zuwritesstuff

[zuwritesstuff]

When You Try To Write a Candlenights Oneshot but it Turns Into a Multichaptered Adventure

Tw: Minor character death, injuries, prosthetics, slight angst, implied betrayal?

A/N- Hiya! This is chapter one in a (hopefully) multichaptered series and I have a lot to say but mostly I wanna thank @anonbeadraws because their Magnulia comic, (which you can see here if the link works lmao), which inspired a real cute scene in here, thanks so much to them and to YOU for reading this, have fun ;) (and please, I don’t mean to sound Desperate but reblogs > likes) also, you can find this on ao3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/22352998 and find the companion piece that you should really read if you want this whole Universe to make sense ijsdkncjfjdlnd right here https://archiveofourown.org/works/22228207

Chapter Title: Something To Come Home To

3 months, 2 weeks and 5 days ago

“And then she said-”

“‘I like you and I love you.’” Everyone in the breakroom chimed in, including those just passing by. Magnus beamed, proud of the fact that he had told this story so many times everyone in the room knew what he was gonna say. He was currently recounting the story of his wife’s confession of love and was draped over a chair dramatically, swooning. 

“Isn’t it romantic?” He said, grinning upside down at Merle and Taako. Taako scoffed and went back to drinking his coffee, rolling his eyes. Merle threw his hands up, shaking his head.

“I’m aromantic, leave me out of that.” 

“And I’m not, but you’re such a sap, it almost disgusts me.” Taako said, patting Magnus’s shoulder. 

“Hey, don’t be mean. Emotions are good, and being a sap is a good look on you, Maggie.” Carey Torres said, next to Magnus. Killian Alvarez and Noelle Nelson were also sitting at the table sharing a look.

“Is it?” Noelle said, stifling a laugh with her prosthetic arm, red and cyberpunk-esque. “Cause it kinda looks like he’s gonna explode.” Magnus sat back up, shaking his head as the blood that rushed into his head flowed back down. They all chuckled, and Killian, feet up on the table, (despite Merle’s protests), looked over at Carey.

“Being a sap is good, yeah?”

“Uh, yeah. Being emotionally forward is...good…” Carey said, blushing and looking away. Killian did the same, and everyone else at the table mentally groaned. The tension between them was, frankly, killing everyone who witnessed it. The two, plus Noelle, were a lean, mean, terrifying machine, and had been together for so long everyone who met them were, frankly, surprised that they weren’t a couple.

Killian took her feet off the table, leaned forward and said, “Well, uh, if that’s the case-” But whatever Killian was gonna say was drowned out by the loudspeaker above them.

“Dr. Highchurch and Agent Burnsides, to Wing F, ASAP. Repeat, Dr. Highchurch and Agent Burnsides to Wing F, ASAP.” Merle and Magnus looked at each other with concern. Wing F was the hospital wing, where Merle worked on their team’s, (Merle, Magnus and Taako’s), off days. 

“Mag, uh, not trying to worry you, but didn’t….didn’t Julia and Steph go on a mission today?” Carey asked gently. Magnus’s eyes went wide. He pushed his chair away and rushed out, with Merle close behind. 

                                                      ~

                      3 years, 3 months, 1 week and 6 days ago

Magnus took a deep breath and stepped in. Director Austen had just called him into her office. He had just finished his formal training with the Bureau of Benevolence and was waiting to be assigned a mentor, like most of the rest of his class. He had spent the last week fooling around with a few of his classmates, like Taako and Lup Enno, a pair of twins that were trouble personified, or Barry Bluejeans, a soft-spoken nerd who was supposed to be a scientist but ended up becoming a full agent. 

“You will train with Agent Waxman, here.” An older man stood next to Director Austen, looking down imposingly. He was built sturdily, even at his age, with a crooked nose and rough and calloused hands, with a small goatee and scar next to his right eye. Magnus stuck out a hand towards him, looking Waxman straight in the eyes.

“Magnus Burnsides, pleased to meet you.” Agent Waxman chuckled, shaking Magnus’s hand firmly.

“Call me Stephen, alright? Lucretia is one for formalities, for sure.”

“Her name is Lucretia?” Magnus whispered, horrified but amused.

“Thank you very much, Agent Waxman. That’ll be all.” Lucretia said, a ghost of a smile on her face. 

Magnus and Stephen walked out of Lucretia’s office chatting idly. Magnus learned Stephen had worked at the B.O.B for a very long time- almost 25 years, which is very long for a job that gets people killed almost regularly. He had a daughter, who had also had recently joined B.O.B, and just gotten her mentor; she was actually in Magnus’s class, but alas, apparently they had never interacted. Stephen was also nearing retirement- Magnus was the last recruit he was taking on, he told Lucretia, then a few more years and he was out. 

“Man, I never thought that far. Getting out? Nah, I’ll die before that, I think.” Magnus said casually. “I’m more of action first, get hurt, think after that kind of guy. Or don’t think at all, that works too.” He added, shrugging.

Stephen laughed and shook his head. “You know, I was wondering why Lucretia assigned me to you and now I know why. I used to be just like you, hot head and ready to give my life before anything ever happened.”

“Used to?”

“I found something worth coming home to, kiddo, but I suggest finding one soon cause the missions I go on? You’re gonna need it.”

“Alright, old man, whatever you say.”

“Ya know, you say that like its an insult. If I wasn’t old I wouldn’t have lived- trust me kiddo, living comes after everything you thought was worth doing. Then you’re cruising and focusing on the little things, all the good things.” Stephen said lightly, not looking at Magnus. He scanned the base, looking around as Magnus considered this. He had always been, not to be cliche, known to rush in. Protect, don’t think, get the mission done. If he got through it, great, if he didn’t, whatever, but if his friends got hurt, or didn’t complete what was needed? Failed. Living after the mission wasn’t all that high in his priorities, but the Director saw potential in him- she had to since he passed and she gave him a mentor, he reasoned. 

“Ah, there she is.” Stephen said, waving over two silhouettes in the distance. As they approached, Magnus’s jaw dropped as he saw the prettiest woman he had ever seen in his life, and one of the hairiest men he had seen, though he wasn’t paying much attention to him. The woman was tall, pretty much rivaling his own height, with long, curly hair wrapped into a braid behind her. Her skin was dark and glowing, with soft brown eyes that made you feel like you were wrapped up in the comfiest blanket under a beautiful night sky. She was, to be crude, buff as hell, with broad shoulders and a broader smile, Magnus noticed as she smiled at him, sticking her hand out.

“Julia Waxman. I see you’ve met my dad.” Magnus said nothing, just managing to close his mouth and shake her hand. He stared as Stephen laughed at him, patting his back.

“Julia, love, this is my apprentice, Magnus, and this is the first time he’s been quiet since I met him. What’s up, Errol?”

One of the hairiest men Magnus had seen smiled at Stephen, with a thick scruff and a long ponytail, shrugging his broad shoulders. “Not much, Steph, knew I had to come to find you once I got little Jules here as my apprentice.” Julia scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“Errol, you’re like five years older than me, at most, shut your damn mouth.”

“Yeah, you’re a baby, that's what I said.”

“Fuck off.”

“Language.” Stephen said, almost instinctively. 

“Magnus!” Magnus suddenly announced, eyes lighting up and grinning at them all. “My name is Magnus. Burnsides. I’m a new recruit, but I’m made of legend material, that’s for sure.” He said, rambling. “I’m, uh, Hamilton-esque, not throwing away my shot but actually, fuck Hamilton, cheating on his wife I trusted him, I thought he drunk respect women juice when actually-”

Errol burst out in laughter out of nowhere, holding his sides. “Oh Lord- I’m sorry Magnus but that is the funniest shit- man, why’d you have to get the funny recruit, Steph-”

“Hey what the-”

“Julia Bernadette Waxman when I say watch your language I mean it, thank you.”

“Oh god Dad, why’d you have to expose me like that,” Julia said, burying her face in her hands. Errol, laughing even harder, clutched at his sides. “There was absolutely no reason to do that, why?”

“Bernadette, oh lordy lord, I can’t-” he said, wheezing, using Stephen as support. Julia rolled her eyes and looked at Magnus.

“I’m sorry about those two, they’re kindred spirits, Errol had my dad as his mentor, and both of them are idiots.” She said, directing the last part towards the two laughing men.

“I'm...Magnus.” Magnus said, looking right into Julia’s eyes and short-circuiting again. Julia gave him a slow, confused smile and laughed a little.

“Yeeah, yeah alright, Magnus. I’ll see you around, alright?” She looked at her dad and said, “I’m going to meet some friends; you two do whatever. Bye, Maggie.” She waved and walked away, leaving Magnus staring at the spot she was at.

“Julia…” he whispered to himself, a blush and grin growing wider and wider, shaking the hand that shook Julia’s as if to regain feeling back into his lovestruck self.

                                                      ~

                            3 months, 2 weeks and 5 days ago

Magnus ran like his life depended on it, almost shoving other agents out of the way as he ran, only thinking of Julia and Stephen. He skidded to a halt at the start of the wing; Merle crashed into him as he abruptly stopped, but he didn’t care. He stepped forward into the wing, but Merle’s hand stopped him.

“Give me a minute, kiddo. Let me see what happened, you don’t- we need to know first.”

“No, Merle. I can’t. No.” Magnus kept walking, but Merle stood in front of him, stopping him.

“Hey, hey, hey- this is my job, let me do it.” Merle said, looking up at Magnus. “Let me see what happened, and then I’ll come to get you, you don’t know what happened yet.” Magnus looked down at Merle and saw the sincerity in his eyes. He nodded and collapsed into a nearby chair, head in his hands, as Merle rushed off, talking to another doctor as they sped towards wherever they were. He, for once, sat quietly. Honestly, he didn’t know what to do. Stephen’s words from so long ago echoed in his mind. The something to come home to had turned into him, and Julia, and the rest of his team, and if something bad happened then-no. Nothing bad happened, Magnus reasoned. It couldn’t have, but there was no way. It was Stephen, for god's sake. There was no way.

After what seemed like an eternity, Merle came back, looking grim. Magnus stood up, searching for any sign of good news in his face. 

“I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, it’s bad.” Merle said, gesturing forward. “We don’t...well we don’t know for sure how it’s gonna turn out, Magnus. I-I’ll do everything I can, but you need to know, we don’t know yet.” He took a deep breath and opened the door, leading Magnus in. 

Julia and Stephen lay on two hospital beds. Errol, more shaven and well kept than he was two years ago, sitting by Julia’s side, looked up at them both. Magnus immediately rushed to Julia’s side, hovering over her, not sure where to start. Her face was cut up and blooded, only emphasized by her ragged breathing. The blanket that Wing F gave covered her up, but not enough to obscure her newly amputated right arm and leg, from the elbow and knee down. Magnus looked at Merle, silently, for any kind of explanation.

“There was an explosion, the whole building came down, and the way Julia was caught...she was probably right next to the blast, and the rubble...she's lucky to be alive Mag.” he said, looking down at her sadly. “She's on heavy anesthesia right now, they had to do a field amputation just to get her out; she was just….crushed, and there was just no time. It's looking like she’s gonna have some hearing issues on her right side as well, and there weren’t any issues of much heavy brain trauma, but we have to wait for her to wake up. And, well, Stephen…” he trailed off, looking at the man lying next to her. He was hooked up to an oxygen machine, it breathing for him. “Comatose. We don’t...god, Magnus, we don’t-” 

“He’s gonna wake up, Merle.”

“Kiddo-”

“Damn it, Merle, he’s gonna wake up! He has to- he c-” Magnus’s voice broke, and he angrily wiped tears from his face. “He’s got things worth living for and he’s gonna wake up, alright?”

“Alright, alright.” Merle said gently, touching Magnus’s shoulder. “I’m gonna go talk to whoever was on duty when they were found, you’re gonna stay here?” Magnus nodded, sitting heavily down next to Errol. Merle walked out, and the two men were silent for a moment, only listening to the beeping of the heart monitors and breathing, both artificial and otherwise.

“Man, I was just near here, Wing E, visiting a friend and I saw them wheel them in.” Errol said, breaking the silence. Magnus said nothing, not even acknowledging his presence. He just stared out to Julia, barely even breathing. Errol sighed and asked, “You know what she’d say about this?” Magnus didn’t respond, so he continued. “She’s left-handed.” Errol looked at Magnus seriously. “And she wouldn’t want you to act like this is the absolute end of the world.”

“You heard Merle,” Magnus said softly. “Julia...and Stephen is...he’s…”

“Not gonna give up without a fight. And if he goes, then, well…” Errol looked up at the ceiling, stretching out, settling in, clearly preparing for a long wait. “I’m gonna find the bastard that did this and make him suffer.”

                                                      ~

                           2 years, 7 months and 3 days ago

“Alright buddy, now’s the time.” Aubrey Little said, slapping Magnus on the back. “You’re gonna ask that girl out, and she’s gonna say yes, and if she doesn’t, you’re gonna respect her boundaries.”

“Hell yeah, I am.” Magnus said, standing in front of his mirror, making one last check to his appearance. Littered around the apprentice boy’s dorm was Taako, Barry, Aubrey, and Jake Coolice, all there to hype up Magnus. He, (and Julia), had been pining for a hot minute- everyone in their “class” was very ready for all of them to get together, so the 5 of them had gotten together to keep Magnus from chickening out, (he loved the friendship that had grown between him and Julia, and didn’t want to mess it up for the world), and to give themselves peace of mind. The rest of their class did their own thing, usually, but rest assured, everyone knew the dance Julia and Magnus kept around each other. 

“Alright, let’s get this thing going.” Taako said, standing and clapping his hands together. “My mentor wants to meet up and spar a little, and I can’t wait to beat his ass.”

“That’s mean, T,” Aubrey said, scrunching her face up, looking at him through the mirror. “Duck’s a nice dude.”

“One, he will not tell me his real name, does anyone even know it?” he asked nobody in particular, “two, he can’t lie for shit, so when he tried to fake compliment my sparring skills, it just, just didn’t work.” He shook his head, sighing. “He has so much to learn.” 

“My mentor is a doctor, technically an agent but he works mostly as a doctor; he’s super interesting.” Barry chimed in. “A little weird, kinda hippie-ish, but cool.”

“Nerd.”

“Thanks, Takoda.”

“Barold, don’t start with me, I will fuck you up, I know you have a crush on my sister, I can and will use this to my advantage. And, also,” he turned to face Barry, “You’re bi, and we’re twins, why not me? I’m clearly the superior twin.”

“Huh, I wonder why…” Barry said sarcastically, blushing at Taako’s accusation. “And I don’t have a crush on your sister, I’m dating your sister.” He mumbled.

“Excuse me, you’re fucking WHAT?”

“Hey, bi twins!” Aubrey said, going over and high-fiving Barry as Taako threw his hands up, super done.

“I think we’re losing focus here, guys. Also, bi-pan solidarity.” Jake said, finger gunning at Aubrey. She gasped excitedly and then shook herself, turning back to Magnus.

“Right, yes, Magnus, come on, you’re meeting Julia at the coffee shop and asking her out, let’s go!” Aubrey said, spinning on her heels, pointing and walking to the door. Magnus scratched the back of his neck, walking slowly and then stopping. 

“Uh, guys, maybe this is-”

“Alright, enough of this- Magnus, you’re gonna ask Julia out cause you are so, so head over heels for her. Isn’t that true?” Taako said, clapping Magnus’s shoulders and looking into his eyes.

“I mean…”

“Magnus, yes or no?”

“Its, uh, complicated-”

“Magnus, bud, answer the question.” Barry said, looking at him sympathetically.

“Yeah...yeah, I’m super gone for her. I like her so, so much, I just wanna hold her all the time and be with her ‘cause I just, she’s so nice and funny, so fucking funny and beautiful, so so beautiful, inside and out, and she’s got such a good heart and all that but I don’t want to ruin our friendship because it’s super amazing and she’s super amazing and-”

“Magnus?” A voice said from the doorway, soft and quiet. There stood Julia, slack-jawed, looking around like she was trying to grab words from the still air around them, but she found none. Aubrey stood to the side, looking back and forth between the two of them. 

“Lets, uh, go guys. Somewhere…” She said, slipping out of the door, turning around and giving Magnus a thumbs up as she did. Taako patted Magnus’s shoulder reassuringly and walked out with Barry, who waved at Julia but didn’t get one back, and Jake, who threw up a peace sign at Magnus, trying to reassure him as well. 

Magnus, face burning, looked to his shoes and said, “Hey, Julia…”

“Did you mean it?”

“W-what?”

“Did you mean what you said?” Julia asked, walking close to Magnus, looking him right in the face. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t say it, ‘cause I heard you, but did you mean it?”

Magnus looked at her, locking eyes with her, and took a deep breath. “With all my heart.”

Julia bit her lip, looking away as a slow smile spreading on her face. She covered her mouth, looked back at Magnus as she put her hands on her hips, looking a bit contemplative before saying, “Can, uh, can I kiss you?”

“Uh,” Magnus laughed a little nervously, stepping towards her shyly, “that would be nice, yeah.” Julia grinned and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him. Magnus wrapped his hands around Julia’s waist, lifting her up and kissing back with a fierceness that kind of surprised him. They swayed for a bit, staying together for as long as their lungs could let them, and upon hearing the wolf whistles from their friends outside, they broke apart, giggling at each other. Magnus put Julia down gently, stepping a little away, still shy, blushing even harder. Julia chuckled a little, stepping close enough to put her right hand on Magnus’s cheek.

“You are, no doubt, adorable.”

“Oh?” He asked, snaking an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “Do tell…”

“Maybe after you’ve taken me on our coffee date? You gotta explain how you got from ‘I’m Magnus’ to this.”

“Is this..is this not good?” Magnus asked worriedly, biting his lip, standing up straighter as if to put a little distance between them.

“No, no, this is good- hey, Magnus?” Julia said, looking in his eyes, putting her other hand on his cheek and stepping closer. “This is so, so good.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Good...I just don’t wanna mess this up, you know?”

“You won’t- you’ve already got me, hook line and sinker.”

Magnus smiled, kissing her forehead, then the tip of her nose, and then her lips, softly, before backing up and holding out a hand for her to hold. “Coffee date, then.” Julia smiled and took his hand, squeezing it tight before leading him outside. 

                                                        ~

                                    2 months and 2 days ago

Julia gripped the parallel bars, sweating, walking clumsily. Merle stood next to her, ready to help when needed, and Magnus stood at the end, offering encouragement.

“Come on, you’re so close, you got this love.” He said as Julia approached the end. She gritted her teeth and shook her head, trembling with effort, slowing. “No, no come on baby,” Magnus stepped closer but Merle held a hand out, signaling for him to wait.

“She can do this, hold on lovebird.”

“I-I can’t, Merle,” Julia said, looking down at her right arm, fitted with a temporary prosthetic. “It’s not strong enough.” She had decided to train one limb at a time, leg first, so her right leg was was fitted with a black, wired, titanium leg, hollowed out to look like geometric art, snaking up Julia’s right thigh, printed to match the size and shape of her other leg. She looked up at Magnus, clearly using all her strength to hold herself up.

“Merle, come on man, let me-”

“No, Magnus, hold on.” 

Merle walked right up to Julia, looking up at her, seeing her welled up eyes, her still slightly scarred face, straining with effort, he pulled down his right sleeve, exposing his prosthetic. It was made to look like it was carved out of wood, with smooth, ringed patterns flowing down his arm. He held it up for her to see and then pointed at her with it.

“You’re right. It isn’t strong enough, but you are. You can do this. This,” he pointed to his own prosthetic, and then hers, “is a part of your body now, use it to your advantage. You are strong enough, Julia; you need to trust yourself- now come on.” He stepped away, waiting for her to follow. She looked to the sky, blinking away tears, and leaned forward, shifting the weight onto her prosthetic leg, stepping forward. She shook, almost falling, but managed to get to the end. Magnus walked forward quickly, and this time, Merle didn’t stop him. Julia collapsed into his arms, and he held her upright, stroking her hair.

“You did it, see? Was that so hard?” Julia laughed a little, wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her face into his neck, nodding. Magnus chuckled a little, kissing her hair. “It’ll get easier. And hey, now you know exactly what you need to beat in terms of prosthetic coolness.” Magnus looked over to Merle, grinning a little. Merle rolled his eyes and smiled, shaking his head.

“I think we’re done for today. When are you gonna send for a permanent arm, Jules?” She pulled away from Magnus a little, still using for him for support and shrugged. Merle sighed and stroked his beard. “It’d be better to get it sooner, rather than later if we’re being honest. You need to get used to them both. And, seeing as you’ve got almost no wait time here, as opposed to a regular hospital, it could be really quick.”

“I know, I know, but…” Julia closed her eyes and shook her head. “I just...I need time, I just need some time.” She looked back up at Magnus, and then away, who realized she wasn’t just talking about recovering physically- she was talking about Stephen, who didn’t make it. They realized he just wasn’t going to wake up, that the machine was just keeping his heart pumping for him, and pulled the plug. During his funeral, about the entire B.O.B. came, and just about all the seasoned agents, including Merle, talked about him. They laughed, they cried, and Julia, who sat in a wheelchair for the funeral, not having recovered physically or mentally enough to start her prosthetics, didn’t speak the entire week. 

Merle, having just connected the dots, sighed. He walked to Julia, put a hand on her shoulder, and said, “I miss him too kiddo. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“1 pm sharp.”

“Yeah. And, Magnus.” Merle said, turning to him, “I think we’ve got a mission coming up, I talked to Cretia, she said shes found something we gotta look at.”

“When? I gotta…” Magnus looked at Julia, who rolled her eyes at him. 

“I don’t need protecting, Magnus.”

“No, I know that, but, uh,” 

“Alright, Merle, could I talk to my husband for a second?” Julia said, starring daggers at Magnus who, actually, felt good about it. If Julia could get mad at him, she was...making progress. Not just sad, but mad, he reasoned, is progress. Merle took the hint and skedaddled out of there, and Julia just sighed. 

“Magnus, hon, I am so, so grateful for you, you know that, right?”

“Mhm, I am aware.”

“I just...I’m gonna be okay if you go out and do your job, you know? It’s just for a little, and I’ll probably stay in and chill, maybe call some people over to visit.”

“Yeah, but,” he grimaced a little and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, I just wanna make sure you’re okay, you know?”

“Magnus…” She said softly, shaking her head. “There are more than enough people making sure I’m okay right now- I just want you to be you, please? Don’t treat me different because,” She looked down at her leg, sighing, “because of this. I want the Magnus that thinks going to the store is a grand adventure, not the one that treats me like a fragile thing. I’m not fragile, and I don’t need...you know?”

“Yeah. Yeah, no, I get it.” He said, nodding. “I just gotta be there for you, but I can do that while...being me, but I gotta say, this is hard, you know? I know its infinitely harder for you, just, watching you try to walk, I just feel like I should be there more. I just need to do more.”

“Magnus.” She put her hand on his cheek, her left hand, her gold wedding band glinting in the light, and he nuzzled into it, sighing and closing his eyes. “You staying by my side? That’s all I need. Something to come home to.” He opened his eyes, searching her eyes for the recognition that was there, she knew she was channeling her dad, and she smiled sadly. Magnus leaned down slightly and kissed her, softly and sweetly. Julia stood on her tiptoes, instinctively, barely aware that her prosthetic was as well, to meet Magnus’s lips. He pulled back and nodded.

“Then that’s what I’ll do, love. I’m gonna stay right here, with you.” He grabbed her hand on his face and kissed it, and then grabbed her right hand, putting his arm on her waist to keep supporting her, and kissed her prosthetic as well. She sighed with happiness and kissed his forehead. 

“Come on, let’s go home…” She said as Magnus helped her walk to the wheelchair she used for long distances, for now. Magnus helped her wheel out of the room, chatting idly as a shadowy figure nearby looked on. 

                                                   ~

                                                Today

 Julia walked, slightly unsteadily, to the door. She cracked it open, and then smiling wide, opened it fully, revealing one slightly timid Angus McDonald.

“Hello, ma’am! It’s nice to see you up and about!”

“Aw, thanks, Angus- it’s nice to be up and about, but you know you can call me Julia, yeah?”

“Yes, I know ma’am.” Angus grinned up at her as she laughed, shaking her head.

“Well, come on in, kiddo.” She said, gesturing for him to come in with her right arm, specifically, which looked like her leg- black titanium, geometrically arranged but, the fingers and wrist were jointed, allowing free movement. Angus was, understandably, amazed; they talked about the specific mechanics of it as Angus walked inside, (the doctors and scientists of the Bureau of Benevolence had been working on neurally controlled prosthetics that worked the same way actual limbs did- nerves sending messages to muscles to contract and move, but instead of going to the muscles, it travels down wires to wherever it should have gone if the limb was still there. This lets the user control their new arm as if it was still flesh, and the Bureau scientists were looking for someone to test it on when the accident happened), sitting at a dining table, directed by Julia, as Magnus came out of the kitchen, holding a platter of grilled cheese sandwiches in one hand and a pitcher of lemonade in another. 

Angus looked surprised as Magnus put these down on the table and went back to the kitchen. “Did...were you expecting someone?”

“Oh hon, there’s either always someone at the house or someone to give food to,” Julia said as Magnus put plates and glasses down, kissing Julia’s hair as he passed by.  “we kinda just make food to prepare for both now.” 

“Mmm, nothing to do with the fact that you said, and I quote, ‘I want nothing but a shitload of grilled cheese and lemonade for lunch’ huh?” Magnus asked, chuckling as Julia gasped and pushed him playfully.

“Magnus, there’s a child!”

“To be fair to Magnus, ma’am, I am 15, and I train with Taako too, he has more of a sailor’s mouth than Mr. Keene and he was an actual sailor.”

“I’ll talk to him about that…” Julia muttered, grabbing a sandwich, scowling.

“Wait, why do you call Argo ‘Mr.Keene’ but me Magnus?”

“I haven’t spent a lot of time with Mr.Keene, and I have spent a lot of time with you.”

Julia chuckled at her husband’s offended expression, sipped her lemonade and smiled at Angus, who smiled back, though his grin faded into a more serious expression in a moment. He seemed to be considering something for a few moments, before looking up at Magnus grimly.

“Sir, do you remember what we talked about the other day- at Taako’s apartment?” He, of course, was referring to last weeks incident- essentially, Kravtiz Ajal, Taako’s boyfriend, had gotten stabbed based off of some bad information, and had barely gotten out with his life, but Angus had suggested the traitor might have come from closer to home since this was the second time in months that a worker of the B.O.B. had gotten hurt, or killed, based off of some bad information. Magnus nodded, grimacing down at his plate. Julia put a hand on his shoulder and turned to Angus, confused.

“What’s happened, Angus?”

“Well, after Kravtiz got hurt, I got to thinking- this isn’t the first bad incident that the Bureau has had, clearly, but it was the second time in a few months that someone had gotten severely hurt off of bad information, is that correct?”

Julia sighed, nodding. “The tip we got was on the inside, it seemed solid, but…” She trailed off and now Magnus took her hand, squeezing it slightly.

“I know you must have heard this a lot, ma-” Angus sighed, looking up at her. “Julia. But I am very, very sorry for your loss. And I’d like to help you get to the bottom of this.” Julia looked up curiously at him. “I don’t think it was a coincidence that these incidents happened so close to each other. Someone has an agenda- I don’t know what, but something is going on.”

“Well, what do you think, Ango?” Magnus asked, sitting back. “I’m sure you’ve got some ideas.”

“I do…” Angus said, looking directly at Julia. “I think its time we questioned your partner, Kalen.”

                                                To Be Continued

First Chapter (you are here) | Previous Chapter (N/A) | Next Chapter

[zuwritesstuff]

When You Try to Write A Hurt/Comfort Candlenights Story

(Wow, posting? Crazy- Find this story on AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22228207)

TW: Blood, injury, gun mention, weapon mention, some slightly suggestive jokes, cussing, its a hurt/comfort story if you can’t tell

Word Count: 3k

A/N- so i got really into TAZ and wrote this for my friend so, uh, enjoy ( @hiding-in-a-corner-reading i forgot to post this here whoops )

Kravtiz Ajal limped down a rusted, creaky fire escape, stumbling his way down the steps. His two compatriots, Barry and Lup Bluejeans-Enno looked at him with worry. Lup was holding him up with one arm, while Kravtiz stemmed the flow of his blood with his other hand, having just been stabbed. Barry, looking out and leading the way, holding his gun at the ready, knocked on the frosted-over window that stood before him as Lup leaned Kravtiz onto the nearby railing, exhausted. 

Kravtiz saw as Takoda Enno, his boyfriend, looked out the window, paused, and rushed over with a concerned look that never passed his features.

“What the fuck did you do-” he asked, opening the window and pulling Kravtiz by hooking his arms under his and pulling with all his might. Kravtiz, having been stabbed, winced at the movement but said nothing of it.

“Hey, Taako, good to see you too my love, light of my life,” Kravtiz said, words slurring. “I might have gotten stabbed a little bit, but just a little, no need to panic or whatever, just gotta rest a bit.” 

“What the actual, complete fuck.”

“We’re real sorry, Taako,” Barry said, taking one of Kravtiz’s arms and leading him to the bathroom in the hallway. “Mission went wrong, really wrong, and you were closer than the safe house, I didn’t know if he could make it further.” Barry helped Kravtiz into the bathroom, putting him down softly into the bathtub. Lup put a hand on Taako’s shoulder as he watched the scene unfold before him.

“He took the knife for me, bastard.” Lup said, shaking her head. “He didn’t have to do that.”

“If he didn’t, you’d be dead, babe,” Barry added, in the process of removing Kravtiz’s shirt to look at the wound better, covering it with Kravtiz’s balled up shirt. “I’m grateful, but this is bad. I’m no doctor, but…” He shrugged, looking at the two of them. “I think we should call Merle, like, now.”

“I got it.” Taako said, turning away quickly from the two of them. He went to his living room, taking a second to collect himself before calling their friend, Dr. Merle Highchurch. 

“Yello, this is Dr. Merle Highchurch, how may I help you?” A cheery voice rang from the other side of the call.

“Cut the shit, Merle, I know you have me in your contacts as, ‘Taako or Lup’, I need some help.”

“Well, is this Taako or Lup?”

“Taako, but I know you don’t know how to change my contact name- whatever, come to my apartment, like now.”

“At this hour?”

“Yeah, uh,” Taako swallowed, biting his lip before taking a deep breath and saying, “Uh, you know that mission the Reapers went on tonight?” Merle hummed in assent. “It went wrong. Kravtiz is...uh, he’s hurt bad Merle.”

Taako waited for a beat before he heard Merle’s more serious voice say, “Of course. Lucretia and Magnus can run the ship for a while, give me ten minutes, alright kiddo?”

“Yeah, thanks, Merle.”

“Talk to you soon, keep pressure on the wound in the meantime, don’t let him lose too much blood.”

Taako clicked off the phone and walked back to the bathroom where Barry and Lup looked at him expectantly. He relayed the information and sighed, leaning on the wall. They, including Merle, Lucretia Austen, Magnus Burnsides, Dave N. Port, Angus McDonald, and several others served B.O.B., aka The Bureau of Benevolence, a secret organization dedicated to taking down organizations that harmed the public but that the federal government couldn’t take down legally. They had been organized into elite groups of three depending on their individual skills. There was Kravtiz, Lup and Barry, affectionately and formally known as the Reaper Squad for their terrifying efficiency and elite jobs, Merle, Magnus, and Taako, affectionately known as Tres Horny Boys, (it was Lup’s idea, after having walked in on literally every single one of them doing unsavory things at very different times), and Lucretia, Dave, and Angus known as the Nerds, (Merle came up with it and he was too excited for anyone to turn it down).

At the moment, however, the Reaper squad and ⅓ of Tres Horny Boys were crammed into Taako’s tiny apartment bathroom, unsure of what to say. Lup had taken over keeping pressure on the wound and Kravtiz was still in the bathtub, eyes locked onto the ceiling, breathing raggedly. 

At last, Taako broke the silence. “W-what happened?”

“The mission was to get in, take out the boss, and get out. That was it.” Lup said, unable to look Taako in the eyes. “But we had bad information- someone told us something wrong and when we got in there were so many more guards, different security measures, doomed from the fucking start.” She scoffed and shook her head. “When I get my hands on that murderous traitor…” She rolled her shoulders and gritted her teeth, a nervous habit. “We just managed to get him out.”

“You guys should go get some sleep.” Taako said, seething quietly. “You can shower in my bedroom and sleep there, I can stay up for Merle.” Taako kneeled next to his sister, taking the balled up, stained cloth from her. Lup looked at Taako, a little nervous.

“T, I really am sorry.”

“Lulu, it wasn’t your fault.” Taako looked at his sister, a ghost of his usual smile reassuring her, kind of. “It’s part of the job, we all know that, and Merle’s on his way.” She sighed and nodded, standing up and walking out of the room with Barry, but not before casting one last, sad look at her friend, bleeding out in the bathtub.

                                                      ~

Merle had come and gone, stitching up and bandaging the wound.

“Now, listen- he’s out cold right now, which is probably the best scenario since he lost a lot of blood.” He said as he washed his hands. “I can’t imagine him being 100% up to speed after he wakes up, but maybe move him from the bathtub as soon as possible.”

Taako nodded and looked over towards the bathroom. “I’ll wait until he gets up. Lup and Barry are also out cold right now, in a good way. Did they tell you about what happened?” 

“Mhm- ran into Barry on his way out of the shower. And, apparently, Lup isn’t taking it very well. Don’t mean to dump that on you too, you’ve got enough to deal with but…” Merle looked away and shrugged. “When she wakes up, I can get Cretia and Barry to try to talk to some sense into her.” Taako looked at him quizzically and Merle sighed, looking up at him. “She’s going back in the morning to finish off the traitor and the boss, supposedly.”

“She can get in line,” Taako muttered, scowling at the floor. “Great minds think alike, I suppose.”

“Taako, kiddo, you can’t.”

“Why not?” Taako fired back. “They almost killed Kravtiz, Merle. Almost killed Lup. You think I can stand by while my boyfriend is bleeding out in my tub and my sister thinks it’s her fault? No, I won’t. I can’t just, ” He waved his hands around helplessly. “Can’t just sit around, you know?”

“I think you can sit long enough for your boyfriend to get better because if he isn’t getting the care he needs, he’s gonna get worse. You know that- I sure as hell know you do. I don’t need to get the finger puppets to explain this, do I?”

“Fuck off, that was one time.”

Merle chuckled and put a hand on Taako’s shoulder, stretching a bit. “I know you get it, son. Cool off a little, I know Barry’ll help. I’ll come back in the morning with the rest of the crew to visit. Kravtiz will be awake by then, promise.” 

“Fine. I trust you Merle, but if we don’t have a plan to take those guys out in 48 hours, I’m doing it myself.” Taako said, smiling down at him a little, his expression not matching his words.

Merle nodded solemnly. “Better get on it then, huh? Maybe I’ll wake everyone up a little earlier than intended...”

                                                       ~

Taako sat on his counter, fidgeting quietly. He sat with his head leaned back onto his mirror, kicking his legs, waiting for Kravtiz to wake. He was peacefully sleeping in Taako’s tub, still, but now with a pillow behind him and blanket wrapping him up. Taako blew a puff of air out, trying to move a stray piece of hair, escaped from his ponytail through all the ruckus. It didn’t move, and he sat there, trying to move this piece of hair for a while as Kravtiz, freshly awake, watched in amusement. 

“Having a good time there, T?” Kravtiz asked, voice raspy from disuse. 

“Having a wonderful time Kravtiz.” Taako said instinctively, then looking up in amazement, he said, “Wait- what the fuck?” He leaped from the counter, rushing over, kneeling to inspect him. Kravtiz struggled to get up, wincing at the wound.

“Morning- night? Afternoon?” He shook his head, closing his eyes. “Hiya, though.” Taako laughed gleefully, leaning over the tub to kiss Kravtiz, cupping his face. Kravtiz, however weak he was, kissed back, one hand in Taako’s hair, the other supporting him. 

“H-how are you feeling? Let me look at the wound, I gotta rewrap the bandages I think?” Taako said, breaking away, looking around. Kravtiz nodded, sinking back into the tub.

“Maybe I can get out of the tub first?”

“After, if any blood gets on my couch I’ll stab you myself.”

“Topical.” Kravtiz said, smiling as he leaned his head back. Taako grabbed the blanket covering him, pulled it away gently, apologizing softly as Kravtiz swore because of the cold. Kravtiz inspected the wound, wincing again as Taako pulled the bandages away.

“Yuck.” Kravtiz said, biting his lip and looking away. 

“Merle did his best at 2 am, with you bleeding out in my one good tub.” Kravtiz hummed in assent, keeping his eyes on the ceiling until Taako was done. He looked down again, before reaching for his shirt, then realizing it was on the floor, covered in his own blood. 

“Super yuck. Was it really that bad?” 

“Yeah…” Taako said, handing him one of his own oversized shirts. “It was pretty bad. Merle said something about,” he hunched over, lowering his voice, “‘narrowly missed a vital organ, could have been super duper bad, whatever will I do with you punks’” he straightened out, “So the usual.” 

“Ah, obviously…” Kravtiz trailed off, arms poised to hoist himself out of the tub, looking at Taako. “A little help please, dear.”

Taako bit his lip, chewing nervously. “You sure? I can get more blankets so you don’t have to move, I don’t, uh…” He looked down, unable to meet Kravtiz’s eyes. “I don’t want you to get more hurt.” 

“Oh, darling, come here- I’m gonna be okay, promise.” He added as Taako trudged over, still not meeting his eyes, sitting cross-legged near the tub. Kravtiz relaxed back into the tub, reaching a hand out towards Taako, who took it silently. They sat in silence a bit, Kravtiz squeezing Taako’s hand comfortingly. 

“Krav, darling, I love you, but when I saw you bleeding out, I-I didn’t know if you were gonna...you know?” Taako said, breaking the silence of the bathroom. Kravtiz looked up at him, eyes soft.

“I just- I needed to protect Lup, you know? It would have killed her, I knew I was gonna be okay.”

“That’s the thing though, love, you didn’t. You didn’t know and if it had killed you, what-what could I have done?” Taako let the question linger in the air before saying, “I’m so, so grateful but god, Kravtiz, what would I have done?”

“You would have been okay, but,” he sighed, looking back up to the ceiling. “I know I would have been a bit disgruntled, that’s for sure.” Taako laughed, scratching the back of his neck and shrugging in assent. “I promise you, Taako, whenever I go on missions, my top priority? You. Coming back to you, that’s all I want, all I need. Someone I can come home to, someone who can be my home.”

Taako, clearly holding back a smile, looked off to the side. “You’re a huge fucking sap, you know that, right?” Kravtiz laughed loudly, wincing slightly as it disturbed his newly stitched skin. Taako was at his side in an instant, worried, hands hovering over the wound. Kravtiz held up a hand, closing his eyes and breathing deeply before nodding to Taako, who very, very carefully helped him up, draping his arm under Kravtiz’s, helping him out into the hallway where they bumped into Barry. Barry locked eyes with Kravtiz, shocked at his appearance so soon. A look of understanding and gratefulness passed between them, before Barry took his other side, helping Kravtiz to the couch, where he, and Taako, slept for the rest of the night.

                                                       ~

“Kravtiz, you absolute dumbass,” Magnus announced after barging into Taako’s apartment, Lucretia, Merle, Angus, and Dave closely behind, who were all clearly trying to keep him from doing so. “I can’t believe you got yourself stabbed- your whole thing is stabbing other people.”

Kravtiz scrunched up his face, sitting up. The four staying at the apartment had all changed and cleaned up, and Taako and Lup were in the kitchen cooking a feast for everyone, Barry sitting with Kravtiz and entertaining him with card games, chess, and whatever else they could get their hands on. At the moment though, he pushed his hair back and rolled his eyes at Magnus.

“Haha, what is it you do again?” Kravtiz smirked up at Magnus who laughed.

“I’m a tank, clearly,” he said, flexing and winking at Kravtiz, who chuckled. Lucretia rolled her eyes and patted Magnus’s shoulder. 

“Sure thing- how’re you feeling Krav?”

“Like I got stabbed, Cretia, how are you?”

‘Get stabbed once and become a comedian, huh?’ Dave signed, sitting next to Barry, looking over the chessboard where Kravtiz was getting thoroughly beaten. 

“Hey! I was a comedian before I got stabbed, thank you very much.” He said to Dave, who was mute- he had been at the B.O.B. pretty much longer than almost everyone there, so they all had to pick up ASL pretty quickly to understand what he was saying. Dave raised an eyebrow pointedly at him.

 “No love, you never were.” Taako said, emerging from the kitchen with an apron that said, “Kiss the Cook” in curly red letters. He greeted all the visitors, fist-bumping Magnus, an elaborate handshake for Angus, (who was very excited for it), a wave for Dave, (which he said out loud), and a hug for Lucretia and Merle, (who was surprised, but seeing as Taako’s hugs towards him were somewhat limited, he hugged back, no questions asked). “Can’t believe it took my boyfriend getting stabbed for everyone to actually come to my apartment.”

“Hey, sir, wait-” Angus started. He came over to the apartment once or twice a week since he was Taako’s apprentice in all the weaponry and sneakery. He was a new recruit at the B.O.B., and when he was first assigned there after trying to go after once of their assignments before they had even figured out who it was, everyone was a little apprehensive at having a literal child, (ish), on the team, but he had grown on them, especially Taako. While Lucretia taught him the more...subtle ways of being a spy and Magnus taught him hand-to-hand combat, Taako taught him how to handle weapons, and then invited him over for dinner, and now he was more like a father to Angus, though he’d never admit it.

“Not you Angus,” Taako said, waving away any thoughts to the contrary, “You’re an angel and I’m thrilled to have you here.”

“Why thank you.”

As this happened, Merle had walked over to Kravtiz, lifting his shirt up and examining the bandages. “Hmm…” he said, rubbing his chin. “Looks good, but I don’t want you moving around too much.” He glanced over at Taako. “Bed rest, alright?”

“Yes, sir,” Taako said, mock saluting. “I will keep him in my bed, thanks.” 

Merle rolled his eyes, pulling down Kravtiz’s shirt. “Have you had anything to eat yet?”

“Some bread and water- I’m waiting for the famous Enno breakfast, hopefully, I can keep that down.”

“‘Scuse me, but I’m an Enno-Bluejeans, thank you very much,” Lup said, brushing her hands on her short black skirt, (it was actually Taako’s, borrowed this morning, so Taako looked very offended), untying another “Kiss the Cook” apron, this time with light blue cursive letters, as Barry beamed with pride at her words, straightening slightly and smiling widely. She blew him a kiss as Taako gagged at their PDA behind her back. She, without looking behind her, flipped him off over her shoulder and said, “Anyway, breakfast is ready, everyone help me bring it out here. Except you, Krav, Jesus-” she added, as Kravtiz made to get up. 

“Damn, I wanted to get away from this game.” He muttered, looking over the board. Barry laughed and patted him on the shoulder. 

“I’m telling you, bud, I was president of the chess club back in high school.”

“Now I know this doesn’t mean much coming from me,” Lucretia said, putting a platter of cut fruit on the table in front of them, which was quickly getting filled with other food, “But you, Barold, are a nerd.” 

“Lu, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever told me.”

‘You know, I don’t think that’s true’ Dave signed after bringing the last of the food over as Magnus held literally enough chairs for everyone, thinking. ‘Lucretia is a very nice person.’

Lucretia signed thank you to him and sat with the rest of them, digging into the feast the twins prepared. They talked about everything and anything- except last night’s mission of course. There was plenty of other things to talk about, like Angus’s training, gossip from the office, (Carey and Killian finally started dating, how Magnus’s wife, Julia, and her team was doing, the other department’s drama, etc.) and other stuff until there was a comfortable lull in the conversation, filled with the scraping of forks, and content sighs. 

“Uh, sirs? And ma’ams?” Angus said timidly, putting his fork and knife down. Everyone looks up expectantly at him. He took a deep breath and said. “I’ve been thinking about what happened last night, and it has led me to believe that, um, something is up. In the Bureau itself.” They all looked shocked as he continued. “We know you got the information from an informer, who probably works for the Bureau- but what if it wasn’t the informer? What if someone in the Bureau wanted this to go wrong?” 

“Listen, kiddo, I know mysterying it out is your thing but, uh, how do you know?” Merle asked, waving around a piece of waffle.

“Because this is the second time an agent has gotten hurt on an informers tip- but there’s no way the informers were related.” Everyone swiveled to look at Magnus who put his fork down with a clatter. They knew Angus was talking about a recent incident that had left his wife and her father in the hospital. Julia had managed to pull through, though with serious injuries, but her father hadn’t. Magnus looked down at his plate, processing. Then he looked up, jaw clenched, at Angus.

“You think it was the same person?”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry I didn’t detect foul play before.” He said, looking at Magnus and then Kravtiz, slightly guilty. Lucretia put her hand on Angus’s shoulder, reassuring him.

“Alright, kid,” Taako said, putting his fork down too. “Let’s get to work.”

                                        To be continued

[zuwritesstuff]

One Hundred Ways to Say ‘I Love You’

“Pull over.  Let me drive for awhile.”

“It reminded me of you.”

“No, no, it’s my treat.”

“Come here.  Let me fix it.”

“I’ll walk you home.”

“Have a good day at work.”

“I dreamt about you last night.”

“Take my seat.”

“I saved a piece for you.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“You can have half.”

“Take my jacket, it’s cold outside.”

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Can I have this dance?”

“I made your favourite.”

“It’s okay.  I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

“Watch your step.”

“Here, drink this.  You’ll feel better.”

“Can I hold your hand?”

“You can borrow mine.”

“You might like this.”

“It’s not heavy.  I’m stronger than I look.”

“I’ll wait.”

“Just because.”

“Look both ways.”

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to.”

“Try some.”

“Drive safely.”

“Well, what do you want to do?”

“One more chapter.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“It looks good on you.”

“Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

“That’s okay, I bought two.”

“After you.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“Can I kiss you?”

“I like your laugh.”

“Don’t cry.”

“I made this for you.”

“Go back to sleep.”

“Is this okay?”

“I picked these for you.”

“I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

“What do you want to watch?”

“You can go first.”

“Did you get my letter?”

“I’ll do it for you.”

“Call me when you get home.”

“I think you’re beautiful.”

“Are you sure?”

“Have fun.”

“Sit down, I’ll get it.”

“I made reservations.”

“I don’t mind.”

“It brings out your eyes.”

“There is enough room for both of us.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“Wow.”

“Happy birthday.”

“I’ll pick it up after work.”

“It can wait until tomorrow.”

“Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“It’s two sugars, right?”

“I’ll help you study.”

“Stay over.”

“I did the dishes.”

“You didn’t have to ask.”

“I bought you a ticket.”

“You’re warm.”

“No reason.”

“I’ll meet you halfway.”

“Take mine.”

“We can share.”

“I was just thinking about you.”

“I want you to have this.”

“Call me if you need anything.”

“Do you want to come too?”

“I’ll still be here when you’re ready.”

“Is your seatbelt on?”

“Sweet dreams.”

“I was in the neighbourhood.”

“Stay there.  I’m coming to get you.”

“The key is under the mat.”

“It doesn’t bother me.”

“You’re important too.”

“I saved you a seat.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“I noticed.”

“You can tell me anything.”

“I hope you like it.”

“I want you to be happy.”

“I believe in you.”

“You can do it.”

“Good luck.”

“I brought you an umbrella.”

“I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

“Take a deep breath.”

“Be careful.”

And…

“I love you.”

[zuwritesstuff]

Bees Are Filled With Love

Week two for @fander-pride-meetup!! This one was about representation so of course I’m gonna make Patton non-binary, panromantic, demisexual, a high schooler and Indian I mean how could I not-

Word count: 904, its a short one folks v self indulgent

Warnings: Cursing, an accidental self-misgendering thing, a few mentions of God but just like, in passing, no big discussions this is just Fluff yall.

Enjoy <3 and remember, reblogs>likes

Patton Aziz sat cross-legged on the ground, writing and scribbling out viciously in his- their journal. They, them, theirs, they thought, frowning. I am them.

“They are writing in this journal right here,” the high schooler said aloud, looking down at the journal, filled with different rejected one-liners and puns and doodles of little bees Patton made as their mind wandered... “Trying to figure out a way to tell their friends that they are-”

“Pat!!” Roman Kingsley boomed, dropping down, also cross-legged, next to Patton who was very, very startled. “Where have you been? Logan’s been worried sick…” he said, wiggling his eyebrows as his boyfriend, Virgil O’Mara, and Logan Berry, (aka Patton’s not so requited crush, although they didn’t know that) sat as well. Virgil and Roman grinned as Logan began to splutter, turning red.

“Falsehood.” He said, avoiding Patton’s eyes. “I am perfectly healthy, thank you.” “Anyway,” Virgil said, covering for Logan, “what were you saying, Pat? Something aloud while we were walking here.” Patton’s eyes widened as they shut their notebook discreetly.

“Nothing!! Don’t worry about it!!” They said cheerfully, facing their friends with a wide smile.

“Alright, now I’m kinda worried.” Virgil said, frowning. Roman slipped his arm around him, concerned, as Patton backtracked.

“No, really, it's fine! I just-” Patton stared behind them all as a bee buzzed by. Patton really, really loved bees. Not just ‘cause they were fuzzy and cute (like Patton), but because they were small, (like Patton), and were really important, (like Patton). Roman snapped his fingers to get the enby’s attention.

“Hello, hi, Earth to Pat?”

“I LOVE BEES!” Patton declared, standing up. Startled, the three friends looked up at Patton, who continued on. “And I know why now!”

“Uh, do tell, Patton.” Logan said, confused but supportive.

“I love bees so much because,” Patton sat back down, pausing for dramatic effect, looking at each of their friends in the eyes, “I am nonbeenary. An enbee, if you will.”

The friends all groaned and shook their heads while Patton grinned and spread their arms.

“What? Was the transition not natural? Too fast? A somewhat unbeelivable way to come out?” Logan reached over and covered Patton's mouth with his hand, sighing loudly. Patton smirked, moved away quickly and said, “Aw come on Lo, you know you love my puns; don’t you, honey?” Logan sat back and blushed as Roman and Virgil screeched with laughter.

“Now that was...amazing.” Roman said after they all finally calmed down. “Truly, the most Patton-y way to celebrate your true identity.”

Patton mock-bowed and grinned. They sat back and stayed quiet as their friends continued on with their conversation, thinking about how they had the best friends ever. Now, they thought, it's time to come up with a way to come out as pan…

~

The next day, Patton walked into the school, weaving their way through the crowd of teens and harried teachers, trying to get to their locker. Today, feeling good about themself and their identity, they wore a long baby blue skirt that twirled magnificently, and a cute puffy shirt and cardigan that matched perfectly. The bit of makeup that they had done made Patton feel...seen. Perfectly them.

When they had arrived at their locker, they saw a sticky-note stuck to the front. Patton picked the sticky-note off the locker and read aloud, “Although my puns are only bee-list worthy, I want you to know that you are definitely a keeper.” All this, written in Logan’s handwriting, combined with the little doodle of a bee, flying in a heart formation made Patton’s heart, well, soar. They giggled and stuck the sticky-note inside their locker, for safekeeping. When Patton turned around, however, books in hand and ready to head to class, they were greeted with the sight of Logan, looking sheepish, holding a flower and a bee plushy.

“I, uh, I wanted to give you these…” Logan said, not meeting Patton’s eyes completely, handing them the flower and tiny bee. “I hope you enjoy them…”

“I’m gay.” Patton blurted, panicking, blushing as soon as they realized they had said that aloud. Logan turned completely red, rubbing the back of his neck. One could almost see the steam bursting out of his ears as Patton rushed to explain.

“Well, I mean, technically pan. Panromantic demisexual. Emotional connection and all that and I am so gay for you and wow I’m rambling I-” Patton was stopped as Logan leaned in and kissed their cheek. It was Patton’s turn to blush, hard, although their Indian complexion covered some of it, thank God.

“Would you like to get coffee after school? Just me and you?” Logan asked quietly, still blushing hard. Patton couldn’t even speak. They just nodded and held out their hand subtly, so if Logan wanted to take it, he could. And he did.

“God damn it-” Virgil cursed as the couple walked towards them, hand in hand, blushing and smiling. He handed Roman 5 dollars. Smirking, he pocketed it and turned to Patton, explaining.

“He bet me 5 dollars to see who would confess first.” Roman grinned over at Logan, who smiled back and high fived him. Virgil looked, well, betrayed.

“Logan were you in on this?? I can’t believe this, my best friend, a traitor.” As the four walked down the halls, bickering and laughing, Patton marveled at how lucky they were.

A truly beeautiful family.

Taglist: @detroit-become-pan

If you’d like to be added to the taglist shoot me an ask :D

[zuwritesstuff]

Chocolate Hat Kind Is The Best Kind

Oooh Z is posting for once? Crazy-

This is for the Fander Pride Meetup, aka @fander-pride-meetup but I hope everyone enjoys!!

Pairings- QPP Moxiety, Boyfriends Royality

Warnings- None this is just Pure Fluff

Wordcount- 1111 (you read that right holy shit)

“Ah sh- sugar balls.” Patton frowned down at the ruined cookies. Batch number- what was it? Two? Contrary to popular belief, Patton was not, in fact, a good baker. Good cook, yes, but baker? No. He waved the smoke away and looked back at the living room, where Virgil, his QPP, and Roman, his boyfriend, sat with worried expressions.

“You doing okay there, Pat?” Virgil asked. He was sitting sideways, legs draped across the armrest of the couch, sitting up and scrunching his nose at the smell. His purple hair was slightly askew, pushed over from laying down. Roman sat on the floor, legs crossed, facing the T.V but frowning at the smoke.

“Just fine, gumdrop, you both stay there!” He beamed at them both, blowing kisses, and ducked back into the kitchen. He sighed and snapped the mess away, and brought up more ingredients for peanut butter cookies, suggested by Logan. Logan himself was somewhere in the mind palace, drawing up another filming schedule. Patton made a mental note to bring him cookies for staying in his room for the day- Patton had asked him to since he wanted to something at least vaguely cute for his partners. They seemed to do so much for him, he had told his friend, but he didn’t seem to do much for them. Logan had frowned at that, skeptical, but nodded and they had continued their day.

Now, Patton went back to mixing together things and humming, thinking back on his day. His QPP and boyf had been treated to a pancake breakfast, cuddling, and movies, learning chess from Virgil, (who was unexpectedly good at strategy games), and now, as they sat in the room over, playing video games and discussing Disney, Patton had tried, (emphasis on tried) to bake them cookies. It wasn’t going too well, but it could be going worse. Third time's the charm, he reasoned.

“Hey, bugaboo.” Patton spun around, surprised, and was greeted by a kiss from Roman. He smiled, kissed back, then pushed him away.

“You’re supposed to be in the living room!” He said, hands on his hips, trying to cover the cookie batter behind him.

“Yes, but darling, Virgil was worried about the smoke. Again.” Roman grinned and was promptly elbowed by Virgil.

“Hey, you were worried too.” Roman shrugged as Virgil rolled his eyes and continued. “Anyway, we’re here to help you with whatever you’re doing. Cookies?”

“Mhm.” Patton frowned. “It was supposed to be a surprise, I guess.”

“Oh, darling, that’s alright.” Roman gestured grandly at Virgil, getting down on one knee and spreading his arms widely. “We’ve got a baking genius right here!!” Virgil pushed him over and walked over to Patton, taking his hand quietly and squeezing it as he read over the recipe. Patton blushed lightly and squeezed back as Roman got up, grumbling, and rested his head on Patton's, wrapping his arms around his waist.

“Peanut butter cookies, huh?” Virgil looked at the batter, and back at the oven, then back at the batter. “Princey, get the flour stuff, over there.”

Roman nodded, saying, “We’re making the kind with the Hershey Kisses in it right? The chocolate hat kind-” he muttered as he grabbed the flour mixture, and promptly made to pour the whole thing in.

“ROMAN NO-”

“RO DON’T-” Roman stopped at Virgil and Patton’s shrieks. Patton grabbed the mixture and poured it in slowly as Virgil blended it.

“You can’t pour it all in at once,” Patton explained, “else it’ll get everywhere.”

“Hey, there you go!” Virgil said, smiling at Patton. “Upcoming baking genius right here.” Roman got on his knees and gestured again, making Patton giggle.

“Uh, well, I learned that ‘cause in my first batch it just…” Patton imitated an explosion, presumably made of dry ingredients, which caused Roman to laugh and stand up, hugging Patton gently.

“Ah, cuddlebug, I knew you weren’t naturally cautious like Mr. Baker Sanders over here.” Roman earned a glare from the QPR, which made him pout and say, “Oh, come on, that wasn’t even mean.”

Patton laughed a little as they stood in a line and made quick work of the batter, pressing it into little balls and putting it on the cookie tray, which Patton popped into the oven. He closed it and gave his partners big hugs, smiling widely.

“Thank you both- I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you guys.” He said as Roman and Virgil took his hands and guided him to the couch to wait.

“I think you could have.” Virgil said as he laid his head on Patton’s lap, for Patton to play with his hair, putting his legs up over the armrest again. Patton leaned into Roman, who put his arm around him, as Virgil continued. “No, I know you could have. But I’m glad you did it with us.” He shrugged and smiled up at Patton. “It was fun.”

“Because of my excellent baking skills, obviously.” Roman said, grinning at them both.

“In your dreams, Roman.”

“I am dreams, Virgil.”

They sat for a bit, playing video games and bickering good-naturedly until the cookies were done. This time they set a timer so none of them could forget it was in there, (the second explanation, provided by Pat, mostly had this concern at the center. ADHD, y’all).

(If they had asked why he forgot, Patton would have blushed and stammered out that he may have been daydreaming about them both and how perfect the day had been, and how much he truly loved them both. But they didn’t.)

The group got up and walked over. Roman snapped up a bag of already unwrapped Hershey Kisses as Virgil opened the oven and brought out the cookies. He laid them out as the right-brained couple behind him snuck a few chocolates.

“Alright, bring ‘em over you lovebirds.” He said, turning around to the disgustingly affectionate sight of the two giggling and giving each other Hershey Kisses and actual kisses. Patton brought the bag and his boyfriend over, and they all began pressing the chocolate into the still warm cookies. The trio worked in comfortable silence, each to their own thoughts, and when they finally put the final product in the fridge, they were all just about at the same conclusion.

“We are a damn good team.” Roman said, taking Patton’s hand. Patton nodded as he brought Virgil over and kissed his forehead, grinning at Virgil’s blush.

“We are, aren’t we?” Patton said, sighing contentedly. “God, I love you both.”

“Love you too, sweetie.”

“And I love you, bugaboo.”

(And they lived happily ever after. With peanut butter cookies. Unburnt.)

Taglist- @detroit-become-pan

[zuwritesstuff]

Hello hi my name is Zu, I use they/them pronouns and I'm currently on mobile so I can't link the one fic and one chapter I have up of things I've written lmao but if you want to check me out go ahead, I'd really appreciate it ❤❤❤

Yo TS Content Creators

i have noticed big blogs kinda going into other fandoms or doing their mental health a favor and taking time off, and i dont nearly follow enough people, so my dash is deader than a doornail.

So!! We other creators need to become our second generation! The kiddos in training. Lets put these fins together, mates.

So reblog or comment with some of your works! Stories, videos, art, you name it. You can also introduce yourself!

That way if peeps like me wanna go find some people to follow they can look through notes to read through your stuffs! I need to fill up my dash and boost us tiny creators too, plus help baby content creators with their stuff so they can continue improving!

So, i will go first.

My name is Sage, they/them (sometimes he/him) pronouns, and im a 15 year old artist and writer (and game developer, music composer, etc etc-) who likes to reblog cool things and has a big ol passion for cooking, even though i know only one (1) recipe. I also enjoy asmr, designing cute clothes, and makeup. My biggest art flaws are background designings, unable to write 1k+ chapters, and not being able to freaking do eyelINER-

Ahem. Anyways.

Here are some of my works!!!

Annddd my story (thats still in progress aCk) The Curse of El Reino de la Paz (Prinxiety/Logicality) and Sugar (Royality, trans!father!Patton)

Im looking forward to follow some more hoomanssss!

[zuwritesstuff]

fictional kiss things that end me

being unable to open their eyes for a few moments afterward

one small kiss, pulling away for an instant, then devouring each other

pressing their foreheads together while kissing

speaking normally, then after the kiss their voice is hoarse

guys furrowing their brow when kissing passionately

staring at the other’s lips, trying not to kiss them, before giving in

running their thumb over the other’s lips

when they lean forward a fraction as if to kiss the other person, then realize they shouldn’t and pull back to stop themselves

ripping the other away - “no we shouldn’t” - but when they kiss them again they moan and hold them close

one sliding their hand into the other’s hair slowly

their entire body freezing for a second when their love kisses them

accidentally being forced inches apart from each other, staring at each other’s lips, and just before they kiss someone pulls them back apart

when one stops the kiss to whisper “I’m sorry, are you sure you-” and they answer by kissing them more

a hoarse whisper “kiss me”

then licks their lips and says “please”

[zuwritesstuff]

i really cannot find the person who asked me for that last drabble and I feel bad af

[zuwritesstuff]

Haha oops I accidentally answered the ask too early, I'm doing this on mobile but thank you for actually interacting with me!! Here's the drabble-

Roman paced his room, nervous. Running his hands through hair, he sighed and sat down on his bed, bouncing his leg. He truly didn't understand why his father couldn't understand, or more likely, didn't want to understand what he wanted, that he wanted-

"Prince Roman?" Roman shot up, the voice he was dreaming about was no longer in his dreams, it seemed. His favorite servant, Virgil Zil, walked in with purpose, shutting the door and walking over to him quickly.

"Roman-" he started, alarm in his eyes, but Roman cut him off before he began.

"I know, darling, I know. My father summoned me this morning. " Roman wrapped his arms around Virgil waist, pulling him closer. "And I don't care. "

"Ro, you should. Your father is the most powerful man this side of..anywhere..." Virgil argued, making no attempt to wriggle out of Romans arms either. He looked into the headstrong Prince's eyes, pleading with him. "Roman, leave with me, please. We can be free, I know people who will hide us. "

Roman sighed softly, looking away. "I wish, but I do have royal duties, V. It wouldn't be fair."

Virgil softly touched Romans cheek, bringing his gaze back to himself. "We'll figure it out. Okay? We, " he took a deep breath, "we have to, so we will." He smiled a bit, letting his eyes flicker down to Romans lips, which wasn't hard because they were right there.

Roman chuckled, licking and biting his lips. "See something you like?" he murmured, which made Virgil flush red.

"Maybe..." with a shy smile, Virgil pulled Roman forward with his sash, bringing him in for a soft kiss.

Roman sighed into the kiss, cupping Virgil's face, letting his eyes flutter shut. Virgil wrapped his arms around Romans neck, feeling at peace when,

"Son? What are you doing?? "

Taglist- @detroit-become-pan

Edit: @marshmallow-the-panda wAS IT YOU???

[zuwritesstuff]

If anyone wants to send me one?

Prompt List

I compiled some prompt lists I found to form a list of 76 kiss prompts. Send in a number and a character and one of us shall write a one shot based on it. 

“Good morning” kiss

Kiss on the forehead 

Drunk/sloppy kiss

Awkward kiss 

Angry kiss 

“I’m sorry” kiss 

“I’ve missed you” kiss 

Seductive kiss

“War’s End” kiss 

“Goodbye” kiss

“I almost lost you” kiss

Kiss on the nose 

Kiss on the ear

Kiss on the neck

Kiss on the back 

New Year’s kiss

Needing to kiss to hide from bad guys

“I do” kiss 

Shy kiss 

Surprised kiss 

Kiss on a dare 

Sad kiss 

Exhausted parents kiss 

Kiss of life 

Kiss inspired by a song

Jealous kiss

Giggly kiss

First kiss 

Last kiss 

Kiss under a full moon

Kiss at dusk 

Kiss at dawn

Kiss in a dream 

Returned from the dead kiss 

Themed kisses

“We can never be together” kiss 

It’s-the-end-of-the-world kiss

Awkward teenage crush kiss

Spin the bottle kiss

Hiding/hoping not to be caught kiss

Forbidden kiss

Sated kiss

Soft kiss

Tender kiss

Passionate kiss

Long kiss

Quick kiss

Morning kiss

Before Bed kiss

In Secret kiss

Public kiss

Accidentally Witnessed kiss

Against a wall kiss

Against a Locker kiss

True Love kiss

Caught off-guard kiss

Breaking The Kiss To Say Something, Staying So Close That You’re Murmuring Into Each Other’s Mouths

Moving Around While Kissing, Stumbling Over Things, Pushing Each Other Back Against The Wall/Onto The Bed

Kissing So Desperately That Their Whole Body Curves Into The Other Person’s 

Throwing Their Arms Around The Other Person, Holding Them Close While They Kiss

Hands On The Other Person’s Back, Fingertips Pressing Under Their Top, Drawing Gentle Circles Against That Small Strip Of Bare Skin That Make Them Break The Kiss With A Gasp

Lazy Morning Kisses Before They’ve Even Opened Their Eyes, Still Mumbling Half-Incoherently, Not Wanting To Wake Up

Routine Kisses Where The Other Person Presents Their Cheek/Forehead For The Hello/Goodbye Kiss Without Even Looking Up From What They’re Doing

Being Unable To Open Their Eyes For A Few Moments Afterward 

One Small Kiss, Pulling Away For An Instant, Then Devouring Each Other 

Staring At The Other’s Lips, Trying Not To Kiss Them, Before Giving In

When One Stops The Kiss To Whisper “I’m Sorry, Are You Sure You-” And They Answer By Kissing Them More

A Hoarse Whisper “Kiss Me”

Following The Kiss With A Series Of Kisses Down The Neck

Starting With A Kiss Meant To Be Gentle, Ending Up In Passion

A Gentle “I Love You” Whispered After A Soft Kiss, Followed Immediately By A Stronger Kiss

When One Person’s Face Is Scrunched Up, And The Other One Kisses Their Lips/Nose/Forehead 

Height Difference Kisses Where One Person Has To Bend Do Wn And The Other Is On Their Tippy Toes 

Kisses Where One Person Is Sitting In The Other’s Lap 

Kisses Meant To Distract The Other Person From Whatever They Were Intently Doing 

Top Of Head Kisses

[zuwritesstuff]

Fictional Kiss Prompts

So I borrowed a bunch of these fictional kisses from this post and made it up into a prompt list. Feel free to reblog of course!

breaking the kiss to say something, staying so close that you’re murmuring into each other’s mouths

moving around while kissing, stumbling over things, pushing each other back against the wall/onto the bed

kissing so desperately that their whole body curves into the other person’s 

throwing their arms around the other person, holding them close while they kiss

hands on the other person’s back, fingertips pressing under their top, drawing gentle circles against that small strip of bare skin that make them break the kiss with a gasp

lazy morning kisses before they’ve even opened their eyes, still mumbling half-incoherently, not wanting to wake up

routine kisses where the other person presents their cheek/forehead for the hello/goodbye kiss without even looking up from what they’re doing

being unable to open their eyes for a few moments afterward

one small kiss, pulling away for an instant, then devouring each other

staring at the other’s lips, trying not to kiss them, before giving in

when one stops the kiss to whisper “I’m sorry, are you sure you-” and they answer by kissing them more

a hoarse whisper “kiss me”

following the kiss with a series of kisses down the neck

starting with a kiss meant to be gentle, ending up in passion

a gentle “i love you” whispered after a soft kiss, followed immediately by a stronger kiss

when one person’s face is scrunched up, and the other one kisses their lips/nose/forehead

height difference kisses where one person has to bend do wn and the other is on their tippy toes

kisses where one person is sitting in the other’s lap

kisses meant to distract the other person from whatever they were intently doing

top of head kisses

[zuwritesstuff]

Dealers Choice

Warnings: This is a super angsty chapter and there is a lot in here including: various gruesome deaths not caused by natural things and mostly by machines and stuff steer clear, suicide, blood, dead bodies and stuff, vomit, major character death, and maybe more (if I forgot to tag something please tell me) 

Word Count: 3k

A/N- If you can, please comment on how I can improve my writing!! And thank you for reading!!

Thomas retched at the sight of his former therapist.

“Doctor? Are you-oh god-” Thomas threw up, wiped his mouth and staggered over to his old friend. Doctor Picani, his therapist since Virgil, his source of constancy, lay on the floor, throat slit. The body slumped over on the floor, blood spilled over the body and around where Picani had died. Horrified, Thomas backed away and glanced up. “You weren’t supposed to know” adorned the wall, still dripping what he thought was dark red paint. Thomas stared at the words, not comprehending what they said. Thomas was also not comprehending anything a few seconds later, when he was shoved into the wall, slamming his head and blacking out. 

When Thomas came to, he groaned and staggered to his feet. He rubbed eyes and tentatively looked up at what made him faint. He gagged at the sight of the blood on the wall, spelling out “You weren’t supposed to know. ” “I’m sorry, Thomas. You’ll be okay soon. ” ~ Virgil stared at himself in the mirror. His head throbbed, and he tried not focusing on the strange shadows behind him. The voices whispered in his head, loud and relentless. He stumbled over to his room, writing notes to the ones he loved the most. His little brother, Thomas, only a kid. His mom. His best friend, Patton. Roman. Virgil slipped on his favorite hoodie, the one Patton had bought for him over the summer, before he had moved. The voices were slowly getting louder. They needed stopping. Against the voices wishes, he managed to send Roman a single text. I’m sorry, Ro. I love you. V? Virgil, are you okay? Answer me, please. Pick up the phone virgil. I’m coming over, hold on. please. Virgil kicked the rocks around the train tracks. In the distance, a horn blared. The voices were slowly getting louder. They needed to stop. They will stop. W-why did they need to stop? Why was he here? He needed to go home, call Patton, hug Thomas, text Roman, w-why was he here? He- The voices were getting louder. They needed to stop. He tried remembering what he wrote to each of his loved ones. He told Thomas to never stop acting, keep watching the cartoons, maybe update him on it every once in a while. He told Patton to keep storytelling. He really was amazing at it. Maybe he’d be an author one day. That’d be amazing. And Ro...what did he tell Ro? Dear Roman, “Virgil?” Roman, god that beautiful, stupid bastard, was standing there, shivering in the cold. His mom and his brother were standing there too, his mom holding Thomas back. I’m sorry for leaving you, Princey. I promise, I didn’t think it would end up this way. “Virge, babe, get away from there!” He started walking towards him. The voices didn’t like this. Hey, don’t worry about me, though. Just take care of my mom and Thomas. Make sure they’re okay, alright? Roman ran faster. The train was coming. “Virge!! Get out of the way!” Virgil stared at him. Didn’t he know? The voices were getting louder. Maybe call Patton up. Mail him the note or something. Please, Ro. I don’t want him to think I wanted to leave him either. It was right there. Why was Roman still running towards him? I love you Roman. Thank you for making this past year the best. “Virge!” Love, Roman pushed him out of the way. He tried. Virgil. ~ “Stay with us kids- “ The lights flickered in and out. Lights? Were those lights? God what was- Virgil? “Y-you’re gonna be okay Virge, ” Roman said, muffled by the oxygen mask. Wait. Oxygen mask? He looked fine but- oh lord- was that blood? Was that blood? On himself? Holy shit holy shit holy shit- “Honey, we need you to calm down, please, calm down-” “Virgil? Is he-” “Ro…” “Virgil!!” Roman tried to get up, but the straps on the bed held him down. Straps? On the bed? What? What the hell- Was this an ambulance? What the FUCK? Roman tried to steady his breathing. Each breath was a little harder to take. He felt dizzy and couldn't exactly remember why he was here. Virgil was here, and there was Virgil’s mom and his little brother. They had all gone to…the train tracks? Why did they go to the train tracks? “Ro?” Roman heard Virgil’s voice, weak and small. He struggled towards him, causing a sharp pain in his side. He leaned back into bed, groaning, feeling himself start to slowly drift away. He turned his head towards Virgil, trying to catch a glimpse of him. Virgil’s arms twisted every which way, painfully. He saw tear tracks on Virgil’s face, sliding off the oxygen machine as the EMT’s tried to stop his bleeding. It must have hurt. Roman didn’t really feel much anymore. He just felt, numb, with an ache in his heart every time he looked at Virgil, silently crying, his mom, sobbing, and little Thomas, looking terrified. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought them. Oh well. Too late now. He tried reaching towards any of them, trying to get comfort in his last moments. His last moments? Was this it? He still had yet to perform at Broadway and propose to Virgil. What about his mom and dad? No, he had to keep fighting, for all of them. He had to. He tried his best to turn to Virgil again, the mask muffling his words. “You’re gonna be okay, Stormcloud. Promise…” He could feel himself drifting away further. The lights were getting blurrier, he wanted to sleep. So bad. Sleep would be nice but Virgil needed him. But before Roman could make a decision on if he should sleep or help Virgil, he heard whispering. The lights in the ambulance went out, with Virgil emitting a soft purple- no dark gray- no purple- back and forth, as if the colors were fighting for dominance. He looked down at his own hands. He was glowing bright red himself, and felt, strong. He didn’t think he was gonna die. Strange. His attention turned to Thomas. He, Virgil’s mother, and the EMT's looked, well, frozen in time, their faces stuck in a pose, looking terrified. Unlike the rest, Thomas was emitting a glow too. He was glowing a soft pearl white, pure and good. His eyes didn’t look terrified anymore, they were glowing the same color he was, just brighter, as was he ears and mouth. Roman felt like he was safe staring at Thomas, like he’d never be hurt. But Roman didn’t feel as safe anymore when he saw a man, pure light, standing behind Thomas, holding his shoulders, looking as if he was trying comforting him, albeit unsuccessfully. He tore his eyes away from Thomas and the man to look back at Virgil, who was now all gray. He saw a figure standing above him as well, a pure shadow. He heard Virgil whispering to the shadow. “Get…away…from….me…. ” “Oh Virgil, dear, I’ve been with you for a very long time, and I don’t plan to go anywhere, anytime soon.” “W-why?” Roman could hear Virgil’s voice getting softer and softer. He tried speaking, scream, do anything, but not a sound came out. “Why not? You’re perfect for my...plans..”The shadow shifted closer and closer.“ And now, you’re mine. ” The shadow placed his hands on Virgil’s face, and the dark gray surrounding Virgil started to travel slowly up his body into the shadow, creeping up like sentient fog, leaving behind nothing. Roman watched in terror as his boyfriend disappeared in front of his eyes. “S-STOP!!” Finally, Roman had managed to whisper-scream something. The red glow around him flared, and both figures turned towards him. When the black shadow turned towards him, he felt a blast of fear. He never wanted to talk, move, breathe again. There was nothing there, just a shadow, but the power he felt from it, radiating off in waves, was indescribable. He imagined it was like being in the presence of a dementor, or worse, but this wasn’t really the time for Harry Potter references. Especially since Virgil finally seemed to notice him. They locked eyes, and for a moment, Roman saw a flash of purple in the dark gray smog surrounding Virgil. “Ro- I’m sorry.” Virgil said weakly. “Keep fighting, V, please, ” Roman didn’t know what was going on, but he’d be damned if he didn’t help Virgil fight whatever the fuck that shadow was. Unfortunately, as Roman wondered what the was going on, the shadow monster seemed to read his thoughts and answered him. “Roman, I suppose you are? This is not the time for silly questions. Let go. ” The shadow turned back to Virgil, who was stirring, trying to get away from him." Let go, it would be easier. You will be happy. ” “Fuck off, shadow man.” “Ha. Creative. ” The shadow continued his job of consuming the gray surrounding Virgil. “If you would leave us, dear Roman, dear ‘Princey’, ” Roman glared at the shadow- no one called him that but Virgil, “ that would be most helpful. Virgil and I have important matters to attend to. ” At these words, Roman could feel himself start to slip away again. The red around him dimmed. “Virgil, please keep fighting, don’t st-” “Sleep.” A deep, new voice said. Roman saw a hand of pure light on his chest. He looked towards the face above him and saw a look of concern, but when he tried to look directly into the figure’s eyes, he saw nothing but light. He averted his own eyes, somehow knowing that looking straight into an obviously mystical beings eye was not ideal. He was so tired. So, so tired. He turned to Virgil, one last time. “I love you.” It was barely a whisper, but Roman knew Virgil heard him. Virgil tried to open his mouth to respond, but finally, the shadow had absorbed all the gray smoke around him. Knowing it was over, Roman looked to the roof of the ambulance, closed his eyes, and slept. ~ Patton tried not to think of why he was coming home. He thought of seeing his mom’s dog, Buttercup, more fondly known as But-but, as young Patton named him. He thought of eating the best damn ice-cream in the world, at Magenta’s Ice Cream Parlor, two blocks away from his house. He thought of seeing his best friends in the world, Virgil and Ro-. Shit. He thought about it. It had been around 3 days seen they had both died in a freak accident, or so he heard. He felt otherwise, since he had to hear about it from Virgil’s little brother, Thomas. That phone call had been, well, rough. It had gone something like this: “Hey Virge! You haven’t called in a bit, only texting, I was wondering-” “Hi Patton.” Thomas’s voice was shaky and weak over the phone. “Thomas? Are you okay? Where’s Virgil?” “You told me to call if Virgil got worse.” By getting worse, he was referring to Virgil’s mental health. Patton knew Thomas wanted to help, so before he left, he took Thomas aside and gave him a “job.” He didn’t expect Thomas to act on it, especially not like this. A man, maybe around his own age, sat next to Patton, startling him out of his thoughts. Patton managed a smile at the stranger. “Hi!” The man looked over, confused almost. “Hello.” “My name is Patton!! How are you?” Patton didn’t know why he was continuing the conversation. He just wanted to curl up in his own bed and sleep for ten days. “My name is Logan, and I am doing perfectly...adequate. You?” The man sat straight-backed and stiff, as if he didn’t make conversation with someone very often. “Oh, I could be doing better, I guess.” Patton smiled sadly. “I’m not very happy to go home, for once.” “Oh?” “My best friends died.” “Oh. My condolences." Logan looked like he was struggling to find the words to comfort him.“ I don’t...know what losing a friend feels like, but I sincerely hope you get through it. ” “Thank you! That’s very kind.” Patton sighed. "It’ll be rough, but it hasn’t really sunk in yet, I guess.” “Understandable. When my mother died, there was a time when I always expected her to walk through the door in her usual uniform. Obviously she never did, but it is only...human. ” He said human with almost disgust, as if being human was a flaw. “Being human is hard, but everyone deals with it. It’s the ‘dealer’s choice’ on how you live it.” Logan simply rolled his eyes at the slight pun while Patton grinned and finger-gunned at him. “Come on, it wasn’t that bad." Patton said, drumming his fingers on the arm rest and leaning forward. " It was subtle, and it had a good reference to an actual phrase!! One of my more better puns, if I do say so myself." “Well, I would hate to hear one of your worst puns.” Logan said, wincing a little at his own words. Patton huffed a sigh and sat back. “ You are no fun, Logan.” “I am aware.” Patton let the conversation die out. He put on his headphones, listening to music. He wasn’t really paying attention to the music; he just wanted background noise. But no amount of background noise could block out the loud bang he heard an hour into his flight. He and Logan jumped, along with the rest of the passengers, looking for the source of the noise. “OH MY GOD!!” A voice, a few seats ahead, screamed. The rest of the passengers scrambled to see what caused the person to scream. Logan and Patton got out of their seats, running towards the crowd. It felt like Patton’s heart was sinking into his stomach when he saw one of the engines on fire, almost hanging off the wing of the plane. He backed up into Logan, who caught him, looking terrified. Logan pulled both of them back to their seats as the flight attendants tried to get everyone calm. Patton fastened his seatbelt with trembling hands, looking over at Logan to see what was happening. “We are in ideal seats, close to the exit and in the back of a plane; seats in the back of the plane have the lowest mortality rate at 32%, which is of course, ideal-” “Logan.” Logan looked up at the sound of his name. “ We’re going to be okay.” Patton did not believe this at all; the fucking engine was hanging off, but he grabbed Logan’s hand and squeezed it. “ I’m gonna make sure you’re okay, alright?” Logan nodded, and sat straight, closing his eyes and squeezing back. Patton sat forward too, breathing deeply, trying to calm down. “Patton?” Patton looked over at Logan again, who was still sitting up, eyes closed. “Yes, Logan?” “I suggest the 4-7-8 method. Breathe in for four seconds, hold it for seven seconds, then breathe out for eight.” “Thank you.” Patton tried to do as he instructed, but as he did, he heard another loud bang. The other engine had exploded. Several people screamed, clutching their armrests and loved ones. Patton didn’t really know if he screamed, but he distinctly felt the plane get colder and saw it getting darker. The plane shuddered and tipped towards the ground. Patton heard nothing but screams and distinct whispering around him. The whispers, though he couldn’t make out what they said, raised the hair on the back of his neck. The air masks popped out of the ceiling, everyone too distressed to use them. Patton closed his eyes as the plane hit the ground. ~ Logan couldn’t feel a thing. From the neck down, he felt nothing. Paralysis. He tried thinking of the events leading up to this. A plane crash. Patton holding him as they hit the ground. Darkness. Whispers and shadows all around them, almost grabbing at him as the plane crash-landed. Interesting. He supposed it was some sort of trauma-induced hallucination, but now was not the time to think about that. Or maybe it was. It certainly didn’t feel like he had more time to think about it. Logan heard a soft groan of pain from somewhere on his left. Unfortunately, due to the fact that he was sure he was dying, he couldn’t look towards the sound, a sign someone else was alive. “Logan?” He heard Patton’s voice, weak and tired. Patton’s face appeared in his view. From the look of him, Patton wasn’t much better off. It must have taken most of his energy to crawl towards him, Logan thought, as he saw Patton collapse on top of him. He could almost see Patton’s life slowly start to seep away. “Logan...I don’t think I’m going to make it home…”He heard Patton’s choked up voice say. Logan usually didn’t like comforting people or rather wasn’t good at it, but he felt the indescribable urge to help Patton, to give him encouragement, like on the plane. Logan sharing on the plane was, to say the least, strange. He had almost never talked about his mom to any of his colleagues, or roommates, but he had told Patton. A complete stranger. Interesting. “Logan, you’re hurt bad right? That’s why you’re not talking.”Patton struggled to raise his head to look at him, and that same weird feeling to comfort Patton spread through Logan as he saw Patton’s tear streaked, grimy face. “ I wish I had some more optimism, for both of us...I’m sorry for not doing more…” Logan tried to convey that it simply wasn’t any fault of Patton’s that he was not optimistic during their time of death, that it was illogical of him to expect anything like optimism now through his eyes. Patton nodded a little, then lay back down on Logan’s chest. “I got it, Lo, or whatever nickname you’d like. It’s okay...it’ll be okay…” he heard Patton sigh softly. “ I think I’m just going to...take a little nap. Just for a little…” Logan knew the nap wouldn’t be little, but he supposed he could play along. He too, wanted to take a ‘little nap.’ He stared into the sky above them, obscured by smoke, trying to make out the stars he loved so much. Logan closed his eyes for the last time, knowing Patton was doing the same.

Tag list: @detroit-become-pan @literally-logicality-trash (if you want to be on/off the tag list send an ask or something!!)

[zuwritesstuff]

I NEED A REPUTATION TO UP HOLD TO BE CONTINUED START PLEASE OMG THE FACT U MADE THE MIND PLACE ESSENTIALLY UNDERGROUND HAD ME CACKLING ILY 💞💞👏💞

I am c r y i n g thank you so much ily too and idk where that came from the mind palace being underground just kinda happened if we're being honest also if a lot of people want it to be continued I mean I could? Who knows?? But youre so sweet thank you

[zuwritesstuff]

By the way if Tumblr gets even worse and goes completely downhill, I have an ao3 account where I'll post my fics too, A Reputation To Uphold is already on there!! It's z_z_z_the_non_binary_queen and if need be, I'll just post fics there instead of Tumblr but for now, I'm staying!!

[zuwritesstuff]

Yeah that does sound like it, if not I hope you find what you're looking for:D

Hey, idk if this will help at all, but I've been looking for a fic for a couple of days now but I can't find it. It's from virgil's POV and its him and Patton nerding out over their crushes during the crofters the musical vid. Can you help a fellow fander out?

I don’t know, but maybe someone who follows me will know?? And, I’ll reblog it to my main so more people will see it!

[zuwritesstuff]

Oh my god I didn't think you'd reblog this holy shit

A Reputation to Uphold

A/N- This is basically the first fic I’ve written and published so,,,go easy on me:D. Also, Virgil’s singing is in bold and Patton’s is in italics, and I know the words are different in the actual song, in the scene that played in my head that’s what Virgil was singing so…anyways, enjoy~

Warnings- This is literally just fluff based off of a headcanon I’ve had for awhile so I don’t think there is any, there’s a little bit of angst in there but not a lot I promise, but if I’ve missed something, shoot me an ask and I’ll put it up here~

“ Virge. Are you- do you see this??? ”

“ Yes Pat, I-”

“ Logan. Just. Sang. ”

Virgil glanced over at Patton. His eyes were shining, a faint blush over his cheeks. Definitely a crush. He looked like the personification of his own feelings when Ro sa- wait, no.

“ LOGAN JUST SANG VIRGIL, IT WAS AMAZING I LO- I, um, ” Patton fidgeted with his cat hoodie. “ His voice is very nice…”

“ You can say it.”

“ I THINK I’M IN LOVE, VIRGE!!” Virgil let out a small grin. Of course he knew, why wouldn’t he? Operation Glasses Gays had been in the works for, months now. He and Roman had been bonding over it, truthfully. It was horrifically ironic that, in the process of trying to get Logan and Patton together, he may have started to have very slight, not at all a complete head-over-heels crush on Roman. He couldn’t. He had a reputation to uphold. 

While Virgil was thinking about Roman, that over dramatic, annoying, lovely, sweet, handsome prince, he was abruptly shaken out of his thoughts by a loud thunk on the roof of the mindpalace.

“ Oh shit- It’s ruined- ” Thomas cursed. Virgil still didn’t know why or how the mindpalace was underneath Thomas’s living room, or why and how they got a deal with a goddamn jelly brand, but Patton looked ecstatic, Roman looked great, and Logan looked like he was about to faint with excitement. Oh, there he goes.

“ I LITERALLY SAID ‘I LOVE ME A GOOD SPOONFUL OF CROFTERS’ WHEN WE FIRST TALKED ABOUT IT, PLAY THAT FLASHBACK!!!! ” Roman screeched with indignity, about 2 seconds after Logan fainted. Virgil vaguely knew that Logan definitely loved Crofters more, but he was distracted by the fact that, being Thomas’s creativity, Roman could let them all see ahead to what Thomas would put into the video.

“ Get out of here Anxiety, you stupid Robert Downer Junior!! Anyways, as I was saying, I’m not a huge jelly guy.” Ouch. Virgil could hear them all arguing upstairs, and he knew, he knew that was the old Princey, but the insult still stung.

“ Virge, you know that’s not him anymore. ” Patton softly said, still staring up at Logan.

“ I know. Not like I care anyways. Its fine. ” Patton smiled sadly as Virgil said this, like he knew something Virgil didn’t. Feelings, yuck. Not Patton, yuck, but feelings, yuck. He had a reputation to uphold, and a little insulting shouldn’t get in the way of that. Even if his cru- friend had said it. Even if it was a long time ago, and now Roman looked at him like Logan looked at Patton someti- wait.

“ Virgil, look, they’re gonna start singing again, oh my god I’m gonna faint, he’s so cute Virgil-”

“ Calm yourself pops, just relax and enjoy the show.” Virgil, ahem, subtly stared at Roman, waiting to hear his angeli-stupid voice. His stupid voice. As they began to sing, Patton sang out loud, lovestruck, and Virgil began to sing with Roman, under his breath, because fuck it.

“ Dreams come true~ that’s news to me, how wILD (blueberry), who knew that our buffoonery would bear fruit so divine!!”

“ I’m fraught with jealousy, I can’t believe you’re telling me, that he’s MY favored side~”

“ Even I~”

“I don’t have the vocabulary-”

“I don’t have the vigor-”

“To describe what I’m-”

“To bear the loss of pride that I’m-”

“Feeling inside, but for me it’s very unordinary~”

Virgil looked over at Patton, who was now staring at him with a wide grin on his face. Fuck. He blushed slightly and looked away.

“ V. I heard the words you were singing~”

“ Pat, I love you, but shut up.” Patton smirked and looked back up at Logan. Virgil looked over to Roman, looked exponentially more happy. Good. His prince deserved it.

Wait.

His prince????

Fuck.

He could not believe this. He could not have a crush on Roman. Roman. He probably was the best boyfriend ever, yeah, with cuddles and kisses and romantic gestures and- fuck. Virgil could not, definitely did not have a crush on Roman. He had a reputation to uphold. He couldn’t have a favored side, and it definitely could not be Roman.

“ Hey, Virge, I’ll give you a dollar to make a pun about Crofters.” Virgil gave him another small smile after seeing how happy Patton looked. A pun about some decent jelly, Patton being happy, and an excuse to talk to their, and maybe kinda sort, his overdramatic, annoying, wonderful prince?

“ Eh. Why not.”

[zuwritesstuff]

Send me a Ship and a Number and I will Write a Kiss

…good morning.

…goodnight.

…goodbye.

…where it hurts.

…where it doesn’t hurt.

…on a falling tear.

…to shut them up.

…in secrecy.

…in public.

…desperately.

…in joy.

…in grief.

…discreetly.

…casually.

…passionately.

…lazily.

…to distract.

…as encouragement.

…for luck.

…on a scar.

…on a place of insecurity.

…in a rush of adrenaline.

…in relief.

…in danger.

…as a ‘yes’.

…as an apology.

…as a suggestion.

…as a lie.

…as a promise.

…as comfort.

…after a small rejection.

…to wake up.

…forcefully.

…to pretend.

…to gain something.

…to give up control.

…without a motive.

…because they’re running out of time.

…because time’s run out.

…because the world is ending.

…because the world is saved.

…out of pride.

…out of greed.

…out of lust.

…out of anger.

…out of envy or jealousy.

…out of spite.

…out of habit.

…out of necessity.

…out of love.