#they had a nutty conversation in the waiting room making fun of their situations

[shootinwebs]

per my last email, headcanon that cherri and angel met at an abortion clinic dhdjfjjdjf

[gyeomsweetgyeom]

lovesick fool

Coworker!Johnny x Coworker!Reader

summary: Johnny is your work husband and feels fine with being just that until something someone makes him realize he wants more (college-ish!au)

word count:~2.4k

other mentioned members: Yuta, Jaehyun, Mark

A/N: Thank you for reading, let me know what you think! Requests are open!

-

Another day at a boring, mediocre job that Johnny surprisingly looked forward to. All because of you. Not that the job was actually boring, everyday brought something new with crazy customers and situations that Johnny had never even imagined for himself. Where else could someone order a turkey club sandwich with just tomato and lettuce, no turkey, add bacon but not order a BLT? 

“Hello wifey, how are things going today?” Johnny greeted while going through your regular conversations of the day at work, no lunch rush yet, no crazy tables, chit chatting about that one shift manager that was always a bit weird and mean, and no rude customers he had to stare at threateningly. 

“No Johnny,” you laughed lightly “but thank you, honey. By the way you are really rocking your uniform today”

Johnny watched as you returned to your table, placing the receipt on the table with your very sweet, but still customer smile. He had yet to really admit it to himself but others had noticed, he liked you- a lot and was beyond obvious about his crush. The whole “wife” and “husband” joke stemmed from the desire very deep down within him that maybe he really did want you to be his wife one day, maybe that joke between the both of you had triggered his crush. Though he wasn’t going to admit that now- or ever, he hadn't even admitted his feelings to himself. He liked the dynamic the both of you had established after years of working together and the friendship that had developed thanks to the job, even if the job did suck. You guys could joke around and have fun in an environment that you would both dread if the other happened to not be there. You had both become, almost, best friends. 

“Are you ready to work today, or are you just going to stand there like a lovesick fool?” His manager asked playfully. 

“Huh? Right on it!” Johnny smiled, grabbing his notepad and heading towards a newly seated table. 

The day continued on like any other day for Johnny, fake smiling, taking orders, hurting feet, keeping an eye out for you and admiring you but very subtly- not in a creepy way or anything. 

What was beyond abnormal for him was to see you laughing with one of the guests, a genuine laugh, not your fake laugh that you used when dads made horrible jokes. But Johnny recognized this guy, he always came in and sat in Johnny’s section and stared at you, sometimes making conversation but usually, he tried as hard as possible to get your attention. What a sight to see. Mostly by making you do extra work like bringing him extra napkins or a refill when you weren’t even waiting tables in that section. 

It wasn’t like this guy was a weirdo or anything, he was a college student like you and Johnny, he was nice, handsome (ish), and he always left great tips. What was not to like about this guy? Well, for starters, he was hitting on you, and Johnny didn’t like that. Johnny hated how it made him feel considering he didn’t even know why this guy flirting with you made him feel sick to his stomach in the first place- well he did but he didn’t want to say why. Johnny continued to watch you as he waited on an order for one of his tables, still confused with what he was feeling and curious as to what the heck this guy was telling you to make you laugh so hard. Johnny thought he was funny, but it had taken him a while to get you to laugh like you were laughing now. 

And three days later this guy showed up again, leaving his number on the receipt with a hefty tip just for you and a note that told you to text him if you were interested in getting that coffee you guys had talked about. And Johhny had had the honor of seeing and delivering that stupid receipt to you even if this guy was seated in Johnny’s section like usual.

“Are you leaving me for lover boy?” Johnny joked as he snatched the receipt from your hand to read over the words and numbers again. 

“His name is not lover boy, it's Yuta, he’s just nice and he knows my brother. That’s all, don’t worry.” You replied, quickly taking the receipt back and placing it in your pocket while handing Johnny the tip. 

“Are you going to go on a date with him? Yuta, I mean not your brother, because that would be weird.” Johnny asked. 

“You’re acting weird lover… can we talk about this later, you can see that you have three new tables seated in your section right?”

“Don’t think I’m letting you get away with not talking about this too easy, I’ll remember this and show up at your house demanding answers when you least expect it.” 

“Of course, I’d expect nothing less, my love.” You replied, the term of endearment dripping in sarcasm but it didn’t stop Johnny’s heart from racing a mile a minute at the simple two words, my love. 

-

Given that Johnny would have the next 3 days off, he sat at home making himself busy to keep his mind off your date, was it a date? Why was Johnny so nervous about this? Should he text you? Call you? Should Johnny ask you out to coffee now too? Did you even text the guy? Was he worrying about nothing? Was the tv he was staring at even on?

“I can literally see steam pouring out of your ears, your brain must be in overdrive. Are you good?” Johnny’s roommate, Jaehyun, asked with a chuckle. 

“Hypothetical situation here, if you were a girl, and we were basically best friends, and we called each other husband and wife, and just overall had a good time when we were together, would you say yes if I were to ask you out?” 

“Oh are you finally realizing your feelings for y/n?” Jaehyun asked, his eyes leaving his phone to land on his roommate who was nervously biting his lip, waiting for an answer.

“This isn’t about me.” Johnny laughed nervously, very obviously lying through his teeth. 

“Okay… well then your friend should just ask her out. Even if she does reject him- I don’t think she will, but if she did, you said it yourself, she’s your best friend, after me of course. First and foremost you guys are friends above everything.” Jaehyun smiled.

“But there’s another guy that comes in all the time and all he does is hit on her and she laughs! He left his number for her and she got kind of defensive when I joked about it. It’s kind of weird watching him make heart eyes at her every time he walks in especially when she isn’t even his waitress! Even his name is cool! Yuta! I’ll just be her forever work husband, nothing more.” Johnny whined. 

“You make her laugh and make heart eyes at her too, I’m not seeing exactly what the problem here is. And Johnny sounds super cool too!”

“You don’t get me.” Johnny sighed, giving up and now letting his mind run wild with endless possibilities of what you may or may not have done in the three days he hasn’t seen you. 

-

He was practically vibrating as he made his way into the restaurant after his time off, excitement, anxiety, his coffee that morning, whatever it was. He was never excited or anxious to come to work, god no, he was only ever excited to see you but never anxious. 

“Johnny! I missed you. Your hair looks different today, but good.” You smiled, pulling Johnny into a big hug.

“Thanks, but did you really miss me? I loved seeing the texts I received from you every two seconds. Wait, that didn’t happen.” Johnny joked, it was so weird how you made him feel nervous but simultaneously made his nerves disappear.

You scoffed, lightly hitting his arm, “I was thinking about you a lot though, I forgot how horrendous work is without you.”

“Lovely to hear you guys, why don’t you both get to your horrible work and then chat about it later after your shifts? Preferably not in the restaurant where paying customers can hear, thanks.” Your manager chuckled.

“Yes, my liege... What time are you off today? Want to hang out?” You asked Johnny.

“Your boyfriend won’t be mad that you’re hanging out with me?”

“What boyfriend?”

“Go work!” Your manager yelled out.

“We can talk about this later, hello, would you like to hear today’s specials?” You greeted a table of customers with a smile.

Johnny worked for his short shift, greeting customers with a smile, taking orders, and bringing food to tables. He looked normal, but on the inside he was an anxious mess, he had decided that today he was going to confess his feelings to you. He was just lucky that your guy friend, boyfriend, his replacement, Yuta, whatever that guy was, had decided not to come in today, that would have made Johnny even more nervous. If the confession went wrong, there were other jobs Johnny could work, more restaurants or anything else he chose. He had always liked coffee, maybe he could work as a barista. It couldn’t be that hard to work a coffee- “Johnny, your shift is up. See you, tomorrow dude.”

Johnny made his way to the break room after clocking out, leaving the apron he wore at work and grabbing his things, already planning in his head how he was going to tell you that he likes you.

“Johnny, hello? Did you still want to hang out?” You asked. 

“Huh? Oh yeah, where were you thinking?” 

You guys had decided to go to a little cafe a few blocks away that Johnny had been telling you about for months. Even when you had told him you were scared that his favorite cafe would blow your favorite cafe out of the water. He had just been so convincing, telling you he wanted you to try a latte, an americano,with a great nutty taste from South America, even a hot chocolate made with the perfect mix of milk chocolate and dark chocolate, he even said the pastries were freshly baked in store daily. Really he had just looked so excited when he went into extreme detail about the menu, you really felt like you had to try it now. He also looked so cute when his eyes lit up while he talked about the great muffins, yes, he had tried every single muffin they had. 

“So I suggest we share a hot chocolate, because it’s great but you have to try something with coffee in it, they make it even better than I do.” He smiled.

“I trust you to order me a latte then, any flavor you wish. Should we split a muffin or a croissant or do you want us to get our own pastry?” 

“Let’s get our own but split them.” Johnny suggested, which sounded good to you so you just nodded. 

Once the order was placed, you both took a seat at a table towards the back of the cafe near a big window that had a good view of the little garden next to the cafe. 

“So, I wanted to ask you something.” You started. Johnny looked at you nervously, eyes big and full of surprise. “Why do you call Yuta my lover boy?”

Johnny laughed nervously, “Well, he always flirts with you when he comes in, he doesn’t seem to take his eyes off of you, he makes you laugh a whole lot. He also left you his number, I just assumed that you guys were a thing or a potential thing.”

You laughed, “Yuta was my childhood neighbor before he and his family moved back to Japan, he moved back and goes to a college nearby. I guess all the staring was to see if it was actually me.”

“The flirting and his number?”

“Ok, so he is a naturally flirty person but he’s not into me, he left his number for my brother. They were best friends when we were younger. I think he just wants to see what Mark is up to and catch up with him, he gave me his number to give to Mark.” You explained with a shy smile. “Why do you care so much anyway, Johnny?”

Johnny let out a loud sigh of relief with a smile, scaring the barista who was bringing out your drinks and pastries. “So… I was jealous of Yuta because I really like you. Like not just as my work wife or one of my best friends, and I don’t even think this is just a crush, I really really like you y/n. I was an idiot to wait so long and let jealousy bring it out of me.”

“Johnny… wow.”

“You don’t have to tell me you like me back and only like me as a friend. It’s fine and I totally understand, I don’t want this to ruin our friendsh-”

“Johnny, shut up! I like you too! I thought it was super obvious, but I guess not.” You laughed, cheeks hot while you avoided eye contact with Johnny.

“This is great! Can we make this a date now? I really want this to be a date. I’m also so happy Yuta isn’t into you. Not that you aren’t cool, like you totally are, and Yuta would be missing out on a whole lot because he doesn’t like you like that, but I really like you.” Johnny rambled before you pushed part of a muffin past his lips.

“I’m happy this is a date too, now please, stop being weird.” You laughed, causing Johnny to blush.

“I can’t believe I made THE Johnny blush on our first date, I must be really special to you.” You cheekily smiled, leaving Johnny to blush even more. 

“Am I allowed to flirt with you in front of Yuta now?” Johnny asked, resulting in a light kick to his shin. “Ow! It was a joke babe!”

[awanderingdeal]

Summer Camp AU - Chapter 3 - Leo

Sorry about the wait on this one! Our darling Leo will be taking us through this chapter. 

CW: mentions of injury (minor)

Fic Rating: T

Please message me if you feel that any content warnings need to be added or the rating is not appropriate. 

Thank you to my wonderful betas @bkfstclubmember and @fleetingpieces. 

The characters in this fic belong to @lumosinlove and you should definitely go and check out her fics!

For previous and future chapters please see my masterlist

Leo had only been to summer camp once as a kid, and that had been back in middle school. It had escaped his memory how draining it was to meet so many new people, learn the layout of the site, and to keep track of all the rules he needed to remember. Between that, and the bruises littering his body from the evening of Dodgeball and Capture the Flag, Leo was exhausted. Happy, but exhausted. 

Regulus hadn’t crept back into their cabin until the early hours of the morning and had declined coming to breakfast in favour of more sleep. It meant that Leo was alone when he set his breakfast tray down at an empty table. He was only able to savour the quiet for a couple of minutes though, before the chaos of camp caught up with him. 

“Leo!” a boy said, startling Leo into looking up from his eggs. He recognised him from the game of dodgeball; he’d hit Leo square in the chest. Besides, it would have been difficult to forget that face. Cropped curls, a chiseled jawline and deep brown eyes. He’d cut his camp t-shirt into a low tank top. Leo noticed the scars, a slightly paler brown than the rest of his skin, peeking out through the oversized arm holes. He’d never seen anybody wear them so proudly before and it made him want to smile. Not only for the other boy, but for himself. Because if 13 year old Leo, heck if 17 year old Leo, had been told that one day he’d be in a place that would allow him to be authentically himself, and he’d be surrounded by others who understood what it was to be different, he never would have believed it. 

“Morning,” Leo had to glance at the boy's badge; he was awful with names. “Thomas,” he said with a smile. He’d only said two words to the boy yesterday, but Thomas seemed like the type who would be friends with anybody that was willing. 

“Call me Talker,” Thomas said, reaching out a hand for Leo to shake. “Please.” 

“Morning, Talker,” Leo repeated with a laugh, shaking the hand before shovelling more eggs into his mouth. 

Soon the table was full, and Leo found himself in a heated conversation about whether kindles were better than books. Somehow, that led to him lapping up James’ stories of previous camp disasters until Lily shoved her boyfriend and told him to stop scaring the rookie. 

The chatter was interrupted by the static of a microphone. Everybody, including Leo, turned towards the source of the noise. A flustered looking young man stood over by the buffet table, clutching his hands around the microphone so hard that his knuckles were white. James cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, “Go Loops!”

The man smiled and gave a nervous cough, but the encouragement seemed to work. “Hi everybody, I’m Remus Lupin. Most people just call me Loops though. My pronouns are he/him and I’ve been coming to this camp for the last two years. Clearly I didn’t suck too much, because they hired me as a medic this year,” he paused, his eyes searching the crowd. They landed on the man that Leo had met as Regulus’ brother the day before, and his smile grew wider. “I’m going to be leading the first aid training this morning, so if you could all be out at the pavilion in 15 minutes that would be fantastic...thanks.” 

The room fell silent as Remus set the microphone back in its stand and walked off, receiving a pat on the shoulder from Dumo as he passed. The hall soon erupted with noise again as people finished up their food and made to follow the instructions they had been given.

“Alright! Let’s go save some lives,” Thomas boomed, downing the last of his glass of milk and grabbing his tray. He’d only taken two steps before he turned back around and flashed a grin at Leo. “Nutty! I forgot to say. Dumo asked us to film some promo TikToks and your beautiful face would be great in it. You in?” 

Leo had no idea who ‘us’ was, but he’d promised himself to take every opportunity that this camp threw at him so he nodded, and gave a small, “Sure, why not?”

“Great, I’ll see you after dinner then,” Thomas said, walking off with a bounce in his step.

When Leo made his way to the pavilion, he was given a card with the number 1 on it by Remus. He didn’t know what it was for, but clutched it in his hand as he looked around for Regulus, hoping they had managed to wake up on time. He was relieved to set his eyes on them talking to June, a girl that Leo had met yesterday. She had been a bit intimidating, leaning against a tree, dressed in biker boots and a leather jacket that he later learnt had a bisexual flag stiched into back. However, she’d turned out to be extremely friendly and Leo relaxed knowing Regulus was in good hands. 

“Okay! Listen up, folks,” Remus called out. “Each of you has been given a card with a number on it. There is one other person with the same number as you. Please find them, they are going to be your partner for today’s training session.”

Different people seemed to have different strategies for finding their partner. Some decided to stay where they were and just shout their numbers. Others darted around asking each individual what their number was. Leo didn’t need to use either to find his. With his first glance across the crowd, he settled his eyes on a person holding a card with the number one on it. With a triumphant smile, he weaved through the other counselors quickly so as not to lose sight of his partner.   

“Hey, I’m Leo. I think you’re mine,” Leo introduced himself, glancing quickly at the nametag on Logan’s chest before looking up at his face again. The action had become almost habitual already. 

Logan peered from under the brim of his hat. He had deep green eyes that Leo swore were looking into his soul as they swept over the length of his body.  “Yeah, I suppose you are,” the boy said eventually. “My name’s Logan, but I guess you already know that. Pleased to meet you.” 

“The pleasure is all mine,” Leo mumbled quietly under his breath. He had promised himself that he wasn’t going to do the cliched ‘summer camp romance’ thing. After all, he’d just gotten over the ‘closeted jock’ situation and that hadn’t been fun, to say the least. He wanted to be done with men for a very long time, but it didn’t hurt to look, right?

Before Logan could respond, Remus had gathered their attention again and they got swept away with learning how to recognise and assist the injuries and ailments that they were most likely to see over the coming weeks.

“Merde!” Logan gasped, pulling Leo from his thoughts. He figured that he had wound the bandage too tight around Logan’s arm.

“Sorry! Sorry,” he apologised, trying to remove it as quickly as he could. “Are you okay?”

Logan frowned for a second, “I am fine. Why would you ask that?”

“Was it not too tight?” Leo asked, gesturing to Logan’s arm, a little confused. 

Logan’s features knitted into a tighter frown before he seemed to have a realisation. “Oh, non. That was fine. Perfect. I will never bleed to death with you around,” he said, gesturing for Leo to do the bandage again so that Remus could inspect his work. 

“Okay…” Leo hesitated, “Why did you swear then?”

“You’re the angel,” Logan grinned, and Leo just grew more confused. Logan huffed out a laugh. “I believe you met my boyfriend yesterday. Tall...although, not as tall as you. Red hair. Bit of an idiot.”

“You mean Finn,” Leo smiled, remembering the boy from yesterday. “Wait. Did you say boyfriend?” 

Leo had been one of the people allocated to defend his team's flag. His back was to it, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see the blue, white and pink stripes. Dumo had taken the opportunity to educate the counsellors on the flags of different identities before letting each team choose which would be theirs for the game. A timid looking blonde girl had whooped so loudly before her pale cheeks had turned crimson that it had been a unanimous decision for their team to take the trans flag. 

It had been eerily quiet for a while when three people came crashing out of the trees. Leo recognised two of them; a Russian boy who had insisted everybody called him Kuny instead of butchering his name, and Jackson Nadeau. They were both on his team.The person they were chasing was not. Leo glanced to his right, checking that there was nobody coming from that direction before he tried to intercept the intruder. Leo had thought he was fast, but they had easily whipped past him and Leo was left watching them run. He didn’t have time to call out between seeing the rock and watching them fall flat on their face.  

“Are you okay?” Leo shouted, forgetting the game as he ran over to check they hadn’t hurt themselves too badly. He was worried that they weren’t moving, but just as Leo kneeled down, they groaned and rolled onto their back. 

“Shit,” Leo said, taking in the blood dripping down the pale skin. “Hey, I’m Leo. Can you tell me your name?” Leo asked, already knowing it was Finn from the name tag, but he wanted to check that the boy knew himself. 

“Fi-Fish,” the red haired boy slurred, blinking rapidly. “Am I in heaven?”  he asked, reaching up to cup Leo’s face.

“No, you’re at Camp Gryffindor. Not quite heaven, but pretty close,” Leo gave a nervous laugh. “Just stay still. We’re going to get somebody to help you.”

“You look like an angel to me,” Finn whispered, making Leo blush. He gave a little cough before looking up at Kuny and Jackson, who had joined him at Finn’s side. “Can one of you go and grab a medic, please?”

Leo had been meaning to check up on Finn. Both because he had been worried about him, but also because he hadn’t been able to get that red hair and those freckles out of mind all night. Finn was beautiful, of course he had a boyfriend. 

“Yeah,” Logan nodded, his smile widening a second. “My boyfriend who apparently met an angel last night. He’s not wrong.”

Leo scratched at the back of his neck before continuing to wrap the bandage around Logan’s arm. “How is he?” 

“He’s fine. He’ll have a headache for a few days, but Lupin fixed him up,” Logan reassured. He hummed and pulled at the grass with his unoccupied hand. “Wouldn’t shut up about the blue-eyed angel called Leo though. I tried to make him stay in bed today, but he insisted you were real. Seems you are.” 

Leo thought his face was going to permanently take on its new shade of pink with the amount of blushing he was doing. “Isn’t it weird for you? Your boyfriend calling me an angel?” 

Logan shrugged, “Non, he didn’t lose his eyesight just because we got into a relationship. Besides, I trust him.”

Thankfully, Remus chose that moment to join them, praising Leo’s work and making a few comments on how it could be made a little better. Once he had gone, Logan began to tell him about his life growing up in Canada as if the previous conversation had never happened. Leo wasn’t sure whether he was relieved or frustrated. 

In return, Leo told Logan about the cooking classes that had led him to applying to work in the camp kitchens that summer. He found that Logan was actually a good listener, and nearly ended up spilling the details of the drama that led him to taking those classes as a replacement for the hockey games he was due to be playing. Another time maybe. Leo wasn’t going to think about how much he hoped there would be another time. 

The rest of the morning session seemed to fly by after that, and soon Leo found himself saying goodbye to Logan in order to find Regulus for lunch. 

“I’ll see you around,” Leo smiled.

“Sure thing, mon ange,” Logan said easily, and Leo tried not to read too much into that.

[alainawriteswwe]

Pride and Prejudice and Wrestling- Part 9

Characters: Seth Rollins x Reader, The gang from Raw

Summary: When a superstar Hollywood actress (The Reader), interacts with WWE Superstar Seth Rollins at Monday Night Raw, sparks fly. Can Rollins overcome his pride and convince the reader to take a chance on him when she’s still recovering from a nasty scandal caused by her cheating fiancé?

Warnings: Lots of flirting, angsty longing and some bad words

Tags: @caramara3; @panda-girl1999; @easyobsession — Chapter 9 The Unwanted Proposal

“What do you mean there’s only one bed?”

Seth sighed. “It’s on my profile for reservations. I like one bed.”

I rubbed my temples. I was tired and a headache was building.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

“It’s a king size bed.”

“And you’re over six feet of long arms and legs. That king bed might as well be a double.”

I wheeled my suitcase over to the bank of elevators and paused. This hotel was the same chain as in Miami. The elevator looked the same.

I had a vivid flash of memory. Seth and I in that elevator in Miami. All heated kisses and caresses. Bodies pressed together. Damn but I would have let him take me completely in that elevator in Miami if we hadn’t been interrupted.

Seth came up behind me. “The scene of the crime, man. Afraid to get in here with me huh?”

“Absolutely not,” I said in a rather haughty voice. I held my head high and wheeled my luggage into the elevator when it arrived.

Seth came in with his luggage too as did a older woman.

“Was it this wall or the one opposite where I nipped at those sexy shoulders of yours?” Seth whispered into my ear.

I ignored him. Luckily our room was on a lower floor, so we got out quickly.

I was aggravated and tired and now Seth had the nerve to tease me because he hated me so much.

He unlocked the room door and I took in the scene. It was a nice, standard hotel room with one rather large bed in the middle.

I sighed. I was hoping for a couch as well. That way I could sleep there while Seth took the bed. No luck there though. I was having a real run of bad luck lately.

“Which side of the bed do you want?” I asked, so I knew where to drop my stuff.

Seth looked mischievous. “The middle, as you should remember.”

I had tried to block out our night in Miami. Only I couldn’t. I remembered Seth’s scent. The feeling of rightness and possession I had as he joined us together. The weight of his body on mine and how glorious it felt. The feeling of my fingertips gliding over those hard abs. I remembered lots of stuff from Miami. Shake yourself out of it girl!

“Nice try Seth. Left or right?”

“Left.”

I bit my bottom lip. “I’m sorry about the bed situation Seth. It’s not fun for me either.”

Seth was annoyed by the turn in conversation. I could hear it in his voice.

“What? You afraid I’m going to ravish you in the middle of the night? You think you’re that irresistible?”

“Hardly. You’ve made it quite clear you would rather cuddle up with a rattlesnake instead of me. So I’m not worried you are going to make a pass at me in bed. And if it’s privacy you want we can figure something out.”

I took a step towards the bed and looked at the headboard. “We could put up The Walls of Jericho.”

“What?” The Kingslayer looked confused. His strong brow rumpled. It was adorable.

“It’s from a movie. One of my favorites. ‘It Happened One Night’ with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. They are a unmarried couple who are pretending to be together and they have to share a bedroom at a roadside motel. So they put a string down the middle of the bed and put blankets over it to divide the space. They called it The Walls of Jericho.”

“Humph.” He unzipped the smaller of his suitcases and took out some casual clothes.

“The only Walls of Jericho that I’m familiar with are much more painful than that.”

I dropped that line of conversation there. Instead I got on the floor and unzipped my suitcase while Seth took out a mini flashlight and began checking behind the bed board and under the mattress.

“What are you doing?”

“Bedbug check.”

“What?”

“Gotta be careful.”

“But this is a nice hotel.” I suddenly shivered from being creeped out.

“Yeah, well, bedbugs like nice hotels too. I always check. I learned this from Roman. You can never be too careful.”

He clicked off his flashlight. “Looks good.”

Seth then started putting his prepped meals in the mini fridge.

It was all really domestic. Seth brushed his teeth and I went to the bathroom to change into my pajamas and take off my make up. When I came out I was shocked to find Seth standing before me fully naked as he texted from his phone.

My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He couldn’t even bother to cover up and be decent in front of me.

But then I was a couldn’t believe I was having the pleasure of seeing him naked andI couldn’t even touch him. His thighs with their corded muscles seemed so strong. I was itching to touch him. Feel the smooth skin, the hardness of the muscle beneath. I took in a breath and turned away. My God, was I blushing.

“Seth, why are you naked?”

He shrugged like it was no big deal. “I always sleep naked. Why would I put on pajamas just because you’re here?” I still couldn’t look at him. “Common decency. Courtesy. Maybe even self dignity.”

He paused. “Turn around and look at me,” he commanded.

I did as I was told. Damn it why did I always feel compelled to follow his commands.

I turned and looked at him, focusing on his face and nothing below the chin. My libido was not to be trusted.

Seth looked at me. “I’m not changing my routine for you while we are on the road. Remember that.”

“I don’t have to remember when you keep reminding me that you hate me.”

He turned away from me then, focusing now on turning back the sheets of the bed. We both got in and lay facing away from each other, as close to the edge as possible, so there was no accidental touching. Seth’s table light was still on so there was some soft golden light. Finally, after a few awkward moments, Seth broke it.

“You did well today.”

“Thank you. Although I didn’t really do anything. I wasn’t even on camera.”

“You learned the ways of the company. People were excited to see and meet you. They see you as one of us now.”

“I don’t know about that.”

Seth ignored my statement. “No. You’re one of us. Most important, you treated the veterans with respect. I’m proud of you. As my girlfriend, you did me proud.”

“Fake girlfriend,” I clarified and punched my pillow as I tried to get comfortable.

“Of course. Fake girlfriend. Look, fake or not I’m still proud.”

“Well my hand is going to fall off from shaking everyone’s hand today, so I’m glad that made you proud.”

“I know it makes no sense, but we have our traditions in wrestling. They are important. You have to show deference.”

“I’m glad we don’t have all these rules in acting.” That was a lie though. We had some nutty traditions in acting. That whole ‘The Scottish Play’ business.

Seth let out a huff. “When I came up to the main roster I thought I was the end all be all. No one could tell me anything. I was the first NXT champ and I was part of The Shield. The leader you might say. We were insanely over for a debuting faction. In my head, I was untouchable. So I decided to stop shaking hands. I was almost future endeavored for it.”

I turned over and Seth did the same so that we were still on our respective sides of the bed but looking at each other as we hugged our pillows like they were people. “What happened?”

“One of the veterans complained to Management. I was hauled in to see Vince. I got a real dressing down. Including the threat of being fired.”

“Which veteran turned you in?”

“Big Show.”

“Not a man you want to piss off.”

“Not at all. I learned very quickly. I had to be humble and show the veterans deference.”

I groaned. “Puhleese. Seth Rollins humble. Get out.”

I smiled. Damn but it was easy to look at him laying there next to me. His hair all loose and wild on the soft pillow.His body half covered by the sheet, waiting for me to pull it back and explore his body.

“Well, respectful then.”

“You still think you’re The Man.”

Especially with the ladies, I said silently, in my head.

“Because I am. That’s who Seth Rollins is. The Man.”

“What makes him The Man?”

His voice was serious and deep. “He sees what he wants and he goes after it. He stops at nothing until its his.”

He looked at me with such intent I felt my nipples harden with arousal under the thin cotton of my nightshirt. I shifted my arm to cover my breasts.

I rolled my eyes, trying to turn off the intensity of the moment. “Including turning on his own brothers as a means to an end.”

“Including taking advantage of every opportunity afforded him.”

“Uh huh. Go to sleep, Seth Rollins, The Man.”

To that I got the hyena laugh.

“If I have to hear your cackling voice another second Seth, I will have nightmares.”

“Sweet dreams babe. Sweet dreams of my laugh. Ha haaaah.”

“Ugh.”

I turned over again, giving Seth my back before I made a fool of myself and tried to give him my body, which seemed to still foolishly yearn for him.

Seth turned out the light.

It took awhile to fall asleep. I could hear Seth breathing evenly. Of course the bastard fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

But that was unfair. He wrestled tonight and drove three hours. Although I could have driven if he didn’t have his insane rules. He could have rested while I took on that burden for him.

Annoying as Seth was with his rules, it was nice being with him. It was odd knowing that Seth was just an arm length away but I couldn’t touch him. He didn’t want me to touch him because he hated me. How had everything gone so wrong?

When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed. A weird dream in which I was sandwiched between Seth and Finn who were both shirtless (hallelujah) and I was keeping them from a fight. They weren’t fighting over me but over a belt. I tried not to be disappointed about it.

Finally, in the dream, I convinced Seth to take a step back from the situation and he was soon distracted as we were making out on a couch. Where we were I had no idea. I wanted to say backstage at a arena but that also seemed wrong.

Anyway, next thing I know, in my dream I was snuggled up in Seth’s arms in bed after the show. Finn and his perfect abs had disappeared. I was alone with Seth all cuddled up and it was heavenly.

Then I woke up. The situation was not heavenly. Somehow, in the middle of the night I seemed to have journeyed over from my side of the bed and into Seth’s arms. Panic rose up inside me.

I was literally draped on top of him and his deliciously sexy, naked body. My head all snugly against his chest. I could feel it rise and fall in unison with his breaths. My hand was splayed over one of his pecs. My leg against the junction of his sex, my foot grazing the side of one of those sexy thighs. Seth’s arm was across my waist holding me in place.

Oh no. There was no way I could move from this position and not wake him. And when I did, Seth would be furious.

My pulse quickened. I was afraid to move even an inch. What was I going to do? I tried to shift my position a little and Seth stirred. My heart pounding loudly in my chest. He was still asleep. Thank goodness. I tried to move again. Lightly picking up the arm that was slung over me.

Seth stirred again, murmuring something about deadlifts. As he stirred, miraculously his arm fell away to the side, freeing me.

Hallelujah!

Gently, I extricated myself from my perilous position to escape back to my side of the bed.

I couldn’t fall back asleep so I just laid there, thankful for my escape. I survived the night and sharing a bed with a naked Seth Rollins.

In a little while Seth woke up. I learned something very important about the Kingslayer that morning. He is an absolute diva when it comes to bathroom time. I’ve never seen a man take so long in there. Most women would never take so long to get ready.

I teased him mercilessly about it, telling him that an entire sorority house could get ready quicker than him. And yet all he’d done was throw on basketball shorts, a t shirt, rumpled Tap Out hoodie and the backwards cap.

“Do you ever wear clothes that don’t make you look like a gym rat?”

“When I’m trying to impress a girl, yeah.”

I laughed. “You’re definitely not trying to impress me.”

He didn’t look at me. “Not for this charade of ours no.”

I tried not to show the hurt on my face. The punch to the gut his statement made.

He bent down to tie his sneakers. “But I can wear the hell out of a sharp black suit. I could even give one of your movie-star boyfriends a run for their money on a red carpet.”

I shook my head. “Hardly.”

A lie. He would be sexy in that suit. Powerful. Damn I would like to see that and then undress him slowly, piece by piece.

At breakfast Seth and I discussed the schedule for the day before going to the arena.

“Come to CrossFit with me.” He said it very innocently while he stole the last of my scrambled eggs.

I ignored his theft and finished my coffee. “No. I’m not joining your cult, CrossFit Jesus.”

“It’s fun,” he said in a sing song voice.

“No it’s not. It looks like hell. Besides you just want to show off how good you are at it and lord it over me since I’m a newbie. No thank you.”

Seth denied that as his reasoning and we left it at that. In the end I went to the gym with Sasha and heard the gossip about Bayley and Cesaro who couldn’t seem to keep away from each other. After our core exercises and core gossip, we headed to the arena together to spend an afternoon of prepping and filling time until the house show began.

The next few days fit the same pattern. Then the next thing I knew it was Monday afternoon and I was just hours away from debuting on Monday Night Raw. I still had no idea about how management wanted me to play my role until about thirty minutes before showtime.

I sat down with Janet again. As the head of women’s talent she told me how things would go and that there would be a surprise. I was told to be myself in this role tonight but very bubbly, and a goody too shoes who could also deliver a zinger or insult with a sweet smile. Seemed fun so I was fully on board. I left Janet and got dressed for the show.

I didn’t see much of Seth as he was busy working on new spots for tonight’s match. They had practiced a number of things at the house shows earlier this week but there were still little technical things now that there were cameras involved.

Seth and Dean’s feud with the Miz had ended and they were working on getting the tag belts from Cesaro and Sheamus.

I was in the first segment of the night. I was going to be on Miz TV again. The Miz with his Miztourage and Maryse were already in the ring. It was only said that a surprise guest was coming on the show.

I stood in the gorilla and took in a few nervous breaths. Then I felt a pair of arms slide around my waist and settle on my hips. Seth. I leaned back into his warmth, hoping I could somehow absorb his strength. He dropped a kiss on my bare shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, Princess,” he whispered in my ear.

The moniker made me want to cry. “You haven’t called me Princess since I joined you on the road. Just babe.”

“I know. Princess is for special occasions. This is a special occasion.”

“I’m nervous. What if they hate this idea? What if they hate me?” Seth couldn’t see it but I bit my lip. Probably ruining the lipstick the makeup artists carefully applied.

“Then you will have to go back to Hollywood and some blockbuster movie role where you’re painted blue to play an alien again.”

I gave a small chuckle at that.

“And you would be well rid of me Seth. Maybe you can throw a party to celebrate my leaving.”

Seth’s hands slid away at my words. Had I offended him?

He turned me around to face him but I couldn’t look up at him. So he tipped my chin up with his fingers, making me look him in the eye. He always did that when he knew I was avoiding him.

“Don’t say things like that Princess. It’s not true.”

I looked up at him. There was no mockery lined on his face. “Then you are an incredible actor.”

Seth couldn’t reply. I was called to make my entrance. There was one last glance at my makeup which was approved and then I was out the curtain and onto the ramp. The new General Manager of Raw had arrived.

The crowd was surprised I was the special guest but they cheered. Good. First hurdle down. The Miz gave a hell of a promo all about how I was a great individual who had come to personally apologize to him for helping Seth and Dean at my last visit. He did a whole bit about how we were both A-Listers and should show each other respect.

And that is where I had to set The Miz straight that I had not come to apologize, even to the great actor of those ‘little’ Marine movies he was so famous for. Maryse said nothing but looked highly offended.

The Miz went on about how he needed respect. I told him he should respect me especially considering my announcement.

And then I really let him have it. Telling him that he should respect me, especially since I am the new General Manager of Raw. The look on his face was priceless as was Bo and Curtis. The crowd was in shock but not in a bad way. Thank goodness.

And then the surprise entrance music hit. The rousing theme for Kurt which got the crowd chanting “you suck” in the loving fashion that only the WE universe can achieve. Kurt came out and said he was taking a sabbatical for a few months and confirmed I was the new GM. Oh it’s true. It’s damn true.

As I left the ring with Kurt, I stopped on the ramp and turned around to tell The Miz that with my first act as GM I was setting a match with him and Braun Strowman. A match that would start right now. Strowman’s music hit and he came out. He was all single minded focus on beating the Miz into a pulp. I gave a small smug smile (Seth would be proud) and then left.

When I came back through the curtain, Seth was there. He picked me up and whirled me around. “There’s my Princess General Manager. You were great. And you are so over. The WWE Universe loves you.”

I couldn’t conceal my joy at this. Being in Seth’s arms earlier and now this. His support made my heart feel full. But this was all for show wasn’t it? For the gossiping technicians and fellow Superstars so that it was obvious this relationship was the real thing.

I had several more segments with the Superstars who were all curious about how I became GM when I had no wrestling background. But right when I was about explain it, something always happened and the answer wasn’t given. It was a fun trick.

The last segment of the night occurred with Enzo and Big Cass. Enzo, all gaudy gold chains and clashing animal print clothing was going to ask for a shot at the tag team titles. I was supposed to announce the match for next week and it would end the show.

Only suddenly Cass left and Enzo kept talking about how glad he was that I was here. How he had been waiting for this moment. I looked around at the crew. I was confused. This was not in the script. The technicians looked confused but the cameras kept rolling. One of the assistants mouthed that we were still on air.

Seth came up out of nowhere snd stood beside me. Shirtless, white towel around his neck and hair slicked back. He looked ready to pounce on Enzo.

Enzo just kept speaking to me. “I’m glad you’re here alright because it fulfills a part of my contract.”

I wrinkled a brow. “What? What are you talking about?” My heart started bearing faster. What the hell was going on? Had Triple H played both Seth and me? I was about to find out.

Enzo pulled out a folded contract. He turned it around to show me.

“I’ve been waiting for this a long time. My contract says I get to date/marry the next female General Manager of Raw. And that my golden statuette goddess is you. You’re gonna ride the Enzo train (terrible collection of words which conjured all sorts of terrible images) and my best friend Cass and I are going to get our title shot.”He kept pointing at the contract.

I looked at it. The contract was real. Not some phony dummy contract with one line like what they use for contract signings on air.

“Oh hell no.” I couldn’t control the anger in my voice. “I’m not going to be in some fake relationship with you.”

Enzo soured quickly. “What you sayin’? That all this Italian Stallion goodness in front of yous is not good enough for a actress.”

The tension ratcheted up. Seth took a step forward. His face was warning Enzo wordless to stop or there would be consequences.

“Well, I’m not being unkind Enzo, but us together is ludicrous.”

Now I was mad. What the eff was this?“It’s ludicrous because Seth and I am dating.”

Enzo stamped his feet in that ridiculous shuffle of his. “Well break it off. As GM of Raw you have to honor the contract and date and or marry me.”

And that’s how Raw ended as the producers came down and there was chaos and discussion.

Seth was livid. His wide mouth a grim line. Shoulder set for confrontation. Even his stance was deliberate.

Oh God, please don’t let there be a fight.

Seth had no filter. “Enzo what the fuck is this?”

“My shot. I’m takin what’s mine. This was supposed to be my program and they just give it to you and her.”

I tried to diffuse the situation even though I was standing in back of Seth.

“Look Enzo this won’t work. Seth and I are dating. No one would believe I would just drop him and start dating you. It makes no sense when Seth is the man in my life right now.”

Seth took yet another step closer as did Enzo. My heart lurched. They were only a few steps apart now. Hearing of the argument, a number of Superstars and crew now turned up to watch.

“Nobody in this entire arena believes that your little fights and lovey dovey public displays of affection are real. We’re even betting on it.”

Enzo turned towards Alexa who looked ahead like it was no big deal. “So if you can fake it with him you can fake it with me. We can even make it real outside the ring. Ya know what I’m sayin’.”

Enzo looked me up and down. It made my skin crawl. “Oh my God. You sent the black roses didn’t you?”

“Damn right I did. I needed everyone to see that you were going to be my girl and black roses are the most expensive. I tried to get them to like make a leopard print rose but like science wise it’s not possible.”

Oh my goodness. This was crazy. This was chaos.

Enzo continued. “Look, you could use a new man who could give it to you good. We’ve all seen Seth’s photos online. Not very flattering. Not like the giant salamiI got waiting for you.”

I moved forward and took hold of Seth’s arm. I knew what was coming.

“Seth please don’t this,” I pleaded. “It’s not worth it. I’d never be with Enzo. Not professionally or personally.” At that Enzo went crazy, jumping up and down and pointing at me. “You’re insulting me. Like you’re a catch cause you’re a big movie-star. I’ve heard the rumors. You’re a freezer in bed.”

There was a audible gasp from our assembled audience. I could feel Seth tug out of my hold and lunged forward. His arm suddenly pulled back to gain the momentum for the punch he was going to land on Enzo, only Seth’s arm went back too far.

With a crack, I felt Seth’s fist hit my face. In shock, I stumbled, tripping over my own feet and falling backward. It all happened so quickly.

I felt my head connect with something sharp as I went down. Then the next thing I knew, everything went black. —

[moonprincess92]

It’s a reflex

Jyn Erso accidentally kisses Cassian Andor goodbye.

She definitely doesn’t freak out about it.

(Read on AO3)

When Jyn woke, she was alone.

It didn’t worry her. A chronic morning person, Cassian was always up at the crack of dawn, pottering around his flat making coffee or reading the newspaper or whatever the hell it was that ‘cultured’ people like him did in the mornings. Jyn, on the other hand, routinely stayed up until 3am watching vine compilation videos on YouTube and therefore did not emerge from bed until late morning if it was an option. She yawned, rolling over to see his empty side of the bed and the partially open bedroom door beyond. She could hear him humming, banging around somewhere in the kitchen and she let a hand stretch out under the sheets. It was always cold without him. She sighed, moving to drag herself out of bed.

You know, in any other situation, this might have been sweet and domestic.

She found him at the kitchen table, munching on toast and scrolling through the news on his phone. Shirtless and hair in a scruffy disarray, Jyn sometimes wondered how she’d gotten herself to this point … maybe she shouldn’t have had that third tequila shot all those months ago. If she hadn’t, then she never would have gotten up the nerve to go talk to the hot guy who’d been eyeing her up across the bar. If she hadn’t, they never would have kissed over a bowl of peanuts with some ridiculous pop song in the background. If she hadn’t, she never would have gone home with him … time after time after time.

“Six months in and you still can’t do the decent thing of waking me up at a reasonable hour.” 

“I’ve tried dragging you out of bed before,” he threw back across the room without looking up. “Never works.”

Her hands fidgeted a little, suppressing a smile. Then, she moved to perch on the edge of the table next to him, bending down and stealing a bite of his toast just as he’d been about to put it in his own mouth.

He sighed as she chewed triumphantly. Wordlessly, he handed what was left over to her and she took it gratefully.

“Besides, I know that you’ll always leave eventually,” Cassian pointed out, going back to his phone only a little exasperated. “I don’t exactly feed you well.”

“This toast is divine.”

“Oh yes,” Cassian snorted. “my cooking skills are getting much better.”

“Exactly, you’ll be on Masterchef next.”

He grinned, shaking his head as he apparently finished scrolling through whatever disasters were happening throughout the world today. He put the phone down, glancing up at her.

God.

Look, Jyn didn’t kid herself that this was actually going anywhere. They were both intensely private people, with their own issues that neither wanted to talk about, and they’d met in a bar, for Christ’s sake. That wasn’t the foundation for a real relationship! No, she was fine with this casual set-up, in which they simply texted each other every now and then, the conversation full of memes, emojis and bad jokes until they finally ran out of things to talk about and the conversation inevitably turned to … other things. Almost always, it would end in her agreeing to come over.

(But then again, sometimes he would look at her like he was now and she would feel the slightest bit of regret that she wasn’t doing more about it).

“You got plans for today?” he asked her.

“Aside from getting out of here before your insane flatmate comes back? Not much.”

“He��s not insane–”

“The first time I met him, he asked me whether I was on birth control or not,” Jyn felt the need to point out for the billionth time.

“… ok, so he’s insane,” Cassian admitted. “Fair enough, I’ll let you have first shower.”

“Thank you,” Jyn hopped off the table with a flourish.

Half an hour later, and Jyn was washed and fully dressed. She shrugged her jacket back on and shoved her feet into her boots, but it was when she was stooping to the floor to pick up her wallet and keys when she suddenly paused. The memory of how she’d initially dropped them there had slammed into her head and without any warning … she wasn’t quite ready to leave just yet.

She must have looked ridiculous half-crouched on the floor, but she couldn’t stop herself from lingering. What, was she going to miss him? Whatever this feeling was, it was ridiculous and it happened every bloody time, but she just couldn’t control the memories that flooded her brain every time it was the moment she had to walk out. She remembered his arms sliding around her waist last night, gathering up her shirt and she’d dropped her keys to fist her hands in his hair. She remembered him eventually pushing her back onto the bed, kneeling down to the floor so that his head could bury itself between her thighs. She remembered shivering, remembered clawing at his back, remembered rolling them over and linking their fingers together next to his head, hips moving in a pace that set her on fire …

… hahahahahahaha, well, SHIT. She had to get out of here.

She quickly lurched up from the floor. Hastily darting back to the bathroom, she stuck her head around the door and yelled out,

“Hey! I’m leaving now!”

He paused from where he was apparently about to step into the shower. He gave her a warm smile and said, “Bye, Jyn.”

She honestly had no idea why she did it.

Maybe she’d finally gone a little nutty from the lack of sleep. Maybe it was the way he had turned to face her, as if he was offering up himself anyway. Maybe it was the fact that she still couldn’t get last night in particular out of her head and now that she was standing here in front of him in all his glory, it was all she could think about?

Hell, for whatever godforsaken reason … Jyn loped forward two steps and kissed him.

It was nothing, really. A casual press of lips, it lasted less than a second before she was pulling away again, turning to leave. She hadn’t even thought about it, until it hit her about three steps later. She froze in the bathroom doorway.

WHAT … WHAT DID SHE JUST DO?

She just kissed him goodbye. What the hell. That wasn’t something they did, this was supposed to be nothing! This wasn’t a relationship, this was two people who fucked every now and then, they didn’t do cuddling or kissing goodbye or cooking waffles together on a Sunday morning, Jyn giggling and wearing his shirt from the night before! Hell, Jyn wasn’t sure if she was even capable of that anymore. There weren’t supposed to be any frills, any conversations about what they were or where they were going, and there sure as all hell weren’t supposed to be any ‘feelings’ involved! What the hell was this? She felt her stomach churning and she almost turned back around to apologise, until she realised that she didn’t really want to see the look on his face (what if he was cringing just as hard as she was? What if he wasn’t?!).

So she made her feet move forward, and she practically ran out of the flat.

Finally outside in the hallway, she could breathe again. Well, sort of. Holy shit, holy shit. Did she just ruin everything? He was never going to text her again! Determined to get as far away as she could in as short amount of time as possible, Jyn strode down the hallway as quick as she could without actually sprinting. She pulled out her phone, determined to call Bodhi since he always seemed to know what to do –

SLAM.

Jyn shrieked a little as she went flying. Apparently, she had walked smack right into someone, and the force of it sent her sprawling back on her arse. Her phone skidded several feet away as she hit the ground.

“Are you all right–? Oh. It’s you,” a familiar voice said.

Jyn groaned out loud. Of all people, she did not want to be talking to Kay FUCKING Tu right this moment.

“I promise I was just leaving,” she rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll help myself up.”

“You should pay better attention to where you’re going,” Kay naturally didn’t get the sarcasm.

The first time they’d met was when they’d both accidentally attempted to use the bathroom at the same time in the middle of the night and the relationship hadn’t exactly gotten better from there. Cassian’s weird flatmate was blunt to the point of rudeness, and made it quite clear that he didn’t approve of their ‘arrangement’ (who the hell even called it that?). If she was ever unfortunate enough to find herself in his company, she usually spent about 90% of the time subtly making fun of him. Jyn grumbled as she hauled herself up from the floor, retrieving her poor battered phone along the way.

“Why are you leaving so early?” Kay suddenly asked her.

Jyn turned to stare incredulously at him. “Like you care?”

“Just observing. You normally stick around for much longer in the mornings after you stay the night, even when you know I'm coming home. Are you no longer satisfied with the relationship?” Kay asked. “Because I’d be more than happy with that scenario, might I suggest–?”

“I accidentally kissed him goodbye,” she suddenly blurted out.

Kay raised his eyebrows so high, she thought they might disappear into his hair, which was a feat in of itself considering the buzz cut he sported. She had no idea where that had come from. But it had been screaming inside her and apparently, it just couldn’t wait until she was out of here and furiously texting Bodhi for help. Apparently, it needed addressing now, to the point where she was even willing to talk to Cassian’s insane flatmate about it!

What was wrong with her?

“And … that’s a bad thing?” Kay looked confused.

“It’s not … Jesus, I don’t know why I’m bothering to explain this to a robot in human form, but it’s just not what we do, ok?” Jyn said, exasperatedly. “We’re not … we’ve never been serious. Kissing goodbye is something that people with feelings and emotions do and that’s not us!”

“I see,” Kay peered down at her, seemingly interested by the conundrum she had presented to him. Well, gee, that made her feel better. “As far as I’m aware, kissing someone goodbye can be considered a sign of affection. People like to be close to the ones they love and in this scenario you are leaving, so it could be seen as an expression of ‘I would prefer it if I didn’t have to go, but my responsibilities call for it, so let me be close to you one last time’.”

“… you got all that from a kiss goodbye?”

“I often don’t understand social interaction. I do my best to try.”

“I can tell,” Jyn muttered. There was a pause for a moment, in which Kay just looked at her expectedly, the two of them still standing together in the middle of the damn hallway. Finally, Jyn couldn’t take it anymore. “Well?” she added. “You’re apparently the expert, what do I do?”

“How should I know?”

“According to you, I’m getting all emotional about Cassian! C’mon, how do I stop it?”

“Most people consider emotional connections a good thing, I don’t understand why you want to stop it–”  

“Look, I’m not good at relationships, ok?” Jyn sighed in frustration. She really did not want to get into her very short list of Disastrous Dating Attempts here, but Kay was apparently annoying enough that it was coming out of her. “Every time I try, it ends in an unmitigated catastrophe,” Everyone leaves, a voice in her head sneered. No one sticks around in the end. It’s better to not try than to get burned again and again …

But thankfully, Kay couldn’t hear that.

“Why are you even sleeping with Cassian then, if you don’t want a relationship?” he asked in bewilderment.

She floundered for a moment.

“… uh, he’s hot?”

For a second, she almost thought he snorted with laughter … but Kay doesn’t laugh. He must have just been clearing his throat or something.

“So you kissed him goodbye,” he clarifies. “as an accident, you said?”

“I definitely didn’t mean to, it just … happened,” Jyn admitted. “I don’t bloody know, it probably meant nothing, like it was just a reflex reaction! Right?”

“That sounds like a decent theory. Do you have evidence to support it?”

“Evidence? Have you been watching crime shows again?”

“Cassian does not let me watch them on our shared T.V.,” Kay sighed in disappointment. “He says that he sees enough real crimes at work, which is fair.”

Jyn shook her head. This man didn’t understand sarcasm, and yet also enjoyed watching crime shows like a normal person. She’d never get this bloke. “Look, I’m just saying … when you’re sleeping with someone, even if it’s casual, you get pretty damn close, physically speaking. It’s natural to kiss goodbye, I just wasn’t thinking ok? I shouldn’t be overthinking it.”

“If you know that already, why are you still freaking out about it?”

“WHO SAYS I’M FREAKING OUT?”

“Jyn, I’m going to note here that you’re still voluntarily having a conversation with me in the middle of the hallway,” Kay gestured vaguely around them. “Usually, you would have punched me and told me to fuck off by now.”

Shit. Maybe she WAS still freaking out.

“… so it was a sign of affection, you say?” she asked, weakly.

He nodded. “Or it was just a reflex reaction,” he added on her point.

“Well, which one was it for me?”

“The hell if I know, Jyn. If I can’t predict your behaviour on any average day, what makes you think I could predict this?”

Your actions are continually unpredictable, Jyn Erso, he’d told her once. This was back when she and Cassian had barely known each other for two weeks, and Jyn had immediately responded with how the hell he’d known her last name. What followed had been a lengthy explanation of how he had apparently gone all Sherlock Bloody Holmes on them all and had managed to Facebook stalk her.

“Who is this man you were photographed with in a very affectionate pose on the 16th December, 2010?” he’d asked, shoving his phone under her face.

“That’s my brother, Bodhi,” she’d answered incredulously. “Blimey, what is wrong with you?”

But at least the man’s actions had come from a warped sense of protectiveness over his flatmate. Cassian had been mortified upon finding out, but Jyn had simply waved it off. It wasn’t worth getting worked up over. Hell, Cassian wasn’t even supposed to be worth it, but there had to be a reason she kept coming back for more and maybe this was it? Maybe, despite everything, despite her best intentions not to … she’d gone and fallen for the bloke anyway?

She shuddered, as if that might shake away the feelings.

Jyn, what have you gone and done?

But ok! Ok, this wasn’t THAT bad though, right? Like, if she was going to get emotional about anyone, at least it was him at the end of the day? She could have (and had) done much worse. Hell, tossers were practically her type at this point! But Cassian had a certain charm. He was easy to talk to, easy to be herself around, and not to mention was easy on the eyes …

But it was also easy to walk away from the tossers. Walking away from Cassian was going to hurt like a bitch.

Actually, she wasn’t even sure that she wanted to walk away.

“Kay,” she said, coughing hastily around her scratchy voice. “I don’t think it was just a reflex.”

He nodded. “What are you going to do about it, then?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this… but something. I don’t know what, but I’ve got to do something.”

He sighed. “Well, I can’t say I’m ecstatic at this news, but at least this will further Cassian’s happiness.”

“Come again?”

“Well, Cassian is clearly the happiest he’s ever been since he met you,” Kay said matter-of-factly and not at all like he’d just exploded her heart inside her chest. “I don’t particularly like you, but I want him to be happy, so …”

Boom.

Something clicked somewhere inside her head and apparently, that was all it took. Her resolve was firmly set.

“Kay, I’ve found that I suddenly have an idea after all – I gotta go! And I never said this, but you’re not actually so bad, ok?”

She didn't even let him respond, instead already tearing off back down the hallway. Footsteps pounding, it took her several moments to realise that running wasn’t actually going to make much difference since she was currently locked out with no key. She sighed exasperatedly, looking back at Kay pointedly until he strode after her, inserting his key and thankfully letting her back inside.

“Likewise, Jyn Erso,” he told her.

She tore through the rest of the flat in seconds, dumping her keys and jacket somewhere along the way. Cassian had apparently left the shower since it was no longer running, yet she found him still in a towel in his bedroom as he apparently searched for clothes. He glanced up when she opened the door, the words, “Hey, Kay–” on his lips, but that was about when Jyn launched herself straight into his arms.

He tasted of minty toothpaste and surprise. His skin was hot and she wound her arms tight around his neck. He didn’t pull back. In fact, they stood there entwined together in the middle of his bedroom, kissing until they were red-faced and the towel was threatening to fall to the floor. Her heart was racing so fast she wondered if this was what a heart attack was, but luckily if anything, the feeling seemed to be mutual. When she pulled back he followed, lips chasing hers until finally he allowed her to see his face. His fingers dug into her hips.

“You’re not Kay,” he made a point of mentioning.

“It wasn’t just a reflex!” she practically yelled. “Wait – shit, sorry. I should explain first.”

“That would be appreciated, thanks.”

“I ran into Kay out in the hall,” She was still wound in his arms. It made things increasingly distracting, but she forced herself on. “Sometimes it’s just a reflex, but this time I don’t think it was. I hate leaving in the mornings, Cassian. I love that you let me eat your food. And you never complain when I send you obscure memes at two in the morning. Shit, my point is that I think I like you and I suck at this kind of thing, but I – I – think I want to try anyway, yeah?”

“… you got all that from talking to Kay?” he asked in amazement.

“Yeah, you can check me for head injury later.”

“I resent that!” a disembodied voice suddenly came from the bedroom door.

They both turned to see Kay, quite obviously eavesdropping.

“I see ‘subtle’ is not a word in his vocab,” Jyn muttered. “Kay, GET OUT.”

“Fine!” he complained, waving a hand at her dismissively. “Go and have sex already, just let me get my headphones on first …”

“Sorry,” Jyn mentioned once he was gone.

“Hey, he’s my flatmate not yours,” Cassian said fondly. “Oh, I like you too, by the way.”

“Ah. Good.”

She could still hear Kay muttering complaints when they kissed again.

[huntertales]

Part Three: Night of the Living Dead. (Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid S05E15)

Episode Summary:  Sam, Dean and the reader investigate Bobby’s home town where the dead are rising from the grave but instead of attacking humans, they are happily reuniting with their families. Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader Word Count: 3,772.

Previous Part | Supernatural Rewrite Masterlist

Your name: submit What is this? // <![CDATA[ function replaceAll(find, replace, str) { return str.replace(new RegExp(find, 'g'), replace); } function myHandler() { var input = document.getElementById("inputTxt").value; document.body.innerHTML = replaceAll('Y/N', document.getElementById("inputTxt").value, document.body.innerHTML); } // ]]>

The truth was always a hard thing to say, and another struggle to get yourself to believe in. But it was there. And he was going to have to do what he will with it. You and the boys arrived back at Bobby’s house a little after the sun set with a bit of unsettling news. After you told Dean about the encounter with Ezra Jones, it was all downhill from here. The man was about ready to barge through the front door of the Singer household and blow Karen’s brains out right in front of her husband. You managed to talk him off the ledge and convinced him into at least talking to Bobby to explain what was going on here. You knew it was only going to be a matter of time until Sioux Falls turned into a remake of 'Night of the Living Dead' if all of you didn't put a stop to this.

“Keep your damn voices down.” Bobby warned you, not giving you such a warm welcome when you followed him into the library after telling him you had not so good news. He was more concerned about his wife and hurting her feeling if she happened to overhear something that might offend her. “Karen’s upstairs.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. We’re just a little tense right now.” Dean hissed at the man, not in the mood to be on polite terms with the man. You crossed your arms over your chest and let out a faint sight, not prepared for the conversation you were about to have with Bobby. “Who’s old lady Jones?”

“The first one to come up.” Bobby answered.

“First one to go bad.” You said.

“Ah, she was always a nutty broad.” Bobby muttered, shrugging off your words.

“Nutty how? Nutty like the way she ate her husband’s stomach out? Or maybe she’s nutty in the sense of she tried to take a bite out of me.”You wondered, raising a brow slightly to drive your point to what was going on here. “Was that the level of nutty she was in life?”

Bobby fell silent for a moment from what you said, “No.”  

“Look, Bobby, I feel for you.” Dean said, trying his hardest to be empathetic to the man the best way that he could while he tried hiding Frankenstein’s monster from the angry crowd. “But you have got to acknowledge that you’re not exactly seeing this straight!”

“Bobby, whether you admit it or not, these things are turning.” Sam said, following Bobby as he began wheeling himself across the room until he was now staring at you again from a farther distance. “We have to stop them—all of them.”

Bobby wasn't in the mood anymore to hear what you or the boys had to say about this situation. You glanced down when you noticed his hand disappeared underneath his leg, to pull out something that you weren't expecting to see, as things seemed to have escalated quickly. "Time to go." He told you simply, not seeming to feel the least bit guilty when he pointed a fully loaded gun in your direction. The boys stiffened in discomfort, not sure of what the man was going to do when his finger hovered over the trigger. You, however, let out what sounded like a chuckle as your lips stretched into a smirk at what he was doing. “You think this is funny, Y/N? You heard me. Off my property.”

“Or what?” You asked him. “You’ll shoot us?”

“If Karen turns, I will handle it—my way.” Bobby said, not leaving the conversation up for discussion again. Dean tried to warn the man about what kind of dangerous situation he was putting himself in, Bobby lifted his finger to cock the gun, giving his response of what he thought about your concern for him. "I'm not telling you twice."

You stared at Bobby for a moment, wondering if he really was going to do this, and from the deadpan stare he was giving you, the man wasn't about to bend for his wife. You scoffed from what he was doing. You muttered underneath your breath about how dramatic men could be. He wouldn't ever shoot you, no matter how much he tried putting on this tough act, but you listened to him anyway. If Bobby wanted to go out like this, being left as a snack for his soon to be rabid wife, fine. Let him. You had an entire town to worry about.

+ + +

“He’s crazy.”

You and the boys managed to get outside of the property before Dean was speaking once more about his distaste for what Bobby was doing. He was choosing the woman that had died decades ago over the people that he was closest to. The man had practically raised the boys, called all three of you his own children from what he had been through these past handful of years. You were a bit bitter about what Bobby was doing, but you decided to let him simmer down. You had a bit of time until Karen could turn into a Stepford housewife with a taste for human flesh. The man might be in a wheelchair, but it didn't mean he was powerless. Sam tried to look at the bigger picture right now. There was an entire town that was harboring zombies, just waiting to attack.

“It's his wife, Dean.” You reminded the older Winchester, knowing too damn well he would have done the same thing if you or Sam were put in that position like Karen was.

“So he goes ’Full Metal Jacket’ on us?” Dean asked, you rolled your eyes from his reaction that was all too like him. “We're his family, Y/N.”

“Look, man. Bigger fish, okay?” Sam reminded his older brother about what you were dealing with here. “I mean, we got a bunch of zombies about to turn this town into a giant chew toy.”

“Yeah, and he's alone in the house making pie with one of 'em!” Dean shouted, not being able to keep his frustration hidden any longer. Sam raised his toe slightly, wondering exactly what he was trying to get at here, and how he was going to handle this situation. “So! I'm gonna have to go back there and… and… and kill her. That's the only thing I can think of.”

“If he sees you, you're a dead man.” You reminded him, trying to poke a hole into his master plan.

“Well, then, I guess I won't let him see me.” Dean said with a confident tone, as if it was going to be that easy for him.

“Well, I hate to you this to you Sammy, but...you mind going into town on your own? I need to make sure your idiot brother doesn't get himself killed by the end of the night.” You said. You weren't happy yourself with how the plan was working out, you furthered your point by looking Dean straight in the eye with an annoyed look. “You're gonna need some help. Hey, what about the sheriff?”

“Uh,” Sam gave you a confused look from whom you had suggested to be his backup. He wasn't exactly pleased himself, wanting you to join in on the fun he was about to get into, but he knew his brother, the man didn't always think logically. “last time I checked, the sheriff was pretty pro-zombie, Y/N.”

“You're just gonna have to convince her.” You said.

“How?”

“I don't know. You're just gonna.”

+ + +

You really should have been with Sam at this point of the night when Sioux Falls was at the very brink of a possible zombie overtake. But you were holding onto that little fraction of hope that maybe none of this will end out terribly. You were hoping for a sunny day when it kept raining on and on. You cocked back the shotgun and made sure it was fully loaded before slipping a few more rounds of ammunition into your jacket pocket. Dean busied himself by putting a few more bullets into the chamber of the gun, not seeming to notice that your attention drifted to the house to take a final look at it from the distance that you parked. Bobby was inside the house with his wife, just wanting this little moment of his to keep on going. He was lying over a bomb, not caring that it was going to explode at any second and kill him.

"Could you do it?" You asked the older Winchester out of the blue.

Dean looked up from the shotgun and gave you a bit of a confused look, "Do what, exactly?"

"Say you were in Bobby's position. If you realized the colt could kill Lucifer—that you could prevent the entire world from going up into flames, would you do it?" You asked him out of a dark curiosity. Dean didn't seem to think twice about that question. He let out a bit of a chuckle as he got his shotgun ready for use. That was what all three of you were doing, trying to stop the Devil and save the world. But you weren't done with your question. "If you honestly found a way to kill the Devil—and if you knew it could take me down with him, too—would you do it?"

It was a simple question. Hell, it was a theory that could be a possibility in the near future. All of you had known what the consequences would be if you found a way to stop Lucifer once and for all. You seen it what felt like an entire lifetime ago, even though it’d been a few months. Dean had tried to shoot Lucifer straight in the head with the colt, and while the three of you had been lured into believing that the fight was over, it was just the beginning. You had learned the hard way that if you wanted to take down the bloody devil, his better half was going with him. Dean looked away from you when he heard the words ring inside his head again. He tried so hard to forget that little fact. But you brought it back, and made him wonder for a second about this. He tried to use the excuse that you were different, that you weren’t rapidly turning into a monster like Karen could be. Yet he’d be lying if you were just fine. It was the moral dilemma of killing one to save them all. Could Dean do it if the possibility dropped into his lap?

The both of you were struck out of your personal thoughts when you heard a gunshot go off, the color in your face drained at the thought of what might have happened. Neither of you wasted a second in bolting for the house, needing to know what was going on. Dean picked the lock in just a few seconds flat before the door swung open and he called out the man’s name. You followed behind on his heels and looked around to see where Bobby could have been. The two of you headed inside the library to see a sight you wouldn’t have expected to find so soon. You stopped in your tracks and lowered your gun.

Bobby sat at his wife’s side while she laid on the makeshift he made for her. While it seemed like a sight that seemed like any other, it was the gun that he held and the blood splattered pillow that made you realized what happened. Karen had felt herself starting to turn, and to be sure that she couldn’t hurt her husband like she did before, Bobby killed her, all over again. You could feel your heartbeat pound a little bit harder when the man looked away from his wife and to you and Dean. If there was ever a moment that you saw Bobby at his weakest, this...this was that exact moment you would never forget.

+ + +

There was time and place to mourn the loss of his wife, but tonight was not one of them. You were a bit surprised when Bobby snapped out of his grief long enough to make a plan of what to do. Sam was out there alone and he needed all the help he could get. You stood outside with Bobby at your side and Dean loaded up the van with all the supplies you would need. As you looked around the junkyard for any possible zombies roaming around where they shouldn’t be, you found yourself staring back at the heartbroken Bobby. He could say all he wanted that he was fine, but you could see it in his eyes. He wasn’t going to be okay for a while.

“You know,” You struck up a conversation, bringing the older man’s attention to you as he broke himself out his concentration on no particular space. “If you want to sit this one out…”

Bobby was tempted for a moment at letting himself not take on such a big fight. But the man couldn’t go back into that house with his wife just lying there. He looked at you from the corner of his eye and gave you his answer, “Let’s just get going.”

Dean decided that answer was good as any. He tossed the last bag into the back of the truck and proceeded to start closing the first door and reached out his hand to close the second, but before he could, a distant sound coming from beyond in the junkyard caught your attention. He stopped for a moment and cautiously looked over his shoulder, he had a feeling that wasn’t just a raccoon looking for food. Dean reached for his shotgun again and turned on his flashlight. He looked over at you, and with a simple command to keep a look out, the man ventured off into the darkness to figure out what could have made that sound.

You thought that it could have been nothing, but you were prepared for the worst in this kind of situation. You and Bobby waited for a minute as things seemed to have grown nothing but silent, all you could hear was the sound of your heartbeat and breathing that turned into smoky breaths from the cold winter night. Both of you cautiously tried peeking through the cracks of the crushed cars to see if you could find out what was going on when you heard an unsettling noise disrupt your silence. That’s when you saw it, a shadow that wasn’t Dean’s when you called out the man’s name. When you caught sight of a trespasser, you aimed your gun and tried to take a shot at it, but you missed.

You turned your head just in time to see a zombie come out of nowhere, but Bobby was quicker than you, he pointed his gun and took a shot, blowing the person’s skull right off. You could see that you were about to get surrounded, and no matter how many times you called out Dean’s name, he wouldn’t respond. So, like the crazy idiot that you were, you told Bobby to hold things down as you ventured into the wild, getting ready to kill some zombies in the process. You had managed to take down at least three before you found Dean, struggling to fight off Clay Thompson who had claimed he wasn’t a zombie, but he sure looked it from the way that he was desperately trying to eat the older Winchester. WIth Dean on his back and struggling to get his gun, you pointed the barrel of your own and pulled the trigger, blowing Clay’s head right off.

Dean could thank you later for what you did, but right now you had left Bobby alone, and knowing your mind, it jumped to the worse case scenario. You and the Winchester headed back to the van to see that Bobby was better off than you thought with at least two zombies on the ground missing most of their head. But he was in a bit of a bind when he was lying on the ground trying to fight off another hungry zombie. Dean snuck from behind and pulled the trigger, saving the man from becoming tonight's dinner.

"Little help here?" Bobby asked, not sure what the two of you were doing a few seconds after the zombie dropped dead.

You mumbled an apology as you let the gun slip out from your grip for just a second to help Dean get the man back to his chair, but it was the worst time to put your guard down. When Bobby was secure again, you took notice that at least two zombies were coming out of nowhere, along with a few other friends. You hissed a few curse words underneath your breath as you didn't waste a second aiming for any possible headshots that would give you. But unlike the stupid horror movies, these things moved fast. Dean listened to you when you told him to get Bobby inside as you followed not that far behind, wasting your ammunition on wasted shots as the three of you got yourselves back inside the house.

“Got anymore ammo?” Dean asked. He slammed the door behind him and checked to see how many more rounds he had left. But it didn’t look pretty. “I’m low.”

“Yeah, we got plenty.” Bobby answered him. “Just run back past the zombies. It’s in the van where we left it.”

“A simple ‘no’ would have been fine.” You muttered underneath your breath. Being the smartest person in the room, you managed to stuck at least a few more rounds into your jacket. You loaded up what you could and hoped that it would be enough to get yourself out there and grab what you needed before coming back. “What the hell are they doing here, anyway?!”

“I think I get it.” Bobby said.

Before the man could tell you why, the moment was rudely interrupted by someone making the effort to jump through the first story window and make his grand appearance. You let out a scoff and aimed your gun, pulling the trigger on the man before he could do something stupid. Dean  looked over to the top the staircase when he heard one come from upstairs. He took his final shot at another one. While the men announced they were empty, you rolled your eyes from how situation kept growing worse. You nodded your head for the back of the house, you needed to get somewhere that was free of windows or entrances to the outside. You followed behind as the two men began heading for the kitchen, but another zombie made his grand entrance by jumping through the window. You pulled the risky move of wasting what ammunition you had left of your own so the three of you could make it to safety. But they kept coming.

One jumped through a window, another broke the small window to the door to try and unlock it so they could sneak themselves through. It took at least two more shots before you were all out of bullets, rendering the three of you helpless. Somehow, if by some miracle, you found yourself being backed into a closet and thrown into pitch darkness as the numbers of bodies began to grow. Dean managed to slam the door before someone could get hurt. You quickly found the string that connected to the light, and with a quick tug, you could finally see at least a foot in front of you. Your back was pressed against the wall and Bobby’s wheelchair was nearly crushing your leg as Dean’s elbow was awkwardly pressed against your side.

“Kind of a tight fit, don’t you think?” You wondered, trying to push off Dean best as you could get any sort of room you could get in here.

“It’s all right. They’re idiots.” Dean reassured you. “They can’t pick a lock.”

It seemed that from their constant pounding, they could hear the fabulous idea that Dean had given him. You could feel a sense of panic wash over you at how everything dropped silent for a moment, and just like that, you watched as the doorknob began to slowly twist back and forth. You reached out your arm to roughly slam your fist against the man's arm. "You idiot!" You hissed at him. "Don't you ever get tired of being wrong?"

"I'm making this stuff up as I go, Y/N." Dean said. "Sue me."

If you somehow made it out alive of this situation, you were going to do far worse things to him than just that. You inhaled a deep breath as you watched them slowly undo the lock, and before you knew it, you were facing the crowd of more than half a dozen zombies that wanted nothing more than to eat your flesh. You and Dean tried to fight your way out by hitting them hard as you could in the skull, but that wasn’t good enough. They just brushed it off like nothing and pushed harder to try and get a bite. While you were thinking that this might be the end, you heard a familiar voice shout something, all before you felt Dean push you to the ground. After that, you heard a fire of gunshots go off.

Bodies dropped to the ground like flies, one after the other, Sam took them down with a bit of help that he gotten into town. It only took less than a minute before things had returned back to what you could resume normal. Bobby’s house was covered in blood and had at least a dozen or so dead bodies lying around his property. But you were alive. When it was safe, you began to push yourself to your feet. You peered over the doorframe to see that it was Jody Mills, the sheriff who, not too long ago, had thrown the three of you in jail thinking that your talk about zombies was absurd. But here she stood with a shotgun and a look on her face that didn’t make you feel the least bit good about this situation.

"Are you okay?"

The question could have been simply answered with a yes, but you wondered. In the span of just a few hours Sioux Falls was turned upside down. Bobby had to shoot his own wife, Jody heard the gunshot that took her only son's life as Sam was the unfortunate soul that had to do that terrible deed.

“Define okay, Sammy.”

Rewrite Taglist: @deansquirreljerkwinchester@lotsofspnshitposts@everything-i-tried-was-taken @starswirlblitz @albot-e@supernaturalismydrug @we-are-band-sexuals@cleo-is-my-doggy @eeyore1988 @kaylinfayezink@owhatshername1@kgbrenner@princessofhorrors (Message me if you would like to be added!)

[sanctferum]

Dangan Ronpa V3: Chapter 4 Free Time!

After leaving the library, I immediately find a hidden Monokuma near the bottom of the stairs. Let’s look at all these old and new areas to find some others. There’s one on the railing in the second floor hallway, and another in the dorms, and yet another in Tenko’s abandoned lab. The final one must be during a trial minigame.

Hanging out with Kaito, he offers to spend the free time talking about himself. The reason Kaito feels so strongly about the universe. When Kaito was a kid, he used to go to his grandpa’s house. (Let’s not mention what we saw in the motive video to him.) He’d look for treasure in his grandpa’s old warehouse, and one day, while rummaging around, he found a treasure map, to find the treasures of these with! He promptly sold it to a pawn shop for cash. Kaito wouldn’t follow a map to adventure. He’d make his own maps. Still, the sea was calling him now, so he used the money to buy a boat and went on a voyage, and soon after becoming a captain, he met his destined rival. Where is this story going?

The boss of the Great Pirates. Uh. What.

He and the boss of the Great Pirates fought many battles, and eventually became friends. Then they had one final battle to determine who would conquer the seas. Kaito knew he could win, but he’d come to realize he wouldn’t be satisfied with just the sea. Kaito won the battle but didn’t finish the guy off, and ever since then, they haven’t seen each other. To be continued next time…

After an incredibly stupid and suspect story, we return to our room. No more free time today.

Monokub announcement! Night-time starts now, Monophanie and Monotaro have fallen in love, etc. Wait, what? C’mon, what’s with all the incest stuff. First Kiyo and now this bullshit…

Shuichi decides to pretend that never happened, and goes off to train with Kaito and Maki.

Gonta is up too. He thinks it’s best that even with the Student Council dissolved, people stay in their rooms for the night. Both Ryoma and Angie were killed at night…by that logic, the day/night split for the murders is 50/50, though.

Gonta feels useless. Shuichi encourages him, saying everyone can tell how much he cares about everyone. Gonta comes to a decision…but doesn’t say what it is. He’ll discuss it tomorrow at breakfast.

Outside, Kaito and Maki are waiting. 100 sit-ups each. In the time it takes for Shuichi to do 3 sit-ups, Maki’s almost at 30…that’s 10 times as fast. Impressive. And Kaito…has done none. He’s just staring at the stars…he gets up and tells us he needs to use the bathroom. Maki offers to go check on him for Shuichi while he finishes his sit-ups, but Shuichi points out that Maki would have to follow Kaito into the boys bathroom.

So no on that plan…but Maki takes the opportunity to ask a surprise question. Did Shuichi like Kaede? Maki thought he didn’t, because she can’t understand how people could become friends so quickly, especially in a situation like this. It’s weird.

Shuichi asks Maki what circumstances that people meet under aren’t weird for a sudden friendship. Maki is unable to answer, because it’s not an experience she has ever had. Damn, that’s…

Before Shuichi can figure out why Maki is asking these questions all of the sudden, Kaito returns. He drank too much water before training and had to pee. A lie, in all likelihood, but not one Shuichi picks up on.

So, then, the training begins again from the beginning. Another 100 sit-ups.

Kaito isn’t exercising because he has nothing to worry about, or so he says. What’s up with him?

Neither Kaito nor Shuichi are able to do the extra 100 sit-ups, but Maki manages it easily. Back in his room, Shuichi reflects on what the flashback light made him remember. All the things he remembered…If they’re connected to this situation, or to the Ultimate Hunt, or to the funeral…maybe the answers can save them. But those are answers Shuichi does not have.

Monokuma Theater! Haven’t had one of these since chapter 2. Chapter 3 just had Monodam theaters.

According to Monokuma, soccer players wear numbers on their jersey to determine how many mochi they get in the red bean soup they eat post-game. That way, the red bean soup can be properly prepared in advance. Trading jerseys with someone gets you that jersey’s number of mochi in your red bean soup. But for baseball players, the number represents how many pieces of meat they get in their curry. Volleyball players and sliced pork in their ramen, etc. And that is the importance of jersey numbers. Thanks Monokuma, that all sounded really credible and trustworthy trivia.

Morning announcement! Monotaro and Monophanie are now playing the part of an abusive boyfriend and the girl he seduced.

Outside the dorm, Maki and Shuichi talk about their conversation last night. Maki sounded like she didn’t care, but that wasn’t true. A detective should listen before making assumptions.

Maki walks off. Further up the path is Himiko, who’s out of breath from running all the way to the front of the Academy building from the dorms. She ran as part of her new philosophy of moving forward with her life. Walking is too slow of a pace for that! Shuichi questions whether she needs to be physically going fast to do that. The thing is, how else is she gonna do it? She doesn’t know of any other way to live life facing forwards, for Angie and Tenko’s sakes.

Still, she’s definitely gotta pace herself. Shuichi gives her a black belt from the monomono machine, so she can exercise in Tenko’s dojo. After breakfast, Shuichi will meet up with Himiko and train in the dojo.

Miu’s standing in the hall, near the basement stairs. Shuichi almost immediately regrets talking to her.

Fun last night? Huh?

Oh, she thinks Shuichi, Kaito, and Maki had a threesome in the middle of the courtyard. Yeah, that sounds like something Miu would think. She goes off to the breakfast hall, but not before mentioning that she’s working on the perfect invention! Once Shuichi has that, he won’t even need a rubber…Shuichi muses that Miu seemed more upbeat, and that she said “wait” in relation to the invention. Is she working on something right now, that she’s almost finished with? It’s weird…hopefully it’s something other than her figuring out how to make drugs and getting high. That’s the last thing we need.

Inside the dining hall, Gonta seems to be trying to convince the others of something.

Oh, he plans to fight Monokuma. Even with three Monokubs dead, there’s still two Exisals, and Monokuma himself has spares, so…bad idea.

Kokichi doesn’t think Monokuma’s defeat would even stop the killing game. And why would anyone (read: just Kokichi) want it to stop in the first place? It’s starting to get fun now, after all. He also states his intent to win the game. If he needs to become the next blackened to do that, he’ll do it. But the game can’t continue until there’s another killing…so, someone kill already, and make the fun start! And if no one kills each other, Kokichi will have no choice but to take the matter into his own hands and become the blackened himself.

Kaito punches Kokichi in the face. As Kaito yells at Kokichi, Keebo cautions that even minor fights can escalate into murder. If we try and solve our problems with violence, another killing is all but assured. Kaito, who was about to punch Kokichi again, steps back and puts his fists down.

Gonta says that if everyone’s gonna fight each other, he’ll go fight Monokuma rather than watch another killing happen.

Miu tells him there’s no need for that. Hmmmm. I wonder what she invented? An Exisal of her own?

Himiko delivers a Miu line…no wait, that’s just an example of what Miu would have likely said. But she told him not to be worried about Monokuma instead. Miu says that recklessness is pointless because she’s got a plan to save everyone.

“I’ll bring you to a world where the killing game doesn’t exist!”

It’s the computer, isn’t it…she plans to use the computer to create a new world of her own. That’s the only thing I can think of.

After breakfast, we head to the dojo to train with Himiko. Gonta’s there too. And he’s refusing to accept that there’s no way he can help out, so we have no choice but to invite him to train with us and work out together.

Himiko’s gonna do mage exercises. And the best way for her to gain the mana necessary is to have someone overflowing with vitality nearby. Gonta can stand nearby while Himiko borrows his vitality for her exercise. OK.

The exercises are basically preparations for stage performers to do their stuff. That isn’t a Mage exercise. That’s a Magician exercise. Well at least Himiko and Gonta are having fun.

Back to our room. Gonta wanted to fight Monokuma to save his friends. There’s no way Miu would ever say it, but she probably is working hard for the same reason. But Shuichi can’t help his friends, because his talent is only useful after they’re dead.

Free time again! Let’s see what nutty story Kaito has this time.

OK, so Kaito fought off a bunch of rival pirates and left his ship. But before he could get to port, he got caught in a storm. Right when he thought he was done for, a whale ate his boat. Hey, has this guy been watching Pinocchio too many times or something?

Whales are apparently the second smartest thing in the world. The smartest thing is Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars. What am I reading.

Kaito was sheltered from the storm, but he was stuck inside the whale’s stomach. He eventually made it to port, and realized that he’d tried to conquer the sea, and the sea won. So next up was…the land. This story sure is long.

Shuichi is just sweatdropping. Kaito talks on. He sold his boat and all his belonging, and entered the jungle. As he cut his own path through the dense growth, he found himself face to face with va giant anaconda, capable of swallowing a man whole! Kaito defeated the fell serpent, but that ended up triggering something else. Right before him, a gate opened up, leading to the Underground Empire, who had been using the anaconda as a watchman.

Against his better judgement, Shuichi asks what the heck that even is. Apparently, it’s a civilization located in an underground cave. Kaito invaded the empire, and made the emperor into his sidekick, but then time ran out and he had to go back to his gramp’s house. Summer vacation was over. So…was this whole story just his younger self thinking up a cool story about what the map could do?

Anyways, back to the main topic. Kaito must have wanted to become an astronaut for some reason, right? Even if he lost track of the topic while telling his tall tale. His reason is that the universe is the final frontier for him to conquer! Besides, astronauts are cool! What kid hasn’t grown up wanting to be one?

Shuichi looks so disappointed…

Well, time for more Free Time!

Kaito wants to escape. Who knows how much astronaut training he’s missing. But since we’re here, at least we got to meet each other and become friends.

Kaito says he could be called the Ultimate Hero. He’s had plenty of sidekicks before Shuichi. He’s only an astronaut trainee, but in other fields, he’s already made quite the name for himself. One of his sidekicks became a star rookie in major league baseball, another became an engineer who won a Nobel Prize, he even tutored the prime minister of Japan in politics! (What, the figurehead Prime Minister or Kirumi?) He goes on to talk about other sidekicks and make up a bunch of bullshit to brag about. But still, he says that he only nudged them in the right direction. Because…he believed in them. And that’s what’s most important, following the path you believe in. Kaito may be an idiot, but he’s someone who can give encouragement to others…encouragement that lets them face forwards and pursue their dreams. In that sense…he’s the perfect partner for Shuichi.

Evening time. Monotaro gives the night-time announcement. He has a bruise on his face and Monophanie is nowhere to be seen. Serves you right, asshole.

Monophanie whopped him so hard that he’s forgotten where he is and what time he’s announcing it to be. And didn’t there used to be someone else?

Monophanie steps out from behind a pillar to say that Monotaro is helpless without her. Shuichi doesn’t even bother commenting on the soap opera this time.

Training time with Kaito and Maki. Keebo and Tsumugi are in the dorm halls. Keebo’s worried about another murder happening if people are out at night. Keebo and Tsumugi discuss how seriously to take anything Kokichi says…everyone should make sure to be careful around him. I somehow suspect he might be the next victim, and he certainly is not gonna be the blackened this time around. Tsumugi’s also annoyed about the soap opera Monokub announcements. Keebo is more worried that it’s an incestual relationship. OK, well, they’re just robots, no offense, so if you want to squick at someone, Kiyo’s a better choice.

Do the Monokubs have to abide by human morality if they’re bears? No, they aren’t even bears. They’re robots oh shit Keebo’s mad about robophobia again.

Outside, Kaito doesn’t look well. Maki says it’s because of what happened earlier. Kaito suggests the three of them skip training and just talk. He definitely has something on his mind, so…

The conversation almost immediately turns to the subject of Maki’s life. Like, what her favorite blood type is. What? You meant, what’s her blood type, right? (It says it’s A, right there on the monopad’s report card.) Kaito seems to be acting stranger than usual.

Shuichi has a question of his own. When they first met, Maki told Kaede and him that she was the Ultimate Child Caregiver. Why that title in specific?

As the topic is about to move on, Maki speaks up with her answer. She grew up in an orphanage. That part of her backstory wasn’t made up. She has no idea who her parents even were, much let alone memories of them. And what she told us at the beginning…the only part of it that was false was her Ultimate title. Maki really was an orphan, and she really did end up helping raise the orphanage’s other residents…and kids really do like Maki. She doesn’t like taking care of them, but the kids like her anyways…but she never had a choice as to whether to become a caretaker or an assassin. Because when she was 10, a group of strangers started hanging around the orphanage. They were all smiles, but didn’t interact with the kids. Only watched them from afar…trying to see what talent each of them had. And Maki agreed to let them adopt her when she heard that they’d donate a large sum of money to the orphanage if she did. And that’s how Maki’s life started to become a living hell.

Ever since that day, she trained to become an assassin. And she had no choice but to keep going, even when she didn’t want to. As long as she became an assassin and succeeded in her missions, the orphanage would continue to receive funding…at first, Maki vomited every day, cried every night…but then, she got used to it. It was her life now. And so she became a tool to be used for killing by the cult she worked for, and her heart became empty, and her emotions numb, and her thoughts on why she had to keep going diminished.

But even with all that, she has to ask herself after every mission what life would have been like if she stayed at the orphanage. It’s a gnawing thought that will never leave her.

So that’s it. The story of Maki Harukawa. A girl who made what seemed like the right choice, and descended into hell because of it.

Kaito says that Maki and Shuichi both try to shoulder things on their own. Better to trust in others. Having shared your burdens with your friends, you’ll become stronger. And if Maki has managed to share her burden with Kaito and Shuichi, then maybe she’s become stronger already.

Maki acknowledges that the training has made her stronger, and the three friends spend time just talking. Shuichi feels more than ever that he needs to uncover the truth of the Academy, so he can protect his friends. No matter what, he needs to keep his friends alive.

And yet, at that very moment, in the games room in the basement, Monokuma is face-to-face with Kokichi. Kokichi, who has something to talk about with Monokuma in private. Something that will make the killing game that more exciting. Kokichi also says that the reason he hasn’t used the motive yet is because it has to be used dramatically. But then, he had an idea. A certain someone is planning something interesting. If the motive is used with regards to that, then the game would become super intense. I wonder who the certain someone is? Gonta or Miu, perhaps.

When Monokuma says you’re an evil bastard, you’re pretty damn far gone.

Kokichi makes the evilest face he’s made yet. And evil is what he is planning…

Monokuma Theater! Dishonest people…you can trust them, cause you know that they’re dishonest. But an honest man, you never know when they’re gonna do something idiotic. Unless he’s lying about that. And so on and so forth. Kokichi’s plan really impressed him, it seems.

Monokub announcement, starring no one. No wait, Monophanie appeared out of literally thin air to continue the soap opera bullshit. Monophanie and Monotaro eventually realize that they need each other, and a curtain falls with the words “The End” on it. What a long, strange announcement.

Outside the dorms, Kaito wants to ask Shuichi for advice about their training sessions. We’ve been doing sit-ups and push-ups, but Kaito feels like something is missing. Martial arts, or mental training…we have a practice sword in our inventory, so Shuichi and Kaito decide to train together after breakfast. Kaito will bring Maki over as well.

Near the boiler room, Gonta’s still looking for the tiny bug…

*Silver the Hedgehog voice* IT’S NO USE!

Hey, I did say I would bust out that line every time the voice clip was used…

Himiko’s in the hall near the bathrooms. She’s sad the Monokuma soap opera is over. She thought there’s be a plot twist, where Monophanie would turn out to be pregnant with a kub of her own, but it’d turn out the father wasn’t Monotaro! The father would be Monokid, or Monosuke, or possibly Monodam but probably not. Despite her predictions, the soap opera ended happily ever after. I wonder if Himiko is a soap opera fan? Wouldn’t have thought so before now, but…

Inside the dining hall, everyone but Miu and Kokichi are here. That worries me.

Everyone’s trying to think of ways to make themselves useful to each other. After breakfast, we go back to our rooms. But even then, an “unspeakable malice” is brewing.

No time to worry about whether Miu is dead, though, because it’s time to train with Kaito.

Oh right. Maki doesn’t use swords. Oops.

It’s a painful memory, but Kaito tells her to get it out there so the three of them can continue to share each other’s burdens.

So, Maki gathered information for her mission. The target worked late at night, but was also into some nerdy hobbies. And we’re talking Tsumugi-levels of nerdy, especially considering that this guy loved cosplay. So Maki came up with a plan. Use a prop carrying case to stealthily bring a katana with her and then kill the guy with it. The plan worked at first. Then Maki drew her katana on the guy. But her height and hairstyle match that of a popular character who is a katana user, and she was in the middle of a cosplay hall when this happened. And so, before she knew what was happening, Maki found herself in a different hall, with people photographing her as part of a photoshoot. Luckily, no one looked inside her weapon case, or she would’ve been busted. They would’ve realized the katana was real…Kaito and Shuichi think the whole thing is pretty funny. But the story isn’t over with. Maki returned to her employers without having killed the guy. She was branded as a failure. And failing meant her employers would no longer donate to the orphanage…which is why she had to keep going. So that her hell of a life would have some kind of meaning.

Shuichi returns to his room. Hopefully there’ll be at least another free time before the murder. Ooh, there is. Next time, we finish up Kaito’s last free time event and move towards the inevitable deadly life.