#And if the person I live with even needs help u could go rob a bank for them

[rosegoldenatlas]

if I ever stumbled upon a magic genie that would grant me only three wishes I would wish for these

-ability to draw the image in my head

-when I think of a fic idea the entire complete thing just spawns in my google doc

-shapeshifting

[icycoldninja]

Hey there, I love your writing style especially for vergil:)

I have an angsty idea since you like angst.

Have you heard of the troupe where "the older person ruins the life of the younger one that they wanted to help." ?

I think vergil and the reader are meant for this dynamic lol.

Ayy, thanks, means a lot to hear that 💜 Though I haven't heard of that trope, I'm gonna do my best to do it justice, don't worry. Thank u for the ask, I do love angst. 🫠

Misguided (Vergil X Reader angst)

Vergil had to have been the most overprotective man you'd ever met. He hated seeing you sad, or even wearing a frown, and went to extremes to keep that from happening. He'd done his very best to protect you and keep you safe, but it seemed that what he did wasn't enough.

Or maybe, it was too much.

In order to keep you from ever having to feel sad or pressured, he scared away all your friends. In order to keep your life stress-free, he threatened and blackmailed your boss so you would receive lighter workloads. To keep you all to himself, he intimidated all the men in your life so no one would be tempted to take you away. To make sure you'd never die from an accident, he secretly sabatoged your car. To make sure you could never get robbed or assaulted, he stole your keys and never let you go out without him coming too. He also took control of all your affairs, from paying the bills to doing your taxes so you wouldn't have to worry.

Anything you could have possibly needed to do, he did for you. He took care of you the way a parent looks after a child, growing more and more possessive and jealous each day. He thought that he was doing you a favor; that taking on all the responsibilities was making your life easier, when in reality, it wasn't.

Your friends refused to contact you, your boss had fired you because he was afraid to give you work because he couldn't afford to pay an employee who did nothing, and no one you knew, even your family, would speak to you because they were afraid Vergil would come after them if they said something to make you feel bad. You now had nothing and no one except for Vergil, who insisted on taking charge of everything in your life. You felt so trapped, so alone and isolated.

Could you really be blamed you now that you wanted to leave?

"I'm sorry," You told him, tears running down your face as you dragged your suitcase to the front door. "I just can't do this anymore. I...I can't live like this."

"Why not?" Vergil demanded, gripping your arm in a fearful attempt to keep you from leaving. "You have everything here. What more could you possibly need?"

"That's the problem," You replied, furiously wiping your eyes with yor free hand. "I have everything here, and at the same time, nothing."

"What do you mean?" Vergil asked, his voice unusually quivering. "You are safe here. There is nothing that can hurt you. If you go out there, you will be alone. No one will come to help you."

"Exactly," You said, sniffling. "I'm alone. I have nothing. Thanks to you, I'm jobless, I have no friends, and my family won't even speak to me!"

"But you have everything you need here," Vergil insisted, tightening his grip on your arm. "You do not need a job, or friends, if I am taking care of you."

"But I don't want that!" You exclaimed, jerking your arm away. "I'm a grown adult, I can take care of myself! I don't need you to baby me! I want to live my own life and make my own decisions!" When you saw the shocked, heartbroken expression on Vergil's face, you felt a lump form in your throat. Swallowing hard, you spun around and unlocked the door.

"I'm sorry, Vergil, this...this is hard to say, but...it's over."

With that, you tore open the door and disappeared into the night, leaving the shocked, despondent half devil standing in the darkened hallway all alone.

Sinking into a nearby chair with his head in his hands, Vergil had to wonder what he'd done to have such a tragedy befall him. What did he do wrong? Why did you have to leave? He gave you everything you wanted, why did you still want more? Wasn't what he did enough for you?

What the forlorn half-devil failed to realize was that though his intentions were pure, his methods for carrying them out were horribly misguided.

[anachronistic-falsehood]

SHIP BINGO FOR THE GUYS U WANNA TALK ABOUT. CELLTW I THINK . gimme the cannibalism rundown king

MAC. looking u dead in the eyes. getting into celltw has almost convinced me to start watching hannibal i guess i just really like gay cannibalism and i need more of it. ANYWAY listen listen listennnn. ok. qcellbit and qpac are my little fucking guys alright. my favourite boys. i'm gonna give you their whole fucking backstory here ok. ok. infodump time. i apologize in advance

so cellbit was a child soldier who didn't even have a NAME. resorted to cannibalism to survive. badboyhalo was there. both stuck in a war. killed thousands of people. AWFUL TIMES!!! goes from child soldier to domestic terrorist somehow. he gets arrested and thrown in FUCKING ALCATRAZ. HE'S STILL A CANNIBAL. somehow manages to sneak a cell phone in and uses it to threaten prisoners and people start calling him cell because he literally didn't have a name before. right. ENTER PAC E MIKE. they're robbers for a living. the sillies <3 they robbed a top security museum and got caught and thrown in alcatraz. cell has gone bonkers and fucking yonkers. weird habit of licking his lips. i'm in love with him. protects pac e mike from other prisoners. they are wary of him (understandable). pac e mike make a friend named jv who tries to help them escape. cell kills him right in front of them and tries to escape himself. gets thrown in solitary. pac e mike go to the solitary cells just to mock him. lots of lowkey gay tension in that scene???? eventually pac e mike escape with the help of another friend but cell tags along because he threatens them with a gun he got from a security guard he killed. THIS MAN IS UNHINGED!!!

they end up on a deserted island. the boat they used to sail there needs repairs and four people can't fit on it at all anymore. cell decides one of them needs to die and tells the others they can decide which one has to be killed. cell is the only one who manages to find food on the island, which happens to be apples. he hoards it from the others and I SHIT YOU NOT THERE IS SOME WEIRD FUCKING RELIGIOUS IMAGERY GOING ON HERE. OK. pac seeks out cell, and CELL, WHO IS SITTING IN A TREE, OFFERS PAC AN APPLE IF HE KILLS ONE OF THE OTHERS. PAC SAYS HE'LL THINK ABOUT IT AND CELL GIVES HIM AN APPLE. I'M GOING TO EAT DRYWALL. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY DID THAT ON PURPOSE BUT THEY SURE FUCKIN DID IT ALRIGHT. at some point cell eats pac's leg but we have no idea when that canonically happens bc it was only canonized in qsmp and wasn't shown in Fuga Impossível where he and mike met cell, but IT'S STILL FUCKING CANON AND I LIKE TO THINK IT HAPPENED SOMEWHERE ON THAT FUCKING ISLAND. ALRIGHT. IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IN PRISON BUT IT HAPPENING ON THE ISLAND JUST MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE 2 ME.

they trick cell and trap him, telling him to use the last bullet in his gun for himself. the three of them leave the island and hear a single gunshot. they think he's dead. SIKE!!! somehow years and years later, pac, mike, and cell, plus two others are all on the same ship together and end up on a new island. cell now goes by cellbit??? and really likes mysteries and is a pretty chill person in comparison to how he used to be??? he went through copious amounts of therapy and is actually somewhat well adjusted. he's a pretty cool guy.

he's changed. mike has changed. pac has changed. they're all so different. he and cellbit get stuck in a cave and they kiss. it's weird. they don't do it again after that. cellbit starts talking to another guy, roier. they get married. pac is disappointed but he doesn't talk about it too much. why is he disappointed? he doesn't really know. pac has changed but every time he looks at cellbit he's back in that prison. one day, everyone's furniture goes missing, including cellbit's. pac's first instinct is to grab his son by the shoulders and tell him to pack his things because when cellbit sees that someone has robbed him he will go on a rampage the likes of which no one has ever seen. that doesn't happen. cellbit snaps and demands public execution of the culprit so they can drink his blood. he's holding a knife. he's easily placated and puts the knife away. cell is clearly somewhere in there. this is the first glimpse pac has gotten of him in the five months they've been here. pac licks his lips the same way cell used to. it's a habit.

their son goes missing. the president is put on drugs by the federation. pac has lost everything. he takes the fed's medication so he can try finding a cure. he sits in cellbit's castle panicking for a solid five minutes, debating with himself over whether he should leave some of the medication for cellbit to find in hopes he can help them. he tries to find a cure on his own while still hopped up on pills. there's blood on the floor. he leaves notes for his loved ones. he knows cellbit well enough to know he will come looking and find this. the thought is as terrifying as it is relieving. cellbit develops a cure with pac's notes. cellbit yells at the president, the fellow father of their son. pac only hears cell. he takes the antidote he helped develop. cellbit guides him home and tells him he's not alone anymore and never will be again. they hug. it's terrifying. it's comforting. it's weird.

cellbit clearly left that prison behind. pac never has. he probably never will.

[signedkoko]

hello! i would like a hazbin hotel matchup pls

ima straight woman, my mbti is estp and ima aquarius sun virgo moon and cancer rising if that means anythin to u lmao

im 5'0 (sadly 😭) and i have long wavy black hair w red streaks, i usually straighten it tho. idrk how to describe my style but if i had to id say like the stereotypical y2k grunge girl look (think tara yummy) im also rly into makeup n wear eyeshadow n big ass lashes like everyday 

im kinda all over the place personality wise, but most of the time im rly energetic and always making jokes n laughing, i also love partying n going out but i need to have sum time at home too or else i get burnt tf out, im always there for the ppl i care abt even if we aint that close if someone ever comes to me for advice or anythin i always help as much as i can, i also am very very anxious but i usually keep it underwraps unless somethin triggers it and i also have a lottt of trust issues n lowkey be thinkin everyone out to get me sumtimes

i honestly dont have a lot of interests, i rly love music fashion n makeup tho, i take any excuse i can to dress myself up even if i aint goin nowhere, i listen to almost any type of music but my favs are the weeknd, lana del rey, rob zombie, and stunna girl

in a relationship im also pretty all over the place, i love very intensely n i overthink a lot n need a lot of reassurance but i tend to focus on my partners needs a lot more than mine, but if my partner brings it up i wont lie to them n if the overthinking gets rly bad to the point i cant ignore it ill bring it up, im also very clingy n always wanna be w my partner or talkin to them in sum way, im very thoughtful n love spoiling my partner w affection n gifts (usually homemade cuz im broke 💀)

ik this is rly long i tried my best to make it as short as possible mb 😭 but i hope u have a great day n thank u for doing my request :)

You got…Lucifer!

No need to worry about height because you are both the same! If not an inch or two apart, His hat, fortunately, makes it seem like he's the taller of the two of you.

Lucifer is very...fashionable? Man himself, so he really likes seeing the time you put into your outfits. They are a lot less crisp and white than his, but what's more interesting than things he isn't? Your make-up is a lot more mature than his, though, so you have two completely different dressing and makeup areas so as not to mix up his bright colours with your shadowy palettes.

When it comes to people, he has plenty of trust issues. After his wife left him without much explanation, followed by his descent into depression, it takes a lot for him to really be open to people. This made a lot of your relationship-building quite awkward, which in turn made it funny.

He loves your laugh, and he's glad you enjoy jokes because he really has way too many to count! He's got a pun for every letter in the alphabet. Even if it isn't appropriate, if it means cheering you up, he will go to some crazy lengths. He loves it when you laugh at his jokes, and he will definitely get competitive with anyone who tries to compete.

Lucifer really could use your advice, and in turn, he has a lot of wisdom. Some of your longest conversations are those where you both sit in a quiet, dark place after a long day and share feelings, worries, and solutions. He's lived a long life and seen almost everything the world has to offer, and if you ask him for a taste of his knowledge, he is absolutely thrilled that he can be of use to you.

Dedication is what he feels. Lucifer has every love language and accepts any at all in return; he has everything in his grasp, so what you want is all yours. The fact that you are clingy is just a plus, because it assures him that you do actually love him and that he does actually get to enjoy his days with you.

Any homemade gifts you make are met with utter delight. All he does these days is craft rubber ducks, so you are free to venture into his workshop and use what you need to make your items. Lucifer believes what is made by an individual is the most vulnerable gift to give. 

Expect a lot of fast, loving emotions and busy days every day! Lucifer will make you feel loved and special, and he will make sure you smile at least once a day in his company.

Author’s Note - Your runner up was Valentino! But if you ask me, Lucifer is a much better bet.

[fortuositywritings]

The Great Animal Rescue

Summary: You should have minded your own business, but try saying no to a little girl who was crying for her cat. Now you are stuck in a tree trying not to embarrass yourself in front of the attractive individual who comes to your rescue.

A/N: This is a Skye/Daisy x reader short that is meant to give some background for them in I Said No

___________________________________________________________________

2:17pm

Y/N where r u??

You are stuck in a tree with no way down is where you are. You should really learn to say no to people. It’s what got you into this mess in the first place. You were on your way to meet your friends at the movies after stopping at an ice cream shop for a cone. You thought, why not walk the way there? It is only a few blocks away and it’s nice outside. 

So you began walking, licking your ice cream happily. It’s nothing compared to the ice cream shop in the small town where your cousin lives, but this one is still pretty damn good. Not two minutes into your stroll, the sound of someone sniffling made you pause. You hesitated to investigate where the noise was coming from, seeing that your cousin’s husband has given you plenty of lectures about stranger danger. You ignored the voice in your head saying he might have a point. He spends a lot of his time in New York; there are a lot of weirdos there. This is LA in broad daylight. The worst thing that could happen where you were at the moment would have been getting run over by an electric scooter. 

Clearly you were wrong.

It turned out to be some kid crying because her cat wouldn’t come down from the tree. You asked her where her parents were. She said they were inside the house and wouldn’t come outside because if the cat could climb up, it would eventually come back down. You told her they were probably right and were about to leave her there on the sidewalk but that was before she gave you some of the most adorable puppy dog eyes and a “please”. 

You asked the girl to hold your cone while you spotted the cat. It didn’t seem to be too far up into the tree. You started climbing up, grabbing a branch and hoisting yourself up. One branch made a on your green sweater, making you mumble in displeasure the rest of the way up to the cat. You should have listened to her parents as well. As soon as you had reached the cat, the damn thing ran past you and ran down the tree like a squirrel. You nearly lost your balance.

The girl thanked you even though you didn’t really do anything and ran inside her house after her cat, taking your ice cream with her. After mumbling to yourself on never falling for some puppy eyes again, you realized how far up you actually were. Your face blanched and your grip tightened around the tree branch keeping you balanced. 

You felt your phone vibrate and it took you 5 minutes to actually take it out to read the message. That’s where you are at right now. Trying to message your friend Ola back, typing with one shaky thumb.

2:23pm

Stuck intr ee two block sway help

Before pressing send, you think it over. Should you message her back? You know if you tell her to come rescue you, she would come with the rest of the gang and they would never let you live it down. Is it worth it? Better that than dying up here, you think.

Going to press send, your sweaty hand loses its grip on your phone and it falls onto the grass below. “Fuck!”

“Fuck!” Someone echoes from below, startling you in return. “Shit!”

You’re practically hugging the tree at this point. The person below you speaks to you, “You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing up there?”

You hesitate to look down but brave the fear of looking down to see the woman talking to you. And what a spectacular view you have. Had you not already been weak in the knees from being so terrified, you would have some now from looking at this gorgeous person. She’s clearly waiting for your reply, so you clear your throat and say, “Rescuing a cat. What are you doing?”

“Walking to my van.” She points to the van across the street. “Where’s the cat?”

“What?” you ask. She raises an eyebrow at you. “You said you were rescuing a cat, but I don’t see any.”

“Very observant of you,” you point out, not answering her question. She narrows her eyes at you. “You’re not like some weirdo trying to peek into someone’s bedroom are you?”

You scoff. “What?! No! I’m one for one on rescuing cats, actually. It went back inside to its house.” You defend yourself. “Besides, you’re the one with the creepy ‘I’ve got candy inside my van’ van, so.”

Now this stranger looks embarrassed. “It’s for work.”

“Who do you work for? The CIA?” you joke, making the woman laugh. “They’d wish.”

It’s your turn to give her a questioning look at the odd response. She ignores it and loops back to you. “So if this great animal rescue went just like you said, why are you still up there?”

“To, uh-get better reception,” you lie. She looks at you unimpressed and you see why when she bends down to pick up the phone you dropped. “You mean for the phone that’s down here on the ground?”

You laugh nervously. She catches on when she notices how tight your hold on the tree is. “Are you sure you’re not just stuck up there?”

“What? Stuck? Me?” you laugh as if what she is saying is just offensive. “No, I just liked the peacefulness the tree provided. I dropped my phone on purpose. Yeah, I didn’t want it to distract me from really appreciating the beauty of the world around us.”

“Yeah, the McDonalds down the road really does look beautiful in the daylight,” she quips.

“It’s the wonder of the golden arches,” you retort, pulling a genuine laugh from the woman. 

“Well, then I’ll leave you to it,” she says. You dryly swallow, afraid that your chance at getting down from the tree will leave with her. She speaks up again. “But before I go, would you like me to send the message to Ola that somewhat reads ‘Stuck in a tree two blocks away help’?”

She smirks and you sigh at being caught. “Okay, truth is I’m deathly afraid of heights. I didn’t realize how high I actually was until I tried coming down.”

“Well, that’s okay. It is one of the most common fears,” she reasons.

“It’s embarrassing. I can’t even look at a plane without feeling nauseous.”

“Well, I think you’ve been doing well so far. Look how long you lasted up there while looking down towards me.” She points.

“That’s only because you’re a good distraction,” you confess. 

She begins to climb up towards you. “Aww, are you trying to call me beautiful?”

You blush and don’t say anything though the silence speaks for you. She finally gets to you. “I’ll take that as a yes. Now, let’s get you down this tree, Robin Hood.” 

“Robin Hood?” you question the nickname. “Is it because of the tree?”

“That. Also, the tights and green top pull it all together. We just need to get you a bow and some arrows and you’ll be set.” The irony at the fact that there are plenty of arrows and bows at your cousin’s house due to her husband’s profession isn’t lost on you. Unfortunately, any joke you could make about it would get you in trouble, so you just smile at the beauty trying to help you down. 

She offers you her hand and helps you get down the tree branch to branch with all the patience in the world. Not once does she complain about the death grip you have on her hand. When your feet feel the ground beneath them, you feel like crying. Instead you just let go of the stranger’s hand and try to get your heartbeat to settle down to it’s regular pace.

“Not too bad, see? Soon you’ll be bungee jumping,” she jokes.

“That’s a big leap from getting down from a tree.”

“Well, yeah. It’s bungee jumping. Leaping is the first half of the process,” she says sarcastically. You roll your eyes at her playfully. Then she smiles at you with a gleam in her eye as if she just had the best idea in the world. “How about we start with something smaller then? What are you doing on Friday?”

“Um, I don’t have any plans yet.”

“Now you do. Friday night, you will be taking the next step to conquering your fear of heights!”

“It’s not bungee jumping, is it?” you ask, petrified. As beautiful as this girl may be, risking your life for the chance to see this girl one more time doesn’t seem like a well thought out trade. 

“Calm down, Robin Hood. I was thinking more along the lines of getting you to ride the ferris wheel at the fair,” she reassures you, making you blush.

“Like on a date?” you shyly ask. God, you hope you didn’t just embarrass yourself.

“Like on a date.” She smiles at you and your heart feels like it’s skipping.

“Y/N.”  You throw out. She looks lost so you explain, “Every Robin Hood has a name for when they aren’t up in trees ready to rob rich people. Mine happens to be Y/N.”

“Skye.” She offers her name and you take it so willingly, letting it ruminate in your mind. “Here.” She pulls your phone out of the pocket she had put it in. She goes to your contacts and adds herself in before handing it back to you. You stare down at it in wonder. 

“Well, I think your friends might be waiting on you, so…” She begins walking backwards. “I’ll see you Friday, Y/N!”

She turns around looking both ways before jogging across the street towards her van. You see her pull into the street nodding at you before driving off. You wave back after the van, dumbstruck. “What the hell just happened?” You mumble to yourself.

****

“You know when you said I would be getting on the ferris wheel, I assumed you meant you would go on it with me,” you grumble, making your way over to Skye who was waiting for you by the exit gate of the ride. 

She reaches for your hand pulling you closer to her. “Some things, you have to learn to do alone. You just have to let the belief that something great will come out of pushing through your fear guide you through that fear.”

“I don’t think any funnel cake we get later was worth that experience,” you pout. 

“Okay, then how about this,” she says before pulling you in to kiss you. It doesn’t last long but you let it consume you for the seconds you have. You open your eyes when she continues, “and a second date?”

“Only if it ends just like that,” you counter. She kisses you again, the second kiss leaving you just as dazed as the first.

“Deal,” she agrees, pulling you towards the funnel cake truck. “Next date, Robin Hood takes on Six Flags!”

“Wait, what?!”

_____________________________________________________________________

So, just a side little thing for some Reader and Daisy/Skye context before she eventually shows up in I Said No. It feels like I’m giving this reader a whole Universe. The world does in fact revolve around Y/N. 

Obviously (or maybe not) I dropped some references to the other fic but really you could read either without needing to read the other (if it truly breaks your heart to see reader with anyone else).

@madamevirgo @marvels-writings @gayarchnemissis @myperfectlovestory @purplemeetsblue @magicallymaximoff @b0mbdotc0m @helloalycia @ironscarletwidowsoilder @cantcontroltheirfear @trikruismybitch @your-my-mission @imagine-reblog @fayhar @idek-5 @causeitswhatjesuswouldfreakingdo @bemyvitamin @musicinourlips @paumxmff @wandamaximoffsrings @yeetus-thyself @lostandsearching @when-wolves-howl @euphoriaszn2 @gingerbreadcookieforlife 

[malleux]

[1] - “you just told me not to say anything”

table of contents

a/n: this is a running with the wolves rewrite with the winner of my little poll! thank u everyone who participated

-> scaramouche x fem!reader | gang!au

-> warnings: guns, cursing

fill out this form to be on the taglist

“Fuck- She’s losing too much blood, Boss, she’s not gonna make it!”

“No, no. She’s going to make it- I’ll make sure of it. Stay alive!”

Your vision was dark and blurry- you couldn’t quite see anything. You could only make out a few silhouettes hovering above you, each one rushing around and yelling frantically. You couldn’t count how many there were. Your vision kept doubling and it was hard to discern one person from three. Focusing just caused things to get worse.

“Someone put pressure on the damn wound! She certainly won’t make it if you all keep messing around.”

It was only now that you noticed a sharp pain radiating from your chest, right below your ribs. You gasped loudly and coughed. It hurt worse than the throbbing that already coursed through your head. Your body burned.

Trying to look down, you saw a rag soaked in blood. Hands with bright nails pressed down on your wound to slow the flow, but it didn’t seem to be helping. You started feeling dizzy and laid back again, clenching your eyes tight as nausea engulfed you.

“No, keep your eyes open, Y/N, dammit! Wake up!”

Slowly, the pain began fading, as did your view of the people above you and their voices. You could still barely hear the voice crying, sobbing out your name. Whoever they were, they were crushed. The voice faded into a high-pitched ringing, resounding sharply through your ears.

It seemed to get louder.

It was piercing through your skull, aching the insides.

Your eyes snapped open and light from your bedroom window burned your vision. Your alarm continued to blare through your phone’s speakers. You glared and turned it off, grumpily removing yourself from the warmth and comfort of your bed. Wrapping yourself in a fluffy blanket, you padded into the living room where your roommate was watching the news with a cup of juice.

“Good morning. There’s breakfast on the counter.” He murmured, eyes glued to the screen. “The Fatui apparently struck again last night. Robbed the little jewelry store on Main Street. Disgusting.”

You rolled your eyes and snatched a piece of toast. “Always worried about those Fatui. How about worrying about your little bar job, hm? You gave up your say in their antics when you quit the police force.”

“I don’t give a damn what they do, except when it endangers people. They were apparently armed, Y/N. Like, with guns. If you go out today, you need to be careful. They could still be out and about.”

Diluc was always like this.

Observant, cautious.

It was endearing, if not slightly annoying, that he cared so much.

The redhead and his brother used to be hellbent on joining the Teyvat Police Force. They would play Cops and Robbers on the playground until they were exhausted, and they were always the cops. You and your friend Jean were always the robbers, even though it was also Jean’s dream as well.

When Diluc grew up, he joined the Force and rose in ranks quickly, but suddenly quit without warning. He never spoke of why, just that it wasn’t what he expected. His brother, Kaeya, and Jean continued to chase that dream, though, and continue to live it today.

But, those instincts and things that Diluc learned while training always stuck with him. The cautiousness that the academy instilled into him still lingers to this day, hence why he tends to have a stick up his ass about dangerous situations.

“I’ll be fine.” You sighed, “I’ve got classes today, I can’t avoid them just because some lowlifes wanna cause trouble.”

“Lowlifes? Y/N, they’re a gang. They cause practically all the problems in this city. And don’t even get started on that Inazuma gang too, they’re even worse. Just- just be careful, okay? I don’t want to have to work with Kaeya to have to solve your murder.”

You chuckled, “Yes sir.” Standing up, you slapped your hands on your thighs and left Diluc to his angry news-watching, heading to your room to get ready for school.

<><><><>

College was honestly a scam.

You sat in the classes for two hours at a time, for what? You were paying thousands of dollars to be talked at by old dusty men who made you fall asleep faster than trying to read their overpriced textbooks. You paid thousands to nap at a desk.

Unfortunately for you, though, your thousand dollar desk nap was interrupted by a tapping on the surface. You huffed and looked up, coming face to face with a pair of soft, purple eyes. They radiated kindness and just looking into them seemed to lift your mood immediately.

“Hey, you need to wake up for this part. The professor said there’s gonna be a quiz on this section tomorrow.”

You shot up, looking back at your professor. Blushing embarrassedly, you smiled at the girl. “Thank you…”

“Yae Miko.” She drew her bottom lip in between her teeth, as if to conceal her smile, before giving up and returning yours just as brightly.

As you faced forward to the Professor, One, the weight of your eyelids as they threatened to pull you back into dreamland. Two, Yae Miko.

You kept glancing at her, taking in her complexion. She must have come to class late, since you hadn’t seen her before. Or maybe she was on time- you did fall asleep quite early into the lecture.

You were eyeing her soft jawline, framed by gorgeous pink hair that looked soft to the touch. You wished to run your fingers through it-

“Y/N, this is the second time I’ve seen you not paying attention.” You jumped nearly three feet in the air. “Next time, I’ll have to ask you to leave my class since you are obviously taking it as a joke.”

“I-I’m not joking! Sorry!” You stuttered, finally finding a reason to keep your attention on the lecture. You did look away once, just to glare at Miko, who only winked and chuckled at your misfortune.

Class was eventually over and you sighed, finally loosening up from forcing yourself to pay attention. You packed your notebook and laptop and swung your backpack on, getting ready to leave the room before a voice called to you.

You turned back. “Miko?”

“I was simply wondering where your next class was. I can walk you to it, if you’d like.” Said girl walked quickly towards you, holding herself with a nearly-perfect posture. You felt anxious- she was trying to make himself seem like a lady, but you still felt a little unnerved.

“Oh, um, sure! It’s not for another fifteen minutes, but it is across campus.”

Miko’s close-mouthed smile seemed to get larger, making her eyes crinkle at the edges. “How wonderful! That little café is down there and I’ve been meaning to check it out anyways. It works out perfectly.”

“Uh, yeah.” You laughed nervously. This was the first time a girl had taken interest in you- or was she really interested? Maybe she’s just being nice-

“Also, before I forget. May I get your number? I’d like to talk to you a little more.”

Oh, she was so interested. You had to make yourself breathe again as you handed her your phone to let her put her number in. She gave it back to you and you noticed a heart and a smiley face emoticon next to her contact name. Your heart fluttered at the sight of the emojis and you felt your cheeks heat up a bit. Miko gave you a sweet smile before holding the door open for you, letting you lead the way to your next class.

On the way to the building, she spent the time asking you questions and getting to know you better. She had scratched basically the entire surface of you, save for the secrets that new people shouldn’t know, and the same could be said for you. Yae Miko was definitely a polished and refined lady. She made quite the impression on you.

“What are you doing after classes?” You asked, hoping to invite her for pizza at your apartment.

“Ah, I’ve got work!” She smiled sheepishly. She definitely caught onto your hopes…

“Oh, that’s okay, maybe after you can stop by-”

Miko’s phone dinged and she checked it, shoving it back into her pocket. “Hey- it was nice meeting you but I’ve got to go. Like right now.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you… later.” You trailed off as you watched her speed walk away. She pulled out her phone again and held it up to her ear.

You sighed and checked your watch. You had an hour left before your second class started, and you were starting to feel a little hungry. Maybe only one piece of toast was a bad idea, but that thought left your head as a new-looking cafe came into your view as you walked down the street.

A soft bell chimed as you opened the door. You saw four people in cafe uniforms, going about their day as you approached the register.

“Welcome to our humble abode!”

“Childe, that’s only used for a home.”

You shyly waved at the so-called Childe and the blonde girl who corrected him. Java Cafe was a quaint place, quiet and not crowded, kind of like an off-brand Starbucks. Dim lights adorned the high black ceiling, illuminating the shop just enough for a comforting ambience. There was a mural of a rainforest painted on the wall opposite of the counter with comfortable tables and lounging areas. If you could, you’d probably waste the day away lounging around. It was the perfect environment for an introvert like you.

A tall, rather lanky man was at the counter as you approached. His gaze was unnerving, piercing into you. You noticed that he wasn’t wearing a nametag, but you had a small urge to call him a freak.

“Hey! What can I get ‘cha?”

You scoured the menu. “Just a pink lemonade is fine-”

“Oh! Good choice!” Childe interrupted you, coming to stand beside the man. “Scara over there makes the best lemonades!”

You followed her gaze over to a man who was sitting on a stool, slouched down and leaning his head on his hand. He stretched and stood up. “Hm. We haven’t had many customers all day. I was starting to think we lost our appeal.”

“Of course we haven’t!” Childe replied. He turned to you, but you couldn’t tell whether she was still talking to Scara or you. Maybe it was neither. “Not when someone as handsome as Scaramouche is making the drinks and my attractive self is greeting the customers!”

“Hey! I’m just as much of a visual as the boss-man.” The taller man joined in after taking your money. “We’re all pretty nice looking. Especially this little lady ordering~”

You blushed a bit. “Oh, please, I’m nothing special-”

“Nothing special?” Childe laid his hand against the counter. “You’re wonderful! Almost on the same level as me. Isn’t that right, Scarie?”

The man named Scaramouche looked up from making your drinks, his analytical eyes seemingly boring holes into you. You shuddered, feeling like he could tell your deepest and darkest secrets from just looking at you. He shrugged, going back to the lemonades.

“She’s alright, I suppose.”

“You suppose? Scaramouche, that’s rude-”

The blonde girl was midway through lecturing him when the door to the shop chimed open and a rather large group came in. Scaramouche looked up and suddenly stood alert, as did the other three workers. In the group, you saw a familiar head of pink hair and purple eyes meet yours. Your face screwed up into confusion.

“Miko?”

“Don’t say anything.” The leader of the group- a dark purple-haired girl snarled. “Are you a new… worker here?”

“Wh- you just told me not to say anything.”

Slowly, Scaramouche and the other three came up beside you, standing slightly in front. Your heart nearly stopped- you were in the middle of something you definitely weren’t supposed to be in and your sass had gotten on their bad side already. The leader scrutinized the five of you, her eyes piercing holes through whatever facade of confidence you had tried to put up. You could feel yourself literally wither under her gaze, even more than you did when Scaramouche looked at you.

“What do you want, Baal?” Scaramouche put his hands on his hip, one fiddling with something under his shirt.

“I want your loyalty.”

He snorted. “You aren’t in charge.”

“I’m not? Hm. Tell that to everyone I’ve defeated. I’m the leader now- a Shogun, if you will.” Baal sighed heavily. “I have no time for more conversation if you won’t comply. Sara, deal with them.”

The terrifying girl who you assumed was Sara suddenly reached in her pocket and pulled out a handgun, aiming it at the five of you. Scaramouche quickly retaliated and pulled one of his own, throwing it at Childe before grabbing your wrist and running to the back. A loud gunshot rang through the air as you and Scaramouche continued to run. You both dodged around coffee shop equipment and he dragged you through a labyrinth that they considered the back of the store.

As you were running, Scaramouche pulled you to a sharp right turn and your arm scraped against a metal machine in your way. You hissed in pain and looked down at it, seeing a large wound going down your shoulder to your elbow. It was starting to bleed rather quickly, but you had no time to worry about it. You’d have time to tend to it if you survived.

“What’s happening?”

“No time to explain. Quick, hide!”

Scaramouche pushed you against the wall in between two larger cabinets and stood in front, grabbing yet another gun from his other hip. He cocked it, listening for the ruckus of the fight in the main room to make its way towards your location. You were shaking like a leaf, grabbing tightly onto your wounded arm and smearing blood all over your fingers and your clothes. You breathed heavily, trying to calm yourself at least a little- was this why Miko had left you so quickly earlier? What kind of cafe was involved in gang affiliations? You didn’t have time to ponder any more questions as a loud crash echoed through the room. Scaramouche lifted his gun and began to speak lowly, not taking his eyes off of the door.

“When I say run, go out the back door and get in the black car back there. Don’t go home- one of them will find you.”

A gunshot rang through the air and Childe along with the other two burst through the doors, running towards you all. Scaramouche  turned to you as they caught up, pulling out their own weapons again as Baal began yelling.

“Run!”

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taglist: @taurus852 @cookiecatirl @furblrwurblr @osmiumtrash @teyvattales @y2kokomi

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[nctsjiho]

Relationships with: WayV

Click here for: NCT 127, NCT U, NCT Dream, WayV

Kun:

MOVE!

I-

These two~~~

Unexpectedly the duo you never knew you wanted needed

For the longest time they weren’t in any groups together and didn’t have many practises in common (besides NCT 2018 stuff)

They usually would just say hi in passing, but never really hang out if it wasn’t for multiple members going out to eat

But one day JiHo approached Kun asking him for a favour

He found out the reason why they didn’t talk a lot was because JiHo felt really shy around him for some reason

“I don’t know, I just felt too nervous around him” (JiHo during a random Vlive)

Near the end of 2020 a video got released on the NCT YouTube channel of JiHo singing with Kun accompanying her on the piano

You could somewhat say it was JiHo’s debut as a vocalist

Kun said that he didn’t see it as a favour, but that it was an honour JiHo chose him to do this with her   (///.-) I’m not crying heh-  

Ever since then they have been very comfortable around each other

JiHo praises him a lot on his vocals, piano and producing skills

Kun praises her on her vocals as well and has become another of her vocal coaches/supporter

JiHo said that if it weren’t for Kun, she would have never posted a vocal cover. “All the guys are supportive but Kun pushes me to better my skills so I can comfortably show them to NCTzens” ^^ I’m blushing this is cute

People ship them platonically after the cover and want them to put out more, but with both of them singing together

Ten:

Loves teasing JiHo

Dance partners

“JiHo is such a good dancer guys!” (Instagram Live with Yangyang)

Speaks up immediately when someone says something bad about JiHo

Jeno physically protects her, but Ten isn’t afraid to tear someone down with words (the members have to calm him down whenever it happens because he gets really worked up)

Jokes around a lot with JiHo during practise

Another one who brings out the chaos in JiHo

JiHo X WayV is just a bad idea in general, no manager can calm them down once they get started I feel sorry for the WayV managers

The two often butt heads, but they also make up quickly because they’re too close of friends <3

Learns her Thai and she’s pretty good!

Makes fun of her a lot though, but he also tells her how great she’s doing

Is happy that he’s no longer the person who knows the most languages in the group. During variety shows they test JiHo more often and he doesn’t have to rack his brain switching from language to language

Share mutual respect for each other

Winwin:

Has a soft spot for Winwin (like everyone else does) but isn’t overly affectionate and he appreciates that

Was awkward with JiHo for a while, but then she started learning Chinese. He noticed how much effort she put in to become accepted in NCT as the only girl. Now he doesn’t feel awkward anymore

He looks up to her because she’s so hardworking

Share a lot of cute fan favourite moments, usually where they are in the background of videos or vlives laughing together

They spent a lot of time practising dances together and said he’d like to dance together with her for an NCT Dance video

Lucas:

Robbed from being Dreamies together

Was sad he couldn’t join NCT Dream, but was about to sue SM for not letting JiHo be in Dream

Spoils JiHo a lot!

Gives her expensive gifts such as shoes, handbags, jewellery, etc. (she tells him not to but he still does anyway)

Only 1 year older but acts like JiHo is a baby

Lucas said that he wants to model with her for Vogue or Dazed or some fancy fashion magazine like that

Says that JiHo is the only one who matches his visuals

“I thought our members were good looking, but JiHo has set the bar too high and I think I’m the only one who’s up to her standards.”

JiHo will not for the life of her acknowledge the fact that he said that on national television (also disagrees because Renjun, Jaemin, Doyoung and Jungwoo exist)

JiHo calls Lucas Prince a lot, because she thinks he’s very handsome

JiHo sometimes ignores some of the boys’ calls, but answers Lucas every time, no hesitation

Is the one who called her Jihyun for a few months when he first got to know her, even though everyone kept on correcting him, he kept forgetting  -_-

Now the members call her Jihyun teasingly

Xiaojun:

JiHo thinks he’s really cool

They always talk in front of the practise room, when one comes out of practise and the other was waiting to go in

Group members have to physically separate them, because they zone everyone else out when talking to each other

Love going out to eat together, or just go to a cafe and talk

JiHo will actually join WayV to visit Xiaojun while he’s filming a drama

(JiHo isn’t allowed to do that anymore, definitely after not telling one of her manager that she was flying to China to see Xiaojun, poor manager almost had a heart attack when he couldn’t find her and she didn’t pick up her phone for 3 hours ;;; )

Instagram pictures together <3

Domestic af, they look like they have been friends since birth

Hendery:

Cutely awkward together

Super giggly for some reason ^^

She’s the least close with Hendery out of all WayV members, but since she likes WayV so much she’s been hanging out a lot more with him and became closer

He’s really good at English so he helps her with her Chinese and whenever she gets tired of speaking Chinese he will switch to English or Korean (whatever works really)

Also one of the people who thinks she’s really cool and kind of intimidating

But off-stage she’s really sweet

Send each other a thumbs up after practise or when the other gets off stage

Ten and Kun said they want them to get closer because they are kind of similar

Yangyang:

Chaos-

Multilingual messes

JiHo completely understands German but before meeting Yangyang she never really tried speaking it before. She’s nervous to mess it up but Yangyang is really excited and helps her a lot with German. Since he also forgot a bit of German they take classes together

75% of her attention is taken up by Yangyang when JiHo hangs out with WayV

Exposes so much about JiHo on Vlive and Instagram (He got a warning by the managers to be careful because he might spill something that’s not supposed to be made public)

Legendary Instagram Live where the two of them were up until 3 am and were so sleep-drunk. JiHo couldn’t form a coherent sentence, mixing up every language she knew. Yangyang dissing his members and both of them laughing hysterically

The fans absolutely adore them and the members are absolutely terrified

Ten said that whenever JiHo’s with him and Yangyang, he can’t be with them for long or he’ll actually go insane

---

Side Note: my posts weren’t showing up in tags for the last 3 days so I contacted Tumblr and apparently it was a bug on their end. Luckily they fixed in in literally 10 minutes! In other words: I’m back to posting again!

If you have any questions/comments please feel free to let me know. I have a few posts ready to go already, so i’m excited!

[jiminrings]

lover

pairing: jungkook x y/n

glimpse: jungkook has a crush and LOTS of vacant space on his ears upon seeing piercing artist!y/n, jin is TERRIFIED of needles and just needs to hold someone’s hand, jimin is a chatty receptionist that gets on jungkook’s nerves a whole ton, and tHen some smut :D 

wordcount: 22k

notes: dedicated to jungkook n his pretty earrings because i would totally go through his hoops like what vitaly did in madagascar 3 :D // gif isn’t mine!!

(*´꒳`*)

jungkook is a flexible man

both literally and figuratively

he knows how to adjust bUT he also knows what he wants

there’s a handful of things he gets picky about

body wash, face wash, shampoo, perfume n aLL THAT GOOD HYGIENE STUFF

he’s not jared, 19

he ISN’T a chad that just picks out deodorant with the most aggressive names they could ever find the quickest in a shelf

when jungkook gets shoes (and sometimes splurges on them) he makes sure to get the new stock and atleast a half-inch allowance

because shoes shrink and get worn-in overtime and the condition that you wore them in first, wON’T remain the same

hard drives are touchy issues too

jungkook needs to be able to save and export his works without the processes of it crashing every thirty seconds thank u very much

if ur buying a hard drive that has less than a 1 TB storage, then wHY even get a hard drive dummy

he can make dollar-store paint work, trust him

but god crusty-ass brushes (whether they’re expensive or not) would be the absolute BANE of his existence

on-hand activities were given less frequently in uni because majority of them were done digitally but he would never forget that time

that time when he cracked at the project on the night that it was given and he decided to sleep fORGETTING to wash his brushes and by the time he woke up, they were are all crusty and stiff

he almost cried

okay so after all

maybe jungkook might be picky

hE CAN’T HELP IT

but this time he felt more reasonable in being picky because this is his roommate that we’re talking about!!!

r o o m m a t e

for possibly the whole three and a half years that he has left before he graduates and he just wants his to be a good one :((

honestly can you blame him

jungkook just has two requirements in his head

pLEASE he doesn’t want a roomie that has quick hands and is a kleptomaniac and would steal the wallet he always just has laying around

he wants to be able to leave his things in the most random places at PEACE

and second, he wants someone that’s atleast tolerable

he’s aware that not every pair of roommates mesh well together 10/10 times but the least he could hope for is that there’s somehow mutual agreement

which is why jungkook’s nervous because oh god what if he’s stuck with a klepto that’s gonna steal his laptop and he isn’t even dONE doing his assignment?????

graphic design and fashion design are in the same building and that just means he has a 50% chance of being paired with someone that knows what he’s doing and knows when to back off

... which is cool, maybe???

but tHen there’s also a 50% chance that he’s gonna be roomies with a fashion student and he’s not gonna lie because that sounds sO cool!!!!!

legitimately cool

he knows nothing about sewing clothes??? or like designing them in more than just a graphic designer-type of approach????

that would be so nice

what if his roomie (he’s about 98% sure) has a sewing machine and some embroidery thread and things and stuff????

what if his roomie suddenly thought that “oh my gOD jungkook since you’re my roommate and ur so cool and u have such nice body proportions,, lemme make u some clothes!!” ???

what then

what tHEN

and he’s the type to impress and even though that makes him look like an utter fool, jungkook really did wake up at TWO in the morning to get started for meeting his roomie by ten in the morning

just eight hours,,, cool,,, that’s cool

who wouldn’t like chocolate truffles right???

vERY EASY

melt some chocolate!! add some butter!! some cream!! a tiny pinch of salt because the recipe said so!! aND THEN YOU’RE DONE

no not really

he didn’t take into account that chill was a very vague term and so jungkook kept opening the fridge every ten minutes and the chocolate truffle blob hasn’t cHILLED!!!

that kinda sent him into panic because how is he supposed to sleep now

he got a large bowl he never really used and lmao this is like the first time he’s washing it

HE DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THAT HE HAD THIS BOWL UNTIL NOW

placed that smaller bowl inside of the bowl

and tHEN filled the remaining spaces with ice cubes and tHEN put it into the freezer

not his smartest decision ever because uh there’s some raw chicken and beef in that same freezer but that’s cool it’s cool

roomie wouldn’t even know the difference :D

what you know wouldn’t hurt you, right???

well not until the chocolate gets contaminated with the raw meat somehow wOOF ://

jungkook went to take a one hour nap and he’s decided to just check on the truffle blob when he’s woken up!!!

uHhhh

aha that turned into a fOUR-hour nap :))))

he’s kinda panicking because oh god he could’ve made so much more in that time period

the truffle blob dID chill but it’s kinda frozen now and that makes it a little less easy to try and scoop up and shape and put cocoa powder on it

no worries!! he has a spoon and insane strength!!!

jungkook bent the spoon with how hard he’s going at it bUT that’s okay!!! there are more spoons!!! it’s not the end of the world

he’s done with the chocolate truffles and all that’s left is to let them chill in the fridge and he could just pop them out anytime

it’s 6... and all he has done are chocolate truffles....

aha wild idea but wHAT IF HIS NEW ROOMIE DOESN’T LIKE CHOCOLATE

...

....

it’s 10:13 and yeah sure this roomie of his is a little bit late but jungkook doesn’t mind at all because that meant more time for him to prepare

aside from the chocolate truffles, he’s successfuly bought/made/modified:

ice cream sandwiches in every flavor he could find because what if they don’t like chocolate?? or wait what if vanilla’s too plain for them?? ok wHAT IF THEY LIKE STRAWBERRY??? is that matcha-

cup noodles,,, in beef, seafood, and spicy variations

gummy bears!!! half are just the original ones and the oTHER half is what he soaked in vodka because uHhH what if the roomie likes alcohol as much as he does??? or maybe they just like citric acid in bear form or mAYBE even both???

dalgona because what if they aren’t an iced tea person,,, or an orange juice person,,,,, jungkook totally understands!!! the entirety of his right arm may be significantly more ripped by the end of this

mozzarella sticks that he buys in bulk whenever he goes to the grocery and that jungkook popped into the oven hurriedly because wAIT WAIT what if they’re lactose intolerant,,,,

cereals,,, he has some cereals,,,, maybe they haven’T had breakfast yet and they wanna have cereal??? he has some milk too!!!

some ice cubes leftover if u wanna pop them into the cereal if they’re feeling a lil spicy

god jungkook just wants to be liked sO BAD and he’s such a people-pleaser that it’s exhausting :(((

this better work or else he will literally combust and eat boozy gummy bears until he’s silly drunk :(((

but tHEN the front door opened and uh jungkook remembers locking it always but

oh

oH

that’s his roommate!!!! holding a duplicate key already!!!!! with bags on tow aND WOW!!!!!!

this guy MUST be a fashion student

jungkook didn’t wear an apron and he honestly salutes anyone who does which is why there may be some bits of cocoa powder on his chest that he’s wiping off quickly

“hEY man!! i’m jungkook!! jeon jungkook!! come in, come iN!!! was the traffic bad or-...”

wait

hold on just a second

how sure is jungkook that this guy with a really handsome face and wide-ass shoulders that’s like the same size of the doorway, is hIS roommate???

bruh

what if this was just a random-ass dude that happened to have a duplicate key aND HE’S HERE TO ROB HIM OR SOMETHING

“woah hEY i’m jin!! kim seokjin!! lmao yeah i live two floors down aND then i have all these bags and i just wanted to take one trip in the elevator but then in the same time i cAN’T and-“

oh

oH jin definitely just said too much words huh

right off the bat jin is rEALLY setting an impression huh

he got a good look at jungkook and he could tell that he looks younger than him

or maybe that’s just kook’s bambi eyes assessing jin that’s standing parallel to him right now

or maybe it’s some of the cocoa powder on his gray shirt and jin might assume that he’s a baby because he’s spilled some

“oh yEAH YEAH i prepared uh like a housewaeming thing for you!! well i mean this isn’t a house and it’s not your house bUT it isn’t mine either but in a tECHNICAL sense it’s — yEAH do u want chocolate truffles or something.....”

“oh jungkook you shouldn’t have!!! if it’s worth anything, i made this beret for my roommate and well it’s yOu right??? and i kinda sewed my initials at the back to commemorate like a friendship??? or something???? i don’t know man it sounds sO lame and-...”

bro

brO

jin’s eating literally everything that jungkook’s prepared and he heard the mention of the alcoholic gummy bears and his eyes almost pOP out of their sockets

for a moment, kook was kinda terrified because oh god are you cAMPUS POLICE????

turns out that jin loves alcohol AND gummy bears and he’s never tried that combination before

it’s like they’ve been friends for their whole entire life and conversation was just so easy to slip into

“how did you kNOW i eat this exact brand of mozzarella sticks??? they’re so good and you could even buy them in this hUge-ass box!!”

“how did you know that this beret would fit my hEAD?? i literally thought my head was too big for berets and this is like thE perfect size!!”

jin casually asks what they should eat for dinner later that night and jungkook dOESN’T skip a beat saying what he wants and jin dOESN’T hesitate either in agreeing

lmao jungkook started calling jin hyung not even 48 hours upon meeting him

“jungkoOooOoK :D so as you know, i’m gonna have a makeshift booth for my project, right? and like since your my very nice and kind and handsome and tALENTED best friend :D i was wondering if you could make the brand design for me? the logo? the layout of what i’m gonna put? this and that? say yes please pls :D”

...

....

“you cook all the meals for a week.”

“i already-...”

“obviously you’re gonna take all the credit bUT somewhere in your booth, there’s gonna be a piece there that’s inspired by mE.”

“okay fine what-...”

“if you get the highest mark and you bETTER, you need to check out my cart because-“

“oKAY DEAL!!”

it’s a two-way street okay

that just goes to say how far the both of them are bonding

in technical terms, their courses are kinda similar

and it’s just fun too because jungkook gets along with jin and the other way around!!

“jin-hyung i need a fRESH new background for this layout do you have any silk fabric??”

“do you want it sleek or do you want it crumpled?”

“can i try both??”

“yeah lmao i don’t see why not :D”

jin’s a nice roommate and an even better friend and hyung to jungkook and he can’t be thankful enough

it’s his personal goal in life to be the reason for jin’s first strand of grey hair and every morning jungkook cHECKS

sometimes he won’t be discreet at all

like he’d tug at jin’s hair and it’s freshly dyed and jin’s mighty sensitive because oh god what if it was freshly bleached??? tHEN WHAT

or maybe he’d toss a froot loop to his hair and he’d go :D hyungie lemme get that for you :D

“jin can u pls make me a bomber jacket :((“

“are you gonna pay me??? no??? well then NO”

“how about a bandana can you make me one can you make me one pLEASE”

“every piece of fabric could be literally a bandana if u think about it kook”

“how about a shirt that says ‘dad’ in the front but at the back it’s appa from avatar embroidered at the back lmao”

“why would you oH OMG I SEE WHAT U DID THERE :)))))) ok that sounds cool i’m proud i’m actually gonna do that :))) wait let me make one for me too :))))”

it’s a support system

even until him and jin graduated, they are sTILL roomies because that means not only do you pay half of the rent, you’re also not alone!!!

jin’s older and he may not voice this enough bUT he relies alot on jungkook as much as jungkook relies on him

jungkook’s the bug killer

he’s in charge of killing everything that’s crawling and slimey and has atleast made jin shudder once

he even has designated slippers for swatting spiders!!!! he’s used things from cereal boxes to his mousepad just going hard at these insects that bother jin

jungkook also has a higher pain tolerance

and he has this experience with these kind of things

and jin’s just scared shitless bUT

“please kook i nEED you to come with me to get my ears pierced :(((“

“but you already have your ears pierced.”

and that’s true

but it was just a standard piercing in the lobe that even babies have

“no i’m talking about a hELIX piercing!!!”

“oh you aRE???”

jungkook’s attention is fully caught now and he’s stopped working on the commission he’s handling as of the moment and right into jin who’s looking panicked

“i thought you said that you didn’t want it because it would hurt?”

he’s a bit frazzled because he remembers jin swearing that he’d go to his grave earlier rather than get his hard cartilage pierced

“well i changed my mind and i think it’s gonna look good on me :)))”

that bit’s actually true because jin didn’t order like five clip-on earrings after much thinking that he did LOVE how it looked on him

he contemplated for a moment that what if he just wears these clip-ons for the rest of his life y’know

but clip-ons hurt more than actual piercing like he sWEARS the blood flow to his ear stopped because the clasp was too tight and to loosen it means to lose it forever

and besides that, he’s LITERALLY allergic to fAKE things like these

huh guess he has actual taste with or without the allergic reaction to fake metal

of cOurse he’s gonna go to jungkook for moral support because the younger one has more piercings than him

jungkook has four piercings in total!! those two standard lobe piercings that even babies have, a second lobe piercing on his left ear, and his newest one!! — a mid-helix piercing on his right!!

he’s very-well aware that jin needs moral support and he’s a really sTURDY rock for his hyung that is more on the easy to get spooked side

and as much as this fuels his ego, he’s really hesitant to come with him because he’s jUst busy y’know??? and his latest commission is for this big online brand and he’s known to deliver right on time

he’s halfway through but the second half is really just as crucial as the first half because uHhhh jungkook’s dedicated and he’s getting paid and this is one of his jobs and this sustains his living

“i don’t know hyung.,.,.. when do you want to get it done?”

“well i was hoping nOW :D”

it’s 8 in the morning

eIGHT in the morning and jin could immediately see the bafflement in jungkook’s face so he quickly explains why because he just wants this so bad

“wait wait it’s because so i don’t chicken out!! it’s like nOW OR NEVER!! and the more time i spend thinking about it, then the mORE time i spend thinking about it. but i really dO wanna get this piercing and i just-...”

“i haven’t even had breakfast yet :((((“

oh

right jungkook’s coming with jin alright

it’s the line he pulls off when he’s convinced and of COURSE it’s hinting at jin to buy him breakfast to make his time worthwhile

jungkook’s a friend but he’s also an entrepeneur hA :D

besides him freelancing and picking up projects that require his skills of graphic design and making layouts,,,

he also has a lil online shop!!! he puts his works on bags and sticker and stuff and he is aLWAYS up for commission no matter how ridiculous it is

one day it could be someone asking him to draw them sketch-style with hearts around their head

or the other day it could be making a batch of twenty stickers and a print in a canvas bag, and very specifically, did it require to say

he’s being dead serious

really

lmao jungkook can’t stop laughing while he was designing this

HI MY NAME IS YOONGI AND I HAVE A BASKETBALL GAME TOMORROWWW

now at first he really didn’t knOW if the person that sent this commission was being serious because uH are you sure???

but then they sent in 50% of the fee and jungkook was immediately oh okay yea dude i’ll do this for you lol

he’s highly sure that this yoongi guy isn’t the one who commissioned him because wHY would you clown yourself like that??

that one’s for the books surely

now jungkook doesn’t know if seokjin always gets his way (spoiler alert: he does) but within an hour, he’s all clean and changed into new clothes and he’s nOW standing with jin right in front of this shop

this uh really nice-looking tattoo and piercing place that looks great from the outside and he has to hand that one over

“...,.,.. so have you ever been here before??”

......

“....,.,.. well nO actually but i read that it has gREAT reviews and the staff is also cool and the interior’s pleasing too so yEAH yeah let’s get it!!”

wait it does look pleasing

it’s not the most spacious shop in the world but the floor plan makes the shop look bigger than it actually is!!! and the granite tiles by the front look cLASSY too!!!!

kook lets his eyes wander to where the granite tiles stop and meet the wooden flooring and he just can’t help thinking in his degree y’know

graphic design just rates to sO many things in real life and he did not spend four years to try and maximize his knowledge in it as much as he could

oh they aLSO have a front desk??? that’s-

“hi welcome to hope ink sLASH vante studios!! walk-in, appointment, or are you just here to see me?”

what

the

fuck

is that a greeting

wAS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE A GREETING

jungkook’s trailing behind jin and he kinda scoffs at this dude in the front desk because what even

is that a part of the script

ok maybe jungkook just woke up in the wrong side of bed today bLAME HIM

jin, on the other hand, snorts at the greeting right away and it turns into a giggle and it pleasantly makes this receptionist do the same

the receptionist is this rEALLY fit guy with pink hair dressed in a white button-up and he looks pERKY AND CHATTY

a-and jungkook already hates him and he doesn’t know why bUT maybe it’s just because he isn’t amused whatsoever and he jus wants to come home immediately

oh right he even has that commission left to do and suddenly he’s feeling the time pressure

can they jUST speed this up

he’s here for moral support not for a chat with this pink-haired guy that doesn’t have a name tag and hOW can jungkook hate a guy that he doesn’t even know the name to ://

“walk-in?? no problem. you have six more people queued in front of you but not one of them has arrived sO yeah come with me!! what’s your name?? seokjin? jin??? okay come with me man!! lmao ur ᵍʳᵘᵐᵖʸ friend could come with too”

“i hEARD that.,..,”

“.,.,.. i know.”

jimin also finds jungkook irritating because he’s just being chirpy and this guy meets him for like two seconds and he’s already being a downer on his mood

he doesn’t even know his name!!!

although this jin guy is cool because obviously they r VIBING so hard

jimin’s leading the two of them to wherever jin’s gonna get his ear pierced and jungkook lags around behind to observe

this is a cool place!!!

to his left there’s a literal empty space with a rectangular podium in the middle of the area and it looks wEIRD ok

maybe a stall’s supposed to be there???

lol or maybe the tattoo artists do their tattoos there as if it’s a stage?????? oh god jungkook’s too fatigued for this he rEALLY needs to get glasses and get his eight hours in

to his right there’s some glass partitions with reclining chairs on them!!

and there’s some closed rooms to what jungkook can make out and he guesses that those are reserved for tattoos, maybe???

anyways he’s reading too much into this

he’s only moral support for a customer aND he’s not even gonna get anything done!!!

“you could just sit on this chair right here....,. lol and uh what’s his name.,.,. jungkook?? hmmm i’ll bring out a stool for you i guess...,.”

there are PLENTY of empty reclining chairs here why can’t jungkook just sit there????

jimin’s just being playful getting on jungkook’s nerves because he hasn’t been able to do that in a while with customers,,, because obviously they’re customers,,, and he doesn’t wanna jeopardize the shop rIGHT

“wait here, jin. we have two piercing artists in and i’m just gonna call them and y’know what you could just pICK who you want or like just pick the one who gets to your first!!”

okay

jimin’s a receptionist and he is fAIRLY new to this job but not to the other people working here

the usual script was to be formal and lead them to the artist or to the waiting area and formal just sounded SO boring

blame him for not being an uptight senior citizen

“one customer for an ear piercing!!! :D”

jimin’s head pops into hobi’s room where practically all of you are gathered when there’s no customers because the airconditioning is just sPLENDID

taehyung’s on his switch while he’s laid on your lap and you’re just on your phone from having scrolled in the same feed for like five times

“which one?”

you and tae ask at the same time and that’s when jimin kinda giggles and scratches at his nape as he stands around sheepishly

aha :D

“that’s the thing though i jUST told him to pick which one gets to do his piercing or... whatever....”

taehyung groans at that because oh god it was hobi who hired jimin and he’s told him off to nOt do that for a couple of times and here he is giggling like this isn’t the 35th time he’s put you and taehyung in this position and making the customer pick

“i’ll do it lmao don’t worry tae :))”

about time you do some actual work anyway

it’s not even lunchtime but you do wanna feel as if you’re productive because watching taehyung play animal crossing fRUSTRATES YOU

he whines a thank you because even though that meant more time for him to play, that also meant you deserting him and just have his head hit the cushions instead of your thighs :((

jimin’s walking with you as he leads you back to jin and there’s aLways a skip to his step and that is ur goal

ur goal is to be as happy as jimin in life because look at him!!!!

pink hair and cozy snug sweaters and dangling earrings and it doesn’t take much for him to laugh!!! what a trooper

the bell chimes and that’s his cue to jog over back to his spot and he just waves you over to go along like you cOULD walk over there by yourself

no problem!!! :D

uh-oh

it’s a problem

it’s really a problem

it’s a problem when the customer sat on the chair is so hot and cute and charming and hANDSOME

if angels do exist tHEN GOD HE MUST BE ONE

he looks so !!!!

WOW

he is actually so breathtaking are you sURE HE’S ACTUALLY REAL????

he has this long-ish hair that reminds you of taehyung’s but the only difference was that tae has a perm aND THIS GUY DOESN’T

and he has this cUTE nose that you wanna boop so bad and u saw him at the exact time that he was cheesing and he has this mole under his lip!!!!

ALSO

THE WAY HE’S SAT ON THE CHAIR

his arms are holding him up and he’s relaxed and oMG LOOK HIS EARRINGS ARE SO CUTE

they look heavy n they’re very flashy silver but oh god he could really really pull them off

you want those earrings aND YOU WANT THIS GUY

that’s cool y/n just breathe :D keep your cool :D you’re jUST gonna be stabbing his ears with some needles that’s all :D

“hi!! i’m y/n, your piercing artist for today!! what’s your name?”

jungkook’s beyond amused at jin who’s sitting on the chair at the other stall because lol he is so scared that he looks on the verge of crying

bUT he does feel sorry because no jin!!! the pain is just vERY quick and you’ll be done in no time!!

he wants to go to where jin’s at and actually sit on the stool that jimin provided for him but lmao no maybe later

he’s using it as a foot rest because he is really comfortable in this position and he’d rather not move until someone calls him out or something :))

or maybe when jin needs a hand to hold but like the piercing artist isn’t here yet so he has some time to lounge around hehe

“hyungie!!”

jungkook tries calling out just to take jin’s attention away from hyping himself about the pAIN he thinks he’s gonna be in

“what what?? whAt????”

“want me to deck the one who’s gonna be piercing you?? :D”

yAYYYYY jungkook’s got him to laugh!!

i mean he’s not actually gonna deck the piercing artist because uh that’s a lawsuit and second what the fUCk for

but it’s just this humor that jin thoroughly enjoys, especially now when he looks so near to tears

he gets teased anyway for looking out for jin even though he’s the younger of the friendship duo so why not joke about owning up to it??

“yA i’m serious!! i took up boxing for awhile and excuse you — my dad made me take up taekwondo when i was a kid!!”

“what are you gonna do? put the artist in a headlock??”

“...,.,. jin that’s mma,,..,.”

“lol you’re probably gonna be charged for traveling before you could land that kick”

“.,..,., jin that’s basketball and-..,..”

“maybe you could score a goal or something but jungkook that’s gonna be sO rare for you”

“.,.,. jin are you-...”

oh

OH

jungkook has probably never seen anyone so angelic he’s mid-laugh in and he sees you walking towards him and gOD ARE YOU REAL

maybe this isn’t a simulation you’re just that Perfect with the capital P :(((

“hi!! i’m y/n, your piercing artist for today!! what’s your name?”

oh god okay so this is where it goes down

“h-hi i’m jungkook!! i’m uH the friend of the one you’re gonna pierce today!!”

oh

you just wanna p-word right now

p for perish

you can nOT be embarrassed more

aha you’re just gonna detach from this situation as fast as possible because oh god you really looked like a FOOL in front of this really handsome guy :((

“hI i’m y/n and i assume you’re the one who’s gonna get pierced??”

if this guy isn’t it (and hE MUST be) then that means you’ve officially embarrassed yourself twice to tWO handsome men

the third time for yourself, the fourth for jimin who could be seeing this now, the fifth for maybe this random good ghost taehyung swears lingers by here, the sixth for-

“yEAH I’M JIN!!!! that’s me uh i’m sorry for jungkook,, jimin told him to sit by the stool and he didn’t wANt to and now we know wHY he should be sitting on the stool instead :D”

cue jungkook whose head is hung low while he’s sitting on the stool near you because god he also made a clown out of himself

it’s cool cool cool cool cool

“what piercing are you gonna get today? :))”

“mid-helix thank u vERY much :))”

jin’s pointing at his right ear and holding up his finger and that’s not exactly the mid-helix is but it’s ok ur gonna correct him later

he looks very nervous

you could literally see his fingers trembling and you just feel so sorry for him

jungkook can see that VERY clearly and so he’s just patting jin’s knee and you glance at him briefly and he’s looking RIGHT at you ahem

you hand jin a mirror and he yelps a bit when you lift your hand but you were jUST gonna wear gloves

kook doesn’t wanna laugh but in the same time he wants to laugh

“bro calm down y/n’s just putting on gloves!!!”

AND EVEN HIS VOICE SOUNDS GOOD :(((

you can’t shake off how how good your name rolled off from jungkook’s tongue and if ur being honest u feel kinda jittery

aha that’s my name :D omg what’s ur last name jungkook??? what a coincidence that’s gonna be mY last name too :D

chile

u nEED to calm down because otherwise you’d be as nervous as jin right now and you’re the one who’s gonna pierce him

lmao and you also met jungkook for the first time today so that’s a factor too you guess

“i’m just gonna be marking, okay?? does that look good to you?”

he calms down at that and takes a good look in the mirror and oOh that does look good!!!!

jin literally looks like he’s gonna faint

:O

“okay i only bust this out for a few customers,.,. and since you’re special and you deserve it and you look like you need it.,..”

that’s true tho

you have jin and jungkook’s attention fully and they’re peering at whatever you’re doing

you have this special box here in your cart and you’re hoping that you still have one of em aND

slime

it’s slime

bRAND-NEW SLIME

it’s the smooth matte type of slime and there’s a packet of like styrofoam beads you could mix into it!!!

technically this isn’t part of the payment but it’s ok yOU BOUGHT THIS YOURSELF!!!!!

specifically for the customers that you get that are terrified of needles or they’re so nervous and they don’t have anyone accompanying them

:O

jin’s very much speechless

:D

he takes the lil tub from you very excitedly and you’re just about to get the wipe and-

“here jungkook, you look like you wanted it too :))”

jungkook’s doe eyes grow mUCH bigger as you plop one on his lap and thank god because he would’ve wrestled with jin to have it

yo if he gets to marry you then he has to squeeze in you giving him slime at the first meeting into his vows somehow :’’’)

“y’know, i started working here about half a year ago!! i’m friends with the owners,” okay this bit is another one of your calming tricks

you’re pretending to get some stuff fixed and some things gathered but in reality,,, it takes about like ten seconds max to gather what you actually need

jin looks like he’s in the road to calming down anyways

“bUT i got my piercing license, i wanna say, a year and a half ago?? lmao funny story but i took training and certification out of a dARE and i took it with my uhhh friend :))”

wait what now

jin kinda looks concerned but in the same time he doesn’t because he’s in Zen mode rn

although you assure him that you DO take this very seriously and you’re fully certified and you passed through all the stages you needed to go through

“idk what jimin told you but i’m pretty sure he said something long huh”

“he said sLASH out loud.,.,”

“okay sO hobi, is the one who owns this shop!! it’s originally hope ink but tHEN taehyung owns another shop called vante studios and then rent’s expensive, right?”

“TOTALLY”

“I KNOW RIGHT????”

jin and jungkook can fully agree

jin’s been wanting to open a shop for sO long and jungkook’s been wanting to open a physical store for all his crafts but rent and decent space!!!! they r bitches

“they just decided to merge like two years ago!!! and it was for the better too!!! taehyung was my friend ever since uni and tHEN my course was graphic design-“

jungkook’s heart just flatlined jin was about to interject that oH kook here is also but nO JUNGKOOK BEATS HIM TO THAT

he squirms in his seat and even raises up his hand very eagerly and you look kinda alarmed

“me too me too!!!! i also studied graphic design!!!!”

“that’s sO COOL!!”

jin is enjoying this very much right now

if the two of you get married then he’s gotta have to add the they were vibing in the first meeting part to his best man speech

if he isn’t the best man then WHY is jungkook gonna get married in the first place :///

“i used to work at this company and boy was i overworked!! like i have so many things piled up but i just also don’t wanna half-ass the projects just to get through them quickly-“

“eXACTLY-“

“and so i quit :D”

that is quite the climax to your building story

that was very abrupt and frankly jin can’t get enough

which is perfect!!

because as he’s frustratedly asking you more questions while his hands blindly knead the slime and at one point he even stops, you’re already prepping up what you need

jungkook was also in the verge of frustration because you can’t just end it there :((

but then in his peripheral vision he could see what you were getting and it was a really good thing you already asked jin about his preferences and your professional opinion about this piercing

(if you were to ask him that now instead of earlier, it would be BACK to square one and you’d have to fish for another story in your head)

oh wow ur really good at this huh

kook has nothing but admiration and mad respect for you :3

he does his part on chatting up jin more and you internally praise him for that because look at that!!!! he knows what you’re doing!!!

you gesture for him to hold jin’s hands because you wouldn’t want to be distracted or have this hurt more than it should

piercings should be done in a quick and precise manner with no room for error on the artist’s end

and as for the customer, they literally need to stay still because hypertrophic scarring is a thing and you don’t want them to have that

jin’s story high is about to end because oH you’re standing near to him as he’s sat down and he’s starting to shut up because oh god oh god don’t look at the needle don’t look at the tHAT’S A BIG NEEDLE

“deep breath in for me, alright?”

you may have broken him and you haven’t even started yet

“jin? hmm? y’here with me?”

you found that saying your customer’s name helps to ease them and bring them down a bit and it works just as well with him

“do it with me and jungkook, okay?”

kook’s alert at that and you don’t even have to nudge him to do this with you

he even does it exaggeratedly to try and ease jin in the slightest and he even has him going along with him

ᵗʰʷᵒᵒᵖ

“jIN YOU DID SUCH A GOOD JOB!!! :D”

:O

omg jin can’t believe it either

“iT’S OVER??”

well not technically yet because you have to put the earring in but the worst part was already over!!

you had to still jin for a second because he kept laughing and therefore he’s trembling just a tiny bit so you have to grip on his shoulders-

oh they’re wide wide

maybe if you hold them for a little longer you could envision how wide the doorframe is to the

“aHEM ʲᶦⁿ⁻ʰʸᵘⁿᵍ’ˢ ᵉᵃʳʳᶦⁿᵍ ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ”

lol jungkook really isn’t as sly as he think he is you finally put the earring in and hand jin his mirror back and he’s gushing

from how pretty it is

sure his ear is red as fUck but even if it’s not fading out yet, it still looks so cute and he feels no ounce of regret whatsoever

he did a helix piercing it’s ok he’s SURE he could tackle on the world rn you’re just cleaning up the tiny bit of blood and jin doesn’t even notice

“if that’s all, i need to talk to you about aftercare!! okay so-“

no no no

wAIT jungkook forgot that piercing sessions lasted this quick he can’t have that

he’s only been with you for like tEN minutes maximum and no no he’s not taking that this is TOO quick

“NO UH ACTUALLY I-“

jin’s taken aback because why are u being so loud for

jimin’s ears even perk up at that and if he’s being honest, he even jumped up a little because wHY is jungkook like that

you’re alarmed too because uH wait did you do something wrong??? oh god is it-

“i also want a piercing...”

ok listen you were actually expecting to do more piercings on jin because normally people don’t come here for a single one bUT jin just wanted one

and well jungkook’s cute and kinda and nice and you feel so weird having only met him for like ten minutes and u hate how good and quick you are at your job :(((

because that means less time to interact with jungkook

“... done by you.”

you’re pretty sure you could ascend to heaven right here right now

:D

“okay yEAH no problem!!! i’ll uh,, i’ll just get set up and i could talk to the both of you about aftercare after i pierce your ears aha :D”

you toss the gloves quickly to the bin

you’re making sure to wash your hands eXTRA clean and extra slow so you could be thorough :)))

jungkook practically pushed jin out of the chair with your back turned to them because Y/N SAID IT’S MY TURN :P

now he knows he said that he only came here for moral support but maybe getting a few more piercings done by someone he may already have a crush on after two seconds, isn’t necessarily a bad thing, right??

he always wanted more piercings anyway

he didn’t think for it to have them now but he kNOWS he definitely wants them now

“what’re you thinking about??”

wait no he didn’t prepare for this gOD are you seeing right through him

and the fact that he has a pathetic lil crush on you

“well aCTUALLY that’s aha quite a hard question to ask because uhm yOU SEE-“

that’s IT jungkook is now the fool and he should be-

“the piercings that you’re gonna get, koo.”

not only do you look calm and collected

but you also called him KOO and jungkook now wants to change his name in his birth certificate because fUCK jungkook whoever that bitch is

hIS NAME IS KOO NOW!!!!

“y-yeah that’s what i’m trying to get at!!” he’s scratching the back of his head and tries to suppress the sheepish smile that’s just widening as the time ticks by

“dealer’s choice :))”

“d-dealer’s choice???”

this is not the first time that a customer gave you the reins to do what you please because they trust you enough to do so

but jungkook giving you that decision with no hesitation at all and he’s all giddy sitting on his chair staring right back at you.,...,

whoosh

speechless luv speechless

jin is too because he’s partly listening and partly taking pictures of his ear and his side profile so he’s just mumbling off to the side smh now these two are gonna play poker now??

“i uh personally think that both your sides are good sides and it’s true sO i was thinking of a second lobe and third lobe on your right ear!!”

oh no not you confessing that he looks immaculate on the first meeting :((

yIKES jungkook’s just blushing profusely as he nods along with his lips pursed because if they aren’t then he will sqUEAL

“because it’s gonna fit you just nicely and you already have this mid-helix on your right!! and by the looks of it, it’s jUST freshly-healed and i don’t wanna hurt you or anything with another cartilage instantly and !!!! is that okay with you?”

he is okay

definitely MORE than okay

somewhere along the lines when you were disinfecting his ear, taehyung’s strolling out because what’s taking you so long??

jimin only said that it was just for one customer and like a single helix piercing and that doesn’t take long at all

he wants someone to watch him play animal crossing because who eLSE is gonna get frustrated with him (and therefore motivate him to do better) playing it besides you

“there you are!! wHAT’S — oHhh do you need me to take over for you?”

tae cares for you very much

sometimes a little too much

but all in good reason!!!!

the moment you offered him a sip of your iced coffee you bought from the convenience store, he automatically knew that he wanted to protect you from the wORLD

if only you didn’t look at each other as really really close friends, 10/10 the two of you would probably be a couple now lmao

he always asks this question in that tone that sounds intimidating because

if his voice is deep he makes it even deeper bc that would scare off some people

some people being the occasional group of frat guys that come 

here to get pierced and they’re all lining up for YOU and not for taehyung

they r small-minded

not to mention creeps

and they’re trying to smooth-talk their way to you and you aren’t having it

and sO IS TAEHYUNG

and jimin

and hobi

and even the stray cat jimin lets in the shop from time to time because lil chimmy looks like he’s gonna claw this dude’s nose right OUT

(( this is why jimin’s scolded for giving the customer the choice when the scenario’s unnecessary))

lol taehyung took over for you and he stared down all these frat guys and got them done quickly and u know what he may or may not made it hurt aNYWAYS

jungkook isn’t that type though

you tHINK

you’d hate for him to receive taehyung’s sternness and so you’re quick to wave off tae with a smile

kook is kinda scared because uhhhh is this your boyfriend and uhhhh do you know how to patch me up because he looks like he’s about to wHOOP my ass :((

“no need, tae!!” his stance relaxes at that but he’s still wary, a knowing smile on your lips as you face jungkook who’s shying away from taehyung’s stare

“jungkook, this is taehyung — the one i was talking to you about!! my friend aND one of the two owners of this shop :D”

“heymannicetomeetyouimjungkook”

atleast tae shakes his hand back so that’s good in hindsight

he isn’t nervous about the piercing but he IS nervous with how jimin and taehyung are eyeing him because he’s deduced that they’re your friends and they think somEthing must be going on

pls he’s only met you now :((

but he wishes he’s met you sooner

you’re marking down on his ear and he catches a whiff of your perfume and it’s safe to say that he may be wHIPPED already

although tae caught him doing that and now jungkook’s just pretending to sniffle from a cold

even goes the extra mile to tell jin outloud that they should get vicks candies after this

he is not slick at A L L oh my god he does not have any game whatsoever and it makes taehyung laugh to himself for a moment because oh god

he’s seen frat boys get their rip-off calvin klein knickers in a twist but he hasn’t seen a customer like jungkook that has a cRUSH on you point-blank

oh ok :)))

jungkook sees a mischievous smile on taehyung’s face that’s directed for him and he does not like it at all

“something tells me that i don’t need to distract you with a chat like i did with your friend, hm?”

he hears you mumble under your breath when you lean in and he stifles a giggle at that because n-o he isn’t a scaredy cat like jin is

however

for this occasion he wishes that he has a weak heart because there’s absolutely NOTHING he wouldn’t give just to have that Jin Treatment

jungkook eagerly nods his head when you ask him if you’re ready and taehyung nearly doubles over in laughter because he didn’t know that this guy was tHIS desperate ok

ᵗʰʷᵒᵒᵖ

“good job kook!!!! :D”

hehehe

he’s been told that atleast a hundred times before but coming from you??

he could ascend to heaven because it just makes him blush so mUCH and every miniscule thing u do or say to him?? enough for him to set himself on fire

that’s right :D i did a good job :D say that again pls :D

there’s just one more piercing left to do and he barely flinches

merely blinks and before he knows it,,,,

he’s done

like actually done this time

:((

taehyung pats him on the back because he’s there to brief him and jin with the aftercare

why can’t yOu do it????

oh that’s right jimin YELLED for you all across the shop so he could beckon you over to the front desk

jungkook’s pouting the whole time

ok yes i’ll disinfect this twice a day :((

ok yes sir i will go here if i feel like there’s something wrong with my piercing or if it’s showing any signs of allergies or infection

wait did u say i could go here..,.,,.

anyways he’s very gutted to know that he has to leave because he did come here in the first place to support jin

and here he is with two fresh piercings and blushing cheeks,,

just plain-out wondering when he could see you again

or probably the 70% chance that he’ll never do

he’s just standing behind you as you converse with jimin and while jin’s by the counter to pay for himself and jungkook (which then turned out that taehyung gave him a 50% discount overall because it’s like yO man i appreciate you and u feel like my hyung thank you) and he must look like an utter fool

jungkook has never been this nervous before

he’s been told that he visually looks intimidating as fUck but it all breaks when he smiles or giggles and basically stops scowling

jin teases him every single time whenever he wears these big romper stompers as he calls them and he has to say every time that nO he is not an e-boy :(((

he’s tucking his hands in his pockets because oh god oh god jimin’s giving him a look and then that prompts you to look at what he’s looking and he’s not prepared yet oKAY

he has no lines and no direction and-

“y/NNNNN aha!!”

lol he’s cute

it seems like your nervous jitters were passed to him because you very quickly got over them by distracting yourself

you know mAYBE you just find jungkook attractive and you don’t have a crush on him

that thing exists

he’s saying your name like it’s the eighth wonder of the world and honestly he feels like it is

“can i have the number?”

he asks upright and fuck that sounded so straightforward and too quick because if it wasn’t stressed enough, he just met you today!! t o d a y he doesn’t know at all that his voice sounded much like a squeal

or the fact that jin’s practically gAWKING at what jungkook just did but at the same time he looks like he’s a proud dad!!

or that jimin’s just snickering at the back and shaking his head at jungkook while clicking his tongue because lmao he knEw that this guy had a thing for you

he just didn’t know that he’d advance to you this painfully and awkwardly

jimin’s had a lot of awkward interactions with customers but nOT to this point that he looks like he’s gonna pass out

taehyung’s cupping his hand over his mouth because oof that wasn’t as smooth and jungkook thinks it is

it’s like waterslides but there’s not enough water in it so for the first half it’s all smooth but then at the second half it’s just dried out

and your back’s just skidding and hurting and you have to manually push yourself down the slide and now EVERYONE in the pool’s now looking at you awkwardly and then u decided that you want to sink into a blackhole

aha tae wonders who got that experience :D certainly not him :D

“o-oh the number for the shop i mean!!! piercings and stuff like that!!! a cALLING CARD IS WHAT I MEANT”

okay now jungkook reeled too far in

jin’s massaging his temples because the second-hand embarrassment is too much and he wants to make it clear that he is not affiliated with jeon jungkook OR whatever his name is

it’s like casting your fishing line to the water and you just feel this slight bite (but it’s probably just your wrist snapping) and all of a sudden you feel like it’s the biggest catch eVER in history

you’re wondering on the down-low of uhhhhhh lol why is it so light and it’s like i kNOW i’m powerful but why is it too easy for me

then turns out that it’s just a random piece of seaweed

lol definitely NOT jin :D of course not :D

you’re a bit bummed because honestly you really thought that jungkook would ask for your number

although you could just give it to him but you’re not tHAT daring on the first meeting

“calling card yeah sure :)))”

you outstretch your hand because the stack of calling cards are literally just on jimin’s desk and jungkook also failed to account for that

you hand it to him and jungkook’s just blinking rapidly because oH,,,, landline,,,, o-oh you really did just give him what he ASKED for

here’s the catch

jungkook’s a big dummy

HE MISSES YOU OKAY

it’s been a solid week ever since he and jin got piercings done

jin’s beyond happy with his piercing and he looks at himself in every reflective surface every single time because he’s just in LOVE with the new addition

he’s already dreaming of his next one and what earring he’d put in once this one’s all healed

doesn’t help that jin keeps mentioning you every single time either

or the fact that he is stiLL playing with the slime you’ve given him and kook’s conflicted whether he wants to steal it or throw it out of the window his piercings are all good :( he can peacefully sleep on his side now :(

normally that would be a good thing but now jungkook’s wondering if it’s wrong to hope that atleast there may be sOMETHING WRONG with it :(((

just so he could drop by the shop

speaking of the shop

he found the instagram account :D

not necessarily found because well the handle was in the calling card

ANYWAY

there’s a big following for it!!

he assumes that these tattoos are done by the hope guy and they look pretty awesome

there’s the piercings too!!!

that’s jin’s ear!! tHAT’S JUNGKOOK’S EAR!! :D

why is he so happy

he has no idea on which one of you runs this account and he’s a lil shit.,... that’s why he won’t slide into the shOp’s dms in hopes that you’re the one running it

what if he sends a cute message of “hey i miss u” and it turns out that it’s jIMIN who’s in charge of the acc

that’s a big L for kook

if jimin were to picture that situation, he would block and clown jungkook for life

he’s scrolled far enough to see a picture that isn’t of ink and reddened ears

it’s a picture of the staff!!!

you’re standing brightly in the middle with your arms around taehyung and *grunt* jimin while you’re the embodiment of :D

and jungkook’s smiling to himself in the dark because uh it might be late in the morning when he’s doing this

now there’s TWO other guys and he knows that one of them mUst be hoseok but he’s not exactly sure which one of these dudes because he doesn’t know what hobi looks like

he’s now on a roll because the other handles are tagged :D and well :D

jungkook isn’t a creepy guy ok

he’s just genuinely curious about you and he misses yOU who he’s only met for like less than an hour who was really gentle with him even if u poked a needle to his ear otherwise

now you’re not really thAt uptight with your feed because in your humble opinion

ahem

pictures with the same aggressively saturated/unsaturated filters going on and on are kinda very annoying for you because now every picture looks like the other and what’s the pOINT

there’s multiple pictures of the guys there!!!

taehyung looking sophisticated and intimidating and sOft at the same time that jungkook feels smol

ok ok maybe he should level his wardrobe game up a little bit

jimin looking very smiley and poised and kook huffs because he’s not the oNLY one who could pull off a cardigan smh ://

that’s IT he’s going to jin the first thing in the (normal waking hours of) morning and requesting (kINDA DEMANDING) that jin makes him a cardigan please

oh so that’s hoseok

he looks intimidating-ish and in the pictures he looks stOic but there is this one picture tho that he’s smiling and that makes jungkook smile too finally there’s you!!!

most pictures of you are taken either by a really nice camera OR a grainy film camera one

taehyung takes your pictures with his expensive-ass dslr aND his film cam and there’s just something about it that mwah 𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒻��𝓈 𝓀𝒾𝓈𝓈

you don’t look ugly in them and u don’t hate the way you look in them and it’s just!!! wow!!! taehyung baby please develop these right nOW

jungkook’s sighed wistfully atleast twenty times now

damn he just wants to see you again is that tOO much to ask for he doesn’t know what time at all he goes to sleep but he knows for sure that he’s awake now

like awake AWAKE normally, jin just lets jungkook laze around and sleep away because he

too can attest to the fact that the both of them need sleep so much he only wakes him up when jungkook tells him the night before to wake him up at this certain time at aLL costs

..,... oh you mean *all* costs .,..,.

so far jin really enjoys all the things he’s came up with

he’s tried spraying jungkook with the same bottle that he uses for the plants repetitively until he wakes up

oooooh he’s also tried piling on froot loops on jungkook’s nose (his record’s twelve!!!) until the smell made jungkook sniff and thEn sneeze

you know that scene in how i met your mother when robin was drunk asleep then a baby wakes hEr up by crying then she just wakes up,,, dazed n confused,,, and goes to comforting the baby and turns out that it’s a sTRANGER’S baby??? yeah that one

jin made this alpaca plushie and it looks like him with the gentle smile and he named it RJ because what a cutie :((( you shall now be named RJ

and sO what he did was play a random crying baby loop on his phone and bURST into jungkook’s room

“jungkook the baby the baby’s cRYING”

and jungkook’s all groggy but then he yawns and stands up

“aisH ‘mkay heYYY bud calm down, hmm?? i’m-“

wait hOLD UP

jin still has that video on his phone to this day,, of jungkook cradling and even patting the back of a plushie with the hush noises,,,, until he eventually realizes that he is not the father

and most certainly that this is nOT a baby

but the thing is

jungkook didn’t ask jin to wake him up

his projects this week have all been completed last night

what is perhaps something so important this morning that jin is literally sHAKING him awake to the point that jungkook’s ducking underneath his hands because he thought it was an earthquake????

“you know? you know how we talk about us collaborating aLL the time?? the endless opportunities???? how you knOw i’ve been literally figuring this out in the majority of my spare time and-...”

jin’s talking so fast and that wakes up jungkook because whew slow down he is at the capacity of turbo the garden snail pre-nitrous oxide

“yeah sure online shops are cool!! we bOTH have our own!!! we work two jobs!! but we both know that we like it better oUR way right???”

no printer just fax

maybe it’s the stubbornness in jungkook but he just doesn’t like it when someone’s breathing down on his neck and making demands profusely even if that is what a job entails lol

jungkook’s just nodding because he feels that whatever jin has to say is important with how quick he’s talking and how big his eyes are

“what if i told you — jungkook are you rEADY to hear this-“

“yeah yeah whAt is it??”

“i mean it are you pREPARED to hear-“

“what wHAT??? now you’re just making me antsy!!”

jin’s trying to calm himself by pursing his lips and even his finger that’s raised is trembling

“what if i told you that i earned us an excellent aND affordable spot at a famous shop,,, the perfect placement and i know the owners and we could go there, right now, to finish settling and start setting?”

...

....

.....

“jin are you fucking sHITTING ME???”

oh my god

jungkook’s springing out of bed and is just jumping up and down with jin out of sheer joy because oMG

they’ve both wanted this for so long and kook feels like he is actually about to cry

“you wanna know something???”

“of cOURSE i wanna know something!!”

“hope ink?? vante studios?? remember when we got our ears pierced by y/n?? do you remember that platform thingy???”

yes yes i remember get to ur point jin

“i was so curious with it that i texted taehyung at 11 in the evening last night and i didn’t kNOW that he would reply,,, turns out that it was a space for rent and obviously i was like wHAT DID YOU JUST SAY???”

oh my god oh my god is this what jungkook thinks it is

“and then this morning, he gave me hoseok’s number and he said that we could head to the shop and discuss terms!!! he sounded sO excited too!!”

wait

does this mean

does this mean that he gets to see you again???

:O

“you’re telling me that i get to see y/N??”

you don’t know what the commotion is about

you’re a lil bit disoriented coming into the shop because you and jimin

went out for shots the night prior

you regret challenging him to a dare

now said jimin is here surprisingly early,, absolutely hammered because oh god he regrets taking you up for your dare

he thinks he’s being sly with his sunglasses on but he is positively wrong <3

you had to do a double-take because this was just weird

the shop should be open by now but the sign says that it’s closed

and something in the air feels weird and somehow..,. baby powder fresh??

hobi and tae are sitting on the waiting area discussing some things and they keep giggling every few seconds

“jimin what’s going on??”

you’re nudging him to move from his seat but he refused to yield so now ½ of your buttcheeks is sitting on his chair

“bro i don’t know aNYTHING”

thing is, yOU’RE the one who takes care of him when he’s drunk and forces him to drink water so he wouldn’t be as wrecked the next day

“shouldn’t receptionists know the gossip??”

“shouldn’t yOU be talking a little quieter??”

lol ok go off mr. jimin the receptionist

he’s already apologized for his quips and you know by now that whenever he’s grumpy and this rekt, he’s a bit more catty and has sensitive ears so now the two of you are just talking in whispers and jimin has his head rested on your shoulder :((

“i think someone’s finally renting the stage”

“really??”

you and jimin just call it “the stage” because the platform at the shop just looks so ominous and empty,, even if jimin doodles something on a sticky note and puts it at the center of the stage

hobi was the one who wanted it to be there!!!

right when he and tae decided to merge, he wanted a bigger space to accommodate this stage for future tenants

it’s a good business opportunity and easily profitable!!!

although no one’s rented it

maybe now’s the time!!!

jimin loves making assumptions lmao

his mind,,,, wow jimin’s mind just perplexes you

“i think it would be a waffle stand!!”

“jimin… why would someone put in a waffle stall… in a tattoo shop..,.,.”

“honestly why nOt?? some clients get tattooed for what, like five hours?? let’s say they’re hungry. do you tHink they’d bring a lunchbox with them??”

“you’re right.,..,. you’re absolutely right.”

before you and jimin could condense the options furthermore though, tae and hobi are already walking towards the two of you that are still whispering

they’re gonna announce something!!!!

tae’s trying to keep it together as hobi’s trailing it out with his speech and he’s taking tOO long

“someone’s gonna be renting out the stage!!!!”

he basically squeals and you and jimin nod to each other aha

he was aiming for perhaps a bIGGER reaction

“oh lmao we already guessed it ten minutes ago”

“but do you knOw what’s gonna be there??”

jimin immediately raises his hand begging for hobi to call him on to answer as he’s violently flailing around

“you know??? what is it then???”

“waffle stand :D”

the outright cackle hobi lets out is enough to send you meanwhile jimin’s pouting,, still confused before you urge him to take a seat

the two of them won’t tell you at all and then agreed to just keep it as a surprise until the tenants come

jimin’s literally at the edge of his seat as he lets you take ¾ of the chair because nOw he’s excited

the door chimes and you stand up at lightning pace that you forget jimin’s sTILL sitting there lmao

well he’s sitting.,.. just on the floor

you’re hurrying to pick him up and the moment you drag him up with you, you feel like yOU’RE the one who’s gonna fall sheesh

your knees are bUckling

“jungkook!!!!!”

jungkook’s happily waving at you and he forgets that the two of you aren’t close because he’s about to make his way to hug you

it looks like you’re the only who’s in shock

it’s starting to sink on why jungkook and jin are here and you immediately freak the moment it clicks in your head

“oh my god did something happen with your piercings?? let me-“

you’re in panic mode and you’re walking so fast towards jin and kook stops you before your heart could even explode

“no nO!! don’t worry!! didn’t they tell you?”

“tell me what??”

taehyung and hobi are grinning so hard and it’s only a matter of seconds before tae has his arm around your shoulder as he gestures to them

“they’re the tenants!!”

oh

OH

DOES THIS MEAN-

:O

“hihi nice to see you again, y/n!! look at my piercing it’s healing sO quickly!!”

jin is the first to put you in an embrace and you squeal when he does because omg he is a furnace

you’re pointing at his ear excitedly and he even babbles on how he wants more now and you instantly add on to that conversation

jungkook’s a bit uHhh because he wanted to greet and hug you fIRST!! 

although he does get his turn because jin turns his attention to hobi who he’s excited to meet

jungkook can’t help but to hug you a little bit tighter and mayhaps even sniff the scent of your perfume again !!!! omg he missed you so much everything’s going great

jin plus jungkook and taehyung plus hobi were able to agree on a deal within the day!! it was so easy and both parties are such delights

they’d get a partition done in the meantime so while you all get to work, jin and kook could have things done with it being a surprise factor for the patrons!!!!

their ideas already sound so good

you learned that jin studied fashion design and jungkook with the graphic design and how you’d even hear stories from them on how they saved each other’s asses so many times

their layout for their stall??? immaculate

jungkook’s fingers are itching to layout the floor plans and all these graphics because fuck he is ecstatic and he cAN’T hide it

you find his smile to be absolutely aDORABLE

that smile with his nose scrunched up and he looks like a bunny and how he laughs loudly and it’s actually contagious

you finally got to exchange numbers :D

kook was the one who texted first and it was out of the blue because he’s wasted all this time just thinkinG on how he’d approach you first

then he was designing prints to go on to the stall until his body dropped and with the energy he had left he went :]

what do you think :) about :) my designs :)

and then you REPLIED and he didn’t think that far ahead

you commended him for it and you realize that your way of designing is different from his but in the same time somehow alike???? yes synergy

“what more do you have left to do?? lol u should really go to sleep koo :D”

“just some more cards i guess?? like the ones with the ~opening sale!!!~ and things like that”

inch resting

you may be so whipped for jungkook that you may or may not have did those layouts yourself

hehe

:D

kook comes to the shop early on the morning so they could be hands-on with the set-up all that but he instantly gets energized the moment you come near him

he should’ve fixed himself up a little bit longer

it’s all clear that he looks fATIGUED and jimin keeps teasing him that he looks like triangle gimbap :(( and he wasn’t annoyed then but he is nOW because oh u might think of him like that too

you put a whole-ass hard drive on his palm and you could’ve just gave him a flAshdrive or sent him the files like a normal person would but he’s special ok

and the gears in his head are turning because oh my god what is iN this wHY are you giving me this and-

“opening sale,,, discounts,,,,, layouts you had left.,….,. y’know :))”

brO

bRO

jungkook’s so happy and he’s still in disbelief because you did that?? you really did THAT for him and you haven’t known him for like a week but you still did it??

this is such a big deal and he doesn’t know how he could express that he’s thankful for what you did besides

ᵐᵐᵖʰ

hugging you :((

oh god you’re really falling for jungkook qUICK

you don’t wanna say that you’re the type to get attached quickly but you aRE the type to get attached quickly :((

although you’ve only been in one (1) relationship before and it went for pretty long but you won’t get into that lol

taehyung knows this so well and mAYBE that he knows that for a brief time when you first met him, you did have a tiny crush on him but that dispersed quickly

it’s just this feeling in you that jumps up every now and then

that’s it tHAT’S the person

but then it isn’t that person

tae knows you enough and well,, he tries to interfere with your decisions from time to time because you get crushes and well sometimes they’re not crush material at all lmao

he knOws you have the hots for jungkook

but he’s not sure whether or not jungkook feels the same

://

he needs to keep his mind open ok

he doesn’t know jungkook that well but he does know that there are a LOT of guys like jungkook

that sounds pretty hypocritical of him but taehyung’s just that way hehe he just doesn’t speak his thoughts loudly

but he is THINKING

and he’s shutting up and he won’t go off on you yET of how maybe you should feel this one out with jungkook and try to analyze if it’s uhm a two-way thing y’know….

that you’re not the only one who’s getting attached….

it’s officially the opening for the shop and jin and jungkook couldn’t be happier

everyone’s having so much fun!!!!

they didn’t expect these many people and ph god the tears are definitely coming whew

it feels like everyone and everyone’s mother is at the shop and they’re all genuinely having a good time :D

there’s tONS of flowers and you all surprised the both of them with an additional blowout and wow it’s really endearing to try and digest

the people that came in for their tatts and piercings to be done?? they aLL went to the stall!!! their appointment isn’t due yet and they’re a bit early??omg why not go to that pretty shop WITHIN this shop???

they’re all done with their appointment and wanna buy a bomber jacket?? some stickers?? some prints within this frame?? that’s it they will go rIGHT now

vice versa too!!!

the people that initially came for jin and koo’s shop?? they were intrigued and went “lol why not let’s get a piErcing while we’re at it!!!”

business is booming

u gotta say that

satisfaction levels are off the roof

jimin is absolutely having THE time of his life because he gets to chat and he LOVES chatting!!! so much!!! omg who are u!! lemme talk to you about this pretty kitty i saw on my doorstep this morning :D

this whole time, jungkook is beaming and glowing and it makes your heart go whOosh

everytime he bumps into you or sees you in his peripheral vision? would absolutely waddle towards you and sling his arm around your waist and point to all the people in there as he giggles excitedly

whatever’s going on

whatever tHIS was

you’re loving it :(( you want more and it’s driving you crazy that you’re too chicken to make any moves towards jungkook and hE ALSO WON’T

you don’t wanna approach any of the guys either because adding them into this equation won’t make it any less confusing

hobi would just furrow his eyebrows at you because it’s ???? not that hard ???? just confront him and ask if he wants to take it to the next level with you ???? or like idk cONFESS ????

jimin would absolutely tattle and before you know it, you’re already in a reddit or quora thread because he too needs advice, before he himseLF gives advice

taehyung??

well you’re not exactly sure on how tae would react but u know that you’re scared to open up either way because you just aren’t prepared!!

“whatcha doing?? :D”

jungkook’s been awfully too enthralled and his eyes are literally less than an inch away from whatever it is that he’s holding

he’s slouching too and you distinctly remember seokjin getting these chairs with these backrests on them, specifically not for him to do so

he hasn’t been speaking for awhile now and nORMALLY you’d hear his voice every now and then even if you were back to your station or even in the break room

he’s just so fOcused and although that’s not necessarily a bad thing, he needs a break every now and then ok

here you are with a glass of iced tea you just made :)) only supposed to fix up a glass but then taehyung had glared and pouted you from across the room :)) so now you have made a pitcher and everyone’s happy :))

kook kinda jolts at that and it’s what reminds him to blink and tear his eyes away from what he’s holding, looking up at you and a fat tEAR drops from his eye

oh god did you make him Cry

lol no

jungkook’s just wiping it off because he hasn’t blinked in awhile and his eyes are beyond strained at this point

“i brought you-…”

did jungkook just-

oh

did he-

you were supposed to put the iced tea down on his table and you even brought a cOASTER for it

but then jungkook probably doesn’t think of that because he’s wordlessly put his hand on your tummy and sat you down

he’s sat you down.,..,. on him.,…

in technical terms

jungkook’s sitting with his legs slightly spread apart and you’re sat rIGHT at that remaining space

and mind you

this chair is not the biggest chair in history

nor is jungkook’s thighs small.,., hence him taking up the entirety of the chair and leaving a tiny space on it for you to sit

aND YOU KNOW THAT

and out of instinct did you think that you’re gonna fall off, you hoist yourself up and he even helps you out for it, going so far as to wrap his arm around your tummy once again and bring him up on his lap more securely

you’re now sITTING ON JUNGKOOK

although you’re not sure if he realizes this bit that much because he still seems genuinely preoccupied with what he’s doing

his chin’s propped up on your shoulder and his arms around yOU all while it looks like he’s stringing a thread through these beads before he decides to speak

“this mom came in today asking if we could make party favors for her kid’s birthday party,” he absentmindedly hums and for any other scenario would

you ask him to continue on

but now you’re in a PRESSING scenario

literally

your cheeks feel so hot right now and it’s worse than when you try those hiit workouts that straight out come from hell

“so fORTY kids, right? this seven-year old has so much friends?? anyway!! she wanted to have bracelets spelling the kids’ names bUt with these acrylic pendants — sounds good but a lil complicated, right?”

“rIGHT you’re right!!!! :)”

jungkook suddenly stomps his foot down as he huffs because this goddamn string just won’t get in this damn bean and u feel your sOul quiver

“aha let me get that for you!!!”

you’re flustered if it wasn’t that any mORE obvious but apparently, jungkook takes no notice at all because he just scrunches his nose in thanks when you take it from him

“but then, she said that she wanted one more thing to give away!! wanna guess?” he nuzzles further to your shoulder and by your neck and you swear that you’re absolutely dYING

you cock your head to the side the moment jungkook gets back the unfinished bracelet from you and he even nUDGES HIS NOSE TO YOUR

NECK

mhmmm

good food…. good fucking food…..

“matching little cream bERETS that have their name embroidered on them.”

jungkook snorts because hmmm isn’t that a bit too much?? is this kid 7 or 70

“and so yeah, okay, jin-hyung entertained the order and the beret part. and then we gave her a quote. and then she said that she needs it tWO days from now!!! T W O !!!”

the way he emphasizes is adorable but gOd the way he’s practically teasing you right now and pretending to not know about it at all is just sINFUL

“it was a rush order, and she said that she’d pay triple even bEFORE jin could say that she’d have to pay extra!!!” he wraps up on this particular bracelet then before tying it off, having to lean more so he could see better and in turn making you aDJUST

makes you screw your eyes shut because you’re positive that kook would be the death of you

“do you know how mANY variations the name kayleigh could have?? because i certainly dO”

jungkook snorts once more before he could even adjust the way he’s sitting but this time though it’s you who’s caught him off-guard

“this chair hmm???”

now listen

he’s had this scene play out in his head and yes he may or may not have planned for it

of cOurse he would take any chance that he gets to sit you down on his lap

HOWEVER

this one was purely innocent!!!

jungkook was so endeared with you preparing him iced tea and he was just so stressed with these bracelets and he wanted to show you them!!!! that’s all!!!!

but then the equation played out in his head that oh.,.., there is Not Enough Space for two people in this chair that is clearly built for one person only

and tHEN the realization came to him that oh you are INDEED sitting down on his lap and the way you’ve reversed this card is commendable

he swears you were flustered just awhile ago but nOw??? you’re full-out hinting him on this directly and not beating around the bush and oH god that just made him-

“y-yeah this chair, hmm?? what about it??”

jungkook’s the one that’s stuttering now and he unconsciously wraps his hands around your waist tightly as he chews on his bottom lip

your throat’s a bit dry but there’s just this sudden desire that’s popping into you and it automatically cuts our whatever awkward filter you have on

he feels you obviously grind on him in a clockwise motion and you’re playing it oFF so smoothly that he almost forgets that the two of you aREN’T exactly alone

“why don’t you show-

“are those bracelets??? omg”

hobi’s voice resonates from the distance and it automatically goes higher because he’s walking towards the booth in an eager pace

okay fUCK

you automatically yelp and jungkook squeals and before you know it, he’s standing up sO quick before he practically sits you down on his chair forcefully

jungkook’s legs are literally in a tWist as he’s standing behind the backrest and you have to grasp your cheeks to try n cool them down

“yeah!! aha it’s for this client omg but i have so many more to go through and it’s just really busy and all and so i-“

“lemme help!!! today’s a slow day for me anyways!! :D”

hobi’s walking in and he’s aiming for jin’s unoccupied chair that is literally just beside yours and kook is sCRAMBLING away oh god oh god someone’s gonna see this tENT in his fucking pants

“aha omg need to pee!!! y/n’s iced tea makes me wanna pee so badly aha she’s — IT’S so good omg just need to go the bathroom!! aha brb!!!!”

hobi is a little bit perplexed? but uh he doesn’t wanna delve into it that much

you’re shoving your face into your hands because that’s… the glass of iced tea…… it’s not even sipped from yet…..

it’s okay it’s cool

delayed gratification!!! yeah, that!!!! that applies to here, right????

right???

pls say right

it’s always been this flirty and touchy and affectionate atmosphere between the two of you

you were testing out on jumping in puddles basically :((

of course you don’t want jungkook to be this “friend” that you have frequent loving banter and sexual tension with aND is the type to sit you down on his lap and then completely ignore you as you stew in tension

.... of course not

do you know what to feel? not really

truthfully you aREN’T that strong-willed and you only become proactive when the case is absolutely necessary

you have a backbone in you it’s just not THAT strong

which is why you don’t know how you should treat jungkook’s sudden shift in emotions and the way he’s practically avoiding you

you don’t wanna push into him and force yourself over anything he isn’t ready with!! of course not

you don’t know whether you should be enraged because it’s hIM who’s sending mixed signals and right when you think you’re making progress, it’s always two steps back

you don’t know whether you shouldn’t think about it that much because maybe just mAybe it isn’t your loss!!!! jungkook just has a lot on his plate and you shouldn’t be bothered!!!

you DO know that you’re kinda sad 

because you’re just so clueless and no matter how tiny of a nudge (you wrote on a paper towel and slid it to him) or big of it (you wrote on a piece of tracing paper with jimin’s glitter pen) that you give him, he wouldn’t be open to you

atleast let you in just the tiniest bit

atleast tell you if you’ve done something wrong or if he needs anything from you

:(

is jungkook losing his shit?? 100% percent

here’s the dish

jungkook is a bIT of an asshole

to further explain, he’s just so mighty afraid of commitment while knowingly doing y’know.... things that you’d DO in a committed relationship

maybe afraid is not the word

it’s a mix of fear and uhhhh perhaps disinterest

:D jungkook is totally an asshole isn’t he :D

he’s had mORE than a fair share of experience lol that’s for sure

but perhaps his first real experience of an actual relationship was with ji-eun from uni

aha well it did initially start with one-night stands :)) and then eventually it became friends with benefits :))

then ji-eun addressed him as boyfriend one night to her friends and jungkook remembers stiffin up that night because uhhhhh??? oh do i have a girlfriend now

he didn’t ask and he didn’t complain

now ji-eun eXPECTED for him to roast her for it but??? he played along???

he’s noticed that ji-eun’s become more affectionate with him and tOuchy but it’s not for escalating things

she’s constantly texting him and inviting him out to eat and normally,,, after sex,,, the most jungkook could ever get was a gRANOLA BAR that she lets him steal when he’s sneaking out but uH you wanna eat lasagna??

he was just sO out of it because is this what being a boyfriend entails??? aha safe to say that he does NOT want a relationship ://

he tried out this boyfriend thing for a 7-day free trial and he immediately left and broke things up with ji-eun (she hates him now but she’s still pining over him)

(( whenever jungkook adds something to his stories, ji-eun goes hAM on those heart emojis ))

he’s just not into commitment

he wants the time and the freedom that most people get less of when they’re in a relationship

jungkook doesn’t get why these girls still get mad at him when he’s made it clear in the first place that he’s oNLY in it for the s-

yeah ok maybe he’s an eternal douche of a frat boy ://

he doesn’t want you to take it the wrong way though

bECAUSE HE LIKES YOU

HE’S SURE

OK MAYBE NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE

but he is sure of it to a degree :D

he just finds it as another ji-eun situation but this time he has more interest!!!

he’s actually thought that maybe being a boyfriend isn’t all that bad

however jungkook’s mind immediately started drifting to how maybe you aren’t a fan of him staying up in the early hours of morning, doing something he could’ve done mUCH earlier and then you’ll hate him or something

he doesn’t wanna go to brunch or wear matching clothes :////

he once came into the shop wearing a black button-up with a black shirt underneath and THEN jimin came in later but with just a black button-up with that he completely REFUTES the idea of relationships because lit rally everyone in the shop kept teasing him to jimin and he doesn’t even liKE jimin

“oh uHhH you wanna take it... slow?”

you’re blinking slowly at jungkook who’s standing in front of you and is looking a little... nonchalant??

nonchalant but in the same time he looks nervous

nervous sweats but he’s playing it off by running his hand through his hair and making these tired eyes at you

quick is he pulling this off oR does he look like an absolute ass

“yeah!! it’s just like uh y’know... casual. a casual, laid-back type of thing!!!”

you don’t know how you’re gonna process that

but you do wanna respect jungkook’s wishes no matter how much you feel it’s a bit tIMELY and insensitive

“o-oh!! casual.,,. slow!!! of course aha no problem :D”

you can’t help but connect the dots aha

he’s decided to tell you THIS right when you were being called by jimin to do a piercing and you have no time to spare

the week before, you remember getting him a drink even if he hasn’t asked for it

or five days before when jungkook materialized out of nowhere and put his hand around your waist before nuzzling his nose to your hair

*immediately spots you and squeezes you when he comes up to you from behind*

“i want a conch piercing!!!! not now tho but i want yOU to do it to me :D” 

*immediately dying*

“of course ggukie i’d literally want nOTHING more aha :D”

*immediately regretting making it sound that you are a goddamn sIMP*

or like two days before, you were all eating lunch and you were so full and a little bit sleepy that you rest your head on his shoulder

or maybe just yESTERDAY, jungkook’s sat you down on his lap and hobi interrupted whatever that was happening

and perhaps after that encounter

uh

you may have kissed him on the nose before going to your station

:((((

it’s okay

it’s tOtally ok lol

it’s not like you’ve been distracted the whole day or perhaps the days after that because you’re kept up with the thoughts that maybe jungkook isn’t into you as mUCH as you’re into him even though his actions say otherwise

nope :D

taehyung’s worrying at this point

lmao he knows that you don’t know that he kNOWS what’s going on

sure,, you and jungkook are sly but tae’s observant to the point that he’s memorized all these little quirks about you

he’s been your friend for the longest time!!! of cOurse he knows when something’s bothering you

he’s deduced that maybe jungkook broke your heart or something along those lines,, although he doesn’t assume that it was an actual relationship just yet because if it were, then you would totally tell him about it

... right??

there’s this distance thing going on in between the two of you and he’s tested it out a couple times to test his theory

first, the two of you aren’t iGNORING each other but all your interactions are either short-lived or dare he says,,,, casual n basic

he’s commanded jungkook a couple of times things like “the extra roll of receipt paper is in y/n’s station go get it” or-

“get me a pair of gloves from y/n’s cart”

“tae you already hAVE gloves in your cart”

“ok wHO is the owner and who is the tenant here?? or maybe you and y/n just fought and you’re sO SCARED OF-“

“jesus christ oKAY!!! i’ll get the gloves!!!!”

you look so dejected

taehyung pokes your cheeks and you just LET him

he bought you mac n cheese and spelled out “cheer up :-)” using the shells and you merely smiled at it before proceeding to bOW your head to the table and look distraught

he’s offered his ear as tribute because you haven’t done a rook piercing in awhile and you miss it but you just shake your head nO at him and :(((

and the thing is

you’re so tIRED about being hung-up with jungkook

usually you just shut down and you get back to your feet a week later and you’re all happy!!!

but no jungkook just had to be a pesky little shit in your head and decided to LIVE THERE RENT-FREE

“hiii welcome to hope ink sLASH vante studios!! walk-in, appointment, or are you just here to see me?”

jimin looks up from his phone because he was cLEARLY not trying to help organize some of the audits that hobi told him to lol

hmmmm now this customer does look interesting

he looks cOOL if jimin’s being very honest

he also wants his hair color fo sure and maybe if he just snapped a picture of it right now, this customer tOtally wouldn’t notice at all!! :D

he’s a very tall lad and is in this denim jacket and his HAIR

his hair’s a combination of dirty silver and ash grey and it’s all slicked back!!!

“oh uhhh i’m here for a piercing!! i don’t have an appointment.”

jimin nods at that and turns to him a logbook with the needed contact information and the sheet

kim namjoon

hmmmm

a walk-in customer?? a handsome one at that?? the fate of whose piercing artist would dO his piercing lying on his hands???

hee-hee

now normally jimin with his stereotypical secretary traits, he either knOws or assumes everyone’s business

he doesn’t know what happened to you and jungkook but he for sure knows that you need a pick-me up!!!

you need an appointment

a dick appointment mayhaps lol

usually jimin’s always scolded to how he’s letting the customers pick when unnecessary, and this is the PERFECT timing to correct that tendency

the P in park jimin also stands for Petty

“smoking hot dude for a piercing session with y/n please!!! :D”

he of course had to yell that outloud into jin and jungkook’s stall,,, one in which everyone’s there and you and jungkook are sitting at the opposite ends of the room

hobi shakes his head at that and jin instinctively oOOOOOOHs his way to but jungkook nudges his ribcage pretty fucking hArd and it wasn’t discrete at all

taehyung purses his lips because hmmmm.,.,.. jimin actually doing his job correctly.,..,.. that’s sus

“hot as in as hot as you?? oR hot as in he has the same hair color as what taehyung had back in uni and-”

“ʸᵒᵘ ᵖʳᵒᵐᶦˢᵉᵈ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵗᵃˡᵏ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᵐᵉ ᵃˡᵐᵒˢᵗ ᵇᵘʳⁿᶦⁿᵍ ᵐʸ ˢᶜᵃˡᵖ ʷᶦᵗʰ ᵇˡᵉᵃᶜʰ :⁽⁽”

tae pouts and grumbles at that because if he focuses hard enough, he could feel his scalp on fIRE

now you and jimin have always been jokingly flirty with each other

and neither of you take offense and shit bUT a certain jeon jungkook certainly does because he used to not care about both of your antics ok

he didn’t mind because well uH who in between the two of us actually gets to be that intimate with y/n???? me buddy mE

it’s not a competition tho and jimin finds kook to be weird because it looked like that everytime he has his hand around your shoulders or something

jungkook looks like he would bARK at him for doing so and ???? he’s weird

he’s brooding right now if it wasn’t obvious

because for the most part, this distance and casual thing was working for his side

but now that jimin’s escorting you back and you’re play flirting with him again,, he just can’t feel this certain twinge in his gut

he’s not jealous

he’s sure that this is everything but jealousy

he doesn’t get jealous ok

jealousy is just reserved for people who have feelings for someone and are in committed relationships :)

goddamn

jimin was right

you are nOT in cowboy boots nor are you in the matching chelsea boots jimin got you for your birthday but you are definitely shAking alright

“h-hi i’m y/n, your piercing artist for today :)) what’s, uh, what’s your name? :))”

the man in front of you raises his eyebrow but chuckles later on bc for second there he thought you were rEALLY straightforward and he’s used to be the one catching people off-guard

“namjoon. kim namjoon.”

he puts out his hand for you to shake and almost nO customer at all does that and so you’re internally squealing because omg :) wow :) namjoon you polite thing :)

you’re clearing your throat to break off because you swear namjoon looked like he was about to devour you whole with only his gAZE!!!!!

perhaps you were too enthralled into the stare that you don’t notice to how the guys are looking at the interaction while hiding behind this wall

someone’s getting TOO huffy to the point jin had to ask if this certain someone needed some allergy medicine

“what are you getting done today??”

“oh, about that! dealer’s choice, if you may. i trust you.”

did he just-

jungkook instantly scowls thay because excuse yOU denim jacket guy

tHAT’S HIS LINE

dealer’s choice!! that’s his line!!! that’s what he said to you and god does he need to trademark that line??? that’s what he pulled and that’s what anyone getting pierced by you that looks like they have a shot with you, sHOULDN’T pull

:((

you hum at that and you’re trying to keep your smile to yourself it’s all cool

“how do you sleep, by the way?”

jungkook’s eyes are widening twofold because WHAT is he hearing correctly???

he’s looking up at taehyung because he’s the other piercing artist here and he’s looking at jungkook weirdly because he looks so panicked

“that’s a legitimate question, jungkook.”

IT IS

because you’re figuring out if the plan in your head isn’t a good combination with how he sleeps and namjoon laughed at that

“by myself or with you?”

you choke on air at that and namjoon laughs once again as he mumbles that he was kidding before giving you an actual answer

you can’t look at him in the eye because you are still flustered that tHIS fine specimen is flirting with you

y o u

i mean there is no harm in this right.,.,.

jungkook said he didn’t want anything between the two of you anyway :D

“i’ll do your right ear for today. two upper helix and a tragus, how does that sound?” you wait for an answer before putting on your gloves and namjoon nods when you point them out, a sly smile on your face before marking

“you could come in anytime to have me do your left when you’re ready for it — i got you anyways; it’s on the house.”

this time it was hIS turn to be flustered but he keeps his cool, clenching his jaw when you mark him out

“do you need anything before we start? slime?? stress ball?? oOh this keychain i made???”

you proudly hold up this stuffed heart shaped keychain, one that you put in your belt loop because it went very well with your get-up to go to waste

jungkook has his eyes narrowed because he knows you’re innately irresistible but wHY the hell are you pulling out all the stops to emphasize that

taehyung meanwhile has a scowl on and if it was possible to sizzle then he’d be burnt barbecue by now

“no WE made that :///“

you’re cute,,,, namjoon really thinks so

“does your number belong to those options? it really shouldn’t.,.,. it should be a priority”

:)

aHEM

OKAY NO

jungkook has his eyebrows furrowed and at this rate he’d be getting wrinkles on his forehead

next best thing for him? taking his phone out his pocket and tHROWING it to the ground

it snapped everyone out of their trances

he pretended to be sheepish while getting it because aha :D omg how did my phone go there :D

his case is a heavy-duty one but that’s nOT in his worries rn

you proceed to pierce namjoon and it finished as soon as he came because lol piercings really don’t take that long at all

ended with him still paying tho as he insisted

even tipped you more eXPENSIVE than the rate of the piercings themselves and you even tried to give it back to him but namjoon,,, the man that he is,,, he is PERSISTENT

“best piercings i ever had,, besides :) i like the one who did it on me anyways :)”

“but namjoon you have nO piercings :)”

“exactly :)))”

now that tHAT’S done and you are now $$$ richer.,.,.

“jimin you fucker i kNOW what you did there”

the boy smiles brightly and giggles and you aren’t really mad at him because absolutely who in this world would have the heart to??

“i have no idea what you’re talking about”

that has got to be one of your most memorable interactions ever this week perhaps throughout your whole professional piercing career

and it tRULY made you smile and it’s one of the only things throughout this week that genuinely made you smile

yeth you may have scribbled your number very quickly on his palm before he left

you’re just about to pass out on the couch over to the break room because wHEW your heart is racing and you aren’t really exactly opposed to that

namjoon was such a dream and he was very polite too and he was fLIRTY but not the creepy kind

although the door to the break room suddenly swings open and you’re rattled

“jungkook.”

he obviously doesn’t look like he’s gonna greet you back because he looks stone-cold with his gaze set on you

you’re a little bit intimidated because what could he pOSSIBLY want after saying that he doesn’t want anything to do with you??

“you like him? hmmm??”

there it is

there’s this jealousy that’s raging off from him and currently he is fAR too in it to even acknowledge that he iS jealous

this makes you scoff for a moment before crossing your arms across your chest because really,,, is tHAT what it takes to give jungkook a wash of reality???

“m’better than him — whatever his name is.”

your throat is dry because jungkook’s taking these big strides towards you and god he’s just tOO intoxicating for you

even just hIS scent wants you to light yourself on fire because whew.,.,. if he was a drink then he’d be too hot and flammable

not that you’d drink him in or anything :D

“you don’t even kNOW him”

you’re just about to chew him off and before you could, your words get caught in your throat because jungkook dIPS down right at the exact moment

his lips hovering around your neck and testing little licks on it

you whimper because holy fUCK and jungkook takes that as invitation to bOldly kiss you right on your skin, trailing down towards your clavicle where the hem of your shirt meets

“don’t need to, baby.”

you’re sat on the middle of the couch with both his hands trapping you besides your head and he’s crouching down, just mERE mere centimeters from your lips

jungkook’s just staring you down and you audibly gasp because look at him!!! he’s so beautiful!!!!

wait you’re supposed to be mad at him :((

“mind if i have a taste?”

he whispers as soon as he breaks eye contact from you and you whine at that, feeling him suckling on your jaw as you clench

“why not?”

oh

okay

he knows what you’re playing at alright

just awhile ago you were a whimpering mess and noW that he was asking for permission to do something that’s more scandalous than him kissing your neck.,..

hmmmm

you’re being dismissive of him intentionally

just a last-minute plan that involved a shot at his ego and not to embarrass yourself further because after all aha :) not eVERYTHING is all forgiven

ok then :)

jungkook’s kneeled riGht in front of you and he has such a tight grip on your waist even if you know you won’t be going anywhere any time soon he’s licking to your folds with feather-like intensity

if you’re not gonna show any reaction, then atleast hE wouldn’t give everything to you

of course his underlying motive is to tease you and make you beg for it

but every now and then jungkook’s looking up at you and his nose is nudging you in the process but you sTILL won’t back down

did you just-

DID YOU JUST BRING OUT YOUR PHONE

you’re practically dying in the inside but you keep your reactions to yourself and your jaw clenched

in truth you’re just scrolling through your expenses through this month in your notes because it was the fIRST thing you could open in your phone ok

jungkook huffs so loudly because first of all wHERE did you get the audacity

fine then :D

he suddenly stops and that’s when you shoot him a sly look from behind your phone, feigning an irritated quirk of your brow

“you really won’t budge??”

before you could register his words tho you’re iMMEDIATELY moaning he’s eating you out toO good and it was just plain-out sinful with how he was able to make you come from that to this

“jungkoOK fuck-“

his thumb presses firm on your clit before quickly retracting it and that earns him another mewl and a tug on his hair

“that’s right… my name sounds better on your lips, yeah?”

your pure pleasure is consuming you wholly and before your eyes could shut again with how overwhelming the sensation is oH MY GOD is the door unlocked?????

there’s something to how your eyes widen towards that fact and to how jungkook quickly notices that hmmmm he dID leave the door unlocked something about it makes him even more passionate in devouring you and it makes you wanna tHROW yourself into oblivion because the fact that someone.,., someone could literally come in this room aNYtime given is enough to make you almost yell

“fuck fUCK jungkook i’m gonna-“

his lips are all red and puffy and even his cHIN is messy and it makes you moan because fuck it was impossible to how he still looks so dreamy!!!!

he makes no move to slow down as he squeezes at your exposed thighs, his dull fingernails scratching at you before he stares back up at you, nOt even lifting up his mouth from your core to speak

“not stopping you, baby.”

that alone throws you into bliss and you’re cumming sO hard that you feel like you’re gonna black out

jungkook’s lapping on your release as if he’s starved and still tastes you out through your orgasm

that… was an experience alright……

your eyes are fluttering because wow that drAined you

before you could even look for him, kook’s coming at you to clean you up :))

lol he found this face towel on the couch and he figures that it belongs to jimin but nOPE not anymore aha

he dampens it with the water available and he’s EXTRA careful with you because you r sensitive and fragile at the time being

he even wipes at your arms and your neck to cool you down!!!

jungkook’s biting down on his lap as he rests the towel meanwhile on your nape and there it is

that dreamY look on his eyes again that just makes your heart flutter :(( your nose nudges his and it makes him giggle the slightest before he leans down to kiss you

and it hits you that you haven’t even kissed jungkook in the lips eVER

although that doesn’t really happen.

just as you were about to pull him in, something must have snapped in jungkook because he suddenly retracts from you as if he’s got burned

he looks empty and lost, not even sparing you another look before he’s storming out of the break room

and you’re all alone 

again.

:(((

“you wanna tell me what happened with you know who?”

taehyung has HAD it okay

he’s trying to be as patient as he possibly could with you

he wishes that he could just read minds so tHAT way he won’t have to budge out the answer from you

because in his very humble opinion, this approach helps too!!!

you’re sad and distraught and he gets that!! he does!!

but maybe if you let him know what happened to you, then he could be sad WITH you

you were the one who taught him that :((

you were roommates in uni and he was so down in the dumps when he got this almost failing grade to the point that he’d take his frustrations out on you

and you very kindly put up with him but then he drew the line to when he blew raspberries to his palm when you made him dINNER!!!! and that’s when you yelled at him and told him to tell you on what the fUck is bothering him

so that way he won’t bottle it up and that way you could try to help and eliminate what it is because you’re also caught in the crossfire thank u very much

it’s his idea to take you out to this party and you’re not being your usual self in this one

and the way tae talked to you upfront made you look up from your drink that you still haven’t finished, a pout on your face

now ok taehyung wasn’t close to giving up on fishing the answers from you but you thOught he was because he was leaning back on his chair

you also really wanted to tell him what was happening too and so you did!! completely caught him off-guard when he stole your drink away from you and almost spit it out the moment you started telling him what was happening

“you didn’t have to open up with THAT y/n jeez you could’ve opened up your story with the start!!! not tHAT”

the somehow comic relief taehyung brings you puts a smile on your face because although you don’t voice it out often, you’re infinitely grateful to have tae

he is perhaps the most understanding and rational person in your life and he’s just so soft and supportive and quick-witted that

oh my god are you crying

you’re in the middle of telling the whole timeline when taehyung feels your head nudging at his shoulder and nOrmally he presses it down

but this time it felt different because well you were sobbing

and now you felt so heavy and there’s this unexplainable weight in your chest because god jungkook is just so fRUSTRATING!!!

he’s beyond angering and frustrating and he makes you want to launch yourself to the ground

“i-i don’t — tae it’s juSt god fuck aHhH!!!! h-he’s so-“

taehyung nods in agreement even though you couldn’t see him because your face is shoved into his chest and he’s rubbing soothing circles onto your back

“i know, baby :((“

he’s in disbelief too

jungkook is an ass and no matter how much taehyung wants to understand that he may have good n pure intentions, his execution is just so fucking horrible

there’s no in-between

either you wanna be committed or not!!!! that’s it!!!

this just wasn’t a netflix trial you could have for a month and when it hints to you that you’re gonna have to give a little bit more,, you immediately fLEE

or maybe it’s just taehyung trying to see the best and over-analyzing things that maybe,,,, maybe jungkook’s just… jungkook

there’s no changing him

he’s unhinged and does whatever he wants (would sometimes stop when reprimanded) and whatever repercussions that are brought out, his first instinct is to toss it aside instead of facing it head-on

you must’ve been lying on taehyung’s chest for atleast an hour because you realize that you aren’t crying anymore and the tears on your cheeks are dry :((

“d-do you want a punch?? i’m gonna go get a punch. four seasons?? we like that, right?? okAy i’m gonna get us some punch!!!”

that’s you for sure :))

you’re immediately bouncing up and clapping your hands pretending that you weren’t a sobbing mess just minutes ago

taehyung knows that you do whatever you need to cope so he just puts his thumbs up,,, even if he prefers pineapple more than four seasons but it’s okay,,.,. whatever you want :))

you needed that

tae was mumbling whatever he had in his mind while you were crying and you listened!!! you don’t know what part should you take from it but you dO know that somewhere along the lines, maybe he’s right

you just want some punch is that too much to ask :(( crying has left you dehydrated and water is the most preferred option but uh that shit is PLAIN

maybe this party isn’t so bad after allthe lights don’t give you a headache 

and you see the punch table rIGHT ahead of your path and oooh red cups aren’t the only cups available!!!! that’s so-

“Y/NNNNNNN!!!! look, look!!!! look at me!!!!!”

a voice shrieks from behind you and you immediately feel a pair of arms wrap around you

you’re kinda in panic because taehyung isn’t tHIS heavy and you look down on the arms wrapped around your middle and that’s-

jungkook?

the man in question comes to your view and it’s clear that he’s beyond intoxicated with his glassy eyes and the drunk blush on his cheeks

you took a two-day leave from work that taehyung gracefully granted you to avoid jungkook.,,. jungkook who’s standing right in front of you

“loooook!!! look at meEeeeeEe!!”

you’re rigid in your place because out of aLL the people you could possibly see in this party, why did it have to be him??? you’re okay with seeing yoo-

he’s pointing on his ear and he even waves his hand across your face and is that what he’s talking about??

it’s glimmering underneath the light and???

is that

is that a conch piercing???

you’re rendered breathless because it seems wrong to you…,. not criticizing it as a professional but rather, criticizing it as-

“i thought i was supposed to be the one to do that to you?”

jungkook’s blinking at that as if he’s digesting your questionmeanwhile 

your throat is tIGHTening and there’s this fresh wave of tears again because you’re literally quite reminded of him

wHEN HE’S IN FRONT OF YOU

and he’s still pointing at his ear before he’s using his other hand to something or someone behind you and you cAN’T bring yourself to care because-

“oHhh lisa did it on me!!”

taehyung arrives at the exact time you needed him to just hastily, frazzled because he’s trying to connect the fucking dOts on what’s happening

here is his five-second deduction

you’re tearing up and your bottom lip’s trembling which means you’re about to sOB

jungkook’s right in front of you and his right hand is pointing to his reddened ear

a) taehyung has never seen this conch piercing before

b) he would know because he’s one of the two piercing artists in the shop jungkook also works iN and he’d remember if he pierced him or not

c) it’s reddened and there’s some dried blood near the piercing which indicates that it was freshly-pierced

and jungkook’s other hand is pointing to this girl that’s sitting on this couch with a lamp beside her and she’s nOT wearing gloves and taehyung guess that she’s the one who pierced kook???

he’s not sure

although he’s sure that jungkook is fucking wASTED and you can’t bear whatever that’s happening

“can you go home by yourself?? or should i call hoseok to pick you up?? i’m uh, i’m gonna take jungkook home..,. are you sure you could take yourself home???”

you don’t need to be told twice because you’re bolting out of the house so qUICK

oh god you need to get out you nEED to

jungkook doesn’t remember sHIT

he’s drank himself stupid last night is what he’s certain about

there’s no explanation to how he even got home last night and the post-it notes on his console table doesn’t help in the slightest bit

“you’re stupid. - taehyung”

that dumps cold water on him because oh god what did he dO this time

he’s done enough stupid things in these rocky weeks alone!!! what did he do this time :(((

“taehyung told me how stupid you are. he’s right. you’re stupid. - jin”

jin too???

jungkook cusses himself underneath his breath because his head is kILLING him (rightfully so) and he’s about to run his hand through his hair when-

wait

wait a damn second

… he has a new piercing?

he’s immediately fumbling towards the floor-length mirror and he just then realizes that jin’s already went to work wITHOUT him and that puts the pressure on him even more

true enough, his conch is pierced and he’s racking his head on wHY does he have it until it all snaps in his head

lisa.,,..,.

it’s coming back to jungkook now

he remembers you taking two days off and those were the loneliest two days ever he’s ever had working in the shop

then by the end of day two he was such a mess that jin didn’t even know what to do with him

thus came to him via text that there was this hUGE party that’s about to be thrown and he honestly thought why not!!! :D

everything’s going wrong anyways lemme go to a party :))))

and then he bumped into lisa!!! his sorta fling back in uni that he may have dropped suddenly and here she is,,,,

she complimented him on his piercings and jungkook was confused because he already had them back in uni???? okay then thank you????

and he doesn’t know how he obtained this piercing but he’s sure that lisa was the one who did it on him

AND THEN HE SAW YOU

you were crying and he can’t remember wHY but then jungkook’s piercing stings again and it’s like his soul hates him too

because oh

right

lisa shouldn’t have been the one who did that on him

there’s a lot of things jungkook sHOULDN’T have done

god why is it only hitting him now

he’s took a shower as fast as he could and he may have been crying

while he was taking it but that’s not the point

the point that shocked most was you

in work

you actually came to work!!!

taehyung wasn’t able to reach you that night besides get a text from you that you arrived home safely and that’s about it

he thought you needed more time off considering what happened but you’re hERE now????

jin, who had a crash course on everything that’s happened between you and jungkook is also even MORE shocked and he keeps gasping every two seconds

hobi’s happy to see you back again and he welcomes you with a warm hug that you melt into :((

jimin on the other hand completely invades ur personal space in 0.01 seconds because he’s bounding towards you vERY happily

“i missed you!!! i missed you sO much!!! my two days were basically pOINTLESS without you!!!! i asked myself wHy am i still working here without you here-“

“jimin i hired you to work-“

“and i already know that this place is falling aPART without you here and if i leave??? then what???? so i decided against resigning and waiting for you to come back and then you cAME BACK!!!! :D”

he’s so giddy that you automatically become as giddy as he is, just letting him twirl you around while he still has you in a bear hug

jin has a sorry look on his face as he hugs you and you knOw that he knows :((

he’s mad disappointed in jungkook

you automatically know that there’s one person missing here and you’re slightly thankful for it

you just wanna work in peace and it seems that there’s kinda a big waiting list for you to get through and jimin’s calling them up at the moment to let them know that you,, the piercing artist they specifically requested for,, is back!!!

you’re not chirpy and that’s understandable

lol you’re in spain but the s is silent

this quiet you’re encasing yourself in leaves you along with your thoughts and your thoughts are the fUrthest thing away from quiet

it’s not just about the piercing, y’know?

it’s not that piece of jewelry on his ear and it’s not jUst about who pierced it on him

it’s about the sentiment and things that you can’t explain because you don’t wanna say the L word considering that jungkook doesn’t feel the same

and he probably never would

you think growth and suddenly it’s not!!!

you think jungkook wants something more as much as you do and then suddenly he leaves you!!!

you think you’re moving up steps but in reality you haven’t even left your initial one in the first place!!!

you’re so preoccupied with your thoughts that you managed to ignore jungkook who came in late and was beyond surprised and at the same time nERVOUS that you came in for work

although not to preoccupied to ignore that someone was plopping themself on the client’s chair in front of you

you can’t recognize them from their hair color but you dO recognize with how it’s oddly familiar with it’s shape

and then your eyes trail down and upon see only the eyes you’re immediately freaking out

“YOONGI!!!!!”

oh my god

it’s yOONGI!!!!!

your shriek practically leaves everyone in alert and even hobi who was in the tattoo room rush out mid-session to see what was going on

yoongs is more than happy with your reaction and he squeezes you even tighter than the embrace you’re giving him rn

….

….

jungkook doesn’t know if he is the only one here who is beyond lost but uhhhh not to be rude or anything

but who the fUCK is yoongi???

his heart sinks seeing you hug this unknown person and god he could do nothing but wish that it’s him on the receiving end

he’s immediately stalking towards jimin because after all, he iS the one who’s let this guy through

that’s right he did let yoongi go to you asap and it was a surprise for you too and he’s the only who knew that he was visiting :D

10/10 secret-keeping skills

jungkook has a cat-dog relationship with jimin but he’s putting that aside for now because he’s dESperately pawing at jimin’s arm to ask who tf is this yoongi

jimin’s shocked because he didn’t think jungkook would be literally begging him rn but okay,, he’ll give in since this kid looks like he’s gonna bawl

“ah!! yoongi-hyung!! haven’t seen him in awhile :D”

jimin answers and that doesn’t answer shit for jungkook but now that someone else said his name, it sounded familiar??

he can’t exactly put his finger on it but it just felt so distinct

“are they related or?”

he’s asking more because he’s prying for an answer and well jimin’s still watching your interaction unfold

ngl he’s enjoying not giving answers for awhile

but then again kook is shaking him slightly and he’s pleaded again to give the younger boy an answer

“lmao they’re exes, jungkook”

w hat

a prick of fear arises on him because him?? you?? relationship????

“… y-you mean yoongi’s y/n’s ex-boyfriend?”

he’s trying to take in this bit of information and he doesn’t know HOW

he doesn’t know how he should react nor can he explain this sinking feeling in his stomach

the fact that jimin is now speaking without being asked doesn’t help at aLL

“yup!! from what i know and what y/n told me, they were together for three years!!”

“tHREE YEARS???”

o-oh

jungkook’s eye is twitching and his breathing skips because wow

that’s nice

three years :)

that’s a small number, right?? you were in a committed relationship with someone for three years!!! and said someone is now your ex-boyfriend

and for sOME reason, you’re hugging him and the two of you are all good!!

there’s this fear in him again because he doesn’t want to entertain these thoughts, honestly

thoughts that maybe he’s a tad too late and that perhaps you’re back with your ex-boyfriend and you want nothing to do with him because compared to yoongi, jungkook is perhaps nothing!!! :D

“mhmm-hmm. broke up on good terms tho as u can see, they’re still cLOSE, yoongi went abroad and well,,, y’know”

you missed yoongi so much

well uh you don’t love each other like that anymore

it was bound to change anyway

him going abroad to pursue his dreams and you just wanting to stay

it was a mutual decision to break up but although the label wasn’t there anymore, the both of you still looked out for each other :)

lol he’s the reason anyways to why you’re in this job in the first place the both of you were drunk after a date (you watched a basketball game) and then came on the dare that hey.,.,. baby what if you get a piercing license or something

and originally you were supposed to be the only one who took it but then yoongi joined you :))

and some time later you took a break and then resumed and hence the piercing license :))

“c’mon. if i’m gonna get my helix pierced, then i should atleast get it done by my best girl, right?”

yoongi nudges you and it’s this playful aura with him again that makes you laugh

he never really was the one to make you cry or break your heart now that you think about it

kinda sad to think that no one was really at fault for the breakup :(( you and yoongi…. it just wasn’t gonna work

it makes you wary because there always seems to be a trend in your lovelife

the common denominator is that things don’t work out lmao

:((((( lmao :(((((

you’re done with his piercing in a blink and you still can’t stop thinking to how maybe you just aren’t cut out to be loved :((

that sounds so sad

it’s always the word almost for you and it’s exhausting!!!!

after your breakup with yoongi, you didn’t have a relationship after because uH you just didn’t want to

you just didn’t want another off-chance to spend perhaps the best years of your life and then have them move abroad to pursue what they want 

you were afraid to be hURT after yoongi

and somehow yoongi is now a timestamp in your life because there’s eras

there’s B.Y. (before yoongi) and A.Y. (after yoongi) lol

then jungkook came along and it’s this sudden shift in you that you were decided!!!

you are gonna love again and you tOTALLY are into jungkook :D

sike he’s just not into you

…or not?

jungkook’s rushing towards to where you and yoongi are sat and no one was able to register the situation even if everyone was on their toes watching

“do you have a basketball game tomorrow????”

he’s staring at yoongi like a madman and yoongi is so confused because what

“i said dO YOU HAVE A BASKETBALL GAME TOMORROW???”

okay yoongi is dumbfounded

but then he repeats this madman’s words again for two more times and then it hits him

“how did you know?”

yoongi is laughing because how could this dude pOSSIBLY know about this

he’s taking out of his phone from his pocket so quick and then he’s taking out the case

AND THERE IT IS

that sticker

that sticker jungkook made aGES ago

HI MY NAME IS YOONGI AND I HAVE A BASKETBALL GAME TOMORROWWW

fuck

he’s met you before!!!

he didn’t meet meet you but his point is that your paths have crossed before!!!!

the gears in your head are turning because how did jungkook know???? he doesn’t know yoongi and no one would know not unless-

“y-you? you’re the one who made that for me??”

ok this is clearly now a private moment and jimin is dragging yoongi back to where the rest of the guys are eavesdropping but mAybe it’s for the best that they leave altogether

jungkook nods and it feels like his head’a gonna fall off

you’ve got this done and customized for yoongi’s birthday back then and you never thought that a sane graphic designer would do it for you.,..,.

you could always do it but you were in a slump back then and for once, you wanted someone else to bring what you want to life

you thought it was a stupid idea to base yoongi off this vine for one of his presents

and you said to yourself that if the fIRST graphic designer i could get in contact with refuses to make it, then u r gonna scrap that idea

but then this graphic designer eagerly accepted your commission even offered a discount but you still paid him full-price with a tip

who kNEW that it was jungkook???

“i know i’m the most confusing and aNGERING human being ever and a sHITTY one too-“

it’s somehow coming back full circle and he’s only realizing now to how mUCH deeper this goes

“but you have no idea how much i want to hold your hand.”

jungkook has commitment issues he’s refused to address for quite some time now and it’s only now

god it’s only now that he has someone that genuinely makes him want to question this mentality of his

“i kept looking for reasons to nOt love you and it’s impossible because they make me love you more”

he’s tried hating to how you go and make tedious crafts like making stuffed keychains (the latest one is named mang and he’s a hORSE) or trying to channel that restless energy into anywhere you could get your hands on

tried to despise the way you yearn for affection and how you’d go so cranky as to give people quips when you don’t get your fix

tried to loathe the way you’re so understanding and nurturing and gOd he sounds like a real asshole

“it’s not being tied down if it’s with you”

jungkook is sure

he has nEVER been more sure

because god he feels like he doesn’t have to pretend to be anything he’s not when he’s with you

he dOESN’T mind adjusting and he doesn’t mind complying to what you could possible require of him

“and if it in a literal sense is, then i don’t mind at all”

jungkook has never wanted someone sO BAD ever in his life

and he couldn’t agree more that he is a total dummy and how he wants to repent a million times over even if it means to get shut down by you a million times more

“because it’s you.”

:D

he means that

he really does mean that

he’s a sensitive thing and it’s hitting him now to how much shit he’s made you go through and he wants to make up for it!!! pLS

“let me take you out on a date, please?”

oh god is he tearing up

is jeon jungkook tearing up in front of yOU

his arms are glued to his sides but the moment he meets your eyes he absolutely losEs it and goes leaping to hug you

maybe he shouldn’t have done that

maybe he should

but jungkook knows that he’s never felt more calm and complete and loved whenever he’s with you :(((

he’s hanging in there

maybe at the slightest nudge of your nose to his neck in his embrace

somewhere along the lines

somewhere along the lines to how the guys are over there peeking out of the break room and in an array of emotions.,..

jungkook’s fiNAlly hugging you

your hands behind your back

his hands holding yours

:))

[jzixuans]

hello tell me about jal if you’d like

okay round two because i accidentally lost the first one mx homie i owe u my soul for indulging me

i was talking abt this earlier w august and i’m gonna try to be more eloquent abt it because i’m being Perceived TM

BUT. tldr jal calling themselves partners in crime is something that can be so personal

their very first interaction in isle of the lost is when jay steals her coffee on the way to school. mal makes him give it back but ultimately just. lets him have it because “you look hungry.”

of course she gives it to him under the pretence of it tasting like utter dogshit but it is absolutely clearly a front to maintain her reputation. jay accepts it with a “‘thanks, mal. i was starving’” and a “‘thanks, you’re a pal,’ he said in all honesty” which i would really like to dissect here because:

1) these kids are so adamant about the fact that they are Evil and Heartless Bastards and Don’t Have Friends

2) jay thanks her TWICE in the span of one breath. for villains who live by the mantra of “if you want it, take it. and if you can’t take it, break it” it totally would’ve been acceptable behaviour if jay just took it and drank it and didn’t say anything, but he DIDN’T. 

3) he calls her a pal. mr oh no officer we’re not friends i’ve never seen this girl in my life calls her a PAL. yes i’m losing my mind over this one single word but he literally does in fact call her his friend TO HER FACE and i think that’s beautiful  <3

4) he says it HONESTLY. this boy’s whole entire thing at this point is being a liar and a thief who uses deception and charm to rob you blind. the fact that he’s comfortable being open and genuine around the supposed evilest teenager on the entire goddamn island, where mal totally could’ve found a way to get him ridiculed for being a softie (which he totally is), speaks volumes to their relationship

5) mal just. gives it. to him. with hardly any fight. because he “looks hungry.” she can insist all she wants how she’s cold and cruel and uncaring but this moment already sticking her foot in the Goodness door. this establishes her as a leader and a friend who looks out for what’s Hers. of course she still has a ways to go, so we can assume that this is something she wouldn’t do for just anyone. she wouldn’t even do this for evie and carlos, who we know to be her future best friends  partners  later, so the fact that it’s jay who gets to be on the receiving end of this compassion and companionship already elevates their relationship to something special

jay would clearly follow her to the end of the earth and i think everybody on the isle is at least a little bit of a self-preservationist, so i don’t think this is something he would do if he didn’t have good reason to. he’s also content with letting her lead even though we see him as a perfectly competent leader in d2. conversely, on numerous occasions we see mal trusting jay to hang behind and watch her six. 

she leads and lifts them up from the top, he supports them as the foundation and the anchor at the bottom. that’s their dynamic. 

second part of me diving into this analysis of one sole page of the book is the fact that they refer to each other as “partner in crime”

again, these kids have been raised on distrust and deceit and sabotage and betrayal. i imagine that to call someone your partner in crime is the most intimate title you could give on the isle of the lost. (which makes jay’s statement of “he and mal weren’t friends, exactly, although they were partners in crime” all the more hilarious because they really just skipped the friend zone and went straight into an intimate relationship)

because i’ve been watching s&b, here’s what i think being partners in crime entails: 

trusting each other to carry out whatever task

trusting the other’s process

trusting the other to have your back and help you out of tight situations

maintaining a certain level of communication in some shape or form

spending a lot of goddamn time together

trusting the other to not rat you out

knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses

SPLITTING THE LOOT

so what we see here is that being partners in crime means having an ungodly amount of trust in each other, even if what jay and mal do are largely just petty crimes because this is an island crawling with villains who would not hesitate to do terrible things to those they catch wronging them

it also means that despite “not being friends” they spend SO much time together, whether it’s getting together to plan heists or running from angry shopkeepers or regrouping in their hideout giggling as they compile their score for the day. given the amount of back-and-forth we see between them, they DEFINITELY talk a lot during this time spent together, which means that learning about each other is inevitable

i capitalized splitting the loot because jay’s entire character in iotl is represented by his greed and his need to satiate his father’s greed and how he’s waiting for The Big Score that will get him and his father off the isle and living life like the sultans they wished they were and More Is Better. mal’s whole thing is that she needs to do things By Herself, take all the credit, be the biggest and the baddest on the island, a title that isn’t big enough for two. 

yet here they are, splitting the glory, the thrill, and their winnings. (yes i know that they’re in a competition to see who’s the better thief, but i refuse to believe that they don’t split what they have afterwards, especially since we see them trading what they already have)

partner also labels the other as their equal, which is out of character with the roles mal and jay try to play on the isle yet so fitting for who they are as people

not to mention that this title wasn’t given to them by some derogatory or condescending comment. no. these two nerds made the ACTIVE DECISION to call themselves partners in crime. this is something they’re PROUD OF. 

thank you for coming to my ted talk  :)

[oceanselevenism]

I've seen that most of the stories on ao3 about them are mostly canon-compliant (and I don't have anything against that tbh) but I was wondering if you have any aus that you think could fit them or that you'd like to see?

omg i have SO MANY aus!! (it got Very Long so its under a cut)

- college au! danny gets kicked out (hes on full scholarship and does Thiefly Things to cover his expenses so hes not endangered just fairly fucked up abt it) (does it count as kicked out if u only live w ur dad three months a year) in freshman year, he befriends rusty (1 year below him) in sophomore year, debbie also befriends rusty (she and danny dont talk much but shes 2 yrs below him at the same college), and when reuben comes calling for a job he thinks debbie has a boyfriend (thanks to debbie telling her dad that she does) so she fake dates rusty. who ends up joining the job. and danny is Very Jealous

- snl ripoff au! danny and rusty are the weekend-update-adjacent anchors and they get gay. i Would have this take place in la (reuben is taking A Risk producing a late night sketch comedy show on the west coast but the 11/12/however fuckin many are fantastic cast members so even though they lose revenue from the other timezones not watching as much as they watch snl or whatever, they still make BANK... but danny and rusty getting gay throws the equilibrium out of whack) BUT la sucks DICK so its happening in new york. also this way u get Ocean Sibling Banter (debbie and lou are the anchors for The Actual Weekend Update and when debbie/lou get together and also when danny/rusty get together there are so many ‘just switch out the blondes/brunettes nobody will be able to tell and we won’t have hr down our necks’ jokes)

- au where the caldwells, abt to go deep undercover on a Huge Fucking Case, have to give up custody of 6 year old linus to tess and danny. the case stretches on for twelve years and linus grows up w tess and danny (who get divorced like right after they adopt him bc tess finds out abt dannys Thiefly Activities-- he confesses to her bc he doesnt rly want to predispose the kid to said thiefly activities) and also isabel (she and rusty break up like Right Before tess and dannys wedding and its very funny; she then goes on to marry tess) parenting him (rusty isnt as much in the picture bc he doesnt feel bad at all abt stealing and tess doesnt want linus to pick up that mentality also rusty Feels Things abt danny)! then when linus is like 18 or 19 danny disappears (tess and isabel think its Thiefly Activities again and arent concerned, just disappointed, but linus is very concerned for his dad-slash-stepdad-slash-sort-of-uncle) and he tracks down rusty so they can find danny. they roadtrip across america and eventually catch up to danny, who is helping the caldwells, and the five of them take down whatever gang the caldwells were chasing. linus now has 6 parents

- au based on this post where some archaeologist finds a bunch of dannys [french person voice] Love Lettairs 2 rusty and so obviously the logical course of action is to rob the museum (which happens to be the museum that tess is curating. funny how things work out) without telling his team What Theyre Stealing. they successfully pull off the heist but turns out the letters were not among the items they stole!! danny is getting desperate. as a last-ditch attempt he calls tess and asks her to let them rob the museum. shes like Why The Fuck Would I Do That. he explains and she begrudgingly agrees. danny and livingston go break into the museum Again but rusty tails them bc dannys been acting Weird and he finds out abt the letters bc livingston sweats more whenever he tells a lie. they live happily ever after (literally, theyre immortal) the end. also even though dannys a werewolf the 11 all call him the new jersey devil (its not his fault that legend came to be ok!! he was very drunk!!)

- childhood friends au!! danny and rusty were best buds as very young kids and then the oceans had to move. flash forward 2 present day where danny and debbie r robbing a museum (theyre building a flower shop over the vault and tunneling in, the dudes in brazil who came up w it are very very clever) and guess which two people are the assistant curators (is that even a title?). guess. ill tell u its tess and rusty! danny recognizes rusty, rusty ‘does not recognize’ danny (which is valid. look at photos of child george clooney and tell me you would recognize him). the 11 demand that they use this to their advantage and so danny and rusty Sort Of Date while the rest set up for the robbery, and danny feels really bad abt it so on the day of (after everyone has gotten away, ofc, he might be a lovesick bitch but hes not a snitch) he confesses and rustys like lmao i was onto u from the start. what kind of a name is [insert alias here] anyway. then they go live a life of crime and its great

- @sanduschism came up w a fantastic au where danny pickpockets rusty and feels bad so he sends the wallet back and they strike up a Correspondence

- HOSPITAL AU!!! danny and rusty r er techs while theyre doing med school and nobody knows how they juggle their shifts w school but also rusty can do a tracheotomy in like 5 seconds and danny can tell when a person needs an mri before they even list their symptoms so nobody questions it and nobody splits them up Ever. when they eventually become surgeons, danny does cardio and rusty does neuro, and whenever they have to work together not only do they never have to say what theyre doing, they don't even have What Do U Want To Cook For Dinner convos fully out loud. tess is head nurse... she makes so many excel spreadsheets... they are ALL color coded. isabel is head er doc and nobody dares to halfass things on her watch. reuben is head hospital admin, saul is chief surgeon, basher is head of the burn unit, the malloys r the HUNKIEST nurses in town, frank does plastic surgery/ent (every patient loves him bc he is just So Calm), livingston is The IT Guy, yen does like orthopedics or physical therapy, and linus is their fav resident who they all lovingly tease 24/7. the ocean sibs r both Cardio Gods and each dominate their respective coasts. debbie is an nyc doctor and if she sees a mass gen doctor its on SIGHT. the few surgeries that she and danny collab on go so fast that the med students in the gallery Cannot tell whats happening. lou is also a plastic surgeon and she and frank r best buds. linus requests time off like 6 months in advance Every Time and everyone hates it bc then They have to be on call but he doesnt realize his Extreme Overachieverness is causing so much strife. whenever tess and danny get in an argument she colorcodes his rounds spreadsheet to be the most neon shit youve ever seen. can you tell i never fully progressed past my greys anatomy phase this one is like 93489302 lines long

- superpower au where rusty has midas touch and danny has corrosive touch and when theyre too young to have control over their powers (abilities develop throughout adolescence and the user gains control at the end of adolescence) they accidentally brush hands and are terrified they just killed each other but turns out their powers like. cancel out. so until they reach like 21 or 22 and can touch things without fucking them UP they just. hold hands all the time. bc otherwise they have to wear gloves to prevent Accidents and both of them “hate gloves” (and also love holding hands. gayasses)

- uhhh hallmark au where danny is a crime fiction writer out on some beach north of ocean city nj and rusty is his fancy nyc editor. everyone else is a thief including debbie who is just Very weirded out that her brother, who robbed boston’s institute of contemporary art at age 22 and got away with it, has decided to spend the rest of his life churning out books. he is very critically acclaimed and about half of the 11 are buds with him and use his published books as heist inspo. the other ~half of the 11 are buds with rusty, and they tell him if danny’s heists are feasible or not (they always are. scarily so.) anyway rusty and isabel break up 12 days before xmas and danny and tess break up 8 days before hanukkah so dannys heading to debbie’s place in upstate new york to mope for the holidays when A BLIZZARD HITS and he gets stranded in midtown. and he and rusty are buds but like. Email Buds. they dont hang out irl and therefore they dont let their Totally Bud-Like Feelings mess up their professional relationship. but danny is stranded and its hanukkah and he ends up crashing at rustys place for the duration of the blizzard. and then rusty ends up coming to debbies place for the rest of the holidays. and then they kiss on new years eve and debbie kicks them out bc theyre being gross

- And More! thanks for the ask, anon! sorry it got so long lol i just have Many Thoughts

[lavendersage]

i saw that post from the girl who's girlfriend isn't quite ready to be out. if ur blog didnt seem to celebrate love of all kinds (and i'm not talking straight vs gay, i'm talking happy vs sad) i would have kept this to myself, but between ur response and the op's story itself, i think im going to take this chance of sharing a burden on my heart, maybe to help someone else, or just for the shot at becoming at peace with it. a couple weeks ago, when u asked for everyone to send u stories of their lovers, i wrote most of this out but didnt send it.

i (21F) am a college student (god, is this reddit?). my entire life, i have cultivated the cleanest good girl image that i could. my parents sacrificed so much for my sister and i to grow up far more comfortable then they did, so i have tried to honor them with a little golden child they could brag about. straight As, never missed school, did community service, perfect SATs. i worked tirelessly to be on-paper perfect.

one of the reasons i've worked so hard to earn Good Noodle Stars is to make up for the fact that i am terminally homosexual. i realized real early that i could literally cure cancer and the first comment on the news video will be, "okay, she cured cancer, but at least I'm not gay like she is." i could raise thousands for charity, and my aunts would still say, "our kids may not get off the couch but at least they have sex correctly." so they dont know. few people do, none outside my closest circle.

in walks Mars(21NB). Mars is an anachronism. they are both a romantic with and without a capital R. be still my Dark Academia heart.

we got very close before school broke for Covid. Mars wrote me a letter every other week, encrypted and folded so that the only way to open them was to rip a paper seam that would show if someone had tampered with it. it was intoxicating. it was the first time i felt able to communicate freely about anything. i dont know - i didnt hold back my emotions, emboldened by writing in cipher. i spent all summer waiting for those red sealed envelopes, filled with stories and poetry and honeyed nonsense, and i refused to not respond with mirrored passion.

it was all great until it set in that I was going to have to face Mars again, in person. i prayed our school would decide all students had to stay remote. of course I wanted to see Mars, i want to do much more than just see them, but i knew it would only be a matter of time between us being reunited and them asking me out.

this was a person who crafted a puzzle where the answers were flowers that were a declaration of fidelity in Victorian Flower Language. of course i ate that up with a spoon. u would have too. listen, i know all aesthetics are fads and all fads age badly, but if the cottagecore girls get to learn to sew and bake and grow, i owe dark academia for teaching me the vocabulary and actions of my most treasured relationship yet, and giving me permission to be earnest and vulnerable in this life for 10 goddamn minutes. Mars is handsome and a genius and i was not used to feeling connected to anyone. but for all that joy, i was also drowning with the thought of having to break their heart by explaining i cant date anyone AFAB.

so the semester starts. Mars asks me over for a homecooked meal since restaurants don't exist here at the end of the world. they made me a beautiful dinner with all my dietary needs in mind. just like everything else i ate it up. and i made no effort to stop them from inviting me over for food and conversation again and again and a fourth time just to make sure it really hurt.

they kissed me after the last dinner. and I kissed them back, before stopping. they apologized for moving too quickly, but i explained that they had moved at the perfect pace, just with the wrong person.

there is no nice ending to this. it's real life. Mars took it as a breakup and didnt reach out to me again. i sobbed from halloween to christmas, i swear. i'm the villain in this story.

i started this post off as a sign of solidarity to the other young lady, but now im realizing that this letter would be better read by her fearful beloved, not her. it is 4am where i live, so i apologize if this has all gotten away from me.

love is a garden u have to water yourself. ngl, my favorite part about this blog is all the posts about learning to love yourself, learning to see ur intrinsic value dispite the core facets of u that have been deemed flaws, and trust the relationship between me, myself, and i.

i started out telling myself i was writing this to help the high school kid, but i havent shared this with anyone. writing this out has helped me process a thing or two, or at least start to. i like this idea of lavendersage being a kindly cryptid who will alchemise ur heartache into calm.

i hope you dont mind if i try to make this a thing.

my story is in the shape of a love letter. its tearstained before it even hits the water. i drop it in your river and watch it float away.

y’all are breaking my heart with these stories this week 🤧i feel so sad to read them and so helpless to respond, because i know how deep that pain must run and i don’t know if there’s truly anything i could say or do to take it away. but if i can lessen it from 100 to 99, well, then i’ll have fulfilled my goal of existing on this website. at the very least, i’m glad that writing this message helped you process some things on your own, but i’m happy to share my thoughts anyway.

your mars sounds like a top tier human being. victorian flower language? i’m swooning. it’s no surprise to me that you fell for them, and they were clearly head over heels for you. folks don’t make grand gestures like that for just anyone, that’s for sure 🥺

and i’m very sad to hear about the way things ended. but, anon, i can’t help but wonder if it is indeed over, or if hope exists on the precipice of a great act of bravery performed by you--something i know from experience is much easier said than done, and something i’ve failed to do in the past, so i’m not trying to be a hypocrite here. the ball is definitely in your court, though.

also...it doesn’t sit well with me to hear you call yourself a villain. i understand why you see it that way, as it’s clear that you deeply care for this person. but for many folks...the fear of what our family will say or think or do weighs so heavily on us that it robs us of any possibility of happiness with someone who isn’t the kind of person our family wants us to end up with. i’m sure plenty of folks, myself included, can empathize with this. and i’m sure on some level, mars does too.

my love, as with all things, i hope whatever happens next works out for the best, and that you don’t let this experience darken your heart. if things change between you and mars, please feel free to drop me a note. i’ll always be here to listen 💚💚💚`

[fandomsonrequests]

𝖆𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓..? [𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 6]

fandom: ATEEZ

characters: prince! park seonghwa

reader: fem! knight

word count: 2.9k+

summary:  It was time for another Selection. No- not a Selection for a bride but rather a well-trained knight to keep Prince Seonghwa safe after a failed assassination attempt. You, a blacksmith’s daughter, manage to make it to the elite group of knights worthy and skilled enough to protect the crown prince after months and months of training. This alone catches Seonghwa’s eyes- in more ways than one

a/n: whoooo- so i’m back. i’m sorry for not updating as much :’)) school has really been kicking my ass. how’s quarantine for you all? do you have physical or online classes? either way, i hope you’re all staying safe and constantly hydrating! <3

taglist: @iwanttohitmyself​ @barcelona-sergei​ @minihongjoong​ @i-purrple-u @taetae123094 @jeonartemis @jibaxja​

↞previous  ♛  next↠

“So that was an experience,” Siyeon says as she loops her arm with yours, following Mina to their shared quarters with the rest of the girls. 

You nodded in agreement, trying to keep note of all the twists and turns you took and memorizing them for future use. “I still can’t believe that Hae-seong guy is going to tutor us about the kingdom’s laws.” You grimaced. 

“Ugh, tell me about it,” Your friend sighs. “I bet that guy likes to pick on the others- or flunk them on purpose.”

“He definitely seems like it.” 

You and the rest of the group stopped at a hallway that’s parallel to a large window, designed with stained glass roses creeping up the sides. You could see the whole courtyard and the other roofs of the palace from this spot. It was quite a breathtaking view, but you imagined that it was even more beautiful at sunset. 

“Here you are,” Mina says in her tiny but clear voice as she opened the doors to the quarters. “I’ll be fetching you from now on to avoid any of you getting lost in the palace. You’ll be fitted for your uniforms later before the feast. In the meantime, you must wear what you have brought to training.” 

The room was huge. There were around twenty girls in the group but the room could fit more than that. The whole room was probably as big as your whole damn house. 

Soft beds lined the walls, a narrow but tall window in between each space separating the beds. Trunks carved with intricate designs and gold encrustations on the side were settled at the foot of each bed. This was probably where they were to put their things in as the days continued. Candlesticks were sat on top of the simple but marble bedside tables for each bed. 

All of you couldn’t help but gawk at the whole place, making Mina chuckle under her breath. To her, it was a normal thing to see but seeing everyone else’s reaction reminded her other first day as a maid in the palace. 

“The beds look so soft..” Says a tall girl from your right. 

“I wonder how the uniforms would feel..” Another says. 

“Please feel free to rest and unpack the things you have brought,” Mina says with a humble bow of her head. “If you feel too cooped up in the room, you may take a look at the palace but I advise you to not stray too far from this wing. The palace is quite enormous.”

The young maid bowed once more before she exited the room and closed the door behind her. Several girls didn’t waste any time to pick a bed that they liked and start unpacking. You felt Siyeon tug at your arm and lead the both of you to a spot near the corner of the room. 

Idle chatter and quiet sounds of excitement filled the whole room, making it a little more lively. Several girls huddled together as they unpacked their things while others worked on their own. Some went straight to their bed and tried to sleep- it was probably an exhausting journey for them.

“Here, here.” She says when she finally picks a spot and settles her bag over the trunk provided for them.

“Oh wow,” You remark as you sit on the bed. 

It felt soft, so soft. It felt like those special marshmallows you had whenever you were able to buy some from the traders. You exclaim a little when you move up the bed, feeling it dip from your weight. You were afraid that you would sink right to the floor from how soft it was. Your beds back at Trelark we’re never this comfy. 

A few other girls, mainly from city villages, looked at you weirdly and giggled behind their hands. You tried to ignore them as a furious flush of embarrassment crept up your cheeks. 

“Don’t mind them,” Siyeon says as she moved from her bed to yours. “You know what city girls are like.” 

“Pompous and obnoxious..” You reply with a chuckle of your own. 

Your friend clicks her tongue and winks. “Exactly. But enough of that- let’s talk about the prince.” She says with a cheeky grin, leaning onto your shoulder.

You laugh a little and roll your eyes. “Really? That’s what you're interested in?” You ask as you gently nudge her off of you. 

“Oh come on,” She retorts. “He’s handsome, isn’t he? I didn’t expect that he’d be that… flawless.”

You couldn’t help but agree. You heard from the stories that floated around here and there on how handsome Prince Seonghwa was. But seeing him in real life was truly something else. 

You tried not to gawk at him the first time you saw him, but he just looked so ethereal. His clothes were pristine and pressed, elegant trimmings and subtle glint of the designs embossed in the fabric shined under the light. He had a good combination of genes from both parents because the way his face was shaped, from that sharp jaw to his nose, one would think he was sculpted by the gods themselves. 

But the gold crown that sat upon his silver locks tied the whole look together. 

“Plus, he doesn’t seem so stuck-up and arrogant.” 

“Well,” you shrug. “It could be a front.”

“True, true. But if he were, you’d practically feel the arrogance radiate from him. He didn’t seem to give off any bad energy.” 

Siyeon had this spooky but amazing gift of being able to read people and sense their “auras” around them. There were moments where she was wrong, but most of the time she was correct. It still puzzles you how she’s able to do that but you suppose some people were blessed to have amazing talents. 

“Was that what your special gut feeling was telling you?” You tease her with a smile.

“Yes, and you know how my gut is always right.”

“Most of the time.”

“Most of the time.”

You two end your conversation there and decide to finally unpack. You needed to get some shut-eye after all this travel. 

~ 

“What do you think of the delegates so far?” Hongjoong asks as he brings a stack of books over to Seonghwa.

The two were currently in the palace library, brushing up on some lessons that the prince had learned a week ago. He liked to study some lessons from before to keep his mind sharp and to retain that knowledge from before. 

“They seem alright from first glance,” Seonghwa answered after thanking his friend for the books. He sighs and closes the one he was reading before looking up to the shorter man. “I really wished father didn’t require that all these people had to go. Some looked reluctant to even be here.”

“I think they’d change their mind soon,” Hongjoong replies and sat across his friend the polished table. “I mean, their whole family gets to live here in the palace and I won’t lie, that’s an amazing opportunity. 

“I suppose..” 

“And if that doesn’t persuade them, they could always drop out.” 

“I just wished I didn’t need all this protection,” The prince sighs and stands up. He folds his hands together and glances out the window to look over to the wing that held the delegates’ quarters. “I feel like a burden to people.”

“Seonghwa, you’re not a burden don’t you ever say that,” Hongjoong refutes and looks up at his friend. “Besides.. you’re more of a peaceful person rather than a fighter.”

Seonghwa couldn’t help but chuckle at this, the corners of his luscious lips quirking up into a smile. “I suppose that’s my fault. I did prefer my lessons over the ones Byron would give.”

The prince turned to his friend with another sigh and returned to his seat. He opens another book for his lessons. “I hope that they won't quit too early though..” 

~ 

You were awoken by Siyeon who was shaking your shoulder. “Hey sleepyhead, Mina’s here,” She says quietly as not to disrupt the maid who was delivering the news.

You sat up, eyes still blurry and mind foggy from being robbed of sleep, and yawned behind your hand. The girl’s mousy voice carried over to you when your head was finally cleared. 

“...please wear your most appropriate attire for the banquet later. I suggest you prepare now to avoid further delays when I fetch you later. The washroom is right across the hall.” 

Mina bows and leaves the room. Once more, chatter fills the room, and a sense of excitement and some bits of anxiety fill the room. Girls hop off their beds and start rummaging through their clothes to pick out something presentable while others headed over to the washroom to freshen up. 

You hear Siyeon humming as she goes through her clothes. She was the daughter of a tailor and a seamstress you see, so most of the time they made their own clothes or reformed it to their taste. She had quite a lot of presentable wear that could even allow her to pass off as a noble who liked to dress casually. 

Other girls, specifically from the city villages, had such lavish clothes. It was hard for you to believe that they were simple wear. 

You turn to your clothes. There wasn’t much variety to them. They all ranged from hues of white to black to brown. Fabric dye was hard to come by in your village of Trelark. The most colorful clothing you had was a simple dress when you were six. That was long gone by now. 

“Not much to pick from huh?” 

You direct your attention to the voice beside you. A girl with tanned skin and long black hair tied into a ponytail was looking at you expectantly. There were bags under her eyes and a few tiny streaks of silver in her hair, making her look older than usual. She had no malice in her expression thankfully; she just had a look of sympathy. 

“Uhm, yeah… is it that obvious?” You answer somewhat shyly. You didn’t think you’d be this conscious about your clothes ever. 

The girl gave a warm laugh and shrugged. “I have the same problem as you.” She said and gestured to her clothes laid out in the bed. It mirrored yours except hers had more skirts than trousers. 

“I’m Amihan, it’s nice to meet you,” She introduces herself and extends a hand for you to shake. “I came from Sinal.” 

Sinal- another mountain village. That made sense. 

“____,” You shook her hand and offered her a smile. “I came from Trelark.” 

“Ahh, that explains things.” She grins and pulls her hand away. “I was originally from Rako, you know, the farming village. But my family had to transfer to Sinal after that drought.”

Several years ago, when you were still a very young girl, the north side of the kingdom had experienced a terrible drought. Many people had suffered- especially those living on the outskirts of the kingdom. Almost a fourth of the kingdom’s population was wiped out due to the lack of food and the violence of trying to stay alive arose from it. 

Your family was fortunate enough to be living on the other side, but you had remembered the flock of people that had arrived at Trelark in search of a place to stay and restart their lives. 

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” You say quietly, hands awkwardly hovering over your clothing. 

Amihan brushes it off and continues to go about picking her clothes. “It’s alright, it was long ago so it doesn’t really matter now. I don’t even remember what happened then.” 

The silence that follows after she speaks marks the end of the conversation. You were kind of glad that she approached you- you had a feeling that she’d end up being a good friend of yours. 

~ 

Mina came to fetch all of you after as the time for the banquet drew near. You were in the middle of brushing out Siyeon’s hair when the maid called for everyone and requested that they follow her to the dining hall where the royal family was waiting. 

That made you hurry your actions and toss your friend’s brush onto her bed when you were done. “Okay, you’re done. You look great- now let's go.” You say in a rush and prompt her to stand. 

The group trailed after her and headed towards the dining hall, meeting the group of young men halfway through. Their hair was slicked or tied back and they too were wearing their best clothing. Some looked like they dressed to impress while others didn’t seem to mind too much just as long as they looked appropriate. 

You didn’t miss the way a few curious glances and flirtatious winks were sent to each other from both groups, making you roll your eyes in amusement. All of you were young, you had to expect this kind of behavior would happen. 

“Well, don’t you two look great.” Raviv compliments when the delegates merge. 

“Thank you, Raviv,” Siyeon says with a proud smile and a bow of her head. 

Once you arrive at the dining hall, you couldn’t help but be blown away by the spectacular aura it has. The walls were lined with velvet while ivory columns stood along the walls to support the tall ceiling above you. Several banners hung along the walls while a guard stood underneath each. A large plush red rug lay in the middle of the room where a rather long and somewhat narrow dining table was, topped with gold silverware and candle holders. 

It was just like you imagined- only ten times better. 

A various array of delicious foods was laid out on the table. Some were recognizable but many others looked foreign and even exotic to you. It was definitely way better than the stale bread and hard meat you had to eat from day in and day out.

Your mouth waters from the delicious aroma alone. You only realized how hungry you were when your stomach growled. You clutch it out of embarrassment but no one seemed to notice as they were too entranced by the sight before them. 

The King and his family had their little table at the front with their food placed upon it. He rose from his seat and spread his arms wide to welcome you. “Please take a seat and enjoy the meal we have prepared for you. I’m sure you’re all famished.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Several of you say with a bow of the head. 

The second the King gave his permission to eat everyone quickly made their way over to the long table. Some tried to nudge their way towards the seat nearest to the royal family. Luckily, the other delegates weren’t foolish enough to fight in front of the king. Although, the poisonous glares they received from others were hard to miss.

You, Siyeon, and Raviv managed to snag three seats away from the boisterous people and found yourselves sitting near the end of the table. You see Amihan trying to find one for herself when you wave her over. “Amihan, over here!” 

The young woman grins when she sees you and makes her way over. “Thank you…” She says softly and nodded over at your two other friends to which they responded in kind. 

“Please, enjoy your meal.” The King says once more before sitting down and resuming his dinner with his family. 

You all dug in excitedly. Your tastebuds were met with an explosion of flavor. You try not to shove food into your mouth, you were after all raised with manners. You’ve never had anything this good before. Everything you tasted was so fresh and so tender, it was truly a luxury only the rich could have. 

By the time dinner was over everyone was full and satisfied. The once lively chatter dwindled to content murmurs and soft tones. 

“If I have another bite of that cookie I’m going to burst,” Raviv says as he leans back against his chair and wipes his mouth with the table napkin provided for them. 

You could only hum in agreement. “I don’t think they’d feed us like this everyday though..” You muse as you drink some water to wash everything down. 

“Ah, _____ let us dream a little.” Amihan gently pushes your shoulder with a small laugh. “But I’m going to have to agree with you. Even if they’re rich they’d still ration the food they have.”

“That and the kingdom’s taxes go to them so they can’t really spend all our money on this,” Siyeon added.

There was a fair share of corrupt kings throughout the generations, a couple of them being dethroned by the resistance of the kingdom. Although some ruled justly- one of these kings being Seonghwa’s father. There were still people that despised the royal family but the majority adored them. 

The banquet ends with words from the King before the delegates were dismissed to head back to their quarters and prepare for bed. Back in the girls’ quarters, several candles were lit as they all prepared for bed. 

Siyeon was already settled and snuggled down on her own while you sat on yours, brushing your hair out. You set down your course brush on your bedside table and move to lay under the covers, blowing out your candle in the process. As you shift onto your side, you feel the weight of the pendant your father gave you fall off your chest. Your hand comes up to touch it, allowing the memories of your family to give you strength.

Tomorrow is the day you start training. Tomorrow is the day the game starts.

[some-cookie-crumbz]

Hello 👋🏼, sorry if I’m bothering u but ever since the recent chapters of BNHA I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the Todoroki family. Not many of my friends are into this anime and I just couldn’t stop myself from sharing this with you because I need to let this out.

[SPOILER ALERT 🚨!!! IF U DONT READ THE MANGA THEN U CAN JUST IGNORE THIS]

First of all:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!

(I’m still screaming as I write because the backstories RUINED me.)

Poor Touya having this horrible obsession over heroics and having his father acknowledge him but ever since his quirk started reacting against his body the whole family got negatively affected by it.

Rei and Enji wanted to stop at two kids but with Touya’s sudden disadvantage and the latter’s craving for power, Natsuo and later on Shouto was born (the youngest getting titled as the perfect heir from the moment he was born). I got torn seeing Touya’s eyes succumb to absolute madness at the birth of his younger brothers.

What scared me the most was how when it was just Touya and Fuyumi, the two hardly interacted despite being only a year apart in age. Touya claimed that ‘girls just don’t get it’ this small foreshadowing was later brought to light in the most recent chapter where he once again rejects Fuyumi’s company in favour of ranting to only Natsuo and where he disregards his own mother— another ‘girl’ that doesn’t understand his obsession passion for surpassing All Might and someone who plays along to the acts of those stronger than them. Touya saw his mother as a weak person who had no choice but to marry for the sake of her family and have custom children. Little Touya firmly believed his very existence depended on getting acknowledged my his father and defeating All Might but it sadly didn’t come true😭😭

Also..... LOOK AT THE BABIES!!!! They’re all so CUTE!!!

Chubby Fuyumi!!!

Natsuo with a running nose

And Baby Shouto with a meme like face since the day he was born🤣🤣🤣🤣

So ADORABLE!

And another thing. FUYUMI WAS EVEN YOUNGER THAN I THOUGHT TO HAVE STARTED ACTING LIKE A SECOND MOTHER TO HER BROTHERS!! Look at the way she defended Natsuo when Touya went on a rampage and tried to attack Touya! And during moments when Enji and Rei fought the two most notable heroes were Shouto and Fuyumi; the former fighting on the frontlines to face his father while the latter stood behind to once again care for her remaining family that though weren’t involved in the fight, they still needed emotional support to get through it.😭

I AM SO SORRY TO BE GETTING TO THIS SO LATE ANON BUT I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY!!!

TW: Spoilers, Brief Mention of Child Abuse (Physical, Emotional and Mental), General Fandom Wank

So, like, SO MUCH HAPPENED in those chapters and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ALMOST ALL OF IT! There’s obviously all the things you mentioned above that were just amazing to see and learn! I know that a majority of the fandom has been absolutely livid about the reveals involving Touya being drastically different than what fandom thought they were all this time, but I think it honestly highlights how smart Horikoshi’s writing really is.

In Shoto, we see the effects of physical and mental abuse on a child, and how easily he could have ended up going down a troubling road much like Touya. Shoto’s saving grace is facing off against Deku in the Sports Festival, giving him an outside perspective and makes him realize that he can choose to be better, but that doesn’t just magically fix all of Shoto’s problems. Shoto still struggles with his feelings towards his Father and how he is perceived by simply being Endeavor’s son. We see that in the Provisional License Arc, where Shoto is so thoroughly rattled by Inasa. It’s even further pushed through how Shoto struggles with his feelings about Endeavor trying to better and whether or not he should forgive him. I feel like Shoto’s arc is incredibly strong and that his struggles are very realistic, which is why people love him so much. This whole concept is another thing I could rant about but I’m going to leave it here.

Meanwhile, with Touya, we see the effects of mental and emotional abuse on a child and how it can completely destroy them. I think people that act like Horokoshi “down played” and “ret-conned” Endeavor as a character to make him more sympathetic/ redeemable or that he’s simply writing Touya as “always being a bad seed” are missing the mark. This is, admittedly, something you see a lot when it comes to victims of abuse in the real world as well; the idea that if you weren’t physically or sexually abused on top of emotional or mental abuse, your abuse is somehow less “valid.” Now I’ve seen more voices speaking out against this mentality - which is relieving and positive - but it’s still a problem. The way Touya was abused is no less valid or scarring to himself as a person as what Shoto has been through was. Touya and Enji clearly had a deep bond as father and son. Hell, the fact that Enji is sobbing and saying he “can’t fight his own son” in regards to Touya, but clearly had less issue training Shoto until he got ill or passed out says a lot.

Touya was put on an incredibly high pedestal by Enji’s constant praise and attention. He was the apple of his father’s eye until the limitations of his Quirk were discovered. Enji had filled his head with promises and goals for what his future would be, essentially selling him what turned out to be a lie. We see Rei herself tell Enji that Touya “knows you expect something out of the kids.” Touya’s whole life up until that point was being told of all the great he would someday accomplish, and equating that to being deserving of his Father’s love, attention and affection.

And then he couldn’t live up to that expectation. And then his parents had two more kids following that revelation. The idea that Touya doesn’t realize that Natsuo and Shoto were meant to be his replacements - unbroken models that “deserved” Enji’s love - is clearly not missed by him. It’s evident in the way he looks at Natsuo after he’s born. He sees this as a sign that he is no longer deserving - no longer worthy - of love or support from the parent he absolutely adores.

We see this mostly from Enji and Rei’s perspectives, so we know the reasons they did it, but it’s clear they didn’t stop to think about the way this would be interpreted by Touya himself. This whole matter is only worsened by the fact that Enji refuses to make sacrifices for the sake of his oldest son. He pushes Touya to live a life outside of Pro Heroics while Enji himself refuses to do the same, thus setting a positive example and showing solidarity with his son. He instead pushes him away and distances himself, loses himself in focusing on Natuso and, once his Quirk turns out to not be what he wants, Shoto. Touya continues to push himself despite his limits in a desperate bid for Enji to look at him the way he used to; with pride and love. 

What caused the fire that “killed” Touya? His anguish over being neglected and abandoned - left unloved - by his father yet again. It’s clear that Touya’s mental health is in need of some real focus that he has never gotten - due to both his parents negligence as well as the fact that mental health is highly stigmatized in Japanese society - and pairing that with the emotional and mental abuse he suffered at Enji’s hands broke him.

So many people are claiming Horikoshi is trying to make Enji “more redeemable”, but how do you get that? Enji abused Rei, his own wife, physically and emotionally and mentally until she had a psychotic breakdown, hurt their youngest child, and then robbed her the right to mother her children further by having her locked up in a psych ward for the next decade or so; built their oldest son, Touya, up only to then emotionally and mentally abuse him to the point he damn near killed himself in a frantic bid to garner Enji’s support only to return years later completely unhinged and looking to murder his entire family out of spite; neglected Fuyumi and Natsuo to the care of each other and hired help; alienated Shoto, his youngest son, from his siblings for his entire formative years, physically and mentally and emotionally abused him, groomed him to accomplish a task he never wanted, put him through such extensive physical training that Shoto would get sick or pass out.

Enji was a shitty father. He has a long ass road to continue walking if he ever wants redemption. The fact he didn't physically hit Touya doesn’t mean that Enji didn’t abuse his son and it doesn’t make Touya any less of a victim.

* End TodoFam Rant*

On a slightly lighter note, I also like all the information with Hawks’ past and all the parallels we’re seeing develop!

I’ve rambled briefly about this in other places the Huwumi discord but I want to expound upon this a bit more here.

I feel like Touya/ Dabi and Keigo/ Hawks are meant to be parallels to one another.

Back to back, we had proper name claims by these two characters. We had Dabi reveal his true identity as Todoroki Touya and then we have Hawks choosing to abandon his hero name to instead step up to fight as Takami Keigo.

I feel like “Dabi” was always a mask, of sorts. Dabi is typically pretty calm, cool, composed with the occasional bites of snark and cruelty. Meanwhile, we see Touya emoting and moving in a manner more akin to himself as a child, dancing about in manic delight over revealing his true identity and intentions. The pair of them are two drastically different people when you stop and look at it. “Dabi” was the mask he wore to gain ground to enact his revenge, and now that he is there? Now Touya can burn everything tethered to it down to ground.

Meanwhile, we have "Hawks” as he was forced to become as per the Hero Public Safety Commission. We had it revealed quite a while back that Hawks was a man of many faces, jumping from laid-back and chill to serious and focused quite frequently. “Hawks” is the presentation for the public and the Commission, groomed to be the perfect little canary in the mine that was Pro Heroics. The reveal of his true heritage, however, is not the killing blow Touya wanted it to be. Instead, it allows Keigo, the one who wanted to be a Hero to help people, the chance to truly dedicate himself to that. In being freed from the cage of “Hawks”, he is given the change to really soar as Keigo.

Now, I feel that “Dabi” and “Hawks” are most certainly parts of Touya and Keigo as well, respectively. Even though those titles were masks, they were masks made from parts of the men who wear them. I think what we’ll see going forward is the true elements of those masks bleeding back into the whole, and seeing the truest forms of each character.

For better or for worse. 

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Sugar Plum Fairy - Spencer Reid

“Okay, carefully put the body on the table...Yeah, that’s perfect. Okay, thank you for your work.” I smiled briefly at the policeman. “I don’t know the details, but I heard this one is top priority. Can you finish it today?” he asked, making me grin even wider. “Of course! My colleagues were very diligent, so today I have only this one left. Even better, I’m all alone here, so my efficiency will sky-rocket.” I explain, getting a quick look at the cadaver on the table. “Very well, we will  go now. Take care.” the other policeman nodded his head at me, before they both left the room, and now I was alone in the whole building. “Yes, finally!” I fist-pumped the air. “Time to listen to AC/DC and cut this bitch up.” I rubbed my hands together, putting the music at max volume around the lab, no longer having to listen to music with my headphones on.

The Y-Incision went by with no problem, then the removal and weighting of the organs was just as smooth, and now I started searching the stomach contents, when the phone started ringing in my lab coat.

“Cutiepie is calling. Do you want to take this call, or hang up?” my phone robot asked. “Answer the call.” I vocally activated it and carefully put the gaming headphones on, seeing as they have a microphone attached, so I could speak while also working. “Uhm...Can you turn down the music, please?” Spencer asked softly, making me chuckle. “Oh, yes, sorry about that, I forgot about it...There, all good. So how is my lovey dovey Sugar Plum Fairy doing?” I asked in a sweet voice, which only earned silence on his end, and some giggles and teasing from the background, making me drop my scalpel in shock. “Y-You’re...On speaker...” Spencer managed to say, and I could already imagine his flustered face. “...Oh my God, Spencer, I’m so sorry...You called me from your private number, I didn’t think you’d call me from work...I’m so so so sorry, Spencer!” I spoke frantically, only to hear a tired sigh. “It’s...It’s fine...You’re right, I called you from the wrong phone, it’s my fault. Anyway, I called because that body that was brought over to your work place is a key piece of our latest case. Can you tell me anything out of the ordinary so far?” he asked in a more formal voice. “...Sometimes it’s weirdly difficult not to call you some cutesy nickname, Spence. I’m at the 3rd stage of the autopsy, and the only out of the ordinary thing is how hilarious her tits are hanging to the side...Uhm...Pretend you didn’t hear that...” I facepalmed internally, realising how stupid I was. “Should I call in an hour or so?” he tried to spare both of us the embarrassment, before I gasped in realisation. “No, wait, hold up a second, I think I’m on to something...On her waist, she seems to have an epidermis tattoo...But the thing is...This epidermis tattoo is a shade different from her actual skin colour. I don’t know who did this, but they traced the actual tattoo perfectly, which means I can easily trace it on a paper and send you a picture, maybe it will help you.” I explained, taking off my gloves and started drawing the tattoo on the paper, quickly taking a picture of it and sending it to Spencer. “I tend to forget how smooth and nicely you can draw. This is spot on, I’m sure Garcia can find out about this. Thank you, Y/N, you’re the best.” his voice was sweeter than sugar, and I could already feel my cheeks burning up. “Always happy to help. Do you want to stay on the phone while I look around the stomach contents, or should I call you when I find anything interesting?” I asked, putting a new pair of gloves on. “I...have a few minutes free to hear your voice. Talk to me, I missed you.” he spoke gently, as I opened the stomach. “Well...I missed you too, sweetheart. Wait, I’m not still on speaker, right? I don’t want to embarrass you...Again...” I muttered, biting my lip. “No, darling, it’s okay, nobody’s around, they’re looking for the tattoo.” he explained, making me sigh in relief. “Good, good...I hope we get to spend some quality time soon. Until then, I suppose I’ll have to indulge in my unhealthy obsession with binge-playing video games. Remember my 20 hour speed-run of Diablo 2?” I laughed, taking out a sort of cloth neatly folded from the stomach. “Please don’t do that again. You slept for 16 hours after that.” he sighed in amusement and worry. “Spence...I think I found something...” I muttered, carefully taking the paper and putting it on a different glass dish, where I carefully opened it with the help of tweezers. “What is it?!” he asked quickly, filled with curiosity. “Uhmm...Darling...This looks like an ominous death threat and a meeting arrangement...A-And the same tattoo design is drawn here...I’ve had my fair share of creepy encounters in my life, but this tops it all, I think. She was forced to swallow this paper...That means they knew she was going to be discovered and used for an autopsy...But who is supposed to see this...?” I rant my ideas, while Spencer was silent, and yet, there was a dark atmosphere taking over the both of us. “Spencer...?” I asked in a soft voice, feeling anxious. “I think you should get out of there...Now.” Spencer spoke seriously, but just as he said that, somewhere outside my lab, I could hear a very faint sound. “Spencer...I-I think there’s someone here...And I don’t think they’re nice people. I have nowhere to hide or escape. What should I do?” I asked in a shushed voice, not sure what to do. “Hide the paper back in the stomach and pretend you don’t know anything. We’ll be coming for you shortly...Please, please, please, Y/N, stay safe. I can’t stand the idea of you...I...I can’t even say it. Also...Don’t forget what we talked about before.” his voice was restless as I could hear him talking to his co-workers. “Honey...I’ll put you on mute, just in case something happens. You can hear what’s being spoken, but nobody will hear what you say, so you can discuss with your colleagues.” I explain, biting my lip. “Y/N...I love you. Please be safe.” I heard his worried voice, as sweet as usual, making me smile even despite the fear I harboured in my heart. “I love you too, darling.” I muttered, before muting the phone and putting it in my lab pocket.

I put the headphones around my neck as to not arouse too much suspicion, anxiety surging through my veins, until finally, the door was kicked open, revealing a huge, burly man, smirking down at me...So here I had to start acting.

“U-Uhmm...H-Hello...?” I asked, my voice trembling with fear, not able to look up at him. “Ahh, who’d have thought! Such a lil’ missy taking care of my girlfriend’s dead body! That’s perfect, I wouldn’t have wanted some sleezy ol’ man touching my girlfriend, or...Seeing her tits hanging to the side like that.” he grinned darkly, making me gulp in fear. “So, uhm...Wh-What can I do for you...?” I squeaked like a mouse, not able to look anywhere but down. “You could start by continuing the autopsy. I’m sure you’ll find something rather interesting that would be valuable for me.” he smirked, going to lean on a desk, motioning for me to continue my work. “O-Okay...” I nodded vigurously as I hurried to do my job.

Just then, his phone rang and speaking to it, I had to strain my hearing to try to pick up and understand what the person on the other end was saying, and thankfully enough, I could understand what they wanted to do:

Find the paper and kill the witness.

I started breathing heavily, biting my lip, feeling how my heart was going into tachycardia as I started having a flashback to a conversation I had with Spencer over a year ago, just a few months after we got together.

-----

“Honey, it’s going to be okay! You did nothing wrong! You did everything you could to survive and make sure the mission is a success. Please don’t blame yourself.” I hugged him tightly, stroking his hair to sooth him. “But Y/N...I killed someone. I did. With my own hands. I pulled the trigger. I robbed someone of their life...” he sighed, closing his eyes. “You killed someone who robbed so many others of their lives! He was a criminal, he would have tortured and killed again! Better dead than a fugitive! And think of the victims’ families, you gave them a certain kind of closure by catching the culprit!” I reassured him, kissing his forehead softly. “...You want to say something more, don’t you? Why are you holding back?” he asked, raising his gaze to look at me. “I...It’s...It’s selfish. You shouldn’t hear it now.” I looked down, biting my lip in shame. “Please tell me, Y/N. I want to know what’s on your heart. I want to know you.” he put his hands on my face as if I was the one needing reassurance. “Spencer...If anything...I-I want you to live...For me...No matter what happens out there, I don’t want to lose you. I know it’s dangerous out there, but...But...I don’t want the only person I’ve ever loved in my life to be taken away from me. I-I don’t know what I’d do...” I bit my lip harder, trying not to imagine such a fatalist scenario. “I understand...I feel the same way, Y/N. So why don’t we promise each other something? That way, you won’t have to be afraid of being selfish. We’ll both be selfish.” I could see the glint of mischief in his eyes. “What is it...?” I asked in a shushed voice, as he pulled me to his chest. “If anything happens, you have to live. If I promise to kill in self-defense, so should you. I don’t want to lose you either, but with the work I’m doing, no matter how private I am, I’m afraid that someone might come after you. So if anything happens...You know what to do. I know you swore a vow to never harm a living person, but that is thrown out of the window once that person tries to kill you. What do you say?” he spoke seriously, as I’ve never seen him before - He was still afraid, desperate. “Is that...Really...Okay? I’m not in the law enforcement...I don’t want to go to jail...” my bottom lip trembled in slight fear. “Self-defense will never get behind bars. Trust me, I know the laws inside out better than I know my own house.” he explained with a soft smile. “Okay...Okay, Spencer...We’ll be okay. We have to be.” I nodded, putting my forehead to his, staying like that for a while as we both tried to calm down.

-----

“Didja find anythin’, girly?” the man asked in a rough, aggressive voice, and I suddenly got an idea on how to escape. “Y-Yes, I found this paper, but it’s bloody and I have to clean it up to see if there’s anything on it. It won’t take too long, I promise.” I explained, showing him the paper with my tweezers, and he only nodded, watching me like a hawk.

I put a few water droplets with the pipette after neatly stretching the paper on a glass plate, putting it under the microscope and trying to catch the right angle where the ink would be rather stained from the blood and water I messed it up with.

“Uhm...There’s something written on it, but I can’t quite understand the writing. Normally, I’d take a picture and send it to the police where they have people special for that, but I’m pretty sure you don’t want that. Maybe you can understand the writing style?” I explain, stepping away from the microscope and motioning for him to step in. “Can’t even read some words...” he grumbled in anger as he bent down, looking around with the microscope, visibly frowning. “That’s such a messy writing...What the hell did he do with that hand of his...?” he groaned, as I slowly took out the scalpel from my lab coat. “Who knows...?” I ushered, plunging the scalpel in his carotid artery, hearing him scream bloody murder, as I screwed the blade around, doing more damage, his blood gushing away like a fountain. “Wh-What.......?” was the last thing he could stutter as he fell down on the ground and it took everything I had not to stand there and stare at what I had just done.

I have to save myself, not stare at life slipping out of him. I carefully changed the scalpel blade and put a knife in his hand, before leaving the room, only to be met by 2 goonies who were definitely of his gang.

“H-Hey, are you with that guy?! He just injured himself! I can’t save him by myself, you have to help me!” I cried out in desperation, praying they will be fooled by my act. “Ehhhh?! That idiot got himself injured? Let’s go check it out.” the one of the left patted the one on the right on the shoulder, before going to check it out. “It’s serious, we have to do something!” I said as I slowly took out the keys from my lab coat and locked them there, as they were too busy checking his body. “YOU BLOODY WHORE, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” they roared, as I ran out of there, to the elevator, continuing to lock all doors behind me, as I unmuted Spencer. “In 2 minutes I’ll be outside. Where are you?” I asked, panting, trying to keep myself down. “We’re almost there, don’t worry. As soon as you leave the building, go down the street to your left. We’re getting out of the car and walking towards you, so we won’t attract too much attention to you.” he explained, and I could only nod, barely remembering he can’t actually see it. “Don’t know how I won’t attract attention when I have blood all over me.” I mumbled, stepping out into the open. “Did he...?” he trailed on, not wanting to say it out loud. “Yeah...He’s dead. And I locked the 2 other goonies inside. I just hope there’s no one else.” I took a deep breath, rushing down the street, and thankfully enough, I could see a 2 people coming my way, one of them being my beautiful chestnut haired boyfriend.

Unfortunately, just as I thought everything was okay, I feel myself being grabbed from behind in a choke hold, something cold pressed to my temple - 

It was a gun.

As tears started welling up in my eyes and I could barely stop myself from shedding them, I could see Hotch extending his arm in front of Spencer, so he wouldn’t do anything stupid and that he’ll handle it.

All I could do was look at Spencer while my sight remained blurry and my body was trembling like a leaf -  I had no idea what to do, how to react, all I knew was that I was afraid and I had a scalpel in my pocket.

As Hotch tried to negotiate with the criminal, the man got pissed off, pushing me behind him as he started trashing his gun arm left and right.

That’s when I knew I had to act. I couldn’t have anyone accidentally or intentionally hurting my Spencer...

I threw my arms over his gun one from the side, pulling it backwards, away from the 2, one hand over the gun, while the other stabbed the man’s inner wrist, easily destroying the veins.

Thankfully, this gave Hotch the opportunity to shoot the man before he could do anything bad, and not before long...The enemy fell to the ground with an empty expression.

I quickly kicked the gun away, crouching down to make sure he’s really dead, and when I confirmed it, I got up, shakily stepping backwards, the scalpel falling from my hands as I tried to get myself back together.

“It’s over now, sweetheart. It’s over. You’re here, with me, nobody will hurt you again.” I felt Spencer hug me tightly, and the warmth and emotions behind it made me start crying from the shock, panic and fear that I felt. “I-I was so scared...” I managed to stammer over my words, as my lovely boyfriend put his hands on my face, tilting it up so I could see him, my eyes staring into his. “I know, darling, I know. We can go back home now, it’s okay.” he tried to reassure me, but Hotch came over. “Before you go home, I need you to tell us what you know from the autopsy. I’m sorry to stress you out after going through such a traumatic experience, but we need to catch the criminals.” the man said, and seeing Spencer frowning in protest, I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder. “It’s okay, I understand. Let’s go. I’ll be okay.” I managed to mutter.

Spencer put his arm around me, kissing my temple as we went to his workplace, and sure, seeing his colleagues all at once was rather overwhelming, but my sweetheart easily handled everything and put a blanket over my shoulder, pulling me to his chest to calm me down, while I explained everything in detail.

While everyone was working on the case, two blonde girls that I found out were Penelope and J.J. and they were sweet enough to try to calm me down by chatting with me.

“So how did you and Spencer meet? You look so cute together!” Penelope asked, grinning from ear to ear. “A while ago, at a cafe. There were no empty seats and the waitress asked me if he could stay there, as he’s a regular, so of course, I said why not.” I smiled softly, holding his hand, our finger intertwining. “She was reading Lord Of The Rings, when she got a phone call from her boss and she got out her case files from the morgue and started explaining all the details.” he stroked my hair soothingly. “And then you took a look at the pictures and randomly started giving your theories and we managed to solve the case together.” I chuckled weakly, my smile growing wider. “Awwwwww, that’s so cute!!” she chirped. “When is the marriage?! Can I be a bridesmaid?!” she continued, making the both of us blush and hide our faces in embarrassment. “Garcia, be gentle with them! They’re soft!” J.J. grinned, nudging her with her elbow. “Who’d have thought that Genius Boy is such a Lover Boy? Sugar Plum Fairy~! And what’s her nickname? Now I’m curious!” Garcia leaned closer to us. “...Sleeping Beauty...I like to sleep...A lot...” I muttered, feeling my cheeks warmer than before. “And you like to be woken up with a kiss~?” she continued to tease us. “..........Yes.” I managed to whisper, hiding my face in the blanket. “When will I find someone as sweet as Lover Boy?! You’re just SO cute together!” she hyped us up, and we could only sigh and look at each other with a smile. “Okay, okay, we’ve done our job, let’s give them some privacy. We’ll come back to tell you when you can go home. Oh, by the way, Spencer...I’m pretty sure I heard them talk about giving you a week off or something. You’ve worked hard for us, you deserve it, especially now after everything you’ve been through.” J.J. smiled down at us, putting her arm around Garcia, guiding her fangirling self out of the office. “Well, hear that, I have vacation. Where do you want to go?” he kissed my lips gently, looking at me with a tender look. “We’ll think of something. The seaside, the mountains...We have time for everything.” I grinned softly, cuddling closer to him. “I love you, Spencer.” “Yeah, we have all the time in the world. I’m so glad you’re safe...I’m sorry you had to go through all that, but I’m so glad nothing happened to you. I love you so much, my Sleeping Beauty.” he kissed me once again, just as sweetly as before. “I would never leave my Sugar Plum Fairy alone.” I gazed at him lovingly, before settling for a comfortable silence, waiting to go home.

[iron--spider]

you’re as good as it gets

“Whoever would have thought Peter would replace me?” Tony asks, peering over at Pepper as they set the table. “I guess I should have. I guess I should have seen it coming. I’m not as cool as I once was.”

 “I am going to record you,” Pepper says, glancing up as she sets the silverware down. “And then I am going to send the videos to Peter, whenever you do this.”

 “Good,” Tony says. “Then maybe he’ll see how much he’s hurting his old man—” Pepper starts coming at him with the dish towel, and Tony laughs, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Sort of.”

 “This is what you wanted him to do, right?” she asks, bracing her hand on the chair and looking at him. “This Octavius guy, doing this with him gets Peter college credit?”

 “The class does,” Tony says, chewing on a toothpick. “The working with him thing is a whole different...thing.”

 “He’s just living his life,” Pepper says, and she’s looking at him sadly now, like she might get it. “Getting better after everything he’s gone through. You know he’s not actually replacing you, he’s just—”

 “No, I know,” Tony says, laughing a little bit. “I know. I’m just being dramatic. To irritate you.”

 “Mhm. Easily done.”

 Tony doesn’t know much about Otto Octavius. Well, he knows everything he learned after he heavily, heavily researched him when Peter started working with him in his lab on the weekends. But, he doesn’t know Octavius as a person, and he doesn’t hardly trust anybody with Peter, even people he trusts. Logically, this is a good thing. Peter’s preparing for college. He’s getting back into the groove of things after...all the bullshit. He was having a hard time with it, for a while. Being gone for five years. His life upended. Tony nearly dying in front of him and losing an arm as a result of the near death. So Tony knows this is good. The kid’s moving on.

 He’s moving on?

He’s moving...on. 

 Tony’s had a lot of people move on from him. He expects it. He expects every day for Pepper to up and leave, for Morgan to pack up her little pink Hello Kitty suitcase and disappear in the wind. Rhodey never picking up his calls again. Happy slamming the door in his face. All of them would probably beat the shit out of him if they knew he still thought that way, but it’s so ingrained in him that it’s hard to push it back.

 He knows it would piss Peter off too. So Tony never says anything to him about his own dumb shit or his worries or his occasional loneliness, despite his firecracker of a daughter who’s been dressing up in Spider-Man costumes lately. But Tony misses Peter. And feels a dumb tinge of jealousy knowing he’s learning and growing with some other asshole scientist mentor guy. Tony is supposed to be the only asshole scientist mentor guy in his life.

 His phone buzzes in his pocket.

 “Speak of the devil,” Tony says, opening up Peter’s message. 

 “See, there you go,” Pepper says, laying out napkins. “He wouldn’t be messaging you if he’d replaced you. He’s too polite for that.”

 The message is a photo—a billboard of Tony himself, the kind of shit that started cropping up everywhere after everyone found out what he did. Suited up, sans helmet, staring upwards with a look of determination and grit on his face, like some kind of stained glass church art. Peter is in the foreground, both eyebrows raised, and it’s captioned “TONY ARE YOU STALKING ME?”

 “What a nerd,” Tony says, full of fondness. 

 “Make sure he knows he’s coming for movie night tomorrow or Morgan will never forgive him,” Pepper says. 

 “Noted,” Tony says, crafting a reply.

 ~

 A couple days later Tony is falling asleep sitting up in the workshop, still analyzing the layout for the new bot he’s creating to accompany DUM-E and U. He’s seen Peter a couple times in the past week, but the kid looks more worn out than normal with every new day that passes. Tony had texted a bit with May, trying not to worry, but that’s practically his every day state of mind, especially when it comes to his kids. 

 His kids. Plural. Two. How long has he been thinking about Peter like that? One of his own. Since before the end of the world? During, while he was gone, when there were things Tony couldn’t change, when the world was so heavy that he had to remove himself from it? When his failure loomed in front of him like a crumbling shadow, the darkness drawing all the light away from him?

 Was it then? Or was it when he saw the kid on their newfound battlefield, like a memory of a lifetime past, an impossible miracle? Talking and talking and talking like he used to?

 Tony leans forward and braces his elbows on the table, digging his thumbs into his eyes, nearly poking his own fucking eye out with his new titanium alloy thumb. It’s been a while and he’s still not used to the new arm. How it looks, how it feels, what other people think. An eternal reminder, just like the arc reactor was. Once again, he’s marked.

 He’s about to call it a night when his phone starts ringing.

 Peter.

 It’s after midnight, and yeah, he’s gotten calls from Peter at all hours of the night, but usually, it’s when he’s in trouble. 

 Tony answers fast. “Hey buddy,” he says. “You okay?”

 Peter’s breath is coming fast, and he doesn’t say anything for a moment. 

 Tony sits up straighter, eyes intent. “Peter, what’s going on?” he asks. “Talk to me.”

 “I—I, I—I made a bad decision. I didn’t know. I didn’t—I didn’t know. Help me.”

 Tony nearly leaps to his feet. Help me. Not I need help. Just help me. “Where are you?” he asks. “What happened? Who did this, what’s going on?”

 “I’m in—I’m in the suit,” Peter says, and Tony doesn’t know if he’s ever heard him sound like this. Only in the moment he knew he was dying. Or when he thought Tony was.

 “I’ll track you, are you safe?” Tony asks, getting up and sweeping towards the exit, a tension headache spreading across his forehead. “Can you stay where you are?”

 “I’ll—I’ll stay close to where I am, it should be—should be okay, but I don’t know, I don’t know.” His voice breaks and he sucks in a few gasping breaths. “I can’t think. I can’t—help me, please, I messed up, I don’t know what to do.”

 “I’m coming, I’m on my way,” Tony says, trembling now, himself, trying to summon the kind of strength that whatever this is needs. “Stay on the line with me, Pete. I’ve got you, just stay there.” He grabs his earpiece on the way out, activating it.

 “Friday, track Peter and give me the fastest possible routes to get to him,” Tony says, starting up the stairs. 

 He hasn’t had a suit on in almost a year. He hasn’t felt strong enough, safe enough, and the others have been covering it. It, the royal It, everything that needed to be done. Tony did what he could and it wound up well, and after that, nobody’s needed Iron Man. 

 But Peter needs him now.

 ~

 Tony can barely get him to talk while he’s on his way over, and that terrifies Tony even more—just short, clipped answers, wavering breathing, and it sounds like a panic attack. But Peter doesn’t seem to hear him, when Tony tries to talk him through it. He’s faraway in his head, too. 

 Tony finally finds him in an unused tunnel in Harlem, and getting over there without drawing a crowd is more difficult than Tony would have liked. But Friday finds him the way in that Peter must have found, and it’s like dropping directly into a horror movie. Quiet, echoes, dripping. 

 Peter crying.

 He’s sitting there, against the wall, his mask balled up beside him. This place is dirty and abandoned, and he looks too bright and vibrant to be here. Even in the state he’s in.

 Tony lets the nanos crawl back into the housing unit and he rushes over to him, kneeling by his side. He glances up, briefly, to make sure no one is keeping him here, that this isn’t a trap, but he doesn’t see anything anywhere. He hopes Friday would alert him to anything like that.

 “Hey, hey, okay,” Tony says, one hand on Peter’s shoulder, the other tipping his chin up. “Here I am, okay? What happened? What’d you do? I’m sure whatever it is, not your fault, we can fix it. We can fix it, together, no problem, kid. You know how much shit I’ve messed up and thought was beyond repair? Plenty. I always fix it, and we’re gonna fix this too.”

 Peter’s eyes finally focus on him, red-rimmed, and he shakes his head. He shudders to his feet, bracing his hand on the wall behind him, and he nearly falls before Tony grabs him and steadies him.

 “Otto,” Peter says, sniffling. “Doctor Octavius. He, he, he—he’s a bad guy, Tony, he’s—I’ve been helping him invent things and working on his specs and I’ve been helping him with all this stuff for months and months and he’s using it to hurt people, to commit crimes. He’s got—an entire team of guys, and I didn’t even mean to find them but I found them, tonight, they’re all these costumed villains, they were—they were working with the Rhino, that big guy I put away last month—”

 “Yeah, I remember,” Tony says, still holding onto him.

 “The police thought he had people behind him, more—more powerful people, but tonight I went after these guys that had robbed a bank on 4th street and I webbed up one of them but the other got away and I followed him—but I realized he was leading me somewhere bigger, and there were—Tony, he was there, Otto, he was in charge—he’s using these—these arms, they look like octopus arms, and I, I—I’m the one that helped—I helped him, I helped him with those—with those specs—”

 He covers his mouth, shaking his head, and before Tony can think about hugging him he steps forward and buries his face in Tony’s shoulder. 

 Peter keeps talking, muffled. “He’s responsible—his group, these people, they’re responsible for so, so much—shit—countless robberies, kidnappings, that—that explosion, at that office building, that happened—that happened in July, that was them, Tony, and people died, and I—and I’ve been—working with him since June—”

 “Stop, stop, stop,” Tony whispers, holding onto him.

 Peter gasps, sounds like he’s gonna start choking, and he claws at Tony’s shoulders. “I should have—realized, I should have known, some—somehow, figured it out, realized, but he—he acted so, so normal, with me, and I thought he was—I thought he was doing something—good, but he’s—he’s not—”

 “And you’re sure—”

 “I’m sure,” Peter whispers, wounded. “Positive. And I—they were picking up and moving their—base and I was—freaking out too much to even—follow—keep track—”

 “Shh, relax,” Tony whispers, ruffling Peter’s hair. “Relax, breathe.”

 Peter stops talking, but his breathing is labored, and he’s holding on tight.

 “The guy that got away, that led you to all this, did he know you were following him? Did he know what you saw?”

 “Don’t think so,” Peter says. He shakes his head. “I should never have—even taken that course, with Otto, let alone started—working with him. I made a bad decision, a—a stupid decision. May is gonna be so disappointed in me. And I know...I know you don’t like him.”

 Tony scoffs, still rocking them back and forth, gently. “I didn’t not—listen, one, May can never be disappointed in you. Please. And me, I’m just—I’m just jealous. I wanna work with you, I wanna hoard you, and that’s selfish of me, whatever. That’s all. But fuck that guy, now I have a reason to hate him. We’re gonna take him down, yeah?” He pulls back, holding Peter by the shoulders. “Yeah?”

 Peter looks positively fucking miserable, but thankfully, uninjured. “I’ve been helping him, Tony,” he says, dejected. “With...God knows what. The arms, they’re—they were supposed to be for limb replacement, but he’s altered them, and they’re—they look dangerous. He was in charge, he was—with all these criminals, some I’ve seen before, some that have gotten away from me and he was—he was in charge.”

 “Listen,” Tony says, stepping a little closer. “I’ve been betrayed before. More than one time. Used for what I know, what I can do. That’s what happened here. Nothing else. You have not and will not ever hurt anybody or anything. You’re a fucking angel, kid, and this does not change that. We’re gonna take care of this. You could do it without me, because you can do anything, but I’m gonna help you every step of the way.”

 Peter heaves a sigh, the kind of motion that shows he’s still horrified and put-upon by all this, but relieved that he’s not handling it alone. Tony knows how that is. It’s always easier to have backup, especially when things are personal. They both take things to heart.

 Peter moves in and hugs him again. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. 

 “Nope,” Tony says, automatically, hugging him back. “No reason to be sorry. My least favorite phrase from you.”

 “I’m just sorry for everything,” Peter says, voice breaking again. There’s a lot more behind that one, and Tony sighs, rubbing his back.

 “Don’t be,” he says. “You’re doing everything right. The world just sucks and good people get taken advantage of. And you’re as good as it gets.”

 “But we’re gonna fix it,” Peter says, tentatively, like he’s hoping to believe it.

 “Yes,” Tony says, firmly. “We’re gonna fix it.”

[goosewhisker]

this crooked posture (is all you’ve ever known)

read this on ao3 || read this on fanfiction.net

i wrote this whole thing in a span of about 5 days :pensive: as u can maybe tell i have a lot of feelings abt that one conversation btwn scourge and jules...there is so much potential here and im sad we never got to see it

as far as timeline goes- this would probably take place in the pre-boot universe about six months or so after scourge & co escape from zone jail. the destructix are camping out on mobius for the time being to avoid drawing zonic's attention and knothole has wrapped up the ixis naugus/metal sally arcs.

Summary: Fiona heads off with a wave, and he's left where he started - staring through a window into a nearly-empty kitchen, looking in on a life was never his and never will be. Inside, the robian sets bacon on the stovetop to fry and starts making toast, blissfully unaware of the hedgehog just outside. It's hard to tell on a robot, obviously, but he looks perfectly content with his life. Happy, even.

Pathetic. 

Or: Scourge avoids his problems, Fiona is exasperated, and Jules is mostly oblivious.

It's the early hours of the morning. So early, in fact, that it shouldn't even technically be called morning because it's still basically nighttime and no one sane is up right now.

Which is probably why the idiotic robian is up at five o'clock in the morning, puttering around in the kitchen and making breakfast. There's literally no reason for it. It's not like he can eat anything, after all, and his stupid son lives off chilidogs, so he's not going to eat it. And his stupid wife isn't getting up for like two hours, so she's not eating it either. See? Idiocy.

Yet another thing that their universes seem to have in common.

"What are you doing?"

Scourge almost shrieks - key word is almost, 'cause he's too cool to scream like a dork - and tackles Fiona into the bushes. "Shhh!"

Fiona splutters indignantly and a second later her fist bounces off his jaw, which, ow. "Are you nuts? Get off me!"

"Shhhut up!" Scourge throws a quick glance over his shoulder at the window. No one's come outside to investigate, so hopefully no one's heard. He rolls off her a second later. "You wanna get us arrested, woman?"

"Hey, I'm a legal citizen of this universe!" Fiona protests. "If anything, it's you who's getting arrested, Mr.-Snooping-Through-Other-People's-Windows. That's so creepy."

"We're both wanted criminals here; if we get caught, we're going down together," Scourge points out, graciously ignoring her last comment. "And anyway, I'm... gathering intel."

Fiona snorts. "Pull the other one, Scourge. That's not gonna work on me." Crossing her arms, she adds, "You've been gathering intel every night for the past week. And I know you're technically the same person, but watching Sonic sleep is really weird."

"I'm not watching him," Scourge snaps before he can help himself.

"Oh?" Fiona's eyes glint and it's then that Scourge realizes he's slipped. "Then who are you watching?"

"Uhhh..." Scourge fidgets while trying not to look like he's fidgeting. "No one. I'm just passing through, not watching anything. Why'd I want to do that anyway?" He forces a laugh. "So lame."

Fiona regards him with a flat stare. "Your fingerprints are smudged all over the window."

"What?" Scourge whips around to check the window. He'd been so careful not to leave any traces of his visits, but-

Waitaminute.

"Very funny," Scourge growls into his gloved hands. Fiona snickers.

"Look, if you don't want to tell me, I won't make you," she says, standing up and brushing the dirt off her pants. "But I'll find out eventually. And if this new obsession of yours endangers yourself or the team, I'm going to put a stop to it."

"Yeah, yeah," Scourge mutters, waving her off. "Get lost."

"Mhm. We still on for that movie night?"

"'course. See you there, babe."

Fiona heads off with a wave, and he's left where he started - staring through a window into a nearly-empty kitchen, looking in on a life was never his and never will be. Inside, the robian sets bacon on the stovetop to fry and starts making toast, blissfully unaware of the hedgehog just outside. It's hard to tell on a robot, obviously, but he looks perfectly content with his life. Happy, even.

Pathetic.

Scourge kicks the side of the house, suddenly incandescently furious with everything. Inside, Jules looks up in surprise, but Scourge is already gone.

"I need to stop," Scourge says later. The movie is over - some samurai flick that Simian had picked out and Lightning had ruined with his constant nitpicking - and they'd gone out for ice cream afterwards (read: robbed that nice gelato place downtown). Getting used to having teammates again is... something, Scourge supposes. But it's not completely terrible.

"You need to stop," Fiona agrees. She's texting furiously, slouched into the ratty couch in their current hideout with Scourge's head on her lap.

"It's just weird seeing him alive, is all," Scourge tells the ceiling. "That's all it is. Like, when you see something weird, and you just gotta look at it. It doesn't mean anything."

"Are you trying to convince yourself or me?"

"Not tryin' to convince anyone. I'm just saying what it is."

Fiona sets down her phone with a sigh. "Look, you gotta stop hurting yourself like this."

Scourge sits up a little too fast. "Hurting myself? What? Babe, have you forgotten who you're talking to? I'm Scourge the Hedgehog, I don't hurt."

Fiona gives that all the acknowledgment it deserves, which is none. "I told you about the... the prison, when I was a kid," she says. Scourge falls silent. "I went back there a few times, after I was big enough to handle myself. There wasn't a reason, really. I just thought I had to see it. And it sort of helped the first time - I cleaned out all the bots and made sure that place couldn't hold anyone ever again - but after that, I just went back again and again because it made me hurt and that felt good. Because I was hurting anyway, and being able to make it worse when I wanted to made me feel like I could control it."

Scourge doesn't say anything.

"But that wasn't true," Fiona says. Her voice shakes just a little, and without thinking Scourge takes her hand. It's stupid (sentimental) but she smiles faintly. "I wasn't healing or in control or anything. I was just hurting myself. And I can't stand watching you do the same."

"Babe," Scourge begins hoarsely.

"Tell me it's not the same," Fiona says flatly. "Or tell me- tell me that if I went back to that prison and crawl through that tunnel I dug with my own hands and relive every moment of the hell I went through, that you wouldn't stop me. That you would watch me do it."

He can't tell her that. He can't tell her that and she knows it.

Scourge looks away.

Fiona sighs and runs her hand along his spines. "He's not your dad, Scourge," she says quietly. "He's an entirely different person. Hurting yourself isn't going to make anything better."

"Okay," Scourge agrees. "Okay." Then, after a moment, "Thanks, babe."

Fiona smiles again, and there's something so sad about it he squeezes her hand again (uncool, but it's not like there's anyone else to see it). "No problem, hun."

He goes back again the next day.

This time, the wife is there too.

Scourge crouches in the massive oak tree beside the window, pretending he doesn't feel like a massive creep. His green fur blends neatly with the leaves, rendering him all but invisible to any casual observers, particularly when it's not-quite-light. With luck, it'll fool robian eyes as well.

Anyway.

Scourge doesn't remember his mother. She was simply never in the picture; whether because of death or divorce he never knew. Generally, he suspects the latter - months upon months of neglect, of being constantly passed over and ignored for the more important burdens of the state and the good of the people - yeah, he can see how a divorce would happen. Not that he'll ever know now.

The hedgehog in the kitchen doesn't look neglected. She throws her arms around the robian, not seeming to mind the cold metal, and dances around him as they prepare breakfast. The robian, in turn, leans into her touches and takes advantage of a moment of distraction to dab pancake batter on her nose. It's disgusting. Scourge gags.

Part of him wonders what he's gaining out of this. Hiding in a tree, spying on some losers and their dumb domestic life - not exactly fitting behavior for the former king of Moebius, after all.

It's not... It's not that Fiona's right. It's not like he's hurting himself - like he told Fiona, he's Scourge the Hedgehog. He doesn't do that emotions garbage. That kind of wimpiness is more Sonic's thing.

(Let alone that Fiona had said it happened to her. Let alone that she's usually right, and that she's one of the strongest people he knows.)

He's just curious. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less.

(The voice in his head sounding suspiciously like Fiona whispers, Yeah, right.)

Inside the kitchen, the robian starts flipping pancakes. For a second, Scourge tries to imagine his own father like that: Jules the Hedgehog, king of Moebius, flipping pancakes in a frilly pink apron and laughing with his wife. Arguing over who gets to wake up their son. Talking and hugging and laughing and living -

- and the illusion dissipates. Jules wouldn't set foot in a kitchen. He had servants to do that kind of thing, just like he had servants to take care of his son.

Scourge drops down from the tree branch and lands lightly on his feet. He's done here. He slinks off into the streets, hiding his face from the strengthening sunlight as synthetic laughter rings out behind him.

"Hey, Simian," Scourge says a few days later.

Simian continues lifting weights without slowing. "Yes?"

Scourge likes Simian, as much as he likes anyone. The ape is steady and has a solid head on his shoulders, and while it's kind of a drag most times, he does occasionally have helpful bits of advice. And when he goes loose on the battlefield, he can be really fun to fight alongside.

So that, plus the fact that Hawk doesn't care and Lightning would probably make fun of him and he'd rather eat his own shoes than talk to Fly, makes him Scourge's best option.

Scourge swings his legs back and forth as they dangle off the chair and tries to think of a way to broach it. He just needs to be subtle, right? "When was the last time you saw your parents?"

And maybe that wasn't super subtle after all, because Simian stops in the middle of his workout session (he never stops in the middle of a workout session) to stare at him. It feels... extremely uncomfortable, actually, wow. Scourge hops up and starts his stretches (anything to avoid looking back).

"When I last left my village, I was eighteen," Simian says at last. He sounds thoughtful, which is never a good sign. "That was several years ago... six years, I believe."

"That long, huh?" Scourge moves to quad stretches. "You're pretty old, man. Slowing down anytime soon?"

He's rewarded with a sharp grin. "I'm not that old. Though I suppose most people look slow next to you."

"Damn straight!"

"Why do you ask?"

And that's the issue - when even Scourge isn't sure why he's asking. He takes his time answering. "Oh, you know... just curious. Ever think about 'em?"

There's another ponderous silence, which mostly just succeeds in making Scourge antsy. Well, antsier.

"Sometimes," Simian says. "But I am a dedicated member of this team. You can rest assured of that."

And that's nice, but it's not what he's asking-

"...but that's not what you're asking, is it?"

Scourge freezes. Is he just that transparent? Why can everyone suddenly read his mind now? "What're you on about, man?" he deflects.

Simian shakes his head. "I do miss them, sometimes. It is natural for children to miss their parents."

"Not me!" Scourge laughs, and if it comes out a little too sharp, well, who's to blame him?

"Of course," Simian says, sounding vaguely indulgent. "Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

"Uh, sure," Scourge lies. "A little heavy on the oversharing, but it's cool." And then he scarpers, because if super speed's good for anything it's for escaping uncomfortable conversations. Simian doesn't say anything about it later, and thank Chaos because he doesn't think he'd be able to face Fiona if she ever got wind of that little talk.

The next time he's in town, Scourge picks up a new set of woodworking knives and leaves it on Simian's equipment. It's not like he's gone soft, buying presents for his friends or whatever, Scourge tells himself. He's just... buying Simian's silence. It's a bribe, is all.

(Simian saves him some extra ice cream the night after and that's that.)

It is natural for children to miss their parents, Simian had said. Ha! As if. Scourge hasn't missed his old man a day of his life and he's not about to start now.

... that'd carry more weight if he wasn't spending two or three mornings a week moping outside their kitchen.

Scourge sips his frappe and pretends he's not sulking. Right now, he's outside some random diner in Knothole in full disguise, complete with a trenchcoat, fedora, and sunglasses. He was honestly expecting someone to stop him before now - this kind of garb is about as suspicious as it gets - but no one seemed to even notice anything out of the ordinary. Idiots.

Fiona would kill him if she knew the kind of risks he's taking - which, of course, is why she doesn't need to know.

Scourge checks the time. Seven o'clock, meaning the wife is just getting up and they're having breakfast right now - Chaos, he has their entire morning schedule memorized, doesn't he? Fiona was right, he is obsessed. Scourge slumps over the table and buries his head in his arms.

He can still turn this around. Knowing their schedule is useful, from a strategic standpoint; he could threaten them, take them hostage... even kill them. Sonic would be taken completely offguard. It would be simple. Easy. The smart thing to do.

Scourge's groan is only partially muffled by the table.

"...you alright, son?"

What-

Something electric shoots up his spine. Scourge's claws dig into the edges of the table with a crunch as he bolts upright. And there, before him, with a look so familiar but so foreign in his eyes is-

He's not the same.

His skin is metallic where it should be flesh, plated where it should be furred. His eyes burn a bright pixelated red when they should be brown. That stupid tuft of fur on his head is shining chrome that glints under the bright sun.

But the way he stands - colored though it is with a hint of a soldier's posture - that proud tilt of his chin, the gentleness in his hands as they reach out to him -

It's Jules.

It's different from seeing him in that dim, lamp-lit room. In the daylight, the differences are exaggerated - and so are the similarities.

For a second, Scourge can only see his dad standing there.

He reacts on instinct. Scourge rears back and smacks Jules' outstretched hand away. "Don't touch me!"

Jules straightens up, virtual eyes widening with shock. "I'm- I'm sorry, it looked like you were unhappy. I only meant to-"

"Well, don't," Scourge spits. "Get lost."

Jules looks at him longer and then, for some Chaos-forsaken reason, doesn't leave. Why isn't he leaving, Scourge thinks furiously, and only realizes he's breathing heavy when his breaths start coming too fast and harsh in his ears. Jules says something, but the words don't make sense and he can't tear his gaze away from the polished metal. Beneath his fingertips, the table starts to splinter.

And then there's warm hands on his shoulders, and a steady voice in his ears, saying, "Listen to me. Do you want me to leave?"

Nothing comes out of his throat. Scourge shakes helplessly. He wants him to leave, he wants him stay, he wants to never see him again. He wants his dad.

Jules must take it as permission to stay, because he doesn't leave. The grip on his shoulders is a solid, unmoving presence, and Scourge can't help but lean into it. "I'm going to count slowly. Try to match your breathing to my voice - it's alright if you can't. Starting now. One, two..."

For some completely batty reason, he tries, and it helps some. His breathing is a little too fast and a lot shaky, still, but it settles into a more even pace instead of the uncontrollable rush. Sense comes back slowly, and with it, an acute, uncomfortable awareness of what just happened.

Well. At least he's not crying.

Scourge stands abruptly, tearing himself from Jules' arms. The robian raises a brow but doesn't protest. "Are you feeling better?" he asks instead. It's entirely casual, with no hint of pity, and Scourge hates himself a little for being pathetically grateful.

"Peachy," Scourge snaps and whirls around, hiking up his collar. Jules isn't screaming yet, so he clearly hasn't realized who he is, and Scourge is in no hurry to correct him. Honestly, this hedgehog's stupidity knows no bounds.

"Well." The robian stands up, reaches for a grocery bag that Scourge only just realized was there, and adds, "Stay safe, son."

Scourge's vision briefly whites out from fury. "Don't call me that," he snarls and takes off running before Jules can reply.

He finds a secluded place in a lonely corner, throws his warp ring, and promises himself that he'll never go back.

Scourge does some research.

It's called a panic attack, apparently. Common among soldiers, which is probably why Jules knew what to do - he said he'd been on the front lines, hadn't he? Common among victims of PTSD, the website says, and Scourge scoffs and closes the tab. Trauma - ridiculous. Scourge doesn't do trauma. If anything, he gives it to other people.

He's still snickering at his joke when Hawk comes in to tell him that Finitevus called in with another job. Normally, Scourge would tell him to screw off, but he's offering a massive stack of Anarchy beryl in return - something they've been in short supply of since they ditched Moebius.

Scourge's body itches at the thought of going super again. He accepts.

Thirty minutes later, they're waist-deep in smashed Eggman bots and struggling to fend off a fresh wave while Fiona and Hawk bicker over the terminal.

"I'm telling you, if we do that, we'll get locked out of the system entirely!" Fiona snaps.

Hawk throws up his hands. "Fine! Ignore me! It's not like you literally just have to enter the code or anything!"

Scourge spindashes down the line of Eggpawns, smashing through them like paper. He hits the wall at the right angle to bounce right off and uncurls in midair to land on his feet.

"Wrap it up, guys!" he yells and ducks beneath a stray kunai. "Watch it, Lightning!"

"Thought you were supposed to be the fast one," Lightning calls back.

"And I thought you were supposed to be able to aim!"

"I can." Lightning flicks a wrist and Scourge drops backward into a roll to avoid the next kunai that comes his way. When he springs back onto his feet, ready to chew out the idiotic trigger-happy lynx, there's a Badnik pinned to the wall right where he'd been standing. Lightning shoots him a smug grin.

"Right back atcha," Scourge mutters and barrels through the cluster taking potshots at Hawk and Fi.

"Ugh, fine!" Fiona shoves Hawk away and starts typing furiously.

Scourge drops another five Badniks and skids to a stop as an Egg Launcher smashes through the wall directly in front of him. "Fiona!"

"Give us a minute," Hawk snarls back.

The Launcher brings its arms down to eye level and Scourge leaps into the air as its targeting system locks on - and then Fly drops out of nowhere onto on its shoulders. "Need help?" the frog giggles (sweet Chaos Scourge hates him) and rips the thing's head off. Scourge blitzes right through its chest.

As its body slumps bonelessly to the floor, another Launcher steps through the wall behind it... and another one. And another. Chaos.

"If those things unload all those missiles in here, we're going to have a problem," Lightning says, echoing Scourge's own thoughts.

"Out of the way," Simian grunts, swinging the first bot's disembodied missile launcher-slash-arm onto his shoulder and taking aim.

"Are you nuts, man?" Scourge yells. "Didn't you hear Lightning? You fire that thing and this whole building's going down!"

"Better have the exit ready, then," Simian returns evenly.

"Got it!" Fiona announces, jumping up from the terminal with a chip in hand. Hawk follows, looking severely disgruntled. "Turns out we really did just have to enter the code. Hah."

"I told you," Hawk begins, but Fiona waves him off.

"You were right once, don't go getting a big head. You got the ring ready, sweetie?"

"Everyone over here! You miss the ring, we're leavin' you behind!" Scourge doesn't wait for a response and throws the warp ring. The portal spins into existence, glistening faintly in the electric light, and they all pile in. Simian fires off a final missile salvo before the ring vanishes and they tumble haphazardly into the Doc's lair to the sound of the entire base going up.

For a second, no one moves, too tired and bruised and tangled together to bother getting up. Lightning sighs heavily from the bottom of the heap. Scourge laughs.

"I trust you have what I asked for?" Finitevus asks from literally two feet away, and Scourge isn't even going to question how he knew where they'd end up. After all, they are at his mercy inside his weird evil lair, and Scourge knows how to be tactful.

Scourge props himself up on an elbow. "So do you like, practice being creepy, or is it natural?"

Without looking, Fiona smacks him in the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"We have it," Fiona says, extricating herself from the tangle. Scourge considers tripping her as she walks past, decides against it, and settles for hooking his ankle around Hawk's heel as he stands up. The bird goes down with a satisfying squawk right on top of Lightning and the ensuing chaos lets Scourge hop up onto his own feet.

Fiona ignores it.

"All the files relating to the roboticization process are on this USB," she says, holding it out. Finitevus takes it and, after a moment's inspection, slips it into his robes.

"So why'd you want that, Doc?" Scourge asks, adjusting his sunglasses. "Woulda thought that robot stuff wasn't quite your style."

"It is true that roboticization is a perversion of the natural order and representative of that which I seek to destroy," Finitevus concedes. "But I am not opposed to much that will give me the advantage against my nemeses. And I must admit the idea of enslaving your opponent's will to your own has a certain... charm."

Scourge and Fiona exchange a look - of the literally why is he like this and the why do we talk to him again variety - and Scourge shoves his hands in his pockets and steps up. "Uh... yeah, man. Totally. Anyway, if we're done here, can we have the beryl now?"

"Of course. But first, I have one more task for you."

Scourge scoffs disbelievingly. "Are you kidding? The deal was we break into Eggman's lab, steal your stupid information, and hand it over. We've done that. It took like forever and it was a massive pain in the butt the whole time, we are not adding anything else onto that and that's final."

"...I'll double the amount of beryl."

Scourge hesitates.

... which is how they ended up here. Scourge crouches on the windy rooftop, tugging his dumb fancy suit jacket closer and hoping idly that something happens soon. "Can we go in yet?" he asks.

Hawk, who's busy adjusting his own disguise, shakes his head. "You really have no patience at all, do you?"

"Nope!" Scourge tugs on his overly-tight tie and mostly just makes it worse. "How 'bout now?"

"If you were any good at infiltration, Fiona would've let you go in already," Hawk says. He's typing on his communicator, syncing all their devices into something they can actually use. It's not that Hawk's particularly adept at technology, or anything; it's just that all the rest of them are so abysmal at anything electric that tech duty usually falls to him or Fiona. "Unless Plan C falls through, you're not headed in 'till the last minute."

Scourge sighs loudly, letting his feet dangle off the edge of the building. "I could just walk in and grab him. They wouldn't even see me coming. Then we wouldn't have to spend a million years sitting out in the cold."

Hawk doesn't look up. "And then Sonic would pursue, and then we'd have to fight him off while trying to kidnap a geriatric former soldier without killing him. Which, given our previous track record..."

The bird trails off and Scourge grimaces. Yeah. They'd given up on kidnappings for a reason. They wouldn't have even considered this one if not for the offer of Anarchy beryl - which has been in extremely short supply recently, given they can't hop dimensions without instantly snagging Zonic's individual attention. And it's not like Scourge isn't flattered that the self-important dimensional cop will drop everything for a chance at catching him, but he's not planning on seeing the inside of Zone Jail ever again.

Anyway. It's a small blessing that Zonic hasn't come looking for them personally, or sent Sonic after them, but it's one Scourge isn't willing to throw away just for a power-up. Thus the kidnapping mission.

Scourge swings his legs contemplatively and longs for Fiona to hurry up so he can bash some heads.

Right on cue, their communicators ring. "Alright, boys," Fiona's voice comes through a little tinnily. "You ready?"

"Heck yeah," Scourge says immediately.

"Ready to go whenever," Hawk confirms.

"Roger. Meet me where we agreed." The comms unit crackles and goes silent. Scourge hops up and starts stretching quickly, trying to limber up his half-frozen muscles. Hawk sets his communicator down and picks the lock on the trapdoor they'd been sitting next to. Once it's open, they slip down a small flight of stairs and through an empty hallway. At the end, they take a right through another hall and stop outside a janitor's closet.

Scourge raps on the door. "Knock, knock," he says.

There's a moment of silence. Then Lightning opens the door. "Hurry up," he whispers, peering over their shoulders.

Scourge clicks his tongue in disappointment. "Dude, you're supposed to say 'who's there.'"

"Yeah, Lightning," Fiona says from inside. "You're ruining the script."

"I- what?" Lightning sputters. "You people are so immature. Simian, can you tell them to shut up?"

There's a good fifteen seconds of judgemental silence. "...you should've said 'who's there.'"

Lightning rolls his eyes and Scourge pushes past him into the room. Simian nods as he enters and Fly, who's doing something he can't quite make out, cackles in a corner. Scourge spreads his arms wide. "Alright, I'm here now, the party can start!"

"Good to have you," Fiona says. She's sitting on an overturned bucket, one ankle folded over her knee and eyes glued to her phone. "Alright, so Plan A failed."

"Yes!"  Scourge cheers, pumping a fist in the air.

Fiona shoots him a glare. "We weren't able to get him away from his bodyguards and the speech is about to start soon. I didn't want to do this in front of a crowd, but we may not have a choice. Right now, we only have to deal with the normal security and Sonic. After the ceremony, they're going to meet up with a bunch of Sonic's friends before going back home to Knothole."

"Wouldn't it be better to wait, then?" Simian asks, folding his arms.

Fiona shakes her head. "No for two reasons. We can handle the normal security easily, especially if we use the crowd for meatshields while Scourge is distracting Sonic. Sonic's friends are, frankly, a much greater threat than the security, and they will not be holding back. And if we wait until they go back to Knothole, we have that... woman to deal with."

Everyone shudders at the mention of Nicole. Their last attempt on Knothole is not a memory anyone wants to relive.

"So if we use the crowd for cover and Scourge's able to distract Sonic for long enough, this is doable," Fiona resumes. "We'll just have to time it right. And we can not let Sonic know our target at all costs. If he realizes we're trying to kidnap his uncle, he won't let the old man out of his sight, and our job will get a lot harder. Got that?"

A quick briefing on everyone's roles later and it's time to go. Scourge starts to follow the guys out the door and is caught short by Fiona's hand on his wrist. "Sweetie, can I talk to you for a second?" she asks and drags him back inside before he can answer.

She turns him loose and Scourge spins around, rubbing his wrist. "Alright, if this is about what I think it's about-"

"Don't worry, I'm not yelling at you. Just..." she trails off to stare at him.

Scourge tries not to fidget and goes for a confident smile, propped up against the wall. "Babe, don't worry about me. This'll be a lark."

"It's... you know." Fiona shrugs and apparently decides to just go for it. "You've been having issues about your dad. I need to know if that'll affect your performance here."

"What?" Scourge is almost kind of offended. If it was anyone but Fi asking, he would be offended. "Babe, my uncle was a total nutjob. Like, worse than my old man. No issues here."

Fiona looks at him a second longer. "Alright," she says at last. "If you say so. I'm counting on you."

She brushes past him on her way out, squeezing his hand on the way, which is nice since she's weird about stuff like that. Scourge follows a minute later.

I require one more thing for my research, Finitevus had said. Charles the Hedgehog. Inventor of the roboticization process. He is receiving an award for his technological advancements in Central City in two days. Bring him to me alive and you will have your full reward.

Scourge scans the crowd for Charles now, leaning on the fancy railing of the fancy indoors balcony overlooking the fancy banquet hall. There's a name for a balcony like this - a mezzasomething - but he can't remember what it is. Maybe Fiona would know.

Scourge tugs at the collar of his unbearably fancy suit jacket and longs for his sunglasses.

He'd told Fiona the truth earlier - his uncle was a wackjob. Paranoid, jittery, simultaneously ravenous for power and terrified of it - no one had liked him, least of all his nephew.

Jules had liked him, probably. Enough to give him a home and a laboratory for his crazy experiments and to turn a blind eye when they started getting darker and more deadly. That had gone on up until Charles had invented a machine that turned moebians to robots, and its first (unwilling) test subject had been Jules.

Yeah. After Ivo managed to save Jules' life, they'd put a stop to that real quick.

They'd told Scourge that Charles had gone far away to someplace he could be happy. He still remembers that scene - Jules crouching down before him with mournful eyes, one arm cold and stiff where the roboticization process had gotten it before Ivo had pulled him out. His flesh hand had been warm and comforting on his shoulder, and Scourge had been so distracted by the touch that he hadn't even cared that his uncle was gone. He'd faked tears just to get Jules to stay with him a little longer.

Scourge shakes his head wildly, dissipating the memories. Anyway, it was painfully obvious in hindsight that Charles had either been jailed or executed for treason. Not that Scourge would have cared either way. Mostly, he's just vaguely curious to see what Charles is like in this world. Still a mad scientist, or something more benevolent?

A mass of whispering erupts at the main entryway of the hall. Scourge straightens up.

A bunch of bodyguards in black enter, followed by a few people who could be family or friends. Sonic's there, obviously, and next to him can only be Uncle Charles.

Scourge doesn't really remember his uncle; he was, after all, a kid when the guy vanished, and he avoided him whenever possible. But the face before him is undeniably like his own. He has the same sloping forehead, the same pointed muzzle. Honestly, he looks exactly like Sonic with a mustache.

Scourge leans forward, intrigued, as the old guy says something that has Sonic pitching forward in laughter. It's weird, seeing him. Not like seeing Jules, or even like seeing the mom. Just... weird.

Not the kind of weird that Fiona's worried about, thank Chaos. No, he'll have no problems handing this schmuck over to the Doc.

Charles and his little squad sit down in the front row while the bodyguards split up to cover the exits. Scourge tracks their positions automatically, mostly focused on the target. Charles claps his nephew on the back and leans over to whisper something in his ear. Scourge looks away with a sneer.

The ceremony starts. A bunch of people Scourge doesn't know talk about a bunch of things he doesn't understand, blah blah blah. Scourge yawns and taps a tattoo on the railing with his claws. Luckily, all the civilians seem to have gone down to the seating area, so he's alone on the balcony. As long as the security doesn't notice him, he should have no problem staying under the radar until it's time to make his move. Until then, he amuses himself trying to find the rest of the Destructix hidden in the crowd.

Down below, the speeches start wrapping up. Charles ruffles his nephew's quills one last time and heads up to the stage. Scourge straightens up as he accepts his award and takes the mic.

"First, I'd like to thank you all for being here today," the hedgehog says. Scourge taps his foot impatiently. "I know it's a bit of a long way for a lot of you - we've got some visitors from Holoska, even! - and it means a lot to me that you'd take the time to make it here today. So thank you."

Ugh, so boring. Can't Fiona hurry up? At this rate, they'll be doing the audience a favor by sparing them all this drivel.

"- of the University of Spagonia for funding my research and going out of his way to help me whenever I needed it. Thank you, old friend."

Scourge taps his communicator and almost jumps when it crackles to life.

"Alright, everyone's in position," Fiona says. "On my mark, Scourge, you're going to distract Sonic. Jump down there, challenge him to a fight, anything. His sole concern needs to be beating you up."

"All he has to do is be himself and Sonic'll be jumping at the chance to tear him a new one," Lightning interjects. "Works on me."

"Oh, shut up," Scourge says. "Fiona, tell him to shut up."

"...well, he has a point."

Lightning's amused huff is audible over the comm. Scourge rolls his eyes. Traitors, all of them.

Fiona's voice goes serious. "But for real. Get him mad and get him out of here. Make him chase you 'till I call you back, and don't give him a second to realize there's more going on. If he comes back here before we're done, it's over. Okay?"

"I got it handled, babe," Scourge says. "Worry about yourself."

"Believe me, I am." The comms go silent a second later. Scourge stands up, shakes the stiffness from his limbs, and hops up to crouch on the railing. It's showtime.

On stage, Charles is still talking. Does the hedgehog not know how to shut up? "And finally, I'd like to thank my family, who loved and supported me every step of the way, up to and including being here with me today as I accept this award. Sonic, my amazing nephew - you've grown so much and, while I wasn't there for all of it-"

Well, that's enough of that. Scourge leaps into the air, curls up, and lands a perfectly executed homing attack on the podium. Splinters, chunks of wood, and a massive dust cloud fly everywhere. Someone in the audience screams, and behind him he can hear Charles stumbling back and coughing furiously.

"Uncle Chuck!" In the front row, Sonic rockets to his feet and dashes forward, only to come skidding to a stop. As the dust dissipates, Scourge grins. He can feel the light glinting off his fangs.

"Long time no see, faker," Scourge spits. He pulls his sunglasses out of the stupid suit jacket's pocket and slides them on with a flourish. "Can't exactly say it's a pleasure seeing you... then again, I always look forward to a chance to kick your butt."

"Wh- Scourge?" the blue idiot sputters. The shock only lasts a matter of seconds before fading, as the flabbergasted expression turns into something more like a smirk. "Well, well. I haven't heard from you since I demolished you and left Zonic to drag your sorry carcass away. Did they let you out on good behavior?"

Good behavior. Hah. As if Sonic knows anything about what goes on in Zone Jail. "Please. I smashed my way out of there the first week. The Zone Jail's in shambles; just ask Zonic! Oh wait - you can't." He laughs.

Sonic's smile slips a notch and the quills on his back bristle. "What happened to Zonic?"

Scourge keeps laughing.

"Alright, pincushion. Maybe you'll tell me when I beat it out of you!" Apparently done talking, Sonic curls up into a spindash. Scourge, still laughing, topples off the wrecked podium and leaves Sonic to smash into the stage where he'd been standing. People are screaming, someone's escorting Charles off the stage, and Scourge is reveling in the chaos.

"Slowing down, blue boy?" he mocks him. "You'll never find out about your stupid friend if you can't even touch me." Zonic's perfectly fine, actually, unless you count the truckload of paperwork Scourge saddled him with after his escape from Zone Jail. Not that Sonic needs to know that, 'cause if anything ticks him off, it's a threat to one of his friends.

And, true to form, Sonic snarls wordlessly and Scourge knows he's got him.

"You're looking kind of slow today - let's see if those legs of yours still work," Scourge calls over his shoulder and takes off. The world blurs around him as he taps into his speed, rockets between panicked partygoers and confused waiters and angry bodyguards. Out of the corner of his eye, he briefly spots Fiona crouching behind a pillar before she's blown away in his wake. Like this, outside sounds, sights, everything drops away, leaving him alone with himself and the wind.

It's nice. Peaceful, even.

And then the only other being who can keep up with him barrels into his side, sending them tumbling over each other right through the big open doors outside. Scourge lands a kick to Sonic's chest, sending him spinning away, and sprints down a sidestreet towards the marketplace. A moment later, the sound of footsteps running at 300 mph picks up behind him.

Scourge grins. The plan's working, then - Sonic's so ticked that he hasn't even stopped to wonder why Scourge isn't stopping to fight, or why he crashed the party in the first place. Now he just has to play this out 'till Fiona's done.

"Been slacking your exercise regimen lately? 'Cause I thought you were faster than this!" Scourge calls out.

"That so?" Sonic returns. The sound is unexpectedly close and Scourge looks back to see Sonic running only a few paces behind him. "I could say the same for you."

Scourge growls and vaults a fruit cart, sending it flying with a back kick. Sonic dodges the cart and dives through the onslaught of flying fruit, coming up without a scratch. Scourge's gained a precious few seconds, but in a contest of speed, those seconds mean everything. He blocks Sonic's path - kicking over trash cans, dodging in front of moving cars, knocking a baby out of its mother's arms with a well placed swipe. Sonic dodges the trash cans, goes over or around the vehicles, and loses a good fifteen seconds saving the baby. By the time they've cleared the marketplace, Scourge is about thirty feet ahead and gaining.

"What's wrong?" Sonic yells. "Scared of a little fight?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Scourge yells back. "Dunno 'bout you, but I'm not wasting my time fighting someone too slow to keep up!" Up ahead, a pile of trash bags is stacked against a sloping wall, reaching up to the edge of the roof. Scourge leaps up in a single bound and sprints along the rooftop. Behind, the trash bags crinkle as Sonic races up, and tiles creak as the hedgehog fights for balance. Scourge snorts and picks up speed.

The rooftop run is fraught with near-misses and almost-falls. This area of town has a mixture of buildings; some are modern and boxy, with flat tops, but there's a number of older structures with pointed tile roofs. Scourge skids down the sloping ridge of one of these, slips off the building, snags a flagpole on the way down and turns his fall into a launch point. He lands upright on the narrow ledge of a skyscraper and darts along the line of windows, flashing a mock salute at some goggle-eyed kid in its bedroom.

Sneakered feet hit the concrete behind him as Sonic pursues, grinning despite his ferocious eyes.

Scourge hooks a fast right as the ledge ends and drops down to the top level of the parking garage nestled against the 'scraper. Mostly he's planning on going back down to street level, but Sonic puts on a burst of speed and tackles him right there.

They roll head over heels across the concrete, colliding with a dusty pickup truck hard enough to dent in the side. Scourge throws himself out of the way and rolls onto his feet just as Sonic picks himself up. The blaring car alarm is the only sound as they stare each other down.

Sonic moves first. He doesn't bother curling up, just lunges fist first at Scourge's face. Scourge ducks the punch and goes in low for Sonic's solar plexus, narrowly dodging a knee to his face. Sonic slams his heel down on Scourge's foot and drives an elbow into his neck. Scourge stumbles back, falling into a roll to avoid Sonic's left hook, and comes up on his feet with room to spare.

There's another moment of staring and circling as they pant heavily and pretend they're not.

And then Sonic steps something that crunches and looks down.

Scourge lunges. Sonic sidesteps him easily and snatches it up - and wait, Chaosdammit that's his communicator-

"Is this a mic?" Sonic asks disbelievingly and then the pieces click.

He stares at Scourge blankly, and Scourge can practically see his train of thought - comms means accomplices, accomplices means there's a plan, a plan means Sonic was intentionally drawn out here away from the ceremony, and if Sonic's out here then -

Then -

Scourge swears and moves to tackle Sonic but the idiot's already gone. Instinctively, his hand goes to his ear - "Fiona, he's coming your way, I-" No, wait, Sonic's got the communicator and it's broken anyway, dammit. The plan's falling apart and it's entirely his fault.

Well. It hasn't fallen apart yet.

Scourge takes off, running full-tilt after Sonic. The irony of the situation isn't lost on him, not that he appreciates it. Sonic's trail is a direct beeline back to the hall. It should be easy to follow, but for some reason Scourge can't catch up those last few feet.

"I thought you wanted to fight, you dingus!" Scourge snaps. "Make up your mind already, sheesh!"

"You tricked me," Sonic growls.

"Uh, yeah? I'm the bad guy. It's kinda what I do."

"What's your actual plan?"

"Thought you were gonna beat me up and find out?"

Sonic snarls and, impossibly, picks up speed. Scourge has to drop the conversation entirely to focus on just keeping up.

They hit the convention hall scarce minutes later. There's clearly a fight going on inside; explosions and the faint sound of screaming accompany the flood of people battering down the doors in their desperation to escape. The Destructix are clearly having fun... and more importantly, haven't escaped yet. What on Moebius are they doing?!

Sonic zips through the crowd, dodging panicking mobians with practiced ease. Scourge doesn't bother; he kicks one middle-aged cat into the heart of the rush and vaults over the resulting pileup without missing a step. "Babe! Hope you're wrapping it up in there!" he yells as they burst into the ceremony hall.

The Destructix are more than holding their own. The security has been almost entirely cleared out; fallen guards litter the area while none of their own are even scratched. Fiona, wielding a G.U.N. issue stun pistol, jerks up in surprise as Sonic skids into the room. "Scourge, you had one job!" she screeches.

"So did you!" Scourge rams into Sonic from behind, sending them both flying into a row of seating. Scourge comes out on top. "What happened to Ch- the target?" he asks, pinning Sonic down with an elbow to his throat.

"Escaped," Fiona says grimly. "We've already informed the Doc... and, uh, we have a new objective now."

Sonic makes a choked-off sound and Scourge leans down harder. Something shifts behind him but he ignores it. "Alright, what is it?"

Fiona hesitates.

And then cold metal claws clamp down around his shoulder and tear him off Sonic, lifting him bodily into the air. The hedgehog wheezes for breath on the ground, but Scourge isn't paying attention. He's not paying attention to anything anymore, because in front of him-

"What the hell are you doing here," Scourge breathes.

Artificial red eyes burn into his own. "Don't touch my son," says Jules, and the anger in his voice causes every limb in Scourge's body to lock up with instinctive fear.

Of course Jules is here, Charles is his brother, why wouldn't he attend the ceremony - hadn't the blasted hedgehog said as much during his speech? Scourge should've realized it then. This was a bad idea, they need to get out of here, why did Scourge even come here in the first place-

Something in Jules' mechanical expression thaws.

The clawhold on his shoulder eases as he's lowered to his feet, but Scourge's brain is still spinning in circles. He's gone completely unresponsive, some part of him knows, but he can't think.

"Get away from him!" Fiona yells and plants a high kick right in the center of Jules' chest. The robian goes flying, pursued by Simian, and Hawk swoops down behind them to tackle Sonic away. "Babe," Fiona says, kneeling down beside Scourge, feeling frantically at his shoulder. "Did he get you?"

The world shifts a little bit back into place. "No," Scourge mutters. "Fiona, I don't-"

"Save it." Fiona's eyes are full of worry as she grabs his wrist and hauls him to his feet. "I think you need to sit this one out, sweetie."

"What? No." Scourge grips her hand like a lifeline. "I can fight. I can still fight."

"Scourge... the new target is Jules."

Something in his chest catches. Scourge stares at her, and around them, the noise of the battle seems to fade. "...what? Why?"

Fiona grimaces. "We lost the inventor of roboticization. Next best thing is its last survivor."

"No. We're not doing that." Scourge has no idea what he's doing, only that they cannot hand his- hand Jules over to Finitevus. He catches both her hands in his own and squeezes them tight. "Call off the mission, we're going home."

Fiona stares at him. "What? Scourge, you can't be serious! After all the work we've put into this? And what about the beryl?"

"We already got the beryl from the first mission. We'll be careful and save it until we can restock. We've gotten this far without any beryl at all, we don't need it that badly!" Scourge hesitates. "...Fiona, please."

It's the last word that breaks her. She knows how bad he hates saying it, knows how much this means to him that he's saying it now. Her shoulders slump in defeat. "...fine. But you get to explain this to the Doc - and please, let's try to avoid burning that bridge again."

Scourge squeezes her hand one last time before letting go. "Thanks, Fi. And don't worry about the Doc; I'll take care of him."

"That's what I'm worried about," Fiona grumbles, but she's smiling. "Alright, team," she calls out, pulling out her warp ring. "Mission's off. We're going home."

"Wait, what?" Hawk asks and nearly gets clobbered by Sonic for his trouble. "Why?"

"Ask questions when we get home," Fiona says and throws the ring. As the portal whooshes open, Scourge turns to survey the troops. Lightning and Simian are slowly retreating back to the portal, fighting Jules every step of the way, while Hawk and Fly are trying without much success to fend off Sonic long enough to run.

Scourge spindashes into Sonic, knocking him off-balance. "Get to the portal, idiots!" To Sonic, he adds, "Sorry, but it looks like we're cutting this date short." If Chaos has even a drop of mercy in its unforgiving soul, Sonic will have been too thoroughly distracted by the fight to have overheard his exchange with Fiona.

And it looks like for once, his prayers are answered, because Sonic's grin, strained with exhaustion though it is, hints at nothing off. "I'm not letting you get away this time," he says and launches into another spindash. "I still have some questions for you to answer!"

"Then they'll have to wait for next time." Scourge ducks the attack and slams his heel into Sonic as he passes, boosting his momentum to slam into the opposite wall. "Alright, time to go!" he yells, scrambling for the portal. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the rest of the Destructix doing the same.

Fiona's already waiting at the portal, with one leg halfway through, and-

"-aaaaaAAAUGH, WHAT THE HELL," she screams and falls back, pinwheeling wildly.

"Fiona!" Scourge yells and then the world blurs briefly and he's at her side, hauling her to her feet. "Fi, what's-" and then he screams too, because Finitevus is literally right there, climbing through the ring like a monster in a horror movie.

The battle cuts off. A few feet away, a newly recovered Sonic skids to a stop, staring incredulously. The Destructix are sort of ranged out behind him, looking to Scourge and Fiona for the next move. And who knows where Jules is.

"Dude," Scourge says emphatically, putting a hand to his chest. "Don't do that."

"What are you doing," Finitevus hisses.

Scourge makes a show of looking around. "Uh, escaping? I mean, what does it look like?"

"I should have known better than expect you lot to pull through," Finitevus mutters, and hey, that's actually kind of offensive.

"Hey! Screw you, man!" Scourge yells, shaking his fist. "We're leaving 'cause we want to, not 'cause we're losing!" Fiona slaps a palm to her face.

"Oh? And what possible reason could you have to do that?" Finitevus asks, but he doesn't seem very interested in an answer, because his hands flare with dark energy a second later, and Scourge knows what that means.

"Scatter!" he yells and hits the ground with Fiona as a bolt of Chaos energy goes right over their heads. Fiona rolls out from under him as he leaps to his feet.

Sonic seems to have switched targets. Currently, he's hammering away at Finitevus' defenses, running his mouth the whole time. The ring portal is still open behind Finitevus, but they need to get the crazy echidna out of the way first.

Fiona, as usual, is two steps ahead. "You're going to need to team up with Sonic."

"What, seriously? Can't we just let Sonic take care of the Doc and ditch?"

She gives him a flat look. "I don't know how he did it, but Finitevus must have hijacked the ring's signal and keyed it to his lair. I need time to reset it before we can leave. Just, you know-" she waves a hand vaguely. "Move the fight away. Whale on Finitevus. Keep them both off my back long enough for me to work."

"Ugh. Fine." Scourge turns around on his heel. "Hey, loser!" he calls out, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Five minute truce?"

Sonic uncurls in midair long enough to yell, "Make it two!"

Fiona had better work fast, because this isn't going to take long. "Destructix, watch Fiona's back," he orders and throws himself into the fight.

Finitevus was clearly anticipating something like this, because he moves smoothly into defending against the both of them without hesitation. And it's - frustrating. Whenever Scourge throws a punch, a ring portal swirls into being in just the right place to take his hit. If he tries a kick, the same thing. And Chaos forbid he spindashes, or he'll wind up on the opposite side of the room (or, more accurately, slamming into Sonic).

Between the ring portals and the constant misdirection, the two minute mark passes and they haven't landed a single hit. The guy isn't on their level, exactly, but he's unpredictable with enough tricks that he could probably take either of them on their own. Against both of them, he doesn't stand a chance - or he wouldn't if Sonic would get out of his way.

"Dude, we're supposed to be working together!" Sonic snaps.

Scourge flicks his ear (it's been ringing since Finitevus dropped a portal that sent a spindashing Sonic on a collision course with Scourge's face) and ducks beneath a Chaos-infused punch. "Not my fault you can't keep up."

He sidesteps a second punch and follows up with a roundhouse kick that comes inches from the Doc's face before another ring portal intercepts. Dammit.

Sonic, of course, chooses that moment to go for a homing attack, which takes him right into the portal as Finitevus dodges. From somewhere on the other side of the room, the moron makes a faint oomph sound as the portal spits him out.

Scourge rolls his eyes and sweeps his legs under Finitevus' ankles, forcing the echidna to stumble back. "You make a remarkably disloyal minion," Finitevus says and drops into a portal.

On a hunch, Scourge spins around and slams a haymaker into Finitevus' face when the echidna reappears behind him. "Calling me a minion was your first mistake, Doc," Scourge says. "I'm the king, baby."

Finitevus snarls and vanishes again. "I must wonder at the cause of this particular instance," his voice says. Scourge whirls around, fists up before him, but the scientist is nowhere to be seen. "You were, after all, so eager to serve at first. What changed your mind?"

"You really gotta learn the difference between serving and making a deal, bud," Scourge says. "This why your friends always leave you?"

Finitevus ignores him. "Nothing changed between then and now. Nothing... except the target." Something flickers in the corner of Scourge's eye and he starts to turn, but he's met with a blow to the jaw followed by one to the shin. Scourge crumples to his knee with a cry of pain and looks up to see Finitevus' Chaos-powered boot swing for his face-

And then someone's hand snags his wrist and they're moving.

The world blurs just a little as Sonic hauls him across the room at lightning speed to drag him behind an overturned table. Scourge clutches the lapels of his jacket and tries to force his racing heartbeat to settle. For a second, they just breathe.

"Okay, we need to coordinate," Sonic says belatedly.

"Don't tell me what to do," Scourge says, mostly on reflex.

Sonic rolls his eyes. "If you draw his fire, I'll go behind to take him offguard. Think you can do that?"

"What? No. You draw his fire and I'll sneak up behind him."

"Yeah, maybe I'd do that if I had any faith at all in your stealth. You aren't exactly subtle, bud."

Scourge thinks back to every mission that involved some level of sabotage/stealth/general sneakery and their inevitably disastrous ends and winces. Unfortunately, he has a point. "Fine, whatever. Don't mess this up, dweeb." A blast of chaos energy rocks the floor beneath their feet - time's up. Finitevus is here.

Scourge breaks for the left.

"Hey old man, having trouble keeping up?" He leaps into the air as Finitevus goes for a sweeping kick and curls into a spindash, aimed at the scientist's head. Predictably, he sails right into a ring portal and falls out several feet away. In midair, he uncurls and kicks off the ground to rebound towards Finietvus.

The Doc raises his hands coated in Chaos energy and actually catches the spindash. For a moment, they war against each other - dark energy to living buzzsaw - before Finitevus shoves back and they break apart.

Scourge hits the ground in a crouch and lunges again. This time, he feints an uppercut followed up with a knee strike to the gut. The echidna stumbles back, but recovers almost instantly. As Scourge goes in for another strike, Finitevus snags his collar and yanks him off-balance, slamming him into the dirt. Scourge tries to wriggle out of his grip, but the Doc pins him to the ground with a hand on his throat and a knee on his chest.

"I can't say I haven't been waiting for this," the mad scientist breathes, and raises a handful of swirling black energy.

Scourge scrabbles helplessly at his wrist and wonders, briefly, if this is it.

And then a blue ball of spikes rockets out of nowhere, smacking into the back of Finitevus' head so hard the floor creaks when he faceplants. Scourge kicks him off and rolls back onto his feet, smacking away Sonic's outstretched hand. The echidna staggers upright, but his shield is broken and Sonic and Scourge poised on either side of him. The echidna eyes them warily, rings at the ready, and for a second no one moves.

"Got it!" Fiona's voice breaks the spell.

Sonic's concentration slips. Scourge can see it; the way his posture straightens slightly, the way he half-turns to face her. Finitevus sees it too.

And then Finitevus' hands are up, radiating dark energy, and Scourge drops into a defensive stance 'cause the blue buffoon can get himself killed if he wants but Scourge is going down fighting- but Finitevus isn't looking at either of them.

He's looking behind them.

At Jules.

Jules, who has no Chaos abilities, can't break the sound barrier on a whim, can't dodge bullets point-blank.

Jules, who both is his father and isn't, who's a machine but still alive, who stood across from Scourge in a dark room and didn't flinch though Scourge held his life in his hands, who loves his wife and child and wouldn't hesitate to die for either of them.

Jules, who would walk a random stranger through a panic attack on the street but can't dodge a Chaos spear if it's pointed at his chest.

Time slows down to a crawl. Scourge doesn't think.

He just moves.

The last thing he sees, as pain erupts from his chest like lightning and the world is drowned out by the black of corrupted Chaos energy, is the bright red of Jules' horrified eyes.

There's a beeping noise somewhere near his ear. Fiona's phone, probably (even though it sounds nothing like her alarm). Scourge reaches up to shut it off and is stopped halfway by the clink of cold metal.

...huh?

He opens his eyes to dim electric light and a pounding headache. There's a hard surface beneath his back, thin sheets around him, and a metallic chill around his wrists, ankles, and throat.

Through the haze, something about the last one feels familiar.

Beside him, something rustles, and a soft voice says, "Awake, then?"

"Dad?" Scourge mumbles foggily. For a moment he's eight again, in the hospital after a near-drowning, and his dad took a whole day off from work to rush to his bedside and hold his hand. It was the first time he'd seen him in a week.

Then reality catches up and reminds him that no, his dad is dead and whatever's going on here is something to worry about. The fog is gone in an instant.

Scourge's eyes snap open and he throws himself as much he can to the far side of the bed from the figure standing there now. Jules is there - a little scratched and dinged up but very much alive.

There's a flicker of something like relief inside him before Scourge stuffs it down and crushes it very firmly. Chaos, Fiona was right. He let his stupid hangups about this robian get out of hand, and now look what's happened - the mission went south, Scourge is chained to a hospital bed, the rest of the Destructix are nowhere to be seen, and worst of all, he made a heroic sacrifice like he's Sonic or something.

Chaos, Scourge is never living this one down.

"It's good to see you're moving around already," Da- Jules says in that same too-soft tone. "Some of the doctors were convinced you wouldn't live another day. I suppose any son of mine, even from another dimension, is just too durned stubborn to go out like that..."

"Don't," Scourge rasps.

Jules blinks at him. "Pardon?"

"That." Scourge lets go of the bed's railing just long enough to gesture irritably. "I'm not your son. Don't call me that."

Instead of rearing back in offense or dropping the nice act altogether, Jules tilts his head slightly, as though in recognition. "Ah," he says after a moment. "So that was you."

Scourge freezes and tries to play it off. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That day in front of Chuck's diner," Jules says. "That was you. I wasn't sure, since you were still supposed to be in Zone Jail then."

"Chuck's diner? What?" Scourge forces a laugh. It comes out entirely fake and just a little unhinged.

"You had a panic attack," Jules continues, unperturbed. "I walked you through it. Honestly, at the time, I thought it was because of me."

It was because of you, Scourge wants to say. Instead, he asks, "Whaddya mean?"

Jules gestures vaguely to himself. "I'm a robian," he says. "Robotnik put Knothole through a lot when the roboticizor was still functioning. Plenty of people have had... adverse reactions to my body in the past. It's unfortunate but can't really be helped, except through time and patience."

...for some reason, that stings. Scourge pushes the thought away and snorts. "Sucks to be you. Don't see what that has to do with me."

"You did ask," Jules reminds him, which is fair. He supposes. They lapse into silence.

Scourge slumps against the bed, a little more relaxed with no attack evidently imminent, and holds up a hand to the light. The dangling cuff glints coldly. He can't reach the collar on his neck, but he suspects it shines the same way - like the inhibitors back at Zone Jail. "You guys already talked to Zonic, then?" he guesses.

He's not really expecting an answer, but Jules gives one anyway. "We did. He gave us that inhibitor collar you're wearing right now." Nailed it. "He wanted to take you back with him to Zone Jail right away, but with the condition you were in, we didn't want to risk moving you until you were stable."

Scourge flexes his fingers, watching the muscles move. He'd suspected already, given how drained he feels right now, but knowing that he's wearing the collar is... disheartening. That level of powerlessness is something he'd never wanted to feel again. "I'm stable now. So when will you be moving me?"

Jules hesitates. "Now that you're awake, we'll probably call Zonic to pick you up sometime tomorrow. It's nighttime right now."

"What? How long was I out?"

"Two days."

Two days, and he's still here? Either the Destructix got nabbed too (possible), are planning a rescue mission (unlikely), or ditched (most likely). That... also stings. A lot. He'd liked Fiona, and he was getting used to the rest of the idiots, too.

"What about my team?" he asks.

"Vanished. They tried to retrieve you but retreated when reinforcements arrived."

It doesn't mean much - he is, after all, their strongest fighter and tactically it makes sense to avoid losing him if possible - but it makes Scourge feel better to know they'd at least tried. He lets his hand fall back to the bed with a metallic jingle.

"I still don't understand," Jules says, and Chaos, why won't he shut up? Is this something inherent to Sonic's family? "Why did you save me?"

Scourge inspects the patterns of cracks on the ceiling. That one looks like Sleuth Dog's face. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he mumbles.

"You took an attack meant for me. That much concentrated Chaos energy would've killed me - it's likely the only reason you survived is because you're a very adept controller."

"Sounds like you already have an answer to me."

There's a brief pause. Scourge continues avoiding eye contact. "I do have an idea," Jules says softly. "But I'd like to hear a confirmation from your own mouth."

Scourge doesn't say anything.

What's he supposed to say - that every time he sees Jules some stupid, long-dead part of him longs for his approval? That Jules is dredging up memories better left buried? That when he saw his dad - any version of him - in danger, that his first instinct was to protect him, despite everything he'd done?

Ha. Yeah, right.

"Think what you want, old man." Scourge bares his teeth. "It doesn't mean anything. It was an accident."

Jules doesn't waver. "I think we both know that's not true."

Can't this guy take no for an answer? Scourge huffs and rolls over as much as he can so his back is toward Jules. "Leave," he says. It's what you're best at, after all.

"Sonic heard that you attacked the ceremony to kidnap Chuck."

Scourge has a sudden, sinking feeling he knows where this is going. "I don't care. Go away."

Jules marches on, implacable. "He said that halfway through, after Chuck escaped, Finitevus told you to switch targets. That the new target was me."

"Shut up!"

"And that when you heard I was in danger, you-"

"So I called it off, alright?" Scourge bolts upright. The handcuffs snap back against his wrists painfully and his ankles scream as the cuffs cut into his skin, but he's too furious and aching and raw to care. "Yeah, I called off the mission. Yeah, I took that stupid attack. It doesn't change anything! I'm still your enemy, I'm still going to kill Sonic, I'm still going to tear apart your world and everything you love! So what if I- if I..."

"Risked all that to save one broken-down, tactically unimportant robian?" Jules finishes quietly.

"Yes! No!" Scourge tries to bury his face in his hands and can't even do that, damn this tiny range of motion. "Will you leave me alone?" Metal glints in the corner of his eye as Jules reaches out a hand. Scourge growls deep in his throat until the hand is slowly drawn back.

Mercifully, the robian is silent while Scourge desperately tries to keep himself from falling apart. Chaos, what is wrong with him?

"What do you want from me," he mutters.

This time, it's Jules who looks away. "There's not much time before I have to call Zonic in," he says. "Before he left the first time, there was talk of... life in solitary confinement. Or execution."

Breathe. It's fine. Scourge has been in worse scrapes before. "I can see where the similarities between you and my dad come in," he says softly. Venomously. "He never hesitated to lock me away, either." Sure, it hadn't exactly been tossing him in a prison cell and throwing away the key, but the perpetual grounding to an empty mansion, the total abandonment of him to an endless stream of nannies... and then, of course, that fiasco right before he died.

Dads. So eager to foist their screwups on other people, wash their hands and move on.

"Doesn't any of this setup seem odd to you?" Jules asks abruptly.

Scourge blinks, thrown. "What? You hit your head somewhere, old man?"

"Think about it. You're a top-priority prisoner. You've broken out of Zone Jail. And yet your only security here is an inhibitor collar, some handcuffs, and a broken-down old robian."

...there's a trap here somewhere, Scourge knows it. "Yesss?" He eyes Jules warily. Is this some kinda reverse-psychology thing?

Jules laughs wearily. "You're not the only one with emotional ties he can't quite cut, son."

"Don't call me that," Scourge says reflexively before the weight of Jules' words catch up to him. "Wait, what? Are you saying-" and then he cuts off, because that's so ridiculous it shouldn't be said out loud.

"Yes," Jules confirms. "I volunteered for guard duty because I had to ask, first. To make sure for myself that something of my son is in there."

"I am not your son," Scourge snaps. Distantly, some part of him recognizes that he's being actively detrimental - that if he plays his cards right he could actually walk out of this free - but he's past that kind of rational behavior now. "You're chasing ghosts, old man! Stop looking for stuff that isn't gonna happen!"

"You're not my son," Jules agrees. "You're not my Sonic. But you're a Sonic, and somewhere... that potential for great good is inside you."

And isn't that exactly what Sonic had said on their last birthday - the day he'd finally ditched that lame Anti-Sonic moniker, had finally stepped out of Sonic's shadow into his own light - that all it'd take is a bit of decency, and Scourge would be just like him? The echo stills him.

"You're making a mistake," he says hoarsely. He's not going back to Zone Jail, he'll die before he goes back to that hellhole, but he needs Jules to understand this. "I'm not Sonic. I'm no hero. If you let me go, I'm just gonna go right back to doing what I did before. People will die because of you."

"No, they won't," Jules says, half-smiling. "I've done my research. The Destructix don't kill. You wreak havoc and destroy things, but... no bodies. I understand it's to avoid trouble with G.U.N.," he adds, holding up a hand to forestall Scourge's protests, "But you don't have a body count. That's important."

Shows what he knows - but Scourge can't bring himself to point out the obvious. "I still ruin lives," Scourge says instead. "There's other ways to kill people without holding a gun to their heads."

"I know. And that's where I'm being selfish." The half-smile turns into a full smile, but it's so sad and wracked with exhaustion and bitterness that Scourge has to look away. "I... I lost my son once. I can't help it... I can't watch a son of mine - from any universe - be destroyed while I can do anything to stop it. I'm not a good person, Scourge. I've lost too much to try. So I'm going to be selfish, just this once, and hope you don't make me regret it."

Scourge is silent. He's silent when Jules stands up and unlocks the cuffs, one by one. He's silent when Jules reaches up to his throat to unlock the inhibitor, and he's silent when it falls away and power rushes freely beneath his skin once more.

His boots are on the floor, suit jacket draped over a chair. He pulls on the shoes and digs through the pockets until he finds his sunglasses, but leaves the jacket behind.

"Scourge," Jules says quietly, as Scourge pushes the window open. He hesitates over the window sill, half inside and half out.

If Jules asks him to stay, he doesn't know what he'll do.

But he doesn't. In the end, Jules looks down and whispers, "If you ever need somewhere to rest, my home is always open. Till then... be safe, son."

The words catch in Scourge's throat. He nods, wordlessly, and drops out of the window to land lightly on his feet on the ground below. For a moment, he dallies beneath the window, waiting for-

For...

He doesn't know. Scourge shivers in the cool night air and starts running.

...thanks, Dad.

He finds the base a few hours later, jogging to the next town over and hopping a train the rest of the way. When he walks in, the base goes dead silent.

Fiona leaps up from the circle of Destructix - planning a rescue mission, he later finds out - and tackles him, hugging and pounding him in equal measure. She cries a little too, which he only discovers when she points out he's tearing up himself. The Destructix surround them, yelling over each other and clapping him on the back until Simian picks them all up in a group hug. It's at that point that Scourge declares he's done with all this mushy stuff and if they don't knock it off he won't bother coming back next time. Fiona announces that if there is a next time he won't have to worry about coming back because she'll kill him first, and Simian gives them all one last squeeze before turning them loose.

Scourge retrieves his leather jacket with a sense of great relief and they all end up watching another trashy samurai movie, which Lightning ruins again. Fiona holds him tight the whole time and doesn't chew him out like he deserves, for which Scourge is unendingly grateful.

He doesn't go back to the house. He pulls jobs with the Destructix, they beat up on Sonic and his lackeys, they have one run-in which Finitevus that they come off much worse for. And they watch crappy movies, eat ridiculous amounts of junk food, and get personally banned from every arcade and amusement park across the continent. He's... not gonna lie, it's actually pretty fun.

But in the back of his head, the house is always there. The robian bustling around the empty kitchen in a pink apron. The scent of pancakes frying. Till then... be safe, son.

It takes a long time - months of denial, of wondering and longing and furious self-restraint - but he caves eventually.

He shows up on a morning he knows Sonic and his mom won't be there. He doesn't knock on the door, or ring the bell. Mostly, he just hovers outside, unable to work up his nerve to do anything.

He's about to leave when the door swings open. Jules stands there, looking exactly the same as he did that night by the hospital bed, with eyes too soft for his wayward not-son. Scourge, half-frozen on the sidewalk, searches for something to say and comes up empty. They stare at each other silently.

Scourge shoves his hands in his pockets and forces back the lump in his throat. "I was in the area, so I dropped by," he mutters. "Don't think this means anything."

Jules looks at him for a long moment and Scourge forgets to breathe. Slowly, softly, his dad smiles. "Welcome home, son."