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in-my-feels-probably · 3 years

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Diver Down - JJ Maybank

JJ Maybank x Reader

Diver Down

Request - Hi! I have a request for an imagine, you could maybe do one of the scene where the pouges first find the boat (and y/n is part of the pouges and dating JJ). You could do it when she goes to investigate instead of John B and her bikini top gets stuck or she gets trapped in the boat and JJ saves her? (It would be JJ X Reader). Don’t worry if not though it might not make sense x

Hi, thank you so much for the request, I hope this is what you were wanting. I don’t love the outcome, but I thought this idea was cute, so I gave it a shot. Feel free to leave anything else you wanted or other requests, they’re still open for JJ as well as everyone else I write for.

Just a heads up, I did change some things, so it isn’t exactly like the episode.. Shoupe already showed up and told them to leave, John B hadn’t gone down to the wreck yet. She goes down in his place after Shoupe leaves, and that's when your request comes in and all of that happens. I hope that's ok and not too confusing to read, I just didn’t know the best way of doing it, and this seemed easiest. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

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“Guy’s I don’t know about you, but I don't really feel like getting arrested today, so can we hurry whatever we’re doing up, Shoupe didn’t seem like he was in a kidding around mood.”

“Relax, baby. I’m coming up with a plan.” JJ said, leaning to rest against you while using his hat to shade his eyes from the sun.

“Yeah, I’m sure you are J, don’t strain yourself. Look, none of you know how to dive, there’s less than a quarter of oxygen left in that tank, I’m just gonna dive down without it and see if there’s anything worth grabbing.”

Pope huffed at that. “Y/N, that is a terrible idea, you can’t hold your breath for that long. At least take the tank with you.”

You groaned. “No, it’s too heavy, it’ll just be harder to swim with and I’ll use up all the oxygen before I even hit the bottom. I’m a decent enough swimmer, I’ll be fine without it if I just go quick. I’m the best swimmer out of all of us.”

JJ gave you an uneasy look. John B and Kie shared nervous glances, unsure about your plan. Granted, any plan to dive down to a shipwreck without any knowledge of how to dive, let alone with an almost empty tank, was a bad one. At least this way, you were a little more confident that you could do it. A little.

JJ groaned before nodding. “Fine, but be quick about it. There’s nothing down there worth you getting hurt.”

You smiled at that, grabbing his hand in yours. “That's sweet, J, but the potential money or gold down there is worth getting hurt just a little bit.”

He glared at you, and you raised your hands up in surrender. “Kidding, kidding. I’ll be careful, and if something happens, I’ll be right up, ok bub? If I’m not back up in like two minutes, well shit, something went wrong, and it’s been nice knowing you, Kie, you can have my record collection.”

JJ’s eyes widened, and before he could protest, you pulled your shirt over your head, snatched the keys to the cargo hold out of his hand, and turned away from him, facing the water. “Wish me luck, diver down.”

You took a deep breath, and dived off the side of the boat. The water was deeper than you thought, but you could see the wreck at the bottom of the marsh, and you knew you could make it. You spotted the cargo hold, and went right for it. Once you were within reach, you quickly put the key into the lock, opening up the door.

Your chest began to feel tight, and you knew you only had about another minute left before you weren’t going to be able to hold on any longer. You could feel the pressure of being down that deep with no air, your ears beginning to pop. Reaching into the cargo hold, you pulled out a backpack. Satisfied with your findings, and knowing you could probably come back to the wreck with a better plan to search better, you decided to head back up.

You turned to use the deck of the boat to propel yourself back up, when a chunk of your hair got caught in the hinge of the cargo door. You quickly pulled the backpack off of your shoulder and wrapped the strap into a knot around the anchor’s rope. You returned your focus to the cargo door and desperately started pulling at the ends of your hair, but it wouldn’t budge, it had gotten knotted up around the hinge.

Back on the boat, JJ sat anxiously at the edge, peering into the water below. “Guy’s she’s been gone a long time right? She’s been under longer than she should be, what if she got stuck or something happened and--”

John B cut him off, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s alright, calm down, I’m sure she’s fine.”

JJ was getting frantic now, pulling his shirt over his head, checking his pockets to make sure he still had that pocket knife on him. Pope was still peering over the side, looking for any sign of you. Kie stood up, now also really worried.

“I don’t like this, someone please do something!”

They argued back and forth, and down below, you were still struggling. You could see the silhouettes of them on deck, the setting sun peeking through the water. You were so close to them, not even 30 feet down, and yet this felt like the last time you were ever going to see them. You couldn’t hold your breath for any longer, you had stopped struggling trying to pull your hair free, and your body began to still.

Your lungs were on fire, your eyes beginning to cloud, and just as you were about to give in to the instinct to inhale, you watched a figure break the surface of the water. You began drifting in and out of consciousness as the figure came towards you, only to pass out soon after.

JJ reached you, eyes wide with panic, looking for a way to help you. He grabbed your wrist to tug you closer to him, and saw that your hair was what was stopping you from being able to get back up. He quickly got out his pocket knife, peeling it open and frantically sawing at the piece of hair stuck in the hinge. Once it was free, he wrapped his arm around your waist, and kicked off the deck of the boat to propel you up.

You bobbed at the surface, still unconscious.

Kie gasped. “Oh my god, oh my god, fuck, what do we do?”

The pogues ran to the side of the boat, John B immediately reaching over for your body, desperately trying to pull you back into the boat. JJ’s head broke the surface, and he helped push your body up and onto the boat, before hauling himself up too.

Pope had laid you out into the recovery position, making sure your airway was clear and that you could breathe. JJ was in tears now, grasping at your shoulders, shaking you. He tilted your head towards him, leaning his forehead against yours.

“Please wake up, baby, please. I need you, please.”

The rest of the pogues were now at your side, Kie softly crying while kneeling next to Pope. JJ shook you one more time, and your eyes opened, and you let out a gasp for air, turning to cough up water.

“Oh, thank god.” JJ murmured, pulling you into his lap and hiding his face in the crook of your neck. He had his arms wrapped tightly around your waist, and you slowly wrapped yours around his shoulders. You were facing the pogues now, and you tried offering them a tired smile, reassuring them that you were alright.

“Don’t do that to me again, don’t you ever fucking do that to me again!” JJ sucked in a breath, tears running down his face.

“I’m sorry, J. I’m ok, though, it’s alright, it’s fine.” You murmured, running your fingers through his hair, trying to comfort him as best you could. He refused to let go of you, still holding onto you tightly. You peered up at your friends.

“Sorry, I left the bag I found down there, I tied it to the anchor though.” John B let out an exasperated laugh at that. “Jesus, Y/N, we don’t care about the stupid bag, we care about you.”

JJ still hadn’t released his hold, but moved to stand and pick you up, now leaning back to sit in one of the seats, you still in his lap. The pogues had backed away, giving you some space, getting ready to head out of the marsh. They were no longer in listening distance, and JJ began softly talking in your ear.

“I was really scared...I thought I was gonna lose you. Your eyes were closed when I got down there, you weren’t moving. And when I got you back up here, you weren’t breathing, you were just lying there. I thought you were dead.”

You wrapped your arms around him tighter. “You’re never gonna lose me, especially like that. It’s ok, love, I’m right here.”

He nodded into your shoulder. “I love you...and I’m sorry for the chunk of hair I had to cut off that's at the bottom of the marsh.”

You could feel him softly smiling into your shoulder, and you softly laughed. ‘I love you too, so much. And it’s alright, J, I was thinking about cutting it anyways. What do you think, would I look good with short hair?” You leaned back a little, letting him look at your face.

He just pulled you closer to him, wanting to be as close to you as he could, murmuring into your shoulder. “You’d look beautiful with anything, Y/N.”

You leaned into him, holding him the rest of the ride back to the Chateau.

#outer banks #obx #jj maybank #jj maybank imagines #x reader #wattpad

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dreamsafterhours · 3 years

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⚠️ tw: tragic backstories and crippling angst lol, mentions of deceased parents, drowning mentions, implied suic*de, grief, renjun's cute english (all mistakes in his dialogue are intentional. enjoy)

i had no idea this would get such enthusiastic reactions. thank you everyone who requested a continuation, hope this makes you feel something and answers some questions ♡

this is part three of merman!renjun, find parts one and two here :))

1:44pm: "did it hurt?"

merman!renjun glanced up at runaway prince!jeno's prompt, who stared expectantly at him through the bars of his cell.

"what?"

the prince gestured at renjun's legs and spoke matter-of-factly. "your tail. it's gone. did it hurt?"

"oh... yes." he wiggled his toes. "it hurt."

"a lot?"

renjun paused and hugged his knees a little closer into his chest. "yes."

"and you... can't transform back." pirate!you lifted your chin to make eye contact with renjun, who pursed his lips and nodded in response.

"magic is no-come-back," he said with a shrug.

"irreversible," the prince offered.

"irressimble. no merperson ever come back from land."

your heart and eyes sank to your lap. "right."

poor haechan.

you found yourself getting to your feet. "i... i'm gonna leave you two to catch up." dusting off your palms on your hips, you cleared your throat. "let me know if you, uh, need anything, alright?"

renjun nodded.

"right. um... your highness." you offered a quick curtsey towards jeno, who scoffed lightly at the difference between your usual domineering behaviour and your attempt at character continuity.

as you made your way up the stairs, you remembered the time pirate!haechan had first opened up to you about his past. you had both been younger, yet already best of friends.

"cap'n the only family you got?" he tossed a grape into his mouth.

"we have an older sister. on land, though. runs an orphanage."

he made a noise of interest. "parents?"

you shook your head as you reached for another grape. "shipwreck, funnily enough. you?"

"three siblings. all younger than me."

you chortled at the thought. "you? the eldest?"

"i'm more responsible than you give me credit for," he retorted, a dramatic hand placed on his chest in mock offence.

"yeah, right. i'll give you credit when you don't slack off."

he laughed, and the two of you sat in silence for a moment.

you reached the top of the stairs, and took a moment to let yourself adjust to the sunlight. scanning the deck through squinted eyes, you spotted haechan at the bow of the ship, his back turned to you as he stared out at the ocean.

"your parents still around?" you had asked.

his brow had furrowed at the stars above and his chewing grew hesitant. you had started to apologise, realising you'd struck a nerve, but he shook his head and reassured you it wasn't your fault.

"dad's there, yeah. mum's, uh... mum was a mermaid."

a sound of surprise escaped your lips.

"—or so my father told us. she came to shore, grew legs and lived as a human. had my siblings and i... and loved my father. loved us."

you chose to listen in silence and watch as he focused on peeling the skin off the grape he held in his hands.

"we were at the beach one day. i guess she missed her home, 'cause she barely said anything and just stared out to sea." he took a slow, shallow breath. "i asked her to come and... and play with us. and she... took my hands, told me she loved me... let me go, and—and just walked straight in. right through the waves. didn't stop. never saw her again."

you didn't know what to say, so you went with the safe option. "i'm so sorry."

"nah," he said, trying to disguise his sniffling with a deep inhale, "all in the past. i used to be mad about it, but i'm over that now. she's probably happier."

you sighed at the sight of him. he was barely moving, but his loose shirt and hair whipped around in the wind. no, you aren't.

leaning your elbows on the taffrail next to him, you watched the hull of the ship split the ocean surface, leaving waves in her wake and advancing still.

you weren't taken aback when you turned towards haechan and was met with tears streaming steadily down his cheeks, their trail from his grief-stricken eyes shining in the sun.

he could barely maintain eye contact with you, his gaze drawn to the horizon again. a wet exhale left his lips before he pursed them tighter and gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white.

"the merman's telling the truth, then?" he managed, his tone laced with anger. "you can't transform back once you grow legs?"

"haechan, i—"

"you can't transform back, then what happened to my mum, huh?" he demanded, perhaps towards you, perhaps not. "you're telling me she walked in to die? to drown in her own home?"

"haechan."

"you mean i let her go for what? for nothing?"

"hey—"

he sniffed and shook his head, "no. no, it can't be true. maybe he just doesn't know her. my house is on the other end of the earth, he probably never even heard of someone returning because he's never met—"

"haechan." you caught his shoulder and he gripped your hand, to throw it off or for support, you couldn't tell—until his breath was sucked out of his lungs, his head hung and he gave in to the sobs that racked his body. his weight fell forward as his knees buckled, and you caught him with practised foresight.

the two of you sank to your knees, his face buried in your shoulder and balled fists clutching the fabric of your shirt. murmuring your words of comfort and drawing circles on his back, you let him grieve his mother a second and final time.

when he finally exhausted himself and you stopped having to remove your hand from his head to wave away anyone who approached you, renjun climbed onto the deck in search of you. he frowned in confusion when he recognised haechan and stayed wary as he drew nearer.

haechan noticed his presence and pulled himself out of your arms and onto his feet. clearing his throat, he raised his eyes to the merman's.

"i shouldn't have touched you," he began awkwardly, "i was... stupid, and... it almost cost you your life. i'm sorry."

renjun looked like he didn't know what to respond with. "you are welcome," he replied hesitantly.

taken aback at the unexpected answer, haechan cleared his throat again and walked past the boy.

renjun turned back towards you, tilting his head in puzzlement. "why is he sad?"

you sighed deeply before standing up too. "haechan's mother was a mermaid."

renjun's lips parted in shock.

"she had legs, too, and lived on land. but she missed the sea, so she said goodbye and went back." you gestured over his shoulder at haechan's disappearing figure down the stairs, his gaze following your hand. "he never knew merpeople couldn't transform back, so he thought she was still alive."

the boy didn't meet your eyes when he turned back around. a moment of silence smothered any further words you might have said.

"and he tried help me and push me back in water."

"... yes. he thought... you would be happier in the water."

another beat.

"he is not happy."

"no, he isn't."

you paused to let him contemplate.

"but. she was happy."

"hmm?"

"his mother. she was happy."

then it was your turn to tilt your head to the side.

"mermaids choose legs," he explained, "his mother choose land."

"merpeople choose to transform permanently?"

he nodded eagerly, "choose to t...ransform pernamamently. i choose because you protect."

"because i protected you?"

"yes. i am in danger and you protec-ted me. i choose tarnsform tail to legs."

you mulled over this consideration. "i... i'll let him know. thank you, renjun."

"you are welcome," he responded with certainty, offering you his first smile, albeit small.

you managed to smile back. "alright," you declared, "how about some lunch? you hungry?"

i reckon there's room for part four.. hm hm thoughts thoughts

part one | part two

taglist: @whattaweeb @radiorenjun

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megsironthrone · 3 years

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Meg's Game of Tales: Tale 7

*Familiar characters are NEVER mine! The original "The Little Mermaid" was written by Hans Christian Andersen.*

Warnings: Part 1/2, angst-ish, mentions of magic., Little Mermaid AU

Pairings: Eventual Theon Greyjoy x fem!reader

You bit back a sigh as your father's harsh words went in one ear and out the other. You knew he was angry, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. You just didn't see what the big deal was. No one had seen you. Not really. You were careful. But you couldn't help it. Curiosity had always been your weakness. You wanted to know about anything and everything. That included the surface and the humans that lived there.

"Yes, Father," came out of your mouth when your father finished his typical tirade. It was the same thing every time so you pretty much knew it by heart now. Without another word or even a look at him, you swam away, your (f/c) tail propelling you forward as fast as it could.

It wasn't that you didn't like living under the sea. It was beautiful and fun. A place untouched by war or famine. A place where a mermaid could swim and sing and enjoy life. But you were drawn to the surface. Humans were beautiful. They invented wonderful things and you wanted to know more. You father and siblings could never understand that. Still, you always made sure to stay out of sight. That is, until one night.

A terrible storm had you at the surface again only this time, you were at least attempting to help get the creatures closer to the surface to safety. That was when you saw the ship. It was larger than anything you'd ever seen on the surface, but it was caught out in this storm. Even from a distance, you could see it beginning to break apart. So you did the only thing you could think of. You swam closer, eager to help if you could.

It looked like the majority of the people were already pulled under or were floating lifelessly upon pieces of the shipwreck. However, you saw the head of one of them bobbing in and out of the surface of the ocean. You swam as quickly as you could over to him and pulled him to shore just as the sun was beginning to rise.

You glanced down at the face of this human, completely captivated by him. Curly light brown locks were sticking to his forehead and water was trapped in the short beard that decorated his jaw. His shirt had opened a bit to reveal a smattering of light brown curls along his chest, along with several scars. He was such a beauty to look at, you nearly forgot that he wasn't breathing properly. That is until he took one large breath, making you jump slightly.

You were fidgeting as his eyes began to open. For some reason you couldn't explain, you needed to see his eyes. You just had to. Your patience was soon rewarded with the sight of the most stunning blue-grey eyes you'd ever seen. However, you didn't get to look long. You heard a voice calling out to someone. That was your cue to get out of there. Before the man could say a word, you dove back into the sea, hiding as quickly as possible. Once the man was out of sight, you smiled to yourself.

That was why your father had been yelling at you. For saving that human. Not that you were particularly paying attention to what he was ranting about. Your mind was elsewhere. On that human. That beautiful human. You needed to see him again. But it was hopeless. It wasn't like you could live on the surface...Or could you?!

It was insane to even think of it, but there was a way. You knew that. You bit your lip as you contemplated it. Could you really go against your father and seek her out? It might have been your only chance to see your prince again. With one look back at where you'd left your father, you made up your mind. You had to see the Red Witch. Melisandre.

The sea seemed to grow darker as you approached the place Melisandre was supposedly banished to. The water was cold and you could hardly see in front of you. Still, even as the cold began to seep into your bones, you kept going. This was your only chance.

"Come in, child," her soft yet strong voice beckoned from deep within the grotto. Shivering, you swam closer to meet with someone you weren't expecting. Despite all the rumors, Melisandre was quite beautiful. You'd heard she was a twisted and ugly crone. That anyone who looked at her would have nightmares for the rest of their lives. This was far from the truth and you'd have to have a talk with those people about making such horrible assumptions.

"Forgive my intrusion," you began softly, "I was hoping-"

"You were hoping I could help you," she cut you off, "I can, of course. With the help of the god I serve." She swam over to the wall of the grotto, plucking a vial of something from the rocks. "This will allow you to become human for three days. Only three. Before the sun sets on the third day, you have to get that human to kiss you. If you do, you shall remain human forever." Your heart leapt in your chest. Human forever? You could spend the rest of your life out of the sea.

"A-And, if he doesn't kiss me?" An almost wicked smile made its way to her lips. "Then the Lord of Light shall demand payment. Your soul." You became light-headed at the thought. Either the prince fell in love with you or you were going to die. Was it worth it?

"Three days?" She nodded. "Three days or my soul…" you muttered. "Yes. Of course, there is also the subject of payment." You let out a sigh as you wondered how much you would be willing to sacrifice to finally achieve your dream. "I don't have anything." Melisandre swam closer to you and brushed her long finger along the column of your throat. "The Lord of Light does not ask for much. A small sacrifice you will hardly miss. Your voice."

"My voice? But how can I-"

"Do not underestimate your ability to get your point across. Women have an unspoken language when it comes to those they are attracted to, do they not? And, should the prince kiss you before the end of the third day, your voice will return to you." You only let your mind work for a moment. You knew you'd never get another chance like this. So, you nodded.

You could feel her magic working as your voice was practically ripped from you. "You may want to start swimming." It took a moment for your mind to catch up to what she was saying. Then you realized that if you weren't close to the surface when the magic took effect, you could drown. You gave her a quick nod of thanks and then began the long swim up to the surface.

You swam as fast as you could. You could just make out the rising of the sun above the water when you felt your tail beginning to change. The pain was almost excruciating, but you kept moving. The pain would surely disappear once the magic was done. You just needed to break the surface of the ocean before that happened. So, you pushed on. You could feel your lungs start to burn as the foreign need for air began to take over. Your vision began to tunnel, but still you kept swimming. Finally, after what felt like hours, you broke the surface, gasping for air for the first time in your life.

(a/n: There will be a 2nd part to this tale as well! That's 3 so far that will have continuing parts! If you'd like to be tagged, please let me know.)

#meg's game of tales #game of thrones #fairytale au #the little mermaid au #theon greyjoy #theon greyjoy x reader #theon x reader

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diyeoracha · 4 years

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IwaOi Fanfiction Masterlist with 90+ Works

Hello! In celebration accumulating over 290 bookmarks on my AO3 account featuring IwaOi, Haikyuu S4 part 2, and @haikyuuweek2020 (Day 7 - Free Choice), I decided to create a masterlist of all of my favorite Iwaoi fics in order to keep myself organized as well as contributing to more traffic for those works! Works are split up into genres such as alternate universe (either not childhood friends or set on Earth), angst, canon compliant (post timeskip with spoilers), canon divergent (childhood friends but divergent timeline post timeskip), high school, and university au

Formatting update: Jan 13, 2021 (spacing is wonky on the mobile app!).

Fic update: Jan 7, 2021

This is incomplete as I got distracted while re-reading a lot of these and have only gone through half of my bookmarks, but feel free to check my own page here for the rest of them! I really do hope you guys enjoy reading these and leave comments and kudos! Please reblog and like so more people can enjoy

Titles marked with (♡) are my absolute favorites and there’s a chance I cried while reading them but otherwise they’re in alphabetical order

Alternate Universe

an allegory of all the things we could’ve been

Word count: 16k

Summary: “I don’t know anything about some red string,” Iwaizumi murmurs into the cracks of Oikawa’s skin, “or even about lifetimes or fate. But no matter where you are, I’ll find you. Gods or otherwise.” Reincarnation AU

And All the Prince’s Men

Word count: 65k

Summary: “Father only loves that which he owns, and I am the one thing that can never truly be his.” Royalty AU

Built a Temple in Me

Word count: 55k

Summary: Up the mossy mountain steps, past the komainu guardians and the faded red gate, and beyond the boundaries of the green shrine—that’s where the forest and the spirit world within it lies. That’s were Hajime met him, and where their story began.But intertwining of destinies can be ugly business, Hajime finds, when their first meeting begins with blood and the too-human eyes of a beast. God Oikawa AU

Quote: It fills his heart anyway, heals the hole in his chest that had been bleeding since he cut Tooru so forcibly from him.

Cotton Breathing

Word count: 13k

Summary: Long-distance and summer only but childhood friends AU

Conquering the Great King

Word count: 105k

Summary: Oikawa's lips twitched into a smirk and he brought them hovering just over Iwaizumi's, "One time thing, Two time thing, what's it matter as long as it's not a Relationship thing?"

Quote: Oikawa's eyes twitched wide for less than a second, his knee pressed in hard against Iwaizumi's thigh, "I may be gorgeous, but I'm not a doll."

dear diary, i met a boy

Word count: 15k

Summary: Iwaizumi's first impression of his upstairs neighbor involves getting woken up at two in the morning to the sound of Oikawa singing along to trashy pop music. He'd thought it would get better, but it all just goes downhill from there. Modern AU

Desperado

Word count: 82k

Summary: Clearly Iwaizumi had a checkered past. Kyoutani has never asked about it, nor has Iwaizumi ever brought it up. He knows it’s a sore spot for his mentor, just like the gorgeous Monte Carlo he keeps hidden away is, so he leaves it alone. Out on the streets, you learn a little something about when to turn a blind eye in order to survive; Kyoutani knows better than most to leave the past of men like Iwaizumi well alone. Heist AU

Even Heroes (have the right to dream)

Word count: 20k

Summary: Oikawa Tooru, ace reporter of the superhero beat of Asahi Shimbun, hates superheroes. Or maybe he just hasn’t met the knight one yet. Superhero AU

♡Infinite Risks

Word count: 8k

Summary: “It’s my fate,” Oikawa responds slowly. He’s crying. “It’s too lonely,” Iwaizumi’s heart sounded broken. “And I’m not there with you. Not really.” Edge of Tomorrow AU

In Defense of Reptiles

Word count: 9k

Summary: In their seventh year, Oikawa is chosen to be the Hogwarts champion in the Triwizard Tournament, and Iwaizumi suffers. Harry Potter AU

Quote: “You are so spoiled,” Iwaizumi tells him, but lets him shuffle down until Iwaizumi’s hand is now running through Oikawa’s hair instead of rubbing his shoulder.

In the Telling

Word count: 6k

Summary: Muggleborn Iwaizumi could not be less impressed with pureblood Oikawa Tooru. Harry Potter AU

♡Lockdown

Word count: 72k

Summary: Within the first few months of his stay, Oikawa gets caught up in a war between cellblocks, becomes a prime target, and must decide just how far he's willing to go to protect Iwaizumi Hajime. Prison AU

♡long nights, no peace

Word count: 18k

Summary: It's the steady knowledge that Iwaizumi Hajime will always be someone that he can rely on, that no matter what the world throws at the two of them, they share in a piece of each other's soul. Pacific Rim AU

Quote: Quiet settles between them softly, like the warm pressure of the blanket, or Iwaizumi's fingers curling to lightly hold the fabric of Oikawa's shirt.

The Long Light

Word count: 36k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime's seventh year at Hogwarts begins, and begins, and begins, and begins. Somehow, Oikawa Tooru is always there. Harry Potter AU

Magic Man

Word count: 12k

Summary: Oikawa is named the most desirable wizard in France. Iwaizumi is not impressed. Harry Potter AU

Quote: You keep saying partner or them. Is it rude of me to ask you to clarify?

Meet me in the grey area

Word count: 24k

Summary: Set in a hero/villain AU with Iwa as our trusty hero and Oikawa as our charming villain

Saw You at the Fish Market

Word count: 14k

Summary: In other words, Oikawa befriends hot part-time worker Iwaizumi and tries to impress him both off and on the court, in hopes of more.

♡♡ (sing with me) A Song of Conquest and Fate

Word count: 26k

Summary: When Seijou receives a missive from Aobajousai to discuss a potential peace, its emperor Oikawa Tooru could not have foreseen the series of events that would follow. Historical fantasy AU

Similar Creatures

Word count: 53k

Summary: "What's your name?" "Whatever you want it to be."(Or, Oikawa gets directions from an attractive stranger on a street corner.). Escort AU

♡Something Like Us

Word count: 28k

Summary: Friends since childhood, Oikawa and Iwaizumi now live together, both playing for the National Team. It's no secret that athletes who are bonded perform better. So if the two of them happen to bond...It'd be for the good of the team, right? A/B/O AU

Space

Word count: 44k

Summary: Tries not to think of his rooftop garden, or the apartment he used to inhabit, or Hajime’s broken expression on the night they whispered their goodbyes before Tooru’s launch, attempting to push it all to the back of his mind behind visions of this alien world terraformed. Astronaut AU

Stop the Time

Word count: 10k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime, 27, E.R. nurse at University of Tokyo Hospital. Hospital AU

♡♡The Loyalty of A Traitor

Word count: 76k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime was an undercover officer with a single objective: Infiltrate the Seijoh Syndicate of the Yakuza and tear them down from the inside out. His primary target was the boss, Oikawa Tooru. The job itself was simple enough, until Iwaizumi got in too deep and absconded not only from the mission, but from the city itself. Yakuza AU

These Flowers I Stole For You

Word count: 3k

Summary: ANBU don't cry. They tear themselves apart, bit by bit, and then they stitch themselves whole again. Naruto AU

on shipwreck shore

Word count: 8k

Summary: “I’m going to murder you in cold blood and feed you to the basilisks,” Iwaizumi says conversationally. “You can’t do that, I’m your boss,” Oikawa sings, positively sparkling. “Also we’re partners, which means,” he points at Iwaizumi and leans in, “you’re stuck with me.” Detective AU

Page 305 of 304

Word count: 53k

Summary: “…she called you ‘papa’,” iwaizumi managed. oikawa just stared for a moment longer before relaxing in a smile. “yeah. cute, right? but you can call me ‘daddy’ if you want.”

Temporary fix

Word count: 12k

Summary: “And you’ve shampooed his hair how many times now? Hmm. Yeah, that’s not technically a bromance.” A/B/O AU

Tokyo Boy

Word count: 16k

Summary: He has feelings for Iwaizumi Hajime, who probably has casual lovers just like him in every major city he visits on business. Oikawa is just his Tokyo Boy, just another pit-stop on Iwaizumi’s travels. Businessman AU

Trial by Fire

Word count: 78k

Summary: (lawyer!AU - in which Iwaizumi loves his objections, Oikawa is beautiful, and they have more chemistry than two opposing attorneys probably should.)

Watch Me

Word count: 32k

Summary: Oikawa's a cam model. It’s been a month since Iwaizumi first spoke in his chat. When they meet in person, things get complicated. Cam model AU

Angst

open when

Word count: 1k

Summary: Iwaizumi knew it was coming, but it still hurt. It still hurt when he opens one letter and drowns it in the tears he cannot keep at bay.

Chasing Paper Suns

Word count: 10k

Summary: Post-high school, Oikawa makes it to the national volleyball team but Iwaizumi doesn't. The next three years become an exercise in growing up without growing apart

Quote: “ ‘it’s just—I’m just trying so hard—’‘What, and I’m not?’

Timeless (We Have 30 Days)

Word count: 12k

Summary: Or AU where you're branded 50 days before you die. But Oikawa doesn't tell anyone so now there's only 30 days left.

the weight of water

Word count: 6k

Summary: “Again,” he says, the smallest tremor in his voice, and Oikawa blinks at him a moment before smiling, soft and sweet. “Iwa-chan,” he replies, and Iwaizumi closes his eyes. “Again.” “Iwa-chan.”

Canon Compliant

Are You Listening?

Word count: 4k

Summary: 30 times oikawa said i love you and 1 time he didn't have to

Quote: “Iwa-chan, watch out for the log—!” Oikawa looked on in horror as his best friend tripped and fell flat on his face.

Edge of the balcony

Word count: 8k

Summary: Iwaizumi looks older, he realizes. Oikawa knew he had aged as well, and so did everyone around him, but the thing was when you see people often, you don't notice the subtle changes in appearance. And Oikawa hadn't seen Iwaizumi in four years.

How can this loser ever win

Word count: 2k

Summary: everyone is in stupid love with Iwaizumi Hajime and he has no idea

♡♡♡Lost in Translation

Word count: 9k

Summary: Because misfortune come in threes, Iwaizumi Hajime starts his Thursday having a screaming fight with Shittykawa, spends his lunch break listening to the UCI women's volleyball team gossiping about how Ushijima Wakatoshi had gone public about his longtime love affair with Oikawa Tooru, and closes out the day by drunkenly dropping his phone into a sewer grate.

maybe we could be enough

Word count: 9k

Summary: iwaizumi hums in reply as the car goes silent, frank ocean crooning from the speakers. they stop at a red light when iwaizumi feels eyes at the side of his face, and turns to look at oikawa.

Most people never even get a single high school rival

Word count: 5k

Summary: Team Argentina gets to know Iwaizumi Hajime (27) Athletic Trainer.

Primavera

Word count: 8k

Summary: They say it takes twenty-six years, for certain breeds to fully bloom.

Quote: Did you know that distance is only me, growing towards you?

♡♡♡rest on your laurels

Word count: 4k

Summary: In Iwaizumi’s heart of hearts, untouched by time, they are young and alive, burning with the hearth of home and bright as winter light. Unbreakable. Invincible.

♡♡♡Something Borrowed

Word count: 16k

Summary: In which Oikawa and Iwaizumi have always been a foregone conclusion to everyone else, but a massive, unanswered question to one another.

‘Til Infinity

Word count: 2k

Summary: “Hey,” he says, “that cloud looks kind of like a dick.”

Quote: “I got you ladybug”

♡♡♡ You Set Off a Dream In Me

Word count: 15k

Summary: In which Oikawa is 41 and ready to retire. He's at the top of his game and ready to find a new challenge. Turns out his new challenge is pretty familiar. It's high school, round 2.

Quote: A past with an Iwaizumi that wasn’t on the opposite side of the net, monsters on all sides, guiding a setter that had lived the dream left behind in the ruins of Tooru’s past self.

Canon Divergent

a world alone

Word count: 60k

Summary: Iwaizumi has his medical books on the musculoskeletal system. Oikawa has his research papers on parallel universes. It isn't until much, much later that they realize they have each other.

♡Almost a Stranger

Word count: 16k

Summary: Iwa-chan's leaving Kapan. Tooru's not sure he can forgive him, but he's not going to admit his long-held feelings, either. A trip to Miyajima complicates everything.

Quote: There are only two things that have ever broken Oikawa Tooru’s heart. Iwa-chan would say Tooru has no heart to break, but that’s simply untrue.

Count your blessings, it goes 1,2,3, me

Word count: 7k

Summary: He's unsettled by the undefined boundaries of their relationship so it's all his luck that he accidentally wins three wishes to be granted just for him, and all that comes to mind is Iwaizumi.

Quote: Now, as an adult, past convenience of circumstance and the haze of hormonal lust, exactly none of his feelings have worn off

♡♡♡the courtship ritual of the hercules beetle

Word count: 66k

Summary: Tooru is pretty sure he could manage the mating habits of a mosquito. It’s the mating habits of people he can’t seem to get right.

♡days fall away

Word count:17k

Summary: Except now he’s back home, so close to his old haunts and to Oikawa himself, and it's—weird.

Quote: “You and Tooru,” he begins, and then shrugs. “I was just thinking, you look at each other a lot.” And he walks away, leaving Hajime winded, and sort of aching, somewhere deep in his chest. Whatever that means.

♡here comes your man

Word count: 8k

Summary: Iwa-chan, it reads, Have a good day today! Good luck! <3 <3 <3 Suga chokes. It’s hard to imagine anyone calling the scowling and fierce Doctor Iwaizumi “Iwa-chan.” But marriage probably comes with all sorts of liberties. Doctor AU

♡♡In damp earth my body

Word count: 15k

Summary: Onscreen, the nation’s favorite setter has arranged himself so that he’s bowing, forehead pressed to the court, like he’s thanking everyone for their kindness thus far, like he’s asking for forgiveness. Hajime thinks: shit, it’s really happening

In the Business of Love

Word count: 22k

Summary: Meet Oikawa Tooru: He's a best-selling shoujo manga artist, a hardcore romantic and you won't believe where he's getting his lovey dovey fodder from...Enter Iwaizumi Hajime: He's Oikawa's best friend, a realist who also happens to be a wedding magazine writer despite not believing in romance...

Quote: A flare of pride lit in Oikawa as he watched Iwaizumi's eyes crinkle with mirth and in that yawning second, it bloomed into a warmth that bordered on a burn, forcing a bittersweet inhale.

it's been so long (nobody knows me the way you do)

Word count: 8k

Summary: Tooru hums, only half-listening. Somewhere along the way, Hajime’s palm has settled itself over the curve of Tooru’s cheek, thumb tracing over the line of his jaw.

Quote: Iwaizumi blushes even more. “That you’re here, I mean. I’m happy that you’re here. With me.”

♡♡♡Mint

Word count: 19k

Summary: It's the December after Iwaizumi’s last year in university when Tokyo welcomes him with a new ad campaign for Bright Days toothpaste, and Oikawa Tooru—fresh off a run at the 2016 Summer Olympics—has decided to grace the city with his signature grin, a flip of his wayfarer sunglasses, and the most irrepressible tag line for the signboard above.

Quote: "To be able to tell him, in the new year." This comes under Oikawa's breath, so low that Matsukawa and Hanamaki can't hear, and the game continues.

Six-Month Lover

Word count: 89k

Summary: Iwaizumi barks out a laugh. “I’m still trying to get over the fact that you made a PowerPoint presentation about why we should date.” Oikawa doesn’t tell him the file has existed for the last twelve years, constantly receives updates, and that the original copy contained almost a hundred slides before he forced himself to get a grip.

Special Relativity

Word count: 22k

Summary: Time moves differently for people in different inertial reference frames. Oikawa goes on a two-year exploratory mission in space. Iwaizumi's been waiting for a lot longer than that.

♡♡sunset towns

Word count: 33k

Summary: In the summer of 2020, Oikawa Tooru returns home from his first successful stint as captain of Japan’s national volleyball team. In one hand, he holds the undisputed weight of an Olympic medal, and in the other, his unresolved feelings for a childhood best friend.

♡♡Thirty Years and Change (the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad)

Word count: 19k

Summary: It’s July 10th, 2024, and Oikawa Tooru is an Olympian. His smiling face airs on an NHK promo every 45 seconds. He’s captain of the national men’s volleyball team, reigning star of the professional leagues, and he hasn't spoken to Iwaizumi Hajime in two years.

Quote: Oikawa’s grin in the last set of the morning’s game. Oikawa’s grin as they sat on their asses on a golf course. Oikawa’s grin when they were in college. When they were in high school. When they were twenty-two, seventeen, fifteen, twelve, six.

High School

Bet On It

Word count: 13k

Summary: Hajime knows exactly how shitty Oikawa's personality is, and has no scruples whatsover about betting Oikawa six thousand yen that he can't be nice for an entire week.

Quote: The whole instant-compliance thing was seriously creeping him out. Oikawa from a week ago would have made a crack about how if he'd wanted something cold, he could have just put his face on Hajime's shoulder.

Betweens

Word count: 2k

Summary: Iwaizumi is asleep in the club room. Oikawa is blindingly awake in the club room. The sun moves slowly across the sky, and Iwaizumi’s skin is gold underneath it. Oikawa watches the changing shadows on Iwaizumi’s face and thinks about nothing in particular.

Don’t think too much

Word count: 6k

Summary: In which Oikawa and Iwaizumi have a confusing, drunken encounter and then deal with the (sticky) consequences.

Quote: As soon as that thought crossed his mind, though, Oikawa did what he always did: exactly the opposite of what Hajime wanted

Gates

Word count: 12k

Summary: The day after their graduation ceremony, they drive to the beach at Shirahama. Iwaizumi drives, because it’s his car, and as he has told Oikawa on multiple occasions, he’d rather die than let him touch the wheel.

Quote: ‘Yeah,’ he says, because they’re on a beach, and they’re supposed to be on a metaphorical journey, and they’re supposed to be growing up, and completing rites of passage, so it’s honesty, today - just for today, at least.

♡♡i sing the body electric

Word count: 8k

Summary: It was never part of the plan, falling in love with his best friend, but then again, most things in Iwaizumi’s life that involve Oikawa rarely unfold the way he thinks they will.

Quote: But Iwaizumi thinks about Oikawa laughing with that girl in the low light of the gym, a particular kind of quiet intimacy that Iwaizumi’s only ever read about in books hovering in the air, and all it makes him feel is small and petty and spiteful.

it’s better than words

Word count: 3k

Summary: [ or : oikawa makes iwaizumi participate in three bonding activities for new friends, and iwaizumi just wants to know why oikawa's being so weird about this]

Make sure you cross the line

Word count: 4k

Summary: With graduation just around the corner, Iwaizumi knows he has to gather the courage to really ask Oikawa out.

Quote: He’s been asking Iwaizumi to go out with him every single day this past week, increasingly panicked about getting his time and attention now that they’re nearing the end of this season of their lives.

Only the jellyfish know

Word count: 6k

Summary: Their third and final year at Aoba Jousai has come to an end, and the guys decide to go to the beach the day after graduation. That day, the ocean water is salty, the watermelon is sweet, and the people are sweeter.

static

Word count: 6k

Summary: Being snowed in with all of Seijou volleyball in his childhood home brings back a lot of memories for Iwaizumi, because it's kinda Oikawa's childhood home too.

Quote: It's fate that brought them together and choice that keeps them that way. The closest description in Hajime’s vocabulary is partners, but only because Oikawa taught him what its true definition is.

Told before and told again

Word count: 3k

Summary: This is how Hajime and Tooru fall in love, through the accounts of those around them.

Quote: When Oikawa lets out a long, heavy breath, Iwaizumi looks up at him and frowns, and flings a towel over Oikawa’s head to cover his face. Then, he tugs, once, on Oikawa’s fingers, and leads him down the hallway, Oikawa walking quietly in tow.

♡we can do better than that

Word count: 16k

Summary: Oikawa and Iwaizumi go on a road trip during the summer after their high school graduation. It doesn't go as expected, but maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.

Quote: Because Iwaizumi’s known Oikawa nearly all his life and never felt anything more than vague affection usually followed by intense irritation for him. But then suddenly at eighteen years old and nearly two weeks into a very badly planned road trip, it’s like someone flipped a switch somewhere inside Iwaizumi

♡when it starts to rain, they go inside

Word count: 33k

Summary: “Where?” starts Iwaizumi.“ My parent’s old lakehouse, silly, didn’t you hear me the first time?” OR: Oikawa takes Iwaizumi to his lakehouse for two weeks, post-graduation.

reassemble it

Word count: 15k

Summary: When Tooru was six years old, he discovered—unbeknownst to him at the time—two of the most important things in his life: volleyball and Iwaizumi Hajime. It was ironic that he had stumbled upon them hand in hand—quite literally, too.

♡things that change, things that stay the same

Word count: 8k

Summary: Oikawa realizes he's in love with his best friend; it sucks for a while. (But only a while.)

Quote: Iwaizumi’s expression right now is less terrified than it used to get back then, but he’s tight-lipped with concern, and his broad body blocks out other passengers as if their stares might be a danger to Tooru too.

University AU

An Archaeology of Affection

Word count: 23k

Summary: For Hajime, it is a riddle and simultaneously so evident. It fills his chest, surging like water, paints heat up his neck. In retrospect, it eats up his days, makes them its own until it feels like his heart has always been in his throat at the smile thrown over Oikawa’s shoulder, the stilling of his fingers on Hajime’s sleeve.

closure

Word count: 22k

Summary: In his first year of university, Oikawa builds a new friendship and upgrades an old one. Or: Ushijima is not a great wingman, but he tries his best.

Quote: “On the first day of his university career, Oikawa Tooru walks into his dorm, spots his assigned roommate, and turns one hundred and eighty degrees and walks right back out. He dials a familiar phone number - the first one he ever memorized - and starts complaining before Iwaizumi even gets the chance to say hello. “Iwa-chan,” he says, “tell me why Ushiwaka is in my dorm room.”

♡♡♡galaxies, within you

Word count: 21k

Summary: Hajime and Tooru move in together at the start of university. Too bad they’re stuck with the two gremlins that haunt their apartment.

Quote: I AM A HEADASS

Hands to yourself

Word count: 11k

Summary: He missed his parents, and he missed Takeru, and Takeru's badly behaved puppy. He missed Aoba Jousai, and he missed the volleyball team. He even missed Karasuno and Shiratorizawa, just a little.

Home, and how we made ours

Word count: 3k

Summary: “No, I like it here.” There’s a rustling as Iwaizumi shifts, inching closer. “I like it here, as in this crappy apartment—with you.”

Quote: “Do your fights end up being like—you know, about actual things and then extending into toddler days and suddenly you’re accusing Iwaizumi of kissing the girl you used to like in preschool?”

in progress to you

Word count: 6k

Summary: The eventuality of Oikawa and Iwaizumi falling toward each other is dramatically lackluster. Still, it's a process to go through.

Quote: “But what if you didn’t eat my pudding all the time?” Iwaizumi asks flatly, ignoring the way Oikawa is slapping his thigh to get out of his chokehold. “Do you think I buy them for you, huh? I buy them for me, you turd.”

Like we’re made of starlight

Word count: 6k

Summary: (a look into iwaizumi hajime’s journey of falling in love with oikawa tooru, from when they’re babies meeting for the first time to young adults moving in together.)

Ninety nine percent

Word count: 14k

Summary: more than anything, oikawa tooru wants to be with iwaizumi hajime, but he's only ninety nine percent of the way there.

Quote: Their ace was lining up for the ball, knees bent and arm pulled back, just as Tooru tosses the ball……to Hajime.

no sleep in the city

Word count: 7k

Summary: Along their journey to find Tokyo's best ramen, Iwaizumi finds himself asked again and again why Oikawa is still single.

Quote: “I was only telling Hanamaki literally yesterday that your personality isn’t as vile as before,” Iwaizumi informs, slightly stiff from the way Oikawa’s got an arm looped through his own. “Why do you make me such a liar to people I care about?”

Out of nowhere

Word count: 8k

Summary: They move in together after graduation and it's doing weird things to Iwaizumi's heart. He's a little in denial about it.

Quote: Oikawa excitedly ran up to him when Iwaizumi came home with groceries the other day. Not about the food but just to say how boring everything is when Iwaizumi's not there, eyes shining, and he couldn't meet his gaze after from blushing down to his neck. He doesn't know how much more he can take.

♡♡shiver

Word count: 16k

Summary: Oikawa was always the brave one. Hajime just followed two paces behind.

Quote: “I’m in love with you,” Oikawa tells him three days after they graduate junior high, head in his lap and hands gently folded over his chest and completely and totally unconcerned that he’d just shattered Hajime’s world.

Terpischore

Word count: 38k

Summary: They’d ended up going to different universities, Tooru and he. The distance was good for them. The confession Hajime dropped in both their laps wasn’t. That’s how it’d ended – a lifetime of friendship crumbled to dust in the space of five minutes. (Or, a lesson in learning to move on from things you can't have, in finding old loves in new ways and in understanding that life is never truly simple... till it is.)

terrarium

Word count: 11k

Summary: At this point, is he really happy with just staying best friends forever? Will he be writing journals and collecting rocks forever (he will, he knows, but that is aside from the point)?

these foolish things (remind me of you)

Word count: 3k

Summary: Oikawa helps Iwaizumi move into his new college dorm.

Quote: He’s desperate for something to happen. It must show on his face because Iwaizumi blushes and looks away. The thing is, Oikawa always looks at him like this when Iwaizumi isn’t paying attention.

They say it rains diamonds on Jupiter

Word count: 35k

Summary: "You're in love with him. "Hajime considers denying it. "Yeah," he says instead.

Quote: “Share the weight of your feelings with me, Hajime wants to beg when he hears Tooru's first hitched breath. Let me carry some of your burdens”

to be first, to be best

Word count: 26k

Summary: Hajime is apparently something of a masochist, and as he stares down at the tie-dyed AREA51 T-shirt in his hands, he thinks “I’m totally in love with this asshole, aren't I?”

Undecipherable

Word count: 4k

Summary: "Koi no yokan," he says. "The sense one can have upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love."

Quote: Because for all the bravado, for all the flaunting Oikawa does, he wants Hajime by his side, and no one else.

♡we shine like diamonds

Word count: 26k

Summary: "You know Abe-kun from class?" they snicker, hands cupped around their mouths like they're passing along a filthy secret. "I hear his older brother is... gay."

Where you are (I’ll be)

Word count: 6k

Summary: Theirs is a love that starts out like a seed and it takes two sets of hands tending it for a shoot to appear. There are no dramatic declarations of love, only a pair of hands that find each other again and again and again.

Quote: Oikawa broke off into giggles as Hajime slowed the descent of his hand from a slap to the back of Oikawa’s head to a gentle ruffle of the taller boy’s hair

♡♡with every second that you could give

Word count: 9k

Summary: The journey of Iwaizumi and Oikawa going for gold.

Quote: He knows they’re too close. Iwaizumi knows it too, and they both decided to move in together anyway.

Your love is sunlight

Word count: 6k

Summary: It's Iwaizumi's birthday, and they have a talk about the future.

Quote: But Hajime doesn’t think any present could top this: them, kissing in a sun-dappled bathroom, Oikawa’s skin warm under his hands, and the promise of a life together stretched out before them.

#haikyuuweek2020 #iwaoi #oikawa tooru #iwaizumi hajime #i spent more time on this than all of my edits combined pls appreciate this

207 notes · View notes

zaffrenotes · 4 years

Text

[TRR x ES] Viewing Party

Book: The Royal Romance & Endless Summer Pairings: Liam x MC (Katrina Bailey), Drake x OC (Alyssa Devereaux), Jake x MC (Laurel) Rating/Warnings: G; mild innuendo Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * Katrina Bailey & Laurel are the MCs I use when writing fanfic for TRR and ES, respectively; Alyssa Devereaux belongs to birthday girl @burnsoslow * This is my submission for @wackydrabbles Prompt 80: Stop looking at me like that. * Author’s Note 2: * This is a birthday gift for my cheesy, potato loving homegirl Burnsie, who requested her very first Endless Summer/Jake fic, despite having never read any ES fic until now 🙈 for the sole reason being that she and Jake McKenzie are almost birthday twins, and my favorite pilot turns 30 this year. If you’re unfamiliar with canon ES trivia, Jake can hold his breath for 9 minutes, and Estela can hold her breath for an astonishing 14. This isn’t entirely what I had in mind when I set out to write an ES/Jake birthday fic, but I wasn’t about to miss your day because I’ve hit a whole ass writer’s wall, Burnsie! I hope you have an AMAZING day and I’m sending you so many hugs! You’re one of the sweetest ladies here, and I am so very thankful that I can call you a friend 🥰 also my real, real gift to you is coming at a later date, as I still have to work on it 😬 * and yes, that’s DDT in the moodboard - just for Burnsie, again - since I use Barnes as Drake’s FC in my TRR fics, lol * Word Count: 2000 on the dot!

It was nearly 10:00 PM on Friday evening, when Burns arranged things around the comfiest chair in her living room. The rest of her family already retired for the evening, after a small but wonderful birthday celebration in her honor at home. Within easy reach, she’d arranged drinks and snacks next to her laptop - a glass of water, a hot mug of tea, a slice of homemade birthday cake to take care of any sugar cravings, and a small platter of cheese and crackers for something more savory. She grinned softly at the newest addition to her mug collection, watching the steam rise from the contents within.

The lavender mug arrived in the mail earlier that day from one of her friends, emblazoned with a quote from David Rose. Burns took a sip of the warm beverage before setting it down on the small side table and situated herself in the chair. She flipped open the laptop and pulled up a browser window, smiling at a gift from another friend - there was a sticker next to the trackpad with a drawing of a wedge of Swiss, quoting another memorable line from Schitt’s Creek, reminding her to “fold in the cheese.” Burns glanced to the time on the screen and logged in to her Netflix account, clicking until she arrived at the viewing party, and began typing to join the group chat.

She was greeted with jubilant messages from Donna, Ella, Brandy, Anitah, and half a dozen other friends, wishing her a happy birthday before the show started. They’d formed an ever-growing viewing party for a new series titled Stranded in the Orchard, which was an odd amalgamation of Survivor and Gilligan’s Island. Taking a cue from reality tv competitions, there were hidden cameras all over the island to monitor everyone and reduce production crew intervention, and in a nod to Hunger Games, there was an omnipresent host that would drop messages to signal when challenges were about to take place. After four episodes, the ladies in the watching party started picking their favorites from the two teams.

Team Ruby consisted of a group that appeared to have been shipwrecked onto the island. Leo was dubbed The Rogue; his brother Liam was The CEO; Katrina was The Attorney; Alyssa was The Teacher; Drake was The Cowboy; Olivia was The Weapons Expert; Bertrand was The Grump; Madeleine was The Whiner; Maxwell was Bertrand’s brother and The Jester; Hana was The Jill of All Trades. Bertrand and Madeleine had already been voted off when Ruby lost two events.

Team Catalyst consisted of a group of mostly college students. Jake was The Pilot; Laurel was The Mystery Girl; Sean was The Coach; Michelle was The Doctor, even though she was only pre-med; Craig was The Muscle; Zahra was The Engineer; Aleister was The Slick One; Grace was The Brain; Diego was The Entertainer; Estela was The Huntress. Catalyst lost the last two events, which sent Aleister and Grace packing.

Everyone settled in to watch the opening credits as they recapped last week’s episode, where Ruby won the immunity challenge and fishing gear by building a makeshift stretcher to rescue and carry Katrina from a jungle crash site to a first aid station on the beach; Catalyst voted Grace out. Burns popped a cheese cube into her mouth as she and her friends watched the two groups deal with day-to-day chores in their respective camps on Day 14 of the show. They chatted about the team members and how much Burns wanted to see Drake take off his shirt to go in the water, despite the knowledge that there were clips of him cuddling with Alyssa; Donna, Ella, and Anitah would keysmash in the group chat any time Liam appeared on the screen, even though he and Katrina were clearly sweet on each other, while Brandy and Alyssa Lauren would ask what was happening or who someone was from the Catalyst team.

—

“Pillows and blankets are nice, but what we could really use is food,” Maxwell said, drawing an octopus in the sand with a piece of driftwood. “I don’t know how much longer I can last on coconuts and rice.”

“Liam and Drake took the raft out this morning to try fishing with the gear, maybe they’ll get lucky,” Katrina suggested, stirring the pot of rice in the fire. She set the lid on top and stood up from her kimchi squat position, dusting some errant sand off her leg. They both looked out towards the water, as dawn stretched out across the ocean, making out shadowy forms of their friends as they bobbed in the water, just before one of them went under the surface. Behind them, the rest of their friends began to stir awake from the scent of rice cooking.

Back at the Catalyst camp, Jake sat by the campfire with Estela; they were working on making their own fishing gear from bamboo and camp supplies after losing the previous challenge. Jake fed a length of twine through a handmade fishing pole while Estela sharpened tips on one end of a pile of branches she’d gathered. “Whatcha whittlin’, Katniss?”

Estela glanced at Jake sideways. “Stakes. Hand over some of that twine, I need it to bind these to make spears.” With a begrudging huff, Jake unfurled the twine and ran it against the edge of the makeshift bench he was sitting on to cut it, before tossing the rest at Estela.

“How fast can you tie those off? We’re losin’ daylight for a morning catch, if you wanna ride on the raft with me.”

“Five minutes,” she answered, already working nimbly around a branch to secure the whittled spikes.

The screen cut back to Ruby’s camp, where Liam and Drake stepped ashore, smiles brighter than the sunrise as Drake held up a fish trap with small rays flapping against one another.

—

“kjsdhfksjhfksjhfks,” Burns smashed into her keyboard. “Look at my man! With the sea bounty!”

“mevmnbvmnxb,” Ella smashed back.

“How do you know Drake did all the work? Liam’s just as wet, hahaha,” Donna chortled in response.

—

After killing their catch as humanely as possible - with Alyssa turning her face to Drake’s chest to avoid witnessing it - Leo and Olivia gutted and cleaned the rays before setting them on top of their makeshift grill to cook. Liam and Drake regaled the group with their morning under the water, as they took turns fishing.

While Team Ruby enjoyed some protein with their rice that morning, members of the Catalyst team glumly spooned rice into their mouths as they sat around the campfire while Jake and Estela dried off; their morning fishing trip had been unsuccessful.

Later that day, both teams received messages from the host to gather for a reward challenge. Each team made their way to a small lagoon, where they saw a structure floating in the water. A booming voice overhead instructed them to swim out to the structure and await further instructions. Once everyone from both teams had done so, a blue holographic image of the host appeared in the center to explain the rules. “The challenge is simple,” she narrated. “We want to see who can hold their breath the longest. There’s a bar you can use to keep yourself from floating up if you need it. Last one standing earns the prize for the whole team — an overnight trip at the Celestial Hotel, where our rotating film crew goes to rest. You’ll be treated to clean sheets and towels, hot showers, along with a decadent dinner and breakfast menu the next morning, before having to return to your camp.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up at the incentive of a night away from sleeping on the beach, away from mosquitos, rodents, and the threat of being waterlogged by passing storms. Stomachs gurgled at the thought of hot meals that didn’t consist of rice, and the possibility of cocktails or wine. “Oh, we got this,” Jake murmured quietly to Laurel. “Bet I can hold my breath longer’n any of those Ruby kids.”

“Is that so?” Leo taunted, overhearing Jake’s comment.

“Just call me Poseidon,” Jake smirked.

“We’ll see about that,” Leo replied. “You know most of us are from an island, right? We’re basically merpeople.”

—

“Bets! Bets on who wins this!” Brandy typed into the chat window.

“Sticking with Drake,” Burns typed. “Maybe Hana. She could have another random talent up her sleeve.”

“My money’s on Liam. Look how broad his chest is,” Anya replied. “He’s got to have massive lungs to match.”

“That makes no sense,” Ella typed, adding a laughing emoji. “But I’m Team Liam anyway.”

“Don’t hate me,” Donna began. “Something tells me Jake isn’t boasting right now.”

From her screen at home, Alyssa Lauren used Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe to choose Zahra. The rest of the group picked their favorites as the castaways donned goggles and got into the water.

—

“Ready? Set! Go!”

Sixteen heads dipped under the water’s surface, with contestants pinching their noses and puffing out their cheeks as an underwater camera filmed them. A handful of them - Olivia, Alyssa, Maxwell, Diego, and Michelle - tapped out under a minute. As the sand settled, thirty seconds passed before Katrina, Laurel, Sean, and Drake headed to the surface. Just after the two minute mark, Hana, Craig, and Zahra gave up, leaving Jake, Liam, Estela, and Leo under the water.

Jake looked positively peaceful, sandy brown hair swaying with ease in the water. Estela tapped her fingers lightly across the bamboo rod, counting each second as it passed. Liam glanced over to his brother, who’d begun to turn pink. Half a minute later, Leo popped up to the surface, muttering to himself out of frustration.

Three minutes in, Liam surfaced, gasping for air, leaving Jake and Estela to battle it out between themselves. Even though the hologram host blasted a horn to signal the end of the challenge, neither Catalyst member surfaced. Liam ducked down to check on them, and Jake and Estela both signaled that they were fine. Everyone continued to wait as the pair spent minute after minute under the water.

—

“Seriously? They’re on the same team!” Anitah typed. “They won already!”

“They’ve been underwater for a scary length of time,” Brandy added. “What are they, Navy SEALs or something?”

“I think Jake mentioned he was actually in the Navy before,” Alyssa Lauren replied.

—

A digital clock appeared in the corner of the screen as the two Catalyst members continued to hold their breath underwater. With each passing minute, members from both groups began to worry. After eight minutes passed, the host’s voice rang out, advising them to pull Jake and Estela up from the water to end the challenge. Laurel and Craig ducked down, eventually pulling their teammates up. “Congratulations to The Catalysts!” the host exclaimed. “A boat will be waiting at your camp to take you to the hotel.”

Laurel swatted Jake’s arm as they made their way to the shore. “What’s wrong with you!? You were underwater for nearly ten minutes! Who does that!?”

Jake looked over his shoulder to her with a grin, mischievous sparkle in his bright blue eyes. “Ten would be a new record, my best is nine.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Imagine nine uninterrupted minutes of me holding my breath, Princess. My birthday is tomorrow, and I know exactly how I wanna celebrate,” he winked.

Laurel’s cheeks flushed at the suggestion. “Stop looking at me like that, Top Gun.”

—

That evening at the hotel, after a sumptuous feast of lobster, crab, and an endless supply of beer and wine, the Catalyst members eventually went to bed. Much later into the night, Jake was seen sneaking into Laurel’s room.

—

“I KNEW IT!” Burns typed. She laughed as her friends typed in responses full of lemon, fire, pepper, and eggplant emojis. She popped another cheese cube into her mouth and smiled, watching the rest of the episode play out.

#the royal romance fanfic #endless summer fanfic #choices the royal romance #choices endless summer #liam x mc #liam x trina #drake x alyssa #jake x mc #choices crossover fanfic #wacky drabbles #survivor au #happy birthday Burnsie #birthday fanfic #zaffrenotes writes #there was an attempt #this is not what I planned #lol but I am out of time and don't have it in me to scrap what I've written #🙈 I watched an entire season of Survivor for like...3 scenes to add to the fic

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crystalninjaphoenix · 3 years

Text

MerMay 2021 Day Thirteen Meet and Make Up

The reef turned bioluminescent at night. Most merm-made structures tended to do so. After all, it made it both easier to see, and was quite pretty as well. For once, Schneep paused to admire the glow of the coral and plants. It was truly lovely. But he hadn’t moved here for the view.

Shaking his head, he returned to the task at hand. Prying back a rock, he caught a glimpse of a few colorful sea slugs fleeing back into the small hole they were hiding in. “Hello, there,” he said. “Do not worry, I am not here for you.” This particular type of sea slug was really rare; he didn’t think humans even knew about them. They produced a sort of mucus that helped immensely in healing open wounds. Marvin told him it also had some magical properties.

Schneep reached into his bag and pulled out a glass jar, unscrewing the lid. Carefully, he reached into the small crevice and started scraping up some of the mucus left on the rock.

He was just resealing the jar when a voice behind him said, “Hey.”

“Aak!” Schneep almost dropped the jar, but barely caught it before it smashed on the rocky floor.

“Oh my gods I’m so sorry!” He turned around...and saw her. Vea, the merm who’d decided to move into his reef despite his clear disapproval. She had a new shirt today, it looked vaguely purple in the light provided by the local glowing flora. “I didn’t mean to—”

“What are you doing here?” Schneep cut her off. “I have not seen you in a week.”

“Right. Yes. Well.” Vea backed up, tentacles curling up. “Your shark friend explained the situation to me, so I’ve been out and about, you know, looking for somewhere else. But I um...well, I felt pretty bad about it.”

Schneep raised an eyebrow. “You did?”

“Yeah, I didn’t realize you were serious.” Vea winced. “That sounds bad now that I say it out loud. I-I don’t know, maybe it was a cultural thing. When people are insistent about something where I’m from, they’re usually exaggerating.”

“I see.” Schneep put the jar he was holding back into his bag. “Well, in this area, it is very different. For example, I have a friend, he is freshwater but he sometimes comes by, if you take that joking approach with him he will be very confused and a bit distressed.”

“Right.” Vea looked down. “Well, um. I’m sorry.”

Schneep looked her over. She seemed genuinely upset, and more than a little guilty. “It is okay. Now you know not to do it again.”

“Yeah.” Vea leaned down, picking up a shapeless sort of bag with two straps. It looked handmade, but of high-quality. “Anyway, I wanted to bring some things over to help with the apology.” She opened a flap and reached inside the bag. “It’s not much, but I am a weaver, so I thought I’d use that skill here.” She started pulling out things, all woven out of various plant material. “There’s this poncho, you put it around your shoulders and it’s pretty loose. Stays wet for a while so it helps if you’re going up to the surface for extended periods of time. Um, I have a couple tail cozies—or I guess they’d be tentacle cozies for us. Various colors. Some sleeves with designs. And I made a shirt for your shark friend, it has a space for his dorsal.”

“Oh.” Schneep was momentarily overwhelmed. The last thing he expected was gifts. He didn’t really know what he should say. “Ah...sleeves?” Well, not that.

“Yeah, sleeves. It’s—hang on.” Vea pulled on one of the sleeves. It only covered her forearm. “Normally they’d go with a shirt, too, but you can just wear the sleeves by yourself. I have three pairs here, that’s probably a bit excessive, but I just got in the zone, you know?”

“Oh, arm cozies, I see.” Schneep nodded.

“What? I’ve never heard someone call them that.”

“Really? It would just be easier to have them be the same as tail cozies, yes? They are basically the same thing.”

“Eh.” Vea shrugged. “A-anyway, they’re all for you, except for the shirt. Uh...yeah.” She picked all the clothes up and put them back in the bag, shoving it towards Schneep. “You can keep the bag, too, I have a lot of them. I can see you already have one so...maybe you can give that to someone else, too.” She waited anxiously, her tentacles lightening to a nervous yellow-white.

Schneep took the bag. “Well...thank you very much, Vea.” He smiled a bit. Hopefully it wasn’t too awkward. “I do appreciate it.”

Vea nodded. “No problem.” She backed up a bit. “Anyway...yeah, now that I’m moving, I’ll just stay out of your scales. You won’t see me again.”

“Hey, well, I—you understand I did not have a problem with seeing you?” Schneep suddenly asked. Part of him wondered what he was doing. Another part, the part that sounded like Jack, said he should get to know this new merm more. “I just need some space. I would not even let a friend move in here.”

“Oh.” Vea paused. Then she grinned. “Well, that’s good, ‘cause I was worried about what to do if I got sick and the only healer for miles didn’t like me.”

Schneep rolled his eyes. “I would not let something like that get in the way even if those were my feelings. Which, ah, they are not.”

“Well that’s great then.” The relief in Vea’s voice was evident. “In that case, there’s an old wreck over that way, a bit deeper.” She pointed westward. “Probably used to be home to a shipwrecking group years ago. A lot of plant life around. I’ve decided to stay there. If you ever want something woven or just want to stop by.”

Schneep nodded. “I will make a note of it. And thank you again, for the gifts.”

Vea nodded back. “Well, I’ll be seeing you, then.” She turned and swam away, back in the direction she’d pointed.

After she disappeared over a ridge, Schneep let out a long breath. That was a bit awkward there for a while, but it worked out, didn’t it? And he was glad to be on good terms with her. Now, time to head back home. He’d be sure to make use of the gifts in the future.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #jacksepticeye au #septic egos #septic egos au #dr schneeplestein #brigid writes fanfiction #mermay snippets

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brucewhite · 3 years

Text

Blood On My Hands | White Winter (BHG)

Bruce and Gliss confront their histories and find they share more than they had thought

TW: Discussions of violence, murder, descriptions of injuries (blood/cuts/burns)

@frcstedkiss

BRUCE

The world was hazy to Bruce, from his vantage point in the distance.

He was sitting there, staring at the pool. There were fish in there, deadly, flesh-eating fish. He was thinking about how many of the tributes they had already taken. They didn't care. They had to eat. They had to survive. That was their job.

It was supposed to be Bruce's job. But they weren't human. Bruce was.

So he barely noticed the screams. He barely noticed the struggle. And then, piercing through the noise: BRUCE! PLEASE!

Something caught in Bruce's throat. He was human. Being human meant being connected to other humans. And for a while, this week, he had slowly severed every bond he made here. He betrayed everyone he trusted. He even betrayed Gliss, disappearing right as she put herself in a three-against-one fight.

It wasn't the strategic thing to do. But Bruce couldn't stand feeling like he wasn't human anymore. Gliss needed him. Someone needed him. Maybe she was kind of scary, and maybe she wasn't all there, but maybe she was just a broken, grieving human just like Bruce was, and she needed someone to treat her like she was.

And so he stood up, and he ran. "GLISS!" he shouted hoarsely, grabbing onto her arms just as she hit the water. He looked around at the scene-- blood everywhere, grief everywhere, everyone ready to kill him and Gliss. He had to get out of there.

He scooped Gliss in his arms and ran, as fast as he could, and he could already see the bites blooming on her. "Hang in there," he muttered, as he tore across the landscape, as far away from that scene as possible. They didn't need to stick around there and deal with the aftermath. The vengeance of Drakken's friends. And the horrors that they had committed.

GLISS

Gliss was tired. She was still covered with blood and she was tired. With her luck, Drakken would live again and they’d find her. They’d find Bruce. And he’d suffer for her choices.

Still, she curled into the comfort of having him with her. There was another human that actually cared about her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, sniffling. “I’m so sorry... Is your head okay?”

In the arena, she knew where they were. Close to where she and Tigg spent their last moments. “Wait, watch— watch the vines,” she said between sniffles. “Tigg and I built a fort in the trees around here. We— we can stay there. It’s safe.”

BRUCE

Bruce was tired, too, his head throbbing from that rock. He would be okay, but it was going to be a long night.

He had never been to this part of the arena before. It looked surprisingly hospitable. No deadly animals, or mind-bending magic, or natural disasters. Just vines everywhere. Bruce almost reached out to touch one when Gliss told him not to. So he didn't. He should know better than to trust anything in this arena.

"Just show me where..." Bruce looked around, and then he saw it. It was pretty impossible to miss.

His heart dropped into his stomach. It reminded him of the shipwrecks he and his pod used to stumble across in the ocean, the shell of a life that once was. Bruce always thought they were haunted. This place certainly seemed so... and not the magical or technological ghosts the Capitol could think up. Just shattered dreams. Broken hearts. It was fitting, really, for the way Bruce was feeling. The Games cut everything too short, and all that was left were hollow husks where people had once tried to carve out a little bit of joy.

He set Gliss down gently by the little shelter and then sat down next to her. Maybe he should be worried about her turning on him, too. But he wasn't. Bruce understood, now, that Gliss wasn't evil. She was just in a lot of pain. It didn't change what she had done. But it made Bruce ache in a different way. And it replaced any fear he might have had.

"...How do you feel?" he asked quietly.

GLISS

Gliss pointed out their fortress and before she knew it, she was back where she started. Only this time, she was with Bruce rather than Tigg. It broke her heart in a way, but to look up and see such a kind face when she felt like no one cared about her— it meant everything.

She knew he killed Winston. She didn’t know why, but it hadn’t really bothered her either. To her, he would never be a monster the same way the girl she loved would never be a monster. He saved her and she trusted him.

As they sat in the fortress, she curled up into a ball and shook her head, tears shedding silently down her cheeks. “My Mom was right, I’m a monster,” she said, sobbing loud. “Everything hurts and I’m so thirsty and guilty and I miss her so much.”

BRUCE

Bruce had expected a lot of things, but not that. And it cut right through him, her screams and sobs, because it was exactly how he felt. A monster.

The first thing he was supposed to do was look at her cuts, clean them before they got infected, but Bruce just couldn't stop himself. He had never been very good at comforting people-- he would sit and listen to them, and then he would feel awkward and inadequate about it. But it was like watching his own inner demons play out in front of him. Bruce felt a surge of affection for this girl, this kid, who just lost the person she loved and wanted someone else to hurt as much as she did.

He didn't have an excuse. He was a different kind of monster entirely. A selfish one.

Nevertheless, Bruce wrapped his arms around Gliss and held her tight, as if he could hold all of her grief in himself, replace his own, so he could feel that instead of his own guilt. He wanted to say something comforting, but he found himself crying, too. "So am I," he choked. "So am I."

GLISS

Gliss fell into the embrace of yet another person she would choose to care about. In the end, she was just a girl that was chosen by some higher power and forced to go into a killing arena with the person she loved most in the world.

She bled too. She cried too. She was someone’s child. And she just wanted some other person to hurt like she was. It felt like someone had been squeezing her heart, bleeding her dry.

So, she gripped onto his shirt and she sobbed. Especially so in knowing he understood what it was like to be a monster. She didn’t think that of him, but that bond was something only two very broken individuals could share.

After some time, some silence…

“I— I don’t have anything to give you for saving me,” she muttered, pulling away only slightly. “I— I have iodine to… To replace the rubbing alcohol? I don’t— I really didn’t know it was yours.” Her lip quivered, her mind a jumble of thoughts as she tried to do something to make it up to him. “I’m sorry.”

BRUCE

It wasn’t smart to get attached to someone. But Bruce couldn’t control it at this point. Gliss’s grief had buried itself somewhere deep in him, because he felt it, too. Different, but the same.

When she mentioned the rubbing alcohol, a chuckle slipped from his lips, a real one, in spite of all the reasons not to. The rubbing alcohol. That goddamn rubbing alcohol.

“It’s a gift,” he said, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve and opening the bottle. “Don’t be sorry. When I... when I was growing up, it was sort of a ritual, after you went on a hunt. Everyone got together and patched each other up. And ate food, but we don’t have much of that...”

For once, the memories of his pod weren’t painful. They ached, but in a way that reminded him that he was real, that he was a person.

“Show me where it’s bleeding,” he said, offering the bottle. “It’s what we do.”

GLISS

Gliss hadn’t even processed the thought that they would be forced to try to kill each other. At this point, she wasn’t sure if she could anymore. He’d been so kind to her. She felt like she didn’t deserve it.

When he laughed, she was a bit taken aback but then, at the same time, it felt like her sanity returning. He had such a nice laugh. It fit him.

She smiled. The first real smile in awhile as he talked about home and hunting. She never had that experience before. She never really had a father or mother for rituals. “It sounds fun, actually. Having a family like that.”

She wanted to know more. Anything she could know. It was a good distraction from the Hell they were in.

“My— Leg. The most.” She showed him her wounds, the burns, the small bites…

In that time, she rummaged through her bag to find the antibiotics to prevent infection and stopped in her tracks as she found a small ring… The ring she got Tigg. She realized right then that she had left it with her before Tigg ran off. “She’s so stupid,” she said, smiling and laughing through the tears. “I can’t believe it.”

BRUCE

Bruce didn’t have a bandage, but the tarp would do fine, he supposed, until maybe the next sponsor felt kind enough to send something more. Gently, knowing it would sting, he tried his best to clean the cuts. His mother and father would have been better at this. Bruce had been left before he really had the chance to learn.

He was thinking about his pod a lot lately. Huh.

He peered at the ring. He wasn’t sure why Gliss was laughing, but he supposed something equally ridiculous had made him laugh just earlier.

“That’s... nice,” Bruce said, only seeing the way the ring caught the fading light. “Was that... hers?” He was hesitant even to say her name.

GLISS

The pain was something Gliss could handle. It stung, definitely did, but her nerves were shot after the day’s events. She didn’t even mind.

At the ring, Gliss nodded, still smiling as she dried her tears with her sleeves. She felt like a little girl. Snotty and teary faced but smiling.

“I bought her a promise ring a long time ago… She bought one for me too,” she showed him the matching ring and sighed. “When she ran off, and um… died… She must’ve left it in my bag.” The smile was fading slightly as the reality sunk in. “She wasn’t a bad person. I know she did really terrible things… But… Growing up all we know is training and violence. She was so alone when we first met. Just— consumed by rage. But then I got to know her. She was funny and witty and a goofball… She lost when she had a weakness and that was well— me. She stole things for me… That’s why I just— That’s why I’m so sorry.”

She let out a breath. It felt nice to talk about her grief. “If I know she’s watching over me, she’s grateful for you. I know that may not mean much but— that’s all I have. You will always have an ally in me.”

BRUCE

Bruce listened, focusing on taking care of Gliss’s wounds because he wasn’t sure if he could meet her eyes. And his head hurt, anyway. It was kind of painful to look up with the sun where it was.

He didn’t know if he could promise Gliss that he would always be her ally. Right now, he didn’t think he had it in him to betray another friend. But he got the sense that there was something breaking down in him, that if it really came down to it, he might still make the selfish choice. So he stayed silent.

“I... you don’t have to apologize anymore. We all did things we regretted,” Bruce said simply. He didn’t want to deal with the thought of what Tigg might think about him. He had hurt Tigg, too. “I’d been training for this, too. My parents found me when I was fifteen. Tangled in a fishing net. They didn’t have a lot of money and they never had enough food, so I was their only hope. I thought if I won, it could help them. But it’s a lot different, training and being actually in it. When you’re training, everyone’s your enemy. Here... it’s complicated.”

GLISS

“They don’t really tell us what’s happening in other districts… The families, the stories. Money was just— never really a problem for us.” The winnings were hardly even a thought in her mind. Now she was beginning to feel guilty about that too.

“Hey, um, I know this sounds awful but… If something happens to me, even if it’s you that did the awful thing, can you go to our mentor John and get Tigg’s letter for me? When and If you win? Just… Leave it with my body?” She let out a breath. Her mouth was dry. “In turn, if I win, I’ll give your family 50% of my winnings. I just… Want a little for Tigg’s home she wanted for us. But that’s— way beyond now. I hope.”

She really wanted to give him something. If that was reassurance, that’s what she wanted to provide. They had a lot more in common than she had originally thought.

“And I hate to ask but— you have something to drink from the tree, right? My sponsors must despise me.”

BRUCE

Bruce stared at her.

He knew that she knew that he might. If it came down to it. It was a horrible thought, but it was a real one, and Bruce knew that he was capable of it. Winston had been someone he cared about. That wasn’t something he had done lightly.

But if it came down to it, and if he had to kill more people, there was a part of Bruce that really wondered how he would ever go through life like this. With all these people haunting him. People celebrated Victors and held them up, but everyone knew they were deeply haunted people. So it scared him, to hear Gliss say that. He wanted to survive. Obviously. He wanted to make it home, for his family’s sake. But it was occurring to him that he really might die here, and it was a small comfort that someone else might take care of them. If that was even allowed.

He had been in the process of taking the spile out of his bag when he dropped it. Shaky hands. Bruce picked it up and put it in the tree silently, still not sure how to respond.

“I promise,” he finally said, because there was too much there for him to really unpack right now. “Do you want some water?”

GLISS

Gliss wasn’t stupid. She had spoken with Winston just the night before he was murdered. Their alliance was solid. The only way it could’ve been broken was if Bruce had killed him in a betrayal. Winston was kind, Gliss less so. It would be a lot easier to kill her.

So she stared back at him with sympathy. If she had to die, she was happy to die by his hands at least. And honestly, she’d take him to end at this point. If only because she thought he deserved it.

She’d come to terms with death being inevitable, it was only ever a matter of when. Maybe she’d make it out, maybe she wouldn’t. And life would go on.

She laid her hand on his shoulder, comforting him because she knew how uncomfortable it all was at the moment. Still she was so incredibly grateful for that promise. “Thank you and I promise too.” Another deal, another day. It was what it was. But she was still comforted by it. “Please?” she leaned forward taking a few sips and using some excess to wash her hands and face. “Thank you so much… How… How’s your head by the way? Do you need me to look at it?”

BRUCE

Bruce shook his head, though the pounding was getting worse and he really wanted to sleep. He knew you weren’t supposed to sleep with head injuries, even when you wanted to, at least until you could get it checked out. Bruce couldn’t get it checked out. He could only try and remember what he knew, from the sailors on smaller vessels who came back from storms having been tossed around by them.

But Bruce was doing okay. He wasn’t seeing double. His vision wasn’t blurry. And his mind felt clearer, at least, since earlier in the day. Still, as the sun slipped below the trees, Bruce thought he ought to take the first watch.

He didn’t trust himself to make any promises. He just didn’t think he was a good enough man not to break them, not at this point, with his track record. But he could, at least, try and show with gestures that he hadn’t completely lost his heart. That the Games hadn’t taken all of that from him yet. He had to, or otherwise he didn’t know how he was going to survive these next few days.

Maybe he wouldn’t. But he was going to try.

“It will be better in the morning. You should go to sleep. I’ll take the watch,” Bruce offered. There was more to say, but he couldn’t. It would have to be enough, for now.

#gliss #bhg #blood on my hands

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themanicmagician · 4 years

Text

Shipwrecked [4/4]

[AO3]

Summary: When Redd’s boat crashes upon the shore of Bastion Island, Tom reluctantly takes him in while he recovers. Tom despises Redd for his past deceit, but when he has no choice but to spend time with him, Tom is reminded why he fell in love with the wily fox in the first place.

“Welcome!” Mabel chirped, ever a font of enthusiasm. She clasped her paws together. “How can I help you two?”

Redd, looking decidedly uncomfortable, did not speak up. It fell upon Tom to explain.

“He needs a wardrobe.” Tom said. “He lost most of his things in the shipwreck, so we’re replacing what we can.”

Tom could admit, to himself alone, that he would miss the sight of Redd in his shirts. But Redd really should wear more fitting, comfortable clothes instead of baggy tees. And besides, Tom didn’t have that many spares.

“Oh, of course! How many outfits were you thinking?”

“Let’s do five, to start with. And two sets of sleepwear.”

Mabel nodded, then beckoned Redd over to the fitting platform. “Right this way, Mr. Redd.”

“It’s just Redd.” He did not follow the porcupine’s instructions right away, instead murmuring to Tom: “I’ll pay you back for all of it when I can.”

Redd was embarrassed—embarrassed to be unable to provide for himself, to be forced to rely upon Tom’s charity.

“Don’t worry about it.”

This didn’t reassure Redd; his mouth twisted in discomfort.

“But…”

“Everything alright?” Mabel circled back to them, tape measure in hand.

“Yes, just give us a moment, please.”

When Mabel returned to the platform, Tom tried a different approach. “You’ve been a great help with the boys lately.” Indeed, story time with Redd was now a nightly ritual in the Nook household. They were steadily making their way through Flurry’s entire library. “Just think of it as repayment for that, alright?”

Redd mumbled something unintelligible, but finally nodded his acceptance. They joined Mabel. Redd stepped up on the platform, and Mabel began taking his measurements, jotting them down in a little spiral notebook.

Sable watched them shrewdly from her sewing station. Redd and Sable had never met in person before, but both knew of each other thanks to stories from Tom. Redd saw Sable observing him, and he offered a sheepish smile.

“I suppose we can’t do a complete wingspan measurement for now.” Mable mused. Redd turned away from Sable to look at the younger hedgehog, grateful for the plausible excuse to break away. “I’ll just have to use the measurement of one arm for the other as well. Oh! We can fix you up with a new sling, too. Wouldn’t be hard at all.”

“It’s fine, really,” Redd demurred. “It’s not necessary.”

“Oh pish. It’ll just be a bit of fabric, won’t it?” Mabel trotted over to her sister. “Sable, surely you’ve got something lying around that we could use.”

Redd threw a helpless look to Tom. Tom only shrugged. Once Mabel got started on something, there was no stopping her.

“Here.” Sable offered up a stripe of black fabric. Mable seized it with a happy “Thanks sis!” and then spent a good ten minutes between the front of the store and the back storage room, putting together an ensemble for Redd.

“Okay, you can try these on to start with.” Mabel set a bundle of clothes down in the changing room. “Do you need any help getting dressed?”

Redd colored. “No, I can handle it myself.”

As they waited for Redd to get changed, Tom chatted lightly with Mabel. The young hedgehog was overjoyed that their middle sibling, Label, was making frequent trips into Bastion. By the time Redd emerged from the dressing room, Tom had learned more than he ever needed to know about how Label’s hot pink clothing line was revolutionizing the fashion industry.

“Well?” Redd asked, scuffing his foot on the carpet.

Tom gave him a once-over. Mabel had selected comfortable clothes, suited for island living. Redd wore tan corduroy shorts, and a light pastel color block t-shirt. He didn’t look like a sleazy businessman, but like a true islander. Like he’d fit in well here.

Tom shoved the thought aside. He and Redd had made amends, but Redd was still going to leave in a few short weeks. Best not to dwell on things like that.

“It suits you,” Tom told him.

Redd muttered a thanks before Mabel dragged him off to try on something else.

~*~

Tom chopped apples into slices in his kitchenette for today’s lunch. He was fond of pears, but was infinitely grateful to Alex for bringing other fruits to the island, thereby expanding their cuisine possibilities. He was preparing fruit salad, made of the island’s entire available assortment, and included generous scoops of orange sherbet as well.

He stopped by the Cranny to drop off the boys’ lunches before he headed outside. He found Redd exactly where he thought he would: by the sea, an easel and canvas in front of him. He was working with acrylics today. Redd was painting the shoreline before him, capturing a wave mid-crash. Even partly-done, his work was impressive. It was a bit of luck that the shipwreck had spared the fox’s dominant hand.

A little ways in front of Redd was Julian. The unicorn must have assumed Redd was here to paint him, because he was currently splayed out on sand in a very dramatic pose.

“Make sure you get my best side, glitter!”

Redd, focused on painting a collection of wispy clouds, didn’t pay Julian any mind. Unperturbed, Julian remained in his chosen pose.

Tom nudged Redd’s shoulder with the bowl of fruit salad.

“Lunch.”

“Mmm.” Redd’s gaze didn’t lift from his canvas.

There was a splotch of blue paint on one of his ears. How on earth had he managed that?

Tom set the fruit salad down on the sand beside Redd. The fox’s tail swished lazily back and forth as he worked.

“It looks very good.” Tom complimented.

“Flatterer. I’m out of practice. Been a while since I’ve done something like this.” A while since he’d patined original art instead of copying classical pieces.

Redd added layers to the wavers. They began to look like wild, angry things.

Tom frowned.

“I spoke with Orville. He has spare life jackets he can donate for your boat. And he’s happy to go over basic sailing techniques with you. It won’t be like that again.”

“It was so sudden.” Redd explained, at length. His brush paused on the canvas as his gaze became distant. “One moment the waves were calm, and the next, they were roiling. I’m lucky I got away with just this.” He gestured to his splinted arm.

“Maybe someone can go back with you.” Tom suggested. “One of the dodos at the airline could sail with you and then fly back at port.”

The light in Redd’s eyes dimmed slightly. “Oh, yeah. The dodos. Maybe.”

The air between them felt thick with awkwardness. Tom kicked at the sand, begging someone up there for a distraction.

His prayer was answered in the form of Julian.

“My goodness!” Julian gasped, clutching a hoof to his chest as he ogled Redd’s work. “What a painting! You have captured my beautiful essence! Sublime! Magnifique!”

Redd leveled him a flat look.

“Yes, that’s exactly what he was going for. You truly have a mind for art, Julian.” Tom said.

Julian gave a bow before he pranced off with a self-satisfied smirk.

Redd snickered. Tom chuckled. They seemed to set each other off. Once they started, they couldn’t stop, until they were both letting loose full belly laughs.

~*~

June was a welcome reprieve from the previous month of cold rain. The air was mostly pleasant, occasionally humid. Rain came in short bursts and cleared up just as quickly.

Tonight was mildly warm, and they’d constructed a decent-sized bonfire in the town square. Residents mingled around the area. Flurry and Diana sipped drinks and chatted. Lucky was showing Del the proper marshmallow roasting technique. Julian and Elvis were arguing over whose turn it was to sing at the microphone. Fang grumbled about “kids and their wild parties” and yet mingled with the group anyway.

Tom sat on the swell of a grassy hill, overlooking the plaza. Sable was at his right. She could never sit entirely still, so she’d brought a half-finished scarf along with her to work on.

He watched the impromptu party for several moments, until a thought occurred to him. He straightened up from his casual slouch. Where were the boys? They knew the island, but it was still scorpion season.

“Sable, have you seen—?”

She pointed before he finished his sentence. Tom squinting in the dim lighting to see what she was gesturing towards.

“Oh. Oh no.”

“Mhm.”

Celeste had dragged her brother over to her telescope. Blathers was peering through it as Celeste chattered at his side. The siblings were utterly preoccupied with their occupation, completely oblivious to the three forms sidling up behind them. Timmy, Tommy, and Redd were inching closer and closer. Each of them was holding a fake rubber tarantula. Tom had raised an eyebrow when the boys ordered a box of them a week ago, but hadn’t thought to question why they wanted them. He’d just assumed they were for the Cranny’s stock.

Timmy giggled visibly, his tiny shoulders shaking with laughter. Redd shushed him.

“Shouldn’t we stop them?” Tom asked.

“Better Blathers than me.” Sable said simply, needles clicking lightly as she knit. There was a gleam of mischief in her brown eyes.

“Sable!” She startled a laugh from him.

The boys rose up on their tip-toes to place their fake bugs on Blathers’ shoulders; Redd deposited his rubber tarantula atop the owl’s head.

Blathers, feeling the touch, lifted his wing in confusion. He squawked at the bugs on his wings, and flapped them in panic. In his fright, the tarantula on his head slipped down, landing right between his eyes. Blathers’ resultant squeal turned everyone’s heads.

Timmy and Tommy leaned on each other, bodies wracked with laughter. Redd snickered.

Blathers, having now realized he’d been played, stomped over to the perpetrators. He pointed an accusatory wing at Redd.

“You! You—You—!”

“Hey, hey, calm down, Babbles. Don’t get your feathers in a twist.”

Blathers sputtered indignantly.

“You wouldn’t hurt an invalid, would you?”

“I... well...no…but still!”

Redd sobered. “Sorry, I guess we went too far. I apologize. Put ‘er there.” Redd held out his hand for a shake, to make amends.

Blathers took it—then shrieked again. Redd had palmed him another fake spider. The boys started giggling again.

Tom facepalmed.

~*~

Tom deposited the splint and sling on the coffee table. The fur on Redd’s now-freed arm was a bit matted, unwashed for seven weeks. But the arm itself appeared sound.

“Well?” Tom asked, a touch anxiously. “How does it feel?”

Redd flexed his arm carefully. Drew his fingers into a loose fist before he extended them again.

“A bit tender. Stiff. But better.”

Redd’s ship had been fully patched up about a week ago. Now that the fox’s arm was finally healed, there was no real reason for Redd to stick around. He had confessed to coming here to see Tom. But Tom couldn’t give his heart away so easily a second time. And Redd had never promised to stay, only to visit.

Tom busied himself by picking at some fuzz on the arm of the couch. “I suppose you’ll be wanting to get on your way then.”

“...Actually, I figured I should stick around for a bit.”

“Oh?” Tom was grateful his tone came off at just the right level of interested, not too eager.

“Sure. Should probably hang around another week. Maybe more. You know, just to make sure my arm is strong enough. It’ll be a problem if I get out there and can’t really grasp the wheel.”

“Uncle Redd!”

“...Redd!”

Timmy and Tommy burst into the room, a whirlwind of excitement. Tommy was clutching a new book to his chest.

“Can you read this one to us tonight?”

“...night?”

“Of course.”

The twins noticed Redd’s discarded splint, and squeezed themselves on either side of Redd to cuddle.

“Careful, boys.” Tom warned. He didn’t want them to accidentally hurt Redd in their enthusiasm.

“They’re fine,” Redd said, softly. He gently ruffled the fur on both the boys’ heads.

“K.K. is in town today. Can we all go see him?”

“...him?”

“Who?” Redd asked.

“He’s Uncle Tom’s favorite.”

“...favorite.”

Redd raised an eyebrow at Tom. “Favorite?” He repeated, dryly.

“Favorite musician.” Tom corrected.

“Can we go? Please?”

“...please?”

“Why not.” Tom said. The boys cheered and scampered off to get ready.

~*~

Lightning bugs blinked in the air as the quartet meandered from the Cranny over to the town plaza. K.K. sat on his customary stool, giving his guitar a quick tuning before his performance. A few villagers were already milling around the area, waiting for the evening concert to begin.

“Right, my dudes and lady dudes, any request?” The musician asked the crowd.

Suggestions were hollered out, and K.K. inevitably went with a jaunty fairground melody. Diana and Julian clapped along to the melody. Isabelle coaxed the twins into dancing with her, and the trio jumped and swayed merrily in the center of the plaza. One song melted into the next, and more villagers joined in. Muffy twirled in elegant pirouettes. Del performed a shambling robot. Neither of them really matched the tone of the music, but they were having fun.

Redd nudged Tom. “You should be out there too.”

“Me?” Tom laughed. “Hardly.”

“What, are you shy?” Redd teased, before he offered his hand. “C’mon. I’ll go with you.”

After a beat, Tom placed his paw in Redd’s. It was warm.

Redd didn’t bring them to the center, instead lingering on the fringe of the group. Neither of them tried to keep up with the frantic beat of the music, instead swaying with each other, from side to side. They were close like this, closer than they had been in some time. Redd smelled like the sea, like his acrylics, like the lemon-scented soap Tom owned. Their noses brushed by accident.

“Sorry.” Redd murmured.

“No, no—it’s fine.” Tom had one hand splayed across Redd’s back. For support.

The music shifted to something slower. Tom groaned inwardly as he recognized the melody. K.K. Love Song. He glanced over to K.K. Timmy and Tommy were next to him, looking rather smug. Had they been the ones to request the song? After all he’d done for them…

At least Redd was unfamiliar with the music. The one saving grace.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“Never a good sign.” Tom quipped, weakly.

“I’m grateful for everything you all did to rebuild my ship.” It was still shocking to hear Redd speak so plainly, so honestly. “But, if it was alright with you, I thought. That maybe instead of going, I could...stay?”

Tom froze. It was what he’d wanted, and now that it was being offered to him, he could scarcely believe it.

Redd mistook his silence for a denial. He began to draw away.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’ll go. I can go tomorrow.”

Tom clutched his arm so he wouldn’t slip away. “No! No, I mean—yes. If you wanted to stay I wouldn’t be opposed.”

Redd’s smile was like the sun.

“Good. Great. Yeah.” He let out a breathless laugh of relief.

“We’ll have to pick a plot of land for you. Alex can help coordinate that.”

“We’ll be neighbors. Neighbors,” Redd tested the word out, and seemed to like it. “I’ll badger you for a cup of sugar. You’ll yell at me for mowing my lawn too early in the morning.”

“The boys will lose their baseball in your yard. You’ll have to return it. Over and over again.”

“Will I? Maybe I’ll be a crotchety neighbor. Who wants those darned whippersnappers messing about my perfectly-trimmed lawn?”

Tom laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

“You love it.”

Tom did.

It was a good idea for them to live separately, for now. They would wade into it slowly this time, not plummet into the deep end right off. They’d see what happened, how it played out. But even though they were taking their relationship slow, that didn’t mean he couldn’t…

Tom ducked down to press a chaste kiss to Redd’s cheek.

“Welcome home, Redd.”

#reddnook #tom nook #redd #timmy & tommy #this chapter is a little rough but i ran outta steam #sorry folks #but i hope you like the fluff anyhow and enjoyed the fic overall #my fic

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originofjaehyun · 4 years

Text

Prelude: After Story | Part 1 | Punch

Prelude: After Story Masterlist

Word count: 2,929

Warnings: None

Part 1 | Punch

“‘Cause I’m a clean fighter.”

Read Interlude: No More Drama

Tag list: @justineasian @elauniesdream

“Make sure you tell him how you felt.”

The remark only received a giggle from the other party. “I’m not promising anything, Yuta. It will take time.”

Yuta took a final glance. There’s a hint of despair in the way he looked at her. “You packed everything?”

She nods. “I think so. Let me know if I left something. Well, that if you don’t mind. Else, you can throw them away.”

“Alright, I’ll let you know.” He smirked. There’s a pregnant pause before he continues. “I’ll see you when I see you, [Y/N]. Until then, please be well.”

Yuta could see she welled up, holding up her tears. He wished he could hug her and tell her that it will be fine, but that only contradicted the brave front he showed to her.

She finally waves her final goodbye, closing the door. It is a signal for Yuta to finally embrace his sadness. Legs gave in, he immediately crouched down, sighing.

“Damn, who would’ve thought I could fall for someone this much?” Brushing the hair that covers his forehead, he asked himself, with no one to answer.

Yuta walked to his bathroom, thinking that he would cool his head by taking a brisk shower. He took off his shirt, pausing in front of the sink before he entered the shower booth. He stared at his own reflection, blankly. No thoughts, head is empty. He just needs his time to process and to cope with his own heartbreak.

There are few objects that don't belong to him, and by then he noticed that she forgot to visit the bathroom when she cleared her stuff, leaving her toothbrush behind. He curled one side of his lips up, sighing regretfully before throwing the toothbrush to the trash bin nearby.

This is so I can forget about her faster.

Yuta taught to himself, before spotting another foreign item.

A pair of rose gold stud earrings. Yuta knows his pieces of jewelry because he never took off his. The simple design of the earrings is also a bit too plain for his liking, and the owner of them is no other than the person who just left this place.

He grabs it, about to throw them away. But hesitates, gripping the earrings inside his palm.

Yuta looks at the earring once more.

Maybe, just maybe, this is the only part of you that I could keep?

–

Days pass per normal for Yuta. Except that the people around him notice that he’s anything but it.

“You alright, bro?” Doyoung tapped his shoulder, waking Yuta from his daze.

“What do you mean?” Yuta leans to the wall, inhaling his IQOS.

“I don’t know man, you’re off these days.” Doyoung took a sip of his grapefruit drink. “It seems like you have something on your mind. Have you talked to [Y/N] about it?”

Ah, so she hasn’t told him.

Yuta thought to himself, not responding to Doyoung as he drew out a translucent smoke.

“She might not be the best at giving advice, cause even she had a hard time figuring out herself. But I promise she’s a good listener, I’m sure she'll be able to give you some sort of comfort.”

Yuta just nodded to his statement.

He nodded because he himself knew how comfortable it was to be around her.

–

Yuta holds grudges. It was hard for him to admit it at first, but eventually, he accepts the annoying part of his personality. Fast forward five months after she left, Yuta still refused to go out. This clearly weirded everyone out since Yuta is the social butterfly. For him to reject their offer to visit the bar after office makes the lines on their foreheads more apparent than ever.

Yuta just needs some time, alone. He doesn’t know for how long, but what he knows is that he’s just not in the mood to put on a fake happy smile when his own heart is like a shipwreck.

So he spent another night in at his apartment, opening a bottle of rye whiskey. Truthfully, Yuta prefers sweeter booze –something that is more fruity like his usual Cassis Orange. However these days, those cocktails couldn’t shred his woe. He needs something stronger. He needs to be able to feel the burning sensation on his chest, replacing the pain of his heartache.

He went off to flump into the leather couch, putting down the glass of whiskey. He grabs the remote, browsing through the Netflix catalog. He stops, at one move named Kimi no Na wa.

He probably already watched this for million times. He loves this movie. Not only because of the well-executed animation and storyline, but it also reminds him of home.

And it painfully reminds him of her too. How she loved anime, and how her eyes glimmered every time Yuta told her a fun fact about Japanese culture.

“Did you know there’s a trivia behind her name?”

“Who? Mitsuha?”

Yuta nods, “Her name means three leaves. Funnily enough, it started from her grandmother, Hitoha which means one leaf. And you guessed it, her mother’s name, Futaba, means two leaves and her little sister, Yotsuha, is four leaves.”

“Whoa!” She shrieked excitedly. “That’s cute!”

Yuta laughed at the sight of her getting excited over something simple like this. It’s nothing much for a Japanese man like him, but for her it’s something new and Yuta finds it very adorable.

If she was still here, he would cross his arm over her shoulder. Cuddling her.

But right now, all he could do is to rest his arm on the backrest of his couch. The only warmth that he could feel is from the whiskey.

Unable to focus on the movie, so he diverted his attention to see his phone.

Oh, how he regrets it.

He saw her social. She was with a group of people that Yuta knew from that party. But his finger reactively clicked on one of the tagged name’s profiles.

Just to see him posted a photo of her. It was a candid photo, the person captured in the picture seemingly asked the photographer to stop. Her hands were blurred because she attempted to cover her mouth.

But she wasn’t quick enough to stop the photographer from capturing her smile. A smile so bright Yuta knew he wasn’t able to create. A smile that Yuta definitely misses.

The agony he felt amplified once he read the capture below the photo.

“I was yours, before I knew; and you have always been mine too.”

Yuta rolled his tongue over his front teeth. He knew he shouldn’t feel this way, not when he is the one who let her go. But he is pissed, throwing his phone away.

He moves his palms to cover his eyes, resting his head. He lets out another sigh, but no matter how much he exhaled, no matter how much alcohol he drank, the rain cloud seems to follow him around.

“Fuck this shit.” He hummed to himself.

He took his phone again, this time opening a different app. It took him a bit longer this time, but at least whatever he was doing, managed to put a smile on Yuta’s face.

He then proceeds to dial a number.

“Hello, Doy? I’ll take a week off. I’m flying to Osaka tomorrow.”

–

“How could you come back home without noticing us?”

Yuta puts down his bag, worn out from the flight, “I can’t even visit my own home now, Nee-san?”

“What I meant was,” His sister crossed his arm. “Last time you visited Osaka, you’d stay at the hotel because you wouldn’t stay long. Mostly due to your business trip. What makes you suddenly miss home?”

“I just feel like taking some days off, Nee-san.” He replied without looking at this sister, busy unpacking his stuff. “Also, Imouto has been texting me, telling me to bring her some signed goods from TVXQ.”

“Well if you said so,” Her sister knows how stubborn Yuta is, so she decides that she won’t press him further. “Come down when you’re ready. If only you told us you were coming earlier, mom would’ve cooked us Nabe. But we don’t have the ingredients, so you have to settle with curry tonight.”

Yuta finally looked back to smile at his sister, “Curry sounds great, Nee-san.”

–

It’s great to be home, Yuta thought to himself.

The familiar road. People talking in his mother language. Food that is catered to fit his taste buds. He loves Korea, and everything it has to offer, but nothing could replace home.

“My, Yuta is that you?!” An elderly woman called for him, snapping him from his day daze.

“Oh, Baa-chan!” Yuta subconsciously lets out his signature radiant smile. “How are you? I hope your back is fine now.”

“Oh, you’re as sweet as I could remember, Yuta!” She giggled. “You never visit your home, this Baa-chan misses you a lot, you know? I don’t know how to use… what do they call those these days? Line?”

Yuta laughed. “Yes, Line, Baa-chan.”

“Right, I can’t contact you! You should come home more often. I could write you a letter but I don’t know your address in Korea.”

“I miss you too, Baa-chan. Sorry, I promise to visit again.”

Baa-chan sells taiyaki in his neighborhood. Yuta is her regular customer, and she has witnessed how much Yuta grew from a small boy who aspires to be an Ultraman to a successful businessman he is right now. Yuta settled on the bench in front of Baa-chan’s store, filling her with the missing information pieces where Yuta finally left home for his career.

“Now take this,” She offered him a bag of taiyakis.

“Oh, no Baa-chan. Let me pay,” He rustles his pant pocket, trying to find his wallet.

“My dear Yuta!” She pushes the paper bag to him, “This is a gift from me, as a thank you for visiting this old lady. Next time, bring your friend here so they can pay instead. Baa-chan wants to see your friends, I want to make sure they are good people.”

He lets out a soft chuckle. Baa-chan is always kind, and it touches his heart. Yuta treats her like she’s her own grandmother. “I’ll note that, Baa-chan.”

He waves goodbye to her and marches his way to a nearby park. The park used to be so big for the small Yuta. He used to think it would take forever to catch a ball that flies after his friend kicked it too high. But now that he’s a full-grown man, he even wonders how the hell he was able to play soccer with his friend in this field.

He sits down at the bench, taking a bite of the fresh taiyaki. Baa-chan’s taiyaki is the best. It might be a biased opinion, but every bite is like a memory lane for Yuta. The irreplaceable taste of childhood.

The dusk is near, and there is no child laughter at these hours since all of them have their curfews. With nothing to keep him entertained, he unlocked his phone, casually browsing through his social before pausing his munching at one post.

“Can’t believe this man asked me to spend the rest of my life with him while I’m about to throw the trash away. I hope your future daughter will experience a much more romantic proposal, you weirdo.”

Involuntarily the red bean paste from his bread squirted out, due to the fact Yuta unconsciously squeezed them. Was it out of anger? Out of disappointment? Or out of regret?

His blood is boiling, and with nobody around, nothing stops him. Yuta is usually calm, but right now he just wants to transfer the excessive anger somewhere. Heck, the tree next to him can be his punching bag.

My mom always told me to finish my meal so you’re not leaving until you eat everything.

But right now, Yuta is unable to take another bite. He even forced whatever he had left on his mouth down to his throat.

Why did I let you go?

He scoffed, mocking his own thought, “Damn, what a pathetic person you are, Yuta.”

Your first impression on Yuta is probably how strong his aura is. His gaze is sharp, complemented with a well-chiseled jawline. So you would never think that the same person has a sensitive soul. Ever since his trip to Japan, the Nakamato residence in Seoul is always decorated with fresh flowers, handpicked by Yuta himself. This is his way of finding peace. He always wanted to have a pet, but his busy schedule makes him unable to own one. Instead, he’s been paying more attention to greeneries in his home. He said it was a therapy for him, and having a living plant makes the place alive, so he claims.

The bell on the door jingles after Yuta pushes the door open, cueing the staff who were busy arranging a bouquet to greet him.

“Welcome to Paradise!”

Yuta nods at the staff, telling her to continue with her arrangement and let him browse the flower catalog by himself.

Soon after, the bell jingles once more —only to reveal a young man with a sparkly eyes.

“Sorry, __! Taeyong left his apron behind so I have to make a visit to Kitchen Beat first.”

The person at the counter chuckled, “Don’t sweat it, Mark. We’re not that busy today anyway.”

“Let me put my bag first, then I’ll help to cut the stems of the carnations—“ Mark’s eyes grow bigger once he sees the familiar figure. “Yuta-hyung? Ah, I mean, Sir!”

Yuta turned at the sound of his name. “Oh, if it isn’t Mark!”

“Didn’t expect you to come here, Sir.”

“You can talk to me comfortably, Mark. We’re no strangers.” Yuta smiles. “Fancy seeing you here, too. Are you part-timing here?”

Mark nods. “Other than my job as an English tutor, working here actually calms me down. Maybe the flower gives the peaceful atmosphere?”

Yuta hummed, agreeing with his statement.

“Also, I can rest a bit because working here is not as busy as working at a cafe.” Mark continues, “Though we’re going to be busy pretty soon since Jaehyun-hyung ordered so many orchids for his wedding. Man, not just any orchid! If only he knows how difficult it is to obtain—“

Mark stopped at the sight of Yuta’s awkward face.

“Shit, Mark, how could you forget that he was your Noona’s ex-lover.”

He whispered to himself, but the store was fairly quiet with only faint instrumental song in the background —enabling Yuta to listen to each of his words clearly.

Your noona.

“Mark, go change to your uniform.” A female voice breaks the tension, flinching Mark who reactively gives Yuta a deep bow afterward.

Yuta definitely needs time to process what just happened. Pressing his lips together while occasionally biting the skin.

“A cheerful young boy, isn’t he?”

Yuta woke up from his daydream following her calm voice. “Mark is energetic, and I love how positive his energy is. Though sometimes, that can cause him to be slightly dense, too.”

Yuta couldn’t help but to let a single soft chuckle.

“So please forgive him, yeah? I’m sorry I couldn’t help but to overheard your conversation. Don’t take it to the heart, Mark was probably too excited. He didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know. No offense is taken. I just need some time to digest it.”

“Take your time,” she continued with her bouquet, tying up the ribbon as the final touch. “Though, if I could suggest, I think our daffodils are very pretty today.”

“Daffodils?”

“Yes, the yellow ones on that corner,” she pointed at a bunch of yellow flowers. “I’ll help you with a bunch. It’s on a house, as an apology from making you uncomfortable just now. Are you going to put it on a vase like the usual or are you going to give it to someone?”

Yuta widened his eyes, quickly shook his head, “Oh please no need, I’m not offended by all means.”

“As the owner of this shop, I insist, Sir.”

Yuta hesitates, but eventually gives in. “The usual. Actually, a single bloom is fine. I would feel bad, you know, if you're going to give me a bunch. Business is still business after all.”

His remarks only caused the other party to scoff, “Our business is doing well, Sir. So please don’t fret on it. Anyway, it would mean a different thing if I don’t give you in a bunch.”

“Different thing?”

“Ah,” She closes her mouth with her hand. “Don’t mind too much on it.”

After spending the whole day outside, all Yuta needs is a refreshing shower to wash down his sweat. He placed his new floral arrangement on his dining table, before taking his shirt off when he walked towards the bathroom. He threw his shirt to the laundry bag, and unlocked his phone, ready to play his shower playlist.

Bunch of daffodils?

He suddenly remembered how the florist mentioned the different meaning of daffodils. He quickly changed the tab, typing the question on Google.

Smirk appeared on his face, after so many days shied away from the surface.

“Rebirth and new beginnings, huh?” He said to himself. “How cheeky.”

He puts down his phone on the countertop, resting his arms at the sink before looking at himself in the mirror.

Yuta is determined.

He picks up his phone once more, dialing a number.

“Doyoung, do you know the best hair salon here?”

A/N: We’re back with this!! I’m so so excited to continue this hehe~ To be honest... continuing this series gives me a lot of anxiety. What if the audience don’t like it? What if the one who loves Interlude won’t like my approach on continuing the story in Yuta’s POV? At some point it was difficult for me to write this, but as I persistently write this, it became more and more enjoyable and eventually those thoughts don’t appear as much!

Another thing to note, to prevent any confusion, the reader for Prelude will be ___ instead of the usual [Y/N]. [Y/N] belongs to Interlude! So think of her as another character for Prelude!

Also again, I’d like to remind you guys again since there’s only three additional songs, this would be a mini-series instead of a full series like Interlude. But hopefully, you would still give Prelude tons of love too!

#yuta scenarios #yutaxreader #yuta fic #yuta angst #neowritingsnet #yuta fluff #commoner!au #commoner!yuta #yutafluff #yuta #yuta scenario #fic yuta #angst yuta #prelude after story #nct scenarios #prelude #punch

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ubernoxa · 4 years

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The Token: A Guns N’ Roses Fanfiction

Chapter 9: Get Out

Story Summary: Fanfic inspired by the movie She’s the Man. A female Duff is tired of dealing with the bullshit of trying to make it on the strip as a female bassist. In a desperate attempt to make it big doing what she does, she cuts her hair and mascardes as Duff. What’s the wors that could happen?

Chapter Summary: Betsie’s wrath cuases several aftershocks, and Duff gets too drunk for her own good.

Masterlist

Taglist: @viralwolf02 @littlemisscare-all @smokeandmirrorz @aratbaby @slashscowboyboots @achiweyow @queen-crue

“What is going on?” My uncle bellowed through the shop.

“Your barista or whatever the fucking hell you call her is a damn traitor who dresses up as a guy and plays in a rock n’ roll band on the strip” Betsie shouted at my uncle. I felt every customer in the shot starting at me. Fuck.

He then quickly turned towards me, as if I had a logical straight forward answer.

What was I supposed to say? Yes uncle, I dress up as a guy and perform in a rock band on the other side of town? He was rather clear only a couple minutes ago that he wasn’t a huge fan of me being in a band, and Betsie storming in looking to start a fight wasn’t helping the cause. I call bullshit on anyone who says the truth will set you free. The truth would only burry me deeper in the grave I already dug for myself.

“I don’t know what she is talking about. She must be high on coke or some shit. She...is crazy!” I shouted at my uncle as I walked out in front of him.

“Lying bitch! You and your band think that you can just bring strippers on stage, and no one would miss my band? You know what you’re fucking saying right? What message you’re sending to the strip? By replacing us with strippers? That that’s all we Pixie was! That people only came to our shows for our looks. Do you think that people only came to see my band, may I remind you that is was also your former band that you were apart of, because we are a bunch of chicks? Is that what you think all female musicians are? Just something nice to look at? Well say something your treacherous bitch!” She howled across the counter. I remained frozen, not only motionless, but speechless. Strippers? We were going to have stripper on the stage?

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” I shouted back losing all composure I had before.

“Ohh really Michelle? Then explain to me why the bar manager told Cindy that we weren’t playing because Guns N’ Roses, apparently a ‘far better band’ according to the manager, would be bringing strippers, so the clientele wouldn’t care. Our. Fans. Wouldn’t. Care. As long as there were chicks dancing on stage our fans wouldn’t mind,” she snarled making sure to put air quotes when she said far better band. I didn’t notice how quiet the shop was until she stopped talking. I took a quick look around, the shop when I noticed it was quickly empty. My uncle must have escorted the customers out.

“Have you ever thought that maybe Guns N’ Roses got the gig because we are better than Pixie? You guys flat lined. You were playing the same songs and going nowhere! I tried to save Pixie before you kicked me out. Looks like I avoided being apart of the shipwreck,” I shot back. Big fucking mistake.

Before I could blink, she pushed past Derek and launched herself at me. I didn’t have time to process what was going on. I felt like a rag doll as everything blurred in front of me. It wasn’t until she slammed me against the counter that every thing came back into focus. I tried pushing Betsie off, but she was too strong. I had absolutely no leverage from my position. I was fucked.

As I continued to flail like a fish trying to get her off of me while she screamed profanities, Derek swooped in pulled her off of me. I remained frozen on the counter watching as Betsie tried to kick Derker in hopes of escaping his grip.

The doors to the coffee shop flew open. I was glued to the counter when I turned to see a police officer burst through the doors. The room went quiet, the only sound that filled the room was Betsie panting.

Fuck.

I let one last scream escape me as I felt Betsi throw me against the ground. My mind was too busy trying to comprehend how she escaped Derek’s grip to even take in the chaos that had erupted around me.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion as I looked over towards Betsie. I tried to listen to what the cop was saying, but his worlds sounded distorted like a bowl of alphabet soup. I took another deep breath feeling a sharp pain in my chest. Fuck, she must have bruised something when she threw me to the ground.

I looked down at my white apron that was painted red. Fuck..was that...was that my blood. Subconsciously I felt my hand cover my mouth to hide a gasp when I felt something trickling onto it. The liquid felt like a waterfall as i watched the liquid paint my hand red.

I looked over towards my cousin Kendal to only receive a disapproving glare. I froze as I saw a piece of blond hair out of the corner of my eye. Where the fuck was my wig? My question was quickly answered when I looked up at my uncle. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the brown wig he had gripped in his hands.

I squinted as I tried to understand what he was shouting, but I couldn’t read his lips.

I felt someone place their hand on the small of my back and squat down next to me. I turned to see Izzy as he tried saying something, but just like everyone else, I couldn’t hear him. I could feel him pulling at my arm, and I turned towards Derek who remained frozen. Fear plastered across his features. I felt a ringing return to my ears and turned towards where I heard the sound come from.

“Get out, you’re done,” I nodded at him and turned towards Kendal who wore an expression that mirrored the one on Derek’s face.

“Uh...yeah...I’ll umm..I should..go,” I felt Izzy catch me as my right leg gave out below me.

I would like to say that I walked out of the coffee shop, but I knew Izzy held most of my weight.

“My wig Izzy, I need to go get my wig,” I muttered as I rested my head on his shoulder as we walked.

“We can get the wig another time,” I nodded, but deep down I knew I was’t getting my wig back.

“Was I....was I fired?” I felt useless as we continued to walk towards....actually I had no idea where we were heading.

“Yes,” I nodded at his response as I tried to process what had happened.

“Michelle, we have to keep walking. The sooner we get to my truck the better. I don’t want to have to deal with more cops today,” Izzy grunted as he helped me get into his truck.

“At least Your truck is red, so I can’t bleed all over it,” I giggled once I was inside his truck.

I jumped when Izzy’s laugh filled the car when he got it.

“Shelly, the exterior of my car is red, not the interior,” I looked around the car, and I felt my eyes practically shoot out of my head. Fuck he was right.

“Here, tilt your head forward, and place this underneath it to catch the blood. If my car every gets searched, I don’t want them thinking a murdered some chick in the front seat,” he offered me a kind smile and handed me his shirt. Which begged the question of when did he even take his shirt off.

“How hard did she even hit you?”

“By the fact that I confused the colors of the interior and exterior of your truck I’ll go very hard,” I kept my head down buried in his shirt, but I could still hear him chuckle at my response.

“WAIT...who is Shelly?” I lightly tilted my head up to see a rather confused Izzy looking at me as we sat at the red light. I knew that I went by Michelle and Duff, but FUCK I had a third name? Was Shelly some kind of stripper? I could barely handle being two people, how the fuck could I be three???

I heard a sigh escape Izzy, “it’s called a nickname. Michelle....Shell...Shelly” His tone remained lifeless as he explained my new nickname.

We sat in silence for the rest of the ride towards wherever the fuck we were going. He focused on what I assumed to be the road, and I focused on keeping my nose leaned forward in his sweaty shirt. I looked up once so felt the truck stop.

“Take off the apron, and put on this sweatshirt,” I sent him a confused look as he spoke.

“Duff doesn’t have boobs. Hopefully the sweatshirt is baggy enough to conceal them,” I felt Izzy’s eyes linger on my chest before her tossed me a random sweatshirt.

It took me a couple seconds, but I was able to throw it on and toss my apron under the seat.

“Took you long enough,” he muttered under his breath as I followed him into his crammed place.

“Ohh sorry, took me a couple extra seconds because I was trying not to bleed to death,” I sassed back.

“Jesus Christ, I already have one drama queen in my band, I don’t need both you and Axl acting like drama queens,” I laughed as I followed him into inside.

“Luckily for us, looks like no one is home,” I headed towards the bathroom to wash off my face while Izzy went to the kitchen to get what I could only assume to be supplied.

Yeah Izzy, so lucky for us.

I stared in the mirror looking at my reflection that was painted black and blue. I smiled at the fact that my nose was no longer bleading and immediately began to run Izzy’s shirt under cold water trying to get the blood out.

“Here,” I turned towards Izzy who handed me a bag of frozen peas.

“Did she hit you in the stomach or chest?” I nodded while moving the bag of frozen pees from my face to my ribcage.

“Alright take your shirt off.”

I froze once Izzy’s monotone words filled the bathroom.

“Izzy if you wanted to see my boobs, you could have just asked,” I teased taking off his hoodie I was currently wearing and my shirt from work.

I watched as he tried to hide a smirk before he inspected the bruises that littered around my stomach and the rib cage. Betsie definitely got me good. I focused on my breathing as I sat on the grimy bathroom counter dressed in only my braw and work pants. My eyes remained focused on the shower curtain as if I was cramming for an exam about shower curtains. I was doing everything I could in order to avoid any eye contact with Izzy. I didn’t want to make anything more awkward.

“What were you doing back at the coffee shop? I kindled you out, why did you come back?” I asked in hopes to break the awkward silence that filled the bathroom.

“I saw a police car race towards the coffee shop” his response was short and plain, but I didn’t want to press any further. Something about the way he responded, I felt like he was lying. I could put my finger on it, but he wasn’t telling me the whole story.

“You should be fine, just take it slow the next couple of days,” the moment I nodded, voices filled the apartment.

“Will you be able to play?” I nodded again and Izzy’s question before I through on the hoodie following him to the main room for and practice. We had a gig in three days, and there was nothing that was going to keep me from playing.

The next couple of days were filled with practicing, and they flew by. I sat backstage at the Troubadour fidgeting with my bass. I was pulled from my thoughts at the faint sound of someone yelling.

“What the actual fuck?” I perked up at the sound of Steven’s voice.

“Sounds like Axl is pissed about something,” I replied earning a nod from the drummer.

“Im going to make sure he doesn’t kill anyone,” he said before leaving the backstage area.

I sat alone in the small white room littered with graffiti alone for a couple minutes as I tried to mentally prepare myself for the gig. The bar was packed, and I could already feel the nerves growing in my stomach.

One shot.

Two shots.

Three shots.

And like magic, I felt the nerves slowly flush from my system as the vodka took its place.

I took a deep breath, and looked up as I saw the rest of the band enter the white room.

“Pixie is batshit crazy!” I laughed at Slash’s words.

“What happened?”

“They started shit, bitching how we replaced them or some shit like that. The best part was their drummer, Betsie, wasn’t even there. Apparently, she’s in jail!” Slash laughed as he sat down next to me.

Holy shit Betsie was in jail. I remained frozen for a moment or two before taking my fourth shot.

Why didn’t anyone from her band bail her out? Did they not have the money or did they just got give a shit?

The crowd was packed, loud, and hungry for some rock n’ roll. Even with the dancers, as Axl put it, on stage I was able to enjoy the gig. I felt the adrenalin take over the more I played. I felt alive

After spending god knows how long at the bar after the gig, Izzy, Slash, and I all crammed into the his truck filled with our equipment. Axl and Steven ‘ended up scoring’ as Slash put it, but I didn’t mind, more vodka and beer for me. Slash handed me a bottle of nightrain once we finished unloading all of our gear in the apartment, and he toasted towards an amazing gig.

“Killer ass show!” Izzy said plopping on the ratty couch.

“We just keep getting better and better,” I took my first sip from the bottle, and continued to feel the calmness flow through my veins.

Time quickly flew by as we talked about random shit that came out of our mouths. Slash would continue to ramble about his snake, trying to get me to meet her. I didn’t know it was possible for Slash to get more talkative, but here we were. Slash’s voice filled the room once again as I looked over to Izzy who had grown more and more quiet through the night. He rolled his eyes as Slash continued to ramble. I returned a smiled and took another sip of my drink.

“You thirsty tonight?” I looked up to Izzy as he motion my half empty bottle.

“Just got something to celebrate,” I smiled back before continuing to drink. Not giving a care in the world.

“Now what’s that?” I melted as he flashed his signature smile. God he was fuckin hot.

“Kick as gig, and Pixie is practically finished. Did you see the look on their faces as the crowd chanted Guns N’ Roses? It was fucking priceless. I’ve been waiting to get revenge at those bitches for months!” I cheered.

The room went silent and Slash sent me a confused look.

“What the fuck did they ever do to you? Did they fuck you or something?” Slash’s face was painted with confusion.

“They kicked me out of the fucking band, stole my songs, and fucking dragged my name through dirt!” I shot back in a matter of fact tone.

“ I thought they were a girls only band?” I was met with only more confusion from Slash. Yeah they were, that’s why they were called Pixie. I froze for a couple seconds trying to understand his confusion.

“So Slash, how old is your snake again? How did you first get her?”

I completely ignored Izzy’s attempt to change the subject, and replied “Well I’m not a guy, I’m a fucking chick.”

Without thinking I ripped off my shirt and the wrapping I used to hide my boobs. I looked over towards Izzy who remained frozen as confusion swept his face as well. I looked down at my exposed chest, and quickly sobered up to what I had done.

I looked up to slash who only managed to mutter, “What the actual fuck....you’re a girl?”

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trickstercaptain · 4 years

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POSEIDON’S TOMB / ‘YOU CUT ME YOU CUT THE BOY’ DRABBLE

tl;dr; here i am torching the entire canon version of this scene nearly four years later. it’s actually been a creative urge of mine for a while to revisit this part of dmtnt, but i finally got around to it after a little nudge from @lighthouseborn and therefore this is specifically dedicated to hannah <3

~ ~ ~

If Henry uncharacteristically barrelling towards the two of them hadn’t been the first sign of something being amiss, then there were two others: the boy’s speed, and his stance. Henry’s tuition with the blade was something of a patchwork of several different influences back on Shipwreck, one of which being Jack’s own ( whenever the boy wasn’t more content to scrappily solve an altercation with his fists, which was always his go-to preference ). While not being the superior swordsman himself, and having adapted his form and bent the rules of the engagement over the years to suit his own whims, Jack knew the boy’s approaching stance right now was one of somebody who had been schooled in the art of precision fencing for years ---- more akin to the boy’s father or even the man with whom Henry shared a name. It most certainly was not, could not, did not belong to the lad who he’d had to chastise on several occasions for holding a sword more like a blunt instrument than a tool --------------

No, Jack knew who this was. He didn’t know how it was possible ( when did he ever? ), but he knew.

The next few seconds passed by in a blur. Jack could only remember drawing his own blade, shoving Carina aside, and throwing himself forward ( in a rash move that would no doubt win him both Henry and William’s approval ) to meet Henry’s first strike with a shattering clash that rung out throughout the length of Poseidon’s tomb.

The fact of the matter was that Captain Salazar was a much better swordsman than him. He also had the benefit of years on Jack if he was indeed using Henry as some sort of vessel, as well as a seething, roiling anger at the supposed injustice dealt to him that would see his stamina extend further than it might have done otherwise. These were all the things that Jack was sizing up as he went through the motions, parrying each blow as it arrived, trying to figure out his strategy to buy Carina enough time to get herself over to the trident and solve the final part of her diary.

And then there were the things not to size up, but to swallow down and put to the back of his mind. That this was Henry staring him down with the look of a man who had wanted him dead for decades. That this was a familiar, always warm, always loving set of brown eyes now regarding him with such contempt. It was difficult to meet them and not contemplate the less rational questions of the moment. How Salazar had accomplished this. How Jack might even start to think about reversing it. Whether there was a chance in Hell that the Trident might in fact help matters, not make them worse.

How he was planning to live with himself should the unimaginable happen.

The last question was enough to re-align his thoughts like tacking a sail back to windward. Emotion made you vulnerable to mistakes and sloppiness. Much like Salazar’s anger exposed his own weak spots. And, as Jack raised his blade to block another blow and, in doing so, push the boy away from him, he spotted the opening.

It was a mere flesh wound, a nick across the boy’s cheek in the hope that it would enlighten him as to the limits of this particular brand of magic. But perhaps that in itself had been too great a risk to take given the potential consequences. Perhaps it was too reckless. Too callous. Particularly when the halt in Salazar’s counter-strike, and the words he levelled back at him made the blood turn to ice in his veins.

“ You cut me, you cut the boy, Jack. ”

Jack faltered, and Salazar advanced. With every frantic block and step backwards, all he could focus on was the way his freshly-inflicted cut blended in with the mottled, cracked flesh on the side of Henry’s face. On the side of Salazar’s face. Despite the confirmation that was lodging itself somewhere in the levelheaded part of his mind that the two of them were now one, now connected, the conclusion he subsequently reached of this making the Spanish captain human was meaningless. Not when he could see that fresh mark on that face, and could feel the revulsion rising in him that he was the one to put it there.

Jack didn’t care how fallible this made him. Not when the fallibility was Henry’s. So, that left him no choice but to try a different approach, and summon up the guile from somewhere to make it convincing.

“ Shame that he won’t let you kill me. ” Said with much more confidence than he felt as he planted his feet and met Salazar’s blade with another loud clang. Leaning towards the gap between their crossed blades, Jack lowered his voice. “ He’s still in there, Capitán, Kicking and screaming and attempting to thwart all that you’ve fantasised about for years. ” At least, he hoped that Henry was in there still. If he was, then he most certainly was fighting, and perhaps that meant that this assumption wasn’t entirely --- well, an assumption. “ Reckon that makes it two against one, and I don’t fancy your odds on this one, mate. ”

It seemed to anger him. Salazar --- or rather, Henry ---- pushed Jack away with his blade and, with a cry of frustration, renewed his offensive. The back of Jack’s boot came into contact with a coral rock, and as he carefully stepped around it, he only just managed to parry the force of his opponent’s next blow. “ Did he make me do this, Jack Sparrow? ” He swung again, with even more power this time --- and for the first time Jack caught sight of the man’s crew at the ocean’s edge, waiting on both sides of where it had parted to reveal Poseidon’s tomb. “ Or this? ”

The distraction was the first time Jack had let his guard down. It took a moment for the injury to register: a slash from just below the nape of Jack’s neck to his collarbone, but when he spotted the blood soaking through his shirt and waistcoat the potential severity of it became clear. How many times had he aimed for the same area, hoping to sever the vein that would swiftly put an end to a fight? Of all the people to think of in that moment, Jack saw Robby Greene’s face in his mind’s eye, and the warning he’d given him after his first duel to the death.

If that had gone an inch or two deeper, you’d have been lying there dead, right beside Christophe.

Was this how he would come full circle? Certainly, in this case, he very much hoped that it hadn’t gone any deeper ---- and for now, the adrenaline was stopping the wound from doing little more than stinging at the spray from the rushing ocean beside them. The more concerning matter at present was his own laboured breathing, in comparison to Henry who was barely breaking a sweat. He was half-tempted to glance over his shoulder and verbalise his frustration at being the only one here to pull his weight. Has Carina not worked the bloody thing out yet?

Whatever was going on behind him, Jack was running out of options for the problem in front.

“ Then why make it a fight at all? ” He noticed that Salazar’s ( or was that Henry’s? ) gaze was, for the moment, preoccupied with the growing bloodstain on his shirt, giving Jack enough space to briefly catch his breath. To glance around him. To look down at the lightly bloodied sword in his hand and debate his next choice. One that he should have made hours ago, when the Pearl had first encountered the Silent Mary and Salazar’s crew. One that, until now, he’d been too cowardly to make. “ All you’d have to do is let Henry go and I might just stop resisting altogether. ”

“ No, no no no, Jack, don’t you see? ” There was a peculiar softness in the way the words were spoken, an intimate whisper between the two of them that was the most he’d sounded like Henry since this had started. Salazar didn’t raise his sword to strike again. Instead, he crossed the scant distance between them, and pressed his ( Henry’s ) hand into his blood stained waistcoat. Jack hissed, and fought against the black dots dancing around in his vision, but otherwise didn’t say a word. “ Don’t you see? ”

Jack might have been forgiven for thinking that there was something kind in Salazar’s expression, then, but it didn’t last. The look on Henry’s face quickly morphed back into rage, and a hand tightened with surely supernatural strength around Jack’s throat.

As things went, it wasn’t the first time that someone had tried to strangle him, but having had experience of such things never made it easier to resist the urge to struggle. Ringed fingers rose in a desperate attempt to claw the hands ( Henry’s hands ) off of his neck and release his airway, but it ended up not being his efforts at all that spared him. Instead, it was the loud, rushing noise of the Trident being released from its perch; loud enough, and promising enough, it seemed, for Salazar to momentary abandon any desire he may have had to finish Jack off.

Besides, it wasn’t as if Jack was in much condition to resist being finished off even if he’d wanted to. As the air rushed back into his lungs, so too did the sea floor rush up to greet him. And only when he’d finally pulled himself up into a sitting position, using one of the rocks on the seabed as an aid, could he finally turn his gaze on the commotion at hand: Captain Salazar picking up the Trident, and Henry seeming to slide out of his control and physically collapse at his feet.

Carina was nowhere to be seen, but he knew where, or indeed whom, the focus of the Trident’s ire was about to be directed towards. He also knew that, physically speaking, he was just about spent.

He could have rushed to Henry’s aid, but he didn’t fancy his chances of being intercepted before he got there. Or whether he’d even like what he found.

All he could do, really, was wait. And it took but mere seconds before Salazar’s eye was once again trained on him ---- though this time, more importantly, looking much more reassuringly like his unnervingly ghostly self.

Jack steeled himself. You’d better have a bloody plan, Carina. He drew a deep breath, carefully pulled himself to his feet, and had just enough time to slip the girl’s diary under his waistcoat. Just below the bleeding wound. Just above his breastbone.

One final gambit.

#&. the more that people know of you; the more of you those people feel belongs to them ( drabble tag. )#trying to decide where to wrap this up was a Challenge but i figured i didn't have the energy to try and make #jack getting attacked with the trident more serious than it is in the film lmao #but this scene that immediately comes before it would /drastically/ change under the better canon that jack and henry know each other #and are close #and the more i wrote the more i had to keep writing so #hence why this is a 1800 word monster lmfao

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nothingeverlost · 4 years

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Fic: Thunderstorms and Pancakes (Baby Steps Verse)

We had a pretty big storm last week that gave me this plot bunny. Takes place about a week after Bae comes home to visit.

“I should be going.” He’d been to dinner every night since Bae had come home, at Belle’s insistence. Since it was Saturday he’d been at the house since lunch, sharing a picnic in the back yard with his son and Emma, Belle and Ruby. Trevelyn worried that it was too much, but when he’d tried to beg off dinner the night before Belle had reminded him that Emma was only around for another day, and Bae would have to go to New York in a week.

“It’s still raining pretty hard, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Belle never mentioned his cane or the limp that was evident, and he never offered any information. He could see her glance at his leg, though, before frowning at the window. It had been raining for more than an hour, the summer shower a surprise.

“I’m sure it will let up soon.” At that moment the windows lit up and a roll of thunder made the house shake.

“I don’t think so, dad. Remember what happened when I was ten and old man Hubbard drove in a storm like this? He was lucky to get out of the car before it ended up in the river.”

“Fortunately I don’t pass any rivers on the way home.” After another flash of lightning the lights flickered. The rain, rather than receding, seemed to pound harder against the glass.

“I think you should stay in the guest room tonight, Trev. We’ll all sleep better knowing that you’re not out in this.” Belle collected the dessert dishes. Ruby was already sleeping, the baby monitor on the table where Belle could watch her. Bae and Emma nodded in agreement.

“I don’t want to be an imposition.” Bae mentioned Hubbard, but Trev remembered another night drive fifteen years ago that had ended in weeks of hospitalization, months of therapy and surgeries, and a cane he still hated with a passion. He hated how much his knee ached in the rain too. Staying inside had more than one advantage, but he didn’t want to make Belle do any more work. It would be strange to sleep in his house again as well.

“You couldn’t be more of an imposition than Bae, and she puts up with him.” Emma leaned over, hitting Bae’s shoulder with her own. Their chairs were only inches apart; they liked to touch. Bae rolled his eyes but leaned into the touch as well.

“I insist.” Belle briefly squeezed Trev’s shoulder as she returned to the table. “I think you might still have some things in the back of the closet. If not Bae probably has something you can borrow to sleep in.”

He did end up needing to borrow a pair of sweatpants, though Belle found him a long forgotten t-shirt that had clearly been a present from Bae. It declared him to be the ‘world’s okayest dad.’ Trev shook his head when he saw it, but Belle had been amused.

“Are you certain you wouldn’t prefer the master bedroom? The bed is bigger.” Belle made the same offer she’d made already.

“The guess room is fine.” A full sized bed was plenty for him. He tried not to think about any reasons why he might need a larger bed. None of his thoughts involved being alone, so they were best not considered at all. Especially when the only person he’d fantasized about recently was standing in front of him. The fact that the master room had been a space he’d shared with Milah for so long didn’t even occur to him. “Besides Ruby would be confused if she came looking for you.”

“Ruby would be delighted if she found her ‘Good’ when she came looking for me. She’s going to be so excited tomorrow when she realizes you’re here for breakfast.”

Gold nodded, holding the t-shirt to his chest. He couldn’t shake the image of lying in bed with Belle, an arm draped casually over her waist. Not doing anything, just lying with her and sharing space when Ruby came in for breakfast. It was a daydream that left him rattled; he never had moments like that in Bae’s childhood. It wasn’t his brain replicating a memory, but a completely separate dream. “I should go to bed.”

“Sweet dreams, Trev. You know where almost everything is, but if you have any questions you know where to find me.”

Unfortunately he knew all too well where to find her, not that he would breach the doorway that had been his own for so many years. “Thank you.”

“Hey dad, these should work. They have a drawstring, which I thought might help since you’re skinny.” Bae came out of his bedroom with the promised sweatpants. Behind him Emma leaned in the doorway of the bedroom that had been Bae’s since he was three weeks old and Milah had declared she couldn’t sleep with a baby in the master bedroom. While he knew that Bae and Emma were sharing a room it was still a little startling to see it with his own eyes. It didn’t bother him, but it was another reminder that his son was grown up. He was so proud of his boy, but some part of him would always miss the child he had been.

“Your dad has a little restraint around desserts, unlike some people I know,” Emma teased.

“Hey, I inherited my love of cake from him. He had a piece too. But I bet he’s still in the habit of skipping meals. Tea does not count as breakfast.” Behind Gold he heard a snort, and turned to find Belle covering her mouth. She shrugged, but he could tell she was amused to find that she wasn’t the only one to scold him for having tea alone in the morning.

“Yeah, like no one saw you sneak that second piece in the kitchen.” Emma rolled her eyes before vanishing into the bedroom. Gold was pretty certain he heard Bae mutter something about working off the calories. He didn’t want to ask for clarification. Fortunately the guest bedroom didn’t share a room with his son’s bedroom.

“I’ll just take this and-” he gestured at the door to the room that was just past Belle’s own.

“Sleep well, Trev.” Belle’s smile seemed to ensure he’d have either sweet dreams or troubled sleep.

“Goodnight Belle.” He was used to speaking to her over the phone and wishing her a good night, or speaking to her from the end of the hall at the bed and breakfast. Somehow the hallway of his home - her home now - seemed more intimate.

“Goodnight!” A duel shout came from behind the closed door of Bae’s room as he headed for the guest room door.

He couldn’t sleep. Perhaps it was being back in the house that held so many memories, or perhaps it was knowing that only a wall separated him from the bedroom where Belle was sleeping. Either way he spent an hour staring wide eyed at the ceiling before giving up and getting out of bed. If he remembered correctly there was still a bottle of whiskey in the library. Unless Belle had a taste for it, which he doubted, it should still be there. A wee dram might help him fall asleep. Carefully he walked down the hall, avoiding the squeaky floorboard near Bae’s room. Since he didn’t carry his cane he had to use the handrail on the stairs. To his surprise there was a light on in the library.

“Belle?” She sat at the desk, the only light coming from the lamp in the upper corner of the desk and the glow of the laptop monitor. The clock on the wall told him it was a little after midnight.

“End of the month reports have to be finished tomorrow. I’m almost done.” She leaned back in the chair, taking off a pair of glasses he rarely saw her wearing. “Employees need paychecks and the quarterly taxes are due.”

“You don’t have a payroll person for that?”

“Granny always did it herself. I remember sitting next to her at the kitchen table, working on homework while she was working on it. There were always cookies. I guess it makes me feel closer to her.” Belle stretched, leaning back farther in the chail. The bottom of her pajama top rose just enough to see a narrow strip of skin. “I should probably look into a service, but I only think of it at midnight when I’m struggling to get it done.”

“I can ask my bookkeeper if she can take on someone new. I believe she does payroll.” Belle had enough to do, managing two businesses and raising a two year old. She didn’t need to stay up late with paperwork. He would make sure Ariel could take her, even if he had to pay to make it happen.

“You don’t need to-” Belle stopped mid sentence, shaking her head. “No, that’s silly. I know I need help and as usual you have just the answer I need. Thank you, Trev. I would appreciate the recommendation.”

“I’ll make a call tomorrow.”

“Thank you. Now what can I do for you? You didn’t come down here to talk about payroll and taxes.”

“I was planning on having a drink, actually.” The scotch was exactly there he left it. A few years additional aging would only improve the flavor.

“May I join you?”

“Really?” He’d seen her drink wine, and could imagine her with a daiquiri in hand.

“Sure. I’m almost done with my work and it would help me unwind. I even have my own glass.” Grinning she picked up a plastic tumbler with a cartoon on it, one of Ruby’s. “If you don’t mind sharing, of course.”

“I don’t mind.” She sat at his desk in his library, though he’d cleared enough bookshelves off to allow her some space for her collection. The bed she slept in was his. There was a great deal they shared already, a drink hardly seemed like anything in comparison. Yet as he placed the glass he’d brought from the kitchen next to the plastic cup and added the liquor to each it felt strangely intimate. Perhaps it was the late hour.

“Should we toast something?” Belle took hold of her glass, but a moment later almost dropped it when a lightning strike lit up the room.

“Belle?”

“I don’t like lightning very much.” She took a sip of her drink, making a face that told him she didn’t appreciate the taste. It didn’t stop her from taking a second sip.

“My father told a story when I was a lad about a selkie looking for his lost love in a thunderstorm. She was human and they had fallen in love when he had rescued her from a shipwreck, but her people had come for her and taken her back to their land. Whenever lightning fills the sky you know he’s still looking for her.” His father hadn’t been worth much, but he had been able to spin a story. As a child it had entertained him. As he’d gotten older ‘story’ had just been another word for a lie.

“My mother told me that angels were bowling. It didn’t scare me when I was a kid.” He couldn’t see into the plastic cup but guessed it was mostly gone after she took another sip. When he held up the bottle she nodded and he refilled her glass. She started into the depths of the glass as if it was something more than plastic with unicorns on it. Knowing what it was like to get lost in thoughts he didn’t say anything. It was a few minutes before she spoke. “There was a thunderstorm the night my mother died. She would always come into my room when there was a storm to check on me and ask me who was winning the bowling game. I waited but…”

“I’m sorry, Belle.” Her voice wavered and she didn’t seem able to continue. He remembered her mentioning moving to America after her mother’s death. She’d been too young to lose a mother, as well as a father not long after.

“Ruby doesn’t mind a storm, and I don’t want her to think they’re scary. I suppose I should have a story for her.” Belle looked over her shoulder, as if waiting to catch the next clap of thunder.

“You could tell her about the angels bowling.” He could almost picture her as a girl of Ruby’s age, asking for a story. She probably wasn’t quite as demanding as Ruby could be, but just as hard to deny.

“I think I like your story better. Maybe you could tell me the whole thing sometime?” Perhaps it was the fact that the thunder hadn’t rumbled again, or the fact that she was almost done with her second pour of whiskey, but she seemed more relaxed.

“If you like.” For a moment he could almost hear an echo of his father’s voice. And his own, as he tucked in a little boy that was now a grown man.

“Not tonight, though. I think I need to go to sleep.” She drained the last of her glass and closed up her laptop. “You know how early Ruby likes to get up.”

“I’ll walk with you.” She wasn’t wearing those ridiculous high heels she wore often when she was out, but he still worried about her balance, especially since she’d fallen only a few days earlier. Not that his balance was much better, and he hadn’t even finished his drink.

“I’m glad you stayed tonight, Trev. I would have worried about you driving in this.” They made it up the stairs, though there were one or two false starts. His leg was unsteady without his cane and Belle’s focus was less than perfect.

“I wouldn’t want to make you worry.” He understood her worry even better now then he had a few hours ago. “Sleep well, Belle. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Bae said something about pancakes.” Belle smiled sleepy at him as she stood in the doorway of the bedroom. The walls that had been white when it was his room were a pale blue now. It was a color that suited her.

“Unless he learned something in Italy I assume that means he’s volunteered me for breakfast duty.” Saturday morning breakfasts had been a tradition of theirs for most of Bae’s childhood. Milah had liked to sleep in, so it had usually been the two of them. It would be nice to cook for his boy again. And to cook breakfast for Belle for the first time.

“We’ll make him wash the dishes,” Belle said with a grin and a wink before she closed the door behind her. Gold walked on to his room, closing the door behind him. He was no less awake then he had been, but his mind felt more focused. He took out the notepad he always carried with him and a pen, and started to write the story of a selkie in love. It wasn’t the type of story he usually wrote, but it was a familiar tale and flowed quickly. Perhaps he’d talk to Bae about doing up a few illustrations. It would make a nice gift for Belle. And Ruby, of course.

The sound of howling woke him. Looking at his clock he realized that it was a little before eight. It took him a moment later to realize that the noise was a little girl declaring that she was awake. Since he didn’t hear any other noises he hurried from his bed to the room across the hall. Perhaps he would be able to let Belle sleep a little longer, she could do with a lie in.

“I’m looking for a little girl to help me make some pancakes, but all I hear is a wolf.” He stood in the doorway to Ruby’s room, where she stood up on her bed. It was a tiny thing no full sized person could possibly lay down on. Gold knew that the mattress had been part of Ruby’s bed before the move.

“Good, my good, my good.” Ruby’s cries of delight were slightly quieter than her howls, but not by much. Gold looked across the hall at Belle’s still closed door.

“You’ll have to be quiet if you want to make pancakes,” he cautioned.

“Ruby be quiet. Shhh shhh shh.” She held one chubby finger up to her mouth to demonstrate. Gold couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s what I like to see in a sous chef.” He held out a hand and she was quick to respond, jumping off her bed with a level of disregard of safety that would worry him if her bed was more than a foot from the floor. In moments her small hand was in his. Her other hand touched his sweatpants.

“Good go night night?” she asked.

“Yes, I slept here.” He was glad she didn’t ask any more questions as they walked down the hall past Belle and Bae’s rooms. When they got downstairs she was quickly distracted by cracking eggs and mixing with spoons, and didn’t ask any questions about why he’d spent the night.

“So Bae wasn’t lying about the pancakes.” Emma was the first person to come downstairs, heading straight for the coffee pot. It seemed that she liked her morning caffeine as much as Belle and his son. Ruby hadn’t been patient enough for him to make his usual tea.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done this. Hopefully they’re edible,” he said with a shrug. He hadn’t spent more than a few minutes alone with Emma. She seemed nice enough, and certainly being around her made Bae happy, but it always took him time to get used to people. To call his social circle limited would be generous.

“I remember the first time my dad tried making pancakes for me. They were black on one side and raw in the middle but I ate them.” Emma took a mug from the cabinet and poured herself a cup of coffee, adding some of the flavored creamer Belle always had in the fridge.

“Was your mom usually the one that made the pancakes?” He asked, only half paying attention. Ruby was sitting on the edge of the counter and half of his focus was on making sure she didn’t decide at any moment to try jumping.

“Nah, she’s a teacher so mornings were not a leisure time for her. She’d already left for work that day, I think. I’d only been with them for a couple of weeks and David was kind of going overboard on trying to fit in as many ‘normal’ kid things as he could. He still can’t make a decent pancake but he was a great softball coach.” Emma settled at one of the stools on the side of the counter, both hands wrapped around her mug.

“You’re adopted.” For a moment all of his focus was on her, and he could see a look in her eyes that he recognized from his own years in foster care. He hadn’t seen it before.

“My mom likes to say that we were always a family, it just took us time to find each other. She’s big on fairy tales. Sometimes I think she forgets that I lived anywhere before them.” Emma took a sip of her coffee. “I hope you don’t mind, but Bae mentioned that you were in the system too.”

“Yeah.” He didn’t remember his mother. Malcolm had been interested in him as long as he was young and cute and a good distraction while he worked his cons, but once he’d gotten too older he’d become less useful and asked too many questions. He’d spent most of his time in group homes until Penny and Flo had taken him in just before his sixteenth birthday. They had taken their role as foster parents very seriously; the home he now rented to Belle had been theirs, left to him in their will.

“Belle reminds me of my mom a little. Ruby’s a lucky kid.”

“She is.” He remembered how nervous Belle had been in the beginning. She had worried about Ruby’s happiness and what was best for the baby, but had never said a word about her own plans changing so completely.

“Ruby lucky,” the little girl agreed, waving around a spoon and flinging pancake batter everywhere. “Ruby want pancake.”

“Soon,” Gold promised, glad of the distraction. “We have to cook them first.”

“Ruby want m’Belle.”

“Belle is sleeping.” He knew how rare it was for Belle to be able to sleep in.

“Bae’s sleeping too, but he doesn’t need to be. How about we go get him up, Rubes? Want to help me?” Emma downed the rest of her coffee and reached for the girl who eagerly jumped at her. Emma settled her on her hip. “Figured this breakfast thing might go smoother without the pancake batter flying everywhere and Bae will sleep ‘til noon if we leave him alone.”

“Thank you.” He would be less worried about the griddle without Ruby being so close, and he might even be able to make himself that cup of tea. For a moment when she turned to walk away Gold’s heart skipped a beat. Someday, whether it was with Emma or someone else, Bae would have a child of his own. A family that, he hoped, would visit him. He hadn’t thought much of grandchildren before. For so long his family had simply been himself and Bae. It seemed to be growing.

“Do I smell pancakes?” He expected Bae and Emma to come into the kitchen, but a few minutes later it was Belle that appeared, wrapped in a robe but wearing the same sea green pajamas underneath that she had worn the night before. “And coffee too? Bless you.”

“Emma made the coffee.” He looked down at his pancakes more intently then necessary, checking to see if they needed to be turned. He’d lived down the hall from her for almost a year and a half and had seen her early in the morning and late at night. Somehow, though, seeing her barefoot in the kitchen with her hair clearly tousled from sleep felt almost too intimate. It was too easy to think about the fact that she had been in a warm bed only minutes ago. His bed, though he hadn’t slept in it for years. “Everyone else should be down soon and we can eat.”

“Have I mentioned yet how glad I am you stayed?” She padded through the kitchen towards the coffee maker, her bare feet not making a sound. After she poured herself a mug she came to stand next to him, close enough to touch if he leaned to the side just a little. He didn’t.

“I…”

“Anyone looking for a tickle monster? Because I caught one.” Bae came into the kitchen with a laugh, holding an upside down Ruby insisting that she wasn’t a monster. Emma followed immediately behind declaring that Bae had earned whatever he’d gotten and that a tickling from a two year old was way better than a pitcher of ice water. The sudden chaos only settled down when everyone sat at the table and whatever he had been about the say to Belle was long forgotten.

#verse: baby steps #rumbelle fic #my fic #hints of #swanfire

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rxsie-the-demon · 4 years

Text

Brooklyn Baby | JJ Maybank

SERIES MASTERLIST | chapter one

chapter summary: Nikki goes out of her comfort zone and bonds with Kie, while still remaining curious about what happened last summer. At a party, Topper gets a little too touchy, and Nikki (surprisingly) befriends Rafe and Wheezie.

warnings: drinking, smoking, HARD DRUGS, swearing (oops), HARRASSMENT (topper gets VERY touchy) so if that makes u uncomfy just skim over that, and a conversation about addiction/rehab and therapy

word count: 5029

Chapter 2: Cinnamon Girl

If I had to choose, B Days would be my least favorite. On B days, I have no classes with anyone I know, except English with Kelce at the end of the day.

And no one to sit with at lunch.

On my second day of school, when I realized I had no one to sit with, I ate in the library. You’re allowed to, so long as you clean up after yourself and stuff.

Walking into the huge cafeteria, with clean white titles and those long foldable school tables, I decided to do the same thing today; just sit in the library by myself, and maybe read or shop online, The tall walls of the cafeteria were decorated with motivational quotes and the school’s athletic accomplishments.

But when I was walking towards the lunch line, I saw Kiara sitting by herself out of the corner of my eye, head down on the table. Which made me feel really, really sad for her.

I stood in line quietly, AirPods in my ears, scrolling through Instagram when I found Kiara’s page. I didn’t want to seem like a stalker, but my curiosity got the best of me and I clicked on it.

Her page reminded me of this social activist that I follow that of a social activist I follow, the difference being that Kiara’s page was mostly environment-focused, with the occasional selfie and pics of her friends.

Clicking on one of her them, a selfie with her and her four friends on a boat during sunset, I saw a slightly sunburned brunet with his arm wrapped around one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen. She’s probably a TikToker, I thought. Sunburn had a dark blue bandana wrapped around his neck and had his shirt unbuttoned. Major surfer boy vibes.

Next to Tiktok, was Kiara, with bright eyes and a bright smile. Completely different from the girl who sits behind me in APUSH. The boy next to Kiara had dark skin and curly hair. He was wearing a hat, like Sunburn and the other boy next to him. And judging from the way his arm was around her waist, Hat totally had a thing for Kiara.

But the last boy, holy shit, if I thought Sunburn was cute, Hot Blonde Boy was another level. He was the one taking the picture, with one arm stretched out to hold the phone and the other one, covered shiny rings, was posing with, like, the rock hand sign? I think that’s what it’s called: with his index and pink fingers up, and the rest like they’d be balled in a fist. His messy blonde hair was being held together by a red snapback, and he was shirtless except for his shark tooth necklace. His tan went well with his bright, energetic eyes and big smile but...oh my gosh. His hands. They were big, with long fingers, and his arms were a little veiny and-

I put my phone away. Nuh-uh, I’m not going to be thirsting over a random guy’s hands, especially when that guy could literally be dead, or worse, the crazy dude who tried to shoot Topper.

Not that I don’t understand why someone would want to shoot Topper.

I grabbed my tray, putting a Chicken Caesar salad bowl (yum), a bowl of grapes (double yum), and a water bottle onto my tray. Remembering that Kiara didn’t have any food with her, I grabbed a hamburger, too.

I paid for my food and walked towards the utensil holder, debating whether or not I should just go to the library or sit with Kiara. I mean, I should sit with her, she’s by herself and is going through a hard time, but then again, I hardly know her. Besides exchanging numbers with her yesterday and not even texting her, I never interacted with the girl. She’ll probably think I’m just talking to her to get tea for Topper and Scarlet.

But then again, I already bought her a hamburger.

I walked over to her table. She was wearing a similar outfit as she was yesterday, the only difference being she was wearing light blue jeans. So, yay? A bit of color?

I sat down across from her and put my tray down quietly, not wanting to scare her. “Hey.”

Her head shot up immediately. Her soft brown eyes looked so tired, her light brown skin looking ashy and dull. Her dark brown hair, with it’s nice, defined beach wave curls, was tied back in a bun in her hood. When she saw who it was, her face softened. “Oh, hi.”

“I hope it’s ok I’m sitting with you, I don’t know anyone else in this lunch and I thought it’d be good to discuss our project.” I waved my hands around a bit before opening the plastic lid of my salad.

She nodded, eyeing my food for a second.

My heart hurt. Of course, she has the money to buy food, that’s not the issue. She probably hasn’t been eating out of grief.

“So I’m Indian, duh,” I waved my hand in front of my face and she smiled softly, “and I thought this was a chicken burger, but it’s beef. And I can’t eat beef, because, ya know, Hindus don’t eat beef. So, like, could you do me a solid and eat this for me? I hate wasting food and I’d feel awful if I threw it out.” I slid the burger towards her.

She nodded, pulling it towards her and taking a small bite.

I poured my croutons into my salad and started quietly eating when I heard Kiara mumble, “Thank you.”

I glanced up at her for a second, only to look back down. “Don’t thank me. I bought that on accident.”

“I saw you staring at me in line. And...I haven’t eaten in the past two days.”

I looked back at Kiara, who was looking everywhere but me. I decided to just ask.

“It’s because of what happened to your friends, right? You’re mourning?”

She nodded, still not looking at me.

“I understand. Grief isn’t something that has, like, a definitive answer. You just gotta let it run its course,” I said, putting my hand in front of my mouth because I was chewing.

Kiara nodded again and took another bite, a bigger one this time. I mentally high-fived myself for getting her to eat. I didn’t think it’d work.

“So, what do you want to do for the project?” I asked.

Kiara shrugged. “We could do current events. Maybe something environment related?”

“Like, an advertisement? We make a video talking about pollution or something?”

“Yeah! Or maybe we could organize something and get a bunch of people to come together and, like, clean up the beach?”

“Or we could go out on boats and find trash in the ocean?”

“That too!” Kiara’s eyes were shining now, and she was smiling. Wide. Much like the girl whose Instagram I was stalking.

“Sweet. Ok, so, the environment is one thing, do we have any other ideas? Like, isn’t the Outer Banks also famous for shipwrecks or something? I heard The Royal Merchant sank here. Maybe we could do a project on that?”

Kiara stiffened up when I mentioned shipwrecks. Did I say something wrong?

Shit. Her friends died at sea, how could I be so stupid?

“That’s...not a bad idea, actually. I happen to know a lot about The Royal Merchant. More than I want to know, actually,” She chuckled. She looked down at her hands, and then looked back up. “John B, my friend who died at sea over the summer, he and his dad were obsessed with finding it. We actually-,” she leaned closer to me. “We actually found it. But, uh, the gold isn’t there.”

My eyes went wide. I leaned forward, too. “Well, where is the gold then? Do you know?”

Kiara nodded. “In the Bahamas.”

“How the f- How did it get there, if the shipwreck happened here and no one knew where it was until you and your Pogue friends found it?”

She sighed. “Long story. I’ll tell you another day.”

“Wait-”

The lunch bell rang. I sighed as we stood up and grabbed our bags, walking towards the doors to leave for class. I really want to know how the gold ended up in the Bahamas.

“Well, thanks for lunch, Nikki!”

“Of course, Kiara, that’s what friends are for,” I smiled.

Kiara beamed. “Call me Kie.”

I was overjoyed. A friend. A real, actual friend. “Kie. Fantastic. Hey, Kie, do you know anyone named Rafe by any chance?”

Kie narrowed her eyes. “Yea, why?”

“Oh, nothing, I was just invited to his birthday party this Saturday.”

Kie rolled her eyes. “Be careful around him, ok? Talk to you later!”

“Uh, bye!”

************************************************

Yellow, or blue?

I held both dresses up to myself, looking in the mirror.

Saturday came, and it was time for Rafe’s party.

The party starts at 9 and was gonna last all night, but Topper wanted to take me out to eat, so at 7:30, I’m still deciding which dress to wear.

Both dresses are sundresses, short, flowy with shirred backs and knotted straps. They are literally the same dress, down to the little polka dots, just in different colors. I could wear either one, because I kept my makeup simple: concealer, nude eye shadow, mascara, and clear lip gloss.

I texted Kiara, asking her to choose a color, to which she responded yellow. We managed to get really close in just three days, which made me happy, because I felt that she was my only real friend at school, and, well, I was her only friend there.

I slipped the dress on and matched it with my white Birkenstocks. I went over to my dresser table (yes I have two mirrors in my room, sue me) and put on my white tassel fringe earrings. I kept my ‘Om’ necklace on.

I admired myself. My light brown skin looks good with the yellow and white, and my jet black hair, which I decided to not straighten, had slight waves, and reached my shoulders. I look like a rich, beach girl. A Kook, I suppose.

I grabbed my phone, taking a quick mirror selfie and snapping it to Topper, captioned ‘i’m readyyy’. He opened it immediately.

‘Damnn u look hot,’ he typed out. Ew.

‘aw ty,’ I typed back. ‘where r u?’

‘I’m omw. U have ur bag? The party’s on a yacht and there’ll be a pool.’

‘swim suit’s packed’

‘Fantastic. I’ll be there soon.’

I locked my phone, putting it into my purple and black NYU drawstring bag that also held my black bikini and a towel. I grabbed the bag hopped down the stairs.

Mallory and Krish, my sister-in-law and brother, were sitting on the couch, watching TV.

“Hey losers. My friend’s gonna be here any minute to pick me up.”

Mallory turned to face me, smiling. “Aw, you look cute! Have fun, and be safe, ok?”

“If you’re gonna be coming in, like, super late,” Krish added, not taking his eyes off the TV, “try to be as quiet as possible. Diya is a really light sleeper.”

Diya, my 5-month-old niece, made baby sounds. I took a couple steps forward and saw she was spread out on the floor, in her fluffy pink blanket, chewing on her gloved hands. I waved at her.

“Don’t worry, if I wake her up, I’ll take care of her. I don’t plan on drinking or smoking or anything tonight. Well, maybe drinking, but that’s it.”

They laughed. “Ok, ok, just have fun,” Mal said.

I sat on the floor, playing with Diya, until 7:50, when the doorbell rang, revealing Topper, wearing a black button-down shirt that was rolled up to his elbows (bless), Air Force 1s, ripped jeans, and a Gucci belt.

He smiled. “Ready to go?”

I smiled back. “Yep.” I turned to face Krish and Mal. “Bye Mom, bye Dad!”

“Bye, hun!” Mallory called out. They smiled and Top, too, and waved.

I closed the door and left, and Topper grabbed my hand to lead me to the car. “Sorry, I’d have introduced you to my parents, but they were too busy, like, ogling at my baby sister,” I half lied.

Topper laughed, “No worries. I’ll have plenty of chances to meet them, I hope?”

I smiled. “Yep, I hope so too.”

A complete lie.

******************************************

Dinner with Topper was...interesting. Instead of taking me to some fancy restaurant or whatever, he took me to this cute little diner closer to the beach, but not close to The Cut, according to him. “There are a bunch of restaurants here in the Banks,” he had said. “But not a lot of people know about this one. That’s why it’s my favorite.” He winked, and I nearly vomited in my mouth.

The place was real old-timey, with the little booths and a jukebox. We had burgers and shared a plate of fries and a milkshake. And honestly? It would’ve been really romantic if I actually liked Topper like that.

Don’t get me wrong, Topper is hot. He’s sweet to me, like cotton candy sweet, and really affectionate. I love touchy boys (consensual, of course, or they get their shit rocked), but he’s always grabbing my hand and playing with my hair. Which would be fine, but I barely know him.

And ever since he admitted to drowning that John B kid, whatever potential feelings I had just...disappeared. That paired with his Holier-than-thou attitude and his blatant classism makes him everything I would hate in a person, let alone a potential boyfriend.

Besides, I know the real reason he’s flirting with me. The Kook King of High School needs a Queen, and with his ex gone, everyone wants me to step into that role. Any other time, I’d be happy to be That Girl. But something just feels wrong about this.

Lots of people have told me I remind them of Sarah, apparently because she, too, was a bit of a social activist and an environmental freak (no wonder her and Kie were friends) which just confirms the fact that I’m just a replacement.

But, besides Kie, I have no other friends at OBX High. I have no choice but to go with it.

Driving close to the dock, I could hear loud music playing from somewhere. Leaning forward, I saw the yachts, one of them in particular already pretty full of people and neon lights.

“Yeah, Rafe tends to go all out on parties,” Topper remarked, gesturing towards the boats as he parked. “But they’re always fun.”

I nodded, plastering on a smile. I grabbed his hand. “Fantastic. Lead the way.”

**********************************************

Ok, I have to hand it to OBX kids. They know how to get turnt.

At 9:30, the yacht left the dock and headed towards the sea. By 10, the party was in full form, with kids dancing, singing, swimming, smoking, drinking, everything!

It was a glorious mess.

Right now it’s 10:30, and I’d been dancing with Top when we decided to go get something to drink.

We went to the bar and I told Topper to just one of whatever he was drinking for me, so he got two Mai Tais. The bartender looked really worried, because, you know, more than half the kids at this party are underaged, so I slipped him a 50 for his troubles.

Top and I walked away, laughing at the bartender’s confused face. The familiar feeling of alcohol started to wash

We walked around and talked about life and the universe, and when we finished our drinks, we went to the deck.

I leaned onto the railing, staring into the ocean.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked softly. Growing up in Brooklyn Heights, I was never one for the ocean. I mean, sure, there were beaches an hour or two away from my old home that I visited often, but I was always a city girl. But this, this was something else entirely. The way the pale, white moonlight shined on the dark blue ocean, it was comforting, almost.

“Yeah,” Topper whispered back, wrapping his arm around my cold body, “really is beautiful.” I turned and saw him staring at me, smiling just a tiny bit. I shoved him lightly.

“You’re so corny,” I laughed.

“Maybe, but I made you smile, didn’t I?”

“...Shut up.”

We laughed, and he wrapped both arms around me and pulled me close to him. I stiffened a bit. Calm down, Nikki. It’s not that big a deal. But it is. I hate leading people on and I hated that he was always touching me.

I snuck my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. I’m short, I’ll admit it, standing at a towering five foot four with my two-inch platforms. Topper, on the other hand, is six feet tall, so my head tucked in just underneath his.

We stayed like that for a bit, swaying softly to some pop song. I felt myself relaxing, but I knew it wouldn’t last long.

“Hey, Nikki?”

“Yeah?”

“I, uh, I really like you.”

I pulled back and looked at Topper, who was fidgeting with my hair, and I narrowed my eyes “Wait, actually?”.

I hope he’s joking. He’s known me for less than a week! I mean, sure, you can have an instinct attraction to someone, yadda yadda, and maybe he wants to get to know me better, or whatever. Fine.

Maybe it’s because I don’t like him that, but I find his declaration of feelings a little ridiculous.

“Yea, I do. I know we just met, but I really want to get to know you more. No, I’m not asking you out...unless you want to date, that is, but I feel insanely attracted to you.” He brushed his hair back nervously.

I could reject Topper, and risk my popularity and social standing. It could end up well, it could end up terribly. But if I say I like him back, which is a lie, I guarantee my place as the most popular girl in the Outer Banks.

I place my right hand on his shoulder and my left hand on his cheek. Standing on my toes, I gently guide his face to mine.

As I close my eyes, I imagine that I’m not about to kiss Topper, but Hot Blonde Boy from Kie’s Instagram.

His lips are soft, really soft, and Top’s hands drop to my waist to pull me closer to him.

After we pull away, he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear and gently kisses my forehead.

“I like you too, Top,” I lied, “but I don’t want to rush into anything. We just met, and I’ve rushed into things before, and they never ended well, and-”

“Hey, hey, I get it,” he takes his hand to my chin and lifts it up so that I’m looking at him instead of the floor. “We can go as slow as you like, all right?”

I smile and nod. Top cups my face in his hands, and right before he can kiss me, I pull away and say, “Let’s go swimming! I’m going to go change, ok?”

He nods, ruffling his hair. I turn, pulling my phone out from my duffel bag and sending a text to Kie.

‘sos i just kissed topper.’

I walk into one of the changing rooms and change into my bikini. As I’m stuffing my dress into my bag, I see I get a text back.

‘dumbass!!’

**********************************************

Apparently, when I said I wanted to go swimming, it translated to yeeting me into the pool and then jumping in after, and then us splashing each other, non-stop. I mean, I guess that is what you do at a pool party, but I have no idea. Usually, I just stand around and eat food and, you know, don’t actually go into the water.

It was fun and all, yea, but I was uncomfortable the entire time because he couldn’t- no, wouldn’t- keep his hands off of me.

After it became too much, I jumped out of the pool and sat down on one of the chairs, wrapped my towel around myself and feeling really uncomfortable. Topper climbed out after me and sat down at my feet. “Did I, uh, do something?”

Yeah, you won’t stop touching me, bro.

“No, no, it’s fine, I just got a bit claustrophobic, that’s all.” I checked the time on my phone. I had an idea. “Hey, I’m going to go find Kelce and Scarlet, ok?”

“Uh, sure, do you want me to come with you?”

Not really, no. “Uh, if you want, but I was just gonna have, like, a girl’s talk with Scarlet?”

Topper nodded and smiled. I stood up, shoved my towel into my bag, slipped my shoes on, and ran off.

I felt a little weird just walking around in a bikini, especially since I don’t know anyone here, but remembering that everyone else was just as scantily clad as I was made me feel a little better.

I went to the highest deck, where the eldest kids (and by kids I mean like seniors and 20-year-olds), hoping to find Kelce or Scarlet there because I hadn’t seen them anywhere else. But I couldn’t see them on the deck.

I walked around a bit and then decided to text Scarlet.

‘where are you?’

I got a text back immediately. ‘Top deck, near the front. I’m with the little kid.’

Little kid? I walked towards the front side of the ship and indeed saw Scarlet, wearing a dark red colored bikini, sitting in a lounging chair with a girl who looks like she’s in middle school. The kid was pale, with freckles, dark hair, and glasses. She was the only one at this point not wearing a bathing suit.

Why is there a kid here?

I sat down in the seat next to Scarlet and gave her a hug. “Hey!” I slipped my bag off my shoulders and leaned forward to face the young girl. “Hi. What’s your name?”

She smiled. “I’m Wheezie. My brother’s the birthday boy.”

“Wheezie?”

“It’s a nickname, my real name is- Oh, hey, Topper!”

I spun around. Topper was standing in front of me, arms angrily crossed over his bare chest. “Hey, Wheezie. Nikki, can I talk to you?”

“I’m enjoying the company of my new friend.” I gestured over to Wheezie.

“Yeah, well, I want to talk.” He roughly grabbed my wrist and yanked me up.

“Ok, jeez, lemme grab my bag.” I pulled myself from his grasp and turned around to grab my bag. Scarlet mouthed the words be careful, to me. I nodded.

“Bye, Nikki, it was nice to meet you!” Wheezie called out. I shouted pleasantries back. Topper grabbed my wrist again.

After dragging me halfway across the deck, he let go of me and turned around. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me?! What’s wrong with you?! You’re the one who, one, won’t stop touching even though we’re not dating and we barely know each other, and two, literally dragged me away from my friends when I was having a conversation with them! Are you like this with all the girls you like? Huh? Maybe that’s why your girlfriend left you for some Pogue, not because Pogues steal things, but because you-” I stepped forward and shoved Topper, “-don’t know how to treat a girl, no, a person, with respect!”

I stopped talking and realized that a lot of people had gone quiet. My face flushed with embarrassment until I heard someone shout.

“WOO! You tell him, Nikki!”

I turned and saw Scarlet and Wheezie jumping up and down and clapping. Soon, all the girls (and some of the boys) around me were clapping and cheering for me, congratulating me and telling Topper that he’s a dick.

I stepped towards Topper. “You and me, whatever thing you think we had going on, it’s done.”

I turned around and beckoned Wheezie and Scarlet to sit back down with me on the deck. The partying resumed, and I went off chatting with the two girls, but I saw out of the corner of my eye that Topper was getting all huffy and puffy.

I pointed that out to the girls. “Should I be worried?”

Wheezie wheezed laughed. “He’s probably just going to call Rafe and get him to tell you off.”

“...He’s gonna get the host of the party, who I don’t know and never met, to yell at me? Fantastic. Good thing he’s your brother.”

“Technically half brother, but yes, a good thing. Oh look, there he is right now!”

I turned around and saw Topper marching towards me with another equally tall, equally blonde boy right behind him. The difference is, this boy didn’t have as much of a hostile aura as Topper has right now.

“So, which one of you embarrassed my boy Top?”

************************************************

The boy, who introduced himself as Rafe, the host, beckoned Scarlet, Topper, and I inside of his suite. He closed the door on Wheezie, though. Bummer. I liked her.

Inside his suite were a bunch of twenty-year-olds, drinking hard liquor, dancing, and sitting around this big table. Rafe took his seat in the middle, told everyone else around him to fuck off, and had us, except Topper, sit across from him. Topper took the seat to his right.

He offered us a bag of white powder, to which Scarlet and I declined. Topper took it, though, and started setting it up to use.

“You use coke?” I asked Topper in disgust. I have nothing against most drugs, like weed or psychedelics, which can be fun to use sparingly at parties or whatever, but not hard drugs like opioids.

Topper shrugged at my question. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal. What the fuck is wrong with y-?!”

“Ok, no fighting at my party, please?” Rafe sighed, rubbing his temples. “I brought you guys inside so that everyone else can enjoy the party while you guys have your little marital dispute-”

“WE’RE NOT DATING!” I shouted.

“Whatever,” Rafe sighed.

I stood up. “I’m gonna go hang with Wheezie. Scarlet, you coming?”

She was about to respond when Rafe stood up and said, “I’ll join you.”

I shot a confused look at Scarlet, who just shrugged.

I slipped my bag over my shoulder and walked towards the door, which Rafe held open for me, and we stepped outside, the air making me shiver.

Rafe pulled a pack of Dunhill cigarettes out of his pocket, put one to his mouth, and lights it. He gestured the box towards me and I take one, leaning forward a bit so that he could light it for me.

I rest my arms on the railing and close my eyes, breathing in the burning smoke and exhaling it slowly, being submerged in the light-headed haze of nicotine.

“How old are you?” Rafe’s voice interrupts my zen. I open my eyes and look at the boy, who’s very obviously checking out my bikini covered body.

I laughed and took another drag. “Sixteen,” I exhaled the smoke from my mouth.

Rafe’s eyes went wide, and he turned back to the sea. “Oh shit. My bad. Uh...how’re you liking the party?”

“It’s pretty good. Besides, you know, Topper being Topper, and you forcing me to talk to him.”

Rafe laughed. “Yea, I didn’t mean anything by it. I have a reputation of being a prick, and I’m trying to be better but, you know, not a lot of people respect you when you go from being a douche to a nice guy.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant by that. “Reputation with friends?”

He laughed. “Just,” he waved his hand free hand around, “Everyone. I wasn’t a good person. I’m trying to be better, but it’s hard when everyone already expects me to act a certain way and don’t give me a chance to change.”

I noticed the rings on his hands, like that boy from Kie’s Instagram. But unlike Hot Blondie, Rafe’s too old for me.

Which leads me to wonder…

“Did you know Sarah Cameron, by any chance?” I asked.

Rafe’s eyes went wide, and then he started coughing up smoke.

“W-Why do you ask?” He stammers, still coughing.

I gave him a weird look and just shrugged. “Curious, I guess.” I looked back at the ocean. “I’m the new girl, and everyone keeps telling me about all this stuff, but won’t tell me what actually happened, and I dunno, I’m just so confused.”

I turned to face Rafe, who was looking away, and I think I saw tears forming in his eyes. “Yea, Sarah’s my sister.”

Now it was my turn to cough up smoke. “W-”-cough cough- “Wait”-cough cough- “a minute.” I gasp for air and continue coughing. And after I finally manage to get some oxygen into my lungs, I say, “Sarah Cameron’s your sister? Shit, I’m so sorry, Topper never told me.”

Rafe shrugged, fiddling around with his rings. “It’s alright, I was just...surprised. No one asks me about Sarah or the Pogues anymore. After I came back from rehab-” He stopped, probably because he didn’t mean to say that, but he continued, “After I came back from rehab, I just...stopped beefing with the Pogues, especially JJ, Kie, and Pope. You know them?”

I nodded. “I know Kie, we’re friends. But not JJ and Pope. Never met ‘em, don’t even know what they look like, yet I’ve heard so many things about them.”

Rafe nodded. “They’re not bad kids, really. My time away made me realize how much of a prick I’ve been to them. Like, I caused them a lot of pain, and for what? For nothing. Literally just because I thought that, because they were poorer than us, they weren’t as good as us.”

I nodded. Then I turned and smiled, and stretched out my hand. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Rafe Cameron.”

He smiled and shook back.

_______________________________

chapter three

#obx fic #obx #obx fanfic #outerbanks #jj maybank #jj fluff #jj angst #jj x reader #john b #john b x sarah #obx kiara #obx pope #rafe cameron #topper obx

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