#sometimes i wonder if i know how to watch a show w/o latching onto a ship

[thenandorlorian]

My Ships

(in chronological order)

Mulder x Scully (MSR): The OG Ship

Sherlolly: The Little Ship That Could

Caryl: The HOW is this STILL.NOT.CANON Ship

Reylo: Shattered My Heart Ship

Ineffable Husbands: My Wholesome Beyond Words Ship

Nandermo: The Stupider Together Ship

[gh0styyt0astyy]

hm.. now i'm thinkin, right.. with your other two fics of deimos being an absolute little shit, what if either hank, sanford, or both got back at him for it... sanford getting involved would be a pretty big betrayal after helping him out with hank... (ps despite the fact that i did make it before i saw it i'm 99% sure i posted my drawing of dei and san ganging up on hank a couple hours after you posted the fic of them and i'm now unofficially half jokingly declaring it as fanart of that fic because good scenario PFDNKNDGKDJSF)

✨ [Karma’s a bitch] ✨

( HEY I HOPE U DONT MIND I MATCHED THIS UP W/ ANOTHER REQUEST THEY JUST WORKED TOO PERFECTLY TOGETHER )

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⭐️ [Summary] — In which Deimos comes to understand the meaning of “your actions have consequences.” (Lee!Deimos and Ler!Sanford + Ler! Hank)

guess the dude cant take what he dishes out…

key:

deimos

hank

sanford

⭐️ [Warnings] — TICKLE FIC; MILD LANGUAGE; also hank accidentally gets kicked in the face; if you don’t like then please just scroll on T_T

⭐️ [Prompts:] no. 8 + 10 / hank and sanford get their revenge

✨ Enjoy ! ✨

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If there was one thing that Deimos was good at; it was being an absolute little shit. (Minus his hacking, fighting and semi decent medical skills.) A cocky little shit who was way too good at all of this.

“All of this” being; tasering Hank in the ribs, suddenly grabbing Sanford’s sides and running away, sometimes getting both Hank and Sanford in one good day.

Hank was done with Deimos’ shit, and Sanford just wanted revenge. So that’s what would happen. Sanford was gonna get his revenge, and he knew Hank would want in on that too. (I mean, c’mon. Hank is ALL ABOUT revenge.)

“Hank,” Sanford walked up to the man, poking him in the back. Hank’s shoulders jumped as he turned around quickly, shoulders falling back down but remaining tense. “I want your help.”

Hank stood there quietly, staring at Sanford. It was always so hard to understand what Hank was thinking behind those goggles.

“What is it.” Hank said, tilting his head slightly; Sanford grinned widely before he looked around the place. He grabbed Hank’s wrist (electing to ignore the jolt in Hank’s body) and dragged him to a different room.

“I want revenge.”

Hank perked up.

“I wanna get back at Deimos. You in?”

Hank thought, silently staring at Sanford. (At least, Sanford would assume he was being stared at.) “…So…?”

“What’s your plan?”

Sanford pumped his fist in the air as he leaned up towards Hank.

“Deimos!” Sanford called from another room, causing the other to lift his head from the little tablet he held. “Yeah?” Deimos called back. “C’mere for a sec, will you?” Deimos furrowed his brow. “Uh, sure.” He set down the tablet and headed off towards Sanford’s voice.

“San?” Deimos called out, entering the room he had heard Sanford in. “Over here, Dei.”

It was their storage room. Where the three would usually drop their weapons and stuff for the day before they conked out. “Hey San. What’s up?” Sanford motioned Deimos over. “Come here, I need you to look at something.” Deimos walked over, crouching down next to Sanford. “I thought I saw something glowing in there.” Sanford said, pointing into the closet. Deimos raised an eyebrow before peeking in. Something glowing? “What color?”

“Not sure. Didn’t get a good look at it.”

“Hm.” Deimos hummed. And then he saw it— a dull red glow that shone in Deimos’ face. “What the hell?” The glow got brighter and brighter before—

“AGK! SHIT!”

Hank leapt out of the dark closet and tackled Deimos to the ground, wrestling with him for a moment before Hank overpowered him and kept him to the floor. “GOOD GOD! Holy shit, Hank! What the hell!?” Deimos struggled under Hank’s hold.

“That was easier than it should’ve been.” Was all that Hank said, looking up at Sanford. “Excuse me?” Deimos said, a small tone of offense in his voice as Sanford walked up to stand beside the two. He crouched down with a small smirk on his face, Deimos looked between Hank and Sanford. “What are you two planning?” He asked, suspicion lacing his voice.

“Deimos. You ever heard the saying, what was it… “Karma’s a bitch?” Hank asked.

“…Yeesss…?” Deimos answered, suspicion rising.

“How about the saying “your actions have consequences.”

“Yes Hank, I’ve heard these sayings before. Why are you—“

Suddenly it hit Deimos, the way Sanford sat at his head and took his wrists from Hank’s hands. The way Hank kept him on the floor. “Oh. Oh shit.” Deimos muttered.

“Yeaah. I’m sure you see where this is going.” Sanford said, holding both of Deimos’ wrists with one hand.

Deimos, honestly, was extremely nervous. But he huffed, refusing to show through his facade.

“I wonder how long you can go without laughing.” Hank mused, tilting his head again (in a way that looks threatening, but no harm was showing.)

“I can last longer than you did, Wimbleton.” Deimos said with a huff, flinching inwards on himself at a sudden jab at the spot where his shoulder met with his ribs. “You’re awfully cocky for someone who’s ticklish.” Sanford shot at him, tightening on Deimos wrists as he tugged. “Oh no, you aren’t going anywhere.”

“First of all, I am not ticklish. Second of all, you guys are just wasting your time.” Deimos said, brows furrowing. Hank just stared before looking at Sanford. (In all honesty, Hank had no clue what to do. He’d just follow Sanford’s lead.)

“You aren’t, huh?” Sanford said, poking at Deimos again. Sanford didn’t miss the way Deimos flinched inwards again and (seemingly) bit the inside of his cheek. “Nope. Unlike you two.” Deimos grinned. “Alright then, you cocky bastard.” Hank butted in, latching onto Deimos’ legs. “You obviously wouldn’t mind us doing this, then. Would you?”

Deimos blinked, before seemingly understanding the situation he was in. “Look okay— usually I’d let you two have at it but I- um— okay okAY LISTEN-“ Deimos’ voice raised an octave, nerves jumping in his throat.

This was gonna suck.

“…would an apology make you let me go?” Deimos tried, watching as Sanford and Hank passed each other glances. “No.” Hank said, Sanford just grinned.

“Okay, I’m done waiting. Hank? Y’ready?” Deimos sucked in a breath, nervously. Hank was the master of making people antsy with how long he took to answer. The goggled man nodded.

Deimos tried to prepare himself, but he let out an awkward squawk as Sanford tased and circled on Deimos’ ribs. “AHAHGK—!” He yelped, clamping his mouth shut. Hank kneaded and clawed Deimos’ hips and lower sides. Deimos looked determined to keep any laughter inside. He shook his head. “Noh- nope— I’m naha— I’m not ticklish!” “Bullshit!” Sanford said, tickling the other side of Deimos’ ribs; it earned him a small snort.

Hank didn’t relent from his spots, either. He kept one hand on Deimos’ hips and the other started tweaking the skin of his legs.

“bweAHA- SHIHIT!” Deimos yelped again, trying to move away from Hank’s hand. “Oh? What was thaaaaat, Dei-Dei?” Sanford drew out, earning a frustrated and embarrassed whine from Deimos. “Huh… that’s funny,” Hank said, looking at Sanford, then Deimos. “I thought you said you could last longer than me? You didn’t… lie, did you?”

“I think he lied about a lot of things.”

“I dihihihid nohohaHAHT!” Deimos suddenly squeaked, arching his back before flopping back down. Sanford was vibrating his fingers into his stomach. “waHAHAIT WAHIHIHIT! SHIHIHIT!” Deimos tugged his arms again, trying to release himself from Sanford’s grip. “Lehehet gohoho!” Deimos whined.

“That’s funny, I thought I had said the same thing!” Sanford hummed in thought. “But alas, you didn’t listen…”

“I—Ihihihi’m sahahohorry!” “Hm.” Hank hummed. “You know, laughter in an apology doesn’t make it sincere. I don’t think you are.”

“Cohohohome ohohohon! I dihihihdn’t meEAHAHN IHIHIT—!” Deimos kicked his legs, trying to get Hank’s hands off as he tried to move away from Sanford’s. “Remember when you did this to me?” Hank asked, clawing at Deimos’ hips and sometimes shooting up to his ribs.

Deimos pulled his elbows to his face as best he could, hiding the creeping blush. He squealed when Sanford pinched his stomach. “SAHAHAHANFOHOHORD YOU TRAHAHAHAHITOR!” Deimos belted out loud laughter as Sanford only grinned.

Slowly, the tickling sensations stopped on Deimos’ body, the man in question letting out shaky laughs and breathing. Deimos sucked in a sharp breath as he felt his shirt ride up. “Wait wahAHAHIT WAHAHAIT! Lehehet’s tahahalk about thihihihis!”

Sanford thought, and so did Hank. The two looked at each other before shaking their heads. “Nah.” Was all Sanford said before blowing a raspberry on Deimos’ stomach.

“OHOHOHOHOH SHIHIHIT- OH MY GOHOHOHOD!” Deimos let out, his body going limp while his legs frantically kicked.

It was all fun and games until—

*CRRRRK!*

Sanford and Deimos stopped immediately, after realizing that Hank had accidentally been booted in the face. His goggles having broken and fallen off. If Hank was in pain he sure didn’t show it.

“OHOHO SHIT! Hahahnk! Hahank I’m sorry!” Deimos gasped, sitting up after Sanford had let him go.

Hank laid there on his back for a minute before sitting up and touching his face, already warm with a bruise forming.

“Well. Shit.” Was all Hank said.

“Are you okay?” Deimos asked, Sanford sitting in between them. Hank nodded. It wasn’t the worst he had been through before.

“…Okay, well- I think we all got our revenge?” Sanford said.

With Hank’s new lack of goggles, it was a little easier to see he was, indeed, looking at the other two and thinking. He looked at Sanford with dull eyes and looked like he wanted to say something before standing up. “Sure.” He said, offering a hand to the other two men.

They both stood up, Deimos still giggling slightly. Sanford hit his shoulder lightly. “You liar…” He grinned as Hank picked up his goggles in the background.

[faulty-writes]

I'd like to request a follow up to that scenario with the intern of Nighteye that causes a stir between his two boys. One where Mirio gets his turn to shine with y/n by taking yn on a, in his words, "romantic date!" to the aquarium after overhearing yn offhandedly telling Nighteye how she'd love to go sometime during a day off. They pet some penguins and Mirio learns A LOT about fish from the reader that day - being a marine biologist was the backup plan in case being a hero just didn't pan out.

[ So I know this is a request but it just so happens for my hero bingo event that one of the square’s is "Aquarium Date” so I’m taking this and running with it. Even if it’s past the event deadline. So @bnhabookclub this is my piece for the Hero Bingo Camp Event. Theme: Aquarium Date. Now that I said that, I hope you enjoy! ] 

[ Part 1/Previous One Shot located here. ]

Mirio was completely smitten with you, despite the small rivalry between Izuku and himself. He wanted to be the one to capture your heart and even though Izuku was a good friend of his. All was fair in love and war, right? Given, he knew he had to be careful when he asked you out. Both because of Izuku and Sir Nighteye, who didn’t seem so tolerant of his work-study students chasing after his intern. Despite the previous bet, he had made with All Might, which still made Mirio a little angry.

But, overall it seemed Sir Nighteye had lost interest in seeing who would eventually capture your heart and made it a point to speak to Izuku and Mirio about it. He claimed he would not allow any romantic interactions or relationships to take place in his agency, something Mirio was a little indifferent about. Truthfully, he didn’t know what Sir Nighteye even thought of romance. He wondered if anyone in the past had captured the interest of his teacher, but considering the fact, the man was married to his work. It was highly unlikely, Mirio, on the other hand, wanted someone in his life.

That someone was you, of course, he had thought of countless date scenarios. But, none of them seemed as though they would impress you. He had tried to think of places you might like, but he was worried that you’d get bored. Especially if you had been there before. In short, he was stuck. He continued to rattle his brain, what would be a good date? He thought he’d never get the answer and he knew he’d have to hurry before Izuku decided to make a move and snatch you away.

“Maybe I should just take them somewhere I like, after all, as long as I can make my sunshine smile. Well, that’s all I could ever want,” he muttered to himself as he walked down the hall that led to Sir Nighteye’s office. He stopped a few feet from the door when he noticed it was slightly ajar, something that Sir Nighteye didn’t approve of. He knew the man liked his privacy and was very strict when it came to the privacy of others as well, everything and anything that was said in his office stayed there. He was about to turn and leave when the sound of your voice caught his attention.

“Uh…” he latched onto his bottom lip, he knew better than to eavesdrop. But, he thought there was a chance he’d overhear something that might be the solution to his current problem. So, with that in mind. He tip-toed toward the open door and prayed he wouldn’t get caught. At first, he was confused as to what you were talking about, but it began to make sense when you mentioned the aquarium. He couldn’t help but smile when you claimed you’d love to go one day and he knew he’d make it happen.

That was the perfect date idea! Of course, he may have been a little too excited when he asked you. “Hey Y/n!” he called, waving his arm like mad. “Hm?” you turned, your hand still resting on the handle of the double doors that led outside. Your day had just ended, you knew Sir Nighteye often stayed past hours to complete the paperwork for the day. Despite your offering to help him, it seemed as though he’d prefer to handle it himself. “I was hoping I’d catch you!” Mirio said in his normal cheery voice, something that made you smile.

“Oh? Is something wrong?” you questioned as you dropped your hand and turned to face Mirio, it was a little amusing how he towered over you. But, it helped his overall image as a hero. He shook his head before flashing his signature grin at you. “Nope! I was just wondering…” he paused and glanced to the side, something you found unusual considering Mirio tended to be upfront and honest. Especially when it came to his feelings, but you already knew he had somewhat of a fancy toward you. “Are you okay?” he turned his attention back to you and nodded.

“Yeah heh, sorry,” he said before clearing his throat. “Um, so I was wondering...would you maybe like to go out with me? I was thinking we could go to the aquarium!” your eyes lit up, how did he know you wanted to go there? “Sure, I’d love to!” Mirio felt his heart accelerate, “O-Oh! I...t-that’s great! I can’t wait, sunshine! You have off tomorrow, right?” you couldn’t help but smile, “Mmhm,” you replied with a slight head nod. “Great! I’ll see you then!” Mirio happily exclaimed before pulling you into a hug, you cried out at the unexpected action. But you couldn’t deny the fact that it felt nice.

The next day, you found yourself feeling a little nervous as you stood next to Mirio in line. He had insisted on buying the tickets, even though you told him you wanted to pay for your half. But, Mirio said it wouldn’t be a proper date unless he spoiled you which made you blush furiously. Though you still felt some guilt knowing that you were on a date with Mirio and Izuku was busy at Sir Nighteye’s agency. You hoped the feeling would go away, but Mirio seemed to notice your expression. He wrapped an arm around you, “Hm?” you looked at him, noticing the way he smiled.

“Something wrong, sunshine?” you glanced to the side and shrugged. “I’m just thinking, that’s all. I hope Izuku is alright, does he know you asked me out?” given it wasn’t as though you belonged to either male, but you didn’t want to cause a fight or get in the way of their friendship. Still, Mirio seemed a little jealous that you even mentioned Izuku. You didn’t miss the way his nose flared up and his eyebrows lowered. He removed his arm from around you and stepped up to the booth where he finally purchased the tickets.

He held them between his index finger and thumb and proceeded to wave them in front of you. “Why don’t we worry less about work and the outside world. I want this date to be special, so…” he extended his free hand to you. “Let’s go inside,” he insisted and you looked at his hand before shifting your gaze to his face which still held a kind smile. “Mm,” you hesitantly reached out and took his hand, he seemed satisfied and turned to walk into the entrance of the aquarium. Immediately your eyes were drawn to the round glass walls and ceiling which cast a dark blue shadow over you.

Mirio seemed equally as stunned as the two of you stood together, watching the various colorful fish swim freely behind the glass. It made you smile and you pointed toward the ceiling, “You know, fish have been on the earth for more than 500 million years. Can you imagine being that old?” Mirio turned to you and you took note of his wide-eyed expression. “That’s...amazing, I didn’t know you knew about fish,” he replied and you shrugged, “Yeah well, I studied to become a marine biologist. Just in case, I mean you never know when your current career will end,” you felt Mirio squeeze your hand.

“W-What do you mean, sunshine...I thought you wanted to be a Pro Hero?” he tilted his head, was he wrong? You lowered your hand and shrugged, “I do, I guess. It’s a little discouraging considering I’m only an intern. It’s always been my dream to become a Pro Hero and have people look up to me but, I’ve also always had a love for marine biology. The ocean life and all that. So, I thought maybe I could do both,” you explained, it wasn’t something you normally shared. But, you trusted Mirio and knew he wouldn’t go telling anyone behind your back.

“Let’s see what exhibits they have, I heard you can pet the penguins and spend time with injured seals!” you were a little excited and it certainly showed as you pulled Mirio forward. “Whoa!” he stumbled before attempting to keep up with you, a soft chuckle escaped him as you ventured down the vastly open and dimly lit hallway. You glanced back and forth, enjoying the sight of the fishes that continued to swim around. You came to a gentle stop when you spotted a directory, “Let’s see…” you muttered as you looked over the map.

“We’re here right now...maybe we could go visit the sea turtles,” you suggested as Mirio released your hand and reached to grab a pamphlet. “Hm,” he tilted his head as he opened it to reveal a map of the aquarium. You turned to look at him, waiting for a response. “Whatever you want to do, sunshine. I got a map, so we won’t get lost. Heh, that is...unless you want to,” he said with a playful wink which caused you to flush. “Heh, um,” you glanced down, nervously rubbing the back of your neck as you willed your cheeks to cool.

“We’ll see...I...I mean, uh, let’s just go see the turtles,” you muttered, the hand that was on the back of your neck came to clasp your forehead. Did you just make a fool out of yourself? You didn’t particularly like finding yourself at a loss for words, but somehow Mirio was making you nervous. You knew he didn’t mean to, it was just his playful personality. You took a deep breath before you began walking, according to the directory the turtle exhibit was at the end of the current hall you were in. You turned your head, once more watching the fish swim by before you were pulled back.

“Hm?” you paused and turned to look at Mirio who had reached out for your hand, a bright smile on his face. “Gotta make sure I don’t lose you,” he teased once more, “O-Oh, uh...yeah,” you replied, mentally telling yourself to stop blushing. The looks you got from people as you walked to the turtle exhibit didn’t exactly reassure you, but you partly wondered if it was because of the fact you were with Mirio. He was pretty recognizable outside of his Lemillion costume, you hoped there weren't any reporters around.

The media would do anything for a juicy story or rumor surrounding a Pro Hero. You tried to push such thoughts to the back of your head, you were unaware that you were holding your breath until you approached the turtle exhibit. Which consisted of a large pool, the water was clear blue and sure enough, a few turtles were swimming without care. “You okay, sunshine?” Mirio asked, clearly concerned as to why you took a sharp breath. “Hm?” you nodded, “Oh yeah, just nervous. Don’t worry,” you replied as you looked at the turtles.

“Do you think we can get one to swim over to us?” a smile was on your face as you walked over and wrapped your fingers around the small railing that ran around the length of the pool. Mirio quickly followed behind you, “We can try!” he said as he leaned over and dipped his hand into the water, splashing it a bit. “Hey!” you cried out and grabbed his arm. “Don’t do that, it might startle the poor things!” you exclaimed and Mirio frowned, “Oh! Sorry!” he said as he pulled his arm back, though your hand still kept a firm grip on him.

“It’s fine,” you replied with a smile, “Just wait until one comes over to you,” Mirio nodded and focused his attention on the water. Watching a few turtles bob their heads along the surface and others dive into the water to snack on some of the greenery. You continued to watch, smiling as one turtle turned to look at you and part of you wished to know what stories those dark orbs could tell. Either way, you held your breath once more as the turtle began to swim toward you. Mirio leaned over and let his head rest on top of your shoulder.

You shivered at the added weight but found it pleasant nonetheless. You smiled and reached out when the turtle brushed against the wall of the pool. A bright smile came to your face as your fingers skimmed over the top of the turtle’s head. Feeling the smooth and moist texture of it, you turned to Mirio. You exchanged a friendly look before Mirio reached over, deciding to pet the turtle’s shell. “Wow, feels kind of slimy,” he said as he pulled his hand away. “Mmhm, that’s normal,” you replied as the turtle ducked its head underwater and swam away.

“Where do you want to go now?” you weren’t sure if you could make time to visit all the exhibits, but you still wanted to visit as many as you possibly could. “Let’s see,” he reached back to pull the pamphlet out of his pocket. You watched as he unfolded it, “Well, we could visit the coral reef exhibit. Unless you want to visit those injured seals or the penguins!” your eyes lit up, “The penguins! I’m not sure about the coral reef. But, I’d love to pet the seals too. We could visit the octopus exhibit on the way there,” you rushed past Mirio who looked confused before quickly following after you.

“Did you know octopuses have three hearts and blue blood? They’re intelligent too!” you said with a big smile, “Three hearts? Well, I guess that means they have a spare to give to their octopus soulmate!” you couldn’t help but snicker at Mirio’s words, “I’m not sure if that’s how it works. When octopuses mate, that's usually the end of their life cycle,” Mirio’s face twisted with an emotion that could only be described as somewhere between disgusted and sad. “They die?” you almost expected his bottom lip to start quivering.

Still, you shrugged. “I guess it depends on the species, but I’m pretty sure. I read it in a book once,” you replied as you continued to walk, “So you like books about sea animals?” Mirio questioned, leaning down with a knowing smirk on his face. “I like to read about ocean life, yes. I must own a thousand books,” you chuckled, feeling a tad embarrassed. “That probably sounds silly, huh?” Mirio shook his head like an overactive puppy. “No! I mean, if it’s something you like and makes you happy. Why would it be silly?” he questioned and you pressed your lips together, unsure of what type of answer to give him.

You tilted your head, “I guess I don’t know,” you muttered before Mirio grabbed your arm, you squeaked as you stumbled back. “Ah, what?” Mirio pointed his finger to the side, “Huh?” you blinked and followed that finger, you had nearly walked past the octopus exhibit. Though the entrance to it had an oval-shaped door and the lighting inside was tinted purple, was that normal? “Too busy thinking, sunshine? Sorry, but I couldn’t just let you walk past the exhibit,” he said as he released your arm, “Uh, right…” you said as your cheeks flushed once again.

Were you really getting that distracted? Mirio just smiled, he noticed the way you were blushing but decided not to say anything. Though he thought seeing you act so shy was adorable. He stepped closer and wrapped his arm around you, pulling you close. “Don’t get too shy on me now, I mean I don’t mind if you are, but you really don’t have to be nervous around me,” he said and you turned to look at him. Mirio had such a warmth about him and those eyes that glanced down at you held such kindness.

You looked away, “Sorry, I love this date. Really, thank you for bringing me here,” you said as you turned to look at the octopus exhibit once more. You missed the surprised expression Mirio gave, but it soon melted into another smile. “You’re welcome, I knew you liked the aquarium and it’s nice to see you so happy,” he replied before guiding you into the purple lit room. It was rather small and two large tanks were built into each wall. But, you tilted your head. “Where’s the octopus?” you questioned, your eyes scanning the seemingly empty tank.

“Maybe it's sleeping?” Mirio suggested as he approached the tank and laid his hands on the cool smooth surface. He then leaned forward and pressed his cheek against the glass, you couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene. It was kind of adorable, but you walked to the second tank and much like Mirio, placed your hands on it. “Do you see anything?” you questioned as your eyes continued to search for any sign of an octopus. Mirio frowned and leaned back, “Nothing so far, hm,” his eyes scanned the tank once more.

“Strange, well that’s okay. Maybe we can come back later,” you suggested as you turned away from the tank and offered your hand to Mirio. “Are you sure?” he didn’t want you to miss out on anything, but maybe the octopuses would be more active later in the day. You nodded, “Yeah, you want to go see the injured seals? I want to pet them if I can,” you replied, your heart always ached for injured animals. It was sad, but as long as they knew not all humans were bad. Mirio’s smile widened and he finally took your hand, squeezing it gently.

“You can pet them all you want, uh wait…” he once more reached for his pocket and pulled out the map. “Looks like kind of a long walk, but it’s near the cafe. We can have lunch there if you want,” the thought of food made your stomach growl which caused Mirio to chuckle. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, “Hey...it’s not my fault you mentioned food!” you barked, but it only seemed to entertain Mirio all the more. “I’ll buy lunch,” he insisted before guiding you out of the room and down the hallway. You passed by several exhibits, though you noticed some were exclusively for children.

Given that didn’t stop Mirio from looking at them with interest, you kind of hoped he wouldn’t try to drag you into one of the children’s activities. You also noticed there was a tour guide explaining the various exhibits to a group of people, you enjoyed the thought of a tour guide. But found it more exciting if you ventured around the aquarium yourself or rather, with Mirio. Your feet were aching by the time you reached the seal exhibit. “Hm, seal and sea lions?” you questioned as you read the banner that was plastered above the entranceway.

“Well, maybe they didn’t want them to be separated,” Mirio suggested, which had you turning your head to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “What?” he questioned and you shook your head, “Nothing,” you replied before walking through the door. You paused shortly after when you noticed the small hallway turned into three separate entrance ways. “What the…” you then noticed there was what looked to be a street sign cemented into the middle of the floor.

“This is a strange way to give directions, wouldn’t it be more fun if you had the element of surprise? You could choose which room you went into and find out what’s on the other side yourself!” Mirio exclaimed and he sounded a little more excited than he should. “I mean...it’s also good to have direction,” you muttered as you leaned forward and carefully read each sign plate. “This says the injured seal exhibit is through this door,” you said, pointing to the closest one to the left.

“Great, let’s go,” Mirio said, taking the lead. You were surprised how narrow some of the hallways were and part of you felt annoyed by how little lighting they had. About two minutes passed before you finally reached the end. You were greeted by a rather impressive setup. The injured seal exhibit had an employee stationed at every corner, more than likely to prevent the seals from getting injured further.

There was a small road of concrete stretching through the exhibit and what looked to be a mountain of rocks. You took note of the flat rock surfaces as well and the impressive amount of water for the seals to freely swim in. A few others were in the exhibit as well and you smiled as you watched a young girl interact with one of the seals. You felt bad seeing the scars that littered the sea creature’s body, but the freshest one seemed to be around their neck.

“Some seals get captured in fishing lines because they’re searching for food, they escape and the fishing line gets embedded into their skin. It’s kind of sad how much litter, nets, and such people leave in the ocean,” you commented as you crossed your arms, a pout on your lips. Mirio frowned, he didn’t want you to be upset. “Hm,” he tapped his chin a few times, “I got it!” he said and without warning, scooped you into his arms.

You cried out, getting the attention of everyone in the exhibit. “W-What are you doing?!” you exclaimed, your heart was pounding in your chest which only matched your dark red cheeks. Mirio could be too much sometimes and the way he turned to look at you with that confused expression only seemed to make things worse as if he didn’t register how his actions affected you.

“Sorry, sunshine. But, these rocks look kind of slippery and I’d hate to see you get hurt. Plus, I can carry you to the water. I think a few seals are taking a swim, maybe we can get their attention?” he suggested with a big goofy smile, however, you returned it with a blank stare. “Heh,” he didn’t seem to mind the fact you said nothing in response and you securely wrapped your arms around his neck. You noticed he took slow and careful steps, more than likely because he didn’t want himself getting hurt either.

That would be a lousy way to end a date. You could hear the sound of the seals calling to one another as you neared the water and Mirio carefully lowered you to the ground. “Uh thanks,” you replied as you stared at the water, a smile coming to your face as you watched the seals splash and play with one another. “They’re so cute,” you commented and Mirio smirked, “I think I know something cuter,” you struggled to keep a smile from coming to your face as you looked at him. “Please don’t say it’s me,” you replied in a dull tone and Mirio frowned, “Fine, I won’t say it. But, that doesn’t make it any less true,” he said and you playfully rolled your eyes.

“I’m sure,” you replied before your attention drew back to the seals. One of them had climbed onto the smooth warm surface you stood on, like the other seals. This one seemed to have a few nasty scars but appeared to be a curious little fella. You watched as it sniffed the air and tilted its head when it caught sight of you. Carefully, you crouched and held your hand out, “Come here, it’s alright,” you assured and held your breath as you watched it inch closer to you. Using those oversized flippers to pull itself along.

“That’s right, come here. I won’t hurt you,” Mirio crouched down beside you, laying his hand on your shoulder as the seal closed the distance. “Aw,” you smiled as you ran your hand over its slick wet head which it seemed to enjoy. “They are pretty cute up close,” Mirio said as he reached over and proceeded to pet the seal as well. You liked to think all animals enjoyed receiving attention, the seal seemed over the moon to have two people petting it. But, then it let out a noise that startled you and caused you to press yourself against Mirio.

“Huh, wasn’t expecting that,” he said as the seal made the noise again, you turned your head as you watched another seal come up from the water and begin to walk over to you. “I think it’s calling for friends,” you replied as a third seal climbed onto land. You turned to Mirio with a concerned expression. “I think we might have given them too much attention,” you said, did all these seals want pets? You weren’t sure, but it certainly seemed that way. Mirio raised both his hands and gave a determined smile. “I’m ready! It’s the least we can do to help these poor guys!” he said and you couldn’t help but smile.

Tamaki always claimed Mirio shined like the sun and you were beginning to see how. Nodding, you turned back to the three seals. “Okay, let’s see how many we can pet, just be careful of their fresh injuries. We don’t want to aggravate them,” you said before Mirio and yourself got to work. Petting an animal was supposed to be a joyous activity, but you almost regretted letting Mirio’s determination drive you. Considering your wrists and hands were aching by the time you walked out of the exhibit.

“Mm...maybe that was a bad idea,” you whined as Mirio cracked his knuckles, “I gotta admit, those seals really wanted attention! But, we did a good deed and maybe they’ll remember us for it,” you shrugged, “Maybe,” lowering your hands, you paused and looked at Mirio. “So, are we going to get some lunch now?” Mirio nodded, “Sure! I’m pretty hungry, I hope they have something good,” the cafe itself was rather cute, it had several tables and benches one could sit on. The counter was colored blue like the ocean and the menu was in the shape of a whale.

You ordered a hot beverage and a sandwich, Mirio ordered large fries to share and a burger with an oversized soda. “How do you stay fit if you eat like that?” you questioned as you took a bite of your sandwich, Mirio shrugged. “I’m always working out my body, a hero has to keep their strength up,” he replied before taking a massive bite of his burger. “Right…” you replied before getting up to retrieve more napkins, with the way Mirio ate. You’d need them.

“Ah! That was good,” Mirio said, seemingly satisfied with the lunch he had. You nodded, “Yeah, it was pretty decent for a cafe,” you said as you two entered the hallway. “Wanna go pet those penguins now?” you asked with a smile, “Yeah!” Mirio declared as he threw his fists into the air. “I can’t wait, I know it’ll be cold. But, petting those little guys will be worth it!” you chuckled, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, maybe we’ll see them huddle together. Huddling helps them stay warm, you know?” given most animals huddled for warmth, it was especially adorable when penguins did. “Oh,” Mirio quickly ran behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Ah, hey!” you could feel yourself being pressed against his chest and looked at him with some confusion. “Like this?” he asked, making it a point to bury his nose into the crook of your neck. “U-Uh…” a shiver ran down your spine and yet again you felt your cheeks grow hot. Mirio’s soft hair brushed against your skin and his hot breath caused goosebumps to rise when he spoke. “I love hugging you, sunshine. I kind of never want to let go, I know that’s kind of silly and all. But, isn’t part of a date being nice and close?” his words were spoken with a purr and he tightened his arms around you.

“U-Uh, I g-guess!” you replied, almost choking on your words. You swallowed back any extra saliva lingering in your mouth and grabbed hold of his arms. Trying to ignore your rapid heartbeat. “C-Can you let go now? We’ll never get to pet penguins like this,” you noted and Mirio tilted his head, almost looking confused about your request. He pouted and dropped his arms soon after, “Fine, I guess that’s true. Heh, maybe we could...huddle together later?” he questioned, reaching up to rub the back of his head.

You saw a faint blush appear across his face, it almost looked adorable. But, you supposed it matched your surprised expression. “You...y-you want to cuddle later?” you questioned, reaching up to brush a piece of your hair behind your ear. “Heh, if that’s okay! I totally understand if it’s crossing boundaries just…” he glanced down and his hand nervously tugged on the collar of his shirt. “Uh…” honestly you weren’t expecting this, but what harm could it do? This was a date. “I mean...if you want, I’d love that. We’ll...see how the day pans out,” you replied, “Let me see that map,” it was amazing how much walking you had done today.

When Mirio handed you the map. You quickly realized the penguin exhibit was on the other side of the aquarium, you felt like groaning. You lowered the map and looked at Mirio, placing your hand on your hip. “Get ready to walk,” you said with a perky smile, the only benefit of walking so far was that it gave time for the food in your stomach to settle. When you finally neared the penguin exhibit, you smiled at the fake snow decorations that surrounded it. You also took note of the temperature change which caused you to shiver. 

“I wish I brought a coat,” you said, or at least a sweater. “Me too,” Mirio said as he rubbed his arms, goosebumps were rising across his skin but he paid no mind as he turned to you. “I bet if we hug the penguins, we’ll stay warm,” he said with a smile and you shrugged, “Maybe, heh. Let’s go,” you urged, trying to will yourself to stop shivering. You reminded yourself a little cold was worth it if it meant you could pet penguins. You walked through the door, down another small hallway before you walked into the penguin exhibit. You took note of the sign that cautioned you to watch your step.

The habitat itself was covered in a thin amount of snow and was constructed of both icy and rocky surfaces. Much like the seal exhibit, there was a fair amount of water for the penguins to swim in and you could make out a few floating ice glaciers that were preoccupied with a few penguins. You smiled, your breath evaporating into the air. Looking around, you took note of the other aquarium goers. Some of them were children and they seemed to take joy in wrapping their arms around the penguins and hugging them for dear life.

The sight made you chuckle, “Isn’t that cute?” you questioned as you pointed to the scene, “Hm?” Mirio followed your finger and smiled, “Yeah, I almost wish I could have brought Eri. She’d love this, but then again. I think I’d get a little jealous I wasn’t getting all of your attention,” he said with another playful wink, you partly wondered if that was his way of flirting. It was somewhat humorous and you chuckled, “I think you get enough attention as is,” you replied before turning to the penguins. Watching a few of them waddle around, “Let’s go see if we can get one’s attention,” you said before reaching over to grab Mirio’s hand.

You carefully walked down the snowy path before stepping over the edge to get onto the second level near the body of water where a few penguins were just returning from their swim. You smiled as you watched the droplets of water fall from their slick feathers and bent your knees. “Come here,” you urged, watching one of them shake off the extra water and flap its wings. You looked at Mirio before creeping forward, the penguin in question turned to look at you. Those dark eyes studied you a moment before it began to waddle away.

“Ah, hey, no!” you cried out, slapping your thighs. “Maybe another one will be more friendly,” Mirio suggested and took the lead this time. He was tempted to use his quirk, but he decided against it. Knowing it could cause the penguins to become panicked. Regardless, most of the penguins waddled away and made a path as you two tried to get one of them to come over to you. “Maybe if we sit down they’d come?” Mirio suggested and without warning, plopped himself onto the ground. You stumbled a little, your body slightly bent as Mirio still had hold of your hand.

“A little warning next time?” you said, “Oh right, sorry,” he adjusted his position so he was sitting cross-legged and tugged on your hand. “Hm?” you tilted your head, “Sit down with me or you could sit in my lap so you don’t get any snow on your pants,” you jumped in surprise, “Your...lap?” you questioned, looking at him with curious yet suspicious eyes. He only nodded in confirmation and you looked around, given it wasn’t anyone’s concern what you were doing on your date. You turned back to Mirio and shrugged, “I mean I guess it couldn’t hurt,” you replied before lowering yourself into his lap, it was a little embarrassing and an overall new experience for you.

When Mirio wrapped his arms around your waist, you felt your stomach twist with butterflies. “Uh…” your legs were stretched out and you tried to focus more on the penguins that continued to waddle around. You held your hand out, wiggling your fingers in hopes to capture their attention. It took a few moments, but eventually, one penguin decided to be brave and approach you. It flapped its wings before closing the distance and you smiled as you ran your hand over its head which was slightly fuzzy and slick.

Mirio retracted one of his arms and reached out, allowing his hand to stroke down the penguin’s back. You watched as the penguin’s eyes closed, “I think this little guy is enjoying our pets,” you said with a smile before another penguin approached, you reached out to pet it. You leaned against Mirio’s chest and found yourself at peace. It was almost amusing watching the penguins form a line, each one waiting to get a dose of attention. You couldn’t deny such cute little animals. It took some time, but eventually you lowered your hand when the penguins seemed satisfied and content. 

Your fingers ached and your body trembled due to the cold, though you had to admit. Sitting in Mirio’s lap kept you warm and you leaned your head against his shoulder. “Does your hand hurt too?” you questioned and Mirio smiled, “A little, we’ve done a lot of petting today,” he said as he reached around and took your hand between his, gently massaging it. “Maybe we should take it easy, I think I read in the pamphlet there’s a whale show. Maybe we could go watch it,” he suggested, “That could be fun,” you said before wiggling in his lap, you pushed your hand against his knee and stood on shaky legs.

“I can’t wait to get warm again,” you said as you crossed your arms. “Yeah, let’s get out of here,” Mirio said as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders and guided you out of the penguin exhibit. You couldn’t help but wave at the penguins as you exited. But you were more than happy when you felt the change in temperature as you entered the hallway. “So, I’m guessing the whale show is back near the seal exhibit,” you said and Mirio shrugged, “Probably, I’m sure we just have to follow the signs,” he pointed to the ceiling and sure enough you saw wooden plates with words and arrows.

“Let’s go!” he insisted before he reached down to take your hand again. You had to admit, you were happy Mirio had asked you on this date. He was so energetic and though he came off a little strong, it was nice to know he cared about you. He even made it a point to grab front row seats for the whale show, though you weren’t too sure if you enjoyed getting splashed when the whale performed its tricks. Given it was amazing, “Ah!” you cried out when another wave came, further soaking your already drenched clothes.

The fabric clung to your wet skin and a shiver ran through you. When you turned to look at Mirio, your eyes widened at the sight of him cheering and smiling for the whale. He too was soaked. His shirt clinging to his body which allowed his muscles to show, his normally spiky hair was pressed against his forehead. But his eyes still held that same happiness and joy you were more than used to seeing. He turned to you with a bright smile, “Having fun?! I think this is amazing!” he declared before another splash came which had both of you crying out.

You were grateful that they were handing out towels after the show. Once you dried off, you suggested going to see the jellyfish. You loved the way they swam through the water, almost like a ballet. “Did you know jellyfish can technically clone themselves? They can actually regenerate if someone or something were to split them in half,” you explained, you were happy Mirio didn’t mind you sharing your knowledge and little facts. You did the same thing when Mirio suggested going to see the sharks, though sharks themselves were a little intimidating.

You also believed they were just misunderstood, you kept that in mind as you watched them swim in their tank. “There are over 500 species of shark, I’m not sure how I’d feel about scuba diving with one though,” Mirio chuckled, “Yeah, that seems a little dangerous,” he nodded in agreement before turning to you. “Anywhere else you’d like to go?” The last activity you wanted to do was pet the stingrays which Mirio happily agreed to. After which, you were beginning to feel tired and a loud yawn escaped you. “Hm, don’t tell me I tired you out already?” Mirio joked as he reached over to run his hand through your hair.

“It’s not you, I love the aquarium. But, it is exhausting doing all that walking,” you commented as you two headed for the exit. “Yeah, I guess,” Mirio said before stepping in front of you which caused you to stop short. “What are you doing?” it wasn’t like Mirio to try and block your path unless he wanted a hug or something. He only smiled at your question and reached up to place his hands on your shoulders. “Uh…” you glanced to the side, unsure of what Mirio was doing. But, you began to get the hint as he leaned down.

You felt your cheeks heat up, “I had a really amazing time with you, sunshine,” he commented as his nose brushed against yours. “Uh...yeah, I had a g-good time too,” you squeaked out, feeling Mirio’s grip on you tighten. “I’m glad,” he whispered before pressing his lips against yours. “Mm!” you should have expected this, but Mirio’s lips felt so warm and inviting. You kept your arms by your sides and shyly returned the kiss before leaning back. Your cheeks flushed, “Uh, t-thanks?” you said, unsure of how to respond after the kiss.

Mirio seemed to find amusement in your reaction and reached over to cup your cheek. Taking note of how warm it was, “You’re welcome,” he responded in a chipper tone, “But, you don’t have to thank me for anything. I’ll happily kiss your lips over and over again! Heh, though that might make them sore, uh…” he removed his hand from your cheek and nibbled on his lip. You noticed this but given the strong tension in the air. You assumed Mirio was going to ask you something.

“So, would you maybe like to go on another date? I know with Izuku around, you might feel guilty. But, I kind of want you all to myself. Sorry if that sounds selfish,” he said sheepishly and you were a little surprised, yes. A part of you felt guilty, given the fact you were aware of how Izuku felt about you. Still, Mirio had made the first move, despite Sir Nighteye’s warning.

Which was surprising considering Mirio seemed to cling on every word his teacher said and followed his orders without question. Was he really willing to disobey him for your sake? You did have a wonderful time on this date. You wouldn’t mind seeing where a second date would go. “It doesn’t sound too selfish,” you teased before placing your hand on his chest, something that caught his attention. “I’d love to go out again,” you said with a smile.

[gumnut-logic]

Voice of Solace

Title: Voice of Solace Chapter Six of Sotto Voce Author: Gumnut 4 - 7 Sep 2018 Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS Rating: Teen Summary: Sometimes the voices are far too loud to ignore. Word count: 5286 Spoilers & warnings: Spoilers for Season 2, minor character death. Author’s note: Okay I have been staring at this too long, so here have the last chapter of this fic. There will likely be a short epilogue - I think there is a need for Virgil and Scott to have a chat.I really hope this lives up to your expectations, and thank you so much for such a fun ride. Your support has been amazing and motivational and you are all wonderful ::many hugs::

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

It was still raining. The wooden decking had a thin film of water across it, each raindrop splashing on impact, fracturing its reflection of the grey sky. The water soaked into his flannel shirt, sticking it to his skin. It dripped down the side of his face, running sideways across his cheek to drip off the edge of his nose.

He lay there for a moment, limp, all energy expended, nothing left. But Virgil Tracy had been here before, been at the end of everything, but still needing to do more.

So he did.

“Eos?” His voice was little more than a whisper.

She lay crumpled in the rain. Her simple white dress laced with scorch marks and sodden in the downpour. Forcing himself to move, he dragged his body across the boards inch by painstaking inch until his fingers could touch her, until he could see her face, until he could wrap his arms around her.

At first, she didn’t respond and he felt the very last of himself slipping away, but then her eyelids fluttered and she looked up at him.

“I have to go. N-need to repair...” Her eyes closed again and she frowned. “Uncle, come with me?” Her eyes opened as his widened.

“Where?”

“I-I can’t leave you here. Come with me?” And her voice grew stronger. She reached up a hand and touched his face. “Let me save you?”

His heart clenched. “You already have.”

“Then trust me, Virgil. Please come with me.”

He took her hand in his and held her close. “Okay.”

She smiled sadly. “I’m so sorry.”

And then his world dissolved into chaos.

-o-o-o-

Scott had his elbows on the bed, Virgil’s hand gripped in both hands and held to his dropped forehead, his eyes closed.

Every muscle was tensed, his body trembling just slightly.

Eos’ tirade had cut off suddenly. She had been relaying situational reports laced with cursing, one moment calm, the next threatening their unseen intruder, then suddenly nothing.

He could hear John wrestling with his tablet, desperate to drag more information from it. “She’s taken program damage.”

Scott looked up and met a pair of worried green eyes. He watched John swallow, his gaze flicking between Virgil’s slack face and his tablet.

There was a gasp from the bed.

Virgil’s eyes were open.

Scott shot to his feet. “Virgil?”

His brother’s brown eyes latched onto him, panic in their depths. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but was suddenly distracted by John shooting to his feet on the other side of the bed.

A flash of recognition.

Scott yelped as his brother scuttled sideways off the bed and into his lap. The chair collapsed backwards and he was lucky he didn’t whack his head on the floor. As it was, his brother was heavy and for a moment he couldn’t breathe.

There was an incoherent yell of terror and Virgil clambered off him. Scott rolled off the chair, coughing and pushed himself to his knees.

Blocked from the door, Virgil jammed himself into the corner of the room, squeezing himself up as small as he could get, his hands over his head clutching at where the EEG pads had been torn from his hair.

He whimpered.

John stood at the end of the bed, hope and fear warring on his face.

“John?”

“Eos! Are you okay?”

“You must leave the room.” When his brother didn’t immediately respond, she added, “Now. I will explain.”

John looked at Scott, at Virgil, who flinched and tried to crawl into the wall, before nodding once and leaving the room.

Scott edged towards his brother, reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder. Virgil flinched looking up, fear and pain on his face. “Sc-t?”

Gently. “C’mere.”

And he found his arms full of shaking brother. Virgil’s forehead dropped to Scott’s shoulder. “I-“ A harshly indrawn breath. “G-d.” A sob. “H-rts.” His whole body shuddered, and he was crying. The heart-breaking sobs of a man forced far beyond his limits.

Scott held him tighter, squeezing his own eyes shut, a tear of his own running down his cheek.

-o-o-o-

“The Hood disguised himself as you.”

“What?”

“The transmission that attempted to compel your brother to betray International Rescue manifested as you. Virgil has been seeing a hallucination of you. It was you who has been coercing him and you who tortured him when he did not obey.”

John’s mouth fell open, his voice stuck in his throat, horror welling.

“I’m sorry, John, but you will need to stay away from Virgil for a while.”

“But-“

“Please listen to me on this. You did not see what I saw. He is so hurt, Father.” A pause. “We almost lost him. He was dying. He had nothing left. I-“

“Eos.”

“I’m sorry, John. I’m not myself. I need to make some repairs.” Another pause. “Please ask the second youngest to attend them. Excuse me.”

And with that, she was gone.

-o-o-o-

Some time had passed, but he didn’t know how much. Everything was confusing. He couldn’t think straight.

He opened his eyes to cloth. Breathing cloth.

God, his head hurt. He groaned and shut his eyes again.

“Virgil?” The quiet enquiry vibrated the shirt against his ear. A name belonged to that voice. A precious name.

“Sc-t?” His voice slurred. There were fingers in his hair. Ow. He fisted his hand in the cloth.

“Speak to me, Virgil.” Quietly demanding.

“Wh-t d you w-nt m t say?” Augh, the words slurred sideways, his tongue felt thick in his mouth. Where was he?

Eos.

He shot up, his eyes open and searching. “E-s!” The world spun and hands grabbed him as he swayed where he sat. A blanket fell to his waist.

“I am here, Virgil.” I am here.

“She’s fine, Virgil. She took some damage during the disconnect, but she is fine.” 

There were hands on his shoulders, holding him. He looked up into a pair of bloodshot blue eyes. “Sc-t?” The blue eyes frowned in concern. “’n fl-r?”

The frown deepened. “I’m sorry, Virg, what did you say?”

“’n fl-r?”

Scott’s lips thinned.

“He would like to know why you are on the floor.” Eos’ crisp voice echoed through the room and Virgil looked up. I did say I was here.

“Virgil, did you want to sit in the chair? Or on the bed?” Another voice. A familiar voice. Younger. Brown eyes like his. Laughter. Sitting in a chair.

“G-don.” He smiled. “Fnny.”

Those brown eyes grinned at him. “Why, yes, yes, I am, and proud of it. Did you want a hand up, bro?”

Virgil raised his hand and Gordon grabbed it. With a grunt, he helped him to his feet. The blanket fell to the floor. His younger brother reached out to steady him, before wrapping his arms around him in a hug. “Love you, Virg.”

Virgil returned the embrace, one hand wrapping around the back of his brother’s head. “L-v t.” Where were his words? His head was pounding.

And suddenly dizzy.

“Whoa! Hold it there, bro.” Gordon grabbed him as he teetered and Scott appeared from behind him. “Perhaps bed is a good idea.”

He closed his eyes and the world spun on the inside of his eyelids. Augh. His stomach rolled. “K.”

His brothers helped him into bed and he thankfully lay down. He scrunched his eyes into the pillow and willed the world to stop spinning.

-o-o-o-

John Tracy stared at the vidscreen and wished the Hood a horrible and painfilled death. He could hear the voices in his head that equated to his father, his eldest brother and even Virgil attempting to shout him down. He had never wished ill on anyone, but watching his big brother curl up on that bed in pain, hardly able to speak after all he had been through, the savage inside him wanted revenge.

Scott exited the infirmary and came to stand beside him. He still looked awful.

“We need a doctor.”

“Definitely. But how do we explain the hardware in his head?”

Scott sighed. “I’ll speak to Colonel Casey. Get some confidentiality forms signed. We have no choice.”

“Virgil will not be some someone’s pet science project.”

“No, he won’t.” Scott’s voice was cold.

They were interrupted by Eos. “John?”

“Yes, Eos? How are you feeling?”

“Better. Repairs are underway.”

“Do you need my assistance?”

“Perhaps later. I thought you should know that the ‘hardware’ in Virgil’s head is still growing. We need to halt its growth before we do anything.”

Beside him, Scott paled. “How?”

But John was a step ahead. “The nanites?”

“Yes, I believe a reprogram will give us the results we are looking for. However, I am hesitant to to recommend any attempt at removing the device. In fact, I think we may need the nanites to maintain the structure.”

“What? Why?” Scott was on edge again.

“It is embedded in Virgil’s frontal lobe, where Virgil is. The fact his speech is now affected is proof it is still spreading. He is functional and should heal. I fear that if we attempt to remove it, there will be further damage. Damage he cannot afford.”

“I’ll get a doctor.” And with that Scott stalked out of the room.

“Eos, show me what you have in mind.”

-o-o-o-

Colonel Casey showed no emotion when Scott explained the problem, but she was a hardened military officer and he didn’t expect her to. Her orders were crisp and within hours they had a highly rated neurologist flying out to the island despite the lateness of the hour.

Scott didn’t particularly like the idea of a stranger in their home, but he trusted the Colonel, the forms had been signed and he was desperate.

The doctor had degrees like a pack of cards and was extremely professional. His eyes did widen at the sight of the equipment they had available and his facial expression upon seeing Virgil’s scans was painful to watch.

“Who did this?”

“We call him the Hood.” Scott’s voice was hoarse. “He wants power and money and doesn’t care who he has to hurt to get it.” The latest holographic scan spun slowly in front of them, the spiderweb of circuitry clearly seen wrapped around his brother’s frontal lobe. “He wants our technology, so he tried to use Virgil to get it. He failed.”

“Have you asked the GDF for help? He needs to be arrested.”

Scott looked at him calmly. “Doctor, The GDF have been looking for him for years. He is suspected of killing our father. We caught him once after he invaded our home, so we handed him over to the GDF. He escaped. The GDF had him right on their doorstep yet again and he walked away. The GDF have failed on multiple occasions to nail this guy and look what has happened now!” The doctor backed away, alarm on his face, and Scott realised he was yelling. He swallowed and stepped back. “I’m sorry. It has been a bad few days.” He looked down.

“Understandable.” The doctor cleared his throat and straightened. “I see no way to remove such a structure without damaging your brother further. See here how it has ‘grown’ into his cerebrum? It would be impossible separate it out without damaging the surrounding tissue. It would be like trying to remove a section of his vascular system, too fine, too intergrated.”

Scott’s shoulders slumped. “I suspected as much.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So am I.”

-o-o-o-

Eos had assigned a good portion of her resources to repairs. The sudden removal of the part of herself that had reached into their enemy’s mind had been a shock. Several crucial functions had been corrupted and she had a cascade shutdown barely under control in her primary memory – John would need to assist with that. But she couldn’t leave Virgil. He still wasn’t functioning correctly and she had resources that were needed.

And on top of that, she was still maintaining Thunderbird Five. It didn’t take much processor power to shunt messages around and keep the satellite running, but it was a duty she was required to do. No doubt, if she mentioned it, John would return, but she couldn’t ask him to do that. His worry for Virgil outclassed hers. She could see it on his face.

So, it was for this reason that it was Eos, not John Tracy, who intercepted the report of the death of a man suspected of being the Hood.

He had been shot through the head. Clearly assassinated.

Eos held the message in her processor for more moments than necessary, staring at it. She remembered the sudden shutdown, the abrupt cut of life in that mind.

She had been there.

Information on how it had happened was sketchy, but it was clearly a professional hit. Too accurate, too clean to be anything but.

Examining her own record of the event and scouring the nets for any further information gave her a suspicious picture, particularly in timing. Chewing on an errant circuit, she took a chance and accessed the logs of outgoing communication from Tracy Island.

The second youngest had made a call.

She followed it. Darting through the networks she traced a thin trail of events, calls, exchanges of money and street video.

Coming to the inevitable conclusion, she quickly backtracked, destroying evidence and ghosting diversions as she ran.  Records were removed and replaced, numbers changed and data deleted.

Until she was back at Gordon’s vidphone, which she short circuited and destroyed.

He yelped and she smiled.

It was all really just another game.

One she needed to win.

-o-o-o-

Virgil slept for two days straight. They woke him for fluids and observations, but no sooner had his eyes opened than they closed, his mind and body desperate for rest and repair.

During that time John assisted Eos with her own repairs and the two of them built a program to rewrite the nanites directive code. They tested it and tested it and tested it, but time was crucial, so it was with baited breath John handed over the finalised program to Eos to deploy.

John, of course, hadn’t been able to visit his brother and it hurt. He had to be content with the vidscreen and helping out the best way he could.

“Eos, will you need the EEG?”

“No, John, I will interface directly with Virgil via the z-band network.”

“You can do that?”

“Certainly.”

“Does Virgil know?”

“Doubtful.”

“You will tell him.” It was not a suggestion.

“Of course.”

John stared up at the camera, his lips thin. “Go to him.”

“Yes, John.” She went.

-o-o-o-

She hovered watching him sleep, the ever-present frown still on his face.

The Eldest sat beside his bed once again holding Virgil’s hand. He knew she was there and what she was about to do. And she was hesitating.

She had to do this.

But once again she was frightened. Not so much for herself this time, but for Virgil. She had seen what had been done to his mind. This program was designed to help, but what if it didn’t?

“Eos?” The Eldest’s voice was quiet and his head had dropped to his brother’s hand again. “This has to be done.”

“I know.”

She reached out.

And slipped through the interface.

And Virgil was sleeping. It felt so different from her last visit. He was not confined to his refuge, but all around her, alive and resonating despite his somnolent state. He was healing slowly, his networks generating new connections around those that had failed. There was still pain and she shied away from it. There was still broken and she ached to see it. But Virgil was there, the soul she had met and defended but an echo of this vibrant being wrapped in slumber.

She stepped lightly, not wanting to break the sleep he so desperately needed. Keeping to the artificial, she targeted the nanites and seeded the program throughout. It would change them from alien bodies to an extension of Virgil’s biological system, their aim to maintain the circuitry and prevent further damage to his brain.

She watched as thousands of them floating in his blood stream took the commands and acted.

The silvery web of circuitry stopped growing.

And the frown finally slipped from Virgil’s face.

-o-o-o-

“The Hood is dead?” Scott stared at his brother. John, as always, looked much calmer than Scott felt. “How?”

“Shot. Through the head.”

“By who?”

“Unknown, but the GDF suspect a professional hit.”

Scott bit his lip, his reaction caught up amongst relief, rejoicing, his moral code and the regret that he hadn’t the chance to do it himself.

Alan answered for him. “Thank god.” His youngest brother sagged against the lounge.

Gordon stood frozen in the corner, no doubt as stunned as he was at the sudden and anticlimactic end to the man who had haunted their lives for years. Something in his expression drew Scott to his side and he draped an arm around his shoulders. His brother looked up at him, pain in his eyes. “Is it really over?”

“I guess so.”

And he suddenly found himself wrapped in Gordon, his hug so fierce it hurt. A strangled moment, and just as abruptly Scott could breathe again. His brother fled the room.

“What?” John stared after him.

-o-o-o-

On the third day Virgil finally woke. The sight of those sleepy brown eyes lifted Scott’s heart like nothing before it.

“Hey, Virg.”

Virgil blinked ever so slowly. “H-y.”

“How’re you feeling?”

Another blink. “Dn’t n.” He lifted a shaking hand to his head “St-ll hrts.” His fingers felt over his scalp and his eyes widened. “M h-r! Wh y dn  t m h-r?” He tried to sit up.

Scott held him down. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. It is just a few patches. We didn’t have a choice.”

“P-tch-s!”

He couldn’t help but smirk just a little. “It will grow back, Virg.”

The glare could have fuelled Thunderbird One for an around the world flight.

“Now, I have a doc here, Doctor Emery. He has a few questions. You okay to answer them?”

Virgil frowned at him. “K.”

And so started the first of many neurological exams. Over the next week the doctor gauged his reactions, movements, speech, his ability to read, his memory, the whole range of thought and nerve specific tasks. And once the engineer was steady enough on his feet, he even had Virgil sit at his piano.

The sounds of his brother playing that piano perfectly was one of the most beautiful things Scott had ever heard.

-o-o-o-

A week later and Virgil had been released from the doctor’s immediate care. He was still exhibiting intermittent aphasia, but there were no obstructions to his understanding, just word production. Extremely frustrating, but the doctor had high hopes that it was temporary.

The day was beautiful and Virgil had found himself a spot by the pool and was half asleep on a lounger when the first call for a once again active International Rescue came through. He could hear Eos reporting it to John in the lounge, her voice wafting over the breeze. He didn’t even bother to open his eyes. He was in that pleasant zone of restful doze. His headache was under control thanks to the pills he had taken earlier. The dizziness was pleasantly absent. This was a nice space to be.

“Virgil?” Alan’s voice. “You’re gonna wanna move, bro. Scott’s been called out to a rescue.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Virgil?”

He waved a sleepy hand in his brother’s direction. “Yes, yes, it takes exactly 60 seconds for Thunderbird One to get into launch position. I’ll move then. The pool will let me know.”

Exactly sixty seconds.

He frowned.

Exactly sixty seconds.

Sleeping on a pool lounger.

Night time. Thunderbird One’s hanger. John telling him to adjust…

“No!” Virgil scrambled off the sunbed, desperate to get his feet under him. “No! Sc-tt! Ab-rt! ABORT!”

He ran across the kitchen and flew up the stairs. John was standing behind his father’s desk, eyes wide. “Ab-rt! St-p th l-nch! Sab-tage! Abort!” John stared at him and for just a split second the terror overwhelmed him, maybe it was... No. “Stop! Ab-rt! G-d damnit!” Virgil?

It was like slow motion, the seconds ticking by in Virgil’s head, John reaching to connect his comm to Scott. “Scott, abort launch.”

“What?” His eldest brother’s tone reeked of annoyance.

“Sc-t! Abort!”

“Virgil?” What’s wrong?

“STOP THE DAMN SHIP!!”

“Aborting launch sequence.” A pause. “Returning to dock.”

Virgil spun where he stood and raced over to Scott’s launch chute, grabbing the light fixtures and activating the turnstile.

“Virgil!” He heard John’s footsteps behind him. Please tell me.

He ignored his brother and jumped onto the elevator, a hand gripping his head as he flew down towards TB1’s docking space. His dizziness did not approve of the sudden stop and made its displeasure known. He staggered against the side of the car as he exited, moments away from forcing the doors open himself if they didn’t move.

As he entered the docking bay, TB1 was just returning to her resting spot, an alarmed Scott clearly seen through the cockpit window. Virgil jumped onto the extender platform, willing it to go faster. The cockpit doors opened at his approach. “Virgil? What’s wrong?”

He didn’t answer, leaping the last few metres from the platform into the cockpit. Scott yelped and grabbed at him. “What the hell?!”

“No t-me!”

He stumbled around Scott’s chair, whacking his shin and bashing an elbow. Forcing himself into the space below, he yanked off one of the access hatches, revealing the instrumentation inside. Hurriedly activating the holographic interface, he accessed the ship’s computer core.

Where is it, where is it?

Fuel control. Virgil!

He brought up the fuel management system and reaching into the code, started pulling systems. Shutting the program down from the inside. Disabling it in a way that could not be circumvented no matter what smart-assed code he had put in there. What?!

And to doubly make sure, he reached inside a second access panel and physically ripped out the electrical power to the fuel pump. Scott yelled as sparks exploded in Virgil’s face. What are you doing?!

TB1 whined in complaint, settling on her docking platform. Scott grabbed him from behind and pulled him away from the still sparking panel.

“Virgil, what the hell are you doing to my ship?”

He found himself out of breath, panting as if he had run a marathon. It felt like he had. “J-J-hn, asked m t f-x th fu-l flow c-ntrl.” Frustration. “’xplode. ‘N l-nch.” He was shaking.

“Bro, I am truly sorry, but I don’t understand.”

“Virgil sabotaged Thunderbird One.” Eos’ calm voice issued through Scott’s sash comm. “He said John asked him to fix the fuel flow control. Checking now.” Scott was staring at him in shock. “Confirmed. There is at least one program embedded in the fuel management system. Executable to alter the fuel mix on launch. The result would have destroyed Thunderbird One and most of her hanger. It has been disabled, but I recommend a thorough scan of all ship computer systems and mechanics.”

Scott was still staring when he croaked out, “Yes.” He visibly swallowed.

Virgil’s voice was barely a whisper. “I’m s-rry.”

His brother’s grip tightened on his arms a moment, before he found himself wrapped in Scott. “Not your fault,” was muffled into his hair.

Virgil closed his eyes.

-o-o-o-

Brains, of course, was horrified and what followed was the most thorough overhaul of Tracy Island’s systems that had ever been done. The systems check revealed that Virgil had been busy that night. Somehow, he had managed to also sabotage Thunderbird Three, similarly corrupting the fuel lines in a way that would result in an explosion on launch. He had also jimmied her silo, so once she was closed, she stayed closed. And incidentally, the pool would never have warned Virgil of TB1’s launch, because he had jimmied that locked shut as well. Apparently, the Hood had wanted his explosions contained.

Thunderbirds Two and Four were clean, obviously the getaway vehicle and source of all the Hood’s future technologies.

Virgil sat slumped to one side of the couch listening to all the damage he had done. International Rescue was very effectively grounded. He didn’t remember doing most of it, just a few flashes, associations, but that was enough. He had come so close to losing his brother. He screwed his eyes shut.

Virgil, it wasn’t your fault.

“D-sn’t m-k it ny easier.”

It should. You were not responsible and the man who was is now dead. You saved your brother today.

“S d-mned cl-se.” His throat ached.

A hand touched his arm and he jumped. Scott was leaning over him. “You okay?” Worried blue eyes.

“I-“ A sigh. “N-.”

Perhaps you should rest?

“You should rest, Virg.”

He frowned up at his brother. “Wh-t?”

“Rest. You are still recovering and today was rather stressful.” Understatement of the year.

“N-, w-ant t sty here.”

You should go to bed.

“N-!”

Vir-

“No! Im st-yg hr, g-dd-mnit!”

There was a sudden silence in the room and he realised that everyone was staring at him. Scott was pale and frankly looked terrified. Virgil sat up, concerned. “What?”

“Who were you talking to, Virgil?” Gordon was staring at him, concern all over his face.

“Wh-t? Tlking t y.”

“No, you weren’t. We weren’t talking. You were responding to someone else.” Gordon’s voice was very calm, very careful.

“W-s I?”

“He was responding to me.” Eos’ calm voice spoke into the room. “He wasn’t listening to you, so I thought I could help.”

Silence. Then Scott, deadly calm. “How were you speaking to Virgil, Eos?”

She didn’t answer immediately, and then she didn’t have to. Virgil reached a hand to his forehead. “Omigd.”

“You were using that thing?!” Gordon had the same expression on his face that he would have if he had stepped in a pile of manure.

On the far side of the room, as far away from Virgil as he could get, John snapped, “Eos!”

“He didn’t mind.”

“Did you ask? Did you tell him you had access?”

Virgil stared. “Acc-ss?”

“From his expression, I guess the answer is no?”

“I haven’t had the chance.”

“But you had the chance to invade his mind without his permission?”

“I did not invade his mind! I simply spoke to him.”

“Keep out of my brother’s head!” Okay, so Gordon was pissed too.

“I was trying to help.”

“Gordon, she saved his life!” From scolding parent to defending father one moment to the next.

“Virgil has had enough people messing around inside his head. You of all people should know that.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you!”

“SH-T U-UP!” Virgil was on his feet and shaking. “Sh-t up.” Scott, unusually silent, gripped his arm gently, but Virgil shook it off. “B-th f yu leave hr ‘lone! M b-s-ness, nt yours.” And with that he stalked out of the room.

A walk. He needed a walk, to calm and to think. Anywhere but here.

-o-o-o-

“What the hell was that?” Scott rounded on Gordon.

“Virgil doesn’t need anyone messing with his head. It’s messed up enough already.”

“Eos was trying to help. She went about it the wrong way.” He glared at the ceiling. “But her intentions were correct.”

“How do you know that, Scott?” Alan came to stand beside his brother. “She almost killed John the first time they met.”

“That was justified and has been forgiven.” John stood beside Scott.

“Justified?! She was justified in killing you? If I hadn’t made it in time, we would have lost you, John. You didn’t have to find your brother floating dead in space. She did that!”

“If it wasn’t for Eos, Virgil would be dead, Alan! Do you have any idea what she sacrificed to save our brother? She had a cascade failure in her primary memory core. Left alone it would have killed her. As it is, she has lost part of herself.”

“She’s backed up on TB5, John, go find a patch.”

“It’s not the same!” John’s face was red.

“That’s enough.” Scott’s voice was quiet but sharp. “She didn’t have to offer her help with Virgil, but she did. And thank god, because without her, we would have been screwed. She has proven herself time and time again that she is a valuable member of this team and this family. And just like all of us, she is not perfect. She is going to make mistakes, but trust me, she means well. We have Virgil’s life as proof. So, show a little respect.”

“But Scott, she tapped Virgil’s brain-“

“I know, Gordon. There will be discussions, trust me.”

“But-“

“Trust me, Gordon.”

His younger brother glared, but he shut up.

Alan’s expression hadn’t improved. “I’m going to go rip out the mess Virgil put into my ‘bird the last time someone got into his head.” And he walked off.

Scott didn’t know whether to be hurt or to punch the nearest wall. John’s hand on his arm stopped the later, but let the former in. “He’s just worried.”

“So, worry turns him into an ass?”

“Apparently.”

“Hmph.”

-o-o-o-

Virgil ended up on a beach. It wasn’t his favourite beach, that was on the other side of the island, just a random beach with sand, waves and a severe lack of other people.

Thank god.

He plopped himself under a palm tree and lay back in the sand, staring into the blue, blue sky. It had been so long since he was alone. His brothers had been hovering since his collapse and while he appreciated their concern, part of him really just wanted to be left alone.

But then apparently that was no longer possible.

“E-s?”

Yes, Virgil?

He sighed and closed his eyes. “W n-d t tlk.”

Okay. But you shouldn’t need to vocalise for me to understand you. Save those vowel sounds for when they are really needed.

Okay. How are you doing this?

The circuitry in your head is an interface. It allows computer-based systems to speak to your biological system. I’m just accessing that capability to communicate with you. It is quite ingenious really. As long as you are in proximity to the z-band network, and you usually are, I can use it to speak to you.

And what else? He had his suspicions.

A moment and in his mind’s eyes, a familiar young girl in a white dress with red hair appeared. I find it very interesting that you view me in this way.

He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. Please don’t do that, Eos. I’m not…ready.

Okay. The girl vanished.

What about other computer systems? Am I about to find myself saddled with a virus any time soon.

No. Her voice was cold. I will not allow it.

How can you prevent it?

I have my ways, trust me. No-one and nothing gets in.

It was still unnerving to think there was an open access to his very thoughts.

Virgil, John would like to speak with you. Can he approach?

His stomach clenched. Of course.

Feet on sand wandered onto the beach and John sat down at a respectable distance away from his brother.

“’m s-rry, J-hn.”

“I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Not your fault, Virgil.”

“S-cks.”

“Yes, big time.” A sigh. “But we’ll get through it. We always do.”

Virgil couldn’t help but smile a little. “G-t yr kid n my h-d.”

“You okay?”

“Y-h. Odd, b-t sh-s g-d.”

“Yes, that she is.”

-o-o-o-

FIN.

[binqtop-blog]

Here’s a story I wrote about my oc Jackie and @miraculousgems‘ oc Cherami It’s how they met and stuff! Please don’t ship them they’re literally based off my friend and myself so that would be extremely uncomfortable and disrespectful. They’ll both find their own significant others eventually don’t worry.

Warning: I’m not a good writer and I never re-read this to check for mistakes

It was late in the afternoon: the sun was still shining through the leaves, but the sounds of nature had softened. Leaves crunched under Cherami’s boots as she walked down the trail leading her back to the town. Her hat bounced with every step, and her cloak swayed with the crisp breeze. She quietly hummed to herself, occasionally glancing behind her shoulder to check on her bag of recently purchased goods, which had been enchanted to float in the air and follow her. Cherami’s been practicing witchcraft her whole life, and enjoyed taking trips to a nearby village to buy herbs, gems, and other ingredients. The trail to the village was through a dense forest full of beautiful flowers, mushrooms, and other flora. Of course she has come across many animals like the common birds, squirrels, and frogs; however, there have been times where the witch has seen a porcupine, opossum, and even a few bears. After walking for 15 minutes, Cherami reached a pile of mossy rocks: the landmark reminding her to take the special shortcut. She leaned over and pulled a wand out of her right boot. Gripping her wand, she flicked her wrist to the left of the trail, where there was just forest. The leaves rustled and drifted to the side, creating a miniature pathway. She paused for a few seconds, scanning the area to make sure there weren’t spiders. Despite not seeing anything, Cherami still ran, squealing for the whole time, which was around 5 seconds. She hopped onto the real trail and put her hand on her hip to catch her breath. Fixing her hat, she put slid her wand back into her boot and continued following the original path. The sun was starting to leave the sky, and the light began escaping from the woods. Cherami quickened her pace so she could make it home before dark, and covered lots of ground before stumbling as she nearly stepped on a tiny mushroom on a rock.

“I can’t just….not take it.” She muttered as she crouched down. Looking closer, she realized that the mushroom was next to the rock, and that the rock wasn’t a rock. “Oh?” Her voice caused the creature to stir. Its little head popped up and turned to look at Cherami. It was a bat, and it was laying on the ground. “Hey, little guy, did you fall out of a tree?” The bat’s big ears twitched, shifting its wings. Cherami picked up a twig and used it to pet the bat and scratch behind its ears. She brought the stick over to its legs, lightly pressing it against the feet, which latched onto the twig. Slowly standing up, she lifted the stick, with the bat now hanging from it, to the nearest tree and gently put the bat onto a branch. Before continuing her trek home, she used the stick to pet its back again. She had only taken a few steps when the she heard sound of rustling branches behind her.

And a voice.

“Hey wait come back that felt nice.”

Cherami screamed, barely saving herself from falling onto the dirt trail. She whipped and nae-naed around and saw someone sitting on the branch where she had previously placed the bat. They had disheveled short dark brown hair, matching their torn up shirt and pants that were both full of holes. They were dirty and barefoot, like they haven’t bathed in a few weeks. They were pale and skinny, and had pointy ears. Their big, red eyes wouldn’t stay still, and could barely hold eye contact with Cherami. It was like they were trying to absorb every detail, but couldn’t focus on anything long enough.

“Can you not!?” Cherami panted as she tried to calm her heart pounding in her chest. Her gaze lingered on the person’s eyes, the redness of the irises made her feel unsettled. She snatched her wand and grabbed her basket, just in case she needed to run or fight.

“O-Oh, yeah, um….sorry?” They were swinging their legs and picking at one of the holes in their shirt. “I haven’t really seen that many people lately. It’s just been a while since I’ve, um….. talked to someone.” They looked up and shifted their weight, and started messing with the tree bark.

They sure do move a lot, Cherami though before asking: “Okay, so who are you?” The question made the person perk up a bit, like they were surprised that Cherami even cared.

“Jack! But lots of people just call me Jackie. Like my friends….which I haven’t seen them in a long time. Can’t remember when I last saw them, haha….oops.” They sighed and licked their chapped lips. That was when Cherami noticed the fangs.

“Haha…..yeah, it was nice to meet you but I need to leave, so bye-” Cherami quickly announced and pointed her wand at her boots, putting a spell on them so she could run faster. She completely ignored Jackie’s response and, clutching her wand and basket, started sprinting down the trail. The environment became a blur of color as she sped closer to her house. In the blurriness, she saw a dark blob pass her, which distracted her long enough to make her trip over a root jutting out of the ground. Cherami yelped, her wand and basket flew out of her hands. The ground rapidly got closer, when she was suddenly jerked backwards. She cried out and flailed, trying to gain her balance until she realized that someone was holding her.

“You okay? I caught your glasses.” Said a familiar voice. Cherami squinted at the face and snagged her glasses. It was Jackie. Cherami started squirming aggressively and screaming. “Wait w-what are you doing–”

“PUT ME DOWN–”

“But I’m–”

“I SAID PUT ME DOWN!!!”

“Um….okay….” Jackie dropped Cherami, who kept screaming once she realized that Jackie wasn’t standing on the ground.

“WAIT NO–” Cherami landed on the dirt trail with a big OOF. “Shit….”

“You good? I honestly don’t feel bad if you got hurt cuz it was your fault! You told me to drop you that’s what you get!” Jackie was floating right above Cherami, their red eyes staring right at her. Cherami scrambled backwards, trying to find her wand.

“S-Stay back! I can and will use magic.” She stuttered, staring at the Jackie while patting the ground behind her. Where is it where is it where is it…..

“Did I say something weird? Or...or do I smell bad?” They started mumbling, “Of course I smell bad I probably smell like a dead animal…”

Cherami finally caught sight of her wand, which had rolled a few yards away. Some stuff had spilled out of her basket, too.

“No, it’s because you’re a fucking vampire!”

Jackie was silent for a few seconds, then laughed. “Holy shit I forgot about that. I’ve only been like this for…...what’s the day today?”

“Um.......the 27th.” Cherami responded and started scooting over to her wand.

“Forty-three days!” Jackie stated after counting with their fingers for a bit. They sat up and leaned back as if they were resting on a chair, except they were hovering above the ground. “Throwback to when I was turned...it was hella painful.”

“So you’re….not going to kill me?” Cherami paused, still tense, but curious.

“What? No!” The vampire almost looked offended. “Why would I? I’ve only seen three other people in the past month and a half. One person I just heard their voice so who knows if it even was a person. The second person I, uh….I was really hungry and hadn’t really eaten in a while so I may or may not have lost control of myself and…” They waved it off, “it doesn’t matter they’re dead now. And then there’s you! Congrats, you’re person number three!”

“Oh...fun.” Cherami forced a smile. “So how come you haven’t seen anyone else? This forest isn’t that small you could’ve easily just left.”

“Well….yeah but I barely eat so I have no energy, so I’m just tired all the time. That’s why I was just chilling on the ground when you found me. I was way too lazy to fly up into a tree so I was just kinda sat there.”

“You need to eat! You just said that you lost it and killed someone because you were so hungry. By the way please don’t do that to me I’d like to stay alive thank you very much. It’s close to being nighttime, so there’s probably some mice or something you can go snack on.”

Jackie silently lands on the ground and looks down at Cherami. “Wait you don’t hate me anymore?” They whispered.

Cherami grunted as she got up. “I never said I hated you. I was just scared because I expected you to rip my neck open.” She took off her hat, which somehow stayed on despite everything that just happened, and blew off the dirt. She brushed off her cloak and flattened the fabric. “You vampires don’t exactly have a good reputation.”

“Heh, you got that right.” Jackie smiled, showing off their fangs. “Oh, yeah! You dropped your stuff.” They flew over to the basket, and started to put some of the items back in.

Cherami watched them in silence for a few seconds. “What happened to your clothes?”

“Oh, yeah…. Sometimes I dissociate and fall out of trees, or I see a raccoon and I’m like ‘haha it’s a raccoon,’ and then I pick it up and– you know what I’m glad I can’t get rabies that would suck.”

“Yeah that wouldn’t be very fun for anyone.” Cherami picked up her wand.

“Hey, that reminds me! So you know how I’ve just been stranded in this forest for, like, over a month? I don’t have anywhere to live and I have no way to bathe, and also I don’t have any clothes! Also I have no idea where I am because after being bitten I was laying on the ground writhing in pain until I passed out and woke up in the middle of nowhere with blood all over my mouth! It was great.”

“Oh God–”

“So I was wondering….can I live with you? I’m just a lonely wittle vampire who means no harm!”

“No–”

“Please?” Jackie dragged the word for a few seconds. “I won’t kill you or anything I promise.”

Cherami sighed. “Fine–”

“YES!” Jackie clapped their hands together.

“BUT! If you try anything I won’t hesitate kick you out. Also I have a familiar who’s a tiger so don’t you even think about eating her or I’ll stomp you to death with my fucking boots.”

“Deal!”

“Now hurry up and get the basket so we can go home.”

[thelarryrec-blog]

All the fics I read in...April!

I definitely didn’t realize how much I read this month, despite being out of town 3 out of the 4 weekends. What can you say? I always make room for fic. Hope you enjoy! I really loved the new ones that came out this month! -a

A/B/O ‘Verse by sarcasticfluentry (Tumblr)

you burn with the brightest flame

first time catching fire

river flows in you

one day

your hand in mine 

bite me II by happilylarry

Part 2 of bite me series

Be My Little Good Luck Charm by 100percentsassy (Tumblr)

In which Harry is a promising amateur golfer making his debut at the PGA Championship, and Louis is a Sky Sports anchor who would really rather be commentating on footie.

The other boys are around too: caddy!Niall provides victory pints, Liam is Louis's Very Serious co-anchor, and poor Zayn just gets his face drawn on.

Before They Turn The Lights Out by lizzieemariee

Harry feels like he’s absolutely gagging for it and that’s probably because he is, he needs Louis, needs to fuck him, and soon.

both your hands in the holes of my sweater by hilourry

Part 2 of football/designer Series

After ten years together, Harry gets injured on the football field, forcing him to retire, and Louis and their kids are there to help him out.

bulan dipagari bintang by snsk

right now this is his pack, the vampire harry's burning his scent into, murmuring nonsensities about the stars and their stories.

// or: harry is sixteen when he comes into his werewolf form. louis is terribly, wonderfully ageless, and still, always a vampire.

By Your Side (That’s Where I Have To Be) by LithiumCrystal (Tumblr)

“What is it like then, Louis?’ Harry asks, voice quiet and eyes dark “why’d you come to tell me?” It’s a good question. Louis’s not even sure what he’s feeling, really. The man who gave him half his genetic coding is brain-dead on a slab somewhere and he’s standing in his… In Harry’s hotel room with no idea what he’s supposed to be thinking or doing.

Or, in which Louis's bio-dad dies suddenly and Louis and Harry have a lot of baggage.

Call Me Shallow But I’m Only Getting Deeper by Lis (domesticaharry)

Harry gripped the back of Louis’ chair and rested his left hand against the table’s surface. He slowly arched his back and let his lips hover just above the shell of Louis’ ear. Louis instantly reacted to Harry’s change of demeanor, his shoulders subconsciously pulling back. A smirk twitched the corner of his mouth when Louis’ thighs slightly parted.

“You want to keep acting like some bratty princess?” Harry quietly asked, lowering the tone of his voice. He slipped his hand from the back of Louis’ chair and clasped it around the nape of Louis’ neck. “Fine,” Harry gently squeezed, “That’s exactly how I’ll treat you, Baby.”

OR

The one where Louis is a brat so Harry spanks him with a riding crop.

Change In Pressure by LithiumCrystal (Tumblr)

It’s been over a week since they’ve had sex and maybe Louis is kind of fucked up for latching onto that right after a big fight and nearly dying, but he’s never been particularly good at thinking the right thing with Harry this close to him...

Louis and Harry argue. Louis and Harry also fuck on the stage. Somehow it manages to be kind of romantic.

come away with me Series by suspendrs (Tumblr)

come away with me

in the night

Tumblr post

First Dates by taggiecb

Harry and Louis meet for the first time on a reality dating show called First Dates. It doesn't exactly go as either of them had hoped.

Gazed by justgotowisharder

“Open your eyes, Louis,” Harry asked softly. “I can’t,” Louis said. “I’m so sorry. I can’t risk your life, I don't want to hurt you.” “Lou, please.” “I can’t. You’ll never meet my eyes, Harry. Never.”

(Or the one where Louis Tomlinson is cursed and he can’t look anyone in the eyes, and Harry is just Harry, too curious to avoid wondering why Louis always wears sunglasses)

How Much For A Dozen and You? by SS98

Harry parts his lips with words at the tip of his tongue. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his coat and fights with himself mentally on what to say next. “Do you…- Do you like Italian food?”

“I haven’t really eaten much of it.” Louis admits, clearing his throat. “W-Why do you ask?”

The question seems to catch Harry off-guard even though he opened up this path of conversation. In addition, everyone seated around them seems drawn to their awkward communication; even the ladies who conduct the actual baking in the kitchen are peeking through a slot in the wall.

“Well, would you be open to being convinced?” Harry asks, wincing when he clumsily steps around the table and ends up kicking it an inch to the left.

Or, Louis works in a bakery and Harry doesn't. They fall in love through a series of awkward events.

I’ll Be There by allwaswell16 (Tumblr)

Louis is less than thrilled to find out his roommate has coerced his nemesis to check on him whilst he's sick in bed. However, Harry seems to take great pleasure in taking care of Louis. Maybe this green smoothie drinking, hot yoga instructing, hair in a bun wearing, pretentious art history studying wanker isn’t so bad after all.

On Monday, Louis thinks Harry's a twat. By Friday, he's thinking of reasons for him to stay.

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Part of the 1000 Feelings For Which There Are No Names Fic Challenge

If I Was Your Vampire by highlinson

His neck was exposed, and it was pretty clear Louis was waiting for Harry to claim the naked skin as his. When there was no reaction, however, Louis opened his eyes and looked up at Harry from a somewhat awkward angle. The wide, downright hungry stare he was receiving from Harry who seemed like he was in an entire other universe kind of scared him, and when he didn’t see Harry blink for several following seconds but his tongue continued to wet his lips, Louis, now growing afraid, asked, “Harry? Are – are you okay?”

Just another Vampire AU

if my heart was a compass, you’d be north by cheekiestcheeky (Tumblr), heartsoftlouis (Tumblr)

All Louis really cares about is his skateboard, tattoos, football, and his family. He has a job that he (mostly) loves and a (small) handful of good friends, and at 24 he is pretty content with his life... until he nearly crashes into a boy with wild curls and cratered dimples, he begins to think maybe he's been missing something he never knew was missing. That missing piece is apparently big enough for two.

[Or the one where punk Louis likes to think he’s not clumsy, but he suspects he’ll have to accept it when he falls face first into a relationship with a head full of curls and his tiny human.]

kings of the castle by eversincewefellapart

harry is the son of architects who bet on horse races and louis is the prettiest jockey he might've ever seen in all his betting years.

As soon as they get into the car, Louis’ stumbling over the armrest of his seat and pressing his lips to Harry’s jaw. Harry presses the key into the ignition to start the car up and let it warm before turning his head more accurately and attaching their lips. Louis tastes like chocolate and sugar and strawberry ice cream and rain and everything Harry’s ever fucking wanted.

Kiss me on the Mouth and Set me Free (but please don’t be bite) by seducedbycurls

Harry is the CEO of Flora Corp, Louis is his new secretary.

"...Louis wanted him so badly. Wanted Harry to pick him up, bite him, and break him. Make Louis his, make Louis cry, make Louis a beautiful, plump, pregnant omega..."

Know It All by kikikryslee (Tumblr, Twitter)

“Are you watching Jeopardy?” Niall asked. “Shhhh!” Louis hissed. “Niall, come on. I just missed the question.” “Since when do you watch Jeopardy? Is this about the guy from trivia? What do you call him? T-Shirt?” “V-Neck,” Louis corrected. “Oh, right. V-Neck. Is this about him?” “No.” “You’re a terrible liar. You know that trivia is supposed to be fun, right?” “I am having fun! Now leave me alone! I need to learn more about the people who signed the Declaration of Independence.” --- Or, the one where Louis just wants to win Trivia Night so he can get some free food, but he can't because a certain guy with fluffy hair takes home the prize every week - except for one.

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Part of the 1000 Feelings For Which There Are No Names Fic Challenge

Like Me by Star55 (Tumblr, Twitter)

Part 14 of Shades of Pink (Crazy in Love) Series

“Alright,” Jennifer nods. “It’s gonna hurt.” “I can take it,” Harry replies.

A Shades of Pink story where Harry gets her first tattoo and realises that it turns her on more than she ever would have realised.

Louis by jacinth (Tumblr)

After five years as a personal assistant to the man he's secretly in love with, Louis is prepared for just about everything... except a cup of coffee and a marriage proposal.

my sins i’ll claim, i’m not immune to shame by jaerie

It's been two years since their break up and Harry still hasn't been able to completely move past the day that things ended between them. When he gets a chance at a big fat "I told you so", his reaction isn't exactly what he expects. He finds himself hard from some inappropriate thoughts and, well, sometimes even the best of us succumb to the darkest emotions.

Part of the 1000 Feelings For Which There Are No Names Fic Challenge

Night Changes by colourexplosion (Tumblr)

Harry slips and nearly knocks his head on the tile wall. The bottles of shampoo and bodywash that line the shower tumble down as he catches himself, one of them managing to land right on the top of his foot. Fuck, that hurt.

Fuck, he loves Louis.

Wait, of course he loves Louis. What’s not to love? He’s kind and he’s funny and he’s patient with Harry always and he’s always been there when Harry needed him. Well, not tonight, but Harry hadn’t specifically said to him that he needed him and whatever — okay. Of course he loves Louis. That doesn’t mean he’s in love with Louis.

But I am in love with Louis, he thinks, and curses as his shampoo runs into his eyes.

Or, Louis and Harry are soulmates. (With a twist.)

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nothing else but us right here by supernope (Tumblr)

Louis sighs and gives himself a mental pep talk as he smooths his jumper down over his hips. He can do this. He can resist the draw of Harry Styles, because he is a responsible, mature adult, and as much as he wants to tangle his fingers in that mess of hair and map those ridiculous tattoos with his tongue, he does not want to get his daughter’s favorite teacher fired.

Open Your Eyes And See The Way Our Horizons Meet by highlinson

Louis takes a deep breath and tries to calm his beating heart, and get rid of the, to be honest, pretty slim chance that he’s either getting raped or kidnapped tonight. He is snapped out of his thoughts as a huge hand is held out in front of his face, and he quickly gets up and shakes it.

“Nice to meet you, Louis”, Harry says, and Louis has to admit that his voice is pretty attractive in its slow drawl that rolls like melting chocolate over his words.

// Or, Louis is 18, and Harry is 31. Featuring Liam as the worrying best friend, lots of kisses, a little bit of angst and a fair share of buttsex action.

Our blood is boiling by twinks

“I can’t believe you’re making me this angry when it’s almost midnight and I’m not even drunk. You know what? I could take you down right here, right now—”

“You’re red.” Harry interrupts, his lips curving up into a smug grin. “Am I making you red?”

Louis purses his lips and absentmindedly brings a hand up to feel his cheek. It’s definitely warm. God, how can he even come back from this?

[Louis meets indie singer Harry Styles, otherwise known as the bane of his existence, at a pub.]

Our Hearts Burn So Bright by SS98

Part 1 of Burning. Series

“Well, well, well.” The monotonous beckoning was accompanied by a clicking heel of undoubtedly ridiculous leather boots. Louis was putting his away his textbooks in exchange for his sketchpad in this ominous section of the school hallway until the voice of someone who drove unsettling chills down his spine interrupted him. “If it isn’t the fairest princess this old fuckin’ town ever did see.”

Around this moment the sound of others followed the first and Louis released a tired sigh, slamming his locker door shut. He remembers the first time this estranged other cornered him and seemed to preen at the sight of Louis’ fear, when the psychopath became known as Harry Styles. Laughter used to follow any odd comment until Harry put a stop to it; none but he was entitled to the privilege of passing a remark towards Louis.

“And the outlaw who defiled him.” Louis was ready when Harry turned him around, pressing the former’s back against the steel lockers with a smug grin.

Pour Yourself Over Me (Until There’s Nothing Left To See) by patdkitten

Louis receives a strange invitation to a masquerade ball from a stranger who offers to pay for everything.

rather be sad with you (than anywhere away from you) by ohsailor (Tumblr)

A Unversity AU where Louis battles his mental health while struggling to become the lawyer his family hopes he will, pre-med Harry gets three new roommates, Niall loves dentistry, and Liam is a future aerospace engineer. Featuring: long-haired Harry AND Louis, lots of rom-com lad nights, and matching Fleetwood Mac tattoos.

So Baby Say You’ll Always Keep Me by EmmyLouWho

Today, Harry was baking triple-chocolate brownies, because they were his husband’s favourite. It was an old family recipe, one Harry had made dozens of times before, and it was always a crowd pleaser. He measured out the chocolate into his bowl with even more care than usual, because he needed these brownies to be perfect. He needed them to be so amazing that maybe they would give Louis reason to pause when he came home tonight and inevitably demanded a divorce when he found out the awful thing that Harry had done. Although, he thought, that did seem like a lot to ask from a brownie, even a really delicious triple-chocolate one.

Or: Harry stress-bakes. Louis loves him.

So Much We Didn’t Say by whyidontknow1

Harry’s near fatal accident exposed the cracks in his and Louis’ eleven year marriage. A serious error in judgement by Louis shattered it completely.

Take A Bite Outta Me by LithiumCrystal (Tumblr)

Louis truly resents the implication that he is basically Harry’s own version of Bella goddamn Swan, because seriously, no. Just no. But the issue is that even this stupid Meyeresque revelation has done absolutely nothing to dampen his attraction to this weirdly charming vampire man who dresses in 8000 pound coats and hangs around in dilapidated buildings with his merry band of ethical bloodsuckers.

Louis is a slightly inept vampire hunter. Harry is a slightly unique vampire. They meet.

Taken Over By The Feeling by whyidontknow1

After almost a year of increasingly troubling behavior, Louis agrees to let his sister live with him. It's a last resort before more drastic measures are taken by their mom.

Harry Styles runs Given A Chance, a program for troubled and disadvantaged teens out of the bakery he owns. He offers the kids in his program what he believes they need to start on a different and better path for their lives.

Louis learns all too quickly that Harry's goodwill does not extend to him. Only because he happens to remind Harry of an ex he'd rather forget. It's not the smoothest of beginnings, but in the end Louis' own issues might be the real problem.

these sweet thoughts by adelagia (Tumblr)

When Louis has the worst day of his life, it's only because Harry hasn't accidentally walked into it yet.

Featuring Louis as Ariel in a production of The Tempest, Harry as a happily overworked pastry chef, Niall their cheerleader, Zayn their less vocal but equally enthusiastic cheerleader, Kinder Surprises, stiff peaks, and someone getting punched by mistake.

Tugging On My Heartstrings by FallingLikeThis (Zayniam) (Tumblr)

“Almost there, babe,” he reminds Louis as they get ever closer. He sees Louis’ leg start moving faster out of the corner of his eye and bites down on a smile. It’s cute that Louis’ so anxious to get there, sort of makes Harry’s heart flutter happily.

When they finally pull into the drive, Louis barely lets the car stop before he’s throwing open his door and speed-walking to the house in front of them.

The door opens right when Harry reaches the front steps, just in time to see it all go down. He sees Niall’s knowing grin just before there’s a happy squeal and a little bundle of limbs and energy tosses itself at Louis.

“Uncle Louis!” Niall’s son cries as he buries his face in Louis’ neck.

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Part of the 1000 Feelings For Which There Are No Names Fic Challenge

The Undesignated by CrazyLaughter

Moon Styles always knew that her father and three others were in band together called 'One Direction'. What she didn't know was that, in fact that the band had five members and the fifth unnamed member other than Harry- is her undesignated father.

There's nothing more dangerous than a curious little girl.

Where Your Heart Is by antihetharry (Tumblr), tvshows_addict (Tumblr)

Louis is ready for his brand new adventure. So what if he suffers from a genetic condition that prevents him from being touched? College is going to be awesome. It has to. Karma kind of owes him right now. Forget about his overprotective mother, or Liam-- his entirely too chipper step brother-- or his mess of a roommate. Forget about the gloves he has to wear at all times. He’s here to expand his knowledge, write and drown himself in books -- No matter how distracting ‘Hallway Boy’ may be-- The obnoxious, flirty frat wannabe determined to become the bane of Louis’ existence.

Or, a college AU set in San Francisco where two lost boys who seemingly have nothing in common find inspiration, each other, and themselves in the process.

Wherever I Go (I Go With You) by phdmama (Tumblr) 

Harry reaches out and pats Louis. Sometimes, late at night, lying next to his husband of twenty years, he can’t help but feel a little lonely. It’s a good life they’ve built for themselves, he reminds himself, an incredible life. They’re both blessed to be working in their fields, they’ve got three amazing kids, they’re both still healthy and active with very little lower back pain, but late at night, deep in the dark, a still, small voice from somewhere inside of Harry wonders if this is really as good as it gets. But then, the fates conspire in Harry's favor, and provide him with the perfect opportunity to help Louis and him get their groove back. Copley Square is never going to know what hit it.

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Part of the 1000 Feelings For Which There Are No Names Fic Challenge

[crypticcravings]

Crash!

Happy Day 3  of Adrinette Month! Today's theme is Miraculous Switched, so I'm taking this as an opportunity to do a kwami swap! I may have taken a few artistic liberties with the abilities of the miraculouses, and it's one of my longer ones (Close to 3k words :O ), but I hope you still enjoy it! 

This fic is named after my favorite song, Crash by BAP. I think it fits the tone very well.

Also available on AO3.

Marinette was late.

Not that it was an unusual phenomenon by any means, but it didn't make her any less urgent. The akuma had kept her busy for most of first period, and she had virtually no hope of slipping in unnoticed. 

"I'm sorry, Tikki. I'll try to get you a snack between classes," she apologized to her Kwami for the third time as she ran up the steps and into the college.

Her Kwami didn't seem to mind the trouble a bit. "Don't worry, Marinette. I'll be alright for a while."

Marinette opened her mouth to respond, but didn't get the chance. She hadn't been watching where she was going and suddenly slammed into something firm and warm. It caused her to fall flat on her butt. Her schoolbag spilled open across the floor and Marinette tried to regain her bearings. When she looked up, she realized it wasn't just anything she had run into, but someone. 

And that someone just so happened to be Adrien Agreste.

Adrien was in front of Marinette, rubbing his chest--presumably the spot Marinette had just barreled into--with his own bag spilled out in the space between them as well. 

Marinette rushed to apologize, tripping over her words a few times as she attempted to gather both her's and Adrien's textbooks and tablets.

"Don't worry, Marinette," he reassured her as he passed her her small cross body bag, "it was an accident. I wasn't watching where I was going either."

Marinette's face flared up as she made eye contact. "W-We should get to class."

Adrien nodded and helped Marinette to her feet before the pair rushed off towards their classroom once again.

Marinette didn't have another opportunity to check on her kwami until the end of the day. She didn't even have time to stop during lunch thanks to Alya dragging her off to work on homework. 

When she finally got home, she tossed her book bag on her chaise lounge and sat down at her computer desk with a plate of cookies.

"Okay, Tikki," she said, unlatching her purse, "I finally got you a snack. So sorry it took me so long, but I managed to snag some extra cookies with double chocolate."

But it wasn't Tikki's voice that responded to her. "As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I'm much more of a cheese type."

Marinette's eyes shot down and latched onto a small, black creature with huge green eyes sitting on the edge of the plate of cookies. 

"Any chance you have any camembert around here?" 

Marinette threw both hands over her mouth before she could scream and pushed herself away from her desk. As much as she tried to deny what she was seeing, she knew too much about what she was looking at.

And she couldn't believe this was happening.

Adrien had to endure a photo shoot after school before he was finally able to return home and relax for a bit before patrol with Ladybug. When he finally got home he immediately collapsed in his bed.

"Plagg, I don't have any energy left in my body. Can you please find your own cheese today?"

No response came, which was unusual. Normally, his gluttonous Kwami would respond immediately with some kind of complaining or nagging, but the pest had been unusually quiet all afternoon. 

This, of course, caused a small panic in Adrien.  Plagg was never this quiet, which could only mean something was wrong.

Adrien sat up and grabbed his book bag. 

"Plagg, what's the matter," he asked, worried. "Are you--"

His eyes widened and his breath caught. There was no way…

But there was. And it was. As Adrien peered into his bag, he looked into a pair of huge, frightened blue eyes bulging out of a large red and black spotted head.

He was looking at Ladybug's Kwami.

"How did Cat Noir's Kwami end up in my purse?!" 

Marinette was pacing. She had too much pent up anxiety and couldn't deal with this recent revelation.

Cat's Kwami--Plagg, she believed he said, was still sitting on her desk. The plate of cookies had been replaced with a cheese Danish that, although wasn't camembert, he seemed to be enjoying. "Don't overthink these things, Bug. You'll go around in circles and end up hurting yourself. Besides, I'm pretty sure you know the answer to your question already." Plagg shoved a huge piece of pastry into his mouth, and Marinette continued to pace.

The kwami was right. She did know. There had only been once instance that day which could have led to this situation. Marinette was having a difficult time conceptualizing the event, and what it meant, so instead, she found herself firmly rooted in denial. 

But as much as she rejected the idea of Cat Noir being Ad--that person (She wasn't ready to form that thought completely quite yet), it was beginning to make sense. Besides, she needed to find Tikki. Even if Cat Noir's Kwami was safe with her, she couldn't just hand him over without revealing herself. And how could she be Ladybug without her own kwami?

"This is just too much," Marinette muttered. "I have to take you back. How am I supposed to give you back, though? This just has so many problems. And Tikki! I hope Tikki is ok! What if she got lost? Should I go back and look for her?"

"Tikki is fine. She's with my chosen."

"Tikki…is with…Cat Noir?" Marinette felt her knees give out. That meant the cat was officially out of the bag. She groaned at her own unintentional pun. "How am I supposed to deal with this?" 

Suddenly she remembered every close situation an akuma has forced her into with Cat Noir. Rolling on the ground together, losing him during the Timebreaker incident, kissing him when Dark Cupid had made him hate her. Marinette's face went as red as her Ladybug suit as that last image refused to leave her mind. Now she would have to face Cat Noir without the masks, and she was Unprepared™.

Adrien leaned back in his desk chair and contemplated the situation he found himself in. Sure he'd always wanted to know Ladybug's identity, but now that the reveal had been forced upon them, he didn't know how to feel. 

He was thrilled to know that Ladybug--his beloved Ladybug--was the amazing, strong, popular Marinette Dupain-Cheng. There was no denying that it was her at this point. And now that he knew for sure it was her, he was picking up on all of the similarities between Marinette and Ladybug that he simply hadn't noticed. He was so glad it was her.

He was far less excited about the fact that it had been involuntary. After all, Ladybug had never meant for them to reveal their identities. It was for their own safety, and he understood that. He still couldn't help but hope that the day would come that she would change her mind, but he had always wanted the eventual reveal to be on their own terms. 

Neither one of them had chosen this. He had no doubt that she had probably put the pieces together by now, and figured him out as well. 

He wondered what she thought? They had never been super close friends, but they often hung out in groups together. He hoped she wasn't disappointed that he was her partner as well. But come to think of it, he didn't know Marinette well enough to guess her reaction, and Ladybug had never interacted with his civilian self very often. 

He sighed and slumped forward, his forehead thudding dully on his desk. "I'm sure she won't be disappointed, Adrien," the little red Kwami comforted him.  

He lifted his head to glance at Tikki. "How do you know for sure?"

"I know Marinette very well," she fluttered up and made a small loop around his computer screens, featuring a Ladybug background, "and once she gets over her shock, she will probably be happy it's you."

"She didn't even want to reveal our identities, though."

"Only because she wanted to protect both of you," Tikki took another bite of the macaron's Adrien's chef brought up. They were nearly as good as the ones from Tom and Sabine's. "She wanted to know sometimes, too. But keeping your identities safe was more important."

Adrien felt a smile cross his face and a warm feeling in his chest. It was satisfying to know that she was just as curious as he was. 

"How are we going to do this, though? Do we just show up at school tomorrow and say 'hey, I found your kwami. Did you do your history homework?'"

"You and Ladybug normally patrol together in a couple of hours, right?"

He gave her an incredulous look. "How do you expect us to patrol without transforming?"

The kwami simply closed her eyes and smiled at him. 

Marinette couldn't believe this was actually happening, and she was never farther from understanding how kwamis and miraculouses actually worked. She stared at herself in her mirror after somehow managing to transform with Cat Noir's kwami. 

Her suit didn't feel any different. She didn't have any of the cool zippers or pockets of Cat Noir's suit, but her normally brightly colored suit had come out all black. She bent down and flicked a pair of cat ears settled on her head, then tested the weight of the rod in her hands. She was beginning to feel more like Cat Noir than Ladybug. Even her earrings featured Cat Noir's paw pads. 

"This is definitely weird," She murmured. 

They were set to meet for patrol in a half an hour, and it normally only took a couple of minutes to get to the Eiffel Tower when transformed. However, that was assuming she had her yoyo. She had no idea how to use this staff. Cat Noir made it look easy, but Marinette knew better. How was she supposed to vault herself to the top of the Eiffel Tower with this thing?

It was a disaster waiting to happen. 

Marinette sighed in defeat. She might not be ready to face Cat Noir, or the man under the mask, but she didn't have much of a choice. It was time to actually deal with this new development.

And to deal with it, she was going to have to figure out how to climb the tower without her bandalore.

Adrien was still laughing at himself, even as he sat on the peak of the Eiffel Tower. He couldn't believe it worked. Somehow he had transformed with Ladybug's kwami. He was apparently now Ladybug. His suit resembled his Cat Noir suit a bit, if a little more plain. If one could call red and black spots plain. And he had antennae where his cat ears normally were. He wasn't sure what their function was, but they were interesting, and something not even Marinette had while transformed. He even had a better understanding of Ladybug's true power and strength after trying to figure out how her yoyo worked. It was not a simple thing to be suddenly catapulted through the air by magical yoyo strings. He had been a little over excited and left his house much too early for patrol. Now all he had left to do was sit and wait for Marinette to show up. 

Oh God, would she show up?

That thought had barely formed in his mind when he heard soft footsteps land behind him. He smiled. He was still nervous, but she had come. It was a start. It was..a great start.

Marinette couldn't believe what she was looking at. Cat Noir was wearing Ladybug spots. If she weren't already processing so much, she would have found it hilarious. 

Instead of laughing, like she normally would, she simply stared. She couldn't bring herself to move. She couldn't even take a step forward. She simply watched as he stood. 

She held her breath as he turned to face her.

That's when the flood gates broke. 

Laughter tumbled out of Marinette. Her partner was covered in spots from head to toe, including his mask. But that wasn't the funniest part.  

"You--have--antennae!"

Marinette doubled over and held her stomach as she guffawed in his face. Maybe it wasn't the most graceful way to greet her partner. In hindsight it wasn't even that funny. She had to chalk it up to the build up of stress from the hectic day she'd had.

Before she knew it, he was laughing with her, no doubt feeling the same cathartic release of laughter that she was. 

Eventually the two of them came down from the strange high they were feeling. They made eye contact with one another for the first time, and Marinette smiled. Finally, she couldn't deny it. This was her partner. It was her long time crush. It was her friend. Cat Noir was Adrien Agreste.

Finally faced with this reality, she actually found herself happy about it. She was glad it was him.

"So, Chatte Noire, I suppose we have some things to discuss," he said, gesturing for her to sit by him at the edge of the tower as they often did together. 

"I guess we do," she murmured. She took a deep breath. "Plagg, De-transform me."

Behind the mask, Adrien smiled at her. He was in awe at the ease with which she revealed herself to him, so he released his transformation as well.  

Suddenly, they had become just a couple of college students standing on the Eiffel tower, bearing all to one another, and feeling a bit naked without their transformations, even if they had been with the wrong kwami.

They sat down at the edge of the tower, their kwami beside them, and they were quiet for a moment. 

They simply watched the sun set over their city and let the new information sink in. They knew each other, in and out of the mask. Now that they had been revealed, it felt like their friendship had reached new levels that neither had imagined before. 

Their respective crushed had as well. Once Adrien had put together that Marinette was the amazing, beautiful, brave Ladybug, he allowed himself to fully admire both sides of her. She was talented in so many ways, and kind. He couldn't imagine Ladybug being anyone else.

Once Marinette got over her initial shock of Adrien being Cat Noir, she was able to appreciate her partner in ways she never had before. She realized she had never allowed herself to consider Adrien as her Cat because she cared for both boys in what she thought were very different ways. Adrien had her heart, but Cat Noir was her best friend. Cat Noir could practically read her every thought, but Adrien left her breathless. Putting the two of them together…wasn't a bad mix. She found herself liking both sides of him even more.

Once they had processed everything, and once one of them finally opened their mouth to speak, they couldn't stop talking. They talked about everything, from how relieved they were for everything to be out there, to how they hated lying to their friends and families.

"…and I was just behind the bushes when I transformed. I guess I'm lucky no one saw me," Adrien recalled.

"I can't believe you were right there! I was on the other side of the street!" Marinette couldn't hold back her laughter.

Adrien joined in on her laughter, "Ah, Bug, we've just been dancing around one another this whole time, haven't we?"

Marinette blushed, "I guess so. I just wish I had noticed sooner. I mean, you sit right in front of me! Alya would be so mad at me for this. She would definitely tell me that I was being blinded by my crush on yooOOU!" Marinette realized what she said only a moment too late, and threw her hands over her mouth. 

She dared a glance at Adrien, hoping he hadn't heard her off hand confession. He stared at her, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, and cheeks a bit flushed. 

Yep. 

He'd definitely heard her.

She winced. "Is there any chance you can just..forget I said that?" Her face was definitely red. She had no doubt about it. 

He just continued to stare at her. Marinette's heart raced in her chest. She couldn't take the embarrassment, and made to stand and leave, "Maybe I should just…"

Adrien's hand shot out and grasped her wrist. Her eyes met his, and he was noticeably more red than before, his other hand over his mouth. He released her wrist and rubbed the back of his neck, averting his eyes. "Don't--go. Please, I--" he took a breath. "I just need a second." 

Marinette sat back down next to him, pulling her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs. She was going to die of embarrassment.  

"I…I've liked you for a long time, Marinette," Adrien finally confessed. 

Marinette's head snapped up.

"Since we first met, I've thought you were amazing. First as Ladybug, but as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, too. And maybe my feelings are more than just liking you. No, I'm sure that they are. But I didn't want to pressure you if that made you uncomfortable. And you never took my flirting seriously, so I just accepted things as they were. But…can I take what you just said to mean you feel the same way?"

Marinette's eyes were shining. It wasn't how she imagined confessing to Adrien, but she had to admit that the setting was romantic. She nodded, not trusting herself to open her mouth. 

The smile Adrien gave her was blinding. It showed pure elation in a way no photo or magazine spread would ever be able to capture. He reached for her and embraced Marinette in a crushing hug. She could feel every ounce of his feeling in the embrace, and returned it with equal fervor. 

They had found each other. It was by accident, caused by Marinette's own clumsiness, but she couldn’t find an ounce of regret for it, because it had led them to this embrace, bearing it all. Neither one of them could be happier about it.