#also known as the super intense fight chat thread

[spellnbone]

resolutions

Location: Edgar’s Apartment Time: January 2nd Status: Closed, for @justicebones

It was long past midnight when Edgar came home. With exhaustion he carried himself up the stairs to his flat, with hope that sleep would come soon, sleep and the long awaited third night in Fabian’s arms, he broke through the wards of his entrance door, ready to find the comfort and safety unique to this place. 

But the face that turned towards him then wasn't Fabian's. It was Amelia's.

"Amelia?" He blinked, took off the hood of his cape, and hung it all up by the door as it was wet from the rain outside. Not once did he leave her with his eyes, not once did he dare to think that the static feeling he felt coming from her wasn't already within him before entering. Today had been such a long day. Surely that was why he was feeling this way. Surely that was why Amelia was here. She knew. She knew he wasn’t well and she’d make it all better. A smile of relief and curiosity grew on his lips. "I didn't know you'd be here. Hi."

After Fabian had left, Amelia had just still been a ball of anger and energy. She'd paced for awhile, growling and muttering to herself, kicking at the fallen books and pieces of the dresser that Fabian had... well, she had made him destroy, and just generally trying to get all her frustration out as she waited on her twin to come home. It felt like it took forever, and at some point, she moved, settling down on the couch. She'd curled up with one of the pillows there, hugging it to her chest and taking deep breaths, her fingers absently rubbing over the top of the pillow. It was when the door opened and Edgar came in, smiling at her like nothing was wrong at all, that she lost her cool. Letting out a loud growl, she took the pillow and threw it as hard as she could at her twin, not caring where it hit him, but aiming for his head. "Don't you 'Amelia' me!" She snapped out at him, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Edgar's smile fell. "What is wrong with me?" he asked, carefully, unsure of what he had done. Except failing to save hundreds of Muggle lives, that was.

Amelia scoffed at his answer. “Oh, I’m sorry, did you conveniently forget that you left without saying a word to me and haven’t answered my owls in days?” She snapped.

Edgar wasn't so sure if 'conveniently' was the right term, but yes, it had very much slipped his mind. Or at least: "I didn't think you needed me to tell you I was going back to London." 

He was also about to point out that it was Caradoc's birthday on the 31st, which was with whom most of his New Years Eves were spent, but the truth was, this too had slipped his mind until this very moment. And Amelia was filled with anger. Like electricity it charged the room, made it all the way over into Edgar's blood, slid in cold shivers down his back, making him roll his shoulders without noticing as though wanting to shake it off. So that static feeling did come from her… 

He knew her like that, yes, but that didn't make it a familiar sight, and almost an unseen one when directed against himself. So he didn't want to explain and further an argument. Deflection and appeasing would have to suffice. "Yeah, I'm sorry. It was a busy time." He undid his coat as well and took a step into the room -- and saw the chaos that was his apartment. Speechless, he grew pale.

Amelia rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. She was tense, but still sitting on the couch for the moment, feeling as if she could only be calm if she stayed sitting. She snorted again and shook her head at him. “According to Caradoc, you didn’t show up to see him either,” she pointed out, watching as Edgar took a step further into the room. It was as she saw his reaction that she continued, “its clear to see who was more important in this whole situation, at least.”

Edgar's gaze barely flickered from the mess to Amelia, her words hardly reaching him. "What happened here?" Had someone broken into his place? Why had his wards not gone off? Had someone been injured? Why was Amelia here and not-... This time his gaze did fasten on her, and her words did unfold with meaning in his mind. "Where's Fabian, Amelia?"

The feeling of anger, of being upset, of feeling second best, boiled in Amelia’s chest even worse as Edgar spoke, asking about of all things, Fabian. She stood then, shoulders back and chin up, trying to make herself a little taller, more equal to her twin. “I’m fine, thanks,” she retorted at him, “in case you were wondering. And he’s gone. As he should be.” She crossed her arms again, giving her twin a dark look.

There were reasons why Edgar's apartment was heavily woven into so many wards, reasons caused my images in his head which now all resurfaced, resurfaced suddenly and vividly. Fear settled into his muscles, bones, and even deeper still. He felt sick, the hand that held his coat tightened, a fist pushing against his stomach. Growing paler still, all but Amelia's face faded away. "What happened?"

Amelia took a step closer to Edgar, pursing her lips and watching him for a moment. “That arse,” she snarled out, “thought it was funny that you hadn’t spoke to me. That it was my fault. And thought it’d be funny to not tell me where you’d gone, when I asked.” She paused, then let out a bitter laugh as she continued, “he also decided that I’m a bitch.”

That was a lot. That was brusque. That was ... almost too much. Edgar raised his free hand, as though Amelia's words were something palpable they could stop. Stop, or at least halt for a moment. Everything was still growing darker and darker, and his fist pushing against his stomach made him feel dizzy, out of breath. "Wait," he said, "wait, what-..." He forced his gaze back to the mess of broken chaos on the ground, then back to Amelia, pointing at it, shakily. "You fought?"

Looking exasperated when Edgar raised his hand, Amelia moved her hands to her hips. “Yes,” she snapped at him, “he called me a bitch. He acted like I don’t matter to you. So, I knocked him on his arse, like he deserved.”

It was, admittedly, horrifying to hear such a thing. To imagine that Fabian could say something like that to the one person who meant more to Edgar than anyone else. But compared to the images that had taken over his thoughts, it was almost a relief. A snap of air filled Edgar’s chest. Clasping it, he sank down on the chair that stood between kitchen and living room, feeling as though his knees would give in if he didn't. Vision came back, like light pounding against his temples. "You came home, Fabian was here, and you fought?" he asked after a moment when he could grasp clear thoughts again, trying to make sure he was piecing it together properly. "He-, He insulted you? And you-..." His brows knitted together tightly as he searched in Amelia's face for something, anything, that told him she was exaggerating. Joking. Lying. "And you..?"

Amelia raised an eyebrow, watching as her twin held his chest and sank down on the chair. She stood, still, and took another step towards him, hands still on her hips. She narrowed her eyes, not understanding what Edgar wasn’t getting about this, and almost feeling the urge to shove him. “Yes. I came here looking for you, worried because you weren’t answering me,” she huffed out, “he said you must have gotten bored with me. Make it all out to be my fault. He called me a bitch, said that people were probably calling me that behind my back too. So,” and with that she made a motion to the broken pieces across the room, “I used a knockback jinx to knock him on his ass like he deserved. He crashed into that. Then I told him what he needed to hear and he left, like he should have.”

Elbows piercing into his legs, Edgar sat leaned forward on his chair, looking up at his sister as she appeared as though wanting to tower over him. The hand he had over his heart moved to his mouth, the other hung loose as he listened. Listened attentively. Listened with horror. Part of him didn't want to believe it, wanted to say that this didn't sound like his beautiful Fabian at all. But the other part of him, the one that had always and would always belong to Amelia, made it impossible for him to think her a liar. He could imagine it well; Amelia snapping at someone trying to interfere with the twins' connection. It was anything but a rare occurrence. What he couldn't imagine was why Fabian would do such a thing. Or ... well. He clenched his jaws. "Was he drunk?"

Amelia waited, watching to see Edgars reaction, and wondering what was going on in his head. Did he get what she was saying? Did he feel how outraged she was right now? It was his question that got her attention though, and she raised an eyebrow at that. “I didn’t smell any alcohol,” she stated simply, “Not that I got too close to him. If I’d have stepped any closer, he would have gotten a fist in the face instead of just the jinx.”

"But did he look drunk? Did he speak or-, or act-..." This was Edgar begging for a 'yes', despite dreading it all too much at the same time.

Amelia snorted, shaking her head at Edgars words; both for the fact that it sounded like her twin was begging for a yes, and to tell him that wasn’t the answer. “No,” she said, “he was grouchy and very much seemed reluctantly sober. Unless you’re telling me he’s a mean drunk. He wasn’t slurring or anything though.”

"Fuck." He knew what this meant. A truth so much uglier than the chaos of books it had caused in his apartment. Having previously held his head up to keep eye contact with Amelia, he now let it fall. The hand that had been over his mouth was in his hair now, but what was at first just fidgeting fingers quickly turned into the recent memory of a hand running through his hair just like this, and it was too happy of a memory for him to be able to allow it.

Happy memories. A safe apartment. Tequila. Books scattered on the ground. Something clicked within him.

He rose to his feet almost suddenly, swiftly, caught Amelia by the shoulders. "Are you okay? You said you were fine but are you-, are you okay?"

Amelia blinked as her twin swore, watching with annoyance as he let his head fall like that. She was about to move her hands from her hips to cross over her chest again, but then was surprised as Edgar stood and caught her by the shoulders. There was still a faint urge to shove at him, but it went away as Edgar asked if she was okay. “You left and ignored me. He said I was boring and it was my fault you ignored me. He called me a bitch. How do you think I am, Edgar?”

"And why would you believe him?" he asked back, just as swiftly as he had crossed the room to her. You know the truth, why does it matter what anyone else thinks? Don't you trust me? Are we no longer the Bones Twins? Is it so easy for someone to push himself between us even though we promised it would never happen again? Is it so easy for someone to make you doubt us? He said none of it. Just looked at her, his grip not tight but firm, as though wanting to contain her boiling annoyance, as though wanting to keep her close until she understood, as though wanting to make her feel that he was really there. "I didn't leave you, Amelia. And I didn't ignore you either. I left, for a while. I left and I forgot." A pause. "Forgot everything." Everything but...

Amelia stared back at her twin, narrowing her eyes at his question. She could feel all the words unsaid, through his firm grip on her shoulders, and she was trying to convey the hurt she felt in return. “Who said I believed the arse?” She snipped at him, “but him being such a jerk doesn’t mean that my feelings don’t exist, Edgar. Especially not when he was trying to make it work that way.” She couldn’t help but shove at him a little, annoyed and upset, but not enough to fully pull away from him. Just enough to try and get her point across. “Why?” She demanded then, “why did you leave and forget everything? Why not return my owls and worry me? And why was he here? Why him?”

Edgar let her shove him, but neither let go nor hardened the grasp on her shoulders. Just listened -- his ever-patient expression for once broken with pain, confusion and urgency. "He is. He is a jerk for saying that." Not 'if'. Edgar didn't doubt it. Couldn't doubt her. Perhaps there would've been a 'but'. But why are you mad at me, then? But he understood already that he had hurt Amelia first, and Fabian had just managed to push his finger into the wound. Knew there was no point arguing about the technicalities of pain. "I'm sorry I worried you," he therefore said, softly. "I didn't mean to. I-, Honestly I didn't think I would. I'm sorry." Only at the 'why', one of his hands let go of her shoulder, moved to her cheek and cupped it gently. "Because there's a war going on."

Amelia felt better when Edgar agreed that Fabian was a jerk, though only a tiny bit. However, she still couldn't help the huff that she let out when he said he was sorry, because although he clearly was sorry, it still hurt. She just needed him to understand that. "You took off without saying goodbye," She muttered, "You didn't even show up to Caradoc's. You didn't return my owls. How could that not be worrying?" It was his hand on her cheek that made her shoulders relax, leaning into the touch a little, though wrinkling her nose at his words. "That still doesn't explain why he got to be here and not me," She muttered, even though it sounded almost childish.

It felt like it was years ago. That moment Amelia spoke of. That moment when Edgar had looked into Rigby's eyes and decided he couldn't stay at the House of Bones any longer. And yet it still burnt, that sudden nausea that had taken over him then. A nausea almost as vivid as the one he had felt when he had seen the books on the ground just now. A nausea caused by the ever-same feeling of having lost control.

"Yeah, I-..." He gave it a shrug. Not to dismiss it. Just because he was at a loss of words. "I got inside my head. You know how I am when that happens." An explanation, not an excuse, but Amelia knew the difference. "The explanation is that you're a strong, capable, smart Witch, and he's ... ill." He brushed his thumb over her cheeks, a gesture as careful as his words. "This is not me breaking my promise. I didn't forget about you again. This is-... This is war, seeping into the cracks of our hearts, and all of us dealing with it differently. Caradoc locks it all away. Artem boxes his mind out. I've got you." A smile. It fell again so quickly. "And Fabian has become ill."

Amelia was quiet, watching her twin and understanding what he meant; she knew he got inside his head and what happened then, and there must be something going on. She let out a faint chuckle as he said she was a strong, capable, smart witch, because she felt the urge to say that she wasn’t without him. “I’m holding you to that,” she spoke then, “you promised me, Edgar Bones, and you are not going to break that promise. If you’ve got me, then let me be here for you. You know better.” She paused, and then it was like something clicked in her brain. “You asked if he was drunk,” it was more of a statement of figuring it out than a question, “he’s turned to alcohol.”

Edgar had never even considered that Amelia could one day not be there for him. What had led to their promise, though, this pact they had made to never ever let anyone get between them again, was equal parts his fault as hers. Yes, he'd been the one to disappear entirely in his obsession over keeping himself warm with his lovers' fires, but would he have ever opened his eyes to anyone else if Amelia herself had not led her own independent life? Back when such a thing was still possible... "You can't be there for everything, though," he therefore said, not in reprimand, not in irritation, but rather with a note of apology. "There's things I cannot let you get involved with." He had dragged her far too deep into this war already. And Amelia piecing the information together was proof of that. Caradoc had lost all emotions. Edgar couldn't sleep through a single night alone. And Fabian had turned to alcohol. All of these were illnesses in their own way, coping mechanisms describing a greater misery that hovered above all of them. Slowly sank into them with every new day that passed. What would happen to Amelia if she got more and more involved in this war? How would she cope? Would she? "A strong, capable Witch," he repeated, now more to himself, more as though wanting to reassure himself. It barely worked and so he let his forehead meet hers, slid the hand that had lingered on her shoulder around her waist, and pulled her in. In this gesture, in this tight embrace full of love and longing, he spoke again: "You have to leave now." There was hesitation, conflict between continuing and keeping her close. But the imagined scenarios from earlier on were still there, lingering, and so was the very real mess in the corner of his room. A breath. "Go back to Hastings until at least after Epiphany, and don't ever come back to this apartment."

Amelia could hear the note of apology in Edgars tone, but it didn’t mean that it hurt any less. They were twins! How could they not be there for everything for each other, especially at a time like this? They had spent far too long apart before! She sighed deeply then, because well, wasn’t she already helping? It wasn’t like she’d go fully involved with the order, but she was still there. He was repeating the words of her being strong and capable, and the urge to shove was back, as Amelia just let out a tiny huff. Still, his forehead against hers, his hand on her waist, pulling her in closer... it was calming. At least, calming until he spoke. She bristled at his words, feeling anger rising in her chest as he told her to leave, to go home and to not return to his apartment. He was banning her from his place? It made her tense and she took a deep breath, pulling away from him then. “Fine,” she stated evenly, “but if I owl you again, I expect an answer. Understood?”

Edgar had his eyes closed, and they remained closed when Amelia pulled away. His hands remained hovering in the hair for a moment, just where they had been, perhaps as though wanting to make sure to remember the way the touch had felt, then they curled into fist and fell to his side. He nodded, his head still bowed. "Of course," he said. "Of course I'll write you."

And then he heard her leave. Heard her open the door. Heard what he hoped wasn't hesitation on her part. Heard, because he couldn't bare looking. This wasn't a goodbye forever, of course, but it was a goodbye to an era. 1982 had begun, and things were changing. The war was growing more gruesome, less forgiving. Danger no longer just hung in the air, it had long sunk into everyone's veins. From here on in, the nights were just going to get darker and darker, no firework bright enough to bring relief. Or at least never long enough.

And it would be lonelier. This was what had him bristle. He opened his eyes and jerked his head to the door, hoping to still see her there but -- she was long gone. Feeling his hands tighten into a fist once more, he walked to the door. Locked it. Warded it. Waited. Locked it. Warded it. Locked it and warded it again, repeating this until his mind was satisfied -- or perhaps too exhausted to keep going -- and let him turn to the chaos on the ground. 

He stared at it until the imagined scenarios began to overlap with past memories and future prophecies; the kind you knew you couldn’t escape. And then he just crumbled. Sank to the ground and sat there as hot tears fell into the open palms of his hands.

[hugsandharrifield]

Harrifield Modern Day College AU Ficlet #4

Stars in the Sky - Steve X Dwight Modern Day College AU ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve and Dwight walked out of the theater among the crowd of people Dwight pretty animated and babbling about the movie they had just watched and it's cinematography. " The camera work was so amazing, it's too bad the story itself was kind of mediocre." Dwight sighed wistfully. "I will say that there were some good scares there though." "Really?" Steve said playfully  " I wouldn't have known by the way you grabbed onto my arm." Dwight brought his hand to the back of his head and looked embarrassed. " Sorry, I kind of get drawn into movies like that." Steve drifted towards Dwight and lightly shouldered him in the side. "I'm teasing you man! Feel free to grab onto me anytime you want." Steve grinned evilly. The young astronomy student looked nervous but immediately shot his hand out and grabbed Steve's as they continued on towards Dwight's automobile which they had decided to take together. Steve's smile broadened and his thumb rubbed the palm of Dwight's hand softly. "So it's just a little before ten and it's a Saturday night. Do you want to just go home?" Steve smiled as they reached the car. Dwight looked thoughtful "I have an idea. If you don't mind a little drive." he ventured. "What were you thinking?" Steve said as he looked at his phone. "Would you be interested in looking at the ssstars with me... " Dwight stuttered a little looking very nervous. Steve looked into the night sky seeing that there were no clouds did see that the sky did seem to perfect for that. "That sounds like it could be nice but why do we have to drive anywhere?" "We are way too close to the city the lights are way too bright. Trust me on this."  Dwight seemed pretty sure of himself. "Sure what the heck, why not." Steve nodded as he reluctantly let go of Dwight's hand so he could get into the car. Dwight had this giddy look on his face and jumped into the driver's seat. Steve popped into passengers side and leaned back on the plush seat putting on his seat belt. Dwight fiddled with the radio and turned it on. Immediately some 80's power ballad started to play.  "Sorry, I'm a total dork, we can change the station if you want." "Nah man I kind of love 80's music." Steve shrugged. "Cool" Dwight said as he fiddled with his phone getting some directions. After a few seconds they were off, Dwight mostly paying attention to the roads. But he and Steve still were chatting about various subjects. Dwight's right hand straying over to Steve occasionally when he didn't need to concentrate too hard. It was a pleasant drive with pleasant company, time seemed to go by pretty fast and then Steve noticed that they had found themselves on a  gravel road. Steve looked shocked "Where are we?" "We are about 45 minutes north of the campus. I wanted to get away from the light pollution" Dwight explained. “There is a side street over here I'm gonna pull over.” They came to a stop and Dwight popped out of the car and popped open his trunk. Steve got out too and looked up. "Oh my god!" He looked at the night sky there were so many more stars than the ones he had seen while they were in the parking lot of the theater. "It's amazing isn't it?" Dwight called from behind the trunk door. Steve wandered over wanting to know what Dwight was doing.Dwight had pulled out a case and opened it. Inside was what looked like a reasonably spendy looking telescope. "Just a sec i'll get it set up." He looked so proud. "You just have a telescope in your car ready to go?" Steve teased. "Umm I have several telescopes but yeah usually one stays in the car."  Dwight laughed looking a bit sheepish. "I mean you’re an Astronomy Major I guess that should make sense."  Steve leaned his back against the car and stared into the night sky. The air was cool as it was only late spring, and a light wind was blowing.  He looked around at the area along the gravel roads, their were fields of corn so they must have been in farmland. "Got it set up." Steve looked over at Dwight who was waving his hand at Steve to join him. "How much did that cost you?" Steve ventured "You know you probably don't want to think about it." Dwight laughed as he adjusted some dials and looked through the eyepiece. "Here I thought you might find this cool." Dwight indicated that Steve should come over and look through the eyepiece. Steve came over and bent down just slightly. His eyes focused for a second and there in front of him was clearly Saturn. It was a little less colorful than he imagined but there it was. It was so weird seeing it for real, for the first time ever. He hadn't ever looked through a telescope before and the really amazing thing was how it had depth to it. Like obviously it should but he was so used to looking at pictures that the idea that it was actually round and actually three dimensional just it really hit him. Cause you could clearly see that through the telescope. And the rings they just popped out, it was so cool. “Wow that's so weird! I just I never thought i'd be seeing it like this."   Dwight came up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder.  "Is this your first time seeing it?" He said curiously "Yeah it's like really crazy, I know this sounds stupid, but it all of the sudden seems way more real now."  Steve pulled back and leaned up against Dwight and shivered a bit. " No I totally get it, i remember when I first saw another planet through a telescope when I was younger. It's one thing seeing it in books but it's so different when you see it with your own eyes. Makes you kind of feel small." Dwight sounded wistful " Are you cold?"  He notices Steve shivering. Steve looked embarrassed "A little. I don't have as many layers as you have on." He laughed.  "I have a blanket in the car give me a second." Dwight rushed over and opened his trunk again and pulled out a fleece blanket. He quickly returned and draped the blanket over Steve's shoulders and wrapped it around him. Steve felt immediately warmer "Thanks." He looked over at Dwight and saw him flush a bit.   Steve laughed "What's wrong?" "It's... I just want to kiss you again..." Dwight stuttered out. Steve got a wry look on his face. "Well are you going to make me wait all night?" Suddenly Dwight got a very serious look on his face and he grabbed the sides of blanket that had slid down Steve's back and pulled Steve forward their lips crashing together. Dwight's lips were so soft and sweet but also very aggressive. His hands slid under the blanket and around Steve one drifted to the back of Steve's head the other to his lower back.  A small moan escaped Steve and Dwight took immediate advantage by nipping lightly on Steve's lower lip. There it was, Dwight's tongue dancing against his own. Dwight's mouth tasted strongly of the minty strips that he had told Steve about earlier that day when they had lunch, it left a cool tingly feeling in his mouth. The blanket fell to the ground as the two jostled around. Dwight pulled back "Sorry i'll just grab...". he made a motion to bend down to grab the blanket. Steve scowled and yanked on the front of Dwight's shirt. "I didn't give you permission to stop."  He pulled the geek back in and immediately his mouth was open tongues fighting for dominance. Dwight's hand had threaded through his hair lightly tugging, and  his other hand had drifted all the way down just under the bottom part of his belt resting it just on the top of Steve's rear. Steve felt a light tug as Dwight indicated that he wanted Steve to move. Steve's feet were tangled in the blanket though so he was having a difficult time. Dwight laughed and stopped kissing him for a second. "That needs to be taken care of or this will get awkward." Steve pretended to be miffed but let Dwight bend down to pick it up. Dwight rolled it up and grabbed Steve's hand and tugged on it dragging him closer to the car. "Just a sec." He let go of Steve's hand and draped the blanket on the front of the vehicle. He pulled on Steve's belt maneuvering him and then grabbed Steve by the waist with a loud grunt yanked the man up and sat him down on the hood. "Whoa man!" Steve laughed "Don't  hurt yourself I'm only like a quarter of an inch shorter than you. " Dwight did take a second to pause. "I'm fine" He laughed and he pushed forward lips connecting, hands wandering, skin touching. Steve had been friends with Dwight for months but had never seen him so in charge.  His tongue had started to explore Steve's neck and god did that feel good. He felt Dwight lean farther in and their hips were right on top of each other. Then the movement began and their waists started to grind against each other as Steve felt his pants tighten intensely. This is so good, like really really good, but he needs Dwight to slow down. "Hey hey..."  he pushes lightly on Dwight's chest. Dwight pulls back immediately. "Sorry... I ... Sorry... I just didn't think that me and you would ever be doing this." he laughed  "i'm getting a little over enthusiastic, sorry sorry." He looks so red and flushed. "Hey it's okay man." Steve patted on the hood of the car.  "Sit down... Lets talk for a second." Dwight joined him on the roof of the car never taking his eyes off Steve having a dopey cute grin on his face.   Steve started . "So..... Definitely going on another date I guess." "YES!... I mean if you want to." Dwight tried to play it cool but failed miserably. Steve couldn't help but laugh " I don't think you have to worry, i feel like I've become absolutely on board with this kissing a guy thing." "I was so sure, that you wouldn't ever actually be interested. " Dwight babbled " Super hot frat guy? Ladies man? I mean I've thought you were so cool and laid back, but I didn't want to say anything about liking you cause I didn't want you to think I was a creeper. And then the other night I was worried that you'd be mad cause you were tipsy." " Why would I be mad?  I'm the one who decided to kiss you. Honestly, you know it probably would have never crossed my mind. But your mouth was clearly running off because of the booze, and when I went in for that kiss... Well let's just say ...Boom fireworks!" Steve laid back and stared into the sky "It's so nice being with you out here the sky is so beautiful." He felt Dwight lie down next to him as he too stared into the sky. They sat in silence just looking at the jeweled expanse in awe for a while. And then slowly Steve turned his head and Dwight tilted his too when he felt the movement as they looked at each other. Steve took one of his hands and ruffled Dwight's hair. "You know... The stars are amazing but your eyes are so gorgeous." Steve breathed.   Dwight flushed super red "Oh god!" He play punched Steve on the shoulder. "You’re horrible." "It's true though." Steve laughed as he playfully punched him back. Steve made the first move this time as he drifted in closer for another electric shock as their lips met again.  It was short but very satisfying. "Okay okay. We should go before this gets out of hand." Dwight laughed.  "You've never been with a guy, I am not going to push you to hard or fast." Steve gave a look like he was pouting but nodded in agreement. "I mean I guess we should save some things for a few dates in." Dwight popped off the hood of the car and started walking towards his telescope. "Could you grab the blanket?" "I got it." Steve slid off the car and grabbed the blanket folding it up.  Tonight had been amazing, it was like floating on clouds. Steve hoped there would be more nights like this.

[evilrubberducke]

Read You Like a Book

A fluff filled IzuMina story about dorks and dates. Not too much to say besides that. I hope you enjoy.

Summary: In the midst of a lovely date, Mina discovers that Izuku might just be paying more attention to her than she ever realized.

Also on AO3!

“Midoriiiiiii, you lied to me!” Mina whined as she took in the building before her.

The Csilla Book Emporium was the largest bookstore she’d ever seen, spanning nearly a block in length and several stories in height, all filled to the brim with books of every sort. Supposedly they had every book under the sun, and if you couldn’t find it on their shelves they would have it sent there in just a few days. Under normal circumstances, Mina would have been happy to spend the afternoon there with Izuku.

It was the sign out front, proudly advertising their “First day of summer textbook/workbook sale!” that gave her pause.

“I didn’t lie!” He protested, though he seemed to be having trouble keeping eye contact with her. “I told you I wanted to take you somewhere fun. This is fun!”

“It’s schoolwork Midori.” she put on her best pout, a technique which had improved dramatically since they had started dating. He was a sucker for a good pout, and if you used puppy dog eyes as well, it was a surefire way to get what you wanted.

“I know, but if we get it done now, we won’t have to worry about it later.” He was holding surprisingly firm under her gaze, only shifting a little bit as he spoke.

She held out for a long moment, but eventually she was the one that cracked first. “Fiiiiine. But I’m holding you to your word. You’re taking me out somewhere fun after this.”

He smiled at that. “Ok. We’ll go anywhere you want.”

She shook her head. “Nuh uh. You don’t get out of it that easy. I came here to be wooed, only to be bait and switched. You’ve got to earn your way back into my good graces, and that starts with coming up with somewhere nice to take me.”

At that, Izuku began to resemble the boy she remembered from their first year at UA. The ball of perpetually frightened energy who couldn’t keep himself from muttering about Heroes every few minutes. She’d almost forgotten how cute he could be when he was off balance like this. These days he seemed like he could take anyone on without even flinching, and the smile he always wore reminded her enough of All Might that she had started to give Todoroki’s crackpot theories some real consideration.

His muttering now a soothing background noise, Mina pulled her boyfriend into the bookstore.

---

The pair had headed straight into the workbook section, competing with several other students for precious space and even more precious deals.

Izuku proved surprisingly adept at claiming space among the crowd. He didn’t really fight for space so much as slip through the gaps between people, pulling Mina along behind him. When she asked he claimed he had learned from watching his mother navigate sales at the grocery store which he would only describe as ‘cut throat’.

She could tell he was taking their task seriously, as he didn’t even notice the amount of attention they were getting from the other patrons. The crowd had quickly clocked the presence of UA students, and from there it was only a quick jump to recognizing UA’s rising power couple.

Mina was a little embarrassed by the whole situation. Some enterprising reporter (read nosey snitch) had snuck into the back halls during their second sports festival. They had caught a picture of her and Izuku cuddling between matches, and ran a story about ‘Love Blooming on the Battlefield’. With her and Izuku both placing in the top five for the festival, people had quickly started to call them a power couple, and comparing them to UA’s previous big three.

It was odd to think that she now possessed  a following. Sure, it was a select following but it was still a strange experience. She’d even had someone come up and ask for her autograph the other day. It really made the fact that she was a hero feel real to her.

At least they were being left alone. There were whispers, and more than a few intrigued looks thrown their way, but no one tried to disturb them. Mina wasn’t sure if it was due to respect for their status, not wanting to miss a workbook they were looking for, or if they were intimidated by Izuku’s intense focus as he hunted for whatever it was he was searching for.

No matter the reason, Mina took the opportunity to browse with Izuku. Much as she was loath to admit it, having the extra books would be useful for their studying, something she knew Izuku would manage to corral her into at some point this summer. Resigned to her fate, she rolled up her sleeves and got to searching.

---

It still amazed her how astute Izuku could be. Every workbook he grabbed was for a subject she was struggling with, or had scored poorly on in their last exam. She hadn't even discussed the exam with him, too disappointed in her own performance. Sure, a C was better than she had been doing at the start of the year, some would even call it a great improvement. It just didn’t feel like one when compared to the rest of the class. With three perfect scores, one by Izuku himself, and several more As, it just left her feeling like she was falling behind with every step.

She’d tried he best, she really had. But in the end the concepts refused to stick in her head no matter how much she studied.

She sighed as she hefted a math workbook up and glared at the cover. It was so frustrating to be praised for her excellent combat skills, only to be lambasted week after week over something she just couldn’t seem to master.

She looked up as Izuku squeezed her hand absentmindedly, while he debated the value of two texts of his own. Even so deep in his own head, his muttering going full bore, a part of him was still making sure she was okay.

It warmed her heart in a way she couldn't even begin to describe. She returned the squeeze and cuddled closer to him. It was hard to be sad with his warmth leaking into her.

---

“I-I’m sorry it’s not much.” Izuku apologized. I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.”

They were in a cafe just off Mustafu’s main shopping street. It was a cozy place, run by a small family who were more concerned with making sure their customers were satisfied than with making a profit. Entering the business felt like stepping into the home of a long lost relative. A few patrons waited in line, and more were seated at tables around the cafe, but it didn’t seem crowded in the slightest.

“It’s perfect Midori.” Mina said.

It really was too. Mina had heard about this place from Uraraka a few weeks ago. Apparently the pink cheeked girl had stumbled across it during one of her patrols with Ryuku. Since then, she had been singing the praises of the cafe, calling it a hidden gem of Mustafu.

Mina was inclined to agree. The menu was smaller than most of the popular cafes that she had been to, but it felt like it was curated rather than limited. Each of them had a cute name, and a small little blurb about how it could help your mood. Ever since she had heard Uraraka mention it, she had wanted to come here.

She just didn’t remember telling Izuku about it.

“But...how did you know I wanted to come here?” She asked, confused.

“You were talking about how you wanted to go here with Uraraka the other day, weren’t you?” It was more of a question than an answer.

She cast her mind back to the conversation in question. They’d been chatting in the common room, taking a break from homework to have a quick snack. Izuku had been there of course, he’d been helping her study since before they had even started officially dating, but she was sure he hadn’t been paying attention. He’d been in one of his muttering fits, focused on creating a new super move.

Now that she thought about it, this wasn’t the first time he’d known something about her without her having to state it. For instance, the time he’d shown up with flowers for her mother’s birthday even though she’d only told Toru about it. Or when he’d switched to buying her cherry sparkling water instead of lemon when she got tired of the flavor.

But it wasn’t for everything. When they were planning a surprise party for Todoroki, Izuku had come close to forgetting about it, despite being there for the planning meeting.

And then it hit her. The thread connecting his random fact acquisition was her. It was like some part of his mind was paying attention to what she was saying, or even just thinking about, despite the other 90% being occupied.

It was only just a theory, but now she wanted to test it.

“Midori, do you know what my favorite movie is?”

The sudden shift in topic seemed to take him by surprise, but he recovered quickly. “Umm, The Princess Bride, right?”

It was absolutely right. She considered it a guilty pleasure, and most definitely hadn’t watched it with anyone from UA. After all, she had a reputation as the dorm’s number one horror buff to maintain.

It was...odd to realize that he knew her so well without even seeming to try. She knew plenty of stuff about her boyfriend of course, but it was different with Izuku. He wore his heart on his sleeve in so many ways. It was easy to tell what he liked, from his favorite hero to his favorite foods. Even his more subtle tastes were obvious when you looked, though not everyone seemed to be able to take the hints. Just a few weeks before, Kirishima had dragged Izuku to a raunchy comedy with the rest of the guys in the class. She wasn’t sure exactly what he saw, but Izuku had looked vaguely traumatized by the experience.

He was easy to please, always happy to help or to listen to her talk, completely able to entertain himself if she left him alone, and an all around sweety. He would be the most low maintenance boyfriend in the world, if it weren’t for his insistence on self sacrifice.

She was pulled from her musings when they reached the front of the line. She had already made her choice when she had first seen the menu, but Izuku had waffled for a while. When he finally chose his drink, it was all she could do to hold back a snort. The woman who took their order seemed surprised, but after looking him over, she nodded once and punched the request in.

The “Little Hero” was clearly meant for children, a chocolaty affair with a generous helping of whipped cream on the top. When Izuku finally laid eyes on his drink, his brow scrunched up in confusion, and Mina finally lost it, cackling softly at her boyfriend’s misstep.

Izuku did his best imitation of a strawberry while he meekly accepted his drink and made a beeline for the table they had picked out and Mina followed him, still recovering from her bout of mirth.

The seats they had managed to get were hidden slightly from the rest of the cafe by a large potted plant. Mina appreciated the bit of privacy that it afforded them. She didn’t really care about being watched, but she did enjoy having a bit more alone time with her boyfriend.

“Enjoying your drink?” She teased as he took a tentative sip. The barista had really gone all out, adding chocolate shavings as well as sprinkles and a stick of cinnamon to the top of what Mina was sure was an unhealthy amount of whipped cream. Her own drink was fairly simple by comparison. An Iced coffee with some cinnamon to give it some extra flavoring, with a small heart drawn in the cream for her, which was a nice little touch.

“It...it’s pretty good.” Izuku said timidly, eyes firmly fixed on the table in front of him.

“Apparently!” She said with a chuckle. When he lifted his head up to look at her, she could see that a bit of whipped cream had lodged itself at the end of his nose. Combined with the confused and slightly embarrassed look on his face, it made for an insanely cute picture. Mina was half tempted to whip out her phone to commemorate the moment, but decided against it.

Instead she reached across the table and deftly wiped the offending spot away. Then on a whim, she took a moment to run her thumb along his cheek.

Izuku relaxed into her touch, his eyes closing as he sighed in contentment.

Mina felt her heart skip a beat. She was sure in that moment that she was the luckiest girl in the world. Izuku was beyond strong, incredibly smart, and so dedicated she was sure he would crawl through hell on bloody hands and knees if it meant saving someone in trouble. And here he was, melting like putty in her hands simply because he enjoyed being around her.

It made her feel truly special.

--

They didn’t get any studying done that day, much to Izuku’s chagrin. Instead, they spent the day wandering Mustafu to see if they could find any other hidden gems like the cafe. It wasn’t a productive day, but it was a pleasant one. A day spent in easy company was just what the pair had needed after the stress of UA. And at the end of the day, they were both perfectly content to fall asleep in the arms of the one person in the world who could read them like a book.

[kprciffdw]

Kim Possible: The Extremely Secret Files-Part 28

The entire group was finally able to arrive at the very top floor of the space station. They exited the tunnel and from there, they were only a few stepped away from the control center. Ratchet: "Hm…no guard bots, no security systems operational, not even Shego is standing in our way. Drakken wants us to come. What do you think he could be planning?" Kim: "I don't know. I'm not even sure what we're going to be doing. My dad's life hangs in the balance but all he cares about is us finishing this mission. I only hope that whatever the outcome will be, everything will turn out alright." Ratchet: "Hey, whatever will happen, to you or to your father, I'll be here for you, Kimberly."

She smiled at him. Ron: "Same here, KP. I've got your back." Clank: "As do I, Miss Possible."

Even Rufus climbed out of Ron's pocket to lend his support for her. Rufus: "Mm, hm!"

She was touched by all of their wanting to stand beside her in this moment of truth. She then faced forward with a confident and serious look on her face. Kim: "OK! Let's go!"

They walked up to the door and walked right through. There, Drakken and Shego were waiting for them. Drakken: "Ah, Kim Possible. You and your little pals have arrived at last." Kim: "End of the line, Drakken. We're here to shut you down." Drakken: "And I would assume that you still don't know what this space station was built for." Kim: "No…no I don't…" Drakken: "Well, then, you have managed to make it here, so as promised, I will tell you." Clank: "But before we get to that, I must know something, how did you find out about this project when it was kept a secret by Dr. Possible, his colleagues and the men that paid them to build it?" Ratchet: "That's right, we never found out about that." Drakken: "Oh, an excellent question, metal man, allow me to tell you. It all started when I was taking another one of my routine trips to Hench co." Kim: "Should have known Hench co. would be involved in this." Ratchet: "Hench co.?" Kim: "A corporation devoted to providing services to villains. We'll talk more about it later." Drakken: "I was doing my usual thing of sweet-talking the CEO to convince him to cut me some slack and offer me better deals for their services." Shego: "With Mr. Hench angrily turning him down…again. We tend to hold back on payment from them and they sometimes rack up debt from us withholding payment…as well as stealing from them." Drakken: "But I did not leave empty-handed. While I was still there, I got near a few men; they seemed to have mentioned something about using Dr. Possible for a nefarious plan." Shego: "And from that, he overheard those corporate sickos chatting to one another about this space station that they tricked Kimmie's dad, Dr. P., into building for said nefarious plan." Clank: "So then you plotted to steal this for your own evil plans." Drakken: "Yes! That's exactly right!" Ratchet: "But what about those men and their evil plan? Dr. Possible went on to tell Kimberly to destroy this thing and we know it's because of what they were planning to do with it." Shego: "Heh, no surprise there, considering what we have found out." Drakken: "Ah, yes, when we looked into the secret files of this project, not only were we able to find out about this space station being part alien technology, but they have built into it a MASSIVE WILDFIRE MEGA-BEAM!"

Ratchet was greatly startled from hearing this. Ratchet: "No…! You can't be serious! Those humans built that into the space station!?" Ron: "Uh…massive…wildfire…mega-beam…? Is that as terrifying as it sounds?" Ratchet: "To say the least. That beam can create a wildfire powerful enough to scorch everything on the surface of an entire planet, including all life that's living on the surface." Clank: "That super weapon was barred after wiping out all life on 5 planets years ago." Ratchet: "My home planet, Veldin, was one of those planets long before I was born." Kim: "Is that all true? You mean to say that…if that IS true, then that means…those men…they were…" Shego: "Rightio, Kimmie! Those men were plotting to wipe out all life on Earth. Your daddy was building this super weapon for those jerks and he didn't even know what it was."

Kim, greatly distraught, fell to her knees, then placed both of her hands on the floor. Kim: "I…I can't believe it…my own dad…was being used…for this…evil plan…? No…no! This…this can't be…"

Ratchet, Clank and Ron tended to her. Ratchet: "Kimberly…" Ron: "But why would they want to do something so terrible?" Shego: "2 words: clean slate." Clank: "They were planning to start a new?" Ratchet: "Hm…when those men said that they wanted to "purge the Earth of all of its problems", they meant…they were talking about the humans, weren't they?" Drakken: "That's right. They wanted to eradicate every single person on the planet and create a new world with only a select few, that which they would call a "Perfect World"; one free of strife and conflicts that they believed were created by people." Ratchet: "They're completely insane! No world that was created from intentionally destroying another should ever be considered perfect!" Shego: "Oh, I completely agree with you on that. Their plan even made me sick to my stomach. We want to dominate the world, not destroy it." Drakken: "But this could be used to our advantage. With this super weapon at our command, we will be able to take control of the entire Earth! (laugh)" Ratchet: "Are you serious!? Drakken, this weapon is an abomination; it's pure evil! It should never be used for anything! It shouldn't have been built or even invented for that matter!" Ron: "Yeah, it's so beyond sick and wrong that there should be a new for it! Wrong-sick is no where near intense enough for this! This is just low, even for you!" Shego: "Relax, will ya? We're not actually going to kill people with it." Ratchet: "It doesn't matter. You should not even have it at all." Clank: "Oh, I could not agree more. This weapon needs to be eradicated immediately." Drakken: "But what about Dr. Possible? What do you plan to do with his life hanging by a thread?" Ratchet: "I'm not worried about Dr. Possible. I have faith that Wade will be able to help him. There isn't anything we can do for him right now, so we have to depend on him. Kimberly knows that. So, we're going to stop you, regardless of the outcome." Drakken: "Oh, I wouldn't count on that, my furry foe. In case you have forgotten already, Kim Possible is in no condition to fight, let alone foil my plans."

Ratchet looked towards Kim, then back at Dr. Drakken. Ratchet: "Oh, I haven't forgotten, not even one bit. Don't count on this being an easy victory for you."

He then bent down towards her and looked directly at her. Ratchet: "Kimberly, listen to me. I know all of this is devastating, I'm greatly appalled to find out about this; perhaps a lot more than I could put into words, but you need to come to your senses. You know this isn't what your dad wanted you to do and I'm sure you realize that he never intended to create this nightmare, so you should know that he was also greatly devastated when he found out about this. He wants you to put an end to all of this and that's exactly what you have to do. Come on, Kimberly! You can't stop now! We've come so far! We have to finish this! We have to…"

Kim remained devastated for a bit longer, but then, there was a slight change in her mood. She came to, overcoming her trauma little by little. Kim: "You're right. I…have to…I have to snap out of it. I know my dad would have never taken part of all of this if he knew this would happen. I know…that he wants a better future for all of us. And…I would love to help in building that future with him."

She then stood up, a tense and confident look grew on her face. Kim: "Let's destroy this nightmare weapon."

Ratchet smiled at her, then looked towards Drakken and Shego with a conceited smile. Those 2 both seemed alarmed by this change. Kim: "Drakken, you're going down."