Kakashi already feels himself starting to relax, but the second Guy’s hands are on his body and pulling his shirt and mask off, his nerves are shot once more.

When’s the last time he’s been touched so tenderly? Or has he ever? The hands on his midsection are warm and calloused, strong but gentle as they push his pants and boxers down to his ankles. Kakashi gives Guy the liberty of kicking both garments off along with his shoes and socks. Then, Guy undresses as well and pulls Kakashi into the shower with him. Most of Kakashi’s weight is rested against Guy’s chest. 

Unconditional love is an interesting thing, Kakashi thinks. The fact that they can still be comfortable with each other after years of Kakashi pushing Guy away. The fact that Guy still loves him at all. Kakashi can’t quite grasp it; how Guy loves him enough despite it all to wash his hair and his body so tenderly, to scrub away at the dried blood and dirt that covers Kakashi’s pale skin without so much as a second glance. Things are just like they’ve always been, but now, Kakashi wonders if accepting the warmth that Guy offers is such a bad thing. 

Perhaps Guy will be the one to stick around. 

“Mm, you’re warm,” Kakashi says.

“And you are cold,” Guy says in return. He finishes scrubbing Kakashi down with a loofa, then rinses the loofa off so he can clean himself. “Are you always like this?”

“Probably.”

“Then I’ll just have to make a habit of keeping you warm from now on!”

‘Like you haven’t already been doing that for the past fifteen years…’ Kakashi thinks to himself, rolling his eyes. 

“Yeah, okay.”

And suddenly, there’s a pause. The two men simply stare at each other, though Kakashi has his left eye closed to keep from using more chakra. This is the first time Guy has seen him without his mask. Kakashi should feel more nervous, but he doesn’t. The only thing in Guy’s eyes is utter adoration as he takes in Kakashi’s true face. 

“Kakashi…”

“Guy,” Kakashi says back.

His arms are around Guy’s neck while Guy’s arms are around his waist. It’s warm even though the water is getting cooler, and before Kakashi can think of it, Guy is getting closer- closer, closer, closer until finally, they’re flush together; legs brushing against each other, chest against chest, arms tangled around each other’s bodies, noses brushing together, and lips molding into lips.

[galayugmagay]

before, then, and now (a Quincy/Kuya, past Huey/Quincy/Kuya fanfic)

For all of Kuya’s trepidations, what he receives is a far more injurious blow: one that doesn’t draw blood, nor break bones, but leaves the deepest scars in its wake. It’s his first lover, the only one who’d stayed — no, the one who remained — turning his back on Kuya and leaving their home with only this to say: “You’re not the only one Huey left behind.”