#*visibly trying not to burst into tears* hey guys whats up
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cosmobrain00 · 8 months ago
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well🙂
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duffslut · 4 months ago
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Helping a friend
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Duff Mckagan x Reader x Steven Adler
My Masterlist.
Word Count: 712
Warnings: Fluff!
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You opened the door to find Steven standing there holding a frozen pizza and a bag full of chocolate.
- Steven! - You said, trying to sound excited as you hugged him and pulled him into your house. - Thanks for coming.
- No problem my lov... I mean Y/n! - He said nervously, sitting on the couch and handing you his bags. - Now this is for you.
Just as you were about to pick up the bags, the doorbell rang, and Steven looked at you confused.
- Don't tell me you already ordered a pizza! - Steven said as you opened the door, and you heard him mumble from the couch when he saw who had arrived. - Oh great. - He said.
- Duffy! - You said as you hugged him.
- Hey princess. - He said to you and then turned to Steven. - Hey man, thanks for coming dude but I'll take it from here, okay?
- What do you mean by taking it from here? She called me, she's not feeling well. - Steven said getting up from the couch and you remained standing in front of Duff.
- I know she's not feeling well, that's why I brought this. - Duff said showing the bottle of vodka that you hadn't even realized was in his hands.
- YOU BROUGHT HER A BOTTLE OF VODKA? HOW DO YOU INTEND TO HELP HER WITH THAT?! - Steven screamed.
- IT HELPS ME WHEN I'M DEPRESSED! - Duff yelled back in defense.
You would normally start yelling at them both until they shut up, but lately you haven't had the slightest bit of energy.
- Well, she's not an addict like you. - Steven said.
You felt stupid in the middle of the two boys, blaming yourself for having called them even though you knew they were your only friends, without you realizing, your eyes filled with tears again for the tenth time that day, and you burst into tears. The boys just stared at each other and then walked towards you, you sat on the couch and covered your face with your hands, embarrassed for them to see you cry. You looked up and found the two blondes staring at you with a worried look. Steven wiped your face with the palm of his hand, and you gave him a shy smile.
- I just... I needed you guys with me, it's so pathetic! - You said. - I feel like I can't do shit! I can't even eat by myself.
-We can cook for you. - Duff said as he nodded to Steven. - Yeah we can do that! - He repeated as if reaffirming to himself. - You just need to take care of yourself, Stevie can help you with that.
- I can. - Steven said, looking deep into your eyes and then turning to face Duff. - You can't cook, just put the pizza in the oven while I take care of her. - He said.
Duff nodded and headed to the kitchen, leaving you and Steven in the living room.
- Did you know I really like it when you do your hair like this? - Steven asked you, hesitantly starting to run his fingers through your hair, making a bun high up, leaving your face more visible.
You smiled at his silly comment, and shook your head appreciating the hairstyle.
- I didn't know Stevie. - You said, and then you had an idea. - You know what would really cheer me up?
- I thought you would never ask! - Steven said in exaggerated excitement and then began to pretend to take off his shirt.
You burst out laughing.
- It's not that! - You said. - You guys can help me paint my nails, I haven't had energy to do it for days! - Duffy appeared back in the room and watched as you spoke excitedly. - Duff can paint my fingernails and you can paint my toenails.
- Seriously? Would that cheer you up? - Duff asked and you nodded. - God, you really don't know what alcohol can do to you.
A few minutes later, the pizza was ready, Steven was sitting on the floor trying his best not to smudge his toenails with the dark blue nail polish, and Duff, with the black nail polish, alternated between painting your fingernails and serving the pizza slices into your mouth.
At some point during that night that might not have seemed like anything special, something warmed your heart, and you truly felt loved.
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tonyspank · 2 years ago
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CHAPTER TWO | THE PARTY & THE AFTER PARTY
Warnings: Literally do not know..
A/N: I wanted this chapter to be longer but I also wanted you guys to get an update.
Jenna Ortega x G!P Reader
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"No! Emma! You're not listening." Jenna yells at her from the other side of the phone, and the other side of the country as well.
"How am I not listening?" Emma asks, attempting her best to not laugh at the situation. Jenna had been on the phone with her since 9 PM, it's currently 12.
"Because!" Jenna scoffs, throwing her arms around like a maniac. Emma covers her mouth with her hand, laughing into it.
Jenna's eyes whip to her screen. "How the hell is this funny?!" Emma shakes her head and her hands, "It's not! It's not! I promise."
"Why are you stressing so hard? It's just an outfit?" Jenna groans at the girl's words, "I want this date to be perfect."
"And it will be, Jen. So relax..." Jenna takes in a breath, visibly relaxing. "And put on that outfit." Jenna smiles at her best friend, who immediately smiles back.
Little did Jenna know you the same thing was happening on your side?
"Jack! Is this too much?" Jack looks up from his phone, "Yes!" He immediately says, standing up from the couch.
"Dude. Why are you wearing a suit?" You scan your outfit, "Because this is a date?"
"No, no, no." He undoes your tie, "Take this off, you're just walking around downtown. It's not like you're going out with the president."
You throw your head back, groaning out loudly. "Fine."
"What a silly individual." Jack laughs to himself, sitting back down, waiting for you to show him your new, and hopefully improved outfit.
You come back out in shorts and a shirt, Jack shakes his head, "Too casual."
You go back, changing again.
"Paparazzi will notice you from a mile away, too flashy."
And again. "Uhh, too boring."
Again. "I don't know. I'm just not feeling it."
"Boring! Next!"
But finally. Jack approves of your outfit when you step into your living room, "Wow!" He stands up, clapping his hands together.
"This outfit is brilliant," He wipes a fake tear, "I'm so proud of you, daughter." You bit down on your lip, holding back your laughter as Jack continues with his performance.
"You're all grown up." He places a hand on your shoulder, bringing you into a hug.
He pulls away, smiling. "But in all seriousness. You look great! I'm excited," You smile back at your best friend.
"Me too." Jack pinches your cheek, making you send him a slight glare before slapping his hand away.
"Ouch." He mutters, rubbing his hand. "We should rehearse." He then suggests, you scratch your eyebrows confused. "Rehearse? For what?"
"For what you're going to say to Jenna?" He says like it's the most obvious thing in the world, "You can't just go out there unprepared." He adds on.
"Okay. Fine. I guess?" You agree, Jack motions for you to sit down as he stands up in front of you.
"Okay! Okay! I'm Jenna and you're you." He informs you may be a little too excited.
"Hey, Y/N. You look great. As always." Jack says in a slightly high-pitched voice, mocking Jenna while he twirls his long imaginary hair.
"Ummm... Thank-" You burst out laughing, Jack stares at you seriously, hand on his hip.
"Focus!" You wave your hands in front of your face, "Jack. I can't take you seriously."
"Jack? My name is Jenna, Y/N." You laugh again and Jack can't help but join in.
Your phone vibrates in your pocket, and suddenly you're extremely nervous. Jack watches you pull out your phone with a slight smile on his face, once you read the messages your eyes meet his.
"She's outside." You stand up, repeating yourself. "Jack! She's fucking outside!"
"I know." He replies, finally removing his hands from his hips. You walk to the door, Jack following right behind you.
"Y/N." You turn around at Jack's words, facing him as you put your phone in your pocket. "Don't be nervous be yourself."
You nod at his words, trying to calm yourself down. You could really use a smoke right now. But again, this whole thing was so you could quit smoking.
Jack's hand reaches to your cheek, but before he could pinch it you slap it away. "Enough." He laughs giving you one last pat before you exit your apartment, and slowly make your way downstairs slowly because you were nervous but, surely indeed.
Once you exit the building your eyes land on Jenna immediately, your heart starts racing, but at the same time you feel relaxed, Jenna smiles at you and it makes her even more inviting than ever.
"Hey," She smiles, engulfing you in a hug. You immediately reciprocate it. Due to your height difference, her head lays on your chest as her arms wrap around your waist, she pulls away, but a hand stays on your waist.
"Hey Jenna, you look great. As always." You mentally slap yourself for repeating Jack's words. Jenna laughs, "Well... thank you. So do you."
You flash a smile, muttering out a thanks before you two enter the car together, it looked like the same SUV Jack had picked you up from that night.
Once the two of you are seated the driver pulls off.
You faintly hear The Weeknd playing in the background as Jenna explains her date idea to you, "Are you listening?"
You met her eyes, shaking your head. "Of course... not. Yeah, I wasn't."
"Dude. I'm about to kick you out and make you walk." Jenna jokes, you dramatically drop your jaw in shock. "Wowww! So you'd want a sweaty date?"
"It'll help you learn to listen." You shake your head, still laughing. "You can't expect me to listen while The Weeknd is playing."
"Oh shit!" If it's possible Jenna's smile widens, "You know this song?"
Girl, bring your friends, if you want we can share. Or keep it simple, baby, we can just— ride with it, ride with it...
"Yeah! It's like one of my favourite songs in my playlist." Jenna scoots closer to you, pulling out her phone. "Here show me your playlist."
You pull up Spotify, typing in your username before handing the phone back.
You watch Jenna scroll through your playlists with a smile on her face, "Here let's listen to this one."
Kali Uchis then plays through the car speakers, Ooh, never thought I would be without you...
The rest of the car ride was enjoyable, you and Jenna spent the whole time singing, dancing, and talking about your favourite songs, bands, artists and other things of that nature.
You get out of the SUV, holding the door open for Jenna, she thanks you before resuming her sentence. "— I've always wanted to play guitar or piano, but the cello is also fun."
"Oh, yeah! I remember hearing you say you learned the cello for Wednesday." You say, not really thinking about what came out of your mouth.
Jenna smiles at you, you walk by her side and finally look at her after noticing the silence. And that's when it hits you. Jenna herself never told you that, you heard her say that from an interview.
"Oh, my god." You mumble and Jenna laughs, placing an arm on your bicep. "No— it's kind of cute that you watch my interviews."
You cover your face with your hands, "Bro! That is so embarrassing." She laughs again, removing her hand to hold her stomach slightly.
"This date is officially cancelled." You joke, removing your hands from your face, Jenna's hand is back on your arm, and you don't miss the slight increase in your heartbeat.
"Okay! If it makes you feel better," Jenna starts off, clearing her throat. "I found your Instagram."
Your eyes widen, and you let out a small laugh. "How on earth did you find my Instagram!" She subconsciously squeezes your arm, "Y/N, I actually like went through Jack's following and found it."
She continues as you watch her with a huge smile on your face. "And I sat in my bed and scrolled until I got to 2016."
Your mouth opens slightly, "WHEN I HAD MY BRACES?" You nearly shout, a few people walking by look back at you, either scared or confused. Jenna can't help but laugh extremely loud, bringing herself closer to you if that was possible.
With joy you eye her, as her eyes shut, her dimple takes shape with a massive smile on her face.
"Yes! You looked so innocent!" She gushes, and the smiles are permanent on your faces. "You know when you looked innocent?" Jenna hums in response, grinning up at you. "When you wore that SHOOK shirt to the Spider-man Homecoming red carpet."
Jenna gasps, "There's no way you know about that!" You laugh, "And since you wanna stalk my Instagram, I'll make it easier for you and make you my profile picture."
You pull out your phone, instantly going to Google, looking up 'Jenna Ortega Shook Outfit.'
"Dude!" She yells laughing, attempting to grab your phone. You raise it so she can't reach it.
"If you do that then you've become my profile picture as well!" You pause, holding up your hand in surrender. "I surrender!"
"You better." Jenna looks at a shop to her left, which has a big sign reading, Fun Hats. Your match Jenna's line of sight before speaking up, "We should definitely buy some hats."
She sends you a quick smile, letting go of your arm, and you quickly miss her touch, but it surprises you when she then interlocks your hands, dragging you along with her to the store.
Hand in hand you and Jenna search throughout the isles, stopping every now and then to try one of them on. You're near the back of the store, and all of the hats have a match.
Jenna picks up the hotdog hat, laughing and you pick up the burger with a grin on your face.
She turns to you adjusting her hat, you reach out to help her before fixing your own. "I need to get a picture of this." She giggles, you by her side when she finds a mirror taking a picture of the two of you.
"Now this. This is Instagram-worthy," You say, jokingly, but Jenna nods her head seriously. "Can I post this?"
"You don't have—" She cuts you off, "I want to. We look cute." Your face heats up, but you play it off shrugging. "Sure then."
Your phone vibrates and when you pull it out, Instagram has notified you of a tag.
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y/n SHOOK
↳ jennaortega i hate u
jackchampion they grow up so fast. 🥲
melissabarreram you guys are so cute
lucas_hevean22 who is that lol
"I guess we do look kind of cute." You say as you put your phone away, Jenna does the same. "We do."
"Here let's go buy these," Jenna connects your hands again, walking to the register to pay for your matching hats.
Even if you two looked like complete idiots, you both didn't care. You didn't know why you were so nervous earlier, Jenna had managed to calm you down the second you laid eyes with each other, and she absolutely makes your heart race.
Jenna makes you feel alive, cliche, yes, but it's true. You honestly can't stop laughing, nor smiling when you're around her and she was right about being a professional, you were so comfortable and peaceful you weren't even thinking about smoking.
The feeling was mutual. With you, it felt as if Jenna could finally get a breath of fresh air, no media involved. She could be herself, and joke around with you like she had no worries in life.
Her love language was physical touch and she could not keep her hands off of you. Whether it be holding your arm, holding your hand, or your hands ever so slightly touching as you walked side by side.
Your date had ended by the time the street lights were on, Jenna and you were back in front of your apartment, right where you had first greeted each other.
"I really enjoyed today," You tell Jenna. She smiles up at you. "Told you I'm a professional." You playfully roll your eyes.
There's a comfortable silence in the air.
Jenna comes closer, embracing you in a hug. You hug back, rubbing her back gently. She pulls away ever so slightly, staring into your eyes and then glancing at your lips.
You feel the tension, and you want to kiss her you really do but.
"There's six more dates to go." You say softly, "No need to try and kiss me on the first one." You joke, letting out a chuckle.
Jenna laughs, pulling away and placing a hand on your chest. "That is true. You don't hear these hear turning?" She says, pointing at her head.
"I'm going to get my kiss, Y/N." She backs up, pointing at you. You watch the brunette walk away backwards, looking at you before turning around completely.
"Good night, Jenna!" You yell out as she gets inside the SUV.
taglist: @laylasbunbunny @smromanoff @friedryes
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starsfic · 10 months ago
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Stupid Ex
Summary: An ex of Qi Xiaotian tries to claim his and Red's new baby is his. The flaming calf. The flaming calf that looks just like Red.
“Look at her…”
“She’s so little!” Long Xiaojiao cooed, snapping a picture with visible tears beading up in her eyes. Pigsy and Tang were close to bursting into tears as well, either gripping each other or the frame of the bed that their son lay in. Qi Xiaotian smiled happily, even with exhaustion glazing over his eyes.
Their smiles and tears surrounded the little bundle Xiaotian held. A small scarlet calf slept in the soft gold blanket, nestled safe and close to the baba she had just come out of screaming barely an hour ago. According to the nurses and the doctor, she was very healthy and very adorable, both of which Xiaotian agreed with. Even better, she had inherited Red’s features, including the bull true form. (Hey, sue him, he was still adjusting to his monkey form.)
“Where’s Red?” Xiaojiao asked, breaking him out of his admiration. “I thought he would be here, all over you two.”
Xiaotian felt a snicker come out at the mention of his spouse. “He burst into happy tears when he saw her,” he said. Red had barely been able to hold his daughter, sobbing threats at the Buddha for making something so defenseless so small. “I honestly thought he would pass out with how hard he was crying, so I sent him to get some air and let his parents know Huiying’s here.”
The doors slammed open.
“Oh, speak of-” Xiaotian felt the words die down when he saw the look on his spouse’s face. Sun Wukong and Red’s parents trailed behind, exchanging concerned looks, and Xiaotian could see why.
Red looked pissed. The quiet kind, the kind that couldn’t even light his hair. The set to his jaw and the cold fire in his eyes relaxed, just a little, when they met eyes. So Xiaotian was pretty sure he wasn’t pissed at him.
“Oh, look at her!” Sun Wukong was there, forcing Xiaotian to look away from Red. “Mind if I hold her, kid?”
“Sure!” Xiaotian passed Huiying over. His daughter made a little noise, but settled in the king’s arms easily. “Be careful around Red, we don’t him to pass out from all the tears.”
“Nah, DBK’s the guy you wanna be concerned around,” Wukong chuckled, flashing a grin at his former sworn brother. “Right, bud?”
DBK snorted about how he was a mighty demon king, he didn’t cry over a baby, only for him to see Huiying and have tears bead up. The scene of his father-in-law, the mighty Demon Bull King, crying over his daughter should’ve delighted Xiaotian. It did, but Red’s anger burned at the back of his mind. A warm hand wrapped around his, and he looked away from Iron Fan cooing over Huiying’s little hooves up at Red.
His spouse met his eyes.
“I’ll tell you later,” he said, too quietly for anyone else to hear them. “Once we’re home.”
“...Okay.”
-_-
Red didn’t explain when they got home. At least, not immediately.
Three days passed. To be fair, they were an extremely busy three days, with adjusting to having the actual baby home, greeting guests, and planning Huiying’s 100th day celebration. His family were all great help, but it was still an adjustment. Xiaotian had nearly put Red’s weird expression out of his mind until the fourth afternoon, when he was feeding Huiying. His spouse settled across from him.
“Hey, what’s for lunch?” Xiaotian asked, coming to a pause when he looked up. Red had that same cold fury in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“So, I must ask…do you know of a man named Chen Zixin?”
Xiaotian blinked at the random question. “Zixin? The name sounds familiar, yeah, but…” Something tugged at his mind at it. The name sounded familiar, and Xiaotian’s gut twisted unpleasantly. “I think he’s an ex of mine?”
Red nodded. “I figured.” He took in a deep breath. “Now, I need to let you know, I am not accusing you of doing anything. I am not upset at you.”
Something cold shot down his spine. “What…what happened?”
Red pulled out his phone. “He called me while I was trying to call my parents. He texted me when he couldn’t get in touch with me. I did block his number, but I saved the texts in case.” Xiaotian exchanged Huiying, still contently sucking on her bottle, for Red’s phone. He had already pulled up the screenshots.
Unknown Number: Hey, you're Red, right? Married to Qi Xiaotian?
Me: Do you care to explain why you are trying to communicate with me? I am very busy today.
Unknown Number: Okay, easy, dude. My name is Chen Zixin and I'm an ex of Xiaotian's.
Me: I do not see the point.
Unknown Number: I hate to drop this on you, but Xiaotian and I got back into contact nearly a year ago. I swear, I didn't know he was with someone. But I need to tell you that there's a good chance that his baby's mine.
The moment he read the last line, his stomach dropped.
"Red, I swear, I didn't-"
Warm lips pressed against his forehead. "I know you didn't." Red glanced down at his phone and barely managed a chuckle. "He's so stupid. I asked him what his proof was. Go to my files, I labeled the proof as Idiot."
Xiaotian did, barely resisting a snicker at the file name. What popped up were the screenshots that Red had shown him and more screenshots. He felt a brow raise as he looked the other screenshots over. It looked like a few weeks' worth of talking between Zixin and "him." It was all steamy sex talk, including nudes. At the first one, conveniently cut off under his face, Xiaotian felt himself pause, connecting the dots.
"He doesn't know you changed your number, for one thing," Red chuckled, sounding a bit happier. His tone turned sweet and adoring as he looked down at Huiying. "And he doesn't know Baba got top surgery before we were blessed with you, yes, he doesn't know..."
Xiaotian chuckled. "Plus, I am not that skinny." He paused as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, should we tell whoever's picture this is that he's using their picture?"
Red chuckled a little bit harder, sitting down next to him. "No need. I reverse-Googled it. It's an art model picture, and it’s literally the first image that pops up when you Google “art model”." 
"Oh, great!" Well, that left one other thing. "What should we do about Zixin, though?" The fact that an ex he barely remembered had popped out of the woodwork to try and claim paternity of his daughter was... worrying. “Did you tell him off or something?”
"Don't worry." Red grinned like a cat who had gotten the cream. "I told him that he was an idiot, and since our wonderful daughter has not inherited your lovely features-"
"Stop it."
"That he was an idiot, that his accusation alone showed that he had no knowledge of who you were as a person, and I pray that he never passed down his genes if he ever actually had a child."
"...Wow." Scam callers alone never bothered them again once Red got on the phone, so Xiaotian's concern was washed away by a wave of relief. "So, since that's dealt with, what's for lunch?"
"I have that handled."
-_-
The next week or two were quiet. Qi Xiaotian assumed that Zixin had gotten the hint and had decided to leave his weird quest to claim Huiying as his child behind. Good for him. Xiaotian was more focused on his family.
Like today!
Pigsy had finally gotten the money and permission to extend the noodle shop. It was now bigger and better but still affordable and delicious. People were gathered around, watching as Pigsy pulled out big scissors. Xiaotian, Tang, and Xiaojiao stood on the side, with Tang beaming and Xiaojiao snapping a hundred photos. Xiaotian felt his chest squeeze tight with pride as Pigsy cut the red ribbon.
Or maybe that was Huiying, rubbing her cheek against his chest from where she was nestled in her sling.
It was probably both.
Yeah, it was both.
As people trickled in, Tang calling dibs on getting the first bowl, Xiaotian found himself next to his Dadsy, hugging him tight. "Oh, I am so proud of you!"
Pigsy patted his back. "Couldn't have done it without you, kid," he said into his shoulder. "You've been a massive help with everything."
"I don't feel like I was," Xiaotian grumbled as he pulled away. "I barely got in a week of helping the construction." The moment Pigsy learned he was expecting, Xiaotian was banned from helping. All he could do from there was help Pigsy make sure that everything legal was squared away, do some marketing on social media, and taste-test Pigsy’s new dishes.
Pigsy sighed, reaching up and patting his head. "You were there for me, son. That's more help than I'll ever need. Plus," His tone turned even more adoring as he reached out, stroking Huiying's little cheek. She made a little noise at the affectionate gesture, and Xiaotian felt his heart melt. "I wanted things to be ready so my granddaughter has something to be proud of!"
Xiaotian chuckled at Huiying's little snort. "Oh, yeah. I can't wait for her to be old enough to help out-"
"MONKIE KID!"
"Oh great." The peace couldn't last this long, could it? Red wasn't even here yet to provide commentary. Xiaotian sighed and turned to the twin demons, striking a pose. Was it just him, or did they look pissed? "What do you two want?"
"We finally have a way to defeat you!" Yin bellowed. "Although I expected better of you!"
"Yeah!" Jin said, and yeah, that was a glare. "Who knew the Monkie Kid was a filthy cheater?"
Wait, what. "I'm not a cheater."
"That's not what this fine gent says!" They moved, revealing a guy. "Remember him?"
Xiaotian squinted. The guy looked familiar, he guessed? He looked like a hundred other guys he saw on the street. "Not really?" Yin, Jin, and the guy all blinked. He glanced at Pigsy, who was also squinting. "Pigsy, do you know him?"
"I...think?"
"Oh, come on, enough of this bullshit!" The guy yelled. "You know me! I'm the father-" Wait. Waaaait. “I can’t believe you’re still lying!”
"You're Zixin?"
The guy paused, blinking. Yin and Jin looked a little nervous, jumping when there was a yell of "YES!" The guy moved forward, but one of the twins grabbed his arm. "And I know that baby's mine, you can't deny it."
"My dude," Xiaotian felt a snicker rise up. "My dude, I barely remember you. Why would I fuck some guy I barely remembered?"
"I don't know! You're probably lying." The guy gestured to Yin and Jin. "But these fine blokes are gonna help me take back my baby!"
The demon twins blinked before exchanging looks.
"Oh, yeah."
"Right!"
Xiaotian blinked, and then, instead of standing on the sidewalk, he stood on a stage. Several people, including Pigsy, Tang, and Xiaojiao, sat in the stands. A big, flashing sign lit up, spelling out WHO'S THE BABY DADDY in neon.
Xiaotian sighed, glancing over at his family. Pigsy had pulled out his phone while Xiaojiao was snickering and recording. Tang just looked amused. Good. He wanted to save this. Maybe he could get some videos from the cameras perched everywhere?
"So!" Yin and Jin appeared, both dressed in suits and ignoring Zixin throwing up in the background. "We have a contested custody battle here!"
"This fine gentleman claims that the Monkie Kid's baby is his!"
"And the Monkie Kid's husband..."
"Isn't here," Xiaotian said before the spotlight could move. "And, I would like to make a point before you three humiliate each other even further." Yin and Jin blinked again. Xiaotian didn’t wait for the response. “My baby,” he said. "You mean this baby?"
Xiaotian couldn't help the smirk that rose up when he revealed Huiying's little face, and Yin and Jin's faces dropped. "This baby," he repeated, holding her up for the cameras to see. Several coos and gasps of adoration filled the stadium- before Huiying sneezed. As people screamed in shock at the flames, Xiaotian stared down Yin, Jin, and Zixin. "This baby," he said. "You're claiming that this baby isn't Red Son's?"
Red snorted, looming over them. All three of them jolted, meaning none of them had seen Red stalk through the audience and now loom, Xiaotian's inner sex kitten purring at the beast.
That was his husband.
That was the only possible father of this and any future children.
"Heyyy Red Son!"
"Look, we just wanted to make sure-"
"YOU STOLE MY-"
Yeah, definitely the only father.
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love4layla · 1 year ago
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AMAZING EXPERIENCE
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Budo Masuta x fem!chubby!reader
A/n: Not proof read so if you see errors use ur brain
NSFW🚨
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You made it to the martial arts club, You’re not sure who you’re looking for but from the flier it was someone named Budo. You take a deep breath and fix my skirt as you open the door to 5 people training.
“Welcome to the Martial Arts Club! What brings you here?” A man, around 5’8 with black hair approaches you. “Uhm hi. Imr looking for someone named…” you look at paper double checking the name on the flier. “Budo Masuta?” You hear a chuckled come from the black haired guy in front of you. “Well, that would be me. And you are?” He looks at you waiting for your response. “Y/n” you respond nearvously. “It's nice to meet you, y/n. And I assume you wish to join the Martial Arts Club?” He asks you with a standard enthusiastic tone he always has.
“Y-yeah” you stutter in response. “Excellent! I always welcome more members to our club. Do you have any experience in martial arts, or would you be a complete beginner?” You pause for a moment before answering “no…im a beginner”. “Don't worry, we'll start you off slowly. That should give you a good foundation to work with, and then you can always advance as you improve your skills!” He smile at you. It makes you feel warm inside, how a complete stranger is being nicer to you than anyone in the whole school has. You begin your classes with Budo until the bell rings for class.
You walk to your class when you see and you and Budo are both in class 3-2. As you sit down in class, you see that Budo is already seated next to you. He glances in your direction and smiles, then turns back to the front of the class.
“The first 6 digits of pie are 3.14159” you say answering the question. “Correct y/n” the teacher congratulates you. “It seems you know a lot about pie don’t you, fatty” Musume comments from the back of the class, giggling as some of the people in the class also laugh a little.
Budo glances over at you and notices you’re much less confident than you were before. He shoots a dangerous glare at Musume. She immediately shuts up and faces forward, visibly shaken.
Class bell rings again and everyone leaves to lunch. You pack up your stuff but Musume had stayed. You notice the rest of her friends walking into the classroom. *what the hell are they gonna do now?* you think to yourself.
Just as you ask that, you turn around and is faced with a little pig that got thrown at your face. You don’t even worry about yourself you worry if the little pig is alright as it squeals and runs away. “OMG Y/n! It’s your twin ahahaha” Hanna yells and they all laugh and walk away. You burst out into tears and run to the zen garden.
Once you arrive at the garden to calm down you take a seat at one of the benches. You hear footsteps come up behind you, and you can sense someone approaching you from behind as your breathing slows down. *Oh no, it’s probably them again. Please stop, don’t come any closer* you think, you brace for an impact but you feel a soft hand on my arm.
Budo is standing behind you. He looks worried when he sees your wet cheeks and red eyes from crying. You feel his hand squeeze gently. “Hey...are you alright?” He asks you with a worried expression on his face. It was embarrassing for you, for him to see you like this. You didn’t know how to respond, so you turn away and curl into a ball and continue sobbing.
He kneels down and rests on the ground beside you. He pulls you close to him and gently pats your back as he tries to comfort you. “Shhh, everything will be okay. I know it's tough right now, but just try to hold on and let your emotions flow naturally. I promise it gets better” . Those comforting words proved to you that he wasn’t here to judge you.
“Why do I have to look like this?” You ask softly, trying to hide your body. “Why do so many people find time out of their day to tell me what’s wrong with me?” You sigh out of exhaustion. Budo gives you a reassuring gaze as he continues to hug you.
“I don't think there's anything wrong with how you look. Yes, you may have a few extra pounds on you, but that just makes you more beautiful in my eyes. There's nothing wrong with having a little bit of extra curve, it just shows that you have a healthy amount of energy and nutrients. Musume and her friends are just jealous of your natural beauty.” He comforts you rubbings circles into your shoulder.
The bell rings to go back to class as I stand up and just him as tight as I can. Thinking about how no one had ever said that to me before. “Thank you” I say feeling more tears fall. Budo smiles warmly, angles your face to face his and gently wipes away your tears with his thumbs. “It's no problem at all, really. Just try to keep your eyes dry. I'd hate for your pretty face to be stained with tears” he giggles as he smiles at you.
This was the moment you realized you were in love with him. The man that actually care about you unlike anyone else. We both walk back to class together and I sit down, instinctively putting my bag on my lap hiding my stomach. Budo noticed this subtle act and notes it.
As the day comes to a close and you make your way to the gate, you hear footsteps approach you and you sense someone approaching you. “Hey y/n, I just wanted to ask you about one of the math problems from class today. I didn’t really understand it” Budo speaks to you, obviously trying to make an excuse to walk you home, but you don’t mind. He walks beside you discussing the problem bruh you reach your home.
You feel his hand fall to the small of your back as you two walk together, this brings butterflies to your stomach. Budo glances down as you walk up your driveway. The sight of you fills him with so much emotion. The way your soft cheeks glisten in the sunlight, the gentle sway of your hips as you walk, the way your cute little Akademi uniform clings your tummy, everything is just perfect. He waves goodbye to you as he walks to his own home.
That night you thought of making Budo a fresh batch of cookies as a gratitude gift. The next day, you walk into school and spot Budo walking in with the rest of the martial arts club. “Hey Budo!” I say waking over to him.
Before he could say good morning back I speak “thank you for protecting me yesterday. I-I brought you some fresh baked cookies. You don’t have to eat them if you don’t want but I just wanted to do something ni-“ your rambling is interrupted by Budo putting his hand on your shoulder. “Thank you for the cookies, but you don't have to buy me anything. I'm just doing my part as the Martial Arts Club leader. And I was only being a gentleman by accompanying you home; it's something that I'd do for anyone” Budo states as he continues to walk into the school.
“id do that for anyone”, those words ran in your head all day. Was what he said and did back in the garden, just because he felt bad for me? Did he not actually like me the same way I liked him? Was all of his actions just him being friendly? There was so thoughts in my mind.
Today, you decide to keep your distance from Budo so that you can clear your head and make some sense of your feelings. Budo noticed that you were avoiding him,but he didn't make an effort of contacting you. He just thought that you didn’t want to talk to him because of this morning. As you sit alone, you're filled with mixed emotions, excitement, frustration, uncertainty.
Your school day concludes and you walk to the gate like you always do. Still compressing the thoughts, but then you hear footsteps behind you. You can tell it’s Budo, because… well who else would it be. But his footsteps sound fast.
You turn around to feel his lips crash into yours with a passionate kiss. It sends a jolt of butterflies through your body as you melt into Budo's embrace. His hands caress the side of your face as he kisses you. It's like all your negative feelings are being erased, leaving only pure, blissful happiness.
You break the kiss as you look at him, this kiss lingers on your lips, almost tasting the sweetness from where his lips touched yours. “I've wanted to do that for so long... You're so beautiful.” He states, tilting his head a bit smiling at you.
Why now? Why all of a sudden? He was so distant a couple hours ago, why does he think this is the right time? You look away from is gaze with a concerned look. You can’t understand why all of a sudden he’s showing you affections after being distant all day.
He noticed this body language and takes a step back. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I should have asked before I did something like tha-”
“nonono! You didn’t! I- I just didn’t think you liked me the way I liked you” you meekly say adverting his gaze. He smiles and exhales as he moves closer, “Oh, honey... I've always thought you were so cute. You don't think I kept following you around because I hate you, do you? I thought you would have put two and two together by now, but I'm guessing you didn't pick up on those hints” he awkwardly smiles.
You make eye contact again but slowly look someplace else. “I just didn’t think someone like you could like someone…like me. The whole reason why I join your club is because Musume and her friends told me to lose some weight” Budo's expression widened hearing your wirds.
*flashback to before you met Budo*
“Ahaha y/n! Don’t you think you should lost some weight you fat pig” Hanna Daidaiyama comments walking by you. “Don’t you think you need to re-dye your roots bitch?!” You angrily snap back at her. She frantically looks around as she walks towards you and pushes you to the ground. “Yeah, but unlike you, I know how to fight” she says as she walks away.
You stand up and amidst yourself off, walking to the stairs of the first floor you see a post o Brie wall “Martial Arts Club! Come show off your self defense skills and learn new ones!” Those seems like exactly what you need. You rip the poster off the wall and go straight to the class
*back to present time*
Budo pulls you into a hug. “Don't let anyone tell you any different: you are beautiful. Those bullies were just jealous of your beauty, and they took it out on you just because they had some personal problems to deal with. I know you've gone through a lot, but I swear to you that everything is going to change. From here on out, none of that bullshit is going to happen again.”
You feel tears fill your eyes to this. You finally found someone who loves you for you, who doenst want to change you. “T-thank you Budo” you sob out.
He smiles as he wipes away your tears with his thumb “Oh, my sweet little angel~” He kisses you on the forehead and wipes a few more tears before gently placing his hand on your cheek. “I'm so happy that you're mine now” he tells you warmly as the smile grows wider and brighter than ever as he stares into your eyes.
You both walk home together and this time, when you get to your doorstep, you invite him into you house. Since your parents are out on a business trip it was just you and your dog “do you want to come inside?” You asks gesturing at the door. Budo face lights up as he nods ands walks inside. He follows you inside the hallway. He pets your dog softly, then smiles warmly as he turns to look at the inside of the house.
You both get to your room as you walk to the closet to change. YIY close the door and walk out in a hoodie and some shorts. Budo couldn’t stop staring at you as you sit on the bed. “Do you wanna watch a movie?” You ask him with a light blush on your cheeks, he smiles and agrees.
Budo curls around you tightly as he rests his head against your chest. Your soft, warm body is incredibly comforting, and he feels completely at peace. He wraps his arms carefully around you, and pulls you into a tight hug. He kisses your forehead.
“I guess listening to Musume actually did do something good for once hmm~” you exhale softly as you adjust your position to be more comfortable. Budo laughs at your comment and gently strokes your hair as he rests his head on your chest. “I guess that’s one thing to thank her for. I couldn’t be happier than I am right now”
You shifted your weight so your on my side, letting out a soft groan to the movement. Budo picked up on the slight noise and it sends shivers down his spine. He begins to caress your body more intimately, stroking your hair and running his hands along your side. His touch feels heavenly, and you could almost feel the heat coming from his palms.
You turn again to face him and lean in to a kiss. Budo wraps his arms around your waist, returning the kiss. Holding you tightly against him as he kisses back with all the passion in world. He then movers you up onto his lap in a quick movement.
You are surprised at his strength as no one else was able to move you like that before. His lips are warm and tender, and they feel like heaven as they make contact with your own. You feel your body heat up with excitement, and your mind becomes clouded with pure ecstasy.
Your hips begin to unconsciously start rocking on his groin, making his breath hitch. His hands start to roam your body going from your thick thighs and ending on your lump ass.
As you continue to ride him he throws his head back “Mmm~” he melts a deep moan escape his lips as his hands grip your ass tighter, urging you on.
He begins to take off your shirt when you put your hand over his go stop him “Budo are you sure about this?” You ask letting my insecurities get the better of you. “I-I just don’t want you to be… disappointed” I look down in shame. His hands go to my chip and it leads me to connect with his lips once more. “I love you and your body, there’s nothing about you that will disappoint me” I gives you a smile.
Grabs your wrist firmly, pulling your hand away from his “You are beautiful the way you are and II’ve every inch of you. You're perfect exactly as you are.” He reassures you as he continues to undress you.
His hands start to move your pants down to expose your stomach. He pecks kisses all over your body. Once your bottom parts are exposed, he kisses you deeper, his hand gently caressing your bare thigh, moving closer to your already wet pussy “You are so beautiful” his eyes hold yours as his hand moves further up your thigh, making you shiver from anticipation and desire.
He inserts two digits inside of you. “Oh my, looks like you wanted this as much as I did~” he says getting more hard by the minute as he pumps two digits in and out of you. You take his pants off as you start pumping his already hard cock in your chubby palm. “Ahh~ damn you good” his laugh turned into a moan as he continued to pump into you, now adding a third digit and hitting deeper.
Budo groans loudly "Fuck~, I can't take this much longer~" he breathes heavily as his hips buck into your hand. He feels his orgasm coming over him as he lets out a loud moan as he comes onto your hand. his whole body shivers as his breath hitches.
His eyes widen when you don’t stop pumping and you lower your plump ass onto his cock and begin moving. “W-wait wait wait! Ah~ fuck~” he moans out loud joy expecting you to overstimulate him.
As you continue to bounce, he in clasps your bra letting your heavy breasts fall and bounce freely he reaches up to cup your breasts and his mouth goes to your right nipple "You are so fucking beautiful right now," he muffles into your breast, his hands falling to your stomach massaging it slowly.
You couldn’t believe the amount of praise you were getting from this man in the moment. it was too much for you to handle. “ahh~ fuck Budo!” You yell out as you come to my climax and squirt over his cock.
He watches in amazement, watching the liquid seep out, feeling your tightness release around him “Oh my~” He whispers as he feels the warmth of your climax cover his cock, it's something he's never experienced before with another person.
His words snap you back to reality as you see the mess you made around you. “B-Budo I’m.. Fuck I-” before u ou could spew out your apology, he kisses you softly, “Don't worry about it honey~” he soothes, pressing his lips to the curve of your neck as both of your breathing patterns even out. “It was incredible”
You lean on his chests as you two both fall into a soothing sleep. Feeling each others chests rise and fall.
MasterList<3
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bebe-writes-stuff · 1 year ago
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Damn, you felt sore. Almost every part of your body ached. Last thing you remembered was, you were behind the school because you've received a note to meet someone there, just like the many you got like every other week. It's always the same corny love confession, and you always respond with the same answer,
"Oh, I already have a lover. Thanks for the thought though." You say and walk away.
But this time, it was something you never would've expected. It was a girl this time but that wasn't the new part, you've had even girls confess to you. It was she started talking about,
"You just think you can do whatever you fucking want just because you're pretty." She said in a spiteful tone,
You grimaced knowing what type of girl she already was. She was a bitch, not the good kind. She was green with envy of any girl who tried to outshine her. You snickered,
"You think I'm pretty, why thank you <3." You dropped the smug remark, rolling your eyes playfully.
You started walking away, not wanting to waste your time with some girl who has nothing to do then shit on other women who are living their lives. Jealousy really is a disease, and an ugly one. But suddenly you stopped in your tracks when she shouted,
"YOU THINK YOU COULD JUST STEAL HIM AWAY FROM ME, YOU BITCH!"
Turning to her, annoyance bubbling up inside you as you spat back at her,
"What the hell are you talking about, steal who?
"HARUKI SENPAI, YOU SEDUCED HIM!"
She saw your furrowed eyebrow and crooked smile, before you burst out laughing, hugging your stomach,
"PFFT, BAHAHA! OH MY GOSH, REALLY!? THAT UGLY GUY CONFESSED TO ME."
Taking a deep breath before wiping the small tears in the corners of your eyes,
"Okay, so you're yelling at me because your man-wait no- CRUSH asked me out. Sounds like you should keep him in check rather than attacking me. You know, that's a really bitchy move. There's a special place in hell for insecure hoes like you who put down other women."
You felt bad for her, she was trying so hard for this guy's attention to the point of coming at other girls. That's so...pathetic. You saw how her malice expression faded into a sadistic smile, then you caught the sound of a twig snapping behind you. You gasped at the realization, turning halfway when you felt the sharp pain in the side of your head. One of her friends had snuck up on you then at the moment you put your guard down, she struck you with a metal pipe.
RIP my man...Shinichiro
You weren't sure how long you've been knocked out for, but once you woke up it was night time. And you were met with two afros you were oh-too-familiar with.
"Hey Souya, it's alright. She's opening her eyes, there's no need to cry." His older brother, Nahoya, tried to comfort him.
Souya hasn't stopped crying ever since they got the first glance of your almost lifeless body on the floor. He never ran so fast to check up on somebody, pulling you into his arms and light shaking you to wake up. Begging you to.
"Hey Soso, baby, you're kinda squeezing the life out of my ass right now." You managed to gasp out,
He quickly let you go but both of his hand were still on your shoulder,
"Who...who did this Y/n. I'll fucking kill-" He started, his voice dripped with malice and rage.
Tears were running down his face, Nahoya had warned you about Angry's tears. No matter what, don't make him cry. You cupped his face, catching him off guard. You took a good look at him before gently wiping his tears away and leaning in and kissing his wet cheeks, You giggled a little at the small blush that became visible on his now hot cheeks. He was such a kind soul. He was one of the rare people who truly had a good heart. You weren't sure how hard you fell for him until now.
"Why are you crying dummy, I am literally right here in your arms."
You feel relieved once you see his tears stop running like a speeding river. You continued by kissing his hands,
"I told you before, your tears are precious to me, baby. Mm, I love you so much." You whispered, your voice sugarcoated as you pulled him into your arms, holding him lovingly.
He sniffed and struggled to talk because of his constant gasps,
"Shh, it's gonna be alright. Just listen to my voice. Take a deep breath, angel. Yeah, that's it. Are you calm now?" You whispered near his ear, rubbing his back and gently caressed his hair.
He nodded,
"I-I tried, I really did! But you were hurt and bleeding!"
"I know, baby. I know, and it's okay. I'd never ever blame you, love. Also c'mon, I bleed like every month. I think I can handle this." You joked,
You heard his muffled laugh when he had his face rested in the crook of your neck.
You were too focused on Souya, notice the way Nahoya took the hint and left you two to the comfort of your own presence.
...
The walk home to patch you up was sweet. Souya offered (demanded) to carry you all the way to your house. It was relaxing, he smelled nice, and he was warm. You wrapped your arms around his neck getting more comfortable when you pulled him closer resting your head on his shoulder.
"Souyaaaaaaa, I love youuuu. You're so sweet and make me so happy." You whispered, dragging out some of your words.
He was glad you weren't looking at him. You would tease the freak out of him if you saw the way he blushed hard at your harmonious voice. You raised your head, facing him. You snicker at his flushed face,
"You're so cute when you blush." You purr, biting your lower lip a little.
You moved your face closer to his, brushing your lips against his. It was a deep and affectionate kiss. You lost yourself in his warmth, treasuring the sensual moment. Pulling away to take a shaky breath. You sunk back into his arms, a smile tugged on your swollen lips, and let your eyes rest, getting sleepy.
After a moment you heard a small chuckle. You open one of your eyes, staring up at him,
"Hmm, what's up?
"I just remember talking with my brother about something."
"Oooh, tell me! Tell me!"
"He said you were a lot like a tootsie pop."
"The sucker. pfft-why?"
"You always act so tough on the outside but you're really such a softie."
You got flustered and a tad bit angry,
"dammit Nahoya, I'll shove my foot up your ass next time I see."
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Ate a whole bag of tootsie pops while writing this
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tangledinink · 2 years ago
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heyyy guys. is this a bad time? srry i know its the autism contest today (go vote for donnie) but uhmmm second chapter of my i'm sorry, teenage mutant what now? fic is out. read it on a03 or below the cut!
[ previous chapter ]
Out of the three of them, Leo was the fastest. Donnie was a close second, and Raph brought up the rear, but none of them were slow by any means. Donnie knew, in the back of his mind, that their Dad was more than capable of some shocking speed when the situation called for it, though he was typically more inclined to amble.
 But goddamn. He always kind of forgot just how fast their dad could move when he heard one of his children scream. 
 They could already hear him opening Mikey's door and demanding to know what happened by the time Leo, Raph and he were even breaking the top of the basement stairs, their hearts thudding in their ears because oh my god. Mikey was either just attacked by one of those shady alley cats that Dad told him not to feed, or he had finally managed to stab himself through the hand with a pencil while trying to do that flip-trick thing he liked to do-- one of the two. 
 "What's going on!?" Leo demanded as the trio skidded to a halt in front of Mikey's door, with Raph crying, "Are you hurt?!" At almost the exact same time, all three of them bunched up around the doorway to see what was going on.
 The good news was there were no maniacal tabbies in sight, nor any writing utensils sticking out of his little brother's palm. A good start. The bad news was the smoldering scrap of paper and wire sitting on his baby brother's burnt desk.
 "I don't know!" Mikey wailed, his eyes wide and beaded with tears. Their father kneeled down next to him, placing a hand over Mikey's trembling shoulder in what was likely an attempt at comfort. "I was just sitting here working on a sketch and my notebook caught on fire!"
 Donnie blinked slowly.
 "It caught on fire?" Leo echoed, his voice cautious.
 "Yeah! It just-- it just went up in flames!" Mikey sobbed. "All-- all of my sketches are ruined...!"
 Raph visibly hesitated, exchanging a look with their father before he spoke, "Uh. Well. The important thing is you weren't hurt--"
 "Your notebook just spontaneously burst into flames? On its own? With no outside intervention?" Donnie deadpanned, his lips pursed. He stumbled slightly when Raph smacked him on the shoulder, glaring at his brother. What!? Like he was the only one thinking it! Come on, were they seriously not wondering the same thing?
 "It did! I swear!" Mikey pressed, tearing up all over again. "I really– I wasn't doing anything--"
 Donnie glanced wildly between his brothers and father, gesturing at the youngest slightly. They didn't seriously – There was no way– 
 "Science doesn't work like that!" He squawked. "You can't have fire without heat and fuel, it's literally basic physics! They're the main ingredients of an exothermic reaction-- does nobody else in this household respect the sanctity of the fire tetrahedron?!"
 "Donatello." 
 "Oh, but when I cause an explosion, it's a problem--"
 "Donatello." His father's voice was a bit harder this time, and immediately effective at stopping Donnie mid-tirade, his frame freezing in place and his lips still curved into a slight scowl. "Why don't you and your brothers go back downstairs? I have this under control." 
 Donnie scowled, his brows bunched together and his lips set in a deep frown, and he really thought about protesting or even refusing for a moment, not wanting to be so easily chased away. But, after a moment longer, he relented, turning to trudge back the way he came with a dramatic huff. "This is so unfair." He muttered as he went, his two brothers right behind him. The three retreated back to the basement, and Donnie's foot had barely even passed the bottom step before Leo turned on his heels to face the other two, giving a wild wave of his hands.
 "What the hell was that?!"
 "Hey," Raph muttered, as if he actually cared about any of his brothers swearing nowadays-- it was just reflex.
 "No, I agree with Leo." Donnie immediately declared, crossing his arms over his chest. "There's no way his notebook actually just burst into flames. I mean, you could maybe convince me that some electrical equipment overheated, but there's no way there would be that dramatic of an effect, and I see no reason why it would center on a notebook of all places, unless Michelangelo was sitting there with a high-powered magnifying glass and directing a sunbeam, in which case he definitely went into my room--"
  "Yeah, what Donnie said. But the, like, the sane bits." Leo interrupted. "I'm pretty sure homework doesn't just set itself on fire."
 "What, you think he's lyin'?" Raph questioned.
 "Well either that or he's finally lost it. Like, this isn't just Mikey weird, this is, like. Weird weird ." Leo insisted.
 "Why would he lie though?" Donnie questioned, a brow quirked. "Surely he's not that desperate to get out of doing schoolwork. He's been doing really well as of late-- And if he needed to destroy evidence, I can think of about thirty-seven other, much more effective methods just off the top of my head that he could have employed. And none of them involve him physically endangering himself nor scaring the absolute living atoms out of the rest of us."
 Raph kept quiet, seeming to consider this for a moment, before his eyes got wide, his face paling a bit.
 "You don't-- you guys don't think he's smokin', do ya?" 
 "What?! No way! Come on, Raph, don't be crazy." Leo scoffed. "First of all-- What, and throw away his whole athletic career? You know how much he loves skateboarding and dancing and 'razzing his tazz' and all that. He's not that stupid. Second of all, there are about eight million other places he could go if he wanted to smoke in secret besides here. Like… literally all of New York City. Or even just, I dunno, the balcony?! Not his own room? I'm pretty sure we would have noticed by now if he was smoking in his room!" 
 "But why else would he be lighting stuff on fire!?" Raph cried.
 "I dunno. Maybe just for fun or something? Donnie lights stuff on fire all the time."
 "HEY!"
 "You do, don't try to deny it."
 "That's DIFFERENT, it's science--"
 "Anyway. What teenage boy doesn't go through a 'lighting stuff on fire' phase? I'm pretty sure I read that in one of Dad's parenting books one time." Leo concludes, planting his hands firmly on his hips as if that were the end of it. Donnie rolled his eyes.
 "You didn't. Raph didn't." He pointed out.
 "Which means, statistically, Mikey definitely has to!" Leo replied.
 "That's not how statistics work--"
 "Bup-bup-bup-bup. Both of you, chill. Look, Dad said he's handling it, so he's handling it! We don't gotta sweat it. Just let them work it out, come on. I bet they'll be done before we finish even one round of Smash Bros."
---
 "Michelangelo."
 Even when he spoke, prodding him gently with his words, working so hard to keep his voice steady and even and calm, his youngest son wouldn't look up at him. Wouldn't meet his eyes. He kept his head down, sniffling weakly and making soft, hiccupy sounds that sank wetly to the floor around them. Yoshi was no stranger to his children's tears, but that didn't mean it ever got easier to hear. It made his chest twist.
 "Mikey." He tried again, idly rubbing the teenager's shoulder. "Tell me again exactly what happened--"
 "I promise I'm not making it up!" Mikey immediately cried, his head bobbing up, the little rainbow beads in his hair clicking softly against one another. "I swear, Dad, it really did just catch on fire! I swear I'm not lying or anything! Why would I-- I-- I mean, my, my sketches, all my homework, my notes, you know I wouldn't--"
 "I know." Yoshi assured quickly. And he did. Michelangelo was certainly no angel, contrary to what his name might suggest, and he was just as capable of getting into trouble as the rest of his boys were. Did he really think Yoshi was dumb enough to not be aware of that tagging thing he was doing with his Posca's? And how many parent-teacher conferences had he been called to over the years? And which one of his sons was the only one who had ever gotten suspended for fighting? 
  But a liar, Michelangelo was not. As much as he tried, he just didn't have it in him-- he always cracked with even the barest amount of pressure, much to his brothers' chagrin. It had taken years off his life when they first moved up here into the city. He had spent weeks and weeks driving their cover story into the four of them and subtly teaching Michelangelo in particular how to divert and distract and dodge. 
 Without meaning to, his eyes flickered down to the small golden bracelet encircling his son's wrist, the tiny orange gem inlaid in it catching the light for a moment. One of a matching set of five-- one of which was on his own arm at this very moment.
 "Remember, my son, what do you do when people start asking too many questions?" 
 "CRY!"
 "That's right! Good boy!"
 (Wait, was it his fault he cried so easily now? He's getting distracted. Focus on the now.)
"I know you're not lying to me, Mikey. You are not a very good liar." He teased, smiling the tiniest bit. He wasn't rewarded with the smile he was hoping for, so he pressed on. "I'm sure that whatever happened, it was an accident... And that there's a reasonable explanation! I'm sure. Perhaps there was just a short circuit somewhere, and a spark caught your paper. I will have your brother look into it. I'm simply glad you weren't hurt." 
 Mikey paused, frowning a bit, his eyes searching and unsure. Yoshi fought to keep his face as calm and reassuring as he possibly could.
 "I'm sure your teacher will understand, I will... write her a note. And, uh... we will get you a new desk..."
 "You believe me?" Mikey said, brows knit together in a crease. "And...you’re not mad? I'm not in trouble?"
 "No, you're not in trouble."
 "But-- My desk is burnt-- I mean, when Donnie--"
 "You're not in trouble," Yoshi repeated. "Just… be careful, my son. I do not want you to get hurt." 
 Mikey stayed quiet for a moment, staring their father down before they finally gave a very slow nod.
 "Okay..."
 "Good boy." He said, offering him a small, albeit forced smile, rubbing his son's shoulder in reassurance one more time before he got back up to his feet (with an exaggerated groan of effort.) "It is late. Go get ready for bed. We'll worry about the desk later."
 Watching his son's muted nod, Yoshi made his exit, closing the door firmly behind him and inhaling deeply--frozen for just a moment now that his son's eyes were not on him.
 Michelangelo was not a liar.
 That was what worried him. 
---
“I’m just saying—“
“Raph.”
“That if you were—“
“Raph.”
���We would help you! We just want you to be safe!”
“Raph! For the last time! I don’t smoke! I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my entire life!”
“I’m saying, I mean, if you DID, I mean, Raph wouldn’t be angry! I just.” 
He sniffled loudly.
“I JUST REALLY CARE ABOUT YOU AND—“
“Okay well, now I am gonna start smoking.”
“NO!!!”
---
Yoshi floated through the next few days, muscle memory, thankfully, filling in for him while his brain was occupied elsewhere. It was a good thing that his family had been to approximately eight-million martial arts tournaments over the past decade, or he may have been in trouble. Luckily, everything was, by now, second nature-- ensuring everything needed was accounted for, getting everyone to the gymnasium on time, signing in to each event and finding a seat... 
 He wanted to be present. He wanted to be aware of what was happening around him, to pay attention to the tournament, but it was a struggle to even keep his eyes open. The act of ‘sleeping’ had recently been superseded by that of ‘pouring over Hamato Clan scrolls,’ searching desperately for some sort of an answer or explanation, or even better, a solution.
 Yoshi had never regretted his choice to turn his back on his ‘destiny’ before. He had never regretted choosing not to finish his training, and failing to unlock his ninpo. What use did he have for such things? And what benefit could he possibly find in throwing his life away for the sake of a 'what if,' a what if that had never come to pass in his clan's history? Perhaps life had not turned out exactly as he had planned, and all his choices as a young adult had not exactly been the wisest, but... 
 This choice? No. He had never regretted it.
 Until now.
 Now, his bones ached with remorse. Perhaps if he had learned it himself, he would be more useful now in ensuring his son's safety. He had lit his notebook on fire for god's sake-- What if he had hurt himself? What if the fire had spread?! And how was he supposed to keep his children safe when this power wasn't something that he understood, nor something that they were even aware of themselves?
 He grumbled softly to himself, squinting a bit and hunching over in his seat on the bleachers. Uncomfortable-- these always hurt his back. Thinking about this, it hurt his head. For the thousandth time in his life, he wondered if he was making the right choice as a parent. As a person. He didn't want to deceive his sons. It was never his intention-- It wasn't his plan-- But--
  "Yoshi."
 Yoshi Hamato started slightly in response to his own name, momentarily distracted from the rather consuming task of pushing two small children on swings in tandem. He had tried to negotiate taking turns, but Raph and Mikey had insisted they wanted to swing together...
 He grit his teeth a bit at being interrupted in the middle of an outing with his children by what was, he assumed, a fan or reporter, but when he turned to face the voice, he froze in place. Ice climbed up his throat and lodged itself there.
 "... Hinata."
 They looked different from the last time he saw them-- older, certainly-- but he still recognized the face of his cousin right away. Not dragging his eyes away from the other, he slowed the two children's swings to a stop, leaning down to speak to them.
 "Why don't you boys go and play with your brothers in the sandbox for a little bit? My arms need a break, and then we can swing some more."
 "I don't wanna play in the sandbox!" Mikey immediately protested, his eyes wide. 
 "Mikey--"
 "Come on, Mikey. It'll be fun." Raph interrupted, taking his little brother's hand in his own. "I'll let ya bury me!" 
 The four-year-old immediately lit up at that, wasting no time at all in throwing himself off the swing and sprinting in the direction of the sandbox, where Donnie and Leo were already gathered. Raph followed after, but not after just a moment of hesitation, glancing at their father for just a second before running off.
 As helpful as his eldest’s reaction was, it made Yoshi’s heart twist to think on it too hard. He wasn’t the eldest by much. He was still a child as well. 
 This was why they had moved to the surface. This was why Yoshi had chosen to risk exactly this scenario. But he had still hoped it would not happen. And he did not think it would happen this quickly.
 Rising up to his full height once more, he narrowed his eyes at his cousin, resisting the urge to cross his arms over his chest or plant his hands on his hips. He was not a teenager anymore.
 "Why are you here, Hinata." He slipped easily into his native tongue, knowing that Hinata would do the same. He would never forget the language he spent the first eighteen years of his life speaking, but now, after all this time, he would admit, Japanese almost felt foreign in his mouth.
 "Yoshi! It is so good to see you again-- After all this time, we all thought-- I mean--"
 "We both know perfectly well you are not here for pleasantries, Hinata." He snapped, his temper flaring for a moment, getting the better of him. "You did not travel all the way to New York to say ‘hello’. Why did you come?"
 "... We heard in the news, that you have children. What a surprise for all of us, after how adamant you were growing up...!"
"And what business is that of yours?"
 "Yoshi," Hinata said, a sigh weighing down their voice. "I know that you never completed your training, but--"
 "And they will never start."
 "Yoshi, please, be reasonable."
 "I am being reasonable!"
 "You are the last direct descendant of the Hamato Clan, Yoshi! You, and now them! We have a duty! A responsibility to the world!"
 "Them!?" Yoshi hissed, gesturing violently to the sandbox across the playground, where his three children excitedly worked to try to bury their older brother. He struggled to keep his voice down. " They have a responsibility to the world?! A duty to fulfill?! They are children!"
 "You think I am not fully aware that it is a great burden to bare!? Do you think the rest of us have reveled in it?!" Hinata spat. "Just because a task is difficult does not mean you can abandon it, Yoshi!"
 "Why!? What is stopping us!?" Yoshi threw up his arms. "If you are content wasting your life preparing for the return of a scary story, be my guest! But you will not drag my children into it. I will not send them away to be raised without a parent. I will not sacrifice them for some supposed greater good. And I will not be convinced otherwise." He hissed, each word burning his lips from how cold they came out-- a surprise each time. 
"Yoshi. Please. We are your family. We cannot do this without you."
"Listen to me carefully, Hinata," Yoshi said, his eyes narrowed into slits. "The Hamato Clan will have no part in my sons' lives. They will not train them. They will not speak to them. They will not attempt to make any form of contact with them. And if any of you do, then you will be hearing from my lawyers. None of you will touch a single hair on their heads."
 He leaned in a bit closer. 
 "And if anyone attempts to, then I will break all of the fingers on their hands, and worry about the lawyers later. Do you understand?"
 Hinata kept quiet for a moment, their eyes searching the other, as though they were trying to decide whether or not their cousin was serious. Eventually, their shoulders slumped. 
 "... Your grandpa missed you, Yoshi."
 "Stop."
 "He was devastated when we heard you had gone missing."
 "Hinata."
 "Until his dying breath--"
 Every muscle in Yoshi's body jerked and tensed, coiled tight and hot. His lips curled into a snarl, and he clenched his hands into fists.
He walked away. Hinata did not follow him.
He sat with his children in the sandbox until he was sure Hinata was gone. He pushed Raph and Mikey on the swings for five minutes longer, as he had promised, and then he let Leo and Donnie have a turn, to be fair.
 Raph asked him who the person from before was. Yoshi told him it was an old friend. Mikey asked him if he was sad because he seemed sad. Yoshi smiled and said that Mikey should not worry about it, and he was fine. They did not ask any further questions, and Yoshi was relieved.
 He brought his sons home, parked them in front of the television, and locked himself in his room to weep as softly as he could.   
 He laid in bed and he wept until his eyes were swollen and his head ached. He felt stupid for being so upset. Hadn’t he renounced the Hamato Clan ages ago? Nothing had changed— He always knew that this would be his response if his family sought him out again. Hadn’t he known that his Jiji was surely gone by now, given the time that had passed? But still, it was different for it to be confirmed. It was different for everything to be spoken out loud and real and definite and unable to be taken back.
 The term ‘uncontrollable sobbing’ had never really meant anything to him before. He had cried before, sure, but this was different. He hadn’t thought it could be so literal. This was horrendous.
 When he finally ran out of tears, he curled up on his side, hidden beneath sheets and blankets, feeling rather pitiful and unsure of what to do with himself. His chest was all hollow and empty now, like something had been carved out of him. And all that was left was this deep, terrible frustration.
 The world felt so hideously unfair in this moment. He thought of every other human on the planet who didn’t have the same problems as him, who had families without destinies or sacrifices, and he resented each and every one of them. He thought, “How could they do this to me?” He thought about his mother, and his jaw set. He thought about the hours of training he had endured as a child, and his face flushed with anger, heady and dark. He thought of Hinata, who he had grown up alongside, played with, shared secrets with, and he wished they were here— or anyone, truly anyone in the world was here in their place— so he could kick their teeth out of their skull and stomp on their throats. 
 How dare they try to take his children from him? 
 Seething, lit up red in every part of his soul, simmering like oil, he slowly sat up, inhaling long and slow before letting it out again. No. The Hamato Clan and their traditions would never touch his children. They would not so much as graze the silhouettes of their lives. His children would never be kept awake at night learning lore and stories from fabricated scrolls. They would never be informed of their purpose in life, nor told that they had no say in it. They would never be taught to fight, never endure hours of martial arts lessons, never cry or beg for their training to finally be finished for the day— 
For the second time that day, a sudden noise startled Yoshi from his thoughts, and his head bobbed about at the low thud and scrabble from the living room.
 Ah. Mmm… Yes. Of course. His beloved and innocent sons. One of his eyes twitched a bit, and he debated his next action for a moment. He didn’t especially want to interact with any of his children given his current… whole emotional situation, but, after a bit of hemming and hawwing, relented that he probably should go and check that no one was injured. Grumbling a bit to himself, he dragged himself to his feet, shuffling down the hall to peer around the corner and into the living room.
“Give up now! You’re no match for me and my super rad skills!” Leo shrieked from in front of the TV, his mouth set in a mischievous grin. 
“Oh yeah?” Raph echoed his younger brother’s smile before leaping at his brother. “Watch this! POMPADOUR PUNCH!”
Yoshi noted dimly that whatever cartoons he had left them with had long been exchanged for one of his many films, which was now flickering across the screen. Donatello’s doing, he assumed. 
“Mikey! Cover me! We gotta get to higher ground!” Leo yelped through laughter, throwing himself at the couch and attempting to climb up the back of it. Michelangelo, as instructed, koala-hugged his oldest brother’s legs in an attempt to slow him down. 
“Donnie! Raph’s been got! You gotta stop Leo!” Raph barked, very obviously trying to rope the purple one into the shenanigans and include him in the fun. 
 Donnie gave a determined chirp and a nod in reply, his expression turning very serious in such a way that Yoshi had to smile a tiny bit. 
 “HA! I’d like to see you try! No one can stop a NINJA!” Leo crowed, striking a pose to mirror Yoshi’s own younger self on the television. It certainly wasn’t CORRECT, but… It wasn’t bad, either. His boys were still young, but Yoshi had, admittedly, taught them some of the basics of stances and things of the like when he needed something to keep them busy in the sewers… He was a bit surprised that his children had retained any of those lessons, but it was evident in how they held themselves that they did. 
 And… letting them watch Kung-Fu movies probably had an influence as well, admittedly.
 Sighing softly, Yoshi leaned against the wall, resting his cheek against the cool drywall. He thought, absently, of how he and his cousins would play this way when they were small and met at family gatherings, and his shoulders slumped slightly, the tight muscles unwinding. He thought of how they would train together, coaching one another through difficult stances or sequences and celebrating when they finally got it down, and the heat in his cheeks slowly tempered and faded. He thought of the pride he wore so brazenly as a child— proud of his destiny, proud of his heritage, proud of the abilities he had built for himself. Proud to be a Hamato. He silently wiped at his face, brushing some of his hair from his face. He had thought he had run out of tears, but perhaps he hadn’t.
 The frustration and anger were gone now. The hollow was simply hollow now— empty and worn. Yes, something had been carved out. He recognized the grief. And he was still completely sure of himself when he said that the Hamato Clan would never touch his children.
 … But he supposed that, perhaps, he didn’t have to abandon every part of his past.
 It might be okay if they dipped their toes into some of the traditions. Perhaps they could still be Hamatos on their own.
“Point!”
 Had he fallen asleep for a moment there?… Yoshi cursed himself internally when he realized that he had missed the entire match in favor of old memories. His eyes refocused on the scene before him— his son standing over a somewhat shaken-looking opponent on the mat, the referee gesturing to Donatello in victory.
 He was too busy lost in his thoughts to pay attention. He wrinkled his nose a bit, but he could see Donnie’s head turn, glancing to the stands to search for him in the crowd. As soon as he was able to catch his eyes, Yoshi offered a small smile and an appraising nod, which earned him a barely-contained beam in response.
 As soon as the eyes had been removed from him, Yoshi let out a breath, slumping against the wall. A close one… Now was not the time to be worrying about such things. Given the family’s hectic schedule, Yoshi was not able to be present for nearly every competition his sons participated in… He owed it to them, at least, to be present when he did. 
 Though, truth be told, he doubted he had missed too much. He had known before the match had even started that Donatello would win. At an event this size, there would be very few other competitors who would pose any real challenge to any of his boys.
 They were quite good. After all, he was the one who had taught them to fight in the first place.
---
Donnie caught sight of their father in the doorway just a moment later, pausing in his climb up the back of the couch to try to tackle his twin brother. The other three caught on quickly, glancing back around at Yoshi with wide eyes. The transition to the surface had been an adjustment for all of them, and they still sometimes had a bit of trouble remembering what was OK for the sewers VS OK for polite society— But generally speaking, their Dad didn’t always appreciate roughhousing and shouting, nor climbing on top of furniture.
 Yoshi gave a soft exhale of laughter through his nose, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He was sure that, eventually, they would all figure out that freezing upon eye contact would immediately clue him in that they knew they were breaking the rules, but… not yet.
 Not yet.
“You changed the movie.” He remarked, wandering into the living room to join them.
“We wanted to be ninjas.” Mikey volunteered from the floor, his little head popping up from behind the cushions. “Like you, Daddy!"
Of course. Ninjas like him.
 He bit the insides of his cheeks. That? Maybe not… today. But…
 “ … How would you boys like to learn to talk like ninjas do?"
[ next chapter ]
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skekilla · 2 years ago
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No. No, this couldn’t be.
All excitement, every shred of joy, fell away from Johnny like leaves in fall. He staggered backward. His mouth ran dry and his eyes opened wide, fixed only on the little boat, the shapes within it, and, most of all, the doom they brought with them. Lillian had beaten Ed, the most senior of all their companions in almost every way, especially in fighting off demons and things like that. Things like her. And yet, she’d gotten him. Nothing was stopping her now. Nothing could stop her. Certainly nothing they all could do. No, no, no. Oh god, no! We’re done for! “Why, you’re white as a ghost, Johnny! What’s got you all pale?” Sally’s words jolted Johnny back into the reality of the situation. The others, his companions—they were all there, around him. They must not’ve caught sight of Lillian in the brief flash she had been visible. They had no idea what was coming.
Panic all about him, he glanced, wordless, between Sally and the boat. His tongue fumbled around in his mouth, a string of babble leaving it. “T-t-the- the boat- it’s-” He stopped for a moment, looking out helplessly, as the dinghy sped across the last couple yards to the dock. He blinked again and again, trying to hold back tears, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t stop an accompanying wail either. It wasn’t a wail of despair, no; it was one of pure terror, half-way between a sob and a scream. “SHE’S COMING!! She’s in the boat, she’s—”
A gasp came from the kids, who still had their eyes on the water and had evidently noticed what was upon them. “Oh, Salem, did you see?”
"Yeah!”
“Shall we hide?”
“No, we gotta help him!”
“I’m frightened for him, Salem!”
“C’mon, we’ll take her together. I’ve got your back!”
“Take who?” Sally said. “What are you all—” She interrupted herself with her own glimpse out at the vessel. The only problem was that by now it was too late to do anything; she was already too close. Johnny despaired at himself. Why couldn’t I have just said something right?!
Orla didn’t seem to think all was lost yet; she turned on her heel and ran for the door, pulling Sally behind her by the hand. Just as she laid her fingers on the handle a burst of pink and petals sent the two flying back. “Nice try!” Lillian, near enough to be heard now, yelled across the waves in a haughty tone. “But you’re not getting away now.” With a snap from her, a hurricane of the pink force completely barricaded the door. All hope of escape was cut off now. They could do nothing but stand there as she drew closer to the edge, docked the dinghy, and stepped off. Behind her she left Ed, limp and bound by her storm of flowers. She’d taken his shovel, too; as her heels clicked down on the worn wood of the dock, she spun it around in her hand with a flourish. “Oh, and please don’t make this any more difficult than it already has been,” she said. “Beating this guy was a chore, you know.”
That was when Anne and Salem made their break for the gravedigger. They darted around behind Lillian, brave but clumsy. The reaper-girl noticed them instantly, of course; as they jumped to try to make it into the dinghy, she turned and caught them in her storm, right in the air. “Hey, what did I just say?!” Though Anne had once again gone limp like a ragdoll, Salem was putting up the fight of their life. “Let Ed go!! Anne too! You can’t do this!” they cried. The poor kid, they were valiant as ever. Johnny’s heart broke for them, in pieces after that and the distress already smashing it.
“Yeah I can,” Lillian said dryly. “It’s actually my job.” Without a moment of hesitation, she threw them both back to the rough boards of the dock. She ignored their groans and cries as easily as if they were just sacks of flour that she’d just tossed around. “Great. Now, sit down so we can all do this the easy way.” A pause passed. No one moved, not on either side. “Well? Come on!”
Johnny’d been weak in the knees already; this was almost a relief. Though he knew it was giving up and surrendering to his doom, there was nothing else to do. It was helpless. Their fates were sealed the moment he hadn’t been able to move his stupid lips to warn them all. It was his fault anyway. He sank down. After he was the first to fall, Sally went, then Orla, then the kids. Unlike him, their faces showed that they’d all but given up; Sally’s lips were pursed resolutely, Orla’s eyes were bright as always, and the two children, though both clearly scared, were both upset something fierce. Johnny only despaired more at this. They didn’t deserve this, not a chance. It was his cowardice that got them here. Just when I was starting to think I was worth anything…
Lillian raised her chin up in eerie satisfaction, but then her masked face seemed to fall a little. She had noticed something: someone was unaccounted for. She glanced around the dock for just a moment, before—
SMACK!
With a cry, the rabbit girl was knocked back for a second, reeling from the impact inflicted right to her ivory cheek. Shards and bits of white dust were cast to the wooden floor, more than alerting Johnny to the action taking place. Shock and, yes, a bit of awe were sparked in his heart as he glanced up to see Curtis standing there. He’d taken a swing at her! His dukes were up, already aiming another wallop at her. He valiantly struck once more. Surprise had left Lillian out of sorts, so he got another good hit in. Yet more cracks shattered throughout her bone-white facade, spreading in spider-web lines all over. Her mask- it’s broken! She’s done for! Reapers disappeared when their masks were shattered; this was it! Curtis’d done it! He’d saved them all, and it was all over!
… Wasn’t it?
Lillian was still there. Instead of dissipating in a frenzy of faint shadows and wind, she just… stayed. She staggered up again, a real scowl visible behind and between the broken fragments of her mask. Before Curtis could strike again, she raised her hand and snapped. Just like that, it was all ripped away; yet more of her awful storm rushed around the sailor, entangling him, ensnaring him, all in the blink of an eye. He roared and raged and fought against it—oh, did he fight—but it was no use. With only a flick of her wrist, she threw him against the wall, binding him there. His teeth grit on the pain as he snarled at her. “You bastard!” he spat. “Fucking monster!!”
“Yeah? SO WHAT?!” Lillian snarled back. Rage was the whole of her being, from her voice to her shoved-back ears to what little of her face could be seen now. “I’m not the one who’s a stupid mortal! I’m not the one who’s about to DIE!!” A few more heavy breaths were huffed out before she straightened up, turned her once again disinterested gaze back to the passengers that knelt before her, and sighed. “Not like you guys should be too sad about dying anyway—life’s way more troublesome than death,” she said. “So! Does anyone wanna go first?”
No. No, no, everything is… no! How could this be? Everything was supposed to be okay now! Of course it isn’t, he thought to himself, of course! You did this! Nothing’s going to save you now! You did this to everyone! You’re useless after all! This really was the end, then; nothing could stop her. And he had done it all. He had doomed them. Even when they’d all tried to fight back, or tried to escape, or even shattered her face—no. It wasn’t enough. How could he have done this? How could he have been such a coward? Tears streamed down his face. He couldn’t keep back a sob.
Lillian’s ears pricked towards the sound. “That sounds like a yes to me!” Wait- NO! The pink force latched onto his prosthetic legs, tight as a bear-trap. He screamed as he was dragged away from the others. His hands, both flesh and metal, scraped against the floorboards, trying in any way possible to keep him from his fate. Through the blur of tears and terror, he saw Sally reaching out to him, but it was too late; he was already far into Lillian’s clutches.
“PLEASE!! PLEASE, I BEG YOU! SPARE US! SPARE ME!” The cries burst from him on instinct. He knew, even if it was his punishment, even if he deserved it, he didn’t want to die—he’d figured that out a while ago, after all—but he didn’t think he could yell like that for it. He was fighting too, fighting on till the last moment. His fingers dug into the knots of the boards, and finally, he gained some traction.
Snap.
Johnny’s eyes widened as he felt something he hadn’t quite ever felt before. The weight on his left leg—the mighty force the pink storm was pulling with and even the weight of the leg itself—it all just… fell off. He still felt the cuff of the top of the leg around the stump at his knee, though, that part was still there—it was just what was below it that was gone, that had been pulled away. His leg… his leg had been broken off. Another sob escaped him as he realized it. Even more awful was that he knew then that his other leg, too, was done for if he kept holding on. He squeezed his eyes shut, tears gushing out between the lids, as he let go.
“Ugh, finally,” Lillian groaned as he came before her feet. “You know, if you didn’t want this, you shouldn’t have volunteered.” She surely went on saying something, but Johnny didn’t hear. Everything left his mind. He stared out at the sea, his tears falling from his face and into the water below. He could do nothing. He doubted even shooting her point-blank would do much; besides, he would hate more than anything to try it and be proven wrong. Besides, what would he do if they could get away anyway? Be carried around by the others forever? Every instant was just making him more useless than the last. He couldn’t even walk now. He was helpless, he was useless. Useless. Worst of all, he’d let everyone down by it. Let himself down. I really am a useless coward.
Something was felt on Johnny’s hand (nearly numb from holding on as it was), right above his last knuckle. Air was puffed out and then taken back in rapidly though gently. Huh…? Slowly, he glanced over at what it was. At once, he was entirely shocked, afraid, all of it. It was Tuxy. The little rabbit must’ve reappeared, he guessed, and was now hopping around here. No one had seemed to notice, not even Lillian.
Wait. It was then that it came to him, all at once. There was something he could do. There was a chance. He wasn’t useless—there was a difference between helpless and useless—and he could do something. Even if he was scared to death, even if he was missing a leg—he could do something. Something to save them all, to stop all of this. And dear lord, he would do it, if it was the last thing he ever did try to do.
Without any hesitation, he reached out to Tuxy and held him by his velvety ears. He was docile, even as Johnny lifted him up in that fashion. He became much less docile, though, as he held him out over the side of the dock, barely a foot above the raging ocean below.
“Stop,” Johnny said, “or else I’ll drop the rabbit.”
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imagionationstation · 9 months ago
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So, um… Speaking of angst-
“Mikey?!” 
Mikey whirls from where April is tying his arm, wincing from the heat that seers despite the cream. His eyes widen as Takeō and Akihitō burst into the room, uncaring of the Foot gear on their person, eyes watering as he dives to throws his arms around the necks, yanking them into a hug that practically drags them to the ground.
“What are you doing here?!” Casey snaps as Metalhead beeps in alarm. Mikey has to pull away as he pulls out his flame thrower. “No, Metalhead! It’s okay! They’re not a danger! They’re here to help!”
He steps back, looking between them. “You are here to help, aren’t you?”
“We heard about your lair.” Akihitō responds, ignoring the suspicious stares of the humans in the room. “We’ve been looking all over the city for you guys.” 
Takeō scans the apartment, worry overwhelming the normally even expression. “Where’s Donnie?”
“We got separated! There were too many Kraang and he just- And then he was so mad and I just- I wanted to go after him, but this guy-” He kicks Metalhead and the robot remains unperturbed. “-won’t let me! But this is great! You’re here now! You have to find him!”
“Start over, Mikey.” Takeō hurries. “From the beginning. Where did you last see Donnie?”
“In the sewers! He got separated by a Kraang portal, but if we hurry, maybe we can-”
Metalhead shrieks. 
It’s the only warning that Mikey gets before Akihitō is on top of him, pushing him to the ground before a projectile breaks through the window and crashes into the coffee table, hard back cracking the wood under it’s weight. It pushes the two slides forward until they are stopped by the couch, glasses painting the floor.
Mikey watches a long, green limb bounces limply against wood flooring, his older brother’s unmoving form coated in dirt, blood, and bruises. Metalhead doesn’t look back at him, uncaring that he’s being held down by a programmed enemy, darting for his creator.
Mikey’s never seen the robot look scared before, but he looks downright terrified as he stops by his side, metal hand pressing against pale skin. 
He shoves at Akihitō and he pulls off, allowing Mikey to get to his feet, world drowning in the outside shouting and the wild beeps of a frantic bot. He looks at Mikey as he stops by Donnie’s side, blue eyes brighter than he’s ever seen. Mikey’s throat swells, choking his own, desperate words as he reaches for his brother. 
“Donnie?”
He gets no response. Donnie doesn’t move- not when Akihitō lifts him up, not when green finger finds him pulse, not when he announces him alive. Akihitō looks like how Mikey feels, clutching the limp form to his chest, looking over at the brother next to the window. Mikey can’t look away, reaching out to touch the mask smeared with blood, wondering why Donnie couldn’t even listen to him, just this once.
“We have to go back!”
“Splinter can take care of himself. We need to keep moving-”
“And go where?!” 
“I don’t know, Mikey! This wasn’t an eventuality that I could prepare for! But we have to do something.” 
“We should find the guys-”
“No, absolutely not! The Foot are working with the Kraang! They’d only try to stop us or use us-”
“They’re wouldn’t do that-!”
“I’m not putting my trust in those-”
“We have to stay together-”
“We don’t have the time for a wild goose-”
“WATCH OUT!”
“APRIL!” 
“HEY- HEY, KRAANG! I’M THE ONE WHO REVERSED YOUR MUTEGEON! I’M RIGHT HERE!” 
“Donnie-!”
“METALHEAD, PRIME DIRECTIVE: MIKEY!”
“No, NO, DONNIE WAIT-“
“Takeō! Takeō!” 
Mikey blinks, looking up to the wide emerald glare, tainted in a fear that leads him to follow his gaze. Takeō stands by the window, frozen, staring down to the street below. The young turtle shakily clambers to his feet. April takes his place as he makes his way over, muttering through her tears. Mikey reaches what’s left of the window and grabs his arm for support.
He has to know who did this. He has to know who hurt-
The Foot are visible below, surrounded by wreckage and Footbots, standing confident as New York goes up in flames. Mikey looks at him, but finds no recognition, no understanding, no hint that this was their plan all along. Mute horror keeps him in place, even as Akihitō calls his name once more. 
Takeō stares down at Tiger Claw, blade tight in his grip. 
“Sensei.” He breathes. “What have you done?” 
OKAY— so like, we had scenarios of which the B-Team were raised by the Shredder, but what if it was the A-Team??
Shredder telling both Leonardo and Raphael (who now goes by Takeō and Akihitō respectively) lies about their younger littermates (Donatello and Michelangelo, whom he named as Junkō and Kōta)— telling them that their younger siblings have been ruthlessly killed by Hamato Yoshi, who had deemed them as an abomination.
In fact, Shredder wasn't even aware of the existence of the younger two; at least, not until both Takeō and Akihitō brought it up a few months after they were officially able to carry out missions and daily patrol. However, he couldn't deny that it's truly a blessing— there's a chance that they might know of Hamato Yoshi's location, and even then, Shredder can expand his army of powerful mutants.
Donatello and Michelangelo, on the other hand, aren't so thrilled about having to 2v2 their older brothers at just about everytime. There's also that the two have the tendency to play dirty. Stalking their friends and whatnot, it's driving them up the wall.
I don't know if Karai should be with the Shredder, because her rivalry with the A-Team over the younger onces is delicious.
What do you think?
I love this. No, no, wait, see my vision, look-
Takeō and Akihitō are everything that Shredder needs them to be. They took up training from the moment that their little legs could walk and they excelled past anything that he’d ever seen before, and one of Shredder’s greatest fighters happens to be blind, mind you, so he knows what greatness looks like.
He knows it has to relate to the fact that they’re mutants, but he couldn’t care less. With one student who bears a determination to please and the other with the violent fury to be molded like his own, they’re better than an entire legion of Foot soldiers. Takeō makes sure every command is followed and Akihitō leaves no enemy unpunched- what could be better?
They’re perfect. No, they’re better than perfect. They’re a miracle.
One that he never hesitates to take advantage of. If Yoshi had done one thing right in his lifetime, it was leading him to them.
And then- AND THEN-
Enter Mikey and Donnie.
The universe throws out two turtles with on obvious ignorance of surface life and an instinct to defend those that dwell on it. Leo and Raph’s world is thrown out of whack the first time that they spot them- considering Mikey is a younger-shaped replica of them with freckles. They keep an curious eye on them from a distance, but uncertain what to make of them, don’t interact.
They inquire about it to their father and (considering Saki likely stole them from Yoshi) he fabricates a story that horrifies them. They already know about Yoshi and how he killed Karai’s mother- but he tore apart their family too?
Afterward, it takes about five seconds to connect the dots on who these mutant turtles are. They go out to track down and reconnect with their brothers. *insert canon plot stuff*
When Donnie and Mikey try to save a kidnapped April, they fail pretty badly. The Saki brothers step in, stop the Kraang from taking the girl before Donnie and Mikey’s brains get blown out, but don’t really do much about them taking the dad. They don’t really care about the humans. They’re far more interested in prodding the turtles.
And, after taking April to her aunt’s, prodding absolutely happens from both sides.
The childish giddy air of the Junkō and Kōta upon finding their siblings obviously cements them as the younger siblings in the Saki brother’s minds. They don’t doubt for a moment that they are who they say they are because Splinter told them that they had two missing brothers as little kids.
Mind made up, Leo insists that they come home. Mikey insists that they have a home and Donnie admits they shouldn’t really wander off with strangers. They both vocalize that their rat dad needs to meet them first since he’s the one who lost them and he’s misses them and they don’t have to abandon their dad or anything, they just really want them to meet Splinter! (The Foot symbols on their gear mean nothing to the Hamatos and the name Splinter means nothing to the Sakis. Oopsy.)
And so they wait around for Mikey and Donnie to collect Splinter and then Splinter comes across his sons and Leo and Raph are tolerant until he introduces himself as Hamato Yoshi and then it all clicks that the man who Shredder thought killed their brothers and he had stolen them away instead and he’s the reason that they haven’t see them for fifteen years-
They don’t even give Yoshi time to explain before they’re attempting to eliminate the threat. Donnie and Mikey are insanely confused until one of the brothers lets it slip that their dad is Saki and- oh wait are they evil?!- so now there’s fighting, attempted forced reasoning and kidnapping of little brothers, but the Hamatos manage to get away.
So now Leo and Raph’s are simply DISTRAUGHT because the madman had stolen and brainwashed their little brothers so how were supposed to focus on anything else when they’re out there but actively on the wrong side of this war??
It trashes their game and suddenly his miracle team is no longer a shinning example of perfection. Once again, Yoshi has ruined something great and, instead of seething, Saki gets creative.
He fakes an understanding with what his sons are going through and expresses a wish that he knew where Yoshi was so that he could put an end to the threat. If only, they could find the lair where he was keeping their brothers prisoner, maybe then they rid the world of the rat and bring them home. Once they’re free from Yoshi’s dark influence, they could all be one happy family.
And Leo, like the helpful little leader he is, realizes that they could find the lair. Him and Raph could totally find a way to convince the brothers to take them home, or even find a way to get in without their knowledge. They were ninjas, masters of deception and lies. They could do it, Master, if only he would give them a chance?
So he does because an end to Yoshi and two new powerful warriors is more than he could hope for. Exactly what he deserves.
And the rest of the series is just Raph and Leo doing everything in their power to inch their way into their brother’s trust. They stalk them in a desperate itch to make sure they’re okay, which leads to them intercepting and assisting on a bunch of Kraang mission.
They run into each other when Donnie and Mikey try to stop the Foot from being evil, and Leo and Raph are more concerned with making sure nothing happens to their brothers that the Hamato brothers end up completing their mission more often than not.
Leo and Raph are still dedicated to the Foot but their priorities are skewed every time their brother come into play. Nine times out of ten, baby brothers take first priority. And Saki lets these mishaps happen because his sons are insistent upon gaining the Hamatos trust.
It doesn’t take Donnie and Mikey long to realize what Leo and Raph are doing, protecting-them wise. They don’t quite understand it, but they assume that even though they have been misguided and brainwashed by Shredder, they still are good people deep down. It’s incredibly annoying that they are always in the way and can’t seem to realize how what they’re doing is obviously evil, though.
Like plotting younger siblings do, they adapt to use the brother’s new apparent weakness against them, putting themselves in situations where the Saki brothers have no choice but to interviene- even if that means slicing their own bots or preventing their own missions from succeeding. And the best part is that the Saki brothers have no idea that they’re being played- they really just believe that their baby brothers are kinda bad at their jobs.
Which really doesn’t help with the whole PROTECT alarms constantly ringing in their brains.
As for Karai, I think she would still be with the Foot, but instead of a doting older sister, there would be jealousy vibes. She’d been overshadowed her entire life by these ‘perfect’ brothers and she jumps at the opportunity to impress her father when they start slipping. She could even play an antagonist role- actively trying to dissuade her father’s approval of Leo&Raph’s activities in order to get a better standing. She doesn’t want them murdered at the stake or anything, simply taken out of the favoritism role so that his actual human daughter (or so she thinks) can have a scrap of his attention.
I WAS GOING TO STOP HERE BUT YOU HAVE ME THINKING ABOUT PLOT AND SUCH NOW-
Like, Donnie would now be the eldest with the responsibilities of genius and leader, which means that he probably feels like his baby brother’s one line of defense against an entire universe. Splinter didn’t train his boys for war- but Saki did. Imagine the pressure on his shoulders to keep his family safe while actively on deadly missions with brothers who could turn on them at any second, stuck under the weight of wanting to get April reunited with her missing family.
Leo’s side of the spectrum is spent worrying that two of his brothers are under the abusive care of their kidnapper. He desperately hones the “but I can totally bring them to our side and make them see things our way!” attitude that he has for Karai during the canon series. He does everything in his power to keep the blame from falling on them when missions go wrong, fabricating stories for their father, like he’s always done to keep Raph out of trouble. He doesn’t care for the Hamato’s missions, but he cares greatly for their safety, so he makes sure they tag along at every opportunity, whether they are wanted or not. Stalking is never out of the question, even if it doesn’t take long for the Hamatos to adapt to their presence.
I CAN’T SHUT UP ABOUT THIS SUDDENLY:
So there’s this song “Our Word” from 36 questions that absolutely has the vibes from this au that has taken root in my brain and when I think of Leo being a sneaky little guy and keeping Raph out of trouble- IT FITS. Well, these specific verses anyway:
When I was a little [boy] Like really little, like eight or so I was playing in my father's study A place in the house I wasn't supposed to go
My father fancied himself a sailor His study was filled with nautical decor He kept a boat in a bottle on the top of a shelf And it shattered on the ground when I slammed the door
I told my [brother] everything I told [him] I was so, so sorry [He] told me, "Don't cry, When he comes home tonight We can make everything okay This is all we have to say"
"We don't remember a boat in a bottle It must've fallen off its shelf alone We know you loved it, we're so sad it's broken But neither one of us was even home"
And it's our word Yes, our word Against his
HOLY MOTHER OF MUTATIONS I AM DEVOURING THIS AU AND NOW I HAVE RETURNED WITH CONCEPT:
“You shouldn’t be out alone.”
Donnie lands as irritation crawls up his spine and becomes fuzzy little ambers in his brain. He has a few irrational thoughts, such as giving the nuisance a taste of throwing stars, but they’re dismissed as he pretends to check his t-phone. He can sense one entity behind him, but his partner doesn’t seem to be hovering nearby.
He turns, t-phone at his side, the cheese phone on speed-dial. He doubts the Foot ninja wants to kill him, but if this is another kidnapping attempt…
Well. Better safe than sorry.
“Apperently, I’m not. Need something?”
“You almost got caught tonight.” Takeō cocks his head, face passive. “You shouldn’t be breaking into military junkyards. There have to be safer options. There’s a place in Chinatown. Less guns.”
“Well, as soon as civilians throw out this kind of equipment,” Donnie pats the bag on his hip. “I’ll consider it.”
He frowns. “You’re taking risks.”
“Weren’t your men trying to slit my throat last week?”
“That was not my doing.”
“Oh, sure, Shredder doesn’t want to lure Splinter out of hiding and you would never kidnap me or Mikey, right?”
“I didn’t know about Bradford’s scheme until it was to late.” Takeō scans his face and Donnie denies the sincerity any thought. “You have to believe us- why else would we help you escape?”
“To earn our trust? For future blackmail? As some part of some evil Foot plot to hurt Sensei?” Donnie sneers. “I don’t care what your excuse is when you made my brother bleed.”
“I told Bradford to back off, but I can only do so much.” The tone is defensive, but his frown softens guiltily. “I can’t stop the bots from doing their programing. Maybe if my clan did not see you as a threat- if you would rethink your position-”
His grip tightens over the t-phone. “This is not a conversation that I am entertaining. Goodbye, Takeō.”
“Wait-”
He does not.
And then Takeō is across the rooftop and roughly taking hold of his arm before he can take more than two steps. The t-phone clatters, adrenaline surging as he stops dead in his tracks. His attention shoots from the weapon on the warrior’s hip and then to the blue gaze that is drilling holes into his skull.
He swallows, proud that his voice doesn’t shake. “Let go.”
Takeō tightens his hold. He steps forward, their gazes locked, face unreadable. Donnie thinks it might be an intimation tactic, but he’s not scared, per say. His gut squirms in discomfort and he feels weirdly small despite being inches taller. He expects a low warning, or some kind of dark threat to cut the air between them.
Instead, he gets a soft promise laced so heavily in passion that it might as well have been shouted across the rooftops.
“I would never hurt my brothers.”
Donnie is silent for several seconds.
“You’re hurting me right now.”
Takeō tears his hand away as though he just found out that Donnie was radioactive. Donnie rubs the area, mostly for show, in the hopes of dissuading him from trying that again.
“…I-I meant…” Donnie looks up. No hesitation crosses his face, but his words come with uncertainty. “Not like that. Never like that.”
Donnie humphs.
“Is- Is Kōta-”
“Mikey.”
Takeō stares and Donnie glares back.
The warrior relents. “How is he?”
“It was a flesh wound.” Donnie picks up the t-phone, unsure why he’s telling him anything. “He’s already back to being a hassle.”
A beat of quiet. “I suppose that means we’ll be reunited soon.”
“To kick your shells in? Yeah. Probably.” Donnie puts away his device, looking somewhere over Takeō’s shoulder to the bulky shadow who has been inching closer through the extent of their conversation.
“You know, family means more to me than biology. Shocking to hear from a scientist, I know.” He pauses for effect, considering. “A family with differences is still a family. You might be serious about this whole hurting thing when it comes to Mikey and me…” He narrows his eyes and trains the hostility on the piercing gaze. “But if I find out that you even thought about touching my father again, you can forget any chance of brotherhood. I might seem like a weak joke to you, but I promise that I can make your life a living hell.”
Donnie stares him down, grip tight over the strap of the bag filled with weaponry that he’ll use to make Metalhead truly surface worthy so nothing can harm Mikey again, and dares Takeō to challenge him.
“There’s no stronger warrior than one whose greatest virtue is their loyalty.” Takeō decides simply. “And there is nothing more that I’d expect from a brother.”
Donnie is pretty sure that’s a compliment. He’s not sure what that he to do with backing off his father, but he accepts it.
He releases the bag. “Glad we understand each other.”
He turns his back to the ninja, looking over his shoulder. “And don’t have Akihitō follow me home.”
Takeō stiffens, eyes widening. He smirks. “See you later, bro.”
With a burst of speed, he takes off.
To their credit, they don’t follow.
Donnie knows better to assume that this’ll be the last time he has eyes on his shell. But, for the first time, he thinks he won’t mind.
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Text
I Thought I Lost You
Fandom: Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, Robert "Bob" Floyd, f!reader
Word Count: 1326
TW: Angst, Presumed Dead, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Kissing
Top Gun Masterlist
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You lay curled up on your cot, your eyes puffy and red from the countless hours of crying you have been doing over the past three days. Every time you think you have cried yourself out, that you couldn’t possibly have the energy or tears left to shed, you are hit by another wave of sobs. You know you should pull it together, to be as strong as all those around you, but you can’t. Working in the control room and monitoring things through a computer screen had always let you remain somewhat distanced from the loss and tragedies that could occur during missions. But this is different. You had never been this personally connected to one of the fighters before.
A light knock on your door stirs you from your grief. You mumble a soft, “Come in.” and see Phoenix slowly open the door.
“Hey, I thought you might want some company.” You nod as a single tear rolls down your cheek and she comes over to pull you into a hug. “It’s okay. There’s still a chance he could be okay.”
You sob into her chest, “It’s been three days. You guys ejected from your plane in the middle of a desert with no food, no water, no real kind of protective gear and no one has found any signs of Bob since. Even if he survived the crash, he almost definitely wouldn’t have made it this long on his own.” She just holds tighter to you, both of you knowing you are right and anything she says would just be wishful thinking.
Finally, you compose yourself somewhat and say, “I’m sorry. I know I should be stronger than this. I mean, we had only been going out for a few months. Plus, you guys have known him so much longer and you’re holding it together. I mean, he was your WSO and yet here you are comforting me! How pathetic can I be!”
Phoenix thinks for a moment, choosing her words wisely. “I haven’t been as strong as I am trying to seem. You’re right, Bob was my WSO and I was flying when we were forced to bail out. That’s not an easy thing to come to terms with but I’m trying.” She ran her hand soothingly across your back. “However, I think we both know that there was more to your and Bob’s relationship than you’re admitting.”
“Yeah…. Yeah, there was. But I never admitted it to him either…... Do-do you think he knew that I loved him before he….?” You squeeze your eyes shut, unable to actually say the word out loud, but Phoenix understands.
“I think he did. And I think he felt the same way about you. You were all he ever talked about. I had to even tell him to shut up a few times when he would go on and on and on about you.”
You let out a strangled laugh. “My roommate told me the same thing. That she didn’t ever want to hear the name ‘Bob’ ever again.” You stare down at your hands as they fidget with the sheets. “I guess she got her wish.”
Phoenix opens her mouth to say something, but before she has the chance, Rooster suddenly bursts into your room without even knocking. You and Phoenix both look at him in surprise, not understanding his intrusion or the wide grin spread across his face. That is until he breathlessly says, “They found him…. And he’s okay… Bob’s okay!”
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Phoenix decides to stay behind to give you time alone with Bob, so Rooster leads you quickly down the hall. He fills you in with what he knows: a final rescue team had gone out looking for him and someone had managed to spot his parachute in a deep gorge they had missed before. They found Bob, dehydrated, severely sunburned, and banged up, but overall, he was going to make a full recovery.
As you approach the door to his room, Rooster gives your shoulder a tight squeeze then walks off so you can go in by yourself. Taking a deep breath, you open the door. Bob is laying on a bed, propped up with a few pillows. An IV is connected to his arm to replenish his fluids. All of his visible skin is painfully bright red and peeling from countless hours in the scorching sun. But even though his lips are chapped and cracked, he gives you a soft smile as you hesitantly approach. “Hi.”
His voice is so dry and scratchy it is almost impossible to make out what he said, but you smile back as tears once again spring to your eyes. “Hi. I thought….. I thought I had lost you.”
“Thought so too once or twice. But I had a reason to keep going.” Weakly, he reaches into his flight suit and pulls out a worn strip of paper. Handing it over to you, you instantly recognize it. For your third date, Bob had taken you to a carnival and the two of you had spent way too much money goofing off in the photo booth. While you had taken most of the photos home, you had noticed Bob slip one strip of them into his pocket. That is what you now hold in your hands.
The tears you have been holding back begin streaming down your face. You take his hand gently and whisper, “I love you, Bob. I’ve wanted to tell you for a while, but I-I was afraid it was too soon. And then when I thought you were gone, and I’d never get the chance to tell you-” Your voice begins quivering too much to continue.
But then Bob reaches out and takes your hand in his as he rasps, “I love you too. I didn’t want to come on too strong but I’ve wanted to say it ever since that night.” He gestures to the pictures still in your hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner.”
Without thinking, you press your lips against his. The cracked, dry feeling immediately reminds you of his condition and you try to pull away, but he places his hand on the back of your neck, holding you in place. So, you carefully lean in, deepening the kiss as you run your fingers through his hair, ignoring the sand and sweat matted there.
You are interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing behind you. The heat rising in your face, you turn around to see a doctor with an amused look on her face standing there. She raises an eyebrow and says, “Sorry to interrupt, but Lieutenant Floyd needs his rest. So, if you don’t mind-”
“Can she please stay?” Bob asks.
The doctor sighs. “Are you actually going to try to get some sleep if she’s here?”
“Yes, ma’am. In fact, I’ll sleep better with her by my side.” Bob smiles softly at you and you bite your lip to suppress your own grin.
“Fine. But if I come back to check on you and I see anything I don’t approve of, she’ll have to leave.”
“Absolutely. Thank you, ma’am.”
The doctor shakes her head with a small smile and leaves. You turn back to Bob. “Are you sure? I can come back later. She’s right. You do need to rest and recover.”
“I can do both with you here….. If you want to stay.”
You squeeze his hand. “Of course, I do.”
Carefully, Bob slides over, making room next to him. You climb onto the bed, curling up against his side with your head resting on his shoulder. You take his glasses off his face and place them on the table next to you before he wraps his arm around you and pulls you in closer. And wrapped in each other’s arms, you both soon drift off to sleep comforted by the thought you are with the person you love once again.
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Taglist: @valoraxx, @m3laniehearts, @autumnleaves1991-blog, @rule107, @vintageleather, @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak, @slutforadambanks, @americaarse, @reneki, @jamesbuckyburns, @a-sweet-little-fangirl, @ynbutbetter
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lavender-storm · 2 years ago
Text
Jealousy, jealousy
summary | James is jealous, because you are paying attention to someone else
pairing | James Potter x fem!reader
warning | probably bad grammar lol sorry, jealous James
word count | 641
a/n: James would totally be like this, you can't convince me otherwise. I hope you guys like this one! Don't forget to leave some feedback, let me know what you think, or send me a message about what you would like me to write about! Have a nice day! xx
Giggles echo through the room and James groans loudly. It's fucking ridiculous how Y/N has barely been paying attention to him lately. She stopped caring about him and it's all that thing's fault.
"Oh my, I love you so so so much," she laughs, and loud smooches follow the sentence. James rolls his eyes and leaves the room, not wanting to witness the love of his life kiss and cuddle someone else.
He didn't want to tell her how he feels, because honestly, being this jealous is silly but he couldn't help it. It used to be him she wanted to kiss and cuddle, but now? Now she calls someone else cute and handsome, she gives all of her attention to someone else, and she loves someone else.
"James," Y/N walks up to him trying to read his expressions. "What's wrong?"
He says nothing as he pours himself a drink. He will not say anything. No way.
"Hey, why are you so grumpy?" No, will not admit anything. From the corner of his eyes he can see Y/N, her eyes filled with worry and confusion. "Did I do something wrong?"
James takes a deep breath and rubs his eyes. What the fuck is he supposed to say to that? Yes you did, you aren't paying attention to me and I'm fucking jealous over a…
"Oh hi baby" She yells in a high pitched voice.
"Oh for fucks sake are you serious? Can you not exist without him for a second? " James bursts out and Y/N freezes in shock. She stares at him for a second, visibly thinking. Merlin, what's his problem? He's been so grumpy ever since…Oh…Oh. Immediately, the house is filled with her laughter again, only this time, she is laughing at James.
He rolls his eyes as she cluthes her stomach, tears rolling down her cheeks
"It's not that funny, stop" he mumbles under his nose, which makes Y/N laugh harder. "Stop it, Y/N, seriously. It's not funny"
"I'm sorry, oh Merlin I'm sorry" she says between giggles. "I just can't believe, oh my, It's just, I didn't think this is the reason, I thought it was serious!" she says, wiping her eyes.
"What do you mean? This is serious. You barely pay attention to me anymore!" He looks so genuinely mad and Y/N cannot help but laugh again, when Milo goes up to James.
"Go away," he says to him.
"Jamie, are you really jealous?"
"I'm not jealous, it's just annoying how less you care about me now that he is here."
"James he is a dog"
"And?"
"How can you be jealous of a dog?" James shakes his head trying to leave her and the dog, but she grabs his hand and pulls him back. She puts her hands around his torso and nuzzles her face into his chest.
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to stop paying attention to you."
"I'm sorry too, I'm overreacting. It's just a stupid dog I - Ouch, what the fuck Y/N?" he yells when Y/N pinches the skin on his back.
"Don't call him stupid! You are stupid."
"You know what? Go and have fun with your dog, since apparently you don't love your boyfriend anymore, who got you the dog by the way. I can take him back anytime you know, if you…"
"No, Jamie, okay, sorry, I'm sorry," James stares at her for a second. "Can I have a kiss?"
Jame smiles, not being able to actually be mad at her, and leans in, but before their lips could touch, Milo attacks James' pants, and tries to drag him away from the girl.
"Ahw, both of my pretty boys are jealous?" Y/N laughs probably for the hundredth time that day.
"Merlin I've never regretted anything this much before"
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countrymusiclover · 2 years ago
Text
13 - Trapping our Girls
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Part 14
Hybrid Trainer
@ellora-brekker @bigbendyhorns @fieryflower24 @foundationsretail
My boots crunched in the snow as I decided to take a walk this morning. Owen was out with some guys helping to relocate some dinosaurs. And Claire was watching Jewel and Maisie to make sure something bad didn't happen. Brushing my hair behind my ears I slumped my shoulders closing my eyes. Opening my eyes again my raptor tail swinging slowly. Walking around in the snow I break into a run picking up the scent of something familiar. Following it I find tracks before someone makes a sound of a chirping noise. Lifting my head up I chirped back seeing my sister Blue staring back at me. "It's nice to see you again sister." Blue spoke through my mind until I heard someone waking towards us. Baby Raptor nipped at my leg.
"I can't believe you have a child. How is it?" I asked to her mind before her little raptor chased something out towards the woods so we followed catching the smell of some form of meat. Stopping in my tracks there was a wolf dead in the middle of the clearing but something feels off about this. Normally there would be other animals here already trying to tear it apart. The baby raptor sniffed it before she screamed getting trapped in a net. Blue screeched out running in the opposite direction while I ran away seeing a truck pulling the net into the back. Running through the woods I stopped suddenly transforming back into a human. Gripping the nearest tree to me I gasped seeing the bridge into town. Maisie and Jewel are on their bikes closed in by two vehicles. One of them being the truck that took Blue's baby.
"No...Owen...the girls.." I breathed out breaking into a run as fast as my human form can manage. Claire bursts out the front door catching my tired body in her arms seeing I am in a massive panic. "What's wrong. Y/n, what happened?" A truck pulled up before I whipped my head around seeing Owen get out in a panicked state the same as I am. Breaking from her hold I collapsed into his strong arms staining his shirt with terrified tears. He wrapped his arms around my waist tightly holding me as close as possible. "Would somebody tell me what is happening right now!" Claire bickered in confusion. Owen kept his hold secure on me croaking through his own tears. "They took them...these poacher guys corned Jewel and Maisie on the bridge." Claire covered her mouth with her hands understanding the seriousness of the situation now. If the lab had them then doctor Wu could create more raptor hybrids from Jewels blood.
Bolting inside the house I kicked open the safe grabbing two riffles slinging one over my shoulder. Owen came inside grabbing the other one I had leaned against the wall. "Y/n stop. You can't come with me. Not this time-" He tried grabbing my wrist but I smacked him harshly on his arm feeling more angry tears this time. "It's my fault Owen - I could have stopped the baby raptor from being captured. But I - I failed - and now our daughters - that's on me too!" He takes my hand in his raising his freehand to move hair from my eyes. His green eyes had tears welling in them where he pulled me against his chest. Flinging my arms around his neck I start sobbing again where he ran his fingers through my hair. "Sshh baby...we're gonna get them back. I promise you that, this isn't your fault." He started to say something more but Claire called out having us break apart rushing outside. "Owen, Y/n!"
Halting in my tracks on the porch I sucked in a sharp breath seeing Blue staring right at the three of us. Anger clearly visible when she bared her teeth down wanting to kill somebody for what happened. Owen slowly raised his left hand in the air like he would during training while I followed behind him stepping off the porch. "Hey no!" He warned her watching my movements towards Claire who whispered to me. "Why is she so angry with us?" Locking eyes with my sister she bared her teeth swinging her tail slowly. "They took her kid too." I mumbled under my breath when Blue roared in my face claws sticking out. "I am gonna get her back. I promise you that." Owen said in his Alpha tone right before Blue raised her tail cutting his palm with the tip. Owen winced as Claire gasped before I raised my right hand alongside him. "Blue...lisen okay. We're gonna get her back, I promise.." I whispered where she growled running off quickly towards the woods. Claire stepped up grabbing the truck keys from the porch getting in the driver's seat. Owen grabbed my hand helping me in the backseat with him climbing in the passenger seat. Resting my hands on my stomach I released a breath praying that I wouldn't lose two of my three children.
Comments really appreciated ❤️
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chirp-a-chirp · 2 years ago
Text
Court of Darkness: Dirty Pictures
Rating: Teen (Nothing Explicit, but Implications Galore)
Words: ~1000
Synopsis: A series of short blurbs about how various CoD characters would react if they found dirty pictures or books at the academy. 
RIO, THOMA, SHERRY, and VIOLET
Rio and Thoma are sparring at the training grounds, with Sherry watching nearby. During a break, Rio trots to a room to exchange swords when he spots a book. He grabs it and brings it to Thoma. 
“Hey Thoma, let’s take a break from sparring and try something else!” He gestures to the book. Thoma opens the first few pages and yelps, eyes opening in astonishment.
“Mate, are you NUTS?” Sherry runs to the duo upon hearing Thoma’s shouting. 
“Whatever is the matter Thoma?” Sherry inquires. Thoma tries quickly to hide the book, but Sherry grabs it from his hand. 
“Oh my! Rio, what is the meaning of this?”
“I was asking Thoma if he wanted to practice some wrestling moves.” Rio looks at the shocked expression on Thoma’s face. “But, I guess you don’t want to?”
“Rio, this isn’t a wrestling book,” says Thoma. 
“You sure?” inquires Rio. “The pictures in it look like—” 
“YES,” exclaim Thoma and Sherry in unison.  
After a VERY awkward conversation that Rio does not completely understand, Sherry takes the book, promising to return it to the library (the only place she can think to return it with minimum questions). But, before she does, she and Violet spend the night looking at the book in Sherry’s room. 
“Oh, that position looks like fun!” Sherry exclaims, giggling. 
“Dear, that position is more fun to do that look at!” Violet laughs.  
ROY and LOU
Roy is in a lecture hall tidying up after class. He spots a book that appears to have been misplaced by another student. He opens it up and sees a series of salacious pictures in it. 
“Oh goodness.” He begins flipping a few pages. 
*Five minutes later* “Why am I still looking at this book?” he murmurs to himself, embarrassed but unable to tear himself away. 
“Why are you still looking at what, Master Invidia?” Lou walks into the classroom, a small smile on his face. 
“Um, I-I was looking at this book to determine where it should be returned within the library.” Roy quickly closes the book. 
“Diligent as always.” Lou’s smile widens slightly. Roy hastily bows and leaves the room. 
“Master Invidia, the library is in the other direction!” Roy walks faster, pretending to not hear him. 
“Oh, hi Miss Sherry,” Lou calls out. “Would you be so kind as to tell your brother where the library is? He seems to have lost his way and appears to be going to his quarters!” 
GUY and JASPER
Guy and Jasper have been ordered by Master Lou to search the academy for a series of drawings that have been popping up on campus. The drawings are pictures of the seven princes. Some of the pictures—those featuring Rio and Lynt—are innocent enough (images of Rio with dog ears, Lynt in various sleeping positions). The pictures of the other princes are decidedly NOT innocent. 
Guy and Jasper are in an empty classroom. Guy walks to the desk and finds a picture of himself sporting a smirk and nothing else with the caption Yield to me and no other. The picture bursts into flames. 
“Another photo, your Grace?” Jasper inquires. 
“TSK. What do you have there?” 
“Another drawing of Prince Roy.” He hands it to Guy. The caption reads Royally Pleased as Roy smiles and is—*picture is instantly turned to ash*
“Your Highness, we need to preserve at least one picture for evidence.” Jasper smiles at a scowling Guy. “You and Prince Roy appear to be the most popular subjects for these pictures. The artist has good taste in that regard at least.” He chuckles quietly.
“Jasper.” Guy stares daggers at his valet. He’s trying unsuccessfully to get Roy’s look of satisfaction out of his head. “Cancel my meeting with Roy today.” Guy looks visibly uncomfortable. 
“Very well sir. You might as well find the humor in this situation in the meantime.”
“NO.” 
Guy and Jasper continue to investigate the room. Inside a student’s desk, Guy finds two drawings of Toa shirtless holding a ruler with the caption Discipline Me under it. 
Guy looks at a clock. In a few minutes, students will be coming in for a lecture taught by Toa. Guy takes one of the pictures and gives it to Jasper. The other picture he places in the direct center of Toa’s desk. 
“You told me to find humor in the situation Jasper. Heh.” He leaves the classroom, smirking, knowing Toa will find the picture in a few moments. 
TOA, KNIGHT, and FENN
After Toa discovers the picture of him on the desk, he insists on purging the entire campus of all the dirty pictures. He and Knight search every classroom, finding drawing after drawing. 
“This is DISGUSTING!” Knight exclaims, averting his eyes. “How many people are even in this picture?”
“At least three people, Knight.” Fenn purrs in Knight’s ear. Knight jumps away. 
“H-How do you know that?”
“There are five limbs visible. Hehe!” Fenn scans the drawing. “Oooh, it looks like I’m in this picture!”
“You would be pleased to see that,” sighs Toa. He grabs the drawing. “This position is not anatomically possible.”
“Not with that attitude Toa,” laughs Fenn. 
TINO, LYNT, and KNIGHT
Tino is trying to get Lynt to eat some bread in his chambers. Lynt is curled up on a sofa under a blanket. 
“Prince Lynt! Some students in your class found pictures of you that you might find pleasing!” Tino hands a packet of papers wrapped in string to Lynt.
Lynt sleepily examines the first few pictures, which are various poses of Lynt sleeping in blankets, on benches, in open fields with his familiar Phee. His eyes then suddenly widen. 
“Chino, what are these?” Two pictures of Toa and Guy fall to the ground. Tino picks up the pictures. 
“Oh goodness! Oh stars! Oh every star above!” Tino screams, running out of the room.  
*A few moments later* “TOA!” Knight yells in the hallway as he finishes talking to a frantic Tino. “We didn’t find all the pictures!” 
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genshin-impact-fics · 3 years ago
Text
Streamer!Genshin Reacting to Character!(Y/N) Dying in Game
!Warning!: Major character deaths & angst
Characters: Diluc, Venti, Childe, & Zhongli
Diluc:
It was a race to get inside one of the bases of the Abyss Order to put a stop to whatever plans they were in the process of executing that could potentially put many lives in danger. Diluc was rather calm while playing though it would be a lie to say that it wasn’t a bit annoying that the route to the domain was timed
It was once inside the domain did things pick up fast as it seemed to be a fighting wave system which after beating the first two rooms there was a short scene where in the end Lisa and Amber stayed behind to hold off the incoming enemies so the rest of the group could go further. It seemed like forever doing some of the puzzles to unlock the doors to reach the next fight
In that fourth room after the defeat of hilichurls and abyss mages did suddenly a short cut scene appear to show the appearance of an Abyss Lector. As remembering how much he hated fighting this guy in the spiral abyss he already knew what he was in for; however that was until your character stepped forward with your weapon ready. Diluc was actually sad to have to leave you behind as he was hoping that you’d be one of the characters that went with him to the very end
“I think I’ve watched enough shows and movies to know what this could be leading up to.” He’d comment to his viewers as he finally reached the destination where the Abyss Herald was. Finishing the fight triggered another cutscene as the traveler’s sibling appeared and was making their small speech, asking if the lives of the “friends” the traveler made were worth losing
Diluc is watching with a straight face as he kinda expected this but the who was what he wasn’t sure about and truthfully the only one he’d be truly heartbroken about is your death, but they wouldn’t kill you now of all times right? Wrong; soon the cutscene finally came across where they had left you and you were leaning against the wall extremely injured with your weapon laying beside you. Diluc is frowning cuz he has to watch you die now
Listening to your final words as you spoke to no one Diluc would sulk in his chair a little. In the last moment before your eyes closed, if you mentioned something about not getting to tell his character your true feelings it is visible that Diluc looks like he wants to cry(but he doesn't). Once the screen showed the mission complete he’d grab the plush he had of your character and hold it looking at his camera. “Of all the characters I thought were going to die, I wasn’t ready for it to be (y/n).” At that point he’d probably call it a day from there but he’d still talk to his viewers as he probably would watch the tribute videos that fans had already made
Venti:
Everything was in chaos as it looked like archon war 2 was going to be taking place, but this time it was a war between the Abyss Order and the Archons. He was heading to Mondstadt to help and to check on you. Dvalin was flying around sending attacks at the abyss members. “Ah traveler there you are!” The sound of your voice as you landed before him; as weird as it was to see you in your archon robes was odd but you looked so good! After a short conversation you had gone flying off and it was time to get back to fighting
Things were looking good as it seemed like they were winning against the abyss order though it wasn’t over yet. It was until up in the air did a cutscene starting showing you and the traveler’s sibling fighting going at it. Venti is so captivated by how serious and cool you look fighting, but it all changed when the sibling landed a blow that caused you to fall from the sky ending up falling into the Whispering Woods
Venti couldn’t run fast enough to get to the woods to check up on you but when he did the first thing he saw was the sibling standing before you. He’s already sad and yelling at the sibling for hurting you though it seemed that now he was there the sibling went and disappeared revealing the real condition you were in. “No, no, no! This better not mean (y/n)’s dying.” He’d say in denial as he’s already starting to cry a little
“A-Ah Windblume h-haha… Sorry you have to see me like this.” Even in a moment like this you gave him such a cheesy grin until you seemed to grimace in pain. “Unfortunately it seems like… This is it for me. As long as the winds blow I will always be with you, so please watch over Mondstadt for me.” Your words were making Venti cry as it was like back in your story quest but only ten times worse. And to think it was already painful as it was your next words that did him in. “Maybe in another life we will find each other again and maybe then we can be together.”
Watching you start to glow until you turned into partials of light till nothing of you was left, Venti is devastated. The chat is crying with him as he’s saying how awful it was that his sibling had killed the love of his life! His viewers are going to send him fanart and fics to look at that was an alternative that you lived in the game
Childe:
It was a big fight with the confrontation of the Fatui Harbingers, facing off against one of the other stronger members that blocked the path to proceed to seeing the Tsaritsa. The boss’ first stage was fine; however during the second stage it seemed after losing a certain amount of health the damage that Childe was dealing significantly decreased.
It was when the cutscene started that Childe was already dreading the foul legacy form he’d be facing this time. You suddenly came out of nowhere and already in your foul legacy form yourself Childe is going crazy over how cool you look; he’s also swooning at the fact that you’ve come to his rescue. The fighting progressed until you landed a successful hit that weakened the other harbinger; however, at that same time the other harbinger managed to hit you with a powerful attack
Childe is screaming at the sight of your mask breaking while you fell to the ground. He’s so glad that his character is running over to check on you instead of the fight picking right up, but he’s already feeling the feels hit him hard cuz he hates seeing you hurt. Seeing you back to normal, the damage you sustained was really bad; then the worst thought came to his mind. “This-This better not be what I think it is,” he’s saying not looking away from the screen listening to you weakly talk
“Haha don’t give me that look sweetie, I couldn’t just let this be where your journey ends.” Hearing those words and the nickname you used for his character was sad. “To think we’d be able to travel together more, but hey… Promise you won’t stop fighting and could you look after my siblings for me.” Childe is literally crying now that the reality of the situation is clear. If he gets a choice of dialog to choose from he is going to pick the choice that says that he pinky promises
If your character smiled at the choice he wanted to smile but he’s also just sad, you were dying in his character's arms. If you had given a small love confession in the little bit of life that was in you, he’s going to ugly sob and once the fight was starting again he needs to pause by going into his bag
Immediately he goes getting his big plush of you and coming back to hug it and cleaning his tears with his sleeve before looking at the camera. “I wasn’t ready for this, my baby!” He was not expecting to be losing you; he figured that some characters would possibly die but you were the last character he thought would be killed off in the game. There’s Fs in the chat all around and the crying emote; it’s sad boi hours in this chili’s. He doesn't wanna do the fight but also he gotta avenge you so this last stage fight was for you. Afterwards he’s gonna go look at fanart and video edits
Zhongli:
After helping some of the other nations and their archon’s fend off the abyss order it was time he headed to Liyue to find you. Of course as usual it wasn’t going to be as easy as running around the harbor until he got word from Xiao that you were in Cuijue Slope. So he headed over to help you before anything seriously bad could happen to you
Getting to the open area there you were fighting against the sibling as you were even in your archon robes. Going in and interrupting the fight his sibling clearly looked annoyed and proceeded to try to get him to side with them which of course he didn’t. A Herald appeared to allow the sibling to get away which the fight with the Herald commenced
Just when Zhongli finished up the fight thinking he had won it strangely went to a cutscene as his character and you started to talk; however it was when the fallen Herald came out of nowhere about to attack his character but must to his surprise you shielded him not only taking the hit, but also using your elemental burst to finish off the enemy. Zhongli is frowning at how badly you were hurt as he already has a bad feeling this wasn’t going to end good; the traveler was helping you sit up after having fallen over
“I’m glad to see that you aren’t hurt my friend.” You said as you certainly have seen better days. “Sadly I believe my time has come… Do not be sad dear friend, I have lived many many years… As knowing you has been life changing. Though rocks change from erosion, know that no time will change how I felt about you.” Your words broke his heart as you had such a soft expression on your face as your body began to glow and before he knew it you turned into particles of light and disappeared. He probably wouldn’t cry at most maybe a tear but he is clearly upset about your passing in game and would take a break to talk to his viewers and maybe look at the fanart that surprisingly had been put out already
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mizunetzu · 4 years ago
Note
iwaizumi finding out hes gay and having an extreme gay panic when they get their new manager in aoba johsai and the team teases him to hell and back for it (iwaizumi x male manager!)
Nice to see you again, boke saiikai~~ also look at iwa freak out in this gif AHAHAHA
——————
Iwaizumi x reader - Iwa-chan, Panic!
⚠️warnings - none
Pronouns - male, he/him
Tumblr media
——————
Iwaizumi lazily scratched the itch on his stomach, not caring that his shirt was slightly lifted up and people could see his stomach if they looked. Eh, it’s not like people were around anyways.
He was already running late to practice, so he might as well reserve his energy and take a detour to the gym. It’s not like anything important was happening anyways.
“Yo.” Iwaizumi yawned, pushing the door to the gymnasium open. He slipped through, only now realizing that no one answered his greeting. He also noticed everyone was gathered into a loose semi-circle, apparently looking at something Iwaizumi couldn’t quite make out.
“What's...goin’ on guys?” Iwaizumi neared the huddle of Seijoh volleyball players. Matsukawa turned around, seemingly the only one who heard Iwaizumi in the first place. Mattsun nudged his head towards the middle of the circle, the clearing, where someone was standing.
“New manager.”
Iwaizumi’s ears perked up. Oikawa was complaining about ‘having at least one manager before he graduates’ but also ‘one that’s not one of my fangirls, because they wouldn’t take good care of the team.’ As insensitive as it sounded, having a manager drool and follow Oikawa for the majority of practice instead of doing their job does sound pretty frustrating. Iwaizumi scratched his head.
“Don’t tell me Shittykawa finally found a girl who doesn’t fawn over him.”
Matsukawa shook his head.
“Not girl.” He pointed to the boy standing there awkwardly, moving out of the way slightly so Iwaizumi could see. “It’s a boy.”
Iwaizumi’s eyes trailed from his feet, up to his firm-looking torso, and trailing around his nice-looking arms and hands. He couldn’t help himself from checking this dude out. Maybe he was just curious as to why this boy joined as a manager and not a player-
Iwaizumi’s eyes finally met the boy's glass-like (e/c) ones. He realized now that as he stared at this boy's mesmerizing eyes, his own (e/c) eyes began to stare back at him. Stare with his eyes growing wide, a cute doe-like expression on his face. But all he could see was his breathtaking, iridescent eyes.
“Uh, earth-to-(L/n)-chan?” Oikawa, who was standing next to ‘(L/n)’, waved his hand in front of his deer-in-the-headlights-face. He visibly jumped, blinking a bit, and turned his head quickly, pretending he was staring at Oikawa the whole time.
However, it wasn’t the same for Iwaizumi. He continued to stare with his mouth parted slightly, absolutely mesmerized by this guy’s handsome face. It seemed so...holdable. Like he wanted to walk up to him and hold his face in his callused hands and just...stand there. Forever. Squishing his cute face in his hands.
Cute? Cute? No. No. No. Not cute. Iwaizumi Hajime was not finding a man cute. No, not in a million years.
So why was his heart pounding in his ears so much?
His heart wouldn’t calm down. His everything wouldn’t calm down. He couldn’t tear his eyes off the new manager boy in front of him, immersing himself in conversation with a blush to shake off the fact he was totally staring back. He couldn’t help but feel confused. For once, he felt jealous of Oikawa. Not because he wanted to be popular or stalked by fangirls or anything, but because this boy’s full attention would be on him, and not Shitty-Crappy-Stupidkawa.
Matsukawa snapped his fingers in front of Iwaizumi’s face, smirking when he threw his head back in surprise with the reddest face he’s ever seen him with. Iwaizumi blinked, blankly, trying to process what just happened, before somehow exploding into a deeper shade of red.
“Are you sick or something?” Matsukawa placed the back of his hand on Iwaizumi’s forehead jokingly. “Oh. Nevermind.”
“Wh...I-I...huh..?”
“You’re just gay.” Matsukawa wiped his hand on his practice shirt. “Super gay. Super highschool level gay. You were totally checking out Manager-kun there.”
Iwaizumi grabbed Matsukawa by the collar, shaking him around in hopes of shaking the truth out of him.
“I-I’m not!”
“First symptom: denial.”
“Shut up-!”
“E-excuse me…?” Iwaizumi stopped dead in his tracks. Matsukawa was one second away from bursting out into cackles at Iwaizumi’s impossibly pale face. They both slowly craned their necks towards the foreign voice. Iwaizumi suddenly forgot how to breathe.
He, ‘Manager-kun’, seemed more utterly breathtaking up close. He was standing right infront of Iwaizumi, looking directly at him with his attractive (e/c) eyes. He didn’t even realize when Matsukawa wormed out of his grasp.
“(L/n)-san, good afternoon.” Matsukawa bowed slightly. “My name’s Matsukawa Issei, by the way. Thank you again for being our manager. We look forward to working with you.”
“Ah...thank you.”
When Matsukawa looked back at Iwaizumi, expecting him to introduce himself, he caught Iwaizumi staring at him with goo-goo eyes and an equally confused, frozen-stiff expression from Manager-kun himself. They stared at each other, one from awkward silence and the other from pure, unadulterated gayness. Matsukawa rolled his eyes.
“Dude!” Matsukawa jabbed Iwaizumi in the side, making him snap out of his trance with a grunt. “Don’t be rude, introduce yourself to Manager-kun!”
Iwaizumi broke into a cold sweat. He turned back to ‘Manager-kun’, attempting to look as cool as possible.
“Y-yo...the name’s Iwaizumi HaJIMe-” Iwaizumi’s voice did not want to be on his side today. The betrayers that were his vocal cords cracked mid sentence, making Iwaizumi cough horrendously in hopes of covering it up. Mattsun looked like he was going to die holding in his laughter.
“Nice to meet you, Iwaizumi-kun,” Manager-kun grasped his hand in his own, and held it for a moment. “My name’s (L/n) (Y/n).”
He, (Y/n), flashed a small, friendly smile, and Iwaizumi was taken. With the way (Y/n) held his hand so tenderly, he could probably faint. He’d rather die than let go. It was so warm, his hands were so warm. God, he felt so soft inside.
“...Y’know, if you aren't feeling well, I can take you to the nurse’s office-”
“No-! It’s-it’s fine! I’m fine!” Iwaizumi sputtered, and he silently whined when (Y/n) pulled his hand back. He stepped back, and gave a small wave.
“That’s good, Iwaizumi-kun. Well, I just wanted to introduce myself to everyone. See you later, Matsukawa-kun. Iwaizumi-kun.” (Y/n) smiled again, and left to introduce himself to another teammate. Once (Y/n) was out of earshot, Matsukawa erupted into a fit of cackles.
“Pfft-ahahahahaha! Dude! Y-you-! Ahahahaha! You need to chill man! At this point everyone’s gonna know you went all-“ Mattsun mimicked Iwaizumi’s wide-eyed expression, bringing his hands together and pretending he was a moe schoolgirl. “Kyaaah! (L/n)-senpai is soooo handsome!”
“SHUUUUUT UPPPPPP!” Iwaizumi started kicking at Matsukawa’s shins and hitting his back, trying to silence his cackles and hope (Y/n) didn’t hear that. Or see the huge red blush on his cheeks.
Oikawa side-eyed Iwaizumi and Matsukawa from the net pole. His hands were still moving on setting up the net for practice, but his eyes were examining the two fellow third years roughhousing with each other. More specifically, the red that engulfed Iwaizumi’s face. Oikawa turned his attention back to the pole.
——
‘Just do it!’
Those three words played on repeat in Iwaizumi’s mind for the past 2 weeks. And they seemed to get louder when Iwaizumi arrived to practice.
‘Just do it, Hajime!’
‘No!’ Iwaizumi thought back to himself, watching as (Y/n) greeted everyone who came through the club room door. He was standing outside, holding a box with supplies stuffed in it. Iwaizumi dreadfully neared the club room.
‘Do it! Now!’
‘No! Fuck no!’
“Ah! Hello again, Iwaizumi-kun-“
“No!” Iwaizumi blurted out. He was quick to cover his mouth, but the look of confusion that knitted (Y/n’s) face was enough to tell he had heard Iwaizumi loud and clear.
“Uh. I mean. Good mor-uh good afternoon, (L/n). Sorry bout’ that.” Iwaizumi trudged into the club room as nonchalantly as he could. But once the door closed, he slumped down to his knees.
“Something wrong, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa mused, slipping on his blue practice shirt over his head. “You look like shit.”
“Y-you’re one to talk, Shittykawa! Go die!”
“Uuu! How mean! Mean Iwa-chan!”
“Yeah yeah.” Iwaizumi hastily slipped into his practice clothes. Oikawa watched his face closely. It was redder than usual.
“Hey, Iwa-chan?”
Iwaizumi looked up from his knee pads, halting temporarily as he threaded them through his leg. “Mm?”
Oikawa opened his mouth, then glanced to the door where (Y/n) was standing outside of. Not yet. He didn’t have enough evidence yet.
“Never mind.” Oikawa rubbed the back of his head cutely.
——
Iwaizumi slumped down on the steps of the gym, heaving like he ran 13 miles. Well, he did. He watched as everyone came trickling back, Oikawa yelling praise as they all collapsed in front of the gym. Training runs across the block were tough. Especially after an exhausting practice match against each other.
“Good job, everyone!” Oikawa clasped his hands together. “Get some water, go rest, do whatever! We’re gonna do some serving and receiving practices, then we can take a break!”
The tuckered-out team choursed out a “Yessir!” before scattering about and doing their own things. Iwaizumi let his head loll back onto the concrete steps he was sitting on, closing his eyes and catching his unsteady breath.
“Iwaizumi-kun!”
Iwaizumi jolted up harshly, a blush adorning his features as his eyes snapped open. (Y/n) looked down at him with a small white towel in his hand and a water bottle in the other.
“I figured you needed some water or something so-I got you some stuff-!” (Y/n) promptly set the things down on Iwaizumi’s lap, though he’s not sure he noticed with the way he was staring at him so...strangely. Huh, that’s been happening for a while now.
Iwaizumi’s dazed look suddenly dissipated, his consciousness coming back to his eyes as he fumbled for the items slipping from his lap.
“Oh! Thank you...dude…! You’re…you’re...cool...f-for that…!”
Iwaizumi shot finger guns at his (Y/n). His crush. Fucking finger guns. He wouldn’t mind if he took his finger guns and shoved it so far up his a-
“It’s no problem!” (Y/n) shot finger guns back, before flexing an arm and patting his bicep. “It’s what a manager is for! Makin’ sure you boys are alright.”
“I’m gonna go fill up some more water bottles...l stopped and filled one up for you first because you looked thirsty…”
(Y/n) ran off. “See you!” He called from a distance, before disappearing from sight. Iwaizumi waved back with a blank expression on his face.
His legs felt like jelly. Not only because he ran 13 miles non-stop, but because of how whipped he became for manager-kun (Y/n) in the span of only a week or two.
Oikawa hummed to himself knowingly, watching Iwaizumi slump back onto the concrete steps with a hand in his heart.
——
“Iwa-chan, Iwa-chan, Iwa-chan!”
“No! No! No!”
“But why?!” Oikawa exasperatedly yelled, dramatically blocking the door leading outside the club room. It was just him, Iwa-chan, Mattsun, and Makki. Makki and Mattsun sat on the floor of the club room like they were expecting Iwaizumi to come in, and from the way they didn’t try to stop Oikawa from blocking the door, they knew the same things he did.
“Let me out shithead!” Iwaizumi clawed at Oikawa’s arms. Oikawa, as twinkish and childish as he seems, was actually stronger than he looked.
Eventually, Iwaizumi stepped back to take a breather. Matsukawa and Hanamaki took that as their chance to secure him, as Hanamaki grabbed Iwaizumi by the torso and wrapped his whole body around him.
He held him as secure as he could while he thrashed around, waiting till Matsukawa hurriedly set up a foldable chair and brought out some rope. Hanamaki dragged Iwaizumi to the chair, ignoring his pleads of “Let me go!” or “Y’all will pay for this-I swear!” As he forcefully sat him down.
He held his hands to the back of the chair as Matsukawa tied him up as quick as he could.
“Oi! What the fuck!” Iwaizumi kicked at Matsukawa as he circled him with the rope.
“It’s for your own good, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa piped up from his spot blocking the door. He didn’t want to move from the door until Iwaizumi was fully immobilized, just in case he tried to run for it.
“Like hell it is-ack!” Matsukawa tightened the rope. “Ease up, will you! God damn!”
“Sorry, sorry.” Matsukawa, in fact, did not ease up. He tied the rope into multiple tight knots, making it virtually impossible to somehow slip out of them. Iwaizumi squirmed around in his restraints as the chair was rotated facing away from the door, and towards Hanamaki and Matsukawa.
Oikawa sighed triumphantly, and backed away from the door. He clasped his hands together.
“So nice of you to finally join our discussion, Iwa-chan.”
“Literally suck my dick then go practice receives on a nearby building and fall to your death.”
Oikawa feigned offense to Iwaizumi’s words. Hanamaki chuckled, while Matsukawa shut Iwaizumi up by tugging at the rope’s end he was holding in his hands.
“Isn’t this illegal? Like-somewhere in the world?”
“It isn’t right now~” Oikawa sung, before becoming laughably serious. “Now! We need some answers!”
“More like you couldn’t contain your curiosity or ask Iwaizumi like a normal person.”
“Makki! You’re supposed to be on my side!” Oikawa blurbed, before coughing and regaining his cool integrator vibe. “Anyways!” Oikawa snapped harshly at Iwaizumi.
“You! Have a! Crush! On Manager-chan!”
Iwaizumi choked on his own spit. He turned away dumbly, with a coy look on his face.
“Dunno what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb! We all see the looks you give him! ‘Fess up, Iwa-chan! You’re absolutely totally whipped for (Y/n)-chan!”
Iwaizumi stiffened. “Since when were you two on a first name basis-!”
“See?! You got mad when I called (L/n)-kun by his first name!”
“That doesn’t mean anything!” Iwaizumi barked. He was starting to sweat now. Were these restraints always so stuffy? “I was just wondering why you called him that!”
Oikawa stuck his tongue out. “Just say you like him we’ll let you go~!”
“Never! No way in hell!”
Oikawa gasped. He pointed dramatically at Iwaizumi. “So you do admit it! You’re totally in love with Manager-kun but you don’t wanna say it!”
“Wh-?!” Iwaizumi sputtered. He kicked around in his restraints, making Matsukawa tug at the rope again. He was thrashing around so much he didn’t hear the door open. “When did I-“
“When did I ever say I had a big ass fuckin’ crush on (L/n) that it made me question my whole sexuality?! But that I couldn’t care less since he’s so...so nice and cute and-fuck!”
Matsukawa and Hanamaki paled. They seemed to be looking at something behind Iwaizumi. Oikawa was still listening intently to Iwaizumi’s confession, not noticing whatever it was those two were staring at.
“Fuck! Fuck! I wanna grab his stupid face and kiss him all over! Fuck! Why is (Y/n) so cute! I wanna call him by his first name too! I wanna hug him and do things boyfriends do too! Fuck! I’m so-“
Oikawa’s eye eventually trailed up from Iwaizumi. He locked eyes with whatever was there, then immediately copied the same panicked ‘we’re dead’ look Hanamaki and Matsukawa had. He looked back at Iwaizumi with a sweaty, pale face.
“H-hey, Iwa-chan, that’s enough-you proved your point-“
“-I’M SO FUCKING GAY FOR (Y/N) IT HURTS!”
The three boys flinched, looking behind Iwaizumi with the same look you’d give when you got caught doing something bad. Iwaizumi was breathing heavily, slouched on his chair after his whole explosion of a confession. He looked at the three third years, who weren’t even looking back at him.
“...what? This is what you guys wanted right? To admit that I like (L/n-“
“I-Iwaizumi, you might wanna shut up…” Hanamaki said, his voice trembly. Matsukawa and Oikawa nodded.
“No! Why are y’all acting so weird! You guys were all up my ass about it, and now you’re telling me to shut up?!”
Matsukawa silently spun his chair around slowly, towards the door so he could see what they were all staring at.
“Honestly, if y’all weren’t expecting me to actually…confess…t-to…yooouuu…”
Iwaizumi’s voice progressively died down as he locked eyes with (Y/n), standing by the door with the reddest shocked face he’d ever seen. It was Iwaizumi’s turn to go pale.
“Uh...I-I heard...screaming...f-from the club room and...and I wanted to see if you guys were ok...um.” (Y/n) awkwardly swung his hands around, before letting them rest behind his back. “So…”
“Do you...really wanna ‘kiss me all over’ and do boyfriend-y stuff together…? With me…?”
Iwaizumi said nothing. He started squirming madly in his binds, trying to look anywhere else but (Y/n).
“Let me out let me out let me out let me out-!“
Iwaizumi only wriggled and kicked harder when (Y/n) started approaching him.
“LETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETME-uu-?”
(Y/n) balled up his fists, resting them rigidly on Iwaizumi’s lap as he clumsily pressed a kiss to his lips. His eyes were clamped shut, unlike Iwaizumi’s, who were wide open. He felt (Y/n) push closer, to which he let his body give in and relax, closing his eyes and tilting his head to deepen the kiss.
Matsukawa wolf-whistled, while Hanamaki yelled things like ‘Get it, Iwaizumi!’. Oikawa smiled triumphantly once more, clapping quietly. “Bravo! Yay Iwa-chan!”
Iwaizumi’s eyes were half-lidded as began to pull away. He let out a shaky sigh, watching Iwaizumi take breathless breaths in. Oikawa was still clapping in the background.
“Yay! Yaaaay Iwa-chan! Iwa-chan is happy and I fulfilled my promise! (L/n) will be Manager-kun for forever!”
Iwaizumi snapped out of his dazed trance to glare at Oikawa in confusion. “Huh?”
“Ara?” Oikawa tilted his head. (Y/n) caught on, and started violently shaking his head ‘no’, as well as flailing his arms around trying to shut him up.
“You don’t know why (L/n)-kun decided to join the club?”
Iwaizumi shook his head. (Y/n) whimpered slightly and covered his face in his hands.
“I told (L/n)-kun that if he became our manager, I’d find a way to get you to fall in looove with him. But it looks like I didn’t need to do anything~”
Oikawa chuckled. “He really only joined for you, y’know. When I went up to talk to him about being a manager, his eyes lit up and he said, and I quote: ‘I’ll do it if you set me up with your friend Iwaizumi-kun and get him to fall for me-! Kyaaa! Iwaizumi-kun is so tall dark and handsom-ow!”
Oikawa was abruptly cut off when Iwaizumi kicked him in the leg, as it was the only thing he could reach while he was still tied up. Iwaizumi turned to the side with a blushy pout.
“Y-you’re embarrassing him, idiot.”
“Aww look. He’s enjoying this.” Matsukawa snickered. Hanamaki chuckled as quietly as he could, both trying not to get kicked in the leg like Oikawa did. (Y/n) sank to the floor, defeated.
“Why did you tell Iwaizumi-kun...that’s so embarrassing…” (Y/n) groaned from the ground. He was still covering his face, so he didn’t notice when Matsukawa started untying Iwaizumi, or when Iwaizumi squatted down and placed his hand on top of (Y/n’s) head.
(Y/n) made a noise of surprise as Iwaizumi patted his head with a blushy scowl.
“S’ only fair that I know… I was pretty embarrassed too when you heard all those things I said about you... Eye for an eye and shit…”
(Y/n) said nothing as Iwaizumi continued to pat his head. They said nothing for a while, before Matsukawa silently whispered to Oikawa.
“Wait, if you knew that (L/n)-kun liked Iwaizumi, why did you look so scared when he walked in? You knew they liked each other.”
“Ah.” Oikawa rubbed the back of his head, watching as Iwaizumi and (Y/n) shyly exchanged phone numbers.
“I was scared that Iwa-chan was going to murder me.”
——————
Wanna know what makes my day? When people comment on my fics 💖 especially when they reblog and go crazy in the tags or even say something IN the reblog itself 💖💖💖 makes me feel all warm inside ✨
-Mr. Mizunetzu
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lena-in-a-red-dress · 3 years ago
Text
Stronger Together
"Dreamer!"
Lena's alarm sears across Nia's senses. She registers the danger at the corner of her eye-- a Brevakk ripping off his sleeves to expose the keratinized spurs protruding from his arms. One sweep of his arm and she'll be dead, skewered in a spray of thick quills sharp enough to penetrate her suit and lacerate any organ they could reach. But she's locked in battle with a K'hund attacking from the front, so all she can do is brace for the inevitable impact.
Suddenly, Nia's view of the Brevakk is eclipsed by the shadow of Lena's back.
"NO!"
The force of the thorns' impact knocks Lena fron her feet, slamming into Nia and causing them both to go down with a cry. Lena's gauntlet fires once, stunning the Brevakk with a glancing blow. Nia throws her own arm out towards her opponent in a desperate bid to gain some ground. The blast of dream energy sends him flying, and when Nia doesn't notice that he doesn't rise again. Her attention is locked on Lena, and the half dozen quills that have found a home in her chest.
"Lena, Lena, oh my god." Nia's hands shake as she climbs out from under Lena and kneels beside her on the pavement. "No, no, no..."
Lena's eyes are glassy and dazed. She looks down at the horns, reaching drunkenly towards them only for Nia to pull her hands away.
"Why did you do that?"
Nia's suit wouldn't have helped much, but it was better than Lena's blouse-- a silly silken thing now ripped and torn, digging into the edges of the wounds around the quills. Lena had no protection beside her gauntlet, and still she had jumped between them.
"N-nia..." Lena's voice crackles in her throat. She coughs, and blood spatters across her chin, staining her berry-red lips a color far more sinister.
Nia's heart lurches with panic. Her head whips up in search of Kara, but Supergirl isn't here. She's on the other side of the city with J'onn, fighting further unrest there. Her eyes lock on another figure, black leather instead of blue.
"ALEX!!"
Nia's shriek cuts through the din, and Sentinel's head whips towards her. In an instant, the pistol in her hand shifts into a warhammer, and Alex slams it down on her opponent, all thoughts of mitigating casualties forgotten. She skids to her knees beside Nia, nearly elbowing her out of the way to crouch over Lena.
"Lena? Jesus... Lena! Can you hear me? Look at me, look at me--"
Lena's eyes track to Alex, and Nia chokes on a sob when she sees the fear in them. But Alex only calms.
"Good, you're okay," Alex tells her, stroking Lena's hair once with a gentle hand. "You're going to be okay."
With her free hand, Alex fumbles for the watch on Lena's wrist, flipping open its face and silently pressing the symbol embossed there. She doesn't take her eyes off Lena for a moment, and when the signal is active Alex slides her palm into Lena's, which curls tightly around hers.
"H-hurts--"
Lena's breath begins to quicken, and the corners of her eyes pinch with the onset of pain. The shock is quickly wearing off, leaving nothing to dull the pain. Alex nods, giving Lena's hand a squeeze.
"I know, but it's going to be okay," she promises. "We're going to get you somewhere safe--"
Supergirl touches down at the moment, pavement cracking beneath the force of her panic. "Lena!!"
Kara kneels opposite her sister, taking in the damage with wide eyes. She grips Lena's free hand tightly, even as she looks to Alex for instructions.
"Hospital," Alex says simply, urgency clipping her tone. "Now."
Kara nods, and gently maneuvers Lena into her arms. Lena cries out, the sound sharp in Nia's ears. When Nia blinks, tears dampen the fabric of her mask.
"I'm sorry," Kara murmurs, pressing her nose to the side of Lena's head. "I'm sorry."
"K-kar--" Lena gasps for breath, coughing up more blood. Her back now visible, Nia sees that one of the thorns has penetrated so deeply that it tents the back of Lena's shirt.
"It's okay," Kara echoes the well-meaning lie of her sister. "I've got you."
In a burst of wind, Kara takes off, and Nia sits dazed in her wake. It's long moments before she registers Alex's insistent hands tugging her up.
"It was supposed to be me," Nia intones, flat with shock. "She--"
"I know," Alex cuts her off, not unkindly. She tugs Nia to her feet then shoves her into a run. "But we need to go. Now!"
Together, they make their retreat, leaving the alley and the unconscious aliens behind just as the distant wail of approaching sirens cuts through the air.
---
Nia wastes no time in stripping off her costume and changing back into her civvies. But before she can reach the exit, Alex cuts her off. "You can't go to the hospital."
Surprise jolts through Nia, before its quickly replaced with anger. "Are you insane?"
"Nia--"
"I can't just wait here-- she-- those barbs were meant for me, Alex! She's hurt because of me. I can't not be there!"
"Kara just called."
Time seems to freeze. Nia feels ice pool in her veins as a lump climbs to her throat and lodges there. "No..."
Alex rushes to reassure her. "No! That's not-- no, Lena's still in surgery. But-- the police are there."
Nia's relief that Lena is alive cuts short with confusion. "What? Why?"
"They're there to take Lena into custody."
"They can't do that!"
"She's aided and abetted known vigilantes," Alex explains. "With everything that's been happening lately--"
"It's not right!"
"Lena will be fine. Truly. Kara is going to CatCo to get Andrea to make the arrest as public as possible. Between that and the Luthor reputation, my guess is that they'll question her about our identities and then let her go."
"That's-- that's--" Nia struggles to find words through her growing rage. The helplessness of the past few months, the rising anti-alien sentiments, the crackdown on Supergirl on her friends... it all comes to a head, and Nia can barely breathe.
Alex reaches for Nia's hand. "If you go now, you'll only risk exposing yourself. Lena wouldn't want that."
Nia sucks in a breath, but it comes in a sob. The next thing she knows, Alex's arms are around her and she's crying into her shoulder, huge lurching sobs that feel like the world is quaking around her.
"It's okay," Alex promises.
"It's my fault," Nia gasps. "It's all my fault..."
"Lena's going to be okay."
---
Nia may not be able to go to the hospital, but she can't stay in the Tower either. In the end she goes to CatCo, ready to throw her weight behind Kara's pitch to fry the police in the press. Luckily, Andrea doesn't need the convincing.
"I want both of you on this," their boss delivers with a coolness sharpened to a razors edge by the glint of rage in her eyes. "William too. I want you to dig up anything you can find about the arresting officers. Any whisper of corruption within the NCPD that you might have been sitting on, now is your time to air it. CatCo won't stand for this."
Nia and Kara both nod solemnly before retreating to their desks. But instead of diverting to her own desk, Kara follows Nia to hers.
"How are you holding up?"
The gentle question threatens a resurgence of tears. Nia looks away, only for her eyes to catch on the photo of her and Lena on her desk, taken at one of their sister nights the year before. Nia can't remember the last time they've hung out, just the two of them.
Blinking furiously, Nia flips the picture down and opens up her laptop. "Fine."
"It's okay to not be fine..."
"Do you want to know if I'm angry that my friend is alone in the hospital because of me? Fine! I'm angry!"
Kara's features soften. "Nia..."
"It's my fault she's there in the first place!" Nia hisses. The lump returns to her throat, and her eyes burn with unshed tears. "She just, just... she just jumped between us! I should've--"
"Hey." Kara calms her with a hand on her shoulder. Nia sucks in a breath, then another, trying to steady herself. Finally, Kara's features pinch into a bemused smile. "You know Lena... There's no line she won't cross, for the people she cares about."
Instead of comforting her, Kara's words only makes Nia grit her teeth. She turns back to the computer. They better be willing to do the same for her.
"Let's get to work."
----
The first article runs the following morning, skewering the police department for rampant anti-alien abuses while highlighting Lena's charity and outreach. While it's not quite enough to banish the police presence from the hospital, it does get a single visitor in to see Lena. Nia expects Kara to take it, but to her surprise Kara simply nods her towards the door.
"Go," Kara says softly. "Give her our love."
Nia doesn't stop to ask twice. She's ushered into Lena's hospital room by a kindly looking nurse, glaring at the officer posted outside the door on her way in. The second her eyes land on Lena, rage swells in her chest at the side of the handcuffs tethering Lena to the bed.
"Is that really necessary?" she demands, balling her hands into fists. "Where is she going to go?"
"Nia..." Lena's soft voice from the bed interrupts her before she can gather much steam. "It's okay."
Nia huffs, eyeing the way the officer slowly moves his hand from his sidearm when Nia turns back to the room. But then all she can see is Lena, hair limp and torso bulky with bandages under her hospital gown.
"It's not okay," Nia says, sitting in the chair thats been placed next to Lena's bed.
"It's just a misunderstanding," Lena insists, her gaze sliding towards the door. The door itself remains open, denying them any sense of privacy. But Lena doesn't seem to mind when her gaze returns to Nia. "You okay?"
Nia chokes on her own tongue. "Am I--? Lena, you're in the hospital..."
"And I'm okay." Lifting her cuffed wrist, Lena silently reaches for Nia's hand, which Nia offers without hesitation. "Promise."
All of a sudden, the tears come back, pressing against her eyelids as she squeezes her eyes shut. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry--"
"It's okay," Lena assures her. "I'm okay."
"You shouldn't have--"
"Been there in the alley? When that guy tried to mug me?" Lena asks pointedly. Clearly, she's already established her cover story. "You're right, I should have known better." She pitches her voice loud enough to carry to the door. "I'm just lucky Sentinel and Dreamer were there to help me."
They wait a moment to listen for a response, but when none comes, they devolve into a fit of giggles.
"Ow," Lena grimaces with a cough. "No laughing for a while."
Nia tightens her grip on Lena's hand. "I... Lena, I'm so sorry--"
"I'd do it again," Lena returns, softly this time. Her words are for Nia alone. "That's what friends do."
---
Alex turns out to be right. As soon as Lena is well enough to leave the hospital, she's taken to the precinct for interrogation, but between CatCo's articles stirring up enough local support that a crowd forms around the precinct to protest the arrest, and the kind of lawyers a Luthor can acquire even after abandoning the family legacy, Lena is released without charge in a matter of hours.
Nia stays at the Tower hoping to see her, but Lena doesn't come.
"She's guessed she's probably being watched," Alex tells her. "She'll being laying low for a while til the heat dies down. All the better, honestly. It'll give her time to heal."
Nia swallows thickly. "Where is she?"
"Home. Kara's with her, but I'm sure she'd love to see you."
Nia approaches Lena's condo without much of a plan. She's armed with snacks and movies, but she knows that having Kara there won't give Nia the time with Lena she needs. She misses Lena, all more the more since she realized how long it had been since they'd just been... friends. More than allies, more than teammates, just... friends.
It feels like Maeve all over again.
But she swallows her nerves and takes the elevator up. Kara opens the door just as Nia lifts her hand to knock.
"Hey," Kara says quietly. She steps aside to let Nia in, and though she can hear the tv from the next room, they linger in the foyer.
"Is everything okay?" Kara asks.
Nia nods. "Yeah. Um. I just--"
She doesn't have an explanation either. Nia stares at her feet, until Kara breaks the silence.
"Look, I have a favor to ask..."
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind staying with Lena for a few hours?"
When Nia looks up, she finds Kara scrubbing the back of her head with one hand, looking sheepish.
"Yeah," she continues, "I've been kind of... hovering? And I think it's getting on her nerves a little. So I figured I could get some stuff done at CatCo--"
"Yes," Nia blurts. "Yes, of course. I'll stay."
Kara grins. "Thanks. She's in the living room now, if you want to..."
"Right. Yeah, I've got this. Go."
Kara thanks her with another smile that makes her whole face shine. "Call if you need anything."
She slips out the door with a wink, and locks it behind her. Nia walks to the living room on wooden legs, and finds Lena laying on the couch against a pile of pillows, propping her up to take the pressure off her wounds.
She looks up when Nia enters, and though her eyes are tired, her features crease into a smile. "Hey..."
"Hey."
Lena struggles to sit up, prompting Nia to close the distance swiftly. "No, no, no, stay comfy."
Relenting with a sigh, Lena groans. "Not like I have much choice these days."
"It'll get better."
Silence follows. Nia stands awkwardly, hands gripping her bag of candy tightly until Lena regards it with curiosity.
"What's all this?"
Nia starts. "Oh. Uhm... I thought-- well, I was wondering..." She trails off, shoulders slumping. "It's been a while since we've had sister's night."
When Lena doesn't answer, Nia risks a glance up to find Lena blinking in astonishment, before her features soften to warmth. She smiles.
"Well, there's no time like the present."
Lena lifts her arms, making playful grabby motions with her hands.
"What'd you bring me?"
----
Hours later, Kara returns home to find Nia seated on the couch with Lena's legs across her lap. It's as close to cuddling as Lena can get, with her injuries, and the way Nia's hands are spread over Lena's shins tells Kara that the contacr was very much needed.
Lena sleeps peacefully, the tv low in the background. Nia looks up at Kara from the shadows, the light reflecting in the tear tracks painted on her cheeks. Without a word, Kara slips in next to Nia, working her way under Lena's ankles to wrap one arm around the younger girl's shoulders.
Nia hugs her back, shaking quietly with the effort to keep her crying silent.
"It's okay," Kara whispers. Nia nods against her. So long as they were all together, they could get through anything.
"We're going to be okay."
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