#*turns on megaphone* IT'S THE LITTLE SWEET THINGS YOU NOTICE ABOUT EACH OTHER

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

ajax with dimples and foul legacy with two dips carved into either side of his intricate lil mask face

*holds mic up* YOU. KEEP TALKING

you met Foul Legacy before you meet Ajax, somewhere out in the mountains of Liyue when he's finishing up a training session, the sight of a giant Abyssal monster making you freeze in your tracks, blood turning to ice when his faceted gaze lands on you. your heart drops, squeezing your eyes shut as heavy footsteps approach you- only to blink when something solid and slightly cold bumps gently against your forehead. the creature whines quietly, sitting on his heels to make himself seem smaller, less threatening, and slowly you reach out and set your hand on top of his head, your finger sinking into his fluffy hair. the beast brightens, odd, gem-shaped eye gleaming as he promptly leans in and begins sniffing your jacket and bag, letting out curious chitters and leaning against your palms with happy purrs. all you can do is laugh in surprise, fingers tracing the edges of his mask-like face, eventually falling on two small divots where his cheeks might be, serving seemingly no purpose. you poke them, and tilt your head, and your new friend simply tilts his head in mimicry and trills

it's not until you meet Ajax, or Childe as he goes by when doing his Harbinger work, that you understand. he's loud and boisterous and a bit playfully rough, almost the exact opposite of his Abyssal counterpart you come to know as Foul Legacy, always greeting you with a tight squeeze or a pat on the head and swinging your hand cheerfully as you walk. there's a certain charm to him when he spontaneously twirls you around or lifts you off the ground to carry you, like today, and you stare down at him with a good-natured smile as he grins up at you, oceanic eyes creased shut. you blink, then gasp, and Ajax's eyes fly open as he looks at you worriedly, but you merely laugh and poke his cheeks in delight, your fingers nudging familiar divots, except in soft skin rather than a tough mask

"Ajax! You and Foul Legacy have dimples!"

[ginemrys]

Catapults and Caught Feelings

For @jilychallenge August 2021

Theme: Summer.

Prompt: “we have to crush the team of our unbeaten rivals in this waterfight (even if the other side has a rlly cute red head) oh god fOCUS”

@ginemrys vs @jilyism

big thanks to @figg-anon for betaing for me!! <3

Thus far, the end of year trip had been the best one yet. All of the year elevens, minus a few whose parents hadn’t given permission, were bundled onto a coach and driven for a few hours to Dartmoor to spend three nights camping and three days doing water sports and going on interesting walks.

James Potter and his friends had gotten everything that they could out of the trip. The four boys went camping with James’ parents every summer, so were enjoying having a bit more free time just the four of them. Their teachers were great, they kept an eye on their students, but trusted them all enough to do their own thing, since most of them had already turned sixteen. So the self-named Marauders spent most of their days running through the woods, climbing trees, and having a whale of a time.

Of course, the entire group did have to convene for certain activities, like a den building competition or a swim in the river. On the last day, the final full day of being at the campsite, the teachers instructed everyone to get into their swimming costumes and simple clothes because they were going to have a water fight.

Naturally, everyone cheered, the different groups racing back to their tents to change. Sirius was nattering away in James’ ear as the boys pulled on their swimming trunks and t-shirts, chatting excitedly about how amazing this was about to be. A teacher-approved water fight? What could be better?

“I hope we’re all in the same team, it would be awful to be separated.” Peter was saying to Remus as he stuck his arms into a long sleeved top.

“I think it will be done by forms to be honest, Pete. So we should be alright.” Remus smiled, patting Peter’s back gently. They met in the same form and shared many classes, which was how they had originally become friends at secondary school. And here they were five years later, still just as good friends as always.

“If we are split up though, just know I’m going to absolutely destroy you all,” James said confidently, adjusting his glasses.

“You wish, Prongs!” Sirius laughed, shaking his head. “We all know I have the best aim here.”

All three of the others stared at him for a second before bursting out laughing, knowing fully well that James was the sportsman amongst them. He was captain of the football team after all and had been playing for years.

“Oh shut your mouths, the lot of you,” Sirius rolled his eyes, unzipping the tent, “let’s go.”

As Remus had predicted, the year was split up into groups based on which form they were in, all of the kids separated down the middle into two mostly even groups. The Marauders were happily together in a group.

But then the most incredible part of the water fight was revealed.

“Alright everyone, before we start-” Mr Flitwick piped up, holding a megaphone to his mouth to be heard over the chattering, “-we have to be careful with these catapults, only the water balloons are allowed to be thrown. Got it?”

“Yes, sir!” they chanted in unison, though the Marauders all shared a look.

“No, boys! I saw that!” Flitwick shouted, pointing at the four boys. “I mean it! You will receive detentions, I don’t care if you’ve only got a few weeks left and you’ve finished your exams. Water balloons only!”

“Fine.” James and Sirius both looked put out while Remus and Peter held their thumbs up to their teacher in response.

A small scoff sounded from the other group, James’ eyes meeting a pair of green ones. Of course he was against Lily Evans rather than being with her, he was sure she wouldn’t hold back at the chance to pelt him with water balloons. They’d gotten along much better over the course of year eleven, ever since James had needed to help her with Physics. He’d almost say they were friends, even if he still pissed her off a bit. But none of that stopped his overwhelming crush on Lily. Ever since year nine when he started to notice girls, he’d been besotted with her. Sirius called it sickening, Peter called it sweet, and Remus just rolled his eyes whenever James asked him to put in a good word for him since he was mates with Lily.

But right in that moment Lily was smiling at him; a glint in her eyes. A challenge.

Oh, it was on.

The two teams stepped together to form huddles, discussing strategies and tactics. More than half of the football team were on James’ side, which worked out perfectly for him. As a natural born leader, though being captain of the team certainly didn’t hurt, James easily adopted the role of Field Marshal in the war against the other team. The team listened to his plan, nodding along, and looking excited.

A whistle was blown; the huddles separated once more.

Instructions, rules, and everything in between were called out by Ms McGonagall, the stern woman not even needing to borrow Mr Flitwick’s megaphone to be heard. Catapults were loaded, water balloons at the ready.

Another whistle. Hell was unleashed.

It was intense, chaotic, and possibly the most fun James had ever had in his life. Students were pelted with balloons; the thin plastic splitting on impact and drenching the victim’s clothes in surprisingly cold water given the summer heat. Screams and gasps filled the air alongside the balloon, but laughter rang loudest.

And James couldn’t help his eyes from drifting to the girl who, like he, manned the helm of the catapult. Their eyes met again; green hitting hazel. The base of James’ catapult slipped beneath his fingers, firing too early before Sirius had loaded in another balloon.

“What the hell, Prongs?”

Oh god, focus, James, he berated himself for getting distracted by the cute redhead that he never quite managed to get out of his mind. Not that he had long to regret his mistake, not when a well aimed water balloon landed directly on the top of his head, drenching him.

“I guess being a football captain isn’t all it’s cut out to be, huh?” A soft, though slightly taunting voice spoke, one James instantly recognised as belonging to Lily Evans.

Everyone had managed to dry off, taking turns to use the awful showers at the campsite before changing into warmer clothes. Groups were gathered around campfires, mugs of hot chocolate clutched in cold hands. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were leading a group in a jaunty sing-a-long of Drunken Sailor, much to Ms McGonagall’s chagrin (though Sirius would swear later that he’d seen her tapping her toes). But James had opted to sit alone, always a bit of a sore loser. It worked out though, as Lily Evans swung her legs over the log he was seated on and sat beside him.

“I had a strategy, my team just didn’t pull through,” James replied, glancing at her before sipping his hot chocolate to hide the blush on his cheeks. She had a thick woollen blanket draped over her shoulder. Her hair was neatly braided down either side of her head into two plaits, the fire highlighting the freckles across her nose. She was so pretty, it was almost unfair.

“Sure, your team didn’t pull through,” Lily laughed, sending a jolt running through James’ stomach at the sound. The feeling was made worse when she plucked the mug out of his hands and took a sip, humming as the chocolate coated her tongue. “I’m pretty sure I saw you get distracted for a moment there, Potter. Or did I imagine that you fired an empty catapult?”

“No, you’re right,” James managed a soft smile, watching her. She was so more at ease now that exams were over, the usually constant strain on her face having vanished. “I got distracted.”

Lily hummed again, shifting a little closer to him on the log. Was he imagining it, or was she blushing?

“Distracted by what, exactly?”

“I think you know.”

“I think I know too.”

The singing grew louder and louder as more classmates started to join in, the kids all dancing around the campfire like they were in a scene from Peter Pan. Even the teachers were clapping along. But two figures sat together, away from the group, oblivious to their classmates. They were smiling softly at each other, hands intertwined beneath the blanket Lily had been wearing which was now tucked neatly over their laps. Unnoticed by most of their friends, the two spoke quietly to one another, leaning close.

James had been right, this end of year school trip was by far the best one he’d ever been on.

[shipmistress9]

8 -hiccstrid 😊💜

HICCSTRID

8. Interrupting with a kiss

This is actually a story idea I was pondering over for a good while now. But it fits this prompt, so I had a great excuse to finally write it down. ^^

Fateful Heights

Speak of the devil and he shall appear…

Hiccup couldn’t help but marvel about this saying as he threw a cautious glance down into the gaping abyss below his dangling feet. Or, well, the rest of the funfair, but it certainly felt like a gaping abyss…

Earlier, when they'd waited in line to get onto the Drop Tower, they’d all joked about how scary it would be to get stuck at the top. Then, when Snot, Legs, and the twins were getting onto the first ride while he and Astrid had to wait for the next round, he’d joked about how it would actually be funny to watch them get stuck and get sick now. It had been mainly to interrupt the awkward silence between him and Astrid, the girl he’d had a crush on since forever. But she’d laughed and agreed that it would be hilarious to watch.

Now, however? Now, it was him and Astrid being stuck on this stupid tower. For ten minutes now, the thing hadn’t moved even one inch. Every now and then, the operator called up instructions or reassurances over a megaphone, but in all honestly, that didn’t help the feeling of dread in his guts one bit.

It wasn’t even the height per se that bothered him. He absolutely loved heights. Snot had even jokingly commented before that Hiccup got high on heights, and, well… he wasn’t so far off. Of all the rides they’d planned to go on today, this one was the one he’d been looking forward to the most.

No, it wasn’t the height that made him feel queasy. It was the sense of helplessness. To be out of control and at the mercy of someone else, something else.

The wind, usually a highly welcome sensation when blowing around his face, now made him clutch so tightly at the handle that his knuckles stood out white. One person a few seats to his right had dropped their shoe, and it had taken a disturbingly long time to reach the ground.

And it was no exaggeration when he thought that the only thing keeping him sane was Astrid sitting next to him.

“Hey, look over there,” she now said, her hand awkwardly pointing to a spot on the horizon. “There’s a ship coming in. I bet the people on the ground can’t see it yet, not even those right at the harbour.”

His eyes followed her finger and his quick mind did the calculation without him even having to think about it. “That’s a bet you would win,” he said, trying to sound as casual as possible, to not show how scared he truly was. “My guess would be, that it’ll still be up to three hours before that ship is visible from the pier.”

Next to him, Astrid shifted in her seat and somehow managed to peer past the safety harness to throw him a bemused look. “You’re such a nerd,” she eventually chuckled.

Hiccup blushed, but wasn’t too bothered by her comment. He was a nerd; no point in pretending otherwise. And as long as she said it like this—with the undertone of teasing affection instead of as an insult—she could call him whatever she wanted, anyway.

A few minutes passed in relative silence. Around them, people were chatting, crying, one even screaming, but Hiccup did his best to blend them all out. Instead, he focused on Astrid who was humming to herself. It was a little off-tune but somehow still the most relaxing noise he’d ever heard.

“Hey, look!” she suddenly exclaimed. “I found the other’s.”

Hiccup glanced down in the direction she indicated.

“Over there, between that building with the red roof and the yellow-and-blue-striped tent.”

“Ah, yes, I see them.” Hiccup thought for a moment, the map of the funfair before his mental eye. “They probably got themselves an early dinner. The building is the pizzeria, I think.”

“Huh...” Astrid grunted, and even though he couldn’t see her face, he could imagine how she would narrow her eyes right now. “Yeah, you’re right. We’re locked up here, possibly about to fall to our death, and these idiots are eating!”

“At least, they didn’t get popcorn,” Hiccup muttered. He liked his friends, but at least Tuff wasn’t beyond finding their situation entertaining. Snot probably too.

Astrid snorted. “They know better than to risk that. I’d haunt them for the rest of eternity. Hey, do you think I can spit onto their pizza if I aim well enough?”

Again, Hiccup’s mind did some quick calculation out of reflex before he shook his head. “I’d say you can’t,” he said regretfully. “Not to insult your aim, but from this height and with the wind, it would be all but impossible to predict where your spit lands, if it reaches the ground at all. And as much as I’d pay to see Snot’s face when you ruin his pizza like that, I wouldn’t wish the same fate on anyone else.”

Astrid sighed. “Fair enough. But if he gives me the slightest reason, I will hit him.

“I won’t stop you,” Hiccup chuckled. He was unable to fully put his feelings into words, not even inside his head. But he knew that without Astrid, he would have gone insane. How she managed to be so lighthearted in their current situation was beyond him, but her jokes and generally good mood were all that kept his own despair at bay.

Their rescue didn’t take too long after that. Maybe it had just been an error in the software, but from one moment to the other, they were moving again. Initially, there was even more screaming, some surely fearing they were all going to crash to their death now. But their decent was slow, gentle, and only a few minutes later, they were all back on solid ground.

On shaky legs, he and Astrid were ushered to the side, to a hastily erected tent where medics were waiting for them to make sure everyone was physically unharmed. Mentally might be another question, though.

Once he and Astrid were allowed to leave, Hiccup let out a deep breath. “Oh, what a trip. I always loved these Drop Towers, but now, I’m not sure I’ll ever want to—”

He broke off when Astrid suddenly grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. It wasn’t a gentle one, teeth digging into his lips from how hard she pressed herself against him.

Hiccup was stunned, unable to react other than let his hands land on her waist. Of all the things he’d expected from this day, Astrid kissing him had been even further down the list than getting stuck on a ride. But here she was, clinging to him, and he even thought he could feel her heart pounding against his chest.

The kiss ended as abruptly as it had started. Hiccup was still trying to comprehend when she released his mouth and instead buried her face against his shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

“Oh, Gods,” she gasped, voice nearly breaking. “I thought we would surely die here.” She was shaking he now noticed, and so he wrapped his arms more firmly around her, holding her in a comforting embrace. Did this still count as comforting, though? It was meant to be comforting, at least.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he tried to soothe her. “We made it. Nothing happened, we got off with no more than a fright.”

Astrid’s grasp grew even tighter. “How did you do it?” she gasped. “How did you manage to keep so calm up there? I was so scared that my brain stopped working completely. I think I was babbling the entire time but can’t remember a thing I said. But you? You even did math up there. I…” She trailed off, took a deep breath, and calmed down at least a little again. “Without you staying so calm, I would have gone insane.

Hiccup, still caught in how surreal this situation was, awkwardly patted her back. “Honestly, I was just as scared. Only coped because of all the jokes you made.”

Laughing a little shakily, she eventually pulled back. “Looks like we both helped each other then.”

She turned and made a step toward the exit, but Hiccup couldn’t let her go now. Not with like this, with this one moment hanging between them. “Astri?” he called her back, picking up all his courage as she glanced back at him. “Why did you kiss me?”

She blushed and, ducking her head, swiped a strand of loose hair out of her face before she answered. “You… didn’t miss that, huh? Of course, you didn’t.” She let out a weak chuckle. “It’s… I—I wanted to ask you for a long time and promised myself that, should we get off that tower alive, I’d do it. But I guess my mind skipped a few steps there. I-I’m sorry, we can pretend it never happened if you—”

She didn’t get the chance to say any more. Hiccup bridged the distance between them with one step, cupped her face with both hands, and pressed his lips to her mouth. This kiss wasn’t as harsh as the other had been, soft and gentle. Astrid didn’t need long to catch up, her lips twitching into a grin before she kissed him back. It was a chaste kiss, sweet with only lips. But as her arms slid around his waist, Hiccup felt as if this had to be the best kiss of his life so far.

When they parted, Hiccup let his forehead rest against hers, unwilling to part just yet. “I don’t want to pretend it didn’t happen,” he murmured. “I’m glad it did.”

Astrid nodded, then pulled away and threw him a warm smile. “Okay. So… should we go back to the others now? But I warn you, I stand by what I said. Or at least I think I said something like this. If your cousin makes even one stupid comment, I’ll hit him.”

Chuckling, Hiccup reached for her hand, inwardly rejoicing when her fingers closed around his without hesitation. “Again, I won’t stop you.”

[randomfandomimagine]

Cupid’s Arrow (Marty McFly x Reader)

Characters: Marty McFly

Fandom: Back to the Future 

Tags: Hand holding, love at first sight, first meetings

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,4k words

Requested by anon: If you're up for another Marty request, could you do a ficlet where the reader has a band that was also auditioning for the battle, and her band goes after Marty's and she's kind of upset when the judges say he's too loud, so after the audition she goes up to the judges and convinces them to give Marty another shot, and Marty somehow finds out it was her idea? If you're cool with that :) 

A/N: It’s a bit short because I thought I would know what to write, but I had little to work with and I changed it a little bit. Still, I tried to make it cute so here it is! Enjoy, and remember to please give it some love with reblogs and feedback! 

Marty McFly x Gender Neutral Reader

_

You wouldn’t forget the group’s name, The Pigheads, and you wouldn’t forget that boy’s face. During your entire audition, those were the only things in your mind. Luckily, you knew your music by heart and it wasn’t hard to play despite not paying attention to what you were doing, you had rehearsed so many times that your hands moved on their own over your instrument. You tried to focus as your fingers sunk on the rough strings and slid up and down the guitar’s neck.

The last note strung in the venue, echoing against the wall and resonating in your ears. The judges paused for a moment, writing something down. One of them, the ones with glasses, picked up his megaphone.

“Thank you, we will contact you” Was all he said, then lowering it again.

Was that all? Those judges really were so dull. For a moment, you looked back to your friends, the other members of your band. After exchanging a few glances, you made your mind up and spoke up.

You remembered the disappointment in that boy’s face and felt bad for him yet again. It wasn’t the first time your band got rejected, and you knew how terrible that feeling was. Furthermore, you genuinely thought their music was good, you really enjoyed it. Which was only another excuse for what you were about to say, that and the fact that you had gotten a liking to that guy just by taking a look at him.

“For the record” You said, speaking loud and clear through the mic. “Those guys that went before us? I know they’re our rivals or whatever, but… they were really good”

The judges stared at you, surprised that you were standing up for them. Their eyes widened slightly, although their expression remained neutral and boring. The same man picked up the megaphone again and talked to you.

“Next band, please” Was all response you got, so you resigned yourself.

“Fine…” You picked up your things and left. For the first time since you began auditioning, you weren’t all that excited to be contacted.

_

The streets of Hill Valley were as tranquil as usual. Life went on while your mind boiled with thoughts. You couldn’t take that kid out of your head. Why was it about him that was so special? It was almost like love at first sight.

In fact, your heart skipped a beat when you recognized a familiar person not far from you. You could tell it was him by the jean jacket that you had noticed before. As well as that, his brown hair and funny strut were a giveaway to his identity. It was almost like destiny, that you bumped into him again.

“Hey!” You called him, jogging up to him. Luckily, he stopped and turned around when you did. Awkward now that you were face to face, you averted your gaze. “Hi”

“Hi…” You felt his eyes on you, and although he seemed puzzled for a moment, you read the recognition in his gaze when you made eye contact again. “What a minute, I know you! You were in the audition, your band went after mine”

“Yeah!” You were strangely excited that he recognized you. The grin of his that followed caused a twin smile to appear on your lips. “You were really good”

“Thanks…” His friendly expression darkened. “You might be the only one who thinks that”

“Oh, don’t listen to those old folks” You waved your hand in the air, determined to cheer him up. “You know, I bet I could convince them to give you another chance”

“I appreciate the thought, really, but I don’t think they would”

You showed him an enigmatic smile, which caused him to frown in curiosity and tilt his head.

“I can be very persuasive” Playfully pretending to appear interesting, you importantly combed your hair. “You don’t believe me?”

“Oh, I believe you” That grin returned to his mouth. “I just don’t think those guys can be persuaded”

“It’s worth a try” You shrugged, smiling back at him again.

A pause followed in which, you noticed, you stared at each other. After a moment, he seemed to revive and move, repeatedly blinking to shoo his thoughts away.

“I’m, uh… Marty” He offered you his hand, which you shook. “Got a name?”

“Y/N” You replied, smiling at him. “Got a phone number, too”

Noticing you were only half-joking, Marty laughed a little. You both lingered on your hand shake for a little longer than necessary.

“Um…” You reluctantly piped up. “Should we go then?”

“Yeah!” He finally let go of your hand, awkwardly chuckling. “Yeah, sure”

The two of you began walking, in silence at first. Then you glanced at him, surprised by how fond of him you were already. Perhaps it was the fact that music was very important for you and you had that in common, or perhaps it was the love at first sight. But you felt really close to Marty.

When you realized he had caught you sneaking glances towards him, you thought of something to say.

“Are you nervous?”

“A little” He admitted, peering at you. “But I think I found a lucky charm”

You smiled, endeared by his sweet words. And he smiled back, as he always seemed to do.

_

You returned to where Marty was waiting for you. It was hard to keep that big smile from occupying your lips, but you managed to hide it.

“Well?” He asked you as soon as he saw you, his blue eyes following your every move as you positioned yourself in front of him.

“Marty…” You solemnly said, taking his hands in yours like you would do with a close friend. “I’m sorry to say this, but…”

“But?” Marty gulped, frowning in anticipation.

“They’re giving you another chance!” You exclaimed, and he gawked at you.

“Holy shit, Y/N!” He chuckled, nervously looking around him as though he didn’t believe it was true. “This is heavy! I mean, it’s… it’s huge!”

“I told you I could convince them” You grinned, although now that the initial excitement was slightly dying down, you blushed when you realized you were still holding his hands. “You didn’t believe me”

Marty was speechless. All he could do was chuckle again and shake your hands before dropping them. His gaze was absent as he moved towards the stage, prepared for his second chance at success. However, he stopped in his tracks and turned to you again.

“Hey… thanks” There was something special in his eyes, a deep emotion that you couldn’t pinpoint. “I owe it all to you, Y/N”

“No problem” You waved your hand in the air, taking important out of it.

“I’ll make it up to you”

“How?”

“I could, uh…” Marty stuttered, rubbing his nape. “I could take you out to dinner tonight”

“That would be nice” You bit your lip, feeling butterflies in your stomach at the mere thought of it.

“Pick you up at eight?”

“For that you would have to know where to pick me up”

“Oh… right”

You laughed, grabbing a pen from your pocket and taking his hand. You felt him staring as you quickly scribbled down your address and phone number on the back of his hand.

“Done” You announced as you looked up at him again.

“It’s a date” Marty winked at you, which only made you smile yet again.

“Now go” You pushed him a little. “Your fans are waiting for you”

Marty obeyed, approaching the stage for his new incredible audition. You knew he would do great. He thought twice before he could leave, holding his finger up, and faced you one last time.

“What’s your band name, by the way?” He nervously asked, almost making you think he was stalling. “I didn’t catch it, I was gone when you introduced yourselves”

You paused, amused in anticipation to his response.

“Cupid’s Arrow”

“I like it” Marty nodded vehemently. “It seemed like Cupid’s Arrow saved me”

“Go, rockstar” You playfully rolled your eyes at him. “Blow their minds”

“See you later” Although after a few seconds of hesitation, Marty left you with a kiss on the cheek.

You smiled to yourself as you saw him go to the stage once and for all. And you stood there, prepared to see him play from your front row seat.

Tag list: @call-me-harley-quinn​ / @wonderlandfandomkingdom​ /  @fortheloveofbenyandtom​ / @caswinchester2000​ / @bravelittlesunflower​ // If you want to be added or taken off the tag list for these fandoms or characters, send me an ask!! // Reblogs and feedback are appreciated!

[redmaneroster]

Our Home Away From Home, Away From Home

[1] [2] [3] [4-5] [6] [x] [8-9] [10]

PART 7 – Crustacean

They've been awake for at least an hour now, staring at the ceiling. It's dark all over, breached by apertures on the steel portal door of their room but the slits of light only cut into a broken ceiling fan and Yang's fingernail next to Jaune's ear.

Penny's voice comes muffled through the thick ceiling. Ruby's high-pitched cheers like distant whispers next to the megaphone voice of their android friend. They're all on a boat house for the sea and it's clear the girls are having a blast trying to steer the thing.

"They're having fun," Jaune says. He means nothing by it. Just an observation. Pointless conversation through the sleepy haze of a rocking ship. Jaune would have gotten sick were he not on a stable bed. He has pills for the motion sickness but they won't last him the entire trip. Sleep is the only way he can ration them.

Yang shifts over his arm and raises her hand, letting the light catch her nail again. It glistens like a solitary star off a cosmic trail. She giggles because the haze has caught onto her too and she's half-awake as it is. "He he, we could have fun too, y'know?"

He seizes, sitting up. "Y-Yang…?"

Yang does the same, huddling into a ball, clutching the comforter like it might shield her. "I-I meant by joining them! I didn't… I mean, I don't think I meant it that way…" Most of her is certain she didn't mean it like that but halfway through speaking, she wanted to take it back. She thinks she's ready, prepared to not freak out at the idea of exposing herself and seeing all of him. Her every uncertainty is truth, as honest as her apprehension to let him touch her.

She can barely see his face but his features soften in the dark, clearer when he gets closer. And for a moment it scares her to think he's taking that initiative. Her chest thumps like earthly tremors, cracking against her skin as it splinters like desert ground. Lips just as dry.

But he doesn't get any closer. He crouches next to her, facing away, but one of his hands reaches out for hers to close the rest of the distance. Her hands twitch when the warmth of his rolls over the back of her palm and hovers over her knuckles.

His hand stops and, instead, takes her fingers between two of his and a thumb. It's a gentle and quiet contact. He doesn't want to scare her. "I know you're having second thoughts," he says slowly, deliberately. As if knowing. Just like Saphron. "But how about we agree to do this when we're both one-hundred percent on it? Like when we have no doubt that this is how we take things going forward."

"Yeah… I think I'd like that." She clutches his hand fully now. Even shuffling closer. A warm breath tickles the hairs on his extended arm. "Look, I want it clear that it isn't you I'm apprehensive about. It's everything that comes after."

She can feel the heat of his blush from his hands alone.

"Uh… Yang, I hope I haven't somehow gotten you thinking I was going to do anything wild."

"No, no," she laughs, "nothing like that." She squeezes his hand and shuffles till her arm is flush against his. "I… I want kids."

"Um!" He tenses but doesn't let go of her as a sign of resolve.

"I don't mean now! Or anytime soon, I swear!" She lets him take a breath and unwind his rigid bones. "Really jumpstarted his heart, didn't I?" she thinks. Another squeeze from her, asking for courage he pours out of his sweaty palm.

"I'm afraid," she says finally, "of what comes after. If I don't try to stopgap how quickly things are going, sooner or later I'll have a kid of my own and I'll stare them in the face and… I'm worried that I'll be afraid. That, somehow, Mom running away would make sense."

He stares at her, eyes wide. "You called her mom."

An uncomfortable shiver runs down her neck and scrapes against her ribs. She shudders as she buries her head between her curled-up knees. "It's not about her. At least, I don't think so. I've caught myself calling her mom in my head when I think about it. Like I'm hoping I can still call myself a mother."

"That's a lot of thinking ahead, Yang. Who knows how long it'll even be till then."

She shrugs with a laugh that doesn't reach her eyes. "I've always been wired that way. I got a full life to live but I had to spend a lot of time prepping Ruby's future. If I don't prepare for the inevitable, I'll waste time trying to figure it out when it actually arrives."

"It doesn't sound like you're waiting to know if you'll be ready. Only that you worry if you'll ever be ready at all."

She nods, a touch of shame welling in her chest. "Is that bad?"

"I think it's human."

"That just tells me I could screw up like everyone else…"

"I like to think it means we're afraid of the same things."

Yang pulls her head out of her knees and blinks at him. Their hands are sweating and her nerves are mirrored on him too. She can see it on his face but it almost doesn't make sense. "Why?" she asks. "You'll make a great dad, Jaune. Hell, you'd make a great mom too!" She almost doesn't notice the little smile on her cheeks.

"Could say the same to you," he says, smiling again but there's a quiver in his hands. It's uncomfortably weak. "But it doesn't really matter that we think the world of each other. We'll probably mess up anyway. I may not share your fear of becoming like your mom but I'm every bit as afraid of not turning up like mine. My parents are storied huntsmen who raised eight proper kids. My grandparents before them were hard won veterans who were their children's heroes. That's a lot of legacy to live up to. And…" He makes a series of faces. All of them uncertain.

Her hand slides up his arm and the other knits between his fingers. Their heads lean onto each other before he speaks.

"Sometimes it feels like everything I'll ever do will be dwarfed by them. Short of saving the world and raising a dozen huntsmen–" Yang resists visibly wincing at the thought of raising twelve kids "–I'll never live up to them. And even if I do? I'm still not sure how to stop my kids from sharing the same fears…" He laughs. Not bitterly. There's a genuine hearty sound puffing out of his chest. "I think I know why Dad wanted me to be a doctor."

"Hm… Sounds like he was afraid of the same thing we are," she muses.

"I think so, too."

The sliver of light through the door passes them and, for a moment, the light is gone. The warmth and sweat of their hands are the only tangible things in the dark. And they cling to each other, summoning courage as fears drip away like melting ice.

"Jaune?" she asks.

"Yeah?"

"We should talk to your parents. I think there's a lot of easy-to-reach wisdom we aren't taking advantage of here." He's silent for a long second and Yang nearly calls him out until she notices the sheen of his scroll. "What are you doing?"

His Cheshire grin is mortifying under the pale glow. "Calling my folks."

"No! Stop!" she screeches, scrambling on top of him like a wild monkey. "I'm not ready! My hair's a mess!"

He pulls his hand away. "C'mon! They'll love you!"

"Can it, Arc! Sweet talking won't stop me!"

They wrestle for a while and Yang is so focused on getting his scroll that she forgets what she taught Jaune. They've wrestled in the past for training and something he's very broadly taken from those lessons has been going on the offensive. Tucking away his scroll, he manages to slink around her and grapple her arms.

"What? Hey!"

Trapping the length of her arms above her with his arm, he reaches around her with the other to grab his scroll. He pulls it up. It goes to call and the preview camera puts them both in view (strangely, like two floating heads from the dark).

With enough struggling, Yang knows she can break out even at a disadvantageous position, but the call answers quickly and she freezes up. Her awkward smile is automatic. Her panicked heart is full-auto.

"Hey, Mom, Dad! This is Yang, my girlfrie–" His mouth hangs open when their eyes meet in what can only be described as abject terror.

They hadn't exactly agreed on a label.

There's click from the scroll. "…And saved!" Jaune's mom sings. "Aren't you two cute."

-0-

They don't get a lot of answers. Jaune's parents, Apolian and Helia (she insists on Aunt Hess), tell them that this is the kind of discussion you have over dinner. Yang is promptly invited to see them over the Summer.

They do end up sharing stories, and by the end of it Yang feels confident that she's left a good first impression. Yet, by the time they walk into the morning light and find an empty spot together at the front deck, their nerves worm their way back in but for different reasons this time.

"So… labels. Yay," Yang cheers weakly against the railing.

"Yeah," Jaune drawls. "Fifteen percent off. This side up. Expires yesterday. Labels!" he cheers sarcastically, awkwardly. "Totally love 'em."

It's very easily something they can agree to discuss another time but it doesn't feel right doing so. Like it's not so big a deal that they can't hold off but not small enough to ignore for too long. Besides, people are going to ask questions (not that they haven't already) and just agreeing on something would work for a few more miles.

"Y'know, it's funny," Yang says, "I was fully prepared to just be boyfriend and girlfriend when this all started. Now that I've got clarity, I'm starting to wonder if we're even pacing ourselves right as friends."

Jaune hums agreeably. "But maybe we've worried so much about the pace that we've forgotten if it even matters… I mean, so what if things are going too fast? What should matter is if we want it or not."

"Do you want it?" she asks.

He shrugs. "I guess I don't mind telling everyone we're dating. And exclusive. But what are we if not that by definition? What's the difference with that and being an item?"

She sighs, pivoting around to lean her back against the railing instead. "What if the label's pointless to begin with? It just sums up what we are for other people. Like you said, it should only really matter to us."

"Maybe that's just it. The label isn't important to us and so it's only for them. If all they're asking is to sum up what we are, then we should just pick a label that answers enough questions and any nuance we need we can keep to ourselves."

"Yeah, we don't have change to fit it, even. We'll just be the way we are."

But the uncomfortable question of what they even are lingers between them. Not a label, per se. Perhaps a name truly is pointless, but what does it mean to be what they are?

When their hands meet in the middle, there's an air of comfort, a touch of romance. A quiet laugh and a knowing smile. They balk at the smell of salty sea air, laugh at the antics of an excitable Penny, gossip at some friends huddled a little too close. It's all friendly, familiar. Uncomplicated.

They decide that quantifying it is either too hard or actually impossible. And a quiet ambivalence washes over them – stinging and uncertain – and figuring it out will take a lot of testing.

-0-

It was supposed to be a little solitary date but Sun knows a guy with a boat house and Pyrrha has a sponsorship with an outdoor grill you can take to the beach (the sponsor feels that a photoshoot on the deck of a ship is an inspired take). The fact that there's a small, unfamiliar crew onboard is a little concerning but they're largely invisible and stay out of the way. Though Sun and Pyrrha have made it a game to hide away from them.

Yang has started wearing a red wig to throw them off and, stood next to Jaune who is a muscular blonde, from behind he can pull off looking like Sun at a glance. Most of the crew is understanding and they have a few good laughs.

Yang muses that she might look good as a redhead and posits to Jaune that she might dye her hair down the line.

"And here I thought those locks were sacred."

"Yeah, I don't think they can stop being immaculate," she says as she twirls in front of a mirror, trying to get a good look of it down her back. "Red's sufficiently bright. Maybe…"

"Well, bright colors will match your eyes," Jaune says sat across from her in a half-zipped wetsuit, "but I don't see you having many options with hair that long. You gotta get a hairdresser to cover all that thickness. You're gonna mess up trying to do it yourself."

Yang chews the thought like she does her lip. "I guess I could just cut it."

Jaune blinks at her. "I'm not the most religious man but even that sounds blasphemous."

"Heh. I might've thought the same thing last year."

"What changed?"

She bundles her hair in her hands, draping it over her shoulder. "I inherited my hair from my mom, but it's something I took and made my own. I took pride in that, but nowadays that just feels… petty. I mean, I still take pride in taking care of it, but I've started to come around to the idea that I could just like however I look as long as that choice is my own. Even if I end up looking ridiculous for a semester."

He comes up behind her, eying himself in the mirror. "Okay, but only if you let me do the same."

"Dye your hair?"

"Yeah, to match yours. Maybe I'll even grow mine out. Always wanted to try a wolf-tail." He turns his head and bunches up a few of his locks. It's not enough for a full tail since much of the length is lost in his fist, but Yang can kind of see it working.

But red?

"I can't put you through that."

"But you won't be," he says matter-of-factly, "I'll be putting myself through that. So, if I choose to stand behind you by experimenting with my hair the same way, that'll be my choice."

She sighs and backs up into his chest. "Why do you keep cheating? You know I can't argue with that kind of logic. And you'll just end up looking ridiculous by the end."

"At least I'll look like the bigger fool."

"Jaune…"

"I'm used to it," he maintains evenly, sternly. "I'm glad people don't look down on me anymore but being with me means you have to live with the fact that I'm still every bit that little spaz who threw up on your boots. Which I'm glad you forgave me for, by the way. Real quick on that too."

"Heh, well, my temper's never been about my style. An unfortunate dork just gets pity, and even a mild jerk might just get a glare. It's mostly about my pride. I worked hard on my hair back in freshmen year and… I hated losing. I mean, god damn does Yatsu hit hard. I guarantee that I'll start seeing red again if I get a repeat of last year's Vytal."

"You're competing again this year?"

She gives him gigawatt grin. "JNPR didn't need to compete but you all did anyway. If Jaune Arc can stand on international television despite obvious odds and harbor an unnecessary need to feel like he's somehow a burden, what's Yang Xiao Long to do but follow his example and beat her own demons to death?"

His cheeks are a touch red and she gives him the small mercy of not pointing it out. "I guess I can't argue with that either," he says.

Yang pushes off him and raises one hand while pressing the other against her chest before she announces before him, "I swear mercy upon my hair, that you might see fit to show mercy on yours."

"Even if things go horribly wrong and I decide that the only way to one-up you is to grow a mullet?"

She snorts. "I will shave you bald in your sleep, and don't think for a second that I won't do that."

They're laughing and he rolls his eyes but he's certain she'll make good on if it comes to that. "C'mon, we've spent enough time not getting ready. They're probably already in the water."

She helps him with his zipper. "Blake's probably already caught one," she says. There's an excited tingle that runs through her spine. "Now I've got an itch. Wanna see if we can catch more than she can?"

"Both of us against her?"

"She used to dive for clams with her dad. No gear either. Two against one is only fair."

They still lose to her, and they're not even in second place. Sun has been diving for seafood since he was kid.

They manage over two dozen lobsters and a handful of crabs, and unanimously agree not to boil the poor things alive. Still, they mess up a few times cause no one actually knows how to cook lobster even with Penny's encyclopedic knowledge but they manage a lovely dinner eventually with a few failed attempts.

Neptune and Weiss disappear at some point only to be stumbled upon below deck. They'd been drinking. Everyone respects their privacy and don't ask why.

-0-

Nora interjects on a Tuesday team meeting that – now that it's public that Jaune and Yang are basically a couple – people both see it and don't see it.

Jaune is confused for long enough to just outright ask what she's talking about.

Sometimes people will catch them getting a little close in the halls (they're starting to notice the stares), but they're not always together and you wouldn't have noticed that something was up if you didn't already know. They sit next to each other all the time but are frequently talking to the rest of their teams (there was rumor that Jaune was secretly dating Ruby after they laughed out loud during class a few times). Witnesses spot them boarding bullheads to Vale around the weekends but are as frequently found shopping for groceries, ammo, inspecting ingots, and once even at a car dealership (and they're surprised how most of the things they do together could only be classified as dates if you squint hard enough and pretend they're doing anything else).

They're never caught holding hands. The one kiss was even on the cheek and some people still believe they were seeing things altogether. It almost feels like fiction or outlandish gossip. Not because it's them, but because no one saw it coming and people are still refusing to trust their eyes.

Yang thinks it's hilarious. Jaune thinks they need to clarify things before they get awkward. Yang was already propositioned after she lied about there being nothing between them. Lies are only going to complicate things.

So, in that moment they decide, "We're a couple."

Sure. Fine. Give them a label when they ask but they aren't changing anything else. They'd already agreed on it anyway. Still, the societal pressure to look the part just didn't vibe with them and they hope the label is the last thing they ever give into outside of themselves.

-0-

They find out two things on the last week before the semestral break, the one they'll mostly spend in Patch with Yang's parents.

One, that lobster needs to be preserved damp and freezing with salt water. Fresh water off the tap ruins their last reserve crustacean. Shame. Guess they'll have to plan another boat trip.

And two, that – at least according to the crusty boatman – lobsters don't stop growing. They get bigger and bigger until they've outgrown their own shells. So, they shed it and grow a new one. Then, eventually, they outgrow that shell, too, and start the process over and over again until we find them, crack them open, and feast on their delicious insides…

The boatman forgets his own metaphor in the reverie of polishing off the last of his meal, plucking his lips over the last delicate morsels.

He tells them all, then, that the price of growth is to constantly find that what was once familiar will inevitably feel alien. That everything about you and around you will change, and adaptation is not only what makes it survivable, but it also keeps you sane.

When they think he's done, he coughs, wheezes, then speaks again.

You should always look out for the in-between, he says with a serious look in his eye. Thing is, after shedding their shell, lobsters have to spend their meantime being vulnerable. Squishy, ugly little things, he emphasizes with gusto.

Transitions in your life will be like that, often terrifying and tumultuous, and the scary part is that your worries doesn't stop there. You have to be careful about who you become when you come out the other end. That it's not only hard to make the transition, that your choices in that change will determine who you are moving forward.

A lobster will come out wrong if something unexpected happens in the middle of molting. Might grow another claw or bulge out somewhere uncomfortably. But the boatman, rather optimistically, says a lobster has the option to cut off an offending part of them and regrow it. It'll take a while though. Years even, but correcting your character is never as easily solved with an apology or an act of will.

Because you'll never undo your mistakes. You can only make things right. And sometimes you can only do that little by little.

For a moment, Yang thinks of Raven.

-0-

It's when they're out by the pier to try an egg sandwich that Yang is thinking about lobsters and metaphors. "So, what happens after the apartment?" she asks. "After Beacon?"

"I don't know," he shrugs. "I haven't thought that far ahead." Except he has, but it's all substitutions. He used to think of a future with Terra, but now Yang has replaced all those naïve, boyish dreams with a series of blonde heads bouncing on a couch. Still, these are fragmentary thoughts, and he doesn't think Yang would like it if he tried for the civilian life. No, right now – and for the past week – he's been trying to see where that future is now with Yang instead. "We should pair off, by the way."

"Uh, haven't we already?"

"I mean when we go hunting. I know you're only supposed to pair off with your own team but I don't see JNPR and RWBY splitting up… ever. I think we should get a head start."

"Okay, future proofing. Sounds like your next report for Leadership." It is, and Yang helps him figure out his bullet points while they chew thoughtfully on their egg sandwiches (it's really eighty-percent meat and cheese but it's got an egg inside and on top so it gets the name).

They talk about the car they're looking for. Jaune's racetrack savvy sister, Sable, it still swearing up and down about the Highway Aries being an ideal match. Yang still insists on a bike.

When they're packing up and driving home, Yang talks about her "cousin" Vernal and her estranged bedmate Shay. Jaune adds that he has cousins he doesn't remember because seven sisters are enough, he doesn't need to add another eight. (Yang reels at the idea of so many blondes at a single family gathering and those are just the grandkids).

When they're home they talk about another trip out to sea and inevitably segway back into lobsters.

Sitting on the couch, she's thinking about her future. Jaune plops next to her and laughs about something Ruby sends him on his scroll.

Yang's ignoring her messages from Nora – she's staring at her scroll on the coffee table and it buzzes but she can't register what's happening – and suddenly she blurts, "Hey, I know this is a ways off and I probably shouldn't be something you talk about it at eighteen in the middle of academy training but… if we get a girl, can we name her Summer?" There's no embarrassment blooming off her cheeks. Her face is completely neutral, and her eyes are searching for a response in his wide, vacant stare.

His typing hasn't stopped, only slowed. "…"

"Jaune?"

He sighs, and it's long and beaten like he's preparing himself for self-destruction. "Only if we agree to name our son…" he swallows uncomfortably. "…uh, Qrow?"

She's aghast, mouth opening and closing. "Did… did you lose a bet or something?"

He kisses her – his way of saying yes – but it's not cute this time. It's sad and piteous and his eyes scream an apology his lungs are strangling him not to say for fear of combusting in what is already volcanic embarrassment.

"Win the bet," she says sternly.

"What? But I already lost!"

"Then double or nothing! Short of him kicking the ever living fuck out of the bucket, I am not naming my son after my uncle." After his furious nodding, she summons a tiny strength in her lungs to speak, but not enough to look him in the eye. "So, you, uh, didn't answer my question."

The clatter of his flask on the coffee table almost scares her, but she can see that he isn't drinking at the thought of Terra. This time it's just about Qrow. It makes her feel less afraid. When he answers, there is no burden in his tone caused he'd downed his nerves in quarter-parts whiskey. "I'll agree to Summer if you let me name our next daughter Agrippa."

"Oh? Why?"

"Was set on it when I was kid. This was before Pyrrha, before Terra, even. I just remember crying at home during a storm. My bedroom door was stuck cause of a leak – y'know, cause water inflates wood – and no one could hear me call out to them under all the rain drumming the roof. I was soaking wet cause the leak got onto my sheets. Stupid thing was, I wasn't even afraid of getting sick or if my small boy body would get hypothermia. I just had a sleepover at a friend's place the morning after and I didn't want to miss it. Then, out of nowhere and probably from a fevered haze, I see a guardian angel or – as my sisters called it – an imaginary friend."

He pauses to look at her, to check if she thinks he's crazy. She doesn't. Yang doesn't judge. She listens.

"It was a girl just a head taller than mine," he continues. "The dark made her hair look brown or a dull red, so I can't recall that for sure but I remember her eyes. They were blue, like mine, only brighter. She said her name was Gri, short for Agrippa. She saw that I was cold and she knelt to my level and hugged me. Her body felt warm, but too warm like the way your hands might after holding freshly brewed coffee. I didn't notice I was dry until I was laid in an equally dry bed and already falling asleep."

She doesn't ask if he thought it a dream. "You weren't afraid?" she asks instead.

He shakes his head. "I just assumed she was someone from the neighborhood I neglected to meet. My hometown, Clove, is a community of retired huntsmen surrounded by their farmlands, and everyone outside of it knew not to mess with huntsman families. If anything, we kept giving passersby the spooks. Cause of that, I was taught to be friendly, not wary of strangers."

"Hm," she sounds thoughtfully. "That explains a few things, actually."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, just one thing. Ruby told me how you two met. You told her that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. Thought you might've even been a little sketchy until I saw you myself. Seemed like the kind of guy who'd meet her in the middle. Vomit and all."

"Heh, I'm glad we hit it off. Ruby's a good friend."

"She makes a better sister," she says, winking.

"I suppose I'll find that out eventually, huh?" He gives her a suggestive grin.

"Eh?"

His grin drops. "Y'know, cause she'll be my sister-in-law if we…" He rolls his hands.

"Uh… Oh. Oh! You were flirting! Damn it, I missed my chance!'

He laughs because she seems genuinely upset. She decides that pouting is for suckers and proceeds to bite his neck. This time he bites back.

-0-

They wake up with the hickeys still on their necks and they opt to leave it there for all to see. The reactions from their peers at Beacon are interesting, and they take it as sufficient proof enough for everyone that they're an item. No one bothers asking about them after that.

When the week comes to an end, Pyrrha promises that they can pay her back for covering for the car's down payment and that – by the time they get back from Patch – that it'll be in the apartment's designated parking spot. Only slightly used cause, of course, she's going to cruise in it with Sun when he flies back to the city tomorrow.

They're surprised when Jaune and not Yang is the one that makes them vow to clean the stains. Yang is very proud of him.

On the pier, they hug their friends goodbye and Ruby promises to catch up once she's done meeting someone important from Mistral as per the headmaster's instruction. She says she can't tell them why she's nervous. They don't pry and tell her they'll listen when she's ready.

Jaune, also, promises not to look at her baby pictures (until she's there, he doesn't say).

Once they're in transit on the ferry, he tries to straighten out a crease in Yang's leather jacket. The shard of fire dust in a cup of water is his attempt to steam it straight. He spends the time talking about his mom's home remedies and his dad's jury rigging. She answers with talk of Summer's garden that her dad and uncle tend to. He scoffs at the idea of Qrow gardening but admits that it makes sense.

With Jaune busying himself, Yang wonders if things will stay this way. If all they have to worry about is down payments, creases, spoiled lobsters, and baby names. That all the big problems, like her mother's abandonment and his actual, biological son, might rear themselves instead and come back to haunt them in devastating ways. But just before any doubt sinks in, he holds her hand from his perch on the floor. He kisses her knee and eyes her from over her lap.

"Whatever it is," he says, squinting. Thinking of what else to add but settles with, "It doesn't matter whatever it is…"

She is prepared to eat up anything he offers. That he'll be there for her, that they'll work it out somehow, that he'll banish any ill thought or doubt, but he says none of those things. Instead, he leans up and kisses her – tender and brief – on the lips.

She blinks. "What are you saying yes to this time?" She's so bewildered that she doesn't even know why she asks such a thing.

"You," he answers anyway. "All of you. I can't fix everything and I can't right every wrong, but I'll take you as you are, or whatever you'll become. Even if you're in pieces. Even if you stop loving me. I don't have be your boyfriend to be with you every step of the way."

It's clear, then, that Jaune's been dealing with doubts of his own. Yang swallows as things bubble to the surface before she blinks a few times and…

"I love you," she says, and she realizes that it's the first time she has said it.

-0-

Down the line, she remembers this moment most vividly of her trip to Patch that one Autumn afternoon. The uncomfortable smell of sea water and steam off a heated cup, the rock of the ferry that forces Jaune to swallow a pill and drops a dozen more just to stop from hurling, and the way her shorts nearly catch fire from the dust shard spilling onto her lap.

Cause then he's stable and she's got a change of clothes (the small fire charred the color in an uncomfortable spot), and they try for the overpriced food court a floor above to mask the smell of all the water in almost lousy, reheated pizza.

The boatman told them that change is tumultuous, and that screwing up in the middle of growing their new shell is almost inevitable. Maybe they won't fit quite so well in their new shell, and maybe they'll take a few cuts and scrapes before they settle comfortably in their own skin, and maybe an old wound might not quite go away and leave them vulnerable there forever…

…but even if so, they decide – after a toast with pizza that tastes like the box it came in – that they'll always have these beautiful little imperfections, and that they can be ugly, squishy lobsters together.

[hq-haikyuu-blog]

A Little Nudge

Kuroo needs a little nudge to confess, too bad jealousy was a shove.

warnings: SPOILERS, cursing, mention of a minor injury, hella tension

word count: 2508

You were the beloved manager for Nekoma High School’s boys volleyball club. You were a third year at this point, having become the manager for the club when you were a first year, so this was your last year with the boys. Over the years, you quickly grew to love all of them like a family, you constantly looking out for them and their well-being and them “protecting” you from “creeps”. 

The first years looked up to you as if you were some kind of angel. They warmed up to you quickly and admired you deeply. To put it simply, they were your little band of simps. Inuoka and Lev would always approach you and try to talk to you, boasting about how strong they are and how easily they could help you carry everything. Meanwhile, Shibayama was the one actually helping you carry things.

The second years cared for you quite differently. Yamamoto was the self declared president of the “y/n protection squad”. He didn’t talk to you very much but he wouldn’t let anyone else suspicious talk to you either. Fukunaga was always making you laugh with his silly jokes. He would approach you with the most monotonous face and crack a pun that barely made sense. 

The third years were sweeties to you. Yaku was always helping you keep everyone in line. You would rarely raise your voice, no matter how boisterous the boys got, so Yaku would do it for you. The team likes to joke that he’s your megaphone. Kai is the support you need to keep coming back every day. Some days as manager are especially stressful or just draining but Kai is always there to help if possible or simply encourage you.

Kenma and Kuroo...they’re your childhood best friends. You had met Kenma first, despite the boy being younger than you, and you had quickly become friends...somewhat. And when Kuroo came along, the three of you were inseparable. You always claimed that they were like siblings to you, but as the years dragged on, Kuroo quickly grew to be more. Things definitely started changing in high school.

First and second year were no biggie. You and Kuroo stuck together like glue during your first year and when Kenma got into high school, the three of you were back together again. But sometime between the second half of your second year and the beginning of your third year, things changed. Kuroo began icing you out for no apparent reason. Kenma ended up drifting towards Kuroo, something he apologized for, but he still made an effort to stay friends with you.

The second and third years on the team all noticed this development as soon as your third year started. You and Kuroo were barely speaking. You only spoke when it was about the team. You had tried to talk to him a few times, only for him to shut you down with bland, one word answers. As the season went on and nationals drew closer, tensions grew and you and Kuroo were avoiding each other like the plague.

On the bus ride to nationals, you had chosen to sit in the middle of the bus, next to Kai, shocking everyone as you would always sit behind Kuroo and Kenma up front. From what you knew, the beginning of the bus ride was fine. You showed Kai the notes you had taken on opposing teams before the both of you fell asleep for a short amount of time. Little did you know, the small action was causing quite a stir.

“y/n-san is sleeping on Kai’s shoulder!” Lev whisper-yelled obliviously. Everyone on the bus turned to look at Kuroo, who had his jaw clenched tightly.

“Good observation, Lev.” Kuroo said from between clenched teeth.

“Don’t you like y/n-san?” Lev prodded the irked boy.

“Lev, shut up!” Yaku snapped, slapping Lev in the back of the head.

“y/n can sleep on whoever they want, they aren’t my problem.” Kuroo retorted, pulling out his phone and pretending to text someone. Kenma eyed him warily before deciding to let it drop. As the bus rolled over a large bump, you and Kai were jolted awake.

“Oh, sorry Kai! I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you like that!” you exclaimed, scooting away from the boy quickly.

“No, no it’s okay, I’m sure it was just an accident.” Kai reassured you, rubbing his neck in embarrassment nonetheless.

“Yeah, an accident.” Kuroo scoffed under his breath. Unfortunately for him, the bus was completely silent as they watched your interaction with Kai, so everyone heard his snarky remark.

“What was that, Kuroo-san?” you asked him in a sickly sweet tone, emphasizing the formality of the name you called him as you used to call him Tetsu.

“Nothing, why don’t you just go back to sleep. I’m sure you’re tired since you’ve been so busy lately, Manager-chan.” he jeered back at you.

“Well, someone has to make sure that the team is ready and in tip-top shape, Captain.” you snapped back.

“Now, now, let’s just calm down guys.” Kai said, breaking the intense stare down you and Kuroo were having while the rest of the team watched on. You slumped in your seat and crossed your arms childishly, frowning as you heard indistinct mumbling from Kuroo. The bus ride was dead silent for the rest of the ride to the stadium. As you all got down and began to make your way to the court your game would be on, you began to pat your pockets.

“Oh no, I forgot my notebook on the bus, I’ll be right back, you guys keep going!” you exclaimed.

“Do you want me to hold the bag of water bottles?” Kai asked, reaching out for the bad hanging on your shoulder and bumping into your hip slightly.

“It’s okay, but thank you Kai! I’ll be back in no time.” you assured before taking off in a slight jog to get back to the bus. You quickly located your notebook when you got back to the bus before beginning to walk back to the stadium. 

“Oof.” someone grunted, the water bottle bag swinging outwards when you turned a corner swiftly, hitting someone in the stomach.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry about that, are you okay?” you exclaimed, waving your hands around in a panic as you observed the person for injuries. He was a fairly tall boy with dark hair parted to the left and a thin face. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” he said, chuckling good naturedly. “Can I walk you to your destination? Only to make sure you don’t clobber any other unsuspecting victims.”

“Oh, that’s alright, I was just getting back to my team.” you replied, not wanting to trouble him.

“Oh, I see you’re Nekoma’s manager. I’m very good friends with Kuroo, the captain. I’d love to accompany you back if you’ll let me.” he said as he saw the team name on the back of your jacket, a charming smile on his face.

“I mean, if you know Kuroo I’m sure he’d be happy to see you.” you said thoughtfully as you nodded.

“I’m Daishou, by the way. What was your name?” he asked you.

“I’m y/n, sorry, I totally forgot to introduce myself.” you replied as you both began to head back to the main courts.

“Can I carry your bag for you?” Daishou offered, holding out a hand.

“Oh no, it’s not that heavy.” you assured him.

“Are you sure? I’ll be sure not to hit you with it.” he joked. You laughed before allowing him to take the bag from your shoulder and carry it for you.

“So, how do you know Kuroo?” you asked him, not noticing the wicked smirk on his face.

“We met through volleyball. It’s always nice to see him at matches like this.” he replied easily. “And you? I assume you’re friends since you must work together often.”

“Oh...yeah, I guess so.” you frowned, remembering that you both indeed used to be friends and worked well together.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No, it wasn’t anything you said. Kuroo and I are just having a bit of an ongoing argument I guess.” you replied, trying to keep your tone casual. Daishou was about to respond but you found yourselves at the doors to the courts. As you entered, the Nekoma team immediately surrounded you, Kuroo reaching you first.

“Daishou, what are you doing here?” he asked, the smile on his face contrasting the dark look in his eyes.

“Just dropped by to say hello.” Daishou replied easily as he handed the bag of water bottles to you. “It was very nice to meet you, y/n.”

“You too! Good luck on your matches!” you called as he excused himself and walked away.

“What did he want.” Kuroo asked you.

“What do you mean? He just helped me carry the water bottles and walked me back here.” you replied, frowning at the taller boy.

“You’ve never had problems carrying the bag before.” he accused.

“Well, he offered to carry it for me. What’s your problem? Just because you’re rude to me now, it doesn’t mean other people have to be as well.” 

“Excuse me?” Kuroo asked incredulously.

“Okay, that’s enough. We need to start warming up.” Kai intervened once again, stepping between the two of you. Kuroo gave you one final harsh look before walking away.

The game against Fukurodani was a blur to you. The team felt off, the argument between you and Kuroo putting a strain on the team's communication. Everyone was stoic and silent as the game ended in Fukurodani’s favor. You all quickly made your way off of the court and prepared for the next match, the last shot at nationals.

“Daishou!” Kuroo’s jaw clenched as he saw you wave at the Nohebi boy who he was approaching to begin the game. 

“You guys are going down hard.” Daishou smirked as he reached out to shake Kuroo’s hand.

“Oh, like how Mika let you down hard?” Kuroo sneered as he grasped Daishou’s hand.

“I don’t mind being single. y/n is pretty cute, and from what I’ve seen, they’re single.” Daishou fired back, grin widening at Kuroo’s angry expression.

“Leave y/n alone.” Kuroo spat angrily. The two separated and walked back to their respective sides as the game began.

The game was unlike anything you had ever seen. Kuroo was like a different person. He was on his top game, you doubted anyone else would have noticed the extra tension in his muscles and the clenching of his jaw, but it was undeniable that his presence on the court was unrivaled. So focused on how the game was going, you barely noticed when Kuroo called for a timeout.

“y/n, can you take care of Kuroo?” you were snapped out of your thoughts by Nekomata as he gestured to Kuroo, who stood before you. You nodded stiffly before beginning to walk out to the main hallway where the first aid kit was left.

“...are you okay?” you asked him as he followed behind you.

“Yeah.” he replied shortly.

“You seem off.”

“I’m playing fine.”

“Not like that...you don’t seem like your usual self.” you said, patting the space next to you as you sat on a bench with the first aid kit in hand. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” he replied as he sat down next to you.

“Icing me out as usual.” you laughed sadly as you grabbed his hand to begin disinfecting his finger.

“I’m not icing you out.” he hissed, hand tightening around your wrist instinctively as the alcohol hit the injured finger.

“Sorry, sorry.” you said, uncurling his fingers from your wrist as you proceeded more gently. “But if this isn’t icing me out, what is it.”

“I’m not icing you out.” he repeated instead of answering the question.

“Can’t you just tell me what I did wrong?” you finally snapped, looking him in the eye for a few moments before averting your gaze and going back to bandaging his finger.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, okay y/n?” 

“Then what happened, why are you acting like this?” you asked as you finished bandaging his finger, curling his fingers into his palms and resting your hand on top of his unconsciously.

“I like you, y/n. That’s what happened. I’ve liked you for a long time and you clearly don’t like me. Why should I make it harder for myself to move on?” he answered agitated as he stood up and turned to go back to the courts.

“Because that’s selfish and you’re an asshole! Didn’t you ever stop to consider that I might like you too? Or were you just gonna keep being a coward and just ice me out?” you snapped as you zipped up the first aid kit, quickly standing up and grabbing his elbow to stop him.

“This isn’t funny, y/n. Let’s just go back.” he replied as he yanked his arm out of your grasp.

“I’m not joking! This is the first time you’ve let me talk to you normally in how long and you won’t even believe what I’m trying to tell you!” 

“Okay, so you aren’t joking? What does that mean, you like me too?” he scoffed as he towered over you.

“Yes, you dipshit! I like you.” you exclaimed. “Ugh, whatever, it doesn’t matter. The most important thing is we need to get you back in the game.” 

“Hey. We’re talking about this after the game. If we go to nationals, you owe me a date.”

“Awfully confident for someone who called a timeout for a little finger boo boo.” you teased. A smirk broke out on Kuroo’s face, quickly spreading to yours as well at the feeling of familiarity of it all.

“I’ll make you eat your words.” he grinned, walking back into the main gym with you in tow. The game was nerve wracking, but the looks on the faces of your teammates was one of the best things you’d ever seen. You quickly hugged Yaku, who was on the bench next to you, before you felt Kuroo and Kai joining in on the hug.

“We made it.” you grinned into the hug, happy tears brimming in your eyes. As you guys packed up your things to leave the court, Kuroo approached you.

“So, we won.” he grinned at you.

“Uh huh.”

“So, about that date.” he continued, gauging your face for your reaction.

“Hmm...I guess you do owe me a date to make up for all of your shitty behavior.” you joked, though you could feel warmth creeping up your neck in embarrassment.

“Yeah, I guess I do. First free day after nationals?” he asked, rubbing his neck as he suddenly grew nervous.

“That sounds nice.” you replied, reaching out to grasp his hand reassuringly.

“Do you maybe need a bus buddy?” 

“Depends. Can I sleep on your shoulder?”

[crying-over-gay-dramas]

Okay here is my official rant post about My Engineer, specifically the finale. Spoiler: I literally have zero criticism for it so it’s just gonna be me gushing about how perfect it was, and analyzing some things. (I save the best analysis, RamKing, for last)

I’ve mentioned this before, but as a whole this series was so good I think for just how well put together it was. All the couples got pretty equal or at least well distributed screen time. And for couples who got less (Like TharaFrong) I assume they’re keeping it open for season two. You couldn't really get bored watching because it always flowed so well into the next scene, and all the couples were really great and special for their own reasons. Plus the character development was great and I know it’s gonna get even better in season two.

Now I want to go in and talk about all the couples:

BohnDuen

Throughout the airing of this series, I saw many people having doubts about BohnDuen. I saw many good points such as how they were reallly bad at communicating, Duen never tried to understand Bohn’s feelings, and Bohn was always too pushy about things. However as the series progressed we could see them slowly evolving and becoming better. Obviously even at the end, they still have problems but they’ve improved so much and I know that in Season two they will continue to progress. For Bohn, he started out super jealous. He was always really pushy towards Duen. Towards the middle he finally started to become better, keeping his jealousy more in check and pulling back a little. For Duen, who kept ignoring Duen’s feelings, he finally started trying to see things from Bohn’s point of view. He opened up a little more and even changed their relationship status on Facebook, something he knew would mean a lot to Bohn. For both of them, recognizing their flaws was hard but they wanted to be better for each other. Also in the finale, we got Duen finally telling Bohn he loves him. That was a really big deal for Duen who honestly is pretty shy. This is his first relationship. He’s not used to someone being jealous over him, someone thinking he’s cute. Physical affection was also something that came hard to Duen, but as seen by the finale (*sobs*) he’s evolving in that regard as well, even initiating a kiss himself. 

I really liked too, how before the second kiss when Duen put up his hand to block him, how Bohn kissed him through his hand (twiceeee). Bohn accepted that maybe Duen wasn’t ready for a second kiss yet, and let Duen make the choice. Even when Duen lowered his hand he let him make the choice, which he did and initiated that second kiss. <3 I think these two putting in so much effort for each other and developing so much as a couple, and as individuals indicates a really great future ahead for them. 

MekBoss

Okay I’ll be real, I may have doubted Boss for just a tiny second. I heard a rumor they were gonna have an unhappy ending so when Fon (Is that her name? I’m too lazy to look it up) showed up I got scared. But omg Bossss!!!! He handled it so well. He was so sweet to Fon, and that hug honestly made me cry a little. I was really happy that he told her she shouldn’t give up becoming an idol too. It wouldn’t have been right for her to have to give up her dream for Boss. (It was really sweet that she was willing though) And then when he went back to Mek and revealed their relationship with that megaphone? A cinematic masterpiece. For Mek, who had spent so long hiding his feelings for Boss, Boss clearly stating that they are together and that he loves him in front of everyone would have been such a cathartic release for Mek. For Boss too, who had also had feelings for him tucked away. 

In that moment Boss was choosing Mek 100% without a doubt. All the time they had spent together, the way Mek always helped and took care of Boss. He was fully realizing that he wanted Mek and only Mek. They spent so long being so close but so far from each other. That moment was a new start for them, a real start.  lmao and Ting’s reaction will never not be the funniest thing ever: “What the hell? Did I join a volunteer camp of a love camp here?!” 

TharaFrong

Agdhh poor Frong lmao. I had a feeling nothing major would happen with them in the finale since they were moving slower than the others. Frong, after getting over his feelings for Duen so quickly falling for someone else, Thara, would be really hard. After experiencing Duen’s rejection (sort of, Duen was so clueless during that smh) putting himself out there again would be really hard. But he started falling for Thara anyways, falling for the way he took care of his patients (specifically Frong’s mom), the kindness he so naturally gives to others (such as searching for Thara’s necklace, and the weirder aspects of his personality (such as a certain adorable lizard he can’t seem to stop talking about). 

I don’t really see Thara’s line as friend/brother zoning him. More as I feel that he hasn’t considered Frong in that way yet (although him taking pictures of him shirtless was a bit suspicious lmao) and I think in season two we’ll see him develop feelings as well. (I’m kinda hoping for them to be a lil angsty ngl)

Okay. Here it is. RAMKING.

They 100% had THE best buildup, and plot. The way they met, the slow transformation into friendship, people around them either shipping them or thinking they were a couple, it was all so !!! It was perfect too, because they had us so convinced that King was gay panicking, and pushing Ram away because he didn’t understand what he was felling BUT NO he knew EXACTLY how he felt, and he’d just been holding himself back this whole time. I can’t get over that. All those flashbacks they showed, King knew exactly what he was feeling and it was overwhelming that he finally couldn’t take it anymore. I think when Ram made him that crown, and their friends commented that they looked cute together, like a couple.. I think that’s when King really started to realize he couldn’t do it any more. While Ram was smiling, King had a different look. 

He seemed to be under the impression Ram didn’t feel the same, or maybe he was hesitating because of all the stress that Ram has been under with his dad. I think it was the former though. His face when Ram put his arm around him in episode 13 was so unsure. I originally took it to mean that he didn’t understand what he was feeling, but now I’m thinking it was because he couldn’t understand why Ram was doing that. It’s like he was torn between his feelings, and his uncertainty of Ram’s feelings. He had no way of knowing for sure if Ram had feelings (although at the point, the way Ram looked at him and took care of him it would have been hard to miss, but when your emotions for someone are so strong it’s hard to see things from a clear perspective. Does it seem like they feel the same because you want to? Or because they really do?) For King, who understands Ram so well, not being able to tell how he was feeling was terrifying, and having to hold himself back was painful (as he said himself *sobs*) As for Ram, I think he also knew full well what his feelings were, and also didn’t know how King felt. He was happy just staying by his side, as a friend taking care of him. King suddenly pulling away was confusing for Ram. It hurt him to be away from him, but he was patient and waited for King to tell him why he was acting the way he was. King had always been so understanding with Ram’s emotions, and Ram wanted to do the same. While they were apart, I noticed how during BohnDuen’s reunion and MekBoss’ confession they focused on King’s reaction. He was happy for his friends, but I saw another emotion in his expression. One that reflected the conflict and pain he was feeling over his emotions for Ram. 

The way he went from smiling, to that face was soo good. That one little moment was a big indicator of what was going on in King’s head and the pain he was currently feeling.

Then, finally (it might have helped that he was a little drunk) King admitted to everything he’d been feeling. That he was pushing him away because he feels good with him, and it was painful to hold back around him all the time. And we all know what happened next (*Sobbing noises*) They finally released all those emotions they’d been holding in, the pull they’d felt for each other since day one, the unexplainably deep understanding they have for each other. It all came together. Okay but that kiss was so !!!! Like the !!! the foreheads!!! The closed eyes!!! It was all passion, emotion it was so aHHH 

Then the way they were lying the next morning (also may or may not be my new computer wallpaper oops) was so !! They’re turned in towards each other, King’s arm lying against Ram’s chest, his head tucker into him. I thought that position did a great job of reflecting them as a couple. The way they kept being drawn to each other. Also, after King woke up and the way he so quickly believed that Ram had forgotten what had happened last night, made me even more certain that King is scared and uncertain of Ram’s feelings. They both obviously have feelings for each other, it’s now just a matter of figuring out how to express them to each other. (Although who knows what complications Season 2 could throw at them)

Okay So I lied, I do have a very small criticism: I didn’t like that Bohn pulled the “I don’t like men, I just like you” line. That always bugs me. In BL there’s always a fine between a series being genuinely good and romantic and a series being focused on mainly fan service. I’ve always seen that line as a sign that a series is gonna be kinda fan service-y. However, My Engineer was not at all like that. It was definitely one of the good ones (one of the best honestly) so in this case that line wasn’t a bad sign. Still, I wish that hadn’t been included. Also, we deserved more Cupcake content and we better get some in season two. I want to see Thara baby his lizard some more god dammnit. 

Also this is random but I really hope they give Ting a man in S2. She deserves it. (Or a girlfriend in which case I volunteer I love her so much)

This was a really massive post and if you read this entire thing I would like to give you a virtual hug. Have a good day!! <3 I’m gonna go back to sobbing and replaying the episode now

[moon-yeongjun]

The Gay Cousin Pt. 1 || Moon Bros

Summary: Jun and Tae’s cousins from Canada zoom in... and reveal a pretty shocking secret! 

TW: anxiety, thoughts/mentions of homophobia (no actual homophobia expressed) 

@moon-yeongtae

JUN: A couple of times a year, the Moon family skyped the other Moon family. It happened only on your standard occasions: Chuseok and Christmas. Much more common were phone calls to Eomma’s extended family still living in Korea-- her cousins and aunts and uncles, most of whom Jun had never met. 

But the other Moons-- his father’s younger brother’s family who had immigrated as well, but to Canada, not England. Well, they were like Santa Claus. Or a unicorn. Popped up, said hi, sent cards but only over email. In fact, there were times they could not work out the time difference between Toronto and Swynlake and so they missed the Skype call. 

But not these days. Oh no, these days, ever since Abeoji died, Eomma was making a real effort to keep in touch with Nam-seok and his two sons. Whether it was out of guilt or maybe her way of feeling closer to her late husband, Jun didn’t know. 

He also didn’t argue though when she told all the Moons that it was Jacob’s birthday in a few days and they were going to Skype him from his new apartment. 

“After church, this Sunday, so no plans!” Eomma said fiercely to all of them, waving a knife in the air. She glared more fiercely at Star, who was truly going through the rebellious-teen-phase on behalf of both goody-two-shoes Sky and eager-to-please Sunny, and was texting at the table. 

“But Eomma, I was going to go over to Janet’s--”

“No. Jacob emailed me, eh? We’re doing it. No excuse.” 

And so now it was Sunday, at 2:26 p.m., which was 9:26 a.m. in Toronto, which seemed pretty early for a 25-year-old (and shouldn’t he be going to church too? Jun was not going to point this out to Eomma, for Jacob’s sake). They gathered around Jun’s laptop as he logged onto Zoom, which was much better than Skype, he told Eomma. 

“Agh, your butt is too big, Star!” yelped Sunny behind. Sunny and Star were fighting for Jun’s nice desk chair, trying to shove each other off with their hips. 

“I called it!” 

“Aish, girls!” Eomma snapped. “Sky, put the book down.” 

“We’re not even on yet?” Sky huffed, not lowering her book. 

Jun rolled his eyes and glanced at Tae. Who knew that Tae would be the best behaved of his siblings? Not him. Though, his brother was almost 18 now, so maybe his bad attitude really was just a symptom of those early teens, like the girls now. 

Just then, his screen began to ring. “Yah, he’s calling!” Jun announced. 

Eomma ripped the book from Sky’s hands. “Okay everyone, be nice or I’ll kill you!” 

The next moment, his cousin appeared: Jacob with his big grin, which immediately reminded Jun of Tae. But that was about the only resemblance. Jacob was blond now! Aish! A second after, his other cousin leaned in onto the screen: Kevin, with his hipster glasses, wearing a beanie even though it was spring there, unruly hair poking out. Too long, thought Jun. What was with kids these days and growing their hair so long? “Yooooooo, Moon fam, hi!” Kevin said. 

“Gomo, hello hello!” sweet Jacob said, waving both his hands. “How’s everyone doing?” 

TAE: 

When Tae was younger, he used to wish he belonged to the other part of the Moon family. It wasn't because he hated his life or anything even though he sort of did sometimes (at least back then), it was because they just seemed so much cooler! Like right now his cousins were smiling so big and Jacob had dyed his hair blonde! Tae had a feeling that if he tried to dye his hair blonde his eomma would try to slap some sense into him with a kitchen spoon! Ha! 

"We're great," Tae said, leaning closer to the screen and blocking his sisters' view of the screen and smiling big in return. They didn't need to see anyway. 

Predictably, though, the second he was fully in the way he felt shoving at his back. 

"Oppa you're in the way! We can't see!" 

"You don't need to see anyway," he said and laughed when Star yanked him backward by the shirt. "I like your hair! How long did it take to turn it blond?" 

"Like, a long time," Jacob said with a laugh. "It looks good though so it was worth it." 

"Maybe I'll do it next," Tae said and smiled really big. "Eomma will help me, right, Eomma?"

JUN: 

Aish, was Tae trying to pick a fight? He took back what he was thinking about one minute earlier: Tae had not grown out of his annoying teenager phase at all. He was still in it, a troublemaker to the end. Because he knew! Oh he knew, he heard the fights between Star and Eomma as Star pushed and pushed. It had taken her almost a full six months to convince Eomma to let her and Sunny dye bleach their hair in the first place. And she’d not even asked about the blue colour, just showed up, tossing those locks and letting Eomma lose her mind. 

Remember what Eomma had just said too? Behave. Picking a fight in front of their cousins was not behaving. 

“I think Star has more experience with that,” said Jun swiftly, so Eomma did not have to answer. Eomma nodded, not adding anything else, which Jun knew was because she did not like the idea of Tae-- any of her children-- dying their hair at all. 

“Yes! Girl, I saw your Insta pics, that blue was so cute!” Jacob said. 

“Fire!” Kevin added, putting his hand to his mouth like a megaphone. 

Star preened. “Thanks! It was super hard to manage though and like, washed out to this ugly green colour.” 

“Right, yeah, I get that,” said Jacob. “So what’s everyone doing?”

“No, you tell us about you, you are both so busy,” Eomma interrupted with a smile. “I see Jacob’s graduation pictures?”

“Right, yes! I finished my Masters in Music Ed,” said Jacob. “Kevin’s still working on his degree, he’ll be done in like no time though. And then I just moved here! Ahh, first place of my own! Well, not like on my own, on my own, but you know--” 

Eomma clapped her hands lightly. “That’s so wonderful! So responsible. You have a job?” 

“Um, yes, but not actually teaching music yet!” Jacob laughed. “I’m just like, working in a restaurant right now.” 

“Music is a very hard degree to find a job for,” said Jun. Then flinched as he felt Eomma pinch him. He shot her a confused look. What! It was! Who could get a degree in music education and expect to make real money?! 

“Haha, yeah it is but like, I just graduated so I mean, I’ll be interviewing for stuff for next school year.” Jacob went on like he didn’t notice. “But so wait, no, everyone tell me what’s up! Tae, aren’t you going to uni soon?” 

TAE:

Tae's smile fell for a moment before he could control himself but he quickly recovered, pasting it back in place. The thing was, theoretically? Yes, Tae was supposed to be going to uni soon. Actually, he was supposed to be going to uni next year if everything had gone the way it was supposed to, but he was a giant failure of a human being and had to repeat an entire year. 

He didn't really want to get into all of that, obviously, so he just kind of smiled and nodded. "I still have one more year before I have to get into that, but yeah, I can already tell that year is going to go by fast."

There, that was much easier than talking about how he felt like an utter failure and like he was too stupid to ever get into any uni, right? Perfect! 

"Jun-hyung is really doing great with the store, too! We actually have employees now and he's even dating one of them." 

He looked over to his hyung with s little wince, hopeful that Jun would take pity on him and not kill him later. 

I'm sorry, he tried to communicate with his eyes. I just can't talk about uni. 

JUN: 

Now this wasn't fair. Why should Jun have to suffer because Tae was irresponsible and lazy and didn't study enough or own up to his choices???! 

Okay, maybe that was putting it all a little harshly but Jun was not feeling very forgiving when Tar mentioned the g word. 

Girlfriend. 

His cousins were going to gobble that up, two hungry hyenas scenting gossip.

And sure enough, both Kevin and Jacob gasped. 

"Yooooooooo no way! But wait-- wait wait, what about Tiffany?" exclaimed Kevin. 

" They broke up! Kevin that was in Gomo's Christmas email! I'm sorry Gomo, I swear he read it--" 

"Course I read it, I just forgot! Tiffany was around forever!" 

"Anyway, this new girl? Tell us about her!" Jacob beamed. 

Jun would rather not. He would rather do anything but talk about Haru. He needed to say something fast though or else-- 

Already too late. Jun's one second grimace opened the window for Eomma. 

"Oh she's wonderful! Her name is Haru, she is Japanese but very beautiful! Very polite and friendly and she goes to church--" 

Jun cleared his throat. "Yes, we are still getting to know each other. It's new." 

"Well she has worked for us for a year, that isn't very new--" Star said with a smirk like the traitor she was. 

"Don't you want to show us your new place, Jacob?" interrupted Jun maybe a little desperately, who could say! 

"Oh yeah, Zoom tour!" Kevin flashed rock our signs. 

"Definitely! I was just hoping we could wait for--" Jacob turned at that moment. "Did you hear that? Oh I think he's here! Wait just one minute everyone!" Jacob waved a hand and then scurried out of the room. 

Kevin leaned in to the screen. "Soooooo… anyone else got any hot significant others, hmmm? Star-- Tae, my man??"

TAE:

“Ha,” he blurted, and then instantly he panicked and shut his mouth. 

Tae had literally been about to say he had the hottest one. It had been right there on the tip of his tongue, because any chance to talk about how hot Nemo was was something he wanted to take advantage of. Then he remembered that most of his family had absolutely no idea he was gay and if his eomma knew that about him she’d probably tell him he was going to hell. 

This zoom call was quickly turning into a nightmare. Not only was he forced to think about how dumb he was, now he had to think about how closeted he was too. He wanted to leave, but he couldn’t, so he sat there and tried to keep a smile on his face while Star babbled on about someone in her class and all her boyfriends or whatever she was talking about. 

If Tae had been panicking a little bit less, he might’ve caught it. He might’ve been able to prepare himself for what he was about to see because all the hints were there. No one was trying to hide anything at all. 

Jacob had clearly said he’s here and then right after that, Kevin had asked if anyone else had any hot significant others. So yeah, Tae should’ve been prepared when Jacob walked back into the frame holding an unfamiliar boy’s hand. 

He should’ve been prepared, but he wasn’t. 

In fact, when he saw Jacob walk back into the frame, everything around him went black and he stopped breathing while he gripped his chair so hard his fingers hurt. He was going to pass out. 

Tae looked over at his eomma, trying to read her expression, but all he saw was a blank stare. 

“Tae!” 

Tae blinked and the world filled back in around him. Star was pushing at his back and giggling. “Aren’t you going to say hi? Jacob is introducing his boyfriend!” 

“Right, sorry! Hey, it’s nice to meet you,” Tae said with a respectful little bow of his head. 

JUN: 

From Jun’s point of view, it went like this: 

“Star’s flirting with like six different guys right now,” Sky spoke for the first time, right after Tae’s very strange squeak. Jun met Sky’s eyes for a beat, his own eyebrows furrowing down for a moment. Did Sky…? But he thought only Sunny--

“Oh my god, am not,” groaned Star. “Sides, Eomma won’t let me date yet anyway.” 

“You’re too young,” said Eomma. “Whoever these boys are too, stop flirting with them--”

“I’m not flirting! I’m friends with them. You won’t let me go out with Tyler--”

“Ooooh, who’s Tyler?” said Kevin, wiggling his eyebrows. 

“A friend,” said Star, looking very pointedly at Eomma. 

And this was when the door opened and Jacob returned with another boy. He looked Korean, maybe-- was he Korean?-- with short black hair and thick-framed, stylish glasses. He carried coffees with him and a large, friendly smile. But that smile was nothing compared to his cousin’s. His cousin’s smile had crinkled his eyes into precious rainbows and he squeezed the boy’s arm once--

And Jun knew, right before Jacob said anything, but not fast enough to suddenly smash his hand on the keyboard and instantly disconnect them. The panic seized his throat. 

“Gomo, everyone, I wanted you guys to meet my boyfriend. This is David!”

“Hey everyone, I’ve heard so much about you,” said this David as he pulled up a chair. He grinned again, leaning closer to the screen. “Seriously, Jacob is always talking about his cool British cousins.” 

“Wait, I’m screaming!” squealed Star (not actually screaming). “You have a boyfriend?”

“It’s nice to meet you!” piped in Sunny, and Sky echoed her, “Nice to meet you!” 

Jun, meanwhile, was trying not to look at Tae, but could not help himself. And so he kept jumping his eyes around like he was following the path of a fly in the air. Look up, look to the side, look at the mouse, okay, look at Tae--!

Tae looked like he’d been punched in the face.

Eomma looked like she was listening to some very serious news. 

“Yes, very good to meet you,” said Eomma finally, after Tae had spoken too. She smiled very politely. “How do you know Jacob?” 

“We went to school together,” said David. “Undergrad, I mean.”

“We started dating our third year,” added Jacob. His knee was bouncing, Jun could see it on the screen. Ah, so he was nervous too. Good, he should be, he might have just exploded the Moon families forever! This was sabotage! What was he thinking?! “So it’s our third year together. So we decided to get a place. He’s great,” Jacob gushed. “I mean, totally genius level smart, he works at an engineering firm.” 

“Yeah, David’s awesome,” chimed in Kevin. 

“What do your parents do?” asked Eomma. 

“They’re both teachers actually,” said David. “That’s how they met, uh, in their PhD programs. My mom mostly does after school tutoring in sciences, but my baba’s a professor at McGill.” 

“Oh, very impressive,” said Eomma. She pressed her lips together. Jun was staring at her; he could not look away. “And has David met your appa and eomma, Jacob?” 

“Yes,” said Jacob with a nod. “Yes, yeah. That’s one of the reasons I wanted you guys to meet him too, you know? We’ve just been dating so long it felt silly at some point, haha!” 

TAE:

Tae was having a heart attack. 

They’d learned all about it in school--the sweaty palms, the shortness of breath, the unbearable pain in the left side of the chest. He was absolutely going to die right here in this chair while talking to his cousins from Canada. Or he was going to puke. One of those two things was going to happen and it was the most important thing in the world that he not give any of that away with his face. He had to remain still. He had to remain stoic. He was not allowed to talk. 

He heard everything Jacob was saying. They’d been dating for a long time. They’d been together so long, actually, that Jacob’s new apartment was actually Jacob and David’s new apartment and his parents knew all about it and they still loved him. They loved him enough for Jacob to think it was a good idea to introduce David to their family. 

Their very traditional, Christian family. 

Yep. 

Tae was actually dying. 

The screen in front of him started to waver. Actually, the whole room kind of looked a little misty, and Tae realized there were tears in his eyes. His Eomma was barely moving. She was talking, but they were like short little clipped sentences and Tae was so afraid of what she was going to say when they ended the call. He didn’t want to hear it. 

Slowly, Tae looked over at Jun, his eyes big and pleading. He didn’t know what he wanted his hyung to do, but he needed to get out of this. He didn’t want to be here anymore. 

A hand, small and warm, was suddenly covering his where he was gripping the chair with all his strength and he looked down to see it was Sunny. She’d leaned forward just a little to reach him and Tae had to cough to cover what sounded suspiciously like a sob. Ha.

He couldn’t think about David meeting his aunt and uncle. He couldn’t think about how cute it probably was and how much they probably loved their son’s boyfriend. If he did, he’d start wondering if it would ever happen for him. 

He’d start thinking about bringing Nemo over to his eomma and telling her they were dating. He’d start imagining how happy she would be for them and how supportive she would be when he said they were going to move in together. He’d start daydreaming about what it would be like to live with Nemo and how happy he would be because his family could come visit them and they could cook dinner and entertain and--

He pulled his hand away from Sunny’s and wrapped his arms around his knees. 

JUN: 

Tae looked at Jun the way he used to when he was just a kid. It had been a long time since Jun had seen that sweet boy in his brother’s face. Those big eyes, that nervous lip. He was five years old and crying about his scabbed knees. He was six and begging Jun for chocolates. He was seven and teary-eyed as he struggled with his maths homework, Jun sitting with him at the kitchen table.

And Jun wished he were the hyung he had been all those years ago-- bad hair and acne but all the time in the world to answer to his brother’s needs. He’d once been a superhero, the smartest person Tae ever knew! There was nothing he could not fix!

But this. 

This was Tae, eight years old, asking him not to go away to university. That had been the first time that Jun had ever broken a promise and let his brother down. 

And here he was again. He stared back helplessly. What could he do, eh? Stop the call abruptly? Make an excuse for Tae that wouldn’t upset Eomma? Turn back time, call his cousin, tell him that coming out was a bad idea?

And was it?

Jun could not say. Eomma was not causing a scene. She had not shut down. She was not as happy as before, but maybe it was a shock, or maybe the slight had nothing to do with Jacob bringing a boyfriend, and instead it was about him bringing anyone at all to a family call. 

Jun would just have to wait and see. 

And so he sat there. Just like Tae sat there. He sat there, failing his brother all over again. 

“Well I think that’s all super awesome!” blurted Sunny, proving to be more useful than Jun. “Maybe we could visit you guys one day!” 

“Totally!” said Jacob.

“Oh yeah, the first ever Moon family reunion!” said Kevin as he pumped his fist. “Man, we’d gotta get some of the O-G Moons.” 

“O-G?” David snorted. 

“He’s talking about the real Koreans,” said Jacob. “In Korea.” 

“You... are real Koreans--” David started. 

“Point is, all the Moons!” Kevin said. “One day! Would be fun.” 

Jun could only nod and press his lips together. At least they were not talking about David anymore, not really, eh? Best keep it that way. Maybe that was what Jun could do. “So eh, you wanted to give  a tour of the apartment?” He prompted. 

The rest of the call was mostly that. Jacob walked them around their place. They had been in the spare room, which was mostly an ‘office’, but Jun saw the massive computer screen and knew it was a gaming computer, mhm. And then there was a rather new kitchen, brand new appliances, David bragged. David also talked a lot about some of the apartment complex amenities, the on-site gym, a movie theater big enough for a group of say, eight to ten. He was proud, Jun saw that-- it was an expensive place, and no doubt he was covering most of it for Jacob. Jun wondered about that aspect of their relationship, he wondered if Jacob really was ready for it all, only 25 years old, on the cusp of his start of career, to depend on someone else… 

And then the bedroom, which they did not spend much time in, because they wanted to show the bathroom with its nice sized tub.

And then the balcony, which had a nice view of Toronto. Star sighed dreamily. “I wanna live in a city like that one day!” 

And then they all said their goodbyes. “This was so fun, I’m so glad you guys could call in,” said gentle, naive Jacob. He did not seem to suspect anything. Maybe he was hiding it. Maybe not. 

Eomma stood up first as the Zoom ended. “He is doing very well,” she said. “What a beautiful place to live, eh? See, this is what happens when you study hard.” She looked at Tae sternly. 

“Tae, I need your help!” Jun blurted at that moment, slapping the arm of his chair and making his sisters flinch. “With-- there’s-- the thing, you know, I told you to do this morning. You didn’t do it.” 

TAE:

The second his hyung spoke, Tae jumped out of his chair and nodded, heading to the back door where he kept his mud boots. He couldn’t breathe. The air in their house had gotten too thick  and every time Tae tried to take a breath it stuck in his lungs, gummy and wet. 

His eomma hadn’t looked happy. In fact, she hadn’t looked much of anything, her face kind of a blank slate, and Tae’s brain had absolutely no problem projecting all of his fears onto that blank slate. She’d been disgusted. She’d been upset, mad, disappointed. 

That last one really was the worst one for Tae. 

Pulled his boots up over his jeans and stomped down the stairs, heading toward the barn with one thought swirling through his head over and over and over. You’re already such a disappointment, and when she finds out you’re gay that’ll be the last straw. 

It was true, though, wasn’t it? He’d failed a grade. Now, the second time he’d done this school year, he was passing, but just barely. He was stupid. He was a giant idiot and his eomma knew that. That’s why she’d taken that dig at him, told him that if he studied hard he could have a nice apartment like Jacob. 

Tae hated Jacob. 

Well, no, he didn’t hate Jacob, but the jealousy burned through his bones and left him shaking and empty, barely able to stand. Wait. He wasn’t standing. 

Tae looked down at his hands and found them covered in dirt. He was on his knees behind the chicken coop, his chest heaving as his heart attack finally caught up with him. He was going to die. It was kind of a relief actually, because now he wouldn’t have to come out to his eomma at all. He’d just die and be buried in a cute little grave and she could cry and say he’d had so much potential and maybe she’d even believe it because he hadn’t lived long enough for her to see how wrong she was. 

He should probably call Nemo before he died, his brain offered up, but he’d left his phone in the house and it was probably better this way anyw--

A loud, rasping sound caught Tae’s attention and he looked around, his eyes wide and wet, until he realized it had come from him. 

“I can’t,” he was saying. “I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.” 

JUN: 

Tae hopped up right away. Good, good, that was what Jun wanted. Jun could not follow his brother as quickly though, caught in the dynamics of the Moon women before he could escape. This mostly consisted of Star gripping at his arm and saying, “Junnie oppaaaa, you need to post a picture of you and Haru on Instagram, so Jacob can see her!” 

“I don’t have a personal Instagram,” Jun said and tried to drag his arm away. 

“Ugh, I’m making you one, that’s so sad,” said Star. 

“Posting a picture would be good, Junnie,” said Eomma. “Maybe Facebook?”

“No one uses Facebook anymore, Eomma!” said Star. 

“Aish, that’s not true, I use Facebook all the time,” said Eomma. 

“I have to-- help Yeong-tae--” Jun cleared his throat and managed to squeeze out this time around, leaving talks of Facebook and selfies behind.

But not Jacob. 

No, he carried that with him as he went outside. He had no idea where Tae would have gone, considering that Jun did not actually give him a task. He headed toward the chickens though, because that seemed to be a good distance from the house. And sure enough-- there was his brother-- on his knees. 

Jun stopped, still far away as though he’d stepped in mud and it had sucked his feet down. He did not know what to do. Jun was not someone who comforted others-- not well. Whenever Tae had cried on his shoulder in the past year, he had sat like a useless, limp pillow, just there to be grabbed onto. He did not know what he’d say to Tae now either. He didn’t know how Eomma felt. Maybe she’d never talk about it, and maybe that was a good thing? Maybe later today, she’d rant about it all much too harshly. Jun could make Tae no promises.

Perhaps he should just leave. Hadn’t he already failed his brother enough today? Space could be what Tae needed, just...space, and time, so he could calm down…

This was not the right answer, Jun knew that and so he hesitated, second after second, before finally forcing his feet to move.

“Tae-yah, what are you doing? Get up, come on now,” said Jun, and he reached down to help Tae onto his feet again. His hands went clumsily up to his brother’s face, wiping away the tears over his splotchy red cheeks. “Look at me, eh? Why are you crying?” It was a genuine question, but also Jun felt like Tae needed something firm right now-- someone to keep him grounded, not have him spin off into whatever painful scenarios he was concocting in his head. “Eomma doesn’t know about you, okay? You’re okay. This is a good thing--” 

He said it. And he believed it.

His hands moved down to grip his brother’s shoulders. “You aren’t alone anymore, don’t you see that? Jacob understands you, eh? He knows exactly what you’re going through!” 

TAE:

“He doesn’t!” Tae heard himself say. 

He wasn’t being fair, but he didn’t want to be fair. He wanted to be Jacob. 

“He doesn’t know anything. Jacob--his eomma probably didn’t care at all! She probably smiled and hugged him and told him to bring David over for dinner and our Eomma just stared at him like he was gum stuck on the bottom of her s-shoe.” 

Tae’s sobs caught up with him and his whole body shook. He didn’t care if what he was saying was true or not because in this moment it was how he felt. Alone. 

Except Tae wasn’t alone, and for a moment, it was like he was six all over again. Jun-hyung, was standing here with him, his hands on his shoulders, and telling him everything was going to be okay. 

Why couldn’t he live in a world where who he loved didn’t matter? He was a good person! Or, he tried to be at least. Sometimes he got a little bit angry and he was definitely short-tempered but...he just wanted his family to love him. He just wanted to be accepted. 

“Hyung, you can’t let her hate me,” he said, his voice a little smaller--like maybe if he said it quiet enough the universe wouldn’t get any ideas. Hot tears slipped down his cheeks and  Tae gripped at the hem of his hyung’s shirt. “She’s going to hate me, but you can’t let her.”

JUN: 

“She won’t hate you,” said Jun. “I promise.” 

It was not something he should promise.

But Jun had always felt this way, since Tae came out to him-- that there could be no other alternative. He could not imagine his loving eomma turning on one of her own children like that, no matter what she believed or didn’t believe. And really, did they know? A belief in God did not mean a belief that all gay people should be damned. He had seen plenty of Christians to argue the opposite: that God meant love, and love was for all of His children. 

Maybe Eomma would be shocked, maybe she would be-- disappointed or confused. That was what Jun tried to find on Eomma’s face when Jacob had introduced his boyfriend, but she had been much too polite about it all for him to figure it out. And yes, those emotions might hurt Tae too, but it couldn’t be hate. Never hate. 

Jun wished his promise could secure that. He would trade anything in order to give Tae that peace of mind.

As it was, he could only fumble his way through this like always. “Tae-yah,” he said then gently. “You should talk to Jacob again. You don’t know what it might be like for him. He was probably scared too, even if our gomo did accept him right away. I’m telling you, this is good.” He said it again, wiped his brother’s face again. “No matter what happens with Eomma, you will always have family, see? Me, and our sisters, and Jacob and Kevin-- and yes, even Gomo. So many people are going to be there for you.”  

TAE:

His hyung was right. Tae knew his hyung was right and he shouldn’t be scared, but it was just so hard not to be. He took a deep, shaky breath and nodded his head. And when he really thought about it, maybe he was just a little bit less scared now than he had been before, because Jacob had come out and nothing had caught on fire. His eomma’s head didn’t explode and she didn’t start praying for him immediately and saying he was going to go to hell. So really, it had been a little bit like a test run and no one had died. 

Now that he was a little more calm, Tae really wanted to know how Jacob had done it. 

“I--Yeah I think I want to talk to him,” he said in a small voice, still holding onto his hyung’s shirt. “And I think I want to tell Sky and Star too. I think they should know.”

A small seed was starting to bloom bright with hope inside of Tae’s chest and he wanted to water it. He wanted to give it all of his energy until he wasn’t scared at all anymore. He leaned into Jun and wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him tight and pressing his cheek to his chest.

“Thank you, hyung,” he said, and he meant it so much. “Thank you for helping me.” 

Maybe it was stupid, but what Tae really wanted now was Nemo. He wanted to tell Nemo all of his feelings. He wanted to explain to him that maybe he was ready, but he was also still so scared and he wanted Nemo to hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay just like his hyung was doing now. 

Tae felt safe in his brother’s arms and he wanted to tell Nemo about that too. He wanted to tell Nemo that his hyung was a hero. 

“You--I wouldn’t be able to do this without you,” he said, still mumbling. “You’re a good hyung.”

[nothingbutfangirlsmut]

The Trials of Emi

Pairing: A little Minho. A sprinkle of Frypan. Gally x Emi(OC)

Summary: Emi, her twin brother Thomas, and a small group of gladers had been rescued and taken to a safe haven. Or so it seemed. It doesn't take long for Thomas to realize something is wrong. What happens next is a true trial for all of them but Emi's trials began the moment she was ripped away from a dying Gally. Watching someone you love die right before your eyes truly takes a toll.

Finally meeting the right arm could have been the end but betrayal leads to even more chaos and loss. A new mission to rescue those taken from them leads them to a city. The last city. After Emi finally comes to terms with everything that's happened something unfolds that changes everything again. She will have to not only deal with helping her brother take down WCKD and save their friend but also deal with all the new problems in her head and her heart.

Rating: As of right now it’s at most PG13. Some strong language that’s about it but it could change.

(This is the 2nd part/book to my other story "The Maze trials: A Gally Fanfiction". This will cover the events of the scorch trails and the death cure.)

Chapter Fifteen

Outside the city walls was a small city of its own. It was crowded and run down. We wormed our way threw the crowd until we got out into what looked like the main road. A large crowd was making their way up the road towards the wall.

"We are the voice of the voiceless!" A loud man's voice shouted.

We turned to see a van slowly driving with several armed men on top of it. One man was at the front shouting into a megaphone. We stepped back out of the way as they drew closer.

"They hide behind their walls! They think they can keep the cure for themselves! While they watch the rest of us wither and rot!" The man continued to shout as the van slowly drove past us.

I stood beside Thomas with Fry right behind me. The people around us cheered and followed the van as it moved.

"But there are more of us than there are of them! We will rise up and take back what is ours!" The man's voice started to drain away as they got farther away from us.

We followed the crowd through the street. As Thomas turned a corner around a building he stopped.

"That's it! That's our way in!" He shouted over the noise of the crowd.

He took off elbowing his way threw the crowd. Only Jorge was able to keep up with him. Brenda, Fry, Newt, and I got stuck several feet back from them. The crowd started to shout and chat even louder than before as we drew closer to the wall.

"What the hell did we get ourselves into?" Fry asked.

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling." I told him.

Newt grabbed my arm as I grabbed the back of Fry's shirt so we could stay together. I happened to look behind us to see the same two men who were once on top of the van standing in the crowd staring in our direction. I nudged Newt causing him to look down at me. I nodded towards the masked men. Newt looked over his shoulder at them. They were moving threw the crowd now towards us. There were two more on our right watching us as they walked. That bad feeling I had skyrocketed. We shoved threw the crowd quickly to get to the front where Thomas and Jorge were standing. Newt wrapped his arm around Thomas' waist to get his attention.

"Hey, guys, we need to go now. Look." Newt said pointing behind us.

We all turned to see the men in masks even closer now. Before we could move a loud alarm started to sound drawing everyone's attention back to the wall. I couldn't see what was causing the alarm but the people around us started to scream and back away. I screamed tugging Fry's arm as bullets and explosions started to rain down around us. We ran threw the crowd trying to dodge the sudden attack. I found myself holding onto Fry's hand tightly. We turned to run between two buildings coming out in a small area.

Before I had time to think someone grabbed me ripping me away from Fry. I screamed and kicked as the person lifted me off the ground. I was tossed inside a van then Thomas was thrown inside right behind me. Two armed men climbed in then Brenda was thrown in behind them. When the third armed man got in he shut the door. I moved to sit as close to Thomas as I could. He was squeezed between myself and Brenda. He grabbed my hand and held it tightly as the van started to move.

"What the hell is happening?" I questioned quietly.

"I have no idea." Thomas panted.

The three armed men all set opposite us. They just silently staring at us. I noticed the man in the middle seemed to be looking at me. I slowly moved so I could put my hands inside the boots I wore. Thomas noticed what I was doing and grabbed my arm.

"Emi, that's not gonna go well against their guns." He whispered as he tugged on my arm.

I huffed but leaned back leaving the two twin blades that I had stuffed into my boots alone.

"Why don't you boys put down those guns? You couldn't possibly think little ole me could take any of you." I told the masked men in a sickly sweet voice.

One of the men on the side started to put his gun down but the man in the middle grabbed it and shook his head. I smirked but said nothing else. The van finally came to a stop. The armed men climbed out as the door behind us opened.

"Get out!" Another man in a mask ordered.

As soon as the three of us climbed out the other van pulled in. When it stopped it was rocking from side to side. The three of us shared a confused look. The back door swung open as a man came flying out of it. Jorge jumped out landing on top of the man.

"Where is she?" Jorge questioned loudly as he started to punch the man.

We all scrambled to get to him but each of us were pulled backward. Everyone but Brenda. She ran to Jorge putting her arms out to him.

"I'm right here! I'm right here!" She shouted.

Jorge instantly stopped. He got back to his feet then pulled Brenda into him for a hug.

"Everybody relax! We're on the same side here!" One of the masked men shouted.

Thomas tore himself free to turn to the man.

"What do you mean the same side? Who the hell are you?" Thomas asked harshly.

The rest of us were let go. I stepped over to Thomas keeping myself between him and Fry. The man in front of us put his gun down then pulled his mask off his face. When he turned to look at us everything stopped. There was no more noise. My heart stopped beating as it too stared in shock at the face in front of me.

"Hey greenie," he said in the voice I'd been dying to hear for so long.

I stepped back right into Fry. I stumbled but he caught me. He wrapped his arm around my stomach holding me against him.

"Gally?" Thomas questioned softly in utter disbelief.

My body felt like jelly. My legs trembled as my eyes overflowed with tears. He's alive? How? I was snapped out of my intense state of shock as Thomas landed a punch so hard to Gally's face that it knocked him completely off his feet. Thomas dived tackling the man on the ground. The others around us quickly pointed their guns at Thomas. Gally raised a hand at them as Thomas punched him.

"Stop! It's alright! It's alright!" Gally shouted.

Before I knew what I was doing I pulled out of Fry’s hold then ran forward just as Newt did the same. We took each side of Thomas grabbing his arms to stop him. I kept my eyes on my brother's face and not the man lying beneath him.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Newt shouted holding tightly to Thomas.

Thomas panted as he glared down at Gally.

"He killed Chuck." Thomas said through clenched teeth.

"I know. I remember. I was there too. I also remember he was stung and half out of his mind." Newt informed Thomas.

Thomas looked over at me. My tears were falling freely down my cheeks. I didn't need to say anything to him. He knew everything I was feeling at that moment.

"Just calm down." Newt whispered.

Thomas huffed then jerked himself away from us and Gally. Gally. I slowly turned to look at Gally who was still lying on the ground. His eyes were fixed on mine. I was pulled to my feet by Thomas. I stumbled backward but Fry caught me once again.

“Are you okay?” Fry whispered as he held me steady.

I shook my head. I’m the farthest thing from okay. Gally got to his feet as he rubbed his jaw.

"Kinda had that coming. Anybody else? Fry? Newt?" Gally questioned then turned back to me.

"Emi?" His voice wavered slightly.

"You know this guy?" Jorge asked.

"He's an old friend." Fry said simply as his hold on me tightened slightly.

I turned around grabbing Fry's shirt in my hands as I leaned my head against his chest. My mind couldn't process anything. Run to him! My mind repeated those three words over and over. If I wasn't clinging to Fry's shirt I'd be jumping into Gally's arms. I can't do that. I need to process the situation. I was healing. I was letting myself relax with the thought of maybe one day moving on. Moving on with Fry when I was ready.

"How? How is this possible? We watched you die." Newt said in disbelief.

I tightened my hold on Fry's shirt.

"No, you left me to die." Gally corrected.

A sob involuntarily came out of me. Fry was quick to wrap his arms tightly around me.

"If we hadn't found you when we did you'd be dead right now. What the hell are you doing here?" Gally asked.

I forced myself to let go of Fry. I turned slowly blinking away the tears. I placed my back against Fry’s front. Gally was watching me until Newt answered him. I noticed Gally’s eyes moving from me to Fry’s hands that were holding my upper arms.

"Minho. WCKD has him here. We're looking for a way in." Newt told him.

Gally glanced back to me then back to Newt.

"I can help with that. Follow me." He said then turned to walk away.

Thomas stepped forward.

"We're not going anywhere with you." Thomas said harshly.

"Suit yourself but I can get you through the walls." Gally shrugged.

My eyes were once again fixed on Gally. It took everything I had to stay glued to my spot. I wanted nothing more than to feel him holding me tight. I had made my peace with his death. I had finally made myself believe I'd never see him again but here he is. Right in front of me. But who knows if he still feels the same about me. After everything that happened. After all the time that has passed. I could never let go because I thought he had died but he probably thought I just left him. I took a step forward but Thomas was quick to grab my arm.

"Emi, we need more information before you go jumping into his arms." Thomas whispered to me.

I turned to look at him with tear-stained cheeks. He gently wiped my cheeks with his fingers then turned to Fry.

"Keep a hold of her please." Thomas told him.

Fry grabbed my hand then gently pulled me back to him. I knew Fry had feelings for me even if I had made myself clear to him. He had been so understanding of me needing time but what was he thinking now? I still love Gally and knowing he’s actually has changed everything.

"I can't imagine what is going threw your head right now Em but I need you to trust me. I just need to make sure this is safe. That he's safe." Thomas said quietly.

I nodded then squeezed Fry's hand. Fry squeezed my hand back softly.

—

[creative-poptart]

Hello again! How do you UF Sans would react to his crush insisting to UF Papyrus that there's no way Sans could ever love them back? Bonus points if crush turns flustered and didn't know Sans was there the entire time. (No pressure! Love your blog ❤)

Red wasn’t sure when he started listening in to you speaking to his brother so intensely, but here he was. You were chatting quietly with Fell, or at least attempting to. It was hard to keep quiet when Fell was literally a walking megaphone with the volume he spoke at. Red, on the other hand, was pretty sneaky when he wanted to be, and that is precisely what he wanted right now.

“No, Fell, I don’t think that will work!” you cried out indignantly, throwing your hands in the air. Red could only chuckle at your actions.

He wasn’t exactly sure how he fell in love with you, but something about your touch of flair on everything gave him a little extra boost. You were so expressive in everything that you did, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. Maybe that was what made him fall so hard for you, in that you rebelled in your own little way. You didn’t like being told what to do, so you made your own path.

Red quietly tuned his hearing back into whatever you were trying to say to his brother, which was a bit of an effort. You were taking strides to remain quiet, which was actually working quite well for you. His brother, on the other hand...

“I DON’T SEE WHAT IS SO DIFFICULT ABOUT THIS WHOLE THING! YOU ARE TRYING TO TAKE A VERY DIRECT PATH WITH HIM, ARE YOU NOT??”

...Fell could do well with taking a page out of your book and learning when to tone it down. Whoever this “him” was, if he was around, would certainly be able to hear every word that the taller skeleton was saying. From that alone, the context of the conversation could be derived, and then the whole point of secrecy would be ruined. If there was anything that could be said about his brother, though, it would be that this seemed a little intentional in the obviousness.

As the shorter skeleton peeked around the corner, he saw that you had your back turned to him. Fell was facing directly at Red, though, and at one point made direct eye contact with him, if only briefly. You were short enough that you didn’t notice anything amiss when Fell looked up and over your head. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell him directly, it’s just that I don’t think that he will ever take notice of it!” You folded your arms, almost appearing to hug yourself. Something else was said that Red couldn’t quite make out from what you were saying, but it sounded sorrowful in nature. 

He hated it when you sounded sad. It was one of the few times that Red could feel the tug in his soul toward you, seeking to comfort you in what little way he could. How he would long to wrap you up into a hug, pull you close enough that you could bury your face into his sweater, then let you cry it all out as needed. However, you only saw him as a friend, so even if he did do that for you, it would never be seen as more than a friendly gesture.

“WELL, IF YOU’RE SO CONCERNED ABOUT IT, WHY DON’T YOU ASK MY BROTHER TO TAKE YOU ON A DATE? IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A ROMANTIC ONE TO START WITH, YOU KNOW!”

“No, Fell, I couldn’t just do that!” you protested, accompanying the words with a flap of your hands. “He doesn’t see me as anything more than a friend! I don’t want to ruin what we have just because I ended up catching feelings for my best friend.”

Wait, you..?

Red couldn’t stand there for another second longer, he had to take part in what was happening. As silently as a mouse, he crept over to stand behind you, waiting patiently for another lull in the conversation. Right before you were about to say something else to Fell, he spoke up.

“if y’ wanted t’ go on a date, y’ coulda jus’ said so, sweetheart.”

By how you near jumped out of your skin at his comment, Red could guess you weren’t anticipating the person of your affections to be so close. He let out a low, rumbling chuckle as you whirled around to face him, your cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink. You sputtered for a moment, trying to find some sort of response to his quip, but found none. Red pulled you into a soft hug, almost like he had been thinking about not too long ago.

“it’s okay. in fact, we both have been wantin’ t’ date each other without th’ other one knowin’, so what say you t’ a little outin’?” He accompanied his words with a sly grin, wiggling his brows at you in a way that never failed to make you laugh. As expected, it earned a little giggle out of you, and you smacked his chest.

“Okay, if you say so, funnybones, but I get to be the one to pick the date spot, okay?”

“done deal, let’s go.” Red tugged gently at you, trying to pull him with you carefully. Your eyes widened considerably, then you turned to look at Fell as if he could help you. The taller skeleton, however, was long gone to give you two the privacy that moments like this needed. 

“Alright, let’s go, then. Grillby’s?”

“stars above, it’s like y’ were made for me.”

~~~~~~~~~~

This was really cute to write, thank you for the prompt that I could turn into mutual pining! (aLSO, YOUR WORDS ARE SO SWEET, THANK YOU!!!!)

Thanks for the ask @bumbledotty!!

[welcometophu]

Not Your Guardian Angel: Chapter 12

Marked Book 3: Not Your Guardian Angel

Chapter 12

[ Previous | First | Next ]

Pels looks up The Dog Shack on Saturday morning, trying to find something about them online. She learns that they’re in Unity (which she knew) and she finds the phone number to call, but while there are plenty of reviews online, she can’t find a menu or a way to order.

So she presses the numbers and makes the call.

“Hello, this is The Dog Shack. How many dogs would you like and what name should the order be under?” a voice sings out cheerfully.

“Just how many and what name?” Pels asks. “There aren’t any options?”

“Ah, you’re a first timer.” She can hear the deep breath that the speaker takes before blurting out, “Our dogs are all mini dogs on a white-bread bun, which are made fresh three days a week. Each dog comes with cheese, meat sauce, and pickled onion, with optional ketchup and mustard. We don’t have any vegetarian options, and the cheese is a shredded Vermont sharp because our owner doesn’t like New York sharps and thinks cheese sauce is a copout unless it’s made fresh and we don’t have time for that. The wait time will be about fifteen minutes for us to prep your order, and we take cash, credit, or school dining dollars at the counter when you come to pick up. Your order will be packed in foil first, then a biodegradable cardboard carton which we hope you recycle. Each dog costs only $1.50, and you can get ten for $12.”

“Oh.” Pels has no idea how filling a mini dog could be, and at that price they seem like they must be small. “I’ll take… four? And do you have fries or anything?”

“Do you want your fries topped the same as your dogs?”

“Sure. Can I get ketchup on the side for both?” Pels has no idea what she’s doing, but it sounds good anyway, and in the end it sounds like maybe she’s getting breakfast and lunch both for under $10 total, which is a good thing.

Fifteen minutes later she’s waiting in line at the small shack, and ten minutes after that she’s already finding a spot in the stands to sit while teams from four different colleges warm up on the track below. She opens the first cardboard container and takes out a piping hot mini dog and takes a careful bite, meat sauce and cheese dripping back into the container below.

She burns the roof of her mouth, but she thinks it might be worth it, because it really does taste so damned good.

“Isn’t that your friend’s friend’s girlfriend?” Dad murmurs, nudging her shoulder to get her attention.

Where…? Oh. There, standing at the lowest level right below where Pels sits, looking up at her. Cass has her hair in a high ponytail and is wearing a denim jacket with embroidered flowers along the shoulders, her hands shoved into the pockets. She doesn’t seem ashamed to be caught staring.

Pels lifts one hand, then gestures to the seat Dad occupies since to Cass it should look empty.

Cass’s body language is a clear huff of “well, fine” before she climbs the stands and cautiously takes the seat next to Pels. “You’re Nate’s friend,” Cass says.

“One of them,” Pels agrees. She gets the feeling that Nate knows everyone but doesn’t have a lot of friends, which seems almost as sad as knowing no one and having few friends. Maybe even more sad. “And you’re Dax’s girlfriend.”

Cass makes a small noise and pointedly looks down at the track, where Nate and Dax are stretching side by side, talking.

“Not much of a talker, is she?” Dad says.

Pels takes another bite of hot dog. If she’s not talking, she might as well eat.

Two dogs disappear for breakfast, and by the time the first races are starting she’s working on the fries. She burps and is pretty sure she’ll be tasting cheesy meat sauce for the next several hours; thankfully it’s a good kind of taste.

“Hey there.” Shane slides onto the bench on her other side, Jess just beyond him. His cane clatters against the metal, and his hand brushes against Pels’s knee as he reaches for it to set it back within reach. “Did we miss anything?”

“It’s a track meet,” Cass says sharply. “We’ll be sitting around and waiting all day for five minutes of running that will be over before we blink.”

“If that’s how you feel about it, we can just text you when the race is coming up and you can go do something else if you’d rather,” Pels responds before she thinks about it.

Cass closes her mouth, lips pursed tightly.

Jess leans across Shane. “I told Shane that you’d been watching practices, and that you were going to cheer Nate on today. So we thought we’d come lend our voices.”

Cass huffs. “I know why I’ve been watching practice. What’s your reason? You know Nate’s not—”

“It’s peaceful.” Pels cuts her off before she can get into a full rant. “And why are you so angry about it? Nate’s my friend. It’s nice up here, and it isn’t crowded when they’re practicing. I like coming up here to sit in the sun and work.”

Shane leans in close on her other side, his knee and hip pressed against her. “Ignore her. She’s always cranky. Don’t let her drag you into whatever’s got up her ass.”

“I can hear you,” Cass snaps.

“Then try being nice,” Shane counters. “Or go sit somewhere else.”

It’s different from watching practice. When more people wedge into the bench, Jess moves to sit in front of Shane instead, leaning forward as she cups her hands around her mouth and calls out to cheer on a runner that Pels doesn’t recognize.

“Hey.” Shane nudges her again, his hand covering hers where it rests on her knee. “Is this okay?”

Um.

The loudspeaker goes off, but Pels doesn’t process the words, all too aware of Shane’s hand on hers, and the way his fingers dip to thread between hers.

“Nate and Dax are heading to line up.” Shane points as Jess calls out both names loudly. Nate waves back at them, while Dax just looks up, brow furrowed.

Pels waves back with her free hand because it seems like the right thing to do. Her other hand is too warm, and her stomach is doing little flip-flops like maybe the dogs and fries were a bad idea. She still has half of them left for later, sitting on the floor by her feet. Maybe she’ll offer them to someone else, if her stomach doesn’t improve. She can’t decide if this is bad or not.

“This one is the 1500,” Jess says. “It’s short for a long distance runner. I think they’ll be doing a 5k today, too. I don’t know if this meet has a 10k; those are a little more boring to watch, since it’s basically a half hour of running around the track. They’re usually the last event of the day, while everyone else is cleaning up.”

“Dax said he’s running the 1500 and 5k today,” Cass says tightly. “The 5k is mid-afternoon.”

Shane squeezes Pels’s hand. “They’re going to kill it,” he says.

Her hand is warm. Not overheated, not on fire, just comfortably warm. And her stomach is settling, slowly, although it still feels like butterflies might have taken root. Or maybe bees. Yes, bees, buzzing around but also building a honeycomb sweetness that spreads through her limbs.

Who knew holding hands could feel so… nice.

The loudspeaker burbles again, and the runners resolve into a single line across the track. Nate stands next to Dax, tall and lanky, bouncing on his toes as he shakes his arms. Most of the runners look like Nate—thin and rangy, some shorter than others. Dax has a heavier build, with a longer torso and shorter legs. He looks out of place on the field, both in build and in the way he stands quietly with no outward energy.

A sharp noise sounds, and the runners all crouch in position, and with a popping sound, they’re off.

They crowd together, and for a moment it’s hard to figure out who’s who. Pels sees a mass of jerseys and tries to pick out the white with gold and purple trim that are Nate and Dax. She holds her breath as they go down the long, straight length, and as they enter the first curve she realizes that they’ve moved from across the track into a small pack in the two inner lanes. She finally finds Dax in the middle of the pack, his curls just long enough to bounce with every step. Nate is second from the front, edging away from the pack, just behind the frontrunner dressed in red and blue.

For the first time, Pels notices Nate’s running shoes, which are a vivid gold, shining with every step, matching the stripes on his jersey.

“Go Nate! Go Dax!” Jess screams, her hands cupped around her mouth like a megaphone.

Pels realizes she’s gripping Shane tightly as the first minute passes and the first lap completes. She glances at him, and he only smiles and squeezes her fingers gently as if to say that it’s fine. She holds on tight and turns her attention back to the race.

The runner in red and blue keeps inching away from the pack, but Nate keeps up with him, staying just a step behind, so close that Pels is afraid they could trip over each other. She can see the way the runner at the lead glances back as if to see if Nate’s still there, and he always is. They move away from the main pack, and Dax moves up, sliding into the third position at the head of the middle group. Two of the runners are falling behind, the pack leaving them as they keep running through the second and third laps.

As the final lap begins, the pack has stretched out, and the results look clear cut. The runner in red and blue picks up the pace again, his face flushed, and Pels imagines she can see the stridor of his breath.

From behind, Dax puts on a burst of speed, moving into the second lane as he approaches Nate. But Nate must hear him coming, because he speeds up as well, passing the runner who was in first before Dax can. They both go flying by him as if he’s standing still, and Nate crosses the finish line just ahead of Dax. They fall on each other on the other side, holding each other up and patting each other’s backs as the crowd screams.

Cass exhales roughly.

“That’s our boys!” Jess shouts, her voice hoarse from yelling. “Go PHU!”

That was possibly the most intense three and a half minutes of Pels’s life. As the adrenalin fades, she realizes she’s still anchored with Shane’s hand around hers, and the liquid honey in her gut has warmed her all the way up to her eyeballs. She’s light-headed; as she slowly disengages and stands, she wavers until Dad props her upright.

Shane grabs his cane, bracing himself to rise as well. He reaches one hand for her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Of course. I’m just going to—” Pels is blocked in with Shane on one side and Cass on the other. She stands carefully so she doesn’t step on the food she has resting at her feet, and she can’t go down because Jess is in front of them.

No one is sitting directly behind them, and Pels carefully climbs up to the next row in the stands. “I’m going to go pee,” she says bluntly, and heads for the stairs. She thinks there’s conversation behind her, but she doesn’t stick around to find out what it might be.

They’re sitting in her usual spot for watching practice, on the opposite side of the track from the building. She makes her way around the perimeter, and by the time she gets inside she’s breathing more evenly. “What even was that?” she grumbles.

“Were you flustered by holding hands, or by the race?” Dad grins when she glares at him. “Holding hands, then. That’s called attraction, Pels. Which you feel for Shane. Your soulmate.”

“I don’t like it.” It’s a lie, of course. That warm honey sensation was nice, just confusing. And overwhelming. Maybe she does like it, but she hates it at the same time, like something’s just slipped out of her control again.

Being on her own she can control. When it’s just her—well, and Dad—she knows what to expect. This is throwing in all kinds of variables and turning her life from simple addition into calculus. And unlike some people who are math majors, she really doesn’t enjoy calculus.

She pushes open the door of the bathroom and waits for a turn at the sink so she can wash her face and push at her hair as if she can do anything about the curls. She fingercombs them, taking them from windswept to just slightly messy, and pats everything back in place.

“Here.”

Cass stands to her left, a hair tie dangling from one fingertip. When Pels just looks at her, Cass pushes her hand closer. “Take it,” she orders. “Do something about that mop or when the wind kicks up again you’re going to lose an eye from it blowing all over. Or someone else will.” As soon as Pels cautiously takes the hair tie, Cass stands with her hands on her hips, head tilted as she looks her over critically. “Your hair is such an odd length. Do you style it?”

“It doesn’t really hold a style, so I just pick a length and run with it, and try to remember to keep it from getting too long. I’m lucky it doesn’t frizz.” It’s more like ringlets as long as she remembers to keep it from going wild. Many ringlets. Shorter ones for bangs and gradually longer down the side of her face. She can just barely pull it back into a ponytail, but it does keep the bulk of it away from her face, which isn’t a bad thing. “Thanks.”

“Hmph.” Cass tugs the scrunchy out of her own hair, running her fingers through it before braiding it quickly and tying it again. “You need all the help you can get.”

“Rude,” Dad says.

“You don’t need to take it out on me,” Pels tells her. The bathroom is less crowded now, so Pels turns to lean against the sink next to Cass, figuring if someone needs it, they’ll tell her to move. “I get it. You’re cranky.”

Cass pulls lip gloss out of her bag and leans closer to the mirror, pursing her lips before carefully putting it on. “You don’t know me, and I don’t know what you think about me—”

“You don’t like Dax doing track.”

Cass straightens quickly, hand falling as she looks at Pels. No, not looking—staring. Pels feels as if Cass is trying to look through her and see her squishy guts on the inside. Pels crosses her arms and glares back.

“I’m right,” Pels says.

“So what if you are?” Cass counters.

“You could talk about it.” Pels shrugs one shoulder. “I mean, I already know you’re angry, so it’s not like you’ll lose any points if you bitch about it. And you’ve already got acting like a complete bitch nailed so far, so.” She shrugs again. “Just go for it already.”

“I just don’t understand why he has to take up another sport,” Cass mutters under her breath. She puts away the lip gloss and pulls out mascara, touching up her lashes. “He’s so busy with football in the fall, and with everything going on—” She cuts off. “I just thought that maybe we’d get a break this spring. That we could spend more time together. And now he’s got practice every afternoon and he’s spending extra time working with Nate, and he hasn’t got any time left for me.”

“So you’re jealous,” Pels says quietly.

“You do understand human emotion,” Dad observes.

It’s always easier to see something from the outside, especially something like this. Besides. Being angry because something’s out of her control is a feeling that Pels is intimately familiar with, and it’s not difficult to recognize it in Cass.

“Dax is really good at it,” Pels says slowly. “I mean, he and Nate took first and second in that race and made it look easy. When they started passing that guy, he couldn’t keep up. There was nothing anyone else could do, and it looked like if he’d tried, Dax and Nate would’ve passed him anyway. Aren’t you proud of your boyfriend?”

“Hmph.” Cass tucks her mascara away and leans on the edge of the sink, looking down.

Pels isn’t sure if sad is better than angry.

“I thought you were all tiny, sharp angles.” Cass’s voice is sharp, but muted. “Where’s this sympathy coming from?”

“Oh, I suck at people, and yes, I know what it’s like to be angry all the time. Which means you are a person I suck a little less at getting because you might not be small, but you try to keep a barbed wire fence around yourself,” Pels shoots back. She smirks because Cass’s scowl means she’s got it right. “Besides. I like Nate. He’s not trying to steal your boyfriend. I don’t think he could if he tried. I mean. Would any guy who doesn’t love you to the moon and back put up with your shit?”

Dad laughs loud enough that Pels winces. “Now who’s being rude?” He sounds proud of her for it.

Cass huffs. “Whatever. I need a coffee. Come on.”

Somehow Pels ends up with a coffee in each hand while Cass carries two as well. When they make their way back to the bleachers, Cass shoves one of her cups towards Jess. “Here,” she says, before dropping a small bag of sugar, cream, and stirrers on the bench next to her.

Pels gives one of hers to Shane, then opens her cup enough to inhale. It’s a small cup, which isn’t nearly enough caffeine in her opinion, but it is warm on her hands. She cradles it, enjoying the warmth more than the taste for the moment.

Shane adds cream to his coffee, while Jess adds both sugar and cream. As Shane sits back, he leans closer to Pels, and she leans into his warmth before she thinks better of it. Shane shifts his coffee to the hand further from Pels, then lifts his arm.

“He’s offering to keep you warm,” Dad points out.

“Oh,” Pels exhales. She slides the few millimeters closer to Shane, his warmth heavy against her side as he drops his arm over her shoulder and somehow tucks her even closer.

It’s not awful.

It might even be good.

Jess is screaming at someone in purple and gold that Pels doesn’t recognize, standing up and punching the air when they finish the race in second place. Pels keeps close to Shane to avoid being touched, relaxing as Jess settles down again.

Jess somehow seems to know more people on the track team than any of them, and she keeps up a running commentary through the afternoon. She even manages to pull Cass into conversation, begrudging as it seems. Pels uses the time to just watch them all, and eventually eat the remains of her hot dogs and fries, which are still somehow good when cold.

By the time the final race comes up, and Nate and Dax line up for the 5k, Pels can almost ignore the fact that her butt is cold and a little numb from sitting too long. She knows there’s only fifteen minutes more to watch, and around the track most of the teams are already cleaning and packing gear.

As they start, there are more than twenty runners on the track, spread out across, bunching up as they all try and make it to the inner lane. Somehow Nate and Dax are in the middle of the pack. Pels clenches her hands together tightly to see them there, walled in by bodies all around them. But both Dax and Nate seem relaxed, running easily through the first lap.

It’s not an exciting race for most of it. There comes a point about halfway through where some of the pack fall behind, maybe a half dozen racers trailing the rest. Another lap, and a few more fall away, until only a handful remain in a tight group at the head.

One of the racers makes his move with three laps to go, pulling away and putting several paces between himself and the pack. Nate moves up as well, taking the space between him and the pack, and Pels can see the plan clearly after the earlier race. When the final lap begins, Nate starts pushing around the outside, forcing the runner in first to speed up. Dax comes out of the pack, stride lengthening just enough to keep him close to the frontrunners along with one other racer. By halfway through the lap, it’s obvious that unless someone else makes a move now, these four are vying for the top spots.

When they hit the straightaway, Dax somehow seems to go into overdrive, head down just a little as he pushes past both Nate and the other runner. Nate glances at him, and joins him, loping a half step behind him, leaving the others in the dust even as he’s losing ground when Dax somehow sprints through the final run. Dax slows after he crosses the line, and Nate catches up, and together they walk around the ring, Nate’s arm slung across Dax’s shoulder.

Pels joins her friends in jumping up and screaming, because that seems to be the right thing to do.

Cass grabs her phone and fires off a text. “Come on. They’ll meet us at Teas Please, because no one ever seems to have anywhere else to go.”

Dad bumps into Pels, and she stumbles forward, hands reaching out. For a moment she’s afraid she’s either going to fall into Jess or over the bench and crack her head open on the one below, then Shane’s arms wrap around her, pulling her back against him.

“You okay?” he murmurs, breath warm against her ear.

Pels’s cheeks heat up. “Yeah. I’m fine,” she says.

Jess bites her lip and turns away. There’s an uncomfortable twist in Pels’s gut, like she knows she’s done something wrong and it wasn’t even her fault.

“Sometimes I’m a klutz,” she says, which isn’t the whole truth, but isn’t a lie either. Cass wasn’t there for the guardian angel reveal, and Pels isn’t sure she’s ready to be that out to the school about her Talent yet. “Thanks for the save.”

“If I hadn’t, Jess would’ve,” Shane says. He grabs his cane, and Pels thinks he’s favoring his leg as he inches down the row to the stairs.

“And that’s my fault,” she mutters. “Good job, pushing people around until they get hurt.”

“If you’d just—”

“Stay out of it,” she hisses under her breath, cutting Dad off. “Don’t try to help.”

“Whatever it is you’re talking about, rest assured that I wasn’t trying to help,” Cass says idly. “But you’re in my way, so just keep moving and we can get out of here.” She gives Pels a little nudge.

They make it out of the bleachers without further mishap. The teams have somehow already managed to leave the field, and Cass is half focused on her phone and half on walking, giving small reports on the status of Nate and Dax as they move along. They have to cross campus entirely to get to Teas Please, and Nate and Dax manage to catch up with them before they do so.

Dax picks Cass up and kisses her, one hand in her hair and one on her ass as Cass wraps her legs around him to hold on. Pels can’t figure out how Cass could possibly be insecure in that relationship.

Nate, on the other hand, wears his heart on his sleeve when he watches the way Dax greets Cass. Despite the smile he pastes on as they walk into Teas Please, Pels can see that he’s still wistful.

God, when she actually looks, apparently she can see people being emotional. She blames this entirely on Dad. She can barely handle her own emotions; she really doesn’t want to have to deal with everyone else’s as well.

Speaking of… Pels twists and looks behind herself. Where the hell did Dad even go? Is she actually being let out on her own?

“I don’t have your table.” Serina looks up as soon as they enter, her brow furrowed. There are bags under her eyes, and she pauses long enough to yawn before she grabs a stack of menus. “How many—” She counts under her breath, then nods quickly. “Okay. Six. I’m sorry, I can’t get the booth, but we can pull a couple tables together in the front. It’s like everyone who was at your meet came in here all at once, and there’s a group from UAlbany at the big back table, and I just—”

“It’s okay.” Nate lays a hand on Serina’s shoulder and she just stops dead, shoulders slumping like a string’s been cut. “Hey,” he says softly. “Have you been sleeping?”

She shrugs one shoulder. “Sometimes. Maybe. Mostly. I don’t know. It’s weird. Everything’s weird, y’know? I’m just kind of tired and over everything, and it’s a bit much, and I just need Carolyn to come back and then everything will be okay. I think I failed a test this week.”

Everyone’s still missing. It’s been a week, and there’s been no sign of Nikita.

And Pels just somehow… forgot.

Not entirely. She’s seen Rory seeming lost without Alaric around, and Kit looking much the same. But it slips from her mind in the times between, not affecting her the same way it affects them.

She feels bad about that.

“They’ll be back,” Nate says firmly. “I’m sure of it. Carolyn would never leave you and Kit behind.”

“Besides,” Dax says. “Orson’s not settled. I can still feel his unfinished business.” He taps the side of his head. “Which means Alaric has to come back, or I’ll kill him myself, then yell at his ghost.”

“Honestly,” Cass mutters. “Can’t we have one meal without drama?”

“Hey.” Shane catches Pels’s hand. “Can we talk for a minute? Before we go in?”

They’re already in, crowded into the space around the podium at the front of the restaurant. But Pels nods and lets Shane tug her back outside, as the others go on to claim space inside Teas Please.

“I forgot,” she says with a low sigh. “Nikita’s missing, and I forgot.”

“Are you worried?” Shane asks, and when she nods, he keeps going, “then it’s fine. It’s like grieving. It doesn’t happen all the time, and you have to keep living your life, too. She’ll be back. They’ll be back.” He drops her hand and takes a step back, leaning on his cane. “I just wanted to ask you something.”

Pels glances to her right and left. Dad’s still suspiciously missing, and she doesn’t know why. Being on her own is unusual. “Okay,” she says slowly.

“You went out with Jess.” Shane leans back, letting the front wall of the restaurant take his weight. “And I’d like you to go out with me. Just us. On a date.”

“I feel like you guys are trying to woo me,” Pels grumbles. “Like you set up some kind of a plan to tag team to tame the wild thing—” She cuts off as his expression twists into something rueful. “You did. You totally did.”

“Maybe a little,” Shane admits. “Still. What do you think? I just—I feel like we should give this a chance.”

This.

She doesn’t look down at her wrist, but she knows the ink is there.

Dad’s nowhere around, but she can still hear his voice saying, “He’s right. Just give it a chance,” or maybe, “going out with Jess didn’t kill you, did it?”

It’s funny how he impacts her life without even being present.

She sighs heavily, crossing her arms. “Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Fine,” she repeats. “Okay. Yes. Fine. We’ll go on a date. That is not a group thing like this. You can even hold my hand since obviously touching you is not destroying my soul any more than it already has.”

“We don’t want to destroy your soul,” Shane says quietly. He carefully stands again, balanced with one hand on his cane and the other held out to Pels. She slips her hand in his and matches his pace as they walk in.

They may not want to destroy her soul, but they could. It’d be so easy, and Pels is so used to it. Every time she gets used to something it’s snatched away.

And this time Dad isn’t even here telling her that maybe it’s okay, that maybe this time everything will turn out just fine.

[ Previous | First | Next ]

Want to support me? – Patreon | Ko-Fi | Reblog & Comment

[dem-animebois]

Tenshi! School uniform story.

Lunch time.

“Thank you for the help!” A student from scarabia said cheerfully, waving at the girl as he walked away.

Tenshi just nodded her head back to him. Another person happy. Her eyes were droopy as she yawned. ‘Strange’ The girl thought to herself. She never remembered being this tired. But, when was the last time she slept? Well, Grim had been keeping her up at night due to his constant sleep talking.

Cursing under her breath about being a light sleeper, she went to head back to ramshackle when ace appeared out of no where.

“Hey, Firefighter.”

“Ha ha.” She rolled her eyes. “ what do you need?” She felt her brain scream at her to leave but she ignored its cries. No matter how tired she was she refused to show weakness.

The dork put the hand on the back of his head and smiled, he was caught. “Well, riddle got mad at me, for pulling a harmless prank so now I need to organize the dormitory library. Could you help, me? Cleaning isn’t really my thing.” He laughed at the end.

Tenshi sighed knowing she was going to be the one to clean up while he watched. “Sure.” Ace beemed as they walked of to the mirror room.

Hopefully she can catch some sleep tonight.

After class

“That’s all. Make sure you do your homework.”

*Yawn* Another sleepless night. This time it was her fault for hanging out with tsun taro so late. She was gathering her belongings when she heard a certain blueberry call her name.

“Tenshi? Sorry if your busy right now, but I wanted to ask if you would like to come see the chicks I’ve been looking after. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Once again she ignored her body’s protests, agreed.

This went on for a while. From breakfast to dinner. Every time she had a break someone asked something of her. Wether it be helping them or hanging out with them, she complied. One sleepless night turnt into a week. Only getting a couple hours each night she could feel her body scream in protests and she agreed to the requests.

First class.

“Huh, Tenshi isn’t here.” The dork pointed out.

“You’re right, that’s a bit odd. She never misses animal communication. It’s her favourite.” The bluenette added. He turned to the grey gremlin sitting in the desk. “Grim? Have you seen Tenshi at all?”

“Nnfggghhh. Nope. She didn’t walk with me here and she wasn’t in the room either.” He replied confused. Suddenly he jumped up, “ I know! We can check on her after class.”

The one brain cell duo were shocked. Grim being thoughtful and planning to miss out on Magic class?! “Grim that sweet of you.” Jack said looking at the tiny raccoon.

“Well yeah! Tenshi will probably make give me some tuna in return! Yanno.” His eyes sparkling at the thought.

Never mind.

The boys followed grim out of class to ramshackle. They noticed little details like how bird feed had been placed delicately in the trees and how the flowers in the garden have water droplets falling of their petals. She had been awake and out. So where was she now?

“Should we knock?” Deuce questioned.

“No.” Before the blueberry got the chance to protest Ace had picked the lock and invited himself in.

“Tenshi!!!” He cupped his hands to his mouth as if he was making a fake megaphone. “Where are you?!!”

They heard shuffling and a little groan coming from the living room. Deciding to follow the sounds they walked in to the lounge.

What they discovered was a rare sight indeed.

Tenshi was curled up on the couch, her body fully relaxed for once. She was wearing her signature gloves but she was adorned in a black silk night gown which just grazed past her thighs. They assumed she had safety shorts underneath but they weren’t going to risk it. Her long crimson hair was hanging out over thee couch , it just grazed the floor. The slow rise and falling of her chest was the only indication she was alive.

It felt as if they had just discovered a hidden treasure. Tenshi never shows anything other than a stern, cold side. Seeing her at such weakness and comfort was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The boys were so mesmerised they didn’t stop to notice her lidded eyes slowly open with the snoring stopping in return. By the time they noticed it was to late. They had been caught.

Her body immediately tensed up and her face fell into a harsh stare. Her silent rage was terrifying. They knew she was fuming yet she didn’t show it. Nothing in her body gave it away.

That was until they all received a kick to the face.

(Sorry if it’s bad! I’m still trying to work on my writing style!)

[purple-baby-d]

off-screen.

Minho × Reader.

Fluff.

Word count: 1,684 words.

Brief: you're the writer to actor Choi Minho's wide collection of dramas, and also his long-time best friend. Your growing feelings towards him seem to be obvious to everyone... but him. Or at least, you thought so.

dedicated to @theravengoddess ♡

"Hyung, there's a whole lot of people out there who want to see you" the youngest one mumbled, stepping insecurely inside his office. "Just come out, please. Maybe they'll help you deal with the sorrow".

Still, the comment made the eldest boil, how could he suppose some people who didn't even want to be there could help him "deal" with the biggest pain of his life?

"Why don't you tell me how the hell do you expect me to deal with this life without her?!" Hungyu yelled out of his mind, as he punched the table histerically.

"She's not the only girl in the universe, hyung" his best friend, Chanmyeon, tried to comfort him.

"No, she's not" he stated, while turning around to the window of his workshop. "But she was the only one for me" his voice broke, as he tried to keep the tears from rolling down. "She made me feel things I've never felt before, and I will never feel them again...".

"Hyung-".

"Go home, Chanmyeon-ah, and tell everyone to do the same. I don't want to see anyone" he mumbled, still looking out the window.

And as his best friend bowed with respect to leave him completely against his will, he broke down. Hugging the picture of his late wife between his arms, the tears streaming down his cheeks like a river of pure pain.

"And cut! Amazing job, Minho, let's call that a day!" Jinki, the director, yelled into the megaphone as he stood up from his chair, marking the end of another filming day for the most recent one of my —and Minho's— dramas: "Our Page". Basically, the story talks about a well-known poet, Son Hungyu, who writes down a book about his newly deceased wife, going through their glory days as teenagers, how they fell in love and all the ups and downs they went through as a couple. It wasn't my everyday writing subject, but I thought it would help Minho step out of his comfort zone, and that would break the type-casting he was so tired of. I did it for him.

It wasn't a secret to anyone how much I liked my best friend, and it made me so frustrated that the only one who didn't seem to notice that I liked Choi Minho was Choi Minho himself.

Minho and I have been best friends since we met each other in middle school, when he was just discovering how much he loved acting and the only thing close to my own story I had was my diary. Now, I'm the author to the majority of the dramas he's a starting role to, and it isn't very hard to tell why: he's my muse for every single male lead character.

In Korea, we tend to want a perfect lead role for every drama, and what better than a sweet, caring guy who tends to keep his head too far in the clouds to notice your feelings? And everyone agreed there wasn't a more perfect fit for that role than my best friend himself.

It made me a little jealous, let's be honest: his job involved being constanly surrounded by beautiful women, and mine involved writing the awefully romantic plot lines he had to live with them. Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to live those experiences with the real Minho, calling him by his name and not by the selection of fake names he's been known for.

"Girl, you're head over heels for that dude, right?" Kibum, my co-writer and another very close friend of mine, mocked me as we walked along.

"Quit it, Kim. I don't want to talk about it right now", I sighed, looking down.

It's been a while since I've had any sort of conversation with Minho, he was busy preparing for his role and I was busy trying to keep myself from telling him how I really felt about him. Kibum stopped walking and looked back at me, his hands holding my shoulders as he rocked me back and forth.

"Y/N, wake up! It's not his fault, you gotta come clean to him, tell him what's going on" he told me, rolling his eyes. "You really expect him to guess from that poker face of yours that you like him? I can't imagine how uncomfortable it must be for you to keep it all to yourself".

"Key, how is it that everyone can tell but him? I mean, what if he knows and he just doesn't feel the same?" I pouted, looking down. "I've had the biggest crush on this guy since we were students, how come he hasn't noticed yet?".

"Y/N, can we talk?".

Minho was a few meters away from us, calling my name as Kibum turned around to me, practically pushing me over to him.

"Don't worry about me, honey! Taemin will make me company, I'll see you later" he practically ran away with Minho's stylist, leaving me alone and confused. Minho grabbed my wrist lightly and took me to his dressing room, sitting me in the couch as he sat on the coffee table right in front of me, looking at me dead in the eye.

"Are you mad at me?", he sighed and asked after a while.

"What?" I asked back, a little confused. "No, of course I'm not mad at you, what makes you think so?".

He sighed, looking down from me, something so typical of him when something made him upset. I looked over at him, in a limbo between confused and worried, how could I read his mind without looking into his eyes? He knew the answer very well: I couldn't. Minho's eyes were the key to his soul, and without looking at them, my voyage across his endless thoughts found itself trapped inside a storm of darkness.

"Is everything okay?", my lips moved without my consent, as my hand felt tempted to run across his light brown locks to attempt giving him some sort of comfort.

Silence was my only response, he didn't move an inch from his position. I thought he was just putting his words in order, perhaps trying to practice a scene from the script I don't remember writing down. I kept expecting an answer, a breath, something to break that silence so loud I could barely hear my heartbeat. And I had enough.

"If you're not going to tell me what's wrong, I'll go", I stood up and was decided to leave, until his hand gripped my wrist, keeping me from moving.

He turned me around and stood up, looking at me so intensely I thought he would burn open holes in my eyes, not a glimpse of my well-known tender friend Choi Minho inside those eyes. He stepped closer, his glare kept me from moving, making me feel like my legs would crumble at any time. I didn't flinch, I couldn't even move. I just looked back at him, standing right where he wanted me to. His glare lightened and his grip loosened, as the twinkle in his eyes got back.

He looked scared.

"I think I'm in love with you" he blurted, looking down on me again.

Something inside me gave me the feeling he was pulling a prank on me, but the tint painting his cheeks light pink assured me he wasn't. Or maybe he was, and he was just a great actor to pull it off in a believable way.

"No" he denied, looking back at my eyes to erase any doubt off my mind. "I'm sure I'm in love with you".

The statement froze me, more than a whole gallon of liquid nitrogen. His shy smile showed up, lighting up his face as I noticed how hot ny face was: I blushed, like I've never blushed in my whole life.

"I just- I didn't know how to say it" he explained, his hands drawing lines up and down my arms. "We've been friends for so long, and I really don't want to mess that up. But everytime you smiled at Jonghyun... it made me feel sick, I knew I needed to tell you how much I love you", he looked at me, expecting an answer I didn't have prepared just yet.

So my body, as a new independant system, took his cheeks and made him lean in for a kiss. The unresponsive side of it felt shocked as my hips were pulled into his, his grip tightening around my waist as he locked the door I was minutes prior on the way to walking out.

We ended up in the little bed he had for resting between takes, as he laid me down still kissing me. We hadn't stopped making out a single second, his tongue now playing with mine as we both tried to discover every inch of our mouths. I played with his hair, keeping my hands from running across his chest. When I let go of a little moan as he bit my lip, he stopped, pulling away from me while looking worried.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, mi hands travelling down to his cheeks.

He sighed, his eyes looking deep into mine.

"Believe me, I want to make you mine so badly right now pulling away was one of the hardest things I've ever done" he confessed, making me smile. "But I want to make things right with you: take you on a date, making you feel special and calling us the way we should".

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" I asked, a little blushed as he smiled at me, kissing my forehead.

"I'm asking you, Y/N, to be the one and only real owner of Choi Minho's heart" he whispered, as if it was a secret for us.

"Then, give me the title and I'll wear the crown" I quoted one of his first dramas, smiling as he held me tightly. Only to make me laugh with the only request he kept making me after that.

"Never put me on a prince costume again".

send me an idol, give me a gif and I'll write you a story! ♡

hope you liked it, my universe 💜

[supremegreendragon]

Giving a Gift

The usual bright and cheerful demeanor that Barry exuded on a daily basis had been diminished for the past week. The reason for this change – crippling anxiety.

Christmas used to make him giddy with excitement. Even after his mother’s untimely death and his father’s unjust sentence, Christmas never failed to put a smile on his face. That was thanks to the West family giving him a foundation in which to fill his life full of love, and that had granted him the ability to love in return. 

So, when Joe and Iris West noticed a change in Barry’s behavior, they grew worried. Despite her best attempts to get to the bottom of things, Iris couldn’t find out anything from her foster brother. So, it was up to Joe to figure things out. It was time to fill in the role as a father once again. Not that he minded. As a matter of fact, Barry’s love for him made his paternal instincts sore, even if they weren’t biologically related.

He went into the kitchen where Barry was munching on some Christmas cookies and milk. Who would ever guess this kid was the Flash, thought Joe humorously. The only thing missing in this picture was Barry wearing his old Santa themed pajamas.

“Hey, Joe.”

“Barry,” Joe nodded, grabbing himself a cup of coffee just to look innocent, “Ready for the Christmas season?”

Here Barry tensed up, “Oh. Not yet.”

“That’s unusual. You’re always ready. Remember when I told you that you had to wait until after Halloween to do Christmas shopping?”

“Yeah,” Barry produced a genuine smile at the memory, “This year’s no different. I’ve bought everyone’s present….it’s just.”

Joe saw his opening, “Just…what?”

“Well, I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to give one to a certain someone.”

“A certain someone? Who?”

Barry didn’t say anything, but Joe could see the blush on his cheeks. Joe took a swig of his coffee, trying to ease the pain of his growing headache. This boy would be the death of him.

“Who Barry?”

“You don’t know him,” Barry said finally, “But he’s someone special to me. And….he doesn’t know I’m planning on getting him anything.”

There was a long pause. Joe had to repeat Barry’s words in his head to fully understand what he was hearing.

“This is a crush, isn’t it?”

“…..yeah.”

“And you’re sure I don’t know the guy?” Joe pressed.

Barry hesitated at first, looking all around the room, his eyes darting anywhere but Joe. He bit into a Rudolf cookie, munching away at Rudolf’s famous nose.

“I’m sure. He’s someone I met after I became the Flash and well….he’s not anyone you would talk to on a regular basis.”

“Can you at least tell me his name?”

Joe had interrogated people before. He had seen countless times the moment someone was caught in a lie. He knew the way their faces looked when the mask cracked open. That was the face Barry had on now.

“Uh….Charles….” his eyes darted to the cabinet that contained all the cleaners, “Clean.”

Did…..did he really just make up a stupid name like Mr. Clean? It took all of Joe’s willpower not to erupt in laughter. Okay, he would respect Barry’s wishes not to tell him, for now. But if a man had captured Barry’s heart, then Joe was determined to meet him one day. Even if he had to threaten Barry by grounding the 26-year-old to his room.

“And why would it be so hard to give Charles his gift?”

“He doesn’t know I like him. And when we see each other, we don’t have much time to talk…..” Barry conveniently left out the reason why they had no time. Joe didn’t press it.

“Okay, so let me ask this. Do you want him to know you gave him the gift or do you want to go the secret admirer route?”

“Second option.”

The boy was brilliant, but man could he overlook the simplest things. Joe gave him a blank look.

“Well, you are the Flash. You could just swoop in and put it somewhere he would find. It’s not like he’d notice.”

“Joe, you’re a genius.”

The police force surrounded the bank with their cars. Taking cover with his crew, Joe had his gun raised, waiting for the crooks to come out at any moment. Joe knew immediately who he was dealing with, for the upstairs windows leaked out a spiderweb of ice. Only one person could do that in this town.

Joe took the megaphone, “Snart! Come out with your hands up. We know you don’t have any hostages.”

After a beat, Captain Cold came out, his gun in his hand. He walked toward them slowly, he and his men who trailed behind him. It was the calm before the storm.

“Guess they were closed for the holidays. We’ll steal from them later,” Snart said coolly.

“It doesn’t work that way. Drop the weapon and put your hands in the air.”

Snart readied his gun. They weren’t leaving without a fight. Before Joe could issue another warning, Snart blast a spray of ice, freezing two police cars into crystalized statues. Joe had to tumble away for fear of being frozen as well. 

A sudden streak of red came over, unarming every crook that was supporting Snart from behind. Snart fired at the streak. His accuracy was getting dangerously better, for Barry grunted in pain. He slowed to a stop, his leg steaming blue from the frosty energy. 

“Sorry, Scarlet. But you don’t get to ruin my fun,” Snart said. He came forward. Joe was about to run over to protect Flash. He worried that Snart was planning on finishing the job. But just as he was about to tackle Cold from behind, the crook tossed something in Barry’s way. Joe raised his gun. Barry held up the item that Snart had given him. It was a Christmas card. Barry opened it up and smiled.

“Aww…thanks, Len.”

“Merry Christmas.”

“Still have to take you to Iron Heights, though.”

“You can try,” Len smirked teasingly.

Meanwhile, Joe couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Why were the two acting like such friends? And why was Barry all red in the face? Joe felt his protective fatherly instincts screaming at him to kill Snart.

Barry jumped to his feet, wincing at the pain. He fought through it. It seemed that Len hadn’t hurt him too much. Barry turned into a human tornado, circling through the crowd as fast as a blur. One by one, the men behind Snart were cuffed by an invisible force. In a blink of an eye, Snart’s gun was pried from him and he was cuffed as well.

Joe looked at Snart, who stared at the new present in his hands. A snow globe with figurines of the Flash and Captain Cold fighting in a blizzard. There was a little bow on top. Joe couldn’t believe his eyes. Barry used his powers to give Snart a gift….

….Did that mean that Snart was…..?

Joe gave Barry a stern look. Barry sheepishly smiled back at him, knowing full well that they would talk about this later. Meanwhile, Len didn’t seem to mind that he had been captured. He was transfixed on the snow globe.

“Ah. You’re sweet, Scarlet,” he said, causing Barry to blush. Joe glared. No no no! He felt like one of those fathers who didn’t want their son dating a bad boy. He grabbed Snart and began dragging him to the police car.

“Come on, Mr. Clean,” he grumbled at Snart. Snart gave Barry a confused look, to which Barry only laugh.

“I’ll explain later. Merry Christmas, Len!”

[justatiredghost]

Klaus and Dave like to try new things, unfortunately they decided to try their hand at hiking in the middle of winter and have Regrets.

-

“I think I’m starting to regret this,” Dave called from up the path a ways. They’d chosen a fairly easy trail for their first hike so challenge wasn’t the problem. The cold, on the other hand, was absolutely miserable. Why did they even decide to do this in winter, anyway?

“What’s the matter, not up to the challenge?” Klaus asked despite his chattering teeth, his breath coming out in plumes of fog in the freezing air. He rubbed his hands together, trying to get some warmth and feeling back into his fingers.

At first it had been kind of cute, seeing Dave get all bundled up in the giant poofy coat and silly hat with ear flaps. That was still technically true, especially now that his nose was a rosey pink from the cold. It was just a little hard to enjoy when his nose wouldn’t stop running which was disgusting, and every bit of exposed skin burned painfully from the cold. He couldn’t even remember what it was like to be warm. He tugged his hood down a little more, he pulled the string tight leaving it a small circle just big enough to see through.

“Oh, I’m gonna make it to the end,” Dave assured him with a confident smile, coming to a stop so Klaus could catch up, although he continued to stomp his feet to try to stay warm, rubbing life back into his fingers. “I didn’t come all this way to give up now.”

“Good, because this was your idea,” Klaus said, sticking his tongue out at him.  Not that he was actually annoyed, he loved that Dave was just as impulsive as he was and they were always getting each other to do new things, even if those things ended up being terrible and he’d rather never do them again. Like now. He was definitely more suited to the city than mountainous countryside.

“Not to be the obnoxious kid in the back seat, even though you know that’s exactly who I am, but how much farther is it?”

“It should be just around the bend,” Dave said before a giant grin spread across his face as an idea came to him. “Race?”

Instead of replying, Klaus gave him a shove and took off down the path, ignoring Dave’s mock outraged cry that almost immediately turned into laughter as he scrambled to his feet and gave chase. Sure enough, Klaus didn’t have to go far before the path curved around and the trees thinned out into a little clearing.

It was a viewing area of sorts that went right up to the edge, a fence protecting them from the fairly steep drop on the other side and a little bench for anyone wanting to linger. Not that anyone would want to sit on it now, covered in ice and snow as it was. Below was what they were here for, the whole expanse of the valley laid out just for them. It was stunning, snow pristine and untouched, hoarfrost clinging to the trees making it look like a forest made of ice or crystals shining in the bright sun.

Klaus stood there taking it in as Dave came up beside him, gasping to catch his breath. They stood in silence for a moment before Klaus elbowed him gently.

“I won,” he said.

“Barely,” Dave conceded.

“So, what do you think? Worth it?”

“Not really,” Dave laughed. “I mean, it’s pretty and all, don’t get me wrong, but we could have stayed inside and looked up pictures.

“Oh thank god,” Klaus said, sagging against him, elbow on his shoulder. “I was worried you’d want to do this every year. I love you but that’s pushing it.”

“Don't worry, I think once is enough,” Dave said. “It was kinda fun to try, though. “If you ever get the urge again, let’s at least wait for summer.”

“Deal,” Dave said, the two of them standing side by side as they enjoyed the view, an arm around each other. “Thank you for coming on this doomed expedition with me, you are amazing.”

“About time someone noticed,” Klaus said, a little sarcasm in his voice. Dave studied him for a long moment, eyebrow raised, before facing the valley again. Klaus thought the conversation was simply done despite the incredibly suspicious look, but then Dave cupped his hands like a megaphone and shouted out into the silence.

“Klaus is amazing!” he called, voice echoing faintly across the valley.

“What are you-- I was kidding, knock it off,” Klaus said, grabbing at his arm as he laughed at the absurdity of it all.

“He’s the nicest guy I know,” Dave continued.

“Dave is the amazing one!” Klaus yelled over him, because what else was he supposed to do?

“This isn’t a competition,” Dave continued to yell to the valley. “We can both be amazing!”

“Fine then, we’re amazing!”

They both laughed as they leaned against each other for support, and it was easy enough for them to find themselves wrapped in a loose hug. This close, their hoods touching, it blocked out the cold and made it almost tolerable.

“If you don’t hear it enough,” Dave said, voice quiet now, just for him. “I’ll have to keep yelling it until everyone sees it too.”

“Pretty sure that’s how you get kicked out of places,” Klaus said but he couldn’t help but smile. It was sweet if ridiculous, which meant it was perfect. He wasn’t sure if he believed his words, but Dave did and somehow that was all that really mattered. “Sounds fun, I’m in. We’ll see who gets kicked out  first.”

“I love you, Klaus,” Dave said, leaning ever closer. “I don’t think I say that enough.”

“You say it all the time but I certainly don’t mind,” Klaus said, leaning closer as well. “I love you too.”

And then they were kissing. The cold forgotten in the moment, the heavy coats and gloves became an unfortunate barrier between them as he desperately wanted to feel Dave’s hair threading through his fingers, or the warmth of Dave’s hand on his back. They were clumsy and awkward with the added layers too and they couldn’t help but laugh against each other. Klaus couldn’t deny that it was nice, especially here in this crystallized world of their own. When they finally drew away enough to catch their breath, Dave chuckled.

“Okay, now coming out here was worth it,” he said, gloved hand brushing against his cheek.

“I have something to tell you,” Klaus said, trying very hard to suppress a grin.. “Oh yeah?” Dave asked, still looking a bit dazed.

“You should probably know, it’s taking all of my self control not to shove snow down the back of your jacket.”

“Fuck, I’m so lucky to have you,” Dave said as he burst out laughing. Then he kissed him one last time and finally, unfortunately, drew away. “Now come on, let’s bail before we freeze to death up here.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice, let’s go somewhere warm,” Klaus said. “What are you thinkin’?” Dave asked. “It’s only fair you get to decide.”

“Have you ever been to an arcade?” Klaus asked before a horrifying realization struck him. “Wait, do you even know what an arcade is?”

“I’ve been here long enough to know what it is,” Dave said. “But yeah, I think they were a bit after my time.”

“Oh, you are gonna love them,” Klaus said, taking his hand as they started hurrying back down the path, doing their best not to slip and fall, dragging the other down with them. “This is gonna be so much fun.”

[positiveparker]

blue boy | p.p

hey loves, sorry I haven't posted anything original in agessss!! I have been super busy with school. I am sorry this is super rushed and bad but feedback is always appreciated!! :)

- pairing ; peter parker x reader

- warnings ; fluff! swearing!

- masterlist

- request ; soooo being peter’s chemistry partner and having a huge crush on him. Then him having a huge crush on the reader but she has never told him the name of who she likes and so she talks about her crush on peter and one day he gets fed up and admits his crush on her and yeah

not my gif

“you like someone right (y/n)?” Peter stuttered, he had a stubby pencil intertwined in his pale fingers, writing the title in his grubby notebook. His writing was scratchy and messy, I kind of liked it though. It somehow had its own personality. The way he curled his ‘y’s’ and slit his ‘a’s’ in the middle somehow fascinated my running mind. 

“yeah, yeah, of course” I shrugged. 

My insides twisted. I leant down closer into my notebook and pressed the tip of my pen into the crisp paper. I let my hair fall to the side of my face, this way I could peak through the strands and stare at Peter without him noticing. Every lesson I would analyse every inch of him. The way his brow furrowed in deep thought, the way the corners of his lips curled up when he knew the answer to a question. Everything about him made my fascination grow. Of course I was dying to tell him I liked him, but I guess part of me was scared my love for him would be unrequited. 

Today he was wearing a blue button down shirt with his usual grey hoodie over the top. His face was deep in thought. I watched the way his chest rose and fell effortlessly as he took a deep breath every so often. I wish I could look at him without having to hide. 

“yeah yeah same” Peter nodded, his lips spread into a straight smile. He fidgeted with his pencil, tapping it against the hollow desk. Peter gazed up at our teacher who was droning on about Relative Atomic Mass. I tried focusing on the words coming out of my teachers mouth, somehow they always seemed to brush past me. I guess it gave me more of an excuse to ask Peter for extra tutoring. He was so smart and I envied him. 

My eyes couldn’t focus, they were stuck in my head, envisioning various scenarios about Peter. Every so often I would lean down to write something in my notebook and sense his stare from next to me. I didn’t want to look back though, just incase I was making something out of nothing. “okay class we are going to do a practical!” My teacher hollered, Peter pushed his arms into the edge of the table and casually scraped his stool backwards. He stretched upwards and went bouncily over to the back wall. Most of the class was crowded around the glass cabinets against the wall, they were heaving full of bunsen burners, pungent chemicals and thin flasks. 

I followed Peter and shoved myself amongst the flailing hands. I reached in and touched the tip of a flask, trying to desperately pull it out with my finger tips. During my struggling another warmer hand brushed against my fingers and pulled the flask away, I knew it was him. His warmth seeped into my soul, rooting my feet into the earth. He always managed to comfort me without even opening his mouth. I whipped my body around to peer behind me. There he was holding up all our equipment. He had the glass flask I was trying to reach, effortlessly clasped in one strong hand. 

“thanks” I said softly, our eyes locked for a second and in embarrassment I quickly darted mine to the dark grey, plastic ground. I hated being awkward but for some reason I almost couldn’t linger my gaze on his for too long. I was scared my crush on him would get too strong and it would be even more painful keeping it from him than it already was. We went back to our seats and awkwardly set up our equipment. Looking into his eyes was like liquid obsession being poured into my brain. The more I stared and noticed the little things about him I secretly learned to love, the more I found myself not being able to control my feelings. The rest of our lesson together was spent in awkward silence. 

Everyone else around us was bubbly and talkative. I wanted to know what he was thinking. What thoughts he was associating me with. I was scared he thought I was weird. I wanted to be able to read every positive and negative thing he thought about me, in the hope I could iron out the negatives and be as perfect as possible for him. Every so often in my peripheral vision, I could see him parting his lips to say something. Every single time my heart clenched. He would stop mid breath and carry on adding water to our mixture. I obviously tried avoiding his touch but almost on cue we both reached for the small clear bowl of magnesium. Our hands touched, his over mine. Warm seeping into my cool skin. My heart took a huge, deep sigh. I was expecting him to take his hand away immediately, but in unfamiliarly lingered. Seconds turned to minutes and we both stood, not even looking at each other, but lightly touching. It hurt because his hand felt like it belonged over mine, it was like a missing puzzle piece I had somehow been looking for my whole life. 

*dingggggg dingggggggggg dinggggggg dinggggggg*

The bell blasted in the class’s ears and I yanked my hand violently out from under his, grabbing my backpack from beside me and shoving my books into it. Usually we were forced to pack up our equipment before we left but I had to leave, my emotions were taking over and I was scared that they wouldn’t stop. I slung my bag over my tense shoulder and rushed out the door leaving him behind me. I hoped my teacher didn’t notice but that was honestly the last thing on my mind. I went to my usual thinking spot, under the bleachers. I slid past the passing crowd and slipped under the moss green tin bleachers  overlooking the field.

Something was tearing at my stomach and plucking on my heart strings. It was the most overwhelming feeling and I couldn’t stop it. At the same time I didn’t want to, it was like nothing I had ever felt before. Pain and happiness at the exact same time, morphing and melting into each other. Exhaling, I flopped back on the cool grass feeling the small slits of sun peering through the gaps in the bleachers on my cheeks. I muffled out the noise of the crowds passing around me. Footsteps banged above me and voices rang through the metal. I felt like a tap, overflowing and pouring with thoughts about him. I could turn it off or twist it shut, I couldn’t even adjust the amount. They all just filtered out aggressively, all at once. For some reason more and more voices started to crowd, I hoped they would leave since it was the end of the day. Then my heart sank suddenly, there was an after school football game and I was sat under the heaving crowd.“shit, shit, shit” I repeated whispering into the ground. From next to me I could see hundreds of feet passing and clambering onto the bleachers. I crawled stealthily to the gap I had come through and waited for everyone to pass. I tried picking out familiar voices and then one loud one filled my ears and overpowered the rest.

“where’s Peter, I hope he isn’t here at the game, he hates sports!” Ned’s booming voice rang past me, his scruffy new balance shoes paced passed my head. 

I wanted to grab him and ask him where Peter was but I almost couldn’t. I wanted him to find me. I knew he wouldn’t but the scenarios in my head started to take over, they somehow seemed more believable than usual. After a few minutes the feet filtered away and clambered up onto the bleachers, there was my chance. I grabbed my bag from my side and crawled up and out from under the layered metal. The crowd was silent for some reason, I felt like everyones breath was on me.

“(y/n)?” Peters soft words somehow slapped violently into my back. Like every single feeling all at once. 

A few gasps rang from behind me. His voice was louder than usual, I turned to see a small figure in the middle of the football field clasping a white megaphone. Everyone around us was looking, this time I didn’t mind the attention. Peters face was ashy white with nervousness, he shakily pulled the megaphone away from his lips and started running towards me. he passed the crowds sat on the bleachers. I met him in the middle pacing slowly in his direction. I dumped my backpack on the cement ground and then his body was wrapped around mine, hundreds of eyes still lingering on us. 

“(y/n), there’s something I have to say” He admitted, pulling away slowly

“me too” I replied, my voice was brittle and fragile. He had me at my most vulnerable. 

“you first” He insisted lowly 

“no…you!” I laughed fruitfully

“fine, fine, I didn’t want to admit it at first. I was scared, I was scared about loving you because I didn’t feel good enough” He poured out “You are so much more than you think (y/n) because every little thing about you makes me want to love you more” His words rang against the metal of the bleachers and back into my heart. Clenching and twisting in my stomach. 

“Peter I-“ I started to say “-I think it is just better if I do this” Then every little inch of will power in me leant up to his face and brushed my lips softly against his. My heart was beating so strongly I felt like he could hear it. Every little piece of passion went to my lips and focused on the feeling of him. The moving mass around us started to rejoice as my arms snaked around his neck and his curled casually around my waist. The shouting and cheers clenched around my heart, it allowed both of us to become grounded back to where we were. Peter leant away and started smiling around at the people around us. I looked up at him and the small dips in each side of his smile. The scenarios I had dreamed about somehow came true.

TAGLIST ; 

@tomsfireheart @feelingsareharddd @lovelyh0lland  @hazeyholland @t-o-m-holland @lookclosernow @choke-me-sweet-pea @whatareyouhidingpeter @spidey-pal @cutiepie-holland @radd-but-saddd @pinkcutepug