#Team Dark little guys just having a blast....

[angrysheeproject]

Dimension crossing Shenanigans...

I commissioned @frostios to draw my oc Eris, having fun with their oc Matilda and they delivered above and beyond! Thank you so much!

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hiiiii, I have a request for the newly arrived Indigo Disk-

A really happy ending for Kiki where after the whole DLC, he then starts to make amends with the BB Elite 4, his sister and protag which eventually gains him Ogerpon's recognition, prompting her to wanna go with him as an extra treat after all his angst (quq)

Yessss we gotta give him the happy end he deserves <3

.........

Setting up a small picnic within the Terarium, you brought your current Pokémon team out to play, deciding to take in the beautiful coastal biome and its warmth.

Even though you knew it was all artificial, it didn't make much of a difference to your companions. They happily frolicked in the sand and grass, although some opted to take a nap under the sun after a hard day of battling.

Meanwhile, you were fixing up a sandwich for everyone to share, deciding to add a little bit of spice to it (at Crispin's suggestion, of course). You didn't want it to be too flaming-hot for your Pokémon--or at least none that were fire types who could handle the heat.

However one in particular just seemed to be hungry for anything, as upon hearing a crystalline trill, you looked down to see Terapagos at your feet. It was gently pawing on your leg, eyes sparkling as it wondered what you were cooking up.

"Hey, little guy." You cooed, reaching down to pat its head before you scooped it up, allowing it to climb into your lap. "Smells tasty, huh? I bet you're super hungry after sleeping all those years."

It only responded with another happy trill, and you just sighed.

Who would've known this would be the legendary "Hidden Treasure" of Area Zero Heath and [Turo/Sada] sought after, the creator of the Terastal Phenomenon...

And the Pokémon that put up one hell of a fight against you, Carmine, and Kieran?

Speaking of whom...

It's been roughly a month since those events down in the Underdepths, and for the most part things have been looking up for both you and him. You were just happy to see that spark return to his eyes...

The spark he had once lost...mainly because of you.

Part of you would always remain guilty over unknowingly setting him down such a dark path--obsessing over defeating you in battle to the point where he didn't care who got hurt in the process.

He didn't wanna be that weak little kid you kept beating back in Kitakami anymore, always bragging about how much he's changed and demanding you to never hold back.

But after being humbled in front of the entire school, he was willing to do anything to have at least one victory against you.

Even if it meant utilizing a dangerous legendary Pokémon he had little understanding of....

He tried to control it, and as punishment it attacked him directly.

Arceus only knows what could've happened if your 'raidon didn't absorb the blast in time, and that selfless act made him feel all the more guilty for the way he acted towards you.

He idolized you, hated you, and yet.....you saved his life when you could have just saved yourself, his sister, and Briar instead.

He cried like a baby the whole way home, overwhelmed by everything that's happened from last year up to now, yet you comforted him and didn't tease him once.

After returning to Unova, he made a promise to fix things between you and everyone else he hurt, finally letting go of his envy and deciding to start fresh with you. His request to be your friend again had you laughing, much to his confusion..and a little worried you were making fun of him.

Then he almost sobbed after you explained that you've never considered him an enemy at all.

Despite everything, you never stopped seeing him as a friend.

Sometime later you went home to Paldea, although not without exchanging rotomphone information with him so you could have more chats.

Yep. Kieran finally got his own phone, but being from the countryside made him only somewhat familiar with the basics. You and Carmine helped him with that, of course. He loved the camera function and would often send you photos of his Hydrapple doing something cute.

They're mostly blurry, but he's getting the hang of it.

You eventually went back to the BB Academy to further your studies of the biomes, and winded up taking a small picnic break within the Terarium. No rules said you couldn't, and Drayton did insist that you didn't overwork yourself...

Which is funny coming from the guy who had to repeat classes, although you took his advice.

"Roto-to-to-to~"

Your eyes lit up as you received an incoming call from Kieran, and you greeted him with a smile, waving. "Kiki! How's it going?"

"Hey, [y/n]." He smiled back, and then he blinked upon realizing how familiar the background behind you was. "Wait..you're back in Unova? In the Terarium?"

"Uh..yeah! I was gonna surprise you, but I guess it's too late for that now." You awkwardly chuckled. "How are things going with the League?"

"Better than..I thought, actually." He sat back in his chair, tying his hair up. "Drayton and I are finally on speaking terms again."

"Oh that's great!"

"Mhm. We both felt kinda bad about how we treated each other with the whole "ex-champion" thing...said some stuff we didn't mean. Last week we were avoiding each other, and now we're having casual Pokémon battles to ease the tension between us."

"I'm glad to hear that." You nodded, taking a bite out of your sandwich.

"I..really do owe you one for bringing the club back together. I've been so bitter and didn't realize how much it was hurting Lacey and the others...not to mention how many people I wrongfully kicked out. I promise I'm gonna get all of them back into the club. I swear."

"I fully believe you. Just don't run yourself dry trying to patch up everything with everyone, okay?"

Kieran nodded in understanding, although he suddenly went quiet. You wondered why until you realized he could see Terapagos, who was currently climbing onto the table trying to get some lettuce.

"Heyyyy that's not for you, you little scamp." Teasingly, you scooped it up again, keeping a gentle grip on its belly and shell before you looked back at your friend, bashful. "Don't mind Terapagos. It's always hungry."

"I see." He chuckled. "You've been taking care of it well?"

"Yep, but have you been taking care of yourself, too?"

"...yeah." He muttered. "Carmine's been getting on my case about properly eating and sleeping again. Don't tell her this, but I appreciate it more than she realizes. And..I'll admit I was turning into a jerk like she used to be, and that's not something I want..."

"Well sounds like you're doing much better now..don't beat yourself up over it." You reassured him.

His shoulders relaxed. "I'm..trying not to....so [y/n], do you think we could meet up in person? Like at your dorm? I...feel like we haven't talked face-to-face in a while."

"Sure! I got nothing planned later so....see you in a few hours?"

"Sounds good." He smiled. "See ya."

The call ended as your rotomphone dropped back onto the table. You picked it up and stared at the case, feeling giddy about seeing him again after so long.

And to think when you first arrived here..you felt nothing but tension whenever he was in the same room as you, feeling the negative vibes rolling off of him like an aura of Bitter Malice.

You were glad those days were gone and he was your friend again.

"Pon?"

"Huh? Ogerpon..? You were here the whole time??" Surprised, you glanced over to see the grass legendary sitting on the ground beside you, being sure to stay clear of the camera view. She lowered her mask and looked at you with a knowing smile.

Considering the way Kieran freaked out when you brought her into the championship battle (not to mention him doing everything in his power to knock her out)...you would've thought she'd never wanna see or hear from him again--especially since her "betrayal" was still a fresh wound.

Yet apparently she was listening to your entire conversation with him, and had this understanding look to her starry eyes.

"Pon, ponnn?"

"Huh?" You blinked. "You wanna..see him, too? Are you sure?"

She hopped to her feet, nodding eagerly before pointing in the direction of the academy.

"Okay. Maybe..it'll be a good thing." A smile appeared on your face, although in the back of your mind you hoped that seeing her again won't scare Kieran too much.

...........

"Okay, so the Golurk congregate here....and they're usually guarding the Goletts.."

Back in your dorm room, you were just jotting down notes about recent Pokémon outbreak sightings. Ogerpon was sitting on your countertop, swinging her legs while munching on a bowl of her favorite berries you've found for her throughout Kitakami.

Right as she finished the last one, there was a knock at the door, and you both immediately knew who it was. She was a little nervous, but you reassured her that things will be okay before you went to answer it.

Sure enough Kieran was on the other side. He's never been to your dorm until now, and as he walked in was surprised and intrigued by all the stuff you had hung up on the wall.

"Excuse the mess." You chuckled, closing the door.

"Don't worry, my dorm's worse." He shyly smiled back at you, although his expression faltered as his gaze went to a certain legendary..

He immediately tensed up, not out of anger.....but like he was expecting her to use Ivy Cudgel at any given moment. "What's the Ogre doing here--wait, no..that sounded rude. I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's fine. There's actually something we've been meaning to talk to you about."

"..oh?" Turning back to you, he tilted his head.

"So Ogerpon overheard our little chat earlier, and she wanted to see you."

"She did?"

"Yeah," you nodded, feeling your heart start to race with anticipation. "And..um...maybe it's easier if she explains."

Kieran was confused as you gestured to Ogerpon, but his eyes went wide when she approached him. With no mask on, she wore a confident expression as she handed him...

A pokeball?

No..

It was the pokeball you caught her in.

"What is this? Some new trick you taught her?" Looking to you for an explanation, all he could see was your smile. "Why isn't she...afraid of me?"

"Because she knew you were trying to make amends with everybody." You patted her head, beaming. "I think she finally recognizes you as a strong Pokémon trainer, and...she wants to be yours."

".....huh?"

"She wants to be yours." You repeated, watching as he tried to process this information. And his jaw damn near dropped to the floor, but he closed his mouth and shook his head.

"Y-You're joking, right?"

"Nope. We both decided that she's ready for a new partner. Someone who's believed in her side of the story since-"

"No, no, no..I..I-I can't do that.." He shook his head frantically, backing away from Ogerpon. "I'm sorry. But she's yours, [y/n]. She chose to go with you. You passed her test and...I didn't. I was being stupid and selfish and-"

"I think I was being more selfish."

Looking up at you, he blinked a few times.

"Listen, I know everyone likes to say such great things about me...but I'm not some perfect angel." You frowned slightly. "I lied to you, I stole the Pokémon you've idolized for years...and I hurt someone who considered me a friend. You called me out on that and you had every right to."

"........"

"If anybody here needs to apologize..it's me." Bowing your head, you sighed softly. "So I'm truly sorry for the way I treated you, Kieran. I'm sorry for never considering your feelings before. I wasn't a good friend, and I wanna be a better one. So I'm gonna make this right...both of us will."

You looked back up at him, seeing the shock written all over his face. Then you glanced at Ogerpon, taking the pokeball and instructing her to get her masks off the wall. She nodded and did just that.

"You deserve to know what her power is like. The masks, the TMs I taught her...you can have them all. No trades. No strings attached..except for us staying friends, of course."

Finally, Kieran found his ability to speak again, but he was already getting choked up. "[Y/n], the apology is...th-that's more than enough for me." His eyes watered. "I forgive you. There's no way I can take her from-"

"You're not taking her away. I'm giving her to you, silly." You chuckled.

"....I..I still don't know if I can accept that. I'm not worthy of her even looking my way anymore. I was disrespectful to her wishes, I stole her mask..a-and you're saying...she forgives me?"

"I think she's gonna let bygones be bygones. Isn't that right, 'pon?"

"Ponio! Pon!" With her masks together, Ogerpon gazed at you, nodding confidently. You could only smile back as you patted her head again, seeing that she was ready for a new adventure.

You've trained her well, helping her grow stronger than ever before as you've mastered her abilities with all four masks.

But now it's time that someone else had the chance to bond with her...

Someone like Kieran.

After sending her into the pokeball for the last time, you gazed at the purple-haired boy. His whole body refused to move, so you approached him and took his gloved hand, placing the device snuggly into his palm.

For the longest time, he stared at it, and then he looked back at you. "A-Are you sure I can't just...keep her for a day and then give her back?" He began to sniffle, face growing bright red. "Because if...wh-what if she doesn't-?"

"I want you to have her permanently." Knowing what was coming, you brought him into a tight hug, feeling him wrap his arms around you and rest his head on your shoulder. "Don't worry. She's gonna love you, Kiki." You rubbed his back. "She trusts you now. She's all yours."

All he could do was nod, your shirt getting soaked by his tears as he hiccupped, thanking you over and over again. He wasn't bawling loudly like before, but he still had a tough time keeping himself together; so you led him to your bed where he was more comfortable.

You're 99% certain this poor guy's never received a hug in his life, given how he refused to let you go. So you allowed him to hold onto you for as long as he needed or wanted.

At last you got out all of the things you've been meaning to say to him...and even Ogerpon got to apologize in her own special way by wanting to be his partner Pokémon.

You thought this would have been too much for Kieran to handle, but you could see he's grown a lot and that he was ready to accept this huge responsibility.

Terapagos will remain with you, and Ogerpon will be his forever.

After everything that's happened, it's what he deserves.

[leah-lover]

First time. Alessia russo x reader.

Smut 18+

Alessia's first time.

You loved England camp. You didn’t get to see a lot of your friends because you played abroad. So you get to make up for lost time. Since the beginning of your career Alessia lotte you have climbed every ladder together. Then at the beginning of your international career you added Ella to the mix. The 4 of you were inseparable.

You spent a few years at Man United and your relationship with Ella and Alessia got even stronger. You seem to understand each other just by eye contact.

After a few years at United you got picked to go to france. This move affected your relationship greatly because you didn't have timùe to hang out, or talk at all. This drives a little wedge in your relationship.

The only time you guys hung out was in camp.

This time was no different, after training and the team dinner, you lotte, ella and alessia went to your and alessia’s roomù to hang out.

The conversation flew by as you caught up with their lives.

“ So are you seeing anyone?” asked lotte who was sitting next to me in bed, ella and alessia were in the opposite bed.

“ define seeing.” you replied.

“ dating.” she clarified.

“ Well that's not it, but I have been with people, yes.” you answer with all honesty. “ What about you lessi.” you ask.

“ You see less face blush and she turns red quickly. '' I still haven't found the one, '' she replied.

“ It's not about the one lessi bear, it's about basic human needs.” you add.

“ Well no not for me. I want to feel safe and comfortable and I still haven't found the person yet.” she says now turning completely flushed.

“ Well I think you are less beautiful and that person would be lucky.” you say

“ stop it you lot flirt with each other when we are not here.” said Ella jokingly.

“ I think that's our que toone . I am tired, let's go.”

“But i'm having a blast” she complained which earned her a smack on the arm. They quickly got up and left.

You were left with your roomie and you both went separately to do your nighttime routine. After a while you were both comfy in your separate beds but neither one of you could sleep.

“Do you think I am wrong for waiting?” She asked out of the blue.

“ I don't think you are wrong but I think you are missing out.” You responded with your eyes closed. The only light source in the room was a small lamp in the far corner so you couldn't read Alessia’s face but you heard her shift to her side facing you.

“ I think I waited too long . I am just embarrassed.” She says

“ No, the point you made about needing someone you trust is valid.” You responded. You feel her progressing blue eyes staring at you but you don't look back afraid of what you will see.

“Look at me.” she ordered.

You slowly shift to face her only seeing her shape because the room was dark.

“Less, don't mess with me.”

“ I trust you. I… you know.”

“ I don't actually.”

“Please come here.”

You obey her order, go next to her and slip under her covers.

“ Use your words start girl “

“Please kiss me.’

You do as she says, and give her the sweetest, most lovely kids in the world.

“ We can stop if you want to.” You insist

“No, I want this. I want you. I want to feel you.” She says before groping your face and kissing you sensually.

You stay like that for a while before you move to her neck and kids it softly. Then get coalker bone Al while you hands are roaming her body and hers are feeling yours.

Alessia was patient, she didn't rush to ask for anything, she was the most perfect girl.

“ You are such a good girl baby.” You say when you take off her shirt and bra to test if she would like it. You only got a sweet little moan in response.

“You are so beautiful.” You praise her as you move to her breasts.

You give each one a good amount of kissing and attention wanting to use other things so as not to overwhelm her.

You then slide your hands in her panties discovering the wet patch

“Somebody is excited.” You whisper in her ear only to see that her eyes were glued shut

“You are the most beautiful, perfect girl in the world. You are doing exactly what you should do, which is to enjoy yourself.” you whisper again in her ear soothing her.

She relaxed before she jumped again when your finger touched her swollen clit.

“It's okay baby girl.” You whisper again soothing her

You start rubbing little circles on her clit. You find a place that you think satisfied her as she becomes a moaning mess

“ Less I am gonna slip my finger inside you stop me when you feel uncomfortable.” You say to which she nodded.

“ No less your words please.”

“Okay I will.” She says while panting.

The first finger you slid in was painful as you watched her mix up a moan with a hiss. But when you loosened her up and slid the second one she got comfortable.

After a while of fucking her she says.

“Please I.. am… go…” she stutters.

“ It's okay, star girl, come for me baby. Come on my fingers.” You say as she releases the filthiest moans and comes on your fingers.

“That is a baby Ride it out.” You say kidding her again

‘ that was fucking amazing.”;She says.

“I am supposed to return the favor right?” she asks nervously.

“ Not today you need to rest.” You respond.

“Can you sleep next to me tonight?” She asks .

“Okay.” You say kissing her again.

[madhatterbri]

No One Hurts My Girl | K.M.

Summary: Kol finds a way to push you to him.

Kol always knew how to blow off steam in New Orleans. He would just take a little trip to the University of New Orleans. He enjoyed the college life there. The parties and pretty young things were in abundance there. Life was carefree. Everyone in their early 20s just enjoying the taste of freedom by being wild. He never expected to cross paths with you.

Your friends dragged you out of your dorm to some local hang out spot. They insisted you needed a night out and you didn't have a choice. Loud music blasted from the speakers around the place. The smell of alcohol and weed made you squeamish. Once your friends left you alone, you decided to read a book in a corner.

The pages came to life in your mind. So much so that you didn't notice a brunette trying to talk to you. Your eyes looked up from the book. Mischievous dark brown eyes stared down at you. The horrible feeling of being bullied for being different sunk in your stomach.

He ended up being different. Kol, he introduced himself, spent the night with you talking about different authors. You never thought you would meet a guy that had the same interests as you. At the end of the party, you decided to give him your number.

The two of you kept in touch. He would visit you often. Long days at the library as he helped you study. Some days were spent in your room reading a book you two decided on. Things went pretty well until your abusive ex-boyfriend came back in the picture.

He promised things would be different and they were for a week. The old boyfriend came back worse than ever. Hurtful insults and manipulation plagued your life. He found out about Kol and made you stop replying to him.

One day Kol found you in the library. He could see the tears that caused the mascara to run down your face. You clung to a wad of tissue paper. His anger bubbled but he knew he had to be the caring friend.

"Darling?" He whispered once he sat across from you. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Kol, please leave me alone," you answered. Fear ran down your spine. Your boyfriend had friends here. He was a star on the football team. Friends were in abudance for him. He made sure to tell you that just in case you wanted to step out of line.

"Was it something I did?" He pressed urgently. "I didn't mean to do any-"

Kol stopped once a book bag crashed on the table. You never looked up but knew your boyfriend was at the table.

"She doesn't want to talk to you," your boyfriend announced in the busy library. No one was going to tell him to keep quiet. He was free to speak anyway he wanted. "Pack it up,"

Kol stood up and took a good look at him. The vampire could kick his ass easily.

"Is that really what you want, y/n?" Kol asked you. Your heart broke. He was the only one that ever understood you. To say you had a tiny crush on him was an understatement. You nodded knowing that you may have just ended your friendship.

"See? Move along, buddy,"

"I'm sure we will see each other soon," Kol threatened before leaving.

Kol spent the next few days watching your boyfriend's every move. He finally knew when to strike.

After practice one night, he walked out on the field with a baseball bat. Your boyfriend was all alone working on his kicks for the big game coming up. Huge rivals were coming in and the game being played had a lot of stakes.

"I was hoping we would run into each other again," Kol announced while twirling the bat in his hand. A sinister smile on his face. Your boyfriend rolled his eyes.

"I don't swing that way, dude," he joked and focused on kicking the football once more.

"Funny, I was just working on my swing," Kol smirked and swung at your boyfriend's knee. He cursed loudly and dropped to the floor. His hands instantly grabbed for his injured knee. Kol dropped to his knees and placed the bat against his throat. Your boyfriend gasped for air. His face turning red instantly. He fought to get the bat off his own throat.

"You are going to break up with y/n. You are going to leave her alone. I see you within a few feet of her and your football career is over. Got it?" He threatened. Your boyfriend nodded.

A week passed after thar night. Kol hadn't heard from you and he was worried. He hoped he hadn't lost you forever. Feeling lucky, he went to your dorm.

You answered after the first few knocks.

"I know you don't want to see me, but I was worried about you,"

You broke down and buried your head in his shoulder. As a sobbing mess, you told him everything. Your boyfriend broke up with you. The feelings you had for him before your boyfriend came after and even now. You were afraid to contact him just in case you lost him. He rested his cheek against your head. His fingers rubbed your back softly.

"Don't worry. I have you forever," he promised. "No one hurts my girl,"

[bellysoupset]

Heyy soupppp! You tagged you were requesting for Bell and Luke so maybe this could work? 😭

Luke is hanging w the guys, Jonah, Leo, Vince, and he’s already pretty out of it, and he falls asleep while the rest are playing video games or sm (idk)

When he wakes up it’s dark, he’s sweating, and he pukes on the floor. His fever is so high he’s delerious, crying, and finds Vince, he takes his temperature, panics, gets Jonah and decides he needs a hospital?

xoxo

No hospital in this one, sorry, but I think I got everything else!

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

Leo was sure they were doing this for his benefit and part of him thought he should be embarrassed, but he really wasn't. He had missed spending time with his friends so much, Leo couldn't care less what had motivated their little "boys night".

It had been almost a full month since everything had gone down and he was back into therapy twice a week. His boss had pulled him aside asking if there was something she should know, thanks to his week long absence leave he had taken, but when Leo had brushed it off as just a family emergency, coupled with a hellish flu — an excuse Wendy had been happy to corroborate as his "doctor" —, she had left him alone.

His coworkers weren't as easy to convince, Leo had caught Sandy, Dean and Chuck whispering and all three of them had approached him separately to ask if everything was okay. Chuck seemed convinced it was something related to Jonah, judging by how he had squinted when Jon appeared to pick Leo up, seeming incredibly confused as if he had made up his mind about them breaking up, when nothing in reality supported that rumor.

"Yo," Vince slung an arm around Leo's neck and pressed their foreheads together, "get out of your head and help me with the beers."

"I'm not in my head," Leo bitched, following Vince to the kitchen, "I'm thinking- Oh, hi baby," he dropped to a crouched down position, finding JD happily eating away her food. The cat rubbed her head lazily against his hand, before getting back to the task, ignoring his pets.

"I said help, not come pet the kitty cat," Vince groaned, grabbing multiple beer packs and passing them along to Leo, "thanks- Luke's late. Amazing how he's never on time."

Leo snorted at the whining, then started tearing up the beer packs in order to plant the bottles on top of the table, while Vince hummed a song under his breath, making the snacks. He had shown up earlier than everyone, with his arms filled with grocery bags to prepare bruschetta and other Italian goodies.

Despite the music playing, Vince shared Leo's musical taste and they had been secretly playing Kit Howard since Luke wasn't there, they both heard Jonah outside the front door, his keys jiggling and also his voice as he talked with Luke.

"You guys started without us?" Jonah asked, stepping inside and moving straight to their sound system to change the music. No matter how quick he was, Lucas had clearly heard it, because he was frowning as he walked in.

"I brought dessert," he said in an annoyed manner, holding up a huge box of cupcakes. Behind his back, Leo cringed to Vince, gesturing how annoyed their friend was.

Vin planted his hands on his hip, "fucking finally guys, we almost lost the game!"

Leo was having a blast. They watched the soccer game while sprawled in the living room and stuffing their faces and, of course, Jonah and Luke were cheering for opposite teams, so they were yelling bloody murder at each other by the time the game ended.

Vince was down on the ground, more than a little tipsy, playing with JD and giggling, shoving Luke's leg playfully, "oh my god, sit down, you prick!"

"It was clearly a fault!"

"You're such a sore loser, Atwood, grow uuuup," Jonah retorted, planting his fingers in his ears to ignore him and Leo cackled, not lost on him how childish his fiancé was acting.

"Real Madrid would've won if your stupid team wasn't cheating," Luke glared, grabbing a cupcake angrily and shoving it entirely in his mouth.

Leo was shaking with laughter as he heard Jonah start to argue it wasn't cheating if Chelsea was simply superior. Across the room the phone was ringing, so he crawled on the couch to go grab it, giggling as he shushed the other three.

"Yeah?"

"Mr. Wagner? It's Matt, from the front desk-"

"Oh shit, hi Matt. I'm guessing the neighbors are complaining about the noise?" Leo cringed, turning down the music and heard a sigh.

"Yes, sir. I need you to tune it down and to remind you that parties are only allowed with the administration's permit," Leo rolled his eyes, he abhorred this HOA rules, but he knew Matt was only doing his job.

"I know, I'm sorry. It's not a party, we're just watching the game and they got a little riled up. We'll be quiet."

"Thank you, sir! Have a good night!"

"Thanks Matt, you too," Leo hung up, then turned to glare at the group, "shut up all of you, the neighbors are complaining about the noise."

"Him and his stupid fucking team," Luke mumbled darkly, grabbing the cupcake box and sitting down in the couch, slapping Jonah's hand sharply when the man tried getting one.

"I said, hush," Leo flicked at Luke's ear, "the Olympics are on, you guys wanna watch the gymnastics solo?"

"I thought that was yesterday!" Jonah perked up, shoving Luke's head so he could grab three cupcakes and they all settled down to watch the beautiful floor routine from Simone Biles. It was probably the one thing Luke and Jon both agreed on, so they were fairly quiet and the previous animosity melted easily.

After Olympics, they switched up to a video game and it was Leo's turn to all but hiss at Jonah, while Vince and Luke watched, since neither of them cared much about that.

They played only one round of Apex each, then switched up to Mario Kart so Vince could join, at what point Luke had already spread out in the bigger couch and was playing quietly with JD, sulking.

"Don't be a horrible loser, you're not five," Jonah passed him a controller, "stop sul-"

"I'm not sulking," Lucas groaned, pushing the controller away, "I'm sleepy, today was a long day. I think I just wanna sit here, you guys play."

They all exchanged an amused glance, Lucas was definitely sulking. However, they had learned long before to just let him ride out the poutiness, so they kept playing for another one hour and a half, when exhaustion caught up with them.

It was a Friday night, so both Vince and Luke were crashing there, their respective girlfriend (and wife) had their own thing going on, because Bella was going to NYC with Wendy so they could watch the Family Addams play.

Leo yawned, resting his head on Jonah's shoulder, "I think we should call it a night," he was pleasantly buzzed, almost in drunk territory but not quite and every surface felt so soft... He looked to his right, to Jonah, the giggles as he looked past his shoulder and saw Luke was curled up, knocked out, and JD was sleeping almost on top of his head, "that's sooo cute, Vin-"

"On it," Vince didn't need to be told, as he crawled on the rug to get a picture, fixing JD's tail so it looked like a hat on top of Luke's head, "send it in the group chat, Bella will love it."

Leo did just that, leaning fully against Jonah and not missing how burpy his boyfriend was. They stared at the screen expectantly, then Bella sent a picture of them in the traffic jam, Wendy curled up against the passenger window, wearing a sleeping mask and a thick hairband that had cat ears on top.

Bells: they're matching 🥰

Jonah snorted and Vince let out an amused huff, sending a bunch of hearts about his girlfriend, then he yawned, "let's call it a night?"

Thirty minutes later most of the trash was put away and Leo was changed into his PJs. He walked down the hallway to throw a blanket on top of Luke and retrieve his cat, pulling JD to his chest and smiling as he noticed how much she was purring.

Vince was in the guest bathroom, flossing, so Leo leaned on the door and knocked, "I got Luke some blankets and there's extras for you in the guest room-" he yawned, "and the fridge is all yours, you know the drill."

"Ioweeeill," Vince agreed, the words coming out all mangled since he was busy. Leo smiled, patting his friend's arm softly, then turned around to go to the master suite.

Jonah was in bed already, sitting up against the headboard and muffling deep burps against his fist, while JD napped on his lap.

"Beer got to you?" Leo guessed, turning off the lights and shutting the door, crawling on the bed.

"Uhm, it'll pass in a minute," Jonah's voice was all soft, he was definitely a little drunk, "come cuddle."

Leo locked their legs together, pressing his cheek to Jon's bicep and rolling on his side, so he could move his hand between smoothing JD's fur and rubbing his fiance's belly.

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

Luke hadn't been feeling well since morning. That was the truth, he had felt pretty damn shitty since he opened his eyes and had even skipped gym, something he never did, in lieu of lying in bed and trying to force himself to go to work.

He had wanted nothing more than to cancel all plans, but Bella was vibrating with excitement about her plans with Wendy so he didn't want her to know he was feeling gross and consider staying behind.

It was the same logic that got him to actually show up to his night plans. He felt horrid, but it was their first time all together since the mess with Leo and Luke didn't want to mess it up. Hell, Vince was driving four hours and missing a cool weekend with his girlfriend for this, Luke could suck it up about the lethargic feeling that kept trying to pull him down.

He had chugged an energy drink on his way there and plastered a smile on, that had quickly turned into a frown thanks to all of Jonah's picking on him, but thankfully his friends had chalked that up as their usual prickliness and laughed it off.

Lucas was feeling almost proud of himself when he fell asleep to the track of his friends laughing and JD's heat near his face.

He should've known better.

Luke woke up drenched in sweat and feeling like his heart was racing, drumming in his ears. He was flat on his back on the couch and was shivering, like they had left the balcony's door open and the freezing night air was inside.

He sucked in the air, feeling more than a little desperate and... Scared? For some reason? Then his stomach lurched suddenly and Luke coughed, nearly drowning himself. He managed to roll on his side in time to retch a large stream of vomit on the ground and Luke let out a pained whine.

His throat and nose hurt, since he had almost choked, and his stomach felt awful. He was sorely regretting everything he had eaten during the night, in his effort to force normalcy. All the damn cupcakes were churning inside and he could taste the chocolate on the back of his throat...

Lucas sat up, wrapping an arm around his stomach and waiting for the room to quit spinning. HIs head felt like it weighted more than it did, lolling to the side and causing Luke to plant a hand over his lips, muffling a wet belch in it.

He didn't want to cause a mess. Well, a bigger mess. Luke grabbed on the couch and forced himself up, wavering dangerously as wooziness washed him over, then blindly moved around the room. His mouth was watering all over again and he couldn't fight a sick burp, which caused liquid fill his mouth, but he gulped it down, all but falling inside the guest bathroom.

It was like his body was painfully aware this was a safe zone, because Luke didn't even have a chance to move over to the toilet, squeezing his stomach as another cramp hit and then coughing, struggling to breathe, when the motion set off a projectile stream of vomit all over the fucking tiles and down his front.

His knees buckled and Luke curled up, more than a little disgusted and humiliated, his thoughts a wind whirl- dark spots clumping together...

-----------

Jon woke up with a weight on his chest and it took him a minute to realize he was looking straight into his cat's big blue eyes. He frowned, blindly reaching to push her off his chest and causing the kitten to meow.

"G'away," Jonah rolled on the bed, still dizzy with sleep, snuggling up with Leo and hiding his nose in the crook of his fiancé's neck- There were whispers outside his door and he let out a sigh, rolling back so he was facing the ceiling.

"What do you mean don't tell Jonah, Luke?!" Vince's voice, louder than a whisper, filtered through the closed door and caused Jon to snort in amusement.

What were the two idiots up to?

He glanced at the bedside table clock, while JD climbed on his lap once more, nibbling at his fingertips when his hand automatically went to pet her. 3:23 AM. Definitely far too late for some secretive midnight snack.

Jonah leaned in, kissing JD between her ears, "keep daddy company," he whispered, before picking her up and slotting her in the little space that Leo left since he was curled up on his side.

The closer he got to the door, though, the less the whispers sounded humorous, turning frantic and distraught... Jonah tiptoed out of the room, hitting the hallway's light switch, "what is going on?"

Chaos erupted.

Luke let out a cry, while Vince shouted "JON!", behind him JD jumped from the bed and came to meow at his feet and Jonah's stomach reacted before he could fully realize the mess in his hallway, causing him to gag.

He swallowed, pressing a fist to his mouth, trying to piece together what was going on. Vince was crouched down in front of Luke, who had fallen flat on his back near the guest bathroom door and there was vomit... Well, everywhere. On Vince's and Luke's shirts, all over the ground near Luke's head, leading up inside the bathroom...

"Please, don't be mad..." Luke whined and Jonah's stomach froze over, not with nausea, but guilt and misplaced anger. He scoffed, shaking his head and stepping closer to the mess, despite his body begging him to turn away.

"What happened?" Jonah crouched next to them and Vince's shoulders sagged with visible relief.

"I- I don't know, I woke up just now and he had already fallen and was throwing up everywhere and- and-" he cupped Luke's red cheeks, "he's burning up, Jon-"

"Grab the thermometer in our bathroom," Jonah instructed, moving his hands so they were in Lucas's neck, "and wake up Leo."

"O-okay-" Vince jumped up and rushed away, while Jonah tried to ignore the way their sick friend was sweating buckets, fever so high he was shaking as if he was freezing.

"Don't tell Jon..." Luke groaned, pressing his forehead to the inside of Jonah's wrist, while the other man checked his vitals. Luke's heart was racing, "please, Vin-"

"I'm not mad," Jonah glared at him, grabbing Luke's ruined shirt by the shoulder and using all his strength to pull his friend sitting up, instead of lying on the groud, "c'mon-"

"Uhm," Luke moaned, Adam's apple bobbing up and down, "don'feel-good..." his words stuck together and he folded in the middle, all but drooling over his lap, "I want Bell..."

Jonah's own heart was racing now and he turned his head to holler, "VINCE, WHERE'S THE DAMN THERMOMETHER!?"

That caused some rustling inside the bedroom and Vince rushed out, holding the little device, as well as the bathroom trash and a bunch of towels, with Leo hot in his heels, although the blonde looked half asleep still.

"Here-" Vince dropped to his knees in the sick covered hallway, mess be damned, "what do I do...?"

"Luke," Jonah patted the other man's cheek, nervously, "hey. Lucas, Luke-" Luke finally opened his eyes, although they were dazed and confused, "look at me. Hey-"

"Jon...?" Lucas frowned, gulping down, "I'm sorry, I- I tried to stop-"

"It's okay, it's okay," it was terrifying to have Luke apologizing to him of all people, "you think you can hold the thermometer in your mouth?"

"Do we really have to? Anyone can tell he's got a fever," Vince protested and Jonah raised a hand to shut him up.

"I- Ye-yeah..." Luke nodded, squeezing his eyes shut, "I don't feel good..."

"We know, buddy," Leo had moved closer as well and was holding JD to stop her from getting her paws dirty, "Jon's gonna help, alright...?"

Luke sniffled pitifully and Jonah forced the thermometer in his mouth and under the tongue, checking the time on Vince's phone, since the man was the only one who had one.

"I'm gonna start cleaning this," Leo decided, squeezing Jonah's shoulder as he got up, "and put JD away."

"What do I do?" Vince asked in a small, worried voice, eyes glued to Luke's face, "this was so out of nowhere-"

"You're gonna help me get him in the shower," Jonah explained, "let's just wait a minute..."

Under his hand, Luke jerked and gagged, pressing his lips tightly around the plastic of the thermometer. He moved a hand to wrap around his stomach, but Vin held his wrist, "no, Luke, your shirt is covered in sick..."

"-urtsss," Lucas moaned, sniffling again and gulping down once more. A thin line of drool started to run from his bottom lip to his lap, as he was unable to fully close his mouth. He gagged and Jonah rushed to retrieve the device, as he heard the disgusting noise of liquid splashing...

It was just in time. Vince shoved the trashcan under Luke's chin and Jonah's hand was barely out of the line of fire as more vomit rushed up and splattered inside the bin.

Jonah glanced at the thermometer, a new one they had gotten after Leo complained about their European device one too many times, and cringed. 103.5ºF

Next to him, Lucas retched loudly once more and Vince rubbed his back in a reassuring manner, although his face was desperate as he said, "Jon!?"

"Lucas," Jonah moved so he could cup his friend's burning forehead and rubbed his opposite arm, "we're gonna get you up, okay?"

Instead of answering, Luke just nodded dizzily, and Vince removed the bin from his lap, wrapping an arm around Lucas' waist, while Jon did the same. Together, they pulled him up quickly to his feet, causing the man to let out a loud groan and pitch forward with a gag, bringing up another mouthful of bile all over the floor, just as Leo returned with a bucket and a mop, causing the blonde to cringe.

"Jesus," Leo winced, "that's some virus..."

Luke shook with a hiccup, which quickly turned into a sob and he crumpled towards Vince's side, hiding his burning face against his friend's shoulder and bawling.

"Aw man, it's okay, I got you..." Vince cooed, rubbing Luke's back while Jonah started to guide all three of them inside the ruined guest bathroom.

Jon side stepped the mess on the ground, gagging harshly himself and stopping in the middle of the way, still squeezing Luke's bicep, so he could spit inside the toilet. The lid was lifted, but the water clear, Lucas had never even made it inside the bathroom.

"Jon?" Leo poked his head inside the bathroom and Jonah shook his head, lips pressed in a line, swallowing down a burp.

"I'm fine," he pulled them further in, inside the shower area. Besides him, Luke let out another hiccup-sob, tears running down his swollen face, completely out of it.

Jonah opened the shower, turning the registers until the water was from lukewarm, ignoring the fact he was getting completely soaked as well, "Okay, c'mere-" he moved out of the stream, so they could hold Luke under it and the man immediately let out a pained yelp, very similar to the noise JD made when they accidentally stepped on her tail.

"Hurts..." he whimpered, sobbing harder, "please- pleasssstop... Why are you doin'this?"

Over his head, Vince looked mortified, and Jonah understood the feeling well. Last time he had seen Luke this distraught, had been back in Christmas when he was sick while in the midst of depression, but even then the fever hadn't been this high.

"You think he had a fever before?" Vince voiced his thoughts, worry coloring his words as he hugged Luke close, all but rocking him under the water, "shhh, bud, almost over."

"Probably," Jonah answered gruffly, turning around and starting to peel off Luke's soaked, sick covered shirt, "there's no way this climbed this high so quickly."

"What can I do?" Leo entered the bathroom, now with three towels draped over his arm, having just ditched the mop, "hallway is clean and living room too."

"Living room?" Jon frowned, glancing at Vince, who looked just as confused.

Leo cringed, nodding, "yeah, living room, I think he woke up sick..." Between them, Luke let out a groan and suddenly stopped crying- His knees buckled and both Vince and Jonah let out a shout as they almost went down with his weight.

"Oh my God," Vince cursed, stepping all over the place and forgetting Jonah was holding half of Luke's weight as he moved to fully grab his best friend, "Luke- Lucas, please, please, open your eyes-"

"Vin," Leo said in a small voice, "Vince, he's coming back to, calm down-" the blonde stepped almost inside the shower area, planting a hand on Vince's back in a reassuring way.

Lucas let out a little moan as he came back to, with Vince still patting his cheek frantically and all but snarling, "aren't you a doctor?! Do something!" at Jon.

"Was-what's going on-" Lucas' voice was raspy, but lucid, and all of them breathed out in relief. Jonah turned off the water, while Luke started to shiver violently, "M'fff-freezin'-"

"Yeah, we're gonna get you dried up," Jonah let go of his arm, side stepping Lucas and Vince, since Vin had a vice-like grip on the man, and as soon as he stepped out of the shower area Leo threw a towel over his head, starting to rub it in.

Jon squeezed his boyfriend's hand, but pulled away, stepping out of the rug so Vince could drag Luke there. The bathroom wasn't built for four men, so Jon was forced to step back in the wet section, while Luke fell sit in the still open toilet and Leo and Vin started to dry him up as if he was a toddler.

"Luke," Jonah wanted to touch him, but there was no space, "when did you start to feel sick?"

"Morning," was Luke's lethargic answer, head lolling with sleep, "I don't feel well..."

"Are you gonna be sick again?" Leo looked up from his crouched down position as they stripped Luke out of his soaked sweat pants, "Luke?"

"Hmmmm... No," he breathed in, "I'm sorry I got sick everywhere..."

"Shut up about that," Jon glared at his friend and Vince scoffed, rubbing the towel vigorously over Lucas' wavy hair, with so much force he was creating curls.

"Let's get him up-" Leo said and Vince was about to do just that, when the blonde shook his head, "you're getting water everywhere, dry yourself. Jon can help me."

"You two can't-" Vince started to protest and Leo glared at him.

"He's our best friend too," he said in a calm, but serious voice, "we can handle him. Dry yourself, you don't wanna get a cold on top of this mess."

Jonah decided he didn't need to explain contagion didn't happen like that, feeling a swell of pride at Leo voicing what he was thinking. He circled Vince, exchanging places with him, and helped Leo get Luke up.

They stumbled into the guest bedroom, which was the closest one. The bed was already unmade, since Vin had been sleeping there and Luke collapsed against the pillows with a heavy sigh, brows meeting in a frown.

"What hurts?" Jonah asked, going for the dresser where they left most of their older clothes for guests, and stripping of his wet pajamas, sliding on some new sweatpants.

"Head," Luke rolled on his side, until his head was resting on Leo's lap and the blonde promptly started combing his fingers through his hair, stroking lightly at Luke's cheeks.

"Like a migraine?" he asked in a whisper and Luke shook his head, while Jonah rushed out of the room to get their first aid kit. Once he came back, not a full minute later, Vince was inside the bedroom, now clad in his spare set of boxers and nothing else, curled up in the bed with Lucas and Leo.

Jon scoffed, pausing at the doorway, "do I need to explain you guys don't wanna catch this plague?"

"Get in here," Leo rolled his eyes, "you can fit right here."

"Are you crazy?" Jonah pouted, planting the first aid kit on top of the dresser and fishing out an antipyretic, as well as a painkiller, "Luke, are you still feeling sick?"

"No," the man's voice was sleepy, as his head was still in Leo's lap and he was being lulled to sleep by the hair pets, "stomach hurts."

"Yeah, that's because you puked things you ate back when you were three," Vince joked weakly, squirming on the bed so he could rest his own head on Luke's thigh and starting to rub his friend's belly, "this alright?"

"Get him to drink this," Jon climbed on the bed, over Vince's legs and handed the pills to Leo. He was planning to climb back out, but then Luke grabbed the cords of his hoodie and Jon nearly faceplanted over all of them.

The bed let out a whine under their weight and Vince snorted, "this thing is gonna go down with us."

"Here, swallow this," Leo pushed the two pills unceremoniously inside of Luke's mouth and caused the man to splutter and almost bite his fingers.

Lucas swallowed with a grimace, then curled up even further, "you guys are warm..."

Jonah sighed, collapsing between all three of them, resting his cheek on his hand and draping his legs over Vince's. Clearly, no one was going anywhere.

Luke met his eyes, little pained lines around them, but no longer the previous confusion, "Thank you..." he closed his eyes, relaxing, as Jon reached in and pushed his bangs back, brushing his thumb over Leo's knuckles buried in Luke's hair.

The blonde smiled at him, then squirmed until he was lying down instead of sitting against the headboard, causing Luke's head to rest fully against his tummy instead of his lap. Vince moved closer and Jonah went boneless, resting his cheek to Leo's thigh and planting a kiss there, feeling exhaustion catch up with him as the adrenaline wore off.

Last thing he heard before fully passing out was JD sneaking back into the guest room and climbing the bed so she could snuggle up against Vince's tummy.

[yawneon]

PROJECT : REBUS !

a/n : my second little fic thingy on this app 🤭 i’m writing this at 4am, sorry if there’s any little mistakes. (i’m feeding my own mattheo riddle delusions)

pairing : mattheo riddle x gn!slytherin!reader

summary : you hated mattheo riddle, loathed him almost but all shit hits the fan when things go missing in your and his dorm, so the only logical thing to do is to band together and find out what in merlin’s name is going on.

!!! : sherlock holmes era, im funny i swear, fluff, enemies to teammates to lovers, im gonna write this one longer promise, a little bit on y/n (we love them), nicknames, references of non-canon slytherin characters (lorenzo berkshire, mattheo riddle.. obviously 😭😭), half-blood reader, mattheo is annoying

part 1! / …

★・・・・・・★

it wasn’t out of the ordinary for mattheo riddle, son of the dark lord, to be annoying you in some way. it was his hobby, (or atleast that’s what he’d like to call it). no matter how many times you tell him to fuck off or leave you alone he just could never grasp the idea of it, it was out of his nature to leave you alone because it was like you two were made for eachother (again what he would like to describe it as).

“back off riddle.” you warned. you were currently at a slytherin party, your team had just won the quidditch match and your whole house seems over the moon. well everyone but you.

“come on, jelly bean.” mattheo looks at you with a shit-eating grin on his face. he pokes your side causing you to swat his hand away in an instant. it was hard to hear him over the blasting music and the sight of blaise on a table singing his heart out but you just knew that whatever he said was a teasing little snarky comment. “riddle.” you warn again giving him a stern look, “just one dance cookie and then i’ll leave you alone..” he gives you a fake pout, his bottom lip jutting out. looking him up and down you fake gag causing him to pout even further, a cheeky smirk ghosting on his lips.

you roll your eyes at him and your legs move away from him (for what felt like the fifth time that night ((it was.)) and he tries to follow you to annoy you further but he’s interrupted by a soft hand on his forearm pulling him, with one quick look to the hufflepuff student who somehow found themselves snaked into the party. his gaze leaves you as he’s quickly distracted by the person and you keep walking. it was going to be a long night obviously so since they had only just started.

you find yourself stood with your friends pansy, daphne, theodore, and draco . you stood around drinking a mystery concoction made by lorenzo and you wonder to yourself who the fuck gave him the job of making these drinks. “these are deadly, merlin.” you groan wincing at the burn in your throat as you swallow the liquid in the cup. pansy snickers at your comment bringing the red cup to her lips, “i mean yeah look who’s behind them.” she laughs taking a sip. “hey [name], are you and mattheo like a thing?” daphne ask, fiddling with her golden necklace that hung around her collarbone. you almost spit your drink out and the two boys around you chuckle at your reaction. “why would you ever make such an assumption?” your face must contort into a disgusted confused mix because everyone around you starts chuckling to themselves.

“well, i’ve got a friend in ravenclaw and i’d think they’d be a great match. it’s just that he’s always around you so i just assumed you guys were i don’t know.. into eachother?” daphne smiles shyly, her intentions seem true and you knew that she doesn’t like mattheo since he’s not really.. her type. “daphne..” you put a hand on her shoulder comically, “you can have him.. on one condition.. you make sure he never speaks to me again.” you snicker, daphne beams and nods profusely promising you that you will not be disappointed.

you and mattheo had been what seemed like enemies since like forever. the first thing he did to make you hate him was when he dunked your head into a volubilis potion in first year causing you to sound like a chipmunk for 3 days and since that day you have never had a break from mattheos constant efforts to humiliate you. first it was the potion, then pushing you off your broom, setting your robe on fire in transfiguration, the list goes on really. but mattheo continued to play dumb all the way up to sixth year. it was weird, the fact he acted absolutely oblivious, but you thought he was just teasing you again.

the night died down slowly and after about 3 hours of talking, laughing and drinking you head back to your dorm. you arrive at your dorms door, met with it slightly ajar. you think that it was weird before venturing onwards sinking yourself into the chair at your desk, you were a lucky student, having a dorm to yourself was a blessing. hearing daphne’s and theodore’s constant complaints on snoring, messiness and fights you found yourself encapsulated in the warm fortunes of being able to have a room to yourself, (even if it did get lonely).

sitting up from the wooden chair, you shower and change into more suitable sleeping attire which was obviously your pajamas you brought from home accompanied by slippers. you fall into your bed with a tired sigh, your eyes wandering over your dorms ceilings, then walls, the lights, the desk and your jewellery stand in which your rings that your family have kept as an heirloom for years centuries were missing.

they were missing.

the. rings. were. missing.

you sit up from the bed in a comical way, you could’ve sworn there were onomatoepias surrounding the air around you. jolting up quickly you rush to look for the rings. you check in the holder, on the desk, on the floor, in the blankets, under the pillows, anywhere you could think of. if you were found to have lost your prized family heirloom your mother would have your head on a stick and you would be fed to the dogs. you HAVE to find the rings. even if you died doing it.

you were searching for that shit, like it was your life elixir. as if it was the elder wand. people would hate thought you were crazy by the way you were looking. it was funny almost seeing someone squirm and rush around such a small area. your sheets were being yanked off your bed and your chest at the foot of your bed was being emptied and rearranged. you looked like you were on drugs, it was bad. you looked like a lunatic, it was horrid. but you gotta do what u gotta do..

to say you were panicking would be an understatement. you were frantic, desperate even. you were on all fours checking every single crevice and crack of that room 15 times over just for there to be nothing. it hasn’t even been an hour since you stepped foot into your dorm. your eyes are wide with anxiety sinking in and you unconsciously start pacing your room.

your mind runs laps thinking about any and every possibility. maybe they grew legs and walked away, maybe there was no rings in the first place and you were just crazy, maybe you’re family was crazy. maybe nothing was real like ever.

you paced up and down your room, hands in your hair basically clawing at it thinking of every scenario possible and every single step you took that day.

1. you woke up.

2. you went to the bathroom and did your business.

3. you changed into your uniform.

4. you checked the rings were still there, they were.

5. you went on about your day.

every single day you check the rings are there. you wouldn’t wear them incase they got damaged so you settled with keeping them on a porcelain plate next to your notebook. every single friend and basically everyone in your year knows how valuable they are and you would a word (avada kadavra) anyone without hesitation if they touched them so no one ever did.

well there is one person that might have and would if he felt especially annoying that day.

-

you found yourself pounding on mattheo riddles dorm door. the knocks echoed throughout the hall. some partygoers are still hung around in deep conversation, lorenzo seems to be off his shift as the bartender and he is seemingly in his dorm.

you wait for an answer at the door for what feels like eternity (2 minutes) and you being hammering at the door next.

a muffled voice pleads for you to stop and blaise opens the door groggily, fatigue from the party taken over his state of mind.

“where is he.”

“where is who?”

“you know who blaise.”

blaise looks behind him, looking over the beds in his dorm. enzo is in bed, and blaise just got out of his. he looks at mattheos bed and its unmade but its empty.

“not here.” blaise sighs, wiping a tired hand over his eyes.

“then where is he?” you grumble.

“astronomy tower maybe, he likes taking a smoke out there at night. to see stars or some sappy shit.” blaise replies.

you thank blaise quickly and you apologise for the intrusion before quickly picking up your feet from the floor and going to the astronomy tower.

the halls of hogwarts when it was empty were always cold and a bit uneasy when you walk through them at night. knowing that there are ghosts in the walls and there might be other students or things around frighten you but the only thing your running on right now is the drink lorenzo made and pure anger.

your slippers tap on the tile beneath your feet echoing through the walls. you twist up the astronomy tower stairs quickly and you silently enter the icy breeze of the open class. the smell of smoke quickly comes over you, foretelling you that your target was indeed here.

-

“riddle.” you growl looking at the boy. he felt as if your eyes were piercing holes straight through him and he turns around slowly cigarette still in his mouth. mattheo’s eyes were wide and his face looked guilty.

“i swear whatever theo said he’s lying.” mattheo blurts out quickly. his eyes trail down to your slippers up your long fuzzy pajama pants and then to your night shirt, a quiet smile grows on his face but he’s quick to hide the pink on his cheeks with a snarky remark. “cute outfit, [name]” he laughs taking a long drag of his cigarette.

“did you steal my stuff mattheo?”

“who?” he replies, his lips curl into a smile.

“what?” you make a weird face at him, “did you steal my things?” you say again.

“you said my name.” he laughs out softly his eyes meeting the sky above him. “also no.” mattheo sighs out.

you walk to the ledge of the astronomy tower where he stood and you lean your elbows against the chill metal. “riddle-“ you try to begin but your cut off instantly, “mattheo.” he says. “call me mattheo please.” he says almost shyly, you narrow your eyes at him before shaking your head giving into the boys request.

“mattheo i really need you to be honest with me okay?” you turn to look at him, “did you steal my stuff?”.

“i didn’t [name].” he looks back at you, “right.” you reply, slight mistrust laces your tone but mattheo ignores it as he finishes up smoking his cigarette.

“im being serious!” he whines, the top of the cigarette being dragged across the railing. you give him a nod, coming off a tad sarcastic but mostly trusting.

“my stuff went missing too.” mattheo blurts out, he looks at you breathing out a smoky sigh. you look at him puzzled, you squint your eyes at him trying to read his expression.

with your squinted eyes and mistrusting expression an idea pops up into your head.

not one you like and most definitely not one you’d pitch to mattheo riddle.

but it was better than just sulking around.

“well if we both got robbed, on the same night what are the chances it was the same person?” you sigh out your eyes drawing to the stars above you.

“high?” he replies,

“so as much as i hate this- why dont we help eachother out and look for them together.”

“are you asking me to become your detective partner, honey bun?” he teases you with a sly grin.

“don’t make me change my mind riddle.” you glare at him.

“fine.. i will since your prrrractically begging me to ~” he smiles childishly, a slight gleam in his eyes.

you roll your eyes and groan,

this was a bad idea.

-

@yawneon

[yuurei20]

Jade and Floyd Info Compilation part 18: Riddle and Floyd

Jade says “Floyd caused a bit of a stir at our orientation,” and during Beanfest we learn why: Floyd explains that Riddle used magic to blast him through the air at their orientation. “All I did was razz him a little, and he just SNAPPED…next thing I knew, there I was, laid out on the floor. Jade burst out laughing when he saw me.”

Our introduction to Floyd during the main story involves him being excited to see Riddle, which is a common theme.

It is not unusual for Floyd to tease Riddle about his height, and Riddle delights in the moment when Floyd is slapped by Eliza (“Let that be a lesson. It is folly to pick bridal candidates solely based on height!”)

After the events of Phantom Bride Floyd encourages Riddle to punch him a little as seeing everyone fight “got (him) in the mood to throw down”, but Riddle replies, “This is not the time nor the place!”

Floyd teases Riddle during Beanfest and says that if any monsters try to attack him then he will scare them off, but that is not what ends up happening: when the group is ambushed by Lilia, Jamil and others Floyd insists that they leave Riddle behind to keep the opposing team busy while the rest of them escape.

Floyd teases Riddle about not eating properly during the Halloween party (it is hinted that Riddle may have issues with food, similar to Azul), insisting that he eat dessert.

It is not uncommon for Floyd to express concern over people not eating properly, which he also does for Jade and Azul.

Floyd says that if the dark mirror had selected him for Heartslabyul, there’s a chance he would have “squeezed” Riddle and taken over the position of Housewarden. (Deuce says “Please don’t underestimate our boss.”)

Floyd seems to become disheartened when Riddle shuts him down: in a vignette where he grabs a book that Riddle needs from its shelf (where he intentionally put it too high up for Riddle to reach) he runs away with it, encouraging Riddle to chase him. Riddle refuses, saying, “What have I done to deserve this mistreatment?” and Floyd’s mood immediately crashes: he passes the book to Riddle and leaves. Riddle reflects, “I can’t tell if I upset him or if that was yet another of his mood swings.”

Jade asks if Riddle doesn’t actually miss it when Floyd isn’t in the mood to tease him and Riddle responds, “Certainly not. I rather like not being under constant attack.”

It is possible that there are times when Floyd intentionally makes Riddle angry for his benefit, such as when he teases a shivering Riddle during Vargas Camp (“Glad you warmed up”) and a disheartened Riddle who does not want to go home to his mother at the start of winter break (Trey: “Well, at least he’s got his moxie back.”)

Floyd and Riddle may have more in common than Riddle would prefer to admit, though Floyd seems aware of it: Vil refers to them as “our pair of live wires,” and they both try to dive into the dark mirror during Spectral Soiree to go in search of the kidnapped students.

They also both express frustration with the fine print of the invitation that explains the dress code required in order to pass through, and when the kidnapped students are discovered to not be in costume they both call them out for it, with Leona observing, “You guys are still mad about the Dark Mirror givin’ you the boot, huh?”

Both Floyd and Riddle get each other presents catered to each other's interests, but pretend they are indifferent: Riddle gives Floyd a shoehorn that is engraved with an “F” but claims it was an afterthought, while Floyd gifts Riddle with a book band (that Riddle uses for class), though Floyd claims he just didn’t want it. (Credit for this discovery to neworld_twt on Twitter)

[tf2oc-thejanitor-askblog]

MEET THE JANITOR - TF2 FIC

CHAPTER ONE

Months...

Accounts have been lost of how many defeats each team has taken in recent months in such fierce missions. Carrying their comrades across the field, along with broken pride, became commonplace among mercenaries and seemed far from over.

There were few moments of celebration after a match, given the numerous setbacks. However, what made it all the stranger was the silence and discouragement among men even after a victory.

No annoying Scout jokes...

No bomb blasts and laughter from the old Demoman...

Not even the Soldier's senseless insults to humiliate the enemy...

Nothing.

Everyone was terribly tired and stressed.

It was clear that this was not only affecting the mood of the boys. Their performances in battle came to decline on both sides... including basic care. Poor Engineer. It was a treat for him to cook homemade dishes from his homeland for the team, being a simple way for the Texan to take care of and cheer up his colleagues. However, the mere sight of the old stove, the dirty dishes in the sink made Engie sigh tiredly, and he knew it- he was losing the taste for his favorite task... It was horrible.

It was to be believed that if even the hardworking Engineer no longer wanted to cook, the impeccable Medic leaving his precious laboratory disorganized, the rest of the tasks at the base were stagnant. Clearer than daylight was the fact that everything was a complete mess... and it would be little before the Soldier's raccoons raised a generation of their species there, mistaking the place for a dump.

Despite the attempts of some mercenaries to maintain order, such as the Engineer, Medic and even the Heavy, the situation was severe and this worried the doctor a lot. It would be tragic to see the laboratory full of grown men complaining of pain from some infection amidst scattered paperwork, disorganized medicines and Archimedes partying on top of his dirty patients - the latter being the least worrying for the Doctor. The German himself was a picture of disarray with his stained lab coat, dark circles under his eyes and disheveled hair... simply unacceptable for a professional of his caliber.

Really, it was shameful for them all to admit one thing: the nine dreaded mercenaries were not able to take care of their own base.

The situation could not get any worse with Miss Pauling's visit to announce the next mission, asking everyone to sit down in the dim light of the meeting room. Their postures varied between tense and slouched bodies in the chair, just awaiting the sentence like a damned defendant in court. Perhaps, even if it's an exaggeration, a death sentence would be more welcome than what they would see next.

"Well, I announce here that the next work will be carried out outside the walls of Teufort. In Landfall, precisely. Everyone will have to leave early tomorr-" a confused wink escaped the girl in purple as she heard the chorus of grunts and murmurs for mentioning a possible "trip" "Huh... Is there something wrong, guys?"

"N-No, miss. There's nothin’ wrong—" yes, there was everything wrong, but Engie tried to hide it in a soft tone, even his slight stammers gave it away "—but we'd like to talk somethin’ about it before we leave tomorrow."

Pauling is somewhat surprised by the emergence of a new topic in the middle of the meeting, which makes her nod for the Texan to continue.

"Look, the other boys and I realize that no matter how much effort everyone here has made to do their part – others more, others less..." Engie coughs, narrowing his eyes at some mercenaries who felt the pinprick of his words "... We are not managin’ the work with the maintenance of the building." 

A momentary silence fell over the room with that statement coming from the Engineer, which was more like a rant that everyone there was waiting for someone to hear. The tapping of Engineer's fingers on the yellow helmet on his lap accompanied the heartbeat of men there, in anticipation of how Miss Pauling would react to the information- “It shouldn't have sounded like a cry for help”, they thought, sweating coldly.

"You mean to tell me that you all are not able to clean the base?" Ouch. It wasn't her intention to sound that way, but it was inevitable to notice that the nine men were scratching their necks or dodging their gazes, embarrassed by the obvious statement.

-Uh... precisely, Fräulein. I say zis as a profissional, but I have been observing zat our commitment has declined dangerously." The doctor cleared his throat as he rubbed an invisible stain from his glasses, concentrating on the next words: "As long as zere are missions, ve will try to complete successfully- but I believe zat the great demand for service has been depleting our stamina even to perform routine chores and the mess has also hindered our main job."

Miss Pauling's eyes scanned the room, trying to see if the mess in that building was real and troubling. It wasn't the most perfect thing to see, with some cobwebs decorating the corners of the ceiling or stains on the floor that had lightened over time- however, nothing there seemed to indicate complete caos.

"Medic, maybe I'm wrong... but everything seems normal to me." she says with a slack smile and shrugs. Seriously, nothing referred to mess or dirt, at least in the meeting room. However, she was met with head shakes and "tsk" sounds from the boys, making her smile wither with the negative reaction.

"Ooooh, ya didn't see anything! Should I show ya the bathroom?" Demoman asks looking at Pauling, but his teammates were the owners of the answer "Right. I think a tour will change your mind." Demoman jumps up from his chair, a mischievous smile gracing his tired face. Maybe she'll realize what they mean along the way…

A little reluctantly, Miss Pauling makes her way alongside Demo, watching each room with the sharp eyes of a butler, looking for the slightest dust or dirt. And well... She found much more than dust. Dusty corridors, along with freshly washed blood stains and wet footprints. Even the silhouette of an enemy Spy was left on the wall after an explosion, decorating that place as if it were the most valuable painting of the bloody Kickasso.

"Heheh! I did it." says the Scotsman pointing to the wall, puffing out his proud chest until Pauling gives him a scolding look.

The smell of gunpowder, moisture, and metal rushed into her nostrils with force. But the unpleasant smell that came right ahead was worse. Not worse – MORTAL.

Such an odor could only come from the communal bathroom, a place where the nine men shared the space to perform personal hygiene. Hygiene was the word that was missing there. They both stopped in front of the door, holding their breath but their noses were flooded by the indescribable smelling air- it was dark, the stuffy air passed through her face... and for a second she swore to see something walking on the floor.

Miss Pauling had to restrain herself from flipping the light switch, on the advice of the Demoman himself "You're not prepared to see that, lass." No being on the face of the Earth was. It was hard for her to admit it – and she didn't like it at all – but these men needed some extra help. Urgently.

"Ahem – I see that things are not so good. I also realize that keeping the building in this state for a week without someone taking care of it is unacceptable." She announces it to everyone, returning to the meeting room a little dizzy.

"Could any of us stay here and take responsibility for the cleanup?" Spy gives his guess, puffing on one of his expensive cigarettes.

"And who qualifies to clean up all this crap in a week? Alone?" Scout mocks, making the Frenchman roll his eyes hard. It was easy to ask something so crazy to the same guys who were practically begging for a chlorine and phosphorus bath in that inhospitable bathroom.

"Out of the question. You must all attend the mission- no Soldier, you won't clean anything. Lower your hand. You too Pyro- Everyone. Will. Go." Pauling punctuates her final words with the tapping of his sharp pencil on the clipboard. The meaning of the team was "everyone being there together with a purpose" and this circumstance would be no different.

"Miss Pauling, call someone to clean then." Heavy's towering voice resonates with the simple response. Everyone's mental gears began to turn until they agreed with the Russian's idea.

"Hoho! Does that mean we're hirin’ a cute maid?" Needless to say, how audible was the sigh of annoyance from everyone when they heard the boy who wiggled his eyebrows at the Sniper, who growled like an angry dingo at the pokes on his arm.

"Someone who comes to leave our dear lair spotless. That's a great idea, Heavy! But it can't be just anyone-" Soldier loudly proclaims, resting his hand on the shoulders of Heavy who, even uncomfortable, agrees with his colleague "- a maid of American blood must occupy such a position!"

Between snorts and grumblings, it was thought that it was necessary to hire someone who met all the requirements to be there, cleaning without causing problems – especially for the Administrator or Miss Pauling – and be as efficient as the nine mercenaries hired by Mann Co.

"A janitor would come in handy. Takin’ care of this place that looks more like a school full of bloody schoolgirls, seems like a good thing." Sniper breaks his precious silence with grumpy grumbling while there was a Soldier yelling "American maid" right in his ear.

"A janitor..." Miss Pauling whispers reflecting on the request, writing down the conversation in a corner of the sheet on her clipboard "All right. I will take a report on today's meeting and pass on to the Administrator what was discussed about the cleaning and maintenance of the base between us. I will bring news without fail, if the request is accepted." at least Pauling hoped she would be heard.

This sounded like a siren announcing a "possible and distant" victory. A little bit of encouragement, hope even filled the room for being heard. They had to prepare for the long trip that this one week would have in store... and who knows the arrival of a new teammate.

(THAT'S IT GUYS!! THE FIRST PART OF THE FIC IS OUT!! I hope you have fun reading it, because I loved writing each of the characters and also illustrating some parts of the story- Oh, english is not my first language, so if there are any mistakes, I apologize. Stay tuned for chapter two hohoho)

[honey-minded-hivemind]

For the main Smilodon AU, where Reader is a teen (younger or older or middle, it doesn't matter, I think), I've imagined that the way Reader finds out about being used is once they've already joined the X-Men...

One night they listen in on a conversation happening in a few rooms down, and go to investigate when they hear their name. They'd only been up to get some water, and it's a bit dark out already. And they hide behind the door, hearing a conversation between the adults, about themself... How they finally have Reader on their team, so what now? And it seems... they all have different ideas on what to do. While Xavier seems to have some good things to say, he's still speaking if taking precautions, of being prepared if something goes wrong... Storm just wants everyone to be safe... Beast is curious about their mutation... and Wolverine... he doesn't like them. At all. And it seems the others might not, either, when they don't defend them...

Reader backs away from the door, then runs off. They only took their shoes, the clothes on their back, and the money they've earned, booking it through the halls and towards the front doors. No one is in sight. No one can stop them. And hopefully, no one does. These people... they could do anything to them. Could manipulate their mind or electrocute or simply stab or blast them. They don't feel safe, and they want out. So put they go, doing their best to stay out of sight of the windows and only appear to be walking, at least until they're out the front gates and in the woods beyond the road...

Xavier senses Reader leaving, and realizes that while he and the others were caught up in talking (trying to convince Logan to give Reader a chance, and trying to think of what to do should Reader become volatile like their father), Reader heard some of what they said. He can feel their thoughts spiraling, can hear their mind shrieking and crying and raging, and tells the others what happened. They decide since Wolverine upset them (and because he can track them) that he should go after them to reconcile, or fight, if need be. And he goes, albeit grumbling...

Reader, the moment they're past the gates, can hear Logan coming after them, and makes a run for the woods. In the woods, it's dark, it's thorny, and they can smell all sorts of creatures and plants and scents... Except there's something else... Something they don't recognize... They hear Logan enter the woods and they're back to running-

And then there's a roar, and there's a noise of something hitting something, claws going through wood and rock and dirt. Some giant guy showed up, and is fighting Logan... Reader leaves, hoping not to get hurt, not wanting to die by either man's hand... But when they hear the pained growls of their old... guardian... they decide to what they think is right, going back to try and help him. What they find is their mentor crashed into the ground, bleeding a little from gashes in his arms, and Reader decides to pounce on the large, furry thing from behind. They distract it for a minute, clawing and hissing, until they're grabbed by the back of their jacket and torn off... And there they are, hanging in the claws of someone they've only heard about from the others, some jerk named Sabretooth...

Logan, who's trying to get up, just saw Reader attack his mortal enemy. It wasn't because they wanted to kill or harm Logan themself, no. He can smell the scent of protection on them, the smell of fear and adrenaline and safe... So, the kid isn't actually bad... And he might be the reason they die... He gets up, he and Sabretooth start fighting again, and Reader ends up dropped somewhere in the fray. Then Logan goes down, a dart in his shoulder or thigh, and Reader is trying to still protect him... Something hits them, sharp, and then they're on their back, staring up at the sky and snow, and slowly losing consciousness...

Sabretooth ends up taking (kidnapping) both Logan and Reader. He wants to reunite with his brother, and see if he can't drag the Logan he remembers out, and Reader smells suspiciously like both of them, so... it's possible this is a pup or cub of one of them... And he certainly doesn't abandon family, now, does he?

Logan wakes up a bit later, drugged out of his mind and sleepily trying to protect Reader, who's deep asleep. He got them both in this mess, by scaring Reader off... now he has to protect them, and keep them safe from whatever his enemy has in store for them...

(It's nothing too bad; it's not torture, but Sabretooth also isn't about to let Logan or Reader run off, not when he has them both in his claws...)

(I want to right this out in its own scenario, but this is the rough draft version...)

(If you have questions for this au, please feel free to ask them!)

[atsadi-shenanigans]

FSBE 7 - The Power of God and Anime

Y'all make friends.

On AO3.

You kinda jinxed it, huh? Y’all’re threading carefully down a scraggy, narrow trail—eying the branches overhead that move a little too much like they’re trying to grab you—when Wyll makes a sound. He’s at the front, torch in hand. Beside him, Scratch stands stiff-legged with his fur all on end. Sweetums, who’d been tagging along behind, bolts back for the safety of your legs.

Word filters back along the line: torches. Voices. There’s people up there. Or possibly “people” as in muppets with shadow hands up their asses. Or cultists.

You got half a mind to suggest staying quiet and going around. But Wyll looks unsettled when he cranes around in your direction. Says, “The Emerald Grove tieflings.”

Oh. Fuck. They went this way, you vaguely remember. They was talking about taking a road that led through here.

“Is this really our problem?” Shadowheart says.

You try not to side-eye her. Try not to read in what you know about her now.

Fail both.

“What if we just look?” you say. “If they’re assholes or them cult fuckers, we slink off.”

Astarion rolls his eyes but draws both his knives. So there’s that, at least.

“If those istik cannot defend themselves, let them perish,” Lae’zel says. Earns her a begrudging nod from Shadowheart. Great. They’re bonding over being edgelord lesbians. Fan-fucking-tastic.

“The curse grows stronger with everything it takes,” Halsin says. “It would be wise to check.”

“That,” you say. Send him “thank you” eyes.

Which predictably annoys both edgelord lesbians, as they like tactics that fuck over an enemy (which, they’re not wrong, but in this case?).

It ain’t goblins. It’s a group of humans (or near enough) carrying torches, all lightly armored and armed. Except for the one writhing around on the ground.

“Yanos!” one of the women says.

“Fuck him!” snaps another. “The shadows have him. We need to go!”

And shadows do have him. It’s hard to see the guy in the magic darkness; just the hint of a silhouette twisting and flailing. Bending wrong.

“Oh lord,” you say, too quiet for anybody to hear. If you was on Earth, anyway. Because Yanos the Shadowman snaps up, hollowed face pointed at the cluster of trees y’all crouch behind. He raises an arm—moving wrong, wrong—and screams in your direction.

“Fantastically done, darling,” Astarion says before shadows lift out of the gloom and come alive.

Things go to shit shockingly fast. Everybody explodes into movement. Light flashes. A thunderclap shockwave blasts through your ribcage. Karlach roars and lights on fucking fire to chop a shadow monster in half. Vertically.

You stay out of the way.

All the bombs and potions you was hoarding got swept off or stolen down in the Underdark. You got your supply of dirt potions, a cache of health potions, a cursed dagger, and some rations. You briefly got another whacking stick—courtesy of more dead duergar—but lost that one in a lava lake a while back.

It works pretty well, staying on the fringes. Plastering yourself flat against a tree and staying (relatively) small and quiet.

Until it don’t. Until Yanos Shadowman himself lurches outta the dark like a frothing zombie, reaching for you.

You catch a flash of his face: tendrils of shadow bursting out around his eyes, from his nostrils, from his gums like worms in the dirt after a hard rain. The skin of his hands splits open as more shadows spill out of him. And you know, on a cellular level, that if he touches you, you’re next.

A sound tears outta you. Then you’re running. Past Wyll and Karlach tag teaming…is that a fucking grim reaper? Past Shadowheart as she shouts with her new mace and blasts another shadow in the face with a bolt of pale light.

Somewhere safe, somewhere safe, where’s Astarion?!

Them people y’all found are busy—trying not to get bit or infected or taken by other shadows. And Yanos howls after you. A rabid dog. A feral thing.

Weapon! You need a weapon! Not the knife, too short, too close—

A woman drops at your feet. Damn near trips you. Her front is ripped clean open, white fingers of broken ribs jutting out, through her skin, the gaping cavity that used to house her guts—

Nope. Not looking. Not thinking. Not today, Satan.

But she drops a spear. One that glows yellow. Like light. Light that keeps monsters away.

You don’t actually think. Just scoop it up. Whirl around. A hum sweeps through your palms, winds up your forearms like that time you accidentally stuck your finger into an electrical outlet. You taste…caramel corn?

Then Yanos is on you, and even those trace thoughts vanish. Everything is cold. Calm. His body rushes you.

The spear is long. The handle solid. His middle is wide. Squishy. Leather vest, thin enough. A good target.

So you jab. The point hits. Resists the leather for a second, but his own momentum pushes him forward and it punctures. Slides into flesh. Scrapes over bone.

He’s still coming. That’s physics. You got more mass than he does, probably, but he’s got movement. Kinetic force. Can’t absorb all that energy barreling at you.

The ground can.

No thoughts. No reason. No emotion.

Just cool observations as you shove down. Wedge the back of the spear into the ground and brace your body against it.

The physics of Faerun seem to hold true to Earth ones. Yanos’ mass channels into the lodged weapon. The shaft bows, but the earth takes up all the slack and throws it back through the wood and into the point of the spear.

In less of a second, Yanos hits, sticks himself, and then his feet leave the ground as he impales fully through into the air.

His dead mouth falls open. Eyeballs melt to ooze as you watch (shouldn’t watch, shouldn’t look at the face, the face increases trauma he’s an it not a he). Then the spear flashes bright. Like lightning. And when you blink again, the lights gone out.

Yanos, the former man, hangs off the spear. Slack. Dripping. Heavy.

You let it fall.

Your chest hurts. Your lungs hurt. You can’t feel your hands or your feet or your face. Just the screaming need to breathe. To claw enough oxygen into your convulsing lungs the edges of your vision stop going gray.

“Still alive down there?”

Karlach. A couple feet up the slope (where even are you), peering down in concern.

The fight is over. A quick head count, and they’re all here, plus extras. And there. Silver hair. Astarion wiping down his knives as he makes his way over to you, stepping daintily over bodies. He looks to the dead man you stabbed. Hums softly.

“Well done, darling,” he says. Then steps in close. Hooks a finger under your chin and turns your face this way and that, studying you. “And you still have your nose.”

Right. That…yeah.

You stand there and shake. Astarion lights another torch and holds it out for you. But your hands is still meat paws, and you fumble it a few times before he frowns.

You’re probably in shock. Which is almost funny? It’s bullshit, is what it is. You killed people here. Freaked out about it, yeah, but not like this. Nothing like this. Not since…

Yanos the Former has a dark beard, pointed at the end. Dark hair pulled into a half tail.

He must have had kind, brown eyes before they oozed out as sludge.

Like Gandrel.

Oh god.

“Darling?” Astarion says.

You’re shaking hard now. Almost seizing. Teeth chattering so hard you almost bite your tongue when you manage, “N-need-d t-to res-st.”

Astarion’s gaze goes sharp. Worried. Then he twists around. “Cleric! Get over here!”

[nanaminsonyfans]

I saw your ask for requests and i desperately want Billy butcher content so I tried to think of something lol. I’m more sure if you like writing series or one shots or whatever but take from this what you want?

The reader has unknowingly caught Billy butchers eye after being at many of the same functions he’s been at for work. Reader also has a hatred of the unjust world of supes and independently has been gathering useful intel but not entirely sure how to use it. Butcher gets suspicious of reader and begins to keep tabs on her, eventually approaching her and perhaps threatening to know what she’s up to/what she’s using the intel for (however you want to spin that). The boys decide she’s a risk and take her back to their hideout where Billy butcher and reader eventually form a bond, bonding over least favorite supes and reader getting teased

Perhaps fragile, innocent (not extreme in the cringe sense) reader. Include some blushing haha

Not the best request ever I’m still tryna get my imagination back.. but would love romance and eventual smut

a/n; this is sorta just a starter? if theres more interest i'll def try a series.

warnings; swearings that's about it.

—

Great Minds

You despised Supes. They were awful people, you learnt it the hard way when you say your mother be killed by one. It was an "accident" Vought said. It was to save others. Homelander blasted through five people to get to the criminal, people sliced in half by his laser beams. That's when you stopped believing that they were "heroes". Sure they were super, but if the face of the supes was a piece of shit, they all probably were.

Now you weren't physically strong, you mentally you were. You were able to gather intel on an arrangement of supes, mostly for people who wanted to get back at them so it was easy to blackmail or sue. You knew the deep dark underbelly of it all. You went to some functions disguised as a reporter, however you always got the sense you were being watched. Not just by supes, but something else, something that felt darker....

One night, you came home from the store, something felt off though. Being in New York where practically everyone was a target for hate, you were armed. You reached into your bag and pulled out a small revolver as you walked into your apartment. You aimed it at the corner where you saw two figures, then there was a click of the lamp being turned on. There was a man in a trench coat and a younger guy who looked terrified at you pointing the gun. "I-I didnt wanna break in he dragged me-!" He says and held up his hands.

"Who the fuck are you two and what the fuck do you want and WHY the FUCK are you in my house!?" You yell pointing the gun between the two. "Calm down luv. Just here to talk." The older man says standing up slowly and throwing a file on the coffee table. "You and I got some of the same interests." He hums, relaxed snd obviously not threatened by you at all. "Been noticin' ya, which ain't good if you want to be unnoticed by supes." "The fuck you know about me." You say lowering your gun slowly. "I know you blackmail them and gather shit. We could use some of your intelligence." he says. You raise an eyebrow. "Intelligence? For what?" He stepped closer, looking down at you. "Against the supes. see you and me want the same thing, to get that cunt Homelander." You snorted slightly at him saying "cunt".

"Yeah? Like you can do that. Some British guy is gonna kill america's sweetheart superhero. Sure. And whats your little mouse friend gonna do?" You ask taking off your coat, no longer feeling threatened. "Mouse...?" The boy says with a frown. "Listen luv, aint like you got a choice." "Excuse me?" "I have a team. It's better for you to join us. We can take down Homelander, and all supes." "Who even are you?" "Billy Butcher." Billy says with a smirk. It all clicked. You've heard of this psycho, crazy about killing supes. You took a deep breath. "Fine. But only because that kid looks way on over his fucking head." "Good choice luv."

[dragonnarrative-writes]

WIP Wednesday

I have so many ideas for this OC, but none are cooperating with me.

Meet Bricks!

Simon notices, immediately, when the American girl enters the bar. First of all, she’s loud. Announces her arrival with a blast of laughter that rings through the room, for all that she’s surrounded by a group of rowdy people. Secondly, she’s dark-skinned, voluptuous, and seems to want everyone to know it. She’s dressed for the clubs more than a side street bar. Two guys she’s arrived with are obviously vying for her attention, but she floats over to one of the active pool tables and immediately starts flirting for the next game. Simon’s not immune to a soft woman with miles of leg, so he can’t blame any of them for welcoming her and her posse.

“Damn,” Kyle mutters, giving her an appreciative once over from his seat.

“What?” Johnny asks, looking over his shoulder like a fucking muppet. “Oh, damn.”

Price arches an eyebrow at Simon. “That good?” When he gets a nod, he turns to look. “…Damn.”

She has to know that everyone at the bar is looking at her, but she doesn’t seem to care. Just talks and laughs, flirts with the men and women around her like breathing. Simon never loses awareness of her. She’s in his sight line. But eventually, he’s integrated her into his awareness of the space. She’s a bright spot, but not rowdy enough to cause issues.

And then she passes their table on the way to the bathroom with her friends. She meets Simon’s eyes, gives him a quick up and down look, then winks with a little smirk as she disappears from view.

“What about you, LT?” Johnny’s voice breaks in.

Simon replays the conversation in his mind for a moment. Recruit performance. Lance Corporal Bennett. “Don’t much care for him. ‘S cocky and mean.”

“Good scores,” Kyle points out.

“He talks shit about the others,” Simon counters. “Good scores don’t mean shit if no one wants to work with him. We’ll see how he does with coordinated drills.”

“Now, Bakshi,” Price says, “he’s got promise. Scores are decent, and I can’t find a single person to say anything bad about him. Except Bennett.”

Johnny snorts. “Except Bennet.”

Simon lets the conversation fade away again. The pool tables are getting a bit rowdy without the American and her girl friends to dilute the testosterone. A couple of the boys over there are from the base, and they keep throwing glances over to the 141s table, and a table of other officers across the room. They’re keeping things cool. For now.

Just as chests are starting to puff enough that even Johnny and Kyle are paying attention, the girls reappear and diffuse the tension. The American says something that knocks the wind out of one boy’s sails and laughs as she takes his pool stick. She buzzes a kiss against his cheek, then playfully shoves another guy to rack. Just like that, the energy settles.

Simon lets himself be coaxed back into the discussion, especially now that the topics have strayed away from work. He can’t turn the hyper-vigilance off, but he likes going to the bar with his team. Likes talking books and TV shows with Price and mocking Johnny’s taste. He likes listening to Kyle talk music. He’s entering an artist’s name into his notes app, which is why he doesn’t notice the American strutting over until she’s right between Johnny and Kyle.

“Hey guys,” she says with a grin, leaning onto the table. “I thought about asking if any of you have a light, but my friends are leaving to get laid and the pool boys are boring. Can I hang out here until they lose interest? I’ll buy you a round.”

Price snorts into his whiskey. “They stop buying you drinks, then?”

“All they want to buy is drinks,” she laments, fluttering her eyelashes and pouting. “I’ve had three, but they’re not getting any more interesting. I’d rather have some fries and sit and chat.”

“Pull up a chair, bonnie lass,” Johnny says, which predictably gets the girl cooing over his accent.

She introduces herself as Ericka, an American student working on her Masters. She talks with her whole body, and doesn’t seem to know how to have a conversation without flirting. She hates the gym. She likes riding horseback, and winks at Simon when she mentions it. She “kind of pegged you guys as military. It’s the muscles.” She prefers whiskey over scotch, and her friends were supposed to take her clubbing tonight.

“But Tracy’s boyfriend hates going dancing, and she’s got a spine of a jellyfish,” she says, rolling her eyes. She’s waving a fry for emphasis. “So of course, we ended up here after I dressed up-up. Trust me, I know this is not a casual night at the pub type dress. I didn’t get the change of plans until the uber dropped us off out front. But I guess it turned out alright. I have no idea what kind of music I’d have been subjected to. Devon has shit taste, so I probably dodged a bullet.”

Even with as much as she’s batting her lashes and sending him interested glances, Ericka doesn’t try to make Simon talk more. With the rest of the table, she’s an excellent conversationalist. As he scans the bar again, he listens to her pick up the music topic with Kyle, drawing Price into a light hearted disagreement. Turns to Johnny with a pout for a tiebreaker. Which somehow gets them all into discussion of the best rock and roll genres. She talks, she listens, she engages. It’s refreshing. Most of the Americans they have to deal with are pushy and self-important officers and mercenaries.

Simon’s not above admitting that it helps that she’s beautiful.

After a couple of hours, it’s nearing 1am. Right on schedule, Kyle yawns. “Sorry, sorry. Not a night owl like some.”

“’S late,” Price admits. “Should probably head out. You have a ride home, Ericka?”

“Yeah, I’ll call a car,” she says, easily. “Thanks for hanging out with me, I’ll have to come back some time.”

“If we’re in town, we’re here,” Johnny says, grinning.

Outside, Erikca’s car gets delayed a couple of times, so Simon sends the boys ahead home and stays to wait with her. Price claps him on the shoulder and Johnny gives him an exaggerated wink. Ericka rolls her eyes and shoos them away when their car arrives.

“So,” she says, when it’s just the two of them. “Was I too subtle before, or are you interested in coming back to my place?”

“Barely spoke to you all night,” Simon points out.

“Come over and you can tell me about your tattoos,” she purrs. Then she smirks. “Or not. Up to you. But I figured I’d shoot my shot.”

[Super sexy sex happens here. Probably.]

Monday morning, Ghost sips a fresh brewed travel mug of tea and listens idly to Soap’s chatter on the way to one of the smaller briefing rooms. He’s looking forward to seeing Laswell, who’s on their side of the pond for a change. It’s always good for him to lay eyes on allies and confirm for himself that they’re alive.

It’s a shock, then, when he and Soap open the door to be greeted by Kate in deep discussion with Ericka.

Soap, of course, is more than happy to say what they’re both thinking. “What the fuck?”

When Ericka looks up and sees them, she grins. “Hey there, boys.”

Price and Gaz, when they arrive, are similarly gobsmacked. Once everyone is settled Lazwell stands.

“From your faces, you’ve all met,” she says. “So I won’t beat around the bush. Say hello to your new infiltration asset. Meet Bricks.”

All of them are speechless as Ericka lays four gray USB sticks on the table. They’re all the ones Price had distributed Thursday, with instructions that the keep one on them at all times. Plus an extra one. If Simon had to guess, Gaz was the one to have a decoy on him.

“Bullshite,” Soap says, pulling an identical USB stick from his pocket. “I’ve had mine on me the whole time.”

“Decoy,” Ericka, Bricks, says. “Slide the port out, you’ll see a pink dot.”

Simon pulls his from his pocket, pushes the little slider. Faded, but present, there’s a pink spot of permanent marker. “Fuck.”

“She’s one of the best infiltration assets we have,” Kate goes on. “She’ll be joining you to get information from Jacó Barboza. We have reason to believe he’s the link between Moscow and Rio, which opens the door to Bogotá.”

[rae-pottah]

I Just Stood There.

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Rossi's daughter! reader

Y/n = your name

L/n = your last name

Warnings: she/her pronouns, shitty writing?,fluff.

Summary: after embarrassing herself in front of her crush, Y/n rants to Penelope, bad idea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Y/n's POV*

Hanging out with my dad's coworkers was fun. Except when it came to my tiny little small incy weenie crush on Dr. Spencer Reid... And I think everyone knows...

⏪⏪⏪⏪⏪

Meeting the BAU team was a blast! I had been coming by to see my dad, seeing as how we don't spend much time together anymore.

First I bumped into SSA Derek Morgan, and Tech nerd Penelope Garcia:

"He-llo, momma!" said Morgan

"Don't scare her away already hot stuff!" Penelope hit his arm "Hi honey bunches, I'm Penelope, this is Derek, who are you? Are you a newbie?"

"Haha! No, I'm Y/n, I'm here to see my father!" I laugh, they looked confused

Next, SSA Jennifer Jareau (otherwise known as JJ) and SSA Emily Prentiss

"Who's this?" JJ asks Garcia

"This is Y/n, she's here to see her father!" Garcia tells her, confused. None of them letting me speak JJ asks

"Who's her father?" With a confused face as well

"Wh-" Garcia starts to ask me a question when my Father, and Uncle Aaron walked in

"UNCLE AARON!" I ran up to him and jump hugged him

I could see my dad off to the side holding his arms open with a playful confused/hurt look on his face, looking from side to side

"No hug for dear old dad, no sirey, just here for the money" he said sarcastically to no one

"Glad you know" I joked, and gave him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek

"So I have lunch I was hoppiii-" I stuttered off as I watched a beautiful man, a genius, a fluffy haired, angelic, smart, kind man walk by me, his name

Doctor Spencer fuckin Reid

"Aaand she's gone" my dad said bringing me back to reality, now noticing everyone smiling at me, him not even noticing I'm here put his stuff down at his desk

"Wwwhat his papers are insanely good" I whispered looking at my shoes

"Well, I'd still like to know what the hell is going on?!" Morgan asks

"This is one of my daughters from my second marriage" he finishes the sentence with a kiss to my head

"Also I already knew your names, my father has prepared me well" I laughed

"Huh and I guess you know pretty boy?" Morgan asks with a smirk, still working at his desk (I'd have to meet him later) I nodded quickly with a blush

"I think she knows him more than she knows any of you, and she's actually met you guys now" my father answers, while everyone starts "oouu" -ing and laughing, I just blushed with my head down

⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩

I eventually met Spencer when everyone came to our house for a cook out, walking backward with a chair isn't a good idea when you can't see behind you.

"OUFF" hit a wall, wait... walls don't make noises

I put the chair down and turn around "OH MY GoD, Im So SorRy" my voice cracked as I spoke to the man in front of me "Are you okay?" I asked

"Haha yeah I'm fine, it was my fault anyway, I wasn't looking where I was going. You're Y/n right?" I instantly blushed

"y-yeah I am, Doctor Spencer Reid, if I'm not incorrect?"

"yes!" He smiled, absolutely beautiful. He helped me move the chair and we talked slightly, me stuttering the entire time.

⏭️⏭️⏭️⏭️⏭️

Again visiting my father at work, today was gonna be a good day.

I was getting ready to turn the corner to my fathers office when I ran into someone

"Sor- oh hi" it's like his ears were hurting, why do I have to run into you while I'm thinking about what a domesticated you would look like

"Hi, how are you?" He must have just woke up because his voice was deep as hell, and he had dark circles under his beautiful brown eyes

"-hi-" I couldn't think of anything else to say, I walked away quickly

"Hey can we go for lunch?" I asked my dad quickly

"Sorry kid, we got a case" disappointing but at least I can talk to Garcia alone (we've become good friends)

A while after they left:

I just walked straight into Garcia's office

"I SAID HI, TWICE" I said terrified

"Woah woah woah, what are we flipping out about" she looked very concerned

"I said hi twice! We bumped into each other and I said 'oh hi' and he said 'hi, how are you?' And I JUST SAID HI AGAIN?! WHY DOES HE HAVE TO REDUCE MY IQ TO 3?!"

"Wai- you mea-" I cut her off

"Spencer! Yes! Duh! Why does he have to be so hot and smart and adorable, I mean have you read his paper on quantum physics?! Only a perfect man could be that smart and THAT HOT!" I flopped on the couch in her bat cave

"Okay, baby doll, please don't be mad at me, I tried to tell you!" Only then did I look down to see the little red light being produced from the phone

"No."

"Yes." She said in a sorry voice

"Who are you on the phone with?" I asked nervously

"Oh! Actually hotch!"

"I'm not afraid to remove your knee caps Uncle Aaron." I said dangerously

"I'll help her hide the body!" Garcia shouted

"Ha.Ha. you want the bad news or good news?"

We stayed quiet

"Okay bad news is, the entire time Garcia's been on speaker, including the time that you ranted about boy genius, also bad news I'm sitting around everyone"

I could have cried until he said

"Good news is, is he can't stop smiling"

"EA" I let out a small yelp from Garcia nudging me and the information.

"You'll have to wait till we get back to ask her out, Rossi quit death staring him, you already knew, here's your fifty"

I ran out of the room and home, soon enough a couple days later there was a knock at my apartment door

[hythlodaes]

and then came june

emile/leofard 9.2k words [read on ao3] explicit summary: modern AU. when leofard becomes friends with benefits with his university's star quarterback, he never expects to fall for him. (also ty @scionshtola for letting me borrow cori!! ♥)

Chapter One- Spring

Leofard has every reason to feel alone in this world.

He doesn't remember his parents, doesn't know what happened to them, only that he was left to grow up by himself. He used to wonder about his relatives—when other children would talk about grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and he'd think, Where are mine? Why couldn't they take care of me?

He's long grown out of those thoughts. 

At nineteen, he loses the one person that he could call family. Not related by blood, Raimille still loves him as a son, still leaves him everything she has with only one request: that he graduates college. At nineteen, he moves across the country with the car he loves with all his heart, speakers blasting Nirvana the whole way. Years in foster care have taught him never to feel sorry for himself, only to chase the freedom that he finds out here. After watching Raimille waste away with sickness, he chooses life. 

And he never feels alone. He meets Stacia at orientation, and she instantly becomes the sister he always wished he had. Over the years he meets friends in classes, at parties, at work, and it becomes a new kind of family—silly, loud, and his. 

Then, early spring of his junior year, he meets Emile. 

—

It starts with a half joke between Leofard and Stacia at two in the morning, curled up on the couch of their apartment and barely awake after marathoning their favorite movies all day. We should throw a party, Leofard murmurs into the tv flashed dark, and Stacia—his usual voice of reason—doesn't say no. 

Their apartment ends up cramped with dozens of college students the next weekend, loud and messy and the kind of thing that makes Leofard laugh until his stomach hurts. He shines under the extra attention, his body warm from alcohol, and it’s the kind of happiness that feels just real enough. 

He runs into Stacia as the front door opens again. A bunch of tall, bulky guys spill through, and Leofard may not follow their school's football team the way Stacia does, but she's dragged him to enough games that he recognizes a few of them. 

She always says she comes from a football family, and well, that includes Leofard now too. 

"God, they're huge," he comments, and he's about to turn his attention away when his gaze catches the last of them ducking under the door. He’s a little taller than the rest, and dark brown hair falls to his chin but he tucks it behind his ear, big eyes searching the room before someone claps him on the shoulder. 

The guy smiles, eyes curving into half moons, and Leofard feels the corners of his lips threaten to raise. 

Stacia shakes her head. "Leo, I swear if you try to sleep with anyone on the football team..." 

"Who said anything about that?" he asks, but this time he lets his mouth pull into a grin. "I'm just appreciating the view." 

The night drags on, the music blurs from one song into the next. Leofard feels only slightly hazy—that sluggish kind of drunk that makes the room spin a little slower. He gives into it, hearing his own laughter as a loud and distant sound in his ears. 

He finds himself in the kitchen again, a full drink in his hand. Utata sits on the counter, singing along to the music at the top of her lungs, and Leofard keeps his focus on her for a moment too long. In hindsight, it's funny that he doesn't see it coming, but Leofard turns away, knocking into the person behind him, and the entirety of his drink spills onto their shirt on impact. 

He has to tilt his head back to meet wide brown eyes, shock evident in the gaze that looks down at him. Leofard recognizes him from when he came in, but he's even cuter up close, where he can make out the freckles on his cheeks, the pout of his lips as he glances down at his shirt. 

"Shit, sorry," Leofard says, wincing at the red splotch that trails from collar to hem. 

"It's okay," the guy says quickly. His voice is softer than Leofard expected and a little hard to hear over the music. He looks up over Leofard's head and into the kitchen. "I'll just rinse this off." 

Leofard almost laughs until he realizes he wasn’t joking.

"Hate to say it, but that's not coming out, baby," he yells over the music. "Come on, I'll get you a new one." 

"You'll—" he starts, but Leofard claps him on the back as he walks past him. He leaves no room for argument, and the guy follows him to his room. The door shuts behind them, quieting the party to a dull roar in the background. It grounds Leofard for a moment, steadies him against the blurriness of the alcohol in his system as he goes to his bureau. 

“You called me baby,” the guy says, and when Leofard glances over his shoulder, he’s looking around the room, pausing at his desk to pick up one of Leofard's records. He meets his gaze. “This is your apartment.” 

“Right on both counts," he answers, and the guy smiles at him. There’s a warmth in Leofard’s chest that has nothing to do with being drunk. "What's your name?"

"Emile." "I'm Leofard." 

"I know," he says, and clears his throat. "I've heard about you." 

Leofard’s hands still. "Really?" 

"Well...I've heard about your car." 

"Even better," he says, letting his lips split into a crooked grin. He turns his attention back to the bureau. "Given the obvious, I'm not sure if I have anything that'll fit you." 

"You really don't have to, I'm sure this will wash out." 

"As much as I enjoy the mental image, do you really want to walk around in a wet shirt the rest of the night?" he challenges, just as he finds an old band tee that's always been way too big for him. When he turns around, he has to smile at the pout on Emile's lips. It doesn't last long, but he continues to stare at Leofard for a moment before his shoulders slump in defeat.

Then he takes his ruined shirt off. 

Leofard has to bite down on his tongue—he should look away. He doesn't. His eyes roam along the thick muscle of Emile's chest and up to the line of his broad shoulders, back down the bulk of his arms. Lifting his gaze, he meets Emile's, who watches him watch, something not quite discernable in his eyes before he smiles shyly—it's the tilt of his chin, the curve of his lips... 

"Baby, you're something else," Leofard breathes out, and hands him the clean shirt. 

Emile rolls his eyes before he puts it on. It stretches around him—where it hangs loose on Leofard, it clings to Emile, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “Thank you.” 

"Don't mention it," he says, and he shifts his weight between his feet, unwilling to let the moment go. "So what’s this you heard about my car?”

“Oh,” he says. “Some of the guys were talking about it on the way over—said you could hear it halfway across campus.”

Leofard raises his brows, grinning helplessly. “It’s not that loud. Shit, I thought it would be something good.”

"Like what?" 

"Like what? I've worked on that car for the last six years of my life, it's perfect. A thing of beauty."

Emile laughs, watching him for a moment longer before he asks, "Will you show it to me?”

That single question sets his mind racing. For a moment, he can see it so clearly: Emile's long legs in the passenger seat, Leofard's hand on his thigh. He'd roll the windows down, stealing glances at his loose hair blowing in the wind while the Shins play over the speakers.

He thinks he’d show Emile anything, if he asked. 

"Play your cards right," he says. "I'll even take you for a ride." 

Emile laughs again, something closer to a giggle. He must be just as drunk, but he's so cute in Leofard's shirt, his big eyes bright with amusement. “You're flirting with me.”

“Well, you’re the one wearing my shirt.”

“You spilled your drink on mine!”

Leofard grins. “And I almost wish I did it on purpose.” 

A blush colors Emile’s cheeks as he turns his head away. “I wouldn’t say no,” he murmurs, and when he looks back, he doesn’t hide the way his eyes cast down Leofard’s body and back up to meet his gaze. He clears his throat. “You know—to a ride.” 

Leofard swallows hard. Everything in him says to move closer, to reach out, to touch him, but he holds himself back. “Come on, let's get another drink.” 

The sound of the party passes over them as Emile follows him out of his room. They walk down the hall together, but as soon as Leofard makes it to the kitchen, someone wraps an arm around his neck and yells into his ear. Leofard makes out half of the words, but as he looks behind him, it seems that Emile is similarly lost in the crowd. 

The stab of disappointment lasts longer than he expects it to. 

The night grows weary, the music still plays. Leofard is definitely drunk but it only makes him tired. There are a few times throughout the night when Emile catches his eye across the room, and a small smile crosses his lips. It feels like something secret exists between them—something merely waiting for the right moment. 

They collide again. 

This time it’s Emile’s hand on his shoulder, holding himself steady as his body sways closer, as he leans down. Distance is a second thought when he fixes those brown eyes on Leofard, lips curving up at the edges in a shy smile.

“I thought you were going to show me your car," he says, his soft voice loud over the music, but all Leofard can focus on is the strength of his grip on his shoulder, and as he blinks at him through the blurry lights of the living room, the only thought on his mind is touch him. 

This time he doesn't hold back.

He reaches out to wrap his arm around Emile's waist, hand grazing along his own shirt clinging to his body. He bites down on a grin at the way Emile shifts into his touch, the way his eyes widen when Leofard inches his fingertips beneath the hem, teasing at his warm skin. With their faces this close, Leofard just has to tilt his chin towards him to be heard, keeping his voice deep, quiet. “All you have to do is ask, baby.” 

“Please?” Emile murmurs against his ear, and Leofard closes his eyes for a moment. That single word sets the room spinning, keeping in time with the way his heart pounds in his chest. He turns his head towards him, noses brushing for a moment, breath ghosting against each other's lips, and he swallows hard as he pulls away. 

“Come on.” Fresh air sounds like a good idea. 

He turns his gaze to the door, and Emile is a step behind him as they head outside. There's a few people smoking on the front steps, but in the fuzzy dark they hardly pay Emile and Leofard any mind as they slip around the corner. The streetlights barely reach them here, washing the yard in gray light while everything sits muted and quiet. Only the distant sound of music from the house can be heard, a beat that sinks under the surface of the night.

It's cold, but Emile's body is warm as he crowds him against the side of the house, the excuse of seeing his car all but forgotten. Leofard touches the hem of his shirt again as Emile's head bends towards his, and there's a certain sway to them both, something hazy but desperate, lingering at the boundary line between them. 

Leofard crosses first, reaching up to wrap his arms around Emile's shoulders and pull him down into his space, where he meets his mouth with his own. Emile tastes like sugary punch, and he kisses him softly until he parts his lips. Leofard gasps against him, tangling his fingers in his hair as he deepens the kiss, a sound caught in the back of his throat as Emile's hands skim down his back and pull his body against his.

It's the right kind of messy—lacking just enough control to satisfy that desire in his chest. It says I need you without holding back, and Leofard hates how much he wants that from a stranger familiar enough to give it to him. 

He pushes further, hands seeking the touch of his skin beneath his shirt, and he moans when Emile slots his thigh between his, as a rhythm begins to build, heavy breaths warming the air between them, and—

"Hey, Emile, are you out here?" comes a voice from the dark.

They break apart. Leofard doesn't recognize whoever calls out towards them, but he keeps his eyes closed as he catches his breath. Emile’s touch shifts to his waist as he leans back in, his voice just above a whisper. "That's my ride home." 

Leofard cracks his eyes open. "You're kidding." 

“I wish I was.”

He has the thought to offer to take Emile back himself, but he's too drunk to drive. His next thought is to offer to let him stay the night, but he dismisses it the second it comes to mind. The thought of Emile taking his hands off of him is unbearable in this state, but he can't think of another way out. 

“Okay, Cinderella,” he relents, and he can see the stretch of Emile’s smile even in the dark. "This was fun."

"It was," he agrees, and for a moment Leofard thinks he's going to kiss him again, but he just shakes his head. "Goodnight." 

Leofard watches him walk back towards the lights of the driveway, where the silhouettes of his friends wait for him. Leofard just stares, his head in a daze as he blinks into the night. Emile opens the door to the passenger side of an old jeep, throwing one last look over his shoulder before he gets in. 

Headlights pass over the yard and then disappear down the street. Leofard tilts his head back against the house, willing his body to calm down before he goes back inside, where the party slows to a stop. Stacia raises a brow when they meet in the kitchen, but he merely shrugs a shoulder at her despite the disappointment in his chest. 

When he finally makes it back to his room, he has to laugh at Emile's stained shirt left on his bed. Cinderella indeed. He tosses it into his closet and crawls under the blankets. The room still spins even when he closes his eyes, but he thinks about the warmth of Emile’s body along his, the press of his lips, and what could’ve happened if they had a little more time. 

He lets his hand drift down his stomach—an echo of Emile's touch—but almost isn’t quite enough. 

—

It doesn’t stay on his mind for long. 

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t keep an eye out for Emile on campus—he’d be hard to miss, anyway—but a week goes by, then another, and Leofard lets go of the idea of running into him again. He never mentions it to Stacia, who would only make fun of him for it anyway, he merely chalks it up as a missed opportunity, something that wasn't meant to be. 

Where he's content to let it stay, until a few weeks later. 

Utata invites him and Stacia over on a Friday night. She says she's throwing a small party, but they all know better. She's one of his only friends that lives with her family off campus, which means whenever her parents are out of town, they have the whole house to themselves. 

Leofard walks over with Stacia—they meant to show up early but they're both perpetually late, and the party is in full swing by the time they get there. Cars line the street and the yard, and inside the lights are low, skimming over the crowd in a blue haze. It smells like smoke and like someone spilled punch, which makes him think of a stained shirt, and—

"I'm going to grab a drink," he yells over the music, and Stacia nods at him before she disappears into the packed living room. 

He navigates through the crowded hall, and it’s funny how everyone feels a little familiar at this point, strangers faces that he can pick out from classes over the years, from this same party he's been to time and again. It's always the same and yet they keep doing this, keep repeating it because it's the smallest break from the stress of school, from the stress of figuring out what they're supposed to be doing with their lives.

At the end of the hall, he runs into Cori. 

They’re bent down in front of Utata’s dog—Pickles, a fluffy collie that's currently nuzzling his face into her lap as they scratch behind his ear. Leofard’s used to seeing them at school, their similar majors all but guaranteeing shared classes over the years, but they've become something like friends at this point. 

Mostly they share the same love of cars, which—and he would never admit this to anyone, not even Stacia—Cori is far more knowledgeable of. 

"Hey," he says, and a wave of hair cascades over their shoulder when they glance up at him. 

“Hi,” they return. "No one was paying attention to Pickles." 

“It's a good thing you're here, then," he says. "I was just going to grab a drink, do you want any—“

His voice cuts off as he glances into the kitchen, where his gaze lands on the one person he thought he'd never see again. Big brown eyes curve into half moons as he smiles, loose hair curves around his chin as he talks, the light of the kitchen makes his skin golden. 

Emile is here. 

“Leo?” It’s Cori who says it, and Leofard barely registers his own name.

"Sorry, I—" he starts, but then Emile looks over, brows lifting when he notices Leofard. A small smile crosses his lips, but someone grabs him by the arm, pulling him out of the kitchen. He lifts his drink towards Leofard for a moment and then he's gone again. 

"Someone you know?" Cori asks. 

"Yeah," he answers, and he clears his throat, forcing himself to look away. "I'll catch up with him later." 

He tells himself that he'll let it happen naturally, that if they run into each other again then he'll talk to him, but it's just a few minutes later that he finds himself fumbling over an excuse to Cori before heading in the same direction that Emile left in. 

The music has definitely gotten louder, and the sound of laughter and conversation has risen to match it. The living room is a mess of people dancing and silver balloons that get thrown into the air, skimming along hands raised from the crowd. Emile shouldn't be hard to find, but Leofard doesn't see him anywhere. Maybe he left already—

"Looking for someone?" Emile asks, and Leofard turns towards the sound of his voice. There's something so bright about his brown eyes as he grins. "Hi, Leofard." 

"Hi," he returns, and he catches himself smiling back. "I didn't think I'd see you again." 

"Me neither. I owe you a shirt." 

"Don't worry about it," he says. "Looked better on you, anyway." 

Emile glances away for a moment before huffing out a laugh. "You're so..."

"What—charming?" he suggests. 

"Something like that."

"Come on, let's dance." 

He immediately shakes his head. "Oh, I'm not much of a dancer." 

"No one's judging, baby," he says. "Besides, everyone's too drunk to care." 

"Are you?"

Leofard didn't even stop for a drink. "Not yet." 

"Me neither," he says. "I have a meeting with my coach first thing in the morning, I shouldn't even be here." 

"Miss me that much?" 

Emile laughs. "Yes Leo, I've actually spent all this time looking for you." 

"Well here I am," he returns. "May as well make the most of it." 

Leofard watches him press his lips together, the way his gaze shifts over him as he considers it. His shoulders lower the slightest bit and Leofard smiles, knowing his answer already.

"Fine," Emile says. "One song."

"Before you turn into a pumpkin, yes I remember," he says, and he takes him by the hand into the crowd. 

He was right, hardly anyone even looks over at them as they begin to move to the music. The beat is fast and heavy, pulsing through him as he keeps his eyes locked on Emile. They move closer and closer and impossibly closer, and  Emile puts his hands on Leofard, long fingers pressing into his waist. 

More.

Leofard raises a brow before he turns in his embrace, moving back until he fits against Emile’s chest. Emile’s hands skim down to rest low on his belly, and Leofard covers them with his own as he rolls his hips against him. 

Blue dimmed lights, the kiss of balloons against the ceiling, he blinks in and out of a dream. There’s something possessive about Emile’s touch, and Leofard lets his head fall back against his shoulder as the music beats through him. Are both of their hearts pounding? Emile’s head lowers to his neck, and he can feel the warmth of his breath as his lips ghost against his skin—

The song ends. 

For a moment, neither of them move. 

"You know," Leofard says, turning to face him. "We have unfinished business, Cinderella." 

"What do you mean?" he asks, but his hands are still on Leofard, and they inch the slightest bit lower.

"I mean," Leofard starts. "I never showed you my car." 

Amusement makes a home in Emile's gaze. “I don’t think that’s what we were doing.” 

“No? Maybe we’ll have to try again.”

Emile glances at his lips for a long moment before meeting his eyes again. The next song starts but they don't move, still standing too close, faces angled just right—all it would take is the slightest effort to kiss. 

It's been weeks, but it's the same feeling crawling up Leofard's chest. 

"Come on," he murmurs. The music drowns out his voice but Emile's hand finds his as he leads them through the crowd. Going outside didn't work for them last time, and he knows Utata would kill him if he took Emile to her room. Still, they go upstairs where the house is emptier, the music is still loud but the sound of voices dims to the background. 

They slip into the bathroom. 

Silver blue light streams in through the window, echoing across the tiled wall. The silhouette of Emile steps ahead of him, and they stay in the dark, bodies moving closer. Emile is so big and solid and yet he yields to Leofard, lets him crowd him against the sink. It's quiet enough that Leofard can hear the hitch in his breath, the small sound in the back of his throat when Leofard puts his hands on him. 

In the dark, their lips meet. 

It's better than his drunken memory, sharper without the haze of alcohol blurring the lines between them. His heart races as they rush into it, his own desperation climbing as they continue what was cut short. He kisses Emile's jaw, lips brushing along warm skin as he works down to his neck, and he has to hold back a grin as Emile's hands bunch at his shirt, pulling him closer. 

"Isn't this," Emile breathes out, "a bit of a risk?" 

"Maybe," Leofard returns, but he lets his hand skim down to Emile's jeans, tugging at the waistband. "I can stop if you want, baby." 

Emile pushes his hips into his touch. “Keep going.” 

Leofard bites down on another grin before he presses his mouth to his shoulder, hand reaching lower to undo the button of his jeans. Heat surges through him at the sound of Emile's shaky breath, at the crack of his voice loosening into a moan as Leofard finally touches him. 

It’s like the rest of the room disappears. Leofard pulls back enough to watch his face, to see his brows push together, his lips part, the way his eyes shut as his head tips back. He does not hide his pleasure, and in the ghost of the moonlight, Leofard is transfixed. 

"Wait," Emile murmurs, and Leofard looks up in question when he puts a hand on his wrist to stop him. "I want to—with you." 

Leofard is about to ask what he means when he reaches over to tug at Leofard's jeans, a small smile on his lips as he looks up to meet his gaze. His hair is a mess, lips still parted, his big eyes wide as he watches him—Leofard doesn't stand a chance. 

He's already close, and he groans openly as Emile takes them both in hand. Somehow they find each other's lips again, and they kiss as their hips work together, the sound of the party all but gone as they pant into each other’s mouths. For a moment, all that matters is the rush of warmth through his body, building with each stroke until his breath catches in his throat.

They’re still kissing when they come. 

Leofard tilts his head back, eyes squeezed shut until the feeling begins to fade. The world comes back to him in pieces: the distant sound of music playing, Emile's hand steady on his hip, the room shifting into focus when he opens his eyes again. 

He catches Emile's gaze, and they both laugh.  

"Utata would actually kill me if she knew."

Emile shakes his head. "I won’t say a word." 

And then it's just the two of them in a dark bathroom. They clean up, taking turns washing their hands and fixing their hair and clothes. Leofard almost wants to put the lights on just to see the flush of Emile's skin, but once they're both ready, they slip back into the empty hallway, where a rare question leaves Leofard's mouth: “What if I asked for your number?”

Emile blinks at him for a moment. “Oh, I don't really date. It's kind of hard with my schedule, and I don't want to commit to anything if I'm not sure about it—not that I don't like you! I just don't know if it would be a good idea, or if I'm even in a place to figure that out..." 

His voice trails off and his brows push together as he watches Leofard for a reaction. 

Leofard laughs. 

"Relax baby, I'm not exactly boyfriend material either," he says. "I just wanted to hook up again." 

"Oh," Emile says, and he begins to laugh as well. "Sorry." 

"It's okay," he returns. "We can leave it like this, too." 

Emile bites his lip. "No—no, I'd like to see you again." 

"Yeah?" He fishes his phone from his pocket and opens his list of contacts before handing it over. He watches the way the light flashes against Emile's face as he enters his number. It makes his freckles stand out, and it's hard not to stare at the way they cross over his nose. He clears his throat. “I don’t date either, you know.” 

“Okay,” Emile says, and he lets their hands brush when he gives him his phone back. “So no expectations?”

“No expectations," he confirms. "We can just be friends."

Emile smiles. “Just friends.”

—

If Leofard knew, in that moment, that Emile was in love with someone else, he probably still would've gone for it. 

If he knew how easily his own heart could break, how this conversation would be the one he'd come to regret—

Well. 

Maybe that would've made him pause.

—

He sleeps in too late the night day, the sun bright behind his blinds and warming him even as cool air seeps in through the cracked open window. His blanket is in his fist, curled up beneath his chin as he takes in a deep breath and stretches his body out for a moment before relaxing back into his pillow.

He gives himself a few more minutes; it’s been a while since he's felt this good. 

It's noon by the time he gets up, and he shuffles into the kitchen with his blanket still wrapped around him. Stacia's at the table with a steaming cup of coffee and an open book, but she stares blankly at the space in front of her. It takes a moment for her to look up at him, and the looming afternoon light only highlights the dark circles under her eyes. 

“You good?” he asks. 

“Hungover,” she returns. “You?”

He bites his lip for a moment as he recalls last night, the phantom memory of Emile's hands on him, the new phone number in his contact list. “Just tired.” 

It’s a testament to her hangover that she doesn’t notice the tone of his voice—light and entirely too pleased with himself—but he leaves her to her coffee while he makes breakfast. Though he is prone to burning most of the food he cooks, he is more than capable of eggs and toast, and he pours himself a cup of coffee to sip at while he works. 

Sometimes it's like this: bare feet on the cool kitchen tiles, warm sunlight on his skin, the smell of coffee in the air—moments of the smallest, most simple happiness can happen so unexpectedly. 

When he sits back down, he takes a breath and asks, “What do you know about Emile?” 

Stacia's head pops up from her book. “Jenidaut?”

“Maybe?” he says, lifting a shoulder. He doesn’t have a clue what his last name is. Through a mouthful of toast, he says, “He’s on the football team.” 

“Yeah,” she answers. “He’s the best quarterback this school has ever seen. He’s a sophomore and there were already rumors of a Heisman this season.”

Leofard just blinks at her. 

“You've seen him play. Do you remember that playoff game last year?" she tries. "They put him in at the last second and he caught the game winning pass—I lost my voice from screaming."

See, he remembers actually going to the games, but as far as what happens during them? “I thought Emile was the quarterback...”

“Well not at first, but Varlineau injured his shoulder and Emile took his place,” she says. “You really weren’t paying attention, were you?”

“I pay attention,” he argues, but quickly relents at the look she gives him. “Just not that much.”

She shakes her head. “Why are you even asking about him?”

Hands on his body, head tipped back with a groan, the heat of his skin—Leofard clears his throat. "I might've hooked up with him last night." 

"What," she exclaims, and he has to laugh at the way she sits up, eyes wide, her hangover all but forgotten. "The hell, Leo, why wouldn't you start with that? Tell me everything!"

It starts in their own apartment, it starts with a stained shirt, it starts with kisses that lead nowhere in the dark. It leads to last night, to their dance, familiar enough with each other to push them over the edge. He brushes up against the details, skims past them, but he fails to hide his smile at the memory of the two of them slipping away from the rest of the party. 

He can tell that she notices, but all she says is, “So, what—are you going to call him?” 

“Probably,” he says, lifting a shoulder. The truth is, he can’t imagine passing up another opportunity to see him, but he just smiles before he takes another sip of coffee—

“We’ll see what happens.” 

—

He gives it a couple days. 

It crosses his mind while he partakes in his favorite activity—laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, music playing too loud while he ignores his homework. He can't seem to focus, mind spinning between thoughts but unable to land on one, and he turns his attention to his phone laying at the other end of his bed. 

Emile would make a better distraction. 

Still, he stares for a long moment without moving, and the second he wonders if he's nervous, he gets up and makes himself call. 

It rings a few times before the soft sound of Emile's voice comes through. "Hello?"

Leofard smiles. "What's this I hear about you being a hotshot quarterback?" 

There’s a beat of silence, and then: “Leofard?”

"Who else?"

He hears him laugh. "And you call me a hotshot."

"Am I wrong?" he says. "My roommate was just talking about some play you did last season, thought I'd see if it’s true." 

“Yes, it's true,” he says. "Is that the only reason you called?" 

"No," he returns, biting down on another smile. "Let's go for a drive, I'll pick you up." 

"In the infamous car that I still have yet to see?"

"The one and only." 

"Alright," he says. "Give me a half hour."

He tells him where his dorm is, and Leofard gives himself approximately twenty minutes to look nice before he has to leave. One glance in the mirror, he ruffles up his curls and takes off his old sweatshirt and replaces it with his favorite beat up denim jacket. 

Stacia is in the living room when he comes out of his room, and she takes one look at him and raises a brow. "Off on a date?" 

"It's not a date," he says, grabbing his keys. 

"Off to get laid?"

This time he laughs. "I'll catch you later." 

"Be safe, have fun!" she calls out after him. 

Early evening means the campus is quiet. Leofard lived in the dorms his freshman year before moving in with Stacia, so he's familiar with them. He navigates across campus to Emile's building, biting down on a grin at the sight of him waiting on the front steps. 

Emile looks unfairly good, simply in a sweatshirt and jeans, hair falling loose from his ponytail. He looks up and waves. 

Leofard is in trouble. 

"Hey, gorgeous," he says as he gets in the car. 

“Hi,” Emile says, smiling in that shy way. His attention turns to the dashboard. "So this is it."

"This is it," he says. "What do you think?"

"It's nice." 

His voice tips up at the end, almost like a question, and Leofard can't help but laugh. “You sure about that?”

“I don’t know anything about cars,” he admits. “But it's pretty." 

"I've always been obsessed," Leofard says as he pulls out of the parking lot. "I got my first job just so I could buy it."

He worked every day after school. Raimille wanted to pay for it for him but he wouldn't let her, convinced he needed to prove that he could do it himself. Part of him regrets it, if only for how much time he unknowingly lost with her. 

"I like that,” Emile murmurs, the sound of a smile in his voice as they take to the tree lined streets, headlights coasting over gravel. "You know, I never actually learned how to drive." 

“Shit, baby, I’ll teach you,” he returns. "Why not?"

"I was just busy with football, I guess," he says. "And my friends were always willing to drive me." 

"So football is your thing." 

There's a long pause, but then, "Yeah, I guess." 

Leofard's brows dip down. "Not your thing?" 

"I don't know," Emile answers, and there's a slight laugh in his voice. "I don't love it anymore. Not the way I used to, at least." 

"Stacia says you're the best quarterback this school has seen."

"Stacia?" 

"My roommate," he says. "Which is an understatement—she's more like an annoying sister. And my best friend. She's the biggest fan in the world, drags me to your games sometimes." 

"You've seen me play?" 

"Don't get too excited—it's kind of like you and my car," he explains. "I don't know anything about it, but it's pretty to look at." 

Emile laughs. "You're such a flirt."

"And you've got a nice ass," he returns. "Are we just stating the obvious?" 

"Leo."

"Yes?"

In his peripheral, Emile shakes his head. "Where are we going?" 

"I don't know," he answers. The evening begins to settle into night, deep hues of the sky bleed into the orange sunset peering through the spaces between trees. Leofard smiles to himself. "Don't you ever just want to get out for the sake of getting out?" 

"That's usually when I go for a run." 

He glances over at Emile, getting the feeling that there's far more to him, but he won't ask. "Then let's see where it takes us." 

It takes them across town for ice cream, which takes them to an empty park. It's too cold to get out, so they sit in the parking lot, music playing softly while they talk. He learns that Emile's from Maine, that his eyes light up when he talks about his sisters, and that he's a music major. He brushes it off when Leofard asks, but he sounds more excited about playing guitar than he does about football. 

He learns that Emile is a good listener, even if the spoon at his lips is distracting, and Leofard ends up talking the night away. Everything from school to work to his car. He doesn't mention Raimille, doesn't mention family at all, because he never wants his loss to define him.

And then it's sugar sweet kisses in the dark, Leofard fumbling over the console to settle in his lap. It's cramped against the roof of the car, but nothing else matters when Emile's lips are on his, when his hands roam up his thighs as his heart picks up a beat, breath growing heavy as their kisses deepen. 

Emile reaches up to tangle his fingers through his curls, pulling him that much closer, and Leofard rolls his hips against his, grinning when he moans into his mouth. At twenty two, he feels like a teenager getting off in his car again, something secretive and exciting about it. Emile kisses his neck and he can't help but let his head fall back, giving into it as it overwhelms him. 

He stays in Emile's lap afterwards, head on his shoulder, face tucked into his neck. Neither of them say anything for a moment, but Emile's hands linger on his back, smoothing over him in an absent rhythm. It doesn't last long, but it's nice. 

When Leofard pulls away, they smile at each other as he reaches up to pat Emile's hair down, and they clean up the best they can before he scrambles back into the driver's seat. 

He turns the music up as they drive back to campus, the windows cracked and leaking in cool air. Each time he looks over at Emile, he's staring out the window, and Leofard can't tell if he's okay or not, but maybe he just doesn't know how to accept something peaceful. 

He pulls up to Emile's dorm, but Emile stays a little longer, looking over at him with a soft expression.

"You should call me again."

Leofard grins. "You can count on it, baby." 

—

It begins in a bathroom of a crowded party, and what starts as intermittent, becomes frequent.

They learn each other's schedules, and between classes and Emile's workouts and Leofard's job, they find time during the week to hang out. Since Emile lives in a dorm, they always meet at Leofard's apartment—Leofard either picks him up, or Emile will walk over—and in the privacy of his room, he finds out just how much better it can get. 

That first shirtless glimpse of Emile the night they met couldn't have prepared him for the sight of him stretched out naked in his bed. Leofard can hardly look away, can never keep his hands to himself, always tracing his fingertips along warm skin. They learn the ways their bodies fit together, how to say more and now through touch, through breathless gasps, through the way their eyes meet, tangled up and not letting go until they're whispering jokes and giggling into the small space between them. 

Whenever they finish, Emile doesn't leave right away. He never stays the night, but they always end up talking for hours, about school and friends and life, video games and tv shows, or stories about Leofard's job at the pizza shop down the road. One time they watched a marathon of Saved by the Bell while they ate leftovers from the fridge, and Leofard ended up driving him back to his dorm at three in the morning, Elliott Smith playing softly to fill the tired quiet between them: I’d say you make a perfect angel in the snow. 

Leofard has had friends with benefits before, but this is the first time it feels like they're actually friends. 

It's nothing more, despite what Stacia says. She's only run into Emile a few times in the apartment, but she always raises a brow with a smirk, always teases Leofard the next day about his boyfriend coming over. 

Leofard just laughs it off. 

He's too young to be tied down, too selfish to be good at a relationship. The thought of trying to make this romantic sounds exhausting, like a performance neither of them know the steps to. What exists between them is the easiest thing in the world—he couldn’t be happier with this arrangement. 

No expectations, they’d said, and it was a good idea. 

It begins to change with this:

Early May means finals, and with one year left of school, one year left of his promise to Raimille, Leofard needs to make sure he passes these classes. The only one that gives him trouble is his English paper—he's never been good at planning or gathering sources, and he keeps putting it off until he has ten pages due the following day, and maybe two done, at most. 

It becomes a marathon to finish on time, surrounded by stacks of books and a perpetually full cup of coffee at his side, but he gets frustrated with himself again and again as he loses focus. He stares at his laptop for so long that his vision feels a little blurry, so when his phone rings, he accepts the distraction for what it is. 

"Hello?"

"Hey," says Emile on the other end of the line, voice soft.

Leofard bites his lip as he stares at the ceiling. "What's up?" 

Emile is quiet for a moment, and then: "I was wondering if you're free tonight." 

Leofard spares a glance at his laptop. "Shit, I wish I was, but I’m going to be stuck working on this paper all night." 

"That’s okay," Emile says, and there's something distant and strange about his voice, but Leofard can't tell whether or not he sounds disappointed. "I don’t want to—we don’t have to have sex.” 

Leofard frowns at the ceiling. They've never hung out for any other reason. “What do you mean?”

“I’m just…” he trails off again. “Sorry, I’ve been having a really hard day, and I don't want to be alone. My friends ask too many questions and I—I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“So I’m an option because I don’t care?” he jokes.

“God, no, that sounds terrible,” he says quickly. “You’re just…easy to be around, Leo.”

Leofard’s left with the sound of his heart beating in his chest. For a moment, his thoughts blur together and it feels like he only hears himself say, “Come over." 

Emile lets out a soft breath. "I promise I won't distract you."

Something in Leofard's stomach twists uncomfortably, and he wants to tell him that that doesn't really matter. What comes out instead is, "Do you want me to come get you?" 

"No, I'll be okay," he says, and pauses. "Thank you." 

Leofard has a hard time focusing on his paper after that, unsure of why it bothers him so much. He gets a single sentence done by the time there's a knock on the door, and Leofard gets up to answer it before he can think better of his appearance. 

He regrets it when the door opens and Emile’s expression shifts into a grin. “I didn’t know you wore glasses.”

Leofard scrunches his nose as he looks down at his outfit—an old baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. “Sorry I didn’t get dressed up for you, baby.”

“No, I like this,” he says as he steps inside. “You look comfy.” 

It's difficult not to be affected by those brown eyes steady and warm on him, the softness of his smile. “Don’t get any ideas, I will indulge them.”

Emile laughs. “I’ll be good. Look, I brought my books so I can study too.”

He holds up his bag. Leofard shakes his head. “Do you ever get tired of being so cute?”

He lets him inside, and he ignores Stacia’s grin as she glances up at them from the couch. Emile stops to greet her while Leofard goes to his room, where his laptop is still open, books spread out everywhere. He cleans off a space for Emile on the bed, who merely raises a brow before settling in beside him. 

It feels oddly intimate. They work separately but they're merely inches apart, brushing elbows and passing books and stray comments. Leofard wasn't sure he'd get anything done with Emile here, but he finds it easier to focus with someone beside him. 

For the most part, Emile seems fine. Leofard finds his thoughts drifting towards what could've happened today that he's having such a hard time, but he can't ask—Emile specifically came to him because he won't ask. Still, it doesn't stop him from worrying. They know each other but they don't, their intimacy is limited to the physical, and that's all they wanted, right?

He doesn't know why he can't stop thinking about it. 

It becomes more obvious as the night goes on. Emile doesn't move for several minutes at a time. Leofard gets through half a page of his paper without Emile turning a single page of his book, and when he looks over, Emile’s gaze is fixed blankly at the space in front of him, worrying at his lip with his free hand. It takes too long for him to notice Leofard watching, but he offers him a closed lip smile when he does. Leofard smiles back.  

With two pages to go, it creeps past midnight. Leofard is ready to throw his laptop out the window when Emile's book slips from his hands onto the bed. He looks over to the dull light of the lamp casting shadows over his face pressed into his pillow, eyes closed and chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm as he sleeps.

Leofard stares for far too long. 

He half asses one more page, makes the margins and the spaces between lines bigger so that it goes onto another, and closes his laptop. Emile shifts but he doesn't wake up, and Leofard debates for a moment what to do. To wake him and send him home seems cruel, especially if he's having a bad day. To let him stay here feels...too close. 

Carefully, he gets up to brush his teeth, but by the time he gets back he still hasn't decided. He stands in the doorway of his own room, watching the late night shadows cast over the shape of Emile in his bed, and something tugs in his chest. He closes the door with a soft click and crawls back in beside him, pulling the blanket over them both. 

This time Emile stirs, eyes blinking open slowly. "Leo?" 

"Hey," he says, his voice whisper soft. "You fell asleep." 

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

"Just stay—it's too late to walk back and I'm too tired to drive." 

He doesn't think that either of these things are true. 

Emile is quiet for a moment, but then, "Are you sure?" 

"Yeah," he murmurs, voice drifting off. He reaches over to turn off the light. "Of course, baby." 

He can't remember the last time he shared a bed with anyone—maybe not since his second foster home, when the other kids would come to his room at night and he'd tell them stories until they fell asleep. He takes a deep breath at the memory, and watches the ceiling until his eyes grow used to the dark. Judging from the sound of Emile's breathing, he falls back asleep quickly, and Leofard lets his head turn towards him, foolishly wondering what it would be like to reach out and touch him. 

He closes his eyes and waits for all of it to pass. 

—

The sun spills into the room through Leofard’s cheap blinds, paled light that still stirs him awake. There’s a weight around him, something solid that seeps warmth into his body, and his brows furrow for a moment before it comes back to him.

Right. Emile stayed the night.

Leofard knows their size difference well, but for the first time he lets himself catalog it—the way Emile’s broad chest spans past his shoulders, his heavy arm curled around his waist, and his cheek pressed to the top of his head. Each point of contact says you’re safe, and to Leofard’s surprise, he doesn’t mind.

He’s never needed anyone. He’s never wanted anyone like this, but he isn’t awake enough to overthink it as he lets himself inch further back into Emile’s space, sliding his arm along his to cradle it against his chest.

Blinking through the dust dazed light, he breathes in time with him—something steady to pull him back under as his eyes fall closed.

Distance will be easier in the morning.

—

Except—then he's alone. 

He wakes faster this time, but the only evidence that Emile was here at all is the rumpled blanket beside him. Something in his chest pulls at the sight, but he refuses to call it disappointment. Leofard wouldn't have woken him to say goodbye either, if their roles were reversed. 

Putting on his glasses, he glances at the clock to see that he still has a couple hours to submit his paper, and he chooses to ignore his laptop in favor of coffee. 

He stretches out his back as he gets up, but there's a crick in his neck from spending all day working on his paper yesterday. It's forgotten the moment he opens his door and hears the sound of voices trailing from the kitchen. He frowns to himself, but when he turns the corner, Emile and Stacia sit at the table eating breakfast, so deep in conversation that neither of them notice him. 

"I trust you saved me some coffee?" he asks, interrupting. They both look up, and there's a sly smile on Stacia's face and an earnest one on Emile's. He doesn't know how to process the way it makes him feel. 

"Sorry, you're on your own," Stacia says. 

Emile laughs. "There's some left." 

Leofard still just blinks at both of them before he goes to pour himself a cup of coffee, his brain struggling to catch up with the situation, and for once in his life he's quiet as he listens to them talk about football. Stacia's voice is bright and more excited than he remembers it ever being, and Emile indulges her, going back over specific plays and explaining the story behind them. 

“That pass from Estinien,” she says, and apparently it’s all she needs to say. Leofard watches the twitch of Emile’s mouth, the way he looks down at the table as he runs a hand through his hair. 

“It was his idea,” he says quietly. The memory seems to come to him, and he smiles a little to himself before he looks back at Stacia. “We used to practice those kinds of throws together all the time—it only worked because no one was expecting it.” 

But before Stacia can say anything, he continues, "I should probably go, though. I have a final at noon." 

"I'll drive you back," Leofard offers before he can think about it. 

Emile glances at him, his expression soft. "Thank you. I'll go grab my books." 

Leofard just nods as he gets up and leaves the kitchen. He wants to ignore the look on Stacia's face but it's impossible with the way her lips curve into a smug grin. 

"Your boyfriend stayed the night,” she says the moment he’s out of earshot. 

"Stacia," he returns, not quite a warning but more of you know it's not like that. "He fell asleep, I wasn't about to kick him out." 

"Of course not." She takes a sip of her coffee, and just when he thinks she's going to let it go, she says, “I’m assuming you were the little spoon.”

“Stacia.”

She laughs, but then her voice turns a shade softer. "He's a sweet guy." 

"He is," Leofard lets himself admit, and he stares in the direction that Emile left, suddenly overwhelmed with the need to tell her we didn’t have sex last night.

Because there's a limit to their relationship. There is a defined boundary, and last night doesn't fit within that. He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. A moment later, Emile bounds back into the kitchen, bag slung over his shoulder and surely way too energetic for this early in the morning. Leofard just smiles. "Ready?" 

The drive back to his dorm takes only a few minutes, but Leofard can't help but sneak little peaks at him along the way. The windows are down because they’re always down, and Emile’s hair blows with the wind while music plays softly, morning light along his profile. Leofard tries not to think about his body curled around his, different from the way they usually touch, and ignores the thoughts that creep into the back of his mind. 

He parks outside Emile's dorm, and Emile turns towards him. 

"Thank you," he says, his voice so earnest that, for a moment, Leofard can't return his gaze. 

"Of course," he returns, and he thinks too hard about what to say next, settling on, "Did it help?"

"It did," he says with a nod, and he leans in close, sliding a hand along Leofard's jaw as he pulls him in for a soft kiss. Leofard gasps against his mouth but leans into it, letting his lips part against his and lingering for too long. 

“As a promise for next time,” Emile murmurs against his mouth.

“Next time,” Leofard echoes, opening his eyes as he pulls away. “Let’s celebrate when finals are over.” 

Emile smiles. "Good luck!"

He gets out, and Leofard is left to watch him go. Something stirs within him, a feeling that is both unfamiliar and unwelcome, and as the door to the dorms closes behind Emile, Leofard stares for a long moment before he looks back at the road. 

Under his breath he mutters, “What the hell...”

He goes for a drive. 

[devizakura]

If you disagree please just skip this but I have been empowered by other posts to bitch about this because oh my god. As a fellow precious snake boi lover I am begging the Hazbin fandom to let that one stupid Sir Pentious joke die.

It was cute the first 1 or 2 times someone riffed on it but now whenever I see "because I [do sth] with everybody!" I just roll my eyes so hard I can see the back of my skull.

Doesn't help that the joke in canon is a display of possibly the poorest poor taste to have come out of this show (and one that is unequivocally so, unlike many other things that some perceive in poor taste but are more down to interpretation and assumption of the writers' malicious intent where there may not be one).

I get that a dark comedy is gotta dark comedy and normally I wouldn't bat an eye at it much but AH YES, have one character's SA be played for laughs then IMMEDIATELY have another face their abuser in a scene we're meant to treat seriously. Real classy.

The setup of rule of three where the third time he blurts out something he regrets is hilarious, like I laughed when he said that and when the instant regret hit him but then the door slammed shut and I was like "... they really just did that. What the fuck."

They could've shown him narrowly escaping. I dunno, let him hide in the bathroom or something because I get he kinda needed to be out of the picture so that the first guy Cherri sees isn't him and he can catch that L. But noooo.

And the thing is, it's not like the fandom lacks material to work with. Why they don't riff on Pen trying to confess his love then chickening out in ep 8 for example is beyond me. Or the absolute slapstick comedy of him blasting off again like Team Rocket. Or him being a little weirdo who watches people sleep. HE IS LITERALLY THE COMEDIC RELIEF AND has a lot of silly romantic material to base the fanservice content (like the "How would these characters confess to you" stuff) on, but they just HAVE to stick with that one awful running gag. Guys, he is so much more than that.

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Please, whatever they offer you... DON'T FEED THE PLANTS!!

ACT 3

@boots-with-the-fur-club @daboyau @tmntaucompetition @littlemissartemisia @shiveagit @shiveagit-arts @thevoidbrothers @noval1t @kathaynesart @bluepeachstudios @amevello-blue

CW: Panic attacks, cringe musical references

(Special thanks to boots-with-the-fur-club for helping write the NFIF bois!)

Prev || Next

Names and abbreviations (sorry there's a lot, we have a big cast for today's performances!) : UIFY = Until I Found You NFIF = No Fun in Fungus Leon = UIFY Leonardo 'Phael = UIFY Raphael DvD = UIFY Donatello Mike/Mikey/Micheal = UIFY Michelangelo AudRaph = Swayed Raphael AudreyTello = Swayed Donatello LeonAudro = Swayed Leonardo MichelAudrelo = Swayed Michelangelo AudRai = Swayed Karai rhg!Donnie = Rise Hunger Games AU Donatello Raph = NFIF Raphael Donnie/Dee = NFIF Donatello Leo = NFIF Leonardo Angie/Angelo = NFIF Michelangelo

The show must go on...

AudreyTello turned around just in time to watch as the explosion blew AudRaph several meters back, slamming him into a wall while the majority of the room that housed Audrey III crumbled to the ground. As the glow of deep cobalt, violet, crimson, and bright green filled the room, it chased away the neon electric blue, causing each and every spore it came into contact with to disintegrate.

"NOO!!!" AudreyTello screamed in pure fury. He gripped his head, the familiar ache returning as he could feel the hold over NFIF Donatello started to weaken.

"You... you WRETCHES!! You think this will STOP ME?!"

"Well, we certainly hoped so," Spider-Dee mumbled.

"You pathetic, insignificant, worthless, meaningless, little trifles of trauma-riddled turtles!!" AudreyTello screamed.

"...This might be a shot in the dark, but I think we made him just a teensy bit mad."

"OH, YA THINK?!"

AudreyTello's battleshell erupted with furious weapons building one on top of the other, the purple glow blending with the blue infecting his ninpo. But piece by piece, the purple was starting to take back control...

"It... it's working! The sway is breaking!" Spider-Dee pointed.

"Then let's break it all the way!" Ghost shouted over the commotion, grabbing Spider-Dee and DvD out of habit and jumping away from the spray of mystic missiles and bullets.

Meanwhile, in the rubble, a shield of ninpo created by the infected Hamatos kept MichelAudrelo, AudRai, and poor little Misa safe from the destruction.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THE HAND.PNG SET A FIRE AND BURNED DOWN THE HOUSE!" MichelAudrelo screamed in anger, clenching his fists tightly.

"One less enemy to worry about," AudRai stated calmly. "What is the damage?"

"Our base has been destroyed," MichelAudrelo growled. "Quite obviously."

AudRai held her head as she groaned.

"Our true form... has been wounded," she grunted, looking up slowly.

The mushroom was half-destroyed in the corner, the cap singed and burning slightly, the hyphae curling as the fungus screeched in agony. Leonardo sat under the stalk, his body half-freed, but the blast had knocked him unconscious. He laid limp against the roots that kept him anchored to the floor, half-destroyed and withering beneath his weight.

"They will pay for this," MichelAudrelo snarled.

Blue/gold mystic chains started forming as he approached the battle, seeing the non-Donnie team come round the corner...

"Okay, so the room was destroyed, the spores are dissipating... you guys know what's next?" Leon asked, making sure the plan was still in effect.

"We'll get going to save all the zombies," Spider-Shine said with a smile and a nod, gesturing to the other Spider-Teetlez as Spider-Dee reunited with them. "Get the antidote to anyone with glowing blue eyes!"

"Great, the rest of us will stay behind to help free the swayed and eradicate the rest of the mushroom!"

The Spider-Teetlez shook hands with the group, saying fond farewells before swinging away to complete their quest and save the rest of the AUs...

"Okay then, now we--"

"RUN!!" 'Phael shrieked, pointing to an army of golden chains coming their way.

MichelAudrelo smiled cruelly as he sent the chains to grab at them, the contestants and supporters scattering quickly in all directions to avoid his attacks. One chain grabbed Leon and dragged him forward.

The slider was bound by the ankles and hung upside down in front of the mystic warrior.

"Hello, worm," MichelAudrelo said with a smile.

"Uhhh, heeey there, Angie!" Leon said, hoping the childhood nickname for his brother would strike a chord with this version of Michelangelo.

It didn't.

MichelAudrelo raised his hand.

"You'll regret what you've done..."

"Hey, you!!"

Leon and MichelAudrelo turned in surprise to see who had just shouted at them.

Golden flower petals and butterflies made of light started fluttering down around the boys.

Abby smiled brightly as she threw her crutch aside to Diana. Music starting playing.

"Do you hear that sound? That beautiful sound?"

Giant vines started sprouting from the ground, lifting Abby and MichelAudrelo up into the air. In his shock, MichelAudrelo dropped Leon to the floor, where Diana quickly grabbed him and pulled him aside.

"What are you two doing here?" Leon asked. "You were supposed to stay with Mikey--"

"Slight change of plans," Diana answered. "We brought the cavalry!"

"You didn't bring him here, did you?"

"..."

"Diana, if you value your life you will answer 'no'."

"...Then, no?"

"You're lying to me. Where is he...!" Leon growled as he stormed off to find his Michelangelo.

"YOU SAID TO ANSWER NO!!" Diana shouted as she followed after him, while Abby finally got to do her big number with a 'captive audience'...

Leon rushed off to find his brother, no doubt glowing and sporting his own mystic chains. He was gonna give him an earful when he found him...

As Leon was storming around, something lodged within the wall fell to the ground and groaned behind him.

"URGH!"

Leon whipped around.

"What was that--"

A large spiky shell and limbs started moving from the broken pieces of plaster that had crumbled along with the body on the floor. It slowly started rising, groaning and grumbling. Leon swallowed, tiptoeing closer to the swayed Raph.

"...Diana... go look for Mikey. Make sure he's not doing anything too.... y'know."

"But, what are you gonna--"

"Just go," he whispered. "I'll handle this."

Diana reluctantly obeyed, rushing away before AudRaph could get his bearings back and start attacking them.

Leon crept forwards, wary of the strength this Raphael could have. He knew that his brother 'Phael was pretty strong, though he was mostly unshed baby fat. This Raph was head and shoulders above him, and had been training as a ninja since his childhood, he figured. Besides, he knew that 'Phael had a tendency to go kinda savage when he was really, really scared. And who knew what this fear fungus was making Raph see in his deep subconscious...

"Hey, buddy, it's me, your ol' pal, Neon Leon..."

AudRaph made a low rumbling sound as he slowly got to his knees, still dizzy and dazed.

"I know that whatever you're seeing... i-it's probably pretty rough. I'm sure you think that it's hopeless, but it isn't! You can get through it..."

AudRaph lifted up his head, growling at him with bared teeth.

"Hey, it's okay to be scared. I'm scared most of the time. Have you seen half of the hijinx Mikey gets involved in? I'll bet you know how tough it is, being the oldest brother, the one to look after everyone... But then again, you also know how much they love you. You know how excited they are when they succeed just like you knew they would, the look on their faces when they see how proud you are when they exceed your expectations and blow you out of the water! You're so lucky to be the big brother, no matter how many times they make you worry... because for every grey scale they give you, you get ten extra memories of them and how wonderful they are and how much you love them."

Raphael's blue-glazed eyes started leaking.

"And I know you love them. Because how could you not love our brothers?? You, me, we sacrifice for them all the time, because we would do anything for our little brothers. You'd do anything for your brothers, right? And... you said I would always have a big brother in you. And I need you, Raph -- they need you -- WE NEED YOU. We need you to come back to us..."

Leon placed one hand on Raph's shaking shoulder and cupped the other hand under his cheek, wiping the blue tears from his face.

"Come back to your family, Raph. Because we need YOU. Not a hero, not a sacrificial martyr, we want our brother to come home. Please, Raph. Please."

Raphael blinked away the tears, the final remnants of blue melting away with the tears.

"...L-Leon..?"

"Welcome back, big guy."

Leon was suddenly engulfed in a bear hug, Raph squeezing him tight and shaking all over.

"I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so so sorry, Leo LEON, I'm so sorry... please... please, can you forgive me, I never meant to hurt you, I never wanted to--!"

"It's okay, dude," Leon said, trying not to cry himself as he squeezed Raph back. "You old softy."

Leon had to force himself to pull away from the sobbing snapping turtle, offering the end of his scarf for the eldest sibling to wipe his face with.

"Now, let's go wake up the others, hmm?"

April's teleporting powers kicked in as soon as she saw the golden chains coming. She was suddenly in a new place, landing in a small heap of rubble. She turned around and watched as NFIF Michelangelo managed to snag her Leon and reel him in.

"Leo!"

"YOU."

April whirled around to see AudRai coming for her. Her neat braid had been mussed up in the explosion, the strands falling loose and falling apart. Her eyes were surrounded by deep, dark circles and tear stains.

"Karai... what happened to you?"

"What always happens to the Hamatos," she replied glumly. "We die."

"You're not dead yet," April said, gritting her teeth. "I'm not going to let that funky mushroom kill you."

"Why not? You let it kill Michael."

April's breath caught in her lungs.

"...Karai... you don't know what you're saying..."

"It's our doom, our fate," she said, voice wobbling with sniffles as the tears started pooling. "The fate I started us all down... the role I took on, the example I set... it's all my fault--"

Karai started weeping, her voice cracked as her fists clenched.

"It's my fault that Michael died. I felt him leave. Not just because of our family ninpo, I saw him die through the spores. I saw his fears. I watched him go!" she whimpered, falling to her knees.

April's eyes welled up with tears of her own as she slowly understood what Karai was saying.

"It was my fault... I trained him in his ninpo. I taught him all the Hamato magic. I showed him the importance of our traditions, our lore, our creed. I... I... I killed him..."

"You didn't kill him. He's still alive," April reassured her. "And you didn't teach Mikey self-sacrifice. It seems to be a running tendency--"

"But that tendency started with me!" Karai sobbed. "I can't save them, no matter how hard I try! I couldn't save my village, my father, my own grandson! My legacy is to be the failing martyr!!"

April rushed forward and hugged Karai tightly.

"No. That is not your legacy. That is not your destiny. Michael is not dead, and neither are you. Karai, you are more than just your mistakes, more than your defeats. Don't let the fear of failure keep you from succeeding later on! Don't let the past keep you from building up your future! You told me that you saw how strong I was, where do you think I learned that courage from? Don't let this be another failure, don't give up! You can beat this fear. 'You shall not be challenged beyond your strength.' You can overcome it."

Karai stiffened for a second, before softly hugging April back. After a few shaky moments, Karai pulled away. Much to April's relief, her eyes were back to normal.

"Arigatō, April..."

Karai wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned to the small caged-in cradle holding Misa.

"We should help release her."

"Can I offer my help?" NFIF Raph asked, as he and Leon rushed up through the rubble and broken drywall.

April and Karai looked at each other, unsure if that was wise, considering what had happened.

Yet Karai nodded, stepped forwards and used her ninpo to create a small dagger of flame that cut through the vines. Misa was growling and crying, her eyes shut tight as she fought against her nightmares.

Raphael leaned down and picked her up gently, rocking her back and forth.

"If one of the Mikeys were here, they'd know how to snap her out of it," April murmured. "He saved her from the spores last time..."

"Raph knows what to do," he whispered, his voice soft and gentle. "I've had my fair share of getting my little brothers to calm down after a nightmare..."

Raph sat down on a pile of debris as he held on to Misa.

She hissed at him, pushing to get away.

"Misa? Misa, it's me..."

Misa growled again, still struggling to break free from his hold. In her mind, she had just been taken away by an evil scientist who was going to do terrible, mean things to her...

"No!" she snapped, biting his hand.

Raph gasped in pain, but didn't let go. He smiled through the hurt, tears forming in his eyes again.

"I guess I deserved that one, huh?" he chuckled dryly. "Misa, please, it's Raph... it's Ra-Ra?"

Misa slowly stopped, her ferocious bites turning into soft nibbles as she opened one eye, the edges of white turning a soft blue.

"Misa, can you see me? Can you see Ra-Ra?"

She shook her head no.

"...R-Ra-Ra? Ra-Ra has Misa?"

"Yes," he assured her, rubbing his thumb in circles against her cheek, wiping away the bitter and angry tears.

Misa flinched, her eyes widened at the touch.

"...Is Ra-Ra good guy now?"

That hurt. He knew she didn't mean for it to hurt, but the truth was painful nonetheless.

"Yes, Misa," he whimpered. "Ra-Ra is good now. Misa, I'm so sorry for what I did to you... I hurt you so much, Raph is so sorry..."

Even though he knew that he was meant to be comforting her, Raph lowered his head and cried onto her as he held her in his lap.

"Misa... I'm so sorry. I'll understand if you hate me forever after this, I wouldn't blame you. But... I want to help you now, I want to help with the scary things you're seeing. How can Ra-Ra help you?"

Raph felt tiny hands reaching up and touching his face. Misa blinked away the blue, eyes refocusing until she could see Raphael properly.

And Misa smiled.

"Little brudder..."

She kissed his cheek and nuzzled him, hugging his face and wiping away his tears.

"...Misa forgives Ra-Ra. Ra-Ra good guy."

Raphael blubbered at that, whimpering as he pressed Misa against his plastron in a desperate hug. Misa giggled, patting him on the back as best she could, though her arms barely even reached the edges of his shell.

"Thank you, Misa... thank you..."

"Where's Mikey an' Dee-Dee?" she asked, looking around.

"Around here somewhere," Leon replied, looking around. "I'm sure we'll find them eventually..."

"Hey, guys!" Abby shouted at them. "Look who we got!"

Abby gave the performance of a lifetime. She and swayed Michelangelo had been dueling it out against each other for a few minutes while Abby belted out her favourite musical number. She ordered the vines to protect her as she spun and ducked and danced and leapt around the mystic attacks. Her vines reached out and grabbed MichelAudrelo and pulled him high into the air, away from Abby as she finished up her number. MichelAudrelo struggled against the vines, breaking free eventually, but Abby had been prepared for that. Several other series of vines reached up and caught him, much to his frustration.

"THAT BEAUTIFUL SOUND--"

"STOP IT!" MichelAudrelo screeched, lashing out his chains to grab at the feline, but she jumped away at the last second, her choreography coming in to save her as she danced around him gleefully.

"A SOUND THAT MEANS NO MORE CONDESCENDING ADULTS HANGING AROUND!"

Abby continued to sing at the top of her lungs as MichelAudrelo chased after her, his chains doing battle with her vines.

"I SAID STOP IT!!"

Abby ignored him, singing to her heart's content.

"EVERY GROAN, EVERY WAIL AND EACH MOAN, ADDS UP TO DADDY'S LEAVIN' ME THE HECK ALONE!"

"I SAID STOP! STOP, Stop, s-stop..."

MichelAudrelo's hands began to shake, his chains started to fade.

"THEY'RE OUT OF MY GRILL, BECAUSE OF THAT SHRILL SYMPHONY..."

Abby pirouetted, a glorious spin that created a flurry of petals around her. MichelAudrelo couldn't see her anymore, her spin was so fast that she became a blur. While he was distracted, a grappling hook shot up and grabbed him by the ankle, tugging him down to the floor as Ghost wrapped his arms around the boy.

"H-hey!! LET GO!!"

"It's okay, Angelo," Ghost murmured, keeping him close to his chest. "It's okay, we've got you..."

"AIN'T IT THE SWEETEST NOISE AROUND, THAT BEAUTIFUL SOUND!" Abby belted, echoing the final word as she jumped down from her podium made of vines.

"Aaaaaaand she sticks the landing!" she cheered as she gracefully touched down. "I did it! I really did it! I guess my leg's all better, I can't wait to show Diana--"

"YOU CAN'T KEEP ME PRISONER LIKE THIS!!" MichelAudrelo screeched, kicking and squirming in Ghost's hold. "LET ME GO!"

"Not until you calm down, kid," Ghost said, tightening his hold on the mind-controlled Angelo. "Just let it go, let go of the anger and the fear and--"

"NO! I'LL KILL YOU ALL! I'LL...I'll... I ... heh... heh, heh..."

MichelAudrelo's screams melted as tears started trickling down his face. He smiled painfully, laughing as he saw what he was.

"I... I wanted to kill everyone," he murmured. His voice was soft, he was in shock and somewhat dazed as the realization of what he'd done seeped in. "I really did. I wanted to break everything and destroy the entire arena and everyone in it... why?"

MichelAudrelo looked up at Abby, the small trickle of tears turning into rivers, his smile breaking as the corners of his mouth turned down.

"Why did I wanna hurt you so bad? I never would have done that before, I was just so... so..."

"Scared?" Abby offered, stepping forward to wipe the tears away.

"No," Angelo flinched, pulling back from her, refusing to accept her help. "No, it wasn’t fear, it was--"

"It was grief."

MichelAudrelo looked up in confusion at Ghost, who looked down with his own understanding gaze.

"You were scared of losing your family, huh? April told me a little about some of the things you said when you were first spored. I know what it feels like to lose your family. To know that you'll never get to do the things you always said you'd do together. See the places you always wanted to go. Win or lose the arguments you planned in your head for fun, just to antagonize them. Give that apology you meant to say. Make that special gift for their next birthday. Eat lunch with them. Say I love you one last time. I know how it feels to realize that you've been pulled away and there's no going back. And what's worse... you see them everywhere. Carbon copies, phantoms of the past that bring up phantom pains. You want to pretend that they're yours, but..."

"But they're not!" Angelo sobbed, letting his limbs go slack in Ghost's embrace as he wailed. The two fell to their knees, Ghost comforting Angelo as he cried out a pain that was so deep and scarring it could shake the foundations of the earth.

"But... your family isn't dead, Angelo," Abby reassured him. "They're still here --"

"FOR HOW LONG?" he howled. "How long until they really do get themselves killed?! How long until I have to go through this again, but for real?! I can't keep doing this!! I can't, I can't! I won't let myself get hurt again!!"

The blue light started to return to MichelAudrelo's eyes as he growled.

"That's what I said, too," Ghost chuckled.

Angie stopped.

"I told myself I would never get hurt like that again. So I shut everyone and everything out. I refused to let myself get too attached to what I knew could be another family for me. I couldn't face the idea of seeing replicas of my brothers and father and April again. I was scared of getting hurt."

Angelo swivelled his head around to get a better look at Ghost, who was starting to cry himself.

"I was so scared, kid. I let myself rot in a sewer alone for over two decades before I finally faced my fears and tried again. Knowing that the pain would come, knowing that I would have to be strong. Because sometimes... healing hurts."

"If you love someone, you have to understand that one day they will hurt you," Abby added. "Whether they mean to or not... love opens you up for both the happy times and the sad times. And the angry ones, too, believe me."

"It may seem like the pain is too much to live with --" Ghost replied, "-- and you may think that it's easier to feel nothing at all than to feel the pain. But when that happens you become nothing more than a... well, a ghost in a shell," he chuckled weakly.

"I don't want that," Angelo wept, turning around and wrapping his arms around Ghost in a loose hug. "I don't want to just rot inside myself while the people I love most are waiting for me..."

"Then you have to let go of that pain."

"But it's so hard!"

"I know, bud, I know. But nothing that the great Dr. Feelings can't face, right? And you'll never face it alone."

"I thought that was Dr. Delicate Touch... wait, what's the difference again?" Abby asked.

Angelo rubbed his face against Ghost's cloak, wiping the tears and snot from his blubbering face.

"Dr. Delicate Touch feels nothing... O-o.... okay..." he whimpered. "I can do this. I don't want to be 'Dr. Delicate Touch' forever. I wanna be with my family again. Even if we'll get hurt. I'd rather get hurt with them than feel nothing forever alone."

"Good call, kid," Ghost said, leisurely releasing the box turtle.

Angelo stood up, wiping the last of the glowing aqua blue tears from his face, his eyes back to normal as he weakly smiled.

"Should... should we go find the rest?"

"The Donnies are still doing their epic anime battle royale or something," Abby pointed. "But the others are in that pile of debris over there."

"Well, I've learned the hard way to never interrupt Dee's work, so let's go see how the other guys are doing."

"Another good call," Ghost laughed, rubbing Angelo's head.

The trio crossed over to the rest, reaching them just as Misa was released from the fear fungus' hold and hugging Raphael.

"Hey, guys! Look who we got!" Abby cheered, pointing at Angelo, who waved weakly at the group.

"Hey, Angelo!" Leon said with a wave. "You're not gonna... string me up again like before, are ya?"

"No," he whimpered softly. "Sorry 'bout that, by the way..."

"It's all cool," Leon said, waving it off. "Shrooms will do that to ya, or so I've heard."

Raphael looked over at his baby brother, seeing the tear stains and red puffy eyes and the trail of snot he kept wiping and sniffling away.

"Rough comeback, huh?"

"Yeah. You too?"

"Pizza supreme in the sky, you have no idea."

"Pizza what in the where now?" Leon asked, raising a brow at the snapping turtle. "What did you just say--"

"I'LL KILL YOU!!"

The group jumped at the scream that shattered the calm they had been enjoying for the moment.

"That was one of the Donnies!" Abby yiped, jumping into Diana's arms.

"...Do you think maybe we should look into that?" Leon asked.

rhg!Donnie had carried Michael into the outskirts of the battle, just as he'd promised. The Donnie confrontation, or 'Donfrontation' as they were calling it, was in full swing as the drones flew like a tornado around the halls.

"Okay, we're here now, what exactly did you have planned??" rhg!Donnie asked.

"Uh, I honestly figured I could wing it--"

"YOU WHAT?!"

Mikey shrugged and laughed nervously.

"Well, I assumed that I'd have a plan by the time I got here!"

Before rhg!Donnie could let in to him, an explosion went off. The bright rainbow of light blew away the spores and darkness, clearing the area almost instantaneously.

"Well, it looks like the guys managed to set off the TNT," Diana noticed.

"No kidding," rhg!Donnie grumbled. "We should get out of here--"

A large body flew into the wall some short distance aways.

"Was that Raph?!" Abby yelled loudly.

The halls started glittering as golden chains filled the air.

"I swear, that isn’t me," Mikey said, seeing the glare that the others were about to give him.

"It's the other Mikey!" Abby yelled, suddenly running off to go help the others.

"Wait a minute!" Diana shouted, running after her.

"Well, um, I guess it's just you and me now," Mikey chuckled dryly.

"Apparently so. I'm taking you back to safety--"

"No!" Mikey yelled, holding his hand out to stop him. "I need you to take me to my brothers, or --"

"No, Mikey, I can't let that happen! You'll get hurt, or--"

Before rhg!Donnie could finish his sentence, one of the drones snagged the back of his shirt and carried him away into the storm.

"Oh no! Human Donnie!!"

Mikey summoned a small chain and latched it onto one of the other drones, getting yanked away into the torrent along with the alternate version of his brother.

"I'm coming!"

Mikey held on as tightly as he could to the meager chain, climbing up the links to get to the drone itself. He climbed atop it, looking for rgh!Donnie amongst the flurry of purple. He found him, several feet away, trying to reach back and unhook his clothes from the device.

"Hold on, I'm on my way!!"

Mikey readied himself, and then leapt. His stomach slammed into the head of the drone, and he slipped down the side. Mikey swung his legs up, gripping the drone with his knees as he crawled back up the side of it. Mikey saw the legs of the drone dangling beneath him, and got an idea. He took out his nunchucks, wrapping one end to the drone's mechanical legs as he held on with a deathgrip to the other end. He let himself fall, dangling from the machine and swinging around as the drones turned the corner and continued their tornado patterns. Mikey used the momentum of the turning corner to fling himself forward, landing directly on top of the kidnapper drone.

"MIKEY?!" rhg!Donnie screamed above the roaring mechanical wind. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Winging it!" Mikey yelled back, as he grabbed rhg!Dee's shirt collar and tore the fabric from the metal limb. With nothing holding him up anymore, rhg!Donnie fell to the floor, dragging poor Michelangelo with him.

"AAAAAHHHH!!"

Before the two adolescents could hit the pavement, something caught them both. They looked up in shock to see two drones had chased after and grabbed them.

"Not again," rhg!Donnie groaned.

"I assure you, this time it was intentional," Omega said as he rolled by. "Congrats on being rescued."

"Thanks, computer Dee!" Mikey cheered, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Of course. Now, WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?! I thought you were given direct instruction to--"

"Where is everyone? Where's Leon, 'Phael, Dvd, and April?" Mikey interrupted.

"I suspect UIFY Leonardo, UIFY Raphael, and UIFY April are over by the remnants of that housing unit," Omega said, a robot claw pointing towards the heap of rubble caught in the explosion. "But your Donatello is in the center of that drone tornado. He's taken the forefront of distracting --"

"I gotta go talk to him!" Mikey yelled, trying to run but tripping over his own feet as he did so.

"No way!" rhg!Donnie said, grabbing him and dragging him back again. "You're staying over here, where it's safe!"

"I thought you were on my side!"

"I'm not on anybody's side. I just want you to be safe, Mikey," he said, the last few words coming out as a whimper. "Please... just stay here for me, I'll go and help!"

"BUT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!"

rhg!Donnie ran in the direction of the tornado, Omega chasing after him.

Mikey waited a beat.

And then began to shuffle towards them, too...

rhg!Donnie ducked in between each and every drone as they sailed around them. He listened for the shouts, for any noise other than the roaring wind whipping around him.

He couldn't hear anything.

He couldn't see anything--

"Hey! Watch out!"

rhg!Donnie jumped. Someone had grabbed him by the arm and pulled him aside. DvD stared the teenager in the face, glaring at him angrily.

"WHAT are YOU doing here?! You're supposed to be watching after--"

His eyes widened as he realized.

"WHERE. IS. HE."

"I left him with Omega!" rhg!Donnie shouted.

"OMEGA IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!"

rhg!Donnie turned around to stare the computer in the face -- or rather, icon.

"WHAT?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE WITH HIS BROTHER--"

"I came to make sure you would be --"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute --" DvD stopped the explanation hastily, trying to figure it out. "-- if he's not with us, then who is he with?"

UIFY Mikey crawled across the floor as best he could. He was still wobbly, and every time he tried to stand he got the nastiest dizzy spell. The dizziness was only compounded by the continuing swirling of the mechanical hurricane before him. But he had to get to them, before it was too late...

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Mikey paused, a pair of feet appearing in front of him. He slowly looked up to see AudreyTello standing before him, tech-bō in hand and pointed down at Michael.

"...Heyyyy, Dee... just the guy I wanted to see."

"You're supposed to be dead," AudreyTello said, leaning closer to him.

"Eh. I got better."

"So I see. Shall I remedy that for you?"

Mikey swallowed.

"You're not going to kill me."

"Oh? And why ever not?" AudreyTello chuckled, walking closer as Mikey inched backwards.

"Because we both know that you don't want to hurt me. You didn't hurt me before--"

"An oversight on my part. As I said, I can remedy that," AudreyTello growled, as he cocked back the bō and prepared to strike.

"No. Before the battle. When I helped you, when I gave you some of my strength to fight against the fungus, I could feel what was happening to you. I don't know how or why, but I could sense that you were being sorta... swept away. But not gone for good."

"You're wrong," AudreyTello laughed. "Donatello is DEAD."

"No," Mikey refuted. "I made sure of it. I know you're in there, I know you can see and hear me. That's why you gave me back to DvD when you did."

"You were unconscious for that, how... ah, yes. Your odd little dreams that fill you in on what you've missed," AudreyTello rolled his eyes. "How useful."

"You didn't want to hurt me," Mikey informed him. "Because you're still in there."

"No, he's NOT," AudreyTello growled.

"I know you are. It's why you wouldn't kill me. Why I couldn't kill you. Because you care."

"DONATELLO IS DEAD!!" AudreyTello snapped. "I AM IN CONTROL, YOU HEAR ME?!"

"You can scream all you want, but we both know that isn't true."

"BUT IT HAS TO BE!" Dee sobbed. "IT HAS TO BE TRUE, OTHERWISE... otherwise, I really did all those terrible things to you... your brother... m-my brothers..."

NFIF Donatello's knees started wobbling. He backed away from Mikey.

"I know you're scared. You're probably thinking everything that happened is all your fault, right? You're blaming yourself. The hand told me..."

"No... No, NO! S-STAY BACK!" AudreyTello shrieked, fumbling away from Mikey, who started crawling back towards him.

"You're scared that what you've done is unredeemable, that the mistakes you made will haunt you forever. But that's only true if you let it be true. Because -- whether you want it or not -- I forgive you for everything that happened."

"No, you can't -- Don't say that!" Donatello wept, holding his staff at Mikey, trying to ward him off as though he were a wild animal. "You can't just forgive that, you can't simply forgive him, he tried to spore you! He -- I almost sent you to your doom, I did send you to your doom! MY spores killed you!!"

"Do I look like I'm dead to you? Like I said, you wouldn't hurt me. You didn't know that would happen, it was a freak accident or whatever. And even if you did mean for that to happen... I still forgive you."

"BUT YOU CAN'T--!"

"But I do anyways. Because you're my brother, Dee," Mikey said with a smile, slowly getting up to his feet to stand.

"I-I'm not... I'm not your brother... especially after what I did..."

The tornado of drones behind them started to slow to a lull. The roaring cyclone and whipping wind calming to a gentle breeze in the background.

Mikey smiled at the weeping Donatello. He crawled closer.

"...But I still choose you as my family. And I still forgive you. And your real brothers will, too, because they love you so much more than I ever could! Donnie, do you know how much you are loved? How much we care about you?"

"No... you can't... stop it, stop, please..."

"We all love you so much, nothing you could ever do would make that love go away. No mistake, no failure, no evil monologue could ever make our love for you just simply vanish! We'll fight for you, we'll die for you, we'll live for you, because we love you so much."

"I don't deserve it... please, you can't say that! I don't want your love! I don't want you to keep loving me after everything, I don't deserve it!! I haven't earned it!!"

"You don't have to earn or deserve it, Dee," Mikey said, taking shaky steps towards him.

"Stop, Mikey, st-o-o-p..." Donnie wrapped his arms around himself, clutching his stomach as the alt. version of his baby brother came closer, holding his arms out to hug him.

"It's like Karai always says... anatawa, hitorijin--"

"I'LL KILL YOU!!"

Mikey whirled around just in time to see DvD leap over him, tech-bōfurnished with a saw as he lunged towards his enemy.

DvD crashed into NFIF Donatello, the two rolling around and scuffling on the floor as DvD attempted to avenge his brother.

"No!! Get off of him, what are you doing?! I was just getting through to him!!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM FOR WHAT HE DID TO YOU!!" Donatello Von Draxum screamed.

AudreyTello kicked him off his stomach, tumbling to the side and watching in pure fear as DvD readied his tech bo again. Mikey jumped onto him, clutching his arm tightly as he tried to pull him away.

"Please, this isn't you!!" he begged.

DvD shook his baby brother off, the small child falling to the ground from the exertion and watched in horror as his big brother stormed over to the swayed Donnie.

"You're forgetting, Mikey... I'm the son of Draxum! I never asked to be... but I'm the SON OF DRAXUM, now face my..."

DvD pressed a button on his tech-bō, and it began to glow green as a new and yet unused weapon formed at the end.

"...URANIUM-POWERED FURYYYYY!!!"

"DVD, NO!!!"

Mikey screamed, his wails just barely stopping DvD in his tracks.

"AFTER EVERYTHING HE DID TO YOU... I PROMISED NOTHING WOULD HURT YOU, I SWORE TO PROTECT YOU AND KEEP YOU SAFE! MIKEY, WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!"

"You can't hurt him!!" Mikey screamed. "He's YOU! He's my brother, just like you are!! He didn't mean to hurt anyone, I won't let you destroy your soul on my behalf! I won't let you hurt him!"

"...N-no... he's right..."

Mikey stared at NFIF Donatello, as he shakily looked up at the two arguing brothers.

"He should kill me... I deserve it..."

DvD glared at him.

"I TRUSTED you. I told you things about me, about Mikey, and you USE THAT AGAINST ME. The last person who did that --"

"I know," Dee wept. "I know. And you're right... after everything that happened, I don't blame you... I'd do the same. So... s-so go ahead," he cried, hanging his head in shame and resignation. "Do what you want. I did this, I did this to myself. I'm... I'm a monster.

DvD gripped his staff tightly. He took one step forward.

"No, please, don't do this," Michael begged. "Please, there's no coming back from this! Don't --"

"But Mikey, what am I supposed to do?" DvD growled, hot and angry tears filling up behind his visor.

"Forgive and forget."

"But he--"

"KILLING HIM WON'T MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF, DVD," Mikey scolded. "I KNOW YOU THINK IT'S YOUR FAULT. I KNOW YOU THINK THAT IT WAS YOUR FAULT BECAUSE YOU LET YOUR GUARD DOWN. IT'S NOT. PLEASE, Please, please..."

Mikey sobbed as he tugged on his brother's cape.

"Don't do it... don't do this, not for me. It won't heal anything..."

Before DvD could respond, the others suddenly came running from every direction towards them, Leon and 'Phael lunged at DvD to pull him back as April and Karai went for Mikey. rhg!Donnie and Omega came running from behind and joined the UIFY gang to Keep DvD at bay, while the rest of the group went to check on NFIF Donatello, who was shaking and sobbing blue tears.

"Get back, Don!" 'Phael yelled, using all his strength to keep his warrior brother away. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"He... I... Mikey was..."

"AND JUST WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, MISTER?!" Leon shouted at Michael. "I told you to stay put!"

"I had to help! I knew that Donnie was gonna blame himself and Donnie was gonna try to kill him and the other Donnies wouldn't understand and Donnie needed me so I--"

"I told you to stay--"

"CAN WE PLEASE TURN OFF THE DEATH RAY?!" April shouted loudly over the commotion.

"Oh, right," 'Phael said, snatching the tech-bō away from DvD. Omega came over and helped him to find the right button to switch it off before it could do any real damage.

"How does this child have uranium?!" Omega asked angrily. "Where did he--"

"We can geek out over Donnie's collection of killer rocks later, right now we're kinda on mission?!"

"Oh. Right. Yes, of course..." Omega said sheepishly.

NFIF Raph was by his brother's side almost immediately, taking his hand and trying to soothe him.

"Donnie! Donnie, it's Raph... it's me, can you--"

"R-Raph?" Dee asked looking at him.

"Yeah! C'mon, you're still kinda under the influence of the spores, so I need ya to--"

"You should have let him finish me," Donnie sobbed. "I deserve it!"

"Deserve...? Donald, what are you talking about?" Angelo asked nervously.

"I... I hurt you all!" he wailed. "I keep hurting you, I keep -- I keep ruining -- I'm a villain, I'm a monster, I--"

"HEY."

Dee jerked at the deep rumble that came from his older brother. He turned to look at Raphael.

"No. You are not a villain, you are not a monster. You were stuck in a nightmare and your body was being used like a puppet. You are not to blame for what happened."

"B-but...!"

"Donnie. You were krangified."

Dee froze at the words.

He knew this argument. He was on the other side of it, now...

"If you truly believe that what you did was actually your fault, and that you really are to blame, then you're also saying that it was really me that almost killed--"

"NO!" Dee yelled, gripping his brother's arms tightly to keep him from finishing the thought. "NO! No, I would never say that, I -- it was different, you were -- you -- you weren't yourself at all, they made you into -- it's different this time!"

"How is it any different?"

"BECAUSE THIS TIME IT WAS ME!!" he howled. "YOU DIDN'T DO ANY OF THAT, YOU WEREN'T IN CONTROL--"

"Neither were you!" Angelo reminded him.

"But I--"

"You should hold yourself to the same standards of forgiveness you give to others," Raph said. "I know you feel like you're on some different level of mercy, that the mistakes of others don't matter as much as the mistakes you make, that you should be punished for every little thing you get wrong -- but that's ludicrous. Really, really ludicrous."

"T-two reallys..."

"Exactly, big man. With as big of a genius brain as yours, ya'd think you'd understand that, huh?"

Dee chuckled as he hugged his brothers. The blue glow from his birthmarks slowly faded away, revealing the purple tones underneath.

"You back with us, Don-a-Tron?"

Donnie nodded and mumbled a "mhm" at them.

"Good. Welcome home, Donnie."

"Not yet," he said, slowly pushing himself away as he remembered a crucial detail.

"We still have one last zombie to free..."

"You.... you've destroyed EVERYTHING......"

Every head simultaneously turned.

LeonAudro pulled himself out of the rubble and ruin, rising up to confront them.

He was thin and pale, one eye burning blue while the other was covered with the charred and scarred remains of a mushroom cap and gill, one singular glowing yellow eye gazing furiously at them. His body was veiled over with roots and vines and ring and stem and stalk. Toadstools grew over his shoulder, umbrella mushrooms had sprouted from his plastron.

Raph gasped in horror at how similar he looked to... to... him. When he was part of the kraang.

Angelo covered his mouth to keep from gasping and sobbing.

Donnie stared in silence, his hands curling into tight fists.

"... Don't... be... fooled if I should whimper like a sappy, sobby dope, it's just the spores... they get me low......"

He lumbered lazily towards them. His voice was weak, but in the silence it carried. His breathing was shallow and strained. His face was absolutely painted with the glowing blue tearstains.

"... But don't let my cries deceive you, any moment I could go....."

Angelo whimpered at that verse. He felt Raph grab him by the shoulders and pull him in. Donnie took his hand and squuezed it tight.

"...All my vital signs are failing... cause the fungus I'm inhaling... makes it difficult as heck to catch my bre-ha-heaaaaath...."

He wheezed as he sang, his movements laboured and exhausted.

His brothers watched him, frozen where they were as he continued on closer. And closer.

"...Leo...?"

LeonAudro smiled.

"Guess again."

"Audrey III," Dee snarled. "Let him go."

LeonAudro let out an airy chuckle.

"Why... should... I?"

"LET HIM GO!!" Angelo screamed, his hands igniting into flames for a split second.

“Wow, Miguel. Did someone lose their temper?" LeonAudro gave a wicked smile. "What happened to always thinking positively? All you did was hurt that other April and Karai instead! You tore a family apart! How are you supposed to bring us together when you’re just a violent, blood thirsty, anger filled husk!?"

Angelo's eyes widened. He felt Raph's grip on his shoulders tense. LeonAudro's head tilted to the side as he continued.

"I’ll never feel safe around you again. I bet once April hears what you did she’ll never even come back to the lair. Who knows what you’re capable of now?”

"Stop it," Raph growled. "Leo would never say those things about--"

“Raph, is it easy for you to show your scarred up face to me again when you’ve failed so miserably?" LaonAudro stated, stepping closer to shorten the distance between them all. "Not just now, but again and again and again. How many times will you let me be lost? Injured? Scared? What kind of leader lets his team go on alone? What kind of brother cares so little that I can be missing for so long that this happens!?"

"I... you..."

"You said you’d always protect me!" LeonAudro continued. "You lied! Is this because I’m better than you? Are you punishing me? You want to hurt me? Again?”

"HE SAID STOP IT!" Donnie shouted, standing up definitely against the spore-infected brother before him.

LeonAudro turned his head to peer at his twin.

“And you. You think you're any better?? Your tech was useless, Donnie. Again. Knowing I’m twins with someone who can’t, not even once, save someone he cares about with the only thing he’s good at makes me sick! Maybe you don’t actually care? I bet you’d be fine if I just croaked here and now! You might even like it! I bet you enjoyed getting to play your little villain role because you could hurt us without any consequences! You’re an emotionless, selfish, annoying little freak who wishes he could be normal!”

Donnie's tech-bō materialized a drill in his hands.

"Just because you're using him to say these things doesn't mean it's Leo. We're taking him back. NOW."

LeonAudro sighed glumly.

"It's too late for that, I'm afraid."

"No!" Angelo shouted "We're saving him!!"

LeonAudro somberly lifted his arms up to gesture to the weak and frail body he possessed.

"Look at me, Angie... what is there left to save?? Am I still really worth it to you? Be realistic, I'm better off dead."

"Leo would NEVER say that!" Raph protested.

"You don't know your brother at all..."

LeonAudro gave a weak and meager grin at the boys, his legs nearly giving out beneath him as he struggled to stay upright.

"He's long gone... he really is. Funny, how the spores turned you all into the opposite of who you are... Raphael became a pathetic little worm, willing to give up so easily. Michelangelo became a destroyer, a hate-filled wretch. Donatello couldn't wait to cause the pain of others, to ruin them, to--"

"YOU DID THAT!" Donnie yelled. "That was your twisted vision of us!"

"...And Leonardo. What a poor, unfortunate soul... who would have thought someone so full of hope and endurances could be broken so quickly?"

Raph growled. LeonAudro tilted his head back and grinned wide, licking his lips. The pain tasted so sweet.

"But in the end, he gave up much faster than I expected. Because, he really is just a worthless, wantless, 'WRETCHED LITTLE PEST'."

"NO!" Angie screamed, Raphael having to hold him back from attacking the fungus that covered his brother. "Don't you DARE say that about him!! Leo is still in there! He survived once, we can--"

"ARE YOU DUMB?!" LeonAudro screamed at them, causing everybody to jump back. "OR HARD OF HEARING? OR RELIEVED MY END IS NEARING? ARE YOU SATISFIED?! I SCARED MYSELF TO--"

"NO!!!"

LeonAudro's eyes rolled back, his legs gave out from underneath him.

Raph's hologram arms reached out instantly, catching him and carrying him to them.

"Leo! Leo, wake up, wake up!!" Angelo sobbed, shaking his brother frantically. Donnie grabbed his wrists and yanked him away.

"Angelo, stop, don't shake him like that--"

"But he won't wake up!!"

"He's been weakened by the mushroom," Karai interjected, coming to kneel besides them all. "He doesn't have much time left."

"Well then what do we do?!" Raph sobbed.

"He is still a prisoner of fear," she said sadly, placing the back of her hand against the exposed portion of Leo's forehead, checking for fever. Instead he felt cold, his body shivering and his breaths shuddering. They were getting slower and slower...

"You will need to help free him from the fungus' hold."

"How?!" Angie asked, clinging tightly to Leo's limp hand.

"I can help take you into his nightmare," Karai said. "You can confront him and his fears once you are inside his subconscious."

The boys nodded, each one taking Leo's hand and squeezing tightly as Karai focused on NFIF Leo...

The boys eyes started to glow their signature colours...

They each fell over, lying beside Leonardo on the floor.

Raphael opened his eyes to find himself floating in an empty void.

Well, almost empty.

It was empty in the sense that there were no living beings here. Just debris, wreckage from ginormous mechas and spaceships that were the size of moons. Shards of broken ground and platforms floated about them. There was an odd, twisted version of gravity. Unless you were within five feet of the 'ground', you were basically weightless and could fly around wherever. There was minimal light, and no real source for it. It just sort of faded in and out mysteriously. Though, there were some sharp red pin lights coming from the useless kraang prime suits and ships.

It was cold, here, too. Cold like in the dark room with the --

Yeah. Cold.

Angelo was beside him, as was Dee. He hadn't noticed them at first, the loneliness in this vast empty space was suffocating. He felt like he was going to choke on it.

"Look, there!" Angelo gasped, though in this space his voice carried and echoed so much it was almost a shout.

Angie pointed off into the distance where a single speck of green and blue floated alone. They could hear the faintest weeps coming from it.

"It's Leo!!"

"How do we get to him?" Raph asked, squinting and peering as best he could. His damaged eye was not doing him any favours right now...

"I've got it covered," Donnie said with a grin, grabbing onto Raph's shell. "Oh Raphala, do hang on to Angelo for us, please."

Raph hugged his brother to his chest. Donatello's ninpo activated, creating a huge jetpack that was twice their cumulative size, and the trio blasted off to save their brother from this duplicate prison dimension.

"We're almost there!" Angelo shouted.

"Great, how do we slow down?!" Donnie yelled back.

"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW??"

"In case you haven't noticed, Angelo, this place doesn't exactly follow the typical rules of physics! Unless there's something to slow our accelerated direction, we'll just keep going forever!"

"Raph's got it!" Raphael called out, his ninpo creating a gigantic arm and grabbing onto the broken down ship hull that was just in front of them.

The trio slid down, Angelo using his chains to keep them levitated around their team leader as he drifted motionless, his three brothers surrounding him. They didn't notice the deep dark circles under his eyes, the wounds covering his body, the tearstains that seemed to have been made a permanent addition to his face, the tattered and chipped sword with the dented hilt wrapped in weathered and worn masks, each mask a different but familiar colour... They were just relieved to see him still somewhat alive.

"Leo? Leo, we're here to rescue you--"

Raph had started to reach out for him, but before he could touch his shell the masks tied to the sword suddenly flew at him, transforming into apparitions that haunted the slider, growling and snarling at Raphael, keeping him away.

"GAAH! What the--?! Now there's ghosts? Who's the creepy old guy?"

The ghouls circled around Leonardo. They seemed to be guarding Leo from outsiders... Angelo recognized the fine halo of colour that surrounded them as they circled about him like vultures. One red: large and bulky and missing an eye, the spines on his shell were singed and the entire front of him was burned and scarred beyond recognition; the second purple: a thick shield over his back and broken goggles that covered his damaged face; the last one orange: balding with liver spots and a massive cape that flowed behind him, his hands shattered like glass as remnants and shards of him followed behind as he circled Leonardo, who pressed the sword closer to his chest. Angie swallowed, a sick feeling growing in his stomach.

"I... I think those ghosts are..."

"R-Raph..."

Leo slowly turned to gaze back at Raphael. Tears were pouring down his cheeks.

"Leo! Tell your futuristic guard dogs that we're friendly!"

Leo hiccupped sobs as he watched them.

"I... can't control them..."

"Then we'll find a way through!" Dee yelled, readying his bō staff.

"Th-they're not here to trap me..." he whimpered. "They're here to protect you..."

"Protect us? From what?"

"...Me..."

Leo hugged the sword as tightly as he could, as if it were everything he'd lost in the world.

"They all died saving me. Protecting me. Following my orders. Heck, I actually TOLD Mikey to sacrifice himself! Look what I did to them. What I'll eventually do to you, too..."

Leo curled up tighter into himself, clutching the sword. It's edges were dull, the shine lost ages ago, scuffed and marked and dirty and unloved. Like him. Just like him...

"They hate me, and I deserve it..."

Raph could hear the voices... soft echoes that were earworms, whispering breaths that had their voices plastered onto them, but altered -- gruffer, older, deeper, more strained with time and trauma.

"...it hurts, leo..."

"...you were supposed to protect us, leo..."

"...why did we have to do it instead, leo..?"

With every word, Leo's light began to dim, the colour in his skin and birthmarks faded and became desaturated. With every utterance, his grip on the sword loosened. He was fading away...

Raphael sucker-punched the ghost of his future bad timeline self in the face, sending him reeling back as the ghouls screeched in response. Raph screamed back at them.

"Stop talking about my brother that way!! I would never, ever say those things!"

The two other ghosts lunged at him, but were no match for the younger flesh-and-blood counterparts. Donnie swung his bō at his future phantom, smacking it into the side of its head and sending it careening into the distance. Angelo had his chains swirl around the eldery version of himself and -- with a flick of the wrist -- sent the geezer spiraling into oblivion.

Raphael jumped to Leon and clung to him as firmly as possible.

"Leo. I need you to listen to me, because I'm only ever going to be able to tell this to you once. I never told anyone this, not you or our bros or pops or April or Casey Jr. or anybody. Not even my teddy bears or Princess Peach figurine. So you'd better pay close attention to this confession."

Raph took in a deep breath. He knew Donnie and Angie were listening too. Good. They all might as well hear it, he definitely did not plan to ever bring it up again.

"...When I was part of the kraang -- particularly when I was fighting you -- the kraang tricked me. They'd tricked me before, they'd made me think that I was coming to save you after I'd managed to escape them, They made me think I'd come home... but it was a trick. A dream."

"That was how they found the lair..." Donnie muttered to himself.

"Yeah, well... when I was in the technodrome... when you came to rescue me, and we fought... the kraang did it again. I thought... I thought everyone was dead. Mikey and Donnie were on the floor, they were skewered and bleeding and dead and... and you were in front of me, begging me to save you. A kraang monster or something had you in its grip, and I tried to -- it kept fighting me, every time I went to save you. I was going to kill it to rescue you, I... I didn't realize until after we got home, and you guys explained everything to me -- it was you I was fighting."

Leo ugly sobbed, his face scrunching up as he wrapped his limbs all around Raphael, just like how he used to when he was a kid and needed as much love as he could receive from his big brother. Raph held him closely and rocked him back and forth, giving long gentle strokes down from the top of his head to the middle of his shell.

"B-b-b-but it w-was MY fault that y-you were, were--!" Leo blubbered, Raph interrupting his wails to continue.

“From the moment I knew I had brothers, I knew I would do anything to protect you no matter what you did! You want to know what I really hate about you, Leo!? It’s that you think we don’t like you! We love you. Always have, always will. So stop being dumb and let us help you!”

"Raph's right!" Angelo said, coming close and cupping Leo's stained cheek and giving him his signature sunshine smile. "Even if we died in some other future, and even if it was for you, that was what we decided! If we didn’t do it for you then it would probably have been anyone else in the family! And it’s not because we don’t care about ourselves, it’s because we’ll always take care of each other!”

“I have never, ever known a world without you and I don’t want to!" Donnie added, taking his hand. "If you know how I die then….I would have hoped it was next to you. I hope it was you telling some dumb story or telling a terrible joke! If you don’t want me to die so badly, think about how much I don’t want you to! But that’s what you’re doing! Do not die on me Leo!….Please.” Donnie begs.

Leo's eyes brightened, the colour slowly coming back to his face, the sickly blue in his eyes dripping away as it was replaced, not only by his true blue, but by a mixture of red, orange, and purple. The crescents along his arms and around his eyes began to glow, as did the birthmarks on his brothers.

It was familiar, seeing the light shine in this desolate and lonely place.

But not so lonely anymore...

Leo's eyes slowly opened.

The real world hurt and ached. The arena compound's lights burned his retinas, the sounds and cries deafened him, the warm touch from every hand that reached out for him burned his chilled and slightly feverish skin. Something was pulled from his face -- it had been stuck to his mask and skin but relented in the end, falling off with ease; the roots and mycelium threads gently slipping out of his epidermis. Out of the corner of his blurry vision, he saw UIFY Donnie take the last remnants of the mushroom and disintegrate it with some kind of death ray... good.

Leo barely registered that his brothers were holding him, clutching him close to them and saying loving things to him, trying to get him to respond as proof that he was back with them. Proof he was alive. Not just breathing, but alive. Because when you're a prisoner of fear, you're basically walking dead. And Leo was so tired of being dead in himself. He wanted to live again...

Leo managed a smile to let them know he was alright.

And he fell asleep... with no nightmares.

When Leo awoke again, he was in the medbay. His head was bandaged, and an IV was stuck into his thin and emaciated arm. Raphael was snoring by his bedside, holding his hand in his sleep as he drooled onto the mattress. Dee was reading an article on his tablet in the corner, while Angelo was fidgeting with his wrappings and looking over the new collection of scars he'd gotten.

"...Heyyyy, guys, when's the entr'acte?" Leo joked.

Somehow immediately Raph's head shot up as he snorted awake.

"Snrrk--! Leo? LEO!!"

Raphael wrapped his arms around him in a bear hug, crying into his shoulders as Leo tried to convince him that he was okay. Donnie and Angie joined in soon, with Donnie taking the opposite side of the bed and Angelo simply jumping up onto the mattress and flattening his bedridden bro.

After ten minutes of wholesome crying between the four of them, inspecting each others' injuries and coming upon the decision that they were all lucky to be alive, they calmed down and brought up an important conversation.

"So... we're leaving now, right?" Leo asked, looking around the room for any objections. It was an awkward silence he got instead.

"I mean, it's for the best, right?"

"I think so," Donnie sighed. "We've caused enough trouble already."

"And we lost the contest, anyhow," Raph added. "There's... no real reason to stay."

"I would have liked to say goodbye to everyone, though," Angelo sighed. "But... after everything that happened... maybe you're right. A quiet exit is probably best." He gave an airy chuckle. "In any case, I'm honestly too emotionally exhausted to even try a conversation with anyone."

"We can leave a written apology," Dee offered.

"Good idea," Leo said with a fragile smile. "Let's go."

The four took a small piece of paper and wrote down their apologies to everyone. Leo cried during his portion. Donatello snapped his pencil tip during his. Angelo couldn't find the right words and ended up doing a fourth and fifth draft before Raph finally told him he was done. Raph's section of the note was long and overly poetic, but truly heartfelt.

They left the note on the pillow, and silently left the room.

"Do you even know which way the exit is?" Dee asked.

"No, but I'm pretty sure it's around here somewhere..." Leo replied, as he turned his head around every corner.

"You'd think a med ward would have better signage!" Raph bemoaned softly.

"Look, there it is!" Angelo said, dragging the others to a doorway.

The doors swung open.

"Great, now we can escape without anybody--"

The crowd cheered.

The four boys were stopped in their tracks as an enormous crowd of people with signs and posters and gifts came and shouted their names. For a moment, Leo clutched his katanas and prepared to fight them all before realizing this wasn't an angry mob.

"Guys! Look! It's NO FUN IN FUNGUS!!!"

"They're okay!"

"Thank you for saving us!!"

"You guys are the best!"

"Hey, I know that team!"

"Way to go, you guys!!"

Everyone was here...

rhg!Donnie stood with Ghost, smiling and clapping along with the rest. Ghost gave them a thumbs up. Abby and Diana were screaming cheering their heads off, their universe's Huginn and Munnin wearing tiny t-shirts that had the phrase 'I survived the great Spore Invasion of 2024' scribbled onto them. The Spider-Teetlez were shouting and screaming, Slider-Punk playing celebratory music on his guitar. The mods and employees were here too, ecstatic over the grand victory that they had made, and the fact that they were okay and alive. Even the void brothers were also there, grumpy but willing to let bygones be bygones. Especially after they'd had the effects of the fungus' control over them, they understood what it could make you do.

The entire competition was here.

The teens stared in awe. Leo had started to cry again.

They... they were happy for them?

Happy that they were okay? No one blamed them? No one was angry, no one was bitter, they were simply thankful for their recovery?? They were cheering them on, despite the fact that not 5 hours ago they had almost doomed them all...

But nobody cared about that. Thank Pizza SUPREME.

They just cared that they were okay.

Leonardo smiled.

Raph nudged him forward.

"Well, face-man?" he asked, smiling down at him. "What do we do now?"

Leo chuckled.

"...I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay for a little while longer...!"

And that is that.

They are safe. Leo knows it was not his fault, it was not his blame. They are all returned to each other, the spores destroyed completely. Or, at least until another author chooses to use an ask. And the UIFY family is also resting comfortably, back in the medbay yet again.

Everyone is safe and sound.

Even I. The Hand.PNG.

You didn't truly think I was gone for good, did you?

No, of course not!

Ah well, their crossover is completed. They may join together at some other time, but until that moment comes, I think they deserve a good rest, now that their task is complete.

And mine as well. I wonder what I shall do now... I'm sure the authors will find some way for me to have fun with them again. I do so love being in their stories.

However, there is one last thing I must do, though it pains me to do it...

The Until I Found You AU cannot remember this final battle. I'm sorry, I know. But they simply cannot. They are not ready to understand the concept of the Authors, nor their ninpo. Especially their ninpo. It isn't their time. They aren't meant to know these things yet. But soon... Someday, perhaps they will be allowed to recall all they did, but until then they must forget their feats... and forget me, as well. I shall become a shadow of a memory. Ah, but it isn't too sad! Most of them probably wish they could forget me! And I don't blame them. It was quite a run I had, eh? Quite a story we told.

And yet, there is one last part of the story left to tell...

UIFY Mikey woke up somewhat groggily from a strange dream. He wasn't sure how he got here, in the medbay... he could remember... getting spored in the lounge area... but... not much after. There were vague recollections of a battle... an explosion... versions of his family... but nothing solid, nothing that wasn't a fuzzy blur and left him with a woozy spell when he tried to think about it a little too hard.

Oh well. If he couldn't remember it, then it probably wasn't worth remembering!

He was downright exhausted, though. He felt like he could sleep for an eternity or two.

The only reason he'd woken up in the first place was because of someone... humming....

"...With every job when it's complete, there is a sense of bittersweet... That moment when you know the task is done..."

Mikey groggily opened his eyes to look over at the singing lady. She must've been a mod, or an employee, or a nurse or something. She was human, wearing an oversized denim jacket and tiny pale lavender flowers and petals in her messy hair. She was placing a small tray of water and crackers, plus a tiny bouquet of bright yellow daffodils on the bedside table.

"...Though in your heart you'd like to stay, to help things on their way... You've always known... They must do it alone..."

The lady turned to smile at him.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Um, no, not really," Mikey lied.

"How are you doing?" she asked, checking his hands to make sure they were alright. Her fingers traced over each scar and blemish... an impressive feat, considering Mikey's bandages covered them and she couldn't have seen the marks.

"I'm alright," he yawned. "A little... woozy..."

"I understand wholly. Here, have some water..."

She gave the cup to Mikey, who slurped it down. Mikey thought her hands looked familiar... he wasn't sure why, though. But something about how real they were...

"Thanks..." he gulped, having downed the entire glass.

"No probbles. I just wanted to take a quick moment and make sure you were doing well!"

"I'm okay," Mikey chuckled. "Are my families... is the NFIF team okay? Did we save em?"

"Yes, they're all present and accounted for," she said with a grin. They're just in the other room. I think the med ward should be releasing you all soon... You deserve a big respite, I think. You've done a lot. Oh yeh, I also wanted to quick tell you something!"

"Tell me something?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yep! I wanted to let you know how important you are."

"Me?" Mikey laughed, wondering what this was about. "Important??"

"Oh yeah! Mhm! I know you sometimes feel like your personal story isn't glamorous, or that you might not be so impressive, or that others are doing better than you. But you should know how wonderful and amazing you are. Did you know, people talk all the time about how inspiring and relatable you are! And I just think that's wonderful."

"You make it sound like I'm a character in a story!" Mikey laughed.

"Well, we're all kind of like the main character of our own stories, aren't we?" she beamed.

"I never thought about it like that, actually," Mike hummed, tapping his chin. "What do you think your character's purpose is about?"

She paused, not expecting that query. Her eyes darted upwards, reflecting the light against the green and amber gold that speckled her irises, and bouncing off of her cheeks with white radiance. She pondered the question for a second before smiling brightly.

"I'd say prolly the same as yours," she stated. "I think I'm meant to inspire."

She laughed afterwards.

"Or at least, I hope I inspired somebody! Anywhoser, I'd better let you get back to your rest," the girl sighed, a sort of melancholic exhale that said she'd rather stay longer, but had to go.

"Oh, okay!" Mikey yawned, snuggling deeper under his blankets. He thought about going to see the guys before they left...

"See you around," the girl said as she walked away....

Mikey wondered who the human girl was, if not a nurse. She wasn't dressed like a nurse. Maybe she belonged to an AU... Ah, well. Maybe he would see her again one of these days.

Boots waited outside the medbay for their 'accomplice'. She'd wanted to make a dramatic exit and say 'hello' -- or rather, 'goodbye'. For now.

The competition was so nice in the calm and quiet aftermath. Tiny turtle tots giggled as they chased one another for their games. Parent versions of Leo and Donnie and Mikey and Raph and Cassandra and everyone else meandered about with their wards. A water fountain nearby trickled. The sweet scent of chocolate cake pops filled the air. As Boots waited, they pulled out a few stickers and decorated a scrapbook they'd brought with them. A mushroom sticker was placed on an electric blue sheet of paper. Boots enjoyed the peace... they hoped it would last for a little while. At least, until the next story came into play. Speaking of, out from the medbay frollocked the self-proclaimed weird kid author, smiling happily.

"All good?" Boots asked.

"All good," Pheebs responded, her denim jacket bouncing along with every skip she took. "They're all sleeping, now."

"I'm glad you got to see them; I wouldn't even dare to see my guys after what happened," Boots laughed.

"You wouldn't have to say who you were," Pheebs clarified. "I mean, it's not like they know what you look like."

"True, but even still, it'd freak me out too much and I'd end up spilling some of the beans!"

Pheebs laughed at that.

"I guess... anyways, shall we go?"

"I'm ready if you are," Boots sighed, folding up the scrapbook supplies and tucking it away. "Our guys deserve a good long rest..."

"Yeah. Though..."

"Though?"

"...I think I have one last moment I want to include."

End of Act 3

Epilogue