#which from a third person perspective is idiotic from both side because every blind person with a cane can see they're so insufferable

[starpros-sunshine]

You know what would be really cute if Wataru actually really really enjoys the being spoiled by Eichi (to a degree) but is embarrassed to admit it I think that would be really adorable

[purplellamanator]

Oh my god! I can’t believe you open your ask again \(//∇//)\ If it is not much, can you do hero/villain with shinran? It is good to see them on the other perspective. By the way,I love all your stories for DCMK. Thanks for writing the stories to us! And make people smile 😊

A/N~ Thanks so much for the request and your kind words! I hope you like this! This one is a slight twist to canon where Ran is in the BO being the villain and Shinichi, the detective 💜

6. Hero/Villain~ Person A is a Hero. Person B is a villain. And both have an undeniable attraction to each other

oOo

She's a fool. This can all only end badly. She knows that much. Yet . . . she's done it again. And again. And again.

And again.

One night in a week shifted to three times in a week. Every other day was slowly turning into every single day. And it was her fault. She was the one that sought him. She was the one that was in control of when and where they would meet- of if they would even meet. She could try to spin it on him. That he was just as dense as her. That he should tell her to leave and not to come back. But he doesn't.

So they were both guilty.

The repercussions for if they were found out would be damning and irreversible. He could lose his job and she . . . probably her head- not that he needed to know that. If he ever knew what would happen to her- what Gin would do if he found out about them, he’d never spare her another passing glance. So selfishly, she refrained from telling him. Why should she? It was clear that neither wanted to go without the other.

It was ridiculous really, how this all started. He had been chasing her, trying to arrest her. She shouldn’t of looked back when she heard his call of distress nor should she of panicked when the railing stopping him from falling over the edge of the fire escape gave out.

It was all so stupid but it’s what she did. In a flash she had been standing over him and using one hand to grip the shoulder of his coat tightly before realizing she’d need both hands. She had almost toppled over the edge with him due to the grating being slick with the still pouring ran but after he got over the shock of her helping him, he quickly gripped what was left of the railing beside her and helped to tug his body up.

After and he was sitting beside her breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush he must’ve just gotten along with the realization that he almost died, he stared at her with an unreadable expression. Swallowing, she just sat equally frozen only now, petrified that she just royally screwed herself over. He’d arrest her and with his handcuffs, a bullet in the back of her head wouldn’t be far behind once Gin found out.

The abrupt cracking of what sounded like a radio had them both jolting out of whatever staring contest they had been locked in.

“Kudou, anything in your end?”

Her eyes went wide again at the reminder. He was chasing her. Just because she had saved his life, it was still his job-

“No.”

She blinked rapidly and in confusion as he continued to speak into the radio.

“It looks like she got away. Pull everybody in, we need to regroup,” he ordered, the entire time his stark blue eyes were connected with hers. Afterwards and once his partner replied that he got the message, the air between them became tense as neither one made a move. It looked like neither wanted to explain their actions first.

When he realized that she would not be saying anything, he slowly leaned towards her.

And instantly she recoiled sharply, her hand bracing her side protectively.

His eyes flit down to where her palm was pressed firmly into her side. “You’re hurt,” he said simply as if stating a fact.

That was an understatement. She was quick but even for her dodging a spray of bullets was practically impossible. Still, she had managed to do it. Each one missed her except for one. And now she was beginning to feel the affects of blood loss.

When he pressed forward, as hurriedly as her sluggish movements would allow, she scurried behind her almost repeating the incident of sliding over the edge. “Do not touch me,” she warned carefully but really, the threat was an empty one. What could she honestly do in her state? She was mere minutes away from passing out. The rush from the chase as well as his almost deathly fall had worn off and now she was beginning to feel the pull for sleep. Which she knew would not be the kind she’d wake up from.

Ignoring her, he moved forward again and when he reached out to grab her and force his help, she slapped his hand away roughly. “I can do it myself,” she snapped angrily. It was his own officers that did it anyway and gingerly, she cradled her side defensively like a wild animal.

His hand gripping the arm that bore the limb that slapped him, suddenly pulled her towards him. Doing everything she could just to stay awake and aware, all she could do was growl furiously while to struggle like an infant.

Finally, when even his patience must’ve worn out, his eyes snapped back to hers angrily. “Let me help you.” The words came out tense and she was sure was meant exactly as it had sounded- like an order.

After that, she couldn’t remember much of anything else. At some point she must’ve either passed out or stopped fighting but when she came to, she was hooked up to monitors. At first, she thought she was in a hospital and instantly panic gripped her heart so tightly. But looking to her side and around the room, she realized that that wasn’t the case at all. She was in a . . . house?

“How are you feeling?”

The sudden intrusion to her thoughts jolted her so badly that one instinct, she sat up straight in the bed. Forgetting her injury and just what helped lead up to this position, a searing pain shot through her side and she pressed a hand to it delicately.

“Shit!” She heard the curse before suddenly the man from the other night filled her vision. His blue eyes that she could remember so clearly were staring at her with concern and he tried to force her to lay down once more. Seeing that was clearly in no position to fight, she slowly rested her head against the pillows.

“Why am I here?” The question was said without any real emotion behind it and she didn’t bother to even look at him as her eyes rested firmly on the ceiling above her. There was no point. She couldn’t fight or defend herself. She was at his mercy.

For once the man looked confused and it was such an odd look to see on his face. “You were dying,” he said as if she were an idiot for asking.

Jaw clenching she heaved a sign. “No. Why am I here and not a hospital?” Was was she here and not in jail? Surely if he had taken her to the ER she’d be cuffed to the bed right now.

Her question was only answered by his silence and when she thought he must’ve left with her knowing, her gaze flit over time find him staring at her with that same expression from last night.

“Why did you save me?”

His words caught her off guard. She hadn’t been expecting him to respond with a question of his own but once it registered, her gaze moved back to the ceiling.

“You were dying,” she said simply, repeating the words he had given her just a little bit ago.

Based off the way his breath heaved out of him, she could tell her answer only frustrated him. “But why would you of all people care?”

His words made her mad. He said them as if he knew who she was- what kind of person she was. And he didn’t. “Maybe I’m not as evil as you’ve made me out to be,” she replied easily. It was the truth. She had done a lot of wrong in her life but she never took the life of someone that didn’t actually deserve it. And when she did, she didn’t enjoy it. She wasn’t like the others in the organization and she knew that’s what was upsetting him the most. Because he knew that if she had been any other member of the BO, that night would’ve been his last.

Her words had left him quiet and she realized it was because they had him thinking. After that, things had been odd with him. At any second she was expecting the Japanese Police Force to come busting through the windows and roof to arrest her. But it never happened.

He never did tell her why he took her here nor who and how he saved her life. She didn’t bother asking because she knew that he wouldn’t tell her anyway. Probably because she wouldn’t tell him why she saved him but honestly, she didn’t have a reason for that either other than that in her eyes, he didn’t deserve to die. He wasn’t a criminal or crook. Simply just someone doing their job- someone trying to live.

It was unspoken, but a mutual understanding of trust blossomed between the two that night. She would always act as if she were on guard around him but it was undeniable how safe he made her feel. For once she could actually sleep a full night without worrying that she’d be killed off in her sleep. She didn’t want to leave, but after a week passed, she knew that it was time. The others had to be searching for her since she never checked in. If she stayed any longer, this stranger’s life would be in danger.

The first time, she had left when he was away. She wasn’t sure if he’d try to stop her and also, she didn’t know exactly what to say even if he didn’t.

But that had not been her last night with him. Two weeks later, she came back. She didn’t know what had gotten into her. Breaking into a detective’s house, she was practically delivering herself to the jail. But she couldn’t deny the undeniable urge she had to speak with him again. She claimed inside her head that it was to finally get him to explain why he saved her but she knew that was all a lie.

It wasn’t till the third time she returned to him that she was able to finally understand. She had been waiting for him. Sitting at the end of his bed with her legs extended and crossed at the ankles. She knew he was home the moment she saw the lights reflecting through his blinds. He had been startled by her presence that night. When he asked why she was there like he did each the two times before, this time she didn’t dodge or give a snide remark in return. This time she spoke honestly.

“Because I want you.”

Her response had surprised him even more than her sudden presence but oddly, a gleam of understanding and . . recognition? . . came through. He felt the same.

The truth had been just as mind reeling for her as it was him. It was only after they lay in his sheets, bare and pressed to each other, his hands leisurely brushing along her back as she rested on his chest, that why she wanted him so much hit her. His touch. It was so kind and gentle. Even when it was pulling her closer for much more carnal reasons.

No one had ever touched her like that before. No one had ever looked at her like that before and for the first time in years, she cried.

And so a pattern began. Her visits had been sporadic in the beginning until finally they became regular. No longer was he confused to find her sitting on his bed when he got home from work. It was something she knew he expected now. And so long as his life wasn’t in danger, she wouldn’t disappoint.

[zombizombi]

hummingbird heartbeat pt44

Nothing really changed, with Jeff and Kent. At least, it didn’t seem like it. Had Bitty expected things to change? Sort of. How was a more nebulous concept, it was just -- Kent and Jeff were boyfriends, now.

He thought.

He was like, 99% sure, anyway. Kent hadn’t given him many more details, even though an entire month had passed, and Jeff -- well, Jeff wasn’t interested in talking to Bitty about Kent. Bitty knew, at least, that they hadn’t been… intimate, knew that Kent hadn’t slept with Jeff yet. To hear Kent tell it, they barely touched each other. On Skype calls where Bitty saw them together, Jeff and Kent seemed the same as ever. They weren’t even sitting closer on the sofa or anything.

It was weird. 

And honestly, Bitty didn’t even know why he cared so much, it was not his business. Moo Maw always said people ought to mind their own business. Except, well… Kent was Bitty’s business, so by extension, his relationship with Jeff was, too. Kind of. Right? Which meant minding it was a little more acceptable. Reasonable, even.

“I guess I thought something would happen?” Bitty said to Jack, curled up in bed one night. Their nights together were becoming more rare, would be rarer still. Jack’s season was upon them.

“Something happened. You said they talked.” Jack turned on his side a little more, tucked closer to Bitty. He ran hot fingers down Bitty’s side, tucking them up under the hem of his shirt. “Maybe they’re just still figuring things out.”

“I don’t even know if they’re dating,” said Bitty. He shivered.

“You know you have to be patient with Kent.” Jack pressed a kiss to Bitty’s neck. “Why is this bothering you so much?”

“I don’t know, I --” Bitty sucked in a quick breath as Jack’s teeth closed on his earlobe. Jack was right, he should worry about something else. It was just so hard to stop thinking. He’d never been good at that, not really, because Bitty’s mind was always sort of going, worrying about something. It was -- “Honey,” he said, as a little shiver ran down his spine.

“Maybe you need a distraction.” Pushing Bitty’s shirt up further, Jack pressed his hand flat against the small of Bitty’s back and brought his lips down to Bitty’s collarbone.

Bitty’s breath caught. “Oh?” This was probably going… good places.

“Mhm.” Jack’s breath was hot against the hollow of Bitty’s throat.

Jack was a very good distraction.

Bitty spent the rest of his time in Providence trying not to worry too much about Kent and Jeff. He had enough on his plate, anyway. It helped to pick Jack’s brain about captaining a hockey team -- the NHL season would be starting soon enough that if he wanted to really get Jack’s full laser focus, Bitty had to do it then. And he really, really wanted Jack’s full attention. Jack and Kent were different in a lot of ways, including the way they played hockey, and the advantages that could come from being able to talk to not just one, but two NHL players in leadership roles weren’t something Bitty could pass up. Advice from different perspectives and leadership styles would come in handy, was worth spending some precious boyfriend time on.

And it was apparent, several games in, that Bitty’s extra attention and work was paying off. Samwell’s season was going well -- really well, actually. A brand new first line meant big changes in play, new hurdles to overcome. The new guys were fast, good skaters, but sometimes lines took chemistry, and sometimes chemistry took a few months to build. They didn’t really have months, though, and if running drills on passing was what Samwell needed to make it to the Frozen Four, well.

Bitty spent extra time going over tape with the coaches. He worked with the boys on passing and drills, organized a couple of game nights for team bonding, tried to ensure that he was available to any of the guys if they needed him. It was great. The guys were really getting it together, and Whiskey was honestly amazing. He was really focused, really talented, and really… intense. He was the best player they’d had since Jack, and so far, they’d even managed to avoid any real injuries. Bitty allowed himself to hope for the Frozen Four.

Stirring the custard ingredients together, Bitty balanced his phone on his shoulder with his chin. “I think it might not be completely out of reach?”

Kent laughed. “Why did you say that like a question?”

“I don’t want to jinx it,” Bitty said. “You know, it’s like -- if you say too much about it, it’ll definitely end up not happening?”

“You guys are having a good season so far, though.”

Even though Kent couldn’t see him, Bitty nodded. “We are!”

“And you’re, like, working on your thesis, right?”

Bitty sighed. “Baby, that’s not until Spring. School’s barely started!” And his thesis was kind of not his highest priority at the moment. Or like, ever, but definitely not now.

“Well yeah,” Kent said, “but you’ve, like, thought about it. Right?”

Right. How did he end up dating two insane overachievers, again? Bitty poured the vanilla buttermilk custard filling into the blind-baked pie crust. “I’ll get it done! Worry about your own dang GPA!”

“Mine’s really good,” Kent said, smug and satisfied in a way that was both irritating and adorable at the same time.

“Yes, your brain is very sexy, dear,” said Bitty. “Isn’t it your bedtime?”

Kent gasped. “Not for another, like, two hours!”

Bitty opened the oven. “You are absolutely ridiculous, and I --”

“Oh my god, Eric, don’t you want to talk to me?” Kent’s voice sounded farther away, and the sound of running water filtered through the line. “What kind of pie are you making?”

“Mr. Parson,” Bitty said. “Am I on speaker phone?”

“Yes,” said Kent, after a small silence. Bitty heard the sound of a door shutting in the background.

“It’s chess pie,” Bitty said. “Who’s there?”

“What the fuck is a chess pie?” Jeff asked, and Bitty sighed. Why didn’t anyone know this?

“Y’all really need to come visit.”

“It’s good,” Kent supplied.

“All right, super chief. We play Boston on our first roadie, I think.” Jeff’s voice was closer. “Make one then.”

“We do,” Kent said. The water in the background shut off and, after a minute, Kent picked the phone back up. “I was gonna get you seats, if you wanted. And maybe you could, um.”

“Stay?” Bitty finished for him, smiling a little.

“Yeah,” Kent said. “And you can tell me all about your boys in person, so I can see how cute you look when you’re all focused.”

“Gross,” said Jeff, and Bitty laughed.

Those fuzzy, warm feelings of confidence about their season couldn’t last. Bitty should’ve known that, but everything was just going so well. The new lines were starting to gel, plays were making sense -- they could do it. They could totally do it.

At least, that’s what Bitty thought until Derek Nurse gave himself the most idiotic hockey injury ever. The game was beautiful otherwise, honestly. Everyone was playing gorgeous hockey, and Bitty was really, really proud of their progress.

In the third, Nursey slapped the puck on a rebound, sending it careening into the net over the unprepared goalie’s shoulder. It was a filthy goal. Grinning, he returned to the bench, bumping gloves with the guys as he came within reach.

“Nice goal!”

“Top shelf, Nurse!”

“Fuckin’ s’wawes--”

“Hey, thanks for the assist, Poindexter!” Nursey grinned over his shoulder.

Dex rolled his eyes. “You’re lucky you didn’t break your neck crashing across the boards like that, Nursey.”

“Jeez, Dex,” Nursey said, “I’ll interpret that as ‘you’re welcome, keep it u--’” the door clicked open just as Nurse was about to swing over, and somehow, despite literal years of playing hockey, he fell. As luck would have it, he broke a bone with that foolishness, which would not only screw up everything about their game but also serve as the catalyst for the Haus becoming ground zero in a not so cold war.

Honestly, this was the universe’s way of paying Bitty back for thinking that they were doing well that season when it came to injuries. He should’ve knocked on wood.

Dex and Nursey were absolutely ridiculous -- everything one of them did irritated the other, and they weren’t, apparently, able to be reasonable in any way whatsoever. Bitty probably should’ve anticipated it, as they’d always nitpicked each other, but after the injury their feuding was on a completely different level. Slytherin and Gryffindor level, even. Everyone had assumed there’d be some nonsense with them moving in to the Haus, of course they had, it was just -- it was so, so much worse than anyone imagined. Complaining about a lack of privacy, Dex attempted to turn his bunk bed into a private oasis. When that didn’t work, he vanished into the basement, accompanied by some power tools. Bitty wasn’t sure what was going on down there. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, truth be told.

When Shitty invited Bitty and Jack to come up to Cambridge to see their new place, Bitty leapt at the chance to escape the Haus for a visit with old friends. It would be great to get away from the world’s most annoying d-pair, and it’d be good for Jack to take a quick trip before his season really got going. It was their last chance.

“Welcome,” said Lardo. “To Haus 2.0.”

“This is interesting,” Bitty said, looking around the house. It definitely had the same feel the Haus used to have. Messy, lived in, vaguely gross. Rent had to be insane.

“Right on,” Jack said, accepting a beer from Shitty as he looked around. “Samwell after Samwell. I’m jealous.”

“Ahem! Allow me to give you a tour of our buckwild best friend abode,” said Shitty. He waved an arm. “It’s several degrees of dece!”

“And pancakes every Saturday,” Ransom added.

“You guys have another roommate?” Jack asked, talking around a mouthful of pie.

“Yeah,” Holster said. “She hates us.”

“Like legitimately wants us to die,” Ransom added.

“Hey, not our fault!” Shitty shoved his shades up on the bridge of his nose. “The Craigslist ad said, and I quote: must be motherfucking down to motherfucking clown.”

“That’s kind of a big ask,” said Jack.

“Oh yeah, how’s my old room at the Haus, Bits?” Lardo asked.

Bitty sighed. “Well, Dex now lives in the basement. So.”

Lardo raised a single brow.

“It’s a long story,” Bitty said.

“To rooming situations from haus to shining haus!” Shitty raised his beer, and everyone else followed suit.

“Hear, hear!”

Hanging out in Cambridge felt like old times, complete with Lardo slaughtering them all in Mario Kart. She was gracious enough to let Bitty be Peach, but the niceties ended there. They were taking a break from the game, Shitty and Rans and Holster and Jack all occupied with a board game, when Lardo leaned over a bit, bumping shoulders with Bitty.

“How’s Kent?” Lardo asked. “Are you guys still…?”

“Yes, we are.” Bitty drained the last of his beer. “He’s doing really well. Season starts soon, so he’s just been busy.”

Lardo nodded. “How many years is it, now?”

“Oh my Lord,” said Bitty. “It’s -- I don’t know. Three? Isn’t that crazy?”

“Yes,” Lardo said, passing him another beer. “Being in an LDR that long is pretty intense, bro.”

“It’s almost over,” Bitty said.

Lardo glanced at Jack, laughing about something with Shitty. “Is it?”

Ah. “Well -- no. I guess it isn’t.” Bitty rubbed the back of his neck. “But I’m going to Vegas after I graduate so it’ll just be… different.”

Lardo nodded. “Been planning that a while,” she said.

Bitty chewed his lower lip. He had been. He’d been thinking about it for a long time, actually, worried about logistics and appearances. Kent’s coming out had helped a little, but there was still no telling how the Bittles would handle their baby boy moving to Vegas to live with his boyfriend.

His boyfriend and his boyfriend, really.

Bitty spent his last night with Jack in Jack’s apartment, both of them snuggled up on the sofa with television and Jack’s favorite pie. Bitty ran fingers through Jack’s hair, smiled a little. “I’ll miss you, honey,” he said.

“I’ll miss you, too,” said Jack, curving gentle fingers around the back of Bitty’s neck.

“Yeah?” Pressing a hand to Jack’s chest, Bitty pushed up off the sofa a little. “Wanna give me something to remember you by?”

Jack laughed.

Kent put a new video up, and Bitty waited to watch it until he was home in his room, able to give it his full attention. Kent was in Jeff’s living room, sitting on the sofa wearing a faded Boston University hoodie that Bitty didn’t remember seeing before. Kent still didn’t put his face into the view of the camera, even though with Bitty out, it was truly only a matter of time before someone found the channel for real. There were a smattering of jumbled comments, a few coherently asking “IS THIS KENT PARSON?!?!?!!?!?!”, but nothing concrete. Yet.

In the video, golden sunlight streamed through the window behind Kent and Kevin curled up next to his side, her head resting on a little toy teddy bear. He scrubbed behind her ears with one hand before he began to play. The melody was sweet and familiar.

It was Rainbow Connection, the song from the Muppets.

Behind him, Jeff walked by, pausing for a moment. He laid a hand on Kent’s shoulder, for a moment, bent down, the ends of his dark hair falling into view, but the rest of him wasn’t visible on camera. His voice could be heard, just barely, murmuring something quiet — but Bitty couldn’t understand what he said. After pressing a kiss to the top of Kent’s head, Jeff wandered out of view of the camera. Kent played and sang without interruption, though Kevin had shifted, wagging her tail and staring up. Halfway through the song she laid her head back down, using the teddy bear as a pillow.

It was a serene little video, everything about it warm and soft. Domestic. Bitty’s stomach hurt a bit looking at it, and he took a deep breath. It was okay to be a little jealous, right? Surely Kent was a little jealous sometimes. Bitty was just used to having Kent all to himself, but it wasn’t bad for Kent to be with Jeff, too. He’d kind of been with Jeff the whole time they’d been together anyway, hadn’t he? And they’d had such a great summer.

It made him feel a tiny bit better to see a couple of comments asking where Sweetie’s boyfriend was, several of them decrying the lack of “cute baker” in the video.

When Bitty called on Skype that night, Kent answered from his own bedroom.

“Oh,” Bitty said. “You’re not at Jeff’s?”

Kent blinked. “No? Why would I be?”

“Well, I saw your video today and just thought --” Bitty squeezed Señor Bun. “It was really good, sweetie.”

Kent shrugged one shoulder. “You know I like to sleep in our bed.” Kit crawled into his lap and he buried one hand in soft fur. The purring was loud enough that Bitty could hear it through the computer. “Jeff’s downstairs, though.”

Of course he was. Jeff practically lived at Kent’s house. Bitty nodded.

Kent frowned. “Babe,” he said, after a moment. “Are you okay?”

“I just miss you,” Bitty said.

Kent softened all over, eyes warm and gold in the lamplight. “I miss you too, Eric,” he said. “I miss you all the time.”

“Even with Jeff there?” Bitty asked, hating how small his voice sounded.

“Yeah.” Kent slid his tongue along his lower lip before sucking it in under his teeth for a minute. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “Eric,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay with this --” he waved a hand -- “whole thing?”

“Yes,” said Bitty.

Kent tilted his head, and the light flashed on the lenses of his glasses. “We don’t have to do this,” he said, after a bit of quiet. “Me and Jeff, I mean.”

“Yes, you do,” said Bitty. Even if Kent thought they could go back, they couldn’t. Shouldn’t. “You belong together. Just like you and me.”

“Eric.” Kent rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away from the camera. “C’mon.”

“It’s fine,” Bitty said. “I mean, it’s different. I’m getting used to it. But it’s -- it isn’t bad, honey.”

“Really? ’Cause you don’t seem, like, thrilled about it,” Kent said. “You’re being weird.”

“It’s fine,” Bitty said, again. Because honestly, it was fine. And he’d be there when school was over, he’d already been looking at the job market in Vegas. “I’m not being weird. I want you to be together. Besides, it’s not like --” he cut himself off, shutting his mouth before he finished that sentence. What Jeff and Kent did was only marginally Bitty’s business, even if he could not stop thinking about it.

“It’s not like what?”

“It’s not like it’s a whole lot different from how you’ve been the entire time I’ve known you,” Bitty said, voice soft, “is what I was gonna say. Is it?”

Kent flushed. “It’s different,” he said.

Holy shit. Bitty sat up straighter, ignoring the twist in his stomach. “Kent Valeray Parson,” he said. “Did you sleep with him?”

Kent’s blush deepened. “I --”

“Oh my god,” said Bitty.

“Not yet,” Kent said.

“Oh my god,” said Bitty. But it had been so long! And Jeff was so, so hot. “Why not?”

Kent rubbed his face with both hands. “Just -- because, okay? We just haven’t.”

“If it’s because of me,” Bitty said, “I --”

“It’s not.” Kent stared down at his hands for a minute. “It’s not you.”

Bitty frowned. Did -- did Jeff not want to, or something? Oh, Lord. Maybe it was some kind of like, ‘I love you but I don’t want to sleep with you’ thing. Jeff was kind of known for fucking around. With women, granted, but still. Surely it wasn’t that Kent didn’t want to. “Honey,” he said. “Do you not want to?”

“Oh my god, Eric,” Kent said, “you have eyes, are you serious? It’s just not -- we’re not there yet, okay? Fuck.”

“Well --”

“Can we not do this?” Kent pushed Kit off his lap. “I don’t ask you about Jack, do I?”

Oh. “Okay,” said Bitty, squeezing Señor Bun. Kent was right, of course. He didn’t ask for details about Jack like that, never had. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked, it’s not really my business --”

Kent was quiet for a minute, picking at a thread on his comforter. “I just don’t know if he, like. Wants to?” he said.

“Sweetie,” Bitty said. “It’s Jeff.” Jeff Troy’s reputation was well-deserved, he was pretty sure. The way he looked at Kent? Bitty was pretty sure that wasn’t the case.

“I know,” said Kent.

“He’s, um.” Bitty rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of the word. He was not going to call Jeff a fuckboy. Even though he was, according to internet message boards. “He, like, you know.” Liked to fuck. Oh, Lord. That meant -- surely Kent would ask Jeff to get tested. Bitty didn’t need to worry about that, too, did he?

“But I don’t think he’s picked up in a while?” Kent said. He chewed on his lower lip. “So, like. Maybe he’s not?”

“Or maybe he’s just saving himself for you?” Bitty countered.

That sentence was too ridiculous to bear, and after a moment, both of them laughed.

“So,” said Kent, “how ’bout them Dodgers?”

“Smooth,” Bitty said. “Real smooth.”

He missed Kent more than ever over the following few days. It wasn’t that he didn’t have enough to do. Bitty had more than enough to do, and he worried, going to bed at night, about not having enough energy to do it all. Kent sounded relaxed on the phone. Happy. Their calls were the same as ever, sweet and warm and faithful. Bitty could almost forget, sometimes, that Jeff was there -- except that Jeff was always there, always had been, and it was… hard, maybe, to think about him watching Bitty and Kent together all that time.

There was so much Bitty wanted to ask him, so much he knew Jeff wouldn’t say.

Bitty couldn’t really devote his time to cross-examining Jeff, anyway. At the Haus, Dex living in the basement was turning out not to be so bad. He was handy enough to fix the place up himself, and Bitty was certainly not going to complain about someone doing work. It needed it, and having Dex fix things kind of took some financial pressure off of everyone else -- as well as giving him something to do. It kept a little peace.

The Haus wasn’t entirely harmonious, though. Whiskey still hadn’t come around, Bitty noticed, preferring to spend most of his time elsewhere with other friends. He wasn’t being team. And as Captain, it felt like Bitty’s job to make sure all the boys were team.

All of his efforts to do so, however, fell flat. Repeatedly. On Skype with Kent, Bitty sighed a little, flopping down on his bed.

“What is wrong?”

“It’s nothing, Kent. It’s just been on my mind,” Bitty said. It was probably stupid to be so uptight about it, anyway. Kent wasn’t the most popular guy in his dressing room, either, and he did fine. Right?

“So it’s something, then,” Kent said, voice about as placid as Kent’s voice ever got.

“At the end of the day,” Bitty said, “I don’t care. I just can’t stop thinking about it and it bothers me.” Kent would know what he meant. They’d talked about it before.

“That’s, like, the definition of caring, Eric,” said Kent, voice warm.

“His high school girlfriend came into town and he didn’t even show her the Haus --”

“You mean he didn’t introduce her to you.” Kent’s voice was a little softer. “Eric --”

Bitty sighed. “That is what I meant,” he admitted. “It hurts. What am I doing wrong?”

“Not everybody is going to like you, babe,” Kent said. “Doesn’t matter what you do. I mean, I know you hate that, but Brian says that’s life or whatever.”

“I know that.” Bitty sighed again. It didn’t make him feel better, though, knowing. It didn’t help at all.

What was he going to do? He’d tried basically everything he could think of, and Whiskey still spent more time with the lacrosse team than he did at the Haus.

“It’s okay if he doesn’t want to, like, experience college the way you do,” said Kent, slowly, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with one finger. “You know that.”

“But I’m his Captain,” Bitty said. “And I can’t seem to get him involved in the team, you know? Team spirit?”

“Some dudes just, like, aren’t into that,” said Kent. He shrugged. “There’s always one or two in a room. It’s no big deal, guy’s good at hockey. You’ll be fine.”

“I just want --” Bitty chewed his lower lip. What did he want? A perfect senior year? Harmony across the Haus and the best team Samwell ever had?

Jeff pushed Kent’s door open. “Your phone’s ringing,” he said.

“Aw, fuck,” said Kent, “that’s the GM’s ringtone. I gotta take this, here --” he traded the laptop for his phone, leaving Jeff on screen. “Talk amongst yourselves.”

“I --”

Kent was gone before Bitty or Jeff could protest, and Bitty rubbed the back of his neck as Jeff chewed his lower lip.

“So,” said Jeff.

“So,” Bitty said. “You, uh. Y’all --”

“What did you say you wanted there, bro?” Jeff asked, interrupting Bitty’s question.

“Nothing,” Bitty said. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair as Jeff raised a brow, clearly unconvinced. “I don’t know. There’s just one guy on my team, y’know, I just. He’s not like, a part of the team?”

“Ah,” said Jeff. He sat, then, just quietly waiting. After a few minutes, Bitty somehow ended up ranting to him, too. When he paused to breathe, Jeff cleared his throat.

“Why don’t you go ahead and take about twenty percent off ’er there, bud,” Jeff said. “Nobody’s perfect, fuck.”

“But --”

“Some guys just don’t wanna do the whole, like, thing,” said Jeff. “It’s fine. If it’s not on the ice, it’s not important. I mean, like. You said he’s playing well. So stop trying to force everybody to be all Happy Days with you.”

Bitty sighed. “I am not,” he said, “forcing anybody to --”

“Just let the guy live, damn,” said Jeff.

What sucked was that Jeff was right, and Bitty knew it. He was trying to think of a decent comeback when Kent returned, the sound of the door interrupting Bitty’s train of thought.

“Jeff, stop antagonizing Eric,” Kent said.

“Oh my god,” said Jeff, “I wasn’t even doing anythi--”

“Yeah,” Bitty said, “stop antagonizing your boyfriend’s boyfriend.”

“Hey!” Jeff ran a hand through his hair, pulling it out of his face. “I’m just being honest, man!”

“Horizontal violence,” said Bitty, and Jeff rolled his eyes.

Climbing back into bed, Kent had to crawl over Jeff. They paused for a moment, Kent half in Jeff’s lap, and Jeff leaned in to press a kiss to Kent’s mouth. When they parted he was grinning, and Kent swatted at him before pushing away to settle on the bed again.

“I miss you,” Bitty said, and he felt it with his whole heart, wasn’t sure if he meant just Kent or both of them. Watching them, Bitty realized that together they felt like home.

His chest felt tight. He missed the warmth of their Canadian summer, laughing in a rental house and sharing ice cream. Leaning his cheek in one hand, Bitty smiled softly, just looking at them on camera.

Looking back, something in Jeff’s face softened a little, and he turned to look at Kent.

“I miss you, too,” Kent said, and when Jeff reached out to run his thumb over Kent’s cheekbone, he closed his eyes for a moment. “Wish you were here.”

“Soon,” said Jeff. He glanced at Bitty on the screen, smiled softly.

“Soon,” Bitty agreed. Soon they wouldn’t have to rely on Skype at all.

( the whole fic is here on AO3 )

[crvdence]

@snakepitnet event → winter challenge | second prompt ; a friendship/relationship → pansy parkinson & draco malfoy | 1688 words | read in ao3

there had been this tradition in the slytherin house since the third year, that had been a constant no matter what was going on (what the stupid gryffindor gits were up to) which was: pansy and draco christmas party.

being rich (and spoiled, but mostly rich), and having your common room in the dungeons had really its perks, like throwing a party without the rest of the castle not knowing it and with snape running a blind eye because favouritism should be added to the list of the slytherin best characteristics.

the party was held in slytherin’s common room, and they all set the limits of not letting first years and second years because, they might be a tad too young for draco’s extensive christmas decoration and pansy’s creative potions, and all of them had more decency than they claimed to.

every single year draco demanded a fancy dress code that mostly everyone followed (and theodore nott hated, but blaise zabini was always there to make him change his mind), and pansy didn’t give any directions but to leave her alone to drink to her heart’s content, thank you. (and they all learned to let her be, after all, it was very easy to just drag her body to the girl’s room and make her sleep it over.)

with perspective, pansy thought this was the best party they had organized up to that day. it was packed, everyone seemed to wear clothes draco approved (theo was dressed in something velvety and sultry that had blaise zabini written all over it), and pansy had literal rivers of firewhiskey and one of her best potions at her dispense, all night.

it wasn’t often that she lost track of what she did, who she talked to, what were her surroundings or even how much she had to drink, but maybe her latest invention needed some refinement because the next thing pansy knew was that it was morning and she was awake, and she wasn’t in a bed that were hers. in fact, she wasn’t in the girls dorms at all.

she turned around and tossed with the blankets and the covers, feeling stuffy and hot even if she was wearing just her lacey black underwear, until finally a bundle next to her started to grunt as well, and pansy’s eyes widened.

well, it had to happen, and if it was a guy, and if she had to chose, she would say either zabini or even flint, but both of them were too preoccupied with other lads to pay attention to her, not what she cared, but she could still fantasize.

she was still lost in her own train of thoughts when the bundle next to her moved some more and blonde hair started to peek from under all the covers, and pansy’s heart skipped a beat, it couldn’t be. but the moment she was thinking that, draco emerged fully from under the covers, muttering something about a headache before focusing on pansy, and the two of them stared at each other for a good minute, their eyes so big they were going to fall from their face.

“bloody hell.” it was what came out of pansy’s mouth, as draco let out a high pitched scream of horror, taking a handful of the blankets to cover himself, while pansy just raised one eyebrow at him.

“oh my god, malfoy, stop screaming.” she grunted with closed eyes, pressing the pads of her fingers against her closed eyelids, feeling the headache against her temples like a pulsation, like millions of tiny hammers smashing against her skull, from inside.

it had been forever since she had such a hungover. no wonder she was half naked, in a bed, with an equal half naked draco. bloody hell. half naked with a half naked draco lucius malfoy. definitely the party of the year.

draco had, thankfully, stopped screaming, and pansy was truly thinking about what happened. she had no recall of the night whatsoever, her last memory was taking shots with blaise at some point, and gossiping with daphne and astoria at some other, but then some blackness, and then just half naked with draco, nothing to fill the void with.

“pansy?” draco, for mostly looking fancy and proper, was looking like a mess with bed hair, and blood shot eyes. if pansy wasn’t dying of her headache, she would be laughing at him. “have we slept together?!” but god, his voice was so high-pitched, pansy was sure it was going to reach point where it was only going to be heard by hyppogriffs.

“malfoy, do i look like i bloody know?!” her patience and her good manners were running short thanks to her headache, and the last thing she needed was a frantic draco demanding answers of things she simply didn’t know, because… it wasn’t possible, right?

draco and her had been friends literally forever, sure pansy thought he was pretty and everything, they understood each other well and their sassiness and sarcasm really were a good match, but it was simply impossible they had slept together, like… literally impossible.

“i doubt it, though.” pansy said with a shrug, sounding so sure of herself draco raised an eyebrow, and pansy had to raise his hand to make him shut up before he went all over one of his high-pitched howls of hell. it was too early for that.

“listen, it’s not that i wouldn’t shag you but…” pansy tilted her head to the side, wondering how it was the … nicest, way to say this. she knew draco and her were friends long enough for being used to her abrasive honesty, but maybe she was soft because it was christmas time. maybe she was just bloody hangover. “you’re probably the least heterosexual person i have ever met.”

draco seemed silent for a minute, as if he was pondering whether or not pansy was insulting him or praising him, until, also tilting his head to mimic pansy’s action, he shrugged. “why, parkinson, thank you.”

before pansy could say anything else, they were surprised by a click sound and a flash of light, and when they looked at the source, there was blaise zabini, grinning like an idiot, holding the fancy muggle-inspired camera his mother bought to him the past christmas. “bellissimo! this one is going straight to my favourite collection.”

theo was standing behind him, dressed in comfortable lounge clothes, looking between horrified and completely amused at the sight in front of him, and pansy was making sure he was going to bloody kill the two of them, or at least hex them.

“i have no time for you right now, zabini.” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, and she got up, ignoring the fact she was wearing just her underwear, her headache pounding again with every step she took, even if she didn’t know where the hell she was going.

a flushing theo passed her a robe, and she had to hold back her cooing before she covered herself with it, and she saw draco doing the same after leaving the bed, crossing her arms and looking at theo and blaise with a raised eyebrow. “are you just going to stand there being bloody annoying or are you going to tell what the fuck happened?”

“i saw you two snogging on the common room’s couch, but i decided to turn away because i was sure there were some things it was better if i didn’t see them.” theo said with a small shrug. he was being not helpful at all, and pansy sighed. but snogging was okay, pansy was okay with snogging draco. she was okay with snogging blaise as well, hell, she was even okay with snogging theo even if he was something between a younger brother and a small little kitten.

“but after that?!” draco was back to his high-pitched ultrasonics again, and pansy was sure she was going to hex him for real before they even know what really happened between the two of them.

this time, blaise shrugged, shaking his head. “you two disappeared, and i was in no mood to see what you were up to.” pansy looked at him with a deadpan expression, that was blaise zabini, always a delight. “but, let’s be honest, i highly doubt you slept together?” he offered, with a shrug. “i mean…” and he made a flourish wave at draco’s direction, making him theo giggle.

“what?!” the blonde protested, crossing his arms over his chest again, not really sure what he was getting offended about.

“yes, thanks, i reached the same conclusion zabini.” pansy just wanted to take a bath and do something about her headache and just forget about this all together, even if this was the slytherin house, she expected an intervention lead by daphne greengrass the moment she put a foot inside the girl’s dorm.

“can we just act like this never happened?” draco pleaded, and blaise just waved his camera in front of them with the best of his grins, and pansy took a deep sigh.

“listen, i don’t want to deal with this anymore, do whatever you want with the pictures zabini i don’t care, i am just going to assume nothing ever happened and you all got a flash of my madam malkin’s new set of lingerie, you’re all welcome.” she turned, full of dignity, to make her way to the girl’s room.

the other three were smart enough not to try to talk back to her, when pansy parkinson was set on something nothing and no one was going to stop her about it, even if blaise was still grinning, with his camera in his hand, to a very flushed and flustered draco.

but before she left, she turned around, her face lighting up with something, as she had a revelation. “oh my god… i can’t really wait to see harry’s face when he knows this.” it was what pansy finally said, followed by the laughs from theo and blaise, and draco’s his high-pitched noises, and pansy just laughed.

definitely, the party of the year.