#someone on a teal moped

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

shenanigans 24-karat Harrison will do:

- steal a man’s moped

- sleep in a church

- chase after a man he thinks might be lonan

[notafraidofloss]

Part 2: It has claimed another

Since then, Kieran and Juliana have been staying at Nemona and Penny’s house for the time-being, seeing that their house is now being investigated for potential evidence of the kidnappers. Kieran was being absolutely distraught, losing his parents and now losing his kids, the sense of hopelessness felt very similar to what happened…20 years ago, he doesn’t wanna talk about that. Meanwhile, Juliana is staying close to Kieran in order to comfort him about the situation.

During this time, Kieran has visited his Therapist more regularly to combat his ongoing depression. He’s slowly healing, but it’ll take time, his Furret while not trained to be one, seems to make a pretty good therapy Pokémon. During this time, Juliana was given leave from work in order to rest and take her mind off things. Her good friends Penny and Nemona were very welcoming and allowed her to live with them for the time-being, they try to keep her company as much as possible with the hours at hand against them. Nemona was now Chairwoman for the academy and the toughest elite four member after taking Geeta’s place after she mysteriously retired, as for Penny, she founded a company called ‘Cassiopeia Industries’ which specializes in manufacturing computers as well as improving cybersecurity functions.

One day, when Juliana was moping the floor, Penny suddenly slammed the door open causing her to drop the mop and Furret to wake up in shock. If it was anything, Juliana definitely knew Penny was furious, that was a bit concerning since Penny rarely lost her temper, if she did, something big must’ve happened.

“Oh!…Hi Penny, are you ok?”

“Do I look Ok?!” Juliana winced at the comment but continued to ask: “Hey um, what happened?”

“It’s that bloody computer virus again! We’ve been searching for MONTHS yet we still can’t find it!—” Penny continued to rant on and on while Juliana simply sweat dropped at the comment. Despite this, it reminded her of an incident which happened a couple months ago. Back then, there was a mass hacking incident reported by various companies big and small. Silph.co, Devon, The IP, people managing the Box Link and many others, it was alerted just a few weeks after Penny made the new improvements to the system. Penny’s team has been tirelessly tracking down the virus and they’re nearly successfully a few times, however, the virus only ended escaping while causing a lot of collateral in the process. Sites crashing, files being deleted, private information leaks and so on. Cassiopeia Industries received a lot of hate from many people and Penny’s very stressed.

It eventually stopped after a while, seeming that the new security system worked. But this was only the calm before the storm. Just a few weeks before Kylie, Liran and Teal’s disappearance, the Box Link has been acting erratically, sometimes it sends wrong Pokémon to the wrong trainers, sometimes it doesn’t work. Before, the websites were now undergoing the same damage. Some theorists suggested that it was the work of a rogue Porygon-Z, however, that theory was ruled out immediately as the new security system is able to prevent the entire Porygon line and rotom from entering and hacking the sites.

*~And though the world may find our partnership quite odd You know that deep inside you'll always have my heart They'll try to come between us, tear us right apart But, boy, you know that you will always have my heart~* Juliana suddenly jumped in surprise as her phone started ringing, she blushed in embarrassment considering that was a song she and Kieran sang 10 years ago (they were helped by a a certain someone). Penny would normally reply with snarky remark, but she wasn’t in the mood. Picking up the phone, she answered:

“Hello?”

“Julie! I was getting worried!”

“Carmine! It’s been a while, how was the flight? I was getting worried as well.”

“Well, we just arrived at the hotel a couple days ago. Apparently, there were some technical difficulties so the flights were delayed.”

“Oh, alright. By the way, is Drayton and Nyra with you?”

There was a still silence for a while, until Carmine broke it.

“Is Kieran alright?”

“Well, he’s fine for now. Currently resting in the guest room.”

“Oh..that’s good.”

“Carmine, is there something wrong?”

“Well, um…”

“What happened? Is Drayton and Nyra with you?”

…

“Drayton he’s…alright. Nyra though…”

Carmine breath turns heavy, before stuttering out the words which made Juliana’s heart sink.

“Sh-Sheshe-she’s…missing”

——————————————————

A couple days prior:

The plane finally landed at the airport, the couple and their child quickly grabbed their luggage and headed for the airport. They plan to meet Juliana and Kieran at their home after they found a place to stay. It was getting late so they decided to rest first. Nyra got permission from the director to take a few days off to visit her aunt and uncle. After reaching the hotel and finding their rooms, Carmine broke down, crying profusely on Drayton’s shoulder after trying to hold it for the whole trip.

After a while, the couple went to bed with Nyra sleeping by a bed beside them, ever since Kylie, Liran and Teal disappeared, Carmine got paranoid. So, she decided that they only get a single room so that the intruder were to enter, they would be prepared. Carmine’s Mightyena offered to up at night to keep watch.

Nyra, still awake at night, couldn’t stop thinking about his cousin’s disappearance, he can’t help but feel worried for them. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, it’s not because he could hear something, it’s what he couldn’t hear. Realizing that Mightyena didn’t make any sound, he hopped off the bed to check on her. Fortunately, she was just asleep as evidenced by her chest rising and falling. But that didn’t stop the feeling of dread in her. That same feeling was now very close, it’s almost as if it’s behind him—

“Obz qyrlh bvrjy!”

———————————————

The next day:

Carmine has the worst nightmare of her life. So terrifying that she didn’t want to talk about it.

“morning Nyra…” she greeted, however, there wasn’t any reply. Carmine’s heart started to race, with a feeling of dread inside.

“Nyra?” Carmine stuttered hesitantly, “Nyra?!” Carmine frantically got off her bed and searched for her beloved son, but to no avail. Before she broke down however, there was something on the bathroom mirror. And she almost puked. The something was apparently writing, but the thing that’s used to write it appeared to be a dark shade of red, with a tint of purple in it. The message appeared to be jumbled up letters. It reads:

Zy njs naom ublnfw ucar, jig lbf mygl pqzy zuwn czs wim.

Well, that’s part 2! Tell me what you think. And if I could improve on anything.

holyyy shit that ending was brutal

well done, though! i love the adaptations of the characters and how their children would act

HAVE MY HEART MENTION YEAHHHHH that makes me so joyous

staring at the purple tint... "Oh, right. The poison."

looking forward to the next update!!! maybe we'll get some answers as to who this big bad kidnapper is—and maybe my theory will be proven correct 🤭✨

[theblueskyphoenix]

Meant to share this girl sooner but I just kept forgetting to post her art. 

Anyways, meet my girl, Soraya. 

She’s a civilian of the Astral World. She’s a very happy go lucky young lady despite the war going on with the Barians. She’s aware times are pretty hard right now but she prefers not to sit and mope. She keeps herself busy by helping with food and supply runs around the cities and helps people take their mind off things by performing songs of them. She longs for the days when she used to perform without concern but for now just has to wait till the war finally ends. On top of that… it also seems like she’s waiting for someone to return home. And old friend…

And that’s all I can tell you for now. I look forward to telling you more about her in the future with Astral Warrior.

I had a lot fun designing her since she’s the first civilian I’ve made that isn’t in some position of power. So it was good way of exploring of what civilian fashion would look like amongst the Astrians. Plus, experimenting with hair color since in Astral Warrior, all residents either have blue, white or teal colored hair. Or in Soraya’s case, blue hair with a white gradient. 

And yeah. That’s about it for now. Catch ya on the next one.

[leggerefiore]

I looooove how you write the twins!! How do you think one would wingman for the other? Like it’s obvious that their brother is floundering around their crush, so they take it upon themselves to help the poor sap

▲Ingo▼

● Emmet could only watch with pity as his older brother stared at you with figurative hearts in his eyes. Ingo had clearly fallen hard for you but refused to tell you his feelings for some reason. Probably because he thinks you're in love with that flamboyant guy from Hoenn. The younger twin knew better, however. That was simply a close friend of yours.

● The older brother's yearning had begun to distracted him during battles and make Emmet just a little bit (verrrry badly) annoyed. Patting a hand down on Ingo's shoulder, Emmet gave him an amicable smile before stomping off to you. Ingo was quick to catch on and yelled for his brother to stop. His booming voice served as no deterrent to the man on a mission.

● Emmet slipped between you and the Hoennite. The teal-haired man was offended by the Subway Boss's actions, but Emmet shot him a glare to shut up. He was doing something for his precious older brother, and the feelings of some scantily dressed sailor mattered not.

● The twin none so delicately dragged you to Ingo and left you there with a smile. The older twin was sweating bullets from that action. “Ingo…” You said his name so softly that his heart nearly stopped. “What was all that about?” Words had gotten caught in his throat. He so desperately wanted to tell you how he had come to want more from your relationship, but the Subway Boss knew you had to have been interested in that guy. “Ah, nothing. Emmet is bitter over a loss we had today,” he scratched the back of his neck while attempting to keep a cool exterior. “You best return your boyfriend, I'm deeply sorry about my brother's actions.”

● You stared at him blankly. “Uh, Ingo,” you grew flustered suddenly. Did he think you were dating him? No, you certainly were not. “I'm not dating him; I'm not evenly remotely interested in him romantically. There is someone, though,” you explained. Ingo sighed and shook his head. Of course, his assessment hadn't been entirely wrong.

● The Subway Boss about screamed when you kissed his cheek and winked at him before walking off. 'Never mind,' he thought, 'I was completely wrong.' (Emmet would later laugh after hearing how it went. Especially with how red his brother was just holding your hand.)

▽Emmet△

○ Ingo observed his brother's unusual actions meticulously. His younger brother was unbelievably affectionate, yes, but the way he clung to you was at another level entirely. He also caught the glare Emmet shot at a visiting singer from Galar. Apparently, you knew the guy and had been spending most of your spare time with him. Ingo swore he caught Emmet crying shortly after the singer's arrival.

○ His younger brother's feelings was clear to see, but your closeness with your friend made him think that you were interested in him. Ingo knew that to be untrue as he caught you walking away from their office holding a sweet treat in your hands, dejectedly. His brother's despair had begun to leak into work, leaving Ingo with more papers to fill out and carrying battles. (One time he had even covered for Emmet on the Double Line. Never again.)

○ Ingo yelled your name from across the station and caught your attention from the monocromatic-haired man. You parted away from him with a quick farewell and approached the older twin. His serious face held a harsh intensity to it as he spoke, “Please tell Emmet how you feel about him. He's moping in our office because he thinks you're dating that man.” You choked out a laugh but realized the Subway Boss was deathly serious.

○ Opening the office door, Emmet had his head buried in his arms, with a messy pile of paperwork sitting around him. He perked up to see how had entered, and his eyes were a puffy red. It was heartbreaking. He genuinely thought you were dating that person. The younger twin grinned sadly and waved you in.

○ You immediately ran to embrace him. He flinched from the sudden hug but settled into it after a second. “Emmet,” you gazed at his melancholic expression with a stinging heart, “I love you!” His face lit up like the city at night, and he beamed. A kiss was pressed against your lips as he spun you around for a moment. (Ingo apologized for his loudness to the singer, who proceeded to respond at the same volume. The competition between the two ruminated around the station. It went unknown by Emmet and you, however, as you were busy cuddling in the privacy of his office.)

[lazywonderlvnd]

Hi, if you are still taking prompts; A magically powerful Harry not noticing that his magic does things to make Draco happy. This can be pre-relationship or established relationship. Like it starts of with his tea being exactly as he likes and always the right temperature. Then evolves to rooms changing colour or weather changing or people being unable to invade Draco’s personal space due to an invisible barrier or something ridiculous. Btw Draco doesn’t notice as well.

anon.....you really killed me w this one. i’ve been so emo over this wyugeahrwiw might end up writing smth longer tbh bc this concept is literally the only thing that matters to me!!!!!!! i hope u enjoy i had so much fun with it ❤️❤️❤️

“Harry, you do it. Please.”

“No.”

“Please!”

“We’re fucking watching something, Draco!”

“So just pause it!”

Harry grabs the pillow on his lap and slams it onto the sofa next to him. Hermione can see dust rise in its wake. He pauses the telly. 

“Are you doing it?” Draco asks hopefully. Harry scowls at him. 

“Well you won’t shut up until I do, will you?”

“Definitely not.”

Harry disappears into the kitchen and Draco sits there looking smug.

“It’s kind of sick how you get off on bossing him around,” says Ron, his tone one of simple observation. His fingers are idly playing with Hermione’s hair, but she doesn’t think he notices he’s doing it. 

“If I’m not mean to him a few times a week I break out in a rash, Weasley,” Draco says blithely. “Besides, he makes it perfectly. I don’t know how he does it, it’s always exactly the right temperature and sweetness and all that. I s’pose his years as a house-elf for those Muggles gave him plenty of time to perfect the art.”

“You’re a twat,” says Ron. “And my mum makes tea better than him.”

“Well you’re just a pitiful little mummy’s boy, aren’t you, Weasley? We can hardly trust your opinion.”

“Hark who the hell’s talking,” Ron scoffs. “Least I’m not twenty-three and still calling my mum ‘mummy’ like the world’s biggest bloody ponce.”

Draco splutters but before he can retort Harry’s coming back into the room hovering four cups of tea that float placidly to each of them. Draco looks exactly like a satisfied cat as he takes his and Harry drops back down onto the sofa next to him. Not too close, but certainly not too far, either.

“Literally exquisite,” Draco declares after he’s taken a sip. Ron rolls his eyes.

“It’s just tea, Draco,” says Harry, and he grabs for the remote to turn the film back on. “You’re such a demanding little brat. Merlin’s fucking tits.”

But Draco looks happy and Harry looks suspiciously content as well. Ron turns to her and makes a silent gagging face. Hermione snorts and puts a finger to her lips. They’ve decided not to say anything yet.

*

“Wasn’t this place a lot … uglier last time?”

“What?” Harry says absently. He’s not listening — he’s got all his attention zeroed in on a stack of parchment he’s holding. They’d only barely dragged him along to lunch; earlier the captain of the English National Team had apparently owled him a great number of brand-new Quidditch plays and required Harry’s extensive thoughts and notes before their next practise, which was tomorrow morning. 

“Uglier,” Draco says emphatically, and Ron mutters something she doesn’t catch. “Remember? The walls were that tragic egg-yolk colour.” He shivers. Hermione thinks it might have been an honest-to-god shiver of revulsion. She also thinks she knows what’s happened, even though the extent of it surprises her.

“Maybe someone heard you whingeing and changed it,” Ron apparently can’t stop himself from saying with a snigger. Hermione elbows him hard and he shoots her a glare, mouthing, he doesn’t know!

Harry would usually be the one to take the lead and get them a table when all four of them go out to eat together but today he’s too wrapped up in his Quidditch plays, so Ron steps forward and does it, which makes Hermione’s chest flutter pleasantly. He’d blush down to his bones if she ever said it aloud but he’s quite capable of being a leader in Harry’s absences. 

“Whatever happened,” says Draco pointedly as they’re led to their table, “it’s a great bloody blessing, I was genuinely unsure I’d have the mental fortitude to survive another assault like that on my delicate senses. And, I mean, this —” he gestures to the walls, which are now an admittedly pleasing dark teal above a white trim “— is stunning. It’s my favourite colour.”

“Is it? So weird they picked your favourite colour completely by coincidence,” Ron says, and Hermione elbows him again. Draco notices nothing and neither does Harry, although he does finally set the plays aside once they’re seated at the table.

“Are you complaining about the wall colour again?” he asks drily. They would both be extremely displeased to know they sound like an old married couple. Draco snatches haughtily at the paper napkin on the table and unfolds it to place over his lap. The first time he’d ever done this at a regular, decidedly not upscale restaurant Ron had taken it upon himself to spend the entire meal adopting a posh accent to match Draco’s and saying things to the waiter like “Don’t you have crystal?” while holding up a glass cup full of Pepsi and then commenting “These aren’t real silver, you know” after making a show of inspecting the titanium utensils. 

“I can complain about hideous design choices if I want to,” Draco tells Harry with his nose in the air. “Thankfully they’ve rectified it this time.”

On the other side of the restaurant, Hermione sees two employees talking, one of them gesturing at the wall with utter bewilderment. She doesn’t point it out.

*

“Twelve o’clock,” says Ron, nodding past Draco’s shoulder. “Some bloke staring you down hard, Malfoy.”

Draco looks excitedly behind him, but what Hermione takes more notice of is the way Harry’s face falls a little. She can’t help but wonder if he even realises it’s happened. She’s almost certain he’s aware of his feelings for Draco even though he still hasn’t said anything to her (and she’s been waiting months now, the effort of holding her tongue growing only more difficult by the day, and she knows Ron’s always seconds away from shouting at him) but she doesn’t think he knows how obvious he is. Draco doesn’t seem to know either, but she thinks that’s because Draco feels exactly the same way. She’d have called them morons, but she remembers too well how long it had taken her and Ron.

“What the fuck, Weasley,” Draco hisses, turning back around with a scowl that makes Ron laugh and Harry perk up again a little bit. “He looks like he hasn’t washed his hair in weeks.”

“Now, now,” says Ron, “mustn’t judge books by their greasy covers.”

“Then you go shag him if you think he’s so fit.”

“Maybe I will,” Ron says airily, as if he really is considering it, and Hermione can’t help chuckling and kissing his cheek. Then his expression changes to one of wicked amusement, which makes all of them look round to see the bloke coming their way. Hermione glances at Harry to find that — oh yes, he looks flustered and vaguely upset.

“Hullo,” says the greasy bloke to Draco as he comes up beside him at their table. He’s really not terrible-looking, but if she’s learned anything about Draco in the last couple years it’s that his standards amount to models and Harry Potter, so this man has almost no chance.

“Hello,” Draco drawls, reminding her fiercely of his younger self at Hogwarts. “I’m not interested.”

“Right little narcissistic bugger, aren’t you?” the man says. And now, finally, he’s begun to look as revolting to Hermione as he’d done initially to Draco — a repellent personality can do that. “Maybe I just wanted to come and have a chat.”

“Then why aren’t you looking at any of the rest of us?” Ron asks, sounding halfway between amused still and a little put off.

“Can you leave, please?” Draco interjects, cringing away from the man encroaching slowly on his personal space. And suddenly, as he looks on the verge of antagonising Draco further, he shifts his feet and slips, landing right on his bum with a yell of surprise. All four of them get to their feet to see, but there doesn’t seem to be any liquid or even slimy food for him to have tripped on.

“The fuck ...?” the man says, getting back to his feet. But when he moved towards Draco, he only slips again, on absolutely nothing at all. Something clicks and Hermione looks at Harry: he seems as confused as anyone else (if obviously pleased).

She looks at Ron then, who catches her eye and lifts his brows like he’s thinking the same thing.

Draco’s suitor gets up once more and steadies himself, looking a bit dazed. Some deep animal instinct seems to tell him to stop trying, and with a wary glance at Draco he finally leaves.

“Well that was a bit of a fucking scene,” says Harry. Draco, coming out of his own startled daze, laughs.

“Yeah,” Ron says sarcastically, “wonder what could’ve possibly happened.”

*

“I really thought it was going to rain,” Draco mopes where he’s standing at the window. It’s grey outside but it definitely doesn’t look like rain and Draco appears so upset about it that Hermione actually feels badly, even though she’s quite glad for the clear weather. 

“Just shut the curtains,” Ron suggests from his place on the floor. He’s sorting through Harry’s collection of VHS tapes, trying to decide on a good Halloween movie. Not that he’s ever seen any of them, and Hermione suspects he’ll end up choosing whichever cover he likes best.

“It’s not the same!” Draco wails. “The thunder and lightning is all part of it, you uncultured pillock! The atmosphere is all wrong.”

“It’ll be just as good when we shut off all the lights and draw the curtains,” she assures him, but it doesn’t remove the look of disappointment from his face. It’s a pouty sort of thing that echoes the brattiness of his youth; she imagines a five-or-six-year-old Draco giving his parents similar looks when he wasn’t getting what he wanted.

 At that moment the front door opens and Harry walks in carrying two grocery bags, one of which contains alcohol, which Hermione can tell by the way the plastic is bulging around the cans.

“The fuck are you all doing here?” he says by way of greeting.

“You said eight o’clock, fuckhead,” Ron tells him without looking up. “But it’s fine, I’ve had time to pick a film and Malfoy’s had time to moan about the weather.”

“What’s wrong with the weather?”

“I wanted a storm!”

At that exact moment, a flash of lightning lights up the sky behind Harry where he hasn’t even closed the door yet. Seconds later a downpour begins, and then there’s a rolling crash of thunder.

Hermione’s eyes widen and once more she finds Ron’s gaze, who looks about as shocked as she feels. Draco, meanwhile, has his hands over his mouth and looks like a child on Christmas morning.

For the first time since his magic had begun picking up on Draco’s wishes and granting them of seemingly its own accord, Hermione sees Harry look suspicious. He peers behind him at the storm suddenly raging outside his house before slowly closing the door. When he turns back he looks directly at Hermione, who looks away quickly.

They set up the food Harry had gotten — all kinds of Halloween-themed sweets — and once everyone has their drinks (“Make mine,” Draco tells Harry, “you do it best”) and is comfortable on the two sofas in the room (Harry and Draco are, as usual, as close to each other as they can get without actually touching) they start the movie: The Thing, which Harry swears is one of the greatest horror films of all time.

Funny thing is, an hour and a half into it she looks over and, with a jolt, realises the two of them are kissing half-covered beneath a blanket. She elbows Ron, who positively beams when he notices.

“Fucking finally, dear sweet Merlin,” he whispers, the sound muffled by the continued rain and thunder. “I nearly hit him upside the head when he made it rain, are you fucking kidding me?”

“Shh!” Hermione hisses, though she’s smiling. “They’ll hear you. We’ll rag him about it tomorrow.”

A soft sound of laughter comes from the other sofa that Hermione identifies as Draco’s, and when she risks another peek after a moment she sees that Harry has a hand on Draco’s jaw, and that he’s smiling.

[fuwafuwamedb]

Tell Him You’re Gonna Stab Him (Gilgamesh, Hakuno, Gudako, Enkidu)

(Disclaimer: Don’t tell people you’re going to stab them. It’s in poor taste.)

__

“He probably has a bunch of girls texting him. Stand out. Tell him you’re gonna stab him.”

Hakuno paused from her reading, eyes drifting away from endless cascades of black and white to look over at the redhead currently spouting the wisdom of Valkyries. If any expression could be felt with the depths of the soul, it would be whatever flat, unamused expression made one’s eyes feel the lids like this.

“I’m just saying,” Gudako argued, waving a hand. “You’re hanging out in here again when you have a holiday gift for him, you missed the holiday, you know a handful are messaging him sweet nothings. Be different. Threaten to stab him.”

“What exactly does that accomplish?”

“It grabs his attention.”

Mash really needed to be here. If Mash were here, she was almost positive that the advice would be something a bit more sensible. It was almost like a circuit with them. One without the other was not incredibly useful and could end up dangerous, but together- together they were incredibly brilliant. They could solve all the worlds’ problems.

Damn Mash’s 8pm bedtime.

Who even had bedtimes these days? She had half a mind to think it was more of a self-imposed time rather than something the knights had helped her put together.

Without Mash, there was little point in this conversation. Gudako would only come up with worse and worse ideas. Much like Dantes, Gilgamesh, Ozymandias, and a myriad of other servants she’d encountered here; she knew one response other than a reactionary question or comment would only give way to more ideas.

Or worse, they would believe they were onto something.

Matters would be taken into hand. Sometimes actual matter, matter that needed to continue to be oblivious to the fact that she had not gotten him a Christmas gift on time for the holiday. Matter needed to stay in his room and game with his friend. Matter needed to laugh away some more with cute money-obsessed women. Matter definitely needed to not notice that her eyes were dry and that his present was currently half soaked from a crying marathon.

The crying marathon hadn’t been because of him.

He wasn’t worth crying over, not when he was happy and wholly obsessed with owning the world around him. Not when he didn’t need to have his usual support and went with some smoking middle aged guy to fights.

Smokers are unhealthy anyway-

“There!”

Hakuno paused, her attention returning to the other person at hand. The phone in her hands was only too familiar. That smile was all too proud.

“I did it.”

“What did you do?”

“I told him that you want to stab him. I said, ‘I’m going to stab you.’ I’m brilliant.”

“Gudako, please. For the love of all that is electronic, tell me you didn’t actually text him that.” Her book was set down, she moved over to the redhead, but the woman’s shameless reckoning had been wrought.

Bright white letters in the teal text bubbles said it plainly.

[I’m going to stab you.]

Plain. Blunt.

“Could you stab me before he gets here?” Hakuno complained softly, closing her eyes as she prayed to whatever cruel and vicious god that had brought her here.

“No! I told you, this is just to grab his attention. You have to play smarter, not harder, Hakuno.” Gudako nodded at her own wisdom, as though such a threat was entirely not a bad thing to say to someone who could literally make weapons appear from thin air and could create craters where buildings used to be.

“Gudako, he will kill me.”

“He won’t kill you. You’re cute! Very cute. Besides, unlike Mash, Da Vinci, and I, you and Gilgamesh have a thing going on.”

“There is no thing.”

“There is a thing.”

“You’re imagining the thing.”

“And what is the thing of which I am imagining is the thing of which you speak of,” Gudako drawled, waving the phone away from her questing hands. “I am sorry, but moping in my room is a thirty minute appointment and your time has come to an end. Grab the nice woolen sweater you made him, head to your room, and just shove it over his head when he comes barging through your door.”

“Gudako, he’d destroy it.”

“It’s so soft! He won’t destroy it.”

“Gudako-“

“Hakuno, have I ever steered you wrong?”

Well, there was the gambling.

The joy ride into Rome and some random Lucius emperor’s bed for an almost threesome.

There had been Rasputin’s bedroom in that one botched rayshift.

The heart carving ceremony in the Aztec place.

There’d been the strange jungles with that one Indian that Gudako had been determined to attempt to summon for three months.

Jerusalem.

Jerusalem again, but a hundred years later.

The one time they’d rayshifted to the fall of Constantinople and ended up meeting that Muslim gentleman who’d been taking over.

“Stop. STOP!” Gudako waved her hands, shoving the phone into her hands. “I can already see the goody two shoes mind of yours whirring with all the different answers. None of whatever you’re thinking about was that bad! We had a great time. We are friends, you jerk. Stop being mean and go think about how to gift Gilgamesh his sweater.”

“I-Is my phone dead?”

The button wasn’t doing anything when she pressed it.

Gudako’s smile told her enough. She should have probably charged it.

“I will be back in the morning. We’re not done talking about this.”

The sweater was pulled from the hanger nearby, still damp from her crying into it earlier. She turned tail, heading for the door and out of the room.

It wasn’t like she had any choice about things. Gilgamesh had gotten her here and then had been burned by mistake and resummoned by Gudako while she’d been mourning. Naturally, he had moved on a bit.

A lot, actually, but that was fine.

If he was moving on, she could move on. His gift would be their olive branch.

She moved through the darkened corridors with all the eagerness of a man heading to the gallows. Her eyes took in the thick glass of the Chaldean windows, watching the storms blow passed the base and the cold steel retaining the heat from the generators in the basement.

Her room was still quiet when she arrived.

Her phone blipped a warning of low battery when she plugged it in.

With the phone charging, Hakuno moved to the closet, once more hanging her gift for the king on the best hanger in her collection. Her eyes went to the color attempts she’d hung up, unfinished but at least a good ways started.

Should’ve finished Enkidu’s as well.

“Hakuno~!”

The devil themselves was summoned forth, throwing her door open in a flash of green hair and white robes. Their clay colored eyes were alight as they threw her lights on more, beaming as they tossed Gilgamesh passed them.

“I brought him directly here! Let’s do this!”

“Do this?”

“Yeah! I brought a camera!” Their hand waved the lensed device, showing it off as Gilgamesh brushed off his tanktop.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Enkidu. Nothing is going on.” She just needed to talk to Gilgamesh for a few-

“Did you not threaten me, Hakuno?” Gilgamesh asked, his eyes flashing as that all too familiar smirk came upon his features. “Was it not your phone that sent me the message that you wished to plunge a large and rather rustic knife through my chest and watch me bleed out upon the floors, leaving those who feared me to come forth and feast upon my entrails and revel in my surrender?”

Why do I like this man?

She would never understand it. Her head was already hurting at exactly how vile and detailed that stabbing message had gone in Gilgamesh translation.

“Where am I going to get a rusted blade, Gil?”

One fell forth from the gates onto her nightstand.

“…Who fears you?”

The man laughed, his head falling back as the sound was all but belted out into the room. As though he could not hear and appreciate that sweet voice of his to its fullest extent- no, more like- As though the entirety of Chaldea could not hear and appreciate that obnoxious voice of his to its fullest extent, he laughed at full volume.

“I’m not stabbing you.”

“Oh? But you were so eager for doing just that. You even demanded that I bring forth my own cause of death, like an imprisoned cretin must dig their own grave. Will you not complete the job? Enkidu brought a camera, no less.”

“I didn’t send you the stupid text message and I didn’t mean give me a weapon, Gil. I was asking a rhetorical question and Gudako was trying to get us to talk.”

The man’s gates swallowed the rusted weapon. Enkidu paused, looking around as their friend moved forth and frowned.

“There you go,” Hakuno replied, waving a hand towards the door. “It was Gudako that messaged you that with my phone.”

“Why?”

“I told you.”

“No no. You did not say anything as to why we must speak. To what purpose must I entertain what it is that you wish to fill my ears with this time?”

“What does that mean?”

Enkidu was already slipping out, closing the door with a small complaint about non-stabbings after the promise of a good show.

Hakuno shook her head. “I’m tired, Gil.”

“It was your friend who called upon me during these unreasonable hours to indulge in your latest headspace. If you wish to complain, you may bring those complaints forthwith to her side.”

“Fine.”

Was that ending this conversation?

She really hoped it was. He was getting so loud and the pounding in her temples was getting slowly worse.

“Fine, you say. You’ve become quite obstinate. Then again, you’ve always been that way.” He moved to the bed, pulling a blanket from his gates and flicking it to drape across her sheets. As though the sheets were too filthy, he smoothed the blanket of his out before seating himself there.

The man’s cat-like gaze met hers.

“Speak up now. As you said, it is late. I am in the mood for resting my eyes after impressing my proclivity for all manners video games with Enkidu.”

“It’s not-“

He held up a hand, those eyes of his flashing in the light of her room. “Do not bore me with these run around phrases like ‘it’s nothing’ and ‘do not worry about it.’ I won’t be responsible for what happens to you should you decide to indulge in them. As you said, I am tired.”

Fine.

She shook her head, moving to the closet and pulling that sweater back out. She held it out.

“What is this?”

“Your Christmas present.”

The man reached forward, looking at the golden-yellow fabric a moment before his eyes met hers again. That gaze narrowed.

“You don’t have to take it if you don’t like it-“

“Why have you been crying?”

That- That was none of his business. He didn’t need to concern himself about that. Hakuno shook her head at him, turning away. “I got something in my eye.”

“I do not care for lies, Hakuno.”

“Gil, it’s nothing.”

The chains were out before she finished the last word. Those golden chainlinks locked around her, pulling her back to the bed where the man was moving to stand up. She felt back, falling onto the fabric he’d laid across her bed and the man himself moving to settle once more beside her now.

“Gil!”

“It’s nothing, isn’t it? Is that not what you just told me?” The man frowned at the sweater. “This is wet. I see a couple small hairs that look like eyelashes upon it. I do believe you have been using your gift to me to weep upon. We will just have to learn what reason you’ve deigned reasonable enough to ruin your own gift for me.”

“Don’t you have a date or something to get to?”

“A date?” The man stared at her.

“A date.”

“It’s three in the morning, Hakuno. Whoever decides this is a time for courting needs to be thrown into a river.”

“You’re not funny.”

“I am incredibly amusing when I wish to be,” Gilgamesh purred, “unlike my companion at the moment. You are red eyed, gifting tear-soaked sweaters, responding impudently, and then expecting me not to question your motives.”

“I had a bad day.”

“How unfortunate and boring. Try again. I’ll be looking around for clues as to what made you weep.”

“Excuse me?!”

Gilgamesh was already up though, moving to turn on the lamp on her bedside nightstand. “It is fortunate for you that I’ve indulged in time with that detective and a few finder games. I have a one hundred percent completion and have yet to fail at finding the heart of all matters in Enkidu’s trial games. I do believe this will be entertaining. Besides, it might be amusing to see how poor you still are after hiding away from me for six months with my contractor. Perhaps I too shall weep.”

I really hate this man.

The moment he found the unfinished sweaters, she pressed her face to his fabrics and took in the scent of his stupid cologne.

“Were you planning to move me in without informing me, Hakuno? These are all my size and colors. To think you would grow a fondness for seamstress work as well as for me. Did I steal your heart away? Did the truth squeeze your poor heart like a vice, until all you could see was me?”

He hadn’t changed at all. There definitely wasn’t anyone longing for this man.

“I should hang my one finished piece of your work here then. You will need to finish the rest. Otherwise, I suppose I’ll just roam about our room naked.”

She was going to end up contracted again to him by New Years. The prediction hung as surely as the promise of sunrise.

She was doomed to eternity with him.

Gudako had planned for this all along.

[levis-hazelnut]

Summary: when you and your best friend, Hanji, were younger, you had made up stories about your dream guys - what they would look like and how you would meet. What happens when the one you had made up appears to be real?

Warning(s): mentions of abuse (if you squint). Please do tell me if there are anymore.

Taglist (closed!): @castellandiangelo​

Status: completed!

part 1 > part 2 > part 3

series masterlist

The raven-haired female marched closer to him, digging her index finger into his chest which I smacked off. She gave a dirty look which I countered with the nastiest face I could muster, and she soon turned away from me and crossed her arms, glaring at Eren, who still stood strong. "I'm tired of you, Mikasa. You either cancel our date or avoid me and go cheat on me with some idiot. I can't even use the fingers on my hands to count how many times that has happened. And, another thing, I may have been afraid of you at the start but now, I see no point in that. Your threats mean nothing to me. So, if you dare to try and do anything to any of my friends, especially (Y/N), you'll be sorry that I was the one you chose to mess with." "Wait... Was it her that made you act all rude and like a dickhead to me last year?" I suddenly realised. "Yeah. I'm so sorry about that, (Y/N). But can you keep your words for later, please?" he asked politely and I nodded with an apologetic smile before leaving the living room and going to my room to give them some privacy. 

I dropped onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling and thought if it was a good idea to bring Mikasa here. Well, it's too late to stop her now, and I'm doing this for Eren's sake. I just hope that he doesn't end up hating me for the rest of his life if something goes wrong. ~/~ A slam woke me up and I sprang up into a sitting position; my eyes were widened as I looked at my surroundings, seeing that I was in my bedroom. All was silent in my apartment, so I decided to get up from my bed and creep into the living room, only to find Eren sitting on the sofa. His elbows rested on his knees as he pinched the bridge of his nose. His teal orbs were hidden and I slowly approached him, voicing out a small 'hey'. His head tilted up and I gave him an uncertain smile as I sat next to him and draped an arm around his shoulders. "Everything okay?" "Not really. Well, I'm free from the burden of having a girlfriend. But it still feels like I lost something important." "Of course you're going to feel like that. However, you'll soon realise that there's nothing to mope over because you can now enjoy your life without worrying about anything. Other than uni, bills and all that other shit," I added reassuringly. "Do you want hot chocolate or something?" "No. I just want to lie down." I shifted a little away from Eren and patted my lap, wordlessly telling him to rest his head on my lap. He gave me a small smile and laid down on his back with his legs stretched across the sofa, leaning his head on my legs. He covered the top half of his face with an arm and both us remained in silence. Getting bored, I decided to fiddle with Eren's fingers. I leaned down and stuck one of his fingers into my nose, but he didn't even pull away so I put the index finger to his lips. That's when he tried to take his finger out of my grip. I softly laughed at the slight entertainment I earned when I got a reaction from him. "Idiot," he breathed before closing his eyes. "Thanks, hun. I know I'm an idiot." He snorted and then told me to hush so he could relax. I shut up and joined him, once again falling asleep as I tilted my head back to rest against the sofa. My hands still gently gripped one of his as I drifted off into a nap that wouldn't be disturbed until Hanji came home. It's not my fault I stayed up watching Netflix when I knew I had a lecture in the morning... Well, it is my fault, but still. Surprisingly, we weren't woken up even when Hanji had come home. Maybe she was considerate enough to let us sleep, or maybe she knocked out as well. The latter was more likely because she would never be that thoughtful to let me rest properly. Eren and I had fallen asleep at around eleven, and I awakened from my snooze at half-past two. The brunette probably had an early start at work today, which is why he was still asleep when I woke up. His head was still on my thighs so I decided to stay on the sofa instead of moving and waking him up. Luckily, I had my phone on me so I wasn't going to get bored by staring at the black screen of the TV in front of me. "(Y/N)!" "Shh. You're going to wake Eren up," I whisper-yelled to Hanji, who was about to burst our eardrums. "Too late," a gruff voice spoke and I glanced down to see that Eren was awake. I smiled at him before he lidded his beautiful eyes again. "Hi, Hanji, by the way," he muttered. "What's wrong with him?" the female with glasses inquired and I shook my head, telling her that it wasn't something to talk about right now. "So, how was breakfast with Levi~?" "It was nice. He basically knows everything about me, whereas he barely told me anything about himself. Obviously, it's not unusual since we literally just started to get to know each other, but it felt like he was hiding something. And that made me realise that I live my life out loud. Is that a bad thing?" "Only if the person you're talking to is shady," the male stated with his eyes still covered. "So, today, it could be seen as a bad thing." "Eren, let me love him," I whined. "Though, I see why you're concerned." "Did you tell him about Levi?" "Yeah. Because he was working when me and Levi went to the cafe. He saw how comfortable I was around him and decided to question me about it." "(Y/N), I love and care about you. Wouldn't you be the same if someone I created in my brain years ago suddenly appeared out of nowhere?" "Well, when you say it like that, it sounds dodgy." "I'm saying the truth, so he is dodgy. Hanji, back me up." "... I kind of side with (Y/N). Both of her previous relationships didn't work out, so maybe Levi's here to solve that." "Tch!" Eren finally sat up, fed up with the shit that Hanji and I were spewing. "I understand you're thrilled because of the fact that your 'dream guy' has shown up. But how can you trust him right away when you don't even know him? (Y/N), you said yourself that he was hiding something. Please, just don't get yourself into danger by trusting someone you just met." "I'll be fine, Eren. One day, I'll prove to you that I was right to believe in him." "Oh, I got Levi's number, (Y/N)." "Give that to me right now," I squealed and leapt towards Hanji. "Wait." My male best friend stood up and approached Hanji, taking the piece of paper before I could. I pouted at him as he put the paper into his pocket before crossing his arms. "I'll give it to you when my suspicions are gone. Until then, you only speak to him in person and don't tell him your whole life story." "Whatever, Dad," I muttered, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "Don't get annoyed just because I'm looking out for you," he said with a quieter voice than before. "I used to get irritated because you would constantly interfere with my life, but then I realised you always did it to protect me. I'm doing the same. So, don't blame me when something happens." Even though I was still mildly annoyed at Eren, I brought my arms around him, needing a hug from one of the best people I've met. He looped his arms around my form and drew me closer to him, stuffing his face into my hair. "Awww!" "Hanji, get in here," I said, my lips moving against Eren's clothed chest. I soon felt another person jump into the embrace as I giggled along with the male who lightly laughed. "I love you guys.” "Love you, too. Anyway, I think I'm going to head home. It's been a... troublesome day." "Damn, I almost forgot about that. How are you acting so normal?" "You guys are hiding something from me!" Hanji complained "(Y/N), you can tell her. I'm going to go," Eren announced and pulled away from the group hug. "I'll see both of you soon. Let's go out one day since we haven't in a long time." "Yeah, we should. You can bring Mika--" "Bye," Eren cut her off with a grin as I followed him towards the front door. "... Thank you, Eren." "I'm just returning the favour. Just promise me that you'll keep a distance between you and Mr Hot And Annoying Guy." "I'll try. And he isn't annoying. I love him," I replied just to tease Eren, who frowned. "I'm joking. But seriously, he isn't annoying. Okay, bye, my prince." "Bye, my queen," he smirked. I softly laughed at our stupidity and closed the door before locking it. Just as I was about to turn around, I heard something similar to a horde of rhinos in the corridor, coming towards me. Of course, I knew it was Hanji so I didn't get frightened by it. "Tell me what happened!" "Okay, okay. Let's go sit down." She followed me into the kitchen where I got a snack - a pot of cubed pineapple and a fork - and sat down on a barstool at the kitchen island, starting the story as Hanji sat opposite me on the other side of the island. She never knew about Eren's difficult relationship with Mikasa, so I began with telling her the first problem. And then, about some of the events when she cheated on him, forced him to do things he didn't want to, avoided him, threatened him, and about today. Surprisingly, no words came out of her mouth as she intently listened, sometimes showing shock or concern. "And that's why he cut you off when you were about to tell him to bring Mikasa when we go out," I finished off. "Wow... I thought they were going to last long." "Yeah, because she put on an act. She's a toxic girl, and I'm glad Eren broke up with her." "Why did you never tell me about this?" "Because I'm an amazing friend who doesn't tell others about someone's secret. Anyway, I need to do some work. But first, I'm going to go freshen up since I've looked like a decaying corpse ever since I woke up this morning."

~/~ A loud laugh exited my lips when I witnessed a very angry Levi sit next to me in the lecture hall. He just glared at me as I continued cackling until my stomach hurt and tears pricked the corners of my eyes. A click of the tongue was heard from the male beside me as I started to calm down, wiping away the moisture that resided on my face. "Are you about done, darlin'?" he asked bitterly and I nodded with a grin staining my lips. "Yep... Now, tell me why you're wearing that?" I spoke, stifling another cackle that threatened to leave my lips. He rolled his eyes before responding, "I was having tea on the way to school, with Isabel and Farlan, and some fucking idiot decides to bump into me. I spat some profanities at the idiot since he caused me to drop my tea on my shirt. Luckily, my trousers aren't spoiled. Anyway, I asked Farlan if he had a spare shirt or something in his bag, but he didn't. I didn't want to, but I had to ask Isabel and she said she has a top. She handed it to me with nervousness because it happened to be this - a stupid pink, unicorn t-shirt. I have no idea why she had this of all things in her bag but I had no choice but to wear it even though it's so fucking small and stupid. Please tell me you have a hoodie or a jacket so I can hide it." "Yeah, I have this hoodie." I chucked the black, zip-up hoodie at him after he told his story, which I chuckled at a few times. But damn, because the shirt was small on him, I could really analyse his abs. The fabric outlined his perfectly sculpted form and I just wanted to trace my finger over all the lines. How much does he work out? "Thanks," he mumbled, slipping it on and zipping it up. "No problem, Mr Moody. I'll suffer in the cold for you." "It's not my fault you decided to wear a crop top." "And it's not my fault you spilt tea on yourself." "Well, I'm not going to five lectures today, wearing a unicorn shirt." "Ugh, don't remind me that we have five lectures. I can't wait for this day to be over." "... Oi, darlin'? It looks like that guy wants your attention," Levi pointed out and motioned to behind me, towards rows on the other side of the hall. I turned my head and my eyes met Jean's, who had a smirk on his lips. "Oh my god! Jean!" I exclaimed and sprang out of my seat, pushing past Levi, who blocked my path, and rushed to the brown-haired male, tightly hugging him. "Where were you this whole time? You don't know how much I worried for you! I started to think you died!" I frowned and resisted slapping him across the face for the sudden disappearance. "It's a bunch of stories. And since Professor Mike has just entered, you should take a seat." "You bastard, you're explaining everything to me at lunch." "Yeah, I will. Now, go sit down next to whoever that is." I nodded and quickly went back to the row where I sat with Levi and a couple of other people who minded their own business. He threw me a questioning look, which I acknowledged, but kept silent for a moment as I had my attention on our lecturer. "Jean Kirstein. I've known him since secondary school, where we kind of dated. He's been gone for like a month. No one heard from him during that time and he hadn't told anyone he was going to disappear. People, including myself, literally thought he died," I summed up quietly to answer Levi's wordless inquiry. "I swear, I'm going to punch that smug face of his later." "Hold on... You just said you dated that guy?" "We were fifteen I think, and he asked me out, so I said yeah. Before that, though, he had asked me several times, but I didn't trust him or take him seriously because he's a serious flirt and a dickhead, who I love dearly, no matter what I say about him. Back to the point, we were together for about five months, but we felt like we were forcing it. I don't know, it just didn't feel right to me, so we decided to stay friends. I'm glad we aren't awkward around each other or whatever because I wouldn't want to lose him even though he still flirts with me and pisses me off." "I see..." Levi replied as if pondering about something. "You have some weird friends/friendships." "Oi, I treasure my friends because they are the best I could ask for. Some I met in secondary school, and some I met here. Eren and Hanji are the only ones I've known for the longest. I've been friends with Hanji since I was like four or five, and Eren - since I was nine." Wondering why I'm telling him so much about myself even after Eren's scolding? Basically, since I didn't attempt to keep a distance myself and Levi, Eren decided to barge in again (he doesn't even come to the same university as us and he still somehow interferes). We had another (not small) argument, and I chose to be a bitch about it by talking to Levi and hanging out with him most of the time. But I haven't gotten his number, and we haven't been to each other's house yet since we have only known each other for two weeks and I do think that it's a bit too early for that. I am mature enough to make my own decisions so Eren doesn't need to get involved. "Me and Eren are kind of... dealing with some problems right now. I mean, I want to talk to him, but that means we'll have to talk about the topic of our argument. What if that just makes things worse? He's a great friend, he's been there for me all the time and I don't want to lose him either. And damn, his eyes, I could stare at them all day," I was more mumbling to myself than actually talking to Levi, but I'm pretty sure he still heard me. "And his ass," Levi added quietly, letting a small smirk creep onto his lips. What I learned about Levi was that he doesn't smile or laugh, but he smirks. "But seriously, it sounds like you got a crush on the guy." "Keep your mouth shut, Ackerman. I love him as a friend, nothing more." "What are you arguing about?" he asked, pushing my retort to the side. "Uhh... I would prefer not to share." "Okay." He shrugged and we both decided to focus on the lecture and make notes instead of chatting away. He wasn't the one to stick his nose into other people's business and I was glad about that. ~/~ The sound of skin smacking skin against echoed in the canteen over the voices of students. Jean's head was forced to turn ninety degrees to the left once my hand connected with his.

Hey, I wasn't being violent or rude, don’t worry. He gave me permission to slap him because he knew how angry I would be since he left without saying a word. "Thank you," I muttered and picked up my handmade sandwich. "Do you feel better?" He rubbed his reddening cheek as I nodded. "Yes. Now, explain." "Well, a couple of days before I left, my mum's cousin died. She was really close to him, my mum and her aunt lived near each other when they were younger so my mum and her cousin always used to hang out. They kind of grew apart since they moved away from each other, but still tried to stay in contact. So, we went to Germany to see my mum's family and to attend the funeral." "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Now, I feel bad for being annoyed with you and slapping you." "Don't worry about it," Jean said, giving me a small smile. "And we were there for a month because my mum decided she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her family. I'm sorry for not saying anything about it or telling you while I was gone. I was so busy and had a lot on my mind." "Yeah, I understand. I'm so sorry. Ugh, I bet you hate me now." "(Y/N), stop stressing over it. I don't hate you," he told me, lightly laughing. "Anyway, what have I missed?" "Not much. People thought you died. Eren broke up with Mikasa. I made some new friends: Levi, Isabel and Farlan and they're all very nice. Eren and I got in an argument and that's about it." "I'm surprised he finally dumped her. And, what happened between you two?" "He's just being overprotective." "And you never are?" "... Kind of. But, he's not letting me do what I want," I pouted like a little child. "I'm sure he's doing it for your own good." "Since when did you decide to side with him?" "When it concerns you." I rolled my eyes and continued eating as we carried on conversing, getting interrupted by a Levi. I looked up at him questioningly as he plopped down in the space next to me. "Where's Isabel and Farlan?" "They both went home since they have no more lectures today." "Aw, so decided to sit with me - your best friend?" I teased as he clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "Oh, Jean, this is Levi. And Levi, this is Jean." "Hi," the raven curtly spoke as Jean responded more politely. I was about to speak up but my phone's buzzing prevented me from doing that. I fished it out of my pocket and answered it. "(Y/N)?" "Yes?" I replied with uncertainty since I haven't gotten a call from him in a week. "Are you still at uni?" "Yeah, why?" This time, I spoke more confidently. "When do you finish?" "I have one more lecture." "Okay. Can you meet me at the cafe after your lecture?" "Why?" "I want to talk to you." "... Sure. Bye." I sighed and ended the call as the two males I sat with looked at me in question. "None of your b--" I was cut off when my phone rang again and I answered it. "Hey. What do you want, Hanji?" "Could you get some snacks on the way home?" "Please don't tell me you invited people over." "Hey, they're your friends as well. Most of them are, anyway." "I'm not in the mood for people right now. And I'm meeting Eren at the cafe after. So, since you're inviting them, go get the stuff yourself." "But I'm home, I don't want to go out again." I huffed. "What time did you tell them to come over?" "At around seven." "Fine. I'll get whatever you want, just send me a list." "Okay. Thank you so much, (Y/N)!" "Whatever. I'll see you later." "Bye!" "I never got an invite," Jean fakely whined. "Yeah, because she probably thinks you're dead. She hasn't seen you yet." "Oh, yeah. Can I come, though?" "You ask her. I'm sure she'll be happy," I told him before looking at Levi who was about to speak up. "Don't even think about it, Ackerman. I don't want you stalking me." "I wasn't going to ask if I could come. I was going to--" "Hey, Levi~" All three heads turned to a group of girls who stood behind me and Levi. I immediately rolled my eyes since I knew why they were here - they wanted the oh so charming Levi to notice them and try and get a date with him. He's only been here for two weeks and he's like a freaking celebrity. "Hi..." "Are you free later?" "No, sorry. I'm... going bowling with (Y/N)." I briefly frowned before morphing it into a smile to the girls whose eyes lingered on me. Oh, how jealous they were. "Oh, that's sad. We probably could have done something better. Maybe another time." "Yeah, sure, whatever." The three girls walked away, making sure to give me a dirty look, and I lightly punched Levi's arm. "Hey, don't bring me into this. I don't want people hating on me just because I hang out with you. Just give those bitches what they deserve and straight-up reject them. Unless, of course, you want them to be all over you." "I do not want them all over me, but I don't want to 'straight-up reject them' because that's... rude." I scoffed tauntingly. "I never knew you cared about others' feelings." "Well, you've only known me for a couple of weeks. You either have good judgment or just jump to conclusions." "The first one. Jumping to conclusions, which I don't do, causes problems." "What about the time--" "Shut your mouth, Jean." "That will be difficult if I'm kissing you." I playfully rolled my eyes and a smile remained on my lips as I lightly kicked his shin under the table. The table was silent for a minute so I decided to check the time, noticing that we have to get to our last lecture in a few minutes. There was no rush so we chose to stay sitting and just relax before flooding our brains with gibberish. ~/~ "(Y/N)." I slightly shifted in my seat to turn around upon hearing my name. There stood my (male) best friend who gave me a little smile before sitting down in the chair opposite me. He noticed the iced tea placed on the table in front of him and his smile slightly widened as I sipped on my coffee before leaving it on the wooden surface. "What did you want to talk about?" I inquired. "I'm sorry for--" "You don't need to apologise. I've done the same thing to you but you somehow put up with me. I'm sorry for not listening to you even though you're just caring about me. And, since I was angry with you, Levi sort of knows my whole life story..." I confessed as Eren sighed and leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of his beverage. "But, we haven't exchanged numbers or told each other where we live." "Good. I'm going to give Levi another two weeks before making my judgment. Only then will I give you his number." "... I missed talking to you. Sorry about everything." It's not only your fault. I get that you don't want someone to mess with your life." "And I might just hold back a little on barging into your life." "I'm actually glad you got involved, to be honest. I would still be controlled by Mikasa if it wasn't for you." I gave him a wink and a grin. We stayed there for about an hour, just talking and laughing before we decided to head home. Even though he would have to go home in the opposite direction, he walked me home. It wasn't even dark either so I scolded him for wasting time but he brushed it off with a grin and rested his arm over my shoulders. "Oh, shit," I whispered and Eren questioned what happened. "Hanji asked me to get some things for her since she's organised a party of sorts that I don't want to be there for." "Oh, yeah, she invited me, but I didn’t feel like going,” he told me as I abruptly changed our route. "And since you don't want to be there, why don't we drop off her things and leave? We could do something since it's Friday and we have nothing to do." "Hm. I don't mind. Where do you want to go?" "Don't know. Wherever our feet take us." He shrugged. "Okay, let's do that, then." After getting whatever was on Hanji’s list, we dropped it off before promptly leaving. And then, Eren and I had mindlessly walked around until we found ourselves at a bowling alley. "Oh, (Y/N)!" a shrill voice called, catching my attention as I took a sip of my slushie and watched Eren throw a bowling ball down the lane, knocking down seven of the pins. He turned around and I smiled at him, knowing he wouldn't be happy. I could tell he was forcing back a scowl as he approached me and the other three: Isabel, Farlan and Levi.

[granddaughterogg]

This is an OfficeAU related question... how would Death react to a woman who he thought was stunningly beautiful, but she didn’t even really notice him? Like she brushed past him in a hurry, looked up at him for a second and said, “Excuse me.” And just hurried on her way. Do his eyes follow her? Does he try to find out her name?

The chrome-plated elevator doors parted with a sigh. He stepped outside, his stride already long and his thoughts elsewhere - and bumped into this woman. Or rather she bumped into him. Ran headfirst into his chest, because that was as high as her head could reach. Said head was full of bouncy curls, dyed deep, vibrant teal. The shade of the sea waves. Does the company policy even allow for such a blatant display of personal style? Death mused briefly, only to realize that any policies they had have been run by him. So the answer was yes. Humanity has been through a lot lately. First the Apocalypse. Then that colossal mess, the sort of which is bound to happen when you bring a whole extinct race back to life. They deserved to be cut some slack.

So, she ran into him. Such a small and squishy creature. She enveloped him in this scent that all human women bore - very different from what he's been accustomed to, but pleasant nonetheless. Many of them loved to pour fragrant essences on their skin; after a shared elevator ride he often had to run towards the closest open window and stick his head outside. But this time the dreaded floral stink was just an undertone. As it should be.

The woman's cheek briefly pressed into his wide chest, wrapped in luxurious cotton. Then she pushed herself away with a stash of papers she's been carrying and looked upwards. But she didn't see him, not really. Teal curls framed her soft face. Her eyes were big and round and as welcoming as two spoonfuls of dark honey. That warmth, that kindness pierced him down to the very soul - or down to whatever works as the soul inside the Grim Reaper.

It wasn't directed at him though. She uttered a breathless, absentminded: "I'm so sorry!" and away she went.

Death stood there motionlessly. He pushed both hands into the pockets of his swanky dress pants and watched her leave. Enjoyed this pleasant view a smidgen more than he should be.

Her sensible office pumps went click-clack. Her steps were short but decisive. Definitely not the athletic kind; rather one soft and curvy. The restrained cut of her navy blue dress only emphasized the curves.

Death liked soft. He was made mostly of sharp angles himself.

I must've turned really old and nasty if she didn't even take a second glance, he thought, his lips setting in a wry smile. 

Maybe that's not it. Maybe she was busy. Some people in this building actually earn their keep, while I mope around between my huge office full of dark woodwork and one of those conference rooms akin to tombs.

...maybe I'm not her type. She probably prefers blondes.

She probably prefers men who don't look like they already died.

I'm never going to find out this way. I could follow her and ask for her name...

And scare the living soul out of her when the poor girl realizes the CEO himself is chatting her up? You don't do those things at work.

The power imbalance is just too big...or something.

Death sighed.

***

A few hours later he sat at one of those neverending conference tables and looked into his siblings' faces. They were all dying of boredom. No amount of coffee could fix that.

 "Next item on the agenda: estimated annual productivity growth...rate..." said Death, his voice dry like scree. He was not entirely sure what he's saying or why exactly. It's been a long day.

"Wait on, someone's gotta bring in my papers first", groaned Strife. He half sat, half lied in his chair with his head dramatically thrown back and long limbs splayed. He looked like a disamused octopus. All the same, Death did notice that his middle brother is holding his phone under the table and tapping vigorously.

"You forgot your documents again?..." War supported his wide face on his wide fist. He looked as if fighting a wide yawn. Not that Death could blame him.

"You're just like a child, I swear", snorted Fury. It was a weak snort though. No bite in it. She was as fed up as the rest of them.

"Well, yeah...but don't worry, I'll flail myself properly after hours."

Suddenly Death heard a measured rhythm of small, decisive steps coming down the corridor. He sat up even before the massive conference room door went ajar. Because he recognized that sound.

She went in; bouncy teal locks, fighting to break loose from the bun, high-cut navy blue dress and a smile.

 A smile?...

"I've brought your documentation, Mr Strife sir", she said. Her voice sounded like honey, too. Damn it! It was as if the murky conference room became a little brighter.

"Eeey, Deondre! You saved my life here, and my stupid ass. Thanks a bunch, and sorry! One of those days I'll forget my own head -"

"I'll FedEx it to you then", she quipped.

Was she all but leaning forward to him, her body language relaxed, eyes warm and trusting? And was his bastard of a brother grinning at her with one of those grins?

"It's not a big deal. I was passing by this floor anyway. Gentlemen - " she nodded at the rest of them politely and left.

"Deondre?" The word tore out of Death before he could think better.

Strife stopped rustling the damn papers and shot his brother a quizzical look.

"What about her?"

"She's your assistant?"

"Hell no. But she works in the room next to mine and we...well, we became friends."

And now you've got her phone number. And she does your errands. Death often felt like strangling the airhead with his own two hands. Now that urge started to rise again.

"I can imagine the depth of that friendship."

Strife's golden peepers glinted with mischief.

"Relax, ya scary uptight spoilsport of an older brother! I don't sample my coworkers...not within the office hours, that is."

Death inhaled audibly. He grabbed at his own stack of papers and bonked the table with it.

"Estimated annual productivity growth rate", he said, his voice like grit.

[hidden-otaku-stuff]

Brokenhearts Club - Same Room

tw: mentions of breakup, toxic coping mechanisms, drinking/alcohol, mentions of violence (he throws his phone), cursing 

Word count: 2.7k

Pairing: Iwaizumi Hajime x gn!reader

Genre: angst, very very mild fluff

AN: There were no such things as happy endings.

Collab Masterlist | Playlist

*Inspired by Same Room by JP Saxe

I watched a TED Talk on our break, He had a smart person accent

He said, "Don't look through the photos", Then I looked through our photos

A haze filtered over his eyes as he stared down at his phone. In the background, sappy love songs played as he ignored the bodies in the room. His fingers itched, tapping on the app. He swiped to the side, tapping on the Hidden from View folder and revealing its haul. Thousands of photos and videos opened on his screen. He tapped on the first one he saw. His heart lurched as he remembered. 

Just to spend a couple days with me

You flew halfway 'round the world for me

Iwaizumi was exhausted, feet, knees, and shoulders tired from all the patients he had visited that day. He had been running around the clinic, fetching this and that for Utsui. He slumped against the door as he entered his apartment, sighing heavily. He threw his keys into the bowl by the entrance, letting his bag fall off of his shoulders as he walked into the kitchen. As Iwaizumi turned on the tap, something caught his attention. He froze, staring at the suitcase before he shut off the sink. 

“(Name)?” He called, stumbling over his feet as he flew through his apartment.

“Haji!” You squealed, popping up as the door to his bedroom was flung open. 

“(Name)!” Iwaizumi stopped, his mouth drying as his heart stuttered as he was rooted in the doorway - shock filling him. 

What were you doing here? The last he knew, you had finals that you had to take, projects to finish. You should still be in Tokyo! 

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

You grinned at him, standing up and opening your arms to reveal the teal jersey you wore. “I finished my projects and exams early and I figured I’d come surprise you.” 

Iwaizumi shook his head, a dopey grin on his face as he ran forward to embrace you, arms wrapping around your waist as he held you to him. “God I’ve missed you so much.”

“Surprise,” you tease, blowing on his ear. “I’ll be here for a few weeks. Try not to miss me too much when I leave though, yeah?”

“Oh baby, I always miss you when you aren’t around.” 

Iwaizumi shook his head, the dull ache of the alcohol searing his throat. He swiped through the photos and videos from that trip.

“Oh Haji, look!” You beamed at him, sparkly pink mouse ears perched on your head as you pointed up at the castle. “I can’t believe we’re here right now!”

“I did promise to take you here one day, didn’t I?” Iwaizumi teased, warmth filling his senses.

His thumb was a blur as he swiped through the photos of you and him in front of the castle. He paused, staring at one in particular.

“One day, when I put my ring on your finger, I’ll bring you back here, okay?” 

“Haji!” You gasp, giggling. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to.” He squeezed the hand on his waist as he tucked some hair behind your ear. “Gotta make you the happiest person on Earth at the happiest place on Earth.”

“Who are you and what have you done to my brute of a boyfriend?” You tease, shoving his chest slightly.

His heart skipped a beat as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Maybe your brute of a boyfriend didn’t realise how much he’d miss you when you weren’t around.”

You blink up at him with doe-eyes, love and devotion in your eyes only for the spell to be broken by the photographer’s approach.

“Here you go!” He grinned, showing you the camera. He had perfectly captured the heat in your cheeks as Iwaizumi whispered in your ear. The photographer swiped through to the next photo to one of Iwaizumi kissing your forehead. “You’re both such a lovely couple.”

“Thank you,” Iwaizumi replied in perfect English, smiling. 

“Enjoy the rest of your day!”

Iwaizumi picked up his glass of scotch, chugging the rest of it as he stared down at his phone. His vision blurred as he proceeded to swipe through. 

“What are you doing here, moping by yourself?” Iwaizumi looked up, scowling as Oikawa stood here, a hand on his hip. “And why didn’t you say hi when you got here?”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he willed his tears away. “Maybe I didn’t want to see you, Shittykawa. Think about that?”

I strategize a path to the bathroom

So I don’t walk past you

“Is it us you don’t wanna see, or (Name)?” 

Mattsun leaned against the table, tilting his glass of whiskey as his eyes fell on someone. 

Iwaizumi’s throat constricted as he saw you. 

You, in all your angelic beauty, stood with some of your old friends from Seijoh, chatting eagerly. He watched as your plush lips moved, noticed the crinkle of happiness in your face, the way your outfit hugged your body is such a perfect way. 

“Didn’t expect to see (Name)?” Oikawa asked, voice soft. He looked over at you, sad for not only his best friend, but also for you. He’d shipped you two the most. 

Iwaizumi gulped, shaking his head as he waved at a waiter, getting his glass topped off before downing that. “S’not that.”

“Then what?” 

“Gotta go to the bathroom,” Iwaizumi said bluntly, slamming his glass down. 

“Go to the one that way,” Mattsun advised, pointing to the left. “(Name) won’t see you if you do that.”

“Thanks,” Iwaizumi grunted. 

Make us try to fake our way through

"Hey, how are you?"

Iwaizumi slipped in the direction that Mattsun had pointed in only to accidentally bump into someone’s shoulder. “Iwaizumi.”

Iwaizumi flinched, recognising the all-too familiar voice. “Sawamura? What are you doing here?”

“My partner invited me.”

“Ah.” Iwaizumi’s brow furrowed. He shook his head. “Hope you have fun then, Sawamura.”

“You too, Iwaizumi.” 

Iwaizumi swiveled, making his way towards the restroom. He cursed the hall for being so dark as he bumped into another person. “I’m sor-” the words died in his mouth as familiar (e/c) eyes turned to found his.

“Haji.” 

The sting of the familiar nickname caused his heart to throb, his stomach churning. “(N-Name),” he stuttered, shock evident in his features. 

Weren’t you on the opposite side of the room? How did you get in front of him so quickly? 

“H-how are you?”

You smile, shrugging a shoulder. “I’m doing pretty well. How are you? Are you back from California then?”

He gulped, nodding. “Yeah.” He cursed his voice for cracking. “Been back for awhile now.”

“That’s good.” You both stand there awkwardly, staring at each other. Iwaizumi’s throat constricted, words clawing up his throat.

“Listen-”

“Well, it was nice seeing you.” The words caught in his throat as you gave him a small smile. “Maybe I’ll see you around sometime. We can catch up or something.”

“Sure,” he choked out, hurt and pain flashing through his eyes.

Why not now?

Wait, was he even ready to have that conversation with you?

“Bye!” 

You turn, disappearing back into the crowd to leave him staring blankly at the spot you had just been in. He blinked, shaking his head before he turned back to the direction he had just come from - the urge to use the restroom vanishing along with you. 

It's hard to summarize three years

More like four years

With each step, flashbacks ravaged through his mind. 

“Hey, (Name), can I talk to you?”

You look up from your lunch, startled. “Oh! Sure thing, Iwaizumi-kun.” You stand up, “I’ll be right back,” you smile at your friends before following the wing-spiker to the vending machines. “What can I do for ya?”

Iwaizumi froze, your dazzling smile freezing him in the spot. He cleared his throat, shaking his head. “Do you wanna go out sometime? Today maybe?”

“Oh!” If it was possible, you grinned brighter. “Sure, I’ve always liked you.”

“Wait, really?” 

You nod happily. “Yeah! Ever since we met last year as first years.” 

He blinked. “Me too.” 

“You liked you since last year?” You put a hand on your hip, a teasing lilt in your voice.

Iwaizumi scowled, “I meant I liked you too. Since last year. Dumbass.”

Your giggle made his heart fluttered. “I know.” You lean up, pressing your lips to his cheek. “See you for our date later then, Iwaizumi-kun!”

He shook his head, cursing his memories. 

“Aw, I love you.” His head snapped up, hearing someone’s voice echo those words in a playful, mocking tone. 

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

You plopped down on the bench beside him, elbowing him. “I’m sorry about the game.”

He shrugged, pulling a hand out of his pocket to grab onto yours. “S’no big deal.”

“It is to you.” You squeezed his hand. “You were amazing out there, Hajime.”

Iwaizumi snorted, shaking his head. “If I was so amazing, why do we lose to Shiratorizawa every time?”

“Mmm, that’s not your fault though,” you pointed out. “And there’s always next tournament. You have time, I believe in you.”

He sighed, shoulders slumped. You look curiously at him. You’d never participated in sports or competitions, not really understanding what it was like to work so hard for something only to be beaten every single time.

“I love you.”

His head snapped up, brows furrowed as his jaw gaped slightly. “Wait what?”

You shrug. “I said I love you.” You squeeze his hand. “I love you, Iwaizumi Hajime and I think you’re the best spiker in the whole wide world!” 

He rolled his eyes, shaken out of the spell you’d cast over him. “I love you too, dumbass.” He muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” You tease, blinking at him with those eyes that sparkled like the setting sun. 

Iwaizumi cleared his throat, tugging you closer to his side as he rested his chin on your head. “I said I love you too.” 

Oh, to hell with all your silver linings

And I'm tempted to distract myself, I'm trying not to

“Iwa-chan, you never call me anymore!” Oikawa’s whiny voice called Iwaizumi to flinch, his eyebrows furrowed in irritation.

“Maybe if you weren’t such an annoying little shit I wouldn’t avoid you,” Iwaizumi growled. He leaned back, throwing his head over the couch. 

“You’re so mean,” Oikawa grumbled. “Is this because you broke up with (Name)? Or did they break up with you?”

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi warned, a sharp tick in his voice. “Don’t go there.”

“Why? Isn’t it better now? You can go pursue your dreams, move to new countries and do whatever you want.”

“I said leave it alone!” Iwaizumi bellowed, hanging up the phone and hurling it away from him. He stood, pacing as anger pulsed through his body. He didn’t need a reminder of how ‘good’ life would be without you. He just wanted you. He wanted to come home to you, wanted to hold you in his arms at the end of every night. 

He stalked towards the fridge, throwing it open and reaching for a beer before he paused. 

Drowning his sorrows wouldn’t do anything. Wouldn’t change that you were no longer his, and he was no longer yours. With an irritated click of his tongue, he slammed the fridge door shut, leaning his forehead against the cool metal. 

He needed a distraction, but not like this. He sighed, peeling one eye open to notice the gym bag peeking around the corner up at him. 

Maybe it was time to start working out again. 

Internally he laughed. Wasn’t that exactly what he was doing now? Drowning his sorrows with the golden ichor that drove even the most controlled of humans into chaos and sin? 

His feet started moving faster and faster, needing to escape from the suffocating weight of his memories. Not now, not in this room where everyone - especially you - could see him. 

He didn’t need the world to know that he wasn’t over his ex. 

Everyone wants an explanation

And I don't know what to say anymore

He still remembered the first time that people had found out that you’d broken up. The wave of texts that he had gotten when he first posted a photo that didn’t feature you, but featured another girl. 

“Hajime, let’s take a photo together!” She pouted, crossing her arms.

He rolled his eyes but allowed her to. She was just a friend, someone he’d met in class. They’d met up at a party and somehow he found himself posing for the photo, letting her throw her arms around his neck as she took the selfie. In his drunken state, he barely noticed the intimacy of it before he posted the photo onto his InstaFeed. 

[Oikawa]: Wow, she’s looking close! Won’t (Name) be jealous ;) 

[Mattsun]: damnnn, California changed ya, Iwaizumi!

[Makki]: Woof woof! Mind giving me her number?

[Oikawa]: hold on, where are all the pictures of you and (Name)??? Did something happen?

[Makki]: Wait, did you guys break up?

[Mattsun]: whoaaaa, when did this happen?

Iwaizumi shook his head, staring at his InstaFeed before tapping on the archive button and bringing up the hundreds of pictures - the ones that featured you. He stared at your face, tears welling up in his eyes.

[Oikawa]: oi, don’t ignore us

[Iwaizumi]: it’s none of your business. Now fuck off.

He shoved his phone back into his pocket, turning back to the girl as he reached for another beer. He didn’t want to think about this. 

Not now. 

Not when all he wanted to do was call you.   

“What happened between you two?” Oikawa asked, looking down at his best friend as Iwaizumi rejoined them at the table. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” Iwaizumi snarled, anger in his features.

“Haji.” Your voice came crisp and clear through his computer as he stared at your face through the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Iwaizumi frowned, hearing the slight tremor in your voice.

“I..I can’t do this anymore.”

“What?”

You swallow, finally meeting his eyes and he noticed how red and swollen they were. “I don’t wanna do this distance thing anymore. You’re doing so many great things and I just...You deserve better.”

“Wait, baby, what are you talking about?”

“Haji, I love you so much,” you force out, giving him a teary smile. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.” 

“(Name), wait-”

“Goodbye.”

The beep of Zoom ended the call as Iwaizumi stared in anguish at the screen.

“She didn’t want to try anymore, I guess,” Iwaizumi shrugged. He stared at you for a moment longer. 

You looked happier - sounded happier too. 

He sighed, sipping from his glass just as he noticed who slipped to your side. A hand settled on your hip, causing you to start before you looked up at the person who the hand belonged to.

He could just imagine your voice - soft and doting as you leaned up to kiss Daichi’s cheek. 

At least you found someone close to home, someone who would always be there for you and someone you could depend on. 

Iwaizumi turned back to his table, ignoring the pitiful looks from his friends as he sought out the bottom of his glass. He never imagined how badly it would hurt - just how much the smallest glimpse and interaction of you would throw his emotions into turmoil. Another sigh left his lips.

He couldn’t do this any longer. 

Couldn’t be in the same room as you.

“I’m leaving,” he announced bluntly, slamming his glass down before grabbing his coat. “I’ll see you guys later.” 

In his wake, he felt the heat of your eyes on his back. 

Did you still think about him like he thought of you? 

Did you feel the same pain that he did when he saw you? 

Did you ever think about your relationship with him? 

He shook his head, swatting away the malicious thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him. He had to get away, now. There was no more ‘us’ when it came to you, and there never will be. He could only hope that the next time he saw you, he wouldn’t have to run away. 

After all, it shouldn’t hurt this badly to be in the same room as you, right? 

*****

AN: All I felt was *pain* writing this ahahaha. Hope you enjoyed my addition to this collab!! Please be sure to check-out the rest of the incredible writers of @babythotshq​ ! 

general taglist: @kaizumi @newfriendjen  @kyomihann @cheerysparkle @seiijixcia​ @shoyomeow @tsumue​ @terminallyvolatile​ @aruhappy​ 

collab taglist: @suhkusa @momoinot @boosyboo9206 @ariasnight @heykoutarou @celamoon @kweenregent @Arriverderciroque @vicassa@badgirlputin @ashhhh26 @luckypartyranchmug @throughtheinterstices @koushisun @postsfromthe6 @chaelysian @ynjimenez @2o-done @hohochaan​ @thatnikkixx​ @69owo​ @Solarskiesdream @mattsuns-prettybaby​ @shirachu​ @moonlightaangel​ @madusas-girlfriend​ @d-angerboys​ @lulu-102​ @anejuuuuoy​ @tsumue​ @satansassbutt​ @Killmeplz-uwu @serihandfn​ 

[salthaven]

A Lady’s Scout (and the Salt within her Soul)

A Lady’s Scout (and the Salt within her Soul)

   Marinette doesn’t know how the rumors started. Oh scratch that, of course she knows how the rumors started. Hell, she encouraged them herself!

   She was pissed, and rightfully so. Her friends had all left her, betraying her, forgetting her, leaving her behind for Lila. A single incident turned into multiples, and Marinette ended that same week in the back once more, now a permanent resident of the back row. All it took was a few crocodile tears from Lila to Miss Bustier, complaining about sight problems. But of course, she just needed to be a little closer to the board. Like Marinette’s spot kind of close. But it’s fine, because Marinette can sit with Nathaniel, and aren’t they such good friends?

   Marinette didn’t even try to complain, already knowing that she’d lose. And so she ended the week in the back, silently fuming as Alya didn’t even bat an eye at the change.

   And it only continued. Days turned into weeks, and the weeks never ended. Suddenly Marinette was being forgotten, abandoned on an island, watching in vain as her classmates were left in awe of Lila’s latest ‘travels’. Sure, she had Nathaniel, but he was wrapped up in his comic most of the time.

   So Marinette became wrapped up in her own little world of designs. Without her friends by her side, Marinette found herself with more free time than she’d had in months! (It looks like Lila can bring some good into her life!)

   The first creation was a fox themed shirt, styled after Rena Rouge’s costume. Bold orange merged seamlessly with a creamy white, little embroidery creating a picture in the corner for searching eyes to find. A little fox, prancing among the flowers. A little fox, searching for something.

   A little fox, searching for the Miraculous she’d never get again. Because why would she? Why would she, when she was no longer dependable? When she was no longer trustworthy, no longer loyal? When she’d forget Marinette for the next best thing?

   So maybe Marinette was a little bitter, but who could blame her? And besides, why would she want to keep a fox that betrays her when she could have a friend who would silently stand by her side, or rather sit there, and come up with his own little illusions each and every day?

   Fennec debuted three weeks after Marinette is exiled to the back, on a sunny day that does little to represent Alya’s mood.

   Marinette presented the shirt on that following Monday.

   “Th- thank you, Marinette,” Alya said, eyes widening as she gazed at the shirt. “But why is it fox themed?”

   “Oh, you reminded me of Rena,” Marinette said with a wink, but there was no smile on her face. There wasn’t one on Alya’s, either, but only teary eyes.

   Later, Marinette would look down at Alya and be met with skeptical, questioning eyes. But the eyes turned away quickly, downcast.

   Marinette watched on from her spot in the back, eyes searching for flaws. She found them in her partners, and she created.

   Next came a hoodie. A soft green, with a hexagonal pattern stitched in with darker thread. A hood, large enough for an old friend to hide his head in, even with a hat on.

   He was protective, but not of Ladybug. Only Rena Rouge, only ever Rena Rouge. But Rena was gone, and so he would be, too.

   Luka swapped teal for green, becoming Protecteur. Her protector. Because he’d never harmed her, he’d never betrayed her. He’d always been there, a silent support, and now he could be the same for Ladybug.

   When Marinette gave Nino the hoodie, his eyes locked with hers, an unusual trait.

   “Hey, what’s up with the Carapace theme, dudette?”

   “He was just like you, wasn’t he?” She asked, and then she was gone, hidden in the back.

   It’d be hard to miss how he tensed from so high up. Perhaps it was good, being forced to the back.

   A bee themed skirt was made quickly. Light and simple, the white skirt had little yellow bees buzzing along the hem. Cute, yet impractical. Focusing more on looks than on functionality.

   Yes, that was the way Marinette worked out her stress from Queen Bee, from the hero who never was, and never would be forevermore.

   She presented it before she chose a replacement, and was met with weariness.

   “You never give me gifts, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloé pointed out bluntly, eyes challenging. “What’s with the skirt?”

   “Oh, I just thought you’d like a little keepsake,” Marinette responded, already turning away.

   Three days later, a new bee was chosen. Monarch rose up, a force to be reckoned with.

   Kagami was all too happy to take up the mantle, to take out her stress on the poor Akuma victims. She was honored to be chosen, and Marinette was happy.

   Her team was chosen, fixed to her liking. She was protected, she was safe, no longer relying on classmates who would only let her down.

   And the rumors spread. From Alya and Nino, whispering to one another about what the gifts could mean. To an accidental comment near Lila, who used it as fuel to spread her fire. Because if Marinette knew...who’s to say she isn’t acting as some sort of scout?

   “Ladybug and I had a falling out,” Lila explained with a flip of her hair. “I didn’t approve of the idea, so she and I had a spat.” She smiled at Alya, all sugar and sweetness. “I’d never replace someone like you...but Marinette would encourage it.”

   Alya had glared at Marinette the rest of the week, and the whisperings picked up.

   Chloé learned from Lila, and came marching up to Marinette immediately.

   “Lila says you’re some kind of hero scout, huh?” Chloé said, shoving her face into Marinette’s. “What, are you some kind of goody two-shoes who talks to Ladybug, crying when someone upsets you?”

   Marinette raised an eyebrow. “Me? Why, I do nothing of the sort! I’d never complain to Ladybug like that.” She smiled, fully aware of the searching eyes. Aware of the awe stricken gaze Nathaniel sent her way, of the shock in Nino’s eyes and pure hatred in Alya’s. “I wouldn’t complain, but if she does come by for advice...who am I to lie?”

   She saw how Lila glared, teeth grinding. She saw how her classmates reacted, some with excitement, others with worry. Unsure how to feel, unsure how to act.

   Fennec, by then permanent much like her Bee and Turtle, questioned her during patrol, right in front of Chat Noir, Protecteur, and Monarch.

   “Hey, Ladybug?” Fennec asked, eyes full of nerves.

   “Yes, Fennec?”

   “Is Marinette some sort of hero scout for you?”

   With those words, Ladybug saw how her three teammates paused. Protecteur and Monarch seemed shocked by the words, Chat Noir just leaned in closer, waiting with baited breath for her answer.

   “She is,” Ladybug replied easily, knowing the rumors would spread, knowing the rumors would lead to hatred and excitement and an alibi. (Because how could Ladybug’s scout be a hero, especially Ladybug herself? It just wouldn’t be possible!) “I tried giving her the Fox Miraculous back during Sapotis, but she suggested a friend of hers. They were good, so I asked her for a Turtle recommendation. Carapace worked well. She thought Queen Bee could redeem herself, so we gave Chloé a shot.”

   “Why did you replace them?” Chat Noir asked. “If Marinette suggested them, why would you change your mind?”

   “They stopped being reliable.” Ladybug shrugged, twirling her yoyo. “They left Marinette alone to be isolated. They let their friend be threatened by a liar, and when Marinette finally admitted it to me? I can’t have people who act like that.”

   “Did she recommend us?” Protecteur asked, and Ladybug smiled.

   “You three were the first people she could think of, and she had shining recommendations for all three.”    She saw the way they reacted. Monarch smiled, Protecteur beamed, Fennec looked ready to have a stroke...and Chat Noir seemed pensive, eyes searching for something.

   Marinette went to class the next day, and things had changed. For some reason, Max, Kim, and Alix were being extra nice to her. For some reason, Adrien spoke directly to her, despite having shied away the moment Alya got mad. For some reason, she felt like she was being watched. It was more than usual, more than when Lila first spread the rumor that Marinette was a hero scout.

   But it didn’t click on why until Kagami spelled it out during lunch.

   “They want to be heroes, too,” Kagami muttered, inching closing to the bluenette. Luka dropped into the spot beside her, and Nathaniel quickly sat across from them, setting his bag in the last remaining spot.

   “So they think I can help with that?” Marinette questioned, an eyebrow raising.

   “You are a hero scout,” Nathaniel pointed out, cheeks tinted red with embarrassment. “If you deem someone worthy, Ladybug will give them the Miraculous.”

   Marinette glanced around, saw the way Kim eyed her, expression eager as he waved excitedly.

   Of course. Her one time Roi Singe...and the Pegasus and Bunnix to follow. They knew she had a say, and so they were sucking up to her.

   Marinette turned her gaze away, focusing on her true friends. “I only tell Ladybug about the real heroes,” she muttered, missing the way her three friends blushed.

   That night, she was itching to create, and so she did. A monkey inspired sweatband, with a tiny, comical version of Xuppu stitched on the inside. It only took a few hours, and Marinette was happy with it.

   Kim jogged up to her as she walked into the classroom, still beaming. “Hey, Marinette!” He said happily, as if he hadn’t ignored her, too. “Want to hangout soon? I have a track competition, you should come see it!”

“I can’t,” Marinette replied dismissively, “but here’s a good luck gift.” She pressed the sweatband into his palm, and watched him stumble as he realized what it meant.

“Oh...okay,” he said with a frown, deflated and hurt. He moped over to his seat, allowing Max to console him.

By lunchtime, Max seemed nervous, glancing at Marinette with panicked eyes. He seemed to be calculating, consulting Markov. Whatever he realized, it was enough to set him on edge.

   Two days later, he was sure of his results. Marinette came up to him, and she smiled coldly.

   “I made you these,” she said, and set a pair of sunglasses in his hands. “I thought you’d like them.” She turned, ignoring the way his eyes dropped, and then paused. “And don’t worry, they’ll protect your eyes from dangerous napkins.”

   Later that day, Marinette would sit at home and laugh at her comment, then continue on to start one of her final gifts.

   Her class was chaotic. Half of them followed her around like she was Lila, trying to do favors for her, trying to get into her good graces, trying to be someone special in her eyes. Many of them stayed far away, however, hiding from her sight, unsure if they should hate her or hate themselves, unsure what went wrong, unsure of what to do.

   And then she had her actual friends. Nathaniel, Luka, Kagami…

   And, according to the school, Ladybug.

   Alix became pushier. The young girl practically bounced like a rabbit as she’d follow Marinette around, trying to prove herself. She thought she was in the clear, that the future was set in stone. She owned the watch, after all, so it was rightfully hers, right?

   Marinette presented her with a hat, light blue with a little white pom pom on top, and Alix froze.

   Later that day, Ladybug made a trip to Alix’s house, and she left a perfect replica of the watch behind. Perfect, of course, except for the lack of a certain bunny-themed Kwami.

   Alix didn’t show up for school the next day, and Marinette didn’t bat an eye.

   Just like that, her team was complete, and justice had been served.

   But Marinette wasn’t done.

   No, because there was one last thing to do. One little thing.

   Marinette donned the Mouse, one last time. She split herself up, until a dozen little Multimice were running through the school. She snuck into each class, gathering information. Looking for future options.

   And playing her final card in the game she’d been playing for months.

   Her class was silent as Miss Bustier took attendance, eyes on their teacher as Multimouse slipped underneath the door.

   “Marinette?” Miss Bustier asked, eyes curious, and Multimouse raised her hand, as if on autopilot.

   “Here!” Her little voice squeaked out, and then she gasped, covering her mouth.

   But it was too late, she’d been ‘found’. Miss Bustier stared, wide-eyed, crouching down to see her student on the floor.

   “M- Marinette?” Miss Bustier asked, and Multimouse shook her head.

   “No, no, of course not!” But it was too late, wasn’t it? Marinette was never a good liar, was she?

   “You’re Multimouse?!” Alya shouted the question, hands slamming onto her desk. Lila, beside her, stared, but the stare quickly turned into a dangerous glare.

   “I, uh,” Multimouse sighed, curling in on herself. “Fuck.” She turned to face Miss Bustier. “I...I guess I’ll explain, but just wait a second. I’d rather do this at full height.”

   “Okay?” Miss Bustier nodded, still baffled. “What do you need?”

   “Oh, just my other me’s. They should be here right about now.” As if on cue (oh they were definitely on cue), the other Multimice came darting under the door, making their way to Multimouse. They went up to her, quickly combining into one normal-sized Multimouse.

   “Woah,” Nathaniel whispered, eyes shining with excitement. The rest of the class seemed to feel the same, any negative feelings forgotten (well, except for one certain girl) in the moment.

   “Why were there so many?” Rose asked, eyes searching for any others that may have stayed small. “What were they- you- doing?”

   Multimouse laughed. “Wasn’t it obvious? I’ve heard the rumors, guys, I know what you think.”

   She watched how they paused, how their mouths dropped and their eyes widened.

   “You were looking for new heroes?” Adrien asked, speaking up for once in his life, and Multimouse shrugged.

   “Ladybug wanted new blood. Sent me out to search. She’s done it a few times, dropping the Miraculous off so I could get stuff done.” She looked to Miss Bustier with the sweetest, most innocent smile she could ever give, and said, “I hope you understand why I’m late so often. I couldn’t exactly tell you the truth, it’s supposed to be a secret after all.”

   “Of course,” Miss Bustier said, and Multimouse smiled wider.

   (So maybe it’s a partial lie, but Marinette was sick of getting detention for saving the goddamn city every day.)

   “How long has this been going on?” Alya asked, hands shaking as she held onto her desk, as she struggled to not grab her phone.

   Multimouse made a show of pausing, of tapping her finger to her chin before smiling. “I’ve been sneaking around since Carapace’s debut. After that, Ladybug wanted me to search more often. It helped her get a grasp of what goes on in the world. She can’t have eyes everywhere, but I can.” She giggled, then frowned. “It’s been tough, having to hide this for so long. I had to hide from Chat Noir, too, in the beginning, in case he got possessed. If he only focused on Ladybug, he couldn’t go after me during my secret missions. I nearly lost the ability to use the Miraculous when I revealed my identity to him...oh no.”

   “What?” Adrien asked. “What’s wrong?”

   “I suppose Ladybug won’t use me any longer.” Multimouse hugged herself, looking out the window. “She can’t, not anymore.”

   “Why not?” Nathaniel asked, looking hurt.

   “You all know my identity. I can’t be a hero, it isn’t safe. Especially when Ladybug’s stalker- shit.”

   Like a conductor of an orchestra, Multimouse played them once more. She struggled to hold back her smirk as the class went berserk once more.

   “She has a stalker?” Adrien asked, slamming his hands on the desk. “Who is it?”

   Multimouse shrunk back. “It- it’s not my place to say. Ladybug said to be nice, that she can fight her own battles.”

   “Is someone hurting her?” Nino asked, and Multimouse just took another step back. “Who?”

   “I really shouldn’t-” but the class is wild now, and they want the truth. So Multimouse sighed and pulled on her jump rope, opening up a hidden phone. “Alright, I’ll call her.” She hit a few buttons, then nodded. “She’ll be here soon. I should go...Ladybug will want the Miraculous back.” One last sad look to her class, and then she leaped out of the window, sneaking up to the roof.

   One quick change later, Ladybug hopped into the classroom, eyes narrowed.

   This time, Alya pulled out the phone, finally unable to control her desire for footage. “Ladybug! Ma-”

   “Multimouse,” Ladybug cut off quickly.

   “Multimouse told us that you have a stalker?” Alya asked. “Who is it?”

   Ladybug raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you know? You put her on your blog every single week, after all.”

   Alya froze, and so did Lila.

   “I- I’m not-” Lila tried to start, but Ladybug was ready.

   “Lila Rossi has been claiming many things since she got to Paris. I’ve heard claims of her being Volpina, a superhero. I’ve heard her claim that she was a better hero than me, and that she and I are best friends. She’s been Akumatized multiple times, and I’m not quite so sure whether or not it’s just to get close to me. She has tormented my scout, ostracizing her and claiming that I would support her, that I would listen to her. Lila Rossi has created an illusion in her mind that I owe her my friendship, and that my scout has done her wrong, and I would never trust someone like her.” She glared at the girl, at the camera. “There is one good thing Lila Rossi has done. She has been a wonderful test for my previous temporaries in order to see where their loyalties are. Other than that, she has been stalking me, creating up stories, and ruining lives.” She glared at Alya. “Now, if that’s all you want, I must go find my scout. She seemed rather upset, and I’d rather not fight my favorite civilian.”

   Then she left the room, and she didn’t come back for the rest of the day. Instead she stayed home, claiming she felt sick, and let herself relax.

   She created her final design.

   When Marinette came into class the next day, she wore a beautiful pink dress, embroidered with little gray mice. The message was clear, and Nathaniel seemed disappointed. Adrien did, too, but Marinette wasn’t sure why.

   She was greeted with apologies, with promises to be better. With questions, wondering how she’d managed to be Multimouse for so long without raising suspicion. With admiration, as their friends realized who the true friend of Ladybug was.

   And Marinette just turned away, turned to her true chosen heroes.

   Later that day, rumors of a heroine in a dragon’s red were heard, and if Ladybug was suspiciously absent…

   Well, the other heroes enjoyed patrolling with their scout, and the world was right for one more day.  ----- And with that, I have finally written this fic! Thank you to @liamnl for letting me use this idea, it was really fun! (To be honest, I wasn’t sure how to end it, so I figured Marinette could get her last revenge and call out Lila once and for all.) I hope you all enjoyed it! <3

[mikauzoran]

Lukadrien: Among the Wild Things: Chapter Eight

Read it on AO3: Among the Wild Things: Chapter Eight: Friends

“Nino! Marinette!” Adrien shouted, grinning like a madman as he darted across the study and threw his arms around his two closest friends.

“Adrien!” they chorused, wrapping him in bear hugs of their own.

“I can’t tell you how much I missed you guys,” Adrien whispered into Nino’s neck, squeezing them both tighter as he remembered how he had longed for his friends while he’d been away.

“Not as much as we missed you,” Nino assured.

Marinette gave a snort. “Speak for yourself. You just had to guard him. I had to dress him. Do you know how hard it is to keep this boy looking presentable?” she laughed. “He either rips or stains everything within a week of owning it. He’s impossible.”

Nino clicked his tongue. “You think dressing him is hard? You should try keeping him from getting himself killed. How do you think his clothes get ruined so regularly?”

“…Point,” Marinette conceded.

Adrien pulled back to pout at his friends. “Complain all you want, but I bet you’ve both been bored with me gone.”

Marinette and Nino shared a conspiring glance and burst out laughing.

“Guilty,” Marinette admitted. “The break was nice, but I’m ecstatic to be back in work…starting with your wedding-slash-coronation outfit!” she squealed in delight, colours and fabrics and patterns beginning to flow through her head.

“Speaking of which…” Nino tipped his head in order to look past Adrien at Luka. “I’m guessing this is your kelpie heartthrob ‘Orpheus’?”

Marinette smirked, breaking away from the boys to slowly approach Luka. “Hi. I’m Marinette. I’m sure he’s mentioned me.”

“He has,” Luka chuckled, standing and going to meet the enchanting seamstress. “It sounds like he mentioned me too.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Please. I only had to listen to him whine and mope about his supposedly ‘unrequited’ love for you for two months.”

“Marinette,” Adrien groaned, releasing his hold on Nino to go stop Marinette from further embarrassing him.

Luka quirked an eyebrow at his husband. “Two months, My Love? You sure fell for me quickly.”

“Like, the second he saw you,” Nino snickered, coming over to join the others.

“Et tu, Nino?” Adrien hissed accusatorily.

Nino shrugged.

Adrien turned his pout on Luka. “I was a mess.”

“You’re still a mess,” Luka chuckled, leaning in to give Adrien’s cheek an affectionate lick. “And I love you.”

“Aww,” Marinette cooed. “See, Adrien? I told you he was into you.”

“I told him that first,” Nino grumbled. “I’m the one who told him to go for it.”

Marinette waved Nino’s protests away. “I’m the one who helped him practice confessing because it made you too flustered when he practiced confessing to you.”

“Nette,” Nino hissed. “Stop. You’re going to give the guy’s husband the wrong idea.”

Luka snickered. “I actually came to the wrong conclusion all on my own when he told me he was in love with someone. I thought he was talking about you.” He tipped his head to indicate Nino.

Nino turned to glare blandly at Adrien. “Dude. How did you screw up the confession that badly that he didn’t even know who you were talking about?”

“We spent hours practicing, Adrien,” Marinette added, putting on a miffed, disappointed expression.

“In my defence, I was kind of distraught because my father had just told me I had to marry a woman I didn’t love,” Adrien whined as his friends ganged up on him.

Nino and Marinette both shook their heads unsympathetically, not letting up.

“That’s no excuse,” Nino sighed, hands going to his hips as he clicked his tongue in feigned disapproval.

Adrien crossed his arms over his chest, turning up his nose and looking away. “I don’t know why I missed you two so much. You’re both mean. My new fae friends are a lot nicer.”

“No, they’re not,” Luka snickered. “Kim and Alix regularly bully you. That’s why they’re your favourites.”

“Rose is my favourite,” Adrien corrected with a fond smile. “But, yeah. Giving each other trouble is how Nino, Marinette, and I show that we love one another, so Alix and Kim reminded me a lot of the things I missed from my old life.”

“Well, we’re glad that we count among the good things,” Nino replied, giving Adrien’s arm a pat.

“And we’re glad things have been going well for you since you left too,” Marinette added. “We kept hoping that you were happy wherever you were.”

Adrien’s face fell as a realization struck him square in the stomach. “…I didn’t say goodbye. …I didn’t tell you where I was going. Guys, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think…” He looked away. “Well, I mean, I did think about it after the fact when I’d been gone a few weeks, but…I didn’t dare come back. I—”

“—Adrien,” Nino cut him off gently. “It’s fine. We kind of figured where you’d gone.”

Adrien looked back and forth between his two friends. “You didn’t worry?”

“We did,” Marinette confessed. “A little bit, but not much. Like Nino said, we guessed that you’d run off with your Orpheus, and, wherever you were, we knew you’d probably be happier than you were here.”

Adrien blushed, looking down at his feet in a mix of guilt and shame. “I was. I’m really, really happy with Luc and his family. I feel like I’ve finally found the place I’m meant to be…the person I want to work towards becoming. I’m really happy in the enchanted forest.”

“Good,” Nino responded warmly, giving Adrien’s arm a supportive squeeze. “Maybe send us an ‘I’m not dead’ message next time…but good. I’m really glad that you found your place, Man.”

“Me too,” Marinette seconded.

“I’d love to show you my home.” Adrien perked up. “And introduce you to my new friends.”

He turned to Marinette. “You’ll love my sister-in-law Rose. She’s the sweetest, funniest person. And Mylène and Max and Ondine. And Alya.”

He looked to Nino. “I have got to introduce you to Alya. She’s a fox spirit who’s really fascinated with human affairs. She comes into the city a lot to people watch. I bet she would love some humans to talk to and ask questions.”

Adrien stopped abruptly, turning to his husband. “Orpheus, would it be okay for Marinette and Nino to visit me, or would they just wind up getting killed? Everyone back in the woods is perfectly civil with me, but…”

Luka pursed his lips as he considered the scenario. “I’d have to consult with Maman, but I think it might be okay if it’s just a short visit. Maybe a few hours tops. And they’d have to be chaperoned at all times.”

“Is it really so dangerous?” Nino inquired, quirking an eyebrow dubiously. “Adrien’s not in danger, is he?”

“No,” Luka quickly assured. “Adrien is fine. He’s protected, and the people mostly adore him. He’s a member of our community now. The forest is deadly to outsiders, though, so it would be unwise for either of you to waltz in unaccompanied. My people can be cruel and senselessly violent.”

Nino hummed curiously. “…Sorry if this is rude, but you don’t really look…threatening.”

“I was actually thinking the same thing,” Marinette sheepishly admitted. “You just look like a regular person.”

Luka snorted in laughter. “That would be the glamour you’re seeing. …Shall I drop it?”

Nino looked to Adrien. “Is he scary or something? I thought you told me he was the most beautiful man you’d ever seen.”

Adrien shook his head. “Beautiful doesn’t even begin to cover it. He’s ethereal.”

Marinette addressed Luka tentatively. “Do you mind, Luc? Sorry. We don’t mean to treat you like a curiosity. We—”

In the blink of an eye, Luka’s black hair was replaced by pale blue, and his eyes seemed to give off a Caribbean teal glow. The entirety of his being seemed to shimmer a bit, like sunlight reflecting off of a lake.

“Oh, wow,” Marinette gasped. “You…wow.”

“Yeah,” Nino gulped. “Wow is…” He turned to Adrien, whispering sotto voce, “Do all fae look that pretty?”

“Not all of them,” Adrien chuckled, amused by his friends’ reactions. “I’ve met a lot of attractive people in the forest, though.”

Luka’s eyes narrowed in displeasure and suspicion. “Like who? Kim?”

“Easy,” Adrien snickered, turning to face Luka and looping his arms around Luka’s waist. “No one is even half as attractive as you.”

Luka smiled into the kiss as Adrien pressed his lips to Luka’s in a vow of fidelity.

“Yeah, it’s highly unlikely Adrien will stray,” Nino testified. “He’s very loyal and takes matters of the heart incredibly seriously.”

“And he doesn’t fall in love easily,” Marinette agreed, nodding along to Nino’s points.

Luka arched an eyebrow at a blushing Adrien. “He doesn’t? I thought you two said he fell for me on sight.”

“Yeah, but that was the first and only time in nineteen years,” Marinette explained, waving away any concerns Luka might have. “And it’s not like it was for want of suitors. He grew up around plenty of pretty young nobles.”

Adrien’s face burned redder as Luka looked at him in astonishment, whispering, “I’m your first love?”

“First, last, and only,” Adrien mumbled, averting his gaze to help himself feel less transparent.

Luka wrapped his arms around Adrien as he gave him an affectionate squeeze. “I may have had other loves, but you’re the first person to turn my world upside down and wreck me. I had to update my definition of the word love when I met you.”

“I accept your attempts to butter me up,” Adrien chuckled, turning his head to press a kiss to Luka’s cheek.

“Aww,” Nino cooed. “Why can’t I meet someone who says sweet crap like that to me?”

“Maybe things will take a romantic turn between you and Adrien’s fox friend,” Marinette snickered.

Nino hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe. All I know is that I need to find someone to be that disgustingly cute with as soon as possible.”

“You two are adorable,” Marinette confirmed. “I can tell you’ve been really good for him,” she informed Luka with a tone of gratitude. “Just seeing him talking in that meeting earlier was a positive change.”

Luka arched an eyebrow, looking back and forth between Adrien and Marinette. “Really? He didn’t seem any different than usual to me.”

“Mec, the way he shut Viscount Raincomprix down when he was disrespecting you?” Nino had to try hard to contain another giggle fit as he called up the memory. “Nice spine, Your Majesty,” Nino chuckled, giving Adrien’s arm an appreciative punch. “It suits you.”

Adrien rubbed at the back of his neck. “As much as I’ve wanted to put those three blowhards in their place my entire life, I think I may have gone a bit too far. Viscount Raincomprix has been kind to me in the past, and I think I owe him an apology. He really looked shaken when I told him off.”

“I think that was mostly due to your eyes glowing like that,” Marinette weighed in.

“Yeah,” Nino agreed. “That was, perhaps, a bit much. It was super cool, though.”

Adrien blinked at his friends dumbly. “What are you guys talking about?”

Nino and Marinette shared a look.

“When your eyes were all molten and glow-y,” Nino clarified slowly, looking at Adrien expectantly.

Adrien turned to Luka. “Do you know what they’re talking about?”

Luka bit the inside of his cheek, avoiding his mate’s gaze. “…Your eyes may have started to glow whenever you’re experiencing intense emotions,” he reluctantly admitted.

“What?!” Adrien demanded, gaping at his husband incredulously. “Since when?! Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Luka winced, shoulders rising up to meet his ears as he shamefacedly confessed, “It started a couple months ago. I asked Maman, and it’s completely benign, and I thought it would only upset you, so I didn’t say anything.”

“I feel like…this is the kind of thing you mention?” Adrien choked, voice high and tight as he collapsed back down onto the couch.

“Dri, I’m sorry,” Luka cooed, sitting next to Adrien and tentatively cupping his cheek. “I should have said something, but I didn’t want to upset you when there was nothing we could do about it and it wasn’t hurting anything.”

“Well,” Adrien responded quietly, “I’m upset now…sort of.”

He took a deep breath and turned his gaze on his husband. “I’m more upset that you didn’t tell me than anything. Since when do we keep secrets from one another?”

Luka looked away, cowed. “We don’t,” he whispered penitently. “I’m so sorry, My Little Prince.”

Adrien leaned in to give Luka’s cheek a lick of forgiveness. “Don’t do it again.”

“I won’t. I promise,” Luka swore.

Satisfied, Adrien nodded, looking to Nino. “Does it at least look cool, or am I just terrifying?”

“I thought it was cool,” Marinette volunteered, going to sit in the armchair that Nathalie had recently vacated.

“Totally cool,” Nino affirmed, taking the other chair. He looked at Luka. “Can he do anything else?”

Adrien’s eyes narrowed at his mate.

Luka laughed, shaking his head. “Not at this point. Just the glowing eyes. Maybe in a few years new powers will manifest. I don’t personally know any other humans who have lived long-term among the fair folk, so I’m not quite sure what to expect, but this is hardly a unique situation. My people have been adopting mortals for centuries, so Adrien is hardly the first.”

“Something to look forward to, I suppose? Random new features,” Adrien sighed. “I mean, if these changes aren’t going to hurt anything, that’s fine, but…” He shifted uncomfortably.

“You’re upset,” Luka surmised, his mood plummeting.

Adrien shook his head, trying to reassure his mate. “No. Not really. Just…I felt like I had finally found my place, like I was getting my feet underneath me. …But since learning of my father’s death, it’s like I’ve been on shifting ground, and this is just one more thing to get used to. I’ll manage, but…I’m feeling a little overwhelmed today.”

“Understandably so,” Luka replied, slipping his arm around Adrien and resting his head against his mate’s. “Just tell me what you need, and I’ll move heaven and earth to make it happen.”

“Maybe just a break. A little joviality?” Adrien suggested, looking around at his spouse and his friends. “Nino. Say something funny.”

Nino balked. “What? On command? Adrien, I’m not the court jester. I can’t just say witty things at the drop of a hat.”

“I don’t know,” Marinette snickered. “You do a pretty good job of playing the fool any other time.”

Nino gasped, feigning indignation. “Adrien, do you hear what this mean, spiteful woman is saying about me? Defend my honor or something already.”

“Marinette, it is rather mean to say that to his face,” Adrien attempted to admonish with a straight face but ended up chuckling, ruining the effect.

“What can I say?” She grinned. “Real friends stab you in the front.”

“Thanks,” Nino replied dryly. “I really appreciate that….” He perked up after a beat. “…Say, why don’t we talk about Adrien’s adventures in fairy land? That should be fun, right? Tell us about all the weird stuff,” Nino urged, turning to Adrien with wide, hopeful eyes.

Marinette started to bounce in her seat in excitement. “What are the clothes like? Tell me all about fae fashion.”

Adrien acquiesced, sharing his impressions of his experiences as Marinette and Nino asked probing questions for nearly half an hour.

Luka mostly just listening, fascinated by Adrien’s perspective on things. He did, occasionally, field a few questions himself or add some clarification on things that Adrien was unsure about.

They eventually came to discuss Luka and Adrien’s fae wedding ceremony, and that led Marinette (after she had pumped them both dry of information) to remark, “You know, I should really get to work on the outfits for tomorrow’s wedding-slash-coronation. I have less than twenty-four hours, and, even if I pull an all-nighter, it’s going to be intense.”

She pursed her lips and studied Adrien. “Your father had actually instructed me to begin preparations of your wedding clothes before you left, and he had me continue work in the hopes that you would be found in time to marry on schedule, so I already have an outfit prepared for you. I just need to make alterations…unless you want a new outfit specifically for your marriage to Luc? Either way is fine.”

She tipped her head to the side and awaited his response.

He waved the idea away. “I’m sure that whatever you already have made is perfect, Marinette. We’ll just need something for Luc.”

Marinette hesitated before inquiring, “Would it be okay if I took your measurements, Luc? It’ll be real quick.”

Luka shrugged nonchalantly. “Whatever’s necessary. Did you mean now, or…?”

“I actually have my tape measure with me, so…” she informed, smiling sheepishly as she pulled it out of her belt.

Luka shrugged again, untangling himself from Adrien and standing up. “Let’s do it, then. How do you want me?”

Nino snorted, muttering, “That’s what he said.”

Adrien rolled his eyes at his best friend. “Stop thinking indecent thoughts about my husband.”

Nino put his hands up in a placating gesture. “Hey, Man. It’s not my fault that your husband is hot.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Adrien purred, admiring the view as Luka walked past.

Marinette motioned for Luka to come over closer to the fireplace where the light was better. “…Nino’s thinking it, so I’m just going to ask: Who tops?”

Nino clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from bursting out in astounded giggles.

“Marinette,” Adrien whined, face going phoenix red.

Luka smirked puckishly. “Mostly him, but we experiment according to whatever feels right in the moment.”

“Orpheuuuuus,” Adrien hissed in mortification.

Luka clicked his tongue even as he held still so that Marinette could take her measurements. “No need to be embarrassed, My Love. Is it not acceptable in your culture to talk about one’s love life?”

“Adrien is just sheltered,” Nino assured. “Please go on.”

“Is he a good lover?” Marinette inquired, sticking her tongue out at Adrien who let out a horrified squeal.

“Very,” Luka snickered. “In all the ways that really matter. He’s enthusiastic but attentive, adventurous but—”

“—Luuuc,” Adrien wailed. “Please stop. This really isn’t funny.”

“Speak for yourself,” Nino cackled. “I’m having a great time.”

“I hate you,” Adrien informed sulkily.

“Hey, Marinette’s the one over there pretty much begging for a demonstration,” Nino kindly threw his friend under the bus.

Luka choked on a laugh, the convulsion interrupting Marinette in the middle of her measurement so that she had to restart that portion.

“Be nice, Nino,” Marinette grumbled, suddenly losing her good humor.

Nino immediately sobered, backing off with a muttered, “Sorry, Nette.”

Marinette nodded mutely, pointedly focusing on the work at hand.

There was a tense silence hovering in the air until Nino got up and went over to sit on the sofa next to Adrien. The two cuddled up like puppies, and Nino recommenced catching up with his friend, sharing details from his own life that Adrien had missed in his absence.

Luka was content to listen as he watched Marinette at her work. He caught her looking over to the couch several times, a warm, affectionate, and yet melancholy quality to her gaze.

Luka’s eyes narrowed as he determined that she was sneaking looks at Adrien, and a cold realization turned Luka’s blood to cement.

“Forgive me for asking,” he whispered so softly that Nino and Adrien couldn’t hear over their own conversation. “but there wouldn’t happen to be something between you and Adrien, would there?”

Marinette gave a start, her fingers slipping, losing their place on the measuring tape.

“Sorry,” Luka quickly backpedaled. “It’s none of my business. It’s just the way you were looking at him, I…”

“O-Oh.” She nervously cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. “No. No, it’s fine. I…It’s nothing, honestly. Nothing you need to be concerned about, anyway. It’s all in the past,” she confessed in a whisper. “You’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been in love with Adrien at some point or another. I fell for him when I was thirteen, but…”

She paused, shaking her head and remeasuring from Luka’s hip to his shoulder. “I long ago came to terms with the fact that even if I had been born of his social station and become his wife, he would never feel for me the way that I used to feel for him. I was the first person he told about his attraction to men, and, after that, I promised myself that I wouldn’t allow myself to be miserable because of him. I also promised to do everything in my power to help him find happiness, so…”

She looked up at him, meeting Luka’s heavenly blue eyes with her marine ones, a fierce determination glowing from within. “I have never seen him as happy as he’s been since falling in love with you. Looking at him now, it makes my heart almost want to burst. I’m feeling a little nostalgic,” she admitted with a soft smile as she went back to taking measurements, “but I’ve moved on. I have someone wonderful in my life, so I have my own happiness. I don’t begrudge you yours, even though you have something I once wanted.”

“Good.” Luka breathed out his nerves. “You’re a very important friend to Adrien, and I wouldn’t want to be a cause of tension between you. You and Nino are extremely precious to him, and I don’t want to cause problems.”

Marinette shook her head, assuring, “You have nothing to worry about on my account.”

She raised her voice and added, “Nino is the one still hopelessly in love with Adrien. He’s the one you should worry about.”

Nino’s head snapped up, and he glared at his friend. “Nette, are you trying to make the king’s kelpie husband jealous so that he kills me or something? I am not in love with Adrien. Things are strictly platonic between us.”

Luka couldn’t help a stifled snicker. “Says the guy with my mate half in his lap.”

Adrien pressed the heel of his hand to his lips to keep in his own giggles at Nino’s expense.

“This is platonic snuggling,” Nino insisted, affronted by the accusation. “Do the fae not snuggle with friends?”

“Yes,” Luka conceded, “but are you trying to tell me that there’s nothing sexual about two guys on a couch with their limbs all entwined like that? This feels suspect to me.”

“Completely platonic,” Nino reasserted.

“Come on, Nino,” Marinette teased. “You know you would die for him.”

“Platonically!” Nino denied. “I’m his guard. It’s what guards do.”

Marinette turned to Luka with a cat-like smirk. “Nino was Adrien’s first kiss.”

“False!” Nino exclaimed, tan complexion going latte light as the blood drained from his face.

“Actually, Marinette was my first kiss,” Adrien finally spoke up in Nino’s defence.

Luka cocked an accusatory eyebrow at Marinette who grinned nervously.

“I told her about my suspicions that I was gay and asked if I could run an experiment to see if I felt anything when I kissed her,” Adrien explained, his cheeks colouring in shame.

“He told me that if there were any girl he could come to have feelings for, it would be me,” Marinette snickered, shaking her head. “The silver-tongued snake.”

Luka whistled, shooting Adrien an incredulous expression. “It sounds like my little prince was quite the cad as a youth.”

“Guilty,” Adrien groaned, covering his face with his hands. “I was confused, and I didn’t know who else to turn to. And I wholeheartedly believed what I said. I just didn’t realize yet that being gay wasn’t something you could ‘fix’ like my parents insisted, so… I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

“—Shh,” Nino interrupted, gently prying Adrien’s hands away from his face. “No one’s mad at you. Nette and I both enjoyed helping you out with your experiments. No harm done. We’re all just joking. Okay?”

Adrien looked from Marinette to Nino to Luka, and they each nodded.

Adrien blew out a slow breath, beginning to nod as well. “…Okay. Good. I just…still feel bad about that period when I was trying to figure myself out. I did some things I’m not proud of.”

“Shhh.” Nino pulled Adrien in closer for a hug as he called to the others, “You two get over here and snuggle too.”

Marinette tucked away her measuring tape and went at once to squeeze in on the sofa on Adrien’s opposite side, wrapping her arms around Adrien and Nino, assuring, “There’s nothing to feel bad about. No one’s hurt. Nothing’s broken.”

Luka came up along the back side of the couch and leaned over to nuzzle Adrien’s hair. “Listen to your friends, My Love. They’ve already forgiven whatever needed to be forgiven.”

“Thanks, guys,” Adrien whispered, letting go of his worries.

They remained in their cuddle pile in comfortable, warm silence for nearly a full minute before Marinette spoke.

“Wanna hear a secret?”

“What secret?” Adrien responded curiously.

“I’m seeing someone,” Marinette confessed tentatively, a giddy excitement bubbling just under the surface.

“Ah. Her imaginary boyfriend,” Nino snickered. “You’ve been on about him for years, Nette. Does mystery boy finally have a name or something?”

“Be nice,” Adrien chastened, giving Nino a light smack on the arm before turning his attention back to Marinette. “Is this the same guy you’ve mentioned before? Your mysterious nobleman?”

Marinette nodded shyly, taking a breath before announcing, “Her name is Kagami.”

Nino and Adrien’s jaws dropped.

Luka arched an eyebrow. “Is this the same Kagami that Adrien fences with?”

Marinette smiled nervously and nodded. “Yep. We’ve been together officially for three years now.”

“Holy crap,” Nino finally got out. “Nette, how the hell did you keep this a secret this long?”

Marinette shrugged. “People really aren’t as suspicious of two women spending a lot of time alone together as they would be a man and a woman. We used the pretext of me making clothes for her a lot in order to meet.”

Adrien blinked, still stunned at this revelation. “Wow…that’s…I’m really happy that you’ve found someone. That both you and Kagami are happy. I mean, besides my mothers, there’re no women I esteem higher than you two.”

“Thank you,” Marinette breathed in relief, feeling lighter now that she had the secret off of her chest.

Adrien bit his lip. “I just wish you had mentioned… I never suspected that you… Why did you never say anything? When I was busy lamenting my cursed fate to be alone and not know love my entire life, you could have said something,” he pressed, unable to hide the twinge of hurt in his voice.

Marinette shook her head. “I’m like Nino. I can be happy with a man or a woman, so no one ever had to know I wasn’t quote-unquote ‘normal’. My situation wasn’t like yours, so I didn’t feel I had any business making things about me when you were hurting so deeply.”

Adrien studied his friend intently for a long moment before sighing and resting his head on her shoulder. “…You still should have said something.”

She looked back and forth between Nino and Adrien before bowing her head, suitably chastened. “You’re right. I should have said something. There was never a good time, though, and then it felt like I couldn’t say anything because I’d waited too long.”

“Well, at least you’re telling us now,” Nino reasoned, giving Marinette’s arm a supportive pat. “Congrats. We’re happy for you.”

“I’m going to have to get to know Kagami better now,” Adrien hummed thoughtfully. “I thought I knew her, but I was obviously wrong.”

“She definitely has layers,” Marinette giggled.

Adrien tipped his head back and looked at Luka, still standing behind the sofa. “You’re not feeling left out, are you? I feel like we’re being exclusive.”

“You’re fine, My Love,” Luka chuckled, giving Adrien’s hair a loving pet. “I’m enjoying getting to see you with your friends. You know I’m an introvert and don’t necessarily need to be the center of the conversation.”

“Just let us know if we’re being too in-group-y,” Nino urged, giving Luka an amicable grin. “You’re family now, and we want you to feel welcome and comfortable with us.”

“What he said,” Marinette seconded.

“Thank you,” Luka replied earnestly, making his way over to the armchair closest to the fireplace. “But I promise you that I’m very low maintenance. Please continue your conversation. I don’t need to be included in everything so long as I eventually get my husband back from you to cuddle with him myself.”

“Cool,” Nino chuckled. “We can definitely agree to those terms.”

Silent snuggling continued for a few minutes until Marinette spoke up once more.

“Adrien, did I hear right? Did you make a royal decree legalizing same-sex marriage?” she inquired, holding her breath in anticipation.

“Uh…yeah. Yeah, Nathalie took care of that earlier. She said that people would start announcing it right away, so the news should be getting out by now,” he confirmed.

Marinette gave a trill of joy. “I’m going to ask Kagami to marry me.”

“Dude, wait,” Nino insisted. “We haven’t even vetted her yet.”

Adrien elbowed Nino in the stomach. “That’s awesome, Marinette. You’ll have to let me know when the wedding will be so I can come back for the ceremony.”

Nino and Marinette blinked in tandem and then shared a look.

“Wait. What do you mean ‘come back’?” Nino asked slowly, a feeling of dread knotting the pit of his stomach. “Aren’t you…like…already back?”

Adrien winced.

Marinette’s joyful expression abruptly diminished as her forehead furrowed. “You’re not staying here, are you?”

Adrien shook his head.

“You’re going back to the forest,” Nino whispered as understanding dawned upon him.

Adrien nodded.

There was a heavy moment of silence.

“…How long do we have?” Marinette inquired, voice sounding brittle as she tried to mask her sadness and pain at the thought of losing her closest friend all over again. “How long before you go back?”

“I don’t know,” Adrien confessed. “Not long. I only returned because I feared that the kingdom would descend into chaos and dictatorship in my absence after my father’s sudden passing. I’ll stay until I see a peaceful transfer of power and feel confident that my people will be okay without me.”

“It sounds like we’ve still got some time, then,” Nino remarked, trying to be optimistic. “We should…We should make the most of it, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Marinette whispered, snuggling in closer to Adrien.

“Yeah,” Adrien agreed, squeezing his friends tighter.

[shattered-mirror-fanfic]

I am so sorry I couldn’t give a warning about the dead squirrel, in all fareness Player never gave me warning.

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32206135/chapters/84300925

Chapter below cut for those who don’t read on Ao3:

“OH GOD! GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!” Henry shouted at the ghost, holding out the dead rodent.

“Stop being a baby, I named it Romeo.” Player replied in their usual condescending tone as they put the squirrel back into their pocket. “There was another one I was planning on naming Juliet but a fox got to it first, so I chased the fox for ten minutes before giving up.”

“Why are you like this?!” The live man sputtered out. “Also why would that help me?”

Player shrugged. “It’s meant to represent something, but I forgot.”

“Of course, typical Player.” The human commented, crossing his arms.

“Hey now! It’s that damn foxes fault! Let’s see...Ahah! I remember! The squirrel is you, and the missing organs are your relationships and bonds, you need to get rid of them and stay with me! I can give you the ending you desire!”

“I’m happy Player, ok? This is the ending I settled on, granted things went a bit haywire but we can fix everything and have an even better ending.” Henry replied sternly.

“Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, clearly you’ve forgotten who got you here in the first place. Someone oughta teach you a lesson.”

Player lunged their translucent arm directly into Henry’s mouth, gaging him for a moment before plunging into his body. Henry bent over clutching his stomach while he coughed up some black goo. When he stood back up the red rings had gone pitch black and the ends of his hands matching the same inky color. He fell to the ground and vomited more of the goo before Player flowed out of his mouth again.

“Don’t you forget who’s the one in control.”

~~~

Back at the camp, everything had de-escalated now that Right Hand Man was fine, and everything seemed to be better. Everyone mainly just hanging out and enjoying the late afternoon atmosphere.

Right himself however, had gone back to his tent, plopping onto the bed inside face first into the pillow.

"You know you should go socialise, it’s good for you!"

Right sighed when he heard the warm voice echoing to him. “Well I’m chattin’ with ya right now, aren’t I? I didn’t want ya to feel lonely again.”

"You’re the one that’s lonely, you have done nothing but worry about me."

“Not true, I became friends with flowey boy. At least I think so until he almost made me lose you again.”

"See, you make everything about me. You need to stop thinking about me for once."

“It’s my job to worry Reg! If I didn’t I could have lost you sooner!”

"Your job is to take the role of leader in my absence, permanent or temporary. For now you need to act as a leader and not mope about me! Why am I even on your mind constantly?!"

“Oh boo fucking who, you’re pushing me away again because I care and worry!” Right shouted, jolting up into a sitting position. The dull sounds of people chatting from outside had filled the room, cicadas were even heard to be making chirps.

Reginald’s teal soul appeared and shot towards Right’s face.

"I’M pushing you away again?! Well I’m not the one avoiding everyone to wallow in my self pity because I feel bad for not immediately fixing an issue even though progress has been made!"

The soul grew closer and glowed brighter.

"I was the one that reached out! I want to be SAVED! But I don’t want you to focus only on that! I also care! I care because I’m your friend and you’ve gotten me through the worst times! I don’t want to see you cry like a baby!"

Right stared, stunned at the soul’s words.

“You don’t mean that...do you?”

"Why do you care about me so much? It’s like I’m the only thing you think about!"

“Because I love you, you idiot!”

"THEN DON’T!"

Those words left the soul fast it seemed like he didn’t process what he was responding to. The cyan glow dulled as the soul bobbed away.

“No, I can’t...wait, how are you even moving your soul?”

"I don’t know, I just felt a need to just show how mad I was at you."

“Well I’m sorry for making you my only priority. Now, no more being mad at me.” Right said, closing the conversation and pulling the floating heart to him with his hand. Said heart nuzzled against the man’s chest, regaining it’s bright glow that it had before.

"I’m sorry too."

~~~

Ellie had finally deemed her mission a success when the government camp had to abandon their gear and retreat to a camp further away. She gathered what she could carry and by sunset she was back at the main camp sharing her gatherings with everyone. It wasn't that they didn't have anything, it was just a nice thing to do. The toppat was currently caught in a very confusing debate between the skeleton brothers.

“IT IS A CRIME TO PUT KETCHUP ON SPAGHETTI!” Papyrus yelled at his brother.

“well it’s basically the same thing pap. both ketchup and tomato sauce are made from the same core ingredients and have similar consistency” Sans responded. “So you’re basically saying that putting tomato sauce on spaghetti is a crime”

“THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM SAYING AT ALL.”

“Well, I’m going to have to side with Papyrus on this one, ketchup is too sweet for any pasta.” Ellie chimed in.

“wow kid you certainly rose to the occasion to solve this problem.” The shorter skeleton joked. Ellie couldn’t help but laugh at the pun while Papyrus just sulked over how Sans was ruining their new human friend.

Something was off. Sans waived his right hand and used his magic to pull a familiar white-haired man out from a nearby bush.

“Holy shi-! Henry! What were you doing in the bushes? I’ve been looking for you since I got back!” The red-head exclaimed.

“I was out in the woods to cool off and I got a bit disoriented and lost, ok?” Henry groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head. “Also hey Ellie, where were you?”

“How’d you get-?! Y’know what, nevermind. Anyways, I was off dealing with those gov’t jerks.” Ellie spoke. “Damn Svensson wouldn’t let me use the rocket launcher.”

“What a buzzkill, we only misused it once and no one got hurt! Oh yeah, that reminds me, I wanted to ask you something.” Henry began before standing up to brush the dirt off his pants and grab his friend by the arm and drag her to where no one could see them.

“What’s going on Hen? Is something up?”

"I need you to keep an eye on player."

"Who?" The man's friend responded with a puzzled face.

"Listen, I know you've heard of soul bonds, Player is someone I’ve been soul bonded to for years. It was a pure accident. Right Hand Man got into a soul bond with the chief’s soul, which means he can see Player, and that is not good.”

“How can I even watch them if I can’t see them?”

“Elles, you're going to have to trust me, Player is going to try something, I know it. Just stay with Right Hand Man and make sure nothing goes wrong, and don’t immediately believe what you see or hear, Player is good at distractions.”

“Is that where the dance came from?”

“Well...yeah”  Henry said after pausing.

“I knew you were too good to come up with that yourself!” Ellie laughed.

“Rude much? She’s lucky you took pity on her and didn’t listen when I said you could’ve been better off without her.” Spoke a familiar voice.

“Speaking off the goddamn devil…”

~~~

The sun was setting on yet another day, Frisk and Chara had been wandering around the camp, checking on each of their friends while enjoying the night air. Frisk passed the tent where the Toppats were staying when they heard a voice inside. They opened the tent flap and saw the Right Hand Man, laying in his cot, talking to the teal soul of the chief.

“Uhm, Mr. Right Hand Man? Are you doing ok?” The child asked, fully stepping into the tent and staring at the man.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, just talkin’ with Reg. How are you doing?” He asked in return.

Frisk smiled and gave a thumbs up while Chara floated over another one of the beds, examining Reginald’s soul from afar.

“That’s great kid, uh, say, who’s your ghosty friend? Haven’t seen ‘em before.” Right questioned after seeing Chara staring at the soul.

“Oh, that is Chara, I guess that solves the question of what happened earlier. I was wondering but no one told me.” the young kid explained.

“Huh, I only learned about this soul bond thing today, but it seems like that’s what you got going on.” Right responded. The teal soul bobbed over in the direction of Chara, hovering only a few inches from the ghost’s face.

“Heya...buddy? Already at a stage two? It usually doesn’t take that short of time.”

“I’m with Chara, how is that possible? Granted they got to 5 in a few days, but we did a number of resets, so it piles up to a long time.”

“Well, Reginald is just special, that’s just how it’s been since ah met him.” Right added, leaning over to scoop the soul up in his hands and bring it back to him. The soul bobbed around the man’s head before nestling itself into the messy bun he pulled his hair into.

“Oh really? Doesn’t seem all that special to me.” Chara snarkly said. Frisk hopped onto to the bed and sat next to the Right Hand Man, continuing to stare at the soul.

“Well it’s a kind of special you only understand after knowing him for a long time.” He responded, obviously too tired to properly argue.

Frisk chuckled a bit while Chara sighed before they spoke again.

“Say, what do you know about the flower?”

“Ya mean Flowey? Sort of mixed feelings on that lil bugga, granted he tried to help, but he also broke the soul container Reg was in.”

“But Mr. Reginald is fine now, so doesn’t that make up for it?” Frisk asked.

“I mean, in theory? But, still feels like it’s not enough.”

“Well, it’s a start, I just know he’s trying to be better.” Frisk said, and if they ever opened their eyes, there’d be sparks of determination glistening in them.

“I doubt it, I’ve known that flower long enough to know he’s psychotic.” Chara argued.

“Ok kids, calm down, no need to fight this late at night.” Right calmly said. “Now Chara, what is going on between you an’ that flower?” The ghost sulked a bit and crossed their arms.

“I don’t want to talk about it, but he was different, and much better.”

Right sighed and let the PATIENCE from Reginald’s soul seep into his own, and he took another deep breath.

File Saved.

“Ya don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want t’.” Right calmly said. Chara looked away and grumbled a quiet thank you. Right smiled and reached behind his head and pulled Reginald’s soul in front of him. “Anyways, you kids should head off, Reg and I are gonna get some shut eye.”

Frisk nodded and slid off the cot and walked out of the tent with their ghost sibling floating shortly behind them.

“Those kids are great, aren’t they?”

“Indeed, Frisk is going to be a great ambassador.”

~~~

Once the ambassador in question stepped out of the tent, they were spotted by their mother immediately.

“Frisk! There you are! It’s late, you should be in bed!” Toriel exclaimed while kneeling down to hug her child.

“Mom, I’m fine, I was just talking with Mr. Right Hand Man.” Her child assured.

“Oh alright, but you still need to sleep my child, you told me about how much you want to help all of us, and you can’t do that while exhausted.” She spoke again.

“I’m not tired though mom!”

“Frisk, sleep is still necessary, now do you want me to tuck you in?”

“Sure, it feels like tomorrow is going to be a big day.”

[katsukiscaramel]

love at first sight

Pairing: Bakugou x Reader

Summary: Love at first sight has the possibility of happening anywhere; even in a gala full of masked strangers. 

Note: HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!! (yes, I know I'm a day late sksksk) aLSO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 200 FOLLOWERS!!!! I’m highkey screaming ngl I love all of y’all so much! and I would love to talk to some of y’all too (cause 200 followers = 200 friends), so remember my dms/inbox is always open! Sorry for the rant, I’m just so happy. Anyways, as always comments + feedback are always appreciated!

You were a firm believer in love at first sight. The very concept of coincidentally meeting someone, locking eyes with them, and immediately coming upon the realization the two of you were meant to be never failed to make your heart flutter. You were vaguely aware of how childish the concept of love at first sight was; something fabricated within the land of fairytales to help fuel the overactive minds of children who couldn’t quite grasp what love was. But even then, you couldn’t help yourself as you searched for the type of love that only seemed to exist in fairytales, becoming the hopeless romantic that never seemed to exactly find what they were looking for. 

And one with think that someone as fascinated with love as you were, would absolutely adore Valentine’s Day. After all, a whole holiday dedicated to celebrating love with the ones you loved seemed to be something exactly up your alley. 

But being stuck in a crowded ballroom adorned with pink and red decorations, surrounded by increasingly tipsy partygoers whose faces were covered with intricate masks, you found the holiday quickly becoming one of your least favorites. 

You stood near a somewhat secluded corner, your fingers occasionally fidgeting with your mask or the various parts of your outfit, desperately wanting to be anywhere but here. Your eyes glanced over the crowds of masked people, noticing the dancing couples and those few blatantly obvious singles who already seemed to be heavily intoxicated so early into the night. The smile that rested on your face was purely polite, with no real indications of enjoyment behind it. Some made an attempt to talk to you, but after a few words full of formalities, they’d wander away in search of someone a bit more fun. And to be honest, you didn’t blame them.

Your gaze landed on two masked figures approaching you. Once they were close enough, you dropped the fake smile plastered onto your lips, letting out a tired sigh.

“I want to go home,” you said to your friends. 

“I thought you were supposed to be a hopeless romantic? Isn’t Valentine’s Day supposed to be the one day practically made for you?” Monoma asked, making you roll your eyes.

“I’m not a hopeless romantic, because there’s still hope out there--” you were interrupted by Monoma’s obnoxious laughter. Kendo raised her hand, threatening to hit the blond hero, and effectively shutting him up. 

“If you were home, you’d be doing nothing but moping around and watching romance movies,” Kendo pointed out. You let out a sigh, fully aware of how right Kendo was. If it was up to you, you’d be at home, surrounded by boxes of chocolates and piles of blankets as you watched incredibly sappy romance movies.

“That’s still better than being here,” you groaned out, making Monoma roll his eyes. 

“Might I remind you that you’re attending a masquerade ball on Valentine’s Day?” Monoma commented, crossing his arms. “So go be Cinderella or whatever, and embark on your weird quest for love.” You stared at him in brief shock, before smirking. 

“Damn, you being a supportive friend? It’s a Valentine’s Day miracle,” you snickered out. You could see the glare Monoma sent your way through his black mask, only making you laugh even more. 

“Forget everything I said. Instead of being Cinderella, feel free to stay in this corner all night like the old witch you are. It’s not like you’ll find love anyways,” Monoma huffed out. You let out a gasp as Kendo rolled her eyes. She paused for a moment, suddenly realizing how quiet it was in the small little group. Her teal eyes looked around, something suddenly clicking in place.

“Hey, where’s Tetsutetsu?” Her question was immediately answered as she could hear loud yelling coming from the opposite end of the venue. She sighed, waving you a quick goodbye as she turned on her heels and headed towards the direction of the ruckus. Monoma followed behind her, leaving you alone.

Your eyes trailed after them, watching as they disappeared into the crowd. Faintly aware of the boredom gnawing at you, you sighed to yourself. After all, you had to leave your little corner eventually, no matter how comfortable it seemed. With that, you headed into the crowd of people, determined to make the best of the night.

And while your friends managed to successfully motivate you to enjoy the party; another group of friends was failing miserably at doing the same thing.

“This is so fucking stupid. Who the hell decides to have a masquerade ball on Valentine’s Day?” Bakugou growled out, angry crimson eyes glancing into the crowd of couples who were dancing to whatever annoying song that was echoing throughout the venue. 

“This is for a good cause,” Kaminari said. “It’s to raise awareness for some heart disease--” he briefly stopped talking, his yellow eyes widening in sudden realization. “Ohhh so that’s why it’s on Valentine’s Day! Cause-- you know, hearts and Valentine’s Day!” Kaminari shouted, making Bakugou roll his eyes. 

“I want to leave,” Bakugou grumbled out, arms crossed and standing firmly in his spot. Kirishima let out a sigh, running his hand through his red hair, his tired red eyes glancing towards his friends, or at least the remaining ones. Mina and Sero had already given up, wandering into the crowd to be able to finally enjoy themselves without Bakugou’s constant complaining. Some part of Kirishima wished to do the same, while the other part of him wanted Bakugou to at least somewhat enjoy himself for once.

“You can’t leave, I drove us here.” Kirishima pointed out.

“I’ll blast my way out of here,” Bakugou replied. Kirishima blankly stared at Bakugou, painfully aware of how serious the blond was.

“You making an appearance is good press, Bakubro. And as a pro hero, you need to maintain a good image so you’re well-liked by the public,” Kirishima said. Truth be told, he was just pulling out random reasons for Bakugou to stay. “At least stay for an hour. Please?” 

“Absolutely--” Kirishima could feel himself letting out a victorious smile. “--the fuck not. I’m leaving.” Bakugou decided, finally moving from his spot and looking for the closest exit. Kirishima sighed to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose and moving forward to follow Bakugou out. Kaminari’s hand stopped Kirishima, his yellow eyes spotting the perfect distraction in keeping Bakugou preoccupied for a while. 

“Alrighty Bakugou, you leave me no choice,” Kaminari said, catching Bakugou’s attention. Bakugou rolled his eyes, feeling himself become increasingly annoyed by the electric idiot he called a friend.

“Hey ladies!” Kaminari yelled, grabbing the attention of a group of women nearby. Bakugou turned around, curious as to what Kaminari was doing. “Meet my friend Bakugou! He’s a pro hero! Plus he’s incredibly strong, somewhat handsome, and desperately single!”

“What the hell did you say Dunce Face--” but before Bakugou could even reach Kaminari, a group of women suddenly surrounded him, their irritatingly high-pitched voices bombarding him with countless questions. Bakugou barely managed to see Kaminari and Kirishima duck into the crowd, hiding away from sight, before the women completely surrounded him. Bakugou growled, feeling the anger and irritation build up inside of him.

Good god, this was going to be a long night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You aimlessly wandered throughout the crowd, careful to not bump into anyone. At some point, you had attempted to head in the direction Kendo and Monoma had run off too, but all you found was a broken refreshments table and absolutely no sign of your friends. Your eyes glanced over the people surrounding you, noting all the couples who were slowly dancing with one another to the soft music and the groups of friends laughing about. Only then did you notice how lonely you were. Sighing to yourself, you looked around for the quiet corner you previously occupied, somewhat regretting leaving in the first place. 

While moving around the crowd, your ears couldn’t help but catch a nearby conversation. 

“Come on, we should dance together!” A woman’s voice said, followed by a heavy sigh.

“Like I’ve told you before, I’m not even tempted by the damn offer. Will you just leave me alone?” A man’s voice gritted out, frustration coating his words. You looked over, noticing how the woman was practically latched onto the man’s arm while the man looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but there.

And honestly, you could relate. 

An impulsive decision entered your mind as you made your way over towards the two, tapping the man’s shoulder. His head snapped over towards you, and though you couldn’t exactly see his eyes, you could feel his glare seething into your skin. You feigned a smile, grabbing his arm.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere honey.” You said, faking a cheery voice. You could see the woman beside him back off a little bit, her eyes trained on your actions. You looked back at the man, noticing how he looked absolutely livid. “You promised me a dance, remember?” 

Bakugou blankly stared at you, having half the mind to just scream all the profanities circling around in his head. He opened his mouth, with the intention of telling you to fuck off, until noticing the way you nodded your head off towards the side. His eyes glanced over, catching how the women that were previously surrounding him seemed to back off just a bit, watching the interaction with catlike eyes. 

Glancing between you and the group of women, he decided to pick the lesser of two evils. 

Letting out a sigh, he forced out a tight-lipped smile, focusing on you. 

“Oh right, I do owe you that dance, honey,” Bakugou hissed out, the words tasting like bitter poison in his mouth. Letting go of his arm, you reached for his hand. At first, he moved his hand away, before slowly allowing you to grab it. You sent an empathetic look towards the women. 

“Sorry ladies, I can barely keep an eye on this one. You know how it is,” you said with a smile, resisting the urge to shiver at the glares they were sending your way. Before they could respond, you dragged the man into the crowd of dancing couples.

Once in the crowd, you could still see the group of women staring the two of you down. You turned towards the blond man, grabbing his free hand with your own.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He asked, attempting to yank his hands away. For someone so short, you had a surprisingly tight grip. 

“Dance with me,” you simply said, stepping closer towards him.

“Excuse me?” Bakugou growled out, instantly regretting his choice in following you. Of course, he wouldn’t even be in this mess if it wasn’t for Kirishima and Kaminari, those damn idiots--

“They’re still watching us. The moment I leave, they’ll immediately latch onto you again,” you pointed out. You watched as the man turned his head, immediately turning back towards you. He let out a growl of frustration, his jaw clenching. And to be perfectly honest, you found that undeniably, and weirdly, attractive. You quickly snapped out of your thoughts, fully aware this was neither the time nor the place.

“Fine,” he grumbled out. Bakugou glanced at the couples dancing around them, noticing how they weren’t just simply holding each other and swaying. “Do you know how to dance?” You paused for a brief moment. You genuinely didn’t think you’d get this far.

“Well, not exactly--”

“Just follow my lead,” Bakugou said, taking one of your hands and placing it on his shoulder. He grasped your free hand, placing his other hand right above your waist. Once he began moving, you stared down at his feet, trying hard to follow his steps. After a few minutes of constantly stepping in his toes, and very colorful curses, you finally managed to catch the hang of it. Your eyes slowly looked up towards him, truly seeing him for the first time since the two of you met. 

A black mask framed his face, orange detailing surrounding his eyes. His messy blond hair stuck out in multiple directions but managed to look so neat on him. The scowl that previously rested on his face melted away, a seemingly content look on his face. You stared into his eyes, a mesmerizing shade of red that seemed to hold so much fire and determination behind them. 

He looked absolutely stunning, and at that moment you didn’t think you ever wanted to let go. 

Bakugou caught your eyes staring at him, an annoyed remark dying down in his throat as he stared right back at you. Weirdly enough, you were less annoying and more useful than he gave you credit for. And the small content smile that rested on your lips managed to capture his attention, his crimson eyes noticing the way that the low light in the ballroom managed to make your eyes practically shine. 

And for a brief moment, dancing with you didn’t seem as bothersome as it did minutes ago.

The both of you didn’t even notice that the song ended before the room filled with applause, snapping the both of you out of your daydream filled daze. Bakugou quickly let go of you, the long-forgotten scowl appearing back on his face. 

“Well, that was...“ you trailed off, watching as the blond-haired man quickly began maneuvering throughout the crowd, heading straight for a door. You stared at him in disbelief, but before your brain could register what you were doing, your feet trailed after him. 

You followed him into a long corridor illuminated by a soft golden yellow light, watching as he opened doors, glancing inside before closing them.

“What are you looking for?” You asked, watching as the blond slammed another door shut, clearly growing frustrated at the lack of results. 

“The exit, what else would I be looking for? I just want to leave this stupid party,” Bakugou said, and you could find yourself nodding in agreement. 

There was a moment of silence that fell between you two, the only sounds entering your ears were the faint music from the forgotten gala, the clacking of your shoes hitting the tiled floor, and the opening and slamming of doors. You couldn’t help the amused smile that appeared on your face, watching as the man mumbled profanities and grew increasingly frustrated. You didn’t even think it was possible for one guy to be so angry.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” You asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Of course I know where I’m going!”

“Really? Because it doesn’t seem like it--”

“If you don’t trust my sense in navigation then why the hell are you still following me?” Bakugou snapped, sending you a quick glare before continuing through the corridor. You paused for a moment, his comment echoing throughout your mind.

Why were you following him? 

If you had spent all this time looking for your friends instead of with him, you would have probably been halfway home by now. And you truly had no real reason to stick around, aware of how the extremely angry stranger probably wanted to be alone.

But for some reason, you just couldn’t make yourself leave.

Once he noticed the sound of footsteps had stopped following him, he glanced around, his eyes landing on your figure. What he had said wasn’t too rude, was it? 

He was about to say something before he saw you begin to leave your frozen spot in the hallway, catching up to him. His eyes quickly looked away, as he continued on his way, shaking the thoughts away from his mind.

Since when did he care if he was too rude?

You watched as the man opened another door, peering inside. He was frozen for a moment, his eyes widening before he quickly slammed the door shut. He just stood there for a moment, his curious behavior making your furrow your brows.

“What was in the room?” You asked, heading towards him. He gave no reply, only sparking your own curiosity. Your hand reached towards the door handle, but a shiver ran down your spine as the man gripped your wrist, stopping you from reaching the handle. 

“You don’t want to know what was in there,” Bakugou said, mentally shoving what he saw in some dark repressed corner of his mind. 

“What do you mean?” You asked, looking towards him. Once you saw the light blush that dusted his cheeks, you suddenly realized exactly what he might have seen. “Oh, you poor thing--”

“Shut up,” he grumbled, before dragging you away from the door and into another hallway, his hand never leaving your wrist.

It felt like another hour of aimless wandering until the two of you stumbled upon a pair of double doors. You glanced over towards the man beside you, watching as his lips formed a victorious smile. 

“You really think that’s the exit?” You asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I know it is,” he simply said, letting go of your wrist. Bakugou pushed open the double doors, feeling relief as his eyes caught sight of the night sky and what seemed to be a large garden, overwhelmingly happy at the thought of finally being free--

Until he took a few steps forward, his eyes catching sight of a railing, and his brain slowly registering that while they might have been outside, they were really just on a very elaborate balcony. He let out an annoyed groan, feeling the urge to just hit something. 

“Well,” you began, trying your hardest to keep in your laughter at the sight of the stranger’s dejected face. “If we jump off the balcony, then technically this could be an exit.” You watched as he turned to face you. “Ooh, maybe we could do a flip while going down!” If looks could kill, you’d surely be dead. 

“Do you ever just shut up?” 

“And deprive the world of my very necessary commentary? Never,” you said. Bakugou rolled his eyes, moving towards the balcony railing, and allowing his eyes to sweep over the landscape. It might not have exactly been freedom, but at least he still wasn’t cooped up in that hellhole of a party. 

You were about to take a few steps towards him until your eyes caught sight of a small rose bush. Instinctively, you stepped towards it, your eyes immediately landing on a rose that had fallen onto the ground. Your hand reached down, picking it up, before moving to join the masked man at the balcony railing. 

“You’re welcome, by the way.” You said, still staring at the rose in your hands.

“For what?” The man growled out. You rolled your eyes, turning your head so you could look at him.

“For helping you escape that group of women,” you said, watching as he scoffed.

“Tch, I had it handled.” 

“Oh really? Cause from where I was standing, you had it far from handled. It looked like they were all seconds away from tearing you apart.” You commented, your eyes once again meeting his red ones. He was silent for a while, before letting out a sigh.

“Thank you, I guess,” he gritted out, his voice barely audible. You let out a smile.

“See, that wasn’t too hard!”

“Nevermind, I take it back,” Bakugou mumbled, making you laugh. 

You glanced back at the rose in your hands, before reaching forward and carefully tucking the stem into the pocket of his suit, making sure that the rose was still visible.

“What the hell are you doing?” He asked, his eyes narrowing on your movements. You simply shrugged, waving your hand dismissively.

“Don’t get so worked up, I just thought the rose matched your eyes.” You said, watching as the man’s hand reached for the rose in his suit pocket. For a brief second, you thought he was going to rip out the rose, but instead, his hand momentarily hovered over it, before dropping back on top of the balcony railing. 

Another comfortable silence fell between the two of you, as you both looked out into the nighttime scenery. You could feel a gentle breeze, your eyes glancing out into the garden, captivated by how relaxing everything seemed. 

As you observed the view from the balcony, you couldn’t help it as your eyes glanced beside you, particularly fixated on the man standing next to you.

It was almost as if you were back in the ballroom again, finding yourself enchanted by the man next to you. Your eyes focused on the way the soft moonlight practically made him glow. The way he looked so at peace, almost as if all the anger that consumed him somehow managed to wash away. 

The way he seemed to be looking at you with the same intensity, an undefinable look crossing over his eyes. 

You couldn’t tell if it was your daydream filled haze playing tricks on you, but the two of you seemed to slowly move towards each other, eyes only focused on the other. 

You could feel your heart racing inside your chest, an indescribable feeling enveloping you. 

The two of you were barely inches apart until the balcony doors slammed open, resulting in the two of you moving as far apart as possible. Your heads snapped towards the entrance, eyes now focused on the man who had so violently opened the doors.

“Oh my god, there you are!” Kaminari said, trying to catch his breath. “Kirishima got super drunk and remember that guy he was practically twins with back in high school? Well, they threw each other out of a window-- it was kind of funny not gonna lie-- but we need to leave, immediately,” Kaminari quickly explained. But after taking a brief moment to look at the scene in front of him, a different thought crossed his mind.

“Did I interrupt something? Sorry! I’ll leave you two alone--”

“You didn’t interrupt anything. I was looking for the exit anyways.” Bakugou growled out, ignoring how his face started feeling extremely warm. You awkwardly cleared your throat, gaining his attention. 

“I guess I’ll see you around?” You asked, feeling somewhat hopeful that this wouldn’t be the last time you’d see the blond man. Your eyes almost lit up as he nodded his head. 

“I’ll see you around,” he said, before heading towards his friend who seemed to be watching the whole interaction with shocked eyes.

“Damn, how did you get someone so beautiful to hang out with you--” Kaminari was interrupted as Bakugou shoved him backward.

“I’m going to kill you Dunce Face,” he grumbled out before the balcony doors shut behind him.

You had watched the interaction with an amused smile on your face, before turning back and staring out at the view once more. Rather than focusing on what you were seeing, your mind focused on all the emotions that seemed to be coursing through you. 

Your heart was fluttering in your chest, a warm and fuzzy feeling consuming you. You couldn’t even begin to describe the emotions enveloping you, but at the same time, they made so much sense to you. Was this it?

Was this the moment you finally fell in love?

You let out a content sigh, your brain running wild with daydreams. The inner romantic in you felt so indescribably happy at that moment. But as a different thought crossed your mind, you felt yourself freeze, feeling the daydreams that surrounded your mind come shattering down into small unfixable pieces.

You didn’t even know his name.

[duskowithapen]

Of Flowers and Tattoo Needles Chapter Two

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Read Chapter One

The Flowers

Luka walked into the Secret Garden. Juleka took one look at his face, sighed, and led him towards the backroom. “Be glad I hadn’t had time to take this home,” she grumbled, emerging from the freezer with a tub of caramel ice cream tucked under one arm. After a moment, a spoon appeared under his nose.

Rose looked up from where she was doing paperwork. “What happened Luka? I thought you and Marinette would get along really well!”

With a groan, Luka flopped into a chair. “We were!” He totally-didn’t-whine. “She designed the most kick-ass looking tattoo that was everything I wanted, she gave me the friends and family discount, she didn’t laugh at me when I flirted…”

“Well, that’s an improvement,” Juleka sassed from her own ice cream rub – strawberries and cream, because she was a sap for Rose, who she was intermittently feeding. “But I can’t see the issue…?”

“It was all going well until her boyfriend showed up.” Luka glared over his ice cream. “So thanks for the warning, guys.”

Rose frowned and put down her pen. “What do you mean? Marinette doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

“She was moaning about it during our last girls night,” Juleka interjected. “Talking about how all the guys who came into her shop seemed to be over-muscled sissies who cried the second they saw the tattoo needle.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know what to tell you. Him and Marinette were definitely close.” Luka was about ready to drown himself in his ice cream. Even the excitement over his tattoo had faded into abject misery. He looked into the depths of his slowly melting ice cream, recalling the last ten minutes with perfect clarity.

Marinette looked like she was going to devour him. Her eyes kept flicking between his, darting down to his lips and back. She had even started to lean in when someone coughed.

“Uh, excuse me, am I interrupting something?” It was a tall blonde, formally dressed in a pressed black suit that made his eyes stand out (yes, Luka noticed. He might have been besotted with Marinette, but he wasn’t blind.) While his question may have been innocent, the smirk that crossed his face wasn’t.

Marinette’s face lit up bright red as she jumped out of her seat. “Adrien! I wasn’t expecting you here till 4.30!”

“Look at the time, buginette. If I’d known you had another client, I would have waited.” Adrien laughed as he wrapped the smaller girl up in a hug, lifting Marinette off her feet.

Luka glanced down at his phone, while Marinette began to stutter out apologies. 4.28. He couldn’t have been a couple of minutes late, Luka thought bitterly.

“I’m really, really sorry Luka!” Marinette had come back, the blonde – Adrien – wandering away to look at dragon tattoos. “I didn’t realise how long I’d spent on your tattoo, and Adrien had been a last-minute booking, so I’d completely forgotten!”

“It’s okay, Marinette.” With an internal sigh, Luka gave her a smirk. “Gives me a reason to come back.”

It seemed to snap Marinette out of her anxious haze.

He didn’t know if it was his words or his smirk, but something snapped Marinette out of her anxious, apologetic haze. Her grin was evil when she stepped into his space. “You needed another reason? I thought you said you were fine with needles.”

Luka’s mouth opened and closed for a moment before he collected himself. “I’m fine with needles if you’re the one poking me with them.”

Whatever Marinette was going to say in return was interrupted, yet again, but Adrien. “Sorry Mari, but I’ve got dinner with Pere tonight, so if I’m getting this tattoo, I kinda need to get it now.”

Adrien was now shirtless.

That’s all Luka could process as Marinette stepped away with another apology.

Adrien was sitting in one of the tattoo stations, jacket and button up slung over the top of the chair. Marinette ruffled his hair as she walked past. “Don’t go rushing an artist, kitty. Otherwise you might end up with something less badass fire dragon and more Mushu.”

“Hey! Don’t go hating on Mushu!” Adrien gasped in faux-outrage, turning away with his nose in the air. “He’s travel-size!”

“Uh huh,” Marinette sighed as she walked back over to Luka. “Anyway, ignore him.” She held out a clipboard with a form on it. “If you just want to fill in your details, I can polish your design after I do Adrien’s tattoo, and then send it through for you to look at. If you like it, I can fit you in…” She paused and walked over to the desk near the door. “Well, I have a cancellation tomorrow morning, and I can get Nathaniel to do Ivan’s tattoo… I can fit you in for tomorrow at nine, if you’d like. If that’s too soon, I have openings next week?”

“Tomorrows fine,” Luka said as he wrote down his email. “And I’m sure I’ll love whatever you send me. Your rough sketch is incredible – I can’t want to see what it looks like in colour.”

The smile Marinette sent him was almost blinding. After Luka handed her back the clipboard, Marinette said goodbye and walked back towards Adrien.

The last thing he saw was Adrien’s smile as Marinette pecked him on the forehead. “Ready to get stabbed, mon chaton?”

Luka refused to look up as Rose and Juleka digested what he just told them. They shared a glance in that way all couples do – like they can communicate via intense eye contact – before bursting into laughter. Well, Rose burst into laughter. Juleka just chuckled and shook her head.

“You’ve got it bad, brother,” She said around a spoonful of ice cream, “It’s almost pitiful.”

Rose poked her with a pen. “Jules, don’t be mean to him!”

A scoff. “I can be mean to my brother as long as he remains a dumbass.”

Luka raised an eyebrow. “Oh really, sister? Do I have to mention the Prince Charming incident?” That had happened back in college, when Juleka had moped for days when she thought Rose had fallen for the foreign prince who she met on his visit to Paris. There had been much relief when Rose had clarified, no, the prince was too male for her refined lesbian tastes.

Alright, Luka had been pretty insufferable then too.

Juleka snapped the lid closed on her ice cream and turned to put it away. “You said that your appointment is at nine, right? Rose, we can open late tomorrow, right?”

“Ooo, yay!” Rose clapped, gathering her paperwork. “I can’t wait to see what kind of tattoo you’re getting Luka!”

“Do I get a choice in this?” He asked with a raised brow.

“No.” And Juleka pulled away his ice cream.

Later that night, Luka opened an email from marinetteDC@email.com. Hey Luka! I’ve attached the full colour layouts for your tattoo. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

He was so glad he lived alone – there was no one there to watch him blush over an email from a girl who may or may not have a boyfriend. Then he looked at the photos. His breath caught.

These are incredible. The image was flat but drawn so that when the transfer paper was wrapped around his arm, the sides would line up. The snake was coloured in various shades of blue, with a lighter sea blue down what could be seen of the spine before merging into a deeper teal green near the belly. The belly itself was a pale yellow, blending in perfectly to the ring of daffodils just above where his elbow would be. As for the flowers themselves, they seemed to pop off the page. Bright blue iris’, with the edges of the petals tinted purple, bold red gladiolus’ with a white outline, pale yellow daffodils with brighter yellow middles… they all emerged from around the snakes body, with the gaps a deep shade of brown – the colour reminded him of his mothers’ mahogany chest – and tiny flickers of pale green leaves creating little spots of calm.

Beside the larger image was a single iris, connected to the main tattoo by two deep brown branches, with a scattering of leaves ringing it. The blues of this flower were paler – closer to the colour of his eyes, Luka realised with a blush – and the purple of the petal’s edges were the same shade as Juleka’s hair. The orange streak down each petal stood out starkly from the rest of the flower.

It was incredibly detailed, and just so much more than Luka ever thought a tattoo could be. He thought back to Rose and Juleka’s tattoos, how lifelike the flowers were, and found that he preferred this saturated, brighter than life version better. It matched perfectly against the calmer tones of the snake and stood out against the dark wood and pale greens of the supporting stems.

He sent back a response before going to bed. Luka couldn’t wait to go to Charmed Ink tomorrow.

This is amazing Marinette! I didn’t think your sketch could get any better, but you’ve blown all my expectations out of the water. Should have expected that such an incredible person can produce incredible art. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow – and get the tattoo.  

**************

The next day, a blushing Marinette waved Luka into the tattoo parlour, throwing a glare over her shoulder at where a red head was busy with another customer. “Luka! Hi! I only saw your email this morning – I was too tired yesterday to do much more than send you the design and go to bed.” She hopped up a little on her toes to press a kiss against his cheek, moving away before he could react.

“Rose! Juleka!” Rose was pulled into a hug that lifted the shorter blonde off the ground, while Juleka was greeted with a faire la bise, which his sister returned. “I believe I have you guys to thank for my newest customer!”

“Well if anyone deserves a Marinette Original tattoo, it’s Luka!” Rose chirped, “And he refused to show us the design – I can’t wait to see it!”

Juleka smirked from her other side, and Luka instantly felt on guard. It was never a good think when his sister made that face. “It’s something sappy, isn’t it? Mine and Mum’s name on a ship, or the score for his first song, or his guitar? Gods know he rarely goes anywhere without it – I had to convince him not to bring it with him today.”

Luka raised an eyebrow and wandered closer to Marinette. Her cheek kiss restored some of his earlier confidence, and he leaned into her space a little. “Marinette could make the most sappy tattoo concept into something that could even fit in with your Lady of Midnight, goth chic style. After all,” And here Luka returned Juleka’s smirk with his own, “She managed to turn your love song into a pretty cool looking tattoo.”

There was a hint of a blush on Juleka’s face as she pushed at his shoulder, making him wrap an arm around Marinette’s shoulders so that they didn’t both go over. Her first tattoo idea had been the Always from Harry Potter, surrounded by roses – Rose had always been a big fan of the series, and had actually cried onto Juleka’s shoulder as she read the last book – but when Juleka came back from the design appointment, it had been with the flower wreath concept. It maintained the original intent behind the tattoo – a permanent reminder of Rose’s impact on her life and of her feelings – while being truer to Juleka’s style and personality. Rose had loved it enough to get the same one.

Marinette glanced up at him, not bothering to move out from under his arm, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Ahh, so you’re one of those musicians. Any girl would have to fight your guitar for your affections.”

“With you, Marinette,” Luka said with a wink, “There wouldn’t be much of a battle.”

Another blush bloomed across Marinette’s cheekbones as she stuttered, almost drowned out by Juleka’s fake-gagging and Rose’s squeals. Despite that, it was a nice moment.

Of course, with Luka’s luck, someone had to break it.

The door of the tattoo parlour was slammed open, and a woman with black hair cut in a no-nonsense bob stormed inside, one hand curled around a wooden rapier. Behind her stood the blonde from last night – Adrien – and Luka’s stomach dropped.

“Marinette,” The scary woman started, “What exactly have you been tattooing on my fiancé’s chest?”

[fnccafe]

see through - hyunghyuk

CHAPTER ONE

He wishes he could figure out where everything went so wrong, where the love just stopped, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know when things became so sour, so rotten, in their relationship, or when Heejin started spending more time with the girls instead of with him. He should’ve known right then and there when Heejin barely spared him a glance—when Heejin checked out long before Hyungwon could even process it.

All he knew was that their love became like a rotten apple: shiny and delicious looking on the outside, but once you took a bite it was black and mushy—rotten from the inside out.

Hyungwon wishes he could figure out the when and the why—when it all started to go so wrong and why Heejin decided he wasn’t the one for her—but he couldn’t.

One day, when clouds were scarce and the heat hit in waves, Heejin says, “Hyungwon,” in a tone he doesn’t recognize. She points to the leather one-seater, silently telling him to sit. Before she can even muster a word, Hyungwon can see her disappointed face, her telling gaze, and knows.

“We’re over,” he asks, “Aren’t we?”

She lets out a sigh.

“You know I love you,” he continues, “Right?”

He wants her to say something, anything, that wasn’t so devoid of feeling—call it a hunch, but he doesn’t think that was going to happen anytime soon. His mood plummets, going from something that was happy to something that was a mix of angry and sad, but he can’t say from what with certainty. There was always an inkling of doubt, a quiet voice in the back of his mind that told him that something bad was bound to happen.

He didn’t think it would be this, though.

“Hyungwon  please,” she says calmly, “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

“I won’t,” he replies. It’s lifeless, hollow—empty. He makes his way to the front door, exchanging his house slippers for the dirty Converse he had just changed out of. “Goodbye, Heejin.”

“Hyungwon, let me at least explain—”

“Explain what, exactly? That you’re not in love with me?” He’s lacing up his shoes and can’t look up at her out of fear that he’s going to lose it. “That you’d rather see someone else than be with me? Or am I too drastically different than what you thought I was going to be?”

“Hyungwon -”

“No, I don’t need your explanation. I get it,” Hyungwon sighs. He steps out the door. “I know. Who would ever love someone like me, huh?”

He didn’t know when they got like this, all he knew was that they did and there was no going back.

+

It takes him about four hours, but he manages to walk from their apartment in Queens to Hyunwoo’s apartment in Brooklyn. He takes a glance at his phone, looking at all the missed calls from Heejin and scoffs. Why was she calling him? To rub it in his face that he wasn’t good enough for her?

He didn’t want to hear it.

His feet ache like all hell when he calls Hyunwoo to buzz him in, but the older does it without a question. He knocks on the door to Hyunwoo’s apartment and, as it opens, falls to the floor.

“Hyungwon,” Hyunwoo says, helping him back on his feet. Behind Hyunwoo he sees Changkyun and Jooheon looking at him with sad eyes and shakes it off. “I’m so sorry.”

“Can I move back in?”

“Of course. When have you ever been turned away from here?”

+

Single.

The word felt foreign on Hyungwon ’s tongue. He hadn’t been single in almost six years and, just like that, it was suddenly thrust upon him. He’s been single for a whole month. Thirty-one days and a handful of hours.

It feels like he’s gotten a large knife in his abdomen, twisted—he felt like he might as well have spilled his guts all over the floor of what used to be Hyungwon  and Heejin’s shared apartment. It feels like a heavily bleeding wound, one that he hastily slapped on bandages in hopes that it wouldn’t get so bad.

But it did, and now he’s dying and doesn’t want to do anything about it at all.

It’s in that moment that he remembers: Heejin still lives in the apartment, all by herself. He wonders if she ever painted the kitchen wall mint green like she had planned, something about brightening the dark kitchen. He wonders if she changed the color of the cabinets to the sleek white that she liked.

Single.

Hyungwon didn’t know if he likes being single at all.

+

A bit of backstory for those who don’t know: Hyunwoo, Hoseok, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Jooheon, Changkyun, and Minhyuk all meet in college back when getting a degree in the arts was enough to get years of ancestral disappointment put on your shoulders, they became the best of friends over the fact that their parents hated the fact that they were pursuing a career in their passions.

Hyunwoo was a dance major, Hyungwon was a performing arts major, and Jooheon was a music production major and they roomed together. Hoseok was a music major, focusing on music education, Changkyun worked towards his Bachelor’s in Digital Media, and Minhyuk went in for performing arts as well, and those three roomed together. They meet Kihyun in Hyungwon's second semester, when Hyungwon gets told to be an interpreter for a Korean exchange student that didn't know much English and, like destiny, all seven of them were really close friends.

They were, some might even say are , the best of friends.

There was nothing that they didn’t do together: whether it be partying or studying, they were all within each other’s grasps.

That’s when Hyungwon figures out he’s not exactly straight.

He and Minhyuk are both out of their mind when they decide it’s a good idea for them to kiss. Drunk on one too many pineapple and vodka drinks, Minhyuk grabs him by the collar of his black striped button down and kisses him.

“We should date,” Minhyuk says curtly, breaking apart from the intense kiss.

“We should,” Hyungwon replies. He's breathless.

And they did. They dated for two years. They promise each other that they’ll be together forever and go on cute dates. They don’t tell their friends, either. It wasn’t any of their business to know whether or not they were dating.

But it all breaks apart in the end.

Minhyuk gets distant with not just Hyungwon, but everyone. When Hyunwoo and Jooheon are finally able to open the studio--a small space with just enough room to keep all their recording equipment--Minhyuk isn’t there. When Hoseok gets accepted into Potsdam’s Master’s program, and subsequently asks for their help moving into the dorms, Minhyuk isn’t there. There’s a long list of things that Minhyuk just isn’t there for and the cherry on top of the sundae is a note from Minhyuk on the day he was leaving.

One where he says they should break up.

“You were just going to leave me? Like that, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon says, “You know, I was worried about you when you didn’t answer your phone. I thought something happened. I-I thought you were hurt, but you’re just packing up and leaving in the middle of the night. You've been avoiding us for a month."  Hyungwon holds the note in his hands, the one that Minhyuk left on his dresser from the night before everything turned to shit. “And you didn’t even break up with me face to face, you had to do it over a fucking note like a coward? Why couldn’t you tell me?”

“Hyungwon, I finally got a job. One that will pay me well so I don’t have to live in a shithole apartment,” Minhyuk replies. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the next few years, but I know that I can’t keep you waiting for me. I don’t know if I’m ever gonna come back to Brooklyn.”

“So you don’t want to see me because of it?”

“I don’t want you to wait for me, Hyungwon. It’s not fair to you.”

Minhyuk leaves for California the morning after their argument. Hyunwoo offers to drive him to the airport because it would cost more than Minhyuk had to catch a taxi and he wakes everyone up to go with him. Hyungwon doesn’t want to go, doesn’t want to see Minhyuk off after he shattered his heart, but he goes anyway.

He wasn't about to have everything revealed right before Minhyuk's plane took off.

They’re waving him off at the airport when Hyungwon and Minhyuk make eye contact. There’s a hidden apology in Minhyuk’s eyes, but Hyungwon wasn’t going to accept it.

He gets an offer to be a vocalist in a studio that wasn’t Hyunwoo’s and he took it, leaving Hyungwon stands there--eyes misted with tears.

He says nothing.

+

Even when Minhyuk is out of the picture, Hyungwon can’t help but picture him.  

He reads article after article about Lee Minhyuk, America’s Next Big Indie Artist according to Billboard. He’s got the same face, the same smile, but his hair is teal. It suits him. Hyungwon wishes he could say it to Minhyuk’s face. In fact, Hyungwon wishes simply to just be able to see Minhyuk’s face, but he knows it won’t come into fruition.

The album is called Shine Forever and Minhyuk’s voice is so smooth and so captivating that Hyungwon melts.

He listens to song after song on repeat and he grieves his friendship, as well as what could’ve been the relationship Hyungwon had always wanted, time and time again.

+

It’s been three years since Minhyuk has left New York, five years of Hyungwon staying in the same place, hoping that he’d come back. Minhyuk never does. Unless it’s for a concert or whatnot, Hyungwon knows deep down he won’t come back.

He meets Heejin around this time and finally, just finally , feels like he can move on. Minhyuk’s been out of his life for a particularly long time now. If he can let go, so can Hyungwon, although Hyungwon would need just the slightest push to do so.

He meets her in a museum, of all places, when Changkyun drags him out of their apartment by the ear.

“Your moping,” Changkyun says, “Is very tragic. So we’re going to the museum.”

“But I don’t wanna-” Changkyun sends Hyungwon a look, the look if you will, and Hyungwon sighs. “Fine, I’m getting my things.”

They get on the B line and, soon after, get off on 81st Street. Changkyun is grinning from ear to ear, holding Hyungwon’s hand in his own as he tugs the older up the steps.

“Aw,” the stranger says, "Are you guys together?"

“Oh, no, ha,” Hyungwon responds, handing Heejin the ticket, “He’s my best friend. He’s been wanting to come here for a little bit and we finally went.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry for assuming,” the stranger replies, face beet red as Hyungwon hands her his entry ticket. “I’m Heejin.” She scribbles something on the ticket and slides it back to Hyungwon.

He reads what was on it.

Sorry for assuming haha, that could have caused a really big misunderstanding, huh. We should grab some coffee or something. My treat! [xxx-xxx-xxxx] - Heejin

At first, it’s great. Heejin and Hyungwon have such undeniable chemistry that it shakes him down to the core. Heejin gets acquainted rather quickly to his friend group as well. She gets everyone to fall in love with her--even Changkyun, which is no small feat considering romance and meeting new people was not  in his wheelhouse--and Hyungwon is finally happy.

Until Hyunwoo shows him a particularly odd message.

+

Minhyuk > Hyunwoo 12:00

I’m coming back

Not this year, because I’m squaring off an album

But next year for certain

And I’m staying for good

I don’t like it in California.

+

It's the accursed year that Minhyuk is supposed to come back and Hyungwon is more than stressed.

"Wonnie, what's wrong?" Heejin asks. She back hugs him and he shrugs it off, leaving her looking absolutely astonished.

“Nothing,” he replies simply, trudging to their room to lay down.

He supposes Minhyuk coming back was the catalyst to his impending relationship imploding, unsurprising when Hyungwon realizes that his entire life revolved around the elder.

[next chapter]

[musicmeisterandtheinbox]

Somebody Sure As Hell Messed UP (Part 1)

((Hey everyone, sorry about the long absence until now. This is an RP event with @darcimasonusb @askthetoyman @asktheonearmedbandit with Dennis being caught up in this stupid divorce drama. ugh. Mondays, am I right? Thanks for reading! Hopefully, Dennis doesn’t die. you know how that goes.))

Tonight was a night per usual in Gotham City. A frosted air brewed in for Winter was just around the bend. Two peculiar young people rode along in a calmer part of the city thanks to a moped in the shape of an 8th note, for they had quite an adventure planned. 

“You know what you’re doing, right?” Dennis muffled, covering his mouth with his lime green scarf. 

“Yes, I’ve done this before!” Darci chuckled. Her blonde hair caught bits of frost as she analyzed the series of closed stores. 

They stopped somewhere interesting and took a gander at the locks. “Just thought I’d ask cause-”

 "Cause what?“

 "Well, you’re so… normal. I don’t mean that in an insulting way either. It’s just, no powers, no backstory, you just showed up!”

 "If that’s your definition of normal then it wouldn’t be normal, would it?“ 

“I guess it isn’t… huh?”

As he lurked through the sewers beneath the street, the cowboy tried to place himself in the near pitch-black environment. A right turn, a hair left, straight for a couple hundred feet. Don’t fall in the water; it takes too damn long to clean that stuff out. ‘Nother right, and up the access ladder. It should let right out to the back alley. The businesses connected to it ain’t that fancy, but they’re easy pickins. But which to choose?

Maybe that Lil’ liquor shop? Eh, done those too many times to count… That bakery’s already closed; no fun in that… oh, now ain’t that a beaut? A Lil’ ol’ diner! Maybe a little slow, but just enough people. Oh, now ain’t this gonna be a hoot? The cowboy cops a squat in the alley to wait for his proverbial “high noon.”

Dennis and Darci had a long look at the locks and realized, there’s just too many people around to do a good robbery. “Do you wanna just wait it out a bit?” Darci asked 

“Yeah that sounds good” Dennis fixed his bright red hair a bit, “What do you wanna do in the meantime?” “Hm. I’m not particularly hungry but do you wanna grab something?”

Dennis crunched the numbers in his head, “I had some cantaloupe around 4… or was it honeydew? Either way, I could eat.” It was 10 PM.

“C'mon we can go down to that honky-tonk around the block, bet there’ll be something fun too.” And to the diner, they went. Dennis parked his stupid awful moped scooter near the entrance and both walked inside. Business there was slow but the atmosphere screamed the 1950’s. The checkboard floor, teal booth seats, and Crosley brand Jukebox were all dead ringers for this notion. A woman in around her mid 30’s called out to the two “Sit where ya like and staff will get right to ya!” And so, they did. A booth somewhere near the jukebox and a hall leading into the restrooms.

Reuben watched the customers coming in and out of the building. That music note scooter immediately drew his eye. He shifted over to get a better look as the riders dismounted. Dennis Prowell: “the Music Meister.”

“This really will be interestin’!” The second one, a woman, was partially obscured. Before he could get a better look, they had both moseyed in. A waitress came up to their table with two menus. “Hi! My name’s Jannette, I’ll give ya a minute, but first just wanna let you know that the soup for tonight is Chowda.” They thanked her in an awkward unison and flipped through the selection as she walked off to help another group of guests.

“Soooo.” Darci started.

“Hm?”

“How’d you end up the way you are?”

Dennis looked up in a bit of confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Like, how’d you become a villain?”

“Oh! Like a tragic backstory! Right. Yeah, my powers are genetic.” She looked up.

“…that’s it?”

“Yeah, had some bullies, dealt with that.. then I just went out and did crime. It was a primal urge… like arson!” They continued to chat, unknowing of what lied ahead.

Now seemed like a good as time as any! 

B L A M

A shot rings out, shattering the glass door. A boot busts the rest of the glass out. The cowboy steps in and tips his Stetson. “Alright folks. This is a stickup. Y'all know the drill! No quick movements. lay yer wallets and jewelry out on the table. Let’s make this short an’ sweet and no one’ll get hurt.” He sticks his six-shooter in the face of the waitress behind the counter. “And you. Empty the register into’ this sack.” He lowers his weapon and tosses her a bag, then poises for attack again.

Dennis whispered over to Darci “…Weird, but I got this.”

She knows he doesn’t got this.

Dennis got up and put his hands in the air, whistling to the tune of an old Western movie. …

Darci stood still, analyzing the scene, waiting for an apt time to act.

“Ah ah ah, don’t come another step closer, Mister. I’ve got you dead to rights. And what’s that tune? You deridin’ me?” Mocked the Bandit.

“…ohmygoditsnotworking.” He looked around in a panic. The people around him were frozen to his tune. Maybe I could? NO that’s a death wish you promised there’d be no body count. What if… Darci knew he’d be a dead man if she didn’t do something quick. Without thinking, she grabbed Dennis by the arm and started bolting down the hall to find an escape

“What in Sam Hill? Hey! Get back ‘ere! The both of ya!” He glanced around the diner at the spellbound customers. “DAMN IT!” He grabbed the sack and the register’s till and cautiously ran down the hall in pursuit.

They darted into the women’s bathroom and locked the door behind them.

Good news: The bandit can’t get in! Bad news: They can’t get out!

“Holy shit..” Dennis caught his breath, holding his scarf “Any clue who that is?!” Darci stared off into nothing, listening in on what the Bandit is doing outside. Dennis ruffled his fiery hair in an anxious scramble. “He wasn’t affected, he could be deaf.. but then he wouldn’t have heard…”

He slowed and held his hand over his holster. “I know y'all are back ‘ere!” He kicked the manager’s office door open. Not there. The storage room. Nope. He continued down the hall, spurs clicking against the linoleum.

Darci leaned in and listened to how he kicked the door open. That sound. The clang you get when you hit the wood with… no.  That’s can’t be it. It’s… It’s exactly what it looks like.  "Darci, over here,“ Dennis called her over pointing to a patriot hopper window.

Men’s room. No dice. Women’s? Locked. “Knock knock? Is this room occupied?” He blasted at the lock twice with the revolver. “Now, come on Mr. Prowell. I don’t wanna hurt you or yer lady friend.” He pushes the door open.

That plan didn’t go far. Dennis raised his hands up again. Darci stood her ground by holding Dennis’s waist and staring the Bandit down. “Oh great, he knows my name. Listen, … ‘cowboy’ you obviously got a lot to do. Loads of places to see, and I just want to say… You really have a…” Dennis went off on a slow and shaky tangent while the gun was pointed at him.

Taking a step into the room and looking at them both, the Bandit gasps and immediately staggers back. “Y-you, uh, y'all are lucky! I’m willing to, ehm, go easy on yah. Uhhh… Sorry, Ma'am.” He high tails it out the back door and silently down the manhole.

Dennis couldn’t exactly process what had gone on. “…What was that?” “Let’s get outta here.” Darci let go of him.  “That’s.. that’s a good idea.” They stepped out and walked out of the hallway, everything was deafeningly silent, whoever was left there was packing up their belongings. When going out, Dennis gave a sheepish wave and Darci continued to scan the area. Both of them got onto the scooter and went back to going about the city. “…so uh. Where to next?” “Somewhere far away from there.”

WHAT!? YOU SAW HER? WHY DIDN’T YOU CAPTURE HER? “I’m sorry, boss! She had someone else with ‘er! That “Music Meister” feller. And I was right in the middle of a stick-up! I couldn'ta just picked her up. It’s kinda hard when you only got one arm!“  Fine. Get to the safehouse and wire me the funds you got. I can take care of this. “Good luck, boss…”

The ride felt endless. A horrific feeling welled inside both of them.

“I knew it, god damn it. I knew it..” Darci’s hair flowed in the wind.

“You mean the cowboy?” Dennis had a tired look in his eyes.

“Who else?” she lied through her teeth.

“That guy was kind of an odd-ball.”

“He’s got some scheme brewing. We need to just get out of here before he comes back with some new weapon.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I believe that this cowboy’s looking for trouble, it’s just this guy’s got one arm and came in with just a revolver. Guys like that can’t just miraculously get the funds from a mob boss without a damn good reason.”

Darci wanted to tell him the truth, but that would just add on another layer of unwanted confusion. So she just nodded in agreement.

“You know, Gotham isn’t as Dog eat Dog as it seems to be,” Dennis started.  "It’s more like… Your connections prevent from getting lobotomized by a guy in a mask. You keep each other safe from a bigger present danger! If that makes sense…  Just know I got your back if you need it.“ "Same here..” She replied, chilled by his example.

“Maybe we should try again?” Darci asked, “like go around to another store. Not around there though..” She pointed in the direction they’d left from. “The nights still young..” Dennis didn’t want to quarrel with the cowboy again, but God he itched for this to turn into a fun night. “I don’t see why not!” he turned right, the businesses there were all closed at that point. It’s as if the stars aligned once again!

Dennis pulled in near a clothing store. “Where do you want to start?” Darci asked. “Well, you gotta start with the locks right?” Dennis replied. “And what if there are security cameras?” “I’ll just do what I always do.” he shrugged. “Well aren’t you a broken record.”

Darci got off the scooter and examined the lock. She took out a bobby pin from her hair and started fiddling it inside. Click! She gave a thumbs-up as the door creaked open.  They both walked inside, skulking around to see if anything was of interest or present danger. Dennis caught his eye on a necklace with a black quartz pendant. Selina would love that. So he stuffed it away into his pocket, humming a tune.

Meanwhile, Darci was grabbing a handful of chapsticks, shoving them into a white purse she grabbed nearby. “That’s-” “Chapsticks? Yes :)” Darci put on a funny sort of smile. “That’s a lot of chapsticks…Okay, it’s what your heart desires.” “My heart also desires… this!” she snatched a leather jacket from a clothing rack and promptly threw it over her shoulder.

Knock knock knock.

Their hearts dropped. Dennis pointed over to behind the cash register. The two hurried to crouch behind the counter.  Darci signaled to stay quiet, trying to keep some level of composure. But her mind was racing.  Maybe we should call the cops… No! Are you out of your mind, Darci?! The cops will just haul your shell to a junkyard and turn your code into Dopey-Doh in Arkham!

Knock knock knock.

Dennis murmured “H. How?” Darci collected the pieces together already, this was happening again! Why does he want to torment me?! “Let’s go out from the front..” They foxtrotted over to the entrance and creaked open the door. A quick and speedy escape was just around the corner!

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

“Let’s get outta here..”

Darci hurried Dennis out the door. 

Uneasy silence as they step through the door. 

“T R I C K  O R  T R E A T !”

A heavily synthesized voice croaks. Laughter like something from a cheap Halloween decoration blast around them. A massive bowl sits in the middle of the street in front of the store.

They shook by the creature that stood in front of them like a hungry predator.  “RUN!” the two scattered back inside for cover.

Two rubbery green arms explode out from the inside and pick the bowl up like a grotesque pair of legs. It scuttles onto the top of the building and begins knocking so rapidly, the building shakes on its foundation.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!” Dennis shouted, shaking to the rhythm to the knocks. “I DON’T KNOW!” Darci yelled over the rumbling. The ceiling started to break apart. “JESUS, IT’S GONNA KILL US BEFORE WE GET OUTTA HERE!” “LIKE HELL I’LL GO TO HIM AGAIN!” Darci refused, but Dennis had already run outside in hopes to get hold of his getaway scooter. We gotta get outta here! “DENNIS YOU OAF!” Darci called out, trying to usher him back in.

The shaking stops. Another dreadful silence, occasionally broken by the drop ceiling panels falling from the commotion.

Dennis realized what this thing was after. It wants her. But why? “What are you doing?! Get back inside!” Darci called out again. “G E T. O U T.” Dennis mouthed to Darci. He stared at the creature, trying to decipher its next move. Dennis reached in his jacket pocket and started shuffling through…

The bowl sits atop the roof completely still. The arms appear to have receded back into the bowl and it has shut down for the time being.

Ah-ha! Now’s our chance! Dennis pulled out his keys and started up the scooter! “Darci. Let’s get outta here!” he shuddered in a whispery tone. “Please trust me on this.” She had to take this leap of faith. If the bowl didn’t catch her, the police surely would’ve. Darci darted outside, took the keys, and started up the scooter! Dennis joined her in a hurry.

As soon as the woman peeled out of the crumbling structure, the voice whined out again. “T A G,  Y O U ’ R E  I T !  H E H E H E H A H A H A H A H A ! ! !” The bowl hoisted itself back up and trotted towards them.  With one more cackle, a third rubber arm bursts from the inside of the bowl and snatches at the pair. “G O T C H A !” The bowl pulls the extra appendage back inside before tearing out of the way like a bat out of hell.

As Darci attempted to drive to safety, Dennis felt his body pulled away from the scooter. He screamed. Darci looked back only to see that the worst possibility was now her reality! Her loved ones were being taken from her once again by him! But fear overcame Darci that night. She drove out of sight of the bowl and behind a few cars; peering over and regretting her choice already.

The hand grasped around its prisoners until the moment it got into the bowl. Almost immediately after, the sounds of machinery began to whirl and plastic sheeting was being pulled up around Dennis. A heating element crimps the ends and seals the whole box up tight.

Darci looked on in horror, hastily hiding away from its line of sight. “WhatdoIdoWhatdoIdoWhatdoIdoWhatdoIdo?” Her hands were shaking. “God! You can’t even protect your own friends! You’re! so! hopeless!” She reached for her phone in her left pocket. “Maybe I can- No! That’s an awful idea!” She tugged her hair. “I shouldn’t get people wrapped up in my business more than they already are! I don’t want to lose Edward either!” “Go out there and save him! You can’t keep living like this!” Tightening her hands into fists, Darci turned around to face the creature! … But. It had already fled.