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tiredpandaportfolio · 2 years ago

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Dante trying to make pizza at home for the first time would be a nightmare. RIP the poor kitchen

It takes me way longer to get these out than I like.

It was the closure of his favorite pizza joint that really pushed him over the edge. Financial troubles, they claimed. Dante could maybe understand that. They had the perfect balance of cheap and quality pizza in that part of town--and they were willing to deliver to his alley, something most pizza joints balked at.

With good reason, perhaps.

Still, he told himself. Wasn't the end of the world, was it?

He tried a few other pizzerias. Some did not want to get their delivery crews anywhere near the whole neighborhood. Of those that did, their fare was either way too expensive for his wallet, or some kind of disgrace that should be ashamed of calling itself pizza. He was very particular about his pizza. He hated anything too greasy, or that was all bread and not enough toppings, or when the cheese had a funky smell, or when the store was stingy with the meat.

He struggled through the first two weeks. Just when he thought he’d found some hopefuls, he also found out that they were a lot less forgiving than his old usual about being owed money. They cut him off at once and even spread the word.

“Aaah… what’s a man gotta do for some decent pizza around here,” Dante grumbled as he sat back against his large chair, frustrated.

He knocked the last of the fliers into the wastebasket where others lay crumpled. Every last one of these stores among them had let him down. Sure, he could go out to eat but he’d much rather have it brought to his doorstep so he could enjoy his pizza in peace. The frozen pizzas he’d gotten to tide him over were not cutting it anymore. They were too small, too thin, too stingy with everything. He needed something with substance.

As he glared at the ceiling fan, a dreadful thought came to him. He would have to seek advice. He carefully considered who he could entrust with this secret. Trish was out. She would purposefully just tell him to eat something else, just to amuse herself at his frustration. Lady would make it about money, like she always did. He grumbled. No, there was only one person who’d give him a straight answer… for a price. He sighed. He hated this, but he’d have to bite the bullet.

He sat up and dragged his phone close, wedged the receiver between his ear and shoulder and irritably dialed the number, his finger dragging the dial round and round with practiced speed and mindfulness not to actually break the damn thing. The crackly dialing tone made his leg bounce with frustration.

“C’mon… c’mon…” he muttered through his teeth.

She took her time answering. He heard the click of her answer and then the soft, tired voice: “Hello?”

“Hey Twig,” Dante said, leg still bouncing. “Still sleepin’ in? It’s 5 in the evening.”

“No,” Tess sighed from the other end of the line. “That’s you, ‘till someone walks in and gives you a load of trouble. Or scarfing down another pizza.”

“Funny you should say that,” he said.

“Anyway, what’s happened now?”

Dante smirked tartly. “Now why would you say that, Twig?”

“Because you never call just to chat,” Tess replied in a similar tart tone.

“Alright, alright,” he chuckled. “Listen, I need a tiny favor.”

“If you’re gonna ask me to ‘magic your coat clean’ again I’m going to hang up.”

“Wait, wait, wait–” Dante said quickly. “No, I just wanna ask you something.”

“Oh,” Tess said sheepishly. “What’s up? Ghost stuff?”

“No, no, it’s something dumb,” he admitted. “Listen, this stays between us, alright? I’ve got dirt on you too, don’t forget.”

“Yeah, yeah, just out with it, you fusspot.”

Dante braced himself and breathed in. “Alright, listen. I need your unbiased opinion, as an Italian.”

“Oh boy,” Tess said and he heard her smirking.

“So… what’s the best pizza place in town, right now, in your expert opinion?” he asked quickly.

“The what now…?” she echoed. “Dante… did you call me to ask about a pizzeria? Is this about your usual place closing up?”

Dante grimaced. “Who told you that?”

“Morisson, he saw it closed and predicted you’d lose your mind,” she chuckled. “What, are you gunning for your fix?”

He resisted the urge to hang up. “Please just give me something, I’m so done with this.”

“I’m not some kinda pizza oracle, Dante,” Tess sighed, but he still heard her smiling. “I don’t know man, have you tried Rossellini’s? Oh but they wouldn’t deliver to your end of town, would they…”

Dante growled. “No, they don’t and it bugs me. They have good pizza.”

“Well… not sure what to tell you then, I don’t really do take out,” Tess said. “Unless you want to take a crack at making pizza.”

“Real funny–” Dante started to snark but then he blinked. Really, why didn’t he try that? He might be lazy but this was a matter of his peace of mind. If he just made his own he could have pizza whenever he wanted! And he’d make it the way he wanted!

“I might just do that, Twig,” he said, feeling smug.

There was a weighty pause before she replied. “Ok, just don’t burn your house down. I don’t want to think about what you’d do if all you had left were the clothes on your back–assuming you haven’t pawned them off.”

“Your confidence in me is breathtaking, Twig,” Dante snarked and hung up the phone.

He stood up and stretched. Right. Making pizza should not be that hard.

But it was.

Two days later, Dante stood over his oven, fumbling with a fire extinguisher, covered in flour and his shirt stained with tomato sauce. His oven was open, spewing out a thin wisp of really smelly, dark smoke and he could barely see what was going on inside. Finally he tossed the old handheld extinguisher aside and with a grunt just grabbed the rack bare handed and pulled it out. He winced. What he was holding was a blackened oven rack with what looked like pieces of charcoal stuck to the prongs. He blinked.

“Where’s the rest of it…?” he muttered and then cast his eyes around for a place to put it down on.

To his dismay, the sink was full of dirty bowls, the counter was covered in flour, spilled pizza sauce and the aftermath of a carnage of chopping vegetables and meat. Even the table was covered in dirty pots and kitchenware, except for the one spot where a ratty-looking recipe book was open, its pages stained. He awkwardly elbowed aside some stuff on the small counter and tried to put the hot and charred rack down, having to quickly drop it and move to catch a falling bowl with his foot, resulting in splattering his boot and pantleg with the first, utterly failed version of his pizza sauce.

He hissed out a cuss and picked up the bowl off his foot and put it in the sink with a sigh, grabbed a grimy rag to wipe his boot and clothes down, then stooped to look inside the oven.

“What else was I expecting…” he sighed, staring at the pile of charred remains at the bottom of the oven.

He had stupidly placed the awkwardly shaped hunk of dough straight onto the rack with just some baking paper, because he’d managed to ruin the only baking sheet he had. The previous attempt was welded to the sheet. The kitchen stunk of charred food and Dante straightened up, rubbing his back and looked around. His attempts to cook usually produced a mess but this was beyond even his greatest culinary disasters. He’d stubbornly been trying for the last two days and every time he thought he was making some kind of breakthrough, he’d stumble onto another problem. He’d gotten close a couple of times but the two that looked safe enough to eat were just terrible. Looking at the sad pile of charcoal at the bottom of his oven, Dante sighed.

He shut the oven and then shut his eyes, tilting his head back towards the ceiling. The taste of defeat was so much worse than anything he’d eaten from his attempts and he was starting to just ruefully accept it.

“Haaaah… she’s never gonna let me live this down,” he sighed.

He trudged out of the kitchen and straight to his bathroom to peel the sweaty, dirty clothes off him. He wasn’t attached to these particular ones but he was almost impressed how he’d managed to make more of a mess on them by trying to cook than he’d ever manage by fighting demons. He would’ve been laughing at himself if he wasn’t at the end of his rope and tired. He managed to shower, only to find that there was so much flour and bits of dough stuck in his hair it took work to get it all out without it turning glue-like. When he finally dragged himself out of the shower, the office no longer smelled of burned food and he changed into fresh clothes and tried not to think about what he was going to do about the utter disaster in the kitchen.

He sat heavily into his chair with a groan and leaned back, resting his legs on the desk and stared at the ceiling. He was never good at stomaching defeat and even something as minor as this–which to his mind was not minor at all–was going to really get him down in the dumps for a good while. The last thing he wanted was someone to bother him now.

So of course the phone rang.

Dante grunted, almost wanting to kick the hoarse-sounding machine off his desk but instead he knocked the receiver off the base, with practiced care, and snatched it out of the air to bring it to his ear.

“Devil May Cry…” he grumbled.

“Ah, sounds like someone’s having a bad day,” Tess said.

Dante almost hung up and blurted something vague about her timing.

“Alright, alright, don’t get worked up,” she said, and he frustratingly could hear her grin. “Just wondering how you’re coping. Did you actually try making pizza?”

He almost snapped at her but frankly, it wouldn’t amount to anything and he was too tired to get into a fight. He sighed and leaned back into his chair. “I did.”

There was a pause and he could easily imagine her looking amazed–or horrified. “And? Building still intact?”

He grunted again. “It’s fine. But I sure as hell burned a couple of pizzas.”

“Guess the experiments failed,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“Big time. I’m left with a bomb-zone of a kitchen and an empty stomach,” he confessed.

“Mmm, sounds like it. I take it you’re running on fumes now, huh?”

Dante didn’t want to admit it, but he really hadn’t eaten much since yesterday and he was already feeling like his stomach was sticking to his back. “Kinda,” he grunted. “Why?”

“Well… I haven’t had lunch and I really don’t feel like eating by myself so why don’t you pick your sorry ass up and come over here,” she said. “And before you get any ideas,” she added, just as he was about to protest, “this is not pity. You’ve probably committed unspeakable sins against pizza over the last couple of days and the less we speak of that, the better. Consider this a re-education. I’m going to teach you what good pizza is.”

Dante let out a barking laugh. “You didn’t. You can just make pizza?”

“Dude, I lived in Italy,” she said smugly. “If you can’t make pizza you get deported.”

He sat up properly. “And what, you’re willing to share?”

“Yes. Rejoice, dumbass, I’m gonna feed you. And then teach you how to make a pizza without burning your office down,” she said.

He chuckled. “Careful, Twig, I might have to propose.”

“You’re so funny. Just get over here, I have some dough ready to go. Bring some beers,” she sad. “And before you ask, no, I cannot ‘magic your kitchen clean’. Your mess, your problem.”

“You’re such an evil bitch sometimes,” he grumbled.

“Mmm, yeah, I’m so evil I’m offering to have home-made pizza with you. Now get over here, I can’t wait to see your face when you try my pizza and love it.”

“Don’t get cocky Twig, I might just say I hate it just to spite you.”

Tess laughed loudly. “Hah! Good one. I’ll have you know my pizza makes gods weep.”

“We’ll see about that,” Dante chuckled. “Alright, save me a seat, I’ll bring the beer. I’ll grab one of those tangerine schnapps Roy likes and try and bribe him to rescue my kitchen, or something.”

“Be prepared to be reeeeeally nice to him, then,” she cackled. “See you.”

Dante grumbled and hung up after her, then stood up and stretched. Actually, he really should gracefully take this defeat and make the best he could out of it. Having pizza and some beers with Tess did not sound all that bad… her mockery aside, anyway, because she was never going to let him live this down.

#devil may cry #panda writes #dante #dmc #dmc dante #ask panda: answered #ask panda

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daybreakx · 4 years ago

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➵ astro eunwoo x gender neutral reader, established relationship, fluff.

➵prompts: “You owe me a kiss.” + “Kiss me.”

➵ word count: I’ll add it later I wrote this on my phone lol. But it’s pretty short.

➵ warnings: tiny bit of jealousy from Eunwoo.

➵ a/n: @eunwoosimp thank you so much for another request! And I am also super happy my Eunwoo writings have been getting attention lately aaah, it’s very exciting I hope you enjoy this one too♡

"You owe me a kiss,” Eunwoo muttered as he sat next to you, his lips in a slight pout as he eyed you sideways.

“Hey that was my seat!” Sanha argued while you still thought of an answer to your boyfriend’s statement. He wasn’t big on PDA, especially when you two were hanging out with his friends, who wouldn’t hesitate to get all childish and annoying as soon as they saw you two sharing any gesture that wasn’t hand holding.

“Well, not anymore,” Eunwoo shrugged, reaching for the can of coke in the coffee table. He looked at Sanha again, waiting for another reproach but his friend had nothing more to add.

“Why?” you questioned in an amused whisper, raising both eyebrows. You loved hanging out with Eunwoo’s friends, they adored you and always made the most for you to have a good time together. “What is this about?”

Eunwoo never found a problem with it, in fact he was always happy to see you so loved by those he held dear to him. However, today that had changed. It was silly and childish, and he knew it, but he couldn’t help the feeling on the pit of his stomach every time any of his friends kept you away from him all through the day.

If it wasn’t Moon Bin calling you too see whatever thing as you walked past one store, or Sanha taking the seat next to you when Minhyuk was already on the other side... he just wasn’t having it.

Eunwoo shrugged once again, taking a long sip of the soda. “You just do,”

You laughed. “I don’t remember that debt though. So...”

A little less bothered than before, Eunwoo joined in your laughter, his arm snaking around your shoulders.

“None of that!” Bin argued, throwing pieces of pop corn at the two of you.

Both Eunwoo and you rolled your eyes, they loved acting up about everything. Now you knew where Eunwoo’s attitude had come from.

“Were you jealous?” You asked, turning around to face Eunwoo, who walked behind you on the way to your door.

He half scoffed, suddenly embarrassed to admit that had been what bothered him. “No,”

You laughed, reaching out to touch his face. Him leaning into your palm as soon as he grazed your fingertips. “Okay, then.”

“I just wanted to kiss you all day, without someone keeping you away from me at every chance.” He explained, still feeling slightly ridiculous but relieved to be able to let out his frustration.

“Kiss me, then,” you encouraged in a whisper, your other hand pressed against your boyfriend’s chest.

Eunwoo smiled before he pressed his lips against yours, his hand looked for the one still on his chest to intertwine your fingers. He was always gentle when he kissed you, and this was no exception, his mouth moving slowly against yours until both of you were close to gasping for air.

“So I guess I don’t owe you a kiss anymore?” You teased, smirking.

“You owe me a thousand more.” Eunwoo replied, shaking his head in amusement.

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maboroshi-no · 4 years ago

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Hamefura LN11 - Katarina’s post-confession talk with Keith

Hello!

This is not a scanlation, but as I was reading Volume 11 of the Hamefura light novel, I felt the need to translate the scenes where Katarina decides to give respectively Geordo and Keith some kind of reply in regards to their previous love confessions.

Now it’s Keith’s!

Context: After talking with Geordo and telling him she has decided to face her feelings, Katarina is preparing herself to have the same talk with Keith since he also confessed to her before.

Katarina’s POV

The carriage has arrived to Claes's mansion. If it were like always, I would just take it easy, eating dinner and then sleeping soundly afterwards. But today there was something I needed to do. As I got down the carriage, I fired myself up. I passed through the entrance, and as I walked down the corridors leading to my room, I saw Keith walking in front of me.

Keith: "Welcome back, Big Sister... Rather, what's wrong? You are making a weird face..."

Keith, who was greeting me as usual, looked worried upon seeing my tense and stiff expression.

Katarina: "Umm, nothing, don't worry about it. Rather, I have something I'd like to talk to you about, so can I come to your room after dinner?"

Keith: "Sure. You can come anytime."

he said, smiling. Keith probably thinks I want to vent like usual. He has been doing a lot for me. If I had told him right away, things would have probably been awkward during dinner since we are facing each other at the table, so it is better for me this way. For the time being, I have set up a meeting with Keith. I got ready in my room and attended dinner. Honestly, when I thought of what would come afterwards, I felt tense and couldn't eat wholeheartedly like usual. This caused Keith to be worried once again, which made me feel even worse. And then dinner came to an end and I headed towards Keith's room.

Keith: "So what happened?!"

Keith was completely in "listening mode" which prompted him to ask me this. He really was a reliable and kind younger brother. During hard times, he would always stay with me until I was better. I can't count the number of times he fixed things for me after I messed up. When I think about it, no, even without thinking about it, he has been taking such good care of me, I owe him so much. Like Geordo, Keith is handsome, brilliant, kind, and such a wonderful man. It is a complete wonder why such dreamy persons like them would say they love me. These two have always been with me and I know there is no way they would confess to me as a joke, so I don't doubt their feelings. But, still, I can't help wondering "why me?". Even without putting myself down, I am just a normal girl without any kind of appeal. I am not smart and not particularly beautiful. The only amazing thing I have is my lineage (which is the same as the Katarina from the game). The only difference between the Katarina from the game and me is that I am blessed with lots of friends. Around me there are lots of talented, lovely, pretty girls with Maria the protagonist at the top of the list. Even though Geordo and Keith interact with these beautiful girls, how come I am the one they fell in love with? Maybe they are too used to pretty girls and they have come to have special tastes? Or maybe they love evil-looking faces with slanted eyes? As I was thinking about this, I ended up lost in my thoughts, and...

Keith: "What's the matter, Big Sister? Are you alright?"

And I ended up making Keith worried again. Aaah, that won't do. I didn't come here today to cause him worry but to tell him my feelings! I mustered my courage, and

Katarina: "U-Umm, Keith, you confessed your feelings to me before, right?"

As I said this, Keith opened his eyes wide.

Keith: "You remember?!"

as he raised his voice with surprise. With his face and voice, I felt terrible. He thought I had completely forgotten about it. No, to be exact, I forgot about it until today. I unconsciously chased away the memory and then let time pass. I took a breath to pull myself together, and

Katarina: "Well, I never forgot about it, but I had been relegating it to a corner of my memory."

As I said this, Keith's face stiffened.

Keith: "As I thought, did my feelings bother you?"

He told me, with a sad face. Seeing Keith's deeply hurt expression, I panicked. I made Keith sad again. Even though that's not it.

Katarina: "No, that's not it! I never thought for a second that your feelings were a bother! It is just that I am scared of falling in love, so I have been keeping the thought away!"

As I yelled this, this time Keith's eyes widened.

Keith: "You are scared of love?"

Katarina: "Yes, until now I thought I would meet my doom if I ever fell in love, so I had been scared of falling in love."

Keith looked bewildered by my statement, but kept silent and let me continue.

Katarina: "I am scared of love but I also didn't acknowledge that I was scared, so I kept away from love. So at that time when you confessed your feelings to me, I unconsciously tried to forget it. Even though you had finally confessed your feelings to me. I am so sorry."

As I lowered my head, Keith gently stroked it. And then

Keith: "Thank you for telling me this, and sorry I didn't notice."

This is what he said. I suddenly raised my head. Keith had a painful expression on his face and smiled awkwardly. I did it again! I didn't want him to make this face because of me! I am so hopeless!

Katarina: "No that's not it! I didn't know myself I was scared of love! And today I have finally realized it! And now that I am aware of it, I want to change!"

I told Keith this, staring straight into his eyes:

Katarina: "I want to properly face my fear, and then your feelings too!"

Keith: "...Big Sister"

A smile appeared on Keith's face and I felt relieved. But, even if I made this assertion, I remembered there was another thing I had to say.

Katarina: "But, right now, there is a serious matter I must take care of, and it is only after I finish it that I will be able to seriously get down to it."

As I said this, Keith chuckled.

Keith: "Okay, I understand. Thank you. And if you are ever in trouble because of this serious matter, you know you can rely on me, okay?"

Katarina: "Ah, sure. I am always relying on you."

As I said this, Keith smiled, looking so happy. Ah, it is the usual Keith. Keith is always smiling like this by my side. Oh, that's right. There is one more thing I must tell him.

Katarina: "Keith, you know, I am scared of love and I still don't understand this feeling well, but at that time when you confessed to me, I was happy. I was really happy that someone as wonderful as you would tell me he loved me."

As I said this, I knew the temperature immediately raised on my face.

Katarina: "A-Anyway, this is all I had to say, so good night!"

As I became strangely flustered, I only said what I needed to say and then rushed out the room without waiting for a reply, just like I did with Geordo. And then I sprinted towards my room full speed. When I was back in my room, the fever rising on my face didn't calm down and this time I made Anne worry.

Katarina: "I am fine. I just got hot because I sprinted full speed to my room."

As I made this excuse, Anne calmly said this.

Anne: "Lady Katarina, if you sprint full speed while inside the mansion, Madam will be furious again."

Katarina: "...You're right. I'll be careful."

It is true that I would have made Mother angry if she had seen me. Thank goodness she didn't. After drinking some water, my fever finally went down after a while and I went to bed. Aaah, this was so embarrassing, I thought there was steam coming out of my head. For me to end like this just by telling them I was happy they confessed their feelings to me, I feel like the road to love will be long. But I've made up my mind. I will properly face my feelings so that these two won't make these faces again. So first, I have to overcome my doom flags! After making this bold assertion, I can't let it fade away in the background. I will win against FL2's doom flags. And then I will properly think about my feelings. I won't run away anymore. With my new determination, I thought I would think a bit more of my measures against my doom flags, but because of today's actions and talks that I never did before, I was somehow exhausted and fell into the world of dreams. In my dream, Geordo and Keith smiled at me gently and I was happy. I will do my best!

Keith POV

I, Keith Claes, upon hearing that my sister Katarina Claes was back home, got out of my room to greet her. After walking for a while, I saw Katarina, but unlike usual she had a stiff expression on her face.

Keith: "Welcome back, Big Sister.... Rather, what's wrong? You're making a weird face."

I was worried, so I asked her this. And,

Katarina: "Umm, nothing, don't worry about it. Rather, I have something I'd like to talk to you about so can I come to your room after dinner?"

This is what she replied with a somewhat stiff voice. Something worrying her probably happened again and she would like to talk about it.

Keith: "Sure. You can come anytime."

I replied, with a smile. During dinner, Katarina wasn't in her best form either. She must be in great trouble. I will listen to her closely and cheer her up like usual. After dinner was over, Katarina had a stiff expression on her face when she came to my room, so

Keith: "So what happened?!"

I asked eagerly. On my desk, there were some sweets and tea I had prepared to cheer Katarina up, but she didn't seem to have noticed them. This is unusual. This must be some serious trouble. I was worried and I kept looking at her, but now she is lost in thoughts. Is she really alright?

Keith: "What's the matter, Big Sister? Are you alright?"

As I asked her this, standing close to her, Katarina snapped out of it and looked at me. And then she said

Katarina: "U-Umm, Keith, you confessed your feelings to me before, right?"

As she uttered these words, I opened my eyes wide and

Keith: "You remember?!"

I uttered at her with a shocked voice. At that time, when I was kidnapped by people involved with dark magic, while in a hazy state I confessed to Katarina the feelings I had for her for so many years. After that, she told me "You were pretty dazed so I guess you mistook me for someone else, right?" to which I replied "This wasn't a mistake, I love you, Katarina". But maybe because she is dense or maybe because she is a late bloomer, she completely forgot about it. So I thought she didn't remember it at all. As I was in complete shock, Katarina continued.

Katarina: "Well, I never forgot about it, but I had relegated it to a corner of my memory."

I see. She had relegated it in a corner of her memory. So in other words,

Keith: "As I thought, did my feelings bother you?"

I had lived alongside her as her younger brother all this time and I knew she didn't see me as a man at all, but... I just wanted to tell her my feelings no matter what. Even knowing it might bother her. Despite this, having the truth thrown at me caused such a vivid pain in my chest.

Katarina realized something looking at me and

Katarina: "No, that's not it! I never thought for a second that your feelings were a bother! It is just that I am scared of falling in love, so I have been keeping the thought away!"

She said this, shouting.

Keith: "You are scared of love?"

I was surprised once again by a reply that I didn't expect. What does she mean by that?

Katarina: "Yes, until now I thought I would meet my doom if I ever fell in love, so I had been scared of falling in love."

Katarina was explaining this to me with all her might. "She will be doomed if she falls in love"? I don't really understand why she would think that but it is not like it is the first time I fail to understand her thinking. So I kept quiet and listened to the rest of her explanation.

Katarina said this and then lowered her head. Ah... So this is how Katarina felt. I didn't notice at all. Because she had been smiling like there wasn't a single thing she was afraid of, I ended up missing it. Even though I had always been at her side. I slowly stroke her head.

Keith: "Thank you for telling me this, and sorry I didn't notice."

As I said this, Katarina suddenly raised her head. I wanted to give her a smile but I wonder if I could do it well.

Katarina: "No that's not it! I didn't know myself I was scared of love! And today I have finally realized it! And now that I am aware of it, I want to change!"

After she uttered this, Katarina said this while staring straight into my eyes.

Katarina: "I want to properly face my fear, and then your feelings too!"

Aah... This person is straightforward in all respects, she is not like a weak person that I must always protect. The pain in my chest disappeared, and instead I was filled with an indescribable warmth. I fell in love with this woman called Katarina Claes all over again. But then,

Katarina: "But, right now, there is a serious matter I must take care of, and it is only after I finish it that I will be able to seriously get down to it."

She said this somewhat awkwardly. This must be about the thing she has been worrying about since she joined the Ministry of Magic. After all, Katarina is bad at doing two things at the same time. Seeing Katarina saying such a thing so seriously, I let out a chuckle.

Keith: "Okay, I understand. Thank you. And if you are ever in trouble because of this serious matter, you know you can rely on me, okay?"

As I said this, Katarina replied this, looking happy:

Katarina: "Ah, sure. I am always relying on you."

Of course, as I heard this a smile naturally formed on my face. And then her "I want to properly face your feelings too!" words from earlier slowly sunk in. This has been such a long unrequited love. I had lived in the same house as her without her seeing me as a man at all, and even after I somehow confessed my feelings to her, she forgot about it right away. As I felt deeply moved over the fact that the day Katarina would tell me these words had finally come, Katarina dropped a more devastating bomb.

Katarina: "Keith, you know, I am scared of love and I still don't understand this feeling well, but when you confessed to me, I was happy. I was really happy that someone as wonderful as you would tell me he loved me."

Katarina said this, her face completely red.

Katarina: "A-Anyway, this is all I had to say, so good night!"

She said these final words before leaving my room like she was running away. I, who was remaining in the room, had frozen up, with my brain unable to process the words she said just now. What did Katarina just say? Let's see, it was: "When you confessed to me, I was happy. I was really happy that someone as wonderful as you would tell me he loved me." I think. Eh? I wonder if this is reality. To confirm it, I pinched my cheek and then I felt pain. No, there is no way such a thing would happen in reality. But when I pinched the other cheek, I still felt pain. And then it finally started to sink that it was indeed reality. And then I heard these words again in my head: "When you confessed to me, I was happy. I was really happy that someone as wonderful as you would tell me he loved me".

Keith: "No waaaaaay?!"

I involuntarily shouted, and a surprised servant who was outside of the room called out to me:

Servant: Lord Keith, are you alright?!

As I was in complete confusion, I stuttered

Keith: Ah! Umm, no...I am alright. Umm... I-I will go to sleep now, so you can leave.

As the servant returned to their room after I somehow squeezed these words out, I jumped onto my bed pressing my face against the pillow trying to calm myself down, but I just couldn't. Even though I never did this when I was a child, I vigorously rolled on the top of the bed. What should I do? I am so happy, it feels like my emotions will burst out! "Someone as wonderful as you". "I was happy". Katarina told me these words and then her face turned bright red. Remembering this over and over again, I kept rolling on top of the bed for almost the whole night.

#hamefura #bakarina #my next life as a villainess: all routes leads to doom #katarina claes #keith claes

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babyillua · 4 years ago

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when the stars align

pairing: kageyama x reader

genre: fluff, humor-ish, soulmate au

word count: 1.7k

warnings: language and panties!

disclaimer: you cannot steal, repost or translate my work.

juno: aaah! i love tobio with all my heart of course my first work would be for him <3 and a soulmate au on that.

summary: kageyama never believed in the concept of soulmates. rather, he had a more pessimistic outlook on it. even if the people around him found theirs, he probably clinged onto the 0.01% chance of not having one, because he’d rather not get disappointed by hoping for one. but what happens when he realizes he can’t keep his thoughts out of his head, and can’t shut up the moment he sees you? i guess soulmates don’t work all the same do they?

(‘∀’●)♡

Kageyama breathes in and out, stabling his breath. Bouncing the ball on the court as he waits for the whistle to be blown by his coach. ‘If I make it in, we win. And then it won’t be my treat to dinner after the ice skating range later.’ he says to himself with a nod. The whistle blows, and he makes a swift motion, serving the ball.

His teammates cheer, he got the ball in as their last point, and they’ve won the match. It was a three on three. Kageyama, Daichi and Tanaka. While the other team consisted of Tsukishima, Hinata and Asahi. “Yeah! Heck yeah! Great job Kageyama! Didn’t expect less from ya!” Tanaka says. Kageyama nods at him in reply and sighs satisfyingly.

Today, they decided to do something fun as a team and Sugawara suggested Ice Skating. Kageyama was a pretty good skater, learned a little as a child, and had many talents for it. He would’ve considered training till he was good enough as a professional, but he had a different passion.

“Hey Kageyama.” Kageyama flinches slightly as he hears someone call out to him. “Ah, Sugawara-san, hello.” he says and bows. “I know what’s going on in your head. Recently I’ve noticed your little glares towards Hinata. Is it because he’s found his soulmate?” he says with a grin. The typical rivalry between those too is always evident. Who’s faster, who eats more, who grows faster. It wouldn’t be a surprise that they’ve quarrelled and made a competition of who gets their soulmate first, but Kageyama had other feelings towards the concept of soulmates, he never believed in them.

“It does not matter. But I’m happy for him, I guess? I don’t believe in soulmates. Or I don’t believe in having one.” he says sternly. It broke Sugawara’s heart for some reason he couldn’t explain. For someone who believed in love, he knew Kageyama would have it easy. A young, good looking boy with quite a talent, who wouldn’t have his eye on him? ‘He has yet to have his grasp on reality, there’s at least a 0.01% chance that he doesn’t have one.’ Sugawara thought.

But Kageyama lost hope. He didn’t have the obvious signs to know whether he had a soulmate or not. Nishinoya didn’t see color before he found him. Daichi had a tattoo he was born with, it had the name of his soulmate. And other people had the same eyes as theirs. Kageyama wanted that too, but he didn’t think about something that isn’t more important than playing volleyball.

“Then, will you treat me to three pork buns if you find your soulmate?” Tanaka butts in. Another hopeless romantic on the run, still seeking his. His soulmate has the same symbol on the back of his head, thus why he always kept his shaved for it to be more obvious. Kiyoko had the same sign, placed on her finger, yet it was the tattoo of a heart, rather than of Tanaka’s, a sun.

Kageyama smiles at the challenge, “sure.” he says confidently.

(‘∀’●)♡

Kageyama breathes in again. Closing his eyes then opening it slowly as his vision came back to normal. He missed this, the sounds of the blades glazing on the ice. But he can’t help but notice the one skater than spun in the center of the rink. ‘Interesting.’ he thought. His mind was quiet, yet his expression was not. Everyone around him could see the twinkling in his eyes, following his gaze immediately, landing on the girl with the bright smile as she finished her small jump. “Wow.” Kageyama finally lets out, and when he turns back, all he could see were smirks.

“Wow indeed Kageyama!” Nishinoya says with a hearty laugh. Kageyama’s expression changed from hopeful, to shyness and finally to a glare. Not to Nishinoya, rather to the 190 cm tall blonde boy who looked at him coyly. “What’s with that face?” he says, walking over to him and grabbing him by the shirt. “It’s nothing.” Tsukishima says, waving his hand in front of him to brush him off him.

Daichi only laughs and says, “put on your skates, you have plenty of time here before we eat. Talk to her, shoot your shot.” he teases. Kageyama would’ve sighed and tched, yet instead he takes off his shoes in a rush, and puts on the skates immediately. In no time, he was on the sidelines, eyeing you from the side as you skated around effortlessly.

Tanaka and Sugawara made their way to him with a cheeky smile. Already plotting in their heads. They already had a sense that their trip today was a call on fate, some type of destiny. And Kageyama just needed a little push. “Talk to her. You’re not bad, just don’t be as blunt to her like you are to us, alright?” Sugawara says with a grin, pushing Kageyama towards you, but maybe a little too hard. Kageyama slides across the rink at a diagonal line before you, and you were quick to notice. As he was about to bump into you, you step aside and pull him by the side, steadying his pace.

“Wow, you’re a clumsy one are we.” you tease him with a giggle. Kageyama blushes, the curves of his lips turn upwards as his eyes look everywhere but at you. Yet he speaks, “you have a cute giggle.” But by that he stiffens, “I didn’t mean to say that!” he retorts immediately

Immediately covering his mouth you reply, “Well I think the way you turn shy is cute. And you have really pretty eyes.” In your head you thought you’ve said this mentally, but by his reaction, he turns redder by the minute, have you spoken your mind as well? “Ah shit looks like… we’re under a curse huh?”

“Anything is alright as long as it’s with you.” he says, earning another mouth to cover his. Why is he saying these things without realizing it? It's like he couldn’t stop himself from saying it, it’s as if he needed to say it. Like he was programmed to say it. You felt the same. You’re not someone so blunt, someone who liked to be so bold. That’s why you did figure skating, to say what else you needed to say.

‘What the hell is this?!’ you both say in your heads.

But you were catching onto it. “Ask me something, anything. As dirty as it can be.”

‘Dirty?’ he thinks. “What color panties are you wearing?” His eyes widened the moment he asked. Did he really want it to be dirty? His mind wanted to ask if you’ve taken a shit today, but something else was said, apparently.

Ennoshita watches from afar. His hands on his chin as he observed and heard you conversation, mouth creeping up to a smile. He pulls in Sugawara and whispers something, “his soulmate sign is that he can never lie to them.” he says with a nod, and the senior blushed at the junior. Squealing a little, because the little hopeless boy never needed to feel that way.

“It’s blue.” you answer immediately. In your head you wanted to say pink, but you really couldn’t help it. “What’s your name? I’m Y/n.”

“Kageyama Tobio.”

“Then can I call you Tobio? We seem the same age.”

“You can call me yours.”

Cheers from his teammates were heard. “Yeah Kageyama! That’s my boy!” they say. Yet not all of them cheered, two boys were crying, “how could their junior be so successful before them? It’s unfair!” Tanaka and Nishinoya say in unison. Even Asahi was a little jealous.

“Well Tobio, I hope you won’t hate me for this but, I think we’re soulmates.” you say shyly, hands held behind your back as you looked at him in the eyes. He wasn’t glaring, it wasn’t blank, it was blue, and shining. “I think it would be impossible to hate you- did you just say we’re soulmates? I don’t believe you! Also I really think you’re pretty.”

“Do you like my skates?” A trivial question. You hated these skates, but you decided to wear them today because something was telling you so. If he answered something more realistic, then, your theory is right.

“They’re not my favourite color. But I could get used to them.” he says. ‘Bingo.’ you think to yourself.

“Now I see, our soulmate bond is that we can never lie to each other. We’re soulmates Tobio!” you say, hugging him immediately.

Kageyama was someone who needed to be sure of things. The way he plays, the way he sets, and now hearing this for the first time with no solid proof, he was satisfied. He regrets the days when he pushed away the possibility of a soulmate. And now he met you, catching his eye in a heartbeat, without even the need to tell you. Even if you weren’t soulmates, and even if it didn’t exist, he’d still think that the stars aligned just for you both to meet, no matter the circumstance. Yet, here they are, giving you the chance and destiny of a lifetime, and he would never turn his back on it, even if it risks his dignity.

“Kageyama! You owe me three pork buns you idiot!” Tanaka says as he tries to skate over to the both of you, but Daichi gets a hold of him before it. “What a hurricane.” Daichi says as he shakes his head.

He hugs you back, “then I guess we are.” he whispers in the nape of your neck. And as the night ends, he forgot about the dinner because he wanted to spend time with you. Skating in the ice as you hold each other hand in hand, slipping some phrases you wanted to keep to yourself as you asked each other questions. What a troubling bond, but he’d never ask for anything else.

“Tobio.” you say stopping at the corner of the rink, cupping his face as you look at him in the eye.

“Yes?” he replies. He then closes his eyes, preparing for impact, thinking he’d finally get his first kiss.

You giggle, kissing his cheek and gliding away and say, “your fly’s undone, idiot!”

#haikyuu #haikyū!!#haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu drabbles #kageyama x reader #haikyuu x reader #tobio x reader #kageyama imagines #kageyama scenarios #tobio x y/n #tobio scenarios #tobio imagines

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rubyspearsmegamanproject · 4 years ago

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37. Concert Crasher

The episode begins with a park at night. Everybody is heading towards the stage. A robotic woman comes up on the stage. She waves to the crowd. She sweetly greets them. "Hello everybody and welcome to my concert" She says to the eager crowd "You're all really going to enjoy this little number!" She begins singing. The Skullker is behind the stage. Proto Man asks Dr. Wily "Why not just use Splash Woman instead?" Dr. Wily replies "Mega Man has dealt with Splash Woman before. He will immediately know that it's her and will try to destroy her as soon as he lays his blue eyes on her! We must not be suspicious this time, Proto!" Proto Man goes "Aaah! I see! Very clever there, doc!" Everyone, robot and human, is enamored by the robotic woman's singing. Dr. Wily smiles evilly, knowing what will happen next. Back at Dr. Light's lab, Dr. Light is playing Beethoven in the main lab while he works on his projects. Mega Man is elsewhere in the main lab, repairing the large screen. Mega Man has listened to Beethoven for a few now and is getting rather tired of it. Mega Man asks Dr. Light "Hey Dr. Light, is it okay if I switch the music to something else? No offense but, I think I've had enough classical music for today!" Dr. Light replies "It's quite alright with me, Mega Man! Go ahead and switch it!" Mega Man is happy and says "Thanks!" He jumps down from his workplace and goes over to the computer that is playing the music. He presses a few buttons. The music changes to rock and roll music. Dr. Light is a bit disturbed by the music, but keeps his opinions about it to himself so as not to upset Mega Man about his taste in music. "There!" Mega Man says "Much better!" He returns to repairing the big screen. Roll enters the main lab with Dr. Light's lunch. As she is placing the tray down, she is telling both Dr. Light and Mega Man about a new robot singer that is getting attention and fame. Mega Man asks her if she has heard her music yet. She tells him "Only a little bit..." Mega Man asks her "How do you know if she's good just by her music?" Dr. Light says "Yes, Roll, not everything is what it seems..." Roll answers "She just...is..." Roll is about to change the music on the computer. "Here, I'll show you guys!" she says as she is about to press a button on the computers control panel. Mega Man finally gets the big screen working. "There! All fixed!" he says in triumph. The big screen turns on. The news report is on. Bree Ricarda is reporting on the trending robot singer who, according to her, is "the hottest thing right now since molten metal!" She says that the singer is going to be performing at the urban amphitheater. Roll is excited to hear this news. "Did you hear that, everyone!" Roll exclaims. "Yes, Roll...your new favorite singer is going to be in the city!" Mega Man says to her. Dr. Light tekks her that she can attend the concert and that Mega Man can come along too. "Oh, great!" Mega Man groans. Later that day, Mega Man, Roll, and Rush drive down to where the urban amphitheater is. They see that the stage has not been set up yet. Mega Man tells Roll "Lemme get out and have a good look around. You guys stay in the car!" Mega Man gets out of the car and walks down to the amphitheater. Guts Man and Cut Man are setting up a stage. Cut Man asks Guts Man "When is our star arriving here?" Guts Man tells Cut Man "Very soon! Just keep buildin'!" Mega Man walks over to the urban amphitheater. He sees that Guts Man and Cut Man are there finishing up the stage. Mega Man knows that when Guts Man and Cut Man are doing something, it's usually with evil and harmful intent. He walks up nearby them to keep a good eye on them. Guts Man and Cut Man see Mega Man. Cut Man cries out "Mega Dweeb must be here to stop the show!" Guts Man then says "Well, what are we waiting for!? Let's crush him!" They both attack Mega Man. Guts Man lifts up a large piece of rubble and throws it at Mega Man, while Cut Man throws the cutter on his head at him. Mega Man dodges their attacks. Guts Man jumps up and down hard onto the ground. This causes the ground around him to break and tremble. Mega Man falls down onto the ground. Guts Man picks up another large piece of rubble. He goes over to Mega Man and raises it above his head, getting ready to crush him with the large piece of rubble. Guts Man says to Mega Man "You're about to get squashed, blue bug! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Guts Man slams it down on him. Mega Man rolls away, nearly avoiding getting crushed by the rubble. Cut Man yells out to Guts Man "Guts Man! He's gotten away!" Mega Man fires at Cut Man and knocks him out. He goes over to him and copies his Rolling Cutter weapon. He goes over to Guts Man. He fires some Rolling Cutters at him and cuts him up into parts. "Scissors beats rock! What are the odds of that!" Mega Man says to himself. A tour bus drives up next to their car. The singer is inside of the bus. She gets out and surveys the amphitheater. She sees that Guts Man and Cut Man have been vanquished. As Mega Man heads back to his car, the singer yells at him "What have you done to my stagehands!?" Mega Man tells her "Those were your stagehands!?" The singer shouts back "Yes, they were my stagehands! And now they're out of service! You've ruined my concert, you blue lump of scrap!" Mega Man tells her "You need to pick your stagehands more wisely!" Star Man and Jewel Man get out of the bus. Star Man asks the singer "Something wrong here?" The singer points at Mega Man and tells them "He's taken down my stagehands! My show is not going to be on time because of him!" Mega Man simply shrugs at her. Jewel Man tells the singer "Don't worry, ma'am, we'll sort him out!" Star Man and Jewel Man prepare to use their shields against Mega Man. Mega Man shoots a Rolling Cutter at them, but it bounces off Star Man's Star Crash shield and ends up slashing through the bus' tires. The bus tips over and is going to fall down on the singer. Mega Man tells at the singer "You're working for Wily, aren't you!?" The singer replies "I don't have time to talk to you! I'm about to get crushed!" Mega Man uses her predicament as a way to escape his enemies. He quickly jumps into the car and drives out of the amphitheater. "We need to make a drive for it before they get a chance to fight back!" Mega Man says to Roll as they quickly drive out of the amphitheater. Star Man and Jewel Man see that the bus is going to fall on the singer. "Quick! Help me!" Star Man yells out to Jewel Man. Jewel Man embraces her and has his Jewel Shield surround both of them while Star Man fires his stars at the bus. "I'll protect you!" Jewel Man says to the singer before the bus falls down on them. The singer and Jewel Man emerge out of the other side of the bus. The singer angrily screams out "That blue abomination owes me a new tour bus and repairs for my stagehands!" and shakes her fists. The good robots return to Dr. Light's lab. As they walk into the lab, Dr. Light asks "What happened? Was the concert cancelled?" "Afraid so..." Mega Man tells his creator "...on account of the singer paling around with Dr. Wily!" Dr. Light is surprised by what Mega Man has told him. "Are you serious!?" he asks his creation. Roll says to him "Yes he is, Dr. Light! We saw them with our very eyes, didn't we Rush?" Rush barks to Roll to confirm what she had said. Dr. Light still can't believe that the concert singer is one of Dr. Wily's minions. Suddenly, an emergency call comes up on one of the monitors in the main lab. Dr. Light quickly runs up to the monitor and answers the call. The police chief shows up on the monitor. He tells Dr. Light "Get Mega Man and Rush over here now! Humans and robots are causing havok downtown!" Dr. Light tells the police chief "Calm down! I will get them there as fast as I can!" Mega Man tells Rush "That's our cue! Let's jet!" Rush nods and turns into his Jet Form. As usual, Mega Man gets on him and they both fly out of the lab. Mega Man and Rush are flying over the city. Mega Man sees that humans are running amok. A crowd of humans and robots are rampaging through the city. They are breaking the display windows of shops. Some of them are even stopping traffic. Police cars drive up to stop the rampagers. Mega Man is shocked at the spectacle below him. "Jumping springs, Rush! It's chaos down there!" Mega Man exclaims. He then tells Rush "Let's bring some order!" They fly down to the city. The police robots are nearly overwhelmed by the raging mob. Some of the humans and robots grab iron bars and attack the police bots. Mega Man yells out "I gotta disarm them!" He fires at the iron bars they are wielding. The iron bars are fired out of their grasps. The police bots give thumbs ups to Mega Man and Rush. Mega Man shoots back a thumbs up at the police bots. Rush attempts to as well, but all he can do is put a paw up. The humans and robots are now focusing their attention at Mega Man. They grab some heavy objects and throw them at Mega Man. Mega Man dodges the objects, while the police bots return the favor and restrain the humans and robots. One of the police bots calls for back up. Some police vehicles drive up to their location. The police bots put the humans and robots into them. Some humans that were rampaging through the city earlier go up to where all the sirens are coming from. They see that some humans and robots have been arrested and apprehended. One of the humans shout out "Avenge them!" Mega Man is a bit intimidated by the incoming angry mob headed in his direction. One of the police bots tells Mega Man "Don't worry, Mega Man, we're used to these kinds of situations!" Some riot control police bots show up and make a line. They aim their bullhorn-like devices at the mob. The devices emit high-pitched pulses that cause the angry crowd to cover their ears and cower to the ground. Mega Man and Rush are covering their ears. Mega Man looks at Rush and comments "Loud, but effective!" Rush nods and grimaces as he covers his ears with his front paws. Mega Man sees that the angry mob is now under control. He and Rush get away from the scene in order to get away from the noise. Meanwhile, Dr. Wily's robots and the singer go up to a bank. As they walk up to the entrance, the singer tells the evil robots "Let me charm them first, then you guys can go in and scoop up the loot!" Guts Man replies "Yes ma'am!" Star Man tells Guts Man and Cut Man "Get as much of the loot as you can! Dr. Wily needs a whole truckload of it!" The evil robots enter the bank. The humans and robots in the bank see them coming in and run out of the building. The singer goes up to one of the bank teller robots. The bank teller robot tells the singer "It's you! We're your biggest fans!" The singer replies "Ha ha ha! Of course you ladies are!" She tells the female robot "Let us access the vault!" The teller replies "Sure thing! Anything for you!" The bank teller robots go over to the police bots and tell them to let the robot masters through. The police bots protest. The bank teller robots plead with them. The police robots still refuse to move away from the vault's massive metal door. The bank teller robots look over to the robot masters and say to them "Looks like you'll have to convince them yourselves!" Cut Man and Star Man go over to the police bots. Cut Man cuts up one of the police bots with his Rolling Cutter weapon. Star Man uses his Star Crash weapon on the other police bot. Both of the police bots have now been vanquished. Cut Man tells Guts Man "You can tear off the door now, Guts Man! Ahe ahe ahe!" Guts Man booms out "Finally!" Guts Man goes over to the vault. He rips off the vault's heavy door. He hurls it aside. He shows the robot masters the way in and says "It's all yours, boys!" The evil robots enter the vault. The singer meanwhile waits outside in the bank's lobby. Inside the vault, Jewel Man sees all of the ingots and says "Such beautiful precious metals!" They gather up the ingots. As the evil robots leave the bank, a person calls the police. The police in return call up Mega Man. But Mega Man is too late, the bad robots have already left. Mega Man is upset that he and Rush were too late. Mega Man and Rush are about to leave for home when Mega Man gets a call on his arm cannon. Dr. Light tells him that a top secret electronics research lab is being broken into. Mega Man and Rush make their way to the research laboratory. At the secret research laboratory, the Skullker is nearby. Dr. Wily is telling Proto Man how very well the singer is assisting his robots. Proto Man tells Dr. Wily "I still think we should have just used Splash Woman again..." Dr. Wily ignores Proto Man's comment and tells him "The next concert will take place at Monster Park in the middle of the city." On their way to the secret laboratory, Mega Man says down to Rush "Two situations in one day! That's a new record for us!" Mega Man looks up and says "I sure hope this situation isn't as bad as the last one!" They finally arrive at the laboratory. Mega Man sees that they have already broken into the laboratory. "Blast! I'm too late!" he yells out. He runs into the laboratory anyway. He follows the holes that were blasted into the walls and doors. He ends up in an electronics research room. He sees that the scientists are giving the singer the top secret electronics. Mega Man yells at the scientists "What are you doing!?" The singer is upset that Mega Man has found them yet again. She yells at him "Will you quit tormenting us with your wretched appearances!?" Mega Man yells back "Only if you quit getting people to let you and your robo roadies break the law!" The singer looks at Bright Man and tells him "Bright Man! Do something, will you!?" Bright Man goes over to Mega Man. Mega Man is about to fire at him. Bright Man uses his Flash Stopper on Mega Man. Mega Man is paralyzed by the blinding light. Bright Man chuckles and says to Mega Man "Thanks for holding still for me! Ha ha ha ha!" Guts Man carries Mega Man over to the tour bus. Mega Man can only watch as he is taken away to a secret warehouse. "Let's put 'im in storage! Ha ha ha ha!" Guts Man gloats as they enter the warehouse. The door shuts behind them. Mega Man's arms and legs are locked in cone-like metal restraints. Bright Man tells Mega Man tauntingly "Now be a good little robot and stay there while we put on a little show! Ha ha ha ha!" They leave the room. Mega Man frowns angrily as they close the large metal door behind them. Mega Man looks down at his restraints and tries to pull his arms out of them. Two screens turn on in the room that he is restrained in. Mega Man looks up at the screens and sees that the singer is going on the stage. She welcomes the audience to her concert. She tells them "I have a lot in store for you guys tonight!" She begins singing. Mega Man cries out "I've got to stop her! Now!" He pulls harded at his restraints, but he still cannot break out of them. He gets another idea. He says to himself "Let's see if this works!" He charges up his plasma cannon. He fires it into the restraint. The restraint explodes as it is blown apart by the fully charged plasma blast. He pulls his hand out, looks at his freed arm, and says "Even restraints can't hold me back!" He blasts off the remaining restraints and gets out of them. He runs over to the screens and sees that the audience is starting to fall under the singers control. He says out loud "I hope I'm not too late!" He goes over to the large metal door and fires a fully charged blast at it, blowing it clean off. He runs out of the room and yells out "I've got a concert to cancel!" He makes his way out of the building. Meanwhile, the singer is still singing her songs. The audience is now under her control. She smiles evilly as she sings. Back at the warehouse, Mega Man makes it out of the warehouse. He hears a familiar voice coming from the warehouse. "Mega! Mega! Awooo!" the familiar voice cries out. Mega Man heads back into the warehouse. He looks around for the voice. He comes across a room filled with all sorts of musical instrument storage cases. The voice cries out from one of the cases. The case is moving around and howling. "Mega! Mega! In here!" the voice cries out again. Mega Man goes over to the case and opens it. Rush plops out of the case. "Rush!" Mega Man cries out. Rush wags his tail and barks happily at Mega Man. Mega Man tells Rush "We can hug and kiss later! We need to stop Wily's client before she causes even more chaos!" Mega Man and Rush run out of the warehouse. Rush turns into his Jet Form. Mega Man gets on him and they fly off to Monster Park. At Monster Park, Mega Man and Rush land far behind the concert. They sneak their way to the concert. Luckily for them, everyone is too enamored with the singer to notice that Mega Man and his robo dog are crashing the concert. The singer sings yet another song. As she is singing, she scans the cheering croud. The singer sees that Mega Man has escaped from his restraints in the building. She yells out to him "You're not supposed to be here!" Mega Man yells back "And you're not supposed to enslave your loyal fans into being soldiers for your manager!" The singer responds "I have a great manager! How dare you expose him!" "Oh? Like how I've exposed you as Dr. Wily's latest recruitment tool?" Mega Man says to her. The singer yells out "Now you've really done it!" She commands the audience "Attack that concert crasher!" She yells out "Throw him out in pieces!" The audience attacks him. Mega Man backs away from them. They crowd around him and begin to overwhelm him. Mega Man is afraid of firing at them for fear of harming innocents. "Don't make me use this!" Mega Man yells out at them. He nervously says to them "I would really, really hate to use this!" He decides that the best course of action is to get out of the crowd. He ducks and slides between the legs of some of the members of the audience. As he is sliding out of the crowd, and individual trips over him. The individual thinks another person has done it, and fights them. This causes the audience to turn against each other. They end up forgetting entirely about Mega Man. The singer sees that the audience is fighting each other. She commands Star Man and Jewel Man to go after Mega Man. She shouts at them "Star Man! Jewel Man! Stop him!" They jump off of the stage and run after him. They both fire their respective weapons at Mega Man. Mega Man shoots at them, but they are protected by their weapons. Jewel Man says to Mega Man "My shield is flawless!" Star Man adds on "So is mine!" Mega Man gets yet another idea. He has Star Man and Jewel Man pursue him. "Come and get me, robo whimps!" Mega Man yells at them. They follow him to the front of the stage. Mega Man makes a face at them and goes "Can't your shields do more than protect your miserable metal hides!?" The two robot masters use their weapons again. The two robot masters use their weapons again. Mega Man jumps out of the way of the oncoming stars and jewels. The projectiles hit the giant speaker that Mega Man was in front of and destroys it. The huge speaker explodes, the resulting loud boom startles the robot masters. Mega Man fires two fully charged shots at them. Both Star Man and Jewel Man are knocked out. Mega Man goes over to Jewel Man and copies his weapon, and then over to Star Man and copies his Star Crash weapon. "Thanks for sharing!" Mega Man says to the downed robot masters. The singer sees that they have been defeated. She screams at the remaining evil robots to stop Mega Man. "Stop him! He's ruining my concert!" she screams. Proto Man yells out to her as they run and jump off the stage "Alright! Alright! We'll take care of him!" Mega Man sees that the three wicked robots are jumping off of the stage and firing their weapons at him. Mega Man steps back and uses his Star Crash weapon. He yells out to them "Don't you guys remember? I'm a star!" Cut Man and Proto Man fire at him, but their weapons glance off of the orbiting stars going around Mega Man. "Now you're really going to see stars!" Mega Man shouts at them. He then throws his Star Crash weapon at them. Cut Man is knocked out, but Proto Man barely survives the weapon. He fires at Mega Man. "Take this!" Proto Man yells out. Mega Man uses his Jewel Shield to reflect the shots back at Proto Man. "Take that!" Mega Man comments as Proto Man dodges his reflected shots. Proto Man fires a fully charged shot. "Here's some rocks for you!" Mega Man yells out. He hurls the jewels surrounding him at Proto Man. The jewels breaks Proto Man up into parts. Guts Man watches as Proto Man's parts fall onto the ground along with the jewels that caused his demise. He looks up at Mega Man. Mega Man gestures him to take him on. Guts Man charges at him while exclaiming "Grrr, yer gonna get it now!" Mega Man uses both the Star Crash and the Jewel Shield on him. Guts Man falls to pieces. "That takes care of that lughead!" Mega Man says to himself. Mega Man then jumps up onto the stage. The singer sees him getting onto the stage. She gasps and cries out "G-get away from me! Don't your hurt me!" Mega Man confronts the singer. "Alright! Your musical career is over!" Mega Man yells at her. The singer responds "No! It will never be over!" The singer calls up Dr. Wily on her headset. She tells Dr. Wily "Mega Man's breached the stage! He's up here threatening me!" Dr. Wily is upset by the developing news. He presses a button on the Skullker's control panel. The singer asks Mega Man "What are you going to do? Shoot me?" Mega Man says to her "Not unless you have some sort of trick up your robotic sleeve!" The singer looks around. She is upset that Dr. Wily hasn't intervened yet. Mega Man aims his cannon at her, ready for anything she will do against him. As Mega Man steps closer towards her, two large spaced drill pop out of the stage. A large goblin head bursts out of the stage. The singer is delighted. She jumps onto the goblin head and laughs evilly as she flies away. Mega Man yells out "You're not getting away that easily!" He whistles for Rush. Rush hears Mega Man and flies over to him. Mega Man has Rush turn into the Jet Adapter. Rush does so. Mega Man and Rush combine. Super Mega Man flies after the large goblin head. The singer sees that Super Mega Man is pursuing her. She gives Mega Man an evil smile and flies over the crowd. She continues singing. Through song, she commands the crowd to throw stuff at Super Mega Man. Super Mega Man quickly jets towards her. The crowd begins throwing stuff at him. "Hey! Cut that out!" Super Mega Man yells down at the attacking crowd. The singer sees that he is distracted by her loyal fans, and uses his distraction as an opportunity to finish him off. She has the large goblin head fire out smaller goblins out of its nose. Super Mega Man hears the small goblins heading towards him. He dodges them and then destroys them with his plasma cannon. More of the small goblins emerge from the larger goblin's nose. Super Mega Man is pursued by the small goblins. He flies low over the crowd to trick them into throwing things at the small goblins instead of him. The small goblins get knocked down by the overzealous crowd. Super Mega Man says to the crowd "Thanks everyone for your help!" Some of the people pull on one of his wings and pull him down into the angry crowd. The singer smiles sinisterly, thinking that he has finally been vanquished. She congratulates the crowd, not knowing that Super Mega Man is sneaking through the crowd to utilize the element of surprise. Super Mega Man jets up behind her and fires at her, knocking her off of the large goblin. The large goblin turns around to face Super Mega Man. Super Mega Man yells out "Here's something to clear your nose!" and fires a fully charged shot into its nose. The large goblin shorts out and explodes. The singer lies on the ground, she gets up and tries to sing. But she short circuits and falls back on the ground. Everybody breaks free from her control. Super Mega Man lands onto the ground. The crowd comes to and breaks up. Dr. Wily sees that she has been defeated. "Oh well..." he says to himself "I can always find another desparate soul..." The Skullker quitely picks up the vanquished robot masters' parts and hovers away. Mega Man and Rush return to their normal states. Mega Man contacts the police bots with his arm cannon. Mega Man tells the weakened singer "Your tour has come to an end!" The police bots quickly arrive in their squad cars and apprehend the singer while Mega Man and Rush look on. They go get Roll and all three of them return home. Mega Man and his allies are glad that the singer has been jailed. Mega Man allows Rush to choose the kind of music to listen to this time. Rush jumps on the computer and presses some buttons on the computer's control panel. Heavy metal music bursts out of the computers speakers. Mega Man, Roll, and Dr. Light cover their ears out of discomfort from the rather loud music. Mega Man comments "Rush sure has a unique taste in music!" Roll comments back "If you ask me, he ought to change his music choices!" The episode ends with Rush dancing on the control panel while playing an air guitar and humming along to the music.

#Concert Crasher #Episode

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amaryllisblackthorn · 5 years ago

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so I'm going through 02 subs to get a better idea and track how takeru feels about ken post-kaiser

interesting is that in ep25, takeru says to miyako that he's opposed to ken joining the team, but unlike miyako takeru does think, like daisuke, that ken has changed and isn't the same as he used to be.

it's interesting that he's opposed to ken joining the team but also thinks ken has changed.

this makes him and daisuke the only ones who (consciously) think ken had changed at this point. miyako deep down feels that ken has changed but she wrestles with that feeling throughout the episode. hikari is unsure and wants to wait and watch him more, and iori is steadfast about his feelings.

if takeru thinks ken has changed, then why is he opposed to ken joining them?

it doesn't seem to be about holding a grudge or being unable to forgive him. the way takeru says that he's against ken joining the team is interesting, too. kind of soft and like maybe he’s not sure how miyako feels ? I don't know how to describe it. its not like iori's passionate no; and hikari's answer isn't so much that she's opposed to ken joining as it is she doesn't know yet. like, he’s committed to his position unlike Hikari, but he’s not as angry or intense about it like Iori? as in like, he has reasons, but they’re not reasons of like, anger? idk. and we don’t really get to hear why he’s against it, either. hikari’s unsure of ken’s intentions, iori can’t forgive ken for all the digimon he’s hurt, and miyako is uncomfortable that ken killed the digimon which makes her question if she can say he’s really changed. but takeru doesn’t really express why he’s opposed to ken joining the team, just that he is. it’s also kind of interesting that takeru is the only one we don’t see daisuke trying to convince one-on-one.

is takeru against it bc he thinks ken needs more time before being ready to team up? bc he thinks the team needs more time before teaming up with ken (like, the teamwork wouldn't be good bc of how iori's feeling, for example )? something else?

what's even more interesting is takeru overlooking ken and daisuke's conversation. to me it looks like daisuke caught ken on kens way home from school, in tamachi. if it was in tamachi, why was takeru there?? did he follow daisuke? did he want to talk to ken himself? did he just want to observe ken? bc like the way takeru is posed, it kind of looks like he unintentionally saw them on his way home, but that doesn’t make sense if he’s in tamachi; also, he’s alone and not with miyako or iori. so why was takeru in tamachi?

and what takeru says is interesting, too. I actually originally didn't get that he was referring to ken when he said it; I thought he was referring to daisuke (bc patamon was talking about daisuke) and I was kind of confused until I saw somewhere else contextualizing it as re:ken.

takeru says that [ken] doesn't seem to see things the way he used to but he looks determined, and he wonders what he's thinking.

[ EDIT: actually, now i do think he’s talking about Daisuke. his use of [demo] implies this statement is connected to his earlier one, which is him agreeing with Patamon that Daisuke is working hard. group this with the focus on Daisuke from Takeru’s focal point in the shot makes it seem he is talking about Daisuke when he says that he doesn’t seem to see things the way he used to. aaah im confused again ]

it then seems like takeru calls miyako afterwards?? as like a result of what he saw, to which we hear miyako say 'anyway I understand what daisuke was trying to say' before hanging up. and I'm like interested in why takeru made that phone call and what he said? like. he's opposed to ken joining the team, so he probably wasn't calling to try to persuade her ('like maybe we should give him a chance?'). but he does think ken has changed, which he thinks in previous scene with miyako and reiterates after watching daisuke and ken, so was he calling miyako because he felt like he should tell her that maybe ken has changed, irrelevant to if he should join the team? it's just... so interesting ...

and like. a lot of the kids hang ups are that ken seemingly killed an enemy digimon. but takeru was with daisuke in being resolved to kill the golemon if they had to in this episode, so I doubt takeru was opposed to ken joining the team bc of that.

in ep26 when daisuke is talking about understanding ken’s heart because of his crest, takeru says that daisuke ‘may be able to understand it but I don't really get it' and the way he says it is...interesting? like it’s not something he’s happy about, that he doesn’t get it.i really wish i could hear/know the actual words he’s saying, but the music is kind of too loud when he says the ‘but i don’t really get it’. following the subs, takeru is basically saying ‘daisuke may be able to understand ken’s heart, but i don’t really get it’. basically, takeru does believe that ken has changed (like daisuke has said) but doesn’t understand ken’s heart.

[EDIT: I think I figured out what Takeru is saying at the second part -- ‘boku ni wa, chotto pintokonai na’ which is accurately represented by the sub ‘I don’t really get it’. pintokonai is the negative form of pintokuru, which is translated as ‘get’ and also means ‘know intuitively’. this is probably a further hint at the jogress between ken and daisuke. but good to note.]

and when daisuke says that kens trying hard in his own way, takeru replies that he just hopes ken isn't doing it to satisfy himself (just to ease his guilt). takeru doesn't say this angrily or bitterly. he seems to like genuinely mean it but also is not sure that's not what kens doing? maybe even a little sad? maybe? and they have takeru looking back while the other three are a distant behind him looking forward, indicating a sort of moment with daisuke and takeru in regards to ken. they’re the only two still looking at ken, while the others are walking on.

ive looked a little more into it and what takeru says is “sono ganbari ga ... jiko manzoku de owaranakereba ii kedo ne” or iikedo(ne) i’ve seen them both ways. now the ‘kereba’ usually means that it’s a (provisional?) conditional form and the na means it’s negative, and they’re attached to the owaru, which means ‘to end/finish’. so it’s basically ‘if [it] doesn’t end’ -- basically if i understand correctly i think the sentence can also be translated at ‘it’s good, if that hard work doesn’t end with/in self-satisfaction’ or ‘if that hard work (...) doesn’t end with/in self-satisfaction, it’s good’, or even ‘that hard work is good unless it ends with/in self-satisfaction’. i have seen ‘ii kedo ne’ translated as ‘i hope/wish’ in certain contexts but the use of the (provisional) conditional form, i think, is lost using that equivalent. like, the nuance, maybe? idk its hard for me to say because i’m not japanese nor am i remotely fluent. wikipedia says that this form is used “In conditionals where the emphasis rests more on the condition than the result”, and like the overall meaning is basically the same with ‘i just hope that effort isn’t just to satisfy himself’ because the emphasis is on the condition of ‘(not) doing it for self-satisfaction’ and both suggest takeru’s unsure on if ken’s currently meeting those conditions, but idk i think ‘i just hope that effort isn’t just to satisfy himself’ can possibly come off a bit more negative/pessimistic/idk ? im probably overdoing. i just thought it was interesting

also the way takeru comes up with the recon plan in ep28 is very comprise/find a solution we're all happy with - y, for a lack of better words, which will kind of come up again at the end of the episode. hikari and miyako think it's a bad idea to go into the house bc it's almost def a trap. takeru & ken are aware it's probably a trap but they and daisuke think it's best to go in bc there's not really any other choice, but ken wants to go in alone so the others don't get involved/hurt, and daisuke is against ken going in there alone; I don't remember iori's initial opinion.

takeru then suggests that 'how about daisuke-Kun, Ichijouji-kun, and I go in to check it out first'. iori wants to go too, whether to pay back ken, to keep an eye on him, or because he doesn't want to feel like he owes ken anything by relying on him for this, and takeru voluntarily stays behind so miyako and hikari aren't alone.

Takeru's done this before in ep19, which comes off a problematically sexist, and im not sayin it isn't, but I'm wondering if it's more about numbers to him? like, it's not safe to leave the two of them behind not bc they're girls but bc it's just two of them, and three is a better number ? especially when you're on a recon/sneaky mission which was sort of the case in ep19 and this one, you want fewer numbers to avoid getting noticed. I'd have to go back and pay attention to see if that's consistent or if it really is just sexism. (hikari and miyako leave daisuke alone in ep19 which flies in the face of the number strategy, but that doesn't really shed light on Takeru's motivations; tho regardless that was kind of a messed up thing to do re:daisuke?) bc like. it seems likely /really/ sexist to assume the youngest should be responsible for the two girls just bc he's a boy, especially when one of the girls is the oldest member.

then ep29, when iori is hesitant to destroy archnemon, ,ken says that if that’s how it is to leave it to him so they don’t have to be the ones to defeat/kill her. takeru then comes in with ‘don’t try to act cool!’ (also used to me show off, try to impress, etc) and it’s..interesting. there’s like...emotion in his voice but like...it’s not strong anger/hatred or something..i don’t know how to describe it tho. he then goes and says ‘how about we find some place to temporarily imprison her?’

so what does the ‘don’t try to act cool’ refer to?

it was said in response to ken offering to kill archnemon so the other kids didn’t have to. takeru also responds with a (temporary) solution, a sort of compromise, before they have to rush to decisions. the digimon think they have to kill archnemon bc she will not stop. iori is vocally uncomfortable/against that. (miyako doesn’t say anything, but she has been shown to have the same feelings as iori on the matter; hikari has been shown to be reluctant to kill but accepting of the fact that sometimes its the only choice; daisuke and takeru are both for it if it comes to that). ken wants to be the one to kill archnemon so the other kids dont have to. so takeru’s solution here is let’s find a place to imprison her for now, and we can decide what to do then.

takeru probably isn’t protesting the fact that ken thinks killing archnemon is the answer first in itself. like i said before, takeru was completely onboard with killing the golemon with daisuke if it came to that. so what does he find objectionable in what ken proposed? what is it that takeru is objecting against when he tells ken not to act cool?

i think it may be referring to ken being willing to be the one to bear the sin, so to speak. in other words, ken’s sort of martyr complex motivated by his guilt . like, in a ‘don’t do this to satisfy your guilt complex’. he doesn’t find the proposed action objectionable but the motivation, which is part of why he proposes to delay making a hard decision on archnemon’s fate, so ken doesn’t do it just because he feels like he has to be the one to do it, because of his guilt or masochism. if that makes sense. i think it sort of ties into what takeru was saying back in episode 26, about how he hopes ken’s hard work isn’t for self-satisfaction (to satisfy his guilt).

in episode 30, all the kids are disappointed that iori and ken aren’t getting along, which seems to mean that the rest of the kids at this point aren’t against ken being on the team anymore. hikari makes a comment about ‘i cant say i don’t know how iori-kun feels, but...’, implying that she personally still has some reservations about ken, but isnt against him being on the team. this also implies that takeru is no longer opposed to ken being on the team. so between ep25 and ep30, takeru is no longer opposed to ken being on the team.

also takeru looks noticeably mad after archnemon and mummon escape at the end of ep29 and speaks pretty angrily when he asks them ‘what do you want’ when they show up in ep30, and that could be in response to archnemon saying in episode 29 that her life’s purpose is for destruction. the blackwargreymon arc goes over how takeru feels about that kind of motivation.

i still have to go over the destiny stones arc before i can make a proper analysis of takeru’s perspective but so far from what i’ve gather, i think takeru’s main concern is regarding ken’s motivations (re:his guilt). takeru believes that ken has changed and is also not against killing digimon if it comes to that, so those can’t be the reasons he was opposed to ken joining the team. and the few comments he makes in regards to his thoughts re:ken seem to be connected by that idea (his motives).

‘you may be able to understand [ken’s heart], but i still don't really get it/know intuitively.’

‘ i just hope that effort isn't just to satisfy himself’/’it’s good, if that hard work doesn’t end with/in his self-satisfaction'

‘don’t try to act cool!’ in response to ‘if that’s how it is, then let me be the one to do it. you guys don’t have to be the ones to take him down (ie kill)’

i’m curious to see how that carries over to the destiny stones arc and the resolution. i remember yamato drawing a parallel to iori about takeru and ken feeling the same way about those who use powers of darkness for destruction, and i recall ken saying that those who do so are ‘unforgivable’, the same word takeru used back in ep20, i think, to refer to kimeramon and the same word takeru uses in the destiny stones arc; i’ll have to note if takeru has a reaction to ken saying that, and if that has any significance -- ken being motivated not just by his guilt but by righteous indignant anger.

something else interesting to note is that takeru and daisuke seem to have similar feelings about ken -- that he’s changed and that it’s not a good thing that he seems to be motivated by guilt (Daisuke’s iconic ‘live’ (pre)jogress speech). a big difference is, though, that daisuke reaches out to ken, and takeru doesn’t.

part of that is because daisuke is a really earnest guy, for lack of a better word. i’m also wondering if the embarrassment takeru says he feels in that drama cd regarding losing it and attacking ken has anything to do with takeru not reaching out to him? i think the first time takeru really ‘reaches out’ to ken is when takeru offers ken the food at that restaurant at the end of ep37, or maybe even earlier in that episode when takeru says that thing about ‘not losing the light inside of you’ in response to/to refute ken’s statement regarding the darkness; the next episode having takeru gladly accept ken’s invitation to his party. but like i said, i need to watch the episodes and observe before i can actually say anything.

i’m just really interesting in understanding takeru’s feelings regarding ken post-kaiser, because i feel like it’s a little vaguer than the others are? at least to me. so im finding this all interesting.

so, the big questions for me:

why is takeru opposed to ken joining the team?

why was takeru in tamachi? (if he was)

why did takeru call miyako? (if it was him)

why was takeru no longer opposed to ken joining the team by ep30?

what did takeru mean when he told ken to not act cool?

as i’ve shown i have some ideas, but hopefully after this watchthrough i’ll have a better understanding or something.

also there’s a good chance i mislabeled an episode or several so im apologizing now if i missed any

EDIT: I got to the Christmas episode, wrote my notes, so I’ll be able to finish the analysis pretty soon ! (some of) my preliminary thoughts on this part are basically:

ken probably thinks takeru dislikes him until the qinglongmon episode

takeru probably doesn’t realize that ken probably thinks he dislikes him until around the qinglongmon episode

this may be related to takeru not really realizing how private/reserved he is about his inner feelings/thoughts and how it comes off

among other things. ep 34 and 35 are pretty meaty which is why it's taking a while to get my thoughts together in a semi-coherent manner

#digimon adventure 02 #digimon #adventure 02 #digimon adventure #takeru takaishi #ab analyzes

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thecorteztwins · 5 years ago

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(I wanted to write about Mindmeld coming back on Krakoa. It ended up having less of the personality I envision for her, and actually being more about Emma, to my surprise, even though Emma isn’t a character I consider myself capable of writing. But, tagging @badmusesdoitwell for Emma and @sammysdewysensitiveeyes @esteicy-blog since I know you guys like Mindmeld!)

Like all the others, Mindmeld’s resurrection took place in front of a crowd of Krakoans to witness her rebirth. But all she saw when she spilled out of her golden egg was Shinobi Shaw, her former employer and ex boyfriend, standing in front of her, bending his knees, smiling and reaching down. ”Mindmeld,” someone said, “How do we know it is you?” The words didn’t even reach her ears above her own scream of rage as she launched herself from the ground on to Shinobi, clawing and kicking. ”Whoa!” he exclaimed in shock. “You left me!” she yelled, not ceasing in her blows, “You bastard!” “Whoa, hey, calm down,” Shinobi pleased, shifting to his super dense state so she couldn’t hurt him, though she was still trying. “You left me to die!” “Mindmeld, baby, you knew the risks---” “You betrayed me!” “You were paid t---aaah not the hair!”

Even his super-dense state couldn’t ward off a good hair pull, something he would have enjoyed under different circumstances. Among those watching, Emma and Sebastian where at the front of the crowd. or two people who hated each other, they often were in close proximity. Insert that old adage here about where to keep your enemies. “I suppose you’re just going to let this undignified display go on?” Emma asked. “You don’t find it terribly entertaining?” “I’m very sure Shinobi deserves it, but does the young lady?” “Well, do something, then, if you have a problem.” “He’s your son and this was your recommendation for resurrection--you do something.” Sebastian squinted at her. Why did she care about this ‘Mindmeld’ person that his son had asked to be pushed to the head of the revival queue? She had an angle, he just didn’t know what it was. He seldom did. She’d become so much more unpredictable since she joined the X-men. He really hated her for that. But this was admittedly getting out of hand. As amusing as it was, Shinobi being the Black Bishop meant that his follies---especially the very public ones---reflected on the Hellfire Club as a whole, and more importantly, on Blackstone, Sebastian’s segment of it. So he sighed, and, hoping he wasn’t literally walking into some scheme of Emmas, strode to where Mindmeld was still walloping the beejeesus out of his idiot offspring in front of the laughing crowd. “Excuse me, young lady?” Mindmeld downright snarled in reply, a back-off warning if there ever was one. “Not that I’m sure my son doesn’t deserve this,” Sebastian continued, and indeed he was just as sure in that was Emma was, “But were you aware, in your ire, that you are on display?” “Wh--” Mindmeld realized, really realized, at that moment, that she was in front of crowd. She looked out at the Krakoans, and she stopped her assault. She shrank in on herself, confused and embarrassed and all too aware of her exposing nudity, a state that was for more vulnerable and humiliating and unsafe for her even than most. There was a sudden weight on her bare-no-longer shoulders; Shaw had dropped his overcoat over them. “I’d suggest you get up and come with me, Miss Mindmeld. I think we’re all satisfied it’s really you. Shinobi, get up, you’ve embarrassed ALL of us enough for today.” Emma did not follow the trio as they departed the scene, but she was watching. Sebastian could feel her eyes boring into his back like diamond drills. Had she put this idea in his son’s head to begin with, perhaps? He decided he’d keep an eye on this ‘Mindmeld’. *** “DON’T FUCK MY DAD!” These were the words that echoed down the hall of Blackstone that Sebastian Shaw was presently passing through, shirt off and coffee cup in hand. Well. That was interesting. Seemed Shinobi and Mindmeld were getting along about the same as they had before. “Well I might!” Mindmeld’s voice came now from behind the same door that Shinobi’s had ejected from, “You don’t own me! I will if I want!” “Come on, you can’t do that!” “I can’t?! I CAN’T?! I could do it even if we WERE still together, which we’re NOT! You threw ALL THIS away, Shinobi, and worse! I should fuck your dad, just to fuck YOU! And I’m gonna go do it RIGHT NOW!” “You wouldn’t!” “Watch me! Literally, watch me!” With that, the door opened, just as Sebastian was passing by it, and the silver-skinned mutant waked right out into him. She paled as she realized who it was. “You heard,” she said in a small, oh-shit voice. “I did,” he said, closing the door behind her. “I, uh, I was...I was just...I didn’t really.” “We can, you know,” he offered calmly, “Or not, and just say we did. If you’d like that.” “That...would be great, actually.” She grinned in relief...and then much more wickedly.

*** “MY DAD IS FUCKING MY GIRLFRIEND!” “That can’t possibly surprise you, Shinobi,” said Emma. She had no idea WHY Shaw’s son had come to HER to complain, but then, she supposed the poor boy had no one else. Well, Christian, maybe... “You know your father.” “Yeah but why would SHE fuck him? That’s what I wanna know!” “Well darling, there’s money, there’s power, there’s a hard cock, and there’s sticking it to you. All very attractive things.” “Listen, just I because might have betrayed her horribly ONE TIME does not warrant this kind of treatment!” “I agree,” said Emma, hiding her shock that she could actually find common ground with him on anything, “Vengeance is worth a lot of things but not degrading oneself in terms of bedroom partners. The poor girl. I’ll set her up with someone far more suitable. Meaning, someone who isn’t either of you.” “Hey! That’s NOT what I’m asking for here!” “I hope you weren’t expecting HELP with this.” Emma said coldly, knowing that it’s EXACTLY what he was expecting. “Aw come on, how can I win her back, Emma, please?” “How would I know?” “You’re blonde, psychic, stylish, and mean! You’re practically the same person! You would know!” Ah. Now Emma understood. Shinobi hadn’t brought Mindmeld back out of love, nor for some sinister plot to use her against Emma or Sebastian or anyone else. He just wanted his own shiny-skinned psychic with a sharp tongue and fabulous fashion sense, and succeed where his father failed by actually keeping her on his side. A feat he’d botched before he’d even began it, clearly. “Grovel,” said the White Queen flatly. “That’ll get her back?” “No, but you should do it anyway, you owe it to her from what I understand.” Emma didn’t know WHAT Shinobi had done to that woman, but she had no doubt it was something typical of how this family treated its allies---one could just ask Sage about that. *** “You’re Emma Frost,” Mindmeld said in awe. “I am. And you’re better than them.” Mindmeld immediately knew who she meant. “Is that supposed to be an accomplishment?” she asked with a sneer, directed not at Emma but at the pair they were discussing. “Oh good,” Emma grinned, “I like you, I was so hoping that I would. Now tell me darling---how is it someone with such good taste in shoes has such poor taste in men?” Mindmeld put up her beautifully-manicured hands, “If you’re trying to get me to back off one or both, consider it done. I’m not getting in your way. Just because I was technically born last week doesn’t make me an idiot.” Emma nearly laughed, “Oh darling, you misunderstand me terribly! And here you seemed so bright. I’m about as keen to have one of those two inside me as I am an enema-by-Sentinel-canon. “Oh,” Mindmeld paused, “So, what do you care then? You hate them, so you’re cockblocking?” “I get the feeling you’re not used to anyone doing you any favors, are you Mindmeld?” Emma asked, her tone slightly softer. Mindmeld’s suspicious face at this told her all she needed to know. Emma didn’t need to be a mind-reader to know that the moment Emma had made herself seem like she was doing this out of genuine concern and not some petty schoolgirl agenda, Mindmeld had doubted her. It wasn’t anything personal, she didn’t know Emma--did know OF her, admired the hell out of her, what a QUEEN, what an ICON, she was everything Mindmeld wanted to be---it was just that was what she thought of people. Emma was right, no one did her any favors, not without wanting something in return, and she didn’t expect Emma to be the first. She would have been less defensive if Emma had come in quid pro quo because she’d see Emma as being upfront in her intentions, instead of hiding them as she now did. Not unlike Sebastian himself, Emma noted. She supposed the only way Mindmeld would trust her is if she met the other woman where she was at, meaning she must appear to be coming from a place of spite instead of altruism. “Well, I’m not in the habit of doing favors,” she amended, putting some of the customary ice in her tone, “Not unless they get done for me in return.” Now Mindmeld looked interested again. “Go on.” Inwardly, Emma sighed. This felt oh-so-regressive. Here she was, trying to be a better person, and yet the only way she could help this mutant---whom she didn’t even know but had an automatic sense of empathy for--was by pretending to be the manipulative bitch everyone thought she was. But, that was how it always wasn’t it? That she had to be the bitch to get things done. “Alright, Mindmeld darling,” she continued in her very best evil-plotting voice, “Here’s what you’re going to do for me...” (I don’t know what Emma suggests Mindmeld do but it’s probably hilarious and nasty! Mindmeld did not sleep with Sebastian, she just told Shinobi that, as he suggested.)

#fic #writing #mindmeld

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lilithpooped · 6 years ago

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How To Save A Life - Kim Hongjoong

Song Request: How To Save A Life by The Fray

Requested by: @joully

Genre: angst and fluff

A/n: this song always reminds me of loving someone after going through so many things and having so many regrets, i hope you like it 💕

“Hongjoong..”

“Oh, hi..”

You sat down on the chair across him.

“I ordered a lemonade for you without waiting but you can change it if you want.” He said smiling politely.

“No, lemonade is okay. Thank you.” You smiled back.

You were surprised that he remembered you loved lemonade, it had been five years since you broke up.

“For god’s sake Hongjoong, I can’t handle it anymore! You always do the same thing no matter how many times i told you not to! That’s it! I don’t think I can go on like this!”

“You’re exaggerating, y/n! You always do that but when it’s me doing something, it becomes a problem! You always exaggerate everything just to prove you’re right! Which one of us had enough, you or me? I hate it! I hate trying to tell you something, you always make a big deal of it just because you don’t want to accept you’re wrong! You know what? I don’t care at this point! Do what you want, I’m sick of fighting!”

“Do what I want? Okay Kim Hongjoong, you know what, I want to break up with you and get the hell outta this house!”

“Then do so, no one’s holding you! I’m glad the feelings are mutual!”

You slammed the door and left the house. You walked for god knows how long until you found yourself in front of your own house. You had been living with Hongjoong for two months now and living together for two months showed you that you two were just, no good for each other. You hadn’t imagined this when you first moved to his home. Everything was amazing, just like a fairytale. Then your work got in the way, then his work, your stress, his stress.. His anger management got worse in time and you got more sensitive to everything. You two just.. Weren’t able to stand each other in the same room for more than an hour anymore. It happened so fast, your two-year relationship hit rock bottom in two months. Now you were in your own home crying loudly in your own bed. You heard your message tone in between your cries and looked at it.

‘I won’t be at home tomorrow, you can come and collect your stuff, don’t leave anything related to you.’

‘Don’t worry, I won’t.’

You wondered where did everything go wrong. Where did you go wrong? Why was this happening to you? You knew you still loved Hongjoong. But you also knew this time, it was a real breakup. Once you gather all of your stuff from his house, everything would’ve been over.

And it really was over when you left his house the next day. He wasn’t there, you gathered everything that belongs to you or that could remind him of you. You hadn’t left anything about you except your smell.

When Hongjoong came home that night, he couldn’t see any of your belongings, but the smell.. The house smelled like you and him. It smelled like the days you two were together. He knew he would regret it eventually but he also knew breaking up was the best for you two. If he knew a way to go on without hating each other, he would’ve chosen that way directly. But he didn’t.

So everything had to end and was over like that.

He stole few glances from you sitting across him. You’ve matured. Not like getting old, he realized your face got more mature and your aura changed a bit. You were still beautiful. Still so beautiful that he didn’t want to take his eyes off you. He wanted you to look at him like you did five years ago but he also knew it was not possible.

You were looking at your hands on your lap. You knew if you looked at him, even for once, you would fall in love again. It was really hard for you to forget him, you tried everything and when you finally got over him, you found that thing.

“Umm, why did you want to see me, y/n?” He asked cautiously.

“Ah, yes. I was moving out and i found this while gathering my stuff. I’m sorry i looked at it but I didn’t know what it was. And it belongs to you.”

You put the USB on the table. Yes, it was his USB. The one he put his projects and things regarding to work in.

“Aaah, that’s where it was! Ah thank you. Even though I got fired after telling the boss I lost it.. Still it can work, i guess.”

“Oh, you got fired?”

“Yes, after that- umm- after we broke up. I had a presentation next day but I couldn’t find that USB and I couldn’t find the backup file in my computer so.. I got fired that day, eheh” he smiled sheepishly.

“Oh, I’m so sorry Hongjoong. I didn’t know it was in my place. If I knew-“

“Ya, don’t worry. It’s okay now.”

“Were you able to find a new job?”

“Right after? No. I had to wait three months before i could find a job.”

“Oh.. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. Umm.. I.. I heard you got engaged..”

Oh fuck... Of course he would hear, you had the same friends.

“Yes, but it didn’t work out. Eheh” it was your turn to smile sheepishly.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” no he wasn’t sorry at all “why didn’t it work out?”

“Umm, let’s say I had some issues. It just didn’t work out. I guess we couldn’t click with him like you and I used to with each other.”

You realized what you’ve said after you let the words out but it was too late to save the situation now, so you just looked at your hands and waited for his response.

“Oh, I see. Are you okay? When did it end?”

“I’m okay, yes. Umm, it ended one year ago.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help you, you know, you can always tell me.”

“Thank you Hongjoong. I guess I need to go now.” You stood up and left the place so quickly that he couldn’t get a hold of your hand, but he tried.

Seeing you leaving him again hurt him. It hurt him bad.

You didn’t know why you left the place so awkwardly maybe it was because if you stayed a little longer, you would tell him how much you loved him still. Maybe you’d even tell him that you broke up with your fiancée because you realized you still weren’t over him.

On half the way to your home, you realized you didn’t pay for your lemonade. So you texted him apologizing for that.

‘Ah, Hongjoong, I’m sorry I forgot to pay for lemonade. But I really had to leave.. I hope I haven’t put you in a difficult condition.’

‘No, y/n, don’t worry’

That was a fast reply. But your phone lit up again.

‘Umm.. Is it okay for you too if we see each other for one more time? And you know, not to be stingy but you owe me a lemonade, eheh’

You didn’t know how long you stared at your phone but you also couldn’t help the cute smile on your face. He just always knew how to make you smile.

‘I’ll think about it.’ You replied.

‘Cool, I may or may not be at the same place tomorrow at 2pm. Just fyi.’

Your smile grew bigger after seeing the response.

‘Okay, take care Hongjoong.’

‘You too, y/n.’

Hongjoong knew at that moment, he couldn’t afford to lose you again. He needed you in his life and was ready to do anything for you.

———————————————

Masterlist

#kpop #kpop fics #kpop scenarios #kpop writings #kpop fluff #kpop angst #ateez #ateez hongjoong #ateez imagines #ateez writing #ateez scenarios #ateez fluff #ateez angst #kim hongjoong #hongjoong fluff #hongjoong angst #hongjoong fic #hongjoong scenarios

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izzy-b-hands · 5 years ago

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Dancer Chapter One

This is set in a Post-Golden Circle AU wherein nobody in Kingsman died (aka we still have Merlin, Roxy and JB, but we also got to meet the Statesman folks through...we’ll save that for when I eventually do my rewrite of Golden Circle lol.)

For now, the point is everyone is alive, and Eggsy has a very important mission he must undertake.

In booty shorts.

For the greater good (and because why couldn’t Rocketman and Kingsman share wardrobes you know. Why not. There is not reason why not is the answer.)

Warning, we get NSFW in this. A lot. Just. Be ready for that. Violence because spies, sex because of lots of things (emotions and other things, you’ll see when you read.) If that ain’t your cup of tea, maybe skip this one.

And yes, I did title it after the Queen song.

Shout out and my thanks to @bearkare for helping me figure out how to chop this up into chapters properly; I owe you one big time!!!

My love to all who read/like/reblog!

“These are...necessary?” Eggsy asked, and snapped the waistband of the golden shiny booty shorts.

“Absolutely,” Harry replied, and handed over another stack of similarly shiny clothing. “These should get you through the rest of the mission without needing any laundry done.”

“Are they all...”

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” Harry smiled. “Besides, these missions can be...fun. I quite enjoyed one I did, in the seventies, in a club where you could-”

“Oh, you could tell me about that later,” Eggsy interrupted, shoving the stack of multicolored booty shorts into his bag. “A reward for finishing the mission.”

“It was a swingers club, is what it was.”

“Aaah, you said it anyway,” Eggsy sighed. “And the tops are all-”

“Mesh,” Harry finished. “But there are also sweatshirts, in case you get cold.”

“Booty shorts and mesh shirts in December, how could I possibly get cold,” Eggsy murmured. “Sweatpants?”

“One pair that I could find, so be careful,” Harry answered, and handed over a pair of Juicy Couture sweats that read ‘Bitch’ in sparkling fake jewels on the back.

“...you found these?”

“I did.”

“So who previously used these here at Kingsman? Just...wondering. Or was that you, at the club? I presume you still go, since you’re keen to talk about it-”

Harry cut him off with the toss of a pair of heels.

“Male strippers don’t have to wear these, I thought?”

“Some do, some don’t,” Harry shrugged. “Most anyone can wear most anything. Give them a try. We’ve got platforms as well, if you’d prefer.”

“I would, I think. Might break an ankle either way,” Eggsy sighed, and handed back the heels in exchange for a pair of golden, shimmering, chunky platforms. “Shoes for after work?”

An extra pair of Adidas were the last thing he tossed into his bag for the mission, before taking a final look at himself in the mirror.

“I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Why not? You look fantastic, and the club we need you to infiltrate doesn’t even require you to strip every night. Hell, intel has revealed that some of the men that work there don’t even strip, they just work the floor and go about sitting in laps and whatnot. You could stick to that, whatever, so long as you find it.”

Harry’s confident words echoed as he stepped out and headed down the street to the waiting Kingsman cab. ‘It’ was a chemical formula, that the biochemical weapons dealing club owner was threatening to use to create what he called ‘the ultimate weapon.’ Whether that was really true they’d find out after, when they could see the formula and what it actually contained.

But that all came down to him.

The club was a four hour flight away, in Ibiza. Even on the Kingsman private plane, he was restless, plucking at the elastic edges of the shorts, pacing in the platforms to try and practice balancing in them.

“Where’s all this coming from?” Merlin asked from the pilot’s seat. “All I can hear is those damned shoes; on a regular plane, you know I’d have to make you sit down, right?”

“It’s nothing,” Eggsy muttered, even though it was indeed something. Tilde was less than pleased he’d been called in for a mission, and unhappier still that involved him working in a strip club. Never mind that they’d spent weeks arguing over how he could continue to complete his princely duties while staying out of the limelight and skipping public events. She wanted him to be able to show his face and be at her side, but couldn’t understand what it would mean.

Giving up Kingsman. Giving up the thing that had helped him become the man she loved.

Or that she might still love. Maybe. He wasn’t so sure anymore.

But he’d asked Roxy to stay with Tilde, so he could provide them both with mission updates (edited as needed to protect Tilde from the club owner and anyone he might send out should their communiques somehow be discovered) and he hoped she would see that as a sign of his love and care.

“I don’t believe that,” Merlin sighed. “But we’re nearly there. Have you got everything?”

‘Everything’ consisted of not just his bag of clothing, but one bag of regular make-up, eco-friendly glitter, pasties that he did not understand the point of his having, and another bag full of...’make-up.’

Eyeliner that could be used to essentially draw a fuse on a surface and lit on fire, perfume that was in a super-pressurized nozzle and contained a flesh eating toxin that acted as soon as it hit skin, eye shadows that if brushed on a finger and then dipped in a drink could knock out a bull elephant in a minute (what it would do to a human...well. Better not to think about that, and to use it only if absolutely necessary.)

That, plus the regular Kingsman kit, of course, carefully hidden in among all three bags, very carefully in the case of the pistols and ammunition.

All of it banged against his legs as he did his best to look...however he figured he was meant to look. Confident, and not like he was worried about whether or not this was a mission he could pull off, and not like he was worried he might come home to Tilde too upset to be consoled or worse.

“You!” the man that called out to him from the club’s doorway was a fierce-looking person, literally. A tiger with open mouth was tattooed on the front his neck, down onto his chest, with blood dripping from the fangs. “You’re fucking late! You know, in my day, when they sent a new boy, they sent him on time! No fucking respect for the show anymore, none at all.”

“I’m sorry, my flight ran late,” Eggsy tried. “But if you let me set my things down, I can get started right away, get out on the floor, serve some drinks, you know.”

The man scoffed, and pulled him into the doorway, nearly knocking him off his platforms. “Serve some drinks, pah. You’re tonight’s main entertainment. How else is the boss supposed to know if you’re worth the investment money? After all, your agency doesn’t get paid until we see how you work.”

He led Eggsy by the arm down a dark hall, and shoved open a door which led to a small green room. “And you should know...not many of you work out.”

“Then I’d be headed home, I suppose,” Eggsy replied as he stepped into the room, taking in the cracking paint on the walls, the cushions with stuffing coming out of them on the couch, and the filthy mirror on the make-up table.

The man laughed. “Home? Is that what they told you? I thought they weren’t going to lie anymore...ah well. Not my monkey, not my circus, as they say. Sure. You would be sent home, let’s say that. Just hurry the fuck up, get into something good, and when I knock, you take a left, then another left, and come out on stage. We’ll be waiting.”

Eggsy dropped his bags carefully by the couch, and as soon as the door was closed rifled through the clothing one to find the earpiece hidden in it.

“Merlin!”

“Eggsy! Safe and sound then, good to know. Now, I’ll be laying low around town, got myself a little set-up so I can assist you if needed and-”

“You can assist me by telling me why the fuck none of you warned me they’d want me to strip the first night. I literally just got here, and they want me on stage, now!” Eggsy spat.

“Okay, alright. Keep calm,” Merlin soothed. “This isn’t like you anyway; are you sure you’re alright?”

Eggsy sighed, and contemplated spilling his heart to Merlin now. But he couldn’t, not really. For his own sake, and for the sake of the mission.

“Just...I’m sorry. They made it fairly clear they kill any performer who doesn’t make the cut, so I’m a bit tense, is all.”

“...sure,” Merlin replied, and Eggsy could hear the disbelief in his voice. “We can talk later, perhaps? Just in case there would be anything else you aren’t telling me. Not that there is! But...if there were.”

“I’d like that,” Eggsy said softly. “So, any suggestions on...”

“The stripping? Oh Jesus, no. Could you imagine, me? Be like watching an Ent strip,” Merlin chuckled. “You’ve got this, you’ve done your research, I know you asked us not to watch you practice, but I do know you spent a good few hours in the studio space we rented for you. Just do what you’ve researched, put your heart into it, and you’ll be fine for the night, at least. From there...we’ll figure it out, alright?”

“Okay,” Eggsy muttered, and hid the earpiece back in its spot. From the bag he pulled a purple glittery mesh tank top, and a black thong that, as far as he could tell, was held together purely with wishes and will for as little material it was made of. Over that went a pair of black velvet booty shorts, and the top-

“Oh good, I caught you before you were all done,” a younger blonde man, his make-up bright gold and glittery with eyeliner winged sharp, in a black feathered mesh robe strode in. “Your agency said they weren’t sending your whole wardrobe, so here-”

He yanked open an apparently half-broken closet door at the side of the room that Eggsy hadn’t even noticed, to reveal a sea of bright colors and patterns on all variety of clothes. “What you have on looks fine, but he’ll want you to take off more layers than that. I’d say, this, this, and ooh! I bet you look handsome in a suit, so this as well.”

The man tossed a black T-shirt, a pair of loose tear-away joggers, and a suit jacket and pants towards Eggsy.

Eggsy stared. “Thanks. Do you-”

“Oh!” the young man laughed. “Not anymore. No, I oversee. Like a manager, but better, because I don’t have to fuck the boss anymore to keep my pole and my space in the club. Well, at least I said I was done with doing that now.”

Eggsy realized he must have made a face, because the man laughed again.

“Oh darling, bless you. How else do you think you keep your spot? Any other club would make you pay to rent the pole, the stage, right? Well, here at El Tigre, we don’t make you do that. You get paid to be here, to do your work. But, in order to stay...”

The man shrugged. “Life is dirty, and difficult. It could be just as bad anywhere else, so make a garden out of the mulch you’ve got, I say. I’m Evan, by the way.”

“You aren’t from here, I take it?”

Evan smiled. “No. I don’t think anyone who dances here is actually from Ibiza. No, the ladies and gentlemen who come in like their...imports, if you will. Even if that means us white-bread boys raised up on fish and chips, you know? And the boss has his tastes as well, and that’s the final say on it, really.”

Eggsy nodded. “Thank you. For the clothes, and the information. I didn’t realize they’d want me to dance right away, I mean I just got off the plane and made my way over here, and-”

Evan interrupted him with a hug. “It’s intimidating, I know. And ignore Tony, he’s an ass, but he only hurts people if ordered to. He’s loyal like that.”

“That man with the tiger on his neck?” Eggsy tried and failed to bite back a giggle. “His name is...Tony.”

Evan giggled right back. “He hates it, but yeah. We all call him Tony the tiger behind his back. Long as you don’t let him hear you say it, you’re safe. Now, you finish up. Oh, and match your shadow color to the color of your thong. Boss really goes for that.”

Evan was gone with a clack of his heels and a swish of his robe, and Eggsy wished he’d have stayed. Not even to gain more intel (though it was all good and needed), but just to not be alone in the moment.

But he managed it, and after choosing a new pair of platforms (shiny black vinyl with purple laces) he made it to the stage.

The club was empty, except for Evan, sitting on one side of the stage. Tony was on the other.

And at the end of the stage, dead center, was the man he needed to get close to, close enough to find and steal the chemical formula that might destroy thousands, millions, if sold to the wrong hands. The club owner, the “boss” as everyone apparently called him, Boniface Gagneux.

He wasn’t the stereotypical ‘club owner’ at least not in the way movies would show, to Eggsy’s memory. He was sharp-looking both in handsomeness and in the way a canine poked out just a bit from his top lip as he smiled at Eggsy, as though he’d bite if he got too close. His dark hair had just a touch of grey in it at the sides, and the dark suit he wore was beautifully tailored, sprinkled with sewn in tiny rhinestones on the shoulders, so he actually sparkled under the club lighting.

“Mr. Wyn Morris, we meet at last. I haven’t heard much about you, but-” Gagneux’s eyes traced him from top to bottom. “You look even better than your picture. Hopefully you dance as pretty as you look.”

Eggsy bit back a comment. That wasn’t what his character, Wyn, would say, not at all. Wyn was happy to be here, and happy to please, even if Gagneux’s glances made him feel sick to his stomach.

He simply nodded, and the music started.

The song he didn’t know, but it was something that seemed it would have fit only in setting like this, something about ‘being wanted at seventeen.’ The beat wasn’t too fast, nor too slow, but it took him a minute to find it nonetheless, to roll his hips the way he’d seen in every video lesson he could find online.

Even with practice, he still felt horribly out of it, and was sure he had to look ridiculous, as he tried to vamp it up, stripping off the suit jacket and tossing it to Evan, who blessedly gave him a smile.

Gagneux’s face was an imperceptible mask now, watching him with piercing blue eyes. Was he impressed, did he hate it, was he busy worrying if he’d accidentally left the stove on? There was no way to tell.

The suit pants were rip off just like the leggings beneath them, and those he tossed to Tony, who glared at him so sharply he almost looked for a stab wound.

Instead, he kept on, and bemoaned that they’d chosen such a long song. Actually spacing out when to rip everything else off was difficult with music he hadn’t used before (and Tilde, upset as she was, had refused to be a practice audience to help him get it right, though he’d begged her to do it, and had thought he might find it all funny.)

It felt too soon to shed the T-shirt as he strode on-beat further down the stage, but he did it anyway before dropping to his knees and rocking backwards on his haunches, hips gyrating the entire time. It fucking hurt, and he realized he should have used his time on the plane to stretch, not to worry.

He leaned forward, then crawled a bit further down, locking eyes with Gagneux. Still no change in expression though, not even when he ripped off the joggers and tossed them to a happily laughing Evan, who caught them and hugged them close. Evan was the hype man he desperately needed, and he made a mental note to thank him later for the help as he dropped again to his knees at the end of the stage.

Gagneux reached a hand forward, and plucked at the string of the thong, then raised an eyebrow at him.

There had been no mention of that, full frontal. But everything about the damn mission had been a surprise so far, why should this be any different?

He tossed his mesh tank top to Tony, then with a bit of effort, snapped the string of the thong, and handed it to Gagneux, who had leaned forward so close he could have pulled Eggsy off the stage.

He half thought that might be what would happen, but instead Gagneux just held the destroyed thong tight, and raised a hand to stop the music.

“Not bad. Go back, down the hall, and take a right.”

Eggsy nodded, and slowly stood. “I’ll be a just a moment, to grab some clothes.”

“No.” Gagneux said softly. “Come as you are.”

The DJ started up another song once he was off stage, and he could hear Evan chattering to Tony. He wished he could have another moment with him, to ask what to expect now. He had an idea, but hearing it from someone who’d actually been in the moment would have been better.

Instead, he did as he was told: down the hall, and to the right, into an office. It was elegant, all in black, a black marble desk and black velvet couch. The chair he when to sit on had a towel emblazoned with his fake name, also black, sitting on it. A blessing, he certainly wasn’t about to sit his bare ass on a chair that likely was meant for use by whoever came into Gagneux’s office day-to-day.

The song that was playing outside filtered in just before Gagneux walked in, then shut the door. The aggressive beat was just audible through it, but Eggsy had a sinking feeling not much else would be audible to anyone listening in on the office from the outside.

“Look at you,” Gagneux smirked, and ran a hand along Eggsy’s jawline. “Those thighs alone will earn you fans, but with the face? Forget it. You’ll have men and women coming in here begging for you.”

He sat behind the desk, and chuckled. “That means you’re in, if you weren’t sure.”

Eggsy laughed lightly. “Good. I’m glad to hear it. We set up a schedule now then, or?”

Gagneux smiled. “We’ll get to that. First, I need to know you won’t be swayed by any of those offers.”

“From patrons? No, of course not.”

“Good. Because, as Evan may have already mentioned, when you’re working for me, you’re mine. Is that understood? Dancing, and the club, and me-those are your three priorities,” Gagneux said, holding up a finger with each word.

“And myself?” Eggsy asked before he could stop himself.

But Gagneux just shook his head. “I look after you. Mutual caring: you look after the club and your work and our patrons, and I look after you.”

Eggsy could swear Gagneux had the DJ doing this on purpose, changing up the music to manipulate the moment, as a slower, but still bopping and more romantic song came on.

“Come here,” Gagneux stood and walked to the front of the desk, in front of Eggsy. “Stand up.”

He obeyed, and waited to shiver as Gagneux would presumably do something horrible, or god only knew what else and-

The kiss was soft. And sweet, and not at all what he was expecting. He didn’t mean to kiss back either, but it took him by such surprise, and it was just something else.

Gagneux pressed his forehead to Eggsy’s, a hand gently holding his chin. “I’m excited to work with you. Tomorrow, starting 22:00, we’ll have you just work the floor, to get used to the place when it’s full. I close completely the days I’m getting new talent in, so what you saw out there is far from the norm. Just lap dances and drinks on the floor. We’ll let you get your sea legs before putting you back onstage, though I don’t think that will take you long. Evan will walk you to your apartment; nobody leaves the club alone is one of my rules.”

He let go of Eggsy’s chin and moved away from him. “Have a good night, Wyn.”

Eggsy swallowed hard, and nodded. “You as well, Mr. Gagneux.”

“Boniface. No need for such formalities here,” Gagneux...or rather, Boniface, said, leaning back against the desk.

Eggsy nodded again, and picked up the towel before trotting back to the green room, his head spinning, and his heart beating entirely too fast for comfort.

#text post #LeeH writes #Kingsman fic

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ayma-nidiot · 5 years ago

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In the White Light - Prideshipping fic Chapter 14

Also on AO3.

Note: Sorry for being slow with this fic lately. But I’ve been ABSOLUTELY SWAMPED at work.

Chapter 14 – The Edge of Dawn

Floating in a mostly dark space, Kaiba could hear bits a conversation in the distance. “…rich boy…”

It’s that damned Wheeler… Kaiba closed his eyes tighter, feeling no desire to wake up. So I must be inside Leviathan.

Kaiba…

Is… Is that you, Critias?

I know you don’t want to awaken, but I bring you good news. The pharaoh has beaten Dartz in battle. It will only be a matter of time before Leviathan falls.

“Haha…” Kaiba opened his eyes. “I knew you could do it, babe.”

“Eh?” Joey, who had been talking to Pegasus and Yugi, paused. “So. The rich bastard is awake. What brings you here? Ya charge into battle with the pharaoh and lost, huh?”

“Go to hell, Wheeler. After all I have been through, the last thing I need is to take shit from the guy I hate most.”

“There they go again… Huh?” Yugi sighed. Then, all of a sudden, he began to feel warm and glowed.

______

“Joey boy! Kaiba boy! Yugi boy!” Pegasus exclaimed. Their souls… Leviathan must be taking them!

I wouldn’t be too sure about that… So were Kaiba’s thoughts as the souls of his companions and him drifted back into the real world. While Tristan and Téa needed a bit longer to wake up, he and Mokuba woke up in no time at all.

“Ugh… My head…” Mokuba tried to slap himself awake until he realized his brother had waken up too. “Ah, Seto…?”

“Mokuba! You’re… okay…” Kaiba spoke as he stood up.

“Hehe, of course I am! It’s not the first time I’ve been thrown against a wall.”

Kaiba remembered his terrifying first transformation. “Now’s not the time for jokes!”

“I agree!” a familiar voice sounded in the distance.

“Ugh, you’re back too…” Kaiba looked past a running Joey to see Yami Yugi staring straight at him. “Babe…”

“Kaiba…?” Yami Yugi only took a few steps forward before running to his boyfriend. “K-Kaiba… Thank the gods… You’re really back!”

“Did you really think you could get rid of your greatest rival so easily?” Kaiba readily accepted the hug Yami Yugi gave him. “Even if I happened to leave you, I will always come back to you, babe.”

“Kaiba… My love, I know you weren’t gone for long, but it feels good to have you by my side again.”

Kaiba showed no shame in intensely kissing Yami Yugi in front of everyone, particularly Joey. “Whoaaaa! When did they become an item?”

“It’s… a long story.” Téa didn’t feel like elaborating.

“All right, you lovebirds.” Joey’s intervention broke the emotional reunion. “If rich boy and I came back, then where’s our Yugi?”

Yami Yugi turned away from his friends.

“He’s still trapped, isn’t he?” Tristan worried.

In his much shorter form, Yugi turned back. “What are you talking about? I’m right here!”

“It’s really you!” Téa shed tears of joy while she, Tristan, and Joey joined Yugi in a group hug. “I thought I’d never see you again!”

I guess I ought to show some respect. Kaiba barely tolerated this display of friendship.

“Still…” Joey suddenly broke the group hug when he began to feel uneasy. “Something tells me this isn’t the end of it. Everyone else’s soul is still gone.”

“Mr. Kaiba!”

Kaiba recognized the voice calling from outside. “It’s Roland! Come on, let’s go!”

“Right!” Joey, with the help of Tristan, lifted Rafael’s body off of the ground.

Unsurprisingly, the storm from earlier had not abated. “What’s that huge… city thing in the middle of the ocean?” Tristan asked.

“By the looks of it, I would say it’s Atlantis,” Joey replied. “I know! Hey rich boy, you can change into a dragon, can’t ya? How about you fly us up there?”

“No way, Wheeler. This is my fight alone!”

“Come on, Joey, you guys just got back! You don’t mean to go out there again?” Téa whined. “You could get your souls taken again… Or worse.”

“And I wouldn’t try to ask anything of Kaiba, especially for him to transform,” spoke Tristan. “Believe me, we’ve tried.”

Before Yugi could say anything, he felt something in his pocket; to his surprise, the three Egyptian god cards were in there. The presence of those cards gave him resolve. “Téa, I know you’re concerned, but we’ve got to save everyone. And Kaiba, I’m sure the pharaoh has told you several times, but we’re a team now. You may not see him, but he’s right here with me.”

“…Okay, Wheeler and Yugi. I’ll do it.” Kaiba’s sudden response shocked everyone. “But I’m going to have to ask all of you to stand back.”

“Y-You got it, man…” Joey watched as Kaiba’s transformation kicked up wind and light. “I… Just wow.”

“Are you going to just stand there and gawk or are you going to get on?” Kaiba growled.

“Wow! Seto, you can talk as a dragon now!”

“Er… Yeah, whatever.”

As Yugi and Joey climbed on Kaiba’s back, Mokuba asked excitedly, “Hey, can I ride you too?”

“No, Mokuba. You’re going to go with Roland and the others to find somewhere safe to hide.”

“Hmph.” Mokuba reluctantly accepted this answer. “But after all of this is over, you better let me have a ride.”

“Yeah, yeah, just get in the bloody chopper.” With that, Kaiba stretched his wings twice before speeding off into the slowly forming hurricane.

“Whoooooo!” Joey didn’t seem even a little scared of the rocky ride there. “This is better than the theme park!”

“Can it, Wheeler. I’m not a roller coaster. Oh!” Kaiba noticed a couple of dragon monsters in the corners of his eye. He had to do a barrel roll to avoid them, and the recoil of his Shining Neutron Blast nearly knocked Yugi off.

“Kaiba, come on…” Yugi began to see stars. “I’m not exactly in the mood to start plummeting towards the sea.”

“Nice one!” Joey looked around, and thankfully, there were no other monsters. “Say, rich boy, any idea where Dartz is exactly?”

Yugi looked around too and noticed a green pillar of light shooting from the center of Atlantis. “Look, Kaiba, that’s probably where Dartz is!”

“Gee, I wouldn’t have thunk it!” Kaiba flew near this green pillar of light, but he soon began to feel weak. “Urgh…”

“Kaiba?” Yugi showed concern as Kaiba’s body started blinking like a car light. “What’s wrong?”

“I… I think I’m going to fall…” Kaiba abruptly reverted to human form as he, Joey, and Yugi started diving to the ocean.

“Waaaaaaaah!” Joey shrieked as he held his Duel Disk tightly and fished for his strongest monster. Thankfully, the trio managed to land on the floating city safely. “Thanks, Red-Eyes, I owe you one.”

“And I owe Kaiba one for leading you three right into my trap!”

Yugi knew that voice well. “Dartz! How are you still alive?”

“I really don’t feel like telling you that, little Yugi,” Dartz answered as an ice sculpture of himself appeared, as did the body of a giant sea serpent. “But I will tell you this; I don’t even need your guys’ souls anymore. You see, I’ve offered a much stronger soul as a substitute – mine.”

“And what a waste of time, as you’ll soon find out,” Kaiba angrily replied as he tried to find the will to transform but couldn’t.

“I’m afraid you’re powerless, Kaiba. You see, the power of the Great Leviathan seals your shapeshifting powers!”

“Powerless?!” Kaiba roared as he held three cards in his hand while he and Yami Yugi readied their Duel Disks. “Oh, I’ll show you powerless! Go! Vorse Raider, Gadget Soldier, and of course Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!”

“Luckily I’ve come prepared with my Red-Eyes! Flame Swordsman and Jinzo will also be joining him!”

“Then I’ll summon Dark Magician, Summoned Skull, and Kuriboh!” Yami Yugi declared.

“Great, that bloody puffball will stop this giant sea serpent…” Kaiba knew firsthand the power of the seemingly harmless Kuriboh.

“Do you really think that all of those puny monsters will… Eh?” Dartz watched as the trio summoned their respective dragon cards alongside their monsters.

“That’s not all! Here’s Legend of Heart! Now, dragons, show us your true form!”

“Still powerless. Or do you need me to remind you?” With a snap of his fingers, three giants tentacles came out of Leviathan, encircling the three companions.

“Eyaaaah, gross!” Joey fell into Leviathan headfirst. “Guys, this is gross!”

“No kidding!” Kaiba struggled too, but he found it in him to half shift. “Dammit! If… If only I could transform…”

“My love, stop…” Yami Yugi couldn’t bear to watch Kaiba straining to transform. Happy to see Kaiba slowly relax, he continued, “I know what to do.”

“Okay, babe. I will trust you.” With that, Kaiba withdrew his wings and gave in to the abyss below.

———

“Ngh��” Even if he wanted to wake up, Kaiba’s eyelids felt heavy.

“Yo, rich boy! There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know!”

Before Kaiba could react to the sound of Joey’s voice, a full bucket of water splashed him awake. “Aaah! Fuck it, Wheeler!”

“Man, Kaiba, take it easy! I just wanted to tell you where Yug is. How ‘bout a little gratitude?”

“Yugi!” Kaiba shot up and surveyed the surroundings; now, Atlantis barely floated above the sea. “Tell me, where did he go?”

“I take it you’re not talking about me.” Yugi showed himself. “We’re now free because the pharaoh unleashed the Egyptian gods.”

“Yeah!” Joey added. “Now they’re all fighting Leviathan… er, somewhere up there.”

Kaiba noticed a large aurora strewn across the otherwise dark sky. Taking a few steps forward, he spoke without looking back, “Okay, you dweebs, try not to die while I’m out there.”

“Kaiba, wait!” Joey tried to stop Kaiba as he jumped into the sea and emerged in dragon form. “There’s nothing you can do!”

“I should have known…” Yugi simply sat on the ground and stared at the aurora.

If only for the sake of KaibaCorp, Kaiba thought as he flew into the thermosphere, close to outer space. Though this area was home to erratic temperatures and very few life forms, Kaiba hardly felt any effect. Looking past the lights, it took him some time to locate Yami Yugi, locked in battle with Dartz.

Despair tempted Yami Yugi as he watched Leviathan engulf Obelisk in his tentacles, and attempted to trap the other two gods. “This monster can hold his own even against the Egyptian gods… If I can’t win here, then what can I…”

“Hahaha… My Leviathan is millennia older than your Egyptian gods! Now, Leviathan, attack!” Dartz pointed at Yami Yugi, taking advantage of his dropped guard.

Kaiba dove as fast as he could at the word “attack,” and his Shining Neutron Blast barely parried said attack. He temporarily ignored Dartz to admonish Yami Yugi. “Pharaoh! How dare you start losing to someone other than me! And for fuck’s sake, cut out the pity party! Or do you not remember your first battle in Battle City?”

Yami Yugi recalled the battle against Yami Marik, winning him Slifer the Sky Dragon, and Kaiba’s pep talk that helped him win. “I remember.”

“Then fight, dammit! Raaaah!” Kaiba shot another blast at Leviathan, freeing Obelisk from the binding tentacles.

“It can’t be!” Dartz was dumbfounded at this intrusion. “Leviathan should be able to seal your dragon powers!”

“Unfortunately for you, there’s only one champion, and that’s me.” Kaiba flew shoulder-to-shoulder with the three gods.

“G-Grr…” Dartz didn’t want to believe that his time was at an end. “Leviathan, turn that blasted dragon into scrap metal!”

“You will do no such thing!” Yami Yugi ordered the three gods to attack simultaneously while Kaiba added his own power. “Your formerly vengeful souls have transformed into kind souls full of light.”

“You… You can’t mean…” Dartz thought aloud as the four monsters’ attacks approached his monster.

“That’s right! Leviathan is powerless now!”

“No…” Dartz groaned as beams of light emitted from Leviathan, slowly tearing him apart. “No! Damn… you… pharaoh…”

Kaiba looked down to Earth; not only was the aurora gone, but so was the hurricane – and his will to retain his dragon form. “Please tell me that this is over, babe.”

As much as Yami Yugi wanted to say “yes,” he knew they still had one more task. Looking at the disintegrating Atlantis, he answered, “My love, Joey and Yugi are still on Atlantis. Before it crumbles, we need to save them. Can you hang on for just a little bit longer? Please?”

“Guess I’ll have to,” spoke Kaiba as he and Yami Yugi descended back to Earth, thankful that at last, the world appeared to be at peace.

#yugioh #ygo #prideshipping #kaiba x yami yugi #fanfiction

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rt8815 · 6 years ago

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Mamihlapinatapai

This follows my Untitled: “Last Gasp” Inspired piece from last year, so it’s set in mid March-ish 2018. It also fills the “Mutual Pining” square on my CM Bingo card.

WC: Almost 1,900

Notes: Taylor and Jaime are two of McKinley’s bandmates. They will appear in an earlier set fic that I haven’t finished yet 😏

Mamihlapinatapai is a Yagan (of the Nyungar people) word which means, “the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start.”

—–

“Congrats, guys!” McKinley exclaimed, raising her glass. “The Dream Team is back together and Barnes has retreated to her office to lick her wounds. All is as it should be.”

“Cheers!” everyone toasted, laughing against their professional judgement.

JJ slid into the seat next to McKinley.

“It feels great to come back home,” Emily sighed, soaking in the sunset view from Rossi’s back yard.

McKinley sipped her Scotch, tapping the table suddenly when something occurred to her.

“Spencer, how ever will you tell your students you’ll no longer be teaching full-time?” Her hand flew to her heart. “Your fan club will be absolutely devastated, poor things,” she smirked, sounding anything but sympathetic.

Spencer almost choked on his wine. “Oh God, no,” he started, but just then Garcia joined them at the table.

“What’s this about fan club stuff? Are you planning costumes for a convention?” she asked.

Spencer buried his face in his hands and grumbled something that sounded like ‘piece of meat.’

McKinley stole a bit of Penelope’s Mai-tai before continuing. “No cons, Penny, unless you think dozens of shrieking harpies only there to drool over the male lead qualifies as a ‘convention.’”

Emily leaned around JJ. “Well, that piqued my interest. Go on.”

Spencer moaned, his voice muffled behind his palms.

“Nearly one hundred people came to his lecture this week,” McKinley stated. “They’ve become very popular…with the ladies.”

“Wow! Spence, that’s great,” JJ congratulated him, though she had a mischievous gleam in her eye.

“Yeah, Boy Wonder,” Penelope chimed in. “Why the bashfulness?” She’d had a few drinks and was a bit slow on the uptake.

McKinley rolled her eyes. “Penny, bubeleh, most of them weren’t there to learn,” she emphasized, staring pointedly at Spencer.

Penelope started to cotton on. “Oh,” she grinned. “You’re saying that they-”

“Got it baaad, got it baaad, got it baaad. They’re hot for teacher. Ow!”

Emily wolf-whistled as JJ stretched over the table to ruffle Spencer’s hair.

He finally reemerged, his face beet-red, though he appeared annoyed rather than angry.

“Ley, tell us more about these fangirls,” Garcia demanded, bouncing in anticipation. “Give us the deets.”

McKinley glanced at Spencer, who shrugged, apparently resigned to the good-natured ribbing.

“Do y’all remember The Bimbettes from Beauty and the Beast?” she asked, “and the “I Love You Eyelid Girl” from Raiders of the Lost Ark?”

Penelope giggled into her drink. “That bad, huh?”

“Ugh, worse,” groaned McKinley, now buzzed and losing her filter. “Both of those things cranked up to eleven.”

She rested her elbows on the table, imitating everything the students had done. “They weren’ listenin’ to a thang he said. They twirled their hair, got all doe-eyed and constantly ‘Ooohed’ and ‘Aaahed.’ Talk about flirtin’ up a storm. I swear a few of ‘em drooled.”

“You don’t say,” Emily snickered.

“It was disgusting. Those girls made such asses of themselves. I felt bad for ‘em really.”

“Uh-huh,” JJ chuckled, sounding unconvinced.

“No, honestly! They just would not back down. They stalked us through the hallway. I was worried they were gonna eat ‘im alive!” McKinley cried as she fluffed Spencer’s hair. “I had to keep Skindiana Jones here safe.”

“I uh, I don’t recall them stalking us,” Spencer interjected, “and I still don’t understand why women always-”

“Spence, read. the book. we gave you!”

“Seriously! This has happened on so. many. cases.”

“Yeah! Remember Lila Archer?”

McKinley whipped her head around. “Wait, what? Lila Archer the actress?”

“Yeah,” replied JJ. “Lila was a stalking victim 12 years ago. Spence stayed at her house. She pulled him into her pool and they made out.”

“Oh, she’s very pretty. I imagine that must’ve been quite something!”

“Don’t forget all the working ladies who hit on him,” Emily added.

“And the bartender who flirted with him,” slurred Penny.

Spencer shook his head. “Women go for guys like Morgan or Alvez, not me.”

McKinley frowned. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d assume that right there is false modesty. It’s not though, and that makes me sad.”

“I’m weird.”

“Weird should be a compliment,” McKinley countered.

“I ramble a lot-”

“Some find it endearing.”

“-about things nobody’s interested in.”

“I’m interested…”

But Spencer wasn’t paying attention.

“My hair’s too long…”

“It suits you, Spencer.”

“I dress like an eighty-year-old man.”

McKinley scrunched her face in amusement. “Yeah, like I said the other day, I’m fairly certain the whole tenured professor look is their kink. Face it, Pretty Boy: yer eye candy.”

Spencer grimaced and hoisted himself up from his chair.

“No, don’t go!” McKinley pleaded, loosely grabbing his forearms. “We’ll stop now, right guys?”

“Of course.”

“Sure.”

“Fine, I’ll zip my perfect, rosy lips.”

Spencer eyed them warily before lowering himself back down. As he drained his glass, McKinley resumed her elbows-on-table pose, feigning innocence.

“I do have one question for you though, Doctor.”

He arched an eyebrow. “What might that be?”

McKinley fiddled with his tie, unknotting it. “I’m worried about my grade in your class. T-t-t-teacher, can you see me after school?”

Spencer sputtered, blushing furiously, then jerked his tie out of her hand and stormed off as dignified as possible.

“I think of all the education that I missed,” she called after him, gesturing for the others to join her. They chorused, “But then my homework was never quite like this!”

They all dissolved into fits of laughter, although McKinley’s quickly dissipated.

“Shit, he’s my ride home. That’s gonna be awkward.”

Emily cleared her throat. “So, how long have you been in love with Reid?”

“I – what?” McKinley squeaked. “I’m not in love with Spencer! What gave you that idea?”

“That show you put on just now. Plus, I saw you two on my porch the other day. I have security cameras…with audio,” Emily admitted.

“Anyway, you’ve looked at each other differently for a while now. You act differently towards each other too. Maybe bringing up the lecture is your subconscious telling you that you two have evolved beyond friendship.”

McKinley shook her head. “Emily, we haven’t known each other long enough for that.”

“Granted, five months is fast,” said Tara, who’d slid into the table unnoticed, “but you’ve spent a lot of his sabbatical and regular time outside work together. Simply put? The quality of your and his friendship could well outweigh the length.”

“And the way you talked about those students?” JJ added. “You called them shrieking harpies and you sounded ready to rip them apart. I mean, I believe that they drooled over Spence, but you laid it on kind of thick. Was it all about keeping him safe, or was it also you telling them to back off?”

That had McKinley stumped. She remembered silently mocking the girls’ behavior, and how she smugly whispered, “It’s never gonna happen,” effectively saying Spencer was out of their league. What stood out the most was how she stared them down as she linked arms with him, deriving satisfaction from their…jealousy?

“Did I deliberately taunt them?” McKinley wondered to herself.

She recalled a sensation of hackles raising. There was no polite way to word it.

“I was marking my territory.”

McKinley had a sudden desire to take a shower.

Her feelings had undoubtedly shifted, but she had no frame of reference for them. And that frightened her.

She switched tactics. “Don’t forget that I’m aroace, guys. I don’t experience romantic or sexual attraction.”

Garcia popped up from her phone, where she’d been hunting down the ‘perfect first date venue.’ “You talk a lot about how sexy and pretty guys are, though. I’ve caught you staring at many a tuchus. What’s that about?” she winked.

McKinley cut eyes at her. “I’m asexual, Penny, not blind. I admired the Venus de Milo too, but I didn’t wanna hump it either.”

“Y’know, I used to identify as bi,” Penelope replied. “I was in my late twenties before I knew that I’m pan. It’s only for you to say but, it might be worth considering demi identities.”

That struck a chord with McKinley. It would require a lot of unpacking her emotions, but it was definitely worth considering.

…

Spencer stole glimpses at McKinley as he drove her home. She was drumming a beat on the armrest. He chuckled; she always did that while deep in thought.

Stopping at a light pulled her from her reverie. “Thank you for driving me home,” she said rather meekly.

“You’re welcome. Never take Uber or Lyft.” He coughed nervously. “You know, because it’s not the safest mode of transportation. Half of our cases start that way,” he joked.

McKinley grinned. “You’re an absolute prince for doing this, especially since I’m a rotten friend.”

Spencer’s jaw dropped. “No, you’re not! Is this about the lecture? Because it’s nothing the team hasn’t teased me about before.”

“Yeah, but I shoulda known they’d take the piss,” she whined, kicking her legs grumpily, “and I went too far with the song. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I forgive you,” he assured her as he stepped on the gas. “Although, I’d like to point out that I’ve never once brought up the men who hit on you at bars.”

“True,” McKinley breathed, playing with a loose thread on her blouse. “But that seems to have died down at O’Keeffe’s recently.”

Spencer pressed his lips together, eyes fixed on the road. She eyed him suspiciously.

“You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” she prodded him.

“Think fast.”

“It’s probably the team’s presence. Most of the regulars know who we are.”

Fortunately, she accepted his suggestion. “Yeah, that’s feasible.”

“Truth is I shoved my credentials in their faces once or twice,”he confessed silently.

“When that doesn’t work, I step between you and them while flashing my revolver, but I’m not owning up to any of that.”

Spencer parked in Taylor and Jaime’s driveway and walked McKinley to her tiny house in the backyard. Boogie bolted out to greet them, tail wagging vigorously.

At her door, she twisted around for a final goodnight, surprised to find Spencer standing so near. He raised his hand and combed his fingers through her hair.

“Cherry blossom,” he explained, showing the pale pink flower in his hand. Spencer reached up again, brushing hair out of her eyes, lingering this time.

McKinley found herself tilting her head into his hand.

“Please don’t stop playing with my hair. Is this what he feels when I play with his? Am I blushing? Is he blushing? What’s that look he’s giving me? Affection? Is that how I look at him? I wish he’d say something. I should say something, but I can’t speak. My heart’s pounding. What’s wrong with me? I never have trouble talking to Spencer. How can someone make me flustered and relaxed at the same time?”

Spencer moved even closer. “Ley, I was wondering -”

“Bork!”

They sprang apart, the spell broken, to see Boogie dancing impatiently. He jumped, placing his paws on Spencer’s thighs.

“Hey buddy, I’m not ignoring you,” he promised as he scratched the dog’s ears.

Satisfied, Boogie pushed open the door and stared expectantly at McKinley.

Spencer retreated down the stairs. “I should be going. Good night, Ley,” he said, the slightest note of disappointment in his voice.

“Night, Spencer. Text me when you get home?”

“Always,” he smiled up at her, stepping backwards towards the fence and through the gate.

—–

@illegalcerebral @dreatine @cynbx @cmbingo

Everyone else let me know if you’d like to be tagged in the future!

#criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x oc #cmbingo19

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paladin-andric · 6 years ago

Text

Heatwave

Hey folks. Thought I’d hammer out a story for everyone real quick, what with the lack of activity and all. This is yet another short set in the modern setting of the world of Deaco, about two pals trying to cope with the worst summer has to offer. This one’s got some Mood Music! Not the mood of the setting per se, but rather the music coming from the TV as the two play the game.

This was definitely not inspired by any personal events, and the video game described is absolutely NOT just a ripoff of Earth Defense Force. Short below the cut.

This is also a bit of an exercise to get back into writing from scratch. I haven’t done much more than edit and rewrite recently.

“For the love of God…”

Michael wiped another sheen of sweat from his forehead, moving it onto his plain white t-shirt, which was already soaked. The young man was sitting in a bedroom, on the floor in front of a large TV. His hair was mopped with sweat, and his eyes were narrowed as he focused on the TV.

The clicking of buttons became louder as he desperately tried to keep up with the challenge in the game. On the screen of the television, two human soldiers with assault rifles and rocket launchers were running through a city, fighting off hordes of dragons and kobolds. Gunfire, explosions and screaming filled the otherwise quiet room.

Beside Michael, a koutu lay in his bed, eyes glazed over. The bird was patterned after a kestrel, with plumage of varying shades of orange, white, black and brown. This was Yawel. Although he looked half-dead, he too was holding a controller, being the other player of this split-screen game of Deacan Defense Force.

There was a third player, but they were found online. The pair were the only ones in the room at the moment. The online player had been cut off and surrounded by a giant horde and was losing health quickly.

“Help me!”

One of the shoutouts available to players, the stranger looked to be near death as his character cried out for aid.

“I’m on my way!”

Michael picked the option from the list of shoutouts and began sprinting through crowds of kobolds, only stopping to turn and fire a few rockets on the way to thin out the hordes.

Yawel groaned audibly, slumped over on his back and lying sideways on his bed. He still looked like he was in a stupor, and Michael could hardly blame him.

The heatwave that had torn through the continent had been especially brutal in the hottest months of summer, and now temperatures were well over a hundred degrees. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, as the friends had an air conditioner in their bedroom.

Of course, that’s why it just had to break.

The pair had been such good friends throughout their school years that once they graduated, they decided to move out and become roommates. Logic stated that as long as they both had jobs and shared accommodations, they’d save money.

They did of course, but finding work had been pretty tough as of late. Both of them were only able to land jobs as grocers for the time being, so there wasn’t much left over they could afford to waste. That was why they had to share only one air conditioner, and why it was left in the bedroom so that they could keep cool while they played video games.

Now, without that AC, the temperature in the normally comfortable bedroom was bordering on unsafe.

“How about you save ME?” Yawel muttered, barely able to keep playing.

“Huh? You’re good,” Michael responded plainly, continuing to run towards the other player, fighting his way to where the stranger was making their last stand.

“Good?! You call this GOOD?!” the koutu squawked, “I feel like a turkey in the oven!”

A plume of fire swept across the map as one of the dragons attacked the other player. His character let out a wail as he collapsed, last of his health gone.

“Oh, I thought you meant...nevermind. Just hang on, I gotta revive this guy.”

“Aaah, God...how does Rangal live like this?! Shaggy bastard would die!”

A wolfman the pair knew. The three of them were good friends. He lived on the bare essentials. His house lacked many luxuries...including air and heating.

“I actually texted him. He’s in the tub with cold water. That’s how he manages the summers apparently.”

Yawel shook his head. “Nutty. Dunno why he doesn’t just spring for an AC.”

A ping from the game let everyone know Michael had successfully revived the other player. His character was a sallik, one of the lizardmen from the desert land of the far south.

Bet he’s doing just fine in this heat, Michael thought jealously.

Of course he could have just picked a sallik, but Michael tended to assume people picked their actual race when they created characters in these kind of games.

The fact that Yawel played as a human threw that theory for a bit of a loop. He’d always secretly wondered why that was, but ended up deciding he probably liked the stat bonuses better or something.

“I owe you!” the other player shouted, now back on their feet. Michael smirked and opened the quick chat again.

“No man left behind!”

The ingame radio blared to live with a burst of static.

“Where are the fighters?!” a commander shouted in frustration, “They’re getting chewed up out there!”

“The air force has been intercepted by dragons,” an officer explained, “We’re trying to slip a force through, but it’s gonna take some time.”

“God, damn it!” the commander cried, “Thunder Team! The jets are tied down dogfighting the dragons. You have to hold on a little longer! Stay strong!”

“Are you kidding?!” Yawel croaked, “It’s really not over?!”

Neither of them had gotten this far yet. This mission was so difficult that they’d abandoned their initial goal of beating it together and set up an online lobby to get more players.

Between the blistering heat and knowledge that this length mission still had time to go, Michael felt some resolve sapped from him. “Oh God...this really sucks…”

All the while, the trio were blasting and shooting their way through more hordes of dragons, desperately diving and running behind a new building when the last one got destroyed.

“Where the hell’s Ginit?” Yawel asked, “I’m dying…”

“Should be here really soon,” the human answered.

Ginit was a pseudodragon local to town. She, like most pseudodragons, loved to go around helping out where she could. When the air conditioner broke and the temperature inside quickly leaped into the hundreds, Michael texted a friend of hers and told them his plight.

He thought with her knowing all kinds of magic that there was something she could do. The friend only vaguely answered back that Ginit could help and she’d come over right after she was done delivering a package for someone.

Pseudodragons were natural couriers, with their instinctive spark of joy, desire to help, and ability of flight. Ginit was no different.

“Hopefully she’s done soon,” Michael said with a sigh. The heat was so bad he could swear he saw the air waving in front of the TV slightly.

“Ugghhh...save us…” the koutu grumbled.

Michael wiped another bunch of sweat from his face, some of it sticking to the controller. He made a mental note to wipe the thing down later.

The entire area seemed to radiate heat, and they didn’t have any substitutes for the air conditioner.

“Next paycheck,” the human offered, “We gotta get a fan.”

“Faaaaan? You think a faaaaaan can help with this?”

“Better than nothing.”

“Whatever. I hate this. Once this mission’s over I’m done.”

Michael frowned. “Come on man, I wanna beat the story.” “Naaaaaaw. I’m followin’ ol’ furbutt’s lead and napping in the baaaaaaath.”

The human felt a pang of pity. Poor Yawel sounded delirious, slurring his words with his eyes half closed. The heat must have been even worse with feathers or fur...maybe he was lucky after all…

“Alright man, you do you. Just hang tough for this level, alright?”

“Alright.”

The muted reply made Michael feel even worse. Yawel sounded...defeated. Like he was just doing this because he wanted to help his friend.

“We’re nearly there. I bet this is the last wave.”

The soldiers, two human and one lizard, gathered up and began shooting at the massive swarm of dragons in the sky. As the behemoths flew at them, dozens and dozens of kobolds rushed through the city streets right at them.

In the game, there were so many hordes. Shots and fire were sent the defenders’ way as the sheer volume of creatures overwhelmed them. There were so many the game could barely keep up, dropping frames every second.

“No way. They don’t really expect us to do this, right?!” Michael complained as he lost half his health in a few moments.

Yawel’s soldier fell over dead, hit by dozens of shots from several different angles. He dropped the controller on the bed and sighed.

“It’s impossible.”

“We’re so close...we can’t lose now…”

Just as the human mumbled that, there was a sudden roar overhead. A group of stealth bombers flew by, dropping countless explosive warheads right into the center of the crowded horde of enemies.

Inspiring music began to swell as a massive portion of the enemy army was wiped out immediately. Another soldier came onto the radio.

“Hey there, Thunder Team! Thought we’d drop by and give you a hand.”

“This is Valor Two, entering mission area. We’ll cover you!” another voice called out. As jet fighters began to do strafing runs against the enemies, a fresh squad of AI soldiers moved into the map to reinforce the players.

As all of this was happening, the pair heard a knocking sound behind them. Michael shot up, eyes moving to curtains at the back of the room.

“O-oh, shit, hang on…”

Michael quickly revived Yawel before leaping up and running to the curtains, drawing them away and revealing a massive pair of windows.

Such oversized windows wouldn’t be considered proper for their humble home, especially for their bedroom of all places...but there was a really good reason why they were this way.

So the pseudodragon behind them could get through.

Ginit leaned against the window, the copper-scaled dragon’s snout pressed against the glass as she grinned at the human.

He threw the windows open without a moment's hesitation, returning a grin of his own.

“Michael! Yawel!”

“Ginit!” the human exclaimed, “You’re here!”

“Yes I am!” she beamed, “May I?”

“Please, please, come in!”

The human moved back to his position in front of the TV, sitting down and returning to the game. He didn’t want to be rude to the other player by abandoning them, after all.

“I heard you have AC troubles,” she teased in a sing-song voice. The pseudodragon hopped into the room and jumped onto a plush chair, laying down with her tail hanging over the edge and coming down to the floor.

“Please,” Yawel muttered, “Help us…”

“You can do something about this, right?” Michael asked with a hint of desperation.

“I sure can! Tell me, how long until this issue is resolved?”

“The repairman can’t come until tomorrow,” Michael admitted, “It’s gonna be hell.”

“Not anymore! Check this out…”

Ginit willed out the magic flowing through her, until it filled the room. In a flash, something in the air changed. At first, Michael couldn’t tell what it was, until he noticed something peculiar.

“...it’s getting cooler.”

The temperature kept dropping, and dropping, until it felt downright cold, like the AC was on full blast.

“A-ah, God. It’s so cool…”

Yawel seemed to spring back to life, eyes shooting wide open as he took a deep breath.

“I-it’s amazing! Ginit, what are you doing?!”

“Just a little spell that lets me control the temperature around me!” the pseudodragon said with a big smile, “Now it’s like you don’t even need the air conditioner!”

A loud explosion signaled the death of the last dragon, the city in the game now completely free of enemies. The players all spammed chat commands as the mission complete screen popped up.

“DDF! DDF!”

“We did it!”

“Great work!”

All the soldiers cheered and celebrated as the harrowing mission at last came to a close. Now Michael and Yawin could finally continue with the campaign.

The game was over, and the trio sitting in the room basked in the coolness of the air. Michael said goodbye to the other player and turned the game off. He closed the windows and sat back down.

For the next hour or so, they could just relax. Get all that sweat and heat off and gone while they recovered from the heatwave.

Yawel looked over at Ginit. “Hey...how long can you stay?”

“You said the repairman will come tomorrow, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Well then...I’ll stay the night! Until it’s all fixed up!”

“W-what?!”

“Yeah! It’s been too long since we’ve met, anyway! I’ve been looking forward to spending some time with my friends!”

Michael smiled. “Ah, hell. You’re a lifesaver, Ginit.”

“Don’t mention it!”

For the rest of the day, and into the night, the blistering heatwave was but a faint memory. The trio talked, ate and laughed, swapping tall tales and playing guessing games together.

For a moment, all the troubles of the world ceased. There was only home, comfort, and the unbroken bonds of friendship forged to last a lifetime.

Tag list: @thereisnothingwrongwithbeingmad, @lady-redshield-writes, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @sheralynnramsey, @tawnywrites, @writer-on-time, @oceanwriter, @zwergis-spilledink, @fluffpiggy, @elliewritesfantasy, @homesteadchronicles, @laurenwastestimewriting, @elaynab-writing, @the-ichor-of-ruination, @candy687, @fierywords, @shewrites-sometimes, @nerds-and-nebulae

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funkymeihem-fiction · 6 years ago

Text

Fire and Woohoo- The OW Trio Plays The Sims

(D.Va, Lucio, and Junkrat have a very special game night with an old classic.)

The snacks had been warmed, the drinks chilled, and they had gathered in Hana’s room again. Game night had just begun, and it started off with a proclamation.

“First off, J-Man and I had a meeting and we both agreed that we’re not playin’ any more fighting games,” Lucio declared. “The only way either of us can win is by him cheesing you with that low kick move on that one dude, and then you both start fighting in real life and I gotta break it up.”

Hana glared at them both. “Well maybe because there’s no skill involved in legsweep spam!”

Junkrat’s ever-present grin only turned sharper. “Oh-ho-ho! Still pissy because that one time I kicked your arse usin’ an effective strategy I invented myself, and you can’t just admit—”

They were starting to lean a little too close to each other already, and Lucio sighed as he shouldered in between them and spread both arms to keep them at bay. It was a well practiced strategy that he’d had to do many, many times before when tempers flared. “See! There you go! I mean it this time, we are so not doing any more fighting games. Just choose something else for game night.”

“Ugh, fine. What do you boo-hoo babies want to play tonight? Dress-Up Pony Adventures? Pachimari Island? The Sims?”

Junkrat seemed to give the choices serious thought, apparently not understanding her sarcasm. “What’s a The Sims?”

“Oh, uh,” Hana looked slightly taken aback while Lucio only smirked. “You don’t want to play that. Even I haven’t played that in years. It’s just a game where you live every day life. Like you can make little people and a house and have them get jobs and adventures and just…wacky stuff sometimes? Like I made us in the game ages ago—”

“Wait, ya made me in a game? I wanna see me! Show me The Sims Junkrat!” he demanded.

Lucio’s smile turned into a grin at the scowling Hana. “Hey, that sounds fun to me. You made a little game version of me too? Show us.”

“Oh my god, you guys,” she snorted, spinning her chair back around to face the screen. “Fine. I’ll show you the Overwatch House and your little dudes, but only for a minute. I am not spending the whole game night on The Sims. Babe, grab me a drink?”

Lucio abandoned his chair to meander over towards her mini-fridge while Junkrat pulled up both long skinny legs to rest on the edge of his chair— a chair so dirty and soot-smeared, with the cushion ruined by his peg leg and bony rear, that it had been made his own personal game chair and nobody else dared touch it… after Hana had given him an earful for trashing the thing. He perched on his seat, watching curiously as the screen lit up with The Sims 9 logo and the cheerful title theme began playing.

“The fuck is this music?” he asked, giggling madly.

“I warned you it was goofy!” she snapped, looking a little embarrassed as she snatched up the beer Lucio offered to her. Clicking it open and taking a sip, she watched as the cutscene played and the little sim characters went about their act. “See? Those are the simulated people. Get it, The Sims?”

“Wot.”

“Never mind. Lucio, you ever played this?”

“I think maybe once when I was a kid? Not this one, though.” He snapped open his soda, taking a gulp and frowning at the taste. “Aw man, did they change the ingredients in my soda again? I gotta rethink that endorsement deal. I don’t want the kids thinkin’ this is good stuff.”

Hana nodded, flicking through her save files as the game continued on. “I warned you, you have to watch the drink companies in particular. They’re always trying to change the quality. My team had a clause that no drink product could change their recipe without going through our manager first. Oof, after what happened to The Starstrikers when all those kids got tooth rot…”

Junkrat grumbled from where he was gnawing at the blackened edge of a fingernail again, up until Hana smacked his hand away from his mouth. He snorted, looking dour as he glanced between them. “Yeah, well…Mebbe one day I’ll have me own line of soft drinks, ya know? Something what’ll even outdo the Bundabergs and Bickfords! Represent! Something like… Junkrat’s Junk Root Beer, or Roadhog’s Pink Lemonade. That bloke loves pink lemonade like nothing else. Think junker merchandise could really rake in some coin…” His eyes drifted in two different directions, the way they sometimes did when he was in very deep thought, only to come snapping together at something he saw on the screen. “Oi! Is that us!”

It was more than just them, he saw. Almost the whole organization had been modeled into cartoon people form, or at least what Hana had been able to mimic of them. Soldier 76’s combat visor had been replaced with sunglasses, Torbjorn was nowhere near as tiny or bearded as he was supposed to be, Reinhardt looked more old and fat and gray than the muscular juggernaut that he was, and several of them he didn’t recognize at all. But they didn’t interest him.

Hana and Lucio’s Sims were standing next to each other, with Hana dressed in her favorite pinks and blues, and Lucio wearing a green t-shirt, his dreads nowhere near the magnificence that they were in real life. Frankly, they didn’t interest Junkrat either.

There was a very tall and very skinny one, with spiked blond hair, all four limbs intact, wearing one orange glove and a black backpack instead of a tire, and instead of his skull and fire tattoo it was just a swirl of tribal black. Junkrat gaped, jaw falling open.

Hana coughed. “Uh…Sorry? It turns out Jamie is not really not the easiest guy to make into a Sim? I mean, I didn’t want to get into all the cash shop stuff so I did what I could. And your hair kind of just makes you look like a blond Goku, but y—”

Junkrat leaned forward so abruptly that his face nearly smashed into the screen. “I look bloody amazing, mate! Look at that! Really captures my likeness, that does. S’got my good side n’ everything! And…” His wide eyes got even wider, pupils practically becoming slitted. “Look who’s next to me! Does that mean we’re a couple in the game?!”

Hana pinched her lips together and looked skyward, trying very hard not to laugh for a moment before she smothered her snickering into her beer. Lucio elbowed her and merely grinned, gesturing to where Junkrat was still trying to enter the computer screen like it was a portal to a better world. Perhaps in his mind it was, as he was standing next to a much smaller and chubbier little figure, with dark hair twisted into a bun, glasses, and a familiar blue outfit.

Finally, Hana emerged from her beer can. “Uh, I don’t think so. It’s randomly generated. Mei’s just standing next to you is all, I think. I mean, Genji’s also standing next to her, and I don’t think they--”

“The cyborg? With Mei? Yeah, nah. Delete him from the game so it’s just me! Can I fight him?”

“Okay you know what, this might actually turn out to be interesting after all. Let’s load up the house…” Hana clicked the button and the loading screen scrolled past. “Okay, this is the game itself. I made us a nice mansion, so we can go see who’s doing what. Hey, there’s Lucio already! See him eating at the dining table there?”

Lucio leaned forward on Hana’s other side. “Aw, yeah! Looks like I have some waffles. Woah, I look good! …Did you give me extra muscles?”

Her cheeks went very slightly pink beneath her whisker marks. “Uh…I may have put you in the gym a few times. Actually, you and Zarya are best friends because of it, so that’s a plus! Soooo! Let’s find Sim D.Va!” She clicked on her portrait, and it zoomed to where her namesake Sim was playing on the computer in a room decorated pink and blue, with multiple game consoles and toys. “Oh hey, meta.”

“Wow, that’s pretty true to life, I guess. You think she’s playing The Sims in her world?” Lucio said, tilting his head. “Or is she…playing our world?” He wiggled his fingers and made a spooky noise “OoooOOoooo?” that soon tickled the back of Hana’s neck and sent her into shrieking laughter as she batted his hands away.

“Yeah whatever!” Junkrat pointed to his spiky-haired portrait. “Me! Me next!”

They clicked the portrait for Housemate Jamie, and the screen centered in on where the lanky Junkrat-esque figure was screaming and waving his arms for no apparent reason, down in the house’s basement. As they watched, he whimpered and hugged himself, and then promptly urinated a blue puddle all over the floor before he straightened and wandered off.

“The fuck’s this!” his real life counterpart demanded. “Did you make me piss meself?!”

“Ooooh,” Hana said. “Sorry, I think I forgot to make you use the bathroom before.”

“Did Mei see?!”

“I don’t think so. Hold on, let’s find her.” She clicked on Mei, who was placidly sitting and reading on a couch, next to where Angela was watching television.

Sim Angela turned to her and commented a cheerful “Yargle boorgle doo!” to which Mei replied a soft “Aaah, ya feeb.”

Junkrat looked aghast. “What’s all that? Are they talking about me? Did she call me a feeb?”

“They don’t speak a real language, it doesn’t mean anything.”

He pushed into Hana’s side abruptly, long arm reaching to the screen and clicking on his portrait again. “Back to me!”

She pushed him right back, elbowing him back into his chair. “Hey! What did I say about trying to steal my screen control! You know the rules!”

Lucio sighed, lifting both hands. “J-Man, she did lay down the rules a while back. You gotta chill, man. Let her do her thing unless it’s your turn, right?”

Junkrat scowled, looking chastised as he slumped back into his ruined chair once more. Though he couldn’t remain sullen for long, watching his little virtual self wander through the dark basement and speaking gibberish to himself. Hana had left the camera on him, at least, despite her protests. And both she and Lucio watched with curiosity as the Sim Jamie spun in a circle and yelled ‘Nipsy vorg!” before ascending the stairs to join the others.

“That there is a man on a mission,” he said, nodding with approval. “Look, I’m thinkin’ of drumsticks, I’m gonna nipsy vorg some chicken.”

Hana hovered over a smaller window with his stats. “I think you’re going to cook something. This’ll be funny. I gave you the pyromaniac trait, so…Let’s watch.”

Sim Jamie passed by Sim Lucio, who was cleaning up the last of his waffles. Following the other Sim into the kitchen, he began dutifully washing his plate in the sink while his pyromaniac housemate pulled a package out of fridge and began chopping it up. A few moments of that, and he shoved the platter into the oven…which promptly caught on fire and began smoking wildly as Sim Jamie laughed and clapped in front of it.

Real life Jamie seemed just as thrilled. “Yeah! Attaboy! Fight the system!”

“Every time.” Hana nodded.

Sim Lucio started shrieking and clutching his hair in alarm, dancing frantically in place for several moments before pulling an extinguisher from nowhere to begin battling the flames. He was soon joined by the sunglasses-wearing Soldier 76, who started screaming helplessly on the sidelines but strangely made no move to help. Sim Jamie just laughed wildly before turning and pulling a whole bowl of cereal out of the fridge, eating and enjoying the show.

“Why am I the only one trying to save the house!” Lucio protested, pointing in a very accusatory way at the virtual Soldier.

“The hell were you complainin’ about before, Hana?” Junkrat said. “This game’s amazin’. Oi, make me go say hi to Mei.”

“Wow, even a kitchen fire can’t distract you? This sounds serious. All right, let’s see where Mei is now.” She scrolled to find the little blue-dressed Sim, who was… blurred out on the toilet. “Oh, um.”

“She can’t stay in there forever! Put me outside the door there.”

“Yeah, Jamie. Totally not being creepy on her Sim or anything, here.”

They abandoned the still-screaming Sim Lucio as he battled the oven blaze, as Sim Jamie took up his post admiring a painting of a sad clown that had been hung near the bathroom. Soon the door clicked open, and Mei exited. Hana took the opportunity to make her charge approach her, selecting ‘Chat’.

“Ah dag voorlog, mis frontoy?” Sim Jamie asked.

“Oh! Blanana! Dipso varootni,” Mei answered, and then laughed. It sounded nothing like her real laugh.

That didn’t stop Junkrat from lighting up, bushy brows lifting hopefully. “She likes me! Make me say that stuff again, she likes it!”

Hana brought up the enactment wheel. “Hey, why I don’t show you how to actually play this? See, these are all your options. What do you want to make your little Sim guy do next?”

“Kiss her!”

Lucio sighed. “J-Man, even the Sims versions of the ladies don’t appreciate it when you just try to kiss them out of nowhere. Why not give her a compliment or something?”

“Uh, okay. Well it says hug, there. Let’s give Mei a hug. Nice friendly hug, right?”

Hana clicked on the hug, and they watched as their Jamie opened up both arms and went in for the embrace, only for Mei to shrink back and rebuff him with a curt, “Eeenh! Va nitso!” that left the spurned Jamie with two disappointed minus bars over his head.

“What the fuck is wrong with her!” Junkrat demanded. “I’m doing all the right stuff! This game’s shite!”

“Dude, try something more lowkey. Hana, make our boy actually compliment her,” Lucio said, downing the last of his soda. “I can’t believe we’re even focusing on this while the house is burning down, by the way. I’m probably dead in the kitchen.”

“Nah,” Hana assured him. “We’d hear the Grim Reaper music if you were dead. It’s fine. We’re going to focus on the more important things, like romance. Let’s try Lucio’s suggestion.”

Junkrat still looked peevish, but accepted the suggestion as she selected ‘Compliment’. His Sim approached Mei once more, clearing his throat and smoothing back his hair (He really did have a nice head of hair, didn’t he?) before giving her the wink and the gun, saying “Aaay! Wo ta tupsi blorno, dayg.” The Sim Mei seemed a little taken aback, but giggled and swayed a little as she shyly answered gibberish back to him. Plus signs popped over both their heads as they continued.

Hana leaned back and smirked. “So! What did we learn!”

Heartened once more, Rat finally conceded. “Arright arright, maybe the kisses were coming on just a bit strong. Let’s chat her up some more. Oh! Share secrets! Let’s learn her secrets? Oh oh, no, do that one. Talk about fire.”

“Actually, Romeo, why don’t you play for a little bit? I don’t really care what happens to the save anyway— NO, no getting on MY chair. Just move yours in the middle.” Hana rolled her chair to the side, grabbing the back of Junkrat’s chair to push it into her spot. “I’m gonna go make some popcorn. Lucio, come with?”

“Yeah, hold on.” He picked up both their empty cans, moving to follow her out. “Gotta recycle these. Yo J, you want anything from the kitchen?”

Junkrat was already involved in a very deep and completely nonsensical conversation between Sim Jamie and Sim Mei, the task bar already filled as he clicked to compliment her again. “Huh?”

“That’s a no. Come on,” Hana urged, grabbing Lucio’s hand to guide him out of her room as the door whooshed shut behind them. Once she was sure they were out of earshot and a fair distance down the hall, she glanced to him with a more genuine little grin. “You know, this is one of the few times I’m not scared to leave him in there by himself.”

Lucio paused to basketball-toss one of the cans into the recycling bin by the kitchen door, clattering into the goal. “I think he’s doing better with the whole ‘boundaries’ thing, on not blowing things up that don’t belong to him.”

She nodded, ripping open a packet of popcorn and tossing it into the machine. “Not perfect, though. And he still thinks I didn’t notice him stealing my Retro Zeldamari keychain. Uh…I was going to demand it back from him, but then I saw Roadhog wearing it and…yeah, not worth it.”

“Not perfect,” Lucio agreed, smiling a little sheepishly. “Sorry about your keychain, I’ll get you a new one.”

She rolled her eyes, plugging in the cooking time before leaning back against the counter, opening both arms. “It’s fine. I mean, you can still buy me a new one,” she grinned. “But it’s fine. Jamie’s funny. Sometimes I still wanna strangle him, but he’s a fun guy. Don’t worry so much about him, Lu.”

“Can’t help it, I guess.” He meandered forward, wrapping her up in a tight hug and speaking into her shoulder. ��Just trying to make sure everyone gets along.”

“That’s because…” Hana drew his chin up with one finger where he had been slumped against her chest, meeting his concerned gaze. Nodding solemnly, she dropped her voice to a furtive whisper. “…because you are the lamest lamer to ever lame…lame-oid.”

The DJ’s face split into a grin, shoulders shaking as he started laughing into her collarbone. “Aaah, ya got me.”

“C’mere,” she said, grinning back at him. “We have like two minutes for the corn to pop. That’s like, two straight minutes of making out. Timer and everything. Ready?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer, pressing her lips to his before he could even react.

His grip tightened around her, one hand sliding down to her slender waist, resting atop one hip as he tilted his head. Their kiss deepened, her tongue soon boldly prodding into his mouth as he started to press her against the countertop. Nearly bent backward, her fingers clawed into the fabric of his shirt to hold on, looping one ankle around his leg. Lucio growled a low hum into her lips, the soft wet sounds of their mouths drowned out by the humming and rapid popping of the microwave next to them.

There was soon a very cheerful ding, and she grumbled as he released her to grip onto the counter, lifting himself off her. Smoothing back her hair, she stood and adjusted her mussed and crooked top. “Two minutes are up already?”

“Time’s up, corn’s done,” he said, shrugging helplessly. “And you prrrrrobably don’t want to leave Jamie in there alone for too long, Sims or not.”

“Yeah, you’re right, but… You want to stay over after he leaves? Like, longer than two minutes?”

“Don’t think I don’t notice you trying to set me up for a stamina joke, girl. And I’ll check my schedule, but I think I might be able to make some time tonight. After game night.” He reached into the microwave and grabbed the popcorn bag, jostling it about before upending it into the D.Va Bunny Bowl she held out for him. “Let’s go see the damage.”

She snorted, taking her corn and leading him out of the kitchen and back down the hall. “It had better be virtual damage only.”

***

Hana’s door beeped and whooshed open, and they found Junkrat still curled in his chair, facing the holoscreen with his cheeks flushed pink and a stranger grin than usual. He didn’t even glance their way, trying to stifle his giggling as he rocked back and forth and remained fixated on the game.

Lucio lifted a brow at him, stealing a handful of popcorn before meandering over back to his own chair. “What did we miss?”

Hana followed shortly after. “Yeah, how are things going with- OH!”

There was the sound of soft moaning from the Sims game, and both of them watched aghast as the bed on the screen bumped and writhed and giggled. Little hearts popped blipped up from the covers, and the blankets were soon pulled down to reveal Sim Jamie and Sim Mei looking adoringly at one another after a round of carnal bliss. Mei even sighed happily and reached out to stroke his jaw, muttering a satisfied little, “Mmm, na darnu pas noorny…” as Jamie uttered a very sexual growl.

Pausing with popcorn halfway to her mouth, Hana merely looked vaguely impressed. “Huh. That was actually pretty fast. I had to give Lucio like ten straight minutes of hugs and massages before he’d bang my Sim.”

“Hey, Sim-Me has standards,” Lucio said. “Gotta get those hugs.”

Junkrat looked up at them, biting one sharp fang into his lip and muffling a shriek of happy laughter. “Ya didn’t tell me there was rootin’ in this game! I was gettin’ all nice and spicy with Mei, even got to give her a kiss on the cheek. So I kissed her cheek a bunch of times, then I kissed her on the lips some. And then I saw Mei had this ‘woohoo’ thing, so I thought she wanted to party, you know? Like, celebrate, woohoo!”

Hana smirked. “…That’s actually super adorable, you thought she wanted a party?”

“Well…turns out she wanted to party all right! So uh…I’ve been making us woohoo since you been gone. Also some weird music started playing and this guy in a cloak showed up, but who gives a shit? So I went back to woohooing Mei—”

“Wait, guy in a cloak? Oh, damnit! Hold on, let me see—” She batted Junkrat’s hands away from her screen as he went to make woohoo yet again, and scrolled over towards the kitchen.

The kitchen was obliterated, little more than a fire-charred husk. Hanzo and the Grim Reaper was dancing to a stereo that had survived the blaze, completely ignoring the scene nearby where Angela, Torbjorn, and Hana were weeping pitifully over the scorched gravestones and piles of ash that had once been Lucio, Soldier, and Zarya. Genji, also scorched and black from battling the fire, lay passed out in exhaustion, snoring amongst the debris.

Lucio’s jaw dropped open. “I’m dead! I told you I was gonna die! Jamie, man, you killed me! You killed like four people while we were making popcorn!”

“Bad luck there, mate. Just had more important things to do. Oi, Hana, put it back on me and Mei. Where’s Mei’s bed, can we woohoo on there next?”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “Uh, why don’t I just let you borrow the game and then you can woohoo with virtual Mei and murder all your friends as much as you want?”

“Yeh! Sounds ace, thanks darl!”

“Hold on, this is for the game night records.” Pausing the game on the scene of utter house distraction and death, she spun Junkrat’s chair around and pulled Lucio in against her as she grabbed her phone. Snuggling the boys in on either side, she angled the picture so it was the three of them grinning in front of the Sim carnage, with her flashing the peace sign. “For all our dead Sim pals and Jamie’s woohoos. One, two, three, kimchiiii!”

“Kimchiii!”

She snapped the photo, looking down to the newest picture of game night, to add in to all the ones before…the ones with them laughing, eating, arguing, making faces, and the blurry one that Lucio had taken of Hana pinning a flailing Junkrat by the chest while he held the game control out of her reach.

Smiling, she scrolled through them. “That was a good one. I can’t believe the most successful game for you was The Sims. I never would have guessed it.”

“Nah, yeah. Educational game, this is. Lu was right about all the complimentin’ and chats and whatnot, before we get to the kissing and the woohooing. Got to approach the ladies slow-like, not spook them.”

“Uh huh,” Hana said. “Life lessons from The Sims. We’re all learning something tonight. I learned that the Grim Reaper and Hanzo have a lot in common, that Jamie isn’t housebroken, and that Lucio is super flammable.”

Lucio chuckled, wrapping both arms around her shoulders and kissing her neck, leaning to look through the pictures as well. “I died for a noble cause.”

Junkrat sighed dreamily. “I learned how many times I gotta compliment Mei for woohoo. Gotta try to remember that for later…”

“You know,” she suggested. “There’s more stuff you can do in this game besides death and woohoo? I mean you can have babies and get jobs and raise pets and all kinds of stuff. You can also dress everyone in hot dog outfits and make a prison compound where they are forced to make paintings and write erotic novels to fund your efforts to make one hundred babies with everyone in town.”

The two boys stared at her.

“But uh…How about we make a new household instead and I’ll show you the rest of the game, Jamie?”

“Can’t believe you were holdin’ out on me. This is the best game I ever heard of. Yeah, show me more Sims! Woohoo!”

#overwatch #the sims #junkrat #jamison fawkes #lucio #lucio correia dos santos #D.Va #hana song #fanfiction #writing #mei #mei-ling zhou #meihem #junkmei #meirat #bunnyribbit

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theroadtoindigo-go · 6 years ago

Text

Undesirable Truth, Part 8

When I woke up, it felt like I had been hit by a truck. My head was pounding and all my extremities felt heavy and ached. My wound was screaming at me and it had an echo in my hand. At least it wasn’t so hard to breathe anymore. I began opening my eyes, everything around me felt so soft and warm... too warm. Why was it so hot? I didn't want to wake up just yet, but the heat was becoming unbearable. I reluctantly opened my eyes and found myself under a mountain of pillows! There was just enough of a small opening near my face so that I could breathe but everything else was completely covered. I sat up uneasily, the excess pillows tumbled down from the hammock and onto the floor. I had expected to be on Sonic’s couch, but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in a hammock underneath Mt. Pillow & Blanket. There wasn’t any sound of the ocean but the breeze felt the same. I looked around and saw I was resting on the porch of a small cabin with a thatch roof. The hammock was set up between the two support beams for the porch. It was dark inside and really small, not much room for anything aside from a little stove for the kitchen and a little bed in the corner. It all looked hand made aside from the stove. I turned away from the dank little hut and saw it was in the middle of a tropical forest with palm trees swaying and bright greenery everywhere. I wondered if this was the place Sonic was talking about moving to. I finally climbed out of the pillow fort. As I rolled, an avalanche of pillows cascaded behind me. How does one even fit so many pillows in one hammock? And why? I carefully stumbled away from the hut; my legs were like noodles. There wasn’t any sign of my friends anywhere.

I stopped in the middle of the forest and wondered if maybe I should climb a tree to get a better view. I was still weary from the night before but my curiosity was getting the better of me. I started to climb the nearest tree and reached the first branch. I was struggling more than I thought I would, my injured arm was hurting with each movement so I stopped to rest. I looked up at the remaining distance I had to climb, I wasn’t even half way there. I looked down to start climbing back down and I was too far up to just jump. I didn’t have enough strength to climb down either. I sat there for a little while hoping that someone would find me up here. I watched spots of sunlight filter through the leaves and create a pattern on the ground. This wasn’t so bad after all and the breeze was a little stronger up in the trees.

Then I heard Knuckles call for me.

“I’m over here!” I called back.

He ran over, he was carrying a net full of mangos and had some branches and leaves stuck in his quills.

“What are you doing up there? I thought you were injured!” He scolded.

“I wanted to see where I was! So sue me for climbing a tree!” I pouted.

“Whatever, just get down here already. I got us breakfast.”

I shuffled a bit on my perch and tried to find a good foothold to start climbing down. There wasn’t much I could find. I sat back down and admitted:

“…I’m stuck.”

He laughed.

“Hey, shut up!” I exclaimed. “It’s not my fault you decided to leave me all alone!”

He set down his mango stash and started climbing up to get me as he still continued to chuckle.

“I leave you for one minute and you decide to get stuck in a tree?” He mused.

“Sh-shut up!”

“If I save you from here does that make me your hero? Or an honorary fireman?”

“Either way, you’re still a stupid jerk! Maybe I’ll kick you before you can reach me!”

“As if that would hurt?” He snorted and hoisted himself up to the branch I was sitting on.

I turned away and grumped at him.

“You want out of the tree or what?” He asked and reached for me.

I huffed and grabbed on. He lifted me onto his shoulders and climbed down. After setting me down he smirked.

“There!” He stated, “Now no more climbing trees for this little kitty.” He snickered and patted my head.

“Shut up! I’ll pull your tail again!”

He continued to laugh as he bent down to pick up the mangos, I wasn’t gonna let him off easy so I yanked his tail as a lesson.

He yelped and straighten his back.

“Hey! You leave that alone!” He exclaimed and batted my hand away.

“Quit laughing then! It’s not funny!”

“If you getting stuck in the tree isn’t funny, then I’m Froggy!”

“That’s it! You’ve earned it!” I dived for his tail again but he jumped out of the way.

I chased him around to try catching his tail, we danced around in a few circles before he took his breakfast and ran.

“Leave my tail alone!” He shouted.

“Call me a ‘little kitty’ again and I’ll put a knot in that tail!” I bellowed back as I chased him down.

“LITTLE KITTY!”

“GET YOUR SQUIGGLY TAIL BACK HERE, YOU BIG RED JERK!”

“It’s not SQUIGGLY!” He dropped the fruit and charged back at me.

I halted and stood ready. If it was a fight he wanted, it was a fight he was gonna get!

As soon as he was in range, I jumped to tackle him. It was enough to knock the wind out of him and he fell over onto his back. We both landed with an “OOF!”

After the dust settled, we looked at each other in surprise. He seemed shocked that I was able to topple him over. I was surprised too. We started to laugh. As he slowly sat up, he ruffled the fur on top of my head and stated,

“Looks like you still have a few surprises left in you.”

We got up and sat in front of the little hut to eat breakfast. As we ate together, I remembered to ask my questions.

“So, where are we?”

He grinned and puffed his chest a little bit and replied.

“We’re on Angel Island! This is my home!”

“You live in a makeshift shack on a tiny island?” I commented.

His pride deflated immediately.

“It’s not a tiny island! And what’s wrong with my house? I’d like to see you build a better one!”

He seemed very offended so I decided to leave the subject alone.

“Where is everyone?”

“Hmph…” he settled back down then replied, “Sonic and Tails are busy moving their house somewhere new and Amy’s moving too. They all thought it would be better if I took you home with me so you’d have a stable place to recover… How’s your arm doing?”

“Oh,” I quickly took a look at it, it seems he had replaced the bandages while I was asleep. “It’s a little sore still but it feels a lot better than last night.”

“Good.” He looked relieved, “It looked pretty bad when I stitched it back together.”

“YOU PUT STITCHES IN MY ARM?”

“Calm down! It was only a couple to keep it from healing weird, you should be thanking me!”

I started to feel queasy again, I shouldn’t have eaten all that mango!

“I can’t believe you ruined my arm!” I held it in grief.

“I didn’t ruin it! I fixed it! Are you gonna quit belly-aching about it already or are you going to pass out again?”

“I’ll have you know I lost a lot of blood! I don’t just pass out like that!”

“If it was blood loss then why are you totally fine today?”

“I… I don’t know! I’m not a doctor!”

“I’m not either and even I know it wasn’t blood loss that made you pass out.”

“What are you insinuating?” I growled and narrowed my eyes.

“Uh…”

“Choose your words carefully, echidna!”

“…Maybe yer just a-!”

“Don’t say it!”

He snickered, “A scaredy-cat.”

“AAAH! That’s it!” I lunged at him and started pulling his quills.

“Ow! Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Teaching you a lesson!”

He laughed and shoved me back, “That’s cute, but fun’s over. I’ve got work to do and you’ve gotta rest! And all this tree climbing and chasing me around probably hasn’t been helping.”

He picked me up under his arm and started carrying me from the house toward the thicker part of the woods.

“Hey! Put me down! Where are you taking me?” I demanded.

“I’m taking you to the Master Emerald.” He stated. “It’s my job to look after it and I obviously can’t leave you alone or else you’ll get stuck in another tree!” He started to snicker again.

“Hey! That’s not funny!” I punched his gut to try getting him to drop me, he only flinched.

“Pfff! You trying to hit me? All that does is tickle!”

“Shut up!”

He continued to laugh as he kept walking.

Amongst the trees there were gigantic mushrooms that were just as tall, if not taller than the trees themselves. I wondered if it was healthy to hang around them or not. In the distance there as a stone pyramid hidden within the foliage with a large green gem displayed at the top.

“Is that the Master Emerald?” I asked.

“Yup.”

“Why are you supposed to look after it?”

“I’m the guardian!” He said proudly.

“Mm’kay… does it do anything special or is it just a big shiny rock?”

“Well, sometimes- and only sometimes, if someone pure of heart asks the Master Emerald for help it will grant them power.”

“…Can I ask it to make me taller and stronger than you?”

He chuckled, “Nice try, Tiny! But it only listens to the pure of heart, remember?”

“I can be pure of heart! Just gotta make sure you aren’t around first.” I elbowed his stomach and he chuckled again.

As we were getting closer and closer to the pyramid my aches and pains were getting worst. My whole arm felt like it was burning. It was getting hard to breathe again and my limbs felt thick and heavy, like they were filled with cement. Knuckles must have heard me wheezing.

“You doing okay, Tiny?”

“I don’t know… It’s hard to breathe.”

“Hm… When we get to the top of the shrine the air should be clearer. I guess you’re more sensitive to the mushroom spores than I thought.”

“Who you calling sensitive, Big Baby?!” I jabbed his stomach again.

We weren’t even two steps closer and everything felt so hot. I asked Knuckles to set me down so I could rest on the ground for a bit. My vision was getting dark and all my other senses were being swallowed up in what I could only describe as a pulsing pressure wave that kept hammering me over and over. I looked at my hand, it looked like it was burned or something. Wasn’t that the hand that held the chaos emerald last night?

“…Chaos energy.” I managed to mutter.

“Tiny...?” Knuckles asked as he helped me sit up, “Geez, your heating up… Was it the mangos?”

I was too busy gasping for air to answer but I gave him a look that said enough. The mangos? As if.

“I’ll… take you down to the beach! The air should be clear there!”

As he was picking me back up, I felt a surge in the pressure oppressing me, it was like my body gave up trying to function through it.

When my senses returned, I heard the sound of ocean waves and the wind whipping at my face. I cracked my eyes open to find that Knuckles had rushed me to the shore of the island and was carrying me waist deep into the waves.

“…You’re gonna toss me into the ocean?” I croaked.

He looked at me with concern, “You doing okay? I didn’t know what else to do! When you said something about chaos energy, thought maybe getting you as far from the Master Emerald was best…”

I lifted my burned hand to show him what I meant, “I held the chaos emerald in this hand last night.”

He took a closer look, “Hm, you think the chaos emerald did this to you?”

I nodded.

“But that doesn’t make any sense! Why would…?” He stopped himself and thought for a moment, he turned very solemn. “Did Eggman do anything to you before we could save you?”

“No, I didn’t give him the chance!” I smirked wanly. My condition wasn’t improving much but I could at least breathe and talk for a little while.

He smiled, “I bet you didn’t! You feeling better?”

“Not by much. But I think I’ll be alright.”

“I guess in that case, I’ll take you back to the house and you can rest there while I go guard the Master Emerald. Think you can resist climbing any trees until I get back?”

“I’ll do my very best…” I griped.

I spent the whole rest of the day napping in the hammock. Knuckles never did explain what Mt. Pillow was all about, but I didn’t have any strength left in me to ask. For a majority of my naps, I was bombarded hour after hour by the same pressure that I suspected was chaos energy. I couldn’t get any rest because of it. By the time Knuckles had come back to check on me I was considerably weaker. He pressed his palm to my forehead; I was sweating buckets and shivering.

“You have a fever. This isn’t good!” He muttered and rushed into the house.

I didn’t dare turn my head to look, even doing that made me dizzy. I could barely hear past the muffling chaos energy, but I knew Knuckles was rummaging through his belongings to find something. I was fading in and out of consciousness. He came back a held up something to my face, it was a cup, I think? He urged me to drink from it, the liquid inside was the worst thing I had ever tasted. I cringed as soon as it reached my tongue and I spit it out. He was not happy about that. Before he could urge me again, I willingly slipped into unconsciousness, anything to keep that nasty grog away was welcome.

Round three of waking up in a new place, I was feeling significantly better. Cured in fact. I was able to sit up, my clothes stuck to my back with the residue of cold sweat from my fever but my head still ached. My vision was a bit blurry at first, but as it cleared, I saw I was in a little clearing in the forest next to a shallow pool of clean water. With all the perspiring I had been doing, I was extremely thirsty. My throat was so dry that I could hardly swallow. I shuffled over to the pool and started to drink. I really didn’t care if it was safe to drink at this point. I used a little bit to clean my face then I looked around for Knuckles. He had to be here right? He was this time thankfully. I saw him asleep next to where I was resting. I looked up at the sky, it seemed it was dawn. Did I really get sick for an entire day?

From the bushes I heard a rustling noise, I turned to look in a panic then saw a small round creature peaking out from the underbrush. It almost seemed like a little baby. Soon there were more peaking through the leaves. I counted at least twenty! I thought maybe I should wake Knuckles in case these small baby looking things were not something I should be interacting with. But when I turned to wake him, I found that they had already reached him and were playing with his quills. Snuggling up under his arms and generally being affectionate. Were they his pets? A red one with little dreads, a white crest mark and a tail that looked just like Knuckles’ waddled its way over to me and looked up as if to challenge me. I squinted my eyes back.

“Hello there…” I greeted cantankerously.

It flinched back then pouted, I laughed, it pouted just like Knuckles too!

“Oh~! You must be his favorite!” I teased and poked his little cheek.

He didn’t seem to like that so I settled with gently petting the top of his head. He liked that a little better.

Now the other creatures were making their way over to inspect me as the newcomer. They seemed to like me better now that I was a source of pets and attention. Soon they were climbing all over me and cooing for my attentiveness as I tried my best to keep up with all the demands. All the while Knuckles’ favorite sat in my lap like a little king. With all the noise, Knuckles started to wake up. As soon as he groaned and turned over. All the little babies cheered and ran over to him, now cooing at him to get him to wake up and play. They definitely were his pets. He woke up with a smile and said.

“You guys are all up already? You must be really excited to see me, huh?”

He opened one eye and gently patted the head of one of the little ones that was nudging his cheek to wake him. He then slowly sat up and stretched his arms but as soon as he saw me here, the gruff persona came back up and his content smile disappeared.

“Your pets are really cute!” I stated.

“They’re not my pets! They’re chao. The island’s chao. I just hang around them a lot, that’s all.”

He looked over and saw Mini-Knuckles was still in my lap and tisked as if he had seen a traitor.

“Are you feeling any better?” He asked.

“Yeah, way better! You didn’t pour that gross stuff down my throat while I was asleep, did you?”

“First of all, that ‘gross stuff’ was a healing tea passed down by generations of echidnas and it’s better than any modern medicine by a long shot! Second of all, no! I didn’t. Wish I’d thought of that though…”

“Are we off the island or something? I don’t feel the chaos energy anymore.”

“We’re still on the island. You can thank the chao for that.”

I looked at him questioningly, how did these little baby bloops help with my illness?

Knuckles stood up and stretched his back, “I’m going into the forest to grab some breakfast. You wanna come along?”

Before I could answer all the little chao cheered in agreement and started following him toward the forest.

“Wait, I didn’t mean you guys! Come on!” He chuckled, the smile from earlier slowly making its way back as he picked up handfuls of them and tried to corral them back into the clearing. They climbed out of his arms and scurried back to the forest like little ducklings.

“They’re a stubborn bunch, aren’t they?” I commented then stood up with Mini-Knux in my arms and started to follow them. “Why don’t we all go together?”

The chao cheered. How could anyone say no?

We searched the woods for a worthy breakfast. Knuckles did most of the searching while I watched, it was pretty entertaining. He’d look around for fruit and the chao would bring him branches and rocks to look at.

“No, guys! Fruit! Breakfast. We can’t play right now.” He said and climbed up a tree to look for fruit.

He climbed like a natural! I didn’t really notice his skills the first time because I was so embarrassed but he could climb a ten-foot-tall tree and come back down in the matter of a minute and not even break a sweat. Maybe if I felt better later, he could show me his secret.

“Any luck?” I asked when he climbed back down.

“No, I was hoping for more mangos but I guess these guys ate most of the fruit around here. That’s fine though, I think I know a place.” He brushed himself off and noticed that Mini-Knux was in my arms. “Looks like he warmed up to you pretty quick… He usually doesn’t like being held.”

“He and I have that in common! What’s his name anyway?”

“He doesn’t have one.”

“What?!” I asked incredulously.

“I don’t name any of the chao! They’re not mine, remember?”

“But he looks just like you! He has to be your pet!”

“Well he isn’t! He just hung around me too much, that’s why he looks like that!”

“Okay, then he’ll be my pet! And then I’m gonna name him!”

Knuckles scoffed, “You can’t do that…”

I lifted Mini Knuckles up and looked right in his cute, little, adorable eyes.

“I name you…! Knuckles Junior!” I started to laugh.

“Very funny…” Knuckles grumbled. “You wanna help me find food or are you gonna baby the chao all day?”

“Why not both?”

“You can’t do both! Let’s go!” He started on his way through the jungle and I followed with our little entourage behind us. We went deeper into the thick of the forest where the trees were much older and therefore bigger. He picked a tree and climbed up so high into the branches that I couldn’t even see him anymore.

I waited below, looking for him until a pear dropped from above and hit my head. Pear after pear fell from the swaying branches above each one landing on me with a thud. I tried to avoid them as the chao celebrated and reached up to catch their falling breakfast. I rushed to the trunk to avoid getting hit by any more fruit, I could’ve sworn he was aiming for me. After he climbed down (and snickering the whole way, I might add) we all sat down to eat. I could finally ask him my questions.

“How did the chao help with my chaos energy problem?”

Knuckles answered between bites. “Chao naturally collect in places with high chaos energy and disperse it. Those places are called chao gardens. After the chaos energy is leveled out, they move on to the next one. Not sure how it works but I hoped bringing you to them would help. Looks like it did.”

“So basically, I was being poisoned by chaos energy and they sucked it all up?”

Knuckles nodded.

“How’d they do that?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I think they just absorb it by being there? Maybe they store it like little batteries or something. Tails would probably know, but I know for a fact that chao really like chaos energy and that they have a knack for calming it down.” He got really quiet then said, “You had me really worried yesterday…”

I sighed, “I know… Do you want me to leave the island?”

“No. I just… didn’t think keeping you around the Master Emerald would be a problem. I mean, it’s never really happened before! It’s just that… if it hadn’t been for the chao you would’ve…” He looked extremely troubled; his fists were clenched tightly.

“Hey, don’t go thinking like that! There’s no way you could’ve known and I probably would’ve been okay anyway.”

“Cherry, listen!” His eyes pierced right through me; did they always look that way? “When I brought you here to my island you became my responsibility! I don’t ever want to see you hurt like that again and I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen, understand?”

I was extremely unsure of how to answer or what he meant by this.

He settled back down and his eyes returned to his half-eaten pear, “By the way, I want to start training you to fight. I don’t want you to get stuck in another spot where you can’t defend yourself either!”

Training? With Knuckles? ...So, this was how I’d die.

“Do I really have to?”

“Yes.”

“Well, okay… Just try to take it easy on me-”

“I won’t.”

“…Thanks.”

I was terrified at the thought of training with Knuckles. As we returned to his little makeshift hut, I dreaded the experience though the constant presence of the chao did a lot to soften the edge. Knuckle brought me inside and rummaged through a dusty old chest.

“First things first, you can’t train in a blood-stained dress.”

I looked down at my clothes in surprise. Oh yeah, I really was still in the dress. I hoped the stains would wash out but it looked pretty bad.

“Here!” He threw an old T-shirt my way. “You can use my winter clothes for now.”

“You only wear clothes in the winter?” I commented as I held the shirt to look at it. It was threadbare with patches and stains here and there. It was definitely too big for me, but it would work as a makeshift dress for now.

“Well, yeah. It gets too cold not to.” Knuckles took the chao and stepped outside so I could change.

Once I had, I walked out to find Knuckles had drawn a circle in the dirt in front of the house and was standing in the middle. I waited.

“You ready to train or what?” He asked.

“What’s with the circle?”

“It’s to keep the chao out. I told them not to cross the line.”

I snickered and stepped in.

“Okay, let’s go over the basics.” Knuckles began. “You might not have a lot of strength yet but if you get the basics down, then that won’t matter.” He stepped over to me. “Show me your fists.”

I clenched my hands and held them up for him to look. He held my left hand and pointed to the knuckles of my index and middle fingers.

“You’re first two knuckles are what you punch with. Aim those at whatever you’re punching at and you’ll do the damage you want.” I nodded and he let my hand go. He held up the palm of his right hand and continued. “Okay, I want you to punch my hand as hard as you can.”

“Wha-! But I! I can’t do that!”

He chuckled, “Relax, it’s not like it’s gonna hurt or anything.”

“You sayin’ I ain’t strong??”

He smirked and his voice raised several octaves, it became obvious he was mocking me, “YoU sAid iT nOt Me-!” He batted his eyelashes as he said it and pursed his lips to try making that kitty face that I SWEAR I DO NOT MAKE!

I punched him in the nose as hard as I could. He backed up a couple of steps and held his face. I thought for sure he was gonna be mad but he started to laugh and looked back at me.

“That was pretty good! Even if it did feel like a little kitten swat!”

“Shut up! It’s not funny! I’ll hit you again!”

Knuckles was a very patient and methodical teacher. He showed me how to stand for a fight, how to punch properly and encouraged me to practice on him, something I was very keen on doing. We spent the whole day training! To anyone else it would have been a chore but the more we did it the more fun we had. Once I had the basics down, we started sparring. Although by sparring I mean, he encouraged me to try out new moves and use what I had learned while he play-fought at me. I would jab him in the chest and he’d chuckle and swipe at me as slowly as he could. I ducked underneath and jabbed him again.

“Good job using your size to your advantage! Staying close keeps me from using my height against you.” He commented. “You ready for this?” He asked and slowly jabbed at me.

I ducked down as quick as I could and landed a left hook into his stomach and he actually had to back away.

“Oof, I actually felt that! You’re getting pretty good! How’s your arm?”

I quickly looked at the bandage, there was some blood soaking through.

“Oh…” I started to tug at the wrappings.

“Let’s take a rest for now. I’ll wrap that back up for you.”

He started a little camp fire and threw down a log for us to sit on. I sat down and he brought over a box full of medical supplies. I watched the fire grow as he unwrapped my bandage, I didn’t dare look in case I caught a glimpse of the stitch work he did. The air was gaining a chill as the sun was slowly setting. The chao who had been playing their own games all day were now all tuckered out and curling up to sleep.

“It’s healing up pretty well.” Knuckles commented.

He got out a little stone bowl and poured in a dark green powder from a plastic bag he had in the box. Before I could ask him what it was for, he spat into the bowl mixed the spit and powder together, smeared some onto his thumb and was about to apply it to my wound before I jerked my arm away.

“What are you doing??” I nearly shouted. “What even is that stuff?!”

“It’s disinfectant! I’m helping your arm!”

“No way! That stuff’s gonna give me an infection!”

“No, it’s not-!”

“You spit in it!”

“Of course, I did! That’s how it works! Will you just hold still already?”

“You’re not putting that on my arm!”

“You wanna get better or not?”

I pouted in response.

“Remember all that punching you did? Without this stuff on your arm it’s gonna hurt a lot more tomorrow!”

I sighed. “…Fine.” I gave him my arm and he started to apply the paste. It stung on contact but at least that meant it was working...I think. “What is that stuff anyway?”

“There’s a special plant that grows on the island, I grind it up and use it for stuff like this.”

“How’d you figure out to do that?”

“My ancestors did.”

“Oh… So, how come Amy, Sonic and Tails and well… basically everyone have houses and you’ve got this little shack?”

He was quiet for a long time. He finished with the paste and was now wrapping up my arm in a new bandage when he answered.

“There’s no one else living on the island so I had to build everything myself. I have a few other living places but this one was closest to the Master Emerald so…” He finished tying the wrapping. “There we go.”

“Wait! You live here all alone?”

“Yep.”

“Why? Wouldn’t you rather live in the city with everyone else?”

“I never liked the city, it’s too loud and crowded.” He set down his things and settled down on the ground, using the log as a head-rest. “All those bright lights that are always on, the constant noise, and just the way it feels to be there… It’s not the life for me.”

“But what about the village?” I took a seat next to him, “That place was pretty peaceful.”

He chuckled, “You mean before you let all hell break loose? I’m the guardian of the Master Emerald, I can’t just stop living on Angel Island! Who would protect the Master Emerald if I’m gone?”

“That never stopped you from the leaving the island before.” I sniped.

“Th-those were different! I was only leaving for a short time! Besides! I always make sure to hide the Master Emerald before I leave!”

“So why don’t you hide it and then live off island?”

He sent me a stern glare, “I belong here, Tiny! There’s nothing changing that.”

I dropped the subject for now, he was as stubborn as usual. We had some of the leftover pears for dinner and settled into the hut for the night. He took the bare mattress in the corner of the shack, there were piles of pillows and blankets on top. That explains Mt. Pillow a bit. He probably slept with as many as he could to feel comfortable. I climbed back into the hammock and tried to sleep.

There were a lot of strange noises at night, some constant, some only a one-time thing that would startle me and keep me awake for hours. On top of all that, it was cold in the hammock. I curled up into a tight ball to try to keep some warmth but there was nothing I could do to sleep. Eventually I climbed out of the hammock to go wake Knuckles. As soon as my feet hit the floor, he whispered:

“You’re still up?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“How come you slept like a rock when I was working on Metal, but you wake up at the sound of a chao’s sneeze now?!”

He sat up and rubbed his eye, “I’m the guardian, it’s what I do. Why are you still up?”

“It’s cold!” I whined.

“You need a blanket?”

“I had three!” I heard a screech from the woods and jumped.

“Don’t worry it’s just an owl.” He muttered. “…You’re scared too, aren’t you?”

I couldn’t see his face but I knew he was getting all smug about it.

“Quiet you! It’s not my fault I’ve never lived in a shrieking jungle!”

I could hear his muffled snickered before he said, “Alright, alright, you can sleep next to me. It’s warmer on this side of the house anyway.”

“You mean shack? Besides, I don’t wanna share no stinky bed with you! You’re a big jerk!”

“Suit yourself~” He turned over to go back to sleep.

A breeze drifted in under the door and stole yet another piece of what little warmth I had left.

I huffed, “Okay, scoot over!”

He made room for me on the worn-out mattress and I snuggled in. It was nice to be warm again at least.

“Hey! Keep your frozen tail to yourself!” He grunted.

I started to laugh and tried to push him out of the bed.

“Heeeey!” He tried to push me off instead.

I dug into the corner to keep my ground but got lost in a pile of pillows. He sat up.

“Are you gonna let me sleep or are you gonna try to kick me out of my own bed all night?” He huffed.

“I can do both!” I retorted and tried to sit up, but the mass of pillows was an impressive force to reckon with. “Why do you have so many pillows?!” I exclaimed and tried to thrash my way out of the sinkhole I was slipping into.

He started to laugh and reached over to help me out. “Too small for even my pillows, are you?” He pulled me up and threw a blanket over me. “There! Now go to sleep.”

“Don’t tell me what to do…” I muttered and curled up in the corner to sleep.

I felt a lot better sleeping next to Knuckles, somehow, I felt safer. Protected. The sounds of the forest creatures bothered me less and less as my heart-rate dropped. I could close my eyes without worrying if something was going to sneak up on me. The warmth under the blankets and pillows protected me from the chill of the night as my breathing steadied into a metered rhythm that marched me into a much-needed rest.

. . .

Thank you for reading! :D

You can find previous chapters here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13241826/1/Undesirable-Truth

#sonic the hedgehog #Knuckles the Echidna #fanfiction #undesirable truth

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personher · 4 years ago

Text

Ateez based fluff and angst. Sorry it took so long to post. My tumbler wasn't working for the longest time. Anyways, enjoy! Also, near the middle to end, it gets a little suggestive. Nothing happens though, so don't worry!😁 Enjoy. This is the first two parts so, yeah. There will be a few parts. I don't know how many tho. Bye

Ateez-

I woke up to the sunlight hitting my eyes.

"Good Morning Y/N ." I hear Jong-ho say in a groggy voice. "You okay? You've been twisting and turning all night." "I'm fine." I said.

I got up to go to the bathroom. As soon as I stand up I feel a sharp pain in my top right abdomen. I whinced. "Aw shirt!"

"Are you okay!?!?" Jong-ho yelled. "Just fine." I lied, trying to hide the pain I was in. I go to the bathroom. I felt like throwing up, not to mention, I had been constipated.

Later, during breakfast, I wasn't even hungry. Everything hurt. This has been happening lately. My best friend, Jong-ho finally had a break from Ateez. He chose to spend some time with me so I didn't want to ruin it. My best friend deserved a great vacation and I was going to provide!

He came over last night to watch movies. I made him some dinner too. Today, we were gonna go to the pool and swim a little. Later we will go out for lunch at a restaurant. Then we will cuddle and watch more movies. Next, we have board and card games.

After skipping breakfast (witch I rarely skip) Jong-ho started to raise his suspicion. I figured I must just have a weird case of food poisoning. Not that big of a deal, right?

We got to the pool and just sat on the chairs for a while. It was nice for a while, until a full but fierce pain hit my top right abdomen. I won't say anything, I thought to myself, I'm not going to ruin this for him. We got into the pool, well, he got into the pool. I started to get up but It hurt waaaaaaaaaay to much.

"I'll just stay here. I don't want to get in just yet"

"But you said you couldn't wait to get in earlier!"

"That was earlier!" I fake laughed, trying to sound as convincing as possible. Trying to pass as fine was hard.

After and hour of just laying on the chairs, I finally got in the pool. It was almost 11 o'clock already and I didn't want to leave without taking a dip.

Jong-ho being the playful baby he is decided the he was gonna dunk me. His intentions were good but I was in a lot of pain so him moving me around wasn't the best. He came up behind me and ouch d my shoulders down. I started to say ow but was quickly underwater. I didn't hold my breath so now I was freaking out. He saw me panicking and pulled me out. Me trying to laugh between coughs so he thought I was having fun.

I told him that I was okay and that he didn't harm me. He looked his suspicious eye past me for now thinking it won't be that big of a deal.

We got out and dried ourselves, changing into our clothes. I drove us to this fancy new restaurant that opened up last month. I had made a reservation in advance.

As we were driving, I felt so nauseous. Probably just motion sickness, right? When we got there, we were shown to our seats in a private area of the restaurant. Not.many people were there that day.

After ordering food, we made some small talk. We talked about our future and how we hope to stay friends for life. We talked about how we had crushes and how we wanted to have crushes. We talked about the dating ban as well. He liked this girl but he won't say who.

"This girl is gorgeous and smart and brave." He is whipped for this girl, I swear! "And I love this girl because she sooooo smart and brave and stuff!" I said in a mocking way. "Don't worry, I'm just teasing!" I giggled.

The food finally arrived. Jong-ho finished his food in thirty minutes where as I had barley even started. "Aren't you hungry?" He asked me. "No, I had some food when you were in the pool." I replied hoping he would bye my lie.

"Really, I didn't see you. Are you afraid to eat around me or something?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I just wasn't hungry till then. I'll eat this later."

"O.. okay, if you say so. But I don't want you to just watch me eat. I want you to eat." He said. Jong-ho is the sweetest. I'm such a simp for him.

I asked the server to pack up our food and left with Jong-ho back to my apartment. We watched movies, played games, and talked to each other.

Funny, time for bed. My aching body can rest for a while. "You can take a shower first, as long as you don't hit all the hot water."

"Okay if you say so. I promise I won't."

He went off to the shower. How hot do you think that is? Jong-ho, in the steamy shower. Soap running down his body. What would he wash first? And how would he wash it?

Wait, I should not be daydreaming about him like this! This is not ok! I snapped out of it just in time. That's when I heard the door click. He came out of my room, wet hair dripping onto the towel in his shoulders. This much hottness in one person should not be allowed!

"Hey, your turn. Are you feeling well y/n? Your face is red." Jong-ho spoke

"I'm okay, just feeling a little hot. I'll take my showered now. Maybe I'll cool down." I proceed to go inside my shower, turning on the water, getting the soap, rinsing my hair out. So on and so fourth. It hit me again. This pain in my side. It hurt so bad, I almost fell.

"Aaah!" I yelled. I don't know what Jonho assumed, but when I walked out of the shower, his face was red. I sat down next to him and laid on his shoulder. He seemed so uncomfortable and I didn't know why.

"Are you okay Jong-ho?"

"Yeah." His voice said in a wearily way.

"You sure? Because your face is really red and your voice sounds kinda weird.

"Yeah I just didn't expect you to, well, do stuff in the shower." His face now red as a tomato.

"What do you think I did in the shower?"

"Well, you know, you sounded like you were… well…."

"Well what? What did you think?"

"Well, maybe your were *mumbles* touching yourself." He mumbled the last part so I didn't hear.

"You might wanna mumble softer." I said

"I thought you were touching yourself!" He practically yelled

Now my fave is bright red

"It just sounded like you were doing stuff and maybe got a bit loud. I didn't think you were gonna do that with me here. Not that I'm shaming or anything but like I didn't know you were really like THAT needy or whatever and-"

"Woah there, I was not doing THAT! A shampoo bottle just fell on my foot. Okay, jeez, wow Jong-ho, and I thought you were inocent. You know you just openly admitted to being a bit dirty minded!" I laughed. Laughing hurt as well.

We tuck ourselves into bed and cuddle after that weird conversation.

The next morning I wake up in so much pain. I'm crying it hurts so much. Luckily Jong-ho isn't up yet. I stumbled my way to the bathroom, almost throwing up. "J, j.. Jonho "sniff* I'm sorry." I wisper. I cans till hear his small snores. They warm my heart as sitting next to the toilet, throwing up anything I could.

*Knock knock* "y/n? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said with a wavery voice and in-between sniffles.

"No your not, I'm coming in now."

"No, stop, I'm fine. I'll be out soon!" I said just a little bit too late. As he walked in, I tried to clean myself up. His eyes were wide, "y..y/n? What happened? Are you okay? Why didn't you tell me you were sick? We could've stayed home yesterday."

"No, it's fine. Just probably ate something bad."

" You didn't really eat anything yesterday." He said in a worried tone. Coming over to me with arms open, he hugs me and rubs my head before saying, "Y/n, your burning up!"

Another really big wave of pain hits my side making me tear up. Jong-ho's worries expression only get more intense. "Y/n, how long has this been going on?"

"A few days now." I said

"Maybe we should take you to the emergency room."

"But I don't wanna ruin this for you."

"You can't because I'm with you. When I'm with you, I'm happy."

He drove me to the emergency room, bring a bucket with so that I don't puke in his car. Once we got there, I told them my story. They got me a room immediately, saying it might be my appendix witch was very serious.

They checked me out and confirmed that it was my appendix. I had to go through surgery almost immediately. "Hey Jong-ho, don't worry too much. I'll be alright."

"I know, but I just,..... Your my best friend! I just hope it goes well. I really….. value you!"

"Jong-ho, your being weird. What did the doctor say?"

"Nothing, just worried about you. I've known you for what, 5 years now? I'm not gonna be okay if your not." He said as he started to tear up.

"Miss. Y/n, are you ready?" The doctor said

"Yeah, bye Jong-ho. Go home and rest. See you soon."

"Bye, I'll miss you." Jong-ho replied and with haste, made his way out of my room in the hospital.

~~~~~~~~~~~~three hours later~~~~~~~~~~

"Y/n, are you okay?!?!?" I heard a frantic but familiar voice say.

"What time is it?" I say, finally opening my eyes.

"It's Jong-ho, the rest of Ateez is here too."

"Ah, why are they here, I look horrible!" I said while I heard a few people laugh.

"Nice to see you again y/n. It's been a few weeks. We all miss you coming to our practices and such." Hongjoon said.

"Really, you just miss the free food." I said while laughing. Someone snickered along with me. Laughing kind hurt.

Later, still in the hospital, I ordered some ice cream. Everybody exept of Jong-ho, Yunho, and Hong-joon had left. It was quite. Nobody really talked. They were all occupied with their phones and a book.

"Hey, I'm bored. Do you wanna play a game?" I said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I have some uno cards in my pocket." Yunho spoke.

"Why?" Hongjoon said

"Don't know, I just had them."

So we started playing uno. It was fun. It passed three hours of my time. Three hours of uno only felt like five minutes to me. That's when the doctor came in to check up on me. The others had to leave the room so that the doctor could check me out. You're going to have to stay here for a few more days. We have to monitor you." He said in a surprisingly calm way.

He left and the others came back in.

"So, what did he say?" Jong-ho asked.

"I'm going to stay here for like three more days so they can monitor me and stuff. Fun." I said sarcastically.

"Oh, more cards?" Yunho suggested.

"No, I'm good. You should probably get going. You still have to go to dance practice and voice lessons, right?" I said.

They nodded yes and we said our goodbyes. It was quite again. I decided to take a nap.

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