#and i need like twenty days to recover from the fact that life is happening

[joanofexys]

...

[ghostofskywalker]

On a Warpath

Harley Quinn/Reader

Fictober Day 18 of 31

Words: 811

Summary: In an attempt to find out when your girlfriend would be back from her latest mission, it becomes apparent that you're a lot more like her than you thought you were.

Harley Quinn Masterlist

You walked with purpose, a look on your face that gave off one very specific message: do not fuck with me. Having just gone through a rather tiring and intense twenty four hours prior, the last thing that anyone wanted to do (if they knew what was good for them) was piss you off.

And right now, you were aiming that anger and annoyance at the government, or more specifically, the army. To get even more specific, you fully planned on taking your fury out on the people who had sent your girlfriend off on an extra-dangerous mission and then decided not to tell you about it.

You understood that the government still viewed her as a criminal and that the assignments she went on were often of the utmost secrecy, but you worked in the same building as Amanda Waller and Rick Flag, and you thought that some of that secrecy was a little much. You had just as much combat training as half the men on this base, and just because you worked in the administrative side of things didn’t mean you should be kept in the dark.

Rick Flag’s office was closer, so you stepped in there first. He was sitting at his desk, doing something on his computer. Recently he’d taken a different role in the jobs and missions that these unorthodox teams went on, and that meant that he knew more than he used to, and didn’t usually have to risk his life as much. “Where’s the jet?” you asked as you stepped through the door, not even bothering with any kind of pleasantry.

“Look, we really can’t say anything about-” he started to say, as if he knew that eventually you would be in here sniffing around for information.

“Save the corporate bullshit,” you said, cutting him off. “I was told they would be back last night, and they’re not. What happened?”

“There were some complications-”

“Rick, come on. You know I won’t go around saying anything.”

He sighed. “I know, but-”

Okay, now you were getting annoyed. “Listen-”

“Y/N-”

At this point you had reached the end of your patience, and you decided to communicate in a manner that you knew he would understand. You pulled your gun from its holster and trained it at him. He looked shocked, but he really shouldn’t have been. Your girlfriend was missing, and you would go just as crazy for her as she would for you. “Are you listening?” you asked, all of the worry and fear for your partner was coming out (albeit in a way that was much more violent than usual).

He had recovered from the initial shock of having a gun pointed at him in his office, and sighed before responding. “I’m listening, I promise,” he said. “And I wish that things were different, but I can’t say anything.”

“I just want to make sure Harley’s alright,” you said. “I don’t need an exact location, but I just need to know that she’s still alive.”

There was a silence that settled over the space, and eventually Flag nodded. “We received a communication from the team a little while ago. There’s still more they have to do, but it sounded like they were almost done. According to the computer, Harley’s neck chip is still active. But I’m not the head communication for this team, so that’s all I know.”

You breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she had at least made it this far. “Thank you for telling me,” you said, putting your gun away and turning to leave. “I’m sorry I threatened you.”

Flag just laughed. “You’re more like her than you realize, you know that?”

***

Your eyes were just beginning to close later that night when you heard a small shuffling noise and then the door to your room opened. “I’m hoooooooome!” The very recognizable voice of your girlfriend filled the room, and you smiled as she flipped the lights on.

the next thing you knew, you had gotten out of bed and wrapped her in a hug, despite the fact that she was covered in dirt (and what you knew was probably blood). “I’m glad you’re okay,” you said leaning in to kiss her.

“I heard you threatened Flag with a gun!”

Your mouth fell open in shock. “He told you?”

She just laughed. “Yeah, and I couldn’t be more proud of you! I’ll have you robbing banks with me in no time!”

Now it was your turn to laugh. “Why don’t you go take a shower and then we can sleep for a little while. The banks will still be there in the morning.”

As the night winded down once more, and Harley fell asleep beside you, there was only one thought running through your head, and it was just how happy you were that she was back. 

- the end -

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[jazzthatonewriterchick]

HERE, KITTY, KITTY (18+ Fic)

Pairing: Aizawa x Black!Catgirl!Reader

Synopsis: In which you find yourself in the weirdest predicament after you’re scooped up and taken to a cat cafe after you decide to take the streets to fight some crime, and you’re adopted by your very anti-social and hot coworker Aizawa aka Eraserhead.

Story Warnings: Smutty Smut, 18+ (MINORS GET AWAY), Swearing, Adult!Reader, Ear and Tail Stroking, Light Degradation, Spanking, Exhibitionism, Multiple Positions, Creampie, Unprotected PIV Sex, Facial, Scent Play, Collaring, Deepthroat, Cunnilingus, Begging, Edgeplay, Power Play, Rope Play/Shibari, Master Kink, Some Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Some Action

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned in this fic. However, as this is my writing, I do not give permission for my work to be reposted on any other sites that are not from my own accounts. Thank you!

Writer’s Note: I decided to drop the last five chapters to this story at once cuz I'll be EXTREMELY busy with my summer job & I'm also working on a new fic. Thank you all so, so, soooo much for the love on this story! I had so much fun writing it. I'll be writing some brand new shit soon! Stay safe! -Jazz

Read on AO3 here!

Other Chapters: One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-One. Twenty-Two. Twenty-Three. Twenty-Four. Twenty-Five.

**********

TWENTY-ONE.

“I’m so glad to see you back after being away for so long, Shouta. We were all so worried!” 

Aizawa side-eyes his friend as he slurps down his spicy ramen. “Nemuri, it’s only been two weeks,” he mumbles. Not to mention it was Nezu’s idea that I take off as long as the doctor wanted despite the fact that I had non-life-threatening injuries.”

Even as he says this his ribcage burns as if telling him to go fuck himself for that statement. However, the medicine the doctor gave him to take has eased the pain, taking the burning from wild forest fire to campfire. 

It has been two weeks since Aizawa was put in the hospital. After days of X-rays, examinations, eating semi-good hospital food, and snuggling with Eri in his hospital bed because she refused to leave, he was finally released.

The doctor gave him ointment medicine to apply to his scalp and pill medicine for his ribcage. “Also, make sure you change your bandages every three days,” he said while Aizawa signed his release forms. “It’s important that your skin is clean. And make sure you stay away from any rigorous activity for at least another week. And also…” 

The doctor ended up giving Aizawa a list of 'what to dos' and 'what not to dos'. He made sure to give Principal Nezu, the police chief, and the HPSC the rundown of the doctor’s orders.

The HPSC was less than happy about him not being able to kick ass for the next week, but he could care less about that. For all he cared, they could try to make another Eraserhead if they wanted him so bad.

But they can be happy that he decided to still participate in patrols; just not in person. He’d be sitting with the police department and other pro heroes to discuss potential threats and how to handle them. He would give anything to handle them himself, but he’d rather save his energy for recovering. After all, his little girl needs him healthy. 

“How’s Eri doing?” Nemuri asks as Mic sits down with some iced tea. “Is she taking this well?”

Aizawa nods, dabbing at his mouth with a napkin. “We’ve talked and I explained to her what happened, but she’s taking it well. She’s adapting well to the little apartment Nezu offered to house us in since our dorm is now a crime scene.” 

Today, a Monday, is his first day back to work. He was released last Friday evening and argued with literally everybody (the doctor, the nurses, Mic) before he drove himself and Eri to their new temporary apartment. It is a nice little place near a park and littered with dogs, much to Eri’s liking, and only ten minutes away from UA by car.

While Aizawa was recovering in the hospital, Nezu had every item moved into the apartment–furniture; appliances, clothes, etc. “You don’t have to worry about thing!” he cheerfully told Aizawa when he visited him in the hospital. “Just worry about recovering.” 

Though the apartment is much bigger than his dorm, Aizawa can't help but feel out of place. And angry. He felt nothing but rage when he visited his dorm early this morning before work and saw the door taped in yellow police tape.

“Idiot wanna-be villain,” he huffs into his lunch. “Fuckin’ up my life.” 

“Hey.” Mic’s voice is stern but his eyes are soft. “None of that. The most important thing is that you’re still here with us.” He takes off his glasses to clean them, revealing the dark circles under his eyes.

Aizawa immediately feels immense guilt for complaining. He can’t imagine how much he’s worried Mic. He’s been at the hospital with Aizawa almost every day, tending to him and watching over Eri while Aizawa slept. 

“Oh, and before I get…” Mic stands up to retrieve something from his jacket pocket. He then hands it to Aizawa who scowls down at the neatly-folded card.

He opens it, finding “Welcome Back, Sensei!” written in big, bold letters and surrounded by hearts drawn with red markers. His eyes move over the card, reading each signature written inside the card of different names.

“From your Class A1 kids,” Mic chuckles as Nemuri coos. “They went around and had faculty sign too.” 

Aizawa doesn’t respond, too overcome with emotion at each name he finds. Most of them are from many of his visitors. Besides Nezu and Mic, over the past two weeks, he has also been visited by Nemuri, a few of his fellow pro heroes, the police chief, and half of his classroom kids. He had to tell Mina to get out because she kept crying. He doesn't doubt that this was her and the A1 girls’ idea. 

He smirks, still searching through each name for one in particular…but when he doesn’t find it, his smile fades. Of all people, he finds the janitor’s name but not yours! The disappointment that blooms inside of him is overwhelming and pushes the card away.

“What?” Mic asks, panicking. “What’s wrong? Did Bakugou scribble Midoriya’s name out? I told him not to do that!” 

Aizawa shakes his head. “No, it’s just…“Y/N’s name isn’t in here.”

Mic’s eyes widen as big as saucers while Nemuri doesn’t look all that shocked. “It’s not?!” he practically shouts. He snatches the card up and proceeds to search for your signature. 

Aizawa tries to push the disappointment he feels away but it’s not going anywhere. You have been on his mind for two weeks, ever since that strange night with Toyama.

You’ve barely called or texted him. You’ve never come to visit him, not even when you sent him flowers. They were delivered to him one random Saturday morning, so beautiful and pink. There was a card attached to them that read, “Feel better and I’m sorry - Y/N.” 

He wasn't too sure what you were apologizing for. Perhaps you still felt guilty for what happened with Toyoma?

Even more confusing, he still isn’t sure how you got into his dorm that night before Mic and the others. Part of him still wants to believe that it was just a hallucination, but if Mic said he saw you, there is no denying you were there.

But how? And why haven’t you visited him? Why haven’t you spoken to him at all? Maybe you’re too afraid or feel guilty? Should he make the first move? Would you even want him to? He’s thought about doing it so many times in the quiet of the night when he misses you. 

He just doesn’t understand: ‘What went wrong?’ he laments in thought. 

Aizawa grips his spoon, nearly bending it. He doesn’t want to feel played or abandoned by you, but dammit, it is so hard not to. How could you spend so many months making him believe you felt the same romantic feelings he does about you, and then just drop him?

“Something on your mind, Shouta?” Nemuri asks, startling him out of his thoughts. Her gaze is soft and tender as she stares at him from across the table. “Don’t shut us out, darling. We’re your friends. Have you and Y/N been okay lately?” 

Mic looks up from the card, his attention now on Aizawa. The pro sighs, realizing there’s no way out of his. “I wouldn’t know,” he wryly replies. “She hasn’t really spoken to me since my dorm was turned into a fuckin’ war zone. She sent flowers to the hospital room, but she never visited or called. I’m startin’ to think I just dreamed that whole week prior where we were okay and…” 

Talking. Flirting. Making good love. Dating. 

He looks away from his friends, not wanting to see the pity in their eyes or have them see the hurt in his. “It was stupid,” he sighs despite his heart breaking in two. “I knew this wouldn’t work between us. I probably scared her off because now she understands what I do as a hero and the risks of it.”

Quietly, he takes a sip of his ramen to give his hands something to do instead of shaking or possibly punching a hole in the wall. 

He becomes acutely aware that the break room has suddenly gotten too quiet. He looks up to find Nemuri and Mic giving him a shared look that makes him feel like an alien. He puts his spoon down.

“Okay, unless I really do look awful with these bruises, you’d better stop lookin’ at me like that,” he grumbles. 

But they don’t stop. They continue to give him those weird looks that make him want to burst out of his skin. Like something is wrong.

“What?” he demands. 

They each share a look that is less than comforting to Aizawa before turning back to face him. “We need to tell you something,” Mic replies, and those words send shivers down Aizawa’s spine. 

*********

Shouta: Hey. Meet me outside on campus, under the cherry blossom trees near your side  *Read 9:23 PM 

Aizawa stands by them now, feeling less than mystified or overcome with adoration for the gorgeous, pink, blooming trees that sway in the early June breeze.

He remembers how you looked under them–just as beautiful as the trees, pink petals in your hair and on your ears. He thought the world of you then. 

Now that he knows the truth, he isn’t too sure. He isn't even sure if he wants to believe all of it. He just can’t believe you would lie to his face for months.

And not just himself but Eri too–a little girl! One who is so trusting of others. He began to trust you with her feelings and her heart after seeing how you treated her. You were always so kind and generous; so sweet and open.

‘It just can’t be,’ he thinks as he watches the trees sway. ‘She wouldn’t lie to me like this. She couldn’t…’ 

That was all he could think when Nemuri and Mic broke the news to him on their lunch break. They served it to him flat out to him, telling him everything about you that wasn’t about you being Night Claw.

The first thing he did was burst into laughter. It was too ridiculous! You? Pretending to be the cat he adopted for Eri? It just wasn't realistic in his eyes.

“No,” he chuckled incredulously. “No, you two are just tryin’ to cheer me up. That was a good one though.” 

He went back to slurping on his ramen but paused when Nemuri and Mic continued to give him those solemn stares. His stomach dropped when he realized they were dead-ass serious.

“No,” he said again, grit in his tone. “You’re bullshittin’ me. Tell me you’re bullshittin’ me.” 

Nemuri slowly shook her head. “I’m afraid not,” she sighed sadly. “She told us herself what she was doing just last week. It’s been happening since March apparently.” 

March? Aizawa nearly blew a gasket. You’ve been doing this since early spring and they knew about it? “So you’ve known this for over a week and never thought to tell me?” he growled, irked. “Even when you knew I was seein’ her?” 

Mic put a hand on Nemuri’s shoulder, silently telling her to let him handle it. “It wasn’t our place to tell you, Shouta. Believe me, we both wanted to, but we figured we’d let Y/N give you an explanation, especially since you were dating her at the time she told us.”

He took off his glasses, revealing his worried, green orbs. “Plus, you were so happy with her and I didn’t want to see you go back to your old, brooding, lonely self! Yes, it was wrong, but we love you, Sho, and we love Eri, too. Your happiness is all we care about.” 

Nemuri nodded, agreeing. “We’re only telling you this now because we love you so much and we know how guilty Y/N feels about this. That’s why she isn’t talking.” 

Aizawa stared down at his ramen, his appetite suddenly gone. He felt dizzy like the world is spinning. The disappointment and betrayal he felt in his body increased with every passing second he thought of you and started putting the pieces together one by one.

Now he understands why you were in his dorm already before Mic and the others that night when Toyoma attacked him. You had been in there all night, snuggling with him; playing with him; purring against him as he aimlessly vented about his problems. 

He’s told you so much about his feelings for you without even realizing it. He’s peeled back every layer to himself in those quiet nights with you on his lap, thinking you were just a cat who couldn’t understand the English language.

He was wrong. He was so, so stupidly wrong.

“But…but I don’t understand,” he weakly said, staring down at his hands. “Why would she do this? Why didn’t she tell me?” 

Nemuri put a dainty, manicured hand on his arm. “From what she told us, she saw how happy she made you and Eri when she was pretending to be your pet, so she felt obligated to continue it. I don’t think she ever meant to hurt you, Shouta.” 

Anger suddenly rose within Aizawa. Anger at being lied to again, and having his daughter be a part of it. “Well, she has,” he responded, enraged. “She has hurt me.”

Nemuri nodded, soothingly stroking his arm. “And you have every reason to be hurt,” she softly said. “But you also need to hear her out. She’s not a bad person, Shouta.” 

Aizawa scoffs to himself now. Not a bad person? He’s having trouble believing that. As he went through the rest of work and finally went to his dorm to figure this shit out, he felt even more like you aren’t at all what he thought you were. Your secrets prove it.

And when Nemuri came to him later that afternoon with chocolate for Eri and a message for him, he knew he had the chance to confront you face to face.

“She texted me,” she explained, leaning against the doorway. “She’s heading out tonight at 8 PM. If you call her, you can wait for her to come back to campus then.”

And so, after gaining the courage, he texted you to meet him outside the faculty building on your dorm side. You had texted him back an “ok” which made his heart leap in anticipation. He now had the chance to see you for himself. To get some answers from you. He deserves this and so does Eri. 

As he leans against the brick wall of the building, he turns towards the street and instantly spots the little black cat he’s grown to love tottering up the bricked walking path. His stomach instantly drops. ‘Please don’t be true,’ he pleads. ‘Please, please, don’t be true.’ 

As the little cat gets closer, he presses himself against the wall and holds his breath, keeping quiet. The cat suddenly stops and stands perfectly still for a moment before a blinding light overtakes their little body.

When he suddenly sees you materialize out of the light in your human form, he can hardly believe his eyes. He especially can’t believe that you’re in your Night Claw outfit, heeled boots and all. Which means it is true. You’ve been lying to him. 

Aizawa moves away from the wall to reveal himself to you. When your big, brown eyes meet his they go wide with shock and fear like a deer caught in headlights. He also figures you just about pissed yourself seeing him waiting for you in the darkness.

“I knew it,” he says, disappointment in his voice. “I didn’t wanna believe it, but I knew deep down something was off.” 

You continue to gape at him, looking small despite your bold outfit. You open your mouth to perhaps protest or beg for forgiveness, but Aizawa puts a hand up to stop you.

“And before you say anything, Nemuri and Mic told me everything,” he growls. “So don’t try to get yourself out of this or fight me like you did when I found out you were Night Claw.” 

You slowly take off your helmet, revealing your beautiful face beat with makeup, your plump lips coated in red lipstick. “S-Shouta,” you softly stutter. “Please, let me explain–” 

“Explain what?” he sharply asks, startling you. “Why you’ve been lying to Eri and me for almost three months with this shit? Why you’ve been pretending this whole time? How you managed to make me fall for you even when you were lying right to my face?” 

You stare up at him with wide, frightened eyes. Though he feels horrible for speaking to you so harshly, he knows that you deserve it.

Now he knows why you didn’t visit him at the hospital. You were scared that you would be found out. Is that what you do? Do you run away from responsibility and the truth every time things get too hot for you?

“I let you into my home,” he continues, ice dripping from his voice. “I shared so many private things with you. Secrets I wouldn’t even tell Mic!” You fiddle with your helmet, staring at the ground in shame. “I-I know,” you weakly say. 

He gapes at you, angered and feeling utterly betrayed. “Oh, you know?” he scoffs. “So, what, that’s just alright with you?” You shake your head, your eyes becoming glassy and wet. “No, I–“ 

“When were you planning on tellin’ me this?” he hisses, squinting accusingly at you. Or did you just wanna see how far you could get before you outed me as a fool?” 

That seems to be the breaking point for you because you toss your helmet aside, not caring if it breaks. “Shouta, I never wanted to hurt you!” you blurt, emotion straining your words. He is taken aback by your outburst; especially the tears that begin to drip down your pretty face.

“I swear that I was going to tell you and I’ve tried so many times, but when you finally started talking to me, I was so afraid of losing the relationship we had.” 

Your bottom lip wobbles and your face contorts as you begin to fully cry standing in front of him. “And then when we kissed that night…I wanted to tell you then, but I didn’t want to lose you. Or Eri.”

Your body begins to visibly shake as you hang your head in shame. “I saw how happy I was making you both and I just wanted to be a part of that,” you sob. “I just wanted to be closer to you. I didn’t want to hurt or deceive either of you, I swear!” 

You begin to sniffle and sob, your body trembling. Aizawa gapes at you, not sure how to react to this. He’s never seen you cry before. “I-I’m s-so, so s-sorry," you stutter through your anguished sobs. “I’m so sorry, Shouta!” 

His arms ache to hold you; comfort you. He wants to tell you everything will be okay and that he forgives you. He could never hate you.

“Kitty,” he murmurs longingly, reaching out to touch you. He is fortunately stopped when his phone rings. Irked, he begrudgingly pulls it out and finds a text from the police chief. 

“Fuck,” he hisses. “That’s the police chief. I’m needed downtown to discuss a villain attack.” 

Now he really regrets still participating in patrols for the police department, especially when you stand there, looking so small and vulnerable with your mascara running. “I’m sorry, Y/N,” he softly says. “We can talk about this later.”

Before you can even protest or agree, he leaves you standing in the middle of the UA campus, not once turning back around. 

Slowly, you pick up your helmet and begin to walk back to your dorm but the sound of footsteps stops you.

You whirl around, hoping to find Aizawa, but you find Nemuri standing there in her silk nightgown and slippers. She doesn’t look angry or disappointed; just sad. “Honey,” she empathetically says. 

That’s all she has to say to make you crumble and run to her where she wraps you up in her arms and her vanilla-scented body mist.

You sob against her chest as you cling to her, feeling like she is the only thing you have left that hasn’t gone to shit now. 

[bergeronprocess]

9/24/24

Today I just want to write my impressions after finishing the anime Narenare -Cheer for You-.

I started watching the summer 2024 new anime season with 4 shows. Then the Olympics happened and it took up literally all of my Watchin’ TV Time. The state of my Youtube watch later playlist at the end of the Games was a mess lol. That Olympics watching also caused me to decide to drop 2 of the shows I was following - Shy season 2 (it just didn’t really seem to grab me; I bounced off it right as they were starting to assemble their team for rescuing Tokyo) and Twilight Out of Focus (apparently I bounced right as they concluded their focus on the first couple and it was actually an anthology show focusing on different people throughout; it was fine but I just wasn’t loving it).

I kept on with the long-ass-named magical girl and evil lieutenant show (I haven’t watched its finale yet) as well as Narenare. I’ve just finished watching the finale of Narenare and overall I enjoyed it! The guy assigned to review it at Anime News Network hated it, to the point that he literally named it the worst anime of the summer season, which I think is a bit harsh. To be clear, he’s welcome to his opinion, and I’m welcome to disagree. Also, the reviewer of this series was not Nicholas Dupree, who died suddenly and tragically at the way-too-damn-young age of 31. The reviewer was Jairus Taylor.

I do think Narenare had a LOT of ideas and not a lot of real estate to put them into, but that’s basically an endemic issue in new seasonal anime these days, unfortunately. Only having 12 or MAYBE 13 twenty-three-minute episodes to work with is just not ideal for any story. I think Narenare would have been better served by having 24 or 25 episodes. This standard yet shortened episode run leads to compression. For example, the plot of Mari-senpai developing her own bout of the twisties, driving a wedge into Pompoms out of spite and then overcoming the twisties it felt a little rushed, but was still nice to see. She took responsibility for her mean comment (I truly thought it was Megumi who posted the comment at first, upset with being physically unable to do cheerleading stunts. I was wrong!) and worked to make amends for it.

It was good to see characters not only mention the yips but to see Kanata going to a therapist about it. Destigmatization of mental health issues and seeking help for them is huge and Japan is lagging behind the US when it comes to that, so any efforts made towards it are welcomed by me. The story emphasizes the importance of trust and care among cheerleading team members, which is crucial when you have someone else’s life in your hands as you do when you’re about to toss them in the air! 

I also liked noticing the small touches that were made to facilitate accessibility for Megumi, like how a wheelchair ramp and a handrail was built on an exterior staircase of the beautiful old temple house she lives in. The fact that she came to every single Pompoms event, in full cheer attire and in her chair, was something I liked to see too. I at first thought that she was going to be permanently using a chair based on the promo images, but she was just temporarily needing it while recovering from the effects of a surgery, and she’s using crutches in the very last scene. At some point, she’ll probably be able to fully participate in cheer with Kanata again!

Jairus took issue with an earlier episode showing Kanata suddenly being able to fly again at the end of a montage, as if somehow her yips magically got cured by the power of friendship or whatnot, but then later episodes showed her continuing to struggle and he didn’t seem to take note of that. (To be fair…I never read his reviews of episodes 11 or 12 lol. I just know they’re probably overly negative.) I think that’s more realistic, especially with mental health struggles. Sometimes you get better, sometimes you backslide. I’ve found that to be the case in my own life with my anxiety. I backslid a little bit a few months ago and it was not fun. 

He also took issue with the Anna and Stout Records plot line, saying oh wow how convenient is it that this record store guy happens to know a Grammy winner who can just come help. Well! Maybe he was so stuck in his “this shop is going to close and I am giving away my records” way of thinking that he couldn’t see any other way out, but Anna and the gang provided a fresh perspective. Sometimes in our lives, we need that. We just need someone else to help us think differently, try something new, and achieve our dreams. That’s another running theme of Narenare.

I do think Nodoka and Suzuha’s development suffered a little bit, which can be an issue with ensemble casts. I like Nodoka, I see some of myself in her with her desire to just be chill lol, and I LOVE that Suzuha decided to go be an idol in Tokyo. (I just hope she doesn’t end up like Ai in Kageki Shoujo, excommunicated from the idol world for having a flat affect and telling a weird fan that he was being weird. Although she’s found a second life in the world of Kouka. Anyway please go watch Kageki Shoujo, I hope they make a season 2 of the anime eventually, and read the manga too…which I am still waiting for volume 10 of - it’s been delayed since, like, April and now has an October ETA.)

Narenare also kind of wanted to be an idol anime too, I think. The music is good, and I especially enjoyed the song from when they performed at the neighborhood festival to help save Stout Records. It also made sense in-universe because of Shion and Anna both being into the art of making music. I feel like the music/idol aspect was executed better here than in Pride of Orange, where they just really wanted to make a straight-up idol anime but decided to also put in ice hockey elements too. I never got past episode 1 of that show - being asked to believe the Japan national team could beat Canada in any international competition (and then immediately change out from sweaty hockey jerseys and pads into sparkly idol outfits and sing a song at center ice) is just stretching the suspension of disbelief a liiiiittle too far for me as a hockey fan.

I also like Love Live, so I’m primed to enjoy idol elements when they come lol.

The Day-Glo funky color palette of Narenare was an interesting visual choice, but I actually enjoyed it. There were some great examples of photorealistic animation as well, like a closeup of Suzuha’s pompoms as she finishes her idol application form or the countryside when Mari runs back home. It was fun to watch such candy-colored joy during a hot hot summer.

In short, I enjoyed watching Narenare and I found it to be harshly criticized by its Anime News Network reviewer. Is it my anime of the year? Probably not, though at this point I don’t know if I necessarily have a single standout anime of the year. We’ve still got another 2024 season yet to go, after all. But I had fun!

[saintescuderia]

The Artist’s Way (pt. 1)

Week 1: Recovering a Sense of Safety

I would like to personally thank Saudi Arabia’s time difference. 

Last night I was faced with two options: stay up another two hours and watch FP1 in a fatigued haze where I would surely spend the entire time scrolling through Instagram, barely paying any attention to what was happening and wake up tired the next day. Or, I could use the 4am start time of FP2 as a motivator to get up early. 

The universe rewarded me for going with option two as I watched Fernando Alonso take the top spot that was, for once, not occupied with Max Verstappen. I then was faced with the next decision of go back to sleep and wake up in a few hours tired and sluggish? or commit to staying awake and make the most of an early morning. 

And the universe rewarded me with a burnt coffee at the cafe I walked to spend the rest of my morning being productive. 

Still, coffee aside, I am currently writing this at a cafe where I don’t feel the need to drown out the noise. The fashionable 70 year old woman who came to sit beside me commented on the fact that I was handwriting. We had a nice exchange about life and careers, how the times have changed and, of course, travelling. Because strangers can always talk about travel. 

The ink smudged on my hand was from the pages upon pages I had done as part of this week’s tasks from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. A three month commitment where you follow a week by week break down as to how to get over an artist block - or how to get back into being creative as a whole. And it’s not just for artists in the sense of painters or musicians. It’s writers as well. 

It wasn’t as if I had planned to start this in March. However, scrolling through the Books app on my iPad as I wanted something to read - I was trying to be more productive than spend the next twenty minutes on Instagram - and I found the book I had gotten and forgotten. Without anything else to do and no other better options, I started reading. 

I skipped the introduction. I had read that before. I went straight to Week 1 and read through it. It was not long and pretty easy to follow along. I found myself considering how simple the tasks outlined would be to follow. So I made a plan to start following them. 

Week 1 is about healing. That is, getting over any self-doubts you may have had about being creative. This meant affirmations and what social media would call shadow work. Where does these doubts come from? Let’s journal about it!

And I would like to personally thank Saudi Arabia’s time difference that I ended up at a cafe for my ‘artist date’ because if I had stayed in the house I would’ve fallen asleep. Instead, I watched the sun rise in a cafe where I had that soul enriching experience that only comes from connecting with a kind stranger and journaled through all the past ‘horrors’ that stemmed my insecurities about why my writing wasn’t good enough. 

Turns out, that bitch of an English teacher from when I was in Year 10 hit me more than I thought. 

And so, the month of March and its daily writing has coincided with the start of me trying to get through The Artist’s Way. I never thought this would be where I was but I also didn’t think I would manage the 4am wake up and go for a walk to a cafe and meet a lady with a cool bag. But here we are. 

[nd-babblinggoblinfromthevoid]

Seeing some other users pop up who also have pots, and reading their past and current struggles has inspired me to write a little about my experience. (From what I remember anyway.)

Just in case, tw/cw pregnancy loss is mentioned.

My symptoms started right smack at 13. I had always been slightly heat sensitive but not enough to really think about it. Then I turned 13 and it was like I was burning constantly. But also, even when I was hot, my extremities would still sometimes be ice cold.

I fainted in the shower, daily. I almost always felt it coming beforehand. The sudden dizziness and weakness. It was my normal routine to feel that, lie down, black out, wake up, then resume my shower. (Usually 5-15 minute black outs)

I knew something was wrong, but I was a young teen. My thoughts were "too scared to address it" and "I'm just being a baby" and "What doctor is gonna believe a teenager these days". So I suffered through it.

It was horrible. My teen years were riddled with unnoticed tachycardic episodes brushed off as "you're out of shape" and "just push past it". Meanwhile i felt like i was dying.

I know teenagers biologically need more rest, but i was chronically fatigued and of course, "lazy teenager" label got thrown at me constantly. I tried to stay active, productive, but it got harder and harder. (Not knowing I also struggled bcuz of audhd but that subject is touched on in a previous post.)

When I really branched out into life and into the workplace at 18/19, it hit me that this wasn't going away. This wasn't a weird teenage thing i was experiencing.

I could work, but was significantly more exhausted than my coworkers and the only one ever to stop a lot, Cool down, rest. Drove managers nuts because "you're too young to be this way" was said to me constantly.

Through a few job changes in my early twenties it got harder and harder to work. Exhaustion. Overheating. Tachycardia. I fainted at work idk how many times during a really bad streak.

On top of pots brain fog, I'm audhd (which i didnt know until mid-late twenties) so my brain just doesn't brain for me and all I had going for me were labor jobs. That's all i had. That's all i knew i could do.... and i was slowly becoming unable to do that.

I didnt push to see a cardiologist until i got pregnant with my first child. I was terrified. That pregnancy exacerbated my pots and i thought that pregnancy was going to kill me. If it didnt, then giving birth would. My resting hr was regularly in the 140s/150s and i was fainting/near fainting all the time.

But i saw a dick of a cardiologist who nearly immediately dismissed me as a hysterical pregnant woman who just had anxiety. Even in our first consult appointment he was already very not hiding the fact that he wasn't taking my concerns seriously. Even after I told him these symptoms weren't just popping up during pregnancy. That it'd been most of my life. (In one ear out the other let me tell you)

I suffered horribly through that pregnancy not knowing i also had pots so my heartrate and blood pressure were bonkers whenever i went to appointments, not knowing that i only had high bp bcuz they'd check it after I'd sat down in the lobby, stood up, then immediately sat down in a room. Which as y'all know fucks hr/bp and all that without being pregnant. But we didn't know. And the only dr I'd seen, dismissed me.

I thankfully got through the pregnancy and all was well. My symptoms went back to pre-pregnancy intensity. Life, a loss in between, and another full pregnancy happened. This time my pots didn't overly act up. I only struggled bcuz that baby was a biggg one.

After recovering from my 2nd birth i thought for months about everything. My health. My life with my kids. How i was sick of not having answers. Sick of how that first dr treated me. So i told my primary all of this and she sent me to the same heart institute, but a different dr.

NOW THIS DR LET ME TELL YOU.

From the GETGO the vibe was different. He listened. Talked with/to me not AT me. Actually listened with the intention of listening and absorbing the information, not listening with the intent to say whatever he was already wanting to say and just waiting until i stopped talking (like the previous dr)

He took me seriously. After info dumping my 16 years of suffering he was already ready to get testing done and scheduled and i nearly cried when he left the room because HE LISTENED HE TOOK ME SERIOUSLY.

I had my testing done (tilt and breathing) and he saw me for the followup but they hadnt gotten the results back so he pushed the dept for the results and one hour after that appointment, he called me and said basically "yea you failed the test almost immediately and your results were consistent through the whole thing so I'm proceeding with the diagnosis of pots"

He explained the basic no cure but you can try xyz to help and you need to listen to your body when it's having symptoms dont ignore it to your detriment. All that.

I hung up. And cried all evening/night. Happy tears. Tears of relief. I got my answer. I was listened to. I actually got through it. But also tears of grief. For the girl who suffered. For the young woman who thought she was gonna die during pregnancy/birth.

I'd had (and still slip into sometimes) a harsh mindset of self hate for years. Why am i so lazy. Why am i so weak. Pathetic. Etc. It just spiralled all the time and pots + audhd is a shitty mix and to be approaching 30, with answers I've wanted and needed for half of my life.... I just... uff da! It's a lot.

I was diagnosed February of this year. So it's still kind of fresh for me. I'm still trying to find what works for me officially to navigate it. But I definitely am trying to give myself grace for all the years I thought everything was my fault. Or that I just wasnt trying hard enough.

I'm sure I've missed some things but my memory of my life is really patchy from audhd and trauma. But I think this covers the bulk of it and feels good to info dump about life when, for most of it, I bottled everything.

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Protector

Chapter One

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

“So… Roman’s just a weirdo,” Remus said, crossing his arms and leaning to one side.  Virgil was sitting backwards on the desk chair across from him, and trying to think of a way to actually explain what he thought was going on with Roman.

“I mean, what else is new, but I don’t think that's actually it,” he said.

“Why does he care so much?” Remus asked, crossing his arms.  “He hates me the rest of the time, you’re telling me he has random nightmares about me getting hurt?  Cause that's pretty wimpy.”

Virgil bit his lip.  “I don't think they’re random, Remus,” he said quietly.

“What do you mean?”

“Were you scared before going to sleep last night?”

Remus scowled and crossed his arms.  “Maybe.  What’s your point?”

“What about?”

“It was just a bad thought day!  Why does it matter?”

“Because I think you sent the nightmare you would have had to Roman, Re.”

Remus stilled.

“I don’t think you did it on purpose,” Virgil said, holding up his hands.  “But that… I think that’s something that happens.  I overheard Roman talking to Janus before, and he said something to me once that made it sound like a regular thing.  I think something might transfer over, or something.”

Remus glared down at his bed and started fidgeting with his fingers.  “So I… I give Roman nightmares?”

“Not on purpose,” Virgil reiterated.

“Nightmares about what?”

“Well… the others, I think.  Or them hurting you.  That’s what Roman seemed to imply they were about.”

Remus looked up at him with wide eyes.  “Roman knows?”

“No,” Virgil said, shaking his head.  “He thinks they’re just nightmares.  He doesn’t realize they’re based on any fact of life.”

“Wait, so—” Remus blinked.  “So I send him nightmares about getting badly hurt and he doesn't even ask me if everything is okay?”

Virgil bit his lip and said nothing.

Remus scoffed, glaring away.  “Well, those are some mixed signals, then.  Does he care about me or not?”

Virgil didn’t know what to say to that either.  There was a time he would have said no easily, but now…

Remus sighed harshly and flopped back on his bed.  “Oh, whatever,” he grumbled.  “He can deal with it then.”

Well, the problem with that was that Virgil could still see how uncomfortable all of this was making Remus.  And it wasn’t that he didn’t get it.  And it wasn’t that he didn’t get why Remus didn’t want to deal with it at the same time.  But they’d all sat up last night for several hours, and they’d all been able to tell how exhausted all three of them were.  Roman seemed like he needed some help.

Virgil wasn’t sure if there was anything Remus could do, especially since none of it seemed to happen by choice, but the only other option Roman had for help was Janus.  And Virgil couldn’t count on him to help.

Apparently he’d been quiet for too long now though, because Remus sat up and looked at him.

“You’re going to try and help him, aren’t you?” he asked.

“He needs it.”

Remus gave him an unsure look.  “Virgin, you don’t need to spend your time worrying about him.  Remember the whole resting and recovering thing we’re trying to do?”

“I’ll pay attention to my limits,” Virgil said.  “He just… I think he’s scared, Re.”

Remus looked away uncomfortably again.  “Maybe it serves him right.”

“Re,” Virgil said.

Remus didn’t say anything.

Yes, Virgil got it.  And he might have been the one who got stupid and started caring about the core sides, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t gained a whole new idiot brother to watch out for.  And once again it seemed like he was the only one who’d do it.

“Well take it easy then,” Remus said finally.

Virgil nodded.  “I will.”

Remus made a dissatisfied hum, but didn’t say anything else.  That was probably as close to an agreement that Virgil was going to get.

…

Virgil did not imagine helping an actively hostile Roman would be easy.  It had been hard enough to try and do so before he ducked out, and it’s not like that had

helped

in regards to Roman’s opinion of him.  And last night didn’t mean anything.

Unfortunately for Roman, though, Virgil was just as stubborn as all the rest of them, and he woke up the next morning armed with a plan.  He had Remus’ notes in regards to the coming video, which was going to hopefully lessen Roman’s stress around that as he’d have more to work with.  They’d removed any signs that the ideas had come from Remus, and Virgil was going to sneak into Roman’s room as soon as he saw him leave it and set the notes on his desk.  Then they’d be banking on the fact that Roman probably didn’t spend enough time with Remus to recognize his handwriting.

In regards to the nightmares themselves, Virgil had a cup of coffee clutched in his hands with enough sugar and creamer to make even Roman stand it, and he was going to try and subtly hint to Logan to start looking up ways to help with nightmares for the next couple days.  He already knew about a couple things that would help, like lavender and white noise machines, but he doubted Roman would take his suggestions if he just told him.

As soon as Virgil heard Roman’s door open across the commons and Roman walk over to the steps, he stopped pressing his ear to his door and quietly opened it instead.  He moved quickly and silently across the commons and over to Roman’s side of The Imagination, then mentally aimed for the brainstorming room that Roman probably had.  Remus had one too, after all.

Virgil opened the door to a room that looked surprisingly standard compared to Remus.’  There were several cork boards that looked fairly normal (normal in this case meaning messy and full of unorganized notes), but otherwise everything was very tidy and appropriately cleaned in a way that didn’t fit Roman at all.

Virgil wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but he also didn’t have time to consider it, because he needed to be down to breakfast to give Roman his coffee.  So instead, he slipped the notebook he was holding on top of the ones on the desk, and sank back out to the commons.

Then he headed for the steps and quieted his footsteps further, so he would have some idea of how to play it when he walked into the kitchen.

Roman was usually in the living room in the morning before eating breakfast, but as Virgil started down them, he heard two familiar voices.

“No one’s going to be mad at you if you need a day off, Roman.”  Janus said it gently, as if he was trying to convince Roman of something he was avidly against.

“I’m fine,” Roman replied firmly.

Virgil sighed in irritation, making sure to be quiet enough that they wouldn’t hear.  Well, when Janus finished talking Virgil could go give Roman the coffee then.

“Roman,” Janus said.  “Who’s the self care side here?”

“I’m not taking the day off because of a stupid nightmare,” Roman snapped, and Virgil raised his eyebrows slightly.

“One that very much distressed you,” Janus pointed out.  “And it’s not even just that, Roman, you stayed up for most of the night afterwards.”

“And that’s my own fault,” Roman said.  “So I have to deal with the consequences.”

“Roman.  That kind of thinking won’t help anyone.  You need to rest.”

“I have work to do.”

“Do you want to stand here and argue with Thomas’ Self Preservation about what’s best for Thomas?” Janus asked.  “Seriously, Roman.  Go back to bed.”

Virgil glanced sideways, but he couldn’t see either of them around the wall.

“But I have work to do,” Roman said again, though it sounded weaker this time.

“Fine,” Janus sighed.  “If you are so insistent, I will check on you after lunch, and if you really feel better, you can work.  But for now, you need to rest.  Your work will be better if you feel better anyway.”

There was a pause, and finally, Roman sighed.  “Okay.”

Virgil’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he looked again towards the direction the two were in.  Did Janus actually convince him?

Janus sighed, sounding relieved.  “Okay.  Good.  I’ll bring you up some breakfast, okay?”

“Okay,” Roman said again, and Virgil snuck down slightly to see Roman was sinking out instead of heading up the stairs, meaning Virgil didn’t have to move.

He certainly wasn’t inclined to, after seeing that.  Virgil moved and sat back against the wall next to the steps, trying to figure out how to feel.

He’d figured Janus wouldn’t help Roman, not in the way he needed.  That he’d be too stuck in his own head to help someone else.

But then… he’d helped Roman with this before, hadn’t he?  It had seemed like a long-term thing when they’d talked about it the first time.  He’d kind of assumed Janus would be too thrown off by Virgil ducking out and how that affected himself to do anything about it.  He’d assumed Janus would now be channeling all of his energy into finding a way to kick Remus out— well, once he’d learned he was doing that, at least.

Virgil pushed himself up and started hesitantly for the steps, and, when he didn’t hear Janus moving around anymore, he moved just far enough down the stairs to see what Janus was doing.

He was sitting alone at the kitchen table with his head in his hands.

Well.  Shit.

Virgil snuck silently back up the stairs, and sent the coffee mug into the kitchen on the way there, after changing it with a wave of his hand to be the way Janus liked it and leaving a note saying it was a thank you from Roman, and that it hadn’t taken much effort, get off his case.

The last thing Roman needed was for someone to scold him.  And the last thing Janus needed was a gift from Virgil.

He’d make breakfast later.  He had some more snooping around to do first.

…

Janus, it turned out, was not spending all of his time trying to find ways to kick Remus and/or Virgil out.  Instead he was spending most of his time taking care of every side except for himself.

He made breakfast instead of Patton, brought one portion of it up to Roman, and called the other sides down to eat.

“Janus,” Patton said in surprise, which Virgil easily heard from his hiding place in the cabinet under the kitchen sink.  “You made breakfast?”

“I did,” Janus said smoothly.  “You should sit down and eat it.”

“Oh kiddo, I can make the���”

“Hush.  Now sit down and eat.  You need to rest, and I don’t mind at all.”

Virgil bit his lip and quieted his breathing as Patton made no argument, and instead a second later he heard chairs scraping back and silverware start clinking.

“Is Roman going to be joining us?” Logan asked.

“Roman is feeling a little under the weather,” Janus said.  “He didn’t get much sleep, so I sent him to his room for a day off.”

“Ah.  A good suggestion on your part, Janus,” Logan said.

“If he’s feeling up to it, I thought we could have a movie night tonight,” Janus said, keeping his voice intentionally casual in a way Virgil was pretty sure only he could recognize.  “He’ll like that it’s his turn to pick.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea, but I don’t know if I can make it,” Patton said.  “I have some… work to do.”

“Not after dinner you don’t,” Janus said, just as casually.

“I was going to do laundry—”

“What a coincidence, that’s on my list of things to do today,” Janus said.  “Sounds like you’re totally free to join movie night and there’s no reason to not do that.”

Finally, Patton sighed.  “Okay, Janus,” he said quietly.  Virgil couldn’t read his tone.  He didn’t sound disappointed, necessarily, just unsure.

The rest of the breakfast passed in silence, which Virgil could only hope was less awkward out there than it felt in here.

Patton left first, with another quiet comment about having work to do.  Virgil tried to stamp down concern, as there wasn’t anything he could do.

At least… nothing that Janus hadn’t already done.  Virgil didn’t know how to feel about that.

Logan left not long after that, or at least, he was about to when Janus stopped him again.

“Logan, you have suitable break time in your schedule today, don’t you?” Janus asked.

“I have quite a bit to do in regards to the upcoming video with Roman.  Not that he should not take a break if he is feeling unwell, but that means I have things to do instead.”

“No,” Janus said pointedly.  “It means today will be a less productive work day.  They happen, Logan.”

“They do not need to.”

“Yes, they do.  Overworking yourself when Roman is not working is only going to make Roman less likely to take breaks in the future, as he will not want you to overwork yourself.”

“That…” Logan said, though he sounded like he agreed and was more than a little irritated about it.

“I’m going to check on you after lunch, just when I said I’d check on Roman,” Janus said.  “And then you’re going to take a break.  Deal?”

Logan was quiet for a moment.  “Deal,” he said eventually.

“Good.  Now I’m going to do the dishes.  I’ll see you at lunchtime.”

“Janus,” Logan said.  “I feel it is only prudent to make sure you’re taking breaks today too?”

“I am,” Janus said.  “Don’t worry about me.”

Virgil glanced to the side and narrowed his eyes.  That was the same tone of voice he used when trying to get Remus off his scent.

Logan seemed to buy it, though.

“Alright.  I’ll see you in a couple hours,” he said, and with that, the kitchen was suddenly silent.

Virgil sank out as Janus’ footsteps started over towards the sink cabinets, and made it back to his room likely just before Janus opened them.

He couldn’t say he was surprised Janus was overworking himself while trying to make sure none of the others did.  Hypocrisy coming from Janus did not shock him.  He wasn’t surprised he was overworking himself in general, not when he was so insistent to keep working for Thomas and had agreed to check on Roman and still had jobs to do as Thomas’ Self Preservation.

Virgil went and made breakfast for himself and Remus a couple hours later.  He sent Remus’ to his room, as the side liked to toss the leftovers in the mold he was growing (that Virgil refused to go near).

Once he was done eating, he hid again, this time out near the commons to see what Janus would do about Roman and Logan.

Sure enough though, after lunch he appeared to check on Roman.  As soon as he knocked on the door, Roman appeared, and Virgil shifted slightly from his place in the ceiling tiles so he could see them both through the crack.

“Hey Janus,” Roman said, sounding a little chagrined.  “Yes, I got the message, I’m taking the rest of the day off.”

“Good,” Janus said, sounding pleased with himself, but also with Roman too.  “If you feel up to it, we can have a movie night after dinner.  Here’s some lunch.”

“Thank you,” Roman said with a small smile, before heading back into his room to rest again.

Janus walked a few short paces over to Logan’s room, and Logan answered the door just as quickly as Roman had.

“Roman is taking the rest of the day off,” Janus said.  “And it’s time for you to take a break.”

“But if Roman is taking the rest of the day off, I really should—”

“Take a break as well so you don’t push yourself past the point where your work is your best quality?  I agree, and I got you this rubix cube and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd so you’re not lacking in things to do.”

There was a pause.

“…Is that the version you annotated with commentary you thought I’d enjoy?”

“It is!  I stole it from your bookshelf, but I think in this case it’s warranted, since I only stole it to give it right back.  Enjoy.”

There was another pause, and Logan cleared his throat.

“Very well, this will be adequate.  I will see you at dinner, Janus.”

“See you then, Logan,” Janus said, sounding fond.

Then Janus disappeared back into his room, likely to keep working like the hypocritical liar he was.

Except… he hadn’t lied to Logan or Roman, not completely.  He’d gone to check on Roman like he said he would, instead of just leaving him to lose track of time.  And he’d told Logan that Roman was taking the rest of the day off, when he could have said he was working.

Virgil furrowed his brow, and sank out to his room.

Deceit wasn’t lying to sides about self care?  Was he denying such a huge part of his own aspect that much?  Or were Roman and Logan that important to him?

He’d assumed Janus wasn’t a reliable source for making sure Roman was okay.

Maybe he was wrong.

But Janus was a dick who only cared about himself, and Virgil knew that.  The fact that he’d shown himself to be capable of change before Virgil ducked out didn’t mean anything, obviously.

Except the problem with that was that a dick who only cared about himself wouldn’t have gone out of his way to do chores when Patton wasn’t feeling up for it, or made sure Roman was resting on a day he didn’t feel up to working, and that Logan wasn’t overworking himself.

Virgil flopped back on his bed and groaned, throwing his hands over his eyes.  So where was all of that grace and care when it came to him and Remus, then?  Why was the Janus he’d watched for the last half of a day so completely different from the side Virgil had come to know?  He couldn’t even remember the last time Janus had asked him if he was okay.  Or was Virgil just being selfish if he wanted Janus to pick his old family over his new family sometimes?

…Not that he considered Janus family any more.  Obviously not.

Besides, he’d kind of ruined any chance of Janus picking his old not-at-all-family-anymore ever again when he’d ducked out and forced his hand and made him look like he’d been an idiot for ever trusting Virgil in the first place.  You can’t exactly expect someone to trust you anyway after you give them a very clear reason not to trust you.

Virgil groaned again through gritted teeth and yanked on his hair, trying to quiet any of the overwhelming thoughts that he didn’t at all want to deal with.

Then he summoned Remus with a wave of his hand and pointed at his forehead, their new signal for when he needed an ice cube and didn’t feel up to summoning one himself.

Remus blinked in slight surprise at being summoned out of nowhere.  But he was also amazing, so he adapted to the situation pretty quickly and didn’t ask any questions, and just made an ice cube that he leaned down and pressed against Virgil’s forehead.

They both sat for a minute, until Virgil nodded, and Remus took his hand away and sat down on the bed next to him.

“Thanks for calling me, V-card,” he said.  “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Virgil said.  “Just angry about Janus.”

Remus snorted.  “What else is new?” he said, and leaned against Virgil’s side.

Virgil leaned back, trying to quiet the small pang of guilt in his chest.  That may have been a tad misleading, as he wasn’t angry about Janus in the way Remus was now thinking.  But if he actually told Remus he wasn’t sure how to feel about Janus anymore, he had no idea how Remus would react, and he didn’t have the mental spoons for that today.

So instead, he laid next to Remus and didn’t clarify.

...

Chapter Twenty-Nine

[galacticwildfire]

Leading on from something I reblogged earlier, nothing inspires me more than the fact that the majority of people who partake in my university course are aged probably 40 and over. I live at home due to financial and health reasons and study online. Due to this I've always been hung up on not having that typical uni experience, that's until I actually see that the varse majority of people enrolled aren't fresh out of high school or even their early twenties. They're people with kids and who are coming out of twenty year long careers or longer and studying their passions for no reason other than the fact it brings them happiness. It reminds me that life doesn't end at twenty one and that this ticking clock is just something of my imagination that this hustle cultures put there.

I've had this idea in my head my entire life I'd go into academia, now it's looking like that isn't going to happen both because of grades and because I've realised it just isn't quite for me after three years now of study. I've discovered I have multiple chronic illnesses that I'm learning to live with, mental and physical, after struggling for years without knowing why. My parents are probably going to split up this year and I've learned that I'd rather be single than force myself into a miserable marriage for the sake of societal expectations and to have a marriage, house and kids by the age of 25 like my parents did.

I'm also coming to realise and learn now that if people who have grandchildren are discovering and pursuing their passions then it's never too late to change paths and find what makes you truly happy. It's why I love 90's television, because so many sitcoms are based on people in their mid twenties and thirties finding their way when society is telling me in 2024 that because I'm twenty one without thousands in savings and a serious relationship that I've already failed at life. Watching the nanny also made me realise that I probably won't find myself for a long time to come, that I'll have shitty jobs and shitty relationships and that I'll come out better for it when I'm in my thirties and later. That university isn't the prime of my life despite what I've been told and that it's only just really begun.

I live in a small town where all my immediate friends are in serious relationships and having babies whilst I'm still trying to navigate how to live with these illnesses. I spent five years on and off heavy psychiatric medications whilst being undiagnosed because of the stigma surrounding bpd, hell I'm still officially undiagnosed despite about five doctors having told me that I have it but that they won't or can't officially diagnose me. My old psychologist wanted to diagnose me at seventeen but the governments mental health team refused because they wanted to be able to remove me from the system. Now at twenty one it's on my file as a prognosis and at this point it'll stay that way since I cannot physically access the resources to treat it and doctors don't want to be liable for not providing the proper care. As a result I've been put on medications that have done more damage than good, I've had psychotic and nervous breakdowns that I never really fully recovered from. I was mentally sharper at 13 than I am at 21 due to the medications having affected my memory and cognitive function, and I'm only just beginning to learn to live with that.

Only in the past month I've discovered pcos has been a contributing factor to this with my hormones being completely fucked. I gained twenty kg's, lost fifteen, and then gained the twenty back because of pcos, insulin resistance and quetiapine whilst being told I simply needed to eat less (i was bulimic and starving myself for days at a time). When I began univeristy it was a three year degree I convinced myself I'd finish in just over two years by taking extra classes, now It's going to take nearly four years because of my health problems. I'd planned on doing an honours and then a masters, it looks like I'm going to do neither and I'm learning to be okay with that.

Writing is what I plan to make a career out of, and now as I'm finishing my degree I'm aiming to finish my own original manuscript with the tools I've learned since writing is the one thing I never tire of. I didn't take a creative writing degree because of the pressure from people around me, but I spent years researching history to the point I'd be confident writing historical fiction and screenplays along with articles for public consumption rather than brutal academic criticisms. I've often said studying history at a university level's killed so much of my passion for it because it seems to discourage rather than encourage further study due to the cultural nature of academia.

It's brutal and I've seen so many masters students almost quit, or just quite entirely, because an asshole professor's torn years worth of work to shreds whilst another professor praised them for the exact same piece of work because it's so damn subjective. But because one singular person decided they didn't agree with their thesis or didn't think it was important, they've been all but blocked from continuing on the pathway they've spent years pursuing and unfortunately most people don't have the money to support themselves to retake an entire course because a person who had free university fifty years ago took a dislike to them.

I'm at the point in my life where I'm getting answers to my medical problems and focusing on balancing those and learning to live with them whilst accepting that the plans I made at 17 aren't going to turn out as I'd planned, but that it's okay because I have years to be where I want to be and that life doesn't end because I hadn't gotten there at 21. In ten years I might discover something else that brings me joy that I'm passionate about, hell in thirty years, and I might just change course then as well and be one of those people in my classes who have accomplished so much in their lives and have decided to go and pursue those passions instead of following the career they were forced to choose at eighteen and expected to stick with their entire lives. I'm finally learning that I need to curate my life and career around what is reasonable for myself instead of forcing myself to live up to other peoples expectations.

[buriedunderneath]

❝ HELL IS EMPTY AND ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE. ❞

 ⸻  ᚠᚱᛟᛗ  ⸻  kat mcnamara. cisfemale. she/her. ⸻  i saw EMILIA FINLEY around THE TOWN, you know? the  TWENTY EIGHT years old that was driving from BROOKLYN when they saw the tree on the road. FINN has been here for ONE DAY and i think they were LAW STUDENT before they got stuck in the town. with the way things are now, they are now struggling to maintain a sense of normalcy and  seek a way out without losing themselves or dying.  lets hope you at least survive the night. ⸻ hermy, she/her,  29, n/a triggers.  .  ⸻

GENERAL   INFORMATION.  ⸻

full   name: emilia finley.

nickname(s): finn.

age: twenty-eight.

gender   identity: cisfemale, she/her.

orientation: heterosexual.

place   of   birth: brooklyn, new york.

date   of   birth: july 11th, 1995.

former   occupation: law student and law intern.

3   positive traits: clever, resourceful, caring.

3   negative traits: stubborn, snobbish, cold.

moral alignment: lawful neutral.

faceclaim: katherine mcnamara.

TOWN   INFORMATION.  ⸻

current   residency : town.

current   occupation: waitress at the diner.

BIOGRAPHY   YOUR   CHARACTER'S   BACKGROUND.  ⸻

tldr is that EMILIA FINLEY grew up on the upper west side of manhattan, new york, into a family full of lawyers. her grandfather made partner at the upper east side law firm that later became known as watson, wilks and finley, a prominent law firm that dealt with crime on all scales. her father works full time as lead lawyer, and growing up, finn was always interested in the world of law.

growing up as the SECOND oldest of her family, finn was always the one to go to for advice, for stabilization. her logic and resourceful nature something that was very much needed within the finley household. when finn was about sixteen years old, her mother got into a bad motor vehicle accident - with her father driving. her father was, privately and to no one's knowledge in the world besides his own family - a functioning alcoholic unlike any other.

her mother became wheelchair bound and because her finn's extreme law connections, no one was ever the wiser on what happened that night in the accident, and the family doesn't speak of it. however, finn's older brother and younger sister both know that happened that night, and it tore her father apart.

the family never truly recovered after that - and finn never really did either. she felt a traumatic hatred for her father, who he had become, and took up being her mother's caregiver as much as she could with her brother being away at school. her mother never blamed a single soul for what happened to her, but it only fueled finn's rage even more each day - thus getting her law degree.

her brother and sister always wanted something else for themselves, but finn wanted the same career path as her father, almost out of spite, so she could become bigger and better than him - take over the law firm and shove him out. call it revenge for what he did - although he always knew how badly he screwed up that night. apologies were enough for finn and she studied her ass off.

in law school, finn studied most nights - but one night she was dragged out by her friends to the bar and met easton james. she wasn't opened very much to meeting anyone, but when they started speaking, it became clear that they liked one another. he could keep up with her wit, and keep up with her work ethic, as he was studying to become a doctor. the two of them had much in common and eventually moved in together, living in brooklyn.

COMING INTO THE TOWN !

being an intern now at her father's law firm, working most nights and living a good life with her boyfriend, the two had decided to take a little summer vacation.

finn was insistent on the fact that she had to finish up a case file and so she knew easton went ahead with friends - and she was meant to catch up with him later. driving into the TOWN, after having not heard from easton for a full day - it is at first mystifying to her.

as a very SANE and logical person, finn didn't know what she was in for - assuming this was all a bad dream, that she'd wake up back in brooklyn, but it wasn't anything but. truly, she tried her phone first, but nothing worked - nothing at all, until it all slowly became clear to her. she wasn't getting out.

horrified, broken hearted by it all, finn has only had a day to adjust to this life, trying to distract herself the best she can, but she still is trying to take a logical approach to things - serve at the diner, go on the most normal she can, but she puts on a brave face.

who will take care of her mother, who will get back to easton, who will she become within the confines of a world that she doesn't quite understand?

[suhnshinehaos]

crush culture : part twenty-eight

synopsis : ln yn has always flirted with huang renjun. but they do that with literally everyone else too, they couldn’t possibly be serious about pursuing him, right? on their final year of university, yn is determined to show that they are. with all the walls that renjun has built around himself, will they be strong enough to succeed in tearing them down? pairing : huang renjun x gn!reader genre/s : university + student council au, fluff, angst, pining, slice of life, humor part 28 wc : ~1k

part twenty-eight : clear skies

previous  ➤ part twenty-seven : doing great sweeties next  ➤  part twenty-nine crush culture ➤  masterlist 

yangyang needed this. that’s all there is to it.

technically, he could have asked to reschedule. the project was due next week, he could have waited until jungwoo recovered so you could work on this particular part together. but you had already made that statement : it was only going to be you and him. and if he was really about to let you go, completely and truthfully, then this was an opportunity that he had to take.

part of it feels like a betrayal. renjun is practically his best friend, and there’s a tinge of guilt that makes its way to his system when he waits outside your final class of the day. even more so when you greet him with a large grin the second your eyes meet his.

“did you wait long?”

yangyang shook his head, keeping his voice as even as possible, “felt like i aged ten years just from standing here.”

“whatever, yang. let’s go.” you rolled your eyes, but kept that same smile on your face as you lead the way. 

let it happen, yang. he reminded himself. give yourself this one day.

it wasn’t even a full day to begin with; it was an afternoon. 

an afternoon of going through dusty library shelves for books neither of you were ever going to read, kissing up to librarians of universities neither of you attended, pacing back and forth between rows and rows of wooden tables and trying not to bump into any of the corners. 

boring for most, but it would have to be enough for him.

because now here he is, walking the cobblestoned paths of his college campus, the sun long gone and you’re right next to him.

you’re talking about something, but he’s not entirely sure what. he sees your lips moving, sound falls on his ears, but he just couldn’t make out the words. too distracted by the fact that if he moved just a few inches closer, your hand would brush against his own.

the sound of a text notification snaps him out of his trance as both of you completely stop walking so you could check.

even under the harsh glare of your phone’s brightness, or the worried furrow that appeared between your brows, or that small pout that formed on your bottom lip, you were breathtaking. exactly why his heart broke the tiniest bit when he’s unable to help himself from sneaking a glance at the text haechan had sent. 

“you should go to him.”

his voice is clear, breaking through the crisp night air. not a single shroud of hesitation. not the the slightest waver to his voice.

the pout on your lips grows deeper, “but we were supposed to have dinner together.”

the two of you vowed that afternoon that if you finished the list of libraries your professor had tasked the class to visit, you would get dinner together in celebration. he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, especially not to you and definitely not to renjun, but he worked a little harder than usual today. 

oh well.

when it’s between him or renjun, yangyang knew exactly who you’d pick.

“we can go some other time… at least junwoo can be with us too.” yangyang reassures, but he’s unable to look at you directly. instead, his gaze finds its way to the sky above his head.

dark. clear. filled with stars, bright and twinkling. complimented by the moon, big and beaming and almost overwhelmingly enchanting. you couldn’t help but look up too.

“woah,” you let out a low whistle.

yangyang nods in agreement, “beautiful, isn’t it?”

“i know.”

it’s the way you looked back at him, the slight shift in the tone of your voice that lets him know. you knew. there’s no need for an explanation to the underlying meaning. you just knew. 

maybe it was jungwoo that tipped you off. maybe a part of you always knew, you just chose not to believe it. it doesn’t matter, it’s all out in the open now.

you couldn’t help the way your feet moved on their own, closing the already small space between you. you’re unable to stop your arms from wrapping around him, engulfing him in a hug. at the the end of the day, he was still one of your closest friends. it broke your heart to break his, unknowingly it may be.

yangyang chuckles and you feel it when he hugs you back, pulling you even closer to his chest, “what’s this for?”

“i’m sorry,” you mumble. the words don’t feel enough, but you couldn’t find anything else to say. your chest tightens, guilt creeping into your veins.

“don’t be,” he shakes his head and pulls away slightly, placing his hands on your shoulders so his gaze could meet yours, “i’ll survive.”

yangyang smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. not in the way it always does. before you could part your lips to say something else, he’s already let go of you, gently pushing you towards the direction of the council room. where renjun was. where your heart belonged.

“go. i’ll be okay.”

you knew, and that was enough for him. 

“they’re going to be so lucky. the next person who captures your heart.” you say with a smile, sincere and hopeful for what the future had in store for him.  

“thank you, yn. for everything.” yangyang smiles at you one last time, raising a hand to wave at you as you walked away from him.

it’s silent, a slight breeze blowing past him. there’s a dull ache that fills his chest, it doesn’t sting like he expected it too. but he lets himself feel it as he stands there, feet glued to the ground beneath his feet. he can’t help but watch your figure grow smaller and smaller until you eventually disappear from his line of sight. a sigh escapes his lips, pained and heavy. 

it’s a complicated feeling; while the dull ache in his chest remained, a weight had also been lifted off his shoulders.  

he really did need this. 

and with one last look at the clear night sky, yangyang finally lets you go. 

from reese, with love <3 didn’t feel right to end this series without a proper acknowledgement of yang’s feelings from yn... sorry for the angst, but dw it’s going to be fluffy from here :) thank you sm for reading !! as always, id love to know what you think :)) hope you are all doing well and taking care of yourselves :))

also,, don’t hurt too much for best boy second lead yang-- i do have something planned for him ;> 

[lazysimp]

Dark Clouds (+18) /// Shoto x Male Reader

Click HERE to read the Fem version

Rating: Explicit 18+ Only Minors DNI

Summary:  You love Shoto more than anything but what if you were the only thing standing in between him and his dreams? Smut+Angst

A prequel to Cloud Nine.

Word count: 3k+

Warnings/tags: Angst, Blackmail, Morning Sex, Breakup, Soft Dom Shoto, Praise, Explicit sexual content, Oral sex (receiving), He/Him pronouns, All characters are adults.

masterlist┃AO3

“Oh fuck Shoto! Please just a little more,” You beg, your back arching off the bed as you push his head down. Your fiancé had made it a habit to wake you up with his mouth on your cock, licking up your cum like it was his last meal.

After living together for a month you thought he would finally start to calm down but his need for you had only grown. He had barely left the apartment, deciding to take a vacation to spoil you instead of working on climbing the ranks. You tried to convince him to focus more on his career, but he would drop to his knees every time you brought it up.

“I love this pretty cock,” He groaned, swiping his tongue over your tender glands as more precum leaked from your slit. His lips closed around your tip, sucking it into his mouth while his fingers teased your tight hole.

You yelp and clench your thighs, caging in his head but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, your soft thighs against his ears sent him into a frenzy. He thrust his long fingers into you, curling them up to press against your sweet spot.

Your body bolts up, curling around his head but he continued on, never giving you an ounce of mercy. With your head directly above his, the lewd sounds of his mouth filled your ear, sending you further down the rabbit hole.

He released your cock from his mouth and moved to your hole to gather more of your addicting taste with his tongue. “My baby has such a good hole. So tight and hot, and it’s all mine.”

You let out a whine at his praise, you wanted to always belong to him. To never leave his side as he rose to meet his dreams.

He added a third lubed finger into your ass, stretching you open in preparation for his cock. You hiss at the slight burn but it fades quickly as his expert fingers began to fall in temperature, soothing the ache. He had always been so considerate during sex, always making sure you were well stretched before he ever tried to enter you.

The first time the two of you had sex was not the greatest but it was a moment in your life you would never forget. For hours he explored your body, experimenting and exploring you to understand exactly what you liked. By the end of the night, you were both absolutely exhausted, barely able to move.

His tongue returned to your cock, teasing the side of it with the tongue as his fingers continue to pump into your ass. Your breathing grows frantic and your body becomes tight as the pleasure swelled inside you. You could feel your thighs tremble around his head and your hands shake.

He smiled as your sweet hole trembled around his fingers, his baby was close. Remembering to not speed up he kept his movements consistent, listening for your little mewls to direct his touch.

As your breathing grew more labored and body tense he took you all the way into his mouth, sucking to pull every last ounce of pleasure from you. It was the final straw, he watched in awe as you fell apart. Your ass milking his fingers while your cock pulsed in his mouth with each spurt of cum.

Normally he would keep his mouth on your cock, cleaning up your orgasm with his tongue but he had to be at work in twenty minutes. Grudgingly he moved his mouth from your sex and rose to his knees. He gently slid his hands under you and flipped you over, exposing your mouthwatering ass to his view.

Holding his breath to stop from cumming, he lifted your hips up and pushed your back down. It looked as though you were presenting yourself to him. While he loved watching your face as you cum, this view definitely had its perks.

Lining his tip with your entrance he watched himself sink into you. Your cute moans filling his ears, serenading him as he bottomed out. Wanting a better view, he grabbed your ass with his large hands and spread it open, exposing your tight rosebud. He ignored your squeal of protest and started to thrust, watching you take his cock so perfectly.

Each thrust into your tight heat drove him further into insanity. He would never grow tired of this, tired of you. He still wasn’t sure how he managed to get you to agree to marry him, it still felt unreal, like someone was going to rip the floor out from under him. Something as good as you never happened to someone like him, something always messed it up.

“Shoto,” You whine, dragging him out of his thoughts. “Fuck, I need more.”

Determined to have you cum around his cock he reached around and wrapped his hand around the base of your cock. He let out a sly grin watching your body jerk as he thrust his hand, knowing the extra stimulation would send you right over the edge.

“Please, Shoto, please,” You begged, the tight coil inside your chest reeling tighter with each lazy pump of his hand. You lose the ability to speak, only moans leaving your lips.

“That’s it, that is my good boy. So perfect for me. I want you to cum on my cock while I watch,” He says hoarsely behind you. That was all it took, the spring inside you snapped sending you spiraling into oblivion.

Your toes curl in uncontrollably as you scream into the pillow, the brutal waves of pleasure crashing into you. You couldn’t even breathe as your rode out each pulsing wave. His hand did not stop milking your cock, instead teasing you through the high. Making you ride the wave as long as possible before his thrusts started to fall out of rhythm.

You lay face down into the bed, exhausted as he finally falls apart. You could feel his cock pulse inside you as his cum fills you. Once he finally finished he rolled off the top and laid next to you, pulling you into his arms.

You both lay there for a few minutes, not needing words as you recover from the morning quickie. Shoto pushed himself up on his elbows and placed a soft kiss on your forehead. He then stood out of bed and started to get ready. You lie in bed and watch as he dons his uniform and smooths out his sex hair.

“I should be home for dinner today, I am only scheduled to patrol until five.”

You nod, “Do you want to go out? Mina said the new soba place was really good.”

Shoto flashed you a warm smile, “I would love that, I’ll see you tonight.”

You push up on your elbows to meet his lips for one last kiss before he leaves. No matter how many times you kissed him, he always managed to take your breath away. You bring your hand up to his cheek as he slowly pulled away and looked into his eyes.

“Please be safe.”

He tilts his head into your hand, giving you some of its weight. “Don’t worry, I promise I will always come back to you.”

You drop your hand and lay back down, watching as he leaves the confines of the bedroom, and listened for the front door to close. Slipping on one of your lazy shirts, you make your way to the kitchen. You grab a few ingredients and cook a quick breakfast, eating it while you watch the news. Thankfully there was nothing big going on in the city, only a few petty criminals.

Shoto was more capable of taking care of himself but it was hard not to worry. You knew what you signed up for when you agreed to go out with Shoto, but he made all the stress and worry worth it.

You sit at the small counter and eat your breakfast. You avoid scheduling anything on your days off just in case they let Shoto off early so you had nothing planned. You put your dishes in the sink and start to collect some laundry, you could at least clean up some before you rested.

A loud buzz filled the apartment signaling someone was wanting to come up. You drop off the laundry and click on the speaker. Shoto had chosen this apartment because of the added security measures in place. No one could come up to the floor without a key or explicit permission.

“Hello?” You say into the small mic, unsure who would be asking to come up. Shoto hadn’t mention anyone planning on coming over.

“Can I come up?” The deep powerful voice of Endeavor said to the mic.

For a brief moment, your heart stopped. You tried to frantically think of what to say but no words came to mind. You had only ever met him once and you had Shoto by your side. You know he does not approve of your relationship with Shoto, after all, Shoto is going to be one of the world’s strongest heroes and you were well you.

“Just a minute,” You say to buy time as you debate whether or not to call Shoto. On one hand, having him by your side would keep Endeavor in line but on the other, you should be able to handle being around your fiance’s father. After all once you get married he will be family.

You suck in a stabilizing breath and call down to the front desk to give Endeavor permission to come up. While you waited for him to arrive you run to the bedroom and quickly put on a more presentable outfit. You still wanted to call Shoto, to have his supporting hand at the small of your back as you talk to the flame hero.

Three stern knocks signaled that Endeavor had arrived. You turn the knob and ignore the dread filling your stomach, you could do this. Endeavor knew better than to hurt you, he probably just wanted to talk about your engagement.

You stood frozen in the doorway and stare at the flame hero. He did not have any of his usual fire blazing, letting you see his natural hair better. Without his flames or hero uniform, he was a lot less intimidating.

You plaster on your best smile, “Please, come in.”

He steps into your shared apartment and takes off his shoes. You smile, this was definitely a good start. You both silently make your way to the dining room and sit. You were unsure what you need to do so you sit silently and wait.

Endeavor cleared his throat, “This is a very nice place the two of you share. Shoto chose well.”

You give a cautious smile, “I do really love this apartment. I have never lived somewhere with a view as nice as this one and it is easy for both of us to get to work from here.”

Endeavor nodded, “I won’t waste any more of your time, pretending to be here for a visit. I am sure you have seen the news lately. Shoto has fallen over two spots in rank compared to last year. After evaluating his skills and performance in the field, my agency has determined that his fall in rank is due to the amount of time he is taking off.”

You stiffen in your seat, scared of where this is going to go.

“I allowed this relationship to continue as it was not worth getting Shoto upset with my interference, but this is going too far. You are ruining his chances at becoming the number one hero.”

Your mouth dropped open in shock, “Excuse me!”

Endeavor reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small booklet. He opens it to reveal a single check. He pushes it over to you, the box for the amount was blank.

“You fill out how much you want to leave this relationship.”

“You can’t be serious, what kind of person do you think I am?”

Endeavor’s face held no emotion, “How much?”

Your face twists in anger, “Fuck you! I’m not leaving Shoto, not for any amount of money. You can take this check and shove it-”

“If you do not leave I will be forced to take action.”

A rush of fear runs through you, “What do you mean?”

Endeavor sighed, “I let Shoto leave my agency with the understanding that he would still work to climb his way to the top. He is no longer doing this. If he continues like this I will have to call up the agency he is working at and have him removed from their staff.”

“Removed, you mean fired. You will have him fired because he is going to marry me?” Your throat began to grow tight as the world started to close in around you.

“I am going to have him removed because he can’t do his job properly and be with you.”

You begin to shake, “And how is that going to help him become the number one hero?”

“Simple, he will have to come work for me again. Under my influence, he will take over the number one spot in no time.”

“You know he hates working for you. He loves the agency he is working at, you would rip that way from him?”

Endeavor’s flames started to sprout, “I have seen too many heroes with potential never amount to anything because of relationships like yours. I will be damned if the same happens to Shoto.”

“So I will talk to Shoto about not taking as much time off.” You try to reason.

Endeavor shakes his head, “It is far too late for that. It is not just me who is taking notice to his slacking. If he continues to behave the way he is, I won’t even need to make the call to have him removed. If you want him to not have to work for me you will leave him or all of this will be your fault.”

Endeavor stands to his full height, “After today if I see you anywhere with him he will come to work for me whether he wants to or not.”

He leaves you to sit alone in the apartment. You sit still in your chair, unsure what to think. How could a morning that started so perfect end up like this? You somehow managed not to cry, too focused on figuring out what to do.

You know Shoto loved you, he made sure to tell you almost every day, but could he love you if it meant he had to do something he hated? He loved working at the agency with Inasa and others. The time he spent working under his dad was some of the most miserable of his life.

The entire reason the two of you even met was that he went out with his friends to celebrate finally leaving his father’s agency. How could you ask him to stay with you if it meant returning to misery?

With no one to turn to you flip on the tv, needed background noise as you try to find a solution. You could not ask Mina or Kirishima for help, they would spill to Shoto the minute you told them. If he even caught a hint at what was going on he would go berserk.

You had only ever seen him mad once when a fan tried to throw something at you. His entire demeanor changed from quiet and calm into a simmering rage. He would have easily laid out the fan but you somehow managed to calm him enough to convince him to go home. He had spent hours fucking you to get out his rage. By the time he was back to normal your entire body was covered in hickeys and bruises.

You shake your head to clear your mind of, this was not time to think about sex. You look around the apartment you share with Shoto and feel tears begin to well in your eyes. You didn’t want to leave him. Being with him these past few months had been the happiest of your life. You had never loved someone like you loved him.

Could you live with yourself if you had to watch the beautiful light in his eyes fade if he worked for Endeavor? In the dark of night, Shoto would confide in you about his childhood. How his father only saw him as a tool to overcome All Might. If you stayed with him he would have to be around that mindset every day.

Shoto deserved happiness, even if it was not with you. He was young and handsome, he could easily find someone else. You know it will be hard on him but you could not live with yourself if you had to watch him grow to be miserable.

You lift your chin up, you had to break up with Shoto, it was the only option.

You turn to the bedroom and grab a duffel bag you used moving in. You had to move your stuff out before he got home. You know if he had time he would be able to convince you to stay.

You haphazardly pack away your clothes, not bothering to fold the piles as you shove them into the bag. You would only be able to pack a bag without a car to move.

The small click of a lock stopped you dead in your tracts. No, he wasn’t supposed to be home for at least another hour. The bag drops out of your fingers and you run to the living room. He was standing in the kitchen with the fridge open. He did always get hungry after patrol.

He turned his head at the sound of your footsteps and smiled. Your heart finally broke in half, you were never going to have this again. Deep sobs tore up your throat and before you could stop them fat tears began to fall.

Shoto’s face filled with panic and he rushed over to you, wrapping his strong arms around your waist and pulling you into his chest.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, his voice filled with panic.

This only makes you cry harder, you didn’t want to do this. The weight of your loss grew stronger as his hold tightened.

“W-we have to break up,” You incoherently sob into his chest.

“Baby, I don’t understand what you are saying, can you look at me?” He gently bruised his hand up your forehead pushing your head back so he could look into your eyes.

Your lower lip trembles but you somehow manage to speak, “I am calling off the engagement, I can’t do this anymore.”

You watch as his face drops, his eyes wide with confusion, “Baby, what are you talking about? What is wrong, did something happen when I was gone?”

You shake your head, “I can’t do this anymore.” Lie. “Being with you is exhausting.” Lie. “I thought you were the one but I was wrong.” Lies, lies, lies. You hate every word that comes from your lips but this had to hurt. You had to make him hate you, it was the only way.

He drops the arms that once held you close to him, “I don’t, I don’t understand? We were fine this morning, what happened?” His blue eyes were glossy with unfallen tears.

You wrapped your arms tight around your waist for mock comfort. “I-I have been thinking about this since you proposed, I can’t handle dating a hero it is too much stress. I am m-miserable.”

Watching Shoto struggle to speak as he processed what you said hurt more than just ripping your own heart out.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner? Why did you let this go on for so long if you felt that way?”

You shake your head, “I thought I would get used to it, but it has only gotten worse.”

“But this morning and every day before that you never said anything. You seemed happy.” He turned his back to you and walked towards the kitchen.

“Why now? What changed?”

You needed to end this before he asked any more questions, you let thick walls close around your heart and go for the kill, “Because I don’t love you anymore.”

His entire face crumbles as if you had stabbed him. Unable to look at him any longer you grab your duffel from the bedroom. You take one last look at the bedroom, the bed still a mess after this morning.

The weight of your loss was so suffocating you couldn’t even breathe as you walk past Shoto. He stood still in the living room unmoving in shock. He blinked strongly a few times like he was trying to wake up from a terrible nightmare.

You reach the front door “I am going to stay at Mina’s if you need anything. I’m so sorry Shoto.”

This was for the best, he could receiver from losing you. You were only in his life for a few months but his dream of being a hero had been lifelong. This breakup will only be a road bump in his journey to success. You knew he will reach the top, it just won’t be with you.

[runwithwolvcs]

You Know I'm No Good - thirty seven

Week From Hell

Warnings: None

Two hours. That's how long Tallulah figured Paul would still be asleep for. She has wasted fifteen of those minutes on the drive to the grocery store, and nearly twenty on getting the necessities they needed. He had been off patrol for two days, still in a sling as his bones recovered. She knew the boys ate a ton, given their fast metabolisms, but with Paul being home all the time, he was like a human vacuum.

Turning down the pasta aisle, Tallulah ran right into another person while looking down at the list on her phone. She was quick to apologise, looking up to see who exactly she was apologising to, only to hold in the scoff that threatened to come out.

“I can’t do this right now,” she said, pushing past her father.

“Tally, please.” His grip on her arm was weak, but she stopped nonetheless.

“Paul's hurt, okay?” she admitted, her already hectic day piling on top of the fact that she was a nervous wreck leaving her imprint alone all day. What if something happens and she's not there?

“What? Is he alright?” Her father asked, the concern seemed genuine. Though she knew better.

“He’s healing,” she mumbled. Knowing her dad knew about the accelerated healing in the wolves genes from personal experience.

“What happened?” he asked.

“No one has told me. Ask your buddy Sam.” she snapped at him.

“Tal, I had good intentions for keeping everything from you. I wanted you to go to school, to live a life full of adventure,” he paused before adding, “Safely. Not be caught up in this whole lifestyle Paul has.”

“And then what? Never come back to La Push? What good would that have done me?” He was hitting a nerve that neither of them were ready to deal with.

“I realised that wasn’t the best option, so I told him to befriend you. No wolf business. I gave him an inch, and he took a mile.”

“You imprinted on Kira, you know there was a possibility that we would..” she trailed off, not as comfortable delving into her relationship with Paul as she was with her mom.

“I was an adult when I imprinted on Kira, and there were no threats to the tribe anymore. No need for me to continue phasing. I could just focus on my family. Paul can’t do that, and you're still a child with a whole life ahead of you.”

“What about your wife and kid?” She was fixated on which family he was referring to. She didn’t care for his opinion about Paul, she loved him and nothing was going to change that. She thought, of all people, her dad would understand.

“I never stopped caring about you, Tallulah.” he admitted.

“You weren’t exactly an active father to me either.” she chided.

“Was I supposed to follow your mother to Seattle?” he asked.

“Could you have? You said there were no threats, would you have been able to leave, if you had wanted to?” she asked, wanting to know if he had no choice but to stay. Paul and Embry had both mentioned a boy named Jacob who was able to move away from the rez, though they gave no explanation on how that was possible. 

--

Tallulah felt an arm wrap around her waist as she roughly scrubbed a plate, trying to take out all her recent frustrations on the dish rather than the people around her, or herself. Paul rested his chin on her shoulder after kissing the exposed skin gently. His house being too hot for comfort, especially with him being clinged to her the last two days. It  left her no choice but to ditch her usual attire of his hoodies.

“You should be resting.” she scolded, rinsing off the soapy dish before placing it in the drying rack.

“I hurt my arm, not my legs, Tal.” He reminded her again. She has been extra careful with him. He’s the little spoon now, she grabs him whatever he needs, and no sex. Much to his dismay.

She had barely been able to sleep, even with her arms wrapped protectively around him. The sight of him screaming in agony as Dr. Cullen assessed his shoulder, and had officially traumatised her.

“Tal? You never call me that.” She said, scrunching up her eyebrows. She turned her head to look at him but he just shook his, letting her go completely as he backed up.

“It’s not that big of a deal.” he stated, and from the corner of her eye she watched him sit at the kitchen table.

“I know, it’s just unusual from you. Makes me feel like you’re upset with me.” she murmured insecurely, she knew he could hear her.

He shrugged and she raised an eyebrow at his lack of response, turning around and leaning against the counter to look directly at him, “Are you upset with me?”

“No, I’m not upset with you. Annoyed with you being here would be a better description.”

“Annoyed?” Her mind barely registered what he had said, as she took a deep breath, trying to push down the lump in her throat that had formed. “That I’m here?”

“No. It’s more like you’re here physically, but you’re not mentally and it's annoying..” he explained, but it did nothing to diminish her rising emotions.

“You’re joking.” Tallulah deadpanned.

“How often do I get a break from patrol, hm? We finally get a few days to ourselves and it’s like you’ve suddenly got this never ending list of things to do.”

“I’m sorry my life doesn’t begin and end with you, Paul.” She spoke sarcastically.

Graduation was in two weeks and she had never felt so overwhelmed by school. Finals and projects rapidly approached as she tried to meet every single deadline. Not to mention the deadline for her Parsons portfolio that he pushed her to finish. Between all of that she now was intensely worrying about him, and the fact that he would be going back to work soon. She couldn’t protect him from that. The conversation she had had with her father was just the tip of the iceberg for the shitty week she was having.

“Mine does with you.” he said thoughtfully, but it only made her angrier.

She scoffs and before she can stop the words from rolling off her tongue she says, “I bet that’s what Rachel thought too.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” and like the flip of a switch, she had pissed him off.

She stands her ground, “Just means that sometimes you say and do things that mean absolutely jackshit. Go rest.”

She waved him off as he got up from his seat, walking the few steps towards her.

“Hey, no, no.” he cornered her against the counter, leaning down to look at her, his good hand gripping her waist tightly. If it were any other situation, she would’ve played it up. Make him angrier until her back hit the bed and she was begging for a release. But the bandages on his arm brought her back down to reality she was currently in,  “What the fuck are you talking about? Did Rachel say something to you while I was gone?”

“Does that make you nervous?” she asked, what if Rachel had said something to her? Would it be the same thing Lenna had said? She’s known Paul since they were teenagers, she probably knew him a lot better than Tallulah did.

“If you have something to say to me, say it.” he practically growled out, not impressed with where this conversation was headed.

“I just find it funny that I’m not allowed to hangout with certain people alone, when you’re the one with the history of cheating.” Tallulah elaborated. Though she didn’t necessarily want to hangout with Chase or Xander. Paul throwing a fit when Embry had comforted her wasn’t something she was fond of. She had to practically beg for his phone number, so that she didn’t have to hike alone for his birthday present.

His nostrils flared as he tried to control himself, taking a step back from her and she can see she struck a chord in him. The only thing she was thinking of was the fact that he wasn’t denying it. He had cheated on Rachel and was seemingly mad she had found out.

“How long have you had that in your back pocket?” he snapped at her, pacing back and forth to keep his cool.

“Lenna told me a few weeks ago. I would’ve preferred it coming from you though.”

“You think I’ll cheat on you.” Paul accused her, seeing the hurt flash through his eyes.

“No. I’ve never thought that. I’m just tired of thinking I know you, only to be told differently by other people.” she crossed her arms over her chest, as much as she tried, she couldn’t hide her disappointment.

“What do you want to know?” he asked genuinely, taking a step towards her now that he had somewhat calmed down.

“Why’d you cheat on her?” Was Tallulah's first question

“Because she made me unhappy. It’s not an excuse, I shouldn’t have, but I did. ” Paul answered with zero hesitation, and she knew he was telling the truth. He had already told her that he wasn’t happy at the end of his relationship with Rachel, he just never told her what his solution was to fix that unhappiness..

“Then why stay for so long?”

“It was easy. She knew everything.” he said with a shrug.

“Am I easy?” she whispered, unsure if she wanted to know the answer. The imprint was beneficial to him, she could know his secret. He would always have her around, leaving him wasn’t an option, if that's what she wanted. The fact that they clicked so quickly in a sexual aspect was just a bonus for him. He was set forever.

Paul faltered, his face softening as he looked at her, “You’re the love of my life. It’s you and it will always be you.”

He took another step closer to her, gripping her chin, as he leaned in so that they were eye level, “The pull that we both feel, that didn’t make me fall in love with you. I know the past few weeks haven’t been easy for you, and you’re frustrated, I can feel it. But at the end of the day, that guy, who cheated on his girlfriend, lost his temper at the drop of a hat, and was just an overall asshole to people. He’s gone because of you. Because you, my sweetness, have given me something to lose and I can’t lose you.”

The feeling of guilt washed over her. She picked a fight out of nowhere and he’s standing in front of her telling her she’s the love of his life. As if she didn’t make his life harder than it needed to be.

“I’m sorry. I just..” Tallulah trailed off,  sliding down to the ground with her back against the cupboards and he followed her, sitting next to her resting his hand on her bare knee. The warmth sending comforting waves throughout her

“I get it. You’re bottling things up and me getting hurt was clearly not on your list of things to take care of this week.”

“I like taking care of you, just so you know.” she admitted, it was a nice change in pace from him always worrying about her wellbeing.

“Mm, I like it too.” His voice was quiet as she rested her head against his good shoulder. “What else is going on with you? You seemed less on edge this morning before you went out.”

“I talked to my dad.”

“That’ll do it.” he snorted, soothingly running his hand up and down her leg 

“He could’ve come with us to Seattle, but Kira wanted to be close to family, for the twins. So they stayed.” she explained. She could feel the tremble, signalling his anger. Though she knew who it was directed at, the resentment he had for her father was evident..

Sniffling, she asked, “If you could, where would you go?”

He thought in silence, before saying, “Arizona. See the Grand Canyon, finally get some real sun.”

She smiled up at him, “That’s where we’ll go first. You, me and our ten kids,” 

“Ten kids?” he looked down at her, amused by her declaration.

“Oh, yeah, we’re gonna have a big family.” she teased,

He grinned down at her, and jokingly said, “Well I guess we better get started now.”

Paul gently pressed his lips against hers, using his good hand to cup her cheek. Tallulah smiled against his lips, humming in response before pulling away slightly, whispering, “After, I finish the dishes.” 

He groaned, lulling his head to the side, watching as she pushed herself off the ground. She extended her hand to help him up as he was smiling up at her,before accepting her help.

He kissed her cheek quickly, “I’ll be upstairs, resting.”

“You’re out of lotion,” She pointed out, a teasing smirk on her lips.  “You’re going to get it later.” he threatened lightheartedly before smacking her ass. She gasped and shooed him out of the kitchen, hoping he would actually go to rest.

Taglist: @cperry0516 , @bhasbhabiessss, @fuzzyfingersandcavier @valeriyakonovalov @alwayshave-faith @emmettcullenswife @kingniazx @sorrow-and-bliss@swidkid

[itsamenickname]

To Break the Bonds Within Two Kingdoms Chapters 14-17 (the most up-to-date chapter that I have uploaded to Ao3)

Chapter 14

Twenty-four hours.

That was the amount of time it took for Bowser’s life to fall into an endless void of despair.

From leaving his castle at the crack of dawn to rushing Luigi to the castle hospital in the dead of night, everything that happened up to this point all took place in a span of a single day.

It was baffling how so much could happen in such a small timeframe.

But that wasn’t what plagued the Koopa King with immense guilt and regret.

No, it was the gut-wrenching fact that this entire adventure was solely his fault.

Bowser knew how nervous and uncomfortable Luigi felt about the meeting from the moment they read that wretched letter. Hell, after one of their royal council meetings, Luigi had told Kamek and Kammy, the only members of the Koopa Troop Bowser would unquestionably trust with his life, about the mysterious letter and they instantly took the green king’s side. On multiple occasions, the two Magikoopas had gone out of their way to warn the Koopa King about the suspicious letter and even begged him to talk it over with his husband, or at least think about the actual logic behind the letter.

“You should really think this through, My King.”

“Your Burliness, it’s not like King Mario to ask you to meet with him and Queen Peach in private like this.”

“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Bowser.”

But Bowser never listened.

And look where that got him.

________________________________________________________

3 hours ago…

As soon as they heard the waiting room doors open, Mario, Peach, and Bowser shot their heads up and felt their hearts skip a beat upon seeing the doctor walking towards them. The past five hours have been agonizing for the three royals, so for them to finally see the doctor who rushed Luigi to ICU brought them both such an enormous amount of comfort but also an alarming amount of anxiousness.

They just couldn’t stand the wait any longer. They needed to know.

“How is he?” Mario asked with both nervousness and a hint of hopefulness.

The doctor took one look at each of the three royals before he looked back down at his clipboard.

“He’s stable for now…,” the doctor answered after only a few seconds of silence. Bowser would’ve celebrated the reassuring news right then and there, if it wasn’t for the fact that he noticed a very slight hesitance in the Koopa Troopa’s voice. “But, things aren’t looking very good for him…”

“What do you mean…?” Peach nervously inquired as she grabbed Mario’s hand without taking her eyes off the doctor.

It took the Koopa Troopa 15 seconds to respond to Peach’s question, but the three royals could tell that the doctor wasn’t going to give them pleasant news when he carefully removed his glasses and looked straight at them.

“King Luigi lost almost 5 pints of blood, which is a dangerously high amount of blood for anyone to lose, much less a human,” the doctor calmly explained. “To be completely honest with you three, it’s a miracle that he survived for this long, especially when you consider the amount of time that passed between the moment King Boo stabbed him to when you all brought him here.”

“But you can give him a blood transfusion, right?” Mario immediately questioned as he squeezed Peach’s hand with fear. “I don’t know how different Koopa blood is from human blood, but I’m willing-,”

“We already gave His Majesty a blood transfusion and he’s been recovering quite well from it,” the doctor interrupted. “However…, that’s not the main problem we found while treating King Luigi…”

“W-What else did y-you find…?” Peach asked with a noticeable waver in her voice. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she made no effort to wipe them away as she and the two kept their attention on the doctor.

This time, not only did it take the Koopa Troopa an eerily minute to answer Peach’s question, but it was the fact that he started to nervously pull his lab coat collar that filled the three royals with absolute dread.

They knew at that moment that they were not going to like hearing whatever the doctor was going to say next. 

“I’m afraid…King Luigi has been paralyzed from the waist down, Your Majesties,” the doctor hesitantly revealed. “Upon treating his back, we discovered that King Boo had severely damaged his lower spinal cord. Even if he miraculously wakes up from this life-threatening injury, it truly pains me to tell you three that King Luigi will never regain movement in his lower body.

Oh Grambi.

Oh dear Grambi, they felt like they were going throw up.

But wait, it just couldn’t be true, could it? This just had to be some sick and twisted game the doctor is playing on them! Surely he’ll start laughing and tell them that Luigi is actually okay and is just recovering from everything that happened, right?

But when they took one look at the doctor’s face, the three royals knew in an instant that this wasn’t just some terrible nightmare.

This was reality.

Luigi, sweet, gentle, and innocent little Luigi was never going to be the same again.

He could never again accompany Mario on one of their fun adventures or join Bowser in one of his crazy shenanigans.

All because of King Boo.

And his fucking determination to take over the entire world.

Right then and there, Bowser wanted nothing more than to free King Boo from the Poltergust just for the pure purpose of putting the ghost king through eternal hell.

But there was one pounding unanswered question that was stopping him from forcefully removing the vacuum cleaner from Mario’s back.

“What about Kamek and Kammy?” Bowser questioned, but with the slight, yet obvious, crack in his voice, the royal couple and the doctor could tell that it was taking everything in the Koopa King’s power to keep his emotions in check. “I know for a fact that they have the power to heal any physical injury, so why aren’t they, or any Magikoopas, rushing over to Luigi’s side and healing his back wound?”

While Bowser was too focused on waiting for the doctor to answer his question, both Mario and Peach took their eyes off of the Koopa King just in time to notice the apple-sized lump in the Koopa Troopa’s throat.

That small action destroyed any remaining confidence they had left.

“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, My Lord, but both Kamek and Kammy are dead,” the doctor nervously confessed. “When King Boo invaded the Dark Lands, he ordered his Boos to kill every single minion who had any form of healing abilities. The only surviving members of the Koopa Troop who can truly help King Luigi at this point are us doctors and nurses, but even with our combined medical knowledge, His Majesty will never be physically, and possibly even mentally, the same again.”

That was it.

That was the precise moment when Bowser felt his whole world shattering right in front of him.

His most trusted and loyal minions, no, his guardians, who loved and raised him since the day he hatched, were dead.

But it wasn’t because of King Boo or because of any of the Boos who were loyal to the ghost king.

No, the reason, the one singular reason, this whole adventure had even happened in the first place was because of him and his selfish desire to get Mario’s stupid blessing.

“C-Can we see h-him?” Mario tearfully choked out as he brought Bowser back to reality. The Koopa King didn’t have to look at his brother-in-law to know that he was on the verge of breaking down into tears. He honestly couldn’t blame the red king. He wanted to let everything out right then and there too, but his ego and pride forced him to hold it in because he didn’t want anyone to see him cry.

“You can, but because he’s still in ICU, I’m afraid that only one person can see him at a time,” the doctor responded. “If you like, I can take you to him now, but I do want to caution you that what you’re about to see will be unsettling.”

Bowser didn’t have the mental strength to argue or fight with Mario as the red king followed the doctor to ICU. With every soul-crushing news the doctor had just given him and the royal couple, the Koopa King lost all motivation to even do anything anymore.

But the second after Peach left the waiting room to call Toadsworth and inform him of Luigi’s condition, Bowser finally broke.

______________________________________________________

“What was King Boo talking about?”

When Mario’s voice brought him out of his thoughts, Bowser couldn’t help but quietly sigh in frustration as smoke started to come out of his nostrils. Stars, from trying to figure out his future with Luigi to the fact that he was still mourning for Kamek and Kammy, Mario was honestly the last person the Koopa King wanted to talk to right now. He had half a mind to just flat-out ignoring the red king, but Bowser quickly realized that not acknowledging his brother-in-law would probably lead to another ridiculous argument.

Something he was especially not in the mood to deal with right now.

“Excuse me?” Bowser grudgingly inquired as he looked at Mario with a confused and annoyed expression. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Peach watching them behind the receptionist’s desk, which was truthfully the least reassuring thing for him to see.

It could only mean that this wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation for him.

Great.

“Before you agreed to surrender your kingdom, King Boo said that you ignored Luigi and tossed him aside like some rag doll because you wanted my blessing,” Mario explained. “And I want to know what he meant by that statement.”

Bowser felt his heart stop with horror as he used all his strength to keep a straight face right then and there. Fuck, between the stress of repairing his castle and figuring out his and his kingdom’s future, he completely forgot that King Boo made the heavy indication that he was keeping a secret from the royal couple. He was able to dodge this similar conversation back at the airship before, but since they didn’t have to worry about King Boo anymore, there was nothing stopping Mario from interrogating the Koopa King.

He could lie. Bowser could say that King Boo only said what he said to get a rise out of him, but how long could he keep up that charade? As much as he cared for his minions, they had a terrible habit of spreading rumors and gossip to anyone who showed any remote interest. And considering that he gave Mario and Peach the option to stay at his castle until Luigi woke up, the Koopa King knew it wouldn’t take long for the rumor of his and Luigi’s fight to reach the royal couple’s ears.

Whether he liked it or not, Bowser knew he had to confess what happened between him and Luigi. The scary part was that he was pretty confident Mario knew this as well.

“Luigi…was uncomfortable with me visiting the Mushroom Kingdom yesterday…,” Bowser hesitantly confessed. He ran a hair through his hair in a nervous manner while avoiding eye contact with Mario. “Since the day we received the letter, he had this feeling that something bad was going to happen while I visited you and Peach, but I didn’t listen to him because I was too focused with the thought of getting your approval.”

None of the three royals spoke for what felt like an eternity. How could they though? Both Mario and Peach were too busy digesting the information that was just given to them and Bowser was honestly scared to say anything for fear of making the situation much worse. 

But to both Bowser and Peach’s complete shock, it was Mario who finally broke the silence in the waiting room.

“You knew,” Mario chuckled with a smile so unbelievably forced and strained to the point where Bowser was almost genuinely terrified of the red king. “All this time, you knew exactly how Luigi felt, and yet, you still chose us over him.”

“Mario-,”

“No, I don’t want to hear any of your fucking excuses!” Mario screamed as he stared at Bowser with pure rage. “You mean to tell me that you knew from the very beginning that King Boo was planning to take over both of our kingdoms and you still left Luigi alone to fend himself!? Why?! So that you can have my fucking stamp of approval?! Is how I feel about your relationship with Luigi really that important to you?!”

“We didn’t know King Boo was going to invade our kingdom!” Bowser shouted as he shot up from his chair and kept his focus on Mario. “E. Gadd swore to Luigi that the canisters were secure enough to prevent that psychotic ghost from escaping! If that stupid professor had warned us about King Boo, I would’ve put the entire castle on lockdown and guard Luigi with my fucking life!”

“Don’t you dare blame E. Gadd for your screw-ups!” Mario threatened as he pointed an accusatory finger at Bowser. Tears started to form in the red king’s eyes, but he used all his strength to not let them fall as he kept his attention on Bowser. “You swore to Peach and me that you were a completely changed Koopa and look where that empty promise got us! Because you were so hellbent on wanting me to like you, Professor E. Gadd is dead and my sweet fratellino has to live with the fact that he can’t do most of the things he loves to do anymore!”

“And do you know why I have been trying nonstop to get you to like me for the past 10 fucking months?!” Bowser hollered with tears in his eyes.

Mario couldn’t help but let out a scoff as he started to shake his head.

“Oh, I know exactly why you want my approval so damn badly,” Mario responded with a smile. “The only reason you’re even doing all of this is because you are just waiting for me to give you my trust so that you can have a much easier time taking over the Mushroom Kingdom! Well, guess what Bowser?! I am not falling for your tricks! I know underneath all that ‘goody two-shoes’ exterior is a short-tempered, cold-hearted, and manipulative Koopa who only cares about himself and the fact that Luigi still can’t see that proves that he is a traitor to me and the Mushroom Kingdom!”

That was the moment.

That was the moment when Bowser couldn’t take it anymore.

He had tried to keep in anger in check throughout the entire argument (although he would admit that he didn’t do a very good job), but what Mario just said threw all formalities out the window.

He wasn’t going to stand there and just take it.

And he made no attempt to hide his anger as his mouth started to produce fire.

“Get out.” 

Peach knew right then and there that she had to intervene. She didn’t want to interrupt the two kings from letting their anger out, but with the way Bowser sounded so furious and outraged right at that moment honestly terrified to the point where she had a bad feeling that things would quickly turn into a slaughterhouse if she didn’t stop them from arguing.

“Bowser-,”

“I SAID GET OUT!” Bowser shouted at the top of his lungs as flames emitted out of his mouth. As he started to take a few steps towards Mario, a hint of fear began to grow in the red king’s stomach as he took a few steps away from Bowser. “IT IS ONE THING FOR YOU TO INSULT ME AND CRITICIZE EVERY SINGLE DAMN THING I DO, BUT THE MOMENT YOU CALL LUIGI A TRAITOR, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU TWO IDIOTS DON’T EVEN KNOW HALF OF THE STRUGGLES HE WENT THROUGH JUST TO HAVE A LITTLE SHRED OF HAPPINESS, THAT’S WHERE I CROSS THE FUCKING LINE! NOW, GET THE HELL OUT OF MY CASTLE AND DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT STEPPING FOOT IN MY KINGDOM EVER AGAIN! YOU TWO HAVE DONE ENOUGH!”

The Koopa King didn’t wait to see Mario or Peach’s reaction as he stormed out of the waiting room. The only thing that mattered to him at that moment was seeing the one person who meant everything to him.

******

Chapter 15

Today was the day.

And to say that Luigi was nervous was an understatement.

From the moment he decided to take another chance on romance, the green Italian knew he was going to have to eventually tell Mario about his newfound relationship. To find someone who made him the happiest he had felt in a long time was such an enormous milestone for Luigi and he knew that Mario was going to want to know that his younger twin found someone who loved and cared about him just as much as he did.

However, there was one little catch.

Luigi Mario, one of the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, was dating King Bowser Koopa.

The same Koopa who kidnapped Peach and terrorized thousands of innocent citizens.

The same Koopa who conquered dozens of kingdoms and galaxies.

The same Koopa who was willing to do anything in order to get what he wanted.

And the same Koopa Luigi had been secretly dating for a little over a month now.

Oh yes, with the way the green-clad plumber was pacing back and forth in his guest quarters and with the way he was twiddling his thumbs, it was plain to see that he had been dreading this day for quite a while. No one could blame him for being so timid and anxious. How are you supposed to tell your older twin brother, or anyone else for that matter, that you’re seeing the sworn enemy of the Mushroom Kingdom because you saw a soft, caring, protective, and somewhat sensitive Koopa underneath his tough and threatening exterior?

Luigi had honestly been asking that same question since he and Bowser first became friends.

And he still didn’t know the answer.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

As soon as he heard his boyfriend’s voice, Luigi immediately stopped pacing and turned around to see Bowser staring at him while simultaneously leaning against the doorway. Despite the unreadable expression the Koopa King had on his face, Luigi didn’t miss the very, very, slight waver in Bowser’s voice and could tell that he was also somewhat nervous to reveal their relationship to Mario.

Stars, what Luigi would give to have even a little bit of Bowser’s confidence right now. How was the Koopa King so clam when they were mere minutes away from telling Mario and Peach about their secret relationship? Were fear and anxiety just not part of Bowser’s vocabulary? And if that was the case, then what on Earth impacted the Koopa King’s decision to start dating a cowardly, timid, and clumsy buffoon who can’t even get out of his brother’s shadow-

No words could express the relief Luigi felt at that moment when he suddenly felt a firm, yet gentle, grip on his shoulders. It was strange, yet very reassuring, how Bowser could tell when his thoughts were about to spiral into an endless blackhole.

“Hey, don’t go freaking out on me right now,” Bowser demanded with a calm and soft tone. “This is the first time I’m visiting the Mushroom Kingdom as an ally and I want us to look good in front of your brother and Peach when we tell them about our relationship.”

Grambi, leave it to Bowser to worry more about impressing Mario and Peach while Luigi over here was on the verge of having a panic attack. The green Italian could’ve had half a mind to break it off with the Koopa King right then and there so that he would have to deal with his egotistical personality anymore.

And yet, despite it all, Luigi just couldn’t help but laugh at Bowser’s strange priorities.

Stars, he loved that Koopa very much.

But he also loved Mario too.

And knowing that there was a strong possibility that his older brother could force him to choose between the kingdom he had sworn to protect or the Koopa who chose to be with him was enough to make Luigi’s laughter die down.

Something that the Koopa King instantly noticed.

“Listen, we don’t have to do this if you’re not ready,” Bowser informed in a comforting tone. He noticed tears welling up in Luigi’s eyes, so he let go of his shoulders and used both of his hands to carefully wipe Luigi’s tears away before they could trail down his face. “If you don’t want to tell your brother and Peach about us, then we can turn this airship around and head back to the castle right now. I am okay with keeping our relationship a secret however long you want until you are comfortable enough to tell them that you and I are a couple.”

Every part of Luigi wanted to tell Bowser to turn the airship around and set a course back to the Dark Lands. He was terrified about the hundreds of possible ways this meeting could go wrong and he was panic-stricken with the sole thought of Mario, Peach, and everyone else hating him for putting himself out there and finding someone who saw him as him.

Not as Green Mario.

Not as the scaredy-cat sidekick.

Just Luigi.

But for some reason…, the green-clad plumber just couldn’t bring himself to say the four simple little words.

Because one way or another, Mario was going to find out about their relationship.

And even though Luigi knew that his older twin wasn’t going to take the news very well, he would rather be the one to tell Mario than have him find out from a random stranger who just happened to see him and Bowser together.

Luigi had to be brave.

Just like Mario.

Just like Peach.

And just like Bowser.

“We have to tell them about us,” Luigi quietly affirmed while he leaned into Bowser’s warm touch. He felt nausea rising in his stomach, but he forced himself to take a few deep breaths in hopes of easing his nerves. “I made the choice to be with you and it’s not fair for you to keep our relationship a secret when I know you want to shout it out to the entire world. I want to tell Mario and Peach that we are a couple.”

Bowser didn’t speak as he took some time to digest Luigi’s statement, but it wasn’t long before the Koopa King brought Luigi close to his chest and wrapped his gigantic arms around the tiny human.

“I don’t know what the future has in stored for us,” Bowser quietly admitted while giving the top of Luigi’s head a gentle kiss. “But whatever happens, I want you to know that there is nothing out there that will ever stop me from loving you.”

_____________________________________

When he started regaining consciousness, the best words to describe how he was feeling at that moment were dazed and disorientated. Now yes, his mind was somewhat sharp enough to notice the bandages that were wrapped around his body, but with the dozens of needles and tubes that were pumping who-knows-what into his arms and the blinding white light that greeted him when he had the strength to open his eyes, it was honestly difficult for him to tell if this was all part of some weird fever dream if he was in the Overthere.

That is, until he heard one particular voice.

“Morning sleepyhead.”

Could it be…?

No words could express the amount of happiness Luigi felt right then and there when he turned his head and saw the one Koopa who snuck his way into his heart.

“Bowser…,” Luigi cheerfully whispered with one of the biggest smiles Bowser had ever seen. The green king felt tears forming in his eyes, but he allowed them to trail down his face as the full realization of his husband sitting right by his side with no visible injuries positively overwhelmed him.

Bowser was okay. 

Bowser was safe.

Those thoughts are more were all the green king could think about at that moment as he forced himself to sit up in hopes of giving his husband the biggest heartfelt hug the needles and tubes could allow him to give.

But Luigi instantly stopped dead in his tracks and let out a painful cry when he suddenly felt a sharp shooting pain in his back.

“Woah there, take it easy sweetie,” Bowser urged as he carefully helped Luigi lay back down on the bed. “Your body is in a very fragile state right now and any sudden movements may reopen your back wound.”

Wait…, back wound…?

What did he mean by that?

Luigi was quiet as he allowed his husband to help guide him back down to a resting position. As he felt his head softly touching the pillow, he started to notice his back pain going down to a more bearable level. However, despite this, Luigi still didn’t speak because he instead decided to use this time to focus on his breathing to help ease the pain in his back a little more.

Neither king spoke for what felt like hours, but Luigi eventually broke the silence when he no longer felt any current pain in his back.

“What happened to me…?” Luigi asked as he looked at Bowser again.

Luigi noticed how that specific question made Bowser uncomfortable because the Koopa King started to look at everything in the hospital room except at him.

That started to somewhat worry the green king.

Because Bowser only did that when he was nervous about something.

And it was rare for Bowser to be afraid of anything.

“King Boo stabbed you in an attempt to kill you…,” Bowser hesitantly answered when he had enough confidence to look at Luigi.

Oh.

Oh.

That would explain why Bowser was so nervous just moments ago.

Actually, come to think of it, as he was processing what Bowser just said, Luigi couldn’t help but notice that everything around him suddenly made much more sense than they did minutes ago.

His back was in a fragile state because King Boo sliced in open.

There were bandages wrapped around his body to prevent him from bleeding to death in addition to protecting his back wound.

And his arms were covered with needles and tubes because that was the only way for the doctors and nurses to inject fluids and medicine into him while he was unconscious.

Luigi’s face must’ve shown that all the dots were now connecting in his head because the next thing he heard was Bowser speaking in a wobbly and quiet tone.

“I’m sorry.”

Luigi couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in confusion as he looked at Bowser.

But what he saw made his eyes widen.

Because Bowser Koopa, one of the most fearsome creatures in the entire galaxy, was on the verge of crying.

“There’s no reason to be…,” Luigi quietly argued.

“Yes…, there is…,” Bowser insisted with a croaky voice.

And for the first time since they started dating, Bowser started to cry.

Something that Luigi never thought he would see from his tough and intimidating husband.

“I should’ve listened to you!” Bowser screamed in frustration as he shot up from his chair and started to pace back and forth in the hospital room. While Luigi was surprised by the sudden change in Bowser’s voice as well as the Koopa King’s quick actions, he knew that his husband’s anger wasn’t directed at him. “From the moment we received that letter, you knew that something was off and had even talked to Kamek and Kammy to help you convince me that the meeting was a bad idea, but did I take the time to listen to you guys?! No! I was too bloody consumed with wanting your brother’s stupid approval to realize that I was basically handing you and our kingdom over to King Boo on a fucking silver platter!”

“You couldn’t have known about King Boo,” Luigi argued with a gentle tone. 

“But you still had a bad feeling about the letter and the meeting with Mario and Peach!” Bowser explained while continuing to pace back and forth. “I made a promise to you that I would protect you and our people from anyone who would try to hurt you guys and look how well of a job I did there! Our kingdom is in ruins because of me, Kamek and Kammy are dead because of me, and you will suffer from a permanent injury for the rest of your life because of-,”

“Stop it!”

Bowser stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Luigi upon hearing his husband’s voice.

“Stop blaming yourself for this,” Luigi pleaded as he gave the Koopa King a worried look. “Please, it…it hurts me to see you like this when none of this was your fault to begin with.”

Whatever emotions Bower felt moments ago all died out in his body and were replaced with worry and concern when he started to hear Luigi cry.

“I’m sorry,” Bowser whispered as he rushed to Luigi’s side. He took one of Luigi’s hands in his as he sat back down and used his other hand to wipe Luigi’s tears away. “I didn’t mean to freak you out like that. I just…hate that you and our people are suffering because of the choices I made.”

“This isn’t your fault…,” Luigi quietly replied when he was sure he wasn’t going to break down in tears. “I had two full days to tell you how I truly felt about the meeting and letter, but instead of finding time for both us of sit down and talk about it, I waited until you were moments away from entering the airship to express my concerns and worries to you.”

“I should’ve stopped and listened to you though,” Bowser argued as he used his thumb to rub the top of Luigi’s head in a comforting manner. “If I hadn’t been so focused on getting Mario’s approval-,”

“You did what you did because you were doing what you thought was best for our kingdom,” Luigi interrupted as he leaned into Bowser’s hand that was still touching his face. “You didn’t leave me to rule the Dark Lands by myself out of hatred or because of some petty revenge. You chose to visit the Mushroom Kingdom and meet with Mario and Peach because underneath all of those scales and intimidating features is a Koopa who would do anything for the people he loves. I don’t blame you for making those tough decisions and there is nothing, I repeat, nothing, out there that will ever stop me from loving you.” 

Bowser was completely and utterly speechless as he stared at Luigi with a flabbergasted expression. Stars, from the moment he stepped foot into the airship to visit the Mushroom Kingdom, he regretted the things he said to Luigi and had since been terrified of losing his husband or the possibility of the green king despising him all because of his enormous ego, so for Luigi to not blame him for any part of the adventure was such a perplexing thing for the Koopa King to comprehend.

Grambi, Bowser didn’t deserve to be with someone as forgiving and pure-hearted as Luigi.

But before he could have a chance to tell the green Italian this, the two kings heard an unexpected knock at the door.

“Your Beefiness, please hear me out before you burn me to a crisp for disturbing you,” Jerry begged upon opening the door. “It’s just that you haven’t left the room in almost a week and everyone is terrified about the possibility of war between the Dark Lands and the…”

But the words instantly died on Jerry’s lips when he noticed that Luigi was awake and was staring right at him.

“Hi Jerry…,” Luigi greeted with a smile while speaking in a soft-spoken tone.

No one spoke for what felt like hours, but the silence was quickly broken after Jerry shook his head and looked at Luigi again.

“King Luigi, you’re awake!” Jerry exclaimed with a smile.

What happened next was a bit of a blur to Luigi because this was when the Hammer Brother immediately started to ask him hundreds of different questions. The green king knew that Jerry meant well with his questions, but it didn’t stop the green Italian from hyperventilating as everything started to overwhelm him.

Luckily, this was something Bowser instantly noticed.

“Jerry, enough with the all the questions,” Bowser commanded as before whispering comforting  and reassuring things to his husband. Once Luigi’s breathing went back down to a normal level, Bowser spoke to the Hammer Brother again. “Luigi just woke up a few minutes ago, so he would appreciate you not bombarding him with ridiculous questions.” 

Jerry’s face immediately went red with embarrassment upon realizing that his actions almost caused Luigi to have a panic attack.

“My deepest apologies, Your Majesties,” Jerry apologized as he looked at both Luigi and Bowser. “It’s just that-,”

“I know you meant well and it’s fine,” Bowser interrupted before looking at the Hammer Brother. “Just be useful and let the doctor know that Luigi woke up.”

Jerry nodded and would’ve left the room at that moment, if it wasn’t for one pounding question that suddenly came to him.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Jerry confessed loudly, an action that caused both Luigi and Bowser to look back at him. “Since King Luigi is awake, would you like me to send a minion to inform King Mario and Queen Peach?”

********

Chapter 16

Mario and Peach?

Where are they?

Are they okay?

Have they already left to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom or are they staying here to help Bowser nurse me back to health?

What did Jerry mean when he said that our kingdom is on the verge of war?

These were just a few of the dozens of questions that ran through Luigi’s head as he and Bowser quietly stared at Jerry for what felt like hours. The green king wanted to break the silence that was hanging in the hospital room, he really did, but truthfully…, he couldn’t. Hundreds, no, thousands, of thoughts and questions started to swarm around in his head at a speed that was much too fast for him to process to the point where he was having trouble remembering what Jerry had even initially asked.

And without something to help him focus on the matter at hand, it wasn’t long before Luigi’s thoughts started to spiral into one enormous snowball. 

How will Mario and Peach react upon finding out that I’m awake?

Will they still love me even though I wasn’t strong enough to stop King Boo from taking over our kingdoms?

What if they want nothing to do with me?

What if Mario thinks of me as a traitor to him and to the Mushroom Kingdom for failing to stop King Boo?

He couldn’t help it. Luigi couldn’t help but hyperventilate as the pure thought of Mario despising him for allowing King Boo to conquer their kingdoms increased his anxiety tenfold. Luigi knew deep down that his older twin would never think less of him, especially for something that neither he nor Bowser were prepared for, but his anxiety always had a terrible habit of latching onto one overwhelming thought to the point where he would start having a panic attack.

But what stopped Luigi from having this specific full-blown panic attack was a gentle grip on his shoulders and Bowser’s calm and soothing voice.

“Hey, it’s okay, my love. Everything is going to be alright. Just take some deep breaths and focus on my voice.”

Luigi listened. He closed his eyes and forced himself to slow his breathing down while he listened to Bowser’s soft and gentle voice. At one point, Luigi thought he heard Jerry and Bowser having a small conversation, but because he wanted to focus on keeping his breathing under control, he ultimately decided to not dwell on his surroundings.

But once Luigi felt calm enough to open his eyes, that was when he saw that he and Bowser were the only two beings in the hospital room.

“Where’s Jerry?” Luigi asked as he looked at Bowser. He noticed that his husband’s hands were now resting on the hospital bed, but Luigi quickly pushed that thought to the side as he was more curious on Jerry’s whereabouts.

“He’s preparing for his trip to the Mushroom Kingdom,” Bowser answered before resting his hands on top of Luigi’s hands. “I told him to inform Mario and Peach about you first thing in the morning because I want us to spend some quality time together before they come and visit you.”

“Why are they at the Mushroom Kingdom?” Luigi questioned before gently grabbing one of Bowser’s hands. “I mean, I understand that they have to put their people and kingdom first, not to mention that Toadsworth would probably want to see them after the adventure we all had, but I would think that Mario would want to stay and help you take care of me while Peach watches over their kingdom.”

“I did give them both the option to stay here until you regained consciousness,” Bowser explained before scratching the back of his head with his free hand. “But…, your brother and I aren’t really on good speaking terms right now…”

That.

That response actually surprised Luigi quite a lot as he noticed that Bowser was starting to avoid eye contact. Okay, yes, the green king knew that Mario and Bowser had always been on thin ice with each other, even after he and Bowser told the Mushroom couple about their relationship, but he honestly thought that Mario and Bowser would at least be on betterish terms after this whole King Boo ordeal.

Luigi just couldn’t wrap his head around it. What on Earth could’ve caused his husband and his older brother to refuse to speak to each other?

“What happened…?” Luigi softly inquired as he used his thumb to rub Bowser’s hand in a circular motion.

The hospital room was quiet for quite a long while as Bowser tried to find a good response to his husband’s question. Luigi didn’t mind the silence. From the way Bowser tensed up immediately after he heard his question, the green king could tell that this was a sensitive topic for his husband. In fact, as a way to reassure Bowser that he could take as much time as he needed, Luigi gave the Koopa King’s hand a gentle squeeze while also giving him a soft and understanding smile.

That small gesture eventually gave Bowser the confidence he needed to answer Luigi’s question.

“…Mario knows about our fight…,” Bowser revealed while staring straight at Luigi.

Oh.

Oh.

This was not the direction Luigi thought this conversation would be going.

And considering that Bowser took a long time to respond to his question, Luigi could only imagine what went down between Mario and Bowser while he was unconscious.

“How…did he take it…?” Luigi hesitantly asked as he looked at his husband with a worrisome expression.

Luigi’s question was immediately met with a forced chuckle from Bowser.

“Bad…,” Bowser admitted while running his free hand through his hair. “He took it really fucking badly…”

Luigi couldn’t help but silently gulp as nervousness attempted to prevent him from speaking again.

“Do you…want to talk about it…?” Luigi inquired with a little bit of timidness in his voice.

“There’s not much to talk about,” Bowser responded with a sigh. While Luigi heard the exhaustion and frustration in his husband’s voice, he knew that neither of those emotions were directed at him. “Your brother despises me with every bone in his body and nothing, not even surrendering my entire kingdom in exchange for your life, will ever get rid of that raw and pure hatred he has for me.”

Well fuck, that was rather disheartening for Luigi to hear, if he was being honest with himself. He had hoped for any sign of willingness from Mario or Bowser to at least try to get back on better terms, but based on everything Bowser just said, that optimism was pretty much thrown out the window.

Luigi only had the strength to let out a soft “oh,” before uneasiness and tension started to fill the hospital room. The green king couldn’t stand the painfully awkward silence, but no matter how much he wanted to break it, he honestly didn’t know how to. Breaking the ice had never been his strong suit.

That is, until he thought of one particular question.

“Why do you want Mario’s blessing so badly?”

Now that.

Luigi noticed how that specific question threw Bowser’s whole demeanor off course when the Koopa King suddenly froze up and stared straight at him. Truthfully, this was a question Luigi had thought about for months, but it never occurred to him to bring the topic up with Bowser until he remembered that the reason his husband wanted to visit the Mushroom Kingdom in the first place was because he wanted Mario’s approval.

“Do you remember the first argument we had as a couple?” Bowser asked with a low and rough tone.

While the sudden change of subject was completely unexpected, Luigi quietly nodded as he nervously rubbed his arms in remembrance.

“What happened after that fight is the reason I’ve been trying so hard to get Mario’s blessing,” Bowser confessed while giving Luigi his utmost attention. “The things my minions, my own fucking members of the Koopa Troop, and those idiotic Toads did to push you into doing what you did on that fateful night were, and still are, unacceptable to me as someone with some decent morals and especially to me as someone who loves the wonderful and kind-hearted human being that you are. I never want you to go through that same pain and misery you went through back then, especially with your last living relative. I know you and Mario have one of the strongest brotherly bonds in the entire galaxy and I know sadness wouldn’t even begin to convey how you would feel if your brother started treating you like a traitor, so when I saw your unconscious body that same night after we had our first fight, I made a promise. I promised, myself, Grambi, the Star Spirits, and especially to us as a couple that I would do everything in my power to get Mario to like me so that you would never have to feel that gut-wrenching feeling of your brother hating you because of the relationship you have with me.”

Oh.

Oh Stars.

All this time…

He never thought…

He was doing it for him.

All this time, Bowser had been trying to get Mario’s blessing for HIM.

And he never even realized it until now.

Luigi didn’t noticed the tears that were trailing down his face until he felt Bowser’s hand gently wiping the tears off of his cheeks.

“I-I don’t deserve y-you…,” Luigi softly choked out as more tears began to well up in his eyes.

Bowser brought himself closer to his husband before carefully wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“Hey now, don’t say that about yourself,” Bowser quietly reassured while rubbing Luigi’s upper  arm in a comforting matter. He kissed the top of Luigi’s head before continuing to wipe the rest of the tears off of Luigi’s face. “If anything, I’m the one who should be saying that.”

That response earned a little laugh out of Luigi as he rested his head against the Koopa King’s shoulder.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better…,” Luigi whispered as a smile crept up onto his face.

“No, I’m being 100% serious about this,” Bowser promised while continuing to wipe Luigi’s tears away. He inwardly celebrated when he saw Luigi’s smile, so he decided to give the top of Luigi’s head another kiss. “I called you a disgrace and almost got you killed, and yet, you’re still choosing to forgive me for everything I’ve done since we got that letter. It takes a big heart for someone to do that, especially after everything you went through.”

“Maybe we don’t really deserve each other at all and would be better off finding someone else to spend the rest of our lives with,” Luigi jokingly remarked with a smile. “I think Prince Peasley is still into me, so maybe after we make our divorce final, I should give him a call and let him know that I’m available to date again.”

“Oh no, I am not letting you get away from me that easily!” Bowser teased with a mischievous smirk. He gently pulled Luigi closer to him as he placed his snout up against Luigi’s ear and spoke in a low, yet playful tone. “I chose you over an entire kingdom and the way you want to repay me is by dumping me for someone who cares too much about his looks? I would think that a big and strong king such as myself at least deserves a better reward, don’t you think?”

Luigi couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably at the thought of Bowser using flirtation to help him get what he wanted. However, the laughter was quickly cut short when Luigi let out a painful cry due to a sudden unbearable pain in his back.

Something that Bowser instantly noticed.

“Alright, I think it’s time for you to rest for the night,” Bowser remarked while moving his face away from Luigi.

“But I just woke up,” Luigi pointed out before letting out a yawn, an action that made Bowser raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

“Yes, but the thing you’re not realizing is that it’s almost 1 in the morning, not to mention that your back is still in a very fragile state,” Bowser explained. “And the more you rest, the faster your injury will heal, so let’s get you ready for bed before the doctor yells at me for-,”

“Can you tell me about your adventure with Mario?”

Bowser stopped in his tracks upon hearing Luigi’s unexpected question before looking at him with a confused smile.

“What?”

“Can you tell me about your adventure with Mario?” Luigi repeated while grabbing one of Bowser’s hands. “I promise I’ll go to sleep after you finish the story, but I want to know what it was like for you to team up with my brother.”

Bowser was honestly conflicted. On the one hand, the idea of playfully exaggerating his and Mario’s adventure was rather appealing to him, but at the same time, he wanted Luigi to recover from his injury as quickly as possible and he knew that keeping him awake when he should be resting was going to make the recovery process a little slower.

But when Bowser looked at Luigi and saw that his husband was giving him the puppy eyes, that was when the Koopa King couldn't help but cave in.

Damn, Bowser couldn’t say no to that face.

“Fine, I’ll tell you about my adventure with Mario,” Bowser said with a sigh of defeat. “But, you have to promise me that you’ll go to sleep right after I finish the story.”

Luigi smiled and nodded in agreement before better settling himself into the bed.

“Okay… I’ll start off after I left the Dark Lands…"

********

Chapter 17

The next morning…

When the sun broke through the dark clouds and cast its warming rays onto the Dark Lands just a few hours after their late-night conversation, Luigi and Bowser spent their morning together in the hospital room.

What did they do throughout the morning, you ask?

It’s really quite simple.

Luigi and Bowser just hung out.

You see, since Luigi was still far too injured to get out of bed, much less leave the hospital room, the odd couple had limited options on how they could spend their morning together. However, this setback didn’t stop them from getting creative with the few activities they could do together. From having conversations about all kinds of random and different topics to just silently enjoying each other’s company, the only thing that ultimately mattered to the two kings was spending quality time together before Mario and Peach’s arrival.

However, their happiness was soon interrupted when a Koopa Troopa visited the couple and informed them that General Guy and Goomboss, the last surviving members of the original royal court, requested an urgent audience with King Bowser.

Luigi could instantly tell that the minion’s announcement angered his husband when he saw smoke coming out of Bowser’s nose.

The green king watched the two Koopas with worry and concern as Bowser started to go off on the young minion. He was conflicted. On the one hand, not only was it quite touching to see this protective side of Bowser, especially when he was being protective over him, but it was also especially comforting knowing that his husband was so easily willing to put his needs first.

But on the other hand…, both he and Bowser were kings of the Dark Lands.

And as kings, they had a duty to put their citizens and kingdom before anything else.

Even if that anything else was their significant other.

Upon hearing Bowser threatening the poor Koopa Troopa, Luigi was quickly brought out of his thoughts and wasted no time in grabbing his husband’s hand in order to stop him in his tracks. While the green king was successful in interrupting Bowser, this action also earned a bewildered look from the Koopa King as he was now confused on why Luigi interrupted his conversation. Luigi could feel his husband staring at him with confusion, and maybe a hint of annoyance, and while he was now somewhat afraid to go through with what he wanted to do next, the green king soon pushed his fears aside and told the young minion to let Goomboss and General Guy know that Bowser will meet them in the conference room located near the dining hall.

To say that Bowser was shocked after hearing Luigi’s order was a complete understatement.

“Why did you tell him that I’ll meet with Goomboss and General Guy?” Bowser asked in an annoyed tone after the Koopa Troopa rushed out of the room in nervous haste.

“Because I can’t always be your highest priority,” Luigi answered as he stared straight at Bowser.

“And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Bowser demanded with an accusatory tone as his free hand grabbed the hospital bed railing with a death grip.

Luigi didn’t speak as he grabbed Bowser’s other hand and gently forced him to let go of the railing. While part of the railing was now crushed beyond repair, the green Italian paid it no mind as he brought Bowser’s hand closer to his heart and gave it a gentle squeeze in hopes of calming him down.

“At the end of the day, we still have a kingdom to rule and hundreds of citizens to watch over and protect,” Luigi calmly explained while giving Bowser his utmost attention. To help further reduce Bowser’s temper, the green king started rubbing his husband’s hand in circular motions with his thumb. “And while it’s great that you and Mario defeated King Boo, everyone in our kingdom is in a tough place right now and as their kings, you and I have to step up during these hard times and put our people’s needs above our own.”

“General Guy and Goomboss can take care of the kingdom and citizens’ needs without me,” Bowser grumbled in a much softer tone while looking down at his and Luigi’s hands.

“Bowser…, you and I both know that General Guy and Goomboss can’t watch over the kingdom in our absence,” Luigi admitted with an amused smile. “Don’t get me wrong, while I do appreciate the enormous support they’ve given us since we made our relationship public, you have to admit that General Guy is very disorganized and Goomboss is…well…not the sharpest Goomba in the kingdom.”

As much as Bowser wanted to prove his husband wrong, the Koopa King inwardly knew deep down that Luigi did have a really good point. Goomboss and General Guy, as loyal as they were to the royal family, were honestly two of the last members of the royal court Bowser would trust with anything that could even be remotely important.

The Koopa King couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as the thought of General Guy and Goomboss becoming official rulers of the Dark Lands entered his mind.

Oh yea, their kingdom would surely fall apart if it was under their idiotic rule.

“Alright…, I suppose it would be a good idea for me to meet with them so that we still have a functioning kingdom to rule over after you recover,” Bowser admitted with a smile.

“I would agree with that,” Luigi remarked with a smirk.

“However,” Bowser emphasized. “Even though I’ll give them my audience, you better mark my words, my little green bean: As soon as I finished my meeting with the two nitwits, I swear to Grambi and to the Star Spirits up in the Overthere that I will come straight back here to continue nursing you back to health.”

“And I will be right here waiting for your heroic return,” Luigi teasingly promised before kissing Bowser’s hand.

_______________________________________________________

7 hours later…

When Luigi woke up from his unintentional nap, the first thing he realized was the sound of someone knocking on a door. Now yes, while he was sort of in a daze from being woken up so suddenly, the green king’s haziness only lasted for a few seconds before he looked down at his arms and remembered all the events that led up to this particular moment.

King Boo launched a surprise invasion on the Dark Lands in his new ultimate plan to take over the world.

King Boo conquered the Mushroom Kingdom and kidnapped Peach as a way to have an advantage over Mario.

King Boo stabbed him even after Bowser agreed to surrender their kingdom over to the ghost king.

Wait a minute…

Bowser.

At the mention of his husband’s name, Luigi quickly looked around the room and felt his heart sinking when he noticed that the Koopa King was nowhere in sight. However, this feeling only lasted a few seconds because Luigi quickly remembered that Bowser had to leave his bedside because General Guy and Goomboss wanted to meet with him.

Another knock at the door brought Luigi back to reality before he could have a chance to figure out how much time had passed since his husband left to attend the meeting.

“Come in,” Luigi called out with a horse voice before quickly clearing his throat.

It took the unexpected visitor a little bit of time to open the door (which slightly confused the green king for a few different reasons), but when Luigi finally saw the visitor after they opened the door, he couldn’t help but let out an excited gasp.

Because the mysterious visitor wasn’t really mysterious at all.

“Mario…,” Luigi whispered with a heart-warming smile. If he noticed the few tears that were trailing down his face, he made no effort to wipe them away as the sight of his twin standing right in front of him with no, if not minor, injuries confirmed the questions he had thought about during his late-night conversation with Bowser.

Mario was safe.

Mario was alive.

“Hi fratellino…,” Mario softly responded with one of the most wholesome smiles Luigi had ever seen. As Mario started to walk to his brother’s bedside, his mind urged and begged him to give his twin the biggest hug he could possibly give to make sure that this wasn’t a dream. However, the red king knew that Luigi was still in a very delicate state, so rather than risk hurting his little brother, Mario instead kissed Luigi’s forehead once he was right by his side. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, especially now that I know that King Boo didn’t hurt you,” Luigi answered. After Mario kissed his forehead, Luigi looked around the room but soon started to get confused when he noticed that he and Mario were the only two beings in the hospital room. “Where’s Peach?”

“Toadsworth and the royal court thought it would be best for her to stay behind while I visit you,” Mario explained before sitting down on the same chair Bowser had sat on for the past week. “She really wanted to come and see you after Jerry told us that you woke up, but both Toadsworth and the entire royal court were really determined in keeping her as far away from King Boo as humanly possible, even if there was no way for him to hurt us again.”

“But wouldn’t it be easier and better to have you guard her instead of the Toads?” Luigi inquired with an amused expression.

“That’s what Peach and I said, but you know how stubborn those old geezers can be, especially when it comes to Peach’s safety,” Mario chuckled before carefully grabbing one of Luigi’s hands.

“Old geezers?” Luigi questioned with a raised eyebrow. “Aren’t most of them younger than you and Peach?”

“Hey, Peach and I are not that old!” Mario exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. “If anything, you’re basically calling yourself old by calling Peach and me old!”

Luigi couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably as the image of him, Mario, and Peach being senior citizens entered his mind, but his laughter was quickly cut short when he let out a painful cry due to a sudden and unbearable pain in his back.

Something that Mario quickly noticed.

“Maybe I should let you rest for a little bit…,” Mario pondered while looking at Luigi with a worried look.

Luigi waited for the pain to become more bearable before quickly shaking his head in disagreement.

“No, no, I’m okay big bro,” Luigi quickly reassured. As a way to help him change Mario’s mind, he gave his brother’s hand a squeeze while giving him a reassuring look. “My back only hurts like that when I laugh too hard, but it’s fine otherwise. Besides…, this is the first time I’ve seen you since King Boo made that deal with you and Bowser and I want to spend some quality time with my big brother.”

Mario was quiet as he continued to worryingly stare at Luigi, but it only lasted a few seconds before he used his free hand to gently ruffle Luigi’s head.

“Alright, if you say that you’re okay, then I’ll take your word for it,” Mario promised with a genuine smile.

“Thank you, big bro,” Luigi replied with a smile. He looked down at his and Mario’s hands, but quickly looked back up when a sudden thought came to him. “Actually…, since it’s just us here in the hospital room, would it be okay if I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Mario answered while nodding his head in affirmation. “What do you want to ask me?”

Luigi looked down at his and Mario’s hands as he nervously thought about how he could best ask his question. He knew he needed to ask the red king about the one thought that had been in mind since last night, but truthfully…, he was afraid. He was afraid to ask his brother his question because he knew that it would send in a conversation in a whole other direction that neither brother would be prepared for.

Plus, he was also afraid that discussing this topic would further drive the wedge between Mario and Bowser as well as possibly their kingdoms.

He didn’t want the two most important people in his life to hate each other. He couldn’t bear the thought of possibly having to choose his brother or his husband.

It was only when Mario silently and gently squeezed his hand that Luigi was not only brought back to reality, but also eventually gained the confidence he needed to ask the ultimate question.

“Why do you hate Bowser so much?”

With the way Mario’s shoulders instantly tensed up and with the way he immediately froze up with something that resembled fear, Luigi could tell that this was the last thing Mario expected him to ask.

He couldn’t blame his older brother for reacting this way, he really couldn’t, but that wasn’t going to stop Luigi from figuring out the root cause of Mario’s hatred towards Bowser.

“W-What makes you think that I hate Bowser, little b-bro?” Mario asked with an obvious slight stutter in his voice.

Luigi felt Mario’s grip on his hand tightening, but he didn't comment on this as he placed his free hand on top of his and Mario’s hands.

“Bowser told me about the argument you two had after you guys brought me here,” Luigi revealed while giving Mario his full attention. “Plus…, he also told me about how our kingdoms are on the verge of war.”

There was a painful awkward silence between the brothers as they each took their time to process the words that now hung in the air.

But what surprised Luigi more was that it didn’t take Mario long to have an answer to his question.

“I was terrified of losing you…,” Mario revealed as he stared straight at Luigi.

“But that doesn’t explain why you declared war on my kingdom,” Luigi softly responded after taking a few seconds to process Mario’s answer.

Mario couldn’t help but close his eyes and let out an annoyed sigh before looking at Luigi again.

“The reason I declared war on the Dark Lands was because I was, and still am, angry at Bowser for leaving you alone in that castle with no way to defend yourself from a lunatic ghost, even after you told him about the bad feeling you had about the letter,” Mario explained.

“The only reason Bowser left me alone in the first place was because he was following your orders so that you could give us your blessing,” Luigi argued. The green king felt anger rising up inside of him, but he forced himself to take a few deep breaths because he didn't want to yell at his twin. “Throughout my entire relationship with him, you have never once given him the benefit of the doubt, even after he had already proven himself to me.”

“Luigi, look, it’s not that I’m ungrateful for Bowser taking the bullet for you, I really am thankful for what he did to save you,” Mario explained while running his free hand through his hair in a stressful manner. “But you have to see this from my side and understand that the reason you almost got killed in the first place was because he was too damn stubborn to listen to your concerns-,”

“What happened with Boom Boom wasn’t when Bowser proved to me that he was a changed Koopa,” Luigi interrupted. “What I’m talking about was the time when he saved me from killing myself.”

Wait, what?

No…, it just couldn’t be true.

Luigi is kind, gentle, and one of the sweetest people in the entire galaxy.

There’s no way that he just said that he tried to kill himself at one point.

Right?

But when Mario looked at his little brother and saw nothing but seriousness on his face, that was when the red king knew that Luigi wasn’t joking.

He wanted to throw up.

How did he not know about this?

But Mario forced that question down as he gained the strength to only say one word with such a  quiet and croaky voice that he wasn’t even sure if he said anything at all. 

“W…What…?”

Luigi closed his eyes and took one calming deep breath before looking at Mario again.

“Do you remember when I spent that week at the Mushroom Kingdom shortly after Bowser and I made our relationship public?” Luigi softly asked.

Mario only had the strength to nod as he refused to take his eyes off of Luigi.

“During my stay at the castle, the Toads started to treat me differently,” Luigi explained as he kept his eyes glued onto Mario. “At first, it was just the usual bullying, like calling me ‘Green Mario,’ ‘Louis,’ or even ‘Mario’s sidekick,’ but after a short while…they started to treat me very differently. They would give me hurtful nicknames like ‘disgrace’ and ‘traitor to the Mushroom Kingdom,’ they would give me the cold shoulder whenever I would try to say hello to them or give them a friendly wave, and they would even try to convince me that you were ashamed to have me as your brother just because I was dating Bowser.

“But they weren’t the only ones who were giving me a hard time because of my relationship with Bowser. Pretty soon, a lot of Bowser’s minions started bullying me after I visited you and Peach. At first, they did the same things the Toads did to me back at the Mushroom Kingdom…, but…it wasn’t long before they…”

Luigi didn’t finish speaking because he used his free hand to wipe away the tears that were now trickling down his face. Mario, sadden to see Luigi so upset, was quiet as he carefully helped his brother wipe the tears off of his face.

“What…did they do…?” Mario asked in a very quiet and hesitant tone after Luigi calmed down.

Luigi didn’t speak for what felt like an eternity, but when he did finally speak, Mario felt his heart shattering into a million pieces when he heard his little brother speaking with a brittle and quiet voice.

“They…They vandalized my room one night…,” Luigi hesitantly confessed while avoiding eye contact with Mario. “They destroyed all of my things in my room, but the thing that hurt me the most was that they wrote horrible and cruel things on my walls like ‘Go kill yourself’ and ‘You deserve to die.’”

Mario wanted nothing more than to go find the Toads and minions who gave Luigi so much shit for being in a relationship, but there was one pressing question that was stopping him from rushing out of the hospital room.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Luigi was silent, but it wasn’t long before the green king looked at Mario with a sad and worried look.

“Because you hated Bowser so much back then, much more than you do right now,” Luigi whispered. “And I knew that if you found out that I attempted suicide under Bowser’s care, then you would’ve blamed him for something that wasn’t his fault.”

So many thoughts and questions were running through Mario’s head, but they were all quickly dashed away when the two kings heard a sudden knock on the door.

“I’m sorry to interrupt Your Majesties, but Toadsworth called and requested King Mario to return to the Mushroom Kingdom immediately,” Jerry informed while looking at both of the brothers.

Mario had never felt more conflicted than he did at that precise moment. Every part of him wanted to stay by Luigi’s side and asked him the questions that were rushing through his head right at this very moment.

But on the other hand…, he was a king. He knew that he couldn’t just ignore Toadsworth’s request, especially if it was about something significantly important.

Luigi could tell how difficult this decision was for his brother, so he gently tighten his grip on Mario’s hand as a way to snap him out of his internal dilemma. 

“You should go be with Peach and Toadsworth, fratellone,” Luigi suggested. He gave Mario’s hand one last squeeze before letting it go. “I think it’s best if you leave and take some time to process all of this.”

Mario didn’t move for what felt like hours, but he eventually listened to his brother’s suggestion and reluctantly followed Jerry out of the hospital room.

*******

I do have two more chapters planned for this story, but I have no idea when I'll be able to write & those because at the end of March 2023, I put this story on hiatus due to irl personal stuff. Don't worry, everything's fine and okay, but it's something that I have to prioritize for a while.

Thank you all who took the time to read my story (whether you read it on Ao3 or on here) and I look forward to seeing you all in the final 2 chapters sometime in the future. :)

To the Bowuigi fans who are suffering from Ao3 withdraw (including myself):

I present you with this very long post (that I will break down into 3-4 different posts) I have luckily kept in my computer files that I hope will ease you in these hard times.

Enjoy. :)

To Break the Bonds Within Two Kingdoms

**********

Chapter 1

For as long as he could remember, King Boo wanted to become the greatest villain the Mushroom Kingdom has ever seen. From the heroes dying right in front of him to the damsel pleading for their very life, King Boo fantasized hundreds and thousands of plans all with the same end goal of him becoming the new king of the Mushroom Kingdom. So naturally, when King Boo was given an opportunity to defeat Mario, the said hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, at Isle Delfino, he was ecstatic. This, he thought, was the first step in conquering the Mushroom Kingdom and possibly the entire world. If King Boo could defeat Mario, nothing could stop him from achieving his life-long dream.

Except Mario did stop him.

Now yes, King Boo was frustrated at his and Bowser’s ultimate loss, but the ghost king knew that he would be given a second opportunity to defeat Mario. He just needed a new and different angle to work with, but what new angle would allow him to have the advantage over that annoying red plumber?

The answer to that question was Luigi.

After his defeat at Isle Delfino, King Boo was informed that Mario had a younger twin brother named Luigi. This new piece of information allowed King Boo to come up with a new perfect plan that would surely stop Mario once and for all. All the ghost king had to do was kidnap Luigi and Mario would come crawling on his knees and beg him to spare his little brother’s life. Surely, nothing would go wrong with that plan, right?

Wrong. That so-called “perfect” plan backfired on King Boo.

Three times.

To say King Boo was angry after his third defeat is an understatement.

While his hotel plan ended in a total disaster, the one good thing that came out of it was that Luigi didn’t capture all 16 Boos with that Poltergust he hated so very much. King Boo was grateful that the uncaught Boos were loyal enough to distract the professor long enough for him to break out of the canister.  

But the ghost king knew that it wouldn’t matter in the long run.

As long as Luigi and Professor E. Gadd were around, King Boo knew it would only be a matter of time before he would get captured and be put back in that infuriating prison again. 

And that thought alone fueled him with nothing but anger.

“ARGGH!”

In a fit of rage, King Boo threw his crown at a nearby mirror. As his anger slowly started to simmer back down, he realized that he was essentially powerless without his crown, so he quickly placed his crown back on his head before staring at his reflection in the now-broken mirror.

He hated, no, loathed, Luigi. If King Boo ever saw his face again, he would make sure that scaredy-cat plumber wished he didn’t defeat him in that first mansion all those years ago. If only he had a new angle to work with, he could-

“Um, Sir?”

King Boo swiftly turned around to see a Boo watching him with a worrisome expressions. Boos who served under King Boo for a long time were used to seeing him frustrated and angry, so the fact that this Boo seemed nervous to be anywhere near him told King Boo that he was one of the Boos they recently recruited.

At least that small piece of information reassured King Boo that he could still fear into the young Boo.

“What reason do you have to interrupt me?!” King Boo shouted. He was fuming with rage and he felt that he had every right to be. This Boo interrupted his loathing of Luigi and he should’ve known better than to barged into the room like this.

The Boo nervously gulped before speaking.

“I-I think y-you should see this,” the Boo stammered while holding out an object with a shaky hand.

It took King Boo a moment to realize that the Boo was holding out a newspaper. He yanked the newspaper right out of the young Boo’s hand, without even muttering a thank you, and read the front page headline.

PEACE TREATY AND ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM AND THE DARK LANDS!

A peace treaty between Peach and Bowser?

This peaked King Boo’s interest.

Upon further reading the article, King Boo learned that Queen Peach and King Mario are willing to sign a peace treaty with King Bowser and King Luigi, despite everything Bowser did to the Mushroom Kingdom in the past. King Boo wasn’t sure why Mario would agree to sign a peace treaty with his sworn arch-nemesis, but he figured that the red king didn’t have that many options since Bowser and Luigi are a married couple.

Speaking of Luigi…

“Remind me of the relationship status between Luigi and Bowser as well as the relationship between Mario and Bowser,” King Boo ordered while staring at a picture on the front page. It was a picture of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser with jubilant and cheerful expressions surrounded with all kinds of different decorations. King Boo could tell that the picture was taken on Luigi and Bowser’s wedding day due to the fact that all four of the royals were wearing the most extravagant clothes he had ever seen in addition that Bowser was also kissing an embarrassed, but overjoyed, Luigi on the cheek while carrying him bridal style.

Grambi, King Boo despised every single thing about the picture. 

“Luigi and Bowser were officially married almost three months ago and their coronation took place three days after the wedding,” the Boo informed. “While Mario gave his public approval to the wedding, multiple spies from both the Mushroom Kingdom and the Dark Lands have confirmed that Mario and Bowser still don’t like each other.”

It was quiet as King Boo continued to read the rest of the article. It wasn’t until he started to read an article about a Toad explaining the disadvantages of the peace treaty that King Boo realized what the Boo actually said.

They still don’t like each other.

Despite the wedding and the peace treaty they’ll soon sign together, Mario and Bowser still hate each other.

King Boo couldn’t help but laugh at the situation that was now presented in front of him.

This didn’t just peak his interest anymore.

This was fantastic news.

No, this was absolutely perfect.

King Boo instantly tossed the newspaper aside as he gave the young Boo his full attention for the first time since he entered the room. Hundreds of ideas started to swarm in the ghost king’s head, but they were all easily pushed to the side as one thought consumed his mind. 

This was his new angle.

“Gather all the Boos to the corridor immediately!” King Boo exclaimed to the Boo. He stared at his reflection with the biggest grin he ever had while brainstorming his brand new master plan. “We are going to pay a visit to our dearest friend!”

***********

Chapter 2

One week later…

If there was one thing Luigi could change about himself, he would like to be much more confident. For their entire lives, Luigi always admired the enormous amount of confidence Mario had in any situation he was put into and wish he could have half the courage his older brother had. From battling villains without hesitation to being the spotlight of a party, Luigi wondered how it was all so easy for Mario when he would have the most difficult time talking to even one person.

Even if that said person, or rather, Koopa, was his husband.

Luigi watched the interaction between Bowser and the airship crew as he twiddled his thumbs in an anxious manner. While he couldn’t hear the conversation, Luigi could tell that Bowser was demanding the Shy Guys to finish the airship preparations based on the authoritative body language Bowser was using and the nervous posture the Shy Guys had.

He understood why Bowser was so eager to leave. A heavy thunderstorm was expected to hit the Dark Lands for the first time in weeks and both he and Bowser knew that flying an enormous wooden airship in the middle of a thunderstorm would certainly lead to disaster. The Koopa King wanted to leave before the thunderstorm could have a chance to hit them and Luigi didn’t blame him one bit.

But just because Luigi understood Bowser’s reasoning didn’t mean he agreed with his husband’s decision.

Now that the Shy Guys were working at a satisfying pace, Bowser faced Luigi and immediately noticed how anxious the green king was. Hating to see his spouse so distressed, Bowser walked back to his husband’s side and wrapped his arm around Luigi’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry about that, love,” Bowser apologized before kissing the top of Luigi’s head. He turned to watch the now-frantic Shy Guys making the final preparations as he gently squeezed Luigi closer to him. “I know you hate it when I yell at the minions, but every once in a while, they need to get it through their heads, you know? It’s like I need to babysit these idiots in order for them to actually do their job.” 

Luigi was quiet. He knew he should’ve responded, or, at the very least, acknowledged Bowser’s statement, but his mind was too preoccupied with something far more pressing.

He wasn’t the only one who noticed that Bowser’s statement was met with silence.

“Are you alright?” Bowser asked worriedly. While keeping his right arm around Luigi’s shoulder, he used his left hand to gently turn Luigi’s head in order for him to see how concern the Koopa King was for him. “You’ve hardly said a word all morning and I can tell that you’re thinking about something serious. What’s going on?”

Luigi needed to tell him. He already voiced his concerns to Bowser ever since they received the letter two days ago, but they would always get pulled away by their royal duties before they could finish the conversation.

Maybe Bowser would listen to him this time. It was just the two of them in front of the airship and Luigi didn’t think the Shy Guys would be brave enough to interrupt their conversation. Would Bowser take his words to heart?

Luigi desperately hoped so.

“I-I don’t think this is a good idea,” Luigi confessed while staring at Bowser.

Neither of them spoke for a minute, although it felt much longer to Luigi, as Bowser processed his words. Once Bowser fully realized what Luigi was referring to, he took his arm off of Luigi’s shoulders and carefully held his husband’s hands.

“There’s no reason for you to worry about this,” Bowser responded. He started rubbing Luigi’s hands with his thumbs in a circular motion in hopes of easing his husband’s worries. While he noticed a visible change in Luigi’s nervousness, Bowser could tell that his actions weren’t enough to completely calm the green king down just yet. “It’s just a meeting with your brother and Peach. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“The problem isn’t about the meeting,” Luigi explained as he looked down at his hands. “The problem is that Mario and Peach want to meet with you alone.”

Luigi looked back up at Bowser as the Koopa King tried to think of a response to his statement. When he saw that Bowser was struggling to find the right words to comfort his anxiousness, Luigi continued.

“I know Mario wasn’t…thrilled about our wedding,” Luigi hesitated. “But even still, Mario and I have been very close our entire lives. I’m just confused on why Mario wants you to visit the Mushroom Kingdom by yourself. I know he already gave you the protective big brother lecture at our wedding and when we all signed the peace treaty last week, so what other topic does Mario want to discuss with you that I can’t or shouldn’t know about?”

If Bowser was completely honest, he had no idea what the meeting with Mario and Peach was going to be about and that terrified him. Ever since he and Luigi announced their relationship to the royal couple, Bowser never felt like he actually got Mario’s approval. He couldn’t blame the red king, especially after all the hell he used to put the Mushroom Kingdom through, but he and Luigi have been together for almost 18 months now. Surely, Mario would at least realize that Bowser loved Luigi just as much as he did, right?

Then again, judging by the tone in the letter, Bowser highly doubted he was going to get Mario’s approval anytime soon.

“Your Majesties,” a Shy Guy announced as he interrupted the couple’s conversation. With the dark blue jacket and the captain’s cap the Shy Guy was wearing, both Luigi and Bowser could tell that this particular Shy Guy was the Captain of the airship crew, or, at the very least, a Shy Guy with a very high rank. “The airship is ready for departure. If we want to reach the Mushroom Kingdom before the thunderstorms hits, I suggest we leave immediately.”

“Excellent work, Captain!” Bowser exclaimed, not realizing Luigi’s question was left unanswered. He gave the Captain one unexpected, hard pat on the back before wrapping his arm back around Luigi’s shoulders. “Prepare for takeoff while I have another minute with my husband.”

Luigi watched the Captain as he bowed to Bowser and left them alone to notify the airship crew. Once the Captain was out of their sight, Bowser took his arm off Luigi’s shoulders and gently grabbed his husband’s shoulders to make sure he had Luigi’s full attention.

“I should be back by tomorrow night at the absolute latest,” Bowser informed. “The only thing you’ll need to focus on is the meeting with the royal court later today, but both Kamek and Kammy will be there to help you with that as well as anything else you’ll need while I’m gone. You’ll be okay handling the royal stuff without me, right?”

Luigi had never felt more like two completely different people than at that moment. On the inside, he was begging, pleading, and doing anything else he could desperately think of to stop Bowser from entering that airship.

But on the outside, all he could do was silently nod.

“Good,” Bowser responded with a smile. He gave Luigi one last kiss on the head before he let go of his shoulders. “I love you and I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

As Bowser started to make his way to the airship entrance, Luigi’s world instantly started to crumble right in front of him. He had no idea why his brother wanted to meet with Bowser in private or why his husband didn’t find Mario’s letter suspicious, but there was one thing Luigi knew with absolute certainty.

He can’t let him go.

He cannot let Bowser get onto the airship.

“STOP!”

Luigi was surprised and relieved when Bowser stopped in his tracks and turned around to face him. Luigi noticed Bowser’s bewildered facial expression, but he couldn’t dwell on his husband’s emotions. He had to be brave.

“You can’t get on that airship,” Luigi demanded. He was fully aware that he sounded like a parent ordering a child to not do something, but it didn’t matter to him. The only thing he could think about was preventing Bowser from entering that airship.

“Luigi, I’ll only be gone until tomorrow night,” Bowser reassured. He started to take a few steps towards Luigi in hopes of calming him down. “It’s going to be-,”

“No!”

Bowser immediately stopped walking after Luigi interrupted him. By now, the entire airship crew was watching the conversation unfold, but neither Luigi nor Bowser noticed. They were too busy focusing on their significant other to realize that they now had an audience.

“Every time we try to talk about this, something always interrupts us to where we can’t finish the conversation,” Luigi explained. “But I’m not going to let that happen this time. This trip is a bad idea Bowser and I won’t let you get on that airship.”

Wait, what?

He had to be joking. 

There was no way Luigi would try to prevent him, the King of the Koopas, from entering the airship, right? 

But as Bowser looked at his husband, he realized that Luigi’s nervousness and anxiousness from before was now completely replace with something that almost resembled confidence and determination.

Oh yes, Luigi was actually being sincere.

Now Bowser just couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“You won’t let me?” Bowser scoffed. He took a few intimidating steps towards Luigi with the goal of scaring him a little bit. Even though Bowser noticed a small change in his husband’s demeanor, it didn’t stop Luigi from keeping his ground. “How do you intend to stop me? It may have been a while, but we both know I can defeat you in a fight.”

“The Shy Guys will listen to me,” Luigi responded. He inwardly knew that Bowser could very well easily crush him like a bug, if he really wanted to, but Luigi couldn’t let that thought break his confidence. “And if they decide to follow your orders over mine, I learned my way around an airship and I know the parts that can prevent it from flying for days or even weeks.”

“Are you seriously trying to blackmail me right now?!” Bowser screamed while running a hand through his hair. If he wasn’t so frustrated with how stubborn Luigi was being, Bowser would’ve honestly been proud to see his husband standing up to him for something he truly believed in. “It’s just a stupid meeting with Mario and Peach! Why are you so hung up over this?!”

“It’s not just about the meeting!” Luigi argued. He felt the tears welling up in his eyes, but he refused to let himself cry in front of Bowser. “Ever since you got the letter, I’ve been having this really bad feeling that something terrible is going to happen if you enter that airship and visit the Mushroom Kingdom! And besides, if it’s just a ridiculous meeting, then why are you so obsessed about it?!”

When Luigi and Bowser first started dating, the Koopa King made a promise to himself to not take his anger out on Luigi whenever he was frustrated about something, even if Luigi was the cause of his anger. Bowser knew how sensitive and emotional his husband was and the Koopa King especially didn’t want to do or say anything that would greatly upset the man he vowed to love and protect.

But this time, Bowser let his anger get the best of him.

“Do you really want to know why I want to go to this meeting so badly?!” Bowser snapped. “Fine! I want to go to this meeting because I want to get Mario’s blessing! You may have a fantastic relationship with your brother and Peach, but incase your idiotic brain didn’t realize it, Mario despises my guts and ignoring him certainly isn’t going to get him to like me! I’m going to this damn meeting whether you like it or not, so you can either suck it up and accept it or cry about it like the fucking disgrace you are to everyone!” 

No one uttered a sound after Bowser’s emotional outburst. The Shy Guys have worked with Bowser for many years, but to see Bowser so livid and enraged terrified them to the point where they were too paralyzed with fear to even move. 

It was beyond horrifying to witness the Koopa King like this.

But the Shy Guys and Bowser were especially surprised when it was Luigi who finally broke the silence.

“S-So that’s how y-you really feel about m-me?”

When he heard Luigi’s quiet and brittle voice, Bowser instantly realized the harsh words he said to his husband. Bowser was very hesitant to look at Luigi, but he knew he needed to see just how much of an impact his words had on the green king if he wanted to apologize for his outburst.

But what he saw shattered his heart.

Luigi was visibly shaking so much that Bowser couldn’t help but wonder how he was even able to stand. The tears the green king desperately tried to hold in during the argument were now pouring down his face and he was hugging himself so tightly that Bowser had a feeling that bruises were going to form on Luigi’s arms within the next few days.

It was a gut-wrenching sight to see.

But what devastated Bowser the most was that he was the reason for it.

“Luigi,” Bowser whispered. He had no idea what to do, but he knew he needed to do something. Bowser carefully took one step towards Luigi as a way to show that he wanted to apologize for his outburst and help comfort his distressed husband.

Luigi took one step back in response.

“I-If that’s how y-you really feel about me, then I-I won’t stop you from l-leaving,” Luigi stammered while taking a few more steps away from Bowser. “E-Enjoy you t-time away from a d-disgrace like m-me.”

Luigi hastily ran back to the castle before Bowser could utter a response. Every part of the Koopa King’s mind wanted to follow, call out, or literally anything else he could think of to let Luigi know that he was sorry and that he didn’t mean to take his anger out on him.

But his body just simply wouldn’t let him. All Bowser could do was watch Luigi as the green king ran farther and farther away from him.

“K-King B-Bowser?”

Bowser turned to see the Captain watching him with fear and terror. He completely forgot that the Shy Guys were waiting for his orders and considering that he now no doubt knew that the entire airship crew saw his and Luigi’s fight unfold was especially a nail to the coffin.

“W-We really need to g-go if want to m-make it b-before,-”

“I hear you loud and clear,” Bowser interrupted with a sigh. He gave the castle one last look before walking towards the entrance of the airship. “I’m ready to go.”

***********

Chapter 3

When Luigi and Bowser revealed their relationship to Mario and Peach, the Mushroom couple had mixed feelings. At first, Peach was very hesitant about the relationship, but her opinion soon changed when she saw how happy Luigi and Bowser were together. From putting the other one’s needs above his own to supporting each other through all the hardships, Peach noticed all the little interactions between the odd couple during their stays at the Mushroom Kingdom and it warmed her heart to see that Bowser was a truly changed Koopa.

For Mario…, it was really difficult for him to give Luigi and Bowser his blessing. Sure, he announced his approval of the relationship to the public eye, but Peach, Bowser, and even Luigi knew that it would take time for the Mushroom King to fully accept Luigi and Bowser’s relationship.

Bowser couldn’t blame Mario for his reluctance. Up until two years ago, he considered both Mario and Luigi as his arch-enemies, so it made sense to the Koopa King that he would need to gain Mario’s trust in order for the red king to truly accept his relationship with his brother.

But the last thing Bowser expected was for Mario to antagonize him.

Constantly.

You see, every time Luigi and Bowser visited the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario sort of made it a goal of his to anger Bowser to the point where the Koopa King would cause a massive scene and prove to everyone, especially Luigi and Peach, that he was the same Koopa he used to be all those years ago. Whether it was criticism or complaints, Mario would try every tactic he could think of to push Bowser over the limit.

I don’t understand how your minions are still loyal to you after all you put them through.

This is not how you should rule a kingdom.

You don’t deserve to be with Luigi.

Bowser had considered telling Luigi and Peach about Mario’s behavior on multiple occasions, but he decided long ago that it wasn’t worth mentioning to either of them. Mario was Peach’s entire world and Bowser was smart enough to know that Peach would easily take her husband’s words over his.

As for Luigi…

The green king had been through so much ever since they announced their relationship to the public. From the Mushroom Kingdom treating him like a traitor to the Dark Lands still seeing him as an enemy, it pained Bowser to see all the battles Luigi faced just to live the life he wanted to have.

If Luigi ever found out about Mario’s behavior towards the Koopa King, it would break the green Italian’s heart.

Although with everything that happened today, Luigi finding out about his brother’s behavior was honestly the least of Bowser’s worries.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into?” Bowser sighed as he rubbed his face with his hands.

Three hours have gone by since the airship left the Dark Lands, but to Bowser, it was three hours since his huge fight with Luigi. As soon as he entered the airship, Bowser ordered anyone within earshot to not disturb him until they landed. He didn’t wait to hear any of the Shy Guys’ responses (but he knew that none of them would risk angering him) and took the most direct route to his quarters. The Koopa King didn’t even acknowledge the Shy Guys who stopped and bowed to him, although the minions were sort of used to it at this point.

But as soon as Bowser was alone in his room, he broke down.

Why? Why did he lose control like that? All Luigi wanted was to voice his concerns about Bowser’s trip to the Mushroom Kingdom. It was a simple request that Bowser could’ve easily agreed to, but instead, he essentially destroyed his entire marriage all because he was so determined in getting Mario’s stupid approval.

Was this ridiculous meeting with Mario and Peach really that important to him?

Bowser heard a knock on the door before he had time to consider the question.

“Enter,” Bowser grumbled as he ran a hand through his hair.

The door opened to reveal the Captain, but with the way his hands were fidgeting and his whole body was rocking back and forth, it was obvious that the Shy Guy was terrified to interrupt whatever Bowser was doing.

“I-I’m here to inform y-you that the a-airship just l-landed,” the Captain nervously announced.

Bowser was hesitant. As much as he didn’t want to, he would need to figure out his situation with Luigi later. Right now, he had to prioritize this meeting with Mario and Peach.

Sighing one last time, Bowser looked at the Captain and spoke with an aggressive tone.

“Let’s just get this over with.”

King Mario felt a headache coming on as he listened to the argument between Peach, Toadsworth, and the royal court. If it was purely up to him, he would’ve ended the meeting hours ago, but ever since he and Peach signed the peace treaty, his days were filled to the brim with all kinds of different meetings with the royal court explaining their reasons on why signing the peace treaty was a terrible idea.

It’s not like he could blame them for being such nervous wrecks. Luigi and Bowser have been together for almost 18 months and Mario still hates Bowser with every fiber of his being.

Not that he would admit that to anyone.

“Your Majesties, we cannot trust King Bowser on keeping his promises,” a male Toad insisted, interrupting Mario’s thoughts. With the white spots on his black cap, Mario recognized the Toad as one of the higher-ranking members of the royal court. “He has caused nothing but trouble to our kingdom for years and he expects us to pretend that his actions never happened?”

“By boogity, that’s exactly what he wants us to do!” Toadbert explained before adjusting his glasses. Mario watched Toadbert as the longtime serving Toad looked through the dozens of papers scattered in front of him. “King Bowser hopes to gain our trust with the peace treaty, and once he sees us letting our guard down, he’ll use that opportunity to attack us, by boogity!”

“What do you suppose we do then?” a female Toad with red spots on her white cap explained. Based on the way the Toad was rubbing her forehead, as if she was stressed, Mario could tell that she was likely a newer member of the royal court. “His armies have always been, and still are, much more powerful than ours. If we attack him now, he’ll surely destroy us, but we can’t just sit back and wait for him to make the first move.

“King Bowser is not going to betray us!” Toadsworth exclaimed while slamming his cane on the floor. He took a few deep breaths before looking at each member of the royal court. “Have you all forgotten that he is married to King Luigi, one of the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom? He would never allow King Koopa to attack our kingdom.”

A male Toad with white spots on his orange cap slammed his fist on the table before anyone could have a chance to respond.

“King Luigi betrayed us the moment he started a romantic relationship with that vile Koopa,” the Toad stated. “For all we know, he could be plotting with King Bowser to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. We cannot trust either of them.”

Mario was grateful that Peach chimed into the conversation at that moment because he would’ve gone off on the idiotic Toad for even considering Luigi as a traitor had she not intervened.

“That is enough!” Peach shouted while shooting up from her chair. The entire royal court turned stiff upon hearing the queen’s sudden outburst, but Peach paid no attention. “We have been in an official alliance with the Dark Lands for less than a week and no one is even willing to give Bowser a chance! Yes, he has done nothing but terrible things to the Mushroom Kingdom in the past, but he wants to be a better Koopa now. Need I remind you all that the peace treaty was entirely his idea, not ours, and not to mention that he went through a lot just to have a public relationship with Luigi? That right there proves to me that Bowser is not the Koopa he used to be all those years ago and it greatly disappoints me that none of you can see that.”

It was a huge relief to Mario when a maid announced her presence with a knock on the conference room door right then and there. He didn’t have to look at the royal court to know that the meeting would’ve instantly turned into a verbal bloodbath if the maid arrived even one second later.

“Your Majesties, you have a visitor in the throne room,” the maid informed.

“Who’s the visitor?” Mario asked, speaking for the first time since the meeting started. He and Peach weren’t expecting any visitors today, but it was also entirely possible that the visitor could’ve just slipped from their minds, especially given that this past week had been exhausting for the royal couple.

The entire throne room noticed the stutter in the maid’s voice.

“I-I think it’s best if y-you see for yourself, Your M-Majesty,” the maid answered with an anxious tone.

Mario and Peach exchanged a worried glance before following the maid to the throne room. Usually, the maids or guards would announce the visitor to the royal couple, but considering the fact that the maid refused to provide the visitor’s name, in addition to that she was reluctant to respond to Mario’s question was rather alarming.

Who was the mysterious visitor?

Upon entering the throne room, Mario and Peach were relieved to find that the mysterious visitor was just Bowser. Mario now understood why the maid was nervous in answering his question and couldn’t blame her for the way she reacted.

But Mario’s relief melted away when he noticed two important pieces of information.

Luigi wasn’t with Bowser in the throne room.

And Bowser didn’t have his usual confidence.

“King Bowser.”

“Your Majesties.”

The throne room was painfully quiet for what felt like an eternity. None of the three royals knew how to break the silence.

It was only when Mario finally spoke that the atmosphere of the room took a 180˚ turn.

“What are you doing here?”

***********

Chapter 4

Wait, what?

This wasn’t at all where Bowser thought the conversation would be going.

Okay, sure, the actual purpose of this meeting had honestly been a mystery to the Koopa King ever since he received the letter, but he did have a few ideas on what the royal couple wanted to discuss with him. Between his relationship with Luigi and the peace treaty they all recently signed together, it would make sense for Mario and Peach to check in on him and make sure that he wasn’t going to back down on the promises he made to them.

But for Mario to ask why he was in his throne room when this entire meeting was his and Peach’s idea?

That was the last thing Bowser expected to hear.

“You wrote a letter that said you two wanted to speak with me in private,” Bowser answered while keeping his temper in check. He wasn’t sure how they could forget about a meeting, much less a meeting with him of all people, but with everything the four royals had to deal with since the signing of the peace treaty, Bowser figured that this meeting was likely not a high priority for the royal couple.

That hopefulness was thrown out the window when Mario spoke again.

“I never wrote you a letter.”

Okay, now that just didn’t make any sense to Bowser. It was one thing for Mario and Peach to forget about a meeting, but for them to have the audacity to act like they didn’t plan this meeting in the first place?

That started to anger the Koopa King.

“What do you mean ‘you never wrote me a letter?’” Bowser bellowed in a mocking tone. “Two days ago, I received a letter from you saying that you and Peach wanted to have a private meeting with me. You didn’t provide any purpose or reason for the meeting, but considering the fact that you don’t think too highly of me, I figured that you two wanted to do another ridiculous check up on me.”

Bowser could tell he struck a nerve when he saw Mario clenching his fists and momentarily conjuring up his Firebrand. While he was able to keep his composure in front of the Mushroom couple, Bowser couldn’t help but inwardly smirk at his small unintentional victory.

“You better watch what you say, King Koopa,” Mario threateningly demanded while ruining Bowser’s little victory. “I don’t know how it works in your kingdom, but here in the Mushroom Kingdom, you are expected to treat me and Peach with respect.”

It was a miracle that Peach interrupted the small argument right then and there because if she hadn’t, Bowser would’ve instantly dropped the formalities and used his fire breath to burn Mario to a crisp.

That would’ve been an interesting way to tell Luigi that he broke the peace treaty and started a war against his brother’s kingdom.

“Mario, sweetie, calm down,” Peach pleaded as she placed her hands on her husband’s shoulders. Bowser was amazed by how calm she was despite the amount of tension that was now hanging in the throne room. “Can you please show us the letter we allegedly wrote so that we can clear this matter up?”

It took a few moments for Bowser to realize that the question was directed at him and not Mario, but once he noticed that Peach was looking directly at him, the Koopa King immediately grabbed the letter out of his shell. He held the paper out to the royal couple, but Mario was quick to yank it out of Bowser’s hand, without even muttering a thank you, and start reading.

It was quiet as Peach and Bowser waited for Mario to finish reading the letter. Every part of Bowser wanted to tap his foot or sigh in annoyance, but he forced himself to take a few deep breaths because he knew that his impatience would only fuel Mario’s happiness. When five minutes have passed, Mario handed the letter to Peach before giving Bowser his utmost attention.

“We didn’t send this letter.”

Now that.

That statement made Bowser furious.

“Bullshit!” Bowser fumed. “I have seen the letters you two wrote to me and Luigi after we became an official couple and I know for a fact that those seals are real and official!”

“Yes, that is true, but this is neither mine nor Peach’s handwriting,” Mario explained. “Plus, we have a few Toads who are authorized to write letters on our behalf, but Peach and I always review the letter before we give the approval to mail it out to the recipient. This is the first time we’re seeing this letter and I can guarantee you that none of the Toads have this kind of handwriting.”

“Okay, so if none of you guys wrote the letter, then who the hell did?” Bowser inquired with a frustrated tone.

Before the royal couple could have a chance to think about Bowser’s question, a Hammer Brother suddenly barged into the throne room. Mario and Peach quickly went into a battle stance, but Bowser immediately shot his arm out to prevent any conflict from breaking out as he recognized the now-exhausted minion as one of Luigi’s personal guards.

“Jerry, what the hell are you doing here?” Bowser asked. “And why are you so out of breath?”

It took far too long, in Bowser’s opinion, for Jerry to catch his breath. Come to think of it, he wasn’t even sure why the minion was so out of breath to begin with. Jerry’s devoted loyalty to the royal family and high status in the Koopa Troop gave him the privilege to use the Koopa Clown Car Kamek and Kammy specifically made for the highest ranking minions.

But what Jerry said next made the three royals’ blood run cold.

“King Boo has taken over the Dark Lands!”

2 hours ago…

Luigi sighed as he stared at his reflection in the master bathroom mirror. With his red face and puffy eyes, it was easy to tell that he had been crying for quite some time and Luigi knew the minions well enough to know that it wouldn’t take long for the entire castle to find out that the green king sprinted to his and Bowser’s room with tears in his eyes.

And considering that his fight with Bowser was loud enough for even the Comet Observatory to hear them, Luigi knew it would only be a matter of time until everyone put two and two together.

It was such a relief that the master bathroom was directly connected to the master bedroom.

Luigi decided to give up on trying to look presentable, so he exited the master bathroom and collapsed on his and Bowser’s king-sized bed. He grabbed one of the pillows on his husband’s side of the bed before giving it a tight squeeze as a way to comfort himself from everything that happened in the past hour.

“How could this have happened?” Luigi whispered to himself while staring at the ceiling.

Why? Why did Bowser have to yell at him like that? All Luigi wanted was an actual conversation with Bowser about his private meeting with Mario and Peach. Granted, it probably wasn’t the best idea to express his concerns to the Koopa King right before he was scheduled to leave the Dark Lands, but Luigi didn’t think he was asking for too much. Was it really that difficult for Bowser to stop and listen to him for ten minutes?

Judging by the way their conversation ended, it apparently was.

Luigi didn’t want to think about Bowser or the argument anymore, so he forced himself to sit up on the bed and look around the room for something to distract himself with. It wasn’t until he saw the balcony entrance that he remembered the entire reason for Bowser’s early departure.

The thunderstorm was going to start soon.

And despite all the alarms that were running through his head, Luigi suddenly wanted nothing more than to take a walk in the rain.

With his mind now made up, Luigi got off the bed and walked to the bedroom door with a sense of urgency.

But he only took a few steps before the door was instantly sealed off with a purple gate.

A purple gate? He hadn’t seen that since-

Luigi could’ve sworn he felt his heart stop upon remembering the last time a purple gate blocked the exit.

“N-no,” Luigi trembled as he frantically looked around the room for any possible exit. He quickly realized that the rest of the exits were sealed off with the same purple gates, so he started to hysterically knock on the wall next to the bedroom door in hopes of making enough noise for any minion to hear him. “No, no, no!” 

He talked to E. Gadd two weeks ago. He reassured Luigi that his arch-nemesis was still trapped in that canister along with all the other ghosts he captured after that horrendous hotel adventure.

It was impossible for him to escape again.

But horror struck Luigi as soon as he heard the all-too-familiar and low chuckle he heard so many times in his nightmares.

And even though his mind was begging him not to, Luigi forced himself to turn around to face the one Boo he never wanted to see again.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my dear friend, Luigi,” King Boo taunted. “How long has it been since our last little reunion? One year? Two years? It’s hard to tell since I’ve been trapped in that canister for quite some time.”

Luigi couldn’t respond. He wasn’t sure if King Boo’s questions were rhetorical or actually genuine, but Luigi honestly didn’t care one way or the another because his mind was pleading him to scream, run, or do anything else he could think of to get away from the Boo who caused so much trouble for him and his brother.

But he was far too petrified to do anything.

And it didn’t take King Boo that long to notice this.

“Not in the mood to talk, huh?” King Boo asked upon noticing Luigi’s terrified expression. “That’s fine. I figured we would have a short reunion before I start my ultimate plan.”

Ultimate plan? What did that mean?

Luigi’s questions were immediately answered when he saw King Boo summoning a painting frame. The green king didn’t even realized he was screaming in terror as thunder rumbled in the distance at that exact moment.

But by the time the thunder stopped, he was already gone.

[animeomegas]

Omega!Narutoverse Future Family Headcanons

This is a compilation of my headcanons about future families for my favourite Naruto boys (excluding Kakashi who is childfree in my headcanons.) 

This is very long, so I’ve put most of it under a cut <3 Enjoy~

Naruto:  : 4 children – Son (omega), adopted daughter (alpha), twin sons (betas). 

Has his son about four years before he becomes Hokage.

His son is a huge daddy’s boy type and clings to Naruto every chance that he gets. 

Naruto never lets his role as Hokage take him away from his son any more than absolutely necessary. Does he take his son into his office? Absolutely. He puts down a little play pen on the floor while he works :’). 

His son loves cuddles so much and he is so gentle. 

He doesn’t like pranks though which makes Naruto a little sad but he would never do anything to make his little one sad. 

Male omegas can be identified from birth, so you both knew he was, but even if you didn’t it’s very obvious. He makes his own little nest next to Naruto’s but ends up crawling into Naruto’s for cuddles every time. 

As he gets older, he attends the academy, but he hates it so much. He reminds me a little of a young Itachi, a pacifist to the core. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone! He begs you and Naruto to let him attend the civilian school, and of course you let him. 

Naruto gets a lot of shit for allowing this from some parties *cough* the council *cough*. The Hokage’s children should be powerful ninjas according to them, but Naruto will always prioritise his children’s happiness. Naruto shields his son from the hate as much as possible, but some slips through.

 The transition is easier if you are a civilian, your son feels a little more secure if that’s the case, and he would consider following your footsteps depending on what you do. If you run a little business, he would definitely want to work with you. If you’re also a ninja he can feel left out and unsure, but he grows into such a quietly confident person, who starts a little business. 

Not being a ninja also means he can be there for his younger siblings. He is a dedicated older brother who is always there for them. He has a room for each other them at his house and loads of medical supplies for when they come back from missions injured and won’t go to the hospital. He always patches them up. 

All his younger siblings respect him so much. He is a very reliable person, and his siblings get so offended if they hear any anti-civilian talk from the ninjas they work with.

When Naruto is about a year into working as Hokage, he goes to visit the orphanage, a place that he reformed hugely as soon as he could. It’s so much nicer than it was and he’s so happy. 

But there is one girl that he sees there, and she’s being bullied by some of the other kids. At only three years old, Naruto’s heart breaks for her. Turns out that she’s being teased for being a female alpha. Times have changed a lot, but there are still some horrible stereotypes about male omegas and female alphas, even if those aren’t the norm anymore. 

He intervenes and wipes away her tears, uncomfortably reminded of his own stay at the orphanage when he was her age. He wraps up the visit and leaves, but he just can’t get here out of his head. 

He’s been wanting another child, but he’s still in a vulnerable position so early into being Hokage that he can’t afford the time off for maternity leave. 

Hesitantly, he brings up the idea of adoption to you, when you respond positively, he’s like great 😊, I have one picked already. 

It’s only about a fortnight later that you’re picking her up and bringing her home. At first, she is very shy and reserved but when she gets comfortable, you learn that she is the opposite. 

She’s very forthright and opinionated, she always says what she feels and stands up for injustice. 

Her favourite thing is to come home and tell you and Naruto about her day. She never leaves out any detail and has been known to demand to go and see Naruto while he’s working so that she can tell him about something that happened at school. 

Naruto ends up unwillingly up to date with all the academy drama. 

She’s quite serious and likes to have grown up conversations and sit at the grown ups table. 

She ends up attending the academy and she just thrives on all the history and politics lessons! She great at negotiating and learning about people. 

She makes strong friends and has a tight knit friendship group that she keeps all the way to adulthood. 

She ends up making Chunin pretty quickly but waits a long while before taking the Jounin exam. She ends up specialising in international relations. 

She works as an ambassador for Konoha and gets to travel around all the countries. She adores her job, but she does sometimes miss her family. Naruto gets sad when he sends her for long missions, knowing that he can’t come and see her for that time, but there’s no one he would trust more to act on behalf on Konoha and she always brings back souvenirs for everyone.

The twins are quite a bit younger than the other two. Six years younger than their older sister, and eight years younger than their older brother. 

In a better position now, Naruto wants to try for one final child. 

Of course, you get twins. 

It takes a bit of re-planning, but Naruto is overjoyed at the fact that he’s pregnant with twins! He gives birth to identical twin boys. You can’t tell from birth whether a baby is a male alpha or male beta, and they end up showing signs of being betas when they’re about 12.

These boys are little troublemakers, and Naruto rejoices and finally having some of his children who likes pranks like he does!

They excel at strategy and trap making when they join the academy but the oldest struggles a little with the more academic side. 

Naruto is so patient in helping him because he knows what it’s like to be a physical learner in an academic environment. 

They are the babies of the family and they get away with everything haha. 

When they end up graduating, they are put on the same genin team and they continue to work together for their entire careers. They are similar to Izumo and Kotestu. They know each other so well and both have complimentary skills, so they make a formidable duo on the battlefield. 

Naruto hates sending them on dangerous missions though. If they ever didn’t come back, I don’t think Naruto would recover, knowing that he sent them to the place that they died. 

These two also definitely take on a genin team when they first get promoted to jounin, and they’re great teachers! I can’t decide if they would have one together, or if they would have one each and compete in ridiculous challenges like whose genin team can get the most d ranks done in one day. 

They remind people of Kakashi and Gai in a lot of ways. 

Sasuke:  1 child – daughter (beta).

Sasuke has a daughter in his late twenties, after he’s had some time to deal with his trauma. 

He’s undeniably in a better place but he struggles badly with PPD, making the first year very difficult on your family. 

Eventually things get better though, and you work together to raise your daughter. 

She is wicked smart, very much into scholarly things, but she also loves weapons, particularly any sort of blade. Sasuke teaches her how to use a sword and they bond a lot over it. 

She’s pretty quiet and withdrawn, preferring to read a book or practice with her weapons than socialise. Sasuke tries to get her to make more friends but she calls him out on being a hypocrite and he’s so offended that he drops the issue. 

She does well in the academy but she lowkey hates going. She likes going more if either you or Sasuke are there to pick her up and walk home with her, she doesn’t like walking home alone because the Uchiha compound is so damn far away and isolated. 

When she awakens her sharigan when she’s a chunin, Sasuke has a pretty bad reaction. The sharigan isn’t associated with anything good in his mind, so he freaks out when his daughter activates it. You need to give him some time and support and he’ll come around. He’s the only one who can train her after all. 

Sasuke is so proud of his daughter when she makes Jounin, which of course, she does. I could see her taking on a powerful advisory role for the Hokage as a jounin.

She is someone who believes that there is a lot to learn from history, and is a great advisory asset in helping to avoid past mistakes.

Itachi: Canon = none / Non-massacre Au = 2 children. Son (omega), daughter (beta). 

Has a son shortly after you get married. 

Itachi is a family man through and through and can’t wait to retire from being a ninja (which he hates) to being able to raise his children full time. 

The day Itachi gets moved from the active list to the reserves list after he becomes pregnant is one of the happiest days of his life. 

His son is very responsible and serious. 

He likes to follow Itachi around and help him clean and cook and run errands. He always tidies up his toys and keeps his room clean, and he almost always behaves respectfully and sensibly. 

Itachi never forces him to do too much though, he wants his son to have a fun childhood like he never had. 

Itachi is over the moon when his son shows an interest in calligraphy, happy that his son is picking up a healthy hobby. 

He buys him all the supplies and gets him a teacher if he wants one. It warms Itachi’s heart to see his son interested in something other than chores for once. 

Despite the pressure from the clan for his children to attend the academy, Itachi puts his foot down for one of the first times in his life, saying that his children will only become ninja if they want to. 

His son does in fact want to attend the academy. 

Itachi kind of wishes he didn’t. 

Itachi’s son shows a huge proficiency for fuinjutsu, his calligraphy skills coming in handy. Seeing as the skill is so rare, he becomes one of the leading experts in Konoha. 

Itachi is very supportive and lowkey glad that his son is so powerful and can defend himself. Itachi is also very glad that his son can continue with his fuuinjustsu passion long after he retires from being an active ninja. 

Itachi hopes that safety net (producing seals for other ninjas and continuing to earn money from his hobby) will mean his son can retire whenever he wants and not have to worry. Rather than becoming stuck in the shinobi lifestyle.

Itachi’s daughter is born five years after his son, an age gap that was larger than he would have liked, but he had a pretty traumatic birth the first time around and he needed to give his body some time to recover.

Itachi puts a lot of emphasis on a loving relationship between his children, and his daughter adores her older brother so much! She follows him around and tries to copy him all the time, and he help her with homework and plays with her. 

It makes Itachi very, very happy to see them bond. 

Itachi’s daughter is a beta and has everyone wrapped around her finger from the moment she is born. 

She’s charming, well spoken, and polite but with a very sarcastic personality. 

She has a very similar sense of humour to Itachi actually. A sort of under the breath commentary style. Goodness help anyone who finds themselves opposing Itachi and his daughter. 

Academy teachers get put in their place so fast when they join forces, the teachers don’t even know what happened. 

As Itachi’s daughter joins the academy, she follows after her uncle and develops fangirls and fanboys… She’s very popular. Very popular. 

And she loves it. 

Itachi is not as fond. 

He is not above staring coldly at children for badgering his beloved daughter. 

When she grows up, she works as a ninja, favouring a more jack of all trades kind of style. She likes to learn a little bit of everything. 

She’s the same way with relationships too. She never gets married or mated, preferring casual relationships and has no interest in children, she lives her life doing whatever she wants with whoever she wants. 

Itachi is very proud of her, and secretly very amused when his clan constantly tries and fails to control her.

Shikamaru: 1 child – daughter (alpha)

Shikamaru has a child at about 25, and he knew from the get-go that he was a one and done kind of guy.

He’s not a fan at all of the infant stage and does not want to do it more than once. 

The Nara clan have a very high proportion of alphas, so Shikamaru kinda expected his child to be one. And lo and behold she was. 

His daughter is the spitting image of him in every way. She is the most mellow alpha ever. So much so that most people assume she’s a beta, and she doesn’t really care enough to correct them about it. 

She is also very close to her grandparents, who dote on her and spoil her as much as they can. 

She excels at school in the same way her father did before her, retaining average marks despite being miles ahead of most of her peers.

Shikamaru teaches her how to play shogi and all about the beauty of napping. She takes to them both like a duck to water. She is so much like Shikamaru that everyone comments on it constantly. 

Although, while she loves a good cloud gazing session with her father, she actually takes to creative writing as her favourite hobby. She uses a pseudonym to avoid attention, but she ends up writing a series of books that becomes one of the most popular book series in the shinobi nations. 

Shikamaru is so insanely proud that his daughter can have both a successful ninja career and a successful hobby/side career. He brags to anyone who knows her pseudonym constantly, including you and his parents. 

He also keeps a set of first edition, signed copies of all her books. He reads them when she’s away on long missions sometimes, as a way of feeling closer to her.

Shikamaru and his daughter remain incredibly close all their lives.

Shino: 1 child – daughter (omega)

Shino had a child slightly later than most of his friends, at around 34. 

Shino’s daughter is a very curious child! She’s quiet and withdrawn around strangers but very talkative with her family and close friends.

Her favourite place to be is on Shino’s lap. And when around strangers, she always hides behind him, or buries her face into his shoulder. 

Shino loves to spend time with his daughter outside. He teaches her all about insects and plants, leading her around the woods after when she can still barely walk. 

Shibi does the same with her, and those two are very close. 

Shino is fiercely protective of his daughter, and never forces her into doing things she isn’t comfortable with. He defends her right to be quiet and clingy, and it takes some convincing to get him to understand that she needs to make friends outside of her immediate family. 

When she cries for anything, Shino gives in straight away, as long as she isn’t wanting to do anything extremely dangerous. Because of this, she develops quite the sweet tooth, having had as many cookies as she wanted as a child. 

Shino’s daughter ends up teaching at the academy as a career chunin, because despite being shy around adults, she is fantastic with children, very patient and understanding. 

Shino is very happy with her choices, because he was a little worried that she would end up scarred from a shinobi career, and he hates any situation in which he can’t protect her. 

She has her own children pretty young, and Shino is just a good a grandfather as he is a father.

Neji: 2 children – adopted daughter (beta), adopted son (alpha)

Neji is about 30 when he decides he wants to try to have a baby. 

And he’s 32 when he finally comes to terms with the fact that he isn’t going to be able to conceive naturally because of the suppressant abuse he endured as a child. 

Then, tragically, one of the branch members of his clan dies giving birth. Her mate can’t handle the stress and dies shortly afterwards, leaving their two-year-old daughter and newborn son behind. 

Dying after a mate dies is not super uncommon but is much rarer in the cases where children are involved, so this exact situation doesn’t happen very often. 

His heart breaks for them and he is close to begging you to adopt them with him. 

And soon enough you have two children, siblings, and both Hyuugas like Neji. 

You would never forget Neji’s face when he held his children for the first time. He would never let them be branded with the seal that has impacted his life so much. He would sooner run away from the clan forever.

Neji’s daughter takes a little while to adjust to her new parents, still distraught and grieving over the loss of her previous parents. 

Neji understands and gets her a therapist, but he finds it difficult to watch his child suffer. 

The first time she crawled into bed with you and Neji after a nightmare, Neji cried because she was finally starting to trust you both. 

Neji’s daughter is a beta and when she recovers from her childhood trauma, she shows her true colours as a limelight lover! 

She loves acting and dancing and singing whenever and wherever she can. She plans little plays for you and Neji, sitting you down to perform them for you every weekend. Neji is very proud! 

But he doesn’t really know what to do when his daughter says she doesn’t want to be a ninja. 

He loves and supports her, of course, but he’s thrown off, not really expecting it. 

Eventually, he agrees to send her to a civilian school, and she immediately flourishes there, making so many friends, even starting a little after school performance style club. 

Neji is so incredibly proud when she makes it as a famous actress. He lowkey brags constantly to his friends. 

“Oh, your child just got promoted to chunin? How lovely. My daughter made more money this year than any chunin will see in their life…” Sips tea. 

Neji’s daughter is so glamourous and outgoing and famous, but she never forgets her family, and loves to spoil you, Neji and her younger brother with her money.

Neji’s son doesn’t remember his biological parents and fits into your family seamlessly from day one. As far as he’s concerned, you and Neji are his only parents. 

Just like his older sister, this boy is very extroverted, but rather than singing all the time, he talks. He’s the chattiest person you could ever meet. 

Introverted Neji isn’t 100% sure about how to parent such extroverted children, he just doesn’t understand that they don’t enjoy too much solitary activity time. 

He’s feels a lot better if you’re an extrovert, that way, he can have some alone time to recharge while you handle the children. 

If you’re also an introvert… well, let’s hope Hinata was serious about her babysitting offer. 

Neji’s son talks to everyone as I already mentioned, and adults think he is the cutest thing ever. 

As he grows up, he always helps old people carry their shopping, he helps lost children find their parents, he is basically the alpha every parent dreams of their omega child bringing home. 

He’s very charming and Neji is a lot less surprised when his son says he doesn’t want to be a ninja. 

Eventually ends up working in the orphanage. 

The children adore him so, so much, and he loves his job dearly. 

Neji brags about him too. 

“Wow, your child got top marks in the academy? My child was hand-making birthday gifts for some children at the orphanage when he was 11. He decided to do it all by himself…” sips more tea. 

Whenever she’s in Konoha, his older sister turns up and gives all the kids at the orphanage gifts. She’s like a fun, rich aunt for all of them. 

Neither of Neji’s children have children of their own, as they find their respective careers to be the most fulfilling thing for them.

Neji is a very proud father and is happy when his children are happy.

Iruka: None, or 2 children (he’s happy with either) – adopted son (omega), adopted daughter (omega)

Iruka would be happy with no children because he’s so dedicated to his work and his students, but he also adores children and wouldn’t mind having some of his own. This is an au in which he decides to have children. 

He adopts his son at age 27, pretty soon after the war, choosing to adopt an older child who has less of a chance of being adopted. 

A six-year-old omega with a bright smile and loud laugh, Iruka is immediately taken with him. The war had left many orphans, and it was hard on Iruka to walk around the orphanage, knowing he couldn’t adopt them all. 

Iruka throws as much love as he can as his new son, taking time off work to bond with him properly, making sure to scent him loads and get him used to his new family environment. 

Iruka is thrilled when his son shows a knack for pranks.

He plays the disapproving parent in public, but honestly, he loves it, as long as things don’t go too far. 

Iruka’s son is a very kind-hearted person, if a little rambunctious, and he also has a huge nesting instinct. 

You knew he was an omega when you adopted him, but it was very clear, nonetheless. He has a permanent nest in his room that he likes to chill in with his friends when they come over (he’s very popular with the other kids in his class.). 

When he gets a little older, he goes to the academy, walking to and from every day with Iruka, and develops a passion for medicine when he’s a genin. 

He has great chakra control and eventually ends up working full time at the hospital as an adult. 

He chose a similar path to Iruka, in that he works as a ninja but is primarily based in the village, rarely leaving on missions. 

He makes sure to come home for dinner at least once a week after he’s moved out, no matter how busy the hospital gets. 

Iruka is so proud that his son is so talented and selfless, that sometimes it makes him tear up. 

Iruka knows that he doesn’t want just one child. 

When his parents died, he was all alone and it was horrible for him, so he knows he wants to have two children, so that when you and him die, they’re not alone. 

Iruka is very ready to adopt again about two years after he adopted his son. 

Iruka found the adoption process so rewarding that he wants to do it again over having a biological child. 

He adopts a little girl this time, five years old and also an omega. When Iruka was meeting the children, this girl brought him a paper flower that she had folded as a gift and his heart just melted right then and there. 

She fits in perfectly to your family, your son adored her immediately! 

With three omegas living in your house now, you were very much outnumbered. It was a common occurrence to find yourself missing all your warm clothes, them having been borrowed and buried inside one of the three nests (minimum) nests in your house. 

Iruka’s daughter is a gentle soul, but she is also strong. She appears like an easy target because she is soft spoken and reserved but she has a strong sense of justice and always stands up for herself and others. 

When she’s young, she likes the idea of going into medicine like her older brother as she admires and looks up to him, but she doesn’t like the realities of the job very much. 

She’s great at chakra control, but the idea of wrangling disobedient, injured shinobi doesn’t appeal to her. 

Until one day, on her way home from a friend’s house, she finds an injured stray dog. She brings it home and begs you and Iruka to keep him. So, your family of four turns into a family of five, and she becomes obsessed with veterinary medicine. 

As an adult, she ends up working at the veterinary clinic in the Inuzuka compound. She is committed to helping as many animals as she can, with a particular soft spot for dogs. 

She also joins the rest of her family for dinners at least once a week. Iruka is so overwhelmingly proud that he has two medic children, because he knows how talented you have to be to do that. 

He is also very happy that both his children stay mostly within the village. The war made Iruka a little paranoid, and he doesn’t worry so much when his children are safe within the village walls.

Gaara: 2 children – daughter (alpha), son (alpha)

Gaara has his children the youngest out of everyone his age that he knows. He had his daughter when he had just turned 21, and his son five years later when he was 26. 

His daughter is Gaara’s sweetheart. 

He adores her so much and spends as much time as he can with her. He is so gentle with her and loving all the time. 

Gaara’s daughter is very energetic and playful, but also quite sensitive. 

She loves positive attention, loves to play with everyone who will engage with her. 

She’s a very family-oriented person and loves spending time with Kankuro and Temari when you and Gaara are busy. 

However, because you, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro always treated her so gently, she was quite sensitive to people being angry or shouting at her. 

Once, her teacher at school shouted at her for talking in class and she ran straight to the Kazekage’s office crying. Gaara was furious. He hates when his children cry, so much. He let her stay with him for the rest of the day to calm her down, sending you a message to let you know he was looking after her. 

Gaara’s daughter visited him constantly, often bringing little lunchboxes of food for him, learning to new recipes constantly. 

Trying to surprise him, she develops a great skill in cooking. 

She decides, in the end, not to follow the shinobi route. She opens her own restaurant in Suna, charming customers with her amazing hostess skills and phenomenal cooking. 

She allows all her family to eat for free, but they all pay anyway, because they love to support her. Gaara, especially, always leaves a huge tip for her and her staff.

Gaara’s son is born five years after his daughter, another alpha, leaving Gaara very outnumbered, with both his siblings, his mate and his children all being alphas. 

Gaara’s son is very quiet and tactile. 

He loves cuddles and hugs but doesn’t speak very much. 

He enjoys spending time with Gaara in Gaara’s nest, despite not having nesting instincts of his own. 

Gaara’s son is very close to you and Gaara. He always tells you when something is bothering him, and although he doesn’t speak much, he chooses his words carefully and they always mean something.

He actually excels at shinobi school, both in academics and in sparring, and moves up the ranks quickly. He spends a lot of time training with Kankuro and gets into puppetry. 

Even when he becomes a jounin, he spends time with Gaara in his nest, still loving physical affection. 

Gaara enjoys hosting family gatherings for everyone, his daughter cooks loads of dishes for it, his son makes sure to take time off missions to attend, and sometimes Temari drags Shikamaru to Suna as well to join them all. 

Gaara smiles more often than not now, feeling so proud of the life he crafted for himself, and the family he worked hard to create.

(Phew! That was a lot! I hope you enjoyed, let me know what you thought and send me your own headcanons!!! <3)

[the-soliloquies-of-sadists]

#246

“Here boy. I know who and what you are. Do you know who I am?… Liar. You’re a faggot liar. Yes you do. You have been drooling over me for weeks now. Follow me. I got us a room at the motel next door….

“The regulars here at the diner don’t care that I prefer fucking faggots like you over broads. I just don’t broadcast it like you do. I’ve seen you talking to some of the boys I have fucked. You know I have a big dick and that I pile drive boy cunt.

“I’ve seen you in the parking lot. You watch the guys like me going into the bookstore across the lot. You want to follow them in, but the bookstore won’t let you. They know you’re underage. Until today. Now you are legal to fuck. Yeah, I know your 18th birthday is today. I know a lot of things about you. I know you cruise the bookstore, and the bathroom the bar shares with the diner. I know you are finishing up at high school.

“Here’s our room. I fuck the owner and he let’s me use a secluded empty room whenever I need. So, you can scream when I tear up your cunt. Having a big dick has many many many advantages. I need to let off some steam from a long day on the farm. Get naked, I’m gonna get the ropes out. My reputation is well known that I am a twisted fucker. Hell my conquests told you the such, and yet you came with me here.

“Always remember this, I am always in control of everything. Right now, that includes you. Naked. And then get on your knees and face me. See, it’s natural for you to follow orders. And where’s your phone?… Hand it to me…. Continue stripping. Well,… You’re kinda scrawny. You’ve never worked a hard day at anything, and it shows. Damn your pecker is tiny. That’s the way I like it. My cock is fucking huge, and you need to realize your place is on your knees in front of real men. You will never be a real man. You do know that, right?…

“You know what I want you to do. I want you to beg me to fuck you. I want you to beg me to brutalize your cunt. And while you are begging me and degrading and humiliating yourself, I will be jacking off to you. Having a big dick requires a little extra tugging to get hard. I know you wouldn’t know anything about that. You are too focused on your cunt. And call it a cunt a number of times, especially when you are fingering it. I want you to tell me that you need for me to rape you. Your goal is to degrade yourself. Tell me how much of a faggot you are. And focus on your tiny clit there. Tell me how you envy any real man with a real sized dick. And the thing I need for you to beg me to rape you—not have sex, not make love—rape. Use that word often.

“Here look up at me, at your phone. Thanks for letting me use your face to unlock it. I will be recording this on your phone. I want you to have a record of how low you are. I want you to watch this every morning as you are about to jack off at home. Speaking of jacking off, I should take my cock out for you. Damn, even totally limp, it’s way bigger than yours hard.

“You have three minutes to fully degrade yourself. Go!…

“…That’s time. Ok. See how big you got me? The full nine and a half inch dick, ready to rape the hell out of you. Crawl over here and blow me, but first put on this blindfold. I don’t want you to see anything. Good, now show me how good you are as a faggot cocksucker. Throat me to the nut. Put as much spit on it as you can. That’s pretty much the lube I will be using to tear your cunt up. Maybe if you are good, I will use some spit on the cunt. Take your time, but throat me. Get into it faggot. I’m gonna chill here… Open that fucking throat… Gag on that monster….

“You really are pathetic. Get your ass on the bed, face down. Need to tie you down. What? Now you want out? Aww hell the fuck no. I said on the fucking bed. Ok. You really want this to be a rape don’t you? Look I know my way around ropes and tying up livestock. I do work in a farm, and I am a part of the local rodeo. Calling out for help ain’t going to help.

“And, I sent myself a copy of that video where you are begging me to rape you and to show you no mercy. Nobody will believe you. Just a few more seconds, and there! You ain’t going nowhere now. You are going to be in that position for some time. Your cunt is on display, ready to be mounted.

“But first, I’m going to fuckin’ welt you up. I got my son’s belt here; mine doesn’t move through the air as nicely as his, and besides I’m still wearing mine. You don’t even deserve me stripping for you. When it comes to whipping, I don’t stop to let you recover.

“Being your birthday, It’s eighteen strokes in a row. Start your fucking screaming now. One, two, three,… louder fucker, you deserve every one of these strokes… Eight, nine, ten,… I can already see the welts forming. Oh yeah, bright red cheeks get me leaking. When I hit number twenty-five, I’m going right to the root whether or not you are ready. And it’s not going to take me very long to nut in you. Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, and… eighteen.

“Quit your crying faggot. Here, bite down on my son’s belt. You really have me leaking here. And… all the way in. Fuck yes! This cunt hasn’t been fucked much, has it? Stop your screaming, I asked you a fucking question. You get fucked much?… No?… Wait, that was a cherry pop? Oh fuck yeah. I’m close to giving you some cream to go on your cherry pie. Oh yeah. Fuck. Take it bitch. Feel my load fill you up. Faggot.

“That’s what you have to look forward to for the next few days. Oh man, fuck. I’m gonna lay here for a while. Watch your head, my cigar is only an inch or two from your cheek. I don’t want to brand you,… well at least not yet. Let go of the belt. Holy shit. You really did bite down hard. I can’t wait to give this back to him and tell him how the teethmarks came about.

“Oh yeah, he knows I’m gay. He doesn’t care. He’s totally straight, and I mean totally straight. Now just lay there; you ain’t going anywhere. But I want you to hear this. Yeah, I kept my sex life away from him until one day when he walked in on me fisting his math teacher, Mr. Gunter.

“Oh yeah, he goes to the same high school as you. He too is ready to graduate. You know him, oh yes you do. You’ve been texting him all year, ever since he transferred to your school. You were not very nice to him. In fact, you and a few of your friends beat him up. And what reason did you have for giving him a black eye?… Don’t remember? You called him a faggot. You told your friends that he hit on you in gym class. Talk about projecting.

“When he came home suspended for fighting and with a black eye, I wanted details. He gave me your name and showed me your pic in the yearbook. And wouldn’t you know, I recognized you from your attempted bookstore runs. A week later you start hanging around the diner. You couldn’t get into the bar area, but you sat every Friday afternoon in that same spot in my line of vision, pretending to read that book while groping yourself. So subtle.

“I had your background run by a this cop I regularly fuck. He told me a shitload about you. He’s the one that informed the bookstore across the street that you were underage. There’s a boy—a year older than you—that I fuck who is a Facebook friend of yours showed me your wall. I got to go through every word you wrote while he was giving me head. And unlike you, he knows how to deep throat. Again, having a big dick has its advantages.

“And about that time, you and my son were suspended, you posted a viral video of a bullied kid getting revenge on the bully by sleeping with the bully’s mom. And your comment was something like, ‘Best served cold.’

“Funny thing is, I’m out. While I don’t broadcast it in this tiny town, but I don’t hide it. My son and ex-wife know. The ranch I work at knows. Hell, the main reason how I got the job was that I fucked the owner and told him that I was looking for a job. The guys at the bar all know. So how were you going to humiliate my son? He probably would say, ‘He fucked you? You ain’t the first, you won’t be the last.’ or something like that.

“So, what’s happening next for you? Certainly not humiliating my son. No, for you, I have plans. I’m gonna fuck you again. I’ll leave you tied up. The motel is going to get full later on tonight, mostly truckers. I’ve let the motel owner and the guy that works the bookstore that you are here ready for all horny truckers.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to pass you over to this biker club one of my friends is a member of. He already set up something really nasty for you. The gang already knows what a piece of shit you are. They can’t wait to get their hands on you, and I can’t wait to hear all about it. By the end of the weekend, your cunt will be destroyed. I will give you two black eyes to make up for the one you gave my boy. Most likely your hair will be removed. You are going to be beaten. Hell, my cop buddy is a former boxer. He’s going to string you up and use you as a punching bag.

“And in the end,… I will decide if you keep your balls. Wow. That’s the first time you have flinched while lying under me. Aw, shut up. I work with livestock every day. I know how to castrate a bull. I haven’t decided about you. Just keep that in mind throughout the weekend. You complain or resist, your balls will be in jeopardy.

“You probably won’t see much of me. But I will you. I have it arranged to have it all filmed for me. I expect to see a cum hungry faggot whore knowing his place of being used by real men. Your balls will depend on it. For me, I’m going to be with my son doing dad things.

“And I don’t plan on letting him in to the fact that you are a faggot whore lookin to get raped seeing, he already knows. How do I know? I text him, while you were trying to give me head. I wrote, from your phone, ‘I have to get this off my chest. I am a faggot whore. I can’t live in the closet anymore. Please share this video.’

“Then I sent him your video. While you are going to be in a living hell for the next four days, you won’t be able to stop him or anyone from finding out. This is how I want it. As I said before, I am always in control of everything. Oh, and happy birthday.”

[tootiredmotel]

Give him the real thing

For @floral-cas 's event!!! First time writing from an outsider/oc's pov so bear with me. Huge huge congrats on your milestone K!!! You are a PILAR of this lil community and we all love you 💚🌺💚🌺💚🌺

Read on ao3. 1.7k words

"Alright, uh… confession. I got no idea what I'm doin' here."

He looked around the shop like a monster was about to pop out of any corner. Like the carnations were going to bite him and the pots lined up on the windowsill next to them would come to life and crush his feet. The poor guy looked terrified, but it's nothing Maya hadn't handled before.

"That's what I'm here for. What's your name?" She asked, sensing they'd be there a while.

"Dean."

On any other day, Maya would've been resenting a burly, middle-aged guy with no idea what he wanted coming into the shop twenty minutes before closing, especially on a Thursday. Jade had their A.A. meetings on Thursdays so Maya was alone for the evening. But this Dean guy? He looked so lost, so nervous, so utterly out of place. There was something else about him that made her want to help, too. Maya wasn't sure what, but she'd figure it out.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Maya. Let's start with this: why are you here today, Dean?"

"Anniversary tomorrow."

Concise and to the point. Maya made a mental note. She also noted how he wiped his palms on his jeans and clenched his jaw. Nerves.

"How many years have you been together?"

That got a smile out of him. "A lot. A whole lot. But this is, uh. First wedding anniversary."

She donned a wide smile. "Congratulations. That's wonderful."

"Yeah. Thanks, thank you." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, still not meeting her eyes.

"Doing anything special?"

"Nothin' fancy. My brother and his wife are taking the kiddo for the night so, picnic in the backyard, lookin' at the stars, all that cheesy romantic crap."

His words didn't match his tone. It was evident Dean was absolutely smitten, Maya recognized the look, and he was making an effort. He was filled to the brim with giddiness and adoration for this person, and it shone through from him just thinking about them. Jade still looked at Maya like that every morning and night, and so did Maya at them. Every day since freshman year of college. Maya's chest swelled.

"Thing is," Dean continued, a bit more relaxed now. "Cas knows all about this stuff. We got this huge garden behind the house that I'm not allowed to even touch. There's a million books about nature and trees and flower meanings on the shelf, and Cas has read all of 'em. I didn't even know flowers had meanings, I don't know jack shit about any of it, but…"

"You want to impress Cas."

"I wanna impress Cas. It's gotta be good." 

"You've come to the right place then." Maya kept an eye on Dean as she circled the counter. He was studying the pride flags hanging in the window with a clenched jaw, and Maya went on alert. She pulled out the binder they kept in the drawer and plopped it down in front of him a little harder than she needed to, calling his attention. "My partner Jade is more of a nerd about this stuff than I am, but they made this for situations like these."

Dean read the cover, Jade and Maya's Quick Guide to Flower Meanings, and smiled. "Nice."

They spent forty-five minutes walking around the store, binder in hand, slowly constructing the message Dean wanted to convey with his bouquet. He was adamant on it containing blue, so Maya went for the Forget-me-nots first. “Love and hope,” said the binder, which she deemed fitting enough for a first wedding anniversary. 

Dean looked like someone content with his life, and he agreed when Maya suggested they look under the happiness category. “Well, Cas makes me happy,” he said, and they settled on Felicias, also blue. 

Dean eventually got comfortable enough and leaned over to look at the binder in Maya’s hands. “Think there’s anything in there for grace?”

Highly specific, but possible, Maya thought. “Let’s find out.”

And they did. Plumerias, white.

“Anything else?” She asked him. Dean donned a thousand-yard stare as he thought about it, and Maya figured this man had been through a lot. More than she could ever imagine. She was glad he’d found some peace.

“Freedom,” Dean said finally. Freesias, white as well.

It was an odd bouquet, Maya admitted, but Dean was an odd man, and he looked happy with it. He was still nervous, still out of his element, but there was more excitement in the twinkle of his eyes than anything else.

“Cas will love it,” Maya assured him, and he beamed. She still knew very little about this Cas person— Dean could speak a lot without really saying anything, careful and reserved, even dancing around using gendered pronouns for Cas, which Maya found interesting—, but she could see Dean was living a happy life as their husband. That was good enough for her.

“Here’s hoping,” he said as he handed over his credit card, but he seemed a lot more sure than hopeful. He knew Cas would like it, and Maya couldn’t help a sense of pride grow inside her. Dean also put some cash in the tip jar and left with a smile. A good day’s work, and maybe a new friend in town.

---

“Maya?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

Jade poked their head in the door, beaming at Maya as she ran the books in the back room.

"There's a gentleman asking for you."

"By name?"

Jade nodded. Maya sent them a questioning look, to which they just shrugged. If Jade wasn't all that worried about it, Maya supposed there was no reason for her to be either. She made her way out, squeezing Jade's hip as she passed them, and stepped up to the counter. The trenchcoat-clad man smiled at her.

"Maya?"

The depth of his voice caught her by surprise, but she recovered in time to reply "That's me."

The man smiled wider. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Cas. You might not remember, but last week you-"

"Did you say Cas?" Maya couldn't contain her interruption, or the eagerness as she asked: "Dean's Cas?"

Cas's smile widened even more, which she didn't think was possible. It was blinding, and Maya, even in all her queerness, could definitely understand what Dean saw in him. "That's right."

Dean’s fixation on blue flowers suddenly made sense too, as she noticed his eyes. "He adores you, you know. You're his heaven and earth."

Cas's smile faltered at her words, and Maya feared she'd said something wrong.

"I'm sorry if I'm overstepping."

“No, no, it’s alright.” He looked down at his wedding band, and his smile returned. “He’s all that and more to me.”

Cas stared at his ring for a second longer. It was silver and had a small blue gem embedded into it. Maya could swear it appeared to swirl with light.

“Dean spoke wonders of you,” she said.

He looked back up at her. “You, too.”

She blinked in surprise at that.

“I loved the bouquet. I thanked him for it, over and over, and every time he said you were the miracle worker. That he was clueless the whole time and couldn’t have done it without you.”

“That’s not true,” Maya deflected, a steady heat rising to her cheeks. “He had a pretty good idea of what he wanted. And, if anything, he and I couldn’t have done it without Jade’s expertise.” She gestured toward her partner, helping a customer at the other end of the shop, and also tapped the binder, which was out on the countertop today.

“Then I suppose I’m here to thank both of you.”

He reached into a tote bag that Maya hadn’t noticed he was carrying and pulled out a plastic container. “We run a small baking business out of our home. These are on me. Apple and honey tarts.” He placed the container in front of her. On top of it was a label that read D&C’s Pastries. “They are also gluten-free, just in case.“

“What’s going on?” Jade asked, approaching Maya’s side with an expectant smile.

“Jade, love, do you remember Dean? From last week?”

“You told me about him, yeah, wedding anniversary.”

“Well this is Cas,” she gestured to him.

“Dean's husband,” Cas interjected. Jade and Maya shared a knowing smile. “I just wanted to drop these off as a thank you for helping Dean. Apple and honey tarts, gluten-free.”

“That is so sweet of you,” Jade exclaimed, eagerly taking the pastries. Maya rolled her eyes fondly at the pun, which Cas didn’t seem to catch.

“I was just doing my job,” Maya said. “But thank you.”

“Papa!”

They all turned to the child, blond and adorable, running excitedly toward Cas. At the door, where the child came from, stood an exasperated Dean.

“Jack,” Cas started, scooping the child in his arms. Jack wrapped his arms around Cas’s neck. “I thought I told you and Daddy to wait for me at the café, I wasn’t going to be long.”

“He missed you. We both did,” Dean gazed at him as he approached. “Dude, what are you-”

Dean scanned over the scene he’d just walked into and seemed to realize what was happening.

“So that’s what the tarts were for. Hey, Maya.”

“Hi, Dean.”

“And you must be Jade,” Dean said, extending a hand toward them.

“Yes! Heard about you, nice to finally meet you, Dean.”

“You too. You and that book of yours are life-savers. If I’d known the tarts were for you guys, I would’a made more.”

“These are more than enough, thank you. In fact, here...” Maya turned to a vase of daisies they had on a shelf and pulled out three. “Now I feel like we’re even.”

“Not by a long shot,” Dean said as he took his flower and Cas’s. He put his behind his ear, and Cas’s in his trenchcoat’s lapel, as Maya handed Jack his own flower.

They all promised to not be strangers, and kept their promise. Dean and Cas would bring over baked goods, and in exchange, Jade and Maya would let them take home a potted plant for their garden. Jack would always leave with a small flower in his hand, a different one every time, wrapped in Cas’s arms as he explained the flower’s origins or symbolism to his son. Dean would be the last one out the door, always turning back and mouthing a “thank you” to Maya. Every time, without fail.

And every time, Maya would think that she wanted what they had. Happiness, peace, a family, unconditional and true love. And every time, she would look over at Jade, and know she was well on her way.