#I’m not gonna tag em all but it’d be funny

[takkton]

Ok just hear me out?

[yandere--stuck]

Hello, okay I. am. Obsessed. With you’re joker fics 💕💕💞💞 if you ever write anymore don’t be shy to tag me in them if you want. Kay? :D

Have a nice day! :DDDD

@thephantomnoseblower

Aaaaaa thank you so so much!! I'm so glad you like them! Also I'm so happy to meet another Joker Liker. He's the best!! 💚💚💚

And! You inspired me to write more, so I made some general Yandere!J Headcanons. I hope you like them ^^

---

💜 When it came to love, the Clown Prince of Crime could find it most anywhere, if he looked hard enough. In his mortal enemy, in his former psychiatrist, and… In you. You don't have to be anyone of particular importance, or of a particular personality - really, Joker could build rapport and hit it off with most anyone. Or, at least, that's what he believed. Joker liked you, grew to love you, exactly as you were. After all, you accepted him and took him exactly as he was, without pleading to be let go or have mercy, begging him to change and reform. No, no, no, you were different. Sweet. Charming. Funny!

🃏It's a hostage situation, when he first met you, got real up close and personal with you. The other hostages all trembled and whimpered in the corner, looked over by his men. But you seemed calm, whether you were brave enough or so afraid you had gone frozen didn't really matter. It was a bore waiting for the news crew and the Bat, so he went around, talking to the civilians - a mix between making idle chat and intimidating them to tears. None of them could bother to even speak, some bursting into tears. Finally, he made his way over to you, kneeling down to your level. "How about you, dear? How's your night going?" Your heart rabitted within your chest. You could barely breathe, but you tried to steel yourself. Show no fear. You managed to exhale with hyperventilating, a breathy chuckle escaping your throat. "Eh, could be better, I'm not gonna lie." The Clown snickered, which egged you on. This was good, right? You continued, "It's my first time as a hostage, so I hope I'm doing it right." The Joker beamed as he barked out a laugh. "You're doing just fine! At least someone here has a good sense of humor."

💚 It wasn't long before police helicopters began to swarm the building the Joker had stashed you in. Through the glass exterior of the high rise, you watched as the choppers circled the building, circled the Joker and his men, circled you and your fellow hostages. Somehow, dread managed to sink even further into the pit of your stomach. The GCPD had a poor reputation for a reason - filled with corrupt, crooked, and reckless cops. The entire police force was filled with more bad apples than good. Someone here was going to get hurt. God, why couldn't they have just waited for Batman to deal with this?! Through the glass, you could hear the voice of an officer shout something unintelligible. The Joker turned to one of his men, tilting his head toward the copter. "Tell 'em I'm not talking to anyone but Bats." The lackey seemed to hesitate, but only for a second, fumbling to pick up a speakerphone while also keeping his weapon in hand. He approached the chopper, stepping out onto the balcony, raising the speakerphone- and you let out a scream as a shot rang in the air, the man flying back as he was shot.

💜 The other hostages descended into hysterics as Joker's men began firing back at the chopper. "And I thought I was crazy," The Joker spat. "I thought these guys were supposed to be protecting you." You winced as glass shattered, shards exploding into the room. You opened your eyes, staring straight down the barrel of the helicopter's aerial gun- and in an instant you were pulled away, pressed against a solid chest as you were pulled away. You began to hyperventilate, heart beating so hard you could barely comprehend what was happening, vision swimming as you began to lose consciousness in your panic. As your vision faded, Joker's visage came into view. You felt a hand cup the side of your face. And then, it all went black.

🃏 You woke up not long after. People don't really stay passed out after fainting, just a minute or two, really. Long enough for police to storm the building and find you, taking you to safety. You were transferred to a hospital, where you were overlooked. You had minor cuts and bruises, the only major damage being that of psychological trauma. Before they released you, you watched a news report of the crime - the one you had just been a victim of. The Joker had managed to escape. Most of his men were taken out. It was a miracle that none of the other hostages hadn't died, and Gordon reprimanded his men and their reckless actions. But, you knew nothing would change. In spite of the traumatic experience you had been through, you knew you couldn't seek help for it. Mental health was a very, very touchy subject in Gotham. If someone caught you going to therapy, they'd probably think you're just one bad day away from becoming Gotham's next supercriminal. Life returned to relative normalcy… Until you received a package. It was specifically labeled "CARE PACKAGE" on the side in black marker. It was heavy, slightly damp at the bottom, had a foul odor, and had no return address. You hesitated, not knowing what to do with it… Before deciding to bite the bullet and open it. It contained a bouquet of flowers, (containing one trick flower that spurted out water, drenching your face), a whoopee cushion, a teddy bear, a heart-shaped box of chocolates, and… Your eyes widened in horror and disgust. The last three items were a note, a Joker playing card, and… A human heart. You hesitantly reached in, making sure not to touch the organ as you did, shaking as you read the note. "So sorry the other night, my dear! I didn't expect things to get quite so hairy. Those animals! If they had hurt a hair on your head, it'd be no more Mr. Nice Joker! I wanted to check in on you and make sure you're doing well. I know that if I don't get proper care after something nasty, I go a bit looney, myself. I just wanted to look out for my favorite hostage! … And perhaps, something more? See you soon, love. ~ J" Oh, God. Oh, God. Your legs went weak as you slowly sunk to the floor. You suddenly realized you had been crying.

💚 Joker liked you. Joker more than liked you. After your first meeting, he couldn't get you out of his head. He was obsessed! He was… In love. He was so glad that Harley understood and was supportive. You and he were meant to be. He'd ask Harley or his men to spy on you, gathering the information they knew. What you liked, your schedule, your favorite foods, what made you laugh. And if he got any word that his fellow Rogues were targeting places you frequented, they'd get an earful from him! And a bullet to the brain if they didn't take him seriously… He couldn't let harm come to you. And he had to make it perfect for when he finally took you home, with him. Forever.

[shyficwriter]

Temporary Home: Chapter 9

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: Yondu finally confronts Reader about the late night escapes, and invites himself to tag along, to Reader's dismay.

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: Just Reader and Yondu this chapter.

Word Count: 3,953

You jumped right out of your skin but somehow managed not to cry out, whipping around to see Yondu's silhouette standing in the doorway to the kitchen. It was a bit of a terrifying sight if you were to be honest. You'd hate to see it in a dark alley.

"What the fuck!" you whisper-yelled. "Don't do that! You trying to give me a heart attack!?"

"Don't change the subject. Where ya sneakin' off to?" Yondu had intended to use the voice he used when trying to intimidate an opponent, the one he uses when trying to get the message across that he's not going to take any shit, so ya better just cough up what he wants to know. However, it came out sounding a bit more like the tone he used to scold Peter with when he'd get caught sneaking girls on the ship after curfew.

You did your best to look unfazed and close the door. "First off, it's my house. I'm not sneaking, I'm just going. And what are you doing sneaking up on me?"

You were trying to turn the tables on him, but he wasn't going to bite. "It's the middle of the night and yer being awful quiet about it, ya really try'na tell me that's not sneakin'?"

"Yes." You tried to keep your tone even, but it was hard not to sound annoyed. "It'd be rude to wake up the others."

"Uh huh. Well if yer not sneakin' then why not turn on a light?"

"Don't need it. Lived here all my life. Know the place just as well in the dark."

"Right..." Yondu eyed you, sure that you'd come up with an excuse for anything else he'd throw at you. Might as well just cut to the chase. "Where ya going?"

"Out," you reply, "For a walk."

"You're going for a walk, in the middle of the night?" He could hear it more now, he sounded like he was getting ready to threaten to ground you. Not exactly the tone he was going for. He blamed it on the lack of sleep. Brain must be instinctually reverting to "Yell at Quill" mode. Stars knew he did it enough when Quill was a boy that it became second nature.

"Yes." You cross your arms over your chest, only to realize it made you look like an argumentative teen. Oh well, too late now. You kept them crossed.

"So, you suddenly just up and decided, in the middle of the night, that ya'd fancy a walk, in the dark, in the forest?"

"Yes." you reply again, realizing a second too late that he shouldn't have known where you were headed. "No- Wait I-"

Yondu chuckled. "Save it. I see everything... And I've been mighty curious to know what you've been sneaking off to do at night."

You stare at each other in the dark for some time before you break the silence. "I have the sneaking suspicion that you intend to follow me."

"You'd win that bet." Yondu said with a grin that you could barely see in the dim light.

You roll your eyes. "You'll get bored. Better off to just go back to bed."

"After you." Yondu gestured towards the hall from the doorway. You could hear a smirk in his voice.

You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose. "I'm not leaving alone, am I?"

"Nope."

You really wanted to leave, and obviously you would prefer to do it alone, but if bringing a suspicious passenger was the only way you could do so, and likely the only way to prevent this happening again, you'd suppose once wouldn't kill you. In fact, denying could potentially only make his suspicions worse, and you didn't feel like possibly being reported to Fury over nothing if he got the wrong idea. You had been on enough jobs to know how quick a misunderstanding could go south. "Ugh. Fine. But you know curiosity killed the cat." Still, it wouldn't hurt to try and convince him to stay behind.

"Ain't a cat. Not even sure what a cat is." Yondu chuckled, fully aware that he was being irritating. He might not have exactly known what the Terran idiom meant, but he still knew it was just an idiom. Enough experience with Quill had taught him that Terrans say strange things.

You look up to the ceiling "Just hurry up."

Yondu disappeared in the hall to pull on his boots and returned a moment later pulling on his duster jacket. You had to admit his silhouette was actually even scarier with the addition of the jacket, but you didn't let it show.

You wordlessly motion him out the door and shut it behind the two of you. The walk across the yard to the tree line was awkwardly silent until about a couple meters away.

"So what ya keep coming out here for anyway?"

You answered with a question of your own. "You been spying on me?"

"Not exactly. Just happened to notice ya out the window a few times, and thought it was odd that you'd be sneaking out of yer own house."

The two of you broke the tree line, finally walking amongst the trees. "I told you I wasn't sneaking."

"Sure, sure," Yondu chuckled. "Ya didn't answer my question, girlie. What's out in this-here forest that keeps ya coming out here at night?" He kept pace with you as best he could. Your steps were sure, the ground was littered with rocks and sticks, but your gait never faltered. You clearly knew these woods well, and it was evident you knew just where you were going. You hadn't even bothered to use a light. Yondu would almost think you had night vision if he didn't already know better that Terrans didn't.

"Nothing. I just come out to enjoy the scenery. Relax a bit," you finally answer.

"Ya know, yer almost a good liar." Yondu chuckled.

"I beg your pardon!" you say, offense fully clear in your voice.

"What? Take it as a compliment," Yondu laughed, unfazed by your outburst. "But yer gonna have to do better than that to pull something over on me. I can spot a lie lightyears away." Ok so he might have been exaggerating, but you didn't need to know that. "And that there, that wasn't the truth."

You scoff. "What do you know? You don't know anything about me and you're really going to stand there and act like you do?" The nerve of him. You should have just pretended to go back to bed and then came back out later, or better yet, oiled the hinge on your bedroom door the other day when you noticed it starting to squeak. Probably what alerted Yondu to leaving.

"I know more than you think." Yondu countered, nearly tripping on a large branch.

"You don't know anything about me." You repeat. You started walking faster out of spite.

A smirk fell over his face. If you wanted to be difficult, fine. He could just have fun teasing you until you loosened up, and he had a feeling he knew just what might push your buttons.

"I know yer ticklish." He grinned, seeing how you visibly tensed.

You run a hand down your face. "You guys aren't going to let that die, are you?"

"Nope," Yondu chuckled, "it's too funny."

"It's not," you say, glad the dark was hiding the blush you could feel on your cheeks.

"I think it is," Yondu disagreed, reaching out to poke you and chuckling when you jumped and flinched each time his finger connected with your side. He grinned, mentally drawing up the theory that you didn't like to show weakness.

You swat at his hand and tell him to quit.

He laughs, but thankfully obeys, saying, "Aw, cheer up now. It ain't that embarrassin'... though I do wonder now why that Fury guy would keep an agent around that seems mighty vulnerable to torture..." He was teasing, of course. Just trying to get a rise out of you. It worked.

You throw him a look of daggers and he holds up his hands in a relenting gesture. "Don't worry, secret's safe with me, girlie," he teased, continuing to grin before nearly tripping again. He sighed, beginning to search his pockets for a light. There was no sense tripping around out here in the dark. You may apparently know this forest floor like the back of your hand, but he didn't, and he most certainly didn't feel like rolling an ankle.

He spoke up again. "I also know yer hiding something."

You freeze for just a moment and then turn to him. "No. Nice try."

He closed the meter wide distance between you. "Ya can deny all ya want, sweetheart, but I can still tell."

"Whatever." You turn and start walking again, this time at a regular pace.

"Don't give me that," Yondu said, finally finding a light in one of his inner pockets. He flipped it on and you instantly covered your eyes, which had been adjusted to the dark and very much didn't like the sudden intrusion of the bright light.

"Agh- Turn that off!" you scold.

"What for?" Yondu asked, he had also suffered slightly from the sudden brightness, but at least he could see where he was walking now.

"Well, besides the fact that you just blinded me- you'll attract bugs."

"Ah right. Yer scared of creepy-crawlies. My mistake." Yondu laughed, making a show of shutting the light off. "Wouldn't want ya to be all scared stiff like ya were earlier."

You glare at him best you could with your eyes trying to adjust back to the dark. "I'm not scared of bugs. I just don't feel like getting bitten up by a bunch of midges. The bites itch like hell."

"I dunno... ya looked pretty scared of whatever that bug was in the kitchen today." Yondu teased, but he did make a mental note that midges sounded quite unpleasant.

"That was a spider," you say, then muttering, "...and that's different."

Yondu hummed. "Seems a lil' funny that you'd put a giant one in my boy's bed then, seein' as yer so scared of 'em yerself."

You stumble over your words for a bit, before admitting that you hid the fake spider before the incident with the real one happened, adding, "-and I wasn't scared of it!"

"Sure ya weren't..." Yondu said teasingly. "Guess ya won't be bothered if I tell ya about the big one crawling on yer shoulder then." He repeated the same trick as earlier, imitating a running spider on your shoulder with his fingers and laughing when you jumped a mile and smacked at his hand.

Face flushed with embarrassment at falling for the same trick twice you say, "You're an asshole."

"Yep," came Yondu's reply. Theory confirmed: You hated showing weakness. After a few steps he spoke again. "Where we goin' anyways? Ya seem pretty sure about this path. Get the feelin' we ain't just wanderin' aimlessly."

You sigh, but relent. What could it hurt? "It's just a little further."

"It where ya go all the time?"

"No, just most of the time." you admitted. "Sometimes I do just... 'wander aimlessly.'"

"But not tonight."

You sigh again. "No. Not tonight."

After a bit you finally happen upon a small clearing. In the middle of that clearing was a large old oak tree. Its trunk was nearly two meters in diameter and had lovely patches of moss growing on it. Thick branches poked out just low enough to climb on, it was beautiful in the dim light of the night, but it was even more beautiful in daylight.

"Here," you say, "This is where I go. This is my favorite tree."

Yondu was actually stunned for a moment by the magnificence of the the tree, and that didn't happen often. "I can see why. It's certainly a purty one..."

He walked with you closer to the tree and broke off to walk to one side as if he intended to do a lap around the trunk.

"Careful," you say, not wanting him to go any further around the more shadowy part of the tree, "Ground's got a bit of a soft spot over that way. Wouldn't want you to sink in."

Yondu, who, like anyone, obviously wouldn't enjoy that happening, stopped his journey and headed back your way. Better to stay with the person who knew the land, at least when he couldn't see for himself if he was about to fall in a hole.

You approach the tree and sit at its base, gesturing an invite for Yondu to do the same if he chose. He did. You look up at the thick branches and say, "My dad used to bring us out here."

"Us?" Yondu questioned.

"My brother and me."

"Didn't know ya had a brother."

"Didn't ask."

"Would ya have said if I did? Ya don't exactly seem the most forthcoming type." Yondu laughed lightly.

You huff in response. You look back up at the branches and remember the time you and your brother would climb the old tree. sometimes even your dad would try climbing with you, even though he wasn't as agile as his children. You remembered the fun, the laughter, the three of you playing chasing games around the tree. They were some of your fondest memories of before your dad got sick. Before he couldn't take you and your brother out to the tree anymore, though of course by that time the two of you were old enough to make the trip on your own, though it never was quite the same.

You had sat in silence for a bit before Yondu asked, "So what's eatin' ya?"

"What?" you ask, pulled from your thoughts.

"I've kinda gathered ya wouldn't be comin' all the way out here in the middle of the night if everythin' was all fine and dandy, so what's got ya down, girlie?" It seemed obvious to Yondu from what he observed that this would be the case. After some thought, he realized he only caught you heading towards the forest on bad days, like when Rocket messed your kitchen or the night you fought Quill. You were here, therefore, something must be wrong.

"Nothing."

Yondu didn't buy it. "I noticed you disappeared for a long while in the middle of that movie Quill wanted to watch. It have anything to do with that?"

"I told you, I'm fine." you say bitterly. It honestly irritated you how accurate his assumptions were, but just because he was right didn't mean you had to affirm his assumptions.

Yondu sighed. "Alright then, be that way."

After a few moments Yondu breaks the silence again. "So... where are yer family? I know ya said yer daddy's passed, but what about yer mama? Or this brother ya mentioned. Where they at? Why ya out here in that big house all alone?"

You inhale. You considered not answering, but then thought it couldn't hurt much. You could talk a little since he wanted to be nosy. Not like you were going to spill your entire life story, just the sparknotes. "Well, my mom's gone. Died giving birth to me."

"Oh." Yondu was almost sorry he asked. "And yer brother?" He now assumed you were the younger sibling, but he felt it would be in bad taste to mention it. He hoped talking about him might lighten the mood.

"Gone too." you answered.

He winced. He hadn't expected to hear that you were alone alone. "How?" Yondu asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." you replied.

Yondu saw you draw your knees up and rest your chin on them. He realized he shouldn't push his luck. "Sorry to hear that."

"Why? You didn't do it," you say sarcastically. "It's life. Everyone dies eventually." You un-hug your knees and lean back against the tree. "Just how it goes. Life's a bitch and then you die alone."

Yondu catches a crack in your voice but doesn't mention it. He frowns. "Come on now. There's more than that. Ya don't got to spend the rest of it all alone and miserable." He said this because he had to believe it himself. How close had he come to doing just that when his crew mutinied? If Kraglin hadn't still been loyal and if Rocket and Twig hadn't helped with an escape plan, he'd've been slain by the hands of the Kree- if he was lucky, or back in the slave barracks- if he wasn't. He'd never have gotten the chance to save Quill, and even if he hadn't intended to make it out alive, he couldn't deny he was grateful the ship had gotten to him and Quill just in time so that he could spend more time with his boy.

He didn't know your exact age, but he thought you looked at least a little younger than Quill. That was too young to have such a bleak outlook on life. If even he could find even a shred of happiness to cling to, then surely you could as well. He continued, "Surely ya got ya some friends- Or ya could find someone and settle down... start a family.... fill that house of yers with little ankle-biters- Hey, where ya going?"

Your breath hitched and you had stood up quickly, walking back the direction you came. "I'm heading back. You can follow or stay here. I don't really care," you say, trying to keep your voice even and not looking at him as you walked towards the edge of the clearing.

Yondu hurriedly stood to catch up with you. Sure, he could eventually find his way back without you, but he couldn't deny he'd get back much quicker with a guide that knew their way back in the dark. "What'd I say?" Yondu asked, correctly assuming he had said something wrong.

"Nothing. It's just late. Time to start heading back." You still wouldn't look at him, and he almost thought your voice sounded strange, like you were fighting not to cry or something.

Yondu followed you quietly, wondering if he should press the issue or not. He decided to not, convinced he would only make it worse. He hadn't intended to dig up any bad memories, he hadn't expected to find out you really were alone, although it was a sentiment he could empathize with. It's how he had been during the mutiny and Tazerface killed all his good men. Surrounded by people, and yet utterly alone.

He didn't know what it was exactly, but he knew he wanted to make it better. You weren't a child, but still, all he could see now was a sad little girl with no mama or daddy. No brother, no family. All alone. He thought to himself that if he had a heart it might be breaking. Or at least cracked a little.

He made another attempt at conversation, hoping to smooth things over. "So Quill says ya like to shoot arrows?"

"Um... yeah. A bit."

Did he hear a sniff? Surely not.

"Maybe ya could show me how ya Terrans do it sometime."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." You sniffed again, and Yondu thought he saw your hand come up to your eyes as if to wipe them.

Aw hell. You were crying. Damn. He wasn't sure what, but he was sure it had to have been something he said. He cursed himself. He hated when people cried. Bad enough when someone he stole from tried whipping out the waterworks, even worse when Quill would cry when he was scared or hurt as a boy. The only thing worse than seeing someone cry, was watching as they tried desperately to hide it, but yet couldn't quite stop. 'Cause that meant they weren't trying to get anything from you, they were just genuinely in too much pain to keep it together.

He had to do something to make you stop, so he did the only thing he could think of. He whistled.

A gentle melody played from his lips and you gasped as a streak of red shot through the air. You stopped in place from the shock and before long, you could see the outlined shape of what you could only describe as a fat little troll. It was cute, and so unexpected that you couldn't help but huff out a laugh.

You finally looked at Yondu and he saw the hint of a confused smile playing over your lips. Much better.

He could see the question in your eyes and went ahead and answered without you needing to speak. "Just thought you could use some cheering up." he said. Nice to see he's still got it. That trick always worked to cheer up Quill when he was little.

"I'm fi-"

Yondu cut you off with a shrug. "Yeah. Yer fine. Got it." He whistled again to call his arrow back. "Well this was mighty entertaining, all this... nature and whatnot. Should probably get a move on so this old man can get some sleep." He exaggerated a yawn before walking forward, prompting you into motion as well, seeing as you were the guide. "I'm sure Bug and Twig would like it out here if ya ever decided ya wanted to come out here when the sun's actually out."

You hummed. "Maybe." You tried not to stare as you walked together out of the forest. Had he really just used his weapon... to draw you a picture... to cheer you up? You wanted to laugh but you bit your tongue as you remembered he had also used it to kill a spider for you earlier that day. For as rough as he portrayed himself to be, he was definitely displaying big softie energy. That thought did make you laugh.

"What?" Yondu asked, hearing your snicker from beside him.

You shook your head, now grinning. "Nothing."

"Uh huh." Yondu said, mild suspicion in his voice as he side-eyed you. Whatever. It was better than hearing you try not to cry.

After awhile you finally broke the tree line and made your ways back across the yard and to the backdoor.

You reached the door first and pulled out your key.

"Good to see ya have some sense." Yondu said. "Quill said Terrans always leave their doors unlocked."

You gave him a look as you unlocked the door. You wanted to refute that, but you knew that, at least in the rural areas where you lived, people actually did tend to do that. You settled for saying, "Well, not everyone does. But still, it'd be really irresponsible to just go and leave the door open to any stray passerby with a bunch of obvious aliens inside."

Yondu scoffed.

"What?"

"Ya Terrans thinkin' yer the only ones in the universe. Callin' anyone not from Terra 'alien.'"

You frowned. "Sorry."

Yondu grunted and waved you off. "Eh. Ya'll get there eventually. S'pose if this place wasn't as backwards as it is then we wouldn't be able to lie low here."

You tried not to be offended at that, because he was right. That was literally the reason they were able to hide here.

The two of you re-enter the house and manage to get back to your respective rooms quietly. You changed into something more comfortable to sleep in without waking Mantis and settled into bed.

Before falling asleep you thought about the clearing and your tree. About how you needed to warn Yondu not to walk too far towards the backside of said tree.

You should really find the time to install a sturdier trap door on that tunnel.

[princessjungeun]

TWICE Reaction to S/O Being Insecure

Request: Can I request twice reaction to their s/o being insecure?

Nayeon

Nayeon noticed you pouting in the mirror and adjusting your shirt as you sighed out of frustration, giving in and starting to pull it off. She asked, “What’s wrong? I think you look pretty in that one.” You refused, “No I don’t, not with these man shoulders of mine...” Nayeon knew you despised your shoulders after being made fun of for them as a kid. On top of that they are very muscular from high school sports which in your opinion made you look like some bulky man which is fine but just not a look you liked for yourself. Nayeon however loved your shoulders, she thought they were so attractive and they made you look strong. She stood on her toes and wrapped her one arm around your waist and another around your shoulder. Softly she kissed your bare skin and told you firmly, “Your shoulders are perfect baby. You have nothing to worry about, you look beautiful all the time.”

Jeongyeon

You and Jeongyeon had been watching a movie together, both of you doubling over laughing every so often when something funny happened. However you did you best to hide your laugh and stifle the sound of your own laugh when you could. Jeongyeon took notice and nudged your shoulder, “Why are you being weird?” You tried to play it off the best you could, pretending that you weren’t doing anything, “What are you talking about, I’m normal. You’re the weird one.” Your girlfriend frowned, “You’re not laughing with me. Why?” For a moment you stayed silent, hoping she’d get distracted with the movie playing behind you but she didn’t. She was still looking at you and waiting for an answer, you huffed, “My laugh is so ugly....I want a cute one.” Jeongyeon waited for you to continue until she realized that was the only problem. She asked, “Are you serious?” You nodded, “Yes! I wheeze then snort when I laugh. That’s so ugly and embarrassing! I want a cute laugh like you or like almost every other girl we know.” Jeongyeon frowned, “I love your laugh and it is cute. I love when your face turns pink because you’re laughing too hard and when your nose scrunches and you snort when you’re laughing. If you had a laugh like every other girl it’d be boring don’t you think?” You replied, “I guess so....thanks.” She pulled you into a hug and tickled your side, making you laugh so hard you fell off her lap. 

Momo

Momo always noticed how you covered you mouth when you smiled when you were in public. She didn’t start to wonder why until you continued to do it even when it was just the two of you alone. Your girlfriend had done something and you started laughing, covering your mouth to hide your smile in the process. She reached out and grabbed your hand gently, asking, “Why do you do that? Cover your smile?” You replied, “My teeth aren’t straight...they’re ugly. I guess it’s a habit I formed over time?” Momo told you, “No, your teeth are perfect even if they aren’t straight. My bottom teeth are crooked too, it’s no big deal babe.” Although her words meant a lot and they did make you feel a little better, you still had to work through that opinion that lingered in the back of your mind. 

Sana

In Sana’s eyes you were absolutely perfect, from top to bottom you were everything she dreamed of and then some. You knew you were perfect in your own way, after all your parents had instilled that in you since birth. However, you had one thing that you wished was different: your eyes. They were two different colors, one bright blue and the other partially blue but a majority chocolate brown. As a kid, your classmates always teased you and would call you names because of them. Your parents never let you get colored contacts, insisting that your eyes were and always would be beautiful. Sana didn’t even know your eyes were two different colors for almost a year of you two dating. You’d forgotten to put contacts in one night when she wanted to come over and she was taken aback. At first she thought you were joking, telling you that you forgot to put in another blue contact. However after looking closer and seeing the other, she realized those were your real eyes. All night Sana couldn’t look away, only adding to your insecurity. However she was quick to reassure you that they were beautiful, that you were beautiful. 

Jihyo

You and Jihyo had decided to take a vacation to Hawaii when she and the girls had a break between comebacks. She was in dire need of rest and relaxation from promotions and you needed time away from work. Jihyo was excited to head to the beach, all ready in her bathing suit and sandals. She didn’t hesitate to pull her shirt and shorts off and lay in the sun once you both found a spot. You on the other hand refused to take off your shorts. Your girlfriend poked your denim shorts, “Don’t you want to take them off? You’re gonna have some funny tan lines later.” You gently swatted her hand away and said, “No, it’s fine?” Your gaze flickered away from hers quickly and out facing the sand and water in front of you. Jihyo scooted back under the canopy and closer to you, lifting your head with her thumb to face you, she asked softly, “What’s wrong?” You shifted awkwardly in place, “I-I just don’t like the way my legs look that’s all.” Jihyo frowned, pulling you closer to her so you were sitting between her legs, your back against her front. She hugged you tight and told you, “but they’re perfect....” You let out a laugh, “trust me they’re far from it, don’t get me started on my stretch marks.” Jihyo’s hand rested on your thigh, her thumb grazing your skin softly, “they’re normal to have, I have them too. It’s nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about, you’re so beautiful Y/N.” You could only smile bashfully, letting out a shy “Thank you.”

Mina

You sighed as you sat in the mirror trying to figure out what to do with your hair. You’d unintentionally left it uncombed for a few days too long and it now looked like a big frizzy tumbleweed. There was no time to wash it because it was already mid afternoon and you’d be up until the early morning if you were to start now. You and Mina were supposed to have left already, she wanted to go shopping in Gangnam for something and you were planning to tag along. However you couldn’t leave until you managed to do something with the tangled ball of curls that rested atop your head. Mina popped her head in the bathroom, seeing you just staring into the mirror. She asked, “Hey you okay in here?” That was all it took for you to start sobbing. You choked out, “M-my hair is s-s-so uglyyyyyy!” Mina rushed to your side, pulling you into a hug, “Who told you that? Why would you say that?” You cried, “its too puffy and big and it never cooperates! I’m just going to flat iron it all the time now. I’ll look prettier then.” Mina refused, “that’s not true Y/N. Your hair is so pretty, you can do so much with it unlike me. No matter what you do to it you’ll look beautiful okay?” You sniffled, “O-okay.”

Dahyun

Ever since people found out that you were dating Dahyun, they’d been supportive for the most part. However there were some netizens that reacted negatively, almost all of these people pointed out the one thing you disliked about your body the most: your ears. Your ears were absolutely tiny, you could barely fit two ear piercings on each one, they were that small. Dahyun noticed you wore hoods over your head or pulled your hair to cover your ears when you two were in public. She playfully pulled one of them, something she did often at home. When you swatted her hand away and frowned, covering your ears she asked, “What’s wrong?” You told her, “Stop that....I don’t like them.” Dahyun was quick to reply, “Why not? They’re so cute and small.” You sighed, “that’s exactly the problem, they’re tiny. They are so awkward and unproportioned to the rest of my head, I hate it. I want normal ears like you.” Your girlfriend reassured you, “Y/N, your ears are so precious. I think they’re so cute, you don’t have to be insecure about them okay?” 

Chaeyoung

You were quite tall compared to Chaeyoung, standing at 180 cm, you towered over your girlfriend. Most times you loved it, having long arms and legs was great for reaching things on the top shelf or walking quickly from point A to point B. However you did feel a wave of insecurity when you went out with Chaeyoung and heard people mumbling between themselves. Most of the time it was “I wonder if she’s a model?” But others it was, “She’s too tall, she looks like a giant man. That’s not attractive.” You hated hearing these negative comments because there was nothing you could do to be smaller. You always wished that one day you’d wake up and be 165 cm, that was your ideal height, it was normal and you’d look like everyone else. Chaeyoung was always quick to notice when you started to feel insecure, she’d always shower you with complements, telling you how pretty you were and how she wished she had your height.

Tzuyu

You were a pretty confident person, you knew you were beautiful and you were one of the first people to point it out when you felt extra pretty. However, there were times when this wasn’t the case. You had terrible eyesight and due to that you wore contacts. You also had glasses but you didn’t wear them because you hated how thick the lenses were. You’d forgotten to pick up your contacts and you ran out, meaning you’d have to opt for your glasses for the day. Tzuyu had seen you in your glasses and honestly she thought they made you look cuter. You’d been walking around your apartment squinting and feeling around for things, unable to see without your glasses or contacts on. Tzuyu looked up from her phone, “Baby girl where are your glasses?” You shook your head, “Don’t need em.” She looked at you then said, “You’ve walked into the wall twice, poured chicken stock into your cereal thinking it was milk, and you’ve been squinting since you woke up. Go put them on so you don’t get hurt please.” You grabbed them from your bedroom and held them in your hand, looking down at them you played with the temple tips under your fingers. Your girlfriend asked, “what’s wrong?” You mumbled, “they make me look ugly....” Tzuyu gently took them from you, putting them on for you. It was the first time you’d seen her clearly all day, bringing a faint smile to your face. She grinned, “you look so cute, I love your glasses.” 

[ajbwasntwriting]

Daughter!Reader X Negan, Reader x Daryl: Chapter 12. Shots Fired

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I’ll only post more chapters if previous chapters get a good reaction so if you enjoy this please heart it, reblog it, and/or reply to it. Interaction inspires.

if you wish to be added to the tag list please dm me. All chapters can be found under the tag AJ’s Negan’s Daughter AU

Everything had started so perfect.

You slept in the tent next to the infirmary in Daryl’s arms through the night and in the morning you helped the crew make breakfast. Rick had rode home to Alexandria and there was news on the walkie that food was coming from the hilltop. You grabbed food for yourself and Aaron and headed back to the infirmary.

Aaron was sitting up and talking with Daryl.

“Morning” You announced as you strode into the tent.

“Morning” Daryl said with a smile.

“I’m not looking,” Aaron joked, covering his eyes with his hand.

“Very funny,” You shoved the plate against Aaron and he took it, setting it down on his lap. “So what’s got you bothering my patient, Mr Dixon.”

“Wanted to see how he was doing before I head out for the day” Daryl spoke.

“You get breakfast yet?” You asked

“I don’t need-” Before he could finish you thrust your plate into his hands.

“Eat up. You’ll need it” You said turning back and leaving the tent to get yourself a new plate.

“You sure know how to pick ‘em” Aaron said through a mouthful of food.

“Yeah” Daryl said, getting into his food.

“How’d you meet?” Aaron pressed. Daryl glanced at him in question. “C’mon everyone’s heard how she appeared from thin air and you jumped to her defence.”

“Ya make it sound like a fairy tale” Daryl commented.

“It is.” Aaron replied. Aaron took a bite of some bread and kept staring at Daryl “C’mon you can tell me.”

Daryl thought back on it for a moment. ‘I tried to kill her’ he thought. Now he couldn’t think of hurting you. “Before the winter, me, Tara, and Rick went into DC. I got hurt. We had to camp for the night in this bank.” Daryl spoke through his food. “She walked in, started pulling the place apart. We said stop. She seen I was hurt and offered to help me.” He lost interest in his food for a moment, thinking back to that little apartment in DC that you had fixed up and made a home for yourself. “She was starving. I couldn’t sit by and do nothing, not after she helped me. At first I just brought her the surplus but she insisted on giving me stuff in return. ‘Not gonna leave you short’ she said.” Daryl stopped when he realised how long he had been talking about you, and the soft look Aaron had listening to him. Daryl went back to his food “Can’t let good people suffer”

“She is good.” Aaron spoke, “You should have brought her home sooner.”

“I tried. She wouldn’t come.” Daryl put down his now empty plate. “She don’t like camps or nothin’”

“So she was somewhere bad before” Aaron mused

“She deserves something good.” Daryl spoke “We all do.”

A sudden unrest erupted outside the tent. Daryl got onto his feet and went to investigate, finding the camp filled with angry saviours

“Guess they're gonna execute every last one of us!” a man yelled out “Just like Justin!”

“Not if we have guns, too.” a women called out

“Hey, hey, you guys!” Laura was in the middle of the crowd trying to calm people. “No no no no! No!”

“Come on guys!” Arat yelled trying to make herself heard.

“Hey knock it off!” You yelled from the front of the group trying to calm them down.

All the calls fell on deaf ears and you found yourself trying to push saviours and members of the other community away from each other. Aldin quickly made a dent in the condensing crowd.

“Hey! Hey! Stop this shit! Stop it! Stop it!” He yelled, the two sides coming apart around him “We're gonna find out who did this, and we're gonna make sure it never happens to us again, all right?”

“Us?” Jed stood out from the crowd of saviours. “You're not one of us anymore.”

“‘Us’ means all of us” Aldin spoke, turning his back on the saviours to speak to the rest. Jed immediately grabbed Aldin, spinned him around and punched”

“Go shovel that horse shit to whoever killed Justin!” He pulled back his fist to go for another hit when Carol stepped in front of him, hand on his chest to stop him and the other on her gun ready to pull it out. You felt yourself hold your breath. “I thought you were supposed to be our leader.” he remarked.

“Enough” Carol spoke firm. “Turn around, all of you.”

“No can do, Cee.” He replied, “Why don't you go ahead and yank that roscoe, pop me right here? It's better than worrying about getting it in the back.”

At that Carol pulled out her gun, as did the others standing behind her. You stepped forward and put yourself between the man and Carol.

“There’s no need for that.” You said, hands up defensively.

“We don't want this.” Laura spoke, rallying to your side. “Hey, we just need to protect ourselves.”

“No guns!” Dary yelled. Everyone turned to look at him standing on top of a hill looking over everything that was happening.

“That 'cause you're the one took out Justin?” DJ yelled out. He was a saviour with long hair and a beard.

“Nah.” Another saviour said lower, eyeing up a woman near the front of the opposing crowd. “My money's on garbage lady.”

“Revenge for Simon's play, sure.” Regina said, stirring more trouble.

“No.” DJ replied, not taking his eyes off Daryl. “It's him. Finishing what he started.” He stepped past you and towards a tree, picking up the axe that sat there. Another man followed after him. A woman went to walk past you to them but you put your hand against her chest, whispering “Don’t” in the most intimidating voice you could muster, making her fall back into line.

Arat ran up and step in front of DJ “Hey, stop. It's gonna go too far.”

“Nah.” Daryl spoke “It won't.” He raised his crossbow and pointed it at DJ. You felt your breath catch in your lungs. You had seen how dangerous Daryl was with that bow and weren’t interested in being at it’s business end.

“Maybe it's both of them. Come on.” The long haired man rallied the saviours around him. You tried to hold them back but you were quickly pushed to the back of the group and landed on the ground. The saviours moved forward with only the priest meeting them halfway, ready for the fight. In the last moment Rick came riding in on horseback and the crowd divided.

“Everyone back off! Right now!” He yelled from atop the animal, waving his revolver over the crowd. Arat moved to disarm one of the saviours and Laura took to the martyr.

“All right, we are not doing this.” She spoke firm to Jed then brought her attention to the wider crowd. “Let it go.”

“I'll talk to Rick.” You heard Aldin speak “I'll try and find a way to make everybody feel safe, all right?” The crowd slowly dispersed.

“Start the redirect.” Rick ordered. “Pair off to work the grid.”

In the moments past you pulled yourself off the ground and started dusting yourself off. Laura came to you and pat your back.

“Thanks for trying to hold them back.” She said, Arat arriving behind her shortly after.

“Didn’t help much.” You replied

“No, it helped.” Arat insisted. “These hot heads need to see more of us working with the others.” Arat let out a sigh, then leaned in close to you “If they knew who you were-” she spoke low.

“No.” You interrupted. “They won’t trust me. Someone needs to be on good terms.”

“They got Aldin for that,” Laura commented. “He’s been playing goodie two shoes since the war.”

“Enough gossip,” Arat said. “Boss says the grid needs work. Later.” She patted your back as she took off.

“What’s on your plate?” Laura asked you.

“Get Aaron on the first trip back to Alexandria. He’s just filling a bed here. You?”

Laura looked around at the grumbling saviours, waving to a small group. “Keeping the peace.” You nodded in acknowledgement and you two parted silently.

After setting Aaron up with a small group that would be journeying back and his bed had been cleared you set out looking for Daryl. He had gotten riled up and you wanted to see how he was. A hilltop man pointed you in the direction he’d taken off in.

When you found him he was talking to Rick. Or rather Rick was talking to him.

“Daryl, I know you don't agree with everything we're doing here. All I ask is that you try. Do it. Let people see it. And maybe everyone moves past what's happened to what could happen and maybe, just maybe, it'd be one of the best decisions you ever made.”

“Like not killing a guy who left your brother on a rooftop to die.” Rick walked past you with a nod. He looked so tired yet determined. You walked up to Daryl, who seemed to be caught a little off guard.

“How much of that did you hear?” He asked nervously.

“About the tail end of what seemed like a speech,  if I’m honest.” You stood in front of him, gently placing your hands to his face to make him look at you. “How are you?”

“I didn’t do it,” he uttered, resting a hand atop of yours.

“I know you didn’t.” You reassured him. His arms came around you so naturally and your hands rested on his shoulders.

“I’m sorry you were in the middle of all that.” he continued, low enough that only you heard. “This crap ain’t your problem.”

“It is now.” you said. “‘Sides, your not the first boyfriend to hold a weapon on me.” You chuckled. He paled drastically.

“I am so sor-” you cut him off with a kiss. He held you as close as he could as he kissed you back. You pulled back and smiled at him sweetly.

“We’ll have plenty of time for sorry later. You have grid work to do”

“Wish I didn’t” he said pulling you into him, making you giggle at the implications.

“Go,” you laughed, punctuating it with a kiss and coming away. “I’ll be here”

Daryl left with the group to check the grid and you returned to camp. Being the doctor everyone wanted you nearby at all times. You mainly cleaned up the areas, helped with food, tended to the occasional cut or burn. You found it all delightfully mundane. It was nearing sunset when Enid showed her face.

“You’re late for work.” You said mockingly.

“Sorry” Enid apologised with a yawning, appearing from the tent next to the infirmary. It was promoted from ‘Saddiq’s Tent’ to ‘Doctor’s Tent’ as you and Enid started working in shifts. “I’m not used to the night shifts yet.”

That made you smirk “Hopefully you never have too” You teased with a laugh. She looked away embarrassed. You patted the spot next to you on the boards the infirmary was built on. “Sit down. We’re not exactly burdened with work.”

“What’re ya doing?” Enid sat down next to you, her leg tucked under her.

“People watching.” You explained. “Me and my old man used to do it all the time.”

Enid looked out at the campsite, “Seems kinda dull,”

“You’re doing it wrong then.” You said then pointed to Regina, a female saviour helping unload a recent delivery. “What do you think her deal is?”

“She’s a saviour” Enid spoke plainly. “Who’s unloading tomatoes”

“Nah, nah.” You leaned back on your elbows “You’re not meant to think about the truth. You’re meant to come up with a story of some kind.”

“A story?” Enid questioned. “Sounds childish”

“That’s what makes it fun.” You reply. You pointed at a table of people playing cards. “What about them. What’s their deal?”

“They’re playing cards.” Enid spoke plainly. So it was up to you to make things interesting.

“Ya see the girl with short hair and the tank top?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s Madam De Tank.” You spoke in a theatrical voice, “She owns most of the land and she’s put it on the table against the guy in the chequer.”

“What’s his name?” Enid pressed

“You tell me.” You shot back

She thought for a moment “Joey...Banks”

“Okay.” you said tongue in cheek. “What’s he put on the table?” Enid sat in silence a moment, then turned to you with a childish smile.

“His first born child!” She announced, equally theatrical. You both chuckled at the absurdity. Laura appeared, dirty from work.

“What’s all the fun?” She asked, taking a seat next to Enid.

“People watching.” Enid replied. “The third guy?”

“That’s Joey Banks’ assistant. He does all the things Joey doesn’t want to do. Like open doors or hold his cup.” You jested

“I hate to break this up but we need to talk.” Laura said to you. Enid went to excuse herself but you sat up and beckoned her to stay.

“Anything you gotta say to me, you can say to Enid.” You said. ‘Because you approached me in front of here and we need to keep a low profile’ you thought.

Laura looked from you to Enid and backed to you, a little unsure. “It’s the saviours,” she ultimately said. “We can’t find Arat.”

You sat forward and turned your body to face Laura, tucking your leg in, “What do you mean? She’s out checking the grids”

“The grid team came back.-”

“Where are they?” You interrupted. Afterall, Daryl and Arat were with the grid team.

“They left again, all quiet like.” Laura explained.

“They’re probably doing the night watch.” Enid interjected. You backed her up, saying it would be logical.

“That’s what I was saying but,” Laura explained then went quiet for a moment. “They think something might have happened. There’s talk of abandoning camp.”

“You can’t do that!” Enid panicked.

“They’re scared, Enid.” You said, her attention flicking back to you. “We have no guns and saviours have been going missing for a month now. At least at sanctuary there’s walls and they know each other.” You looked to Laura seriously “But that’s all we have. There’s no food. No real security and most of the building has been abandoned. It’s a prison.” The last sentence rolled off your tongue before you realised it, but it was no less the truth. “We need this bridge”

“I know,” Laura sighed. “I’m tryna talk to them but…”

The tension hung tight in the air among the three of you. “Sunset’s beautiful” Enid finally broke the silence. You looked over the trees seeing the warm hues sink behind them.

As the last few rays dimmed you stood up. “Guess we just gotta hope.” You said, sounding helpless. You turned to Enid in that moment. “Enid, umm...maybe”

“Not a word,” Enid stood up as the dinner bell rang. “I know.”

“Let’s eat!” Laura announced as she stood up. “I heard we got fresh tomatoes tonight.”

Later that evening Carol and Rick brought back a stabbed man who you stitched up. When questioned how it happened the man gave no reply. You stitched him up in silence then Rick took him out. You stopped Carol before she could leave, pressing for what had happened.

Carol turned back to you. It was just the two of you in the tent and you’d already developed a history together. She sighed through her nose before speaking. “We got jumped. They wanted our guns and were ready to kill us to get them,”

“Maybe if you gave them a couple-” you began

“That’s not happening now.” Carol replied. She turned to leave again and you grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

“Why were you out there?” you questioned. You released her arm once she stopped. “You’re not on night watch and checking the grid doesn’t take all day.”

“Why do you care?” Carol questioned, seeming already tired of the conversation. This did little but anger you.

“Cause these are our people!” You bit back “Remember?”

Carol nodded solemnly. “You know?”

“There’s suspicion.” You explained. “I just wanna know whether or not it’s founded.”

“Arat is missing” Carol finally said. You stepped back, struggling to process this information. You turned away and leaned on a nearby table, your head reeling. “She and Beatrice got jumped and we’re looking for her.”

This was it. The saviours were going to abandon camp. A few weeks ago you wouldn’t have cared but between working in the sanctuary and working out here you’re heart broke. If they left then the deal would be broken and everyone would suffer. But something didn’t sit right though

“Who’s Beatrice?” You asked.

“She’s from Oceanside.” Carol replied.

“And she was fine? When you found her” You asked.

“Yes. Why?” Carol asked, stepping closer to you.

“It’s weird.” You admit, facing Carol. “All the other saviours went missing all together. The first one who isn’t a saviour is left perfectly fine?”

“A lot happened before you showed up, Y/N.” Carol explained. Sounded like pure excuses to you. Through out the entire conversation she had been staring at you with feigned worry, making your blood boil.

“Get out.” You snapped. “I need you out.” Your voice trembled, showing your upset.

That night you could hardly sleep, your mind was reeling. ‘How did dad deal with this bullshit’ you thought to yourself. You quickly stopped that train of thought when you remembered ‘murder’ was the answer.

That morning you were woken by one of the saviours. “C’mon Doc, we’re leaving!” She shook you. You groggily got out of your bed and went to investigate. Outside was the saviours, with half the camp packed up. You locked eyes with Laura across the camp who just shook her head with defeat.

Jed walked up to you and handed you an empty rucksack. “Grab your shit we’re leaving” he said.

“No,” You replied, pushing the bag back. “I’m not.”

Jed looked at you incredulously, then threw the bag to the ground with temper. “You’re gonna stand by these fucking murderers!”

‘Look who’s talking’ you thought to yourself. “We need this deal, Jed!” You yelled back. “We need the food that the other settlements can provide!” Your yelling caught the attention of a couple of saviours. “I ain’t going back to The Sanctuary until that bridge is done!”

Jed pulled a face then spat at your feet. “Suit yourself.” He retorted then left. In about twenty minutes they had all packed up and were marching out.

~Tag List~

@felicismor @bodeckersbitch​ @lauren-novak​ @aestthete

[hollowknightheadcanons]

Spooky Scary ideas for the funny soup au

(by ratcandy)

Oh boy! You've allowed me to ramble! Horror soup au time.

A'ight so how is soup boy getting ahold of soul? We know in canon that there's... some way of extracting soul, aside from just killing bugs, but I don't believe we ever see what that machine... is? We see a snail shaman strapped down somewhere, presumably to be Drained(tm), but I can't remember if we actually see a soul-extraction-device of sorts. Considering the only other method we've seen of gathering soul is through attacking/killing bugs, I can only imagine that the soul draining process would be horrifically painful! So much so that he'd likely have to be careful how much is drained at a time... if he's not trying to kill the bug off. Which in of itself opens up the can of worms of him using the same bug over and over again for soul! What if he was in a rush? Would he just drown them in the hot springs (or whatever that liquid is) until they're full on soul again? How does he make sure they don't fight back?

On that note, where's he keeping his victims? You mentioned "When he first started out, he was only using a couple bugs- why raise suspicions by draining a bunch of bugs for soul when you could keep only a couple? But then as his restaurant got more popular, he needed more." He's gonna need a place to be holdin these bugs. Somewhere they can't escape and where they can't be heard. I know there was talk of a basement somewhere?? That COULD work, but it'd have to be soundproofed to some degree. Also, it'd have to be a pretty big basement! Assuming the growth in popularity is enough that he needs a constant supply of soul! Unless the basement is underneath the restaurant. Which is actually an idea I've used for a story before! The "ingredients" are kept deep underneath the feet of all the unknowing customers. They can scream and shout all they want - it'd be worse if they know there's bugs above them that can't hear them - but alas! No saving them now.

Bro hear me OUT What if he obtained his victims by setting up a sort of... yknow. "Now Hiring!" façade? Some poor sod thinks they get to work in the popular five star soup restaurant but oh no! actually you're being used for years of torment. but hey! your blood, sweat and tears is put into every bowl :) you're a vital asset to the team!

I'm also just imagining a whole scene where Lurien finds out about the basement, somehow, but he's not sure what to expect. He sneaks down at some point, maybe in the dead of night when the restaurant's closed, only to be faced with the horror of hundreds of drained bugs, all barely alive, begging to be freed. 

Someone headcanon'd at some point that the Soul Master is straight up chugging raw soul after a long day and. IMAGINE. Throughout the show/story/what have you, his body is just progressively contorting due to the effects of soul. Having "watered-down" soul, as is used in the soups, is fine in small doses, but just... straight up drinking that strong stuff? Oh terrible! By the end of it, he's just a bloated, hardly mobile mess, constantly choking on the soul he's ingested but somehow supremely powerful still. So he can fight back when Lurien shows up to. I dunno. arrest em? kill em? Dunno what the end goal is for Lurien other than proving it to the King, who's been shown to. likely not care! (The King's probably in on it imo)

ON that note, too, what about Mistakes/Follies? I imagine they're all over the basement. Experiments with "how much soul can i put in this soup without is having negative effects on a customer" that went very wrong! 

Does soul behave like a drug here? I mean, it's got healing properties, so anyone that ingests it has gotta be feeling pretty good afterwards. If they realize the correlation between "hey i'm feelin real sweet rn" to "this soup is wiggity wack" then. oop. they just keep coming back for more :)

And just for the sake of yummy gore and unsafe food practices: what if some newly-hired idiot (actually hired, not hired to be drained), that the Soul Master just trusted for some reason, didn't understand it was the soul being used in the soup and thought it actually was bugs themselves? Uh oh sisters! Accidental cannibalism? accidental cannibalism! And soup boy having to HASTILY cover up this mistake somehow when someone realizes there's chitin in their soup. actually. no. you didn't notice anything. please let's discuss this privately :) would you be so kind as to meet me downstairs? 

OKAY time to put a cap on my rambling for now!! It'd probably be a good idea to tag this with. uh. some sort of warning? I dunno hskjh, I tried not to get too graphic here but!! YeeAH,

———

This has the energy of that one post that’s like “a sitcom that keeps getting progressively darker and when a character dies their scene in the opening theme is just dead silence”

By the time Lurien uncovers the full secret, it’s unlikely there would be any bugs alive- however remember the soul sanctum basement in the game itself? yeah.

If Soul Master overdoses on soul then that would be the series finale or something. when it’s completely switched genres lol. Imagine the mood whiplash from going from season 1 episode 5 to season 5 episode 8.

Idk if PK is in on it since in the game he did try and shut down the soul sanctum (it’s implied at least) but the soul master went and continued behind his back anyway.

now for the machine that drains soul, we only have two references for that. the snail shaman and the place where you get spell twister.

its not that difficult to actually get the bugs for the soup though since he has at least two soul warriors and i hate those guys, one almost killed me in steel soul. i was at one mask.

Wait what if when they first started out, they (soul master and other soul sanctum guys) used their OWN soul just to test it out before they started getting into the whole kidnapping bugs for soul business. just a little bit. so that’s how the machine is not designed to kill on accident.

ooh i just got an idea but i’ll make a separate post.

[restapesta]

Tagged by @mickeyssleevelessflannel ❤️❤️❤️❤️ thank you Jessieee!!

1. Name: Emina :)

2. Single or Taken: Single 💁

3. Crushing: on ian gallagher obvi

4. Height: 5'6'' (or basically whatever the equivalent of 171cm is in feet)

5. Favorite color: anything pastel

6. Girl best friend: someone I've known for over twelve years and who I love dearly

7. Boy best friend: don't have one!

8. Ever wanna get married: one day, yes

9. Want kids: i have a couple goals in my life and being a mom is one of them, so yes

10. Snapchat: only recently got it after my bff coaxed me into it. the only reason why i haven't deleted that shit already is because i have like a lot of streaks with a buncha people and it'd be a waste to just let em go

11. Thai Zodiac Sign: scorpio? (is it the same like regular zodiac?)

12. Last drink: fanta at lunch

13. Goth, emo or both: none? never really went through that stage

14. Glasses: yes, but i wear contacts mostly

15. Makeup: only when i go out, and very light over the summer

16. Cat or dog: my dog would be angry if i said cat

17. Evil or good: ... good?

18. Favorite sport: skiing

19. Favorite animal: dogs

20. Weird: yes

21. Weird fact about me: um...the longest ive ever had my hair was last year and it was barely past my collarbones and it bothered me so much that I made the decision to just cut all that shit off at two in the morning :)

22. Do you have haters: haters? but everybody loves me? ;)

23. Funny or nah: won't be winning any awards any time soon, that's for sure.

24. Apple or Samsung: I've only had Samsung really, but I am pretty sure that I'm all for Android and will probs never buy an apple product.

25. Smart: my grades are top notch, and i pride my self in being book-smart, so...yeah, i guess

I'm gonna tag; @sweetcresta @howlinchickhowl @arrowflier @gardenerian @ianandmickeygallavich1 (only of you want to, of course <3)

[gingus-doon]

It's ask time! How about thoughts on the Yabusame siblings? ( by the way, I always love hearing your thoughts on this game! they honestly make my day. <3)

i'll talk about them separately first, then together! so i hope you don't mind if this gets a little long (＾ᴗ＾)

(update after writing this– it got quite long LOL so i'm gonna put it under a read more—)

—

first, alice– i think he's great!! himbo extraordinaire, how could ya not like him :'D i've probably ranted about this before (read: in the tags earlier today lol) but i just love how much of a softie he is. it's especially apparent by how hard he tries to come off as this intimidating lone wolf figure lol. it's funny, because with his muscle and prisoner uniform (as well as actually being a murderer lol) he succeeds on that and comes off as untrustworthy despite being just a softhearted fool 😔 he'll be all like "you fools!!! you can't make allies in a death game!" and all that edgelord junk, insult sara brashly and then feel VERY bad about it as soon as she started fake crying. it's so immediately un-intimidating and i love that lmao. and how COWARDLY he is, despite being a pretty big dude. i think he doesn't perceive himself as intimidating, as some of the moments in his ytts events suggest (i'm specifically referring to when he meets mishima and is like Yikes! and then at the end mishima's like "appearances can really be deceiving huh" and alice is like "?!!??" LIKE SJDHDJ I LOVE THAT DYNAMIC FOR THEM, poor them having that issue 😭😭)

i wouldn't consider him one of my favorites but i appreciate him very much <3

—

okay, now reko– REKO'S CHARACTER FALLS INTO ONE OF MY FAVOURITE TROPES!! angry punk woman is always good（⌒▽⌒）but i also love how caring she is, an even better trope than Chaotic Angery™ is Chaotic Angery with a soft spot!!! it's very good of her and mwah i just love her.

i also think it's interesting that this more caring aspect of herself came out after alice's incarceration and that it seems to have been largely hidden from him throughout their lives?? in the flashbacks when they were kids, she seems fairly nice, but alice describes her as cold when they were adults, and he loves her so much that i trust his opinion. i really wonder what's up with that !! i don't know if i'm forgetting something that implied the cause of this harshness towards him but i'd really like to know ;; (i may be forgetting or misremembering some things, the only part of the game i've played recently is chap 3 and never with reko sjdhd)

—

it's also kinda nice how reko seems to outgrow the conventional morality thing she has going on? because she pushes alice away entirely on the basis of his murder, and that murder was very likely justifiable given that it was of the Bastardest Bastard. perhaps if alice told her the circumstances under which it'd happen, she'd understand, but alice condemned himself as harshly as (if not more than) reko so he wouldn't try to reach out to her when she was already pulling away. regardless though, reko seems to hold the general opinion that you can't just like, kill people, even if they're bad! but then she goes apeshit on rio after he kills alice so i appreciate that lol. though i'm a little upset that there's no epic cg of reko trying to whoop his ass :' we were robbed…..

robbery aside tho, i love reko!! she is one of my favourites and i'm sad that she's logical route bc that probably means she's not going to be part of the good ending (assuming there is one and that it's emotional lol)

ok so now i'm gonna talk about both of them together so this is gonna be sad. IT'S SUCH A TRAGEDY THAT THERE WAS NO OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO JUST BE SIBLINGS AND GOOF AROUND?? THAT MAKES ME SO SAD, I WANT THOSE INTERACTIONS THE MOST !! 😭😭 i don't know if we're gonna get them in ytts either since there is still that unresolved tension but i hope we get a taste of it! they're just both so dumb and i wanna see em be happy and just have a good time together 😭 also, reko seemed more like the leader of their duo when they were younger and i think that's a nice dynamic! it sounds endearing. reko seems like the one to say "come on bro!! let's go ___!!!!" and alice seems like he'd just listen to her, and then they'd get up to some shenanigans lol. like i could see reko getting them into a barfight HSHHDJSBSJHD. but i could also see her taking him to an abandoned building and just having a heart to heart after exploring like little kids :'D

oof, and, one of the things that hurt me most in the game was the bongos saga? i genuinely thought getting the bongos was gonna have them make up!! but then after the room of lies thing with reko happened, it dawned upon me that the real reko would not be there to receive them– not just the real reko, but a reko who had gotten a little closer to working out her feelings about alice's murder and was kinder than the one alice recalled. IT FUCKING BROKE MY HEART TO SEE HIM REJECTED LIKE THAT… i was just like "i'm not even an alice stan but i'm abt to cry right now." AND THE SHITTY TIMING OF REKO'S ABDUCTION….!! LIKE GRRR NANKIDAI WHY'D YOU DO THAT 😭😭 IT'S GENIUS BUT I WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY !

a lot of my feelings on characters and relationships in this game boil down to "i just want them to be happy!!! let them be happy!!" so the way only one or the other can survive makes me sad ;; though, i am interested in seeing how (and if, maybe) saving alice turns out to be the better choice, since it is the emotional one. it probably has more to do with the dolls' relationship to humans than alice himself but still lol. and they did get at least a little reconciliation in the end, so that's nice and good.

sorry this got so long!! thank u for the ask and for ur kind words anon (＾∇＾)

[himbowelsh]

Oh my lord, I went through your shiftab tag and read the secret admirer oneshot, it was so cute! 😭 I know you aren't taking requests for those particular prompts but if possible, could you write a similar 'secret admirer' storyline for winnix or baberoe? Gosh please I'd die of happiness!

i have...  done the thing.  went with baberoe, because honestly i’m never not craving more content between those two, and there are considerably more ghosts than you probably wanted, but i really hope you enjoy, darling!!!

(read here on ao3)

Every one of his better instincts — and, contrary to popular belief, Babe does have a few — is screaming that this is an awful idea.

Quit your Irish dancing around the problem and fuckin’ do it, Bill would say, if only Bill were here. Babe knows exactly what advice Bill Guarnere would give — he can hear it in Bill’s voice, like the man’s shouting it, an entire ocean away. Still, an imagined echo is no substitute for the real thing. Babe can dream up as many Guarnere platitudes as his brain can handle... but they still won’t solve the problem in front of him now.

Namely, a blank piece of paper.

“God dammit,” he says out loud. “I don’t know how to do this.”

There’s no one around to hear him. More and more nowadays, there isn’t. He never used to talk to himself before — that was always something crazy people did, in Babe’s experience, and he could be called a lot of things, but crazy was never one of ‘em. People like Crazy Joe McKloskey could stand on the street corner talking to a lamppost like it could understand him. That’s fine, because it was crazy Joe. Babe Heffron, who delivered papers and chased his brothers through the backstreets of South Philly, never talked to himself... maybe because he was never alone.

To be fair, he’s at war, and it’s tough to be alone in a company of a hundred other guys. He’s gotten good at it, though. Gene was the one who showed him how to seek out peace when he needed it, taught him all the good places to hide, how to go away somewhere in your head the rest of the world couldn’t reach. He’d never needed those skills before, but now that he’s learned them, they’ve proved invaluable. More and more nowadays, with nothing to do but soak in the Austrian summer, Babe finds himself wanting to be alone.

Yeah, sometimes he talks to himself... only because the people he wants to be around, the people who damn well should be here, aren’t. 

You’re overthinking it, the voice in his head that sounds too much like Julian declares. When Babe looks up, he can almost see him — his old buddy, leaning back on a crate on the other side of the musky garret room. Julian has a way of lounging that was so casual it made him look boneless. He was a spreader, too — how many damn times did Babe have to shove him to the other side of the foxhole because Julian’s knee was digging into one of his damn organs? The kid liked to take up space. His ghost absorbs it now, studying Babe with a sort of mocking smirk. Look. Practically tearing your hair out, and you’ve barely even written a word yet.

“Yeah, well, it’s harder than you’d think.”

Babe’s not a letter writer. He never has been. His wrists cramp up when he holds a pen too long, and he can’t find the words anyways. His kid sister writes long letters, filled with funny anecdotes and memories from home; his Ma’s letters are shorter, succinct, and bluntly affectionate. Even Bill sent a message, after agonizing months of silence, letting the whole company know he’s doing alright, back home in the states. Babe treasures every letter he receives, tucking them away in his trunk between his underwear and his Bible... but the entire war, he’s only written his family three times. So far, he can’t bring himself to write to Bill at all.

Yeah, because you’re a lazy bum. There’s Old Guarnere again. He’s standing next to Julian — on both legs, whole and healthy — arms crossed as he blatantly judges Babe’s writing ability. The ceiling’s so low, on a steady downward slope, that Bill’s head hits it every time he moves. Babe can see the disgruntled faces he makes, clear as day, and it draws a laugh from him in spite of himself.

“I just — it can’t be any old letter, okay? It’s gotta be perfect. I need it to be perfect.”

You need to take a nap and quit pretending you’re a better writer than you are, Bill scoffs. When has anything you’ve ever written been perfect?

Babe presses his palm hard against his forehead, fingers tugging at his uncombed mess of hair. “That’s the problem, dammit. It ain’t gonna be perfect... but it’s what he deserves.”

If this goddamn war has taught him anything, it’s that Eugene Roe deserves nothing less than the best. The war sure hasn’t been shy about giving him the worst, over and over again. Gene’s hands have been stained with so much blood that it’s a wonder he can still look at them — can still go about his life as normal, humoring nervous patients and summoning a smile when the other fellas rib him — when he’s dealt with more shit than any of them. Babe just heard about his best friend getting his leg blown off. Gene was the one on his knees in the snow, scrambling to save Bill’s life. Yet when Babe retreated into himself afterwards, grief-stricken and reeling, Gene was the one who anchored him to earth. His quiet conversation and soft smiles put Babe back together, piece by piece at a time. He’s got a gift for healing, in ways he doesn’t even realize. A guy like that... deserves every good thing in the world, and Babe wants to hand them all to him.

As it is, he can’t even write one lousy letter.

“He’s gonna hate it. He’s gonna... throw it right back in my face, cause he realizes he’s talking to a guy who can’t spell ‘adoration’. He’s gonna... he’s gonna...”

Laugh. Except that’s not like Gene at all. Be goddamn disgusted... except Babe knows Gene well enough by now to know that’s not like him either. It’s hard to tell with other guys, especially in the army, where shared foxholes can so easily blur the lines between friend and lover... but he’s seen a gleam in Gene’s eyes when other fellas talk about Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable, like he’s just humoring the conversation while wishing it’d go somewhere else. Babe knows the feeling. No, Gene could do anything, but he wouldn’t be disgusted that a guy loves him.

Maybe... just that it’s Babe.

Now you’re really being an idiot, Julian moans, tipping his head back towards the sky. Babe’s first instinct is to throw something at him — the hand holding his pencil twitches, but he’s only got one, and there’s no satisfaction in swinging at ghosts.

 “I don’t know what to say,” he mutters, rubbing a hand over his jaw again. Dear Gene, the letter reads. I’m writing because I need to tell you...

That’s as far as he’s got. Not even a full goddamn sentence.

Have you considered... you’re overthinking it? You’ve gotta actually write something before deciding you hate what you’ve written.

“Julian, you’re a regular goddamn philosophizer.”

I’m just saying! 

Suddenly, Julian is no longer on the other side of the room. He’s looming right over Babe’s shoulder, his presence like a weight bearing down on Babe’s back. Every twitch of his hand is being observed, every uncertain breath noted. Geez, he didn’t crack during jump school training, but this pressure is enough to split him in two.

“Forget it!” Babe exclaims, throwing the pencil down onto the paper. “This was a stupid idea, I give up!”

No, you fucking are not.

There’s Bill again — Bill Guarnere, and his unbeatable determination to butt his head into everyone else’s business. Babe lifts his head, glaring into the spot he imagines his best friend standing. Bill’s answering glare is an echo of the real thing… and Christ, what Babe wouldn't do to see that familiar scowl right in front of him, for real! Bill always made things simple. There was no overthinking when he was around. When Babe was being an idiot, Bill told him.

I’m telling you right now, jackass — you're being an idiot.

“And you’re winning motivational speaker of the goddamn year.”

I’m not trying to win anything here. You are, and doing a piss-poor job of it. I could cry just lookin’ at you. Look at this — ‘I’m writing because’? What kinda opening line is that? Did they not teach you how to write letters in grade school, or were them nuns too busy beating the ginger outta your hair?

“Trying their best,” Babe mutters, subconsciously rubbing the back of his head, where the phantom rap of a nun’s knuckles still stings. Today’s a day for phantoms, he guesses. While Julian cackles begins him, Bill’s specter crosses to the desk, hovering over Babe’s paper with a critical eye.

No, he finally declares, like he’s handing Babe’s bayonet back with instructions to polish it all over again. That’s it. You can’t do this.

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Babe exclaims, grateful to hear his subconscious finally agreeing.

You ain’t gonna be able to do this… Bill turns, then reels back around, sticking a finger in Babe’s face. So long as you keep thinking ‘bout what he’s gonna do when you hand it to him. What he’s gonna say once he reads it. You gotta write something before he can read it, you realize that, Babe? And you haven’t written a goddamn word worth reading so far. 

Babe assumes there’s a point here somewhere. He curls his fingers around the edge of the letter, waiting for it.

So, if you can’t get outta your own head… then write it as somebody else.

Bill grins, broad and shameless, like he always does when he ain’t making a lick of sense.

“You lost me,” Babe says. “Way back there.”

Keep the letter anonymous, Babe! Bill’s imagined face twists in frustration, his hand coming down to tap the paper. The silent impact rings in Babe’s ears. Don’t sign the thing. Leave it somewhere Doc will find it, and see what he does.

“That defeats the whole purpose of telling him how I feel!” Babe exclaims.

And how much luck are you having with that? demands Julian, coming to stand at Bill’s side. The two of them cross their arms, staring down at Babe with unabashed judgement. Burdened by the weird feeling that he’s being bullied by his own subconscious, he picks up his pencil again. What would Gene’s reaction be to finding a love letter unsigned? Babe imagines him pulling it out from under his pillow, or finding an envelope with his name on it at his makeshift aid station in the basement of Easy’s billets. How his long fingers would unfurl the paper, his lips mouthing the words silently as he read along… how his brows would furrow slowly, disbelief and awe swirling in the dark pools of his eyes… how eventually he’d look up, see Babe standing there waiting on him, and murmur, “Heffron, you’re not gonna believe this…”

And then what? Babe would pull Gene into his arms, and admit he’s loved him all along?

No. No way, not him. Not in this lifetime, at least.

Overthinking, Julian’s voice chimes again, and Babe’s never felt more tempted to swing at a ghost. Will you just write it already?

“Fine, goddammit!” Babe hisses. It’s frustration, really, that gets him to whip out a fresh sheet of paper… and as soon as he starts to write, the words flow from his pen like a dam’s burst open.

See you every day… know your heart… your caring… your sense of humor... impossible not to love you… wouldn’t know how to stop if I tried… love you more than I know what to do with.

I love you.

I’m in love with you, Eugene Roe.

Whatever you want is up to you… but I wrote this letter because I need to let you know.

He doesn’t sign it.

The envelope seals like a promise fulfilled; and when Babe looks up, he’s in the tiny attic alone.

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

It’s just his luck that Gene doesn’t spot the letter until Babe’s standing right next to him, alone in the cozy little infirmary.

Gene doesn’t miss a beat. “Hey,” he says, picking the letter up. “Babe, what’s this?”

There’s nothing on it, is the thing! No way to tell where it came from, and he knows Gene isn’t familiar enough with his handwriting to pick it out of a lineup. Babe stumbles back a step, alarm spiking as Gene holds the letter up. Playing dumb’s his only chance.

“Uhh… looks like a letter, maybe?”

Okay, not that dumb.

“Maybe,” echoes Gene, thoughtful, as he turns the envelope over in his hands. When his gaze is no longer piercing him, Babe can breathe again.

“Where’d you find it?”

“Someone left it on the chair. I sat on it.”

“Wow.” Wow, Babe. Just… wow. “You know, uhh, Vest made his rounds a little while ago, maybe something slipped from his pile. Or maybe he’s playing a joke, huh, you know that Vest —“

Why the hell is he implying Vest wrote his love letter?

“Doubt it was Vest,” Gene mutters, fingernail playing underneath the envelope’s fold as he carefully opens it. He even pries open mail like a doctor, slow and precise. Something in Babe’s heart soars at this tiny detail, and he almost wants to go to his knees in front of Gene right there.

“Well, it had to be someone,” he says instead, taking another few steps back. When he chuckles, it sounds shrill to his ears — like he’s fighting off the urge to scream. God dammit, Heffron, you’ve got all the subtlety of a rock, why’d you think this was a good idea?

It’s not. This is a horrible idea. He can’t look Gene in the face while he’s reading the letter, and if Babe stays here one more minute, he’s gonna give himself away. “Sorry, Gene, but I gotta go now — told Liebgott I’d help him with, uhh, this thing that he — needed help with, and… so yeah, I gotta do that.”

Gene looks up at him, distracted from the letter. Babe manages a grimace, and a tiny wave. “See ya!”

He can’t get out of the basement fast enough. Behind him is only silence, as Gene Roe begins to read.

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

Gene finds him much later that night, after the sun has already set over Zell-Am-See, painting the town in violet and blue. The late summer sky has always spoken to Babe in a way he can never explain, like a fist locking inside his chest and trying to tug his heart out. It’s nostalgia for a place far away, and a time he can’t return to. As daylight slowly fades out into inky darkness, Babe watches the sky, lost in a time when everything was simpler.

He doesn’t hear Gene coming until he drops onto the window ledge beside him. Babe isn’t jumpy, and Gene’s never startled him yet, so he doesn’t tumble over to the street below in shock… but the look on Gene’s face almost sends him jumping the fifteen feet down.

“Hey, Gene,” he says instead, quickly looking back out at the horizon.

“Hey.” Gene lets the word linger. He fumbles with a cigarette, long fingers moving deftly as he maneuvers his lighter. He gets it lit, and holds it out generously. Babe’s nerves would like nothing more, but his balance can’t take holding onto this will with just one hand. He shakes his head. With a shrug, Gene tucks the cigarette between his own pursed lips.

“You close up shop for the night?”

“Yeah. Unless someone stumbles around drunk and ends up knocking their head… or gets hit with a dart again. Had to pull it outta Perconte’s shoulder the last time.”

“Think I heard that from upstairs. Screaming like a cat the whole time, huh?”

“The man’s been shot before, and he complained less.” Gene exhales through his nose, blowing two long lines of smoke into the air. Babe’s eyes linger on it, transfixed.

“You, uhh —“ Suddenly, he’s frightened of silence, but his mind’s too scattered to keep a conversation in one place. “You get dinner?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Yeah.”

Quiet again. Christ, even when he was a kid, Babe could never stand the quiet; his Ma sometimes pushed him out of the house and locked the door behind him, just to get some peace. Why is it so hard to find words now?

“Look, Heffron —“ Gene starts, and the exact moment Babe blurts out, “Gene —“

They both go silent, staring at each other. Babe inhales, holding the breath in his chest until he feels like he’s gonna burst with it.

A familiar voice in his head — the one that’s a dead-ringer for Bill Guarnere — groans, Will you please spit it the hell out already?

“So,” Babe says, “the letter.”

“Yeah,” says Gene. His gaze doesn’t leave Babe’s, sharp as a needle.

“Look, I wanted to —“

“I know,” says Gene.

“I wanted to say —“

“Babe,” Gene cuts in. “I know.”

Finally, Babe meets his gaze head-on. It’s never possible to read what’s going on in Gene’s head, but his face gives something away, sometimes. The way the corners of his lips twitch when he’s trying not to laugh; the line that appears between his eyebrows when he’s really worried; the way his eyes go soft when he knows someone needs comforting, and turn to hot coals when he’s furious.

Right now, Babe can’t pick a damn thing out of Gene’s expression… but his eyes are very, very soft. It feels like a punch to the stomach.

“You know,” he says slowly, “but…”

The words linger between them for a long, charged moment. Babe’s chest feels like it’s caught in a compactor, being slowly squeezed until his lungs burst and his ribs turn to dust. He huffs out a laugh — a dry, desperate thing. “Jesus, Gene, you look like you’re about to break my heart.” Gene still doesn’t say a word; Babe looks up at him, wide-eyed. “Why’s it you doctors just love to drag things out? Rip off the band-aid quick, and save us both the trouble.”

“Edward,” he says gently, laying a hand over Babe’s own. Babe jerks away like he’s been stung.

“Don’t Edward me right now!”

“Babe,” Gene says, and his voice is softer than ever. Babe’s throat is tight, eyes stinging… but damned if he’ll let himself cry over this, not where Gene can see. Christ, he’s an idiot. He’s so stupid, he should never have done anything, why did he even think —

“I have known... for a while, now. Didn’t need a letter to tell me some things.” Gene pauses, like he’s chewing over the words, before adding, “But it was good to read. Just to know.”

“Now you know,” Babe replies, and inhales a deep breath. “You happy now?”

Gene doesn’t answer. When Babe risks a glance over, Gene isn’t looking at him at all anymore; his eyes are on the sky, watching as the first pinpricks of starlight pierce through the indigo curtain. He looks thoughtful, almost mournful. It gouges something in Babe’s chest.

“Gene,” he says again. “Are you happy?”

“I don’t know.” When Gene inhales, it’s almost like a whisper. When he exhales, it’s like he’s singing to the night air. “Thought about it for a long time. Trying to figure out how I feel.”

“You’ve had a whole afternoon to do it. You get it all sorted out yet?”

“Longer than that,” Gene replies. His gaze flickers over to him. “I told you, Babe. I knew.”

Jesus. So he wasn’t as subtle as he thought. Babe exhales, praying to make the sick-to-his-stomach sensation go with it. Instead, it just churns even harder. If this goes on any longer, he’s gonna need a damn bucket.

Gene’s never been the best with words; expressing himself has never been easy, which is why Babe’s gotten so good at reading between the lines. Gene’s really trying now — for his sake, Babe supposes. “Reading that letter, seeing all those feelings laid out on paper… Babe, you didn’t have to sign it. I’d ‘a known it was you, just from what you said. It was like… listening to your heart. And a part of me already does that every day, so I guess it was easy.”

Can Gene hear his heart screaming now? Babe grips the windowsill until his knuckles turn white, grounding himself. 

“I wasn’t sure how you felt before… and I wasn’t sure how I felt for you. Knew you felt something, but not what, and not how…” Gene swallows, pale throat bobbing. “But now I know.”

“Now you know.” Babe dwells on this statement for a moment before turning, hesitation heavy on his tongue. “So… what now, Gene?”

Gene takes a deep breath, clinging to the night sky for one last moment, before turning his gaze on him. “Do you— “ He pauses, licks his lips. “Do you really mean what you wrote? All of it?”

“Gene,” Babe replies, “I meant every word.”

Something calms in Gene’s eyes, like a storm settling. Babe isn’t expecting the way his gaze clears, or the flash of steely certainty that follows. “Well,” Gene says, “there’s only one thing to do.”

Another thing Babe isn’t expecting — how sweet Gene tastes when his lips are suddenly pressed to his own.

Somewhere far away, beyond the depths of his own consciousness — which is really just a victory parade and firework show, that’s all he’s capable of at the moment — he thinks Bill would be proud of him. Beyond the grave, Julian’s probably cheering for him, glad his buddy’s finally getting some.

For once, though, their voices are drowned out completely. It’s impossible to hear anything over the storm raging in his ears, which only swells to a fever pitch when Gene leans back and smiles at him.

“Well, Babe,” he says, as Babe cups his face like a reverent thing. “Think we can figure things out from here.”

“Jesus, Gene,” Babe declares, and swoops in to kiss him again.

[trashcatsnark]

FC5 GFH: Deputy Dahlia Hale

I was tagged by the awesome @shallow-gravy, to do this uhhhhhh a while ago, but this took a lot of time. I will be tagging @enchantedbythebidders and @kizucute and @madsismad if any of you want to, and anyone who wants to do it please do!

TW: A dark humor jokey mention of suicide, cause my baby is a depressed dumbass

Selected as GFH:

               “Coming your way, mon cher.”

               “You got it.”

               “Won’t let you down.”

Combat

           Seeing Threat:

                               “Peggies, up ahead.”

                               “Careful, enemy spotted.”

                               “Watch out, cultists.”

               Stealth/being told to go stealth:

                               “Good thinkin’”

                               “Stay low.”

                               “We got this.”

               In Combat with Peggies:

                               “Fuck oFF!”

                               “Is that all you got?”

                               “C’mon, you can do better than that.”

               Pushing an Enemy Down:

                               “Stay down.”

                               “Eat shit.”  

                               “Pathetic.”

               Killing an Enemy:

                               “Where’s your god, now?”

                               “I told you not to fuck with me.”

                               “Lights out, motherfucker!”

               Post Combat:

                               “Just what I needed, more blood on my hands.”

                               “Well, that was exciting.”

                               “I need a smoke...”

               When she’s hurt/dying:

                               “Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.”

                               “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m okay,shit,fuck.”

                               “No pressure, but I’m kinda dying here!”

Thanking Player:

               “Fuck, I owe you one.”

               “Seriously, thanks.”

               “Anything I can do to thank ya?”

Reviving Player:

               “No dying on me, mon cher.”

               “Stay strong, we can do this.”

               “C’mon, we can’t do this without you.”

Player Points Weapon at her;

               “You got a fuckin’ problem with me?”

               “Put that down, before I make you.”

               “If you’re looking for a fight, I’ll give you one.”

Player Attacks her:

               “We’re on the same side, asswipe.”

               “Fine, you know what, let’s go, asshole!”

               “You really think you can take me?”

Has to Kill Player:

               “Traitor.”

               “I thought we were friends…”

               “I didn’t want to do this.”

 Idle:

               “Everyone looks at me weird when I call them mon cher, but I swear it’s just a thing we say in Louisiana, at least where I’m from.”

               “People keep talking about when things are back to normal. But, that’s not how it works. Trauma lingers, trust me, none of us are gonna be the same after this.”

               “Quite frankly, I don’t give a damn if the world is ending. If the world dies, I’ll die with it. Better than living in some freak’s bunker.”

               “Guns are cool and all, but nothing beats a proper fist fight, knife fights are a close second though.”

               “I wanna smoke so bad, but everywhere smell like gasoline and I don’t wanna go up in flames, at least not right now.”

 Holland Valley:

               “John’s real fucked in the head, but when he loses his cool is when he starts making mistakes, he’ll get sloppy and we can take the valley back.”

               “Something about John never sat right with me, he’s so fake, feels more like a mannequin than a real person. Pissing him off is pretty fun though.”

               “John’s capture parties are annoying, but they aren’t as well trained as Jacob’s hunters, I managed to dodge the fuckers for days. Actually? Are they still after me?”

 Henbane River:

               “God I fucking hate this place, the way it fucks with your head is just ugh. Damn that Church Mouse.”

               “Like, how does this shit even make sense? I know Bliss fucks up your head, but how can they control what we see? Like, not everyone on an LSD trip sees the same thing. Is it the power of suggestion or, I mean Faith can’t be an actual siren, can she?”

               “You know, I use to not get why everyone was so fixated on how pretty Faith was, too delicate for my taste I guess. But now that I know she can kick ass, not gonna lie, little more into it. Uh, don’t tell anyone I said that though, please.”

 Whitetail Mountains:

               “You think Jacob quotes that alpha omega wolf bullshit? I bet he does, shit ain’t even true, scientist who said it took it back.”

               “Jakey Boy’s gonna pay for what he’s doing to Pratt and I’m gonna make damn sure of it.”

               “Big Red out here is obsessed with creating soldiers, the ultimate tools, he uses people like it’s nothing. If you’re not careful, he’ll get in your head and use you like a puppet.”  

 Joseph’s Compound:

               “Where it all began, blegh, I wish I could have kicked Joe’s ass right then.”

               “You know I came here for church once, just to check it out, I puked behind the church. Hope that fucker stepped in it.”

               “Joseph preaches this bullshit about welcoming misfits, outcasts, pariahs of society. Every peggie is someone who didn’t feel like they belonged anywhere else, they think he saved them. But, you wanna know the truth? Joseph Seed preyed on them. He saw they were vulnerable and he swooped in like a fucking vulture to eat ‘em alive. And they thank him for it.”

 Dutch’s Island:

               “Dutch is ornery old man, makes me wonder why he ain’t out here fighting with us.”

               “Bunker man Dutch knows everything about everyone, also got camera all around, it’d be creepy if he wasn’t such a cool guy.”

 Falls End:

               “Mary May is a grade-A badass, don’t let the baby face fool ya.”

               “Hudson, Pratt, and I use to hang out at The Spread Eagle after work, almost every day, it’s weird going there without them now.”

               “Jerome is officially the only holy man I trust, everyone else can get fucked.”

 Wolfs Den:

               “Eli is incredible, seriously, I don’t know what we’d do without him. He’s just, so fuckin’ awesome, I-uh, that sounds weirdly gushy doesn’t it. It’s not like, I just- He’s a cool dude, shut up!”

               “Every time Eli compliments me, I could scream, like in a good way.”

               “You think we could hook up the beacons to blast Wheaty’s music? Be better than those weird animal moans for sure.”

 Hope County Jail:

               “May sound weird coming from a deputy, but, uh, I kinda figured I’d be in jail someday.”

               “Whitehorse has always been like the station’s dad, having him here means a lot.”

               “Virgil means well, but I’m pretty sure he’s on Tracey’s last nerve.”

  With Boomer;

               *in cutesy voice* “Who’s the cutest boy in the whole wide world, that’s right, you are!~”

               “Any peggies hurt Boomer and they’re gonna get my boot up their ass.”

               “Sorry, bud, I ain’t got any treats on me.”

 With Peaches:

               “You wanna see me carry a cougar?”

               “Ahhh, she’s so fuckin’ cute, she could claw my face off and I’d thank her.”

               *Meows back at Peaches*

 With Cheeseburger:

               “Awwwwwwwww, you’re so cute, so beautiful, what a precious boy!~”

               “Do you think I could pick him up?”

               “What’s new, Paddington?” *Cheeseburger growsl* “Oh, I’m sorry bro, that’s rough.”

 When paired with Sharky:

               “He is the fire boy; he is the one ignites. That was a dumb joke, please ignore me.”

               “Set me on fire and we’re gonna have problems, Boshaw.”

               “Wait, you had a job, Sharky?! Uh, that sounded mean, didn’t it? Sorry…”

 When paired with Adelaide: (anytime Addie says anything sexual) “Please stop, please stop, please stop, please stop.”

               “Any hole? What the hell does that mea-I don’t wanna know, do I?”

               “I still don’t get what you saw in Hurk Sr, but I’m damn glad you got out of that mess.”

 When paired with Hurk Jr.:

               “So, not a stealth mission, got ya.”

               “I’m gonna kill you, Hurk, seriously.”

               “Why do you smell like beer? Are you drinking right now? Seriously!?”

 When paired with Jess:                “Arrows are cool and all, but being able to beat the fuck out of a peggie is way more satisfying, you can fight me on that, mon cher.”

               “Hey, Jess, you think any of these stores have working slushie machines?”

               “You got any idea what you’re gonna do after all this? Pff, me neither.”

 When paired with Grace:

               “I never got to meet your dad, but he sounds like an incredible man.”

               “You know a lot about PTSD, right? We’re all gonna be fucked up after this, aren’t we?”

               “Could I theoretically pay you to blow my brains out? Yeah, yeah, not funny, I know.”

 When paired with Nick:

               “Don’t do anything dumb, man. Kim and that baby need you.”

               “One more pun and I’m climbing in that plane to kick your ass.”

               “You and Kim are adorable, seriously.”

[wrestlingisfake]

Bound for Glory preview

Eric Young vs. Rich Swann - Young is defending the Impact Wrestling world championship.  This is only Swann’s second match since suffering a legit knee injury in January.  He returned to the ring for  a five-way title match at Slammiversary on July 18, where he eliminated Young.  Eric “reinjured” Swann’s leg to cost him that match; when Swann was forced to “retire” on August 4, Young assaulted him again.  Since then Young has gone on to win the world title, while Swann has been doing a whole “come out of retirement for revenge” storyline.

It’s funny to think about how these guys are headlining this show, considering that most fans would probably remember them best for being lost in the shuffle at WWE.  But this is Impact’s level, and it has been for years.  Just because these guys would be working a dark match on Smackdown doesn’t mean they can’t have a compelling main event here in a much smaller pond.

The basic “Rocky movie” approach to booking this feud would be to have Swann overcome adversity to conquer his most dangerous rival and finally win the big one.  But Impact has a long history of trying to outthink that logic, and I have a long memory of them swerving away from big coronation moments.  It was only a few months ago, in fact, that they were building up Ace Austin for an inevitable run on top, and then they just...didn’t do that.  So Swann might win, or they might tell a story that he has a lot of ring rust to shake off before he beat Young.  Nevertheless, my gut still says Swann wins the title here.

Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin vs. Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Ethan Page & Josh Alexander vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton - This is a four-way match for the Impact tag team title, currently held by the Motor City Machine Guns (Shelly and Sabin).  Per standard four-way rules, the only way to win is by pinfall or submission, and the first man to score a fall on any opponent wins the match and the title for his team.

The North (Page and Alexander) held the title for just over a full year as various other teams broke up or drifted away from Impact, so they got to be able to say they cleaned out the division.  Then Sabin and Shelley came in as the wily veterans to get a big push (which is sort of ironic when you consider their history with this company).  Austin and Fulton came together earlier this year as a “rising top heel and his enforcer” act, but they ended up as a tag team when they began feuding with the Good Brothers (Gallows and Anderson).  All along, there’s been a sense that the Machine Guns are just keeping the titles warm until they put over the Good Brothers.

I could see any of these teams getting the title, but it’s pretty clear Gallows and Anderson are top attractions in this company, so one way or another the title picture is going to revolve around them.  One interesting wrinkle is that the Good Brothers plan to work for both Impact and New Japan, and New Japan has a tag team tournament coming up, leading into their biggest show of the year.  If I’m Don Callis, I want to send Gallows and Anderson to Japan for a couple of months to soak up that exposure, and I’d want them do it while wearing Impact title belts.  I’m probably getting ahead of myself with that speculation, but since I’ve got no other clear way to pick a winner, I’ll let that be why I’m going with Doc and Karl.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kylie Rae - Purrazzo is defending the Impact women’s title.  Kylie earned this title shot by winning a battle royale on July 18, the same night Purrazzo won the championship.  Since then Kylie has won the Warrior Wrestling women’s title, but that belt isn’t at stake here.

It was just about a year ago that Kylie debuted here, coming off a surprisingly abrupt exit from AEW.  It’s always felt like Impact wanted to do a slow build to her as the face of the women’s division.  And yet, Impact has also given Purrazzo a strong push since her debut in May.  Each of them would be my pick to win against any other woman in the company right now.  But against one another, it’s real tough to choose.  Feels like almost every match on this card is a pick-’em, which is a good thing.

I’m gonna go with Kylie to win just because she makes me happy.

EC3 vs. Moose - Moose has spent most of the year as the self-proclaimed “TNA world champion,” but EC3 stole his belt and I’m not sure what happened to it and I’m not sure either guy still cares about it at this point.  EC3 gained his widest exposure to fans in his NXT/WWE run, but Impact viewers know he really made his name in this promotion, back when it was called TNA.  “EC3” literally stands for “Ethan Carter III,” from when his gimmick was that he was the (kayfabe) nephew of longtime TNA owner Dixie Carter.

The story is that after EC3 was laid off from WWE, he decided he had to exorcise his old failures, which I guess are symbolized by Moose carrying around the belt he once held.  So EC3 started interfering in Moose matches and stalking him and playing cryptic videos for him and other weird stuff.  This has been going on since July but EC3 has yet to wrestle for Impact in all that time.  Aside from a couple of indie shows, and some ROH stuff that hasn’t aired yet, this will be his first match in 2020.

Back in July I assumed that EC3 would sign with Impact.  Then when I heard he was doing stuff with ROH, I figured it was a side project before he fully committed to Impact.  But after three months with no Impact matches, I’m starting to wonder if his Impact deal is a one-and-done.  Actually, the fact I’m wondering that helps the match, since if I was sure he was sticking around, it’d be super obvious that he has to beat Moose.  As it is, I’m still leaning toward EC3 winning, but that little doubt in my head will keep it interesting.

Eddie Edwards vs. Ken Shamrock - I lost the plot on this one, but as I recall Edwards had a vicious feud with Sami Callihan in 2018, and then Shamrock had a vicious feud with Callihan earlier this year, and now Shamrock and Callihan both hate Edwards for some reason.  Incidentally Shamrock is being inducted into Impact’s hall of fame this weekend, so it’s kind of weird that they decided now is the time to turn him heel.

I think the easiest way to sum both of these guys up is that neither of them knows when to quit.  They both look grizzled and stopped-giving-a-fuck, which makes them scary in the way that convicts in movies seem scary.  Now that I think about it, I’m surprised it took so long for this match to happen.

The x-factor here is Callihan, who will undoubtedly be interfering on behalf of Shamrock.  I don’t know who the hell Eddie can get to counteract that; usually when he needs backup it ends up being his wife Alisha, which works better than you might expect but still not all that well.  I guess if Davey Richards was going to return, this would be a cool way to set it up.  But failing that, I don’t think Eddie can win this match.

Rohit Raju vs. Chris Bey vs. TJP vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Trey Miguel vs. Willie Mack - Raju’s “X division” title is on the line.  This is being billed as a “six-way scramble match.”  I tend to think that’s just a cute name for a standard six-way match, where whoever scores the first fall on any opponent wins the match and the title.  Of course, in WWE a “scramble match” was a specific stipulation where whoever scores the last fall in a specified time period is the winner.  But I think if Impact was trying to bring those rules back, they’d have made a bigger deal about it, and I would have heard something about it by now.

The backstory here is that Bey was getting a big push and beat Mack for the title, and Raju started lobbying to be his henchman.  This led to Bey vs. Raju vs. TJP, with the idea that Raju would help Bey against TJP, but Raju went into business for himself and won the title.  So now everybody is gunning for Raju, including Trey for some reason I forget, and I think Grace just got thrown in there to make it more interesting.  Basically, Raju was a prelim guy before any of this happened, and he’d be the underdog against any of these opponents, so you’re supposed to think he’s doomed in a match against all of them.

I’m a tad surprised Grace is involved, because it wasn’t all that long ago that it was Tessa Blanchard as the woman chasing the X title, and then the world title, and that didn’t work out so well.  Then again, Tessa’s gender was hardly the reason that run fell apart, so maybe Impact is determined to do it again until they get it right.  Thing is, if you want to seriously present a woman winning a men’s championship, you want the champion that puts her over to be stronger than Rohit Raju.  So if they’re gonna do it, I’d say they should do it later, with Grace challenging one of the other guys for the title one-on-one.

Anyone could win this match, but it’s a real old trick to have the most hated heel be the biggest underdog, and then he steals a win after his opponents destroy each other.  So I’m going with Rohit to retain.

20-person “Call Your Shot” gauntlet match - This is a timed interval gauntlet match, similar to WWE’s Royal Rumble.  Two participants start the match, and each additional participant enters at regular intervals.  (I don’t think they’ve said how long the intervals are, but I’m guessing 90 seconds or two minutes or something.)  For most of the match, a competitor can only be eliminated by leaving the ring over the top rope and placing both feet on the floor; however, once all but two wrestlers are eliminated, the rules change so they can only lose by pinfall or submission.  The last person left in the match is the winner and earns the right to a title match against the champion of their choice.

So far Impact has confirmed eleven participants, seven men and four women:

Acey Romero, of the XXXL tag team

Alisha Edwards, whose last singles victory in this company was in 2018 against AEW’s Rebel/Reba

Brian Myers, formerly known as Curt Hawkins in WWE

Havok, aka Jessicka Havok in the indies

Heath, formerly Heath Slater in WWE, with the gimmick that he hasn’t yet secured a contract to work for Impact

Hernandez, once a rising star in TNA, now some sleazy guy backstage with a giant wad of cash

Larry D, Romero’s partner in XXXL

Rhino, the former ECW/WWE star who’s been trying to help Heath get signed

Taya Valkyrie, probably best known from AAA and Lucha Underground

Tenille Dashwood, formerly Emma in NXT and WWE

Tommy Dreamer, the ECW legend, who has been feuding with Myers

The order of entry is supposed to be random, but the results of an October 20 match slotted Hernandez as the last entrant and Rhino as the first.  The added stipulation for Rhino and Heath is that their jobs are on the line: If either of them wins, Rhino stays and Heath is signed, but if neither of them win, Rhino is fired and Heath can’t keep coming around asking for work.

It feels like this match has to end with Rhino or Heath winning, to pay off that storyline.  In fact, I could easily see it being a deal where one appears to be eliminated, and hides off-camera until the other is thrown out, and then Josh Matthews can play Michael Cole being all shocked that there’s still hope.  It feels so obvious that I’ve seen speculation that Heath needs to turn on Rhino right after one of them wins, to keep it interesting.  But I think we’re all overlooking the alternative, where they’re both kicked out of the company but nevertheless keep appearing in comedy skits for weeks until they get some other chance to earn contracts.  Personally, I’d just keep it simple and have Heath win leading to Heath and Rhino challenging for the tag title.

Dez & Wentz vs. Cody Deaner & Cousin Jake - This is being advertised for the pre-show.  Dez (Desmond Xavier) and Wentz (Zachary Wentz) are, along with Trey Miguel, the stoner team of the Rascalz.  Cody Deaner has been Impact’s resident redneck good-ol’ boy on and off for years.  Jake is better known on the indie scene as Jake Something, the current Black Label Pro champion.  Between the two teams, I think Impact is more committed to pushing the Rascalz, but this is another one where it could really go either way.  This whole show has been really hard to predict.  Let’s hope it still seems unpredictable after it’s over.

[embarrassingsmartphonegame]

Anything (Chapter 5) - Nik Ryder x f!MC

Summary: After surviving an attempt on her life, she discovers there are worse fates than dying. And they’re all ice cold.

Warnings for this chapter: gun violence, swear words, and some fluff

Links to previous chapters: one // two // three // four

True to her word, Leah returned to Nik’s apartment a few hours later with more sleep under her belt than in the past three months. She smiled shyly as she walked into his apartment and noticed that he shaved his beard to his old neat stubble, and her stomach did a funny flip as he led her to his car. The two made disjointed small talk coupled with long bouts of silence; it was as if the events of the previous night hadn’t happened now that it was daylight and the two were more awake, more sober. And neither wanted to admit that they were surprised by the turn of events. 

Leah still tried to wrap her head around the fact that not only did Nik not hate her after she suddenly left, but he was also willing to go with her to Lamrian on her wild goose chase to find herself. And Nik was still wary it was all a dream or a trick and that she wasn’t actually there with him, that he truly had lost her like he lost everyone else in his life. Both stole sneaky glances at the other as they drove Nik’s car and walked through the woods and eventually towards the vast, open fields to the cathedral guarding Lamrian quietly, still keeping a careful distance from each other.

“Soooo…” Leah began, keeping her eyes trained forward. “Anything weird happen at the Graveyard Shift while I was gone?”

“I mean...it’s always weird in this city,” Nik replied, his eyes also trained forward. “But Garrus and Krom are still going strong. Never seen either of ‘em that happy; it’s kinda cute but kinda gross.”

“Aww, that’s so great! They deserve each other!” Leah remembered that night she and Ivy convinced Krom to make a move since it was so painfully obvious they liked each other. “Is Ivy still making you hunt ghosts for her services?”

“Strangely enough, she hasn’t been accepting any requests lately,” Nik chuckled, shaking his head as he recalled the time Leah tagged along to hunt a ghost for Ivy. “I think she’s been busy with some research. Something about her New York vampire Internet friend’s friend dying and then turning into a vampire while being a Bloodkeeper, whatever that means. And I think trying out some human video games with that same friend.”

“Okay now that’s wild, complete bonkers. I hope that person’s okay; dying wasn’t exactly a walk in the park…” Leah shivered, all of a sudden feeling cold even in the late spring weather of Louisiana. She tried to block out the memories that plagued her for a good two months after she left New Orleans.

“I know I probably shouldn’t ask, but how did you cope after everything?” Nik asked, glancing at her to make sure she was okay. “I can’t even imagine what that was like for you. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“How did I cope? Well...I didn’t.” Leah laughed mirthlessly, a smile not quite reaching her eyes. “I think I already told you the majority of it: stuck with my boring office job, avoided my mom, tried to pass the time with hobbies but failed so I got drunk a lot and did a bunch of people and other bad stuff. But probably the worst thing I did was cut my own bangs at 4am.”

“...Seriously?”

“Yeah I was having a crisis.”

“Because you saw your best friend get attacked, were hunted down relentlessly by a genocidal monster, found out your dad’s a Fae lord, saw your dad die, and then you died?” Leah blinked as he listed it all out in one breath; had she really been talking about it that much?

“Well...okay yeah pretty much. But also because I turned 25.”

Nik paused, confused. “What does that have to do with anything? Is that seriously a crisis?”

“A mid- okay fine not really, quarter-life crisis.” Leah let out a small laugh as she hazily remembered her conversation with Kristin, shaking her head and putting her hands in her pockets. “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“I’m only a year younger than you, rook.”

“Then we’ll have a talk a year from now.”

Nik let a grin spread across his features. “That mean you’ll still be here a year from now?”

Leah shifted her eyes for a moment, and when she spoke again her voice was the perfect mix of playful and sincere. “Maybe.”

The two paused as they reached their destination. The castle guarding Lamrian loomed over them, its broken windows staring down at Leah like judgment. Leah felt very small. She felt as if she was a specimen on a petri dish placed under a microscope, and the Fae just behind those magical doors were scrutinizing her every being. 

Leah froze in fear, and she could feel the panic rising in her tight, tight chest. Nik noticed her expression and instinctively took one of her hands in his, giving it a small squeeze. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay. And I’m with you every step of the way.”

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t get a hold of her emotions, no matter how hard she tried or what she told herself she needed to do. Tears sprung on the corners of her eyes and ran down her face freely, and big, gasping sobs escaped from her mouth. She wrenched her hand from his, turned her back to the castle, and started walking away. Leah was hunched over and her hands grasped each other as she walked with Nik following her.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Leah could only see red, and that red was directed at herself. “I really dragged you out here for nothing! Why can’t I fucking face them?!”

Nik stopped her by placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her around so they were face-to-face. “Rook...breathe.”

She shook her head, trying to will the tears away but failing and launching into an anxiety-fueled. “Ugh, this is pathetic and embarrassing. I never should’ve stepped foot in Lamrian and I keep dragging you into my problems. I drag everyone into my problems! Kristin’s probably still paying for an entire week of hospital bills, Vera had to face her mom, Cal had to go against his pack, you and Katherine risked your lives by hunting Thomas down...fuck! When this was all happening, I should’ve just ignored you and stood in an open field and let the Bloodwraith—”

She was cut off by him pulling her into his strong arms, squeezing her so tightly she had no choice but to stop talking. “Don’t. I mean it, rook. Goddammit.”

“Why do you keep helping me?” she sobbed into his shoulder. “All I do is drag you down.”

He rubbed her back tenderly. “Because I want to. I care so damn much about you, rook, you have no idea.”

Before Leah could respond, the sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind them. Nik instantly positioned his body in front of hers, his crossbow aimed at the voice before Leah could even blink. He put it down once they realized that it was the same Fae guarding Lamrian. His lips were set in a straight line and his eyes devoid of any emotion, a soldier on duty.

“Daughter of Lamrian,” he kneeled reverently as he spoke. “You have returned. Welcome. Let me lead the way.”

“Thank you. But unfortunately, I can’t come inside. It’s not the right time.” Leah steadied her breath. She appreciated the fact that he ignored her crimson red eyes and shaky voice. “But will you please relay a message for Lady Thalissa for me?”

“Anything you wish is my command.”

“Please tell her that Lord Elric loves her and will be waiting for her. And that I’m sorry for everything that happened and will one day return. Just...not today.”

He nodded and straightened up, preparing to relay the message. Leah stopped him. “And also...this is for the people of Lamrian: I’m sorry. I’m just sorry that they lost a leader and an heir because of me.”

The Fae guard nodded again, his lips in a thinner, harsher line; Leah could have sworn that his eyes displayed hints of anger and grief before they fell into the trained dutiful expression. She let him walk away, and when he was finally out of sight in the castle she let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.

“You did the right thing, rook.”

“Then why do I still feel so shitty?”

The two began to walk back to Nik’s car and eventually reached the woods. “It’d be weird if you didn’t feel like shit. It’s a lot, and sometimes you feel like you’re never gonna get out of that tunnel. But you will. And I’m here.”

“Nik, I--” But Leah was cut off by Nik suddenly shouting and tackling her to the ground as a knife embedded itself to the tree right behind where their heads were seconds before.

“Son of a bitch…” Nik muttered, quickly dragging them both back to their feet. “Can’t catch a break for one day!”

“What the fuck was that?!” Leah ran with him through the woods, her hand attached to his.

“He’s back. Remember that shapeshifter I pissed off? He must’ve followed us.”

“That I did, Ryder,” a snide, mocking voice replied from behind a tree. A man dressed in all black stepped out of the shadows. “A little birdie over your shoulder as you paid attention to your little girlfriend here.”

“For fuck’s sake, Mark, it was nothing personal. Grave robbing is a sick, sick thing to do!” Nik got into a fighting stance with his crossbow on his shoulder and Leah directly behind him.

“You just can’t appreciate the intricacies of a human bone broth soup!”

Leah grimaced in disgust and poked her head out to the side of Nik’s body. “Ugh, that’s what you were using it for? That’s messed up.”

Mark’s eyes flashed with rage, putting his hands in his pockets. “Just shut up, and you’re dying with him!”

“To hell with you!” Nik shot several arrows at him, and Mark rolled out of the way and back into the shadows. “Leah, stay out of the way!”

“I’m not letting you do this alone!” Leah stubbornly replied, running after him hunting down the shapeshifter. She channeled all of her energy into her palms, but to no avail. “Seriously, let me help!”

“You can help by keeping yourself safe!”

“He’s right; this ain’t a place for ya, missy.” Mark threw another knife from the shadows, and Nik deftly avoided it and more arrows. But Mark turned into a crow and flew above their heads to avoid the attack.

He landed on a tree and turned into a jaguar, and promptly lunged at the both of them from above. Leah managed to get out of the way but Nik punted him in the abdomen with a powerful kick. Mark landed a few feet away, groaning in pain and back in his human form. But within seconds he pulled a pistol out and started shooting at them. Nik and Leah ran in a zig-zag formation with the murderous shapeshifter hot on their heels.

“Arghhh!” With Leah a few feet ahead, Nik suddenly went down, clutching the side of his right thigh. He pulled his hand away for a moment to assess the damage, and Leah could see a linear laceration on his skin from where the bullet grazed his leg.

Leah watched in horror as the shapeshifter suddenly appeared above Nik, a heavy boot on his hand nearest to his crossbow and the gun aimed at his head. Mark grinned maliciously. “Nighty night, Nighthunter.”

“NOOO!” Leah shouted, sprinting towards the barrel of the gun and blindly pushing her hands out in front of her. All of a sudden two identical blasts of light bounded from the palms of her hands, both hitting Mark square in the face. The skin and nerves on her hands were burning, but she didn’t notice or care, adrenaline pumping through her vasculature. She could feel a power, a deep and great power bursting forth from her core. With a shriek, she sent more blasts towards Mark, the power boundless and suddenly at her disposal to do what she wanted. And all she could focus on was destroying Mark.

“Leah! Leah!” A seemingly far away voice called her name, but it didn’t register until she felt two arms wrap around her from behind. “Come back to me! Rook!”

Leah stopped blasting at her target, and a white haze that she didn’t even realize was present suddenly dissipated from her vision. She finally realized where she was, and that she was responsible for the pile of ashes on the ground where the shapeshifter once stood. Leah fell to her knees and Nik went down with her, refusing to let go.

“I...I did that,” Leah whispered, looking down at her trembling hands. “My powers...they’re back!”

“You saved my life, rook.” Nik held her with one arm as he pressed down on the wound on his leg. “That was...that was the most power I’ve ever seen from someone.”

Maybe it was the fact that their faces were suddenly so close to each other, or maybe it was the fact that they avoided certain death again. Maybe it was the silence gathering around them, warm and electric. Maybe it was the tenderness in his expression as he held her. Leah brought one hand up to his cheek and pressed their lips together softly, and they both sighed in relief as they kissed. A warm, gentle rain misted around the pair. Leah pulled away, and both sported giddy, shy smiles.

“Not how I expected today to go...but this is perfect...well, perfect for us.” Leah hauled him up and to his feet and tied her light jacket around his thigh as a makeshift tourniquet. “Best way I could help was staying out of the way, huh?”

Nik shook his head in disbelief as they walked. “You are the most bullheaded and impossible woman I’ve ever met. I would be dead now if it weren’t for you.”

“Nik…” Leah began seriously. She knew what she finally had to do. “What happened today...I want to be with you. As your partner, both personally and professionally.”

His eyes met hers, and he searched for any signs of hesitation only to find none. His face was completely relaxed for the first time since she met him, and it sent her heart fluttering. “Are you sure about this?”

“You’re a mess...and I’m a mess.” She shook her head, chuckling incredulously. “But that just might be why we’re perfect for each other. I’m in love with you, and I think I’ve always known it. Being your partner is what I want, if you’ll have me.”

“Goddammit, Leah…” He laughed with her before he spoke again, his voice vulnerable and sincere. “I love you too. I want you with me every second, from the moment I wake up to when I rest my head. I want you with me in the trenches, and then I want you with nothin’ at all between us.”

Every word lifted a heavy weight off her heart, and Leah beamed as she took Nik’s hand. “That’s all I want, too...partner.”

The now-official couple reached Nik’s car, but instead of getting in, Nik opened his trunk. Leah quirked an eyebrow. “Getting something?”

“You could say that,” Nik replied, stepping out from behind the car with his hands behind his back. “I’ve had this in here since the day you got out of the hospital, and I couldn’t bear to even look at it. Now that you’re back, though…”

“Are you...nervous?” Leah couldn’t help the teasing, amused tone in her question as she noticed his blush. She had to admit it was odd yet slightly satisfying seeing him squirm. 

“...You left this.”

Nik held out her cherry red leather jacket, the same one he gave her on her first night in New Orleans. Leah ran her hands down the soft, worn leather, smiling softly. “You really kept this all this time?”

“Well...yeah.” Nik rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Maybe I hoped that you’d come back one day.”

“Well you were right, Mr. Nighthunter.” Leah put the jacket on, relishing in the familiarity of the cool leather and smell of the bayou. “How do I look?”

Nik smiled brightly. “Like it was made for you, Ms. Nighthunter.”

She sidled up to the driver’s side of the car mischievously. “Awesome, now get in.”

“Wait, what? Who said you were driving?”

“You got shot in the leg! I need to take you to the hospital!”

The pair continued to bicker the entire ride to the emergency room, and amidst the chaos Leah grinned; she wouldn’t have it any other way. Everything was different, but maybe it would be okay after all. 

==============================================

A/N: Andddd after almost 4 months (!!!)...I’m back on this series with a real chapter. Thank you so much to whoever has stuck with reading every chapter; this is my first time actually writing a multi-chapter fic. There’s one chapter left before I move on to my next Nightbound series, which is pretty much a sequel to this story and the canon story. I hope you enjoyed this, and I welcome any and all comments!

Tagging: @furiouscloddonutpeanut @nighthunterkatherine @saivilo @samara-rani @god-save-the-keen @xxdangerouscapri15xx @inlovewithrebels

[stories-you-wont-hear]

– four seasons. | dive

this mini-series is inspired by something a friend told me her boyfriend once told her that i thought was so damn romantic. he said something like, “I want to see all four seasons together with you.” that inspired this four-part bit with billy (pre-anvil), and if there’s interest, i might do it with other characters but billy is definitely the first one to come to mind when I got this idea. hope you all enjoy!

tag list: shameless-pope  bellastellaluna  the-scarletsandwich

The first time Billy saw you, you were standing at the edge of the pool in Castle’s backyard, your face twisted in annoyance. “Did you have to do that?” you asked him, hands on your hips, the front of your sundress soaked due to the cannonball he had just pulled in an attempt to wow the kids. Sure, a man of his stature didn’t have to do much to impress a bunch of little kids, but the rush from compliments for “Uncle Billy” were worth the effort. “Woah, Uncle Billy do it again!” Lisa yelled from across the pool. Billy couldn’t help but shoot you a grin, cocking his head to the side in a way only he could get away with. “No,” you said firmly, about to continue when Frank Jr. cut in. “But Aun-” 

Your eyebrow rose as you glared at the boy who had swam to the edge of the pool, “Francis David Castle Jr., your mother told me to get you little heathens to come eat and I will not fail her.” Both Lisa and Frank Jr. groaned, but upon the mention of their mother, they both began to head towards where Frank Sr. was grilling up burgers. 

“So you’re Y/N, huh?” Billy said, hoisting himself up to sit at the edge of the pool. “That’s my name,” you replied, not moving to follow the kids but the edge in your voice wasn’t exactly an invitation to talk. “Listen, I’m sorry about that,” he said, gesturing to the front of your dress which was wet because of his whole cannonball show. “Don’t worry about it,” you replied, your shoulders easing a bit, “The kids loved it.” “They do love a good show,” he added, winking at you. You couldn’t help but laugh, Maria had told you all about Frank’s buddy from the Marine Corps. “They love you. You could sit in a chair and they’d be amazed by you,” you replied, recalling stories Maria had told you over the last few months. 

The two of you had worked together briefly, but had kept in touch even after you had moved on to a different workplace. While you were unmarried and childless, the two of you found middle ground in other things. You had met Frank a few times when he had been back home, but most of your time with Maria was when he was away. 

As a result, you had only heard of Frank’s “brother,” Billy Russo but were meeting him for the first time today. And the first impression hadn’t exactly been spectacular. You were sure that Maria was especially pushing for the two of you to meet so that you could get over your last boyfriend. “He’s easy on the eyes,” she had said to you the other day as the two of you went down the aisles of the supermarket together, busy preparing for the upcoming barbecue. You rolled your eyes at her, saying something along the lines of not needing a man, but upon actually seeing Billy, you had to admit that Maria was right.

“Maria’s talked a lot about you,” Billy said, taking a seat next to you just as you bit into your burger. “Good things I hope,” you replied, giving him a small smile. Billy mirrored your movements, biting into his own burger as he carried on the conversation. “Great things actually,” he said, “It was sorta like she was working on a sales pitch.” You laughed, catching Maria’s eye from across the yard. She was among other friends, but you had caught her eye on you the few times you and Billy had been near each other that afternoon. She should consider getting a job as a CCTV camera, you thought to yourself.

“I’m gonna get a drink,” you said, standing up after the two of you made casual conversation while you ate, “Want anything?” “A beer sounds good,” Billy replied, taking your empty plate from you. You made your way towards Frank who was sipping a beer at the grill while Billy took care of the plates, greeting your friend’s husband warmly. 

“Hey Frank,” you called, giving him a small wave. “Hey you,” Frank replied affectionately. While the two of you weren’t especially close, Frank’s appreciation for you being there for his wife and kids went unsaid but was always clear. “Now, what kind of beer do Marines like?” you pondered as you opened the cooler to examine the contents. “If it’s for Billy,” Frank called, gesturing towards a smaller cooler stored near the grill, “Give him some of the good stuff.” 

You raised an eyebrow at Frank, eyeing the label of the bottle of what he was drinking. It certainly wasn’t the cheap stuff you and Maria had picked up the other day. “Remind me how to get on your good side, Frankie?” you joked, “I want an in on the good stuff.” Frank smiled in return, a rare sight, but you were sure the beer had something to do with it, “We don’t even get the bad stuff when we’re out there. I figured it’d be a treat for my brothers before we head out in a few weeks.” “Right,” you replied softly, grabbing a beer from Frank’s cooler and a wine cooler for yourself. Frank, and by default, Billy were scheduled to be deployed in a few weeks despite having just come back only about two month ago. 

You remember that Maria had been overjoyed the first couple days, especially when you had offered to stay with the kids at the house this weekend so that he and Maria could get away for a few days. Over time, you could sense that she felt that Frank’s upcoming deployment was looming over them. You could sense it when the two of you went shopping together, all you wanted to do was to make sure that the two of them had a good time during the time together that they had. “See ya Frank,” you replied, giving him a nod of acknowledgment as you made your way back to Billy.

“Ah,” Billy said as he examined the bottle you had just handed to him, “Old Frankie broke out the good stuff.” You laughed, cracking open your own drink and taking a long, cool sip. “Not a beer kinda girl?” he asked, taking a long sip of his own drink. You shook your head, “I’m down for a cold one, but I’m watching the kids tonight so I want to keep it light.” He nodded, turning his attention to the rest of the yard which was full of other friends of Frank and Maria’s. There were a few other guys Frank knew from his time over there, but it was mostly families that lived nearby or classmates and parents of Lisa and Frank Jr.’s. “Not a mingle kinda guy?” you asked after a few moments of silent people observing. Billy shook his head, and you couldn’t help but notice how dark his eyes were. 

It was summer, so the sunset was slow and orange, like a melting popsicle. The lights Maria had strung up in the backyard, along the fences and near the big pool Frank had bought for the kids to enjoy, were aglow and music was playing softly in the background of everyone’s conversations. In the midst of all this, you and Billy stood off to the side, taking up two chairs in one corner of the Castle’s yard. While Frank made rounds as people began to leave, he had handed Billy another beer, you turning down his offer as the two of you continued your conversation. You found out more about Billy from him, not from Maria this time. He was raised in the foster system up in Albany, and had snuck down to the city that you called home from time to time. You wondered if your paths had ever crossed unknowingly, but then you pushed that question from your mind as you remembered that you were here in this moment together.

The more he talked, the more ingrained you found yourself in his thoughts. All of the military people you knew were Marines through the Castles, and most were married with families. You were a rare friend of Maria’s, without a family of her own much less a spouse overseas, and Billy was a rare first for you. “Y/N?” you heard Maria call you, pulling you from the conversation between you and Billy. You looked up to see the backyard as packed up as it could be after the party today, and Frank and Maria standing at the back door.

“Maria!” you called, standing up suddenly and walking over to your friend, “I should’ve helped clean up, I’m so s-” Maria held her hand up, in that kind of way that made her kids immediately stop talking, so you knew better than to protest. “The Moms helped,” she explained, “Besides, I didn’t want to take you from Billy.” You opened your mouth again but she shook her head, smiling knowingly. “Take care brother,” Billy called from behind you. Frank nodded his head in acknowledgement, and somehow those gestures were enough to communicate for the two of them.

“The kids are inside watching TV,” Maria explained, “So feel free to stay, Billy.” “I’ll tuck ‘em in,” Billy replied nonchalantly, “Tell ‘em a bedtime story.” “Didn’t know you knew how to read,” you blurted jokingly. “Hey!” Billy said with a huff, playfully bumping his shoulder with yours. You didn’t know if Maria could smile any wider than she was now, but even Frank had a little twinkle in his eye. “Drive safe,” you called to the two of them as they waved their goodbyes before heading out towards the driveway. 

“You wanna head inside?” you called as Billy stuck his head through the door. “Nah,” he replied, gently closing just the screen door behind him. “They’re busy being enthralled by whatever Lisa’s into right now.” You laughed, sitting down in a patio door close enough to the door so that you’d hear if the kids called out for you. Billy took the seat next to you, opting to take a water bottle from the cooler instead of another beer.

“So, how does it feel being back?” you asked, your voice cutting through the now almost silent backyard. “Funny you ask,” he replied, “Most people asked me how it felt to be going back soon.” “I’m not sure they’d understand even if you answered,” you noted. “They can’t,” Billy said, his voice taking an edge you hadn’t heard before. “There’s nothing ever that can compare, there’s no way for anyone who hasn’t done it to understand,” he continued. You let out a small sigh, partially because you were unsure of how to reply. “But being back,” Billy said, clearing his throat, “It’s strange.” “Strange how?” you asked curiously. You knew bits about Frank’s experience when he came back, mostly through Maria, but Frank was never one to talk much, and especially not about something like this.

Billy turned to look at you, and under the soft lights of the backyard, you could see him really looking at you. You weren’t sure if he’d answer, the topic was a sensitive one even with Frank who you had known for a bit. “It’s like being underwater,” Billy said softly, “Like you dive into the water and nothing feels quite right. You can see, but not clearly. You can move, but it ain’t the same. And then you surface and it’s clear but there’s that moment where you have to get used to not being in the water anymore.” You nodded, understanding what he was saying despite not being able to relate. “I used to think that being deployed was like being thrown back into the water, but lately…” Billy trailed off. “Being back here is the diving pool now,” you finished, and he smiled, genuinely smiled for you. 

Neither of you spoke then and you swore Billy had leaned in, and you could feel yourself leaning in as well until you heard Lisa’s shrill voice through the door, “Aunt Y/N!” Both you and Billy pulled back, turning to find Lisa’s face peering through the door. “Were you two kissing?” she called, blinking as she eyed the two of you. “No, you pervert!” Billy retorted. “I’m sorry!” Lisa huffed, pulling the door open to stick her head outside, “Mom just said she can’t wait for the two of you to get married so I just thought you might be practicing.” “I’m going to kill your mother,” you replied, shooting Billy and apologetic look. 

“What do you need, kid?” Billy asked. “Well, Frank started this movie and it’s kind of scary… Can you stay with us while we watch?” Lisa asked. “Only if you don’t make fun of me for covering my eyes,” you said with a sigh, turning your gaze to Billy. “I’m gonna head home,” he said, his hand moving to your shoulder as he stood up. “Come soon!” Lisa called over her shoulder as she disappeared back into the house. 

“Are you sure?” you asked, standing up to walk him out. “I’ll give you some time to work up some points with the kids, I feel bad that they love their Uncle Billy more,” he said with a grin. You scoffed, shaking your head in disbelief as you moved to turn off the lights in the backyard.

You walked Billy through the house so that he could say good night to the kids, with promises that they’d be good for you and get a waffle breakfast in return for Sunday morning. He wrapped them both in a big bear hug, picking them up easily while joking around with them and you could see why they liked him so much. With the kids settled with popcorn while lying in wait for you to return, you assured them you’d be quick with seeing Billy out.

You walked him out through the front door, stepping out to the porch away from Maria’s little spy. “I’ll see you on Sunday then,” you said quietly, crossing your arms over as the summer breeze blew a bit of cool air towards you. “Sunday it is,” Billy agreed, his voice matching the softness in yours. “Good night, Billy,” you said, giving him a smile. Instead of returning the goodbye, Billy leaned down, his hand coming to hold your face softly as he kissed you. You leaned into the kiss, stepping towards him as he ran his thumb over your cheek. When he pulled back, you followed, your hand flat on his chest. “What are we doing, Billy?” you murmured, your head clearing enough to remember that he was about to be deployed in a few weeks. He smiled softly and shook his head, pressing a kiss to your cheek as he brought his lips close enough for you to hear his low voice, “Practicing.”

________________________________________________________________

so this part was obvs summer, and the next three will be based around billy and y/n’s continuing relationship in fall, winter, and spring. love your comments, so please leave me lots of love! updates to precedence will come soon!

[psychosistr]

Talk to Me- Chapter 3

Summary: They’ve reached the restaurant and everything’s going great so far!...So why is Steelbeak so nervous about messing everything up? Maybe Domino can help him loosen up a little.

Notes: This scene was so much fun to write- I love writing date stories far too much x3

-First Chapter-

As far as Steelbeak was concerned, the ride to the restaurant had been a complete success. Flirting with Domino had been easy, natural, and fun- and that stroke of luck with the song on the radio had resulted in a surprisingly romantic moment that he honestly couldn’t have topped even if he’d planned it himself. They’d been seated quickly without having to wait, and had even gotten a great table by one of the windows with a stunning view of the moonlit bay in a corner of the restaurant with no one else around. All things considered, it was a great start to the night.

Which, unfortunately only made him more anxious about doing something to mess it all up.

He kept trying to tell himself that things were different this time- that things between him and Domino were better now- but, in the back of his mind, he kept thinking about how all of his attempts at conversation last time they went out to eat had ultimately messed everything up and left him with nothing but a bill to pay and quiet, lonely car ride home. It was a stupid thing to worry about, and he knew it, but he was so completely out of his element that it left him feeling more than a little unnerved.

It wasn’t the going out part he wasn’t used to, mind you. He’d gone out on plenty of “dates” before and those had gone well enough to earn him several “girlfriends” that were so charmed by him that they’d wait literally MONTHS just for a chance to see him again.

No, it was the idea of going out on an actual date with someone he was actually interested in seeing again that had his nerves frazzled.

Every other date he’d been on before had been the same routine: Dinner and drinks. Some sweet talk that he didn’t really mean. Drive back to his place. Have a little fun. And then he’d send them on their way with the usual “Don’t call me, I’ll call you”. Lather, rinse, repeat- the same thing every time.

With Domino, though, things were different. The other man was too sharp to fall for his usual sweet talk (though flirting was definitely still on the table). Steelbeak also wanted more than just a one night fling- he wanted to go out with him again in the very near future, or maybe even just hang out more outside of work. He wanted-

“-something wrong?” The loon’s voice cut through his thoughts instantly.

“Huh?” Steelbeak blinked and looked up from his half-touched plate of seafood paella, unaware that he’d spaced out. “Sorry, ya say somethin’?”

“……” There was that stare he’d become all too familiar with over the past few months- the look that told him the shorter bird was mentally picking him apart and analyzing him with unsettling accuracy. “Something’s on your mind and it’s stressing you out.” And he’d hit the nail right on the head, as always. “What is it?”

Darn, he really couldn’t hide anything from this guy, could he?

With a frustrated sigh, Steelbeak frowned and ran a hand over his comb. “Is it really that obvious?” A nod from his partner accompanied by his deadpan stare told him that, yes, it WAS that obvious. “You’re gonna think it’s stupid..”

“Probably.” Wow, he didn’t miss a beat with that, did he? “But I still want to hear it.”

Well, he thought, might as well spit it out. Otherwise the darker bird would just keep giving him that look until he did. “Can ya ‘least promise NOT t’ laugh?”

The edges of the other’s beak curled slightly in a smirk as he shrugged. “Maybe.” That was probably the best he was going to get.

Figuring that he wouldn’t be able to get it all out if he was looking into those seemingly all-seeing red eyes, Steelbeak chose instead to keep his gaze on the bay. “…..I..ain’t exactly used t’ datin’ like this.” His eyes followed the rolling motion of a wave as it crashed on the beach before receding. “Don’t get me wrong, I like goin’ out with a cute dame much as the next guy, but I don’t even bother rememberin’ their names half the time. We go out, I tell ‘em what they wanna hear, and it works good enough t’ get ‘em home with me.” He blindly waved his hand in Domino’s general direction. “But, with YOU, I don’t even know how t’ start a freakin’ conversation. If I try talkin’ to ya like the rest, it’d probably be charmin’, but it’s not gonna be real- my brain ain’t exactly wired for honesty, y’know? So I’m tryin’ real hard t’ think of somethin’ t’ talk about ‘sides small talk ‘cause I wanna say somethin’, but I don’t wanna look like an idiot for tryin’ too hard.” He gave a short, self-deprecating laugh and shook his head. “Aaaaaannd I just heard myself out loud: I’m tryin’ too hard t’ NOT try too hard..guess that don’t make a whole lotta sense, huh?”

When he finally turned his attention back to his date, he saw that the other bird had reached across the table with an extremely small, unmarked vial of something and currently had his hand angled over the rooster’s glass of water- clearly preparing to drip whatever was inside of the glass vial into his drink. “……” Realizing he’d been spotted, Domino slowly leaned back into his seat properly and set his hands back down in his lap, maintaining eye contact the whole time as if that would hide what he’d been about to do.

“…Dom..what’s that?” Steelbeak asked his partner incredulously.

“…Nothing…” He was clearly lying through his teeth and trying to maintain his poker face, despite being caught red-handed.

“We both know I ain’t buyin’ that.” Steelbeak looked down at the table obscuring the loon’s hands from his view. “I know you ain’t tryin’ t’ slip me a mickey, so spill it.”

“Fine..” The poker face finally fell away and Domino’s hand came back up to rest on the table with the vial still between his fingers, surprising the rooster with the dejected, guilty frown on his face. “It’s a truth serum.”

Steelbeak’s eyes widened in surprise at the admission. “Why the heck do ya have truth serum on ya??”

The darker bird shrugged a little. “I like to be prepared for anything- it comes in handy for emergency interrogations.” He set the vial on the table between them so that Steelbeak could see it better. “I thought that, if you’re uncomfortable because it’s hard for you to speak honestly with me, then a drop or two might help.”

The tiny glass container sat on the table, looking so small and insignificant, but Steelbeak knew better than to assume things when it came to drugs and chemicals in their line of work. “..That stuff really works..?”

“I’ve found it to be effective more than 98% of the time.” Domino replied. “It’s fast acting, too- most people notice the effects almost instantly.”

“……Eh, what the heck?” Steelbeak grabbed the vial and, instead of putting a few drops into his glass as Domino had been about to, he popped the drip-cap off and brought it directly to his beak to chug half of the colorless liquid in one go. “!!” He immediately regretted his decision- the liquid was oily and tasted like someone had boiled down a bottle of mouthwash into a loose syrup. After grabbing his napkin and coughing into it for a solid minute, as well as chugging his entire glass of water to weaken the nearly medicinal taste still coating his tongue, he set the half-empty vial back down in the middle of the table. “Ugh, this stuff better be worth it..”

Domino picked the vial up and put it away after screwing the cap back on. “You know, two drops would have been more than enough. Don’t blame me if you start spilling F.O.W.L.’s most highly guarded secrets.”

“Figured I’d need all the help I could get.” With the horribly minty taste finally cleared from his pallet, Steelbeak took a moment to think about how he felt. “Y’know..I do feel calmer. Wow, you weren’t kiddin’ ‘bout that stuff- it works REAL fast.”

The darker bird smiled a bit, but there was something sly about that look in his eyes that Steelbeak couldn’t quite place. “Let’s test it out: What would you like to talk about?”

“I wanna know more about YOU.” The words fell from Steelbeak’s mouth with surprising ease. “We don’t talk ‘bout much on the clock, so, I wanna know, what sorta stuff do ya do for fun?”

“Hm, that’s pretty tame, but a good place to start, I suppose.” Domino picked up his fork, idly spinning it between his thumb and index finger as he thought the question over. “Well..I read, mostly. I also enjoy going to the shooting range- it’s a fun way to exercise and keep my skills sharp. During the winter I like to go for walks in the snow or even ice skating, if it’s cold enough. Oh, and sometimes I just like to go driving along the coast at night since it’s so quiet.”

“Sounds like a good time.” Steelbeak smiled a little, a general feeling of satisfaction coming over him. He couldn’t believe how easy that had been! He felt more relaxed now, like he had when they talked in the break room the other day, or after their mission to raid and blow up a S.H.U.S.H. base. “Never woulda pegged ya for a skater, though. Found any good places ‘round here for that?”

“The lake in the park was nice, I went there last time it snowed.” The loon had a soft smile on his face as he glanced out the window, clearly remembering the day fondly. “It was in the middle of the night, so there was no one else crowding the ice or crashing into me.”

Ah, there it was- that rare but genuine and gentle smile that made Steelbeak’s heart melt a little. “Maybe I’ll tag along next time. Haven’t gone skatin’ in ages.”

Red eyes looked back up at him, that smile growing a little more. “I’d like that.”

For a moment, they stayed like that, just smiling contently at one another.

Then, Steelbeak noticed, Domino’s shoulders began to shake the way they did when he was trying not to laugh out loud about something. “What’s so funny?”

“Well, it’s just..” Domino’s smile was turning into a grin as he continued resisting the ever-growing urge to laugh. “You know that truth serum you drank?”

“Yeah, what’s in that junk, anyway?” Steelbeak asked, his curiosity piqued now. “I mean, I’m glad it worked, but it tasted like melted toothpaste.”

Domino’s body was practically trembling, as was his voice, but he managed to get out a simple reply. “It’s peppermint oil.”

“…What?” Steelbeak blinked, unsure if he’d heard the other bird properly.

“You just drank a bottle of peppermint oil.” And the last of the loon’s resolve crumbled, allowing him to openly laugh at the baffled rooster.

“What?!” Steelbeak sputtered for a moment. He’d seriously just chugged freaking PEPPERMINT OIL?! After a few seconds of his partner laughing at him, the rooster finally groaned and let his head fall forward to hit a clear spot on the table. “Can’t believe I fell for that…why the heck would ya even HAVE that..?” Somehow it seemed more believable that the other bird would carry truth serum on him then peppermint oil.

Wiping a few laughter-induced tears from the corners of his eyes, Domino’s smile didn’t go down one bit. “Like I said, I like to be prepared for anything. Peppermint is very versatile- it can relieve nausea, help with indigestion, or just be used to freshen breath after a less than fragrant meal. I’ve also used it as a fire accelerant before.” He took notice of the way the lighter bird's shoulders were starting to tremble and his grin lessened slightly. “Hey, are you ok-?”

Before he could finish his question, Steelbeak sat up with a huge grin of his own spread across his face and started belting out his distinctively nasal laugh. “Friggin’ peppermint oil! Oh, that was good!” He had to wipe away tears of his own so he could look his partner in the eyes again. “This is why I like ya, Deedee: You keep me guessin’. I never know what t’ expect with ya. You’re exciting.”

Domino’s own smile returned. “You’re certainly not having any trouble being honest now, are you?”

Steelbeak shrugged, the huge grin still practically splitting his face. “Yeah, but it’s gonna be easier on my ego if I just keep pretendin’ it’s ‘cause of a truth serum. So, let’s keep talkin’ before I lose my nerve again- sound good?” He raised his almost empty glass towards his partner expectantly.

Domino picked up his own half-full glass and tapped it to the other’s. “That sounds good to me. Let’s talk.”

<-Previous Chapter Next Chapter->

End Notes: Just to clear up any possible confusion: Domino WAS trying to get caught spiking Steelbeak’s drink so he could bluff and get him to try it willingly- the guy knew what he was doing x3 Also, by “peppermint oil”, I’m referring to edible peppermint extract that’s used in cooking- he didn’t make Steelbeak drink an essential oil because that is dangerous xP

[sun-kissed-star]

Race prompt? Easy. The dork convinces some of the gang to go to an abandoned hospital to go ghost hunting. He proceeds to annoy them all and taunt the ghosts and do everything Davey says *not* to do. (aka he acts like Shane from Buzzfeed Unsolved)

oh HELL yeah babey

no editing we die like men

also jack and race are brothers in this but that’s p obvious

~~~

“Let’s make bets on who’s gonna die first. C’mon, put ‘em up.”

Davey smacked Race’s outstretched hand. “We’re not gonna die,” he hissed. “And even if we do, it’d be your fault anyway. This was your idea.”

“But you still came, didn’t you?” Race said, grinning like the Chesire Cat. Jack, who had been talking in low voices with Sarah and Elmer, jogged to catch up with them and threw an arm around Race’s neck.

“Yeah, ‘cause none of us wanted to be the ones to tell Medda that your little punk self died exploring an abandoned hospital,” Jack said.

“Where’d you even find this place?” Davey said. He pulled out his phone for the fourth time in the last five minutes, holding it up in some hopeless attempt to connect with the outside world. “I don’t even have any service.”

“That’s what makes it haunted,” Race said, eyebrows wiggling. “If we die, no one’ll ever know. The ghosts are the kids that came here before us and never made it out alive.” They passed a shattered window, broken glass decorating the musty floor, and a breeze swept in from the cold air outside. Race stopped in his tracks and his grin got wider.

“You feel that?” he said. “That’s not air, Dave. Safe to say you just walked through a kid that died here ten years ago.”

An involuntary shudder crept up Davey’s spine. He wasn’t scared, per say, but he would admit to being slightly annoyed, slightly worried from the ghost stories Race had been telling as they walked down the hallway.

“Well, at least Elmer’s got that ghost-trackin’ app,” Jack said. “Good thing it doesn’t need service, or else we’d probably be dead by now.”

“Yeah,” Davey said dryly. “Lucky us.”

“Hey, Elmo,” Race called over his shoulder. “What’s your app say about that dead kid we just walked through?”

“It didn’t pick anything up,” Elmer said, and Davey couldn’t help his smug smile when Race scowled. “But there’s a cold spot up ahead, and… oh, shit.”

“What?” Davey said, turning around. “What is it?”“Um…” Elmer frowned and punched something into his phone. “I dunno, it says the thing’s getting closer.”“I don’t see anything,” Davey said, squinting down the corridor.

“Well, duh. It’s a ghost.”

“Oh, silly me,” Davey muttered to himself. “Race, I seriously think we should turn around. We’re not gonna find anything, and Medda’s gonna start worryin’ about you and…”

He trailed off when he turned around and met Race’s eyes when there should have been two pairs looking back at him.

“Where’d Jack go?”

“He’s right…”

Race looked over his shoulder.

“… not here.”

“Guys? Sarah’s gone too.”Sure enough, at Elmer’s words, Davey and Race turned around in unison and found Elmer standing alone in the hallway.

“Okay, this is weird.” Davey spun on Race and poked him in the chest. “Race, if you’re tryin’ to scare us, you should seriously just consider tellin’ more of those ghost stories inste-”“I’m not!” Race said vehemently, backing up a few feet and wincing as his foot hit a creaky floorboard. “Listen, if they die or somethin’, I’ll be the one to tell Katherine that her girlfriend’s dead and Medda about Jack. Promise.”“Yeah, well then we’ll have three dead bodies on our hands.”“Guys, my tracker is picking something up.” Elmer shuffled forward and ducked under Race’s arm, holding his phone up to Davey’s eyes. “Maybe it’s Sarah and Jack?”

“Why would your ghost tracker pick Sarah and Jack up?”“Maybe they’re already dead.”Davey found that suggestion very, very unnecessary, and he rounded on Race with a glare more fit for Medusa. But before he could open his mouth or smack Race upside the head, a door creaked open on their left and he, Race, and Elmer spun around.

Race pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. “Hey, ghost!” he yelled, voice echoing off the high, crumbling ceiling. “Come and get a piece of me! Do it, no balls!”

Elmer stepped forward too, and Davey debated dragging them both backwards. Then, a touch as light as a feather brushed his arm, and he jumped forward to join them. “I felt something,” he said, gripping Race and Elmer’s shoulders. “We need to get somewhere safe and find Jack and Sarah.”

Race frowned, but he looked halfway towards agreeing with him. “How are we gonna -”Two pairs of icy cold hands gripped Davey’s bare arm and clenched the thin fabric of Race’s shirt, and they both screamed.

“What the hell!?” Race shouted, falling back into Davey’s arms. Davey caught him under the armpits. “Shit, Elmer, you were right, fuck, we gotta get the hell out of he-”That’s when Elmer and two other disembodied voices started to laugh. And as it turned out, those two disembodied voices were Sarah and Jack, trying and failing to contain themselves from falling over on the floor in laughter.

Race had a much easier time processing what happened, and he jumped out of Davey’s arms with a furious expression on his face. “Hey, what the hell was that for!?” he demanded. “I take you into my home, I appreciate you, I take you on my adventures, and this is the thanks I get?”

“Okay, first of all,” Jack said, bent over and gasping for breath. “You didn’t take us into your good Christian home, don’t play yourself. You brought us to an abandoned hospital.”

“And ‘that,’ was for bringing us to said hospital,” Sarah said, propping her elbow up on Jack’s shoulder. “You’re welcome!”“And you were in on it?” Race said, wheeling on Elmer.

“Yep!” Elmer said. He held up his phone. “I wasn’t checking my ghost-tracker, I was recording it! Don’t worry, I’ll send it to the group chat as soon as we get our service back.”“You’re on thin ice, kid,” Race said. “Thought you were on my side! We binged Buzzfeed Unsolved together, you traitor!”“Yeah, but it was funny.”

Race looked about two seconds away from jumping him, and Davey put a hand on his arm and tugged him away.

“Let’s go home,” Davey said. “On the bright side, we aren’t bringin’ any dead bodies home.”

“Says you,” Jack said, pulling Race into a headlock and ruffling his hair. “Wait ‘til Medda finds out we were here and it was all this kid’s idea.”

“Hey, I only said I’d do that if you and Sarah were dead.”

“Yeah, well, we’re not gonna be the dead ones by the end of this.”

TAG LIST

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[keelywolfe]

FIC: Terms of Engagement ch.2

Summary: Rus is still a kid himself and with his life turned upside-down, he has no idea how he’s going to take care of his baby brother. Having other kid skeletons appear in his world wasn’t exactly the help he was looking for.

Tags: Pre-Spicyhoney, Underfell Papyrus, Underfell Sans, Underswap Papyrus, Underswap Sans, Undertale Sans, Undertale Papyrus, Babybones, Scientist W. D. Gaster, Skellie Daycare, Growing Up Together, Big Brothers Caring For Their Little Bros, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort

Notes: I sort of desperately needed a little more of the Adventures In Skellie Daycare. Enjoy!

Chapter One 

Read Chapter Two on AO3

or

Read It Here!

~~*~~

A Couple of Years Later

Rus sighed tiredly, settling back into his heap of cushions and blankets that were piled into the corner of his room. Someday he was gonna have an actual bed, but until then, this worked.

Besides, he wasn’t entirely sure a larger bed would fit. His room was crammed to the brim with all kinds of stuff, stacks of books and scattered broken electronics that he was trying to fix, knickknacks of all kinds scrounged from the dump and clothes draped over whatever was the least dirty. Not like he had a closet, and anyway, he didn’t own much in the way of a wardrobe. A coupla striped shirts and a pair of shorts worked for him.

His old, shorter mattress was in Blue’s room now, handed down a while back when Rus started waking up every morning hanging off it from the knees down. Still worked pretty well for Blue, at least. True to his suspicions, his little bro was firmly in the pint-size brigade. Blue was kinda disappointed about it, but it was fine as far as Rus was concerned. Made it a hell of a lot easier to find him clothes, for one, Sans and Red were always struggling to keep up with their little bro’s growth spurts.

Speaking of which, he should really be trying to get some sleep. Tomorrow was his day to watch all the baby bones. He needed to be on his toes to keep Blue and Papyrus out of trouble, because if it was out there, those two would find it. Rus couldn’t be mad at them for it; neither of ‘em meant to run the older skellies ragged, but damn if they weren’t experts at it, little balls of energy.

He could’ve cried the day he stepped out for one minute and came back to find the two of them ‘cooking’, which to them meant dumping all their carefully stored supplies into a large bowl to make a sort of vile pudding. It’d been edible, at least, in the loosest sense of the word, and Rus wasn’t about to waste all that food. A few days of having to choke down Kitchen Sink Stew for lunch had been a pretty memorable punishment and they’d been cured of any urges to try more cooking for themselves, for now.

So yeah, sleep would be a good idea. The problem was, Rus’s mind didn’t seem to agree. It was wandering all over the place, thinking about his last day spent dump picking, mentally calculating the amount of G he had saved and if it’d be enough, even poking at his scattered memories of Before, the ones that were so foggy to him, but still itched somehow, like a scab of marrow over a painful scratch.

With a sigh, he clicked on the little desk lap he’d scrounged from one of the upstairs rooms. A little reading usually helped settle him and there were plenty of books, the lab was filled with ‘em. They were fascinating to him, loaded with theorems and equations. A shame no one else seemed to think so; he’d tried selling some of them early on and not even the Floweys had been interested.

He was barely into his second page when he heard the pitter patter of little bony feet. Rus sighed, fully expecting a little brother to turn the corner and begin fierce negotiations for another glass of water or one more bedtime story.

What he didn’t expect to see peering through the crack of his open door were wide sockets with crimson eye lights, peeking hesitantly inside.

“Edge?” Rus called warily. Not that he really expected it to be anyone else, but it paid to be cautious. He hadn’t exactly been expecting Red or Sans to land in this world either.

Today was in his favor, because the mysterious figure in red footy pajamas that crept guiltily into his room was definitely Edge. A ragged stuffed bunny was clutched in one little hand, dragging on the floor behind him, and Rus made a mental note to steal Rabbit the next time the kid was napping. Looked like his lovey was in dire need of a little impromptu surgery again before all its insides played a reversal.

Edge shuffled up to Rus’s makeshift bed, shifting from foot to foot hopefully, “Russy?"

Rus only looked at him sternly. “what are you doing here, kiddo, it's late.”

He shrugged, a one shouldered affair that was very Rus-like, he noted with amusement. "wanted to see you."

“you aren't supposed to use the machine without your bro, you know that.” In the past couple years, Rus had gotten pretty good at the ‘very disappointed’ voice.

It worked pretty damn well, too. Edge scowled, his adorable little face scrunching unhappily as he blinked back tears. A rebuke from Rus was like one from the Angel themself, and maybe Rus had the voice down pat, but he hadn’t figured out yet how to harden his soul against those teary sockets. Rus shook his head and reached out to catch hold of him, hauling Edge up into the cushions and bundling him in blankets to cuddle that sadness away.

Normally that would have Edge giggling in minutes. That he only snuggled in, both little arms tight around Rus’s neck made Rus settle on a frown of his own. Carefully, he tugged Edge’s grip loose, sitting up with him into his lap. Absently, he noticed that Edge’s pajamas were getting a little tight, almost straining at the zipper. Looked like Blue was going to be getting some more hand-me-downs soon.

“okay, kid,” Rus said, “‘fess up. what's wrong?”

Edge swallowed hard, his eye lights downcast. “Red didn't eat dinner yesterday.”

That wasn’t at all what Rus expected to hear. He was thinking of a confession about breaking something and a pleading request that Rus be the one to tell Red, please and thank you. He hadn’t expected to hear that Red was the source of Edge’s worry. “what’s that now? he didn’t eat?”

Edge nodded slowly, “he didn’t eat dinner and he didn’t have a snack later and he didn’t yell to ‘not touch, damn it,’ because he was saving it. Is he sick?" They didn’t have a lower lip to wobble, but damn if Edge didn’t give it a try. His wide sockets were welling with tears that spilled over, trailing down his cheekbones. He let out a hitching sob, burying his face into Rus’s pajama shirt as he wept, “I don’t want him to be sick!”

"hey, hey, easy, sugar skull,” Rus crooned, his already aching soul constricting sorrowfully at those pitiful sobs. He cradled Edge into his arms like he had when he was much smaller, peppering soft kisses on top of his skull. "i’m sure your bro is fine. how’s about i talk to him, okay?"

Edge nodded, hiccoughing out a broken little, “Okay.”

“i’ll talk to him in the morning, promise. now, let’s get you back home…grk!” Rus broke off, suddenly strangled by Edge clinging to him with an impressive death grip. Wheezing, he managed, “your bro is gonna worry if he finds you gone, kid.”

“Nuh uh,” Edge clung stubbornly, “left a note.”

Of course he had, sneaky little shit, Rus thought fondly. Of all the baby bones, Edge was the most well behaved but when he got into trouble, brother, he was all in. Blue and Papyrus weren’t great at thinking ahead but Edge was a kid who made plans…like the time the three of them tried to make a raft so they could go down the river and be pirates like in one of the books Sans read them. The idea was sound, the execution? Not so much and Rus would be forever grateful it sank on its maiden voyage in the bathtub before any of them figured out how to sneak out.

Or the time they’d designed a ‘human trap’; man, that was never going to be not funny, the world lost out some true comedy when they didn’t get a picture of that. To be fair, the trap worked the very first time they tried it. A shame there wouldn’t be a second time, since the only thing they caught was Red, and he’d promptly shuffled it off this mortal coil and back to the dump.

Once he’d gotten over being pissed, though, Red had bragged the shit out of it. Edge designed the trap himself and the other two helped him build it. Pretty damn clever, all of them, but it was a good thing that Edge was normally the quiet one, because when he spoke up, all hell broke loose.

And it was breaking Rus’s damn soul to see the kid so unhappy.

Then an idea hit him. Edge didn’t seem inclined to let go anytime soon, so Rus was forced to roll the both of them to the side of the cushions, rummaging through the pockets of his shorts where they were laying rumpled on the floor.

“here, lemme show you something.” Rus held up a single G.

Curiosity seemed enough for Edge to loosen his grip a little, though he was too clever to let go entirely, ready to latch on again if it looked like Rus was going to try to make a daring escape.

“watch,” Rus told him. He set the coin in the bony palm of his hand, closing his fingers around it. With a grand gesture, he swooped his hand around, discreetly dropping the coin into his other hand behind Edge’s head, then held his closed fist in front of Edge’s face. “okay, blow on it.”

“Why?”

Rus’s mouth twitched into a grin, yep, that was Edge, curiosity and suspicion all blended as one. “because i think you can blow it away.”

His expression was doubtful, but Edge did it, blowing hard, and a little slobbery, over Rus’s knuckles. Those dubious eye lights went wide as Rus turned over his hand and opened it, showing his empty palm.

To his amusement, Edge turned his hand over and back, even pushing up his sleeve and peering into it. Finally, he looked up and demanded, “Where did it go?”

“toldja, you blew it away. oh, but what’s this?” He reached behind Edge’s skull and plucked the coin seemingly from thin air, “there it is! didn’t get too far away, did it.”

Memorizing that book of magic tricks he’d found at the dump before he sold it was worth all the effort to see the innocent wonder in Edge’s eye lights. Rus dropped the coin into Edge’s hands and wonder turned to flabbergasted delight.

He swallowed hard, looking up at Rus, and he doubted Edge would look half as awed at meeting the Queen herself. Barely, he whispered, “I can keep it?”

Rus buzzed a wet kiss against his forehead and that awe turned to a much more comfortable giggling squirm. He did make a mental note to show the same trick to other two so there wouldn’t be hurt feelings. He could spare a couple more G. “all yours, baby bones.”

Instantly, Edge scowled. Even his excitement over the coin wasn’t enough to let that pass. “M’not a baby!”

“course not,” Rus yawned. His lack of sleep was starting to catch up on him. Finally. “you’re a real tough guy, ain’t’cha.”

“Yeah,” Edge said stubbornly, and Rus thought it would be prudent not to point out the stuffed rabbit that was tucked into the blankets with them. “I’d keep you safe, Russy. Keep everyone safe.”

“i know you would, kiddo.” That this little kid would even know to think such things gave Rus a moment of aching sorrow. Rus swallowed it down behind a grin, scrubbing his knuckles roughly over the top of Edge’s skull before tugged him down deeper into the messy blankets. “c’mon, you can sleep here if you want. have to check your return policy in the morning, though.”

Edge giggled but already it was thick with drowsiness. He snuggled in, Rabbit in one arm and the other around Rus, with a fistful of Rus’s shirt clutched in one small hand. Just in case.

But he didn’t fall asleep, only shifted restlessly, and Rus smiled to himself. He knew where this was going. Very softly, Rus whispered to him, not quite singing, “you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are gray—”

Seemed like not being a baby bones didn’t mean abandoning lullabies quite yet. Edge sighed contently, humming along for a moment before his voice trailed off into slow, even breathing.

“please don’t take my sunshine away,” Rus finished, a bare thread of sound. He dropped a last fond kiss on top of Edge’s skull and for once, his soul felt content. No aching worries or nagging thoughts, only warm affection for the baby bones sleeping next to him, who was already starting to drool on the front of Rus’s pajamas.

Oh, sorry, not a baby bones, he thought to himself, tiredly amused. Edge was their protector, that was right, and all the Undergrounds would tremble in fear at the sight of him and Rabbit, saviors of skeletons everywhere.

He reached up to switch off the lamp, laying his head down on the cushions and closing his sockets. Tomorrow was soon enough to worry again, and Rus knew with sour certainty that if it involved Red, there would be plenty of troubles to share around.

TBC