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ororowrites · 4 years

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By the Open Fire - Yahya x Black Character

I’m getting back into the writing spirit and decided to write a little Christmas one-shot about my latest celebrity crush. Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy Holidays!

Warnings: Very, very, light smut, fluffy as hell

Word Count: 2,664

Six months was entirely too long to be away from the love of her life.

Candace tapped the tip of her pen against the blank page, hoping her writer’s block would magically disappear. Being an actress was so much easier than trying to write a novel. Why didn’t Candace just stick to her day job? Since the pandemic began, she was trying her hand at other talents and writing a novel seemed to be the one wish on her wish list that stood out. On top of Yahya being out of the country filming for most of the year, Candace was in search of a way to fight a depression that was on the brink of flooding her life. Her filming project had come to a halt until 2021 and she was stuck in her Manhattan apartment until it was safe to come out again.

Yahya would be home in a couple of days and Candace was looking forward to his arrival. So many months a part made her heart ache and the heart below her waist. After hundreds of facetime calls, numerous texts a day and a few Zoom sessions that included their shared friends, her man would be there in the flesh.

“Fuck,” Candace cursed under her breath. The block wasn’t budging, forcing the actress to give up and retreat to the kitchen for wine. Her phone rang, interrupting her attempt to brainstorm for the next chapter in her book. “You always call at the perfect time,” she groaned at her twin sister on the other end of the line.

“Candy, you can never just say hello like a normal human,” Trinity laughed. “But did mama call you with the latest gossip?”

“No, but she’s been texting me all damn day. I’ve been busy so I haven’t checked them yet. Wassup,” she pressed, knowing the gossip was most likely church related. Their mother had been an usher at the same church since they were nine.

“Girl,” Trinity exclaimed, before explaining the recent Chicago gossip. “Mrs. Jackson got caught cheating with James. Someone saw them out at the park together, kissing up on each other and all that.”

“Ewww, in this panoramic,” Candace gagged. “I’m not shocked though. That old floozy was always flirting with daddy and almost made mama beat her ass one Easter Sunday. Remember that?”

Trinity cackled, “Boooooy, mama was about to peel that woman’s skin back and break her neck. Ol’ girl was trying it that day and knows she is too old to still be acting like that. But enough about Florence, what have you been up to today? Ain’t your man on his way back to New York?”

Candace rolled her eyes because she knew where this conversation was going. Her sister had four children, leaving Candace the only childless sibling left in the pack of five children.

“He’ll be back in two days and then we’re going to Colorado for Christmas. Since we can’t gather for the holidays, figured we’d go somewhere where we can safely distance ourselves but still get away. You know,” Candace said, swirling the wine around in her glass before taking a sip.

“Mmmhhhhmmm. You gon’ get knocked up in them mountains,” Trinity added in a serious tone. “You two renting out a cabin or something up there?”

“Ain’t nobody getting knocked up until she has a ring on her finger. Yes, we’re getting a cabin and just chillin’ out. Yahya has been working and needs a break. I’ve been....lonely.” Candace paced her kitchen, trying to think of an excuse to end this call before her twin irritated her soul.

“Ya’ll haven’t seen each in months, he’s going to tear--”

“Trin!” One major difference between the two of them was the lack of filter on Trinity’s part. The woman would say anything in front of anyone. “Look, I need to go straighten up before before Yah gets here. I’ll talk to you later?”

Trinity sighed loudly on the other end because she knew her sister was rushing her off the call. Not liking people in her relationship business bugged Trinity because she was the nosey twin that wanted to know everything, much like their mother. “Well at least you won’t be needing to replace the batteries in that vibrator any time soon since the real Dr. Manhattan is back in the picture.” Before Candace could reply to the vulgar comment, Trinity squeezed out a quick ‘love you’ before hanging up.

“Nasty ass,” Candace rolled her eyes and placed the phone back in the pocket of her jeans.

The next two days were the same song. Candace’s brain did not want to focus on writing, so she eventually gave up and settled on online shopping to ease her frustration. The night her beautiful man was supposed to return, the actress fell asleep on the couch. His flight had been delayed by a couple of hours and he didn’t make it home until 3AM.

He quietly entered the apartment, knowing Candace could never stay awake past twelve. The 6′3 actor, tip toed across the floor doing his best ballerina impression. Light snores could be heard over the infomercial playing on the television. She looked peaceful, almost child-like curled up on the sofa under her favorite coral throw. Yahya slowly leaned in, placing a soft kiss on Candace’s pouted lips. She stirred slightly, mumbling under her breath and fell back into a slumber.

“Baby,” he sung into her ear, placing another kiss on her cheek.

“Hmm.” Candace finally opened her eyes to see her Christmas gift standing right in front of her. Even with blurred vision, the smell of his cologne was a dead giveaway. She screeched and scurried to her feet to throw her arms around Yahya’s neck. Naturally, her legs wrapped around his waist as he rocked them back and forth. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” he grunted, peppering Candace’s face in kisses. “My baaaaaaby,” Yahya sang as they fell to the sofa in a heap of long limbs. “It smells good in here, what you cook?”

“Negro, you’re always looking for the food. Ol’ hungry ass,” Candace shook her head and playfully punched her lover’s bicep. “But, I saved you some fried rice and shrimp...homemade because that’s the only dish I’m good at.”

“Oh, that’s not the only dish you’re good at,” he bit his lip, pulling Candace into a slow, passionate kiss, showing her how much he really missed her. With both of them being in the industry, they understood the heartache that came with being in a relationship and not seeing your significant other for weeks or months at a time. In this case, their time away from each other was extended due to the pandemic. “Mmmmm,” Yahya hummed into Candace’s lips before pulling away. He wanted to save the X-rated loving for their trip when he would have more time to rest and beat the severe jet lag from flying across the world for 12 hours.

“We should get some food in this belly, babe,” Candace couldn’t contain the big cheesy grin that made her cheeks hurt.

-------

Christmas Eve

Toni Braxton’s sultry voice filled the cabin as Yahya finished pouring the wine for their night cap. They had a busy day on the slopes trying not to kill themselves or break any bones.

“Baby, where your fine ass at,” Yahya called out, making his way to the living room. The fireplace crackled, sending waves of heat throughout the cabin’s living area. The sun had set, but the mountains were still glowing against the dark sky. Their view was impeccable and the mood was set for a night of bonding and loving. “Candy, don’t make me come get you.” He warned playfully, sitting in front of the fire on their floor palette they had built earlier that night.

“What was that,” Candace teased, stopping in the doorway getting a front row view of Yahya’s bare upper half. His back muscles bulged as he tended to the fire.

“You back there sleeping, old lady,” he asked, with his back still turned away from her.

“No, I was back there wrapping one last gift,” she replied, her voice dropping an octave prompting Yahya to turn around.

His eyes almost fell out of his head, “Damn girl.” Pulling his bottom lip into his mouth, he moved forward, inspecting the gift that was screaming to be unwrapped. “This all for me?”

“Every inch of it.” Her words almost came out as a moan. The way this man was eyeing her had moisture pooling between her legs. The fancy lingerie wouldn’t last long at this rate. Words became an afterthought when actions began to do all the talking. All it took was a soul turning kiss to send them both to the floor on their palette in front of the fireplace. Candace couldn’t tell if the fire had her skin tingling or the anticipation of having his hands rubbing over the most sensitive parts of her body. The wine and fruits sitting on the mantle quickly became an afterthought.

For minutes, they enjoyed exploring each other and parts they hadn’t touched in months. Yahya was nestled between Candace’s thighs, both of them breathless and horny. Candace’s lace get up was quickly removed and thrown to the side. She giggled when his lips grazed her belly button, those giggles soon turning into pants and whispered obscenities. With gentle licks, he coaxed her clit out of its hood.

Toys were fun but they weren’t the real thing and oh did she miss the real thing. See, the real thing knew exactly how to pull her close to the edge before sending her back. Her man’s skilled tongue sank deeper drawing intricate patterns in her center as she massaged the top of his head with her fingertips.

Candace’s breath hitched in her throat and her thighs shook awaiting the impending release. “Jesus,” she moaned as her body suddenly felt light and her center thumped.

“Still as sweet as I remember,” he grinned, kissing Candace’s inner thigh.

Another track on their Toni Braxton Christmas playlist began to play and Yahya rested his head on Candace’s stomach. Time was precious and Yahya didn’t want to waste an ounce of the rare quiet moment they had. Soon, they’d both be filming again and the world would be back to normal.

“What’s on your mind, baby,” Candace asked, her heart and breath back to a steady rhythm.

“I don’t spend enough time with you. At least not lately,” he began. “I knew what I was getting into when we were back in school. Still makes me feel bad though.”

“Yah, I enjoy all the moments that we do get to spend together. You’ve been working your ass off this year. Yes, I would love more times like this but we should also celebrate all your accomplishments. Because you’re doing the damn thang and I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you. You always say the right shit to get me together,” he chuckled. “Sometimes a nigga just be in his feelings and I missed the hell out of you those six months.”

“Yeah, six months has never gone by that slowly. You should see my credit card statements. I’ve never purchased that many sex toys in my life,” Candace covered her face with her arm.

“Word? Well.... you won’t be needing those sex toys for awhile.”

A smirk formed on her lips when she felt him bump against her thigh, “No, no, you just sit back and relax. I got this.” Sitting up, Candace placed a hand on Yahya’s chest, prompting him to switch her spots.

“You are beautiful,” Yahya’s eyes gleamed. After all these years, he could still make Candace blush like a little school girl. “Don’t hide that smile, girl.” His large hands massaged her thighs as she eased him inside of her.

They both exhaled, letting Toni Braxton serenade them through the night.

---------

Christmas Morning

They had finally made it to bed and got a few hours of sleep before Christmas morning arrived and it was time to get up for their next day of adventures.

First, they needed to re-fuel their bodies after the festivities that took place the night before in front of the fireplace and in the bedroom. The shower also got some of their loving that morning. Candace could hear Yahya singing his own version of Joy to the World while whipping up his famous oatmeal. That man never knew the words to any song but sung his own words with all the confidence in the world.

“Yah, do you ever know the words,” Candace questioned, placing a quick kiss on his cheek before grabbing a bowl from one of the kitchen shelves.

“Nope,” he replied in a matter of fact tone. “It’s the Abdul-Mateen version.”

“Uh huh, sure.”

Over breakfast, they continued joking about Yahya’s talent of making up his own versions of songs. Joy and love was on full display. They had always been the couple to roast each other and the next minute adore each other like the two biggest saps in the world.. Their relationship was built on a strong friendship they developed while they were in film school before reconnecting a few years later.

They walked a short distance to one of the coffee shops near their cabin to grab hot chocolate. It was a chilly 45 degrees, but to avoid sitting in the shop, they walked back to their rental, taking a scenic route that Yahya suggested.

“If we get lost or I end up falling off one of these mountains, I hope my family doesn’t kill you,” Candace joked, admiring the beautiful scene before them.

“Oh, I know where we are. I was out here early yesterday morning trying to find the perfect spot,” Yahya replied.

“Huh, perfect spot for what?”

He didn’t answer right away and instead reached for Candace’s hand, stopping her in her tracks. “Something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile.” Placing his cup on one of the rocks, Yahya pulled a box from his pocket and got down on one knee.

“What...what...” For once, Candace was speechless and caught completely off guard.

“It’s hard as hell to surprise you and I’ve been trying to think of the perfect time to do this without your nosey ass finding out.” Tears began to flow down Candace’s cheeks. “We’ve been at this for a few years and I’ve had some of my best moments with you by my side. I want to make what we have forever.” He opened the small box to reveal a beautiful emerald cut ring. “Say love... would you marry me?”

Being the goofball that she was, Candace laughed between her tears “You’re trying to get me pregnant on this trip, aren’t you?”

“Well that can be arranged if you say yes.”

“Ye...yes, of course!” Her vision blurred as Yahya slid the rock on her finger and stood to his feet to kiss his future bride. Moments later Yahya’s phone rang with an incoming Facetime call.

“Hey Trinity, hey moms,” Yahya cheesed, turning his phone to share the screen with Candace. “Looks like you two aren’t getting rid of me anytime soon.”

“She said yes,” Trinity screamed, jumping up and down with their mother. “Aye, aye, ayyyeeeeee.”

Still in complete shock and happiness overflowing, Candace shrieked, “Wait, you two knew about this the entire time!”

“Yep! It’s been burning my ass to keep this secret from you all this time,” Trinity teased, sticking out her tongue. “He took mom with him to ring shop last year and everything.”

“Welcome to the family, son. Congratulations baby,” Ms. Fredrick sang, clapping for the happy couple on the other end of the call.

“Now, I hope you two are using protection out there because having a baby before the wedding is-”

“Trinity,” Candace called out, shaking her head.

They should have followed Trinity’s advice because approximately two months later.....

Hope you all enjoyed! This is the first piece I’ve written in a year. I have no idea if I’ m going to continue the stories I began before my hiatus, yet. But, we will explore that in the coming year! Who knows, we may get more Candace and Yahya depending on how hard writer’s block slaps me. May the new year bring you all peace and joy!

#yahya abdul mateen ii #yahya x black character #fanfics #celebrity fanfics #black love #ororo writes #holiday one shot

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koushisatori · 4 years

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All you have to do is ask

It’s me again! This isn’t beta-read yet, but I’ll do so tomorrow after lunch!! But i need to get this out of my drafts asap and...well, here you go!! Edit: 16.11.,13:10: I beta’ed it now and weeded out dumb mistakes (and made new ones, probably ) ! ♡ ～('▽^人)

oikawa x f!reader

genre: small bit of angst, fluff

warnings: someone kinda trying to force themselves onto you??

word count: 3.4k

note: this was supposed to be a drabble, now look at what it turned out to be </3</blockquote>

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Tooru was sure that he had saved at least thousands of people in his last life to deserve you liking him back

you didn’t play ‘’unreachable’’ but he had to out in some work for you

especially with his fan club being all over him all the damn time,

but you never gave him any reason to doubt your intentions with him which is why he took wooing you very seriously

both of you actually spend a lot of time by just talking and getting to know each other due to that

for example: he liked taking you on cute little and spontaneous dates on volleyball-free afternoons and would then walk you home after

or on lunch breaks that you (at first) spend with him alone

(sometimes he waits at your classroom door to pick you up if it’s manageable for him - aka if he’s not swarmed by people with confession letters)

later you both are consequently joined by Iwa, Mattsun, and Makki

the last two loved teasing him with their ‘fun facts for lunch’

’’(Y/N)?’’ you hear Makki sing even before you can see any of the other three. next to you, Tooru groans in advance

’’Did you know that ‘Kawa can reach a g’’ as soon as he’s eye to eye with an insect larger than your pinky finger?’’ the strawberry haired boy says, mattsun next to him wagging his eyebrows

the professional that you are easily suppresses a grin, you merely chuckle amused

’’Who isn’t afraid of bugs larger than that? There are way smaller things that could kill you!’’ you exclaim with wide eyes ‘’...and I’ll gladly channel all my bravery and…’’ you look around before leaning forward, the two boys following your example, intrigued by the secretive expression on your face ‘’…annihilate everything and everyone that might scare Tooru or make fun of hi’’ – ‘’WOAH, (Y/N)-‘’

they had tried to flirt with you just to fuck with Oikawa (so with no real intention) but they had to realize rather quickly that this was a hopeless task – you couldn’t tell that people were flirting with you unless they spelled it out

(literally that one meme; you: ’’were you flirting with me, Tooru?’’ Tooru: did for the past half-year, thanks for noticing tho <3’’)

Don’t worry you know the setter well enough by now to be able to tell when he does, and really - only Tooru’s flirting matters to you

it also makes you blush furiously, now that you truly get it, but we’re not talking about that

Iwaizumi took you to the side one day while you were waiting for Oikawa to finish his training

he asked you sternly if you were sure that you would be able to handle days, weekends, and sometimes weeks in which Tooru would unintentionally prioritize Volleyball over you

said, that you had to find a balance on the fine line that was leaving him be with his training and stopping him from overexertion (and really ruining his knee)

after assuring that yeah, you would because you genuinely liked him, volleyball obsession and all, and that wanted to be with him, Iwa let go of any rest reservations he had had against you and joined the general teasing

Okay, moving on

as soon as his and your interest in each other became clear, you kept a clear distance from other males (and females, ‘yer that desired, as you should btw)

if they pushed it, you unmistakable stated that you’re not interested in other advances because you liked someone

Like??? Oikawa really just had to say the magic words at this point, you'd say yes in an instant

for god's sake tf is he waiting for?!!

despite you being obvious with your interest in the setter and disinterest in everyone else regarding this you constantly get approached by admirers

some people need it spelled out that you mean what you say, honestly

A thing Tooru liked so much about you was your kindness, but it also was the reason that - as already said - some people still thought they might have a chance

it’s not your fault, your natural charm is like...the 8th wonder of the world!!

due to your impeccable behavior and perfect grades, you obviously were the teachers’ favorite student to pick to help out other students

cue to: oh, look!! you're chosen again *sigh*

up until now, the tutoring never bugged Tooru too much, it was more like an itch he couldn’t scratch

but usually, they weren’t after school (giving up your lunch break, you’re a hero) and never awoke any rumors

your latest ’student’ seemed to think that he was close to ’’winning you over’’, though, that you were secretly but undeniably head over heels for him by now

’’I’ve heard that he plans on asking (Y/N) out today!’’ - ‘’No way! Even with Oikawa-Senpai obviously being interested in her?’’ - ‘’Yes!’’ - ‘’Death wish~’’

Tooru had to hear it in between classes and while he trusted you (and the last comment made him chuckle a bit), this was not the case for that guy

You: go home after class, Tooru, I need to give another tutoring session :(

of course, he wanted to hear none of that, especially with the hushed words fresh in his mind

meanwhile, you vividly imagined his annoyed expression reading it and the cute little huffing sound; you couldn’t help but smile softly to yourself </3

Tooru Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)♡→: I’ll wait for you, (Y/N)-chan, Iwa-chan and me wanted to try out something anyway (^.~)☆

Tooru Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)♡→: also, I waited to try out the sweets at the patisserie for too long to not eat my weight in cake twice today, so you better hurry if you want me to share with you

His answer clearly stating: I will wait for you, don’t take too long

Okay, maybe he was a bit jealous

that this guy gets a reward – another hour with you alone - for being stupid ?? it obviously fed into a crazy fantasy and it was unfair

Oikawa reminded himself that he had no reason to be jealous, especially since he had yet to ask you out and make it official

(it had to be perfect and cute just like you, okay? no rom-com was able to prepare him for the real thing!!)

training – for the first time in years – dragged on endlessly

his mind kept wandering, and after the first 5 volleyballs to the head, courtesy of a very annoyed Iwaizumi, said one took matters into his own hands dragging his sulking best friend out of the gym

‘’If you’re jealous, Shittykawa, then fucking confess already.’’ Iwaizumi says with his no-bullshit voice, letting go of Tooru's jacket.

While it was obvious that Oikawa is, in fact, super fucking jealous, he chuckles and puts on an easy smile. ‘’Silly Iwa-chan! I’m not- OUCH!’’ The brunet yelps, holding the back of his head and looking at his childhood friend with a pout.

‘’First of all, fuck you, Shittykawa, for thinking I’m falling for your dumb act.’’ The ace growls, narrowing his eyes. ’’(Y/N) is a beautiful girl. Of course, Extras try to get close to and confess to her, you morron.’’ The spiky-haired let’s out a tsk-sound, seeing Tooru’s wide eyes. ‘’I at least hope you are aware that she is waiting for you to ask her out officially, right? It’s literally on you to put your foot over the line between a girl friend and your girlfriend. But if you take too long, she’ll eventually be fed up with waiting…so why in hell are you stalling?’’ Iwaizumi huffs, crossing his buff arms over his chest.

With a shrug, Oikawa looks up to the sky before his gaze travels down to settle on his feet, shuffling from side to side. ‘’I’m scared that making it official will do more harm than good, Hajime. She never said something else but…is she really fine with me forgetting basic things over Volleyball? Or will she leave me after a while like my last girlfriend? Because she realized Damn, he’s really into volleyball. I also don’t want to hurt (Y/N) by asking her to be mine and then…being me and screw everything up again.’’ Tooru whispers quietly, trying to hide the vulnerability while intentionally avoiding his best friends eyes.

‘’You’re dumb, Tooru.’’

Well…that’s not what he was expecting Iwaizumi to do or say. A punch against his upper arm or chest maybe, or a kick to the shin – always with love but still painful enough to get the message across. But not a soft-voiced statement paired with a sigh.

‘’I hate...’’ Iwaizumi says, waving his hand up and down. ‘’...why do I have to do...the emotionally charged pep talk.’’ He grumbles, pulling his hand over his face before he looks up directly into Oikawa’s insecure but also curious eyes.

’’You might not be aware of it, but things already are different compared to last time. (Y/N) does not just accept your passion, but supports you fully. With the amount of time she spends on the bench doing her homework and cheering for everyone when we do training's matches, while remembering our schedules and matches, she’s practically an inofficial second manager. By any means, she’s a perfect match to your madness, it’s scary.’’ he jokes, thinking of all the small things you do for his best friend that - in the end - make him trust you even more.

‘’But…what might be more important to you right now is that you’re not behaving like last time as well. You still are so freaking stupid and overexert yourself…but you check up on her whenever you take a water break. If it's asking in person or sending her a message. You make sure to have at least two free afternoons where you spend time with each other, which is two days more than you did last time by the way. You have that stupidly dopey smile on your face when you see Y/N. I mean…nothing ever breaks your focus after you set foot on the field and yet here we are, standing outside because all you do is mope around instead of playing!’’ The spiky-haired player huffs.

After a moment of silence, Tooru cries out an ‘’Iwa-chan, you do love me!’’ while draping himself over his best friend. ‘’Oi, Trashykawa!’’ the other protests with a fake angry voice, yet hugging the other back for a second before he pushes him off nonetheless.

‘’Okay, now move your ass, the pinning you two are doing is a pain to witness.’’ Iwa says accusatory before going back into the gym, leaving Oikawa to make a decision.

Hurrying through the gym to the changing rooms, Tooru nearly makes it out unseen until Yahaba is half asking, half yelling from the other side of the hall. ‘’Oikawa-san, where are you going?’’

With a wide grin and his signature peace sign (it’s for his own emotional support here, okay, his nerves are killing him), the Captain turns around to announce ‘’I’m finally getting myself a girlfriend!’’ before he quickly leaves his hollering teammates.

(Oikawa was quite sure to hear Mattsun yell something like ‘All of you! Pay up!’ and Kyoutani muttering an ‘I’m leaving.’ somewhere in his vicinity.)

5 Minutes later, the brunet looks through all the classrooms in the hallway you should be in, teaching a good for nothing that was adamant about trying to steal you away from him. Tsk.

Right after turning around the corner, Tooru hears a dull thud, followed up by a soft gasp that made his insides churn uncomfortably. That it’s immediately followed by a low, deep voice doesn’t help at all with calming Oikawas heart beat. He slowly creeps closer to the slightly ajar door to the room with the treacherous sounds. The soft whimper following was unmistakably you, and his heart suddenly felt like it was on the verge of breaking for a second.

Should he turn around and leave? Perhaps Iwaizumi was right with you being tired of waiting for him. Maybe you were tired and accepted someone else?

Luckily, a gruff inner voice growls – surprisingly sounding like his best friend – and mentally slaps him. You never gave him a reason to doubt your affection! And if he had to fight for your affection then so it be! Also, you wouldn’t engage in something inappropriate out in public. There was a 99,9% chance of him misinterpreting everything due to his own insecurities, and you being uncomfrotable right now. Unacceptable.

With his resolve strengthened again, the setter finally takes the last steps over to the door. Standing there, he finally could understand the words being spoken. Oikawa suddenly had a presentiment of what was happening inside.

Meanwhile, you were struggling unceasingly. ’’It…it is flattering that you…that you like me, honestly!! And…there are surely many other girls that would feel honored to be confessed to by you, but I like someone else, I’m sorry. Please, accept my choice!’’ you say, damming your voice for shaking and underminding your own statement.

’’Ah, ah, pretty girl, it’s not nice to lie.’’ the guy in front of you chuckles. The usage of such a pet name makes you cringe in disgust. There’s only one person allowed to give you tese kind of names. ‘’I know you like me, too. You with your cute little blush when you talk to me and lingering soft touches-‘’

A scandalized sound of protest leaves your lips. You were just short of stomping your foot. ’’I did no such thing! I-’’ But as before, your words meet a seemingly deaf ear.

’’I will be the best boyfriend a pretty girl like you could ever wish for.’’ Moving closer, the guy slowly backs you up until you meet the chalkboard behind you. ’’Come on, give in.’’ He murmurs, hitting his hand against the board next to your head, which forces a scared whimper out of you. ‘’I’m all you need.’’

Stepping into the room, Tooru couldn’t believe his eyes and ears,. The blood in his veins slowly but surely starts to boil.

’’Please, let me leave! I told you, I am not interested. I am with-’’ You plea softly, one hand pressed against the guys’ chest to stop him from coming any closer, – did he really try to kabedon you against the chalkboard? - while your other was hidden from his view. Even though you were trying your best, the distance between the two of you was insultingly sparse, the guy making up for the lack bodily closeness in general by leaning forward enough for your faces to be separated by only a few inches. You could probably feel his breath on your face. Tooru really felt like punching the guy.

’’What’s so special about the pretty boy anyway? He has many girls running after him to choose from, let me have you. I’ll treat you better! I have so much free time and I would spend all of it on you. Let me take you out for a coffee, pretty girl, or dinner. Hm? I’ll prove my words directly. I mean…he hasn’t even asked you out! It’s unfair how he is keeping you on the back burner, stringing you along. To you…’’ suddenly the boy moves closer, lowering his voice to a sultry murmur ‘’…and to m-‘’

’’That’s enough.’’ Oikawa says, his tone icy, sending shivers down the other male's spine. You on the other hand…

’’Tooru…’’ you whisper, relief evident, as you watch him move closer to you as fast as humanly possible. Yet you still aren’t able to reach out. ’’Please, Tooru…’’

Upon hearing your soft whimper, his brown eyes follow yours to your other hand, realizing that said one is still in the firm grip of the guys' right. At that a clearly dangerous growl leaves the usually sweet brunet. ‘’If you don’t let go of her in the next two seconds and leave her be for good in 5, I can and will break your arm.’’ Oikawa threatens with an overly sweet, yet terrifying smile, wrapping his own hands around the guy's wrist, blunt nails pressing painfully into the sensitive flesh on the inside.

With a hiss, the guy finally pulls back his hand. It allows you to seek shelter behind the tall setters back. Your fingers tightly hold onto his shirt while you peek at the other from behind him. ’’Aww, come on, pretty boy,…’’ he says, voice provoking, the words clearly meant to degrade Oikawa. ’’…let me have some fun with sweets over there, and when I’m done you can have her all to yourself.’’ To top of his words, he winks at you.

With the way he had tensed up the first moment, you half expect Tooru to suit the action to the word, and really break his arm...instead, Oikawa looks the other dead in the eye, while saying ’’Hey, (Y/N)-chan,? There’s that really sickening wretched smell in here, it’s kind of painful. I’d like to take you somewhere nice, will you get your things?’’

You hastily nod and do as you are told while Tooru continues to stare the other down, keeping his attention away from you and using the slighty height difference to his advantage. The moment you reach him, Oikawa finally lets go of the others wrist, grabbing yours instead. You tug him to the door as quick as possible, when suddenly life found its way back into the other.

‘’Hey, what did you mean?’’ he asks, half angry, half clueless. Unable to accept his loss.

Oikawa turns back one last time, a smirk settling on his lips while his eyes twinkle with amusement. ‘’I said, that a mouth breather as pitiful as you are is a disgrace to be in the vicinity of someone as amazing as her.’’ And with that, you both finally leave.

(Y/N)-chan…are you alright?’’ Tooru asks once you left the school grounds. His thumb drawing little circles on the back of your hand.

You nod before you eventually look up, worrying your lip. ’’Thank you. I…I was really scared. Even though I'm sure that he would have done something…something…’’ you swallow down the nasty words, shuddering slightly. ’’I’m glad you came to save me, Tooru.’’ You finally settle on, pink coloring your cheeks. Beckoning him to lean down a bit by waggling your finger, you softly craddle his face and press a kiss to his cheek. The blush becoming more intense now with every passing moment.

Before you can pull back your hands, though, his had already found purchase on yours, keeping them - and you - in place. Everything about this moment felt right to him. Maybe now was the right time. ’’Pretty girl...’’ he murmurs, assessing your reaction. (He notes, pleased, that your blush intensifies, and your smile turns all giddy. He needs you to forget about that douchebag calling you that. He would repeat it until all you remembered was his voice using it.) ‘’I kind of really, really, really want to kiss you right now…’’ He whispers, the warmth of his cheeks telling him that he was most likely sporting a blush similar to yours. ’’…Will you be mine? Will you allow me to hold your hand? To kiss you silly? To steal bites of your food and make up for it with compliments and as many cuddles as you wish? Will you allow me to brag about you being my girlfriend and force you to wear my jersey to all my matches now and in the future?’’ His eyes didn’t leave yours for a second. He enjoyed watching yours light up as if he had just hung the stars in the night sky, or as if he had made you the best present a girl could wish for.

’’Tooru…I thought you’d never ask…’’ you say with a smile so affectionate that it makes him feel mushy and warm all over. And then he finally closes the gap.

The moment your lips meet for their first kiss is better than anything he had ever imagined. It isn’t a firework exploding, nor an unbalanced fight of passion and dominance. Instead, it’s gentle. A loving flow and exchange, wrapping you both in a blanket of warmth. A bubble just for the two of you. He understood what Iwaizumi meant with different, because – even though this relationship just started – he knows, that with you he had found a completely new world of comfort and love. Being with you already felt like coming home.

#nearly wrote kidney instead of kindness #oh (y/n) baby your kidneys turn me on so bad #wtf tooru!?#sfdhdjk sorry #anyway #Haikyuu imagines #haikyu headcanons #haikyuu x reader #aoba josai x reader #oikawa x reader #oikawa x you #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#did i use the word kabedon a verb? yep i did #is this correct? idk idc #i think this is to be categorized as dialogue heavy <3 #realized i made a grammatical mistake in the tags #ultimate certificate for dumbness <3333 #haikyuu scenarios

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siimjaeyun · 3 years

Text

Chapter 10: Call of the Cicada

Synopsis: A stranger has been threatening Destructo, a company based in Seoul. As more and more businessmen get attacked on account of swarms of Cicadas, will it lead you to a new mystery and perhaps on a path towards a new relationship with Heeseung?

Series Masterlist

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The man quietly drove home, slowly taking in his surroundings as he approached his destination. Abruptly, a phone call broke through his peace and he quickly picked up.

"I warned you to quit." The raspy voice threatened on the other side of the phone.

"I told you to stop calling me!" He hung up the phone and threw it to his backseat, ignoring yet another blackmail call.

He maintained his attention on the road before him. The first cicada fell onto the front window, and he pushed it aside using the windshield wipers.

“Those cicada things disgust me.” He whispered to himself, and continued his drive home. But his tranquility soon disappeared as more and more cicadas landed on his windows, forming a creature that would engulf both him and the car completely.

-------

Professor Yin stood at the center of the class, slowly caressing the cicada bug on his index finger; he later placed it back on the mini-tree while planting a kiss on the head.

“Did he just kiss the bug?” Heeseung, who was seated behind you, asked in a quiet voice, before you hummed back, slowly admiring the professor’s good looks.

“The cicada bug is one of earth’s most spectacular creatures, and are well-known for the songs sung by most if not all male cicadas. In their lifetime, cicadas usually will go underground and re-emerge every seventeen years to escape the pollution and disastrous human activity. Isn’t that right Sunoo and Niki?” The professor turned his attention on the two boys in the back of the class bickering over the last bag of snacks in their hands.

“Sunoo. Niki. Are you aware that Nature O’s are manufactured by Destructo, the biggest polluter in both Seoul and the country!” Both boys glanced at one another and looked back at the professor.

“Uh, no, but at least they’re delicious!” Professor Yin rolled his eyes and turned once the bell rang signaling their dismissal.

“Yikes, I swear Professor Yin gets weirder every class.” Sunghoon swung his back over his shoulder and led the way out of the front door.

“Really? I haven’t noticed much.” Jungwon stopped you mid-way allowing you to process your response.

“Of course you haven’t. You’re too busy staring at him.” You punched him lightly in the shoulder and noticed Heeseung with an unclear face.

“What’s so great about Professor Yin anyway?”

“He’s smart, pretty poetic, and good looking.” You quickly said the last part before running off with Sunghoon and Jay to the cafeteria.

“Oh yeah? I wonder how good he would look in my traps!” Jake looked at the boy oddly before running off to catch the rest of his 02 friends.

“Heeseung, are you jealous?” Sunoo asked bluntly.

“J-jealous, what makes you say that.”

“I don’t know, you just seem a little tense, a little-” Niki didn’t get to finish his statement before he choked on a slip of paper in his mouth.

“It’s a note from JK, it says there’s a mystery waiting for us at the city hospital.” Heeseung nodded at him, leading the young trio into the cafeteria before heading off to their next adventure.

------

“Please, we all know I’m the visual of the group.” Sunghoon cockily smirked, which earned him a few bickers from the other members as they entered the hospital.

Heeseung stayed back momentarily, patiently waiting as you got off the van and headed to the same entrance. Besides the limited adrenaline in his veins, and the anxiety rushing to his mind and heart, he continued with his mission.

“Hey, y/n.” At the mention of your name, you quickly turned back to see Heeseung standing there.

“I was uh...wondering if you’d like to go on a d-d-d-d-date.” With all his strength, he finally let out the magic words. The question perked your interest and you approached him with a building sense of happiness and excitement.

“A date? You mean it?”

“Yeah, there’s a new trap exhibit in town and I was hoping you’d like to go.” Your peaking excitement calmed itself down, facing the reality of Heeseung’s world.

“You know when you popped the question, I actually thought you meant it.” You crossed your arms and headed inside, feeling slightly guilty with your indirect rejection.

Heeseung caught up with you and kept his thoughts on what you had mentioned to him earlier. In his mind, you loved traps too.

“What happened here Chief?” Jay looked at both Chief Kim and Mayor Lee who were standing at the front door of an operation room.

“Nothing, now go away.”

“Is he okay?”

“Yes, now go away.” It was clear that Mayor Lee was trying his best to get rid of the pestering group, but ensured to stay strong on the task.

“Are you sure? He’s practically screaming inside the room.” Niki, using his advantage of height, peered over the Chief’s shoulder and saw as one of the nurses used a pair of tweezers to extract a cicada from the nostril from the man.

“You know what happened!? This giant disgusting cicada creature trapped the poor man. Imagine small little creatures crawling over your body, ew…” Chief Kim began to frantically scratch his arms as he confessed to the teen group the truth behind the incident.

“Okay, yes there’s a cicada creature. But! If you have any decency left in your hearts, you will stay out of this. It will be good publicity for the festival on Saturday so don’t meddle with it!” Mayor Lee retreated from the hall at his warning, not exactly prioritizing the well-being of his people.

Later that night, another attack occurred.

Another business man was going through his daily routine, ending the day with a warm night shower. As he moved back his hair, his phone rang, and he picked up while wrapping a towel around his torso.

“I warned you to quit.” The familiar raspy voice rang through the phone, leaving the man to hang up in frustration, preferring to return to his chore.

He entered the comfort of the shower once more, throwing the towel to the side and reaching for the knob to turn back on the water. His efforts were wasted seeing as the knob was turned, but no water exited the shower head. The man peeked closer, attempting to find the solution before a crawling sensation appeared on his left foot. A cicada bug was crawling on it, and as he flicked it away, a swarm escaped from the drain. He too had been consumed.

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“Try Nature O’s, a proud product of Destructo Company.” Grandma Mimi smiled proudly through the screen holding up the iconic blue and orange printed bag which only permitted for the youngest members to let out a small groan.

“How long are we supposed to wait? Sunghoon and Heeseung left a while ago.” As if the universe had heard him, the said members had signaled to the group to follow them, leading to the room of the latest victim.

“There, there.” A feminine voice was heard from the other side of the door, and Sunoo and Niki looked at each other with wide smiles when they saw Grandma Mimi standing there.

“Oh my, we’re such huge fans!” They shook hands and she responded with a warm smile.

“It’s my pleasure, after all, I must thank Mr.Hughe for making them so popular.”

“You also work at Destructo?” Jake asked.

“I’ll leave you guys to be, take care.” Grandma Mimi left the room with the escort of Sunghoon and Jay who were kind of enough to help her.

“Yes. I had been getting blackmail calls since a few weeks ago to quit my job at Destructo. I didn’t take them seriously and well, now there was a bunch of small...creepy...crawling….disgusting little creatures crawling all over me.” Mr.Hughe entered into a state of hysteria, leaving all of you with no other option than to call the nurse for help. Once he had calmed down, you finally made your ways back home, heading first to the elevator.

“Jungwon, can you press for the lobby?” Jungwon did as told, pressing the small white button. As the elevator moved slowly, and opened, it left them puzzled as their eyesight was met with a dark basement.

“Good going dummy, you pressed the wrong button.”

“I did Jay, look.” Jungwon pressed the button once more and nothing happened. All of them stepped out of the elevator only to have it close them behind and for the lights in the basement to flicker on.

“Listen well, if you don’t stop, you will be next.” All of them ducked down as they heard the warning from the ominous and deep voice. A swarm of cicadas entered the basement, approaching you. You turned your head sideways and Jake with his limited bravery due to his fear of insects, managed to tuck your head into his chest using his jacket.

Once the swarm had disappeared, the elevator doors had opened once more, letting all of you make your way up to the van.

“That was close.” Sunoo opened his school bag to find another cicada bug flying out.

“We have to find who this creature is and fast, otherwise we’ll be next.” Heeseung drove off before coming to an abrupt stop.

“That’s it, why didn’t I think of it before? Who loves cicadas AND hates Destructo, it’s Professor Yin!” He shouted almost too enthusiastically at the thought of him behind bars, but wasn’t willing to admit the slight bias in his accusation.

“You can’t be serious Heeseung.” You crossed your arms and looked at him.

“I’m sorry, but I’m with Heeseung on this one. It makes sense.” Sunghoon demonstrated his support which prompted them to go to the school despite your refusal.

Eight bodies stood outside the door, quietly observing as Professor Yin placed the cicadas onto the small tree, taking out a small flute in the process. You and Niki stayed back and watched as Heeseung burst the door wide open with the other five boys following behind.

“Aha, caught you right in the act girlfriend stealer!” Heeseung shouted louder that he would have wished, seeing as all of the boys looked at him and back at the door where you and Niki were.

“What are you talking about?” Professor Yin stood agape and got himself up from his position.

“You’re the cicada monster!” Jungwon’s accusation didn’t settle in considering the next few minutes developed into a massive debate between all of you, with Chief Kim and Mayor Lee arriving into the mix.

“Enough! What is going on?” Mayor Lee broke into a booming voice and claimed a silence into the room.

“He’s the cicada creature! You have to arrest him.” Heeseung pointed once more at the Professor and although it was audible how Mayor Lee asked him to come to the festival at 6PM if he was the creature, it still irritated the poor man.

“I’m not the creature, and if you don’t leave, I’m pressing charges.” All of you exited the room with nothing much accomplished.

“Look, all of you need to quit it.” Mayor Lee pressed his nose bridge as he looked at all of you.

“We don’t have time, it told us that we were next.”

“That’s fantastic,” a foreign glimpse of happiness appeared on Mayor Lee’s face as he continued with his ramble, “all of you can show up at the festival tomorrow and we’ll make sure to have extra photographers! We don’t want you getting hurt for nothing!”

Mayor Lee left with Chief Kim almost immediately, leaving all of you both clueless and lost.

-------

The day of the festival had commenced and all of you approached the fun booths and cicada-themed attractions.

While looking around, you noticed Heeseung approach one of the games: whack a mole.

“Heeseung!” he kept pounding the plastic creatures and tried his best to give no reaction.

“Did you mean what you said yesterday? About me being your girlfriend?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Knowing too well about Heeseung’s struggle with expressing himself, you wrapped your arm around his and turned his face towards you.

“Because if it is, then I’d love to go to the trap exhibit with you later.” He kept his look firm, but couldn’t help a silly grin on his face as he pulled you into a hug.

Both of you pulled away with wide grins, but it didn’t last long when Mayor Lee approached all of you.

“Remember if you see the creature, run here. Got it?” The eight of you made your ways to the other side of the festival, when Niki grabbed your attention while pointing at Professor Yin who was seen entering the haunted house.

“To the haunted house!” Sunoo trailed forward and went in first. None of you were too amazed with the decorations inside. Yet again, all of you were in constant peril at least once a week.

“This is so dumb, what are we, five.” Jake commented as you reached the end. What you didn’t expect was for a wall to appear inclosing all of you inside. The swarm of cicadas appeared and tried to consume you as you broke through the tent finding as escape.

“Guess it wasn’t Professor Yin.” Sunghoon admitted as he saw Professor Yin who was calmly eating as the giant bug chased after him.

“To the van!” With all your might, your tired legs dragged you to the van where Heeseung opened the back door to let the vacuum suck up all the tiny insects.

When the swarm had finally become consumed by the machine in the van, all of you found Grandma Mimi with a white outfit.

“What is going on here?” Chief Kim asked as he looked at Grandma Mimi who was getting her hands tied together by Jay.

“She’s the cicada creature.”

“But why?”

“I’ll tell you why. When I sold my Nature O’s to Destructo, they changed the recipe to have landfill waste. Can you believe it? When I demanded they return to my original recipe, they refused. So when I saw this documentary about using sound to control penguins, I had my plan. I didn’t have penguins, but I did have cicadas. Using my device, I was able to control them. And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for you meddling young people!”

Chief Kim escorted her into the car, leaving a frustrated Mayor Lee behind.

“Why can’t anything in this town be real?” He complained and left as well.

“Well, that’s another mystery solved.” Sunoo let out a cheer first, relieved at the solved crisis.

“I’ll have to catch you guys later because y/n and I have a date.” Heeseung proudly announced before swinging his arm over your shoulder and leading you towards the car. As your two bodies started to get further away, with laughs apparent in your conversation, Sunghoon looked at his other friend Jake who had turned away.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, come on.” Jake swallowed the bitter feeling behind him, joining the others in celebration.

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Next- Chapter 11: Bikers and Jealousy

Tag List: @softkons @nikisboxysmile

#enhypen #enhypen imagines #enhypen scenarios #heeseung #heeseung imagines #jake imagines #jungwon #niki #sunghoon #jay #enhypen jake #enhypen jay

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petertingle-yipyip · 4 years

Text

Selfish - Peter Parker

Part Three: Good in Goodbye

// Selfish // Stained Glass //

//Tags @josiemara @dylanstilinskiposts @just-a-sad-chicken-nugget-xxx @throughparisallthroughrome @tomhollandssecurityguard @marvel4geeks @yourbiggestspiderfan //

Word Count: 5974

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Summary: Peter and Y/N have revealed their secrets and tried to talk things out. But in an effort to be honest, it may have gotten worse. Is there hope for this couple or should they find the good in goodbye?

“You got blood on your hands.” Your dad stands over you, Captain America on one side and Black Widow on the other. “How do you plead?”

“I didn’t mean to hurt him.” You say weakly. “I made a mistake. Just-”

“You seem to do a lot of that.” Captain America’s voice bounces through the room.

“Please, I love him. Let me make it right!”

“Doesn’t look like you loved him enough, did you?” Black Widow’s voice offers you a challenge.

“Y/N?” MJ said from your side, shaking you lightly.

You jumped slightly, sitting up quickly from leaning against the table. You looked around, seeing no one left in your class room but you, MJ, and your teacher. You sighed slightly, wiping your face and trying to clear your head of your latest dream. You gathered your school supplies and noted that you hadn’t written anything on your papers.

“I slept the whole class period, didn’t I?” You asked regretfully as you and MJ left the room, waving a goodbye to your teacher.

“Mhmm.” She nodded simply. “I’ll send you my notes later.”

“Thanks.” You muttered, pulling out your phone to see nothing from Peter.

“Wanna tell me what happened last night?” MJ offered as you two headed to the main door. “You look terrible.”

“I couldn’t sleep.” You shrugged.

“Does that have any correlation to Peter not being here today?”

“Probably, I don’t know.” You mumbled, turning away from your normal walk home.

“Where are you going? Your apartment is this way.”

“I’m going to my dad’s.” You replied, stopping to turn and face your friend. “I can’t be home, not right now. I could barely stomach to be in my own room last night. I stayed on my fire escape all night because I just couldn’t take it. It’s just all bitter, no sweet.”

“So you two broke up then?”

“We’re not on speaking terms.”

“You broke up.”

“No, I don’t think so… Just not talking right now.”

“Well, what happened?”

“I made a mistake.” You answered carefully. “And I’m having a problem trying to make things right. Last night, I probably made things worse.”

“What are you going to do about Liz’s party this weekend?”

“Not go?” You shrugged with a nervous laugh. “I don’t know, MJ. Right now, I’m just trying to get through the day. And I had a fight with my mom last night about getting in trouble over the Flash thing so I’m really not in the mood for anything today. Sorry.”

“I get it.” She nodded slightly. “Just- Don’t beat yourself up too much, alright? Peter’s just an idiot. You two will figure it out.”

“Thanks, MJ… I’ll text you later.”

You rode in silence through the city to your dad’s tower. You showed the badge Tony had sent to your apartment, security ushering you in easily. You conversated with the head of security after he introduced himself. He said his name was Happy, and that he had known your dad for a long time. Happy took you to the floor where your dad was, saying that Tony’s lab and most of the Avengers were found on that floor.

You wandered around the massive space, soon finding a training room. There was a dumbbell rack against the far wall, a wall lined with full length mirrors. A weight bench was near it, next to a squat rack. There was a row of punching bags, an area on the floor set aside for partnered work. Various pads were piled by the ring, along with pairs of boxing gloves.

“I didn’t know you were coming.” A familiar voice said from behind you as you were kneeling to pick a pair of gloves.

“My mom is working late and I didn’t want to be home. She’s gonna pick me up when she gets off.” You answered, not wanting to turn and face him. You knew if you did, some sort of emotion would take over. But you were scared of which emotion it would be. Desperation? Anger? Fear? Pain? Loneliness?

“Are we okay?” He asked carefully, dropping his bag by the door and coming into the room. You watched his movements through the wall of mirrors, refusing to turn and face him.

That was always the thing with Peter. You two didn’t fight often. The Spiderman feud was probably the only real fight you two had ever had. But you had petty arguments every now and then. And once those arguments got to the silent treatment, one look from him and his big soft puppy dog brown eyes and you were melting back into him.

“There’s so much I want to say… So much I still haven’t said yet.” You replied slowly, picking your words intently. You knew you had to be careful with what you said. You were afraid that you would blow up and lose Peter. “But I’m lost, Peter. Things are different between us, and you can’t tell me it isn’t.”

“Not everything is different.” He offered a small, sincere smile. “I still love you.”

“The worst part about this is that it isn’t affecting you the same way it’s affecting me.” You laughed in disbelief. The words you had been holding in, hiding from everyone around you were bubbling over. The locked up feelings that you couldn’t verbalize were beginning to change into actions. You could feel the familiar twitch in your muscles, begging to release itself as quick and decisive blows. You turned to face Peter, dropping the gloves in your hands.

You let your feet move themselves, guiding your body closer to Peter. It felt like a magnet, pulling you to him. You knew you should’ve stopped. You should’ve planted yourself like a tree and refused to move. But it felt like it’d be right to be close to him, to trap yourself within the painted lines on the floor with him.

You realized you weren’t trying to just be close to Peter. You were closing in on Spiderman, the way you used to slowly stride closer to him before launching an offensive. You wanted to start a fight.

“Y/N, every night that I’m out, I swing by your apartment.” Peter explained, stepping closer to you. He was giving in to your movements, following your lead to close the distance, fully unaware of your subconscious intentions. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what last night.”

Once he was close enough, you threw a quick punch. Peter dodged it easily, catching your right hand with his left. His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion while you squinted your eyes in determination. You urged yourself to forget, to bring yourself back to before you knew the identity of the bug-themed boy in spandex. You urged yourself to let your mind slip fully into Heretic’s mindset, the girl who knew how to release her pent up frustration. The girl who wasn’t dating a superhero.

“What are you doing?” Peter asked in surprise.

With a quiet tilt of your head, you reacted. You spun your wrist out of Peter’s grip, grabbing his arm and pulling him to you. While he was thrown off balance, you dropped to a knee and brought your elbow against the back of his knees. He groaned, falling to his knees. You kicked out to the side, knocking Peter flat on the ground.

Peter tried to process what was happening, but his brain kept telling him that he couldn’t hurt you. But the way you were moving, the intent you were moving with, it wasn’t a fight between Y/N and Peter. He recognized your movement pattern as a fight between Spiderman and Heretic. He took a second to compose himself, to allow himself to believe it was Heretic he was against.

He quickly jumped to his feet, trying to decide if he should fight back. Before he could make up his mind, you were coming at him with a calculated series of blows. Peter quickly blocked most of your hits. You ducked under his arm, connecting your elbow to the ghost of the bruise from where you had stabbed him previously.

He wobbled on his feet as he held his side, allowing you to charge again. Your mind was fuzzy, your muscles acting on their own. Soon, Peter was redirecting all of your attacks. He wasn’t blocking or fighting back, just sidestepping and avoiding. You dropped to sweep his legs, but he easily jumped over your foot. He landed in a low crouch, reaching over to push you. You quickly leaned into your palms, kicking your feet out.

Your feet connected with Peter’s chest, sending him rolling across the mat. You used the opportunity to jump to your feet. Peter turned to face you before shooting a web at your ankle and yanking your foot out from under you. You fell to your back, Peter quickly moving to pin your body down. He had his legs on either side of your hips and folded your arms against your chest.

“What the hell has gotten into you?” Peter panted, slightly winded.

You stared at him for a moment, noting the way the sweat made his curls stick to his forehead. His cheeks were slightly tinted pink and his chest noticeably rose and fell with his heavy breaths, both effects quickly fading back to a normal level. You chuckled lightly, pushing Peter off of you. He moved easily, not fighting to keep you pinned. You sat up on your elbows, tilting your head to look at him.

“You should’ve told me sooner.” You said plainly, working through the thick lump in your throat. “Maybe if you had told me before Tony came back into my life, this would’ve been different.”

You knew you had to have this conversation with Peter if you wanted to be able to move on. You wanted things to go back to normal with him, to be able to hang out and laugh and enjoy each other’s company. But now, it just felt like there was an elephant in the room. A big, fat elephant in the room wearing red and blue spandex. And even though you had tried this conversation last night, it didn’t work out well for you.

“I knew how you felt about superheroes.” He replied, his head hanging low. He was upset that he didn’t tell you sooner, but he also knew that you would react in a similar way. He didn’t know that you’d physically fight him over it, but he knew you’d lash out. “And the way you always talked about Mr. Stark and the Avengers… I didn’t want you to hate me too.”

“Peter, you know that I love you.” You sighed, crawling to sit across from him. You considered reaching out for his hand, but you decided against it. You had sent enough mixed messages when you put up the facade for school in the previous days. “Whether you’re a superhero or not, I still love you.”

“Then why did you just attack me?” He asked in shock, gesturing to the mat you two had just been fighting on.

“I don’t know!” You replied in the same tone. “I just- I’m trying to cope with everything still. I’m trying to pretend like everything is okay but it’s not. And this is the only way that I’ve figured out how to deal with things.”

“I didn’t want this to come between us.”

“That’s why I never told you about Heretic…” You explained slowly. You thought that maybe - just maybe - if you had confessed everything, put it all on the line, things could stabilize between you two. “I didn’t want the idea of me being the bad guy to drive you away. I didn’t think you’d understand what I was doing and why I was doing it.”

“I still don’t understand. You’re not the bad guy, Y/N, but...” He shook his head in silent frustration. “These tantrums been old. I can’t keep doing this.”

“You’re killing my vibe in ways words cannot describe. But I’ll try.” You paused, trying to plan your words before you said them. Last night, you let your words flow freely and you caused a rift between you and Peter. So now, you sat before him, silently pleading for him to forgive you. Maybe then you could forgive yourself. “I would take a bullet for you just to prove my love.”

“Only to find out you were the one holding the gun.” Peter scoffed. “Y/N, do you honestly think this hasn’t been bothering me?”

“How would I know?” You challenged simply. “You didn’t come to school today, so was I supposed to just know?”

“It's eight Mondays in a row, nine days of the week.” He replied, punctuating his words with a purposeful point to the ground. “Ever since you started ignoring me the first time, I haven’t been able to actually sleep, o-or focus. Everything reminds me of you, but you don’t even care.”

“I do care, Peter.”

“No, you don’t.” He chuckled in annoyance. Peter wanted to let the whole thing go, to forget that you were at odds and go back to the blissful ignorance of your relationship- back to a time when neither of you knew the other’s secrets. But he knew that wasn’t possible. Your relationship was changed forever, and now you two were faced with a challenge. Adapt or lose everything you two built. “If you actually cared, you’d come with me tonight. As Spiderman.”

You sat in front of your boyfriend, dumbstruck with his request. It seemed so simple. Spend time with Peter as Spiderman, learn to see them as the same entity instead of separate beings. How could you not see it before?

“And if I can’t do it?” You asked tightly, knowing that if you could barely stand the thought of Peter in the suit, it’d be even harder to spend the night with Peter in the suit.

“I saw something earlier, about how there’s good in the bad and bad in the good.” Peter explained, seemingly off topic.

“Yin and Yang.”

“They said there’s an ‘over’ in lover, ‘ex’ in next. But I think what hit hardest was the g-o-o-d in goodbye.”

“We’d break up, then…” You nodded slowly, realizing you were backed into a corner. “Looks like I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“I need you to need both, baby.” He said softly, consoling almost. He leaned over and took your hand, tugging it slightly in an effort to ask you to come closer. You gave in almost instantly. You crawled to sit beside him, to lean your head on his shoulder. His arm came around you as he held you close, as close as he could keep you. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t, Peter.” You confirmed. The moment felt so normal, it made your head swim. “You won’t lose me.”

“Y/N?” You heard your dad calling from down the hall. “Where you at, kid? There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“In here.” You replied, lifting your head from Peter’s shoulder to turn and look towards the door. You watched as your dad entered with Captain America and Black Widow.

Doesn’t look like you loved him enough, did you?

You jumped up in a panic, remembering your dream from your last class. A fresh, new wave of pain and regret coursed through your body. Regret flowed in your veins instead of blood, the desire to flee causing tension in your muscles. Your eyes darted around the room as you looked for another exit, any way to escape the suffocating pressure you felt closing in. Part of you knew that they weren’t going to lecture you - they wouldn’t turn against you - because they didn’t know you. They didn’t know anything about the situation, let alone know anything about you. But the irrational idea that your dream was some sort of prediction was hard to rid yourself of.

“Y/N, this is Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff.” Your dad introduced them.

“Uh, hi.” You said awkwardly.

“Not much for words, are you?” Natasha teased lightly.

“Yeah, guess not.” You chuckled nervously.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about it.” Steve offered kindly. “You’re Tony’s kid, which means your welcome here with open arms.”

“That’s really good to hear, Captain.” You nodded, the tight knot wound in your stomach gently unravelling. “And considering I’m on the outs with my mom, that’s really comforting.”

“What’s this about you and your mom?” Tony cut in, sliding in front of Steve and Natasha.

“Huh?” You played dumb.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Y/N.”

“She got mad that I wasn’t home when she got home.” You waved your hand to dismiss his concern. You saw Natasha motion for Steve to follow her, not thinking they needed to be in the room for that conversation. She pointed at Peter for him to follow, but then shot a look of annoyance before the two left. You assumed Peter refused to leave. “She wasn’t happy that I got into a fight and then ran off like nothing happened.”

“Yeah, but nothing happened.”

“I know that. But she doesn’t. I don’t even care anyways.”

“Y/N-” Peter tried.

“No, I don’t.” You laughed. “She wants to blame me for getting in trouble when A) I didn’t start the fight. B) I didn’t actually hurt Flash, just his ego. And C) Morita was sending me home anyways. What does it matter where I actually went?”

“I get where you’re coming from.” Tony offered, continuing to speak even though you were gathering your stuff to leave the room. “Hey, don’t walk away when I’m talking to you, alright? You’re pissed at your mom? Fine. But you’re not gonna take it out on me.”

“It’s more than just Mom.” You shook your head. “Ask him.” You nodded towards Peter before leaving the room.

You were about halfway out the doorway when you felt a thread-like material wrap wound your wrist. You let your backpack fall from your shoulder on the opposite side while you turned on your heel. You wrapped some of the excess webbing around your hand as you faced Peter, his arm extended and his hand gripping his end of the webs. You glared at him in challenge, trying to gauge if he actually wanted to do it. When his gaze didn’t waver, you acted quickly.

You yanked Peter forward. You aided yourself by moving in close, spinning towards Peter with your left arm locked out, in essence clotheslining the boy. Peter fell to the floor on his back while you stood triumphantly, gently placing your foot on Peter’s chest.

“Seriously?” You mocked. “What were you trying to accomplish?”

“Quit it.” Your dad said, cutting Peter’s web. “Leave him alone, Y/N. He’s trying to help.”

“Yeah, everyone’s trynna do what’s best for me, right?” You scoffed, picking up your backpack on your way out.

You took the long walk home by yourself. You declined Happy’s offer to drive you home. You declined Steve’s offer to pay for a cab. You knew the walk would be about half an hour, maybe more. But it would give you time to think.

You knew Peter would show up on your fire escape tonight, covered head to toe in his suit. You knew that you would have to dig out your gear and if you had the time, repair the neurotransmitters for your knives. A small part deep in the back of your brain was excited, itching to wear the familiar spandex as you silently wandered your neighborhood. But a bigger part, a louder and more prominent part was smarter. It was telling you to call off the meet-up, to find an excuse to not go out.

Maybe you had to catch up on the notes you missed. Maybe your mom was cracking down on you since you were M.I.A. two days in a row. Maybe you were feeling sick. No, Peter wouldn’t believe any of it.

For what felt like the first time in your life, you felt truly afraid. You were scared that you wouldn’t be able to see Peter and Spiderman as the same person. It wasn’t an option to keep them segregated, to have such a deep love for Peter but turn around and despise Spiderman. You kept telling yourself that they were one and the same.

You had seen it with your own eyes. You saw Peter come to your room the night before, red and blue suit fitting snugly against his body. You watched him peel away the mask and let loose a bed of messy brown curls and wide, loving eyes. You saw Peter, in a simple pair of jeans and a nerdy t-shirt, move with the same specific agility and precision that Spiderman moved with. You saw the same moves, the same defensive strategies at play less than an hour ago.

You had ample evidence and memories etched into your brain to support the notion - to prove the notion - that Peter Parker, the boy you loved with your whole existence, the boy who you had given your heart to without hesitation, was the beloved local hero. Peter was Iron Man’s newest prodigy. He was Queens’ protector. Peter was Spiderman…

But could you be Heretic again? It seemed like the fiasco of alter egos kept unravelling new issues every day. It felt as if a mountain of issues was piling up in front of you, and if you pulled on the one you felt was the heaviest to deal with, the entire collection would topple over on top of you and suffocate you.

As you finally approached your apartment door, the sun was slipping behind the nearby buildings. Night was coming quickly, swallowing the time you had left as Y/N. Pushing the time you had to become Heretic upon you. You set your intentions on your bedroom as you entered your home. You quickly reheated your dinner and took it to your room, refusing to utter a word to your mom.

“How was school?” She tried, to which you huffed in response. “Did you go to your dad’s after school or were you at Peter’s?”

The only response was the microwave beeping.

“I know you’re upset about last night, but I don’t think it was right for you to run off with Tony when you were sent home from school… But I do have to admit, I am glad you two are getting along so well.”

“Mhmm.” You acknowledged, a lift to your eyebrows displaying your disbelief in the subject. You carried the hot plate to your room and locked the door behind you.

You knew it wasn’t fair to be so angry with your mother. But with everything going on at that moment, you felt like you wanted to be mad at everyone. You couldn’t even let yourself be - admittedly - starstruck by meeting Captain America because you were upset about what your own mind produced. You hesitated by your door, considering heading back out and apologizing. But the dimming sunlight outside your window and the heat spreading from your dinner to your fingers reminded you of what you were intended to be doing.

You picked at your dinner while you worked to repair the neurotransmitters. You didn’t know what Peter had in mind when he asked you to meet with him, but you knew what the streets of New York could hold, the danger that she kept tucked in alleyways and prowled on dimly lit avenues. You knew you had to be prepared for anything, and since you wouldn’t have your serums to give yourself added protection, you needed to have your knives at the ready.

It was a few hours before you had completed the repairs with the stashed parts in one of your desk drawers. You unlocked your window before changing into your familiar spandex suit. You tugged on your boots, treading silently across your room. You pulled your hair up into a tight ponytail, pulling a couple strands to frame your face. You tossed your mask on your messy bed while you busied yourself at your desk, copying the notes that MJ had sent you.

meech🤔🙄: hey loser. heres the notes you missed. meech🤔🙄: quit screwing around and handle your issues with the other loser. i dont want to see you spiral cause a scrawny nerd

You hadn’t heard Peter crawl through your window, being that you had your music playing on your computer. His light tap on your shoulder caused you to jump and turn aggressively in the chair. Luckily, he was there to catch you so you didn’t tumble to the floor.

“Hey.” He said simply. Even though he had his mask on, you knew he was smiling. You heard it in his voice.

“Wow, guess I fell for you again.” You joked instantly, patting his chest lightly as you hauled yourself to your feet. “So, what’s the plan for tonight, Spiderman?”

“You’re really gonna come with me tonight?” He wanted to confirm. One thing you could always count on was Peter’s double-checking.

“No, these are my new skin-tight spandex pajamas.” You laughed lightly, side-stepping him to collect your knives from your bed, along with your mask. “Peter, I know these past couple days have been terrible. And I know it’s mostly been my fault.”

“Baby, no.” He said softly, reaching for your glove covered hand with his own. You couldn’t physically feel his fingers around yours, but you felt the pressure of a gentle squeeze and the slight texture of his suit against your exposed fingertips. “I’m as much at fault as you are.” Your eyebrows raised in amusement as you paused placing your mask on your face. “I didn’t mean it like that!” Peter immediately backtracked.

“We’ve been together for a long time, hon. I know what you meant.” You shook your head in amusement before hiding behind your mask. “You can keep going, by the way. I like where that was headed.”

“All I’m saying is that I could’ve done a little more. I don’t want to lose you, Y/N.” Peter admitted, headed towards the window with a gentle grip on your hand still. “You are… everything to me.”

A huge smile broke across your face. You had never thought that hearing words Peter had told you a million times over would give you such butterflies, such a tingling feeling across your body. Hearing it come from Peter, but seeing it come from Spiderman, it helped you bridge the gap between the boy you adored and the persona that you despised.

“So, what’s the plan tonight?” You asked again as you two climbed out of your window to your fire escape. “Usually I just kinda wander around until I run into you.”

“You ever wondered what it’s like to swing?” He offered, the sound of a smirk dancing in his voice.

“You’re kidding.” You smiled nervously.

“Do you trust me?”

“What?”

“Do you trust me?” He asked, climbing to stand on the railing of your fire escape and holding his hand out for you. The entire scene reminded you of the Disney movie, Aladdin.

“Yes?” You replied carefully, reaching for his hand. You climbed to the railing, wrapping your arms around his shoulders tightly. “If I die-”

“You’re not gonna die.” Peter laughed.

“If I die-” You continued pointedly. “-don’t let Flash come to my funeral.”

You closed your eyes tightly, burying your face into the crook of Peter’s neck. You locked your hands together, clinging desperately to Peter. Once you felt your feet leave the railing, a small squeal left your lips. You considered wrapping your legs around Peter’s waist for bonus security, but you abstained, worried it would interfere with Peter’s swinging.

You wanted to take a peek and see where you two were headed, but the wind burn on your face kept your eyes shut. You eventually felt the sharp sting of the cool air stop. The deep woosh in your ears had silenced, but it took a moment for your head to stop spinning.

Peter’s arm around your waist relaxed slightly to a lazy drape. Carefully, your feet felt the solid ground beneath but your arms remained locked around Peter. The swirling feeling in your head subsided, your mind settled slowly to allow your body to find its balance. You carefully opened your eyes, finding you and Peter atop a tall building with a familiar skyline.

“Is this your apartment building?” You asked slowly, taking in the new angle of the familiar view.

“Yeah..” He said gently, as if he was admiring the view as well. “I didn’t really want to do anything tonight… I just wanted to be with you.”

“Y’know, last time I was here with you, I threw you off the roof… I didn’t get to actually take in the view.”

“I forgot about that.” He laughed gently.

“I never said sorry for that, by the way.” You said awkwardly.

What you didn’t see was that Peter was admiring the view, only he wasn’t looking at the skyline. Peter’s eyes were trained on you, feeling as if he was seeing you for the first time. Peter was dumbstruck. How could you become even more beautiful?

Maybe it was the wind blown look of your hair. The pink tint of your cheeks and nose due to the wind burn. Maybe it was the wide, soft look in your eyes. The adoring smile you offered. Maybe it was the way you clung to his body even though you were completely safe. He felt your hands release themselves, one of them slid from across his shoulders to hang lazily against his chest. The ghost of your hand left a tingling warmth across his skin under his suit. Even though there was no skin to skin contact, he had missed your touch more than he had realized.

“I love you.” He said so quietly he barely heard his own voice.

“I love you too, Peter.” You replied, turning under his arm to face him. You took a small step to the side so you could stand in front of him fully. You slid the hand from his chest back up to his shoulder and up his neck. “Can I kiss you?”

“I was hoping you’d ask.” He tilted his head with his words, his signature move when he was a little cocky. He leaned in slightly before pulling back quickly and removing his mask. “Almost forgot.”

You paused for a millisecond, recognizing something incredible. You didn’t shy away from the kiss with his mask on. Yes, it would’ve been strange to kiss his mask and not him. But you didn’t think of it as kissing Spiderman. Your mind registered it as Peter with a mask on.

It was just Peter with a mask on.

You smiled widely from your revelation, leaning into his lips eagerly. Your hands easily slid up his neck, the feeling suit disappearing under your exposed fingertips and fading into his warm, soft skin. You felt the tousled texture of his hair, the slightly damp mess of curls that your digits were so used to being tangled in.

When you pulled away for a breath, you noted the dopey smile on your boyfriend’s face. You tilted your head back to let out an honest laugh, the realest laugh you had released since you had learned your boyfriend’s secret.

“This is amazing, Pete.” You said gently, your fingers dancing small circles on the nape of his neck. “I can’t believe you get to do this every night. I can see why you never answer me after eleven.” You joked.

“You’re in a good mood tonight.” He offered a small, content smile as he spoke. “So I guess Spiderman isn’t all that bad, is he?”

“Well, Spiderman did just try to kill me…” You teased, tilting your head side to side as if mulling over the thought, to which he scoffed in response. “But the guy under the mask is actually pretty great.”

“Y’know, if you want, I’m sure Mr. Stark would give you an internship like mine.”

“I don’t know about all that yet.” You shut down the thought almost immediately. “But I don’t think it’ll be as hard for me to see you and Spiderman as the same person anymore.”

“That’s all I wanted.” He sighed in relief.

“I owe you an apology, Peter.” You admitted with a heavy sigh. “It’s the least you deserve.”

“No, you-” He tried.

“Let me say this. Please.” You tried, offering Peter a pleading look. He nodded slightly, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to your shoulder. “I reacted out of fear, out of anger and- and pain. And I know that’s not an excuse, but I didn’t know how to cope with everything. The entirety of my world had flipped in the matter of minutes. Less than one hour changed my family dynamic and my dynamic with you. You are a huge part of my life, and if I lost you - especially over something so temporary - over feelings so blown out of proportions. I don’t think I’d be able to forgive myself. I couldn’t even sleep last night when you left. And then you weren’t at school and I- I thought it was my fault. I thought I chased you away and I had lost you.”

You felt a gentle thumb drag across your cheek and you realized you had begun to cry. Silent, warm tears had started to fall slowly down your face, and the sight was almost enough to move Peter to tears of his own. He offered you a sad, understanding smile. You leaned into his touch, your eyes closing to let your mind root yourself in that moment.

He knew it was hard for you to admit everything you were saying. He knew you were never the most open of books, not even with him. You told him everything - almost everything. And now, here you were, with the New York skyline setting the scene behind you. The constant sounds of the city’s streets filling the silence between your words, the heavy movements of your chest as you tried to maintain your semblance of calm. Peter felt a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach, a tingling feeling. Almost like butterflies.

It felt like the first date all over again.

“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I absolutely adore you. And I want you in my life, no matter what you’re wearing.” You laughed nervously. “I love you, Peter Parker. And I need you.”

“You need me?” He teased lightly, wiggling his eyebrows in suggestion.

“I need you, Peter.” You nodded with a smile. “And I need you as Spiderman, too.”

Peter threw his head back with a wide grin. He let out a dramatically long sigh of relief before he faced you again. “I’m so glad you said that.”

“How long are we going to be out tonight?” You asked. The adrenaline of swinging with Peter was draining from your system and you could feel your body inching towards a crash. The lack of sleep from the night before probably wasn’t helping your case.

“You wanna come in?” He offered, leading you to the side of the building that would eventually lead to Peter’s window. “I know you’re tired.”

You nodded tiredly, mumbling how you’d have to explain it to your mom in the morning. Peter hopped over the ledge so he could offer you his hand and help you climb the fire escapes. He stayed in front of you, walking down sideways so he could keep any eye on you. His hand was locked around yours as you two treaded the metal steps that would eventually take you to his bedroom.

#peter parker #peter parker fanfic #peter fanfic #peter parker fic #peter parker x reader #peter x you #peter x yn #peter x reader #peter parker x you #peter parker x yn #peter parker x y/n #spiderman fic #spiderman #marvel fic

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darkstar6782 · 4 years

Text

Fade to Black - 1.17: Hell House

1991

They’re on their way back from school when Dean finds a five dollar bill in a gutter less than a block down from the local candy store. Without a second thought, he grabs Sam’s hand and drags him inside. “Get whatever you want, Sam.” But two weeks ago, Sam had listened to a dentist that had come into their classroom to talk to them about taking care of their teeth, and he had been very clear about how bad candy was for them, so while Dean is filling a bag with a scoop from every bin along the wall, Sam goes to look at the toys instead.

“Dean, what’s a whoopee cushion?”

“Oh, man, Sammy, those are great! How have you never heard of one before? You want that instead of candy?” Sam nods. Dean pays and gives Sam the fifteen cents in change since his new toy didn’t cost as much as Dean’s candy, and on the way home, he promises to show Sam exactly how it works. “You’re gonna love it, Sam. It’s gonna be hilarious.”

That night, when Dad comes home, dinner is already on the table, and both boys are sitting and waiting for him. As soon as he sits down, a loud “phtbbt” noise emanates from his chair. Sam’s eyes go wide, Dean bursts out laughing, and with a grin, Dad pulls the now-deflated red rubber bag out from underneath him.

For a month after that, no seat is safe from the wrath of the whoopee cushion. They make a rule that the prank’s latest victim takes possession of the toy, but after a while, Sam begins to suspect that Dean is sneaking it out of Dad’s luggage whenever Dad confiscates it, because he manages to prank everyone else a lot more often than he himself gets pranked. When it shows up one day with a knife slash through it, ensuring that it can never inflate again, it’s no big loss, though. Dad apologizes, saying that he accidentally stuck it in the weapons bag, but Sam notices that he doesn’t promise to replace it.

1997

It starts with a toothbrush.

Sam gets a new one from some health fair at school that Dean ditched. He could have picked up two—no one would have cared—but he didn’t even think about his brother, which annoys Dean to no end. So, every chance he gets, he uses Sam’s new toothbrush instead of his own.

It takes a week for Sam to catch on, but one morning, when Dean goes into the bathroom, Sam’s toothbrush is nowhere to be seen, and Dean’s toothbrush has been shoved bristles-first into a bar of soap. He doesn’t know whether to laugh or get pissed as he tosses the old toothbrush and the soap into the trash and uses a finger to spread toothpaste over his teeth. The little squirt has more guts than Dean had given him credit for. But Dean can’t let this challenge go unanswered.

Two days later, Sam discovers that someone put an open bottle of hand lotion from the bathroom in the bottom of his duffel, soaking all of his clean underwear in flowery-smelling goop. The next morning, Dean wakes up to find all of his clothes sitting in the bathtub, soaking wet. Sam’s toothpaste gets replaced with shaving cream; Dean’s razor turns dull overnight and all the extra blades go missing. Finally, Dean hits on the ultimate prank: he mixes Nair into Sam’s shampoo. When his brother comes out of the shower the next day screaming with rage and looking like he has a bad case of mange, Dean laughs his ass off, and gets a black eye for his trouble. Despite being a skinny little twerp, the kid can really pack a punch when he catches Dean off-guard.

The next day, Dean is bracing himself for a truly heinous act of revenge as he follows a silent and now completely bald Sam to school. The poor kid doesn’t look angry anymore, though; he just looks miserable, bundled up in a hoodie despite the near-summer heat. At lunchtime, Dean catches a couple kids harassing Sam, making fun of his bald head, and he realizes that he’s gone too far this time. It’s one thing to cause each other discomfort, but when one of their pranks makes the other a target for outsiders… Dean’s more angry at himself than the punks harassing his brother, but he takes it out on them and gets both himself and Sam suspended for a week.

“I’m so sorry, kiddo,” Dean says that night as they’re lounging in front of the TV, eating all of Sam’s favorite foods and trying to figure out how to explain Sam’s bald head and the suspension to Dad when he comes home in a few days. “Things got a little out of hand this time, I guess. Truce?”

“Yeah,” Sam agrees. “You kinda made up for it by fixing it so I don’t have to go back to school for a week. Hopefully we can pass it off to Dad as a really bad haircut; you know he’s been bugging me to get one for months, anyway.” Then, he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a brand new toothbrush. He tosses it to Dean, Dean grins, and in the wrestling match over the last of the gummy worms five minutes later, all is forgiven.

2000

“C’mon, Sam, lighten up! It was just a joke.”

“It’s not very funny, Dean.” Sam is sitting in the passenger seat of the Impala, picking flakes of superglue off of the palm of his hand. Three days ago, Dean had caught Sam talking on the phone to Linda Hamilton, a girl he’d gone on a few dates with in the last town they’d been in, and ever since, Dean had been insufferable. It started with the offers for tips on how to give good phone sex, then boxes of tissues and bottles of lotion left out in strategic locations, and had culminated in him waking up this morning to discover that Dean had covered the palm of his right hand in hair and superglue.

“I’m telling you, Sammy, you got off lucky. I hear doing that sorta thing too often can also make you go blind.”

Sam glares at him and returns to his task. Fortunately, it’s summertime, so he doesn’t have to worry about explaining the mess on his palm to anyone at school, but he continues to give Dean the silent treatment until his brother drops him off at the library to finish researching the ghost that they’re hunting this week. Sam walks through the library’s front doors, waits until the rumble of the Impala’s engine has died away, then turns around and heads back outside. He’d discovered all he needed to know about the ghost yesterday, but hasn’t told Dean yet, partly out of anger at his brother’s harassment, but mostly because Dean hasn’t asked. As long as Dean thinks Sam is busy, Sam knows where he’ll be, and after this morning’s humiliation, he deserves everything that he has coming to him.

Sam takes his time walking across town and gets to the bar that Dean has been frequenting every day over the last week just in time to see him heading out the front door with a girl on his arm. Sam crouches behind a dumpster and watches as they get into the Impala and drive a few blocks down to the girl’s house. Once they’re inside and, presumably, preoccupied, Sam sneaks up to the car and gets to work. He disconnects the battery and moves the front seat up just far enough to keep Dean from being able to easily get into the car, then he pulls out his cellphone and places a call to the office where the girl’s father works, telling him that he needs to come home right away.

Sam is hiding in the bushes and trying not to let his laughter give him away as he watches the father storm home and chase Dean out of the house with his pants around his ankles. He’s fighting back tears of mirth as he watches Dean struggle to get behind the wheel and start to panic when the car doesn’t start, but his glee turns immediately to terror when he sees the girl’s father come out of the house with a baseball bat. He smashes both of the car’s driver-side windows, and Dean catches a nasty blow to his left shoulder as he gets out of the car to protect it before Sam manages to break cover and come running up, shouting, “Don’t hurt my brother! Please, don’t hurt my brother!”

Between Sam and the girl, they manage to drag Dean and the father apart, and placate him long enough to allow Dean and Sam to push the car out of his driveway and back down the street to the bar. Sam is shaking and barely holding back tears by the time they arrive, and he doesn’t even give Dean a chance to notice that something’s wrong before breaking down.

“Oh, god, Dean, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He can barely stand to look at his brother, not knowing what he will see on Dean’s face.

“What are you talking about, Sammy? You saved my ass back there.”

“I… I was the one who messed with the car and called her dad. I was so mad at you for making fun of me the last few days… But I swear I didn’t know he’d get that angry. I’ll do anything to make it up to you, I swear.”

“You…” Sam can hear the fury in his brother’s voice, but then Dean takes a deep breath, and when he speaks again, he sounds a little calmer. “What did you do to the car, Sam?”

“Just disconnected the battery,” Sam whispers, swallowing back another sob. He hears Dean pop the hood, reconnect the battery, and slam it shut again, but he doesn’t look up until he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“Come on,” Dean says as Sam looks up at him. He looks more apologetic himself than angry, and he reaches out a hand to help Sam to his feet, which Sam takes. “One of the guys at the garage owes me a favor, so it won’t be any trouble to get the windows replaced. You wanna help me?” Sam nods.

They’re both quiet as they get in the car, but after they’ve been on the road for a few minutes, Dean breaks the silence. “I’m sorry about teasing you like I did, Sam. I can’t promise it won’t happen again, but can we make a deal?”

“What’s that?”

“No more pranks that mess with the car, okay?”

“Deal.”

2006

In retrospect, the pranks they’d subjected one another to this time around were relatively tame. The last time Dean had used the itching powder trick, Sam had been in middle school, and turning up the volume on the stereo in the Impala was positively bush league compared to what he used to do before messing with the car had been declared off-limits. Supergluing Dean’s beer bottle to his hand had been a long-overdue payback, but other than that… It was the pranks that they’d pulled on the two “ghost hunters”—pretending to be a movie producer in order to send them off to California, and putting a dead fish in the back seat of their car—that had been truly inspired. And the fact that they’d come up with the ideas independently was a welcome reminder of something that he’d always known: that they were at their best when they were working together, whether the goal was stopping an invincible monster or just shaking a couple of idiots off their trail.

Sam wants to tell Dean as much, but it will probably have to wait. He doubts Dean will be particularly receptive to the message when he comes out of the bathroom and discovers that Sam has short-sheeted his bed. Of course, it’s less than he deserves for pulling the whole “shaving cream in the hand and a feather up the nose” trick on Sam last night while he was sleeping. Their truce hadn’t even managed to last the hundred miles that Dean had promised, but that’s okay. As long as they’re going with the juvenile classics, Sam can keep this up forever. He wonders if this town has a joke shop; it’s been a long time since he’s seen a whoopee cushion…

#supernatural #spn fanfiction #spn fanfic #1.17 hell house #fade to black #the hair and superglue on the hand was inspired by a real-life prank #my college boyfriend's roommate did that to him once #the night before he was going to drive up to visit me (we were long-distance)#the roommate thought i'd be grossed out by the implication #but i actually found it hilarious

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holylulusworld · 5 years

Text

Aprils Fool

Summary: Being in love with someone is the most beautiful thing, but only if he requites your feelings.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader, Natasha Romanoff, Sharon Carter, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, Thor Odinson

Warnings: angst, language, unrequited love, jealousy, heartbreak, violence against a door, pregnant reader

“Hey, Y/N…do you remember Tony’s party next week?” Steve asks and your heart starts beating faster.

“Of course, Rogers. Tony is bugging me for months. Telling me this will be the most spectacular party ever.” You chuckle.

“Do you already have a date?” The super soldier asks, and you can’t breathe for a moment. After years of pining is Steve finally turning toward you? Will he finally see how much he means to you instead of going out with others?

“No, Steve. You know I’m single and I didn’t have the time to ask someone. I mean Nat asked me to accompany Bucky and her, but I don’t want to be the fifth wheel if you know what I mean.”

“So, you’ve got time and you don’t have to tell someone you can’t go with him.”

“Yeah, I got time and no date.” You say smiling.

“Great, you see…Sam got no date and he’s sad about his break-up with Sarah and I was wondering if you would go with him.” Steve says and your heart shatters into pieces.

“I like Sam like a brother. I will ask him if he wants to go with me as we are both all alone.” You say bitterly. “If you excuse me now…Nat is waiting for me.” You say storming toward your waiting friend.

She wanted to squeal as it looked like Steve finally asked you out but seeing the tears well up your eyes she guides you toward the next room.

“What happened?”

“He asked…” sniffing you huff… ”if I got a date and I thought…but then…” sobbing you try to find the words… “Steve said Sam has no date and is alone…he wants me to go with Sam.”

“Such an idiot! I should punch his face…hard…” Natasha yells and curses.

“Don’t…I’ll ask Sam, so we are both not alone…he’s my friend, like a brother so I don’t want him to be alone.”

“You’re too good for this shitshow of a team sometimes.”

“It’s not his fault I’m in love with the wrong man. At least I’m not the fifth wheel with Sam by my side.”

“I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

“Well…”

—-

“He said what? No, Y/N. I’m coming with Sarah. Steve must’ve got it all wrong.” Sam says and you nod.

“I’m glad you and Sarah are back together. I just offered to go with you as Steve asked me to. We see us at the party, Sam.”

“Wait, I got a good friend and he…”

“Sam, I don’t need a date, okay. I just asked you as we are friends. I got an appointment, have a great day.” Embarrassed you walk away as fast as possible only to bump into Bucky.

“You okay, doll?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You sigh.

“Steve again?”

“Forget it, James. Tell Nat I’m not going to make it to the party. Got something else to do…just lie for me. Please.”

“Y/N?” Bucky tries but you storm toward your room without looking back.

—-

The night of the party…

“You will come with us and wear the black dress I bought for you.” Natasha insists while Bucky tries to not get involved in the discussion.

“I shall attend one of Tony’s party without someone by my side? Seriously.” You groan glancing at the sexy dress Nat brought to your room.

“You will come with us. You’re not the only one coming alone. Bruce is alone too, just like Tony.”

“Tony is alone as Pepper’s flight got canceled and Bruce is alone as he’s the goddamn Hulk! I’m not going to go to the party so everyone can look at me with pity, again by the way.”

“Wear the dress, these shoes and stop arguing or I will slap your ass and Bucky will help me dragging you out of your room!” Natasha warns and you sigh.

“Fine. I’ll come with you, have a drink and go back to my room.”

“Great. Bucky out of the room it’s girls time.”

“Damn…sounds dirty.” Bucky chuckles and Natasha slaps his face.

“You’re lucky I like you, Barnes.”

—-

Feeling out of place you follow Bucky and Natasha into the ballroom. Letting your eyes wander they land on Steve and his latest conquest. Great…first thing you have to see.

“Makes you want to vomit too, huh?” Sharon asks.

“Yeah…”

“I know how you feel, Y/N. He gave me the boot over a year ago and it still stings. I’m sorry…I know you and him are close.”

“You are right, Sharon. He’s an ass and does not deserve you or me. You’re alone too?”

“Hmm…when Tony gave me the invitation I was still with Steve. I mean who invites people over a year before the party actually takes place? I didn’t plan on coming without Steve. He obviously had other plans. If you excuse me I’m going to grab a bottle of Jack and drown myself in it.” Sharon mutters.

“Whoa…never saw her down like this,” Nat says.

“And she’s Peggy’s niece. If she’s not good enough to him…”

“Don’t end this fucking sentence. We are going to drink Tony’s bar empty and then we kick Steve’s ass.”

“No, go and have fun with James. I need fresh air.” You sigh walking toward the balcony to get away from the scene.

—-

“Lady Y/N? Why are you outside alone?” Thor asks.

“Not in the mood for dancing, drinking or…rather anything.” You say.

“Is it because of the Captain? We all thought he would invite you. Even had a bet.” The Asgardian says and your eyes widen.

“I guess you all made big money then…”

“No, no one got anything as we all betted the Captain would invite you, Lady Y/N.”

Huffing you give Thor a cracked smile. “Only if I was the last breathing woman on earth Thor. Look at me and then look at the woman he’s with tonight. I can’t compare with these girls.”

“You don’t have to my dove. Your beauty and strength are shining more than anything tonight. This woman is not worth breathing the same air as you.”

“You’re charming my friend. You should go back to Jane or she feels lost between all these people.”

“I’m sorry he doesn’t see what I and all the other Avengers see.”

Turning to leave Thor nods at Jane. “Thor?”

“My lady?”

“Thank you for your kind words. You’re not from Earth but much more human than him.” You say and the Asgardian smiles.

—-

“Where’s Y/N?” Steve asks Sam looking at Sarah.

“Went straight to the balcony. Thor was talking to her a while ago I think.”

“Oh…Thor…”

“He’s with Jane over there. You can ask him where Y/N is if you want to know. I mean you seem busy with someone else.” Sam says narrowing his eyes.

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

“Nothing, Cap…just nothing. Obviously, you have more than enough girls around you so just leave Y/N alone for a while. She suffered enough lately.” Sam says leading Sarah away.

—-

“Thor? Have you seen Y/N?”

“Captain I would suggest to not disturb Lady Y/N tonight. Her mood is beyond…devastated. I think the fact I told her about the bet didn’t make her feel better.” Thor says and Jane slaps his bicep.

“My dove?”

“Bet? What bet?” Steve asks.

“Well, it was Tony’s idea. He said he bets that you invite Y/N to the party. We all agreed…except for Lady Natasha as she knew you are…wait… ’to blind to recognize love even if it bites you in your ass’.” Thor says and Steve’s eyes widen.

“Love…?”

“Lady Y/N loves you, my fellow comrade. That’s the reason she’s crying right now as she saw you with another flower by your side.”

“…”

—-

“Nat, let me go! I’m not going to stay here any longer. I talked to Sharon, had a drink, talked to Thor and Tony. Now I can go back to my room and sleep.”

“Over there the cute guy is eying you up and down the whole time,” Nat says motioning toward a handsome man.

“Not in the mood, Natasha. Just leave me be for tonight. I’m not going to drown myself into booze like Sharon but right now I need to go. Please.”

“Okay. I’m sorry for the bet.”

“You were the one getting all the money…huh?”

“Sorry…I knew he’s too stupid to see you.”

“I told you the bet is stupid…” Bucky mutters seeing Steve approach. “You should go or you will see someone you don’t want to…Cap is on his way.”

“I’m out then…”

Almost running away you take your shoes off to make your way through the room. Finally reaching the door you take a deep breath as you believe you could avoid meeting him tonight.

—-

Silently walking through the hallway you let all the tears you held back for so long out. Right in front of your room, you sit down to move your knees to your chin to hide your face.

“Y/N?” A gruff voice says and you panic. He can’t see you like this…not Steve.

“…”

“Hey…talk to me. Thor said you are sad as I didn’t invite you as a friend.”

Not answering you simply get up to turn your back toward Steve. “I’m not Sharon. I will not break down only as you decide I’m not good enough. I guess the girl you brought with you will be history soon. Go and have fun. Leave me alone.” You spat opening your door to slam it into his face.

“Y/N? Open the door! Open it! I’m warning you I will break it down if I have to.” Steve warns but you ignore him.

Tossing your shoes aside and letting your hair down you turn on some music to not hear Steve’s voice any longer.

Hoping he will leave soon you open the zipper off you dress only to see your door burst open. Angrily clenching his jaw Steve stalks toward you.

Moving his hand nervously over his beard he towers over you. His blue eyes seem to search your face as he sees a single tear escaping your eye.

“Why didn’t you open the door?”

“Maybe I like destroyed doors? Or maybe as I wanted to be alone, Captain.” You mutter glancing at your broken door. “Now Tony will get mad…great job, Steve.” You sigh.

“You were talking to everyone else tonight except me.”

“Seriously? I was talking to Nat and Bucky, as I played their fifth wheel and talked to Sharon before she started drowning her heartbreak into Whiskey, Gin…or any drink she could get.”

“You talked to Thor too!” Steve insists.

“No, he came to me as he saw me all alone on the balcony. As a good friend, he was worried, just like Jane. Any more complains before I call Tony to show him the damage you caused?”

“We can repair this tomorrow.”

“I shall sleep with an open door tonight. No way.”

“You could come to my room or I could guard yours.”

“You’ve done enough, Steve. Now go back to your latest fling and let me check the door. Tony will be so mad at you.” You mutter walking toward the door to check on it. “Completely destroyed. Great…just great.”

“Y/N, can we talk?”

“About what, Steve? I’m too tired to talk about the fact I had a chat with some people during the party.”

“That’s not…I mean you were crying…because of me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Rogers. I did cry as I had a bad day. Nothing else. Now go and leave me alone with my broken heart…door…I mean door.”

“I broke your heart?” Steve gasps.

“…”

“Y/N? Did I break your heart?”

A simple shrug is all you give him while you try to find a way to repair the door without Tony’s help.

“Let me try…”

“You better keep your hands off me and my door. Out of my room now. I’m just done with you and your behavior. Go and destroy someone else’s door.” You mutter shoving Steve out of your room.

Due to the destroyed door, he can easily reenter your room. A grin on his face he picks up the door to lean it against the destroyed door frame.

“That’s not repairing a door, Rogers.”

“I know…now get your pajamas and you can sleep in my room.” He says voice lower than usual.

“I rather ask Nat or Wanda for help.” You retort.

“No, you won’t. I didn’t know you feel the same. Why did you never say a thing? I was thinking you only see me as a friend.”

“Seriously, Rogers? I was almost flirting my ass off. I was touching you anytime I got the chance. Hell, I only didn’t strip my clothes off.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing you stripping your clothes off but maybe we should have a date first, maybe two.”

“I’m not one of your fangirls, Steve.”

“I know, Y/N. You are so much more. I tried to forget about my feelings and dated those girls but none of them was you. None could ever be you.” Steve whispers getting closer and closer until he’s inches away from your face.

“Steve?”

“I’m going to kiss you now and you will not stop me,” Steve mutters tilting his head to capture your lips in a soft kiss. His beard is scratching your face and you start giggling.

“Was I bad…I mean… Why are you laughing?”

“You beard was scratching me.”

“I can shave it…”

“No, I like it. Makes you look like a bad boy.”

“Hmm…will you come to my room?”

“Straight to the goal Rogers?” Bucky chuckles looking at the smashed door.

“I was just offering my help as I destroyed her door.”

“Sure, punk. Don’t mess up or I won’t stop Nat from killing you.” Bucky chuckles walking toward his room.

“I better ask Nat…”

“I want you to come to my room…please. I want to show you I feel the same.”

“I’m not having sex with you, Steve. We are working together and being one of your one-nighters won’t be good for teamwork.”

“You’re not…” Picking you up in bridal style Steve carries you toward his room. Ignoring your wiggling he enters his room to place you onto his bed. “Wait…I need to show you something.”

Rummaging in his nightstand he gets a picture out of his purse. It’s a picture of you taken after you started working for the Avengers. You are smiling as Steve told you about his past.

“Why do you have this?”

“I stole it from Natasha…she didn’t want to give it to me…I wanted it so bad.”

“Captain America stole something?” You gasp.

“For you…only for you. I would do anything for you.”

“Steve…”

“Please give me the chance to show you I’m not going to play with you. I want to love you. Please…”

“Is it April the first?” You ask.

“Why?”

“Cause I’m sure this must be an April’s fool.”

—-

“You better use a condom; we don’t want any little Cap’s running around the tower,” Bucky yells from the hallway. “I mean it Stevie, wrap it!”

“I will kill him for sure,” Steve mutters ready to run out of his room but you stop him.

Grabbing his arm, you drag him back. Your eyes search his face before you stand on tiptoes to press your lips to his.

—-

Around eight months later…

“I told you to use a condom.” Bucky chuckles looking at your baby bump.

“Bucky!” You warn.

“Now we are going to have a little Cap running around the headquarter.”

“It’s a girl and you are wrong. We used…” Stopping in his tracks Steve glares at Bucky.

“Tell us more. We are all interested in your dirty dark sex life.”

“James Buchanan Barnes, you pervert will leave these two love-birds alone.” Natasha scolds.

“I was just asking…”

A smile crosses your face as Steve kneels down to plant a soft kiss to your swollen belly.

“No April’s fool at all.” You whisper and Steve smiles at you.

Marvel Tags

@stuckys-whore, @notyourtypicalrose

#marvel #marvel fanfiction #marvel masterlist #steve x reader #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #captain america #captain america fanfic #bucky barnes #natasha romanoff #thor odinson #sam wilson #angst #unrequited love #marvel one shot #pregnant reader #fluff

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ayma-nidiot · 4 years

Text

“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 17

This chapter on AO3 can be found here.

Chapter 17 - Proud Daughter

“Wow, Rex, you look like you went on quite the shopping trip!” Ptera observed as her son got in the back seat of the car with Weevil.

“I bought all my school supplies.” Rex sheepishly revealed his debit card. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Quite the contrary.” Ptera ruffled Rex’s hair. “You’re coming to class prepared. I’m so proud of you, mi hijo. ”

“Hehe… Thanks.”

Ptera noticed the bag with the fetal doppler. “Oh? What’s that?

“I saw a doctor on campus today.” Rex was careful not to mention a word about Spinos. “And no, it didn’t cost me a dime. Bet you didn’t know that healthcare is free for all students, whether it’s at the hospital or at the university.”

Amber noticed that the back seat was fairly full, and elected to take the front seat. “Um… Hello, ma’am.”

“Who’s this, Rex? A new friend of yours?” Ptera asked as the car took off.

“Yeah. Her name’s Amber… Say, Amber, I just realized something. You never told us your surname or your middle name.”

“That’s because I don’t have either one. Believe it or not, there are people in the world who don’t.”

“Is that so? Well, I learn something new every day.”

“That’s not hard for you, dino brain.” Weevil laughed.

“Speaking of which, Mom… The reason I went to the doctor was to get an ultrasound of my baby. You’re going to have a happy, healthy granddaughter!”

“You should name her after me, haha! I hope she gets my wild purple hair and personality.” Ptera invited Amber into the house. “Adelaide and your mama just came home from a long shift at work, so don’t wake them up until it’s time for dinner.”

“Ma’am, can I help?” Amber offered as she retrieved a satchel from her handbag. “I mean, I’ll admit I’m not the best cook around, but… I know how to cook bee larvae.”

“Say whaaat? In that case, knock yourself out!” Weevil happily consented.

“Y-Yes, well… Go right ahead.” This notion creeped Ptera out a little bit.

“Now I can just get right into studying, without worrying about looking for my favourite food.” Weevil laid down on the sofa with a cushion under his head. As usual, Rex turned it to one of his favourite channels, the Discovery Channel. Weevil paid the T.V. no heed as he began to study, propping his legs on a loveseat. “Which, by the way, I haven’t been able to find in a while. Where ever did you find it, Amber?”

“Oh, just… Just looking around.” Amber whistled as she and Ptera cooked. While she left the skillet on, she began to prepare salad, as that was the only other thing she knew how to make. “My father actually owns a well-off apiary and is an avid lover of insects. He’s the reason why I’m an insect duelist. I also have some of our honey with me, if you want some.”

“So you are rich!” Rex grumbled. Having little desire to study, he pulled out his laptop and switched the T.V. to the news. “That explains why you’re such a smartass.”

“I’d love to meet this fellow insect duelist,” Weevil mused. “And what better way to introduce ourselves than through Duel Monsters?”

“Haha…” Amber gave a halfhearted chuckle. Dinner was ready, and she offered Weevil a small bowl of fried bee larvae. “I’m sure of that…”

A reporter from the T.V. put this conversation on hold. “We just received breaking news that monsters have been spotted in various parts of Domino City and around the world. Sightings have not been prevalent, but said monsters have caused wreckage in several small towns and isolated areas. We will keep you posted on these latest monster attacks.”

“Oh great, this again?” Rex facepalmed as he recalled the mess that the Orichalcos caused. “As if one or two monster attacks weren’t enough…”

“What do you mean, ‘again?’” Ptera raised an eyebrow.

“Uh… Forget you heard that.” Rex had never told his parents about said Orichalcos mess or the fairly recent Red-Eyes Black Dragon attack. Or about his shapeshifting abilities, for that matter. And forget about the time travelling and KC Grand Tournament! Rex wasn’t thankful that, unlike Weevil, he had no ability to bullshit. “Just… uh… Whoa! What was that?”

Rex could hear a loud sound; though it was in the distance, its source was strong enough to shake the ground and wake up Adelaide and Tricera.

“Oh my gods, could it be an earthquake?” Tricera worried.

“No, an earthquake would be more consistent than that,” Adelaide answered. “But hust in case, I’ll call the police and report it.”

“Then… Then maybe the monsters from the news are real!” Ptera turned the burner off and approached her son. “Rex. You know something that the rest of us don’t, don’t you?”

“Mom…” I suppose there’s no hiding it now. “You’re not going to believe this, but I-” A knocking from the front door prevented Rex from speaking further. “I’ll get that.”

“Who could be knocking at our door at a time like this?” Ptera wondered. “I hope none of you ordered pizza or something.”

“Maybe it’s the press,” Adelaide suggested. “They could be here to ask us about monster sightings.”

“...Wait.” Tricera squinted at the person who knocked on the door. “That’s-”

“Dad!” Rex was stunned to see Spinos at the door. “What are you doing here?”

“You…” Tricera marched to the door. “You fucking bastard! How dare you show your ugly ass face at MY house!”

“W-Wait!” Spinos couldn’t stop the tall, strong Tricera from seizing him by the collar and punching his face.

“How the hell did you even find us?” Ptera asked. “You’ve been stalking us, haven’t you?”

“P-Ptera…”

“ ¡Vete al diabolo, puta madre! ” Ptera clocked Spinos really hard on the other cheek.

“Please, Ptera, there is no time!” Spinos disregarded the stings from the punches on both sides of his cheeks. “There are monsters coming this way!”

“And you expect me to believe you?” Ptera thundered. “If I couldn’t trust you 20 years ago, how do you expect me to trust you now?”

“Mrs. Raptor, he’s not lying!” Amber pointed to the sky from which several flying monsters came. “Look!”

“Oh, gods…” Ptera watched as the monsters shot lasers that destroyed nearby homes. “They’re going to destroy my house that I’ve worked so hard to save up for!”

The monsters… Weevil trembled as he heard the horrified screams of the unfortunate people who lost their homes - and would soon lose their lives, if he didn’t do something about it.

“Weeves?” Rex knelt down to Weevil’s eye level. “What’s wrong?”

“Nobody can save these people… except me…” The ground underneath Weevil began to quake. His heart raced uncontrollably fast, and a red-and-purple aura emanated from it.

“Weeves, snap out of it!” Rex seized Weevil’s shoulders as the bug duelist fell deeper into his trance.

“Leave me alone!” Weevil shoved Rex off of him. He hadn’t fully shifted since last year’s Halloween Tournament, but was fully prepared to do it to save his boyfriend’s home. “You guys need to stay behind!”

“Weevil, don’t do it!” Ptera cried. “You can’t face them all by yourself!”

“...Actually, Mom, he can.” Rex watched as once again, Weevil transformed into Earthbound God Uru. Only this time, rather than causing harmless mischief, Weevil had every intent to kill any monster who would dare oppose him. Just the presence of his spider form, looming over his enemies larger than even KaibaCorp Tower, intimidated foe and friend alike.

“M-Master Weevil!” Adelaide couldn’t believe it. “What is happening to you?”

“Leave my home alone, you bastards!” Weevil shot a string of spider webs at the enemies who attacked him.

“Gaaah!” Two of the enemies fell to their deaths.

“He’s… something else, isn’t he?” Spinos observed.

“You know it…” Rex could only sit there and watch his boyfriend wreck havoc on his enemies, and hope that Weevil wouldn’t completely lose his mind out there.

“Wait, where’s Amber?” Tricera asked after a brief look in the house. “She’s gone!”

“I didn’t see her in the backyard, either!” spoke Ptera.

“Oh… Oh, no…” Rex’s good mood faded. “Did she get captured?”

The apparent leader of these enemies, Cyber Dragon Infinity, answered, “No, but I’m about to capture your precious little boyfriend! Who, by the way, isn’t looking so good over there.”

“It’s… happening again…” Weevil stared at the blood on his spider legs, and the blood he shed throughout the concrete. “I… have killed someone… again…”

“Well, why don’t we put you out of your misery, eh?” Cyber Dragon Infinity ordered his underling, an Armored Bee, “Activate your special ability!”

“With pleasure!” The Armored Bee rushed at Weevil full-speed, shouting, “Poison Stinger!”

“Ah… I feel… weak…” Weevil passed out and shifted to human form.

“Hah!” Cyber Dragon Infinity looked down upon Rex and his family. “Some ‘almighty, powerful Earthbound God,’ huh?”

Rex stepped forward, and already he half-shifted. “I’ll show you yet…”

“What is the meaning of this?” Cyber Dragon Infinity cackled as Rex transformed. “Do you, the puny Creepy Coney, honestly think that you can take down a monster as strong as I? By yourself? Hah! Your brain must be smaller than that of an actual rabbit!”

“Shut up!” Rex charged, only to be blown back rather easily by the Armored Bee and forced to revert forms. “O-Ow!!” he cried in pain while rubbing his belly.

“Rex!” Ptera knelt to her son’s side and cried. “You fucking idiot! Why did you do that?”

“Now that Uru is out of my way, there’s nothing standing in between your ruddy home and I! Die, the lot of you!”

Cyber Dragon Infinity couldn’t even begin to charge his attack, when out of nowhere, a shapeshifter with white-and-pink wings flew onto the scene. “You will do no such thing!” she declared as she shot an arrow at the Armored Bee, killing it instantly.

Rex already knew who this shapeshifter was. “Amber! There you are!”

“Leave my family alone!” Amber continued to shoot arrows at Cyber Dragon Infinity.

“You… You are…” Cyber Dragon Infinity was truly scared, yet tried to fend off Amber with attacks of his own - but not without sustaining severe injuries himself. “Pah! I don’t give two figs who you are! You’re severely outnumbered! Here, why don’t I give you a fresh reminder of that?” The dragon shot a quick beam of light, nicking Amber’s wings.

“Yeooooow!” Amber retracted her wings as she fell back to the ground. Though she was too weak to even half-shift, that didn’t stop her from pursuing Cyber Dragon Infinity. “Give Weevil back this instant!”

“Hmm… How about no? I’m not going to waste the little energy I have left on a monster that is clearly stronger than me. You get to keep your heads and your home for today! Be thankful!”

And with that, Cyber Dragon Infinity flew off with Weevil in tow.

“Tch!” Amber turned her attention to Rex. “Why, oh gods, why, Rex? Why did you attack an enemy that is clearly stronger than you?”

“That’s just the Raptor way, haha…” Rex had strength to stand up by himself. “...Wait. Amber? Is that you?”

Amber now had long mint-green hair with lavender sideburns and bowl-cut bangs. Her pupils were small and indigo. Rex didn’t think it was possible, but she looked even more beautiful than ever before. “It, um… seems my wig and contacts came off during that fight.”

“Amber…” Rex walked up to Amber to get a better look at her face. “Who are you, really?”

“I have lied to you all this time, Rex… Forgive me.” Amber calmed down a little before she began to explain herself. “So you know how you time travelled to the past with the pharaoh? I have done the same thing… I come from the future - a ruined future. I’m here to prevent that future from happening.”

“Uh-huh.” After all he had been through with Atem and Kaiba, Rex believed every word Amber said. Still, he found it curious that people could travel from the future. He thought that Amber would have had it all over there - the best technology, the toughest opponents, and the strongest cards. If she wanted to escape that, then something truly messed up must have happened.

“Everyone I know from that future is dead… My kid brother… My boyfriend… Even my mother!” Amber teared up. “Everyone I knew! They… They all died trying to protect me!”

“Amber…” Rex rubbed Amber’s back. “I’m sorry. I can’t say I know what you’re going through, but… I really am sorry.”

“But now… I can see you again… You’re alive, Papa!”

Rex’s eyes opened wide. “What did you just call me?”

“I’m not just Amber… I’m Ambrosia Camellia Ptera Raptor, the proud daughter of Weevil and Rex Raptor.” Amber lightly touched Rex’s baby bump. “I’m your daughter from the future!”

“So… that explains why you know about Mom, and about shapeshifters…” Rex began to cry too. “Forgive me, my daughter… You deserved better from me than one bow and a world of troubles… I’m sorry.”

Amber could finally release her emotions that she kept bottled up since her mother’s death. “Papa! Oh my gods, Papa…” she cried loudly into Rex’s chest. “I… I never thought that I could hug you again… You’re alive and breathing! I can’t… I can’t believe it!”

“Shh… I’m here, Amber…” Rex ran his fingers through his future daughter’s hair and wiped away some of her tears.

“You’re… breathing…” Amber held her ear to Rex’s chest to hear his heart beating. “And… you’re alive… This is… Oh, my gods… I’m sorry, I’m just so happy right now.”

“There, there…” Rex smiled while he cried. “We’re going to save your father, too. Or… Hold on a second.”

“Yes?” Amber stopped crying and looked at Rex curiously.

“ Weevil is the father, right?”

“Uh-huh. That would make you my mother.”

“I knew it…” Rex shook his head. “I wonder if I’m going to bottom for him again. Not that I would mind that…”

“Come on, Papa, there’s no need to be embarrassed about it!” Amber laughed and poked Rex’s cheek.

Still feeling confused about everything that had happened, Ptera spoke up. “So… that makes you my granddaughter, doesn’t it? You’re the little baby Rex is carrying.”

“That’s right.”

“First this time travelling, then this whole shapeshifter thing…” Spinos spoke. “I have made many discoveries as a paleontologist, but this one really takes the cake.”

“Why are you still here, scumbag?” Ptera growled.

“Please, Grandma…” Amber begged. “I know what Grandpa did was unforgivable, but in my future, he died protecting both you and me. I ask that you give him a chance.”

“I ask the same,” Rex concurred. “It was Dad who told me about the doctor, and if it wasn’t for him, I would have no idea how to care for my daughter… for baby Amber.”

“Hmph!” Ptera still wasn’t wholly comfortable with this idea. “Fine. Since we’re both interested in Rex’s safety, I’ll cooperate with you. But do not expect to ever become friends with me. EVER.”

“Thank you so much, Ptera… No matter how long it takes, I’ll do what I can to earn your trust once again.”

“So what do we do now?” Tricera questioned. “Weevil has been kidnapped, and there are monsters roaming the city… We’ve got quite a matter on our hands.”

“I know of a club who can help stop this mess,” replied Amber. “But I ask anyone who’s not a shifter to stay behind, for your own safety.”

“No!” Adelaide refused. “After all Master Weevil has done for me, I can’t just leave him alone, suffering in gods know where… I’m coming, too!”

“Weevil is part of my family, too,” Ptera declared. “We’re all in this together.”

“And I’m sure this is a really good reason to call off of work,” Tricera added. “It’s times like these that remind me why I’m thankful to be a reputable employee.”

“Nana…”

“It feels a bit weird being called that, I gotta say.”

“Well, what I gotta say is how damned proud I am that you’re named after me!” Ptera laughed. “I mean, I wish you took my given name, but I guess I’ll settle for middle name.”

“Hahaha!” Amber already began to walk in the direction of the university. “Well, what are we waiting for? I wanna go save Daddy!”

“Wait, Amber, before we go…”

“Yes, Papa?”

Rex pulled out his flip phone. “Let’s meet at the café first. If things are as serious as you say, then we need all the help we can get.”

#yugioh #shrimpshipping #mpreg #fanfiction #ygo #ryuhaga #rex raptor #weevil underwood #dinosaur ryuzaki #insector haga #I legit cried while writing this the first time T_T

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frickfracksnatchisback · 5 years

Text

A Strange Confession (Monster AU-Part 1)

Trying to sort of write some romantic fluffiness this time! (Which is a first, so it might be a bit odd, haha) I love the heck out of SugarRush so I figured, why not? With a tiny bit of werebeast angst/fluff mixed in, this should be fun! (Warning! Mentions of blood and animal death, but that’s about it) Also there should be a second part “soon”, but we’ll have to see.

@teenytinyhatkid I blame you for this ;)

***

As CC looked out the window, the moon shone brightly in the dark night sky. The silver light mixed in with the dark clusters of clouds above. The stars were plentiful, twinkling like diamonds. And the moon was so big, it shone like an enormous pearl hanging in the sky. A very beautiful sight indeed.

However, it would be even more beautiful if she could stop worrying her head off.

CC sighed heavily as she leaned against the windowsill. She had been tap-tapping away on the surface for the past few minutes, worried out of her mind. Of course, she probably shouldn’t be fretting at all. Yes, it just so happened to be a full moon. And a full moon always meant it would be a busy time for the whole family. That much was evident, as she turned her gaze from the sky to the backyard. Laying in the grass, sleeping, was Mu. Well...at least it was her in her werewolf form, anyways.

The werewolf puppy was curled up in the grass, fast asleep. She was getting some needed rest after hunting and having a good meal. At least, CC could guess as much from the blood stained into her fur coat. Mu’s chest rose and fell in steady motions as she nuzzled deeper into the grass. After some periods of time, the werepuppy would toss and turn a bit or yawn wide in her sleep. Her ears would flick for a few seconds, before she fell still again. While the sight was indeed cute, it raised a very important question for CC.

Where on earth were the others?

Maybe Mu was just early to come back, she thought. She was often like this, being ahead of the others with her energetic nature. But even then...Crowley and Conductor would’ve been back by now. It had only been an hour since Mu came back to the house. And they would have followed her back here, so as to keep her out of trouble. So where on earth were they?

Motherly concern clouded her mind like a storm, and it would not go away. Were they just slow tonight? Were they having difficult hunt tonight? Were they both asleep in the woods? Were they just forgetting about how late it is?

Then, the concerns became more fearful.

What if they’re lost and can’t find their way back? What if they’re sick with some strange wereflu out in the woods? What if they were captured by monster hunters? What if they ran away from home? What if-

A sudden movement in the backyard snapped her out of her thoughts. A tall, dark figure moved in from behind the giant oak tree. She could see two, glowing silver eyes that pierced through the darkness. A large beak was very noticeable on this creature, with a bird-like head to match. And feathers were slowly falling from off its body. Instead of being terrified, this gave her a glimmer of hope.

Was that Conduct-?

No...no it wasn’t. Turned out it was just Crowley. She could see as much from the hat and trench coat (the clothes he refused to take off even before he would turn).

The werecrow slowly crept out from his hiding place, inspecting the backyard with his predatory eyes. Once he was in more light, she could see his beak was also stained with patches of blood. His head bobbed slightly as he took long strides across the grass, which he always couldn’t help but doing. He had such long legs after all. He made his way close to the front of the house, his eyes falling on CC. He could see her through the window, clicking his monstrous beak in curiosity.

CC forced a smile on her face and waved at him.

Crowley stared at her for a few minutes before looking away, uninterested. His gaze fell on Mu instead, cocking his head at the sleeping pup. He came even closer to Mu, which made CC tense up a bit. Please don’t wake her up, she thought.

And luckily he didn’t. Instead, he careful groomed her fur by nipping at it ever so gently. He managed to find a few bugs, and chirped happily as he ate them like tiny snacks. This made CC cringe a bit, but at least he was helping. Once he was through with that, he backed away from Mu and left her be. He proceeded to stomp his giant crow feet on the grass, flattening a single spot, before sitting down with his legs tucked under him. He started slowly drifted off to sleep next to Mu, his large eyelids closing shut.

As relived as CC was, she still had a feeling of unease. She expected Conductor to come in lumbering after Crowley. Though, Conductor use lead Crowley instead of letting him take the lead. Crowley wasn’t exactly an experienced werebeast, and Conductor knew this even in beast form. So CC still waited, and expected the beastly owl to come by at any second. Any second now he would be-

“What are you doing up so late?” a voice behind CC said, startling her badly. She let out a small yelp before looking behind her. She stared, and then sighed as she realized who it was.

“Oh thank goodness it’s just you, Snatcher. You gave me a real fright there!” she laughed awkwardly. The vampire gave her a curious look, quirking an eyebrow.

“Who did you think I was? A burglar?” Snatcher joked, but didn’t smile. He was wearing his silk pajamas, all black with purple accents. His hair was a bit of a mess since it wasn’t brushed out. But then again, when was his hair not a mess? “And that still doesn’t answer my question, by the way.” he went on, crossing his arms in wait for an answer.

“Oh, sorry.” CC apologized, a bit embarrassed. “I was just making sure everyone got home during the full moon.” she said while rubbing her shoulder. Snatcher scoffed a bit.

“Seriously? Do you have any idea what time it is?” Snatcher fussed at her, turning and making his way back to the hallway entrance.

“Well, I should be asking you the same thing! What on earth are you doing out of bed, young man?” CC was quick to defend herself, fussing back at Snatcher as if he was her own child. She couldn’t see it, but Snatcher rolled his eyes at the comment. She followed him, wherever he was going now.

“I’m an adult. I’m not restricted to a bedtime, CC.” Snatcher waved her off as he took strides down the hallway to the kitchen.

“You’d be getting a healthy amount of sleep for once!” CC remarked, as they both walked into the kitchen. “Your sleep schedule is already a mess, and you’re always so tired!” she went on, concerned for Snatcher’s health as she always was.

“Yeah, well, that kind of comes with being a vampire. So it’s not like I can fix that anytime soon.” Snatcher said as he made his way towards the fridge. CC scoffed at his ‘excuse’. He always said that whenever he was not getting enough sleep. And it didn’t help that he was working such a time-consuming job either, being a lawyer and all. She perked up as she noticed him rummaging through the fridge.

“What are you looking for, sweetie?” CC offered to help.

“I need a midnight snack.” Snatcher said, taking things out of the fridge and putting them back. But CC knew what he really meant.

“The blood bags are at the bottom, dearie.” CC sighed, shaking her head. Of course that would be why he woke up. It usually was. He’d been doing this for days now, drinking blood at the latest of hours. And if he kept on doing this, they’d be all out of blood bags. Which meant she would have to get more. Then the cycle would continue again, like it always did.

“Why do they have to be all the way at the bottom?” Snatcher mumbled under his breath, reluctantly leaning down to look for them. And after shifting through the contents of the fridge, he managed to grab his prize. He stood up, blood bag in hand, and went to pop his back. He winched once it made a prominent cracking noise and went to open the cupboard. He looked back at CC, noticing that she was still watching him.

“Aren’t you going to bed any time soon?” Snatcher asked her, feeling a bit awkward.

“Hm? Oh, sorry.” CC perked up, she had been staring off into space. “Well...I can’t just go to bed now.” she explained, looking out the kitchen window with a worried expression. Though Snatcher couldn’t tell exactly why. It looked like she was just staring at the moon to him.

“There’s nothing stopping you.” Snatcher said as he got one of his favorite coffee mugs from out of the cupboard. He waited for a response, but there was nothing. “Listen, I’m sure Mu is doing just fine. She’s got two adults looking after her.” he explained, thinking that that was the cause of CC’s worry. Although he used the term ‘adult’ lightly. Conductor certainly wasn’t responsible. And Crowley was...well... He was trying his best, Snatcher supposed.

“Mu came home already. And so did Crowley.” CC went over to the kitchen table and pulled up a chair. Once she sat down she continued to stare outside, hand on her face and worry in her eyes.

“Oh, Really?” Snatcher placed his cup onto the counter. “Didn’t think they’d be back so early.” Snatcher said, before taking the blood bag and tearing it open with his teeth. A piece of plastic got stuck on one of his fangs and annoyed, he picked it out. “Let me guess, the old man isn’t back?” Snatcher asked her, turning back to the counter to pour the cold blood into his cup.

“Yes, he hasn’t shown up yet...” CC sighed, placing her hand on her face.

“And you’re worried about him of all things?” Snatcher said without a shred of concern, turning back to CC. No response again, just her staring out the window sadly. It made him more awkward to see her like that, so he tried to ignore it. He simply opened up the microwave to put in his cup, closed the small door, and punch the ‘reheat’ button. But even the tapping of his fingers on the countertop combined with dull hum of the microwave couldn’t take his mind off of it. “I’m sure Conductor can take care of himself.” he manged to say after a few minutes had passed.

“I’m not too sure about that, sweetie.” CC mumbled. “You know that Conductor isn’t the best at...taking care of himself.” she tried to put it lightly. She didn’t really like way the words came out of her mouth, but it was true.

She couldn’t count how many times Conductor would nearly drown himself in alcohol. She still remembered the time she found him passed out on the couch after having a few dozen bottles of scotch. Or the time he got into a nasty fight with one of the Mafia. He wouldn’t even let her tend to his injuries or even see said injuries after that. Recalling those moments just seemed to prove her point. And make her even more concerned for his well-being...

“Okay, let me rephrase that. He can take care of himself when he’s turned.” Snatcher said, the timer going off a few seconds afterwards. “I don’t understand why you should be worrying so much about him. He knows his way around the woods, he should be back soon.” he took his mug out of the microwave, taking a sip immediately. The sip turned into a gulp as he nearly swallowed it all right then and there. He let out a relived sigh, licking the blood off his lips. CC simply looked away, not caring to see Snatcher drinking his blood. Snatcher saw this and, reluctantly, pulled up a chair from the table.

“Alright. Talk to me. Maybe it will make you feel better.” Snatcher said bluntly as he set his mug onto the table. CC stared at him, a bit surprised. Was he trying to make her feel better? Snatcher took another sip out of his mug, not taking his eyes off of her. The room was deathly quiet, with only the wall clock ticking away and the crickets chirping outside to break the silence.

“I’m not sure what to say.” CC bit her lip. What did he want her to talk about exactly?

“Fine. How about telling me why you’re worried about him?” Snatcher asked her, a bit harshly this time.

She opened her mouth to say something, but fell short. That was a good question. Why was she so worried about him? Of course, she was also worried about Mu and Crowley. They were part of the family too! But...something in her mind centered around Conductor specifically. Sure, he was ill tempered. Sure, he was loud and eccentric. Sure, he was irresponsible sometimes. But he wasn’t like that all the time.

Deep down, she knew he was still a good person. Albeit a bit strange, but a still good person. He cared for Mu like his child, helped Crowley as a werebeast, and even offered to do favors for her once or twice. And while he was hot-headed most of the time, he always went out of his way to ask her how her day had been. When he was around her, it was like she could see something in him that no one else could. There was just something about him that made her feel... Pity? Concern? Worry? She didn’t know what this strange feeling for him was. Unless…

Could she be-?

“Hellooo? Earth to CC? Are you there?” Snatcher interrupted her thoughts. She startled a bit, blinking blankly at him.

“Oh! Sorry about that, sugar. I was just...thinking about something.” she mumbled nervously. Snatcher started to give her a concerned look, before quickly shrugging it off.

“I think the sleep deprivation is getting to you. Are you going to bed yet?” Snatcher grumbled, beginning to tap his fingers on the tabletop out of boredom. CC rolled her eyes a bit, but took his words into consideration. Maybe he was right, it had been a long night. Perhaps she should go to bed and get some rest?

“I’m not sure… What do you think I should do?” CC asked him. Snatcher perked up a bit at the question, before giving her a fake smile.

“Why, whatever you think is best!” Snatcher’s sarcasm was unbelievably heavy. He was getting tired of going back and forth with this nonsense. At this point, he just wanted her to get some rest so he could finish the rest of his blood. And maybe, if she could take the hint, he could get himself another blood bag to treat himself. Preferably without getting fussed at. Yes, that would be very nice right about now...

While Snatcher was busy thinking about food (when was he ever not thinking about that?), CC didn’t seem to pick up on his sarcastic wit. She actually thought he was being serious. What she thought was best? Well... she only had one thing on her mind right now. And it certainly wasn’t going to bed. But this gave her an idea. An idea so sudden, so immediate, that she decided she was going to go through with it. After all, what did she have to lose?

“You know what? I think I’ve finally made up my mind.” CC boasted, quite proud of herself.

“Oh really? About time.” Snatcher said half-amused, going to his mug once more.

“I’m going to go looking for him.”

Snatcher eyes went wide as he nearly choked on his drink. He stopped, mouth still full of blood, and forcefully swallowed it down. But that didn’t stop him from sputtering after.

“W-what?!” Snatcher tried to yell, though it was hard since he was coughing. “Are you insane?!” he looked at her as if this was the case. “At this hour?! During a full moon?! What are you even thinking?!” he couldn’t even stop himself. But CC shushed him, giving him motions to calm down. Calm down? Calm down?! How could he calm down after she made that suggestion?! The idea was madness, not to mention incredibly stupid!

“I’ve already decided, and you can’t change my mind.” CC said firmly, getting up from her chair quickly. “Besides, didn’t you want me to decide for myself?” she reminded Snatcher, giving him a bit of a smirk. He just sat there with his mouth agape.

“What? No! I said for you to ‘do what’s best’, not for you to go out and kill yourself!” Snatcher blurted out, quickly getting up to follow her.

“Sweetie, I said nothing of the sort-” CC started to go further into the hallway. But before she could, Snatcher had caught up with her and grabbed her arm. She noticed this, and tugged a bit. But his grip was firm, and very tightening. “Snatcher, honey, please let go of me.” she tried to escape. But he just wouldn’t budge.

“No! This is crazy! Do you have any idea what kind of danger you’d be putting yourself in?!” Snatcher warned her, still holding onto her arm as she struggled. He kept tightening his grip, partially afraid that he was hurting her. But if it keep her from going outside, he’d take his chances.

“Snatcher! Let me go! I’ll be fine just-”

“No, no you won’t be fine! What if he hurts you?! Or what if he bites you?!” Snatcher yelled, picturing the image in his mind too well. Conductor in his wereowl form, standing over CC with his claws and teeth bared. And CC, shaking all over with unbridled fear in her eyes. Because she was so sweet and kind, she wasn’t even using a spell to defend herself. Which meant there was nothing stopping the best from lunging towards her and-

“...Snatcher? Are you shaking?”

Snatcher stopped his terrible thoughts right then and there. And he noticed that yes, he did have a slight tremor. He let go of CC’s arm and turned his back to her, pretending like it was nothing. He hugged himself and squeezed his shoulders tightly. Seeing this, CC stepped closer to him. She slowly put a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it softly.

“Are you going to be alright?” CC asked him in the most calming voice she could muster. Snatcher hesitated, almost shying away from her. He said nothing, trying his best not to show that he was scared. Because he wasn’t scared at all. He wasn’t scared that the one person he considered to be like the mother he never had was putting herself in mortal danger. Not at all.

“Sweetie? Please...talk to me.” CC whispered to him, moving in to hug him. But before she could get any closer, Snatcher straightened himself. He took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out. He was still a bit shaky, but he pretended not to notice.

“What am I supposed to tell the kids...if you get hurt?” Snatcher finally managed to ask, his voice cracking slightly. He cursed at himself for letting it slip out. CC, a bit surprised at his sudden worry for her, moved closer to Snatcher to put her arms around him.

“I’m not going to get hurt. I promise you.” CC cooed, hugging Snatcher to comfort him. “I know Conductor wouldn’t try to hurt me, so I’ll be fine.” she reassured him. But this just made him tighten himself in her grasp.

“This...isn’t Conductor. He’s not all there, CC. You should know this.” Snatcher said through gritted teeth. Although his angered tone was geared more towards himself. He couldn’t help it. He was panicking. And he hated when he panicked. “What if he bites you?” he asked her again, this time more paranoid than ever. “What am I supposed to do if you get infected? I can’t just-”

“I’m not going to get infected.” CC surprised Snatcher by turning his whole body around to face her. As bold as her action was, she gave him a soft smile. “Listen, I’ll try and be back as soon as I can. And I promise you, if things go wrong I always have my spells.” she calmed him by touching his cheek lightly. “Just...don’t worry too much about me, alright?” she half-joked, letting out a short chuckle. Snatcher stared at her, a complete lost for words.

All of a sudden, he leaned into her to give her a tight hug.

CC let out a quiet yelp as she was almost tipped over. She definitely wasn’t expecting to get a hug back from him. Not to mention he was a lot taller than her, which made it harder to balance. Slightly confused, she patted and rubbed his back. She thought she heard Snatcher whimper in her ear...but she decided not to bring it up.

“You better be back, or I’m coming to get you.” Snatcher mumbled in her ear. CC was taken aback by this. He usually wasn’t the type to care for someone so openly. But it made her feel safe, and it reminded her about how much she loved this family. Even her grumpy vampire ‘son’.

“Of course, Snatcher.” she patted his back once more. “Thank you.” she added in. Snatcher got off of her, which was a big relief, to look at her confusedly.

“For what?” Snatcher asked her, as if that whole ordeal didn’t happen.

“For caring so much about me.” CC gave him a warm smile. Snatcher’s eyes widened and his face flushed a light pink.

“S-shut up.” Snatcher said under his breath, his hair puffing up. “I was just...making sure you didn’t…do something stupid...” he mumbled even quieter, almost trying to hide his face in his hair.

“Right, of course.” CC giggled. She pretty much understood Snatcher-speak by now. “Well, I’m off. Get some rest, sweetie.” she stood on her toes so she could pat his head. He accepted the pat, but scoffed afterwards.

“Whatever...” Snatcher said, making motions as to ‘shoo’ her away. CC didn’t see it though, as she was already walking through the hallway to the front door. Snatcher watched her, not moving from his spot, until he heard the sound of the door opening...then closing. He waited a bit longer, the room felt colder without her here. Not like it mattered, just an odd detail. He lean let out a big sigh, and turned to walk towards the attic stairs. He wasn’t going to get his second blood bag. He just wasn’t in the mood. At this point, he just wanted to sulk in his bed for no apparent reason. As angry and concerned thoughts swarmed his mind, one thing was for certain.

This was going to be a restless night for him.

***

As CC walked through the forest, the soft winds blew in her direction. Although the cold was much worse than the wind, making her shiver as it nipped at her skin. She pulled her jacket tighter around her for a small bit of warmth. All the while she thought to herself. Where on earth could he be? And how deep was she in the forest? Well, no time to worry about that now. She pressed on, the autumn leaves crunching under her shoes.

“Conductor? Are you there?” CC cuffed her hands to her mouth so she could call out to him. She waited for a reply...only to hear nothing but her own echos. She pulled her jacket around her once more, and kept going. Surely, she would find him soon. She had to eventually. Where else could he be?

She wondered what he was doing. Or more exactly, what she would most likely walk in on him doing. Maybe she’d find him sleeping in a nearby cave, all cuddled up in a make-shift nest built out of leaves and twigs. Or maybe she’d see him feasting on a deer carcass. That image made her cringe a little bit, but it was nothing she hadn’t seen before. Or maybe she would find him doing both. Eating deer meat, curled up in a cave and-

She stopped in her tracks as she heard a loud, animal noise.

It wasn’t uncommon to hear owls in the forest. But this…‘hooting’, if one could even call it that, was not like any normal owl. It was deep, thunderous, and she could hear it ring throughout the entire forest. Her body went completely stiff once she heard it. And while most people would run away from such a noise, CC ran closer towards it.

“Conductor?!” CC yelled out, her pace quickly gaining. “Conductor, it’s me! Are you alright?” she called out to him. She kept going, ducking and weaving through the tall trees that surrounded the area. She struggled to keep a hold of her jacket. It nearly slipped off of her, with what speed she was going. But she pressed on.

As CC kept going in further, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She had managed to find a much easier trail to follow. But it wasn’t exactly your average forest trail. It was a trail of feathers. Big, yellow feathers that made a beeline deeper into the forest. For some strange reason, CC felt the need to pick up one of the bigger feathers that she found along the way. So she did, stopping so she could lean down to pick it up. She took a moment to look at it, turning it over in her hands.

It was definitely bigger than any owl feather she had ever seen. Though this one was obviously one of the better preened feathers, with it looking much smoother than the others. It was soft around the edges, and very fluffy to the touch. CC brought her finger around its curves, feeling the small fibers that made it so incredibly soft. She then smiled, reassured.

Yes, this was definitely her Conductor.

Another noise came from the end of the trail. She stopped looking at the feather and snapped back to what she was doing, stuffing the feather into her coat pocket. She continued along the path, making long and quick strides. Then her strides went into a run, and she started to sprint through the forest. She huffed for breath as she kept going, but she was smiling all the same. She was going to find him, alive and safe.

She was getting closer now, she could tell by the feathers one the ground. While the beginning of the trail started with a small number, the amount of feathers increased the farther she went on. She could see a clearing up ahead, the moonlight showing her the way. She could barely control herself.

“Conduct-”

She skidded to a halt, dust clouding beneath her shoes. The opening was very clear, a circle of trees surrounding her. The air was still, except for a few gusts of wind. But there were no caves. Not even the body of a dead deer. Yet, there was a nest still. A giant nest, about the size of a boat. One that could only have been built by a very, very large bird. It looked like a well-built nest too. The fall leaves mixed in with the twigs made it look rather lovely. But there was only one problem.

Where was Conductor?

“Conductor? Sweetie?” CC called out in the clearing. There was nothing but the sounds of the wind. “Conductor! This isn’t funny! Can you come out now? Please?” she yelled his name once more, her worries starting to grow bigger. Why on earth was there a nest here with no Conductor? He was nowhere to be found, as she spun around to look at every angle.

Her old concerns started to come back. Where was he? Had he gotten lost? Had he hurt himself somewhere further off? Had monster hunters found him, caught him, and then dragged him away? The more she started to think about it, the more she could feel herself panic.

“Conductor?! Please?! Are you-”

CC stopped as she heard a loud, low growling noise behind her. She recognized that growl. She recognized it too well. She slowly began to turn around, feeling like she already knew what was behind her. Or more specifically, who was behind her.

“…Conductor?”

There he was, standing not too far away from behind her. He was up on his hind legs, and he was incredibly tall compared to her. His eyes seemed to glow a bright sliver, illuminating the darkness. He had an angry scowl on his face and his claws were slightly outstretched. He looked angry, not to mention very feral-looking. CC felt herself stepping back a little, without meaning to. She shouldn’t be afraid. This was Conductor for goodness sake! And she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, right?

She realized he was starting to step closer.

As he took each predatory step towards her, yellow feathers fell off his body and onto the ground. His avian feet crushed the leaves beneath him, making loud crunching noises with each step. CC backed up with each step he took. She knew Conductor still had a temper, even in his beast form. And as much as she didn’t want to admit it right now, she was dealing with a wild animal. Therefore she had to give him some space. Although this was a lot of space, with Conductor getting even closer and closer-

CC’s steps where brought to a halt, as a large tree behind her stopped her from going any further. She watched Conductor, never taking her eyes off of him, as he kept advancing towards her. She felt her pulse beginning to quicken, but she knew not to run. If she were to run, Conductor might start chasing her. But even then...that wouldn’t be a bad thing, right? Because Conductor would never hurt her. And he could still recognize her even in his beast form, couldn’t he?

Conductor was extremely close now, only being a few feet in front of her. His breathing was wild and heavy, the cold creating small puffs of vapor near his beak. His eyes were glowing bright and staring directly at her. CC couldn’t help but press her back up against the tree behind her. She glanced from side to side, but it wouldn’t help to move either direction. At this point, Conductor could easily grab her before she could try to get away. So...looked like she only had one option.

“H-hi, Conductor! Are you doing alright?” CC spoke with fake cheer, her voice quivering a bit. Conductor said nothing, and just stood where he was. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You really made me worried! I thought you were...” she tried to explain to the wereowl, but trailed off at the end. He had started to narrowing his eyes at her and growling deeply, cutting her words off. CC felt herself gulp. “Conductor? Do you not...recognize me?”

Before she could say anything, Conductor took a couple more steps until he was right in front of her. He happened to be so incredibly close, that the feathers on his chest could tickle her nose. She felt herself flinch, despite not wanting to. She slowly looked up, only to get a small dribble of drool on her forehead. She made to wipe off the drool...before realizing that his beak was so close above her head.

“C-Conductor? Please, sweetie, it’s me...” CC felt herself shrinking back and sliding off the tree to gain more room. But Conductor saw this and leaned his beak down closer, and closer. “Do you remember me? It’s me, CC! P-please don’t-” she spoke barely above a whisper. The sensible part of her mind told her to use a spell, any spell! But...she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She couldn’t just hurt the one person she had been trying so hard to look for. He was just confused right now...wasn’t he? He had to be. It’s not like he would try to eat her or-

Without warning, the wereowl clamped it’s massive clawed hands around CC. She let out a shriek, and realized that he was trying to pick her up. She tried to squirm in his grasp as she was being lifted up to his beak. But no matter how much she struggled, his grip was tight enough to keep her stuck. He lifted her up until they were face to face with one another. Or, in this case, face to beak. She felt tears in her eyes as tried to use a spell. But at the same time, she just couldn’t. Not at this position. She could seriously hurt him, or worse…

“Conductor, please...it’s me...” CC felt herself sobbing out of fear. She didn’t want to use a spell. She just couldn’t use a spell. Conductor’s beak came closer to her hair, and he started to sniff her. She tensed, the hot air puffing onto her in small waves. Then, she saw his beak begin to open slowly. She shut her eyes tight, bracing herself. She shook all over, waiting for the clamp of a sharp beak and the breaking of her body. She waited, and…

She could feel her hair being gently nipped at.

She opened her eyes, as Conductor began to lightly preen her hair. He carefully nipped at it with his giant beak, making gravely purring noises. She could see her bangs falling down on her face. Her hair was more or less being made a mess more than being groomed. But hey, at least she was still alive.

“H-hey, stop that! It tickles.” CC started laughing, despite the fresh tears in her eyes. Conductor seemed to understand her, stopping immediately and bringing his head back. He cocked his head in curiosity, letting out a deep chirp. CC started to wipe the tears from her eyes, giving Conductor a smile. “You nearly scared me to death, you know.” she felt herself laughing again, making Conductor look back at her with confusion. She stopped as Conductor leaned in to give her a big nuzzle against her cheek. She was surprised, feeling the fluffiness of his feathers on her skin. “Conductor? Are you feeling alright? You’re usually not so-”

“Woah!” CC yelped out as Conductor brought his head back to turned himself around. He started to walk back, with CC in tow. “Hey! Were are you taking me?!” she asked him, noticing that they weren’t moving in the direction of home. Instead, she turned to see that he was moving towards the huge nest. The one she had found earlier. “Conductor? What are you-” she started to ask. But once they reached the edge of the nest, Conductor carefully lower her down into it. He freed her from his grasp, letting her tumble into the open nest. As she tried to gain her balanced, she found that the inside was rather...soft. “What is…?” CC felt herself say, as she looked down at the bottom of the nest.

There were feathers. Lots of them. An entire pile of feathers was right in the middle of the nest. They were all different sizes and colors. Some were yellow, blue, red, or even slightly green. Others were duller colored, with there also being a few grays, browns, and blacks. Upon closer inspection, some of the black feathers looked...familiar. Were those some of Crowley’s feathers? Actually, now that she looked at the pile closer, she noticed a few of the feathers were covered in blood. This is strange, CC thought to herself. Where did he get all these feathers? And why?

Just then, she heard Conductor’s chirping behind her. She turned around to see him standing behind her, watching eagerly. He plopped onto the ground with a thud, crushing the leaves beneath him. He poked his head in and put his hands on the nest edge, clicking his beak excitedly. Though she couldn’t tell why. What was he trying to tell her?

“Conductor? What’s with all the feathers?” CC decided to ask him. But Conductor said nothing, and continued to chirp at her. He almost looked like he was smiling, as if he was waiting in anticipation. But for what? “I don’t understand. Why did you want me to look at a bunch of feathers?” she asked him again. Conductor’s face seemed to drop once she asked this, and he stood still for a moment.

Conductor’s ears began to fall, and his expression turned from excited to slightly saddened. He whimpered sadly, his head hanging low. And seeing this made CC immediately feel guilty.

“Hey, it’s alright! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset!” she tried to comfort him, panicking that she did something wrong. She quickly turned around to the feathers, and picked one from the bunch. Not knowing what else to do, she offered the feather to Conductor. “Here! Will this make you feel better?” she asked, holding out one of the black feathers, the one that she figured was Crowley’s. Conductor perked up at this, staring at her hand and the feather.

He let out an annoyed chirp and nudged it back towards her.

“Wha-?” CC said, as she watched Conductor using the tip of his beak to shove her hand. “No, no. Here, I want you to take it!” she offered again, pushing her hand back to him. Conductor stared again, before puffing up his feathers and making an annoyed face. This time he used his whole head to pushed her back, nearly tipping her over. But CC managed to catch herself, before almost falling back into the feather pile. She looked back at him, confused, and then back at the feather. “I don’t understand. Why won’t you take it?” she asked him, before picking up a few more. Maybe he wanted a different-

Conductor let out a loud squawk, making CC jump in surprise. She looked back at him, and he almost looked like he was smiling back. His ears twitched and she could hear a steady thumping noise from behind him. Was he...wagging his tail? She decided to pick up another, and then another. The Conductor steadily watched her, his eyes gleaming excitedly. He seemed to act really happy when she picked up the feathers. But why was that the case? Unless…could it be?

“Are these...for me?” CC asked the wereowl, slightly amazed. And she was even more amazed when he quickly nodded back. She took a moment to look at the feathers in her hands, then back at the pile of feathers. “Did you get all of these for me?” she asked him again. And Conductor let out a happy chirp. She felt herself dumbfounded. Was this why he hadn’t come home before the others? It was because he spent all night getting these feathers as gifts? To her of all people? She kept staring at Conductor.

She couldn’t help herself, as a huge grin spread across her face.

CC smiled, and stood herself back up in the nest. She started to come closer to Conductor, carefully making sure not to step on any more of the feathers. She stopped until she was at the very edge of the nest.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” she smiled, slowly reaching out a hand to pet him. And the wereowl was quick to accept it, pushing his head into her hand. She smiled, running her fingers through his soft feathers. And she chuckled to herself as Conductor purred deeply. “But next time...” she added in, stopping the petting so Conductor would listen. “Maybe you should have warned me about this first.” she scolded him, wagging a finger in his direction. The wereowl nipped at the air playfully, which caused her to take her hand back. She then smiled, and gave his beak a big hug. “You rascal!” she laughed, before planting a small kiss on his beak. Conductor froze still once she did, the still-human-part of him causing him to blush underneath his feathers.

“Alright, come on. I think it’s about time we go home.” CC announces, getting up off of Conductor’s beak and patting it lightly. Conductor growled after, slightly upset that they were leaving the nest so soon. “Come now, you’ve been out here long enough.” CC scolded him again, like he was a giant puppy dog out on a walk. “We need to get home, before everyone gets worried.” she said laughing at the last part a bit. Conductor simply grunted, standing himself back up on his feet. But he didn’t leave just yet. Instead, he waited for CC as she made to get out of the nest.

But she stopped for a moment, not getting out just yet.

“Hold on.” CC told him, before going back to the feather pile. “I want to take some of these home with me. I think I know what I’ll do with them...” she said as she rummaged through the fluffy pile. She couldn’t take all of them, she knew this. There were just too many to carry! So instead, she picked out all the ones that she thought would be best. She picked out a different colored one each time, tossing the blood-covered ones aside. She stuffed the feathers that she liked into her coat pocket, but only a few of them. And yet, as she looked through the pile for one last feather, she felt like she was missing something.

She then remembered the feather in her coat pocket, and quickly went to pull it out. Conductor noticed this, clicking his beak at her curiously. She took it out, looking it over like she did before. She went to touch its edges, the softness still very much there. Out of all the feathers he picked out for her, none of them were his own. Which was a shame, because his feathers were so very soft…

CC let out a surprised yelp as she felt Conductor’s hands lifting her back up. Before she even knew what happened, Conductor had picked her up out of the nest himself. He then dropped her back onto the ground, and she somehow managed to keep herself steady. CC took a moment to look back up at Conductor, who was giving her a rather impatient look.

“Alright, alright. You’re just testing me tonight, aren’t you?” CC fussed at him, only receiving a quiet growl as a response. Yet despite this, she gave him a warm and endearing smile. She reached for his hand, quickly taking hold of it. Conductor’s ears perked up, as he looked down at her in confusion. She just came closer, leaning her face against his feathery arm. She sighed, happy that she had managed to find him. “Come on, sugar.” she came off his shoulder to give his hand a slight tug.

“Let’s get you home.”

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my-emotional-self · 5 years

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Forever Ago Chapter 2

Pairings: Chris Evans x OFC

Warnings: Mild Angst

Summary: After losing touch with your childhood best friend after graduation, he comes crashing back into your life 15 years later. The feelings you’ve had for him never left you. But do you forgive him for all those years he ignored you? Or do you decide he lost his chance with you for good?

A/N: Thank you again to @guera31 for giving me the concept of this story WAY back in November. I’m sorry it took so long! Also I will update this story a bit more than just once a week. It will only be maybe 10 chapters and I’ve already written Chapter 8

As you anxiously paced around your apartment, nerves ignited your body for the party tonight not knowing if Chris would be there, you began to clean. Starting with the feather duster, you commenced with your shelving units; dusting every inch imaginable. “Why do I have so much shit,” you groaned to yourself as you picked up each and every knickknack on the shelf.

Looking at your phone, you had hours left before you needed to be at Sebastian’s for his friendly gather, as he called it. Grabbing the vacuum out of the hallway closet, you started in the living room before vacuuming down the hallway and your bedroom. You were surprised at how far you could vacuum before you needed to unplug the chord and plug it into a closer outlet; even though your apartment was rather small.

Fall of 1994

You were 13 years old, same as Chris and the two of you were on the back porch is his house enjoying one of the last days of fall.

“I still can’t believe that one year from now we will be freshmen in high school,” Chris commented. You looked over at him, seeing just how much he grew up over the summer itself.

“I know. What if we drift apart?”

He turned to look at you, brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

You shrugged your shoulders, looking down at your lap. “I don’t know. I guess-I mean I’ve read books and seen movies where best friends drift apart once they reach high school. What if that’s us?”

Chris took your hands in his and you immediately felt warm. There was never any feelings other than friendship you had with him, but something felt different with the way he looked deep into your eyes. His eyes were so blue, you felt like you could get lost in them.

“Jess, that’s never gonna happen. We’ve been friends for years now. I would never let that happen to us.” You smiled at his words.

“Even when all the girls come chasing after you?” you giggled.

“Oh please, that will never happen.” It amazed you how little confidence Chris had with himself at this moment. He wasn’t bad looking in the least bit.

The two of you sat there for a little while longer in silence, but it was never an awkward silence. That’s what you liked so much about Chris. The two of you could keep each other company without any words being said and it was just natural.

The soft hum of crickets in the dusk was a nice sound; the sky beautiful shades of pinks and oranges from the dusk.

You weren’t even sure where it came from, but you suddenly felt lips on your cheek, freezing you in place. Looking over you saw Chris beginning to lean away from you, his eyes wide.

“What-what was that for?” you asked in a near whisper. You had to admit to yourself, you weren’t mad about it.

“I ugh, I don’t really know where that came from,” Chris responded shyly; his face blushing.

End Flashback

You couldn’t help but giggle at the memory. It was the first time Chris made any sort of move on you and he was so nervous. But you still had no idea where the sudden kiss came from. It was the first time you realized that you started having more feelings for him than just friendship.

Looking around your small apartment, you let out a groan. There was still seven hours left before Sebastian’s party and you were at a loss on how to kill time.

Grabbing your phone you plopped down on your tan comfortable couch and began to scroll through social media. A picture from one of your friends on Facebook popped up, making you remember another moment between you and Chris.

Fall of 1995

“High school here we come!” Chris laughed from the backseat of Carly’s car as he sat next to you. Carly was nice enough to drive the two of you to school when you started high school and you had to admit, you felt pretty cool not needed to ride the bus anymore.

“Yeah, be all excited now. Just you wait,” Carly joked from the front seat.

You were more nervous for high school than when you were for kindergarten. Neither you or Chris had any classes together and even though you knew most of the kids in your graduating class, your nerves were still on high alert.

“Hey, everything will be just fine,” Chris said next to you, his voice making you relax. “We still have lunch together at least.” You laughed at his remark, nodding your head. Ever since he kissed you on the cheek on his back porch last year, your feelings for him had grown. You no longer saw him as just a friend, but something more; a relationship that you hoped in the future would blossom into more.

End Flashback

You chuckled at the memory; Chris seeming so protective of you at such a young age. He was always like that though, protective. It was one of his best traits as a man. You always loved that about him. Whenever Scott would come around with a weird bug or anything to make you cringe, Chris was always there to be your knight in shining armor.

As you looked at the clock for what felt like the millionth time that day, you realized you should probably start getting ready for Sebastian’s party.

Heading into your bedroom, you looked through your closet trying to find something to wear. After what felt like a millennium, you finally decided on a simple little black dress. It hung just above your knees and was a basic halter top, making you have to go braless. It was classy but showed your curves and cleavage, but not yet on the slutty side, which was exactly what you were going for.

Wanting to be subtle with your makeup, you put on some foundation, a light grey smoky eye and some mascara. Looking in the mirror, you figured you looked decent enough and grabbed a pair of black high heels.

While Sebastian’s apartment wasn’t terribly far from your own, and you usually did walk there on most days, you weren’t going to risk walking in your black heels. Pulling up the Uber app on your phone, you ordered one to your apartment.

Grabbing a light black leather jacket and your purse, you made your way down the three flights of stairs and outside to your waiting Uber.

Hopping in the backseat, you gave the driver the address before looking around. This driver had it all! There was a plastic storage caddy along the backs of the front seats which contained many items. There were band aids, breath mints, Kleenex, Advil, makeup wipes, and even condoms. You couldn’t help but give a little snicker at seeing those.

As the Uber pulled out into traffic, the immediate sound of car horns honking made you hitch a breath.

Summer of 1997

It was three weeks before the start of junior year and you were hanging out in the basement of Chris’ house. Lisa transformed the basement into what could only be considered as a teenagers dream hangout destination. There was a large television against the wall with an even more massive couch that could fit up to ten people. There was also a pool table and a ping pong table. It was where you found yourself to practically live over the summer.

Many nights had been spent having sleep overs in the basement; you and Chris falling asleep after watching movie marathons. A lot of times you would fall asleep with your head on Chris’ shoulder and you loved being that close to him. Over the course of the last two years, your feelings for Chris had gone from a crush, to full blown love.

“You will be driving me to school won’t you?” you asked Chris as the two of you were eating pizza and watching the latest blockbuster on DVD. DVD’s had just started coming out and the picture quality was amazing compared to VHS.

Chris shrugged at your question. “I don’t know. What do I get out of it?” he teased.

You playfully punched him in the arm before responding. “You’re an ass.” That got him to chuckle. Chris had gotten his license the day he turned 16 in June and while you were older than him by nearly six months, you felt there was no rush to get your license anytime soon.

“When do your parents get home?” Chris asked; his mouth stuffed with pizza.

“Tomorrow I think. They were pretty excited for a weekend away. Dad has been working so hard lately and I’m happy my mom got him to agree to a little weekend getaway.”

After the pizza was finished, Chris scooted closer to you as he threw the blanket around your bodies. It was times like this that you cherished and it always brought a smile to your face; your heart jumping in your chest.

Not long into the movie, the door to the basement opened as footsteps descended the stairs. Both you and Chris turned to see who it was. Lisa was standing at the bottom of the stairs, a Kleenex held up to her nose.

“Mom?” Chris called out, his tone anxious at seeing his mother in such an emotional state. The two of you got up and walked towards Lisa; meeting her half way. “What’s wrong?”

Lisa looked at Chris before turning her gaze to you. It was in that moment you felt your heart shatter. You knew something terrible had happened; but you weren’t expecting just how terrible.

“Oh Jessica,” Lisa choked up as she grabbed your hands. Your heart was beating a mile a minute as you waited for her words. “There-there was a car accident honey.”

You pulled your hands from her, walking backwards as you shook your head; your chin beginning to quiver knowing exactly what she meant. “No,” your voice choked out. “No. No no no NO!” Your legs hit the back of the couch as you collapsed onto the floor. Hugging your knees you began to rock back and forth as tears began to fall; yet you were faintly aware of a pair of strong arms wrapping around your shoulders.

End Flashback

“Miss?” the voice of your Uber drive broke you out of your memory. “We’re here.” Looking up at the mirror, you met his eyes and gave him a polite smile and nod. Digging into your purse, you found your wallet and found your cash, giving him a nice tip.

“Thank you. Have a good rest of your night,” you spoke quietly as you unbuckled your seatbelt.

“You too miss,” he responded.

Standing on the sidewalk of New York City, you looked up at the building in front of you. You had been here hundreds of times over the last handful of years, but you knew this time it would be different. Taking a deep breath you started to walk into the building and into the familiar elevator.

As the elevator rose with each floor, your nerves were starting to get the best of you. You weren’t even sure if Chris would be here tonight at the party, but it didn’t stop you from fidgeting in anxiousness.

The elevator doors opened and you made your way to Sebastian’s door. Closing your eyes, you inhaled and exhaled slowly before ringing the doorbell.

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aftermathdb · 5 years

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DEATH BATTLE Review: Genos vs. War Machine

So I only recently remembered that my other preferred opponent for War Machine was Steel from DC, and that I still wanted Genos to fight Cyborg.

So throughout the episode proper, Wiz pronounces Genos as “Jen-Os” while Boomstick says “Gene-Os.”

Genos’ Preview.

So to start off, Genos was an ordinary kid until his family was killed by a rampaging robot cyborg. However, he found a scientist who rebuilt him into a cyborg as well, allowing Genos to fight back and take his revenge.

However, Genos would soon meet Saitama, and train under him to learn more after nearly dying to a mosquito lady that Boomstick openly expresses is very attractive.

Regardless, the two became friends, and Genos was very popular due to his appearance and attitude.

But in order to fight giant monsters and evil dudes, Genos would need a lot of weapons.

Some of his weapons, like his adhesive from the heels, were built-in as a response to other threats.

Genos is also equipped with special sensors in his eyes that let him track heat and image signatures.

He has a wide assortment of weapons, like detachable body parts, missiles, and incinerator cannnons.

And when he wants to get really serious, he blasts foes with two of them at once.

Unib- I mean, uh, Spiral Incineration Cannon!

He’s got a stronger one that I unfortunately didn’t get a screenshot for, but yeah. It’s strong.

All of this leads into a Wiz and Boomstick segment where they finally fixed Boomstick’s smile.

Adding on, Genos once used his incinerator cannons on a mountain, which resulted in a blast worth over 66 kilotons of TNT.

He’s even managed to tag and track a massive meteor, which means that he can move 200 times faster than sound.

And remember the mosquito lady?- Her swarm of mosquitoes once covered Genos completely. While that may not sound intimidating, he was swarmed by nearly 65 Trillion of those things. Which equates to 358178 tons of mosquitoes. I doubt that there’s a masochist that would still want to get it on with the bug-lady if those are her party-mates.

But regardless of his weakness of his power core being the one thing that fuels everything, Genos has shown time and time again that he can compete with the best.

And Boomstick provides a nice little heartwarming moment that while Genos hasn’t found his family’s killer yet, he’s found a new family with Saitama and friends. And that he’ll keep getting stronger.

Y’know, I forgot how much of an edgelord he could be before he met Saitama.

War Machine′s Preview.

So right off the bat, we go into a brief backstory about Colonel James Rupert Rhodes and how he wanted to be in the military annd wound up helping out Iron Man, so Iron Man helped him back.

Eventually, Tony offered Rhodes a suit of his own and Rhodes became War Machine.

Worth noting: Boomstick absolutely gushes about the amount of weapons Rhodes has on deck. It’s kinda nice to see him going back to his “Lover of weapons” persona rather than his “pervvy redneck” one.

Anyways, Rhodes has a massive amount of weapons, including a powerful beam that he can fire from his chest. Spiral Incin- I mean, Unibeam!

And all this talk about weapons leads into our next Wiz and Boomstick segment.

Real men wear pink… Except for Dan. Dan just sucks.

Regardless, the hosts go over how Rhodes has gotten multiple suits, each stronger than the last.

The latest one comes equipped with camo and Ghost tech, allowing Rhodes to turn invisible and intangible. Making him immune to most attacks.

And should the suit ever be in danger of falling into the wrong hands, Rhodes can detonate it. I guess that’s a thing this episode since Genos can do the same thing.

Also worth noting is that since Tony isn’t one for half-measures, Rhodey’s suit is just as strong as the Iron Man suit, just not as maneuverable what with all the weapons. This means that it can scale to Tony’s suits in terms of strength. What does this mean?

It means that he can survive massive blows.

This one in particular was worth over 2.5 Megatons of TNT.

And despite the lack of maneuverability, the suit is still fast. In a short ammount of time, Rhodes managed to get into orbit. This means that he was moving at over mach 600.

Rhodey’s PTSD can make it hard for him to keep his head on straight in a fight, but when it comes down to protecting the people, his friends, the planet, or even just punching some dictator in the face, he’s always going to power through.

Also, remember how in Iron Man vs. Lex Luthor, Iron Man’s end quote was just him showing off his weapon?

Same verse as the first it seems.

The Battle Itself.

RT 2D Animation team on deck for this animated fight (directed by Jordan Battle), Genos will be voiced by Howard Wang and War Machine will be voiced by Mark Allen Jr. Therewolf made K.O Computer , and audio by Chris Kokkinos.

So, Rhodes is basically taking a nice flight when an explosion interrupts him and makes him spill some of his coffee. Credit where it’s due, he takes it more in stride than when Leonardo lost his food.

So, after confronting Genos, the Demon Cyborg determines that War Machine is another cyborg. Lack of credit where it’s due: He jumps to conclusions just as fast as Jason did.

So, right off the bat, it’s fairly clear that Rhodes has some advantage in at least one area. As he was just able to catch Genos’ punch with ease. It’s either in strength or defense.

More likely to be defense because Genos’ Incinerator cannons don’t really do much against the War Machine.

So we get a really nice fist clash, and with Rhodes keeping up, he may either match speed or surpass it.

He certainly takes tech. He was able to find some flaws in his opponent that Genos simply can’t counter.

But credit where it’s due: Genos doesn’t go down easy.

We cycle back into another punch clash right before the fight is brought back down to the ground.

Rhodes turns on his invisibility and Genos, well…

He can’t find him. Genos believes that he went home, but then he makes the mistake of insulting the tech, which ticks off Rhodey.

So Genos retaliates by rendering the invisibility useless with his adhesive making Rhodes visible enough to hit, which Genos follows up with…

Rhodes counters…

God I love Beam Struggles. Genos kinda wins this one and gets a bit overconfident. But…

Rhodes was still standing.

Anyways, Genos starts spamming an attack.

Like… You know that one scene in the Days of Future Past HISHE where Mystique just tries to shoot Trask but it doesn’t work? Yeah, this is pretty much like that.

So Rhodes escapes the glue trap and starts his attack.

Finishing Blow in

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Verdict + Explanation.

Okay, so right off the bat, Rhodes was just a better Genos.

Experience was obvious. Rhodes has seen way more than what Genos has, and that’s before putting on the suit.

Genos knocking around the Elder Centipede is impressive, as it clocks in at about 725 meters, and the amount of force to knock it around would be over 15 Megatons of TNT

But Rhodes has taken on far stronger and dealt way more damage.

Tony-Designed suits can bust up mountains, and those feats are worth over 280 Terratons of TNT. And yeah, they made a typo here. Better start asking questions or telling them to fix this. Pretty sure that it doesn’t matter in the long run, but still.

Rhodes was also way faster.

And even if Genos could get in a hit, he’s got no counters for the massive amounts of tech that Rhodey has at his disposal, like energy draining tech or “Ghost Chameleon” mode as Boomstick put it.

Overall impression.

So the previews go by pretty fast, essentially glossing over backstory and personality, and focusing on each character’s stats feats, and arsenal. Which, while I’m not against, kinda makes this episode feel really fast-paced with little room to breathe between each stat. This, while being an interesting way to show the character off, makes it really hard to keep up with what each character can do and what they have at their disposal. In comparison to the previous episode, where they do have room to breathe between each stat, these characters seem as if they are only analyzing their stats and nothing else.

It just seems as if this was written in a rush is all. Trying to get as much information out as possible, and that rush job is pretty apparent when you see those typos.

Not to mention that the animation felt a bit repetitive in certain parts. Like the punch clashes. I like those and all, but there’s a reason why the Jotaro vs. Kenshiro one is a better one. It’s because the punches actually clash. Heck! Even the Venom vs. Bane punch clash was better.

Also, it seems odd that they chose this battle to be a hand-drawn one. I’m pretty sure that there are plenty of fan-made Genos sprites or even official ones too. Not that it isn’t spectacular or anything, I’m just kinda curious.

Also: I was looking around in the comments section, and there are a lot of comments about audio. Maybe it’s because my mother could surpass Sindel’s loudest scream when watching Basketball, but I didn’t notice anything. Maybe you did.

7.5/10. Great fight, just a weird one…

Next Time…

Y’know, maybe I should start watching one of these.

I mean, I wasn’t interested at all in Yu Yu Hakusho until Hiei made his debut, and now I’m pushing for Krillin vs. Kuwabara (People who think that Krillin vs. Saitama is a good fight should honestly just admit that they want a baldy battle and be done with it).

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

From what I understand, a missed opportunity for Icy vs. Elsa.

#Death Battle #Deathbattle #review

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lovemesomerafael · 5 years

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Destroying the Planet to Save It Chapter 3: One for All, and All that Shit

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Read it on AO3

Bruce Banner had gathered as much data as possible about the latest event, and had done as much with it as he could with the equipment he’d brought to Washington D.C. He needed to get back to his lab in New York and get to work. He tried to sleep, but found himself staring at the sunrise from the window of another Stark jet, rolling ideas through his head and trying to plan his next steps. Trying not to think about Catherine Mulready.

He hadn’t wanted to call her. Hadn’t wanted to barge back into her life when he’d promised her he wouldn’t. But he’d had no choice. She was one of maybe four people on the planet with the knowledge and ability to help him, and the other three were scattered across the globe. Of course, he wasn’t in love with the other three, which was a significant complicating factor.

She’d taken his call. Just picked up the phone with a casual, “Hello, Bruce,” like the last time they’d seen each other they hadn’t both been crying. And when he’d asked her how she was, she’d actually answered, rather than simply shutting him down with the “fine,” he deserved. Like she was happy and it was no big thing that he’d called. Which is what he wanted; he’d told her to get over him and be happy, it was just… He didn’t know that her actually doing that would hurt quite this much. It was one thing to miss her, like he did every damn day. It was another to know that she didn’t miss him. That she’d moved on. Just like he’d told her to.

Clint Barton wasn’t sleeping, either. He was looking down at Natasha, the only person on the plane who was sleeping. Her head rested in his lap, her beautiful, shiny red hair spilling down his thigh to pool on the cushion next to him. As soon as they’d boarded the jet, they’d just gravitated together, settling on the sofa near the center, as if they’d had reserved seats. It had always been like that for them, from the very beginning. As he stroked her smooth, sleek hair, Clint thought about the day they met, and the almost instant sensation he’d had that they’d always known each other. And now, they really had known each other for a lifetime. He could no longer remember, couldn’t even imagine anymore, what it would be like without Natasha Romanoff in his life.

And in his heart.

It had been many years since they’d met, since that day when he’d first seen her and knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been wrong. Yes, Natasha was lethal and yes, she was working for the enemy. But she was nothing like they’d believed. Clint had seen immediately who she was. What she was. And instead of killing her, as he’d been sent to do, he’d brought S.H.I.E.L.D. one of the very best agents it ever had.

It hadn’t been a choice. He’d tried to explain it a thousand times, and each time he’d failed to find the words that would explain how he’d simply known that’s where she belonged. This woman, this beautiful, tortured, devastatingly lonely woman, was a hero. And he’d seen it as soon as he’d looked into her eyes.

He huffed a quiet laugh at that. Part of the reason it was hard to explain how he’d known in that moment that Natasha Romanoff was a good woman was that she’d been covered in someone else’s blood at the time. And then she’d cursed him and fought him and led him on a four-day chase through three countries. It had taken most of that time for him to realize that, all the while, she was doing just enough to escape but never really hurting him.

And then he’d caught her. Or maybe she caught him. He’d followed her to Tallinn and thought he’d lost her, entirely convinced she’d found a way to cross the Gulf into Finland. He’d been devastated. Clint didn’t give a rat’s ass about explaining to his superiors at S.H.I.E.L.D. that she’d escaped. They knew how good she was, and they’d expected that. What he cared about was her. So he’d holed up in a ratty old dockside inn for the night, nursing his wounds and a bottle of black-market vodka. He’d been standing, wearing nothing but jeans and looking out the dirty window at the poor fucks trudging around in the thick slush on the street, when she’d just… been there.

He’d heard a scrape behind him and turned to see Natasha, no longer bloody, but showing definite signs of having been on the run, sitting at the tiny table in his room and drinking straight from his bottle of vodka. She’d given him a smug little salute with the bottle, stood up, and offered it to him. He took it from her, swigged a mouthful, and then moved to stand face to face with her, leaning his arm behind her to set the bottle back on the table. Neither of them was surprised that she didn’t move away, but slid one hand around his neck and the other down his bare chest to the button of his jeans.

They’d stayed there, in that damp, dingy little inn, for three days, sleeping for a couple hours at a time between rounds of hard, messy, athletic sex. They barely spoke. They asked each other no questions and shared no information beyond moans and cries and instructions. And when it was over, Clint had simply stated that he was taking Natasha to the U.S. with him, and she had not objected.

*****

Stark Tower was not your usual skyscraper, in pretty much any way. Tony had no trouble at all housing a planeload of surprise guests, one of whom was the President of the United States. A lot of things bugged Tony, but housing important people wasn’t one of them. That was what Friday and his staff were for. Besides, he had other things on his mind. He was anxious for Bruce to arrive so they could start comparing notes and, until then, he just planned to lock himself in his lab and work with the data he had so far. The rest of the team could take care of the guests. Even the damn President. Well, Presidents.

Tony almost made it. He was that close to getting into his lab and away from everyone, especially the newly-bearded, tank-like asshole who was even now getting off the other elevator. Fuck. It was still dark, way too early in the damn morning for this.

“I thought we should talk,” Steve said, wearing his patented Wholesome and Earnest© expression.

“No, we really shouldn’t.”

“Tony-“

“You should get back in the elevator - I designed them so they go both up and down, I’m clever like that – and you and your pet assassin should deal with our guests. Isn’t that what you do? Aren’t you, like, the Jawline of Democracy, or the Shoulders of Freedom or something? Babysitting the President seems right up your alley. I have work to do.”

“Damn you, Tony, we have a deal. I expect you to hold up your end.”

“Yeah, you know what, Not Chuck Norris? I am holding up my end. You might have noticed me last night, right next to you the whole damn time, getting the President out of there, hauling him here on my plane, to my secure building. That was me, holding up my end. I’m all about keeping the Avengers together. One for all, and all that shit. But here’s the thing. A little of you? That goes a long, long fucking way, and I’ve had about as much Captain America as I can stomach right now. Someone tries to take over the world? Call me. I’m in. But until that happens, I seriously need you to fuck off.”

Tony turned on his heel and slammed his palm down on the sensor that would open the doors for only him.

“So that’s it? This is as good as it’s gonna get? We just coexist and you avoid me and –“

Tony wheeled around and stormed up to Steve until they were chest to chest, with Tony’s livid expression mere inches from Steve’s stubbornly set jaw. “Yeah. Yeah, it is. Because we were a team, and we were something, y’know? We did some amazing shit together. I thought that meant something, that we’d built something. And then you turned around and took a blowtorch to the whole damn thing like it had all been some cute little hobby for you and you were on to the next thing.”

“I had no choice,” Steve hissed. “It was Bucky.”

“Yeah, no, I get that. I read the files, I know what they did to him. I had a lot of time to think while you were in Wakanda, and me and him? We’re good. But me and you? No. And I don’t see that changing.”

“How do you expect us to be a team if we don’t work together? Train together? Trust eachother?”

“Yeah. I know. That’s what you cost us.” Tony turned around and went into his lab. “See you around, Cap,” he sneered as he punched the button to shut the sliding door between them.

*****

Craig Thomas had volunteered to take the first shift in the President’s suite, along with another two Secret Service officers. Joss Emerson had agreed to relieve Agent Thomas at seven, and she was just fumbling her way to consciousness and beginning to form the hazy thought of caffeine when she heard a quick, solid knock on the door of the room she’d been assigned. Frowning, she rolled off the edge of the shockingly comfortable bed and to her feet.

She’d groaned as she crossed the room, but it was nothing to the groan she let out when she looked through the peephole into the hallway. Glancing down with a whimper at the nightgown she wore, she opened the door a crack and poked her head around it.

Bucky stood there, slight confusion clouding his blue eyes, despite the amused quirk of an eyebrow. “Are you… Everything OK?”

“I’m good. Thanks. I just, um… I just woke up.”

“I see that,” he grinned, indicating her sleep-scrambled hair. “I brought you coffee.” He held up a very large paper cup with a lid, from which came a scent almost as seductive as he was.

Joss reached out a hand, but didn’t open the door any wider. “Oh, man. You are officially my new best friend.”

As he handed the cup to her, Bucky stepped closer and tried to look past her into the room. His expression was a little more serious now. “You sure you��re OK? I wanted to talk to you about something. If you’re… You don’t have company in there, do you?”

“No! For Pete’s sake, we’ve been here, what? Six hours? And you think I…”

“Well, President Lattimore does seem to really like you.”

“That’s not even remotely funny.”

“It will be, once you get a little caffeine in you. C’mon, let me in. I wanna get your take on something.”

“Give me a chance to put some clothes on, will ya’? I thought you were from the ‘40’s, aren’t you supposed to be embarrassed that I’m not dressed?”

Bucky grinned, enjoying Joss’s discomfort. “I’m a quick study. Anyway, you have clothes on, I can see your sleeve. What’s the problem?”

“It’s… I just…” She looked down at herself again. “I can’t. Come back later.”

“Joss. What’s going on?” Suddenly, he was serious. He put his right hand on the door, ready to push it open unless she gave him a very good reason not to.

“Damn it,” she sighed, stepping back and opening the door so he could enter.

Bucky stepped in, looked her from head to toe, and instantly had to fight not to laugh, although he didn’t fight very fucking hard, if you asked Joss.

The nightgown she wore was basically a black, long-sleeved, V-necked T-shirt that came to mid-thigh, which wouldn’t have been a problem except for the left arm. The gray left arm with black stripes of various thicknesses at random intervals and a large red star on the shoulder.

“I hate Tony Stark,” she spat, hunching her shoulders and looking everywhere but at Bucky.

“I don’t. I get royalties from those. And they’re selling like crazy.” Bucky’s eyes danced as he affected a way-too-innocent expression.

“You laugh, and your reign as my new best friend will come to a bloody end.”

“Well, if you don’t like it, why are you wearing it?”

“Stark got some store to deliver clothes for us to wear today, but he said this was all he could do as far as sleepwear. If the damned President isn’t wearing one of these, I am going to have some very unpleasant things to say about this place on Yelp.”

He chuckled. “Well, it looks good on you, if that makes you feel any better. May I?” He indicated the sofa that sat across the room, under a wall of windows with an extraordinary view of Manhattan. It really was a stupendously luxurious room, especially when Bucky Barnes was standing in it. Joss looked down at her coffee. It was tempting as hell, but if he was standing there, that meant she was still dreaming, and this was one REM cycle she really did not want to interrupt.

*****

On five hours’ sleep, Anita Herrera looked as if she’d stepped out of the pages of one of those glossy magazines they put a blocker in front of at the grocery store so little kids won’t see cleavage. Sam Wilson, not so much. He was standing in the large communal kitchen that served this floor of luxury hotel-like rooms and suites, finishing his second cup of coffee and beginning to wonder if cup number one was ever going to kick in. The grainy dryness of his red, swollen eyes could not be attractive, and he almost wished Agent Herrera wasn’t here right now to see it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw her pick the carafe out of the huge, stainless steel, state-of-the-art coffee maker that looked like it belonged in the cockpit of a Space Shuttle. She carried it, practically gliding across the floor, until she was standing next to where he leaned against the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. She lifted it in question and, when he held out his cup, refilled it, smiling. Suddenly, Sam was wide awake.

“Short night,” she commented.

“Yeah. I guess Banner and the others have landed now. They should be here soon, and maybe we’ll get some answers.”

“About that. I’ve been thinking. We need to get back into Arias’s… bunker? Lair? Hideout? Whatever he calls it.”

“What do you have in mind, Agent Herrera?” Sam lifted an interested eyebrow.

“Well, for one thing, I’m not calling you ‘Mr. Wilson.’ So my name is Anita.” The cheeky smile and flip of her hair just about dropped Sam where he stood. “And for another, I’m thinking you and I should go on a date.”

Sam’s mind skipped like a dirty CD. “Uh…”

“How are you at breaking and entering?” Anita asked as she crossed the floor again to replace the coffee carafe.

“Breaking and entering. You’re not seriously thinking we can sneak into that… underground fortress?”

“We need to get in there. You got a better idea?”

“That’s asking a lot on three hours of sleep. But let me think about it.”

“You do that,” she said over her shoulder, opening the huge refrigerator and beginning to take stock of the very full shelves. “In the meantime, Stark said to make ourselves at home, so I’m going to make breakfast. You’re going to help.”

“What makes you think so?”

“I was a Navy Warrant Officer. I outrank you.”

“Shit.”

*****

Breakfast was a noisy, chaotic affair made bearable by the fragile, temporary camaraderie among those who had been unexpectedly and unwillingly been brought together in New York. Sam and Anita had been busy, and everyone had been lured into the common room by the delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Even both Presidents were there, although President Burke spent much of the time on the secure phone Tony had put at his disposal.

Tony Stark was nowhere to be found, since Bruce Banner had now arrived and the two were holed up in Bruce’s lab on one of the top floors. Which left Steve playing host, which wasn’t his strong suit. As it turned out, however, it was Sharon’s, and she came to his rescue quickly, smoothly, and without question. So smoothly, in fact, that no one noticed. No one except Steve.

There were heaping serving bowls of scrambled eggs with peppers and onions, spiced with a Cuban flair, that everyone devoured, along with seemingly endless platters of bacon, toast, and fruit. Anita had found a bottle of ridiculously expensive champagne, with which even the President spiked his orange juice. Sitting around the huge table, groups of strangers became almost friendly, with Sharon gently guiding conversations and smoothing over occasional quiet spells and rough spots.

Air Force One was on its way, now that the weather was clear in D.C. and no further energy spikes had been detected there. Since they hadn’t recurred in any of the places they’d appeared so far, there was no reason to suppose Washington would be any different. President Burke was expected to be back in the White House by afternoon.

President Lattimore, however, lived in Mobile, and wasn’t happy that he wouldn’t be on that flight. Instead, Bucky had arranged to fly him back home in a Quinjet, with his Secret Service detail and Joss Emerson. That’s what he’d wanted to talk over with her earlier, and she was still having occasional retroactive blushes about being caught out wearing an officially licensed Avengerswear™ Winter Soldier nightgown.

Everett Burke was known to be a big eater, and to have a sincere appreciation for good food. Fortunately for him, he liked to exercise as much as he liked to eat, and had a reputation among the Secret Service for being extremely competitive when they had to accompany him on his runs. He managed to retain much of his SEAL-era conditioning despite now having a desk job that required him to attend banquets and dinners almost nightly. He managed to put down the phone for long enough to tuck into an enormous plate of breakfast, engaging a hollow-eyed Clint and entirely refreshed Natasha in a series of questions about last night’s phenomenon.

“Dr. Banner is convinced that the energy he’s detecting is responsible for the destructive events that follow, and he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to learn about the connection from the storm in Washington last night. He was able to gather an overwhelming amount of data on it, more than we have on any of the other events. He has a world-renowned meteorological scientist coming in today to consult, and we should have some answers soon,” Natasha said, her face a bland mask of competent calm that only Clint could see through. He could tell that she was, in fact, highly amused to find herself across the breakfast table from the leader of the free world, given her former occupation.

For his part, Clint was just sleep-deprived enough to find the whole situation hilarious. The Secret Service agents around the table and surrounding the President seemed much more concerned about an as-yet theoretical threat than the fact that their principal was, at this moment, having mimosas with the Winter Soldier and the Black Widow. He was sorely tempted to ask Bucky and Natasha to list the number of ways they could kill him – hell, everybody in the room – using just what was currently within arms’ reach. Yeah, he should probably excuse himself and take a nap before he found himself answering uncomfortable questions in a soundproofed room somewhere beneath the Pentagon.

Sharon stepped in. “Director Coulson and Captain Rogers have asked me to be your liaison to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, Sir. It’ll be my job to make sure that you know everything we know.”

“I appreciate that, Agent Carter,” the President replied, almost retaining his placid mask of imperturbable authority without letting the twinge of disappointment show. “I’m used to working with Captain Rogers, but you’re much prettier.”

Half the room grinned, while the other half consciously restrained themselves from facepalming. How many times in his political career had Everett Burke gotten himself in trouble over inappropriate remarks like that? Sharon’s face showed nothing of her annoyance, or her gratitude that there were no reporters in the room.

“Sir, you don’t want me,” Steve said with a self-deprecating smile that belied his irritation on Sharon’s behalf. “You need something punched, I’m your guy. Science and tech, that’s Sharon.”

She gave him the slightest nod of approval, while promising herself that, if she ever got the chance, she would thank him in a much more personal way for that.

*****

The lobby of Stark Tower was much like Tony Stark himself: blatantly luxurious, faintly ridiculous, easy but dangerous to underestimate. Bruce knew there were a plethora of defensive systems that would make even approaching this level of the tower a suicide mission at a word from Tony. He looked around, trying to spot all the cameras, lasers, remotely-operated panels, and other fixtures that weren’t what they appeared to be. Tony liked to say that the strange sculpture in the middle of the fountain was actually a robot drone that could be controlled from several places only Tony and Friday knew, but he was never sure whether to believe that.

Bruce was exhausted, frightened, annoyed, frustrated, and anxious as he paced the area in front of the massive, ultra-modern reception desk, chewing on a thumbnail and, had he known it, muttering to himself. He paid no attention to the many people who steered extra-wide of him. In fact, he paid no attention to any of the passersby and tourists who thronged the lobby, having no idea that the strange, rumpled man scowling at the floor was, in fact, one of the Avengers they were there hoping to glimpse.

Preoccupied as he was, he knew the moment she appeared outside the tall, glass doors, squinting up at the landing platform jutting out into the morning sunshine and squaring her shoulders before she nodded to a young man in a suit who held the door open for her, and stepped inside. He stood, not breathing, just letting her happen to him all over again. Her jet-black hair was short now, rather than the long, straight fall it had been when he’d last seen her in London. Although he knew intellectually that it was an intentional style, his body thought the shaggy, spiky layers made her look like she’d just gotten out of bed, which he really didn’t need right this minute. Her suit was stylish and professional, but it fit her like a glove, reminding him of her body, which he really fucking didn’t need right then.

She saw him almost as soon as she entered the lobby. Did her steps falter a little? He thought so, but then, he wanted to think so. What he knew for sure was that she was smiling warmly when she came to stand in front of him. She took off her Ray-Bans and he was immediately struck anew by those piercing green eyes.

“Hello, Bruce,” she said. Was it a little hesitant? A little tight?

“Catherine. Thank you so much for coming.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” she said in the Estuary accent he still heard in his most private fantasies. “I’m dying to get a look at what you’ve got.”

“I can’t wait to show you,” he grinned shyly. “Let’s go.”

Bruce waved her toward a bank of elevators down a hallway that was guarded on both sides by imposing men whose firearms were intentionally not well-concealed under the jackets of their dark suits. They nodded to him as he passed, having been briefed that he would be bringing a guest up to the Research floors. They weren’t worried that she might be armed or carrying anything they might not want on the upper floors of the tower. The elevator would silently scan her and invisibly detect any of several hundred dangerous organic and explosive materials. There was even radiation detection. If any of those scans showed a problem, the elevator would descend to the lobby and lock down until the doors opened on a fully suited Ironman. Tony took no chances with security.

They were alone on the elevator. It seemed quiet after the bustle of the lobby, especially because the thick, soft wool carpet and brocade wall panels absorbed sound, and the mechanism itself was all but silent.

Bruce was staring. He knew he was. But he couldn’t help it any more than he could help the awed tone of voice in which he nearly whispered, “You look good, Catherine. I like your hair like that.”

She smiled self-consciously and seemed to be forcing herself to meet his eyes. “You look good, too,” she said softly. “I wasn’t sure what to expect. You’ve been through a lot these last years.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled mirthlessly. “You could say that. It’s not every day you get to battle an alien invasion.”

“Speaking of that,” she said, now clearly avoiding his eyes. “I, uh… I know that you were responsible for destroying the ones that attacked my building. I don’t know if that was for me, but… I appreciated it. You may be a superhero, but I am decidedly not. I was scared shitless.”

“Yeah, me, too,” Bruce grinned, and she met his eyes again. “Don’t tell anyone.”

For a second, they just stood, grinning softly at one another.

“Are you really OK?” She finally asked, no pretense now. “I can’t stop caring just because you tell me to.”

“I’m as OK as I always am,” he muttered.

“That’s a shitty answer.”

“Yeah, well…”

She sighed.

“Have you ever met Tony Stark?” Bruce asked, fooling neither of them with his change of subject.

“Never. I’m afraid I’m going to be a little starstruck.”

“If you tell him I said this, I’ll deny it, but I’m a little starstruck myself. His mind is… not like other people’s.”

“So I understand. Anything I should beware of?”

Bruce barked a genuine laugh with a smile that, although he couldn’t know it, rocked Catherine back on her heels. “Pretty much anything having to do with him. We’re just lucky this particular crisis will have us working with a lot more theory than mechanical engineering. That’s the part where there’s usually explosions and inadvertent time travel, things like that.”

“What’ve I bloody gotten myself into?” She mumbled, loud enough that he knew it was intended to be a joke.

When the doors opened, they found themselves in a room that comprised most of this floor of the building, so spartan white that the morning sunlight streaming in made it seem uncomfortably bright. The scattered work stations throughout were almost bare except for sparse bits of… some kind of electronic hardware whose purpose wasn’t immediately apparent to anyone who hadn’t seen it in action. Walking toward them through the sun-drenched room was Tony Stark, barefoot and wearing jeans that looked ancient, with a black T-shirt featuring a white decal of an old-school floppy disc.

“Dr. Mulready! You have to be Dr. Mulready,” he said, holding out a hand for her to shake.

“Mr. Stark, it’s a pleasure.”

“Oh! You’re English! Cool. Bruce didn’t tell me that, just that you used to bone and then he dumped you. Something about being an enormous green douchebag. So. Let’s get started, we got a lot to show you.”

Entirely oblivious of the effect of his words, Tony turned around to the closest white-topped table, a long, curved expanse with only a few of those electronic-looking odds and ends scattered atop it. Until he flung his arms wide and, so unexpectedly that Catherine jumped and let out an embarrassing yelp, a glowing screen appeared in mid-air.

“Banner’s gonna bore you with a bunch of squiggles on a graph, but I know you’re a tornado expert, so I’m going to show you the really cool stuff. Starting with this.” He did something with a flick of his wrist and the screen was filled with video of the previous day’s tornado over Washington D.C.

They watched in silence for several minutes, Catherine’s entire attention laser-focused as the storm raged and the funnel wreaked devastation on the ground. “Anti-cyclonic rotation,” she murmured. “That’s interesting.”

“Why?” Bruce asked, watching her as she watched the screen, crinkling her nose and tilting her head to the left in a way that instantly flooded Bruce with nostalgia.

“The Coriolis effect. Less than five percent of tornadoes rotate clockwise in this hemisphere. Doesn’t mean anything on its own, it’s just rare.”

They watched for a few more minutes before Catherine stiffened and said, “Wait. What was that?”

“What was what?” Tony asked.

“Go back. Play the last ten seconds again.”

He did and they watched as a jagged lightning bolt shot across the sky. It was cool, but Tony wasn’t sure that it was particularly interesting. He looked curiously at Catherine.

“Can you slow it down?”

“I can do anything. How slow do you want it?”

“Frame by frame, if you can. Starting just before the lightning strike.”

He did, advancing the video and watching her as he did.

“There!” She cried, pointing to the screen. “That.”

Tony and Bruce looked at each other. “OK, I’ll play,” Tony said. “What am I supposed to be seeing?”

Catherine stepped up to the screen and pointed to the leading edge of the lightning bolt where it appeared to actually strike the side of the tornado. “See that? How the lightning looks like it’s poking a hole in the funnel?”

“Yeah…” Bruce answered tentatively.

“Now. Next frame.”

In the next frame, there appeared to be an actual divot forming in the wall of the funnel.

“Next,” Catherine said, scowling.

In the next frame, the divot had grown and was clearly a bend in the wall of the tornado, making the funnel look like it was moving away from the lightning.

“Next.”

The effect became more pronounced in the next frame, and the next. The lightning strike lasted only a few frames beyond that, but it was clear, now that they had slowed it down, that the lightning had actually “dented” the funnel of the tornado, and caused it to bend away from the strike.

“OK. We see it now. So what?” Tony asked impatiently.

“So that can’t happen. Lightning isn’t powerful enough to affect a tornado, and the power surge doesn’t last long enough, even if it was. Whatever we’re looking at, it’s either not a tornado, or it’s not lightning. Or both.”

*****

When breakfast was over, Steve and Sharon were left alone in the ravaged common room amid the greasy, jumbled remains.

“Do you suppose we’re supposed to clean this up?” She asked, looking daunted at the possibility.

“Of course not. Tony’s got people for that,” Steve answered, with a look that told Sharon he disapproved of something about what he’d just said.

“What?”

Steve looked over at her, trying to cover his look with a smile. “Nothing. We don’t have to clean this up.”

“Did something happen between you and Tony?”

Steve blew out a breath in disgust. “Tony happened. I thought we were gonna try to get past this. I believed him that we’d put aside our anger and were going to try to figure things out for the good of the team.”

“But that isn’t true?”

“Doesn’t look like it. He told me to stay away from him unless someone’s trying to take over the world. In so many words.”

Sharon put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. I know you really want things back the way they used to be.”

“It’s not about what I want. It’s about what the world needs. If the Avengers hadn’t been here, who would have stopped the Chitauri? The military? They were about to nuke the city! If it wasn’t for us, working together, New York would be gone now and maybe the Chitauri would be in control of Earth anyway.”

Steve stood up and began pacing the room, pent-up frustration and energy with no outlet urging him to action.

“I’ve gotta find a way to get through to him. We have to work together. We don’t have a choice.”

“Steve,” Sharon began tentatively.

“What?” He stopped pacing to look at her.

“What have you and Tony… said to eachother about what happened? About the Accords, and about The Raft, and Berlin?”

“Plenty. There’s a bloody bunker in Siberia that will show you, we had quite the conversation about that.”

Sharon stood then, walking over to where Steve stood in front of the wall of windows. She reached out hesitantly, laying her hands lightly on his chest, and was pleased to see him take a step toward her and rest a warm, heavy hand on each side of her waist. “That’s what I was afraid of. You haven’t talked about it at all.”

“We did, Sharon. I called him, and we met in Washington. You know that, you were there. We agreed that the Avengers is too important to end.”

“And that’s the only time you’ve sat down and talked about this?”

“Well… yeah. What else is there to say?”

Sharon basically banged her head against Steve’s chest in disgust. “Men.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that, for a really smart guy, you’re a damn fool. That’s what it means. You need to talk to him, Steve. You need to talk, and you need to keep talking until you each understand what made the other take the position they did. And you need to apologize to each other.”

“Apologize? What the fuck for? He’s got us answering to a committee, for fuck’s sake!”

“Yes, and he believes that’s the right thing. He believes that. Do you really think Tony Stark, of all people, would willingly submit to anyone’s authority if he didn’t truly believe it was necessary? And do you know why he thought it was necessary? Did you even ask?”

“I know why. Of course I asked, we argued about it for hours…”

“You argued. You both talked at each other – shouted, actually – and neither one heard a word the other said.”

“Whose side are you on, Sharon?” Steve yelled, letting go of her.

“Yours,” she said, keeping her voice as calm as she could. “Always yours. You have to know that.”

He frowned and turned toward the window, his face working as he thought through what she’d said.

“Steve.”

After a moment, he turned back to her. She stepped to him again, this time wrapping her arms around his waist. His arms naturally encircled her, and she found herself pressed against his chest, looking up into his bright blue eyes. “Do you remember when we first met? How we first met?”

“Of course I do.”

“I was on your side, there for you, even before you knew who I was. I stood with you when Hydra infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. I stood with you when you refused to sign the Accords, and when you went to Bucharest to try to keep Bucky from being captured. I kept you both from facing criminal charges, and I’ve worked like hell to help him get through all the other fallout of what Hydra made him do. Right?”

“Right,” Steve admitted softly, holding her a little closer.

“And then, when you were ready to try to approach Tony again, who made that happen?”

“You did.”

“Yeah. I did. So please tell me that you know I’m as loyal to you as anyone could be. You do know that, right?”

He looked into her eyes for a long, long moment. “I do know that, Sharon. I do. And I’ve been selfish as hell when it comes to you.”

Sharon rolled her eyes, lowering her forehead to rest against him and shaking her head. “I’m in love with a fucking moron,” she muttered to his chest. Then, looking up at him again, she said, “We’ll come back to that. Right now, I just need you to try to hear me about this.”

But Steve wasn’t hearing anything. He was blinking at her, his face an absolute mask of surprise.

“What?” Sharon demanded sharply.

“You… You said…”

“I said you need to listen to me.”

“You said you’re in love with me.”

“I said I’m in love with a moron, and that we’d come back to that. Focus!”

Steve smiled weakly, still looking at her with wonderment, as though he’d never seen her before but found her fascinating. It was definitely about time he looked at her like that, but right now she was trying to make a crucially important point that could have repercussions for the whole world.

“You said it yourself. You and Tony need to make up. You need to find a way to start working your way back to trusting one another. You both fucked up. Huge.”

“I didn’t-“

“You left him to deal with the Accords by himself. You turned half the team against him. And then you beat the shit out of him and threw your shield away like it was nothing.”

“I could have killed him. I didn’t.”

“No, you just left him for dead.”

Steve broke away angrily and turned back toward the window. “I think you and I might have different definitions of the word loyalty, Sharon.”

Undeterred, Sharon just closed the distance again. “Loyalty doesn’t mean saying what you want to hear. Loyalty means saying what you need to hear. And you need to hear Tony’s side of the story, which is what I just told you. Do you really think you’re blameless in all this?”

Steve scoffed furiously, but didn’t answer.

“Just think about it,” Sharon said, giving his arm a squeeze. “I’m going to go check on Tony and Bruce.”

She walked slowly across the large room, wondering whether she’d just ruined any chance she might have had with the man she loved. The man she’d just, entirely without her knowledge or consent, told she loved him. She hoped he would stop her, or say something to let her know he understood that she was trying to help him, and Tony, and the Avengers.

He didn’t.

#The Avengers #Captain America #Bucky Barnes #The Winter Soldier #Clint Barton #Natasha Romanoff #Bruce Banner #Tony Stark #Sharon Carter #S.H.I.E.L.D.

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tightropenuzlocke · 5 years

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Chapter Five: Light Your Candle To My Raging Fire

Aisling was back the next day with almost as much punch and panache as the day they met—almost because she didn’t have quite the same spring in her step, because she stopped to admire the mosaics that gave the the Jardin de Tuiles its name, because she looked wistfully after the wild Vivillon that held nothing for her the day before. But judging by the way Serena’s eyebrows loomed low on her forehead, didn’t notice these subtleties. Instead she was confounded and bemused by Aisling’s liveliness, and Xoana could practically see the remorse of last night evaporate like dew in the warm morning sun. Then any remaining sympathy vanished in a flash of red as Aisling sent out a queen Combee—apparently caught yesterday in the same gardens they were currently passing through.

The new catch wasn’t quite as rare as a shiny, but still warranted the explanation Serena demanded. Aisling offered only the predictable “I got lucky” with what might have been the slightest undertone of irony. Serena steamed but not her tongue. “So Finley,” Aisling called to her latest acquisition, “got any friends here you want to join your hive?” The Combee swiveled to attention, and her wings stopped beating for a second in shock as Bree repeated the question. Aisling laughed. “You’ll be evolving soon now that you’re with us. We can find you a mating partner if you’d rather lay your own, but I wanted to make sure we didn’t leave anyone behind if you wanted a sorority hive. We won’t be back this way for a long time.” Finley was visibly flustered considering all of this, but eventually she just shook her head. “It might be a bit much for her to think about right now,” said Serena. She couldn’t well resist all this bug-type talk no matter how jealous she might be. “Queen Combee never form the bond with their parent hive. She might not understand until she evolves.” “Well, You’ve got some time to think about it,” Aisling told her pokemon. “Just keep it in mind, yeah?” Finley nodded and went back to visiting flowers as they drew ever closer to their destination. The heights were already looming above them and the distant hum of traffic carried on the breeze. Aisling underwent yet another transformation as they all passed through the shadow and stone of Illumis’s south gate. By the time Xoana’s eyes had adjusted, light had broken over her again, and a grin parted her lips, threatening to split her face wide open. There was glee and hunger in her eyes. She’d never been to the city before. “Welcome to Illumis!” Xoana hopped into Aisling’s view to frame the vista with fluttering hands. A chuckle! “Wowee!” Somehow it wasn’t even that corny coming from her. Maybe it was just the genuine radiance of her expression that made it so charming. This light played wonderfully on her freckled skin and the cloud of natural she had wrestled into a gold hair tie. It was even better than the Gym photo somehow—so much so that it took Xoana a moment to notice Aisling was staring right back at her. “Wait until you see the center!” said Tierney. “I’m gonna see it all!” Aisling declared, releasing Xoana from her hold. But they had to report to the lab first and withdrew their pokemon to take up less space in the city streets. Serena was impatient and always a little ahead as they threaded their way west, but stopped short of hurrying them since there was plenty of time. Aisling, meanwhile, lingered at the back, pausing now and again to take it all in, but never asked them to stop for anything. Her nose lifted as they passed a cafe and she saluted a passing Gogoat shuttle, who blinked at her in return. She almost bumped into Tracie when they stopped she was so distracted, but recovered smoothly. “This is a lab?” The disbelief was justifiable. Sycamore Labs was situated in one of the only remaining distinguished hôtel particulier that once lined Boulevard Méridionale. The Professor had inherited it from his aunt through an unbroken line of nobles older than the house itself—because money couldn’t buy a building like this, not anymore. “One of the original interiors is in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.” “Now that I believe,” said Aisling. “What a façade! That cartouche above the door is positively emblematic of Kalosienne Renaissance classicism.” Xoana’s stomach did a little flip and she swallowed dryly. Was Aisling a secret architecture nerd, or had she looked that up because Xoana had mentioned being somewhat versed in the subject exactly once? Then Aisling winked at her—winked—and Xoana’s brain short circuited. She shouldn’t be allowed to do that! It was simply unconscionable! Before Xoana could properly address the legality of the situation, Aisling had bounded up to the door. The entrance hall had been carefully maintained and restored and still boasted the incredible style of its heyday complete with parquet flooring, a coffered ceiling, mixed sculptural and painted decoration, and caryatids on either side of a far more recent but nonetheless antique elevator on the far end. Xoana knew that one of the doors must lead to the only original parlor—the grander sister of the one she had seen herself—which had been kept as a venue for the lab’s small fundraisers. She sorely wished she had time to look for it. Xoana felt there must be at least two perfectly serviceable stairwells in a building this august, but they were waved into the elevator by the woman who had met them at the door. Strictly speaking there wasn’t space enough for five, but that didn’t stop the woman from sliding in after them and pressing Xoana right up against Aisling’s chest so that she had enough elbow room to work the lever. Xoana smiled apologetically up at Aisling’s exceedingly proximate face and glimpsed what may have been the beginnings of a blush coming to her cheeks before the elevator halted and they piled back out. Prof. Sycamore’s office was on the top floor in what was once a grand bedroom, and it still retained an oddly intimate vibe post-conversion. Tall windows overlooked the lawn and gardens below and warm, late-morning light flooded the room, starkly highlighting the man sitting behind a grand sycamore desk—the distinctive ray fleck was unmistakable. Xoana stifled a giggle. The professor rose languidly from his plush office chair. “You must be the new interns for the trainer magnet program. At last we meet!” He went down the line shaking each of their hands in turn. “Such a pleasure! Are you all getting along with your starters?” He nodded at their chorus of assent. “Wonderful! My report says you all earned your first badge already, is that correct?” “Yes, Professeur!” “Please, call me Sycamore.” He waited for at least one of them to amend themselves before continuing. “That’s excellent, just fantastic! This evaluation should be nothing for you then. What say we get on with it?” Aisling’s enthusiasm buoyed up the more nervous murmurs of agreement and Sycamore led them down a flight of stairs and out into the garden, chattering all the way. The lawn beyond the flowerbeds was bordered by roses and topiary. Ancient sycamores stood at each corner and there was a sizable fountain at the middle back where some young Froakie and Squirtle played. There were a good number of pokemon sprawled out in the sun, including a hulking metallic species Xoana didn’t know the name of. The burnished silver and gold was too bright for Xoana to focus on, but Aisling stared with wide eyes. “A shiny Metagross,” Tracie murmured. “Bessemer!” Sycamore called to it. “Would you clear a little space for us?” It couldn’t be his pokemon. Xoana would have heard about it. The Metagross rose, gave them a nod, and then floated under one of the trees. Xoana gasped as a Garchomp stepped out from the shade to make room. Serena had talked about it enough for Xoana to know who she was. She was Sycamore’s starter and a pioneer of mega evolution. Xoana had watched some of her exhibition matches as a child. She surveyed them all with cold yellow eyes, then growled so low it shook the ground. Several Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander came running, gathering by Sycamore to await the call to battle. The Bulbasaurs were pale with dense markings and bright bulbs, the Squitles had pointed shells and strong jaws, and the Charmanders glowed with intense color and sported a row of dots down each side. Even Xoana could tell they were no run-of-the-mill variants. “Send out your teams,” Sycamore commanded. Froabble, Bree, and Félicité greeted Sycamore’s Garchomp and she nodded to them while the others looked up at her in awe. Xoana found both her legs embraced by furry bodies. One by Tessa, who was standing in front to protect her despite being terrified. The other was Emer, who could almost reach around now and peeked out curiously. “Each of you will battle a balanced trio and can use up to three pokemon of your own. I may be a little rusty, but don’t let your guard down.” Sycamore winked, but it was far less affecting than the one Aisling had given her earlier. “Who wants to go first?” Aisling was quicker on the draw. Serena pretended to be gracious. One of the Bulbasaurs trundled forward and wiggled in readiness. To the surprise of all, Aisling sent in the Combee she’d had on her team less than twenty-four hours. Finley kept her distance and dodged the Bulbasaur’s reaching vines as best she could until her Gusts wore him down. Next was a Charmander, lean and sharp-eyed. Aisling switched for Emer—the only sensible counter at her disposal. The Charmander surveyed Aisling and her team and gave a derisive snort that blew steam from her nostrils. Her claws flashed the moment the attack order was given and Emer squeaked in surprise at her ferocity. The Marill was forced to bounce, roll, and bide her time until the Charmander became frustrated enough to use Ember. A well-timed Water Gun doused it and left the Charmander spluttering long enough to get in a double Tail Whip across her face. The Charmander knocked her away with a lunge, but another sustained Water Gun blast brought her down. A blithe Squirtle stepped up to replace her and Bree cracked her knuckles. The turtle’s Withdraw and ridged shell gave the Chespin some trouble, but she shrugged off the Tackles with her woody plates, and once she got a firm grip, it was over. The Squirtle held out for a while, but the combination of nausea from being slung around and repeated violent meetings with the ground were eventually too much for him. Bree flexed like Aisling had shown her and evolved on the spot. The burst of light and wind jolted Xoana back to herself and even drew the attention of the Metagross from across the lawn. Sycamore smiled to himself while Serena tried not to look pissed. Xoana and the others offered their congratulations to cover for her. Meanwhile, the Quilladin marveled over her her new bulk, armor, and needles. “Nice battling, Bree! You look awesome!” Her ears perked at Aisling’s words of praise and she chittered back at a lower register. They performed their now signature fist bump and Aisling made a big show of how much the Quilladin’s hardened knuckles hurt. Bree gasped but it turned into a giggle as she realized the joke. Serena went next of course and Félicité dispatched her Bulbasaur in a single fiery blaze. Justine had disguised herself as a Marill right out of her ball to intimidate the Charmander. The trick let her get close enough to land two good hits without getting singed, and Sycamore was thoroughly surprised and appreciative when the jig was up. Serena was pleased, but Justine looked to Félicité for approval and received no reaction at all. She tried her best against the Squirtle, getting up once more than she should have so that Félicité wouldn’t have to face her weakness all to no avail. The Fennekin brushed past her fallen teammate and wore the Squirtle the rest of the way down with her superior agility. Xoana didn’t mean to go last, but Tierney was jittery with nerves by the time Serena was through. Valériane, Laoch, and Aiden made fairly short work of it, but by then Spark was getting very bored and Tracie had her battle before the Pikachu fell asleep. Bulbasaur was a rough start typing-wise but Tracie and Spark had long since solved that puzzle: paralyze, weaken, spam Quick Attack. Charmander went down faster and Squirtle only took one sustained shock before keeling over. “Ready, Mme Bellamy?” Xoana jolted back to herself and sent in Tessa. Once again she needed some prompting, but the Bulbasaur they were up against was quite obliging in that department and did a quick warm-up with his vines while Tessa sized him up. He was focused and confident when they got to it though, keeping Tessa at bay with his vines until she grabbed on and reeled him in. Even then he held his own, claws shredding turf down to the last inch. But Tessa hit hard and tenaciously once committed and he surrendered when she somehow hoisted him by the bulb after a thorough pummeling. Tessa eagerly tapped out when Froabble croaked his willingness to take over. “Thanks, Froabble,” Xoana whispered to him as he hopped forward. “Use Bubble!” “Ember!” For an instant, Xoana thought it would be over right then—after all, that was how Emer had beaten her Charmander—but while Bubble had superior concussive force when it landed, there wasn’t enough actual water to power through the flames. Instead the move burst into a thick cloud of steam that the Charmander came barreling through, claws raised and ready to Scratch. “B-Bubble!” Xoana stammered. “But get behind first!” Despite her stumbling, Froabble was quick on the uptake and dodged the scratch, zig-zagging until the Charmander unbalanced himself and stumbled long enough for Froabble to get behind. The bursting bubbles sent the Charmander spiraling and he shook his head in momentary disorientation. Froabble sucked in another breath and shot out an even denser cloud of bubbles as the Charmander scrambled back to his feet. He swiped furiously, popping a few on his claws, but he couldn’t stop others from bursting on his face, and he toppled once more. Froabble returned to position, ready to face the final pokemon, but Xoana didn’t like his chances against Squirtle’s high defences and sent Tessa back in. The Teddiursa was ready this time, but her claws bounced off the Squirtle’s carapace. Tackle did almost as little since he seemed happy enough to bounce around in his shell. Grappling it proved to difficult and when Tessa paused for breath, the Squirtle slapped her across the jaw with Tail Whip. He wet the ground beneath her and tackled her with his shell. She slipped and went down in a great groaning huff. Tessa was too tired from her first battle. Xoana had no choice but to overturn her doubts with the surety Froabble displayed as he leapt back in. Speed was everything now. It was all they had since the Squirtle could take a hit that would lay Froabble out and deal almost as good. She focused on every movement, trying to stay with him as he hopped, flipped and sprinted. The Squirtle’s shell was more hazard than target, so Xoana gambled for the legs. They were short, low, and difficult to hit, but Froabble enjoyed the challenge. Despite his frankly incredible agility, the proximity necessitated by this strategy earned him two consecutive Tail Whips. The telltale shimmer of his magic defense being ripped away set Xoana’s heart hammering in her chest, and it near skipped a beat when the Squirtle dove at him, but he slid smoothly underneath across the slick grass and landed a solid kick to his intended target. For a moment, Xoana thought they might win—the Squirtle was becoming unsteady on his feet—but it was not to be. A full body Tackle with that brutal shell knocked Froabble flat on his back. She heard the wind forcibly eject from his lungs with each consecutive impact as he skidded to a stop in front of her. But she also saw what the relieved Squirtle did not: Froabble dig a hand into the grass. And she couldn’t give up on him, not after the promise she’d never even voiced. “Froabble, use Lick!” His tongue shot out and wrapped the Squirtle’s head. The pokemon was too distressed by the lavender flames to rally and Froabble used his prone but anchored position to yank the Squirtle forward. “Pound!” Froabble released his hold, flipped, and kicked the stumbling Squirtle with both legs. The force sent the Squirtle right over Sycamore’s head. Everyone’s gaze followed the arc and came to rest on his spinning shell—all but Froabble, who regathered his legs into his customary squat. “You alright, Froabble?” He nodded. “Thanks for the boost. That was a good kick.” “That was an awesome kick!” She almost laughed and gathered him up in her lap to check his chest. “You all did very well!” Sycamore congratulated them. “I’m pleased and excited to keep working with all of you. Mme Quinn, you expressed an interest in the Mega Evolution program and that battle showed me exactly what I want to see in a prospective candidate. Therefore, I’m going to move you over right away, which means you can choose one of the pokemon specially bred for the program!” “Thank you, Sycamore!” said Aisling, voice a mix of excitement and triumph. “Not at all! It is I who am grateful!” The professor waved airily, but his lips twitched, and he continued with less ease. “Now, I was rather hoping you might consider taking the Charmander you battled. She’s a prodigy but may take… confidence to handle.” “She’s just the one I wanted.” “Excellent!” Sycamore’s relief was palpable and that was concerning, but Aisling grinned from ear to ear as she shook his hand. Xoana glanced at Serena, but she was too eaten up by jealousy to notice anything amiss. He jaw was taught and Xoana could almost hear her teeth grind. As for the Charmander, she looked between the professor and her new trainer in disbelief before appealing to Sycamore’s Garchomp. The huge pokemon’s lip peeled back, revealing her saw-like teeth and she growled low. The Charmander snorted steam and sulked over to Aisling’s side, ignoring Bree’s offered paw. She certainly seemed like a handful. “And Mme Pascal, you wanted to be in the mega evolution program as well, correct?” “Yes, Professeur.” “And so you shall be!” Thank the gods. “Choose any that you want.” Xoana wasn’t surprised when she picked a Squirtle. He reached up to shake his trainer’s hand and waved at his new teammates. “Mme Bellamy.” She looked up at the professor. “You did not express interest in the mega evolution program on your application, but I would love for you to participate.” Xoana gaped at him. “I think you’d make an excellent fit.” “I—b-but we barely won that battle!” “But you did win, when by all rights you should have lost.” Now that was a backhanded compliment if she ever heard— “Your Froakie was finished, but you gave him the energy needed to continue and execute one of the best critical hits I’ve seen in a long time. That demonstrates a remarkably strong connection for a trainer so green and impressive inner power.” Viola had something similar but— “He’s right,” Froabble croaked. She looked down into his eyes. “That’s why I thanked you.” “You… really think I can?” “Of course!” Sycamore answered her warmly, though she hadn’t meant to ask him. Froabble gave her a quick nod. “Alright then—I mean, thank you! It’s such an honour! I’m very excited to—I accept—” “Very good!” Sycamore interrupted before she could spew any more nonsense. “Select your new companion.” Xoana considered carefully, but it wasn’t a difficult choice. Bulbasaur were the cutest and the one she had battled seemed mellow enough to get along with. He shuffled over when she pointed and used a vine to greet her and his new teammates. “Mme Chastain, I notice you have no additional pokemon yet, which is understandable given the nature of your research, but I believe I have a solution for you. And Mme Fitzroy, I can’t tell you how delighted I was by your idea for a project! Very thoughtful and creative! One of my graduate students may have some interesting information to impart with regards to your chosen topic.” “What did I tell you?” Aisling asked softly while Sycamore’s attention was elsewhere. She tried to smirk but it fell apart when Xoana beamed back at her. “Congratulations, Marquise.” She offered her hand and pulled Xoana in for a shoulder bump. Something like a giggle escaped Xoana and she clasped Aisling’s arm for a moment to steady herself after. Serena was right there waiting and Xoana turned expecting a handshake and was swept up in a hug instead. “That was awesome, Xo. I’m so glad,” Serena said in her ear. Moments like this had become rare—Serena had never been the touchy-feely sort and they no longer had quite the same casual intimacy as a year ago. Xoana hadn’t even realized how empty she’d been until the embrace filled her to the brim. And Serena wasn’t tense in her hold, instead squeezing with genuine fondness. She held on tightly. Maybe she couldn’t have everything, but she could have this. ... Maybe there was something there. Xoana seemed the type to hug with her entire being, but the quiet gasp and clinging fingers said more. The tension between them might be more than that of longtime friends drifting apart. Perhaps something felt but not yet spoken. “Ah, there you are!” Aisling turned to see who Sycamore was greeting and found a young man in a nice linen suit walking out of the lab towards them. His hair was silver at the root fading into light blue and tied in a neat bun at the back, leaving a few loose curls to frame his face. “Bonjour!” He greeted them with a wave and brilliant smile. “Bes told me you had some new mega evo candidates.” Aisling couldn’t place his accent other than that it was foreign. “Yes indeed! This is one of the senior program members, Steven Stone. He researches the mega stones and keystones themselves and what properties allow them to unlock a pokemon’s true potential! He and his partner Bessemer recently achieved mega evolution!” So this was the guy with the shiny Metagross. Aisling offered her hand. Steven greeted each of them with warm interest and impeccable manners. Wherever he was from, his family had money. Aisling wondered about his age. To be working here, he must have his license at the very least, but four or five years older seemed too many. “Steven’s father owns a fossil revival facility, so he may be able to connect you with the proper resources, Mme Chastain.” “I’d be delighted,” he declared. “Always happy to help out a fellow fossil enthusiast!” Tracie could only nod and Spark bounded into her arms to press up against her chest. Steven patted his Metagross’s leg to give her space and they gave him an appreciative rumble in return before they all headed back inside for the tour. Science wasn’t Aisling’s aim and she let herself fall to the back by Steven while Tracie pressed forward to listen to Sycamore’s explanations as they entered each lab room in turn. “So where are you from?” Aisling asked. “Rustboro City, Hoenn.” That explained the accent. “Forgive me for saying anything rude or strange. I’m still learning the language.” “Oh, but you speak so well!” That made him laugh. “I know I butcher my vowels! But you are very kind, thank you.” “Don’t listen to the central Kalos folk! They tell us provincials we don’t speak the language right either.” They entered a new room and she let their conversation lull for a moment while Sycamore turned to them. This place was quite an interesting mix of old and new, art and science. The humming machinery was sleek and chrome with holographic touch screens while the walls were covered in ornate wallpaper and bordered by fanciful moldings. “How did you meet your partner?” Aisling asked when she was at liberty to. “My father acquired Bessemer for me when I was a child,” Steven answered quietly. “I have always been—” he paused, grasping for the right word, “a gigantic nerd of rocks and metal-type pokemon.” He held up his hand to show the titanium cuff and assorted rings that adorned it. He also had a single earring set with a rainbow stone. Aisling could hang with this guy. Their banter carried them through the rest of the tour. The current earring was ammolite, but he also had bismuth and opal ones he wore regularly. His hair had gone silver as a teen, and he had finally scraped together the confidence to stop dyeing it blue, resulting in the dual tone while he waited for it to grow out. He was twenty-two and had all ten badges in his home region. He was raised by his father like she had been raised by her mother. He returned her interest and took her playful jabs with good humor, further cementing her decision to befriend him. “I like to look good,” he said of his tailoring. “And that’s not a very suitable comment from someone sporting a jacket as interesting as yours. Why Lord Jirachi?” “Diádh is my patron,” she answered honestly, momentarily disarmed by the pun and teasing. Xoana looked back at the mention of the luck god. She had never asked about the design, but perhaps she was curious. Aisling left her with that one tidbit of information and steered the conversation away. When they arrived back in Sycamore’s office, a pair of scientists were waiting for them. The man was tall with a mop of golden curls, while the woman was quite short but looked as though she could and would snap the man clean in half over her knee. She slid off the desk and tossed her dark cascade of hair like she was reenacting a shampoo commercial. “This is Sina. She’s researching the energy released by mega evolution.” She lacked the definition and sculpting of a bodybuilder, and her exceptionally firm handshake suggested strength training as the source of her physique. “Dexio is looking into the enhanced bond between trainer and pokemon while the mega form is active.” Everyone here was a regulation hottie. Dexio was by far the least attractive of all the lab employees she’d seen, but he was still a twink adonis if one was into that sort of thing. And other than Steven and Sycamore himself, he was the only man. Aisling was beginning to suspect some bias in the hiring process. A knock came at the door and Steven opened it to let another man in. Forget Dexio, this asshole was towering. He would have had to duck through a standard door frame. His outfit was too fashionable not to be custom and must have therefore cost a fortune. Though to be fair, there couldn’t be many places that stocked his size. He also sported an elaborate and immaculate mane of red hair, as if he needed to strike a more imposing figure. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything, Arsène,” he said, though he obviously was. “Not at all Thierry!” Sycamore said warmly, weaving through them all to be closer. “But you’ll be pleased to hear the Mega Evolution program has three new trainers.” The giant looked them over and Aisling evaluated him right back. He stank of privilege—or maybe that was perfume. “May I introduce Thierry Lysandre, esteemed entrepreneur and philanthropist.” The looks on her friends faces showed that they knew who he was and were awed simply to be in his presence. The name seemed vaguely familiar to Aisling, but stirred none of the same emotions. But he was clearly very wealthy, close to Sycamore, and perhaps directly involved in the program, so she decided to behave. Sycamore introduced them all, and once the pleasantries were dispensed with, Lysandre launched into a speech so tiresome it almost made Aisling break her good behavior right them. They were “the future” and “had the power to change the world”. It was like being at her lycée graduation all over again. So of course she didn’t listen to much of what he said, just kept her mouth shut and nodded when it seemed appropriate. Steven shifted to obscure himself from Lysandre and looked very much as though he was tuning it out as well. Xoana’s smile had turned hollow. Sina and Dexio were either good at faking it or at least somewhat invested. Tracie and Tierney were getting bored. Serena, on the other hand, hung on every word and Sycamore displayed a frankly embarrassing level of adoration. He knew they weren’t alone, right? At last Dexio offered to take Lysandre to see whatever he was actually there for and they left, allowing the rest to talk about their projects and fill out the forms that needed doing. Aisling tried to talk to Steven while Serena all but interrogated Sycamore, but he was already engaged with Tracie and she let them be. Sina saw to the rest of them, switching back and forth from Tierney to Aisling and Xoana. Besides the timeline, there wasn’t a ton to absorb, so Aisling continued to watch the others out of the corner of her eye. Evidently Steven had divined that Tracie didn’t like eye contact and repositioned himself shoulder to shoulder facing her screen to take the pressure off. Luckily Sycamore was charmed by Serena’s intensity and gladly answered all her questions. Aisling had to admit she could be engaging, even if she was a stuck-up asshole. She noted Xoana ogling Sina’s impressive bod with amusement and Tierney coloring every time the scientist focused on her with mild surprise and satisfaction. She kept finding ways to obscure her face and could barely string a sentence together. It occurred to Aisling that Tierney might be sensitive about her appearance. She was quite heavyset and vitiligo was rare and stark against skin as dark as hers. Something to keep in mind going forward. “If that’s all taken care of, perhaps it’s time to—” “Arrange for your accommodations while you are in the city,” Sina finished for him. Sycamore gave an embarrassed half-chuckle. “Exactly so.” “Well,” Xoana began. “We were hoping to stay at the Hotel—” “That won’t be necessary.” Everyone looked at Tracie, which made her look down. “Everyone can stay at my house.” “Tracie, are you sure?” Tierney asked in a careful tone. “My parents are out of town, but they extended an invitation to you all and there is plenty of space.” A beat of silence followed. “Excellent! Well, if that’s settled you are free to go.” They delivered their various farewells and meandered out into the hall. Steven gave Tracie his number, which Aisling was tempted to ask for as well, and Sina gave hers to a blushing Tierney. After that, she took off while Steven remained in Sycamore’s office. “Aisling,” Serena said tentatively. Aisling ignored her. “My Queen?” she tried, though it pained her. “Yes?” “I was hoping you might agree to accompany me to the Café Soleil for some coffee and pastries? On me?” If Aisling didn’t know better it rather sounded as though Serena was asking her out. Too bad she didn’t care. “Naw, I’ve got an appointment. Y’all go on without me. I’ll catch up later. Just text me your address okay, Baronne?” Serena’s barely concealed rage was almost worth Xoana’s disappointment. She grabbed Serena’s arm and pulled her away before she could blow. Aisling waved. She leaned back against the wall by the door and pulled out her holocaster to look at a map. “A somewhat rude and invasive personal question, if I may?” Steven’s voice floated out of the crack in the door. “Of course!” Sycamore said warmly. “You know they’re my favorite.” “Have you slept with all of your friends?” So she wasn’t the only one who had noticed. Maybe she would ask Tracie for Steven’s number. Sycamore laughed. “Hoenn must be so uptight! Loosen up, mon ami. You are in Illumis, City of Love!” “I’m fairly certain Illumis is the City of Light,” Steven muttered. “Nonsense. Only tourists say that.” ... “Where the hell is she?” Serena asked for the third time that evening. “I thought you said it was a hair appointment. It’s been hours! What could possibly be taking so long?” “A lot of things!” Xoana didn’t mean to sound so huffy, but she wasn’t in the mood to address Serena’s ignorance politely. She didn’t have time to explain hair texture to her. She was too busy worrying if Aisling would notice, how they would all handle the subject if it came up, how Aisling would react. Tracie hadn’t said anything—Tierney was doing a good job of distracting her with video games—but Xoana had to think she was just a little nervous under there. Then again, they had the house to themselves, so maybe she was getting all worked up for nothing. The bell rang downstairs and they all poured out of Tracie’s room. Joffrey, the Chastain family’s Gothitelle had already answered the door and Aisling stood in the grand vestibule, hair transformed from barely contained cloud to a cascade of ropey strands pinned neatly back. Locks looked good on her—right even. But where the hell had she gone that they finished in just one sitting? Their eyes met across the double staircase and Aisling’s face took a moment to go from gaping but understandable awe to that too-big grin of hers. “I really cocked up the nicknames, Baronne. You’re clearly the Queen of this group.” Tracie shifted her hands behind her back so Aisling wouldn’t see her wring them. “Why didn’t you tell me you were filthy rich? Like damn! Look at this fucking house!” She was laughing now. Tierney chuckled too. “You should see the estate!” Xoana and Serena gave her reproachful looks, but she ignored them. “Of course you have an estate. No one could have this kind of house in the middle of the capital without having a country estate. It’s only natural!” Aisling laughed again. “This is awesome!” she declared, throwing up her arms, not the least bit caring that Joffrey was still standing there. “Ya gotta show me around your pad!” That shattered the tension and Tracie started down the stairs. Then the doors opened. There was no bell this time and Joffrey jumped to assist Tracie’s parents as they entered. They piled their coats into his arms which he ran to the closet before hefting their suitcases with psychokinesis and floating upstairs. Everyone remained frozen where they were as he passed. “Théo darling!” her mother called and all four of them winced. How was it the woman never noticed? “What on earth are you wearing? Did you girls dress him up again?” “We went shopping!” Xoana said with all the excitement she could muster, nearly jumping down the steps between them to be by Tracie’s side. “We haven’t been in the city in so long!” Tierney nodded vigorously to back her up. She already had a hand on Tracie’s shoulder. “Well, that’s what you get for having only female friends,” said Tracie’s father. “So sweet of you to always indulge them,” her mother added. “Oh, but you haven’t even introduced us to your new friend!” She turned to Aisling. “You’re in Prof. Sycamore’s program too, correct?” “Yes!” Aisling stepped up and offered her hand. “Aisling Quinn. Wonderful to meet you.” They both seemed pleased by her politeness and firm handshake. “I thought you were supposed to be in Flusselles until the end of the month?” Tracie ventured. “Yes, well, Antoine called because there’s some big issue with the supplier so your father had to come back to town to sort it out. We’ll just have to take the trip next week or whenever this blows over.” Silence again. “We had a long journey and I need to recover for a bit. You all have fun. We’ll see you at dinner!” They all stayed where they were while Tracie’s parents climbed the other side of the staircase to their wing of the house. Tracie turned back and Aisling waited at the foot of the stairs until Xoana beckoned her to come with. Aisling spoke to Tracie as they went down the hall. “Can I ask you something?” Fuck. Tracie nodded. “Do your parents know you’re a girl?” Oh… That was good. Tracie shook her head. “Do you want me to correct them?” Tracie shook her head again. “Okay.” There was a palpable sigh of relief from the group. “Can I still call you Baronne around them?” Tracie smiled just a little. “Yes.” Aisling let out a rather loud expletive as they entered Tracie’s room. She kicked off her boots and dove onto the king-sized four-poster, rolling back and forth before settling on her side with one knee crooked and her head propped up by her elbow. “Is this where we’re sleeping?” Then she had the gall to wiggle her eyebrows. “You’ll have Timothée’s room,” Tracie answered, going to her night table for the remote. Aisling’s exaggerated disappointment was cut short when the enormous screen descended from the ceiling so that Tracie and Tierney could continue their game. “Awesome! What are we playing?” “Super Pokken Ultimate.” “Nice! I’ve only ever played Royale.” Aisling sent out her team to hang with the rest of the pokemon while they got set up to play. Xoana and Serena sat up on the bed, and the other three sunk into bean bag chairs. Spark retrieved her extra small controller and arranged her own mini bean bag beside Tracie’s. Aisling was crap at Pokken. “I can’t believe I’m getting beaten by a Pikachu!” She cried after yet another sound defeat. Spark leaned around Tracie and chattered. “Is she shit-talking me?” Tracie didn’t answer but her face must have given it away. Aisling laughed. “You’re going down, rodent!” Spark then proceeded to utterly thrash her for the next few rounds. Aisling yelled and laughed and fought her hardest all to no avail. When she got KOed early for the fourth time in a row, she put down her controller and rocked out of her seat. “Fuck this noise. I’m gonna play some real Pokken!” Spark’s cheeks sparked. “Come here, Bree!” The Quilladin came over and Aisling tackled her. Bree was confused at first but caught on quick and giggled and snorted as she and Aisling rolled around on the floor trying to pin each other. The ruckus was too much to play over and they all turned to spectate. Aisling threw her jacket to Xoana as sweat began to bead across her brow and Xoana clutched it tightly despite herself. Aisling held out surprisingly well as the two alternated between competitive and silly. Spark cheered shamelessly for Bree and even Serena had to stifle a laugh. It was almost enough to forget about the dinner looming ahead. ... They reconvened in Tracie’s room after they were all clean and changed into their pajamas. Tracie’s parents had taken the nickname thing in stride. Her mother even found it cute. Sharing a meal with them was so much easier when Xoana and her friends could counter every instance of “Théo” with something she’d chosen, assure her that she was a girl even if her parents didn’t realize it. Xoana wished she’d thought of it a long time ago. The pokemon had been served their evening meal separately but were now allowed out to nap or play at their own choosing. Xoana had filled up the tub in Tracie’s bathroom and Froabble was in there now along with Serena’s new Squirtle. Sprout was getting along like he’d always been there. The only one who didn’t seem the least bit interested in socializing was Aisling’s Charmander. Once it was made clear to her there were no battles allowed in the house, she installed herself in the windowsill and sharpened her claws with her teeth. “Hey, Tracie, do you have DDR?” Aisling asked. “Yes.” “Tierney!” She jumped. “I challenge you to a dance off!” It took her a few moments, but she smiled. “You’re on!” They cleared the floor and rolled the bean bags to the other side of the room. Aisling might have expected mercy when Tierney selected a lower difficulty, but Xoana and the others knew that meant she was about to show off. At the higher difficulties there wasn’t any room for flourish. At a low rank one could dance and that was exactly what Tierney did. She was good in recitals but always best when she was freestyling her own thing—at least in Xoana’s opinion. All that mildness melted away as she hopped and spun and swung her hips. Aisling cheered and lycan-whistled even as she tried desperately to keep up. Xoana was surprised when she managed a halfway respectable score. “Best two out of three!” she yelled like she had a better chance than a Durant against a Heatmor. Usually Xoana was happy to watch, but something moved her and she hopped off the bed into the game. Aisling grinned and Valériane shuffled over as well now that it was no longer a one-on-one. They moved down so the Hawlucha could be next to her trainer and played on medium. Valériane got a few laughs flapping her wings, wagging her tail, and flaring her crest in her own version of dance moves. It goaded all of them to let loose a little more, which meant Xoana and Aisling sacrificed their scores to bop while Tierney continued to mercilessly flex on them. It wasn’t long before Aisling demanded hard mode and Xoana bowed out to make room for Serena. She was no dancer, but precision, tenacity and practice made her pretty good at DDR. Good enough to beat Aisling’s score anyway, which was all that mattered. That victory was enough to dispel the last of her irritation and ease that last bit of tension between them all. Tracie jumped into a round, as did Loach and Bree after Valériane explained it to them. The Riolu did well enough all things considered, but even the easiest setting was too much for Bree. She laughed along anyway and Aisling helped her through. Emer, Aiden, and Justine couldn’t play but bounced around in solidarity. The rounds flew by one after another and their limbs grew heavy while their minds became more and more awake. When the rest of them were finished, Tierney and Valériane did one last duel on expert. What the Hawlucha lacked in grace, she more than made up for in speed and rhythm and she came out on top to cheers and applause. By then it was late, but they were all far from sleep, so Tracie put on one of her favorite movies and they all sat on the bed to watch. Xoana barely noticed when Aisling lay her head in her lap—that is until she reached out to braid the hair and found it wasn’t Serena’s. Suddenly the contact sent a violent tingle up her spine. But was it really all that different? Despite all Xoana’s fretting and the little power struggles, Aisling had slid near seamlessly into their midst. It was like she’d been there since the beginning. It was like it had always been but maybe just a little bit better because she brought something to the group that they lacked—filled a hole they didn’t even know was there. Aisling rolled to look up at Xoana and threw a cheeky grin at the blush that was no doubt suffusing her face. But this time it wasn’t overwhelming. It just felt good. Really, really good. “So, I know the plan was to stay here for a while, but should we really still be doing that?” It took Xoana a moment to realize Aisling was addressing the room and not just her. “Don’t get me wrong, this is great but…” Things had changed. “None of the other gyms are close,” said Tracie. “And none of us are going to be ready for our second badge soon,” Aisling gently insisted. “I don’t wanna make you stay with your parents that long.” The warm fluttering in Xoana's gut returned in force. “It doesn’t matter what order we go in,” Tierney assured, lifting her head from the pillow snuggled under her. “Let’s just pick a direction.” “How about west?” Aisling suggested, stretching luxuriantly. She settled even further into Xoana’s lap and rested her legs across Tierney’s back. “We could hit the beach before summer’s over.” Now that was an idea. “We could do Relifac-le-Haut Gym next. That’s right on the water,” said Serena. Xoana would have to call Clément—he was expecting them—but she couldn’t say she was sorry to push that particular Gym battle down further down the line. In fact, she began to feel something heavy lift off her shoulders, that last bit of weight she hadn’t remembered she was carrying after everything else. “It’s settled then! We’ll leave in the morning!”

#nuzlocke #storylocke #pokemon xy #wlw #Tightrope #chapter

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virmillion · 6 years

Text

The Hypothetical Lower Bounds of the Glass

Summary: Logan has multiple ways of working through frustrating emotions, on the rare occasion that they do arise. One such method is taking a long drive to an unplanned destination.

Words: 3946

Relationships: platonic (or at least vaguely civil) analogical

Warnings: food mention, let me know if you have any more

Check it out on ao3!

Logan has never understood it when he read stories that included people muffling their sobs. It never made sense to him. Who would make noise while crying? If anything, it’s just sitting silently as a couple drops of water roll down your cheeks. Certainly nothing to warrant drawing attention to himself. At the absolute most, he might take a few seconds longer to finish the minesweeper game on his phone, since the film of tears can make seeing the screen rather difficult.

With years of experience under his belt, Logan has found many ways to deal with unwanted emotions that don’t include crying it out or seeking comfort in the arms of another human. Too messy, too uncertain, too many possible missteps that he doesn’t care to deal with.

One such way is driving. Not driving fast, and not to any particular destination, but just driving. Fresh out of college and living within biking distance of his starter job, Logan’s car is almost invariably fueled up at any given moment. Like now, for example.

On first glance, you might mistake Logan for a bookish professor, or maybe a teacher’s assistant. Press him a little further, and you might get to hear the annoyed rumbles lulling behind his voice, talking a smooth rhythm straight into your chest as he parses out each of his words with the utmost attention, forcing the conversation to a close as soon as possible while allowing you to walk away with as much information as you desire. All of this would probably not culminate in you expecting him to be a cashier at a department store. Such is the life of someone drowning in student loans.

Logan removes his glasses as he hits the punch clock, slipping them into his shirt pocket and savoring the blinding blur of his not-quite-perfect vision. To his locker and grabbing his coat, stashing his nametag and tossing the rest of his register’s trash, Logan does his damnedest to compartmentalize his frustrations of the day. A handful of paper in the recycling bin is the soccer mom who couldn’t be bothered to move her own bags the ten inches from the counter to her cart. His keys into his pocket are the pack of angry toddlers whose parents pretended not to notice when they started smacking his leg. The patter of his feet on linoleum switching to smacks against concrete is his shift overlapper showing up thirty minutes late with a cold cup of coffee as an apology. The car door slamming behind him is the snapping shield that seals him off from the rest of the world, customer service and rational decisions be damned.

The rumble of the engine starting is nothing short of pure, unfettered relief.

As for the tears slowly making their way toward the corners of his lips, well, we're just going to exercise some basic human decency and pretend we don't see them. Lord knows that's what Logan’s doing.

Pulling onto the main road, Logan lets the back of his head thump against the soft cushion behind him, wishing it were possible to drive with his eyes closed. Honestly, he never used to have such an issue with these emotional outbursts when he was younger. If anyone told preteen Logan that he’d be fighting back tears for absolutely no reason—well, actually, nothing would come of it. His head would be too deep in a book to notice. Regardless, if the words managed to beat through his thick skull, he’d probably ignore them. Just like he’s ignoring the thoughts pacing through his head now.

Logan allows the emptiness of the night around him to fill the silence behind his eyes, hardly noticing when the garish street lights switch to scattered lamp posts with barely a flicker to show their life. Past the last traffic stop that he recognizes, Logan drives on. Concrete gives way to dirt and mud, and still he drives, more focused on the smog-drowned stars overhead than any actual destination along the road. Beyond the furthest reaches of even the most stubborn lamps, in those subtle stretches of darkness where not even the bravest of lightning bugs dare linger, that is where Logan finds his solace.

He pulls off to the side of the road, cutting the engine and exhaling softly. The moon shining proudly overhead illuminates the fog of Logan’s breath, but he can’t find it in himself to care about how cold it’s gotten. Anyway, if he doesn’t open the door, he’ll probably be fine.

He opens the door.

The night wind hits him like a smack to the face, only slightly lessened by the pitiful shield provided by his car. Propping his shoulder against the cool metal, Logan pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, poking and prodding as he absorbs the absolute nothingness around him. Empty sky, empty stars, empty road, empty car. He briefly considers the fruitlessness of it all, but pushes the thought to the side when he sees a pair of headlights in the distance.

The speed with which they’re approaching is none too reassuring.

Logan swivels around to flatten himself against the trunk, watching the silver box rip through the air faster than he can blink, faster than he can feel the tears drying on his face. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear the wheels weren’t even touching the road. Maybe they’re not.

As the soft yellow tail lights fade into the horizon of the universe, it crosses Logan’s mind that he hasn’t any other plans tonight. He slips back into the car and claps his hands twice, forcing warmth back into his palms. And he drives.

A cloud of dust kicks up in his rearview mirror, his car little more than a silhouette against a world of stars. The corner of his mouth lifts ever so slightly as he pushes the gas pedal harder, harder, a feeble whisper against a night of silent emptiness. Still faster he goes, leaving a streak of pale red in his wake, chasing down the vague memory of the silver car that couldn’t manage to spare him a second glance.

Glancing at his silent radio, Logan toys with the thought of filling up the space, top forties or obscure alternative rock or something, but he can’t seem to peel his fingers from the steering wheel. Maybe rolling down the windows—yes, rolling, his car really is that old—but no, his hands won’t cooperate for that, either. So on he drives. The complete lack of sound buffering the roar of his engine beats blunt nails into his skin.

Once the faint glow of that racing car appears on the crest of the horizon, he eases his foot up, exhaling in time with the shrinking cloud of smoke. The lights ahead flash once, twice, and go out.

“Where are you going?” Logan murmurs, pressing his foot against the brakes. Maybe he’ll regret it later, but he flicks off his headlights, blinking tightly as his eyes adjust to the moon’s cold glow. Mercifully, a faint silhouette of the car stands out between the distant stars, curving off the side of the road.

Logan swings to the right when he reaches the same spot, finding a dirt path that he very well would’ve missed if not for his unwitting guide. Lined with just as many bramble bushes and dust clouds as the rest of the road, the street—a generous name, to be certain—blends right in with the rest of the empty stretch of road Logan finds himself wandering every so often. The stars overhead blink down at him. Logan blinks back.

Count for count, beat for beat, Logan eases off the gas in time with the car ahead, both silent against the night sky. One car careful, one car lost. Logan isn’t quite certain which is which.

When the low hum of electricity replaces the dull hammer of his heartbeat in his ears, Logan allows himself to wonder where, exactly, this person is unintentionally leading him. Maybe it’s not a person at all, but a robotic car set on figuring out why Logan would bother with such frivolities as reading or taking ambling trips.

Logan’s latest read was Bradbury’s The Pedestrian, if you couldn’t tell.

He flicks his eyes up to the rearview mirror, double checking that there’s no cars barreling for his tail lights before he cuts the engine. All clear. Up and down his scale of doubles he counts, waiting out the seconds until he feels confident enough that the driver ahead of him has reached their destination. One, two, four, eight, up and up to thirty-two and seven sixty-eight, then back down to sixteen and three eighty-four, eighty-one ninety-two, down and down to four, two, one, one half, one quarter, one eighth, up and down and up and down his scale of numbers until even the distant electricity has sunk to a hollow presence in his chest.

One eighth, one quarter, one half, one.

He guns the engine.

It doesn’t take long to see the silver car again, now looking strange in its stillness. Parked across three lines in front of a squat little building, it wouldn’t be hard to convince Logan that it was abandoned there years ago. He backs neatly into a space tucked against an alcove in the walls and counts his doubles one more time before exhaling, parking the car, and pulling on the door handle.

He revels in the feel of loose dirt underfoot, so much more textured than plain concrete under a car tire. Even if the roads have the courtesy to spice it up with potholes, Logan has always found a certain fascination with the naturalness of untouched ground. Well, untouched until now. Perhaps not the most interesting of observations, but it keeps him happy. Mostly.

The chime of the bell over the door is something completely alien to Logan, not quite bright, not quite loud, not quite real. Just like the insignia engraved into the fogged window in the vague shape of an eye. Logan traces his gaze along the groove as he glances back at the night beyond, watching the stars disappear in the reflection of his face. He almost misses it completely when the door closes, trading the pale moon for a dull lamp hanging behind him.

“Have a seat anywhere?” Logan murmurs to himself, reading the chalkboard standee covered in scrawling greens and pinks. Almost like chicken scratch, if chicken scratch were any more illegible. “Wow, sure hope I can find an open spot.”

Shocking though it may be, the diner is empty. This must be an astounding turn of events for you, given that you just personally saw Logan follow someone else all the way here, an undoubtedly dull journey culminating in an empty car outside an eye-guarded building.

Okay, so maybe not completely empty. Logan sniffs once out of habit, pressing the bridge of his glasses up with a knuckle and surveying the options. A bar of cracked granite surrounded by barstools with worn maroon leather. Swinging double doors with that same eye insignia under a bright green ‘enter’ sign. Where the entrance leads, Logan doesn’t really care to find out.

Matching maroon booths with similarly ruined surfaces ring the walls, pressed up snugly to the fogged windows. Floating sporadically in the space between are tables for two, tables for for, and oddly enough, a table for thirteen, all with intricately backed seats. Not a single spot in the entire room is without a cracked piece of leather.

Logan’s eyes catch on a glass of what looks to be water resting near the edge of one of the booths, filled to the brim with ice cubes and a straw. He sniffs and adjusts his glasses again, heading for one of two-chaired tables in the center. Far enough past the water that its owner will have to notice him walking by, but close enough that his glasses don’t have enough time to slide all the way down once he reaches the seat.

Hooking his feet around the front two legs, Logan props his cheek on one fist, blinking down at the table. Covered in ads for pet services and home improvement numbers and all other manner of local hirings, he’s not entirely certain any of the requests are within driving distance of this place. There’s a rattling sound to his right, but when he turns to look, only an empty booth greets him. When he turns back, there’s a glass of water resting at his left elbow. The straw inside is a bendy one, but the shorter side is scraping against the bottom of the cup. Logan turns to catch whoever delivered it, but the swinging double doors don’t even shudder.

Facing back to his table, a menu has appeared.

He adjusts his glasses slower this time.

“If you try to catch them in the act, you’ll only ever catch your death,” a gravelly voice says. Actually, pretending like a voice said that is a bit generous. Logan isn’t convinced it was anything more than a particularly loud thought in his hollow head.

He glances to the right, but the person at the booth is motionless, their head bent toward the table and their bangs obscuring their face. Based on the way the tips of their hair have the faintest blue glow, they’re probably looking at their phone in their lap, but Logan wouldn’t bet even a dollar on that. He turns back to his water.

Tracing his eyes down the menu, Logan considers the eclectic list of options. Five star seafood listed alongside plain pancakes, both underscored by a picture of what might be raw steak. Maybe a really ugly tomato. The grilled cheese is probably the safest bet. Safe being a relative term, but still.

“If you get the grilled cheese, don’t eat the triangle.”

A quick look at the person behind him reveals nothing, and certainly no hint that they’d said anything, but Logan is pretty sure their bangs were parted to the right before, not the left. A sniff. A glasses adjustment.

He faces forward again, prepared to resign himself to an odd night of no waiter with an inexplicable bill for water he didn’t request, but even that seems to be out of the question. Where his menu had sat mere moments before, there’s now a plate with an obscenely burnt grilled cheese. Nothing out of the ordinary, all things considered. Well, the short end of his straw is now bone dry and sticking out over the top of the glass, but besides that.

Logan peels up the top slice of bread, squinting at the cheese suspiciously. Right there, smack in the middle of a pile of yellow—completely melted, mind you, but somehow cold to the touch—is a single dorito. Technically a triangle. He peels it off and sets it to the side of the plate, replacing the bread slice. In the space where the dorito was is the faint outline of an eye. A quarter of his water is gone.

“Put the triangle under the plate.”

He turns to see the person in the booth, but there’s no one there. Even the water is gone, not a single ring stain left to prove they were ever there in the first place. It crosses Logan’s mind that there’s nothing stopping him from getting up and leaving. He stays seated.

“Fine, I’ll do it.” Logan turns back for what’ll hopefully be the last time, somehow not surprised to see the person sitting across from him now. Their arm stretches forward to pry the plate off the table, using their other hand to slip the dorito underneath. The porcelain doesn’t so much as clink when they set it back down.

“What color is my car?” they ask. For once, Logan finally manages to see their mouth move in time with the words. Even so, their voice still sounds like a faint whisper in his head.

“Silver,” Logan’s mouth supplies. He isn’t quite sure he believes himself, but if his mouth said it, it must be partially true. The rims are probably silver, at least.

They study him for a moment too long, and Logan is pretty sure he isn’t imagining it when dark circles appear under their eyes. Those definitely weren’t there before. Probably. Maybe.

They nod slowly, taking a careful inhale through the nose and cocking their head to the side. “You’re Logan.” It’s not a question.

“I’m here for a reason.” It is a question, but he doesn’t phrase it as one.

“Not necessarily.” They snake an arm out for Logan’s glass of water, not bothering to ask permission before taking a long sip from the straw. As they drink, the cup refills itself. “Name’s Virgil.” Logan inclines his chin, as if this is a perfectly acceptable answer to his non-question. “Probably a guy.”

“Probably.”

“Why are you here?”

“Why?”

“Why aren’t I here?”

Logan opens his mouth, closes it, and blinks. A bite vanishes from the sandwich. “I don’t know.”

Virgil sighs, puffing his cheeks out to blow into the straw. With every bubble that bursts in the glass, the meniscus lowers. “No one ever does.”

“Is anyone supposed to?”

“You don’t.”

“Neither do you.” While he’d like to say this conversation is going nowhere, Logan isn’t even sure that much is true. At least it would have a destination if it were going nowhere. He adjusts his glasses.

Logan blinks, and the glasses are on Virgil’s face. Virgil adjusts them with his knuckle, gnawing at the corner of his lip. “Why did you follow me here?”

Finally, a question Logan knows the answer to. “I was bored, and you looked like you knew where you were going. Well, your car did.”

“My silver car, you mean?”

“Is there a different one?”

“Is there?”

Logan’s glasses reappear on the table in front of him. He doesn’t put them on.

“I come here every thirteenth day, and no one ever follows me. What makes you so special?”

“Nothing, I guess. I was just bored.”

“You were just bored. So you followed a speeding stranger down an abandoned dirt road, going so far as to turn off your headlights to make sure I actually led you to my destination.”

“Pretty much.” Logan laughs uncomfortably, hoping to shrug it off as another bite of his sandwich vanishes. The first missing piece reappears. Virgil’s expression remains completely neutral. “So, uh, what brings you out here?”

“Obligation.”

“To what?”

“Moral imperative.”

Logan is finding it increasingly difficult not to be annoyed by this Virgil person.

“Okay, well I came out here because I was having a bad day at work, and I needed to blow off steam. Tearing down an empty road seemed like a nice shortcut. What’s your excuse?”

“Commitment.”

Logan steeples his fingers together under his chin, inhaling deeply and praying that his twitching eye isn’t terribly obvious. “Why isn’t anyone else here?”

“Where?”

“The diner. That we’re in. Right now.”

“What diner? This is a karaoke bar.”

Logan would honestly not be surprised in the slightest if a single blink transformed the entire diner into a karaoke bar, but no, the only thing that changes is Virgil’s expression. He offers a half smile. “Just kidding. Messing with you. I like to come here to think, since no one else really frequents this place. Stays pretty empty most of the time, and the owner is some old recluse with enough money stocked that they don’t need constant patronage. The thirteenth day thing is true, though. Don’t ask about day twelve.”

“Why don’t—”

“Don’t. Ask. About. Day twelve. Just don’t do it.”

“Don’t do it, won’t do it. Got it. Any other fascinating pieces of advice to offer?”

Virgil takes a long pull from the glass, watching the water spill over the sides. “Yeah. Don’t drink the water.” The grilled cheese is gone. “Oh, hey, check this out.” Logan looks on as Virgil lifts the place, crushing the dorito with his fist.

“What was the point of that?”

“Boredom, duh. My only motivation.”

“I thought your motivation was obligation.”

“An obligation to keep vaguely interested in my responsibilities.”

“I might punch you right now.”

“Hit with a wouldn’t guy glasses you, though.”

“What.”

“Those.” Virgil points to Logan’s eyes, in front of which are his glasses that he definitely never put on himself. “You wouldn’t hit someone wearing them.”

“You aren’t wearing them.”

“I never said I was wearing them. I said you, wearing them, would not hit someone.”

“You are quite possibly the most insufferable companion I have ever had the displeasure of talking to.”

“Thank you.” Virgil folds his hands together on the table, grabbing the cup of water and flipping it upside down on the table. “I’ll foot your tab. It’s not a cheap thing to keep refilling these cups, you know.” Sticking his tongue out, Virgil reveals an ice cube resting just between his teeth. He bites down and shatters it, sending frozen shards flying through the air.

“What was your obligation, though?”

“I already told you that. Moral imperative. Try to keep up.”

Before Logan can question it, or even demand an explanation for one of the countless nonsenses he’d had to endure so far, Virgil is scraping his chair back and heading for the bar. The stranger tosses a fistful of something along the countertop and glides out the door, the chime of the bell silent in his wake. Logan doesn’t even have to look to know the silver car is gone, quiet as the night and just as dark.

He drags his feet over to the bar, knocking a fist against the side of his skull and trying to rattle out some semblance of reason. An impossible feat, to be sure. Glancing at the counter, he wonders whether he’d be a fool to assume Virgil left actual coins and bills for his uneaten sandwich.

A fool, indeed. All that decorates the countertop is the crumbs of the demolished dorito.

Logan strides out to his car, not pretending to be surprised at the absence of Virgil’s vehicle. His head hurts.

As he turns the key and shifts into drive, Logan gets it into his head that the diner behind him is imaginary. He presses his forehead to the steering wheel, one foot firmly holding down the brake pedal as he counts his doubles scale, up and down, down and up, up and up and down. Logan holds his breath, straightening up to slump against the seat and thud his head into the backing. He carefully avoids glancing in the rearview mirror.

Pulling out of the parking lot, Logan does everything in his power not to look back, focusing only on where he’s going and hoping to whatever holds sway over his fate that he’ll find his way back home. One thing’s for sure—there’ll be no swift silver car to guide him this time.

By the time he’s far enough for the diner to be crawling toward the horizon behind him, Logan is more than content with his ability not to look back. Of course, this pride is his own damnation.

His eyes drift to the rearview mirror.

No diner.

Did he expect any different?

Well, no, but he is driving pretty fast. Maybe it’s already far enough to be out of sight. At least, that’s the explanation Logan contents himself with.

Just between you and me, though? Let’s not mention to Logan that his speedometer hasn’t passed twenty miles an hour since he left the parking lot. We'll wait and see if he works it out on his own.

#sanders sides #logan sanders #virgil sanders #platonic analogical #the hypothetical lower bounds of the glass #labhwrites #mine #ill reblog tomorrow at a Better Time (TM) with the taglist but w/e #also available on ao3 #ill link to that in the taglist reblog too #i dont know what happened between logan getting back in his car and the rest of it but honestly im ok with that #this entire fic was a fever dream tbh #this was originally supposed to be virgils pov #but logan just. refused to not be the steering ship #he demanded a lead role here and i dont know why #see i have exactly zero control over these characters #this fic alone is proof #tbh so are all of my other fics soooo idk

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megamanmodelaaa-fanstories · 5 years

Text

Alpharad’s CPUCS - The Novel, Chapter 1: Welcome New Smash Brothers & Sisters! (Part 1)

7th December 2018, long awaited... has finally arrived!

In a Realm far from our reach, a special event called the “Super Smash Bros Games” opens up every few years where the best come together for a series of duels & competitions to reignite relations & create new ones. This particular one is the 5th in the line of many, marking the 19th Anniversary of these games.

Among those games, a particular set of Tournaments are organized to pit the best of the best against each other for supremacy & bragging rights called the “CPU Championships”, fully sponsored by a one “Alpharad”. No one really remembers why they were labelled with the abbreviation “CPU”, but the name stuck out of respect to those old traditions. The first of the CPU Championships (CPUC for short) is about to begin.

The sun rose to a huge crowd converging to see the first of the CPUCs take place. The streets were packed, some conversing, some running stands or shops, others organizing & watching over the festivities. Sometime later, a familiar voices echoes through the speakers to the masses’ ears… it was Mario!

Mario: “Thank you so much everyone for joining us today! We are-a happy to begin these Championships as we have always done for 19 Years! To begin & for a warm welcome, today’s Challengers will be this season’s Returners &-a New Comers! Let’s-a GO!”

The Coliseum Doors open as everyone rushes in to take their seats. While medieval in design, the Smash Coliseum houses the latest in recreational technology, allowing it to emulate almost any Battle Stage with various Hazards & Features. So it begins, the first ever CPUC of this season pits new comers & returning veterans against each other!

CPU Championship No. 1 Rules & Players:-

-Normal Stages

-FSM Allowed

-No Items

-No Hazards

-Tournament Bracket:

With spectators so excited you could hear them cheer thousands of miles away, Mario strikes the Smash Bell signifying the beginning... of the Tournament!

Match No. 1- Pichu vs. Incineroar

The battle started with both Fighters sizing each other up as they tried to fixate their footing on the moving stage “3D Land”, a very odd start for an opening Match. In reality however, one of the Competitors was a little uneasy about the match-up.

Incineroar: “(Is the audience gonna be OK with me pummeling this little guy?)”

Incineroar did his best to keep things even between him & Pichu to avoid any backlash, especially when you consider that most of this fan base are young passionate fans. All this wasn’t helped by the fact that Pichu was doing sloppily at first, and when he opened with a Headbutt Attack, he missed… nearly throwing himself out-of-bounds.

Pichu: “T-That was close… Sorry Mr. Incineroar!”

Incineroar: “Watch your positioning boy! (I need to handle this fight carefully…)”

Incineroar continues to pull his punches on Pichu, literally staging acts like nearly going out-of-bounds himself by falling behind & missing a Lariat Attack on purpose. But much to his surprise as soon as Pichu started landing a few hits, his momentum kept building up & eventually, he started showing acrobatics that are on par with the likes of Sheikh & Zero Samus! Even Incineroar couldn’t keep up with him!

Pichu wasn’t known to be the most capable Fighter many years ago because he never measured up to all the other competitors. But this time, it was clear to Incineroar & everyone else that this is a new Pichu standing before them!

Incineroar: “Have you been training?”

Pichu: “Y-Yes! Every day since I was invited again.”

Incineroar: “Then show me the new fire in you!”

They clashed without hesitation, sparks of fire & thunder flying with every punch, every kick, every grab, showing a passion for competition that is exactly what followers of these tournaments look for! With full vigor, the two unleash their Final Smash Arts, “Max Malicious Moonsault” & “Volt Tackle”! Incineroar tries to hold Pichu with his bare hands, but then Pichu slips right through sending a flurry of electric charges everywhere! Finally, the burning wrestler flies off the stage unable to recover back. The winner is… PICHU!

Incineroar: “N… Nice one boy. *Wheeze* should’ve known you had it in ya all along...”

Pichu: “S-Sorry Mr. Incineroar… & thank you!”

Match No. 2- Ridley vs. Ice Climbers

Nana: “Uuuh Popo, why does this guy look like the Pterodactyl who keeps stealing our vegetables??”

Popo: “Isn’t he the one people have wanted in these games for years? He looks kinda silly up close, haha!”

That last statement… could not be far from the truth; Ridley isn’t just vicious, but also has a troll like demeanor. The battle started out normally with both sides equally exchanging attacks… until.

Ridley suddenly grabs Popo by the face & drags his body on the ground towards the stage boarder… along with himself?! He then makes a hard stop at the last second, walking away from Popo with a wide grin on his face as if holding back laughter…

Nana: “Are you OK Popo?!”

Popo: “I-I-I’m fine… Come on, let’s get this maniac…!”

The two climbers reform & charge on ahead, but it’s becoming clear that Ridley’s earlier act was enough to throw their well-spoken teamwork out the window. Discoordination, miscommunication, losing track of each other, far too often have have they found them selves on opposite sides away from each other, & Ridley was taking full advantage of these missteps to further crush their focus. Even to the point of taunting the duo mid-fight.

Alas, while they were retreating to retrace & regroup, they’ve failed to notice the pit behind them & fell in together… & Ridley laughed & mocked them the whole way through. The winner is… RIDLEY!

Ridley: “RAAAAAHAHAHAHA!!”

Popo: “He played us… the whole TIME!”

Nana: “Calm down Popo, we’ll get another shot next time…”

Both Climbers leave the ring, with Popo clenching his fist in disgrace…

Match No. 3- King K. Rool vs. Solid Snake

Solid Snake: “A giant crocodile?? Is this karma for all the crocodiles Big Boss ate years ago??”

Otacon: “Careful Snake! He may look like a glutton, but he’s strong & also commands an army powerful enough to occupy an entire Island!”

Solid Snake: “OK then… Bring it on Big Croc!”

King K. Rool: “That’s KROC to you, Onesie Man!!”

Snake’s faster & more nimble, so the Espionage Legend had the towering reptile beat in Close-Quarters-Combat “CQC”. However, K. Rool’s body armour was harder than Snake was anticipating. More shockingly, the armour was also flexible enough to deflect & outsight counter attacks.

Solid Snake: “My attacks haven’t even dented that thing?!”

King K. Rool: “*BELLY SLAP!* Do your worst, stick figure! Hehehee!”

Snake slowly escalates towards using firearms & explosives, but could hardly scratch that armour, let alone launch him out of the ground! The Kroc King also started using his own trusty weapon: An unorthodox single barrel rifle that was throws opponents off with its ability to absorb anything into it. In desperation, Snake calls for his biggest gun.

Solid Snake: “Otacon, engage Covering Fire!!”

FIVE Large Missiles come flying in, all hit their giant green target... But fail to send him out. It was all looking futile as King K. Rool sends the Solider off with a single punch, a feat barely tons of Snake’s own were able to achieve. The winner is… KING K. ROOL!

Solid Snake: “Blast… I’m surprised no one calls you ‘Metal Gear Croc’…”

King K. Rool: “For the last time, it’s KROC!!”

Match No. 4- Wolf vs. Isabelle

Isabelle: “It’s a pleasure to meet you Wolf! Let’s keep it Clean!”

Wolf: “Hmph. They paired me with YOU? This must be a joke, I’ll end this quick.”

The match starts with Wolf dashing towards Isabelle as she….. Takes out a Fishing Rod?? Wolf was left confused, what could she be doing? There aren’t any ponds to fish in on this stage. Shrugging it off, Wolf dashes in to steal the opportunity, only for Isabelle to reel in, grab him then swing to the other side nearly flying outside!

Isabelle: “What do you think of this Rod? Bought it myself from my favorite store!”

Wolf: “You insolent little dog! You’ll pay for this!”

While Wolf continued to charge at the innocent looking Isabelle, she kept on playing with her Fishing Rod throwing him off at every turn. Even when he does see though that trick, she whips out something else unusual as a weapon: A Bug Catching Net, a Stop Sign, even some vegetables! It was becoming very hard to read this fragile-looking, yet versatile Fighter.

Wolf: “BOYS, GET IN HERE NOW & FINISH HEEER!!”

Wolf calls his Star Wolf Team to try & put her down the sights, but even that wasn’t working somehow, always missing at the last possible second.

Wolf: “Why. Won’t. You. FALL?!”

Isabelle: “Now now Wolf, anger isn’t good for your blood pressure. Teehee!”

Wolf was not having any more as he switches to a more aggressive approach to cover some lost ground, letting his claws loose as he flies everywhere around the Innocent Secretary. Then suddenly, Isabelle calls Tom Nook & the Nooklings for a plan of attack. But just as they were about to start, Wolf dodges to the other side for a counterattack... That unfortunately will not happen for as soon as he stops, a Gyroid pops out beneath his feet sending the unsuspecting pilot to the sky!

Wolf: “IMPOSSIBLLLLLLLLLLLE!!!”

The winner is… ISABELLE!

Isabelle: “Wish you a safe landing!”

& just like that, the first half of the CPUC’s first round of matches have concluded! How will the others fair? Who will come out on top? Will anyone else face the consequences of underestimating their opponent? Come back next time for Chapter 1-2!

Thank you for reading & have a good day! 👋🏻😄

#Fan Story #Alpharad CPUCS #Chapter 1

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qwertythepopstarian08 · 5 years

Text

JSAB AU Fanfic- Bug Spray

Okay, so after the events on @small--crcle I can’t think of Rayne’s AU at all without crying, so I wrote this gift fanfic to cope.

It’s literally the most angsty thing I’ve written since “That’s Not Your Brother,” so bear with me here... and bring a tissue box. Yes, I know it’s April 1st, and I should post some happy, lighthearted fic... but nope.

This was partly inspired by some asks that I sent to Rayne’s main blog, @plaquebeat ((as well as her priceless reactions))

Description: Here’s a nightmarish concept- What if every infected shape's magic changed a bit? Just a tiny bit, but enough for Blixer to notice. Like... being too close to Kubix or Penta for too long would make him feel like there are spiders crawling up his arms... Or being near NGB would make him feel like he's being watched... too many eyes... all around... He'd know deep down that it's not real...but he can't shake the feeling that his friends have changed.... and he's the odd one out…

Warnings: Given the source material, this fanfic has body horror, slight gore, references to PTSD, violence, and blood. Please, please, please don’t read at night. The only thing this story doesn’t have is harsh language. Please don’t read if any of these are triggers for you.

Speaking of language, since I personally do not use profanity in any of my works, I’d like to say here and now that the term, “Yxxit,” is an exclamation from a fictional language that I’m developing. It’s kinda rude, so you’ll see the context soon.

Blixer’s eye snapped open, and he sat up, breathing heavily. His heart was hammering in his chest, his core feeling like it was about to explode. He stared blankly forward, his nightmare repeating itself in his mind a billion times, that horrid, twisted song echoing in his head like a mocking, broken record.

Too many eyes… too many legs… skittering bugs everywhere. His friends and family, infected… leaving him as the only pure shape left… A choked whimper left him, and he drew his knees to his chest, hugging himself. It hurt to remember… it hurt to dream.

It took a moment for the reality to set in, and he felt tears running down his face, his entire form shaking. He could still feel phantom pains from that day, that horrible event that had forever changed his friends, had twisted his world. He nearly snapped his neck to turn around as he heard shuffling. His arm thrust forth, his hand changing to a cannon as he shakily aimed for the shape in the bed next to his, his eye shining in the low light.

A sick, paranoid part of him wanted to fire, to turn whatever monster he’d see to shards before it could react… but he soon remembered who he was looking at, and he winced. He whimpered, before he fully awoke, shaking his head and lowering his arm. His cannon changed back to a proper hand, and he shook slightly, sighing.

It was just New Game… it was just his brother… his former alter ego… not a monster. Not anymore. Hopefully… never again.

He sighed, drawing the covers closer as he slid out of bed and walked over the the other side of the room. Each step sent agonizing pain through his legs, and he winced, forcing himself to breathe. He hesitantly reached for the other shape, lightly shaking him.

“New… you awake?”

New Game was practically burrowed in the blankets; he’d been doing that a lot lately, and Blixer feared that he’d suffocate. But he was fine… at least in that respect. He was alive, at least.

The other shape failed to awaken, and Blixer tried again, raising his voice barely above a whisper. “New… New Game…. Wake up.”

Finally, NGB turned around. He let out a small groan, rubbing his eyes as he tried to mutter something, if only to get Blixer to leave him alone.

“Wha...wha’dya wann?” His words were slurred, and as he sat up slowly, Blixer winced, seeing the stitching around his face pull slightly against his flesh… from where it had been torn open. NGB blinked slowly, humming, “It’s… it’s like three in the mornin’... Blix… please don’t tell me you’re hungry…”

Blixer shook his head, whimpering. “I had a nightmare…” He looked away, sighing. “That nightmare…”

New Game’s demeanor did a one-eighty. He seemed to wake up fully, his eyes widening as he sat up, sitting on the edge of the bed. Blixer hadn’t been able to shake his fears from the latest incident. Things had calmed significantly since then, but it seemed like something was… off… for one thing, he was always having nightmares now…

New’s horns folded downwards, and he shakily smiled, trying to seem reassuring.

“You wanna talk about it?”

Blixer’s tone was curt. “No… just go back to bed… I wanted to make sure it was still you.”

New felt a twinge of guilt race through his heart, his eyes flickering. He glanced at the ground, ashamed, before he sighed. Even he was still affected by the… event. He had to admit, he sometimes caught odd glances at himself in the mirror… lingering just to make sure he hadn’t suddenly sprouted extra eyes or legs…

He was barely used to having his own body… being alone in his head was much more terrifying when his form was so unstable. Deep down, he was afraid that he’d wake up one day and be back in that nightmarish form. However, he knew for sure… no shape had been impacted as badly as Blixer.

“Blix? You know it’s not real, right…?” His voice held an anxious tone as he reached for his counterpart. “Everything’s fine now…”

“That’s what you always say!”

New drew back, flinching at the sudden outburst. His horns flicked downward, and he shuddered a bit, the heart rate in his eye quickening. He looked around, trying to avoid Blixer’s gaze.

“But… you know that’ll never happen again…” he chuckled nervously, playfully punching Blixer on the shoulder. A twinge of guilt stung his heart as the other shape cringed, stepping back. “That weird bug stuff… it’s over… I ain’t turnin’ into a… what was it? Millipede?” He fumbled for the words. “Yeah… I’m not turning into a millipede again any time soon.”

He tried not to think about that day… his stitched scars tugged against his skin when he smiled, however, and he winced, trying to remain calm.

Blixer hugged himself. “But… you said it was fine when Kubix turned red… you said it was fine when Droplet blighting tried to kill us.” New winced at Blixer’s callous language. “Yxxit… you always say it’s fine… and then it’s not!”

The monocular shape breathed heavily, his hands clenched into fists. New Game whispered, “But…”

“No… just face it! No matter what we do, everything just goes wrong again the moment we let our guard down!” Blixer suddenly stepped closer, hissing in an uncharacteristic act of rage. “We’re a pretty terrible hero, if you ask me…”

Shuddering, he shoved New Game, his teeth gritted. His powers collected in his hands, and he forced himself to avoid attacking, unable to deny his anger. Sweet, innocent Blixer was gone. He’d been shattered and otherwise maimed way too many times to count, and he couldn’t trust himself to be happy. It was only a matter of time until things went wrong, after all… That seemed to be one of the constants of his world.

“You’re part of the problem…. If you weren’t around…” He shoved New again. “Maybe Kubix wouldn’t have gotten turned into a monster!”

New’s own aggression seemed to return, and he stood. “Well… how do you figure that, shortstack?” He stood, looming over Blixer by a few inches. They used to be the same height… after the incident… it seemed that the alter ego had grown a few inches. His mouth split into a fanged sneer, and he felt his scars stretch, threatening to sever. “We single handedly save this blighted world every blighted week… and you want to ridicule that?”

He pointed an accusatory claw at Blix, feeling a swell of sadistic satisfaction as his alter winced, afraid. He chuckled, his horns flicking upward. His scars ached with a phantom pain, and he winced, forcing a wider grin.

Recovering, Blixer hissed, “Every blighted week I get beaten within an inch of my life by a Tree-forsaken void-spawn of a monster…” His horns flicked back, and he started to scream. “I’m done sitting idly by while my own so-called family sics demons to kill… me… what’s next, my shardin’ grandparents come from the afterlife to rip off my fingers?!”

New’s good eye twitched, and he snarled, his heart rate monitor eye spiking.

“You know what… you should feel lucky… you didn’t get your blighted face ripped in half…” He raised a claw, his voice dropping to a venomous growl, “Although… that could be arranged…”

A sudden, wet ripping sound rang out (like that of flesh tearing), and New clasped a hand to his face, hissing in pain as he felt his stitches tear, pink blood pooling around his hands. He winced, glancing at Blixer. The other shape seemed terrified, his eye wide and tearful. He started to back away, raising a hand… which seemed to be close to becoming a cannon.

New chuckled nervously, dropping the violent act. Guilt pooled in his heart, and he felt a rush of nausea flood him; he’d gone too far… from how Blix was staring at him, he must have thought he was turning back into… that creature.

“Oh come on… I’m kidding…” He shrugged, removing his hand. “Blix… you have to get over it at some point.” Something dripped down his face from the wound, and he cringed, his vision blurring. He smiled shakily, trying not to make a sudden movement as he felt more of his stitches starting to tear… revealing the horrors within...

Blixer’s eye widened, and he screamed, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at New. The alter ego hissed, reeling, and Blixer scrambled back, vaulting over the bed and rushing out the door. Tears streamed down his face as he ran, his entire body glowing as he prepared to make a mad dash to escape. He didn’t even want to see Kubix…

“Blix!” New yelled after him. “Wait up! It was a joke, I promise!”

Blixer could still hear the skittering of billions of little legs with each step that his brother took. Just being in the same room with him… or any other formerly infected shape, was unbearable. He could still see the eyes staring at him from every angle, the mottled innards lining the ground as New Game’s spine cracked backwards, his flesh tearing apart like wet paper.

A choked sob left him, and he shook his head wildly.

Nothing was the same… it would never be the same again…

Blixer eventually collapsed, his legs giving out just as he shut himself in the closet. His eye was flaring with a panicked light, and he uncontrollably sobbed, his entire form quivering as he wept. It was hard to breathe, his hands flickering with his powers as he tried to force himself to stay calm.

The images from his nightmare assaulted his mind’s eye, and he broke down completely, covering his face, his claws digging into his arms as he hugged himself.

He couldn’t even bear to face his friends… each time he so much as locked eyes with his own father, he felt shudders crawling up his spine, his nerves on end as his anxiety skyrocketed. He was afraid…. Afraid that if he let his guard down, everyone around him would become something beastly and kill him.

His mind supplied a twisted pun; things were bugging him more easily lately. He let out a broken, bitter chuckle, his voice cracking… much like his body snapped each time he’d been slammed across walls by his enemies... by his own family.

He drew in on himself, whimpering as his laughter devolved into sobs again. He couldn’t forget that horrible day… having to watch his own brother rip himself to shreds, all in an attempt to stop himself from shattering… no, murdering him.

A soft knock at the door startled him from his dejected thoughts, and he looked up, choking on his own gasp. He coughed violently, shaking as his horns flicked back, fear filling him. How much time did he have until they hurt him again? Until some new big bad came around and turned someone he loved into a monstrous puppet, whose only purpose was to harm? Would he be next? Or would he just be the target the monsters would be sent to shatter? Blixer felt his heart stutter as he heard Kubix’s voice, muffled by the door.

“Blix? You alright?” The door started to open, and Blixer whimpered, scrambling back. “Blixer?”

He yelled, “G-get away from me!” He grabbed the nearest object- an old, balled up sock- and threw it at the square, screaming. “Please… please… get away!”

The sock sailed over Kubix’s head, despite his height. He opened the door fully, sighing and stepping inside. His eyes glowed with a soft, reassuring light, which was nothing like the deadly, predatory shine from the incident. Still, Blixer winced as Kubix approached.

“Blixer… what’s wrong?” He kneeled, reaching out slowly. “Did you have a nightmare?”

The unspoken, “Another one?” was easily communicated in the king’s tone. Blixer whimpered, shaking violently as he turned away, unable to coherently speak.

“S-stop… I.. I just wanna… wanna be alone right now… please…” he stammered. “Please… p-p-please….”

Kubix felt his heart break, and he sighed, his eyes dimming. He inched closer, and Blixer felt nausea race from his core, flooding his senses as he saw the scars along the sides of Kubix’s head, from where those dreaded horns had ripped from his skull.

“Get away… get away, please…” the small shape whimpered. “I can’t take it… can’t… just… please leave me… alone…”

All he could see was Kubix, covered in pink… spindly insect legs writhing from his back as he screamed and howled. Horns jutting from his head, spiking upwards in the air like wicked knives. Seeing the powerful king of Paradise, reduced to the pathetic, screeching mess of a creature, a creature that existed only to kill him. The flashback hit Blixer like a ton of bricks, and he screamed.

“You’re just going to h-hurt… me… again…”

Kubix backed away, raising his hands. “Blix… you know I’d never hurt you-”

“YOU ALWAYS DO!” Blixer suddenly shrieked. He threw a shoebox this time, wincing as it hit Kubix in the shoulder. He instantly cringed, drawing back with a squeak and cowering. “I’m sorry… I-I… I’m sorry….”

His eye was wide and unfocused… hazy with fear. His breaths were uneven, and Kubix was afraid that the pink shape had reached a breaking point.

“Blixer… stop apologizing… you’ve been through way more mess than a kid deserves…” He lowered his voice, his tone warm. “I’m sorry that I had to be the ‘bad guy’... you know that the real me would never hurt you… it was that… blighted infection…” He glanced down at his hands, mentally kicking himself for accepting that cursed tea… if he hadn’t been so naive…. Blixer wouldn’t have suffered…

“B-but… you used to… you used to be a bad, bad shape….” Blixer buried his face in his sleeves. “What’s stopping you from going back?”

Kubix winced, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Blixer… it’s been years since that happened… one incident isn’t going to undo… how much I care for my sons.”

Blixer hesitantly looked up at him. “I… I can still sense it…” He snarled, “E-everytime I see you and New Game and Penta… I can see the… the things you turned into…”

He looked away, breathing heavily. Kubix could see the utter terror in his son’s gaze. He felt his own heart stutter with a protective anger, and he suddenly reached out, pulling Blixer close. The shape instantly began to shriek, his eye widening and glowing with a terrified light. Kubix stood, backing out of the closet, keeping his hold firm yet soft.

“Blixer,” he whispered. He held the small shape close. “Please… listen to me… no one is going to hurt you…”

Blixer writhed, and Kubix felt claws digging into his arms. “Get away, let me go, let me go!” He felt as if he’d die. His heart quickened to a fervent pace, and he started screeching, vainly clawing at Kubix’s arms. “‘S-spiders… spiders every-everywhere…”

The small shape started hyperventilating, his eye wide and bright and so painfully distant. He was reliving his worst memory…. Even Annihilate wasn’t this bad… At least then, he hadn’t cared so much for Kubix… hadn’t had to fight his own father figure.

He tried to squirm out of Kubix’s hold. He could feel spiders crawling up his arms, a spine-chilling phantom sensation. He could see the black and pink acid dripping from Kubix’s mouth and eyes, like twisted tears… just before he started shrieking. He held his head, trying to banish the horrible images from his mind.

“Blixer… I’m not a spider…” Kubix held him, whispering futile reassurances. “Blixer… please… don’t do this… it’s okay…”

“No! It’s not… not okay… not okay…” Blixer shook. “Y-you… you guys turned into m-monsters… I never want to see anything like that… ever again…”

Kubix sighed, “I promise… I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening again. You know this.”

He carried Blixer to the kitchen, setting him down at the table and pulling up a chair to sit across from him. New Game was already there, an ice pack pressed against his cheek as he glared passive-aggressively at his counterpart, who subtly inched his chair away. His glare was more like a slightly irritated, watery stare, pained tears having collected in the shape’s eyes. Kubix crossed his arms, sighing softly as he sorted out his words.

“Blixer… you need to tell us what’s bothering you. We can’t help ya if you just lash out…”

“T-tell you what’s wrong?!” The one-eyed shape growled, bristling. “Seeing you guys get torn apart and turned into monsters is what’s wrong! I thought that was obvious!”

Kubix narrowed his eyes, huffing. “You’ve seen me get turned into Annihilate far too many times to count… we both know you can handle a little body horror.”

It hurt to see Blixer like this; so standoffish, having closed off from the world in fear of being too vulnerable to help. It had been his emotions that stopped him from trying to save his own brother. He’d frozen up, overtaken by fear… but now, it seemed that he couldn’t stop reacting, usually with violence.

Kubix breathed, “Blixer… if it helps you get over this… I’ll go Annihilate right here and now just to make you see… I’m in control.” He winced as he felt his magic spike a bit, trying to force the irritated red out of his glow. “No matter what form I take… you’re still my son, Blix. As long as my mind is intact, I’ll never let ya get hurt again.”

New just grinned, starting to move the ice pack from his face. Blixer whimpered as he spotted the glowing yellow eye that had opened in the alter’s face. Kubix reached over, lightly plucking NGB on the shoulder and glaring at him. The alter ego huffed, pouting, before replacing the ice pack.

Blixer shuddered. “B-but… this was different…” He hugged himself. “Even when you go Annihilate… I know it’s still you, deep down... “ He looked away, sighing shakily. “But… whatever Suenami did… it changed you… and I can still sense it…”

Kubix huffed, “Blixer. Do I look like an insect?”

The panicked shape squirmed, shakily breathing. “N-no… not on the outside… but… w-what if…. What if the infection’s still there? What if you all t-t-turn back… into those bugs again…”

New scoffed, “Okay… so a FEW of those creepy eyes are still there… but I’m not gonna start sproutin’ bug legs all willy-nilly…unless...” He reached for Blixer with his free hand, wiggling his fingers eerily. “Ooh… I’m a monster… blegh…”

His brother squeaked, smacking his hand away. “Not funny!” he squealed. He growled under his breath, “Y-you won’t be laughing when I... spray you with pesticide…”

“You won’t be laughing when I turn into a bug monster and eat you.”

“Y-you’re already halfway -tthere…” Blixer’s tone was venomous… although his stutter remained.

New stood, clenching his fists. “Oh yeah? I’ll show you a real monster…”

“Look in the mirror and tell me what ya see…”

“Boys!” Kubix yelled. Both circles paused in their argument, eyes wide. The king huffed, crossing his arms as he eyed the two, disappointment clear in his gaze. “You two need to learn to get along…” He sighed, rubbing his temples. “Look, I get it… that… incident… was emotionally taxing for all of us…”

New Game deadpanned, “There’s an actual hole. In my face right now.”

“Shut it, New,” Blixer growled. His voice faltered instantly, and he huffed, quivering. “Just drop it.”

New ignored him, of course. “A Tree-forsaken hole, Kubix.”

Kubix glared at NGB, before sighing. “As I was saying… last week was filled with some… unfortunate events…” He looked away, glancing at his hands. “But… we can’t just let it tear us apart.”

Blixer snarled, “Tell that… tell that to New Game.”

The alter ego whimpered, sitting down and hugging himself. He subconsciously scratched at his scars, squirming in discomfort. Blixer seemed to regret his rude tone, turning to face his brother with a small sigh. Hesitantly, he hugged the other, his horns flicking back as he stared hollowly through Kubix.

“S-sorry… I just… haven’t been feeling myself… since then…”

Kubix’s eyes filled with a sympathetic light. “I know…” He breathed shakily, “None of us have…”

Standing without another word, Kubix backed away, giving a last, empathetic smile, before turning away. He rushed out of the kitchen, towards his room… The last thing he wanted to do was scare Blixer… and if his very presence was painful, he’d just stay away… until things all returned to normal… no matter how much it hurt to know that he was the source of his own child’s nightmares.

Blixer thought he saw a flash of an agitated red in Kubix’s glow. He hurriedly stuttered, “D-Dad… wait…” He stood, dashing over to intercept Kubix’s departure. As he caught the ruby glimmer in the king’s eye, he felt his breath catch, a twinge of fear stinging at his core. He stammered, “I’m s-s-sorry… I shouldn’t have been so… so curt…”

Kubix’s expression faltered, and he backed away a pace. “Blixer… I know you’re still on edge… I want you to recover at your own pace… I can’t force you to be happy.”

“No…” Blixer shook his head. “NGB may be a pest…” That earned him a glare. “But I… I can’t just… run from my fear... “ He shuddered, barely able to make eye contact…. Barely able to ignore the anxiety in his heart. “I faced Ra… and Droplet… and… our own family… I should be able to face my fears.”

He took a hesitant step towards Kubix. The square went still, not wanting to frighten his son again. The young hero was terrified… he could see his horns quivering at a glance. New Game watched from afar, blinking owlishly. He was curious… what would Blixer do? Run… or face his fears head-on?

Kubix breathed, “Blix… if you’re scared of me… it… it’s okay… I know I haven’t given you reason to t-trust me lately…” He sighed, collecting himself. It hurt to see his son so terrified… of him. “But I promise you…Even if you think I’m still a monster... I will never hurt you, Blixer. Please, try to understand that much…”

He was cut off as Blixer hollered.

“N-no! I’m not afraid of you… because you’re n-not… you’re not a monster…” Blixer took another step, quivering like a leaf. “You’re… my dad.”

Much to the shock of the other shapes, Blixer suddenly hugged Kubix. Terrified shudders went down his spine, and he lingered, shaking violently. He repeated a mental mantra like a broken record, reassuring himself that his father was himself… that he wouldn’t harm him… ever again.

Yet, the memories of all the times Kubix had been controlled, all the times that he had hurt him… made Blixer’s eye fill with tears, and he shook, his breath catching.

“I… I don’t w-w-want…. Don’t want you… to turn into a monster… e-e-ever again…” His voice cracked, quavering. “I… I wouldn’t be able to take it…”

Kubix returned the embrace, sighing. He reached down, picking up the small shape and carrying him back to the table. He wordlessly pulled New into the hug as well, holding his two sons close… as his happiness depended on their safety…

In a way… it did.

Kubix’s voice was airy as he whispered, “I’ll never let this happen again…” He shuddered. “You shouldn’t have to fear for your lives… not in my kingdom…”

New said nothing, and Blixer just whimpered. The latter felt an eerie chill race up his spine. He could still picture those insect-like legs, the extra limbs that had torn free from Kubix’s back… that had left scars deeper than any corruption.

Blixer couldn’t speak. There was really nothing to say, except that he was deeply, truly afraid. The scars were proof that the transformations hadn’t been mere corruption… it was something much, much worse...

Kubix continued, “If you ever… ever feel unsafe… I will be there in an instant, and I will slay whatever beast is harming you….”

New shuddered. “It… it hurts, Kubix…” He sniffled, despite himself. “I’m s-s-sorry… sorry for teasing Blixer…”

“Like I said, I’ll always protect you… both of you.”

Kubix held them for awhile, silent. He still hadn’t been able to fully shake the effects of the incident. It was so, so much worse than anything he’d ever encountered. At least in the past, when it was simple as corruption, they could be sure that whatever mutations had occurred would fade away completely… but now, the scars ran deep to their cores, and Kubix was unsure if he could take it.

Yet… he’d remain strong for his sons… for his kingdom. He started to drift off to sleep, hoping dearly for sweet dreams, before he heard whimpering. He looked down, seeing Blixer clinging to New, his eye wide with tears.

“Blix?”

Blixer finally squeaked, “Wh-what if you’re the beast….?” He buried his face in Kubix’s sleeve. “What if… what if you lose c-control? What if you turn… into a m-m-monster?”

He didn’t want to picture that scenario… he never wanted to see Kubix or New Game… or anyone else… in that state again.

“Blix… as long as we’re on the same side, you never have to see me as a monster again… however…” The square chuckled, despite his seriousness. His tone was bitter, laced with a morbid, foreboding growl. “To the enemy… that’s exactly what I’ll be.”

#jsab #Just shapes and beats #blixer #new game #Other people's OCs #kubix #jsab au #fanfic #Oh Look a Story Thing #body horror #blood #eyes #horror warning #oops all angst #gore tw

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