#am i buggin or nah

[thxnks4themrms]

WAIT MCR5

[echo-exanimo]

a snippet from the fic im writing

speeding bullet content ahead!!

its a lil angsty but im havin fun with it hehe

for a touch of background, scout noticed snipers last name on an item earlier which is Why he knows that. just. for reference.

"Yeah, mate, not a problem. Let me start some tea."

---

A knock at his door woke Sniper with a start. It was dark outside, hardly time for anybody to be up and about. He slid from his bed, pistol in hand as he went to the door.

"Who's there?"

"...Snipes?" Came the quiet reply.

Sniper set down the gun on a nearby ledge, unlocking the door with a questioning look. "Roo? Why're you out here at this hour?"

"Uhhh," Scout scratched the back of his head. "Couldn't sleep. Ya mind if I-"

The two sat in silence as Sniper started a kettle and set aside a few mugs.

"Y'mind tellin' me why you're out here at..." He checked the clock. "4 in the bloody morning?"

"I told ya. Can't sleep." The easygoing smile he shot the Sniper didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Right." Sniper decided not to press it any further. They could talk over a few mugs of tea.

More silence. It felt stifling without Scout's near constant chatter, the way his presence didn't seem to take up the entire room and instead hardly took up the space of his body.

Sniper stirred a spoonful of honey into one of the mugs before turning and offering it to Scout. "Here. Chamomile." He tipped his head a bit at Scout. "My mother used to make it for me. Helps you ease up a bit."

"Sounds good." He took the mug, and Sniper was struck with how strange his hands looked when they weren't wrapped for work. He sat down across from Scout with a sigh, figuring if he didn't speak, the other man would eventually.

"...Snipes?"

"Mm?"

"You ever think about, uh, home?" His eyes darted to the ground before he looked back up. "Like... The people you miss? Wonder if they'd be proud?"

"Well, my mum and dad don't particularly appreciate my line of work..." He twiddled with the spoon in his mug, mixing even though the honey had long dissolved. "Didn't really have too many others."

"Oh."

Scout fell quiet again, sipping his tea thoughtfully.

"Well, I... I miss my ma. I worry about her, y'know?" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's been a while since I've been home, she doesn't know where I am... Been a while since we talked."

"Is that what's buggin' ya?"

Scout looked down. "No, not really."

Sniper placed down his mug and watched Scout carefully as he began to speak again.

"It's my brothers. They, uh... These dogtags, y'know?"

His words were scattered in a characteristically Scout way without any of the energy. It made sense, but for a second Sniper didn't quite catch it. The Scout didn't often talk about his background.

"I just can't imagine how worried my ma must be, the third of her sons to disappear into a war she can't know about. She doesn't know I die every single day, she doesn't know what I do, she doesn't know any of it."

Scout looked uncomfortable, scuffing his feet against the legs of the table. "I wanna go home for a bit. Just let her know I'm okay. She doesn't have to know it all, just know I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." His voice got progressively quieter as he spoke, a far cry from the Scout he'd been just a few hours ago, rowdy in the lounge with the rest of the guys, cards and booze and raucous laughter.

"Mate..."

"Nah, nah, I- I know it's kinda dumb. Like. We all have people back home. I just worry for my ma. I should call her tomorrow." He took a long drink of the tea.

Another long silence, but this one felt a little less quiet.

"...If you'd like," Sniper winced at the sound of his own voice breaking through the quiet. "you can stay here for the night. If the company would help at all."

"...Yeah. Thanks."

"Not a problem." He nodded once and stretched. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Uh... Nah, I don't think so. Thanks, Mundy."

The Sniper stood still, having stood to start cleaning.

"Sorry. Shit. I can, uh-"

"No. No, it's fine, I'm just... Not used to hearing that name. Not anymore. But. It's Mick. Mick Mundy."

"..Jeremy Gallagher."

"Irish, mm?"

"Yeah. Irish."

The two were quiet for a moment longer before Sniper continued, empty mug in hand to place into the sink. "Blankets are in the drawer beside you."

"Alright. Yeah, thanks."

Sniper retreated to his bed, quietly groaning as he got settled. "Don't wake me up too early, now."

"No way. I'm tired enough as is."

This earned Scout a tired laugh. "Right then. I won't worry with the alarm. Five minutes to get ready work for you?"

"Yeah."

[cosmicawg]

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬: 𝐆𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐲 𝐖𝐈𝐏

Just little scrimbles I thought of while working on chapters of my story and thought it'll be cute little scenes that can be used to help build the relationship between the characters(or my brain couldn't stop bugging me about it so i wrote it down😅)

Scene: A and B sitting in a dimly lit room. The edibles have kicked in, and the vibe is mellow but heavy. A, clearly feeling the effects, looks dazed while B remains laid-back, though slightly amused by Devon’s reaction.

B: (chuckling, shaking his head) “You buggin’ out, man. Chill... Can't believe this yo' first time trying these.”

A: (eyes half-closed, sounding distant) “They ain't like weed… I feel... different.”

(A reaches out slowly, staring at his own hands like they’re foreign. He pauses, studying them as if they’re not his own.)

A: (soft, unsure) “Do you... think I'm special?”

(His voice trembles slightly, carrying a vulnerability that catches B off guard.)

(B smirks at first, but then recalls the weight of Devon’s words. He chuckles but not dismissively.)

B: (grinning) “Yeah, you some alright... But nah, for real, you special. You got dreams nobody ‘round here got.”

(A's eyes light up with a loopy smile as their gazes lock. The high makes him feel everything ten times brighter.)

A: (blurting out dreamily) “I wanna be a famous painter... like James Kelly. I wanna... be somebody.”

(The energy in the room shifts as they both edge a little closer, lost in their thoughts. B's expression softens, and he contemplates his next words.)

B: (quietly, but firm) “You already are somebody. You in here, ain't you? You made it this far... that makes you somebody. In my book.”

(The room falls into silence as those words hang between them.)

(A's eyelids grow heavy, his body giving in to the edible haze. He slumps into sleep, still with that soft smile on his face. B watches him, pondering, lost in his own thoughts as A drifts off.)

End Scene

BASED OFF @11thsense: this really cute drawing by @11thsense. i saw it on pinterest and just fell in love with it, went to sleep and saw it again in my dreams(thus this scrimble for my characters) am not kidding lmaooo.

[lionews]

"am i buggin or was the responding people to noctu-whatever being a bit hasty to immediately think theyre being ableist?"

nah that rubbed me the wrong way too lol. like who tf mentioned a disability. it was completely unnecessary. however it made for some insane drama from nocturnos lmao

.

[theblueflower05]

i know most of us are past the stage of buggin over the new release date for the other Avatar movies, but I've been thinking this little thing for a while now.

Obviously James Cameron, and the other makers of the franchise, they read reviews, they read whatever critics say, read articles, regarding TWOW.

I can't help but think that maybe they've, caught a glimpse of our own scenario's and conspiracies regarding the future movies (Over social media👀). Maybe James Cameron had to say like, hold on now, lemme note this down real quick. Though honestly, I don't think he'll disappoint us for the other three instalments. I know they've already filmed movie 3, and parts of movie 4, so they wouldn't add anything in right?

All I'm saying is that because TWOW was so popular, and they were a lot of fangals winging and sulking over Neteyam, maybe Cameron had second thoughts. Maybe there was so much predicted, Neteyam's death for Lo'aks character development, Jake and Tsu'teys relationship = Lo'ak and Ao'nungs relationship etc. That Cameron had to take a breather and be like..... "nah fuck it we move on." 😂

Also I feel that Movie 3 will blow us away, in a good way. We're gonna be seeing different environments, Quaritch won't be the only antagonist, we're gonna see more action, I hope we see even more bonding between all the Sully's, we're gonna see Ao'nung with his first tattoos and (I pray) longer hair. Like it's gonna be great.

This is me being delusional that somehow, someway Neteyam could come back. But uh, I think those sea anemones got him good.

I hope this ain't too much, I know you like long discussions, and I've been wanting to voice my lil 'theory'. Also I hope this makes sense? 😂✨❤️

Hiiiii Nonnie!

Okay I think about this often.

Did Jimmy Cam & crew realize that we were going to love Neteyam this much?

They had to have like an inkling. Jamie Flatters is so beyond handsome and charming and the way that they wrote that character-

Like how were we not supposed to fall in love with Neteyam.

Hoping for at least a buncha flashbacks of our boi!

Fun fact. One of my close friends is in the business and has straight up told me that media chomps fanfiction bit.

Especially right now while there’s a strike going on and writers are putting their foots down, please be careful with your intellectual property.

That being said.

I am beyond excited for the future films but so sad that we have to wait even longer. Kind of crazy that most of us are completely growing up along side this franchise, right?!?

I can’t wait. I hope they drop around Christmas again like the first 2.

Avatar December’s are my religion at this point.

[monmuses]

repose - muse a languidly slips into muse b’s arms while muse b is lying somewhere { slides this over for beej }

gentleness action prompts (ALWAYS Accepting!)

On the rare occasion where Beej felt a little warmth in his heart, it truly stuck around until he went to bed or had his fun with Nimue. However, for this reason, he was in need of something, or someone. A little touch and a kiss here and there, but just some love was a real necessity at the moment. Finding Nimue on the couch, reading a book, he took the opportunity to make himself physically present and slip into her arms, popping his head in between her and her book.

"Hey babes," he grinned, kissing her cheek. "I'm not interruptin' anythin', am I? Nah, just kiddin', I know I am. I just felt like buggin' ya is all. You're bein' all quiet over here, readin' your books. Spare me a kiss, maybe?"

His arms wrapped around her, holding her but laying his head against her chest while he did so. He didn't want to exactly say he was wanting attention, but... this was his way of doing so. It made things much too obvious to Nimue with how touchy he was.

[punpunsutatta]

Manner of Death (2020) // Pride & Prejudice (2005)

[punpunsutatta]

this has wbl part 1 parallel energy

[bellamygateoldblog]

nah am i buggin or is will looking between mike and el and their intertwined hands

[zeeroweenies]

I swear I never realized how much people cared about people having crushes on anime characters until I joined tiktok lmfao. Like I get that whole thing “fiction affects reality” but to me that seemed more like when a 12 yr old is shipped with a 30 year old character; not like aging up a character that kinda already looks and acts 18+. Is that bad of me? 😭

Nah you didn’t miss at all😩!! I get called a p*do in my inbox all the time for aging up underage characters that physically (and mentally) look like adults🤨 I could see their pov if it was a childlike character but they’re trying to compare lolis/shotas to characters who look grown asf?? I thought megumi’s ass was in college when I first saw him cause he just looks that old! I get that the stuff you consume might affect you in some way but I don’t think me liking megumi is a problem I’m sorry😩 I very much am not attracted to people within the age range of 16 and under irl and aging up characters isn’t gonna change that. Idk maybe I’m buggin but I just think there’s a difference in aging up

This mf who is 15 but Vs this mf who’s 1000+

can pass as an 18+ character looking like a 7 year old

Idgaf though I just wish minors would stop invading 18+ spaces then get mad when they find what they’re looking for and complaining about people ‘ruining the fandom’ when they harass people over pixels🙄 idk it’s just dumb to me😭

[nunufx]

Black youtuber s/o (ft. hitoshi shinso, kaminari denki, hanta sero)

Hitoshi Shinso

You started a hair channel a while back

you would either make videos about different hairstyles, testing products, or doing your wash rountine

shinso loved to help you with your hair so he was seen in most of your videos

he'd help take your box braids out

try to slice them bitches off with the razor blade

"yeo if you dont chill out"

"what im tryna help"

"nah bro you’re buggin"

you liked when he helped during wash day

he'd scratch your scalp and that shit will feel mad good

son would have you seeing stars

and the whole comment section would be like "YUHHHH GET INTO ITTTT"

your supporters wanted you to do black hairstyles on his hair

so you was like "aii bet"

the whole video was pure jokes because yall kept making jokes about how weird he looked with certain hairstyles

when you cornrowed his hair

"damnnnn why yuh forehead boomin like that”

or when you single braided his hair

"yeo im asian travis scott"

"lmfaoooo nah you whalinn"

Kaminari Denki

your channel was basically vlogs and lil mukbang videos

and kami loved being apart of them

like if you was doing one of them "new apartment" videos and had the camera on you

he'll come up behind you and say some dumb shit like

"damn im sexy asf", lick his lips, and wink at the camera

and you’re like "...chileee anyways so.."

your supporters loved him

if you were doing a mukbang he'd come and try to steal some food

greedy ass

eventually he stays the rest of video and “help” you eat

the comments would say how he looks like chill vibes or they wanna be his friend

but they don't know how much he gets on your nerves

one day you were bored and vlogged a regular day with kami

it was on a day you usually dont post videos

the video is pure crackhead energy

"throw it back boobae"

kami throwing that shit back

Hanta Sero

your youtube channel is about storytimes and doing shit while high

and sero would be in the background doing some dumb shit

or he would add his 2 cents in some of the stories

now this would be everyones favorite channel

everyone in the comment section would be weak as hell in the comments

everyone wants to live your life but you like nah bro

you uploaded a video about how some dude laced seros weed

"aii so boom, my boyfriend crackhead ass decided to cop some weed at like 3am" (you)

"HUH it wasnt even like that, she, HER ASS was feeningggg to get high" (sero)

"nah yall he cappin, antways, so the niggas he usually cop weed from wasnt avaible atm sooo his friend put him on to this one guy" (you)

"when i got there, the weed was already rolled up, so me being the dumbass i am was like, oh word say less. so i took that shit and ran my ass home" (sero)

"so when he got home, we started to smoking that shit. it aint "hit" until like 20 mintues later" (you)

"bro we was buggin out like my head was hurtin, she was feeling numb asf, we started throwing up and shit" (sero)

"so kids if you cop weed from someone either roll that shit your self or make sure they rolling it up in front of you" (you)

the comment section on that one was going crazyyyy

it was probably your highest viewed video

[punpunsutatta]

don't forget zidian!! The first time it's a fucked-up maternal love, true, but there's still no denying that love was the driving force

declarations of love in the untamed is like *gives you my eyes* *gives you my golden core* *gives you chickens i pulled out of someone's pen by myself* *gives you alcohol i kept illegally for 16 years* *gives you my steadfast forever unwavering devotion and patience* *gives you little paper butterflies* *gives you soup* *gives you song i wrote by myself* *gives you flute* *gives you

[ninja-go-to-therapy]

Whumptober 5: Where Do You Think You’re Going?

On the Run

I finally got around to writing something for my own damn AU, and it’s not even canon! I’m great at this.

Summary: Months after escaping from Prime Empire, Scott finds himself in Paris with none other than Unagami. It doesn’t go well. (This is of course part of the Miraculous crossover that I talk about sometimes on @blursed-ninjago-ideas)

Trigger Warnings: death threats, violence, panic attacks

4517 words

The years of his life Scott had lost to Prime Empire were hard to come to terms with. Every day he had been in there, he was well aware of the passage of time, but it was still the hardest thing he’d ever gone through.

Every day he had convinced himself that he would get out soon.

That first day, he was certain he’d be out by the end of the week. By the end of the week, he thought it couldn’t possibly be longer than a month.

It had gone on for years. Thirty, specifically.

Everyone he had ever known and loved had grieved and moved on. He had missed decades with them. His friends. His family. Everyone.

And it was all Unagami’s fault — right. Unagami was actually just a stupid little child who hadn’t really known what he was doing. He was supposed to be trying to get along with him, because he needed to be a role model or some shit.

Honestly, now that the kid wasn’t actively keeping him trapped inside a game for decades, he wasn’t all that bad. Sure, he could be a bit of a brat at times, but that was a phase that all children went through.

And apparently, he lowkey — that was the word Jay liked to use, right? He was so behind on the current slang — idolized Scott. Yeah, the child who’d been trying to turn him into a lifeless, numb, empty little energy cube for years and years and years, thought he was cool. That was… something, he supposed.

He was mostly doing this because Jay had all but begged him to. Said it made him a good person and he needed to let go of his anger.

Scott didn’t know if he would call it anger. He couldn’t bring himself to hate Unagami, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t a little… well… uncomfortable around him. Yeah, that was definitely the right word.

But that was dumb. That debacle was finally over, and even if the nightmares and trauma didn’t go away, it wasn’t like Unagami acted malicious anymore. He wasn’t trying to kill anyone anymore.

So what if every time Unagami did much of anything, Scott’s grip on whatever it may have been that he was holding tightened enough to break a bone? That wasn’t that concerning. Everybody did that. Probably.

And hey, he could have had worse problems than scratching up his hands when he was nervous or anxious or really freaked out or really scared or flashing back to that cramped dark horrible nothingness when he was just lines of code trapped in a little energy cube with no way to get in or out or anything — and, uh, everyone had a random bad dream once in awhile. Or every night.

But he could put that aside, because he was a mature adult.

So here he was, babysitting an arcade-game-turned-boy, who was surprisingly energetic and very bright-eyed. 

“When are the ninja coming back?” Unagami asked, popping up from behind the couch.

Scott barely suppressed a surprised curse. This kid was way too light on his feet. “I don’t know,” he said, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Unagami, unlike most kids would, actually accepted that as an answer and went back to his BorgPad, tapping away at the screen.

The thing was, nobody had seen the ninja in a few weeks, now. Scott was beginning to get concerned. After Lloyd had disappeared — which had been information divulged to Scott privately by Jay, because they didn’t want the general public to know — the next few days had been spent in a raw panic. And then, total radio silence.

He hadn’t heard from the ninja since.

He hoped they were okay. He was a little too familiar with people disappearing only to never be heard from again. Well, not until thirty years after the fact.

He wasn’t bitter, not at all.

“What are you doing, anyway?” Scott asked, trying to get his mind off the subject. He was supposed to be taking care of the kid for the day, he might as well have been trying to make some sort of connection.

“Hacking the Hexagon!” Unagami said, looking up from his screen with a big smile.

Oh, that was nice — wait, what?

“Excuse me?” Scott asked, jumping over the back of the couch and crouching on the floor, where Unagami was sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce. Scott peered over his shoulder at the screen.

“If they didn’t want it hacked they shouldn’t have made it so easy,” Unagami shrugged.

Was it… was it normal for a child to be hacking into government facilities from a BorgPad?

Scott was going to go out on a limb and say no. …It was probably just an AI thing? Yeah, it was probably fine.

He watched for a moment as Unagami’s fingers flew across the screen, lines in a language Scott didn’t understand everywhere. He’d never had the ambition to learn how to code.

But damn, back before Prime Empire, people had hardly even dreamed of tech like this. 

It was kind of crazy.

Scott was going to be honest with himself. The BorgPad was cool. It had tons of features that were all put together onto one little device — texting and pictures and games and social media and more. It had everything.

But at the end of the day, it was just another reminder that Scott had missed out on so much while he’d been trapped inside the game. 

Back in his day, people had been perfectly content with “low quality” arcade games and flip phones. But now… well, people like Cyrus Borg were completely changing the world.

It was cool. But it stung.

“As long as you don’t get like, in trouble with the law or something. I don’t want Dyer buggin’.”

Unagami gave him a weird look, but slowly lowered his gaze back to the screen.

Right. People didn’t say that anymore, did they? His vocabulary was really outdated. He was really outdated.

He sighed, standing up and heading to the kitchen so he could make some tea. Jay had given him some, claiming it was really calming.

Scott could use a little of that right now.

The label was faded enough that it was basically unreadable. Scratch that, it was completely unreadable. Did tea expire…? Nah, Jay wouldn’t have given it to him if it was bad.

As the tea was brewing, Scott leaned against the counter, fiddling with his phone. It had been brand new technology at the time, and had been pretty expensive.

Now, according to Jay, it was “mega-outdated”. 

That hurt more than it should have. He remembered being so excited about this thing, but now it was nothing compared to the technology of today.

“You want some tea?” Scott asked when it was done, going for a mug.

“What does it taste like?” Unagami asked, setting aside his tablet and coming over to observe the tea with interest. 

“Uhh… I dunno, haven’t tried it yet,” he shrugged.

“I think I would like some, please.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Scott went to pour it, but as he was doing so, he found his mind wandering to wondering where the ninja had disappeared to again. It was strange that they had just —

“Is that supposed to be happening?” Unagami asked.

Scott looked down at the tea, concerned to see a bright glow spilling from the kettle. “Uh…” before he could come up with a rational answer, it brightened, all but blinding the two as it took over the room.

When it faded, there was nothing left but a broken mug on the floor.

———

What the fuck?

What had just happened?

The last thing Scott remembered had been sitting in the kitchen making tea, but now… now he was outside, near some giant metal tower, in a place he absolutely did not recognize.

He didn’t recognize the place, but he did recognize the feeling.

He was in a new realm.

The first thing he could feel was the panic.

Not again. Fuck! Not again. He couldn’t go through this another time, he couldn’t lose more of his life to a monster, he couldn’t — he couldn’t — he couldn’t breathe. He gripped the grass he was sitting on, practically hyperventilating.

“Scott? Are you alright?”

Oh first master, Unagami was here too.

“Get away from me!” he yelled, though he made no move to put distance between them. Instead, the little brat only came closer.

“You need to breathe.”

“I said get away—” Scott’s words died in his throat. Something was different. Something was wrong.

“Captain Clockwork,” a voice said, booming throughout his head.

“What’s going on?” Scott demanded.

“I am Hawk Moth. I can feel your distress. The anger, the grief, all of it. You just want things to go back to the way they used to be, don’t you?”

“Yes…” he found himself agreeing, nodding along.

“I can help you with that. I can give you the power to take back your life. All I need in return is for you to retrieve two pieces of jewelry for me, called the Miraculous. Do we have a deal?”

Scott didn’t even have to think twice. “Yes, Hawk Moth.”

��—— 

Unagami was concerned.

Scott was freaking out, clearly on the verge of a panic attack, and nothing he was doing seemed to help. And then, out of nowhere, it just stopped.

And then Scott started talking to nobody, and then his body, for the briefest of moments, was enveloped in a purple so dark it may as well have been black.

When it was gone, Scott looked different. He was wearing an outfit that could only be described as old-timey-steampunk. 

It wasn’t that strange, considering that sort of stuff was perfectly normal in Prime Empire. Still, Unagami should probably make sure that Scott was okay.

“Scott?” he asked, stepping a little closer.

Scott glared at him dark enough to kill.

Wide-eyed, Unagami took a small step back. “Scott, what’s wrong? Who were you talking to? Is this a video game, like Prime Empire?”

“You would just love that, wouldn’t you?” Scott yelled. “You would just love to ruin even more people’s lives!”

“What?”

A ball of light burst into existence in Scott’s hand, which was closed tightly in a fist. He threw the light off to the side, launching at a huge television screen on the side of a building. Almost immediately, it turned into a box-style TV.

Scott smiled wickedly. “Oh, would you look at that? The power to downgrade tech. If I can do that to a TV, I wonder what will happen to a stupid. Little. Arcade game.”

Unagami narrowly dodged a blast from Scott following those words. “Scott, stop! You’re — you’re not in your right mind!”

“Oh, I’m in my right mind!” he screamed. “I’m finally free, and what am I met with but a world that moved on without me? You took away my life!”

“Scott, please, you are not thinking clearly!” Unagami said, desperate.

“Save it, you little brat! Now hold still so I can kill you!”

Unagami tripped, falling back into the grass. He scrambled back, doing his best to get to his feet, but regardless, Scott had the upper hand. He was done for.

He squeezed his eyes shut, accepting the inevitable.

Suddenly, he was being lifted, and then he was in the air. What?

He opened his eyes.

“I’ve got you!” a girl dressed in red spandex with black polka dots all over it said.

“What’s going on?” Unagami asked.

The girl looked confused. “Uh…” they came to a stop on a rooftop. It was then that a boy dressed in what looked like a leather catsuit joined them, vaulting up with an infinitely long pole.

“How do you do, M’lady?” he asked, smiling at the girl.

“Not now, Chat. I just saved this kid from the latest akuma, but I don’t think he’s speaking French.”

“Language barrier powers?” Chat asked. “That’s a new one.”

“I don’t know, from what I could tell, the akuma was speaking in the same language as him.”

“What’s going on?” Unagami demanded. “What happened to Scott?”

Chat frowned. “It sounds kind of like Japanese. But like, not quite? It sounds like Japanese on drugs.”

The girl sighed. “Wonderful description, Chat.”

“Thanks! I try.”

“Wait, I’ve heard this before! It sounds like that language the ninja speak!” The girl said.

“Oh yeah! Maybe they’re from the same place?”

Unagami tuned out their rambling, glancing over the edge of the roof to see if he could still see Scott. Luckily, he couldn’t.

Or was that unlucky?

Scott was the only person he knew here, but at the same time, he’d lost his mind out of nowhere. And now he was on some sort of evil… violent rampage… manhunt… chasing after him… well, that was uncomfortably familiar.

 “Okay, well, our miraculous allows him to understand us, I wonder why it doesn’t work the other way?” Chat glanced at Unagami. “You can understand us, right?”

Unagami gave a frustrated nod.

“Okay, well, do you know why that guy got akumatized?”

Unagami had absolutely no idea what that was, but it was clearly in reference to what had happened to Scott.

“I don’t think he does. We have to get back to fighting before this guy destroys half of Paris,” Chat said, tapping his wrist as if there was a watch there.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” Scott yelled from the streets below.

“Oh, hey, that was French!” Chat said. “Akuma powers are awesome.”

The girl gave him an unimpressed frown.

Various balls of light were transforming technology into older versions of themselves left and right as Scott rampaged.

“Shit, okay, Chat, can you drop him somewhere away from the akuma?”

“Sure thing Bugaboo!” Chat said with a wide grin. He held out a hand to Unagami. “Hold on tight, kid.”

———

Ladybug landed in front of the akuma gracefully, her yo-yo at her side.

“Ladybug, I presume,” the akuma said.

“That would be right.”

The akuma glared at her. “Look, I don’t particularly want to hurt you. Just hand over the earrings and the kid, and I’ll be on my way.”

“What do you want with him?” Ladybug asked, eyes narrowed. “What could he possibly have done?”

The akuma laughed, and it started low, but it quickly gained a touch of psycho, edging on hysteria. “What didn’t he do?” He yelled, his arms widely gesturing — though his right hand stayed tightly closed. That could be important. “He kept me trapped in a video game for decades. He made me live every day in fear that it would be my last! He ruined my life! He took everything from me!”

Well… fuck.

That was actually a pretty valid reason to be upset with somebody. But how on earth had that happened in the first place? Well, the details didn’t matter. She had an akuma to fight.

Against all reason, Ladybug decided to try getting through to the poor guy. “You don’t have to do this! Hawk Moth is manipulating you!”

“I don’t care!” He screamed. “He made me into Captain Clockwork! He gave me the power to take back my life!”

He threw a blast of energy at Ladybug, which she only barely managed to deflect with her yo-yo. It bounced back to what looked like a brand new car, which immediately turned into a station wagon.

Oh boy.

“Time has moved forward without me. I don’t fit into this world, so I’m gonna make this world fit me!”

She needed to figure out what to break. Whatever he was holding, that could be it.

Unceremoniously, Chat dropped from the sky, landing in a heap next to her.

“I did not get that right…” he muttered, getting to his feet with some difficulty. “What’s the plan, M’lady?”

“I don’t know, but I think the akuma is in whatever he’s holding. We need to get him to drop it.”

“May I offer a distraction in these trying times?”

Ladybug smiled.

“Hey, the future isn’t all that bad!” Chat exclaimed, dramatically vaulting himself to be behind the akuma so that he had to turn around and his attention was off of Ladybug, while she quietly summoned her lucky charm.

“We’ve got video games! And bullet trains, and iPhones, and — ooh, we’ve got anime! It still baffles me that people ever managed to live without anime. A tragedy, really.”

Captain Clockwork glared at him. “We had video games and anime back in my day. It was good enough, it didn’t have to change!”

“That’s sort of the way of life, buddy,” Chat shrugged, batting away a blast with his baton.

“It shouldn’t be! I shouldn’t have gotten left behind!” he screamed, sending blasts of energy one after the other at Chat.

“Left behind?” Chat asked, lowering his guard slightly when the akuma, breathing heavily, stopped firing.

“That boy you stole away just a few minutes ago,” Captain Clockwork said, laughing hysterically. “He kept me trapped inside a video game, for thirty years. Thirty years! It’s not fair! It’s not fair! I’ll kill him!”

“How did a little boy trap you in a video game?” Chat asked, legitimately curious.

“He is the game! He ruled Prime Empire! He ruined my life!” 

Chat was regretting asking, because now the akuma was backing him into a corner, his fist glowing. He wasn’t sure he’d ever battled an akuma so full of pure rage before.

Chat extended his baton, sweeping it under the akuma’s feet and knocking him to the ground.

“This is so cool!” Alya shouted from across the street, filming with her iPhone.

“Alya,” Nino all but begged. “We gotta get to safety!”

“But I’m getting some great footage on this thing!”

Captain Clockwork growled, blasting violently at the pair. Alya’s brand new, expensive phone immediately reverted to a flip phone.

The way Alya screamed would have suggested someone had been murdered. “No!” she shrieked, being dragged away by Nino.

“Phones don’t need to be able to record! Just use a fucking video camera! They didn’t have to change it!” Captain Clockwork yelled, running after Alya.

That got the couple’s attention enough to start running.

Chat put himself between them, crying out when he intercepted a blast.

“Chat!” Ladybug yelled.

Chat grunted, rolling with great difficulty away from the akuma.

His baton immediately grew in length, turning into what looked like a perfectly regular, non-magical, old-fashioned baton.

“Oh fuck.”

“Hand over the ring and I won’t hurt you,” Captain Clockwork demanded.

“Sorry, I’ve got a contract,” Chat replied, using the baton as a sort of cane to help him get to his feet again.

He didn’t manage to dodge the next blast, which turned his magical very technologically advanced leather suit into a hoodie and a cheap pair of sweatpants. 

Panic gripped him, and he quickly went to feel for his mask. Oh, thank god, it was still there.

Captain Clockwork charged up another blast, but before he could use it, Ladybug grabbed Chat and swung her yo-yo, getting them both away and into a back alley.

“Are you okay, Kitty?” she asked, setting him down gently.

“I’m alright,” he affirmed. “I need to detransform, make sure Plagg is alright. Maybe when I retransform it’ll go back to normal?”

Ladybug purposefully turned around.

“Claws in,” he said.

Immediately, Ladybug could hear a low groan from her partner’s kwami.

“Here,” Chat muttered, presumably offering him some food.

“Thanks. God that really hurt…” Plagg muttered.

“It did?” Chat cried, worry seeping into his voice. “Are you okay? How can I help?”

“I’ll be fine, Kitten,” Plagg said, laughing somewhat through the now very obvious pain. “Just defeat this guy and you can buy me some extra nice cheese to make up for it.”

Chat laughed. “Sure thing Plagg. Claws out!”

Ladybug waited a moment, then turned back around. Luckily, Chat had been right, and his suit was back to normal. “Okay, so we’ve got my lucky charm, but I still don’t know how to use it. Did you learn anything about the akuma?”

“Well, apparently the kid he was trying to obliterate trapped him in a game for thirty years,” Chat shrugged. “I dunno if that’s important though.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard. He keeps screaming about it every chance he gets. But as long as we free the akuma, he’ll be fine. Did you happen to see what he was holding?”

“It looked kind of like a phone, but like, one of those really old flippy ones. Like the ones they used in High School Musical!”

Ladybug sighed. “Well, that’s something. Actually, my lucky charm is a flip phone.”

“That’s weird… think he’d like that?”

“Wait! I have a plan.”

———

Meanwhile, Unagami was hiding behind a trashcan as Scott got closer and closer to his whereabouts. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears.

“Unagami,” Scott called out, his voice sickly sweet and too high in pitch. “Come out, come out wherever you are…”

Unagami held his breath, praying Scott didn’t find him.

“Isn’t it ironic?” Scott asked, something out of Unagmai’s sight crashing loudly. “The hunter becomes the prey. Bet you never thought you’d get retribution, huh?”

He hadn’t meant to ruin Scott’s life. He’d just been following his father’s instructions. He’d apologized. He thought Scott had forgiven him. He’d acted like he had.

Had he felt like this the whole time?

Angry and hurt and wanting to kill him?

And… was this how Scott had felt while trapped in Prime Empire?

Scared for his life, fearing every second that it could be his last? Keeping himself hidden away for years with the constant terror that he would be found?

The trashcan was thrown, and there was Scott.

“Found you.”

“I’m sorry—” Unagami said.

“Save it! Sorry doesn’t make up for the lost time! Sorry doesn’t make up for the fear I lived in! Sorry doesn’t fix things!”

He charged a blast.

Out of nowhere, a bright blue tornado threw Scott across the street.

It slowed to a stop, revealing none other than the blue ninja. “Unagami?” he said, bewildered. “How are you here?”

“Why are you defending him?” Scott screamed. “He trapped you too! He took all of your friends! He hunted you down like a wild animal! Aren’t you angry?”

“Scott? Jay cried, even more bewildered than before. “What the… wait, but Unagami is just a kid! Sure, he caused a lot of pain, but it wasn’t his fault! And he’s done all he can to make it right!” “That’s not good enough!”

“Ice to see you!” Zane yelled, dropping down from the rooftop.

Scott growled, charging a blast of energy. “Just let me kill the little brat! He’s not human! He’s not a person! What difference does it make?”

Unagami froze.

Scott… didn’t see him as a person? All this time?

He thought they had been bonding. He had thought… well, he hadn’t thought they were friends, exactly, but he had at least thought… 

It was true that he wasn’t human, but Unagami had likened himself to Zane. They weren't human, but they were still people. But that wasn’t how Scott saw it at all. And he had never known.

Zane screamed out as he was hit with a blast. The light encompassed him, and suddenly he was left with rusty copper skin.

Unagami’s eyes widened in horror.

“I — I — I — do not feel — Jay — I cannot — what is happening?” Zane stammered, his voice box glitching heavily.

“I can downgrade tech,” Scott said, laughing darkly. “You’re tech.”

“Scott, this isn’t you!” Jay attempted. “You’re better than this!”

“I don’t want to be better than this!” he yelled. He threw Jay to the side, completely knocking the boy unconscious.

With Zane unable to even move, Unagami was about to die.

“I never meant to hurt you,” he said.

“Hurt doesn’t care about intention.”

In what was either the best or the worst timing ever, the boy from before — Chat — waltzed over to them casually. “You were right, Captain Clockwork!” he exclaimed loudly. “Old technology is better! I’m just surprised that you didn’t notice I took your phone!” he said, waving around an old flip phone.

“What?” Scott — Captain Clockwork? — gasped, opening his fist. “No you didn’t, it’s right here?”

But then it wasn’t. Ladybug’s yo-yo string wrapped around it, and yanked it hard.

“No!”

Ladybug snapped the phone in half easily. “No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!” she declared, catching the butterfly — Unagami wasn’t even going to ask why a butterfly had come out of Scott’s phone — easily. “Gotcha!” she set the butterfly free, and in a stark contrast to the previous shade of sickly purple it had been, it was now a pure white. “Bye bye, little butterfly.”

Scott fell to the ground, his new avatar — or whatever it was — dropping.

“Miraculous ladybug!” Ladybug shouted, throwing the fake phone into the air. A swarm of butterflies took over, somehow undoing all the damages that Scott had caused.

Honestly, it was far from the strangest thing Unagami had experienced recently.

———

Scott came to on the sidewalk. Hadn’t he just been near some big metal tower thing? And how had he blacked out in the first place? What the hell?

“What… what happened?” he groaned, unable to get to his feet. 

Zane — when had Zane gotten here? — said something in what sounded like another language.

“Everything’s alright now, sir!” a girl dressed as what looked something like a superhero said, smiling gently at him. “You don’t know what an akuma is, do you?”

Again, Zane repeated her question, this time looking at him. Ah, he was the translator.

“No…?”

Her and a boy in a leather catsuit shared a look.

“A bad man called Hawk Moth took advantage of you,” the boy explained, reaching out a hand and helping Scott to his feet. “You were feeling some kind of negative emotion, and he used that to turn you into a supervillain.”

A supervillain? What kind of negative emotion could he have been — 

He spotted Unagami, who was staring at him in nothing short of terror from against the brick wall of a building. Oh yeah.

“What did I do?” 

“Nothing that couldn’t be undone,” the girl assured. “All property damages have been magically repaired, so you don’t have to worry!”

“It’s not the property damages I’m worried about,” Scott muttered, looking at Unagami, guilty all but stabbing him through the heart. The kid looked traumatized.

Before anyone could say anything else, Unagami ran. Jay immediately went after him, but the others stayed behind.

Scott knew that if he went, he would only make things worse. “Please, just… what did I actually do?”

By the end of the recap, Scott had sunk back to the ground. 

There wasn’t really a way to fix this, was there?

[punpunsutatta]

so what i'm learning from recent K BLs is that love is kept in the eggs 🧐

[punpunsutatta]

sorry GMMTV but no way in hell can u convince me those tol bois were comfy all night

boyfriends snuggling on a tiny couch

[thadelightfulone]

Better When You Are Quiet

Summary: Keyara and her group are studying for their Chemistry final.

Finals Week at CSUF is both a blessing and a curse. The Student Union opens for 24 hours the week before and during finals week. All-night study rooms are wonderful, but Keyara wishes she was at home asleep instead of here. She finds herself with her Basic Chemistry study group sweating it out in a small room in the back of the Student Union. They just moved from chemical compounds to molar mass of those compounds. She enjoys the science, but mixing math and some of these long ass equations is some of that bullshit, getting on her nerves. Nevertheless, she needs this course for her Chemistry minor.  

They have been at it for 2 hours already. Everyone’s schedule only allowed the group to get together after 10 pm three days before their Chem final. You know, because they do not have other finals to finish studying for or papers to complete before the week is out. Keyara drops her pencil since she has finished the final two problems for their current section. She waits for their self-appointed group leader to move on.  

Erik is standing at the whiteboard, ready to solve the next problem so everyone can see it. “Did everyone finish number 15 yet?” He looks around, “I’ll give you a couple more minutes to find the number of Potassium ions.”  

Keyara sat back and waited while the rest of the group finished up. She was happy with the progress she had been making in the class ever since her friends started this study group. She was on the verge of failing after the first two exams and labs, and now she brought her grade up enough to keep up her GPA. The only drawback was the guy standing at the front of the room: Erik Stevens, certified jackass, number one in the class, and fione as all the fucks.  

Tapping her pencil on her notebook, she looks away from the 6 ft chocolate Adonis leaning against the board with a smug smirk on his face. Dimples deep enough to hide the eraser from her pencil, short dreads falling messily around his head. Tonight he happens to be wearing a black hoodie, a long white tee, and grey sweats. She looks back up as he turns back to the board to start working out the problem.  

Keyara slightly jumps when her neighbor and bestie, Stephanie, pokes her in the arm. Steph starts giggling at her and slides a sheet of paper to her. You two need to fuck already. Keyara rolls her eyes before snatching the paper and writing her response. Never gonna happen, so let it go. Stephanie shrugs her shoulders and turns her attention back to the whiteboard.  

Erik finishes writing and turns back around. “Is everyone within five-hundredths of 1.863 ions of Potassium?” Several heads look up at the board and then down at their answers. Those same people look around the group of seven, but no one says anything. “Come on, people. Now is not the time to be quiet. Let me know how I can help.” A hand goes up, “Yeah, Steph.”

“Ummm, Erik. That’s not what I got.” Stephanie puts her head down. She had been having just as much trouble as Keyara when they started meeting up. Keyara snatches her paper to have a look.  

“Girl stop.” Nodding her head, “Steph, I got the same thing as you.” She hits her with her elbow facing her with a smile.  

“So, you’re both wrong?” Erik laughs and shakes his head since he is not surprised. Stephanie and Keyara needed the most help out of the people in their small study group. “Where did I lose you?”

Keyara looks at her work and then back up at the board. She starts laughing, “It ain’t us, but since you asked.” She points at the board, “At the beginning. Your numbers are wrong, Erik.”

He looks down at the sheet in his hand and then turns to what he wrote on the board. “Nah, this looks good to me.” Looking at Keyara, who is rolling her eyes at him and tapping her pencil on the table, Erik grabs the practice exam that they had been using for questions. He rolls the exam up, slamming it down on the table. “Damn!”

“You see it now?” Keyara stands from her seat, walking to the front and takes the marker out of his hand. “You started with 98.3 grams of Potassium Carbonate instead of the 89.3 listed on question 15.” Smiling at him, she pats him on the back before pointing him to the nearest seat. “We are all off by less than two tenths from YOUR answer, but at least your work is correct.”  

Erik scoffs at her and takes the seat. “Man, whatever.”

“Don’t be mad. I said your problem-solving work was correct.” Keyara shrugs and turns to write the next problem on the board. “Maybe Dr. Filowitz will give you partial credit.” Some snorts and soft laughter reverberate throughout the small room. Erik stands up and rushes Keyara. She turns and stands tall right in front of him, waiting for him to say something.

Devin, another quiet but smart classmate on the other side of Stephanie, jumps up and speaks. “Hey! You know what it’s after midnight, and they gotta clean the room anyway. Why don’t we all take a break and come back in an hour?” He steps forward between Erik and Keyara, scooting her along and out of the way. Keyara moves towards Stephanie.

Steph throws her stuff in her bag, “Sounds like a plan. I could use a neck massage right about now.” She grabs Keyara’s stuff as she makes her way to the door, and they walk out of the room. “OH SNAP! They got protein bars and energy drinks. Thank god!” Stephanie’s loud voice booming down the hallway as everyone packs up, making way for the cleaning crew to come.  

Keyara and Stephanie walk into the basement pub lined with tables full of different grab & go snacks, juices, water, energy drinks, and school supplies. They pulled a few items and then took the elevator upstairs to the first floor near the Alumni fireplace where the volunteer masseuses set up the massage chairs. They wrote their names down and waited nearby against the opposite wall until their turn.  

“So, when are you gonna stop playing?” Keyara, who just bit into her apple eyes Steph over her glasses as she casually stirs the straw in her energy drink. Shaking her head, Keyara looks to the left, avoiding Stephanie’s stare. “Oh, come on. It is so obvious, it’s disgusting.”  

Finishing her bite, “Steph, I am not doing this with you. It is too late, and I am trying to relax.” She leans her head back against the wall. “Leave it alone, please.”  

“Key, if not him, then please from somewhere because I am sick of you.” Keyara can hear Steph’s nails tapping on her can.  

“We all can’t have D lined up waiting for us to call for delivery like some folks.” She pushes up her glasses as Stephanie gasps in faux outrage. “Nah, bitch. Don’t even. I just want to pass this class, and then I don’t have to deal with him anymore.”  

“Right, because the engineering major will not have any more science and math classes before he completes his degree.” Steph bumps her shoulder. “Until you finish your minor, you are stuck with him,” she snorts at Keyara’s pouting face.

“Don’t put that on me.” Just then, Keyara hears her name called from the far end of the chairs. “Gotta go. Bye.” Stephanie watches her go, smiling and slurping on her drink.  

---  

“Why do you let that girl get to you?” Erik and Devin are the last to leave the study room as the cleaning crew enters with their supplies.  

“Let who? Do what? Nah.” Shaking his head, “Do you know who I am?” Erik throws his backpack over his shoulder, holding onto his jacket. “I am not worried about lil Miss Keyara.”

“Right, ok. That’s why you almost did what to her a few minutes ago?” Devin grabs his messenger bag and walks out.

“Yo, that girl makes a nigga wanna throttle her. All that mouth. Why can’t she be like her homegirl?” Erik catches up to him in the hallway.

Devin stops and looks at Erik, “You want Keyara to act like Stephanie? Oh, now I know you buggin’.”

“Not all the way like her, because you know how Steph gets down, and Miss Thang is too uptight for all of that. But like Steph knows what to say and when to say it.”

“Steph caters to the male ego. Key is not about to do all that, and you know it.”  

“Yeah, well, a nigga can dream.” Devin laughs and nods as they make their way to the Midnight Snack area in the basement. “Man, I wish it was PB & J night. I hate energy drinks.”  

Devin stops as they approach the table, “Damn, there she go.” Erik runs into his outstretched arm and follows his line of sight. “Brittany looking right.” Watching the girl in question, bend over in her baby blue sweatsuit, “Juicy, oh yes. Yes, she is.” Erik laughs and grabs some fruit and juice from the table.

“Let’s go out to the patio. I’m not tryna stay in here.”

They find an empty table outside and sit down. Erik leans back in his chair, briefly closing his eyes as he hears the music pumping through the outdoor speakers. He cracks open his apple juice when Devin waves over some of their people. They all start chatting about how their finals are going, how many they have left, and their Winter Break plans.  

He looks up to the Alumni lounge, where he can see the massage chairs and decides to get one. He daps up the guys and runs up the stairs outside the building to get to the first floor. Erik makes it upstairs to see Steph standing by herself against a wall. “Where do you sign in?” She points to a table, and he runs over to add his name to the list before heading over to Stephanie. “So, where’s your girl?” She looks behind him, and he looks up to see Keyara sitting down for her massage. He smiles, throws up a peace sign, and walks over.  

Erik makes his way to Keyara’s chair, and sees Brisa, a Kinesiology major, and friend, moving behind her to adjust the settings on the chair to make her more comfortable. Keyara has leaned forward with her head in the chinrest, ready for her massage to begin. He taps Brisa, whispering, “Aye, let me handle this massage for you. Go take a break.”  

“Erik, you know I can’t do that. She already knows I am doing her massage.” He smiles at her, pleading with his eyes. She huffs at him, “Fine. Are you getting a massage?” He looks at Keyara, who sits up and is getting ready to turn around. He holds her shoulder in place to keep her from moving. Erik nods in the affirmative to Brisa, “Then I got you, and only me.”  

“Done.” He moves up behind Keyara as Brisa walks behind him.  

“15 minutes, E. Not a minute longer.” She taps him and leaves. 

Erik moves his hands up to the sides of Keyara’s neck, rubbing slow circles from under her ears to the top of her shoulders. She leans forward and relaxes all her weight into the chair.  

Keyara closes her eyes and allows her body to relax as the hands squeeze and roll the tense muscles in her neck, shoulders, and upper back. She softly moans but doesn’t say anything at all. She starts drifting off when the hands move lower down her back.  

“So, is this what a nigga gotta do to keep you quiet?” Erik whispers in her ear. Keyara tries to turn around, but Erik runs his hands along her spine, rolling from the inside out towards her waist. It felt wonderful, but she still stiffens under his touch pulling her arms up. “Relax. I’m just trying to release the tension. You are carrying a lot of shit in your shoulders and back, you know.” He presses harder, and Keyara moans again.

Keyara mumbles, “Just shut up, Erik,” she drops her arms back to the sides of the massage chair, “Enjoy it while you can, it’ll be the only time you touch me.” Erik chuckles and finishes her massage.  

---

Thirty minutes later, everyone in the group has made it back to the now freshly cleaned study room. Devin looks around, and even though everyone seems much more relaxed than before, they took the break; he can already tell going on will be a waste of time for them.  

“Yo, it’s almost 2 am. Let’s call it a night for Chem. I know a few of us have a final or two in the morning and want to get some more study time or sleep before it.” Everyone agrees, and some even yawn, “Yep, see ya Thursday.”

They all clear out of the room, going their separate ways. Erik and Devin catch up with the guys they were talking to earlier. He can study for his next final with a few of them. Steph and Keyara part ways since Stephanie’s last final exam is the Chem one. She has papers for the rest, so she’s headed home. Keyara walks towards the front of the Student Union. She has an 8 am final and decides to stay on campus instead of fighting traffic, trying to return to campus in about 3 hours.  

Keyara heads upstairs to the Quiet Study Lounge and finds a couch in the corner. She curls up on one side and opens her book to study. About an hour later, her book has fallen off her lap, and she is sleeping curled into the back of the couch.  

Erik finished studying with his homies and decides to find a quiet space to chill until his 9 am final. He walks into the Quiet Study Lounge and finds Keyara asleep in the back on the two-seater. He takes the seat next to her, picks up her book, and sets it on the table. Watching her quietly for a few minutes, he notices her slightly shivering. He grabs his jacket and lays it over her, making sure she is covered then straightens her legs out pulling them over his own. He puts in his earbuds, leans back and closes his eyes.  

---

Keyara’s alarm goes off at 7, and she sits up suddenly, sensing a heavy weight on her chest and legs. She feels the jacket fall to her lap, and as she picks it up to look it over, placing her phone on the table, she notices arms draped across her legs, which are laying on the owner’s lap. Keyara softly inhales when she looks at the culprit, Erik freaking Stevens. She takes in his relaxed sleeping posture - head back, arms across her legs and his own stretched out, crossed at the ankle under the table in front of the couch.  

The alarm on her phone goes off again, vibrating against the table, causing Erik to stir. He looks up at her as she turns it off. “Good morning Sunshine.” He smiles at her, deep dimples showing and golds gleaming.  

Keyara sighs, “Moment ruined.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not the only one who is better when quiet.” She stands up, gathering her backpack, throwing Erik’s jacket at him. Keyara looks at him as he stares back in shock. “Shut up and come on.”

“Come where? I don’t even get a thank you for giving you my jacket while I was shivering in my sleep?”

“My thank you was gonna be a breakfast burrito before my final, but if you don’t want it. I’ll just head to class now.” Keyara walks to the door, Erik hot on her trail. 

He catches up to her, throwing his arm over her shoulder. “That’s all you had to say, babygirl.”

“Nah uh,” she pushes his arm off her, “you have done enough touching on me for the day.”  

Drawing Keyara back into him and wrapping his arms around her waist, Erik erupts into a full-body laugh that sends chills through her.

“I’m tryna have my hands all over you again.” He nuzzles her neck as she leans back into him.  

She groans and smacks at his hands trying to get out of his grasp. “My final is over at 10.”  

“I’ll be at your place by 12,” he nips her ear and lets her go. “Now, for this burrito, you promised a nigga.”  

She pops in the arm, pouting, “I swear I hate you.”  

He walks backward in front of her, “You hate to want me; there is a huge difference.” His sly smile matches her bashful one as they head to the Carl’s Jr. across campus.