#I am so close to jumping that bar like a hurdle and grabbing him in a chokehold

[clumsypuppy]

Edit: I cant find the original post here but this is where the face is from

[aria-i-adagio]

For the fic ask game: 1, 5 and one of your choice!

Thank you, thank you!

1: Is writing cathartic or stressful for you?

Cathartic, absolutely cathartic. It’s probably my main form of therapy. This might also explain why mental illness is such a theme in my fics. I am the High Priestess of angst.

5: Share a snippet that you’re proud of from an upcoming fic/chapter.

Hawke’s not sure when he started to think of the motley collection of apprentices and young enchanters who volunteered for close combat training as “his mages.” He’s damned proud of them though. He’s stripped down to his undershirt, sweating in the late morning heat, and watching his mages put some of Ferelden’s not-so-finest through their paces. Literally. The mages would be able to make a go of it in a battle, so he’d changed the goal to getting the soldiers Anora had sent to work with them as a group. Currently, the soldiers are tripping over their own feet as they try to adjust to being hit with a haste spell.

It is disconcerting to suddenly be going faster than full speed. He supposes. It had been a game with Carver and Bethany when he was little, so he’s not quite sure how to explain how he manages the shift.

He calls a halt, and the soldiers skid to a stop, grabbing their canteens and gulping water. Hawke stretches his legs and arms. Time to figure out what he actually does.

“Anneka -” He points to one of the mages. “Hit me when I get about fifty feet out. Okay?”

The brunette mage smiles revealing crooked teeth. She’s developed a scattering of freckles across her nose from being out in the sun instead of locked up in a tower. And her family lives in the area, which makes her one of his most motivated students, even if only a single sister had consented to see her.

Hawke sprints out along the course he set up the previous day, waiting for Anneka to cast the spell and letting his muscle memory take over. He hears a faint sizzle in the air right before he feels the magic hit him and his next step is closer to a leap that lands him back on the ground right as the spell takes effect. That’s it then, leaning into the magic rather than trying to control the pace.

He clears the hurdles he set up for the soldiers with ease and unnecessarily leaps to grab a high bar letting the momentum swing him around it and turning a flip in the air before landing back on his feet. Not as graceful of a landing as he would have liked - he catches his heel and skids back a bit - but nothing twinges in his ankles or knees. A turned ankle would be embarrassing. And Anders might just kill him for injuring himself while showing off.

(My Choice!) 8: How do you develop your OCs? (below the cut)

For the Dragon Age fics, my Trevelyan’s personality comes more from the gameplay. Rhys’s hyperactive, distractible nature and interest in botany is the outgrowth of when I figured out how to effectively jump, became very delighted, and spent an inordinate amount of time collecting every damn resource I could find. Then, the question “how the hell does elfroot grow in all these climates?” popped into my head, and the side of him that is a very nerdy botanist developed. I know just enough plant science to fake being knowledgeable (thanks, sis!), and I have a tendency to talk people’s ears off about subjects I’m really interested in and then immediately panic that I’m bothering them, so he got those traits from me.

Regarding my Hawke, Adrian’s character is more of an introjection from the outside. I used DA2 as an escape while my uncle (my father-figure since my dad died when I was a young teen). The themes of grief, loss, and trauma resonated, shall we say. Regarding Elfroot, I also spent several years living in places that were very different from where I grew up and then moved back home. (I am a farmer’s kid.) There’s a certain piquant sense of not being quite ‘at home’ anywhere that informs aspects of his personality. Adrian, however, is far more badass than I am and significantly more even-keeled. There’s probably more of "me" in my version of Anders than there is in Adrian.

Jeanne, however, just appeared and demanded my attention. She is my darling and my baby, and I’m excited to write more with her.

In the Arcana fic, Dema is basically the unmedicated version of me who stayed in California. And I totally *wasn’t* working through any shit with her. Nope. None.

[weirdthinkingdragon]

Chase Of Fascination

I have no idea why, but this one was a S.T.R.U.G.G.L.E to finish.

Centaur Hizashi Yamada x reader

Warnings of injuries and a bit of blood

Nerves still course through me as I approached the entrance gate. I’m still worried about possibly kicking a centaur too hard or something happens that makes them hate me. Of course, that has only happened to a handful of people, but it still could happen to me. The centaurs are free to leave whenever they wish, so it’s not like they’d be stuck with me again if they have to be.

There were multiple people and centaurs in the distance. One green-haired kid was having trouble getting on an oddly colored paint centaur. Another was a rather bratty child who kept yelling at the red and black one he was on, but it seemed to not mind his temper.

My mind drifted off from them as a man and woman came up to me. The male seemed rather uninterested in being here, and the woman cheerfully waved at me. “Welcome! We’re glad you chose to help ride horses safely by learning here!” She opened the rather fancy gray gate with horses on it. They lead me down a path with multiple other small pastures on both sides.

Many of them were with riders training. It made me feel a little better watching a blond fall off a Dapple Gray centaur with a rather purplish color. Despite his calm demeanor, it was easy to tell he was rather concerned for the blond. The blond quickly got back up and laughed it off, making the centaur look relieved.

“Pretty interesting huh? We’ve got a few free ones hanging around back there.” Looking to the ground, there are multiple hooves marked into the gravel. It was quiet between the three of us as we walked there. In a way, this felt rather awkward.

A rather beautiful looking centaur quickly approached as we entered the area. A Dun Palomino by the looks of him. The black-haired male next to me didn’t stick around and left as soon as he saw it approaching. “What’s up yo!”

“Hey, Hizashi! Aren’t you still supposed to be with that Kyoka kid or something?” Asked the woman next to me. He shook his head. His long bright blond hair slightly moving with his head. It was long enough to drape across the sides of the shoulders of his horse part.  "Nah, she dug the style of another one and asked to be with them instead. No worries!" She smirked at him.

“Jeez, you seem to chase everyone off at some point!!”

“Do not! It was just that last one! Just gotta find the ones who dig my kind of style!”

“And what would that be? Noisy until they want someone quieter? You make quite a few of them go to poor Hitoshi or Momo instead.”

He shrugged. His attention was then drawn to me. “Why, hello dear new rider! Didn’t notice ya there for a minute! As ya heard, name’s Hizashi! What’s yours?” He asked, and even bows for a moment while keeping eye contact. I wave while saying my name.

He smiles and stands back up. “A great name for a great looking human! Now, why don’t ya… What do you humans call it with those loud metal things? Take me out for a spin?”

I couldn’t help but smile at his straightforward enthusiasm. How could someone not like him? The woman looks at me with a smirk on her face. “Well, would you like to tame the wild beast?”

Hizashi mocked a gasp. “I am no beast! If I am a beast, I’m a sexy beast!” She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say. Now come on! Time to get the gear!” The three of us headed towards a large red barn farther in the distance. Hizashi suddenly slumps over. “Man, why the saddle? Bareback is so much better!” He looks at me with a wink. “And gets us all the closer!”

She rolled her eyes again. “You and I both know bareback is highly unsafe for beginners. We learned that early on, and it’s better not to make the same mistake again. Especially if they decide to sue like last time.”

He waves his right hand. “Yeah, yeah. So what? I just know to keep my hands on them this time.” She frowns. “No. That’s final.” He crosses his arms and pouts. Something about the furrow of his brows and the puff out of his lips made him look cute. I do slightly question why that type of facial hair though. We quickly reached the barn and she went over to the equipment that had blankets and saddles with oddly shaped binds that look like an odd form of bridles on the wall.

She grabbed a black blanket off the wall and went to put it on Hizashi’s back. He blocked her by moving his body away. “Shouldn’t our dear new little rider do it instead? They gotta learn after all!” She looks at me and smirks. I could already tell what she was going to do and held my arms out. She drops the blanket into my arms. It was heavier than I thought it would be and caught me by surprise.

“Let’s get you started, huh?” She questioned while Hizashi moved closer so his side was next to me. He twisted his human torso to pat his horse back. “C’mon, we ain’t got all day dear!”

I couldn’t help but feel heat rise in my face as I looked away from him. They both laughed at me. I decided to just go with it and throw it onto his back. “A little forceful eh? Or can’t handle lifting the bit of weight?”

I shook my head. Hizashi looks in thought mischievously. “Nemuri, should we give ‘em the old light saddle?”

She smirks at me and him. “If they had trouble with the blanket, probably!” She reaches over and grabs a smaller black saddle with a rather deep dip in it and hands it to me. It’s surprisingly not much heavier than the blanket. I was able to get it on easily enough. I then lean down to hook the bottom together and tighten it. Worry went through me that maybe I tightened it too much.

“It’s not too tight is it?” They both laugh. “Ha! Not at all little rider! I’d say for a beginner you’ve got it rather loose!” Knowing that was a relief. Nemuri then goes to the other side of the wall where the odd-looking bridle was and picked it up. “This one I’m going to help with, since as you can tell, it’s not a regular bridle.”

She then puts it over his shoulders. Its metal circles were perfectly set on his shoulders while another strap went across his lower neck in the front and a few connecting on his back. Nemuri hooks a few more of them together in the front connecting both sides on his human stomach. She then grabs reins and puts them through the metal holes on his shoulders. It looks rather uncomfortable though…

“Is it uncomfortable? Why do you allow this if it is then?” I ask. Hizashi raised a brow at me. “Yeah, not gonna lie, it’s a bit odd, but it’s because I don’t have fur for it! It’s adorable you’re so concerned though!”

Nemuri looks at a watch on her wrist, then hands me the reins. “Alright, have fun you two! I have to go help others.” She says, waves, and walks out of the place. Hizashi and I go over to an empty pasture. He stays close to the metal bars of the fence. It might be to make sure I don’t fall to the ground as easily or something.

I was able to climb up into the saddle easily enough. It was a little difficult getting my right leg over his side. He kept his hands close to my legs like he was making sure I didn’t fall. “Ya know how to use the reins right?” He asked, trying to look back. He could only turn enough to see one of his eyes. “I think so,” I replied, and lightly pulled the reign to make him turn right. He turns without any problems. “Yep, ya got that down already! Now, why don’t ya try to kick to get me goin’? I tried kicking his sides. My feet barely even touched him. Hizashi barks a laugh. “Hah! What was that little rider!? I couldn’t even feel it! Ya gotta give a little more power than that!” I tried kicking a little harder, but it had the same strength. “C’mon little rider! You’re still not quite getting it right. Don’t worry, I can handle it if ya go a little hard! It’s almost endearing ya care so much though!”

The third time must be the charm. I kick slightly harder. He stood silent for a second, and I started to worry maybe that was still too hard. He starts to walk. “Yes! There ya go!”  I breathe a sigh of relief. “Now, let’s get runnin’!”

“W-wait! Isn’t it a little too soon for this!?”

He started to trot. “Nah, gotta learn eventually. Might as well be now! Hang on!

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

For the past two weeks, he’s been rushing into having me learn things, and it’s easy to tell he has a hard time staying still for long. Oddly enough he loves to jump hurdles. They’re not exactly hurdles though since that isn’t something that was supposed to be taught here. I think he likes I end up leaning closer to his back when he’s jumping. It was easy to tell with time how a lot of people didn’t like him too much. He was able to keep learning pretty fun though. Besides, not many others can say they’ve jumped hurdles on a centaur before. Even Nemuri and the other which I found out is named Shouta were surprised since he hasn’t allowed that with others. Same for him actually sticking around and us hanging out. Usually, he tends to speed off after a few hours of being here.

Like now, we’ve been taking a break and I was laying against his side in the shade of a tall tree in the same pasture I met him in. He decided to lay down for a bit. I know laying on his horse part could be dangerous, but he assured me it would be fine for a bit. It was a really hot day and drained our energy faster than usual. Fortunately, there was a rather strong breeze that helped cool things off. Many others canceled their training for today. There was a peaceful silence between us with the rustle of the leaves of the trees and the pretty freshly cut grass.

“You two seem pretty comfortable over there!” yelled the familiar and teasing voice of Nemuri. Could have sworn Hizashi almost let out a growl as he heard her yell. He quickly grew a large smile on his face again though as she approached and sat next to me. “Whew, pretty hot out here, huh you guys?”

I laugh. “You said it. It must be like a hundred degrees or something.”

She laughed as well. “You’re close! The gauge says it’s about that.”

“Yikes! Well, at least it’s not too humid.”

“Still doesn’t help the sweat everywhere though.”

“True,” She replies and looks towards Hizashi. “Hey, Hizashi, what do you usually do if it gets even hotter out?” He sits up and shrugs. “Usually stay deeper in the forest,” He points his right thumb at himself. “I never let the heat get to me though! If there’s something I want to do, a little heat isn’t gonna slow me down!”

“I don’t doubt it for a second, knowing you in the past two weeks,” I replied. He gave me a cheeky smile. “Aw! I’m touched ya know me so well already!” He hooked his left arm around me and messed with my hair. I tried to push him away. He stopped rubbing my hair, but didn’t let go of my shoulders. He still kept his arm slung around me as he stood up.

Nemuri didn’t stay long as she saw a message come up on her phone and ran off. Hizashi’s smile went into a smirk. “Hey, ya know what we should do for your last day?”

I blinked at him. There was something we haven’t- no, he’s not thinking of that is he? He laughs at my expression. “Yep! Why don’t we do it as a final treat? You’ve got enough experience by now for bareback!”

“Won’t Nemuri get angry about it?”

He shrugged. Well that’s reassuring. “Fine, but you better make sure I don’t fall.” His smile somehow grew bigger than I’ve ever seen it. “Wouldn’t dream of it, little rider!” He almost too enthusiastically dragged me by my arm over to the fence. I climbed up on it high enough to help get on his back.

Getting on, it felt weird. It was hard to keep my balance, and to better it, I tightly gripped his shoulders. I also had to be careful where I was sitting so as to not be on his hair. He started laughing. “Don’t be so worried! I got ya! If you’re so worried though, why not try this instead?” He asks and grabs my arms to wrap around his torso. He seemed to shiver at the touch. “Not close enough,” he mumbled. How is this not close enough? “Hey, why not try your legs too! It could be like…” He seemed to try remembering something for a moment. “Like what you call a piggyback ride!” He grabbed my legs and wrapped them around his lower stomach.

It definitely wasn’t the most comfortable thing. A lot of pressure is being put on my lower back. I quickly unwrap my legs from his torso and try to figure out how to keep my balance better the other way. He huffs, but allows it. He does place his arms over mine though.

We practiced that for a few hours, and my back is KILLING me. Guess I still need to work on my form. As I expected, we got quite an earful from Nemuri. It was more in a teasing way though since everything turned out fine.

I was saying my goodbyes and thanks to them. It was now sunset, and it cooled off slightly already. I started to walk away from the entrance gate when Nemuri suddenly yelled for me. “What’s wrong?” She has a giant smirk on her face. “When you get home, there will be a gift from me for you. Just a heads up!” A gift? Why would she give me a gift? “Well, thanks for it!”

“No problem!” She replies as I turn around and continue on my way home. It didn’t take long for me to hear the sound of hooves coming towards me. I turn around and see Hizashi. I was curious as to why he was following. He’s never come this way before.

"Can’t leave ya alone now! Heard there’s been a pack of violent stray dogs around.” I don’t like the rather feral glare he had when he said that.

“So you’re walking me home? That’s fine. It gets pretty lonely anyways. Also, I’m not riding you there though. My back is still killing me from earlier.” He sulked a bit at that. “Alrighty then! How about ya give me your cute hand to keep you close instead then?”

“Sure?...” I give my hand to him, and he immediately interlocks them. He got into a walk that stayed level with mine rather quickly. It was peaceful between us until there was the snarling of dogs and yelling in the distance. Hizashi pulls me closer into his side as the noise of the dogs came closer towards us. In the distance, it was easy to tell they were ragged and scraggly. And definitely not friendly. They stared at us for a second, and started to charge. Hizashi had no trouble rearing up ready to hurt them.

One that had severe burns got the jump on us and bit into my leg. I was able to force it off after a few kicks with my other foot. Hizashi then kicked one of his front legs that crashed into the dog and sent it flying. He glared at the others who seem to be looking for an opening to attack as he lowered himself slightly for me to get on. Despite the pain in my leg and back, I knew the best thing to do is get on his back..

He decked the smaller blond one that went for his chest. After getting on his back, he got back up and landed a harsh kick to the same scarred one that tried to strike again. It didn’t take too long to get to my home in the woods. There was a rather large box in front of my house. It was a pretty big house, and he was able to enter the door by ducking his head. The ceiling was higher so he stood back up. “What are you doing!? You should put me down and wait outs-”

“No. My little rider is hurt so I need to help. I’ll help clean the floor or somethin’ after if that’s your concern. Now, you have those bandage things, right?”

“Yeah, in the bathroom to the right.” He had trouble squeezing between the couch and a chair, so he slightly moved the chair. Entering the bathroom, I leaned over the cupboard and grabbed the first aid kit. I then get off his back and stand on my toilet seat. I nearly fell with the pain in my calf, but Hizashi grabbed me before it happened. He makes me sit down on it and grabs the kit. He was rather confused as to how to open it. I reach over and open it to grab the small bottle of peroxide and bandages. I open the bottle and pour some on my wound. I’ll clean up the floor after.

Hizashi recoils from the peroxide. “What’s that?” The bubbles came up in the wound. “It looks like it’s hurting you more!” He goes to take the bottle. “Calm down! It’s used to help clean the wound from infection!” That eased him a bit. I then wrap the bandages around my leg. Blood seeped through, but it doesn’t seem to be deep enough to need stitches.

Something in him changed as he glared at the blood. “Ya can’t go anywhere without me now.”

“Why not? So We were attacked. You were with me when I was and I still got injured.” He hugged me tightly. “What if I WASN’T there?” He squeezed tighter. “You would have died! I… I can’t lose ya,”

He went quiet for a minute. “Everywhere you go, I’ll be with you now,” He suddenly perks up. “Besides, ya got a new fancy saddle from Nemuri!”

“Way to ruin the surprise.” He noticed what he said. “Oops… Well, gotta test it out tomorrow, huh, my dear little rider?”

I rolled my eyes.

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

Idk what to think of this. I wanted the idea of yandere centaur Hizashi, but I don't think I did justice with it. After straining my mind for two weeks, I’m finally done! AKNKCJSHBHJDVb

[shinneth]

Gem Ascension Tropes (Peridot-specific: A)

There’s one of my new arts - GAverse Peridot in the house! If she looks a little taller and leggier than normal, she’s supposed to be. I find it kind of fascinating that for nearly every design deviation the canon characters in GAverse have, it’s practically a spoiler to even show it because it pretty much spells out the twist for you. But eh, it is what it is, right? 

So... these following tropes (see here for the first post for the general tropes for backstory on why the hell I did all this, and if you wanna see it in its entirety, see it on Google Docs)

Because Peridot is the actual protagonist of the GA continuity and my favorite character overall... her specific trope listing is the biggest overall. It easily towers over the general tropes I just posted. So this here’s the actual biggest hurdle. Let’s see if I can even fit A through B in this. Wow. I was fucking kidding, but nope! Adding A and B makes the links not work! Hooboy, what does that say when I’m already starting out restricted to post one letter at a time to avoid breaking the post?

I make a point not to copy+paste tropes already on her canon character page unless they’re relevant to GA specifically. I went out of my way to use the SU trope page as little as possible overall, really. So while there will be overlap, rest assured it’s there for a reason. 

So, assuming you’re that interested to see just how much I have to say about Peridot with all the headcanons made into a massive storyline, just keep in mind there’s no marked spoilers and have fun, I guess!

Peridot (Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG)

A Taste of Her Own Medicine: When Peridot tells Steven how the promotion she worked so hard to get ended up putting her in the same position as her previous victims, as she couldn’t get away with bullying or disrespecting gems above her in the caste system (which was literally almost everyone) and ended up being the one targeted for bullying due to her lowly status, Steven mentions this trope verbatim to sum up the situation.

Academic Alpha Bitch: Her Pre-Earth Homeworld persona; the Passive-Aggressive variant.

Accomplice by Inaction: Regarding Jasper’s abuse of Lapis when the pair was originally teamed up with Peridot. Considering Lapis was (albeit unwillingly) suffering Jasper’s abuse so Peridot wouldn’t have to, the fact that Peridot not only forced herself to mentally repress these moments as much as she could in order to live with herself – but actively did nothing to help Lapis even when she was witnessing the vile acts Jasper inflicted on their informant – has been one of her greatest sources of guilt and self-loathing. Peridot herself admits even when she had the means to at least offer some comfort or sympathy when Jasper wasn’t present, she refused to do it. Granted, Peridot’s inaction is largely justified; not only was Jasper’s abuse of Lapis deemed legal by Homeworld law, but Peridot herself – her kind being so low in the caste system – had no right to interfere or prevent any of this. It was actually illegal for Peridot to inconvenience a gem above her rank for any reason, and the gap between herself and Jasper was wide. This was also before Peridot’s Character Development; despite Jasper breaking her down well enough to eliminate most of Peridot’s absolute worst traits as a Homeworld gem, she was still far from being the gem who presently would have done everything in her power to fight Jasper and protect Lapis. This guilt (as well as feeling indebted to Lapis for saving her from Jasper) is the leading cause for why Peridot was such an Extreme Doormat to Lapis in canon.

Achey Scars: One of the last significant blows Peridot sustained courtesy of 9FC in Chapter 4 of Act I is a punch to the face. Since 9FC had limb enhancers, this punch left a nasty mark on Peridot’s cheek and greatly pained her (although she doesn’t realize she even has this injury, as she never sees how she looks after the No-Holds-Barred Beatdown – and her three nearly-crippled limbs are a bit more attention-grabbing). Thankfully for Peridot, it doesn’t plague her for long, as it’s the first injury Steven heals in the following chapter.

Act of True Love: The mission that plays out during the entirety of Act I is undoubtedly this. While Peridot genuinely wants to save everyone else and worries for them individually, it’s the realization that Steven is no longer with her that makes Peridot jump into the action. It’s her love for Steven that makes Peridot stay the course and see her mission through to the end, no matter how often she screws up or breaks down. Even when Peridot is struck with a persistent concern that she won’t come out of this mission alive, she’s not the least bit deterred and readily accepts death if it means Steven can live and be free. Peridot herself states that life doesn’t make sense and that everything is confusing if Steven isn’t with her, so she’s desperate to save him and bring him home where he belongs. This is an amusing case where all of The Four Loves are in play here.

Action Girl/Girlfriend: Comes with Taking a Level in Badass and becoming a Hero Protagonist. The latter trope is in effect as of Chapter 5 of Act I.

Adorkable: Per canon, and still in effect in GA. Very prevalent whenever the topic of Steven comes up, and especially when she and Steven directly interact. Peridot’s full of this when she actually spills her heart out to Steven in Chapter 5 of Act I.

Affectionate Nickname: Peri and Dot by many friends, P-Dot and Dottie-P by Amethyst, Tiny by Bismuth, Twilight by White Diamond.

Aggressive Submissive: Proves to be this in It’s a Birthday, Yes It Is. Whether or not it has anything to do with the submissive instincts that come naturally with Peridots is debatable. This is Who I Am establishes that such instincts were completely benign in Peridot’s case (likely due to emerging as an Unwitting Test Subject) until a certain Near-Rape Experience woke them up with a vengeance.

Alone with a Psycho: From the end of Act I to Chapter III of Act III, Peridot’s only company after being stranded on Homeworld was White Diamond. For six days, Peridot endured White’s wide variety of torture methods before she was rescued.

Ambition is Evil: When Peridot developed this during her life as a Homeworld gem, she became determined to achieve her goals, no matter what she had to do or who she had to hurt to succeed. This quickly made her The Dreaded of her kind. As time passed, Peridot herself became progressively more sinister and sadistic to assert her dominance.

Amnesiac Dissonance: Once Peridot and her team land on Homeworld, just seeing things Peridot is familiar with starts to abruptly jog memories of her Homeworld life that she thought she had discarded. Reuniting with 9FC made Peridot remember how horribly she treated her own kind to get ahead. This triggered a domino effect the longer the mission went on, though in some instances it was beneficial, such as when Peridot remembered what pallification was after being in close proximity to White Pearl.

Angst Nuke: Once Peridot has a moment to think after Pumpkin’s death, this happens. Deadly lasers fire from her gemstone and inadvertently causes an atmosphere-shredding wind storm that accelerates Homeworld’s destruction. Once she Involuntarily Shapeshifts into Chartreuse Diamond as she cries endlessly, the level of destruction is upped to Brown Note levels.

Armor-Piercing Question: Falls victim to this twice, both times by White Diamond. Both times, Steven is used to expose Peridot’s weak spot, which leads to the birth of Chartreuse Diamond and Celadon Diamond.

Armor-Piercing Slap: Gives one to Lapis in Chapter 8 of Act III, after Lapis invokes an Ironic Echo in reference to Pumpkin’s impending demise. She means well by it, but Peridot is too far into her Heroic BSoD to not take offense to her own words being used against her. Even when it’s justified.

The Atoner: Peridot considers herself eternally this after her redemption arc. Even after doing many good deeds, making friends, earning forgiveness, helping people, and saving Earth itself, Peridot still feels she could do more. When she regains her memories of how awful she used to be when she lived on Homeworld, Peridot doubles down on this role hard. She verbally confirms this in This is Who I Am.

Attack its Weak Point: Proposes this strategy to fight the pallified Blue Diamond. More specifically, to find its weak point with herself and her teammates scattering to the most likely place a weak point might be in hopes of striking the right spot.

Attacking Through Yourself:  When Peridot and Steven are stuck fighting each other’s dark selves in a duel to the death (where the dark/light counterparts feel each other’s pain and will perish should one side be killed), Peridot’s duel with Dark Steven quickly escalates into a scenario where Dark Steven is in the midst of choking to death – not by Peridot’s hands, but by her dark counterpart’s, who is well underway killing the Light Steven. Peridot can’t do anything to make her dark self stop this, as the two fights are separated between different dimensions. That is, there’s no way Peridot can make her counterpart stop killing Steven without inflicting damage on herself to disrupt her efforts. Unfortunately, 5XG (the Dark Peridot) retains Peridot’s lost ability to endure pain ridiculously well, so the only way Peridot has any chance of saving Steven is to inflict life-threatening levels of damage to herself. Having virtually no time to think of a better plan, Peridot goes with her instincts and uses a jagged piece of the arena’s floor tiling to lodge directly into her forehead, piercing her gemstone. This does work in forcing 5XG to release her hold on Steven – simultaneously saving both forms of him in the process – but it very nearly cost Peridot her life (and 5XG’s by proxy). Thankfully, the always-merciful Light Steven was there to quickly heal 5XG’s injury while the Dark Steven, having developed a begrudging respect for Peridot (and not wanting to be indebted to her for saving his life), also healed her injury as soon as he recovered from his life-threatening situation. With both Stevens worn down and vulnerable from nearly having their throats crushed and both Peridots too weak to actively continue fighting after sustaining deep, direct damage to their gemstones, both deathmatches ended in a No Contest, which yielded the result Light Peridot hoped to achieve: a scenario where she and Steven come out of this alive.

Ax-Crazy: In Chapter 6 of Act III, Peridot slips into this when she sees White Diamond’s neck and is immediately triggered due to the PTSD of the torture White put her through earlier in the act. Peridot ended up with a Slashed Throat from that (nonlethal considering she’s a gem, but it did shock her into unconsciousness and led to her being manipulated into ascension), so she finds herself intensely obsessed with returning the favor to White now that she has the opportunity.

[itisiidiocy]

The Sweet Case of Keller

"Your last name is Keller, right?"

"Yeah how did you know that?"

Fangs was yawning as he walked down the Southside High's hallways, tired after the previous night's late night show at the Twilight when he saw his hazel eyed friend leaning against the lockers.

"Yo! DeSantos!" Fangs called out only to be met with silence.

"DeSANTOS!" He tried again.

Shaking his head he walked towards his greasy haired friend who was smiling stupidly at his phone.

"Joaquin!" Fangs shook the other serpent by his shoulders to bring him back to earth.

"Oh hey Fangs!" Joaquin said startled. "Sorry I was just...." He looked down at the phone in his hands and Fangs swore that he saw him blush a little.

"What got you all smiley this morning, huh?" Fangs teased.

"Oh no nothing...erm just came across this cool meme--"

"Oh come on Joaquin, it's no secret that you hate memes. You are that one fucktard of our group who doesn't know how to respect memes so stop lying" Fangs accused.

"Am not! Since you guys keep babbling about how good memes are, I thought I might give it a try" Joaquin countered as he awkwardly shrugged and scratched the back of his neck.

Fangs narrowed his eyes skeptically and then exclaimed excitedly.

"Ohmygod, there's a boy!"

"What? no!" Joaquin quickly denied

"Oh yes, you always scratch the back of your neck when you're lying. TELL ME MORE!"

"No I don't and there is no boy. Back off Fogarty" Joaquin snapped

"There is." Fangs continued, unfazed.

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"YES"

"ye-NO"

"Ha!" Fangs high-fived himself. "I knew it. I knew you were hooking up last night when you went to get popcorn and returned like 2 light-years later."

"Our greasy boy is finally getting laid" Fangs gushed.

Joaquin just shook his head at his overly proud friend and made his way away from him and walked towards his next class. Fangs ran to catch up with him while continuously nagging about the Joaquin's new 'love interest'.

"Don't you have a class to attend?" Joaquin asked frustrated.

"Aww, look at this love sick boy" Fangs said into the air. "so lost in thoughts that he even forgot that we have chemistry together" Fangs teased again deliberately pressing on the word 'chemistry'.

Joaquin just rolled his eyes and proceeded inside the apparent chemistry lab.

The corners of the lab were tainted black due to the numerous chemical explosions that took place there courtesy of Sweet Pea. At the back, the Ghoulies were hurdled up, smoking pot--in the chemistry lab of all places-- and laughing loudly.

Joaquin and Fangs looked at each other and sighed. They were surprised that the Ghoulies were actually going to attend a class after all.

"Hello students" Mr. Saltzman's voice rung through the lab making the students hurry into their respective stalls. Joaquin went and sat at his usual secluded corner while Fangs went to sit beside a Ghoulie-glaring Sweet Pea.

"I see the royalties decided to join us today" Mr Saltzman commented upon seeing the Ghoulies.

"What can we do Mr Saltzman? Our love for you is endless" Bucky-one of the Ghoulies-spoke up. "Besides, You are the only teacher who still lets us in their class."

"And then you ask why I question my life choices" Mr Saltzman muttered to himself.

"Anyways, since you are so enthusiastic about giving education a chance, why don't you start on with the class today? Read us on from where we left off on Friday?" He asked Bucky "oh wait, you were probably stoned on Friday, and on Thursday and Wednesday and literally every other day of your existence, much like your education."

At that, Bucky's smile vanished and his expression replaced with an angry and somewhat embarrased one.

Mr Saltzman deadpanned at the group, already used to their antics and turned to the rest of the chucking class.

"Mr DeSantos, why don't you do the honors today?" He asked before he turned towards the board and writing down the heading.

"Mr DeSantos?" He asked again upon not receiving a response from the serpent.

Fangs looked up from doodling in his book to see Joaquin dreamily stare at his closed book with a small smile on his face. Fangs smirked knowing what was up.

"Joaquin!" Mr Saltzman exclaimed just like Fangs did not too long ago.

Joaquin jumped up slightly from his chair, startled by the shrill sound of his name being called out by his teacher.

"Uh y-yes ma-...sir?" He questioned, lost to the happenings in his surroundings.

"What's in the Dreamland for us today? Disney princess or lesbian porn?" Mr Saltzman sassed causing the classroom to erupt in chuckles for the second time that day.

"Spare him today Mr Saltzman" Fangs smirked from his seat in the middle back. "Someone's got his brain a little too pre-occupied today"

The class once again erupted into a series of 'ohh' and teasing whistles as Joaquin sunk further into his chair.

"Quiet!" Mr Saltzman shouted, frustrated. "Now, Mr DeSantos, if we are finally back on Earth again, could you summarise what we did before the weekend?"

"Sure eh sir" Joaquin answered awkwardly before picking up his book.

He narrated the synopsis of how carbon particles form a covalent bond instead of an ionic one due to their incapability of losing or gaining ions.

While the Ghoulies engaged the class with an acute comparison between carbon particles and a reproductively infertile person, Fangs caught Joaquin glaring angrily at him and turns to look the other way when he saw Fangs looking.

Fangs panicked internally. He knew he fucked up. He shouldn't have teased Joaquin in front of the whole class especially when he didn't know if what he guessed was true.

After the class, Joaquin quickly gathered up his things and bolted out of the classroom.

"Joaquin!" Fangs ran out after him hot on his heals, leaving a confused Sweet Pea behind.

"Joaquin! Listen up!" No response. "WAIT UP DeSANTOS!"

"come on! JOAQUIN!" Fangs grabbed his serpent jacket in an attempt to stop the raging bullet.

"WHAT!?" Joaquin angrily turned to face Fangs almost knocking him over.

"What do you want fangs? The details of my rendezvous with a 'someone' hmm?" Joaquin sassed, furious.

"Dude, come on! It was just a joke. Why are you getting so upset?" Fangs tried to reason.

"Because no one can know and it's none of your fucking business!" He whisper-yelled.

"Okay one, ouch and two, what do you mean no one can know?" Fangs inquired.

"Yoo-hoo" Joaquin sing-songed. "I JUST said, it's none of your business"

"Joaquin come on, you're worrying me now. You almost never get angry and right now you're furious in-spite of knowing that I was joking." Fangs rambled on "You always tell me about stuff and now you're saying it's 'none of my business'? Well yes sir, it is absolutely my business and you know what? I'm definitely not going to stop bugging you until---"

"His name is Kevin Keller" Joaquin sighed.

"---you tell me who-- wait, Kevin Keller? As in Sheriff Keller's Keller?" Fangs asked shocked.

Joaquin nodded.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!?"

Joaquin jumped up and sealed Fangs' mouth with his palm, looking around to see of anyone heard him.

"Quiet!" He whispered sharply. "Now you see why no one can know?"

Fangs straightened up and and jerked Joaquin's hand from his mouth.

"No shit, Sherlock" he huffed. " What were you thinking? Seriously, of all the jerks you could choose from, you chose the town sheriff's son while being part of a motherfucking gang!?"

"Well, don't blame me! You wanted to know, now you know." Joaquin shrugged.

"Wasn't riding a motorbike, carrying a knife in your pocket while wearing leather 24x7, getting a huge ass snake tattoo and hanging out in a bar full of drunkards all at 16 enough rebel for you?"

Joaquin deadpanned, severely regretting telling him anything.

"Does he even know that you're a serpent?" Fangs inquired.

"Of course he does. I have a 'huge ass snake tattoo' remember? He promised he won't tell if I won't."

"And you believe that?"

"Yes I do. And you are not going to question that" Joaquin stated.

"Have you totally lost it, DeSantos? He is fucking sheriff's son! It's written 'beware' in block letters on a big red sign board on his head!" Fangs exaggerated.

Joaquin looked around to check again if anyone was eavesdropping or intrigued with Fangs' not so subtle behavior.

"Look, I- FP put me upto this. He needs to keep an eye on the sheriff for..." he hesitated "....for some reason I don't know of. He's planning on doing that through his son and asked me get on his good side." Joaquin whispered.

"FP put you upto this?" Fangs asked, confused.

"Yes. Now please would you drop this and promise to never mention it to anyone. Just you and me okay? Or else FP will roast me alive." Joaquin said sincerely.

"Yeah yeah don't worry about it" Fangs sighed, casually shrugging off his friend.

"Fangs no." Joaquin looked Fangs in the eye as he firmly held him by his shoulder. "You don't understand. You can't tell anyone. Not even Sweet Pea or Toni. This is important okay? No one means no fucking one. Got it?"

"Yeah, jeez Joaquin" Fangs started as he noticed Joaquin's worried expression.

"Oh god okay, I hereby solemnly promise that this secret stays between the sonority and no outsider would know about it, even if they threaten to feed me to Godzilla." Fangs said in all seriousness.

Joaquin's eyes softened and he burst out laughing. "I'll take your word on that Fogarty"

He turned around to leave as Fangs voice teasingly called from behind.

"By the way, you don't have to blush everytime he texts, you know. FP won't know, trust me"

Joaquin threw a middle finger over his shoulder as he started walking faster in the opposite direction, desperately trying to hide the red creeping on his cheeks and the involuntary smile on his lips.

"Damn you're screwed, DeSantos"

"Joaquin and I used to hang out. He talked about you all the time."

@buggiebreak

[crzcorgi]

Savior Needed

This is for @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash Ash’s Round 3 Negan Challenge. My prompt was Over The Rainbow. Once again, thank you Ash, for letting me join!

Eventual Negan x Reader (y/n)

2200 words

No warnings just a bit of angst with Negan language

I will be writing more to this if it’s wanted

Tagging ~ @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash, @negans-network

 “Get this shit loaded, times a fucking wastin’!” We were heading out on a dual purpose, restocking an outpost, and checking on a community we had brought into our midst, problem was it was being lead by a couple of shitheads and they had to be constantly watched due to their incompetence.

 “Where the fuck is y/n?” I yelled at Simon. Y/N was one of my Saviors, one of the best. Not only was she highly fucking skilled with most weapons, her hand to hand abilities were on a level all their own. I depended on her, more than I fucking cared to admit.

 “I dunno, boss. She’s usually one of the first out here. Maybe she had a busy night, she was really throwing back that whiskey we found on the last run.” Simon shook his head, snickering.

 “Well, we need her, so somebody better go fucking get her.”

 No one moved. “Fine, I’ll go get her myself.” I stormed off towards the door. Fucking incompetents. 

 As I entered the main hall, I glanced around, hoping to see y/n without having to hunt her down. Fuck, no sign of her.

 I made my way down the hall where her room was. When I reached her door, I began knocking.

 “Y/N, get your ass up and out here, doll! You’re fucking late!” I leaned into the door listening for movement. Nothing.

 When she first came to the Sanctuary I gave her the usual speech I give new residents. Most don’t have a choice of jobs, a few with certain talents become Saviors, like y/n. But my biggest regret was not giving her another choice, become my wife. There was something about her which fucking attracted me to her. But that something also made me not give her the choice.

 After the third time of knocking, I tried the knob, locked of course.

 “Are you looking for y/n, sir?”

 “Jesus fuck! You scared the shit out of me!” I turned to see a janitor.

 “I’m sorry sir, I was just mopping the floor around the corner and heard you knocking. Y/N isn’t in there.”

 I sighed. “Okay, so where is she?” Why the fuck I had to draw it out of him was pissing me off.

 “She left last night, said you knew.”

 “Left?! Like left her room or the fucking Sanctuary?! Tell me everything you know, now!”

 He looked scared, good. “Uh, well, i met her in the upstairs main hall last night, she was pretty wasted.” He sniggered. “So I offered to help her back to her room.”

 Fuck. I moved closer to him, making use of our height difference, staring down at him, lightly swinging Lucille.

 He backed up a bit, his hands raising upward. “Totally on the up and up, sir! I really like y/n, she’s one of the few Saviors that’s nice to me, I wouldn’t take advantage of ‘er, I promise!”

 I stood down, leaning back against the wall, bringing Lucille down to rest on my boot.

 “Continue, but make it quick.”

 “Well, like I was saying, I brought her back to her room. When we got here, she asked me to wait while she packed some things.”

 “Packed? Did she fucking say why? And just cut to the fucking chase, where did she go?!”

I had a fucking feeling exactly where she went, but I needed to hear him say it.

 “Okay, well she had me help her out the gate, said it was some kind of super secret recon you had her going on and that I had to keep tight lipped about it, which I have sir, promise!”

 Fuck, I knew it.

Y/N POV

  Attempting to climb out of my bed I realized I wasn’t in my bed, or any bed for that matter. As I tumbled down out of the tree I had been asleep in, I realized what a stupid fucked up idea it was to sleep in a tree.

 I stood up I prayed to whatever was up there that I didn’t fracture anything, everything seemed to be in working order.

 But it really didn’t matter. I honestly didn’t care. I was done. Done with running from a past I’d never escape. Done with the pain. Done with wishing for something, someone, I could never have.

 Yeah, no one truly wants to live in this world. No one. But most just keep living the life, trudging along, existing the best they can given the less than stellar circumstances.

 But I didn’t want to live in the world before this one. I didn’t belong in it. And I most certainly don’t belong in this one.

 I’m cracked, broken, and really only the whole can survive, should survive. I’m a big fat fucking waste of space, of resources.

 So now I was finally manning up and doing something about it.

 Negan’s POV

  I took off upstairs, running out to the trucks.

 “Simon, send a bunch of our trusted fuckers out to do the work. I need you, D and a couple of others to come with me, y/n took off.” I closed my eyes, wiping my hand down my face in frustration. I wasn’t mad, maybe a bit pissed off. But I knew why she left. And I was going to stop it.

 I had talked to her a couple of times on long runs when we either rode together or were camped out for the night. She never really opened up much about her past, I mostly pieced shit together and guessed at it. Once we Simon, y/n, Arat and I had enjoyed a bit too much of the alcohol we had found, she opened up. I think she thought she was just talking to Arat. I didn’t catch it all, but what I did hear made my skin crawl. And wishing a fucking painful death on some shitheads.

 As we headed down the road, Simon and I in one truck, Dwight and the others in another, we scanned the woods for anything out of the ordinary.

 “I’m not surprised she fucking bolted.”

 “What did you say Simon? Fucking speak up.”

 “I’m not at all surprised she left, that’s all. She’s a troubled girl.”

 I turned in my seat, enough to look Simon in the eyes but still checking out for y/n. “And what the fuck does that mean exactly?! Everyone is fucking troubled Simon, what makes her any different?”

 “She’s just so unhappy, she said it herself. You’ve heard her. She never hangs out with anyone, always holed up in her room. Fuck, every guy in the Sanctuary wants to bang her and she just fucking scoffs at ‘em. And I know for a fact she swings that way.” He laughed.

 I scowled, I knew what Simon was saying, and I was fucking pissed. “And how the fuck would you know that Simon?!”

 “I think you know, boss, you have 6 fucking wives, you understand how things work.” He looked over at me, laughing, then stopping quickly. “Holy fuck! You’re really pissed! I knew it!”

 I turned to give my undivided attention to looking for her. “I’m just pissed that one of my Saviors has run. One of my best, nothing else Simon. Eyes on the road.”

 “Mmhmm, sure thing.” Suddenly the truck swerved, coming to a stop.

 “What the fuckity fucking fuck man!”

 As I glanced over to him I saw a figure walking through the trees.

 “I’d know that ugly ass purple backpack of her’s anywhere. And I don’t think she sees us yet.” Simon laughed.

 As Simon started to step out of the truck, I grabbed his arm. “Let me go alone.”

 He nodded as I stepped out of the vehicle. Grabbing Lucille, I made my way quietly in the woods, trying to make as little noise as possible.

 “Good try Negan.”

 I swung around to see y/n standing almost directly behind me.

 “Fuck doll! How’d you do that?!”

 She laughed, swinging her bag around to grab a flask. As she uncapped it, she kept her eyes on mine. When she finished putting her bag back on her shoulders, she spoke.

 “Go back Negan. Go back to where you belong. Just let me go. Please.”

 “No can fucking do sweetheart, you’re a Savior, no leaving, it’s a fucking life sentence.” I grinned at her.

 She turned, heading further into the woods.

 “I’m not coming back, so get used to it.” She sat down on a rock taking her sneakers off. “Fuck, I hate blisters.”

 “Carson can take a look at those, get your feet all fucking fixed up.”

 Looking up at me, she laughed.

 “Just give it up Negan, I’m gone.” She shook her head, pulling out a pair of socks.

 I sat down next to her, watching her pull on her socks.

 “Is it really that fucking awful, living at the Sanctuary?”

 “It isn’t that Negan, it’s just…I don’t belong there.” She looked up at me from tying her sneakers.

 Fuck, why isn’t she my wife?

  Sighing, I spoke. “Now what the fuck does that mean, sweetheart?”

 She finished tying her shoes, sitting up and pulling a granola bar out of her bag.

 “I’m not “Savior” material, Negan. Every time I call myself that I can’t help but laugh. I am far from anyone’s savior.” She then offered me a piece of her bar.

 “No thanks doll. As far as being a Savior, you are the fucking best of the best. You have saved many, do not fucking sell yourself short. I…uh…we need you.”

 She laughed. “Yeah, no, you’ll do fine without me.”

 She was beginning to fucking frustrate me.

 “Look y/n, how about we make a fucking deal. You come back for a week. After that time, if you still want to leave, I will throw you the biggest going the fuck away party you have ever seen!”

 She looked like she was thinking about my offer. “Why do you care? I don’t understand?”

 “What does that even fucking mean?” I brought my hand up, rubbing my neck.

 “Why do you care about me? I’m just some fucked up girl that you all found like some orphan animal on the side of the road. I’m nothing special. Laura, she’s great with a crossbow. Arat, she’s a wizard with the blades. But me, fuck Negan, I’m scrappy but you’ve got lots better. And they belong there.” She looked down at the ground, kicking up the dead debris.

 What do I say? That she’s a fucking valued member of the Sanctuary? That her skills are needed as a Savior? While that may be fucking true, is that the reason I want her to return? I want to believe that, but I knew it was something else. I needed her.

 “I know you don’t fucking believe me sweetheart, but you DO belong there, more than a lot of those fuckers. Let me know what it will take…”

 Suddenly y/n jumped up, pulling a long blade out of her pants, knocking me over as she hurdled over me. I turned over on the ground to see her taking out a couple of fucking walkers, her blade buzzing through the air. Grabbing Lucille, I joined her smashing skulls.

 “To your left, Negan, there’s more coming!” She yelled through heavy breaths. “Where the fuck is Simon, I saw him with you?!”

 As I headed over to the half dozen or so fuckers heading our way, I knew doll could handle the few fuckheads that were left. At least I thought so, until I heard her scream just as I Lucille’d the last walker.

 “DOLL!!!” I ran as fast as I fucking could jumping over the carnage. When I reached her, I realized it wasn’t a fucker walker that got her, as there was a fucking arrow in her chest. I bent down to pick her up, as careful as I could, her cries of pain almost as painful to me as to her.

 “I know sweetheart, I’m so fucking sorry, but we need to get you back to Dr. Carson, so just hold on, okay?”

 “Put me down…please…leave me. Just…go…Negan.”

 I ignored her pleas, there was no fucking way I was letting her die.

 “SIMON!!! DWIGHT!!!! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”

 Simon appeared from behind a tree, a look of shock on his face.

 “Fuck! What happened?!”

 “What’s it fucking look like Simon?! She was fucking shot! Is this D’s arrow?” He better hope it isn’t.

 “No, none of us shot anything that way. Fuck boss, she don’t look so good.”

 Y/N scoffed.  “Thanks… Simon…for that…for…the confidence in… FUCK!”

 My arm was getting soaked from her blood and her tears. “Negan…I’m begging…you…PLEASE, just…let me die!”

 “I’m not leaving you doll, you can keep fucking begging. You can hate me, I’m not letting you die.”

 We got back to the truck and Simon took a hold of her while I climbed in, gently taking her back into my arms.

 No words were spoken, not until her small voice pierced the silence.

 “Somewhere over the rainbow…way up high…there’s a land…that I heard…of once in…a…a lullaby.”

 “Doll?”

I know Simon thought this was it, his fucking sad face looking over at hers, then up at mine. But he was wrong. She was going to be fine. She had to be.

  …to be continued?

[kaunis-sielu]

Alternate

A/N: So I’m writing this from a “you” pov because that’s what I like to write but the You character does have a name because she needed a specific one for this to work in my head the way I wanted it to.

“Are you sure about this?” You ask looking at the swirling portal. “Of course I’m sure. Look who you’re talking to.” Antoinette says with a small huff, like you’ve offended her honor or something. “My bad. It’s just we’ve never done a jump like this.” You tell her tightening the grip on your shield for a second. “Cap I did the math three times and so did Britt before they took her. You’ve got to go and you have to go now.” “It should be you.” “No it shouldn’t. You’re the one everyone likes, I’m a cocky bitch. Just ask Jan, she’ll tell you.” Your friend shoots you a smirk and you sigh softly. She’s not wrong, that’s exactly what Jan would say before giving her best friend an affectionate smile. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” “Always. I’m Toni Stark.” You take a deep breath give her a jaunty salute then turn and sprint into the portal. Doing a jump isn’t pleasant in the first place but this one is particularly rough, it’s a longer jump than you’ve done before. This was where the next best versions of your team lived so you didn’t have much of a choice. If you were going to defeat them, SHIELD, you were going to need help. They had your whole team, Bucky, Nate, Clara, everyone, except you and Toni. When your feet hit solid ground you breathe a sigh of relief. You fall to your hands and knees, your shield clanging loudly on the cool hard floor. It’s cold, and it’s dark and you’re not sure if it’s just the room or if it’s nighttime. You close your eyes and take a few deep breaths until the nausea passes. You hear the soft hiss of a door sliding automatically open and when you look up you see a very surprised man with chin length dark brown hair. His eyes are startlingly blue, he has a square jaw and a frown on his face. “How did you get in here?” He demands angrily, “I am so sick of throwing Steve Rogers groupies out of here I could vomit.” He snaps dragging you to your feet, you barely have time to grab your shield before he yanks you along. “I’m-” “It’s bad enough that you guys sit outside the tower, day and night, now you’re breaking in!” He continues on his angry, rant he reminds you of your best friend. Of Bucky. “I didn’t-” “I mean I get it. You guys are grateful for what we do.” “You don’t-” “But have some pride!” He stops in front of an elevator and jabs the button with a metal finger. You’ve had enough. You use one of his legs to place both of your feet. Launching yourself away from him you tear your arm from his grasp and do a perfect back flip before landing softly, legs in a slight lunge. “I’m not going anywhere.” You tell him firmly. He clearly didn’t realize you too were a super solider, at least not from the opened jaw, wide eyed look on his face. Those eyes turn to ice and he stalks toward you. You don’t move. He goes to grab you again and you duck under his outstretched arm, he’s as fast as you are and swipes your legs out from under you. You hit the ground hard but roll away from him before moving to a crouched position, you use the hallway to your advantage and use one wall to the next then hurdle yourself over his head. He catches your back foot and you dive into a dive roll yanking him off of his feet. “I just need you to listen to me.” You pant wrapping his arm in an arm bar. He tries to punch you with his far arm but you use your foot to keep him from hitting you again. A door bursts open and suddenly you’re at the business end of a lot more weapons than you’d like. A blonde with arrows, Clara. A red head woman with guns, Nate. A girl twisting magic through her fingers, Walter. A man covered head to toe in gold and red painted metal, Toni and last but not least, your counterpart. Captain America.

[lizziebearfanfiction-blog]

One Glass Too Many

Author: Lizziebearfanfiction Rating: T (Language, Alcohol, Violence) Genre: Romance Pairing: Zelda x Link Length: 2705

I can’t find the prompt this was inspired by, but if I do, I’ll relink it!

Description: 

    To celebrate their latest triumph over a local band of bokoblins, Zelda decides that she and Link will go out for drinks. While Link has had the occasional mug of ale, the Princess has not, and a drunken Zelda is an equally angry and affectionate one. Drinks are flung... Fights start and end... And, when all is said and done, the two admit what they’ve been hiding all along.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Nintendo characters, locations, etc., that I am using for this fanfiction. It is purely for entertainment.

      “I’m not drunk,” Zelda yelled.

Link shifted his weight awkwardly from foot to foot, avoiding eye contact with the irate Princess and exasperated bartender as best he could. There was nothing to be done, he knew – any attempt at intervening would either result in divine defenestration or a waterfall of tears, and he was prepared for neither.

“I’m not drunk,” she said again, looking around at the wide-eyed patrons around them. “I’m not!”

“Miss,” the bartender said cautiously, “I really do think you’ve had enough. Perhaps your friend here could take you home..?”

Link immediately averted his eyes. There was no way he was getting in the middle of this. He tried his best to keep his expression neutral, but there was no hiding the regret in his eyes. Bringing Zelda out for drinks had most definitely been a terrible idea, but she had insisted.

Although most of the other customers were doing their best to ignore the ruckus, a group of men seated further in the back were doubled over laughing. There were three of them, Link noted, all fairly large and well-armed. Mercenaries, maybe? It was impossible to be certain without asking, and most groups of hired swords didn’t like to admit it. Most of them tended to be ex-contenders for knighthood, denied either for their temperament or lack of skill, and if this were the case, and they were to recognize the Princess and her new head of the Royal Guard, they might become hostile.

Zelda, of course, was too far gone to recognize the potential danger of the situation. “What are you laughing at, huh? Do you know who I am?”

“Zelda,” Link hissed, rising from his seat, but it was too late. The group of men stopped laughing and looked closely at the drunken woman.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” one of them crooned. “If it ain’t the Princess herself, and – what’s this? The Hero himself?”

“Hero my ass,” another sneered. “That’s all one big myth.”

“A myth?!” Zelda cried, visibly outraged. “And how, exactly, do you believe the Calamity ended?!”

           “I dunno. The damage was done before we were born, Your Highness. Those damn Guardians just ran out of steam!”

           Link looked from the men to Zelda. He was hesitant to start a fight if it wasn’t necessary, for fear of tarnishing the Royal reputation and the honor of the Knights. “Zelda, let’s go,” he murmured.

           Zelda was shaking, her hands clenched, eyes narrowed. “You insolent, despicable, ignorant brutes! Link saved your life and the lives of everyone in Hyrule! Don’t you for even a second think –“

           “Ma’am,” the bartender interjected quickly, “perhaps your friend ought to bring you home. There’s no need for all this.”

           “And if he won’t bring you home,” the first man roared, voice full of mirth, “I will!”

           Link’s hand flew, unbidden, to the hilt of the Master Sword, but before he even had a chance to draw it, Zelda’s glass was hurdling, with impeccable accuracy, toward the man’s face. It collided with a crash, exploding on contact, and the man lurched from his seat. His companions followed suit.

           “You rotten bitch!” One of them wrenched a sword from its sheath and began to advance. “I’ll cut that pretty little hand off and use it to -“

           Link crossed the bar in four long strides and, faster than the mercenary could finish his sentence, brought the tip of the Master Sword to his throat. “Don’t speak to her,” he said coolly. His face betrayed nothing, but inwardly, he felt as though he were on fire. The mental image of what the repulsive creature before him had been describing had filled him with unfathomable fury.

           “Oh yeah? You know how to use that sword, pretty boy?”

“I do,” Link replied evenly, “and, unless you’d prefer to be on the receiving end of it, you should retake your seat and continue on with your business.”

           The man’s pockmarked face contorted with fury, and he raised his arm in an attempt to knock the blade to the side. Link allowed him to, reluctant to draw blood unless he absolutely had to, but kept his hand steady.

           “Not so strong, are you?” As he and his companions began to draw their weapons, another glass flew through the air and smashed into the chest of the man to Link’s left.

“Agh!”

           “Zelda!” Link yelled, frustration breaking his concentration. “Go outside and let me – Oof!”

           He stumbled back as the man in front of him threw his entire weight against Link’s chest and tried to grab the sword. Link used his backwards momentum to flip, dislodging his opponent grasp on the sword, and flipped it around so that he was gripping the blade. Ignoring the sting of the metal against his bare hands, he raised the heavy hilt and brought it crashing down on the man’s skull. He dropped instantly – alive, but unconscious.

           The other two men leaped forward. One brandished a claymore, while the other held a dagger in one hand and a short sword in the other. Link tossed his sword into the air as the claymore swung down at him, threw himself with perfect timing to the right of the blade, caught his own, and struck out at the duel-wielding mercenary. He rapped the man’s knuckles with the flat of his blade. The mercenary yowled, unintentionally losing his grip on his sword. With the impending claymore still in his peripherals, Link grabbed the man’s other hand with his and ducked under his arm, parrying the claymore with the dagger. As planned, the dagger broke under the claymore’s weight, and Link felt a snap beneath his fingers as the man’s wrist followed suit. He shoved the man to the side and turned to face the largest man once again. He had yet to do any serious damage to any of them, or even draw blood, but effectively had disabled the last two, all in a few moments, and all without causing any collateral damage. In fact, the entire fight had happened too quickly for any of the other patrons to even begin leaving the bar. Zelda was watching, stunned. She knew that Link was a skilled fighter, but she hadn’t realized how deliberate each movement was. How he had avoided permanently incapacitating any of his opponents was beyond her.

           “Surrender,” Link said calmly.

“Fuck you,” the man replied, raising both his arms to strike again. Link sighed.

           “You people never listen.”

All at once, Link dropped his sword, jumped forward, and wrapped his hands firmly around the man’s head. In one smooth motion, he brought his knee up. The claymore clattered to the ground, and the man crumpled.

Link cleared his throat and sheathed his sword. “Alright, then. Princess, we’ll be on our way.”

Zelda nodded slowly. Her teeth worried her bottom lip as she realized the scolding she was in for.

Link was quiet for a while as he supported her with an arm wrapped around her waist. It was a ten-minute walk from the bar to the inn, and his silence scared Zelda more than anything. When they finally arrived and had checked back in, he turned to her.

“What were you thinking?”

He didn’t sound angry, and that was the worst part. Zelda took a deep breath and tried to steady herself against the wall. “I just… I’m not drunk, I s-swear,” she finally said. He raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, maybe I am, but… I don’t know. I hate when people overlook what you’ve done for them. For me. For… For everyone. Hylia, I feel sick. Link, can you –“

And, immediately, she doubled over and began heaving their dinner and her drinks all over the floor.

Link held back her hair and patted her back, unperturbed. For all the trouble she caused with her outspoken and blunt nature, she held a bigger place in his heart than even she knew. When her body was done shaking and she was able to sit up, he lifted her into his arms and brought her over to the washbasin. “Rinse out your mouth,” he ordered, and then went to clean up the mess.

Zelda obeyed, cringing slightly at the taste in her mouth, and spat into the chamber pot. “Link, I’m… I’m sorry,” she slurred.

“It’s fine,” he called from the other room. “Just relax.”

           He didn’t have to tell her twice. Zelda curled up on the floor, groaning and clutching her head. “I feel terrible…”

           “That’s why you shouldn’t drink so much,” Link chided softly as he entered the room. He sat down next to her, handing her a cup that smelled strongly of herbs, particularly peppermint. She sipped at it gratefully. After a moment, she felt his fingers begin to wind through her hair softly. She could sense his hesitation, but she had no inhibitions about grabbing his hand and pulling it closer. “That feels good.”

           After a few moments, his fingers moved more confidently, and she almost purred in contentment. His other hand moved to the back of her neck and massaged gently. Her headache eased slightly in response, and she pressed herself back against his hand. There was a pause, and then he began to rub her shoulders as well.

           “Link… I’m truly sorry. I didn’t realize…”

“Zelda… I already told you, it’s fine. You can’t go around picking fights like that, though.” He sounded exasperated. “What if I hadn’t been there?”

           “I could have taken them,” she muttered, but they both knew it wasn’t true. Although she was an excellent shot with a bow, and decent with a sword, she would have fallen by sheer numbers and the cramped space. What would she have done, she wondered? Aside from her time in the castle, Link had always been by her side to protect her.

           “Hold me?” The question was out of her mouth before she could process it. Link’s hands jerked to a halt, but he said nothing. There was a long moment where neither moved, nor spoke. Finally, Zelda cracked open one eye and looked up at him. “Please?” Her heart fluttered as she said it. A faint pink hue rose to Link’s cheeks, and he looked away.

           “Fine, then,” she grumbled. Despite his protests, she pushed herself into a sitting position. As expected, Link quickly wrapped an arm around her to support her, and she took full advantage of it, laying against his side and sliding down until her head rested against his chest. She could feel his heart beating fast and hard, and she giggled. The last of her drinks was finally setting in.

           “You know, you’re really… handsome. Every time we go anywhere, girls… ask me if you’re single,” she snickered.

           “Oh.” He didn’t know what else to say.

           “You shouldn’t be single. You’re so sweet. But I guess I take up all of your time, huh?” She wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but the alcohol urged her on. “Maybe you should have days off.”

           “No,” he said, a little too quickly.

“What,” she teased, looking up at him, “you want to spend all of your time with me?”

           “I…” he seemed completely at a loss. His skin, from his ears down to the collar of his shirt, was turning a brilliant cherry red. “Zelda, you obviously can’t be trusted on your own,” he recovered.

           “Oh yeah? I think you just don’t want to leave me alone.” She snuggled closer, then groaned and pulled away. He shot her a confused look.

           “This tunic… It’s too tight,” she said, already trying to free her arms from it. Link looked horrified. “Z-Zelda!”

           “Help me!” When he shook his head again, she glared at him. “It’s a… It’s an order, Mr. Link!” She dissolved into giggles.

           Link felt another wave of heat rush over his body, but this time, it wasn’t entirely from embarrassment. He sat up on his knees and stared at her. She had her tunic halfway over her chest, revealing the thin white bra she wore beneath it. Her body was lithe and firm. He felt his blush darken and looked away quickly.

           “Link! Help!” She demanded, face covered by the tunic. He turned his head away and reached over, trying to help free her. After a few seconds of struggling (“Ow, my hair is caught!” and “Link, watch my nose!”), the tunic was removed, and she flopped back into his lap. “Much better. Aw, Link, are you blushing?”

           “No!” He glared down at her, and then returned to fervently studying the ceiling. “What kind of wood do you think they used to build this inn? My guess is maple. Maybe oak. Who knows? Hudson would know. How do you think Hudson is doing?” His mind was racing. Just keep talking…

           “You know what? I think you like me.”

“What do you mean?” He asked.

           “You know what I mean.” Zelda grinned at him. “I like you, too, you know. You’re very attractive, and you’re not as dumb as you act.”

           “Thanks,” he responded dryly. Inside, he felt faint and warm and bewildered, all at the same time.

           “Well, am I right? Do you like me?”

He took a deep breath. What the hell, he thought. She’s drunk. She might not even remember this.

           “I admire you,” he began slowly. “You’re brilliant, you’re kind, you’re generous, and you’re beautiful. You have strength and determination greater than anyone I’ve ever met. You’re an incredible person, Zelda.”

           For a drunk person, she seemed very aware of his words. She raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

           “Yes,” he finally said. “I do. I don’t just like you, Zelda. My feelings for you go beyond that. They always have, even when we first met and you spent half your time trying to hide from me or push me away. I’ve always thought that… Maybe… When everything is said and done, we might… Well…”

           She sat up slightly and put a hand on the side of his face. “We might what?”

“Be together.” He felt ridiculous as soon as the words came out of his mouth. “I’m going to go make something for you to eat,” he said quickly.

           “Link, wait.” She turned his head back to face her and gave him a soft smile. “I don’t know if I’ll remember this in the morning, but I want you to know that… Well, part of the reason I pushed you away so much was because I felt like… Like we were destined to be, if that makes any sense at all.” She paused for a moment, gazing deep into his bright blue eyes. “You knew what I was thinking before I said anything. You always knew where to find me when I ran off. I was afraid that my feelings would interfere with my duties and my studies, and I hated that you acquiesced to what you were told you had to do so quickly, whereas I fell short and resented it. You have always been stronger than I am.”

           Link sat quietly. The world seemed to hold still.

           “What I’m trying to say, Link, is that… I love you. I think I always have.”

           There was a moment during which neither spoke. Then, Link stood and lifted her from the ground. Without hesitation, he placed her onto the bed and laid down beside her, cradling her against his chest, her head in the crook of his neck. “I love you too, Zelda,” he murmured softly into her ear. “You need to sleep, but… In the morning -”

           “In the morning, you are going to cook me breakfast, I am going to bemoan my state, and then we are going to discuss how to announce your new status as my consort,” she interrupted him. Her voice was heavy with sleepiness. Link felt warmth wash over him, and buried his face against her hair. She smelled like a strange mixture of alcohol and the flowers they had plucked earlier for one of her mysterious potions.

           “I love you,” he repeated softly. His entire body tingled with excitement as he said it. He felt Zelda’s lips curl into a smile against the skin of his shoulder.

           “I love you, too.”

[natsuhikoshidou]

Invisible Ch. 8 - Now I’m Here

for the last chapter, i’ve decided to try my best and translate it!! so here you go. for this chapter, souhei literally goes to jail.

Read Ch.7 | Read Afterword

Souhei felt as much pain as his insides being sliced right in half.

On the one hand was the him that wanted to be a resident of the Invisible City. On the other, the him that wanted to return to the outside world. Both parts were completely incompatible, but both were true feelings of sadness.

The next day after he went to see the state of the outside world, in a corner of the Invisible City’s rooftop, Souhei remembered back to his way of life in the outside world. Where had it become so crazy. What was the cause. Why did those kinds of things happen.

Looking off into the distance, there were some girls playing volleyball with a rubber ball. At times like the campfire, in the very first groups that began to dance, there were middle school and high school students from the outside world. The girls looked extremely happy, they also looked peaceful.

He didn’t know what he should do next. However, maybe he needed more time to think. There’s no problem with not rushing things.

Souhei went down the nearby stairs. It was early afternoon. Having not had anything to eat since the morning, he was hungry, as expected. Maybe there’ll be something left over at <<JIRO>>, he thought. But at this time, it wouldn’t be unusual if there was nobody left in the shop.

However when he opened the door, there was a group of residents that jumped out infront of Souhei’s eyes. Jirou, Shibata and Takehito were in there. Everybody turned around to Souhei, who went in. Glancing over there was about 30 people, it was already full inside of <<JIRO>>.

Surprised, Souhei laughed.

“What happened, everyone. Why are you gathered at a time like this.”

Nobody answered.

“…What’s wrong?”

Living in everyone’s gaze, he felt an unusual atmosphere. Souhei stopped smiling.

“-Souhei, where have you been going lately?”

It was Shibata. Standing up from his chair, he stood before Souhei’s eyes.

“You weren’t in the city yesterday, were you?”

When he heard that deep in his chest became discomposed. His head was trying to work out how he should answer. But he couldn’t answer straight away.

“…I went to the outside world.”

“Why?”

“I thought I would look for some things before the procurement…I wasn’t sure if I could trust the usual place, y’know. So…”

“So you went to the park?”

Souhei gulped at Jirou’s words. He shook his head.

“We already know. I’m not going to talk with you anymore. It’s a shame, really.”

“Wait a minute…” Souhei’s gaze ran around the surroundings. But it seemed like he didn’t have a single ally. Before he knew it a number of people had cut in behind him.

Did they see me meeting at the park? Who? No, I don’t have time to think about that.

“I didn’t want to talk about the city… So… it’s fine. The Invisible City isn’t in danger.” “That’s not true.” Takehito said. He had an incredibly cold voice.

“This is a law. The only good law this city has. If you don’t preserve it, we lose our trust. It’s sacrilege to the city and the residents.”

Jirou clapped his hands once.

“Right, arrest him.”

The man behind Souhei grabbed his shoulders. How are they going to ‘arrest me’? Of course I remembered the law. But what do they do to people that break the law? When Seiji explained about the city he didn’t explain this.

Souhei shook off the hand that was holding his shoulder, and ran out the door to the outside.

Stumbling out to the main road, Souhei didn’t know where he was going to go. He was already trapped by his surroundings.

“Souhei, please be obedient. It’s so we can protect the city. There’s nothing you can do.” Jirou spoke like he was trying to soothe him.

“…What’re you going to do to me? What’ll happen when you catch me? There isn’t any danger to the city.”

“That’s not true, it’s the law. People who break it have to accept their punishment. If we didn’t then invisible people’s existences wouldn’t be protected. Am I wrong?”

He sensed that there was no use explaining it. Souhei aimed running towards the city’s exit – a certain cracked wall. In any case, he had no choice but to run.

However a boy who tried to tackle him jumped out from the side. Surprised, Souhei began to run and jumped over him with a hurdles trick.

He landed, now he saw a young boy in front of him. He brandished a laundry pole like a baseball bat- the instant he immediately bent his body, there was the noise of wind moving fast right above his head.

While his surroundings were in confusion, Souhei ran away straight ahead. Why was this happening? Souhei sighed. Does everyone plan to get rid of the danger or something…

While he was leaping and jumping, the wall gradually came closer. There was nobody crawling at Souhei’s leg strength. The great majority of residents were left far behind.

When I get outside, where will I go? Will I hide in the shrine again? Will I ask to stay with Haruka? When the wall was just five meters away, all of a sudden, he received a shock to his side.

He lost his balance and completely fell over. The next moment, Souhei fell and rolled up into a cloud of dust.

Riina stood in Souhei’s field of vision as he lay face-up. With the sky as a backdrop, she looked down at him, she breathed deeply. Looking closely it seemed like she was hurt, blood dripped to the ground from both her hands.

“Riina…”

It seems his head was hit, Souhei’s consciousness became blurry. But yet while he still worried about her injury, he raised his neck and then finally realized.

The blood contaminating her hands wasn’t hers.

Souhei saw a red stain around his right side. It was a bright red stain, spilling out like tomato sauce. However, for some reason, it slowly spread. When he looked even closer and raised his neck, a sharp pain ran through him.

Breathing violently, in Riina’s right hand there was something shiny. Souhei’s eyes opened wide.

Staggering closer, she spoke.

“…Why did, you betray, the city?”

Her lips were shaking.

-You’re wrong.

I didn’t plan to do that. However the words couldn’t come out. He couldn’t shake his head. Becoming short of breath, his throat couldn’t move at all. Deep in his side, gradually his whole body became hot.

Villagers chased him while he was running. Many figures appeared behind her. They looked down at him. However he didn’t see their faces. He didn’t know a single one of any of their faces. Just like his vision became covered with fog---

Souhei lost consciousness.

 He felt the feeling that every human passed by on the other side of his eyelids. But when he opened his eyes, there was only a dirty ceiling there.

He felt the remains of uneasiness. I’ve been rolled up in some huge event- only that sensation remained. Plenty of time passed, when he remembered that, Souhei got up.

“-Aah…!”

However, when that short cry came out, he collapsed onto the hard floor again. Like there was lightning in his head, he felt a pain accompanied by numbness.

Right. I was stabbed. By someone- Riina. When he remembered everything, Souhei sensed a cold shock in his chest that he couldn’t express with words.

For a short while, he waited for the pain that his stomach had to pass. After that, carefully rolling up his clothes, he saw a bandage had been wrapped around him.

“It’s not serious.”

Shifting his gaze, there was a giant behind the iron bars.

“The injury itself isn’t deep. Because the knife Riina had could only do this much.”

Takehito put both his index fingers opposite one another, he made a small space. The width wasn’t even the width of a pinky finger.

“It was a crappy compact knife. Your wounds have been sewn up. Did you know? Jirou was a medical student. At least it didn’t seem to reach your internal organs, so you don’t have to worry.”

As Souhei lay down he looked around the room. He seems to have been sleeping in a small room that wasn’t even three meters big. There were no windows, though there’s a single fluorescent lamp outside the lattice bars. There was a bedpan a little ahead of his feet. He was surprised. No matter how you looked at it this was a jail cell.

“…Where’s Riina?”

“I dunno. More importantly, shouldn’t you be worrying about yourself?”

“What are you going to do to me?”

Takehito shrugged his shoulders.

“Everybody’s worried. Until now there’s never been a resident that’s gone to meet people in the outside several times. This is the underground of the Invisible City. A place where we lock up idiots who fight and cause disturbances in the city. But it’s possible that it might become your new room, Souhei. As you would expect we can’t go as far as a death penalty.”

“…I didn’t mean to betray the city.”

“That’s a different problem. A law is a law. The thoughts of people who break it should be cut away. Don’t you think?”

Takehito sat on a nearby chair, a sound came out like it screamed under the weight.

- I don’t think so.

But Souhei turned his face away in silence. It’s certainly because he kept meeting Haruka in secret. It’s possible that a resident saw it. Because it wasn’t decided that only purveyors can go to the outside world, it’s surely that.

Takehito left after a while.

Thinking about Riina, Souhei felt like his heart had been gouged out. She’s a person that lived here. A resident that threatens this city’s existence is no one other than a threat to her. Meeting a person from the outside world in secret, she probably really detests me.

Souhei leaned his head to the side, and looked at the iron bars. There was no sign anyone was coming. That considered, how long had he been sleeping? He lost consciousness in early afternoon, when he opened his eyes he had been tossed into an underground room with no windows. Around what time is it now.

As ever stirring too much hurt his wound, however like Takehito said it didn’t seem deep. The bandages were white, and he felt that his breathing wasn’t that disarrayed. But it seemed hot. In addition he wasn’t sure if it would be good for his temperature to drop any more.

 When he noticed it again, he was surprised that he had fallen asleep again.

The old fluorescent light and iron bars, the cold hard floor, nothing had changed from earlier, sadly Souhei felt a little relieved. There were no other residents.

It’s got to be the middle of the night now- that’s what he felt. Souhei decided to endure the pain and try and get his upper body up. When he lost consciousness, it seems he preserved the same position as his current state, now he moved all his joints and muscles. The amount of energy in his arms and back was necessary for him to stand firm, one way or another he was able to lean up against the wall.

When he was lying down there was a blind spot he couldn’t see, but there was another door beyond the iron lattice, in addition it also had iron bars. In that case it was a dual jail cell. Further down that passageway was darker so he couldn’t see very well, but if there was a basement there, then there inevitably must be stairs that lead to the surface.

Souhei strained his eyes. He saw something moving in the darkness. Because it was almost completely soundless, a sound coming closer was faintly picked up by his ears. However, it wasn’t being made by a human.

When he realized that, Othello’s body appeared before the iron bars. Souhei was taken aback. If someone came here it wouldn’t be a surprising situation, though he thought that, this was an unexpected visitor.

The cat smoothly entered the room and slipped to the iron bars. Souhei stared at him. Then the small animal that returned the gaze suddenly became a huge figure, and stood up.

He feared that he had lost consciousness again. Souhei forgot his pain, and stepped back in a hurry. However, behind him was a wall. He moved his legs until the back of his head hit against the wall.

The shadow was the form of a person. No, it wasn’t even a shadow. It became a single girl.

Souhei knew that face.

“…Maki-chan!”

“Right! It’s Maki!”

The girl smiled beyond the iron bars.

Maki Tamagawa was definitely in front of his eyes. The mysterious girl who he met for the first time at the shrine, and became a classmate in Grade 11 Set 5 before he knew it. After Souhei’s jaw returned to normal from his mouth being wide open, he spoke.

“…What are you doing here? No, that cat right now, even though, Othello was- huh, how come you can see…? Even though, this is the Invisible City, what…”

It was like a muddler was stuck inside his head, and stirred it up. Questions appeared one after another, they couldn’t figure reality out at all.

(*a muddler is a tool used for making cocktails)

Becoming greatly troubled, Souhei looked up at Maki-chan once more.

“Who the heck are you…?”

“Maki’s a God!” putting both hands on the iron bars, she smiled while nodding her head.

Souhei’s thoughts stopped.

“…God?” “Hey, Soohee, is this city fun? It’s fun, isn’t it? Whatever you say, it’s because it was made for you!” Maki-chan said, puffing strongly out of her nose.

“….What?”

“You wished for a place where you belong, right? On the bridge. So Maki made one, a place where you belong, for Soohee.”

“…W, wait a second!”

Souhei commanded her. Putting his hand on his forehead, taking in the words he heard in outline, he made an effort to grasp everything. He remembered hearing the word ‘God’ when he came to this city. Within the city’s adults, there were people that believed there was a God in the city- that story. But this girl is God? That’s not possible. No matter how you look at it she’s just a girl. But now, from the body of a cat…

He fixed his eyes on the grinning girl. After a little while Souhei slowly opened his mouth.

“You… made the Invisible City?”

“Yeah!”

“How��? It’s weird. I… heard this place is from a really long time ago. Actually there were lots of residents when I came here. Don’t joke around…”

“I’m telling you! I went and made it a really long time ago. It was really hard. It was aaall for Soohee.”

“…You made it for me? Just for me?” “Right! I collected everyone, just for Soohee. But if only collected them here then it would all fall apart straight away, y’know? So I made them invisible. People that didn’t belong anywhere, like Soohee.”

Souhei’s voice shook.

“People… The Invisible City’s residents? As a God, you… collected them here just for me alone? That’s what you’re saying?”

“That’s what I’m saying. But everyone’s so happy! Maki’s seen it really often, they talk about how it’s so much nicer than the outside.”

As he desperately crammed what she said into his head, Souhei endured the confusion.

“Why, why were you with me…? In Grade 11 Set 5?” “When I met you at the shrine, you hadn’t decided your wish, right? So I thought I’d stay nearby until you decided your wish. Ah, but I don’t go that ‘school’ place anymore.”

When he was told to go see the state of the class by Haruka, the girl’s body certainly wasn’t there. Strangely he didn’t ever think about it.

“…Did you transfer schools?”

“No. I wasn’t there originally. So nobody remembers Maki!”

Saying that as she grinned, Souhei couldn’t understand the meaning of it.

“You were saying about ‘a really long time ago’ earlier…?”

“Yeah! After all, in order to make living in the city easy, the people who live here should work here and there, don’t you think? So I went back a reeeally long time, turned a bunch of people invisible, and called them here.”

“…For what?”

“For Soohee!”

They were going around in circles.

This is basically what she said- she went back a really long time ago, made the Invisible City, in order to make it easy to live here gathered an amount of residents that you can’t even count from the past to the present, and then the reason she gathered them was for the single person, Souhei Shima’s wish? For the tiny wish of wanting a place to belong?

Maki-chan looked with a fiery gaze. In her eyes, unnaturally, the dark dots were cloudy.

“Maki did a good job. When Soohee entered the Invisible City, I thought “I did it”! Because I knew you’d finally be able to meet your dad! But Soohee never realized how much time had passed, so Maki had to lead you underground”

“Stop…”

“You also made a lot of friends, right? You got to spend time with them like family! Because of that, isn’t it fun? I prepared a lot of books for you. I’m so glad you got a place where you belong!”

“…Please stop.”

“Everyone likes the city, it seems like nobody wants to leave it, right? Though it looks like everyone’s mad now, I’m sure they’d forgive you if you apologized. Because this is Soohee’s city. But if you don’t like it, should Maki make another city?”

“I’m begging you… just…”

-Please, stop.

His body became so hot he felt like steam might start coming out of him. Maki-chan’s body reflected in Souhei’s eyes seemed to melt drowsily. Along with that, her voice rapidly became further away.

  “Souhei”

He felt like someone was calling to him.

“Wake up, Souhei.”

He opened his eyes like he was running from a bad dream. He had fallen asleep again. No, could Maki-chan appearing in the first place even be called a dream.

“Souhei, wake up.”

He inclined his head a little to the left from looking at the ceiling, a figure was there. They were standing inside the iron bars. Could it be Maki Tamagawa- his heart jumped with shock, that figure was much bigger than earlier.

Souhei strained his eyes. The big body, disheveled hair, his un-youthful skin, that was the body of his father.

“…Dad?”  a frail voice came from his throat.

“Please don’t call me ‘dad’ or anything like that. I’m not qualified for it.” Youichi Shima shook his head.

Like he was being pulled by him, Souhei got up. Souhei bit his bottom lip. Why did I call you ‘dad’, he regretted. By the looks of it he seemed alone.

“Why are you in my jail cell?”

“Because of this.”

There was a keyring in his hands. There were two keys on the ring. Souhei saw that, and raised his face again.

“…What are you doing here? What are those keys?”

“That Seiji guy gave them to me.”

“What?” Souhei doubted his ears.

“He told you were in here. It’s midnight right now. I came here to get you out of this jail cell. Can you stand up? Good, now run away. Also, forget about this city.”

“…Why?”

Being lent a hand, Souhei was able to stand up on both legs somehow. However his injury hurt. Souhei held his side and groaned.

Souhei’s eyes fell on the place he had been sleeping. It must have been a dream when Maki Tamagawa appeared- no, that’s wrong. He denied himself trying to be optimistic without a moment’s delay. I’ve experienced that several times already. It was too painful to be a dream.

Glancing over, Youichi Shima saw Souhei’s right side. With an expression like it was painful to watch.

“…What is it? I feel the same pain as my injured son, that’s what you thought, right?”

He didn’t respond to Souhei’s shoddy sarcasm.

“You still won’t let me apologize.” He said.

“…Of course not. Just bowing to me once or twice isn’t enough for me to forgive you. But it’s fine. You probably expected it.”

“That’s not true.” Youichi Shima shook his head. “There’s something I have to tell you. About this injury.”

Souhei leaned his head to the side after looking down at his stomach.

“What is it?”

“That girl stabbed you, right? I heard from Seiji. I was surprised, she couldn’t have done that. But I don’t want you to blame her.”

“I don’t understand, what do you-“

“She’s your little sister.”

When Youichi Shima said that, only the sound of the fluorescent lamp filled the narrow basement. The inorganic, jeeee sound continued to shake Souhei’s eardrums. He wanted to close them badly, he thought, it’s annoying.

“…Say that once more, please.” Souhei swallowed, and strained his ears.

That man nodded once and spoke.

“Riina Shima is your little sister.”

“Riina, Shima?”

“She threw away her last name. Because I couldn’t raise her well enough. I couldn’t keep both eyes on her…”

“My… little sister? Your daughter?”

He stroked his cheek with his hand. It made a scratchy sound like an old person.

“Her mother is different. She was a woman I met in the Invisible City. But she left somewhere after she gave birth to Riina…”

Maybe because of the pain and fatigue, or maybe because of astounding information continuing soon after another, he couldn’t show a big response anymore. There’s no mistake, he was surprised. However, a cold feeling like ice restrained his confusion.

As he remembered Riina’s face, Souhei slowly arranged things in his head.  

“…Basically, you abandoned your son from the outside world and ran away to the Invisible City, and then you had a child with a woman you met here. But you even abandoned that child, having said that in order to not run away anymore, you remained in the same place like this-  that’s what you’re saying?”

He saw his father nearby, nodding like he was enduring pain.

“Who was Riina raised by?”

“Some other adults… when she was tiny, we alternated looking after her. It seems like they taught her lots of things. Occasionally, once in a really long time, they’d come and bring food to me… Because of her guardians always hectically being substituted, she became my silent daughter…”

At the end of the dark basement path, the father before his eyes, now silently looked in midair and imagined a scene of spending time together with Riina. Without talking, without meeting eyes, only time moved slowly, that was the setting.

Youichi Shima put strength into the hand placed on Souhei’s back.

“I’m begging you! Don’t hate that girl… This isn’t just a hiding place for her. This is the town she was born in. She only misunderstood that you were trying to take it away…”

The man looked down like he was bowing his head. Souhei felt calm when he saw that.

“Hate Riina? That’s impossible…” He honestly didn’t hate her. Learning that she’s his little sister, he felt like that stab wound now had some love in it.

“Please raise your head.”

Souhei made his voice as kind as he could. If he didn’t exist, Riina wouldn’t have been born. Because of that he can’t hate this man. That’s what he decided to try and believe now.

Youichi Shima stood still, but before long he timidly raised his head.

Souhei waited for that. He already was bracing both legs. So that he could endure the pain afterwards. Then he looked at his father’s face, and with all his body’s power he swung his right fist.

The man was thrust completely to the iron bars. A thick ‘don’ noise rang out. When he saw that, a little bit, just a really little bit, he felt refreshed.

However, as expected, pain awakened from his wound. Cold sweat overflowed from inside his body.

“…Something’s wrong with you.”

Looking at the man’s back as he staggeringly got to his feet, Souhei said.

“I feel like something might be missing from you as a person.”

“I’m sorry…” the frail back answered.

“Where is Seiji?”

“After I left he went up the stairs to the clock tower… Are you thinking of something? You should run away quickly.”

“It’s not your business. Go ahead, run off again somewhere, I don’t care. This will be the last time I meet you.”

Youichi Shima’s voice became disheartened.

“There’s… something I have to do to this city…”

“Huh?”

However there was no more response from the man. He muttered something, but he didn’t care about trying to make it out.

Souhei gave up as soon as possible and left the jail cell, he began to go up the stairs ahead of it. His father, who should have been following behind him, didn’t say anything. His eyes became blurred with tears, he wanted to think it was because of the pain.

The town was asleep. When the fire burns it’s a party that continues until the dead of night, usually the nights in the Invisible City are early. None of the residents stayed up late.

There also wasn’t anyone on the roof. He was sure of that, because of the almost completely open landscape. Though stars had come out in the sky, he didn’t know if they were really genuine stars or not. This city is a fake, in every meaning of the word. It shouldn’t exist at all, by nature. A world made by a strange God, who granted wishes of people similar to himself.

When he finally got to the clock tower, there was nobody there either. When he changed the angle and saw, he noticed some stairs were hanging on one of the outer walls. It seemed to be built so if you went up them, you would go inside. Souhei only saw it from the angle he chose, but he had never come here before.

Souhei walked up stairs again. It was considerably difficult to get here. The more he climbed, the more pain he felt. His clothes were soaking with sweat. It was possible that it could also be blood coming out of the bandage.

Opening the door and going inside, Souhei was surprised.

Despite the clock face not having needles, large mechanisms like cogs inside the clock tower were lined up next to each other. The clock would probably work if they struggled a little, Souhei thought. A few out-of-place lights hung down from the ceiling, the mechanisms in the inner walls reflected them.

“Seiji, are you in here?” Souhei called out.

But there was no reply. There was an atrium in the middle of the interior, Souhei looked down at it. However, it was pitch black. I wonder where that leads to?

The feeling that Seiji had gone made him incredibly happy.  However, he couldn’t leave this city without meeting Seiji. Meeting Seiji, talking to him, it would make him feel really hopeful. He felt he would surely regret having to exchange farewells while meeting face to face. Like how he didn’t try to meet face to face with others in the outside world.

When he was immersed in the memories he made with Seiji in just the space of a month, something quickly ran past from his left side.

“-Uu!”

All of a sudden, he felt something heavy in his abdomen, his body bent into the くshape. It was coincidentally his stab wound, he screamed loudly.

“Aah..”

Souhei was pushed back to the handrail enclosing the semi-circle atrium. What moved just now? He returned his gaze, Seiji was standing there. Sweeping his long-ish hair away, he swayed out in one step towards him.

He had a huge iron pole in his hand.

“Seiji, what…?” “Why did you come here?”

While in pain, his words echoed through Souhei’s brain.

“…What do, you mean?”

It was so much pain it made him nauseous. He wasn’t sure if it was hard for Seiji to do.

“Souhei, I’m giving you one last chance. You’re a good friend to me. Go back to your jail cell, and the residents can all sleep in peace. When you escaped from the underground, you tried to leave through to the crack in the wall, right? If that’s the case, why did you come here? I come to this clock tower when I’m thinking. This night I heard footsteps when I came here. I was surprised when I saw you staggering up the stairs.”

“…Seiji, I heard you came here. I wanted to meet you one last time. So I came. That’s it.”

Grabbing his side, he couldn’t wipe away the drool that was hanging by his mouth.

“I’m warning you. I told you, the existence of invisible people can’t be known by the outside world. But you didn’t listen to me. So now you’ve wasted your last chance from me again. Even though I told you to leave the city…”

In his field of vision, overflowing with tears and sweat, Seiji spoke.

“You’re a dangerous person- you won’t even listen to final mercy from your friend. An invisible person like that has no choice to leave to the outside world. Watching you climb up the stairs as you held your wound, that’s how I now think of you.”

“…What? What are you going to do?”

Seiji’s eyes were incredibly, beautifully calm.

“Souhei, I told you the city’s rule- to be honest, I haven’t decided what to do to people who break the rule”

When he said that, he attacked Souhei with the iron bat he held. Swinging down from above, it missed Souhei by the breadth of a hair, he was backed further into the corner of the room.

“There’s no death penalty in this city. Nobody wants to see that. But what if I was the one to do it. Doing this sort of thing to you, my friend…”

Souhei lost his breath. It didn’t look like Seiji was bluffing. Souhei knew that he seriously wanted to kill him.

“…Why do you know my dad?” Souhei asked.

“I saw you talking to that man. You went down the stairs on the outskirts of town, right? It’s a playground for adults over there. I know the trouble they get wrapped up in there isn’t good, so I followed after you. But you weren’t in the big room.”

“…Did you see me go deeper?”

“Yeah. In this case, I heard someone shouting loudly. I was surprised, something like your dad being a resident of the Invisible City. Moreover, that man’s…”

“…You knew?”

Seiji’s thin slit eyes stared sharply as Souhei.

“Riina’s father, right?”

“Right, you… before you told me they died-“

“I meant it was like they died. Besides, it’s fine if she doesn’t know. It’s pitiful for Riina having that man as a father, that’s the residents’ opinions. Well, there are people that honestly didn’t know though. Because at any rate, that man rarely went outside.”

Seiji continued.

“But that’s fine. You being Riina’s older brother wasn’t important to me. But you told me your parents had died and you were raised by your aunt.”

Souhei was quiet.

“That person met his own father here. Moreover, the man you hate so much. It was a shock, right? Getting as angry as you did- It must have been a shock.”

“What are you… trying to tell me?”

“I’m a distrusting person. I was tricked by so many people in the outside world. Didn’t I tell you? Your sense of values haven’t changed so you’re apprehensive.”

Souhei lowered his head in the pain of his injury, his gaze crawled to the floor. There was a door on his left hand side. There were stairs made in the atrium. But he couldn’t use those two escapes. Yet in this much pain, he couldn’t run.

“…Sense of values?”

“The way people think about things changes at the drop of a hat, right? One day you met your father and said you would leave the city, deciding not to go pro but 3 people planning to debut. Also, since even before that, it seemed you went into the outside world a few times by yourself. The next day after you met your father, you wandered through the crack. So I tagged along.”

Souhei gasped. Then he fished in his memories. Where he went that day and who he met. But the pain obstructed him, his head couldn’t work.

“You went to school- I was waiting by the school gate. After that you went to your apartment, right? That’s the home where you and your aunt were living. And then after that. As you would expect, I couldn’t go inside up until then. Because it was dangerous. But you met with that girl on the park bench. You communicated with her using a pen and notebook, right? When I saw that, I was surprised. Something like an invisible person and a normal person meeting in secret…”

That moment, Souhei prepared himself to dash out the door. But the pole Seiji swung got caught under his feet, and he fell over on the spot.

How many waves of pain was he attacked with. He felt now, without a doubt, his wound had opened up again.

Seiji stood in the way of the door, and kicked Souhei’s body with the bottom of his foot. Being spun around with momentum, Souhei lay face up.

“Souhei, ‘people that don’t listen to what others have to say are hot-tempered’. Speaking of that, you had so much rage for your father back then. The father that came to save his son, by no means should you have scolded him.

Souhei felt his chest move up and down hard.

“…I sent him flying, in only one punch.”

When Seiji heard that he laughed out. He was a guy that laughed loudly. It was the first time Souhei saw him laugh like that until now.

Then he stopped laughing, and kicked Souhei’s body once more in silence.  Rolling his body once more sideways, Souhei felt a sensation like his internal organs were gently floating up, he immediately put his hands on the ground.

He heard his heart beating so fast it felt like it might jump out of his chest. Before he knew it he was hanging off the atrium. There was no ground by his feet. His dangling body was heavy.

Hooking both elbows on the edge and straining his legs, sharp pain sprung out in all directions from his wound.

“-AAAAAAaaaaah!”

After he heard that, he realized that piercing scream was his own voice.

“This is an atrium on the second floor. If you fall you definitely won’t survive.”

Seiji spoke above his head. However, he couldn’t lift his face. Souhei could only see his two feet.

“Well, tell me. What didn’t you like about this city? Here, we have everything anybody could need in a life time. There are no enemies. There are no dangers. The bunch of people that judged you can’t come in here at all. Even though the residents fight occasionally, the malicious guys that bullied you in the outside world can’t become invisible people. Hey, I honestly don’t know. Why did you act like that, even now I can’t understand why at all.”

Souhei clung desperately.

“I only ran off to the outside world. I shouldn’t have though that there was nowhere I belonged. So this city—“

“What are you talking about?”

“…I didn’t try to meet eye to eye with people. Being like that with everybody that hated themselves, I was only making myself unhappy. I tried to think I couldn’t do anything about it…”

That’s right. Hijiri, my classmates, my aunt, nobody tried to see me. That’s what it felt like. But similarly I wasn’t meeting eye to eye with them. Then I became an invisible person, in the end I was scared of something I really couldn’t see, it was them understanding that isolation. But it was all too late.

“You didn’t find happiness in becoming an invisible person…? I understand.”

Seiji spun his final words with a noticeably gentle voice.

“-See you, Souhei. Though it was only a short time, I had fun.”

It’s already useless. His field of vision was blurrier than earlier. Seiji’s two feet became four feet. He wasn’t sure if it was a hallucination from the pain. This is the last thing I see before I die.

 Suddenly, there was a hard ‘gon’ sound.

After that, Seiji’s face appeared before his eyes, Souhei was shocked. As his thin eyes were open, he didn’t move. Together with a ‘gotori’ noise afterwards, fragments of brick fell from above.

His arms were grabbed before he had time to think about what happened, Souhei was smoothly pulled up to the ground. It was Riina.

Face up, Souhei looked up at her. She was sweating about as much as Souhei.

“Why are… you here….?”

She spoke without hesitation.

“Dad, was, here. I came, in a hurry.”

Dad. That naturally means Youichi Shima.

“Outside, quick.” She looked down. “Hurry.”

“…Why?”

He couldn’t stand any more. He felt like he had used up all his stamina.

However, Riina spoke.

“This city’s, already, over.”

“…What?”

Outside was in a horrible condition. Under the sky, just before daybreak, smoke was coming up from everywhere in the city. There were places shining with the swaying color orange too.

It was a huge fire. Souhei and Riina saw it from the rooftop.

“…What, is this?”

He couldn’t believe the scene before his eyes. Riina, carrying the fainted Seiji on her back, spoke next to him.

“There’s nothing, we can do. When you, went back to the outside, the city already began, to end.”

“…Did that person tell you that?”

He saw her nod, Souhei moved dizzily.

“Is this ok? This is your city, Riina. Aren’t you mad at me? I destroyed the city where you were born!”

However, Riina put her hand on Souhei’s side.

“I’m sorry.”

“This is…” as he said that, every time he walked the wound hurt. “Don’t worry. Besides… uh…”

Riina nodded again.

“I found, out, earlier.”

“Right…”

When he was with Seiji, it seemed Youichi Shima talked to Riina. He couldn’t meet eyes with her. I don’t want to do something so awkward, he thought.

“…I’m what began to break your city. Don’t you hate me?”

“You’re my, onii-chan”

He reflexively turned around. She was looking straight ahead. Souhei didn’t know how he should answer.

“So, it’s ok.” She said.

Suddenly below them became noisy. Looking down, Youichi Shima was running around on the path far below carrying a torch. “It’s a fire, it’s a fire!” he shouted.

His figure was incredibly uncool, all the residents saw that. However, right now that person was working for his son. When he thought that, Souhei was perplexed, he couldn’t laugh it off.

Suddenly the ground shook loosely. The building’s collapsing- the moment he thought that,

“Maybe, it closed.” Riina said.

“Huh?”

“The space closed.”

That moment, Souhei saw, behind Riina, a huge wall far in the distance approach before him with unbelievable force. Without thinking, he closed his eyes.

  When he opened his eyelids, the scenery before his eyes and his memory didn’t match up. No matter how you looked at it, this was an old bookstore. Set up in a one-story residential building, a shop not unordinary in any way. It was a shop he saw many times when coming home from procurements. The clock inside the shop read 4:10.

Souhei moved his eyes to his left. There was another residential building next to him.

But for some reason the passage between the two buildings wasn’t there. They were tightly stuck together, not even an ant could pass through. He understood that by looking at it.

“Aaah! It’s back! My shadow! The city!”

He turned around in surprise at the voice, Takehito was standing there. He was holding his head and shouting.

It wasn’t just him. Lots of people were scattered around. There were a few faces he knew in there. They looked at the residential buildings similarly to Takehito, and then changed they gaze to their feet.

Souhei also looked at his feet. Because the sky had turned white he grasped the situation. There, his own shadow was- even though it was faint- definitely there.

The resident’s grief, just like the cries of the dead, filled the surroundings.

Within the screams filled with sadness, Souhei looked at Riina next to him, and looked at her feet. She had a shadow. It was a conspicuously big shadow, part of it was Seiji, who she carried on her back.

“…Where’s the city?” Souhei asked.

“It’s, gone.” Riina shook her head.

He remembered something Seiji told him one day. He said he wasn’t sure if the space would close up because of a big impact, it was an old legend in the city. That just happened.

The city was gone. Understanding that in his head, Souhei felt like a hole just opened in his heart. The former residents around him must feel the same thing. For the residents that spent a lot of time there, that sadness should be bigger.

“Are you ok?”

Youichi Shima pushed his way through residents and appeared. Souhei held his shoulder.

“Why did you…”

However stubbornly, he said without changing his expression.

“To save you.”

“Well, why did the city collapse?”

“ I realised something really bad was going to happen to you if you stayed in the city like it was.”

“…But what about you? And Riina? You lost the place where you belong.”

Though Souhei’s words were frantic, his father laughed in a hoarse voice. Then he shook his head. It was the first time he saw him smile. No, apart from in the photograph at home.

“As for that, I’m moving.” He said.

“…Moving?”

That’s not suitable in this state of affairs, the word dumbfounded him.

“I’m moving. Didn’t you know? When you move the place where you belong changes. But, it’s weird to say. I don’t have any kind of place where I belong. The place where I am is the place where I belong.”

Youichi Shima accepted Seiji from Riina and put him on his large back.

“I’m taking this man with me. Revenge? Don’t worry about it, I definitely won’t do that. Look around.”

The Invisible City’s residents around him gradually began to leave from here. Already, half of the people from earlier left. Takehito’s body wasn’t here anymore.

“Invisible people are weak., They’re people that think unless they simply disappear then they can’t live in this world. Losing the city, those guys that stopped being invisible are already in a pretty big rush. They’re at a loss for where they can go. Even though you’re here, who was actually imprisoned, it doesn’t look like anyone’s taking any notice. In the end, they can only think about themselves- well, that’s just what I think…”

He expressed a laugh with no energy. It seemed to restore his youth just a little- no, his face looked appropriate for his age.

“Weren’t there more residents?” Souhei asked. He remembered there should be more of the Invisible City’s residents. At least, there shouldn’t be this amount people placed on this road.

After Youichi Shima seemed to ponder in silence for a short while, he said while looking around.

“Even though the cities residents were living in completely different places, not Hachiougi City, I noticed for some reason or other that there were loads of people in the Invisible City. So maybe they flew off to their original places. In the end the city ended without them ever knowing how something like this could happen. I guess you can only say this is just how God is.”

Maki Tamagawa’s face flit through Souhei’s mind. That God said she went back a long time ago. If she did then geographical problems might be solved easily. But there was no way to make sure that was true.

Youichi Shima adjusted Seiji on his back.

“Souhei, I’m really sorry… Don’t forgive my apology, only a man like me isn’t enough to apologize. Forget about the city… and forget about me too, live on.”

“…Where are you going?” Souhei inquired in surprise.

“Don’t know. I can’t return to where I came from right now. I don’t plan to either. Looks like for now I’ll just walk in that direction. Because I’m not invisible anymore, I don’t have to worry about being hit by cars.”

Where his father pointed was over an intersection, far over the bridge, it seemed far away. And then he turned round to Riina too.

“Riina, I’ll search for a new place from now on. We can’t just hide in narrow spaces anymore because we’re not invisible people.  So you choose- choose whatever you want.”

Youichi Shima left while carrying Seiji on his back. He didn’t turn around again.

  Pedestrian traffic gradually increased, Souhei and Riina changed their location to the bridge. The river bounced in the morning sun, it shone like a huge fish’s scales.

Souhei looked at Riina, who was watching it next to him.

“What do you want to do?”

But there was no reply. She could still be thinking about the sudden stuff that happened earlier. Souhei was frank about his thoughts after watching his father leave.

“…Hey, Do you want to live together with me- with me and my aunt- with us?”

Riina finally looked towards him.

“It'll probably be difficult to convince my aunt, but it’s not impossible. I always can. So we can live together.”

She returned her gaze in front of her again. Towards the upper stream of the river, you could see faint mountains.

“We can live together.”

Souhei said it once more. It would definitely be fun living with her. It will surely be a bigger deal than he can imagine, but he felt like it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.

However she finally shook her head.

“I can’t.”

“…Why?”

“I’m following, Dad.”

“You’re saying you choose… that person. You can do what you want.”

Riina shook her head again, she smiled.

“Because, that’s where I belong, after this.”

Frantically trying to convince her, Souhei gave up when he saw that smile. Her mind was already made. No matter how much he tried to persuade her it was useless.

Souhei scratched his hair. Saying this will absolutely get on his nerves more, but he had no choice but to say it.

“Good luck... with that person.”

“Ok.” Riina said, she put her hand on Souhei’s side.

“I’m sorry.”

Souhei shook his head.

“It’s fine. It’s not serious.”

Riina began to run off towards where her father left.

“…I’m off.”

“…I know.”

But watching her from behind, Souhei called out again.

“Riina! When I learnt you were my little sister, I thought… it was kind of bad luck.”

She stood still for a little while, but before long he saw her profile.

“Me, too.”

Souhei felt like his heart had been torn out. Why does the family that I finally met have to leave. Saying that, on the other hand, he understood. The world that they lived in originally is different. She found one, a place where she belonged that they decided mutually and doesn’t cross over.

“…Take care!”

Riina didn’t turn around again.

She rapidly became smaller.

Then like she melted into the morning landscape, she was nowhere to be seen.

How long was he like that. Souhei suddenly heard a voice from behind him.

“-Souhei?”

He turned around, a uniformed Haruka was there. Her eyes were wide and she looked at Souhei. Then she saw Souhei’s eyes, shoulders, chest, and feet, and then her gaze returned back to his face.

Haruka smiled in front of him.

“Welcome back.”

So Souhei answered.

“I’m home.”

Souhei had no idea what kind of face he made. Feeling both sadness and joy, what were really his true feelings.

However, there was no need for him to make sure.

Because the girl in front of me right now, she can see me.

  -End-

[gotta-save-your-ass-for-a-change]

Who Would Have Thought?: Chapter 18

Chapter Title: Break Me Shake Me Fandom: Shameless, Mickey/Ian Rating: M Summary: Things get complicated when Mickey and Ian come clean about their plans to Svetlana. Notes: We needed a little drama—everything can’t always work out perfectly for our boys. Although, if I’m being honest, I’m not entirely happy with this chapter. It feels clunky to me, but I couldn’t seem to fix it to my satisfaction, and I want to keep moving forward with this fic, so I’m posting as is. Hopefully, it’s still enjoyable.

Title from Savage Garden’s “Break Me Shake Me.”

Ao3 Link

For a while, they’re unsure of who they should let in on the news that they’re working to adopt. Both Mickey and Ian are well aware that the process will take time—probably more than typical, in fact, because of the additional hurdles they’ll have to jump. If they’re being honest, they’re also both nervous that it may never happen for them, and they’re not thrilled at the idea of announcing their plans to the family and then having to explain why nothing may ever come of it.

They’re both excited, though, and they’re eager to at least talk with Svetlana about adjusting their custody arrangements to help them all settle into the new routine before they’re thrown into the middle of the legal complications of trying to adopt.

They do decide that at the very least, Fiona deserves to be the first to know about their plans. She’s been supportive through their entire journey back to one another, and they both appreciate the help she’s offered.

So a couple of days after their initial meeting with Lydia, they ask Fiona over for dinner. When she shows up, she’s holding a six pack, and she immediately drags Ian into a hug, the cardboard corner of the beer carrier digging into his back as she does.

“All right, all right,” Ian scolds after a moment, letting out a little laugh and pulling back to wave her inside. “Get your ass in here, and stop jumping to conclusions.”

“Whatever you say, kiddo,” she teases, moving to drop the beer off in the kitchen, where Mickey’s preparing dinner for the three of them. “Hey, sweetheart,” she greets, leaning over to press a kiss to Mickey’s cheek. Mickey swats her away in faux annoyance, and Fiona just laughs and hops up on one of the stools at the breakfast bar, watching Mickey fondly as Ian settles down next to her. “Goin’ all out, huh? Must be big news.”

“Fuck off,” Mickey scoffs with a playful smile. “It’s just spaghetti. Nothin’ fuckin’ special.”

“Mhmm,” she murmurs, unconvinced, as she kicks her legs playfully. “Would you two assholes just fuckin’ put me out of my misery already?”

“Fuck no,” Mickey argues, giving Ian a glare when he notices his husband’s open mouth and mischievous smile. “I’m fuckin’ cookin’ for your ass; you can fuckin’ wait.”

“He’s really excited,” Ian whispers to Fiona as he pushes off the stool to go join his husband by the stove. “Almost ready, babe?” Ian asks as he slips his arms around Mickey’s waist and hooks his chin over Mickey’s shoulder to peek at their dinner.

“Jesus, back off, man. I need like three minutes. Go get the fuckin’ salad or something,” Mickey insists, shimmying his shoulder to shake Ian off. He’s smiling, though, so Ian just laughs and does as Mickey asks, grabbing the salad he’d prepared earlier and setting it in the center of the dining room table before shuffling through the cupboards for plates and cutlery. Fiona just grins at the two of them, watching them fondly and waiting patiently for the news she knows she’s about to hear.

It takes Mickey another ten minutes or so to toss the pasta in sauce and transfer it to a serving bowl before setting it out on the dining table. “All right,” he announces as he throws himself down into one of the dining room chairs, “help yourselves.”

Ian grins and pulls the chilled beers out of the fridge before filling a glass of water for himself. As Ian moves to sit beside Mickey, Fiona takes up an empty spot at the table, reaching out to take the bottle Ian offers her. They all pile dinner on to their respective plates, and Fiona tries to pretend she’s not crawling out of her skin waiting for them to just tell her why she’s fuckin’ there.

They all settle down after a moment, and Fiona watches Ian and Mickey both from across the table. They’re trying to make small talk with her, pretending they don’t have actual news for her, and she’s pretty sure they’re fucking with her. She knows there’s something going on. This whole little get together is not their norm—they hang out all the time, but they don’t go all out with the invitations and dinner and shit—so she knows there’s more to this one. She also knows they’ve had babies on the brain for months, and she’s not sure if they’ve started seriously exploring their options, but she has an inkling they have. Finally, after watching them flirt shamelessly with one another for a few too many minutes, she plunks her beer bottle down on the table loudly to draw their attention.

“All right” she announces, a playful teasing tone to her voice, “would you two just fuckin’ tell me already? This little meetup mean good news?”

She knows the answer to that—has since they’d asked her over, really—but the little smiles they wear when she finally asks outright and the quick glance they share confirm her suspicions immediately. She raised her eyebrows, a grin breaking across her features as she awaits the official answer.

After another moment, Ian reaches out to take Mickey’s hand where it sits atop the table and Mickey might roll his eyes a little bit at the gesture, but his gaze is soft and loving as he watches Ian. Finally, Ian speaks, eyes still on Mickey. “Yeah,” he tells her, finally tipping his eyes in Fiona’s direction. “We met with Mickey’s former lawyer to see if we might have a shot at adopting, and she thinks it looks good. She’s putting us in touch with a good family lawyer, and we’re going to get the process started. It’ll still be a while. At least a year. Probably longer. And it’s still possible they’ll deny us. But we’re going to try to adopt.”

The moment Ian’s finished speaking, Fiona launches herself out of her chair to drag them both into a tight hug. “I am so fuckin’ happy for you two,” she murmurs out, her voice quiet and a little choked with emotion. They both hug her back, and when she pulls away, she notices the happy tears clinging to the corners of Ian’s eyes, and she thinks maybe she sees some glistening in Mickey’s eyes as well. After another moment, she huffs out a happy little laugh and pats each of their cheeks. “’m so proud of you boys.”

“All right,” Mickey scoffs, shaking her off as he tries to stem the emotion he’s fighting to conceal, at least a little, “but keep your mouth shut, okay? We’re not telling anyone else until we know for sure that we’re getting a kid. If shit doesn’t work out, we don’t wanna be explaining it to every fuckin’ person we know, you got me?”

“My lips are sealed,” Fiona promises with another grin, still bouncing on her toes in excitement. “I won’t say a word to anyone else, but I’m fuckin’ thrilled for you boys.”

“Thank you, Fi,” Ian murmurs, wrapping her up in another hug and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “ We’re really fuckin’ happy.”

“I know,” Fiona admits, pulling away from Ian just enough to lean back and pull Mickey to her again. He rolls his eyes at her, but his smile gives him away as he lets his sister-in-law drag him into another hug, Ian reaching out to take Mickey’s hand again before leaning over and pressing a kiss to Mickey’s hair, their own excitement shining in their eyes.

About a week after their meeting with Lydia, they decide it’s time to talk to Svetlana, so they stop by her place a little early to chat with her before they take Yevgeny for the day. It’s early, and Kev’s still at the house taking care of the girls when they get there, but he ducks upstairs after a quick hello. When Yevgeny spots them, he immediately wraps each of his dads up in a big hug and giggles when Ian squeezes him tight and tickles his sides. Mickey laughs along as Ian sets Yevgeny back on his feet, and Mickey crouches down to talk to Yev for a minute. When Yevgeny notices, he spins around immediately so he’s face-to-face with his dad, smiling brightly.

“Hey, little man,” Mickey greets happily, reaching out to ruffle Yevgeny’s hair as Yev continues to smile and leans against Mickey’s knee. “Why don’t you run upstairs with your sisters for a bit, okay? Daddy and I need to talk to mommy for a minute.”

For a moment, Yevgeny looks confused, but Mickey’s soft smile puts him at ease, and he nods with a happy “okay, daddy” before scampering off to find Kev and the girls.

Svetlana looks instantly concerned, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest protectively.

“It’s nothing bad, I promise” Mickey insists immediately as he pushes himself back up on his feet. “In fact, it’s pretty fuckin’ great.”

Ian moves to Mickey’s side then, both of them smiling happily as Ian loops an arm around Mickey’s shoulders and Mickey reaches out to tug Ian tight to his side. They look thrilled, happy-go-lucky, their smiles rivaling those they wore on their wedding day. For a moment, they lock eyes, and Mickey lifts up to press a brief, sloppy kiss to the corner of Ian’s mouth before they turn their attention back to Svetlana, whose demeanor hasn’t changed, her body language guarded and closed off.

“We’re, uh—we’re working on adopting,” Mickey explains after another moment,  smile beaming as he watches Svetlana with happy eyes before glancing to Ian’s own shining expression. “Yevgeny’s gonna have another little brother or sister.”

Ian jumps in then, eyes locked on Mickey’s smiling face. “It’ll be a while yet. Probably a year or two. But we’re starting the process.”

“And we can’t fuckin’ wait to expand our little family,” Mickey finishes for them.

They’re lost in each other; their excitement radiating off of them in waves.

Apparently, though, it never quite reaches Svetlana. It takes them a moment to notice, but her icy silence finally sinks in as their eyes shift to hers, and Ian’s face falls instantly—Mickey’s own smile fading quickly once he notices the shift in his husband’s mood and follows his eyes to his ex-wife. Svetlana’s stare is cold, her eyes shooting daggers at the two of them. For a moment, Mickey’s worried she might launch herself across the room at the two of them.

After a minute, Mickey steps forward, giving a gentle squeeze to Ian’s hip as he goes to reassure the other man. “Lana,” Mickey ventures carefully, catching her eye and trying to read her, “did you hear us? We’re adopting a baby. Little brother or sister for Yevgeny… Good news, ya know?”

She’s still silent, staring them down angrily, body stiff as she tries to contain whatever it is she wants to say. Mickey doesn’t know what to make of it, really.

After another long moment of silence, Ian breaks the quiet carefully. “Svet?” he questions, voice quiet and soothing. “What’s wrong?”

She won’t even look at Ian, her gaze cutting through Mickey as her anger grows. Mickey’s certain she’s about to explode, but he doesn’t know why—has no idea why she’s reacting so negatively to their news. He keeps quiet for another few long minutes, choosing to wait her out, rather than push. Finally, she breaks, taking an angry step forward, but stopping before she can fully launch herself at the two of them. Mickey stands his ground, but Ian stumbles back a few paces at her anger, giving her the space he feels like she needs.

“Why new baby? Yevgeny is not enough for you?” Her words are strained, she’s trying to hold in the frustration that’s threatening to burst from her, and it takes both men aback.

For a moment, Mickey stares at her in disbelief, unsure how to respond to her outburst. Once he gathers himself, though, he gives back as good as he gets. “The fuck you mean, Svet?” he questions, heat behind his tone. “We’re adopting a baby. We want another kid. The fuck’s wrong with that?”

“Out,” she commands, voice eerily calm as she stares him down.

“Oh, come the fuck on, Svetlana,” Mickey bites back harshly. “What the fuck is your problem? Just fuckin’ talk to us, so we can figure this shit out, because I’m happy as fuck, and so is Ian. You’re the only one who seems to think this is a bad thing, and I wanna fuckin’ know why.”

She shakes her head at him in disbelief, pushing further up into Mickey’s space. “Was not long ago he takes baby, and you trust him with new baby?” she spits, anger coloring her tone.

Ian stands, stunned, his heart breaking at Svetlana’s harsh words. Mickey sees the way Ian’s face falls with guilt and regret, and Mickey is fucking livid that she would say such bullshit when they’ve been working so hard to overcome that past.

“What the fuck, Lana?!” Mickey’s voice is dark with his own anger, but there’s also genuine hurt and confusion there, and Svetlana’s cold eyes waiver for just a moment before she steels herself against any softening emotions. Before she can speak again, though, Ian’s voice breaks the momentary silence.

“No,” Ian’s voice is quiet, broken, and his eyes are locked on the ground at his feet. “No, she’s right. I don’t know what I was thinking—I’m not cut out for this. It’s just a matter of time before I mess up again.”

“Ian,” Mickey tries, voice careful and soothing as he tries to meet Ian’s eyes.

“No,” Ian argues, voice broken as he walks slowly to the door, shoulders slumped and body language closed and dejected. “I’ll just, uh. I’m gonna go. I’m sorry.”

“Fuck!” Mickey exclaims, as he watches Ian go. Mickey’s fighting tears, his anger keeping them at bay. He’s angry and hurt and fucking pissed that Ian’s hurting. They’d come here full of Hope and joy and love and he’s fucking livid that Svetlana’s squashed that. He decides to let it go for the moment though, give it time. He’s hoping, maybe, that it’s just the shock of the whole thing leaving Svetlana frustrated. “All right. We’ll fuckin’ deal with this later. Can I have my son, please, so my husband and I can head home?”

“No. Yevgeny stays here. You go,” she orders, voice calm and cold.

Mickey’s stunned. Hurt. Angry. He’s not sure how to even react. After a moment, he takes a deep, steadying breath, working to fight the emotion that he’s feeling. There are tears brimming in his eyes as he shakes his head in defeat, swallowing back his anger and pushing past her to the door.

“Fuck you,” he mumbles quietly, unable to keep the hurt from coloring his tone as he pulls the door shut behind him.

Mickey hadn’t actually thought Ian would leave without him—he expected to find him waiting on the porch or by  the street—but Ian’s gone by the time Mickey gets outside, no sign of him in sight. It doesn’t take long before Mickey’s breaking down at the realization, silent tears creeping from the corners of his eyes as he sinks down against the wall behind him, collapsing on the porch of Svetlana’s place as he tries to calm his nerves.

“Fuck!” he shouts angrily, a little tremble overtaking his tone as he sucks in a deep breath and drags out his phone, hoping to get ahold of Ian. Leave it to Svetlana to fucking destroy all their hopes of adopting a child before they’d even gotten the process off the ground. Mickey knows they need her on their side to move forward, and it doesn’t look promising at the current juncture.

Carefully, he dials Ian’s number, pressing the phone to his ear and hoping. Ian ignores the calls, ending it before the first ring has even completed. With a scoff, Mickey pulls the phone away and glares at it in disbelief for a moment before slamming his head back against the wall behind him and forcing out another harsh “fuck” as he tries to pull himself together enough to get up and find his husband.

Before he can, though, the door beside him opens and Kev steps out, glancing around for a moment before his eyes fall on Mickey. For a moment, Kev’s silent as he moves to sit beside Mickey on the porch. Mickey thinks about punching him in the face for a moment, but Kev’s a good guy, and he doesn’t deserve the short end of Mickey’s anger, so Mickey contains himself.

“Heard what she said,” Kev admits after a few too many long moments of silence.

“Fuck off,” Mickey scoffs, unwilling to accept whatever fucking sympathetic bullshit Kev’s about to throw at him.

“Look, man,” Kev tries after a moment, “she’ll come around. You just gotta give her some time. You guys kinda blindsided her with the baby talk. She’s still not fully over all the bullshit from before. She’s trying, but you know Lana. She closes herself off when she gets hurt. Tries to pretend nothing fucking matters to her, but it does, and she’s freaking the fuck out right now. Give it a day or two, and then come by. Talk to her. But give her a little time, man.”

“What, so she can fuckin’ keep me from my kid? You tellin’ me to just sit back and let this shit happen?!” Mickey bites out, trying to shroud the hurt he’s feeling with anger.

“No, man, I’m tellin’ you give her a couple days and then talk to her,” Kev argues, giving Mickey a look as he tries to reason with the other man. “Lana knows how much you and Ian love Yev. She’s not gonna take your kid away from you. Just give her a little time.”

“Fuck you,” Mickey spits back as shakes his head, pushing himself up and off the porch. He needs to find Ian to make sure his husband’s okay.

Mickey finds himself at the Gallagher house once he’s left Kev, V, and Svetlana’s place. He has a suspicious that Ian had headed back home to their apartment after leaving Mickey behind, but he doesn’t want to head all the way home just to find out Ian had ended up at his sister’s place, so he stops anyway, pounding at the door in near desperation. After a moment, Fiona throws open the door, eyes landing on Mickey in confusion.

“What the fuck, Mick?” she questions, no actual heat to her words. “You know you can just come in. What’s with the knocking?”

“Not here for a visit,” Mickey bites out, immediately regretting the harsh snap to his words. “Sorry, just—Ian here?”

“No,” she answers carefully, worry settling over her features. “Why? He take off again or somethin’?”

“No!” Mickey insists a bit too quickly, backpedaling when he realizes he doesn’t actually know the answer to that. “I mean—I don’t know, Fi. I don’t think so. Not like the last time, anyway. But he took off on me, and now he’s ignoring my calls. Just wanted to make sure he didn’t end up here.”

“What the fuck happened?” Fiona asks, ushering Mickey inside. He tries to ignore her—wants to get on his way and find his husband—but she’s persistent, and she finally manages to maneuver herself behind him to give him a little shove through the threshold. “You’re not gettin’ outta this. Tell me what the fuck’s goin’ on, Mickey.”

Mickey lets out a harsh breath as he draws a hand down his face in exasperation. “I don’t fuckin’ know, okay?” he admits, and there’s pain in his voice that he tries to mask with irritation. “We tried to talk to Svetlana about the adoption, and she freaked the fuck out. Brought up shit I thought we’d fuckin’ buried, and it fucked with Ian’s head. He was hurt, and he fuckin’ took off. And now I need to fuckin’ find him before I lose it because a half hour ago we were fuckin’ happy, and now I don’t know how to feel, and I fuckin’ need to be with him, all right?!”

Fiona takes a little step back, holding her hands up in surrender. “Got it,” she tells him carefully, meeting his eye as she shoots him a sympathetic look. “I get it, Mick. I’m not tryin’ to pry. Just wanna make sure you’re both okay. Are you okay?”

Mickey takes a deep steadying breath, running a shaky hand through his hair as he tries to calm his own nerves. “I’ll be better when I find my husband,” he admits carefully, making sure to keep his voice level.

“I get that,” Fiona agrees, stepping up beside him and rubbing a reassuring hand over his shoulder. “I’ll let you go, just—Mick, be careful, okay? You’re freaking out right now, and you need to get home in one piece, all right?”

“Fuckin’ hell,” Mickey shakes his head with a roll of his eyes. “I’m not gonna do anything stupid. Just need my husband right now.”

Fiona gives him a nod at that, accepting his answer and pretending to be oblivious to Mickey’s irritation. “Sure. Go find Ian, Mick,” she tells him, giving his shoulder a little squeeze for good measure. “You want me talk to V at all? See if I can find anything out for you?”

“Nah,” Mickey insists with certainty, giving her a little smile to try to reassure her, “don’t wanna put you in the middle of it. Gonna give it a day or two to let Svetlana calm down, and then we’ll talk to her. I’ll let you know if you can help after we’ve had a little time to work it out with her. I promise.”

Fiona nods, concern still creasing her brow as she watches him. “Okay,” she concedes finally, giving Mickey a sympathetic little smile. “Just let me know if you need me.”

“Sure,” Mickey agrees, mostly to placate her as he moves for the door, hoping Ian will be at home when he gets there.

When Mickey finally makes his way back to their apartment, he finds Ian curled up in their bed, buried under the heavy covers.

“Hey, asshole,” he greets with no real bite in his tone, “the fuck’s with you ignoring my calls?”

“She’s right,” he hears Ian murmur, the blankets muffling his words. “It’s just a matter of time before I fall apart again and do something fucking stupid. I can’t fucking raise a baby like that. Not when I’m always two fucking seconds from breaking down.”

“Ian, love,” Mickey whispers, tugging away the covers and climbing into the bed beside Ian. Using gentle fingers, Mickey draws Ian’s eyes to his own, urging Ian to roll over and settle himself against Mickey’s side. Ian complies with the silent request, seeking the comfort Mickey’s arms provide as he nuzzles into his husband’s chest. “You are not going to fuck up. I’m here, Ian, and you’re much better at managing your health now. You are an incredible father, and that’s never going to change. I’m going to talk to Svetlana and figure this out, okay?”

“And Yevgeny?” Ian asks, his words bitter. Mickey can tell Ian knows that their son’s not with them—that Svetlana had refused to let Mickey bring him home—and Mickey hates the broken look that thought brings to Ian’s eyes.

“We just freaked her out, man,” Mickey assures, and he’s not entirely sure he believes it himself. “Brought up a lot of old shit for her when we started talkin’ about a kid. She reacted, and it fuckin’ sucks, but it’s not gonna last forever. I will fight for our kid if I have to, Ian. We are not gonna lose him.”

Ian nods against Mickey’s chest, but it doesn’t stop the fresh tears that flow from his eyes. Mickey just pulls Ian close and strokes his hair as he tries to keep his own emotions in check.

[itbeajen]

Omorfos Kosmo | HQ!! x Reader | Game!AU

Chapter 9 - Pandemonium in the Prairies "How is she?" Sugawara asked as he came in with food for Kenma and Tsukishima. You were sound asleep, the pain that was once written all over your face and body was now gone. The shallow, yet soft breathing that escaped your lips indicated that you were now okay. Kenma sighed as he sank into the sofa. His cat-like gaze narrowing on Tsukishima and the latter immediately responded, "I don't know what happened." Kenma lets out another sigh as he lays down on the sofa completely. Tsukishima is still leaning against the wall right next to the bed. His normally stoic and indifferent features were marred with worry and concern as his attention constantly darted back to you. Sugawara places the food and drinks on the table and Kenma immediately reaches for a drink. The cat like priest sighs again, "How did this happen?"

It was mostly a question to himself, but Sugawara noticed the way in which Tsukishima clenched his fist in frustration and probably guilt. He was the only person with you at the time, yet he has no answers for all the questions for what had happened. Sugawara gently places a hand on the tall blonde's shoulder, causing him to flinch in shock before he nods in appreciation. The silver haired priest sends him a small reassuring smile before leaving the room. "Is [L/N] okay!?" Hinata asked as Sugawara stepped out of the room. The officer shook his head, "Still asleep, both of them aren't sure what exactly it is that happened to her." Hinata frowned, "She looked so lifeless." Sugawara nodded and he sighs, "I just hope everything turns out okay..." Hinata nods and he tries to smile, "Kageyama is almost back." "Ah, is he?" Sugawara asked with mild surprise. Had so much time already passed while they were tending to you? Apparently so. The silver haired male sighed and he gives Hinata a soft and tired smile, "I'm sure he can't get lost on the way to the guild hall." Hinata nods and then asks, "I wonder what he found out." "The important information he was talking about?" Sugawara asks as the two leave the hall and head towards the lobby. The lobby was silent save for the whispers between Bokuto and Akaashi. Everyone didn't seem too tense, but the tension was definitely in the air. Upon seeing Sugawara come back out, Kuroo stood up and he opened his mouth, but is cut off by Sugawara. "She's asleep." "And Kenma?" Kuroo adds, his shoulders clearly dropping in relief to hear that you were okay. The tension almost completely cleared at that piece of information and Sugawara shoots Kuroo a reassuring smile and the cat-like captain sits back down. He lets out a breath of relief and he mutters, "Thank god they're okay." "Do you know what happened to [L/N]-san?" Akaashi asked. Sugawara shook his head, and he sighed, "Both of them aren't entirely sure what happened." Akaashi frowned and Bokuto mimicked his actions and he whined, "Nothing's making sense. It's only the second day and so much has already happened!" Everyone nodded and they all sighed collectively. None of them seemed to now that they had found some of their guild members. Sure they were still out there wandering, but it was almost frightening with the ideas of them struggling alone. Especially since hunger appeared to affect them a lot. And so did physical and mental exhaustion. The raid party was still sore from their rescue raid for Yachi. But with only one hurdle out of the way, so many more have appeared it's been nothing more than a pain for them to consider. The lobby grew silent, but the click of the door opening and closing grabbed their attention as Kenmaa and Tsukishima came out. Expectant eyes landed on them. Kenma briefly glances over at Tsukishima, who sighs before adjusting his glasses and turning to the audience they had before them. "She's awake."

"Tendou," Ushijima's voice cuts through the tension in the air as the head of fire barely turns his head over his shoulder, much like an owl would. He blinks his eyes and Ushijima nods. A sly smirk is barely seen on the assassin's face before his character literally disappears.

Shirabu narrowed his eyes at the spot where the previous red head was and he shook his head. No matter how many times he's seen it, he'll never get used to it.

ID: Shirasu Main: Divine Bowman Level: 70 - EXP 31/100 Guild: Swans Fun Fact: Although part of the reason he went down the pathway of divine bowman was to support Ushijima in the best ways possible to match his fighting style, the real reason was really due to his immense admiration of your play style.

"Shirabu," Ushijima softly called out, his position lowered. A hand was on his sword and the bowman inched forward, his hand placed against Ushijima's shoulder and he softly whispers, "Call of the Wild!"

A rush of vibrant green light travels from the soft earth beneath them and their client narrows their eyes, "It's coming."

Shirabu steps forward slightly, his hand flicking forward, indicating for their other members to move to position as well as they surrounded the field boss that had spawned.

"Wakatoshi," Tendou basically sang out through voice chat and Ushijima grunted in acknowledge, and the assassin stealthily appeared beside their captain, "Everything is set and ready."

Tendou glances back at their client and he smiles, although it's not intentionally filled with malice or discontent, the client flinches. The red head assassin fixes his attire, slipping his hood over his head as he readjusted his mouth mask and he smiles. The outline of his mouth on the blood red mask made their client shiver and his eyes crinkle into half moons before he disappears again.

Ushijima tenses, and Shirabu can see the captain charging a simple charge skill as the blade on his sword glows, steadily transitioning from a sheer white to a vibrant blue, almost as though the sword was a reflection of the clear skies above.

"When?" another guild member softly muttered, and Shirabu holds his tongue. Ushijima softly responds, "Soon. Tendou will let us know."

"Oh yeah, you'll definitely hear it," Tendou confirms it. He's dashing above his teammates in the trees and he smirks as he pulls out two of the multiple daggers in his arsenal before jumping into the clearing straight above the boss.

The field boss is a lazy giant tortoise. It's shell was filled with scratches and cracks from the previous battles it had gone through. But Tendou knew the AI of this specific tortoise. The good amount of times he had spent with you, focusing only on bosses, were more than enough for him to remember this AI.

Flashback

"Remember Guess," you said as you began charging your magic. Tendou listens to your voice intently over voice chat, all that can be heard from his side was his soft breathing. And he simply hums to reassure you that he's listening.

"Your explosives should be placed within aggro range. For this particular cutie, it's the rubble that's designed to be in a square like shape."

"Anywhere in the rubble?"

'Well, yeah?" your voice sounded confused. To him it was cute, and he almost laughs, and you chuckle, "Well, as long as you land the first hit. We're good."

"Mm, sounds good." Tendou nonchalantly agreed and he asked, "So where am I aiming, oh Ying-sama?"

You laugh, "Aim for the soft flesh of course. If I wasn't a mage, we'd be in great trouble trying to duo this beauty."

Tendou can hear the clacking of your keyboard from over the mic set and he asks, "You know, you should just tell me your name, you already know mine."

"Eh, that's no fun. I already told you I didn't care much for names anyways Guess."

"Eh, you're no fun." Tendou responded playfully. He waited until your character's skill was finally loaded and you see his character disappear and you laugh, "You're getting a lot better."

He hears you hum slightly and you asked, "Wait, what's the cu-"

Upon hearing the cry of the monster, you immediately released your magic and you both laugh, "God damn it Guess!"

"Hey, but you figured it out!"

Flashback End

Tendou laughs as he basically floats momentarily in the air, suspended above the giant reptile. His left hand quickly snaps, setting several bombs off, startling the reptile to actually come out of its shell. As soon as the soft flesh appeared, Tendou accurately throws his poisoned daggers. One aimed at the neck and the other its tail.

Both hit its marks, and the resounding cry of pain reverberates across the entire clearing. As though its roar wasn't enough of a cue for the Swans to make their move, the intense shock wave of wind caused almost all of those that weren't completely prepared to take several staggering steps back as they tried their best not to lose their footing.

Back with the captain, Shirabu was barely able to cast the best Battlefield Overture he was capable of before having to shield his eyes from the dust in the air due to their captain's speed. He registers that the main unit has entered the fray and he turns to their client who watches with fearful eyes.

"You will be fine," Shirabu calms them down immediately and they timidly nod. He shoots them a rare small smile, "We've never failed our clients before. You will not be our first."

Ushijima had dashed forward, his aura-clad blade trailing slightly behind him, and with a grunt the captain swings it. Unlike many other Holy Knights who opt for a one handed sword and shield combination, Ushijima's two handed claymore was one crafted specially for him, with the help of Tendou, and without you knowing, you. The heavy blade was far more durable than any other two handed weapon out there, and its strength was unparalleled amongst all classes that used a sword.

With one fell swoop, the intensity of the aura that was released from the blade was visible, creating yet another shock wave as it released a giant, vibrant blue, crescent shaped moon. The HP bar above the gargantuan reptile drops, almost 20% of it removed from the two attacks of their captain and their sly assassin.

The ancient reptile cries out in pain as Ushijima's blade basically incapacitated its legs, rendering it immobile. It shook and wobbled, unstead on its feet as it tried its best to do something that could possibly save it.

"Ololo," Tendou playfully lets out as he maintains his balance atop the shell of the beast. He sits atop its back and he closes his eyes.

What would lil' ol' [L/N]-chan do now? If she was assassin...?

Tendou's eyes open and a sly smirk is seen as he fiddles with a needle he mysteriously pulls out of his outfit somewhere.

"Tendou-san," Shirabu calls out through voice chat, catching his attention. He merely hums in acknowledgement and the younger male continues, "15 seconds."

"More than enough time Shirabu!" Tendou calls out merrily. The needle glints in his hand and the assassin lithely jumps up, maneuvering his way through the spiked shell. From far away, it did seem like there was no safe ground to walk on, but he was wrong. On top of the actual beast, the spikes created a maze, one that was filled with smaller versions of the reptile itself.

"10."

"Almost there!"

Tendou skids downwards, and finds himself landing right onto the neck of the tortoise and he smirks, his singsong voice cooing, "Sleep well!"

He activates his Keen Eye, allowing him to view past the hardened skin on the tortoise's neck and upon finding the perfect location, pricks the reptile. It makes a weak cry as the fast acting venom seeps into its system, paralyzing it and causing its muscle and nerves to shut down.

"5."

Tendou quickly jumps off, before springing past Ushijima, and skidding to a slight stop beside the captain. He places his hands on his hips, proud to see the giant tortoise struggling to stay up and collapsing on its own weight. But soon it couldn't, and upon hearing the telltale sounds of various mages releasing their magic and Shirabu's soft, "Go."

He shields his eyes from the firework display of magic as it ruins the tortoise from inside out. The cries of despair and anguish is heard in the air, each uproar causing consecutive shockwaves that may have sent any inexperienced player flying. But the Swans held their ground, each of them prepared for the second round of attacks if the first wasn't enough.

But soon, almost as though it was interrupted, the cries are stopped and the ground shakes as the tortoise collapses and disappears into exp and item drops. The miniatures that lived on its back fled, burrowing into the ground and disappearing until they fully matured.

The client let out a shaky breath and turned to Shirabu, "You guys truly are the number one guild. Thank you."

"Not at all," Shirabu responds as he glances back to see Ushijima and Tendou walking back together.

"Perhaps it would have been better to paralyze it first," their captain offers and Tendou shakes his head, "Nope, wouldn't have worked. The fast acting paralysis only works if I use two doses of Bat Poison first."

"I see... I did not know that."

"Of course Wakatoshi," Tendou laughed and he tosses a bag at Shirabu, "Yahoo, here's our client's loot."

"Thank you. Did you find what you were looking for?" Shirabu asks as he hands it to their client. They frantically search it, and nods, "Thank you! With this I can finally craft that instrument!"

The client bows his head, "Thank you for your help today. The payment for today has been sent and here is your guild warp back to town."

"Thank you for choosing us," Ushijima responds curtly as the client disappears with a single return feather back to town. Shirabu glances over at Tendou who's frowning and he whines, "I should have asked which instrument."

"Why?"

"So I could make it too!"

Shirabu blankly stared at his senpai and he asked, "But why, it doesn't even give you exp."

Tendou smiled, albeit there was a hint of malice, and he responded as though it was the most natural thing in the world, "Isn't it obvious? So I can crush their spirit."

"I'm. Fine." you sighed as you walked alongside Tsukishima towards the guild lobby. The male had opted to let you stay in his personal room in the guild hall, and you were still tired. Despite being at full health, mp, and stamina, you felt exhausted and you sighed. You weren't sure what it was that drained you of all your stats at once, and you weren't happy about it at all. You could practically feel Tsukishima's unwavering gaze on you and you turned to look at him and you both stop walking and he sighs. You give him a faint smile and nudged him gently, "I'll be fine." He nods, and the two of you resume your slow pace, but the noise and shouts coming from the guild lobby grab your attention. As you near the doors, you can distinctly hear Hinata's voice and another male, a newer voice, talking? Shouting? You weren't quite sure, but from the "tch" that escaped your companion's lips, you were sure it was probably one of the three idiots that were still missing. "FOR THE LAST TIME YOU DUMBASS, I'M TELLING YOU IT'S GOING TO SPAWN IN WITHIN THIS WEEK." "AND I'M ASKING YOU IF YOUR SOURCE IS RELIABLE!" Hinata shouted back at the black haired bowman. You can hear Tsukishima walking away, as though retreating back to the safety of his room, but your arm was faster than his pace, grabbing a hold of his wrist and you pulled him back, surprising him with your strength. You pointed at the black haired bowman with fiery blue eyes and you asked, "Who is he?" "That's Kageyama, our volleyball team's setter." "Oh, King of the Court," you remembered, your eyes were staring down the instrument strapped on his back and Tsukishima follows your gaze and he continues, "Divine bowman, music sub class. Like you." "As though King wasn't bad enough there's this one too?" you wrinkle your nose. Clearly not amused that you had yet another person with a similar build to you. Tsukishima scoffs at your expression, clearly amused by how you're reacting to this. "Yeah, but he's different, he plays every role so well we all face a job security crisis," Tsukishima frowns in answer and blue eyes met your warm hues and you see his jaw go slack and he looks back from you to Tsukishima and then back to Hinata. His cheeks burn a bright pink and he looks away from you, clearly avoiding your gaze and you frown. Everyone's eyes widened at the scene, with several people raising their eyebrows in amusement. "Oi, is your setter okay?" Kuroo asks, clearly amused with his cat like grin sitting on his face. Kenma noticed the reaction as well and Daichi shook his head, "He sounded fine until..." Everyone paused and looked over to you, who was clearly confused as you weren't actually staring at Kageyama, but rather his instrument and Suga chuckled, "I see." "So it's [L/N]'s fault?" Bokuto asked and the Karasuno third years nodded. Ennoshita glanced over, with Kiyoko right behind him and he asked, "Did something happen? It grew really quiet all of the sudden." "I think Kageyama's embarrassed." "Kageyama! Are you okay?! Why are you so quiet?!" Hinata asked as he approached the male. Now that they were no longer arguing, Hinata felt it was a bit safer to approach the normally hot headed setter, but Kageyama merely mutters, "Why?" "Why?" "She- Her- Tsukishima- Why is she-?" Kageyama's words came out all cluttered and jagged, but he was shocked out of his reverie when he feels someone grab his instrument. He immediately lashes out, drawing the sword and bow of his violin, but his attack is easily defended with your arm plate. You brush him off as though he's nothing more than a fly, surprising most people in the vicinity and you admired his violin. "Hey man, this is pretty nice. You must have worked really hard to get the blessings from that one mountain top," you were admiring the fine wood and detail. But while you were admiring the instrument, Kageyama could not believe his eyes that the person he's been admiring for the entirety of his gaming career was right in front of him. Everyone saw how Kageyama literally froze in place as you just stared at the instrument, your fingers strumming over the strings and you smiled, "You take really good care of-" You stop as soon as your gaze meets his and you tilt your head just slightly to look at him better, "Are you okay?" When ocean blue meets your warm hues, he literally turns red before turning heel and running away, leaving his violin in your hands and you blink once, twice and then you ask, "Did I do something wrong?" "Nope, not at all [L/N]," Daichi chuckles and you lips tug into a slight pout, confusion written all over your face. The leader continues, "I think you may have broken our setter though."

"Tendou," Ushijima calls out. Tendou nods and he sighs, "The client didn't call us for no reason."

They have been out since this morning after the first client call. The second client call was different though. It was filled with static, and the letter seemed to be written in a rush as though something dreadful was about to happen. Although their guild was tired, Ushijima was not one to turn down a request. And as a result, here they were, stalking through an empty plain that was filled with craters, burrows, and ruins of what appears to be forts. The forest they had traveled through had a gradual break down as the forest went from lush and filled with life, to decaying trees. A clear sign of the degradation and consequences of what was most likely war.

The two of them were scouting out the empty area with Reon, and they almost wished they never accepted this request. Not only was it ridiculous, it was also slowly starting feel unpleasant. The prairie was void of any field monster, even the common rats that appeared in both dungeons and fields were missing. Tendou frowned, and he muttered, "Does anyone know if there was a field boss that spawned here?"

There was a collective no, and continual feedback of just negativity and Tendou bites his lower lip. Shirabu glances over and softly asked, "Do you think [L/N]-san will know?"

"I would hope so," Reon spoke up. Reon shifted on his feet, fixing his position as he readjusts his gauntlets and he frowns, "If she doesn't know, who would?"

ID: Ohira Main: Brawler Level: 70 - Exp 1/100% Guild: Swans Fun Fact: He ended up sticking to brawler simply because he knew that they had a good versatility when it came to switching between vanguard and aggro-bait.

"Tendou," Ushijima calls out. And the red-head sighs, "I know. I know."

Tendou's fingers move swiftly in front of him as he finds your name again. Upon clicking the call function, he patiently waits until he hears your familiar "yahoo~".

"What you need Guess?" you asked. Back at Karasuno, you were still admiring Kageyama's violin. It was probably the first time you've seen an Angel's Fermata. They were hard to craft, only because it had to be blessed by the Royal Church. Your hands couldn't linger on the instrument as much as you wanted to due to not being the one blessed to be the holder. Much like how your Devil's Crescendo will only play for you, otherwise every other note sounded like pure discord and dissonance.

"Can I send you my location?"

You were somewhat surprised at how straight forward Tendou was. After all, he would often play tricks with you to see if you were actually paying attention, or just for the sake of annoying you. You frown slightly, "Yeah sure. Message me."

You hear an immediate ping and you open the message and frown, "Uhm, Guess, why are you there?"

"Where exactly is here?" Tendou asked, he narrows his eyes at what he thought was a flicker of movement. One hand begins to lower as the other immediately preps several throwing knives and he continues, "Our client apparently logged in here and has no way back to town... but it's not just him, apparently there's a bunch of other people here too. But we don't see them anywhere and... it's empty [L/N]."

"Empty?" you asked. At this point you've left your seat on the couch, excusing yourself from the conversation with the members of Karasuno and Nekoma. Akaashi was immediately alerted to Kenma's attention on you. Kenma noticed the flicker of concern on your face and he kept his eyes on you. "That field is known as the Field of Wrath, according to lore of the history of this world, the first large scale war occurred on that plain. It took years for life to even grow back onto it, but as a result, the creatures that can live there are stronger than normal because the environment there was so thoroughly destroyed there was no nutrients found in the ground."

You run your hand through your hair, slightly confused and frustrated at the thought that there were players lost in this world still and you softly asked, "Guess, you guys are safe still right?"

"For now," Tendou admits. He's seen the warning glances between his team members and he muttered, "It seems as though something is going to approach soon though, we're all on alert."

"Do you need-" you were cut off when you hear the connection cut. And upon trying to message him again, the error message on the screen before you sent chills down your spine.

Cannot contact Guess. Player is currently in Story Line Combat.

"[L/N]?" Tendou repeats your name again before his eyes widening. "Waka-" "Tendou, duck!" Ushijima commands. Tendou barely reacts on time, his entire body drops to the ground and his eyes widen as he pulls his protective hood over his head. His eyes widening on the beast that was now prowling the plains, the sounds of its roar deafening all those in the vicinity. There was a general consensus among the Swans that no one recognizes this field boss. On top of that, the HP bar was a light blue, indicating that there were five HP bars to go through. Tendou narrows his eyes and he muttered, "Whatever it is, we can't take it lightly." "Our sensor is beeping," Reon commented. The small device he held in his hands was reacting to the inside of the overgrown cat that prowled the field. It roared again and this time, Ushijima reads, "Cithaeron." "Is that its name?" Tendou asks. But he reads it for himself once he dodges another swipe. He growls and commands, "ALL MEMBERS INTO THE FOREST. WE'RE TOO VULNERABLE IN THE OPEN." The lion growls once more, the sound of it roar causing vibrations and shockwaves in the earth and air in the entire plain. Conceding to Tendou's orders, the entire guild returns to the forest, save for Tendou who was still distracting the lion as he jumped and rolled away from each paw. "Take this you oversized cat!" He flicks several daggers at them, but his eyes widen as the golden fur shimmered momentarily before reflecting the daggers straight back at Tendou. If he wasn't paying enough attention, he would have been stabbed with his own weapons. He frowns before disappearing with a smokescreen, retreating to the safeties of the forest. As soon as he hits the forest, his screen lights up with several missed messages and calls from you and upon seeing another call, he picks it up, "[L-" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING GUESS?" you basically shouted. The lack of response from earlier and the sudden message made you worried and the entire guild lobby was staring at you in your corner as you glared at the screen before you. "Yikes, too loud [L/N]! We're not sure what we're doing either," Tendou tries to lighten up the mood, but his expression drops, "We were ambushed by a field boss. Luckily no one's injured, but we all had to retreat back to the forest. It seems as though it's not allowed out of the field." "What field boss?" "Toshi-kun called it Cithaeron, it's a giant lion and my daggers had no effect." "Huh?!" "My daggers had no effect, they were reflected back at me." "No way, damage reflect?" you asked, and Tendou shakes his head, "No, no, they literally came flying back at me. [L/N], I don't think the Swans can handle this on our own, we-" Tendou hears the call drop, and he curses upon seeing the error screen. You cannot make calls while in Story Line Combat. Please try again after.

[baekyeolife]

Beating Heart Part 3 (Baekyeol)

It has been weeks of untouched shattered hopes and hearts. Chanyeol has looked in every nook and cranny for a trace of where Baekhyun can be, but nothing. He hasn’t shown up to acting class in three weeks, his phone is always off, and he’s not even at the bar anymore-- his job for goodness sakes. Chanyeol grew more and more concerned over time, and lost all hope of finding him when he realized that his own apartment is also unoccupied. In the back of his head he convinced himself that it was only temporary, but after days and days of revisiting it, he began to question if Baekhyun even existed to begin with. It is like the earth has swallowed him whole.

Currently, Chanyeol is at his office attempting to work on deals and marketing, but he hasn’t been able to focus at all. Sleep is not in his dictionary and eating has become some old hobby that he has abandoned. Truly, he can’t even remember the last time he actually ate something other than the bagel that his assistant gets him every morning.

To make matters worse, a ruckus in a long skirt and cardigan marches into his quarters late this afternoon, a storm unfolding as her palms meet the skin of his blanched face. Head whipping to the left, he wets his lips and tastes the blood forming on the edge of it.

“How dare you disgrace your family like this? I thought I raised you better!” Mrs. Park unravels, fuming as her cheeks tint dark red.

So, he can see that Minju finally decided to disclose the news. He isn’t surprised, she has been threatening him with it ever since that miserable day.

“What do you think is going to happen now? The company is going to go down and we’re going to lose everything!” She continues, slamming her purse down on the table in anger. “And all for what? Some boy you decided to play around with?!”

Unable to take it anymore, Chanyeol shoots up and points a finger at her as if it is a gun. “I loved him! And it’s all because of you and this damn company that he’s gone!” He shouts back, a fire growing in his watery eyes. “I don’t care about what we’re going to lose, I already lost everything the moment that he left me.”

This makes Mrs. Park release a mocking laugh, incredulous at what is going through her ears. “You fool, that will bring you nothing but shame. Think right for once in your life!”

Taking in a deep breath and exhaling it, he closes his eyes for a second and sees Baekhyun’s glamorous, bright smile. It has always given him some type of high, and now he can see that it has been strength all along.

“I am thinking right, all these years you’ve been leading my life for me and I’ve been standing by. But he’s the only right choice that I’ve ever made. ” Grabbing his cell phone, he doesn’t wait for her to shout out anymore useless words and walks out of the room in livid strides.

_______________________

After continuously checking Baekhyun’s apartment and finding nothing (as always), Chanyeol’s close friend, Kyungsoo, basically forces him to go to Seoul for a much needed vacation; at least that is what he claims that Chanyeol needs. All you ever do is look for him, you need to relax. He had told him after Chanyeol spilled all of the beans about his tipsy curvy relationship.

Now, he is laying back on a lounge chair at the hotel pool, and although this is meant to be relaxing, Chanyeol can’t help but think about all that he has done wrong, all the moves that has brought him to such a feeling of misery. He still can’t feel free, regardless of the blazing sun and calming atmosphere.

However, all of that changes with just the pivot of his head. Just one small action, and the person who fills his vision elevates his pulse into hyper speed and causes his lips to twitch upwards. Getting up, he runs towards the man like his life depends on it and grabs a hold of his arm before he has a chance to leave.

“Baekhyun,” he says breathlessly, heart trembling and adrenaline rising.

The man swivels around with a gasp, sheer surprise written all over his face. Chanyeol gets a better look at him and realizes that he’s not looking at Baekhyun, but a complete stranger.

Letting go like his soul has just left his body, he bows apologetically. “I-I’m sorry. I mistook you for someone else…” he murmurs while rubbing the back of his neck abashedly, teeth grinding into dry lips.

The man gives him an unsure bow and goes off to where he had left off. Threading bony digits through voluminous mousse strands, Chanyeol mutters a curse and plops down onto the pavement listlessly. He holds his forehead in his hands and sits his elbows onto his knees, eyes sad and mind hectic. If he keeps this up, then he’s bound to go crazy soon.

“Hey, why did you run over here all of a sudden? Did something happen?” Kyungsoo appears next to him, tone worried.

Chanyeol releases a weightful breath and messes his hair up even further, groaning. “I can’t do this. I-I can’t stop thinking about him.”

Frowning pitifully, Kyungsoo rubs his shoulders supportingly. “I’m sorry, it’ll get easier with more time.”

Chanyeol highly doubts that, but doesn’t bother to protest. He has no words to say anyway.

______________________

It is the last night they stay at Seoul and with Kyungsoo’s overpowering encouragement, Chanyeol managed to land an audition for an upcoming drama. He leaves at ten AM and shows up at ten fifteen for his scheduled time.

It goes as okay as it can in his heart broken condition. He doesn’t know if he should expect a callback, but it doesn’t matter to him anymore. The only reason why he even came in the first place was to clear his head, but as usual, it doesn’t help.

Outside, it happens again. He spots a short raven haired man walking down the street, eyes downcast as he reads over a paper in his hands. Biting his lips hardly, Chanyeol tells himself that he’s just seeing things again, but an alarm goes off inside his head when he realizes that the man is about to cross the street while the cars are still moving.

Eyes widening, he bolts for the crosswalk and completely ignores the harshness of the wind blowing into his face, as if racing it. He almost doesn’t make it, but Chanyeol extends his arm out at the last minute and hooks it around his body to pull him into his chest. A large semi-truck comes hurdling by in that split second, it’s distance dangerously close to them. Shallow breaths swarm along with the current of the breeze, but Chanyeol doesn’t give in to his anxiety and follows his first instinct to turn the man around.

And rather than feeling the terrible sensations of exploding nerves and jitteriness that had consumed him before, a wave of reassurance and relief washes over him. It is like a huge boulder has been lifted off of his chest.

“B-Baekhyun,” holding his shoulders down, Chanyeol looks him over like a doctor analyzing a patient. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?”

Stunned, the other man can’t even comprehend anything that is going on. First a truck was just about to take his life and now Chanyeol is here to save him? How in the world did this come to be?

“I was so scared,” Chanyeol says as the corners of his eyes drop, pulling the shorter man in for a tight hug. Baekhyun, on the other hand, is conflicted. He seriously has no idea what to do-- he was just about to get hit by a truck!

When noticing that he’s not returning the gesture, Chanyeol guides them away from the street and to a bench, where he let’s Baekhyun process everything.

“Where…. How did you…” he starts off, but ends up confusing himself. Sighing, he shakes his head to recollect. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s not important, I’ve been looking everywhere for you and I want to–”

“–Stop, I don't want to hear it,” Baekhyun cuts him off, timid and guarded. “You can't expect me to just welcome you back after everything. You weren't the one being used,” he looks away as shattered words form into grainy liquid, and Chanyeol can see the hurt that he’s caused this beautiful man right in front of him.

His frown deepens and he knows that he should have expected this, but he was just so caught up in his pursuit to even think about how Baekhyun is feeling right now.

“I never thought about using you, Baekhyun. It was always pure with you, you attracted me from the moment I first saw you. Everything else kind of… just happened. I never took you for granted and I certainly never meant to hurt you. The time we had together was more than amazing, you made me feel alive. And I don't want to lose something like that, I don't want to lose you,” he speaks from the heart that has been chewed up and shredded into a million pieces over the years of severe unhappiness. The heart that slowly began repairing itself when Baekhyun stepped into the picture, his heart.

The tears in Baekhyun’s eyes slide down the curve of his face– it is like he has just said everything that he's been wanting to hear.

Cupping his cheeks, Chanyeol brushes away the droplets softly, all warmth and heartfelt.

“Let me make it up to you, let me fix my horrible mistakes. Let me show you have much I regret it and how much I treasure you. Let me love you.” The more he speaks, the more Baekhyun sheds. It's heart wavering and it makes something toasty swerve throughout his chest.

All this time he has been suffering and hiding away from the pain, and now here's the man behind it all, asking for forgiveness. He would push him away if he had a logical judgement, but no, he is all for listening to the heart. He's been sad for far too long, and it is time to get his own fix.

Not wasting any time with words, Baekhyun simply jumps in to take the lips that have held him captive for so long. They dance and entangle in the most passionate way, moving in a slow pace as Chanyeol digs his hands into Baekhyun’s luscious hair.

They look into one another like new born lovers, full of hope and jubilation. “I love you too,” Baekhyun whisperes against his lips, pecking them every few seconds.

Chanyeol lets out one of the largest smiles that he has ever given off and says, “Say it again,” quite disbelievingly.

Baekhyun flicks his nose with his own as they venture into another heart stopping kiss, unable to get enough of each other, let alone stop touching one another. “I love you,” he says louder this time, almost chuckling.

“You're my everything, Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol presses his lips against Baekhyun’s forehead, leaving it there and making the moment last as two yearning hearts become one. “Thank you for making my heart beat, after all these years.”

_______________________

Author’s Note:

Okay, that’s a wrap! To the anon who requested this: I hope that you liked it and that the length wasn’t too bothersome //smiles nervously// lol thank you for requesting, hopefully it met your expectations~ (:        

[the-beastslayers-queen]

Magic and Moonlight: Chapter 6

Here’s the newest chapter of Magic and Moonlight. Enjoy my dears. Tagging: @queenofthearchitect @wwepoppunkprincess @bethany99stuff-blog and @balorrollinsambrose If you want to be tagged, hit up my inbox.

When we landed in Indianapolis, I felt a little better. I managed to get some sleep during the flight, using Colby’s shoulder as a pillow. Colby seemed to be in better spirits too since he watched me sleep during the flight, knowing I needed the extra rest.

Right now, we were in our hotel room. I was lounging in our hotel bed, just practicing some magic. I stuck to some basics of floating a candle above my hands, lighting and extinguishing it over and over. Colby was laying next me, his head in my lap, watching as I practiced. He held my choker in his hands.

“Any signs of Morrigan stirring,” Colby asked.

“Nope,” I replied as continued to play with the candle, “Not a peep today. Which is nice actually. So when are we going to have dinner?”

“How about you go get into that dress you packed and I’ll make the reservation,” Colby offered, “Then after we can get into our pjs and just watch a movie. Just a nice simple date night like normal people.”

“I think I like the sound of that,” I blew out my candle and used my magic to place it on the table before I got up go get changed and dolled up for our date.

I had my dress on and I was all made up. Now I was just working on my hair when I saw Colby come into the bathroom. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I noticed he was wearing a white button up shirt, a black dinner jacket, a nice pair of black skinny jeans, and his all black sneakers. His hair was brushed and pulled back into a neat bun so his hair was out of his face and his glasses rested on his nose.

“You look lovely,” he murmured as he held me close to him.

“You look very dashing yourself,” I replied as I rested my hands over his, “Are we all set for dinner?”

“Yep,” he replied as he kissed my cheek, “I’m ready to head out when you are.”

I followed Colby out of our hotel room and I spotted Roman stepping out of his room next door to us with Dean following behind him. I looked at Colby, curious why the guys were coming out.

“Are they tagging along on our date,” I asked.

“Nah,” Colby replied, “They’re going a bar not far from the restaurant for their dinner. Roman and Dean are just mooching us for a ride.”

“No,” Roman corrected him, “I’m playing the chauffeur for your date since we only rented one car for the weekend.”

“Yeah,” Dean agreed, “We’re not ordering room service here. Too expensive. And I want a beer or two.”

So with it settled, the four of us got into the elevator and rode it down to the lobby. Dean and Roman kept exchanging glances with Colby, which meant they were having a pack talk. I was also certain I was the subject of the talk judging from the few glances the three of them sent in my direction.

“Alright spill it,” I finally broke the silence as we got into the car, Colby and I were in the back, Roman was at the wheel and Dean rode shotgun, “What were you three ‘discussing’ in the elevator. If you don’t tell me, I’ll make you.”

“We were discussing if you should be accepted into our pack,” Colby answered first, “It’s a huge thing when a wolf adds their mate into the pack. I mean, you’re not a wolf like us, but since you’re my mate and girlfriend, it’s only fitting to have you in our pack. It’ll protect you from any rival packs trying to steal you away.”

“Yeah,” Dean agreed with Colby, “Loverboy wants what’s best for ya, dollface. If you’re in the pack, we’ll be able to keep you safe should Colby not be around when you need him. I think with your magic, you could weave a spell to add your thoughts to our collective mind I guess you could call it. You never know when an injury could sideline Colby and make it where you’d be left alone.”

“And having us as your new brothers means we can be added protection for you,” Roman continued, “Sure you have magic, which doesn’t leave you completely helpless. But you have been having issues with your magic, which has made us realized, we need to pitch in to help you out. It’s what family does.”

“Thank you guys,” I replied, being so thankful for the two of them being kind of enough to accept into the pack and willing to help me and Colby with my magic trouble.

When we finally arrived at the restaurant, I leaned forward and gave Dean and Roman each a quick kiss on their cheeks before I followed Colby out of the car. Colby wrapped his arm around my waist as we watched the pair drive off with the car. I looked up at Colby and he smiled at me before kissing me.

“Your brothers are really nice,” I smirked, “Now how about that dinner you’ve been promising.”

“Come with me,” Colby took my hand and we walked inside.

Colby walked up to the maître-de, who was graciously waiting for us.

“Name for your reservation,” he asked Colby.

“Lopez, for two,” he replied.

“Right this way sir,” the maître-de grabbed two menus and two bundles of silverware before guiding us to the very back of the restaurant, into a secluded corner, “Your server will be with you momentarily. I will grab you the bottle of wine you requested.”

“You pre-ordered our wine,” I asked Colby as he helped me into my chair.

“Of course,” Colby beamed with pride, “I planned to wine and dine you tonight, like any good boyfriend should.”

“You don’t even know I like wine,” I told him.

“I may have asked Charlotte about that little detail,” Colby chuckled a little, “Anyway, in all seriousness, I think tonight will be nice. No worries about full moons, magic going haywire, or Morrigan butting into anything.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “A nice, normal date. No mischief aside from us not really watching a movie.”

The next morning, Colby and I decided hitting the local gym with the guys in the wee hours of the morning was a great idea. No it wasn’t. I am by no means, a morning person. I was half asleep the whole ride to the gym, resting my tired head on the window of the passenger side door as Colby drove us to the gym. Dean and Roman were in the backseat, laughing at my misfortune.

“Poor night owl,” Dean teased, “Doesn’t do mornings, huh.”

“The early bird might get the worm,” I turned to look at him with a glare, “But the second mouse gets the cheese.”

“Behave children,” Roman joked, “No need to be hostile this early.”

“Well he started it,” I grumbled.

“Alright we’re here,” Colby pulled the car into a parking spot and killed the engine.

“Finally,” I grumbled as I got out of the car.

As we walked in, my eyes lit up. Colby had brought us to a parkour gym. I was always so bummed out that I had to make do with what was available at the PC for my parkour training. I was so excited to run the course that was set up in this gym I was literally jumping for joy.

“Colby I love you right now,” I grabbed him and kissed him hard.

“I figured you’d enjoy this,” Colby chuckled at my excitement, “Let’s get warmed before you go running all over the place.”

Colby and I went off to one side of the gym and started to stretch each other out as Dean and Roman went off to do their own warm ups. Once I felt pretty limbered up. I went over to the starting line of the course.

“Are you going to watch me run this boys,” I called out to Dean and Roman, “Because I’m in the mood to be cocky as hell an show you what I can do.”

“Yeah what the hell, why not,” Dean shrugged and came over to join Colby near where I was about to start.

“I’ll time you, babe,” Colby said as he got his phone’s stopwatch started up, “Now go!”

I took off running. I made quick work of the boxes they had set up as hurdles, vaulting and rolling over them with ease. I came up to a wall to run up and I leapt back to grab a high bar to start swinging around. I swung from bar to bar, adding flourishes here and there to show off. I came up to a pair of walls for wall jumping, and I climbed up the narrow space to a platform that had a high bar over it that would bring to the finish, which was a foam pit. I jumped up and swung around on the bar before launching into a 450 splash down into the foam pit. I emerged out of the pit to find Colby standing on the edge, holding his hand out to help me climb out. I instead, pulled him into the pit.

“Thea,” Colby shouted as I pulled him in, “Not cool. Now we’re both stuck.”

“Not that I’m complaining,” I smirked and kissed him, “What was my time?”

“Three minutes, twelve seconds,” he answered as he showed me his phone, “Nice run.”

“Thank you,” I replied as Dean and Roman came over to fish us out. After the run was done, the four of us went on to do the rest of our work outs for the day.

I was backstage with the guys. Survivor Series was well under way. It was crazy, being here rubbing elbows with the main roster. I was so excited to see Colby, Dean, and Roman make their debut tonight. But I was also saddened by the fact that I’d only get one more night after this to be with Colby before I’d have to go back to Orlando without him. I knew I was going to work my ass off in NXT to earn my call up so I could be with him again on the main roster.

“Alright, please don’t laugh at us, okay Thea,” Colby warned as he and the guys stood by the bathroom door of their locker room.

“Alright I promise not to laugh,” I replied.

Colby led the boys out of the bathroom. I bit my lower lip as I took them in in all their glory. The three of them were in black from head to toe. Roman and Colby had their hair pulled back and Dean’s was slicked back with gel. Their outfits all matched with black turtlenecks, black cargo pants with the cuffs tucked into black combat boots. They even wore holster belts cops would wear.

“Oh my god,” I couldn’t help by laugh at seeing them in their matching uniforms, “You guys look ridiculous. Like turtlenecks, seriously? You guys should be wearing tactical vests. Instead you look like lame 80s action heroes.”

“Theadora you said you wouldn’t laugh,” Colby looked so offended that I was laughing at his expense, which I was.

“I’m sorry,” I was laughing so hard, I fell out of my chair, “But I couldn’t help it.”

Colby just shook his head and came over to help me up off the floor.

“Alright guys, we need to get you ready to go out,” a stage hand came in and I sobered up a bit, “Oh and she can sneak around gorilla to stand near the barricades out of sight so she can watch.”

I followed the boys out of the locker room and got an escort to where I could stand to watch them from the barricades. I was so excited to see my wolves make an impact on the main roster by kicking down the damn door.

When it finally came time for the boys to storm the ring, I got up on my tip toes to watch as they threw punches at Ryback. I was so happy they were finally at the big time. I knew that they’d be able to dominate this ring just like they did in NXT.

I watched as the three of them squared up with Ryback. Dean and Seth threw Ryback’s arms over their shoulders and Roman let out a huge battle cry. That was when Seth and Dean picked up Ryback and placed him on Roman’s shoulders. Then, they slammed him down into the Spanish announce table, breaking the poor table under Ryback’s back as he came crashing down.

CM Punk then took up the opportunity to get the pin on John Cena as my boys kept guard of Ryback’s carcass. Once the bell rang, the three of them slipped out of the ring side area, getting lost into the crowd as Punk started to celebrate his win.

“You guys were great,” I ran and jumped into Colby’s arms as the three of them came back into the backstage area of the arena, “You guys totally owned the night tonight. I’m so proud of you.”

“I’m glad you were here for this,” Colby stole a kiss from me before setting me down, “Now I saw we get out of these stupid outfits and go out for some pizza and drinks. We have a debut to celebrate.”

“Believe that,” Roman agreed.