#HOPING AND PRAYING TO GET THESE GAYS ON BOOK COVERS

[lucst-r]

Have some old art from back when I was more dedicated to learning Japanese and how to write it! (日本語はあまり上手じゃない、残念だな。 (-.-;))

[spooky-bunnys]

Hear me out peh yah meets gothic reader and at first peh assumes that the reader is a vampire and peh just does everything in his way to protect his “vampire” crush. I mean him always holding an umbrella for the reader, make sure there is no garlic near him (can just imagine pah offering the reader garlic bread only for peh to slap it out of pah hand), crosses and stakes are thrown far away from the reader and whenever the reader says “I’m kinda hungry” peh immediately shows his neck and replies with “make it quick”

If that’s alright with you

So sorry for the late reply. A lots been going on and as excited as I was to write this I had no idea how to go by it to be honest. But here you go! Also I hope you guys like my new theme!

When Peh-yan met (Name) he was surprised. Very surprised. He had never seen anyone like him. He looked....different.

He had extremely pale skin. He had a pitch black parasol covering him from the sun. Clothes as dark as his umbrella. But it was the Rosari stood out the most.

So he immediately knew this guy was a Vampire. Cause what human would be like that?! (Literally me if I could man) But he was confused on why he was so nice to him.

Vampires in books and Manga were said to be beauitful but rude and uncaring. (Name) was different though, while yes he was beautiful. He was kind and caring.

Peh-yan watched carefully from behind the corner, as (Name) was playing with a small black cat. The soft smile on the male's face made Peh-yan's heart skip a beat.

He looked so sweet and gentle. Peh-yan had leaned a bit too far and fell. Startling not only the cat but the "undead" male.

(Name) looked at the fallen male then turned to where the cat was. He was a bit sad he couldn't play with the animal for longer but he needed to get home anyways. He turned and slowly made his way home. Completely forgetting about the fallen male he left behind.

Peh-yan looked around noticing the dark male disappeared. So it was true! He even had the speed of a Vampire! (No hun you were just stuck in a gay day dream) No matter though he will keep the male's real identity a secret! He will protect (Name) with his life!

~

It's been about a month since (Name) met Peh. The taller male had been acting extremely weird in his opinion. Like how on their walk home Peh steered him away from the church. While also scared away the kids that were playing outside of it. Yelling about keep him safe from being hurt.

(Name) didn't know how a church or a group of kids with sticks can hurt him. He sighed petting another cat as the tall male held his parasol. Keeping him protected from the sun.

That was another thing. Whenever they see each other, Peh immediately takes his parasol away and always covers him. While (Name) found this sweet, he just didn't know why the male was so keen on keeping him "safe". He knows Peh doesn't mean any harm its just.....he's acting weird wen "protecting" him.

Like how at school earlier, Peh literally slapped a piece of garlic bread out of his best friends hand! Going on and on about how garlic can harm him. (Name) had tried explaining to Peh that while he didn't like garlic, it doesn't harm him. But he wasn't able to since he had scared off a few girls. Who had been praying for their food.

(Name) picked up the cat. Smiling softly. He loved animals. Cat were his biggest weakness. After giving the cat some more scratches, (Name) let the cat go before looking over at his "protector". "Hey Peh I'm getting kind of hungry."

Now what (Name) expected was for the male to led them to a restaurant. Not for him to pull (Name) into an alley and tell (Name) to be quick.

"Huh?"

(Name) was stooped. Peh leaned close and showed his neck. His face serious and ears red. (Name) had never been so confused in his whole life. What was he doing?

"Peh?"

"Go ahead (Name). Just please be gentle. This is my first time."

Okay what the hell is going on?

"First time for what?!"

Peh stuck his neck out more, pulling his shirt slightly down. "Go ahead. I made sure to wash my neck in case this happens."

"Peh why would you need to wash your neck?" (Name) tilted his head confused. He didn't understand what was going on here anymore.

Peh pulled away and shyly looked to the side. "S-So if you needed blood I could give you some of mine." (Name) choked on air. Even more confused. What is going on?

"Why would I need blood?" Peh looked confused. "Do you not need blood to live?" "Doesn't everyone?" "Well not everyone is a Vampire though!"

Vampire? Who the hell was a vampire?Vampire?! "I'm not a Vampire though." Peh stared at him. "You're not?" (Name) shook his head. Quietly laughing. "No Peh. Is that what this has been about?"

The taller male wouldn't meet his eyes. (Name) gave a soft laugh. Peh looked confused at the (hair color) male's reaction. (Name) smiled brightly and wiped away the tears that had came to his eyes.

"Peh, I'm not a vampire. What made you think that?" The taller male the began explaining how (Name) acted like a vampire. Which (Name) expained how he wasn't one.

"You always use an umbrella to stay out of the sun!" -Peh

"I get sunburned easil." -(Name)

"Your extremely pale!" -Peh

"I got my pale skin color from my grandmother." -(Name)

"You're always wearing dark clothes!" -Peh

"The color black is my happy color. I'm also goth Peh." -(Name)

"Then what about that cross thing you're always wearing?!" -Peh

"It's a family heirloom. Its also a Rosari." -(Name)

Peh looked stooped. He had to admit. Those were good reasons...or maybe (Name) really WAS a vampire but he had to keep it a secret. But he wouldn't take his blood though....maybe he didn't like people blood?

Peh nodded looking determined. "Don't worry (Name)! Your secret is safe with me!"

(Name) groaned and face-palmed.

[themculibrary]

Steve/Tony - Fake Relationship AU’s Masterlist 2

part one

Babydoll, Cover Me (ao3) - Reioka T, 1k

Summary: Steve and Tony, two of the most popular omega lingerie models, are pretending to date to keep alphas off of Tony's back. It's depressingly necessary.

cute quaterbacks (ao3) - haveufoundwhaturlookingfor T, 1k

Summary: Steve and Bucky grew up as childhood best friends and are now roommates in college. Bucky dares Steve to bring a date to one of his upcoming football games after Steve suggests he could date anyone he wanted to. Enter Tony Stark.

diastolic pressure (in between heartbeats) (ao3) - firebrands M, 8k

Summary: For flame, who gave the prompt "Steve and Tony have been fake dating for a while, but everyone else thinks they're *really* in love. When a mission goes terribly and Tony is presumed dead, Steve realizes he's in love with Tony and Dramatic Shenanigans Ensue."

Not Unless I Say So (ao3) - KandiSheek E, 6k

Summary: Steve has never been booked by a client as rich or as handsome as Tony Stark, especially not to pose as a boyfriend instead of an escort. So his expectations for the evening are high.

He doesn't expect Tony to surpass every one of them.

Prom Dance (ao3) - euchan N/R, 5k

Summary: The prom dance is coming and Tony wants more than anything to win the Queen and King competition. He has two problems: he is inconveniently single for the prom and he is sure Mr perfect Steve Rogers wants to win too. He was afraid of starting other feud between them when Steve come with a creative solution.

Take Another Little Piece of My Heart Now, Baby (ao3) - blue_jack M, 27k

Summary: “I think we should get married,” Tony announced as he let himself into Steve’s apartment, plopping next to him on the couch.

the reason you ruminate the shadowy past (ao3) - Mizzy T, 20k

Summary: So, Captain America effectively manages to cockblock Tony for a year.

It's not Steve's fault. Well, actually, it is. But he was just proving a point - that if a superhero is gay, how can it be wrong? Steve just picked the wrong superhero to make the point with. Now America will think they're dating - and Tony's not going to be the guy to break Captain America's heart.

There's only one way out. To save face, Steve and Tony have to become fake boyfriends. Steve thinks the "boyfriends" bit will be the hardest to act... but maybe it's the "fake" part that will be the hardest act of all...

Think And Wish And Hope And Pray (ao3) - Loran_Arameri T, 3k

Summary: Pretending to be engaged and on vacation as a cover for a mission to retrieve stolen SHIELD weapons? Tony thinks it's a great idea. Steve doubts it.

In the end, some parts of the mission are more successful than others. Basically the title. Tony pretends he's dating Steve until...well, you know.

Triple Date (ao3) - upquark T, 3k

Summary: Tony has a cunning plan to get a date with Steve. Darcy's in it for the food.

try for the universe (ao3) - DobbyRocksSocks T, 3k

Summary: Waking up in Vegas with a ring that you didn’t have before drinking copious amounts of alcohol should only happen in the movies. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—for Steve and Tony, they’re idiots and they have to deal with the consequences.

Undateable (ao3) - RiotFalling T, 2k

Summary: Steve makes the grave mistake of saying nice things about Tony. In public. Now he has to pay the price.

Steve may not actually see it like that, but Tony definitely does.

Wait & Sea (ao3) - Lenalena E, 53k

Summary: In which Tony and Steve get sent on an undercover mission aboard a cruise ship to make contact with Hydra. In this AU the military has kept the discovery and defrosting of Captain America a secret, so Steve and Tony have never met before. Yet they are to pose as newlyweds....

We're Going Off-Script (ao3) - ishipallthings T, 5k

Summary: “Or, maybe you just need practice?” Steve blinks at Tony’s question, confused. Maybe Tony needs more sleep than he thought. He’ll have to check with JARVIS.

“Practice - at dating?”

(Steve needs help in the dating department. Tony is happy to help out, because he’s a very good friend. That’s definitely the only reason.)

[ootori-sibs]

One gender between them

Chap 1: an issue, a bigger issue, and a moment of vulnerability

tw: gender, mentions of drugs, mentions of underage drug use, mentions of death

Kyoya wasn't gay.

That was news to him.

He'd thought he was gay, he'd been gay for as long as he'd known. Recently, however, he'd developed a crush on a girl for the first time in his life. So that was confusing and frustrating.

It was fine, because it wasn't like he had a chance with her. She'd just begun dating his best friend…and his other crush.

That, somehow, sucked even more.

He was just quietly sitting there, wondering what he’d done so wrong to deserve this kind of karma. Sure he was a bad person, he knew that much- but surely he can't have done something so incredibly wrong that this was his punishment. Even as Tamaki draped himself over Kyoya, all Kyoya could focus on was how this kind of affection felt inappropriate now that he had a girlfriend. 

“Kyoyaaa!” he rested his head against Kyoya’s, chuckling a little, “what’s got you staring into space like this? Is everything alright?” 

Even his words felt empty now, usually that would have been followed with Tamaki calling him ‘mon ami’, but he hadn’t done that in so long that Kyoya was beginning to seriously worry if he’d somehow incurred the king’s wrath. 

“Hm,” was all he started with, feeling incredibly tired and worn out with the world. “Does it matter?” he asked, not bothering to hide how flat his tone had become. 

“Kyoya..?” Tamaki let go of him, taking a step back and examining him. Kyoya suppressed a shudder as he silently prayed that this would be the one time Tamaki couldn’t read him like a fucking book.

“You look defeated… more so than usual…” Tamaki observed, crushing Kyoya’s dreams of a peaceful afternoon. “There’s definitely something wrong, hmm… let me guess; something you want has been moved even further out of your reach?”

Fuck. 

Fuck, he was so good at this. 

“It doesn’t matter Tamaki, leave me alone.”

Maybe that was snappier than he’d meant it, but it wasn't Kyoya’s fault; Tamaki just never knew when to stop digging. Maybe Kyoya wouldn’t have to be so sharp if Tamaki learnt how to mind his own damn business. 

But he wasn't even the worst about it. As soon as the twins picked up on Kyoya's defensive tone, they came rushing over, eager to discover what was wrong.

“Ooh? Trouble in paradise?” Hikaru started, making his brother chuckle.

Kaoru nodded, covering his laughter with his fist, “seems that way, are mommy and daddy having a fight?” he teased, using those godforsaken nicknames Tamaki had picked out. 

“Oh I hope not!” Tamaki gasped, clearly considering that a plausible situation. He leaned back into Kyoya, peering at him with worry, “are you mad at me, Kyoya?”

“Ugh, obviously not, moron.” Kyoya rolled his eyes, responding maybe a bit too quickly and far too aggressively. It wasn’t his fault, if only the other hosts would stop trying to push his buttons. 

“Haruhi!” Tamaki called his girlfriend over, as if that would help at all. “Kyoya’s mad at me!”

“I just said i wasn’t,” Kyoya snapped again, already scolding himself for getting so angry, “were you not listening?”

Haruhi approached and Kyoya felt his heart skip a beat as she gently put a hand on his arm- or great; physical contact from both his crushes, how….fun. She smiled gently at him, “is everything alright, Kyoya-senpai, if you need to get some air you can. I’ll go with you if you’d like?”

Kyoya paused, mulling over her offer. It would be nice to get some fresh air- and to spend a moment alone with Haruhi… ugh. No. That would just make him feel worse. He can’t have her. He can't have Tamaki either. This sucks.

He sighed heavily and brushed her off. “No thank you, I’m perfectly fine. I don’t know why you’re all making such a big fuss about it.”

Pausing for a moment, Haruhi sighed and nodded, “alright senpai, don’t worry about it. Just know you can talk to me if there is an issue, okay?”

Kyoya just nodded, brushing them all off and shooing them away. The issue is, he can’t talk to her about his issue. He thinks that she might understand and offer some sympathy, but of course then there’d be some hard rejection he’d have to face. He wasn’t ready for that. He already knew the outcome so why face it when he didn’t have to?

Besides, he had bigger fish to fry right now.

Getting home, the first thing he did was lock his bedroom door and close the blinds. Then he took his uniform off and folded it neatly on the dresser, getting onto his knees and pulling a box from under his bed.

The contents of this box was something no one other than him should ever be made aware of. He looked through it for a moment before picking out a few items and getting dressed.

A white silk dress with a thick black belt and a pearl necklace- he had the matching earrings but his ears weren’t pierced so he couldn’t wear them. Getting dressed, he stared at himself in the mirror the entire time and wondered what it would be like to go out in public dressed like this. 

People would hurt him, that’s obviously what would happen. He’d be a fool to think this was normal, it was weird. It was weird and freaky and he probably shouldn’t be indulging himself like this. He had a great uncle who’d worn women's clothes- and he’d spent his life in an asylum. 

Then again… he’d also met Haruhi’s father. A bona-fide drag queen, who even wore women’s clothing on his days off… 

Kyoya wondered what he’d do with that kind of freedom.

What he’d do for that kind of freedom. 

Sighing and letting himself relax, he gave a little twirl, watching his skirt spin. He loved that, he really, really loved that. Sitting on his bed and staring at his reflection in the mirror, Kyoya tried to imagine what he’d look like as a woman-

Oh, but that didn’t feel right either. Damnnit. 

Kyoya couldn’t figure out what exactly was wrong with him, all he knew was that he didn’t feel at all like a man- but he didn’t feel exactly like a woman either. Honestly, some days he didn’t even feel like a person.

One thing he did know, however, was that dressing like this helped. It made him feel so special and so very delicate. He wasn’t sure he was delicate like a feather, though; more like the tip of a fountain pen, or a shard of glass. Delicate wasn’t a gender, though, and neither was sharp. Shadow king couldn’t be a gender either, or Mommy, or even ‘the cool type’. 

So he was back at square one.

Back to being just a man. 

No, just being Kyoya. 

It made him feel better to dress like this. Even if his thoughts clouded his mind with doubt as to the eventual goal of this behaviour. Kyoya felt safer in this dress than he ever had in his uniform, despite knowing that if he hadn’t locked his bedroom door, he’d probably be in trouble. 

Not with his siblings, he didn’t think they’d care. He was worried about what his father would think. He didn’t approve of the host club and that kind of dressing up was entirely less serious so Kyoya wasn’t sure quite how his father would take this newest experiment. He did know that his father was a workaholic who would rather die than stray into the poorer part of town without remaining in his armoured car the entire time. So Kyoya knew one place he could get advice on this issue. 

And Tamaki was planning on having Haruhi over for a movie night that evening…

…usually those movie nights were just for him and Kyoya.

He decided to bring a dress and some accessories with him, just putting them in his back and throwing on any old thing. He wondered if Ranka would like his outfit. He’d picked out a different dress, something more casual; a knee length purple dress with a grey cardigan, black tights and a simple silver chain with a single caged diamond. He hoped Ranka would approve. 

Sneaking out was surprisingly easy- although he supposed they’d expect him to be going to Tamaki’s. Unfortunately, Tamaki didn’t care about Kyoya anymore, so he was going somewhere else. 

The poorer part of town was…actually very scary. Kyoya hadn’t thought this far so he had no idea what to do about the horrible feeling of unease. He’d taken to moving his handgun from his bag to his pocket. His father had given him that for his tenth birthday and told that he was to take it everywhere he couldn’t take his bodyguards. He wasn’t actually sure how to use it when he’d first got it, so Yuuichi had taught him. His older siblings had been taught by their mother so Kyoya supposed that his father just hadn’t thought about the fact that she wasn’t there for Kyoya. 

Getting to the Fujioka residence, Kyoya, for a moment, wondered if Ranka was even going to be in. He rang the doorbell and waited, with bated breath, for him to answer. 

“Hello?” Ranka peered around the door, gasping at the sight of him standing there, “Kyoya? Oh, come in! Come in! I’m afraid Haruhi’s out right now but I’ll make you some tea, don’t worry, have you-”

“I’m not here to see Haruhi, I know she’s not home. That’s why I chose today to visit.”

“Oh.. oh?” Ranka paused, closing the door behind Kyoya and locking it, turning to glance at the ‘boy’ for a moment. “I see, so why did you come to see me, Kyoya? Is everything alright at home?”

Kyoya couldn’t help but smile a little at that, “no, it’s not a home issue, don’t worry. It’s more…” he paused for a moment, before finishing, “a queer issue; I need advice.”

Ranka blinked at him for just a second, before launching himself towards the kitchenette, “of course I’ll give you advice, do you want a hot chocolate instead of tea then?”

“Oh no, I prefer tea, but if you have any honey to add to it that’d be nice. It’s perfectly fine if not, though.”

“Of course I've got honey! Don’t you worry your pretty little head about a thing!” Quickly making himself busy, Ranka bustled about making the tea. “Have you had dinner yet? I can’t cook that well but there’s some leftover soup in the fridge that I can heat up real quick?” 

Kyoya tried to remember what exactly he had eaten that day… had he even had lunch? Oops. He sighed, “I would like some soup if that’s alright, thank you. May I ask what kind it is?”

“Tomato and red pepper, no noodles or even any chunks- it’s a completely smooth soup.” Ranka chuckled, “we got a new blender last week, and Haruhi’s been loving it.”

Kyoya breathed a sigh of relief, he hated it when his soup had strange unknown chunks of god-knows-what. It made him gag every time. He took his tea gratefully and sipped it as Ranka began to heat up the soup. “I apologise for imposing like this, Ranka, I simply didn’t know who else to turn to for this sort of thing.”

“Don’t apologise!” Ranka scolded him, sounded shocked he’d even tried, “it’s my sworn duty as an older queer person to help you out whenever you need it- not only that but as a parent I don’t trust your father with any sort of emotional baggage. I may have never met the man but I’ve certainly seen how he affected you if you’re apologising for needing advice.” He paused, stirring the soup, “I’ve also met one of your brothers, I believe. He offered me a joint.”

A joint? Oh, probably weed. Kyoya chuckled lightly, “that was Akito, I assume?” he smiled when Ranka nodded, “sounded like him, marijuana is one of the few drugs Father doesn’t get completely furious about. He only really bothers Akito when people complain about it or if he smokes around me.” he shrugged. 

Ranka hummed in response to that, “at least that’s responsible parenting on his part- what kind of drugs does he get angry about?”

“Methamphetamines and some anaesthetics or tranquillisers.”

“Like ket?”

“Ketamine? Not really, more so things you can find in a pharmacy; apparently some of his own brothers had issues with stealing drugs when they were my age.”

“Oh wow,” Ranka responded, putting the bowls of soup down, with a plate of buttered bread in the centre, “no wonder he’s a stickler. At your age? What happened to them?”

“They died the same day my mother did, I’m honestly impressed Father managed to power through it.”

Ranka’s expression had changed, there was something new in his eyes when he was looking at Kyoya and it made him feel a little uneasy. “Your mother’s dead..? How old were you when it happened?”

“Oh? I think I was only three or four, I’m not entirely sure.” he smiled, not sure why Ranka was so curious, “why?”

“You were just a baby…” 

“I- pardon?” Kyoya bristled, realising that he was likely being compared to Haruhi right now. “I’m perfectly fine, Ranka, I assure you that. I’d rather not discuss it, though, if that’s quite alright.” He sighed, trying some of the soup- it was rather good actually. 

“Of course,” Ranka nodded, “so, you said you had a queer issue? Care to elaborate? I’m sure I can find some advice to give you.”

Sighing, Kyoya nodded. “Right, well, uh… you like wearing women’s clothes, right?”

“The idea of gendered clothing is slightly dated, but sure. Why?”

“But you’re still a man, right?”

Ranka just nodded, looking curious. “Where is this going?”

“So wearing women’s clothes doesn’t automatically make someone a woman, right?”

“Do you want to wear dresses, Kyoya?” 

For a moment, there was silence. Kyoya looked down at his soup, he suddenly didn’t feel so hungry. 

He nodded. 

“I do. I wear dresses, skirts, and sometimes jewellery…” he hung his head in shame, “in my room, with the door locked and the curtains drawn. It’s not… I’m not a pervert, am I?”

“Well do you think I’m a pervert?”

“No, of course not. That’s your job to dress like that.”

“So you think it’s your unwillingness to dress like that in public that makes it a perverted thing?”

Kyoya nodded.

Ranka reached over and gently put his hand on Kyoya’s arm. “It doesn’t, being scared of something doesn’t mean it isn’t something you want. How do the dresses make you feel?”

“I-...” Kyoya wasn’t sure how to word the feelings he got, “it’s nice, it’s so nice. It’s like… like… sometimes I just sit there and stare at myself in the mirror and I know how strange it sounds but it’s such a nice feeling and it’s…”

“Euphoric?” Ranka finished, eyebrow cocked in a way that made Kyoya feel like that word had extra context he wasn’t aware of. 

“Somewhat, yes.” 

A pause, as Ranka had some of his own soup, staring at Kyoya as if he were a particularly interesting puzzle. “Do you feel like a girl at all, Kyoya?” 

“Oh no,” he shook his head, “it’s not that at all.”

“Ok,” Ranka nodded, “so you still feel like a man in those clothes?”

“Ah…” Kyoya paused, “no, not that either…”

“Oh this is interesting!” Ranka clapped his hands together, “okay so I’m not good with the terms, but I have met people like that; who don’t fit into either category so it’s perfectly normal. I’ll have a talk with some of my co-workers and see if there’s a word for it cause I'm not quite sure about it.” He sipped his tea, smiling warmly at Kyoya, “but right now; do you want to learn how to do makeup? See how fem we can go?”

Kyoya nodded, he was hoping he’d get to dress up and was definitely feeling better now he’d heard that his problem may have a solution- or at least a name. “Absolutely, I did bring an outfit as an example, if that-”

“OhH MY GOD! ABSOLUTELY! GO GET CHANGED!” 

He was herded into a bathroom and shoved into it. Kyoya took a moment to just lean against the door, hugging his bag to his chest. He felt like he was glowing, he’d never felt so seen. The fact he’d gotten to tell someone, and that he’d gotten only support and excitement back, it made him feel so incredibly happy. He almost felt like crying. 

So he did. 

He sat on the floor of the tiny bathroom and cried with joy and relief. This was amazing, truly and incredibly amazing. He had never felt so real; like a real genuine person made of flesh who interacted with the world like an individual. Kyoya knew that thinking about it that way made no sense but that’s the only way he could rationalise it, he was real. His issues and struggles and the things he liked; they were real. He wasn’t some weird clone of his father, or a misshapen copy of his brothers, or even a shadow of his friends. He was a real, human person. For a moment, he didn’t care what he looked like or how people perceived him- he was real and that was all that mattered to him.

When he finished crying, he stood back up and began to get dressed. The entire thing felt holy, like shedding skin. He wondered if Ranka would like his outfit, he hoped so. He knew that realistically, even if Ranka didn’t like the outfit, he would still not tell Kyoya that. Even so, he felt excited to show the man, as if he had anything left to prove to him. 

Stepping out of the bathroom, he held his breath silently. Ranka had brought a red and silver box into the living room- although Kyoya heavily doubted that it was real silver. Glancing up from the box, Ranka gasped. 

“Oh you look beautiful, Kyoya!” 

And just like that, the tears that Kyoya had so delicately wiped away, began to spill forth again, shoulders shaking as he cried. “I… thank you…”

[bethansfandoms]

hello can u write wolfstar as parents? thanks i love your writing:))))

Yes but because you didn’t specify... they’re being Harry’s parents because I’ve silently been praying someone would send me a wolfstar raise Harry prompt :)

“Pads.”

Sirius pretended to ignore Harry. He knew exactly what the boy was going to ask and he decided to keep feeding him scrambled egg in an attempt to silence him.

“Where is Moony?”

“Moony is asleep right now, Harry.”

Harry pouted, “We wake him up?”

“No, Harry. Moony needs to sleep.”

“But I want to show him presents!”

Sirius sighed. The full moon had fallen on the night before Harry’s fifth birthday. Harry usually spent the night of the moon and the following day with Molly Weasley who, despite having seven children of her own, was always happy to take him.

They had originally hoped the Dursley’s would. As Harry’s only living family, it seemed only natural that he would stay with them, especially as they had a boy around Harry’s age.

Harry’s uncle, however, had not been thrilled when two gay wizards on a flying motorbike had arrived at number four privet drive. He had sent them away and they had not tried again since.

Last night, however, they’d kept Harry with them. It didn’t seem fair to leave him elsewhere on his birthday. Remus had spent the full moon without Sirius and he was certainly worse off for it.

Explaining to Harry that Remus was a werewolf was something they’d planned to do, gradually. Harry was at an age where he would not understand the severity of accidentally sharing that information around. For now, it was best left unsaid.

“Moony might come down for lunch with us, yes?”

“I want to see him now!”

“He is poorly, Harry. He needs to sleep.”

“But—”

“How about if you agree to let Moony sleep, we can go out on your broom right now.”

Harry seemed to lighten up at that and nodded. Sirius smiled at the small victory and told him to go and play for a bit whilst he cleared up their breakfast.

He put the kettle on as he cleared the plates with a flick of his wand, Remus always liked a warm mug of tea, especially after a moon.

He walked up the stairs quietly, as for Harry not to hear, and pushed open their bedroom door. It was dark in the room, bright light tended to make Remus’ head go funny.

“How’s the birthday boy?” Remus asked sleepily.

“Missing you,” Sirius replied, handing Remus the mug and placing a gentle kiss on the deep gash above his left eyebrow he had acquired last night. “How’re you feeling?”

“Tired. Achey. I’ll live.”

“Want some peace and quiet?”

Remus was clearly quite torn over the decision. “I might try and drift off again, yeah. Kiss first.”

Sirius smiled and leant down to oblige, kissing him softly and then stroking his hair away from his face. “Need anything else?”

“I wouldn’t say no to a sleeping draught or something? I’ll rest up so I can spend some time with Harry today.”

“I’ll get one from downstairs.” Sirius leant down and kissed him again, smiling as he walked back over to the door.

He yelped slightly as he opened it; Harry was standing on the other side.

“Merlin, Harry. You scared me.”

“Moony,” Harry said simply, pointing to the door. Sirius quickly closed it and knelt down to his height.

“If you’re good you can come up and see him later, okay?”

“No. Now.”

“Harry,” Sirius warned. “He is sleeping.”

“But...” Harry pointed at the door again,“in there.”

Sirius ruffled his hair affectionately and Harry smiled slightly at that. “Listen, little prongs,” Harry giggled at the nickname, “I’m going to go downstairs and get Moony some medicine. Then we can go out and play, okay?”

Harry’s eyes flitted to the door and then back to Sirius’ gaze. “Yes.”

“And you’re not allowed to go in there and wake Moony up, okay? What are you not going to do?”

“Wake Moony up,” Harry repeated, batting his eyelashes innocently.

Sirius hummed suspiciously but left him on the landing as he walked downstairs to get Remus a draught from the cabinet in the kitchen.

It seemed Harry had inherited his father’s obedience for authority as when Sirius got to the top of the stairs, the bedroom door was open.

He sighed and entered the room, flashing an apologetic smile to Remus who, to his credit, was smiling and nodding along to whatever Harry was saying, no hint of tiredness or annoyance on his face.

“Harry, what did I tell you?”

Harry spun around to look at Sirius in the doorway and his eyes went wide. “Sorry.”

“Harry was telling me about some of the presents he opened this morning,” Remus explained. “Lucky boy.” He tickled Harry who burst into fits of giggles.

“What’s that?” Harry asked suddenly, placing a hand on the new cut above Remus’ eyebrow. Remus did a very good job at not wincing in pain.

“Just a scrape,” he explained. “Kiss it better?”

Harry smiled and gave Remus a kiss on the forehead. “Pads. You do it.”

Sirius wasn’t exactly in a position to refuse and so he placed the potion on the bedside table and pressed a kiss to Remus’ head. “Feeling better?” he asked.

Remus bit his lip a little and smiled, “Yes, thank you Harry.”

“Same,” Harry announced, suddenly.

“What?” Remus questioned.

Harry placed the palm of his hand to the lighting bolt scar on his forehead before pressing it against the cut on Remus’. “Same,” he repeated.

Sirius felt like crying and from the look on Remus’ face, he wasn’t the only one. “Yeah, Harry, same. We match now. Pads doesn’t, he isn’t as cool as us.”

Sirius rolled his eyes as Harry laughed at him. Remus gave him an affectionate smile and raised his eyebrows, he seemed to be very good at getting Harry to team up with him.

“I’ll tell you what, Harry,” Remus said. “How about we have cuddles and Pads can read us some Babbitty Rabbit.”

“Goodnight story?” Harry said, confused. “It’s not bedtime.”

“It’s my bedtime,” Remus said.

That seemed to work for Harry as he crawled into bed and snuggled against Remus’ chest. Sirius felt a familiar warmth spread over him as he crawled into bed with them, book in hand.

Remus drank the sleeping draught and then lay down, looking at Sirius expectantly. “Go on then, Pads.”

“Yeah, go on then,” Harry parroted.

Sirius stuck his tongue out and the two of them did it right back.

“A long time ago, in a far-off land, there lived a foolish king,” Sirius began.

The potion seemed to take quick effect on Remus as he fell asleep only a few pages in. Once he had, Harry placed a finger to Sirius’ lips. Sirius grinned before closing the book.

“Can we play with Moony later?” Harry whispered.

Sirius nodded, “Yes, let him sleep, okay?”

Harry kissed Remus’ cheek and then went to get out of bed before pausing, kissing Sirius too, and then walking into the hallway. Sirius tucked the covers tightly around Remus and then followed Harry out.

He paused as he walked past the photo of Lily and James on the bookshelf. He smiled sadly at it and then looked over to Harry. “Your kid,” he muttered, “he’s very sweet. I always said you’d make cute babies, didn’t I, Evans?”

Lily just smiled up at him from the photo, as did James.

“He’s so much like you it’s scary.” He wasn’t really sure which person in the picture he’d been aiming the comment at. He decided it didn’t matter.

[jumblejen]

Reaching Out

Suptober21 Day 6: Cemetery Boys

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34330948

“Did I ever tell you about the fan convention thingy? With Chuck and Becky? And the ghosts of those little boys?”

“I don’t think so, Dean.”

“You remember the Supernatural books?”

“Yes, the Winchester Gospels.”

“Whatever. Anyway, Becky that squirrely superfan that married Sam? Well she decided to hold a fan convention for the books. This was after Lucifer was free but before Sam went to hell. And then she used Chuck’s phone to get us to come, made us think it was a case.”

“That must have been surprising when it wasn’t.”

“Yeah it was… something else. Somehow not nearly as disturbing as the musical though.”

“Oh yes. I liked the musical.”

“You weren’t even there!”

“No, but Sam told me about it. And I might have had Charlie scour the internet for a recording.”

“You what?!”

“The songs were very catchy. And I thought their Castiel did an excellent job.”

“That’s our lives. That’s not the point. You know what, never mind.”

“Sorry Dean.”

“So anyway, there wasn’t a case but we stuck around because Chuck asked us to. This was before he was God. Or at least before we knew he was God. And then there was a case.”

“What kind?”

“Ghosts. Ghosts of some little boys and their babysitter or whatever. Ended up having some pretty close calls. We thought it was the babysitter who was the evil one but she was keeping the sadistic kid ghosts in check. Was a whole thing.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“Yeah well…”

“What?”

“I just keep thinking.”

“About what?”

“About the boys in the cemetery.”

“The dead boys?”

“No, not them.”

“What boys are you talking about then?”

“There were these boys. Guys. Whatever. They helped Sam and me get the ghosts. They were larping as me and Sam and they really saved our bacon. I talked to them the day after it all went down.”

“About what?”

“Tryin’ to convince them that Sam and me were the real Sam and Dean. Don’t think they believed me though.”

“So you’re thinking about two men who helped out on a case more than ten years ago because they didn’t believe you were you?”

“No. I mean, not really. That’s not what I keep thinking about.”

“What are you thinking about then?”

“Well they were together. As a couple. And they met because of the Supernatural books. And the fact that they were together as Sam and me was weird and gave me the heebie-jeebies. But…”

“But what?”

“I keep thinking about how sweet they were. That next morning. I mean they were clearly friends when they were in the cemetery the first time with us. Friends and super not used to the idea that ghosts could be really real. And then after we got trapped in the place they managed to dig the dead boys up and send them on their way and no way we woulda survived very long without them.”

“And?”

“And I don’t know. I guess I just keep thinking of how they were always in it together. Like they did the larping thing and they were dating or whatever. They saved us together.”

“Do you know what happened to them?”

“Nah.”

“Do you wish you did?”

“I don’t know man. It’s just… I was so surprised when they said they were together…”

“And now?”

“Now I wish I could say sorry. Or thank you? I mean I did thank them for stepping up. But just. I want to say thank you.”

“You could try to get Sam to search.”

“Nah. I don’t remember their names. Or where they were from.”

“Do you want to say it out loud anyway? As if they were here?”

“What, like praying?”

“No. Or maybe yes. Maybe you just need to say it out loud.”

“Not very good at that.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

“Yeah yeah. I deserved that.”

“Yes you did.”

“Though you aren’t great at it either.”

“I was an angel. I had to learn how to be human. What’s your excuse?”

“A shitty upbringing? Coupled with living in a patriarchal society that punishes men for expressing their needs and feelings?”

“You’ve been talking with Claire.”

“Your point?”

“You’ve been listening to Claire.”

“You don’t have to make it sound so impossible.”

“It surprised me.”

“We talk all the time!”

“You talk smack all the time.”

“’Talk smack’?”

“Did I use that wrong?”

“No. But that doesn’t mean you should say it.”

“Okay.”

“What would I say? To the air or whatever.”

“Say what you want to express to the men who caught you off guard by being homosexual.”

“You know I had issues.”

“How badly did you panic?”

“I did not panic at all. I may have made it a little awkward.”

“So what would you want to say. To make it not awkward in your head anymore?”

“I… I don’t know. I mean I know, but I don’t know how to say it.”

“Would it hurt to try?”

“It might.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I think it’s the kind of hurt that might help.”

“Okay.”

“Well, here goes. Dear guys who larped as Sam and me and were a gay couple. A lot’s happened since I met you. Thanks again for ganking those ghosts in the cemetery. Saved our asses. Which we covered the next day. Sorry about being weird with you. To you. Whatever. After you said you were together. I didn’t really know how to process that because you were larping as me and my brother and that part still skeeves me out. But also, I didn’t know how to see you be that open and together. I didn’t know you could be a gay couple and just be that. Though obviously you could. I guess. I mean, it’s great for you. No that’s not what I mean, I mean it is great for you. To…to have someone. I just didn’t know how to live where people could see me. And to see you…made me have to think about a bunch of stuff I wasn’t really ready to look closely at. In my own heart. But I think about you, and I think about how good you were together. So, uh, anyway. I hope you’re still happy. And together and stuff. And like I said. Thanks.”

“How did that feel?”

“It felt…it felt okay.”

“Then I’m glad you did it.”

“Me too… Hey Cas?”

“Yes Dean?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Do you think it’d be weird to, you know, maybe try to find them?”

“What if they aren’t together? Or…”

“Dead? Yeah, that would be hard. But maybe that’s not what’s important.”

“Then what is important?”

“I was so thrown by the gay thing I didn’t really think about the fact that these dudes now knew that ghosts were real and they only had each other. I shoulda given them my number or looked out for them. Or something. So maybe…maybe I should try to find them. And if they’re still alive. Maybe I can…maybe we can help them. Or whatever.”

“I think that’s a great idea Dean.”

“You do?”

“I do. Come on. Let’s get some sleep. We can talk with Sam in the morning and figure out how to start the search.”

“Thanks Cas. Love you.”

“Love you too Dean. Good night.”

“Night.”

[edgeofpanic]

 @yangsbandana​ ranked her top 10 bees moments and then i got in my feelings about them so fuck it!! here's my top 10 after the cut

10. that little eyeroll and smile blake does in v1 when yang picks up the chess piece in the emerald forest and says "how about a cute little pony?" they've only been partners for about for 30 minutes at this point, and blake has spent multiple episodes practically screaming "I DON'T WANT TO GET CLOSE TO ANYONE, I AM A BAD PERSON WHO DOESN’T DESERVE HAPPINESS." and still yang gets the prickly ex-terrorist to smile. gay.

9. yang's reply to blake at mountain glenn. blake is still so torn up about running away from home, her actions while with the white fang, running from adam, her present, her future. and all yang says is that she knows she won't run away from a challenge. that she's strong enough to face it and come out on the other side better than she was. the utter faith of it all!!

8. all of v4 lmao. but i have narrow that down so it's when yang looks at the pile of books in her very first scene in that volume and then turns away with the saddest look on her face. she misses just blake so much even though she left!!! and she doesn't want to because missing someone has never brought back the people she cares about, but she is anyway! bees angst is usually not my favorite but when it hits it hits and v4 and v5 were it

7. the dummied out cherry stem yang ties with her tongue while staring directly at blake in v2. she is extremely gay and she is trying so, so hard to show the girl she likes that she's interested. bless her. crwby, yall are cowards for taking this away from us

6. nora at the rally going "friends? just friends? i think they have more going on". nora is easily one of the most emotionally intelligent characters on the show so when she says two people wanna kiss i believe her. it's also notable that this is the first time anyone in-show has acknowledged blake and yang have something happening, even if they aren't necessarily together. praying that there's a followup to this in v10 where she outright asks what the deal is now that they're back from survivor island in the Time Pit

top 5...god i suffered for ages over this and i still think i forgot something

5. "i'll destroy everything you love...starting with her." cw for this vid: dismemberment, abusive relationships

i'm a relatively new fan having only picked up rwby in late 2019. my friends who were into it kept telling me it was pretty gay and one friend routinely sent bumbleby fanart because she knew it would entice me to start the show faster. and sure i thought they were cute, but i was still unsure if this was for real or not. but this scene. this one right here is the one where i went, "oh. oh, we're actually doing this.” there is no real way to read this as other than romantic. the framing, the timing, like.... man.

i’m also a sucker for devotion in ships and if sacrificing an arm to save the one you love and not even blaming them for running away isn’t devotion, i don’t know what it is.

4. burning the candle.

if number 5 convinced me, burning the candle was the one that got me on the train. here was my reaction from a friend sending gifs of this without too much context

and then i finally watched and got hella emotional. it’s a lot of firsts: yang opening up about her past, disagreement, blake allowing herself comfort. but they still manage to talk, work through how they feel, and leave better than they were. and i think it’s what i love about them the most? regardless of what happens, they have each others backs and always work toward a compromise. ugh. god.

also that stupid flirty wink is fooling no one, just say you’ll meet her under the bleachers

3. "what if I needed her there for me"/"yang was strength"

yes it’s kind of cheating to put two different scenes in one spot but they share real estate in my brain. these are the pinnacle of v5 bees angst, for me. there’s a lot left unsaid and literal continents between them, but they’re both saying the same thing. “i miss her a lot. i really wish she was here.” and at this point they haven’t been in the same room for almost 2 seasons. they have a lot of emotional ground to cover when they see each other and even more healing to do.

regardless of it all, they can’t stop thinking about each other. someway, somehow, they want to make their more-than-friendship work.

speaking of seeing each other again

2. beeunion 2.0

blake walks into the battle at haven at the most bizarre time. weiss has a big giant wasp summon (and it looks like she’s been stabbed???? but she’s fine???????), her friends are here, all the bad guys are also here, there’s some random kid fighting a juiced up dude with a cane. everything is fucking happening at once. and all blake can say is "yang?" In that little scared, hopeful voice

and like. the look on yang’s face as she sees blake for the first time is of utter awe. this person she never thought she’d see again singled her out in a room of utter chaos looking just as amazed to see her.

also there’s this gay little moment after yang comes out of the vault

1. “we’re protecting each other.”

to this day, this is the only scene in rwby that has almost brought me to tears. it really is all about both of them realizing they don’t have to face their ordeals alone ever again. they’ll be each others’ pillar with unwavering faith.

just! fuck me up!!!!!!! JUST FUCK ME UP

quick honorable mentions:

blake's gay little skip in v6

sun saying that yang would never blame blake for what happened with adam

bumblebee the bike ramming into adam at high speed

yangs gay meltdown over the haircut

“do you think...she thinks less of me?”/”you could always try calling yang...”

beeunion 3.0

actually all their moments in v7 (the talk in the truck, the moment in the airship, getting ready for their totally a date but not a date before the election)

[shyvioletcat]

I think Rowaelin should be blessed with 25. Troublesome twins 😁

Blessed you shall be, also thanks to the anon who sent this too with the addition of a little twist. 

~~~~~

Rowan loved his children, he really did. They were the light of his life, the apple of his eye. But sometimes he just wished they would stop, be still, be quiet for a little while. His two year old twins were a force of nature. If one was settled the other wouldn’t be, then it would end in both of them causing chaos together as they played off each other. Aelin mused that this was her punishment for what hellions she and Aedion were as children. Rowan didn’t doubt her.

Today was no exception. Elsie had decided that her bedroom wall was the perfect canvas for her crayon artwork, while Finn had unpacked all the kitchen drawers — Aelin catching him just before he got to the knives. Today wasn’t a play together day either, when they had been making towers it soon became a mean game of who could have the most blocks and Rowan had to physically separate them before they started a full out brawl in the living room. Even Fleetfoot had run for cover for most of the day, and she was usually the third comrade in their antics. So today there had been one parent per child just to make sure everyone was safe and happy.

But when bathtime rolled around, everyone was friends again. And despite the amount of bath water on the floor the bedtime routine had gone smoothly, so much so Rowan was able to get most of it done by himself. Once they had settled into bed Rowan read them two stories and turned off the light, the room still illuminated by the night light in the corner. He prayed that tonight they’d both go to sleep without any trouble. It was a divine blessing that they both were decent sleepers.

Easing the door closed, Rowan let out a heavy sigh of relief then he went in search of his wife. He found her sitting at the kitchen bench, scrolling through her phone and eating something he couldn't see. On his way into the kitchen he stopped to give her a kiss on the head before making his way towards the fridge to get himself a drink. Glancing over he saw her choice of snack, slices of apple that she was dipping into a jar of raspberry jam. Rowan didn’t know how she could handle all that sweetness.

“Apples and jam, huh?” Rowan said, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

“Mmhmm, just felt like it,” Aelin replied, biting into an apple slice.

Rowan chuckled. “You aren’t pregnant, are you?”

Apple and jam was all Aelin had lived on for months when she was pregnant with the twins. Seeing her eating it again was bringing back some memories.

“Of course not,” Aelin scoffed. But then her brow furrowed and she was picking up her phone. “No. Nononono.”

Rowan had been about to take a sip from his bottle but it had frozen in place halfway to his mouth as he watched Aelin frantically tap at her screen. Then she stopped, putting her phone face down on the counter, rubbing her face with her hands. The entire house was silent as he waited for her to say something.

“I’m late,” she breathed.

Rowan blinked. “How late?” A few days would be nothing, even a week.

“Two weeks.”

That wasn’t good.

“Um, well…” Rowan started but Aelin was already moving, practically running down the hallway.

He followed and found her rummaging through the bathroom cupboards. She pulled out a box, a box of pregnancy tests.

“Alright, get out,” she said to him, and Rowan just nodded and closed the bathroom door behind him.

It wasn’t long before Aelin came out, immediately going to him and straddling her knees either side of his hip as she settled in his lap from where he sat on the edge of the bed. She curled into him and Rowan held her.

“What if it’s positive?” She asked, then her tone steadily grew more panicked. “A baby plus those two terrors. How are we supposed to do that? Oh gods, what if it’s twins again? Is that a thing?”

“Well,” Rowan said as he ran a hand over her back. “I guess we ask your mum to move in for a few months.”

Aelin let out a dry laugh at that. “I… I kinda hope it is. Positive I mean.”

She peeked up at him, those stunning eyes shining. Before Rowan could say anything the alarm went off and Aelin went back into the bathroom. All Rowan could do was wait and when Aelin reappeared in the doorway her eyes were brimming with tears.

“You’re pregnant,” Rowan breathed, feeling a gentle smile spreading over his lips.

Aelin nodded, her eyes closing making the tears run down her cheeks. “I’m pregnant, Ro.”

He held his arms out to her and she resumed her position in his lap as she kissed him. “But I swear if you’ve knocked me up with twins again I may literally castrate you to prevent it from happening again.”

Rowan laughed, still a little shocked, but so, so happy. “That sounds fair enough, even though I think there’s an operation for that. A lot less painful.”

Aelin fixed him with a look. “You want to talk to me about pain right now? You realise what I’m going to do in 8 months, right?”

She had a point and Rowan nodded solemnly. “Castration is fine, dear.”

Aelin just laughed and kissed him again.

~~~~~

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[skieswords]

Pull Through Part 1

Warnings for this book: Mentions of depression, alcohol and drugs, abuse and self-harming behaviours. Please do not read if any of these things will affect you, I have plenty of other stories on my page that are free from potential triggers❤️

Summary: Alex’s little sister Becca, is Sunset Curve’s number 1 fan. After her 16th birthday, her relationship with the lead guitarist becomes questionable, and she’s left trying to decide between following her heart, and respecting her brother’s wishes. Starts in November 1994.

Friday afternoons were always dull. Everyone's eyes were glued to the clock on the wall, heads slumped in hands, with the back row asleep save for one person. The only person paying any attention to the lesson was Gina in the front row, her comically large glasses falling down her nose as she scribbled notes from the board furiously. Becca tapped her foot absentmindedly, drumming her fingers on the desk as she stared out of the window. Her thoughts were on the essay she'd been issued last period, that she had no idea where to even start with. Was it on Shakespeare? Or the flaws in capitalism? Oh wait- that was what Mr Malcolm had told her would get her suspended again. She was jerked out of her thoughts by the scraping of chairs on the floor, and rustling papers as the class packed up and made their way out of the door. She sighed and pushed back in her seat, slinging her bag over her shoulder and trying her hardest to slink out of the room. 'Don't see me, don't see me, don't see me.' She crossed her fingers and prayed silently, ducking behind a group of girls, but her attempt to leave unnoticed failed miserably. "Rebecca, hold on a moment please." Becca cringed at her full name and turned to face her math teacher, false grin planted, eyes wide and innocent. "I wanted to talk to you about your math homework- or more accurately, the absence of it?" With an internal groan and a brief eye roll, Becca tried to formulate an excuse in her head, but failed. "Can I give it to you on monday morning?" Mrs Jacob, the math teacher, sighed, but nodded, a grim expression on her face as she turned back to her desk, waving Becca away. Breathing out in relief, she legged it out of the classroom. The corridor was basically empty now, with only a handful of stragglers hanging around, either for detention, or waiting for extra credit opportunities.

"Hey stranger, you coming?" Reggie appeared in front of her, guitar case slung over his shoulder, and hands in his jean pockets. Becca grinned at him, and searched her pocket for her locker key. "Two secs, got to grab my stuff." Reggie followed her to her locker and laughed as she opened it, revealing at least half a foot of paper sitting in a heap at the bottom. Becca shrugged and reached in, pulling out her skateboard. "Homework?" She scowled at him, shoving some paper into her backpack carelessly, and zipping it shut. "Alex told me to ask." Becca groaned and reached in to the warzone once more, pulling out her math textbook, before slamming her locker shut and stalking down the hall, Reggie following closely behind. "Who's driving today?" She turned to face him as they walked down the front steps of the school, face falling at his expression. "No, I'll get the bus." Reggie grabbed her arm as she tried to walk away, dragging her back to his side and shrugging. " He's not that bad. He needs practice, his test is next week." Becca groaned loudly, but continued down the sidewalk to where her brother's beaten up 1993 mustang sat, one headlight cracked, and scratches covering the doors. Alex had been given the car for his 16th birthday, and Becca suspected she would get something similar for hers. Although god knows she'd take better care of it than Alex did- his could easily pass as being 10 years old, not 2. "Hey trouble." His voice came from the driver's seat, and Becca bent down to lean on the window frame, her face blank. "Crash and I'll kill you." Luke grinned up at her, that ridiculous smirk that hadn't changed since elementary school, and she reached through to pull his beanie off his head. His smirk turned into a scowl, and Becca laughed at him, walking around to the rear of the car. The trunk was already sitting open, the boys guitars and school bags dumped among the empty water bottles and crisp packets. Becca dropped her own belongings in and slammed the trunk shut, taking her seat in the back beside Reggie. Alex turned to face her, pushing his fringe off his face. "How was math?" Becca shrugged and pulled one knee up to her chest, looking out of the window. "Bex. Math?" She rolled her eyes at him and groaned, throwing her head back against the seat. "It was fine. I've got homework." Alex nodded and reached into the footwell, tossing a can of juice at her. "I'll help you with it tomorrow?" Becca smiled and cracked open her can, taking a gulp and kicking the back of Luke's seat. He turned and glared at her, grabbing her shoe and tugging her forward, causing juice to splash up onto her face. They launched into a game of tug of war with Becca's leg, until Reggie leaned forward, and interrupted, pulling Luke's hand off Becca. "Is Bobby coming over tonight?" Luke shrugged and and turned back to the wheel, the car shuddering to life a moment later. Becca put on her seat belt and crossed her arms. "Hold on boys. This could get messy." She caught Luke's eye in the mirror and winked at him as he gave her the finger, before resting her head back on the seat, and tapping her fingers to the rhythm in her head, on the windowpane. He noticed, and smirked to himself, reaching over to turn up the volume on the radio.

When they pulled up to Luke's house, Becca noticed his knuckles turn white, as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. Opening the door and pulling his seat forward to let Becca out, he walked toward the rear end of the car and opened the trunk, frowning slightly. "Hey Alex? Could you uh, take my guitar to Reggie's tonight?" Alex sighed and nodded, taking Luke's place in the driver seat. Becca walked past Luke, who slammed the trunk shut a little too hard, making her jump. "Sorry Bex. See you tonight?" Becca smiled, waving over her shoulder at him. He smirked and bit his bottom lip, nodding his head before turning on his heel, and heading into the house. Alex started driving back to their house, tapping his fingers to the beat of the song on the radio. Becca started humming along, and he cranked it up a bit, whistling the tune through his teeth as they drove through their neighbourhood. Alex and Becca's dad was a lawyer, and their mom was a doctor, so they lived in a very nice area. They constantly made jokes about how their incredibly academic parents, a lawyer and a doctor, produced two delinquents. The gay drummer of a rock band, and a skater daughter, who flunked all but two of her classes. It was clear they were still hoping for clones of themselves, through their ridiculous insistance that they be called Rebecca and Alexander, names that both siblings despised greatly. This, and the constant pressure about college. They'd given up on Alex, because he'd already been contacted by a number of schools, wanting him for their music program, and he'd made it very clear that was what he was going to do. However, Graham, their dad, was currently on Becca's back because she was failing math, reminding her daily that she'd never make it to medical school with her current grades. "Ready?" Alex turned the engine off and got out of the car, walking around to the trunk. Becca followed him, picking up her school bag, and reaching out for her skateboard. She'd just grabbed the edge when the front door opened, and Graham appeared. Alex smacked her hand, making her drop it, and pushed the trunk shut quickly, stepping away from the car. He placed a hand on Becca's shoulder and gave her a push, sending her inside. "Rebecca, good day?" Becca nodded, and ran past her dad, head down. Alex watched her go and resisted the urge to punch the eldest member of the Mercer family, before locking the car and following her in. He heard her bedroom door slam shut upstairs, and sighed internally. "Hey sweetheart, how was school?" Alex walked into the kitchen and dropped his keys on the work top, running a hand through his hair. "It was good, mom. It still okay if I take Bex over to Reggie's tonight?" Julia smiled softly and walked over to Alex, reaching up to stroke the hair off his face. He towered over her tiny frame, 6 foot of blonde hair, sarcastic comments, and brightly coloured t-shirts. "Rebecca should study. You can go, but she's behind in school." Alex rolled his eyes subtly and nodded. "She won't study if I leave her. If I take her with me she can sit with Reggie's mom?" Julia considered this, and glanced around with a worried expression. "I have a shift tonight, and your father's gone out for a bit. Leave now, and as long as your both back by 10, you can take her. Make sure she works." Alex smirked, and grabbed his keys, before kissing her swiftly on the cheek and running up the stairs.

Becca's room was a soft grey, with one orange wall that had a large desk leaning against it, littered with sheets of paper. A black acoustic guitar, with a light coating of dust, sat in the corner, a red electric on a stand beside it. Another empty stand sat nearby. A Sunset Curve flyer hung above her bed frame, pride of place. Her built in closet hung open, clothes spilling out over the floor, and more hanging on the chair of her desk. Paper was scattered across her bed, Becca sitting up in the middle of it all, chewing her pencil. Her light brown hair sat in a bun at the nape of her neck, tendrils falling around her face. A knock on the door made her look up, and a pair of bright blue eyes met her own, as Alex stepped through the doorframe. "Leaving for Reggie's in 5, you ready?" Becca grinned,  jumping up and grabbing one of Alex's old hoodies from her closet. Slipping her feet into her converse, she looked up at her big brother, an innocent smile on her face. "Can you drop me off at the skate park?" Alex snorted and pointed to her school bag. "Not a chance. Grab that, I told mom you'd study." Becca rolled her eyes, but swung her backpack over her shoulder, throwing some of the paper from her bed into it. "Oh shit." Alex turned back to her with his eyebrows raised. Becca was pulling her glasses off her face, tucking the large black frames into her pocket. "Sorry. Now we can go." They headed out the door and down the stairs, Becca jumping on Alex's back when they reached the bottom. "Why don't you wear your glasses out? No-one minds them." Becca shrugged and rested her head on Alex's shoulder, only jumping down when they reached the car. "I dunno. They make me look dorky. Bobby's going tonight isn't he?" Alex nodded and turned the keys, the car giving a few shudders until it jumped to life with a roar. Becca groaned and threw her head against the head rest. "But he always flirts with me! It's so gross." With a surprised laugh and slight smirk, Alex started the well-known route to Reggie's. "He's been warned, but he tries to sleep with anything that moves." Becca raised her eyebrows silently, but snorted, and Alex realised what he said, his face flushing red with embarrassment and fear. "Uhhhh I mean, flirt. Yup. Totally didn't just make a sex joke to my baby sister." Becca laughed and punched his arm gently, kicking her feet up on the dash. "I'm not a baby- I'm sixteen in 4 days. And I'm only like a year younger than you." Alex rolled his eyes. "Maybe you need more help with math than we thought."   Becca looked at him questioningly, as he turned left, away from Reggie's. "Got to check Luke's not still at home. His folks won't have taken him." Nodding, Becca started chewing her lip and looked out the window. Luke was the youngest of the band, only turning 17 a few months ago, and was the only one who couldn't drive yet. The sun was setting, the November chill drifting through the cracks in the car. When they reached Luke's house, the front porch light was on, and they could see into the living room. The Pattersons were all there, Luke's arms outstretched. They couldn't quite see his face, but by the looks of things, they were arguing again. Alex honked once, and Luke glanced out the window. He seemed to shout one last thing, before running out of the room appearing at the front door moments later, that ridiculous grey jacket thrown over his arm. As he stalked towards the car, Becca noticed his tearstreaked face, and felt something wrench in her chest. She clambered into the back seat without argument, pulling her bag with her. "Hey man, you alright?" Luke sniffed and rolled his eyes, nodding at Becca in the rearview. "Hey Bex." She didn't say anything, smiling weakly and watching his reflection in the wing mirror. He rubbed his eyes fiercely with his fists, and started to bite the little nails he did have, his eyes wraught with pain and anger. Becca wanted to say something, but didn't know what would make him feel better. "Hey guys, can we get ice cream?" She leaned through the gap and rested her elbows on the seats. Luke turned to look at her, his green eyes rimmed with red. They made brief eye contact, and she gave him a soft smile, tilting her head slightly towards him. "We have to get to Reggie's though..." Becca looked at Alex with puppy dog eyes, and Luke leant forward to join her, sticking out his bottom lip. "You two will be the death of me. Fine, but we're getting for everyone." Becca and Luke's fists connected, and Becca felt a shiver go down her spine as a deep chuckle erupted from Luke's throat. She sat back, and watched out of the window as Alex drove further and further away from Reggie's.

"We brought ice-cream!" Alex came barging through the door of Reggie's garage, where Bobby was in the corner tuning his guitar, and Reggie was sitting on the couch, feet on the coffee table. "Hey man, running late?" Luke came through after Alex, dumping his guitar case on top of the piano and starting to unpack it. Reggie sat up and leant towards the ice cream bag, picking a tub out. "I thought Bex was coming?" Alex turned round and looked about him in confusion, rolling his eyes with a smile when she came through the doors dramatically. "She is and she did. Reg is your mom in? Or should I chill in the loft?" Becca came strolling towards the boys, empty handed, school bag abandoned in the car. "Mom's in, you can choose." Bobby put down his guitar, ran his hands through his hair, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Hey gorgeous." Alex stepped in front of him, pushing him back gently. "Hey. She's still underage, still my sister, and still totally off limits." Becca laughed and walked over to the piano, leaving Bobby to groan at Alex's insistance that Becca would never date. "Hey, can I take this?" Luke looked down to her, and the pile of paper in her hand. "Uh sure, what's it for?" Becca shrugged and disappeared up the ladder, leaving Luke watching her with a raised eyebrow. But he didn't have long to ponder what she was doing, as Reggie started tuning his bass, and Bobby sat back on the couch, still pouting after Alex's telling off. Becca took her seat in the loft, settling into a beanbag with her stash of paper. The loft was small, but she hung out here most nights of the week, so she'd made it comfy. One wall had a few shelves on it, with her favourite books and a few blankets stacked on them. A large stack of Sunset Curve CD cases were piled up in the corner, t-shirt designs crammed in a box next to them. And in another corner, tucked behind her beanbag, was her guitar. Becca unclipped the case and slipped the strap over her head, strumming quietly. The boys made enough noise that they wouldn't be able to hear her in the loft, but she was careful anyways. It was a secret, that she played. Alex knew the black Martin was a gift from someone, so just presumed his little sister was too polite to give it back, or sell it. The electric was Luke's, left there years ago, and never retrieved. She adored the beaten up Fender Reggie's mom had given her when she was 12, and didn't have any plans to exchange it. It was covered in stickers, and she'd re-strung it so many times the tuning pegs were worn. There was an entire corner dedicated to vans stickers, collected from the 4 billion pairs Luke seemed to own. Becca and her guitar had been through everything together. She'd fought with her dad just after Alex's birthday last year, and after ignoring her for a week, she'd found a gorgeous black Martin resting on her bed. It remained untouched, as she felt like it would be an insult to Reggie if she accepted it. Besides, her old one was perfectly broken in, and felt familiar and heavy in her hand. She noticed the floor of the loft was vibrating beneath her, Luke's chords biting through the air forcefully. He was clearly upset. Becca sighed, slipped her glasses on, and picked up the sheets of paper in front of her, scribbling furiously.

And you use your pain 'Cause it makes you you Though I wish I could hold you through it

She picked through a couple of chords gently, frowning when she couldn't quite work it out. It must've been hours, because the boys had stopped playing. Tucking her guitar back into it's hiding place, Becca reached for a notebook sitting on the shelf, and pulled it into her lap, rewriting the words next to some verses she'd come up with in the past.  "Hey Bex, Alex wants to go, you ready?" Becca jumped at the sound of Luke's voice, scrambling to hide the sheets of paper sitting in her lap. She must have lost track of time, or reality, because the garage was silent, and Luke's watch said it was 9.30. "Uh, yeh, two seconds." She stuffed it into her hoodie pocket, and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Nice glasses." Becca's eyes widened, and she pulled the offending articles off her face, stuffing them in her pocket alongside her music . Luke came all the way up the ladder, and crouched opposite her, looking over the various sheets of paper. An orange notebook lay open on the floor, and he picked it up, scanning the page. "Damn, Bex, you write?" Becca jumped up and grabbed the book, dropping it onto the beanbag and sitting back down. "No. I just get bored listening to your guys stuff, it's poems and stuff for school." Luke appeared to be holding back a laugh, and was looking at her in utter disbelief. He knew she was lying through her teeth, but decided not to say anything, choosing to sit cross legged and continue flicking through the assortment of pages laying on the floor. Becca watched anxiously, and started putting stuff away, making sure her notebook was tucked away safely on the shelf where he couldn't see. "Some of these poems are really good. You should try putting them to music." Becca snorted and snatched the sheets out of his hand. "Fat chance, I don't sing, and I don't play." Luke appeared skeptical, but he stayed silent, frowning slightly as he started to pile up the loose paper. "Anyway, as I was saying, your brother wants to go. And I'm staying with you guys tonight." Becca nodded, and climbed to her feet, brushing down her jeans. Luke started climbing down the ladder, smirking up at her. She rolled her eyes, and followed him down, hugging Reggie before walking out to the car behind all the guys. Bobby took the front, leaving Luke and Becca in the backseat together. It wasn't late, but she felt her eyelids drooping as the car purred along the darkened streets, and with the boys all totally silent, it didn't take long for her to drop off to sleep. Luke glanced down at her head on his shoulder and smiled softly. His jacket was sitting in his lap, and he gently swung it over her, before turning his head to face out the window, watching the houses in Bobby's neighbourhood flit by. When they reached his house, he turned to say goodnight to Luke and Becca, frowning when he found them both asleep, Luke's head now resting on top of Becca's. Alex turned round, and rolled his eyes, giving Bobby a light shove to get him out of the car. "Sorry dude, I gotta have her home by 10." Bobby sighed, but fist bumped Alex and got out. "Thanks for the lift bro, catch you later." Alex waved at him and drove off, heading over three neighbourhoods to his place. The driveway was dark, and he let out a disappointed sigh as he realised his dad was still out. Oh well, at least they could go in undisturbed. Luke apparently was awake, sitting up gently so as to not disturb Becca. "Wake her if you want, she'll fall straight back asleep when she gets upstairs. "Nah I feel bad. Want me to carry her up?" Alex raised his eyebrows but shrugged, pulling his chair forward to let them out. Luke slipped one arm under Becca's knees, and pulled her head into his chest gently, letting it fall onto him as he climbed out of the car. His jacket still draped over her, he carried her through the door, slipping his shoes off at the bottom of the stairs. "Where's her room again?" Alex locked the front door and came up the stairs behind them, his fluorescent pink socks padding quietly on the cream carpet. "Opposite mine, up the stairs." Luke nodded and turned left on the landing, knocking her door open with his knee. "Liar." He scoffed when he saw the silhouettes of the guitars in the corner, and set her down on the bed gently, pulling a blanket over her. Curiousity got the better of him, and with a glance at her sleeping form, he couldn't help but move to the desk in the corner, picking up a couple of the loose sheets sitting there. Pages and pages of writing stared back at him, clearly the work of an extremely talented writer. He peered over his shoulder at her, smiling when he caught sight of the moon lighting up her face. "Hey man, you coming?" Alex appeared at the door, jeans swapped for a pair of sweats and a sunset curve t-shirt. Luke nodded, and grabbed his jacket off the end of Becca's bed before pulling her bedroom door closed gently, and walking past Alex to his room. Alex came into his little sister's bedroom, and pulled off her shoes gently, closing her curtains so she wouldn't be woken up too early. If dad was out, chances are he wouldn't be back til tomorrow evening. She deserved some extra rest. Becca listened as the door clicked shut, and smiled to herself. The weak scent of Luke's cheap ass cologne, and something that was unarguably boy, remained on her shirt, and she breathed it in, closing her eyes, and drifting back off to sleep.

[laulink]

A.N : This volume is gonna be full of angst, I just know it, especially for Nuts and Dolts. They had too many good moments in these first 3 eps, it’s hiding something. So, I’m going to give into the angst... then give it a happy ending because I want to make this story into a fucking fairy tale and no one can stop me.

The wind was blowind way too strong to be natural. Ruby knew that. A few hours ago, seeing this power, feeling its raw strength would have amazed her, but the situation had changed. Oh, so much.

In front of her was Penny. Her beautiful, cheerful, kind, patient, funny, enthusiastic, intelligent, wonderful Penny. Turned into a lifeless doll by that mustached bitch, on fucking Ironwood’s orders. Ruby would have punched them both if they were in front of her. Her right hook had gotten pretty mean after Ozpin’s training and feeling these two bastards’ noses break under her fist would have been oh so satisfying.

But they weren’t here and Penny was the one facing her. Her eyes had turned red from the corruption in her systems, reminding her of Yang when she was angry and her mother, Raven, when she saw her for the first and last time at the battle of Haven. 

A familiar noise at her left alerted her just in time to dodge Penny’s blades and avoid being sliced in two. Her aura was low, it would have broken under the attack. Behind her, she heard Weiss talking to Pietro over her scroll.

“What do you mean you can’t access her systems ?! You did it just a few hours ago !

- Yes, when Penny was still functioning normally ! Whatever Ironwood and Watts have done to take control of her, it has blocked all remote accesses, I can’t do anything to break her out of it ! 

- There must be something we can do !” Blake screamed from her side, avoiding another of Penny’s attacks. Ruby semblanced her a bit farther away, out of Penny’s reach so they could take a breath while still listening to Pietro.

“I have tried everything ! I can’t get through to her ! This kind of control can only be broken from inside, either by connecting to Penny with a computer and running a counter program or getting Penny to break out of it herself. But I can’t do any of those things !

- What was that about getting Penny to break out of it ?” Ruby asked before ducking under yet another attack from Penny’s blades, semblancing behind her to try and cut the damn strings, and being pushed back by a blast of wind. Her ears were ringing, but she still managed to catch Pietro’s answer.

“Penny can break any form of control on her body. That’s something I made sure of when designing her. Earlier, in the operations room, she could have pushed me out if she had so desired. The same could be done here, but the program run to control her is complex. Watts really outdid himself ; without a strong stimulus, a mind breaking shock if you will, his connection to Penny will hold and she won’t be able to push him out.

- So what you’re saying is that we need to shock Penny into rebooting her brain ?” Weiss asked, disbelieving.

“Basically, yes. A strong enough emotion could do the trick ; there’s a reason people say that, under certain circumstances, their brains short-circuit. That’s what we need right now.”

Penny’s movements were getting more precise by the minute now. Watts was getting the hang of this, and Ruby wished he weren’t. If things kept going like this, they wouldn’t be able to avoid injuries, to them or Penny, for much longer.

“What can we do then ?!” she screamed in Weiss’ general direction. “What could possibly shock her enough to do that ?! We’re running out of time !”

Pietro was silent, probably thinking. Ruby felt someone’s hand on her shoulder and turned to see Nora looking at her, serious, but eyes sparkling in a way Ruby really didn’t like right now.

“I think you know exactly what we need to do, Ruby.

- No I don’t !”

But Nora’s cryptic words seemed to make it click for Blake, who’s ears perked up. She dodged a few more attacks from Penny, progressively getting closer to Ruby and Nora, who were retreating, protected by Weiss’ cover fire. When they were all close enough to talk without having to scream, Blake told Ruby :

“Maybe you don’t know, but you are what we need, Ruby. Or rather, what Penny needs.

- What does that even mean ?!”

Weiss seemed to catch on as well because she sighed loudly and gave Ruby a glare so withering that her leader could feel it even without seeing it.

“Come on, Ruby ! We need to inspire a strong emotion in Penny ! And we’ve all seen how you look at her ! Stop being a gay mess for two minutes and go get your girl !”

Ruby’s face turned as red as her cape. She turned around to face Weiss and deny, but Nora’s hammer deflecting an attack that would have otherwise turned Ruby into a hedgehog reminded her that she didn’t have the luxury to fight with her teammates. Instead, she used Crescent Rose to deflect Penny’s swords while screaming at them :

“Are you insane ?! Do you really think it’s the moment to play matchmaker ?!

- Actually Ruby,” Pietro spoke up, still on the scroll, “your friends’ suggestion is a good one. I believe that making your feelings known to Penny would provide a stimulus strong enough to break her out of Watts’ control. It’s worth a try.

- Have you lost your mind ?!

- No time to argue, Ruby !” Blake screamed while her clone was sliced in two where she was standing a mere second ago. “You have to try, now !”

She was right, they were at their limit : they wouldn’t hold much longer. Taking a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart, Ruby focused on Penny’s movements and semblanced her way between her blades, closer and closer until she was right in front of her and-

Materialising in front of Penny, Ruby screamed as she punched the girl, breaking her focus long enough to push her against a rock sticking out of the ground, trapping her with her body.

Taking Penny’s face in her hands with all the care and tenderness in the world, Ruby told her :

“I’m sorry Penny. I love you.”

Red eyes flicked back to green, then red, then green, then red again, almost too fast for Ruby to see. She was almost there, Penny was almost back, she just needed one last push... !

Letting her heart and instincts guide her, Ruby leaned up on her tiptoes and took Penny’s lips between her own in a deep, loving kiss, trying to convey all of her overwhelming feelings to the girl of her dreams. Her adoration for Penny, her happiness at seeing her again after so long, the warmth she felt whenever Penny smiled at her, whenever she talked to her, saw her face, the joy so enormous it felt as crushing as it was liberating when Penny hugged her or kissed her cheek... The love that invaded her entire being, unbridled and devastating, begging to be known, to be shown, unrelenting, whenever she so much as thought of Penny... She poured everything, her very heart, into this kiss...

... and almost broke it out of shock when she felt artificial lips start moving against her own and strong, gentle hands press against the small of her back, bringing her closer to Penny. 

She should have taken a step back, checked that Penny was really there, free, ask how she was feeling... but the moment felt so perfect, Ruby couldn’t resist it : she sunk deeper in Penny’s embrace, her hands moving forward and around the Maiden’s head to rest on the back of her neck, cradling her, keeping her close, as close as she could while she prayed this moment would never end.

Alas, the world wasn’t so kind as to let them in their little paradise forever. The two girls eased back, just enough for their lips to part, but still close enough for their noses to brush and their breaths to mingle. They locked eyes, silver and green, no trace of red to be found, and their lips shaped into twin grins, so wide their cheeks started hurting. Ruby couldn’t help it, she pressed her lips to Penny’s again, and again, and again, even though the contact barely counted as a kiss since they smiled too much to properly give one.

Penny’s arms tightened around Ruby’s waist, bringing her impossibly closer, pressed flush against her love. Having regained some of her composure, though tears shined at the corners of her eyes, Penny whispered against Ruby’s lips :

“Thank you Ruby. I love you too.”

Melting both from the embrace and the confession, Ruby responded with a loving smile and the sweetest kiss she could muster. As Ruby buried a hand in Penny’s hair to keep her close while she deepened the kiss, they both heard someone coughing loudly, reminding them they were not alone. Blushing, both girls jumped away from each other and turned to face their friends who were giving them very pointed -and smug- looks.

Weiss was the first to break the silence :

“When this war is over, I’m commissioning Blake to write a fairy tale about you two.

- No problem,” smirked Blake, “this story will write itself.

- “The Rose and the Maiden : tale of a fated love”. This will be a best-seller,” Nora promised.

As their friends kept chatting about the hypothetic book, Ruby and Penny shared a resigned, but happy glance. Without so much as a word, their hands sought each other out, their fingers intertwined and a feeling bloomed in their hearts : the certitude that, whatever would be thrown their way, they would overcome it together.

A.N : End ! I know that kisses in RWBY always lead to absolute tragedies, so I wanted to turn it around and have the tragedy be dealt with by a kiss. We are in a show inspired by fucking FAIRY TALES, God damnit ! Give me some true love kiss saving the day !

This was a bit rushed, but I hope you enjoyed !

[palettepainter]

Coming out

A quick message before you get into the story - I really wanted to do something for LGBT cuz I always end up forgetting or not having time to finish any drawings, most of the time I just do art about my OC’s and what their cannon sexualities are - but this year I wanted to do something a bit more serious, if that makes sense I’ve always been told by parents and friends that as long as you are coming out to people who you trust and people you know who will support you, then in the end, everything will be fine. I’ve always thought that if I where to ever be bisexual, gay, asexual or any other LGBT term that I would be comfortable to open up to my family. My preferences for who I like romantically aren’t really something I think all about that much. I’ve never dated and thus far all my luck with crushes and boys has just been really bad - and as someone who was and still is incredibly shy about dating and pretty much anything romantic I’ve learnt to not rush into things, I’ll find out who/what I like in time Now that I’m older I’ve been thinking more on it, and though I don’t want to go too deep into this stuff since it is personal, even with a supportive family I still have that fear of talking about these sorts of things. I wanted to write this story to show that even despite the fact someone may have a supportive family, supportive friends or even just that one supportive person in their life - overcoming that hurdle of fear and exposing a part of yourself that is so personal and dear, is terrifying. It’s a big relief to finally talk about these things yes, especially if you’ve been forced to shut these kinds of things away (in which case I hope you are in a happier healthier environment). But even with that in mind it can be hard for anyone to open up about these things, even those who know they’re in a safe environment and know they have family to support them. I don’t know if I got that message into this story, this is my first time writing something that tackled LGBT this seriously so I hope I was able to do it right. Okay message over ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A story between Jaakuna (Comoress x Kashu, oc) and Jizuko (Monoma x Pony) Jaakuna in my cannon NGAU is gay, whereas Jizuko is bisexual. Jizuko if the first person Jaakuna comes out to, and Jizuko is fiercely supportive. So here’s a little coming out story between my OC’s!~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jizuko had been happily doodling away idly in one of her notebooks when the door to her room suddenly opened, and none other then Jaakuna stepped inside. She rose a brow, watching as he stepped inside without a word and bumped her door closed with his heel “Ever heard of knocking?” She asked, brow cocked as she moved her head up from her notebook “I could have been changing or something” Jaakuna, still not saying a word, walked over to her bed, sat down, and then let his body flop backwards against the mattress. Jizuko rose a brow further, examining his face, though his gaze was skyward there was something distant about it, as though he was lost somewhere deep in thought. She titled her head, nudging his shoulder with her foot “Hello? Gunna answer me??” She asked, honestly not caring about her previous questions, but now just curious to see if he’d speak. Jaakuna behind closed doors with close friends, to her, was a much more quite and chill person, but that aside, he was never totally silent. When she got not response, she put down her notebook and shuffled on the bed, sitting cross legged besides him while she hugged an one of her many plushies to her chest “..You wanna talk about it?” She asked, resting her head a top of her toys. “Mngh..” Jizuko moved and picked up another one of her plush toys, and placed it ontop of Jaakuna’s chest, where his hands reached up to hold it, lazily running his fingers through the soft felt - something she’d learnt he liked to do with her toys and pillows, but something he’d always deny when she asked about it. “Something happen??” She continued, arms returning to her own plushy “...I think I might be having a mid-life crisis” Jizuko blinked “..Well, that’s something” she clarified with a slow nod. Jaakuna replied with a small hum “...Wanna talk shit about it?” She asked innocently Many where surprised when Jizuko would say Jaakuna was one of her closest friends, the two couldn’t be more opposites if they tried. Jizuko was small and dainty looking, she liked cutesy things, her dorm itself was full to the brim with things that she loved: manga volumes, cooking books, plush toys and pillows, all the listed items for a typical ‘cute’ person. Jaakuna was dark and grumpy, often brooding in the corner silently or cussing out something or someone. Years ago, Jaakuna would have been someone she would avoid in the hallways - but beyond that edgy shell was a genuinely sweet and caring person. Jaakuna was caring, very caring, perhaps cared too much about his close friends. Deep down he had a big heart, but like many typical boys, he struggled to verbalise those feelings, and thus ended up getting angry. Jizuko and him shared a connection with that, both cared a lot for friends and family, and yet both felt as though they could only be heard by yelling their opinions. Their bond was what Jizuko would call special - Jaakuna had let his walls down a few times, letting her see him at his most vulnerable. She felt flattered he trusted her enough, and in turn she never told a soul what he would share with her - what he told her would stay with her till the day she died, Jaakuna had made her promise that. “Mngh..” Jaakuna all of a sudden looked..she couldn’t put her finger on it. He hugged the plushie to his chest, peering away from Jizuko. “Uh..it’s kinda complicated..” he started “Yeah, a life crisis usually is” Jizuko reasoned Jaakuna’s cheeks flushed a light pink, Jizuko quirked a brow but didn’t comment on it, not yet at least. Finally Jaakuna sat up, toy still held to him. He rubbed at his neck with one hand “I’m..kinda struggling with this one, more then the others I’ve had” “Well, are you gonna bitch about it or not?” Jaakuna gave her a look “Whaaat! It’s your fault for getting me all curious! And why come here in the first place?” Jaakuna opened his mouth to speak, but growled in frustration and then shuffled the other way, crossing his arms over his chest. Jizuko shimmied down the bed on her knees until she was sitting besides him, and then waited for him to start. “..So Uh, you remember how last week I mentioned I got invited to Yurei’s birthday?” A bit random, but she nodded “Yeah..” She pointed a finger to her forehead, where a small grey horn sprouted out next to her bangs “Guy with the horn?” Jaakuna nodded and Jizuko lowered her hand “Why? Did something happen??” She paused, before her eyebrows scrunched like gathering thunder heads, checks puffed out with a clear scowl on her face “Do you want me to punch him for you?” “Wha- No!” Jaakuna waved his hand and shook his head wildly, caught off guard at her sudden declaration of violence though not surprised, tiny people where a force to be reckoned with. “Uh, anyway: I went to the party and Uhm, well..I-it was me, Yūrei and a few others..” Jaakuna tucked his legs up to him, leaning back against the wall as he still refused to look at her. “And maybe like, an..hour or so into the party we-Uhm-“ jaakuna gulped, Jizuko watching the movement of his Adam’s apple before looking back to his face Jaakuna’s face and tips of his ears where flushed red, as he looked like he was trying to hide behind her plushie. Jaakuna groaned when he caught Jizuko’s confused gaze on him, and then muttered something under his breath “Uh..What was that?” Jizuko asked. Jaakuna groaned louder before repeating, in the same mumbly dribble “I can’t hear you” Jizuko said after shaking her head, having heard what it was Jaakuna had said just as clearly as the first time. Jaakuna snorted through his nose, pulling his head out from the toy he was practically burying his face in “Ugh! I said we...w-we got round to playing Uh, truth or dare” “..Okay well, that’s not unusual” Jizuko said with a shrug “And I Uh- May have, Uh..I-I got dared to..t-to Uh..” The more he spoke the redder his face became, and he seemed to become more fidgety and nervous, looking like a skittish animal that would flee at any second. Jaakuna cleared his throat, praying his embarrassment wasn’t as obvious as it felt “..I-I got dared to..to kiss...Yu...rei...” For a whole minute Jizuko didn’t emote, the words processing - she let them digest, sink in - and when they did, she gasped “You kissed Yūrei?!” “NO!” Jaakuna snapped at her like a mad dog Silence “....M-Maybe..” he repeated in a whisper, as though admitting it was some crime. “..On the lips or?” Jizuko elbowed him playfully with a wink, and Jaakuna bristled, leaning away “T-That ain’t important! Ya little pervert!” Jizuko cackled her usual crazy giggle, covering her mouth with a hand, clearly finding amusement in her best friends embarrassing story. When she was done laughing at him Jaakuna continued “Anyway...Ever since then I’ve been, feeling...like-weird...it’s not a-“ Jaakuna seemed to be struggling to grasp the right words, and yet Jizuko had an expression that said she already had it figured out “It’s not a BAD weird- well, sometimes it is? Like, some days it’s bad others it’s like..not as bad??” He began to gesture as he spoke, going off on a tangent, almost forgetting entirely Jizuko was there “And it’s been bugging me for the whole week, and it’s so fucking embarrassing and, like!..You know what I mean??” Jizuko hummed with a slow nod “Oh I know exactly what you mean” she said matter of factly Jaakuna didn’t like her tone of voice, or how she was looking at him as though she pitied his own obliviousness. “Well- what is it then wise guy?” He challenged boldly, leaning back and raising a brow. Jizuko held her hands together as though she was praying, and inhaled, before she dipped them “Jaakuna, you’re gay” “WHAT?!” If Jaakuna hadn’t been sitting with his back to her wall he would have for sure tumbled off the bed with how hard he jolted, bristling like a raged cat as he bared his teeth like some aggressive animal. “I AINT- what for- F-For that?? That- THAT SMUG LORD?!” He barked a loud laugh, and rolled his eyes “I ain’t bloody gay” Jizuko remained calm as ever “And yet I don’t recall you ever having a crush on a girl before” she said, raising a brow in thought. Jaakuna slowly turned to her, eye twitching, Jizuko failed to cower “And you always spend a lot of time with Yūrei, he even sits with you to eat lunch! That’s only a specialty reserved for very close people” “That doesn’t prove anything!” “Oh yeah?” Jizuko asked, not believing him “Name one girl you’d like to date” “Wha-“ Jaakuna gagged “Ew! Gross! You girls are disgusting..no offence” he added the last part with a small frown. Jizuko hummed again, and Jaakuna felt nervous, feeling like a corned animal while she was some predator, contradicting with how Jaakuna looked to be the more intimidating one of the two. “Come on! Admit it! You like him!” “I don’t.” Jaakuna gritted his teeth “I don’t..like like him” he clarified, cheeks going redder “Fine” Jizuko leaned back, relaxed, and crossed her arms, a shifty smug grin on her face “...Name a girl you’d wanna fu-“ “Name a girl you’d wanna date” she repeated, holding up a finger “Name ONE girl - and I’ll believe you don’t like him” Jaakuna snorted “Hmph. Okay, FINE. I will” he held his nose high, as if to look down on her. Jaakuna sat back, and opened his mouth...before closing it, and licking his lips, mouth suddenly dry. “Uh..” Jizuko’s brow rose further, watching his flustered suffering as Jaakuna struggled to think of an answer “I-Uh-...uhm, R-Runa, I guess?” “You guess?” Jizuko tilted her head “Or you know?” “W-Well-“ Jaakuna made a gesture with his hands, looking more lost then before, Jizuko’s staring wasn’t helping him “I mean- she’s cool! T-Theres nothing wrong with Runa! She’s got..uhm, she’s..” Jaakuna trailed off, looking to be struggling “...Got nice eyes??” He said, sounding just as confident as Jizuko expected him too “Mhm, yeah, red eyes right?” She asked, tilting her head and leaning closer. “Not quite like the red eyes of your classmate who’s seem to brighten whenever they land on you” Jizuko said coyly. Jaakuna shot her a sharp warning glare, Jizuko dared on “Mhm, yes sir you’d love yourself a tiny little goth girl. With nice skinny hips and arms. Arms that aren’t strong enough to lift you off the ground ever so slightly when you hug. With no nice flat chest to rest your head against, no no. And no smugly charming smooth voice chuckling ‘JayJay’ to you in greeting..” Jaakuna gulped, mouth suddenly dry, face as hot as the sun as he became lost in his mind...Jizuko had possibly the most obnoxiously smug grin on her face that it could put the Cheshire Cat to shame. Jaakuan’s cheeks flushed a deeper red so quickly he saw tiny white dots “I-I..” his throat was dry “...I don’t get what you’re implying” he muttered “Yeah, that blush on your face doesn’t say anything~” ‘Shit!..’ “Jaakuna, it’s okay..” Jizuko’s tone took a turn as she patted his shoulder soothingly, the smugness gone from her face entirely “You know your friends and myself will support you!” She chuckled lightly “Sides, I’m in the same boat as you..” Jizuko pulled her legs up to her chest, pressing a pink cheek into her knee “Crushing on your best friend and being too chicken to tell, sucks doesn’t it?” With a small smile she peered back up to Jaakuna, who’s scowl has lifted a little “What I’m saying is that I think you’ll be happy with Yūrei and you can make him happy. You guys are practically a duo! Hell, for the longest time I thought you two where already together” Jaakuna has fallen quite, half lidded eyes boring into the floor with an intense look to them, hands clutching at the pink blankets on Jizuko’s bed. “I’m. Not. Gay.” He growled, shoulders shaking “Not for him. Not for anyone! I like girls. Period.” Jizuko gave her best friend a flat look and rose a brow, mulling over what to do “...Okay then” Jizuko unfolded her legs to hang off one end of the bed and all of a sudden stood up “I’ll just go ask Yūrei on date~” “Wot?!” Jaakuna practically exploded from the bed, jumping across the room to splat himself against the door, blocking Jizuko’s only means of exit. Jizuko rose her brow, smirking “What’s the issue? Yurei’s a cute guy, and if you’re not taking him..” she waggled her brows and Jaakuna bristled, squawking like a turkey “I-you- Dont you dare!” He barked “You’re doing this on purpose!” “Doing what?” Jizuko asked, tilting her head “You’ve said you’re not gay so there’s no issue! I’ll just go and ask Yūrei on a date” Jizuko took no less then a step forward before Jaakuna tried to push himself further back against the door “Fuck off” “I don’t see why you’re being so dramatic: you’ve said you’re not gay, and that’s fine!” A smug smile pulled at her lips and Jaakuna growled, spreading his arms further over the door as if to hide it was even there. Jizuko peered skyward and then slowly rolled her eyes back towards Jaakuna “Unless of course..you have a problem with me asking him out” Jaakuna’s lips pulled back into a grimace, baring his teeth like an angry dog. Jizuko was unfazed as she turned to idly walk about her room “I mean, have you seen him?? That body?” She questioned “Damn, he’s really bulked up since the start of the year huh? Not that you would know” Jizuko shrugged “Of course, I’m sure all his fans know. I bet Yūrei gets tones of love letters! You know?” Jaakuna dragged his nails along the door, something in his gut twisting - where was she going with this??.. “Mhm, I bet he’s a good kisser. He looks like the type of be good at kissing - you know? The typical jock hot guy that’s all good with romance stuff? He fits the bill!” She turned to peer at Jaakuna over her shoulder, making sure their was enough distance between the two. Jaakuna’s eye twitched, the way she was talking about Yūrei was starting to really tick him off. He tried to brush it off and act indifferent to what she was saying, but that was becoming increasingly hard. His body was tense, his breaths deep as he tried to keep the wildfire in him at bay ‘She’s starting to get real annoying. If she says ONE more thing about Yūrei..’ “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t already..had thoughts about him” Jizuko turned around once more, and was met with Jaakuna’s chest. She peered up, where Jaakuna was glaring down at her coldly. It was like staring death itself in the face, what she was expecting. “Listen here you pintsize twat” Jaakuna growled, voice like venom “You say one more thing about Yūrei I’m going to drag your ass six feet under!” Jizuko hummed, calm in the face of danger. A passive look on her face “Well it’s a good thing he’s not my type” The change in expression was so drastic on Jaakuna’s face it would have given anyone whiplash with how quickly his glare fell “...But- You practically just said you like him!” “And that, my naive friend, was a lie” “...A lie?” Jaakuna repeated, blinking “Duh” Jizuko said with an eye roll as though it was obvious “Yurei’s too full of himself for me. It was all fake, just talk.” Jaakuna worked his jaw, numbly pointing to Jizuko “S-So...so everything you just said was too-“ “Get you angry so you’d finally realize YOU have a crush on Yūrei? Yes” Jizuko finished Jaakuna sucked in a breath, flinching back a little. Jaakuna liked girls. He loved girls! There was plenty to like about the girls in the hero courses: Furora was smart and clever, yet fair and pretty. Runa was quite and brooding like him, with a cool quirk he genuinely admired! Furu was tough and caring, her witt as smart as her combat skills. Jizuko was hard headed yet kind, she was sweet, she let him open up about things he wouldn’t to anyone else. Above all the other girls, Jizuko had his respect. Liking girls should be easy, yet he felt a knot in his stomach, something clenching in his gut...like a weight holding him back. His stupid, stupid traitorous mind flashing with images of soft, curly hair that smelt of too much hairspray. Beautiful ruby eyes. A kind smile, bright enough to rival that of the sun. And a voice, as smooth as honey and as joyful as new lambs in spring calling out ‘Jaakuna!’ Yūrei “...Jaakuna?” Jizuko’s voice was gentle. She stepped closer to reach out for his hand, giving it a careful squeeze God dam it. God fucking damn it. What was wrong with him?? He grit his teeth, wanting the floor to swallow him. His cheeks became warm as, to his shame, hot tears began to blur his vision. He wanted to snarl at her, to curse Jizuko to hell and back, to trap away these stupids thoughts and feelings...but deep down, Jaakuna knew she was right. She had found the chip in his armour, she’d seen right through it, and unraveled the deep, very real truth. “Jaakuna nothing is wrong with you” Jizuko stepped closer and gently grasped his other hand. “Everything is gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay, I promise” Jizuko’s eyes shined with kind, comforting light. Jaakuna shyly met her gaze, his tears swelling when she gave him a soft smile...something fell from his eye. A tear, followed by many more - the internal battle surfacing “..I am Jizuko..” “Oh Jaakuna” Jizuko was on him in an instant, tugging her taller friend into a warm hug, nestling his head in her shoulder as she rubbed her arm on his back. Jaakuna’s grasped at her desperately, ashamed to be crying, ashamed Jizuko was seeing him like this, ashamed she’d been right. Ashamed he.. “I like Yūrei..” he whimpered, the rest of his sentence ending in weeps and sobs, as he let himself cry.

[yukipri]

Marco’s Bauble Part 4 - a One Piece Mermaid AU Text Story

Next part of Marco’s Bauble! Was posted in advance on Patreon ^ ^

In which the Whitebeards gossip

Contains mention of Marco x Luffy.

Continues off of, and should be read after:

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble Part 1

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble Part 2

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble Part 3

~~

Namur values his crew's privacy. And given that he doubts he was even supposed to see Marco's secret, he absolutely can't disclose it to anyone.

Which is why he's snuck into Izo's room at ass o'clock in the morning, when everyone but the morning shift is asleep, but Izo's awake because he takes a few hours doing his hair and makeup.

"This had better be good, I don't usually enjoy an audience before I'm presentable," Izo says.

Namur doesn't really get what's unpresentable about Izo now. Sure he looks different, with his ridiculously long hair still loose and spilling to his waist, pulled back from his face with a seemingly simple band that Namur saw Izo drop a small fortune for. Izo's plucking up various bottles of liquid lined up on his vanity, methodically shaking a few measured drops into his palm before patting them into his face. Namur doesn't see any difference before and after the drops are applied.

"It's...it's not my secret to tell, but no one else seems to know, and I need to talk to someone, it's too big for just me," Namur says, reluctantly. "But you can't tell anyone, Izo, I mean it."

Izo just hums in response, and Namur sweats. He seems to be doing a lot of that these days. Maybe he needs to take a few days to just swim, being above sea level for too long can be stressful for fishmen.

Because this is already seeming like an increasingly bad idea. Izo isn't known for being particularly good at keeping secrets; if anything, he's a known gossip. That being said, he's also one of the best listeners aboard the Moby (it's how he gets his info), and more importantly, is the third best person to go to for good, thoughtful advice.

The best person to go to for advice is, of course, Pops, but Namur wilts at the mere thought because it really, really isn't his place to talk to Pops about this without Marco's consent. And unfortunately, the close second for Best Person to Go to For Advice is none other than Marco himself, everyone's Big Brother and caring Mother Hen Supreme.

And, well. It's not like Namur can go to Marco to talk about Marco.

"Well, I'm waiting," Izo says, and apparently he'd gone through his entire lineup of six little bottles of mysterious liquids, and is now blotting some paste onto his skin with a weird brush-like contraption. Namur squints, but can barely see any difference between the areas with the paste and without.

"Please don't tell anyone, unless they already know," Namur stresses again, praying.

"Yes, yes." Izo continues blotting.

"Marco proposed to someone."

Izo continues blotting.

Namur sweats.

Izo's hand gradually slows, and Namur realizes he's finished covering his entire face. Namur sees zero difference.

"Just so we're clear," Izo says, as he finally turns to face Namur. "When you say 'Marco,' we're talking about the fire chicken one, and when you say 'propose,' we're talking about the marriage, weddings, and babies type?"

"Babies?!"

No, no, that actually hadn't crossed Namur's mind, but it's there now, and he knows logically that devil fruits don't work like that, but his mind is suddenly filled with the image of an entire school? flock? of tiny colorful winged merbabies, and he's oh, oh NO they're so cu--

"Namur! Focus, please!"

Namur blinks. He doesn't know when it happened, but one of Izo's eyebrows is more defined than the other now.

"Yeah, that Marco," he confirms. "And I, I don't know about...the last thing, but yeah, if successful, usually the kind that results in marriage type."

Izo's oddly calm, and is facing his mirror again. He frowns momentarily, but then smooths his expression and begins applying his other eyebrow. Namur realizes that Izo's able to keep his face so smooth because he wants to draw on his face evenly, and that's actually quite impressive. Though, he has no idea why Izo needs more eyebrows, when he already has perfectly normal ones growing on his face.

"Who's the boy who stole the stupid pineapple's heart, it must be someone we know," Izo says, voice light.

Namur wasn't exactly planning on disclosing this much, he'd just wanted someone else to help him think of how best to support their brother's potentially upcoming union, but Izo's definitely not taking no for an answer, and that's a fight he knows he can't win.

"It's Ace's little brother, the one Thatch went to go fetch," he says reluctantly. "And even though she's his 'little brother,' she's apparently a girl, and a mermaid."

There's a clatter, and Izo curses. Namur tries to peer at Izo's face in the mirror, and notices a weird black blob by his eye that Izo's now trying to delicately smudge off. It wouldn't have been there in the first place if Izo hadn't been trying to poke himself in the eye with the weird brush thing. Namur really doesn't get this makeup business.

"You're telling me," Izo growls, and Namur flinches at the irritation, though he gets the feeling it's directed mostly at the eye blob. "That Marco's straight? I could have sworn he was gay!"

Namur blinks at Izo.

Izo blinks at Namur through the mirror. The eye blob makes his face look slightly crooked.

"Oh, right," Izo mutters, picking up his brush with face distorting ink again. "I thought Marco only liked guys like that, so it surprised me that he likes a girl. Maybe he's bi. Don't worry about it, it's a dumb human thing."

"Oh," Namur says, and yeah, he's heard vaguely about humans being weirdly obsessed with only liking a specific gender or two. It's a very foreign concept that Namur doesn't really get because it doesn't exist on Fishman Island, and romance stuff rarely comes up on the Moby, shockingly enough, or at least in front of Namur. But he's glad Izo doesn't seem too upset, because that would upset Namur. Namur's never met Ace's little brother, but he imagines she'd look so very charming next to Marco, given how in love Marco looked when he was sending off his proposal. He wants to root for them.

"Although, hm, does Ace know? I doubt he'd be very happy about Marco sweeping his dearest little brother off her feet, er, fins," Izo says, seemingly more relaxed now that his face distorting paint is cooperating. His face is now even, although his eyes actually do look different now, more like the Izo Namur usually sees. It's fascinating.

"I don't know," Namur confesses, and he's suddenly feeling very glum at the thought of their little fire cracker baby brother not being happy. Even though Ace didn't formally join, he's still their littlest brother, and Namur's very fond of him, and has honestly lost track of the number of times he's dived into the sea to fetch the reckless kid. He was honestly devastated when Ace said he was leaving. It's alright now, now that Namur knows it was just to bring home Marco's future bride, but he hopes Ace will be supportive too.

"And how did you know he was proposing?"

At this point, what does it matter what else Namur shares? "Well..."

By the time Namur's done answering all of Izo's questions on Fishman Island courtship and Marco's respectful application of it, Izo's done with his face.

"Well, that was certainly a fascinating talk," Izo says with lips the color of a raw fish's innards. "Now I'll have to kick you out before I do my hair. At least I finished my face."

Namur knows he's been excused. "Thank you for your time. Also, it looks very nice, your face," he says politely as he gets up. It seems awkward not to comment on it, after having watched Izo work so hard on it for the past half hour. "Although it looked nice before too. I like the eye paint."

Izo pauses contemplatively, then nods. "That's an acceptable compliment. Thank you. Now, shoo."

~~

"So, who's the wedding for?"

Izo jolts as Haruta settles his tray on the other side of the table.

"What wedding?"

"Don't play dumb. You're planning a wedding. I noticed some of our books were moved in the library, and you were the only one who was in there before me. You were looking up Grand Line marriage traditions, and going through shitty wedding magazines that no one's touched in a decade," Haruta rattles off as he stirs his soup, and Izo inwardly curses.

He thought he'd placed them all back where he'd found them, but alas, apparently nothing gets by Haruta's observation skills, and his talent for butting into business that has nothing to do with him.

"And given the selections, I'd say it's not for you." Haruta continues, as though he knows Izo's tastes by heart and sadly, he probably does, and not just Izo's but the whole crew's. "So someone's getting married, or they're thinking about it, and you're planning. I want to know who."

"You're a nosey little shit," Izo says, because he knows there's really no point in denying it to Haruta without tangible evidence, which he lacks. He's also too tired to deal with this shit, because he did his hair in a hurry in order to make it to the library before everyone woke up, which means it's slightly less perfect than usual. And being anything less than perfect is a truly exhausting business.

"Mm-hmm," Haruta says, and momentarily seems distracted by his plate. There's a tiny, almost imperceptible frown on his lips, and Izo only recognizes it because he'd had the same thought.

The food's by no means bad, and they have many fine cooks on the Moby. It's just, it's a little different, without Thatch's personal touch. Izo hates that their brother's temporary absence is so tangible. Damn him for going on his little vacation.

They continue their meal in silence, and Izo hopes that Haruta's forgotten, his mind having moved on to terrorizing other innocent brothers. Izo thinks he might be able to get away, when Haruta gets up right alongside Izo to return his tray.

"So who is it?" he repeats, as though they hadn't just sat in thirty minutes of silence, and Izo wants to tear out Haruta's hair in frustration, because Izo would never tear out his own hair for any reason.

"It's none of your business, don't you have work to do?"

"My work is knowing stuff. Tell me."

"This isn't something you need to know. That's what I'm telling you."

"Nice try. Lemme guess. Is it Marco?"

Haruta laughs at his own joke, and promptly walks into Izo's back. Izo tries to get over his momentary freeze, but the damage is done.

"Holy shit, it's MARCO?!"

"What happened to Marco?" Vista has the absolute worst timing in entering the cafeteria, because he's standing directly in front of them. He already has his sword sheaths removed from his belt, no doubt so he can polish them in a corner after he's done eating, as is his usual ritual.

Haruta's eyes are blown wide, and Izo wants to stop him but no one can out-talk Haruta when he wants to talk, so it's like watching a cannonball hurtling towards an inevitable collision.

"Marco's getting married."

Vista never drops his swords.

Vista's swords clatter to the ground.

And now everyone inside the cafeteria, and those in the line forming outside behind Vista, all stop to stare.

~~

~~

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

And as always, comments/reblogs/tags always immensely appreciated!!! People sharing their thoughts with me motivates me to write so much more, and update more frequently, so thank you so much for everyone who’s so kindly done so in the past!! ;A;

(The next part’s already up on Patreon if anyone wants to read in advance <3)

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

Read the next part: Marco’s Bauble, Part 5

~This ask has been added to the Mermaid AU Text Headcanons Compilation post~

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #461

“this city looks so pretty, do you wanna burn it with me?”

Have you ever wanted a Nikon camera? Or do you have one already? My camera before the one I have now was a Nikon D3200. I use a Canon now. Who was the last person (if anyone) you said Happy Birthday to? A friend. Do you have Photoshop? If so, how often a day do you use it? I have it, but I barely use it nowadays. I use it to edit photos for character profiles or profile pictures, add a watermark for my actual photography, and I used to make Mark-oriented gifs like crazy. They mostly did really well, so... I might wanna get back into that and get That Sweet Validation. Do you watch any shows that you know your parents wouldn’t approve of? No. Have any of your exes gotten married or had kids since your breakup? None, I think. Do either of your parents have a mental illness? My mom has depression. Can you tolerate children for a long period of time? NO. Have you ever lived with someone you felt thoroughly uncomfortable around? No. Are you into dubstep? Yeah, I tend to enjoy it. Zelda or The Sims games? Can I pick neither? lol I don't feel very much at all for The Sims, and Zelda games have always looked... boring to me? Like I've watched most of the Game Grumps' playthroughs of all the games, and they make it hilarious of course, but the games themselves? Nah. Are you terrible at assigning bands their proper genre? YES YES YES YES YES YES. Even in my preferred category, that being metal, FUCK if I know the sub-genre. Have you ever made out in a closet? No, that shit sounds claustrophobic as hell. Have you ever been to a laser tag place? Yeah, on a triple-date once! It was SO fun. How do you wanna celebrate your next birthday? Have a couple friends over, pig out at The Cheesecake Factory. o3o Do you tease your parents about them being old? No, especially not Mom. She's self-conscious about getting older. Are you in love with someone? "In love" is a bit too far, buddy. But I love someone. Have you ever ridden a unicycle? No. Have you ever wanted a pet bunny? I was VERY serious about getting a lop-eared bunny for quite a while, but we just couldn't afford to adopt one (even off Craigslist) and get a cage for it, toys, etc. Are the bottom of your feet clean? I HATE seeing the bottom of my feet. Not because they're dirty, but because it's Callus City. I ain't even fuckin jokin'. Do you like really salty food? Yeah. :x When’s the last time you bled a lot? Well, I just recently finished my cycle after not menstruating for three or four MONTHS, so you can figure that one out. Have you ever watched a needle go into your own skin? Yeah. I like to know exactly when it's coming. Have you ever seen someone get a piercing/tattoo? Yes to both. When you’re done eating finger foods, do you usually lick your fingers? Usually kasdjlf;kalsdjf shut up ok I like food. What’s the most racist thing you have ever said? As a little kid, when my really good friend (a neighborhood kid, even) asked if he thought we'd be a good couple, I told him no because "blacks and whites don't date" or something like that. It was an idea I'd never been exposed to before; the idea was so foreign to little kid me. I had no idea I was being racist. It ended in a small fight and we didn't talk for a few days 'til he came to my house telling Mom that he had to "be a man" and fix this and if that ain't the cUTEST SHIT RIGHT THERE. We were friends again after that. He's still on my Facebook, and he actually semi-recently got married! :') Do you know someone that is mute, deaf or blind? No. Have you ever spent more than two weeks in a wheelchair? No. Does weed smell good? Or no? Ugh, no. Where do you see your closest friend in ten years? Successful and happy she kept pushing. Mama to so many reptiles that are blessed with the best lives possible in human care. Got at least one amazing book out there. If she's reading this, you've fucking got this. <3 Would you like to have twins? Mother of fucking god, no. Even if I WANTED kids, do fucking not give me twins. Who was the last person you got into an argument with? My mom. Want to have kids before you’re 30? Once again, I don't want kids, but IF I did, that'd be preferable before the risk of birth defects and other issues climb with age. Does anybody have a tattoo with your name on it? My older sister has my initial. Do you think somebody’s in love with you? No. Do you think you and your best friend will be friends in ten years? Yes, I genuinely do. Who were the last people to hang out at your house? Miss Tobey, our friend and landlord. Does anyone like you? Welp... I hope he still does. Guess we'll figure that out soon. What person on your Facebook do you talk to the most? VIA Facebook? Probably my friend Lyndsey. She likes to comment on stuff I share. Do you want to fall in love? I do, but I'm also utterly horrified to and risk being hurt again. Are you interested in more than one person at the moment? No. Once I realized I was so deeply into Girt, all other romantic feelings kinda just... poofed. How was your last break up? Civil and done with both of our best interests in mind. What is the hardest thing you’ve ever had to say? Probably the first time I admitted I needed to go to the hospital for suicidal thoughts. I was so, so scared of what it was going to be like. What is the hardest thing you NEEDED to hear? That if Jason wasn't happy with me, he had every right to move on. She was right. Do you treat yourself well? No... but I'm trying to change that. What was the last song you sang out loud to? This "Set Fire to the Rain" cover. Do you take good pictures? I think I do? Have you ever done any internship? No. What’s a topic you’ve drastically changed your opinion on? Holy shit, so much, especially when it comes to morality and political stances. I am now a massive supporter and member of the LGBTQ+ community, I'm pro-trans rights, pro-choice... I've done like a dozen 180s in a lot of topics. Do you know anyone who has a PhD? I mean, some doctors, but no one in my truly personal life. Do you know anyone who works as a lawyer? Yes: my cousin. Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? LAKSDJFKLA;JWD NEVER AND I PRAY TO THE HOLY LORD THAT I NEVER DO. Does the thought of having wrinkles when you’re older upset you? Not massively? Like literally everyone gets them and is natural and inevitable. Do you know anyone who’s struggling with addiction? I know one alcoholic, and one that's probably borderline. I also have two friends who are extremely addicted to weed. Look me in the eyes and say it's not an addictive substance and I wouldn't believe you one bit. Is there a video or computer game that you can get lost in for hours? Eh, sometimes World of Warcraft. Some days I'm really into it, and others I barely touch it. What’s your favorite Disney Channel movie? I have no clue. I don't even remember movies that were made *for* Disney exclusively. Do you ever have to do yard work? No. We have a friend from the dance studio mow the lawn. Do you have any live versions of songs in your music software? My iPod has a whole live album of Ozzy. Did you or do you listen to Britney Spears songs? Both did and do. Britney is a boss bitch. Does your favorite band have a male or female lead singer? Male. Have you seen the movie Moulin Rouge? No, but I've seen some of that P!nk music video of the song and it brings out the Gay in me. Do you have a key to anything besides your house? No. Could you ever complete a 500-piece puzzle? I've done that before. I miss doing puzzles... Have you ever been to any sort of convention? I went to a reptile expo with Sara!! I REALLY want to go to another when my legs are stronger and can handle standing and walking so much. Is your mom or dad the older parent? Mom. Have you ever tried to walk on a moving vehicle and fallen over? No????? What is your favourite kind of bread? Is there any of that in your house? Pumpernickel. No. Are/were you in the school band, and if so, what instrument did you play? I played the flute all through middle school and I wanna say half of HS. Have you ever ordered an unusual drink at a bar? Never even been to one. Have you ever been pulled aside by security at the airport? I think once for some reason I don't recall? What is your favourite seasonal candy? (only available at certain times) Gingerbread men, probs. Or chocolate bunnies!!! :') How do you feel right now? My stomach is KILLING me. I'm super excited though that Girt is coming over tomorrow. Have you ever had surgery that kept you in the hospital for over a day? No. What would you like your generation to change? How we treat nature. Is there anyone that you truly could not live without? No. I learned that is a very unhealthy mentality to have. Do you like carrots more if they’re raw, or cooked? I just hate carrots. What restaurant did you last go out to dinner at with friends? With friends? I couldn't even guess. Does your refrigerator have an ice maker or do you use ice cube trays? It has an ice maker. Do you have a favorite sibling, if any? No; I love them all. Do you have a favorite brand of clothing? I STAN CLOAK. How’s the love life? Something new might start tomorrow. I think it will. Do you watch the news? No; that shit is depressing. Who do you admire most? Mark. Do you have a favorite album? Black Rain by Ozzy Osbourne takes the cake and always will.

[leechonspeeddial]

Midnight Shift: Party On Chuck E. Cheese   

word count: 1,757 Read on ao3

The sunset gave the – for lack of a better word – restaurant an ethereal glow. The sticky layer that covered the tables shimmered and the soda puddles on the tiles reflected the pissiest of yellows as the sun rays hit at the perfect angle. The quiet hum of the appliances and the sizzling of hot oil complimented the soft rock that played from the ancient speakers.

This was as peaceful a moment could get here.

I took out my iPhone and ignored the combined 37 messages from Bedward – it was worth noting, only two of them were from my mother. Instead, I took a picture of one of the puddles for my Insta-story and then scrolled through my contacts; there was a birthday boy that needed to accept my face time request. I waited patiently as the phone rang.

In the meanwhile, I dipped two of my French toast sticks into the sweet golden syrup and shoved them in my mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, I watched as Gay Kevin swept the floor and Straight Kevin wiped down the counters. Jeremiah had been gone all week; a friend of his had roped him into offering ice fishing lessons across town.

“Hey, Nessie,” the warmth in his voice made me smile, as did the tiny messy braids in his long dark hair.

“Happy birthday, Jake!” His eyes twinkled when he mirrored my smile. He looked older, which I knew logically was a thing that happened – people grew older as time passed, duh. I knew that, but I rarely knew anyone long enough to see any meaningful results from aging.

“Here I thought you had forgotten. Nice hair by the way – distressingly orange,” I scoffed but he had a point. It was excessively orange, almost violently so. When Alice saw it on me for the first time, she told me she wished she were physically capable of crying.

“Nah, I’m too pretty to forget anything. I was on my shift and couldn’t call earlier”

“Shift? Wait a second, is that…Burger King?” There was more than a hint of incredulousness in his tone.

“Yup. Dropped out and got a job here” he laughed so hard that both Kevins stopped their cleaning and stared at me. I waved them off. Straight Kevin went back to work, but I could tell Gay Kevin was trying to eavesdrop.

“You’re kidding. This is a prank”

“Nope. Dead serious,” I smirked and ate more of my French toast sticks.

“There is no way Edward ‘chronic boundary stomper’ Cullen would let that happen”

“Hey, Kevin?” When both responded, I amended, “Assistant Manager Kevin”

He approached my table and tried to appear aloof, but I could tell he was invested. Despite how hard he tried to project a strictly professional persona; the man was a still a journalism major living in a town with a population of about three thousand. He was starved for anything that could be interpreted as remotely interesting – nearly had an aneurism when he found out he missed the incest baby scandal.

“Could you confirm that I work at this Burger King?” Jake looked amused and I assumed he waited to see how this would play out.

“If by work you mean eat a ridiculous amount of our inventory and consistently insult our few customers, then yes. You work here,” it was blatantly obvious how much he wanted to figure out the story.

“And I’ll be glad to return to my duties once my break is done in 15 minutes”

“Ten, but nice try”

We waited in silence until Gay Kevin took the hint and walked away from my table. He was still within hearing range, which he knew that I knew, but it was the thought that counted. Living with mind reader – and owning a smartphone – meant acknowledging there was no such thing as privacy, simply the illusion of it.

“I can’t say I fully believe this,” I simply shrugged. “But the mental images of how your parasitic relatives are dealing with this, makes me not care about silly things like the truth”

I grimaced. The damn family meeting that was called because of this had been a fucking nightmare. There had been so much yelling, and I had to promise Alice I would let her throw a shitty ‘Congrats on the new job’ party in order to get her on my side. In the end, Esme was the deciding vote, and I was sure she voted in my favour only because she wanted to feed my new coworkers.

“Enough about the leeches. How are you?” I used my French toast to gesture vaguely at the braids “Is sweet Sarah around?”

“Just put her down for a nap, she was getting cranky,” I pouted. Not only was Sarah the cutest kid ever, she also said the most insane things – once she talked to me for over 45 minutes about how you shouldn’t feed rocks dry grass because it makes the moon princess very mad, and that’s bad because then the moon princess has to bury you in sugar dirt.

I still didn’t know if I should be worried about the sugar dirt.

“Tell her aunt Nessie says hi,” he rolled his eyes.

An idea suddenly hit me.

“Hey! Let me give you a tour of the place. You’ll love it,” Gay Kevin snorted a bit too loudly for someone pretending not to listen.

“You sure?” I nodded eagerly and shoved the remaining toast into my mouth, drinking up the syrup to wash it down. Definitely ignored the looks of disgust being thrown my way.

“Ok, so this is where our customers, if we had any, would sit. And that table over there –” I pointed to the table near the heater “– is where Jeremiah sets up camp. He’s not here today though,” I hoped he was ok, it had been a cold week for humans.  

Jake listened as I showed him all over the establishment, making sure not to miss the weirdest and grossest parts.

“Ok, but why do the stalls have no doors?” it was a common question.

“We were tired of teenagers hooking up in there –”

“In there!?!” I shrugged. While gross, it was far from the grossest or most unhygienic thing that happened in there. I could still remember how shell-shocked Straight Kevin looked while he recounted the tale of the Red Tuesday.

“So, we decided to take them down for a bit”

“How haven’t you gotten shut down”

“I’m pretty sure there is this whole conspiracy going on with health inspectors and the franchise owner”

Almost as if on cue, a giant fucking rat sped past me and into the kitchen.

“Holy F –” Straight Kevin’s screech cut me off, and the sounds of things being thrown could be heard.

“Jake, you just missed like the biggest rat I’ve ever seen”

“Seriously, how are you not shut down”

“Let me see if we can catch it. God, I wish I could livestream it right now”

The kitchen was a mess, Straight Kevin was scrambling on top of the counters and Gay Kevin was waving the broom in the general direction of the rat. I made sure to point my phone in a way so that Jake could see the chaos.

“Don’t just stand there!” Gay Kevin yelled, his voice a few octaves higher than usual.

“I’m still on a break though,” Gay Kevin spluttered while Straight Kevin threw whatever was available to him at the rat – in this case, it was napkins.

“Ugh fine, I’ll help with the little rat” I groaned and propped up my phone on the deep fryer ledge. No way I was going to deprive Jake of this.

I tried looking for something to catch the rat with and then spotted our big carry out bags, they looked like they could fit the fat rodent. I went to reach for one, but ended up knocking down a big tower of cups. Straight Kevin and I had made it while waiting for customers to arrive for the non-existent rush hour.

“Dude! That’s not a normal rat. It’s frigging huge,” Straight Kevin squeaked and continued his assault, now having moved on to cups.

“Calm down Kevin, stop wasting our resources!”

One Kevin glared a the other, and soon the Kevins got into an argument about what was the appropriate response for dealing with a rat of this size. I ignored them and grabbed a patty and threw it into a carry out bag, I approached the rat’s hiding place and presented my offering. I knelt down to wait and I could see its beady little eyes staring back at me.

“I don’t want to interrupt, but I think there is another rat by the back door”

All three of us Burger King employees turned to look at Jake. He tried to point to where he meant, and all three of us looked back.

Indeed, almost as if it knew we were watching, the rat stopped mid-step and stared back.

“Fuck! Me!” Gay Kevin moaned. As assistant manager, this was definitely a him problem. His outburst seemed to snap the rat out of its trance, and it scurried somewhere deeper into the kitchen.

“I want to go home!” Straight Kevin cried; he was not having a very punk rock time right now.

I looked back at phone!Jake and he looked deeply concerned.

Me? Well, I sort of wanted to take a picture of the rat and send it to the Cullen group chat. I could tell them I was bringing home a snack.

“Nessie, Watch out!” Jake’s voice made me aware of my surroundings again. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a blur and quickly snapped my head to the side. It was yet another rat – one that was jumping directly at my face. My eyes widened and I swatted at the rodent…maybe a little too hard because it went flying across the kitchen. It hit the fryer ledge with a crack and I gasped.

Thankfully, the rodent didn’t fall into the hot oil, though I don’t think it survived the trip. Un-thankfully, my phone did fall into the hot oil and I was certain it didn’t survive the swim.

Fucking Fuck. Now, I wasn’t having a good time.

And this is how None of Your Fucking Business Kevin found us; A 22-year-old crying on a counter and praying, an assistant manager desperately flipping through the phone book trying to find an exterminator, and a high school drop out fishing a phone from an industrial fryer.

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Eighty One

If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag

July 16th, 1999

Remy glanced up from the back corner of the library as a girl laughed a little too close to comfort for him. His mom had let him come to the library on the condition that she be there (and monitor what he checked out, but neither of them acknowledged that), but he was allowed as much time as he wanted in the teen section. Which meant he could sneak in some magical-girl-manga-reading.

He checked to make sure his mom wasn’t around and continued to read. He loved this, probably a little too much for his own good, but he didn’t care right now. Right now, he just wanted to make sure the Sailor Scouts would get out of peril safely.

And maybe, one day, he’d find a place where he could rent out the books and not have to pray that no one checked out the one he was reading while he was gone.

  February 14th, 2002

Remy looked over his list again, grumbling. That idea was too sappy, that one was too plain, that one didn’t have the right amount of sentimentality, the other one had too much! How hard could it be to find a proposal plan that worked?! Seriously, he was going insane figuring this out, and he hadn’t even decided on a ring, yet!

Maybe he should do that first? But no, he wanted the ring to fit the occasion too. Because Emile was a traditions sort-of guy, but Remy wasn’t. And he was pretty sure Emile would kill him if Remy bought Emile a diamond, but that meant the options for rings just grew.

“Decisions, decisions...” Remy grumbled, staring at the paper. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his chair. He had no idea what he was going to do.

An idea struck him over the head in an instant. What if he proposed at Sleep Easy, once it was clear that the store was going to be a success? Opening day would also be dramatic, but Remy wanted to be sure that the store would do well, in case in the heat of the moment he made allusions to the success of the store relating to the success of their marriage. Yeah, that could work!

...Gay marriage would have to be legal for them to actually get married, but hey, they could probably invite their friends and Emile’s family to a ceremony even if the actual marriage part didn’t happen.

Remy smiled. Yeah, he could find a ring that he’d be willing to show off to the patrons of Sleep Easy in a ring box as he proposed to Emile. He could work with that...

He was rooting around in his desk for another piece of paper and a pen to write down more ideas when there was a knock at the office door. Remy turned with a smile to see Emile there. “Hey, stranger,” Remy said. “What’s up?”

“You’ve been in here for at least two hours. It’s Valentine’s Day. I demand attention,” Emile said, offering a playful smile.

“Oh, come on,” Remy said, letting his arms fall off the armrests of the chair. “You can’t even give me a couple hours to scheme something romantic for you before you want me back with you?”

“For me?” Emile said, moving closer.

Remy slammed the papers into his designated drawer of the desk and locked the drawer. “Uh, no, nuh-uh, you are not reading what this is about, mister!”

“Oh, I see, so you can get grumpy about me keeping the shop from you for literal months but the second I try to read something you wrote I’m not allowed to?” Emile teased.

Remy rolled his eyes. “I admitted you were right, that the shop was much better as a surprise. Same thing applies with this. You don’t want to know.”

Emile did an exaggerated pout before he grinned. “So, what’s up? Do you have the time to spare to pay attention to me?”

“Yes, honey, I can spend time with you,” Remy said, rolling his eyes and standing up, leading Emile out of the room. “What are you hoping to rope me into today?”

“Maybe a little...afternoon out?” Emile asked, grinning. “I’m willing to take you to the local comic shops to browse, maybe buy a few things that you’ve been eyeing for a while.”

Remy’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, really?”

“Mhm,” Emile agreed. “And then we could go out to dinner, and maybe afterwards we could head to the park, stargaze a bit, and have a little bit of time to ourselves this Valentine’s.”

“As opposed to every other day when we’re, what, surrounded by children?” Remy asked, amused.

“No, but we have outside worries, and things to focus on that aren’t each other,” Emile said with a shrug. “And I think just focusing on each other for a bit would be nice.”

“You’re right, that would feel good,” Remy agreed, smiling softly. “I’ve been way too caught up in my own head recently and I want to spend some quality time with you.”

“So what say you to going out and having some fun, girl?” Emile asked with a wink.

“I say...sounds perfect,” Remy said, kissing Emile’s cheek and grabbing his jacket.

Emile grinned and Remy let himself be led out to their car and got in the passenger’s seat. Emile got in the driver’s seat and started the car, a smile on his face. Remy frowned when instead of a left out of the neighborhood, Emile took a right. “This isn’t the way to the comics shop,” Remy said.

“Yes it is,” Emile said.

“No, Emile, I’ve driven there a thousand times, we make a left if we want to get there. Right is how we get out of the city,” Remy said.

Emile just grinned and continued to keep driving.

“Emile, I don’t understand you, and I hope you realize that when you realize you’re wrong, I will be saying I told you so,” Remy said.

“That’s fine,” Emile said, “Because I’m not wrong.”

Remy rolled his eyes and let Emile drive, arms crossed. He listened to the music on the radio, not really paying attention to anything until he noticed they were in the same city that they went to Pride last year. “Emile, where are we going?”

“I told you, we’re going to the comic book store.”

Remy shook his head. “No, seriously.”

“Seriously,” Emile said, pulling into a parking lot and parking the car. “We’re going to the comic book store.”

Remy blinked and got out of the car, looking at the small building in front of them. It didn’t look run down, but it wasn’t some top-of-the-line huge corporation either. Emile led Remy inside and Remy gaped. Wall to wall to wall and dozens of bookshelves were holding comics, graphic novels, and geekery of all kinds. “What?” he asked barely above a whisper. “What is this place?”

“I got on the subscription list for that comics startup you were interested in,” Emile said. “This is their first store. Obviously, they carry some of the bigger comics, but most of their stuff is local, start-up based, and queer.”

Remy looked around in awe. “Unbelievable,” he breathed. “Un. Believable. And you were going to tell me about this?”

“Yeah,” Emile said. “If you weren’t up for going out today I would have told you. But they only opened in January, I figured we should give them a little bit of time to stock everything.”

Remy nodded idly, already drifting towards the shelves upon shelves of comic books. He hesitantly reached for a couple before pulling his hand back and looking at Emile. “Don’t judge me?” he requested.

“Why would I judge you when I literally brought you here to geek out?” Emile asked.

“Because people can be arbitrarily mean and weird about my interests for whatever reason they can tangentially tie to it,” Remy said.

“I’m not people,” Emile said. “I’m your boyfriend.”

Remy considered that a moment, before reaching back to the comic and pulling it out. “I’ve been really wanting to read this series for a while.”

Emile looked at the cover, frowning. “What is it?”

“Think... Sailor Moon crossed with Darkwing Duck,” Remy said, a blush creeping up his face as he realized exactly how stupid that must sound.

“Magical girls crossed with a super-powered duck?” Emile asked skeptically.

“More like...magical girls crossed with found family and crime fighting. Darkwing Duck was the first thing I thought of that you might recognize.” Remy shrugged. “I know it sounds dumb...”

“You kidding me, Rem? That sounds really cool!” Emile exclaimed. “I didn’t take you to be one for magical girls, though.”

“I...well...I always had this guilty pleasure about it,” Remy admitted. “I always wanted that, in a way. The ability to have that confidence wearing a miniskirt.” He laughed weakly.

Emile didn’t. “I think we all have those,” Emile said. “Rem...”

Remy’s stomach sank. “Oh, I know that tone.”

“You’re really sure you’re not trans?” Emile asked, grimacing.

“I...I don’t...know...” Remy admitted. “I always get clocked as trans, I know this, you know this. I like wearing blouses and one day I want to be brave enough to try a dress or a skirt, go full drag. But I never really...” Tears were coming to his eyes. “I never really felt like a full woman for more than a day or so at a time. And the rest of the time I’m mostly happy being a guy. I don’t...I don’t want to be a woman. Not all the time. I just want to be...me. Whoever that is.”

Emile looked Remy up and down and said, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Remy repeated dumbly.

“Okay. You want to be you? Be you. Whether that’s a man, a woman, that non-binary thing we hear about at Pride, or a genderless blob. We can call each other boyfriends for simplicity’s sake if you want, but I won’t judge if you don’t want to be what everyone expects a man to be,” Emile hugged Remy tight as he continued, “I just want you to be happy, Rem. Forcing yourself to say you’re a guy all the time doesn’t make you happy. So if you just want to be Remy, then you absolutely can just be Remy. Not a guy, not a girl. Just you.”

Remy didn’t realize how much he wanted, or needed, to hear those words until he heard them, and he broke down crying. He clutched Emile’s shoulders, comics all but forgotten as he realized that he was safe here. He had a safety here that he hadn’t ever felt with any of his family, including Toby. He was free to be his one hundred percent authentic self, and he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have that.

When his tears finally dried, he took a step back from Emile, and he was beaming. “Let’s get these comics, I have a feeling that you’ll like them too,” Remy said, picking up the stack.

Emile smiled genuinely at Remy as he moved around the rest of the shelves, continuing to geek out for as long as they were there. Once they had purchased the comics Remy was interested in, they went to dinner at a sit-down restaurant (which Remy still had to remind himself would not break the bank, much as he worried otherwise), and they went to the local park as the sun was setting. The February air was brisk, but Emile laid out a blanket for the two of them to lie down on, and Remy got settled into Emile’s side, just a hair away from lying on top of him. No one would mistake them for simply being friendly like this, but Remy didn’t care.

“Tonight was nice,” Remy sighed. “I really, really loved it.”

“Good, I’m glad,” Emile said with a smile. “You know I love you, Rem.”

“I love you too, Emile,” Remy said back, a smile lacing his words.

“Hey, Rem?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to come to the next monthly meeting with Dice? It’s coming up at the end of the month...”

“That’s okay, Emile, I’m not too worried about it,” Remy said with a hand-wave, eyes never leaving the sky as the first few stars started twinkling. “If something important happens, I trust you to tell me, or at least...y’know, set up a surprise for me. You wouldn’t keep the information to yourself indefinitely.”

“You love Toby too much to let me get away with that, first of all,” Emile laughed. “Second of all, I love you. I want to see you happy. And I know, one-hundred percent, that this will make you happy. It might take some time and catching up and therapy, but this would be good for you, Rem. I don’t want to hold you back from that.”

“I love you too, I hope you know that.”

“Trust me. I know.”

[sunshinesukuna]

obsession (witheld)

pairing: bakugou x fangirl!reader

genre: fluff to angst

inspiration: Reply 1997 (dir. Shin Wonho) 

a/n: ok i know i promised that this would be a miya atsumu fic, but bakugou was just tugging (more like ripping) at the edge of my heart and deMANDED that this fic be about him. don’t worry atsumu stans, y’all will be fed a feAST probable next week or the week after that (?). but i made it a slight crossover so there you go! hope y’all like it <33

Bakugou enters your house to a high pitched scream. He doesn’t flinch a muscle though, because he’s been greeted to this so many times before. You were probably in front of the TV, recording the newest episode of that variety show you saw. You would have been doing your homework if you had accepted Bakugou’s offer. But you declined it, bringing up the last time he got caught up watching Food Network and forgetting to record the show. Bakugou remembered how long you had given him the silent treatment after that. He made up with concert tickets, so everything was A-OK after that.

“His chipped tooth was from when he fell off his bike when he saw a cute cat!” you shouted at the screen. The suit-clad interviewer parroted your words back to the studio audience, who erupted in a fit of squeals and applause. Behind the screen, you did the same. 

“That’s totally a PR lie,” Bakugou says. But the canard that comes out of their mouths is delivered with just enough charm and boyish eloquence. Enough to make people like you swoon to their knees.

He sets his bag down in a clearing amidst all the posters he had gotten for your birthday last week. He knows not to mess with your stuff after that one time he stepped on Kuroo Tetsurou’s face. The nail marks on his ankle are a testament to your love for your favorite idol group, N.K.M.

You first found out about them when they debuted and fell head over heels for the five member group. Bakugou couldn’t see what made them special amidst the tens of other idol groups you had stanned previously, but you insisted, “They’re different from the rest, Bakagou!” He just rolled his eyes and kept eating.

“Shut up! He’s not lying! Have you seen all the cat photos and plushies in his room?” you reply. You flip to a page in your scrapbook to a page of a screenshot from a TV show. The room was filled with a cat plushie here and there, but definitely not enough to scream “cat lover.” You hold it close to your chest and sigh.

“How cute...” you mutter. The posters of Kuroo around your room smile back at you and Bakugou. He wondered how you slept at night. Their contact lens covered eyes stared at him like dogs over a steak.

“According to the rest of the group, Kenma’s type of girl is someone that’s creative and sweet,” the host says.  You let out a squeal that could break a thin layer of glass and an eardrum. 

“That’s totally me!” You lie down on the floor and cover your face with the book. Once he’s sure the book covers you eyes, Bakugou lets himself smile at your giggling form. You suddenly pull the book off your face, and his usual scowl is back on his face.

“No you’re not,” Bakugou retorts, He digs out a slip of paper inside his bag. Red pen is smeared angrily all over crumpled white paper. “Our Modern Lit. teacher told me to give this to you. She said that your stories ‘lack heart and feel like something that someone barfed up from a textbook’.” 

Your eyes send him a death threat as you crumple up the piece of paper and throw it in the trash can. You focus your attention back to the TV screen. But Bakugou is not done with you yet.

“And sweet? Puh-lease.” 

Bakugou doesn’t tell you that he read found your fanfiction account on the internet. He read them last night and actually found himself feeling... giddy? Flustered? Your stories on the internet about sharing ice cream with a complete stranger damn near turned him gay. 

He also doesn’t tell you the fact that you’re the sweetest girl that he’s ever met. When you had first met him, you hadn’t been afraid to extend your arm with a smile that could light up all of Japan for a century. While the others had backed away from his feral demeanor, you extended a hand to him and made him feel... needed.

To tell the truth, he feels like a child during playtime that refuses to share the toy with the rest of the class. He wants it for himself. He wants you for himself. But he’ll never tell you that. Bakugou moves to finish the rest of his English homework, but instead has a pillow thrown at him. He remembers that he has something to tell you.

“Oi, (Y/N),” he calls out. You put a finger on your lips and hush him. The host on the TV says something to Kuroo that has you in a fit of giggles once again. 

You turn to look at him again. The ghost of a smile lingers on your lips, but your eyes look at Bakugou like he’s a pest. He scoffs. “What, Bakagou? Can’t you see I’m doing something right now?”

“Oh really?” Bakugou leans on his arm, his face now inches from yours. “Would it surprise you to know that someone asked me out on a date earlier today?” 

It’s only for a fraction of a second, but he catches your hesitation. A bit on your lip. Your hold on the remote control tightening. It gives him a little bit of hope., to be honest. You raise an eyebrow.  “So what?”

“The only person that I can ask is your unexperienced ass. Should I go or not?” You pull away from him and focus your eyes back on the TV just as the commercial ends. 

"Who’s the poor soul that wants to put up with you?” 

 Bakugou twirls his pen. “Our kouhai. The one with the red highlights.”

You stick out your bottom lip and shrug.  “I don’t know. You’ll mess up either way, won’t you?” you point out. Bakugou doesn’t resist from landing a square hit on the back of your head. 

“Ow!” In a split second, you’re delivering a taste of his own medicine to Bakugou. You don’t mind him, having done the same things to him at least a hundred times before. The red bumps on both your heads are comical, but they’re a testament of how comfortable you two are with one another. 

“Take some tips from Kuroo. Be gentlemanly and make them laugh,” you say. You get up from the couch. A long groan escapes your lips. “He must know that from going on so many dates himself.” You run your finger over Poster Kuroo’s photoshopped cheek. 

“But I still love him anyways,” you say dreamily. Poster Kuroo shoots Bakugou a look that makes Bakugou want to rip the bright red washi tape that’s holding Poster Kuroo up. But you would have his head in the five minutes that followed. You would not tolerate any slander against the group that had all the plenary love in your heart. 

“You’re taking too long. Should I go or not, aho?,” Bakugou says. 

You glance at him before muttering back to Poster Kuroo. “I told you, I don’t care.”

The disgruntled  tone in your voice strikes a knife through his heart. He looked for the usual spark in your eyes that lit the tinder to your insults and comebacks. He prays so hard that you’re joking. Bakugou wants so badly for you to say something along the lines of tagging along, or sabotaging the date, or anything that stipulates you coming. But you don’t say anything. You focus your eyes back on the glare of the TV screen and the handsome boys on the screen.

If only you would look at Bakugou the same way.