#( I HOPE THIS WORKS i was buzzing about who to throw ren at but i'm super indecisive )

[erabundus]

the  wanderer  operates  beneath  a  veneer  of  relative  apathy  —  that  indifference  his  shield,  and  sharp  tongue  his  sword.  he  drifts  about,  seemingly  UNCONCERNED  with  the  goings  on  around  him.  more  preoccupied  with  whatever  unexplained  motive  takes  precedence  in  his  own  mind.  however,  to  say  he  doesn't  care  would  be  a  grave  misinterpretation  of  his  character.  there  are  several  things  the  wanderer  holds  dear  to  his  nonexistent  heart  —  things  he  will  fight  tooth  and  nail  to  DEFEND.  sumeru  just  so  happens  to  be  one  of  them.

... and  sumeru  only  has  room  enough  for  one  wandering  eccentric  garbed  in  strange  attire.

❝  who  do  you  think  you're  trying  to  FOOL?  ❞   he's  been  lurking  around  for  quite  some  time  now,  a  figure  peering  eerily  at  this  stranger  from  the  shadows  and  outermost  edges  of  every  crowd.  try  as  he  might,  ren  can't  quite  seem  to  string  together  a  proper  MOTIVE  —  only  that  his  intuition  (  as  that  detective  would  say  )  is  all  but  screaming  something  is  off.  perhaps  a  direct  approach  is  a  little  inelegant  for  his  liking,  but  the  wanderer  admits  he  hasn't  exactly  been  subtle  about  his  suspicion  to  begin  with.   ❝  you're  up  to  SOMETHING;  anyone  with  eyes  can  see  that.  ❞

@unboundtravels &&. liked for a SMALL STARTER.

[y2kuromi]

࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 LOVE LETTERS ?! O2: stars aligned,

synopsis: love is a foreign concept, often hard to express in words. except your feelings poured into the sweetest letters, intended for your eyes only. when the saccharine envelopes are mailed out to the five boys you've loved sparks fly, hearts break and chaos ensues. "heavily inspired by tatbilb"

𝖎. series: seishiro nagi x f! reader (she/they) | wc: 7.0k | contents : fake dating trope. kinda? forced proximity. toxic/fake friends, heavy pining. second person (you/your/yours) swearing in italics.

𝖎𝖎. notes: pretend it’s been two days and not two months since i updated this… so sorry wth

⇆ series masterlist prev: parallel lines next: call me baby

MONDAY,

. . . ❀ the weekend dragged on in a hazy blur of ignoring texts and staying curled up in the confines of your bed watching old shoujos, but you couldn’t forget your current predicament.

it felt like a recurring nightmare. and you half wished it was. but it was real. the sick feeling in your stomach. the constant buzzing of your phone. and rensuke kunigami standing outside your house.

your hands faltered, your spoon filled with cereal suspended in the air. the eerie sound of milk dripping off the metal echoed in the kitchen

he was outside your house. of course he was. the two of you always walked to school together. your spoon clattered into your bowl, splashing white droplets onto the kitchen counter

“should i let him in?” your mom asked, the scent of her warm lavender body mist filled the kitchen with a false sense of hope

“no!” you shook your head fervently, “i can’t talk to him mom, i don’t even want to go to school today.”

“you can’t avoid him forever” she sighed, “i told you i didn’t like that kiyomi girl constantly sleeping over, now look what’s happened”

you groaned, pushing your half eaten bowl of cereal away from you. “can you just get him to leave — please?”

your mom exhaled loudly, but she set her phone on the counter and drifted out of the kitchen. you could faintly hear the door opening in the distance and muffled dialogue between them. she returned shortly, with her lips pressed in a thin line and her arms folded across her chest.

you glanced at your phone, watching a notification from kunigami pop up on your lockcreen. you felt awful. you could vividly picture the dejected look fleeting across his face when your mom lied to him

+ 1 new message from: ren you went to school without me?

“you have to sort this mess out” your mom said, shaking her head, “kunigami’s a good kid, don’t throw away your friendship over something so fickle”

“‘s not that easy mom” you frowned, pushing yourself off the stool and smoothing your neatly ironed skirt down, “but i’ll try”

“what are you going to do about meguru and that kid you used to be close with?” she asked, raising a brow as you slung your school bag over your shoulder

you had been ignoring bachira's texts as well, you knew deep down he didn’t deserve it. he'd been really sweet about everything , even going as far as to offer to send his letter back to you. but you couldn't bring yourself to respond.

“who, nagi?” you asked, tilting your head to the side, she hummed in response. “i’ll avoid him too. it shouldn’t be hard, i doubt he’ll go out of his way to talk to me”

"are you sure about that?" she queried, "his letter was pretty intense"

"yeah i'm sure- wait." you narrowed your eyes, "did you read my letters mom?"

"they were cute" she smiled warmly, "you really should get better at hiding things, not that it matters now,"

"thanks" you said through gritted teeth, turning on your heel and making your way towards the front door "i'll be home late, i have to work extra hours to cover my shifts"

"have a good day at school" she called, "or at least try to!"

. . . ❀ you slumped against your desk dejectedly . having a double period of economics first thing in the morning after a subpar weekend seemed like a 'gift' from the devil himself. a gift that went unappreciated, you had suffered enough

it had its silver lining, kunigami wasn't in any of your morning classes. nagi and kiyomi, on the other hand were in some of the classes you had lined up throughout the day. kiyomi rarely attended physical education and you would simply sit beside reo in geography. nagi tended to skip physical education to play video games, he’d be asleep in history too — so that wasn’t a problem.

you heard the scraping sound of the chair beside you being pulled backwards, (e/c) eyes landing on reo mikage. he looked as good as ever, his hair slightly damp from his shower after soccer training and the everpresent scent of his woodsy perfume engulfing him in a soft cloud.

"your hair's wet mikage" you said languidly, your head resting in the cavern of your arms.

"reo" he sighed, sitting down beside you, "and good morning to you too" he was smiling now, the smile that had all the girls at hakuho falling to their knees. except you.

"morning" you hummed, eyes darting around the classroom as the rest of your classmates streamed in.

"you did amazing on friday" reo said, trying to make conversation. you raised a brow. would nagi have told him about the letters? was reo mikage about to congratulate you for being good at writing cringy love letters?

"the semi finals" he added, raking a hand through his lightly dripping hair. you let out a nervous laugh "you guys are really good"

"thanks mikage" you smiled, a soft genuine one that made your eyes sparkle . reo thought you were the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. he couldn't fathom why nagi had chosen sora over you in the first place.

"reo" he said, "c'mon just once? everyone calls me reo"

"it's a good thing i'm not everyone then" you said, stretching and leaning back in your seat. you'd been friends with reo since you were fourteen. three years of banter, three years of him secretly pining after you

"can't argue with that" he murmured, averting his warm violet gaze. he half wished he'd received that letter instead of nagi. nagi didn't deserve you. he did

he was the one who'd found the letter in the first place. nagi was too lazy to check his mail. he said it was too much of a hassle, reo had been sifting through bills and soccer academy envelopes when his fingers grazed the faded yellow envelope

he wanted to talk to you about it. he wanted to tell you that you didn't deserve to be a second choice, he wanted to tell you he understood how you'd felt. but he'd be lying then because he wasn't even a choice at all

you gazed out the window absentmindedly, completely oblivious to the whirlwind of emotions storming through reo's mind. you breezed through the case study assigned after mr. ikida finished teaching. sketching graphs and writing detailed evaluations

his notebook remained blank, he wanted to blame it on being exhausted from morning training, but he knew deep down that the reason he couldn't think about production possibility curves, or demand and supply was due to his surplus feelings for you

"i'm assigning you pair projects for your continuous assessments, a powerpoint presentation analysing the effects of demand and supply in terms of economic growth." mr ikida announced

collective groans and complaints echoed in the classroom and his lip curled into a frown.

"you can pick your own partners" he added, "at your own risk, the presentation is due in two weeks"

you nudged reo with your elbow, pulling him from his thoughts "wanna do the project together?"

"do you even have to ask?" he asks, his violet eyes twinkling. you rolled your eyes.

"you weren't even paying attention" you scoffed, scooping your notebooks into your arms. the bell rang shrilly and your chair scraped backwards as you stood up, "see you in pe mikage"

"reo" he corrected, shaking his head fondly, "see you (y/n)"

. . . ❀ the sun hung lowly in the sky and the faint gusts of breeze enveloped you as you ran effortlessly. you were literally and figuratively running away from your problems

your teammates had noticed the tension between you and kiyomi, —you couldn't blame them, you could cut it with a knife — and you decided to bask in solitude. charging ahead of them, floating through the wind on a trajectory

until your serenity came crashing down chaotically. in mere seconds you were sprawled on your hands and knees on the track. your eyes flickered around the burnt orange expanse, searching for the source of your fall and you found it

seishiro nagi. his leg tangled beneath yours and his head blocking out the sun. the glowing rays highlighted his snowy curls in a way that resembled a halo. ironic, because nagi was no angel. they called him the devil's child for a reason

“are you actually insane?” you spat, shooting the snowy-haired boy a glare. your hands grazed the track roughly and you could feel bruises forming on your knees “like genuinely?”

“nah” he says, shaking his head firmly. “you’re the crazy one”

“excuse me?” you inhaled sharply, eyes widening in disbelief. only seishiro nagi could trip you and somehow make it out to be your fault. your mild irritation slowly subsided as he stretched his hand out towards you

“‘m not repeating myself”

“have you always been this annoying?” you ask, taking his hand. you suppressed the burning urge to pull him towards you and leave him sprawled on the bristled track. you stood on the balls of your feet, tentatively stretching out your legs. "what the hell is your problem?"

“i wanted to talk to you, but you’ve been ignoring me” he pointed out, and you purposefully avoided meeting his gaze.

“there’s nothing to talk about” you said matter of factly

“there is” he said, “your letter”

you had two options: come clean or play dumb. you chose the latter, a near convincing look of confusion was plastered on your face, “what letter…?”

“this letter” he shrugged, pulling it out of his pocket. a flash of yellow paper came into your period vision as he languidly waved it around in your face.

this complicated situation was no longer a distant nightmare. your words lay bare. it was real. it was your handwriting, your letter, your everything.

“i’ve never seen that in my life”, you adamantly denied, though your quivering bottom lip betrayed you. he raised a brow and began to read the concluding paragraph out loud.

“so i relinquish you from my heart, seishiro nagi. have fun with sora, i could care less now. the two of you deserve each other anyways. you’re a match-“

“can you give that back?” you hissed, trying to snatch it from him and failing in the process. he effortlessly dangled the letter out of your reach. your face burned with embarrassment. you could feel your classmate's eyes on you.

“i think i’ll keep it” he says, and there’s a near evil smile etched on his face that you weren’t remotely aware he was capable of.

“give it back now” you said, glaring at him with jarring intensity, "or i swear i'll end you."

“‘s mine isn’t it?” he asks, tilting his head slightly, “says dear nagi doesn’t it? ‘s my address too”

“you weren’t supposed to get it” you frowned, “i didn't send them out, kiyomi did behind my back, without my consent, so please give it back nagi”

you tried to reason with him. emphasis on tried. your efforts were in vain, nagi was insufferable

“sei” he corrected, the teasing smile on his lips growing as you seethed with rage and embarrassment.

“what?” you spluttered, a look of utter confusion clouding your visage

“you said calling me nagi felt weird”

“oh my god will you stop quoting that stupid letter” you groaned, “give it back you nuisance”

“‘s not stupid, i want to keep it” he says. shoving it back in his pocket, “‘ve never gotten anything like this before”

“i’m not surprised” you huff meanly, “it’s not like you deserve it”

“is it because i stole your first kiss?” he says carelessly, not understanding the weight of his words, “you said it belonged to me anyway-”

“do you hate me?” you shrieked, covering your face in embarrassment, “like do you want me to drop dead? clearly you do”

“‘m sorry it’s just cute” he says, “‘m sorry for stealing your first kiss too…”

“you should be sorry” you retorted. nagi had a lot to apologise to you for, and this painfully awkward interaction was going to make the top of the list

“i just said i am”

“then give me back the letter nagi”

“sei” he corrected again. his grey eyes sparkled with teasing intensity.

you didn’t even grace him with a response. you could feel kiyomi’s eyes on you. she shot you a smile. hopeful, unsure. you shot her a withering look. this was all her fault, her fickle attempt at playing cupid was ruining your life.

you turned on your heel resolving to continue your warm up. you were growing tired of arguing with nagi, in all honesty.

then you saw him.

he was slightly blurred by the distance but you knew it was him. kunigami. he was heading straight towards you.

“fuck my life” you exhaled, squeezing your eyes shut. maybe if you squeezed them hard enough all of this would go away. you opened your (e/c) eyes tentatively. nope. kunigami was so much closer now.

“i’m so sorry” you murmur before locking lips with nagi infront of the entire class. it wasn’t easy considering how tall he was. your arms snaked around his neck and you stood on the absolute tips of your toes, barely reaching him

he raised his eyebrows in shock and disbelief, and maybe a few drops of amusement but to his credit he kissed you back hard, hand on the small of your back, fingers rubbing circles on your hips

your nerves jittered wildly and your heart thumped so hard in your chest you were sure nagi could feel it against his. but you kept kissing him, drowning in lapse after lapse of poor judgment and the faint scent of minty citrus tinging his lips

it was over almost as soon as it had started. you pulled away hesitantly. eyes locking with nagi’s. his grey eyes are blown wide and his lips look freshly kissed, a bright pink that mirrors the blush dusting his cheeks

“the hell was that?” he breathes out. much to his displeasure you pulled away from his grasp and your eyes dart around the field. kunigami was gone. mission accomplished…but at what cost?

“5 laps ‘round the track sawako and nagi” coach harukaze says, “this isn’t some rom-com, keep the lip-locking off my field”

“sorry” you squeak out, the apology was more towards nagi. he looked shell shocked and utterly bewildered. you almost felt bad for dragging him into this mess. but on the other hand, this wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t tripped you. this wouldn't have happened if kiyomi didn't send out your love letters. none of this was your fault.

“‘s fine” he shrugs. but he stares at you as if you’ve sprouted a second head. maybe even a third. he thinks you’re crazy. he thinks you’ve completely lost the plot but he refrains from expressing this because he thinks he's crazy too.

reo is jogging up towards him. looking straight out of a perfume advert. he deserves background music with how beautiful he looks. a paradox of the pain he feels brewing inside his chest after watching you kiss his best friend.

you shoot him a nervous look as you walk towards the white markings of the starting line, leaving the pair standing alone.

“dude what was that?” reo asked, violet eyes tinged with confusion, “i thought you said you were going to talk to her?”

“i was” nagi says, raking a hand through his hair, “we were talking...then she jumped me”

he touched his lips gingerly. it was just sinking in that you’d kissed him. and he’d kissed you back. and he'd liked it. a week after breaking up with sora. didn’t that make him an asshole?

“did she tell you why?” reo prods, snapping nagi out of his trance, he's practically interrogating him now “was it because of the letter?”

“i think so…” nagi trailed off, “i don’t know, this is such a pain”

“nagi! does that look like running two thousand meters to you??” the coach hollers, “less yapping more running beanstalk”

nagi exhales loudly, frustration clouding his face. his brain was throbbing, he’d never had so much to think about at once. he hated being confused.

“talk later” he murmured to reo, before breaking into a lazy jog. his head was swimming . he couldn’t get the stupid kiss out of his head. you tasted like strawberries with faint undertones of something he couldn’t quite place a finger on

why did you have to kiss him?? the letter had already messed with his head significantly and now he was losing it. he almost wanted to trip you again for revenge when you sprinted past him. but he refrained. he had a feeling it wouldn’t result in a sweet earth shattering kiss again, more of an earful of curses

twenty minutes later, you slowed to a halt. beads of sweat trickled down your face and your tongue tasted like sandpaper. the track was completely devoid of sound. no one remained but you, nagi and coach harukaze

“i should really give you extra laps” coach harukaze said, shaking his head discontentedly, “but you’re cutting into my lunch break”

“it won’t happen again” you said, honesty dripped from your words like honey. you meant every word. it truly wouldn’t reoccur. you wouldn’t be kissing nagi on the track. you wouldn’t be kissing him, period. you’d resolved to pretend he didn’t exist — nagi..? didn’t ring any bells

“i should hope not” he scoffed, turning his attention away from you and bearing the brunt of his glare on nagi, “and you casanova, have detention with me again for skipping practice this morning”

nagi blew his bangs out of his face exasperatedly. “‘m not gonna come”

“ahh you insolent brat” coach harukaze seethed, “i’ll bench you for the rest of the season!”

“you wouldn’t, 'm your star player"

“both of you, pick up all the cones and take them to the storage closet” your coach ordered, “and maybe clean it up while you’re at it”

“no way” you spluttered in protest, “let nagi do it by himself, he’s the one mouthing off”

“do you want detention too, miss president?” he asked, a menacing grin blooming across his face. "friday wasn't enough for ya?" you shook your head fervently. you wholeheartedly believed this day couldn’t get any worse

“no thank you” you murmured weakly. moving to pick up the cones and batons scattered on the track. you wanted to get this over and done with as fast as possible-

“why’d you kiss me?” nagi asked, as if his words held no weight, “do you still like me or something?”you thought he would've gone off and left you to do all the work by now. instead, he settled for trailing you like a shadow.

you don’t grace him with a response. convincingly acting as if he was no more than a fly. you’d hoped he’d take the hint and leave you to your own devices. you were irritated and sweaty, all you wanted to do was take a shower and change out of your pe uniform that was clinging to your skin. but you were stuck hauling physical education equipment

you’d dumped the last of the cones in the storage closet, sneezing quietly as a storm of dust filled your senses. then nagi’s voice piped up again

“ look, you’re great in your own way. but i’m not ready for another relationship” the words sounded mechanical, as if he'd been practising them in his head for the last few minutes — he had.

the tenderness in which he said your name almost melted your heart completely. almost

“i don’t want you” you said plainly, folding your arms over your chest “not even in the slightest.”

“then why did you kiss me?” he asked, sounding completely helpless. you were driving him near insanity. he hated being confused. he hated having to think so much, to feel so much. he was losing his mind.

“it’s none of your business” you shrugged, pushing the closet door open and stepping into the hallway

“it is my business! you kissed me in front of our entire form class” he spluttered, trailing after you

“well go figure it out yourself then, since you know so much”

“what- sawako-” he started, but you bolted then. and he couldn’t be bothered to chase after you. nagi really didn’t understand girls. he figured you were all wired differently. so complicated. so confusing

. . . ❀ “you did what???” bachira exclaimed, his vibrant sunny eyes nearly popping out of his head, “you kissed nagi?? (y/n) you kissed-”

“megs keep your voice down” you huffed, covering his mouth with your hand. his mom let out an explosive laugh as she spun around in her chair. your face flushed with embarrassment, “it was a mistake!”

“he doesn’t think that” he laughed, squirming away from you, before nudging you with his elbow. you had half a mind to dump his pineapple flavoured soda water over his head

bachira didn’t go to hakuho high with you, he went to namikaze in an entirely different prefecture, but his mom was substituting as an art teacher whilst your teacher was on maternity leave. the brunette with mesmerizing golden highlights only stopped by to drop lunch off for yu,

then he’d stick around and keep you company, cross-legged on the carpet, while his mom ate her food and chipped in occasionally

“he can think whatever he wants” you shrugged, passing meguru the pack of sour skittles you shared between you, “and he can burn that letter while he’s at it”

“ooo speaking of letters” bachira sang, pulling his out of his bag and handing it to you, the wrinkled envelope had blue ink splotches beside peeling off dolphin stickers “you can have this back”

“thank you” you sighed, relief washing over you, “sorry for not texting you back all weekend, i was such a mess”

“nahhh” he giggled, waving you off, “‘m sure you got a billion other messages from your cute little harem”

“i did” you groaned, slumping against the wall, “kunigami must’ve called me at least a hundred times by now” guilt crawled under your skin. you’d promised kuni things wouldn’t change between you and they had, "and he wanted to walk to school with me this morning"

“you can’t avoid him forever” he quipped, chugging his pineapple favoured ramune with vigor, “i would've taken you hostage by now and forced you to talk to me. nagi had the right idea"

“yeah you would ‘cause you’re a freak” you said, scrunching up your nose and scowling at him. "you and nagi are a bunch of weirdos"

“a freak you were in love with” he giggled. you swat at him playfully, “you’re so cute (y/n)”

“oh my god shut up” you sigh, rolling your eyes exasperatedly, “i wish kiyomi never sent those out”

“why did she anyway?” bachira asks, curiosity shining in his eyes like a red giant star, “i know you said she wanted to play cupid but that can't be the only reason. what if she's secretly in love with you? that's romantic as hell you've gotta hand it to her”

“you’re crazy” you splutter, and you can hear yu snickering under her breath “you don’t even try to hide it..”

“kiyomi’s the crazy one” he mutters, shaking his head, “thank you for the letter though”

“you’re not welcome”

“i’m serious!!!”

“you’re never serious”

“i mean it (n/n)” he says, and all the usual playfulness in his voice is gone, “it’s probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me”

“that’s actually cute” you murmur, ruffling his already messy hair, “you’re welcome megs”

unlike the other boy’s you’d loved before, you’d never really stopped loving bachira. your feelings for him just became platonic, as they had with kunigami until they started bubbling up again.

“just keep your head up” bachira said, cupping your face in his hands and squishing your cheeks together “it can’t get any worse”

“don’t jinx it” you say, shaking your head, “i’ll text you later megs” you reluctantly stand up from the comfortable carpet, smoothing your skirt down and slipping out of the art room

. . . ❀ you’re in a daze as you trudge to geography, you’d typically sit beside kiyomi, but that was out of the question. you opted to sit beside reo instead. the stream of questions came as soon as you came in contact with the chair

“so…you and nagi huh?” he hums, a teasing smile tugging at the corner of his lips, it doesn't quite reach his violet eyes

you sigh, embarrassment tinging your face, “did he tell you about the letter? did you know about it this morning?”

"yes.... i saw it first” he admits sheepishly, rubbing his hand against the nape of his neck “he’s too lazy to check his mail so i do it for him, but there's no need to feel embarrassed or anything, it's just me”

“i’m screwed” you sigh, “mikage can you fly me out to mars or something?” you'd rather be anywhere than on earth right now. you'd even settle for burning on the sun.

“can’t do that” he hummed, “not when you’re dating my best friend”

“i’m not-” you spluttered, "we're not- i'm not dating nagi,"

“that’s not what he said” he shrugs, picking up his pen nonchalantly and flicking through his notebook

“what…?” could nagi possibly be annoying.. and delusional? you wouldn't put it past him. nagi was a complex jigsaw puzzle that you were once able to comprehend. now he was a mystery to you. (and vice versa)

“kunigami asked him about you during lunch” reo explained, “he just waltzed up to our table and started interrogating us”

“and what did nagi say?” you queried, curiosity and nausea clung to your being. "is he crazy? kunigami knows we don't talk at all, there's no story convincing enough to negate that"

“well he said he really liked you, said he saw you a lot at the konbini during spring break” reo shrugged "he also said you were keeping it on the downlow, and kiyomi was mad because you kept it a secret so she sent out the letters"

"oh" you gasped, nagi had singlehandedly helped you solve your problems. he had no reason to. you weren't friends. you weren't even on good terms, "why the hell would he do that??"

“kunigami believed it” reo raised a brow, completely bewildered, “the drama is more or less over now shouldn’t you be relieved?”

“it's not really over, she sent out five letters. though i would be under normal circumstances.” you mused, “but nagi isn’t normal,”

“point taken” reo laughs, his eyes twinkling with amusement, “are you going to keep up the charade..?” he doesn't want you to. he's butthurt that you'd written five love letters and he wasn't the receiver of a single one

“obviously not” you splutter, “first and foremost…sora would kill me?? she's already going to kill me for kissing him” you said the last part under your breath

“sora’s the one who dumped nagi” reo pointed out, ever the critical thinker, “she cheated on him with a college kid, why would she care?”

“because she practically owns him” you said pointedly, “everyone knows that nagi belongs to sora, he always”

“nagi’s his own person” reo said defensively, as mad as he was about this entire situation, he jumped to his best friend's defence. you raise an eyebrow skeptically, but chose to reserve your comments.

an uncomfortable silence hangs between you and reo for the rest of the hour. you’re elated when the bell rings and you bolt out of mr. mishima's class

your short-lived happiness depletes and your jaw drops when you see nagi waiting for you beside your locker, as if he had a right to be there. he gave you a once over, sleepy grey eyes locking with your (e/c) ones

“can you move” you say impatiently, avoiding his burning gaze. he shook his head, heavy lidded eyes fixed on you

“tell me why you kissed me first” he said, "you owe me that much"

“can you…get over that?” you muttered, “it was just a kiss, i didn’t make-out with you or anything”

his eyebrows furrowed slightly and a pink tinge crept up his face, “so it meant nothing to you?”

“it meant nothing to you when you kissed me in middle school” you countered, nudging him out of the way with your hip

he wanted to argue with you, he wanted to tell you it was his first kiss too and it meant a lot to him. but he didn’t. he moved out of your way wordlessly and he watched you fish out your history books with an almost wistful expression on his face

“why would you tell kunigami we’re dating?” you asked, narrowing your gaze as you slammed your locker shut. "as a matter of fact, why would you come up with that story for me?"

he shrugs. you’re beyond irritated by his nonchalant attitude . you’re almost tempted to pull his hair out. you think it looks stupid, curling around his face, making him look cute when he was actually the worst

“can you answer me?” you asked, he spared you a brief glance before walking away. you stormed after him, steam nearly blowing off the top of your head

you tug at his slightly rumpled blazer as he strolls in-front of you. he tilts his head and shoots you an expectant look. your stomach turns, butterflies erupting and making your face heat up.

“let me walk you to class first” he says, “then i’ll answer you”

“in your dreams” you scoff, swerving around him and speed walking to class. he’s not very far behind you and when you plop down on your seat, he sinks into the chair beside you

“can’t you sit somewhere else?” you ask, “you’re drawing unnecessary attention to us” you didn't really mind, kunigami usually sat beside you in history and that would've been an absolute shit show

“us?” he asks, he’s smiling now and you want more than nothing to wipe it away. even if you have to kiss it off his stupid face.

“you are insufferable” you sigh, “just go to sleep or something” you didn’t need to tell him twice. nagi had been fighting sleep all day. he was beyond drained, due to a late night gaming session and the unwavering train of thoughts powering through his head.

“okay” he murmurs sleepily, leaning against you and resting his head in the crook of your neck. he feels you tense up against him and he smiles. fair play, you'd done worse to him today.

“stop it” you whisper harshly, trying to pry him away, “have you finally lost it?"

"'m trying to help you" he shrugs, but to your relief, he slips off your shoulder and slumps against the table. closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep

you take this opportunity to examine his features; his chalky pale skin and sharp cheekbones and soft white hair, falling against his face. you're hyperaware of him. of how his eyelashes brush his cheeks when he turns his head towards the window, hyperaware of his steady breathing

with the sunlight streaming through the classroom window bathing his body and casting a golden glow across your face, he looks ethereal. the soft look on his face chipped at your newfound hatred for him. you almost liked him when he was docile and asleep. almost

you forced your eyes away from his sleeping form. you stared at your history notes as the class progressed uneventfully. you tried to focus on the lecture but your brain was still running amok

you'd had such a long day. you hands fisted themselves in frustration as you replayed the last few days in your head. you couldn't believe this was your life now. all the drama, the irrational decisions. it felt like you were the tragic main character in a cliché love story

you'd kissed nagi. in front of kunigami. in front of everyone. and even worse, your love letters were out. you didn't even want to imagine rin's reaction. or isagi's. you sighed, rubbing your face tiredly.

nagi shifts, pulling you out of your spiralling thoughts. you turn your head to check if he was stirring and finally waking up and found him still sound asleep.

except his head was resting near your arms on your desk. for some reason, you couldn't stop yourself from staring at him. you were irritated now. why did he have to look good? why couldn't he look like a troll so you could hate him with ease?

oh god he smelled nice too. 'don't think about nagi' you scolded yourself mentally 'he's insufferable and he's a nuisance' you looked back down at your notes, determined to pretend he didn't exist

after what felt like hours the lesson finally came to an end and you packed your stuff quickly. you moved to stand up and leave when an hand wrapped around your wrist and yanked you back down

you fell ungraciously onto your seat and shot nagi a withering glare. kunigami catches your eye as he leaves the classroom. auburn eyes heavy with underlying sadness. you felt awful. you swallowed, averting your gaze.

your gaze flies back to the boy beside you, who's now gazing down at you, a soft, sleepy smile playing at his lips. a wolf in sheep's clothing. one would think he wasn't pure evil.

"we can talk now" nagi yawns. you shake free of his hold before he's able to pull you any closer.

"what makes you think i'm still interested in anything you have to say?" you retort coolly. he cocks his head slightly at you

"stop being confusing" nagi complains, "'s such a pain"

"stop being annoying" you shoot back. he grumbles but to your satisfactions he doesn't argue. you sigh exasperatedly before continuing, "i guess we can head to the field"

he’s surprised when you loop your hand through his and tug him behind you. so much for not wanting to draw attention to yourself...nagi stumbles forward slightly, caught off guard, before following along.

his hand was warm in yours, sparks stung your palms and you dropped it like it was blazing metal. he shot you a confused look but he said nothing as you walked through the hallways and made your way outside. you hightailed it to the bleachers and sat down, wringing your hands in your lap

nagi took his sweet time sitting down. shuffling over until he was right next to you, propped up on his forearms. the sun cast the skyline muted shades of orange, pink, and blue.

"why did you cover for me?" you ask, "and don't ask me why i kissed you, because you're smart enough to put two and two together"

"'cause we're friends" he shrugged, "'s a hassle but i'm helping you"

"we haven't been friends for years" you point out, "and i said you were on the waiting list"

"i know" nagi replies, "but i still helped you" you wanted to know why he had. nagi was selfish. you knew that. but here he was proving you wrong. it unnerved you.

"i'm telling kunigami we broke up" you said simply. nagi blinked at you in surprise. he really didn't understand you. but he found that he wanted to. he had before, it shouldn't be too hard now.

"why would you do that?" he asked, raising a brow

"because we're not even dating, he deserves to know the truth" you shrugged, crossing your legs and leaning comfortably on the metal seat behind you "and you’re hooked on sora"

“‘m not” he said adamantly. although he wasn’t fooling you at all. not in the slightest. you shook with peals of laughter, the saccharine sounds wafting around the empty field

“you so are. you’ve been on and off for ages. she’ll come crawling back in a few weeks and you'll go back to her without hesitating”

"'s not funny" he frowns. his typical 'x' pout more prominent than ever, " and 's not true either, i'm done with her"

“it is funny nagi," you say, stifling your giggles, "and she's not done with you. i'm sure the college guy won't last a week" you pat his arm reassuringly, but his frown deepens. you're sure he's about to cuss you out, but the words that leave his lips nearly floor you..

“date me.”

"what??" you splutter, "are you crazy?"

"it’ll drive her insane” he pleads, “she’s always been jealous of you"

"that's even worse" you said appalled, "she'll get revenge on me for being with you. which is pointless because i don't even like you."

"i'll make it worth it" he said, and he sounds desperate now. his grey eyes drip with abundant pleas. his hands are clasped together.

"i’ll think about it" you say, locking eyes with him, he anticipated your verdict with bated breath "yeah hell no! i just told you she’ll kill me??"

“if we're being realistic ‘s not like you have a choice” he says, “with your love letter predicament,”

“you’re annoying” you frown, “has anyone ever told you that?”

"you have, dunno about anyone else 'though” he says truthfully, he probably wouldn’t have been paying attention “ just say yes, ‘s not a real relationship. it's just until everything blows over” 

you contemplate what he said for a minute. for once you had to admit he was being completely logical. you couldn’t deny it. after all, you had no other option, and you needed this more than he did.

if rin or yoichi wrote you back you'd have more on your plate and having a 'boyfriend' would make things less awkward....

"fine" you sigh reluctantly. if anyone had told you a few days ago, that your lover letters would be out and you were agreeing to a fake relationship with nagi — who you hadn't spoken to in ages — you would've called them crazy. but here you were

"solid" he grins, stretching out his hand to shake on it you stare down at his big, veiny extended hand and swat it away.

“we need a contract first” you shook your head, pulling open one of your notebooks and searching for a pen.

“ahhh you’re such a pain” he groaned, “what do we need a contract for, i'm not paying you, you're not paying me”

“boundaries” you said , “work with me, lazy”

“‘m not lazy” he huffed, but relented. he watched intently as you wrote out a title in intricate cursive.

fake dating contract ⭑ 1. no kissing

"first condition, no kissing" you recited aloud. you glance up from your notebook and see a gobsmacked expression on nagi's face. he spluttered uncharacteristically 

“what??” he was dumbfounded, “how are people supposed to think we’re dating if we don’t kiss”

“hand holding, hugs” you said, listing them out on your fingers, “insta posts etcetera”

“you’re joking right?” he asks, “‘s not a very funny joke”

“do i look like i’m joking?” you say impatiently, “the rule stands loser, why do you want to kiss me so bad??”

“whatta pain” he grumbles, pulling out his phone and loading into an fps game. the blaring music filled the silence between you. "sora was always asking me to write her notes, add that to the contract”

“that is so corny" you grimaced, but the idea of nagi writing you cute little post-it notes didn't seem all that bad

⭑ 2. nagi has to write (y/n) notes

"'s funny you say that, considering the fact you're in this mess because of your corny love letters" he chuckles

you shoot him a meaningful glare as you write down the next condition “you have to come to my volleyball games”

"you should come to my soccer games too, it’s only fair"

⭑ 3. we have to go to each other's games

"you’ve got to make me your wallpaper" you said, he glanced at his phone and shrugged. he didn’t really mind. once all this was over he could just change it back to choki

"you gotta make me yours too" he yawns, resting his cheek against his knuckles and gazing at you.

“ughh” you grimace, “c’mere let me take a picture of you then” you take a moment to appreciate the setting sun's warm glow, casting beautiful shadows on nagi's face as he gazes sleepily at you. the soft hues of the setting sun and the shadows it casts dance on his face as you take the picture

as much as you hate to admit it, it's pretty cute. you return to scribbling in your book as he settles back into his game. or at least that's what you thought. he wordlessly takes a picture of you writing the condition down in your notebook. he thinks you look pretty like this. focused and concentrated with your brow furrowed in concentration

“delete that” you say, not even looking up from your notebook. he shakes his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. as weird as this was, he didn't mind hanging out with you

"'s my new wallpaper" he shrugs, "it's candid"

you scowl lightly but you let it go. none of this was real. it didn't matter "whatever loser, we have to go on dates too”

“that's fine, just no house parties, except the sports ones” he says, "sora was always dragging me to those"

“when have i ever gone to a house party?” you laugh, "i mean casual dates, like arcades or whatever. you can pick i guess"

he'd like that, more than he was willing to admit, even if it wasn't real. his dates with sora were painfully boring. shopping, partying. nothing he enjoyed. it didn't makes sense for him to compare you to sora, after everything, but he couldn't help it. you were consuming his thoughts

"sure" he said nonchalantly, his eyes glued to the fps game on his phone.

“also no snitching” you add, “mikage already knows but i guess he’s trustworthy. we can’t tell anyone else this is fake”

"that would defeat the entire purpose” you had to agree with him on that. you gave your list a once over. you could always add more to the contract if the need arose.

⭑ 1. no kissing ⭑ 2. nagi has to write (y/n) notes ⭑ 3. we have to go to each other's games ⭑ 4. we have to go on dates ⭑ 5. no snitching

"okay sign” you said, handing him the pen and the notebook. you grabbed them back almost instantly “wait i forgot one!!” you said, “no falling in love, this is temporary”

“haven’t you already broken that one?” he mused, raising an eyebrow at you. your cheeks flushed and you shoved the notebook into his hands

“just sign the contract nagi"

tags 🏷️: @nishimaru @peachesncats @shacha (open)

©y2kuromi 𝜗𝜚 2024 please do not plagiarise, repost, or translate any of my works on here or any other websites.

[okk--maaan]

Listen I know I'm in your inbox way too much but I just saw the anon about Kylo Ren and I *deep breath* would like to request something with Kylo and a ruthless, curvy/thicc reader who also happens to be the sister of General Hux 👀👀👀🦕

Lil Foot, my love, we’re not going to talk about how long this sat in my inbox. Just know it has been on my mind. And the two (2) pieces of white cheddar popcorn that occupy my skull finally came up with something.

CW: idk probably bad Star Wars jargon, I think I say ass at some point

“General Hux. Your presence is requested in the throne room,” the modulated voice of a Stormtrooper crackles behind his helmet. Hux lets out an exasperated sigh and rolls his eyes for the whole bridge to see. Ren got what he wanted. He is The Supreme Leader now. Why did he have to continue to pester him? And why did he have to continue to dangle you, The Empress, in front of him. Well, maybe that was your idea. You were always so insistent yourself. A match made among the stars, Hux thinks with another eye roll as he pushes past nameless officers and troopers.

------------------------------

You and Hux have known each other for the better half of your lives. You were adopted into his father’s child army on Jakku. Although you weren’t much of a child at the time. You were much closer to Hux’s age. But you were a skilled fighter. More importantly, you were good at keeping the younger children in line.

Hux regarded you as a sort of sister - even with your quips and attitude. You were one of the few people who treated him like an equal, like a person. And he will always be grateful to you for that.

But just as he worked his way through the First Order ranks, you followed suit. Your combat skills were only matched by your intelligence and ability to command a room. Hux found his way to the bridge and you found your way to Kylo Ren’s bed.

Of course, when others learned of The Empress’s lineage, they questioned your motives. But you loved your husband dearly deeply - always have, always will. Both you and Kylo believed the galaxy brought you together.

And Hux was just along for the ride.

------------------------------

The squeak of Hux’s polished boots signal his arrival, but it falls on deaf ears. His lip curls in disgust as he takes in the sight before him. Here you are, his only real family, draped across his biggest annoyance. What was the point of having such a grand throne built just for you -- a very well-earned throne in his opinion -- if you never sat in it?

You and Kylo are exchanging silent words, too tangled up in the Force and the bond connecting you to realize it is no longer just you and the Knights. Kylo notices him first. “My love. I believe you have a visitor,” he whispers in your mind. You shift your supple body in his lap to face your new audience. 

“Ahh Armitage, my brother. Thank you for coming so quickly,” you say aloud. “Empress,” he responds with a slight respectful bow. At the same time, Kylo gives the forgiving flesh of your ass a squeeze - just enough for Hux to see and just enough to make you keen. Hux’s eye twitches. You simply roll your eyes at his unnecessary discomfort.

“I have gathered intelligence on my recent travels,” you declare, snapping attention back to the matter at hand. “There have been whispers of rebel groups in the Unknown Regions, hoping to resurrect the Alliance in some form. Armitage, I want you to ready troops and search every habitable planet in that system.”

“But Empress,” he starts, then stops when he sees your eyebrow tick up in challenge. He only continues as your face relaxes into a soft, barely perceptible smile.

But before he can get out another word, Kylo Ren booms, “You dare question your Empress?” The words crack through Hux’s bones, making him flinch violently. Not you though. No. Your husband’s baritone buzzes through your body. Filling you with shared rage, fire, lust. Strong hands grip and dig into your hips, demanding your core grind further into him. And you follow - if only for a moment.

You throw a hand up, enough to subdue Kylo to your will, for the time being. “Now darling, let us hear what the General has to say. He is one of our most trusted advisors now. Is he not?” “Yes, my Empress,” your Supreme Leader resigns instantly with a cool tone.

You gesture, allowing your brother to carry on, “Your Majesty. Do you truly believe we have the resources to coordinate and deploy the number of troops needed for a mission of that caliber? All the way out in the Unknown Regions?”

“Of course I truly believe, Armitage,” you say in a teasing sibling manner. “Otherwise I would not be asking this of you, my loyal brother. Now go. Keep the peace.” As he spins on his heels to leave, you call out to him again, all signs of playfulness vaporized. “General Hux. At any cost,” you command, flames dancing in your voice face eyes.

Before the General’s noisy boots are even over the threshold of the blastdoor, Kylo’s hands lips energy are all wrapped tight around you. All submitting to the power coursing unfiltered through your veins.

[rhnuzlocke]

Episode 15

Scene 6:

[Ren is lying on her back in the grass with Tāraki laying next to her and the rest of her pokemon scattered around nearby. Kai and Wally are off somewhere else at the moment and Ren seems to be enjoying her nap. Her nav buzzes and she grasps for it blindly and brings it up to her eye. The screen informs her that Steven is video calling her. She snaps upright, staring at the screen, heart suddenly pounding.]

Ren: [muttering quietly to herself] It’s probably no big deal. He’s probably calling you because of Magma stuff. If he was in imminent danger he wouldn’t bother with video. Just breathe.

[Ren takes a deep breath, pushes her hair behind her ear and answers the call.]

Steven: Hi Ren.

[Steven appears to be sitting in the grass leaning against a stone wall. He looks far more disheveled than usual and there are dark circles under his eyes.]

Ren: [concerned] Hey Steven. Is everything okay?

Steven: Hmm. How to answer that? Yes and no, I suppose. [seeing her look of panic] Nothing life-threatening! No Magma or Groudon or asteroids involved. I just wanted to talk to you about something and I can’t talk to Rire, so…

Ren: No, go ahead, what’s up?

Steven: [rambling] Well, we had a League meeting this morning. I stayed up the night before working on the agenda because of—you know—and I admit I looked like crap because I forgot my concealer and I was tired, but that can’t be the reason. It doesn’t make sense. They obviously planned this ahead of time. This was not a spur of the moment thing.

Ren: Steven, back up a minute. You’re not making sense.

Steven: Oh. Sorry. [clears throat] So, we went through the whole agenda and I was about to call the meeting but then it turned into like… an intervention… for me.

Ren: [confused] What?

Steven: They all said that I was taking too much on myself and had to delegate. And they wanted me to get more sleep and keep them updated and coordinate stuff with them. Not just regular League things, the Magma stuff too. They obviously talked it all out beforehand. All of them! I didn’t think they knew about… I don’t know. But who started it? I would say it Wallace, but…  

Ren: You know, maybe ambushing you like that was a little much, but all of that stuff sounds good. It’s nice that they care about you and want to be more proactive.

Steven: You don’t understand. It’s like a conspiracy. Everyone is in on it! Wallace talked to Bes and now they have the rest of my pokemon in on it too. I’m supposed to take the rest of the day off. Damascus won’t fly me anywhere and Anthy insists on keeping house now and is trying to learn how to cook. I have Ptilometra in there making sure she doesn’t burn the place down. Alwyn and Komatsu are planting a garden—Oh, Alwyn likes her gift very much and wanted me to tell your sandslash thank you. I think she may be working on something to send back? I’m not sure. Anyway, she roped my excadrill into into helping her plant all of those seeds.

Ren: That’s good. I’m sure Kōtai will be happy.

Steven: But you see what I mean, right?

Ren: That does sound like a lot, but maybe it’s for the best?

Steven: I know. What’s really been driving me crazy is how this all started. Wattson was sort of the ringleader, but I don’t think it was his idea. I’ve hardly seen him at all lately and he’s such a workaholic himself. He’s usually the one that tells Wallace to get off my case. It doesn’t add up. But I know it wasn’t Wallace because I grilled him already. Wattson called him. But who called Wattson? You know them a little right? Got any idea who it might have been?

Ren: [Her face twitches because by this point she actually does have a pretty good idea.] Um, no. I can’t say that I do.

Steven: Dammit.

Ren: Steven, I think you should take a deep breath and try to relax a little. Otherwise all of this effort is for nothing. And I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. Maybe you’re overthinking this. And I do know how you feel. I hate being forced to do things, even stuff I like doing. But you do need to take better care of yourself, like we talked about. And the more people working on the Magma thing the better. They are all League members, right? They are not going to blab and they can all handle themselves if something happens.

Steven: [sighing] You’re right. I know you’re right. And I know I’m being a baby about this. Today has just been very surreal. Thank you for listening. It helps a lot. I feel a little calmer now.

Ren: That’s good. That’s really good.

[He rests his head back against the stone wall and while he is looking away, Ren smiles fondly at him. She rests her head on her free hand and her eyes go soft and her expression dreamy. There is stomping on his end and Ren snaps out of her reverie. He looks over at the source of the noise.]

Steven: Yeah, I’m okay now… No, Bes, I’m not working, I’m just talking to Ren.

[A huge metal leg edges into the corner of the screen and pushes gently up against Steven. He leans away.]

Steven: Whatever. You are still on thin ice. I know perfectly well this is all your fault somehow.

[Ren chuckles as Bessemer continues to nudge Steven both physically and mentally until he gives in and leans against his pokemon. Steven readjusts himself so that more of Bessemer is in the frame.]

Steven: Sorry about that. Bes says hello.

Ren: Hi Bessemer.

[She can hear them rumble. Steven leans back against them, looking almost peaceful when something occurs to him and he starts.]

Steven: It was you.

Ren: What?

Steven: Bes talked to you and you must have told Senri, he’s your father. So it was Senri who called Wattson and all of this was really your doing.

Ren: [guilty] All I said was I was worried!

Steven: [loud and theatrical] Here I was, confiding in you, and you were at the root of my problems all along!

Ren: [defensive] That’s hardly fair. And I didn’t plan any of this, I swear.

Steven: I know. It’s just funny. I just—

[He starts laughing and covers his face with his free hand. Ren laughs a little too. Steven stops himself abruptly and tries to look stern, but he is still smiling underneath.]

Steven: No. This is serious. [a stray chuckle] How dare you. [stifled snort] I'm—I’m disappointed. Don't you trust me?

Ren: [trying not to laugh] With most things…

Steven: Well I hope you're happy because now, thanks to you, the Hoenn League Champion has a strictly enforced bedtime.

[Ren loses it and starts laughing really hard, almost dropping her nav. Steven laughs too but tries to fight it.]

Steven: This is my life, Ren! It’s not funny!

[Ren just laughs harder. She falls over and drops her nav so that all Steven can see is the sky. Ren can still hear him laughing on the other end before he quiets a little, distracted by something.]

Steven: [still laughing intermittently] No, Bes! I'm not going to say that! You can tell her yourself when you see her. No! Get off me!

[Ren rolls over onto her stomach and grabs her nav to see what is happening. The camera on the other end is going a bit haywire as Steven flails around, but it seems as though Bes has him on the ground. From the strangled giggles it also seems likely that they are tickling him.]

Steven: No please! [snort] Ahh! [giggles] Stop! [wheezy laugh] Okay! Alright!

[Steven pops back up and swats the hair out of his face, aiming the camera at himself again. He takes a moment to catch his breath, then sighs.]

Steven: Bes says thank you.

Ren: [stifling giggles] Is that all?

Steven: And a lot more besides that they will tell you [directed at Bessemer through gritted teeth] when they see you.

Ren: [chuckling] Okay. You're welcome, Bessemer.

[Bessemer rumbles happily. Steven shoves them away and sits back against the wall.]

Steven: You know, I would never have pegged Senri as the instigator.

Ren: Well, he may not be the best dad, but he is still a dad.

Steven: At least the mystery is solved.

Ren: I wish I could say I was sorry for accidentally siccing the League on you, but I’m kinda not.

Steven: Well, at least you’re honest. I forgive you.

Ren: That's very generous of you.

Steven: It is.

Ren: [chuckling] Yeah, just go ahead and pat yourself on the back.

Steven: Will do. [He lets out a long sigh and readjusts himself against the wall.] So, we already talked about me. What have you been up to lately?

Ren: Pretty much training non-stop. I got my sixth badge.

Steven: Very good.

Ren: Oh, and my taillow decided to stay and train with Winona. Do you, uh, know her very well? I asked otōsan about her already, but he's not always great about… personality. He pretty much just talked about what kind of trainer she is, which was helpful but… I mean, I'm not too worried. She promised to let Māia stay a taillow and keep the stones you gave her and everything. I just, yeah, I can't help it.

Steven: No, I get that. Hmm, where to start with Winona? Is it safe to assume you know about the whole amnesia thing?

Ren: Yeah.

Steven: Well, I think that is a big part of the reason she doesn’t always give the best first impression. As I understand it, she spent a lot of time after the accident trying to be the person she was before and please all of these people who, for all intents and purposes, she didn’t actually know. So, at some point, she abandoned her old self and became someone new. I think the whole thing made her very uninterested in what anyone thinks of her. And losing all of one’s formative memories definitely shows, though it’s a little hard to pinpoint how exactly. It’s made her a singularly present person. She can’t dwell on the past and it makes her throw everything into whatever she is doing at the moment. She’s incredibly focused and tenacious, just maybe not the best people person.

Ren: She actually sounds like a good fit for Māia. Thank you, Steven. That helps a lot.

Steven: Happy to be of service.

[He smiles and yawns. He slumps against the wall and blinks slowly.]

Ren: Maybe you should take a nap.

Steven: I haven’t napped since college.

Ren: Well, you’re already falling asleep. I’m just saying maybe it should be on a couch or a bed.

Steven: I am not.

Ren: At least lie down in the grass. I know you love rocks, but that wall can’t be comfortable.

Steven: Alright.

[He edges away from the wall and out into the full sun. He lies down on his side in the grass and turns his nav so that he is still upright in the frame. Ren rolls onto her side and follows suit.]

Ren: Better, no?

Steven: [sleepy] Hmm.

[They smile at each other for a moment and his eyelids drift shut. Her face fills with warmth as she watches him fall asleep. It isn’t long before Kai and Wally can be heard returning, but it doesn’t really register until]

Kai: We’re back!

[Ren starts and looks up to see them approaching.]

Ren: Bye Bessemer, if you’re still there!

[There is a rumble on the other end.]

Ren: [quiet] Goodbye Steven.

[She snaps her nav shut just as Kai and Wally reach her.]

Wally: Who were you talking to?

Ren: Uh… my parents?

Kai: Ren, you’re red as a slugma.

[She rolls over onto her face and whines.]

Wally: [bouncing up and down, hands hovering near his mouth] Was it Steven?! Oh my goodness! What was he calling about? What did you talk about? What did he say?!

[Kai can’t help but smile a little at Wally’s excitement. Ren tries to melt into the turf.]