#there's more info about this au in the end notes of the chapter on ao3 (i don't know where to fit them here lol) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

emepe · 13 days

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— Pairing: Eren x Reader, friends to lovers

— General info: series, 18+, modern AU, serial killer AU, smut, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

— Summary: Fate is a tricky thing. Certain situations can’t be avoided as much as certain people’s lives can’t be kept from intertwining. With a serial killer on the loose, and unexpected relationships blooming, how will the universe intervene?

— Chapter summary: The first 48 hours are crucial when a person goes missing. Eren can only pray it’s enough to reach you..

— Content warnings: emetophobia, mention of assault.

— Notes: Helloooo!!! Welcome to TV Friday number 12 <3 I thought about posting earlier but I thought best to keep up our little tradition ^^ Please read the notes at the end for extra notes about TV’s future. Don’t be shy to stop by my ask box <3 If anyone else would like to be added to the tag list, lmk. Happy reading!

Links: Read on AO3 | Chapter guide | Masterlist

Forty-eight hours

Hour One

A missed call shouldn't have been enough to raise an alarm, but his gut instantly told him something was wrong. And yet he tried his best to remain calm — stepped out onto the street and made his way to the bus stop where you should've been dropped off, glancing into convenience stores just in case, hopeful that the bus was just running a little late. But when the bus you would've taken showed up — allowing Eren some time to sigh in relief and shake his head at his own presumptions — and you were nowhere to be found among the few people to scatter onto the sidewalk, it only confirmed that previous gut feeling.

Hour Two

Inhale. Hold. Exhale.

There's a stiffness to Eren's breathing that makes the process more painful than its intended effects — his lungs feel too big for his ribs, which seem to be pressing them against his heart, pushing his brain into hyperactivity to keep him from imploding.

Where does he even start? Where should he even go?

If there's a proper protocol to follow to find you, he's no idea of it and he's strangely aware that his anxiety might lead him in the wrong direction when there's so much he has to do — so many places he has to be — at once. It's infuriatingly difficult to not have a cool head when you really need it.

He didn't think to bring his car — perhaps it's for the best, considering his vision continues to blur and it's not a sign of good condition to hear your own frantic heartbeat pounding in your ears.

His eyes anxiously scan the faces of every person in his path. Paired with his dazed footing and the sick expression on his face revived every couple of minutes from the nausea stemming from some sort of sensed doom that he continuously swats away, there hasn't been a shortage of odd looks and aversions since he ventured into the dark streets in hopes to find you fine and well out of thin air.

It's been too long to dismiss as a casualty since his calls stopped going through, and yet he insists on redialing your number each time he's met with the automated message that only further fuels his dreadful symptoms, hopeful that your voice will reach his ears again, for that comforting sound to put an end to the infernal crescendo of his insides.

Just as he's about to redial once more, his phone starts buzzing first, and for a split second his body is at peace and his heart soothed in the spare moment that it takes for him to accept the call and bring the phone to his ear.

“Have you heard from her yet?”

The voice on the other end causes his stomach to plummet to his feet for what feels like the tenth time tonight.

It takes a moment for his brain to assimilate that it's not you on the other end and another for him to hate himself for not checking who was calling and stupidly spit a response to an Armin who has no fault in anything, especially for not being you.

Armin, as understanding as ever and assuming the more collected role for Eren's sake, dismisses the frustrated tone in his friend's voice, fully aware it's nothing personal.

“The security guard says she left a little over an hour ago and Mika called me a minute ago and said she hasn't been home. Are you sure she wasn't going to make any stops on the way?”

“No, Armin, she would've told me. She would've come here first or she would've at least texted me.” Eren's voice cracks. “Something is wrong.”

The weakness in Eren's voice is enough to fracture Armin's composure for a fraction of a second.

“Let's go to Levi.”

Hour Three

Being in the police station feels more reassuring than Eren would've imagined. At least this means he's doing something — and something right, at that — and the drive over spared him enough time to ease his nerves, even just a little, as he continued to repeat inwardly to himself that everything is going to be fine.

Time is everything and frankly, he can't help but feel a bit dumb for not thinking about getting some help from Levi in the first place. He'll find out what's going on — if there was an accident, if you got mugged and that's why no calls go through, or even if your bus broke down and that's why he hasn't seen you when he should have by now. Even if it turns out to be a misunderstanding, better to cause a scene than to sit on his hands. Though three hours without any sign to say otherwise can't be a misunderstanding.

Eren hunches over, resting his forehead on the edge of Levi's desk, not minding one bit as it digs a dent into his skin. His knee bounces every couple of minutes as he and Armin wait for Levi to get back to them.

“Eren Jaeger?”

He looks up to find a tall blond man instead of Levi.

“Yes?”

“I'm Captain Erwin Smith. Come this way please.”

Eren stands to follow the man's lead, only sparing a nervous glance to Armin, who replies with a comforting one from his seat, only morphing into a more accurate depiction of his worry once Eren turns his back to him.

“Where's Levi?”

Eren's eyes wander the barren space he's been led into. Nothing but a table and a pair of chairs set opposite of each other.

“He'll be here in a moment. I just want to ask you some more questions about the missing person's report you're filing.”

“Of course.”

Doing his best to hold in his exasperation at the ticking clock in his head, he dutifully replies to every question he's already answered for Levi when he first walked into the station — what made him come to the station, his relation to you, your description, what happened before he lost contact with you, amongst other basic things to paint a picture of the situation.

“Was there ever any trouble in your relationship?” Erwin asks.

Eren's brow furrows.

“What do you mean?”

“I'm asking if there was any indication that your girlfriend,” he makes a vague motion with his hands as he reads your name from the folder in his hands, “might’ve been upset with the relationship. Did you ever argue or have any trouble? Perhaps something in the past few days? Or ever?”

Eren hardens his jaw in an attempt to remain calm. He knew he'd have to spend a while at the station, answering questions more than once — as frustrating as the lengthy process could be, he expected that much.

Erwin's tone has remained neutral for the entirety of the questioning, and it's only natural to want to rule out any immediate suspects, but it doesn't make the implication of the captain's words any less offensive and borderline cruel.

“No,” Eren chokes out, horrified by the mere idea that either of you would walk away without warning. That isn't you.

“So no reason for her to break off contact with you.”

“She didn't break off contact,” Eren spits, growing heavily frustrated at the sudden turn of events. “We were supposed to meet, she was on her way already. I saw her just this morning and she called me first to tell me she was coming home.”

“Maybe she only said that to throw you off?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Just tell me what you might think,” Erwin replies, voice stern. “You say it's only been three hours since you last heard from her but she's a mentally stable, healthy adult. Unless she has any conditions that could put herself or others in danger, chances are she's safe and sound somewhere and this is all a misunderstanding. Was there anything suspicious or weird about her?”

Eren's shake of his head grows more and more frustrated as Erwin does little to conceal his skepticism, which only shapes as a misunderstanding from Eren's increasingly impatient point of view.

“What's suspicious and weird is that she never made it to our date at all and it's been three hours and I haven't gotten a single word from her.”

Eren's expression is one of pleading, yet Erwin's remains neutral and made of marble.

“And it's not like that,” Eren murmurs. “I was going to ask her to live with me tonight. She called me after she left work to tell me she was on her way.” Eren can feel his heartbeat start to pick up as his ribcage begins to close in on his lungs once more as more anxious words continue to spill from his mouth in increasing pace and volume. “She told me she had news and that she loves me. Why would she tell me that if anything was wrong? Why would she say that if she wasn't going to make it to our date?” The crack in his voice comes at the same time as the stinging sensation behind his eyes and the uncomfortable tickle in his nose. “I was making dinner for us. I had this whole thing planned. I wanted to surprise her with all her favorite food and the pictures from the new apartment. I wasn't going to tell her about the pink bathtub because I want it to be a surprise when we move in. She…” He curls against the table, hands gripping his hair in frustration, pulling at the strands to make sure he still feels something because there are just too many sensations overwhelming him as he tries to get through to the man in front of him. “She really wants a pink bathtub.”

Eren doesn't lift his gaze, just remains quiet and unmoving until he catches a flicker of movement in front of him. It's only when he takes the tissue offered by Erwin that he becomes aware of the tears streaming down his face.

Levi nearly had a heart attack when he first caught eye of Eren's and Armin's familiar faces walking into the police station. The frantic green eyes and anxious expressions made it clear something awful had happened and hot flashes of searing dread burned inside his stomach. That is until nobody pronounced his niece's name. After that, the flame of pain withered to ashes of guilt, consuming him from the inside in such a manner that it was hard to face his niece's friends knowing he'd felt relief it wasn't his family who'd been affected tonight.

Levi's known Eren since he was a kid — a bit childish and whiny, but ultimately a decent man with a kind heart. It's been a pleasure watching him grow up and knowing he's remained a good friend to his niece.

Levi's only met you once. It was at Jean and Mikasa's engagement party earlier this year. If Jean and Mikasa were the happiest couple there, you and Eren were a close second. It was easy to know just how much he adored you, and how attached you were to him. Eren was rarely in a dark place, but next to you his smile was blinding.

After finding out Erwin conducted the interrogation to rule out a possible runaway case — and how he did it — he still hadn't ridden himself of enough guilt to apologize for making the situation more stressful, no matter what the rules say.

It's no secret some sudden disappearances hold more danger than others. An abducted child, an older person with dementia, a mentally and emotionally unstable person who's looking to cause harm to others or themselves — they demand a higher sense of urgency than logging the missing person into the system and following up when there's nothing more pressing on the police's plate.

The desperation consuming Eren's features when Levi finally walks into the interrogation room is enough to kick off his own instincts.

It's upon Levi's insistence that patrols are dispatched immediately.

Hour Five

When a loved one's safety is on the line, any efforts from authorities never seem to be enough and yet one remains oddly hopeful that the people with a proper protocol should know how to better handle situations that leave one frantic and lost.

Calls to the nearest hospitals, pings from cellphone towers, two patrols dispatched to the last known location and its surroundings, questions to potential witnesses who have nothing to report or are rather too invested to go back to whatever keeps their attention inside to provide some detailed tips, one patrol leaving because of a nearby break-in and the remaining one left with nothing more to go off of than one grainy clip of CCTV footage that shows your figure walking down the street, and a second clip from a convenience store's outside surveillance camera where you don't show up at all, but the lack of witnesses lead to nothing in between.

Keeping up the search when there's been nothing gained starts proving to be more difficult when obstacles continue to pile on. Aside from the growing boredom of those in police cars from the lack of fresh information to keep them motivated, the heavy clouds that hover over everyone's head threatens for the case to soon be abandoned for the night.

Hour Eight

Levi is hesitant to leave. But with no leads — no CCTV footage, no unknown numbers blinking on Eren's screen, no mother, an estranged father, no sign of a struggle at the last known location, and so much yet so little more — there isn't much he has to do than drive back with the pair of worried men to the station for more questioning in case of foul play, while constantly eyeing his notifications for any incoming messages on an assault victim found in an alley not too far away from where your phone was last still on.

Eren refuses to leave. Despite Levi's efforts to persuade him that going back to the station was necessary, knowing he was so close to where you'd last been was enough for Eren to stand his ground. Getting into Levi's car means going back miles worth of steps. It means straying from what feels so much like the right path already. And as ridiculous and futile as it is with no leads, it means losing his grip on something much more solid.

How easy it would be if a last known location means he can find you just by looking behind a tree or having someone point and say “yes, she's right there”.

So when Levi makes another plea for Eren to come back with him — he doesn't mention what for to not stir any more nerves — and Eren says no while steering himself down the block for what feels like his hundredth recon of the area — just in case you really were behind that tree in the small playground all along, playing a nasty prank on him — Levi chooses to go back to all the nearby twenty-four hour convenience stores one last time before the downpour begins.

Armin gives Levi a grateful nod before lightly jogging to catch up with Eren, who's already turning onto the next street.

“You can go,” Eren calls over his shoulder after catching a glimpse of his friend's blond hair beside him. “I'll keep looking by myself. Besides, it's gonna rain soon. You'll get wet.”

“What about you?” Armin looks down at his friend's bare arms. “You don't even have a jacket.”

Eren looks down at his sides, like he just noticed his lack of a coat. He could've sworn he had one on him when he walked out his apartment. You would've been upset with him otherwise, that small pout forming on your lips while your brows are weighed down with disappointment.

The instant of amusement he feels is quickly consumed by the ache of why he's out on the street with no jacket to begin with.

The food must be cold by now. He'll have to heat it all up once you're back home.

Light raindrops brush against his skin with a small gust of wind.

You're still not behind the tree.

It's nearly half past two in the morning. Any civilians with useful information have been asleep for hours, and any passers-by would've reported anything had they seen it, Armin thinks.

It's chilling to walk down streets so quiet and empty, with the only reminder that this isn't an alternate universe being the sparse cars that drive by. Surely the people inside might find it strange to see the pair walking up and down the streets, turning, looking, flashing their phones to make out shapes in the dark.

The tickle of rain on skin is no longer, but the temperature continues to drop.

Armin takes on one side of the street while Eren tackles the other. He receives a polite nod from the security guard of a small daycare center, who fails to conceal his look of pity. Levi interviewed him around an hour ago, so he has to know what's going on.

Armin averts his gaze, his cheeks burning at the thought of some stranger pitying him and his friend when everything is going to be just fine.

The rain starts up again. Eren isn't around anymore. With one quick scan of the street, Armin spots him rounding the corner to the next street — pace firm but anxious. He's quick to follow.

By the time Armin catches up, the raindrops have grown in size, a reliable sign that this time, it's for real.

“Eren,” Armin calls him carefully.

Eren continues walking, flashing a light behind a dumpster in a narrow alley between a family restaurant and a bookstore.

“Eren,” Armin calls him a bit more firmly to get his attention, but to no avail.

With brows knit more in desperation than concern, Armin quickens his pace and pulls Eren by the shoulder just before he rounds the corner to the next street.

“Eren!”

“What?”

The anger and volume in Eren's voice shrinks Armin in his place for a brief moment.

Embarrassed by his own reaction, Eren exhales an apology. But his face hardens once more when Armin suggests it's time to go home.

Armin steps back, surprised to have caught a swear word from his best friend among the words he spits back in a negative response.

But when Eren turns, ready to resume his search, Armin pulls at him again.

“Eren, stop!” he half-yells, quickly readjusting his volume before speaking again to not cause any disturbances to sleeping strangers.

“You don't want to pick a fight with me Armin, I'm warning you,” Eren's voice grows low, but still reaches Armin with the same anger and menace.

Eren harshly pulls away and continues to storm down the next street, leaving Armin to stumble behind.

The rain is heavy enough now to spot the pavement faster than it takes for each drop to dry.

“We need to go back, we aren't going to find her like this,” Armin calls after him. His hands do little to shield himself from the rain. Thankfully, Armin thought to bring a jacket along but it won't do much for either of them when it's bound to be sopping wet in just a few minutes.

Eren's shirt is already clinging to his skin in large patches down his back, and yet he continues walking with purpose down the street.

Armin's shivering now under his jacket as he looks around to gather his surroundings. This street isn't far from the office. It's poorly lit which, paired with the rain, is best explored in daylight. There's a single street lamp that's meant to illuminate the area at night, but it's been broken for months and either nobody has reported it, or laziness has kept it from being repaired.

“Come on,” Armin insists, lightly jogging now and losing his breath under the cold shower as he tries to keep up with Eren, who still refuses to listen. “We'll come back in the morning! You need to get some rest if you're going to keep looking! I'll come with you, okay? But we need to go!”

Armin suddenly crashes into Eren's chest as the latter abruptly turns around in a sudden fit of pure rage.

“I already told you I'm not fucking leaving!”

Armin stumbles back, teeth chattering, muscles drooping from his wet clothes and vision blurred by the heavy rain.

“You can leave if you want to! That's what the fucking police is doing! Just go already! But I'm staying because I care! I don't give a fuck about the rain, I'm going to find her!”

Eren's words pierce through Armin's chest, and the next moment he's tackling Eren to the ground. It's not so much to stop him from leaving this time, but out of indignation.

Eren falls on his ass with a wet thud, his palms painfully pounding onto the pavement as Armin falls on top of him, grabbing a fistful of his shirt in his hands.

“You think I don't care? Why do you think I'm here, you idiot?” Armin yells in Eren's face. Had the pouring rain not been a factor, he would've been red in the face. But had the rain not been there, Eren also would've easily seen the tears streaming down Armin's face, and that would've taken away from his blue glare.

“She's my best friend! I'm just as worried about her as you are! You can't decide you're the only one affected by this! That only makes you a jerk and you're not!”

Eren is tense all over as he holds Armin's surprisingly threatening glare. His chest heaves as a twinge of guilt surges inside of him at his friend's pointed remarks. The stiff breathing makes its return.

“But we have to go,” Armin's voice softens — it cracks and begs.

And Eren breaks down in sobs. His scraped palms come to his face, aggressively digging the heels against his eyes as if to force his tears back in while his shoulders tremble in cold, grief and guilt.

“You don't understand!” he cries, his shirt still crumpled under Armin's grip. “I fucked up, Armin. This is all my fault!”

Unsure of how to react to this abrupt change in attitude, Armin remains frozen save for his teeth, which continue to chatter under the deafening rain.

“I was supposed to pick her up. I'm never late,” Eren hiccups. “But I didn't come today and now I don't know where she is! It was me, Armin! I did this! This is my fault!”

“Eren,” Armin murmurs gently, eyebrows upturned in sympathy as he finally softens his hold on his friend.

“I can't find her and I don't know if she's hurt or scared or if…,” Eren's words drown in another wave of sore sobs, his lips refusing to let the thought of the worst to escape as a spoken word — to think that someone might have caused you harm and that's what's kept you tonight.

“I need her to be okay,” he whimpers finally, lips trembling as his body begins to react to the harsh cold surrounding him. “Where is she, Armin?”

It takes a while for Armin to gather his thoughts and catch up to the workings of Eren's mind from this hellish night.

He often leaves the office with you, stays behind some evenings when he notices you're close to wrapping up your work and can ride the elevator together. Sometimes even accepts Eren's offer for a ride when he's too tired to deal with the overwhelming setting of public transportation — tired enough to not mind third-wheeling for a short while. If the last place your phone was turned on was before you even had a chance to take a bus, surely he could've done something to prevent this mess too. Why didn't he think to stay behind today, too?

“It's not your fault,” Armin finally says, his voice just barely audible amidst the rain and thunder. He blinks up from the ground to his friend. “And we don't know what happened. We'll try the hospitals again later, we'll keep calling her in the meantime. We have Levi helping us, right?”

Eren blinks back at him, slowly gathering that Armin is trying to encourage him through reassurances, and finally nods in response as he does his best to ignore the tight lump in his throat.

“It's like three in the morning, Eren. I'm not asking you to stop. But we can't keep going like this.” He motions vaguely toward the incessant rain from above and the wet clothes sticking to their skin.

Armin stands, relieving Eren from his weight as he pushes back his hair with one hand and offers the other to his friend whose reluctance casts a shadow over his usually bright features.

Eren trains his gaze on the ground, leaving Armin's helping hand hanging for the while longer it takes for him to convince himself that Armin is right and this doesn't mean he's failing you.

Finally, Eren accepts his friend's hand, who hoists him up just as they both spot Levi's car pulling into the street from the farthest corner.

Armin motions for Eren to follow him toward the car, to which he responds with a weak nod. But just a couple of steps in, something crunches and gets caught under his shoe. Naturally, he looks down, forgetting the deluge falling over him at the moment to frown at the foreign object.

Armin glances over his shoulder, sensing his absence, and turns around fully when he realizes Eren is kneeling on the ground, cautiously picking something from the ground that ultimately dangles from his fingers once it's fully suspended in the air.

Armin retraces his steps, kneeling next to his friend to find his face pallid, and green eyes wide with fear as he stares at the broken chain between his fingers, from which hangs an angel cast in silver with a broken wing.

His features contort in horrified realization. It's almost ridiculous to turn to Eren for confirmation of what he already knows and can already begin to imagine. But when he does, the latter is already hunched over in the opposite direction, emptying his stomach onto the wet pavement while the nearing lights from Levi's car come to blind him.

Hour Fifteen

Mikasa, Jean, and Sasha step into the elevator wordlessly, the only sounds on the way to Eren's floor being the inevitable rustles from the plastic bags with food in Mikasa's hands.

Jean offered to take them, but Mikasa insisted she'd hold onto them. Maybe it's because of her cold hands, but it might also be because she needs something to help keep her grounded — literally; she feels as though she might float away otherwise. Because if anyone were to ask her, nothing has felt real since last night after Armin's call.

The elevator’s hum ceases as it comes to a gentle stop and the doors slide open.

The same somber silence continues to hover between the trio as they mechanically walk down the hall to Eren's door. Jean takes out his copy of the key from his jeans pocket and pushes the door wide open, gesturing for the girls to enter first before quietly closing the door behind them.

Spare keys aren't rare between them. It was chain reaction that stemmed from Eren's father's passing. Everyone wanted to make sure he was okay. The rest is history.

“In case of emergency.”

“Can you please water my plants while I'm gone?”

“Can you check something for me?”

“I'm really sick, just let yourself in.”

“Just keep it.”

Jean's copy has rarely been used. In fact, not many of them have made use of Eren's key once he started dating. Not that it's been a dramatic change, but now there's not much need to be wary of barging in on something they'll all laugh about later. And today, after Eren passed out on the street in the rain, it seems crucial to brush the dust off an old habit for their friend's sake.

The trio is careful not to make any excess noise — Eren might still be sleeping —, but the further they venture into the apartment, they realize their efforts are in vain.

They expected Eren to be lying on the sofa where Jean and Armin had so carefully helped him settle down, still fast asleep considering it's only been a few hours since. Although Eren's sudden nausea was a mere reaction to finding the necklace, Armin still spent a couple more hours watching over him as a precaution while he cleaned up the kitchen and dining area, and quietly left for his apartment to make another round of calls before work.

They're met with the view of their friend bustling around his work area in a corner of the living room, his brow furrowed and eyes laser focused as he refills the ink tanks on his printer. Stacks of missing person's posters cover his desk with a handful of faded ones having been scattered and crumpled on the floor as evidence of the ink shortage he's tending to. Your face occupies nearly the entirety of his immediate view, which is why a single glance is enough to distract him from his task that he doesn't notice his friends present in his apartment, nor when the ink begins to leak.

At the instinctive curse word that leaves him in a frustrated huff, Jean rushes over to help him.

“I'll handle this,” he assures Eren, who only blinks in surprise as he realizes he's not alone.

Mikasa and Sasha walk over to him unsure of whether a hug is appropriate as a greeting. In the end, they choose to speak the words instead.

Sasha leaves the conversation in exchange for helping Jean clean up the spilled ink. An irregular blob-shaped stain is left behind on the ash gray wood.

“Are you– How's your stomach?” Mikasa asks.

An uneasy grimace makes its way onto Eren's face.

“It's fine. It was just… Yeah.” He shrugs it off, unsure of how to properly explain the incident without triggering more discomfort.

Mikasa nods in understanding.

“Armin said you're going back to the police station later.”

Eren huffs at a humorless puff of air from his nose.

“Yeah. More questioning,” Eren replies, his head continuously shaking in disbelief, to which Mikasa frowns.

“What's wrong?”

It takes Eren a couple of tries to let the words out, his mouth opening and closing with hesitancy.

“They all left, Mika,” he softly murmurs, a hint of helplessness infecting his fragile voice, that births an ache in Mikasa's chest. “Nobody could say anything and they got bored. What kind of excuse is that?”

Mikasa drops her gaze to her shoes, submitting before the hurt and impotence Eren's words awake in her.

Then she shakes her head briefly, recalling a good thing.

“Levi's on the case… and there's evidence for foul play now, there's a lead,” she says, trying her hardest to appear more hopeful at each thing on her list. “He'll find her, Eren. This'll just be nothing but a bad memory soon.”

She smiles, but it comes out sad from the red that tints her waterline.

Eren doesn't have the energy to try to appear cheerful from her encouragement, and limits himself to a nod.

“Eren, how long have you been up?” Sasha asks with concern from his desk, where her eyes scan over his computer screen and the stacks of paper with your face printed front and center.

“A few hours?” Eren replies with a shrug, to which everyone else exchanges concerned glances.

Jean breaks the silence with a loud clap, refusing to make way for any awkwardness in the air.

“We brought you some food, buddy. Come on, let's eat.”

Sasha eagerly nods, her enthusiasm a bit too stiff it almost seems rehearsed, as she encourages him to follow them to the dining table.

Eren allows himself to be tugged along for a couple of steps before he tethers himself to his spot for a moment and then decidedly takes a step back under everyone's puzzled expressions.

“I'm not really hungry,” he murmurs, shaking his head.

“Are you sure?” Mikasa gently asks.

“We got your favorite soup,” Jean smiles, though Eren is too busy staring at a blank point to notice. “Minestrone.”

“Extra parmesan,” Sasha adds.

“It's fine.” Eren assures them with a forced smile. “You guys eat. I have a lot of things to do.”

“Well, you can't do them on an empty stomach. Let's eat and then we'll go through your to-do list together,” Jean insists.

“Yeah,” Mikasa agrees, shooting a grateful smile to her fiancé. “Jean can drive you to the station after breakfast and Sasha and I can handle the rest.”

Every offer is sensible and comforting, but Eren still refuses. He can't eat, not when you still haven't come home.

“No…” his voice trembles ever so slightly as his eyes wander around the room, as if looking for an excuse. He ultimately makes his way back to his desk, where the stacks of posters await him. “I'll just head out now. I'm gonna hand some of these out before going to the station.”

The rejected trio exchange another round of anxious, meaningful looks. Mikasa's the first to break away from the group to join Eren in gathering a stack of flyers and a roll of tape from the black metal organizer on his desk.

As her hands roam around the surface of the ash gray wood, the jewel on her finger catches the sunlight peeking through the curtains.

Eren's movements grow slow as his focus is stolen by the silver engagement ring.

Mikasa notices the pause in his movements from the corner of her eye, and looks up at him to assess his status. Eren tears his gaze from her ring — embarrassed —, but not fast enough for it to go unnoticed, nor does he remember to ease his hardened jaw afterwards. He moves in silence and sets a fast pace toward the door, leaving an anguished Mikasa to trail at his heel.

Hour Twenty

It takes a handful of hours for Eren to get back home from the station, with a significant reduction to the baggage he left with. The stream of questions would've been fairly simple had he not been charged with so many uneasy feelings as to why he was doing all of it in the first place. It certainly didn't help that he had to face the same people who had simply left this morning. But he has to do things right — even if it means swallowing his anger to contribute with any useful information.

Social media presence, daily routines, bus routes, habits, friends, family situation.

Saying you know someone like the back of your hand is an odd saying, he thinks. He's not that vain to spend lengthy periods of time observing himself. In his case, it suffices to say he simply knows you — all he's done is look at you.

He knows your hands quite well. The shape of your fingers, the curves of your knuckles and the warmth of your palms when they latch onto his heartbeat and manipulate it to your will. And now what's been left since last night is a painful cavity. It's all wrong. Your hand should be here, filling his void.

The apartment is empty, Jean and Sasha long gone. The plastic bags have been folded into neat triangles and the counter has been cleared. Upon opening the fridge, Eren finds stacks of containers that have been added to those Armin helped put away the previous night from the uncelebrated dinner.

He stares at his packed fridge for a long time, any energy to step away vanishing into thin air and leaving him stuck in place, looking straight ahead until he no longer recognizes the shape of anything inside, and he grows numb at the cold air that slowly envelops him.

A ring from his pocket is what finally pulls him out of his daze and he's quick to whip the device out and accept the incoming call with pure urgency and no thought.

“I'm only assuming you've been too excited to call me to tell me how it went last night,” Carla's playfully accusing tone comes through the speaker.

“Mom,” Eren pronounces in a voice so soft, yet empty as he only acknowledges it's her, but any word that bounces off his tongue is devoid of meaning until he can speak the name he wants to.

“So,” Carla's enthusiastic grin is evident through the phone. “Was she thrilled? What did she say?”

Eren's voice fails him.

In all the anxiety and chaos, with all the things he's had to do within the last twenty hours, he completely forgot to tell his mother what had happened and that moment is catching up to him now.

His lips roll inwards, a habit reserved for when he's feeling shy because of things you say or do, and now has come back because of his lack of words — or rather the will to expel them.

His hand comes up to his hair, his fingers brushing his hair back as he struggles to find his voice.

It's only when Eren takes a second too long to reply that a shift in mood can be sensed from Carla's end of the line.

“Eren,” she calls him carefully, which only makes the lump in his throat grow. “Honey, what's wrong?”

“Mom,” is all Eren can muster, voice cracking as he pushes the word out.

“Did you have a fight? Is everything okay?” Carla's concern amplifies through the speaker, as something rustles in the background, a sign that she's taken on a more alert position.

“You didn't break up, did you?”

Out of all the things that could've gone wrong last night, Eren wishes that had been it. At least he wouldn't be as helpless. At least he'd know where you are. At least it's something he could reverse.

“No.”

The word comes out choked, his throat instantly sore for the second time.

His monosyllabic replies must be getting to her, because Carla takes a deep breath before trying again.

“Eren, honey. You have to speak clearly, okay?” Carla's voice grows gentle, as it always has whenever Eren would have trouble speaking his mind. Granted, that's been lost as he got older, but Carla's sweet attention hasn't. “What happened?”

Her patient voice finally manages to coax the lodged words from Eren's throat.

“I don't know where she is. She's missing.”

Hour Twenty-four

Rain is bad for detective work. Eren heard about it in a documentary or a podcast, or maybe he read it somewhere — he can't remember. But it supposedly washes away any evidence, making easy cases tricky and difficult cases nearly impossible. Considering the silver angel necklace was found in the midst of the sky falling, it comes as no surprise when he comes home from a casual meet up with Levi at a nearby coffee shop with the news that no DNA or signs of a struggle were found on site after a thorough search in the light of day. The other half of the broken angel wing was found stuck on the edge of a sewer grate, though. Eren would feel any comfort at all if it meant it would lead to something. But at least the necklace can be fixed for when he finds you and this is all over.

The necklace is pretty much a dead end, but it'll remain under the police's hold just in case.

Eren has never gone so long without seeing your face. Now that the clock has found its way back to the hour you were supposed to walk through his door, it's unbearable to know that you won't. And still he looks over in its direction every few minutes, expecting you to burst in and throw yourself into his embrace, marking the end to a day-long fever dream.

That's probably it. A dream. No, a nightmare. It's nothing but a wicked play of his subconscious — to teach him a lesson on appreciating you more. Maybe to scare him into doing a better job of protecting you. Maybe he's gotten too lax, too careless. After all, the city hasn't been terrorized by any violent crimes in the last few months. But that's no excuse to dismiss the possibility of danger. Right… There was a killer last year. Two murders. No suspects. No arrests. And there was a burglary just last night. So what if…

No.

Eren pulls at his hair, agitated by where his mind is leading him. He pulls hard on the strands, like they're the reins of his thoughts that he needs to redirect onto a less horrifying path.

His phone dings as if on cue with a text message.

I'll be there soon, honey. Get some rest, I'll call you tomorrow. I love you.

A tap on the attached file opens up a copy of a plane ticket for the day after tomorrow under the name Carla Jaeger.

His heart feels a tad lighter.

It'll help to have his mother around for a few days. He types his gratitude into his phone and presses send.

He lets his face fall into his hands as he hunches over his desk.

Everything will be okay, he repeats to himself in his head like a mantra.

Inhale. Hold. Exhale.

Everything will be okay.

Outside, rain starts to fall.

Hour Thirty

The rain has been on and off for hours.

By the time Eren reconnected with his surroundings, ready to go out and look for clues on his own around the area, the rain was nearly as heavy as it was at three in the morning.

He sits by the living room window, watching the downpour. His phone is charging on a wooden stool next to him, taking a break from another round of calls to nearby hospitals to ask for any patients bearing your name. Still no.

His stomach has been growling for a while, but any energy he possesses isn't the kind that'll get him off his chair and into the kitchen — it's the kind that's meant to be used to stare out the window and grow numb over any trivial needs.

It's fine, he thinks. It'll pass.

Hour Thirty-seven

All five of his friends come through the door a little past seven in the morning, with bags of fresh meals to share.

Eren sits down this time, allowing Mikasa to fix him a plate and Connie to pour him a glass of juice.

Nobody mentions the dark circles under his eyes, and Eren's gaze is too lost on a blank point to sense the meaningful glances exchanged all around him.

There's not much room for conversation. Any sense of normalcy is lost in the thick air. It seems equally wrong to create a lighthearted break for the length of a meal as it is to talk about the empty seat across from Eren when everyone is trying so hard to make sure he's at the very least feeding himself.

Eren merely pokes and stirs at his food with his fork the entire time. There's a fresh stack of flyers on his desk that demand more urgency in his eyes than sitting down to eat.

His demeanor is easy to read by everyone at the table, yet another round of concerned glances and subtle nods in his direction being tossed around with silent messages.

In the end, nobody says a thing and the groups is broken off in pairs to tackle the surrounding neighborhoods.

Hour Forty-five

Nobody has called. Not him or the station. As the only person outside of the police to be contacted for any updates, his phone should've rung at least once. But aside from yesterday's encounter with Levi and his visits to the station to see if his presence alone will bring something up, there's been a drought in leads. And despite his determination in making sure every person he passes knows anything, there's still nothing.

It's been hours since his stomach has demanded his attention. It's finally reached the point where it's so empty, it's gone numb. His body is running on nothing more than sheer will and water.

He should at least try to eat, test if he can hold any food down.

The fridge remains packed with food, even more now thanks to what's been gathered from his morning visits.

Ever so slowly, with overly cautious movements, he takes out a container, transports it to the counter and peels off the lid. It's from the dinner you were supposed to share two nights ago.

His lips tremble, eyebrows upturning for the split second it takes him to grasp back at his composure. An outsider would think he's glaring at his leftovers, disgusted at whatever is inside, completely misunderstanding the mental ordeal he's traversing as he takes several deep breaths.

He pulls out a stool from the breakfast bar, sits down and stares.

Hour Forty-eight

It's been two whole days since Eren has stepped foot in his own bedroom.

His feet drag him toward the bed without stopping to flip the light switch. Though the night is cloudy, signaling another shower for tonight, the moonlight still finds its way into the room just enough for his eyes to take in the most basic shapes of his furniture.

He comes to a stop at the foot of the bed, and his gaze zeroes in on the neatly folded white cotton fabric set on the corner. It's the shirt you slept in two nights ago, the one that's the wrong size because it's his and he likes his clothes to be just a bit baggy.

It's the shirt he gently tugged off your body to feel your skin pressed against his. The one that you take care in folding even if you're in a rush and even though he'll throw it in the wash anyway.

His fingers slowly reach out to collect the fabric.

Inhale. Hold. Exhale.

It still smells like you. Just barely — a mere scrap of notes that have faded over the last two days. A mix of vanilla, citrus and a faint trace of eucalyptus fabric softener.

Inhale. Hold. Exhale.

Breathe, Eren.

It doesn't work. The air is too thick. It gets caught in his throat and forces a choked sob on its way back out.

His face contorts in anguish as he falls onto the bed, curled up in an attempt to make himself as small as humanly possible, with your shirt clutched in his hands as the world outside darkens and he simply weeps.

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Notes: Tunnel Vision will continue, just not with the same schedule it had before my hiatus. I’ll be adding word count and progress updates in the chapter guide in case you want to keep up with the story in that way (It’ll also give you an estimate of when the next chapter will be posted. I have ideas for some ficlets, which I’ll do my best to post in between TV updates just so I don’t leave you all hanging with Eren content. It’ll depend a lot on whether I see any enthusiasm for it or not though (aka comments and reblogs that aren’t… well… empty). In the meantime, thank you for the support and feel free to slip into my ask box to chat :)

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lynaferns · 8 months

Text

BIOMáquina: Sense of Living

Chapter 1: Stranger danger.

Ver. [ENGLISH / ESPAÑOL]

EDIT: This fic is now on AO3

The first meeting! In a world where humanity has confined themselves in encapsulated cities to let the outside world heal, our protagonist, Fern, breaks into the forgotten abandoment facility of Fazbear CO. in search for old materials and scrap to sell. But something's very off with this place, like the constant rotting smell that's in the air... (No, it's not Afton, there's no Afton in this AU, this is very DCA centered).

I have to mention, I never had the intention of writing this. But after I finished reading I see you, Sundrop! by @shirajellyfish (Thank you again @/cipher-the-sidhe for recommending it to me! I'm too shy to tag I want to cry EDIT: it's tagged now) I got motivated to write the first chapter of my AU and doing it my way. The early version of my BIOMáquina Sun may have some inspirations from ISYS's Sundrop, but I plan for him to develop by the end of the story into something more close to canon. Sassy, not the mean sassy tho.

I appreciate feedback about the english adaptation. I think I did fine but still, I'm not a native speaker, some parts may be weirdly worded. I'll be posting the Spanish version too, so you can judge my writing in two lenguages.

AU, DCA centered (but Moon doesn't get mentioned in this chapter) ...and mostly Sun centered too, Sun fnaf, OC, Selfinsert, Character & OC, platonic, friendship, slowburn (probably), OC is a potty mouth, Sun has amnesia, nonbinary/pangender Main Character, labs and abandonment facility, retrofuturistic world, steam/dieselpunk themed.

The first post where I showed this AU and Sun and Moon's designs. There's info about the world and characters, not necessary to enjoy the story but maybe you want an idea about this AU.

BIOMáquina AU Tumblr archive, with all the posts and asks.

Youtube Playlist wich has like half of Portal's ost. I have a especific order for the songs but you can put it on mix if you want.

Note: even though I try to keep things light some things may be triggering for some readers so I'm putting here the warnings just in case. Please tell me if it needs any additional tag.

TW: implied death, near death experiences, implied abuse (non sexual), panic/anxiety, paranoia, robot gore, violence.

Wordcount: 12,874

06:23 Thursday, Weather: clear.

It's been a long time since anyone has been here. The place has been reclaimed by nature over time, not completely consumed but enough to assume that it has been around a decade without any humans moving around.

Until today.

A small hovercraft vehicle is approaching in the distance. Today, instead of their usual destination, Fern decided to take another route and explore a little. She heads to the building she has seen in the distance. The abandoned facilities of Fazbear CO. She shouldn't be snooping around an abandoned building, much less one that seems to have been totally forgotten by the world, but Fern already had experience in breaking into dangerous and abandoned places, so it was okay (no, it was not).

She looks at the place for a while before parking their vehicle. A thought of 'Why not?' incites them to enter, and that's what she does. After struggling with the entrance locks she manages to open the doors. It looks like an automatic door but with a manual system for when the power is out, it's a pretty old design. The door stays open.

06:39

Fern enters inside, it's all dark, the only light being the one that comes through the door. She always carries their backpack loaded with all the basics she needs for when he goes out for materials (trash) or exploration (for more trash). She takes out a flashlight and inspects the place. She notices that next to them is an old robot disconnected and degraded by the passage of time, possibly unable to turn back on. It seems that this bot was in charge of guarding the entrance.

Advancing through the abandoned facility, Fern finds more disconnected bots. She's not with the right equipment to dismantle them and take their valuable parts, if there is anything salvageable from these robots. She makes mental notes and keeps going. The place is worse on the inside than the outside, somehow the dirt and weeds have managed to get in and grow in the most random places.

She finds a guide map of the place, it appears to be larger on the inside than it looks from the outside, much larger than one would expect. There are four upper floors and six lower ones, the upper floors makes a circumference leaving an empty space in the center, they are factory and assembly areas for bots/animatronics, tools, electronic devices... all equipment from the Fazbear brand, they have always made their own material. On the ground floor (L0) where Fern is, it seems to be the unloading area, cargo transport vehicles, offices and power generator on the upper floors. The first two lower floors appear to be more offices, boiler room, power generator room for the lower floors, laboratories, and... another animatronic assembly area.

...The last four floors are blurred out but you can read the words 'AI testing'. Did the test rooms have to be that far down? And why 4 entire floors of the building?

There is an annotation:

Authorized personnel only. Any unauthorized personnel who passes from the restricted area will be subject to a dismissal sanction.

Oho... now Fern wanted to go in there. Why would they hide that part? What do they have to hide? Knowing the company Fazbear Entertainment, a lot. It would be cool to be one of the few people to know what's down there, even if it remains as secret as before because Fern doesn't want to be reported or arrested, leaving the city without permission is already a reason for that. But before going to the deeper floors, better take a quick look at the upper ones first, their nature makes them want to keep an order to explore the place in the most efficient way (that she can think of).

As the map said, everything up there is material and assembly, some rooms even have narrow windows that let in some light through their gaps at the top of the wall... where you can't look outside, but at least they had some natural light in their work areas, those who worked up here at least... Fern looks around, it's a mess, there are papers and metals scattered on the floor... It seems that some of them left in a hurry, due to the misplaced chairs and tables... Fern makes a mental note to stop by again and take a better look at the old tools before heading home.

Hm? The central area hasn't been seen. Fern assumed that the part surrounded by the building would be visible from a window or that there would be an entrance to a flat area, but there appears to be none. Why would they waste so much space? Or maybe they weren't wasting it. Maybe there was something else there but it was inaccessible from the surface floors.

Fern didn't waste another moment to get down to the lower levels. The power generators seemed out of order, she wasn't going to be able to use the elevators. She wasn't planning on it either, They may possibly collapse over the time they have been sitting there without maintenance. What she planned was to save flashlight power if the generator could light the way. Oh well. Maybe the other generator on the lower floors is still functional.

...

It's not. Well, she had to try it. Fern would have felt stupid if the generator would had worked and by simply not checking she would have wasted the flashlight battery foolishly. Exploring the floor a bit more before continuing down she finds a small kitchen room. Oh? Was there a kitchen on the map? Fern doesn't remember, she should have taken a photo of the map now that she stops to think about it. There should be at least one map on each floor, she'll take a photo of the next one she sees.

Going down the stairs she finds the assembly rooms and laboratory that seems more advanced than the upper levels. These looks a little less messy than the previous floors. It's still noticeable that people left in a hurry, leaving the chairs and tables in any position and dropping objects along the way, but it seems that at least they cared about storing hazardous materials in the closets, all messy but at least not exposed... some doors aren't even closed properly- look, I'd better shut up and continue.

07:12

She finally reaches the end of the floor. There are no more stairs, just an elevator that takes to the restricted area (floors: L3, L4, L5 and L6), which means she needs the generator running... or... she can force their way through the elevator doors with a crowbar... opening the emergency hatch... and slipping through the gap between the elevator and the wall, which is conveniently one of those old-fashioned designs with bar steps on the wall (Nowadays these spaces are not left unless the elevator is very large and/or has been built with plenty of space). She goes down the wall stairs to the next floor which is also closed, so she has to force the elevator's security doors again. This time it's more complicated, she has to force the door without having a supporting floor since all there is is the circular wall, the beams that support the elevator structure and the void of the pit. Fern hangs from a beam near the door, digs the crowbar between the two doors with their feet, presses against the crowbar using their legs, and pushes their way through. After opening the doors enough, the crowbar slips from between their feet and falls into the pit. Fern watches as it falls, pressing their lips, and waits for the *clinggg* sound it makes when it reaches the bottom, '...hhhhhah, I'll have to go down for it later' she thinks.

After forcing the door a little more with their hands, just enough to pass through, she is finally inside, on level L3. Oh! And the first thing she sees is a complete map, good! She can take a photo with their phone so she won't get lost. From what it seems, this map reveals that there is indeed a central area of the facilities in use. For some reason to access the center of the building you have to go down to the deepest floors and from another elevator go up to the central area... weird. The design of the facility seems made to keep something as far away from the outside as possible, with all these turns and different elevators that they make you take to get to a place that would be so easy to access if only they had put one or two doors in the ground floor or upper. There was definitely something there, Fern had no doubt, maybe she was theorizing too much and it was just a strange design choice, but what a strange design choice, there is something there for sure and Fern was going there.

According to the map, the four lowest floors contain... a good bunch of animatronic storage cells, wow. Wait, now that she stops to take a closer look, that's a lot of cells. There are three or four larger rooms compared to the rest, 'daycare', it says. ...Fern didn't like the implications of that, she didn't like seeing the cells, daycares and laboratories so close to each other. If this is what's in the first restricted floors to the unauthorized, what could be deeper? For God's sake, what did they do with the children?

Fazbear Entertainment's animatronics were made specifically to deal with children despite their questionable AI performance. The daycares could have been to test how the animatronics behave with real children, okay, but why three entire daycares on the same floor? And there are at least two more on the floor above. It would be better understood if there were only assembly and repair rooms next to the cells, but laboratories... right in front of the daycares? Shady, very shady. Don't like it, don't like it a bit.

The lower floors are more littered with broken robots than the ones above. Somehow the place is more in ruins than the surface floors, which are more exposed to the outside. But the doors seem to have higher security with card readers, some broken, not all but they seem to be able to open. Going down the stairs to the L4th floor she began to see a different bot design half-assembled, this could be an animatronic design they were working on. On this floor she only sees half-assembled endoskeleton pieces and blueprints for said robot along with promotional posters of a daycare mascot... with a... Sun...? theme. Orange, yellow and red shades.

Fern approaches one of the blueprints, 'DaCaAtt/ProtoType_Model_N15', the N15 has been underlined several times in red and there are notes all over the blueprints. It's... a clown animatronic- rather a jester, with an astral theme? The head seems to represent a sun with the right half of its face being a crescent moon, as in those representations of the sun and the moon together, the moon looking sideways and the sun facing the front... only that, here it's like they have merged two faces into one, leaving the nose crooked to the side. All the unfinished endoskeletons seem to belong to this model. It is a somewhat extra complicated design, it has a lot of joints, especially in the face, seems like they wanted to go further with this design.

It seemed a little much to Fern for a children's animatronic daycare attendant. She understood that they were trying to make him look like the friendly mascot on the poster, but Fern could come up with a couple of ideas to simplify the design of the face: a screen with facial animations, for example. And why so much complexity in the robots interior? The more she looked at the blueprints, the more it seemed to them that she was looking at a disproportionate recreation of the human skeleton in metal. She continued advancing through the facilities until she found the next stairs to floor L5.

...At the bottom of the flight of stairs is a disconnected animatronic- rather broken, it's the sun. It seemed to be crawling up the stairs... its legs and the back of its head were busted, as if they had tried to stop it from going any further by hitting it with something. Peeking through the hallways, Fern finds more sun animatronics lying on the way or against the wall, damaged, some are whole, others missing chunks or entire limbs. She touches one of the robot bodies with their foot, it doesn't move, as expected. There is a gray cord and a piece of plastic sticking out from under the animatronic's hand, Fern uses their foot again to pull the cord out from under the hand. It's a torn, stained and mauled ID card, the string is broken as if it had been torn from something, neither the photo nor the name of the former owner can be identified. It's Fern's now. She should keep their eyes open in case of seeing more cards in better condition, if she can get the generators working she could open their way to more places. If they were to be useful.

Moving down the hallway she stops to look at the poses in which the animatronics were turned off; some of them have their faces intact enough to see an expression of terror them. None of them seemed to be going in a specific direction, just... running away. They were afraid. How advanced was their AI to simulate fear? Weren't they prototypes? No developed AI is put into robot prototypes, although well, that is a recent norm in robotics, who knows how old this place is.

Now that she realizes, there is a fairly dominant smell in the air since she came down the elevator. Fern thought it came from the labs and assembly rooms, because of the old metals and chemicals, but it has gotten stronger as she goes. Like something rotten mixed with rust and motor oil.

Fern is starting to think that she would like a friend to explore this place with. The deeper she goes, the more uneasy the place gets, and the more noticeable is the lack of fresh air.

She checks out the map, from the path she has taken it seems that she is approaching one of the daycares. Where the entrance should be there is a handful of sun animatronics in a pile blocking the door that's full of scratches and bumps. It seems that they tried to force it open, you can see the desperation in the wear and tear on their hands.

Hopelessness.

It's the word that best fits seeing this situation.

Fern feels a chill run down their spine and their stomach turns. She continues forward. More animatronic bodies disconnected or destroyed, there were almost no animatronics in the storage cells, they had all tried to escape. Upon reaching the floor L6, the number of robot bodies lying around seems to decrease. It seems that they were all already stored in their chambers, or they managed to get them in and disconect them before panic set in... or revealed themselves. No, this didn't look like robot rebellion. Maybe they found out something, a rumor that got out of hand? Maybe they found out that they were going to disconnect them forever and they panicked... Fern wouldn't blame them.

Peeking through the glass of one of the cells she could see a group of sun animatronics, all in their respective cabins on the wall, connected by a head cable. Some are standing leaning against one of the walls of their cabin, have a safety belt holding them in place, others are sitting on a seat in the cabin, and others are directly sitting on the floor. They are disconnected, turned off, obviously. The floor is padded with colorful sections and there are old pillows and stuffed animals on the floor. The rest of the chambers are the same, some with empty spaces. The number of animatronics lying on the floor in panic positions is less, rather they are sitting against the wall or simply lying on the floor in a more peaceful way. They either gave up or were somehow convinced to shut down.

07:38

Finally Fern reaches the elevator that takes you to the center of the facility. This elevator is more hidden than the rest and appears to be more advanced, Fern didn't seem to know if it was going to be as easy to open as the rest... ah- wait- their crowbar. She has forgotten to go look for their crowbar, which is at the bottom of the second elevator's pit... and to go look for it she would have to go back upstairs and down the stairs of the pit because she can't open the doors from the lowest floor as she had planned because she doesn't have their crowbar.

Fern.

You're stupid, man.

“Aaaaaggh...” she groans, looking up to the ceiling. She sighs. Before leaving the room she looks around to see if there is anything that could be used to force the doors and their eyes fall on the elevator again, it has a light. Wait, it has light? It can't be, the generators don't work. Unless there is a third generator for this elevator... She approaches the button panel, indeed, the lights above glow slightly, but how is it functioning? The entire place should be shut down. She decides to press the button just to try it out and a few seconds later the doors open, the light from inside illuminating the room along with Fern's flashlight.

Even though it seems to work, Fern didn't like the idea of using it. The elevator that took her to the lower floors was as dangerous as the others but at least she didn't had to use it to get down (Although it could have perfectly fallen as soon as you stepped foot inside, you idiot), but this one she was going to have to use it to open the doors to the next floor unless she finds something to use as a crowbar. However, this elevator did seem to be in better condition than the other. Maybe if she only made it go up one floor she could access the rest of the place from there.

Fern walks into the elevator. The floors available from bottom to top are: L6, LC2, LC1, C0, C1, C2, C3 and C4, there are no Lows 5, 4 and 3, C it'll be for “Center” just as L is for “Low”. She hesitates before pressing the button for LC2, a few seconds and the doors close, the elevator makes some screeching noises as machinery that hasn't moved for a long time starts working again until it suddenly begins to ascend. It moves non-stop, the noise it makes is worrying but it doesn't stop. As fast as the doors open, Fern crosses them and turns to the elevator, waiting for it to collapse and fall back to the bottom. It doesn't, the doors just close after a few seconds. If while she's at another part of the building she hears a crash noise in the distance, Fern will assume that the elevator has fallen and therefore will have to look for something that can be used as a crowbar.

For some reason there's no map of this part of the facility. There has always been one right out of the elevator or down the stairs, but this place doesn't have one. Weird, maybe all the employees in this area had their own? Or they knew it by heart. No, the first thing makes more sense.

Moving through the hallways, laboratory rooms, assembly rooms, etc, the floors seem to be the same as those already visited, but more advanced? The walls and doors are of higher quality and security, and the laboratory equipment, tools and others seem to be of the good-good ones... and expensive, but good, and quality. The central floors seem to be the only ones with electricity, partially, not all the lights are on and some of the ones that are are blinking. 'I hope none explode-' she thought to themselves. Immediately afterwards, a security door begins to open and close uncontrollably, giving Fern a start “AH-!” After the scare she takes a breath while the door begins to move slower and finally stops halfway open. The doors here must have a sensor or something, it must have been activated by proximity, is the card still functional? She takes it out of their pocket and passes it near the door trying to find the sensor. The door reacts but doesn't close or open completely.

Fern grabs one of the disconnected 'Staff' bots down the hallway and drags it to the door, blocking it in case it moves again and gets locked inside. It's an archive office, there are papers and file cabinets scattered on the floor. A ceiling panel fell on some filing cabinets and knocked everything to the floor. Fern glances vaguely over them, some papers seem to be records of laboratory materials and ingredients. Emphasizes, seems, because Fern doesn't understand the technical and convoluted language in which they are written, whoever worked here the guy's writing was embarrassing, they keep repeating the same elements all over the page in horrible handwriting. She doesn't see anything of value in the office so she leaves to continue moving through the maze of poorly iluminated hallways and malfunctioning doors.

08:10

Fern has been wandering around the facilities for quite a while now. Most of the doors are bolted shut and can't be opened (if a certain someone had gone back a few floors to get their crowbar...), next time Fern comes she'll bring suitable spare tools to open them. Although, is it worth going that far to get some pieces of metal? With what's on the first floors should be enough to renew tools and equipment, and make a good profit in the market. She wasn't into science so she didn't know what valuable objects she could take from the labs. She could look into it later, when she's done looking into what's here first.

The closer she gets to the center, the more the hallways light up, to the point that Fern no longer needs her flashlight and turns it off, for now. There are liquids running down the walls and dripping from cracks in the ceiling. Curiously, there are fewer marks of humidity than one would imagine; the leaks did not form long ago. The doors here seem to be in better condition than the ones before, possibly they are more complicated to open if this area has electricity and they are working better than the one before. She might have to see if she finds any more abandoned cards lying around.

This area is more open... and the wall appears to curve. There is a... castle door?? Like the ones you would see in cartoons or children's tales, with a crown of sunrays as the door frame. It's not made of wood, but it is some kind of hard material that Fern can't identify. There is a card reader panel next to the frame. A light comes out from between the doors crack.

...

Is this the center?

Fern grabs one of the door handles and pulls it. She hears a sound like rails moving inside as she opens the doors. What's on the other side has to be the strangest, largest room she's seen since she entered the building. Most of the floor is padded and colorful except for the entrance and a few more square meters of flooring which is tiled in a checkerboard pattern. Where there floor is tiled, there are security tables with computers, machines of some kind and office supplies. Where the floor is padded there are children's playground structures, jungle gyms, with tubes, slides, ball pits... Above the ball pit there's a fairy-tale like tower on the wall with a balcony, red curtains cover the entrance. No idea how to get there, there must be access from somewhere else. On the floor there're boxes of toys and stuffed animals... broken, but organized by size and color, it seems, some colorful cylindrical boxes are placed in a tower. Only what's on the play area seems tidy, everything beyond the padded floor is noticeably dirty, messy, basically a mess. The ceiling lights seem to come out of beams and are shaped like clouds, not all of them are on, some flicker. At the center of it all is a tower of cables that rises until it's lost above the lights in the darkness of the ceiling.

Fern enters the room, still observing the place. Although the gigantic column of cables and tubes in the center catches their attention, their interest falls on the computers next to them. The screens are on but they don't show anything, just a solid cyan blue color and some horizontal lines crossing the screen every now and then. The computers may be broken but there could be a possibility to repair them or take out the parts and put them to use... or even sell them as antiques.

...

Fern feels watched. She looks up from the machines to the play structures. A screech of moving rails. She sees nothing. She leaves the computers aside and approaches the play area. Another rail sound. Fern turns to look at where the sound came from. Behind the cable tower. Fern takes out a jackknife from their pocket and proceeds to circle the tower. Another screech. Accompanied by another noise coming from the ball pit. Fern approaches. There is a row of cables coming out of the tower and entering the pit. Uuuum, ok...?? weird... She steps on the bridge that comes out of the pit, without entering she leans to looks over it.

It could have just been a rat but Fern tried calling “Is anyone there?” knife in hand “Hello-?”

“HeEEEL-” A tall, disproportionate, slim figure suddenly emerges from the ball pit accompanied by the tinkling of bells, sending several balls flying, creating a rain around it, some balls falling out of the pit. It's arms extended in the air in salutation and a huge smile on it's face with crooked teeth. Some 'sunrays' in the shape of elongated orange triangles stuck out around it's head. “-LO!” A sun animatronic.

“AAAH-!” Fern screamed, backing up. The robot froze in the pose and the noises of a processor running could be heard, smile not leaving it's face, white eyes fixed on Fern, it only made a couple of movements that stopped abruptly halfway through as if it had paused and resumed its animation. It must not have registered their reaction, because it continued talking as if Fern hadn't screamed in shock.

“-N-new friend-? Oh-o-OH- Are you new-?! FRIE-NEW FRI-” *SCRRRR SCRRA SCRRRGGGH KKKKRRR* It froze again while something in his internal system made a noise that sounded like 'something's wrong' and it continued again as if nothing had happened “Who are you-?! I can't find your profile-! -Do you have a profile??? Have you come to play!? Have you come for the manteinence routin-? Are you a new technic-!? Can we play NOW!? We can-! You're not on the employee register-! You need a register-!”

Its arms were stretching out towards Fern trying to reach her. Fern backed away, trying to keep as much space as possible between them and the robot. It kept getting closer, without stopping smiling, without stopping penetrating them with its gaze, without blinking.

“-profile- you need a-! You cannot perform any procedures- or manipulate- any- *srsrsrrsrsrsrsrsrrckrkrkrkrkrkrkrkrkrk* fromtheFAzbear'sbrand- *krkrkrkrkrkrnnnnnnnnnnrr* Do I make you a profile!? You need a-” Its fan started to sound very loudly “How were you able to enter- without a profile-!??? Do you work here? How did you get in-!? What are you doing here-!?” Fern hit her back against the cable tower and raised their knife to put distance between the damaged robot and them “DETECTED: DANGEROUS OBJECT, IS THAT A WEAPON!? *VRRRRRRRRR*” A panicked expression replaced its smile, its fan getting louder and louder “YOU CAN'T BRING THAT HERE! YOU CA- YOU CAN'T- YOU- *krkrkrkrkrkr* THE RUL- *krkrkrNNNNNNNNNGGGH* AG-AGAINST TH- *NNNNNNNNNGNNGNGGNGN-* DAN-GRROS-” It stopped forming coherent sentences and began to blurt out half-cut words amid the noise of the processor overheating.

Despite the clear problems it was experiencing, its movements didn't stop, getting closer and closer. A robotic hand reached out to grab Fern's arm, planning to take the weapon from her. Fern waved their knife away from its hand and finally broke into a run.

“AH-! eeeh-eh-e...! WAIT” The sun shouted as Fern fled towards the doors “Why are you running!? Where are you going-!? NO- WAIT- waitwaitwaitwait!” It ran after them. Fern left the play area and rushed through the doors. “WAIT-come back- I'm so...” She crossed the hallways like a bullet, ignoring the screams that became progressively quieter. She didn't realize she had left it behind until she could no longer hear it and the hallways were dark again.

Fern finally stopped to catch their breath, looking back to make sure she had left it behind. Vocalizing between pants “What... th...e fuck...? ...what...the fuck? God... what the... shit was... that...?” She sat down against a wall to rest. She hadn't realized that she had been gripping the knife tightly in their hand and now it was a little sore, if it weren't for the gloves she would have seen their knuckles white.

08:48

It's been a while. After calming down and drinking some water, Fern decides to go back to see what is happening with the sun and why it's the only active animatronic (seen so far) in the whole place. Thinking about it, it surely didn't want to scare them, possibly. It has been abandoned here for a long time, it's normal for it to be damaged. If its processor is salvageable and its AI gets a fix or two she could use it for help. But if that were the case, what should she do? She can't leave a robot with autonomy abandoned, much less in these ruins, part of Fern would feel bad but she can't take it with them. Where would she put it? Where would she take it?

That seems like a problem for future Fern.

It will be best to keep the knife, and possibly any type of weapon away. There was a lot of movement and noise at that moment but Fern believes she remembers a slight change in the robot's behavior when it discovered the knife. More erratic, more anxious, it couldn't even formulate complete words. Maybe if she went calmly and manages to calm the robot down, she could talk to it and find out what happened here. And why it is active.

She's arriving at the castle-like doors again. They're open, just like Fern left them. The robot could have gotten out and be hanging around the building, but something was telling Fern that wasn't the case. Slowly, without making a sound, she approaches the doors and peeps from the entrance, their eyes scan the room but don'tt find the sun. Fern decides to go in, thinks about calling it but backs away when she hears the screak and the rails again. If that sound came from it then it was still here.

...

Fern decides to go into the room. She wanted to prove a theory and for that she needed it to appear, and something was telling them that if she stayed at the door it wasn't going to appear. She puts one foot on the padded floor. Nothing's heard. She goes further into the playing area, the loose cables that entered the ball pit are no longer there, possibly they are connected to the robot so the logical thing would be to look for where they've gone. Starting from the central tower, the cables seem to go behind the play structure, Fern approaches to follow the line of cables.

*creeek*

A squeak. Fern turns around. Another screech. It came from the tower. Looking around she notices that the cables comes out of the play structure and disappear behind the tower. Fern approaches, circling the tower slowly, cautiously, following the cables. A metallic hand grabs their shoulder. “You are... here...”

“AACK-!” Fern screamed as she jerked the hand off their shoulder and ran towards the doors.

“No, wait, not again!” Fern leaves the room and turns to look inside holding the doors, ready to close them. But it seems it won't be necessary.

The robot has not moved past the padded floor. It looks at the tiled floor in front of them with concern, its posture is hunched as if it doesn't know what to do from that point or something bad will happen if it steps on a tile. Its arms curled against its chest, it clutches the red ribbons hanging from its wrists. Its eyes alternating between looking at Fern and the ground until it finally decides to speak.

“a...a-...y- You are here!” It says with joy, extending its arms and putting on a smile again, forced... no, genuine? “You are here again! ...a- I-I- was- you- *skrrrrrrrrr kr kr kr* You're back! And you are here and you are back and I thought you wouldn't come back and-!” it gesticulates very widely “-and-and- I'm sorry- sorry I scared you- TWICE!” emphasizes by pulling out two fingers of its hand “I'm sorry... it's just that- I haven't seen anyone in a long time! Or talked to someone! Or touched! And I was SO EXCITED! B-because you were there! And I touched you! And you were there! And I-! *skr...skr...skr...skr...* And I thought you weren't coming back! ...I thought you weren't going to come back.” Its shoulders droop and its body loses all movement, it stares at the ground, muttering. “And then I thought I scared away my new friend and they weren't coming back. But then I heard footsteps! And I felt something! And it was you! And I'm so happy! *sKNNNGNGnnn...*” It stands still again, with a somewhat creepy smile and its gaze fixed on Fern.

Fern remained silent. She doesn't really know how to react after having heard all that. The only thing that was going through their mind was that this robot showed autonomy and clear signs of stress, anxiety and loneliness. She can't leave it here but she also doesn't know if they could be dangerous or if it's just very hyperactive. They are clearly disturbed. Now that Fern noticed, one hand was more skeletal than the other, the entire casing of its left arm was missing and the ribbon was tied poorly with its bell. Parts of its endoskeleton were exposed, their casing was damaged in many places, and their jester's clothes were not much better either. The red and yellow striped pants were torn, the left leg open by a gap that ran from the bottom to top, an adhesive tape near the groin prevented the gap from spreading further, it appeared that the pants were held in place by a belt that didn't belong to the costume. The cables coming from the central tower and scattered across the floor seemed to end at the back of his head.

The sun began to look nervously between Fern and the floor again “H-ey- a- cou... c-could you come closer?” Its posture shrinks again, hands against its chest.

“...What?”

“Could you come closer? P-p-please?”

“...” Fern glances at the floor, at the robot's feet, and then at them “...You can't step on the tiled floor, can you?” The sun lost its smile and looked down at the ground, after a few seconds they nodded its head.

It looked back at Fern “I...can't. I-it's off limits. I can't." The forced smile returned “B-but you can come closer, could you come closer? Please…?”

“No.” Fern truly wasn't planning on doing so.

“Ack-! *knnnnnnnnn skrskrskrskr* W-w-w-why?!?”

“I'm just fine here, I think I'm going to stay at the door.” She said as she let go of the handles and sat on the floor crossing their legs “Besides, I don't want you grabbing me again.”

“I didn't grab you! I didn't!” They made a gesture with its hand, replicating the motion they made when they touched Fern earlier “I only touched your shoulder! I placed my hand on your shoulder!” Did it really only placed its hand on their shoulder? It happened not long ago, Fern remembers feeling more pressure than necessary. She could still feel the metal fingers digging into their right shoulder.

“Yeah... I don't remember it that way.” Fern put their hand on their shoulder “You've been trying to get your hands on me ever since you saw me.” The sun was about to open its mouth to say something but they backed out *kknnnnnnnnnnn* it seemed to be thinking in what to respond, it looked tense. Fern was also thinking about what she could do to calm them down so she could get closer, but it seemed that at the slightest chance she'll have it near it was going to pounce on them (And for your information, Fern, your attitude isn't helping either).

“You shouldn't sit on the floor.” the sun said.

“Eh?”

“*skr skr* I-it's not good *skrrr* that you're sitting on the floor. You're go-o-oing to hurt yourself, why don't you *skrrrrrrrr* sit here in the play area? The floor is softer, that would be better...” Fern frowned at them “O-o-or-” The sun looked around, pointed to the desks where Fern was looking at the computers earlier “-you could use one of the office chairs, where the security desks!” It smiled, its smile seemed more sincere this time “You don't have authorization to be there! But...” It glanced nervously at the chairs, then at Fern “It won't hurt to use it for a bit! Until the security guards come... But I won't tell anyone! Word!” It held up its hand as a promise gesture “Just, don't touch anything... they get really angry when people touch something, and then they yell at me...”

“No, I'm fine, thank you.” That chair was worse than the floor, and Fern didn't want to move away from the door. A *skrrrrrrrrrnnnnnn knnn knnn krkrkrkr* was heard from the robot, she didn't like that. The sun started looking between Fern and the chair again, finally ended up staring at the floor. The way it let its 'rays' fall was reminiscent of the ears of a saddened animal “...” “Hey.”

“Huh?” It raised its 'rays' again expectantly.

“Why don't you sit down? ...so we are both sitting.” Fern said trying to make the situation less awkward. It occurred to them that if they were both at the same height it would ease the atmosphere a little.

“...I don't need to- *Knnnnnnn skrskr* ...-Okay! Yeah, yes, okay...” It slowly knelt on the floor. It looked at Fern and then returned its gaze to the floor. “...” “I'm sorry...” It apologized again “I'm sorry, I know I scared you and that you don't trust me and I'm sorry, I'm very sorry.” It clenched the fabric of the pants where the scuff marks met with its fingers, its shoulders shrinked “...Please don't go.”

“Nah, I'm too lazy to get up now.” She said in another attempt to convince him she was staying to reassure him.

“Please don't go…” It repeated. They sounded like they were about to cry.

“... I'm not going anywhere.” She tried again, leaning back and supporting their weight on their hands. “...Word.” Fern imitated the hand gesture the robot made earlier, as a promise.

*Knnnnnnnnnnn* The sun stared at Fern's hand, then at them. “Are... you're staying?”

“Yes, I'm staying.” Fern looked to the side, thinking. She looked back at the robot “...For a while. Until I have to leave.”

“*knnnnnnn* When will you leave?”

“Eh... possibly within a few hours. So... yeah, we can talk.” (For my mother's love Fern, my child, you sweet summer child, more cheer.)

*skr- skr- skr- knnnnnnn* The sun seemed to be processing the information. Fern looked at them expecting them to start talking at any moment.

...There was silence for a minute. Fern decided to speak.

“So what's your name?”

“What's your name?” They said practically at the same time.

“Ah-”

“Oh- *skr skr skr*.”

Fern gestured for them to start first.

“I- a- *knnnnnn knnnnn knnnnn knnnnn* n-no, you can go first!” The robot said, with a constant *knnnnn* sound.

“Um, okay. My name's Fern, you?”

A *kr kr* interrupted the previous sound and only *knnnnnnn* could be heard again. It was silent for a bit. Then it decided to speak “Fern! Oh, that's a very nice name! It fits you, yes... *sk sk knnnnnn* Hey, hey, Fern...! What do you like to do-? What do you like to play? Your favorite color-?!”

“Hold on, hold on! Are you going to tell me your name or am I going to be left without knowing?”

“Um... *skr skr skr* one... *knnnnnnnn* one moment-” Again that *knnnnn*, another minute in silence “...” “Oh! Hey, hey! Do you like puppet shows? I'm very good at making them! Or I can teach you how to make puppets if you want-!”

“What I would like is knowing what to call you. Don't... you know it's rude to ask someone's name and then not introduce yourself?” She said trying to pressure them into saying its name.

“Oh! *skr skr* My name! *skr* Yes, my name!”

“...”

“*skr... skr... skr... skr... skr...*”

“E-”

“Do you like painting?! I can get some paints and papers and we can paint together-!

“Your name! How can I call you?”

“Oh-! ah... You can call me whatever you want!” They said as it adjusted its posture, sitting crossing its legs like Fern “You can use a nickname, or nicknames! If you like, I love nicknames! Do you like nicknames? Do you want a nickname? Do I give you a nickname-?! Okay!” They put its hand on its chin, thinking “Let's see...”

“You don't know your name, do you?”

“ng... *sknnnnnnnnnn*” Its head twitched and it froze in the posture looking to the side. Some fans began to make sound “nn... i...k...kno...i... I-I-I- I know! It's- It's here! Here! In my sys-! *skgghghrghrghrrrr* -TEeem... eh... ah...” It looked confused, its eyes move as if it was reading something in the air “I...” Its shoulders slump in disappointment, whatever it was searching for in its system they couldn't seem to find it “I can't...” murmurs.

“...Can you tell me your code? The name of your model I mean.”

*skgkg-* “...” “I cannot give that type of information to unauthorized personnel or not employed by Fazbear Entertainent.” It said in a monotone voice. “...” “It makes no sense as a name anyways,” it laughed “it's boring and hard to pronounce.”

“Don't you have a name they used to call you by here?”

“Um...” It's fans started up again.

“...” Fern remembers seeing something written on the posters she saw earlier, something about sun...drop? She looked around. Those same posters were here too, on the walls and desks along with others that seemed more outdated. 'Sunnydrop', said the posters, although it seems more like the name of the candy they promote. “Eh.”

“Hm?”

“What if I called you 'Sun'? For short, for the moment. Like a short version of the poster over there.” Fern said, pointing with their head and thumb. “And 'cause, well... it's literally the shape of your head... it's not very original but...” (I'm not pronouncing that whole name every time I want to refer to you.) “I don't know, how about it?”

It looks between Fern and the poster until it smiles and nods its head vividly “Okay, yeah! Call me Sun!” It looks happy with the idea. The fans and noise of its processor have reduced. Fern already has a name for the sun animatronic, Sun, ironically. “I like it! Oh, I like the nickname you gave me!” Its 'rays' make a spin around its head followed by some *clicks* and *tics*, was that to express happiness?

“Hey.”

“Yes, friend!? Uh-Oh! Is it okay if I call you friend?” It seemed nervous again. Fern was going to have to be extremely careful talking to Sun if at the slightest it'll get upset over something like calling them 'friend' instead of using their name.

“Yeah, sure, call me whatever you want. Hey, how long have you been here?” Possibly not the best question to start with but Fern had many questions about this place and especially about Sun.

“For-! Uh... *knnnnnnnn skr skr skr skr* since... *kr kr kr kr kr kr kr kr kr* uhhh...*skr skr skr srk*”

“Okay, stop stop.” After a few moments Sun stopped as instructed, along with the processor's noise, and looked at Fern with curiosity and a feeling of having done something wrong. “Let's see. How long... have you been On? Since the last time you started up again.”

“Oh! I can anwser that! *knnn krkr kr skr...* Four...thousand *skr skr kr-* two...hun...dred ninety...-EIGHT! Days. Since my last reboot... Ah- no- well... since my last hard reboot. I don't really need to shutdown but sometimes I need restarts... Be a few minutes (or hours) 'off '. Oh, but since then I've been fine! Working perf-*skgrah*-ectly! *skr*.” It swung its fist to the side with energy and a smile, ignoring the distress call from its system.

“...Yeah. And those noises that are constantly coming out of you? They don't sound very good, to say the least.” She's right.

“I've already fix-! *skgrr-* I've already fixed it! S-sometimes it happens and I don't realize it, but I always fix it!” “...” “I-I know you were a little scared before! And-and that- And that I acted weird! I...I know! I'm sorry... But that's it! I'm functioning perfectly!” It swung its fist again, this time with less enthusiasm “...Seriously...”

Fern looked at Sun thoughtfully “Back... in the ball pit. The noises were much worse and constant, and you froze with every movement or at mid-word. Does it happen to you often? I am no expert!” Fern held up their hands in excuse “But I wouldn't call that 'functioning perfectly'.”

“I-I- said I already fixed it! *skrgggrggrgr- kr kr*” There it was again.

“It's getting worrying, you know?” If it wasn't already before.

Sun waved its hand in denial “Nothin'nothin'nothin'-! *skrrr* It's nothing, it's nothing! *kr kr*” It repeated over and over between loud processor noises, the more it panicked, the longer the noises became “that that that! Dasit-! That's it! *skr krr-* There! *skrrrrr- kr- kr- kr-* Now, it's-! *sknnnnnnnnn skrGRRRrrAH* IT'S ENOUGH!” Its fans were starting up again along with the noise at an alarming rate. Sun started to make a sound that resembled hyperventilating. By panicking, it was asking too much of the internal system and it became destabilized (Hey Fern, the part about being careful with what you say, no, huh?).

“Okay! Okay, calm down. It's okay.” Fern sat forward raising their hands, still kneeling on the floor. Sun looked at them as it tangled its hands together. “It's okay...” She tried to think quickly what to say “You said that you had been... like four thousand or so days On.”

“*Skr skr* ...Four thousand two hundred and ninety-eight...*skgr*” It frowned at that last noise.

“Four thousand two hundred and ninety-eight days, okay. And in all that time, have you seen anyone else besides me? Have you received maintenance or any messages from them?”

Its expression shifted to a bewildered look at Fern. It started playing with the ribbons on its wrists “No... No, but-” It tried to show a smile again “-but it's okay, I've been taking care of myself a lot-lot-lot-! And I have been very careful! And I've paid attention to the alerts! And then they won't have much work ahead of them...! For... when they come back...” “...” “They're taking their time. They're...-they're taking a long time to come back.” It started rocking on the spot, back and forth “But it's fine! Because when they come back-*skrgrgrhs* when they come back- I'll-! *skrgr* I've been behaving well! I've been behaving very well.” It suddenly lowered its tone of voice. It looked at the floor while its hands still played with the ribbons, tangling them between its fingers. “I have been good. They won't have to worry and will be able to return to their work. I have been very good. I am functioning perfectly. There is no problem. I'm fine. I already fixed it *skrnnnnnnnnn*” Again the noise “I've fixed it, I've fixed it, I've fixed it!”

“Okay! Okay. Alright, I believe you.”

Sun looked up and tensed its shoulders... and its 'rays'. It looked surprised, like it had forgotten Fern was there. “*Skr skr skr skr skr skr skr skr* Oh-! Oh.” It looked at the ribbon tangled between its fingers for a moment, untangled it, and looked back at Fern as its hands continued to play “I- didn- ...I'm sorry.”

“I was- I was just wondering, how... come that-” 'How are you still functioning after all this time?' was what Fern wanted to ask among a thousand things. But seeing Sun's expression, that mix between stress, fear and somehow enthusiasm, just to be there, with someone. Fern decided to put their questions aside “You know what? Why don't you ask me something?”

“*skr skr* Oh! I've already asked you a lot of things earlier! You still haven't answered those~!” It said with a more cheerful tone.

“Sorry, I don't remember them, can you repeat them for me?” Better to start gaining its trust.

Sun's posture tensed as it leaned forward, it clenched its fists with enthusiasm and its 'rays' shrank and extended, making a wave effect around its head, it made an inspiration sound “*GAAAASP* What is your favorite thing to do-?!What do you like to play-? What places do you like going to-?What's your favorite color-?!Your favorite song-?Your favorite food-?Do you like puppet shows-?Would you like me to teach you how to make puppets-?!Do you like nicknames?Would you like me to give you one-?Do you like painting-?Can we do make-?”

“One at a time! I can't keep up with everything.” Fern cut them off before it continued its endless list of questions. Sun had that guilty look again with its 'rays' drooping. Before it could began to apologize Fern continued “What's the first thing you want to ask me?”

“Um- eh-ah- *knnnnnn* What's your favorite thing to do in the world?!”

“Humm...” Fern took a moment to think. She could give a random answer to move forward the conversation faster but she wanted to be honest. And she was having a hard time because she couldn't remember what she liked to do most. “I guess... uuuuuhh... drawing? Although- well I don't really draw much.”

“*kr kr* I like to draw too! And painting! And crafts! What's your favorite game?!” Sun jumped to the next question.

“Uf, uh...” Fern wasn't great at remembering their own interests. It's hard when you don't think about it often, or ever “I don't think I have a favorite game... Mmmm-I like it when the game uses cards... but I don't know.”

“*skr kr kr* Oh! I also like card games. What's your favorite color?!”

“Oran...ge...? No... Well, yes, but maybe pastel yellow... although I also like some shades of green and purples.”

“*skr skr kr*” Sun seemed to be taking note of everything Fern was saying before asking the next question. “You can choose more than one! I like sky blue!” How ironic “What's your favorite food?” If it wasn't for the enthusiasm it gave off when asking and waiting for the answer, Fern would have thought Sun was getting back at them for asking it difficult questions earlier. It could be, but hard to believe with the little bounces it gave in place while smiling with excitement.

“I mean... I don't know- I like salty foods, and some acid ones but... I wouldn't know what to tell you my favourite food is.”

“*skr* Oh, well... I like cupcakes!”

“...How can you have a favorite food?”

“Why wouldn't I have???”

“Can you eat? Are you made with the capacity for it?”

“*kr knn* Ohoho! No, I can't eat them, but I like how they look! I think they are pretty! There are many ways to decorate them...! *skr kr kr* Oh! I also like homemade cookies! You can give them any shape you want and decorate them and you can also make them colorful!” What Sun seemed to like was the process of making them, makes sense.

“Ha.” Fern showed a smile of understanding.

“... *skr krkrkr skr kr*” It took a moment to ask the next question. “Do you like music? Do you have a favorite song?” It seemed more relaxed talking.

“I like it but um... I couldn't tell you... I've never chosen one as 'the favorite' ...you know?”

“*SKRRR* Y-you don't have to choose! Y-you are not obliged *skr kr*” Sun must have noticed Fern upset, but it wasn't because of them. What bothered Fern was not being able to give a confident answer. “Everyone has a hard time choosing sometimes-! *kr* There are a lot- lot of songs and music! How to choose just one... ahaha...” It laughed.

It continued the relentless bombardment of questions. Sun asked the typical basic children's questions when they have just learned how to make friends and chatted about various game topics. Fern tried to slip some 'discreet' question about the Fazbear company and Sun, but it would get nervous when it was unable to respond and would hung up, so they would change the topic again and talk about personal interests.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

It's been a long bit.

“*knnnnnnnnn*... Do you… do you have a favorite place?” Sun asked, showing a bit of shyness.

“...” It took Fern a while to answer “I- guess... My house? I don't know..."

“... D-don't you have... a comfy place? A place where you feel more comfortable than others?”

“Heh, yeah, my bed…” Their answers became more and more vague.

“Oh-! *skr* hehe... Does that mean you're not an early riser?”

“Actually, I usually get up early, but who isn't comfortable in their bed, you know? Besides, I get up early out of obligation. It's not that I can just stay in bed and do nothing.”

“*krkr* Oh...haha, of course...” There were a few seconds of awkward silence until it asked “Uh... a-a-are you bored? A-a-are -y-y-ou getting bored?” Its fans began to be heard.

Fern cut them off before it could start rambling in panic again. “No no! It's not that... it's just that-” She wanted to explain themselves but couldn't find the words. “I don't know. I guess- I'm a little tired, and lost in thoughts. I wasn't expecting...this” She pointed their hand in Sun's general direction.

“...Ah?” Sun tilted its head to the side in confusion.

“I mean... it's just...” I came to steal old material and scraps “I came in here expecting to explore a little and leave and now I'm... sitting here. I didn't expect to be answering questions about me or my personal tastes in craft materials.” She looked at Sun “...Or to have a conversation with a robot” Sun frowned a little at that last bit. “Not to belittle! I didn't expect to find anyone when I came here.”

“No no-! It's not that- ah- Why weren't you expecting anyone??” Sun asked with genuine confusion “There are always a lot of people working here, especially during the day!”

“...” Oh, boy. That “uh... Sun” It's better for them to know it now as soon as possible ...right? “I think... no one comes here anymore.”

“...?” Sun looked at Fern with bewilderment but maintained a light smile.

“...”

“...a-”

“AHAHA-” Sun suddenly laughed. Its posture and smile had frozen, its gaze fixed somewhere behind Fern.

She knew it wasn't looking at them, she swayed sideways and made various arm gestures and poses to check it. The *knnnnnnnn* that began to sound confirmed to Fern that it was still working and had not suddenly broken, maybe it just gave an error and was processing a response. “...Sun?”

“HA-” *SKRGKRrrgkk...* It looked like it had a spasm for a moment. Its head tilted and a mechanical *click* was heard, shortly after its face made a full rotation followed by more *clicks*. Its smile widened again, maintaining its worried expression, it put its hands on its ankles and began to sway back and forth rhythmically. “Silly-silly-silly-silly-silly-! *sKRKRrrg* OOOOH so silly-! That's so silly-! AHA-ahA ha-! Don't say nonsense!” It said smilingly.

Fern could only look at Sun in bewilderment and pity.

*skr* It stopped its swaying and relaxed its tone “Don't be silly, friend. Of course people still come! They have to come and do their job! Their work is very important! They wouldn't all quit so suddenly!”

“...Has anyone been here in the last years?” Fern asked, worried for the answer.

*skrKR* “You have come!” It responded instantly happily “You are here! -Right now!"

“...Sun,” uff “Have more people come here besides me in the last years?”

“...” *skrkr skr kr kr kr...* Its smile was falling but it didn't disappear completely. “Surely.... they are working in another part of the building. -Y-yes *kr*, they must be very busy! Working! Elsewhere...!” A low *kr kr kr kr* began to be heard “That's why... it must be that... You aren't a new technician! Right!?”

“¿¡!?” That took Fern by surprise. “Um- nope.”

“A-a-a-and- you haven't seen anyone since you came in here! Right!?” *skrskrskr*

“...No-?”

“Of course!” *SKR* The half-joyful-half-nervous tone returned “-Of course you couldn't have seen anyone! You don't work here! You can't have the work schedule or know where they might be-! You can't know- aHAha-!” If Sun noticed the worried looks Fern was sending him, it must have ignored it.

“Y-yeah okay, but- alright... and... haven't you thought... that they haven't stopped by to visit you in a long time?” Fern gave a small worried smile. “-Haven't you seen them in a while time?”

“LIIIke I said before- they're busy- they don't need to come see me now! *krkrkr* It must be that I don't need to be examined at the moment! That must be it haha! You're not from here so naturally you don't know! You don't know what they're working on! Don't worry- don't worry-!”

Fern could only think that this was going to be more complicated than it already seemed at first. The robot continued with its paranoia that this place was still running. Something light up on its face, as if it had remembered something.

“B-besides- they said they would come back tomorrow! So it's fine! They'll be back!”

That got all of Fern's attention. “Wait- holditholditholditholdit-! They told you they would be back, tomorrow???”

Sun nodded its head vividly “Mhm! That's what they said!” It looked more cheerful.

“But- like, tomorrow-tomorrow?”

*Sknnnnnnnnnnnn* Ah, one of the various sounds of thinking “They said they would be back tomorrow!” It drops that and stays chill, with a smile on its face.

“So you're telling me... they talked to you today?”

“Oh, no! I haven't seen them today...”

“They sent you a message then.”

“No no, I haven't received any messages in a while.” *skr*

“...” For the love of my life “They... told you the date they would return, and that date is tomorrow?”

"No, silly!" it said with laughter “I'm telling you, they told me they would be back tomorrow!”

Fern was perplexed. She was finally managing to get even a sliver of information out and she had gotten themselves into a loop with the robot. But wait- “Sun, how long ago did they tell you they would be back tomorrow?”

Sun stayed silent, the only audible sound the long, drawn-out *knnnnnnnnnn* it seemed to do when it thought. It dug its fingers into the fabric of its pants near its ankles and didn't move again. A while passed and it was still motionless, thinking. It began to repeat a sequence of noises as if it had gotten stuck in its thoughts and suddenly the sound stopped. Its smile fell, its body lost all the tension that kept them upright, and it slumped to the side.

Fern startled. “¿Sun?” Didn't seem to respond “Oh, God...” Just as she thought of getting closer to check if it was okay, Sun sat up, making a lot of mechanical *clicks* and *tics* as its limbs settled back into their natural positions. It could be hear the fan running and soon the *skr skr* it had been doing the whole time they were talking.

It finally looked up at Fern. It seemed to function normally again, “...” “...” “...HEEEEL-” or almost “-LOOO... *SKGrkrgr* N-new friend-? Oh-o-OH- Are you new-?! ARE YOU FRIEND!? *kgr*” This sounds familiar... Sun got up from excitement, it couldn't stop bouncing on the spot. “Who are you-?! What's your name!? *skgr* I can't find your profile-! -Do you have a profile??? OH! Are you the new playmate!? Wait, are you here for the routine maintenance? *kr- kr-* Are you a new technician-!?” And we start again “Can we play? Can we play NOW!? Can we-! You're not on the employee registry-! You need a registry to-! *skgrkrkrkr* How could you get in without a profile!??? Do you work here-?” It stopped dead and stared at Fern. Its white pupils scanned them from top to bottom. “*skrgrkrg* *GASP* You don't work here! How did you get in-!? What are you doing here-!? INTRUDER! STRANGER! ¡AAA-!” His rays tensed, Sun began to run in circles screaming “SECURITY ALERT! SECURITY ALERT! WOO WOO WOO WOO!” And imitating alarm sounds. Its screams mixed with the noises of its processor and fans. Fern could only look in amazement and disconsolation at the panorama.

“Sun.” She tried calling them but it kept going 'woo woo' while running and doing pirouettes across the floor. “Sun! Hey!” No case. Eventually it went back to just spinning around in circles while shouting 'DANGER DANGER' over and over again. “Sun! Listen! SUN!” It stopped but not because of Fern. It had frozen in its animation again, its head and hands rotating in place, sparking from the friction. Now it was just repeating 'ERROR ERROR' non-stop with a monotone voice.

Fern panicked, she spun around on themselves looking around, searching for something. She located an old, dusty ball behind a chair and threw it hard at Sun, hitting them in the face. Somehow this made it stop completely. Fern watched silently waiting for something to happen but Sun remained motionless without making a sound. A few seconds later the fan sounded again along with the rest of the usual noises, it took them a while to start up. When it finally did, it returned its gaze to Fern, scanning them up and down.

“...” “*GASP* New frie-!”

“AH- NAH-no-no-no-no-nah-! We are not going through this again!” Fern cut them off before it could start with everything all over again.

“...f-...frie-nd-...” That left them in shock. It lowered its rays and its posture shrank. The *vrrrrrr* of the fans could be hear.

“Y-Yes- yes... friends! We're friends” Saying that seemed to help improve its mood. Sun went to open its mouth to speak but Fern was the one who did it first. “Before you say anything-! Um... No, I don't work here and I don't have a profile. Yes, I've snuck in, uh- don't activate the alarms yet, I don't have any bad intentions...” That last one was partially a lie. Don't get upset, okay? ...We don't want you to suddenly shut down and collapse again.” Sun tensed up upon hearing that but did as instructed and remained calm for the moment. “We've been talking for the last- THREE HOURS.” Fern looked at their watch, it had been over three hours and she was having a hard time assimilating it but she looked back at Sun who was expectant of Fern's words. She took a breath and continued. “Okay, look, we've been talking for a long time and you've already asked me everything about me. Y-you should have that information recorded somewhere in your memory! It happened just now.” She paused to see if Sun had caught everything she said and gave it a moment to search for said information. It could be hear the *skr skr* of thinking and the fans. After a while it stopped making noise, but the nervous fidgeting of its hands let Fern know it hadn't collapsed again. “Do you remember anything of what happened in the last few hours?” She asked.

Sun seemed to have come out of the trance it was in and started looking between its hands, the computer desks, and Fern. “*skr- skr-*...uuh...uh...” The fidgeting passed from its hands to the ribbons “...yyyyyess?? uh- *SKRG* I- *kr* I shouldn't give- *sKRGRRGKRgrrss*” Oh no... It froze again- “Yes! Yes, of course! Ha- How would I forget-?” It had that expression again between happy and on the verge of an attack “I haven't forget anything! I haven't forget anything-! Don't worry! It's all here-!” It raised its arm doing a swing with one finger pointing at its head. “It's here! I forgot nothing- nothing! It only took a lil' bit to load- haha...” Sun smiled awkwardly while Fern looked at them with concern and seriousness. “Yup, a-aALLLl in order! *-skrgr*” It confirmed one last time.

Fern let out a tired sigh. She looked worriedly at the watch on their wrist. 12:11 “Okay... okay look, I- have been here for a long time now, I should go-”

“What-!? No no! *-kgrkgrgr* Please no!” Aaaand Sun panicked again. “Don't go! HahA-! I- Um- Can-! *SKGR* I-I-can-can-can- a-any- thing! I can do anything-! Whatever you want-!” Its voice was cutting off with static and it let out gasps between pleas, its rays were trembling. Fern tried to say something but it was only a murmur between Sun's desperate screams. “Don't leave yet, please! It's still too soon! Don't leave me alone! I don't want to be alone-!”

“I'LL COME BACK!” Fern finally raised their voice.

“...eh?”

"Listen." Fern made sure she had Sun's attention “I cannot stay any longer, I just can't! I've already spent longer than I intended here and I have a lot to do. So...” She sighed and looked at Sun, they maintained eye contact. “...I'm leaving for today, and I'll be back tomorrow, okay?” She saw confusion on Sun's face, from the sound of *Knng* and the way it tilted its head it didn't seem to have understood. She repeated again gesturing with their hands as she spoke making their points clear. “Today: I'm leaving. Tomorrow: I'll be back... Understand?” She let a few seconds pass to see how it'll responded.

It had its hands together, one finger scratching the joint of a knuckle on its exposed hand. Its noises could be heard at a lower volume and the rays from its head shrank and extended in a wave movement. It finally reacted “ah...uh-... o-okay... okay... *skgr* a- Yes! Alright... okay...” It nodded with a shy smile. “*skr... skr...* um- I-... if- If my friend says- *kr* says they're coming back, then they're coming back! Ahaha...” It tried to return to a more cheerful voice. It sounded like it said it more to themselves than to anyone else. “Ri...ght... friend?”

"Sure." Fern nodded, tilting their head to the side.

“...” “...Do you promise...?”

“Yes.”

“...You promise you'll be back here tomorrow?”

“Yes, I'll be back here tomorrow.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Do you really promis-?”

"Yes!" Sun jumped back, its eyes and shoulders hunched and it looked in fear at Fern. “Sorry...” She sighed “I promise. I really, truly, really, truthfully promise that I will be back. Tomorrow morning I promise you I'll be right here.” Sun looked at Fern expectantly. “...” “Word.” Fern held up their hand in promise. Sun imitated the gesture “Okay?”

Its expression brightened, the rays came out again and its posture relaxed. “Okay, y-yeah, okay! W-we'll see each other tomorrow!” It confirmed.

Fern was relieved to hear Sun finally understand and breathed out a sigh of relief. “Okay, then... I'll get going, alright? Bye.” She waved goodbye as she headed towards the doors.

“¡Ah! Uh... Can you close the doors on your way out? The doors have to be closed if no one's here...”

“Yeah.” She grabbed the door handles and pushed them.

“U-um- S-see ya!” It said waving its hand in the air.

"See you tomorrow." Fern confirmed one last time, “Bye, Sun.”

Sun stood there, waving timidly into the air, watching as its new (apparently) friend disappeared after closing the fake castle doors. It stopped waving “...” “Who's Sun?”

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Fern was back on the first elevator, the one that wasn't working and, naturally, she hadn't forgotten their beloved and much missed crowbar. She made a long descent to the bottom of the pit using the stairs on the wall to get it back and climb back up. She sighed, “Next time, I'm bringing two crowbars.” She climbed back up to the roof of the elevator and entered through the emergency hatch to reach floor L2. After coming out of it, she stopped in front of the doors to look at the state of the crowbar more calmly 'Wow, it's pretty good for having fallen from 30 me-' *SKREEEEEENNNNNNGG* Fern flinched at the sound and turned to look at the elevator.

*SKREEENNNGG NNNGG NNNGGGGGGGgggggggggg.......*

*...*

*BOOMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.............*

“...”

Fern stared with their eyes wide open at the now empty elevator shaft. She looked at the crowbar in their hand. She decides to put it away and return home. We aren't going to think about how she narrowly escaped that, no. If she had taken few more seconds to come out and turns into mush, in an elevator pit, in an abandoned facility, in a building not even its mother knows, in the middle of nowhere. Nope! We aren't going to think about that, better to get out. Down the stairs, straight ahead to the right. Fresh air here she goes.

As soon as she left, Fern felt a pressure release from their head. Just a few meters away from the entrance she felt like she had to sit down and take off their backpack before getting where she had parked their hovercraft, she needed clean air. The fresh air helped them clear their head and thoughts. She hadn't realized until now how overwhelmed she was feeling being in there, apart from the recent scare with the elevator, which has also made them feel anguish.

She looks at the clock, it's past one o'clock in the afternoon. She should eat something if she's driving home after all that walking, climbing, and running. She gets up from the ground and drags the backpack along with their body to collapse in the car so she can eat there. It's a little harder to carry the backpack with the extra weight of the tools she has been collecting on the way back (hey, they were free). She takes off their gloves and digs through their backpack to take out the multipurpose knife, the lunch box containing the chicken with rice she had prepared in the early morning and an apple, some of the rice has stuck to the lid of the lunchbox and she scratches it off with the fork. She spends a few minutes digging into the food until she finally decides to bring a portion to their mouth.

Although she decided not to worry for the moment, Fern can't help but think of the robot trapped and abandoned at the bottom of the building... who's alone again. Should she really come back tomorrow? Yes, she promised, but, what difference would it make if she just pretended nothing happened? What consequences could there be-? In fact- Fern would be suffering consequences for taking responsibility for a defective and damaged robot. Bots themselves are already a pain in the ass to maintain and the lack of bot rights management doesn't help, there is nothing that protects them; there's no way to get good insurance for them, especially for models from 5 years ago. If your bot is older than that you better have a complete manual stuck in your head on how to solve any absolute damage or problem it may suffer, because if not, you're both very screwed.

Speaking of which, how is Fern supposed to repair a robot as broken as Sun is? Especially one made by Fazbear Entertainment, the bastards make their own unique tools and parts of exclusive use for their company. You can't find them anywhere. It would be impossible to repair one of their animatronics unless she made each piece by hand and- um- no. Thank you. Is Sun even in saveable condition? Would it even be worth it? Even in the hypothetical case that she managed to save it, what would she do next? She doesn't have space at home for a robot that's taller than 2 meters. There is the machine refuge, yes, but...

...

Could she even help them? Without compatible or interchangeable parts I highly doubt it. It would end up turning into useless scrap metal. Not much differece from what awaits for it inside. There really wouldn't be any difference between leaving it here or taking it to the city.

Nobody knows it's there.

...

Fern knows.

...

But no one else knows of its existence. Who would care?

...

It's down there suffering and nobody knows.

...

Fern knows.

...

Without realizing it she had stopped eating and was just playing with the fork. Let's see, on one hand we have: a damaged, defective and hyperactive robot in an abandoned facility in very poor condition an... give it an hour and a half by hovercraft away from the city, without much chance of repair or survival in or out of this place, not to mention the lack of knowledge about its model. On the other hand we have: guilt.

On the one hand: Fern wouldn't feel right just leaving it here, Sun has autonomy and in the time they have known each other it has demonstrated enough intelligence to have its own opinions and make decisions for itself, it clearly has a developed AI so it is capable of feeling emotions; in other words, its suffering is real and it is morally wrong to leave it like this. On the other hand: she wouldn't know where to put it, as said before, there is no space at home and Fern has neither the resources nor the time to take care of it, they wouldn't accept it in a job or company because it already belongs to one, on top of it with a bad reputation. The refuge is an option but it wouldn't help much, it could end up becoming a burden and may not end up getting along with the other bots that are already there.

What will win in the end? Rationality or morality? The crushing and tormenting feeling of guilt! Of course! That's why Fern is sitting curled up in a ball, perforating with their gaze at the half-eaten rice and chicken, unable to make up their mind. She could at least try. Try... something. Even if it's just, paying them a visit? She already promised them that she would come back tomorrow. At the very least she should go see them tomorrow, she doesn't have to go every time, she doesn't have to repair it either. Maybe keeping company is enough? From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like it has much of its lifespan left... Oh God, she's really considering doing this.

For now, Fern will worry about finishing their meal and driving back to the town. She'll think better about it when she gets home.

#Edit: fixed a word count mistake #again. I'd really appreciate the feedback please #I'd like to get better at translating and adaptation. this was rough #my writing #biomáquina au #fnaf daycare attendant #dca au #fnaf sun #fnaf dca #selfinsert #character & selfinsert #character & oc #platonic #no ships #fanfic #long post

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faroreskiss · 1 year

Text

The Power of Understanding / Pilot (Part 1 v2)

Rewritten to v2 on: 2023/09/10

Cheat Sheet

Read of Ao3

Chapters: Pilot, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

Summary: You have been with the Chain for a while now, as their "scholar" and translator. You know everything about them, because you are from our world. But do *they *know the truth about how you can understand everyone?

A little introduction and world building concept for the Translator!Reader and her adventures. Check notes below for more info!

Non-linear fic.

AU fic, prior to TotK (instead of TotK, chain events happen).

Loosely based on the same reader in my NSFW fic, which is a very loose prequel to this one, and a work in progress.

More background info to come, if I feel like it :D

Warnings: None, maybe some cussing, but nothing is censored. SFW content.

Points of interest: This is your thing if you are into the mystery of chain being able to talk to each other. I am an actual trained linguist IRL, hence this HAD to be written!

You were daydreaming in the middle of the day about him again, amidst the smell of horse shit around you, when you're supposed to be finishing the work you have until the end of the day. Or until a new portal pops up to swallow you all to Goddess knows which Hyrule this time. Damned black-blooded monsters. At least, this gave you some break.

You, coming from our own era, have been acting as the scholar of the Chain for the last couple of years, while hopping from world to world with them. Knowing this, Malon put you to work on the books of the ranch, instead of letting you deal with the cows or the horses, even though you really didn’t have anything specific to do with maths. You thought she was being kind to you, not letting you deal with dirty ranch work, you guessed? She was a sweetheart either way.

You wanted to hang out with Twilight at the same time, so instead of using the little study Malon offered, you took the books and went down to the stables. You continued with your own stuff, while he was taking care of the horses.

There was also this little thing: you were the only one who understood every single one of them, (almost) very clearly, comparatively speaking. Sure they could communicate without you just as well, but due to a bunch of coincidences, you were the closest thing to the “translation magic”, if you can call it that. Maybe it was your Hoshi Sato gene*. Maybe it was the fact that you actually stayed with Link & Zelda in the post-Calamity world, around two years prior meeting the Chain**, maybe a bit of magic was also involved. Hylia works in mysterious ways! Did it almost cost you your brain? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Some Links, of course, understood each other better than the others, especially when their eras were, linguistically speaking, not that far. Time and Twilight were just fine. Legend and Hyrule were already able to understand each other, even a little bit better than Time and Twilight. Sky was a bit further away and had a “funny way of saying things” (according to the Sailor), almost gibberish, but when you listened and when he spoke slowly enough, you could at least get the gist of what he was trying to say. Wind, Time, and Warriors already knew each other from other “incidents” before the Chain, so they already had a way of communicating.

These worlds also did not have many invasions and wars by “outsiders”, if you don’t count things like the Triforce War, Imprisoning War, Sealing War, and of course, anything that had to do with Demise, Ganon & co. and their horrible reincarnations. This meant, not a lot of language change.

In the end, what happened was that over the two years you have been together with the group, you helped them understand each other better. They adjusted their accents, and somehow warped the Hylian they speak in a way that the group would understand (and especially you), when the dialogue was still within the group. Of course, the Old Man would speak more “naturally” with Malon and vice versa, and some of the chain would adjust better (e.g. Twilight or Smithy) to the language of the era they are in. After some point, communication was not that much of a problem. You learnt it all in the end.

Writing?

Funny enough, Wild, Sky, and Twilight had similar scripts. Time and Wind had more similar writing systems. Wild, Wars, Legend, Time, and Rulie were also better at understanding the scripts of their respective eras. Overall, other than a couple of hiccups, most understood the others’ script to an extent.

And then there was Wild. Also known as “The Cook” nowadays. The rest of the chain didn’t know you called them the Chain in your mind, and had your little nicknames for them. The nicknames most likely revealed a bit too much, and even though most of the secrets were out nowadays… You knew better than to risk more. You have caused enough damage, you would think sometimes. Even though you just couldn’t resist the urge.

Anyway… Wild, his case and communication issues… were complicated.

According to the rest of the chain when you guys first met, whatever he was saying (and vice versa) was almost complete gibberish at first. Some terms and special names like “deku,” “korok,” “Hylia,” “Hyrule,” “rupee,” and such were still there, albeit with a different accent, and they helped, but it was not enough. You only found out later that it was kind of… your fault.

In the end, he was also able to communicate with them just fine. Each Link had their own… language variation and accents, so to say. Some of them did not even have the difference enough to call it a “dialect” comparatively. As you thought, language change is a slow enough process, and with the lack of ‘conflicts’ (for lack of a better word) compared to your world, no wonder they were still somehow able to understand each other. .

The Goddesses work in mysterious ways indeed.

How did it work for you, though? There was this little secret that… First time around, when you first dropped into Wild's Hyrule, “Hylian” was basically a weird mesh-up of English and Japanese to your ears, after the enchantment from the Great Fairies you have received. It was “so you could slowly understand and grasp and communicate”, you were told.

Oh boy, it really felt like a genie granting you a wish, but in its own twisted way. You found that out later though.

Second time around when you first met the rest of Links, though? The first enchantment… kind of messed everything up. Second time around, you actually ended up learning real Hylian. At least, the Hylian that was used as a lingua franca between you guys.

Of course, some learning skill enchantment was definitely not out of the deal this time as well, thanks to Rulie & Time and their fairy friends, and of course the Smithy. But what a disaster it had been! Well, it wasn’t your fault that the first time the enchantment was made, nobody calculated that you would meet the Links from other eras.

You also naturally know the reason behind why Links in kind of irrelevant eras could decipher each other's texts, even when they didn’t understand the words all the time. Some were based on the Latin alphabet, and some were on Japanese kana. No way you could clearly explain it to them.

“Oh, by the way, you are made by a game company called Nintendo, and this guy is called Miyamoto…”

Yeah, no. That didn’t go well last time. Nobody even understood what you meant.

That was a battle to fight for another day… Now, you need to focus on the budget of the Lon Lon Ranch. And not be distracted by Twilight’s statue.

________________

Notes:

Fanciest and most OP translator you will ever know. Star Trek Universe.

"You” already spent three years with Link and Zelda in Wild’s world and were enchanted by the Great Fairies (with Zelda’s involvement) for the improvement of learning abilities.

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steddieunderdogfics · 5 months

Text

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: Sleepingoffyourdemons! They have 6 works posted to AO3 and all of them are in the Steddie tag!

Nevertheless_5 recommends the following works by @punkslovepoints:

in the back of your girlfriend's car

The most that I could give to you is nothing at all

"The A is for Ally"

What Happens at Comic Con Stays at Comic Con

obliterations everywhere (we blaze with scorching heat)

Sleepingoffyourdemons’ fics are character studies, grounded in reality with all the painful angst, real world consequences, and heartwrenching love you could want in your Steddie wish fulfillment. They hurt and heal in equal measure. They feel immersive in a comforting way. I fell in love with the first fic I read, and proceeded to read everything else by the author. Also, the research put into the time periods and info in notes is just icing on the cake. -- Nevertheless_5

Below the cut, @punkslovepoints answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I don’t know! I didn’t watch season 4 and immediately think, “These guys are in love.” In fact, during Eddie's first scene, I didn't really even like him. Then, existing on the edge of the wider Stranger Things fandom, I saw a few fics showing up here and there and that was what really pulled me in.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I love a good missing scene fic, although I can understand why there aren’t many of those in this fandom, given that staying true to canon leads to a very grisly end to one half of the ship. I also like a slow burn, friends to lovers and a wee bit of angst.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Honestly, the same that I like to read. I try to write for myself and hope that other people will like it too. As difficult as that can be sometimes, like everyone, I also crave external validation where every comment makes your day.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

A Certain Type and the rest of the series by @anniebass. It’s one of those that burrows into your chest and lives there for the rest of your life. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about that fic.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’m annoyingly resolute to sticking as close to canon as possible (Eddie dying aside!) so I’ve never really strayed away from that. But have had an idea for an AU for the upcoming Steddie Big Bang that I think I could write with enough connection to canon that it’ll keep the part of my brain that screams ‘that wouldn’t happen!!!’ quiet.

What is your writing process like?

I tend to get an idea then focus on that until it’s done and posted. I don’t write that often, and I obsess over small details. I must have read each one of my fics twenty times or more, just going over and over them before I post.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I don’t know! There’s probably a lot that I’m not even aware of. Most of my fics have a lot of references at the end, even ones that aren’t specifically historical, so that’s probably a dead giveaway that a fic is one of mine. That and going off on tangents for whatever my special interest is that month.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Definitely when I’ve finished. Although as I’m posting, people’s comments and feedback may inspire me to make small alterations or add scenes here or there in future chapters. I wrote an extra scene into the final chapter of The Most That I Could Give To You… to give an OC a proper send off because of the number of comments I’d had earlier in the fic from people who loved him. I also re-wrote the final scene of “The A is for Ally” the night I posted it because I decided I didn’t like how it ended and changed it.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Probably “The A is for Ally”, because of the sheer amount of research that I put into it. I wanted to write an exploration of queer history that focused on queer joy in the early 90’s. It can be hard to find that balance, writing queer ships set in less progressive times. Because it wasn’t all sunshine and roses, but, equally, there were moments of joy and communities of real queer people living their lives and fighting for those queer spaces. I wanted to pay tribute to that. [Side note: The title is a joke, the A is not for Ally].

How did you get the idea for What Happens at Comic Con Stays at Comic Con?

As with most of the fics I've written, I wanted to read it, so I wrote it. I was looking for something set at comic con and was shocked when I couldn't find anything, especially with the source material being what it is. I later discovered Descent into the Depths of the Earth (Or at Least Milwaukee) by disastardly on Ao3, but by then I'd written mine. Luckily they are totally different, and I'd highly recommend that one too.

When writing "The A is for Ally", what was something you didn’t expect?

How popular it got! I’m still a small writer, not a big name or anything, but I got so many more comments on that fic compared to all the ones before and @cemeterylight even drew art of it. It was so nice that something I wrote resonated with people.

What inspired in the back of your girlfriend's car?

There’s a song by Lucy Dacus called Christine that has the lines “You're falling asleep on my shoulder in the back of your boyfriend's car” that is a beautiful portrayal of queer longing. Loving somebody who is with somebody else who obviously isn’t right for them. I love Nancy, and wanted to follow that thought: What happens if Steve does win Nancy back, but they’re both different people now? My pitch for the fic is that it's an exploration of trauma and chasing highs, loving multiple people in multiple ways at once, messy relationships and making out in cars. All with a Steddie endgame, of course.

What was your favorite part to write from The most that I could give to you is nothing at all?

Probably the couple of chapters in California. Eddie and Steve have been hooking up on and off for a few years long distance, and after it all blows up, they agree to spend some time getting to know each other without letting sex get in the way. It was fun to write in that space where you have two people who are obviously in love, have a history, but are trying desperately to avoid falling into old habits. That simmering sexual tension.

How do/did you feel writing What Happens at Comic Con Stays at Comic Con?

Really nostalgic for going to comic con! I haven’t been to one in a few years and it just made me miss the feeling of being in a space where everyone is as weird and nerdy as you are.

What was the most difficult part of writing obliterations everywhere (we blaze with scorching heat)?

I hadn’t actually written a proper fic before when I wrote that one. I had written two drabbles over a decade ago and that was it. So just writing it was difficult. At the time, there were next to no fics where Eddie was the one having a bi crisis and Steve was fairly chill in his sexuality (there still aren’t enough in my opinion, it’s a top tier trope) so I just wrote what I wanted to read.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

Probably the whole conversation this snippet is taken from within The Most That I Could Give To You… where Steve has the charm turned up to eleven and Eddie is fighting for his life (figuratively this time). I adore writing the Stobin back and forth dynamic too, so there's this one from The Most That I Could Give To You… where they're talking about Sisyphus and May 29th 1992 from “The A is for Ally” where Robin sees something she wishes she hadn't. I also got a lot of nice comments on this scene from “The A is for Ally” where Wayne mistakenly thinks Steve and Eddie are dating and “Steve didn't correct him, didn't feel the distinction was all that important.”

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I’ve just posted a new one, Pebble and I've got another one that I’m part way through, both of them returning to my roots and featuring Eddie having a bi crisis. I’m also planning on taking part in the Steddie Bang, but obviously can’t talk about that!

Thank you to our author, @punkslovepoints, and our nominator, Nevertheless_5! See more of Sleepingoffyourdemons' works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

#steddie #steddie fic recs #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #stranger things #writer's wednesday #ao3 writer #steddie writers

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sweeter-innocence-fics · 6 months

Text

You Brought Your Worst and I’m Right Here - Chapter Six: No matter what I think

Pairing: Gale of Waterdeep x female Tav

Work Summary:

After an explosive falling out between Gale and his academic adviser, Mystra, Tav is left to pick up the pieces.

Modern/College AU.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Epilogue

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 1904

Read on AO3.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye

Taglist info

Previous Chapter

Notes:

all of the regular warnings for grooming, abuse, suicide, as well as alcohol I guess

---

Tav was sitting at a tucked away table in the corner of the student lounge with two glasses of wine in front of her. Shadowheart said she’d be here any minute, but the minutes kept ticking on by. Her glass was almost empty when her friend showed up, looking rather harried.

“Sorry,” said Jen, dropping her over-full bag onto the bench. “The professor wanted to give me some feedback on my last essay after the lecture and I couldn’t say no. Is this for me?” She indicated the full glass.

“Sure is.”

“Thanks.” Shadowheart tipped her head back and downed the wine in one long gulp. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and picked up Tav’s now empty glass. “I’ll get another round,” she said, and then headed off towards the bar.

Tav’s lips curled up into a smile. It was a Friday night, and both of them clearly needed this. Shadowheart returned a moment later with a full bottle of wine and two fresh glasses.

“Long week?” asked Tav as Shadowheart poured the drinks.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” said Jen. “I have some horror stories but I don’t wanna make you puke.”

“Try me.”

So she did. As Shadowheart regaled her with stories about the cadavers she had dissected, and the bodily fluids she had ended up covered in while pulling shifts at the hospital, Tav fought the urge to gag.

Shadowheart was in the process of describing the contents of a bedpan that she’d been cleaning when Tav finally held up a hand.

“Okay, you got me, I’m done. Please, no more.”

Jen began to laugh. “You lasted longer than I expected.”

“I don’t know how you do it.”

“You get used to it, I promise. So what about you? How is everything going? I’m glad to see that you and Gale are friends again.”

Tav frowned, staring down at her drink. She was on her third glass now and she was starting to feel a little buzzed. It was just enough to make her bold enough to say what she was going to say next.

“Jen, I have to tell you something, but you’ve got to promise you won’t tell Gale. Or anyone else.”

Shadowheart’s expression grew serious. “Of course,” she said. “What is it?”

Tav knew that she could trust her. She was good at keeping secrets. So she told her everything that Gale had told her, watching as her friend’s face grew paler and paler.

When Tav was finished, Shadowheart was drumming her fingertips on the table, visibly agitated.

“God, poor Gale,” she said. “He’s so sweet. He doesn’t deserve any of this.”

“I don’t know what to do,” said Tav, and then she burst into tears.

“Oh Tav…” She felt Jen’s hand resting between her shoulderblades, gently stroking up and down.

“I tried-” Her breath hitched painfully. “I tried to tell him to report her but he won’t. And I understand why he’s scared to but…” She scrubbed at her eyes with her sleeve. “She can’t get away with this. She can’t.”

“Tav…” Jen shifted uncomfortably. “This isn’t… This isn’t the first time I’ve heard something like this about Professor Mystryl.”

Tav looked up at her in confusion. “What?”

“I have some other friends who study physics and… well, apparently there are rumours about her tendency to favour young male students. She likes to mentor them personally. It’s sort of a running joke in the department, apparently.”

Tav felt like she might throw up. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I thought it was just a rumour! You know the kinds of things that people say whenever there’s a woman in a position of authority! I figured someone was just trying to discredit her, or making an off-colour joke, but… hearing this…”

“Gale might not be the first.”

The conversation was interrupted by Tav’s phone buzzing in her pocket. She pulled it out to see that Wyll was calling. Frowning, she answered it.

“Hello?”

“Tav, hey, is Gale with you?” Wyll’s voice came through tinny on the speaker, but his words still hit hard enough to make her stomach drop.

“No? Why?”

“He was supposed to be home an hour ago. I tried calling him but he didn’t answer.”

Tav felt the colour draining from her face. Between her and her flatmates, they’d worked out a system to ensure that Gale was never home alone, just in case. Nowadays, he mostly adhered to his schedule, pretty much only going out to go to classes. Where was he?

“Tav?” said Shadowheart nervously. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Gale isn’t home yet,” she answered. “I’m with Jen,” she added as an aside to Wyll. “And we’re coming home now. Let me know if he turns up.”

“I will. See you soon.”

She said goodbye to Wyll and then tried to hang up the phone, only then noticing how much her hands were shaking. She swore quietly, so Jen took the phone from her hand and hit the red button.

“I’m gonna call an uber, okay?” said Jen, squeezing Tav’s shoulder. “I’m sure he’s okay. He probably just got caught up studying and lost track of time.”

“Okay. I’m gonna try to call him.”

“Good idea.”

Her call when straight to voicemail. She tried to swallow her panic as she heard his voice telling her to leave a message, but she could taste bile in her mouth. She tried for a second and third time, with the same result.

She let Shadowheart guide her outside just as the uber was pulling up. Shadowheart did the talking, while Tav sat with her head back against the headrest, wondering if she might throw up.

“Is it alright if I open the window?” she asked the driver weakly.

“Go ahead,” he said, so she did so. The cool air was very welcome.

They were five minutes from home when her phone began to buzz again. Her heart leapt, but the caller ID read ‘Wyll’.

She answered it. “Hey Wyll.”

“Tav. Guess who just showed up.” Wyll sounded unamused. Although he was trying to temper his voice, she could tell he was angry.

“Gale? Is he home?”

“He is. He decided to walk home from campus, apparently. And his phone ran out of battery.”

Tav exhaled hard. “Seriously?”

“He’s very sorry for worrying everyone. I’m sorry I called you. I should’ve just waited.”

“No, you did the right thing. Thanks Wyll. We’ll back soon. And don’t worry, I’ll yell at Gale for you. I’m allowed to yell at him.”

Wyll chuckled awkwardly. “Not on my behalf, please. I’ll see you soon.”

Shadowheart was staring at her when she put the phone down. “Well?”

“He’s fine.” Tav relayed Wyll’s message, watching as Shadowheart frowned back at her.

“Well, that’s good,” she said. “He’s always been pretty absent-minded. It’s not surprising that he forgot to charge his phone.”

“Yeah.”

Shadowheart turned her attention back to the driver. “It’s just up here on the left, mate.”

The car had barely pulled in when Tav opened the door and jumped out. She hurried into the house to find Wyll in the hallway, waiting for her.

“Hey,” he said, frowning. “I’m sorry for calling. I shouldn’t have-”

“Yes, you should have,” she said, and then pulled him into a hug. “Is he okay?”

“He seems upset.” He kept his voice low. “He did apologise for worrying me, though. He went upstairs but he’s keeping his bedroom door open.”

“Thanks.” Behind her, she heard Shadowheart shutting the front door. “I’m gonna go check on him.”

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you.”

As promised, she found Gale in his bedroom, the door propped open. He was lying on top of the covers of his bed, scrolling on his phone. There was a puffiness to his eyes that made Tav frown.

She knocked lightly on the open door. “Gale?”

He turned to face her. “Hey Tav.” His voice was hoarse and throaty. “Wyll said he called you. I’m sorry.” He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I didn’t mean to worry everyone. I just… needed some air. I should’ve made sure my phone was charged before walking back.”

“It’s okay.” She could feel some of the anxiety leeching out of her now that she could see that Gale was safe, albeit clearly upset. “What happened?”

“Could you close the door please? I don’t want anyone else hearing.”

She shut the door and came to sit beside him on the bed. “What is it, Gale?”

“I had to turn in some paperwork to the physics department today, to change my academic adviser. I was just going to put it in Mystra’s pigeonhole but…” He shuffled awkwardly, not meeting her eye. “I decided to go and see her.” Tav opened her mouth, but he held up his hands. “I know, I know. I’m the king of making bad decisions. But I was sort of hoping that she might reconsider keeping me on as a student. Not as a lover. Just as a student. Separation of church and state. She really is a brilliant scientist and I learnt a lot under her.” He winced at his own wording. “You know what I mean.”

“Gale…”

“It doesn’t matter. Because as I was approaching her office, a young man walked out. I think he’s a second year. I’ve seen him at physics socials. He looked… dishevelled. And when he saw me standing there he had this look on his face like he’d been caught. And it was very clear what he and Mystra had been doing in her office.”

“Oh Gale.” Tav wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He didn’t hug her back, but he leant into her embrace. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s stupid.” Gale’s voice was thick with tears. “That this, after everything, feels like a betrayal. Perhaps I am a complete idiot, but part of me thought that she loved me. That what we had was real. At the very least, that she’d be as torn up about our separation as I am. But this… it’s clear that I was just some plaything to her, to be discarded when I’m more trouble than I’m worth.”

“You’re not an idiot,” Tav soothed, rubbing his back the way that Shadowheart had rubbed hers while she’d cried over Gale. “You believed what she wanted you to believe. She led you on and used you.”

Gale tilted his head towards her. Their faces were closer than she had realised. She could almost taste his breath. He could probably smell the wine on hers.

“Tav, I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’m sorry for pushing you away.”

She squeezed him. “We’re past that. No more apologies, remember?”

“Right.”

Their closeness had her pulse racing. She pulled back, disentangling herself from him.

“Gale, there’s something I should probably tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I was talking to Shadowheart earlier, and she… well, she mentioned that there were… rumours about Professor Mystryl.” Gale didn’t respond. He just stared back at her, so she took a deep breath. “Apparently, Professor Mystryl is known to… mentor young male students. It seems to be a pattern for her.”

Gale said nothing. He swallowed, looking away from her, and then nodded. “That… tracks, honestly.”

“I’m sorry, Gale.”

“I’m not.” His voice was steely, his expression hardened. “Not anymore. I’m going to take her down.”

Next Chapter

#bg3 gale #bg3 gale x tav #gale x tav #gale x female tav #baldurs gate 3 fanfiction

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factorialsotherfandoms · 10 months

Text

XCOM AU, set a bit before the whumptober exhaustion prompt (and maybe gets a chapter 2 covering either Mike's PoV post-rescue, or Pac's PoV of the rescue, but... well, I'll leave it 1/2 on ao3 until I have time to write it. It might be this evening, it might be in months, who knows). By this point the first of the eggs have been recovered, but Mike /does not know about them/. Because he was caught before then. As such, his info on what some things are is incorrect.

How the soul-bond works is not something I've explained and not something Pac and Mike quite understand, but tldr the further apart physically they are the harder it is to do anything with it, and more faint the 'passive' bond is. As in, what they just feel and get without putting effort in. Also the further they are apart the quicker doing shit like 'shielding each other from psychic powers' will tire them out. Pac absolutely ends up unconscious not long after Mike the first time around.

TW: torture, magical mind manipulation, serious head injuries

Pac is faint in Mike's brain, and for once it is a blessing. He hangs onto that fact, onto the fact he can tell his soulmate is safe - safe and not nearby - and bares his teeth at his enemy. It's been weeks now, if not months, pinned to the wall, tortured and starved and unable to move. The muscles in his arms are past strained, hands long number and still up there.

His glasses are shattered on the floor and, for some reason, it makes him even angrier than the rest.

One Cucurucho sits in the corner, a desk dragged into the cell in a mockery of professionalism. It has a tablet and stylus at the ready to take notes.

Mike refuses to give it anything of use.

And then the aliens. Two Sectoids are held on leashes by a Federation Guard, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

And then the Hunter, the Federation's pet sniper, something once human, twisted and corrupted and changed. Faster, sharper, with eyes that see further and hands too steady and psionics the likes of which not even the Order have seen before.

The Hunter, the Assassin, the Warlock, the Federation's three perfect soldiers. Human DNA spliced with alien, then turned out to destroy the world.

He holds a pistol under Mike's chin, pressing up and into the soft flesh just there. Still Mike hisses and snarls and refuses to give in. His body is littered with scars and injuries from the torture, his nails broken or gone, his teeth bloody, his skin torn.

Still he does not give in.

"You will tell me," the Hunter demands. "Where are the eggs. We know your people stole them, boy..."

"I don't have a fucking clue what you're talking about," Mike snarls back, trying to push forward and only catching himself on the gun.

There's some few surviving chickens who live on Kristin's farm - Philza's mentioned them before, and sometimes they get a delivery for the canteen - but he slipped last week and mentioned that. Whatever eggs the Federation want, it's not them.

"Of course you do," the Hunter continues. "How could you not? Hasn't your little friend let something slip to you? We all know about him. We all know you two do the..." his tongue flicks across his lick, and for a horrifying moment Mike remembers the Cell of years ago "/research/."

How dare he, how fucking dare he bring Pac into this. Of course they know about him - about them - but how /dare/ he.

"Haven't done research in years," Mike just about manages to gather some spit, aiming it at the Hunter's eye. He misses, but does hit his deathly-blue tongue. "Neither's he. Tubbo and Aypierre took over R&D years ago. You know this. You tortured him, too."

Cucurucho's blank eyes are watching them now, the tablet placed down and hands folded atop the desk.

"Are you sure about that?" the Hunter's fingers move over the trigger.

"We're not so stupid as to let field agents know the details of R&D," Mike lies through his teeth. Like you could ever keep him and Pac from the labs. "Moron."

"Then I guess we have no use for you."

The Hunter's finger twitches. Mike fucking dares him to try.

He definitely went to pull the trigger, but then freezes.

"Wait."

The robotoic, familiar voice of Cucurucho says. The creature - fuck knows if its an alien, a robot, or some lab-grown abomination - slowly stands.

Slowly walks over.

Keeps its hands clasped before it.

"I will take over this investigation," Cucurucho says, completely bland.

The Hunter lowers the gun.

The Federation worker and both sectoids drop dead.

Cucurucho's eyes glow purple, and it reaches one set of claws to Mike's cheek.

He throws every secret he can from his mind, throws it all back at Pac, along their strained and distant bond. He hides the core of himself there, too, everything he should be or could be or wants, hiding in the security of his soulmate as a creature of the Federation tries to break into his skull.

Even so distant, even so far apart, Pac manages to throw a shield around them.

Keep the information safe.

Keep everything that Mike /is/ safe.

Keep Mike from dying once again.

He can feel Pac's questions now, now he's forced himself into their bond, and their terror merges into one. Mike's still linked to himself, can still feel his brain bleed information as Cucurucho rips through it, reading not just his mind but his very soul. Steals everything there - or rather copies it - from schematics of old weapons to the identities of the prominent Order members to Mike's memories from before the war.

Claws scrape along Pac's shield. The essence of Pac's being holds the essence of Mike's being closer, entwining them and the truly /dangerous/ information together for as long as he can, keeps the shield up as long as he can.

It's agony, agony, agony, to feel something tear through Mike's very soul. But he's also closer to Pac than he has been in - in months, he reads from Pac, closer than he's been in months - and he drinks the comfort he can from his soulmate.

Even like this, even expending so much energy to twine over continents, Mike still cannot feel Pac's words.

Mike tires the faster, torture and mind fuckery taking their toll, but even Pac is flagging before Cucurucho pulls away.

Mike is aware of all of himself at once, of course, starts instinctively placing memories back in their proper place while Pac tries to cling to him longer.

"Useless," Cucurucho deems him.

Relief he didn't let anything slip floods Mike, even as Pac grows in terror. The grip they have on each other is slipping, slipping, slipping..

Cucurucho returns to its desk.

The Hunter raises the pistol.

Mike readies himself to die, and Pac refuses to let him go.

It's not a gunshot that comes; the pistol slams into the side of Mike's head.

The force is too much; Mike's head cracks to the side, and he feels something break.

Everything goes black.

When the world comes back, there are hands on him - he doesn't get it, doesn't understand, but Pac is still distant - reaches to cling to him as soon as the black fades - so Mike doesn't care. He doesn't have the energy to reach along the bond for Pac, but he knows how to fight and fight and keeps on fighting.

His skin is torn and he tears skin in turn and he doesn't know what is happening, but the hands are not human hands and the claws are distinctly monstrous claws so he fights and he fights and he keeps on fighting.

He sees but does not understand, touches but does not feel, listens but cannot hear, so he keeps on fighting.

A rifle butt cracks across the back of his skull.

This time he can hear Pac's scream as light turns black once more.

#qsmp fanfic #qsmp mike #qsmp pac #qsmp cucurucho #qsmp tazercraft #qsmp au #qsmp x xcom #hybrids and similar count as human for internal monologue and legal purposes so long as they are naturally occurring and native to earth #the hunter assassin and warlock are actually proto-eggs #proofs of concept before they started making eggs for purposes of possession #they became too individual to overwrite and so are now the federation's genetically engineered supersoldiers #its not actually seconds between the two cracks to the head its days #mike is... really not in a good way by the time people find him

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eternityunicorn · 10 months

Text

*NEW* Part One (+18)

Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x OC Eternity (NonCon: Klaus Mikaelson x OC Eternity)

Genre: Darkfic/Romance/AU

Warnings: Language/Violence/Smut (*Smut chapters marked +18)

NOTICE: R*pe scene in this first chapter! Do not proceed, if that bothers you! See author notes for more info!

Summary: Klaus Mikaelson found a way to gain the power he always wanted. He captured the most powerful creature in existence, keeping her captive and taking her power from her, night after night. For a century, he has done this, but it’s about to come to an end. His estranged brother, Elijah Mikaelson, has discovered this secret weapon and comes to rescue the lady from his deranged sibling. But what will Elijah do with her, once she’s in his possession? Grant her freedom? Or keep her for himself?

Read Here: AO3/Wattpad

Tag List: @elejah-wonderland @darknightfrombeyond @beautyandwords @elijahfangirl1984 @njeancastro316 @arrthurpendragon

#new fic #chapter update #fic: possession #elijah mikaelson #oc: eternity #elijah x eternity #elinity #alternate universe #alternate pairing #the originals #the vampire diaries #tvd au #to au

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sticks-and-souls · 1 year

Note

8, 22? :)

Thank you so much for sending this ask, I've always wanted to do one of these!!

8. What projects are you currently working on?

Long fics! (mostly) Which ultimately means I’m doing a lot of writing and not a lot of posting. I’ve never posted long fics before and I’m discovering that—because I’m trying to aim for certain places in a story—I need to have a strong foundation in my opening chapters. So I’m reworking them and revising them (hopefully not to death) every time I build another chapter. My two main long fics are:

a) Foxiyo political intrigue! I fell into Foxiyo on tumblr by accident (the way most of us have) and was so in love with them and came up with all these fluffy scenes between them that made me want to try my hand at a multi-chapter fic. Except I had no plot.

e.g. Me: They’re hiding in a supply closet and overhear critical info! The ambiance! Such atmosphere!

Also me: What info, Souls??? How did they get there? How can you describe people plotting against them if you don’t have any plot???

…And in the process of finding any plot, I ended up coming up with a LOT of plot. But I really really like it so far and I’m really proud of the world building that I’ve done on the Coruscant political scene and imagining how Riyo and Fox each exist in that world and how they need support (and find it in each other). I’m hoping to start posting this fall/winter.

b) Maul redemption arc via Force Quest(TM) with Ahsoka. I have no chapters written but an entire outline composed of many staple fleshed out scenes, overall plot/character arcs, and main themes. This started as a casual musing of “what would cause Maul to turn to the Light?” that has ended up tackling the big questions about what makes people do evil acts--and when does that cross the line into them becoming evil people, whether people deserve forgiveness, is the world inherently uncaring, covered with loads of my own interpretations of the Light and Dark sides of the Force.

In the meantime, I miss actually posting, so I have a thranto short-fic of loosely related one-shots tied together (the thranto brain rot is so real) that I’m trying to fit in to my writing time, and also the vibes for Battle Scars just refuse to let up and I have a 3rd chapter idea that’s starting to take shape.

I have two other WIP ideas with enough of the plot/narrative sketched out that I haven’t let them go yet, but based on how long it takes for me to write content for the projects above that I really care about, I’m not sure I’ll ever get to them. (but if anybody goes rabid over them posted here I’ll consider them more closely). They are:

a) Codywan Pride and Prejudice AU. It would be a parody vibe and I would be trying to practice writing humor but I watched P&P this summer and I think my idea of execution is solid.

b) Rexsoka Modern-day Road Trip AU. I actually really love this one and if I come back to Rexsoka, I would love to do this. Anakin wants to do the Great American Road Trip for his bachelor party; themes include coming of age, you can never go home but maybe that’s not as bad as it sounds, and found family.

22. Do you know how your fic will end before you start writing?

If you define writing as “opening a file and starting to create a chapter that will eventually make it to AO3”, then, for the most part, yes (Battle Scars being the glaring exception). The details of that ending are vague, but if I were to give a summary of the entire work, I can tell you the sentence that describes the ending before I decide to start writing. In fact, it’s usually the realization that I have enough plot/character points for a full story that incentivizes me to finally start writing “Chapter One”.

That said, at least 75% of my “writing time” is a Notes file with my story ideas and completely informal scene sketches. Even for my two “probably never write this” ideas above, I have Notes files several pages long outlining the plot points, random scene details, story ambiance, and even some dialogue for key scenes that I didn’t want to forget. And I seriously will probably never find time to write them.

Thanks again for asking and I would honestly love to ask these same questions back to you!

#foxiyo #sw the clone wars #my writing #ask meme

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thehypotensivegrad · 1 year

Text

The Adviser (22/45) | Bechloe Mafia AU

Secrets - Chapter Preview (Read the rest on ao3)

It's been three days since the incident. The incident being another attack at the building and the last broadcast that the rest of the tenants were apparently no longer a part of. Aubrey assured them that everything was being handled and that there was no need for anymore broadcasts. Cynthia Rose was curious as to why, but Beca said that she had the info that she needed and that she will handle things from there, and Cynthia Rose dared not argue back.

They were all still all kinds of bruised up and sore, but other than that, everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Either Aubrey or Chloe would update the tenants daily, even when there was little progress, just to loop them in. They were all in this together now after all.

That noontime was the first time they ended up all gathered up at Cynthia Rose's restaurant since the incident, further giving Cynthia Rose the feeling that they truly were one unit now. A strong team raising hell against Babel and fighting for justice. Even Beca was there, having been dragged along by Chloe. This of course gave Cynthia Rose all the motivation she needed to make a wonderful meal for everyone. She wouldn't dare disappoint Beca, not after she started sending her to culinary school.

They all pushed the tables together, eating together as one family – dare Cynthia Rose call it that? – for lunch, but no one touched their food until Beca was served hers and had a chance to taste it. When she gave Cynthia Rose a thumbs up, everyone released their breathes, relaxed and started eating too.

Most of the conversations during meal time were focused a little less on the business with Babel and more on the happenings on their personal life. Chloe had gone back to her father's home, Aubrey was busy tidying up legal matters on their recent assault while juggling things for Dr. Mitchell's case. The rest of the tenants had rallied behind him since the incident with Calamity and her parent's financial firm getting tied up with Babel. Chloe and Beca had been the one checking in on him recently, making sure he was okay. From the sound of it, he had some kind of complication. Surgery was nearly used to mitigate the situation. Cynthia Rose did her best to follow the jargons. Despite not understanding most of it, she did know that Dr. Mitchell is okay, and the treatment they administered had worked without the need for surgery.

After lunch, Cynthia Rose served everyone some tea and coffee and a plate of biscuits. Flo commented how this was the first time they had a proper get-together with no meetings and no schemes being plotted. Jessica noted that it was nice. Ashley suggested that, if they weren't all too busy, they should do this more often. Denise thought they could throw in a little bit of fun and have a game.

"What do you have in mind?" Benji asked.

"Oh, how about a game of mafia?" Bumper suggested.

And for whatever reason, Beca started choking on her coffee. Chloe laughed and Aubrey gave out a chuckle.

"No one's actually a member of the mafia in the game, Beca," Aubrey then said trying her best to keep a straight faced. Cynthia Rose would be lying if she said this wasn't the first time she had seen the attorney look so amused.

"It's technically like this," Emily then piped up as she tried to hurriedly explain the rules. "We write down different roles on a piece of paper and draw lots. Someone gets to be the narrator, or the game master, whatever you want to call it. They tell us if it's night time. If it is, we all close our eyes. Then they would ask for the mafia members, at least one or two, to open their eyes and pick a target by pointing at them. That target dies when morning comes. The narrator then gets the mafia to close their eyes and asks the doctor to open theirs, pick someone to save, and then close their eyes again. Lastly, the detective is asked to open their eyes, they point to someone they suspect and the narrator will confirm if they're part of the mafia or not. There's also a judge but they don't do much at night. Everyone else get to just be citizens. When morning comes and we get to know who is killed, we all get to discuss who we think is a mafia member and vote someone out. The narrator will confirm if we got it right or not and then a new round starts. If the doctor saves the right person, then they don't die. The detective, meanwhile, can't reveal their role but if they find out who the mafia are, they can direct the conversations and push on voting someone out. If the judge is killed, the mafia automatically win."

"I think I get the gist of it," Beca replied. "But maybe I shouldn't be the narrator, I don't want to mess It up."

"Then I'll take on that role for the games today, how about it?" Cynthia Rose volunteered. "And next time, we can draw lots for it."

"Great idea, CR," Aubrey agreed and so did the rest of the tenants.

And so, the games begun and the tenants drew lots.

They drummed on the table as the narrator talked about how it was night time and it was time for them. The two members of the mafia ended up being Beca and Lilly. They were pretty much in sync in selecting their victim, with their first being Bumper.

The doctor ended up being Bumper, who tried to save Amy. That was a good kill for the pair, Cynthia Rose thought, as the doctor can't save anyone. But the citizens still have a shot. She sat next to Aubrey saw she drew the judge role. She was partly worried they'd win in one go if Beca picked Aubrey – and she did consider it. She smirked before she finalized her decision on Bumper and Lilly quickly agreed. Cynthia Rose couldn't help but wonder if that smirk meant she had a feeling that the judge was Aubrey. Beca sat opposite her across the table, and Lilly was far down the left so neither could have known. Either way, Beca's instinct sure was spot on.

The next was the detective, who happened to be Jesse. He picked Bumper as his first suspect to which Cynthia Rose shook her head to clear him off suspicion.

Doesn't matter, he's dead anyways.

Cynthia Rose had everyone open their eyes and was getting ready to reveal who was out of the game, having been killed by the "mafia" when all of a sudden a group of four men walked into the restaurant wearing suits. They showed everyone their badges – FBI – and revealed a document. A warrant for the arrest of Beca Bella.

Things happened too fast for Cynthia Rose to follow after that. They read Beca her rights. They were arresting her for some trumped up charge, she figured. Babel had to behind this.

Why on earth would someone arrest anyone for being… What did they say again? Con-woman? No, that didn't sound right… it was more like corn salad?

What the heck does that even mean?

Beca looked unfazed, and was cooperative. Emily looked panicked. Jesse started rambling excuses about needing to go to the bathroom for an emergency really quickly. It would seem lunch didn't sit so well with Jesse. Or perhaps he gets anxious around law enforcement personnel? Aubrey and Chloe quickly scrambled on their feet. Lilly looked like she was about to murder someone and Emily was quick to reassure her. It would seem that Lilly was very passionate to prove Beca's innocence. In truth, all of them were.

But for now, what could they do, but hope that their trusted pair of attorney's would set things straight and set Beca free.

She was, after all, one of them now.

#bechloe #bechloe fanfic #bechloe fanfiction #pitch perfect #beca mitchell #chloe beale #beca and chloe #beca x chloe #bechloe mafia au #bechloe vincenzo au #bechloe lawyers au

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one-leaf-grimoire · 2 years

Text

◇ long fics

» note: some of these are only on AO3, some have Tumblr links as well

Child of the Sun

fandom: black clover

next-gen AU

synopsis: In the twenty years since the defeat of Lucius Zogratis, the Clover Kingdom has changed drastically. The new Wizard King, Asta, had created a nation of hope and equality, and the future seems to be bright. However, there are still shadows of old enemies and new evils lurking in the undergrowth, and it will be up to the next generation to fight them back. And caught in the middle of it all is Juno Novachrono. As the second daughter of Julius Novachrono, she strives to live up to his legacy, but old histories have come back to haunt her. She has always known she was different from her siblings, and always known that her mother, Lisa, has kept the truth from her; and now, the secrets and lies meant to protect her could be her undoing.

masterlist

ao3 link

Contract

fandom: chainsaw man

relationship: kishibe x f!OC

synopsis: Handa's life is turned upside down after a Devil attack, and she reveals herself to be a fiend. The only problem is that she had no idea, having lived a completely normal life up until this point. However, as she is forced to become a Devil Hunter, she must adapt to a life that's far from normal, and learn how to survive in this world as she unravels the mystery of her very existence. The Hunted must become the Hunter ; And she must learn to trust those around her.

Warnings: canon-typical violence, suggestive content, distressing scenes

Chapters: 29/ongoing

A03 link

The Knight Who Pierced the King's Heart

fandom: black clover (medieval au)

relationship: Julius Novachrono x f!OC, various OC x Canon pairings

synopsis: The Knight did not expect to win the jousting tournament that day. The King did not expect to fall in love that day. Neither of them were prepared for the events that followed, leading to rekindled wars, ancient cults, and a world determined to ruin them both.

warnings: violence, distressing scenes, suggestive content, 18+ content only in the AO3 version

chapters: 34/ongoing

AO3 link

Tumblr Link

Illusion

fandom: black clover

relationship: Julius Novachrono x f!reader

synopsis: After a traumatic attack, a member of the Grey Deer realizes that someone on her own squad is out to get her. Out of all the people she considers her friends and comrades, two of them committed a brutal crime, leaving her in a paranoid, frightened state. Why would they do this? Why her? What is going to happen now? Among all the fear, she knows there's at least one person she can trust: her very own Vice Captain, Julius.

warnings: violence, distressing scenes, 18+ content in one version

chapters: 18/ongoing

AO3 link (18+ version)

AO3 link (safe for work version)

Triad

fandom: black clover (Julius dies au)

relationship: Julius Novachrono x f!OC (past)

synopsis: Julius Novachrono, the 28th Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom, is dead. But the chaos that ensues is not the only thing he leaves behind. In order to preserve his legacy, a new widow prepares to claw her way to the top, despite the huge obstacles in her path. Meanwhile, a brand new threat rears its head, and perhaps the end is inevitable. This is just the first of many long, lonely nights, but she must embrace it and let go of her past if she is to undo the damage that's been done... even if that means forsaking the one thing that makes her human.

note: This is a sequel to my fic "Dyad." This fic is going to be a little confusing if you haven't read "Dyad," but there's some info about it in the first chapter. Also this is a completely non-canon-compliant fic because of new manga developments, and I have abandoned this plot in my OC Lisa's lore. I will archive it here still for fun but don't take it too seriously.

warning: violence, grief, mentions of depression

chapters: 25/25

AO3 link

Dyad

fandom: black clover

relationship: Julius Novachrono x f!reader

synopsis: Once believed to be nothing more than a weak commoner with barely any magic, she proved them all wrong when a mysterious symbol appeared on her forehead, granting her the powers that she sought after for so long. However, this could be a curse rather than a blessing; She is marked for a fate that she is not prepared for. Despite this fact, she isn't alone. The Dyad is made of two parts, after all.

note: Although this is a reader insert fic, it also serves as my OC Lisa's official lore :)

warnings: canon-typical violence, 18+ content in one version

A03 link (18+ content)

Quotev Link (safe for work)

#black clover #julius novachrono #bc oc #oc: lisa #long fics #dyad #triad #illusion #tkwptkh #contract #masterlist #julius novachrono x reader #julius novachrono x oc #kishibe csm #kishibe csm x reader #kishibe csm x oc

22 notes · View notes

emepe · 5 months

Text

— Pairing: Eren x Reader, friends to lovers

— General info: series, 18+, modern AU, serial killer AU, smut, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

— Chapter summary: Eren dwells on the possible consequences of not saying three little words back. However, a week at the Jaeger house only makes your bond grow stronger and for your trust in each other to manifest in more ways than one.

— Content warnings: nsfw, dry humping, sloppy make out, vaginal sex, handjob, oral sex (f receiving), multiple positions, dirty talk.

— Notes: Chapter 9 is finally here! <3 This is my second favorite chapter in the entire series. It’s a long one, so buckle up because lots of things happen. Reblogs and likes are highly appreciated. Don’t be shy to stop by my ask box <3 If anyone else would like to be added to the tag list, lmk. Happy reading!

Links: Read on AO3 | Chapter guide | Masterlist

home is in your arms

The passing scenery from inside of the rental car is bursting with color. Toasty yellows, cheerful blues, fresh greens, and vibrant reds span your vision as you drive across the town. It's a stark contrast to the icy whites and blues you left behind just a few hours ago when you took a flight to Paradis Island.

Eren's free hand rests on your thigh while the other steers the wheel. His sunglasses are low on the bridge of his nose and the warm wind comes in through the lowered windows and teases his hair.

You bite down on the ice cream sandwich in your hands before humming for Eren's attention and offering him a bite, too.

He chomps down on the snack, laughing when you pout at the significant reduction of the treat he brought you at the convenience store next to the car rental shop. He insisted he didn't want anything other than the bottle of cold water snug in the cupholder, so you only offered him a bite of your ice cream to be nice, but didn't expect him to be so greedy.

You click your tongue in annoyance before playfully slapping his hand from your thigh.

It only fuels his amusement. At the next red light, he leans over the console, using his reprimanded hand to pull you closer by the back of your neck into an enthusiastic kiss.

“I'll get you another one later,” he promises before falling back into his seat, his warm hand back in its original spot.

He strokes soothing stripes with his thumb, switching to tapping beats with his fingertips when he happens to like a song on the radio.

“I'm really happy you came,” he grins.

You glance at him with a smile.

“I can tell,” you tease.

On the days leading up to your year-end holiday trip to the Jaeger family's hometown, Eren has barely done anything to keep his excitement under wraps.

His face would light up each time he talked about showing you around the streets he grew up in before his late father moved them to the city when he was just six years old. After Eren grew up and could properly fend for himself — his parents moved back to Paradis Island to live out a more relaxed life until Eren's dad, Grisha, passed at the hands of an illness a couple of years back. It's the only time Eren's been back that hasn't been for the winter holidays. This year, it just made sense that you joined him.

“You think your mom will like me?” you ask, neatly folding the ice cream wrapper into a small square that you wedge beside your water bottle in the cupholder.

“Are you kidding?” he grins. “She's thrilled I'm finally bringing you over. She's gonna love you.”

You smile as you continue to look out the window through your sunglasses, oblivious to the sudden shift in Eren's demeanor after his reassuring words.

It's been roughly a month since you told him you love him. It's been just as long since he failed to say it back — not because it'd be a lie, but because he was simply shocked and overwhelmed with emotion at the time.

He's been trying to find an opening to say it, but you haven't pronounced those three words since, and with every passing day, it's gotten more embarrassing to just say it out of the blue. For a while, his paranoia even led him to believe your confession to be no longer true since you neglected to bring it up after it happened, so the topic has been hanging in the air for a while. Not that you seem consumed by it as much as he is. You've been perfectly fine since that night, much so that he'd actually prefer if you confronted him about it so he gets a chance to preach his true feelings.

“Oh, wow,” you gasp as he pulls through the open gate of his childhood home.

Your eyes scan the area. It's a lovely home with a manicured lawn, hydrangea patches and neatly trimmed rose bushes overflowing with pink and white. The two-story house is painted in peach with terracotta tiles lining the roof of the terrace, and colorful handmade pots on either side of the front steps. To the left is a small driveway that Eren steers the car towards, and to the right is a small ornate gate painted in white that leads to the backyard where you catch a glimpse of a pool.

A woman — whom you presume is Eren's mother — eagerly rushes out the front door at the sound of the foreign car.

Much to your surprise, she calls out your name first, passing by her son and pulling you into her arms instead.

“You're finally here,” she gushes. Your arms awkwardly hang at your sides, taken aback by the sudden contact, but you quickly regain control over yourself as you sink into the warm welcome. She sways your body from side to side as she exclaims how happy she is to finally meet you.

Your heart flutters with an unfamiliar sensation, one you haven't experienced in years as Carla Jaeger’s motherly affection lightens your soul.

“Look at you,” she says, pulling back and cupping your face between her soft hands to soak in every detail of your face. “You're so pretty.”

“Thank you so much,” you smile. “It's so nice to meet you.”

You take the opportunity to observe the woman before you. Eren's shown you a few pictures before, but Carla's even more beautiful up close. Though still fairly young, it's easy to tell she's one of those people whose powerful genetics allow them to age gracefully. She shares the same large eyes as Eren, though hers have a caramel color to them, and they crinkle more at the corners when she smiles. Her thick eyebrows match her voluminous head of dark hair, which is fixed in a loose braid over her shoulder.

She's wearing a long flowy dress that easily outshines your airport look made up of a pair of baggy jeans and an oversized graphic tee with a hoodie tied at your waist, but the way she looks at you makes you feel as though you may as well be stepping off the runway given the twinkle of admiration shining in her eyes.

Eren regards the endearing scene between his mother and girlfriend with a smile etched on his face. He can tell you're shy but just as happy for the warm welcome.

He clears his throat suddenly, garnering the attention of both women.

“I'm here, too, mom,” he sassily pronounces with his hands openly asking for the same attention.

Carla laughs and walks over to him, but not before affectionately squeezing your hands and tossing you a playful eye roll.

She wraps her son in a tight hug, forcing him to hunch over to accommodate her petite stature as he reciprocates her embrace.

“My baby boy,” she coos, much to Eren's embarrassment as he blushes profusely when he notices your teasing smile.

A yearning feeling pulls at your heartstrings at the scene of mother and child reunited.

Carla ushers you inside the house, asking you all about the flight on the way. You and Eren trail behind her to the kitchen, where she takes out a pitcher from the fridge while you sit down at the bar.

“Not too bad, right?” Eren glances at you, encouraging you to take part in the conversation.

You smile at him appreciatively before turning to Carla, watching as she carefully pours lemonade into two glasses and offers them to you.

“Smoothest airport experience ever,” you agree before taking a sip. “Even though I don't have much to compare it to.”

“Why's that, hon?”

Your heart flutters at the affectionate name you've earned without trying.

“Oh, it was her first time on a plane,” Eren explains, tossing you a smile.

“Really?” Carla's eyebrows rise in surprise. “What'd you think?”

“It was okay,” you reply with a shrug, trying to seem cool about it. But Eren outs you as soon as the words leave your mouth.

“I had to hold her hand during take-off,” he bluntly states, earning himself a slap on his shoulder.

“You don't have to expose me like that!”

“Hey, I wasn't complaining,” he laughs. “It was cute.”

Your face burns when he pecks your cheek, and you nervously glance at Carla, who only laughs at your exchange.

“You two are adorable,” she gushes.

Her words fluster you even more.

Eren teasingly wiggles his eyebrows at you before chugging the rest of his drink and hopping off his stool.

“I'm gonna get our suitcases.” He turns to his mom. “Are we in my old room or did you already turn it into a yoga studio?”

Carla shakes her head.

“It's a craft corner now,” she clarifies, holding up a finger. “You're staying in the pool house. I fixed it up this morning.”

Eren nods, humming in approval.

“Nice. Thanks, mom.”

He ventures out of the house, leaving you and Carla alone.

“I figured you could use some privacy,” she adds once her son is out of earshot.

You laugh nervously at her mischievous smile. Her eyes crinkle in amusement before she wears a more serious expression.

“How's my son treating you? Is he good to you?”

Carla — though very stern about making sure Eren grew up to be a good person, and proud that he did — is one who will still check in every now and then to make sure nothing has led him astray. Especially in situations that are so rare in his life, like romance is.

You smile, easing her worries instantly.

“He's incredibly kind,” you softly say. “I couldn't be happier.”

Carla relaxes into a smile.

“That's good to hear.”

“He's a very respectful man,” you add. “At least in my case, it’s been pretty hard to come across genuinely good guys, but ones like Eren are especially rare… He’s very caring… and patient… and understanding. You and Mr. Jaeger raised a wonderful person.”

A dust of pink surfaces Carla's cheeks at the compliment.

She reaches across the counter to place her hand on top of yours.

“You know, I was so excited when he told me he started seeing someone. For a while I worried he just wanted to be alone,” she admits. “Not that there's anything wrong with that. I've always said it's better to be alone than to keep the wrong company, but he’s been so happy every time he calls me up since you started dating… I'm glad he has the same effect on you.”

“Well, he makes it easy.”

You share a smile with each other, holding hands in silence.

You aren't as nervous as you thought you'd be when Eren first told you he wanted you to come to Paradis with him to meet his mom.

She's got a calming energy that easily soothes you in her presence — much like her son.

“I meant to say this earlier, but your house is lovely,” you say as you look around, eyes landing on every pop of color provided by eclectic knick-knacks and accent walls, handmade vases and colorful flowers. It's like someone took your apartment and turned the dial as far as it can go, it's unapologetically loud without being overwhelming. “It’s like a dollhouse.”

“I decorated it myself,” she grins. “Picked the palette, the furniture, everything.”

“That's amazing,” you breathe, highly impressed. “Eren told me you used to work as an interior designer.”

She nods.

“I did. I majored in art in college but my father already had an architecture firm so that's where everything fell in place for me after I graduated.”

You politely nod along.

“I like to dabble in lots of things now. I still paint and take on private clients now and then, but I spend a lot of time on my hobbies. Knitting, sewing, baking, Italian, gardening…”

Your eyes widen as the list goes on, especially when it's a hobby of your liking, too.

“You saw the pots outside?”

You nod.

“Made those, too,” she proudly states.

Your smile grows as does your admiration for the talented woman before you.

Eren told you some basic things before coming, but he failed to mention how remarkable his mother truly is.

“That's incredible,” you sigh.

“What about you?” she smiles. “What do you do outside of work? Eren told me you're an office administrator?”

“Office manager, yeah, it's not a very glamorous job,” you chuckle. “But I like knitting, too. And reading, cooking… but baking is my favorite.”

She claps with glee at the last of the list.

“Oh, good! You can help me make cookies tomorrow!”

“Yes, of course!” you reply, mirroring her enthusiasm.

She squeals with delight.

“Oh, it's so nice to finally have a baking buddy,” she gushes. “Eren only helps lick the batter off the spoon.”

You laugh.

“Eren, what?”

The man himself wanders into the kitchen with an accusing gaze.

“Oh, nothing,” you say, dismissing him with a wave of your hand. “Just exchanging war stories with your mom.”

In his ever-lingering childish manner, Eren pouts.

“Hey,” he complains. “She's still my mom. She'll report back to me later.”

He glances at Carla for backup, but the lively woman tears down his idea on the spot.

“I wouldn't dare. Girl talk is sacred.”

She holds up her pinky in your direction, which you gladly link with while laughing at Eren’s playful scowl.

“You two should get settled in before dinner,” she says, waving you out of the kitchen. “I'm making bolognese.”

“Oh, would you like some help?” you offer.

But she shakes her head while waving her hands in front of her.

“No need, honey. Just go unpack and I'll call you out. You're probably tired from the flight here.”

Before you can insist any further, Eren laces your hands together and gestures to you to follow him out with a nod and his signature boyish grin.

He leads you out to the backyard through the sliding doors at the back of the dining room.

The pool water sparkles underneath the sizzling sun at the center of the vibrant green of the freshly cut grass. A few lawn chairs are scattered along the poolside under the shade of a tree.

On the other end of it all, there's a simple, one-story construction in the same peach tone and the same terracotta tiles from the main house. Eren holds the door open for you to step into a colorful lounge area equipped with a bar and kitchenette, with two doors along the left wall that lead to other rooms.

“It's a mini-dollhouse,” you murmur in amazement as your eyes go from the royal blue curtains to the yellow velvet sofa to the oddly-shaped acrylic coffee table before it, to the green and blue mismatched tiles that take up the northern wall of the kitchenette.

Eren amusedly watches you wander over to the doors on the left side.

“There's a pink bathtub!” You turn to him in surprise.

He laughs as he rejoins your hands and guides you to the bedroom.

“I've never seen a pink bathtub,” you murmur, still amazed by what you saw in the bathroom.

“Come here,” Eren grins, sitting down on the edge of the bed and pulling you onto his lap.

He looks up at you, eyes shimmering as he brushes your hair out of your face.

“Are you happy?”

You smile as you lock your hands behind his neck.

“Very.”

“Yeah?”

You reply with an eager nod as you close the gap between you to kiss the corner of his lips. He doesn't allow you to pull away, his hand keeping you in place as he returns the kiss.

He falls back onto the bed, pulling you down with him by the waist.

You rest on your sides, regarding each other in comfortable silence.

“Do you think we can find a place with a pink bathtub?” you wonder out loud after a few minutes.

Eren laughs.

“Are you still thinking about that?”

“I can't help it! This place is amazing,” you gush.

“Just wait til the New Year's Eve party,” he says. “You're gonna love it.”

“Tell me about it,” you ask him, snuggling into his chest.

“Let’s see,” he murmurs, as he squeezes your frame. “There’s music and champagne. My mom has a friend who owns a catering business and they serve the most incredible food. My mom decorates the terrace with all these flowers and lights, and at the stroke of midnight there's a fireworks show to celebrate the new year.”

“That sounds so nice,” you smile, then lean back to look at him. “Any New Year's kiss plans, Jaeger?”

“I don't know,” he sighs. “There's this girl I have a huge crush on but I don't know if she'll say yes.”

“That's too bad,” you say. “One-sided crushes are the worst.”

He nods in mock disappointment.

“I'll just have to settle for you.”

“I guess you should.”

He kisses your cheek once, which soon transforms into a full-on attack of affection as he tickles and pokes your sides, making you laugh until you're gasping for air and tears of joy line your eyes.

Laughter echoes throughout the Jaeger home as the three of you browse the pages of Eren's baby photo albums.

After a relaxing shower and filling your bellies with heaps of Carla's pasta — she promised to pass on the recipe to you before you left — she left the dining room with a mischievous grin on her face, only to return with a stack of five albums, one for each early year of his life, and a box with more photos from later years.

The three of you curled up on the sofa in the living room — you in between each Jaeger.

“This one has to be my new favorite,” you laugh as you land on a new spread.

Your eyes focus on a picture of a chubby nine-month-old Eren wearing nothing but a diaper and a pair of black boots, his eyes covered by a pair of sunglasses as he grips his tiny hands on the edge of a chair.

Eren blushes when you turn to look at him with eyes crinkled in amusement and giggles leaving your lips.

“You already have like twenty favorites,” he chuckles.

“You were a really cute baby,” you defend.

“This one is my favorite,” Carla points out, as she turns to the next page to reveal a photo of him fully naked with his back to the camera as he looks over his shoulder with a pout on his lips.

You fall into a fit of giggles, gushing at baby Eren's adorable expression.

“This feels like a hate crime,” he mutters.

“On who?” you laugh.

“On me, obviously!”

He tries to seem annoyed but the truth is, he enjoys watching your eyes light up as you watch him grow up between every still image.

The three of you share more laughs and you and Carla especially gang up on Eren when you reach the photo series from when he was going through a self-proclaimed model phase, where he would strike the most ridiculous poses he could think of in every frame.

You resist your tiredness until the last of the pictures has been graced by your delighted critique, to the point where you practically collapse onto the bed hours later when you and Eren go back to the pool house for the night.

With Eren's warm embrace and the hours of travel catching up to you in an instant, you quickly fall asleep to the sound of his breathing.

Your first official day in Paradis has a late start. After your late-night laughs, you didn't wake up until nearly noon. Though you intended to help Carla make breakfast and clean, she was very understanding about how tired you were after such a long day.

Even so, a couple of hours later, you hoped your assistance in baking cookies would be enough to make up for it.

You and Carla seem to make quite the team as you move around the kitchen in sync — sifting dry ingredients and mixing the wet ones, all while keeping your stations clean for the next steps.

Christmas music plays in the background as Carla's infectious joy for the eve of her favorite holiday spreads through the house and wraps you in the same eagerness.

“I've never made Christmas cookies before,” you mention, as you raise the whisk from your mixing bowl to check the consistency of your chocolate batter for the bundt cake Carla put you in charge of as she rolls out the dough for the cookies.

“Really?” Carla asks.

You nod.

“One of my neighbors gifted me some once when I was younger, but they were store-bought. And my mom wasn't much of a baker… or into holidays, for that matter.”

Carla glances at you with a sympathetic smile as she sets aside the rolling pin and eyes the thickness of the slab of gingerbread dough.

“It must've been hard for you at times, huh?”

Eren shared some details of your past with his mother before making the trip. Not that he expected her to say anything hurtful, but because he figured she shouldn't be caught off guard in case you were particularly sensitive about something.

“I can't really miss what I've never known,” you reply with a shrug. “I think there was a time when I would feel a little jealous of the kids at school after winter break when they would brag about all the stuff they did. It was normal for them but to me, it seemed like a luxury. I'm sure there were some good holiday moments at my house but they were too early on for me to remember.”

Carla nods, lips pursed and eyes pensive.

“Is there anything you want to try this week?” she asks with a smile. “Eren and I always watch a movie on Christmas Eve and eat cake.”

With a shy smile on your face, you shrug.

“I don't really know. That's already more than I've done on my own… and I'm having enough fun already.”

Carla's smile grows wider at your words.

“Well, if you think of something else, let me know, okay?”

Appreciatively, you nod.

Just as you're about to pour the chocolate batter into the mold, Eren pops into the kitchen, eyes zeroing in on the whisk in your hands.

For the sake of spending more quality time with you, Carla asked her son to keep out of the kitchen — that, and because she doesn't want his sticky fingers near the cake batter. But, of course, he just had to make an appearance during his break from cleaning the pool.

“Looking good,” he comments, pressing a hand against the small of your back so he can get to the fridge for a glass of cold water.

A smile paints across your features as you continue pouring the batter into the mold, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a wooden spoon.

“Are you done with the pool already?” Carla asks him, to which he nods as he chugs down the glass of water.

“Sure am, ma'am.”

Carla hums with skepticism.

“Go water my plants now, will ya?”

Eren straightens his posture, giving his mom a soldier's salute before making his way out.

He pauses when he's right behind you, snatching the wooden spoon over your shoulder, pecking your lips when you turn around looking startled.

“I'll take that,” he grins, winking at your flustered face before exiting the room, laughing on the way as Carla yells at him to not distract her baking buddy.

You bring a hand to your lips, laughing nervously as you avoid Carla's amused gaze.

The two of you take on either side of the slab of dough with cookie cutters as the holiday cheer heightens.

A while later, after the kitchen's been wiped down and the sweet smell of cookies and cake permeates the air, the three of you settle in the living room to fulfill the Jaeger’s Christmas Eve tradition.

You're snuggled between Eren's legs on the reclinable seat, your body covered by a blanket. The nights in Paradis run as cold as the afternoons are hot, but that's no issue when your boyfriend is always so warm.

Eren has his arms wrapped around your waist and every few moments he'll lean down to kiss the crown of your head. Your back picks up the vibrations of his chest when he laughs at a funny scene, as well as his heartbeat, which echoes in sync with yours as your fingers lace with his underneath the blanket.

The tree lights twinkle from the corner of the room as the only source of light aside from the TV. The air is sweet and you're at peace with a stomach full of cake and hot chocolate with peppermint and marshmallows.

Good holidays have been rare, but this one so far will remain at the top of your list for years to come, you're sure.

The morning after, you're huddled on the floor around the Christmas tree, watching Carla open the gift you got her — a steel jewelry kit with an assortment of stones to embed into her creations.

Her face lights up like a child's and she throws her arms around you in appreciation.

“It's perfect!” she exclaims. “How did you know?” She narrows her eyes at her son, assuming he forecasted her next hyperfixation.

Eren raises his hands in defense.

“It was all her,” he says with a proud grin on his face.

“Thank you,” she smiles as she pronounces your name.

Eren gives her his gift next — a signed vinyl of her favorite band from her early twenties, which receives an equally big reaction.

Eren bursts out laughing when he unwraps your present and pulls out a chibi Sailor Mars figurine.

“This is amazing,” he grins, turning the box in his hands with fascination.

You and Eren each receive hand-knit sweaters from Carla, made with intricate patterns and neat stitches in vibrant colors and soft wool.

When it's your turn to open Eren's gift, he holds his breath as he carefully watches you peel off the paper from the black velvet box.

“Oh, wow,” you murmur as you lift the delicate necklace to admire the pendant up close. It's an angel cast in silver, its tiny hands holding a sphere made out of your birthstone.

A knot forms in your throat as you look back at a shyly smiling Eren.

“It's a guardian angel,” he explains in that gentle voice that makes you weak at the knees.

He gestures for you to angle yourself so he can put the necklace on you.

Carla admires the scene from her place with proud eyes and her hands over her heart.

“Do you like it?” Eren asks, his face hovering over your shoulder to gauge your reaction as you look down at the little angel that rests a couple of inches below your collarbone.

Turning around to face him, you nod, eyes shimmering with joy and appreciation for the boy before you.

“I love it.”

After breakfast, you and Eren wander back into the pool house hand in hand.

You collapse onto the bed, side by side as he brushes your cheek with the back of his hand.

“Are you happy?” he asks.

“You asked me that yesterday,” you smile. “And the day before, too. Do I not look happy?”

He chuckles airily.

“I just wanna make sure.”

You prop your weight on your elbow and cup his face with your free hand.

The silver angel dangles between you, catching the light that comes through the window.

“I'm extremely happy,” you murmur, bending down to kiss him as soon as the words leave your mouth.

He smiles into the kiss.

“Good.”

You stand from the bed, walking over to the mirror above the dresser. Smiling, you tilt your head, swaying your upper body so you can see how the angel looks at different angles.

Eren admires you from the bed for a moment before coming up behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist, pulling you into his chest and resting his chin on your shoulder.

“I have a second gift for you,” he murmurs slyly.

Your eyebrows rise with intrigue.

From the mirror, you see him pull something from his back, waving it into view.

Your grin widens at the familiar image of black boots and sunglasses.

“The baby picture!” you exclaim.

You turn around in his arms to take hold of the glossy photo paper.

“It's all yours,” he smiles, then lifts your chin to kiss you on the lips. “And so am I.”

You sink into his kiss, soft and warm, as your arms drape around his neck.

You're giddy with excitement as you, Eren, and Carla venture between scattered beach towels and umbrellas in search of a good spot to settle down.

As expected of Paradis Island's track record, the weather is perfect for a day at the beach. Eren is happy at the chance to make up for the lack of water activities from your first date, as you finally get to cross out one of the items on your bucket list.

You find a good spot at an equal distance from the water and the seaside eatery where families gather for food after their afternoon swim.

It's not as crowded as you expected, but enough people thought the beach was the perfect setting to unwind from any leftover Christmas chaos from the day before.

Eren fixes the beach umbrella while you and Carla smooth your towels on the sand. Eren gulps hard when you tug off your t-shirt and shorts, revealing once more the delicate swimsuit you bought for the occasion, before lathering yourself in sunscreen, aided by Carla for the spots you can't reach.

When you stepped out of the room in your one-piece earlier today — one with embroidered flowers and delicate straps tied in bows on your shoulders — while tugging on a pair of shorts to keep you modest, Eren nearly passed out.

The drive over allowed him to cool down and thankfully, you threw on that baggy t-shirt, too, or he would've been too flustered to drive.

He plops down onto the beach towel next to yours, watching you share a laugh with Carla over something unknown to him. You turn to him with a smile, kissing his cheek before offering to help him put on sunscreen.

He blushes but nods.

Your fingers sear his back as you massage the sunscreen into his bare skin. You catch glimpses of his flustered demeanor as you work your way down his back. The tips of his ears are flushed red, and when you finally finish, he shyly averts his gaze.

After a quick look over your shoulder to make sure Carla is distracted looking for something in her bag, you lift Eren's chin and place a soft kiss on his lips.

“What was that for?” he smiles, glancing at his mom lying behind you. He knows you've been shy about kissing him in front of her.

“Because you're cute,” you tease with a shrug before relaxing against your towel.

Eren laughs to himself before taking a moment to relax in the sand as well. His hand meets yours in the middle and he interlocks your fingers, relishing in the warmth of your soft hand and that provided by the heated sand underneath him.

Carla's engrossed in a romance fantasy novel, which she reads through her sunglasses while you and Eren take in the salty air and the collective rustle of fellow beachgoers, with their distant cheers and laughter in between splashes of water.

“I'm gonna go for a swim,” Eren says after a while, carefully releasing your hand before standing. “Wanna join me?” he asks you, hoping you remember his promise to teach you.

You do.

“Maybe in a little bit,” you smile.

With a crooked smile, he nods before jogging out toward the water.

You and Carla watch him run into the water without hesitation before diving in and swimming for a few feet until he resurfaces and waves at you from a distance.

An endeared smile takes over your features by reflex.

“He's pretty energetic, isn't he?” Carla laughs.

You nod.

“That's one of the things I like about him,” you murmur.

Carla glances at you briefly as she wedges her bookmark into the freshly read pages and sets the novel down on the sand.

“Eren really likes you, you know,” she smiles. You nod. “I've never seen him so infatuated.”

You giggle nervously.

“Yeah, but he's had a girlfriend before, right? That's what he told me.”

Carla racks her memory for a moment.

“Oh, you mean Frieda!” she exclaims. “They dated in high school. She was a nice girl, but I don't think it compares to the way he looks at you. Besides, their romance was pretty short-lived. I don't think she liked him enough.”

You nod along to her words, wondering how anyone could ever not fall for Eren.

“He's a bit of a hopeless romantic,” she adds. “I figured most people would like that but I guess not all of them do.”

“Well, I do,” you assure her. “I like that he's sensitive.”

You poke holes into the sand with your index finger, unaware of the lazy grin that shapes your lips until Carla points it out.

“Do you love him?”

You immediately nod.

“I told him a while back, too… but he didn't say anything. I didn't expect him to, I know I might’ve said it a bit early but… everything feels right with him. I think I might’ve scared him, though.”

An amused air leaves Carla's lips.

“Oh, honey. He brought you here, didn't he?”

Embarrassed, you laugh down at your lap.

A looming shadow draws your attention. You look up to find Eren standing before you, hair wet and droplets streaming down his tan skin, swerving between every dip and curve of his toned torso.

“Hey,” he grins. “Ready?”

Picking up your jaw and smiling, you nod before looking over at Carla.

“Mind if I steal her away for a bit, mom?” Eren asks.

Carla dismisses you with a wave of her hand.

“Go, have fun. I've got my book,” she says, plucking the bookmark from its place.

You take off your angel necklace, leaving it for Carla to keep safe in her bag. Eren helps you up with one easy pull and leads you through the sand.

The sun blares onto his back, drying off the smaller specks of water from his form as you walk to the shoreline.

“What were you guys talking about this time?” he asks.

“You, obviously.”

He grins.

“All good things, I hope.”

You smile at him.

“Always.”

The two of you walk along the shoreline, playfully swinging your linked hands as you distance yourself from the more crowded waters.

“Here’s probably good,” Eren says once you reach a less saturated area.

You look around nervously, checking for any onlookers near the scene, but Eren’s quick to reassure you.

“Nobody’s gonna be looking at us,” he smiles, squeezing your hand. He steps backward into the water, gently tugging you along with an encouraging shimmer in his eyes.

The water causes you to shudder as you come into contact. It’s not too cold, but combined with the prospect of trying something new, it awakens a nervous response.

Eren carefully guides you deeper into the water until it reaches your waist. Instinctively, you catch yourself standing on your tiptoes the entire time, too unfamiliar with the wet sand beneath you to properly set your feet on the floor. You gently push your weight up, testing if you can somehow float even just the tiniest bit, but your body’s fearful reaction almost causes you to lose balance, if it wasn’t for Eren holding your hands. You go back to standing on your toes.

“Isn’t it dangerous to learn how to swim in moving waters?” you ask, making nervous minuscule steps toward and away from Eren. You can’t seem to keep still with the feel of the sand shifting under your weight. “Maybe you should teach me in the pool. At least I can't drown there.”

“Relax,” Eren chuckles. Your nervous doe eyes have him in an amused trance. In his eyes, you're a clumsy baby deer learning to walk. “I worked as a lifeguard.”

You blink up at him, still making those tiny aimless steps.

“Did you really?”

“No,” he chuckles, too weak to lie when you’re holding onto his hands so tightly and looking up at him so helplessly. “But I’m not gonna let you drown; you’re too precious.”

You heat up in embarrassment. It’s not enough that you’ll likely make a fool of yourself but he can’t stop flirting even for a moment.

“How can I trust you after you just lied to me?” you pout.

Smiling, he lifts your chin with his index finger, leaning in to capture your lips in a brief kiss.

“Fine,” you murmur, miserably failing at hiding your flustered smile. “I trust you.”

He eagerly grins as he tells you to continue holding onto him and just allow your lower body to rise and float. You fail a few times, your fear keeping your legs from staying parallel to the water. Eren helps you, murmuring gentle commands and tips until you finally manage to stay afloat on your stomach.

“Now, try kicking,” he says, momentarily releasing one of your hands to mimic the motions with two fingers.

His instructions are clear and in that soft tone he uses with none but you. Even when you're feeling self-conscious or silly it mostly stems from an inner source. Whenever he happens to laugh, it’s because he’s happily encouraging you and cheering you on, or because you’re laughing too.

When he begins pulling you around the water as you practice kicking, he teases you by racing a few steps, causing you to lose your center of gravity. The two of you erupt in laughter as he quickly hoists you up by your waist until you regain your balance.

“You jerk!” you laugh, using as much force as you can muster to splash him with water.

He raises his forearms in defense, grinning as the salty water washes over his form, before returning your attack in the next instant.

You continue attacking each other with water, squinting at the salt that manages to reach your eyes and trying hard not to laugh to keep from tasting it.

Eren draws his body closer. His attacks are much more aggressive, making you back away from your offense and resorting to shield yourself with your arms while you gleefully squeal words of surrender and pleas for mercy.

The splashing stops when his arms wrap around your waist, pressing your back into his chest as he spreads salty kisses onto your cheek.

You turn around in his arms, grinning widely as you catch your breath.

He looks adoringly into your eyes, airy laughter sputtering from his lips as he smooths your hair back with one hand and squeezes your hip with the other.

“That was an unfair fight, Jaeger,” you breathe. “You’re supposed to go easy on your girlfriend.”

“I don’t know. You were pretty feisty,” he grins.

You pull him in for a kiss, easily ignoring the saltiness on his lips as a satisfied hum bubbles up his throat.

You lean back, still mirroring each other’s smile.

“Want me to teach you to float on your back?” he suggests.

You hesitate.

“That one scares me a little,” you admit. “What if I’m carried away by the current?”

He laughs.

“You won’t, there are barely any waves. Come on, it’s really cool once you get it.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, you nod.

Under his guidance and his strong arms, you're lifted parallel to the water again, only this time you’re on your back. His hands are pressed under your upper back and just below your glutes for support, as he tells you how to adjust your form.

“Lift your chin,” he gently instructs. “And arch your back just a little more.”

You focus intently on keeping your head centered, resisting the urge to look at him so you don’t tilt your weight.

“I’m gonna let go, okay?”

You quickly utter a string of no’s.

“I’ll do it slowly, yeah?” he offers. “Just stay as you are, I’ll still be right here in case you lose your balance.”

Hesitant, but mildly intrigued to see if you can stay afloat on your own, you subtly nod.

“Okay.”

Slowly, the pressure of Eren’s firm hands strays from your body, leaving you to float on your own.

Holding his hands out for you to see, he proudly grins.

“There you go,” he laughs.

Nervous giggles spill from your lips as you observe the water from your peripheral vision.

You close your eyes for a moment, relishing the feeling of floating in water. Eren stands next to you, like a palm tree shading an island.

“Pretty cool, right?” he murmurs.

You grin in response. Your eyes flutter open, squinting at the sun. With Eren keeping watch, your body relaxes into the soft motions of the water.

A ripple in the water sways your form. It’s a small shift in movement, so it only adds to the experience.

That is until a slightly bigger one comes your way. It’s still small enough that it would barely faze you had you been standing, but in your current position, it’s enough to startle you.

Eren reaches for your hand once he notices the mild panic in your eyes, but your arms shoot out to cling to his neck as you clumsily lift your upper body from the water. The ripple passes through, and your feet have yet to meet the ground. Eren’s hands are wrapped around your waist, keeping you steady as your doe eyes look up at him in apology for the sudden assault.

In one swift motion, he hooks his arms under your legs, wrapping them around his torso — simultaneously putting an end to your struggle and fixing you in a compromising position.

“You okay?” he murmurs, his face mere inches from yours.

Flustered, you nod.

He smiles; you mirror the expression.

His gaze flits to your parted lips, which expel soft breaths.

He leans forward, tilting his head slightly as his nose brushes against yours. Your eyes flutter closed as he captures your lips in a gentle kiss. His lips are salty but warm as they slot between yours. Your hands are still hooked behind his neck from when you clung to him when the second ripple passed through the water. You ease your grip to weave your fingers in his hair, the water droplets trailing from the strands, and onto your palms as you deepen the kiss.

His sigh of relief falls inside your mouth, as your tongue brushes against his, eliciting goosebumps on your sun-kissed skin.

Your breath hitches in your throat when you notice him hardening, the bulge under his swim trunks brushing precisely against your most sensitive spot.

You pull apart from the kiss, forehead pressed against his, as you glance down where your lower bodies meet.

Just two measly layers are keeping you apart, and you can easily make out the outline of his erection as you continue to peer down with shallow breaths leaving your parted lips.

When you look back up, you’re met with pink cheeks and half-lidded eyes.

“Sorry,” he murmurs, bashfulness lacing his meek tone as he tries to laugh. “Not much I can do about Little Jaeger in this situation.”

Warily, he scans your face for any motion, any twitch to get a read on what you’re thinking. He can easily put you down now but, frankly, he doesn’t want to. He just hopes you feel the same way because having you in his arms like this, with water droplets clinging to your skin and your hands lovingly petting his hair, is something he wants to prolong forever.

“It’s okay,” you breathe. “I don’t mind.”

You reconnect with his lips, gently sucking on his bottom lip, drawing out a strained moan from him in the process.

He can feel himself growing impossibly harder under his trunks. It’s getting more difficult by the second to keep himself together when you’re moving your tongue against his so slowly. Thankfully, you pull back a few moments later.

“We should probably get back to your mom, though,” you murmur. “And I’m kind of hungry now.”

He nods. He doesn’t want to, but he lowers you to the ground. His erection brushes against your lower stomach in the process, leaving you to stumble back with a flustered expression on your face.

“You should head back first,” he says, running a nervous hand through his hair. “I’m gonna need a minute to… calm down.”

You shyly avert your gaze but nod to let him know you understand before finding the way back to your spot on the beach without him.

Still dizzy from the recent exchange, Eren looks out onto the horizon, taking long, deep breaths until he’s ready to meet you for lunch.

You pad barefoot into the bedroom, ruffling your hair with your hands to catch another wave of the fresh scent from your shampoo. Standing at the foot of the bed, you stretch your arms over your head, smiling down at Eren, who observes you quietly through shimmering emerald eyes as his arm rests behind your pillow. After your long day at the beach, where you sunbathed with Carla, Eren taught you how to float, and you feasted on ceviche and coconut water, you’re more than ready to collapse.

You climb onto the bed next to Eren, snuggling into him as you always do, while he lazily wraps an arm around your waist as he always does. The golden light from the bedside lamp on his side acts as the only source of light, soft and comforting.

“You had quite a day today, babe. Think you're on your way to join the Olympics?” he teases.

You roll your eyes, scooting back so you can face him properly.

“Not if you keep dragging me around like that,” you deadpan. “That was an attempted murder.”

He laughs.

You watch him ease into a smile as his thoughts wander to somewhere unknown to you.

“My mom really likes you, by the way,” he murmurs as he caresses your cheek with the back of his hand.

You prop yourself on one elbow, your interest piqued by his comment.

“Really? Did she tell you that?”

He nods as he raises his hand to trace the curve of your bottom lip.

“You know when you went to get shave ice? She told me then.”

“Ah, so you talk about me behind my back, too.”

An amused air blows through his nose.

“All good things. She kept going on and on about how pretty you are.”

“Is that so?” you say, leaning closer to his face.

“Mhm. She said you're the perfect girl for me.”

You quirk an eyebrow.

“That's a pretty bold statement.”

“What can I say? She's obsessed with you.”

You giggle as you lean even closer. His gaze flickers from your eyes, to your lips, and back again.

“Are you sure it wasn't you who said all those things?”

“Oh, what? You think I'm obsessed with you?” he jests.

You suck in a meditative breath through your teeth.

“I can't know for sure but you look like you really want to kiss me right now,” you reply, your tone laced with a hint of arrogance.

“I don't know what you're talking about," Eren murmurs, immediately contradicting himself by lifting his chin to meet your lips, which linger dangerously close above him.

“Hm… then maybe I'm wrong,” you say, pulling back just as his lips ghost beneath yours.

Eren blinks up at you, helplessly sighing.

You giggle before dipping down, only to pull back at the last second once more.

You chew on your bottom lip as you look down at him with mischief tainting your gaze.

A gasp travels past your lips when Eren suddenly pushes you back on the bed, pinning your wrist down with a firm grip.

He hovers over you now, eyes stern and determined with your body caged between his legs.

From your point of view, he seems so big. And the strength with which he keeps you in place reminds you he's as tough and manly as he is gentle and sweet. It's a reminder that draws a tingling sensation in your stomach.

In the next second, his eyes soften, as does his grip on your wrist as he bends down to kiss you.

Your body relaxes upon the comfort of his mouth caressing yours.

Your eyes flutter closed as your free hand finds a home in his hair, urging him closer — a command he can't resist.

His careful tongue wanders into your mouth, swallowing the soft moan that bubbles up your throat.

He breaks away from the kiss, exhaling heavily as he rests his forehead against yours.

The corners of your lips tug into a smile.

“Trying to finish what you started?” you murmur.

“Maybe,” he says before his voice grows timid. “Should I?”

Slowly, he pulls back just enough to properly gauge your reaction.

Your eyes twinkle as they hold his intense gaze. They travel over every single one of his features — his upturned eyebrows, the pink cheeks, the lips that hold back from taking or releasing breaths, and the emerald eyes that twinkle just the same.

“Please.”

Your voice is barely enough to be called a whisper, but the word reaches his ears just fine.

The kiss is quickly reignited; his tongue forces itself into your mouth, earning a delicate whimper in return as you free yourself from his grasp to pull him closer by his hair. Your fingers tangle themselves between the short chocolate strands as he needily sucks on your tongue, the mix of your spit slathered around your mouth in the midst of his sloppy greed.

One forearm keeps his weight above you as his free hand grips your waist, your shirt riding up in the process as you writhe under him, desperate for his touch, for his lips, for his tongue.

As you grow dizzy from your frenetic makeout, your hands travel down his chest, feeling each tensed muscle over the cotton fabric until your fingers hook under the hem of his shirt, silently asking for him to undress.

He pulls back to give in to your wishes, swiftly tugging the garment over his head and tossing it onto the floor.

He takes a moment to look down at you, your frame suddenly so small beneath him but your pupils are blown with lust and excitement as they wander his bare torso.

Through shallow breaths and with trembling hands, you trace over every defined curve with the pads of your fingers, committing every shape to memory as you go.

Eren bites back a smile. He knows you're only trying to be gentle, but your delicate fingers tickle his skin as they slowly explore his abdomen.

He sucks in a sharp breath, brow furrowed and eyes fluttering shut when you reach the waistband of his boxer briefs.

You eye him carefully as you trace the border of the only remaining piece of clothing on his body — testing his patience as you draw over the edge a couple of times before your fingers hook around the elastic band.

Slowly, you pull down his underwear, holding your breath until his semi-hardened cock springs out of its confines.

From above, Eren closely watches your reaction, getting drunk off the image of your parted lips, your gentle half-lidded eyes, and your shy hands that carefully wrap around his growing erection. You stroke him once, to which he bites down on his bottom lip to keep himself from pronouncing any profanities, but when your thumb brushes over the sensitive head of his cock to collect the gathering amount of precum, his eyebrows upturn in pleasure and he fails to keep himself upright.

“Fuck,” he whimpers, falling down onto your chest, struggling to hold up his weight on his forearm while he buries his face in the crook of your neck.

Your other hand nestles in his hair, comforting him as you continue stroking him.

His cock grows under your touch, fully hardening until it's pressed against your stomach when you finally release it.

Your breath hitches in your throat as you feel the length of what's bound to penetrate your insides.

“See what you do to me?” Eren's strained voice murmurs into your neck.

You turn your head to the side, trying to get a look at the boy whose feverish skin is burning through your clothes.

You call his name in the shape of a whine — a shy plea.

He lifts his face from the crook of your neck, his eyes boring into yours before he leans forward to kiss you.

The kiss is less urgent than before, but equally needy. His warm tongue slips into your mouth, drawing out a relieved sigh.

“Let me do something for you, yeah?”

You look back at him quizzically, but he only pecks your lips before pressing an open-mouthed kiss onto your collarbone and lowering his body down the bed. He stops when his face is level with your abdomen. His fingers hook around the hem of your shirt, lifting the fabric to expose your stomach.

Starting just below your ribs, he leaves a trail of wet, open-mouthed kisses on your skin, circling his tongue around your belly button when he reaches it and continues further down.

You close your eyes, head thrown back as your mouth falls open from his affections.

His fingers tug on the drawstring of your pajama shorts as he glances up at you for confirmation.

Meeting his questioning gaze, you nod, chewing on your lip as you lift your hips for him to slide the garment off your legs. He tosses it to the side and wraps his hands around your ankles, spreading your legs just enough for him to kneel comfortably between them.

Your heart quickens in anticipation, but he outstretches the thrill as he's intent on teasing you first. He holds up your left leg, keeping his gaze fixed on you as he litters your skin with the same open-mouthed kisses he left on your stomach. His mouth travels up your calf, up your inner thigh, and near the trim of your white cotton panties, where he nips at the skin with his teeth, sucking fervently before repeating the process on the other side.

He kisses your right calf, and up your inner thigh, and sucks on the skin before your panties start. And finally, he kisses your pussy over the cotton fabric as he watches you bite down on your bottom lip through his lashes. With his eyes finally closed, he loses himself in the sweet scent of your sex as he drags his tongue in rhythmic stripes, pressing into your clit through your underwear. Your whimpers echo throughout the room as you squirm under his tongue, hoping he'll rid you of your panties soon.

But he takes his time.

He engages in a heated makeout with your pussy through your underwear, his tongue gliding over your entrance before his lips take their turn each time.

Your pussy flutters around nothing, aching to be touched, to feel those fervent strokes from his tongue directly on your flesh.

There's a dark patch forming on your underwear, courtesy of his saliva and your built-up arousal. The flimsy cotton sticks to your pussy lips, giving Eren a perfect outline of your needy sex.

“Eren,” you whimper, finally earning a glance from the teasing man between your legs.

Putting a pause on his teasing, his eyebrows rise in question.

“Please,” you beg, eyebrows upturned in a helpless manner.

Your ruined panties are discarded. He hooks his hands behind your knees, throwing your legs over his shoulders just in time for him to dive into your pussy like a starved man. His tongue swirls around your entrance, sending shivers up your spine as your fingers lose themselves in his hair.

A guttural moan rises from the back of his throat as he collects every last trace of your arousal, the taste heavenly sweet on his tongue, though that might be because he's so undeniably whipped.

He repeats the same motions from before on your bare pussy, his mind reeling with dizzy pleasure when he feels you pulsing directly on his tongue. He buries his nose between your folds as his tongue prods deeper, lapping at every nook as he makes a mess of his face.

Checking in on you as he does, he pulls back and slowly inserts a finger inside you. You've barely any strength to utter a word, but the way you throw your head back with your eyebrows upturned in pleasure is enough for him to continue, adding one more finger as he curls them against your insides, searching for that sweet spot that makes your thighs twitch once he finds it.

He lowers his face back into your pussy, teasing your clit with the tip of his tongue.

He draws tight circles onto it, the pressure making you squirm in pleasure in addition to his lithe fingers that produce melodious wet noises as your arousal only continues flowing.

He sucks on your clit as your slick coats his fingers and drips down your ass and onto the covers.

Not knowing what to do with yourself, you can only continue pushing his face down between your legs as you feel an orgasm creeping up on you.

You whine his name again.

Eren pulls out his fingers, quickly sucking them clean before finishing you off with his mouth.

His tongue languidly prods at your entrance and, with the aid of his fingers spreading your folds, he pushes his tongue inside you as far as he can, stroking your insides with the warm, tireless muscle. His thumb toys with your clit, drawing out a series of lustful cries from you until your toes curl and you squeeze your thighs around his head — not like he cares, anyway; it's practically a bonus reward.

With one last kiss pressed onto your pussy, he pushes himself back up.

When your eyes flutter open as you come down from your orgasm, he's hovering over you, his chin and plump lips glossy with your release and his spit.

“How'd I do?” he asks breathlessly. His eyes twinkle as he awaits your review, hopeful that you'll praise him.

You pull him closer by his neck.

“So fucking good,” you breathe, before meeting his swollen lips.

Tasting yourself from his mouth feels nothing short of sinful but you happily suck on his lips to gather every last bit of your essence.

In the midst of getting you off on his tongue, Eren discarded his boxer briefs somewhere on the floor, so when he grinds his hips against yours in search of friction, there's nothing but flesh on flesh and neatly groomed pubic hair tickling your skin.

His hand massages the side of your waist, creeping up until he's met with the underside of your breast. This time, your lack of a bra doesn't surprise him, and he doesn't shy away, either.

His hand eagerly gropes your breast, his fingers gently pinching the nipple as he swallows your moans.

He kneads the soft mound as his cock continues dragging between your folds, hitching on your entrance with every other stroke.

“Mind if I take this off?” he mumbles into your mouth.

You hum in approval, sitting up so he can tug the shirt over your head before falling back onto the pillow.

“Wow,” he whispers, eyes drinking in every detail of your upper body — your tender breasts, your pert nipples, your soft skin, your shiny hair splayed on the pillow, and your pretty face looking up at him with equal admiration.

You smile at him, raising a hand to caress his cheek. He closes his eyes at the contact and rests his hand over yours, turning around to press a kiss into your palm.

You giggle. He smiles down at you.

With your free hand, you travel up his chest, resting just above your favorite sound.

“Your heart's beating like crazy,” you point out.

He squeezes your hand before bending down to brush his nose against yours.

“I wonder why.”

Your eyes crinkle with glee as a shy smile takes over your lips.

He cradles your face with one hand, stroking the apple of your cheek with his thumb.

“You have no idea how precious you are to me.”

A warm glow spreads through your insides at his words, like golden honey that infiltrates your heart and pumps through every corner of your body.

“I think I do,” you whisper, to which he smiles.

He pulls back, eyes glassy and cheeks dusted with pink.

He reaches over to the bedside table, fumbling around the drawer as his angle keeps him from having a full view of the inside. He retrieves a foil square between two fingers.

You raise an eyebrow.

“Were you hoping to get lucky on this trip?” you tease.

“I bought them just in case,” he grins.

You nod in approval.

“Good call.”

He tears the foil packet open, tossing it aside once he pulls out the contents, and rolls the condom down his length.

He fixes himself on his forearm once more, caressing your face as his eyebrows rise in question.

“You sure?”

With a small smile playing on your lips, you nod.

With the help of his knee, he spreads your legs wider while reaching down to line himself with your entrance — all while maintaining eye contact.

He makes slow teasing stripes down your pussy with his tip — once, twice, three times — before he finally starts sliding inside of you. You hold onto his arm, the muscles firm at your fingertips as they work to keep him steadily above you.

His tip slides in with little resistance, though it's still a bit of a tight fit. Carefully scanning your face for any signs of discomfort, he pushes himself inside you in fragments.

You close your eyes, sighing in relief when you finally feel the brush of his pubic hair against your lower tummy.

Eren closes his eyes for a moment, too, swallowing thickly as he comes to the realization that he's inside you. He's inside where everything is warm and wet and tight and comforting.

He opens his eyes before you do. For another moment, he simply admires you, watching your parted lips release hushed breaths — your peaceful image close to that of an angel in prayer.

He smooths back your hair and presses a kiss to your forehead.

When your eyes finally open, you smile up at him.

Taking that as a sign, he makes an experimental thrust, eyeing your reaction as he does so.

You hook your arms under his, your hands pressed firmly against his back as he gradually gains more confidence with each stroke. He peppers your face with kisses until he settles on your lips, where he gingerly pulls on your bottom lip with his teeth, and his pleased sighs are poured down your throat.

You hug him tighter, moaning his name into his ear as he rolls his hips into yours with finesse.

Eren's back grows sweaty with each of his movements, his breath shallowing at the same pace. Every drag of his hips brushes against your clit, making for the most well-rounded experience as he loses himself in the feeling of your insides fluttering around his length.

“Does this feel good for you, baby?” he asks as he presses your foreheads together.

“Uh-huh,” you whimper. “Don't stop, Ren. Please.”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” he smiles before capturing your lips in a needy kiss.

You sigh into his mouth as your tongues swirl around each other, heightening your arousal while he continues building up the pace of his hips. His fingers dig into your waist, acting as leverage for his increasingly faster thrusts. You buck your hips upwards, meeting him halfway in search of more friction.

“My baby,” he coos against your mouth.

The room is filled with squelching noises of your arousal glossing his length over the condom. Every vein, every curve of his thick cock leaves its mark on your insides, permanently altering your body to fit him. Every deep thrust, every tight circle drawn by his thumb plants a seed for a permanent craving that only he can satisfy. Only he can draw out such pretty noises from your mouth. Only he can make your sweet and innocent voice morph into that of a sinful, greedy woman who wishes to be brought to pleasure by his expert touch. Only he can make love to you like this.

His balls are quickly growing heavy, slapping against your ass with every roll of his hips — the sound echoing in your ears.

With one quick kiss to his cheek, you push him back gently. He falls onto his back, his aching cock pulsing into nothing but air as he scoots back to rest against the headboard, watching through adoring eyes as you straddle his lap and lower yourself onto his cock with a whimper, relieving yourself from the momentary emptiness you felt. His hands grip your hips with a bruising force, his jaw slack as he watches you expertly move your hips, rocking back and forth against his pelvic bone to satisfy your clit, and up and down to satisfy him.

He fondles one of your breasts as your face falls into the crook of his neck, whimpering and blubbering about how good you feel with him buried deep inside you. One of your hands tangles in his hair while the other digs crescents into his back.

It’s unreal. To think he’s allowed to be this close to you, to be blessed with the opportunity to melt into your touch. Every whimper, every instance of begging, every drowned-out moan as you hide your face in the crook of his neck — it's beyond addictive.

You're both coated in sweat, the place where your bodies meet growing stickier with every passing second. Your thighs begin to burn as you continue riding him, trying your best not to lose your pace as he sucks on your nipples and your head falls back in pleasure.

“Fuck yeah, baby,” he huffs. “Keep riding my cock like that.”

You tighten around him at the unexpected dirty talk.

Eren's always such a gentleman, so this shift in behavior is surprising — though certainly not unwelcome.

“Eren,” you whine, looking down at him helplessly as you continue bouncing on his cock.

He flashes you with his signature boyish smile.

“I got you.”

In one swift motion, you're flipped back on the bed while Eren hovers over you. Refusing to let your build-up slip away, he reconnects with you in an instant, sloppily thrusting into you as your legs wrap around his waist.

“Look at you,” he breathlessly coos as he caresses your thigh with one hand and cradles your face with the other. “My baby's so fucking pretty.”

The sounds of slapping skin and moisture reign the room. Your nails dig into his back, scarring the skin with red marks, claiming his body as yours — not that he would want it any other way. Your feverish body clings to him like he's the only thing keeping you grounded as the coil in your stomach tightens more and more.

Sweat drips down his forehead and the now dark chocolate strands that frame his face. His pupils are blown with lust, nearly dominating the entirety of his sweet emerald irises, but his usual warmth remains.

His hips start bucking erratically, his rhythm carelessly tossed out the window as he hooks his arms under your legs and presses them toward your chest. The new angle has you crying out in pleasure as he uses his last bit of strength to sloppily thrust into you a few more times.

The coil reaches its limit, snapping at the hilt of your ecstasy as you cry out his name and your toes curl in pleasure.

A couple of thrusts later, he's spilling hot ropes of cum into the condom and releasing hoarse moans into the crook of your neck.

His hips finally stop as you lay there, limbs tangled and bodies sticky, while you steady your breathing. His hand rests on your waist, tenderly stroking the skin with his thumb as you comb through his hair with your fingers.

The air is thick with the sweet remnants of your sexual fulfillment.

Reluctantly, he pulls out of you, his cock already softening inside the condom as he falls onto his back and pulls you by the waist so that you rest on top of his chest.

His hand affectionately smooths your back as he takes in your exhausted features.

“You okay?” he whispers, his voice still too weak to speak as normal.

Not yet recharged from your passionate lovemaking, you just nod.

You smile at each other.

“I didn't… I mean, I didn't hurt you or anything, did I?”

You shake your head at his worried expression before leaning forward to peck the corner of his mouth.

“It was perfect.”

He smiles again.

Carefully, you lift yourself off his chest before any more soreness settles into your muscles and you begin scouring the floor for your clothes.

Eren sits up on the bed, ridding himself of the used condom and tying it in a knot as he watches you slip on your underwear.

“What's wrong?” he asks when you click your tongue in confusion.

“I can't find my shirt,” you mutter as you pick up a garment from the floor, only to find it's not what you're looking for. “I don't want to walk around naked. What if your mom comes?”

Eren glances around briefly before he lights up at an idea upon spotting his own white t-shirt on the floor.

“Here,” he says, tossing the garment in your direction. You catch it with ease. “Just wear mine.”

Without thinking too much about it, you tug on the shirt over your head, the fabric cascading down your body and falling mid-thigh.

“Thanks,” you smile before grabbing a fresh pair of underwear from the dresser and stepping out the door, leaving Eren a blushing mess at the lingering image of you wearing his clothes.

A few minutes later, both clean and tired, you snuggle into each other under the covers. Eren reaches behind him to turn off the bedside lamp, leaving you in peaceful darkness.

“Are you happy?” he asks.

You smile.

“I've never been happier.”

With your hand on his chest and his arm around your waist, you fall asleep.

The following morning, you're woken by the sunlight sifting through the curtains.

When you squint your eyes open, you see Eren smiling at you.

You giggle.

“How long have you been staring at me?”

“Not too long,” he grins. “You look pretty when you're sleeping.”

Your face warms as you hold onto him tighter. Your body is still dealing with the tired symptoms from last night's heated encounter.

“You think your mom will mind if we stay in bed all day?”

“I don't think I can go that long,” he murmurs.

It takes you a second to realize what he's hinting at but, when you do, you playfully slap his shoulder. He laughs.

“How are you feeling?” he smiles.

“I'm just a bit sore,” you reply honestly.

He hums in response.

“You wanna postpone our plans?” he asks, concerned you might be too tired for today's itinerary. “We can go out tomorrow.”

To his surprise, you shake your head.

“No, I still wanna go. Just give me a few more minutes.”

He smiles as he looks down at your tired form. You're wearing that same relaxed expression from last night, reminiscent of an angel when he was hovering over you.

Three words teeter the tip of his tongue, but when his lips part to pronounce them, he retreats, flustered.

So with a quick kiss to your temple, he slips out from under the covers, gets dressed, and ventures to the main house.

Carla's fixing herself breakfast in the kitchen when he walks in. She greets him with a smile, asking where you are.

“She's still asleep. She's pretty tired from yesterday,” Eren explains, hoping that if he doesn't think about it too much, he won't seem suspicious.

But Carla only nods in understanding as she sits down to enjoy her omelet.

“We’re going into town today. I’m gonna show her around. Wanna come?” Eren asks with a smile.

“I can’t today, honey. I’m meeting up with my book club later and I need to catch up on my reading. But you two have fun.”

Eren nods.

A couple of minutes pass by in silence. He stares at a blank point as he chews on the inside of his cheek.

“Would you like me to make you one?” Carla asks, an amused look on her face as she notices her son intently staring at her omelet.

Eren blinks.

“Oh, no. I’m good.”

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“Can I ask you something?”

She sets her fork down, resting her chin on her laced hands with a nod.

“What’s on your mind, kiddo?”

Eren nervously wipes his sweaty palms on his jeans, taking a deep breath as he gathers the right words to speak his mind.

“A while back,” he pronounces your name softly. “She told me she loves me.”

Carla smiles, having known that already since you told her.

“But I kind of choked at the time.”

Carla tilts her head, her features serious now. She’s seen the affectionate look in his eyes whenever he sees you, and the way he’s so gentle when treating you. However, perhaps it’ll be easier if he practices admitting his feelings out loud.

“Was it because you don’t…” she trails off, but Eren quickly denies what she’s implying with a shake of his head.

“No, that’s not it. I was just surprised when she said it… It felt really good to hear it,” he smiles.

“So what’s got you worried?” she tenderly asks.

Eren looks down at the counter, gaze lost on the patterns of the mismatched tiles that somehow harmoniously blend together.

“I just… She hasn’t said it since. And I keep trying to tell her how I feel but now I’m worried that, because I didn’t say it back that time, she… might not feel the same way anymore.”

Carla’s concerned features soften, her lips perking into an endeared smile before her son’s anxious expression.

“Oh, honey,” she murmurs.

Eren blushes.

“Do you think that’s it? Do you think she changed her mind?”

“You beautiful dumb boy,” Carla laughs.

She reaches over to squeeze his hand.

“She’s still here, isn’t she?”

“And this is where I dislocated my elbow.”

Eren points to a spot a few feet from the seesaw.

“How’d you do that?” you ask.

“I let go when it was my turn going up,” he meekly explains, to which you laugh into your hand.

“Oh, Eren.”

You can picture the scene in your head — a young Eren flying into the air after trying to act tough by raising his hands from the handlebar, too young to understand the physics behind the oncoming accident.

He grins as he guides you toward the swings, where he offers you a seat before stepping behind you and gently pushing you.

“The swings are supposed to be for the kids,” you giggle as he pushes you higher.

“It’s not like that’s a law,” he replies with a shrug.

He settles into the swing beside you, promptly matching your height as the chain creaks under his weight.

As you fly up in the air, he glances over at you. You’ve got the same youthful look in your eyes from the evening you spent together building a sandcastle with Josie. Your face lights up in the same delighted manner. You’re a kid again.

Classical music echoes in your ears from your headphones as you turn the page of the novel Carla left you before leaving to meet the ladies from her book club.

She gifted you an extra copy from one of the titles in her personal library — last month’s read which she thought you would enjoy. You’re curled up on the yellow velvet sofa, snacking on a clementine from the bag Eren bought for you at the market. As you turn to the next chapter, you catch a glimpse of movement from your peripheral vision, and you look up to find Eren leaning on the bathroom door frame, wearing a robe.

You pause your music and set your headphones aside.

“What are you doing?” you smile.

He tilts his head in a flirtatious manner.

“I filled up the pink bathtub.”

Your smile grows as you stand to accept the hand he holds out for you to take.

Candles are burning in every corner of the bathroom as vanilla-scented bubbles rest on the water’s surface.

Eren’s robe pools at his feet and he steps into the pink bathtub first, relaxing in the water with his back pressed against the porcelain as his arms rest on either side of the tub. He watches you undress, an enamored smile shaping his lips as you gradually reveal every delicate curve of your nude body to him.

Using his hand as support, you step into the warm water and settle between his legs, your back flush against his chest as his arms wrap around your waist.

You instantly relax in his arms, every trace of leftover soreness vanishing from your body as you scoop up the vanilla foam in your hands and rub it between your palms.

Eren presses an open-mouthed kiss onto your bare shoulder and the slope of your neck.

“Are you happy?” he whispers into your ear.

You smile.

“Very.”

He hums in approval.

“I had fun at the park today,” you add.

“Yeah?”

You nod.

“I felt like a kid again when you were pushing me on the swing.”

He chuckles softly. You continue as he listens closely.

“I feel like you really spoil me sometimes.”

“Does that bother you?” he asks, his eyebrows upturned in concern as he wonders if you still don’t feel entirely comfortable with all the attention he gives you.

But you smile and shake your head.

“I like it,” you murmur shyly. “I feel like God compensated me for everything by putting you in my life.”

Your voice weakens with your confession, pulling at Eren’s heartstrings in the process. When you look back at him, tears are lining your lashes, but your features remain cheerful.

“I’m glad I met you, Eren,” you smile before facing forward again.

“I’m glad I met you, too,” he whispers, resting his chin on your shoulder.

You remain quiet, allowing your synced breathing to be the only one to take up the room.

Eren’s thumbs trace up and down your stomach, as you sink further down his chest.

After a while, your voice breaks through the silence.

“Eren?”

He hums in response.

“Do you still want to know everything?”

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