#Tw: implied parental abuse

[allykakamatsu]

The Demon Siblings, Chapter 1.

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Rating: T

Original Characters

Chapter 1 Trigger Warnings: Parental Abuse, not shown but implied.

Story as a whole loosely based on @yusuke-of-valla Demon Fam Au.

One night, Yuna went with her Mother Ivy for a business deal, and for better or worse, that night changed her life forever.

Chapter under cut

A Contract Gone Wrong

10 years ago, Yuna:

“Alright, we’re here!,” Mom announces making me wake up from my nap as she parks the car outside of a somewhat old looking church, “Yuna sweetie it’s time to get out!”

“Ah, coming mom!” I agree trying my best to wake myself up and stay awake, easier said than done given that it’s well past my bedtime.

“Okay, let’s get a move on, don’t want to keep my client waiting.” Mom states as she takes my hand and we walk inside the church. Apparently someone wants to commission Mom for a painting but they wanted to meet up here for some reason, and because it’s late and Mom couldn’t get a babysitter because everyone’s afraid to go outside with the Demon barrier being weaker so she’s taking me along.

Still, I have my sketchbook at least and once we’re inside the church it does look very nice so I can hopefully just draw while I wait for Mom to talk to her client. But….

“Mom, are we here early?” I ask a bit confused because I can’t see anyone else in here.

Mom smiles before answering. “Don’t worry about it sweetie, they just said they’d meet me outside, you just wait in here so no demons will try to get you, okay?”

“Okay but…. Are you sure this is a good idea being here this late?” I’m sure this is just nothing, but…. Something is giving me a very bad feeling about this.

Mom smile turns somewhat aggressive as she replies. “Normally no, but this is life changing money this client is promising, it will me fine, so just stay in here and don’t cause a scene, got it?”

“Got it.” I agree making Mom nod approvingly as she goes back outside, but I can’t shake my nerves so I go and sit by the door so I can hear if something goes wrong.

“-so once you sign here and here, we have a deal.” A male voice that I don’t recognise says outside the door, and I’m assuming it’s Mom’s client.

“Ah perfect, but can I give it one more read over first?” Mom asks and I guess the man agrees cause I barely hear the crinkling of paper being passed over, and after a minute of silence I hear the sound of pen hitting paper.

“The contract is now sealed,” the man states as (I think) Mom hands the paper back, “now then- wait, that’s not your name written there.”

“Contract never said it had to be my soul that I gave up.” Mom replies sounding smug- wait soul?!Is… is Mom bargaining with a demon?!

“What-?! Oh the hells it doesn’t, damn it your majesty I though I told you to take this to Seth first to make sure there’s no loopholes,” the demon replies with exasperation, “fine, I guess a deal is still a deal, but you do know the soul has to be nearby for me to take it right?”

“Oh I know, and she’s just inside there.” Mom answers-!! Inside…. I’m the only one in here…. Is she…. No, no way…. She wouldn’t, would she?

Creaking the door open a bit to not draw any attention, I see Mom with her back to the door looking at her nails like this is boring, along with the still exasperated Demon who’s a guy with black hair, blue eyes with slitted pupils, along with cat ears, claws and double tails (a Japanese Nekomata I think if I remember from my Demon studies correctly) and wearing a fancy suit. He also looks me in the eye after a moment but instead of any anger or ‘I am going to eat you’ he just looks at me with pity.

After that the Nekomata glares at Mom like he’s trying to burn her with an eye blast. “Oh you are a monster, fine then, if this is the type of parent you are then the kid will probably be better off in the Hells anyway.” With that the demon snaps his fingers-!!

“Fire!! Fire!!,” I yelp as I’m surrounded by flames which gets Mom’s attention, “Mom help me!! Please!”

“Now Yuna, you remember that you promised you’d do anything to make me happy,” Mom tells me with a smirk on her face, “well this will make me a lot happier, so just be nice for the demons, okay?”

“H H Huh…?,” I stammer not knowing what to say as Mom walks away, “w wait, Mom-!! AGH!!!!!”

Fire fire oh god!! It’s not hurting at least but why am I surrounded by it?! Thankfully it goes away after a minute…. But I suddenly have much bigger problems because now I’m in some kind of throne made of obsidian and gold?!

What…. What’s happening….?!” I manage to ask while struggling to breathe, I don’t know if it’s because of the stress, the air, both or something else but what is going on, and if this is a dream I want to wake up!

“Child, I know this is stressful but calm down.” the Nekomata demon tells me as he rubs my back a little, and while it helps me breathe it doesn’t help my stress.

“A Are you going to eat me….?,” I ask while pinching myself and hoping this a dream but unfortunately not, “all my t teachers day demons eat people….”

“Okay first of all that’s only the flesh demons, 95% of us don’t do that,” he assures me, “and secondly, my boss who your ‘mother’ was supposed to give her soul to but gave yours instead, she’s a big softie for kids so you’ll be alright, I promise.”

“O Okay…. But…..,” I struggle to get out as now I’m starting to cry, “why… why would Mom do this…? I I was good, I I did everything right and w when I messed up I fixed it…! W Why would Mom s send me away…!”

“Because some humans are worse than any demon down here,” the demon tells me while handing me a napkin to dry my eyes with, “some people are so selfish and power hungry they’ll hurt anyone, even innocents to do it. This isn’t your fault child, alright?”

“I I guess…” I… I’m still not entirely convinced. I have to of done something wrong for Mom to do this, when she gets mad it’s always my fault. But before I can think of anything I get distracted by two pillars of fire appearing in the room and a pair of people coming out of each.

The first one has a demon woman with blonde hair, red eyes, pirate clothes and has a golden tail and matching scales on her face, and she’s accompanied by a boy slightly older than me with somewhat dark skin and neat brown hair and eyes.

The second one meanwhile has a demon man with dirty blonde hair with blue eyes, fangs, red face markings, horns and a Japanese style outfit so I’m assuming he’s an Oni, and he’s with a girl also a bit older than me with braided pale brown hair and maroon eyes.

“Ah- what?!,” the boy yelps as the two demons look confused, “w what’s going on here?! Where am I?!”

“I’m assuming the Burning Hells,” the girl replies looking freaked out but probably the calmest out of the three of us, “which isn’t good but honestly I’m surprised my Father didn’t do this sooner.”

“Okay, we’ll unpack that later,” the Oni states as he pulls over the pirate and the Nekomata, “why the hell are there kids here, the ones we were negotiating with were adults.”

“Well, I don’t know about you two,” the Nekomata explains while pulling out a piece of paper and the two kids go over to me nervously, “but the boss forgot to send the contract for loophole checking so the one who I was sent to signed her daughters soul away instead, that shy blue haired girl over there.”

“!! H Hi….” I stammer still feeling very nervous about all of this.

“Wait, they can do that?,” The pirate asks as they pull out a piece of paper and read it, “oh fuck you’re right.”

“Glad to know incompetent law makers aren’t just an earth thing.” The girl quips shocking me and the boy and the three demons laugh.

“How are you so calm about this miss, our parents sold us to hell!” The boy yelps panicked.

“It’s Ayra, Ayra George, so don’t bother with the miss thing please. And my father never gave a damn about me, and he’s power hungry as hell,” the girl replies, “so I always kinda figured it would either be I get out of the house or he’d sell me off, either to a devil or an orphanage.”

“Um…. Since we’re introducing ourselves, I I’m Yuna….,” I awkwardly introduce because I should probably at least be on good terms with the kids I’m in this mess with, “a and I’m in the opposite boat, I was always being the best I could be, and I I thought my Mom cared about me but…. I want to say I guess she didn’t but I can’t shake the feeling I did something wrong….”

“Hey, what did we say about this, don’t blame yourself child, okay?” The Nekomata reminds me and I nod even if I’m still not entirely convinced.

“The cat guy is right,” the boy agrees, “and I might as well introduce myself as well. I’m Henry Oliver, and I…. Well, I noticed my Dad was becoming more distant lately but…. I didn’t think it was because of this, so I guess I’m in the middle of the ‘saw this coming’ spectrum? I’m sorry I just have no idea what to do right now.”

“Don’t worry kid, I think we’re all confused right now, but we’ll work something out” the Dragon assures him with a toothy grin and I see she has very sharp teeth, “oh, I’m Ryoko by the way! And those two are Akio and Mahiro respectively.”

“Greetings.” The Nekomata, Mahiro, states politely with a small bow meanwhile the Oni, Akio, awkwardly waves, I suppose he’s a bit shy. 

Before anyone else can say anything else though, the door to the throne room swings open (and me and Henry hold onto each other in panic) and in comes two people.

The first is a teenager girl with messy black hair with red tips, along with blood red eyes with black sclera, pointy ears, horns and a tail as well as a pink red and black gothic styled dress.

The second is a woman who looks very similar to the girl, but is easily the tallest person in the room, and is wearing a red, gold and black dress, pure black hair that’s long and messy, one eye covered with a gold wrap and the exposed one is bright red with black sclera, and even longer tail and horns.

“Alright, I have arrived, where are those new souls-?!,” the woman declares before spotting me Henry and a surprisingly calm Ayra and looks frustrated, “guys, why the hell are there three eight year olds here?”

“A Actually I’m seven….” I mumble hoping what Mahiro said about the boss being a sucker for kids is true.

“As for what happened boss,” Mahiro explains while handing the woman 3 pieces of paper, “there was a loophole in the contact and the signers sold their children’s souls instead of their own. This is why I told you to have Seth double check the contracts first.”

“Ugh, jackasses, and I’ll remember next time,” she groans before turning back to us, “and kids, I’m gonna explain what’s going on here. First of all, welcome to the Burning Hells, wish the circumstances were better but oh well. And before you ask no I’m not gonna take your souls or do anything to you, you’re kids and your parents swindled all of us so don’t worry about that.”

“Oh, um, thank you madam.” Henry states awkwardly.

“Just call me Aravni,” she tells us all with a smile, “now, normally I’d send you all back no problem, however your parents just sold your souls away so like hell I’m sending you back to them, so, do you have any other relatives?”

“Not that I’m aware of/Nope/I was adopted and Mom is the only person from my adopted family that I know.” Henry, Ayra and myself answer making Aravni and the other Demons in the room look at each other in concern.

“Okay, that’s out,” Aravni states after a moment as well as a bit of face wrinkling, “how about plan B, kids, how would you like to stay here instead?”

“….. What?!” All three of us ask because, yeah, what?!

“Aww, don’t freak out kids,” the teenager says cheerfully finally joining in-Agh she’s picking us up!, “things down here are great! Plus staying with Mom in particular means you get a nice house, good food, and most importantly, yours truly as a big sis.”

“Raquel calm down you’re scaring the kids!” Akio yelps as he runs over and helps us all down and is it just me or do I feel a bit dizzy.

“Aww come on Aki I was just being friendly.” Raquel replies with a toothy grin.

“Yeah well can your friendliness come with a warning next time please….” Ayra mumbles looking even more dizzy than me so we both just lean on each other while Henry just looks baffled.

“Ehe, yeah, those two are a bit much, especially together, but you get used to it.” Ryoko assures us with a wink.

“I believe we should confirm if they want to stay first before you say that Ryoko.” Mahiro chimes in making all the demons, even Aravni, pout.

“Well, I don’t know about you two,” Ayra states, “but it looks like our options are either here or an orphanage, and I’ve already been to the latter and I know it isn’t good, so unless just being down here will kill me then I guess I’ll stay.”

“Don’t worry, it’s totally safe for humans, it’s been a while but we’ve had some stay for decades before,” Aravni assures her as she and Raquel get excited, “now, what about you two?”

“Well…. If it isn’t any trouble then I suppose so?” Henry agrees albeit looking noticeably less sure then Ayra- wait why is everyone looking at me now- oh right.

“I…,” I say not knowing for sure but sighing as I realise no one will really miss me back on the surface, “I guess….”

“Alright, hi five kids!” Ryoko tells us and after the three of us look at each other awkwardly for a moment we all return it and I crack a smile despite myself. I don’t know what I did to make Mom send me here but, whether I deserved it or not, maybe I’ll avoid making those same mistakes here.

“That’s the spirit,” Aravni tells us all with a smile, “now, as much as I’d love to give you three the tour myself, me and Mahiro have to go talk to Seth, not only to get the loopholes out of these contracts, but also to make sure this get’s formalised. I’ll be back in like an hour though, promise!”

“Later Mom!,” Raquel says cheerfully as the two demons leave before smirking, “alright new siblings, we have an hour to screw around and find out until they’re done, how’s about a kitchen raid?!”

“Um, by raid, do we mean steal food or actually raid it?” Henry asks looking curious and like he’s not opposed to either option.

“We do the latter sometimes, but for now let’s stick to the former,” Akio explains with a small chuckle, “you kids need some cupcakes.”

“He’s right, and here’s your warning,” Raquel agrees before picking us up again-!!, “now let’s get going-!!”

“FIRE!!!!” Henry screams as he hides by pressing into me for dear life because Raquel has fire coming out of her back!

“Huh, oh, these are just my wings,” she explains like this is normal, “all Noble Demons get fire wings, but unless I actively want to hurt someone with them they don’t burn, promise.”

“Beautiful…” I blurt out cause now that the panics over and I’m getting a better look at the pink, yellow and red flames they do look lovely.

“And awesome.” Ayra agrees also looking impressed, and after hesitating Henry uses his free hand to phase it through the flames, and after a few times and it seemingly not hurting he smiles brightly.

“If you think that’s awesome, I got something to show you kids tomorrow,” Ryoko adds as she and Akio start running with Raquel flying after them, “now come on, let’s go!

[cryptic-underground]

Please, Not Him

Watched the mirror scene one night and got possessed to draw this. Hehe, enjoy! :))

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Finally getting help (prt 4)

Masterpost

The bats worked through the night, coordinating and researching everything that needed to be done. Distortion showed up on the camera which they assumed was Vlad trying to get in but he didn’t manage it. After he finished trying from multiple angels including somehow from directly above (well Zatana did say invisibility, intangibility, and flight were the minimal powers they should expect from creatures of the infinite realms.) He turned human again and spent a long time banging on their front door.

He tried to call the cops but commissioner Gordon called Bruce directly to get the full story then told Vlad it could be dealt with in the morning. Zatana was also coordinating people heading to Amity, a full on raid of the GIW, and the Fentons.

Batman and Superman were collecting all the information that the raid team was sending out and workshopping public statements they could sent out to the public and the government about the unacceptable things they had found and the steps the JL was taking to fix it. The government was not going to be happy they knew, with the JL ‘over-stepping’ into their business and actually getting the word out about the atrocities a branch of their government and their pet scientists had been planning. The JL needed to get out ahead of it before the narrative could be twisted against them.

It was first thing in the morning when they did a live broadcast from the watchtower with Batman, Superman, and Zatana telling the world about the parallel world existing harmlessly along side their own, and the way the government tried to exploit it. The atrocities committed under the name of the Anti-Ecto acts with the ignorance of the public as a cover.

It was at the same time that Constantine, Dick, and Cas were raiding the Fenton’s home. Of course they were armed, but so were the bats, and they were used to fighting people who were armed. It wasn’t a particularly hard fight.

A redhead was sitting wide eyed at the kitchen table. “Can’t we just have one normal day!” She suddenly snapped but she was glaring at her parents, standing up and slamming her hands on the table.  “First you send Danny away with Vlad even though you KNOW they hate each other and it’s a school day and now this! What did you do to bring the heroes down on us!?”

“I don’t know Jazzybear!” Jack half whined as he was forced into power supressing cuffs to neutralize his minor super strength and sat down in the living room.

“I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding, don’t worry sweetie,” Maddie added, both of them were dressed in jump suits which did not help their supervillain vibes.

“it’s not a mistake mate, you’ve been messing with shit you really shouldn’t. And that portal in your basement is a fucking beacon welcoming a war. You’ve gone unchecked for too god damn long, we’re taking over things now.” Constantine told them before stalking down into the basement with Tim on his heels, Batman would be joining them as soon as they were done their press conference.

Cas stayed to watch the parents and Dick approached Jazz gently. “Hey can I talk to you in private please? It’s about your brother,” He said gently and she stiffened immediately. Looking at him in a way that made him feel like she could see straight into his soul and froze him to the spot. After a moment though she just sighed and nodded, beckoning to him to follow her upstairs, to a room that was probably Danny’s not her own. She sat on his bed and grabbed a bear that had been sitting on the edge, waving for him to sit at the desk.

“So, what do you know?” She asked with a sigh.

“Well, last night Vlad took Danny to a Wayne Gala, one of Bruce’s daughter Cas is really good with body language and clocked that something was wrong so she and one of the other kids got him away from Vlad and out of the party. I guess he really needed some adult support because he broke down and told them a lot, about the Phantom thing, the ghosts and… something you’re not going to like. But first I want you to know he’s safe, Bruce Wayne is a licensed foster parent and he’s taking good care of Danny, you can come live with them too if you want.

“We’re going to deal with the ghosts and the GIW and everything else now, I can’t promise by the end of this you won’t need somewhere else to go. I have a feeling if Batman and the Martian family have anything to say about this your parents will end up in prison for their unethical experiments.”

“As long as Danny is okay,” Jazz said firmly. “I was only staying to take care of him anyway, just get me emancipated and a scholarship for Gotham U so I can study while still being close to him I’ll be fine. I’m almost 18 as it is.”

Dick nodded, she was a smart and driven girl, she knew what she wanted, he could respect that. “Now, the thing you won’t like…” he trailed off and took a deep breath. “Danny is pregnant.”

“What!?“ Jazz blanched, gaping at him for a long minute. “That can’t be right! I mean I knew he was trans but he’s usually only interested in girls, how would he even-“ She cut off her eyes widening. “It was Vlad wasn’t it?” She gritted out with an expression the promised excruciating violence.

“Yes,” Dick said shifting awkwardly in his chair.

“Right.” Jazz said and got up, coldly calm. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back.” She grabbed a baseball bat from next to Danny’s bed that seemed to be glowing slightly then marched to the other side of the room, opened a cabinet and pulled out two odd looking guns. Before Dick could say much of anything she had vaulted out of the window and taking off down the street.

“Oh dear,” Dick muttered faintly before heading back downstairs. “Hey Cas can we turn on the news, some sort of local station?” He asked. Cas nodded and searched around for the remote, turning it on to find the channel was already on local news.

Vlad was already on there, talking about how it was awful Bruce Wayne had Kidnapped a local child Danial Fenton, and he could not be allowed to get away with this just because he was rich! But that didn’t last long, they watched for a few minutes before a blur of red hair and blue rushed past the camera.

“YOU TOUCHED MY BROTHER YOU CREEP!” Jazz said as she came out swinging and she must have quite the arm because her first swing sent him nearly flying off the stage. He scrambled to get up as she lunged at him again.

“Now Jasmine you’ve clearly been misinformed, I didn’t do anything-“ His muffled voice was cut off as she swung the bat again and he yelped as she hit him in the stomach.

“YOU GOT HIM PREGNANT! YOU DID THIS! YOU SHOULD BEHIND BARS NOT BEHIND A PODIUM YOU FROOTLOOP!” She shrieked as she swung again and this time he managed to dodge. The cameras following them as Jazz chased him down the street, the sound of his supplications and her shrieking fading out as they became more and more distant.

It took a frantic moment for the camera angle to switch to something else, maybe a drone, which was able to follow them down the street.

“You Don’t UNDERSTAND! I didn’t want to hurt him! I just wanted a perfect son! If he had just agreed to be my son none of this would have happened! When I knew it failed I told him to let them die!” Vlad yelled at her, though that did NOT seem to comfort Jazz at all. She had devolved into shrieking book titles like curses as she chased him with the bat and shot at him with the guns though her aim didn’t seem very good.

Well they had him admitting to it on camera now. As he watched a new actor joined the fray, a girl in a red jumpsuit holding a blaster.

“You did what to Danny!?” She demanded as she pointed the blaster at Vlad.

“Oh cheespuffs!” Vlad breathed, his eyes widening as Jazz trailed off letting who must be Red Huntress take over the chase as Vlad shouted about how he had made her! He had given her her weapons she couldn’t use them against him! Which did not seem to be stopping her.

The camera fuzzed out for just a second and then Valery was chasing a ghost with red eyes and a white outfit. Cas was laughing silently at the show and both of the Fenton parents seemed to be in shock. A few minutes later Jazz walked back in through the front door looking tired.

“Turn that off please,” she sighed as she put the bat down.

“Of course,” Cas agreed and picked up the remote again, turning off the tv. 

“Vlad didn’t actually do that, did he Jazzy?” Jack asked softly, he sounded so hurt, as if he had any fucking right!

Jazz looked at him blankly. “How many times have we tried to warn you about him? How many times has Danny told you he didn’t feel safe with Vlad? But as usual you couldn’t see past your own desires. I’m going to go see if the trenchcoat guy needs any help getting into your files,” She sighed before vanishing downstairs. 

Dick glanced at Cas, and then followed them, she would have no trouble watching the Fentons and staying quiet whereas Dick felt like he was about to explode. Batman joined them before long and between the three of them they shut the bulkheads on the portal and locked them, secured dangerous chemicals and devices, and downloaded everything they could. There were plenty of prototypes and blueprints, and stuff that could generously be called research.

It was obvious these people were geniuses but it was even more obvious that at some point they had become careless and obsessive. Half of the writing on the blueprints wasn’t legible, dangerous chemicals were not in proper containment, and the weapons were not locked up. Looking at all of this it wasn’t surprising that two of the people they had been involving in their research suffered exposure, it was a surprise more hadn’t. It was easy to tell when Bruce came down he was horrified, it was in the way he froze when he saw the lab, as if his brain was struggling to process just how irresponsible the Fenton parents had been.

“You must be Jazz, it’s nice to meet you. Danny speaks highly of you,” He finally rebooted to say when she waved at him. 

“I love my little brother, I always did the best I could to keep him safe from… all this,” Jazz said gesturing at the lab with a sigh. “I wish it had done any good.”

“You did plenty of good,” Dick put in. “Trust me, to a kid having someone care about them can make all the difference. 

“All those nights I patched him up after he came back from fighting ghosts. He healed fast but still. I can’t believe… he’s already been through so much and we knew Vlad was up to something! Ellie said she was our cousin but she looked just like him, I should have kept a closer eye on-” She cut off and shook her head. “He’s a good kid, of course if he couldn’t give the babies up, even if it would be better for them if he did. I hope he knows I’d support him either way, I hope he didn’t not tell me because he thought I’d be upset at Him.”

“I’m sure he didn’t,” Dick assured her gently. “Being a big sibling is hard, I know. But trust me you’re doing a great job, better than I did with my brothers,” he said, patting her shoulder. “You can ask him yourself later though. We have a lot to get done today to make sure he’s safe.”

She nodded stubbornly and doubled down on her work, directing them occasionally to where she knew they’d find more weapons or logs. She knew her way around the lab to a disturbing extent. 

Bruce and Dick both got a notification from Agent A saying that after a substantial sleep in Danny had woken up and was having breakfast. He seemed worried about the family but he was taking it alright, especially since he knew they were busy people. It did motivate Dick to clear things up as soon as they could so that they could get back to Danny though. The last thing he needed was More stress!

They had plenty of evidence of the Fenton parents breaking the law to call the police and have them taken away which gave them all the time they needed to strip the house. They got everything they could and decided to leave Constantine at the house to watch the portal until they could figure out how to shut it down completely without causing any damage. It seemed unstable so they didn’t want to risk it just now, especially without Danny’s input because according to Jazz Danny had made genuine connections in the Infinite Realms. 

They wrapped up this stage of the investigation before dinner after being up for about 36 hours. Of course they weren’t Done, there was still plenty to do investigating the government, how they’d gotten away with this and if they had any other nasty tricks up their sleeve. They’d have to manage any backlash from this unilateral move, and they’d have to figure out what to tell the public about Danny since Bruce would be fostering him. But all that could be done after having a family dinner with their new brother and a nap. 

part 5

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[bl0w-m3]

[kiwibirbkat]

Suffering

KRIS was suffering.

It was controlling them. It made their decisions. They couldn't escape It. It was always there. Even when they were in control.

SUSIE knew KRIS was suffering.

Kris acted weirdly. They were clearly depressed. And they never wore short sleeves.

They would go into this trance like state sometimes and then just flash out of it, looking panicked. Only during important events, for some reason...

And they always seemed so tired. Like they spent the entire night awake.

SUSIE didn't like their suffering.

Susie was always confused when Kris would go into that state.

And concerned when Kris flinched or winced whenever anybody touched their arm.

And upset when she had to explain to Toriel that the reason her kid was passed out in her arms was unknown to her, even if she had theories.

SUSIE wanted to help KRIS.

Susie would comfort Kris when they got out of the trance. It became their routine. Kris went into a trance, got panicked when they got out. Susie put her hand on their shoulder and would reassure them that they didn't do something bad. Kris would invite Susie to their house in thanks. Though it was confusing when they would invite her even when they didn't have a trance...

Susie never pushed about their arms. It didn't seem fair. Not when she would be a hypocrite. But she did try to cheer Kris up everyday. And sometimes it worked!

Whenever they had sleepovers, Susie always made Kris sleep. She said she needed to hug something to sleep. Kris bought it. They cuddled and they both ended up sleeping. And she would carry them home whenever they passed out in school.

But SUSIE was suffering too.

SUSIE was suffering.

Her parents never got any nicer. She ached constantly. And they never bought food for her. Her brother had already run away because of it, but they never learned their lesson.

KRIS knew SUSIE was suffering.

Kris knew something was up with Susie's home life.

She was always hurt. She claimed that it was from a fight, but nobody in the town was brave enough to fight Susie and hurt her. And she flinched whenever anybody raised their arms around her.

Susie always scratched at her arms when she was anxious. Even Kris could recognize that was unhealthy, even if they had similar tendencies.

Susie was also always hungry. Not a healthy amount of hunger. No normal hunger would drive you to eat the things she did. It was like she was never fed.

KRIS didn't like their suffering.

Kris would frown whenever Susie would come to school with a limp, or a split lip, or a black eye.

The frown deepened when they saw her eat chalk out of desperation.

Even deeper when the scratching would draw blood.

KRIS wanted to help SUSIE.

Kris always invited Susie over to their house. It was better for their mom to embarrass them in front of their friend than for Susie to be hurt.

Kris would always share their lunch with Susie. And eat the things she did to make Susie feel less out of place. And give her the bigger slice when they made pie with Toriel.

Kris always distracted Susie when the scratching got bad. Pulling her into a conversation. Giving her something to do with her hands. Challenging her to a thumb war.

But KRIS was suffering too.

[idiot-mushroom]

normal trip to mcdonalds

[forget-meabh-not]

our dad had a stroke. So,, yeah. Not doing so great. since I’m left at home alone. With no caretakers. Yay.

I can’t bring myself to care that he had a stroke. He hurt us so bad all of our life. Does that make us a bad person ? If it does then we are fine with that.

[theweightlessness-recedes]

My new Omori AU explained in 1 second:

[aftgficrec]

Anonymous asked: Is there any new Nicky and or/twinyard centred fics or any Kevin wymack bonding ones?

Or wymack parenting the other foxes?

Here’s part 2, Kevin bonding with Wymack under various circumstances! - S

NB: Nicky/twinyards centered fics here, parental Wymack here

also see…

Kevin & Wymack bonding here

changes by ParkeRose [Rated M, 15588 words, incomplete, last updated July 2024]

After Tetsuji Moriyama gives him up at the age of fourteen, Kevin Day goes to his father with one letter in his pocket and infinite hope in his heart.

dreams fall hard by cloudberrysoda [Rated T, 1979 words, complete, 2024]

Part 2 of human behavior (do as you please)

"You look like shit, kid." Kevin talks to his dad (and accidentally reveals too much). Set during vanilla baby. Read that first

tw: implied/referenced alcohol abuse

These Green Eyes (Hers, Yours) by maydaykevin [Rated G, 1649 words, complete, 2024]

Kevin and David share a quiet moment.

tw: implied/referenced abuse

stamps by mostly_micro (mostly_maudlin) [Rated G, 100 words, complete, 2024]

The first arrives a week after Wymack gets home.

a lot's gonna change by neverlyxox [Rated T, 7347 words, complete, 2023]

Kevin started going to therapy at the beginning of the fall semester. It hadn’t been his idea, nor was he particularly happy about it. He could barely talk to the Foxes about his issues– and when he did, he definitely wasn’t sober– so how was he supposed to talk to a total stranger about it?

tw: alcohol abuse

boiling alive (at least it's what it feels like) by redinmyveins [Rated G, 1031 words, complete, 2023]

Part 2 of by the end of the day, we only have ourselves

Kevin Day is the best, but unfortunately his immunity system isn't and he ends up with the worst flu he ever had. By the way, that's also the first time David Wymack has to deal with the feeling of caring about someone of his kids sick. More specifically, his kid. His son. Or the first time David Wymack experiences one of the first experiences of being a parent: Having to take care of your kid when he's sick.

tw: negative self talk

one is chance, two is coincidence, and three's a pattern, (but let’s stop at two, okay?) by mistyrie [Rated M, 11396 words, complete, 2023]

It's the summer after winning championships when David Wymack gets a rude wake-up call. Apparently, an old acquaintance of his has passed and left behind a son in her wake — a son who may turn out to be David's... Another Kevin, so to say - and just as he and David are starting to figure it out together. – Because if it happened once, then why wouldn't it a second time?

tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced alcohol abuse/alcoholism

loveless is no way to live by orphan_account [Rated T, 5934 words, complete, 2021]

just kevin crying, really (+ wymack trying to be a good dad)

tw: anxiety, tw: emotional isolation, tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: emotional abuse, tw: ptsd, tw: nervous breakdown

i’m so sorry, dad by grievingfortheliving [Not Rated, 1215 words, complete, 2021, locked]

The missing scene where Wymack learns he has a son

Tapes by Marmeladeskies [Rated G, 781 words, complete, 2019]

Wymack declutters and finds an old VHS tape.

Kevin’s call to Wymack at thanksgiving by @ninyard [tumblr, 2024]

it’s such a good reason as to why i could put him on the stand. like perfect kevin day trying to explain why he’d seen a dead body and called wymack before anything else? and how that phone call went as well? what if they played it?

tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced murder

NB: this is on ao3 as ‘i'll call you back’ by minyard03, recced here

When team USA wins Olympic Gold for the first time… by @exy-shmexy [tumblr, 2023]

Art

like father, like son 🫶 by @deklo

wymack and lil kevin 🫶 by @deklo

Wymack and Kevin’s first Christmas by @jojen-hewitt

[lady-wallace]

Whumptober Day 17 - "Lost in these Memories" (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

More Fugo whump for today's @whumptober fic, (With Stand Hugs!)

~~~~~~~

Prompts Used: Collar, Touch Aversion, 'Leave me alone' Fandom: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5 Character: Fugo

~~~~~~~

Read on Ao3

Read on FF.net

~~~~~~~

Bucciarati made up the tray of food, purposefully placing the bowl of soup, the spoon and napkin, and the glass of water as he mentally prepared to face his youngest team member again.

It had been five days now since Fugo had gone missing on a mission—three since he had been found, and he still hadn't left his room since they'd brought him home.

Bucciarati wasn't entirely sure what to do. Any attempt he had made to coax Fugo out had been met with firm denial, and while he could certainly understand such a reaction after a traumatic event, he knew Fugo was suffering and, worse, suffering alone. He had so far refused any comfort Bruno or Abbacchio tried to offer him, simply staying curled in bed, wrapped in blankets.

Bruno sighed and knocked on the teen's door before letting himself in, knowing he wouldn't get an answer.

"Fugo? I brought you some dinner," he said quietly as he entered the dim room.

Fugo briefly looked up at him from the book he was reading before flicking his eyes downward once more. "You can just put it there," he mumbled nodding to the side table.

Bucciarati did as asked and hesitated before he left. "Pannacotta, I'd like to check your injuries again if that's okay?"

Fugo's hands started to shake instantly and Bruno felt terrible for even bringing it up, but an infection wasn't going to do him any better either.

"No—n-no. I really can't stand anyone touching me right now. I—I can't. Please. I can do it myself. I promise I'll clean them well."

Bucciarati closed his eyes briefly, but nodded. "Alright. I'll leave the medical supplies in the bathroom for you. But if you need help with the ones on your back—"

"I don't! I'm fine!" Fugo snapped, then ducked his head, wrapping his arms around himself. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"It's all right," Bucciarati told him gently. "Please try to eat something. And let me know if you need anything else."

He slipped out of the room, and his fists clenched in fury the instant the door was closed, teeth grinding.

He and Abbacchio, along with the other soldati had already demolished the gang who had taken Fugo, but what good did it do when the damage had already been done? Fugo had been doing so well recently. He'd stopped jumping when Bruno and Abbacchio accidently brushed him, just generally doing better with human proximity. He'd even started to accept hugs when he was having bad nights, calming in Bruno's careful hold.

And now all of that had been erased instantly by the cruelty of his captors, using his aversion to touch against him. Mocking, hurting, using knives and fists to demolish the fond touches Bruno sought to provide when he was sure Fugo would be okay with it, taking that gained trust and tearing it to pieces.

The image of Fugo when they'd finally found him in that cargo container would forever haunt Bucciarati's nightmares. Shivering in a corner, bloody and bruised, bound hand and foot with a collar locked around his throat, keeping him upright so he could not pull away from his captors without choking himself.

Even the act of freeing Fugo had sent him into a panic attack and there was no comfort Bruno could offer aside from words, which was harder than he had thought it would be.

One look at the teen panicking and sobbing had sent Abbacchio back out to start delivering a justified beat-down of the bastards who had dared hurt Fugo.

And when they got him back, Bucciarati had only been able to do the bare minimum to tend to Fugo's injuries before he flat-out pushed him away and retreated to his room where he had stayed ever since.

Abbacchio met him in the kitchen, breaking Bucciarati out of his brooding thoughts.

"How is he?" the other man asked quietly.

Bucciarati shook his head, grabbing bowls to dish soup out for him and Abbacchio even though he wasn't hungry. "I honestly don't know what to do. There's no telling how long this will go on, especially if he refuses help—"

Abbacchio held up a hand. "First of all, hovering isn't going to help him," he said.

Bruno huffed. "I know that. And I'm trying not to, it's just…"

"I know," Abbacchio replied with a sigh. "I don't like seeing the kid like that either. But he needs space right now. He knows he's safe here and that's going to have to be enough for the moment."

Bucciarati pressed his lips together, knowing the other man was right.

Abbacchio's advice didn't help when he heard Fugo screaming in his sleep that night. He had to get up to see him even though he knew he would be rejected.

"Fugo?" he called as he tapped on the door, hearing the moaning and shifting of blankets. He opened the door and saw the boy wound up in his sheets, struggling, eyes and jaw clenched tight as he let out breathless sobs, chest heaving too quickly.

"Pannacotta," Bruno called firmly, standing beside the bed.

The blond only continued to struggle against the sheets, breaths becoming more and more panicked. Bruno finally had to reach out and help, unable to watch this anymore.

But Fugo flailed the instant Bruno touched the sheets. "Don't!" he shouted. "Leave me alone!"

"Panna, I'm just…" Bucciarati tried, but he pulled away.

Fugo's eyes finally opened and he scrambled to sit against the head of the bed, eyes darting around frantically, not seeing anything.

"Panna," Bruno called again and his head whipped over toward him. "You're home. You're safe. It's just me here."

Fugo's face crumpled, and he curled into himself. "I hate this, I hate this," he cried.

Bruno pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat carefully, making sure he wasn't in any way crowding Fugo.

"It's okay, Pannacotta."

"No it's not!" Fugo snapped, scrubbing at his eyes as he hugged himself, fingers digging into his ribs. "I-I fucked up! I got captured, and I l-let them control me, and I c-couldn't do anything about it!"

Something rippled in the corner and Bucciarati looked over to see Purple Haze materializing. The Stand moaned forlornly as it hugged its knees and rocked back and forth. Fugo didn't even seem to realize his Stand was out, proving how much distress he was currently in. As long as Purple Haze didn't start punching things though, Bruno wasn't going to worry about him.

"You didn't let them control you, Fugo," Bruno told him firmly. "They tortured you."

Fugo shook his head. "But I'm the one who let them see how much it bothered me. I told them to stop, but they—they just made a sick game of it. And I forgot—I almost forgot how much it could hurt." His voice hitched on a sob again. "Because I didn't have to worry for so long but now every time I try to sleep, it's just…that in my head again. But worse, because it's that and my recent capture combined."

Purple Haze wailed again, echoing his user's distress, burying his head in his knees.

Bucciarati's heart ached to hear Fugo talk about it. To know that his mind was so cruel as to combine his recent trauma and that of his horrible past only hurt all the more. He could only imagine how much mental anguish Fugo was going through.

"I don't…know how to make it better," Fugo sobbed. "I didn't want to be like this anymore, but they fucked it all up and I don't know what to do to fix myself."

Bucciarati barely resisted the urge to reach out and offer some form of comforting touch to Fugo. The boy was shaking so hard, just barely keeping the panic under control.

"I am so sorry that this happened, Panna," Bruno told him sincerely. "But none of it was your fault. It was all those bastards back there, and they won't be hurting anyone ever again—I can assure you of that. And you don't have to 'fix' yourself. There's nothing to fix. You survived, Panna, and sometimes that's its own strength."

Fugo didn't say anything. He simply pulled his knees up, making himself small, arms wrapped around himself. Bruno didn't think it was possible for someone in a room with another person—and a Stand—to look so alone, but Fugo was suffering so much right now that his pain burrowed deep into Bucciarati's soul and curled up there.

Purple Haze wailed again and Bruno straightened up, knowing he had to ask at least, for his own sanity if nothing else.

"Do you… want a hug?" he asked softly, seeing the way Fugo kept hugging his arms to his chest. "It's okay if you don't but I wanted to offer."

Fugo let out a soft sob. "I-I do but…I don't think I can handle that much touch right now. I just…I just want it to be like it was before and I'm so fucking mad!"

Purple Haze moaned, rocking forlornly in the corner. That was when Bucciarati had an idea.

"Panna, do you mind if I try something?" he asked, holding up his hands, palms out. "I'm not going to touch you, but please let me know if any of this is too much."

He manifested Sticky Fingers and the Stand crossed the room to kneel in front of Purple Haze. Fugo's stand shifted and looked up at the other. Sticky Fingers slowly opened his arms, not making a move, but waiting.

Purple Haze hesitated, moaned, then suddenly lurched forward and practically tackled Sticky Fingers backwards, letting out a mournful sound.

Bruno watched, shocked as Purple Haze curled up against Sticky and his Stand held onto Haze tightly, rocking him back and forth. It was an odd sensation, both physically and mentally comforting, like being wrapped in a soft blanket and just the perfect temperature.

After a few moments, Purple Haze started to let out a gurgling, almost purring sound, drooling against Sticky Fingers' shoulder.

Bruno glanced over to Fugo to see how he was taking this, and saw a slight embarrassed flush on his cheeks, as he watched the Stands, but his breathing had calmed down a little and he wasn't quite so tense anymore.

"Is it okay? Like that?" Bruno asked him hesitantly.

Fugo nodded. "Actually, yes. It's not bad at all."

Bruno smiled, relief flooding him. "That's good."

Fugo clenched the sheets in his hands, staring down as his cheeks flushed again. "Could you…stay, until I fall asleep?" he mumbled.

"Of course, Panna," Bruno replied, settling into the chair. "I won't go anywhere."

Fugo let out a shuddering sigh and lay back down in the bed, allowing Bruno to help untangle the rest of the covers and tuck them back into the mattress. He then took up a book and stayed there reading until Fugo fell asleep. All the while, Sticky Fingers and Purple Haze stayed cuddled together on the other side of the room.

Over the next few days, whenever Fugo was having a hard time, Purple Haze would appear somewhere in the apartment and Bruno or Abbacchio would deploy their Stands for comfort and hugging. Abbacchio had been somewhat hesitant at first, but Moody Blues had had other ideas, going directly up to Purple Haze and pulling him into a firm embrace.

Another week passed and Fugo finally ventured out of his room for more than just the bathroom and water.

"Feeling better?" Bruno asked kindly as he set some breakfast in front of Fugo.

The blond nodded, and though he was still covered in bruises, showing up all too much on his pale skin, he did look a little better. He picked at his nails, then looked up at Bruno. "Could I…try a hug?" he asked.

Bruno didn't say anything, simply opened his arms to let Fugo come to him.

The boy hesitated, then got out of his chair and came forward, tentatively looping his arms around Bucciarati before he leaned fully into him with a long exhale.

Bruno lightly wrapped his arms around Fugo's shoulders. "How's that?" he asked.

"I think I'm getting there," Fugo said sincerely.

~~~~~~~

Check out my Whumptober Masterpost HERE for more stories!

If you want to follow me on other social media or ask about commissions, find my info on My Carrd

[legolasghosty]

idk how to actually ask prompts or if ur still doing these (feel free to delete this one if ur not) but i have this scenario in my head where Ray take his 4y/o Julie to the park with his wife and a 5y/o Reggie comes by his back "Dad! Dad, look what i found!...you're not my dad." and Reggie can't actually find his dad

Hello Anon! Yes still taking prompts, sorry this took so long! Irl things were taking too much energy so I've been really slow on the prompt fills. I hope this finds you well! And I hope this matches up with what you were thinking, it's a really good idea!!!

TW: Implied child abuse and neglect.

"Swing, swing!" Julie exclaims, pulling at her parents' hands as the playground comes into view.

Ray laughs. "Of course, mija, we can do swings," he tells his 4-year-old daughter.

"Might have to just be you on that one though," Rose tells him, glancing down at the baby strapped to her chest. "I think Carlos is starting to wake up."

Ray leans over to peck her on the cheek. "Of course, I got it."

"Swing!" Julie cries again, more insistent this time.

Ray chuckles and allows her to tug him towards the tall, metal swing set. Julie clambers up onto one of the seats and Ray ducks around the chains to get behind her.

"Ready, Julie?" he asks, placing one hand on her back.

"Yes!" Julie cheers.

"Ready, set, go!" Ray calls as he pushes her forward.

His daughter giggles as she flies through the air, first up and then back down towards Ray. He can't help but echo the sound as he pushes her higher and higher. Not too high, she's only 4 after all, but enough to give her that magical feeling of weightlessness that Ray misses from his own childhood.

He glances over at one point to see Rose going down the little slide with a gurgling Carlos in her arms. He wishes he had his camera on him so he could get a picture of it. Ah well, another time.

Julie protests when he misses a push so he turns back to his little girl. Her ponytail is bouncing all over as she tips her head back. Ray thanks God every day that Rose knows how to handle her curls. He wouldn't have the faintest clue where to even start with them.

"Dad! Dad, look what I found!" someone yells from behind him.

Ray thinks nothing of it until he feels a small hand tugging on his black and green overshirt. He looks down to see a little boy, probably a little older than Julie, with dark, straight hair that falls over his eyes. Through the fringes, Ray can see the boy's delight and excitement quickly turn to confusion.

"W-wait, you're not my dad," the boy stutters, stepping back quickly.

"It's okay, no worries," Ray assures the boy, giving him a wide smile. He scans the playground quickly. "Is that your dad over there?" he asks, pointing to a man sitting beside the sandbox who looked to be around his build.

The boy squints, then shakes his head. "No, that's not him," he responds. He stares around at all the grown-ups there, and Ray can see him getting tenser with every passing second.

Ray drops into a squat so he can be on eye level with the kid. "Well how about I help you find your dad?" he offers, smiling.

The boy seems unsure. "Mom wouldn't like that," he mutters, dropping his eyes to the ground.

Stranger Danger, Ray thinks. He's glad the kid is cautious at least. "I bet your mom will just be relieved that they found you," he reassures the boy. He holds out a hand. "I'm Ray."

"Reggie," the boy says. He hesitates, then reaches out to shake Ray's hand in his tiny one.

"Who're you?" Julie asks suddenly, jumping off her now slowed swing to run up beside Ray.

"This is Reggie," Ray tells her. "We're gonna help him find his dad."

"Okay!" Julie agrees, grinning through her crooked front teeth. She turns to Reggie. "Hi, I'm Julie, this is my dad!"

Reggie returns her grin slowly. "Hi Juwie."

"Ju-lee," she corrects, giggling.

Reggie goes red. "Sorry, sorry," he stutters, his smile gone and his eyes widening.

Ray frowns at that reaction. Who was teaching a kid this young to be this upset over a simple mistake? Lots of the kids in Julie's preschool class had done the same thing.

"It's okay," Julie says, suddenly alarmed. She darts forward and wraps her arms around Reggie's shoulders.

Reggie seems startled by the hug, but after a second he returns it. Ray's chest feels warm at how Julie has so easily made the boy relax.

When Julie lets him go, Ray clears his throat and glances around the playground again. "Reggie, what's your dad's name?" he asks, getting back to the task at hand. The boy's parents must be frantic at not being able to find him.

Reggie frowns, thinking. "Well most of the grown-ups call him Rob, but mom calls him a word I got in trouble for saying at kindergarten."

Ray doesn't let himself dwell on that second part. "Okay, Rob then. What's your last name?"

"Peters."

Julie smiles. "That's my teacher's name."

Ray chuckles. "Well Julie, Peter is your teacher's first name. It's Reggie's last name. Like how your last name is Molina," he explains.

He racks his brain. He can't think of a Rob Peters that lives in their neighborhood, and that's most of who comes to this park. "Do you know your dad's phone number?" he asks Reggie.

Reggie shakes his head. "He gets mad if I ask about his phone."

Ray isn't sure what to do with that information. He just knows he doesn't like it. But that will have to wait. "Okay, that's okay Reggie," he assures the boy. "Where was the last place you saw him?"

"By the slide," Reggie answers, pointing. "We came over here in the truck and he took me to play."

"Your dad brought you here, but he's not here now?" Ray clarifies.

Reggie nods silently, biting his bottom lip. "He likes hiding sometimes, but I'm really good at finding him."

Ray makes a mental note to mention this to Victoria later. His sister-in-law is a social worker. Hopefully Reggie is just blowing things out of proportion because he's young and doesn't have a solid grasp on the world yet, but he'd rather be safe than sorry. Would rather Reggie be safe.

"Okay, well what does your truck look like?" he asks. "Is it still here?"

"It's blue, Dad uses it for work," Reggie tells him, looking around for the vehicle. His brow furrows. "Where's the truck?"

Ray spots the first tear escaping from the boy's eye. Julie must see it too, because she takes a couple of steps forward and pulls Reggie into another hug.

"Don't worry, my Papi is super good at finding stuff," she tells him. Then she laughs. "Unless it's his keys. Mami always has to find them for him."

Reggie lets out a watery chuckle at that. "My mom never finds things for my dad," he says. "She just yells right back at him."

"Everything okay over here?" Rose inquires, walking up to them with Carlos balanced on her hip.

Reggie retreats behind Julie, but Ray offers his wife a worried smile. "Don't worry, Reggie, this is Julie's mom, Rose," he tells the boy. "Reggie can't find his dad," he explains, rising to his feet.

"Oh no," Rose murmurs, frowning.

"I think his dad might have left him here," Ray adds in a hushed tone so only she can hear. "His truck is gone and Reggie said that his dad likes hiding from him."

"He doesn't know a phone number or an address?" Rose questions, mirroring his volume.

Ray shakes his head. "His dad's name is Rob Peters, and he drives a blue truck, but that's all I know. If he doesn't show up soon, we might have to call the police."

Rose winces. "I hope it doesn't come to that," she says. Then she smiles down at Reggie and Julie. "Well, I have some snacks in my bag," she tells the kids. "Why don't we all sit down and have something to eat. Your dad will probably be back any minute, Reggie."

Both children brighten immediately at the word 'snacks' and Ray thanks heaven for the millionth time for granting him the privilege of being married to Rose Molina. His wife leads them all over to a bench, where she'd left her large purse. She produces crackers and string cheese after a minute of digging around. Ray and Rose had learned soon after having Julie that the number one rule of having little kids was to always have food on hand.

Reggie takes some string cheese and starts tearing it open happily. Julie grabs for the crackers. Carlos whines a little and Rose laughs.

"Don't worry, you can eat too, mijo," she tells him, unbuttoning her shirt enough that he can nurse.

Ray chuckles and settles on the ground with the kids, listening to their very serious discussion about the merits of different snack foods. He wonders if Reggie lives close enough that the two could play together again, under less stressful circumstances. They were getting along pretty well so far.

Just then, Ray hears someone yelling. He looks up to see a man storming towards the playground. The guy might be taller than Ray, and definitely a lot broader. Rose, Reggie, and Julie notice the commotion a moment later.

"Dad!" Reggie exclaims, jumping up. "Dad, I'm over here!"

The man, Rob Peters apparently, turns slowly. His angry expression doesn't soften when he sees his son. "What're you doing over there?!" he demands, crossing his arms. "What have I told you about talking to strangers."

Reggie hangs his head. "I'm sorry, they were being nice," he mumbles.

"I don't care," Rob Peters snaps. "Get in the car."

Ray finally unfreezes and jumps to his feet. "Ah, you must be Reggie's dad," he says, taking a step towards the man and trying for a friendly smile. "I'm Ray, we were helping Reg-"

"I don't care who you are," Rob Peters barks. He takes a few steps forward and grabs Reggie by the arm. "We're going home, kid."

And then they're gone before Ray can get another word out. Reggie manages a little wave over his shoulder. Ray slowly turns back to his family to find them all staring after Reggie as well. Rose glances back at him and their eyes lock.

Ray knows they're in agreement. They're going to mention this to Victoria soon.

[onlyxxbutmymindisolder]

Make It Three - Sk8 the Infinity fanfic, part 3/4

Of all the obstacles to enacting our plan, training was only the second toughest; the most exhausting thing was tracking down a certain slippery secretary who was in charge of Adam’s schedule. 

See, a challenge just wasn’t as fun when it was only the two competing parties involved. Having an audience brought a new kind of high to racing, and it also tended to make Adam a lot more amiable. So Kaoru and I searched high and low, and finally got lucky finding Tadashi at a skate shop near the Shindo family’s estate. At first I assumed he was taking Adam’s board for a tune-up, but he’d brought his own board. Weirdly, for all of his involvement in our skateboarding hobby, I had neither known nor assumed that Tadashi himself was a skater.

He was… less than enthused to see us, understandably. And once we told him what we were there for, I could see his headache growing. 

“You want me… to schedule S for next week,” he said, rubbing his temples. We were all in a quiet alley behind the skate shop, so he didn’t beat around the subject or his annoyance with it. “So that you can challenge Adam to a beef.”

“Yep,” I confirmed. “Next week would be best, but whenever you can make it happen, make it happen.”

“We know something’s wrong with Adam,” Kaoru joined in. “We think this might be the key to figuring out why he’s acting so odd lately.”

“Unless you know what he’s not telling us?” I suggested. Tadashi drew further into himself, and I took a step forward to compensate. “Tadashi, man, come on. Level with us. We’re his friends, and you must consider him a friend too seeing as you’re risking your job for him all the time. We want to help him, and we need all the assistance we can get. Anything you could tell us… it could end up making a huge difference in what we’re able to do.”

Tadashi looked me up and down, maybe trying to decide if trusting me was worth the risk. Finally, he sighed. “Everything that goes on in the Shindo household is strictly confidential. I cannot say anything about my time there or what Adam’s like when he’s at home. What I can say is-” he looked me in the eyes, “I think your plan is the best chance we have at saving him right now.”

“Is it that bad?” Kaoru asked, looking a little confused by his wording.

“If he continues like this, it could have serious consequences for his future.” Tadashi glanced off to the side. “...More than anything, I want Adam to be happy. So wait here.” He went to the back door of the skate shop, then paused. “Better yet. Leave this alley the way we came in, and follow the main street uptown. About five blocks from here, there’s a skate park. I’ll join you when I have my board.”

Kaoru and I shared a look. Tadashi usually held us at arm’s length, so this was a surprise. But we did as we were told, following his directions and stopping at the skate park. It was an out-of-the-way place, tucked between several large commercial buildings. The equipment was old but sturdy. It was quiet there, perfect for an introverted person like Tadashi. I wondered how often he visited.

Tadashi got there a few minutes after we did, his board all fixed and ready to go. I waved at him from where I was sitting on the rails. “So, what are we doing?”

He walked past me and set his board down at the base of a ramp. “You said you needed any help you could get to beat Adam. So I’m going to teach you how to skate like him.”

The rest of the afternoon was a blur. Tadashi worked us like dogs until the sun was starting to set and the sky turned orange. He showed us moves we had never heard of, much less tried; he picked and prodded at our forms until we could appear on a cover of SKATE FAN weekly. He gave us a breakdown, piece by piece, of what made Adam’s skating so uniquely unpredictable. And the most amazing thing was that he did it all without ever mentioning where he learned to skate like that. Had he skated with Adam before? By the end of the spontaneous training session, I was too tired to ask. Tadashi looked at his watch and announced that he had to be getting back. He left without a goodbye, his final words being, “Make sure your boards are in good shape.”

Well, mine was brand new. So at least I had that covered.

—

Three days later, Kaoru and I both received notes announcing that S was on for next week - Tadashi worked fast. We were both excited, but also kinda nervous. For all our bravado, the fact remained that neither of us had ever beaten Adam in a race. We didn’t know anybody who had. The day of judgment arrived quickly, and we jittered onto the bus hoping that the long ride would calm our nerves - though, not so much so that we weren’t sharp for the race.

To my surprise, our usual meeting place was absolutely crammed with people. In previous competitions we’d hosted maybe a few dozen, but now? I wondered if Adam had made good on his dream of inviting a hundred people. We’d have to stagger the races, or we all wouldn’t fit on one road. Scanning the crowd, I nudged Kaoru. “Hey. Do you see him?”

“Not yet,” he said. 

“How many people’d he invite?” I wondered.

“Too many,” Kaoru said, frowning. “I hope all of them were careful coming in here. We don’t need the police showing up.”

“That would kind of suck,” I agreed.

You’d think a guy like Adam would be easy to spot, blue hair and dramatic posturing and all that. But we struggled to find him in the crowd. Finally, I heard a familiar, lilting voice; Adam was standing on a rock monologuing to a crowd of groupies. I elbowed my way through and waved at him. “Hey! Big crowd tonight.”

He beamed when he saw Kaoru and I and hopped off the rock, heading over to us. “I was wondering when you would arrive! Some people got over-excited and arrived early, so I was explaining to them the history of our beloved S. Can you believe it? Eighty-seven skaters from all over the island came to visit us. Eighty-seven!”

“I was wondering how many there were,” I said, at the same time as Kaoru said, “Adam, we need to talk.”

Adam hummed. “Of course! Although, we’re planning to start soon, so do make it quick.” He paused, and his eyes narrowed. “Although… I hope this isn’t the same thing you ��needed to talk’ to me about a month ago? I believe I made my position clear on that.”

“It, uh… No, it’s not really the same thing,” I said, sweating a little. I had no idea how Adam would react to our proposal. If he said no…

“Kojiro and I want to challenge you to a beef,” Kaoru butted in. 

Adam’s smile returned. “Oh, I see. Are you both feeling the competitive mood? See, I told you-” he spread his arms out, “-the more people, the better! All these passionate hearts coming together at one location… Oh. But what are we betting?”

“A secret,” I answered. “Adam, we want to know what’s on your mind.”

He tilted his head. “An interesting choice. What has you so curious that you’re challenging me to a beef to get it?”

I took a deep breath, and looked to make sure there was nobody listening in. “Look,” I said, lowering my voice, “We know there’s something going on with you. And we get there’s a lot of stuff you can’t tell us because of the way your life works, but… Both Kaoru and I want to support you in any way we can. So, if we can beat you in this next race, you have to tell us what’s bothering you.”

Adam stared at me for a long moment, his face unreadable. I braced myself for whatever he would say next, but all he asked was, “...And what are you betting?”

“Whatever you want,” Kaoru said. “You get to decide what you want in exchange if we lose. Although, we’re not going to,” he added.

Adam eyed us both. “Whatever I want from you…” He looked away for a moment. “Another race, then. I call the time and place, and you have to show up.”

I was surprised, but then again, why was I? Adam didn’t need money or stuff. All he wanted in the world was to skate to his heart’s content, and we were his preferred racing buddies. “It’s a bet, then,” I said, holding my hand out for him to shake. “See you on the track.”

Adam shook my hand, echoing what I had said, and wandered off towards the start line. I still wasn’t sure how this was going to go, but at least he didn’t turn the idea down entirely.

We all took our positions at the start line - there was me, Kaoru, Adam, and four or five others. The signal lights began counting from four, three, two, one - and with the blare of a horn, the race was on.

Within the first few turns, those who knew the track were sorted from those who didn’t. Skaters were a daring bunch, but like anybody else, we tended to be cautious around things that were new to us. Some of the newbies slowed down too much for the first sharp curve or dragged their feet on the steep downhill stretches while the more experienced racers pulled ahead. As for me, I was gunning for full speed. Adam never slowed down.

I practically rode the back wheels of his board through the first quarter of the course. Several times I thought I might be able to pass him, but each time he blocked me or used some trick to put more space between us. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Kaoru, too, was struggling to pass him. He glanced at me, and in that moment I could feel our competitive spirits ignite - wasn’t this how we’d always done things? Fighting each other to be first, whether it be past a finish line or past a friend. Silently, each one of us swore that he was going to be the one to win this race today. And so, our nerves disappeared and the competition finally began.

I grabbed a tree branch to help me swing around a sharp corner, nearly knocking into Adam as I did so. Kaoru did a perfect slide around the outside of the same bend, turning 180 without losing a bit of momentum. For a second we had practically sandwiched him between us, but then he slipped away. No matter. We would get him at the next turn, or the next, or the next… Every time, we got just a little closer. The fronts of our boards made a three point line - we were in a tie with Adam. All we needed was another second’s gain…

That was when we saw it coming up. The site of our ultimate trump card, something so freaking cool I had even agreed to practice it with Carla for a day.

I just hoped my board wouldn’t break.

We were heading down a steep stretch that broke into a v-turn about twenty feet from the start. Normally, I would have to slow down in order to make the turn; the slope of the road lent me too much speed to turn around safely. But this time, I leaned into the slope, gaining on Adam who was a few feet in front of me. The wall ahead got closer. It was in just a few seconds - I’d be right in position -

I pushed forward and jumped with my board, hurtling past Adam. Time froze for a split second as I met his eyes midair; I think that was the first time I’d seen him visibly surprised before. He automatically pulled back, me having crossed his path right as he was supposed to turn. Then my wheels hit the wall and I pushed off a second time, propelling myself onto the next leg of the track with incredible force. It was a new move Tadashi had suggested, saying my strong legs made it a stunt only I could do.

It worked. I stuck the landing and left Adam in the dust, Kaoru joining me a few seconds later. Adam had stopped so abruptly that he’d have to kick off again, meaning we got at least a few seconds of free gain - a lead we’d work our asses off to keep. We were approaching the interior mine soon, the final part of the racetrack.

We passed through the tunnel entrance, and the rough dirt road gave way to rusty metal walkways suspended by twisted wires. I didn’t need to look behind me to know that Adam was there. A few seconds after Kaoru and I came in, I could hear the sound of a third board clanging onto the floor. I ignored it, jumping over a broken section onto the next one, and trying to keep my balance as it shifted beneath my weight. I glanced over at one of the parallel walkways and saw that Adam was gaining on me. 

“Damn it,” I muttered. “Just a little longer, come on…” We were so close. So, so close. And just as Kaoru and I were nearing the finish line, Adam decided to hop the railing and fling himself onto our walkway.

I yelled in surprise as the floor tilted beneath my feet, instinctively grabbing onto the railing to keep from falling over. That didn’t help me when it swayed back, and my board slid out from under my feet. Thankfully, it hit the railing and didn’t move. I looked back to see Adam, teeth gritted and board tucked under one arm, hauling himself up onto the path. “Are you insane?” I shouted. He didn’t answer.

Everyone made a mad scramble to regain their footing and get back on their board. I shoved off the railing to gain speed; I could see Adam’s blue hair out of the corner of my eye. I threw all of my weight into the board, hoping it would be enough to carry me down…

…And a few seconds later, I crossed the finish line.

I looked beside me and saw Kaoru, exhausted, and Adam, not looking at either of us. Which one of us had finished first? That seemed to be what the crowd was trying to figure out. People were jostling each other, holding up phones to compare videos and arguing loudly. In the end, nobody had any idea who won that race. We counted it as a tie.

As everyone walked back to the starting point, I tried to approach Adam. “Hey. That was a crazy move back there-”

“Anything goes in S,” Adam replied, cutting me off. “My actions were fair, and you lost.”

“We didn’t lose. We tied with you,” said Kaoru, who had joined us.

“First time we ever did it, too,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “I wouldn’t call that a loss.”

Adam still didn’t make eye contact. “You didn’t win, and if you don’t win a challenge then you lost it. Does that not make sense?”

“If that’s how we’re putting it, you lost too,” Kaoru said.

Adam stopped walking, and we were forced to stop with him. “Maybe that’s true,” he said. He slowly looked between Kaoru and I. “You know, I once considered skateboarding to be something I loved. Now I see - for me, skating itself is love. To have somebody to share your love with… It’s a blessing. One couldn’t help but be jealous.”

He sounded sad, though I couldn’t tell why. I was about to ask him when a shout echoed from uphill: “Cops! The cops are here!”

My heart stopped dead in my chest. “What?” I said, but panic was already spreading through the crowd. We all scattered in different directions, fleeing to anywhere but the main road. Kaoru grabbed my wrist and dragged me along with him.

“Why the hell are there cops here?” I asked.

“Too. Many. Damn. People,” he replied through gritted teeth. “Someone must’ve seen something and reported us.”

“Fuuuuuuck,” I groaned. “D’you think they’ll shut this place down?”

“That is - literally the least of our worries right now,” Kaoru panted. “Also, do you see Adam anywhere?”

I looked around. “Wasn’t he just-”

“When I grabbed you he wasn’t there. I thought I saw him go this way.”

“Hope he did. It makes sense.” I recognized this path. It was the one that had led us here for the first time many months ago. Things had changed so much since then…

We ran for at least half an hour, slowing down at the fringes of the city. Lots of places out there were quiet or abandoned at night; before we found Crazy Rock, that was where we’d group up with other skaters to race and practice our tricks. There was a bus stop a couple blocks down that ran pretty late into the night. I was crossing my fingers that it was still open, when I heard a noise.

I stopped, nudging Kaoru. “You hear that?”

He froze for a second, probably thinking I meant the cops (my bad), but then furrowed his brow. “It sounds like…”

“Adam, has to be. Plus another guy. C’mon, let’s go look.”

We followed the sounds of animated conversation, which led us to an empty parking structure. I saw Tadashi first, whose expression showed more emotion than I’d ever seen from him; he was desperately trying to get the attention of Adam, who was leaning against a concrete pillar. I strained to hear what they were saying.

“...is going to find out now, if he hasn’t already! Mr. Ain- Adam, your father sees your actions as a threat to the family legacy. He’s going to be furious about this. If the police had any inkling you were there-”

“But they won’t. I’m telling you, people - including Father - are more oblivious than you think. It’s not going to change anything, so why keep me from my fun?”

Tadashi wrung his hands. “Adam… I’ve done everything I can to keep your father off your tracks. But I can’t delay the inevitable. Please, I know it’s my fault you’re in this position, but quitting skating would be the best possible thing for you and your-”

“Quitting skating?” Adam almost doubled over with laughter, his voice sounding like it was about to break. “Tadashi! Have you forgotten everything? My life, my family, our relationship, us?”

“There isn’t-” Tadashi looked at his shoes. “Adam, you are the heir to a rich and powerful family. I’m your father’s secretary. Our worlds are completely separate, and need to stay that way.

“They don’t have to.” Adam’s voice became softer. “All those other people at the track are nothing like me, and yet for a night every month we share the same space, breathe the same air, compete with the same flame in our hearts… You could join me so easily, Tadashi. You could win against anyone there, even me.” He pushed off the wall, closing the gap between him and Tadashi, and held out a hand. “Why don’t you? I think, deep down… You want to.”

For a split second, Tadashi considered it. One hand drifted forward just a centimeter. Then, he crushed it into a fist and forced it down at his side. “What I want doesn’t matter. If the past meant anything to you, Adam, go home. Put your skateboard away. Live a good life.” He turned away. “I’ll leave the alarm system deactivated for you.”

And then he left. Adam stood there for what seemed like forever, staring off into the distance. Then he came to his senses, pulled his hood up, and started on his walk home.

Kaoru and I watched until he left the parking garage. We knew we had to leave, but breaking the silence would mean confronting everything we had just witnessed and trying to make sense out of it. That was a lot of information, and I still got the feeling we were missing a lot. 

Adam was a mysterious guy who hated talking about his life outside of skating. I thought I understood that - for me too, the track was a place to forget all my worries and mess around with my friends. Having serious conversations would drag down the mood, right? But despite that, I believed I truly knew who Adam was. He was dramatic, sometimes arrogant, super excitable when talking about skating, adventurous, a little crazy - and he trusted me. He held Kaoru and I in higher regard than anyone else. What else did I need to know about him?

With that belief, I’d made a challenge to try to pry into his life, thinking he could tell Kaoru and I anything if he really wanted to. 

I pried myself off the wall and started walking towards the bus station.

“Where are you going?” Kaoru asked.

“Home,” I replied. “You coming?”

He didn’t budge from his spot. “Shouldn’t we go after him?”

“I don’t know. Right now, I don’t think we can do anything for him.”

“We can’t just leave him.”

“And what would you say if you caught up to him?”

Silence. “...I’ll think of something.” Kaoru turned and began walking in the direction Adam had gone.

“Kaoru.” He ignored me. “Kaoru!” He broke into a slight jog. “Kaoru! Damn it, you’re stubborn!” I said, half-muttering the last part. “There are still cops out! If we keep him out any later, we increase the risk of him getting in trouble! You’re the logical one - figure that out!”

He stopped, but didn’t turn around to look at me. I figured he was coming up with a smart remark, so I stayed quiet to let him have his piece. A few minutes passed. Nothing. 

“Kaoru?” I called.

“Shut up.” If there had been any traffic on the road outside, I might not have been able to hear his reply.

“You’re worried about him. I am too,” I said. “...I’m really fucking worried about him.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Swearing didn’t make him sound any less heartbroken.

“Let’s go home,” I murmured. “We can talk about it tomorrow, figure something out. But right now the best thing we can do is let him be.”

I waited at the garage entrance as he made his way back, and didn’t comment when he wiped his face with his sleeve. We walked to the bus stop together, rode back, and finally said goodnight when I got off at a stop near my house.

[moonsickwolf]

The voice I heard as a child was right, I'm just broken fragments of everyone I hate. Which do I own? Which can I live with? Divine evils aren't supposed to be right, but through his cruelty he was.

He was rarely loving and enterally disappointed in the ward he chose. But he was right about me. I lived a thousand sleepless nights and bloody wrists defying a truth sayer. Because he was cruel.

I don't think I could ever be more shattered than who I will be when I see him again, my terror, and have to see that smug smirk when he hears the words "You were right". There's no amount of "I told you so"s that could even partially equal my disgust seeing him smile.

I don't want to give it up again, not to him. But I don't have much of a choice, when I was proven no one else would have me like he would. No one else would love me. I might lose everything, but he will be at the end of the sidewalk, waiting.

He'll be glad to see I'm the same child he desired, and I wilt the same.