#trying to mostly avoid obvious or typical responses here

[isfjmel-phleg]

Ten characters, ten fandoms, ten tags

Tagged by @lady-merian. Thank you!

Sandra Foster (Bellwether by Connie Willis)

Christopher Chant (Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones)

Greta Hayes (DC)

Tony Ingleford (Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery)

Kiro Velkhirin (An Illusion of Wings by scarvenartist)

Lord Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers's series of the same name)

Pauline [can't remember her surname] (Pauline by Margaret Storey)

Marianne [surname unknown] (Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr)

Patty Wyatt (When Patty Went to College by Jean Webster)

R. D. Sheen (The White Feather by P. G. Wodehouse)

[joelsmochi]

Playing Dangerous

SUMMARY: female Reader, who works for the Cartel, received instructions to burn down a house for her boss. Javier went to arrest her, but once she realized he wouldn't play the same games as her, she knew she needed to offer up something else as her ticket to freedom... WARNINGS: 18+, no use of Y/N, power play, prostitution & bribery if you look close, unspoken degradation, handcuffs, unprotected piv sex, creampie, lots of good girl bombs, car sex (one day i’ll write good smut in a bed…one day) WC: 4.9k - It is finally here. The second story in my LDR series. So sorry for the long wait, but I hope you enjoy ♡

masterlist

You just can’t stay out of trouble, can you?

You were standing on your small porch with an admirably handsome DEA agent questioning you about a fire. You knew you had the upper hand here when you noticed his eyes casting over your half-naked body that glistened with a light layer of sweat.

“Do you know anything about that, ma’am?” He asked you softly; you knew he knew it was you, but what proof did he have?

You just smirked and shifted your weight from one foot to the other. “No, sir,” you cooed while pursing your lips.

He cleared his throat hastily and his eyes narrowed. “Really? Because witnesses say you’re the one responsible.”

Apparently, he had enough proof.

You shrugged, maintaining eye contact with him. “Everybody knows that I’m a good girl, officer.”

His body tensed at your voice’s softness but he maintained his composure for the most part. A breeze passing by gave your skin goosebumps and made your nipples perk up; he briefly daydreamed about his tongue twirling around it, feeling annoyed that he was thinking about something like that during a stressful time for him.

“It’s Agent,” he corrected.

Your eyebrows raised and you gave him a fake apologetic look. “Oh, my apologies.”

“So… It wasn’t you?”

“No, I wouldn’t do a thing like that.”

And it was mostly true. You preferred a less obvious way of taking out enemies and outposts, but your boss’s boss wanted everyone to know who was still in charge here. You disagreed with the approach but didn’t argue. After all, they do pay your bills.

“Are you sure?” He edged, sensing how you wanted to play games with him. He was over it, and to be frank, your short and thin nightgown had his head full of inappropriate thoughts that made him want to hurry up and get home to fuck his fist.

He hated how pretty you were in the moonlight with your makeup from the day still on, but his wandering eyes saw how fresh your lipstick was. He perceived it as your way of trying to seduce him, or whatever officer came by, and being turned on by it pissed him off even more.

“I heard from the neighbors that the house was already on fire,” you said simply with a swift shrug, but his warm and inviting eyes suddenly turn shallow and cold; you were thrown off of your game of lies so you attempted to change the subject. “Gosh, I’m all exposed here in my nightgown… Do you mind if I go and cover up? You’re more than welcome to come inside.”

Yeah. Right. Javier may be attracted to you, but he’s not stupid. You could take this as an opportunity to shoot him or kidnap him.

As harmless as you look, you were still one of Escobar’s employees and they typically did whatever they needed to survive with confidence. This just wasn’t a chance Javier could take.

“Nice try. Come on, hands on your head,” he said contemptuously while unveiling his handcuffs.

You frowned feeling confused at the sudden shift of his energy, stuttering over your own words as you defiantly obliged.

His eyes avoided yours as he readied the cuffs and stepped closer to you to make the arrest official. He didn’t care to be gentle with you either — why should he?

After all, you did almost kill someone tonight.

His slender fingers jabbed at your ribcage as his hand forced your body to turn around; you felt a few knuckles crack uncomfortably from how hard he pulled your hands from above your head to the small of your back.

“Do you really have to put those tight handcuffs on me?” You asked when he clicked the cuffs a little too far. He didn't respond.

He tried to keep his eyes off of how plump your ass looked beneath the thin gown, but it was hard when the force of his hands moving your body as he cuffed you made your ass jiggle effortlessly.

But still, he maintained composure.

You accepted your fate, but you still wanted to try to earn your freedom. Something you’d never done before but weren’t ashamed to do. Not when a man this handsome wears his heart — or rather, his cock on his sleeve.

He pulled at your arm roughly and began walking you to his car. The lack of communication from him only prompted you to speak even more.

“Please, I’ll do anything,” you said.

Still nothing.

“Please, officer, I will do anything.”

Fuck… How he would give almost anything to bend you over and—no.

He knew that you were just trying to get off scot-free, and he couldn’t—wouldn’t let that happen.

“Anything you like, sir,” you cooed oh so sweetly it nearly gave him a toothache.

He stopped you right in front of the car to glare at you. At least he tried to. Your smile was smug yet innocent, and your eyes expressed an eagerness foreign to him.

You weren’t a prostitute, and he knew that from your record. You weren’t the type to sell your body, so… Why do it now? He wondered if you were trying to be let go or maybe…? No, no, it can’t be that…

He realized he’d been in thought too long when he looked back into your eyes, and that eagerness hadn’t left. Was it possible you really just wanted to have sex with him?

The light in your eyes gleamed different than most of the women he’d been with — he just couldn’t put his finger on the particular emotion.

“Nobody has to know if that’s what you’re worried about,” you whispered as your eyes faltered to his partially exposed chest.

Oh.

The excitement and eagerness and anticipation he was picking up from you? It was rebellion. You didn’t want to have sex with Javier. What you wanted was to lay in bed with the enemy. It all made sense.

And it made him undeniably weak in the knees. His stomach flipped just thinking about it.

“Sounds like that’s what you’re worried about,” he retorted.

A flicker of vulnerability highlights your eyes that wasn't unnoticed by him. He didn’t understand why his body was under so much hesitation by your damsel in distress act.

Maybe it was how you called yourself a good girl even though everything about you screamed otherwise. Your short gown and your evilly beautiful smile… Your cockiness and playful personality…

Or maybe Javier had just gone too long without any.

“Let’s get in the back of your cop car, officer,” you keenly propose; though the repetition of officer had him gritting his teeth, he no longer wanted to hold off your fantasy of betrayal. “You can ask me anything you want.”

“Anything?”

You simpered at the way his eyebrows raised and nodded. “Anything.”

He didn’t hesitate with your negotiation, using his broody arm to swiftly pull you to the side of the Jeep before he opened the door for you.

He shouldn’t be doing this. No, Steve is gonna kill him. What kind of person takes sex from an arsonist as a bribe? Had his standards for morality really dropped that low? But he caught a glimpse of the still-burning fire in the distance and decided: what the hell?

He climbed in after you and shut the door, thankful you live in a more than secluded area. He could have been a gentleman and taken you to your bedroom. He just didn’t want to.

He studied you like any of Escobar’s other men — and you surprised him tonight. You were notorious for being hardheaded (that had only been proven correct tonight), but you also had the reputation of making men your bitch.

So he couldn’t help but wonder… What made him so different that you’d degrade yourself for an arrest that probably wouldn’t have even held up anyways?

Were you that desperate? Didn’t matter. He was going to find out.

“Do you have a girl?”

Your question threw him off. “Hmm?” He raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I don’t see a ring on your finger,” you said instead of repeating yourself.

“Uh, no,” he said though he wasn’t entirely sure what the truth was at this exact moment. “No Misses… Is that seriously where you draw the line?”

You grinned and giggled loudly, shifting to find comfort within your current restraint. “No, but that does make this a little less fun.”

He couldn’t ignore how his cock antagonized his jeans, enthusiastically twitching against his zipper. He cleared his throat and spread his thighs to try and give his member some room to breathe, to no avail.

His tone was mean and cold as he spoke. “Is that what this is? Fun?”

Your smile faltered almost entirely, replacing itself with a much more shy one. No man who was only minutes away from fucking you had ever spoken like that. You couldn’t deny the insecurity that suddenly rose inside of you.

“It doesn’t have to be,” you said bashfully, unintentionally batting your eyes at him and cowering your head down. As embarrassed as you were, you almost enjoyed it: the shame and the submission eradicated any impulsiveness within you. 

This was no longer an escape plan but a mere effort to make him remember you.

“…I can ask you anything?” He asked after squinting at you. He tried his best not to smile when he realized he was getting to you.

“Anything you want,” you said just barely above a whisper.

He watched you look at him through your eyelashes with admiration glowing in your pretty eyes. He took your chin between his thumb and index finger to tilt your head up a little; he gave you a crooked smile before asking, “Are you a good girl?”

Your heart leaped inside your warm chest. You wanted to stoop to his level and be mean and taunting right back, but you just fucking couldn’t.

God, he was handsome. So dark yet so bright. With a mysterious charisma that no other man could possess, he had you wrapping yourself around his finger. So… You try to appease him.

“That’s what I said, isn't it?”

You didn’t hear how harsh it came out, so it was a surprise when his gentle fingers wrapped tightly around your jaw below your chin. You whimpered and leaned your chest to his forearm, giving him goose skin.

“I’m sorry,” you breathed out. “I didn’t mean to—“

“Shh,” he whispered, “I know.” He teasingly moved your head around and half-smiled again. “Did you set the house on fire?”

“I—“

His grip tightened, resulting in your cheeks and lips being squished up a little. “I’ll know if you’re lying.”

“Y—yes. I did.”

“C’mere.” His hand remained clamped around your jaw while he managed to guide you atop his lap; he used his free hand to undo the button and zipper on his jeans and then reached beneath your nightgown and rubbed your panty line. “Good girl… Right?” You could only nod at his question, untrusting of your voice. His grip loosened so that he could trace his thumb over your tinted cheeks. “S’this what you really want?”

You gave him a daunting smile and nodded once more. “Yes.”

His hands disappeared below your gown; his right arm wrapped around your hips to lift you slightly while his left hand reached for his semi-hard length, pulling it out with a hard tug.

He kept his pouted brown eyes on yours the entire time, wanting to see every movement your face made. He pulled your panties to the side and let his swelling head meet your entrance.

Javier admired your patience — even dragging the head of his cock back and forth along your pussy lips for a minute wouldn’t make you act out of line. You wanted to prove to him how good you were so that he could forget all of the bad things you did.

He carefully placed his cock head at your entrance and slowly let go of your hips so that you could take your time to adjust to him.

A contentious sigh fell from his lips when he felt how tight you were compared to his girth. He took the liberty of undoing the rest of his shirt while you tried to gather enough stability to fully sink onto him, but with the lack of foreplay, a pain-filled hiss was heard by you.

“Take it slow,” he instructed confidently. “Take what you can.”

A sense of relief washed over you, and for the time being, you only took a couple of inches inside your needy cunt. You exhaled softly as you raised your hips kindly and slid back down.

Javier watched with attentive eyes, finding the little frown forming on your face adorable. Your eyes were shut with focus as you tried to maintain balance and a slow but consistent pace.

“Fuck,” you whispered, feeling the slight burning sensation of him stretching you out slowly dissipate into pure pleasure as your slick walls relaxed around him, allowing you to take more of his length in.

Even though his eyes were on your face, all his focus was on how tightly your sopping pussy squeezed around him. He loved how your pussy clenched around him to adapt to his girth. If your pussy felt this good now, he couldn’t wait to know how much better it’ll get when you come.

“Why’d you set the house on fire?” He asked randomly.

“What?” Your movements faltered, and you frowned at him. Is that seriously what’s on his mind right now?

“Did I say you could stop?” He said darkly.

You hesitated, stuttering out a, “N—no.”

But you were too lost in his stern eye contact to start riding him again.

So with one brief movement, he forced your hips down so that his cock filled you. A cry of pain left your lips, and you unintentionally tightened your knees against his thighs, which he didn’t seem to mind.

You were sure to not waste another moment, so you lifted your hips and took everything in again, but he filled you to your brim.

The bulbous head of his dick grazing against the peak of your cervix became more comfortable within a few more movements, and you finally gained enough composure to answer his question.

“I do everything the boss tells me to. Mnh…” You breathed heavily and settled at a steady pace, feeling your arms beginning to lock up behind you. “I don’t question it. I just do it.”

He surprised you by thrusting into you once as you were lifted, but he was careful not to go too deep. “Okay… I believe you.”

You grinned and sank onto him completely. “What’s your real name?” You asked him, leaning your face closer to his.

He stared plainly at your eyes and held his breath for a moment. “Javier.”

You rewarded him by going up…then down again. You watched how his body responded to the slow but forceful movement. “What a pretty name,” you complimented. “Do you prefer Javier… Or something else?”

“I’d prefer it if you stopped teasing me,” he groaned through clenched teeth. You felt his body tense up despite the lack of physical contact.

Your eyes battered back and forth in brief ponder. You wanted to tease him a little longer, make him beg for it even, but you had to remind yourself that he was in charge whether you liked it or not.

“Can you hold onto me for a second?” You asked, which he seemed happy to do.

Something about feeling up the smooth fabric that clad your body sent shivers down his spine and straight to his dick.

His long fingers found their way around your waist, and you trusted his grip enough to shift onto your feet so that you were squatting on him.

“Okay,  now I need you to put your arms under my thighs,” you instructed, praising him when he listened. “Just hold me steady, okay?”

You didn’t give him much time to respond before raising your body until his cock was almost entirely out of you, then you slammed your hips back down so that he filled you again.

He couldn’t prevent the pathetic and loud whimper that escaped his throat. The slight change in the position provided more than enough pleasure to make his entire body jerk. His hands instinctively grabbed the cuff of your ass as you repeated the motion at a relentless pace with an intense force every time you squatted.

At this angle, your walls gripped around him so much he grew afraid he would come too soon, but he couldn’t stop — he didn’t fucking want to.

Everything felt too good. You were so wet for him, and he felt your hot precum leak out of you and coat his balls. Your ass was warm but still covered in goosebumps from how his cock stretched you out so sweetly — nothing was painful anymore. Not even your handcuffed wrists.

Seeing the pure bliss spread across his face was motivating you to continue. His eyes were shut, and his eyebrows were raised with concern. You watched as his tongue flicked across his bottom lip between the helpless moans he let out.

When he noticed how quiet you were, he looked at you worriedly, but you were just focused on being good for him. He saw how heavy your eyes were and how you were almost biting back your moans.

“That feel good?” You asked when you saw him look.

His eyebrows stitched together as he profusely nodded and gripped even more of your ass. “Yes, fuck yes, keep going,” he encouraged.

The strap to your gown slipped down your shoulder enough to reveal part of your nipple. Javier was inclined to fully unveil your breast, but something about almost seeing all of you was more invigorating, at least for the time being.

All these feelings were too much: he had to come, but he didn’t want to stop. But your velvety walls only felt like they were getting tighter and tighter.

You felt him getting close with how his body kept twitching, flinching, and tensing up with every squat. His moans grew breathy and hitched rather than full of bass. He wouldn’t be able to hold off any longer.

He let you get him as close as possible. So fucking close. His body was on fire, and his head fell back against the seat again.

His cock was tortured by the slickness of your walls that dared him to empty himself inside of you, but when an inch of his orgasm had begun, he was quick to push your hips up and slip himself out of you.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he shouted. You chuckled, shifting back to your knees for comfort, then leaned forward to kiss him. He looked up at you again and gave you an embarrassed smile. “Fuck, sorry,” he laughed against your lips. His laugh was so sweet and gentle.

You loved the way he talked and how hollow his voice sounded. His words were bitter, but his voice tasted so sweet.

He gave you another kiss while lifting you off his lap; he guided your body so that you were on your knees facing the window before pulling your panties aside again to slip back into your glistening pussy.

You gasped at the newfound depth and rested your head on the seat, smiling when you felt him tug at the link connecting the handcuffs.

This was wrong.

The lack of respect you had for your colleagues and bosses got you here. Fucking ‘the enemy’. It felt so good to decide on your own, to betray them. It was like Javier took a lighter and ignited every flame inside of you again.

He pleased parts of you that he wasn’t aware of, and you couldn’t be bothered to let it end so soon. Not when rebellion tasted so sweet and fucked you so good.

Javier noticed you biting your lip again to quiet yourself — yet another habit you picked up on from previous partners — and hated it. He loved having vocal partners, even if words weren’t being said. He felt a little insecure, wondering if he wasn’t doing a good job, but your trembling body told him otherwise.

“Com’ere,” he said, lifting your upper half from the seat. His clad chest pressed against your back with the cool metal of the handcuffs hovering over your ass, and he kissed your jawbone before trailing a lick up your ear. “Don’t hold back for me, baby. Let me hear you,” he pleaded weakly.

Shivers trickled down your body, and you shuddered at the feeling. He smelled of expensive cigarettes, a light layer of musky cologne, and sweat. His scent was so intoxicating and made you even more needy for his touch. His calloused hands grazing over your ass beneath your pajamas tickled your skin and made you exhale loudly.

You felt his hand snake between your bodies before he lined his dick up with your entrance. He pushed it in at an achingly slow pace, making you whine and pout.

“That’s it, that’s my good girl,” he said in a way that sounded like he was laughing at you. His hand palmed your hip as he began thrusting inside you, filling you up nicely each time. “That feel good?”

You nodded and held your breath, making him punish you by reaching around your hip to land firm a smack against your clit. You yelped and flinched, yet found the pain to be a turn-on.

“Yes,” you said, not wanting to be scolded by him any further. “Yes! It feels good.”

He chuckled wryly and began pounding into you at a relentless speed. His thighs slapped against yours, and his grip on your hip tightened.

You let out noises you didn’t even know you could make. Squeaks, yelps, falsettos — all this for Javier, and oh my God, did it bring him close to the edge again.

He wanted you to feel him, touch him. No. He needed you to. He needed your hands to undress him. To tug at his hair and claw at his back. He needed you to hold his face in your soft and clammy palms. He wanted to watch your pretty fingers work patterns on your clit while he bent your legs to your head and fucked into your stomach.

Then, suddenly he began uncuffing your wrists. You were thankful for the relief but tried to contain your excitement. He held the handcuffs in front of your face, then whispered, “You misbehave, and they go right back on. You understand?”

You nodded, shouting out, “Yes,” before gripping his hand on your hips as he still pounded your squelching pussy.

Your eyes rolled to the back of your head when he began hitting your favorite spot at a new angle, fulfilling your need for pleasure in the deepest parts of your heart.

He moved his hand to grip your jaw and pulled your head back so your forehead pressed against his chin. Your back was in discomfort from the arched position, but his cock made up for it.

“Look at you…” He grunted. Your mouth was agape, and your eyes were clenched shut as your raspy moans filled his ears. “So fucking helpless,” he whispered, leaving soft pecks against your forehead. “Fuck, you feel so fucking good, baby girl. Oh.”

You cried out his name as he continued to speak sweet nothings to you. Your nails clawed at his hand at the rise of tension building inside of your stomach.

“You treat me so well, Javier,” you breathlessly spoke. “That feels so good.”

“Yeah?” He kept his momentum up as best he could when he felt your walls flutter around his shaft. It made his head feel dizzy, and his cock ached from wanting to release inside you.

The pressure began to release itself, and you weren’t sure how much longer it’d be before you came. “Can I—fuck! Can I cum? Can I please cum?”

His plump lips neared your ear as he said, “Yes, yes, yes, you can cum for me, pretty girl. You’re such a good girl for me.”

You screamed embarrassingly loud as your pussy flexed and contracted against him at his words, amplifying the orgasm peacocking throughout your body. He released your neck and ran his hands over your shoulder blades as you bent over and fucked him back to ride out your orgasm.

He looked down where you two were connected and saw a thick, white ring of cum wrapped around the base of his cock. He listened to your lowering volume carefully, waiting until you were finished as he didn’t want to overwhelm you.

At least not yet.

“Good…” He paused to land a firm smack on your ass cheek. “…Girl.” Another smack.

You flinched both times, making you both lazily giggle. He nibbled at your earlobe and kissed your neck before directing you to lie down.

You made sure to slouch down a little so that your back was against the seat and your legs up in the air; he rid you of your panties before cupping the back of your knees. He kept your legs pushed back and spread wide open for him as he slowly dipped his cock inside you without assistance.

You watched in awe as he stretched you out again, humming when he filled you and yelping when he pulled out. You laughed when he repeated the action a few times: fill you up, leave you empty…

He loved watching your muscles twitch due to his movements, such as your clit throbbing and your entrance clinging to him.

Finally, he went as deep as he could reach and watched the peak of your belly rise a little. He looked into your eyes and gave you a reassuring smile.

“You okay?” He asked quickly.

“Yeah,” you assured, “that feels good.”

His smile turned to a smirk, and he rocked his hips slowly. “Yeah?” He laughed.

You reached out to hold his face in your hands while biting your lip. He leaned into your touch, closing his eyes. He allowed himself to fall into the euphoric feeling of you.

His mind wanted to remember how all this felt: your walls were so warm with soft edges, but your hands were so smooth against the grain of his beard. Your moans were intoxicating and addictive.

It was all he wanted to hear at this point in time. Who you were before didn’t matter anymore. Fuck no. You were Javier’s newly founded favorite priority, and he’d do anything to feel this good with you again.

He felt he was also rebelling against his morals and nature. How could he resist you, though? Standing there in your cute little nightgown and fresh lipstick on… So naughty and daunting yet so beautiful and obedient.

He reopened his lust-filled eyes and watched you moan and cry for him and for more. Your eyes were narrow, and your lip was swollen from where you were biting. You looked so pathetic beneath him, and it stroked his ego a little too much.

“Look at you.” He leaned his chest down to yours and gave you a sloppy kiss. “Look at you taking my cock like a good girl, hmm?” He laughed bullyingly and smacked the back of your thigh while he rose again. “Play with your pussy, baby girl,” he told you; you obeyed without a second thought and gave yourself the added pleasure. “That’s it, good job… Yeah, keep doing that. Oh-ho, you look so pretty like that.”

You rubbed your clit like you do any other time you touch yourself, but your nerves were already so overwhelmed that you went in a little more rough than usual.

You twisted, pinched, smacked, and rubbed relentlessly at your innocent clit, almost like you were punishing yourself. Javier saw how needy you were to come again and couldn’t hold out much longer.

He was preparing himself to ask you where you wanted him to finish, but he felt you gather some of your cum up from around him before you shoved your slicked fingers into your mouth while maintaining eye contact with him.

He couldn’t control nor stop it.

He was a whimpering and moaning pathetic mess above you.

He collapsed on top of you and finished his orgasm with lazy thrusts, feeling overstimulated sooner than he would have liked to admit.

He lifted his head shamefully and rolled his eyes when he saw your arrogant ass smile.

“Shut up,” he said though you hadn’t said anything. He felt guilty for not giving you a second orgasm, but you were already reaching for your panties and slipping them back on. He sat beside you and tucked his faltering erection in his jeans before zipping them up halfway.

“Gonna keep you inside of me as long as possible,” you whispered seductively in his ear after he lit his cigarette. He rolled his eyes more playfully this time and simpered bashfully. “You still gonna arrest me, Javier?” You chirped after facing him and sitting on your knees.

He breathed out the smoke from his lungs and looked at you while rubbing your half-exposed thigh. “I thought everybody said you were a good girl?”

You grinned, a blush spreading rapidly over your cheekbones. You responded to him by subtly nodding.

“Come ‘ere.” You two shared a kiss that was full of post-sex love and excitement. “If I have to put these handcuffs on you again, I won't be so nice."

[dreamwritesimagines]

It’s Chinese mafia anon-

Imma be honest this was more a fun project for me to review my developmental psych knowledge than it was about the story, mostly because we don’t know everything about clover yet. I also included some links to google drive photos and an article but I understand if you don’t want to click them since stranger on the internet danger all lol so feel free to ignore those, I just thought you’d like them.

Here we go:

TW: all manners of childhood trauma and it’s effects, with a look at what we know about clover specifically

* Possibly (Co?)dependent relationship w/ Teddy- reliant on him for security/emotional safety. If something happens to him (or people she cares about), she reacts in a way that is not proportional to the stress experienced. Overly invested in his life and wellbeing at the cost of her own

* Hypoarousal- may shut down if overwhelmed/or under extreme stress; may oscillate between the hyper- and hypo-arousal (super stress/overreacting/easily overwhelmed to shutting off emotions/not being very responsive)

* Anger is considered to be a secondary emotion- usually seen as a reaction to something rather than an emotion, such as lashing out from fear

* May have trouble with physical contact as well- may be overwhelming because she is not used to it; may react uncomfortably to being touched or only tolerate it, especially initially; may begin to crave it as she begins to get a more “normal” view of physical touch

* Attachment:

* Typically reflects the relationship with the primary caregiver as an infant and how the caregiver responded to their needs: comforted them, ignored them, reacted at them, or mixed

* According to Erikson’s theory on human development, a secure attachment is important for believing that the world (+yourself +others) is a trustworthy place

* To be redundant/obvious, but Clover clearly does not believe this, so she almost certainly had a tenuous relationship (at best) with her primary caregiver(s) as a child

* Clover strikes me as having a disorganized/mixed attachment style, but especially as Ambivalent: she tends to be extremely wary of new people/situations, when she perceives her base (people she is attached to) are leaving/have left, she tends to be extremely distressed as they do so/while they’re gone. When they return she may not react very much (besides maybe calming down), but she may still be upset and refuse to be soothed/it takes a lot to placate her. (Sorry for the weird wording- I’m trying to change the clinical situation which is usually with infants to fit clover more lololol). She may also avoid the person who left when they return which would be more indicative of avoidant, like you suggested, but the mix of styles suggests disorganized to me.

* An interesting note: the prevalence of attachment styles is largely contingent on the values of the society in which the child was raised. For example, since we’re talking about Europe, German children are more likely to be insecure-avoidant because their society values independence more than other cultures

* An excerpt from my notes that I feel is relevant: “Caregiver consistency- infants who have not had the opportunity to attach in infancy may still form initial secure attachments several years later, but may have more emotional problems of depression, anger, or be overly friendly as they interact with others”

* You can look up the ACE’s study (adverse childhood experiences) which is a landmark study that looked at the prevalence and long-term consequences of childhood trauma: tldr; besides psych issues, they also have issues with their physical health as well, as the chronic stress tends to reek absolute havoc on the body. Super super fascinating study with terrifying implications for society as a whole

* A really important note: all these things are hypothetical and based on modern, mostly American, research; it may be different from that period, especially since the societal values and expectations were entirely different. I also want to note the importance of resiliency factors. Resiliency factors are things that decrease the likelihood of the trauma having a long term impact and change how the person may adjust and their chances of having a happy, normal life. The biggest one is finding people who will support and want what’s best for you as soon as possible, which clover seems to have found with her aunt and uncle, as well as her relationship with Teddy. So I would not expect her to exhibit all of these symptoms, though it definitely depends on how long she was in that adverse situation.

* From some scientific articles I reviewed a while back:

* Children who have ACEs tend to have difficulties relating to other people (eg having empathy, how to react to social situations), trouble maintaining relationships (they don’t understand themselves or how to function in a relationship because it was never modeled for them/they never learned), issues with attentiveness (such as ADHD), imitating patterns modeled by their caregivers, etc.

* Children who have faced physical/sexual assault trauma are more likely to present with symptoms that line up with the traditional PTSD model, but children who have faced other types of trauma (verbal, emotional, etc.) are likely to display symptoms more in line with a diagnosis of developmental trauma disorder

* Important: developmental trauma disorder (DTD) aka complex-PTSD, is not formally recognized by the DSM-V (the guide for diagnosing psychiatric illnesses in the USA) but rather considered a subset of PTSD, however the IUCD, which is essentially the DSM but for the rest of the world, recognizes it as its own disorder, and research strongly suggests that DTD and PTSD are distinct from one another

**(note, cont.) a good way to remember this is to know what it means. Developmental trauma is trauma that occurs while someone is in the period of rapid development- aka infancy/early childhood, but can even include stress from when they were in the womb, such as maternal stress. Complex trauma (from complex PTSD, though this name is being left behind to help the disorder distinguish itself from traditional PTSD) is trauma that occurs over a long period of time. Instead of a single or few triggering instance(s), as is often the case with PTSD, complex trauma (in general, not just the disorder) refers to trauma that occurred over a long period of time, often years. Put together/using info from these two names, DTD/C-PTSD is prolonged trauma over the course of the first few years of a person’s life

* I do not have enough confidence to say if Clover has developmental trauma disorder since I haven’t seen enough of her character and am not an expert in the field, but it’s a definite possibility. Interestingly, I also see this with Petal, Cherie, and Elias (I think I’ve mentioned this before but just reiterating the point; those are also the only ones who stick out to me off the top of my head)

* Internalizing and externalizing problems: Long story short, internalizing problems is when people blame themselves for everything that goes wrong, and externalizing problems is when people blame everything around them/powers outside of their control when things go wrong. Leaning too far in either direction can be a problem (for obvious reasons), but in particular it does tend to present as a problem for people with developmental trauma more often than not

* There is a very long but very fascinating article explaining a lot of the long-term issues for people with developmental trauma that I have uploaded to the google drive link - If you’re interested in developmental trauma at all, it is a SUPER fascinating read (had to use google drive as the actual article is blocked by a paywall I got through through my school’s library, but I can send you the doi if you want to check it anyway/see if 12 ft ladder can get you through) anyway here’s some highlights:

* Stress can manifest itself into somatic symptoms- one common example is getting a headache whenever the person is stressed, then treating the headache and not the stress; people with developmental trauma tend to experience somatic issues, partially as a manifestation of their stress/pain, but also because of the long-term effect of stress on the body; you can also look at the ACE’s study for more info (there’s also a TED talk that summarizes the ACEs study if you’d prefer that lmfao, as well as a butt ton of articles talking about it)

* Because they have not learned how to regulate themselves or recognize themselves/what they are feeling, they often misidentify situations are being more extreme than they are and act as if their trauma is occurring all over again- aka they overreact to slights, and also have trouble recognizing things like how they are feeling in a given moment/why they are reacting the way they are

* Tend to view anything new as potentially life-threatening

* Traumatized children rarely spontaneously talk about their trauma/issues- they tend to ruminate and think about sharing before they do it

* Learned helplessness: because their trauma occurred at an age when they were powerless to do anything about it, they may then act helpless/powerless when they are reminded of their trauma in any way

* Also likely to have issues such as ADHD, learning and cognitive difficulties, etc.

*I also included some graphics with info on unhealthy coping mechanisms and tendencies lmfao that could help with ideas or whatever

Graphics/article

Anyway sorry for the long ramble (I feel like I’ve been saying that to you a lot lately LOL)

CHINESE MAFIA ANON DARLING, YOUR HAND IN MARRIAGE??????? 🥰❤️

OH MY GOD-

I am freaking outtttt! Like, I have so so many things to refer to and I will definitely read the article, but also this is incredibly interesting to me! I love learning more about psychology!

This is going to be an amazing guide for me to check Clover's behaviour and her reactions to certain things and AAAAAAA-

I'm gonna memorize this! Darling you're absolutely amazing and I can't thank you enough for this, thank you so so so much!?

Terribly sorry if I bother you with all these questions but like, do you know how...mmm, how these attachment issues/trauma can manifest in an actual relationship? Because I also feel like a lot of these will (and I will incorporate it into the chapters) at the beginning of their "courtship" aka when Clover is still in denial/trying to push him away, but like, aside from that? Because I have this HC that even when Clover acknowledges her feelings for Benedict, she might force herself to keep him at arm's length and this quote;

May have trouble with physical contact as well- may be overwhelming because she is not used to it; may react uncomfortably to being touched or only tolerate it, especially initially; may begin to crave it as she begins to get a more “normal” view of physical touch

Actually makes a lot of sense in terms of the progress of their relationship, but this;

Learned helplessness: because their trauma occurred at an age when they were powerless to do anything about it, they may then act helpless/powerless when they are reminded of their trauma in any way

Made me think, because as you said, even if it's not the same with everyone, I feel like it kind of worked in the opposite way? And obviously she will have an incredibly hard time opening up to him, but when in a relationship, would it be uncharacteristic if she started trusting him while also being her distant self? Like, some clues about her home life here and there to show she is slowly getting comfortable or would she force herself to maintain her "strong" front in a way?

[delimeful]

Helpless (2)

the next chapter in the drider virgil fic!

warnings: spiders, slight dehumanizing language, assumptions/jumping to conclusions

-

Logan was certain that he’d tracked down his quarry.

Of course, he’d also been certain the last two times he’d found promising evidence around a swath of woods, but this time was different.

He had learned plenty while traversing through the varied lands of his kingdom, and while physical evidence was ideal, word of mouth was one of the most useful tools a researcher could use to find leads.

That was part of the reason why he’d been so careful to observe typical travelers for weeks before his departure, the reason he was wearing worn, cheap fabric and staying at the second-cheapest room at this town’s inn, despite having plenty of money still hidden on his person. He didn’t want a single rumor about a suspiciously rich noble traveling alone.

The last thing he needed was for his investigative journey to be interrupted by bandits, or worse, would-be do-gooders attempting to return the missing prince to his place in line for the throne.

Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the very thought, putting aside the last half of his travel rations and stopping at the edge of town to stare into the woods beyond. He checked his compass habitually, and he was pointed firmly westward, exactly towards the point of the woods that were occupied by a dangerous monster, according to the barkeep that Logan had plied for information last night at supper.

The whole town knew of it, even the younger residents, which was a point in favor of the creature really existing rather than just being another folk tale.

There was one other potential source on the creature, a town outcast going by the way others’ noses wrinkled at the mention of him, but Logan was more than ready to begin investigating for himself, and the odds that the outcast actually knew anything were low, anyhow.

Decided, he headed into the forest, prepared for the day-long trek that was sure to follow. If he was prone to less scientific notations, he might have jotted down that he had a good feeling about this particular town.

Exactly an hour and a half later, Logan had found himself almost entirely immobilized by layers and layers of gossamer threads strewn about the trees.

Needless to say, he was ecstatic.

Even the foolish manner in which he’d landed himself stuck in such an obvious trap couldn’t dampen his spirits, not when faced with undeniable proof that there was in fact a drider in these woods. He’d been too hasty in his attempt to collect some of the biological material, and by yanking too hard, had ended up pulled forwards into the thick of the intricate spider web.

His immobility was a bit concerning, but mostly frustrating, since he couldn’t reach for his journal to note down the surprising level of the webbing’s tensile strength. Still, proper scientists had to be prepared to hold onto their observations for as long as it took for them to be able to write them down.

Besides, he could hardly complain. His current predicament practically guaranteed that he would actually get to see the creature!

-

There was a person stuck in his webs, and Virgil was freaking out about it.

It had never happened before. Virgil very specifically made the webs closer to town thick and opaque so that any passerby would see them and avoid this exact situation.

Virgil peered around the cluster of bushes he had half-flattened himself behind. The stranger didn’t seem too panicked, at least, going by the way that the web barely swayed with his presence. He didn’t even seem to be breathing hard, which was… admittedly sort of strange.

Skies above, what if this was a trap? Virgil turned his head sharply to scan his surroundings, wary of human hunters suddenly popping out of the undergrowth.

Several moments of silence, and even with all his senses pushed to their farthest, he couldn’t detect anything. It seemed the only one trapped here was the human.

A pang of guilt curled unpleasantly in his first stomach. He grimaced, wishing desperately that Patton was here to mitigate the utter terror Virgil was surely about to inflict on this guy.

No point in drawing it out. He rose up to his full height, grateful that the human had gotten stuck facing the opposite direction, and quietly crept up behind him. All he needed to do was announce his presence and let the human know he wasn’t going to hurt them, but he was immediately distracted at the sight of just how tangled his webs had grown.

“How does one human manage to touch every single support thread at the same time?” he asked, voice incredulous.

The human stiffened, and he couldn’t help but tense in response, cursing his big mouth.

… Really though, he spent hours crafting these, and now this one would have to be completely reconstructed!

“Are you the monster spoken of in town?”

The measured voice snapped Virgil out of his thoughts as easy as a clap of thunder, and he shuffled a bit from side to side nervously. His many steps must have been louder than he’d thought, because the human immediately attempted to twist around and see him.

He failed, naturally, because Virgil’s threads weren’t exactly easy to wriggle free of, but Virgil’s nerves only grew. “I… why do you ask?”

There was a short silence, and then, “Considering my current situation, it’s only natural I would want to know, isn’t it?”

Virgil resisted the urge to wince at his own dumbassery. “Right. Well. Yeah,” he confirmed, already bracing for the fear that nearly every human bore when confronted with him. Even Patton had been afraid at first, though Virgil really thought him braver than any other human, to be so terrified of even normal spiders and befriend a Drider of all creatures.

“Oh, excellent,” the human said with clear excitement. “Would you mind coming around so that I can see you?”

Virgil blinked, befuddled. The last thing most humans wanted was for him to come closer. Maybe it was the natural fear of him being in their blind spot? The guy certainly didn’t sound very afraid, even with Virgil’s less-than-stellar first impression.

“Do you have a weapon?” he asked warily.

“I have a knife,” the stranger offered, “but I can’t exactly reach it at the moment.”

Virgil could see the glint of it, caught bladefirst at the very edge of a web as though it had been used on the threads themselves. He slowly circled around the clearing, watching the stranger closely for any sudden movements, until he stood before him, all eight legs and thorax visible.

“Fascinating,” he breathed, eyes blown wide as they skittered from point to point as though noticing every little detail. Virgil would have thought him afraid had it not been for the prideful little grin that sat on his face. “I thought maybe you were lying to me-- I hadn’t expected you to be so fluent in the common language, living in the woods and all-- but wow!”

Virgil felt his front legs rising up a little bit in an automatic defense against the unexpected reaction. He ran his tongue over his fangs nervously, trying to figure out whether or not he should be insulted about the language thing. And what exactly did this guy mean by ‘expected’?

The stranger’s hands twitched slightly, still stuck firmly in place, and irritation briefly flitted across his face as though he’d forgotten his position. He blinked, as though remembering something.

“Oh, right. Are you planning on trying to consume me, then?” he asked, the question as politely curious as an inquiry about the weather.

Virgil recoiled physically at the idea, skittering back a few strides and baring his fangs despite the difference in size and strength and trapped-ness between the two of them. “What? No!”

The stranger managed to drag his intrigued gaze away from Virgil’s fangs, his hands twitching again almost subconsciously. “In that case, would you mind helping me down? My leg has begun to go numb, and I really would like access to my journal.”

“I-- I mean, yeah, if you aren’t-- I can--,” Virgil stumbled over his words, drawing closer with his body lowered non-threateningly and waiting for the inevitable flinch or shiver of disgust.

It never came. The stranger continued to stare at him with no trace of terror in his eyes, even as Virgil grew close enough to reach out and touch him.

“Take your time,” he offered, despite being the one trapped in a monster’s web. Virgil abruptly felt a bit silly about his obvious wariness, and lifted his front legs to rub them together at the ankles. The stranger’s head tilted to the side slightly, watching the gesture intently.

“... It’s the oils that make the webs not stick,” Virgil explained. “I produce it naturally on my feet so I don’t get, y’know, stuck. I’ll have to touch the webs that are attached to you. With my feet. The spider ones.”

Virgil didn’t have any other kinds of feet, but the stranger graciously didn’t nitpick.

“A built-in solvent… I wonder if natural spiders have similar traits,” he mused instead, and then, “Do whatever you need, I don’t mind. The opposite, really, I appreciate the assistance.”

Sure enough, he didn’t shy away when Virgil began carefully plucking at the threads entangling him, sliding the sides of his legs along them to coat them in the anti-stick oils. Bit by bit, the entanglement loosened, and Virgil had just freed both arms when the human abruptly twisted around to reach for something on his person.

Of course, now that much of the webbing holding him in midair had been removed, his weight was significantly less supported. A few threads snapped, and he dropped a few inches with a startled yelp. If he continued, he’d be in for either a rough fall or getting caught in a whole new layer of webbing, and Virgil wanted neither of those things.

He quickly reached forwards with his human arms and lifted the stranger up and away from further entanglement, batting away any stray threads with his front legs. Belatedly, he realized he had forgotten to check if it was a weapon that the human had reached for. Even more belatedly, he realized that this was the second human he’d picked up in this impromptu carry.

Weird that it had happened twice.

“Perfect, thank you,” the guy said, and then he started writing furiously in a little book, occasionally glancing up at Virgil and locking onto a feature before returning to writing. It was as though he didn’t mind at all being held aloft like a human might lift up a misbehaving cat.

Virgil took the opportunity to continue cleaning any web remnants off the guy while he was distracted, his mind whirring. A stranger who had clearly never done a day of hard labor in his life, who didn’t seem at all afraid of him, and was taking notes.

... Oh, shit.

Virgil set him carefully on the ground while he was still preoccupied with scrawling out a label for a diagram of Virgil’s teeth. He backed up, softening his steps, and by the time the stranger pulled his attention away from his book, Virgil was already well out of sight and planned to keep it that way, regardless of the confused little call the stranger made.

He was not messing with what was clearly a mage out for his parts.

[lunar-wandering]

“hey google? whats social interaction?”

two fics in one day hell yeah. this time it’s for an AU i don’t think i’ve talked about here, called the Shy!Wukong AU, in which 500 years of isolation had the consequence of absolutely destroying Wukong’s social skills and confidence.

Word Count: 3.4k

Read on Ao3

-

When MK arrived on Flower Fruit Mountain that afternoon, it was quiet. He walked around for a few minutes, enjoying the silence, a big difference from the constant sound of the city, before sighing.

He walked over and leaned against a tree, barely hearing the soft intake of breath from behind it.

"I know you're there, Monkey King." He sighed again, taking the staff out and twirling it. "I could see your tail y'know."

Wukong slowly emerged from behind him, walking around the tree to stand just outside of MK's reach. MK purposefully didn't look at him, but out of the corner of his eye he could see that his mentor was avoiding eye contact.

"Ah, uh, yeah uh, hey bud." Wukong said, "I uh, didn't know you were here-"

"You were meant to come hang out with me and my friends today." MK said, and Wukong slumped. "I understand having some days were you're just not up for interacting, but this is the third time. ...Why won't you interact with my friends?"

He asked this as gently as he could, but still Wukong shrunk back a little.

"They....they can sense weakness..." Wukong muttered, and now MK did look at him, with confusion.

"Wh- no they don't- well, Mei might, but still." He pushed off the tree, turning to face Wukong fully. "You seriously need to get some more social interaction- it'll help you be more confident again!"

Wukong opened his mouth as though to speak-

"Fighting Macaque that one time doesn't count as social interaction." MK deadpanned, watching unimpressed as Wukong nervously scratched the side of his face. "....Tell you what, if you come with me and Mei shopping tomorrow, I'll get off your case for a week. Does that sound okay?" 

"...Yeah..." Wukong quietly gave his assent, and MK beamed.

"Great! Now, are we going to do training?"

"I didn't plan anything out though...."

"That's okay, we can just spar!"

-

Wukong was 20 minutes late.

MK glanced at his watch again just to make sure that he was reading the time right, before looking back over to Mei. She was playing some game or other on her phone, looking bored.

"Y'know, I'm starting to think Mr. Monkey King might be scared of me." Mei said after another minute went by with still no sign of Wukong.

"Honestly, you might not be too far off from the truth there." MK admitted, "I was half expecting him to at least send a clone, but he must know that I catch on to that immediately now."

"Do you think he's alright?" Mei put her phone back in her pocket, now glancing at the sky with concern. "Like, he didn't freak too much over it and hole himself up in his room or something again, did he?"

"No, he's already met you once, so I don't think it'd be that bad again." MK pulled the staff out of his pocket, contemplating for a moment. "...Hey Mei, how would you like a trip to Flower Fruit Mountain?"

"I would love to." Mei smirked, before turning around and entering the mall, grabbing hold of the back of MK's hoodie to drag him in along with her. "But first, we're gonna need some supplies!"

-

When MK and Mei arrived on Flower Fruit Mountain, it was once again quiet.

"Okay." MK shifted the bag he was carrying on his arm, adjusting his grip. "He's probably up in his little house behind the waterfall. He probably knows we're here by now, so..."

"So all we have to do is find him." Mei finished, "Don't worry MK, I remember the plan."

"Right. Okay." They passed through the water fall, walking through the cave. Standing in front of Wukong's door, MK set his bag on the ground in order to lift his arm and knock.

One of the younger monkeys opened the door.

"Hey there!" MK said, "Is Monkey King here?"

The tiny monkey chitters out a response MK interprets as yes, moving aside to let Mei and MK through. Mei easily finds her way into the kitchen, and MK can hear the clattering of some pots and pans as she shuffles things around (they'd bought some hot chocolate, and apparently Mei refused to wait any longer before making it). MK, meanwhile, sets his bag down by the door and starts looking for Wukong.

It ends up not being very hard really, as he finds his mentor laying on the couch, a blanket pulled over top of his head, his tail poking out and resting on the floor, stiff.

...Too stiff.

"Monkey King?" MK asks, and he sees the fur on Wukong's tail bristle, but yet the monkey himself doesn't move. "I know you're awake."

Wukong says something entirely incoherent.

"Me and Mei are here to have a sleepover, if you're wondering." MK says, "Since you didn't come shopping with us."

There's no response.

Suddenly Mei curses, and there's a loud clatter in the kitchen. MK turns, suitably distracted.

"Y'alright?" He yells.

"Fine! Monkey King just has horrible sorting skills is all!" Is the response he gets, and MK quietly chuckles because, well, she's not wrong.

When he turns back around, Wukong is out from under the blanket, standing up, his usual nervous smile plastered on his face.

...But something's off. His back is too straight, for one, the Monkey King that MK knows is normally slightly slouched. The look in his eyes doesn't show shyness either, rather an attempt at faking being shy.

MK makes his deduction in less than a second.

"You're a clone aren't you."

"Oh thank heavens." The Wukong clone, relaxes just slightly, the nervous smile slipping off in favor of a more relaxed, natural one. (One that, notably, MK has only seen on Wukong's clones. Well, he thinks he saw his mentors real smile once, but Wukong had left rather fast after that, so MK had never been actually sure.) "I wasn't sure how long I could pretend to be nervous for."

"He's trying to bail again, huh." MK said, not even surprised, having mostly known this would happen. 500 years by himself had really taken it's toll on the Monkey King, MK still wasn't sure how exactly Wukong had lost his confidence, but the consequences of whatever it was were fairly obvious. It had taken forever for MK to actually get his mentor to just have normal conversations with him instead of just leaving him sticky notes with instructions on them. During that time, Wukong had run away from MK *multiple* times.

Well, not tonight. MK personally respected Wukong's lack of knowledge on how to be social, and knew first hand the experience of not feeling up to interacting with people. But if Wukong didn't at least try to step over his comfort zone, then he'd never become confident again.

Wukong's clone seemed to have the same idea, as he turned, walking off down a hallway. MK heard a door open- followed by a yelp of betrayal, and then the clone was back, carrying a flustered Monkey King over his shoulder, dumping him onto the couch before vanishing, just as Mei entered the living room with a tray covered in candies, as well as three mugs of hot chocolate.

"Did I miss anything?" She asks, setting the tray down on the coffee table, before sitting on the couch to the left of Wukong. The Monkey King actually squeaked, shifting to move to the other side, only to be stopped by MK sitting on his right. Almost as though they'd planned it, they both leaned up against Wukong simultaneously, feeling how he stiffened at the sudden contact.

"Did you get the remote?" Mei asked, sipping at her hot chocolate.

"Yep." MK held the remote up with one hand, easily accessing Wukong's Netflix account. (He'd accidentally stumbled upon the password one of the times the monkeys had shoved him into the house in an attempt to help him interact with Wukong.) "What do you want to watch?"

"Hm, dunno. What do you think, Mr. Monkey King?"

Wukong didn't respond. He still hadn't relaxed either. His eyes looked slightly unfocused, and MK could practically hear the computer crashing noises.

Jeez. Wukong was a lot more touch-starved than he had thought.

And then Wukong moved, sliding down a little, covering his face with his hands. Mei and MK shared a look of concern.

Maybe this much contact was a bit too much to start?

MK leaned away from Wukong, putting just the slightest bit of distance between them, Mei following his lead soon after.

They were both quiet for a moment, silently considering what to do next as Wukong continued to not look at them.

...And then Mei grabbed the pillow behind her, slowly raising it over her head.

MK barely had the time to register what she was doing before the pillow smacked him in the face.

Mei burst out laughing at MK's surprised look, jumping up off the couch, pulling more pillows out of...somewhere. MK hadn't seen her grab them, but they were certainly there now.

He ducked down, sliding off the couch as a pillow soared over his head, flopping against the couch cushions, having not met it's target. He barely managed to shift out of the way of a second pillow, catching a third before it could hit him in the chest.

"Oh it is on!" He cheered, spinning around before throwing the pillow at Mei as hard as he could.

Soon enough the pillow fight increased to all out warfare, more pillows seemingly appearing out of nowhere. MK laughed, nearly forgetting about Wukong-

And then a pillow hit him in the back of the head.

Both he and Mei paused, knowing for a fact that Mei hadn't thrown it, she was in front of him, getting him from behind was impossible.

MK turned around just in time to see Wukong create another pillow out of one of his hairs and throw it.

When MK pulled the pillow off of his face, he was greeted with Wukong's nervous smile, and a bit of anxious laughter.

MK glanced at Mei.

Well. This wasn't exactly the way they had planned to help Wukong come out of his shell a bit, but it could work.

-

Sleepovers became more frequent after that. Typically they ended up with just a pillow fight, but still, it was some progress, however small.

MK and his friends were more than content to take things slow, let Wukong relearn how to socially interact and overcome his shyness the normal way.

And then New Years happened.

Wukong was still definitely not comfortable interacting with anyone other than Mei, MK, and Sandy, but he did start showing up a bit more frequently. (MK had noticed that Wukong tried his hardest to be more confident around Pigsy. He wasn't sure as to why Wukong did so, but he did. Pigsy himself seemed concerned about it as well, but for the most part let it slide). MK sometimes couldn't help but feel that his mentor seemed a bit...worried about something. But whenever he asked, Wukong would just clam up, sometimes even going so far as to distract MK before teleporting away.

But whatever. It was fine, they were making progress. Wukong was actually somewhat talking to people now, albeit he was still quiet, and easily flustered at the smallest of things. (Tang had briefly mentioned how impressive Wukong's feats were in an offhand sentence, and the Monkey King had practically shut down for an entire half an hour.)

...Unlike MK and the others however, Demon Bull King was more than slightly concerned.

The New Years Incident had been his first time seeing the Monkey King since 500 years ago, and needless to say, he was not what he expected.

He remembered Wukong being boastful, confident, easily coming up with snarky quips left and right.

So it was definitely a shock when, instead of annoyingly chatting or created stupid jokes while captured by Spider Queen, Wukong had simply sat there, quiet, a light blush dusting his face as he sulked, embarrassed over having gotten caught.

Demon Bull King could only wonder what in the world could've happened that would've rendered the Monkey King so shy.

He'd shared his concerns with his family, of course, in a roundabout, thinly veiled way. (He had been fairly certain that the monkey of the conversation had actually been spying on them at the time). Princess Iron Fan had commented about seeing Red Son in a slightly similar state, considering how he never could seem to hold an actual conversation with MK or Mei, instead always challenging them to a battle. (She was concerned, for her son. She'd known that staying in his lab, working on inventions day in and day out would definitely be bad for his social skills, but Red Son had been so stubborn at the time that there'd been nothing she could do.)

Red Son, of course, entirely missed hearing the conversation about himself.

He did however, hear the one about Wukong.

Which, of course, led to-

"Wake up, simian!"

Wukong startled, rolling out of bed, falling to the floor, his blankets falling on top of him and obscuring his vision. He scrambled for a minute, trying to get his bearings as he struggled with the blankets, trying to clear his vision.

A light laugh made him freeze, suddenly glad for the blankets covering him as he felt his face flush as he realized he wasn't alone.

"Seriously? This is the great, powerful Monkey King everyone is afraid of?"

It took a moment for him to place the voice, slowly lifting the blankets up, keeping his head hung low as he checked to make sure.

Bright red jacket. The faint smell of smoke.

Red Son.

Wukong looked away, trying to pull up every inch of confidence he'd regained.

"....How'd you get into my house?" Is what he ended up saying, and he mentally patted himself on the back for not having his voice break mid sentence.

"Please, it's not like it's that difficult."

"There's a whole entire waterfall sealing the place."

"Which is very easy to by pass if you know how."

Wukong couldn't come up with a response for that, instead forcing himself to stand up, trying to put a normal smile on his face, but knowing it would probably only end up being his usual nervous one.

"Uh, um. Why are you here?" He finally asked.

"Well, uh, my father is worried about you so I'm here to help you or....whatever.... something like that..." Red Son said, getting a bit quieter and trailing off towards the end of his sentence.

"I-" Suddenly, irritation overcame Wukong's shyness and anxiety. "You- you're just as bad as I am!"

(Demon Bull King had been right. Wukong had been spying on them during that conversation. He'd originally planned on going over to talk to them, but then, well, as usual he'd panicked, and ended up listening in the rafters while waiting for an opportunity to leave unnoticed.

...That had been a long day.)

Red Son spluttered for a moment, before pulling himself together.

"I am not." He hissed, the edges of his hair sparking.

"You socialize with my successor by fighting him because you don't know how to ask him and Mei to hang out outside of battling." Wukong deadpanned, "And no, battles do not count as social interaction, according to MK."

There was a pause, where they both went silent, staring at each other, waiting for the next move.

An hour later, and they were both sitting on the floor of Wukong's bedroom, both of them looking slightly frazzled.

"I mean, just." Red Son said, "How do you talk to people?!"

"I literally have no idea." Wukong sounded just as stressed and dismayed as Red Son. "I mean, MK and his friends have been trying, and like, I guess it's been working, because they haven't complained about me yet, but still, just, what is social interaction??"

"I don't know!" Red Son groaned, holding his head in his hands. "If- if only we had someone who was really good at social interaction, someone we could copy-"

"Like MK?" Wukong asked, before immediately dismissing the idea in his next sentence. "No, no, he'd pick up on what we're doing and either make us stop or call us out on it way too fast...."

"Agreed, we definitely cannot use the Noodle Boy or his friends as an example." Red Son muttered, "But....to be honest with you, I don't know many other people."

"...Me either." Wukong flopped backwards to lay on the floor, both of them sighing in defeat.

And then Wukong, tensed sitting back up, a thoughtful but also very reluctant look on his face.

"...Actually, there is one person we might be able to go to..."

-

"...What's being social?"

Wukong and Red Son both looked at their last hope of a savior in dismay.

Macaque stared back with an equivalent amount of confusion.

The three of them sat in the middle of a small park, partially hidden from passerby by a line of bushes. Macaque wasn't even entirely sure how he'd gotten there, and wasn't even close to having a clue as to what was going on.

"What do you mean you don't know- you socialize literally every day!" Wukong threw his hands up into the air, in a mixture of anger and defeat.

"You alone are literally responsible for over half of the city's parties." Red Son added, "How can you not know how to be social when you're the perfect example of a social butterfly?"

"I don't know." Macaque shrugged. If anything, this reaction seemed to cause Red Son and Wukong more distress.

"So you're saying you.... don't actually know how to socially interact?"

"Uh, no?" Macaque leaned back, crossing his arms. "I kinda just go along with whatever happens so- wait why are you crying."

Red Son looked to his left to see that, oh, uh, Wukong was crying. He didn't seem like he wanted to be, if the way he was hiding his face behind his hands and trying to muffle his sobs was any indication, but he definitely was.

"You were our last hope of understanding social interaction." Wukong muttered, voice muffled by his hands. Red Son awkwardly hovered his hand over Wukong's shoulder, knowing that the other still wasn't entirely used to touch.

"...Aren't the both of you interacting with me ri-" Macaque was abruptly cut off as something grabbed him by the back of his scarf, pulling him back into the bush. Red Son was too focused on Wukong, and Wukong was too busy trying to stop crying, to notice the sudden disappearance.

Macaque landed on his back, spitting out a stray leaf as he looked up at MK. (He'd known Wukong's successor was spying on them, he'd heard him hide behind the bush. Still though, randomly grabbing him was a little bit annoying).

"You can't tell them that they're socially interacting." MK hissed, quiet enough that the other two couldn't hear him. Macaque raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Any particular reason as to why?"

"If you tell them they're actually interacting it's like- it's like Cinderella when the clock hits midnight, they both go back to being easily flustered recluses." MK said, "You've got to keep them going without realizing what they're doing for as long as possible."

"...Okay???" Honestly, this didn't clear things up for Macaque at all, but he wasn't going to try and argue with MK now.

MK let go off his scarf, and Macaque returned to his position in front of Wukong and Red Son, adding an extra glamour over top of himself so that his little trip through the bush would be entirely unnoticeable. Funnily enough, neither of them seemed to have noticed his temporary disappearance.

"So uh....wanna keep not-socializing with me at that cafe over there?" Macaque pointed over his shoulder at a nearby place he liked to visit. If he was going to do this, he was going to need another dose of caffeine. "I can maybe try and figure out some tips for you?"

"Yes please." Wukong and Red Son said in sync, already standing up and moving towards the cafe. Macaque stood up shortly after them.

Quietly, watching them walk in front of him, he thought; 'They're idiots.'

-

"Wukong, why are you hiding your face, Red Son's the one that just face planted while walking through a door!"

The Monkey King's response was completely incoherent, afflicted with second-hand embarrassment. Both he and Red Son refused to look Macaque in the eye.

The shadow monkey sighed, almost tempted to teleport away to find somewhere nice to scream.

MK better find a good way of paying him back for this.

[themaribatpit]

Hanging by a Thread: Chapter 4

Rated M: DC canon-typical violence, suggestive threats, alcohol (drink responsibly)

Author’s Note: Thank you to @rebecarojas07 for calmly and patiently trying to explain American things to us in the comments of the last chapter.  

Content Warning: Adrien/Chat Noir salt, mostly references to his actions in Syren, there will also be some Chloe and Lila salt.   All for the purposes of making Marinette’s own self doubt and angst clear.  This is going to be a very angst-heavy chapter, you have been warned.  

Ships: Jason Todd/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Dick Grayson/Barbara Gordon (side ship).

Taglist:

@aespades​, @neakco, @ladybug-182, @seraphichana, @zalladane, @luminous-carrot, @jayjayspixiepop, @cap-noodles, @livelifeauthorstyle, @thepaceperson, @moongoddesskiana, @vroomtaka, @laurcad123,  @prettylittlebutterflie, @twsssmlmaa

Chapter 3 - Chapter 5

Chapter 4

On one of the nights she went out searching, Marinette found the Red Hood perched on a rooftop next to a gargoyle.  A gargoyle that was probably looking a lot less serious than he was at that moment.  There was no doubt as to how they found each other.  It was how they found each other at the warehouse, at the dockyards, and now here on a rooftop. She slowly approached him from behind. “I know you’re behind me.” spoke the Red Hood without turning his head to look behind him. Ladybug froze as the Red Hood addressed her, as if he had eyes on the back of his head.  Ladybug remained silent, unsure of how she should proceed, until Red Hood broke the ice. “Y’know I wonder, how you always seem to find me no matter what. It’s almost as if you have some kind of Me Detector.”  Ladybug stuttered, trying to think of an answer. She grew silent and looked down. He looked towards her ”You don't have to answer, I figured it out. You can see the red thread that ties us together as well, right?” she nodded her head.    “Only way you seem to find me each time. I’ve been able to see it for as long as I can remember, what about you?” He asked. 

“Me too, I was always able to see it, and it went grey when you...” Marinette said, as if she still found it hard to believe that such a thing could happen to someone.  “Did anyone ever tell you how I died?” he asked. Marinette looked away, as she tried to hide the look on her face.  “Yes,” she answered meekly.  She sighed and shook her head, trying to remember why she went looking for him at all.  She took a couple of steps closer towards him.  “What matters is I wanna help,” she said. “Why? You don’t even know half of what I’ve been through.”  he growled, he turned to face her.  His helmet was still on, but his low harsh voice made his emotions very clear at that moment.

“Then tell me,” she said calmly, “trust me I’ve dealt with people who gave into their negative emotions, I can help you.” She had come too far to give up now, and she wasn’t about to turn back over something that she could help him with.  “Not like this,” he said, “listen to me when I say the boy you got matched with died that night.  He died because he was an idiot, who got himself killed by a psychotic clown.”  Was she supposed to turn back and abandon him now? Should she have just settled for someone else back in Paris?  The answers were no and absolutely not.  The person who stood before her might not have been the person she had imagined her soulmate to be, but she didn’t have the heart to abandon him now.  She could help him, whatever it was she was sure that she could find a way to help him, maybe with Tikki and Plagg’s help.  If what she was told about him was true, then he surely understood what they both went through in the past.  They both became crime fighters at a young age, they were thrust into situations where the fate of their world rested on their shoulders.  They were alike in a lot of ways that neither of them realised.  

"Please tell me, let me help you Jason." she begged.

"Do. Not. Call. Me. That." He growled and stomped towards Ladybug, their faces mere centimetres apart. "So who was it that told you? Was it Dick? Babs? The old man?"

Jason knew it would take a lot more than that to push her away, but he had to.  Even as Robin was still inside him,  railing against the bars that kept that part of him caged.  But he was dead in every meaningful sense of the word, and in his place was a cursed monster.  For both their sakes, he was trying to keep Ladybug at arm’s length, he was nothing like the gaudy rogues gallery she dealt with back in Paris.  A part of him wanted her help, but he doubted that neither she nor her fairy pals had any idea what they were dealing with.  To top it off, she was probably already under the Bat clan’s protection.  They weren’t even on the same side, so that added another complication into their already tangled bond.  He looked up at her and there it was again, that wide eyed sad look on her face.  Jason tried not to look at it for too long, no matter how much it made his heart ache to do so.  “What would it take for you to leave me alone?” he asked, “Want me to cut my own foot off?”

“I’m not even sure it’s that easy,” she said “I was always told that it will stretch and tangle, but never break.  That and it goes grey if one of us dies, that’s all I know.” “Look, I don’t wanna hurt you, Pixie,” he told her, “even I have limits.”. “Oh yeah? And what are they?  Am I just small fry to you, is that it?” she asked, Ladybug looked away as tears began to form in her eyes.  “Are you just disappointed to find out that I’m your soulmate?”

Marinette had come too far only to be told no, and no one has given her a clear answer as to why she couldn’t help him.  It seemed to be something more than the fact that he was a crime boss.  What brought her here in the first place was the fact that their soulmate bond had reignited.  It was truly at that moment where the two sides of herself felt like they were merging.   Marinette was trying to make sense of what everyone was telling her.  There was a reason why even he was refusing to let her at least try to help him. Ladybug would have been able to fix this problem in no time at all, while Marinette was on a gargoyle adorned rooftop begging her soulmate to let her help him.  

She barely noticed that the Red Hood was suddenly standing very close to her, she felt a gloved hand tilt her chin up to look at him.  She was still looking into the two white lights in his helmet.  “Do yourself a favour, and get as far away from here as you can.” he told her in a low but gentler voice, “I’m telling you this because you’re my soulmate, I don’t want you getting hurt because of me. You got that?” he let go of her and turned away, going back to the spot he was perched on. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” she said whilst on the verge of tears, and with a twirl of her yo-yo she swung away into the night. Jason tried to ignore the ache in his chest, he was telling himself that he had to keep her away from him.  He was already used to not being trusted, but at that moment her sincerity and kindness were just too much for him.  There were other people out there who were far more deserving of it.  If she got too close to him, too close to the flame that was only stoked by the Lazarus pit, she would only get burned.  He already knew he would never forgive himself if she got hurt, their soulmate bond would probably just end up adding salt to that wound.  In a way he was starting to see why they were bound together, that’s what made it hurt even more.  They were very different people, that much was obvious. Maybe the divine being that bound them together thought it would be funny in a “opposites attract” kind of way.  Unfortunately for him, one of the things they had in common was that they were both very stubborn people.  That became clear when he realised it would take a whole lot more to get her to stay away from him. Over the next few days, Marinette threw herself into her design work, trying to take her mind off of her encounters with her soulmate.  Tikki was looking increasingly worried as she avoided talking about it, preferring to stay up all through the night working on her design projects.  Her designs tended towards soft fabrics and pastel colours. It was possible this was an attempt to avoid thinking about a certain someone who wore a red helmet and was dressed in Kevlar and leather. 

One night, Marinette got a text from Zoe, telling her that they were going out drinking with some friends.  She invited Marinete to join her, and she thought a night out would help take her mind off things.  As she looked through her wardrobe for something to wear, Tikki tried to approach her.  “Marinette, we need to talk,” she said, looking over at Plagg who was more interested in devouring the slice of camembert that Marinette had given him. ”You’ve been busy lately, and I just wanted to know if you were okay.” she said.

“I’m fine, what’s there to talk about?” Marinette said flippantly, holding the two different dresses up to her body as she decided which one to wear.  She didn’t want to talk about her soulmate, or even the mountain of work that she had just completed.  She wanted to go out and have some fun with her friends.  

“It’s just that you seemed distraught by what happened, we tried to warn you not to get your hopes up...” Tikki began. “I’m fine,” Marinette said in a harsher tone of voice, “I don’t want to talk about it.” “Marinette, it's probably for the best, we...”

“I said I didn’t want to talk about it!” Marinette snapped, “I came all this way to find my soulmate, only to find that my soulmate doesn’t want anything to do with me.  You were right Tikki, I should have just stayed home in Paris, is that what you wanted to hear?” Tikki looked to Plagg for help, but Plagg didn’t say anything in response.  “Listen Marinette, maybe whoever tied you two together made a mistake. Maybe this Red Hood is right and it will only end in tragedy. ” “Choosing me to wield the Ladybug Miraculous, hell, choosing me as your Guardian could have also been a mistake. Did you think of that?” Marinette argued.

“That was different, you proved yourself to be worthy of the Miraculous.” Tikki piped up, “This boy...”

“What? I’m good enough to wield magic jewelry but I’m not good enough for a guy who isn’t Chat Noir?” Marinette argued. “No!” Tikki cried, “I meant that this person might not be worthy of you.  Our magic, it did something to him, Marinette.  I can sense it, I can’t quite put my finger on it but something is wrong here.”

“I know, I have spent my teenage years fighting people who have been turned into supervillains because of their negative emotions!  Why should this be any different?” Marinette yelled.  “I managed to do it mostly by myself, with a partner who would rather spend most of the battle joking around and getting in the way!”  Marinette was getting heated, but she had far too much pent up emotion to care at that moment.  “And the way he would go on and on about us being soulmates, I hated it. Now I hate it even more because now I know for certain that he was wrong.” Marinette recalled. If she was still in Paris, she might worry about an Akuma finding her in this state.  

“You became a hero to help those people! It’s why you were suited to become a Guardian.” Tikki said.  Marinette wondered what good those powers were to her now? What was the point in being a hero who couldn’t save people? “I wouldn’t know,” Marinette spat bitterly, “right now I just remember you telling me that I had to be the perfect Ladybug, and an even better Guardian.”  It was true in a way, she already knew that Ladybug was perfect while Marinette was not.  Ladybug was confident, strong, and smart, she was able to save the day with nothing but her wits and whatever tool Tikki gave her to improvise with.  Marinette was the one who got bullied by Chloe and Lila, and Adrien did nothing to stop them.  Their adoration for Ladybug added salt to the wound, at times it almost made Marinette despise her other persona.  “You don’t mean that,” Tikki said before she turned to Plagg, “Plagg, say something, please.” she begged. “I mean, she certainly took it a lot more seriously. One time Chat Noir threatened to take off his Miraculous if I didn’t tell him a secret Ladybug was keeping at the time.” he said flippantly, before devouring the last of the cheese.  “Only thing that stopped him was Master Fu showing up with a potion.” He recalled, there was a silence that followed.  Plagg looked up and saw the two of them staring back at him.  Tikki looked shocked by the revelation, while Marinette looked absolutely livid.  “So I couldn’t do anything, step one foot out of line without you,” she pointed at Tikki, “breathing down my neck about being perfect.” she said in a harsh voice that was seething with rage, “Meanwhile, Chat Noir threatened to just toss the Miraculous aside and Plagg drew the line at being blackmailed into revealing a secret that was not mine to tell?”  Marinette’s fists were clenched tightly, her knuckles were bone white, and Tikki was a little afraid of her. “Marinette, please...” Tikki begged. “No,” Marinette growled, as she took off the Ladybug earrings and slammed them into the Miracle Box. She didn’t want to hear what Tikki had to say to her at that moment.  She was going to go out and have a nice night with her friends, where she wouldn’t have to think about any of this.  She stuffed them back into the box, before she looked over at the pink and white polka dotted dress that was strewn over her bed.  

There were two kinds of people who went to bars that didn't card: college students and legally dead people.  Jason was in the latter group, and long before that, he knew the location of every bar in Gotham that wouldn't card him.   Right now, he was trying to enjoy a few cold beers by himself.   It was usually quiet, he could sit, drink and drown out the the memory of the sad look in his soulmate's eyes whenever it flashed in his mind.  It was probably for the best, at least that's what Jason told himself.  Even if she was a superhero herself, what worried him the most was showing her the full force of what the Lazarus pits turned him into.  He didn't even think her fairy friends knew about that, the League of Assassins certainly didn't see it coming.

A small group of college aged girls made their way into the bar.  Out of the corner of his eye, the group looked like they were about to form a rainbow.  He heard a mixture of English, French and Italian bubbling from their little group. He looked over to see that among them, there was a brunette dressed all in black and grey,  a blonde with dyed pink streaks in her hair, and a dark haired girl in a pink dress.  They were a colourful bunch of people, probably Gotham University students on a night out.  One of them went to go and get the first round of drinks while the others gathered round a table in a separate booth.   Sometimes Jason would look over and his eyes would fall on the girl in the pink dress, who was now holding a glass of wine in her hand.  He told himself it was because she happened to be facing towards him.  If he stared too long, the blonde next to her might notice and point it out to her.  So he looked away, taking a deep drink from his own bottle.  

Zoe’s invitation couldn't have come at a better time.  Marinette drank deeply from her wine glass, as she tried to enjoy herself and drown out the argument she had with Tikki.  She took her role as Ladybug and Guardian of the Miraculous seriously, it infuriated her that the person she considered her partner didn't feel the same way.   She tried to drown out the possibility that not only had Master Fu chosen wrong, but that whoever had chosen her soulmate had too.  At the very least, her soulmate seemed to think so too.  Maybe it would be easier to throw the Miracle Box into Gotham Bay and hope that it would take her memories with it.

By the time Marinette was a couple of glasses deep into her efforts, Zoe leaned in to whisper something to Marinette.  "That guy's been staring at you for the past 15 minutes now." Zoe told her.  Marinette was pulled from her thoughts, as she looked over at Zoe.  

"What guy?" Marinette asked.

"Okay don't look now, but he's literally right in front of you." Zoe told her, "I'm sure he'll buy you another glass of wine if you bat your eyelashes at him."  Marinette playfully pushed Zoe away.  As she took another sip of wine, she looked over the rim of her glass at the guy Zoe pointed out to her.  Across the room, she could see the guy had dark hair framing a very sharp and angular face.  He wore a leather jacket, dark jeans and a t-shirt, he was certainly handsome, she'll give him that.  She wasn't going to just walk right up to him and ask him to buy her a drink.  

"He looks all right," Marinette said, trying to ignore Zoe's raised eyebrow.

Just as the other guy was getting ready to buy another drink, Zoe saw her chance.  She grabbed Marinette by the shoulders and pushed her towards the guy staring at her.  As the two ploughed towards the bar, people stepped back to give them a clear path towards the man sitting by the counter. 

Jason turned back around, curious at the ruckus behind him. Both Marinette and Jason froze as their eyes met, the two looked down to see the red string of fate. Zoe took this as a good sign, maybe this was love at first sight. As the two remained silent, Zoe nudged Marinette. When that didn't work, she dragged Marinette by the wrist and sat her down on the nearby stool.  Zoe then gave Marinette a light tap on the shoulder, a wink and a thumbs up before going back to her group of friends.

[funtimebunnyblog]

Okay so first off, I love bears! 😭 they’re so cute! I would have one as a pet if I could. How do you think the pillarmen would react to their s/o finding a bear and immediately becoming friends with it? Doesn’t matter that it’s literally a wild animal. It saw s/o and was like “this is my friend now” and it follows her everywhere. But the bear is “submissive” to her. It doesn’t attack at all and does that thing where it shows it’s belly to her all the time. The bear likes the pillar men, but not as much as it loves s/o.

Ahhh! My dear Anon, this is is such a sweet idea! 🥰🥰🥰 I have the very same feelings about keeping a Fox as a Pet ❤ I very much would if I could! 😌

This started out as a few simple headcanons buuuuut~... 😅 I got carried away and turned it into a full fic! 😘😇 Please “bear” with me and enjoy! 🐻🐻🐻

The Pillarmen’s s/o brings Home a Bear...  (A bit of a long fic; Under the cut for length!)

(I’ll stop making bear puns from this point on, I swear! I just couldn’t pass up the chance to use this picture. in any case... Please do not attempt anything that your read here with a real life Bear or any woodland creature that is dangerous for that matter! If you happen to find a lost little Bear in your travels, do the responsible thing and contact a forestry! ~FunBun)

  "What," Your head snapped up as someone spoke from behind; your eyes trailing up a most familiar muscular torso to eventually meet the disapproving gaze of Kars looming over you. The Pillarman's eyes were wide and his face unreadable, "is that?"

There you were, sitting on the front porch which was not an abnormal occurrence as this was your house and you did as you pleased...

Except for, of course, the fact that you were cradling a LIVING BABY BEAR in your lap and hand-feeding it a peanut butter sandwich!

"...A Friend." You said after a long moment, blinking up at the behemoth of a man. The Cub in your arms grasped at your hand with two huge chubby-toed paws as you pushed the last chunky bit of sandwich into its awaiting mouth; happily chewing away as if it didn't have a bother in the world.

Kars let out a long sigh, his barreled chest heaving as he reached up to pinch the space between his painted eyes with a forefinger and thumb.

"Why?" He questioned.

It was really the only thing he could say in that moment as thousands of questions rolled through his head like flotsam and jetsam. The Pillarmen struggled to keep a hold on himself, trying to give you the benefit of the doubt first before giving you the scolding he so wanted to.

He and the others knew very well you loved animals, which pleased the Pillarmen as they were Men who valued nature and precious life; Kars was no exception. They were most especially aware of your specific fixation on Bears but Kars never so much as gave the love for the creature a second thought.

However, right now, while you held a living Bear in your lap he was beginning to wish he had thought to tell you not to do something as foolish as take one in.

"Hey! I didn't do anything!" You defended yourself, allowing the Bear Cub you cradled to lick the remnants of the gooey sandwich from your fingers. You know exactly what he was thinking; he thought you deliberately went out and took the Bear!

Really, you hadn't done anything! Well... not this time anyways.

It all started when you had gone out for your morning walk in the woods, you happened to enjoy the crisp Spring air this time of year and it was a good way to get out of the house for a bit and away from the noise of the Four Pillarmen you adored that were living with you.

It was only when you were halfway down your usual route when you realized there was a little black Bear Cub following right behind you.

At first, you had feared the worst. Normally where there was a baby, there was a Mother not very far behind and despite your love for Bears you REALLY didn't want to have an encounter an angry Mother Bear that was searching for her lost baby and happened to think you were the one that took it. You did your best to avoid the baby Bear, walking fast and pretending not to notice it in hopes that it would simply give up tailing you eventually and go on its own way back to where it came from, despite the tugging of your heartstrings.

After some time of attempted avoid and evade the Cub didn't leave your side, ambling close at your heals and beginning to cry out for your attention. It became obvious to you it was all alone and even more obvious that it was hungry; as soon as it saw you it thought to remedy both those things.

Always having a big heart, you just couldn't bring yourself to leave the poor thing all alone out in the woods; especially not when it was clinging to your leg and looking up at you with those big honeyed eyes pleadingly...

You weren't supposed to get caught. You had planned to keep him a secret for at least a little while.

You had lead the baby back to the house and left it outside to its own devices on the doorstep for just a moment. Meanwhile you slipped into the kitchen to make, not one, but two peanut butter sandwiches to feed it. You really didn't have anything else to give it, you hadn't been expecting to feed a hungry little Bear anytime soon and there was nothing in it that would hurt the Cub anyways as it was mostly protein.

Your early return from your walk had gone unnoticed by the others (at least at first).

Thankfully, Santana hadn't been in the kitchen raiding the fridge like he normally did this time of morning and had been in the Livingroom with Esidisi instead, too invested in the video game they were playing to hear you come in.

Wamuu was out back chopping up more firewood to burn, as the nights were still very cold; the Warrior too far away to hear you and unable to see you with the house in the way.

Kars was supposed to be up in his study, up to his elbows in papers and practically dead to the world but of course (just when you wanted him to be working for once) he wasn't.

Somehow, he just always knew when something was amiss.

"Peanut followed me here," you explained, peering down at the squirming black fuzz ball in your lap that was still happily licking the peanut butter from its chops.

Kars clicked his tongue, "Peanut?"

He seemed even more displeased you had already named it; if you named something, it became hard to lose it. That was a rule many people followed through ancient times.

You let out a shaky laugh, ignoring the chunky paws inarticulately grasping at your clothes as a little pink tongue darted out from a tiny chestnut muzzle, dampening the glistening black button at the very tip.

Peanut was giving you a thorough sniff, making sure that he had consumed all of the delicious food you had brought him and that he hadn't missed a single morsel.

"It fits." You told him, smiling pathetically as you shrugged your shoulders.

Ruby eyes drifted down to the little creature squirming in your lap for more than a beat before he let out another sigh; this time it didn't sound as stern and disapproving as the first but it still sent a shiver down your spine. His lips pulled into a sympathetic frown as he closed the distance between you two, crouching at your side.

"Dear one," he spoke, using the tone he typically reserved for when he was trying to comfort you or give you some advice. "We cannot keep Peanut."

Immediately, you felt your heart quiver at his words; the pulse of the muscle stopped all together as you looked up at him. His eyes, normally the epitome of inhuman and predatory, now softened.

You knew very well he would have this talk with you, albeit much sooner than you anticipated originally, but it didn't change the fact it was making your heart clench painfully in your chest.

"Why?" You questioned. Now it was all you could really say in that moment as everything else that tried to come out got jumbled up in your throat.

You really didn't need to ask such a question however, as you already knew the answer.

"My sunshine, he's a wild Animal; a predator. He may be a small creature now but Cubs like Peanut grow very quickly indeed." He explained gently, wrapping one muscular arm around you. "And as he grows, his appetite will grow; you won't be able to feed him simple sandwiches forever."

Your lips scrunched up as you peered down at the now quiescent black ball of fuzz cradled in your arms. Peanut, his belly now full and all the peanut butter thoroughly cleaned from his paws and face, had closed his eyes and was slowly falling down into a most comfortable mid-morning nap.

He was so cute; so damn cute you wanted to cry. A hand absentmindedly reached up to grasp one of his paws, your thumb tracing over the squishy pads of his feet and feeling the sharp little claws sprouting from the chubby toes like thorns from a rose.

All your life you loved Bears, no matter the kind; Panda Bears, Koala Bears, Grizzly Bears, Sun Bears, Polar Bears, even Black Bears like Peanut... and now here you were, holding one in your very own arms! Hugging it close to your body like one would an everyday Teddy Bear! A real life Bear had just waddled up to you in the forest, clinging to you as if appointing you as its new Mother and caregiver, cuddling in your arms like a loving pet and cooing as you fed it an icky-sticky delight.

It was a dream come true... and now Kars was asking you to wake up and cast it aside.

"But--... But--..." the quivering of your lip made it hard to find a foothold in this dispute.

"And there is also the matter of his behavior." Kars continued softly, one massive palm gently rubbing up and down your back as he spoke. "Bears can grow to be very territorial and temperamental creatures. Their maximum strength can out lift 10 Men and their maximum speed is faster than any vehicle you can drive."

By now your eyes were watering, the fuzzy spot in your arms no longer seemed so very fuzzy as the world around you blurred behind tears.

Kars, of course, was making sense as he always did and you didn't like it one bit.

The living God's frown only deepened as the glistening of the water pooling in your eyes caught his. Truly, he hated to see you cry. Seeing tears in your eyes was something that made him weak in places he never felt such weakness prior to falling in love with you... but your safety was in jeopardy; and that was something he, nor the other Pillarmen who loved you and dotted on you, didn't want to risk over one creature.

"We have to put him back where he belongs." He said; though his words still carried that softness it was undoubtedly an order not to be refused.

"Oh Kars," you sniffed, your nose crinkling as tears began to fall. "I can't do it!"

You turned more fully towards him, presenting the sleepy Cub; practically thrusting him into the Pillarman's arms.

"Just look at him!" You cried. "He's so small and he's all alone! I don't know what happened to his Mother but she's gone and... and..."

One massive hand found your cheek as the tears came harder, a calloused thumb swiping the raging rivers aside.

"Please Kars... I can't give him up... what if he--?...." you wimpered, unable to finish that thought. You were fully aware you had already lost for today as he shook his head sadly.

Your tears did nothing to sway him when he knew what he had to do.

His free hand slipped under the sleeping Cub, Peanut did little more than fill his palm, scooping him up and cradling him close to his chest as he stood.

Your arms had never felt more empty.

"I'm sorry, Beloved. It has to be done." He told you as you stared up at him with a crestfallen and teary gaze. "Chances are, his natural instincts will kick in and he will learn to take care of himself despite the absence of his Mother. Abandoned Cubs are more common than you think. Peanut needs to go back to the woods."

That was all that could be said, the Pillarman disappeared in one blinding flash; taking the Bear Cub with him.

You were left there sitting on the porch, scrubbing at your cheeks with the sleeve of your sweater until the sensitive skin was raw in the cool Spring morning air. You managed to pull yourself together enough to not raise suspicion and headed back inside to make some coffee.

The morning passed quietly, when Kars made his eventual return to the house (sans Bear in hand) you didn't even look him in the eye.

You didn't deny that Kars had done the right thing, Peanut was in fact a wild Animal and belonged to the wilderness, but you still felt strangely bitter over it. So inexplicably angry it almost felt childish as you couldn't stop yourself from glaring at his back as he passed the kitchen table.

More time passed, your only half-drunk mug of coffee had long gone cold and your grief for the little Bear you knew that was left all alone somewhere in the woods had managed to ebb somewhat. You were just about to get up to go get a start on some chores when all of a sudden, Wamuu came through the door.

"Shoo! Shoo!" The massive Pillarman swiped his hand as he backed himself through the door, "Go on! Go back to your Home, small one."

You tilted your head, watching the unusual display. "What's wrong?"

The blonde turned his head to look at you with a frown. "I was trying to finish up my morning task when a Bear came out of the woods." He explained, finally closing the door with a sigh. Your gasp went unnoticed as he peered through the window of the door, his frown only etching deeper. "It's too small to be a juvenile. Just a Cub. I did not want to find out if there was a Mother lingering so I came back to the House. However, it seems to have decided to follow me..."

The Warrior blinked as you were suddenly out of your seat, squeezing past him to squish against the window of the door to see for yourself.

"Peanut!" You cried, your heart fluttering in your chest as you too caught sight of the little round ink blot sitting dejectedly on the porch.

Wamuu barely had a chance to react let alone intervene as you yanked open the door again, the sounds of the crying Bear hitting your ears.

It was Peanut alright, every feature similar right down to the whiskers of his muzzle. The Bear was plopped down on his rear, feet sticking out under him like he were a simple Teddy Bear sitting on the shelf of a toy store, and staring up at the door he knew you were behind. The squeaky wailing of the Cub fell silent as soon as he caught sight of you and realized he was no longer all alone, it seemed that he missed you just as much as you had him.

Wamuu stared in disbelief, watching with wide eyes as the little Bear rolled onto his back to reveal his soft tummy and stubby paws to you.

"Peanut?" The blonde questioned, one thick eyebrow raising as he looked between you both.

This was a wild Animal and yet you greeted it like some sort of pet!

As your leaned down to give a loving rub to the exposed tummy of the Bear, cooing at it as contentment spread across its features. You intended to recount this mornings full story to ease Wamuu's obvious confusion, however, you didn't so much as get the chance to get a word out before Kars was standing in the room.

He had just been about to head upstairs and absorb himself in his work, when he caught a snippet of what was happening in the kitchen. The Pillarman's crimson eyes wide as he approached, needing to see what was happening for himself.

"Look Kars!" You beamed, grinning up at both gawking Pillarmen as the Bear grasped at your petting hand, playfully trying to gum on your fingers with blunt little teeth. "Peanut came back!"

Kars all but shared in your glee, the pinching of his brows and the drooping of his lips gave away his irritation.

He had dropped Peanut off safely somewhere in the woods, not far from your usual walking path. When he had left, the Cub had still been sound asleep, completely none the wiser to being left behind, and the Pillarman had honestly thought that would be that.

It would seem the creature had imprinted on you more than he anticipated and it only added on to his previous fears.

"I'm afraid I'm in need of an explanation, my Lord..." Wamuu spoke up, tearing his gaze away from you and the Bear Cub you were most happily playing with.

Kars swooped in, taking the Cub away from you for the 2nd time that morning, much like an Eagle dropping from the sky to snatch up a mouse. Peanut pawed at his hardened chest, becoming squirmy in the massive mans hold as he let out a couple of little grunts.

It was as if the Bear knew exactly what Kars intended to do.

"I'll explain it to you in full when I return, Wamuu." He sighed as he begun carrying the squirming woodland creature away from the House towards the woods where he deemed it rightfully belonged.

You waved at the baby Bear as it watched you from over one muscled shoulder with those big honeyed eyes, feeling a little disheartened again but the fact that the Cub came looking for you still made a sweet warmth bloom in your chest.

It would be far from the last time any of you saw Peanut.

Late morning turned to afternoon and the day bloomed into something warm and lovely, like a watered down Summer day. Linens and towels came straight from the washing machine and were headed for the clothesline to dry in the sweet air.

There was absolutely nothing better than falling asleep in bedsheets that had spent all day out on a line in the breeze.

Always happy to help you around the household, Esidisi volunteered to put them out for you as you were already busy doing other things around the house.

He had only turned his back for 2 seconds to hang the first sheet, humming softly to himself as he went, before turning to find a baby Bear making himself at Home in the laundry basket he had carried out. Peanut was rubbing his scent all over the damp linens as he rolled in and pawed at the clean sheets; inevitably dirtying them again.

Esidisi found the whole ordeal hilarious, most especially when he was fed the full story of the morning by you who had come out to see what was taking him so long with his chore.

Kars, on the other hand, didn't find it so very funny.

He especially didn't see the humor in it when he found the two of you playing with Peanut in the yard, entertaining yourselves and the Cub by draping a sheet over him and prying it off like a parachute over and over.

Peanut was taken back to the forest a 3rd time; this time much farther into the woods.

Late afternoon rolled around and Santana finally left the house to go outside; having the sole intention of taking a nap in the fresh air via the hammock that had been recently strung up in the backyard.

Unfortunately, the youngest Pillarman got sidetracked when a little Bear came out of the woodwork and crawled into the hammock with him, mewling and demanding his immediate attention as he was hungry once again.

Kars, the one and only, spirited Peanut away before you and Santana had a chance to make more sandwiches to feed it.

This happened over and over and over again.

It seemed like every time the Pillarman dumped Peanut somewhere, no matter how remote or how far from your Home, the little Bear inevitably found its way back sooner or later; ambling up to you or the others with a mighty hunger and a carefree nature unmatched.

Peanut appeared on the doorstep next morning when you were about to head out for a walk.

Peanut was found digging in the trash bin when Kars was taking out the trash.

Peanut clung to Wamuu's leg as he went out to mow the lawn; the Warrior didn't so much as bat an eye, unhindered, as the Cub held onto his ankle while he worked the mower.

Peanut approached Santana when he was eating chips on the porch; the Pillarmen didn't seem to mind the company nor the fact the Bear ended up upside down in the bag.

Peanut followed you around like you were its one true Mother while you tended the yard and carried out chores.

Peanut sat contently at Esidisi's feet as the man was Barbecuing supper in the evening; the Bear watching him and waiting for supper to be served as if he were the guest of Honor.

Each time, without fail, Kars brought him back to the woods and each time, without fail, Peanut came back.

It was only frustrating him further and further.

Eventually, one quiet and rainy morning Kars went out onto the porch to sit and read; he always enjoyed the sound of rainfall and the fresh earthen smell of a Spring downpour. He had barely been there 5 minutes, not even enough time to get truly immersed in his novel, when suddenly a very wet and cold ball of hair climbed up into his lap, actually making the Pillarman yelp at the shock of the sensation of a freezing cold Cub pressing against his bare skin.

Kars was big and dry and comfortable, like a much bigger and hairless Bear, a place Peanut deemed perfect enough to sit out of the Rain and warm up.

The purple-haired man frowned down at the chubby bundle taking up residence in his lap, Peanut grunted contently as he made himself comfortable. His normally downy soft and dandelion puffed fur was now patterned down and awry, radiating with a dank with a heady, musky Bear smell due to being soaking wet.

It was not at all a pleasant smell to anyone's nose, most especially to a Pillarman's as they were creatures with extra sensitive senses.

Kars, now feeling that this was the final straw, was just about to scoop the creature up into his arms and carry out their usual pick up and drop off routine; this time he intended to take Peanut all the way down river to the farthest side of the forest and leave him there.

He stopped on a dime when two big pools of honey locked onto glimmering rubies.

"Don't look at me like that..." the Pillarman warned, feeling his heart quiver strangely in his chest. The command didn't come out nearly as firm as he intended it to be.

Kars treasured creatures big and small and this creature was so adorable, so small it made his arms itch in ways he hadn't felt since the time he had taken care of the two infants that grew to be Wamuu and Santana. Peanut rolled in his lap, squishing his face against the Pillarman's abs and nuzzling softly; his fur stuck to bare skin in an almost icky way and made his loincloth feel very damp and uncomfortable due to the run off of water.

The Pillarman pursed his lips, forcing himself to bring to mind all the logical points on why this Bear (this nuisance, this danger, this predator) had to go.

Peanut opened his mouth and let out a little yawn and a sneeze, probably just as hungry as he was cold and damp.

Kars' huge hands balled into fists at his sides, his jaw setting tighter and tighter as he felt himself and the walls of his determination crumbling, hating every single millisecond of it before eventually, after an internal struggle that lasted seemingly millennium... he sighed.

Peanut was scooped into his arms and, this time, taken into the House.

☆☆☆

"Really?!" You cried in disbelief, hands going to your mouth as it pulled into an impossibly huge grin.

Esidisi, Wamuu and Santana just sat there, expressions ranging from shock to disbelief of their own.

Surely he couldn't be serious... could he?

Kars let out a long breath, "Yes, dearest." He groaned, still cradling the tiny dampened Bear in the crook of his arm as it clung to his bicep. "We can keep Peanut."

Immediately, to everyone’s amusement but Kars', you were in his lap just as quickly as the Cub had climbed into it. You didn't care one bit that he was a little damp and that some of Peanuts musky stink had rubbed off on him, peppering his face with thousands of kisses as you threw your arms around both the Pillarman and the Cub.

"Oh Kars! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" You squealed between your line of kisses.

Nobody had expected Kars to cave in this matter; they honestly expected this to go on and on for some time until Peanut was forced to be the one to give up on finding his way back to the house.

However, despite the fact all of them were pleased and ready to take on this idea of having an actual living Bear around, there came the next matters to attend to.

The ground rules.

"But he cannot stay inside the house." Kars said, that firm nature of his making its return. Peanut had managed to wriggle out of both of your holds and was now ambling around the Livingroom, sniffing everything and everyone in sight. Esidisi was following him around to ensure he wouldn't break anything or get himself into more trouble while Kars was feeling so generous, smiling indulgently as he scooped him up and presented him to the others.

"Ok." You hummed, that part was only to be expected.

But you wouldn't deny that somewhere in the back of your mind you had fantasized about cuddling up to a giant fuzzy Peanut in bed or on the couch.

Kars took in another deep breath and the atmosphere changed, it was as if the temperature dropped in the room. The mans eyes were serious and his features became even more stonelike than the masks he crafted as he pulled you closer to him in his lap.

"I want you to listen to me, dear one." He began, his voice was low and something akin to fridged; it only sent shivers dancing down your spine. "If Peanut grows to be an aggressive creature or too much a hassle to handle, even if he gives any of us the slightest reason to fear he would harm you in any way, shape or form... we'll have to be rid of him. Permanently."

His words hung in the air, making your stomach sink like a rock falling helplessly to the depths of the ocean. A lump was starting to balloon in your throat.

You knew very well what that meant.

The Pillarmen weren't men who took any form of pleasure out of killing Animals; Kars especially... but you knew that he would not hesitate to do so for your sake. His words spoken to you prior on the porch when you first encountered the Cub rang around quite deafeningly in your head.

"Do I make myself clear?" He asked you, his pupils burned absolute holes into your heart as he held your gaze; not unlike a strict parent after giving the scolding of a lifetime.

The best you could do was nod, praying the day you all feared would never come at all or at least not very soon; the latter was perhaps your best hope.

For now, however, you planned on celebrating the day by making a peanut butter sandwich for the newest, and perhaps hungriest, member of your little Family.

☆☆☆

Time passed, as it did for everything, and Peanut grew and grew. He grew from a small and clumsy little Bear Cub into a bigger and gangly Juvenile Bear by mid Summer.

Sometimes the Bear would disappear at night into the woods, just after supper of course, but there were also times he would just sleep close to the house; most specifically by the front porch. Peanut still followed you around outside as you did anything, always greeting you with a grunt as he flopped onto his back to reveal his belly and were always more than happy to rub it when he did.

His appetite did indeed grow and the simple peanut butter namesake was no longer truly fulfilling to him; nothing more than a sweet morsel to lick up as a treat.

Peanut had to be shown how to properly hunt for himself and that was something you and Esidisi decided to tackle together, taking him down to the river on the hottest days to teach him to to fish for himself. Those days were filled with much laughter on your part where you sat on the bank to watch the Pillarmen wading out in the raging waters with the Bear, hunched forward and making a grab for a slippery and wet flying fish with his hands as they jumped from the water to properly demonstrate.

Eventually, after much trial and error (not to mention Esidisi falling right into the river a handful of times) Peanut was able to catch all the fish he wanted to eat.

Wamuu was a big help in burning off the major energy that came with Peanut growing into an adult Bear. The Warrior often spent hours out in the yard playing with him, going so far as to push and wrestle with the creature, playing simple games like throwing a giant ball around or to even take him on a run through the woods to tire him out.

Sometimes you even tailed behind the pair on your 4 wheeler to get in on the fun and play.

Santana found himself spending his days playing with Peanut too, more often content to help you take care of the beast. You and Santana tried to bath Peanut at least once every 2 weeks to fight against his stinky Bear musk, lathering him up nicely where he sat contently in an old kiddie pool in the yard and hosing him off. Santana would spend a lot of time with Peanut as the Bear napped, scratching his back and finger combing the knots out of his fur; even plucking annoying ticks from the Bears body when he found them.

You found it quite disturbing, and more than a little gross, as to how Santana could hold the bloated insects between his fingers and pop them upon finding them. You swore you could hear the red-head chuckle lowly each time you let out a disgusted gag when he done it.

And Kars, he found himself dotting over and spoiling Peanut with affection just as much as you did.

The Pillarman would deny any claims that he snuck the Bear peanut butter sandwiches between meals or even peanut butter straight from the jar but you knew the truth. It was hard to miss as it seemed Peanut would immediately give Kars a good sniffing upon seeing him, obviously checking for any delicious treats he happened to be keeping concealed.

By late Fall, Peanut was a fully grown Adult Bear.

In fact, he had swollen to such an immense size, he was something of a rival to the Pillarmen; by that time it was something of a relief he was a gentle giant. He was still a wild Animal but he was also a loving pet to you and the 4 Pillarmen.

One day, Peanut stumbled out into the woods and didn't return. Snow came not long after and then the brutal and fridged season of Winter truly begun.

Peanut had disappeared but you knew he wasn't far in the woods, hopefully holed up in a cave and hibernating.

Winter passed slowly, more slowly than it ever had before. As December ticked away to January and eventually February, the others didn't miss how much you missed your Peanut; he was all you could talk about somedays! You weren't the only one who missed him however, not missing the wistful looks passing over the faces of the others upon seeing a segment on Black Bears airing on National Geographic or opening the fridge to find the jar of peanut butter sitting there; untouched and almost begging to be eaten.

March went bye, then April and the snow had long melted away due to the heavy rainfall but still, Peanut did not make his return.

You were seriously starting to worry by this time. What if he hadn't been hibernating all along? What if a Hunter had gotten to him? Or what if... he forgot about you?

The Pillarmen could only console you so much, trying their best not to give you false hope by saying things along the lines of "I'm sure he'll be around!" and make things worse as they really did not know of Peanut's fate either...

It was well over a year since you had first taken in the Cub and now there was no sign of him anywhere.

But just when you were starting to give up all hope of seeing your prized Bear and companion again, you opened the door one morning as you prepared to go on your morning walk to be met with shock.

You just about jumped out of your skin as an earth rattling roar hit your eardrums, sending a jolt of fear striking through your body like lightning and screaming in primal terror at the sight before you. A Black Bear that was larger than life stood on its haunches off the porch, its maw open and its breath showing like hot puffs of steam as it growled out into the cold Spring air; asserting its presence for miles.

For one terrible and too long of a moment, you thought you would be slaughtered on your own doorstep by your most favorite Animal on Earth.

Your terror was short-lived however, as the monstrous beast you feared would devour you whole suddenly flopped onto its back and turned its belly to the sky.

"PEANUT!" You cried, spreading your arms wide as you ran to flop on top of the creature; your friend and pet.

It wasn't long after when all 4 Pillarmen were standing out on the porch, your screech having been heard from inside the house.

"Look Kars!" You beamed, rubbing the gargantuan tummy with a wide grin; eliciting a content grunt from the Bear. "Peanut came back!

Kars could only smile this time and shake his head.

Peanut had come back again, without fail; just as he always done and the Pillarmen were quite happy he was here to stay...

[librarianaesthetic]

Gross things about rabbits

It’s almost easter, and for all u american christians out there, that means a ton of unwitting parents are about to buy their kids rabbits as a “cute easter gift.” In hopes of dissuading that impulse (or giving you some gross facts to use to dissuade your own relatives from this mistake), here’s a bunch of bad things about owning a rabbit!

Let’s start strong. A bunny will eat its own poop. It has to, because of the way it digests food. The poops that it eats are extra stinky, soft, and sticky.

(more like 1A) It will eat its own poop out of its own butthole, and then it might come over and try to lick you. Sometimes you might not notice the smell from its mouth until it has already licked your cheek. Ask me how I know.

It will leave (the other kind of) poop on the floor. They look like cocoa puffs. They’re not cocoa puffs. You will constantly be picking them up off your floors, no matter how well-trained your bun’s litter box habits are.

Their pee has a strong, acidic smell. If you’re a parent, your child is not going to clean it every week, because they are a child. You will have to clean it sometimes at least, and it is rank. If your litter box gets cleaned once per week, your house will always have a tinge of bunny-pee smell, just like how cat owners’ houses always smell of cat dander, and dog owners’ houses always smell like dried dog saliva. 

You will have to brush your bunny and clip their nails. They will (probably) not like this, and it can be an extremely stressful experience for both of you. Have you ever accidentally cut a baby? Picture this: you are holding a squirming, panicking baby whose bones you could easily snap with your hand. (Over time you can get them more comfy with it from exposure and lots of treats, but like. it can be tough for some buns)

As a rule, they chew cords. Your phone cords, computer cords, lamp cords, anything in reach and especially anything in their way. No hopping around or over, they’ll chew through it as a first instinct. I think it’s a what-to-do-with-tree-roots-in-warren thing?

This is pretty obvious, but they’ll try to eat your houseplants if they can reach them. They’ll jump up onto anything short enough to get a forbidden snack.

Many bunnies dig up carpeting, and will destroy furniture. Anything wicker, especially, is fair game. Your baseboards and carpeting? Open season to a bunny who likes to dig.

Some bunnies like to dig in their litter box. Picture a fireworks show, but it’s poop, hay, and pee-soiled litter, in your house, on your floors.

Un-spayed/un-neutered bunnies will pee on your stuff to “mark” it, especially places that you like to be in. Some bunnies will do this even after surgery. This is common in beds or on a favored spot on your couch. My bun used to really like to pee on my bed. I used to have to clean my duvet almost every day until I finally got him to stay off my bed in the first place. He once came up on my bed to cuddle next to me, stayed for 3 minutes, then peed on my leg.

Bunnies can be aggressive to other bunnies or to other pets. They’re a tiny prey animal, they get nervous and will lunge when frightened and backed into a corner.

Bunnies, especially un-neutered ones, want to fuck literally all the time (there’s a reason for the saying). You will find yourself explaining to your child what that motion is a lot sooner than you may have planned.

Some bunnies nip to get what they want, and it does actually hurt. It’s a really sharp, strong pinch. Some bunnies do this more than others, some do it just to get attention, and some can be trained out of it (mostly).

Despite how cute they are, bunnies don’t like to cuddle in your arms or lap, especially a young bun who isn’t very used to people. Bunnies prefer to sit next to you, rarely on you. A bun that you get from Petco will definitely be very scared if you put it on your lap. (which, don’t buy pets from big chain pet stores. Literally all their pets come from unsustainable breeding practices. If you do get one, go to a shelter, where most of the bunnies will have been neutered already at no cost to you).

(13A) Bunnies will jump off of you or squirm to get away from you when you’re doing something they don’t like, and their claws are sharp. When they want to get away, they will, and their claws will dig into your arm or leg. Their back feet have a lot of power, and no compunctions about drawing blood (ask me how I know).

Rabbits have lots of health concerns, and they’re pretty delicate pets. Because they’re prey animals, they’re also very good at hiding what’s wrong. It can be extremely difficult to notice a problem before it’s an emergency, and you may have a dead bunny on your (and your childs) hands.

If you are committed to getting a bun and treating them well, it’s hard to find veterinarians for rabbits—they’re an exotic pet, so a typical cats-and-dogs vet won’t really know what to do with one, although they might try to fake it. I live in a major US city, and even I had a hard time finding one when my bun had a potential respiratory problem (false alarm, no worries). During quarantine, many vets that normally would see exotics in addition to more common pets closed their doors to exotics first when they were cutting down on the number of appointments per day.

There’s a lot of misinformation online about bunny care, so it can be hard to know what’s right, especially if you have a hard time finding a vet. 50% of products sold for bunnies are actually bad for them, and are just brands taking advantage of misinformation (looking at you, Kaytee). Most of that cute stuff you see at the pet store in the bunny aisle is not bun-safe, so you end up wasting money.

Bunnies are bigger than you think they are. Mine is about the size of a medium-sized cat. Dwarf bunnies are small, but they come with the inbreeding-related health problems found in other small pet breeds (teacup and toy dog breeds). Bunnies should have time and space to run around every day, and they’re not like a hamster that can do that in its cage.

Bunnies live longer than you think they do. Their lifespan is around 8-11 years (breed dependent), comparable to a dog. Adopting a rabbit is not a small commitment.

Obviously, I love my bun. He’s adorable and delightful and very affectionate. I think more people should (responsibly) own pet rabbits. But you need to be prepared to deal with a bunch of issues if you want to get any pet, especially these. They’re not disposable or easy. Admittedly, some of those things on the list can be avoided, but it takes time, attention, and money. Rabbits can become very expensive, very quickly.  Maybe get your kid a stuffed animal, instead.

[scarletemeterio-thesecond]

hello!! just finished reading failed expectations and it was so good!! i enjoyed it v much :) i was wondering if it would be possible to request a part 2 to it?? thank you 💕

I'm finally here with a part 2! Thank you so much for requesting, I never thought people would like failed expectations that much lol, hope y'all like it!!

Also, yes, it's reader's birthday because it's my birthday hehe

•••

Falling (Zuko x Fem!Reader)

Warnings: none.

Genre: Fluff, a bit of angst.

Fandom: Avatar, The Last Airbender.

Summary: You're in an arranged marriage with Zuko, but he hasn't been very friendly and now he's trying to be better.

Word Count: 1525

part 1 | part 3

Zuko hated himself. He'd been so focused on being the Fire Lord that he had completely neglected you. He hadn't noticed before, but now it was very obvious that you were acting different towards him. You weren't rude or anything, just very distant; just like he'd been since the start.

It had been a few days since your interaction near the turtle duck pond, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. He could see in your face how hurt you were with the entire situation, and it made him feel horrible that he was the reason you were feeling that way. So he decided he had to do something, he had to be better.

He took some baby steps at the beginning. He would smile briefly at you, or just stand closer to you than he used to. He'd also try to talk to you a lot more, mostly about things related to the Fire Nation since he didn't really know how to approach you, but he wanted to show you that he didn't hate you or anything.

At first, you didn't understand why he was being so nice to you out of nowhere, but clearly, it didn't bother you. It was nice to feel at least a little more welcomed, especially since you missed your family so much. You were allowed to see them, obviously, but you couldn't do it every single day.

After a few weeks, he finally built the courage to ask you to spend the day with him. However, he had a meeting in the afternoon, so the first time, he only asked you to spend the morning with him.

When he asked that, you seriously wondered if somehow, you'd dreamt everything that happened during that whole month. But if it was a dream, you didn't want anyone to wake you up.

When you got out of your room, you both stood there, looking at each other. He licked his lips and scratched his neck before speaking.

"Hey... How did you sleep?" He asked, wondering why he'd said the first thing that came to his mind. He was nervous, and you could definitely tell, but, to be honest, you felt the same.

"Uh, fine. What are we gonna do today?"

"I arranged everything for us to have breakfast near the turtle duck pond, I know you like spending time there," as he said that he spread out his arm, inviting you to start walking.

"That sounds really nice, Fire Lord Zuko," you didn't realize it, but he cringed a bit when he heard how you called him. He didn't say anything, but it made him feel a bit bad that you always called him like that.

When you got there, you saw that a very nice picnic had been organized, and once again you wondered if you were asleep. The both of you sat on the ground and started eating in silence.

"Wait, save some bread for the turtle ducks!" You said to him. He couldn't help but smile as he put some bread to one side.

"You know, when I was little my mother and I used to feed them too," he commented. You looked at him with a questioning expression on your face since you couldn't believe he was talking to you about his childhood, but you quickly smiled at him, waiting for him to continue. "You remind me of her," he admitted.

"Well, I'm flattered, Fire Lord Zuko."

"You know you can just call me Zuko, right?" He asked.

"I, uh, I just didn't know if it was okay for me to call you by your name."

"Of course it's okay, there's no need for formalities between us," you looked at him in the eye and smiled at his words. He was about to keep talking, but the two of you were interrupted.

"Fire Lord Zuko, your guests are here."

"Already?" He asked to himself. He didn't want to go, he wanted to stay there with you, listening to your sweet voice. You looked at him and decided to grab one of his arms.

"It's okay, I understand." He let out a sigh and started getting up.

"We'll feed the turtle ducks later. I promise." You nodded and watched him walk away.

It had been almost five months since the two of you got married, and it had been three months since the last time you saw your family, but even though you missed them, with every passing day you felt a little more at home in the palace. Your relationship with Zuko was still a little weird, but it definitely was a lot better than before. At least now you could say that you were friends, not best friends, but it was a step in the right direction.

However, you were a bit worried since your birthday was coming. You thought Zuko didn't know, and the thought of spending your special day away from the people you loved made you feel sad.  But what you didn't know was that your husband was aware of the upcoming day, and he'd been preparing everything for your family to visit you.

You'd noticed that he was acting different, he was avoiding you again and whenever you talked to him, his responses were short and cold. You thought that maybe you'd finally woken up from that beautiful dream, and that everything was over. For a while, you felt sad, but then that sadness was replaced by anger. You just didn't understand Zuko, one day he was your friend and the next one he barely talked to you. You stayed in your room for the next few days, hardly leaving your chambers, which actually ended up making things a lot easier for Zuko.

It was your birthday, and when you were woken up by one of the maids, you thought that it was your mother for a second. However, as soon as you opened your eyes, you remembered where you were, and that your mom wasn't there with you.

"Lady (Y/N), here is your breakfast," she informed you.

"Wait, I didn't ask for breakfast," you told her, thinking that she was confused.

"Oh, Fire Lord Zuko told us to bring it to you." You looked at her, completely perplexed. She didn't give you any time for you to ask questions since she quickly started to walk away. "Happy birthday, Lady (Y/N)," she said before closing the doors.

You wondered how she'd know that it was your birthday, and then you realized that the answer was your own husband. You looked at the food and you recognized that it was your typical birthday breakfast from home. A brief smile was planted on your face at the thought of your family, and even though you were mad at Zuko for all the mixed signals, you enjoyed the dish. Nonetheless, when you were done, you got changed and got out of your room to go look for him.

You ran into him since he was heading to your bedroom, and when you realized it was him, you got even angrier.

"What's going on with you?" You asked. "I truly don't understand, Zuko. One day we're friends and then you don't even look at me for a whole week," he tried to grab your hand but you didn't let him. "And now you pretend that nothing happened and bring me breakfast for my birthday? Like I want to know-."

"Just come with me," he interrupted you. He grabbed your arm and made you follow him. You still didn't understand what was happening and wanted to argue with him. When you got to the throne room, he let you go and turned around to look at you. "Happy birthday, (Y/N)."

"Zuko, what-?" And then you saw them. Your parents and your sister were just a few meters away from you. You looked at Zuko with some tears already threatening to fall from your eyes. "You did this?" He nodded while smiling at you.

"We've been preparing this surprise for a while now, and that's why I've been acting so weird around you. I didn't want you to find out, and I was a bit scared that I'd end up telling you, so... Yeah." As soon as he said that you wrapped your arms around his neck and he wrapped his around your waist.

"Thank you so much, Zuko," you whispered in his ear.

"You're welcome, (Y/N), I'm glad you're happy."

You two pulled away and you got rid of the tears from your face. You went to your family and hugged each of them with the biggest smile on your face. You were so happy that your thoughts about Zuko were wrong, and you realized that maybe spending your days by his side wouldn't be as bad as you thought it would.

Zuko looked at the four of you with a smile on his face. He loved how much you loved your family, and he loved seeing you smile. Right there in that moment, he realized he was looking forward to the rest of his life with you, with the girl he was falling in love with.

[spectral-musette]

I thought I had like a bunch of anon requests for Satine attending to Obi-Wan’s wounds, but turns out there’s only one recent one??? (Maybe I didn’t go back far enough, I got overwhelmed) Also maybe I was subconsciously craving the hurt/comfort too? We just don’t know.

Anyway here’s like 1200 words about Space Band-Aids.

...

           Obi-Wan stumbled his way into the shell of the building that the 501st had designated as their medical aid station, already tugging at the fastenings of his armor. He settled less than gracefully on the nearest cot, proceeding to drop his chest plate on the floor, strip off his bracers and belt, and begin shrugging out of his tunic and the close-fitting black undershirt. The hole in the back of it didn’t bode well for the severity of the blaster burn he couldn’t see, even if it was just a graze. So much for the energy-dispersing fabric; he dropped it disdainfully on top of his armor. The transport must’ve just left for the medical frigate, as the rest of the cots were empty, but he could hear some rustling near the stack of supply crates, which he assumed to be the medic.

           “Kix, you’ll be glad to hear that the Separatists are finally retreating,” he reported in the general direction of the movement. “I caught a little blaster fire, but nothing too serious. They did get my saber hand though, which is… unpleasant.” He examined the burn; it hurt like hells, but seemed mostly superficial. “Still, with a few bacta patches and a stim pack, I should be fit.” He peered more closely at the crates; the lack of response was beginning to unnerve him. “Kix?”

           A familiar but profoundly unexpected voice replied.

           “I’m afraid Kix went out with the troop transport to bring in casualties. You’ll have to settle for me.”

           Satine Kryze stepped into view, her golden hair lit by a shaft of sunlight from the ruined roof.

           Obi-Wan attempted to process the presence of the last person he’d expected to encounter on a battlefield in the Outer Rim. By the time he’d found his voice, he’d gotten to his feet and elected to ignore the fact that he was bare-chested, as trying to scramble back into his burnt and filthy clothing was likely to only result in further loss of dignity.

           “Satine.”

           She met his eyes for a moment, her fair brows drawing together in concern as she took in the obvious blaster wounds on his hand and forearm. She busied herself gathering the supplies he’d asked for and approached with a handful of bacta patches and a glowing stim cylinder.

           “What are you doing here?”

           “I was en route to Ryloth for a meeting of the Council of Neutral Systems, and our escort was diverted as reinforcements for your campaign and to provide medical aid. I was just making myself useful.”

           “Where are the Protectors?” he asked, looking around for signs of the royal guards.

           “They also made themselves useful,” she replied, voice a little sharp. “They’re aboard the medical frigate now.”

           He frowned. Trust a Mandalorian to be unable to resist getting involved in a pitched battle, even when their duties were elsewhere. “I’m sorry. Will they be all right?”

           “They’re not in much worse shape than you are,” she retorted, prowling around him to get a look at the burn on his back, “and at least they had the sense to let me sedate them.”

           “It’s just a graze. I think.”

           “Keep thinking that, if it helps.” She tore open the largest of the bacta patches.

           “And Kix left you here alone?” He tried to banish any dark thoughts of what might have happened to her.

           “Don’t blame Kix,” she countered. “I bullied him into it.”

           “Satine, that was rather foolhardy.”

           “And I was to, what? Let your men wait, bleeding in the mud, so their medic could protect me from a hypothetical threat? It’s not as if the Separatists are expecting me to be here.”

           “Battledroids are notoriously indifferent to sparing medical officers or the wounded, though,” he pointed out. “And they’re Anakin’s men, to be accurate.”

           “I didn’t come planetside until the retreat was in progress, and Kix didn’t leave the station until he’d confirmed that all the action had died down in this area. So you can stop telling me how foolish I am.” She applied the patch carefully, but he still winced slightly at the pressure of even her delicate touch against the wound. However, he kept very still and held his breath as she slipped her fingertips under the waistband of his trousers a little to smooth down the edges of the patch.

           “I didn’t say foolish,” he defended, when he trusted his voice again.          

           “Foolhardy. It’s the same, isn’t it?”

           “The action can be foolhardy without the person taking it being foolish,” he argued as she opened the next patch, taking hold of his burnt hand and rolling her eyes. “You’re still very good at this,” he told her, pointedly changing the subject.

           “Anyone can slap on a bacta patch,” she argued, shaking her head and applying it with exquisite care, her fingers tracing over his knuckles to ensure that the flexible material followed the contours of his hand and sealed securely.

           “Well, the GAR medics typically do slap them.”

           “I would too, if there was anyone else waiting for care.”

           “Somehow I still think you wouldn’t slap quite as hard.”

           “Don’t tempt me.”

           “What a blow to my vanity that, even in my half-dressed state, a slap is the contact you’re most tempted to bestow,” he teased.

           “I didn’t say most tempted,” she replied, her pale cheeks flushing rosy as she avoided his eyes and focused on examining the last burn.

           “So you didn’t.”

           Third patch applied with the same gentle touch, she stepped back to inspect him for further injuries. Satisfied that he was otherwise unharmed, she put her hands on his shoulders.

           “Sit.”

           He complied, wearily dropping down to the cot and looking up at Satine. She slid one hand from his shoulder up to his hair and leaned down to kiss him, startling him with the immediate ardor of her mouth against his. The onslaught of sensations did more to deaden his pain than the bacta ever could - her hair still smelling of lilies, the scrape of her teeth against his lower lip, the press of her slender body against his bare chest as he caught her around the waist and tugged her down into his lap.

           She broke the kiss too soon, tightening her fingers in his hair.

           “I hate your damned war and your damned injuries, but I am very glad you’re alive, and if there wasn’t a transport full of casualties headed here right now, I would demonstrate quite unmistakably just how glad I am,” she whispered against his mouth.

           “Satine,” he managed to gasp as she stroked the backs of her fingers lingeringly along his jaw with one hand and let the other trail down his neck.

           “Speechless, for once,” she gloated, but her eyes were soft.

           The hum of engines approaching made the whole structure start to shudder, and she got to her feet, hands lingering on his shoulders for a fleeting moment. He looked up into her eyes, and the rising wave of affection and desire between them battered against his restraint and better judgment.

           “I should… go…” He groped for his clothing and armor on the floor.

           “Do you still want that stim pack?” she asked, picking it up from where she’d dropped it onto the cot.

           He shook his head. “No, I’m… quite adequately stimulated,” he assured her, his cheeks burning.

[grim-faux]

2 _ 31 _ Reflections

First 

 The rain slapped against the windowsill, the wood soaked entirely and coming apart by slivers as he shifted. For once, he was working at his fingers and not the soft timber. A particularly stubborn splinter between his fingers refused to emerge, so he sat for the time chewing off callouses.

 Far below in the alley, a pack of children skittered through the gray mist racing boats in a gutter. It’s a group of what might be four, it's difficult to take full stock from the angle and how indistinguishable the shapes are. He knows they are pack because they play a game together and appear mostly organized. Games help children figure out cooperation and interdependence, it’d let them get a grip on skills, and other important things. Playing a small game could also pull them from the hostile world they inhabited, and… he didn’t know how to put it into speek. Reset their heads. Lessened the fatigue of struggle for survive, distanced them from the uncertainties they dealt with constantly. Such as food and safe shelter. It was free and light.

 It would be fun to go out there and meet with the other children. See how they did speek, possibly learn where they came from - if they came from beyond the city or knew nothing but the Pale City. Maybe find out where they planned to go next. Could learn about new dangers or unseen threats. Sometimes kids share foods, but not always, it depended on the situation and how plentiful rations were. He wondered who was winning the game. The boats worked well, bobbing along the deep rapids of the gulley and staying afloat despite the turbulent weather.

 Trying to meet other kids wouldn’t be safe. The Thin Man might frighten the child pack or hurt them. Worst could happen, what if chase and turned them into sad little shadows? True, that didn't always happen, but it did happen to Her. And they were not Mono. Not same. The tall thin man was unpredictable, did without reason, does without knowing the why. In all the time he chased the man in the hat, Mono didn't learn much of his ways or whims. Even for him the game was dangerous. Though the tall thin man usually seemed calm and indifferent, it was always very obvious when  someone something irritated him. The Thin Man did give fair warning.

 He shouldn’t be sitting here watching, but he can’t help it. Even if he can’t pack, he still longed for the together. Share foods and speek, watch for someone and then do sleep. Huddle close when it’s cold, and the weather was punishing. Call for friend, work through a hard puzzle. Trick monsters. The sort of stuff kids did.

 The Thin Man keeps Mono, but that is all. The tall thin man is not child, he is the adult. Maybe once a long-long time ago, the man in the hat was child and did hide, flee from danger, and searched for food, or played games. He might’ve had a pack, or not. All of that means nothing, the Thin Man is adult now, and does not understand cardinal laws about the world. He goes where he wants, does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. The man in the hat has no fears. It’s possible he likes keeping Mono because Mono is a strange child with no friends, and Mono couldn't help but chase the Thin Man.

 Or could be the Thin Man thought Mono was funny child. Not a good kind of funny, but a mean kind. Like with the feather. Mono was funny and sometimes that made the Thin Man happy, but that didn't make Mono happy. The man in the hat liked the few things about Mono that were same, but that was the extent of Mono's frail grasp. So little about company he could get the knack of, the Thin Man always changed the rules. Then again, the Thin Man didn't quite want Mono to begin with; he barely seemed to accept that Mono was.

 The thought was always there, like needing to find foods. Ever present in his mind, nagging when he lost sight of the tall thin man. When the man in the hat left for the fabled "danger-ouse places". This wasn't going to last, and Mono was always nervous when the Thin Man became displeased with his doings.

 “Don’t go there.” “You need sleep.” “Not there, child.” “Where are you?” “How did you manage that?” “Spit that out." "No.” “That is a danger.” “I don’t need that.” “No.” “Stop!” “Stay.” “C̷̥͠o̶̜͑m̷̥͗ë̴̬́ ̴͙̂H̶̞͠ȅ̴͓r̵̲̃ḙ̵̓,̸̳̃ ̶͎̅B̴̠̀o̶͈̾y̶͖͘.̸̯̓”

 Adults. They get mad at the weirdest things. Like now, Mono was uncertain where the Thin Man was inside the whole building they were exploring. The tall thin man was put off about... something or another, and before Mono could collect his wits (after the bad fall) the man in the hat had already faded in a flashy crackle. No sign or indication where he went. As such, Mono began wandering through the twisting corridors, and sneaking around the rundown rooms barely holding together; mind set on food things while his senses remained on full alert.

 The Thin Man seemed more broody than the adults normal, and inclined the quiet, dark glare onto Mono a few times. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, what the tall thin man searched for. It had been some while since Mono saw a smile; not while they strolled through the dismal roads, or broken walls into washed out building interiors. They wandered some long while, the tall thin man might be tired like Mono was. Even if lie and said he wasn't to rest, Mono knew better. The dream haunts got the better of him, despite Mono's best efforts. The Thin Man did not do a good job of look after himself.

 If he could find something interesting, the Thin Man would tell him about it. Maybe. Some things he didn’t like to tell Mono about, but other times Mono could find him a new thing. An interesting thing, which the Thin Man would just tell him all about. Sometimes use the big speek, and Mono would be lost in the rumbling buzz. But it was a good sort of lost.

 That task was hard yet. Not much interested the Thin Man. He liked his game, and Mono was glad not to be alone. They both got something from the company. A win.

 Dull vibrations pulsed in the back of his thoughts, demanding Mono pry his focus from the window, with the children so far away. He dropped off the sill and hurried across the decrepit room, aimed for one doorway wherein the already challenged radiance flashed and dimmed. In short time he reached the portal, right when the figure bent shuffled into the room.

 “Did you get to eat?” The man in the hat stood straight and rubbed at his back.

 Mono rubbed at his own back. When the Thin Man gave him a look, he stopped the motion and shook his head. He showed his empty hands and frowned. If there had been food, the Thin Man would’ve gotten something too.

 With a rustling sigh, the Thin Man resumed his listless stride. To his relief, the man in the hat dismissed the window, and in a distorted flicker, abandoned the room entirely. Before the bulbs winked out in the ceiling, Mono made haste to reach the connecting passage. Soon, he would only have the delicate rap of the Thin Man's heels to offer direction. If the wiring didn't work or fizzled out completely due to the Thin Man's presence, he really had to rely on his hearing and the feel of the air. Mono fancied he was becoming pro at that, regardless the frequent bump or stumble over obscure junk.

 The prolonged search resulted in no meaningful results, nothing worthwhile - aside from more of the same rot, the typical invasion of insects chewing through whatever couldn't crawl away. Mono plucked at the edge of his choice hat, trying to pretend his stomach wasn't growling about the injustice of all this. For the life of him, he couldn't remember what it was that he last ate. Let alone when. It wasn't important, but it annoyed him thinking he'd gone so long without something.

 Probably why he couldn't stop chewing on his fingers.

 "Don't do that. Get your hand away from your mouth."

 When the Thin Man leaned through the next doorway, Mono stalled long enough to stick his tongue at the hunched figure. He didn't want to chew on the bandage, the wrapping was set cozy and right, and neat. A good sum of time elapsed since his last incident, best not to get the Thin Man all riled up over minor hurts. Mono wanted to avoid another episode.

 By the ground level of the building, the two returned to the endless storms via a collapsed portion of wall. Thankfully, the Thin Man ventured through roads that lay open and mostly whole, fluttering as a wispy shadow among chunks of ruble evicted off the warped high-rises. The man in the hat's travel was never restricted, not like Mono was. A chasm wasn’t a frightening void to the tall thin man; he could blink out and appear on the other side. For Mono in his unrefined capacity, he always had to search out a way across. And FAST. The tall thin man wasn't prone to wait or call.

 Sometimes, the man in the hat did offer to carry Mono, but Mono was frightened by the idea and shied away from the offered hand. What if he was dropped or fell, or any number of things? Mono liked to have something solid under his feet, or in his grasp. The Thin Man was always dissatisfied with the response, but it was a rare time when he didn’t grab Mono. They could always search for another way. The city sprawling held no shortage of paths or crevices, ladders or suspicious braided blanket ropes dangling. Mono was a crafty boy - if he was permitted the time, he would find a clever route. All while ignoring the Thin Man's baleful glower. Like the tall thin man, Mono didn't need anybody. He could go anywhere on his own.

 It is a very long excursion of the city roads, twisted alleys, roving within the buckling walls of splintered skyscrapers crumbling brick by brick. None of the rooms of the many locations offered anything, aside from maybe a new child's hat or intriguing artifact. The rain prattled constantly, sometimes low roads are swamped by the converging 'rivers'. In some durations the travel is intense, but Mono is never dissuaded. Nothing would stop him. The Thin Man sought cached passages through the ruble of buildings, or utilized the televisions to reach a whole other section of the city. The Thin Man was always first, only because he isn’t a television serial murderer.

 Mono tried to catch himself when he flew out. The television is atop a low table and he tumbled, nearly breaking his wrist. The Thin Man is already moving, and Mono doesn't waste a second to catch up. The building isn’t in that bad of shape, compared to those they passed through from the other side of the screen. The walls at least look whole in this room, and it’s much warmer, not so damp or drafty. Maybe shelter here? The man in the hat always decided.

 The Thin Man opened a door, which led into a large corridor with branching archways and impervious shade beyond each. Flashing and glitching the tall figure reappeared, bypassing the first two entries. In his wake, Mono emerged from the doorway, straying near the wall. When he didn't follow immediately, the Thin Man stopped and looked back.

 Mono idled along the wall trailing the peeling wallpaper with his hand, ever cautious when peering into the first open portal he passed. As suspected, perpetual depths greeted his eyes. He angled his gaze up and up at the stony silhouette, his current hat hiding most of his face. With barely a click in his step, the Thin Man pivoted and resumed his elected course. While Mono ducked into the next doorway, down a flight of steps and toward another corridor barely perceivable, if not for the bulb framing the walls with a gray haze. Not long, he would be back. The man in the hat wouldn't miss him.

 The jingle from televisions carried along the enclosed stairwell, all the while Mono stumbled. Beyond the depressed gleam of radiance, more doors and maybe another passage further along. An intermix jabber of voices stacked in conversation, rambling speek with no meaning, and other melodies crooned out. Among the cacophony of swirled sounds, a Viewer burbled at the television it gaped at.

 Most the doors he couldn't bother with, even if he was confident to shift through the wood panel, Mono still preferred to conserve his energy. He couldn't be certain if he would have the vigor to pop back through, given how famished he was. It limited his search, but the scout wouldn't go far if he got stranded somewhere. Much of his searching was reserved for bare-open dwellings, and likely areas long abandoned and long looted of worthwhile treats. If a residency appeared quiet and the door could be opened, he’d invite himself in. Foremost, he kept a lookout for foods, but he didn’t want to get distracted.

 The self-imposed quest was mostly focused in the rooms with beds and dressers, not the kitchens - not yet. The rooms would harbor castoff things from a world abandoned, a world detached from the one he knew so well. On top of dressers or on nightstands, he might locate something he’d never seen before. However, many of the trinkets couldn’t hold his interest or didn’t reveal enough upon first examination, to really spur the risk to haul it to the Thin Man. He wanted to find another one of the bulb things with the toy inside, since that seemed interesting for a try.

 In the big living room of one residence, he did find a remote! Something he’d searched for endlessly, especially now since lone televisions seemed prone to shut off while the Thin Man was around. The Thin Man didn’t like Mono looking at the devices, unless he was watched. Bleh.

 Also lingering around was a Viewer, plastered to the television and gurgling. Needing a break from all the pointless wandering, Mono perched on a tall desk table and hit the switch, causing the television to blink out. This of course, annoyed the Viewer. With a shriek it swung around and searched for the source of this outrage. How DARE! Before it could lock onto him, near invisible in the shadows, Mono would give it back its stupid television. He just wanted to have a little fun for a bit, no harm.

 This went on and on, the Viewer wailing each time the television powered off, Mono seeing how far he was willing to let it get without the willies getting to him. The nice thing about Viewers was the predictability, despite how obsessed they were. And creepy. As long as he had the remote, everything would be fine-

 Unless the controller switch stopped… working. Right when he shut the thing off, and the Viewer had gotten a few paces too many away from its precious entertainment box.

 Yeah it was a really dumb game, but he’d not had fun like that in a while. At least he had a head start, racing out of the room and shooting down into a crawlspace beneath the floorboards of one room. He really mourned the loss of the remote, he could have used that later.

 The lower floors still held together mostly, which meant he should be extra careful while exploring around. There wouldn’t be openings or breaks he could dive into if trouble reared up, but he wasn’t seeing too many of the Viewers either, despite the singing televisions. He was also a little lost, creeping from one dwelling to the next, all the corridors felt the same despite erosion in the surface and carpet. He was thinking it would be a good time to try retracing his steps, before he became too lost. He was sure the upper floors could be reached, even without the stairwell – planks of wood in the crumbling wall or anything, if he searched hard enough.

 In one of the smaller rooms he did a last search of, he encountered some child standing off to the side. Their presence startled him so much, and they looked just about as terrified by his intrusion, he back peddled and floundered over his own feet. He snatched up his hat and managed to lurch into a run, shooting through the break in the lower portion of the door and fleeing down the winding hall.

 Only to freeze up when the Thin Man dipped under the threshold leading into the very corridor he was in. For lack of direction, Mono swayed back and forth.

 “Hey.”

 The Thin Man gave him a look, intense eyes glittering beneath the bill of his hat. He was chewing on one of those burn sticks.

 “What is it? Stumble onto a hazard?” he posed.

 Mono tipped his head, unsure how to go about this. “N’t good. No safe.” And then he stood there like a dolt, trying to hide his eyes a bit beneath the lip of his hat. “Foods?” He began to panic internally, when the Thin Man approached. Not looking at him, but glaring at the broken door just behind him.

 “No! NoNoNoNo!” He tried to get in the tall figures way, but the man in the hat just stepped over him. A soured ache formed in his gut, he wanted to stop the Thin Man but also could see himself getting knocked aside or hurt if he was more careless. “No! No!”

 “For the last time, there is nothing to fear while in my presence,” he grumbled. “I won't tolerate this. Wait there!” With a snap of his wrist the door creaked open, and in a deep bow the man in the hat vanished, winking out in a distorted shadow. A long and eerie pause followed.

 Mono pressed his hands over his eyes and backed away. What did he do to children that were not Mono? Some sleeps the phantom screech She made woke him up. He never heard her do speek like that. A sad little shadow. He didn’t want to hear anyone else scream like that. He wanted to stop the Thin Man, but he was afraid! A cowered! He kept backing away from the void that now existed beyond the doorway. Sorry! He was sorry! He ran away! He tried....

 “Mono.” The Thin Man called, from within. Sounding distant and haunting. “Come here.”

 “What!” he challenged, without a thought. What did the Thin Man want to show him? Did he plan to make an example of the child? Or, did they escape? He hoped they got out.

 Once more, the Thin Man beckoned. “Come here. Now.” When Mono failed to inspire his legs into moving, the Thin Man provided ample motivation. “Î̸̪̜̐̚ ̶͎̲̘̊̆̈́̎̊̊W̶̨̙͓͂̓̽͝i̵͓͖̖̰̞̒͛́̽͜͝l̶͎͚̼͙̐̋̅̿͝l̶̩͇̯̱̋ ̴͈̰̺̑̈́͜Ṅ̷̛̬̜͑̾̕͠o̷̫̭͗̃̅͆̕͝t̷̗͎͖̏̿̉ ̷̱̫̜̠̎̇̈̂̕Č̵͍͚̒̏̌̋a̴̦̤̙̹͌̔̆̆͒͝l̷̩͖͈̈́̐͒l̸͙͚͖̤̫̮̈̍͒͠ ̴͕̗̩͓̳̟̕ Ȁ̸͎̜̫͍̫̠̆̽g̷͇̙͋a̶̢̯̻̋̉i̴̗̣̭̩̒͊́̚ṅ̴̮͉̿̓͘͠.”

 He shuffled towards the doorway, gut tightening the closer he moved to the gaping entry. What was waiting? Would the Thin Man have the child in his grip, struggling and terrified by his uncertain fate? Or would the other kid be cringing in a corner, white with terror? If the man in the hat wanted him to do... something, he would flee. He would!

 When Mono finally inched his way hrough the threshold, his eyes locked immediately on the towering figure standing by the wall. A little flutter of relief swirled in his chest, upon spying both of the long arms crossed over the narrow chest. That relief almost popped, when the Thin Man settled his gaze on him. He tugged the sides of his hat down around his face.

 “There’s no need to be frightened,” he crackled. “It was only your reflection.”

 Baffled, Mono shifted his gaze aside and searched. Reflection? He nearly jolted backwards when he spied the child again, instead, this time he stumbled. What was that! The other child appeared flabbergasted as well as lost. What was this?! No, wait… they were wearing his hat. That was His HAT!

 He kept his distance, glaring. The other child followed his lead. Perfectly mimed. This was very confusing and disconcerting, to have a someone imitate him so perfectly. Something was wrong here.

 “You’ve never seen a real mirror before, have you?” He felt like the Thin Man was mocking him again. Before he realized anything is afoot, he’s being pressed forward by a hand. “It won’t hurt you. Have a look.”

 “No….” Mono tugged the hat down fully over his face, but couldn’t get away from the grasp insisting he address this other fake Mono. He dug his toes into the dirty carpet trying to press back, until the forceful hand withdrew. He collected himself and tugged his hat up, fully prepared to retreat… but he was nearly at the doppelganger. Could make out the color of his coat, the details of his hat, his very dour and annoyed expression.

 It was like staring into a window, and someone you’ve never seen before looked back. But he knew them from somewhere. The surface was a bit dusty, the edges tinged with corrosion, but for the most part the window was intact. They were separated. He crept in closer and closer, teetering on the fringe of flight. The closer he moved, the more defined and clear the outlines of the other child became in the dull light.

 Reaching out cautiously, his palm slapped the cold barrier. Solid. He gazed at the other face gawking back, and very slowly reached up. The copy mimicked faithfully, as he pushed the hat off his head. He tried to recall a time when he had viewed himself in such utter clarity, but had nothing. Unless to check for an injury or something, seeking a reflective surface was redundant. Finding a surface that offered anything but distorted complexions, was something else entirely. He never really stopped to look at himself, take in the face the world hated.

 “It’s you,” the Thin Man rumbled.

 “T’s me. Aam Mono,” he hummed. Tentatively, he reached up and touched at his hair, pushed it one way then parted it the other, ruffled the clumpy strands. He tugged at his ears, studying the curls and overall form. Then, mushed at his cheeks and tugged at his lips, made some faces. So that’s what those looked like. He had to look at his teeth, see the crazy gap the missing tooth made. Neat! The spot in his gum looked ugly but didn't hurt. He twirled around, admiring the fantastic coat and all its stitch work. The collar was bent, so he fixed that. Overall, he was a very good looking Mono.

 A little higher in the window surface, he could observe the Thin Man. Smiling.

 “Come? Look.” He leaned away from the glossy pane, peering up at the man in the hat. Who was no longer smiling.

 “No. I’d rather not… tarnish the reflection.”

 Mono returned his attention to the mirror Mono and looked aside. This didn’t count as anything that would make the Thin Man happy. He sat for a moment and nibbled his fingers, having a think. He was… already bored with the mirror, too. The novelty wore off before he knew it. He was still Mono, the world still hated him. The mirror couldn't tell him why. But....

 “Same,” he murmured. Touching his cheek. “N’same.” He turned to the Thin Man and curled his fingers around his eyes. He offered a smile.

 “That we do.”

 The response kind of caught Mono. But the man in the hat knew everything already, and then didn’t say. “Reason?”

 The Thin Man exhaled a thread of smoke. And shrugged. Otherwise, no explanation or insight was given. Not even an excuse.

 “See… n’me you?”

 Another sigh, but the Thin Man sighed wouldn’t look at Mono. “Saw some of me, in you.”

 “Oh.” He was glad there wasn’t a child in this room. This wasn’t much better, but at least no one else got hurt. He tugged at a thread in the roll of his pant leg. “Tell story?” He is a little disappointed when the Thin Man turned away and bent under the doorframe.

 “No, this is not the time nor place for silly stories.”

 Mono snapped up his hat and climbed to his feet, rushing after the gradually retreating figure. “But story?” He hastened his pace to stay beside the Thin Man, bouncing or skipping between every two or three steps.

 “You won’t like the story, I can tell you that. One day though, it will be your story, and it will hurt.” A trail of smoke left his lips.

 Hurt? So many queries blossomed within his thoughts. Was there a fix? A way to stop hurt? The Thin Man knew, but couldn't fix. Though maybe....

 “But… same, be'fer t'hide. And t'flee. Then you, w’th me. Do t's together....” The Thin Man ceased walking and gave him a full on glare. Mono staggered sideways, halting his panicked speek. This wasn’t good. Asking questions wouldn’t work, and the Thin Man didn’t like repeating himself.

 “M’sorry,” Mono mumbled, smothering his words. The man in the hat didn't like the S speek. “Rr’sad? N’yu not say, f'hurt?” He inched closer to the Thin Man’s shoes and raised his arms. If he wanted to, the Thin Man could hold him. Getting snared or clutched frightened him, the mood of the tall thin man was always strange and mystery, Mono never really knew what might happen. But it might make the man in the hat feel better. That too was an unknown.

 Instead, the Thin Man bent over and ruffled his hair. “Never mind that. Let’s move along, I do not believe there will be much food in this place.”

 Mono is still put off by the dismissiveness, but he shouldn’t have pushed. He wanted answers, but the Thin Man wasn’t happy in speek about those sort of tricky topics. He liked explaining other boring trivial pieces, but not when it came to the important questions. Her. The Tower. Other children. Sad little shadows. The bits and pieces of a different world, with different pictures, and different meanings. It could be like dream haunts, it was taboo to ask friends about them. That seemed like a valid reason, despite how it burned up in Mono to know more, anything. So much same in Mono, but wouldn't utter why. Could other children... be....

 The tall figure renewed his fluid stride, exhaling a stream of vapor as he went. Mono plopped his hat on and followed, as usual. In silence, as typical. Questions hovered in his mind but for now he would stash them aside, until a safer time. Perhaps when they settled in a calm and good area, then the tall thin man would want to do share speek. Could be interested if Mono copied picture speek from a book, and made a different sort of book? That seemed like a fun idea, and then, he could show the Thin Man how to make it work. Even if the Thin Man knew everything already, it would be happy to pretend he found something new for the Thin Man.

 The Thin Man maybe only kept Mono because of all the same. Too much of the same, or maybe not enough. He couldn’t really figure out anything of why, the man in the hat did what he did. All of anything he did, was for himself. Yet, he made Mono a part of that, and that was okay. No one else wanted Mono.

 He thought though, that the Thin Man’s lip twitched. He wasn’t sure what he did, but it faded the more he persisted with queries. Mono asked the hard questions, the ones that made the man in the hat dig for something... else. A place where the answers lay, beneath the questions, shrouded by the purpose of doing a something. The Thin Man didn't like giving answers or reasons, because like dream haunts, he had to find where the answers came from. The Thin Man was a strange and troubled adult, brimming with dark thoughts alongside the difficult unknowns. Adults would always be hostile and angered by anything that didn't belong, but the Thin Man wasn't like that. He was mostly just grumpy.

Next

[imanonymousfanfic]

Kid's Lipstick (2/2)

I enter the kitchen, head throbbing like I’ve split my skull open. I’m sluggish, barely able to stand like a bag of bricks in water. The smell of burning cigarettes and fried food sickens me, making me regret coming in already. I crawl into a chair, letting my heavy head fall onto the table with a loud thud. The impact rattles my skull sending a wave of pain through my head. I throw myself back, groaning out in agony as the throbbing increases. The others chuckle. They’re talking amongst themselves but I’m too destroyed to bother absorbing their conversations. I look over to Killer, who is cooking breakfast, staring directly at me as he blindly chops food.

“Water,” I ask him in a pained tone. He nods , grabbing a glass from the cabinet. I bury my face into my arms. All the bright sun shining through the windows is killing me. It’s unbearable. Heat cracks a joke about me, this I notice, making the rest of them laugh as they chomp down on their meals. Someone pokes at my arm, I peek, seeing it was Wire sat beside me doing it.

“Stop laughing, it’s not funny.” I mumble, my voice echoing from my folded arms.

“You were really drinking hard last night.” Haikei proceeds to tease. I sit up, looking at the man directly in his black circular shades. I snatch the cigarette sitting between his fingers and smush its lit tip into the table.

“Hey!”

“Your smoking is going to make me more sick than I already feel! Kid said no smoking in the kitchen anyway.” I hiss, flicking the crushed cigarette back at him. An arm appears in front of me, placing a glass of water down. My dry mouth looks at the liquid hungrily, wanting to inhale an entire sea’s worth. I begin chugging its contents back hurriedly, feeling as though nothing will be able to quench my thirst at this rate. Before I can finish, I reach for the jug sitting in the middle of the table, lifting it to the glass without putting it down on the table. I keep filling myself until my stomach reaches its limit. I smack the empty cup down on the table, gasping viciously for air.

I burp loudly the sound of my greedy behavior echoing loudly through the room, shortly followed with an apology. I laze myself down on the table again, whimpering quietly to myself. Everyone gathered around the table is staring, eyes wide as they fork their breakfast into their mouths.

“What? Why are you staring?” I grouch at them. Oscar and Wire pull their gaze away. Silence fills the room with nothing but the sound sizzling food, which reminds me that I’m both famished and nauseated, a combination I hate more than anything. I know that my hangover won't end until I replenish my body, but the word food alone makes me want to regurgitate my own organs.

The door swings open and in comes Noe, grinning widely, seeming as fresh and energetic as ever. “Hey guys!” He greets. His eyes fall to me, peeking briefly from beneath his bucket hat. He chuckles amusedly. “Woah, you look like shit dude!”

“Fuck you Noe,” I spit, he brushes off the harsh response, patting my back as he walks past me and slides into one of the free chairs. The boys greet him, throwing in a couple jokes as they do.

“Well, I like the lipstick, it suits you.”

The room falls silent. I look to the others, who were all nervously exchanging glances, mostly between Noe, Killer and I. I look at the glass to see the burgundy print faintly along its rim. I rub at my lip, hard, seeing a minor shade red transfer onto my finger. I look back up at the guys to see they were staring at me as if I knew what was happening. I drop the glass and jump out of the chair in panic, fumbling over my words. I rush to the door, slamming it behind me in panic.

I rush to the medbay, hoping to catch Senior, he might know something. I throw open the door to see Kid sitting on a cot, clutching his temples with a pained expression. He and Senior both look over to me, Senior seeming caught off guard. My eyes meet Kids then Senior again. A smirk spreads across his lips. He already knows. My words stumble again, making a random jumble of sounds but no words come out. I throw the door closed and dart towards the sleeping quarters, the only place left that I can be safe.

I catch my reflection in one of the windows. I come to a hard stop, gliding on the freshly washed deck, nearly tumbling to the floor as I do. I study my reflection, seeing the familiar shade of lipstick staining my lips and the area surrounding them. It’s not a clown's job, that’s for sure..

Oh god... Oh god.

I take off once again, running down to my hammock and throwing myself into it, wrapping myself into a tightly enclosed cocoon. I pull my pillow to my face, screaming loudly into it, straining my throat as I do. As my voice dies out, I fall silent. I’m aching and frustrated and don’t remember anything.

“You know when we had that talk last night I was anticipating the situation to be resolved.” Killer's voice cuts the silence. Of course.

“I don’t remember a single thing after we talked.”

“That was obvious the second you entered the kitchen.” He retorts, seemingly monotoned. He’s not the least bit impressed with me.

I stir angrily. The shock in my system is fading but my heart is still pumping hard, mercilessly attacking my head.

“Are you here to make me miserable or do you have a point to make?”

“Hm,” he hums, “you can figure this one out on your own.” His tone harsh, different from usual. Instead of sounding like the heartless pirate he is, it almost sounds spiteful to my response. He turns, making his way out of the room shutting the door behind him, leaving me to sit in silence.

I really need to sleep some more.

More steps come and the door cracks open. Now frustrated,  I peel open my hammock and look over to see Noe walking over to me with a mug in his hand. The smell of coffee fills the room.

“What happened man?” He questions, plopping down against the wall next to me. He hands me the mug. I shake my head.

“I’m just really embarrassed.”

“Why? It’s not like you stripped and danced naked in front of us, although, that would have been fun.” Noe chuckled. I would have smacked him if he was in arms reach. I roll my eyes and plop my head down in my pillow again. He lightly sways my hammock, sitting silently in my company.

“How am I ever supposed to come back from wearing the captain's lipstick? This will haunt me for the rest of my days on this ship.”

“Stop being such a drama queen,” Noe shrugs, slurping his coffee loudly.

“Go fuck yourself Noe,” I mumble turning away from him, “you’re shit at offering comfort.”

“Sleep off the alcohol. We can talk when you’re less miserable.”

“Yeah hopefully then I’ll have the energy to bruise your face.”

The door to the sleeping quarters shuts.

***

I break from my deep slumber to loud stomping approach the room, the door slams open, almost falling off its hinges. The sudden commotion makes me jump and squirm in the hammock before falling out, landing fast first on the ground.

I groan loudly. “I don’t want to exist today,” I mumble, with my face still pressed into the ground, already feeling the bruise forming on my forehead. My head is still reminding me of my poor choices from last night. The extra sleep helped, but god I’m being punished for it. I roll myself over and look up to the silhouette blocking the light shining from the door. I can faintly make out Kids face. He’s pissed.

“I’m on watch duty aren’t I?”

“You were, I let you sleep in.” The captain growls down at me. For once he’s a little merciful. What the hell happened to make everyone act so weird?

He kneels down in front of me, lifting my head back and swiping his finger over my lips roughly. “There’s an enemy not too far ahead, we’re gonna them.”

I swat his hand away, tugging my head back from his hand. “Okay, I’ll get to the infirmary… and stop touching me.”

He narrows his eyes at me, making me freeze. I frown at him, what is happening? I scoot back a little bit and shakily stand myself up. Kid follows my actions, staring me down like I was hiding something from him. I know something is going on, and it's just hanging in the air, but I can’t deal with this now.

I bundle my hair up and tie it into a high ponytail, giving him the side eye as I turn to my trunk, kicking its side making the lid bust open. I tear off my crop top from last night and replace it with my work t-shirt, it still has a couple blood stains, but they match its icy blue color. Next is the gun Kid gave me, I load it, counting the bullets I have. He told me only to use it when someone attacks me while tending to someone. I’ve only had to use it a couple times.  I’m not supposed to fight, most of the time at least.

I fill the pockets of baggy pants with the bullets and slip my blade into my boot. Firmly sticking the cover inside so it doesn’t fall out. I throw my supply belt over my shoulder, tightly locking it over my chest and between my boobs. I catch him staring but his eyes quickly divert, his emotions making it hard to think about anything else. He remains still with his rage silently building as I continue to ignore the elephant in the room. I avoid look again, catching his gaze is typically the tipping point when he’s angry. I kick the trunk again and the lid falls closed. I make my way towards the door, spotting Killer strolling past, eyeing us down casually before disappearing again.

“You think you can just act like nothing happened.” Kid calls out to me. I come to a halt, nearly at the door and turn on my heels to face him again, almost jumping when I see his chest right in front of me. I look up to see his angered expression has softened slightly. I kick the door closed, unable to concentrate on him with the crew outside barking orders as they try to prepare for a fight.

I’m too tired to have this conversation now. Why now?

I sigh out. “Kid, I need to prepare the medical supplies. Seniors foot is broken, I have to work twice as hard.” My body itches. The curiosity in me is begging for answers but it feels more troublesome than rewarding at this rate. Everyone is acting off, and this is the last thing I need is to be messing up because of last night. “I don’t remember and I don’t want to try to right now.”

His eyes grow cold again, appearing angrier than before. Huffing out, he storms past, throwing me off balance as he does on his way out. I shouldn't have said that, in that way. It’s bothering me more than anything that he’s staying so calm about it. I spot the blond again by the door frame, silently watching me with his arms crossed, pretending to be casually hanging about.

“Yeah, yeah, I get the fucking message.” I huff out on my way out.

I beeline straight to the infirmary, helping only a couple men with ropes on the way when they needed me to. I open the door to see Senior sitting at his deck, leg propped up in his large cast. He’s reading that damn medicine book that's impossibly heavy with insanely tiny writing. He tilts the book at angle to give a look through his reading glasses, followed by a cocked brow.

“So.” He begins, just as I was hoping he wouldn't. I throw my head back, irked by his insistence to talk about Kid and I. He’s not the only one. It’s almost like the crew wants to be involved with this pointless drama. You would think as pirates they’d be too busy to worry about that.

“Not today, please.” I whine at him, grabbing one of the mouth rinses from one of the cupboards.

“That’s for mouth injuries.” Senior reminds me, without even looking up from his book. I often wonder if he has a third eye.

“Yes, well, I can’t get the taste of alcohol out of my mouth despite brushing my teeth twice today.” I throw the medicine back into my mouth, swirling the gross medicinal liquid around my mouth, making sure it’s coating my mouth entirely before spitting it out in a bucket.

“Maybe don’t get drunk.”

“I can break your other foot for you.” I snarkily respond slapping his casted foot. He hisses in response, giving me the stink eye. I wink at him, chuckling softly as I begin to  carefully pocket the medical supplies on my belt, organizing them by level of emergencies.

“Are you going to be alright on your own?” Senior questions me, now taking his feet off the table.

I adjust the belt over my shoulder, huffing annoyedly. “I don’t have a choice. I just hope none of the heavier boys need me to carry them.” Senior chuckles in response, clearly amused at the image.

“If it comes to it I’ll be out in a matter of seconds. You’ll be fine, it’s not an Emperor.”

I hum in response, thinking to myself quietly about last night. There’s not much I remember, just Kids eyes angrily staring me down as I make my way into his room. I drank almost half a bottle of whiskey on top of all that lager. Damn...no wonder my head feels like a balloon ready to burst.

I pop a pain killer in my mouth, chugging the glass of water on Seniors desk. “I’d usually kill you for that, but in your state I’ll forgive it.”

“You’re so merciful,” I sarcastically retort with an eyeroll, making my way back to the door. It swings open right as my hand reaches the handle and there stands his large figure. The light from outside burns my eyes, making me squint painfully as I stare up at him.

“Give us some privacy.”

I swallow the ball growing in my throat and step back, letting Senior step out on his crotches. Kid slams the door behind him, making me jump. His eyes are dark, filled with rage that I only ever see when he’s fighting. The ball in my throat drops, now pitting in my stomach instead.

He’s always been hard on me, snapping orders and reprimanding me when I’m wrong, but he’s never looked at me the way he does now. His nose crinkles as he snarls at me, bearing his teeth, ready to bite at any second. I look to his arm, seeing the veins in his arms bulging from his fist constantly balling up. He’s fighting with himself to stay calm. I can't look into his eyes, his gaze feral and ready to bite like a pack of hungry wolves. The anticipation for him to speak pains me. I continue to back up, stopping as my back hits one of the cots. I bite down on the inside of my lip, feeling my face wanting to show my fear, but that will only make this worse. I keep my eyes down to my boots, awkwardly looking down as I wait for his yelling to start.

“How dare you think you can talk to me that way.” Kid hisses at me through clenched teeth.

“Don't get mad at me if I can't remember what happened, stop humiliating me!” I bark back at him, my emotions finally getting the best of me. My spiteful cold attitude has held up so far but hearing the aggression in his voice breaks me.

His demeanour switches suddenly, and laughs tauntingly. “Can I remind you, you’re the one who went to bed wearing my lipstick.” His cruel teasing finally breaks me. I fold my arms over my chest, chewing hard on my bottom lip as I fight the tears pricking in my eyes. He waits for my response but nothing comes. I stare at the wall, angrily sulking, eyes watering and nose burning, viciously blinking the blurry vision in my eyes. .

He nods simply, his eyes boring into me. He’s quiet, meaning for once he’s thinking his actions through. He’s such a cruel man and I can’t stand being a victim of his merciless ways. He flashes me a dissatisfied grin. He turns away to the door, attempting to put an end to this conversation for now. If I leave it like this I will be in more trouble.

“Exactly as I thought from last night, you’re just talk.” He writes me off, waving his hand over his shoulder like I’m useless.

Asshole. I snatch the nearest item to me, a therapy ball sitting by my feet and launch the firm object at him. It smacks into his head with a loud thump before ricocheting across the room. Kid turns on his heels slowly, his eyes catching mine. His face contorted into a terrifying expression resembling what a demon would appear as in the skin of a human. His eyes pierce what little armor I have left. All my rage slips away, melting into panic.

My jaw clenches with my hands now shaking vigorously as I try to keep calm. I suck in air between my teeth, standing tall on the ground I decided to cross. “You cannot come in here mocking me and dehumanizing me for something I don’t even remember doing, you asshole!”

“You’re telling me how I can act?” Kid questions me, stepping towards me.

My words stutter uncontrollably, cursing the gutsiness my rage gave me. “I-I” Never once have I raised my voice at him and now I already regret it.

He kneels before me. I tear my gaze away, but he turns my face back to him. “What? So now the cats caught your tongue? Do I need to cut it off?” He laughs, now seeming more amused than angry at this rate. For the first time I’m struggling to understand what is happening inside of his head and I can’t stand it.

“So you’re embarrassed of kissing me?”  His question takes me off guard. My eyes widen as thoughts jumble in my head. Oh god. My exaggerated confidence has deflated completely, leaving me defenseless

“N-No!”

He turns to the door, I release the air held in my lungs, hoping this is the end. He locks it, forcing every muscle in my body to tense. My goddamn luck betrays me everyday, but who am I kidding, this is Kid.

“So tell me why you came into my room last night telling me that I gross you out and I’d be the worst person to love, yet you still only think about kissing me?”

The air in my throat hitched, almost making me choke. Parts of the distance memory faintly come to mind. I don’t remember it, but I remember doing it. The blood in my face collects, turns my cheeks into an overheated mess, turning my knees to jelly. The incoherent words hang off my lips in a jumbled mess once more.

“So, you’re just too embarrassed to say you like me?” Kid asks me smirking even more now. Why is he smiling?

I dip away from his hand trying to grab me, his fingers brushing over my shoulder. The suppressed anger in him is building a tension in the room I can’t bear to face. He hasn’t been merciful, he hasn’t been kind, it’s so obvious now that since this morning it’s all been calculated. He wants me to confess.

“No, that’s not it at all!” I hiss in return. I dodge his grasp again, jumping away from his hand as it reaches for me. He turns to face me properly, slowly approaching as I calmly back myself away, feeling the walls as I go until I hit a corner. He leans down to me, his golden eyes flicking between both of mine, face sitting inches away. He hums amusedly, with his cool breath lightly fanning over my face.

“You can’t be embarrassed of your Captain.”

“I’m not,”

“Oh?” Kid sadistically smirked, “but you wanted to hide when everyone saw the lipstick on your lips.”

The words in my mouth stumble into a chaotic mix of sounds that mean nothing again. Kid laughs at me, before pulling out a lipstick from his pocket, brandishing it to me as he opens it to apply a fresh layer, covering his lips in the dark burgundy, watching me as he slides the make up across his lips. Once done he closes it, placing it back in his pocket, while his other hand wipes away the corners that he over-lined. He flashes me a toothy grin, running his tongue along his teeth, purposely torturing me with anticipation. He leans down closer to my face, the smirk fixed on his lips. All of my breath leaves my lips. He can’t be serious, not now.

“I enjoy seeing people suffer, you know that right?” I nod hesitantly in response. “Good,” he hums approvingly, wrapping his fingers around the belt on my chest. My heart stops, awaiting his next move. For once I can’t predict him and completely at his mercy.

He tugs on the belt, making me crash into him. Both of his hands cup my face, pressing his lips onto mine, holding me tight as he exhales the brewing emotions in him. He pulls away, parting the aggressive kiss, letting me breathe in finally. Completely overwhelmed and paralyzed by his actions, I stare at him with shallow lungs as I struggle to relax. I’m nauseated fromm my stomach nervously flipping. Why did he kiss me if he’s so angry?

“You came into my room last night yelling at me, telling me I’m the asshole for saying I liked you.”

“You are,” I quietly croak.

“Yeah,” he tuts back, an evil smirking spreading on his lips. My eyes grow wide, he’s planning something. He drags his finger over my bottom lip. “You’re not allowed to yell at your captain, throw bottles at his door, or-” The ball in my throat grows and regret fills me. I don’t want to drink ever again. “Be embarrassed of your captain.”

“I’m not!”

“You’re not allowed to lie either!” Just as I go to open my mouth again he kisses me, pulling me over his now kneeling leg, running one hand through my hair while the other pulls the hair tie out. My hands run over his shoulder grasping onto him as we deepen the kiss.

“You’ve fallen for my trap.” He laughs out, breaking the kiss. I tug my head back seeing the devious glint in his eyes. The panic sets in and I begin to struggle away from him as hauls me up and pins me to the ground. I push against his hands, quickly realizing my defeat. I whimper out, begging him to stop as he starts to cover me in kisses, planting his lipstick all over me, the creamy makeup covering me from my chest up to my forehead. I can’t help but giggle, but curse at him, infuriated by this. He pulls away, looking down at me with pride, appreciating his work.

“You can’t wash it off until the end of the day.”

“WHAT?” I yell, now trying to kick myself away from him.

“Discipline for your bad behavior.”

I hum angrily, eyes burning holes into him. I would be angrier if it wasn’t he wasn’t kissing me moments before. He picks me up from the floor, giving me the hair tie back. I snarkily sneer at him, tying my hair back up once again. He smirks at me again, headed for the door with me following shortly behind. I’m not ready for all the mockery I’ll be enduring for the rest of my life on this ship.

“Do I have permission to kick anyone’s ass who pisses me off?” I ask him.

He gives me a quick glance, smiling widely. “Only if they can handle it.” A smile creeps on my lips, I know I’m a bright crimson by now, but it’s all out of the way. Maybe my drinking helped me make better decisions than I thought. Part 1

[avada-kedavrugh]

Biggest Mistake

Summary | Imagine Jimin is your best friend and you’re hopelessly in love with him. See what happens with a fun old sprinkle of angst :)

This was a fan fiction I wrote like 2 years ago and I haven’t reread it properly but felt like posting it here

Pairing | Jimin x Reader

Genre | Unrequited? Love AU/ Best friend’s AU

Words | 2975

The blinding smile on his face grew as his eyes caught sight of you, the smile growing into a glowing grin that only became larger as he broke into a sprint, running towards you, mouthing the words you always longed to hear him say…

The thunderous sound of slamming against your front door was the rude interruption to your heavenly dream, a sigh escaped your lips as you struggled to open one eye, which quickly became disoriented to the sudden entry of dim light that squeezed itself through the curtains as you made an attempt to find out the time the demonic invader had decided to arrive.

Your eyes caught sight of your phone and with immense effort you attempted to perch forward and reach your phone, surprisingly, finding yourself crashing onto the floor in a wave of duvet and hair and an immense wave of pain.

“Y/N…” You heard a recognisable voice yell, probably disturbed by the loud sound, unaware of the sound that raced from your own chest “Are you alright?”

With a new and sudden wave of motivation you found yourself quickly stumbling towards the door, trying to make yourself look at least a tiny bit presentable after being woken up in the middle of the fucking night, or as some might say, 7am. Finally, opening the door you sighed, remembering the dream you had previously been indulging yourself in that had now been annoying ruined by your visitor.

“It’s my day off Ji-“ You began to complain.

That was until your eyes caught sight of him, the bowl cut blonde with a wide grin that only managed to make your own mouth fall as you took in the astonishing sight that you sadly were still not used to.

“Are you okay Y/N?” He eyebrows furrowing in concern as your eyes kept fixed upon his face

“Ye-Yeah,” You finally spluttered out, mouth moving back into an acceptable position of non-drawling “I thought I had been pranked, I almost didn’t see you down there” You teased, memorising the mix of amusement and irritation in his face as he moved closer to you, making your heart race, only worsened as he lightly hit your arm before brushing past you, entering your home, and simultaneously your heart.

“So, what brings you here?” You spoke, finally feeling the tiredness escape as your heart seemingly raced into action under the drowning beauty of Jimin.

“Well…I need you.”

Your eyes popped out of your sockets, as you looked at him, mouth once again mimicking that of a fish, as you attempted to splutter out a response while he just continued to smirk to himself, watching the red flush that spread across your cheeks.

“I need you to help me buy Hyuna a present.” He finally finished, gaging your reaction as you gradually returned to a mostly composed, perhaps almost human-like figure.

“Oh. Any reason? Or are you two just that lovey dovey?” You mocked, mind flashing back to the disgusting sights of Jimin with his tongue down her throat or with his arm snaked around her waist, the pair tightly wrapped together.

“It’s almost Valentine’s Day.” Jimin said, his eyes flickering with pity as you realised the date, realised your loneliness, and realised how fucked you were for falling in love with your best friend, particularly one that was now doing very well drowning his girlfriend with his tongue, completely unaware of the tears of sorrow you drowned yourself in after seeing the two together.

“Really? Where’s my date then?” You chuckled, his face finally lighting up

“Aren’t I good enough?” He laughed

“Of course, you are, but there’s something sort of in the way, the lil issue of your girlfriend, maybe?” You joked back, most of you hoping he never realisd  the truth within your jokes, though a sinister part of you begs for him to realise and finally confess his feelings to you, feelings, that were definitely non-existent.

Snapping back up to look at him you found his eyes looking at you with an unrecognisable expression, almost reading your own eyes for something, maybe he would finally understand the feeling of drowning in his eyes.

“I’ll help,” You started, snapping him out of his daze, as his eyes and lips curled up into a smile, grabbing your coat and shoes, ignoring how disastrous you looked at the dumb hour of the morning that you were sure, no one – except Jimin the clearly inhuman being – was awake at “Let’s go.”

You found yourself utterly wrong about the lack of humanity in a shopping centre at 7:30am, convincing you of the insanity of the human race. You had your hand clutched to Jimin's wrist as you attempted to manoeuvre out of the way of the groups of people emerging in the shops, silently judging you for your atrocious, ape-like appearance while you stood beside the groomed, angelic boy who was prepared for all the girls that threw glances obvious at him. Feeling the eyes on you, your heart racing and your mind repeating insults to yourself, you desperately entered a store, ignoring its contents as you tried to find an empty area to allow yourself to prepare for the judgemental stares the people gave. Summoning up all your courage you finally stopped and turned to look at the man who had just allowed you to drag him into the abandoned corner of a random store, his eyes observing the contents of the store around him.

“Did you have any ideas?” You asked him, his eyes finally snapping to meet yours with a hearty chuckle as his response

"Well certainly not this stuff." He laughed, throwing a look towards the items around the store. You turned your eyes towards the shelves, taking in the stacks of nappies that lined them, allowing yourself to glance around the store your eyes took in colourful toys, baby clothes, tiny items of furniture and the staff at the front of the store that had their eyes fixed upon the two of you, smiling as they whispered between each other.

You had bought Jimin to a baby store, you had bought Park fucking Jimin to a baby store.

"Are you really this lonely Y/N?" He began to tease, a smirk etched into his face as you furrowed your eyebrows at him

"I understand, it's okay…” Your face shone a bright shade of red while Jimin just continued to shine like the angel he was, despite his demonic teasing “I'll be your baby daddy."

His crude joke emphasised by his wink caused you to choke as you wished he would shut up as he laughed at your embarrassment

"I think I'd want someone way more attractive to be the father of my child." You finally muttered back, his teasing taking all your confidence as his own eyebrows rose to question you further but after a moment of silence he finally continued.

"Well, Tae's free." He wiggled his eyebrows slightly "And it is Valentine' Day soon." The suggestion bought your face to complete redness as you delivered a slight slap to his arm and a glare. He finally went silent before turning around and throwing a look to you

"Let's go?" You asked

"Really? I was looking forward to looking at all these nappies" He teased before grabbing your hand and beginning to pull you out.

“Lingerie, really?” You spluttered, eyes wide when you finally realised Jimin’s destination as he dragged you towards the store. You didn’t think it could get any worse than being woken up early in the morning, dragged to the mall then being judged for your untamed hair, baggy clothes and exhausted face, topped off by pulling your crush into a baby store, but no, like most of your ideas, you had been entirely wrong – something you only realised as your face grew to be the same crimson colour of the lacy bra in the stores window.

“Come on, what else would you get your girlfriend for Valentine’s Day? Don’t pretend none of your boyfriend’s have ever given you lingerie.” Your eyes left his face as he mentioned the word ‘boyfriend’, instead they became intrigued in the plain wooden flooring of the lingerie store, eyes avoiding both Jimin and the underwear around you. You had had boyfriend’s in the past, well, a boyfriend.

His name was, well, is Jungkook. You had been teenagers when you got together, still living for the adventure and thrill of life which made for a whirlwind romance. The relationship began in the long summer days, days spent curled up beside Jungkook – playing Overwatch, reading comic books or going for road trips. Meanwhile, the nights were spent curled up beneath Jungkook in a typical teenage lust fuelled night. Looking back on it, you had abandoned Jimin, ignoring his messages or avoiding him when you saw him, but when the long summer days ended and the cold winter began to settle in, the warmth between you and Jungkook began to vanish until finally you both decided it was time. It was that day when you finally went to see Jimin, tears running down your face, his eyes looked at you with concern over spilling from the edges of his wide eyes before pulling you into a hug and never mentioning the months you had avoided him, ignoring his messages for days and finally replying to his messages with a blunt response. You had spent the cold night sat nestled beside him on his bed, a level of intimacy you had been having with another boy only a few days before, a boy you had now lost despite the times you told each other “I love you”. You like to tell yourself that was your excuse, your excuse for what happened next, sometimes you even wonder what his was.

He had kissed you. Jimin. Jimin had kissed you. Lip on lip. His hands had tugged you closer to him, trying to conjoin the two of you, your lips already joined in a heart-warming, intimate kiss. That you returned. He had pushed you against his bed, his body hovering over you, eyes flickering between concern, lust and an unrecognisable emotion. His eyes scanned over your face, searing into your skin as he searched for something, his eyes almost pleading to register something from your face. Sensing his conflict, you finally nodded, another mistake you had made that day, another one you liked to excuse with the argument of being a heartbroken teenager, still desperate for a thrill. His lips curled up into a smile though his eyes continued their search with concern flickering in his eyes.

You made another mistake, you pulled him down towards you, tugging on his white t-shirt that clung onto the muscles that were carved into his body. His lips finally reconnected with yours, more lust in the kiss as his hands started to journey across your body, taking their time while you desperately kissed him. His body was pressed against yours, the throb in your stomach worsened by the feel of his muscles against yours and his member prodding against your thigh. Your hands quickly moved down his upper body, memorising his muscles along the way as your hand found itself by his crotch, preparing to please him. Sensing your intentions, his hand curled up around your wrist, ceasing your desires as he slightly pulled himself away. His eyes, that drowned with emotion, taking in the sight of your face as the sound of heavy breathing filled the room.

“Why did you stop?” You finally sighed, eyes mirroring his previous look of concern. The room remained silent as his eyes, that hid so many emotions, continued to memorise each detail of your face. “Did I do something wrong?” His mouth remained shut, his eyes looking conflicted. “Jimin?” You called to him, trying to awake the boy that had awoken a desperate lust in you.

His eyes finally stopped darting across your face, meeting yours as he gave you a hasty shake of his head “You did nothing wrong,” He muttered “It was better than how I always imagined it would be…”

You never got to question him about that, you were about to, your eyebrows curling down as you realised the implications held in his words. You opened your mouth about to ask him but immediately closed it, not in fear of what could happen to your relationship, but because of your realisation of the internal conflict he was clearly having, as his eyes became emotionless.

“Jimin…” You began, hand reaching out to stroke his cheek, attempting to caress his hidden words from his puffy lips that desperately held them in.

After all your mistakes, his finally came. This was his mistake.

“I love you.” The words tumbling from his lips before he could stop them, his eyes flashing in fear as he looked at you again.

That was his mistake, and your next one was pushing him off, darting out of his room, rushing down the stairs, slamming his front door and running all the way back home. But your biggest mistake was falling in love with him.

“Hyuna would also look really hot in lingerie…or anything…or nothing.” Jimin’s words finally snapped you out of your thoughts, as you gave him a light slap to the arm and a look of disgust.

“Ew, next you’ll be telling me about your porn collection.” His mouth opened as he was about to speak, his smirk worrying you so you quickly interrupted him “Don’t even dare Park Jimin.”

His plump lips – that you wish were moving to kiss yours - moved into a pout as he feigned pain but his acting was ruined by the amusement evident in his bright eyes.

“Awh, really Y/N?” His elbow lightly jabbed you as he attempted to tease you, making you forget all the people in the store “You sure? What if I’m in it?”

“Then I don’t want to watch some vomit inducing porn Jimin.” You returned, a smirk curling up on your lips as his pout became more prominent as he mimicked a child. You laughed at him as he returned it, the sound of his laughter singing in your ears making your grin only wider.

“I bet you would watch it if Tae was in it.” He smirked back

“Of course.” You winked at him, enjoying his acting as he once again pretended be offended, hand dramatically falling against his forehead.  

“I hate you Y/N.”

“You love me really.” You teased, preparing for your next teasing comment.

But his next words left you wordless and instead a spluttering mess of a human as his eyes returned to yours, his voice sounding sincere “I do.”

Your mind flashed back to that moment over a year ago in his bedroom, maybe you would finally get your chance to confess, kiss him and never see him with Hyuna again Your mind was buzzing, words stumbling in your mind, Jimin’s face remained expressionless as his eyes read yours.

“Wh-Wha-What?” You finally spluttered out

His face changed into a look of amusement as he finally replied “What did you expect Y/N? You are my best friend.” He lavished in your embarrassment as your eyes darted away from him once again, taking in the sight of people quickly glancing away from the two of you, trying to hide the clear fact that they had been listening in. Your embarrassment worsened and an anger grew in you as you realised people had watched your commotion and probably witnessed how flustered his words made you.

“Jimin, you can’t just say that stuff.” You growled, attempting to glare at him with a menacing look, which he just frowned at.

“Why not Y/N?” He began “You are my best friend.”

“Because…because what if I thought you were being serious?” His eyes flashed with emotion before he looked at you again with a confused look

“What if I thought you actually, properly liked me?” You continued, leaving his mouth falling open “You can’t just say that shit to me Jimin. You can’t just act like I’m one of your male friends, have a girlfriend, a girlfriend you want me to help you buy lingerie for and then tell me you love me. It doesn’t work like that Jimin. What if I actually liked you? I don’t. But if I did maybe you’d be hurting my feelings?” His eyes and mouth were wide as he looked at you with shock, the silence between you became deafening as you began to drown in the look upon his face. You finally shook your head, beginning to turn away from him. Maybe you could finally fix your mistakes.  

“Just forget it Jimin. I’m going to go. Please don’t try to message me Jimin, I really won’t want to talk to you.” You started to walk away, the prying eyes of the people around you darting to look at the floor in front of them that seemingly held all their interest. Jimin’s eyes didn’t dart away and watched your figure as you took another step away, you stopped suddenly, releasing a sigh before turning back to look at him. Jimin hoped for a moment you were going to stay with him, though he realised it was selfish, an utterly selfish desire that he didn’t even have any guilt for having.  

“You should buy Hyuna some purple silky lingerie, she liked it before.” Your finger pointing towards a set of lingerie that had caught your eye and had also caught Hyuna’s a few weeks ago when you had been forced to go shopping with her, Jimin’s eyes didn’t follow your finger and instead widened at your words, shocked by your final words to him after such a dramatic goodbye. And then you walked away. And he didn’t run after you.

Perhaps that was Jimin’s biggest mistake.  

[thepancakeboi]

124. “You seem like a friendly face, mind if I sit with you?”

When I had walked into one of the many cafes in Shibuya for lunch, I had not expected the visit to be anything noteworthy. I was going to get something quick to eat and leave just as quickly. That is until I looked around the place. It’s never been a very crowded cafe, even at its busiest. It’s one of the hidden little gems Ann had shown me a few months ago that I’ve started frequenting somewhat regularly. But, at one of the tables closest to me, I see Ann herself sitting with someone. The other person, probably a friend of Ann’s, is unfamiliar to me. I decide to approach them, greeting them as I say, “Hello, Ann.”

Ann’s face lights up as she replies, “Oh, hey Goro!”

It’s days like these when I’m glad I have her as a friend. She was the first of Ren’s friends to accept me for who I am. Once she found out that I did, in fact, have a sweet tooth despite saying otherwise, she constantly dragged me with her to have whatever dessert she fancied that day. I’ve grown to genuinely enjoy her company. Even if I already know the answer, I ask, “What are you doing here?”

“We’re gonna get some cake! Can you believe she hasn’t had the cake here? If I had known you weren’t busy, I would’ve asked you to come too!”

“That’s all right.” I turn my head to look at the person Ann’s with. She has short black hair that fluffs out a bit. The rest of her face is obscured, her head turned as if to avoid making eye contact with me. Compared to Ann’s vibrant outfit, this girl’s is much more subdued. Even so, her long-sleeved gray top that exposes her shoulders and the black skirt seem to suit her, for some reason. I wonder why I haven’t met this girl until now. I look back to Ann as I remark, “I don’t think you’ve introduced me to your friend. What’s her name?”

“Ah! The name. Um...it’s Akira! Akira Kurusu.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet, Kurusu-san. You seem like a friendly face, mind if I sit with you?” The girl only shakes her head in response, not even looking up at me. Her reticent attitude gives me pause. I didn’t mean to offend her. “My apologies. Did I say something wrong?”

“No no! Sit down,” Ann says reassuringly. I sit down in a chair between the two girls as Ann stammers, trying to explain Akira’s behavior. “Uh, it’s just...that...she...she’s a huge fan of yours! Yeah. And we didn’t think we’d be seeing you.” She laughs awkwardly as she finishes, twirling a lock of hair in her fingers.

“Oh? I’m honored,” I reply, pulling out my typical TV-perfect smile that’s as fake as the personality it belongs to. Even if Ann knows that I’m very much unlike my detective prince facade, Akira likely doesn’t know that. I figure it’s best to keep up that pretense around her. “Most people seemed to forget my name after the Phantom Thieves incident ended. So, how do you two know each other?”

“I, uh, met her at one of my photoshoots! She’s wanted to be a model for a loooong time.”

“A model? I’m certain you’ll do well in the industry. You have the looks befitting a model.” Akira still doesn’t look at me, her gaze glued to her hands in her lap. Her nails are painted black, and I think I can see her blushing? Or perhaps it’s makeup. Either is possible, all things considered. She is rather flat-chested for a model, but there is nothing wrong with th-okay, why am I even noticing this? I really hope she didn’t catch me looking. After a few seconds of silence, I turn to Ann, who didn’t seem to notice my earlier gaze. My voice is hushed as I gently ask, “Are you sure she’s okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. She’s really shy at first.” Ann doesn’t seem too surprised at her friend’s behavior. Maybe it’s normal for Akira. Ann seems to remember something as she quickly adds, “But she does talk about you a lot!”

“Is that so?”

“Mhmm! I don’t think she’d be able to stop talking about you. She goes on and on about how great you are.”

The laugh I give, while mostly fake, is a somewhat genuine one. “Surely, you exaggerate.”

“Nope. We went to get crepes, and once she found out you were my friend, she talked about you the whole time.”

“I see. Well, a friend of Ann’s is a friend of mine,” I say, looking over at Akira. She’s still staring at her hands as she fiddles nervously with the chain attached to her skirt. Hold on, why am I still noticing these little details? That thought gets shoved aside. Right now, I need to find out what exactly is making Akira act so quiet around me. Is she perhaps intimidated due to my former popularity? If that’s what the problem is, I need to try and get her to open up to me somehow, get her to see that I’m not as unapproachable as she thinks. Well, not unapproachable due to being the detective prince, that is. I doubt someone like her would be comfortable around my true self. “It’s all right. You don’t have to be shy around me. You and Ann are probably much more popular than me.”

“Oh, don’t say that! You’re the second detective prince. Even she knew about you after being in Tokyo for only a couple of months.”

“You’re not from here?” Akira shakes her head, starting to play with the chain hanging off her black choker. I can’t see much of her face, but I think I see a smile starting to form. At least she seems to be more at ease, even if she hasn’t said a word thus far. “Are you enjoying Tokyo so far?” A nod this time. “How long have you lived here? Or are you just visiting?”

“She’s been here for about two years now,” Ann says for Akira. “Likes it so much better than home.”

“In that case, perhaps I know the area where you’re living? I’ve been to a lot of places in Tokyo.” As I finish my comment, Akira’s chest starts to heave. Is she...laughing? What a strange girl. It’s clear she’s trying to hold her laughter in as if she doesn’t want anyone to hear it. I don’t understand. What’s so funny about what I just said? “Kurusu-san? Are you all right?”

Akira finally looks up at me with brilliant gray eyes accentuated by a lot of makeup: eyeliner, pink eyeshadow, and even a little black heart under her left eye. Her gaze is sharp, and it feels like she’s staring right into my soul. It almost reminds me of- Wait a minute. I get a closer look at the person sitting next to me. I recognize those eyes. My own eyes narrow instantly as I drop the detective prince act entirely.

“You.”

“Akira” gives me a lopsided smile, their identity finally revealed to me. I know exactly who this person is. “Hi, Akeppi~” the “girl” who is none other than my boyfriend, Ren Amamiya, says before quickly kissing me. His lips, I notice, are covered with lipstick, and the blush I had noticed earlier was indeed a lot of makeup. Now that I know exactly who this is, I understand why I was so drawn to the mysterious person next to me. I allow myself to notice that he’s wearing black thigh highs over fishnet tights. Well, I suppose this being Ren explains the flat-chestedness observation from earlier. “Are you enjoying yourself, staring at me?”

My eyes dart up upon hearing his question, seeing the devious look in his eyes. Damn it, did he notice earlier then...? I groan, “Shut up. Just...explain. Now.”

“We didn’t mean to trick you!” Ann says, trying not to giggle now that the charade is done. “I just wanted to see if Ren could pass off as a girl, and he let me dress him up.”

“It must’ve worked if even Akeppi didn’t notice,” Ren says as he scoots his chair closer so that he can hug me. So much for that reserved personality from before. “You should’ve seen the look on your face when you realized it was me.”

“You are a menace,” I snap, trying to pry his arms off of me with no success.

“Yup! But I’m your menace.”

“Damn you both.”

Ann and Ren both laugh at that. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had been trying to hold it in during the entire conversation. How they made it so long without laughing, I have no idea. Despite how annoyed I am that I fell for their spur-of-the-moment prank, I can’t help but join in, chuckling under my breath. Their laughter is infectious. Well, at least they’re enjoying themselves.

“This was fun, Ann,” Ren comments after he’s had his fill of laughing at my expense. “We should do this again.”

“For sure!” she replies. “We could try another style and see how it looks.”

“Wait, I have an idea. You should do Akeppi next time,” Ren suggests, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Oh, that would be amazing!” Ann immediately looks at me, her excitement at the prospect all too obvious. “Can I? Please?”

“Not a chance,” I snap, refusing to entertain this latest scheme of theirs. “Ren may have agreed to it, but I’m not Ren.”

“Come on, please?” Ann looks at me, doe-eyed, pleading with me to allow her request. “At least let me do your hair and paint your nails.”

“Fine,” I groan. I can put up with that much, I suppose. They both grin simultaneously, sharing a quick glance. Something tells me I should be concerned about what they’re plotting, but I can deal with that later. “So, are you both actually planning on having cake, or was that as much a lie as Ren being a girl named Akira Kurusu?”

“Oh, yeah! That was true. Do you want some too, Goro?”

“I don’t think I’ll have much of a choice, considering someone probably won’t let go of me.” I pointedly look at Ren as I say this, who is still hugging me, might I add.

“No~” he hums as he tightens his hold, confirming that much for me.

“Well, in that case, I suppose I’ll have some cake. If it’s as delicious as it was last time, then I look forward to it.”

We talk for a while longer while eating cake, Ann having more than enough pieces for the both of us. How she can eat so many sweets with no problem, I have no idea. Eventually, we part ways with Ann, Ren holding onto me the entire way home like a cute, clingy girlfriend head-over-heels in love with me. That is a mental image I never thought I would apply to my own life. I can’t help but affectionately ruffle Ren’s hair, the action earning me a jubilant grin. I truly am blessed to have both Ren and Ann in my life.

Prompt source

[babycracker]

Fire Meet Gasoline: Chapter 3

chapter rating: teen & up story rating: explicit pairing: morgan/m!oc (tanner drake) & farah/f!oc (sadie kennedy) word count: ~3k chapter warnings: none story warnings: eventual smut, canon-typical violence, au - canon divergent

read it on ao3 here

--

"Demons?"

"Yes."

"Do I have to?"

"Of course you have to."

Tanner groans and slouches further down in the chair he's seated in, lifting a hand and running it over his face.

"I feel you, I don't like them either," Farah pats his shoulder sympathetically and he frowns over at her.

"Really? I've gotten along with every demon I've ever met."

"Typical." Adam scoffs under his breath in a rare attempt at sarcasm, and Tanner just grins at him before noticing that his revelation has made Farah shift uncomfortably in her seat beside him.

"Aren't you an angel?" she asks hesitantly and he raises an eyebrow at her.

"Do I look like an angel to you?"

"I… don't know. I just thought-"

"My Dad's an angel. It's not a spectrum, you either are one or you're not. I'm not," he snaps at her, a little harsher than intended.

He despises being rounded up to angel status almost as much as he despises being mistaken for an agent. If he were an angel he'd be immortal, which the scarring on his side proves that he is very much not. If he and his sister had been angels, she would still be here and he wouldn't be working for this pathetic attempt at a so-called supernatural "protection" agency.

"You don't have to be a dick about it," Morgan scolds him from where she's leaning on the table beside Farah.

He slowly turns his attention to her and smirks, "if I could make it through my day without it, I would."

"If you're finished," Adam interjects, looking between the three of them in exasperation as they fall quiet. "you have been granted access to all of our files on the group."

Tanner eyes the file folders that Adam gestures to on the table and lets out another groan. "Still with the paper filing system, you guys?"

He snatches the files up and gets to his feet without waiting for an answer. He hears Adam telling Morgan to go with him as he turns and walks out of the room and he glances down at her when she falls into step beside him.

"What's your problem with going after demons?" she asks as they step outside.

"I like demons. I don't want to have to hurt one."

"You think you'd stand a chance against a demon, nephilim?"

He raises his eyebrows at her before looking away without answering and they continue their walk along the warehouse driveway back to town and his hotel room in silence.

He knows that he stands a chance against them, because he’s done it before. He’s had to hold his own against several of them, every time just doing his job and every time hating it somewhere deep down. Sometimes he wishes that the wendigo had taken him out, that he hadn’t done so well in his altercation with him so as to gain the attention of the Agency. The Agency that had bluntly disregarded the fact that at one point he hated hurting people. The Agency that had shoved “do whatever it takes” down his throat until he did as he was told without a second thought or a moment of hesitation. The Agency that had erased any of the humanity still residing in him and had reduced him to this thing that had no qualms about hurting anyone anymore. As soon as the need for it arises now he acts without thinking, without any consideration for who he’s rendering helpless if they resist and won’t accompany him back to the nearest facility willingly.

The Agency that has turned him into someone who can no longer stand being underestimated and feels the need to prove himself whenever his abilities are questioned. People hear angel and don't bother pushing any further, they just assume he's a pussy who'd rather use his words than his fists. It used to be an accurate assumption, he supposes. But nowadays he gets a sick rush out of proving them wrong, barely able to remember the man he used to be before the Agency got their hands on him.

"You know I think you were supposed to just go over these at the warehouse." Morgan points out after a while, gesturing to the files under his arm.

"I prefer my own space," he answers shortly.

"There's definitely advantages to the two of us having a bit of privacy," she agrees, and he glances over to see her smirking at him.

He fucking knew it. She wants him, not that it's a surprise. He lets his eyes run down the length of her body before returning them up to hers. "Don't flatter yourself."

He could burst out laughing at the look on her face in response to his blatant rejection but he manages to keep a hold of himself. She obviously doesn't get knocked back often.

“In fact you could probably just go back if you want,” he adds, pushing his luck just a little further, testing the waters and seeing how much he’ll get away with before she takes him up on his offer and leaves him alone. To his surprise she shakes her head and lights up a cigarette.

“Adam told me to come with you.”

“And you always do what he says?” he swipes a cigarette from her packet before she can put it away and snatches the cigarette from between her lips, lighting his from the end of it before placing it back between them, deliberately ignoring the outrage written all over her face.

“He’s my commanding agent,” she answers, seemingly unsure how to react to his boldness with stealing her cigarette. 

“And you’re a good girl, got it,” he gives a short nod as they approach the hotel, and she scoffs behind him as he leads her to his room.

“I can be bad enough when I need to be,” she replies indignantly after a moment and he can’t help the slight chuckle that escapes him.

“I’ll take your word for it.” He can’t tell if she’s scowling or if her face is twisted up with confusion and he doesn’t even bother trying to work out which one as he pushes the door open and holds it for her, the way he’s standing giving need for her to brush against him as she slowly steps past him into the room.

“I didn’t figure you were an open the door for ladies type.”

“I didn’t figure you were a lady,” he throws back without missing a beat, and this time she’s definitely scowling at him as he steps in behind her and closes the door.

--

She hates him, she decides. She’s leaning on the edge of the small desk by the window of the cheap hotel room, close enough for his arm to brush against her thigh every time he moves on the chair to reach for a new sheet of paper out of the file. Not so close that he can’t avoid doing it though so it’s definitely on purpose.

And damn her obnoxious hypersensitivity because every time he does she can’t shake how nice it feels, even through the sleeves of his jacket and the thick material of her jeans. Probably just because she’d been fairly confident in being able to get him naked within half an hour of being back at his room and the fact that he hasn’t fallen for her charms is throwing her, so the slight contact is a welcome relief that at least he doesn’t seem to have anything against physical contact with her.

Eventually he groans and drops the file he’s holding onto the desk loudly, resting his elbows on the top of it and running his fingers through his hair, massaging his temples for a few seconds before looking up at her.

“I know where he is,” he states, and she snaps her gaze down to him in surprise, having expected him to say that he’s over it for the day instead.

“What?”

“I know where he is,” he repeats, as though no further explanation is needed.

“Where is he then?”

Tanner leans to the side, unnecessarily coiling his arm around her waist to reach the paper map that she’d sat just behind her when she was finished going over it earlier. He’s keeping a straight face, but the smile in his eyes is beyond obvious as he holds eye contact with her, his hand slowly and lightly dragging around her midsection as he does so before grabbing the map and then sitting straight in his seat again.

She definitely hates him.

He spreads the map out on the desk, just about smacking her on the backside as he does so and she pushes herself off of the edge with a huff and stands behind him instead, leaning down over him with her hand splayed on the desk beside his, their pinky fingers touching just barely. He doesn’t move his hand, and she can’t help but wonder what kind of game he’s playing; seemingly going out of his way to graze her with the briefest of touches and yet not being willing to actually touch her properly.

She sternly instructs herself to focus on the map as he points to a spot at the edge of town, worryingly close to the warehouse. “Here.”

“We’ve looked there.”

“In the sewers?”

“Yeah,” she frowns in confusion and he rolls his head back to look up at her, a disbelieving expression on his face.

“All the way into the sewers?”

“Mostly.”

“So no,” he rolls his eyes and looks back down at the map. “Just figured your spidey senses would make it easy for you to tell if he was down there, huh?”

“Our what?”

“Sense of smell.”

“Demons reek. We would’ve smelt them from miles away.”

“It’s a sewer.”

“And?”

“You know what else reeks?” he pauses, though it’s obvious the question is rhetorical and the pause is simply for dramatic affect, “shit.”

“You wanna just tell me what you’re thinking or you wanna be a dick about it for the rest of the day?”

He looks up at her again with a grin this time and his pinky finger taps at the map, brushing against hers as it does. “It’s even more fun getting you worked up than I expected it to be.”

“Maybe if you were working me up properly I’d agree but this is just annoying.”

He laughs and looks back down at the map, ignoring her innuendo again jabbing his finger at the sewers again. “This is where he is,” his finger slides out to indicate a few shops on the edge of town near the entrance to the sewers, “this is where he’s been seen, there’s nowhere else nearby that would allow him to disappear like he does.”

“Let’s go then if you’re so sure,” she straightens up and takes a step away from him towards the door, but he stays where he is, tutting and shaking his head.

“My guess is that he only comes out in the open right before the sewers get… busy,” he calls to her before she can leave.

“Busy?”

“Typically most people are showering or doing their, you know - business - between six and seven in the morning.” he pauses and she steps back over to him, watching as he runs a finger along the faint grey line on the map indicating the location of the pipes. “There’s a spot in here somewhere that’s safe for him to hide in for the duration and probably until about four, five o’clock the next morning. Right before the sewers get the most use and can cover his scent from supernaturals that may be searching for him. Like say, vampires.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying you can go off half cocked right now and try your luck at locating him with all those other smells covering him, or you can wait and come with me in the morning when he’s likely to be heading back into hiding for the day and catch him before he even makes it to the sewers. Right out in the open, piece of cake.”

“And you’re sure he’ll be there?”

“Ninety-five percent.”

“And the other five?”

“Will mean that I’ve fucked up and you have my full permission to punish me before we find where else he could be,” he grins over his shoulder at her and she rolls her eyes despite the images flooding her mind of all the ways she can think of to punish him.

“Fine. In the morning then,” she turns to walk out of the door.

“It’s a date. I’ll pick you up at three thirty.”

He’s still grinning at her, and the shit eating grin combined with his choice of words grates on her nerves, as does how attractive she’s still finding him despite his cockiness and mocking.

“A date with you to the sewers, sounds about right,” she retorts but then hesitates for a second before leaving to add “could be easier if you just came back with me and stayed the night at the warehouse.”

“Are you inviting me to spend the night with you, Agent?”

“No. I’m inviting you to spend a few hours with me and then fuck off to your own bed at the warehouse.”

He seems to be considering it for a moment, his grin fading and leaving him staring at her thoughtfully before he answers. “Pass.”

She really fucking hates him.

--

Adam’s waiting for her when she arrives back at the warehouse, a displeased expression on his face and his arms crossed over his chest.

“You went back to his room with him?”

“He said he wanted his own space to work.”

“To work?” Disbelief is written all over his face even without the one eyebrow arched at her and the way he looks her up and down as though searching for evidence that they did more than work.

“Yes, work.”

“And did you find him?”

“Tanner thinks he’s worked it out. We’re checking a location out in the morning.”

“Good,” Adam answers with a short nod, giving her another quick once over before turning and leaving her alone.

His concern is unnecessary seeing as though Tanner has no interest whatsoever in sleeping with her. He’s shown more interest in Farah so far, which bothers Morgan for several reasons. Lucas was the last person she’d come onto and been rejected by, though now she feels that she dodged a bullet and counts the rejection as more of a success.

Tanner doesn’t strike her as someone who’d be especially picky though, and it confuses her that his rejection is so blunt and leaves no room for interpretation, yet he keeps flirting back with her before doing it. The back and forth is making it difficult for her to shake him from her thoughts, and she doesn’t like it. On top of that, she doesn’t like the idea of him and Farah hooking up.

She’s fairly certain that he’s not Farah’s type, but she also knows that Farah can sometimes be slightly gullible when it comes to seeing the best side of people, and the way Tanner seems to be able to turn his charm on might actually work on her.

Which wouldn’t be a problem. It’s not as though she’s jealous. But she has a feeling that someone like Tanner could destroy someone like Farah, and that she is not okay with.

--

He likes her, dammit.

It’s unexpected, but not so unexpected that Tanner doesn’t feel it already creeping up on him after spending only one afternoon with her. He’d liked the look of her the second he’d laid eyes on her, but it’s already more than that now and it had somehow made it surprisingly easy to knock back her offer of going back to the warehouse with her.

He can’t like her. Or at least, he can’t let anyone know that he likes her - least of all Morgan herself. He’s no good for people that he actually likes, no good at caring about people and showing it in a normal and healthy way. It’s not like he’s never developed feelings for people before, there’s been a twinge here and there but he’s always managed to put a stop to it before it got too far and he did something stupid like telling them or showing them or going out of his way to take care of their problems for them.

It’s going to be more difficult with Morgan, being that he needs to work with her. The only way he can see that he’s going to be able to nip this in the bud is to find this demon as quickly as possible so that Morgan can get her answers out of him and the rest of the mission can be left up to Unit Bravo. If not for him still needing to find Helk, Tanner would probably be getting ready to leave Wayhaven right now without ever helping them, but he needs to stick around long enough to get his rings back and he won’t get away with staying in the same town as them without running into them at some stage. Bailing out early would also bring with it the almost certain risk of the Agency catching up with him eventually and locking him up - no doubt throwing away the key. He’s hardly been a model employee for all these years, he guesses that there are plenty of people in power associated with the Agency who’d love to see the end of him and would jump at the chance to make it happen.

But fuck it all, he really likes her.

So much so that even now as he’s going over what they need to do in the morning in his mind, his thoughts keep reminding him that he’s going to be with her the whole time. Maybe the only way around it is to cave to her and let her fuck him out of her system. Then she would no longer be interested and whether or not he likes her and can stop himself from liking her anymore would be a moot point. He might be a jerk, but he’s not that big of a jerk that he’d relentlessly pursue something that someone is clearly not interested in.

He falls asleep still involuntarily thinking about her, and unsurprisingly she already makes it into his dreams for the first time. Not the kind of dream he’d enjoy having about her though. It starts that way, but quickly turns into more of a nightmare, memories of his sister and her boyfriend and what Tanner had done to him after what he had done to his sister swirling together with thoughts about Morgan and the things likely to happen to her if he was to let his feelings get the better of him and make him throw caution to the wind, until it becomes something that jolts him awake, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, rapidly opening his eyes and then squeezing them closed again to try and shake the images from his mind.

And that’s why you can’t like her, he reminds himself as he resigns himself to spending the rest of the night wide awake and worrying about what he’s gotten himself into.

--

tags (please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed): @admdmrtn @masonsfangs @oxjenayxo @mmerengue @agentsunshine @bravomckenzie @freckles-spangledvampire @mistyeyedbi @agentnolastname @kelseaaa @detectivewiseman @utterlyinevitable @masonscig

[fayeimara]

Meant To Be || One For Every Billion

6. By My Side | Pt 4

"You've got to be kidding me."

Your group has already grabbed a table on the second floor balcony, overlooking the crowded paths below, at one of the nicer restaurants at the heart of the park's main food district and you've been checking updates on your phone after messaging Tobio and Hiro when Oikawa's unamused voice breaks through your thoughts.

You glance up to your left at him to see a look of disbelief on his face and when you follow his line of sight, you see the two stragglers everyone has been waiting on heading your way, weaving through the tables to reach you all.

"Tobio!" A smile breaks across your face at your cousin's grumpy visage. He seems a little closed off, studying the additions to your group with what you think is apprehension.

"Tobio?" Toru's head literally snaps towards you in question.

You turn to him as Tobio and Hiro come to a stop and pull out the two empty chairs at your table.

You hear Iwa murmur a low, "Oh shit." but you have to dismiss it because you're clearly missing something.

"Yeah," you watch Toru with a question in your own eyes, "My cousin, Kageyama Tobio. And Hiro, Hana's brother.."

Iwaizumi is actually facepalming while Maki and Mattsun are chuckling, but you can't see what's so funny so you continue with the introductions, "Tobio, this is-"

"We already know each other, Y/n. I went to school with Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san until they graduated this year."

Okay, small world. All you can really say while you digest this information is, "Oh."

But then, "Hiro doesn't know them... right?"

"No, not yet!" Hana's a lifesaver that steps in to make introductions with the rest of the guys while you chew it over. There's clearly history here, right?

Then, you kind of get an answer because Toru turns to speak with you while the others greet each other, "So let me get this straight. Ushiwaka and Tobio-chan are both your cousins?"

"Um. Yeah. Pretty much." You watch his eyes narrow on your response.

"Pretty much?"

"Yeah, Tobio's actually Shin's cousin but they're both more like brothers to me. I guess it's the same situation with Toshi but on my dad's side... we're not directly related either."

You can see the understanding light up his eyes for a moment, "You choose them, huh? As family?"

"Exactly."

"Interesting taste. So family but not."

"No. They're definitely my family, no question. Nothing will ever change that."

You and Toru stare at each other for a moment as you both try to work out what's going on in the other's head and where the lines are. When he doesn't reply back, you raise an eyebrow and prompt, "So.. you and Tobio..?"

He lets out a laugh that might be just a little bitter, "Please, there's no me and Tobio."

"Hm." You let it sit there because you're not one to pry more than that when someone is clearly somewhat unhappy. You'll get it out of Tobio later anyways.

And, cue lightbulb, "You were on the volleyball team together."

A cavalier smile spreads across his face at your question, it's definitely not sweet, teasing, or nice. It seems carefree but the expression in his eyes is almost telling you to back off. However, he still answers, "We were on the same team once, sure."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah." You smile with what you hope is the kindness you want to relay and not the awkward uncertainty you're feeling, "Why? Do you have more you want to say?"

He studies you a moment longer before turning away to pick up his menu and study it instead. You still hear his quiet answer, "No."

You look away as well and your eyes fall over Tobio, who's looking back at you. His expressionless gaze doesn't convey much but, for once, even you can't read beneath it, and then the connection's cut when he glances away to the rides in the distance.

Okay.

The lunch goes surprisingly well considering the amount of tension around the table at the start. Mostly between Toru and Tobio, but even Iwaizumi seems more... engaged in the situation. Everyone else continues to get along fairly well and make up for those three, however, and the atmosphere eases out eventually. It probably helps that Tobio is quiet as per usual and Toru is unerringly good at pretending all is well in Oikawa-land.

When everyone heads out for the rest of the rides, you do catch Toru watching you interact with Tobio and Shin but you don't know what's so curious about your relationship with your cousins. What you do think is curious is his interest and attention when you're joking around with Karu or talking to Hiro. See, he doesn't seem to mind if you sit with your cousins, his friends or Hana, but somehow always manages to slip into the seat next to you if it looks like one of Hana's brothers will.

It's so obvious that you can't help but bring it up as you exit the picture booth at one of the rides, "Not that I should have to ask you permission, but are you going to let me sit with Karu or Hiro?"

"Do you want to sit with one of them?"

"Don't answer my question with a question."

"I like having you by my side."

"Still not an answer to my original question."

"Do you not want me next to you?"

"Stop avoiding my question or I'm going to assume you're jealous."

"Sounds like you want me to be jealous."

"I didn't say that."

"You also didn't deny it, Angel."

"Toru." You mean to admonish him for the little games he's playing but when his first name slips out and you see the wide grin start to spread across his face, you have to close your eyes in defeat.

It's with your eyes closed, as you're taking a breath to find your calm, you hear a soft smile in his voice as he calls to you, "Y/n."

And when you open your eyes he's holding up a printed picture from the ride you were just on. You and Toru are sitting next to each other, your hands interlocked between you again and you're trying to hold your hair down with your free hand, while strands still fly everywhere from the wind, to look over at him. Your expressions are caught in that moment, now eternal, as you're laughing at the cute pose he's trying to make for the picture but he's looking back at you and not the camera, with the happiest grin on his face.

"Why this one out of all the others?"

"I've been getting those too, just electronically. I wanted you to have this one."

"It's for me?"

"So you can remember how much I like you by my side."

You can only smile and take the picture from him, responding with a soft,  "Thank you."

"Say my name again, Angel."

"Oikawa."

"My first name."

"No."

"Please." He's giving you the cutest puppy eyes, but-

"I said no." And you turn to walk away before he can actually convince you, the smile still stretching your lips as you carefully tuck the picture into the hidden pocket, between your phone and cards to keep it from crumpling as much as possible.

-x-x-x-

Your group and Toru's end up going separate ways after an early dinner, which Miwa and her friend joined you all for. She got along famously with the unexpected additions to the group which you found pretty ironic. So did Toru, you guess, since he made it a point to state his delight at meeting a better Kageyama. No comment, you're biased.

You did have to promise Toru that you'd see him again before you left the park which, oopsie, you guess you never mentioned you'd also booked rooms to stay overnight. Haha. Yeah. You wonder if that means you can message him in the morning?

No, he'd just message you tonight if you don't first. He's already texting every so often and it's just been about fifteen minutes since you both went separate ways. So you end up texting him back to promise you'll see him in an hour or so, after some quality time with your cousins.

Back with the original group consisting of just your family, you all head over to one of the themed lounges to grab desserts and drinks. Tobio, of course, sticks with milk, while Miwa is all about getting her drink on with Sakepolitans - a cosmo made with sake.

Ren manages to convince her to order him an old fashioned or two, stating he's almost legal anyways - you roll your eyes at that - but you and Shin decide to experiment with the house recommendations. He goes with the Uji Matcha Latte while you go your typically coffee route with the café mocha.

An hour flies by fast as you all catch up on your day and make plans for the next but, by the end of it, Miwa is definitely in need of a bed, maybe with a trashcan by the side, and Tobio might actually be asleep on the table.

After telling Shin to stick with you and Tobio, Ren hauls Miwa away to get some sleep, letting you both know he'll be meeting back up with his friends after she's tucked in so to call if any of you need him. He does hesitate briefly, glancing between you and Shin, and you swear he mutters, "Just how much trouble can they get into here?" before shaking his head and leaving.

Hm. You throw a look over to Shin as he shakes Tobio awake and state, "Why don't you get him back to his room while I finish my coffee?"

He eyes you warily, considering your offer, "Right. Like you'll go to your room straight after?"

"What? Don't tell me you're not meeting up with Karu after you drop Tobio to bed."

His mouth opens but literally no words come out. Yeah, that's what you thought.

"What about you? Meeting up with your boyfriend?" Never mind, he found his words. Well, you can too.

"Why do sound like a elementary school kid? Oh right, emotionally you are one."

"I'm telling Ren that you're sneaking out." Rat. He would never, would he?

"You're literally just proving my point. Please, keep going."

"Why are you like this?" Ah, there's the crack. But you need to push a little more.

You lean back with a mocking smile, "Better than you at everything?"

Yup, now he's pouting. "Mean."

"It's genetic. You should know, you are too."

"Wow, I can't believe we're related."

"Me neither. Now, should I let you do your thing and have fun with your friend? Or do we call Ren and both end up stuck in our rooms for the night."

"How do you always...? Never mind." He grimaces in complete defeat, "Fine. Just keep your phone on and answer me right back if I message or call."

He's about to turn away but stops and adds, "And obviously old rules apply. You call immediately if you run into Ren so I can have my story together or make sure I'm back."

"Obviously." You smirk up at him over the mug before taking a sip.

But he didn't even have to say it. Whatever shit the two of you pull on each other, you also have each others backs when it counts. Especially with your older siblings. That was the pact those of you within a one to two year age range made with each other when you were all kids, as if any of you even had to. It's kind of cute you guess, but you'd never say that to any of them or they'd never stop harassing you.

As he heads off, you pull out your phone to message Toru and then decide to drop a picture of your drink on your twitter while you wait for his response. Which is unnecessary because the boy responds almost immediately. What, was he waiting by his phone?

Prev | Next

Masterlist

Behind The Scenes!

-Y/n also stopped to get pics... at all the rides

-Toru might have been telling the truth and got them all lol and he was def caught looking at her in more than just that one ;)

-Not that she wasn't... I don't know about you, but I definitely think I know which ones they'll both get printed :)

A/N: Really getting there.. one more part left in this episode! Buckle up, it's the longest one <3

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