#SERIOUSLY WHERE DO I GET THE SHOPPING EVENT BRO | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bi-bi-buckleydiaz · 4 years ago

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dare night | owen joyner

requested; no, i got inspired while watching OTH for the hundredth time. but please request jatp or tom / peter things !!

words; 3.3K was not expecting it to be this long. kinda got away from me. also unedited I just wanted to get it out ;)

a/n; not me writing an OTH inspired fic for my new beau owen joyner...oop. anyway, hope ya like it. it is unedited because i just finished it and i really wanted to just get it out for y’all.

“I cannot believe I let you talk me into this.”

“C’mon Owen it’ll be fun,” Charlie says, excitement pouring from him like a golden retriever puppy. Owen sighs at his best friend before looking at the rest of his friends behind Charlie.

“Yeah, Owen, we’re only young once. And y’all only get Jadah and I unsupervised once in a blue moon, we have to appreciate that time.” The cast laughs as Madi smiles wide, probably more excited about this proclaimed ‘dare night’ than it’s creator. Speaking of...

“Listen, I already have the dare’s written up and I know you hate to waste paper.” Charlie’s practically pouting now, so Owen really can’t say no to that.

“Fine, let’s get this over with.” Everyone cheers as the final member takes his place around the kitchen island. The cast, minus Cheyenne of course because he’s “too old to partake in this. It’s a teens only event.” “We’re in our twenties Charlie.” “SEMANTICS!”, are gathered in Owen and Charlie’s apartment around their kitchen island, all waiting for their teams and dare card.

“The rules are simple, boys versus girls. Then you each split into teams of two -”

“But there’s an uneven amount on each team. Five against five.” Jadah points out, smiling at Charlie's small ‘shit’ and long sigh. He thinks for a minute before a metaphorical light bulb goes off above his head and he’s smiling again.

“Then a boy and girl will have to be together. Just split the points at the end.” Satisfied with the idea, everyone nods. No one misses the way Jeremy and Carolynn smile at each other.

“Now, you all have phones, you have to document one of you completing the dares either with a photo or a video. After the first dare is complete, you’ll get the second one. I’ve asked strangers around where your dare takes place to give you the next ones. They were very accommodating and are very excited to see y’all. We’ll all meet back here at midnight. Team that gets the most points, wins.” Charlie is practically vibrating by the time he’s finished, proud of his little game he put together and that everyone is just as excited as he is, well, minus Owen of course. But that’s because he’s nervous about doing unknown dares in public. Sure he puts on this face of being quirky and cool and fun, doesn’t mean some things don’t scare him.

“So everyone, pick your partners, pick your card, and let the dares begin!” Madison and Jadah immediately jump for each other, Carolynn and Jeremy grabbing hands before Charlie is even done speaking. Savannah and Tori high give, Sacha and BooBoo look at each other and shrug, assuming the wonder twins will want to stick together. Everyone is shocked though when Charlie bounces over to Sacha and slings his arm around his shoulders, shooting Owen an apologetic look in the process.

“Sorry bro, but I think we both know if we go at this together we’ll get nothing done and, I’d kinda like the boys to win.” Madi covers her mouth and the confession while the rest laugh. Owen groans and then goes red when BooBoo shoots him a look.

“That was rude! I’m glad to be your partner BooBoo don’t get me wrong. Seriously, so excited.” Owen begins to panic and is set to keep babbling before BooBoo laughs and lightly punches Owen’s shoulder.

“Relax dude, let’s go kick some dare ass!” Everyone cheers and grabs a card off the table before rushing out the door to their respective vehicles, Madi managing to borrow her dad’s car for the night, thanking God that she passed her road test before season 2 started.

“So, what dare did we get?” Owen asks when he and BooBoo reach the car. He starts it up while BooBoo rips open the envelope.

“We...ooh no.” He starts to giggle before he can even finish. Owen can feel his heart start to race.

“Oh no, what’d we get?”

“Hehe we, ha, we have to return some clothes...” Owen let’s out a sigh of relief.

“That’s not too bad.”

“While wearing them,” BooBoo finishes. Owen freezes.

“Excuse me!?” BooBoo breaks into a loud laugh at Owen’s shock, handing him the card in the process. “No way! Is Charlie insane?” What the hell was he thinking? What if someone recognizes him while he’s taking off a shirt to return it? Wait, why is he the one doing the returning?

“No. Nope. No way, we lose this point. What’s the next one?” BooBoo is still laughing as he shakes his head.

“You heard Charlie, we only get the next one if we complete this one.” Owen groans, accepting his fate.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

“Believe it drummer boy. Especially since you’re gonna be the one doing it.” Owen whips his head towards BooBoo, almost breaking his neck in the process.

“No way. Dude, no. Way.” Owen is ready to get on his knees and beg.

“Um, well, the sizes are on the card and they match you,” BooBoo says, watching Owen begin to pout and accept his fate. BooBoo would feel bad if he didn’t think this was going to be a hilarious night. “C’mon, get driving.” Owen groans once more before driving away, accepting his fate that this night will be a wreck.

~ ~ ~

Shopping alone is boring.

Y/N asked friends, obviously, but they were all busy doing something or someone, so she was left alone to shop for christmas gifts. Sure it’s early, like, two months early, but she learned a long time ago that when you live alone as a young adult, living paycheck to paycheck, it's best to shop for gifts in increments and not all at once near christmas time. So here she is, shopping alone in a mall near the stores closing times because that’s the only time she can spare.

It’s not all bad, late night shopping means not a lot of people in the mall and those who are here are strung out college kids like here. Sure there have been some creepy guys eyeing her up and down, but when she felt those looks she made it clear to go to a store that had security in front of it, even if that meant staring longingly and things she can’t afford.

Y/N’s about half an hour into shopping for her niece and nephew when she hears a commotion on the other side of the clothing store. She quickly glances over then looks back to the shirt she was admiring, before realizing what she saw couldn’t be quite right. She looks over again, and holy shit, her eyes weren’t deceiving her. There really is a guy at the cash register shirtless and in the middle of taking his pants off.

Y/N takes back her previous statement, shopping alone is so not boring.

It’s then she notices a security guard enter the store, hand on the walkie talkie on his shoulder. There’s no way that’s going to end good. She doesn't know why she does it, but one second she was holding a shirt for her nephew and the next she's pushing the rack of clothes in front of the guard and grabbing the near naked and guy and running. She hears a camera snap behind her and a ‘hey wait up’ but all she’s really focused on is getting the guy out of the mall before he’s arrested for public indecency or something.

The hand in hers tugs her to stop just before the reach the mall doors, making her halt in her running. She looks back and ‘woah, he’s pretty.’

“Hey, not that I’m thankful but, my friend...” Pretty eyes trails off and he takes in a breath and wait, when did she start calling him pretty eyes. No! He’s a stranger.

“Yeah well, your friend isn’t the one half naked in the mall getting chased by security.” He ponders it for a minute then nods. “So let’s go. I promise i’m not gonna murder you, just gonna take you to the parking lot so you don’t get arrested for public indecency and end up on the sex offender registry.” Pretty eyes get’s scared at that and then begins to nod vehemently.

“Yeah, yeah that’s bad. Lets go!” As he says that, security appears behind them. She grabs his hand and they book it out of the mall and into the shockingly cold autumn air. She doesn’t know where this guy’s car is so she leads him to hers, praying she’s not making a mistake.

~ ~ ~

Owen doesn’t know how he ended up here. He remembers putting the clothes that were in the locker on and he remembers going to the first store and returning the shoes, but after that he thinks the adrenaline kicked in and he blacked out from it. One minute he was taking his pants of trying not to die of utter embarrassment and the next, some girl was dragging him out of the mall and to her car in the parking lot. He doesn’t know why he let this stranger drag him out of the mall, but he’s not really complaining as she shoves him into the back of her car, away from prying eyes. He only begins to panic when she climbs in next to him and shuts the door. Once the silence settles around them does reality finally settle in and does he realize what he actually just did.

“Holy shit. Holy shit what did I do! Oh my God that could have ended so bad! Oh my God!” He panics for another minute before a hand settles on his bare shoulder.

“Hey. Hey! You’re fine. They didn’t follow us out, you’re not getting in trouble.” Her voice is soothing, he’ll admit, and he can feel the anxiety begin to ease back. But it doesn’t change the fact that he was just half naked in the mall where anyone could have recognized him and taken pictures. Granted, Charlie did think about that and put a random blue baseball cap and glasses in the bag of clothes too. But still, that’s like, nothing! He goes to grab his phone to check instagram before realizing he’s only in his underwear. In a random girls car. In a Vancouver mall parking lot. She seems to realize this at the same time because she clears her throat and scooches to the other side of the car.

“Um, do you, do you like, have clothes or something I can go retrieve or...” He nods and goes to give her the key to the locker, then remembers, no pants. They chuckle at the same time and looks down at her purse, rummaging through it for her phone. He takes it from her with a small ‘thanks’ hoping his cheeks aren’t showing how flushed he feels. He quickly dials BooBoo’s number, giving him the details of what went down, asking the girl where they are and reporting it back to him, then hangs up.

“Um, thanks. For that. And for saving me from being arrested. That was, thanks.” The girl giggles and nods. “I’m Owen, by the way. I don’t normally run around malls in my underwear.” He sticks his hand out, hoping she’ll take it and give a name in return. He’d really like the pretty girl's name.

“I’m Y/N. I don’t normally take random, half naked strangers to my car.” He laughs at that and they shake hands.

“Well, thanks for making an exception.” They stare at each other for another few seconds before a knock on his window makes them break apart. He looks over and sighs in relief at BooBoo and his clothes in his hand. He opens the door and jumps out, taking the clothes from BooBoo and immediately shoving his legs into his pants. The girl get’s out after him, smiling at him balancing on one foot and trying not to fall over.

“Thanks, for saving him. No hard feelings for leaving me in the dust.” BooBoo smiles as he says it so Owen hopes the girl doesn’t take it too harshly. She laughs though and, woah, that’s a nice laugh. He’s so focused on her smile and the way she says her name that he puts his shirt on backwards. He doesn’t notice until BooBoo points it out, laughing as he does. When Owen is properly dressed again, he takes a deep breath and leans against the car.

“When I see Charlie, I’m gonna murder him. We’ll have to film the rest of the season without him. Kenny can deal.” Owen only realizes what he’s said when BooBoo shoots him a look. Y/N looks at the two in confusion, before looking back at Owen.

“You’re an actor?” He nods and watches as her face goes from confused to angry. “And you got undressed in a mall? How stupid are you?” She punctuates the last sentence with punches to his arm. BooBoo giggles in true BooBoo fashion as Owen rubs his arm. He watches her take out her phone and he looks over her shoulder as she opens twitter. She goes to the search bar, pauses, and then looks up at him.

“Full name?”

“Oh um, Owen Joyner.” He watches her type it in and breathes a sigh of relief as nothing but Alex edits pop up. She tries Instagram next, then TikTok, and gets the same answers as before. Nothing about him being naked in a mall, just fan edits of him and him as Alex.

“You are so lucky no one saw you dude, your career would be over.” She says, closing her phone and putting in her pocket. “What were you thinking?” He can’t help but feel scolded and slightly cowers in response. She notices and immediately softens. “Sorry, I just met you, I shouldn't be so mean.” A pause. “But that was still really stupid.” BooBoo giggles and Owen shoots him a look before nodding and looking back at Y/N.

“Yeah but, it was a dare.”

“And you just accepted it?” Owen feels his cheeks go red and looks at his feet.

“Well, yeah. We wanna win.” Y/N giggles and looks between the two boys.

“Seriously? So what is this? Some sort of dare game night?” The boys nod, then BooBoo lights up and reaches into his pocket for the next dare.

“Speaking of, the cashier at the store gave me the next dare. Are you ready?” Owen groans and BooBoo takes it as an affirmative. He opens the envelope and quickly glances at Y/N before reading it aloud for Owen.

“Take a picture in a photo booth with a stranger.” Y/N glances at the card and sees words on the back too.

“There’s something on the back.” BooBoo flips it and begins to giggle again.

“No way. Oh man Owen.”

“Me! Why me? I just walked naked around a mall!”

“Because it’s asking you to kiss a stranger and my girl would kill me if I did this.” Y/N blanches at that and begins to slowly and hopefully discreetly back away from the two boys. But Owen catches her.

“Hey.” He looks nervous and begins to fiddle with his fingers. “You don’t have to! Obviously! I mean, you already saved me once, but, like I kinda know you now and you’ve already seen me shirtless...” He trails off and flashes puppy dog eyes at the girl. She huffs and groans and finally, “Fine. Let’s get this over with. Y’all better win this stupid game though.” Owen smiles bright and Y/N tries to ignore the butterflies in her stomach at the sight. She just met this boy for god sakes!

The three young adults head back into the mall to one of the strips that has a photo booth. BooBoo giggles as he all but shoves the two into the small area, singsonging a “good luck” before pulling the curtain closed.

Awkward silence falls over the two as they squeeze together on the small seat. They smile nervously at each other as they hear BooBoo drop coins into the slot outside.

“Um, so, do you wanna like -”

SNAP!

They giggle and look at the camera with smiles in time for the next one.

SNAP!

Y/N looks back at Owen and, in a moment of confidence, grabs Owen’s shirt and brings his face closer to his.

SNAP!

He glances at her lips, licks his own, then they’re kissing. His lips are soft and she sinks into him. She feels his tongue lick her bottom lip and almost lets a moan slip as she opens her mouth a bit for him. They don’t even hear the last snap, too caught up in each other. Her hands move to his hair and his hold her hips tight. They break for air eventually, eyes closed as they breathe in and giggle.

“That was um...” Y/N nods. “Yeah. That was, yeah.” She feels him tilt his head towards her again for another kiss, but the curtain opening pulls them apart. They jump apart, as much as they can in the small booth, and stare at BooBoo like they were caught doing something bad. He’s smirking and shaking the photo strip in his hands.

“Oh yeah, we’re definitely winning.” Owen breathes out a laugh and Y/N nods, taking BooBoo’s offered hand to help her out.

“Um, I better, go, yeah, I should go. I hope you guys, uh, win or something.” Y/N hikes her purse up her shoulder and begins to walk away, eyes on her feet and hands shaking as they go into her pockets. She’s almost to the exit when a hand wraps around her upper arm.

“Hey wait up!” Owen. “Um, I just, that was, that was something right? I wasn’t imagining that? That was like, could I have um, number? Could I have your number?” He’s stuttering, face red and hands shaking in his pockets. Y/N has to giggle, feeling a bit calmer knowing she’s not the only one who’s feeling something.

“Yeah, that was number worthy.” They smile while exchanging numbers, then keep smiling as Owen leans and kisses her cheek.

“Thanks for saving my ass twice tonight,” he whispers in her ear before leaning back. Y/N nods and begins to back away.

“Yeah well, it’s a pretty nice ass.” With that she turns and practically runs back to her car, not believing what a night it's been.

~ ~ ~

“And we’re tied! Although, there is one more dare on the table.” Charlie giggles, knowing exactly what it is, saving for last for a reason. Carolynn swipes it off the table before anyone else can, ripping it open and smiling at the words.

“Kiss a member of your team.” She sees Jeremy smile and buff up, getting ready for smooch from his wife since they were partners. Carolynn smiles and leans towards him, before quickly grabbing Tori’s neck and giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. Everyone laughs and cheers, Jeremy pouting at his girl while she grabs his hand.

“Well then, unless any of the boys kissed a stranger in a photo booth, the girls win.” BooBoo goes to raise his hand, but Owen stops him. BooBoo shoots him a look but Owen shakes his head, hoping he gets why. Why he doesn’t want to mention Y/N. Sweet, life-saving Y/N who didn’t even know who he was or hell, who BooBoo was. Who just saw a random guy in need of saving and didn’t think twice about helping him. BooBoo lets it go, and Owen nods a thanks. He cheers for the girls as they accept their win, hand rubbing the picture strip in his pocket, and mind preparing a text to Y/N as soon as he can escape to his room.

Maybe dare night wasn’t such a bad idea.

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stellar-starseed · 4 years ago

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Closer Than That

Group: Stray Kids

Pairing: Changbin x fem!reader, Jisung x fem!reader, polyamory

Word Count: 2,330

Summary: Your best friends happen to be 3racha, but Changbin was your closest friend from childhood. When things start to take a different turn in your relationship, you’re left wondering which way is up.

Chapter: 5/?

Other Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4

Warnings: 18+; sexual content, language

Note: This is cross posted on ao3

Chapter 5

Changbin entered your empty apartment after waiting outside for some time to no answer. He checked the studio to be sure you weren’t wrapped in a creative streak, but he found it empty along with the rest of your apartment. He sat on the couch and groaned. He really fucked up, he thought to himself.

Although it wasn’t more than a week since he had seen you, it had been so long since he had spent anytime without you it felt empty. On top of this not being a normal occurrence, Changbin felt out of sorts thinking you were truly upset with him.

“I should’ve never said that.” He said out loud. He looked to his side and the first time he kissed you flashed in his mind. You were shocked and he found it so cute the way you tried to deny it all at first. Changbin remembered the feeling of you relaxing into his arms as he pressed his lips against yours. The sweet taste of you as he ran his tongue over your lip. He found himself biting down on his bottom lip.

“Feel better?” Felix asked as he saw Changbin come through the front door. Changbin sighed.

“It’s all good, mate.” Chan pat him on the back, “Felix made the best brownies to date.” Chan stuffed his mouth. “Mmmm!” He did a little dance. Changbin laughed at Chan’s actions.

“Give me one of those.” Changbin sat down at the table. Felix brought over a plate full of brownies.

“There are three different kinds. These are extra gooey fudge, these are dark chocolate, and the last are chocolate with chocolate chunks.”

“What? I didn’t know there were options.” Chan pouts coming back to the plate.

“Bro, you had like four I thought you knew.” Changbin chuckled at the two of them.

“These are good.” Changbin nodded. Felix brightened up and thanked him.

“I’m working on a batch of cookies right now.” Felix turned on his heal and headed back to the kitchen. Changbin chuckled at him.

“You seem like you’re feeling better.” Chan sat next to Changbin and grabbed for a fifth brownie.

“Nah, I’m just realizing how bad I fucked up.”

“I missed you.” You finally spit out the words as your heading out of the coffee shop. Jisung’s heart soars and he can’t hold back his smile.

“I missed you too,______.” His hand reaches for yours and you feel goosebumps run up your arms at his gentle touch. His eyes meet yours and he pulls you towards him. You momentarily don’t know where this is going but it crosses your mind that he wants to kiss you. You shake it from your mind, that can’t be true, you think. As your mind races through contradicting thoughts, Jisung’s lips find yours.

You’re so lost in the shock of it all you didn’t get to fully enjoy the kiss. It was over far too soon. Your lips tingled when he pulled away and you searched his eyes. He seemed so defeated when you admitted to having feelings for Changbin, but now it was as if you hadn’t said a word. He slipped his fingers through yours and let you know he would walk you to your car.

When you reached your car, Jisung pulled you in close. Wrapping his arms around you, he rested his head on yours. He felt content. He missed you, he missed this feeling.

You closed your eyes and let your arms slip around his slender body. It felt so nice to be wrapped in his arms. His scent was familiar and so comforting. You weren’t sure how you could deal without him. The pang you felt when he was gone came back and you pulled away slightly.

“Don’t leave me.” You said looking into his eyes. Jisung leaned down and softly kissed you before he seriously looked you in the eyes again.

“Never.” He said, the way he looked at you made you feel as if he wanted to make sure you understood he truly meant it. You nodded ever so slightly and rested your head on his chest. He tightened his arms around you again. You were both content to stay like that.

Jisung felt refreshed. He wasn’t sure why he let his emotions get the best of him for that long, but he vowed to never do that again. He replayed the first and second kiss in his mind the whole walk home. His heart fluttered and he chuckled to himself as he entered the dorm.

Jisung danced his way into the living room, a song playing on his lips. He stopped at the couch to belt out the last line.

“You’re in a good mood. All of a sudden?” Changbin was slumped on the couch, his hands intertwined and his thumbs circling each other. He looked down at his hands. Jisung froze.

“Uh. Yes?” He cleared his throat. “Hey,” Jisung looked around and sat on the couch. “I’m sorry. You know, for being an ass.”

“Yeah?” Changbin questioned. “Are you sorry for kissing her too?”

You fell back down on your bed with a dreamy sigh. How could his lips be so soft and delicious? You shrieked and had a mini flailing fit. He looked so good in that outfit and he smelled so good. Your mind was flooded with thoughts of your ‘Hannie’. You filled with excitement just thinking he was yours. You giggled to yourself.

Jumping up from your bed, you headed to your studio. You felt inspired and couldn’t shake the grin you had. The scene replayed over and over. The way he kissed you. The way he held you. The way he looked at you like you were the only important thing to exist.

“Seungie.” You said out loud as you gently touched your lips, chasing that feeling again. You had to tell Somin, you thought.

You pulled out your phone and immediately sent a message to your friend. Moments later she text back in her normal skeptical fashion.

Minnie:

18:38: Are you sure about that?

18:39: What about Binnie? I was routing for him!

You send back a few emojis. It was exciting for you to finally kiss your crush and Somin knew what a crush it had been over the years. You felt a bit guilty for it after her text.

You sat down in your chair and noticed a folded piece of paper on your keyboard. You were certain you didn’t leave this here. You unfolded it to familiar handwriting.

You chuckle to yourself when Changbin’s familiar voice runs through your mind as you read over a new nick name for you, ‘my princess’.

“I wanted to see you, but I guess you still need some space. I’m sorry that I upset you, and if I hurt you I’m even sorrier. I care about you and I hope you know that I wouldn’t hurt you on purpose.”

You smile to yourself. Changbin was the biggest sweetheart when he wanted to be and the biggest brat otherwise. You were nearly ready to head to the dorms just to see him when you realized this may not be the best idea. How were Jisung and Changbin going to get along, and how was Changbin going to feel after finding out you kissed Jisung?

*Chime*

You pick up your phone to a message from Minho.

MinHoe:

18:49:

>gif of mad laughter<

18:49:

They’re plotting your demise. I can’t protect you, but I always liked you!

You laugh to yourself. Minho was precious. You text back the most dramatic crying gif you could find and tell him you always loved him. This web you have created is going to affect everyone around you. You sighed. Hopefully they could let out their steam and maybe things could go back to semi normal.

Jisung was caught by surprise. It wasn’t but fifteen minutes ago that he had kissed you. How could Changbin have seen?

“I-“ he cocked his head. “No.” He shrugged, shaking his head. “I’m not.” Jisung answered Changbin’s question honestly. There was a blanket of silence that took over the room.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I was an ass and I shouldn’t have taken it out in you. But I’m not sorry for kissing her. I’m not sorry for liking her. I don’t think you should be sorry for those things either.”

Slowly, their guards were let down. They had a real conversation about the events that had taken place in their friendship over the last few months. They talked about their feelings for you and they talked about the last few weeks of arguing. They were both a little hurt from each other and the situation. Neither Changbin nor Jisung knew where to go from here.

After about an hour going back and forth with yourself between whether this may be a god idea or a bad idea, you open a group text for Changbin and Jisung. You ask them to come over to talk.

Binnie:

18:55: Of course. :)

Seungie:

18:57: Like together?

Binnie:

18:57: He’ll be there.

Seungie:

18:58: Okay! Me too.

You become a little nervous when you think about addressing the situation head on. But you were all adults, and this shouldn’t be so hard. You wanted your friendships to withstand anything, and this was a true test if ever there was one.

You tried to rehearse different ways of approaching this, but in the end you basically just came up with a couple of points you needed to make. Which was better than nothing.

Your thoughts were interrupted by Changbin’s signature knock and you couldn’t help but giggle to yourself. You tried to make sure you were as presentable as possible before opening the door. You realized your heart rate had picked up a bit but you opened the door like normal.

Changbin stood there with his hat and hoodie. He was emanating boyfriend vibes, and you were a sucker for seeing him in hats and hoodies. Jisung’s smile was the next thing to catch your eye and it warmed your heart.

“Well,” you step aside, “what are you waiting for?”

Changbin pauses, glances at Jisung and back at you. He steals a quick kiss and hurries inside. Jisung paused for a moment, a confused look on his face. He wasn’t sure if that was allowed after their heart to heart.

Jisung rubbed the back of his head and stepped closer to you. He stole a quick kiss as well and you chuckled. This is something you could get used to.

“So,” Changbin plopped down on the couch. “You need my superior producing advice, right? That’s why you called me over?” He smiled wide.

“Then why am I here?” Jisung laughed.

“To kiss and make up.” Changbin remarked.

“Oh, in that case.” Jisung stepped forward, wrapping an arm around your waist he gives you a peck on the cheek. “Do you forgive me darling?” You chuckle at his dramatic tone.

“Hey, hey.” Changbin says, “I didn’t approve that kiss.”

“All kisses need the Changbin seal?” You question.

“How else is this going to work? You know I get jealous.”

“How is what going to work?” You look from Changbin to Jisung who shrugs.

“This.” He circles a finger in the air around the three of you. “Us.” He sits down on the couch. You decide to head over to the couch yourself and you grab Jisung’s hand to pull him along behind you. You sit next to Changbin and grab his hand. Looking at both of their hands in your lap, you sigh.

“Us?” You look at Changbin. “We’re going to be an us?”

“Yeah.” He says, a smile tugging at his lips. “You forgive me?” He pouts and gives you puppy eyes. You can’t help but smile at him.

“Maybe.” You pout. “You made me feel like shit when you ignored me to flirt with that makeup girl that has a thing for you. When you said you told Chan we were dating I felt like you were playing games. Please, don’t do anything like that again.”

“I won’t, but she has a thing for Chan. I asked her to do that to make you jealous. I am so sorry that I hurt you.”

You repeatedly smack Changbin’s arm. “You’re the biggest brat, you know that?” You can’t help but laugh at this point. Changbin nods with a smile.

“Seungie?” You turn to Jisung who was unusually quiet.

“Hm?” You pulled him from his thoughts and he turns his body towards you.

“Are you also on board?”

“I just...” he seems to be gathering his thoughts. “Do I have to sleep with him?”

“What?” Changbin sat straight up. “I never said...” he shuddered.

You shrugged. “No one has to do anything they don’t want to do. I’m not asking you guys to suddenly change everything. You don’t even have to agree to this, but I am interested in trying it out.”

“Okay. Then yes.” Jisung says after a moment of thought. “I have always shared you with Changbin and it didn’t seem to bother me. It was when I thought you had made a choice. A single choice that wasn’t me, that’s what hurt my feelings.”

You hold Jisung’s face in your hands and give him a kiss. You lean your forehead against his. You could see the smile in his eyes and it made you happy.

“If I can be completely honest...” You look back and forth between the two of them. “I have had feelings for you both for such a long time that it would’ve been too hard to choose.”

Changbin’s hand slid up your back and he began to rub soothing circles over your shirt. You leaned back into Changbin and pulled Jisung on top of you.

“I could definitely get used to this.” You giggle.

“Me too.” Changbin says softly next your ear before pressing his lips to your cheek.

————————————————————

Thanks for stopping by, lovely!

I hope you enjoyed. Catch you next episode :)

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bunnie-the-lighthouse · 4 years ago

Text

𝑀𝒾 𝐹𝓁𝑜𝓇, 𝑀𝒾 𝒜𝓂𝑜𝓇

Pairing: ATEEZ Jung Woo-Young & Reader

Warnings: Cursing & It’s Horrendously Long

Inspiration: My Friend & I Being Crackheads

Type: Fluff

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Ay man, how’s it going?” Woo-Young exclaimed while wrapping his arm around his friend’s shoulder -- San. “Oh, the ol’mighty Jung Woo-Young, the Dancing Champion,” he laughed as the younger smirked. “Are you ready for the Hípica*?” Woo-Young questioned while leaning onto his left hip.

“Ideay, el mae está bien preparado*,” San chuckled while looking at Woo-Young’s attire. The young one had a cotona*, ripped blue jeans with a leather belt, cowboy boots, and finally, a white panamanian hat* -- to stand out from the crowd. “Of course! You gotta be prepared for those events.. Plus, you gotta attract the ladies, man!” he laughed as San grinned and shook his head.

“Do you think there’ll be pretty ladies?” Woo-Young questioned as San shrugged, “Every Hípica is basically the same each year,” he trailed off while brushing his horse’s coat. “Well, up to a point that’s true, but I’m sure that this year’s Hípica will be great,” the younger comforted.

By ten in the morning, Woo-Young and San were at the Hípica, getting prepared for the races and championships. The Dancing Champion petted his horse, an onyx black stallion who adopted the name of ‘Sombra*’.

“Woo-Young-Ah! ¡Los otros ya están aquí*!” San called as the Champion turned around and saw the other ATEEZ members, Seong-Hwa already on his snow white stallion ‘Maltese’, Yeo-Sang on his pinto black and white stallion ‘Gallopinto*’, and finally -- San on his dark brown mare, ‘Gitana*’.

Sombra, Maltese, Gallopinto, and Gitana were the four horses that would compete in the Hípica as the other members were there for support or to help out in their family businesses. For some context, Hípicas are basically small equestrian festivals where people around the country would meet up in one city and showcase their horses’ skills.

The first few races went by, and with Maltese’s agility skills, ATEEZ were able to win against the others. Gallopinto was a master at jumping over fences while Gitana was fast and resistant, being able to dash long distances without getting exhausted.

Now, while the three other members were resting, it was now Dancing Champion Woo-Young’s turn. He clicked his tongue, guiding Sombra as the speakers started playing some tunes, making Sombra immediately react and start dancing (aka trotting in synchronization and order).

The crowd cheered loudly as only Sombra’s moves were truly aweing -- overshadowing the other horses that were partaking in the same competition. And, as the song was ending, Woo-Young got off his horse and danced with the music, moving his hips and gracefully yet sharply executing other moves.

As children ran by to go and play, the ATEEZ boys were eating under the outdoor tent, taking a break while drinking some Cacao* and Chicha*. "Ahh.. Now we have the rest of the day to have fun," Woo-Young sighed out in relief as the heat was starting to get a bit intrusive. After all, it was around one or two in the afternoon. "Indeed, but I think I may be helping my family during the evening since, you know, more people come in order to eat," Hong-Joong chuckled.

The boys then continued on speaking while Woo-Young was distracted by something. You. You were wearing a red güipil* that revealed your shoulders, ripped jeans, and also cowboy shoes. Your hair was styled into a waterfall braid together with some sacuanjoche flowers* that were embedded into the braid.

One of the flowers then fell down, and unknowingly, you walked away into a crowd. Woo-Young placed down his cups and ran towards the dirt street, reaching down to pick up the lone flower. He then looked at the crowd to see if he could find you again..

“Mae, you’ve been holding onto that flower for ages now,” Yeo-Sang stated as Woo-Young twirled the flower, “Of course, because I am searching for the owner of it,” he replied while looking lovestruck.

It was now around five in the evening, the sun setting, coloring the sky with hues of orange, purples, pinks, reds, and blues. Woo-Young then saw you again, helping your family sell the Fritangas* that you guys would make.

The speakers then started playing a cumbión*, making people leave their seats and get into the center of the streets to start dancing. This made Woo-Young have an idea. A perfect one. He took this as an opportunity to stride his way towards the small restaurant.

“Buenas*,” he called as you looked at him with doe eyes, “Buenas, como le puedo servir*?” you asked as he then pulled out the flower. “Is this yours?” he asked as your eyes widened. “Ah!.. Thank you so much for finding it,” you smiled, reaching out to hold it.

He then did a soft, graceful turn, beginning his dance slowly, catching you off guard. “Come! It’s time to celebrate! Don’t you want your flower back?” he asked while his hand was out for you to hold. You chuckled at his smoothness, walking towards him and holding onto his hand, following him into the dancing mob.

You guys danced to the music, feeling it. And as he twirled you, he placed the flower back, snuggling it with the other sacuanjoches. As you then turned back to face him, he smiled lovingly, “Eres como una flor bella, mi amor,*” he whispered, flustering you.

“Gracias*.. I still haven’t caught your name,” you said as he chuckles, “The name’s Jung Woo-Young,” he responded as the song was coming to an end. “(Y/N). I think you should know who my brother is,” you stated as he then held onto your waist and pulled you close, as an ending pose.

You and Woo-Young were close to each other, your lips almost touching as you both could agree that you both fell in love with each other. At least, have a crush. “¡Ayyyy! ¿Qué estás fucking haciendo?*” Hong-Joong yelled as he held onto your shoulders and pulled you away from Woo-Young.

“This is my brother,” you ended as Woo-Young did a small pout. “Hyung!~” he then whined as Hong-Joong looked at him disgusted. “No! I’m not letting you date my sister,” he said as Woo-Young then smirked and winked at you.

“Ma! We have to be care-- Hey!” Hong-Joong exclaimed as Woo-Young snatched you from Hong-Joong, holding your hand tightly as you laughed and followed him. He then whistled as Sombra trotted towards you guys.

He helped you up and later followed, clicking his tongue, making the horse catch the sign and start galloping. “Jung Woo-Young!--” Hong-Joong yelled loudly as Woo-Young took you away from the Hípica.

“Sorry for my actions, mi flor.. But I now find myself incapable of living without you. You make me want to pinch myself in order to make sure that I am not dreaming.. So, mi flor. Where do you wanna head to?”..

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hey fellas, it’s time for me to give y’all a Spanish Vocabulary Glossary thing because yes, I speak fluent Spanish.

Hípica: Equestrianism. Basically Horse Competitions And Stuff Like That.

“Ideay, el mae esta bien preparado”:

This needs some information. “Ideay” is colloquial, it can mean: “Seriously?”, “What next?”, “Oh well,” and many others.

In this context, the translation would be: “Seriously?! This dude is well prepared”. (Mae = Dude/Bro <- Between Friends Or Relatives [If Those Relatives Accept It])

Cotona: It’s Literal Translation Is Cotton Shirt. However, It Is A Sort Of National/Typical Dressing In Some Latin American Countries. (Examples: Facebook.com)

Panamanian Hat: (According To Wikipedia, Because I Am Not Panamanian But I Had A Friend Who Lived There,) A Panama hat, also known as an Ecuadorian hat or a toquilla straw hat, is a traditional brimmed straw hat of Ecuadorian origin. (Examples & History: Ultrafino.com)

Sombra: Shadow

“¡Los otros ya están aqui!”: “The others are here!”

Gallopinto: A Typical Food In Some Latin American Countries. As For Some Latin American Countries, It Is Basically Red Beans And White Rice Cooked Together. The Literal Translation Is Spotted Rooster. (Example & History: Wikipedia.com)

Gítana: Literal Translation Is Gypsy (To Me, The Spanish Meaning Is Better lol).

Cacao: Delicious Drink. It Is Basically Made With White Rice, Milk, Cacao Seeds. You Can Add Spices Or Sugar To Your Taste. It’s Absolutely Amazing. (Example & History: Nicaraguanrecipes.com)

Chicha: Another Delicious Drink. It Is Basically Dried Maize/Corn Kernels. Sounds Weird, But It Is Good! (Example (You’ll Have To Scroll Down): Eater.com)

Güipil: It’s A Typical/Traditional Tunic/Garment That Is Used By Women In Latin America For Dancing Traditional Dances. It Is Also Made Of Cotton. (Example: Petersalgado.blogspot.com)

Sacuanjoche Flowers: It’s The National Flower For Nicaragua! A Beautiful One. (Examples & History: Granpacifica.com)

Fritangas: It’s A Type Of Typical Food In Nicaragua, It Contains Barbecued Beef, Pork, Tajadas (Friend Plantains), Yucca Roots, And Others. (Examples & History: Theculturetrip.com)

Cumbión: A Fuckin’ Good Shit Ass Song Bro. It Can Be A Latin American Or Caribbean Song That Fucking Slaps -- Makes You Wanna Move And Dance.

The Song I Placed Is Titled “No Le Pegues A La Negra” Which Translates To “Don’t Hit/Beat The Black Girl”. The Song Is Basically Trying To Talk About How Natives And Africans (Specifically In The Caribbean) Felt About Colonization In The 1600s. <- I’m A Sort Of History Geek)

“Buenas”:

This One Needs Some Explanation. Some United State Students May Confuse This As “Goods” Or Like “Those Are Good (When The Context Is For Example: “Esas Son Buenas”). However, “Buenas” Can Also Work As A Greeting! “Buenas” Can Be Like “Hello” Or “Hi”. It Is Generally Used When Entering Shops Or Friends/Relatives’ Houses.

“Buenas, como le puedo servir?”: “Hello, how can I serve you?”

“Eres como una flor bella, mi amor,”: “You are like a beautiful flower, my love,”

“Gracias”: “Thanks” / “Thank you” (Hehehe.. Thanxx)

“¡Ayyyy! ¿Qué estás fucking haciendo?”: “Hey! What in the fuck are you doing?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And that’s it! Now you understand the story better lol. (Or maybe you already did)

As obvious as it is, yes, I know how to speak Spanish and I was born in a Latin American Country -- Granted, I exposed it and it’s Nicaragua.

Anyway, I think I won’t ramble much since this is long...

But! Thanks so much for reading and the support! Have a great day/night!

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justthehiddleswrites · 4 years ago

Text

Forever Hold Your Peace | Tom Hiddleston x Cumberbatch!Reader | Chapter 3 | The Bachelor Party

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Cumberbatch!Reader

Summary: Tom Hiddleston dated Benedict's little sister (reader) back at Cambridge, after a bad breakup Tom and Benedict are now friends. The reader is now engaged to an American who Benedict does not trust. Ben turns to his good friend Tom to help break up the wedding and win back the girl he never truly got over.

This Chapter: Tom keeps running into you as wedding preparations kick into high gear. An incident at the bachelor party resolves Tom to join Benedict of this plan of wedding ruin.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, slapping, cursing.

The wedding preparations moved fast over the next two weeks. You had time no to stay mad at Ben. You needed the help.

“Why isn’t what’s his face here to pick out a cake?” Ben grumbled as he took a bite of white cake.

“He needed to take care of some things at work, but he is meeting me at the florist at 3 to pick out the flowers.”

“How convenient.”

“I thought you would be nice.” you snapped as crumbs fell from your mouth.

“This is me being nice. Pardon me for thinking the groom should take part in the details of his own wedding.” Ben rolled his eyes.

You pushed away from the table. “This visa thing has stressed him out. And I would expect my family to be supportive!” You stormed off to get some fresh air. As you pushed the door open, you ran into the gentleman entering the shop.

“So sorry.” you muttered.

“My apologies.”

“Tom?” you asked as you spied familiar blue eyes staring at you.

“It’s nice to see you. You look fantastic.“ He pulled you into a hug. You held him just a second too long.

“You too. Why are you… My brother called you, didn’t he?”

Tom laughed. “He asked me to meet him here to go out for a drink. But it looks like I am a bit early.”

“Nonsense. We were wrapping up.” You fidgeted with your hair, flustered.

You opened the door and the two of you stepped back in. Ben’s face lit up when he noticed Tom walking with you. Now there was a brother-in-law he could live with.

Tom hugged Benedict. “Dirty pool at giving me the wrong time, mate.” Tom whispered.

Ben smiled wide. “Just reminding her of the options.”

“I’m not an option.“ Tom turned to you. “Where is your fiancé? I was hoping to meet him before the bachelor party this weekend.”

You swallowed. “You’re going to that?!”

“At your brother’s request. Now where is the man who swept the most beautiful girl I ever dated off her feet?” Tom winked at Ben. You didn’t notice because you were too busy hiding your embarrassment.

“He had work stuff. Something to do with his visa.” You made excuses. “He’s stressed what with the wedding and all.”

Tom gave a soft smile and kissed your temple. “Of course. I can only imagine. Well, let me take your brother off your hands and let you get back to planning the big day.” Tom saw the worry on your face. “I would suggest a simple vanilla cake, if it were me.”

You nodded and gave both of them quick hugs, but your eyes filled with sadness as they left you alone in the bakery.

Once Tom and Ben walked out of sight, Tom punched Benedict hard in the shoulder. “Next time give me a little warning.”

“And where would be the fun in that?” Ben laughed. “It is so rare I catch you off guard. And if it must come at my sister’s expense…”

Tom scowled. “Speaking of your sister, where is the infamous Billy Bob?”

Ben groaned. “Working, but I have my suspicions he is othwersie occupied.”

Tom furrowed his brow. “Why?”

“He is never around. All the big events of this wedding he has missed. No one works that much. Not even you.”

Tom frowned. “Have you talked to her about it?”

“She doesn’t take me seriously. I’m just the annoying big brother. Now if you…” Ben looked at Tom with hopeful eyes.

“Oh no,” Tom backed away as they reached the pub. “Absolutely not. I will not ruin your sister’s wedding based on your paranoid suspicions.”

“I thought we were friends.”

“We are but I am not willing to die for that friendship. And your sister would kill me.”

“Coward.” They sat down in a booth.

“To want to continue living. Yes I am a coward.”

Tom’s look said to drop the subject, which Benedict obliged and they enjoyed the rest of the meal. They parted making plans to meet for the dreaded bachelor party that weekend.

“Please don’t leave alone during this horrid affair.” Ben pleaded.

“I promise I would come didn’t I?

“True but…”

“Then I will come.” Tom assured him. “And I will get to meet the infamous Billy Bob.”

“Indeed. And you will then understand why this wedding must never happen.” Tom raised an eyebrow and Ben held his hands up. “Apologies.”

“Goodbye Benedict. Good luck on your hairbrained scheme. Try not to make your sister cry.”

“That’s your job, Tom.”

Tom laughed it off as they parted, but Ben’s words stung his heart. He hoped to never make you cry ever again.

You answered the door of your brother’s home to find Tom standing in jeans and t-shirt. His blond hair tousled in curls.

“We have to stop meeting like this.” He winked at you.

You bit your lip. “We do. Although…” you glanced over your shoulder. “… I suspect my brother may have something to do with that.”

Tom laughed. “I suspect you’re right.” He shuffled his feet out of nerves. “Listen… I know it’s been years but I’m sorry.”

Your shoulders slumped. “It’s fine. I’m over it.” You stepped outside to leave. Tom grabbed your hand.

“No, it’s not fine. I behaved like a right bastard and no one deserves to be treated less than.”

Tears pricked at your eyes. “Thank you, Tom.”

“And look at you now, successful and getting married in two days to the man of your dreams! I wish I could be there to see it.”

You nodded as his words hit your heart. Was William the man of your dreams or just the man you said yes to? You pushed the troubling thought aside.

“I’m sure Ben will share pictures.” You wanted to get out of there. Away from Tom’s charm. You stepped down the stairs.

Tom gave a killer smile to hide his heartache. “I won’t keep you any longer. You must have lots to do.”

You nodded. “It was good to see you, Tom.” You lied.

“You too.” He kissed your cheek. “Good luck tomorrow.”

You hustled away before you cried in front of him. Ben came to the door just as you disappeared from view.

“Still hitting it off with the ladies, I see.” Benedict teased.

“Weren’t you the one who forbade me to date a member of your family?” He raised an eyebrow as they got into the car.

“A position I am reconsidering. Thank you for accompanying me to this thing.”

“Why did you invite me, anyway?”

“You mean I can’t enjoy the company of one of my best friends for an evening?”

“No.”

“You’re right. I need a second opinion on William. And a second pair of eyes—”

“— to spy—”

“—to observe.” Benedict shot daggers at Tom.

“Another word for spying.”

“Are you going to help?”

“I intend on enjoying myself tonight.”

“Then we agree.”

“Not at all.”

This continued until they pulled up to the club. It was the sort of place Tom and Benedict would never frequent of their own accord. Too trendy, too loud, too bright.

It’s the “classic bachelor party” William explained to Benedict who later relayed that to Tom.

“In other words, too much booze and too much boobs.” Tom commented.

“It’s that rather crass. On second thought, that’s probably what he thought.” Benedict quipped. They grabbed drinks at the bar. “Oh shit, here he comes.”

Benedict hooked his chin towards a sweaty and smiling man.

“Holy fuck! It’s Loki!” William screamed over the loud club music.

Tom nearly spit out his drink. He hated him already. “In the flesh.” he choked out as William took his hand into his meaty paw and shook it hard, squeezing.

William punched Ben in the shoulder. “Bro, you never told me you knew Loki!”

Tom giggled behind William’s back at Ben’s discomfort. “You never asked.” Ben scoffed.

William spun to speak to Tom and Benedict pulled faces behind, mouthing “wanker” at Tom.

“Dude, do you know Arnold Schwarzenegger? He is my favorite.”

Benedict rolled his eyes.

“I’m afraid not, William.” Tom gave a tight smile. “But Ben you were at that BAFTA event last week…”

That was all it took to send William talking a mile a minute. Tom smiled at Benedict as he walked away to leave Benedict to fend for himself for a bit.

“Serves him right.” Tom muttered to himself as he went off to find a dark corner.

Ben didn’t resurface until 30 minutes later.

“You’ll pay for that.” Benedict cursed as he sidled up Tom at the bar.

“Fair is fair.” Tom smiled. “How is Billy Bob?”

“On his third cocktail and even more insufferable than usual with his mates by his side.” Benedict’s voice dripped with disdain.

“Shame. Here’s to getting out of here unaccosted.” Tom raised his glass.

A heavy hand hit Benedict’s shoulder.

“Onto our second stop for the night.”

Tom and Benedict furrowed their brows.

“I beg your pardon?” Benedict questioned.

“This was just the appetizer, bro. Onto the entrée. Zander will give you the address.” He walked away but not before shooting his fingers at the two men.

A tall thin man with slicked down black hair, who was Zander, gave them the address to a private residence. Benedict called the car.

“Do you have any idea where we are going?” Tom asked.

“I wasn’t consulted on the party plans. It’s probably a stripper popping out of a cake, judging by this crowd.”

Tom buried his head in his hand. “God, I hope not.”

The private residence was the rental for the groomsman. Everyone else headed to the parlor while Tom and Benedict wandered to the kitchen to see if there was anything edible in this house. They found only beer in the fridge.

“William! We are going to grab some food and be right back.” Tom yelled.

“Whatever, dude.” William yelled, his voice coming from the crowd of his friends.

Curious, they took a step into the parlor. The men hooted and hollered as rock music played from an unseen sound system.

“I’m afraid you were right.” Tom pointed towards the center of the room. All he saw was a buxom woman wearing little more than a thong and pasties.

Both of them moved out of the room after getting an eyeful of flesh. They sighed as they stepped out into the cool London air.

“That was awkward.” Tom commented.

The two laughed at the absurdity of their situation as they walked towards the nearest store.

They returned thirty minutes later to a very different scene. The rock music still blasted throughout the house. However, most of the guys were passed out on the furniture or playing video games.

“Where’s William?” Benedict asked a guy name Ashton.

The blond guy just shrugged his shoulders.

“What do you think?” Tom questioned. “Do you want to take the food home?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Tom handed the bags to Benedict. “I am going to the loo first.” He turned to Ashton. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“Upstairs, second door on the left.”

“Thanks.”

Tom shuffled off.

“I mean right!” Ashton yelled after Tom.

Tom headed upstairs and opened the second door on the left, which led to a bedroom. A bedroom occupied by the stripper and one gentleman from the party, in a state of undress.

“Terribly sorry to interrupt,” Tom apologized. “I was looking for the restroom?”

“Second door on the right, dude.” a familiar voice answered.

“William?” Tom squinted at the man whose neck was being sucked on by a nearly naked woman.

“Loki?”

Tom’s vision flashed white as his hand balled into a fist and it connected with William’s face.

“The name’s Thomas, Billy Bob.” Tom shook his hand out as William laid sprawled unconscious on the bed. He pointed at the stripper.

“He said he was one of the groomsman!” she screamed.

“Your name?”

“Diamond.”

“Diamond.” Tom resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Party’s over. Get dressed and get out.”

She nodded, too scared to ask questions.

Tom stomped down the stairs and found Ben leaning against a wall.

“I’m in.” Tom grabbed his arm. “I’ll explain in the car. Just tell me when this wedding is.”

Benedict couldn’t help but smile.

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston fluff #tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddleston angst #forever hold your peace

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yuukei-yikes · 4 years ago

Note

Headcanon roulette! What jobs do you think the kagepro cast would have?

(CRACKS KNUCKLES) LISTEN I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HEADCANON ROULETTE IS BUT IF YOU CAME LOOKING FOR A SHORT ANSWER I AM VERY SORRY i am going to give you so many headcanons youre gonna pass out i am going to tell you my headcanons and WHY i have them and i'll also be angry at jin for saying bullshit about their jobs. it's gonna be a good time SO. MY JOB HEADCANONS FOR THE KAGEPRO CHARACTERS: shintaro: jin says he'd be a teacher and to this i say (rolls newspaper and hits him in the head). WHAT THE HELL MAN!!! shintaro loves music bro i GUESS he could be a music teacher but EH i don't see him like the sort of person who'd enjoy being in a classroom so my headcanon is the obvious: song writer/composer. obviously. bro seriously why a teacher?? this guy's SISTER work(ed)s in the music industry, momo would absolutely use her contacts to help shintaro build a career out of music! and if shintaro's music are the kagepro songs we know then they'd have success lol and yes this is meta but he canonically wrote tomei answer SO... COME ON. writing songs inspired on the events? bro. bro. bro. b ayano: whatever she does i think she'd 100% wanna work with children. if anyone wants to be a teacher it'd absolutely be her! i like to think she becomes a social worker/kindergarten teacher? just anything she chooses to do would be around children tbh. kido: everyone always makes a big deal out of her cooking so i like to think she goes to cooking school!! so a chef! i know jin said kido would have an orphanage but. 1) wh. why kido. ayano is right there?? ayano makes more sense to me than kido idk 2) why specifically the OWNER of an orphanage that's just weird kjrfksdhgds i GUESS it's not as ridiculous as jin's take on kano's job (i'll get to that next) but still... it's gonna be a nah from me kano: listen. listen. my job hc for kano is VERY headcanon based so i don't have any Canon(tm) content to support it but i assure you it makes more sense than jin's bullshit take on how he'd be a P*LICE OFF*CER. LIKE. EXCUSE YOU SIR WASH YOUR MOUTH YES KANO IS A DICKHEAD BUT HE WOULDNT GET TO THAT POINT!! SO my take is... hairdresser. WHY?? GLAD I PRETEND YOU ASK: again it's very hc based but i'm just gonna say kido hates talking to strangers bc she's #invisible and seto hates crowded places + when they move by themselves with mary i got the feeling they sheltered themselves from the world SOOO what if from then on kano has always done their hair for them im JUST SAYING... I THINK IT'D BE SWEET AND COOL AND FUN AND ALSO HE SEEMS LIKE THE TYPE. come on kido's green hair?? kano's doing. please. it'd be epic momo: she quits being an idol BUT momo adores 1) being silly 2) making people happy. what would she do? my most cursed but also my best take: fuckign....YOUTUBER.... she'd be her own boss and she'd make videos of whatever the HELL she feels like doing. trying to make art. destroying her hair. doing drag makeup. just whatever dude like everyone would know her as that one youtube girl who used to be a massively popular singer but now films herself bleaching her hair 5 times in one night and it'd WORK seto & mary: ok for once what jin said makes sense to me but i don't think he even said it, it just showed up in saiyuki's comic where they have a flower shop together. like i agree with that, they would! but maybe after a while seto would go work/maybe open a shelter of his own leaving the flower shop for mary haruka & takane: ANOTHER two that i'm not mad about what jin thinks (thankfully can you imagine how fucking mad i'd be if he said bullshit about my faves' jobs lol) i mean haruka has his whole thing of how he wants to be an artist and apparently takane is a streamer which i'm not mad at. i'll extend on them: i think both would be freelancers, haruka with art and takane aside from her streams she'd like coding! like after being ene she for SURE knows some shit and she's super into videogames so she'd absolutely get into developing games and stuff. good for haruka and takane, their regular life is a quarantine hiyori: i don't have much to say about her but fashion designer/model would work for her i think. she's like that hibiya: HIBIYA HONESTLY I JUST... CANT THINK ANYTHING FOR HIM i think jin said he'd be an archeologist which i mean ok?? but ayaka was an archeologist and idk it seems weird he'd also be one with no connection to her at all for some reason but im not completely mad at the idea since i do think hibiya would have something that everyone considers to be INCREDIBLY BORING as a job. i want it to be a running gag that no one KNOWS what hibiya does for work and he's super offended about it but no matter how many times he repeats himself no one ever remembers what he does anyway those are my headcanons subscribe and comment click the bell to get notifications everytime i upload a new video i'll see you in the next one

#kagepro #headcanons #ask tag #anon

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takonei · 4 years ago

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Just a wonderment of mines.. but like.. what would the Beta!Au be like in a HPA!AU???

I have to know if the babies will be happy, I have to.

I’m supposed to write chapter 5 what the fuck

But if what you wish is a decent amount of happy chemicals for them, then here we fucking go, all the HCs that came to my mind. Will contain spoilers up to the end of chapter 4.

Back to Hope’s peak with the Beta AU crew!

Shuichi Saihara

Was scouted like a normal human being

Could take a break from some of the annoying clients, so he gladly accepted

He doesn’t have a specific group of friends, he hangs out with everyone

Although the ones he hangs out with the most are Miu and Kaito

Usually gets average grades (but excels in history and literature). Not that smart but he ain’t a full dumbass.

Had a crush on 70% of his class at some point

But no one knows that of course. Except Miu because mom knows all.

He is happy here, and less lonely than before since he gets to see nice people more frequently.

Rantaro Amami

At first, refused the invitation

Then his crew mates insisted he at least gets a proper education and friends

After some time, he finally accepted

He met Ryoma, his best friend, who accepted to help him create improved ways to transport tools and do operations

He is on good terms with everyone in the class, surprisingly (or not) and is often the one trying to solve conflicts

Class representative. Gets good grades in biology and English and that’s it because he is an uncultured swine.

Will absolutely fucking not retire from his war medic career after school.

Miu Iruma

Also refused the invitation at first

“I have a kid to take care of, screw yall”

She accepted when HPA offered to give her a slightly bigger dorm room for both her and her son.

HPA thought about getting him to the elementary section of the school but he was just a normal kid

She still sometimes gets out at night to do her artworks, although less than before

Still has a crush on Rantaro, although she tries to get past it because she knows better than to try to get into a romantic relationship with an aromatic person

Huge fangirl crisis when she realized Kaito was in her class

She became the mom of the group and adopted like 90% of them

Dumbass but decent in literature, for some reason.

Kaito Momota

His gang was very supportive when he got the letter

That boy will make the family proud

Never tried to hide his prosthetic leg

Not like he could, since he had to take different PE classes adapted to him

Huge fanboy crisis when he realized Miu was in his class

Big bro(tm)

Actually gets along pretty well with Tsumugi, who helps him be better at scientific mechanical stuff.

Above average in science, but is a legit dumbass in the rest of the classes

Kaede Akamatsu

Gladly accepted the letter.

After all, Hope’s Peak is such a great high school! She couldn’t refuse.

She tries to be friends but isn’t that good at it. She appreciates everyone, but mostly hangs out with Maki and sometimes Tenko and Shuichi.

Still an absolute disaster lesbian with a crush on Maki.

The two end up like how you would expect them to be. Pining but never actually asking.

She sometimes asked Kirumi for advice (she doesn’t know why her specifically, though. According to Kaede she’s the only one who would give nice advice despite having 0 experience in romantic relationships).

After countless tries they finally end up together, which was absolutely not a surprise.

And anyone not supporting them will feel the wrath of 4 experienced fighters + karma.

She’s very glad she got to meet them all.

Overall nice grades in everything that isn’t science.

Will remain a writer after high school since this is her passion.

Maki Harukawa

Accepted, although a bit hesitant to leave her siblings.

But it’s fine, they said. They can still see Maki on week-ends.

She isn’t the social type, and ends up hanging out with only Kaede and sometimes Tenko and Shuichi.

Still very gay, although she takes a lot of time figuring out her feelings for Kaede. Good thing Tenko exists.

She likes the ambiance of the academy, even though she gets to practice her talent a bit less.

Sometimes the others come to her to ask for additions to their uniforms. It doesn’t bother her to do so as long as they are not rude.

She actually recreated the vest for the uniform to feel more comfortable.

Average grades, but does better in literature, for *cough* some reason.

She will gladly continue her hobby after graduation and perhaps create her own fashion brand.

Tenko Chabashira

Joyfully accepted the invitation!

She may have trained a lot already, but surely Hope’s peak would have athletes to help her train, right?

She loves to talk with the others! It feels like a great class.

She is usually the one organizing events, Rantaro approving most of the time.

Much like Shuichi, she tends to talk to everybody, not just a specific person.

Although she is closer to Gonta, Shuichi, and sometimes trains with Kirumi.

Her grades are a bit below average except in PE, where she excels.

Tenko is aiming for the Olympics after graduation, to perhaps win a gold medal. Her classmates really encourage her for this since she is more than capable of it.

Kokichi Ouma

Still has 100% of his trauma, unfortunately

Immediately accepted the letter

At least he would have a stable place to live and could easily avoid other, people, right?

Wrong.

Himiko is here all the time to help him get through this

And he partially manages to! But that’s also thanks to Kiyo.

His classmates also do their best too

And that’s how all rodents got banned from the class.

They tried to ban them in the entire school but apparently they can’t, to everyone’s dismay

He doesn’t really know what to do after graduation. At least Himiko will help him make a decision.

Grades not that good but he is doing his best

What did you expect from someone who never went to school, honestly?

Himiko Yumeno

Oh, to study astronomy a place that isn’t a hospital room? Sign me up!

She was so happy to meet new people

And immediately became friends with almost everyone

Her parents were worried her condition would not be taken seriously but she presented Rantaro to them.

It’s not his expert field but he can still get stuff done

She spends most of her time with Kokichi, trying to help him with his issues.

She also suggested him to open a nice and cozy coffee shop after graduation but he refuses because of the possibility mean clients will get karma’d.

But it’s okay, she will still help him find his path.

Science nerd, good grades but sucks at history

Basically a “Intelligence 100 Wisdom 0″ person.

Korekiyo Shinguji

Although he was a bit hesitant at first because he didn’t want to leave his sister, he accepted the letter anyway.

He still continues to see her almost on a daily basis to make sure she holds up well.

The others were a bit hesitant to talk to him at first due to his creepy aura, they learned how to trust him.

He often has people come to him for advice, mostly Kokichi, Himiko, Angie, Kaede and Shuichi.

He may not show it, but he really appreciate the others’ presence.

Overall good grades.

Tsumugi Shirogane

Was not surprised to see the letter coming to her home.

After all she was already considered ultimate prodigy, she just didn’t officially have the title.

Her colleagues regretted seeing her go but it was for the best. After all it’s only 3 years.

She actually likes it a lot here. They let her do her own research.

The classes are pretty useless for her since she already learned everything, but still goes because the principal told her she had to, to her dismay.

She gladly accepts to help someone, the only condition being that they must be motivated for this.

Excellent grades everywhere except PE. It’s very rare to see her have a grade below 95.

She will go back to the science facility she worked in after high school.

Ryoma Hoshi

Took some time before deciding to go to HPA.

After all he couldn’t leave his crew mates that easily. But just like Rantaro, they insisted he get a proper education and friends.

He doesn’t warm up that much to others, aside from Rantaro.

He still enjoys it here. Too bad the inventors and mechanics tended to be a bit too eccentric for his taste.

He helps Rantaro bringing back better stuff on the battlefield.

Smartass in science and English. Much less in literature and history.

Won’t retire after high school. After all, his place is on the battlefield, not in a factory or a lab in the city.

Kirumi Tojo

She accepted the letter quickly. She could take a break from the exhausting missions.

She still sometimes had to take up to a month long break from school to get a mission done from time to time.

Unlike Maki in UTDP, she didn’t hide her talent to everyone. She told everyone rather soon that being a maid was just a cover.

The others still have doubts about her, but they got to warm up to her enough with time.

She still hid her CIP from everyone but Rantaro, though.

The more time she spent at the academy, the more she started to think she could retire after.

To perhaps have enough money so she could be settled for life.

That’s not an easy task for sure. But perhaps HPA could help her with it.

Good grades in most of the fields. Especially PE.

Angie Yonaga

owo what’s this? A possibility to get a life outside my island? LET ME IN-

Finally a possibility to settle in somewhere else and get a better life

Especially in Japan! She is really interested in seeing the culture here.

She still considers the culture from her home very important despite her past, but she tries to mix it with Japanese culture when working.

After all, she is the ultimate craftswoman! This is no hard task!

Thinks she will open her own shop here after graduation. Where people could appreciate foreign culture.

She doesn’t have grades that good, but tries her best!

Gonta Gokuhara

To be scouted by Hope’s peak was the achievement he didn’t expect.

But hey, he wasn’t complaining!

He really likes it here and can study more than he ever could.

Unfortunately he couldn’t study rodents due to... complications.

More accurately, he preferred studying them when he was absolutely sure Kokichi couldn’t see him. Mostly at night in his own dorm room.

He has rather nice grades, especially in biology and PE.

He knows he will continue with his talent after high school, which isn’t a surprise.

K1-B0

Has no clue what he is doing here.

There are better robots out here, he’s sure of it.

But whatever. Being scouted here is good too.

He sometimes try to warm up to his classmates, but he is pretty antisocial.

Most of the time it’s with Ryoma, though.

What is he even going to do after graduation? Who knows.

Gets grades generally above average.

Took me long enough! Hope that’s what you were looking for~

#beta au #beta au spoilers #oh boy here comes the tags #shuichi saihara #rantaro amami #miu iruma #kaito momota #kaede akamatsu #maki harukawa #tenko chabashira #kokichi ouma #himiko yumeno #korekiyo shinguji #tsumugi shirogane #ryoma hoshi #kirumi tojo #angie yonaga #gonta gokuhara #k1-b0

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the-ss-zemyx · 4 years ago

Text

PVP(umpkin Spice Lattes)

Zexion and Arpeggio are Discord friends. They chat in private messages, raid in Verum Rex together, and may or may not have feelings for each other.

Ienzo and Demyx are college roommates. They hate each other, for the most part. At least they can both agree on pumpkin spice lattes.

Happy 2nd Zemyx Day of 2020!!

Specifically for today, the S.S. Zemyx Discord Server hosted a collaborative fic-writing event! Over the course of the past five days, four of our writing members teamed up on a Google Doc in one glorious, inspirational, chaotic, frankenstein-esque fic-writing bonanza! That's right, the fic you're about to read is the product of -four- people's efforts! Enjoy!! :D

(A HUGE thanks to my co-writers: Aliceslantern, Ennarcia, and Carbonpixel. This was a hell of a lot of fun to do and I'm immensely proud of us!! - Mod Arxsia)

Also available on AO3!

__________

Demyx hated his roommate. Okay, no, hate was a strong word, and Demyx did his best to be a friendly, outgoing sort of guy, so ‘hate’ was definitely too strong a word. He liked to make friends. Having friends was nice. Having friends was very nice, and so, he tried to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. But his roommate was a different story, and Demyx did not like his roommate very much at all.

At least he was easy on the eyes, because everything else about him got on Demyx’s last nerve. His name was Ienzo, but his name might as well have been "Jerk," with a capital J. When he wasn't hogging the Internet bandwidth doing God-knows-what on a chunky Alienware laptop, he was lecturing Demyx on the virtues of keeping the floor free from dirty clothes and giving empty soda cans a proper burial in the plastic wastebasket by the door. Lame. Also, he was a little condescending. That jerk .

One day, Ienzo burst into their dorm room with the gusto of a hurricane aiming to speak to a manager about a botched coffee order. He swung his laptop bag onto his mattress. It bounced when it landed. "Out," he commanded.

Demyx looked up from his phone. He sat with his legs crossed on his own bed, his Discord app open to a private message thread on his phone. In a few minutes, one of his server friends, a guy with the display name "The Cloaked Schemer" but going by his Discord handle, Zexion#1309, would be starting a voice call with him. It was kind of a big deal--they had been chatting in their shared server for almost a year, and in private messages for almost as long, but they had yet to actually speak to each other. "I'm actually busy," Demyx said.

"I don't care. Out."

It turned into an argument, of course, neither yielding and probably disturbing their neighbors with the yelling. Yep, Demyx didn’t like his roommate one bit.

He ended up in the lounge by the kitchen, utterly fuming, cursing his idea to “go rando” with a roommate all the while. It’s the best way to make friends, Demyx , his mother had told him. What better friend than a roommate?

Very funny.

At least he’d been able to grab his phone. Of course, Zexion was wondering where the hell he was.

The Cloaked Schemer: Do you need to reschedule?

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: roommate’s being a dick and kicked me out. Sorry!

The Cloaked Schemer: Ah, I too am having roommate troubles. I can sympathize. I know too well what it’s like when one’s privacy is denied.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: he’s driving me NUTS!

The Cloaked Schemer: Have you tried talking to him about it?

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: He didn’t exactly uh seem receptive to talking

The Cloaked Schemer: It’s always a good idea to try for maturity first.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: I did! Not my fault the guy wasn’t having it.

Anyway. Id hate to let that guy take up any more time.

Hru?

The Cloaked Schemer: Doing as well as I can, I suppose. I’m enjoying my classes so far. It seems a little easy, but then again, it is only one of the first weeks. Things should pick up more by midterms.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: ure too smart zexy. And didnt you skip a grade?

The Cloaked Schemer: A year, yes. I don’t think they call them grades in college.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Considering some of the people ive met, couldve fooled me.

The Cloaked Schemer: If I’m hoping to have a grad degree within five years, I have to fast track it. I’d rather not spend much more time in undergrad than necessary.

Though I am especially resentful that, despite the fact that I am technically a sophomore, I’m considered enough of a freshman to still be required to dorm.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: That blows

But dude, ure here. Might as well try to enjoy the journey, yaknow?

The Cloaked Schemer: Oh, Arpeggio. Your naivete is too obvious sometimes. It’s sweet, I think.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: har har

The Cloaked Schemer: I am disappointed though. I was looking forward to meeting you--in a manner of speaking. You’re probably one of the most sane people from our Verum Rex server.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Issa game, bro. Some of them, idk, take it a little too seriously

The Cloaked Schemer: Well, aspects of it are worth being taken seriously, but I understand what you mean.

Though the ship wars are grating.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: ha! Yeah.

The Cloaked Schemer: We’ll have to find some other time, then.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Mann i was hoping to see if you sound as smart as you type

The Cloaked Schemer: You flatter me.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Do you think if we lived near each other we would hang out?

The Cloaked Schemer: If it’s all the same, I’d prefer to keep my location anonymous.

At least for now.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: I know. Just a hypothetical question

The Cloaked Schemer: I’d like to say yes.

But for all I know, you’re actually a forty year old serial killer who lives in his mother’s basement.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: harsh

You listen to 2 many true crime podcasts

Anyway, I g2g. See if the roomie will let me back in. Got homework.

The Cloaked Schemer: Enjoy your night, Arpeggio.

Hopefully one of us has a good one.

Demyx closed the app and repocketed his phone. He flopped back on the lounge couch, eyes squinting at the fluorescent lights above and his limbs ragdolling in uncomfortable directions. A good night, huh? It’d be better if he could spend time in his own room without having to engage in guerilla combat whenever he wanted to exist in his own space. Wishful thinking, he thought.

__________

Ienzo stared at the chatlog open on his computer screen. The circle next to Arpeggio’s icon turned a dull gray, and the remaining bits of Ienzo’s hope for decent conversation dulled with it. He had finally caught up enough with his classwork to have some free time to spend, finally arranged to voice chat with Arpeggio, finally gotten Demyx to leave the god-forsaken room so he could have the one conversation he’d been looking forward to for weeks , and now… nothing. All that planning, gone to waste. Another wave of irritation hit him, and suddenly he was out of bed and grabbing his keys. He needed some tea.

Ienzo didn’t get tea at the coffee shop, despite his plans. The alluring, hipster scent of pumpkin spice hit his nose instead, and he caved before he could stop himself.

The college employed students as baristas in the campus coffee shop, as part of the work-study financial aid, so it wasn’t uncommon to see one’s peers at the shop. “Hey, Ienzo,” Riku said. It was getting late; chairs were already on top of all the tables. They’d met in Ienzo’s anthropology class.

“I’m not too late, am I?”

“I can bend the rules for you.” He went back behind the counter. “What’ll it be? Your usual?”

He blushed guiltily. “Pumpkin spice. Please.” Curse that glorious, wonderful scent.

He smirked. “Coming right up.”

“I know it’s dreadfully popular.”

“Yeah, cause it’s good ,” Riku said. “As long as you’re not one of those “half-caff, no whip, vanilla and almond, five shots” type of people.”

“Why complicate coffee so much?”

Riku handed him the paper cup. “At that point, just drink coffee-flavored syrup.” There was a pleasant lull for a moment. Riku began cleaning the espresso machine. “So why are you out so late? Don’t you have an early class tomorrow?”

Ienzo grimaced. “My roommate and I got into a fight.”

“...Again?”

“We are not well suited for each other.” A sigh. “I went to the Residence Life office to try and apply for another room, but the period for that is over. I was told, and I quote, “unless he’s hurting you, tough it out.””

Riku chuckled.

“He is simply-- obnoxious ,” Ienzo continued, the pressing need to vent taking over. “Slobby, loud, and always around at precisely the most inopportune times. I was supposed to have a call with a good friend of mine, and it took some doing just to get him out.”

“Right, your Discord friend.”

“You have a good memory.” Ienzo swished the coffee around a little; it was slightly too hot to drink.

“The one you have a crush on,” Riku said with a grin.

Ienzo flushed painfully. “I do not have feelings for him,” he said.

“Dunno. You managed to bring that call up in almost every conversation we’ve had. If he was really just your friend, would you be that excited? Enough to hype about it for weeks?”

Ienzo shrugged. “I do not know where he’s from, I don’t know his real name, I don’t even know what he looks like. For all I know, he only uses he/him pronouns online.”

“And?”

“I just… see no reason to desire something I cannot have.”

Riku wiped at the counter. “Oh, don’t be so doom and gloom,” he said. “If the call matters so much, it’s going to happen eventually.”

“I know.” He smiled. “Well, thanks for the tea and sympathy. Er, coffee and sympathy.”

“Any time.”

“Enjoy the rest of your night.”

“You too. Play nice.”

“Just promise to bail me out if things go awry, will you?”

“Ha, on my salary?” Riku winked.

Ienzo left the coffee shop. He didn’t want to return to the dorms yet, but the fall night was calm and quiet. He checked his phone (maybe Arpeggio was free? Though he did say he had homework…).

As a stroke of luck, he had a message waiting for him.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: I have a room again! \o/

the jerk was gone when I got back!

The Cloaked Schemer: How fortunate for you. I assume you’re flying through your homework now?

Mel0d10us N0cturn3: nope! :p

this science paper is kicking my ass!

Im really no good at this sort of thing

The Cloaked Schemer: Do you have any tutors available? Ordinarily I’d love to help but it might be easier and more private to go there instead.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: \o/

We actually do have one of those tutoring centers I think! Thanks for the idea!

Don't want you to waste your special brain-powers on little ol’ me lol

The Cloaked Schemer: I’d hardly call helping you a waste of my “special brain powers.”

It’s not a bad idea to check your local resources though.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: o7

Don’t think I’m gonna make any progress on this paper tonight tho lol

The Cloaked Schemer: Giving up already? I didn’t have you pegged for a quitter.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Awww, come on! Don’t guilt meeee

My poor brain!

It’s mush!

;-; will you not spare some mercy for my poor mushy brain?

The Cloaked Schemer: I suppose just this once, provided you use your resources and go to the tutoring center.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: o7 Yes sir !

First thing in the morning!

My mushy brain thanks you for your mercy and endless kindness!

Ienzo’s cheeks grew warm, but whether it was from the message on the screen or the sip of pumpkin spice coffee currently running down his throat, he neither knew nor was willing to explore.

Despite the late hour, there were plenty of students milling about campus, taking up their little spaces. It had taken him some time to find an empty bench to sit on, but one eventually caught his eye and he claimed it immediately, sitting down with his coffee in one hand and phone in the other.

The sky was inky black, dotted with stars, the sun long gone by now. Nights were starting to grow just a tad chilly, the beginnings of autumn seeping into the atmosphere. It was Ienzo’s favorite season and the aroma of pumpkin spice wafting past his nose was just what he needed to make up for the disappointment of having his voice call with Arpeggio abruptly cancelled.

Well, maybe not entirely. He’d been really looking forward to hearing Arpeggio’s voice for the first time, but this did nicely enough, he supposed. It was better than sitting around stewing in annoyance over his damned roommate anyway.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: so what are you up to right now?

The Cloaked Schemer: It’s a lovely night out. I needed some tea. Got coffee instead.

What is it about pumpkin spice that’s so irresistible?

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Never wouldve pictured YOU as a devotee of the PSL.

The Cloaked Schemer: Guilty pleasure.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: theyre so good. I can’t have that many of them cause caffeine makes me SLEEPY

The Cloaked Schemer: Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me at all.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: whats that supposed to mean?

The Cloaked Schemer: Nothing derogatory, I assure you.

Though the idea of you being hopped up on caffeine amuses me.

You seem like one of those people who has energy all the time.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: i wish

The Cloaked Schemer: I should--begrudgingly--head back to my room.

You should try working on that paper.

I mean it about the tutor.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: yeah, yeah. I hear ya

Hopefully your roommates not being a dick anymore

The Cloaked Schemer: Fat chance. M3l0d10us N0cturn3: enjoy your coffee~~

__________

Demyx sat for a long time looking at that exchange. He could’ve heard Zexion say those words. He was just so painfully smart, but Demyx could listen to him say anything. About anything. For hours.

He showered and got ready for bed, hoping that Ienzo would stay gone. But as it was, he was back. Ienzo scowled in greeting.

“Nice to see you too,” Demyx muttered. He noticed the coffee cup Ienzo had set down. Ienzo seemed to live on caffeine and spite.

“I needed to clear my head, as I do not have the luxury of privacy.”

“Well I gotta sleep somewhere,” Demyx said. He crawled into bed. Ienzo rolled his eyes. Demyx saw him grab his own shower caddy and head out to the communal bathroom. He thought he smelled--he blinked. Slowly, ever so slowly, he got up, crossed over to the cup, and sniffed it.

Of course he likes pumpkin spice lattes, Demyx thought bitterly. Ugh.

He went back to bed and fell asleep listening to music.

__________

The universe thought it was just so funny. Demyx had taken Zexion’s advice and the tutor he’d met with was his jerk of a roommate. At least Ienzo was unhappy too, if the scowl on his insufferably nerdy face was anything to go by.

“What are you doing here?” Demyx blurted before he could stop himself.

“I work here,” his jerk of a roommate answered in response, “as a tutor, for my work study. I take it your procrastinating finally caught up to you and you need some last-minute help?” Did he really have to be so damn condescending though?

Demyx hiked his backpack strap a bit higher on his shoulder and rapped his fingers on the tutoring center's reception desk. Ienzo could glare daggers at him all he wanted from his seat at the computer behind the desk, but the curious eyes of the other tutors and students around meant that he would have to maintain decorum. They both would, lest Ienzo lose his job and Demyx lose his tutoring privileges. He took a deep breath. "I need help with a biology paper."

Ienzo's expression tightened. "Would you like to make an appointment?"

"No? You said it yourself: this is last-minute." Demyx tapped on the desk. "I need to talk to the science tutor on duty, please."

"It seems like we're both out of luck tonight, then," Ienzo replied dryly, absently clicking at something on the computer monitor. "I'm the science tutor on duty at the moment."

"You? Gross."

"I'm not particularly happy about it right now, either."

Demyx considered his options, and cringed at his conclusions. His paper was due in two days, and it was only half-drafted. Without a passing grade on the assignment, he would set himself up to fail the class. Petty squabbles were not worth the hit to his GPA. He sighed. "Well, can you help? I'm kind of desperate, here."

Ienzo returned the sigh. "Fine. Follow me."

Demyx followed Ienzo around the reception desk to a square table in the far corner, a plastic chair on each side. Ienzo alighted onto the seat closest to the wall. "This better not be a waste of time."

Demyx pulled his laptop out of his backpack before sitting down across from Ienzo. "Has anyone ever told you that you have excellent people skills? Because if they did, they lied to you."

Ienzo rolled his eyes. Yep , Demyx thought, amazing people skills. They were off to a great start. Getting through this paper was going to be agony. "I'm paid to tutor, not practice social niceties."

The laptop screen lit up as Demyx swiped one finger over the trackpad. A screenshot from one of his more memorable raids in Verum Rex guarded the rest of his files behind his login password. Demyx typed his password as quickly as he could, shooing the image of his and Zexion's avatars away before Ienzo could ask any unwanted questions. Evidently, he did not type fast enough.

“Verum Rex? You're familiar with it?”

Demyx nearly jumped, shoulders tensing. He knew Ienzo was there; that shouldn’t have startled him as badly as it had.

“Duh? It's only the best MMO on the market right now. Not that you would know, since you're so committed to the whole 'smug asshole' thing,” He snarked on reflex, feeling slightly guilty about it afterwards. Ienzo was being friendly for once, or was at least making something of an attempt at it. Yikes. Demyx wasn't usually one to make low blows like that. He opened the Biology folder on his computer and selected the draft of his paper, making an effort to get along with Ienzo while they were forced to sit together. "Please help me with this? If you would be so kind, please?" Demyx made praying-hands in Ienzo's direction in apology.

Eyebrow rising - was it just one, or both? - Ienzo shot him a look, obviously unamused in the slightest. “If you’re trying to be cute, it’s not going to work.”

Demyx pouted and opened up his biology paper, turning the laptop toward Ienzo. “Fine, fine, just help me?”

Rolling his eyes yet again, Ienzo was just about to lean in to read what Demyx had so far, when the familiar sound of a Discord ping had Demyx scrambling to turn the laptop back toward himself. Shit. He’d forgotten to close his Discord window before showing up at the tutoring center.

While Demyx closed the Discord app, Ienzo watched him carefully, contemplative. “You use Discord?”

Turning the laptop back, Demyx gave him a look, half in disbelief because surely Ienzo was too much of a nerd, but not in the cool way, to know what Discord was, and yet he did. Shit, it would be really awkward to end up in a server together. “Yeah, who doesn’t use Discord these days? I mean, especially if you play games or are into, I dunno, any fan community stuff.”

For a moment, Ienzo said nothing, slowly turning to look at Demyx’s biology paper on the screen. “Alright, let’s see what we have to work with so far, if anything.”

Demyx sighed. Asshole.

__________

Was this some kind of joke? Ienzo was being pranked, wasn’t he? Any moment now Demyx would start laughing about wasting his time and walk out, like the lazy slacker he was. Halfway through, he half collapsed on the table.

“This is impossible,” Demyx whined. “You don’t really understand this stuff, do you? You’ve gotta be lying.”

Ienzo felt his eye twitch. “Not all of us are lazy fools who give up after 15 minutes. Why are you even here?”

“Because my friend said I should, and I trust his advice. He never leads me wrong, so even if I have to spend time with you , I’m gonna do this.”

"Your friend sounds like he has the sense that you very much lack," Ienzo deadpanned, scrolling through Demyx's paper. He took stock of the misformatted section headings, missing in-text citations, and the off-center data table in the middle of the mess. The topic of the paper did not appear in any of Demyx's written work. "Can you tell me what this assignment is supposed to be? I can't tell from what you've given me."

"It's…" Demyx shrank back in his seat. "I don't know what it's supposed to be. My professor gave us all a table of data-results-things and told us to organize and analyze them. I don't know what he wants, exactly."

Ienzo huffed, and almost slammed Demyx's computer closed on the spot. Thankfully, his better faculties kept him from breaking Demyx's laptop. "There's your problem. You can't complete an assignment if you don't know what the assignment is . Email your professor for clarification and request an extension. If you do it early enough, they might grant you leniency."

"Really? That's your advice? Beg my way out of it?"

"Not begging. Requesting. It shows forethought, self-awareness, and emotional maturity, even if you don't actually possess any of those things. The adage of faking proficiency to gain proficiency has some truth to it." Ienzo pushed the laptop over to Demyx. "Is there anything else I can help with?"

Demyx's arms crossed, and his expression took on the quality of a betrayed toddler. "You didn't even help me with what I came in for, asshole."

Ienzo waved away Demyx's indignation with a dismissive hand. "There's only so much I, or any tutor, can do without having a good idea of what your professor expects. Emailing is the best advice I can give right now."

"So if I email my professor, you’ll help me?”

“I give you my word.” A promise made in haste, if only to appease the barest responsibilities of his job. Hopefully Demyx wouldn’t make him live to regret it.

Not long after Demyx was gone, Ienzo checked his Discord app, surreptitiously on his phone behind the reception desk, to find a message from Arpeggio.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Zexy, this worst thing ever just happened!

My roommate is my tutor!

Save meeeeeee

The Cloaked Schemer: That is peculiar. Though colleges are small worlds, so I hear.

What did he have to say re: the paper?

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Ugh he couldn’t even help

Because I had licherally no idea what the professor wants

I mean, the dude has an F on ratemyprofessor so

He said to email and beg for clarity and an extension

The Cloaked Schemer: ...That is sound advice, actually.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Youre taking his side???

The Cloaked Schemer: Not exactly.

But in academic situations, it always looks good on you to take the initiative and seek help when you need it.

I guarantee the professor will work with you, and perhaps be able to refine that same assignment in the future.

If he’s worth his salt, he’s seeking to improve himself the way you are.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: I GUESS

You wanna do a raid tonite?

The Cloaked Schemer: Alas, I, too, am a college student with coursework.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: RUDE

Ienzo leaned back in his chair in the campus library. How coincidental, he thought. He’d just given Demyx the same advice. Then again, college papers--especially in the sciences--were not always diverse on the gen ed level. He recalled Demyx’s paper; he should’ve asked him to see the email, or post, or handout with the assignment on it. Chances are the moron had merely misunderstood.

Demyx liked Verum Rex. Perhaps they could have this to talk about. Ienzo wondered who he mained. Probably Yozora, he thought with a sneer.

The Cloaked Schemer: Actually, I can do one raid.

ONE. Brief. Raid.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Thats more like it! \o/

One raid turned into two, then Ienzo ended up staying in the library, at the tutoring center, until it closed.

__________

Demyx begrudgingly took Ienzo’s advice. After his marathon raid session with Zexion, he sent a brief email--agonizing over the wording--to his professor, who responded almost instantly with an apology. Several students had already asked him about the assignment, it turned out, so he was going to extend the entire class’s deadline. But if Demyx needed a few days after that, he could have it.

“You were right,” Demyx murmured out loud, as he read the email the next morning.

“Of course I was,” Ienzo said, not looking up from his desk. “See? All it takes is a little maturity.”

The irony. Demyx grimaced. He looked over at him. “So you’ll help me?”

“When--and only when--I am on duty,” he said. “I have a life outside of work, you know.”

Demyx wondered how true that was. Ienzo spent a lot of the time in the room if he were not in class or in the library. Did he have friends? Did he go to societies? He nearly asked. Then he looked at him, really looked at him, for the first time in weeks. He had bags under his eyes, and was washed out, books spread in a circle around him. “Outside of studying, too?”

Ienzo opened his mouth, then shut it. “I am not here to socialize. I am here for a degree.”

“But don’t you… have any friends?”

“Of course I do,” Ienzo said, just a little too quickly.

Like he would honestly tell Demyx. “Sure,” he said, shutting his laptop and tucking it into his bag. “Well. I got class. I’ll see you at the center later?”

“Much to my chagrin,” Ienzo responded evenly.

Demyx’s day was ordinary other than that. After the professor clarified what he wanted in class (and, to Demyx’s immense relief, it was much less daunting than what he’d thought), he stopped by the library to check out some books which might point him in a vague direction. Ienzo could tell him if they were any good. He stopped by the coffee shop to grab a croissant and a coffee, and, on impulse, got one for Ienzo as well. The idea of it made him nervous. Maybe I’ll say they made an extra by mistake, he thought. He already knew Ienzo drank them.

There Ienzo was, sitting in the office. “It’s you,” he said in an unreadable tone.

“It’s me.” He cleared his throat. “Um…” He thrust out the coffee without saying anything else.

“Is this for me?”

“Uh, yeah.” He felt his face heat--though why?

Ienzo took it, looking confused, and sniffed the small hole in the lid. “Oh,” he said softly.

“I wasn’t sure if you liked--”

“No. I do. That was kind of you.” He blinked, his expression odd, slackened; Demyx realized it was without malice. “Let’s get to work, shall we? I don’t want this to take any longer than it has to.”

Ienzo helped him structure the paper, and reviewed proper citations with him. It would take a little work, but seeing it outlined, Demyx felt a lot less overwhelmed. Something he thought was a mammoth project would maybe take an hour or two to write.

“Once you have it written, come back and I can help you with grammar and syntax,” Ienzo said.

“Awesome.” He took a deep breath. “I feel… a lot better now.”

“One typically does when one stops procrastinating,” Ienzo said. He leaned back in his seat. For a second--but just one--he sounded like Zexion, all firm and proper, genteel without being rigid.

__________

"You got your grade back already?"

Demyx beamed as he held his laptop screen-out, his browser logged into the university's online grading system. One score was listed under BIO 101, labelled "Paper 1." The percentage displayed next to the assignment name was higher than Ienzo expected from Demyx. "I didn't completely fail!" he practically cheered.

"So you didn't," Ienzo agreed, nodding slightly at the number from his desk. "It's amazing what a bit of work will do."

Demyx dropped himself onto his bed and turned his laptop. He bounced on the mattress a few times while he looked at the number. "This is the best news I've gotten all semester and it's the best feeling. Is this what it's like to be a genius and get good grades all the time?"

Ienzo returned his attention to his own laptop, where a half-drafted essay mocked him with its blinking text cursor and nonsensical thesis statement. He clacked another line of bullshit into the document. It was for English class, he reminded himself. Any answer was correct if it could be argued well. "No, not really. You get used to it."

"I… I should thank you," Demyx said, after a beat of silence. "For your help. I wouldn't have had anything to turn in at all if you hadn't told me to email my professor."

Another line of bullshit trailed across the screen. Ienzo squinted at it, unsure of what he had typed. "Don't mention it. It's my job."

"But still. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Ienzo could hear Demyx shuffling on his bed. "So… you play Verum Rex?"

"Fairly regularly, yes."

"Do you do raids or multiplayer at all?"

Ienzo shot Demyx a warning glance. "I already have a raiding group. I'm not looking for another one."

Across the room, Demyx had tucked himself into bed, his Star Wars sheets pulled all the way up to his chin. He blinked at Ienzo unceremoniously. "Jeez, forget I asked. No need to be snippy about it."

Demyx's head disappeared under the covers, and Ienzo returned his attention to his essay. At least, he tried. The Discord notifications in the corner of his screen kept distracting him.

Eventually, Ienzo admitted defeat and opened Discord. All of the messages were from Arpeggio.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: hey, do we have an opening on our raiding party?

Zexion?

Oh nvm he said no

What are you up to?

I'm taking a victory nap after getting a good grade on that paper I had to

write a while back

My roommate is typing something and he's so loud

What is he writing that makes him so angy

The Cloaked Schemer: I am also typing angrily at something

It is a universal collegiate experience

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: still so angy tho

Are you angy atm?

The Cloaked Schemer: I am… frustrated

I'm meant to be dissecting the themes in a short story but I feel like I'm only spewing garbage on the page

Perhaps if I present the garbage with enough conviction, I will be able to maneuver through this class

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: if youre writing it, it's definitely not garbage :P

you need to have more confidence in yourself, Zexy

The Cloaked Schemer: Ha. I think my roommate would disagree

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: well then he's a bum

Tell him that

Arpeggio says so

Ienzo looked back at Demyx, cocooned in spaceship bed sheets and doing who-knows-what under the cover of bed linens. He thought he saw the flash of a phone screen through the fabric, but the light disappeared as quickly as he caught it.

The Cloaked Schemer: I'll pass. He seems busy.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Busy doing what? Bum things?

The Cloaked Schemer: I certainly hope not. We're in the same room right now.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: oh. Awkward

The Cloaked Schemer: I’ll say.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: so you know ive been thinking

The Cloaked Schemer: Have you? What a concept.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: ha ha.

Its been a while since we tried voice chatting

Maybe we could try again?

The Cloaked Schemer: You would want that?

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: I want to hear your voice. To see if youre actually as smart as you write

Maybe youve got, like, a transatlantic accent, or something. Thatd be cool

Ienzo blinked, staring hard at the screen. His heart beat a little faster. It was so hard to determine tone through text.

The Cloaked Schemer: Maybe I’m not as cool as I seem.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: highly, HIGHLY doubt it

Youve kept me sane

I really appreciate our

Ienzo saw him type “thing” and then frenetically edit to “friendship.” He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry.

The Cloaked Schemer: The feeling is mutual.

A long, long pause. Ienzo did not know what else to say. His face was burning.

The Cloaked Schemer: Normally I’d rather be caught dead than admit this.

But it does get somewhat lonely here.

It’s nice to have someone to talk to.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: I know what u mean

Sometimes i feel like i dont really know who i am

And like college is supposed to be about finding that

But its hard.

The Cloaked Schemer: You don’t have to tell me twice.

Part of why it’s so easy to exist in online spaces, in games. Appearance doesn’t matter. It’s like being a more concentrated version of oneself.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Do u feel like a more concentrated version of yourself?

The Cloaked Schemer: When I talk to you.

Ienzo’s heart was pounding. He thought he heard Demyx sigh across the room. Was he typing too hard?

Arpeggio started and stopped typing several times, just making Ienzo more nervous. What is he going to say? Did I push it too hard? Was I too forward?

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Me too, Zexion

I wish we knew each other. Like, irl

Getting to do raids in person

That would be so fun

And i dunno, maybe do other things

Go out to eat. Go to the movies. Maybe go dancing.

Do u like clubs?

The Cloaked Schemer: I’ve never been.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: it takes some getting used to

But the energy of a crowd is electric

Especially with people you know

Oh god oh god oh god , Ienzo thought. His hands were trembling.

The Cloaked Schemer: Where would we go to eat?

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: anywhere you want

Well. on a college students budget anyway

-laughs in poor

The Cloaked Schemer: Ah, so, five star cuisine, then.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Just dont order the lobster

In all seriousness. We need to vc sometime

The Cloaked Schemer: Yes.

There’s going to be a raid event on Saturday. Perhaps then?

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Depends on if i have the room :/

Wanna say yes so bad

The Cloaked Schemer: I know the feeling.

I suppose if I get desperate enough I can rent out a study cubicle in the library.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Awww you’d do that for little ol’ me?

The Cloaked Schemer: Yes, I

His finger slipped, hitting the enter key a moment too soon before he could even finish the thought in his head. His hands felt almost clammy, the inner mechanizations of his mind working on overdrive, as if trying to race against the pitter-patter beat of his heart. Shit. Perhaps… Riku was right after all? Had Ienzo, usually so level-headed, actually developed a crush on Arpeggio? It was utterly nonsensical, and yet he couldn’t deny that he felt a comfort with Arpeggio that he didn’t feel with anyone else he knew, online or offline. Was it possible to fall- ...to develop a smattering of feelings for someone based on typed text alone?

Well, wasn’t that a theme in literature? Two people falling in love over written letters? For all Ienzo knew, there could very well have been instances of it happening in real life, in the days of old, long, long before the age of technology and the internet. A pair of penpals, miles and miles of distance between them, communicating through the written word; it could happen, couldn’t it?

Hold on. When the hell did he turn into a sap ? Frowning, Ienzo ran a hand over his face, feeling like a lovestruck fool.

No. No, this couldn’t be a crush. Just because it was so easy to talk to him, just because they’d been talking for a year or so by now, it didn’t mean-

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Zexy?

You ok?

Shit, how long had he zoned out for?

The Cloaked Schemer: Sorry. Got distracted.

But regardless, I think we should aim for Saturday.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Great!

Hoping we don’t get interrupted by our dick roomies

The Cloaked Schemer: Quite. It’s a date, then.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Yes :3

Ienzo took a deep breath. Regardless as to whether or not this was practical, it seemed that Arpeggio reciprocated his flirting.

Wait. Ienzo looked at the screen, cheeks heating up as he realized he’d typed the word ‘date,’ and Arpeggio said ‘yes .’ He couldn’t deny the little flutter of his stomach in that moment.

__________

Demyx set his phone aside, his heart beating heavily in his chest, his face bright red. He swallowed. There was no way sleep would come easily now, and it probably wouldn’t be until Saturday.

He thought about the nature of crushes. He’d never seen Zexy’s face, or heard his voice, but he was so adept at weaving words in the way Demyx wanted to be with music. He tried to imagine him, what he might be like.

He rolled onto his back. Ienzo’s frenetic, noisy typing had stopped. Demyx sat up, rubbed his eyes, and pretended he’d been napping the whole time. “You good?”

Ienzo shut his computer quickly, like he’d been doing something questionable. “Yes. Fine.” He was a little out of breath. What the hell had he been writing?

Demyx blinked. “I’m gonna go get a coffee,” he said instead. “Want me to bring you one back?”

“Sure,” Ienzo said, his face flushed.

Demyx shook his head. Well. If Ienzo needed to take care of that he had at least a few minutes now. “Cool.”

The whole time he was at the coffee shop, he kept thinking about Zexion, all their little conversations. It was evolving, and evolving fast. Demyx knew from brief experimentation with dating apps that just because a person sent you some flirty words didn’t mean anything would come of it. For all he knew, Zexion lived in New Zealand, or something.

That didn’t stop him from wanting it.

He drew a deep breath, exhaled. Well. Saturday he would find out.

Demyx wasn’t going to let Ienzo ruin his chances of meeting Zexion. He decided to strike preemptively, pausing at the door of their dorm room and sucking in a breath, steeling himself. He could do this. He could ask his roommate for the room for one night, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Hey, so, I have a thing Saturday,” he said vaguely. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t coming off as strongly as he intended, but he could still try. “Mind if I hang here alone for a few hours?”

Ienzo glanced up. The flush was gone, and he seemed much more composed. “Yes, that’s fine. I was going to go study anyway.”

“Study? Don’t you ever have any fun?”

“Perhaps I find studying fun,” Ienzo said.

“Suit yourself.” As he passed on his way back to the bed, he saw out of the corner of his eye that Ienzo had Discord open.

__________

Friday night, Demyx barely slept. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. Crushes didn’t usually… hit him this hard. It’s dumb. It’s so dumb. His loneliness was getting to him. Even Saturday morning, there were some hours until the events started. He looked at his DM history with Zexion. They’d spoken briefly, only to confirm a time and place for their characters to meet and chat. He sat at his desk, his hands trembling, as the game booted up.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: You ready?

The Cloaked Schemer: Of course.

M3l0d10us N0cturn3: Cool.

My mic isnt like great

But you can still hear me

He was shaking. He was shaking. “Get it together,” he muttered to himself.

The Cloaked Schemer: You’re a broke college student. I’m not expecting a professional setup here.

Though I will say my booth is pleasantly soundproofed.

Let me connect.

And Demyx thought his heart might stop. I’m so gay, he thought. A second later he heard that familiar call connection. He twitched a little, and his mic clattered loudly on the floor. Shit!

“Arpeggio? Are you alright?”

“I just dropped the--”

A long, long pause.

He knew that voice.

“Zexion?” He picked up the mic and set it down.

“Arpeggio?”

“I dropped the mic.” Demyx swallowed.

“You…” Zexion fumbled for words. “Speak a little more, please.”

“Is that really you?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re in a library right now.”

“And you had an event… Saturday.”

“Ohh my god,” Demyx mumbled. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, just that he was feeling a lot of it. “Ienzo. You’re Zexion?”

“It’s an anagram,” he said, his tone numb.

“Seriously, this whole time--”

“Evidently.”

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but at the same time, there was something warm in his chest.

Wait, no. No. This was Ienzo, and they hated each other--

Demyx realized he was panicking. He also, vaguely, in the back of his mind, realized the call had disconnected.

Demyx spent the next few minutes desperately trying to control his breathing, trying to not focus on how Zexion- No, Ienzo- was so disgusted it was him that he’d immediately dropped the call.

Of course. Of fucking course. The universe hated him. The universe had it out for him, surely. Why else would this have happened? He finally meets this sweet, smart, wonderful guy who takes him seriously and actually likes talking to him, on a regular basis , and then… And then… It turns out to be the very same roommate who hates him. That would just be his damned luck, wouldn’t it?

Grabbing his pillow, Demyx face-planted into it, pressing it furiously against his eyes to stop them from burning, to stop the tears that threatened to spill. Of all the people it could’ve been. Why Ienzo ?

Demyx had been nervous enough as it was, afraid the person on the other end would think him annoying - his voice, his tone, the way he just couldn’t fucking shut up sometimes when he got excited about something. Alternatively, the filter between his brain and his mouth was immensely weaker than the filter between his brain and his fingers, and he could’ve said the wrong thing, unable to stop himself in the same way his hand can catch itself on the enter key before hitting it, or quickly delete the message before Zexion could read it.

But this was so much worse, because Ienzo already knew him, already had an impression of him, and that impression was far from good. It’s no wonder he disconnected the call so suddenly. He likely couldn’t stand hearing the truth any longer, stomach churning with disgust, head filled to bursting with regret, and not just regret over the voice call, but everything .

An almost entire year’s worth of conversations, soiled now, because Demyx was, well, Demyx . A slob. A slacker. An idiot. He wasn’t worth Ienzo’s time, and now he knew he wasn’t worth Zexion’s.

A sharp ache spread over his chest, cold and numbing, all of him tense with it. He… liked Zexion. He very genuinely liked him, so excited to get to talk to him, his bristling nerves aside. All week he’d thought about it, daydreaming, wondering what the person on the other end would sound like, if he’d love that voice as much as he loved the text on his Discord screen.

It no longer mattered, not when it was now clear that Zexion - no, Ienzo , was utterly disgusted with him.

It was over. It was all over - their friendship, a year’s worth of personal conversations, these budding feelings he was beginning to have, or that he’s been having for a while now…

On the flipside, was Demyx disappointed that it turned out to be Ienzo? He… didn’t know the answer to that, still reeling in the fact that Zexion, his dear friend and crush, hated him. The pillow was starting to suffocate him and he instinctively pulled it away from his face, eyes still burning. He sucked in some deep breaths and just when he was finally on the cusp of calming down, his door swung open so fast Demyx feared it’d break off the hinges.

Ienzo leveled him with a determined stare. “You.”

__________

Ienzo sat.

And sat.

And stared, and sat some more.

He was dizzy. Slowly, so slowly, all the pieces clicked together. The coffee. The references to Verum Rex. How they were always just missing each other. The whole tutoring scenario. Good god . So this person he’d been harboring feelings for this whole time was--

He pressed a hand to his forehead. And yet, a small part of him… was relieved?

It could be…

No, it couldn’t be anything! They hated each other! They’d complained to each other about each other more times than Ienzo could count. They had--

Ienzo felt the walls of the study booth begin to close in around him, pushing the breathable air out of the room. His ribcage constricted around his lungs, and his heartbeat pounded at his temples. He gathered his laptop and microphone in his arms and burst out of the room, chest heaving.

He braced himself against the outer wall of the study booth and willed himself to breathe normally, his head tilted all the way back to rest on the door. This was real life, and he was fine. He would be fine, anyway, with a bit of finessing. Okay, perhaps a little more than a bit.

Ienzo retrieved his backpack and stowed his equipment inside as he analyzed the situation. Arpeggio and Demyx were the same person. A strange revelation, but not world-ending. He could find another raiding party. He could join another server. There was more than one person with whom to play Verum Rex.

But--

Ienzo caught himself zipping and unzipping the top pocket of his backpack, more forcefully than necessary each time. A new server didn't sound appealing. A new raiding party, even less so. He would have to chat with new people, learn their idiosyncrasies and fighting styles, learn their pseudonyms and remember how they differed from their usernames. It all sounded so… hard, and boring, and unnecessary.

He zipped his backpack closed for the last time and held it at his side by its tiny top handle. Its back straps kicked at his calves as he raced out of the study area, through the main lobby, and into the courtyard. His mind was set. His choice was clear. The only thing to do was follow through.

Ienzo made a beeline back to the room. He found Demyx sitting cross-legged on his own bed, his computer accessorized with a small budget microphone and his face awash with something that looked like guilt. His eyes widened when Ienzo crossed the threshold.

"You." Ienzo's statement rang out like a gong.

Demyx swallowed. "Yeah?"

"We need to talk." Ienzo shut the door behind himself. It slammed closed, though Ienzo had not intended for that.

"...yeah." Demyx turned back to his computer, fiddling at the USB port where his microphone connected to the rest of the machine. "Ienzo, I--"

"Shut up." Ienzo stalked into the room, single-minded. He stopped at the edge of Demyx's bed. "Shut up and listen, for once."

Demyx's shoulders rose to his ears. He stayed quiet.

Ienzo dropped his backpack to the floor. Though his fingers trembled, his resolve held firm. The moment of reckoning was upon him. "Did you know?"

Demyx shook his head.

"Did you want to know?"

He responded in a whisper, pained and hushed. "I wanted to meet Zexion."

Ienzo's hands trembled faster. He balled them into fists to compensate. "And now that you know," he said, "do you regret it? Wanting to know? Learning the truth?"

A tear trailed down Demyx's downcast cheek. "No."

Something deep inside Ienzo wanted to reach out and wipe away the tears that followed, while Demyx's breath caught in gasps over his laptop keyboard. Ienzo steeled himself. "I… don't regret it, either."

"You don't?" Demyx looked up and met Ienzo's gaze with caution. Aside from the red tinge at their edges, his eyes looked almost hopeful.

Ienzo softened, relaxed his fists. "I don't want to find a new server, or a new raiding party."

Sniffling, Demyx nodded. "I don't, either."

"I don't want to stop talking to Arpeggio," Ienzo continued, his heart playing timpanis in his chest. "He is a close friend of mine."

"He's also your lazy roommate." Another tear escaped, this time going down the side of Demyx's nose. Demyx wiped at it with the heel of his hand. "Ienzo, I--"

"We've had differences. We've also had commonalities, albeit in virtual space. There's no reason we cannot bring the two together."

"Ienzo--"

"There's no reason we should be at each other's throats. We--"

"Ienzo!"

He blinked. The drum performance in his chest missed a beat, then started from the top at full speed. "Yes?"

Demyx unplugged the microphone from his computer, sighed, and tossed it to the far edge of his bed. "I don't think that will work."

Ienzo frowned and crossed his arms. He was beginning to remember why he and Demyx didn't get along in meatspace. "Why, pray tell, is that?" he asked.

Demyx swallowed again, more conspicuously than before. "It's just… I…"

Ienzo leaned forward, his head cocked to the side. "You what?"

"I, um, I…"

"Go on. I don't have all night."

Demyx pushed his computer aside and drew his knees into his chest. "I… shit. I had a thing for Zexion." His shoulders hitched with sardonic laughter. "Shit. Fuck. This sucks." He reached behind himself for his pillow and buried his face in it. "This is so embarrassing," he whined, his voice muffled.

Ienzo's budding anger deflated. "You… you did?"

Demyx nodded into his pillow. "Uh-huh. And now you know, too."

Ienzo opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't make the words in his head form coherent phrases. His throat sputtered with half-formed consonants instead. Words. For fuck’s sake, wasn’t he good at words? Why was this suddenly so damn hard?

"This is the worst," Demyx groaned. "Just kill me now. Make it look like an accident. Tell my family I loved them. Don't let my sister take my bedroom at home."

Ienzo's faculties returned in the bumbling, clumsy way that drunkards stumbled home from dank local pubs. "I... don't think that will be necessary," Ienzo managed, through his own confusion.

"No?" Demyx put his pillow back in its place, and faced Ienzo with dried saline clumping in his eyelashes. "What, are you gonna torture me instead? Make me regret being born? Because you're a little late on that front, buddy, I already do."

Ienzo took a deep breath. His crossed arms dropped to his side, then held each other at the elbows. "I may have developed… similar feelings. For Arpeggio." Ienzo's mouth went dry. The drum performance upgraded itself to a full marching band drumline, twenty-five snare drums pounding paradiddles and rolls in synchronized sweeps.

A silence consumed the space between them, interrupted only by Demyx's sniffling and Ienzo's heartbeat. It stretched into the abyss and the stratosphere in equal measure, and stung more acutely than the idea of never speaking to Arpeggio again.

Demyx broke the silence by clearing his throat. "So…"

Ienzo coughed. "So..."

"Are we…" Demyx unfolded his legs and swung them over the side of his bed. His hands grasped at his mattress, and his head hung from his shoulders "Are we, y'know… do we still, like…"

"Do you want to be?" Ienzo shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Friends, cohorts, party members, server mutuals? Or…"

"Or what?"

"Or…" Ienzo trailed off. Or what, indeed? Friends with benefits? Significant others? Boyfriends? The mere thought made Ienzo's palms sweat. "Or…"

In the moment between Ienzo's efforts to name his emotions and act on them, Demyx had sprung up from the bed and slipped his hands around the sides of Ienzo's face, his thumbs resting just below the apples of Ienzo's cheeks. His breath tickled at Ienzo's nose and lips. "Or… this?"

Heat seared at every inch of Ienzo's face. If he could feel Demyx's breath, Demyx could feel his as well. "...I suppose, yes."

"In that case," Demyx murmured, somehow purring and wavering at the same time, "tell me no." He rested his forehead on Ienzo's. "Tell me no, and we won't. I promise. Things can go back to normal."

A whimper, wholly undignified and unbidden, escaped from Ienzo's higher register. "I can't," he whispered.

Demyx leaned forward, and Ienzo followed. At some point, they met in the middle, and the world's axis shifted two degrees to the left. It was a tentative press of lips, but Demyx’s hands on his face kept him anchored. It didn’t feel like Ienzo thought it would, and self-consciousness invaded. Suddenly Ienzo felt very young and immature; vulnerable .

But… after a moment or so, not so much. Demyx was so warm against him, and Ienzo realized it was a learning curve, one he was picking up with his usual speed. He was shaking a little in disbelief. It was so-- nice.

Demyx pulled away and brushed his fingers across his cheek. "You're trembling."

"Forgive me. I--" He swallowed.

"No, it's cool." Demyx pulled away and smiled, brighter than Ienzo had ever seen someone smile before. "Do you… want to go again?"

Ienzo did, very much so. "I'm not opposed, per se, but I think we should… explore our relationship a bit. Perhaps starting with our mutual interest in pumpkin spice flavors."

“Sounds like a plan to me, Zexy,” Demyx grinned.

__________

Riku set the pair of pumpkin spice lattes down on the little square table in the back corner of the coffeeshop, glancing at Ienzo, then Demyx, then back at Ienzo, one eyebrow shooting up into his hair. “Is the world ending? Did I miss a memo on the corkboard in the back room?”

Ienzo coughed. He was vaguely aware of the heat rising in his cheeks. Damn it all to hell. Of course Riku was here, why would it have been anyone else? Sighing, he gestured to Demyx, bracing himself for the inevitable bit of humiliation, courtesy of the one friend who knew about his very apparent crush on his Discord friend. “Riku, meet Arpeggio.”

Riku’s other eyebrow shot up into his hair. “You’re shitting me.”

Demyx looked across the table at Zexion, clearly trying to fight the incoming of a shit-eating grin. “You talked about me to people?”

"Only the unimportant ones," Ienzo said, picking up his cup and sipping loudly.

“Psh,” Riku spat with a roll of his eyes. “Yeah, and every damn minute of the day. If I had a dollar for every time you made heart eyes at the ceiling while talking about him, I could quit this job and pay off my tuition.”

Ienzo balked at that, nearly choking on his latte. “It was not that often.”

Waving a hand, Riku corrected himself, looking pointedly at Demyx. “Wait, no, he’s right. I’m forgetting that half the time, he’d be complaining about his horrible room-”

“Shouldn’t you be behind the counter?” Ienzo hissed, glaring at Riku. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Demyx’s gaze flicking between him, like he was watching a game of ping-pong. “Or should I text Sora and Kairi about all those little hearts you like to draw around their names on the garbage receipts every time they come in?”

"Go ahead. I'm ninety percent sure they're both into me, anyway."

Ienzo pulled his phone from his pocket and brandished it at Riku. "Are you willing to test that theory?"

"Make sure you write it down," Demyx chirped, blowing into the hole in his drink's lid. "If you write it down, it's science. I learned that in Biology this semester."

"I'll do more than that," Ienzo said, tapping on his phone screen with both hands. After his phone played a short 'whoosh' sound, he placed it face-down on the table. "Images sent. Now we wait for our results."

Riku scoffed, then balked, then turned beet-red. "You're an asshole," he hissed through his teeth.

"Relax. I was just kidding,” Ienzo said with a glint in his eye that Demyx barely caught.

"Forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical." Riku scowled for a moment, but eventually softened into a smirk. "Whatever. Enjoy your Discord date, Casanova." He knocked on the table once before returning to the checkout counter.

"Discord date?" Demyx asked, taking a swig of his pumpkin spice latte. "I thought we were hanging out in real life."

"Let's not split hairs. We're about to see a show." Ienzo jutted his chin in the direction of the cafe's front door. As if on cue, Sora and Kairi burst through it like a duo on a mission.

“Oh Riiiiiiiiku!” they chorused in sing-song at the top of their lungs.

"Sometimes," Ienzo said, turning back to Demyx, "I like to watch the world burn."

“Yeah, I know. That’s actually kind of hot,” Demyx admitted, taking another sip of his latte. "Remind me not to piss you off again, though."

#Zemyx #Demyx #Ienzo #Zexion #Kingdom Hearts #fanfiction #Zemyx Day #Zemyx Day 2020

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heyitsmirae · 4 years ago

Text

Gaming buddy headcanons (A3!)

Hi~! These are just random drabbles off the top of my head as I just can’t seem to focus on my work today, which is why I decided to jot these HCs down before I forget or procrastinate again (〃▽〃)

Itaru Chigasaki

Whenever you and Itaru have a gaming night scheduled, he is just itching to leave work early to prep

He does a Monster energy drink / Redbull, iced coffee, potato chips and chinese take-out shopping side trip before returning to the dorm

"Let's have a successful raid today!" you both say to one another while saluting

The rest of MANKAI company know better than to pass by Room 103 on a gaming night

Sakuya accidentally forgot once and was traumatized for life when he approached Room 103 hoping to ask Itaru for help in his history homework without knowing you were in the room, too

"Ano, Itaru-san, excuse me, I need your help with someth-"

*cue you screaming in rage after dying for the nth time*

Poor Sakuya still recounts this experience with a shudder as he tells the story to Taichi

You both don't always play the rage games tho

On chill nights, both of you play Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley co-op just to chill in the virtual world

It's on these chill nights that Omi would knock on the door and give you both the dinner he set aside for you, to which you and Itaru would thank him profusely for being the mom that he is being so kind and considerate

You end up conking out in his room during gaming nights since you usually end up playing until the wee hours of the morning (much to Masumi and Sakyo’s chagrin)

He’s a perfect gentleman though, that’s why you feel completely safe around him even though you’re both single adults sleeping together (read: SLEEP as in literally sleep stop thinking the other meaning u dirty hoe)

Itaru is the first person you want to tell about the latest game in the app store or about an upcoming game to be released for the console or PC, and vice versa

Your LIME DMs with him are full of news about soon to be released games or discussions about tactics for the limited time events in the common games you play

“Taruchi, did you know that XXX company is releasing a sequel to XXX, the one that we played last week? (*≧▽≦) Kyaa! I can’t wait~”

Speaking of that nickname, YOU coined that one together during that one time he wanted to make another character from his main one in order to crush NEO (ahem, Banri, ahem)

“Seriously, Y/N, I don’t know what to name this character. Got any ideas?”

“Hmm.. Itaru Chigasaki, Itaru, Taru, Chigasaki, Taru..chi? How about Taruchi? It sounds cute!”

“Tsk, people will think it’s a girl’s account then, the way it sounds. Eh, who cares. You came up with it, take responsibility for it. I was planning to use a female avatar anyway.”

You are both admins to the wikia pages of the games you both enjoy playing

You sometimes ask his help for answers in the otome games you’re playing, to which his choices get you the wrong or Bad End (´д｀)

He gets a little jealous when you go kya kya at otome game characters, actually grabbing your Switch one time and staring at the character you were squealing at

“Pffssh, he doesn’t even look that handsome. Have some standards, you otome trash lady. What’s with the fake perm and hipster clothing. You have got to be kidding me. Who’s the character designer of this?”

“Excusez-moi, but the character designer is the famous XXX, thank you very much. And don’t diss my husbando, go stick to your own overly-large boobies waifus. Shoo, shoo!”

You always thank the gaming gods for sending Itaru in your life because you could not imagine getting through life without a gaming buddy like him

Banri Settsu

Playing video games with this man can go either way

You can either really enjoy playing with him, or get really pissed off when he keeps winning easily

His skills are top-notch, which makes him an ideal raid partner on co-op games like Monster Hunter

Just don’t think you can win against him when it’s 1v1, because boy you will be crushed

Unless he lets you win, which usually happens when he sees that you look like you’re about to cry after being beaten in Super Smash Bros for the nth time

“Oi, Y/N, it’s just a stupid game. Don’t think much about it, okay? Let’s do one more round.”

He doesn’t own a console or PC, so gaming dates are usually done in arcades

He is crazily athletic too, so you can kiss your DDR (dance dance revo) winning streak bye

Don’t even think of challenging him to play Tekken, because unless he’s feeling magnanimous, you will lose

On his birthday, you and the rest of MANKAI company pooled your money to get him a Nintendo Switch (yes, even Juza lol)

For the first time in his life, he is struck speechless (༎ຶ⌑༎ຶ)

It’s not like he’s poor or something, but the gesture moved him so deeply that he was strangely docile for a few hours

“Ne, Banri, you have a Switch now. Let’s play something!”

VICTORY / YOU WIN

You take advantage of his new docile state and challenge him to a 1v1 game where you actually win lol

But he snaps out of it and starts crushing you again (that was fun while it lasted ┐(´～｀)┌ )

Playing an otome game beside him will ensure that you get the Good End of your favorite husbando

“I’m not sure what to answer here. What do you think, Banri?”

“Huh? Lemme see. Hmm. The first option seems good to me.”

After shedding a tear or two for the Good End you just watched, you thank the otome gaming gods and Banri’s super easy mode for helping you complete your husbando’s route and collect all the event images

Unlike Itaru who loses all sense of time and his surroundings when in the “Zone”, Banri is still incredibly thoughtful especially when you set up gaming night sesh with him

He knows that like Itaru, you are prone to binge on junk food and forego sleep to grind for a good armor or weapon

“Y/N, it’s already past midnight. Don’t you think we should call it a night?”

He is easily riled up, especially when he senses that he’s being compared or challenged (this is the main reason why Juza pisses him off so much)

“What, are you chicken? Itaru-san doesn’t give up to the clock just to sleep instead of grind for the limited XXX armor set.”

Aaaand you both end up sleeping on the couch at 5am after a long, grueling night of dungeon diving

*cue Sakyo finding you both asleep on the couch in the morning*

Hope you enjoyed reading! Look forward to more A3! drabbles in the near future~ （＾ω＾）

#A3! Act! Addict! Actors!#A3!#MANKAI company #mankai a3!#Itaru Chigasaki #Banri Settsu #Spring Troupe #Autumn Troupe #headcanons #heyitsmirae headcanons #heyitsmirae #gaming headcanons #videogame headcanons #A3! headcanons

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the-starless-sky · 5 years ago

Text

The Cat’s Whiskers x Akan Yatsura / “JUSTICE” voice drama part 2

Exams ended...!! Hello I am alive...!! And very (not) ready for “PRIDE”...!! T_T

“JUSTICE” Part 2

Yohei: So, you bastards… under whose orders did you come here?

Mobs: We’re not working under anyone! That kinda thing doesn’t matter, just cough up the cash, fuckin’ bastads!!

Iori: Tch… so they’re just punks.

Oi, we’ll let you off today, so get out.

Mobs: Don’t look down on us! If ya don’t give us the cash, y’all gonna get hurt!

Yohei: You’re letting them go? You really have that soft spot on you.

Iori: There’s no helping it. No matter what you do, guys like these won’t even get you 1 yen.

Mobs: Makin’ a fool out of us...! You shitheads! Urrah!!

(Mob punched Iori)

Yohei: You bastard... what the fuck did you just...?

Iori: Leave it, danna. I’m fine.

Yohei: Don’t think you can leave unscathed after laying your hands on Iori...!

Mobs: Bring it on, get me!!

(Yohei and the mobs fight)

(The mobs fall down and cough in pain)

Iori: Danna. That’s too much.

Yohei: Huh? Oh. Sorry.

Iori: Well, then...

(Iori forcibly pulled one of the mobs up)

Mobs: Ahh... ah!

Iori: You bastards. Learnt something, didn’t you?

If you pick a fight with real yakuza like us, you ain’t getting away just like this. Understand?

This time, we’ll let you off like this. Be grateful, won’t you?

Mobs: Y-yes... we’re very sorry...

Iori: Haha. Even so, danna. You really overdid it.

It’s gonna take lots of time to clean this up.

Yohei: Sigh. Small fries making us waste so much time.

Jeez, what a pain.

Saimon: He-eh, you were very rough, weren’t you, Yohei.

Yohei: Well, ‘cause that time I didn’t have any brains but physical strength.

Zen: If it’s physical strength, then I, too...!

Cough. Then, where does the maneki-neko comes in?

Iori: Wahahaha! Oh yeah, right.

Then, a few days after that uproar, we got called to Boss’s office.

We went in high spirits, thinkin’ we’re gon’ get a reward or something, but...

Yohei: Jeez, that damn boss messing around like that...

What the hell’s with giving us this maneki-neko!?

Iori: Hahaha, our guess were wrong, huh.

Yohei: We protected the shop’s name and loaded customers, so he could’ve given us something more... you know!?

Iori: Well, it’s probably simply because he didn’t have anything prepared. After all, those guys suddenly came to our face by themselves and then left just like that. Seriously, it feels like we were wheedled out of it cleanly.

Yohei : Well, when he just up and smiled like that, as he said, ‘I have high expectations for you’, there’s really nothing else we could say.

Iori: Right.

Well, we’ll answer his expectations, quickly get lots of money, and make the boss, us, and the Suiseki group, everyone all merry.

Yohei: Haha, yeah. Let’s do it. I’m counting on you, maneki-neko.

Iori: Ya shoulda said ‘partner’ right there, like, ‘I’m counting on you, Iori’!

Yohei: Oi, oi, you’re talking like Boss now.

Iori: Haha. How was it? I look like Boss when I talk like that, don’t I?

Yohei: No way. Stupid.

Iori: Haha.

Yohei: Hahaha.

Saimon: So that kind of thing happened, huh, Yohei? I didn’t know at all.

Zen: To think that that maneki-neko was a gift from the Boss...

Iori: How’s it!? A real good story, ain’t it?

Zen: Yes. A lot of things happened in the past, wasn’t it.

Iori: Well, that’s ‘cause we’ve been workin’ together for almost all the time.

Yohei: It was a story from really long ago, though.

Iori: Come of think of it, at that time there were those Alter Trigger Company guys too, weren’t there?

Yohei: Hah. What unpleasant connection, seriously.

Iori: Seriously an unpleasant connection, it is.

Yohei: Hm?

Iori: Danna, ya also heard of it recently, right? The Alter Trigger Company name.

Saimon: Why do you guys... that...?

Iori: Hahahaha! If ya work in this industry, ya gon’ hear lotsa stuff.

Yohei: And? How much do you know?

Iori: Nah, I dunno the details, but I only know that this bar’s ‘bout to be bought... and who’s gonna buy it.

Yohei: As expected, news travels fast to you.

Yeah. To protect this place, we have to get the one billion.

But this and that have no――...!

Iori: And that’s the deal. So, y’know anything about Paradox Live and Alter Trigger, danna?

Saimon: What are you trying to say?

Iori: The sudden buy-out uproar and the opening of Paradox Live. Plus, the winning prize is exactly the amount of money that y’all needed, one billion yen. Don’tcha think it’s too good a scenario for mere coincidence?

Saimon: In short, Alter Trigger Company is connected to all of it... is what you’re trying to say, is it?

Iori: Who knows?

Saimon: But... No, don’t tell me... that kind of thing is...

Yohei: We’re... being manipulated?

Iori: ‘Sup with that... seein’ that reaction, y’all don’t seem to have any info.

Saimon: ...

Iori: Seems like it’s a fruitless effort on our part. Well, let’s just say I told y’all ‘cause of our old friendly relations.

There’s somethin’ ‘bout this competition. Do your best to be careful.

Yohei: Oi, what the hell’s up about this event!?

Saimon: Anything is fine―please tell us whatever you-

(Bar door opens, and the bell rings)

Ryuu: We’re hooome!

Reo: Big Bro, we’re back!

Yohei: Sigh... seems that the adults’ time ended.

Hokusai: Hey... you said you guys keep cats... where are they?

Shiki: Oh... sorry, we made it so they can’t come into the shop. Right now, they’re probably asleep upstairs...

Hokusai: Even though I brought lots of setarias... [1]

Reo: Don’t be that dejected, Hokusai. Instead, seems like Satsuki will play with that!

Hokusai: Satsuki... really?

Satsuki: Ha? Who the hell wants to play with some wild grass?

Oi, Hokusai, stop looking at me with eyes full of expectations!

Reo: Can’t help it! Then, guess the demon king will do! Heere, come here~!

Ryuu: There’s no way Ryuu will wag his tail to such a grass...

Woof, woof~ Let’s play, let’s play!

Hokusai: Ryuu. Paw.

Ryuu: Woof!

Hokusai: The other paw.

Ryuu: Woof!

Satsuki: No, I told you it’s a setaria! The fuck’s with ‘woof’!?

Hokusai: Ah.

Shiki: U-um, inside of the shop, please don’t...!

Saimon: Haha, it’s alright, Shiki. We’re already closed, after all.

Zen: We’re very sorry that our kids...

Yohei: I feel like I kinda understand your feelings...

Satsuki: Thanks for the food, Big Bro! Raimen-tei’s ramen’s the best today, too! And the change...

Iori: S’kay, just take it, Satsuki.

Satsuki: Seriously!? Is it really ok!?

Iori: Let’s say it’s a tip for printing that one time. ‘Kay? [2]

Reo: Ah, what? Only Satsuki!? That’s unfair! Me too, me too!

Satsuki: Haah!? You didn’t even do anything!

Reo: Haah!? What are you saying? A cute kid like me has a value by just being there. Unlike Satsuki! Right, Shiki?

Satsuki: HAA!?

Shiki: H-hey, let’s not fight...

Satsuki: You ugly! Shiki, back off!!

Shiki: A-ah.... you’re so mean, Satsuki-kun...

Zen: Aah, they’re at it again. I’m sorry.

Oi!! What the hell are you guys on about!!?

(In the background.)

Reo: You’re frustrated, aren’t you~? For not being popular!

Satsuki: Oi!!!

Zen: How many times is it already!?

Saimon: They seem like they’re always fighting.

Iori: Haha. They’re what you call somethin’ like ‘the closer you are...’! [3]

Ryuu: By the way, what were boss and the others talking about?

Saimon: Hm? Oh, just small talks.

Ryuu: Reeeally? Hmmm? Ah, I know!

You guys were talking about the people standing behind everyone... right!?

Saimon: ...!? Ryuu...!?

Reo: What is it, what is it? Talking about ghosts?

Ryuu: No~ It’s a-dults’-ta-lk!

Iori: Oi. Whaddaya mean? Ya know somethin’?

Ryuu: Know? About what? The ingredients of konnyaku?

Iori: Sonny, don’t be boring and say sloppy things.

Ryuu: To pack... [4] like, packing chikuwa and cucumber?

Saimon: I’m sorry. Could you please not press this child with questions?

Iori: O-oh... yeah, ya right. Sorry, sorry.

This sonny... he knows somethin’?

Ryuu: Hee-eey, if ghosts do appear what do we do~?

Satsuki: Hey, Shiki, is this guy always like this? Even in the ramen shop he just keeps blabbering on whatever comes up on his mind.

Ryuu: Shiki’s arm is really white and boney, huh!? Calcium!!

(Ryuu bites Shiki’s arm.)

Shiki: I-it hurts! Ryuu-kun, stop biting me!

Ryuu: Munch, munch...

Reo: Seriously, how could you live together with that? Ain’t it crazy?

Shiki: No, I’m already used to it...

Ryuu: Woof, munch, munch!

Satsuki: Nothing is scarier than routine...!

Shiki: But, he also has a really kind side to him...

Yohei: Oi, until when are you gonna bite Shiki’s arm!?

Ryuu: Oooouch! Master’s bullying me! I’m against violence!

Hokusai: Shiki, are you okay? It hurts, didn’t it? Good boy...

Shiki: Thank you...

Saimon: Sigh...

Shiki: Owner...?

(in the background.)

Reo: Come here, good boy, good boy.

Ryuu: Woof, woof!

Reo: Here, here, here, and there!

Ryuu: Woof, woof, woof!

Shiki: Um, are you okay...?

Saimon: Hm? Why?

Shiki: It kind of looked liek you were spacing out... I wondered if you were tired...

Saimon: Ah... I was just thinking. Thank you for worrying, Shiki. You’re a kind child.

Shiki: N-not at all.

(Iori clapped his hands twice.)

Iori: Well then, it’s already late. Let’s call it a night.

Reo: Yeeees~!

Zen: Even though we said we’ll only have a glass, in the end we stayed for a long time.

Saimon: It’s alright. Come again whenever you want.

Hokusai: It’d be nice if I can meet the kitties next time...

Yohei: Yeah, you can even bring them home if you want.

Hokusai: Really...!?

Reo: No, no. We already have Mr. Monkey in our house, right? By the name of Satsuki!

Hokusai: I see...

Satsuki: Oi, oi, oi, Hokusai! The hell do you mean by ‘I see’!?

Ryuu: Bye-bye, thank you, come again!

Shiki: We’ll be waiting for your next visit.

Zen: Yeah, thanks for the food!

Iori: Hey, brats! Wontcha get outta here fast!?

Reo: See ya~!

Hokusai: Hehe...

Satsuki: Let’s come again!

Iori: Danna. I’m different from when I’m still chasing after you.

Now, these guys’re my family.

So, to protect ‘em too, I can’t lose on stage.

I ain’t gon’ give ya mercy even though we’re old comrades.

Yohei: Heh. Bring it on.

‘Cause we also can’t lose.

No way i’d lose the bar and my comrades.

Iori: Well then, the next time we meet’s on the stage!

Yohei: Yeah. Just you wait.

(Iori walks out of the bar.)

Yohei: Oi, you’re Gazen, aren’t you?

Zen: Yes?

Yohei: Him... Iori, look after him carefully, wont you? I’m counting on you.

Zen: Yes. You don’t even have to tell me that.

Yohei: Heh. I see.

(Zen walks out of the bar.)

Yohei: Well then, now you all go and clean up! Move quickly!

Shiki: A-ah, yes!

Ryuu: Eeeeh?

Saimon: You too, Yohei.

Yohei: Yes, yes, understood, Owner-sama.

Then, Shiki, you clean. Ryuu, get the dustpan.

Shiki: Yes!

Ryuu: Understood!

Notes

[1] Neko-jarashi, setaria or foxtail, the grass you play with cats with.

[2] I'm actually not sure this is his exact words, but anyways it's a tip for doing some kind of chore.

[3] As in, 'you're so close you fight'or 'the closer you are the more you fight with each other'.

[4] Tsumaranai means boring, but it’s also the negative form of tsumaru (to pack).

#paradox live #drama cd translation #translation #the cat's whiskers #akan yatsura

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keelywolfe · 4 years ago

Text

FIC: The Rose and the Thorn: Chapter 2 (Mafia AU)

Summary: In the aftermath of...well, spoilers, Rus is dealing with everything the best that he can.

More MafiaAU for the win!

Notes: Because I am clearly incapable of actually writing a one-shot.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Mafia AU, Flower Shop AU, Violence, First Meetings

Chapter 1

~~*~~

Read it on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

Considering that having their shop destroyed was one of the more upsetting events in Rus's life, it was kinda insulting how bored the officer who was taking his statement looked. When they’d come in, guns blazing, it’d honestly been scarier than the whole event that caused all this and for a second, Rus was honestly afraid they were gonna shoot him.

His apron with its embroidered rose on the front panel finally seemed to clue them in that he was supposed to be here and he’d gotten out unscathed. Now that it was clear there was no one to arrest, both officers seemed more irritated than helpful. Rus wasn't entirely sure this guy was even writing any notes and wasn't instead scribbling a picture of Pikachu or something. The Pokémon would probably have been a better detective to show up.

Then again, Rus wasn't really much help. There wasn’t much for him to tell them about the shooter and he wasn’t sure exactly why, but he kept his description of Edge deliberately vague. Wasn’t like they could catch him in a lie, the only video camera they had was a plastic fake, more hopeful deterrence than anything useful.

Not that the police cared, anyway; violence against Monsters was common, especially outside of the Monster neighborhoods, or as the Human locals quaintly called it, the dust bowl.

"Brother!" Rus jerked at the sound of Blue's voice, turning to see him pushing through the front door. His steps slowed as he took in the floral carnage, his expression turning to one of aghast horror.

“hey, bro.” Rus said meekly, cringing. He’d only had a chance to send Blue a quick text before the officers came rolling in. His hasty ‘store got shot up, i’m fine, need to come in’ probably hadn’t been very reassuring. “looks bad i know, but we’ll get it cleaned up—“

Before he could finish, Blue marched right over to Rus, paying no mind to the glass crunching underfoot as he yanked him down by his apron front into a hug, sniffling out, "Thank the angel you’re all right.”

"bro, seriously!" The complaint that Blue was embarrassing him clogged in his throat. Not like the cops were paying any attention, anyway.

"This is why we have insurance, Rus," Blue whispered fiercely against the side of his skull. "You are irreplaceable."

"Speaking of insurance, here's the police report number for it," the bored-looking cop said, holding out a card. "If you want a paper copy, you can come down to the station in a coupla days."

"Thank you, officer," Blue said, finally letting go of Rus to take it. Probably only Rus picked up on his faint distaste. There were few Monsters without at least one bad run-in with the local PD at one time or another and Blue had the parking tickets to prove it.

The officers all shuffled their way out the door and left them there to deal with the remnants of Blue’s shop on their own.

Blue turned in a circle, taking in the damages again with a bracing sigh, standing up straight with squared shoulders as he said brightly, “Well! Let’s get sweeping, shall we, and you can tell me what exactly happened?”

Brooms in hand, they got to work, but truthfully, Rus didn’t have much more to tell Blue than he had the police. He’d been helping a customer when someone started firing into the shop and Rus hadn’t caught so much of a glimpse as to who. His attention had been on the rose, on Edge, and the only thing he’d seen was the wreckage of the aftermath. With the police, he hadn’t outright said it, but he’d heavily implied the customer was a Human to keep them from going out to look for Edge. To Blue, he admitted it was a Monster he’d been serving, one that he didn’t know, and the consensus from all was that it was a hate crime against Monsters, yawn, same old, same old, moving on.

Weird as it was, even with his brother Rus was strangely reluctant to talk too much about Edge. Blue didn’t usually come into the shop until the afternoon, too busy tending to the little patch of their garden in the backyard, coaxing them daily into new blooms for Rus to bring in. So he’d never been here when Edge came in before and maybe it was stupid, but Rus wanted to keep that little secret to himself.

Besides, it wasn’t like it mattered. He wasn’t gonna see his mysterious, dangerous stranger again outside of his refreshed daydreams. Even now a new mental script was getting its final touches and maybe this time when the shooting was over, Edge would scoop him up into his arms, carry him out of the shop and their kiss would be—

“Knock knock, anybody home?"

The voice floated in from the very broken front door that Blue was trying to decide how to board up until it could be repaired.

“I’m terribly sorry, we’re closed right now,” Blue bustled over. “There was a small incident, but we’ll be opening our doors again soon!”

He stepped back in surprise as a large Monster in paint-spattered coveralls shuffled inside. He was one of the Mole clan, his small eyes almost squinted shut against the bright sunshine coming in through the broken windows.

“Yeah, we know,” the Mole grunted. “An incident.” He leaned down to hold out a beefy hand that Blue hesitantly shook, “Name’s Murphy. We’re here to get working on it.”

“Oh, but,” Blue sputtered, “I’m sorry, I haven’t even contacted our insurance.”

Murphy pushed his baseball cap back, his broad, whiskered face placid. "Already paid for.”

“Paid for…? By whom?”

“Bossman.” Was all Murphy said, then a louder shout, “Get your asses in here, let’s get to work!”

From outside came a burly Bear Monster and another Mole, both carrying equipment. Blue stumbled back to stand with Rus, both of them watching with mirrored dumbfounded expressions as the three of them started on the broken windows. Well, Rus wasn't quite as dumbfounded; he had an inkling who their mysterious benefactor was and his name rhymed with pledge and ledge and sexy as hell.

They worked with brisk efficiency and by the time rush hour traffic outside was easing, the windows were replaced and a fresh decal declaring the store ‘The Flower Shop Around The Corner’ was affixed to it. Where or how they’d gotten it all so quickly, Rus couldn’t fathom, and Blue was as flabbergasted as he. All the broken planters and glass were swept away and although the store was painfully empty, all it needed was a fresh set of lovely arrangements and they would be back in business.

“New coolers will be delivered by tomorrow morning,” Murphy grunted, swiping at his brow with a rumpled bandanna. The other two were gathering up their equipment to carry it back out their brand-new door. “You got anything that needs an emergency loaner for tonight?”

“No,” Blue told him. His bewilderment was still obvious. “We’ve already put everything that could be recovered into the coolers in the back.”

Murphy nodded. “Good. This here is your invoice and some documentation of the damages.” He handed Blue a printout and an envelope stuffed with photographs that they’d been snapping along the way, quickly printed at the pharmacy across the street. “You give those pictures to your insurance along with that and you take the money they offer, you hear me?”

“Oh, but you said it was paid for?” Blue said uncertainly. “I’m not sure who would but…if it’s paid for, surely the insurance needn’t cover anything?”

A surprisingly wolfish grin for a Mole spread over Murphy’s face, showing off his prominent front teeth. “Paid for, yep, that it is. You pay your insurance on time?”

“Well, of course I do!”

“Never late?” Murphy prodded, “Hand over your hard-earned cash to ‘em to keep your little shop safe? Then you give them that and you take the money, you get me?”

“I think so,” Blue said slowly. He glanced at Rus who only shrugged. Any money from their insurance would be a welcome boon for the loans they were still paying.

“Don’t forget to add up what all your little daisies were worth, too.” With that, Murphy turned around and shuffled back out of their lives as quickly as he’d come into it. Rus and Blue watched him go, then turned to look at each other and the sense of a shrug was heavy in the air.

“Well! That was certainly…” Blue trailed off and shook his head. “Let’s go home, Papy, and get some dinner, shall we?”

“Dinner sounds great, bro,” Rus said honestly. His soul felt like it was gonna start gnawing on the inside of his rib cage.

“Wonderful! I was thinking of trying a new recipe from that book I got at the librarby…library,” Blue corrected, “I have most of the ingredients, I’ll only have to make a few substitutions.”

That gnawing hunger turned tail into something closer to a whimper and Rus tried not to let it show on his face. His big brother tried so hard when it came to the household stuff. Their tiny home was pristine, the old shabby wallpaper peeled away and replaced with sunny yellow paint, the curtains hemmed by hand and the garden, the most important feature of their carefully chosen property, was laid out in ruler-straight lines, each bloom coaxed to its fullest potential. That it was all hidden behind a tall fence with plenty of protection spells on it didn’t matter, it was lovely to see for them, all of it, and it was theirs.

Cooking, however, was where Blue’s endless enthusiasm hadn’t managed yet to make a dent. Rus still shuddered to remember the time he’d substituted ranch dressing for yogurt under the theory they were both white-ish. Might’ve worked better if he hadn’t been making banana muffins at the time.

Rus was almost ashamed of his relief as Blue went on, “…but I may have to leave that for tomorrow, it is getting late. How do you feel about sandwiches?”

“sandwiches are fine,” Rus said, trying not to sound too enthused. “peanut butter and extra honey?”

“You’ve had a long day, brother,” Blue told him. He leaned against Rus’s leg, his head at hip-level, and smiled crookedly up at him, “I’ll let you put the honey on yourself.”

“deal!” Rus laughed and he followed Blue out the door where their brass bell rang anew, pausing only to set the alarm as they headed for the van.

~~*~~

That night, Rus thought he might have bad dreams from what had happened. Turned out, his psyche was pretty unfazed by all that action. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and he only woke to his alarm the next morning.

Last night, he and Blue came up with a plan over their sandwich dinners. He’d head in and get some basket arrangements started for any deliveries that came in from their website the night before. Blue would come out later in the van with fresh flowers and they’d finish the baskets together so that Blue could get working on the deliveries and Rus could unload the rest of the stock.

Rus showered and dressed in record time, heading out with only a little muzziness still lingering. His backpack was leaning next to the door and not where he’d slung it into a chair the night before and a quick peek found a bagged lunch ready for him. Another sandwich, he saw with relief, apple slices and a few carefully wrapped slices of cheese.

He’d left his stripes behind a while ago, but Blue hadn’t managed to dump all his big brother protectiveness yet, and if it was annoying sometimes, that irritation never included a tasty lunch.

At the bus stop, Rus kept his hoodie pulled up over his skull, keeping back from the Humans milling around the bench seat while he snuck a cigarette. Hopefully the smell would be mostly gone by the time Blue came into the shop and if it wasn’t, that’s why some clever Human invented Febreze.

A shame that most Humans weren’t clever enough to realize Monsters weren’t any kind of threat to them. Or maybe it was a lack of kindness that had the other riders sending glares at Rus as he settled into his usual seat at the front of the bus. Not all of the drivers were as distrusting as their passengers and this guy was one of the nicer ones, he’d offered Rus a nod as he tapped his bus pass. Sitting by the front where the driver could possibly intercede if anyone got riled up was safer and if they didn’t, Rus always knew a shortcut for a quick exit. He preferred not to use them in front of the Humans, but hey, in case of emergency, break minds, right?

His stop wasn’t too far away. Blue wanted the store in the Human shopping district to get more business, but not so far away it would be difficult for him to go back and forth from the garden. Rus hopped easily down the bus steps at the stop, his long legs carrying him quickly away from the crowd of Humans behind him. They wouldn’t be opening up until noon today to give Blue some time to drum up the inventory, so he had a few extra minutes. Maybe he’d stop up the street for a coffee, the scones were always fresh at that shop and—

He didn’t see the two burly Monsters coming up on him until they were both right beside him, squashing him in-between their large bodies. A faint sting registered at his cervical vertebrae, like an insect bite although Rus didn’t know any insects on the surface that could penetrate bone. He rubbed the spot automatically, trying to step away from the two Monsters, complaining, “hey, look out!”

Only they weren’t impatient commuters trying to push past him. They were guiding him along with painful grips, Dog Monsters, Rus realized, each dressed in a black suit and wearing sunglasses even though the sun was barely past the horizon. One of them growled out, "Boss wants to have a chat."

Rus’s ‘who the fuck’ never made it past a thought. A long gleaming black car pulled up directly next to them and before he could protest, he was shoved through an open door directly into the backseat.

He scrambled to sit up, his soul pounding, and he could feel the car pulling away from the curb the second the door slammed shut. Teleporting from a moving vehicle was risky but no more than staying in an unknown car after a random kidnapping, Rus figured. He concentrated, focusing his mental exit on their shop and…nothing.

He tried again, a sour taste rising at the back of his mouth. His magic was right there and yet somehow out of reach, what in the name of fuck was going on?

“you can go ahead and quit that,” came from the seat across from him, “i wanted to make sure we’d have a chance to chat before you toddled away. just a little concoction that suppresses your magic, it’ll wear off soon enough.”

“who are you?” Rus blurted. He couldn't see a face, there were glaringly bright lights shining from the ceiling directly at him, blinding him. All he caught was a fleeting flash of gold and a glimpse of three burning red eyes. Automatically, he thought of Edge but no, that voice was nothing like the smooth death-by-chocolate one that filled his recent daydreams. This voice was rough with damage, a harsh croak coming from the darkness.

The car was probably the nicest Rus had ever been in. Leather seats buttery-soft, the wheels gliding along the road effortlessly. A dark glass shield kept the driver from sight and there was probably a mini-fridge back here somewhere with bottles of Evian water ready to be mixed with an aged whiskey to cut the peaty smokiness. He might’ve even enjoyed the ride if that expensive interior wasn’t also filled with an aura of menacing and foul smoke, and Rus realized that third light was no eye, but a lit cigar burning.

“who i am don’t really matter.” A fresh rush of that cigar smell filled the air on an exhale and Rus held back a cough. “your name is papyrus. not very creative, pretty common name for a skeleton. you and your bro live over in the projects in the swap neighborhood. last year you two got a permit to open shop out with the humies.”

“that hardly seems fair, you know an awful lot about me,” Rus said warily.

“well, see, i been awful curious to see you,” that unseen person chuckled, “see, i checked into it and your little shop ain’t paid any protection money. normal cut is ten percent but, eh, out here with all this extra business, i’d say twenty’s more’n fair. and yet, not a nickel nor dime’s made it my way.”

“prot-we don’t need protection!” Rus sputtered.

“no?” A cloud of exhaled smoke on a chuckle filled the small space. “tell that to your little shop.” The seat creaked as the other Monster leaned forward, still showing nothing more than crimson eyes through the glare of lights. “you wanna tell me what your relationship is with edge?"

"how did you know—" Rus broke off. Well, that put the kibosh on outright denial, didn't it. “we don't have any sort of relationship. he shops at my store sometimes.” Impulsively, Rus added, “i don't think he'll be back again.”

"no? no kind of relationship, you ain’t on our list, but he threw together some boys to come fix up your place right quick. hm. interestin’.” He drew out the word like warm, bitter molasses, “in-ter-rest-in."

"i think he was being nice…who are you?" Rus burst out again. The little threads of his panic were starting to weave together and soon he’d be covered in a jittery blanket of fear. "and where are you taking me?"

That question was ignored. "huh, but you ain’t bad on the eyes. bet you’re even better on your back.” That rough voice lowered into a horrifying purr, “mighta offered you protection for free too, if you was part of the bargain. whatcha say, pretty? care to make it a double?”

Rus scooted into the furthest corner of the car, unable to swallow back his growing fear. He’d never felt so helpless, not even yesterday with the gunfire and glass raining down on them and where the comforting presence of his magic should be was only buzzing numbness, blocked away from him, he couldn’t, he couldn’t! "don’t touch me!”

That thin cry was less warning than a plea and around a rough chuckle Rus heard the hiss of a cigar being crushed out in an ashtray. "wouldn’t dream of it, precious.” Those eyes flicked to one of the tinted windows. "don't worry, we're almost at your stop.”

The car rolled smoothly to a halt without the wheezy squeal of the brakes their van always groaned out. One of the doors was almost ripped open, making Rus cringe from the sudden brilliance of the morning sunshine, and a hulking figure looming through the door only made him flinch back more. It took him a moment for recognition to hit, almost the same second the figure spoke.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing," Edge snarled.

"just havin' a little chat,” All light humor and absurdly teasing admonishment, that shifted like a whiplash to stinging fury, “which wouldna been necessary if you were doing your job right!"

Edge inhaled sharply through his nasal aperture, his teeth grinding together so hard Rus half-expected him to spit out a mouthful of dust. Instead, he turned to Rus and said curtly, "Get out of the car."

Rus scrambled for the opened door, half-expecting to be brutally yanked back inside. His would-be kidnapper didn’t make a move and Edge stepped back enough to let him get outside where he almost fell to the sidewalk, leaning against the pole of a street sign as he panted raggedly.

He resisted the urge to grab hold of Edge and cling to him like yesterday. That would be bad, right? Yeah, probably bad right now.

Edge only glared into the car, reaching in with one long arm. Instead of screaming or the sounds of blows there was only a rustle and Rus blinked in surprise as Edge pulled out his backpack, struck by incongruousness of the spongebob decal and the rattling anime pins against his expensive suit.

Edge viciously slammed the door shut and the car pulled away, blending back into traffic and gone as if it had never been there.

“thanks,” Rus laughed nervously, “my hero.”

He grunted in surprise and stumbled back a step as his backpack was abruptly thrust into his arms with a curt, “Go home.”

“but—" Rus gaped up at him, astonished. After all that, getting snagged off the street like some kind of heist movie, his shop getting shot up the day before, all Edge had for him was go home? Not damn well likely, “hold on a minute! i want some answers, here!”

“What you want doesn’t matter!” Edge snapped. His crimson eye lights blazed, his huge bulk looming over Rus, all of it a little too similar to the blank-faced asshole in the car and Rus swallowed back the renewed rush of fear. “What’s important is what I want, which is nothing! I don’t want your name, I don’t want your ridiculous flowers, I don’t want anything from you! Go home, go back to your little shop and your little life, and be grateful for it!”

Edge turned on his heel and stalked away, his expensive leather shoes strangely quiet on the sidewalk and Rus watched him go mutely, until he turned a corner and was out of sight.

He only realized he was crying when a drop of wetness landed on his hand where he was still clutching his backpack.

Impatiently, Rus wiped the tears away on his sleeve. Whatever, Edge obviously saved him from whoever that asshole was, Rus didn’t really have a right to complain that the rescue was a little less prince charming this time, did he?

Yeah, well, he was still gonna, even if it was only in his own head.

The day was warming up and Rus set his backpack down and stripped off his sweatshirt to stuff it inside, leaving him in his shirtsleeves and his work apron. If he had to use his sweatshirt as a quick Kleenex, well, he only better make sure he did the laundry this week.

A quick look around showed familiar buildings. He wasn’t far from the shop, Rus realized. They must’ve been driving around in circles. The coffee place with the scones he was craving was less than half a block away and Rus headed over because he damn well deserved it now. He kept his skull down and didn’t complain about the ‘Monsters Only’ line. Plenty of places still didn’t allow Monsters at all.

The barista refused to touch his travel mug, instead shoving his drink at him in a paper cup. She didn’t bother to even watch Rus drop his change in the tip jar. Once he was back outside, Rus poured the coffee into it himself, tossing the empty cup into the trash. One bite of his scone proved to be chokingly dry, probably leftover from yesterday. It followed the paper cup into the trash and Rus sighed as he started trudging his way to the shop.

Who would have guessed he could actually have a shittier day than yesterday?

At least car asshole’s prediction felt like it was coming true, that numbness where his magic should be was startling to tingle uncomfortably, his soul all one prickling itch. Probably soon it’d be back to normal. For now, it was time to get to work and maybe for today, he’d give the daydreams a rest.

The storefront at least still looked fine. Rus fished out his keys at almost the same moment a heavy hand landed on his shoulder, forcing him to turn. Rus sighed impatiently, “come on, guys, i don’t have time for this—"

The blow caught him off guard, pain blossoming across his face. Warm wetness ran over his mouth and Rus touched it with dazed, trembling fingers, staring uncomprehendingly at the redness on them.

That’s marrow, he realized numbly, droplets pattering down to stain his clean apron, they’d hit him but why—a second blow struck and the plastic mug tumbled from his hand, clattering on the pavement and splattered hot coffee across his shoes as Rus collapsed into darkness.

~~*~~

tbc

Go to chapter 3!

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #mafia au

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pizza-soup · 4 years ago

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Things about rural life I’ve had to get used to or have come to love:

- No food delivery. Most places won’t even have your zip code or it’s in a no deliver zone on account of how far/hard to find it is. I haven’t had delivered pizza in years now, we make our own which is actually cheaper, more customisable in size or thickness, and tastes better imo. Rosemary and basil mixed into the dough with spinach, various meats and fresh cheese. All with $8 worth of ingredients that can make at least three more full sized pizzas later. Yes!

- Learning to entertain myself. Don’t have a movie theater, mall or shopping center? A storm knocked out the power and no wifi? Sounds like a drag huh? Doesn’t have to be, I've learned to keep myself from getting bored by being more outside, picking up new hobbies, and working on projects around the house or learning to repair things. Plus, when the time comes I do go to the city, I’m actually excited to go to the bookstores, markets, malls and art stores. Makes you appreciate things more and turns an otherwise mundane thing into an event.

- Everything closes early, either by 6pm or 8pm. Whatever you gotta get from the store better be done in the daytime or you’ll have to make that long long two hour drive to the city on a highway that’s perched on a cliffside, not well lit and remote. If you get in trouble out there, well...you better hope a kind driver well pull over to help because there’s not even a highway patrol out there after dark. On the plus side, when they started doing curfews due to current events, nothing was changed. The only 24 hour places we have are a Pilot gas station, ATM and medical care building.

- Self serve fruit stands. They still run by the honor system which is such a rare thing these days. It comes in handy when I don’t want to go to the store to get groceries, and they usually have what I'm looking for, like squash, corn or carrots. As well as treats like strawberries and fresh pastries.

- Wild produce is a thing. They grow on property that’s left behind when people pass on or move away. Sweet potatoes, onions, asparagus, squash and pumpkins often regrow or resow themselves in abandoned gardens or spread toward the river and canals. Any trees like plums, apples and persimmons also grow on their own, having tapped into the water table. I’ve made it a habit to check on these wild gardens when I'm running low on staples, esp around the summer and fall. The local kids are the ones that pointed this out to me after I asked them where they got their produce.

- Walking at night and early morning. Being a city girl, I was amazed just how safe it is to walk out here, and you’ll see others do the same. Seems to be a social thing too, as neighbors will sometimes talk outside their driveway or walk and talk before parting ways to go back home. Heck I've slept outside on my front porch in a papasan, with no worry of something happening to me.

- Hotsprings! There’s many little hotsprings and bathhouses here with prices ranging from high to free. It’s mostly a colder weather thing for me, but sometimes I don’t mind slipping my feet into one after a long hike. During the winter, my family soaks in the hotsprings often. Nothing like watching the snow fall while half submerged in bubbling hot water.

- No street lamps. This is a double edged sword. It’s so dark out here and sometimes during the rains/snow makes it hard to see where you’re going, but the view of the stars more than makes up for it. Lack of light pollution has made me take up an interest in Astronomy and I have since viewed tons of sky events, as well as attended many star parties.

- The wildlife. While we don’t get bears, elk or bison, those tend to stick to the mountains, we do get mule deer, coyotes, foxes, hawks, raccoons, bobcats, river otters, beavers, snakes, quail, frogs, rabbits, cranes, turtles, coatis, and skunks. Living so rural I've had to get used to seeing my wild neighbors often and deal with them when they get a bit too close to my property. Usually fences and making a lot of noise does the trick.

- Animals in general. I never grew up by a farm. The only time I ever held a chick was during a school field trip. Now I live near a farm with a rooster that I hear every early morning, walking down a dirt path to the creek and seeing horses poke their heads toward me, seeing escaped goats as I drive on a backroad, and biking near beehives. Big bonus is that I get fresh eggs, goat milk for my lactose intolerant bro, honey and beeswax, and old leather scraps from saddlery. In all my life I never pictured myself living this way, but I wouldn’t trade it.

- Closer to my roots. My father was Coytero Apache, they were hunters and ranchers, NM is also native land. My mother’s father is from Aswan, Egypt, they were from a long line of agriculturists, mostly vineyards. I grow my own garden now and grapevines, I don’t hunt but I do wild forage, I'm also a lot closer to gatherings/powwows and native markets. I’m living a life very similar to my ancestors.

- Monsoons and blizzards. Okay so it’s not all sunshine. During the winter, we get snowed in, often for days and must prepare in the Fall accordingly. In the late summer, roads turn into rivers, playgrounds are underwater and rockslides are common on the highway. Good thing about this is just how lush everything gets, we don’t get a whole of mosquitoes due to a ton of dragonflies and the double rainbows are a big treat. Flooding is a headache but it’s tolerated, because wildfires are far more dangerous when it doesn’t rain enough.

- A small friendly community. Growing up I wasn’t used to knowing my neighbors at all, everyone kept to themselves which was dangerous when domestic/child abuse happened, or when someone was struggling with depression or financial issues. They all looked the other way. Here people look out for you, they help and share what they have. When I first moved in, I was still reeling from my trauma, I seriously appreciated having people help me adjust to my new home, move furniture and boxes in, as well as get donated food and items. It left such an impression on me and may have been a big part of my recovery. It’s also why I donate food and help out when I can now. Continuing the cycle.

- Seasonal events. I don’t really celebrate holidays, not because I hate them but because I didn’t grow up with them. My folks weren’t Americanized as much as my friends’ families were. Also they didn’t like how commercialized holidays had become. But we did celebrate seasons! There’s something like this here as well. While people still put up decor, the social pressure to celebrate isn’t strong, it’s there but only if you want to participate. This has lead to me celebrating in my own way, and I've timed a lot of them to the seasonal solstices. One big regional thing I participate in is Bonfire Season, which lasts from October to December. Lighting lanterns, candles and holding bonfire parties is a big cultural thing.

#daily update #rural life

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bolbianddolanhouse · 4 years ago

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BNHA self insert AU [Book 4]

Foo... here's book 1, 2 and 3. CATCH UP!

Chapter 2: I Thought You Were Bae!

As summer break approaches, the twins gear up for their respected challenges. But of course, this is the middle school years...there's the added bullying to top of trying to do anything.

"Hey Iida-chan" jested a boy from Hanaka's homeroom "why do you put on makeup, you're still ugly."

"Leave her alone you jerk!" Petti snarled at the bully.

"I'm not talking to you feather brain" the bully pushes Petti aside to corner Hanaka up to a tree "Iida-chan, why even try to look pretty? Your face is all round and darker skinned. And you have fat calves."

"Please leave me alone" Hanaka warned "I wasn't bothering you."

"Your ugly face was bothering me" the bully tried to grab her arm but the surface of Hanaka's skin was scorching to the touch "YEOWCH! With a temper and quirk like that, who could ever love you?! You'd burn anyone that tried to get close to you! I bet your parents never hugged you, thats why you're like that."

That tipped Hanaka over the edge and she combusted into flames. It was too much for her to control, so everything caught fire. On one side, it made summer break come earlier. But on the other, it pushed bunch of things back like the mock trials to middle of summer break. Luckily nobody was hurt, but Hanaka's self esteem went down the drain. Their parent's said it was best if the twins were separated until Hanaka sees a doctor. Tensei was more than willing to be away from home and his cases for a while. The Ashido's housed him for the time being.

"Okay boys I'm going on my work trip" announced Ashido-kun's mom, Mina "I'll be back tomorrow evening, your father is coming in an hour. No funny business! And I want that room spotless Masaru."

"Yes mother" groaned Ashido-kun "We'll behave!"

"I know Tensei will, I was talking to you" His mother said sternly "Okay, I'm off! Bye Bye!"

"Bye Mrs Ashido!" Tensei waved.

Masaru waited until the front door closed "Okay she's gone, what do you want to do?!"

"Want help to clean your room?" Tensei suggested.

"What, no! Something fun!" Masaru paused to think "Wanna....sneak out to Huei-kun's?"

"I don't want to get in trouble with your mom" Tensei scowled in reply "Plus your dad is coming home in an hour! He's gonna know we're gone."

Masaru groaned "Come on Tensei, loosen up a little! It's summer break, extendo version" he scrolls on his phone "I'm gonna shoot a text to the boys and see what kind of adventure we'll get into."

Tensei leaned on the wall he was sitting by "Fine! I'll play along but don't expect much from me."

Masaru's phone chirped "Huei says that he has a cousin that recently opened up a shop nearby and we should go check it out."

"A shop? I guess we could pop in and see" Tensei crawls over to his duffle bag "Let me change my shirt real quick, I don't want to get clowned for wearing a button up and glasses."

"See? You're loosening up!" Masaru encouraged as he stood up "I'll just write a note for my dad and we'll be set!"

The boys met up at the shop after a short walk.

"Wait, this is a tattoo parlor!" Tensei freaked out "You said shop Huei!"

"Yeah, same shit" Huei shrugged as he walked toward the front door "Relax Tensei, my cousin isn't going to do any work on us. He just needs a few bodies to fill the space to attract clients."

Masaru and Tetsu walk in casually while Tensei follows after very stiff. The inside was very 90's style grungy and aesthetically pleasing to the boys.

"Yo! It's my lil cuz Beni!" greeted the shop keeper "Are these your little band members?"

"Hello Maito, yes these are my band members" Huei peered over to the opened boxes behind the glass counters "You're still unpacking things?"

"Nah I just got my order of piercings but it looks like I have to return them" he pointed to one of the boxes "They're fine except I got a bunch of curved ball piercings when I ordered the straight barbells." He sighed "It's gonna suck because half of my services are piercings and I won't have all my materials. But what can I do?"

"May I see the curved ball piercing?" Tensei asked politely.

"Um sure dude” the shop keep handed Tensei the metal piercing.

Tensei looked it over carefully “And may I see what a straight barbell looks like?” The shop keeper gave him the one he had on display “Oh these are the same gauge, it’s an easy fix.”

Tensei used his quirk to straighten out the curved piercing. Leaving the shop keeper speechless and the boys wide eyed.

“Wow! You have metal powers” gasped as the shop keeper picked up the fixed piercing from Tensei’s hand “Absolutely flawless! Can you do that to all these? I promise to make it worth your time.”

“Um sure” Tensei stretched his arms “I have time to kill. I won’t take too long.”

“Yay Tensei to the rescue!” cheered Masaru “Your loosening up bro!”

It literally took Tensei 20 minutes to straighten out the piercings for the shop keep to sanitize before putting them on display. All the while the shop got some traction.

“Thank you so much lil dude” bowed the shop keep “As thanks, how would you like a piercing, on the house.”

“A piercing?” Tensei pondered “Don’t I need parental permission to-”

“Just get the damn piercing you nerd!” Huei huffed “Seriously Tensei, loosen up and do it! When will you ever get the chance to do something like this again?”

“Yeah! Do it Tensei!” egged on Tetsu “I think it’ll look so cool on you.”

Tensei looked at his friends “Oh okay! I’ll get one.”

“Cool, just sit over here and I’ll get my tools” gestured the shop keep as he put on some gloves “So where do you want the piercing? I’d say you have the eyebrows for a super sick eyebrow spike.”

Tensei thought about it for a moment “On the bellybutton, that’s a thing right?”

The boys gasped.

“Why there?” asked Masaru.

“Why not? I figured that if I want to hide it from my parents, I should get it somewhere I could easily do so” Tensei explained as he got prepped for the piercing “Plus I can’t go to my mock trials with a visible piercing, I wanna be professional until the shirt comes off.”

“Excellent choice my dude” said the shop keep as he clamped the area for the needle “I need you to take deep breaths and relax, this might hurt a bit.”

Tensei looked away and did his breaths. But it was over in a matter of seconds and there was his first piercing.

“Oh wow that wasn’t bad at all!” Tensei said getting up to look in the full length mirror “Wow....who am I?”

Tensei was slowly spiraling into a crisis. He didn’t regret the piercing! It just changed his perception of himself. In fact, he feels more himself with this on and it was making him question a lot of things. So when it came time to go home, he sped to tell his twin what he did.

“Rosa! Okay, okay, okay” he said quickly before calming down a little “I did…a thing…wait- Iwa? When did you get home?”

“I got here late morning but whats the haps lil bro?” the older brother asked “You look like you landed in a trash heap.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that happened” he said closing the door behind him and locking it “But back to the thing I did. PLEASE don’t tell mom and dad! Because I’m still very fresh from the thing I did and I’m still processing it.”

“Okay just spill it” Hanaka was getting annoyed “You keep saying thing like you don’t know other words! What thing did you do on your sleep over with the boys?”

“This” he lifted his shirt up to his chest, revealing a belly button piercing.

Tensei watched as his brother and twin’s eyes bulge out in shock. They never expected goody goody Tensei to do something like this.

“What the- where in Japan did you go to get pierced?” Hanaka asked genuinely “Those jewelry places don’t let you get one without adult permission if you’re under 16.”

“Don’t get mad, but one of my band members has a cousin that’s a tattoo artist and does piercings at the place they work at” Tensei started to get red faced “Sooo I showed him that I could fix his little barbel piercings for free when the boys and I walked into his shop for fun… And he gave me this as payment.”

“Tensei! You got this i l l e g a l l y?!” Iwata harshly whispered “Why did you agree to it?”

“Yeah! It’s not like you to do those things” Hanaka scowled in concern “What’s gotten into you lately? Ever since you came back from Nationals, you’ve been acting different.”

Tensei pulled down his shirt and sighed “I’m sick of being praised of being as good and law abiding like dad. I’m nothing like him inside! I’m not some capri-wearing rectangle!” he huffed “I’m way cooler, smarter and talented then people give me credit for. I don’t need the signature quirk to make my way in this world! And I wanna change my image so people take me seriously…no more orderly Tensei, I wanna be anarchist Oro!”

Hanaka narrowed her eyes, like she was shooting needles into her twin’s soul “Is this because you lost and can’t accept the L?”

Tensei turned red and scrunched his nose “No! I’ve already grieved over that and took and L” he crossed his arms “Nationals was just a tiny part of the whole reason.”

“What?” Iwa was lost in this timeline of events.

Hanaka leaned over to Iwa and whispered “Tensei cost his team majorly on all his debates. So bad that the team barred him from going to more debates this season and has to prove himself all over again to get back in the top 3 teams at school.”

“Oof that’s some sad boi shit” Iwata winced at the recap “It’s okay to still not be over that L, you don’t have to spiral like this.”

“Well it’s too late, I got the damn piercing already and planned the next one” Tensei took a deep breath “I’ve been wanting this for a while, to just rebrand and have respect as my own identity. Not some clone of my father or just be the ‘other’ Iida twin. But until I take the next few steps, please don’t tell our parents about this. I want to tell them myself when the time comes.”

“Okay sure” his twin and older brother agreed.

Tensei turned to open the door “Thanks guys, it means a lot to me that you support me.”

Crisis averted...for now.

-Mock trial day-

Tensei took time to get dressed up in his nice suit and fixed his hair. But he couldn’t help but to look at himself in the mirror and not like what he saw. All he saw was a spitting image of his father and every male in that side of the family that had a portrait in the lineage hall. Same eyebrows, eyes, hair type and jawline...only difference was that belly piercing. As he put on his glasses and let out a sigh, Hanaka was having her little tantrum downstairs. That was his cue to head out. His twin was upset that she had to go with him to his mock trials, only because she’d be home alone otherwise.

Halfway through the trials, Hanaka tugged on Tensei’s sleeve.

“I’m bored! I’m going to walk outside” huffed Hanaka “That’s how bored I am!”

“Fine, this next one is my last trial” Tensei glanced at his watch “Don’t wander off! Mom is going to pick us up at exactly 4 and she expects us to be together.”

“Okay DAD!” spat his twin as she turned to leave the multi-purpose room.

Tensei groaned and turned to his debate partner “I envy you so much Tanaka-kun. You don’t have siblings to deal with.”

“I don’t know Iida-kun, I wish I had a twin” Tanaka smiled “It’s like having a built in friend. Hanaka-chan and you must of gotten along at some point.”

“Not since we were babies” Tensei recalled.

While the next trial was going on in the building, Hanaka was biding the time by finding white clovers in the grass area.

“Is that you Hanaka-chan?”

Hanaka looked around to find the voice that called out to her “Oh, Huei-kun! What are you doing here?”

“I was inside doing volunteer work for the trials” he responded “I’m done now and I was going to head home but it looks like you might want some company.”

“Ummm sure, I was pretty bored in there” Hanaka sat under a tree and held out her harvest of white clovers “Help me make a flower chain!”

Tensei had full view of the two from his spot of the trials. Keeping a watchful eye when he wasn’t speaking or doing cross-examinations. Hanaka was having seemingly normal conversation with her twin’s friend. Both of them have known Huei since elementary school, so he’s to be trusted.

“Hanaka-chan I think that bully was wrong” said Huei “I don’t think you’re ugly or unloveable.”

“My older brother gave me a whole pep talk about it” Hanaka sneered as she did the last knot on the flower chain “I don’t care what that bully has to say anymore.”

“No like, I think you’re pretty”

Hanaka stopped what she was doing. Something about the way Huei said that didn’t settle well in her.

“Huh? What are you saying?” she looked up at his face, showing her discomfort.

“Aw don’t hurt my feelings like that Hanaka-chan” Huei responded in a flirty but creepy way “I’ve always liked you.”

Hanaka stood up quickly “Stop, you’re being creepy.”

The boy loomed over Hanaka “But I love you Hanaka-chan.” He grabbed her by the arm “I know you want to fall in love with me too.”

“No I don’t! I don’t like anybody” Hanaka tried to loosen his grip “Let go of me you weirdo!”

Tensei caught the moment Huei grabbed Hanaka. Knowing his twin’s faces, he could tell Hanaka was in trouble and wanted out. Hanaka was in her own dilemma, she doesn’t want to use her fire and cause another accident. Nor hit her twin’s friend knowing that Tensei will get mad at her for doing so. Tensei stands up to make a run for the side door to save his sister.

“Iida sit back down, we’re in a middle of a closing statement.”

Tensei tried to explain “But coach, theres-”

“Sit back down or you’re out of the team” the coach threatened “I don’t care if your sister caused another fire, that’s her problem.”

Appalled but collected, Tensei sits down calmly to give his closing statement.

“Here’s my closing statement” Tensei clears his throat, then does an arm chop “My opponent is using their phone to look up additional sources under the table. This judge is clearly biased and only chooses the affirmative side in every case” He points to his coach “And you coach, I know you’re cheating on your wife with the school nurse!”

The audience gasped at Tensei’s outburst. No more Mr nice Tensei, Anarchist Oro is here to make his debut. As he got up to leave he turned around one last time.

“Oh and one more thing” Tensei flashes both of his middle fingers to everyone in the room “This school administration is garbage and can suck my ASS!” He gave a forehead salute “Tensei OUT!” and teleported outside.

Hanaka was basically pinned to the tree at this point.

“I said knock it off!” struggled Hanaka.

Huei grabs her chin “Come on don’t be a tease!” he growled “Give me a kiss Hanaka-chan.”

Tensei ran at full speed and tackled Huei off his twin.

“Tensei!?” Hanaka gasped at his display of heroism.

“What the hell man?!” Huei yelled as he picked himself off the ground “Can’t you see I was having a moment?!”

Tensei wasn’t holding back “I trusted you Beni-kun! After all these years of friendship, starting a band together and letting you in our home. This is how you repay us?!” he stood between his twin and Huei “You dare to take advantage of my sister? My twin at that!”

“It’s not like you were going to do anything about it! She didn’t even try to push me off” Huei tried to get closer but Tensei didn’t let him “Oh you’re a tough guy now that you have your little piercing huh? Come on then, hit me!”

Tensei gritted his teeth “You’re out of the band! And I never want to see you near my sister or any of her friends ever again.”

And before Huei had the chance to speak, Tensei sucker punched him so hard that Huei was knocked out cold. The side door slammed open and the sound of his coach yelling for him to get back inside. Instead of obeying, Tensei grabbed his twin by the hand and started running toward the front gates.

“What are you doing?!” Hanaka asked as she was being dragged along, confused by her twin’s actions.

“What does it look like?” Tensei responded, picking up more speed “We’re getting outta here!”

Hanaka looked back and saw the school administrators were catching up quick. She activated her engines and took the lead, dragging Tensei along. She ran for what seemed just minutes and collapsed in a patch of grass.

“Where are we?” Tensei asked, rubbing his eyes.

Hanaka said out of breath “We’re...in the...park.”

“The park?!” Tensei looked around “Hanaka, that’s like 5 miles away from the school!”

“So? We were running away” Hanaka turned her head to face Tensei “We were going to get caught if we went your pace. That was the point right? To not get caught?”

“Yes but-” Tensei groaned and threw himself next to her “Man, I don’t know anymore. Who am I anymore? I’m just a huge fuck up now. Not that my silly little problems matter to you Hanaka, you were born perfect.”

“What are you talking about? You’re the one with the talent and intelligence” Hanaka responded “I’m the huge fuck up, look at the mess I started this time. And you swooped in to save me, I know I messed up if you’re involved in my mess.”

“Nah I saw that you needed my help and I just acted on my instinct” he sighed “I offended that entire room Hanaka, just to save you. Trust me, it was worth it.”

Hanaka looked up at the clear sky “You gave up your one chance to redeem yourself to save me? But what are you going to do now? Debate was your everything.”

Tensei shrugged “Guess I’ll do music now.” He took off his glasses and held them up to the sky “I’m going to change into my truest myself, someone I can face in the mirror and be content with what I see. Who cares about what anyone else has to say, not like they cared before!”

“I care” Hanaka responded meekly “And I support you on your self image journey.”

“Thanks Hanaka”

“Hey, it’s what twins are for!” giggled Hanaka as she reached out to his hand to squeeze it “We’re supposed to support each other.”

They laid on that patch of grass watching the sky turn into it’s late afternoon phase. Tensei’s phone started beeping.

“Oh crap, mom is probably at the school looking for us!” Tensei sat up quickly looking at his phone. “FUCK! Now what?!”

“Okay, what if you teleport us home before mom leaves” Hanaka suggested, wiggling her eyebrows “She doesn’t have to know what happened at school if she never makes it there.”

Tensei glanced at the time “Fine, we have 2 minutes before mom would have to get in the car to pick us up.” He puts his phone back in his suit and t-poses “Assume the position sis.”

Hanaka hugs him tightly “Ready!”

“1, 2, 3- JUMP!” they chant before teleporting onto their uncle Jin’s front lawn.

“Close enough” Tensei shrugs “You can let go of me Hanaka.”

“But I wanna keep hugging” pouted Hanaka, still clinging on to her twin “We haven’t hugged in so long!”

The twins walked up to the front door of their home, pretending like nothing happened.

“Hi mom” Hanaka announced herself to their mother “We’re home!”

“Oh? I was just about to go pick you two up” Their mother said in a normal tone “But I just got off the phone with the school funny enough! You two wouldn’t be accomplices to a string of school offenses would you?”

The twins started to sweat. They forgot that the school could easily call their parents.

“Noooooo” said the twins innocently.

Their mother gave them the look and they tried to run back outside. But alas, their mother used her telekinesis to grab the twins before they could open the door.

“I can’t believe it! Both of you?!” their mother scolded “It would make sense if it was just Hanaka, but you too Tensei?! Telling off the entire room, shouting profanities AND getting into an altercation?!” She faces the little sister “And you assisting his escape by using your quirk?”

“But mom-”

“HUP! No buts!” their mother shut them up “I want you two to kneel facing the front door, so you can tell your father what you did when he comes home.”

“Yes mother” the twins obeyed and kneeled when they got set down.

Their father came home an hour or so later. Shocked by the scene of the twins kneeling and diverting their gaze, clearly guilty of something.

“Both of you did something?!” their father gasped as he took off his shoes “Explain yourselves!”

The twins took turns telling their sides of the story to their parents.

“...then I teleported us home.” Tensei finished “I know I didn’t have to tell off the entire room but they upset me with that comment about Hanaka. They don’t know what’s going on and what gives them the right to say that the team was my priority?!” he bowed his head “I’ll accept capital punishment, Hanaka didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Well, it’s clear to me that you’re the guilty one” their mother spoke up “But that doesn’t mean you’re going to take all the punishment. Hanaka was an accomplice to your crimes, out in the field we call that the ‘get-a-way driver’ clause. She also gets punishment for helping the criminal.”

“I’m sorry but we don’t have a choice but to administer house arrest” their father nodded to his wife “No travel, no visitors, internet use for homework only and limited phone use. Starting now until the end of summer break.”

The twins didn’t show it but they we fuming internally.

“Yes sir” they uttered and bowed their heads.

After a shower and some screaming into their pillow, Tensei laid in bed face up with his hand out. It was sore from that hard punch that knocked out his ex-friend. He’s never used so much force but this wasn’t adrenaline fueled. It felt like he gathered all the energy from his body to focus on his fist? He couldn’t explain it logically.

“Hey, can I come in?” asked his twin from behind the door.

“Sure.”

Hanaka tip toed in and gently closed the door. She then jumped onto her twin’s bed to hug him.

“I don’t think I thanked you for saving me” she looked up to her twin “Thank you, for caring about me enough. It was pretty heroic of you.”

Tensei chuckled “Heroic? I just did what was right. I’m not a hero.”

“But that’s exactly what heroes do!” Hanaka argued “I didn’t know you had the strength to knock someone out! And for once I felt this admiration for you. Yeah you do good things all the time, but that’s textbook good! What you did was out of pocket, immediate justice!”

“Are you...trying to convince me to become a hero?” Tensei gave her a look “Is my twin, using debate tactics to have me in favor of becoming a hero?!” He was in disbelief “Wow, today isn’t real. It can’t be! I’m going to bed.”

“I’m serious Tensei- DON’T FAKE SLEEP ON ME!” Hanaka started slapping her twin’s chest “Dead ass, you’d be a great one. You know laws and stuff, plus you can control your quirks better than me.”

“Only my metal one” Tensei retorted “I don’t really know how to control my teleportation, you saw when we landed in uncle Jin’s front yard. It’s not exact.”

“But imagine if you could?!” Hanaka wiggled her eyebrows.

Tensei briefly imagined it to amuse his twin “Am I really that much of hero material to you?”

“Yes! Plus the girls and I are going to start training too!” she squealed “We’re going to apply to UA.”

“Hol up twin, you forget that we have our parent’s quirks” Tensei put his finger on her forehead “You’re gonna have to ask dad for quirk training.”

Hanaka deflated of all excitement “Awww wack! No queiro!”

“Pues?”

“FINE! I’m gonna ask dad for help” Hanaka pouted “What are you going to do?”

“Ask mom and Iwa for help. Seems like they had success in quirk training with each other, how bad can it be?”

-The next day-

“Hey mom, what can you teach me about my quirks?” asked Tensei bluntly to his mother, who was trying to relax on the couch.

His mother snapped her eyes wide open and turned her head to face her son “Why?”

Tensei felt like this wasn’t the best way to open up the hero school talk but proceeded anyways.

“Just asking because I was such a late bloomer, ya know” Tensei struggled to keep his composure, afraid of her answer.

His mother sat up “Well you have facet of my quirk and your grandfather’s quirk. Which is rare, considering all the factors.”

“Factors?”

“Yeah, you’re a male telekinesis user with a second quirk AND a twin with supporting quirks.”

Tensei was trying unravel all that “Wait, what do you mean by that second part?”

“Hm? The twin part?” she asked, Tensei nodding his head “As a twin, it’s rare to have both children with quirks, usually one or both are quirkless. I thought you didn’t have a quirk since Hanaka came out breathing fire!” she chuckled at the memory “But I noticed that you had the gold skin tone and knew that you had my father’s quirk. I was so happy that you had it, because it meant I didn’t have to separate you and Hanaka.”

“But what does that mean?!”

“Haven’t you noticed that you don’t get burned by Hanaka’s flames?”

Tensei paused to think “Now that you mentioned it, I don’t!”

His mother smiled “That’s because my father’s quirk has two facets to it, manipulating metal and fire resistance. Most users are born with the gold skin tone, before they show signs of the metal bending part.”

“So I’m immune to my sister’s power?” Tensei looked at his arm “And I wasn’t a late bloomer?”

His mother shook her head “Nope, you were also born with your power. And I feel like it couldn’t be more perfect! But of course, your father gets worried and wanted to separate you two” she sighed “He meant well, but I wanted you two to be in the same crib so you could help your sister control her fire as babies.”

“When what about my other quirk?”

“That was a surprise! I didn’t think you’d get teleportation” she responded truthfully “Thought everyone was going to be a turbo baby. But I was happy that it was teleportation and not my mother’s erasure quirk. We were NOT going to have fun with that in the mix, I’ll tell you that!”

Tensei felt a little more confident in himself “Then, can you train me?”

“What is it this time?” she tiredly sighed “Hero? Agent? Vigilante?”

“Ummmm yes?” Tensei panicked that she picked up on his true agenda.

“Mijo you don’t have to hide or feel ashamed about a change of direction” she floated off the couch “I know you wanted to do Hero Law, but who says you can’t be a hero that does law?”

Tensei’s mind was blown “A hero that DOES law! That’s genius! Yeah! I wanna do that!”

“We’ll do training some other time though” She stretched her arms “When you’re not on house arrest.”

“Right, I forgot” Tensei’s new found excitement was crushed by his current reality.

Meanwhile, his twin was having less of a good time.

“OF COURSE I’LL TRAIN YOU! OH HOW I’VE DREAMT OF THIS DAY!” cried their father, holding Hanaka in a tight embrace.

“You’re...crushing me” gasped Hanaka against his chest.

“Sorry! Sorry, I’m just so excited that you decided to pursue hero work” her father gushed “You kids are so unpredictable, I would’ve never guessed you want to get into hero stuff.”

Hanaka diverted her gaze “I’m not doing it because of our family name! I’m trying to make a name for myself” she crossed her arms “It’s not like I have anything else going for me. With quirks like mine, it would be disrespectful not to!”

“Whichever way you’re going, I can help this time” he beamed proudly “Because this time I’m the expert in the quirk.”

“How do you do it?” asked Hanaka, looking at her own engines “I exhausted myself after a short use when I was running away with Tensei. We ended up a few miles away in like, 2 minutes?”

“And is that your best time so far?”

Hanaka nodded.

“From the bruising on your legs, you’re not strong enough to support the kick the engines give” her father presented his engine “You need solid leg support to start any type of quirk training. I started when I was a child by my father and brother, so we have lots to do before those entrance exams!”

Hanaka started to get whiny “Hmph! Wack! Why so much work?!”

Her father put his hand on her head “Yes it’s hard work, but you should know how hard work pays off! And I want you to have all the skills to get to the top of this male dominated job.”

“I do like feminism” Hanaka contemplated briefly “Okay dad, when do we start?”

“Physical stuff after house arrest” he fixed his glasses “We start the study part now.”

Hanaka didn’t have the right to complain, she literally asked for this. To make matters worse, their father kept every single hero book, notes and study guide that he looked at during his school years. So Hanaka had to go through the whole bookcase full of study material to be up to par to someone studying their whole life to be a hero.

The twins take a deep breath and hunker down on their first step into becoming heroes. Both filled new determination and direction, who knows how far they’ll go?!

-Chapter 2, End-

#bnha #mha #self insert au #book 4 chapter 2 #will update regularly #ask me anything #//Palma-sama Speaks #Here's the part in book 3 where Tensei does many bad things to find his true self sub-plot #Hanaka has newfound respect for her twin and finally embraces her second quirk #Also...a Mina cameo! And name drop for her son/Tensei's friend #Tensei has his turn at couch talk with mom! And of course he finds out some truth but he's not questioning it like Iwa #As you might of guessed...the title is part of a 2 parter on the twin's time in house arrest and how they come out of it #I heard you in my inbox! You like cat-girl bird-girl shiny-girl and fire-girl squad. I do too more than the boy squad.#And yes...Huei is cancelled and won't be making a return to the book. But that doesn't mean there isn't going to be a new member of the band #I'm doing pretty good so far with consistency :3 I've had this chapter queued for awhile...lets see how long it lasts!

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